#Harry trying to keep the peace and failing horribly
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Me: yeah I probably won’t have anyone besides a select few hp characters show up in wsts to keep the plot simple.
My brain: what if the Dursleys just happened to be on vacation in Japan and ran into Harry out with the kids
Me: omg what if the Dursleys just happened to be on vacation in Japan and ran into Harry out with the kids
#the elf talks#mha#bnha#harry potter#Harry scruffing a child half a foot taller than him so he doesn’t try to blow up his aunt in a. more literal sense#3-A being the most protective of their tiny powerhouse of a sensei#Harry trying to keep the peace and failing horribly#the other adult being Hizashi who is fully willing to let the kids go off as a treat
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[#FFF255 prompt In the Heart] @flashfictionfridayofficial
CW: major character death, hospitals
Ship: remus lupin/sirius black
Words: 996
Feel free to give kudos on AO3 if you want ❤️❤️
“Sirius?” Remus croaked.
“Remus? Are really awake this time?” Sirius asked, pressing the button for the mediwitch. He glanced up at the spell displaying Remus' heart rate and grimaced. He didn't like what he saw.
“Yeah, think so. What's happening?” Remus said, attempting to sit-up but failing.
“Remus, they discovered what's wrong. There's a hole…” Sirius blinked back tears, trying to compose himself. “It's in the heart.”
He'd had nearly three weeks to try to process this. Three weeks in mungos after that horrible full moon. Moony had barely howled, the only time he’d gotten up was to sniff Padfoot and nudge him to curl up together. After the change back, Sirius thought he would lose Remus. Never get to see his beautiful eyes again, never get to hear his voice again or tell him he loves him. But he got his heart started and to the hospital, lips blue and face pale. Then he'd not fully woken up until today.
“Don't cry, cariad. Come here,” Remus said, patting the bed.
Sirius gingerly sat down and buried his face in his neck. He wasn't sure how long he cried. He knew that the mediwitch and healer both came in; he could feel the vibrations of Remus talking to them but he had no idea what was said.
Eventually, the world slowly started to come back into focus. He felt Remus playing with his hair, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and the sound of his heart beating in his chest. The very heart that was going to take his husband from him in all likelihood within the next seven days.
“We were supposed to have more time,” Sirius said when he finally sat up.
“Sirius, my love, we've had more time than we ever imagined,” Remus said.
And while that was true, it really didn't make any of this any better. They were 63, and the average lifespan for those with lycanthropy was about 45, and that number was lower for those bitten as children. And they had made the most of their time. They discovered the horcruxes through kreature, forced Dumbledore to give over what he knew, and worked through a way to deal with the one inside of Harry. Harry had helped clear Sirius’ name and they settled in a cottage in the countryside, a room set up for Harry. They'd gotten married, traveled, worked to make wolfsbane accessible and advocated for changes in the laws associated with lycanthropy.
And this wasn't a surprise, not really. Remus was wheelchair bound, he had potions for multiple organs that just couldn't keep up with the years of transformations. Moony had grown weaker right along with Remus and it was heartbreaking to see.
Remus had given up pieces of himself, his pride and independence. They'd had fights about Remus wanting Sirius to be able to have more time to himself, instead of constantly have to take care of Remus. Sirius was happy to do it but after lots of therapy and learning to communicate and compromise, they had hired someone to come in and help with the house and with Remus’ medical care. Sirius had a hard time giving over that control, but it gave Remus peace of mind.
“Sirius? Can we go home? I don't want my last days to be here,” Remus asked later that evening. Sirius had been reading to him, something that they often did, and he dropped the book.
It felt like ice had flooded his veins and then stabbed him right in his heart. Maybe they were connected now? If Remus’ stops, so will his? He almost wished that it would, but he thought of Harry and their family, and knew that no matter how much it would hurt, he couldn't truly hope for it. Although how he would go on without the man who was his other half, he had no idea.
“Yeah, Moony. Let's wait until tomorrow okay?” Sirius knew that the healer who would be on in the morning would be kind, and give Remus whatever he might need instead of being prejudiced and sending them on their way with nothing. Sirius could get them what they needed, he would do anything for Remus, but it was easier with the hospital’s help.
Sirius didn't sleep that night, watching over Remus, and he barely did the next 6 days either. Remus was much more comfortable at home, and people were in and out visiting all of the time. Everyone knew what was happening, and they had tearful conversations of course, but they tried to keep it upbeat.
Remus got weaker but he seemed at peace. He slept more and more until the morning of the full moon, when he actually was able to get up by himself and the blueish tint from his lips, fingers and toes had disappeared. Sirius hoped so much for a miracle but it was also a known thing that could happen to those who are dying. A sudden burst of energy which unfortunately usually didn't last very long. Remus danced with Sirius to their wedding song, knowing Sirius loved to dance but Remus was horrible. After that it was late afternoon and Remus convinced Sirius that he wanted to make love. Sirius was nervous, he didn't want to do anything to stress his heart, but he also knew it was a matter of time, and he wanted to give Remus everything he could ask for.
After, they lay together until it was time to go to their safe room. Remus wasn't able to take the wolfsbane this time around and they were both a little sad about it. But it turned out it wasn't needed, because minutes before moonrise, Remus looked into his eyes and said: “I'll see you in our next lifetime okay? I love you.”
Before Sirius could respond, Remus went slack in his arms and for the first time since he was four, stayed human beneath a full moon.
#flash fiction#flash fiction Friday#wolfstar#remus lupin#marauders#sirius black#mcd#fanfic#older wolfstar
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Actually, no one in the books blames Snape for still being upset about it. Lupin is the only one who does this, but thts kinda the point, he was a bystander and never fully grasped the depth of his mistake, just like he did with not informing Dumbledore about Sirius being an animagus. Others like Harry fully acknowledge Snape's trauma, he even says he knows what it feels like to be bullied that way. When Dumbledore addresses Snape's decision to stop occlumency lessons, he says something on the lines of " i thought Snape could get past his hatred towards ur father for this, but some wounds run too deep". That sounds more like empathy than blaming. Blaming Snape is more of a fandom thing, no one actually does it in the narrative.
According to canon events, SWM happens after the werewolf prank, so the chocking and borderline sa weren't reasons for Snape wanting to get them expelled ( although the fact that they continued this after almost killing him is a discussion for another post). Now, on Snape trying to get them expelled wasn't such a fault free decision either...he at least suspected that Lupin was a werewolf, as shown by his conversation with lily, so he had some remote idea as to what he would find in the tunnel ( clarification: not taking the blame off of Sirius here, this just happens to be a Snape centred conversation). He really hoped to out Lupin as a werewolf at a time when the whole society discriminated against them and it would be impossible for him to get a job, make a living etc. It also shows his prejudice, the fact that the whole society holds that belief against werewolves doesn't make it acceptable or even understandable. The fact that he was ready to use this to get him expelled... it's like outing someone as gay which would result in their discrimination in both their job and society ( at least in my country) or even violence against them ( happened more times than I can count). This tho, is completely my opinion on it, no shade to anyone who thinks otherwise, for anyone who still has something in Snape's defence for this, we can agree to disagree in peace.
