#Granger Lake

[dopescissorscashwagon]

Milkyway over Granger Lake Texas. Taken with my Canon R6 and 15-35 F2.8L . Had about an hour window and had to climb down and up that rock pile and fell on way down. No injury…

by Stephen Brkich 📸

[dhradventures]

Hi, Summer, it’s been a while ❤️💛💚🤍☀️🏖️🌥️🌤️

[onepawproductions]

V1 Chapter 3 Art for "Lady of the Lake by Colubrina"

Gotta more-Hermione-ify it, change her hairstyle, clean up her hand, clean up the background, and change up her bracelet. Almost there!

I got some really good gens outta this one! Spoiled for choice! I ended up amalgamating 5 images into this one (the lamppost, the street and sky, Draco/Hermione upper bodies, Hermione face, Hermione Hair).

Here's ones that are good, but didn't make the cut:

Art Generation Info Below!

Prompt: an off-center closeup shot of Draco Malfoy and [Hermione Granger:Emma Watson:0.5] gazing lovingly at each other while standing in a spotlight under a tall streetlight in [Diagon Alley] [next to a fountain with a statue in it] and a bookshop in the background , 25-year-old, romantic, on a date, at twilight, holding each other, a romantic embrace, true love, coy, first date, (sleeveless sleek cowlneck black wrap dress), (a reporter surreptitiously in the background smoking a cigarette and holding an antique flash camera), victorian, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, tentative hopefulness, lips slightly parted, wistful, dynamic asymmetry, background dynamic asymmetry, people mingling in the background

Negative Prompt: anger, sadness, kids, eyes closed, symmetry, [[technicolor]],

Style "@ not the camera" Negative Prompt: (((looking at the camera))), facing the camera, eye contact with the viewer, (((looking at you)))

Style "Cover Art": a detailed Cover Art painting of {prompt} . official art,a detailed drawing,fantastic realism,magic realism,cinematic lighting,fantasy art,pre-raphaelitism,gritty,dystopian,dark,gothic art,high contrast,cyberpunk art,dramatic shadows,mysterious

Neg: simplified, abstract, unrealistic, impressionistic, low resolution, glitch, deformed, mutated, cross-eyed, ugly, disfigured

Style "Book Heading Happy": official art,a detailed drawing,fantastic realism,cover art,magic realism,fantasy art, Oil Painting, Chiaroscuro Painting, sharp focus,4K,8K,sharp,crisp,detailed,highly detailed,epic,gorgeous,ultra detailed,intricate, pre-raphaelitism, [William Adolphe Bouguereau],

Neg: nuns, monks, bare feet, comic book panel, manga panel, comic panel, tux, tuxedo, nsfw, nude, shiny skin, wings, forum post, character sheet, cartoon, pop art, cropped, out-of-frame,

And then I used XYZ plot for samplers, Styles, and Search-Replace first-keyword perspective orientation (closeup, wide angle shot, forced perpective, low angle shot)

The lighting was done in Sketchbook Pro, by making a gradient of a spotlight, erasing some light lines and softening the edges, then layering that with the "Glow", "Soft Glow", and "Color Burn" blending modes (to create glowing highlights and shafts of light within the existing image), and whole-image layers in Multiply (to darken darks), and Grayscale (to control saturation)

Probably about 500 or so gens, in about 8 gen runs, and 3 gen runs in img2img, and about..25 layers in Sketchbook Pro

Nicey nice!

[yourbiggestfan2020]

This is an amazing fic. I loved devouring it. Available on AO3. It is a HEA (in a way) there is Major Character Death. But wow, just wow. This fic will live rent free in my head. 10/10

[spectral-kitkat]

The Slytherin students probably got the best view for the 2nd task in GoF now that I think about it.

All they needed to do was line some chairs up by the window since it looks out into the Black Lake and crack open the Bertie Botts.

Why go all the way to the podiums and stare at the surface of a lake for an hour when you can stay indoors and have a better view*

* I’m just guessing on that, I have no clue how far away from the castle (and the Slytherin common room) the mermaids are but they’ve got to have at least seen something out of the windows, right?

On another note: do you reckon they saw Gabrielle, Cho, Ron and Hermione being lowered down? Like 2 students were playing chess by the window when suddenly a redhead just sinks past them…

[bisexualmultifandommess]

Next up is Charlie Eppes!

