#(no honestly that‘s enough to take all our breaths away isn‘t it?)

[charlie-rulerofhell]

okay, but can we talk about how fucking amazing they all look in the new Sonic Seducer magazine shots?

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Hogwarts No.1 Ship

Fandom: Harry Potter  Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader Word count: 3.4k Summary: You - Rubeus Hagrid’s niece and a surprising slytherin - have a crush on the Slytherin prince himself, but you are sugar and he is spice and there is no world where the two of you would fit together...right? Warning: Swearwordsm concussion, broken bones, but mostly fluffffffffff Requested by the amazing and patient (I’m really sorry it took so long) @onlycherryblossom​: Hi! I love your work and I was wondering if you could right a Draco Malfoy x Reader. you know, the one we talked about. It'd be so awesome! i hope you have a good day/night! (I won’t put our chat in here so that I don’t spoiler anything)

Hogwarts had rarely ever known two students who were as opposite to each other as Draco Malfoy and Y/N Hagrid. Draco - who was the embodiment of how people imagined the stereotype of Slytherin to be - was (most of the time) a prideful, cold, unempathetic prick, while you were a selfless, positive thinking, kind and gentle soul that could‘ve been a descendant of Helga Huffelpuff herself. The two of you did have one thing in common though. Your house. The hat had made you both into Slytherins which was on Draco’s side not surprising at all, but quite a shock for everyone who had talked to you for even a minute. Probably the biggest shock was courtesy of Rubeus Hagris - Half-Giant and your adopted uncle (on his father’s side) - who insisted that the hat must have made a mistake, but was quickly shot down by Dumbledoor who assured that the hat didn‘t make any mistakes. After some initial tumbling though, Hagrid realized that the house didn‘t make the person and that it didn‘t matter in what house you were sorted into, you’d always be his little pumpkin. And he was quite right. Even after you had been a Slytherin for just about five years, you had only grown more kind and loving - having bonded with many people in the other houses and years, but not quite as many in your own house. You’d call Blaze and Millicent maybe something close to friends and Pansy tolerated you which is why you gave her the title of ‘good acquaintances‘, but other than that you didn‘t really have a lot of contact with them in your free time. The most complicated relationship you held though was the one to the aforementioned Draco Malfoy. In a weird twist of fate the two of you somehow became the main ship in Hogwarts (with Harry and Ginny or Harry and Hermione as close second) even though you couldn‘t remember more than two or three times that you had talked to the boy outside of a classroom or study environment. Sure, he had never bullied or teased you which already differentiated you from most of the students, but you simply explained it by the fact that you were a good student - especially in potions class - and behaved well enough to gain a number of house points which made you into a good asset to Slytherin and as such made you a less logical target. Now all in itself that would‘ve been more than fine with you, but for some stupid reason your heart decided to betray you against it‘s better judgement and fall for him. Somehow, even after years of seeing him kick others down and behave like a complete douchebag you couldn‘t help but blush slightly at the mention of his name and feel your heart flutter when you walked by him in the hall or in the common room. The worst part was in potions class where he sat right beside you after Snape deemed your former partner as way too unqualified for one of his best students and exchanged him for Draco. Working with him in and of itself was actually rather nice. He was a good student and did his work thoroughly and mindfully, but you found it hard to concentrate when his hand brushed yours as you read a passage in the book or when he poured ingredients in the coultron that you were stirring. You really tried to ignore your feelings and ban every thought of him, but it seemed like you weren‘t doing the best job at it since your uncle kept asking about what it was that was distracting you all the time. On a rainy October day fairly at the beginning of your fifth year you decided you had enough. You were sitting in your Uncles hut with a plate of more or less edible cookies in front of you and a cup of something that was surely supposed to be tea when you finally gathered the courage to say what you had been meaning to say for weeks now. “Uncle Rubeus, can I ask you something?” Hagrid turned to you with his usual smile as he patted fang who was drooling all over his lap where he had laid his head. “Course ya can pumpkin. What’s it about?” “Uhm...well… you know there is this boy that I-“ “Ohhh Ah see,” Hagrid quickly interrupted you before you could even ask the question, “Ya know, usually I’d be more than happy to help ya with every question you have but ah really don’t thin’ I’m the right person for this, I’m sorry.” A little bit disappointed but not really surprised you just sighed and shook your head, telling him that it was okay, before bidding your goodbyes and making your way back to the castle quietly mulling over what exactly your plan b should be now that plan a had failed and you still had no idea what to do with or how to get rid of your stupid crush on Draco.

“You know what I would do if I were you?“ Ginny asked and pointed the end of her quill at you. The both of you were sitting in a corner of the library where you had planned to help her study for her upcoming potions exam, only for her to basically interrogate you until you admitted that you had an unlucky crush, even though she luckily hadn‘t pushed you to tell her who the guy you had a crush on was. “I‘d probably just tell them, I mean what do you have to lose. Either he‘ll say yes and you‘re happy or he says no and you just avoid him like he doesn‘t even exist - which would honestly be the appropriate reaction if he refuses a snack like you. See, no real downside to it.“ “Oh really? Hmmm, I wonder why you haven‘t told Harry how you feel yet then,“ you teased her and tapped your chin. Ginny‘s face immediately started to rival the colour of her hair and the way she crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted reminded you of an overgrown toddler - but in a cute way. “I-I don‘t like Harry, okay? I mean I did when I was like ten because he was famous and I was a child,“ she tried to make sure you really knew how silly she wanted you to believe she thought it was by drawing out the word child for a good few seconds before rolling her eyes and looking to the side, “And anyway, it‘s not like he‘d date his best friend’s sister…“ “Oh Gin,“ you immediately felt bad and grabbed one of her hands with yours, “Have you looked at yourself? You‘re amazing and if Harry doesn‘t see that through his stupid invisible cloak and these glasses than he doesn‘t even deserve you.“ “Even though I admit that yes, I am amazing, this isn‘t the topic that we should be conversing about right now, remember? I think there‘s a certain blond Slytherin that you should be worried about more right now.“ Immediately blood shot right to your cheeks and you quickly looked around to make sure no one could‘ve heard her before leaning forward and hissing: “What? No? I don‘t like Draco? Why would you even think that? I never said that he is the one I have a crush on.“ Ginny just raised her eyebrows in an unimpressed manner, leaning back in her chair and picking the quill back up to play around with while she talked. “Listen honey, I‘m not judging you or anything. Don‘t get me wrong, I still and probably will always think Draco is a major asshole and doesn‘t even deserve to breath the same air as you-“ “He isn‘t that bad…“ “Yes he is, but anyways, no matter what I think of him I also know that you are a clever girl that knows how to protect herself and who knows, maybe you‘d even have a good influence on him.“ Images of you and Draco together with your friend group laughing and having fun crossed your mind and you could feel your heartbeat fasten involuntarily. “That‘s all great and good, but like I said, I don‘t have a crush on Draco,“ you gave the hope of getting out of this situation with the lie you‘ve been telling yourself for months still intact one last try, but Ginny didn‘t give it the time of day. “Oh please, I see the way you look at him in the dining hall and how your eyes are always on him when he‘s playing quidditch and just now you defended him even though the two of you aren‘t even friends. My love-radar is pinging like crazy around the two of you which is why I, Ginny Wealey also known as the love witch-“ “No one calls you that,“ you interrupted her only to be shushed by an evil glare. “I, Ginny Weasley, will help you in fulfilling your desire and getting together with Draco and I already have the perfect plan.“ “No no no no, please don‘t! Don‘t do this! Ginny no!“ you tried to make your point clear but she was already cleaning up her stuff and getting ready to leave. “Don‘t worry oh sweet Y/N, the next time we‘ll talk everything will be set in motion,“ she winked before dashing off leaving you standing in her figurative dust with your mouth agape for a few seconds before you let your head sink onto the table. This would definitely take an interesting turn…