And I don't agree that Draco didn't reach this level of harassment. At a time when muggleborns were getting attacked in CoS, he openly threatened them and celebrated it. Called others racial slurs on multiple occasions barely 2 decades after genocide against them had ended.Made a whole fucking song (weasley is our king) to put ron down in quidditch and got the whole of Slytherin house to sing it in front of the whole school. Almost got Hagrid removed and an innocent animal executed. His mishaps in hbp almost got ron and Katie bell killed as well ( yeh he was under pressure from voldy but wtf can these random other kids do about that).... that's not even where the list ends.
Ultimately it comes down to the complete failure of Hogwarts as an institution to tackle bullying. It failed to stop james, Draco, and heck, even Snape who abused his power as a teacher. Tho idk y I m still using James and Draco as examples when tom riddle let a bassilsk out and LITERALLY MURDERED SOMEONE and all Dumbledore did was *keep an annoyingly close watch on him*, lyk bro created a fucking horcrux in that school and no one knew.
It's true tho, the ultimate message sent to kids is 'deal with ur shit urself and don't rely on adults for it'. I honestly don't think jkr even took that into consideration, it just adds to the long list of horribly wrong things she unconsciously added in those books ( *cough love portions*). I sincerely hope no kid ends up internalising that tho.
One of the arguments against Snape ( and in favour of the marauders)that bothers me the most is this one:
" The fact that Snape is the only one who despises James while the rest of the cast speak highly of him really tells you about the kind of person James was "
First off, NO
Secondly, ABSOLUTELY NOT
Idk how many of u have actually seen/ experienced bullying, but I always thought it was pretty well known that not all bullies look like ur typically intimidating roadside gangsters. Most bullies, at least the ones I've seen, tend to have a pretty solid relationship with authority figures, even being the ones most trusted/ favoured by them. They're often popular and very well liked by the general masses because they've found confidence in their abilities earlier than most teenagers, and fit into the conventional standards of beauty or being cool.
Now, because they tend to be well accepted by their peers, they make the victim of their tactics to be the oddball, something inherently unlikable coz they're different, while in reality, they're just not there yet (which is why they alone see the worst side of the bullies, they're the only ones who know what it's like to be prey to the bullies' most cruel tendencies.)
This perception of the victim is accepted by the rest of the peers, who are either trying to fit in themselves, or saving themselves from similar treatment, or just happen to believe in this too, because well, why wouldn't it be true if it's coming from the 'IT' group.
In my view this is exactly what happened with Snape and the marauders. Was his ambition to become a death eater and his interest in the dark arts a reason for the bullying? Yes, we have canonical evidence for it. Was that the only reason for the bullying? Absolutely not, we have canonical evidence for that too.
And besides, making such claims is literally gaslighting the victim, aka Snape. This is another thing which typically happens, PPL go 'oh it's no big deal, it's just a joke!' while only the victim knows the true depth of their pain, and the fact that entertainment gained from their humiliation certainly wasn't very funny for them.
Now, i wanna make something pretty clear. I wholeheartedly despise Severus Snape as a character. However, that does not mean that i ll ignore or downplay his trauma to uplift my favs( yes i do love the marauders and Sirius happens to be my fav character in the entire series). I sincerely hope that anyone spewing this argument is just trying to justify their liking for their fav fictional characters, and doesn't hold this opinion on bullying in general.
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Okay, listen. I could not stop thinking about the way H wore the goldfinch ring, replaced it with the peace ring to get our attention, and then put the goldfinch ring back on. These fuckers never do anything casually, and this felt so blatant to me. So I fell down a goldfinch rabbit hole, and I need to scream about it to someone, so here we are. Turn back now if you don’t want to read one long ass rant about goldfinches.
We start with the obvious and heartbreaking connection that goldfinches have historically been kept in cages because their song is so beautiful and unique. This led me to a few poems that you should read and then think about the caged way Harry’s been living his entire life, and try really hard not to cry and then fail. The Caged Goldfinch by Thomas Hardy (all was silence save its hops from stage to stage; once it tried to sing of him or her who placed it there and why, no one knew anything) and The Cage by Osip Mandelstam (the cage is a hundred bars of lies.) The Blinded Bird by Thomas Hardy is particularly interesting as it was written most likely in protest of the practice of blinding male goldfinches and keeping them in dark cages to enter them into, wait for it, SINGING COMPETITIONS. So not only were they kept in cages for their song, they have also been used for singing competitions that often utilize extremely cruel practices to try and control them and force them to sing MORE like blinding them, keeping them completely isolated, removing all of their other senses, etc.
Along those same lines is the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This one has some veeeery interesting parallels to COACOAC. A pain still throbs in the old, old scars/it’s an old curse. I know why the caged bird sings when his wing is bruised and his bosom sore when he beats his bars and he would be free/dreamers divin head first broken beaks and dead birds can’t get through the glass. I know why the caged bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars/there’s no use crying over spilled blood. I know why the caged bird sings/I can hear you howling till your lungs hurt so let this be your comfort you’re not the only one. To name a few. Plus the entire premise, sympathy towards a caged bird, understanding why it’s so desperate to get free, understanding why it sings even when it’s caged, desperate for freedom…that all goes hand in hand with the idea of nothing is original, there’s nothing left to say, it’s just a copy of a copy of a copy. Also, since it’s clowning hours, let me just say that several of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry books have laurels on the cover, he also wrote a poem calling Signs of the Times, and he also wrote a novel that had callbacks to The Scarlet Letter. So. Do with that what you will.
Obviously this is all extremely unsettling. Speaks very much to the idea that Harry is fully caged, desperate to break free, can’t get out, can’t have his freedom.
But wait. It gets worse.
Goldfinches are prolific in renaissance era christian art. Over 500 paintings of the Madonna and child include a goldfinch. In this way, goldfinches are used a symbol of the foreknowledge that Mary and Christ had over the crucifixion. They are also used a symbol of “the passion” of Christ, which is basically the last phase of his life. So all of the horrible things like the betrayal, the torture, the crucifixion, AND the resurrection. They are a symbol of suffering but also endurance, patience, salvation.
And just as a side note, one of the most iconic goldfinch paintings is simply called ‘The Goldfinch,’ and it uses a specific technique called trompe-l’ceil, which translates literally to ‘deceive the eye.’ Another phrase used in connection with that technique is ‘forced perspective.’ I’m. Just. WHAT.
