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izaberu-chann · 7 days ago

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Ophiuchus: Unlucky Number 13

Synopsis: Fi was the youngest of the Zodiac gods, the god of the constellation Ophiuchus. 13 was an unlucky number to start off, and Fi wasn't given a true seat among the Zodiacs. She worked between the Wishes and Punishments Department. Despite her hard work for the ministers, she wasn’t allowed to grant wishes or hand down punishments, making her feel useless with her Zodiac rank. It's not until she goes missing that the gods realize how convenient it was to have her around

✨Masterlist✨ Female goldfish! A/n: Here it is. 🥹 My obsession with the 13th Zodiac god. ⛎⛎⛎ Maybe if I’m feeling into it, I can create a route for her sometime… 🤭Probably more references in fics, in any case! And here's my ref of the snake girlie!

–Word Count: 8,740–

Sometimes, being the last uneven member of the zodiac sucked. I was the god of Ophiuchus—that was my full birth name. However, I preferred to be called Fi. It was shorter and easier to remember…

Lou should know what it’s like to have a mouthful for a name!

Fi was also a nickname I received from Clotho, the Goddess of Fate. So, it was a name I thought friends would like to call me to display our closeness. Friends other than Vega and Altair, that is.

Despite being a less than prominent zodiac member, I was a god that ran behind the scenes. I tried to help the Departments of Wishes and Punishments as well as I could, but Zyglavis and Leon didn’t always see my potential and constantly gave me ‘busy work’ to keep me out of their hair.

It didn’t help that I was the youngest of the 13 of us. Most of the time, I never even saw the Ministers and Vice Ministers. They usually sent Altair and Vega to deliver work and messages. It also didn’t help that I was a woman—women weren’t usually allowed to serve in the palace at all, let alone be a member of the prominent zodiac gods.

Being a Zodiac of two departments simultaneously put both more and less work on my shoulders. I had to juggle two different schedules while coping with the fact that my bosses hardly trusted me enough to give me a real chance at granting wishes or dishing out punishments.

So, as I said, I did their busy work. I filed their papers and made sure everything was in order so everyone else’s work went smoothly.

Some of the other zodiac gods made me feel worthy of being around, but others made me feel like I wouldn't be missed.

For instance, there was no shortage of me chasing down a Minister or Vice Minister for work—and maybe that’s why they never directly worked with me and sent the two little messengers in their place…

Perhaps I was too annoying to work with, but I was desperate to prove myself in the eyes of my Ministers!

“Lord Leon,” I called, chasing after him as he walked down the hall at a speedy pace. He never paused to listen. “Please, wait! I wanted to know if you would take into consideration-”

“Did you get those papers from Huedhaut?” He interrupted me.

“I did, Lord Leon. He sent Vega,” I swiftly answered, trying to get back to my question. “I know you're busy, I was just hoping you might grant me a small-“

“Did you go through those reports Vega gave you?”

“I did, Lord Leon. I returned those this morning.” I huffed, trying to keep up with his quick pace. “Do you think you could assign me some-”

“Ophiuchus.” I paused as he used my full name, having to freeze as we stood outside of the throne room doors. “I have a specialized task for you.”

Despite the abrupt usage of my name, my eyes widened in excitement. This was it. This was my chance. “Yes, sir?”

“I have a few lists that I won’t be able to get to regardless of what Karno says,” he explained, his words practically screaming that he was going to let me grant wishes. I hung onto his every word like a puppy waiting to be given a treat. “I need you-”

“I can take care of them right away, sir! You won’t need to lay eyes on those lists again. You can count on me!” I was thrumming with excitement to finally reach my dream. I’d finally get to grant wishes.

“I know,” he replied simply, knowing I never fail to do my tasks. “They’re time sensitive. Make sure Lou and Teorus understand their importance.”

“Lord… Tauxolouve and Lord Teorus…?” I felt winded as soon as the names left his mouth. But he was still in front of me. I had a chance to change his mind. “Lord Leon, I think if you just gave me a chance, I could-”

“I have an audience with the King,” he interrupted me again. “Those wishes are urgent. Unless it’s an emergency, I need you to go.”

His words were sharp and abrupt before he turned to abandon me in the hall. I stared helplessly at the floor. “I’ll get it done right away, Lord Leon.”

I wasn’t sure how long it took me working in the palace for me to realize that I was just a high-ranking version of Altair and Vega. All I seemed to do was run errands without doing anything majorly important. I mean, I’d done my work diligently, to the letter, and as per ordered ever since I started working for them. So it wasn’t like I was just slacking around, giving them reason to neglect and undermine me.

“Hey, Ikky,” Teorus called down the hall upon seeing his friend. “Is it true there’s something messing with the Punishments lists too?”

I paused, making sure I wasn’t in immediate sight as I eavesdropped on them. I’d been handling all their paperwork and this is the first I’d heard of a problem in Punishments.

Ichthys nodded his head, though added to my surprise when he said, “Yours too? Does Wishes have something funky going on with their lists? For us, it’s like people who don’t deserve to be punished are popping up on our lists.”

“Really? Us too.” Teorus looked as surprised as I felt.

I should have picked up on any inconsistencies like what they were talking about, but I never ran into anything that struck me as odd.

Teorus continued explaining, “We keep getting human wishes, but a lot of them are bad wishes for humans who seem like they belong on the punishment lists. Do you think Ophiuchus is mixing our lists…? She’s in charge of all that, right?”

“Nah,” Ichthys denied, thankfully saving me from what could have been a horrible investigation.

Maybe not everyone knew that the department lists were something I wasn’t allowed to touch…

But Ichthys knew enough to be able to explain the basics of the lists, “The King chooses what wishes and punishments go on the lists and then they go straight to us. Well, I think. This is all weird lately. I… don’t actually think Ophiuchus handles the lists—especially not now when Zyglavis is trying to keep this low profile until we find out what’s going on on Earth.”

Teorus winced in premature fear. “I hope it’s not a repeat of last time with what happened to Huedhaut and Clotho… Things were getting strange back then too.”

My eyes widened. Was the situation on Earth that bad? Clotho was a good friend of mine until she sacrificed herself for the Earth. I was sure it was why Huedhaut never spoke to me after that day…

They couldn’t let the Earth fall into danger like that again—that was why I was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. As insignificant as I was to the whole of the Heavens, yet still a noble zodiac god, it was nothing for me to get permission from the King to go to Earth and investigate for myself. I was sure no one would think to come looking for me when I wandered off to the human world by myself with only one list from each department to lead my search.

Though… maybe the Heavens took for granted the fact that there was a lack of dark activity since Clotho’s sacrifice. It had seemed like that was exactly where this trail was leading me.

I hummed, glancing down at the lists with a frown. I’d gone through almost all the names, finding lingering darkness scattered across each location, but nothing beyond that. It wasn’t until I approached a forest clearing that I figured out how drastic the situation was.

Before me stood a dark god with long black hair, behind me was a second dark god with short blond hair. Glaring at them, I knew they had to have the answers I was looking for. I questioned, “So, you two have been causing trouble for the Heavens? What’s your goal? The Dark King is dead.”

“Gone, not dead,” the blond corrected, seemingly proud of the minor difference between the two. “Our goal is to bring him back using the god who helped to banish him.”

“Huh?” I blinked in confusion. Clotho gave her life to protect the Earth… were they talking about her? “She’s… gone. Your goal is impossible.”

“She?” Crow sneered in confusion. “Who the hell are you talking about?”

“Who the heck are you looking for again?” My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to understand what their goals were. Were they after a god and not Clotho?

“Never mind that,” Servillah hissed, looking at his partner. “This one’s a goddess. She’ll do.”