I love Charlie so much I honestly feel like this fits him a lot!

This genius is gay.

Both him and Amita are Queer but everyone kept on assuming that they were interested in each other so they pretend to date after the assumptions get too annoying. This way they can hang out as best friends and also have time to figure out their lives and find a moment where they feel comfortable enough to come out without anyone questioning them.

The first person Charlie came out to was Margaret. She always understood him the most and one day when he was around fifteen he confided in her that he wasn’t into girls the way Don was. She was very accepting of him and tried to help him despite not being very knowledgeable on it due to the era she grew up in and her being straight.

He didn’t reveal it to anyone else for a few years because he wasn’t comfortable enough and didn’t want the added pressure of homophobia when he already got a lot of aggression and mockery from people for being a young math genius.

After he came out to everyone he still knew that homophobia was a problem in the world but with the support of his family and new friends he was able to feel safer to come out.

When he was younger he saw the way Don was with girls and felt like that was the way he needed to be. He wanted to be like his big brother because when he was a kid he was a little insecure and thought that if he was more like Don then his brother would want to spend time with him. As he got older he started to understand himself more and knew he could be himself and still have love and support from Don.

Charlie didn’t have a lot of dating options when he was younger due to being a lot younger than his classmates but he did sometimes have small innocent crushes on male students or teachers that only his mum knew about. His mum reassured him that having crushes on them was completely normal and that eventually he’d find someone his own age once he got a little older and started finding peers closer to his age.

Despite initially getting off on the wrong foot Charlie was still quite attracted to Ian Edgerton when he met him. There were times when their debating sounded like flirting and he made a good friend once they both put aside their small difference of opinion. Charlie tried to keep his attraction a secret and often felt slightly shy by Ian’s blatant flirting in private but he was sure that Terry could sense that he liked him but she never brought it up probably because she didn’t feel it was her place. Although he was attracted to him his small feelings eventually became platonic.

He was very attracted to Colby when he first met him and although Charlie was a little oblivious to it, Colby seemed interested as well but obviously kept quiet and tried not to show it due to his boss being Charlie’s big brother. The two of them could joke with each other and talk about things when either needed someone to listen. It wasn’t long until Charlie found himself falling for him. He didn’t mention it because he wasn’t sure if Colby actually was interested and could be straight anyway. Both their feelings were revealed one evening when Colby came to visit Charlie to see if he had any news on a murder case. He could see that Charlie was getting stressed and Charlie was struggling so Colby convinced him to take a break and got him a drink. They both sat in the garage and had a couple of drinks together to relax since they’d all been working overtime on this case they could spare a few minutes to calm down. While talking things through they stopped for a moment and then Colby leaned in a kissed Charlie. Charlie was surprised by this and shocked enough to freeze because he wasn’t expecting it and all his feelings for Colby suddenly come rushing to front of his mind. Colby initially took this as rejection and tried to apologise but Charlie kissed him again. After this the two began dating in secret because both weren’t ready to come out yet. Charlie found out that Colby is pansexual. Things became tense after Colby was revealed as a double agent but after everything was explained and Charlie started to feel he could trust Colby again they were able to start again and get back together.

Alan and Don were the people he was most nervous to come out to. He was fairly certain they wouldn’t react in a negative way but Charlie knew that Alan was excited for grandchildren and often asked about him getting a girlfriend. He didn’t want to disappoint his dad. Luckily for Charlie, Alan though a little surprised and confused reassured Charlie that even if he doesn’t understand it and might get things wrong from time to time he loves him very much no matter who he loves. Don wasn’t overly surprised but a little upset with himself that he hadn’t made Charlie feel safe enough when they were younger to tell him. After Charlie came out to them the elder Eppes men became very protective of their youngest often snapping at any bigot they came across.

After Margaret, Larry and Amita were the next people who he came out to and then it was Colby and then Alan and Don. He came out to Megan and David later on and eventually also told Terry (when she would visit) and Ian. He also confided in Oswald about being gay when Oswald confided in him about being queer too. Charlie wanted to help Oswald feel comfortable the way his friends and family did too not only in the maths world but in being lgbt.