All of this is to say that I think the goldfinch ring is absolutely a confirmation that shit is going down behind the scenes that is ugly and cruel, that he’s feeling very trapped, that he has for a long time. But I also think it might be a bit of a warning, that shit is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better. Betrayal, suffering, sacrifice. But then, hopefully, salvation. Because yes, goldfinches have been caged and tortured and controlled, but they are also a symbol of endurance and perseverance and hope.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Sorry for unloading all my insane ramblings in your ask box! But if you get this far, thank you for reading, and if any of this is at all interesting to you, I would be sooo interested in hearing your thoughts. You make the most fascinating connections, and I swear you see things no one else does.
ANYWAY! Thanks bye have a good day!
Louis really said lemme just spell it out for you ajsjsjak. I really do think there's something there with songbirds not being free for sure, the whole being caged and if I could fly and wanting to be (free) birds are analogies / imageries he's been using for a decade and his references run way way deep constantly so so yeahhh yeah sadly unfortunately you're onto something here. I don't have the brains to give this some deep thoughts right now but I also really don't wanna leave you in my inbox! Sooo yeah that's that fly free on the dash lil big ramble bird. (Inappropriate?💀)
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Mafoy (James Potter x Reader) Pt.2
Part 1
A/n : Y/m/n stands for ‘Your Marauders nickname’
Also - Requests are open <3
" Sirius , Who is she ?" Harry asked as he came upon a Picture of the Marauders and Lily with a girl . The girl had always been in most of the pictures , but Harry never asked anyone about who she was .
Sirius Froze as he turned around to face Harry , his face expressionless .
The duo was currently sat in Sirius's room at Number 12. Grimmauld Place , Harry was going through pictures Sirius showed him as Sirius cleaned his room and told Harry about the story behind every moving Picture .
Sirius came up to sit beside Harry . Sirius gently took the picture in his hands staring at it .
It was one of Sirius's favorite pictures (Mainly because it didn't have the rat in it ) . This picture was taken on James and Lily's Wedding Day . Sirius - The Best Man- had his glass of Firewhiskey raised in the air , Remus was standing as the Gentleman he was - a large smile on his face . Then there were Lily and James , beside each other - not looking at the camera but into each others eyes . And then finally , It was Her. She stood there happily , her outfit very different than the others . While the Others wore suits and dresses , she stood there in a sleeveless yellow floral summer dress . She looked effortlessly amazing . She stood out from the crowd , and her charming smile playing on her lips was just a plus factor to her beauty . Though , if you looked closely , her eyes were slightly glassy , Sirius couldn't figure out if they were tears of Joy or Sadness . But , he later realized that it was probably both .
" Y/m/n" Sirius whispered
" Wait ... the fifth member of your group you never told me anything about ?" Harry asked and Sirius nodded , tears swimming at the brim of his eyes.
" Tell me something about her " Harry said , his voice commanding and confused . No one ever told him anything about this new girl , and he didn't know why .
" Y/n Malfoy .......Yes Harry , Y/n Malfoy . Lucious Malfoy's younger sister " Sirius added , seeing Harry's shocked state.
" She was a Gryffindor..........And a Blood traitor in her family's books , much like me . She was the most beautiful person inside out , I have met till this date . She was the one who kept held us all through our dark times , she was the one trying to keep others happy , giving every piece of her to us . She was our little ball of sunshine, who lived in darkness , but none of us knew . Sometimes, guilt courses through me Harry , realizing that we could have saved her ....But looks like I failed in this , J-just like I did in everything" Sirius said , his voice cracking .
" She was tortured at home , Harry , mercilessly . She never told us , just to make sure we weren't worried . Her parents hated her , she was left in the shadows , the dark lord wanted her , she was broken .And to top all of it up , The Boy she loved never loved her back . He couldn't see how beautiful she was ,he never saw how strong she was , Never . Hell , she didn’t even need help to kick ones arse. But The Boy she loved , that one was blind , he was blinded by someone else and failed to notice that he had the perfect person right in front of him ." Sirius said as he tried to hold his tears in .
" She must have been a wonderful Person . The Boy was a bloody idiot , I am pretty sure about that " Harry said , though he was surprised when Sirius gave a shaky chuckle.
"Do you realize that you just called your dad a bloody idiot ?" Sirius asked . Harry sat there for a moment in confusion , that was until realization hit him.
But,before he could say anything else, Sirius continued .
" You know Harry , A part of loving someone truly is being happy in their happiness . Being Happy when they are happy and carrying them when they are sad . A part of Loving someone is accepting , accepting that you will be happy even if they didn't chose you . These things were accepted by her , unlike someone else " Sirius said and he basically spat the last part out for a reason Harry did not know, yet .
"She accepted the rules of love, Harry . She did everything in her power to keep the people she loved Happy , even it meant loosing her own . And then there is the harsh reality that she was killed by her own brother" Sirius said , and a look of loathe crossed his face . Harry sat silently , taking everything in .
"I clearly remember it . We were on an Order mission , it was the most horrible we had ever been to . Spells here and there , glass shattering ,walls blasting , everything being destroyed . That was when Malfoy's hood fell off and he decided that it was enough . He caught sight of Lily , the only muggleborn in our group and sent the killing curse her way " Sirius said and Harry let a sharp intake of breathe .
" It all happened so quickly that we were hardly able to notice it . I remember it . A loud shout of "Lily!" and then a flash of blinding green light and then a thud . And the next thing I know when I turn around is Y/n . Her lifeless body laying on the Floor , scratches on her face and body , her lips slightly agape . But what made me scream was her eyes . Those beautiful E/c eyes looked calm and peaceful . I had seen them sad , broken , happy and cheerful , even angry .........But never so calm . It was as if s-she had f-finally found peace .......It was as if she was finally content . It was - " Sirius said , his voice breaking as tears finally started pouring form his eyes .
"The death eaters Fled after that , and Malfoy , he didn't even glance at his dead sister . " Sirius wanted to continue , but , was cut off by Harry .
" What - What was My D-Dad's reaction ?" Harry asked hesitantly . Sirius exhaled shakily.
"James ...........He was broken.....Didn't even talk to anyone , not even Lily........Until......" Sirius said trailing off
"Until?" Harry asked.
"Until a week later . A week after the attack , when everyone was still shook , It was revealed that Lily was 6 weeks pregnant with you ....." Sirius said .
"What?" Harry whispered .
"Hmmm..........That night , Y/n not only saved Lily , But she unknowingly saved you too , Harry . James , he was the happiest we had seen that week after that " Sirius said .
" If she was alive.........She would have taken care of you like her own son , if not better . Partly because You are James's son . But , the bigger reason being that you had spent your childhood without love , something she knew exactly how it felt like . " Sirius said , sniffing . There was another large Muffled sob echoing the room . It wasn't from Sirius, though .
Harry's head snapped towards the door , where Remus was leaning against the door , crying into his sleeves .
"James and Lily did love each other, Harry. But for us , It was always James and Y/n ........." Remus said , his voice a muffled sob . Though , Harry wasn't listening . He didn't even know when Sirius and Remus left the room .
As he sat there , staring at the young and beautiful girl on the photo, he realized that he had been saved by a person's love more than once .