After that you definitely started to actively avoid Draco which was - surprisingly enough - not as easy as you thought. Somehow he was almost always at least in your near vicinity. Besides the obvious factors of class (where you tried to focus on working and on praying whatever Ginny had planned wouldn‘t happen) and when you were eating in the great hall (where you had resorted to sitting at the very end of the table as far away from him as possible) he seemed to also be there in your free time. You were relaxing in the common room? He was there reading a book. You were outside with Harry and co.? Guess who’s coming their way to insult them (while not saying a single bad thing about you). By now there were just about three places where you were sure that he wouldn’t be able to pop up at any given moment. Your room, the bathroom and the potions classroom on Wednesday and Friday afternoon when class has already ended. After Snape had realized that he had some real potions-potential sitting in front of him he offered you extra credit as some sort of teaching assistant which basically meant that you helped him prepare lessons, helped him grade the first to third years tests and that you cleaned up and organized the potions classroom twice a week. Now usually, knowing that you were more than capable of handling the potions and ingredients standing around on your own after having seen you do it for a few months, you‘d be alone while you cleaned up except for the occasional visit of your professor to tell you which ingredients you should put on the students desks for the next class, but for some reason the next Friday - three days after Ginny had made her promise to you - the door already stood open and you could hear Professor Snape talking to someone. “I really expected better of you, your action is the reasons Slytherin has lost 50 housepoints and I hope you know that it is on you to gain them back, no matter your status,“ Snape‘s voice carried to where you stood and you wondered who the student was if Snape went so easy on them with his lecture. Usually you‘d be afraid for your life after losing even ten house points so getting such a calm reaction for 50 must‘ve really meant something. Your questions about the identity of the student were answered when you entered the dungeon room and immediately felt yourself freeze. Of course not even you (time dependent) sanctuary was safe anymore. Of course Draco just had to stand there and look at you without any identifiable emotion in his gaze. “Ah, Miss Hagrid, right on time as always,“ Snape nodded after he also noticed you and you felt slightly more at ease knowing that with him there nothing could really happen. “Should I come back later?” you asked politely, not sure if you had interrupted something. “No, you may stay. Mister Malfoy over here has got himself caught trying to sabotage McGonagall class, a childish act which I would’ve expected of the Weasleys but really not from you. As a punishment he will be the one to clean the potions classroom bi-weekly from now on until he has regained the house points lost. You’ll supervise him.” “I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure I understand.” “Malfoy will do all the cleaning but since he has no experience with it I can’t just leave him alone so, since you’d be here anyway, you can watch him and make sure that everything goes orderly.“ It wasn‘t really a question as much as a command, something that you were used to from Snape, so you just nodded and bid him goodbye as he went to his office, leaving you and Draco behind. By now you had seen through what was happening. This was Ginny‘s plan. Somehow she must‘ve managed to blame Malfoy for the prank on McGonagall - something rather extreme given the taken house points- hoping (or somehow knowing) that his punishment would force you to spend at least an hour with him alone in a dimmed room twice a week. Inwardly you cursed your friend, while outwardly you tried everything to avoid directly looking at Draco as you explained his tasks to him before you sat down at your usual place and pulled out a book really hoping you could get him to not talk to you that way. Either your plan was working great or Draco just really didn‘t care for you, because an hour later you still hadn‘t exchanged any words, instead he dutifully, but slightly pouting, had done his job while you shot him the occasional glance to make sure he was doing it correctly. “I think that was all, you should be good to go now,“ you told him with a small smile, relieved that you were finally free to leave the room and with that the tension that had built up inside you as a mix of nervousness and fear. Draco had opened his mouth to respond when a third year came rushing inside with at least twelve books in her arms that almost towered over her which she quickly placed on a table, slightly out of breath. “Professor Snape sent me. He said these have to be sorted and put away.” You could probably feel Draco’s sigh before he had made it and - not really fond of spending more time so frustratingly close to your crush and yet so far - you just nodded and told both of them that you’d take care of it and that they could leave, which both promptly did. You took the books and carried them to the back of the room where a sole, old bookshelf was standing - since the students mostly had their own books - and started putting them away when you heard a sickening crunch before suddenly the shelf including books came crashing down at you and before you could even think to pull out your wand, the world turned black.

“I’m so so so sorry, you were right I shouldn’t have interfered, if I’d just listened to you you wouldn‘t be lying here now,“ Ginny whined from beside your bed where she had been sitting for the past twenty minutes apologizing over and over again and blaming herself for the broken arm, leg and the concussion that had you unable to leave the infirmary for the next three days to a week. “Ginny, how often do I gotta tell you, it isn’t your fault! I would’ve sorted those books in anyways - no matter if you had pulled that prank or not - and it would’ve fallen anyways,” you tried to reassure her and gave her a soft smile. “But-“ “No but, okay? We can’t change the past anyways, and even if we could I wouldn’t because thanks to you, I don’t have to take that stupid DADA test.” Your attempt to lighten the mood seemed to work, because soon you and Ginny were back to your usual conversation-style and it relieved you immensely. It made you feel okay again. She was just telling you of a stung Harry had pulled in the Gryffindor Common room when she suddenly paused mid sentence and looked up. You followed her eyes to where they were placed firmly on a certain Platinum blond boy that looked simultaneously like he’d rather be everywhere else and like he was glad to be there, it was a sight to see. “I think I’ll leave for now, I’ll come back later with tons of sweets that Luna and I are going to steal from Harry’s personal stash,” Ginny said goodbye and gave you a wink as she walked away making you torn between wanting to roll your eyes and feeling yourself blush. Unsure of what to do next you motioned to the chair that Ginny had just occupied and Draco seemed to get the hint because he quickly sat down. “Hey-“ “Hi-“ “Sorry, you first.” “No it’s fine, you’re injured, you go first.” “Well, uhm-“ you took a deep breath to calm yourself down, “-I wanted to thank you, for bringing me here I mean, Madame Pomfrey told me you carried me all the way.” You looked away hoping that he wouldn’t see how nervous you were. “You don’t need to thank me, I couldn’t just let you lay there buried under books, your not Granger after all,” he said, seemingly trying to joke but immediately noticed that it was probably not the best thing to say given that you and Hermione were good friends. “Listen, what I came here for,” now it was Draco’s turn to take a deep breath, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, but you were always with Potter or avoiding me or whatever, but after I saw you lying there… I guess I was just worried for you, I really don’t want you to get hurt.” Now that definitely caught your attention. For a second you played with the thought that this could possibly not be Malfoy but just someone else playing him with the help of polyjuice potion because he was definitely not acting like himself, but something in his word convinced you otherwise. “Thanks, I think, but would you mind me asking why? I mean...we’re not really the closest of friends,” you asked him, looking directly into his face to search signs of a possible answer. “Fuck it, I like you, okay? Happy?” You were completely stunned. Stunned, speechless, shocked. In all the time that you had been crushing on him you had never even really considered even the slightest possibility that he could reciprocate your feelings but now here he was telling you straight up. “You-You like me? Like like-like me?” You asked, just really wanting to be sure. There was a hint of nervousness and worry in his eyes, but he hid it behind a wall of annoyance. “You heard me, didn’t you? So, just get it over with, do you like me too or do you not, because if you don’t then I don’t want to waste my time any longer.” This definitely sounded more like the Draco you were used to and you had to giggle a little bit. “Yes, yes I like you too,” you confessed and like it was the most natural thing in the world you moved the uninjured hand over to where he laid on your bed and took it in yours. For the moment, you were caught in the shimmer of happiness and glee at having your crush there with you, definitely something more than your crush, and it would probably take a while until you‘d realize that there were some interesting things to follow, like telling your uncle about this for example...