[vintagedreamsofsennett]

Roscoe Arbuckle (a flirt), Corinne Parquet (his wife), Agnes Neilson (his wife's mother), Alice Lake (pretty girl) in A Reckless Romeo (1917)

Franklin Pangborn (a flirt), Dorothy Granger (his wife), Cecil Cunningham (his wife's aunt), Toby Wing (pretty girl) in The Candid Camera (1932)

In both stories, the protagonist gets a black eye while flirting with a pretty girl, so he makes up a lie to his wife about how he got a black eye.

[acanadianmuggle]

Rated M - oneshot - 4282 words - complete

DFW Tropes Fest 2023 - assigned trope: co-workers

The Giant Squid is lonely and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has sent two employees out to rectify the situation. What happens when consentacles lead to employees bed-sharing?

[braveclementine]

Chapter 6

Warnings: 18+ readers only, mentions of nudity

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

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕳𝖆𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖉 𝖒𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖉 𝖔𝖓 from teaching about Phoenixes to talking about Centaurs and Merpeople. Since I'd already seen both of those, he didn't have to bring an example into class- not that, we both knew- either of them would've agreed to it.

There was quite a bit that I knew about Centaurs, but I knew nearly nothing about merpeople. Hagrid was still had hard feelings towards Harry, Hermione, and Ron about not continuing his class, but he tried not to show it. He still showed up to mealtimes and waved hello when they called out to him.

Of course, he was a bit moody, but there was nothing that I could do about that. They'd come down eventually and talk to him and then we'd be fine.

Potions was an equal success for both Harry and I and the classes usually ended with Professor Slughorn not knowing which potion was better, and believing that we'd both inherited our mother's skill for potions.

Of course, I'd tried multiple times in class to tell him that I wasn't related to Harry whatsoever, but Professor Slughorn never let me get the words out and so now the entire class was wondering whether Harry and I were related.

Again.

Draco of course, seemed most interested in this topic. I'm sure he'd love to run back to Voldemort with the news that Elizabeth Kane Lupin was, indeed, Harry Potter's sister. Harry and I had quite the time stamping down that rumor again.

"Maybe you two should date." Hermione said one night at the Gryffindor table. I spat my pumpkin juice out of my mouth and Harry choked on his steak.

"You're mad!" I said, hastily wiping up the pumpkin juice with my napkin, forgetting that I could clean it up with a wand.

"It'd stop all the questions." Hermione pointed out, an amused smile on her face.

"Absolutely not." I said firmly. "As far as I'm concerned, Harry is as good as my brother and that's that."

Harry had finally dislodged the piece of steak he'd been choking on and nodded his head in agreement, his eyes watering and his cheeks fading from purple to red to pink to normal.

Trang had been giggling quietly on my left and I put my foot over hers and pressed down. She pursed her lips and stopped laughing. Ron had been goggling at Hermione as though she was, indeed, mad.

Meanwhile, I had posted that Quidditch tryouts would be this Saturday. There were a couple names added to the list, including Ernies and Hannah's. I had pretty much all of my friends from Hufflepuff on the damn list and I knew I was going to have to exclude some of them... possibly all of them and I wasn't looking forward to doing that.

Of course, there were other stresses on top of that. For instance, Dumbledore wasn't going to be alive by the end of the year. Of course, Severus was upset about this fact and I knew eventually he was going to fight with Dumbledore about it. And of course, there was quite a bit of homework, prefect duties, a late period, starting private lessons back up with Professors, interning under Madam Pomfrey, etc.

Saturday came and I walked down early with Trang to the Quidditch pitch. "Are you going to try out for the Ravenclaw team?" I asked as we entered the stadium. No one but Zacharias was there yet and he was nodding off on the bench, his broom beside him.

"I've put my name down." Trang said. "But our Captain hasn't put down a date yet and I don't know how the other people fly so I don't know who I'll do."

"Don't worry." I said. "A lot of the people who show up are horrible and just hope other people are worse than them. Ravenclaw hasn't won the Cup in a while."

"Wow. . ." Trang said with a roll of her eyes. "Definitely makes me want to try out now!"

I grinned sheepishly. "I'm just saying you have a good chance of getting on the team, that's all. What position do you want?"

"Chaser or seeker." Trang said thoughtfully. "But I think Cho is going to play seeker still so I'm stuck with Chaser."

I wrinkled my nose when Trang wasn't looking. Cho, urgh. I'd forgotten she was still around.