#James Potter#Marauders#Harry Potter#y/n malfoy#malfoy#lucious malfoy#sirius black#padfoot#angst#james potter x reader#jily#james potter x lily evans#remus lupin#moony#betraying rat
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Healing Heart ✧ Draco x Reader Mini-Series PART 5
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Summary: PART 5 ! of Draco accidentally falling in love with reader during his sixth year (HBP) and figuring out how to survive his new life while finding out a way to keep you in it.
Warnings: angst, mentions of death, torture, blood, death eater stuff - the usual !
Words: 7.8K
A/N: FINDING WAYS TO PROLONG THIS SERIES !!!! 😼 AND SORRY IF THERE ARE ANY MISTAKES ITS VERY LATE AND I NEVER CATCH THEM 😔 but omg my little week long hiatus I took was against my will but i’m back and healthy again and can finally think out sentences again lmao !!! also i DO own gif
Draco stared at the vast, dark marble ceiling as he lied awake. His black silk sheets were strewn across his king bed in a lofty heap from when he had woken up. There was a sheen layer of sweat across his skin, but his room held no warmth and the draft that was coming in from his open windows was nothing less than freezing.
There wasn’t a moment where he had enough peace to sleep, but when he ultimately did; he always regretted ever drifting off when he felt the hot, ravenous feeling that ran through his body when he would jolt awake from a nightmare with his heart thundering against him and the inability to differentiate reality from a subconscious image. He would lie back down, breathing unevenly, and fixate on a random crack in the ceiling and let his now very tortured conscience remind him, “it all happened, you can't escape it!”
And that little malicious voice in his head was right. The horrible images in his mind weren’t made up or conjured by his brain - they were very real and he had lived through them.
He remembered the agonizing decision he had to make when he left the love of his life, jinxed and in hysterics in an abandoned classroom. He remembered his Headmaster, who he had cornered and disarmed who still offered him genuine help and guidance despite the wand pointed in his face. He remembered his once-favorite Professor, kill his Headmaster who he thought for maybe a second would be able to help him. He remembered bounding down the steps of the astronomy tower, wanting to topple over and vomit while he followed closely behind a billowing cape and several sniggering and smug Death Eaters into the halls of the unsuspecting school. He remembered his aunt wreaking havoc on the Great Hall with pure joy as he could only watch in horror while she shattered the windows in her celebration. He remembered walking through a maze of trees in a dazed stupor towards Hagrid’s hut, Bellatrix giggling maniacally beside him as she skipped past him. He remembered seeing Harry run towards them, hurling any hexes and curses he could think of towards Snape while he scurried off. He remembered meeting his mother at the momentarily failing barrier, her hand wrapping tightly around his arm before she apparated them home. He remembered the cold wooden floors underneath him and the way the Manor’s structure seemed to be crashing down onto him as he tried to catch his breath and collect his thoughts.
When he would finish going over every mistake he had made that night, and every choice he could have made instead, he would turn over in his bed and stare out the large window in his room where he could see the cloudy night sky and the nature swinging around in the wind like it was in a constant state of what seemed like an approaching tornado. He would wonder about you, and what you were doing and what you thought of him. He wondered if you meant what you said - if you would truly never forgive him for leaving you there. He wondered if you thought it was him who killed Dumbledore and how you probably saw him as a killer now. He was in ceaseless disarray of wonder, a painful wonder that he couldn’t escape.
He didn’t dare try to owl you, especially with Bellatrix around the house as a very vigilant guard dog that noticed anything and everything. There were barely any opportunities in which he could leave the Manor, not by foot, by broom, or apparate. He was a prisoner in his own home, just as much as he was in his mind. The increasing amount of Death Eaters that came and went every day made him feel more unsettled than ever, all of them giving him intimidating and sneering looks as if he was a joke while they forcefully turned the Manor into their place of 'work'.
The day Lucius was released from Azkaban, Draco felt a slight hope that things would improve, that his father could somehow find a way to fix things for them as he always had and the young boy could finally step down from the responsibility he felt for his family. But what he saw in the foyer of his home wasn’t Lucius Malfoy; influential, formidable and feared by many - he saw a shell of a man who had lost all sense of who he was and had paid greatly for his failures. He recalled how his father had embraced him in a weak and shuddering hug, clinging onto him as a spew of desperate words incessantly flew from his mouth without making much sense.
He knew immediately then that his father couldn’t swoop in and fix all his problems, and his mother couldn’t be left alone in all this. He was stuck, whether he liked it or not, and he had to follow through on anything and everything the Dark Lord expected from him or wanted out of his family.
He hated the way his home was defiled with death and wickedness. He hated the way there were lifeless bodies littered around the living room sometimes. He hated the echoing cries and pleas of those who were locked up in the dungeon below. He hated seeing Voldermort use his home as his headquarters, pacing the room in a self-given majesty and humiliating his father every chance he could get. The only reason the Malfoys weren’t killed off yet was, in Draco’s opinion, to be used as an example of what happens when you fail the Dark Lord, to be used as malicious entertainment, and to see just how far someone could be tortured from the inside. Draco did mend the cabinet, but he didn’t kill Dumbledore or die trying as his master had desired. He was always visibly apprehensive of everything he had to do and every order he was given. He wasn’t willingly cruel or vile and hated the idea of actually hurting anyone. His father had failed every mission he was given, and his mother wasn’t a Death Eater, to begin with. They were just there, as pawns and as sadistic pleasure.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
It was subsequently, a rare day that the Manor was empty. No one was walking through the halls or running their mucky shoes on the expensive upholstery of the furniture as they relaxed into it. Even his father was out, along with Bellatrix, which left only him and his mother at home.
Narcissa Malfoy was just as arrogant as her husband, valued the pro-pure-blood ideals she grew up with, and always appeared to be very cold and haughty. Yet there was one thing that she valued above most; her family. She was entirely devoted to her son and husband and loved them profoundly. It was for Draco she worried for the most and would do anything for. It was for Draco she would risk everything for and go against the Dark Lord for.
So on the night she brought her son back home, and he was breaking down in her arms with cries about a girl she had never heard of - it piqued her curiosity more than she wanted to admit. She had asked Draco who you were a handful of times since that night, but he always refused to answer. She even went as far as asking Snape, pulling him aside one night behind a dark pillar in her home as everyone was leaving and whispered secretly to him.
“Severus, I know I’ve asked too much of you already but I need to know this,” she rushed to say in a very hushed and imperceptible tone but she knew he had heard her. He raised an eyebrow, looking at her quizzically.
“What might that be?”
“On the night Draco came home, he was calling out for someone,” she began, “do you know if he was involved with anyone by the name of Y/N?”
She could have sworn she saw a twinge of muscles move in his cheek, but he only shook his head shortly from side to side.
“I apologize, Narcissa, but I know no student by that name,” he sighed. “Draco spent most of his time mending the vanishing cabinet, I doubt he had time to be venturing out in his love life.”