[fizzing-imagines]

A Choice With No Regrets; Act 1

A/N: First of all, I want to thank @darlingreich so much for helping me get ideas, inspiration and helping me design this version of Delphini! To make it short, I read the Cursed Child and liked Delphini Riddle. What I didn’t like was her whole story arc. So, I went and made my own story of her, to give her what she deserves! Please leave feedback if you like it!

Words: 5,190

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Being nervous was an understatement. My hands were shaking and my throat felt incredibly dry, and adding to my dry throat, every breath I tried to take came out insanely shaky and stung in my nose. Every time I took a step further my feet felt like they were floating. The only reason why I knew that they were, in fact, still on the ground was that I heard my black heels hit the ground with every step.

It was a cold and windy night. The wind blew in my face, and hit my legs. Small shivers made their way up my body from time to time. A dress wasn‘t the best choice for this night. Before entering the grounds of the mansion, I stopped and looked around for any source of life in the windows of the house. There was a little light coming from one of the upstair windows. I pulled the hood of my black cape further in my face and continued my way.

After a while I realised that wearing high heels while waking to the Riddles mansion wasnt the best idea. It recently rained and the ground was mudy. A cleaning spell will definetly be needed before I dare to face him. Before approaching the large front door of the old mansion, I looked around for any mudbloods. None there. ‘‘Alohomora‘‘, I whispered and the door unlocked. I silently snuck in and closed the door behind me. After it closed I pulled off my hood and opened my cape. I let it slowly slide down my shoulders and hung it up on a dusty coathanger a few feet away from the door.

‘‘Welcome home, mistress.‘‘, I heard an oddly familiar voice say in parsel. ‘‘Nagini‘‘, I answered in the same language. ‘‘So you‘re my fathers new pet‘‘. Before going here, I have recieved a message from Peter Pettigrew that I might be greeted by a large boa constrictor. Nagini started sliding up my left leg and slowly wrapped around my waist. She smelled me for a while before I continued talking. ‘‘Where is my father?‘‘, I whispered in english. Nagini let go of me and slid back on the ground before moving to a staircase. ‘‘Go upstairs‘‘, Nagini told me. ‘‘He‘s in the room at the end of the right corridor.‘‘. Nagini turned and slithered away, probably to explore the mansion. I slowly and carefully walked up the stairs and looked to my right as soon as I took the last step up. Faint, male voices were heard from down the corridor, so I followed the direction of them.

The wooden floor was creaking underneat my 5 inch black heels. My fathers followers must bestupid, or else they would have alredy heard me. Before taking any further step, I straightened my hair and made sure my dress didn‘t go over my knees. After all, I needed to look presentable. ‘‘My Lord?‘‘, I called out while taking some further steps. ‘‘Father?‘‘ The door to the dimly lit room swung open and a familar face met my eyes. ‘‘Pettigrew.‘‘, I said in a monotone voice upon seeing his face and stared walking up to the door. I ignored the rat-looking man, I couldn‘t stand him just from hearing about him. He‘s nothing more than a coward who hides behind the next most powerful person. He isn‘t loyal and never will be.

There was an armchairs back facing me, with Barty Crouch Jr. squating next to it. ‘‘Mistress.‘‘ Crouch Junior said, a little gibberish. ‘‘I wasn‘t hoping to see my bosses son today, but it‘s always a nice suprise.‘‘ I walked a few steps up to him. ‘‘Where is father?‘‘

‘‘Delphini.‘‘ a high-pitched, yet cold voice coming from the armchair said. ‘‘My child, come here.‘‘ I walked around the armchair and was met by my father. But he didn‘t look like my father. He honestly looked like the miscarriage I had 2 years ago. ‘‘Father. It‘s so nice to see you again.‘‘, I said again and squated next to the left armrest. The fetus-looking creature that was currently my father moved his head in my direction.

‘‘Move further into the light, I want to see my heiress.‘‘, he demanded. I did as he said and moved further into the light given by the fireplace. It was silent for a few seconds before my father broke that. ‘‘Such beauty, is she not Crouch?‘‘ my father said and his fetus-face had a smirk eched uppon it. ‘‘Not a single drop of muggle blood, that‘s the secret ingredient.‘‘

He‘s been claiming of me being a pureblood all my life, however, I‘ve always known the truth. I just never dared to correct him. ‘‘Just like you, father.‘‘, I answered to his compliment, which he seemed pleased with.

‘‘Take a seat.‘‘, he ordered me. Pettigrew dragged a chair across the room so I could sit down next to my father. ‘‘Now my dear,‘‘, he continued. ‘‘what about your position as a teacher?‘‘. A smirk ran across my lips as he asked.

‘‘All is going according to plan. I recieved a letter from Dumbledore two days ago that I was accepted as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.‘‘, I proudly told him. ‘‘At least one of the Riddles will finally take on the position.‘‘

‘‘A good girl like you‘ve ever been, that‘s just what I‘ve expected of you.‘‘, he said with a miscevious smirk on his face. I replied with just a smile.

‘‘I‘m really sorry my husband and I can‘t take you in father.‘‘, I said to him and took his fetus-hand. ‘‘But with both of us working a ministry job and me working under the man ho trialed my mother it‘ just too dangerous.‘‘ I kissed the back of his hand once, as a sign of submission.

‘‘It‘s alright, Delphini. I have quite the comfortable place to stay here.‘‘, he replied, and I nodded to show that I‘ve understood.

‘‘My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?‘‘ , Pettigrew interrupted our conversation.

‘‘A week,‘‘ said my fathers cold voice. ‘‘Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over.‘‘

"The - the Quidditch World Cup, My Lord?" said Peter. "Forgive me, but - I do not understand - why should we wait until the World Cup is over?" "Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait. "

I nodded in agreement. Working in the department of international magical cooperation I‘ve noticed that all too well. I‘ve had much more work than before, so much that I now also have to work at home.

"Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly. "Certainly I am determined, Wormtail. " There was a note of menace in my fathers cold voice now. A slight pause followed - and Peter spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve. "It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord. ". I looked at Pettigrew with slight shock. How could he say something like this? "Without Harry Potter?" breathed my fathers voice softly. "I see. . . " "My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Pettigrew, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard - any wizard - the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while - you know that I can disguise myself most effectively - I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person -" "I could use another wizard," said our Lords cold voice softly, "that is true. . . " "My Lord, it makes sense," said Peter, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected -" "And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder. . . perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?" as he said that, I couldn‘t help but smirk. "My Lord! I - I have no wish to leave you, none at all -" "Do not lie to me!" hissed my father. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me. . . " "No! My devotion to Your Lordship -" "Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?" "But you seem so much stronger, My Lord -" "Liar," breathed my fathers voice. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. Silence!"