I would do for what? They didn’t specify, or bother holding back in abducting me. I wasn’t trained to fight or do anything that required a drastic use of my powers at one time, so I was easily overwhelmed and captured by the dark gods who securely tied me up and dragged me with them to the Under Realm.

Despite all the time they spent observing me for any usefulness, they were confused over their lack of finding anything relatively beneficial to them. Crow glowered at me from where I sat behind prison bars, weakened by their powers and the overall draining darkness of the Under Realm. “What are you,” Crow demanded, used to how I stubbornly refused to answer them. “Who’s your minister? Who do you work for?”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Why’s that matter to you?” Were they trying to hold me hostage against one of the ministers? My eyes narrowed as I scoffed. “What? Wanted a god to help you with your dirty work? You’d never get one of my ministers to cooperate with you.”

“Shut it. You’re just bait for a bigger fish,” Servillah hissed, glaring down at me. “What Zodiac even are you?”

“Ophiuchus,” I answered proudly. Though, of course they had never heard of me, unlucky number 13.

As diabolical and evil as the two dark gods were, they couldn’t think of a single use for me. Especially considering I pleaded my case as a supposed zodiac god from both departments, though contrarily claimed that none of the gods would miss me enough to look for me.

The two dark gods almost pitied me considering I wasn’t important enough to get rescued. Well, I was at least certain of that much, since I had been stuck with two dark gods for who knows how many days now. At this point, I was just waiting to catch my death while they taunted me, trying to make another plan to lure Zyglavis to them.

“Why Zyglavis?” I couldn’t help but ask after a while of listening to their plots.

“Why?” Servillah’s eyes narrowed on me as if debating on whether or not I really was a zodiac god. “Zyglavis is the one who saved the Earth and helped seal our beloved King. He’s going to be the one we use to resurrect our King.”

“He is?” My eyebrows furrowed in offense as I swiftly corrected them, “No, no. I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s wrong. He might’ve helped seal the Dark King away during the aftermath, but that was all after the Goddess of Fate sacrificed herself and her power for the Earth. The Goddess of Fate is the one responsible for all of this, including the destruction of your Dark King. She was my friend and you're going to give her due credit for her heroic deeds! You’re hunting a deceased goddess right now.”

“What?” Crow hissed, shooting me an accusatory glare. They glanced at each other before muttering shared words and leaving me alone once again. They were a strange pair of dark gods, that was for sure. Maybe they’d feel better about losing their Dark King if they just spoke to me for a little while.

Maybe… I’d feel better if I just spoke to myself about my problems. Though… I was certain my powers couldn’t work on myself. The ability to heal one’s emotions by simply listening to their woes and ailments—removing the metaphorical ‘weight’ off of their chest and shoulders.

Maybe that was why gods and goddesses were wary of speaking to me. They were unfamiliar with my powers and didn’t want me sucking them clean of their emotions by sharing words with me. I wondered if that was how the other gods and goddesses saw me…

Still, maybe that was why I needed to try and use my powers on myself. “These dark gods don’t need me,” I tried to convince myself, mourning the few weeks I’d spent locked away in a dark cell, the crude Under Realm environment lapping at my declining health. “Not even the other zodiacs need me. I’m just an extra burden on their plates. They always give me busy work because they don’t really accept me as a Zodiac god. And none of the other gods respect me the same either. They never call me ‘Lord Ophiuchus’ or ‘Lord Fi’. I don’t have the same dignity as the others do. They’re better off being a pantheon of 12. They don’t need an unlucky number 13…” Sighing, I pressed myself against the wall, shutting my eyes. “My powers don’t even work on myself… and they frighten other gods. How useless…”

“You’re a depressing goddess,” Servillah muttered, the two of them returning. Seeing as to how they got my attention, he continued speaking, “We verified your story. Zyglavis isn't the god we're looking for… and the goddess we're looking for is dead. So, we need another soul to resurrect our King… And… You said you're a Zodiac god, didn't you?”

A chill went down my spine, my eyes locking onto the two threatening dark gods. Startled, I weakly argued, “I- I might've been getting carried away with that whole ‘Zodiac god’ stuff. How could I be one of those guys? I mean, just- just think about it! If I were a Zodiac god, there would be dozens of gods out searching for me. I would've been found by now, don't you think?”

Crow scoffed. “Playing it off now isn't going to save you. We're already in the process of preparing everything.” He grinned maniacally. “Let despair fill you with the knowledge that you're going to be used to undo the damage your friend caused!”

“Will she now?” A third voice asked, drawing our attention down the hall of cells. My eyes widened and my heart raced with excitement at the sight of Zyglavis. He actually came for me? His expression was just as scary and severe as I remembered—for once, I was glad to see him with such a terrifying look! “Please,” he drawled, “Go on. Tell me more about what you’re going to use this goddess for.”

“Why are goddesses always so selfless,” Leon muttered, appearing from the other direction. He didn’t look too pleased to be there, but the two dark gods looked startled at being surrounded by such powerful gods. “That’s right,” Leon taunted the two upon seeing their faces, “Be afraid. It’s less than you deserve for stealing this woman from us. How does it feel that she’s going to be the reason you’re extinguished today?”

“Shit,” Crow hissed, shoving Servillah to leave. “Let’s get out of here.” The two dark gods vanished before Leon or Zyglavis could land an attack. All the two ministers managed to do was break the gate that kept me locked up.

Turning their attention to me, Zyglavis was the first to make his approach, scanning me for any major injuries as he carefully set my arms free of their restraints. Though he didn’t immediately see anything, he commented, “You’ve been here an awfully long time. Do you have the strength to move?” I shook my head, still too caught up in shock to verbally respond. I didn’t think anyone would notice me missing or even come to the decision that I was worth saving. “What a hindrance…”

Carefully, he lifted me up into his arms, drawing a squeak out of me as I was pressed against his chest. Weakly, I uttered, “I- I’m sorry.” They were probably busy in the Heavens, yet both of my ministers had to come all the way to the Under Realm to save someone as useless as me.

“You’re apologizing?” Leon scoffed incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe I were apologizing at a time like this. “Are all goddesses such oddballs? Huh… Ophiuchus?”

My head swam as I tried to keep my eyes on him, but being moved around so suddenly with my lack of energy only caused my vision to fade out as my head landed on Zyglavis’ shoulder. Zyglavis observed me carefully before he remarked, “She’s been here for weeks. Let’s return to the Heavens where she can regain the strength she’s lost.” Leon grunted, but for once, they were in agreement.

***

I didn’t expect my return to the Heavens to be so exciting. For sneaking off and getting captured, I thought I was going to get reprimanded and demoted at best… I didn’t know the rest of the zodiac were waiting to welcome me home with open arms. Though, it seemed there was a reason for that… and I was fortunate enough to get the entire story.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, I listened aptly to the story Ichthys was telling. “At first we didn’t actually notice you were gone. I mean, Altair and Vega kept coming back with work because they couldn’t find you. Then they started complaining about needing us to go look for you—but we sort of assumed you just went off somewhere on your own and would be back sooner or later. Then Zyglavis finally caught onto the backlog of work that was meant to go to you… and he wasn’t very happy, thinking you were slacking. But he couldn’t find you either and assumed you were doing what I usually do to get out of work!”

Teorus added with a nod, “Karno and Leo were the same exact way! Well, more-so Karno because he already has to take care of Leo not doing his work. So, we all had to start doing the work that you weren’t there to do. We didn’t realize how convenient having a thirteenth zodiac was until you were gone…”

“For real,” Ichthys cried, his nose scrunching up. “We thought you abandoned us for good! And those dark gods stopped messing with our lists so we thought everything was fine. But Altair and Vega came to find us again saying that you’d run off to Earth!”

Teorus grinned, nudging Ichthys as he said, “I think the Ministers really panicked when the King said she was trapped in the Under Realm with dark gods and needed them to go rescue her.”