She wanted to believe him. But she couldn’t brush off the intuition that was beating against her gut, nearly screaming at her that she was being lied to and there was more to the story. It’s not like she wanted the information to hurt you or to judge, she simply wanted to know who had broken through to her son during the year he was the most closed off. Who had impacted him so greatly, that now that it was seemingly over left him in shambles and withdrawn almost completely. If anything, she wanted to help. And if there was a possibility where she could, she would help Draco take it if it meant it would make his life easier. There was nothing more she wanted for him, free of pain and filled with hope, and if a certain individual would help her get him there - she would be willing to see it through.
With the opportunity of everyone gone, Narcissa trailed up to Draco’s room, letting her knuckles fall softly against the wooden double doors three times.
“Draco, dear, would you like to join me on a walk?”
She heard a shuffling from behind the door and a sharp sniffle, taking in a deep breath to prepare herself to see his poorly hidden tears that she knew she would be met with.
As she predicted, the doors opened and the blond stepped out of his room, lowering his red-rimmed eyes to the ground so he wouldn’t have to meet her worried gaze. He looked well-groomed as always, but she took notice that his skin seemed gray and dull. His eye bags were deep and nearly black from all his crying and lack of sleep. When she linked her arm through his, she felt the slight weight he had unwillingly lost in the past month that he’s been home. Her mind was spinning with concern, promising herself there that she was ready to do whatever she could for him, anything she could.
She led them out of their cold and darkened home, stepping out into the gardens that sat behind the Manor in a large vastness of gorgeous flower arrangements of whites, greens, and reds. There was a large marble fountain placed in the middle of the garden, spewing water smoothly from a small bowl that spilled into a larger one beneath it. It was boxed in with stone and surrounded with red amaryllis flowers, giving anyone enough space to sit around it without being splattered by droplets of water.
It was a gloomy day, but a warm afternoon sun had peaked through the clouds and cast a glowy light around the house that she hadn’t seen in ages. It made her feel hopeful as she walked her and Draco through the garden, thinking of ways on how to approach him. She knew he had shot her down and changed the subject every time she brought up your name, even if it was in privacy, and she pleaded to the stars that this would ultimately be the chance she would get to find out.
When they reached the fountain, she sat them down and watched as Draco slouched, silent and staring distantly at his shoes.
“Dear, I know you hate for me to bring this up,” she started slowly, shaking her head as she spoke, “but I want to know who she is. I want to be able to help you, and maybe even her. I know you’re in love, I see it in your eyes and I see it now that you’re apart. I know everything else certainly applies to how you’re feeling, but there’s a look for heartbreak, and you have it.”
Draco looked up at her, finally peering into her worried eyes as he contemplated what she said and what she offered. The last time he told someone about you, he was reprimanded and denied any sort of help, only suggestions for abandonment were given. He wanted to tell his mother all about you, but he wished it was under happier circumstances, however.
He wished it would be him coming home during the summer, no Voldermort or Death Eaters in his life or his family’s, and arriving with you by his side after sending an owl to his parents about the new love in his life he wanted them to meet. He would boast about you and your smarts, care, ambitions, and beauty. He would make sure his parents understood just how important you were to him and just how amazing you truly were. He imagined their inevitable surrender and allowing him to invite you on one of their luxurious trips to somewhere beautiful and expensive. He pictured a yacht ride in Italy, your skin glowing and your smile bright as you gazed at him in delight under a warm summer sun. Or a grandeur trip to France, walking around the Parisian streets with you as he spoiled you with gifts and delicious gourmet food while ending the night under the Eiffel Tower. He wanted to see you leave on shopping trips with his mother, the two of you coming back with heavy bags and new memories while his mother would walk by him and secretly whisper, “I love her!��� to him. He wanted to flaunt you, and boast and gloat all about you - but the circumstances now were dreadful, and to talk about how he had failed you made him want to cry all over again.
His mother waited patiently for his reply, clasping her hands together in her lap as he stayed quiet while he decided. He was so used to sulking and torturing himself on his own in the past month, that seeing a genuine look of concern and desire to help pushed him into making his final resolve.
“I met her around the beginning of last year,” he breathed out finally, “her name is Y/N Y/L/N, we had a Potions class together but I met her in one of the corridors where we accidentally bumped into each other. I sprained a finger trying to catch myself and she healed it without a second thought. She wants to be a Healer at St. Mungo’s after Hogwarts, and she’s very skilled with her wand. She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and the kindest. She always listened to me, and helped me, and encouraged me. She always reassured me when I needed it, and if it weren’t for her I don’t think I would have mended the cabinet or even had the energy to wake up every day. She stayed with me even when I told her the truth about everything. I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel the way she does, I can’t explain it, she makes me feel-”
“Alive?” His mother softly finished for him. “She makes you feel alive.”
“Yes,” he nods fervently, “I love her and I failed her. I don’t think there’s anything I can do now and neither can you.”
“I beg to differ,” she briskly interjects. “It’s never too late for anything, Draco. There’s always an opportunity to make things right, as long as you try. She at least deserves an explanation and an apology, and it will be up to her to decide what she wants to do. She sounds wonderful, and I’m glad you met someone who brings out your best.”
Draco agreed wordlessly, his tears sitting at the brink of his eyelids begging to be released as he mulled over everything that was said. He knew where you lived, having learned the fact somewhere in your relationship when you were talking about your childhood and where you were from. He knew the place you called home and the address that came with it that you constantly reminded him of in hopeful jokes that he would visit you over the summer.
“There’s no one here, no one would know you’re gone,” Narcissa encourages swiftly as if she knew what he was thinking about. “It’ll be a few hours before anyone returns. Go to her.”
“But if I become involved with her again, he’ll find out, won’t he?” He insinuates in distress. “The reason I left her was to keep her safe from him, I don’t want her anywhere near this.”
“He won’t find out,” she promised, “I’ll make sure of it. Go.”
There was a hopeful and elating sensation that ran through his veins as he stood up, turning back to look at his mother as she nodded at him optimistically. He suddenly lunged towards her, giving her a tight hug and muttering thank you’s to her like a broken record before running out of the garden towards the front gate of the Manor.
As soon as he reached his exit, he used his newfound Death Eater ability to half-apparate himself into a thick black cloud of smoke that allowed him to fly over to where you were - not giving a care in the world if he were seen by muggles as he recklessly took every shortcut he knew towards your hometown.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
There was a slight breeze in the cloudy air that brought you comfort. It was cold, but refreshing - a sharp contrast against the burning feeling that never seemed to leave your body. You were back home now, in your small little town in England that held little to no wizards.
You spent a lot of your time wandering around the local stores and cafes nearby, mingling with strangers as you told them fake life stories for fun. There was also the small forest behind your house you regularly enjoyed, and all the small hidden creatures that you encountered along the way. You always brought along your family cat, the chunky orange tabby always finding his way for you outside of the forest when you got too far in, or if he sensed there was nearby danger and would warn you. Sometimes you would talk to him, complain to him about everything that was bothering you and he would respond to you now and then with broken meows and chirps that made you feel like he understood, even though he didn’t. It made you feel less alone.