There were 30 people even which made it wonderfully easy to split up into 6 sets of 5 so that I could see how they flew in the different formations and by the time they landed, I realized that weeding people out was going to be much more difficult than I thought.

I started with the Keepers first which consisted of Susan and about ten other students. I had the others go first, each of them saving averaging between two-four of the five goals that Zacharias threw at them and then let Susan go up who saved five goals. I was a bit surprised and I knew it was showing on my face because she glared at me when she landed.

"Alright then." I said brightly, waving away the others. "Susan, you'll be the new Keeper then. Go join Zacharias on the bench."

The nice thing about Hufflepuffs was that they didn't get angry or resentful when things didn't go their way. They congratulated Susan and then went to sit up in the stands with a few spectators.

I went with beaters next of which Justin and Ernie were both trying out for. However, James was already on the team and there was only one spot open. Neither Justin nor Ernie did as well as Anthony Rickett however, and so Anthony was the newest beater for the team. Both Justin and Ernie went back up into the stands with the seven other students that had tried out for beater.

The Chasers trying out for Heidi and Malcolm's spot including Hannah, Rose, Zacharias, and the rest of the Hufflepuff students. I had to admit, watching them fly, Rose was good, much better than I would have expected as the bludgers and beaters flew around, trying to knock them off. Hannah wasn't so good and was knocked off the broom by a bludger.

At the end, I chose Rose and a seventh-year boy by the name of Luke Cholderton. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone to replace Zacharias and tried not to seem so disappointed when I gave him his spot back. Other than that, I was pleased with the outcome of my team and Trang and I went back up to the castle for breakfast. I was afraid that Ernie, Justin, and Hannah would have hard feelings but they seemed in just as high spirits as possible.

Then, Hannah said, "I really only tried out for the team because I thought it would be fun. I'm not really all that serious about Quidditch to be completely honest." Then she quickly stuck some bacon in her mouth.

Ernie shrugged, "I think the teams going to be good this year."

"It ought to be interesting, watching you and Harry race each other for the snitch from the crowd anyways." Justin said with a grin and I felt immensely better though part of me wondered if they only said those things so that I did feel better.

That night, Trang and I went to the Gryffindor Tower to study.

". . .Or herself." Hermione was saying irritably in the corner of the room. "It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's."

"The Half-Blood Prince, he was called." Harry said, "How many girls have been Princes? Oh, hey Liz, Trang!"

"Could be a last name." I said knowingly, sitting down on the couch. "But it was a boy." I said.

"Do you know who's book this was?" Hermione asked excitedly.

I nodded. "But you guys will find out who's it was in due time so I'm not in any hurry to spill."

"That's so annoying, when you do that!" Ron said with a roll of his eyes. "Why don't you just spit it out?"

"Could impact the whole future." I said, smirking.

"It's five to eight, I'd better go, I'll be late for Dumbledore." Harry said, getting to his feet, "can you tell me what I'm going to be doing?" He added with a joking tone.

"He's going to be showing you different memories." I said, taking out my quill and a bottle of ink. "Different memories from Voldemort's past."

"We'll wait up!" Hermione said.

Harry nodded to me and then headed out of the Gryffindor portrait.

"So," Ron said, leaning in. "What's the first memory he's going to be shown about."

I sighed, looking up from the essay I was trying to concentrate on. "Voldemort's relatives, his mother and father and grandparents and things like that. What his roots are."

"I suppose Dumbledore thinks its important for Harry to understand Voldemort's past." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Er-?" Trang asked, "Memories?"

"Oh." I said, "Yeah, memories. Wizards and witches can take their memories and put them into bottles and things like that. As long as the glass doesn't break, they could keep a memory forever. Then, they'll pour the memory into something called a pensieve and they can watch the memory from a third-person view."

Trang stared at me with an open mouth and then looked back down at her essay she was trying to finish up.

Around ten o'clock, I got up, stretching and said good-bye to everyone. Ron looked up, "You're not going to stay?"

I smiled at him mischievously. "Why would I have to if I've already seen the memory?"

Then I walked out and headed to Severus' bedroom.

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖑 𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖘 passed in a blur. The classes were harder than I remembered and all the students stared at the teachers as thought they'd grown second heads. Even Hermione and I were asking for instructions to be repeated before we could understand what we were being asked to do.

