#(what the detention is for is fair game me thinks)

[windsofcourage]

LINK . . . HADN'T BEEN ABLE to look her in the eye since they'd been ushered out of the dean's office . everyone knew who zelda was . if highschool had a hierarchy , she'd be at the top . OR AT LEAST : that's the impression link had gotten since day zero . their paths hadn't really crossed before .

FOR REASONS THAT SEEMED SO OBVIOUS :

high school princesses DIDN'T MIX with good - for - nothings .

hey — just - wait a second mr . willkins , sir , i — look , she had nothing to do with this — i don't want to hear one more word out of you MR . PILLAN . AND YOU , miss hyrule . ( the dean sighed . ) I expected far better from you .

UNFORTUNATELY FOR HER : the pink slips stuffed into their hands was BINDING PROOF ENOUGH that they were both in hot water .

BUT THAT HAD BEEN a minute ago , and zelda still seemed to be in some kind of shock .

❝ . . . hey , i'm — you shouldn't have gotten in trouble for all that . ❞ link let out a huff of a laugh . ❝ i dunno what that guy's thinking , honestly . maybe he needs to look into retiring early , yeah ? ❞

@silentaura / vagabond link !!

[liv2post]

Dungeon Bats

Animagus!Snape x Animagus!Professor!Reader Wordcount: ~1000 Summary: Severus Snape thinks the Muggle Studies professor is strange only to find out she is an animagus with an awfully familiar form.

Read here or on ao3

The Muggle Studies professor was strange.

Hogwarts always had its fair share of odd characters occupying teaching positions. Even a ghost, evidently, was capable of teaching. But he couldn’t place what it was about you that made him so suspicious. 

You were human, not like Firenze or Professor Binns. You weren’t kooky like Hagrid or Professor Trelawney. Outwardly, you appeared perfectly normal. However, there were oddities if one looked closely.

You ate fruit. Lots of it. Every day at breakfast, instead of toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, things the other teachers would partake in, your breakfast consisted of fruit and only fruit, including a cup of pumpkin juice. Your plate appeared almost like a small pyramid, stacked with cubes of cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries, honeydew, and grapes, leaving behind a pool of sweet juices when consumed. 

You also had a tendency to pop up and disappear seemingly out of nowhere. One time he went into your classroom to talk to you about moving a couple of detentions around only to find it empty, having swept his gaze around it. Just as he approached your office door to knock on it, you uttered a soft “hello” as you stood in the middle of the classroom, making him jump out of his skin. 

Furthermore, Filch had brought up to him once that he could hear some perplexing screeching noises echoing from random parts of the castle at night and even what sounded like right outside the windows. What was strange about it is he only brought them up the morning after you were scheduled to perform rounds.

This wasn’t to say he disliked you. Quite the opposite. Out of everyone in the castle, he’d say he preferred your company. Who he'd rather sit next to at Quidditch games? Probably you. Even though you were the Muggle Studies teacher, you had plenty of knowledge about Care for Magical Creatures and DADA. Potions weren’t your forte, but you’d happily let him ramble about the subject, even when he’d realize too late that he was rambling. 

“Why do you eat so much fruit?” he asked one day when you came into his classroom eating a sliced-up apple.

“Oh, uh, that’s just my animagus urges. Sorry, am I dripping juice on the ground again?”

He blinked dumbly at you. “You’re an animagus?”

You chuckled, “You didn’t know, Severus? I thought Minerva would’ve told you. Yes, I am an animagus.”

“What animal?” he asked. You smirked and set down the apple slices on a nearby table before shifting. Your robes moved with you, swishing up and shrinking until you took the form of a fruit bat. You flapped and swooped about the air in a few circles before landing on the flat surface of the table, using your talons and thumbs hooks to wriggle toward your sweet fruit.

“You’re a fruit bat,” he observed. You screeched at him in confirmation and began to gingerly gnaw on the flesh of the nearest apple slice. Severus remained quiet for a little, seemingly thinking to himself as his fingers flexed and his jaw clenched slightly. Much to your curiosity, he wordlessly set his wand down and took a deep breath. Within a flash, his robes swooped around him, and in his place was a fruit bat, just like you, but bigger. He flapped his wings just hard enough to get him onto the table as he landed with an audible thud. It was pretty much impossible for bats to take flight without launching from a tree or a high-up place.

[Woah! You’re a bat too? That’s awesome! Is that why students call you a “dungeon bat?”]

[Yes, I am an animagus whose form is also a bat, and no, that’s just a coincidence.]

[How come you’re so much bigger than me?]

[You don’t exactly tower over me, Y/N.]

From then on, the two of you would sometimes go on day flights if both of you had some free time. While both of you wished to fly at nights, you still needed time to sleep and perform your teaching duties during the day. However, your favorite times were when the both of you were scheduled to do rounds. Your classrooms were on opposite sides of the castle so it was almost like a game to use echolocation to find each other in the dark and meet up. It was a little fun considering the dungeons were almost maze-like. If the two of you were sure that no students were out and about, you’d ditch your duties, ascend up the Astronomy tower, and take off into the night sky, playfully chasing one another or showing off flying moves. 

Severus hardly used his form unless it was necessary. It’s not like one got to choose which animal they could shift into. Admittedly, he was a bit let down when he first shifted all those years ago, but with you he learned to embrace his batiness, though he still resisted such urges when it came to eating a castle’s worth of fruit. He liked flying, of course, but he found that he quite liked hanging upside down too, especially when he needed a break from grading or just wanted a change of scenery. Sometimes he’d come hang around your office when you were grading and vice versa.

Dumbledore came to visit his classroom one late afternoon to talk about a particularly unruly Slytherin, but could not find the potion master anywhere, not even in his office. It was rather dark, all the lamps extinguished and curtains drawn. What he did notice, however, was two wands haphazardly tossed onto the stone ground near Snape’s desk, one of which he recognized as your wand. Dumbledore craned his neck up towards the ceiling where an old chandelier hung and sure enough, hanging from one of the rungs was a large fruit bat, and swaddled in its wings being held close to its fur, a smaller fruit bat. The both of you were napping. The old wizard smiled at the sight and slowly receded back through the doorway, happy that Severus had finally found a little bat of his own.

[scribblesofagoonerr]

I'm not a loser!

Pairings: lia wälti x teen reader, caitlin foord x teen reader, awfc x teen reader

Massive thinks to @alotofpockets for her help with motivating me to write and put this out. Sorry it's taken a while, but I wasn't overly keen with how I wrote it & even now, I feel like it's not my best work.

I hope you like it though, and please let me know your thoughts of what you'd like to see happen in this mini fic series!

Things really hadn’t been going in your favour today at all, in fact it had been a completely terrible day at school and you didn’t realise that it was only about to get worse.

Since the day started, it had been horrible from the very minute that you woke up, overhearing the latest argument between your two mums’ on the phone as they fought about you, but you didn’t care to listen to any of the conversation; It always seemed to land back around on the same topic that you argued about, and that subject being you.

It seemed like your mood only worsened when your latest test was handed back to you, graded with a big fat F circled in red around it and it’s not like the disappointing look you received from your teacher helped matters either.

You were quick to shove the paper in the bottom of your backpack, at least then you could try and forget about it; The last thing you wanted was to see the disappointed looks from either of your mums, after you promised them that you would try and keep your head down.

But sometimes it was easier to say that then actually do it.

It’s not like you have ever been a troublemaker in school, but it’s been tough to keep on top of everything and now you’re finding yourself both in trouble at school and at home; You were currently grounded after the latest stunt that you pulled over the weekend with Kyra, which you didn’t find completely fair, but your mama seemed to think different, so what did you know?

The rest of the morning at school hadn’t exactly been great either, you’d somehow managed to land yourself with a break time detention for the forgotten piece of English homework that you were supposed to hand in, but it wasn’t meant like you did it on purpose when there’s added pressure from football games and training, not to mention the messy home life situation that you currently faced, so it's’ safe to say that your school work has now been slacking ever so slightly.

By the time that the bell for lunch went, you were more than ready to escape the classroom. However, when you were walking out of the classroom that’s when it all changed and you came face to face with your tormentor.

“Oi, Y/L/N!” You flinched at the familiar voice of your bully shouting at you from behind, just as you thought that you had been doing so well to avoid them only for you to turn a corner and see them.

You could say that life’s never really been the easiest roller coaster for you, your past homelife hadn’t exactly been fantastic and you’d never even felt true happiness until you found your home at your childhood dream club with a new family that welcomed you with open arms.

The day you signed your first ever professional contract, your life changed completely. When the opportunity arose for you to play for the Arsenal womens’ senior team, you couldn’t help but leap at the chance to play for your dream club, even if you were still quite young.

It was all you’d ever wanted to do.

Despite the rough start in your life, you’ve necessarily not been one of those types of kids to act out, you just get on with life without a single complaint, even with the challenges that you’ve faced in life.

Just like the current situation right now, your own personal tormentor.

You weren’t bothered at first when it was tolerable, it was just harmless name calling and sure, the names’ spilled were mean but you had enough sense just to ignore them but then it got worse and eventually the names turned into physical assault.

You just didn’t know what to do anymore.

“Oi, don’t ignore me, Y/L/N. I know you can hear me, you stupid twat” Your own personal bully continued to shout aloud to get your attention.

Mustering up all the courage that you had, you bit your bottom lip and spun around to face your bully although they were tall and had that slight advantage over you, “I… I wasn’t ignoring you. I just didn’t hear you” Your quick to lie and cover your tracks.

“Whatever” The older girl muttered, rolling her eyes before she continued to push you into a nearby locker, “Listen, stupid. The chemistry homework needs to be handed in today, do you have it or not?”

Your eyes widened in a sudden panic, you’d completely forgotten about it when you were so busy with football and trying to keep up with your own school work that you pushed your bullies’ to the back of the pile, and now you knew that you were gonna pay for it.

“Well, do you?” You pulled out of your thoughts by a sharp pinch on your bicep.

“Um, no… I forgot about it” You quietly admitted, although you knew it was an instant mistake right there and then.

“You forgot? Huh, you really must’ve been born stupid then” The bully spat venomously as they tower over you with a menacing look on their face, “Well, I guess we have a problem now then, don’t we?” they sneer at you.

A single second later, you hissed out loud in pain at the instant impact of being thrown directly into the locker behind you, you can’t help but flinch as an automatic response to the violence that is being directed towards you while you peer up with wide eyes as they tower over you with a venomous look in their eyes.

“You’re not going to fight back, you wuss? What a loser!” They taunt you before they throw you directly into the locker again, “Huh, no response, no defence. You really are a sad little lost orphan aren’t you” they continue to taunt.

You don’t know what it was inside of you but it was like something snapped. You couldn’t take it any longer of the harsh comments spewed or the violence, you didn’t have to put up with it either.

“I’m not… I’m not an orphan” Your usual calm approach to your bully has gone as you can’t help but growl at the older girl while clenching your fists tightly, “I’m not a loser either, I’m not— I’m not!” 

“Oh, yeah? Prove it then, loser” They smirk, almost challenging you.

You couldn’t even explain the next few minutes even if you tried. 

It was like you blacked out in a state of absolute rage, your fists flying at them as you remembered the self-defence that your mum had so helpfully taught you in case you ever needed it in a situation like this, and now it finally came in handy against them.

“I’m not… I’m not a loser!” You exclaimed loudly as you lifted your own fist up and swung it in the direction of their face, “I am not… I am not a loser!” You’d lost control of your anger like a flick of the switch, lashing out and throwing punches at your bully whos’ been endlessly taunting you for the better part of the last several months.

Even though you know you were  bound to be in trouble for it, you couldn’t care less right now because punching your bully and sticking up for yourself was definitely worth it in the end.

And maybe this way, you’d be able to get the attention of both your mums’ in the same room, so that was another positive reason to punch the girl square in the face.

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye” Lia exhales a sigh as she ends the most recent phone call with your head teacher this week, having asked her to come down to the school after you’d landed yourself in trouble.

“What’s going on?” Leah looks at the older women confused as the trains alongside her in the gym.

Lia exhales a sigh and slips her phone into her pocket, “That was the school again. Y/N is in trouble” she explains to the blonde.

“Again?” Leah's eyebrows furrow, confused, “What happened this time?” she wonders.

“I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out when I get down there” Lia mumbles, standing up from the bench that she was previously sitting on, “I seriously don’t know what’s been going on with her lately. It’s just one thing after another” she adds.

“I guess Y/N/N is having a rough time, maybe?” Leah comments that sounds more like a question, not used to your recent streak of wild behaviour compared to the calm girl you are usually.

“What’s going on with Y/N?” Caitlin overhears the conversation and the mention of your name, before she makes her way over to join the two women, “Is she okay? Has something happened?” she asks, confused.

Lia exhales a sigh as she has to face her ex-girlfriend and speak to her, “The school just called, Y/N is in trouble” she explains once more as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

“What? What happened?” The Australian woman frowns and digs into her own pockets, pulling her phone out to check for any missed calls from the school, “The school hasn’t phoned me about it” she mumbles, furrowing her eyebrow.

“Well there’s no point in phoning both of us when we’re at the same place most of the time, is there?” Lia remarks, not having the time nor energy to explain anything further.

Caitlin continues to frown and shake her head in disagreement, “I should still be kept in the loop with what’s going on. I hardly hear what’s happening with her at the minute” she states.

“You are told what’s going on Caitlin, I don’t keep things from you” Lia exhales a sigh as she tries to keep calm while talking to her ex-girlfriend, “What more do you want me to do?” she asks.

“Aye, that kid. What’d she do this time?” Katie joins in on the conversation, not sensing the seriousness of it all, “Bad mouth the teacher or get caught cheating on a test?” she jokes.

Lia purses her lips in annoyance with the Irish woman, “It’s not funny, Katie” she states, bluntly.

“Oh come on, so the kid gets into a bit of trouble every now and then. It’s not a big deal” Katie insists, rolling her eyes.

“You’re clearly not seeing the point of how serious this is then, Katie” Leah steps in as she can see Lia getting herself annoyed with Katie’s mock teasing, “This isn’t funny, you know Y/N/N and you know that she’s never usually like this at all!” she remarks.

Katie holds her hands up in mock surrender, “Relax, eh, Williamson, will ya? I’m only joking here, there’s no need to take the high ground about this now, is there?” she says and she can’t help but rile the blonde up.

Leah scoffs in disagreement with the brunette, “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if her behaviour as off lately was down to your antics when she’s around your house on the weekend, cos’ she certainly doesn’t act like this when she’s at Lia’s house” she remarks.

“My antics?” Katie fires back in disbelief.

“Y/N/N acting up isn’t anything to do with how she is at ours” Caitlin chips in and defends the pair of them, “I don’t know what is going on with Y/N/N but this isn’t something that’s neither mine or Katies’ fault” she tells them.

“Oh, really?” Leah scoffs and raises her eyebrows before she looks at the Swiss woman, “Do you want me to come down to the school with you?” she offers.

“Would you?” Lia glances at the blonde in appreciation.

“Of course, I would–” Leahs’ agreement is cut off.

“No way, absolutely not!” Caitlin interjects, very much in disagreement with that decision, “If anyones’ going down to the school with you then it should be me!” she states.

“Caitlin–” Lia begins to speak.

“No, I’m Y/N’s mum just as much as you are, Lia” The Aussie woman insists, not liking the idea of being pushed out of the picture, “We should go down to the school and deal with this together, as a family” she mumbles.

“We broke up Caitlin, we’re not a family anymore” Lia quietly tells her, shaking her head in disagreement, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go down to the school together, Caitlin. I will go with Leah and then I’ll just tell you what happens” she tells her.

“Why not? No offence, Leah but this hasn’t got anything to do with you!” Caitlin objects to the idea as she looks at the blonde.

“I’m going there to support Lia and that’s important right now” Leah explains to the Aussie woman.

Caitlin shakes her head completely in disagreement with the idea, “No, no– I should be there, Y/N is my daughter, not yours!” she points the finger at the blonde firmly before she looks at Lia, “Fine, if you don’t think we should both go down there then why don’t I just go down there? In fact I’ll take Katie, we’ll take her back to ours afterwards instead” she declares.

“Oh yeah, Y/N/N loves Coopurr!” Katie exclaims, in agreement with the suggestion.

“There we have it then. I’ll find out what’s been going on with Y/N/N and then we’ll go back to ours” Caitlin insists with the idea.