Peter, who had been sputtering incoherently, fell silent at once.

After a few seconds I cleared my throat and asked ‘‘May I speak, my lord?‘‘. He wasn‘t to mess with at this point. I learned that the hard way as a child.

‘‘You may‘‘, he allowed me, and I once more cleared my throat.

‘‘It will not be a problem to get to Harry Potter once I am at Hogwarts. Wormtails concerns about the boy are for nothing.‘‘, I assured everyone in the room. The two men and the form my father currently posessed looked at me, and no one dared to correct me. ‘‘I will keep contact with my husband while at Hogwarts. He‘s the heir of the Jugons family, who were loyal to you. Everything regarding the boy will be brought to you.‘‘ I continued talking. ‘‘If you‘d want me to keep contact with someone else though I will gladly do so.‘‘

‘‘The Jugsons will do, Delphini.‘‘, my father assured me. I nodded too show that I understood.

‘‘You have work tomorrow, don‘t you?‘‘ I nodded once more.

‘‘Use your words.‘‘, he told me. So I said ‘‘Yes, I do.‘‘

‘‘You may proceed to go then.‘‘, my fathers cold voice spoke. ‘‘We wouldn‘t want you tired and worn-out at work. You still need to get us information after all.‘‘

I slid off the chair Peter has given me earlier and bowed down in front of the arm chair my father rested in.

I took his hand again and said ‘‘Thank you for your generosity, my Lord‘‘ before kissing his hand once more.

Peter tried to help me to get up afterwards, but I slapped his hands away. I don‘t want those touching me.

‘‘Bring her to the door, Crouch.‘‘ my father ordered the Junior. He did as comanded and walked behind me while I walked thowards the door. However, when I opened it I saw an old man, a mudblood standing in the door.

‘‘Father, we had someone listening.‘‘, I said while looking the old man in the eyes.

"Invite him inside, Wormtail. Where are your manners?" my father said. ‘‘You may go, Delphini.‘‘

The old man was led inside while I left the room with Crouch Junior.

While walking downstairs, Nagini passed us. Poor old man.

We proceeded towalk downstairs and when we arrived at the front door, Crouch Junior took my coat and went to help me put it on. I didn‘t say anything and just let him do it. I didn‘t have a problem with him so there‘s no reason to not let him do it. However, I did close it myself.

‘‘We‘ll surely see each other again.‘‘, I said to Junior and put my hand on the doorknob.

‘‘Until then, Mistress.‘‘, he said. I turned the doorknob and opened the door. I first thought if I should say something about me seeing his father at work, but I just let it be. I had no good reason to tease him.

It started raining again while I was with my father, so I pulled the hood of my cape further into my face once again and stepped outside. I heard the door close behind me and I took a few steps further away from the mansion before apparating home.

                                                            ***

I was pleasantly suprised that it was only 1:30am. In all honesty, I thought it would take longer. Not wanting to accidentally wake up my husband, Amancio, upstairs, I took off my heels and got readynfor bed in the guest bathroom downstairs. I took off my makeup and dress with the stockings. The dress and stockings I brought into the laundry room and put on one of my husbands shirts for sleeping. Finally, I tiptoed upstairs into our bathroom. Soft snores came from Amancio, which confirmed to me that he was asleep already. I carefully slipped underneath the sheets and cuddled up to my husband before noticing that something fluffy was laying next to Amancios head, right over mine. ‘‘Looks like you tried to replace me, Misty.‘‘,I whispered to my husbands cat before cuddling into his chest and falling asleep.

                                                            ***

Our enchanted clock woke me up from my sleep. I‘m glad Amancio enchanted it to birds chirping. Misty woke up from the chirping as well and jumped out of bed. I turned off the clock and went to get up. My husband wrapped his arms tightly around me while I was sleeping, so I had to wiggle myself out of his arms. Amancio murmured in his sleep but eventually turned over and continued sleeping. I smiled to myself and then stepped out of bed. I went to our closet and got my work clothes out before walking into te bathroom to get dressed and do my makeup and hair for the day.

I did my makeup first, some eyeliner and mascara on my upturned eyes, blush to define my high cheek bones and I coloured in my thin and arched eyebrows. Then I put some almost white powder under my eyebrows, the inner corner of my eye and the back of my nose. Lipstick I was gonna apply after breakfast.

I continued putting on my dress, a black, short-sleeved dress that went down to my knees with a white collar. The dress was tight around my waist to show off my figure. That is a standart woman of my class. I put on skin-coloured tights and checked once more if everything was in place.

My hair was next, but it wasn‘t anything special. I just brushed my hair and left it like that. It was naturally straight and I never had to do anything special to it for the office.

I proceeded with my accessories. My engagement and wedding rings were always around my finger, but I still had to put the Lestrange family ring away. So I did. My earrings were adorned by small pearl earrings. Fitting to my red nailpolish, I put a small, red ribbon around the collar of my dress. Now I was ready for the day.

I went downstairs to enchant our kitchen supplies to make breakfast: Pancakes with bacon and butter. As the supplies started doing their thing, I started making coffee and feeding our cat.

While Misty was eating and the coffe brew, I went upstairs to wake up my husband. Lucky him, he didn‘t need as long as I do in the morning. Upon entering our bedroom, I sat down on the edge of his side of the bed and brushed my left hand through his dark brown hair. ‘‘Amancio‘‘, I said with a smile on my face. He grumbled a little, but didn‘t do anything further. ‘‘Il mio amore.‘‘, I said and placed a few kisses across his nose. He scrunched his nose and thick, dark eyebrows and rolled his face into the pillow. ‘‘5 more minutes.‘‘, he grumbled into the pillow.

‘‘You slept enough, bello.‘‘, I said and then proceeded to plaster kisses on the back of his neck. ‘‘I‘ll blow raspberries if you don‘t get up by yourself.‘‘

Amancio chuckled and turned back around onto his back. His emerald green eyes gazed into mine and I couldn‘t help but grin at the sight of it. Due to his tanned skintone they looked so much more intense. He sat up straight and pressed a short kiss on my lips. ‘‘Good morning principessa‘‘, he said and grinned at me.

‘‘No need to call me princess, I‘m not 15 anymore.‘‘ I said with a small giggle. ‘‘You woke me up so I can call you a princess at least.‘‘, he defended himself. I laughed a little and got up from the edge of the bed. I went over to our closet and pulled his work clothes from his side of the closet. ‘‘Breakfast is done any minute, hurry up.‘‘, I told him and handed him his clothes. Amancio got up and took the clothes from me. ‘‘Also,‘‘, I started ‘‘we need to talk about our Lord.‘‘. Amancios face became serious and he nodded. He proceeded to leave the room while I walked downstairs into the kitchen. Our kitchen equipment was already cleaning itself, so I took the two plates with our breakfast and put them on our breakfast table. The coffee and mugs followed and I also put a bowl of blueberries on the table. I already poured some coffee into Amancios mug and added some milk, just how he likes it. My mug was filled with plain, black coffee. That‘s how I like it. Shortly after I sat down, Amancio came in the kitchen and sat down on the seat in front of me. His face was still serious and I could notice that he was thinking while getting ready since his tie wasn‘t like he normally does it. Before even grabbing his mug, he asked ‘‘What did he say?‘‘. I could her the anxiety in his voice, something really rare for him.