Of course, you had your family that worried over your changed behaviors. They weren’t oblivious. They noticed the puffy eyes, the sniffles, and the quiet sobs that escaped under the space of your bedroom door when they would pass by in the middle of the night to get a glass of water from the kitchen. They noticed your sudden quietness, and your lack of interest in everything and hardly found you in the house. You were always out and about, trying to find anything and anyone to distract yourself from what was going on in your mind.
It wasn’t that you didn’t want to talk to your family, even though they had incessantly offered their support, you just knew they wouldn’t understand. They would want to know about Draco, his family, and their beliefs. They would eventually figure out of his involvement with the Dark Lord and the looming second Wizarding war. They wouldn’t approve, and you didn’t want to hear the scolding you would get for ever giving him the time of day. You were bitter enough as it was, and the last thing you wanted to hear was how bad Draco was and how you were better off without him.
But even if you were supposed to be better off without him, a life where he wasn’t in it didn’t feel good at all. It felt empty and lost. You were used to his presence always being around you and how he was always a few minutes away from you. He was always available to you for anything and willingly; for company, affection, comfort, reassurance, love, everything. You hated the fact that you let yourself get attached, especially when you knew deep down the direction the relationship was going in.
There were days when you would wake up okay. Days where your mind blocked out your feelings entirely, including Draco and all the memories that came with him. There were days when you felt like you had finally forced yourself to move on, but always finding it to wear off when you’d clamber into bed at night and your brain started illustrating everything you didn’t want to remember. The silver band bracelet he had gifted you was in constant movement from your wrist and jewelry box, hidden on the days you wanted to forget him or sitting pretty on your skin on the days you missed him the most. As much as it hurt to think about him and remember him, you couldn’t stop the way your whole being drifted towards him.
You were currently stepping over a big fallen tree trunk covered in thick green moss, your cat following closely by your leg as he pranced and jumped over all his obstacles. You walked mindlessly around the greenery, not taking notice in the shape of the leaves of the fern you were placing your hand upon to move out of your way. It wasn’t until you felt the sharpened ends of the leaves dig deep into your skin that made you recoil your hand back in pain, a slight hiss leaving your mouth as a small gash began to form with blood flowing quickly upwards out of the new cut. Your hand was held in the air as you frantically looked around for anything that would stop the bleeding that was now dripping sleekly down your arm.
“Stupid ministry and underage magic,” you mutter under your breath. Your wand was in your pocket, begging to be used, but the idea of being sent a letter from the ministry that was now under the Voldermort's control quickly dispersed any desire you had to use it. “Come on, kitty. Let’s go back home, please.”
'Home' was a word the cat did understand. He bumped your leg with his head before meowing loudly at you as he began trotting off to your right side towards the exit of the forest. He moved stealthily, dodging in and out of everything that was in his path as you attempted to follow in his cleared steps. Every time you would trip or rest briefly, he would stop ahead of you and wait until you would walk towards him again before he started back on the journey.
When you finally saw your house in the distance, you sighed in relief at the thought of your first aid kit waiting patiently for you in the bathroom cupboard. And belatedly, your feet hit the stone path that led home, skipping slightly with your hand in the air before nearly toppling over your cat as he stopped abruptly in your path. You moved out of the way, last minute, and very clumsily before eyeing him suspiciously.
He was looking up at the sky, his ears pulled back and the fur on his back straightening up as his eyes frantically searched around the clouds above him. He wasn’t hissing like he normally did when he felt something dangerous coming, he looked more confused and alert than anything. You searched the sky with him for a minute before concluding he was being too wary so you bent down and pick him up with your uninjured hand, nearly scooping him into your arms until he carefully swiped at your arm.
“You’re being dramatic, there’s nothing there,” you exclaim at him irritably. You were stumped, on one hand, literally, you were still bleeding though it had significantly slowed down and was now just coagulated blood, and on the other hand, you couldn’t leave the cat outside because of the number of dead critters he left in his past outdoor ventures around the yard and his sometimes week-long disappearances that left everyone in the house worried.
In just a few seconds of your thinking, he had sprung forward and rushed towards the large open field that was a few feet away from your house. Although it was summer, it had been rainy and allowed the grassy field to flourish in tall and wild greenery. This did not help as you watched the fluff of orange disappear into the small jungle that lied ahead and you began to sprint after him, spotting his bushy tail in your vision every time he jumped over something. If you could use magic, this little ordeal would have gone much more different - but you couldn’t.
You chased him until the very near end of the field, spotting him sitting calmly as he looked back at you as if he was expecting you. Rolling your eyes, you reached towards him again to pick him up, if he wanted to go back to the house scratching and biting then so be it. You trained your gaze on him, trying your best to grab him as carefully and as slyly as you could. But as soon as your hand landed on the silky fur of his back, you heard a soft whooshing sound a few feet away in front of you and a very audible shuffle of dead grass crunching underneath someone's shoes as they moved slowly.
You didn’t look up, all of a sudden feeling scared at who could have magically appeared in front of you, and instead, you waited for your cat to hiss and attack, but he sat himself down in a loaf as if he were in the most comfortable place in existence. This is when you looked up, and the sight before you was like an invisible force that knocked you onto your bottom as you jumped back in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
What was supposed to sound like a concerned question, came out a little ruder than you had intended, almost seething at the boy that was fearfully staring down at you.
“I’m sorry,” Draco ran his hands over his pallid face in distress, “I shouldn’t have come.”
There was an awkwardness that hung in the air. The two of you were finally where you had wanted to be, together, but now that you were face-to-face it couldn’t have been more perplexing. He didn’t know how to begin, and you weren’t sure if you should even listen to him. It was like a weird staring competition, he was taking in everything about you as you were doing the same to him. It was obvious you were both a wreck, and the damage was apparent on him the most as he was dealing with his Death Eater status now more than ever.
“Your hand is bleeding,” he stated suddenly. You didn’t have time to answer before he had cautiously walked over to you and sat down beside you in a flattened patch of grass. “Let me see it.”
Like magnets, your hand instantly fell into his cold grasp without you thinking about it. You eyed him carefully and quietly, observing him as he turned your injured hand over in his and inspected your gash like you had done many times in the past for him. You didn’t stop him when he took his wand out of his pocket and waved it over your wound, murmuring a familiar spell that closed the cut with ease, a small pink scar left in its place.
“I didn’t know you knew how to do that,” you say lightly. “Thank you.”
“I learned from the best,” he smiles faintly.
Neither of you moved from your sitting spots, and neither of you said anything. He would meet your eyes now and then and search them with such a pained expression that it took everything in you not to just throw yourself into his arms and cry in relief that he was there.
“I know it was Snape who killed Dumbledore and not you,” you break the silence apprehensively. “Harry told me.”
