#yes this is the seat knut is always sat in

[awanderingdeal]

‪Hi Lucy🌼 how are you? I have a request for you! Could you please write Finn and Logan going to a Harvard hockey reunion while already being out and proud and as a couple? maybe they also bring leo? (I just know at least one of their former teammates would be like “YES! I knew you two would end up together”) ‬

Hi! I'm good thanks! I hope you are too.

I've never really considered this sort of scenario so it was super interesting to write! Thanks for the prompt.

Rating: G

CW: Brief food and drinks mention. Small mention of past injury.

Logan, Finn, Leo, Percy, Will and the general Sweater Weather universe belongs to @lumosinlove. The other team members were made up by me for this fic.

Finn swore he'd never heard this group of men quite so quiet as they were right now. The entire table had turned to look at them and just...frozen. He felt Logan tense next to him, his body already half turned to bolt.

"Harzy! Tremz!" Of course it was Marshy who broke the silence. "There you are. C'mon, sit down. What are you drinking?"

"Hey." Finn let out a long breath, touching his fingers briefly to the small of Logan's back, receiving a tight smile in return.

"I knew it, I fucking knew it." Mateo Sánchez slammed his palm against the table as Finn took a seat. He steeled himself for whatever bullshit was about to come out of his old teammates mouth, placing a placating hand on Logan's thigh. "How many times did I say these two were going at it? I'd like to collect on my winnings now."

"You can't collect on winnings from five years ago, dumbass." James Huntington, more fondly known as Hunter, drawled.

Logan lifted his hat, running a hand through his hair before placing it back on his head.

"Same tells as ever, Tremblay," Will laughed lightly from the head of the table. "Relax, I already read the riot act. There'll be no trouble here."

"Once a captain, always a captain, ey?" Finn said. The reassurance worked though, Logan's expression softening. They managed to flag down a server and with a drink in hand, it almost felt like they were back in college again.

"Ash was just showing us some of his photography," Jake tipped his bottle in the direction of the man in question. Jacob 'Truce' Truman was one of the few on the team Finn had kept in touch with, outside of those who had also gone pro. He'd been one Finn's first friends at Harvard and he constantly proved to be in Finn's corner. "He's in Switzerland now, lives in the mountains."

"Couldn't hack it out on the ice, so he found himself some real snow." It took Finn a moment to remember the name of the speaker. Wesley Larsson. He was older than Finn, and he hadn't seen much game time for most of the year they'd been on the team together, but from what Finn could recall he was an ass.

"Bitter's not a good look for you," Ash brushed the jibe off, starting to show his work again. Finn was just glad the pressure was off them for a bit. It didn't last long though.

"Where's your third then?" Sanchez called down the table once the conversation lulled. "Leo Knut, wasn't it?

"I heard he cooks," Hunter laughed. "And Lord knows these two need somebody that can cook.'

"Ouias, because we really couldn't have solved that problem with two NHL salaries," Logan shrugged. "Knutty's at the hotel. I don't see any other significant others."

Percy clapped his hands together, "Now you mention it, tomorrow evening, same place, bring your wives, girlfriends -" He fixed his stare on Finn and then Logan. "-boyfriends. Christ, bring your pet chihuahua if you must. I need to meet the people that fell in love with you idiots."

"If I say we'll bring him tomorrow, will you leave us alone for the rest of the night?" Finn sat back in his chair.

"Yes!" Finn turned his head, surprised to find the answer had been delivered by Rual Lee. He'd always been shy off the ice. One hell of a player though, even if a professional career had been railroaded by a reoccurring hip injury. "Only if I can get an autograph though. My little girl is obsessed."

"Yeah, I don't blame her," Finn laughed. "Deal."

[fruitcoops]

could we see coops first big fight when they’re married? (essentially pure angst)

Yes, we can! Don’t worry, I got your follow-up ask about a happy ending as well--there are no sad endings on this blog, just some bittersweet ones, and this is very soft and fluffy. Hope you enjoy!

Combined with prompts for...

1. Another of Coops’ serious talks

2. Remus overworking himself to keep up

3. From @colored-rain: Sirius sleeping at Dumo’s for a night

4. Slow dancing in the kitchen

TW for couples fighting, suppression, and marriage issues

“Do you think we got married too fast?” a quiet voice asked in the darkness.

Remus paused for several heartbeats before opening his eyes and turning over; Sirius was staring at the ceiling, wide awake. “What?”

“Do you think we got married too fast?” Sirius repeated without looking at him.

“Do you?” Remus countered. Something panicky was starting to buzz in the back of his brain and he tried to keep his breaths steady. Sirius wasn’t breaking up with him. They had only been married for a few months. Things were really, really good—as far as he knew, they were both happier than they had ever been.

Sirius sighed through his nose. “I don’t know.”

“What?” Remus sat up against the headboard, wide awake. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I—” Sirius shifted to sit up as well and crossed his legs. “I don’t know! People usually date for a lot longer than a year and a half before getting married, right?”

“We’ve known each other for seven years, Sirius.”

“Yes, and I love you, and you’re wonderful, but everything happened so fast.”

Remus wasn’t sure if his heart was trying to crawl out of his chest or dissolve into a puddle of pain. “Are you—Sirius, are you breaking up with me?”

“No!” Sirius said immediately. “I just said I love you, what the hell?”

“People can love each other and still break up!”

Sirius grabbed his hands, holding tight even when Remus tried to pull back and let his panic overtake him. Grey eyes locked on his, as solemn as he had ever seen them. “I’m not breaking up with you, Remus.” The clock on the nightstand beeped midnight and Sirius pressed his lips together. “We have early practice.”

“We need to talk.”

“We need to sleep.”

“Promise we’ll talk tomorrow, then.” We need to talk right now, actually.

Sirius squeezed his hands and kissed his cheek. His cheek. “I promise.”

Remus didn’t sleep much that night. His cheek burned with the memory of Sirius’ lips.

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

Their morning routine was stilted and quiet. Practice was awkward, and though neither of them let the previous night’s events influence their performance, he knew the tension was palpable. “Y’all good?” Leo asked under his breath as Remus filled his waterbottle up.

“We’re fine,” he answered, exhausted.

“Loops—”

“Stay in your lane, Knut.” He regretted the words as soon as they escaped his mouth—the kicked-puppy look on Leo’s face was more than enough to make guilt spike up—but he kept on moving down the hall and tried to wash the bitter taste from his mouth.

The ride home was worlds worse than he could have expected. Sirius turned the radio off the moment it started to play and kept his eyes firmly on the windshield the entire time, tapping his thumb against the wheel in the tic that always appeared when he was nervous. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t help us fix whatever’s going on.” Remus wasn’t angry, per say, but he was really fucking frustrated with Sirius’ sudden inability to communicate. “Talk to me. What happened?”

Sirius chewed the edge of his lip. “I was just thinking.”

There was a long stretch of silence between them. “Wow, thank you for that incredibly helpful information,” Remus said sarcastically when it became clear he wasn’t going to continue.

“You don’t have to be mean about it,” Sirius muttered.

“I’m not trying to be mean—”

“Well, you kind of were—”

“Then maybe you should talk about your problems for once!” Remus snapped before he could shove it back down. Sirius’ jaw clenched. “If we’re going to work through this, then you have to tell me what the hell happened to make you so worried and upset. Do you regret getting married to me?”

The response was immediate. “No.”

“Thank you.” He leaned his head back against the seat rest and closed his eyes. “Thank you, that was what I needed to hear.”

“Do you think we moved too fast?”

Remus scrubbed a hand over his face. “I used to. I don’t, anymore. There’s no rulebook for any of this. How long have you been thinking about that?”

Sirius started tapping the wheel again. “A couple weeks.”

He may as well have opened the passenger door and booted Remus from the car. A breath punched out of his lungs. “A couple weeks?” he whispered. The world was spinning, the floor was open, hell itself was coming to swallow him up. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I figured it was normal marriage stuff. That it would pass.”

“Oh my god.”

“I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”

“And I do?” Remus said incredulously. “News flash: this is the first time I’ve ever been married, too!”

“Please don’t be angry.”

“Being married means you share things, Sirius, not keep them bottled up for two weeks! Especially when they concern the other person!”

Something stormy came over his face. “Oh, really? So when were you planning on talking to me about the fact that you haven’t slept in six days?”

“I literally sleep next to you!”

“You toss and turn all night, and then you get up and run drills for an hour before coming back to bed. Every time I ask how you slept, you lie to my face, Remus. That’s not okay.”

Remus was speechless. He had done everything he could think of to be quiet and careful so Sirius wouldn’t know. “I…”

Sirius glanced over at him, eyebrows raised. “Yeah, I noticed.”

Be an adult. Be an adult. You’re married. Be an adult. “I’m still worried about catching up to the team.”

“I figured. We’ve talked about this before, Re, it’s not safe for you to do that to yourself—”

“You don’t get it!” Sirius pulled into their driveway and turned the car off. “You have no idea how it feels to constantly be catching up to people! I’m fine, it’s not like I’m doing any damage!”

“I’m sorry, did you forget who you’re talking to?”

Remus clenched his teeth and got out of the car, grabbing his duffel from the backseat before slamming the door. He felt a little guilty—the rising memories of hushed confessions of hours of exercise to his father’s whistle meant Sirius understood better than anyone. Then the front door closed behind them both and the indignance on Sirius’ face sent his temper flaring up again. “You never bother to talk to me about anything that’s going on with you, so why should I even try?”

“What happened to ‘marriage is a partnership’?” Sirius followed him into the kitchen. “Have we moved on to the hypocrite stage yet or are we still clearing the air where nothing ever gets solved?”

Remus reeled back like he’d been slapped. “Fucking excuse me?”

“Every time we fight, you start all sarcastic and defensive, and then you get preachy like you’re reading something out of a fucking self-help book!” Sirius ran a hand through his hair. “Christ, Remus, it feels like I’m talking to a therapist instead of my partner!”

“Husband!” The ring on his finger had always been a comfort instead of a lead weight. “You can’t even say it?”

“I don’t regret marrying you!

“Then why are you so upset about us being married young?!”

“Because it’ll fall apart!” Sirius shouted back. “We’re going to be insufferably happy for a while, and then somewhere along the line we’re going to hate each other, and then it’ll be cold looks when we pass and different beds and all our friends will have to pick sides because we can’t stand to be in the same room together!”

“If you’re so sure about that, then why are you trying to fucking hard to keep us together?” Remus’ heart pounded like he’d run a marathon. Hearing his own fears thrown in his face was the most terrifying thing he had ever experienced.

“Because I love you.” Sirius’ voice broke. They were on opposite sides of the kitchen island, but Remus could see the pain on his face. “I love you, and I don’t want some—some impulsive decision to ruin that forever.”

“I love you, too.” Tears clogged the back of Remus’ throat. So stop pushing me away.

“Then I’ll be at Dumo’s.”

Remus nodded silently as Sirius walked past him toward the stairs; the moment he was out of sight, he headed into the downstairs bathroom and sat down with his back to the closed door, burying his face in his forearms. There was a rustle outside, and the front door closed with a click.

It wasn’t until his face itched with drying tears that he remembered Hattie. Guilt and panic stabbed through him and he scrambled back out, sprinting to her bed and then to the backyard. “Hattie?” he called, frantic with worry. “Hattie, c’mere!”

He closed his eyes and thought back to the events of the day. They had left her in the house for practice, and he vaguely remembered hearing her in the other room while they were fighting, and when Sirius left—

“Oh, you bastard,” he said aloud. The rustling of Sirius grabbing his duffel and whatever else he packed had been accompanied by the pattering of Hattie’s paws. “You took our fucking dog.”

Part of him was grateful that at least somebody had remembered their baby. The other part was absolutely furious. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a few deep breaths as the tone played. “Hello?”

“Can you pick me up?”

“Re, are you okay?”

“Not really. Can you pick me up?”

Concern dripped from Lily’s voice. “Where are you?”

“At home.”

“…where’s Sirius?”

“At Dumo’s.”

“I’m on my way.”

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

Harry Potter had been alive for less than two years, and he had been cried on by about half the Lions. Finn had started referring to him as ‘therapy baby’, and Remus was inclined to agree—it was hard to feel anything extreme when he was holding the pudgy little angel to his chest.

“So you fought?” Lily asked gently from the armchair across from him. Remus nodded. The whole story had spilled out in a gross mess of sobbing and baby snuggles until he laid down on his back, holding Harry to his chest as he dozed.

“I feel like an idiot,” he said miserably.

“Don’t.”

“It was awful.”

“I bet.”

Remus sniffled and kissed the top of Harry’s head. “Thank you for getting me. I didn’t want to be there alone.”

“I’m glad you called.” She took a sip of tea and gave him a look that he never liked. “Re, can I be honest with you?”

“Always.”

“I was kind of waiting for this to happen.” At his stricken expression, she folded her hands around the sides of her mug. “I don’t think you got married too early, because neither of you do big things like that on impulse and you love each other so much. However, I do think that you have a habit of trying to protect each other from the shit you carry with you. James did the same thing to me, and it sucked.”

“It does suck,” Remus agreed. “I hate the thought that he can’t trust me.”

Lily held her finger up and shook her head. “Nope. It’s not an issue of trust, is it? Why didn’t you tell Sirius that you were having trouble sleeping?”

“Because I didn’t want to worry h—oh.” Harry wiggled around for a moment and Remus adjusted himself so he was leaning on the armrest. “I think I get it now.”

“You guys need to talk about that at some point or it’s going to keep coming up.”

“Is that what you and James did?”

“No, we let it fester for, like, a year and then broke up for two weeks.”

Remus made a sympathetic face. “I forgot about that part. I should call him, huh?”

Lily shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

“I want to apologize,” he said carefully. The sore spot in his heart and chest still twinged. “But I’m still really upset. And hurt. And a little angry? Mostly worried. There’s so much happening, I just want to hold your baby.”

“Go for it, he’s having a blast. Lover?”

There was a shuffling sound from the other room before James appeared in the doorway. “Yes?”

Remus snorted. “Simp.”

“Yes, and? What’s up, darling?”

“Can I have some more tea?” She batted her eyelashes at him with a dimpled smile and he sighed, then took her mug with him into the kitchen.

“You only love me for my kettle!” he called over his shoulder with a grin.

“Maybe!”

Remus turned his head to look at Lily while he ran a hand over Harry’s back. “Lils?”

“Hmm?”

“Am I preachy when I’m upset?”

She frowned. “What?”

“Preachy. Like—like I’m reading out of a self-help book.”

With a heavy sigh, she stood up and walked to the couch, leaning over the armrest to kiss his forehead. “No, Re, you’re not preachy. You like being right, but you’re not preachy.”

“Sirius thinks we’ll end up like his parents.”

“I’m not surprised about that, either.” She brushed his messy hair off his forehead and braided a small strand along the front, then gave it a little tug. “Guest bedroom’s yours for as long as you need it, okay?”

“That might be a while.”

She shook her head and patted his shoulder. “It won’t.”

“Could be.”

“Remus.”

“Sorry. Sleep well, Lils.” He sat up slightly and covered Harry’s ears. “And you, eavesdropper!”