‘‘It‘s my duty to get him the boy. Pettigrew can‘t even nourish him.‘‘ I took a sip of my coffee. ‘‘I made the decision to build up his trust while at Hogwarts. It‘s easier to get him to my father that way. Until then, I will regularly send letters to you and your parents so you can update our Lord. It shouldn‘t be to hard to get in contact with Peter and Barty Junior for any of you.‘‘

You could see the relief in my husbands face.

‘‘We can definetly do that.‘‘, he said with a small smirk.

Amancio wasn‘t a death eater yet. He didn‘t posess the dark mark, and so did I. We were very young when my father fell from power. But his parents were loyal followers, and so was my mother before she was send to Azkaban.

‘‘This is the first time I‘m properly serving him, so I shouldn‘t mess this up.‘‘, he added and started drinking his coffee.

I chuckled a little at what he said. ‘‘Considering the fact that my father doesn‘t know you and my mother probably doesn‘t even know that I‘m married you should really try your best.‘‘

A short laugh came from my husband before we both started eating breakfast.

Amancio and I knew each other since I was ten. After my mother was imprissoned I went to live with my aunt Narcissa and uncle Lucius with my cousin Draco, and Amancios mother was a good friend of Narcissa. Our wedding was set up by my uncle and his father when we were 13. At first, we were against it but ended up deciding that we should make the best out of it and become friends at least. Turns out we‘re really compatible, so we started dating at 14. All went well and we got married three years ago, just a week after Amancio graduated from Hogwarts. We‘ve never regretted it.

Breakfast went along in a comfortable silence. While Amancio put away the dishes , a post owl arrived at our kitchen window and I let her in. As always, she gave us the Daily Prophet and two letters. One was for Amancio and me from his older sister Amara and the other one was from Dumbledore for me.

I already expected what was written in Dumbledores letter, I recieved a 5-page letter about what will be taught in which grade regarding Defense Against the Dark Arts. I also got a small instruction on the grading system. Internally, I thanked him for the grading chart. I never went to Hogwarts, so I don‘t know how the grades work.

Amancio opened the letter from Amara in that time and it was a letter from her and her husband, a picture drawn by our niece Selene and a picture of Selene with the plushed Kneazle we got her for her birthday. She turned 3 last weekend and was very excited about the plushed animal, which currently was her favourite creature of all time.

I looked at the picture of our niece in adoration, yet there was a weird feeling in my stomach. It might be because I already had two miscarriages. I was still happy for my sister-in-law, it‘s just that I miss both of my angel babies.

While I looked at the moving picture of Selene, Amancio got both of our briefcases from our workroom and put them on the table. He proceeded to pack lunch in two lunchboxes for us. Amancio packed them with leftovers from yesterday, rice and steak, even though he packed more in his than in mine. Not because he didn‘t want me to eat, but because I don‘t eat a lot. I have a certain body type and weight to maintain. He never failed to sneak a small candy heart, carefully wrapped in golden paper, in there though. I watched him doing that with a smild etched upon my face. He packed each lunchbag in the right briefcase and walked over to me.

‘‘Phini, we should get going.‘‘, he said and placed a kiss on my temple. I nodded and both of us grabbed our briefcases. We walked into the hallway and put on our shoes. It wasn‘t until now that I saw all the mud on my heels from yesterday. I put on my black, 5 inch work heels and took my red lipstick and hand mirror out of my briefcase to put it on.

‘‘One last kiss.‘‘, Amancio said before kissing me on my lips. He always kissed me before i applied my lipstick since he knew that it would smear all over his face. I gave into the kiss, and it lasted for a few seconds before we let go of each other. Amancio grinned while I put the lipstick on my lips and put everything I used for the application back into my briefcase. One last glance at the clock told me it was already 7:40am. We‘ll have to start work at 8.

Good thing the fireplace in our workroom was connected to the floo powder network. I removed the large fireplace fence and stepped into the fireplace first. Amancio handed me the bowl of floo powder and I grabbed a handful of it. ‘‘Ministry of Magic!‘‘, I shouted and threw the powder on the ground. I was surrounded by green flames for a while and I felt my body float before landing on my feet again and stepping out of one of the ministry fireplaces. There was a little bit of dust left on my clothes, so i took a few steps further away from the fireplace and dusted those off with my hands. My hsuband followed shortly after me and after he dusted his clothes off as well. We smiled at each other before we started walking to the elevators. I had to get into the fifth level while Amancio had to get to the second, the Department of Magical Law Enforcment. To be more specific, he worked in the department of improper use of magic and was responsible for the wizards who want to homeschool their children. We tuffed us in the already packed elevator and lucky for us, both of the buttons for our level were already pressed. Amancio was the first one to get off, and he smiled at me once more before disappearing in the crowd of people. My journey to my office continued and it got more empty with each level. There was only a handful of wizards and witches left when I got off to my department.

I walked straight into my office, where three of my colleagues were already getting ready for work for the day. ‘‘Good morning‘‘, I greeted them and sat down in my workspace. There were multiple letters on my desk, all of which were written in a foreign language. I had a folder with already answered letters, all sorted after months of this year. There were many more folders like thi in the bookshelf standing on one of the walls of the office.

Our small office was one of the most important ones in this whole department. Our office had the witches and wizards in that spoke the mot languages, ones that most employees don‘t speak. If we have exchanges with wizards that didn���t speak english, it was send to us. Most of the letters I recieved from foreign countries were in greek and italian. The co-worker, Aluro was his name, sitting on the desk in front of mine spoke turkish and finnish. Hera who just came through the door, spoke the most languages out of the five of us in this office. She spoke a total of eight languages fluently, four of which were some of the hardest to learn.

My other three coworkers were Asteria, who spoke turkish and russian, Endymion, who was fluent in hebrew, romanian and dutch, and Serena, who spoke norwegian, serbian and hindi.

Due to being homeschooled I learned many more langauges, five in total. English is my native language, and spanish and french was spoken by many people in this department. Latin wasn‘t used for communication anymore, so only my fluent greek and italian is what saved me a spot in this certain office.

I put my parchment and quill on my desk and started working. First, I took onto the greek letters. It took me quite some time to first, write a translation for my boss, second, write a reply and third, then write a translation of my reply for my boss. I was down on two letters when our boss, Barty Crouch Senior, and his minon Percy Weasley came in the office. They did that every day, and he tended to stay in our office rather long.

‘‘Good morning.‘‘, he cheerfully greeted us. Most of us replied with the same, but Asteria and Endymion were so deep into translating that Asteria greeted him in russian and Endymion in dutch. That caused a small chuckle from most of us before we continued working.

I hated when he came over, but he did every morning. He had one of those creepy old man crushes on me. Barty probably thought I wouldn‘t notice, but it‘s blatantly obvious. One thing I‘ve inherited from my father were his looks, back when he still looked human. Combining that with the facade of a young, sophisticated, innocent and loving woman I am the perfect bait. As long as his weird crush is helping out my fathers causes, I won‘t exactly reject him. Good thing he thought that my husband and I aren‘t actually in love, but just set up to marry.

Talking about him, he walked over to my desk and looked me over the shoulder. ‘‘Good morning, Mr. Crouch.‘‘, I greeted him and turned my head to face him. It wasn‘t until then that I noticed that Percy was standing right behind him. ‘‘Mr. Weasley.‘‘, I said and smiled at him.