“Potter told you?” He grimaced, but he let out a breath of relief. “I would’ve thought the git would have loved to throw me under the bus. I didn’t even know he was there, then I see him chasing us down-”
“Draco, why are you here?” You asked him again, gingerly this time and cutting him off from his rambling in hopes that he would just cut to the chase on his unannounced appearance. He sighed, looking down at his now muddy, once expensive dress shoes.
“I needed to see you,” he answers honestly. “And I wanted to apologize for how I left things.”
You peered up at him with a raised eyebrow, bringing your knees up to your chest so you could rest your head against them as you faced him. “Let’s hear it.”
“I’m serious,” he frowned. “I’m sorry I used my wand against you. I’m sorry I shut you out. I’m sorry I left without giving you much of an explanation. I’m sorry I abandoned you and disappeared off the face of the Earth. I’m sorry I broke my promise that I would never leave you again.”
“Draco-”
“No, wait, I need you to understand that I thought leaving you was the only thing that would keep you safe. I would have never forgiven myself if I let you die for trying to help me, even if you say you’re ready to accept whatever fate is in store for you, I’m not. But I don’t want to run anymore, I don’t want to be away from you, I can’t do it and I always think I can let you go for your safety, but I can’t.”
There was a brief period of stillness as you contemplated his apology. Your head moved to fall in between your knees as your hands began to fiddle with the long strands of grass beneath you. You were stripping it and pulling at it, hoping that there would be a hidden message underneath the earth that would give you an answer on what to say or what to do, but it wasn’t possible. The only thing you found was the loose pitiful tears slipping down your face that seeped into spots of dry soil. Draco stayed wordless beside you, the only sound coming from him was uneven breaths as he stressed over your reaction.
You were caught in between wanting to give in, wanting to forgive him, and hug him and kiss him to make up for all the tortuous time lost, but there was also a part of you that was now afraid to trust. You wanted to, so badly, but everything felt so unpredictable. You weren’t sure whether you could handle him leaving again if he had to. And if he were to die at the end of all of this? There was no way you’d be able to recover from a loss like that. He was on an unforeseeable path that held no clear outcome.
“I’m scared, Dray,” you sniffle, closing your eyes tightly as you began to answer him. “We’re not kids anymore fooling around at school. Everything is getting more real by the day. How am I supposed to be comfortable with the idea that you might-”
You stopped yourself from finishing, a soft sob escaping your throat at the near mention of his possible death. You felt him scoot closer to you, stopping about a few inches away from your shuddering body as he placed a reassuring hand on your lower back.
“You say you can’t accept the decision I made when I said I’m ready for whatever fate lies ahead of me,” you mumble miserably. “Well, I can’t accept yours either.”
“I won’t make any more promises I can’t keep,” he starts warily, “but I can promise you that as long as I’m around, I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever. And as far as my future goes, I promise that I’ll do everything and anything I can to survive this.”
You had unhooked your arms from around your legs, bringing them underneath you as you sat yourself up to face him better. He was staring at you intently, hopeful gray eyes boring into yours with every emotion under the sun flashing through them. He didn’t show it, but he felt like at any moment he was going to faint. He had never seen such uncertainty on your face and it killed him, but he tried to remain stoic as he spoke and kept a brave face at every concern you had. He couldn’t guarantee you anything that lied ahead, but there was also nothing he wouldn’t do for you now.
“Okay,” you agree, finally giving him the consolation he had been woefully praying for. “I believe you, we can get through this together.”
There wasn’t another second spared before you speedily moved out of your sitting position to pounce him with a tight and suffocating hug. It was desperate and smothering, his arms wrapped tightly around your lower back as he pressed you deeply into his body as if you were going to disappear any second.
You didn’t care that you could barely breathe against his chest or that your knee was digging into the mud below you. It was the most relieving feeling in the world, finally being in his arms again with new hopes and possibilities that always found a way to present themselves. It was one of the many reasons that you knew he was the one for you. Everything with him felt easy, even if the world was crashing down around you. He could melt away all your pain and worries with one look, touch, or words. He felt like home and heaven all in one.
It came to you in the middle of your longing hug, that there was always going to be something looming over the two of you in the current state that the wizarding world was in. There’s no point in wasting time when everything could change overnight, just as it had that unforsaken day at Hogwarts before you were dragged home the next day. There was no reason for trying to stay away from him when it was everything you wanted and you knew then that you needed to take advantage of whatever time you had left with him.
“I'm sorry for saying I would never forgive you that night,” you murmur into the crook of his neck. “And for being stubborn.”
“You had all the right to be angry with me,” he laments.
“But it didn’t make it okay,” you nuzzle yourself deeper in his embrace, frowning to yourself as you recalled the night.
He looked down at you, a pang of guilt hitting him when he saw the corners of your lips pulled down in sadness. He leaned down and carefully placed a kiss on your temple, lingering for a bit before moving away and muttering, “nothing about that night was okay.”
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
There wasn’t an inkling of an idea how long the two of you were sat outside, holding on tightly to each other as you filled each other in on any news that happened in the last month since you’ve seen each other. The only indication that let the two of you know that time had surely passed was that the sun had begun setting behind the valley in the distance. The moon now had a faint appearance in the purplish evening sky that was for the first time in a while, free of the heavy cloud covers.
You listened attentively as he told you about the Manor and how it was being used as a Death Eater meeting place. He told you about his father being released from Azkaban as a treat for the Malfoy’s since he had fixed the cabinet and disarmed Dumbledore for Snape to finish, unknowing to him that he would. He explained to you how ghostly he felt when he was venturing out of the school that night. He even scarcely described the horror that had gone on in the dead of night, when victims had been brought back to the house for ‘interrogations’ and the way their screams would keep him wide awake for days.
You nearly felt sick to your stomach the longer he went on, empathizing with him delicately when he would sometimes stop talking to take a deep painful shaky breath. The guilt that was eating away at him wasn’t hidden or pushed down, he expressed it very obviously and you couldn’t picture how he managed to hold a straight face in the sea of terrors he had encountered.
“You’re nothing like them,” you whispered tenderly to him when you saw the distant broken look that clouded his eyes. “You are good, Draco. Not once have I ever changed my mind about that.”
He was slipping, far and fast into the depths of his despair. His new life away from school was eating away at him now that he was forced to experience it upfront. He wasn’t cut out for it, nor did he want anything to do with it. It physically pained you that there was nothing you could do except offer him what you’ve always been able to provide; a listening ear and to remind him that he’s not the evil monster he deludes himself to be.
“I don’t want to talk about me anymore,” he mumbled gloomily, taking your hand into his as he turned to look at you. “I want to hear about you and your summer.”
“It wasn’t pleasant or anything, honestly,” you shrug, “I spent most of it in the village nearby and the forest behind my house with my cat, who by the way knew you were coming somehow.”
You both suddenly turned to look for the orange tabby who had seemingly disappeared without either of you noticing sometime throughout the evening.