“Love you!” James laughed from the other room. Lily picked the sleepy baby up and ushered Remus into the guest room with a final ‘goodnight’.

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

“Am I an idiot?” Sirius asked.

The bed creaked as Dumo readjusted his legs. “No, mon fils, you’re not an idiot. You are a young man going through his first marriage spat.”

“I hate it. I hate it. I said horrible things to him.”

“It sounds like you’re both to blame.”

“No, I brought it up first.” Dumo huffed, and he let out a slow exhale into the pillow. “Okay, maybe—maybe we were both in the wrong.”

“Fights are rarely one-sided. You have a visitor.”

Something cold prodded Sirius’ ear and he groaned, then curled on his side to let Hattie onto the covers next to him. “Bonjour, sweet girl. Thank you for the cuddles.”

She licked his nose and he smiled, petting the velvety top of her head. “Are you staying here tonight?”

“I was thinking about it. Re’s got the house to himself for a bit, then, and he knows I’m here.”

“I’m glad you’re taking the time to calm down a bit,” Dumo said as he stood with a final ruffle of Sirius’ hair. “That’s a wise decision. Bonne nuit.”

Sirius mumbled a response and made more room for Hattie, then settled in for a restless night. He never wanted to sleep alone again.

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

By some miracle, practice was more bearable the second day. Remus still ached somewhere deep inside, but it wasn’t like he had anything else left to suppress. Seeing Sirius was a relief; it surprised him at first, considering the explosive nature of the previous evening, before sliding into something that soothed him. If he could still find peace in Sirius after all that, they would be okay.

He knocked lightly on the side of Sirius’ stall after he returned from the shower. “Knock, knock. Ca—”

“Who’s there?”

Remus’ heart stuttered as Sirius looked up at him from the bench with an apologetic tilt to his mouth. Something clicked into place. “Can I get a ride?”

“ ‘course you can.” Sirius stood up just as Remus stepped forward, and they met in the middle for a tight hug. He tucked his face into the dip of Sirius’ collarbone and breathed in his shower-fresh smell, as well as the trace of laundry detergent from his shirt.

“Love you,” he murmured.

“Let’s go, mon loup.” Sirius pressed a kiss to his hair and they headed out toward the parking lot together; Remus caught Leo’s eye and saw him smile.

“How’s Dumo doing?” Remus asked as they turned out of the parking lot. Start slow, start easy. “Did you drop Hattie off at home before you came to practice?”

“Yeah, I did. He’s good, and Celeste sent me back with some brownies.”

Remus tentatively reached over and rested his hand on the side of Sirius’ thigh—his chest visibly caught before he relaxed into it and reached down to put his own overtop. “Harry’s doing well. Lily says he’s almost started running.”

“Did you go see them?”

“Stayed at their place last night.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It felt weird being there by myself.”

“Re—”

“I’m so sorry.” The words spilled out in a rush, despite his best efforts to keep it in until they reached home. “I’m sorry for everything I said to you, and especially for how I said it. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about how I was feeling, too. It should never have gotten to that point.”

“Apology accepted.” Sirius sounded a little choked up. “I don’t think we got married too soon, if that means anything.”

“Of course it means something,” Remus half-laughed as he wiped the dampness from the corners of his eyes. “It means everything.”

“I thought it might be too late.”

“Can you pull over for a second?” Sirius obliged, and as soon as he turned the car off, Remus turned to face him. He linked their hands, making sure Sirius was looking into his eyes. “It is never too late to talk to me, okay? I’m sorry if I ever made you think that it was.”

Sirius unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over for a brief kiss that sent bubbling warmth throughout Remus’ entire body. “I’m so, so sorry for yelling at you. And for keeping everything in, even though we both promised to stop doing that. All that shit I said, it—it wasn’t true, Re, and I wasn’t thinking.”

Remus rested their foreheads together and wound his fingers in the short curls fanning Sirius’ face. “Honey, we’re not your parents.”

Sirius swallowed hard. “I know.”

“So you don’t have to be afraid that we’re going to hate each other out of the blue, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“If—” His mouth went a little dry and he faltered. “If you want to take a break, or take things slower, I totally respect—”

“Nope, no, no, no,” Sirius interrupted, grabbing his cheeks and pulling him in for another fervent kiss. “I love you. I’m happy with you. I let my head get away from me, and I’m sorry.”

“All’s forgiven, love.” They sat in silence for a minute longer as Sirius traced his jawline. “Let’s go home.”

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

Sirius woke up in bed alone, which would have scared him if he didn’t know exactly where his husband was. He smiled to himself and got out of bed, grabbing a hoodie off their dresser before heading downstairs.

The kitchen light was on and music played quietly from Remus’ phone over the sound of running water. “You’re up late,” he said casually from the doorway.

Remus almost dropped a pot. “Jesus Christ!”

“Just me.” Sirius wrapped his arms around his waist as he set the pot on the drying rack. “Stressed?”

“A little. I forgot to do these earlier and didn’t want to leave them overnight again.” Sirius hummed his agreement and rocked back and forth, then took Remus’ hand and spun him in a slow circle. “Oh, are we slow dancing to the Billboard Top 100 now?”

“Very romantic, I know,” Sirius laughed.

Remus shook his head with a wide grin as they swayed, much too slow for the actual song but absolutely perfect. He was beautiful in the low light of their kitchen, puffy eyes from and all. “You are ridiculous.”

I’m the luckiest person alive. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sirius leaned down for a series of quick kisses, pulling him in until their chests pressed together. Remus let go of his hand and draped both arms over his shoulders, tangling his hands in his hair. “I know we can’t exactly control it,” Sirius said against his lips. “But let’s never fight like that again.”

“Deal.”

[lovemeleo]

Asher goes to practice

Finally, an actual update! I sorta combined the two of these, hope you guys don’t mind! Here’s Asher’s first time at the rink for practice! Hope you all enjoy :)

If you haven’t read the rest of the series, here is the Asher masterlist!

Edit: Coops and the SW world belongs to the always amazing @lumosinlove ✨

________________________________

It was an exciting day in the Black-Lupin household. Everyone had been awake for at least two hours, and it was only 6am. 

Normally, they’d be heading to the Potters’ to drop off Asher while they were at practice. Lily kept an eye on him during their time at the rink, and Harry and Asher had become quick friends.

But today. Today, Asher got to go to the rink with his dads. They had gotten permission from Coach Weasley beforehand, and he was going to watch them from the bench. He had started walking recently, not steady steps but he was definitely on the move.

“Asher, c’mere! We gotta get your jacket on.” Remus yelled from the front door, grabbing the small jacket from the hook.

A small figure peeked through the railing at him, gripping onto the bannister. Sirius had gotten him dressed, so of course he was wearing one of his little Lion jerseys that the team had gotten him.

Glancing up the stairs, Remus watched as Asher sat on the top of the steps, slow butt-scooting his way down. As he got to the bottom, he stood carefully and looked up at his dad, “No.” 

Remus sighed, holding up the jacket, “Yes.” That was another thing. Asher was starting to talk. Not full sentences, just a couple words here and there. Dad. Daddy. Okay. Please. Juice. And his favorite.

“No.” He said, even though he held out his arms for Remus. Before he could resist again, the jacket was on and zipped. 

Picking Asher up, Remus rested him on his hip with his hockey bag on the other before glancing back up the stairs, “Pads, c’mon. We’re gonna be late. Don’t tell me I’ve gotta help you get zipped up too.”

A huff came from the second floor before Sirius came around the corner, “I am coming, no I don’t need help with my zipper. I can’t find my practice jersey, I thought I left it in the closet.” He muttered as he came down the stairs, grabbing his jacket. 

“Didn’t you put it in your bag last night? So you wouldn’t forget it?” Remus asked as Sirius looked in his own bag. 

Sirius dug through his bag before pulling the jersey out, “Got it, I got it. Knew it was there, didn’t I, mon chou?” He said, leaning in to tickle Asher under his chin. Pushing his daddy’s hands away, Asher squealed, “Daddy, no!” He shouted happily, hiding his face in Remus’s neck. 

Remus couldn’t help the fond smile that spread as he watched SIrius with their son. For all the worrying Sirius had done before Asher was born, he couldn’t be a better dad. Just seeing them together made Remus’s heart swell.

“Alright let’s get moving. Coach might be okay with Asher being late, but not us.” Remus said as he led the way to the car. He got Asher buckled in his seat, and then they were off.

Sirius drove to the rink, his free hand resting on Remus’s knee, “So… you think we could get him in a pair of skates?” He asked.

Letting out a laugh, Remus shook his head, “Baby. No. He’s just starting to walk, we are not putting literal blades on his feet! Right, Ash?” He asked, glancing at Asher through the rearview mirror.

“Yes!” Asher shouted, kicking his tiny legs against the seat as they pulled into the rink. 

Sirius smiled as he got out, “I’ll grab bags if you wanna grab him and his bag.” He said as he opened the trunk. Remus grabbed Asher’s bag before pulling him out of his carrier.

Asher babbled happily in Remus’s arms, as they made their way into the rink. “You ready to see all your uncles? And your grandpa?” Remus asked and his small little face lit up. The boys had all come to visit them so often and honestly they were all so incredible with him. There was nothing cuter than a bunch of big tough hockey guys playing dolls with a child.

The little family made their way to the locker room, Asher wiggling in Remus’s arms as he heard the team’s voices echoing. Sirius pushed the door open, letting them Remus and Asher go past him into the room. 

Shouts of “Little Loops!” echoed across the locker room as the guys saw them come in. 

Asher grinned, his cheeks flushing at all the attention, “Hi.” He drawled out in his tiny voice. He was quickly stolen from Remus’s arms by James, who spun him happily.

“Hi, little man!” James said, resting him on his hip. 

Asher rested his head on James’ shoulder, “Jam.” He said with a small smile. Most words were still hard for him to say, so James became Jam. Small eyes looked around the room happily as he watched everyone get ready before his eyes fell on his favorite person.

“Le! Le Le Le!” Asher quickly reached out, making grabby hands as soon as he saw Leo. He loved all the boys on the team, but had completely latched onto Leo. The others teased him a bit, saying it was because they were so close in age.

Leo couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he heard the shouts for him, taking him carefully from James who gave him an indignant look, “Stealing my godson, Nutty?” 

As soon as Leo had him in his arms, Asher nuzzled into his chest happily, “Le.” He hummed happily, tiny fingers gripping onto the taller boy’s practice jersey. Leo may have said he wasn’t ready for a kid but Asher really had him catching baby fever. They definitely weren’t ready though. He’d just have to steal Asher more. Maybe they could babysit?

Nodding along as Asher babbled to him, Leo carried him over to his stall, “I know, bub. It’s all so exciting.” He murmured, setting him on his lap as he waited for the rest of the team to be ready.

Finn knew that he looked smitten. He was. How could he not when one of his boys was sitting there, being all cute with a baby? 

“Harzy, dude, you’re literally looking like the human embodiment of heart eyes right now. Take a breath.” Talker said with a laugh, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked past.

An offended noise came from Finn but he was cut off as Coach made his way into the locker room, “C’mon boys, it’s scrimmage day. Let’s get a move on. Knut, gimme my assistant coach.” 

They all made their way out the door, Sirius holding the door as the team made their way to the ice.

Remus smiled, watching as Asher was passed to Arthur, “Coach, put him down a sec, yeah? Let him show you his new party trick. Pads, be ready just in case.” 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, setting Asher down. He wobbled on unsteady legs before he saw his daddy waiting for him, and then he was off. 

“Look at him go!” Arthur said with a laugh, following Asher as he toddled out, following after Sirius and the rest of the team. Remus grinned, quickly snapping a picture of Asher grabbing his dad’s hand before tucking his phone into his bag.

When they got to the bench, Arthur lifted Asher next to him as the Lions all made their way onto the ice. Asher stood carefully next to the coach as the team picked their groups for the scrimmage. His eyes were wide as he watched the team practice. He had watched his dads play in their basement many times, but nothing beat them with a whole team. 

As the game went on, Arthur explained to Asher what was happening, pointing out plays as well as pointing out where his dads were, because that was a frequent question as well. 

Just as they skated past the bench, Nado hit Remus into the boards and they both slid onto the ice. Asher was quickly trying to peer over the side of the boards, “Daddy? Daddy, okay? You ‘kay?” He yelled, green eyes filled with concern.

Nado chuckled softly, pulling Remus up with him, “He’s alright, Little Loops.” 

Pointing a finger at him, Asher gave him a serious look, “Careful, you careful.” Sirius couldn’t help but laugh as he skated over.

“You tell him, mon chou.” He said, pressing a kiss to Asher’s head before he skated back. 

They finished their scrimmage, messing around on the ice when Sirius lifted Asher over the boards, “We’ll get you some skates soon, Ash. Just gotta convince your daddy.” 

Humming happily as he held onto his dad, Asher nodded, “I skate too.” He said seriously, watching Sirius’s feet as they glided across the ice. “Down. Daddy, down.” 

Sirius set him down but held onto his hands, wary of the other guys on the ice as Asher wobbled onto the ice. He was trying to glide across the ice, giggling to himself, “I skate.” He whispered quietly.

Unbeknownst to them, Marlene was taking pictures from the stands. She sent them all to Remus afterwards, who posted them to his Instagram along with the picture he took earlier.

“A Lion in the making.”

[ilove-cedricdiggory]

You would be okay (Fallen Pt. 2)

Draco x Reader

Request - Yes? kinda? you guys wanted a part 2!

Summary - You tried the unspeakable and were left with this aftermath. Part one here!

Trigger Warning - Mentions of suicide, suicidal thoughts, cursing, it's kinda lengthy. I hope you enjoy!

All that's left is a last embrace.

All that's left is a whisper to say.

Hearts broken,

tears spilled,

frantic moves,

for all that was left was a final exhale.

You expected white, or maybe black even? But all you saw was the yellow of a light. That's a good sign, right?

Go into the light.

But, the light doesn't come with a tight embrace, does it?

For the last of something shouldn't come with another. A last breath shouldn't be met with another inhale, filling your lungs with a type of pain that wasn't physical. A type of pain that filled your head with the doubt of no other.

You failed.

Failed to die, how can someone be that stupid?

"No." You croaked out, feeling the pressure on your body tighten. "No, I'm not alive. No." You opened your eyes, the unshed tears already in the place of your eyelids.

"Honey, clear the room." The soft, warm voice of the mother you dreamed of filled your ears. "Molly, no." You cried, looking up at her. She held your body tightly, her arms circled around you as she held the life of you, afraid to let go.

The tears fell quickly down your cheeks, sobs falling from your mouth. "Sweet girl, it's okay." She whispered, pressing you closer to her. You're unaware of how you long you sobbed, how long she sat there with you, softly pressing her palm down the smoothness of your hair, but your sobs lulled you back to sleep with the hatred of yourself filling your being once more.

One week

You felt like you were a toddler again, for a pair of eyes was always set on you. They didn't look at you with pity, they didn't look at you with disgust, they didn't look at you with doubtfulness. For they looked at you with a love you didn't even understand. A love that had your heart breaking worse than what Draco could ever cause.