‘‘How is the work going?‘‘, Crouch asked me. The letter I was currently writing was in greek, so he couldn‘t read anything. ‘‘I already replied to the letter about alligning cauldron thickness with the greek ministry. Another one from greek was about the trade of muggle guards. I‘ve made some notes for the right department so they‘ll know what they need to do.‘‘ I took the translated letter with the notes and handed it to my boss for him to read. ‘‘I can‘t reply to it until the right department took care of it, and considering that I‘ll be gone by the end of this week this would need to happen fast.‘‘ It was Tuesday, and my last work day will be on Saturday. I‘ll have a free month to prepare classes before then going to Hogwarts. ‘‘I think we can prioritise that trade.‘‘, Crouch said and handed the letter and note to Percy.

‘‘I hope you‘ll find someone who speaks greek. Italian might be easier to find, but good luck with the greeks.‘‘, I jokingly said, just to keep my facade. Barty laughed about that, and his laugh was so utterly disgusting to me. Seeing the man who imprissoned my mother, one of the few people to not treat me as just an heir to my fathers legacy, displaying any form of happiness made me sick to my stomach. Yet I kept up my facade, his trust will give me the best information I could recieve.

‘‘It‘ll be hard to find someone to replace you, that‘s for sure.‘‘ he grinned at me, with a look no young woman would like to see from an old man.

‘‘I‘ll miss this office as well. Adapting somewhere else will be hard. But change is good for me, I believe that.‘‘ Everything that just came out of my mouth was an absolute lie, but I really didn‘t care.

‘‘I hope you really thought about becoming a teacher in that position. Defense Against the Dark Arts professors don‘t last longer than a year.‘‘ Good, I didn‘t intend to be there for longer than a year.

‘‘I‘m a skilled witch, nothing bad is going to happen to me.‘‘, I reassured himwith a small smile. He looked satisfied with what I said.

‘‘You surely are, Delphini.‘‘, he answered to that, still with his awfully happy smile on his face. ‘‘I should get going now.‘‘, he then said. I nodded and smiled at him. ‘‘Just put a note about the outcome on my desk with the letter, so I can answer them.‘‘, I said to Barty and his minion. Percy nodded, and Barty did the same (still with his horrible smile) before they turned and left our office. Crouch took one last look at me before closing the door.

Old creep.

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Shu Sakamaki (Story 04 + CG)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! I’m an amateur translator, but I hope you do enjoy it anyway!♡

Monologue

I took care of the bite marks I got from Shu-san, afterwards I headed to the living room.

Reiji-san frowned, but he didn't mention yesterday’s incident any more and concentrated on the reports from Yuma-kun.

Yuma-kun talked about today's inspection while everyone enclosed the dining table.

After listening to the two reports, Reiji-san started discussing about them.

Place: Scarlet Mansion — living room

Reiji: After all, it seems that Violet, which is headed by Carla, is pretty strong.

Yuma: Yeah, while comparing the people, we noticed that they got more members as we do.

Kino: But, the others just follow the first son, Carla. I don’t think they’re a big deal.

Yui: (Yea, the scarlet family is led by Reiji-san and the other families are—)

(The Orange family, which is led by Ruki-kun)

(And the last family, which is led by Carla-san is Violet... that’s it)

(In the present report, they both said... that they were looking for a chance to capture me)

Reiji: We can’t allow being attacked by both families at the same time. We need to crush one of them first.

Yui: ... !

Reiji: A large number of members would be a great deal. First of all, let’s defeat Violet’s lead Carla and after him we could break the other members.

Yui: (If that’s the plan, there really will be a fight ...)

(If they’re going to Carla’s mansion, there will be Laito and Subaru. And, if they really kill each other—)

Yuma: Actually, why isn’t Shu here?

Kino: I think, he's probably sleeping in his room? He’s always doing that.

Reiji: Good grief, despite what was said, without escorting Eve, this man really is...

The sleeping princess of the legend is still awakening firmly.

Yui: T-That’s right...

(Shu-san, who should’ve returned to this room after that incident, has no sign of coming to the living room at all)

(He said he was feeling sick and he’d like to avoid having a meal ...)

(I still remember clearly when he first sucked my blood. The mark is still visible)

(But, I can’t afford to leave Shu-san’s side because of his memory loss)

Place: Scarlet Mansion — Corridor

Yui: Shu-san, can I come in?

(No reply... he’s probably really sleeping)

Excuse me, I’ll come in.

Place: Scarlet Mansion — Shu’s bedroom

Shu: It’s you again... what is it?

Yui: (Oh, he’s awake. Then I was probably just ignored... Shu-san looks shocked to see me though)

How are you feeling?

Shu: Does that matter?

Yui: Yes, because I was frustrated a while ago, please tell me, I won’t be able to leave if you don’t.

Shu: *sigh*... You really can’t stop being annoying like that. I just slept the whole day. Nothing else.

Rather than that, you felt like you were sucked dry awhile ago and now you’re smiling at me again. Are you a masochist or something?

Yui: That’s not why ...

(If I’d say I was worried about him, I might be troubled)

I just wondered if Shu-san would get in trouble if he doesn’t watch over me.

Shu: So that’s why you came to my room? Hah... so you really are a masochist. If it was not for that, you must be stupid.

So you wouldn’t complain if you were killed while your clothes were ripped off?

Yui: (Uhm... even if I’m being threatened, I can’t help it but stand here)

(If I don't want to get caught up in Shu-san’s fantasies, I’ll just have to change the topic!)

Because you didn’t came downstairs, I brought you a soup instead.

Shu: ...What? I don’t need such.

Don’t you understand that vampire don’t need any human food?

Yui: (I know that human meals aren’t necessary for vampires... but maybe)

Still, I want you to feel better as soon as possible. Can you at least try it, please?

Shu: It’s way too bothersome to eat.

Yui: I-Is that so.

(Shu-san really doesn't want to eat, it’s useless)

(But, I hope he’s not in a bad condition)

(Oh ... yeah. Maybe if I’d play it like this, he’ll actually eat something—)

How about making me feed you if you think it’s too bothersome to eat?

Shu: What?

Yui: If I hold the spoon down, will it be enough for you to open your mouth?

Okay. Now open your mouth.

Shu: You really, are completely crazy.

Yui: I’m fine if you think like that. Could you open your mounth now, please?

Shu: I guess, I can't help it then... I’ll do it.

Ah...

Yui: (... ! He really opened his mouth!)

How does it taste?

Shu: The same as always.

Yui: I think it was delicious but ...

The potatoes that Yuma-kun has grown are well-cooked and I like the taste of the onions in there.

Shu: Wasn’t it Reiji who cooked this? You shouldn’t talk so proudly about his food then.

Yui: Certainly, that might be true. I’m sorry...

(Cooking... speaking of which, I haven’t eaten once since I woke up at the church)

(If he’d start doing something more for this family, maybe Reiji-san would forgive him ...)

Shu: ... Tell me, can you cook?

Yui: Me? Yes. I love cooking.

Shu: About this mansion... have you ever stood in our kitchen?

Yui: Nope, never.

Shu: ... I see.

Yui: (... ? Why did he ask that? I’m really curious now)

(What is he suffering from? Shu-san, maybe he’s worried about something, but what is it?)

Err... how about, another sip?

Shu: ...Not of this soup.

Yui: Hm?

Shu: This is not, what I want. Neither I need to eat any food.

Yui: I understand that... didn’t you like the soup?

Shu: I don’t know.