Lia shakes her head in disagreement, “Oh, and make it seem like I’m the bad cop when you bring her home?” she questions.

“That’s not what I’m trying to do here, Lia! I’m just trying to help you out here and be the parent that Y/N/N needs– She’s my kid too, you know?” Caitlin shouts back in response, earning the attention of a few girls in the gym, including their captain Kim.

“I’m not saying that she isn’t. I know she is but it’s easier to do it this way” Lia explains, avoiding the looks from the rest of the girls in the gym who look concerned.

“Is it? It just seems like you’re pushing me out of the picture!” Caitlin makes her feelings evidently clear.

“Caitlin has got a point, Lia. You can’t stop her from seeing Y/N/N like you’re trying to do that” Katie chips in, looking at the Swiss woman.

Lia turns to look at Katie in disbelief, “Stay out of this, Katie. This isn’t your argument to get involved in” she says as she begins to collect her stuff. 

“Okay, alright, that’s enough. You’re all causing a scene in here” Kim speaks up loudly as she walks over to them as she overhears the conversation between the 4 adults in the gym, “What is going on?” she asks, glancing between them all.

“Y/N got into trouble at school” Lia begins to explain.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have known that unless I didn’t overhear Lia and Leah talking about it” Caitlin huffs and rolls her eyes.

“I told you, I was getting round to it” Lia fires back as she scowls at her ex-girlfriend.

“Yeah, right” Caitlin mutters in disagreement, “ “And now she won’t even let me come down to the school with her, when I have every right to do that!” she adds.

“It’s just better this way, Caitlin” Lia explains to her ex-girlfriend, exhaling a sigh.

“Caitlin has every right to be there for Y/N” Katie chips in defending her girlfriend.

“Why are you getting involved in this, Katie?” Leah questions the Irish women.

“Why are you getting so involved, Leah?” Katie fires back at the blonde.

“Seriously, Katie? You just seem to find this whole thing hilarious like it’s one big joke!” Leah mutters, shaking her head, “I’m right to want to be there for Lia in this” she adds.

Kim shakes her head in disbelief at the 4 of them acting like they are, “Alright, that’s enough. Okay?” Kim interjects in an authoritative tone of voice as she looks between the 2 exes, “Regardless of you all blaming each other, it’s not going to help you figure out what is going on with Y/N/N unless you work together” she tells them.

Lia’s facial expression softens in realisation, “You’re right, Kim. I didn’t think about it that way” she admits as she looks at her ex, “Look Caitlin, I’m not trying to push you away like you think I am. I just think it’ll be difficult for us to both be there, right now. I’m sorry and I know Y/N is your daughter and you do have every right to see her, just as I do but I would prefer to do this with Leah by my side instead, okay? I’ll text you and let you know what is said, but please understand I find it better to do this way” she tells the woman quietly, finding it hard enough to be in the room with her ex-girlfriend without dealing with anything else.

Without saying anything more, Lia and Leah left the gym as they quickly notified Jonas about the recent events, before they head out to the car to make the way down to your school to find out what trouble you’ve landed yourself in this time.

You knew the single minute that you raised your fist at the girl it would end up in dire consequences, however now finding yourself sitting outside the head teachers’ office with bruised and bloody knuckles, you remain hopeful that this latest stunt was something that both of your mums would be coming down to talk to the head teacher.

Although you still can’t help but wonder how it got so bad?

It wasn’t like you could talk to either of your mums though, because most of the time when you spent time with either of them, you didn’t really want to mention the other in case it brought up any sort of hurt feelings, but you needed them both together.

You didn’t really mean to get yourself in that much trouble today, in fact you’ve never really been one to cause many problems at school if you’re being honest, but you were just so sick of them pushing you around and calling you endless names that you finally had enough and lashed out.

As soon as you hear the sound of footsteps nearing you, you remain hopeful as you look up with eager eyes, hopeful to see your two mums together.

However, you’re severely disappointed when its’ your mama and Leah instead.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, you didn’t want Leah to be here with your mama; You wanted your mama and mum together, but why did that seem so impossible to do?

“Hi mama” You mumble, biting your bottom lip as you avoid the disapproving look on both of their faces, “Hi Leah” you acknowledge the presence of the blonde, whos’ stood there obnoxiously chewing gum.

“Hey kid” Leah greets you with a worried smile.

Lia exhales a sigh and shakes her head, “What have you done this time, Y/N/N?” she questions.

“It wasn't my fault” You try to defend yourself, picking at the skin around your nails.

“I find that one hard to believe Y/N. This is the third call I have had from your school this week” Lia reminds you, moving to sit beside you on the uncomfortable plastic chair, “Do you want to tell me what happened before I go in and speak to your head teacher?” she asks.

“Nope” You shake your head in disagreement.

Leah furrows her eyebrows and sits on the other empty chair, “What happened, kid? It’s not like you to be in this much trouble, or acting out in general” she tries to get answers out of you.

You shrug your shoulders carelessly and bite your bottom lip, “Dunno, is mum coming down as well?” you wonder, curiously as you look at Lia.

“No, Y/N/N. It’s just us– Is this why you’ve gotten yourself into trouble at school, so your mum and I would come down together?” Lia asks in realisation, putting the pieces together about it all.

“Maybe, sorta. I don’t know, cos’ it didn’t work anyways” You mumble, deflating your shoulders as you stand up to head into the office after the head teacher calls you all in; Leah and Lia share a look of confusion with another, finding it hard to understand why you would do that as they follow you in behind.

The result of your behaviour in school leads to you being suspended for the next 2 weeks, which your mama isn’t best pleased with at all if the silence is anything to go by as you trail behind them to the car.

Every time you have tried to talk, you're met with a stern look from the Swiss woman which makes you shut up pretty quickly.

“Mama?” You try your luck to get her a response.

Once again, you were met with complete silence on the car ride back apart from the faint sound of music playing.

“Okay, I know I messed up but how much longer am I going to receive the silent treatment for?” You huff aloud as you peer out the window as your mama drives out of the school car park.

Yet again, complete silence.

“Come on, seriously? The fight wasn’t even my fault in the first place!” You whine in protest, huffing and crossing your arms in the back of the car.

Leah clicks her tongue as she sits in the passenger seat, “You shouldn’t even be fighting in the first place, Y/N” she states sternly.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes and not snap back at the blonde, who you really don’t know why she’s even here, you wanted your mum instead, not her.

“I had my reasons to do it, Leah!” You mutter as you glance out of the window in the back of the car.

“Hey! Be nice” Lia glares at you to knock it off.

“What? I’m not doing anything!” You huff in annoyance and fight the urge to kick the back of her seat, “And I did have a good enough reason!” You still continue to insist.

“I don’t want to hear any of the excuses, Y/N” Lia exhales a sigh, shaking her head.

“But if you just let me explain–” You're cut off before you even have a proper chance to speak.

“Explain what, Y/N/N– How can I be so sure about what you’re telling me when you’ve been acting out like you have been for the last several weeks, huh?” Lia scolds you as she looks in the rear-view mirror, “I don’t know what has even gotten into you anymore, Y/F/N!” she states.

You kinda know that your mama does have a point in saying that, because despite your own rough upbringing with your biological parents, you’ve never really acted out or gotten into much trouble until recently, however with how its’ been the last several weeks, you can’t deny that you haven’t been acting out in an attempt to get the attention both of your mums together in the same room.

It just didn’t work this time round.

You just didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to control the anger any longer and you would end up lashing out like in the way that you did. No matter how many people tried to talk to you to figure out what was going on, nobody really understood what was going on right now.

You can’t help but scoff in response, “You won’t even hear my side of things though, at least I know that mum would take the time to listen to me. Why can’t I go and stay at her house instead?” The words slip out of your mouth without much realisation and it’s definitely loud enough for both women to hear.

“Y/N, your mama wants you to stay with her” Leah chips in.

“Why? And why are you even here when this has nothing to do with you?” You glare at the blonde, although you know it’s not her fault for what’s happening, but despite that you’re a stubborn teenager and refuse to admit when you’re in the wrong sometimes

“Y/N” Lia gasps in shock, “Don’t be rude, you don’t speak to people like that” she scolds you.

“It’s the truth though” You mumble and technically, you’re telling the truth about that one.

The Swiss woman shook her head in disagreement, “There’s no need to be so rude, okay? I won’t stand for it, so apologise please– And you know when it comes to you, that your mum and I are both on the same page” she tells you.

“Are you? Cos’ all you ever seem to do is fight these days” You remark snidefully.

“That’s not true, Y/N/N” Lia frowns at you.

“Yes it is, you guys always argue about me– I can’t even tell you how I feel, so I was only defending myself like how mum taught me to do” You explain to the older women.

“What!?” Lia exclaims in shock.

“Mum taught me self defence in case I ever needed to use it. Definitely showed them that today cos’ now they won’t mess with me again” You grin proudly to yourself.

“Are you… Of course she bloody did” Lia mutters, clenching her hands on the steering wheel.

“Calm down, Wally” Leah rests her hand on the older womens’ thigh.

“Mama, you’re clenching your fists. You might want to just chill out a bit” You note in concern as Lia looks angry and you realise you’re going in a different direction back home, “Where are we going?” you ask.

“Change of plan, Y/N. We’re going to see your mum after all” Lia states as she grips the steering wheel tighter.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[holdmymallowsweet]

What are you doing here? 02

Ominis Gaunt x f!MC Word count: 4684, properly tagged on AO3

Chapter summary: It's the start of a new school year, and Ominis hopes he and Sebastian can carry on as they used to, even if one of their trio is missing. Looking back, that thought seemed almost foolishly optimistic.

a/n: This is the first of two pre-library chapters, featuring Ominis’ thoughts and feelings and whereabouts during the first few weeks of their fifth year, while Sebastian and Mc are busy fighting trolls and sneaking into the restricted section. Enjoy!

Chapter 01 || Masterlist || Chapter 03

Chapter 02 - Relegated

Calling her arrival at Hogwarts ‘memorable’ was almost an understatement. Disrupting the feast, led through the great hall by the headmaster himself after a rather lively argument behind half-closed doors that had the entire student body sit in nervous anticipation, it was no wonder that she seemed to be the only thing deemed worthy of discussion by anyone who was not a quidditch enthusiast.

Ominis wasn’t too bothered by it. Usually the one who’d know everything that went on within the castle’s walls and not so secretly fond of gossip, after everything that had happened at the Sallow’s during the summer, he longed for some peace and quiet. A sense of routine, while he and Sebastian would try and figure out how to go on, now that one of them was missing.

Who they were, where they’d come from and why they’d made such a spectacle of their entrance didn’t have to be his concern, not tonight at least. They’d ended up at the opposite side of the Great Hall anyways, out of mind. It wouldn’t keep him from having a decent meal, a good night’s rest, a regular day of classes tomorrow. Nothing else would either, if he could help it.

Wishful thinking.

They’d barely passed the giant hourglasses to return to their common room for the night, when Sebastian took him by the arm, years of experience letting Ominis know before he even opened his mouth that he had other plans.

“Listen, Ominis-”

Ominis groaned. “What is it now?” He was so tired.

“I think I’ll make a detour into the restricted section before bed.”

Oh for Merlin’s sake.

“On our first night back? You could at least wait a day before getting yourself into trouble again.” And wasn’t he tired as well, after the day they’d had?

“There’s something I want to check.” Sebastian paused. “For Anne. If you’re worried about me, you could come too, if you’d like.”

Ominis raised an eyebrow. It seemed like an off-handed remark, but there was something pleading in his friend’s voice, and it did make him feel guilty for how he was about to answer. But not guilty enough. “I’m sure you don’t need my help to get yourself another detention.”

“Fair enough.” And just like that, Sebastian was gone.

Ominis took a deep breath. He suddenly felt nauseous, and it had nothing to do with the food.

Was this how his fifth year at Hogwarts was going to be like? Sebastian taking every opportunity to engage in extracurricular, clandestine activities and the detentions that would undoubtedly follow, where did that leave him? He’d hoped with Anne being the way she was, that Sebastian would perhaps be a bit more reasonable, grow up a tad more.

His exploits hadn’t bothered Ominis as much last year, when his friend first started digging through forbidden books and sought out the seclusion of the Undercroft by himself, but last year he had Anne. Anne, who would rather play games with Ominis than put her nose in old, eerie tomes, who would usually take his side in their petty arguments, who would listen to him and fill the silence with cheerful chatter, in a way only she could. In that moment, more than ever before, he was suddenly very aware that she was truly gone. 

It felt as if the realisation ate a hole through his stomach..

Ominis inhaled slowly, rubbing at the crease that formed between his brows. He was so tired.

The two Slytherins had walked up to the castle from Feldcroft, as they did every year. Making the journey to London and spending the whole day on a train had always seemed ridiculous when they lived that close to Hogwarts. 

In the years prior, the three of them would have left the Sallow’s house early and made a day of it in Hogsmeade, but it wouldn’t have been the same without Anne. So they’d spent as much time with her as possible, holding on, attempting to avoid the moment they’d have to leave her behind until the last second. It had been a subdued, gloomy journey after that, not to mention exhausting, both physically and emotionally.

Ominis stood there motionless for a while, trying to collect his thoughts. He was passed by waves of chattering students, eager to return to their warm beds and catch up with their dorm mates in private. Imelda stomped past him, cursing under her breath. Obviously upset about not getting to boss around her team on the Quidditch pitch this year, she would likely try to make it everyone else’s problem as well.

He sighed, resigned to head down to the common  room alone.

“Did you hear? About the new fifth year? Why they were late to the sorting?”

He strained his ears, determined not to miss the answer, slowing down a bit to walk behind the gossiping pair of friends. Change of plans. Perhaps holding on to his old habits would do him some good after all. And perhaps there was a chance for some more light-hearted thoughts to occupy his mind. Something intriguing and perhaps funny to discuss with Sebastian when he got back.

“No, I just heard they were with Professor Fig. Did something happen then?”

“I don’t know any details about it.” The girl paused for dramatic effect. “...but they say their carriage was attacked by a dragon. Some bloke from the ministry was ripped apart right in front of them.”

Oh, you can’t be serious.

“Nothing yet.” Ominis teased. “I hope we get to see- or at least hear one today.”

All in all, his mood had been surprisingly good this morning. Leaning against the common room windows, he’d amused himself trying to keep the new first years on the lookout for mermaids, listening to their little sounds of excitement and impatience, wondering how long he could keep them there before they caught on. 

It had been Anne’s idea last year, and the fun had lasted until the prefects told them to cut it out. Ominis knew it would never be quite the same without her, but she’d insisted he do it again, ‘in her memory’.

He’d tried hard not to think about the implications of that phrasing.

“I- I think I heard one!”

Sounds of little hands slamming against the window and excited, high pitched gasps made the corners of his mouth twitch into a sly grin.

Being back at Hogwarts and getting a good night’s sleep in his familiar bed had done wonders to rid him of the near constant feelings of unease and dread he had since Anne had been cursed.

Ominis missed her dearly, but it was a relief to be away from the now gloomy home in Feldcroft that had once been his sanctuary, from the tension stemming from Solomon’s anxiety and his constant disagreements and shouting matches with a helpless, short tempered Sebastian, periodically disturbed by Anne’s cries and moans of pain. 

In the family’s time of hardship and grief, he’d felt like an intruder.

Ominis would have liked to help, he would have done anything, anything for his closest and only friends, but in the end all he could really do was stand there and listen to the Sallows telling him that another examination had not come up with results, that another remedy they tried had failed. The best he could do was stay out of their way, trying to melt into the wall.

A week before they had to leave for school, the consensus amongst the healers was that nothing could be done except have her rest and wait to see if she got better on her own. They were told she wouldn’t return to Hogwarts. 

Sebastian had not taken it well.

Determined as he’d been to stay awake and wait for his return last night, the exhaustion of the day had caught up with Ominis, and he’d been fast asleep when Sebastian had snuck back into their dormitory. They’d made up for it in the morning, gossiping about her as much as everyone else as they’d gotten dressed. It felt normal, comforting. 

Until, after a particularly wild theory of Ominis’, Sebastian had blurted out “...wait until Anne-”

It had been an innocent mistake. Ominis hadn’t commented on it, but the carefree mood was marred by heavy clouds. But the rain hadn’t fallen, not yet, at least.

Ominis listened for the sounds of his friend, who went through his newly stolen library books in front of the fireplace, pacing back and forth and sometimes mumbling to himself. He seemed to be doing all right, for now, at least.