You still weren't sure how you survived, how you possibly could have jumped from the astronomy tower and lived to tell the tale, but none of the Weasley's would tell you.

"It doesn't matter dear." Whispered Molly when you woke up the next morning, full of questions.

"What do you think about these?" Fred and George switched up the topic, showing you a prototype that was supposed to shoot multicolored glitter into the room you tossed it into.

"Sorry, y/n, I'm reading." Hermione excused, sticking her nose further into her book, avoiding your eyes with every cost.

Three Weeks

With each day, you ate more. With each second, you smiled brighter. With each look, you felt safer.

You weren't on watch like you had been, everyone seeing the slow progress you were making. You still had unanswered questions, but they sat at the back of your mind, until a bad day.

A day that had you tumbling down the steep stairs of progress, a day that had you quivering in fear of your own self. A day that started with a specific blonde.

You had assumed he was at the Malfoy Manner, you had assumed he thought you were dead. But, when you opened the door to your apartment, Hermione and Ginny standing beside you, he stood from your couch, eyes set on you.

"You're okay." He whispered, his eyes as broken as yours.

"Shit." Ginny looked at the Slytherin and quickly stepped in front of you. "Why the fuck are you here?" Hermione asked, pulling you back behind her.

"Look, I just - I had to make sure she was okay. I haven't left for weeks, I've slept on the couch to make sure I'd see you when you walked in. I - after I saved you, I saw the Weasleys running to you, I was too afraid they'd kill me themselves, so I ran off." He said, stepping closer to you. "Wait - you're the one who saved her?" Ginny asked, looking at the boy. "I uh, I levitated her - like Dumbledore did to Harry at the quidditch game year three. As soon as the owl flew in with a letter in your handwriting to me, after that fight, I knew what you were doing."

Ginny took one more step towards the boy before hugging him, her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

You and Hermione stood in awe. Ginny Weasley, the Ginny Weasley, was hugging Draco. They had all learned to tolerate the man, especially after the two of you got together, but the only person you ever saw try to hug Draco, was Molly.

"But, how did you know where I was? I wrote that at the end of the letter so I could - well, so I could die." You whispered, moving to sit on the couch

Hermione moved to sir next to you, taking the seat Draco might have taken, placing her hand on yours. "Y/n, we don't have to do this. We just came for some clothes." You shook your head, meeting Draco's red eyes.

"I found the letters, about 4 months ago. I had gone into the owl room to feed her the two days you were gone and I saw it with my name. I pulled it out and read it - I didn't know what to do. We had been doing well, you were happy, we had plans with the Weasley's, which I knew for a fact you wouldn't cancel, I just decided to watch you for the next few weeks, make sure you were okay. I knew that you were depressed a while ago, but we had been working on it.

You had been getting out of bed a bit easier, you were baking and singing, I figured you were okay. I know your depression comes and goes, but you were really doing good, so I didn't bring it up." He sat in your love seat, his head in his hands. "I was such an idiot for not bringing it up, I knew better than that. Even if you were doing good, you still wrote them, which meant you were suicidal before then. I'm just a plain dick for saying what I said to you then too. I - I can't believe that I did, you trusted me with your insecurities, with your darkest thoughts, and I used then to crush you." His voice was soft, tears falling from his eyes.

"Hey, Mione, let's go pack up some stuff for Y/n, I think they should talk."

Two months

You were okay.

It was still hard sometimes, but you were okay. You had moved back in to your home, finding a new routine for you. Someone of the Weasley house always popped in on you once a week and Molly set in a Sunday Dinner policy that you could not miss.

You were okay.

You still had dark thoughts, but who didn't? You still had rough days, but who didn't? The only thing you didn't have, was him.

After the day he told you how he saved you, he left. He excused himself when the girls came back, and he left. You were expecting to see him, to hear from him, but nothing. Now, your heart broke a little bit when you woke up and his side was empty, when you woke up and his coffee cup was gone, when you woke up and his designated seat stayed empty.

But, he wasn't going to kill you again.

You washed dishes, you baked cookies (and owled them to the Weasley's), and you went to work.

You were okay.

The day was long, almost as hard as it used to be, but you could do it. People came and went, your mood stayed stable, and your mind stayed blank from all thoughts that could break you.

You were okay.

Right at clock out, you stepped out of the store and - no one.

You walked down the street and - no one.

You stepped into the bakery the two of you got breakfast from that morning and - oh? maybe? the blonde hair, the same height? Nope, bakers son.

A simple hot chocolate, not wanting to be up for hours more, and you were headed home. The muggle tv was set up, courteously done by Harry and Arthur. The hours passed by, your own platter of cookies gone, but, you ate. Comedy movies watched, an episode of How I Met Your Mother finished, but you were then met with a stupid romance movie.

Your eyes watered as you stood, walking to the fridge to find - no ice cream? Really? You bought 4 pints of it the last time you saw it, it was just so hard to find in stores.

You glanced down at your clothes and shrugged, disapparating into the streets outside of the grocery store before walking in and straight to the frozen section. "Stupid freaking ice cream just had to be ate by me. Why can't they make self filling ice cream? I'd pay any damn price for that." You mumbled, the house shoes dragging along as you walked.

"Where is it?" You asked yourself, glancing in each of the doors before bumping into a cart. "Oh, crap, I'm sorry." You spoke, looking up to meet them.

"Narcissa?" You asked, your eyes furrowing. You glanced into her basket to see nothing but ice cream, the very ice cream you were here for. "Uh, that's a lot of ice cream." You said, biting your lip sadly.

"Draco sent me for them, I don't eat ice cream." She laughed, smiling at the girl. "You okay?" She asked softly, meeting your eyes. You had a problem with Lucius, yes, but Narcissa was so lovely - especially after the war. "I'm okay." You spoke, nodding once.

"You know, I said that a lot too, so I get it." You bit your lip, nodding once. "Oh, well, they don't have what I'm here for, so I'll be going." She nodded, you turning around before hurrying out of the store.

You were okay.

You popped back into your home, taking a deep breath. You sat in the room, shutting off the TV before laying back. An hour later, you were met with the pecking of the door, sighing as you grabbed a few knuts for the owl and walked to the door, swinging it open.

"Draco?" You breathed out, looking at the man. "Owl?" you asked, looking down at the owl in his arms.

"I uh, I figured I'd bring you these." He held up the ice cream pints his mother bought, smiling softly. "I was gonna owl them, but I had to see you, I'm sorry." He spoke, and you stepped aside to let the boy in.

After they were all safely placed in the freezer, he turned to you. "Y/n, I'm so so so sorry. I can't just apologise my way back into your life and I know that, but I'd do anything to see you. I was such an absolute idiot and I will do anything I can do to fix it, fix us." He spoke, his eyes meeting yours.

You nodded softly, taking a deep breath.

You were okay.

You were okay.

You were okay.

You weren't okay.

"I've missed you do much." you cried, flopping onto the couch. "And I hate myself for that because you did this, you did it. But you're the only one I could ever trust to really fix me again. But I can't trust you to not break me again." Your sobs filled the air, Draco rushing to hold you once again.

"I'm so sorry, y/n." he whispered, kissing your head softly.

You stayed in his arms until your sobs lulled to an end, looking up at him. "We have to restart." You whispered, looking into his beautiful eyes. "Not just pick up where we left off, restart." He nodded, his eyes bright with hope.

"Well then, y/n, can I take you out on a ice cream date?" He asked softly, pushing your hair back. "I dunno, I've got all the ice cream I can take, this really great guy bought it for me." You spoke, smiling at him.

"Yeah, but you look like a soft serve kinda girl."