“Don’t think you’re excluded,” Ichthys pointed out. “You were scared for her too!”

“Me?! What about you? You were crying by her door!”

“That’s because I thought those dark gods did something horrible to the only person who laughs at my pranks—even when she’s the one I prank!”

“At least you’re honest about it...” Teorus begrudgingly pouted.

“What are you two doing?” Krioff questioned, an intimidating look on his face as he glared at the two younger gods. “Are you bothering Fi?”

“It’s fine,” I excused for the two startled gods across from me. “They were just telling me why it took so long for me to be found in the Under Realm.”

Averting his gaze, Krioff apologized, “Sorry ‘bout that…”

“Hey,” I waved my hands in reassurance, trying not to make a huge deal out of what happened. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t exactly tell anyone I was leaving, so it isn’t like it’s anyone’s fault. I appreciate what everyone’s done for me; I’m not blaming anyone else but myself.”

“As you should,” Zyglavis openly criticized, overhearing me as he walked in. “The next time you have any ideas of going off to Earth, or anything similar to fixing a problem by yourself, you’re going to notify either myself or one of your coworkers.”

I cocked my head in surprise. I heard that he was worried about me, but this wasn’t the reaction I expected from him. I tilted my head to the side and asked, “You’d have let me go to Earth and fix the problem if I told you?”

“Absolutely not.” His glare only sharpened as if he thought that was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard all day. “You’re missing the point of notifying us. Furthermore, your little escapade left both departments with an abundance of backed up work.”

I winced at the reminder of all the chaos my absence caused. Aside from personal feelings, I left quite the mess for both Wishes and Punishments. To make matters worse, I still wasn’t quite back to full power yet—meaning I had to spend most of my time lazing around until the dark energy was completely vacant from my body.

Slipping completely back into work mode, I immediately began to apologize. “I’m sorry, Lord Zyglavis. I promise I’ll make up for it as soon as I’m able. Lord Leon just refuses to so much as let me touch a sheet of paper until I’m absolutely cleared of dark energy. I’m sorry I can’t be more useful.”

Karno huffed, joining the party in the living room. His disapproving eyes trailed over all the gods present. “What are you all putting into Fi’s head? Making her feel bad isn’t going to help her get back to work any faster.” His expression turned into something softer as his gaze flickered to me. “Fi, do you think I could borrow you for a moment?”

Blinking, I quickly nodded my head. Anything was better than sticking around and continuing to get lectured by a Minister… Unless Karno also planned to lecture me in a more private location… Though, looking at him, he didn’t look particularly displeased. But, I was quick to rise to my feet and follow him out of the room just in case he would happen to lose his temper.

As if fearfully anticipating his disappointment, I let out what must have been my hundredth apology since getting rescued, “I’m sorry, Lord Karno. I have no idea how I’m going to make it up to everyone at this rate…”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. It could have been the recent lecture from Zyglavis… but I definitely looked defeated in my state. So, rather than the original news he had to tell me, he started off with a different topic, asking, “Do you know who you work for?”

I tensed up at the seemingly random question—it could have been a trick question, even! Hesitantly, I replied, “Uh… that’d be… you guys… Right? You, Lord Leon, Lord Zyglavis, and Lord Scorpio.”

He lightly shrugged. “Technically speaking, yes. But you work for the King, same as us, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, sir…” I muttered, my eyes narrowing. “It was the King who gave me permission to go to Earth and settle the minor issue with the lists.” What was he getting at?

“So then why do you insist on using our titles when you’re essentially the same rank as us?”

“Oh…” Meeting Karno’s inquisitive eyes, I averted my gaze with warm cheeks. “I… um… It’s a habit.” It’s not like it was my fault I was always treated like Altair and Vega. Those two always referred to everyone by their titles—that included me, despite telling them I didn’t need to be called ‘Lady Fi’. Besides, it wasn’t like I was really considered friends with the other Zodiac gods before I went down to Earth for them, so it made sense that I was formal with them, didn't it? Besides… they never brought it up before now. Did this mean they were getting accustomed to sharing the same rank with a woman?

“Then let’s start,” Karno said, breaking me out of my train of thought as he suddenly suggested, “You can just call me Karno.” Leaving me with that direction in mind, he suddenly thought back on the original reason he retrieved me and added, “I wanted to see you because I came with orders from the King. You’ve been assigned new duties.”

My eyes widened at the sudden information. I screwed up. The King was finally demoting me for all of my reckless actions. Why did Karno come here calling us equals when I was just getting booted to some position lower than Altair and Vega? Did that mean he was removing me from the Zodiac gods? He couldn’t do that… could he? But the departments! He could easily kick me out of Punishments and Wishes! Was I going to lose my position? “I- um-” I stuttered. “I have to leave the two departments?”

“No, not at all,” Karno denied, trying to reassure me the best he could. It wasn’t that hard to see that he inadvertently made me panic. “It’s supposed to be good news. Apparently this is something of a reward for you. He’s decided that it’s time you join us in doing proper Wishes and Punishments work. Of course, in moderation—and that’s only after we personally train you to make sure you’re qualified to handle such tasks. It shouldn’t be too much extra work on your plate—though you do still have trainees of your own to attend to.”

I blinked. “T- Trainees?”

“Well, I say trainees,” he corrected himself. “These are just gods who are going to be helping with your duties. We hadn’t realized how much paperwork we were piling in your hands until we had a backlog that was more than we could handle… I have to say, you’re an impressive goddess. I personally think you deserve more of a reward than simply being allowed to grant wishes and decide punishments…”

“It’s enough!” I shouted excitedly. It was more than I really ever asked for. I’d have even kept doing my usual duties if it meant I could grant a few wishes or do a few punishments here or there. But now my ‘busy work’ was getting passed onto other gods and I was getting the position I always dreamed of. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I couldn’t help but latch onto his arm, surprising him. “Thank you so much! I- Oh- When do I start? I’ll make sure those gods are fully prepared for everything, and I’ll make sure all those humans get their wishes granted and are punished thoroughly! I’ll- I’ll~”

“Fi…” Karno pulled out of my grasp, his hands gripping onto my shoulders to help steady my swaying. “I thought you would have been able to handle good news, but you ended up getting yourself over-excited.” He sighed. “Come on, you need to rest.”

“I don’t… I don’t have to see my ministers yet?”

His eyes narrowed as he studied me. While he was used to worrying about Leon avoiding his work, he was starting to think that he’d have to keep an eye on me to make sure I wasn’t taking on more work than I could handle. “You’re not starting work until after you’re better. We don’t need our thirteenth zodiac fainting on us in the middle of her duties. You’ll make those poor trainees panic. Now, let me take you back to your room.”

They might have been late to save me, but I had to admit that they were certainly making up for it. I was unfamiliar with being a cared for member of the zodiac—in fact, sometimes I didn’t even feel like a member of the zodiac. But… if this was how things were going to be from now on… then I could get used to this.

***

How could this have ended up happening? I got what I wanted… only to suddenly be overloaded with Karno’s work. The work of the vice minister was a change of pace from my usual work load.

It sounds weird… Karno, of all gods, unloading his important Wishes work onto me. Well, to be fair, he had to take on Leon’s work… and Huedhaut’s… and Teo’s… Basically half of his department. I offered to help, but he denied, saying I had enough work to do. Which made sense considering Zyglavis came to me with his vice minister’s work as well. I was all about taking on work from both departments, but I wasn’t sure I was mentally prepared to take on the strenuous work of both vice ministers—not that I wanted to attempt to take on Leon’s difficult tasks. I was grateful for Karno’s consideration.