Yui: ... I, uhm...

Shu: It can’t be helped. Anyway, I don’t feel like eating it anymore. Get that soup away from me now.

Yui: Understood...

(Hmm, I thought that Reiji-san’s food always was pretty delicious, but what is he comparing it to?)

(Maybe ... I might just think about it, but maybe he’s thinking about the dishes I made at the Sakamaki family?)

Um, Shu-san! About the soup, are you rememb—

*Shu grabs Yui*

Yui: Huh?

(He, grabbed my arm... Ngh!?)

Shu: Give me a break already. I just want this kind of food right now... Aaah

Yui: No... wait...

(From my finger... !?)

Shu: I guess that was what you expected. That’s the reason why you came to my room, right?

Yui: No, I really just wanted to deliver the soup. If you aren’t watching me—

T-That’s right. If you're sucking my blood again, Reiji-san will be angry again, right?

Shu: Thats why, I’m sucking it from there. It would be obvious if I’d suck from your neck.

Yui: Wait, Shu-san! I... ngh

Shu: I hope you won’t break the spoon. It's bothersome, but if you’d do that, other people might notice what we did.

Yui: I could never break a spoon...!

Shu: It’s true that Reiji’s bothersome. But, the smell of your blood was filling my room.

*Shu blushes*

Shu: It’s unreasonable to suppress it like this. But most of all, you secretly wanted me to drink your blood, right?

Yui: (I wasn't coming here for that, neither I want to get preached at anymore...)

(I’m scared... but—)

(I won't run away from Shu-san anymore, because I love him—!)

I understand. Please suck as much as you like until Shu-san’s feeling better.

Shu: Ah, why did you change your mind now?

Choices

1) — It’s useless to resist (black)

2) — To face each other (white)♡♡♡

— It’s useless to resist

Yui: I thought it would be useless even if I resisted...

Shu: Hmm. Are you really trying that hard to show me a dedicated attitude so I’d let off my guard?

Yui: Such a thing... ! But, I seriously don‘t want to run away from Shu-san anymore.

So... I don’t mind how much blood you might suck.

Shu: You really, are a strange woman.

— To face each other♡

Yui: I’d like to face Shu-san. So, even if you’re sucking my blood, I won’t resist it.

Shu: Hm ... those eyes. Well, you really are a little aroused, aren’t you?

end Choices

Shu: If you say so, I won’t decline your offer. Get closer.

Yui: Yes...

Shu: Like this you‘re way too far away... ngh

Yui: ... !

(He hugged me... This feeling, it‘s so nostalgic)

(After all he’s still the same Shu-san. The power of his arms, how he’s hugging me hasn’t changed at all...)

Shu: What are you so happy about? Don‘t tell me you‘re really getting aroused just because of this.

If you really are, I might take off your clothes too. Raise your voice now. Your screams are pretty satisfying.

*Shu blushes*

Shu: Ahh... Ngh...

Yui: ... Agh... I...

(Oh ... he put his fangs in my skin pretty slow... it wasn’t as painful as I thought?)

(This feeling, I like it...)

Shu: Your blood, it just became sweeter and thicker... Ngh.

Yui: Ah...

Shu: I honestly prefer the bitter taste, but this isn‘t bad at all.

Such sweet ruddy blood isn’t something I usually see. After all, is that because you’re Eve?

Your blood really is something special. *kisses*

Yui: Agh... !

Shu: What, is such a thing really getting you aroused? The sweet smell of your blood, it’s getting stronger because of it.

Yui: (Shu-san's hot breath echoes in my ears ...)

Wait... Shu-san...

Shu: Hehe... what a lewd woman you are.

Yui: (Shu-san's breath and body are all so close. My cheeks are getting hotter...)

Shu: Your blood, it’s really getting sweeter. In addition of your face, you really are aroused.

Yui: I uhm...

(No, I‘ll lose my consciousness like that... !)

Shu: Do you feel that way because I sucked your blood or is it a genuine acting of a masochist?

Yui: T-That‘s because, Shu-san was so kind to me...

Shu: What? Kind? It’s not funny if that’s supposed to be a joke.

Do you really think, I’m thinking of you as my partner instead of my prey? ... Ngh... Ahh

Yui: Agh... Ngh

(But, he sucked my blood so gentle. He always did it like that—)

(Shu-san, I wonder if you still can’t remember any memories with me ...?)

*strange noise*

Shu: ... Agh... shit...

Yui: ... What?

Shu: Again, this feeling... ngh. Agh, ngh...

Yui: Shu-san... ? Do you have a headache or something?

Shu: Ngh... it‘s nothing, I‘m completely fine.

Yui: But, your breath is rising. Can I help you somehow—

Shu: Shut up.

Yui: ... !

Shu: I‘ll go to bed for now. You‘re free to leave if you want.

Yui: Wait, Shu-san!

(He really, fell asleep after he told me that...)

(The bite marks... they’re pretty visible, but they’re not as painful as they were before)

(After all, I believe that there’s definitely an opportunity to regain his memories)

(I promise you Shu-san, I‘ll get your memories back)

[anotherlifefic]

Chapter 34: Unwilling Sisters-in-Arms

I awoke the next day feeling a lot better. The Kokiri were alive and well, considering the circumstances. Link was with me, and we had finally gotten a good night‘s sleep. For the first time since this mess began, I felt something akin to optimism. Link was already awake, propping himself up on his elbows. Next to our pile of leaves stood a Kokiri boy, holding two bowls with nuts and fruit in them. „I brought breakfast for both of you.“ „Thank you so much“, Link said kindly. „We really appreciate it.“ „You should thank Jenna. She was up really early gathering food for everyone.“ I looked over to Jenna‘s pile of leaves, where she sat and was having breakfast. Link and I took our bowls, and before I could to anything, Link snatched a piece of apple from my bowl and shoved it into his mouth. „Hey!“, I said with a giggle, but then I noticed his serious expression. In a hushed voice, he told me:„I wasn‘t trying to be cute. This was just a safety measure. To make sure that she didn‘t put anything into your food.“ „And what if she put something into your food?“, I replied, taking a piece of pear from his bowl and eating it before he could stop me. „...hm, tastes fine, and I don‘t feel anything.“ He let out a long, drawn out sigh. „Please leave the food-testing to me in the future. During my travels, I often had to improvise when it came to food, so I have a strong stomach.“ We ate our breakfast, and once the bowls were empty, we set them down. „So… do you think that the shard of the Master Sword could be here in the temple?“, I asked, deeming this a good opportunity to discuss strategy. „I don‘t think so“, he replied. „And… there‘s something else bothering me. Don‘t you think things have been too easy thus far?“ „I‘ve mostly just been thankful for that.“ Link took his sword from its scabbard and began examining it for any wear and tear. „We can‘t rely on it going on like that. Cassandra may have promised to make it as easy as possible for us, but there‘s only so much she can do, now that Ganondorf knows what we‘re doing.“ I remained quiet for a moment. „Either way, we have to find the shard of the Master Sword. It has to be somewhere here in the forest.“ „Hmhm….“ Link was still examining and cleaning his sword. „In the forest… Maybe somewhere in the deeper part of the Lost Woods.“ „You think so?“ „I mean, it makes sense, doesn‘t it? Take it to a place that‘s so wide and open it would take forever to search for it. He views his servants as expendable anyway, so he could just have sent one or two of them to hide the shard in the woods, trusting that they would turn into Stalfos if they weren‘t Stalfos already, and let them act as the shard‘s guardians.“ At that point, Jenna got up from her pile of leaves and then walked over to us. „So, what‘s the plan?“ We both gave her an odd look. „Why do you want to know that?“ „Because I will help you, of course. I can fight, and three pairs of eyes see more than two.“ I bit my lower lip, trying to decide whether to welcome or reject her. She was right; we could use the help. Then I turned to my husband. „What do you think?“ „We should accept.“ Jenna‘s face lit up. „Oh, fantastic! You won‘t regret it, I swear! Hold on, I‘ll go grab my phoenix circles!“ „Phoenix circles?“, I muttered as she scrambled away.