Nonverbal spells had to be used in every class now (that required them at least). Many students were now relieved to be in classes like Herbology or Ancient Runes were no magic was really required.

Of course, Hermione and I were doing well with the nonverbal spells and other extremely smart students were starting to get the hang of it too.

I'd also restarted private lessons with Flitwick, McGonagall, and Snape as I had in the past five years of my education at Hogwarts. They'd been stopped last year after an educational decree announced that private lessons were unethical as they boosted other kids and didn't help others. However, all educational decrees under Umbridge had been undone and so I was able to continue doing private lessons this year.

On top of these lessons, I was also tutoring Rose and Grace on Fridays. I was holding Quidditch practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was going down and helping Hagrid with other activities whenever I felt like being outside. I was interning under Madam Pomfrey (I was debating between become an Auror and Healer). And of course, there was homework and patrolling the corridors at night.

But despite all of this, there was a depressing gloom around me when I was alone. I couldn't help seeing into the future, watching Severus kill Dumbledore over and over again. I wasn't sure why I was seeing so far into the future, I wasn't used to doing so. I could usually foresee a few months, but never the entire year. Maybe it was because I already knew and the future didn't care about keeping it from me.

Then again. . . it wasn't the entire year I was seeing, just that one scene. Over and over and over again.

I wondered if maybe my skills had finally developed and now I could see things at will. Or maybe I could just see farther than used to. Whatever the case, I wasn't sure I didn't prefer not knowing how things were going to end.

On Friday in Herbology, a stranger came in and spoke to Professor Sprout and then pulled Hannah Abbott aside to tell her that her mother was dead. There were whispers throughout the greenhouse and Ernie, Susan, and I exchanged a look. Hannah left with the wizard.

"Do you think that she'll go home?" Susan asked me quietly as we returned to the dangerous plant we were working with.

I shook my head, "That's what I foresaw but. . . well you heard her in the dorm. Of course, circumstances might have changed now that she's actually faced with it."

"Dreadful." Ernie muttered, wiping sweat away from his brow and we continued our work in silence.

When I went back up to the Hufflepuff common room and to my dorm, I noticed that many of Hannah's things were indeed, gone. I sighed, wishing I could've said good-bye to her.

The next day at breakfast, Harry was frowning down at the list in his hand.

"We've got to go and explain." Hermione said, looking over my shoulder at something.

"We've got Quidditch tryouts this morning!" Ron complained. "And we're supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti Charm from Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?"

"We didn't hate it!" Hermione squealed.

"Speak for yourself, I haven't forgotten the skrewts. And I'm telling you now, we've had a narrow escape. You didn't hear him going on about his gormless brother- we'd have been teaching Grawp how to tie his shoelaces if we'd stayed."

I frowned at him, "The lessons have been really good so far."

Ron spewed out his breakfast and I wrinkled my nose in disgust, glad I wasn't sitting across from him. Trang looked revolted as she wiped egg off her glasses. "You're taking Care of Magical Creatures classes?"

"Yeah." I said disdainfully. "We've gone over Phoenixes- he borrowed Fawkes from Dumbledore for that lesson- Centaurs, merpeople, and we're working on dragons, though without a physical example. He's saved all the good lessons for sixth-year."

"Er- how many students are in your class?" Harry asked, looking up from the paper for a second.

"Just me." I snapped.

"I hate not talking to Hagrid." Hermione said, looking over my shoulder again.

"We'll go down after Quidditch." Harry said. "But trials might take all morning, the number of people who have applied. I dunno why the team's this popular all of a sudden."

"Oh, come on, Harry, it's not Quidditch that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable." Hermione said with a bit of impatience. Trang giggled and Ron choked on his kipper.

"Every knows you've been telling the truth now, don't they? The whole Wizarding world has had to admit that you were right about Voldemort being back and that you really have fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they're calling you 'the Chosen One'- well, come on, can't you see why people are fascinated by you?"

Harry's face was a bit pink now.

"And you've been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway. . ."

"You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look." Ron said, shaking back his sleeves. Trang giggled harder. I was starting to grin.

"And it doesn't hurt that you've grown about a foot over the summer either." Hermione said, completely ignoring Ron.

"I'm tall." Ron said inconsequentially.