If only the King didn’t choose to brand six zodiac gods with marks of sin all at the same time! That was so inconvenient and he wasn’t hearing any arguments before he threw them down to Earth. It shook the heavens for sure, but it couldn’t be helped.

Still, what was he thinking?! Didn’t he know working with only half the Zodiac gods available was even harder than the time I singularly was missing?!

Plowing through the tedious pile of wishes and punishments, I only prayed for those six gods to find whatever goddess would send them back to the Heavens as soon as possible! Why did I have to become the vice minister?! They had more qualified gods in their departments! Tauxolouve had been in Wishes far longer than I had and Krioff could have easily taken on Scorpio’s work!

“Ophiuchus,” Zyglavis called out my name, making me pause. I quickly wiped the frown off of my face, replacing it with an awkward smile—I’d never let them find out I was complaining about work. But before I could open my mouth, he began to explain his orders, “I’ll be taking Scorpio’s work. There’s been a development.”

Crap, I mentally cursed myself. When did he hear me complaining? Did he have his shadow trailing me?! Or… No! Could he suddenly read minds? “I- I know I was complaining, but it’s no big deal! I can handle Scorpio’s work. Unless… am I doing an unsatisfactory job? You can give me criticism; I promise I can take it!”

“Quiet down,” he muttered, those two words instantly making me fall silent to hear him out. He didn’t look overly distressed by anything. “This isn’t about your work ethics. The gods who were exiled to Earth have found the reincarnated goddess tasked with removing their sins. They’re able to work with her assistance. So, we’re sending them a fraction of their work back. I will, however, need you to pick up on whatever cannot be completed…”

Sighing in relief, I nodded my head in understanding. As long as Zyglavis couldn’t suddenly read minds, then I was safe. “Sounds good to me. I’ll go collect his documents and things from my room for you.” I turned away to go retrieve the demanded items, but I found myself pausing, turning slightly to regard him. “But… I’m curious. Who’s this goddess on Earth that they suddenly found? How’s she going to get rid of marks that the King branded them with?”

He wanted to get this visit to Earth done and over with, but he supposed he couldn’t help my natural curiosity. He sighed. “They aren’t sure how she is going to be capable of removing their marks, but until they do, she’s the only way to use their powers. In a way, it makes sense that this human would have such an ability… She’s the reborn goddess of fate.”

My eyes widened at the revelation. I was fully aware of how Huedhaut gave up his stars to put her soul back on the wheel of rebirth, but it was cruelly ironic for her to be the key to their return to the Heavens. This prompted me to fully turn and face Zyglavis. “She’s back…? How is Hue taking this?”

“Huedhaut is handling this professionally,” Zyglavis replied sharply, his eyebrows furrowing. “Now, please, do so in turn. The human does not retain any memories from her time as a goddess—it’s useless dawdling.”

Nodding, I quickly turned to make haste back to my room. Clotho was back with us… only in the form of a human. Being reborn at least meant she kept the stars in her eyes, if not her memories. I pondered on how the reborn goddess physically looked…

The exiled gods shouldn’t notice if I were to… check in on them in the reflection pool. Just because I was concerned about them, of course; Not because I want to see a certain reborn bestie.

***

My workload lightened significantly since the exiled gods started working more. Well, I say lightened, but it was returning to my normal set of work. Meaning, I no longer had Karno’s work on my plate and I only occasionally had to fill in for the missing gods.

But what had me confused was the chaos that the exiled gods were in regarding their return home. I had to admit that I was completely and utterly more confused than usual, considering these gods perplexed me more often than not.

Logically, the first person I went to find was the Vice Minister of Wishes who had been closely monitoring Leon’s portion of work. “Karno,” I poked my head into his room, seeing him look up from his desk. I hummed curiously. “You look pretty calm despite the fuss those exiled gods are making. What’s going on with Leo and the others?”

Karno’s shoulders notably sagged at the mention of the recent activity on Earth. It was bad enough that Leo was behaving this way, but for all of them to be acting out over a human…

He rubbed his forehead. “I think Zyglavis is making this harder than it has to be and the King is refusing to see us and speak on the matter. Still, I don’t think it’s anything you need to be worried over, Fi. You’re finished with your work, aren’t you? You should go out and do something fun. I hear Vega’s been wanting to take you pick flowers with her.”

My eyebrows furrowed. He was avoiding telling me everything. This situation must be worse than I thought if Zyglavis was getting involved without the King’s orders. I wasn’t about to let Karno change the subject on me! “I’m worried about them too! Don’t brush me off. Just… Please, talk to me? They’ll be able to come back to the Heavens, won’t they?”

“That’s not the issue here…” Karno sighed, gesturing for me to sit on his bed. Eagerly, I took the invitation so he could tell me everything that was happening on Earth. I thought my hypothesis of the gods being unable to come home due to their marks was a pretty sound one… but apparently that was far from the truth. “It turns out that the only way to remove their marks of sin was to understand themselves and perhaps come to understand love in the process. After all, we can’t hope to succeed as gods if we don’t understand human emotion.”

I blinked in confusion. Understanding love? That seemed like an easy enough concept to cover. “So… are they just struggling with understanding love? I mean… I can kind of understand how. Leon and Teorus are a little eccentric. Scorpio and Huedhaut aren’t the most open-hearted—for their own respective reasons. Ichthys is… a difficult one, what with his past and powers. And Dui… well… he would have to love himself before figuring that one out.”

Hearing a low chuckle come from Karno, my gaze settled onto him. He sounded amused but he certainly didn’t look the part. “The reborn goddess certainly did her job of removing their marks of sin, but Zyglavis is only involved because they’re intent on sinning again.”

“Sinning again?” My breath caught in my throat. What could possibly make them go so far as to sin again right after getting over their first sin? Didn’t they learn anything? “All six of them?”

“It’s… complicated.” His eyes bored into mine. “Aren’t you getting the implications of what they’ve done?” I blinked cluelessly, and he added, “Zyglavis is on Earth because they’re committing another sin. The reborn goddess succeeded in removing their marks of sin—meaning she succeeded in expressing to them what love meant.”

“So… they did what they went there to do, but…” I trailed off, my eyes going wide in realization. Was he implying what I thought he was? Was that why Zyglavis was so pissed with Scorpio the last time I’d seen him? If Zyglavis was down on Earth, did that mean Clotho– er… the ex goddess was in danger? It was extremely forbidden—taboo even—for gods and humans to fall in love. A panicked screech left my lips. “Did they fall in love with the human?!”

“You don’t have to scream…”

“They all fell in love with her?! Even Scorpio?! Leon actually fell for someone that wasn’t you?! Huedhaut opened his heart to someone else?!” I was too excited to remain sitting on his bed, pacing back and forth in the room. “No way, no way, no way! No wonder Zyglavis is mad! They’re all in trouble… No, not just that. The goddess is in trouble! Karno, we have to do something. We have to see the King.”

“Fi,” Karno called my name, counting his blessings for my silence. “We don’t have to do anything. Just… calm down. Regardless of what’s going on between them and that human, they’re all going to have to return to the Heavens for the sake of Earth’s safety. The best thing you can do for them is calm down and wait for them to return. Undoubtedly, they’re going to be held on trial soon.”

“So… we’re probably all going to have to be present anyway as members of the Zodiac…” I hummed, nodding my head in understanding. “Alright. I’ll wait then. But you have to tell me the minute anything changes. I’ll be waiting…”

Pursing my lips, I marched back to my room, my mind clouded in uncertainty. Karno’s kind words of encouragement weren’t enough to get my spirits up. I was worried for the other gods and that human. Surely Zyglavis wouldn’t include her in their punishment… Then again, there was no telling what was going on. All I knew was that the Earth’s stability was in danger and it was a big mess that needed to be sorted as soon as possible.