You were going to be okay.

~~~

Tag List - @m3ssytrash @drawwithaarya @memorable-fics @gdee703

If you'd like to be on my tag list permanently or for a specific Character, pm me

[heyitssmiller]

Chop It Like It’s Hot

Chapter 6: I’ve Got a Bad Queso Loving You

Pining. Food that may or may not be a disaster. The end of an era.

Also people actually wanted to be tagged for updates?? That makes my heart so happy <3

Tag List: @heyoitslysso @unknown-and-invisible

Chop It Like It’s Hot Masterlist

@lumosinlove

  It was weird, walking into the studio by himself for the first time. Finn kept expecting Logan to be right by his side like always and it hurt a little every time Finn remembered. He walked into the kitchens where he was greeted by a sunny smile and kind eyes and dimples.

He still missed Logan, but it was hard to mope with Leo Knut around.

“Hey,” Leo greeted, motioning for Finn to join him at the station. “Welcome to the final four.”

“Thanks. It feels weird here.”

Leo hummed. “Quiet, right?”

“Definitely less hectic.” Finn agreed, leaning his hip against the counter. “So what are we cooking today?”

“Well, why don’t you tell me? We’re cooking for someone special to you. I’m assuming that’s Logan, right?” At Finn’s nod a strange, unreadable expression flashed across Leo’s face before he continued. “Okay, so what types of food do you think of when you think of him?”

Finn thought about it, then smiled. “Our first date – after years and years of being friends and crushing on each other but refusing to do anything about it – was at a Mexican restaurant. We were on a roadie and went to go get dinner together and I was so frustrated at this point that I kind of just blurted, ‘Is this a date?’” Finn laughed a little at the memory. “And Lo, he just stared at me with those big green eyes of his for a moment and said, ‘I sure hope so.’ And that was it. No more drama, no more fuss. Just those two sentences – that was all we needed.”

The look from earlier was back on Leo’s face. Finn still didn’t know what it meant.

“I think we can definitely work with that.” He said finally. “How about we elevate a Mexican dish? Something to be meaningful but to also showcase your cooking? I've got a few recipes in mind. What about grilled citrus-marinated chicken?”

Finn wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

“Alright. Pulled pork tamales with corn salsa? Polenta stacks? Chipotle Mahi Mahi burrito bowl?”

“Oh!” Finn said excitedly. “I like that one. Logan calls me Fish sometimes.”

Leo laughed. “Why?”

“Nicknames are kind of a thing in hockey. It’s considered weird if you don’t have one. I’m Harzy, Harz, Fish, and probably a few more that I’m forgetting.”

“And Logan?”

“He’s Tremz or Tremzy, usually.” He looked over at the blond, propping his chin in his hand and smiling. “You want a nickname?”

“Oh, god. With a last name like Knut, I’m sure you’ll have plenty to go off of.” He laughed, turning to head towards the pantry. Finn followed after him like the love-struck puppy he was.

“Nut. Nutty. Peanut. Peanut butter. Nutter Butter. Honey bunches of nut – “

“How have you already come up with so many?” Leo stretched to grab a bowl off the top shelf, his t-shirt shifting up to reveal pale skin Finn desperately wanted to reach out and touch.

“I’m a professional hockey player.”

“Fair enough. Can you head to the spices and grab smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and onion powder?”

Finn grabbed the ingredients and met Leo back at the station. “Ready to get started? You’ll get the printed recipe and you can take as many notes as you want now and use them tonight.”

Finn clicked his pen in response, earning another smile. “Let’s do this.”

“So we’re going to combine olive oil, chipotle chiles, garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and onion powder into a bowl and whisk it really good. Then you can add the mahi mahi and toss it in there. Next we’re going to place it in the fridge while we start the rice.” Leo covered the bowl and set it in the fridge before reaching for a pot and turning the stove on.

“Add coconut milk and some coconut water to a pot and bring it to a low boil before adding rice, salt, unsweetened coconut and coconut oil. Stir to combine, then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Following so far?”

Finn nodded, definitely feeling a little overwhelmed.

Leo gave him a reassuring smile. “You got this. Next, let the rice to cook for ten minutes then turn the heat off completely. Let the rice sit on the stove, covered for another 20 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Add the cilantro and lime juice – “

“No cilantro.”

Leo looked up from his pot. “What?”

“No cilantro.” Finn repeated. “Lo doesn’t like cilantro.”

“Got it. No cilantro. I think we’ve got enough seasoning without it.” Leo grabbed another bowl and pushed some ingredients towards him on the counter.

“Now we’re going to make the salsa. Add the diced mango, chopped strawberries, jalapeño, lime juice, pinch of cayenne and a pinch of salt to a bowl. Toss it, cover it, and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve. Now we’re going to cook that fish.” Leo grabbed the fish out of the fridge and sent him a sly look. “Hopefully this doesn’t count as cannibalism.”

Finn laughed loudly. “Oh man, wait until Logan hears that.”

Leo fiddled with the settings on the grill, which made Finn a little nervous. As seen in the build your own burger competition, he wasn’t the best with grills. He’d scared away all the ducks with how loud he screamed when he turned the grill on too high and flames erupted from it.

“You’re going to want a medium heat to cook this fish. Once the grill is nice and hot, add the mahi mahi, skin side facing up. Cook these for about 4-5 minutes and then flip them and cook until they’re crisp and mostly cooked through. This is super important: remove the skin.  We’re going to be cutting this fish into chunks and having pieces of fish skin in there would be really gross.

“Last thing is to plate these. All you’re going to do is divide the rice among your tortilla bowls and add the lettuce, black beans, and corn. Divide up the fish and then top each bowl with salsa, queso, and a dollop of sour cream. And you’re done!” Leo looked over at Finn, who was still writing notes. “Not so bad, right?”

Finn gave him a blank stare, then ran a hand through his hair nervously. “Go over it again one more time?”

“Sure.” Leo pushed one of the plates over to Finn. “Want to try some first?”

“Fuck yes.”

***

Logan stood in the studio hallway yet again, waiting with the rest of the families the final four contestants were cooking for tonight. It was going to be weird, being on the opposite side of the judging table. But at least he wasn’t cooking.

They finally got the cue to enter the kitchen and his eyes immediately found Finn, who was grinning madly and running right at him – whether he was allowed to or not. Logan laughed as Finn collided with him, hugging him close. “You just saw me this morning.”

“Yeah, but I missed you.”

Logan melted a little at that and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Did you have a good day?”

Finn whined, shooting a longing look over at Leo. “Lo, you would not believe – “

“Please head back to your stations, recruits!” Dorcas called.

“Gotta go.” Finn sighed, taking a step back. Logan gave his hand a squeeze.

“You’ve got this.”

“Recruits, tonight you’ll be creating dishes for your loved ones. And your team leaders, of course. You can use any notes you’ve taken. You have an hour to complete this task and your time starts… now!”

Logan took his seat at the judges table (weird) and watched as Finn dashed off to the pantry. He made small talk with the other family members as time began to tick down much slower than he remembered from his time on the show. He turned his head when Leo sat down next to him and smiled almost nervously.

“I hope you’re not too mad at me for last week.”

“Nah,” Logan said with a shrug, doing everything he could think of to slow his heartrate down. “I deserved it. I served you guys raw pizza dough.”

“Only because I suggested you start over.”

Logan laughed incredulously. “Because my pizza wasn’t a pizza! Seriously, don’t worry about it.” He looked over at Finn, who was shying away from the grill as he threw the fish on it. “I’m glad he made it instead of me. He’s been so excited to be on this show.”

“He’s really improved a lot. You both did.”

“I’m still not sure I trust either of us in the kitchen.”

“Baby steps.” Leo said with a smile. “You’re more capable than you think.”

He glanced at the clock and let his voice carry to the contestants. “One minute left, recruits!”

Finn glanced up from his plating, cursed, and started working faster.

“Five, four, three, two, one, time’s up! Stop what you’re doing and step away from your plates!”

“I can see why you like this so much.” Logan said, eyes still on Finn as he looked down at his plates critically. “You get to sit here, no stress, and eat people’s food. This is the dream.”

“Not on this show. You should’ve tried some of the earlier dishes this season. I got food poisoning twice.”

“You did what?”

“It might’ve been three times if I’d eaten that chicken you tried to serve in the first challenge.” Leo teased.

“Why isn’t giving a chef food poisoning an immediate elimination?”

“Because then we’d have very few recruits left, and that would be a very short season.”

Finn set down his plates, smiling nervously. Logan looked down and smiled softly. “Mexican food.”

“No cilantro, just how you like it.”

God, Logan didn’t deserve him.

“Let’s see how this tastes.” Leo said, looking down at his plate. “The presentation is really nice.”

They both took bites of their food. The fish was dry, but Logan thought the rest of it was really good.

“It’s under-seasoned a little bit,” Leo commented. “And the fish is a little dry, but your salsa is perfect and the ratios of everything else in the bowl is very nice.”

Logan grinned up at Finn. “I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to you bringing this recipe home.”

“We need move on to the next contestant. Nice job, Finn.”

Finn beamed and grabbed his plates back.

***

“And the chef who will be leaving us tonight is…” Logan held Finn’s hand and waited for Leo to finish.

“Finn. I’m sorry, your time as a recruit is over. Please turn in your apron.”

Finn sighed, squeezed Logan’s hand, and stepped forward.

“It was really close, but in the end the under-seasoned and overcooked fish did you in.” Leo said, looking apologetic. “I’ve really enjoyed having you on the show. You’ve been a joy to teach.”

“Thanks for having me.” Finn said, trying to be cheerful as he handed over his apron. “I had a blast.”

After the cameras stopped rolling, Logan and Finn made sure to find Leo before they left. He was scrubbing down the grill and looked up when he noticed them. “So this is goodbye, huh?”

“Looks like it.” Logan replied, unabashedly staring and trying to memorize everything he could. Was it weird to miss someone when you hadn’t even said goodbye yet? When they were standing right in front of you? 

Finn piped up, “If you’re ever in Gryffindor, look us up. We’d love to see you.”

“Same for when you come to New York for games.” Leo smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Here,” Finn grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your number? We can send you our team schedule when we get it.”

Finn, you’re a genius.

“That would be great! I, uh, I really liked having y’all on the show. It’d be nice to see each other again.” His cheeks were red again, and Logan had to bite back a whine. He wanted to kiss those red spots so badly.

But this definitely wasn’t the time. There were people everywhere, two of them were probably leaving in the morning, and they didn’t know when they’d see him again. Or if he even liked them back.

Fuck.

Both Logan and Finn had forgotten just how awful the guessing game really was.

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

behrad and zari bonding with future rory about being from the future

(More of @firesoulstuff and my future verse, with some fluff and pain)

Behrad knocked again on Rory’s door, waiting for a response. She had a habit of slipping off into her room or the cargo bay whenever they weren’t actively searching for Sara or her past self. They all figured Rory wasn’t used to being around people, let alone trustworthy ones. Years of growing up in space had done a number on her capacity to trust and rely on others, but she was getting better.

When he was about to knock again, Rory opened the door. “Did you find something?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Just wanted to see if you wanted to play a round of video games like we used to.”

Play was a minor exaggeration. Mostly she ran into his room, crawled into his lap, and sat there while he racked up KO’s. He’d let her try the controls a few times. Later, Behrad had found a spare controller and a video from YouTube of someone’s recorded Mario Kart that she enjoyed ‘playing’. Then they’d go and do something else, like play tag or draw together.

“Ummm,” she scratched the back of her neck. 

Behrad was able to see into her room. It was relatively spartan with a mattress, blanket, and a table that wasn’t able to hold all her tools and minimal possessions. Knut was in the corner, trilling quietly with a twisted piece of metal. There didn’t seem to be anything personal about the room, let alone anything fun to do.

“Hey, I’ll teach you,” he promised. “I know that it’s been a while. And I don’t know if there’s much else for you to do right now.”

Rory finally nodded, and she started to follow him back to his room. For a moment, it was almost like old times where she was always tailing him. Back when the only odd thing about being her uncle was that she had been born before him. Now more things were a little odd, but she was still his favorite niece and he was determined to see her have a little fun.

Zari was seated on the couch in his room where they got to it. She perked up and waved when Rory entered the room. Their niece gave a small nod and took a seat on the other end of the couch. Behrad passed her and his sister a controller.

“So what are we playing?” she asked, running her thumb over the buttons.

“Super Mario Space Race,” he grinned as the title sequence loaded up. “They didn’t release this until 2040, so no telling the rest of the team about it.”

“That’s the one drawback of being with people who lived two decades before you,” Zari sighed. “Keeping so much of what happened in their years to come quiet.”

“Big time. Do you know how hard it was to stay quiet about Harry and Meghan leaving the royal family?”

“I cannot imagine. You know when I met Sara, I wanted to ask so many questions about things she hadn’t even done yet. Same with Leonard.”

Rory fidgeted a little. “It’s hard to stay quiet when you can change the outcome of things.”

“Yes!” Zari nodded. “You get it, Rory. You grew up in space and now you’re in the past.”

“I could literally stop wars! I could prevent genocides!”

“Yes!”

“But,” Rory swallowed. “All I want to do is find my mom.”

Zari fell quiet. Behrad stared down awkwardly at his controller.

“That makes me look like a bad person, I know. But-”

“Rory,” Zari said. “The other me...she could do those things too. But she just wanted to save Behrad and our parents. She could have done so many things to stop the restrictions placed on people who didn’t fit to stupid guidelines, but she only wanted to save her brother. And when the chance came, she let it happen.”

She reached over and gave Rory’s hand a squeeze. “You can’t save everyone. But choosing to save someone, like your mother, makes you good.”

Rory pressed her lips together and nodded, but it didn’t look natural. It seemed forced to Behrad.

“Not to mention that you finally are living your life instead of running to survive,” Behrad added. “After everything you’ve lived through, Rory, you can still save people. But you still need to live life.”

“By playing video games?”

“By playing video games and spending time with the people important to you,” Behrad corrected. “Are you ready to taste defeat, favorite niece?”

Rory narrowed her eyes. “I don’t go down easy.”

“Me neither,” Zari picked up her controller. “Let’s take him down, Rory.”

[the-witch-and-her-husbands]

Snowfall

Professor Festerworth looked more like a student as she sat on the windowsill, looking out at the snow falling softly from the night sky.

The castle looked like it had been covered in a light dusting of icing sugar. Since it was past curfew, the students were all in bed and the snow lay untouched. It was a beautiful sight to behold. She sighed heavily, forehead pressed to the windowpane.

‘Knut for your thoughts.’ A low voice rumbled as a pair of strong arms clad in black slipped round her from behind.

‘Evening, Severus.’ She knew the owner of the voice without even looking round.

He settled himself behind her. Both were quiet for several minutes as they watched the snow fall. Finally, he broke the silence. ‘You seem exceptionally quiet tonight. Is everything okay?’

‘Yes.’ Her reply didn’t sound particularly convincing.

‘Don’t lie to me.’ Although he spoke quietly, the tone of his voice would have sent the First Years running for the woods.

‘No, it’s really nothing. I’m just being silly.’ She shifted, pulling her cloak around her a little tighter as if she was trying to hide herself behind it.

‘Let me be the judge of that. Look at me.’ He gently took her chin in his hand and turned her head so she would have to look at him.

She sighed, this time with a tiny hint of annoyance. Damn this man. Why did he have to be so persuasive? Fine, she would tell him, and then he would tell her that she was being ridiculous and probably get up and leave, to boot. Bitter experience from her past had taught her to expect nothing else. Her eyes closed for a moment while she gathered her thoughts, then opened again. ‘Sev. Are you...are you happy? With us, I mean. With me.’ The end of her speech was so quiet as to be barely audible.

‘Of course I am.’ He frowned, lines creasing his forehead. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘Am I...enough?’ She tried to drop her head, but he had hold of her chin tightly enough to make that impossible, so she shifted her eyes away as best she could instead.

‘Of course you are. Jilomena. What’s brought this on, hmm?’ He gave her head a slight shake so she would look into his eyes. ‘You know I am not one to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I thought it was clear the depth of my...feelings for you. My great affection.’ It was his turn to fall silent for a moment while he thought. Perhaps this bout of self-doubt was HIS doing. Maybe he needed to open up and trust someone, as difficult as that was. To be vulnerable, when he swore once upon a time never again. To love, and be loved with all his soul. It just might be possible this time, if he let himself.

Now it was his turn to take a deep breath. ‘Jilomena. Please allow me to tell you how ardently I admire you.’ Damnation. He was doing it again. He started over. ‘You are unlike anyone I’ve ever known. You’re kind, you’re warm, and for some reason, Merlin only knows, you seem to enjoy my company.’

‘I do,’ she interrupted him, reaching up to gently stroke his cheek. ‘I just want to be...enough. Enough to be your one and only.’

Severus shook his head impatiently. ‘Jilomena, you already ARE. You are worth twelve of me, in all honesty.’ He gently pulled her hand away from his face so he could hold both of them in his. ‘I have never felt this way about anyone,’ he said softly. ‘You are the light in my darkness. It is me that does not deserve you, but I thank Merlin every day that you are mine. I...’ He stopped, swallowing hard. He was actually going to say out loud what was in his heart. ‘I...love you, Jilomena. Only you.’