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing too and instead said, "Well then I should have lots of boys after me cause I've got words written on the back of my hand!" It was a joke so I was surprised when Hermione went ahead and spoke with complete seriousness.

"Oh, but there are hundreds of boys after you." There was a hint of impatience and surprise behind her words too, "You just don't pay any attention to them."

I snorted, ignoring this statement. Boys after me, yeah right. All the ones that liked me had left school. . . or were dead.

Trang and I headed down to Hagrid's to help him in his garden while the other three continued to eat breakfast. We harvested potatoes for a few hours, chatting about unimportant things. Hagrid was delighted with our company. Him and Trang had hit right off and she enjoyed his Care of Magical Creatures classes most of all.

"Can we ride Buckbeak Hagrid?" I asked as I plopped another potato in his basket.

"Yeh mean Witherwings?" Hagrid asked with a wink.

"Of course." I said. "I can't get used to calling him that unfortunately. He don't seem to like it much either."

Hagrid chuckled, "Tha's true enough. Sure, I don' see any harm in lettin' yeh ride him. Yeh've ridden him before so it shouldn' be a problem."

"Want to ride with me, Trang?" I asked, standing up, and brushing dirt off my pants. Though it was September, the weather was nice enough so that we'd taken off our long robes.

"Er-" Trang said, looking frightened. "Will he like that?"

"Sure." I said, leading her out to the front garden and approaching Buckbeak. "But stay back, okay."

Trang dithered near the front of the cabin, watching as I untied Buckbeak's leash. "Alright boy." I whispered, petting his beak, "You ready for a ride?"

He clucked, tossing his head. I took it for a yes.

"Now Trang, you have to bow to him, make sure not to blink. If he doesn't bow back, he's not gonna let you ride him, understand?" I asked her seriously. Trang took off her glasses. I nodded, backing away a little.

Trang bowed slightly, keeping eye contact and not blinking. Much to my hidden surprise, Buckbeak bowed back almost immediately.

Trang approached him and petted his beak too. "He's really beautiful."

Buckbeak crowed again, making Trang jump, and I laughed, "Don't worry, he likes compliments. But you never want to insult a hippogriff anyways. They're very proud creatures, aren't you Buckbeak!" I said in a sing-songy voice.

I climbed up onto Buckbeak's back and helped Trang up. I noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione were coming up the slop towards his house. I set Buckbeak at a gallop, and then he raised his wings and took off.

Trang was clutching my midriff tightly so as not to fall off. I wondered if she had her eyes closed and then she said, "The lake looks really pretty from down here."

I nearly thought about pushing her off, but also remembered that there were magical creatures in the lake that she didn't know how to deal with, so I thought better of it. A shame, really, it would've been a laugh to talk about later- for me, not necessarily for her.

Buckbeak stayed airborne for nearly twenty minutes but it was wonderful and when we touched back down, Trang hopped down and the two of us went up to Hagrid's front door, noticing he wasn't in the back anymore, and knocked.

"Come in." a somewhat grumpy voice said.

We entered and noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in there. Harry was nibbling on a Rock cake.

"Hello!" I said happily, grabbing two rock cakes and passing one to Trang who made the immediate mistake of trying to bit into it and turned around so she wasn't facing Hagrid as she winced.

I giggled, "So what are we talking about?" I asked, taking a seat next to Hagrid, away from the grubs.

"How much we thought Professor Grubby-plank was a horrible teacher." Hermione said, looking at me intently.

"Oh yes, well of course." I said lightly, breaking off a piece of rock cake and sticking it in the back of my mouth. The trick was to let it sit there, because it would melt like a sugar crystal. And despite the fact that they were named 'rock cakes', they were decent and did taste like chocolate and dough when it was warm. If I wasn't so hungry, I'd have taken them and put them next to fire to soften them first.

Hagrid beamed at me.

"Did you see that arrest in the paper Hagrid?" Harry asked, changing the subject. He had a rock cake before him on the table.

"Ay, don' know wha' they're playin' at, arresting' Stan Shunpike." Hagrid said, frowning. "Don' s'pose he knew wha' he was really doin' though."

"I don't know." Hermione said slowly. "The newspaper said he was caught talking about Death Eater plans and I don't think he'd be talking about them if he was under the imperius curse."