***

“What?!” I exclaimed, my chair practically flying from beneath me as I stood from the table where I was working diligently by myself in the library. I glared at Teorus who was looking pretty dejected—though he didn’t look that way because of my shouting at him. “I cannot believe you guys! You’re so mean to me! You never tell me anything! Aren’t I a Zodiac too?!”

“Why are you upset?” Teorus pouted, openly glaring at me. “You don’t even know (Name)! I’m the heartbroken one here! My girlfriend is in danger and I’m not even allowed to guard her! I have to mope around looking for Dark Gods—as if that’s any fun…”

“I’m upset with all of you big meanies!” My cheeks puffed out in frustration. “First, no one even informed me when you guys came back to the Heavens—I completely missed the trial where Tauxolouve told me everything after! All because Karno said I’d ‘make a racket like I did in his room’. You guys have no confidence in me. Now that everything is all fine and dandy, no one bothers to tell me that the reborn goddess is in danger from dark gods!”

“You’re overreacting,” Teorus turned his head away, crossing his arms with a huff acting as if I didn’t have the right to be upset with them. “You should be feeling sorry for me right now, Fi.”

“Sorry?” My hands balled into fists. “I’ll feel sorry for you when you tell me why I wasn’t qualified to guard the reborn goddess. I’m not even allowed on the search team to find those two scumbags from the Under Realm! Why am I always excluded from these kinds of things?”

Seeing that I was genuinely upset with them for this, Teorus finally huffed, looking at me. “That’s no reason to get upset. Don’t you know that we don’t involve you in these things because you’re little?”

“L- Little??” My cheeks heated up as I bared down on him. “Who are you calling little?! I’ll have you know I’m way older than I look! I’m almost Ichthys’ age, for crying out loud!”

Teorus couldn’t help but laugh at my reaction, patting me on the head. “You’re still younger than us. Besides, we know what happened to you before. It’s the same dark gods from back then and we don’t want you vanishing on us again.”

“Oh…” I paused, taking in his words for once as my shoulders relaxed. Though, my mind stuck on the detail about the two dark gods… it was the same two who held me captive last time. At the time, they had been hunting Zyglavis, mistaking him for the god that sealed away the dark king… only for me to correct them and point out the true hero was the Goddess of Fate… “Oh, no…” I must have been assuming too much when I thought there was no chance of her reincarnation getting involved with gods. Tears flooded my eyes at the realization of what I’d done. “It’s all my fault!”

Before Teorus could even ask what I was suddenly crying about, I raced out of the room. The first place I could think to go was the mansion on Earth. Thankfully, I’d been there a few times before for work purposes, so I knew exactly how to get to the living room.

“Don’t worry, (Name). Aigo might look sleepy and uninterested, but he’ll protect you the same as everyone else.” Karno spoke, his voice carrying through the door. “Now, that’s it for introductions. The six of us are going to be guarding you and-”

“CLOTHO!” My sudden scream made the gods present tense up with unprecedented fright. They were sure there was some kind of emergency, but I didn’t run to any of them. The minute my eyes landed on the unfamiliar girl in the room, I immediately ran to her, wrapping my arms around her as I cried against her shoulder. “Clotho! I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault! I’m so, so, so sorry! I’m so glad you’re oka-ay!”

“F- Fi, what are you doing?” Tauxolouve laid a hand on my shoulder, inconspicuously trying to pry me from the human. “You’re making (Name) uncomfortable. You know she doesn’t understand why you’re apologizing. She’s not Clotho.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized again for making her uncomfortable as I pulled away, trying to give her space on the sofa. That’s right. She didn’t know me and she definitely didn’t know my relationship to the goddess of fate.

This time, it was Karno to ask, “Speaking of… why are you apologizing? If it’s because of something that happened when she was the goddess of fate then-”

“No,” I interrupted, wiping my tears as effectively as I could. “I just… It does have to do with her being the goddess of fate, but not Clotho. I- I’m sorry, (Name). I… I’m the reason those dark gods are after you…”

Clearly she had reservations for what she saw as an accomplice to the dark gods. But even the other gods in the room were taken off guard by my sudden announcement. They couldn’t understand how I could have possibly been connected to any of this. After all, it wasn’t like I even knew she was in danger from dark gods until Teorus returned to the Heavens to tell me about it.

“Calm down,” Zyglavis instructed everyone in the room so we wouldn’t suddenly get out of hand. “Ophiuchus, please elaborate. How on Earth could this situation be tied to you? When you were a prisoner in the Under Realm, we did not know of this human’s existence.”

“Well, that’s because…” I hesitantly started, glancing over the new version of Clotho. She oddly looked very similar to the goddess herself. I wonder how Huedhaut felt about that particular detail. Regardless, a wave of guilt washed over me. “I told you guys most of the story. When I was first taken prisoner they weren’t looking to capture me. They were hunting Zyglavis. But… I guess I didn’t really get to finish what I was saying at the time. Ahem…” I paused. “I wanted to protect Clotho’s honor. She was the one who sealed away their dark king, not Zyglavis. But… she was gone, so I knew they couldn’t use her soul—I thought so, anyway. And I didn’t think much about it when I was told the reborn goddess of fate was the one getting rid of the exiled gods' sins. But now she’s being hunted because of me.”

“Fi, you couldn’t have known this was going to happen,” Karno tried to comfort me with his usual kind words. He wasn’t wrong. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the actual existence of Clotho 2.0. “So, you’re making a big deal over nothing. See? Besides, do you think those dark gods stand a chance with all of us guarding her?”

Well, that was a comforting argument. But I wasn’t about to let them off so easily. Huffing in annoyance, I commented grumpily, “None of you were that concerned about me, but you’re all here doting over a human…”

Karno laughed at how petty I sounded—all over a human. “Did you forget that this is their girlfriend? Leon would be sure to never forgive me if anything happened to her.”

“Oh… I forgot about that part…” I winced, glancing up at Karno. “In that case, pretty please don’t tell him this is all my fault. I actually like my position in the Department of Wishes.”

“Excuse me,” a quiet voice called my attention to the woman sitting beside me. My eyes glittered at hearing her speak for the first time. Not only did she look like my best friend, but she sounded like her too! Eagerly, I waited for her next words. “You’re the god of Ophiuchus?”

I thought I would burst into tears again at hearing her say my name. “I… Yeah. That’s my name, but you can call me Fi like everyone else—uh… if you want to.”

“Fi,” she testingly called my name. Her eyes, which glittered with Clotho’s stars, stared straight into mine. “Are you really the thirteenth zodiac? That’s actually a thing?”

“Uh, yeah, duh.” I thought it was pretty obvious before it hit me that she, being a human, wouldn’t have obviously known that. “Oh. Actually, human-wise, I was only accepted as an actual zodiac fairly recently. I mean, officially speaking, my constellation has always been along the same ecliptic as the other twelve constellations, but the other gods in the Heavens didn’t consider me a real zodiac god either. It wasn’t until the humans started considering me as a Zodiac did the gods have to finally relent and give me my well-deserved position.”

“So then you haven’t been a zodiac god this entire time?”

Hearing her shock was almost touching, but I quickly corrected her, “Like I said, officially, I’ve always been part of the Zodiacs because of where my constellation falls—even if it’s just a tiny part. But for a long time, I wasn’t included in the official work of the two Departments—I assume you know about all of that?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve worked with them.”

“Huh,” I laughed. “You were more of a zodiac than me, then.” She didn’t quite understand that prodding joke until I continued, “Most of the time I’ve been working with them, I’ve only done paperwork. I never got to grant wishes or deal punishments. So… Okay now, how do I frame this for you? So… Not too too long after Clotho gave her stars, I got into some big trouble with dark gods. It was around that time that I guess humans were coming around to the idea of a thirteenth Zodiac—not entirely, but just enough for the gods in the Heavens to recognize me for what I was.”