Even if he was no longer in the mood for conversation.

Sebastian had been picking up bits and pieces of information about the new fifth-year and her journey to Hogwarts on his way to the library, most of it probably exaggerated, some of it seemingly complete and utter nonsense. 

Regardless, most of the Slytherins thought of it as an excellent adventure, a riveting tale that would go down in Hogwarts history. Imelda thought it was brilliant of her to take away all the attention from the first years.

Ominis couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. He might have expected her to relish the attention if she’d been a Gryffindor or even a Slytherin, but Hufflepuffs were usually happy to quietly exist in the background and mind their own business. He could relate.

He decided to stop thinking about it. Either way, their paths likely wouldn’t ever cross, unless they’d happen to walk through a classroom door at the same time.

“What do you think mermaids look like?”

Only, the way things progressed, thinking of her or not wasn’t his decision to make.

“What do you mean, you fought a troll?” Ominis asked, distraught. “Are you all right? Is she all right? Did you get hurt?”

“Don’t worry, Ominis, we’re fine,” Sebastian drawled, unbothered.

Sebastian hadn’t wasted any time telling him about his exploits in Hogsmeade with the new fifth-year. They were sitting by the common room fire, eating their way through an assortment of snacks Sebastian had stolen from the kitchens on his way back. Naturally, he’d been rather hungry, having missed dinner. And almost getting smashed to pieces did apparently conjure up quite the appetite.

He’d barely made it back in time for curfew, stumbling into their common room where Ominis, first annoyed, then worried, had been pacing up and down waiting for him.

“She was brilliant, you should have been there.”

Why hadn’t he been?

“Real duelling prodigy, that one,” Sebastian stated through a mouthful of food.

Yes, Ominis had gathered that much from their Defence Against the Dark Arts class earlier that day.

He frowned, his good mood from this morning long gone. He hadn’t talked to his best friend since the end of Hecat’s class, when he told a stunned and confused Ominis that he’d invited the girl who just beat him to Crossed Wands, but the Hogwarts rumour mill had done it’s best to keep him informed about their whereabouts since then.

Sallow and the new fifth-year really hit it off.

Sallow and the new fifth-year were seen going to Hogsmeade together.

Didn’t Sallow have other friends he was usually with?

No one really cared that much.

It didn't exactly feel good. And although Ominis was usually content to leave Sebastian to his own devices, after being deserted for almost the entire day, one might think an apology would be in order. 

Perhaps an inquiry about what he’d been up to- nothing, really, but it would have been polite to ask.

But it was Sebastian, and politeness was not his strong suit.

He listened to Sebastian chewing noisily, feeling his way through the stack of food until his hand landed on an apple tart. More because he wanted to keep his mouth busy than because he was hungry, and also because he’d already gotten his fingers sticky, Ominis took a small bite. If he said something now, it wouldn’t be anything nice and he wasn’t spoiling for a fight. 

“There’s more to all of this. She practically admitted it,” Sebastian said. Dreamily, intrigued.

Understandable, all things considered. Not yet alarming.

“Just wait, I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Ominis didn’t like the sound of that at all.

Sebastian was starting to get obsessive again. Ominis knew him well enough to recognize the signs. Sebastian had been like this when he’d joined Crossed Wands, when he’d started sneaking into the restricted section, when he’d started to teach himself spells- dangerous, forbidden spells, many of which Ominis knew his friend didn’t bother telling him about anymore after he’d first voiced his concerns.

And now there’s the new fifth-year. Sebastian was going to make her his new research project, his new favourite pastime, and while it might have been good for him to have something to distract him from Anne, it made Ominis feel...

He refused to call it jealousy. He’d settle for ‘concerned’.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t.” Ominis tried to keep his tone light, but didn’t quite succeed.

“Why not?”

Ominis sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, only… I’m having a bad feeling about this.”

They were silent for a moment. Then, Ominis heard a stifled chuckle from his friend.

“When you say a bad feeling, you mean like an-“

 “Sebastian, don’t-“

“Like an ominous feeling?”

Ominis half-heartedly threw his leftover tart at him.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been that bad if he felt like he could ever get a break from her, but she seemed to be everywhere. Except of course when she seemed to be nowhere at all, sneaking out of school at odd hours, coming back hours later carrying the faint scent of the forbidden forest, or the lake, but even then, she was always… there. In the whispers in the hallways, in rumours, slipping into every conversation he’d have with Sebastian, at some point.

In their first Herbology lesson, it was her mandrake that shattered the greenhouse windows and almost took out his eardrums, turning an already debilitating class into a headache.

While he struggled in potions, she somehow excelled at the subject and even found time to steal from Sharp's office.

Ominis had groaned internally at the whole spectacle. If Garreth Weasley could put her up to theft not five minutes after making her acquaintance, he’d rather not think about what sort of mischief she got up to with Sebastian.

Like sneaking into the restricted section of the library. The tale of Sebastian Sallow taking the fall for her spread through the school like wildfire. When Ominis had asked him why he did it, Sebastian had simply stated: “Because that’s what I do for my friends. I’ve taken the fall for you before, anytime we’ve done something bad enough that I thought it might get back to your parents.”

Ominis hadn’t known what to answer. She’d been at school not even a week, and yet she already enjoyed the same friendship privileges as himself, in Sebastian's eyes. It felt as if he’d been punched. He knew his feelings were stupid and childish, it had been absurd to assume that Sebastian would never want or need any other friends. But still, Ominis couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t enough. 

He wanted, needed to let these feelings out somehow, and at first he considered putting them into his letters to Anne- but Anne had enough to deal with, sitting in that dreary house in agony with no one but her uncle for company. 

Ominis thought of her every day, everytime her empty chair in their classrooms reminded him of her absence, every time he heard someone talk about flying, or taking a sneaky dip in the lake before it got too cold. All things Anne used to love, that she wouldn’t do again, perhaps not ever.

If she tried to fly a broom and was struck with a bout of pain while mid air, she’d die.

No, he wasn’t going to bother Anne with his troubles. If she needed to know that her brother was positively smitten with the new student, Sebastian could tell her himself.

As the week went on, thankfully without further incidents, Ominis became more accustomed to her presence. She was, to his surprise, a fairly decent student, learning new spells on the first or second try and performing well in class, even when the teachers put her on the spot. How she managed that, when she seemed to prioritise gallivanting through the highlands over studying, was a mystery. She was polite, outgoing and cheerful, quickly making friends and wrapping her classmates around her finger with an effortless charm not unlike Sebastian’s.

The more time passed, the less Ominis could bring himself to share the enthusiasm.

Of course he’d been somewhat curious about her too, at least at first. 

He’d even made small, tentative attempts at approaching her. Perhaps making sarcastic remarks about her duel with Sebastian and their adventures in Hogsmeade had not been the best way to do it, but her complete and utter indifference, to the point of not even replying to him, left him dumbstruck. She could have at least quipped back.

And it stung- the realisation that she didn’t recognise him. 

Which meant Sebastian hadn’t mentioned him to her, at all.

He started to seek out the solitude of the Undercroft more often, lately the only place where he felt truly free from her presence, even if every empty crate in there seemed to taunt him with memories of himself and the Sallow twins, of nights they’d spent sneaking out of the common room to laugh and play games and eat stolen food from the kitchens. 

Simpler times that he’d never thought he’d one day miss so desperately that his very soul seemed to ache.

He knew he’d be there alone now, like all the other times, though he secretly wished he’d walk in there to find Sebastian waiting for him. Ready to carry on as they used to, even if there was someone missing. At least it would be a small comfort, for both of them.

Hearing the familiar mechanical whirring of the Undercroft’s hidden entrance made him pause, and for the briefest moment it seemed he’d gotten his wish.

“Hello Sebastian.”

No. Wrong.

“Wait.”

It wasn’t Sebastian. In an instant, he tensed up, his stomach filled with dread. Someone found the Undercroft, someone he didn’t recognise, someone who wasn’t supposed to be there. If they left without saying anything, he would never find out who they were.

“You there. I can hear you.”

Say something, anything.

“Oh, hello. Ominis, isn’t it? I believe we have Potions together. And- Herbology?”

His insides turned to ice in an instant, as he realised what was going on here.

It was her.

Of course it was her.

She tried her best to sound cheerful, but there was definitely a nervous undertone in her voice. And while it wasn’t his most pressing concern, the fact that even now she didn’t seem to remember him from any of their classes, other than those he was obviously rubbish in, did nothing to endear herself to him.

“I recognise that voice.” He said, more to himself than to her. “You’re the new fifth-year.”

He tried his best to sound calm, failing miserably as his frozen insides melted into white, hot anger.

“Did you just come from the Undercroft? How did you get in there?”

He already knew. He wasn’t asking because he needed the answer, he wanted to know if she was going to be honest about it.

“That room’s called ��the Undercroft’? Ah. Well, I was exploring and suddenly found myself in a strange passageway-“

Liar.

He had enough of her. Of both of them.

“Don’t lie to me. No one ‘stumbles’ upon that room. Sebastian told you, didn’t he? You breathe a word about this place to anyone and not even your precious Professor Fig will be able to help you. My father is friends with the Headmaster. I’m not afraid to exploit that connection if I need to.”

It was an empty threat, of course. He hadn’t spoken to his father in ages, and he wasn’t keen on being in the vile man’s debt, especially over something like this. But there was a good chance she didn’t know and if she asked around, all she would find out was that his father was indeed friends with Professor Black, and perhaps that would frighten her enough to keep her mouth shut.

“You needn’t threaten me. I’m not going to say anything about your Undercroft.” The Hufflepuff’s voice sounded more assured than before. If she was at all intimidated by him, she didn’t show it. “And Sebastian is a good friend. You shouldn’t immediately assume the worst of him.”

“I don’t need you to tell me about my oldest friend, thank you very much.” His patience was at a breaking point, and it finally seemed to dawn on her that there was no way to salvage this conversation.

“Ominis, I just meant-“

“I know what you meant. Sebastian gets himself in enough trouble. He doesn’t need your help.”

At least she had enough sense not to respond. He walked past her, giving her a much wider berth than necessary. The thought of accidentally touching her, even briefly, made him sick.

It wasn’t entirely fair to her, and a small part inside of him knew that, but at that moment, it felt as if she’d taken everything from him. His best and oldest friend, his sanctuary, his very thoughts and feelings, everything seemed to revolve around her and Ominis just wanted it to end.

Fuming, he stormed into the Undercroft. Sebastian was still there, as expected, cheerful and completely oblivious. “Hello Ominis, I-“

“You.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

“Yes? What did I do now?”

“Are you seriously pretending not to know?” Ominis snarled, anger dripping from every word like poison.

Sebastian went dead silent for a moment.

“Ominis, let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain. I trusted you.”

“And I trust her, I wouldn’t have taken her here if I didn’t. You know me. I promise you she won’t tell anyone else, I won’t either,” Sebastian pleaded.

“I suppose that includes me,” Ominis spat. “Would you have told me she was here if I hadn’t found out by myself?”

“I knew you wouldn’t take it well. It was wrong not to ask you before I showed her-”

Ominis snorted.

“-but I know she will keep it to herself. I can’t tell you why, not yet, but I know she’ll keep my secrets. Trust me.”

“But it’s not your secret, is it? It’s mine.” Ominis couldn’t make sense of the feelings welling up inside him anymore. He felt angry, betrayed, but most of all, hurt, and it all seemed to merge together to form a dull, throbbing ache in his head.

Yes, it was his secret. His special place, one of the few good things that came out of being a Gaunt. For him to share with the ones he loved and trusted. And even if Sebastian was right, even if she could be trusted- and he was not at all convinced that she could- it should have been his decision. 

If Sebastian had bothered to actually introduce them to each other, to include Ominis in whatever the two of them were up to, if they had gotten to know each other, on his own terms and in his own time, perhaps he might have told her himself.

But it wasn’t only the betrayal. If only he could find the right words to tell Sebastian just how abandoned he felt, tossed aside for a newer, shinier toy.

He wasn’t enough. He’d never been, for anyone. Too weak, too useless, too defective.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it. What if he said it, and Sebastian couldn’t pretend it wasn’t true?

Tears were threatening to spill out of his useless eyes, and he squeezed them shut, furiously pinching the bridge of his nose, desperately willing them to stay inside.

“Ominis?” Sebastian said, cautiously approaching him.

Ominis took a deep breath, fighting down the tears, at least for now. He leaned against one of the stone pillars.

“Anything else?” He hated how choked his voice sounded.

“What do you mean?”

“Is there anything else you told her, that I should know about? Be honest.” Ominis hoped the answer was ‘no’. And for that to be the truth.

Sebastian took a moment to answer. When he did, he spoke slowly and carefully, as if he was scared the wrong words would make Ominis’ temper flare up again. “Nothing that you’d disapprove of, I think. We talked a bit about Anne, and… you.”

Ominis raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“I told her you’re blind and that you use your wand to get around.”

“Why, thank you. I’m sure that would have eluded her otherwise.” Ominis remarked dryly, undoubtedly getting an eye roll in return.

“I told her the Undercroft is special to you-” Sebastian went on, ignoring Ominis derisive snort.

“-and a bit about your family.”

That hit Ominis like a Graphorn, making him tense up with a sudden, poorly concealed panic. “You didn’t-”

“No, of course not. Nothing she wouldn’t have found out eventually anyway.”

The crease between his brows and the harsh line of his lips formed involuntarily as a familiar darkness crept into his mind. His thoughts must have been obvious to his long-time friend.

“I’d never tell her about anything you’d want to keep a secret,” Sebastian said.

“I wanted to keep the Undercroft a secret.”

Sebastian groaned. 

It filled Ominis with a sick sort of satisfaction. “What did you tell her then?”

“...just, well. That you’re descended from Slytherin himself, that the Gaunts care a lot about blood status. But I let her know you’re not like them.”

So she knew. Perhaps that was why she’d seemed so flustered when talking to him.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing much. I’m not sure how much she knows about these things to be honest, I mean, she’s a Hufflepuff. And I didn’t bring her down here to give her a lesson on pureblood culture,” Sebastian said, unconcerned.

“Then there was no need to tell her anything. If she didn’t know, you could have left it at that,” Ominis said, irritated.

“It’s not exactly a secret, Ominis. Everyone else knows and you’re classmates, she would have found out eventually. Wouldn’t you rather she heard it from me?”

“I’d rather she heard it from me, actually.”

Sebastian huffed, obviously amused even if he didn’t dare to laugh.

“You just said there was no need to tell her anything.”

“I… fine. Just do me a favour and keep me and my family’s secrets out of your future conversations.” Ominis said dejectedly, as the fight went out of him. He hoped this would be the end of their argument. His head was still hurting from all the shouting and he just wanted to go back to their dormitory and take a nap, forget about her and all of this for a blissful few hours.

“All right. But now that she knows about the Undercroft, is she allowed back in here? It is a good place for spellcasting and there’s more I’d like to-“

“Sebastian, please.” Ominis’ voice was little more than a whisper. He pinched the bridge of his nose again in frustration.

“Please, I know you find her intriguing, that you’re using her to distract yourself from how much you miss Anne-“

“I’m not using her, we’re friends.” Sebastian’s voice dropped, he genuinely sounded hurt.

“You know what I mean. We’re friends, Sebastian, the two of us and Anne. All I want is for things to go back to how they were before, and so do you.” It was a last effort, a genuine plea for Sebastian to let her be, before their friendship went up in flames.

“That’s not-” Sebastian broke off mid-sentence and took a deep breath. “You don’t understand.”

“No, I do not.” Ominis admitted.

He wouldn’t for a while.

more a/n: But he will in the next chapter! …maybe. So this turned out quite a bit more angsty than intended, but I think Ominis’ anger at Mc when he finds out she’s been in the undercroft is very genuine and doesn’t just come out of nowhere, so I’ve spent a lot (and probably way too much) time thinking about how he must have felt about Sebastian and Mc’s friendship. Also I did settle on Anne having been cursed right at the start of the summer holidays. Because I’m pure evil and I like the thought of Ominis coming to Hogwarts like “at least I still have Sebastian…” only to have him snatched away by Mc. …sorry. Originally this and the third were one chapter, but the length of it got slightly out of hand and I’ve had the perfect spot to split it exactly in the middle (more or less, they’re 4k+ words each now). I hope to get the next one out a bit sooner, so you won’t have to wait that long.  I hope to see you all next time! And thanks again for every one of your sweet comments and your support, it means the world to me ❤️ And finally, as usual, this fic has no beta (unfortunately) but I do my best to make sure it’s free of spelling errors. If you find any anyway, or you notice me using words wrong, let me know (nicely) so I can fix it.