He didn’t have to wonder long how she was going to react. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and then her lips were pressed to his in a heated kiss of passion. ‘I love you too,’ she murmured at last when she came up for air. ‘I always have. I always shall.’

‘Always,’ he echoed, pressing his forehead to hers. He pulled her into his lap. They sat together, watching the falling snow in contented silence.

The snowflakes landing on the windowpane were the only witnesses as they quietly consummated their feelings for one another, making passionate love as she rode him seated on the sill in that dark corridor.

Some time later, he took her hand and led her back to his quarters, just before the sun rose on the sparkling crust of snow.

[thenerdycarat]

Year 1: Ch. 2

Colleen and Ron waved goodbye to their mother and sister as the train took off. Once it rounded a corner, the two siblings went in search of a compartment to sit in until their arrival. They searched up and down, but didn’t find an empty seat until Ron came across one with the boy in rounded glasses and the girl with curly hair sitting in it.

“Anyone sitting here?” Ron asked after sliding the compartment door open. “Everywhere else is full.”

The two children nodded. Ron and Colleen sat down across from them.

“Hey, Ron,” one of the twins’ voices called from the hallway. Both of them poked their heads in. “Listen, we’re going down the middle of the train – Lee Jordan’s got a tarantula down there.”

“Right,” Ron responded.

“Harry,” George said as he turned to the other boy, “did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. And that’s Colleen, our sister. See you later, then.”

“Bye,” the other children replied, and the twins shut the door closed.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” Colleen asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

The dark-haired boy nodded.

“Oh, I thought it might be one of Fred and George’s jokes.”

“And have you really got – you know…” said Ron. He pointed to his forehead.

Harry pulled back his hair from his forehead and revealed a lightning-shaped scar.

“So that’s where You-Know-Who-?”

“Yes,” Harry said, “but I can’t remember it.”

“Nothing?”

“Well – I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.”

“Wow.”

Colleen noticed there hadn’t been a single peep from the girl sitting next to Harry. She had been staring out the window in a sort of sad daze the entire time.

“What’s your name?” Colleen asked her.

“Valerie,” the girl answered in a hushed tone. “Valerie Dursley.”

“Pleased to meet you, Valerie,” Colleen smiled at her.

“Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry.

“Er – yes, I think so,” Ron replied. “I think Mum’s got a second cousin who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.”

“So you must know loads of magic already.”

Colleen shrugged. “I mean, if I’m completely honest. I did practice only a handful of charms at home.”

“When?” Ron asked.

“Why do you care?”

“What if I wanted to practice, too?”

“Because I would have made you swear by pulling your thumb as far back as it could go, and then we’d both get into trouble for fighting.”

“Point taken.”

Harry and Valerie chuckled at their argument, and Ron rolled his eyes.

“I heard you went to live with Muggles,” he changed the subject. “What are they like?”

“Horrible – well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Valerie here has kept me company. I wish we had three wizard brothers.”

“Five,” Ron sighed. “Colleen and I are sixth and seventh in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say we’ve got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy’s a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they’re funny. Everyone expects us to do as well as the others, but if we do, it’s o big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five older brothers. I’ve got Bill’s oldrobes, Charlie’s old wand, and Percy’s old rat. Well, my sis here got new stuff, but they’ll be passed on to our baby sister next year.”

Ron then reached into his pocket and pulled out the old rat.

“His name’s Scabbers,” he explained while the rat slept, “and he’s useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad being made a prefect and Colleen an owl as well, but they couldn’t aff – I mean, I got Scabbers instead.”

Ron went silent as his ears turned red. They weren’t supposed to talk about some situations in their family with others, but sometimes it just slipped out of Ron’s mouth.

Harry then began to tell about his and Valerie’s lives from the time they were infants until now. Both had been verbally abused by Harry’s aunt and uncle and cousin, and Valerie only adopted the surname because she didn’t know whom or where her parents were. Only Harry knew what happened to his parents.

Neither of them knew what their futures would be up until Hagrid came and took them to prepare for Hogwarts.

“…and until Hagrid told us,” he continued, “we didn’t know anything about being a wizard and witch or about my parents or Voldemort–“

Ron gasped and Colleen shushed him.

“What?” Valerie asked.

“You said You-Know-Who’sname!” said Ron in a surprised tone. “I’d have thought you, of all people–“

“I’m not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name,” Harry replied. “I just never knew you shouldn’t. See what I mean? I’ve got loads to learn…I bet. I bet I’m the worst in the class.”

“You won’t be,” Colleen reassured him with a smile. “There’s lots of people who come from Muggle families and they learn very quickly.”

As the train moved out of London and sped past open fields, the four of them didn’t speak until a lady with a dimpled smile and pushing a cart stopped in front of their compartment door. “Anything off the trolley, dears?” she asked.

“No, thanks,” Colleen said with glum.

“We’re all set,” said Ron as he pulled out two sandwiches from is pocket; the same glum look identical to Colleen’s on his face.

“We’ll take the lot,” Harry said after pulling out a few Sickles and Knuts.

Harry bought some of everything on the cart including Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes, and a number of other sweets. Everything was stacked in a colorful pile between him and Valerie. Colleen immediately grabbed two Cauldron Cakes, since they were her favorite; but she gave one to Valerie, who shyly took it and began unwrapping the packaging.

“Hungry are you?” Ron said.

“Starving,” said Harry.

“Me too,” Valerie chimed in.

Ron started to unwrap his sandwich and then let out a groan, “She always forgets I don’t like corned beef.”

Colleen giggled as she bit into her pastry.

“Swap you one for these,” Harry said as he handed out one of the candies. “Go on–“

“You don’t want this, it’s all dry. She hasn’t got much time, you know, with six of us.”

Harry persisted, and Ron took it, tossing the sandwich aside. Despite growing up in a home where neither him nor Valerie were allowed hardly anything except a place to sleep, food, and hand-me-down clothing, Colleen could see the kindness in their hearts. She had a way of reading people just by watching them. If two people shook hands in greeting, Colleen could tell if they were close friends or meeting for the first time. Valerie was coming off as shy, but Colleen knew she wouldn’t hurt a fly.

As Harry and Ron were busy with their conversation about Chocolate Frog and the trading cards they came with, Colleen took the opportunity to try to get to know Valerie more.

“So what House are you hoping to get?” she asked.

“I’m sorry?” the curly-haired girl replied with a confused look.

“House. Hogwarts has four of them: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Mum says we’re sorted to be with others who might be our closest friends.”

“What are you hoping you’ll get?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“It’ll be Gryffindor,” Ron chimed in. “All of the Weasleys have been in Gryffindor for centuries.”

“Ronald,” Colleen rolled her eyes, “I might not. Only the Weasley bloodline has been in Gryffindor.”

“But your last name is Weasley, is it not?” Harry asked.

“It is. You see–“

“Sorry,” a round-faced, teary-eyed boy interrupted them, “but have you seen a toad at all?”

The quartet shook their heads.

“I’ve lost him!” the boy cried. He keeps getting away from me!”

“He’ll turn up,” Valerie reassured him.

“Yes. Well, if you see him…”

“Want me to help you?”

The boy turned red. “S-Sure.”

Valerie stood from her seat and followed him out of the compartment.

“Don’t know why he’s so bothered,” Ron shrugged.

“Ronald, be nice,” Colleen snapped.

“Well, if I’d brought a toad I’d lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can’t talk. You’ve actually got an owl, sis.”

Colleen just scoffed.

“He might have died and you wouldn’t know the difference,” Ron continued. “I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn’t work. I’ll show you, look…”

He pulled his, in this case Charlie’s, very old wand out of his trunk. A little bit of white was poking out if the end.

“Unicorn hair’s nearly poking out. Anyway–“

Just before he could chant the spell, a girl with bushy brown hair followed by Valerie and the round-faced boy entered the doorway.

“Has anyone seen a toad?” she asked, a bossy tone in her voice. “Neville’s lost one.”

“We’ve already told him we haven’t seen it,” Ron replied.

The girl didn’t seem to hear him as she took the seat next to Colleen. “Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.”

Ron cleared his throat. “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid fat rat yellow.”

Nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey.

“Are you sure that’s real spell?” the girl chuckled. “Well, it’s not very good, is it?”

Colleen smacked her forehead in frustration. “I’m so sorry. He’s one to fall for our brother’s too easy.”

Ron stuck his tongue out at her, and Colleen did the same.

“I’ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it’ll all worked for me,” the girl continued. “Nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard – I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?”

Everything that had spilled out of her mouth came at such lightning speed that Colleen almost didn’t catch what she said except for her name.

“I’m Colleen Weasley,” she introduced herself as she shook hands with Hermione. “I see you’ve met Valerie Dursley, and the magician across there is my brother.”

“Ron Weasley,” he said.

“Harry Potter,” said Harry.

“Are you really?” Hermione’s eyes grew wide. “I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you’re in Modern Magical Historyand The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.”

“Am I?”

“Goodness, didn’t you know, I’d have found out everything I could if it was me. Do any of you know what House you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…Anyway, we’d better go and look for Neville’s toad. You had better change, you know, I expect we’ll be there soon.”

She then left, Neville trailing behind her.

“Whatever House I’m in, I hope she’s not in it,” Ron said before chunking his wand back in his trunk. “Stupid spell – George gave it to me, but I knew it was a dud.”

“Don’t believe everything Fred and George tell you, Ronald,” Colleen reminded him.

“You said that everyone in the Weasleys has been in Gryffindor,” Harry said.

“Yes,” said Ron. “I honestly don’t know what they’ll say if I’m not. I don’t suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.”

“That’s the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?”

“Yeah.”

Colleen then reached into her trunk and pulled out her robes. “I’m going to find a lavatory to change.”

“Hurry back,” Ron joked.

The strawberry-blonde girl exited the compartment and made her way down the hallway.

[shining-red-diamond]

Ch. 2

Colleen and Ron waved goodbye to their mother and sister as the train took off. Once it rounded a corner, the two siblings went in search of a compartment to sit in until their arrival. They searched up and down but didn't find an empty seat until Ron came across one with the boy in rounded glasses and the girl with curly hair sitting in it.

"Anyone sitting here?" Ron asked after sliding the compartment door open. "Everywhere else is full."

The two children nodded. Ron and Colleen sat down across from them.

"Hey, Ron," one of the twins' voices called from the hallway. Both of them poked their heads in. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a tarantula down there."

"Right," Ron responded.

"Harry," George said as he turned to the other boy, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. And that's Colleen, our sister. See you later, then."

"Bye," the other children replied, and the twins shut the door closed.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Colleen asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

The dark-haired boy nodded.

"Oh, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes."

"And have you really got – you know…" said Ron. He pointed to his forehead.

Harry pulled back his hair from his forehead and revealed a lightning-shaped scar.

"So that's where You-Know-Who-?"

"Yes," Harry said, "but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?"

"Well – I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."

"Wow."

Colleen noticed there hadn't been a single peep from the girl sitting next to Harry. She had been staring out the window in a sort of sad daze the entire time.

"What's your name?" Colleen asked her.

"Valerie," the girl answered in a hushed tone. "Valerie Dursley."

"Pleased to meet you, Valerie," Colleen smiled at her.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry.

"Er – yes, I think so," Ron replied. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

Colleen shrugged. "I mean, if I'm completely honest. I did practice only a handful of charms at home."

"When?" Ron asked.

"Why do you care?"

"What if I wanted to practice, too?"

"Because I would have made you swear by pulling your thumb as far back as it could go, and then we'd both get into trouble for fighting."

"Point taken."

Harry and Valerie chuckled at their argument, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," he changed the subject. "What are they like?"

"Horrible – well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Valerie here has kept me company. I wish we had three wizard brothers."

"Five," Ron sighed. "Colleen and I are sixth and seventh in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say we've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're funny. Everyone expects us to do as well as the others, but if we do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five older brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat. Well, my sis here got new stuff, but they'll be passed on to our baby sister next year."

Ron then reached into his pocket and pulled out the old rat.

"His name's Scabbers," he explained while the rat slept, "and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad being made a prefect and Colleen an owl as well, but they couldn't aff – I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron went silent as his ears turned red. They weren't supposed to talk about some situations in their family with others, but sometimes it just slipped out of Ron's mouth.

Harry then began to tell about his and Valerie's lives from the time they were infants until now. Both had been verbally abused by Harry's aunt and uncle and cousin, and Valerie only adopted the surname because she didn't know whom or where her parents were. Only Harry knew what happened to his parents.

Neither of them knew what their futures would be up until Hagrid came and took them to prepare for Hogwarts.

"…and until Hagrid told us," he continued, "we didn't know anything about being a wizard and witch or about my parents or Voldemort –"

Ron gasped and Colleen shushed him.

"What?" Valerie asked.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron in a surprised tone. "I'd have thought you, of all people–"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," Harry replied. "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn…I bet. I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be," Colleen reassured him with a smile. "There's lots of people who come from Muggle families and they learn very quickly."

As the train moved out of London and sped past open fields, the four of them didn't speak until a lady with a dimpled smile and pushing a cart stopped in front of their compartment door. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked.

"No, thanks," Colleen said with a glum look.

"We're all set," said Ron as he pulled out two sandwiches from is pocket; the same glum look identical to Colleen's on his face.

"We'll take the lot," Harry said after pulling out a few Sickles and Knuts.

Harry bought some of everything on the cart including Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes, and a number of other sweets. Everything was stacked in a colorful pile between him and Valerie. Colleen immediately grabbed two Cauldron Cakes, since they were her favorite; but she gave one to Valerie, who shyly took it and began unwrapping the packaging.

"Hungry are you?" Ron said.

"Starving," said Harry.

"Me too," Valerie chimed in.

Ron started to unwrap his sandwich and then let out a groan, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

Colleen giggled as she bit into her pastry.

"Swap you one for these," Harry said as he handed out one of the candies. "Go on–"

"You don't want this, it's all dry. She hasn't got much time, you know, with six of us."

Harry persisted, and Ron took it, tossing the sandwich aside. Despite growing up in a home where neither him nor Valerie were allowed hardly anything except a place to sleep, food, and hand-me-down clothing, Colleen could see the kindness in their hearts. She had a way of reading people just by watching them. If two people shook hands in greeting, Colleen could tell if they were close friends or meeting for the first time. Valerie was coming off as shy, but Colleen knew she wouldn't hurt a fly.

As Harry and Ron were busy with their conversation about Chocolate Frogs and the trading cards they came with, Colleen took the opportunity to try to get to know Valerie more.

"So what House are you hoping to get?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?" the curly-haired girl replied with a confused look.

"House. Hogwarts has four of them: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Mum says we're sorted to be with others who might be our closest friends."

"What are you hoping you'll get?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"It'll be Gryffindor," Ron chimed in. "All of the Weasleys have been in Gryffindor for centuries."

"Ronald," Colleen rolled her eyes, "I might not. Only the Weasley bloodline has been in Gryffindor."

"But your last name is Weasley, is it not?" Harry asked.

"It is. You see–"

"Sorry," a round-faced, teary-eyed boy interrupted them, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

The quartet shook their heads.

"I've lost him!" the boy cried. "He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Valerie reassured him.

"Yes. Well, if you see him…"

"Want me to help you?"

The boy turned red. "S-Sure."

Valerie stood from her seat and followed him out of the compartment.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Ron shrugged.

"Ronald, be nice," Colleen snapped.

"Well, if I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk. You've actually got an owl, sis."

Colleen just scoffed.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Ron continued. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

He pulled his, in this case Charlie's, very old wand out of his trunk. A little bit of white was poking out if the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway–"

Just before he could chant the spell, a girl with bushy brown hair followed by Valerie and the round-faced boy entered the doorway.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked, a bossy tone in her voice. "Neville's lost one."