She hummed in curiosity and I gave her time to collect her thoughts in case she had any questions. Seeming deep in thought she finally pointed out, “But ancient humans were the ones who pointed out that there were thirteen zodiacs in the first place. How long ago was that? Did the gods still not recognize you?”

My eyes widened at how seemingly educated this human was when it came to matters of the stars—particularly about my constellation. “Well… around that time, when the ancient humans first pointed out my constellation, I was only barely recognized in the Heavens. They acknowledged my existence anyways. That was when they put me working for both departments—I did work similar to Altair and Vega. Uh, you’ve met them, right?” She nodded. “Right. So, those ancient humans swayed the Heavens into seeing me as a… sort of lesser Zodiac god.”

“Sort of…” She repeated, her eyebrows furrowing. “So when did you actually get to join the two departments as a genuine zodiac?”

“This was soooo many years later,” I contemplated, tapping my chin. “Let’s see. After I fell into trouble with those Dark Gods, the other Zodiacs tried their best to make me feel like one of them. I was actually an official member of Wishes and Punishments, so any other god’s opinion was irrelevant. But I suppose, more recently, the humans started getting interested in the constellations of the zodiac and I was recognized by a significant number of humans—enough to make a movement in the Heavens large enough to get me recognized as a genuine Zodiac god.”

“Oh,” she nodded her head, understanding more about the recent escapades of humans. “Then the Heavens only recognized you in the past twenty years… And even then, it’s not because of your constellation. A lot of people are only interested in the astrology portion of the zodiac signs. So… not too many people care about the science behind it—so long as their astrology reading is a good one.”

“Astrology…” I pursed my lips together, my eyes narrowing. “That has to do with human birth-charts related to the constellations, doesn’t it? I… suppose I’m not part of that either. There was a reason the ancient humans only named twelve zodiacs and not thirteen… Twelve is an even number and is divisible by four and two. Thirteen was too much trouble. And my constellation was ‘too small’ on the ecliptic.”

“But your constellation is the snake bearer!” She suddenly exclaimed, making me flinch beside her. She reminded me of Clotho the way she got excited by things she cared about. But why did she care about my constellation? “Ophiuchus is a huge constellation! I mean… sure only the foot is on the ecliptic… but… it’s still there.” Pausing, she took in a breath and finally said with a smile, “You know, I’m happy for you. Even if others don’t recognize you, I’ll recognize you as a real Zodiac. In fact, I’ll even start mentioning things about you during shows at the planetarium.”

That was great and all… but…

I blinked in confusion. “What’s a planetarium?”

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izaberu-chann · 14 days ago

Text

All Good Things to Those Who Wait

Draco x Hufflepuff!Reader

There goes the last great American dynasty

Who knows if she never showed up, what could have been

There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen

She had a marvelous time ruinin' everything

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12

The Chapter That Never Happened Chapter 13

Chapter 14 Chapter 15

Summary: tying up some loose ends :)

A/n: *emerges from the void*

Everything has an ending. The best stories, and the worst ones. Looking back at my story, there was no better ending I could have asked the stars for. I lost people I loved but I also stood for what I believed in and led an army to victory. No one would forget what had happened in those days. The days of the Great War.

But what is life without tying up a few loose ends. You’ve come with me this far on this journey, and now as I look back, perhaps there are some things that you’d like to know. Some conversations you’d like to hear. Some people you’d like to meet or see again. So, here are those loose ends, tied together.

**********************************

I stepped onto the porch of my childhood home. It was in the efforts to try and find my mother, and try to find some peace and meaning after the past years. Draco came with me, at my side.

“She’s not here,” I sighed, knowing before we even stepped foot in the house that my mother wasn’t waiting for me. “And somehow that hurt’s more,”

“She’ll come in her own time love,” Draco soothed. Maybe he was right, or maybe I’d always be searching for her in the stars like I looked for my father.

Draco and I sat on the porch that night, watching the sun set and the fireflies come to life in the meadow that blanketed around us.

“You cast a patronus,” Draco said as I laid my head on his shoulder, watching the wildflowers dance in the wind.

“I know,” A smile touched my lips.

“It was a dragon,”

“Yeah,” I took his hand into mine, thinking back to the first night Draco cast his own patronus with my father’s wand. How things had changed since then. “My mother always told me that one day I’d find my patronus and it would watch over me like my father,”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“I don’t think you need anyones protection,” The humor in his voice gave way to the smile that I couldn’t see.

“It’s still nice to have someone beside me—to fight alongside me,”

He was quiet a moment before airing his doubts. “Do you think that maybe…” I knew where he was going with the thought, because it had been chipping at the back of my mind.

“Because they’re so different we’re not meant to be together?” I mused, finishing his worried thought.

“Yeah,” He sighed.

“No,” I sat up, facing him. “I think they’re just right for us. I’ve thought about it—more than I should. But in reality… if we think about it, your lion,”

“Aslan,” Draco’s fingers brushed over my locket. A smile crept to my lips and I nodded.

“And the first task,”

“The what?” I had caught him off guard, a beautiful sight to behold.

“Our fourth year, that first task of the tournament.” Realization struck him.

“Our patronus’ show the start of us—when we really first started to trust each other.” I took his hand back into mine. “They’re not so different after all,”

He laughed without fear and kissed me softly, before pulling me closer. “The start of us,” Draco mused, and maybe he could see them like I could: a younger me standing there, skeptically looking at a younger Draco. Before the war, before the long nights, secret kiss, tears, laughter, love and loss. Two kids who took a chance.

When the sun cleared the horizon and its final rays fading, Draco and I headed inside—to the empty house that still promised to protect me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock on the door. In the week that we had been here, no one had disturbed out haven. No one knew we were here.

Draco looked up from his book. I dislodged myself from the couch and his arms, and went to answer the door, on guard. I stared at the one standing before me, not knowing how to quite process it.

“Hi, mum,” I whispered.

“Hello,”

Time stilled around us. Everything came rushing to the surface only to be stopped by my unparted lips. One thought escaped.

“I did it,” my voice was barely audible.

“I’m so proud of you,”

Tears stung my eyes. After all was said and done relief flooded through me more than anger did. Perhaps it was the peace that blanketed the Wizarding world that calmed my hurt.

“Mum,” My voice broke into tears. Amity wrapped around us as—after years—I got a hug from my mother.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” She whispered, stroking my hair. “I’m so sorry,”

I nodded into her shoulder, letting all of my bottled-up tears come out. All of the stresses from war and the nightmares that plagued me at night—my mother was still there to hold me tight. It didn’t matter that I was still hurting from wounds she inflicted, to know she was there, willing to hold me tight, and call me hers was enough.

“Y/n, are you—” Draco came out and paused. I pulled away from my mother and looked at him. He gave me a soft smile and nodded, heading back into the house.

“Is he upset with me?” My mother asked. I laughed hopelessly.

“I don’t know,” I said, wiping away my tears.

“Are you?” She asked.

“I don’t know,” My voice softened. “There’s so much right now… so much to sort through…”

“There is.” She didn’t deny it, and maybe it was comforting that someone outside of my peers acknowledged that I had been through a lot, and in turn that had caused a lot of heavy burdens on my heart and soul.

My gaze drifted back to hers.

“Do you wanna come in?” I asked.

She shook her head. “That’s not what you want, nor need,” Reaching our she placed per hand on my arm, soothing me before I could argue. “I’ll be around if you need me, but until then, the house is for you—it always has been. Build a life,” She smiled and looked through the window—probably at where Draco was inevitably spying on us. “You’ve found a good one,”

A smile touched my lips.