[changingplumbob]

Foster Household: Chapter 9, Part 10

Darwin: Are we going to game or what

Carson: Just let me send this selfie first

William grabs the seat by Onyx while Carson and Darwin get the spots in front of the screen.

Darwin: I can’t believe we have to have more classes with Mrs H

William: She is the senior teacher

Onyx: And the senior grump

Carson: I’m always worried she’ll give me detention again

William: I thought you were getting help for the OCD

Onyx: Don’t need to have OCD to be worried about her, I’m worried about her. Darwin you’ve got to try curb your antics when she’s teaching us

Darwin: Now where would be the fun in that

Carson: How about not getting your friends sentenced with detention by association

Darwin: Fair point. Oh come on, who threw that banana?

Onyx bursts in to laughter and Darwin throws a cushion at them.

William: Good game folks. See you all at school tomorrow

Onyx: Yeah I better see if my parents are ready to go

Carson: Any headway with Anya lately

Darwin: *sighs* I wish, she’s left me on read for two days now. How about your girl

Carson: *laughs* She’s not my girl

Darwin: She’s pretty, maybe she should be you know? It doesn’t matter that she’s younger if you like her, that's what I tell myself about Anya

Harvey: I think that dinner was a success

Kayleigh: So do I! Oh Reece called while you were doing the dishes and he and Samir are fine to come stay. Plus I let him know Carson and Charlie know about the werewolf business

Harvey: Did Carson faint with shock

Kayleigh: *laughs* No so I guess we were wrong about that

Harvey: We’ll have to keep an eye on him during the visit. Make sure he doesn’t get stressed about a werewolf being under the same roof

Kayleigh: Will you be stressed

Harvey: Not if he gives me grandbabies

After his normal morning routine Carson was delighted to see a text from Ariadne pop up on his phone.

Ariadne: Great news! They’ve opened the rink at school

Carson: How is that great news

Ariadne: Because I’ve been dying to go ice skating so bring your skates

Carson: They weigh a lot

Ariadne: Never let a little weight put you off! I like things with a little weight to them

Carson: Okay, okay, I concede

At school the news of the rink opening had gotten around and several kids had brought their skates. Carson found Ariadne at the edge of the rink looking at them with awe.

Carson: Have you ever actually skated before?

Ariadne: Carson, you're here! When I was little my grandmother took me a few times but... it has been a while

Carson: Maybe it’ll be like riding a bike and you’ll remember

Ariadne: I hope so. I'd rather not fall on my butt in front of everyone

Carson: So... got a sparkly costume hiding under the coat

Ariadne: *giggling* Do you

Carson: Drat. You told me to bring skates, not my leotard, it's back home

Ariadne: Always good to leave something for next time

Carson: *laughs* I mean you’d look much nicer in a sparkly outfit than I would

Ariadne: I think you look nice anyway

Carson: Oh, really?

Ariadne: We ah- we better get on the ice or we’ll be talking until class starts

Carson: Ladies first

Ariadne was first on the ice out of the pair with Carson close behind. He may be asthmatic but he didn’t mind something slow like ice skating. He did his best to keep up with Ariadne but he did slip over once or twice. Luckily he was behind her so felt pretty confident that she’d missed it. As the bell rang and he headed off the rink to class he missed her also wiping out.

In art class Carson was glad to see Mrs T back. She was always much calmer and knew a bunch about art. As she gave a rather detailed analysis of perspective in art he felt his skill grow.

Down the hall in social studies it was a different story.

Artemisia: *whispers* Hey Roger, yo mamas so lazy she has a stay at home job and is still late to work

Roger: Shut up Emi, you know she’s a social worker. I’m not getting suspended again because you can’t control yourself

Artemisia: Only my friends get to call me Emi. Hey Roger, yo mamas so old she was a waitress at the Last Supper

Roger: Don’t think being a girl will stop me from punching you

Artemisia: Go ahead. My Pa will sue you until yo mama is so poor the ducks throw bread at her, oh wait, she already is

Previous ... Next

[dr3amlab]

6. wicked games

SUMMARY. Y/N Gorgon and Draco Malfoy have a long history of mutual hatred. You see, the two of them have been pulling pranks on each other since their 1st year at Hogwarts, to the dismay of their close friends and supervisors. However, after a prank left Y/N completely out of her mind, she decides that she'll pull her cruelest prank yet on Draco by pretending to be his secret admirer.

PAIRING. Draco Malfoy x reader

GENRE. series, enemies to lovers, rival, comedy (?)

WORD COUNT. 1894 words.

AUTHOR’S NOTE. hey y'all.... I'm back for now. So turns out this isn't the last chapter 😭 Anywho, I hope you like this chapter because I'm not too sure of its quality!, and please give me feedback! I wrote this in a sitting so I didn't proofread (sorry)

PARTS. 1 2 3 4 5 6 finale

TAGLIST. @hopefulfuturenovelauthor​ @charlenasaxen​ @johnmurphys-sass​  @alittlebitofinsanitea​ @islayedyourmom @dramatic-long-coats @slashermadness @marplest @whosyourgnomie4 @makhaia @louieblue2 @born2222die @nikki-89 @jamlessgucciswegsunshineot7 @rachelccollier @imwaysthelastchoice @dracosgrf @vinkiesz @sleepinmoonbean @skiejustskie @hxl06

VI. WITH WHO?

You were walking in the hallway with messy hair and an uniform so wrinkled that it could get you a week of detention from McGonagall. But, truly, who cares? It was Monday and, as far as you know, the teachers should be grateful to have you in their class on this beloved day.

Last week hasn’t been easy on you : between draco finding out about your little scheme and realizing your true feelings for the blond boy, let’s just say that your conscience didn’t let you close one eye to sleep. And so, naturally, it was with pure bitterness that you dragged yourself to the first class of the already endless day.

As you begrudgingly made your way to class, you felt like you heard someone say your name. You stopped dead in your tracks and turned your head towards the source of the sound but there was no one with you in the hallway, not even a ghost, "Have I gone mad?" you whispered thinking that your lack of sleep was playing tricks on you. After standing still for a few seconds to make sure you actually heard a voice, you shrug your shoulders dismissing any possibility of another person or entity being with you in the grand hallways of Hogwarts, and so, you continued your journey to class.

"— Y/N—." You stopped again. This time you heard it clearly, there’s no way in hell you could’ve hallucinated. Someone was talking about you, and naturally you just had to know what they were saying. Quietly, you walked close enough to hear their conversation and hid behind a wall, "If what Fides was saying is true, then Y/N’s a complete fool. How could she think that she would be able to pull draco with that stupid scheme of hers?" A brown haired girl whispered not-so-quietly to her friend, "she really thought that she’ll get draco’s attention by merely pretending that she hated his guts! She’s a stupid pick me with nothing but a pea-sized brain in her head, " the other girl replied.

You felt your heart sink, was that what people thought of you? Although you were not the type of person to hold to heart whatever judgement others had of you, hearing those words come out of their words made you want to cry. You took a deep breath to stop the tears from falling on your cheeks. Just when did you get so sensitive?

The thing is, the hatred that you had toward draco was mutual. He also made you go to hell and back with his stupid pranks and yet, you were the only one depicted as being a stupid dumb girl whose only goal was to make draco fall in love with her. What about him? Wasn’t it only fair of them to also insult him with such words? Or were they too mesmerized by his pretty grey eyes? How stupid of them to think like that. How hypocrite.

You plucked all the courage you had to put yourself in a position that revealed yourself to one of the girls, « oh ! well let her be, she thought it will be quirky to not be like the other girls and—. » The girl stopped mid-sentence when she saw your face. You smirked

"No, go ahead! I did not mean to eavesdrop. What were you about to say—" you looked at her name tag, "Isis?" you read before flickering your eyes back to the embarrassed form of your fellow student. "Y/N! W-we didn’t expect to see you here!" Isis’ friend replied. "It’s funny, right? What a coincidence!" you clasped your hands, "Though, i have to say, I’m quite sad for you girls," you pouted, "are you both that bored to worry about my supposed scheme to make draco fall in love with me?" You asked, "How pathetic! Please, I beg you, go get a life and keep my name out of your mouth. Gosh, I don’t even know you and yet, you are worried about what im doing."

You looked at their embarrassed faces and a gracious smile find itself on your lips, "but, do not fret girlfriends," you started, "i think my stupid little plan have worked." You looked behind you to see if there was anybody other than the three of you in the hallway. Upon seeing that the coast was clear, you ushered the girls to come closer with both of your hands, "I think draco might ask me out soon, but shush! It’s a secret," you winked at them before going back to your initial path to class.

You slammed your books on the table making Athena wake up from her nap, startled, " Merlin! What the fuck is wrong with you Y/N?!" she scowled, "Athena, if you wanted to sleep you should’ve slept last night instead of staying up ’til the crack of dawn to read an erotic book," You pulled out your chair and sat down while Athena was looking at you up and down with a horrified look, "Salazar, y/n! I know you hate Mondays and all but, please do not bring that up in public, Merlin." your best-friend exclaimed with flushed cheeks as she looked around to see if anybody was eavesdropping on your conversation.

Realizing what you’ve just said, you looked at Athena with a soft gaze, "Look, I’m really sorry but I just had a really bad morning," you apologized, "oh what a surprise ! Y/N is having a bad Monday!"she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

You put your hand on hers, "Athena, it’s worse than usual," you said as Athena looked at you curiously, "I heard two random girls talking about how I was an empty headed bimbo with an agenda to get draco to fall in love with me, can you believe that!" By the end of your sentence, Athena’s mouth was open wide, "who said that? Why would someone spread lies like this?" Athena said with a slightly loud voice with her eyebrows so frowned that creases were starting to form on her forehead.

You smiled warmly as it felt nice to have someone that cared about you, someone on your side. And so, you squeezed her hand, while you started to think about how lucky you were to have a friend like Athena in your life. It’s true.

For as long as you can remember, it was her and you against the world and you wouldn’t change that for all the money in the world. As you finally gathered all of the beautiful words you had in your mind to express your gratitude towards your lifelong friend and to tell her to not anger herself on some baseless rumors, an excruciating voice had to ruin the lovely moment your best-friend and you shared.

"What if it was true?" Pansy slammed both of her hands on your desk while she tilted her head and drew a mischievous smile on her lips, "What if our dearest Y/N here is doing everything to get draco’s attention?" pansy repeated her question but this time louder with the intention of getting the attention of the entire class, which worked. "Well, I’m sure you all heard the rumors that have been circulating around the school lately," she broke eye-contact with you to give all of her undivided attention to the other students who were listening to her eagerly, waiting to hear the latest scoop.

Pansy turned back to look at you as if you were a mere prey, and she was a ruthless predator, "you had been hiding your little act for so long, thinking that nobody will see through it. But thank Merlin, the truth has finally been unveiled. In case nobody told you yet Y/N, you’re nothing but a worthless muggle-born gold-digging bit-" Athena cut her off, "Pansy, I know damn well you’re not talking," she retorted as she got up to get closer to Pansy.

You wished you said something, anything, to defend yourself against Pansy’s venomous words, but you felt powerless. Why was everyone so against you all of a sudden? You weren’t a bad person, all you did was pull some childish pranks on some random boy, and yet, you were insulted as if you committed a crime against humanity.

Before the situation escales, you grabbed Athena’s arm, "I appreciate you defending me Athena, but let’s go. It’s not worth it to get in trouble because of a bitch with no common sense," you said with venom laced in your voice.

As Athena and you were about to leave the classroom, Draco was entering it with Theodore,"I’m glad you’re here, Draco. Go outside, I need to talk to you," you said seriously, "you can do it here," he replied, "I already know what you’re going to ask me," he smirked.

You raised an eyebrow, "oh, do you?" Draco smiled smugly, "you were about to ask to the ball since you’re so in love with me, aren't you Y/N?" You tried so hard to suppress the ugly laugh that was begging hard to get out, but, alas, you couldn’t help yourself, "Malfoy, that was not what I was going to ask you! Have you been daydreaming about this moment or what?" you pretended to wipe fake tears, "besides, I’m already going with someone," you said.

Athena widened her eyes, "you are?" you elbowed her, « yes, Athena. I already told you, have you already forgotten? » you gritted your teeth, "Ow! yes, yes you did. It’s true, you told me you were going with someone," she laughed nervously. "Then who are you going with?" he asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

You were sweating bullets. Yeah, who were you going with? Your eyes scanned the class nervously, "he’s not here yet," you said as confident as you could, "I’ll wait until he’s here then," he crossed his arms.

"Why are you so interested in seeing who’s going with me? It’s none of your business," you replied, "Don’t I need to see my competition?" he said in a way that only you could hear. With your cheek flushed, you pretended to ignore what Draco just said. You were desperate to get out of this embarrassing situation.

For that reason, you decided that whoever entered through that door next was going to have the extreme luck of being your date to the ball. "So, where is he?" draco asked eagerly, "he’s coming soon," you forced a smile. "Is he?" Athena whispered to you, "yes, he is," you smiled even harder, making Athena horrified of your weird demeanor.

After what seemed like ages, someone finally came through the door and it was Harry, "ah! There he is," you beamed, "See, here’s my date for the Ball!" Harry was confused so you rushed towards him quickly and grabbed his arm to pull him closely, "play along," you whispered subtly. "Are you serious? You're going with Harry?" Draco asked, "Harry Potter?"

You thanked Salazar that Harry wasn’t as stupid as he was depicted to be for he got the hint quickly, and grabbed you by the waist, "You heard me, Harry is my partner for the ball!" you said while looking at your alleged date who was bearing the most convincing smile as he nodded to confirm your statement.

"Also, on a less joyful note." you let go of Harry and approached Draco, "What I was going to demand from you is to ask your fangirls to leave me the fuck alone." Draco clenched his jaw, visibly annoyed about the turn of the events .

[kawaiijohn]

Danny tries to pawn the Ghost King position off on his classmates.

Idk what I was doing, and then suddenly it turned into wes/danny I'm so fucking sorry?

T rating I embarrassed myself fucking writing this bc it came out of nowhere girl (gn) HELP

"Hey Dash how about instead of you focusing on your homework you just start beating me up, just like old times! I sure miss being slammed into a locker."

Dash looks at Fenton, confused before scoffing.

"Even though I normally love wailing on you, Fenturd, coach needs me on my best behavior. State's next week and I'm one loser swirlie away from being suspended."

"I won't scream or anything, I promise! Whaddya say? You get to beat the snot out of me and I won't even complain! I'll even thank you for it." Danny responds, looking around nervously. "But I'm in a bit of a rush, so can you make it quick and do it, say, before six tonight?"

Danny gives the other boy the saddest, most punchable puppy dog eyes he possibly can.

Dash rolls his eyes seeing Fenton ham it up. The loser only does this for his birthday, so it's really weird having him request it four months in advance. Dash decides to ignore the request, only gently pushing the dweeb out of his way. "Beat it, Fentertainment Tonite- I know you don't have a life, but I do."

Danny curses as Dash disappears down the halls.

"I know you want to punch me. You wanna do it so bad." Danny eggs on another of the jocks- Travis, he thinks. "Remember that time I said you punch like my Grandma?"

His grandma taught both his mom and aunt how to fight, but Travis doesn't need to know that.

"Beat it, jackwipe!" Travis shoves Danny out of the way and continues down the hall.

"The one time I need to be shoved into a locker or punched, none of the jocks want to even look at me." Danny bemoans.

He's already struck out with Dash and Kwan- both of which need to stay as non violent as possible with administration lurking around this close to their big game. Paulina pretended he didn't exist, and Star laughed in his face. Something about 'she already kicked his ass months ago'. Which was true, but he was certain he's done something since then worth beating him up for.

"I can't ask Sam or Tuck, it's gotta be someone I hate." Danny pauses with a shudder. "But definitely not Vlad- he already has an ego the size of the Milky Way..."

Danny hears the bell ring and wipes his sweaty palms on his pants.

He has until six tonight to get his ass beat. He can do that, right?

---

Danny is downright panicked now.