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied.

The girl didn't seem to hear him as she took the seat next to Colleen. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

Ron cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey.

"Are you sure that's real spell?" the girl chuckled. "Well, it's not very good, is it?"

Colleen smacked her forehead in frustration. "I'm so sorry. He's one to fall for our brother's tricks too easy."

Ron stuck his tongue out at her, and Colleen did the same.

"I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me," the girl continued. "Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Everything that had spilled out of her mouth came at such lightning speed that Colleen almost didn't catch what she said except for her name.

"I'm Colleen Weasley," she introduced herself as she shook hands with Hermione. "I see you've met Valerie Dursley, and the magician across there is my brother."

"Ron Weasley," he said.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Are you really?" Hermione's eyes grew wide. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical Historyand The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?"

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do any of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

She then left, Neville trailing behind her.

"Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron said before chunking his wand back in his trunk. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, but I knew it was a dud."

"Don't believe everything Fred and George tell you, Ronald," Colleen reminded him.

"You said that everyone in the Weasleys has been in Gryffindor," Harry said.

"Yes," said Ron. "I honestly don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"That's the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"

"Yeah."

Colleen then reached into her trunk and pulled out her robes. "I'm going to find a lavatory to change."

"Hurry back," Ron joked.

The strawberry-blonde girl exited the compartment and made her way down the hallway.

[aidanchaser]

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Everyone Lives

Table of Contents

Chapter Two The Vanishing Glass

Nearly ten years had passed since that nightmarish evening, where the Potters' home was invaded by a mad man. And though that home had been reduced to rubble, James, Lily, and Harry now lived comfortably in James's family home, a very large estate named Styncon Garden, after the oldest Potter anyone knew, Linfred of Stinchcombe, a man who loved wizards and Muggles alike, and had a habit of giving his healing potions to unsuspecting midwives and Muggle villagers in the area. He'd also grown a lot of unusual plants, at least, unusual to Muggles. And though the garden had changed plants as many generations of Potters cultivated the flowers and herbs they each liked best, the spells inside the house had not changed. Inside, it was filled old magic tucked away in the walls. There was a grandfather clock in the living room that chimed every hour, like a normal clock. But it also chimed at 3:33 and 8:17. There were drawers that only opened on rainy days and some that never opened at all. And it wouldn't help anyone to start talking about the attic. That could take another ten years.

There were many portraits hanging from the walls, all of old wizards with kind smiles. And, on the fireplace mantle sat new pictures of a young couple and their young son. These pictures did not speak the way the portraits did. They did not admonish you to comb your hair or advise you to watch out for the loud buzzer that sounded when you stepped dead on the centre of the fourth stair, the way the large hanging paintings did. These photographs only moved, like a single moment being replayed over and over again. On some of them, you could hear laughter.

These pictures were of James and Lily and Harry, and of Harry growing from a tiny baby into a strong ten-year-old boy. He was much skinnier than the chubby baby in the earliest photographs, and his hair had grown out dark and unruly like his father's. But he had his mother's brilliant green eyes. And — his most prominent feature — he had a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead that he was quite proud of, most of the time.

When he went out with his parents, there were witches and wizards everywhere who knew his name and the scar on his forehead. It was very important, whatever it was he had done. But James and Lily did not tell him anything more than, "It's the mark of something great and something terrible. We'll tell you when you're older." Those were the days he was not proud of his scar, the days where James and Lily spoke in hushed whispers, with voices full of something sad.

Today, however, there was nothing to be sad about. The sunlight filtered in through the window of Harry's bedroom, but he rolled over and pulled his pillow over his face. He wasn't ready to be awake yet. Until his mother called from the stairs, "Rise and shine, Harry! Sirius is almost here!"

His feet were flat on the floor in a second. Sirius was Harry's godfather, and practically James's brother. Lily tried convincing everyone to use, "Uncle Sirius," (both James and Sirius had protested “Mr. Black”), but it never quite stuck. Sirius was always just Sirius.

The best thing about Sirius, in Harry's opinion, wasn't even the loud flying motorbike or the daring tricks he could do on a broom. The most exciting thing about Sirius was his love and knowledge of the Muggle world. Whenever Harry went out with Sirius, it was an exciting Muggle adventure. To the cinema, to a restaurant that only served three kinds of food at costs that Harry learned equated to Knuts, or to amusement parks with rollercoasters as high as any professional Quidditch match Harry had ever seen.

Of course, Lily knew about the Muggle world too, but Mum explaining the difference between a postage stamp and a rubber stamp wasn't nearly as exciting as Sirius explaining it.

Today, Sirius was taking him to the zoo. It was a school day for Muggle children, so the zoo ought to be rather empty. Harry expected that he and Sirius would have a complete run of the place.

Lily had tried putting Harry in a Muggle school at first, to learn his numbers and letters, but he hadn't made it past reception. Not that he wasn't smart. All of his teachers were impressed with his work. It was the students he didn't get along with.

He'd been strictly ordered not to answer questions about his scar, or to talk about magic while he was at school. So, when a student inevitably asked him, he would quietly mumble something about a staircase or a broken mirror, like he'd been told to. He ended up teased by some of the older students for his awkward answers, but his good-natured spirit allowed him friends. Still, there was the unfortunate matter of his magical abilities.

Most magical children could not do much more than break a glass when they were upset, or maybe levitate a small object if they concentrated very hard. Their magic was uncoordinated and untapped without proper training. Harry, however, performed rather intense spells for a child. One time he'd shrunk a set of dress robes he hated wearing, just by insisting they wouldn't fit. Another time he'd gotten a hold of his father's broom (instead of his, which was charmed to stay at safe heights and speeds) and zipped halfway across the county before his parents knew he'd gone. At six, James had said it was more miraculous than dangerous. Lily had disagreed. The worst was when he had run from a school bully and accidentally ended up on the roof of the school. That was when James put his foot down and insisted Harry be educated at home. If their son was powerful enough to Apparate without a wand or training, he wasn't safe around Muggle children. And Muggle children weren't safe around him.

So Harry learned his numbers from his mother, his letters from his father, his sciences from Uncle Remus, and bits of wizarding history from both Sirius and his father. But he wouldn't be educated at home forever.

Harry was ten now, eleven in the summer, and he would be going to Hogwarts in autumn. Hogwarts would teach him how to be a proper wizard, with his own wand and everything. And there would be Quidditch and duels and a House Cup. He truly couldn't wait.

Until then, it was days at home with mum and dad, the occasional Quidditch game, and trips into the Muggle world with Sirius (or the less exciting trips with Mum).

Harry ate his eggs and toast as quickly as he could, "Just because you finish faster doesn't mean he'll get here faster," Lily scolded, but Harry didn't listen. He swung his legs anxiously while she tried to comb his dark, unruly hair flat. It was a fruitless effort, but a battle Lily had not given up on, even after ten years.

"Make sure you talk about magic quietly when you're out today."

"Yes, Mum."

"And Sirius is not allowed to fly the bike while you ride it. Don't let him."

"Yes, Mum."

"And don't talk to Muggle strangers. They're not like wizards. They —" But she was drowned out by the deafening roar of a motorbike. Harry downed his orange juice in one gulp, shouted, "Yes, Mum!" and ran to the door.

Just in time for James to walk in, still in his pajamas, hair as messy as his son's, and eyes bleary. He squinted about the kitchen without his glasses. "Sirius here?" he asked and yawned.

"Just pulled in," Lily smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'll tell him you aren't decent."

James snorted. "I've never been decent around Sirius."

"Just decent for me, then?"

"You get my most decent and my most indecent," he said with a grin and tugged at the backside of her dress. Lily swatted his hand away and went outside to make sure Sirius wasn't flying off with her only son.

The spring day wasn't exactly cool, but Sirius was still dressed in a leather jacket, with thick black boots laced up over his jeans. His long black hair hung loose to his shoulders, and he was grinning wide as he picked Harry up in a hug.

"Won't be able to do that much longer," he laughed as he set Harry down. "You'll be as big as your dad soon."

With Harry out of his arms, Sirius pulled Lily into a hug and planted a kiss on her cheek. "James out of bed yet?"

"Nearly," she smiled at him. "Did you get breakfast?"

"Yes," he laughed. "Thank you."

"Let's go," Harry pleaded, and climbed into the attached carriage. He grabbed his helmet, complete with a lightning bolt on the front — he and Sirius had both agreed it was perfect; Lily and James were less enthused — and sat in his seat. Lily made sure he was buckled in safely.

"I know how to take care of him," Sirius sighed.

"I know, I know. I do trust you." Lily smiled, but she still felt that stone of fear lodged in her heart. Ten years had smoothed it, but had not worn it away. "And no flying," she said, though she had said it a dozen times since Sirius had gotten his bike.

"No flying," he agreed with a grin. "James would probably transfigure and collar me if I did."

"Glad you see it our way," she smiled, then kissed Harry's cheek. "And you'll be careful —"

"Yes, Mum," Harry said with exasperation so far above ten years old he could only have learned it from Sirius and James.

"Alright, alright, go," she smiled and stepped away so Sirius could mount the bike.

With a roar like a chimera, the bike took off down the unpaved road that connected the Potters' estate to the other houses in the countryside.

Harry sat patiently, as he always did, enjoying the way the countryside passed them by in a blur of colours. He loved the way it felt like riding a broom, but somehow more dangerous — perhaps because of the loud noise of the engine and the constant jerking as they rode along uneven roads.

The road that lead away from Styncon Garden eventually turned onto a smooth highway through the Cotswolds, then the scenic countryside became suburbs, and the suburbs gave way to a bustling city.

The zoo was exciting. There were lions, tigers, penguins, rhinoceros, giraffes, and all sorts of animals Harry had never even heard of (like wallabies). Sirius mentioned a few magical creatures that would be interesting to see — hippogriffs and unicorns and hippalektryons.

"You'll learn about all those at Hogwarts, though," Sirius said with a smile.

"I can't wait!" Harry said and skipped over to the kangaroos. "Dad says I'll have to wait to play Quidditch, though."

"First years can't,” Sirius agreed, “but you'll have plenty else to keep you busy. Astronomy and Charms and Transfiguration." He had a secretive smile on his face.

"And Defense Against the Dark Arts!"

"I'm sure you'll be great at that."

Harry was excitable and ten, but he wasn't unobservant or ignorant. He noticed Sirius's tone shift and it made him feel uncomfortable. He knew his mother and father were excellent in Defense Against the Dark Arts — he'd overheard stories when they thought he was sleeping, and he'd watched his parents duel for fun — and he knew he could be just as good. But whenever he brought it up around his family (and Sirius and Uncle Remus were family), they would get very quiet. The same tone of voice they used about his scar.

Harry walked away from the kangaroos towards the reptile house, trying to think of a way to broach the subject of his scar with Sirius. James and Lily had always said, "when you're older," which was the most irritating answer he could get.

"That's for your mum and your dad to say," was Uncle Remus's answer.

Sirius was the only one who would accidentally let a secret or two out. One time, Harry had gotten Sirius to say, "You saved the wizarding world," and he'd thought it seemed silly for his parents to be so secretive about something so wonderful. Then Sirius had added, "A lot of good people died," and it wasn't at Harry — Harry knew Sirius was thinking aloud and hadn't meant to say it at all. So Harry hadn’t said anything, but had filed that away under reasons that maybe his scar wasn't so great after all.

He paused at the display of a sleeping boa constrictor. It was huge, large enough to wrap around Sirius motorcycle, twice, and if the description of the creature on the plaque was anything to go by, it would break Sirius's motorcycle in half. It sounded frightfully dangerous, but it looked so harmless, curled up and sleeping.

He heard Sirius's noise of disgust behind him. "Not much for snakes. I'll just uh, wait outside then?"

Harry only shrugged, rather interested in the snake. It sounded like such an exciting creature, but stuck behind a glass for people to stare at and annoy — like that young couple tapping on the glass.

Maybe all that was why Harry was excited to go to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts he could find out who he was, and what his scar meant — all the secrets his family wouldn't tell him. At Hogwarts there would be teachers who would know, surely. Then again, the teachers might have all the same answers his parents did: "When you're older."

But he couldn't wait until he was seventeen. That was far too long. Surely other students would have answers. Students who had parents who knew. Older students who would have maybe learned in their classes what had happened that was so amazing all wizards knew about it, but so sad that no one in Harry's family wanted to talk about it.

The obnoxious couple moved on, tired of the sleeping snake. The moment they moved on, the snake opened its beady eyes and slithered towards Harry. Then it raised its eyes so that it was level with Harry, and it winked.

Harry grinned back. "Sirius may think you're creepy, but I think you're alright."

The snake lowered its head, as if to say "thank you," and Harry couldn't help but think it was smiling at him.

"Harry, you still in here?" Sirius called. "Did you want to see the birds? They're as colourful as phoenixes."

Harry glanced toward the end of the reptile house, where he could just make out Sirius coming back in. He smiled, knowing Lily would not approve of how loudly Sirius had said "phoenixes."

Harry looked back at the snake. "Guess I'd better go."

The snake turned its head towards the exit as Harry just had, and Harry hated to see how sad the snake looked. He did not know how he knew it was sad, but he knew. It must not have known anything besides these glass walls. People staring at him, day in and day out, with nothing really to do. At least Harry had a broom, even if it was charmed to stay below fifty feet.

"Harry," Sirius called again, and Harry could see him just a few feet away. Reluctantly he pulled away from the glass and walked back towards Sirius.

"I'm ready."

"Really into that snake?"

"I think it liked me," Harry shrugged, and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Better you than me, mate. Come, let's —"

Harry turned around when Sirius stopped talking, and Harry's eyes went wide. The snake slithered out of its glass enclosure and onto the floor. There was no broken glass, no sign that something had broken it out of its cage, just pure open space between the display and the walkway, and the snake was quickly crossing that space. It looked at Harry, winked again, and Harry swore he heard it say, "Thanks," but Harry wasn't quite sure what for.

"Harry," Sirius started in a choked voice.

"I didn't mean to make the glass disappear. I didn't even think about it, it just —"

"No, that's fine. We'd better go home."

"You're not going to put the snake back?" Harry asked, partially worried and partially teasing.

Sirius looked positively green at the thought and started for the exit of the zoo.

When they got home, Lily and James were just finishing lunch.

"You're back so early," Lily said and hugged Harry.

"How was it?" James asked, but frowned at Sirius's grim face. The three adults disappeared into the kitchen and closed the door behind them, leaving Harry in the dining room to help himself to lunch leftovers. He grabbed the unfinished half of his dad's sandwich and crouched at the door to listen.

"You're sure that's what happened?" Lily asked.

"Positive," Sirius answered.

"I'll write to Dumbledore," James said.

"And what do we tell Harry?" Lily said.

"When he's old enough —"

"He'll be off to Hogwarts soon. We can't keep it from him any longer than that."

"Then we'll tell him before he leaves."

The conversation seemed done at that point, so Harry quickly went back to the table and pretended he hadn't heard a thing.

That evening, at a very quiet dinner, after Sirius had gone home, Harry said, "I didn't mean to make the glass disappear. It was an accident."

James and Lily looked surprised by this meek confession and both immediately got up from the table and went to hug Harry.

"We're not upset with you for that," James said.

"We're not upset with you at all," Lily corrected.

"We just worry about you."

And Lily knelt so she was eye level with Harry. "Did you talk to that snake today?"

"Sort of. It winked at me."

"And what did it say?"

"It just said 'Thanks.' For the glass, I suppose."

"Talking to snakes is a very rare gift," James said. "Even among wizards. Just be careful who you tell about it.”

Harry suddenly felt like he understood all the anxiety and whispers of the evening. Of course Sirius would be upset about Harry talking to snakes. Sirius hated snakes. Harry still wasn't sure what talking to snakes had to do with Dumbledore, but he also didn't really care about that. Dumbledore was little more than an interesting wizard his parents knew, like the Minister of Magic or Celestina Warbeck.

"Can I tell Uncle Remus?"

"Of course," Lily said with a smile. “Remus is family.”

"And... can I ask a snake to take a nap on Sirius's motorbike next time he comes over?"

James grinned. "Definitely. I'll even help you find one."

[minhoinator]

By My Side, A Hogwarts AU (20/75)

promises made - “Are we still good to hang out this summer? I know I haven’t really set up anything with my mom, but I’d still like to, if...if you want to, that is.”