"Unless they had him spewing false information." I pointed out.

"Elizabeth's right." Hagrid said. "I knew Stan, an' he wouldn' of gone round sayin' stuff like tha' no matter how stupid he is."

Trang looked a little lost but didn't ask any questions. The conversation soon moved away from the depressing news articles.

We left the cabin around dusk because students had to be inside the castle before night fall or (in the summer) 6 o'clock.

"I'm starving." Harry said once the heavy cabin door was closed behind us and we hurried up to the castle. "I've got that detention with Snape tonight, I haven't got much time for dinner. . ."

We walked into the Great Hall and we came up behind Cormac McLaggen. He walked straight into frame the first time he tried to go in and then bounced back and managed to get through the doors on the second try.

Trang giggled quietly and Ron laughed. I smiled, following them into the Great Hall and then we noticed Harry and Hermione weren't with us and we waited until they came through the door.

We headed towards the Gryffindor table until Professor Slughorn intercepted us. "Harry, Harry, just the man I was hoping to see! I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We're having a little party, just a few rising stars, I've got McLaggen coming and Zabini, the charming Melinda Bobbin- I don't know whether you know her? Her family owns a large chain of apothecaries- and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger, Miss Nyguen, and Miss Kane will favor me by coming too."

"I can't come, Professor, I've got a detention with Professor Snape." Harry said at once.

Trang hung back behind my shoulder.

"Oh dear! Dear, dear, I was counting on you, Harry! Well, now, I'll just have to have a word with Severus and explain the situation. I'm sure I'll be able to persuade him to postpone your detention. Yes, I'll see you all later!"

"He's go not chance of persuading Snape, this detention's already been postponed once; Snape did it for Dumbledore, but he won't do it for anyone else." Harry said, watching Professor Slughorn head down the corridor.

"You've got that right!" I said brightly.

I went back to the Hufflepuff common room, wondering if I should go in my Hogwarts school robes or in a different outfit. I mean, it was a dinner, was it not?

In the end, I decided to simply wear my slacks and the white V-neck blouse that I usually wore under my robes and left the robes in the room. I also changed out of the normal shoes for flats. I did my hair up in an elegant bun, and then put on the earrings Severus had given me along with the necklace and went down the stairs and made my way to the potions office.

I thought that perhaps I'd walked into the wrong room when I walked into his office, and then realized that it had been enlarged and brightened. The shelves filled with liquids that had once been lined up against the wall had been removed and replaced with portraits.

I noticed with relief that the other students had dressed similarly to me. Professor Slughorn showed me to a seat next to Zabini, much to my displeasure. Trang came in and sat on my other side so it wasn't so bad.

Once everyone had settled around the table, Professor Slughorn passed out the food and talked about famous people. I felt uncomfortable next to Blaise as I felt that he kept looking at me. I wondered briefly if his parents were Death Eaters.

Near eleven o'clock, he was done with us and we left. I said good-bye to Trang, Hermione, and Ginny and made my way to the Hufflepuff common room and then doubled back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

I knocked before I entered because I didn't know if Severus was done with Harry and his detention yet. A cool voice said, "Enter."

I entered and looked around. No one but Severus was there, putting two tubs away and he said, "Lovely, you just missed Potter."

"Good." I said, closing the door behind me.

"You look different." Severus said, looking over my attire, his eyes resting on the earrings. I lifted a hand to them.

"Oh, well Professor Slughorn invited me to his little dinner party. It'd be rude not to go and I wanted to look decent." I said, a blush creeping into my cheeks.

Severus snorted, "Decent?"

"Well I didn't look in a mirror before I left so maybe I looked less than decent." I said with a shrug, "Maybe that's why Blaise kept looking at me strangely." I added on thoughtfully.

"Blaise. . . Zabini?" Severus asked, pausing at his desk.

"Yeah." I said, taking the earrings off and putting them in my pocket. They were clip ons and they were starting to burn my ears. I massaged the earlobes between my fingers. "Why?"

"Nothing." Severus said, coming over to me, "And you look more than decent. You looked very pretty tonight. But I still preferred you in that dress at the Yule Ball."

I blushed even darker, pleased. "That was a nice dress, wasn't it."

"It shaped your frame perfectly." He said before pressing his lips to mine, "Come on then."