“Thanks mum,”

My mother inhaled sharply and nodded. “I’ll be off then,” Turning to go down the porch stairs, she paused. “He would be so proud of you,”

Tears burned my eyes again, as I wrapped my arms around her, needing her to hold me just once more before I could let her go. Because in her arms was also the love of my father that was taken from me too soon by this war. A war that I saw an end to. And maybe in that moment, the war within me ended too. I wasn’t the daughter of a Death Eater and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I was the daughter of Walt and Elizabeth. And that was enough

“Goodbye my love,” My mother said softly. “I’ll always be around.”

“Bye mum,” I smiled as she wiped away my tears. “I love you,”

“I love you too sweetheart,”

I waved goodbye, and with a spell, she was gone. I turned to go inside. The door clicked softly behind me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Professor McGonagall?” My brows pulled together. “Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?”

“This is a summons for you,” She held out a parchment, the usual stern look on her face was replaced with pity.

I took the parchment and opened it, scanning the delicate print. My heart sank.

“This is… this—“ I gaped.

“I’m afraid so,” McGonagall sighed. “There was nothing I could do,”

“Draco?” I called into the house. He was beside me in a moment. I handed him the parchment. “This is serious?” She nodded again.

“I’m sorry my dear,”

“A court summons? They’re putting her in trial!?” Draco demanded.

“Kingsley is very set on it. And he is the new Minister,”

“I saved the school! I helped defeat the Dark Lord! I—really!?” Tears pricked my eyes.

“There’s got to be some mistake,” Draco insisted. “She’s not a Death Eater, she doesn’t even have the mark!”

“I’m sure that the ministry will see that, but I’m afraid that I cannot do anything about the summons,”

I scrubbed my face and sighed. “Thank you Professor. Can I invite you in for some tea?”

“That’s very kind dear, but I’m afraid I must be on my way,” She bowed slightly then disaperated from the porch.

I stood there a while, lost in my thoughts. Draco gave me a gentle squeeze and kissed the crown of my head before disappearing inside. My feet took me off the wood of the porch and into the softness of the grass. I sank to the ground beside a fence post. The sun began to set. My eyes watched the horizon. Millions of thoughts swirled around my mind with no discernible direction.

Was there even a case for me to be innocent? Is this what everything I had worked for come to? To be seen as a criminal for holding a crumbling cause together?

____________________

“Where is she?” Abby asked, helping Pansy through the fireplace.

“Out front, watching the sunset,” Draco sighed, opening the front door. “She’s been out there a while,”

“Can’t imagine why,” Pansy muttered. “They’re seriously putting her on trial?”

“Yep,” Draco sighed. “All this time I thought I’d be the one, and yet…”

“I’ll go talk to her,” Abby kissed Pansy’s cheek. “You guys get to work,”

“Thank you, both,” Relief flooded Draco’s voice.

Abby snagged an old afghan off the back of the armchair and went out through the small meadow. She draped the blanket around your shoulders and sat beside you in the grass. You laid your head on her shoulder. She could see the dried tear tracks on your cheeks.

“How—how could they do this?” Your weak voice held deep betrayal.

“I don’t know,” Abby answered honestly, taking your hand into hers. “But we’re not going to let them get away with it.”

“I don’t—I can’t defend myself in court—I,” You dissolved into tears. “Haven’t I done enough?”

“More than enough,” Abby affirmed. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna work it out—you’ll see,”

“How?” You asked.

“Well, you’ve gathered quite a few allies who owe you once or twice,” Abby pointed out. “And others who just love you anyway. Draco and Pansy are working on it now,”

“Wha—what?”

“We’re gonna build your case,” Abby promised. “And get you acquitted.”

“They’re…” A sad laugh left your lips. You laid back on the grass. Abby knew you were searching for the first stars in twilight.

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Abby smiled at you. “Just rest,”

The days past and my trial date approached like a storm on the horizon—but whether it was just rain or a hurricane, I couldn’t tell. Draco assured me that it would all be okay—he tried to tell me about everything done to build my case, but I wasn’t interested. Grateful, thoroughly, but I knew that if I learned anything about it, I would pick it up myself and try to fix it and my weary heart couldn’t handle that and keep beating like it was supposed to.

So, I dressed smartly and took Draco’s hand before we took the Floo to the Ministry. I kept my head low, and tears at bay.

Though Draco, Abby and Pansy accompanied me into the court room, I had to sit alone for the trial. The distance was drowning. I sat in the hard wooden chair, facing malice and prejudices. Kingsley looked almost predatory, as if he could pin the entire war on my shoulders, casting the blame on me.

I flinched as the charges were read against me. The list of dead was longer than I thought. I didn’t dwell on the days of the Battle of Hogwarts, nor the events that occurred. They haunted me in my dreams, make no mistake, but what was real and what was a nightmare I lost the ability to discern.

Was that much blood really on my hands?

My faith in myself began to waver. Maybe I did deserve to be locked up. A few years in Azkaban with dementors sucking my life force might make me forget what I had done.

Surprise flickered on my face as I saw Remus Lupin stand to my defense as an attorney. It was the first time that I had actually taken note of who was in the room. There had to be at least thirty people all gathered behind Draco and Pansy that I could see—more filed out the door in the back. All faces of those I loved, I had fought beside, I had grown up with.

The static in my ears tuned in and out of Lupin and Kingsley conversing. It wasn’t until their voices raised to shouting that the static was drowned out. My eyes flickered up from he thread in my hands.

“She cast unforgivables! She killed! She’s dangerous!”

“Death Eaters who were threatening our lives! The lives of wizard kind everywhere! She stopped a genocide!” Remus shouted back, obviously frustrated. “She showed remarkable strength and courage in a time of great darkness, and you will not diminish that.”

“They are unforgivables! We have laws for a reason!”

“If I may,” McGonagall stood and the entire room quieted. “That list of names that you read was a long list of Death Eaters who have either escaped from Azkaban, or are known Death Eaters and have killed before. Miss Y/n had very hard decisions to make. The ministry found itself incompetent for lack of a better word. She, along with her friends, engineered an army to face the Dark Lord. Over the years what she went through has turned her into who she is today. She fought along side the other heroes who stand before you. She will be counted among them. You would not punish an Auror for the same thing and you will not punish her.”

“But—” Kingsley was red in the face.

“If you put her in jail, you put the rest of the rebellion too,” The voice that piped up from the crowd surprised me. It was Harry. He stood and all eyes went to him. “Without her, I never would have been able to defeat Voldemort. Dozens more would be dead. You send her to Azkaban… then you’ll send me too,” A hushed gasp filled the room. A small one escaped my own lips.

“Mr. Potter,” Kingsley tried to regain control of the room.

“And me,” Abby spoke up.

“And me,” Neville stood.

Soon everyone around me was standing on my behalf. Pansy, Luna, Ginny, all of the Weasleys actually, Ernie, Hannah, Emme, Blaise, Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fleur, Tonks, Remus, McGonagall, Moody, Sprout, Flitwick, and others I couldn’t see in the vast room. Kingsley faltered at the large defense behind me.

“You send her then you send each one of us,” Harry spoke clearly. “I’m your stupid chosen one, even if she did something wrong, don’t I have clearance to pardon her or something?”

A smile crossed my face. Intense silence stretched on consuming time and space until it was suffocating me.

“Very well,” Kingsley sank back into his chair. “Y/n you have been cleared of all charges and sentencing. You are free to go,”

Relief flooded through me as the room erupted in cheers. I met Draco’s eyes and he was smiling with pride. I collapsed back into that wooden chair in tears. There was a swarm of people around me, all making sure that I was alright, but they all parted for Draco to reach me.

“Love?” He asked softly, kneeling before me. “I’m here,” He pulled me into his arms and we shared the embrace of lovers. As I exhaled, the weight of the world fell to the floor.