Kibum grinned. “Yeah, of course! I’ll ask Grandma on the way home, I promise. A week for each visit, right?”

“Hopefully.”

master list // AO3 // AFF // first year - muggle-born, sorted, first day, homesick, hallowe’en, deck the halls, possibilities, belonging, exceedingly acceptable, return to king’s cross - second year - diagonally, taking flight, ten points, all that glitters, holly jolly, push and pull, shooting stars, special treat, sleepover

@lockandminkey @minhosbowties @sapphicshawol @artfulkey @shinyexo  @posygal @bumkeyko  @usuallydreamin  @taespoon-of-sugar (if anyone else wants to be tagged in this, just let me know!)

* - * - *

There’s a certain electricity in the air on the last day of school. The growing excitement within each student at the mere thought that they’ll be seeing their parents and family soon and the knowledge that they won’t have to back here at Hogwarts for at least another two full months was enough to make any student ecstatic enough to keep talking while Headmistress McGonagall was coming up to the podium.

Or, even all of them.

Kibum noticed her standing there, watching the student body with a look of mildly amused disdain. He quieted down, until Mason three seats over made a joke about the Grindylows they saw in the Lacuspectio last night. He suppressed his shiver at the memory. It was always so cold in that room, underneath the Black Lake, but it was also one of his favorite places in the Slytherin common room. He’d have to figure out a way to sneak Minho in there someday.

McGonagall cleared her throat, and without her even amplifying the sound, the entire Great Hall quieted, even the professors. “Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you all are enjoying your final lunch here before you leave tomorrow.” She paused, as if waiting for a response, but no student in their right mind would interject once she began her speech. “Congratulations again to Slytherin for your impressive win of the house cup, a new record to beat, if my memory serves me right.”

A couple of whoops and hollers went up around Kibum, as well as a weak applause from the rest of the students. When McGonagall raised her hand, they grew silent once more.

“Due to a magical malfunction, we were not able to have your report cards ready by last night, but they’re here now. If Crawley, Dunn, William, Hughes, Porter, Cunningham, Carson, and Wood would come up to collect the envelopes please.”

Somewhere far down the table, Vincent and Charlie got up, as well as the head students from the other houses, and hurried to the podium to get everyone’s report cards.

“Once you are finished with your lunch, you are dismissed to do what you wish for the rest of the day until dinner. Except for seventh and second years, of course.” Kibum sent a quizzical look across the table to Callum and Aaron, who shrugged. “Seventh years will stay in here and second years will report to Classroom 3C.”

The Dark Arts classroom? “I wonder what that’s for,” Kibum muttered.

“Maybe we all did really bad on our final?” Analecia whispered back.

“Thank you for your attention, you may go back to your meal now,” McGonagall said as she turned away from the podium.

Kibum glanced across the Hall to the Hufflepuff table to see that Minho was just standing to leave. Their eyes met and Minho nodded to the door. Kibum jumped out of his seat and hurried to meet him in the doorway.

“I wonder what that’s about,” Minho said once they were within earshot.

“Not sure.” Kibum looked back into the Great Hall, watching as O’Neely stood and started for the door behind the dais. “I hope it’s nothing bad.”

“Me too.”

They trudged over to the stairs, taking each one up to the third floor as slowly as they could, dreading the inevitable.

Whatever it was.

They were the third and fourth to the classroom, beaten by two Ravenclaws that Kibum couldn’t remember their names. The other second years continued to trickle in after they took a seat at one of the desks. Kibum hummed to himself as he glanced around at all the others, their nervous chatter spurring his own anxiety.

“When does Jonghyun get back from France?”

Kibum’s eyebrows rose and he looked over at Minho. “I think Grandma said the 26th. Why?”

“Just curious.” He looked as though he was about to elaborate, but O’Neely walked through the classroom, his long robes billowing behind him. Minho watched him, his mouth slightly agape, and Kibum’s face heated when he turned to flash a smile to the group.

“You guys seem nervous,” he said, chuckling, as he sat on the edge of his desk in the front of the classroom. “This is nothing bad, I swear. See, the professors here all take a year of students under our wing, to mentor and guide and counsel you, if the need arises. Last year, my class graduated, and so I get the pleasure of being your mentor for the rest of your time here at Hogwarts.”

Kibum’s eyes widened, and he spared a quick glance to see how Minho was reacting. Judging by the smile on his face, he was excited about this, too.

“Anytime, day or night, you need something – advice, help with your studies, someone to talk to? I’m here for you. That being said,” he turned, reaching for something on his desk, “I have your report cards, as well as your permission slips that you’ll need to have signed by either your parents or your legal guardian.”

Chloe Robbs raised her hand, and O’Neely nodded to her. “Permission slips for what, Professor?”

He smiled. “Your permission slips for Hogsmeade.” Excited murmuring filled the classroom, and Minho caught Kibum’s eye with a concerned look, and Kibum just shook his head. He’d explain later if O’Neely didn’t right now. “Yes, you’re all excited, but please do be sure to get those signed, because if you don’t, you will not be allowed to leave with the rest of the upperclassmen, alright? Now,” he shuffled through the papers in his hand. “Come up when I call your name, and then you can go finish packing.”

Minho was called up before Kibum, but he waited by the door until Kibum got his papers. Without a word to each other, they made their way to the far staircase, climbing up instead of down, and went to their study closet, their report cards held tightly in hand. Kibum lit the candles and Minho closed the door behind himself, sitting down beside Kibum.

“Same time?”

“Same time.”

The ripping of the envelopes was amplified in the small space, and Kibum slowly slid his out to see it.

Kim Kibum – 2nd year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – has succeeded in getting these grades for his classes this 2004-2005 term.

Astronomy – Exceeds Expectations

Charms – Exceeds Expectations

Defense Against the Dark Arts – Acceptable

Herbology – Exceeds Expectations

History of Magic – Acceptable

Potions – Outstanding

Transfiguration – Exceeds Expectations

It was his second year in a row to get an Outstanding in Potions, and for that, he was pretty proud of himself. He peaked over at Minho’s, but only saw him slipping it back into his envelope. “How’d you do?”

“Good!”

“Yeah?”

Minho wiggled slightly where he sat, grinning when he looked up at Kibum. “I got an Outstanding in Herbology.”

Grinning himself, Kibum started to hug him, only to pull back a little once his arms were around him. “Pass everything else?”

Minho leaned into the hug, and Kibum tightened his embrace. “Yup!” Kibum patted his back a couple times before he let go and leaned back against the wall. They both sighed.

“Five years left, and then we’re done.” Kibum hummed in agreement. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I’d make it this long here.”

“Really?”

He nodded, his head knocking lightly against the wall. “I don’t think I would have, if you hadn’t helped me.” Kibum glanced over at Minho, his gaze dropping to his folded hands when Minho met his eyes. “I…I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. With…with helping me learn English better and…and understanding what’s going on with the lessons. It“ – he cleared his throat – “it really means a lot to me. I’m really grateful to…to you.”

Minho fell silent, but Kibum could feel his eyes on him. “Well,” he said as he looked over at Minho, “what are friends for, right?”

“Yeah.”

There was a stretch of silence between them before Kibum cleared his throat. “Hey, we should probably go finish packing, huh?” Kibum said as he stood, brushing off the seat of his trousers. He held out his hand to help Minho up, which he took.

“Probably.” Kibum blew out the candles once Minho opened the door and followed him out into the hall. “Got your permission slip?” He nodded. “Report card?” Kibum nodded again. There was a hint of a twinkle in Minho’s eye, and then he was running off to the staircase. “Race you!”

“Not fair! You had a head start!” Kibum shouted as he started to run after him, picking up his speed with a huff when Minho reached the staircase.

* - * - *

“Anything from the trolley?”

Minho shot up from his seat, which roused Kibum, who had been leaning against him while he slept. Callum joined him at the doorway, both of them digging in their pockets for change.

“Two packages of beans, please, and a bag of lemon drops?” Callum said, fishing out a Galleon and dropping it in the Trolley Witch’s jar. “You want anything?” he asked, raising his voice.

“No, I’m good,” Aaron said, since it was directed at him.

“And for you, dear?” she asked Minho as she handed Callum his candy.

“Uhhh...” he kept digging around in his pockets, searching in vain for a Sickle or even a Knut. “Nothing, I’m good.”

“What’d you want?” Kibum asked as he came up behind him, his voice still groggy.

“Just a couple of licorice wands, but it’s -- “

Kibum dropped a silver Sickle in the jar. “Red, please.” The Trolley Witch passed them to Minho and went on her way, calling out to the next cabin. Minho was about to thank Kibum when he reached around and took one of the twisted wands out of his hand with a wry smile. “Sorry I fell asleep, but you can blame Fredrick for keeping us up all night.”

Minho chuckled. “It’s fine. Seb and Travis kept us up late, too.”

His gaze drifted to the window, and he watched as the Scottish countryside passed them by. The light cream and lilac of the heather, lush green of the highland moors, and rich brown of the crags was just a blur as the Hogwarts Express zipped along on the tracks. Anytime he tried to focus on any one thing, be it a hill or even what he thought might be a deer, he lost sight of it. Absently, he stepped up to the long window in the hall, his breath fogging it up.

“It’s so pretty out here.”

Beside him, Kibum nodded. “I’ve been out there with Mom, once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She took me here after Dad died, when we first moved in with Grandma, just to show me where they had been and what they had done. I actually got to see a Hogwarts from a distance, during that trip.” He sighed heavily, offering a small smile to Minho when he looked over at him. “It was nice, actually, being able to put a place to Dad’s stories. He loved living in Great Britain...I wish he would have been able to see it again before he died.”

“Why...why’d he move back to Korea?”

“His dad was sick. That’s actually where I was born, in Daegu, but I wasn’t there very long.” Minho knew why, as Kibum had told him the story before. His father grew sick -- leukemia -- and was taken to a cancer center in New York to be treated. They made a life there, until Kibum’s dad died, and after he was buried in South Korea, they moved to London.

He sighed listlessly and Minho worried his bottom lip. He didn’t often talk about his dad being sick, nor his inevitable death...“I’ve been to Daegu! It’s nice.”

Kibum sniffed in amusement, his expression brightening slightly. “Well, I would assume so.”

“Is Grandma gonna be on the platform?”

“Probably. She said she might be a little late, though. If that happens, I’ll just wait in Dulcis for her to show up.”

Minho turned to face him, leaning his shoulder up against the window. “I might wait with you, then. Mom told me that they’ll probably be late because Dad’s team has a game today. Oh, hey, speaking of -- “

“Hmm?”

“Are we still good to hang out this summer? I know I haven’t really set up anything with my mom, but I’d still like to, if...if you want to, that is.”

Kibum grinned. “Yeah, of course! I’ll ask Grandma on the way home, I promise. A week for each visit, right?”

“Hopefully.”

“It’ll be fun, if it works out,” Kibum said as he looked back out the window. The scenery had changed as they had been chatting, from the Scottish countryside to the rural area just outside of London. It wouldn’t be long now until they reached King’s Cross. “I’ll get our stuff.”

Minho finished the licorice wand he had been working on and stuffed the other two into his jeans pocket. By the time Kibum handed him his backpack, the train had reached London itself, and Minho slipped on his backpack as they went into the tunnel. Kibum’s hand found his arm in the darkness, holding it gently until they came back into the light of King’s Cross.

Parents and grandparents and siblings, both older and younger, were waiting for them as the Hogwarts Express pulled up to the platform. Both Kibum and Minho searched for Grandma, Kibum spotting her first. “There she is! Oh...”

Minho looked where he pointed, finding that she was not alone. “Who’s that?”

“My...mom? What is she doing home?”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Minho tore his gaze away from the two women when Kibum didn’t answer right away. “Isn’t it?”

“Yeah...yeah, it’s just weird.” The gray exhaust from the train billowed around the window, blocking their view for a second, and Kibum turned to Minho. “I’ll write to you with what she...well, they say, okay? First thing, I promise.”

“Okay.”

Kibum gave him a quick hug, looking back outside the window at his mom and grandma. “I’ll tell Grandma you said ‘Hi.’“

“Thanks,” Minho said as he watched Kibum walk toward the door and out onto the platform. He hooked his backpack over his shoulder before he followed him, but by the time he stepped down, Kibum was already reunited with them, getting hugged by both of them at the same time.

Smiling, Minho made his way over to where the luggage was being unloaded, finding his duffle bag easily amidst all of the heavy trunks. By the time he had Geum-nun’s cage, Kibum and his mom were making their way over to the luggage pile. Minho waved at him as he started walking toward the brick wall.

He stopped a couple steps away from it, taking a deep breath. It would be weird to be back with Muggles again, even if it was just his family. “You’ve got this, Choi,” he said, using the best Kibum voice he could muster.

Chuckling to himself, he started to run, slowing down once he passed through the wall. He blended into the crowd as best he could with a caged owl in his arms, and after another deep breath, he started making his way to the entrance to wait for his mom.

A/N: And so ends Second Year! Thanks to everyone who has read it so far, you have all of my love <3 I hope you’re looking forward to Third Year and everything I have planned for that ^^ Let me know what you think so far, if you feel like it! Feedback is much appreciated

[ask-svt-hearteu]

Hogwarts! Joshua

Anon requested: “can you write seventeen hogwarts au? Joshua is possible?”

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 2783

everyone knew about Joshua Hong 

the perfect perfect

he was a fifth year Hufflepuff 

same house and year as you 

so you saw him often as you both shared classes 

it came as no surprise when he was chosen as a prefect 

but he was surprisingly cool, letting minor things go if it didn’t endanger anyone or if it was for special occasions 

especially if they were his friends, he just couldn’t say no to them 

everyone’s favorite prefect because he was so nice and liked giving warnings rather than punishments 

caught out past curfew by a few minutes, 

he’d show you a secret passage to getting back to the dorms without running into teachers 

if you passed him on the train, he’d stop to compliment you after asking you how your summer went 

and no surprise he knew the lady pushing the trolley around on a first name basis 

and asking her how her family was and everything 

and complimenting her uniform

she always slipped him chocolate frog cards he didn’t have for his collection 

and he’d thank her and buy out half the trolley before sharing it with all the kids in the next few carriages 

Joshua was good at everything, smart and friendly too 

not a single person could find something wrong with the guy or criticize him in any way 

no matter what house someone was in, they new Joshua Hong

because the guy did everything 

perfect exam scores in charms, potions, DATDA, transfiguration, herbology 

you name it, Hong Jisoo did well in it 

and he was so nice to everyone and a gentleman wherever he went  

holding open doors to classrooms for people or picking up fallen quills or books that people dropped and returning it to them with a small smile 

one time a girl accidentally set the quill she was writing with on fire from a wayward charm 

Joshua had quickly extinguished it with aguamenti and gave her a new quill 

suffice to say, plenty of witches had crushes on him 

and no one could hate the guy for anything 

literally, if you tried hating him, Joshua somehow managed to make you like him 

disliked him for being too smart? 

he’d say he wasn’t really smart, he just tries hard to study his best and he has smart friends who show him how to do stuff 

and then talk about some random episode of spongebob bc it’s Joshua

which plenty of people wouldn’t understand except the other muggle borns 

he’d be a huge dork quoting random episodes and just being a meme 

everyone was always asking him for advice or to look over their homework for them 

and although he never lets anyone copy his 

goody two shoes you know

he somehow had the time to always give advice to everyone and save their grade 

he played as a chaser for Hufflepuff’s Quidditch team too 

it wasn’t enough to be intelligent, he was athletic and dedicated too

spending even stormy days out in the field practicing long after some of his teammates had called it quits 

looked damn fine in quidditch robes too yes 

in his third year, he had led the Hufflepuff team to victory 

scored 30 points in the last minutes before their seeker finally caught the snitch, bringing the score to 270-300 

he was every teacher’s favorite too 

they couldn’t help it 

he was always offering to help out teachers with anything they may need 

although he didn’t sit in the front of any of his classes 

and he was too quiet to raise his hand to answer any questions sometimes 

if a teacher ever made the mistake of assuming Joshua wasn’t listening to the question 

they got roasted as Joshua Hong not only got the question right, but probably corrected some error they made in their lecture earlier 

which he would only point out in the most respectful and polite way

“Professor, did you mean to say aconite or monkshood instead of mandragora?“ 

and if no one knew the answer to a question 

all Joshua needed was a glance from the teacher and he’d have the correct answer ready to go 

the boy sang in chorus too 

his voice was heavenly 

some magical entity had to have graced Joshua with every goddamn talent in the universe 

he supposedly played guitar amazingly well 

only his dorm mates knew though, he always packed his guitar in his trunk somehow 

and brought it out to play sometimes 

it always surprised everyone when they found out he was muggle born

like he was too good at everything wtf how have you only been doing magic for a few years 

but no one dared say anything about it 

bc he had so many friends from all the houses 

say something mean about Joshua or just something even remotely critical 

and like five different people will interject saying how he’s basically a human unicorn 