Detention really put a damper on his plans. Being stuck in a sweltering classroom with Lancer and Wes only made him more nervous. It really didn't help that Lancer needed helping hands for some after school thing.

Danny only has one option, and he's glad it's one of his 'enemies'.

"Heyyyyyy Wes, what's happening tonight?" Danny slings his arm around the tall boy's shoulder, pulling him down to pipsqueak height. "Wasn't that round of detention just fun?"

Wes nearly growls and shoves Danny off of him. "Fenton! You're the reason I was even there in the first place! If it wasn't for you and your stupid ghost bullshit I would have gotten to class on time!"

"Yeah?" Danny asks, being as annoyingly positive as he possibly can. "Well it's good that there was two of us, or else Lancer wouldn't have let either of us out until well after six!"

Danny looks at the clock nervously- five fifty.

He has ten minutes.

"I don't find moving entire stacks of chairs halfway across the school fun, or even a fair punishment for being late twice in a week. So what if the crafting club has their expo tonight? They should be the ones moving furniture." Wes tries to overtake Danny in the hall but he can't outwalk the other boy.

"But we got to spend all day with each other! Isn't that just swell?" Danny pukes in his mouth a little. He's got a goalpost to reach in less than ten minutes, and my the Ancients he's gonna do it.

"Spending time with a chronic liar and freak of nature isn't really what I consider fun, Fenton."

"Yeah, but we really bonded, don't you think? Had some quality one-on-one without you being a creep outside my house."

Wes's face reddens. "HEY! That was one time, and I don't want to have the cops chase me again. Or your parents, who are worse somehow."

"See, we're bonding here!" Danny jogs alongside Wes, making sure to keep pace at just the right level of obnoxious. But we should really bond sometime in the next... eight minutes."

"God there it is again! What? Do you have important Phantom shit to do at six or something?" Wes rubs his temples. "You're being freakier than normal today and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."

"There's nothing to get to the bottom of, I just have something to do later. Not Phantom or ghost related- something completely normal and human, yep."

"God you piss me the fuck off, Fenton." Wes crosses his arms and blocks the doorway out of the school. "And one of these days, I'm gonna get you to confess, and then it'll be all over."

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but like, wouldn't it just be so satisfying to, I dunno, take out all that pent up frustration on me?" Danny grins devilishly at the other boy. "Come on, I have such a punchable face! Aaaaand since you say I'm a ghost or whatever it won't actually hurt me, right?"

Danny gets right up into Wes's personal space and looks up at him with a shit-eating grin.

"Back off, Fenton." Wes backs himself against the lockers. He looks anywhere but Danny's face. "Personal space is a concept even stupid ghosts understand."

"Yeah, but if I'm a stupid ghost doesn't that make you wanna prove it? Can't you prove it by beating me up? You have a camera..." Danny reaches for the camera slung around Wes's shoulder and points it at his own face. "It'd be soooo easy."

Wes's face is currently doing its best impression of a tomato as he continues to ignore Danny.

"Please? I'm gonna start begging you to beat my ass soon if you don't acknowledge me, Wes."

"Back. Off. Fenton." Wes stares Danny right in the face. "Last chance."

Danny does the opposite and yanks Wes to stare him in the eyes. "You wanna punch me so bad it makes you look stupid, Weston." Danny chuckles and makes his eyes flash green. "Your face is sooooo red with rage- you wanna kick my ass, admit it!"

Danny barely gets a warning before Wes lunges and tackles him to the ground with a kiss.

Both boys gasp in surprise and Wes backs himself against the lockers with a loud bang.

They sit in silence, staring at each other in disbelief before Danny laughs.

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Sh-shut up! It's not my fault you're kind of..."

"Wait, have you been staring at me this whole time because you're crushing on me?" Danny laughs in disbelief as Wes turns even brighter red. "Is that how you 'accidentally' discovered my secret?"

"No!" Wes sputters out. "I don't sta-"

"Stalk me, yeah. Dude you follow me around with a camera to try and expose me. What sort of fruitloop shit are you pulling??"

"Well, if you weren't lying about being a human, then I wouldn't need to-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Danny doesn't know how to feel about it, really. Wes is kind of cute, and he's unhinged just like the rest of his friends. But he's also obsessed with exposing him, and kind of stalks him (to no success).

He spends a few moments before he glances at the clock again.

Two minutes left.

He can use this to his advantage, even if it's dirty and underhanded.

"Hey Wes. You really fucking suck at kissing." He eggs the other boy on. "Like, zero technique, all desperation!"

"Shut up!"

Wes starts crying a little. Danny only feels a little bad, but he really needs this to happen.

"What, even I've kissed people before and I'm a loser! Plus I bet you can't even man up and fight me like I want- you're such a little cuck boy, Weston! Always relying on other people to do the dirty work of beating my ass so you can gather your evidence like a little bitch in the dark."

"I said shut up!" Wes's face is bright red again- an angry embarrassment with tears streaming down his face.

But he still has to keep going, even if it feels gross to do this to someone who he kind of likes.

"Make me, Wesley." He spits.

---

It's a dirty brawl but it ends with a very red-faced Wes pinning a bruised and elated Danny to the ground. The latter feels awful about playing dirty with Wes's feelings, but it seems the other boy really needed to take out his rage on him.

"Sooooo, you admit you have complete victory in this fight, right Wes?" Danny smiles up from underneath the other boy.

Wes sputters, his face still bright red and tears running down his cheeks. "You're such a fucking little shit, Fenton."

"Thanks, I try!. But I need you to accept that I'm saying you have total victory in this fight."

Wes sighs and lets go of Danny's wrists and sits back against the lockers. "Yeah, sure. I beat your ass fair and square. Also do you know how weird it is to see you healing this fast? I swear I gave you a black eye."

"You did. I'm just a fast healer." Danny sits up and looks around. He feels... guilty. At least for only finding one person to do this to.

The clock strikes six.

"Also, I'm sorry I lied- you're not a bad kisser. I just needed you to beat my ass. Also sorry about what's about to happen." Danny rubs the back of his neck.

"Sorry about wha-" Wes is interrupted by a portal opening beside the two of them.

"Sorry for being impolite, we should assume." An Observant materializes out of the void beside him. "It's not polite for the crown prince to wait until the last minute to find a replacement, but since you have... bested Prince Phantom in combat, albeit not formal combat, the rules are the rules."

Wes glares at Danny who is doing his best trying to disappear without going ghost.

"Prince Phantom??" Wes spits at the other boy.

"Yep! Former Prince Phantom." Danny smirks. "And again, sorry, but they only gave me today until six to find a replacement. The whole King schtick isn't really my jam."

Wes stares at the other boy as more Observants spill from the hole in reality and bow to him.

"Fenton..."

"Hey! I'm not gonna bail on you or anything. You still need an advisor- I just really don't wanna deal with the formality shit. Hope you understand!"

Danny gives Wes a peace sign as he's escorted through the portal, pissed off, confused, and shell-shocked.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

Best Part of the Day

Prompt Day 17: Platonic Stobin | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: None | Tags: S4, Platonic Stobin, Ride to School, Pre-Steddie

Steve honks the horn, and sips from his mug of coffee. It won't fit in his cup holder, so he has to rest it on his thigh. He honks again, and a minute later Robin rushes out of the front door of her house, towards his waiting car.

Arms flailing, she screams, "Hold on, I'm coming!" 

It makes Steve chuckle. She's the one about to be late to school, not him. He's graduated. Family Video doesn't open for another two plus hours. He's got plenty of time to kill this morning, but he knows she doesn't want the tardy. He knows her like the back of his hand. The front of his hand? 

His whole hand. For sure.

Robin fumbles with the trunk, and he watches as she unlocks it. It was just easier to give her the damn spare key instead of him having to get out every morning and unlock it.

She finally piles into the front seat, with a huff, "What are we waiting for? You're gonna make me late, dingus!"

He rolls his eyes.

"Good morning to you, too," he says, handing her his mug of coffee. He might as well. She's gonna take it from him, sooner or later. She always does. He opens the console, and hands her the bagel that he's wrapped in a paper towel, before leaning to look back over his shoulder, reversing them back onto the street. 

He glances at her out of the corner of his eye, and she's alternating between drinking coffee, and eating the bagel. Getting sesame seeds all over the floor mat. He'll have to stop by the car wash and vacuum it after he drops her off.

"There's an away game tonight," she says, done with the bagel, and now holding his coffee in one hand, putting her mascara on with the other. He watches, not sure how she's doing it one-handed.

"Yeah, the kids have told me a thousand times, like I've somehow suddenly forgotten how a basketball schedule works since graduating," Steve says, annoyed.

"I have to ride the activity bus to the game, but if you can forge me a note again, I'll ride home with you. Dibs on the front seat," she says.

Steve laughs. He's been roped into taking Dustin, Mike and Max, and Dustin's gonna hate that she's called dibs, but fair is fair. Dustin can have the front seat on the way to Hartford City. 

They head down the highway, and Robin tells him about her morning. He nods, listens, and analyzes more about Vickie than he ever imagined possible. It's a ritual at this point. She pines. He gives advice she won't take.

They argue. They banter. 

Rinse, repeat. 

Day after day, morning after morning.

But it's often the best part of his day.

He's trying to explain exactly why she should just go for it, when Steve catches movement out of the corner of his eye, and realizes they're about to be broadsided by a van, that as far as Steve can tell, has no driver.

Steve slams on the brakes, stopping short as the van whips onto the highway from a side road, cutting him off. The driver's head just barely popping into view, mere seconds before he needed to make the turn.

"Watch it, asshole!" Steve screams, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. 

"Uh, Steve?" Robin says, and he turns to look at her, and she's wearing the coffee. Brown splotches staining her white blouse, running all over his leather seats. 

"Are you hurt? Did you get burned?" he asks, patting her arm down, like that'll help.

"Well, it doesn't feel great! But I think I'll live," she says. "But I don't have time to go back home and change, I'm going to be so late. Detention for me, yay," she says sarcastically.

"Take off your shirt," Steve says, and she cuts him a look, "Not like that, Jesus, Robin. I don't want to see your boobies."

He snaps his fingers, and gives her the hurry up motion.

So, she does, and he takes off his shirt, too, and stretches his hand out to offer it to her. She takes it, and slips it over her head. It's too big, but she says she doesn't care, because that's the style, apparently.

"Thanks, dingus," she says, and he slides his arms back through the holes of his vest. No shirt underneath. He looks ridiculous.

At the school, they both get out, and Robin digs out her notepad, and turns around. Steve lays the notebook on her back, and writes the note, forging Mrs. Buckley's signature to get Robin off the activity bus on the way home. 

"There, done," he says, swatting her on the back with the notebook, and she takes it and rushes towards the building, turning back towards him.

"Thanks, Steve! See you tonight!" she yells and then she turns and runs away from the parking lot faster.

"Yeah, yeah," he mutters, but he smiles as she goes.

"Nice fashion statement, Harrington," Eddie Munson interrupts, as he climbs out of the same goddamn van that caused this whole problem in the first place. He should have known Eddie "The Freak" Munson was involved.

Steve looks down at his bare chest.

"Well, I had a shirt until you cut us off and Robin spilled coffee all over herself," Steve snaps.

"I don't know what you're talking about, that doesn't sound like me at all. I'm a great driver," Eddie says, digging around and coming up with a black, metal lunchbox.

His drugs. Steve knows all about Eddie, and his dealing business.

"Yeah, sure you are," Steve snips, turning to get into the driver's seat. He has no interest in engaging with Eddie Munson at ten 'til eight in the morning. No goddamn way.

"Nice to see you, King Steve," Eddie snarks, walking awfully slowly towards the school for someone that nearly ran them off the road to get here today.

What a dickhead.

Notes: Eddie definitely saw Steve in that no-shirt/vest combo and when presented with the opportunity to see it again in the Upside Down, and in his own vest no less, he took it, lol.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!

[legacyshenanigans]

I did something ages ago on this, but was just thinking about it then, Marvolos bunny traits 🤣 And doing the "foot stomp" when he's irritated, like bunnies and rabbits do. 💚

Thumping scenario's🐰

Ophelia: *calling out into the gardens at a 5yo Marvolo* Marvolo, darling! It's starting to grow dark, time to come inside!

Lil Volo: *frowns over in her direction*

Ophelia: Marvolo..Don't give me that look, come along now.

Lil Volo: *bunny thumps his feet*

Ophelia: Excuse me, Young man!? Don't give me the bunny stomp! Inside, now!

Aleister: *telling a 6yo Marvolo that its time for Bed* Your mother won't be happy if she gets home and you're still awake...Off to bed with you *shoos his hand towards Marvolo*

Lil Volo: *pouts angrily*

Aleister: ....I said off to the bed with you. Now. I'm not playing games, child 'o' mine.

Lil Volo: *bunny stomps both feet*

Aleister: Don't you DARE thump your little feet at ME, boy! *frowns*

As he got older, he still did it, but now with just the one foot and a vicious stare usually. But none the less, its something he never grew out of.

1st Year Marvolo at Hogwarts

Marvolo: Its hardly fair Professor Weasley!? *frowns* He threw a chomping cabbage at me!

Prof Weasley: So you decided the best course of action was to cast bombarda at him, a spell that i'm surprised you KNOW at this point in your education, and destroy half the green house, Mr.Gaunt?

Marvolo: .....

Prof Weasley: Detention for you I'm afraid. And 50 points from Slytherin. *walks off*

Marvolo: ....*being moody in the hallway as he also walks off, giving the ground a quick little thump with his foot*

First Year Ominis, last year Volo, at Gaunt Manor.

Sebastian: *in the living room* Do you think he'll notice? That we took his spell book?

Ominis: *nervous* He definitely will, read what you need to, quickly, so I can go and put it back..

(They hear Marvolo get home and head upstairs to his room)

Ominis: God's above...No..GODS no!

(Its silent for a moment, before they hear a foot thump on the floor from above them)

Ominis: *instantly panicked and gasps* Not the Bunny thump.

Sebastian: The wha-

Marvolo: *from upstairs* Ominis?! I SWEAR to fucking GOD!

Adult Marvolo, at the Den

2 members of staff: *skiving in the back rooms, not doing their job*

Marvolo: *opens the door and looks at them*

Staff: *gasps*

(An awkward silence...Before Marvolo frowns and thumps an authoritve foot on the floor)

Staff: *quickly flinch and run out of the room past him, and back to work*

Marvolo: *continues walking towards his office* Honest to god, can't get the staff these days..

~

[akisunlovesnalu]

Take a bite of my Heart Tonight

A fairy tail AU that's been rotting in my notes for the last 4 years. I was thinking of posting it on AO3 seeing as the first arc is 95% done and I'm interested in finishing this story.... But I'm also an expert at dropping fics whenever I lose inspiration... So should i really post it?

Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think! (I might just post in on AO3 anyways ;))

Summary: Natsu learns just how rude a Violinist can get when you barge into her practice room. And after Lucy Heartfillia unintentionally transfers into his school, she learns that, much like an elephant, Natsu Dragneel never forgets. Because of him, they both are forced to spend the rest of their day in detention. Accompanied by a temperamental Erza and an innocent Gray. But when they stumble upon mysterious artifacts sought by a vengeful ghost, they're thrust into a supernatural battle that binds their fates together. TLDR; Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza start a food fight, become ghost hunters, get thrown into detention, and discuss the complexities of Romeo and Juliet. I’ll let you decide what order it all happens in.  A Ghost Busters Au (of sorts)

Intro:

The sun was high in the sky, encouraging what seemed like every single individual in town to wander the warm streets of Magnolia. Children ran around the town square, most playing with the fountain conveniently placed in the middle of it while teens conversed with each other, seated on benches or in chairs right outside of the only decent ice cream place in town. Parents gloated to each other, barely keeping an eye on their dogs which yipped and hopped around loudly. Old folks sat on tables, some lightly conversing with their partners while others sat stiff, glaring at each other between an intense game of chess. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, happy to be outside doing something that they enjoy.

And then there was Natsu.

The young 16 year old boy groaned loudly, attempting and failing at running away from a scarlet haired woman who had been carelessly dragging him around by his shirt collar for the last 5 minutes.

“Erza~” The boy whined, waving his arms around him in childish frustration. His sharp canine like teeth stood out as he refused to quiet down his disruptive cries. Erza let go of his collar, turning to face him with a glare that was sure to scare even Satan off of his throne down in hell. She raised a fist, bopping him on his head decorated with soft pink hair.