I was free.

I was acquitted.

Now, I just had to find my innocence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Draco?” It was a crisp autumn morning. He looked up from the newspaper. “I’ve been thinking,”

He smiled and set down the paper, giving me his full attention. I almost wished he didn’t.

“I… I know it’s been a long road here… and since we’ve met it’s kinda been hell.” A sad laugh left my lips. “There’s a whole world out there Draco,” My eyes flickered to the willow growing outside the kitchen window.

“Yeah?” He prompted softly.

“Don’t you want to go see it? Be young and reckless and not have to feel like—like you’re running an entire school?” I gestured.

“I do,” He confessed softly. “We are still young Y/n, we have a long life ahead of us,”

“…You still want it with me?” I felt as if the oxygen was being vacuumed from my lungs. “We were just kids when we met Draco. We went through a war together—and now it’s over. The war. You don’t have to stay here,” This house was just as haunted as I was.

“What—where is this coming from?” Draco stood, rounding the small breakfast table. “I want to be with you. I want to share my life with you,” He took my hands into his. “So, let’s go travel the world together—learn who we are outside of the war.”

Hope sparked in my chest. “Really?”

He laughed softly. “Oh my darling, you are one of my best friends, I’ll go anywhere with you,” His words lured me to melt into his warm embrace. We sat on the kitchen floor. He stroked my hair softly.

“Just for a while,” I mumbled. “There’s so much we haven’t seen,”

“I know,” The smile was evident in his voice. “And it’s going to be incredible—and we’re going to learn how to heal along the way,” I nodded into his shoulder.

“I was thinking about maybe even living muggle for a little bit,” The confession was a weight from my shoulders. “I need space.”

“Okay,” His soft agreeable caught me off guard. “I think it would be good for both of us actually. And maybe even fun,”

I laughed softly as tears formed in my eyes. Leaning against him I watched the morning sun move across the wooden floor.

“I love you,” I whispered softly. “And if you… if I’m not…”

“Hush,” it was a soft reprimand. “I think you’re right. We need time away from it all. To find who we are away from it all,”

I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder.

“We’ll come back,” I promised.

“I know we will,” Draco smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Knowing you, you’ll want to come back and help build a better system,”

My cheeks flushed red. I hadn’t told anyone about my ideas to make Hogwarts better—to make the Ministry better, hell to even make Azkaban better. It was time for things to change. I smiled to myself. Maybe I was more rebellious than I thought.

And yet, Draco knew—he knew all the little plans in my head that were hidden just for me. Being known felt like belonging—and I belonged with him.

**********************************

Traveling with Draco would always be saved in my memories until I died, and when it started to slip, it would be saved into a pensieve. I wouldn’t forget.

We bought a muggle car and drove it until it felt right to stop. It wasn’t the famous places where we found ourselves, rather it was the forgotten places where we felt most at home. Where I could stand on a cliff edge and just scream and laugh and no one was around to hear me. Where Draco and I would sit at the edge of a river and send down leaves that held our biggest regrets, our losses, and our fears, learning to let go. Where we would sit in cafes and draw what we saw around us and enjoy pastries and tea. Where we could dance in the middle of a crowded room with other couples who didn’t know us from Adam.

But that is a story for another time.

For now, I’m sure you have a burning question that you’ve been waiting for me to answer.

And yes.

Draco did take me to go and see Phantom of the Opera in Paris like he promised.

Oh, and we got married.

But, again, that is a story for another time.

There is one last person I want you to meet before I close.

**********************************

My heart caught in my throat.

“Draco?” I squeaked out, leaning against the bathroom counter. “Draco!”

“What? Are you alright? What’s wrong?” He was frantic, looking for danger.

“I’m… pregnant,” I whispered, looking at him in wonder. “Draco… I’m—“

“Holy harpies,”

Realization flickered across his face as it rose into an elated expression of joy. A victorious laugh as he scooped me up and twirled me around our lavish bathroom, in our muggle flat in the suburbs of London. His joy was contagious as I giggled in his arms, holding onto him. He set me down, stroking my face softly. Then he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

Draco must have seen some fear linger in my stare. Some uncertainty that was well justified.

“The war is over,” Draco reassured drawing me back into his arms. “They’ll be safe. We’ll make sure of it,”

I nodded, curling my fingers into his sweater, my smile returning.

“I’m gonna be a mum,” I laughed.

“And you’re going to be absolutely brilliant.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “Absolutely brilliant.”

“And you’re gonna be a great dad,” Tears pricked my eyes. “God, I don’t know the first thing about being a parent,” A nervous giggle left my lips.

“We’ll learn and figure it out,” He stroked my cheek softly, stealing another kiss.

A thousand parenting books, a baby shower, and a few doctors appointments later, Draco and I were curled up on the couch in our flat as the fire crackled in the hearth.

We had yet to settle on a name—to be fair we narrowed it down a lot, but with every new suggestion came a new round of anxiety that it wouldn’t be just right. It left me up at all hours thinking of it; so much so that Draco had to find a pregnancy safe sleeping potion so I could get proper rest.

“Elizabeth?” Draco mused, after my mother. I pursed my lips. It had been a suggestion that circled around.

“I’d like it as a middle name,” I decided, the thought had been mulling over in my mind.

“Okay done,” He smiled, reaching over to stroke my stomach before resuming his massage of my sore feet.

“Still need a first name.” I pondered, leaning my head against the back of the couch. “Narcissa?”

Draco snorted. “I’m not calling our daughter by my mothers name,”

My heart fluttered when he said our daughter.

“Well we need something,”

“How about Lucy?” That was a new suggestion: one not voiced by either of us.

“If that’s some way to get me to name her after your father I swear to Merlin—“

Draco burst out laughing shaking his head.

“Godric, no. Ugh,” he chuckled. “No, love, Lucy as in the first one to find Narnia. Ya know, that book you read to me all those years ago. The current theme of our nursery?”

“Oh,” my eyes widened at the thought, my heart softening. “Lucy,” I looked down, caressing my stomach when I felt something odd. Frowning I pressed my palm over the area. Draco caught my confusion and grew very concerned.

“What? Is she alright? What wrong?”

“Nothing,” I grinned. “She’s kicking—I think she likes her name,” I reached out for his hand and placed it in the same spot where mine resided as I felt her kick again.

“Hello little Lucy,” Draco whispered softly. “I can’t wait to meet you,”

Tears pricked my eyes as I watched him talk to her softly. And like every night, Draco got up and made me my tea that had Sleeping Draught in it—which he brewed specifically for me. It reminded me of our school days when he would spend class time brewing me anti-anxiety potions. It warmed my heart that his habit didn’t wane even with the years past.

That night my eyes fluttered open. I woke in the night, barely awake and ready to fall asleep again when I heard a soft voice. At first I thought Draco was trying to speak to me but I quickly realized that he was talking to someone else.

“You’re going to be one of the greatest wizards to ever walk the earth,” he murmured softly. “You’ll be kind and smart like your mother. You’re going to love her so much. We already love you so much.”

I let my eyes drift closed as a smile touched my lips. I resisted the urge to reach out and take Draco’s hand, in fear that he might become bashful about the situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A small bundle of warmth rested on my chest, peacefully sleeping. My hand rose and cradled the small thing, tears pricking my eyes. My other hand was still clinging to Draco’s.

Lucy Elizabeth Malfoy.

There were tears in Draco’s eyes as he reached out and with the softest touch caressed her tiny head.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured. “You did so well,”

Exhausted, I let my eyes close, knowing that all was right with the world. Lucy would grow up in a world free from the threat of Voldemort and Draco would be by my side to protect her. We had already bled and fought and now we would make this new world we fought for, right for her.

A new legacy.

A new hope.

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