and how dare you call Shua anything but the perfect prefect 

and he could easily beat anyone in a duel if his friends dragged him into one 

and probably profusely apologize while bowing at ninety degrees and helping bandage and heal any injuries he may have caused 

it was theorized he might have a time-turner 

how else could he get all his papers done and still manage quidditch practice and chorus? 

and also reorganizing textbooks in the library with his wand while the librarian recommended him books he hadn’t read before since he had read many of them 

and helping the kitchen elves by explaining the concept of lactose intolerance and gluten free and other things that helped people with dietary restrictions and food allergies feel comfortable eating all food 

he also helped an elf who once tripped over the recently mopped floor

Madam Pomfrey was always glowing about Shua bc he always brought students who were sick flowers and books to read and always gave her chocolates 

he also was often seen consoling random paintings and ghosts in Hogwarts and he knew all of them by their first names 

and while some people wanted to hate Joshua 

he could say a few words and any negative feelings you had toward him were gone 

“You really deserved that win, you guys have been practicing so hard lately on the quidditch field, good job!" 

"How did you you come up with a way to start your potions paper so well? I should be asking you to edit mine." 

"you have to show me that spell you did the other day with the lights and confetti, I want to use it for a friend’s birthday.”

“My owl? Oh his name is Flufferson, I have a picture do you want to see? He’s probably somewhere flying around, enjoying the fresh air, the cutie.”

“I have a puppy at home, it’s a Maltese and I named it Sebongie, I think it’s a cute name." 

on weekends, you could probably see Joshua buying sugar quills for some third years who had forgotten their silver sickles or bronze knuts

or in the common room teaching kids how to use his iPhone to watch YouTube and anime 

always with his group of friends from all the houses 

his group of friends was big, 13 of them in all 

his best friends were Jeonghan from slytherin and Seungcheol from Gryffindor since they were all the same age 

one time, Jeonghan had tried to prank some Hufflepuff students by hexing their book bags into releasing a bunch of little rubber snakes 

but he was caught by Joshua 

and Joshua made him apologize 

you don’t mess with Joshua’s kids 

the next day Jeonghan’s clothes kept dropping rubber snakes everywhere

"SHUA YOU BETTER FIX MY CLOTHES I CANT WALK INTO POTIONS WITH THESE THINGS WORMING THROUGH MY UNDERWEAR”

Joshua would hide his laughter behind his hand and then compose himself 

“That should actually keep you awake in potions then." 

and everyone around them would be dying from laughter and patting Joshua on the back 

for a gentleman the guy knew how to be savage sometimes 

ofc as a fifth year in Hufflepuff you knew Joshua 

you even sat pretty close to him in charms 

and although you couldn’t hate the guy 

it gets low key annoying when your friends always act like his biggest fan

"Shua’s practicing down at the quidditch field, GET THE SIGNS GIRLS!" 

"We have a transfiguration exam y'all what are you doing?" 

"Supporting our Hong Jisoo, y/n. The quidditch match is next weekend and we want to beat the slimy smiles off of those Slytherins’ faces." 

one day in charms the professor had to assign a partner project 

naturally everyone paired up 

and you’re like chill I’ll just ask

you look around and all your friends are already paired up 

and of course you’re like great forever alone that’s me I need to get me an even number of friends… 

"Y/n do you need a partner?” Joshua asks you from the seat two students down from you 

and everyone goes quiet

because Joshua usually always partners up with one of his friends 

and you look to his normal friend group 

and see sure enough all of them have partners too 

“Sure, Joshua.” You say scrunching your nose

at least you’ll actually have a partner who tries and doesn’t make you do all the work by yourself (LIKE LAST TIME COUGH COUGH YOUR FRIEND) 

you both decide to meet at the library the next weekend to work on it 

“OMG y/n Joshua never asks anyone outside his friend group. What if he likes you?!?!? You guys would be such a power couple ACK." 

"Shut up.” you laugh and playfully hit your friend’s arm while packing your book bag 

“I’m not pretty enough for everyone’s golden gentleman Joshua, he was just being nice because you all ditched me." 

"I’m glad we did, make me the maid of honor at your wedding and thank me later." 

when you reach the library, Joshua is already there talking to Jeonghan 

"The girl in your charms class? Well whatever we can hang out next weekend. But Shua that assignment isn’t due in weeks… makes sense the both of you are smart aleks." 

you clear your throat 

"welp bye Joshua, oh and we’re all getting butter beer later at hogsmeade don’t forget." 

Joshua laughs and waves Jeonghan goodbye 

"it’s a nice day, should we sit out by the lake and say hi to the giant squid?" 

"sure I guess" 

you didn’t want to have a crush on Joshua 

bc then you’d be one of those girls, the ones always trailing behind him and trying to get his attention 

and walking by fluttering their eyelashes and saying "Hey Joshua." 

but as you were both crossing the grounds to the lake 

you kept giving him sideways glances 

the way his light brown hair became lightly tousled in the breeze - or his small smile 

or the gentle humming of a song you weren’t familiar with 

Focus you’re working on an assignment geez 

you both sat down at the edge of the lake and brainstormed ideas for your project 

and somewhere along the way the convo shifted to just talking about summer and your home 

"You’re muggle born too? Then have you ever watched Naruto?" 

Joshua was a dork you realized, a cute one 

"Sebongie? Yea I miss her like crazy, I was tempted to bring her in my trunk but I have Flufferson already." 

ah shit 

you were starting to like like Joshua 

he was too nice and cute especially when talking about his pets and how they brightened his day 

or the many hilarious adventures he had with his friends 

or how he missed his family 

he was a good listener too 

you talked about your hamster at home 

it loved eating carrots and you had originally wanted to name it mochi 

but you had settled for Carrot after it’s favorite food 

and you told Joshua about how you had always loved playing quidditch with your family but you never tried out for the Hufflepuff team 

his friends must have caught on to your feelings before Joshua did, Joshua was kind of clueless about all the crushes people had on him

Jeonghan ended up putting his arm on your shoulder while walking to the library to meet up with Joshua 

"You should just tell him you like him." 

"and get a pity rejection, lmao in what world would I do that Jeonghan.”

“Suit yourself.” He said giving you a sly smile 

right before shoving you into a broom closet 

and locking the damn door behind you 

“JEONGHAN YOU’RE DEAD YOU HEAR ME." 

"You should thank your friend later, she told me about your little crush on our Shua, luckily for you I approve." 

you tried unlocking the door with your wand but to no avail 

you even tried picking the lock with a hairpin 

"Hey y/n listen to this." 

"Jeonghan I’m telling the head of slytherin later get ready for your ass whooping." 

but you hear someone running down the hallway outside the door 

"Jeonghan what do you mean y/n got in an accident? Where is she?" 

you go dead silent, it’s Joshua 

"Yah, look you came running and everything if you like her just tell her geez." 

you hold your breath as you hear what Joshua says next 

"She probably doesn’t like me back ok? I’m not good at these things, she’s cute and interesting and I’m boring and I don’t know ok Jeonghan, just tell me where she is no time for jokes we have to work on the project.”

“alright, I’d like to just say that you brought this upon yourself and you can thank me later." 

"what are you talking about Jeonghan-" 

and the closet door clicks open and Jeonghan pushes Joshua, where he bumps into you sending the both of you sprawling on the floor and the door slams shut yet again

"THIS IS FOR THOSE SNAKES SHUA I ALWAYS GET THE LAST LAUGH. See you two later…" 

Joshua picks himself up and helps you up 

and even in the dim closet you can see him blushing like crazy 

you’re probably no better you feel like you have a fever that won’t. go. away. Goddamnit. 

"Jeonghan underestimates me.” He said giving a nervous chuckle and reaching for his wand 

he easily unlocks the door 

and Jeonghan is out there bending over dying of laughter 

and both you and Joshua are just blushing like crazy and awkwardly standing next to each other 

“Did you hear everything?” Joshua says so quietly it’s almost a whisper - “yes?” You say 

Joshua’s eyes widen and he gives Jeonghan (who’s still laughing even harder now at the sight of the two of you) a glare 

Joshua points his wand at Jeonghan LIKE boi I’ll be seeing you later - Jeonghan runs away cackling down the hallway 

“You can just pretend it didn’t happen.” Joshua says flustered looking everywhere but your face 

“I’ll understand if you don’t like me ba-" 

"It was driving me crazy did you really not know I like you too Joshua?” Wow did I just say that, stupid stupid stupid whyyyyy you think to yourself

he looks up at you in surprise 

“Wait really? Jeonghan isn’t paying you to say that right?" 

"lmao no I’m going to murder Jeonghan after this." 

"I’d help you but he’s my best friend so…" 

"Do you want to maybe just get a butter beer at Hogsmeade instead?" 

"I’d love to." 

and from then on you two were known as darling couple 

Hogwarts’ gentleman Joshua and you 

basically everyone’s relationship goals 

and your friend groups both took responsibility for getting you two together

Joshua would send you little notes that were folded into cranes and bewitched to float over to your desk 

and everyone would sigh and think how sickeningly adorable seeing you read his message 

and looking at all the little hearts he had doodled during class 

"Joshua Hong, let me repeat the question.” The professor would say 

“I never usually have to ask you twice what’s wrong?" 

"Joshua got a girlfriend, professor." 

and the whole class would burst out laughing with you and Joshua blushing like crazy and his friends wolf whistling 

you’d walk with each other to your next class with your hand in his 

"Get a room Shua, no one needs to see this.” Jeonghan smirked as he walked towards the potions classroom in the dungeons - you and Joshua both just ignore him 

“Let’s hex his clothes again with those snakes." 

"Better yet, can we lock him in a broom closet?" 

"Deal." 

and you both walk into your next class, plotting Jeonghan’s imminent doom together

The Seventeen Hogwarts AU Series:

| S.coups | Jeonghan | Joshua | Jun | Hoshi | Wonwoo | Woozi | DK | Mingyu | Minghao | Seungkwan | Vernon | Dino |

MASTERLIST

[thinkingimmensely]

My Girl II

Part I

Pairing: Young!James Potter x Reader

Note: This is really late but I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  So some of you wanted a continuation to My Girl and I know it took forever but here it is! I’ve been rewriting this a million times, and I’m actually satisfied with this one, so I hope you guys like it!  

Oh and I just hit 139 followers, thank you all so much for your support!  Really, it makes me want to write more! <3

Other  stories: Beautiful | Ask You Out I II III IV

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from the Potterverse!

Enjoy!

The smell of books, parchment, and ink filled your lungs as you flipped through the pages of The Standard Book of Spells. You were, as you named it, merely light-reading. Refreshing your memory with the list of spells and their functions, trying to forget the events that transpired earlier.

James was a total git.

You nodded to yourself in confirmation. That’s right. He was a git and you were never going to talk to him again unless he apologized. You didn’t mind his jokes, even the jokes he made about you, but the one he made earlier was just pushing his luck.

It’s not that the thought of you and James dating was totally out of the question. Because you have thought about it before, during the late hours of the night when you laid awake in your bed staring up at the canopy ceiling of your four-poster bed. Also, you may have had a childhood crush on him but everything is different now. James is different, you’re different. So any thought about that topic after that night was swiftly eradicated.

Besides, you let out a small sigh, he had Lily right?

You and Lily were friends. The redheaded girl always had your back whenever James and Sirius tried to bully persuade you to make their homework for them, and she was always ready to listen to whatever you had to say. Lily was the sweetest person you knew and anyone would be lucky to have her.

Your train of thought broke when you heard the chair in front of you get dragged out from under the table. You looked up to see Remus flash you a sheepish smile and sit down, gingerly placing his book on the table. “Sirius wants you to go back to the common room.” He informed you quietly and opened his book to start reading.

You rolled your e/c eyes. “So you’re here to pick me up?”

Remus shrugged. “Not if you want to stay here. Then I’ll be happy to accompany you.” He flashed you one of his rare grins and you laughed, making Madam Pince clear her throat. You shot her an apologetic glance before turning back to your friend.

“You’re the best Rem, if Sirius wants me to go back, he should’ve come pick me up himself.”

“He can’t. He and James are banned from entering the library for the rest of the year, remember?”

Your mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ as you just remembered that fact. The duo nearly set the entire library on fire while they were studying for their exam on charms. Sirius gave up on studying five minutes into it and he coaxed James out of it as well and they tried practicing their little spells. You hummed thoughtfully and looked at Remus who had his eyes fixed on the pages of his book.

"You're staring." He stated beneath his breath and you smiled at him.

"I was just thinking."

Remus snorted in amusement. "A Knut for your thoughts?"

You rolled your eyes at him playfully. "Make it a Galleon and we'll see." You drummed your fingers on the wooden surface of the table softly, "I'm not going back to the common room with you any time soon, Remus." You informed him. "I don't want to have to deal with whatever happened earlier yet."

Remus nodded in understanding, he knew your mind was still in a gutter. He was pretty surprised with James' proposal earlier as well. Wasn't it always Lily? Did he miss something? He racked his brain for clues, even subtle ones. He knew you sort of fancied James in a way, and if the circumstances were different, he would've loved to support you and tell you not to hold back, but with the other person in question clearly not showing any interest in reciprocation and only showing affection to the muggle-born, redheaded girl; he kept his mouth shut. Like he always did… and it made him feel terrible.

 Hours later, it was nearly dinner time and Remus had gone off to the Great Hall. You actually had to force him to go since he didn't want to leave you behind. He promised to come back with some grub for you, because even if he denied it, he was starving. Madam Pince left to eat her supper as well leaving you alone in the large, candlelit library. You had long removed your robe and draped it over the chair next to you.

You tied your hair up into a bun and rolled up your sleeves.

"Psst."

Your eyes roamed the deserted library, "Psst." Came the whisper again and you took out your wand and got up of your seat. "Who's there?" You questioned. You hoped it was anyone but a Slytherin or Peeves. Someone then hugged you tightly from behind making you yelp in surprise.

You turned and that someone took off a cloak, revealing the messy haired, glasses wearing idiot you called a friend. You frowned. Well you'd rather deal with a Slytherin of Peeves now instead of James Potter. You pushed him away and sat back down, huffing in irritation.

James cleared his throat and sat opposite of you, where Remus previously sat. "Hey, I brought you something to eat. You must be starving." He quietly said and placed some sandwiches and treacle tarts on the table in front of you.

"Remus was going to bring me food."

"Remus is not coming back here for a while." He sounded a little cheerful at the proclamation which annoyed you more.

You sighed in realization. Oh of course. Remus may be your friend, but he was James' friend too. You should've seen this coming. "James I'm not continuing this conversation until you apologize."

"I'm not apologizing." He deadpanned.

Your eyes flickered to him in anger. "Typical! You never really do apologize, even when you play pranks on me or got me into trouble!"

"Y/N, listen to me-"

"No, James. You listen. I'm tired alright? You can't just boss me around like you do with Peter or Remus or sometimes even Sirius. I'm not your girl, I'm not your property. And... and…" You were nearly hyperventilating now, your emotions seemingly getting the better of you. "And you can't just ask me out on a whim thinking I'll accept when you obviously like another girl! I am not going to be some fling!" You cry out and buried your face in your hands in frustration. Oh Merlin... this was not what you had in mind.

Silence stretched making you think that maybe he left. Leaving you like an ugly mess until you felt his cold hands peeling yours away from your face. "Y/N, I'm sorry."

You faced him uncertainly and your eyes caught his. "I'm sorry I wasn't really thinking about how you felt. I know a can be a…"

"A bastard." You supplied.

"Alright, a bastard sometimes."

All the time you mentally thought.

"But I just wanted you to know that I really do like you very much." He finished, his eyes still on you, his gaze never faltering.

You looked away first. "Please James, you honestly think I could believe you? Not once have you shown the slightest interest in me. It was always Evans this, Evans that. Now you're suddenly Y/N, Y/N, Y/N?"

"You're my girl, Y/N. Evans was a way to hide my feelings for you since Sirius caught me staring at you one time when you and her were talking. I became flustered and blurted out that I was looking at Lily instead and the lie stuck until now." His hands still held yours and you could feel his slowly warming up and you just noticed that he was blushing. Actually blushing, and that made you blush too. You had never held hands with James before and it felt nice and it made you long to hold his hand any time you wanted to.  

"I fell in love with the girl who injured my foot on the first train ride to Hogwarts, and I fell hard." He sincerely said, "As cliché as it sounds, it's true. I hope you believe me."

You bit your lower lip. You wanted to believe him, you really did. But this was all too good to be true. You removed your hands from his and hugged yourself. James looked crestfallen. "I think I'll need to sleep on it." You mumbled and lowered your gaze. You couldn't face him after he looked so devastated. You could hear him stand up from his seat but still you didn't look at him.

"It's all right, I'll wait for you." He told you and threw his Invisibility Cloak on. You could hear his footsteps softly walk away but before he reached the door you called out to him.

"James?"

"Yes?" You heard him reply from afar.

"No more lies, please?" You tried to keep your voice level but it shook fervently.

"No more lies." He agreed and you could feel him crack into a grin as he left the library shutting the doors with a soft thud.