I took his hand and we walked upstairs. He locked the door behind us and I unclasped the necklace from around my neck and I put it down on his desk. I also took the earrings out of my pocket and put them next to the necklace so that I didn't lose them. I also took the pins out of my hair, letting my hair down. I felt it land at my knees.

Severus put his hands on my hips, resting his chin on my shoulder and I closed my eyes, smiling. "Long day?" I asked softly, reaching up to touch his hair.

"Very." He whispered, pressing his lips to my neck.

"I'm afraid I'll have to make it just a little bit longer before I let you go to sleep." I murmured, throwing my clothes to the floor and taking his hand and leading him to the bed, "If you don't mind... of course." I whispered against his ear.

In response, he climbed over me and lowered himself into me. 

⬅️➡️

[xixiao-yankai]

I wonder what went through Sirius's mind

While he was locked in Professor Flitwick's office and about to be kissed by a Dementor.

We know Harry's and Hermione's point of view in PoA. Harry's sheer anguish and desperation knowing that the Kiss was about to be administered, bleeding off the pages. Sirius, though? What was he thinking about after waking up from the attack at the Great Lake?

How to escape? How to get away somehow? How to, no matter how impossible, fight that Dementor?

Or utterly resigned, accepting that this was the end, finding solace in the fact that at least his dear godson had welcomed and forgiven him at last?

A lot of tragic moments get overlooked in the novels. The closer I read into some scenes, the more heartbreak I find.

[beautifulwillfulldead]

[ID: Fanart of Harry Potter. Ginny Weasley, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are sitting huddled close together near the shores of the Black Lake of Hogwarts, surrounded by lakeshore plants. The four of them are faceless. Hermione has a book open on her lap. Harry and Hermione are both depicted as brown. In the top right corner a corner of Hogwarts Castle is visible. The sun is shining brightly in a blue sky, and is reflecting in the lake. A large tree with vibrant green leaves is in the top right corner. The grass is light green. In the background, some trees, Hagrid's hut, and tall mountains and hills are visible. End ID]

golden.

[dhradventures]

Even Draco fell silent when Lake Bohinj hove into view, and it was only the first of the many times Draco found himself speechless in gorgeous Slovenia. ❤️💛💚🤍🇸🇮🏞️🌄

[katie-krum]

Enchanted - katiekrum - Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling [Archive of Our Own]

“I don’t agree.” - she said briefly, looking into Dumbledore's eyes. - “I don’t agree to participate in this. Especially since you're offering me to be a hostage for Viktor. It's true, we have become friends... However, it isn’t a friendship close enough for me to risk my safety for him.”

After her words, there was a silence that was almost unbearable. It was almost unbearable for her. Hermione had the impression that the headmaster was trying to silently manipulate her into giving the answer he wanted. She knew this tactic thanks to her grandmother. Compared to her, the wizard sitting on the other side of the desk was an amateur.

He finally cleared his throat before saying, "All hostages will be safe. Before entering the lake, each of you will receive a potion prepared by Professor Snape. A potion that will keep you frozen until you reach the surface again.”

She looked at the potions master standing in the office and said - “I believe in our professor's skills, but... Who will give me a guarantee that my body will react to this substance as you planned?” - to her surprise, a shadow of a smile appeared on the dark-haired wizard's lips, which quickly disappeared.

“I'm glad that our Gryffindor believes in my ability to brew potions.” - You could feel slight amusement in Snape's voice, which only confirmed that the smile she had just seen must have been real. - “You'll have to excuse me, because I have other things to take care of. Albus... I think you'll have to find someone else for Mr. Krum.”

Just after the door closed behind the Head of Slytherin, there was a gleam in the Headmaster's eyes that alarmed her. - “I noticed that you don't like sweets... But maybe before we continue that conversation, you would try to some lemon drops?”

Irritated, she reached for the candy. The last thing she remembered from that evening was putting the drops in her mouth and the strange taste of lemon on her tongue.

[onepawproductions]

Chapter 2, Lady of the Lake, by Colubrina

Expand for Earlier Chapters!

Lady of the Lake, Chapter 01

[superspookyjanelle]

TAGGING: @witchofinterest @fiercefray @sweetenemyfire @eddysocs @arrthurpendragon @waterloou @villanele @bookstorebunny @roseygirl203 @valdrinors

[cheahup]

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