“Shut your whining!” She demanded but eventually softened her glare as he pouted, rubbing the now sore spot on his head. “I know this sort of thing isn’t something you’d usually enjoy…” She sighed, gazing up at the building in front of them.

It was huge, large enough to be considered a school but much too extravagant to be considered ‘public’. The first floor seemed to have replaced all of its walls with glass windows, each one providing the view of an expensive walkway littered with obviously rich students. The brick of the exterior had been displayed as a bland gray color in order to put more contrast on the ginormous pink sign stuck to the top of the building which read: “Love and Lucky performing arts studio”

The red-head looked away from the studio and gave Natsu another pitying look. “I just wanted someone to explore new horizons with. Please bear with me, just this once.” The boy gave a disinterested grunt knowing that if he said anything else, his throbbing head would be the last thing he had to worry about. Erza smiled, satisfied with his answer and dragged him through the automatic glass doors.

The interior wasn’t much different from the outside if your mind were as simple as Natsu's. The only two words that came to mind while looking around the building were ‘Snobby’ and ‘Rich.’ The pink haired man was quick to hate the place, having already dealt with his fair share of financially superior boys. Not to say that he hadn't made sure to give each kid more bruises to count then all of their money combined. 

Erza led them to an elevator after having a boring conversation with the desk lady about the beauty of art. From there they found their way to the second floor where the two were scheduled to watch the showing of Romeo and Juliet. 

Natsu already felt tears well up in his eyes as he read the start and finishing times on the play bill. His friend had already promised to treat him to a meal after the show was over if he behaved. But it seemed she had forgotten to specify exactly how long he would be waiting. The play would last almost a full 3 hours.

This was going to take forever.

Thinking that he might as well enjoy his freedom while it lasts, the boy gave Erza the good ol’ bathroom excuse and rushed out of the large stuffy auditorium before any more questions could be asked. He decided to wander around, peeking his head into rooms that he believed were empty and living up to the title of school prankster.

After putting water on everyone’s seats in a room called ‘Improv theater’ Nastu decided that it was probably time to head back. He had seen at least three students wander past the otherwise empty hallway and decided that he’d rather not take his chances at the school for snobby art kids.

He had only turned a corner before he heard it. The soft sound of music wafting past his ears like a haunting melody. And peeking his head into that room met him with a sight that he was sure would stay embedded into his mind for years.

A girl no younger than him stood on a platform with a violin cradled under her chin and snuggly in her arms. She expertly stroked each string up and down, tapping her feet to an even pace. Her beautiful blond hair had been put up into a neat ponytail, not one strand hung out of place. Her eyes were closed so she was completely unaware of the boy creeping further into the room, following the sound of her music in a daze. Neither was the boy himself apparently because as his limbs moved on their own, his eyes stayed fixed on her face, more specifically her eye where a small tear slipped past her eyelids and onto the floor. 

Before any more tears had the chance to fall, Natsu had oh so gracefully hit his leg against the arm of a chair, letting out a silent curse as it throbbed in pain. Great. Now he had two bruises to worry about. 

The violin stopped, and the girl opened her eyes, darting them around in a panic. They settled on his very stiff figure and he saw her relax slightly, setting the violin down on the chair beside her. Neither of them spoke for a tense few seconds, him silently studying her, and her searching for any source of recognition.

“Who the heck are you?” He blurted out, cursing himself for his lack of filter. It wasn’t often he’d think this but Natsu seriously wished he had taken his rivals advice more seriously. The dark brown pupils of her eyes narrowed as he coughed, awkwardly shuffling his feet from side to side.

“I could ask you the same thing.” She snapped back, throwing her hands on her hips and walking down the small set of stairs to the right of her. 

The boy narrowed his eyes, taking in the practiced movement of her walk. He had forgotten for a moment but this performing arts studio was full of snobby upper class kids. Why the hell would she be any different?

“I got lost.” He growled out meeting her glare with his own.

“Mind getting lost somewhere else?”

“Gladly.” He hissed, turning heel and marching towards the exit. He was almost out of the door before he stopped, angling his head to her slightly and muttering just loud enough for her to hear. “It’s too bad you’re a snob… ya didn't sound half bad.”

The blond blushed and stuttered out a small thanks as the strange pink haired boy finally left the auditorium. As Natsu begrudgingly walked back to the showing of Romeo and Juliet, and the girl packed up her violin and walked to the limousine waiting out front, a barely noticeable star twinkled up in the sky, hidden by the sun's bright inferno of glittering rays.

That night the star stayed lit, attracting the attention of curious onlookers. Some people stared long and hard, pointing up in the sky and dancing around with exclamations of how pretty it was while others only glanced at it, nodding their heads before continuing on with their night. But one man had neither reaction.

One man with burly gray hair and a fair share of wrinkles scattered around his face gawked at the star through binoculars. Sitting on top of the town's very own Kardia Cathedral, this man observed the star with nothing but shock mirrored in his expression. There was so much he wanted to say, so many thoughts running around his head, but only one had the pleasure of leaving his dry lips. 

“...Oh shit.”

_____________

Update post:

I’ve posted the story on ao3 and the first arc is already finished!

[rose-of-oz]

🎤 + Josie Sparrow

Thank you so so much for this!! Also gonna tag @kendelias, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, @ginger-grimm, @ginevrastilinski-ocs, and @aceyanaheim!! <3 <3

“You little rat!”

Jerking her head up and around at the sudden yell, Josie peaked around the locker door to see who was making such a fuss. At the end of the hall, she spotted a tall, broad back in a letterman jacket, looming over a small and cowering figure surrounded by fallen books.

Oh, hell no. She tossed her supplies back into her locker and slammed the door closed, storming down the hallway as the big buffoon continued to verbally abuse the quivering little freshman who, as she got closer, she recognized as one of the little Smee twins. Double hell no.

“Who do you think you are?” the jerk demanded. “Watch where you’re going, you little piece of Isle trash!” Josie recognized him too, now that she was almost upon him, even without seeing his face. She’d know the voice of Milton Fey, Merryweather’s son and a near-permanent bench rider on the Tourney team, anywhere, given how many times she’d heard it trying to coach from the sidelines during games before Coach inevitably told him to shut up and sit down. She hated it even more now than usual.

Whichever twin it was - she always had trouble telling them apart, no matter how hard she tried - opened his mouth, presumably to try and apologize, but nothing came out except a little whimper that nearly broke Josie’s heart. Milton growled and started to reach down to grab him, but Josie was quicker, sliding between the two of them and grabbing the collar of the jerk’s jacket to haul him back to standing.

“Hi there,” she said cheerfully, smiling in the entirely too sweet way that she always did when she was pissed. “I think you’re done now.”

Milton spluttered indignantly, his pasty cheeks flushing. “What the - what are you doing, Sparrow? Defending the evil little gutter rats?” He went to gesture harshly behind her, only to realize that the Smee kid had taken Josie’s hint and dashed away. It only made him angrier, which was exactly what she’d intended. “And now you let him get away!”

“What were you planning to do, exactly?” Josie asked conversationally, “beat up a ten-year-old for bumping into you? I don’t think Fairy Godmother would take too kindly to that.” As subtly as possible, she slipped into a fighting stance, remembering exactly the way Elizabeth had taught her. Feet set evenly apart, centre of gravity low, everything tense and ready to strike. And make sure, little Sparrow, to never let them see you strike until they’re already bleeding.

Milton scoffed. “So what? I teach one little Isle rat a lesson, I get a week’s detention, and then all the villains know not to mess with a Good Fairy’s son. Pretty fair transaction if you ask me.”

“Oh?” Josie cocked her head to the side, never letting her grin slip. “And what do you think your mother and aunts’d say about it, hmm? Because I’m pretty sure a Good Fairy wouldn’t appreciate hearing her weak-chinned little son is just as wicked as he claims the kids he’s beating up are.”

Milton grit his teeth, cheeks practically purple at this point. His fists clenched at his sides, and Josie fought not to let her smile quirk higher. “I’ve never hit a girl before, Sparrow,” he hissed out.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Josie replied cheerfully. “This one usually hits first.” And then she cocked back her own fist and, just like the Pirate King had taught her, punched him in the face.

send me 🎤 + an oc and i’ll pick a quote i can imagine them saying and write a drabble with it!!

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC interview

Thanks to @bloodmoonloveletter here, @mk-writes-stuff here, @illarian-rambling here, and @elsie-writes here!

Last did Wade here.

Doing Jazlyn now because I don't talk about her enough and I'd like to develop her character more!

Are you named after anyone?

“Nope. The one and only, girl. I'm just Jazlyn!”

When was the last time you cried?

“Oh, pfft! I don't cry. Maybe out of sheer boredom listening to Dr. Ass-ghar ramble on about her rules and how I'm not following them! Like, girl, I can't help that I have fire powers and lit something on fire! That would be like getting mad that Gabe got a little dirty. Oh, and her meetings are the wooorst. Yeah crying for my life in there.” [It was during Ewan's clarinet solo actually]

Do you have kids?

“Girl, what? I'm not even eighteen yet! Close... I'd love kids, honestly. A lot of them! I'd have so much fun with them!”

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

“Look, I know I come across as someone who uses sarcasm, but I'd rather just flat out say what I'm thinking. Why be like ‘wow that was so riveting’ when I could say, ‘this is the most boring crap I have ever seen in my entire life’? So much easier, no mental hoops. Besides, Ewan is the most oblivious to sarcasm I have ever seen.”

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

“Their confidence level. I can usually tell how someone feels about themselves based on how they stand. Posture is the key, but also what they're doing with their hands.”

What’s your eye colour?

“Brown. With some golden flecks when the light hits them right, according to Ewan.”

Scary movies or happy endings?

“Easy, scary movies. This question is stupid - they aren't opposites. However, nothing is more fun than a horror movie. Love getting the blood pumping. Yelling at the characters for being massive dummies is also the best. Horror is the most entertaining to watch with others. Ewan thank the Lord is also a horror enthusiast. We make a habit to have at least one or two horror movie nights a month.”

Any special talents?

“Oh, several. I am pretty athletic. Took cheerleading a while back and now I am on my high school basketball team. At first, I wasn't sure I would like basketball - my coach in middle school pulled me aside and recommended it due to my height, but I love it now. I am also getting pretty good at learning archery. Lighting the arrows on fire makes that more exciting. I am also pretty good at martial arts and my pyrokinesis. Working on breathing fire without burning my throat. Thank the Lord I have Wade to heal me so I can try again!”

Where were you born?

“I was born in flippin' Utah. I know--lily white state, you'd never guess. Ewan and I plan to move somewhere else once we can. Can you believe he was born in Alium? That ain't fair.”

Do you have any pets?

“Ewan and I plan to one day get a dog. We have been planning on moving in together for a while.”

What sort of sports do you play?

“Like I said, basketball. I would love to learn how to play this Alii fireball sport. It's very similar to basketball, but pyrokinetics pass around fire. That sounds like so much fun, man. Did you know they have to keep a healer at each game because not all pyrokinetics are immune to fire? And the audience can get hit too if they're not careful! This sounds like such a fun sport.”

How tall are you?

“I have finally passed six-foot-three. Alii heights are a blessing and a curse.”

What was your favourite subject in school?

“I hope you tell me PE counts as a subject cause I ain't saying anything else. School sucks, girl. I have gotten detention for the lamest reasons imaginable.”

What is your dream job?

“I would love to be in sales. Something about convincing people to do what I want is inticing. Planning on getting a marketing degree when I go to college next year.”

Tagging @leahnardo-da-veggie @eccaiia @mysticstarlightduck @monstrouswrites @mrbexwrites @gottestod-writes @willtheweaver @winterandwords @i-can-even-burn-salad @elizaellwrites @chauceryfairytales @somethingclevermahogony @faeriecinna + anyone else who wants to!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

Blanks below the cut

Are you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What’s the first thing you notice about people? What’s your eye colour? Scary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? Do you have any pets? What sort of sports do you play? How tall are you? What was your favourite subject in school? What is your dream job?

^for an easy copy and paste

[jmagnabo92]

For the game- pairing Blackbolt/Starking...soft, comforting kisses

Ahhh this was different! I'm going to apologize a little because Harry features quite a bit here and I originally intended just the the two requested, but I hope you still like it!

***

Sirius is in a bit of a state.  Has been since the dementor attack on Harry in Private Drive.  He knew after learning that Voldemort had taken Harry’s blood that Harry wouldn’t be safe at his so-called relatives anymore (not that he was entirely convinced that Harry had ever been safe there).  Especially since Dumbledore seemed to be expecting it with the whole ‘guard’ thing.

He’s not safe.  He’s hurt.  He’s confused.

And Sirius needs to do something. 

He’s itching to see Harry, make sure that he’s okay, but he’d been sent to his room like a bad little boy that needs to be punished for misbehaving and he couldn’t convince these people that Harry needs him. 

He can’t just pace his room and wait.  It’s not fair.

He wretches open the door, hoping that he’d be able to sneak out and see Harry only to find himself face to face with Kingsley.

His sort-of boyfriend (they hadn’t exactly defined it), seems to be one step ahead of him.

“Look, I know you want to go and see Harry, however, neither of us would want to risk losing you so I have another idea instead.”

Kingsley breezes into the room without a care to be invited and goes to find Sirius old two-way mirror.  He’d found the pair while they’d been cleaning and was thrilled that he could hopefully someday pass it onto Harry. 

He’s still not sure why Kingsley’s interested in it right now though. 

“Kings?” Sirius questions as he turns around, mirror in hand. 

“You can’t go to the Dursleys to see Harry, but this is the next best thing.”

Sirius glances at the offered mirror.  “Except he doesn’t have the other mirror.”

“He does now,” Kingsley assures him.  “I went by to reassure him that he’s not alone… he didn’t exactly believe me, which I completely understand, so I just told him to hold onto the mirror and he’ll shortly be able to see who he really needs to see.”

Still not believing this just yet, Sirius accepts the mirror and says, “Harry Potter,” into it.

A second later, Harry appears looking completely stunned.  “Sirius!  It’s you – you’re … how?”

Sirius can’t help the relieved chuckle.  “It’s – your dad and I had a bit of a co-dependency thing so we made these so we could talk in separate detentions.  I was going to give it to you the next time I saw you –”

“Your boyfriend told me that you’re kind of on house-arrest, he’s an auror, and he had this mirror which he knew would be helpful to both of us.”

Sirius looks over at Kingsley with wide eyes.  “House-arrest, Kings, really?  Do you know what they might’ve sounded like to him?”

Kingsley grimaces.  “I mean – Dumbledore won’t let you leave, but yeah, I probably didn’t help.”

“No, not at all.”  He turns back to Harry.  “When I left the Hospital Wing, I went to alert Dumbledore’s Order that’s a little bit of a vigilante group that fought Voldemort last time.  We set up Headquarters in my old family home and because the Death Eaters would know about me and Padfoot Dumbledore’s been insistent that I don’t leave the house.  It’s essentially house-arrest.  And we just found the mirrors, but I didn’t think anyone in the Order would give it to you, so I was waiting…”

“And he’s the auror trying to catch you?” Harry asks, looking confused.  “And you’re dating him?”

“Oh, er, yeah.  That’s complicated.  See, he knows I’m innocent now ‘cause Dumbledore told him and er, well, he was the one assigned to my case so he’s purposely not finding me.  And well, I mean – we found that we had an easy time connecting.”

“I actually like to give false leads because it makes this one laugh,” Kingsley offers. 

It’s true.  He and Kingsley had actually bonded and even kissed after Kingsley had shown him an article about the latest ‘lead’ as to his whereabouts.  It’d been the first time since hearing Harry had been kidnapped that he smiled.

Still, this call was meant to focus on Harry.

“Anyway, kid, er, yeah, things are complicated, but it was worse hearing about the attack.  How are you?”

“Confused, hurt, and angry.  I don’t know what the hell is going on and I’m locked in my room again and – when can I come be with you?”

“Soon, I promise.  We’ll come get you soon.  And – and we can talk on the mirror until you can come here.”

“Really?  Because I’ve been so isolated and lonely and…”

“Yes, yes.  Of course we can.”

“Great.”

The conversation continued from there, letting Harry and Sirius catch up on so many things.  Kingsley mainly stayed quiet, a soft, reassuring hand on Sirius’ thigh that kept him going and calm as Harry went through stages of anger and frustration at certain things.  They talked until Harry had fallen asleep from exhaustion, a promise to speak the next day. 