When she returned a few minutes later, she was holding the probably gaudiest pair of weapons I had ever seen. They were circular blades, seemingly made of gold and encrusted with shining jewels. „By the Goddesses“, I mumbled, but said nothing else. Instead, I just grabbed my naginata. Link had finished taking care of his sword and sheathed it again. „Alright then. Let‘s go.“

The Kokiri bid us goodbye as we left, wishing us luck and begging us to bring peace back to the forest and then come back safely. Even Mido came up to Link, grabbed his wrist, looked him firmly in the eyes and said:„If you die, I will never forgive you.“ Link gave him a somewhat patronising pat on the head. „Hey, I saved your behind a lot of times already. This one won‘t be any different.“ We climbed down the vine in front of the temple and than made our way east, towards the border of Hyrule, deeper into the forest. Once we left the safe zone around the temple, Link took my hand again. „Hold onto me. Jenna, hold onto Rebecca.“ „But why?“, Jenna complained. „I‘m not some small child that needs her hand held! At least not by Rebecca!“ „Do you want to turn into a Stalfos, Jenna?“, Link asked somewhat aggressively. „Because that‘s how you turn into a Stalfos. Now take my wife‘s hand and stop complaining.“ Jenna pouted, but took my offered hand and followed us. „What if we have to fight?“ „I suppose it‘s okay to let go then“, Link said slowly, as if he had to consider his answer first. „And be careful. The magic of the Lost Woods gets stronger the deeper we get into it. Different realities overlap here. It‘s also where I found the portal to Termina.“ „Other realities?“, I asked. „Yes“, Jenna said in a soft, surprised voice. „Like that one?“ We looked over to where she was pointing, and there stood a huge farmhouse. It kind of reminded me of the main building back on LonLon Ranch. Except this house was bigger and had a white fence around it, with a stable, a barn, a coop and a pen for animals. The door opened, and out came Link. Or rather, something that looked like Link. If I had a rupee for every fake version of my husband I have seen on this journey thus far, I could buy a house like this, I thought dryly. And this one was more than obviously fake. He was even more idealized than the fake Link I had encountered in Ganondorf‘s childhood home. He was taller than my Link, and way more muscular, while still having his soft face. His eyes were so intensely blue that it almost hurt looking at them. Kind of like looking at the sun. And from behind him came four children; the first one a boy that looked like a younger version of him, then a brown-haired girl, then a set of twins, with the boy being blonde and the girl being brunette. And the fake Link was smiling at Jenna. „Jenna, my love! Where have you been? The children have been missing you!“ Jenna was almost in tears. „Oh Link, my love! I knew we would eventually find each other!“ She was about to let go of me, but I grabbed her wrist and yanked her over to me. „Jenna, don‘t be a fool! What you‘re seeing isn‘t your reality! He probably mistakes you for his reality's version of you!“ „But...“, she began. „No ‚but‘! Do you want to be lost forever and turn into a monster?!“ She was trembling, but with a lot of effort, managed to turn away from that fulfilled wish of hers. „Let‘s go.“ Link nodded and ran ahead, and we followed, with the desperate calls of the fake… no, the other Link wailing after us.

We only stopped when we absolutely couldn‘t keep that pace up anymore. We let go of each other; as long as we weren‘t on the move, there was no danger of getting lost. Link sat down on a fallen tree and Jenna sank to the ground quietly whimpering to herself. I sat down next to her, avoiding eye-contact. „I‘m proud of you, Jenna.“ She looked up with teary eyes. „H-huh?“ „What you did there. Turning away from a reality where all your dreams have come true. That must have been incredibly hard. But you did it, and I commend you for it.“ She sniffled. „Well.. you were right. That Link had his own Jenna, one that was probably pretty different from who I am, and just shared my face.“ She wiped her tears away with her sleeves. „Do you think that‘s what my children with Link would have looked like?“ I shrugged. „I guess. They looked similar enough to both of you.“ She was quiet for a moment, before proceeding:„Link Jr., Elyesia, Roan and Reena.“ „Huh?“ „That‘s what I would have named them.“ I took a deep breath. And then smiled at her. „...those are good names.“ Now she met my gaze. „I never asked what your son‘s name is.“ „Gareth. We… we named him Gareth.“ She chuckled, though still sounding choked. „...that‘s a good name, too.“ It was strange how watching her face her wishes and reject them in favor of the greater good had made me sympathetic towards her. For the first time since I met her, I actually felt fond of Jenna. Link had watched the exchange wordlessly, but now he got up. „We still have some daylight left. Let‘s continue.“

We continued onward, fighting our fair share of monsters on the way. Most of them being Dekus and Dekuranhas, but also stumbling upon one Moblin on the way. Gaudy as they were, Jenna absolutely knew how to use her phoenix circles effectively, and with her the help of her skills, Link‘s swordsmanship and my somewhat shaky abilities with the naginata, we made out way towards a big tree that seemed to be a good spot to set up camp. Link and I gathered up some dry wood, which Jenna then lit on fire with the help of a pair of flintstones she had been carrying with her. As we sat around the campfire, Jenna looked up at me an gave me a somewhat sly grin. „Soooo… are you two planning to have any more children?“ I looked over at Link, but he was already asleep, so I had to answer. „Why does it always come down to kids with you?“, I asked somewhat exasperated, but it was a fond kind of exasperation. „I don‘t know. Gareth wasn‘t exactly planned, but in the future, when things have gotten better, sure.“ „And?“ „And what?“ „How many? And do you already have names in mind for them?“ I stared into the flames until my eyes hurt. „We wanted to name a girl Carys. But beyond that… I‘ve honestly never thought about it. I usually stick to the saying ‚We cross that bridge when we get to it‘.“ „Aw, that‘s no fun.“ „Do you have the names of all of your future children planned out? I mean, beyond the four you have already told me?“ She grinned. „Of course! I have tons of names… too bad I lost my wagon to a group of Ganondorf‘s goons. I had a whole book with name ideas.“ „A whole book?“, I asked incredulously. „Just how many children do you plan to have?“ „As many as the Goddesses will give me.“ I thought about it some more. Thought about all of the romance novels I had read as a girl, searching in my memories for names I would like my children to have. „Perhaps Aiden for another boy… and Inessa for another girl“, I finally said. „But Link and I will need a bigger house if we want to have more than one child. Our house in the city only has space for one nursery, and I would like each of our children to have a room of their own.“ „Hmmm… yeah, that would be best“, she hummed thoughtfully and then yawned. „We should probably sleep as well. We will need all of our strength tomorrow.“ „True“, I said. „G‘Night, Jenna.“ I rested my head on the bedroll, but before I fell asleep, I opened my eyes one last time. „Oh, and Jenna?“ „Hmhm?“ „Thanks for the breakfast.“