Setting down the mirror, Sirius turns to Kingsley and pulls him in for a soft, gentle kiss.

When they break apart, Kingsley continues giving soft kisses to his hairline and shoulder.  It’s a comfort to know that he has such a partner that cares so much about him.

“Thank you, Kings.  This – I can’t even explain…”

“You don’t need to,” Kingsley offers, kissing his shoulder again.  “I know that you love that boy as your own and that you needed this as much as he did.  I wish I could do more, but with Dumbledore as the keeper and not letting Harry come here… I did the best I could.”

“You’ve done more than I could’ve hoped for considering that I was the prisoner you’ve hunted for two years and yet in a few weeks you’ve been … my support system.”

“Well, I – I have a soft spot for the ridiculously handsome despite spending years in hell on earth prisoner I’m supposed to be searching for.”  Kingsley chuckles.  “Technically, I’m the best auror we have since I caught you sitting in your kitchen.”

Sirius laughs.  “You are completely ridiculous.”

“I’m also completely yours.”

He peppers comforting kisses all over his face making Sirius’ smile widen.  How’d he get so lucky, he wonders?

It doesn’t really matter because: “I like the sound of that.”

“Good.”

***

Thanks for reading!

If you'd like to play along send me an ask with a pairing + type of kiss. In general, I usually do prongsfoot, sirry, first prince and now Starking and Buddie. But if it's a new ship, I could give it a chance, it depends.

[hannahmanderr]

DannyMay Day 2 - Backpack

Words: 2,725

Summary: In which Dash becomes strangely invested in other people's personal belongings (FFN)

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

“It’s okay, man,” Kwan said, clapping Dash on the shoulder. “Lancer’s a nice guy! He’s had your back before.”

“Yeah, before,” Dash muttered. Before Lancer suddenly got all up in arms about student athletes’ academic performance and began cracking down on him and his buddies. 

It was all unfair, in Dash’s opinion. He was the star of the football team! He’d made the starting lineup as a freshman and led the team to their first playoff appearance in a decade. Who cared if he got a couple of lousy grades when he was 17 for 21 in completions at the last game? With no interceptions!

But no. Lancer had to play hardball with him just because he was sitting at a D- in his class. It was only October, there was still plenty of time to pull it up. And a D- was still a passing grade, right? So long as it wasn’t an F.

That hadn’t stopped Lancer from pulling him aside in class yesterday and telling him that until he could get up to at least a C in the class, he’d be prohibited from seeing any active play time. He’d gotten absolutely reamed by the coach over the whole thing at last night’s practice.

And so there he was, standing outside of Lancer’s classroom at the end of his study hall, right before his English class, trying to work up the guts to go in and ask (beg) for some sort of extra credit. They had one of the most important games of the season next week, there was no way he could miss that. Kwan had only come as moral support. And to offer his services as an English tutor, if necessary (Dash never would’ve guessed, but Kwan had a surprising knack for writing. Some of his friend’s poems and stuff weirded him out, but hey, if Kwan’s hidden talent could save his hide, he wouldn’t complain).

Dash groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands. “He’s not gonna give me anything. He’ll just tell me some teacher thing about, I don’t know, thinking about the consequences before I decided to flunk, or something.” Which wasn’t even a fair assessment. It’s not like he’d chosen to get bad grades. They just kind of… happened. He could only nag Mikey into ‘helping’ him with his homework so many times before it got suspicious.

Kwan, always the chipper one, grabbed Dash by the shoulders and steered him towards the door. “Nah, you don’t know he’ll say that!” he declared over Dash’s protests. “It’s like my mom always says: you won’t know until you try!”

“Kwan, wait-” Dash said, but it was too late. Kwan had pushed open the door and him inside. He panicked; he hadn’t worked out what to say or anything!

He was so focused on scrambling to come up with a reasonable plea that it took him longer than it should’ve to process the fact that Lancer wasn’t sitting at his desk. The teacher wasn’t in the classroom at all, actually. No one was.

“Huh,” Kwan said, echoing Dash’s thoughts. “I could’ve sworn he did lunch detentions this period.”

“He does,” Dash responded. “He gave one to Fenton for being late for, like, the billionth time yesterday. And he gave one to Dale for texting Tiffanie during class.”

Kwan stifled a laugh. “At this rate, Lancer’s gonna have the whole team benched!”

Dash didn’t find the joke funny. Partially because he didn’t appreciate the jab at his expense, but also because he’d just noticed that the classroom wasn’t completely empty.

“Hey, whose bag is that?” he asked, pointing at the ratty purple thing leaning against the leg of a desk in the second row.

The backpack had certainly seen better days; the straps were frayed, a variety of stains and dirt splotched the bag in an irregular pattern, and the canvas was completely torn in the very front pocket. It was the kind of bag Paulina would probably puke at if it got within ten feet of her.

“Umm…” Kwan hummed as he took a step closer to it. “Isn’t that Fenton’s?”

It was Dash’s turn to stifle a laugh. “Yeah, right,” he said. “Have you seen the way he’s been obsessing over his bag lately? No shot that loser just leaves without it.”

He watched as Kwan considered the argument, but he knew his point was airtight. Fenton had started keeping a death grip on his backpack out of the blue, a little more than a month ago. Other A-list members loved to guffaw over stories about how he would take the thing with him to the bathroom on his famous psychic bladder trips. Some of them thought maybe he was on to something - it was a miracle that so few personal belongings had been ruined during ghost attacks - but most of them used it as an excuse to poke more fun at him. To think Fenton would just leave his bag alone, even during a ghost attack, was dumb.

Still, Kwan looked skeptical. “I don’t know man,” he said. “Like I’m pretty sure that’s his. It’s the same color and stuff.”

An idea manifested itself so clearly in Dash’s head, he could practically feel the lightbulb going off (sue him, he liked watching old, cheesy cartoons with visual gags). He elbowed Kwan and, with a mischievous grin, said, “Only one way to find out.” He snatched the bag off the ground and hoisted it onto the desk, grabbing the zipper.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Kwan said. He caught Dash’s wrist. “We can’t just go through someone’s stuff like this! What if Lancer comes back and sees us?”

Dash scoffed. “We’ll be quick. And besides, it’s not some random kid’s stuff, it’s Fenton’s.” He quirked an eyebrow and added, “Unless you’re admitting I’m right about it not being his.”

Kwan bit his lip. “I still don’t know, man…”

“Fine then, you can stand there and be a lookout. I still wanna check. And hey, if you’re right, then maybe we can score something juicy on that loser!”

Kwan sighed, still clearly unhappy with Dash, but he didn’t stop his friend from opening up the main pocket and sifting through the bag’s contents.

Algebra book, boring. A few folders stuffed with papers, boring, although the name scrawled across the top of one of them confirmed it was, in fact, Danny Fenton’s. Disheveled notebook, boring. Leftovers from a bagged lunch, gross. A handful of crappy pens and pencils, boring. A silver tube of lipstick, just plain weird.

He was starting to think that it’d been a stupid idea after all (of course it was, why wouldn’t it be? It was loser Fenton they were talking about here) when he saw, sitting innocuously in the bottom of the backpack, Phantom’s ghost catcher.

At least that’s what he thought it was. It looked like the same green and silver thing he always used to suck up the ghosts - it was definitely scratched and dented enough to be his - but it also looked like a soup thermos. A super techy soup thermos, but a soup thermos nonetheless.

Was Phantom’s ghost catcher thingy a thermos? Dash couldn’t really remember. He’d never seen it up close.

Kwan had noticed how Dash had paused so suddenly. “What? What’s in there?” he asked, craning his neck to see.

Carefully, Dash took the thermos out of the bag. “Check this.”

Kwan’s jaw dropped. “Holy crap,” he breathed. “Is that Phantom’s? No wonder Fenton’s been watching that bag like a hawk!”

“You sure it’s actually his? Like come on, why would someone as cool as Phantom give something so important to someone as lame as Fenton?”

“I dunno,” Kwan said, shrugging. “Maybe he found it or something? After one of Phantom’s fights? Or maybe it’s actually his, it’s got his parent’s logo on it.”

Sure enough, stamped into the lid was a stylized F, recognizable by just about every resident of Amity Park. Dash frowned down at it. “Why the heck would Phantom be using one of the Fenton’s dumb inventions?”

Kwan shrugged again. “Are we even sure it’s Phantom’s?”

Dash turned his frown toward his friend. “Dude, you’re the one who said it was Phantom’s first!” At least out loud, he added mentally. “Plus look at it, it’s so beat up and stuff, it’s gotta be his! Who else have we seen using one of these things?” He thrust the thermos at Kwan, but both boys were startled when they heard something clatter against its metal sides.

“Oh my gosh,” Kwan whispered. “There’s a ghost in there right now!”

Dash smacked the back of Kwan’s head. “Idiot, ghosts are, like, squishy! They don’t sound like that!” 

He grabbed the lid, fully intending to twist it off, but Kwan’s uncharacteristic squeak made him pause. “Don’t open it!” Kwan screeched. 

“Quit being such a wuss,” Dash said, twisting the lid again. It popped off easily and, when no ghost came flying out, he shook out its contents into his hand.

Kwan, who had covered his eyes with his hands when Dash opened the thermos, peeked out from between two fingers. When he saw the object in his friend’s hand, he slowly lowered his guard. “A ring?” he asked, bewildered.

Dash echoed the sentiments. It was, in fact, a ring resting in his palm, threaded with a plain silver chain. The ring itself was totally bizarre. The metal, which was freezing to the touch, seemed to radiate with a bright green color. The black onyx setting didn’t protrude too far from the body of the ring, but it had to be wide across in order to house the main stone - a large emerald, surrounded by tiny ruby studs. When Dash raised the ring in between two fingers and twisted it, he could see a pattern being formed in the stone’s facets. A face of some sort?

The whole ensemble reminded Dash of the class ring his mom had ordered for him last year. Somewhat bulky, very showy, and very unlike Fenton. Judging by its creep factor, it seemed more like Manson’s style than anything. It didn’t help that when he held it, he felt his heart seize up in a sudden sense of foreboding, as if he was being hunted. A cold breeze brushed against the hairs on the back of his neck despite the fact that the AC was definitely not running. Some sort of strange, inhuman beat thrummed in his chest, out of sync with his heart.

It was unpleasant. He shifted his hold onto the silver chain, and the feelings abated. Mostly, anyway.

Kwan whistled. “Wow. A rock like that’s gotta be worth some serious change.”

“You think?” Dash asked absently. He was still distracted trying to decide whether the flash of anxiety had actually been triggered by the ring or not, though he didn’t fail to notice the fact that Kwan made no move to touch it.

“Totally. Look at the size of that thing! It’s like, bigger than my thumbnail.”

Dash shot his friend a look. “Dude. I’ve told you, you gotta stop making weirdly specific comparisons.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that Lancer was all over my ‘descriptive capabilities’ in that last creative writing assignment,” Kwan said, folding his arms across his chest. “Either way, though, I gotta wonder how on earth Fenton could get his hands on something that fancy. Unless if it’s like, a family heirloom or something. Don’t you remember how he had that pop-up garage sale just to afford those sweats for that one party you had?”

The gears in Dash’s head churned faster and faster as the pieces began to fall into place. “Yeah…” he admitted slowly. “And look at it. Fenton wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something like this.”

Kwan looked up at Dash from the ring. He raised an eyebrow; Dash could tell he recognized the look on his face. “What are you thinking?”

Dash grinned. “I’m thinking that we were right about that thing being Phantom’s ghost catcher,” he said, pointing to the thermos with his jaw. “Fenton probably saw him put the ring in there and stole it from him! Maybe he thinks the ring is valuable and he’s waiting for the chance to sell it!”

“Maybe,” Kwan mused. “How would he have stolen it from Phantom in the first place, though? And why would Phantom put a ring in his ghost catcher?”

“Bro, look at this thing and try and tell me it’s not some ghost thing. Don’t you feel that creepy vibe it’s giving off?”

Kwan shrugged noncommittally. “Okay, so we’ll say it’s Phantom’s. You wanna, what, try and return it?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Dash exclaimed. “Think about it! Even if the ring is worthless, Phantom’s gotta be wondering where his ghost catcher went. If we tell him we found it and we give it back to him, it’ll totally establish the three of us as bros! He’ll be so grateful, he’ll definitely want to hang with us.”

Kwan opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by the ringing of the bell. Dash let loose a string of swears that would absolutely earn him a detention if Lancer had heard him; he snatched the thermos off the desk and dropped the ring and chain back in it. He swung his own bag off his shoulder and, despite Kwan’s sputtering protests, shoved the thermos in.

Satisfied, he threw Fenton’s bag back onto the ground and pulled Kwan towards their usual seats on the other side of the classroom just as the first student walked in.

“What are you doing?” Kwan hissed at him. “Fenton’s totally gonna realize it’s gone! And how are we even supposed to find Phantom to give it back to him?”

A thought flashed across Dash’s mind, making him chuckle at how both of their roles had switched. “Oh, Kwan, dear pal of mine,” he said, “it’s like your mom says: we won’t know until we try.”

Kwan slid into his seat, but kept a glare trained on his friend. “Using my mom like that? Low blow, man.”

Dash watched as more students filed into the room. Mia was busy shooing away Ricky, who kept trying to insert himself between her and Sarah while she showed her something on her phone. Paulina perched herself in the chair in front of him, raving about some sort of girl drama he usually only pretended to pay attention to. Manson and Foley entered a minute later. Their heads were bent close together, and they were whispering furiously about something, even after they took their seats.

Strangely enough, Lancer and Dale were still missing from the room by the time the bell rang. Less strangely, Fenton was late as well.

Dash didn’t really notice. He was preoccupied with watching Manson and Foley, who apparently hadn’t noticed that their third member had left his precious backpack unattended. He scoffed. They were probably too wrapped up in one of their stupid arguments to notice, although the last time they’d gotten into a fight, freshmen were swearing up and down that the two of them could be heard all the way from the gym.

A full four minutes after the bell rang, students had begun muttering about leaving class if Lancer didn’t show. To their disappointment, including Dash’s, the teacher rushed in a moment later looking particularly frazzled. He was followed closely by Dale, who looked downright traumatized, and Fenton, who simply looked bored.

“I apologize for the delay, students,” Lancer said as he shuffled the papers on his desk. “Our lunch detention was rudely interrupted by a ghost who thought it funny to try and make us bungee jump off the school roof… sans bungee cords.”

Well that helped explain why Fenton had left his bag behind. And why Dale, who was deathly afraid of heights, looked like he was about to puke all over his desk.

Dash stole another glance at Fenton, who’d joined his loser friends in their whispering. Manson and Foley, he’d noticed, had relaxed significantly once they’d seen Fenton. More importantly, none of them had paid any attention to Fenton’s bag.

Dash grinned triumphantly. “See Kwan?” he whispered. “I’m telling you, this is gonna work out just fine.”

Kwan only shook his head and pulled out his notebook. “I hope you’re right, bro.”

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

To be continued in Day 27 - Rings

[an-ecu-harrypotter-au]

TCS Part 7: Discrimination And Detention

I wake up early one morning and look at my cat.

"Tiger, today is my first Quidditch practice of the year. Time for breakfast."

He yawns as he gets out of his cage. I start to feed him and put on my Quidditch uniform.

"There you go. Tuck in."

I watch him eat for a while as I contemplate the upcoming day. This will be my first chance to use a real broom in our practice. Understanding how to handle a Nimbus 2001 after only having a training broom is essential.

"Meow."

I go to pet him. Then I stand up and grab my broom.

"Good boy. Now you behave, Tiger."

I immediately go down to the Quidditch pitch. Oliver is looking quite furious.

"Is there a problem captain?"

"Damned Slytherin got permission to use the field. Now we have to split it to practice."

"Why would they need to practice this early? Surely this has happened before."

Oliver groans and points at a Slytherin boy.

"Captain Marcus Flint managed to get a new Seeker. Some pikey named Jodie."

I'm not aware of that term but it must have been offensive since the older boy goes right over.

"Ya wanna say that again mate?!"

"You heard me. You can try all you want, but you're not gonna beat our Seeker. Jacklin here's got the best broom in the world."

I don't appreciate Oliver getting me involved. I had absolutely nothing to do with this and now I find myself looking right up at the tall boy.

"Well well well. Lil princess thinks she's tuff just cause she's got a fancy broom?"

"No actually, I don't think that way."

"Aww you scared of gettin yerself flattened by the big scary Slytherin boy? That you think I'm gonna knock you right outta the sky and fall right on yer bum."

"Of course not. I'm not scared at all. It doesn't matter what House you're in. Anyone who wants to catch the Golden Snitch just as much as I do is simply competition. I would much rather lose a fair match because you caught the Golden Snitch first, than win knowing another Seeker held back from being competitive due to me being smaller."

He leans in closer to me.

"Oh you better believe me princess that I ain't gonna be goin easy on ya just because yer a lil girl."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I wish you the best of luck with your practice."

Perhaps it was my Veela charm of being unable to say anything that would incite an aggressive response, but Jodie seems at least respect me as a competitor. He simply smirks and walks back to his team.

"Jacklin are you alright? What were you thinking trying to talk to him by yourself?"

I turn to Oliver.

"I was only holding my own while de-escalating the situation from your bickering. Jodie knows I have more up close and personal experience than him. He simply wanted to try to use his physical size as a way to intimidate me, but I'm not afraid. Seekers have to be small to have a greater velocity so his size will actually be a disadvantage. Besides, he knows that his captain will bench him if he gets too many costly penalties. He wouldn't be in any position to brag if those penalties caused Slytherin to lose games. So long as I just focus on myself and Gryffindor, that's all that needs to be done."

I believe that's all that needs to be said. I never really believed in a black and white mentality that Slytherin was bad while Gryffindor was good. I know a lot of it has to do with what our parents have been through, but why should we put that on each other?

"Alright, but be careful. You know the worst thing they're going to do is try to injure you and make it look like an accident."

"I understand that captain."

We all line up as we get ready to start our first practice for the year.

Toby's POV

Ah wake up and head downstairs to see Jacklin ain't there. Holly's sittin at the table with her diary.

"Holly where'd Jacklin go?"

"Oh, uh... Don't ya remember Toby? Jacklin has her practice today."

"But it ain't even breakfast."

Holly shakes her head.

"Jacklin tol me that its better ta fly on an empty stomach so ya don't get sick."

"Oh right she said that! Ah gotta get somethin real quick."

Ah go back to mah room and grab mah banner.

"Awright, let's go."

"Ok, Toby."

Ah make mah way down to watch the first practice a the year with Holly.

"Ya like mah banner Holly?"

"Yeah. Ya really made that yerself, Toby?"

"Yep. Jacklin made it as the Seeker last year so Ah made a banner ta cheer on the team."

We get to the field an Ah'm amazed to see Slytherin there too.

"Oh no not Slytherin."

"Huh? Wha happened, Holly?"

"Some of the boys were mean ta mah friend, Tim. They called him a mud-blood."

Ah stop for a second before sittin down in the stands.

"What'd Tim do?"

"Nothin. We didn't know what it meant but the boys were laughin so that tells me it's somethin mean."

Ah watch the practice an Ah wonder if Ah should ask Jacklin what it means. Cause if it's as bad as some a what Ah remember momma used to be called this'll be real bad.

"Toby can ya tell me how this sport works?"

"Well Ah can try. Jacklin'd do a better job though."

Ah do mah best ta teach Holly what Quidditch's all bout. Ah think Ah did a good enough job cause Holly don't look all that confused.

Time Skip

Practice is over and Jacklin comes over to us once we get down from the stands.

"Good morning Toby and Holly. Why do you look concerned?"

"Uh Jacklin. Is it bad if somebody calls ya a mud-blood?"

Jacklin looks horrified and Ah jus know it's gonna be bad.

"Who said that word?"

"Some a the Slytherin boys called mah friend that."

"My goodness!"

Ah look at Jacklin and Ah gotta ask why.

"Just how bad's it ta use that word?"

"There's a reason why I prefer to use the term humans. That's the nicest way to describe people who can't use magic at all. Most older wizards use the term muggle though."

"Why?"

"Because it sounds like muddle as in to mix up or confuse which refers to humans being confused about how the magic world operates. My father considers it to be demeaning but not necessarily a bad word. Mud-blood however... it's a very foul name to use. Pure-blooded wizards would use it to refer to human born wizards because they saw human born wizards as beneath them. That's because humans are not as protected from illness and injury. In their opinion, a wizard having a child with a human only takes away their pure blood or muddies up their genetics."

Ah can't help but let mah jaw drop. Suddenly all a what Pacer's said about the caste system's makin all too much sense.

"So yer sayin that it's a really really bad word?"

"Yes. In fact I feel wrong just for even quoting it as a definition."

Some Slytherin boys about Holly's age comes up.

"All right Kwimper. We dealt with your mate Tim."

"Please, Vince just leave us alone!"

"I don't think so. You're next you filthy mud-blood!"

Ah don't even know what happened. All Ah know's one minute we're goin inside then next minute, Ah'm in McGonagall's office. She looks real shocked to see me but still wants to seem professional.

"Mr. Kwimper. I was not expecting to see you here because of an emotional outburst."

"Huh? Whoa. Professor Ah don't really know wha happened. Ah jus remember hearin that one a the Slytherin boys, Ah think his name was Vince, called mah sister Holly... Ah dunno if Ah'd get in trouble fer sayin it."

She takes a good look at me then takes a breath.

"Perhaps you can write it down."

"Ok."

Ah take a quill and start writin out the word.

"Ah know it'd probly be somethin ya wouldn't believe but Jacklin was there too. She heard 'em say it since this was all as we were goin back inside. Ah dunno if she tried stoppin me but Ah just remember bein so... angry."

"Are you done writing the word you say Mr. Everett said?"

"Yes Ah am."

Ah turn it around and McGonagall sees the paper. Ah think she wants to be outraged while still bein fair.

"Thank you, Mr. Kwimper. I will ensure that Professor Snape as well as the Headmaster is aware of this situation. Be that as it may, you still attacked a student. I'm afraid that will be 50 points from Gryffindor. I will have to send an owl to your father and give you detention."

Ah dunno how to feel and can't control mahself anymore. Ah just know Pop's gonna yell at me. Dumbledore might kick me outta Hogwarts and. and.

"Mr. Kwimper."

Ah try mah best to look at McGonagall but it's hard when mah eyes burn from cryin.

"Have a biscuit."

She points at the lil tin on her desk and all Ah can do's hold out mah hand. Ah just can't get mah arm to go an take one mahself. She puts one in mah hand and it takes all Ah can to put it in mah mouth.

"Are you feeling a little better?"

Ah just start rockin back and forth while Ah eat. Biscuit's got cream in it which kinda helps me calm down a bit. Ah'm able to say somethin once Ah finish.

"Thank you. Ah think Ah'm so off from not havin breakfast, ma'am."

"Now that you are able to focus again, as Head of House I have decided on what your detention will be."

Ah gulp thinkin it's gonna be somethin scary.

"Yes ma'am."

"You will be assisting Professor Lockhart with his fan mail this upcoming Friday after your lunch period. You will be able to leave once the task is finished or it is time for dinner."

Ah let out a big sigh.

"Ah understand Professor."

"Good. You may go now, Mr. Kwimper."

Ah stand up an leave ta go ta breakfast. Ah dunno if Ah'm even gonna be able ta eat. Ah feel so sick Ah awmost fall over at the table.

"Toby what happened?"

"Ah got detention."

Holly looks so upset.

"Ah'm sorry ya got in trouble, Toby."

"Holly he called ya a bad word. It ain't like Ah knew Ah was gonna hit 'em. It jus sorta happened."

Probably why Ah'm shakin all over. Ah don't even remember what Ah even did to Vince.

"I don't think Professor McGonagall is truly mad at you, Toby. She has to show that she isn't biased by taking away points and punishing you. You did break a rule by fighting another student after all."

Ah sigh and rub mah eyes.

"Ah didn't hurt Vince too bad did Ah? Ah really don't remember much a anythin after Vince said that word."

"Vince is in the Hospital Wing and will have a black eye, but I don't think he's that injured. If anything I think he was more caught off guard by that outburst. I was able to pull you back before you could do anymore. You sort of went limp from there and it was all I could do to take you to Professor McGonagall's office."

"Oh. Ok."

Ah try to start eatin. Then Ah realize Ah got a lotta stuff eatin at me on the inside. Ah gotta get it out before Ah get sick.

"Who was the blond Slytherin Jacklin? He kept makin mean looks at ya."

"Oh that was my new competition, Jodie Tatum. Since Terrence Higgins graduated last year, Slytherin needed to find a new Seeker. Therefore, they decided to practice today as well. Jodie is a Fifth year and won the Seeker position, but he's never practiced with the team until today. In November, this will be his first game as well."

"So he's older but yer kinda more experienced."

"Yes although there's more tension between him and Captain Oliver. Not even Slytherin's Captain Marcus Flint bickered as much with him last year."

Ah squint at her. Tension ain't ever good and after what just happened Ah don't wanna get involved in any more of it.

"Why? What'd who say ta who?"

"Jodie seemed to take offense to being called a pikey by the captain."

"Wha's that mean?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. I'll send a letter to my father to ask him about it. It certainly isn't a magic related term."

Ah shake mah head and push mah plate way. Ah'm jus too shaken like a rattler to eat right now.

"Ah gotta take a nap."

"Alright then, Toby. That should settle your stomach."

Ah go up to mah room and go to sleep. It's quiet in the dorm so Ah'm feelin better already.

Time Skip

It's Tuesday and Ah'm really dreadin Pop's letter. Ah just know he's gonna send me a real long letter yellin at me. Ah've been sick to mah stomach since Ah got the punishment and Ah jus want all this to be over with.

"Toby I think the mail's here."

Ah gulp as Ah see Buckbeak land on the table.

"Buck do ya think it's gonna be bad?"

Ah go to stroke his feathers and he lets me as if to say it ain't gonna be too bad.

"Thanks Buck. Ya would've bit me if Pop was real mad right?"

He hoots and Ah nod.

"Ok. You can go back ta yer house now."

He hoots and takes off. Ah got mah eyes closed so Ah can't see the letter.

"Are you alright Toby?"

"Ah don't even wanna look at this Jacklin. What color did ya say it's gotta be ta know if Ah'm in real trouble?"

"It would have to be red and get increasingly hotter if your Pop sent you a Howler."

Ah feel around it.

"It ain't gettin hotter. Jus feels like paper."

"It isn't red either so I don't believe you have a Howler in your hands."

Ah open one eye and see it's just a normal letter.

"Pop probly knows Ah'd cover mah ears if ya said they're real loud. It could still be real mean. Holly you open it since yer a Kwimper."

"Oh awright."

She takes the letter outta mah hands. Ah guess she's readin it before tellin me if it's bad.

"Well what'd he say Holly?"

"Pop said at first he was disappointed in ya for hittin Vince. Then he saw that... word and wrote a letter to Jacklin's dad. When he got a reply sayin that it was a very foul name, he became proud a you."

Ah open mah eyes.

"He did?"

"Yeah. Even though he still don't want ya hittin other kids, he's proud that ya stood up for me. That it's a good thin yer learnin about what's ok to say and what isn't."

Ah take the letter and read it before droppin it on the table.

"Ah've been feelin sick only for Pop ta be basically ok wit all this?!"

Ah feel two hands on mah back.

"Isn't that a good thing? You can finally stop worrying about the unknown."

"Yeah Toby, Pop won't send ya a letter like that only to punish ya once we get home. He ain't like that right?"

Ah drink some water to clear the head fuzzies.

"Well no. Probly cause he knows Ah don't..."

Ah wave mah hands around to think on how to finish the sentence.

"Handle stress real well. And that he knows what it's like ta have someone he loves have rude things said ta them."

"I didn't know this Toby. What was said to you?"

Ah look at Jacklin.

"Kids callin me different ways a sayin dumb weren't nearly as bad ta Pop as when adults used ta say rude things bout mah momma bein Cherokee."

Holly covers her mouth like she gets it and now it's Jacklin's turn ta feel confused.

"You mean people would say rude things because she was a Native American?"

"Yeah. Um... Ah don't know what type a bad words Ah'd be able ta say. Only that Ah know Pacer's Indian an momma wasn't. Didn't seem ta stop people from sayin she was. Even called 'er Pocahontas cause she was a Native woman who married Pop who's white."

Ah'm squeezin mah hands together because Ah think Ah figured out why Ah just blacked out when Vince called Holly that bad word.

"Ya don't need to say anythin else Toby. Ah understand what ya mean."

"Yes I think you've explained yourself enough for now."

Ah take a breath.

"Well. Least Ah don't gotta worry bout what Pop's gonna say. Now Ah jus gotta get through mah detention an it'll all be over."

"And that's all you need to think about, Toby."

Now that Ah feel better Ah start eatin breakfast. After all it's gonna be a long way to Friday.

Time Skip

It's Friday afternoon and Ah just finished lunch. Ah start makin mah way to detention.

"You do know where Professor Lockhart's office is right Toby?"

"Yeah Ah do cause Holly told me she'd go ta the 2nd floor corridor for extra credit or whatever."

"I see. Well good luck with your detention. I'll see you at dinner."

Ah sigh and start headin up the stairs.

"Ah jus hope nothin's gonna be too loud or bright for me. Ah ain't gonna be able ta handle it."

Ah show up at Lockhart's office an knock on the door.

"Ah, Mr. Kwimper. I'm sure this must be an honor for you to help me with my fan mail."

Ah dunno what to say outside a the truth. His office don't look bright at all. Kinda cozy actually.

"Ah'd definitely rather do this than somethin like cleanin up the dungeons."

"Yes I understand. Of course helping me with my fan mail is no easy task. I do after all get hundreds of letters a day ever since I arrived at Hogwarts."

Ah sit down at a desk.

"How's this gonna work, Professor?"

"Well dear boy, all you need to do is write my thank you note on every letter. Then you hand it to me to sign."

"Oh. Ah can do that, sir."

"Yes. I'm sure you can. Here's the first letter."

Ah grab a quill and start writin. At some point Ah start havin a vision a me writin in a journal. Then Ah jump when Ah hear "Blood. I want blood."

"Did ya hear that, Professor?"

He looks up at me.

"Pardon me?"

"Those voices."

He chuckles.

"Headmaster warned me about you. I heard no such thing. Now let's get back to work. Don't want you leaving for dinner late."

Not wantin to argue Ah just get back to work. This' somethin Ah gotta ask Jacklin about anyway.

Tagging: @arrolyn1114, @nemos-rapture, @xanatenshi, @briefpandatimemachine, @hooked-on-elvis,

@vintagepresley, @aliengoth3, @smokeymountainboy, @bigdaddyelvislover, @mercsandmonsters,

@pledgingmylovee, @presleysgirl6, @thetaoofzoe, and @elvispresley4life.

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

weird question maybe but can u elabore on why u wanna throttle the kids that look like they aren’t paying attention to class but know the answer when u call on them?

(not judging u at all btw im just very curious, like maybe it was just an euphemism and i missed it but it got me thinking of it ever elicited a bigger response that idk surprise from teachers when students did that)

this is so fair because i definitely dropped something so mysterious and aggressive soundin gin the tags and just didn't bother explaining at all lol.

so i should definitely clarify there are two types of 'kids that look like they aren't paying attention' in most classes. 1) the kids who are a bit aloof, space cadet-esque, etc. the Luna Lovegoods of the world if you will. i don't know what goes on in their brains but it works for them, so far be it from to mess with that equilibrium. the group i'm talking about here though is 2) the kids who will do everything possible to distract others and avoid completing assignments/activities. this includes alllll the off-task behaviours you can think of. throwing things percussion in desks, tearing paper, playing games/watching youtube on their school chromebooks, etc. anything other than the instruction. but...they...are...so...smart.

and it's because they're so smart that theyre doing these off-task behaviours. because they're bored! and in a dream world, all lessons would be designed with this in mind, to entice all learners...but alas. the triage of a modern classroom is far from the dream world.

so to be clear: i'm sympathetic toward and relate to the bored kids who act out but are so damn intelligent. but goodness gracious do they make me wanna scream sometimes. also i'm a principal-in-residence now so i deal with a lot of student discipline...and conversations with these kids always go the same way. this was literally on monday:

me: so tell me what happened. kid: i was bored. me: right, sooo... kid: sooo *slightly guilty, but mostly evil smile* i stole the balls off the bottom of my desk and threw them at my friend. i know it was wrong. can i have lunch detention instead of a parent conference?