“Where is the little critter so I can thank him for leading you to me,” he chuckled softly as you rolled your eyes.
“He’s probably back at home now but I’ll pass the message,” you bite back a smirk.
Draco felt the familiar fluttering of pixies in his stomach as he looked at you, a sense of exhilaration and delight shocking his body from its usual anguished state. He was so far gone in you and he never wanted to leave the feelings you left him with and with such little effort. He couldn’t count how many times he had the same thought in his head when he was around you, much like your own, he knew with you was where he was at his calmest and his happiest. It was like a chunk of agony being released from him that made him feel like he could breathe again without feeling like he was going to drown. Even if it was just for a few hours, he was always grateful for moments he shared with you and the comfort you brought him.
“I love you,” he said dazed, eyes locking onto yours intimately. “I hope you know that.”
"I love you,” you repeated, a coy smile making its way onto your features.
“You know,” his thumb began mindlessly running over your knuckles as he spoke, “if it wasn’t for my mother knocking some sense into me earlier, I wouldn’t have had the great idea to show up here.”
He looked over at you when he felt you tense up completely, slightly worried at first before a small amusement quickly replaced his fear when he noticed you were gaping at him with wide wondrous eyes.
“You told her about me?”
“All about you,” he nods, “I accidentally let your name slip a while back and she’s been asking me about you ever since. I didn’t want to say anything in case someone heard, but everyone was gone today and she got it out of me.”
“What did she say about me?” You asked him timidly as if it was the most important thing in the world for you.
He chortled quietly at your nervousness, “she said she thinks you’re wonderful and she’s glad we met. She pushed me to come and make things right with you and she offered to look out for us.”
There was an intense delight that beat against your chest at his answer. The only other person in his life who’s opinion he valued the most above all had made one about you, and it was one that was better than anything you could have ever hoped for. Narcissa Malfoy had vouched for you before she’s even properly met you and it left you feeling astounded and beyond appreciative.
“When you get home, please send her my regards,” you plead heartily, your hands clutching onto the lapels of his suit jacket as he laughed lightly.
“I will, I will,” he smiles, “I have to be home soon, so she’ll hear about it within the next half hour.”
Draco pulled you up with him as he stood up, both of you finally stretching out your limbs with groans and sighs of relief from the tension of sitting for so long.
As you peered up at him, you let your hands slide up into the platinum blond strands that looked brighter than ever under the now bright moonlight. He placed a hand over one of your wrists, a smile growing on his face as he noticed the silver band sitting warmly against your skin. He leaned forward to press his forehead against yours, letting himself stay there for a minute as he tried to revel in the last few moments of peace he was going to try and prolong for the rest of his night.
“I’ll be back soon,” he cupped your cheek with one hand, his thumb grazed delicately over your cheekbone as you leaned into his touch. “Right back with you.”
“I’ll be waiting, Malfoy,” you grin.
For the first time that night, he ducked down and pressed his lips soft against yours. The gentleness quickly dissipated into longing and fervor as he kissed you like it was the last thing he was ever going to do, seeking the closeness and union he missed so desperately. Neither of you made any move to pull apart as you melted into each other, basking completely in the feeling of being so close to one another like this again.
If it wasn’t for you worrying about his timely arrival back home before everyone, you would have allowed him to keep you like that forever. But much to your dismay, you tapped him lightly against his chest that let him know it was really time for him to leave if he wanted to keep his secret trip, secret.
You stood there sadly, watching him as he unwillingly backed away from you and whispered one more goodbye to you before he disappeared into the sky in a ghost of black smoke, the aroma of his cologne still lingering in the air and a swollen feeling against your lips that left you feeling fuzzy.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
The Malfoy Manor was staring eerily back at Draco when he finally arrived back in front of the main gate of the home. It was deathly quiet and dark, only a small light could be seen from the living room as he approached further into the property.
He swiftly ran up the steps, hand falling carefully onto the brass doorknob of the front entrance, stopping in his tracks completely when he heard a mixture of hushed angry voices.
“I told you, Bella,” he heard his mother exclaim fiercely. “He only went out to clear his head.”
“Clear his head of what?” his aunt sneered. “He’s falling weak, Cissy. He should be running around in joy that the Dark Lord has him in his inner circle.”
“My son is not weak, don’t you think this can all be a little overwhelming for someone who hasn’t even finished his schooling?” His mother defended him and he could picture the exact sneer on her face as she spoke.
“I want to know where he went,” Bellatrix says hotly, “he’s been gone too long.”
Draco ran through a list of excuses in his head, swallowing back the lump in his throat when he decided on one and put on a straight face as he turned the doorknob, cautiously stepping into the dimly lit living room where both his parents and aunt were waiting for him.
“Ah, there he is,” his father announced as he was the first one to see the boy clambering inside.
“I’m sorry I went off for so long,” Draco spoke up before anyone could ask. “I remember someone mentioning they had spotted Potter around a village nearby so I tried to go look for him.”
“Did you?” Bellatrix chastised. “And nothing?”
“Nothing,” he shrugged with a feigned annoyance.
“And you were alone?” She added with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, all by myself.”
Narcissa gave her sister a pointed look as she walked up to Draco, hand gripping tightly onto his arm before leading him away from the surprise interrogation and towards the foot of the stairs where she stopped him hastily.
“How did it go?” She asked almost inaudibly.
“Y/N sends her regards,” he whispered, “thank you.”
He gave his mother a warm hug good night before he hurriedly bounded up the stairs, looking down towards the living room once more where Bellatrix was eyeing him carefully. He decided on giving her a curt nod before vanishing into his bedroom and letting himself fall against the shut double doors, a large exhale of relief slipping past his lips as he was now safe to freely recall the night with a dazed smile he didn’t want to let go of.
PART 6
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APOLOGIES IF I FORGOT ANYONEEE 🥺 BUT I REALLY HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER EVEN THO IT WASNT TOOO EVENTFUL ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I GOT ACTION FOR THE NEXT PIECES THO JUST WAITTTT
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YOU JUST DON’T LISTEN(F.W)
Summary: Fred’s ex girlfriend writes him a letter to explain the how him using her wrecked her emotionally.
Warnings: angst, like a lot of angst, depressed Y/N, mentions of self doubt, a little swearing, mentions of parents not loving correctly, used reader. Let me know if I missed anything.
A/N: Major thank you to Gabriella @onlyfreds for being an amazing person and encouraging me to write whatever this mess is. I am forever grateful to you
(The font is terrible Im sorry im just getting used to working on tumblr)
Fred Weasley checked the muggle clock on his nightstand. 10:30 AM. His mom will call him for breakfast anytime now. He has been awake for quite some time if he can even count the 30 minutes he tried to sleep but couldn’t, not when every time he tries to close his eyes his mind and eventually dreams are clouded by her. By the last time he looked at her, how devastated she looked, How her face was wet from her tears and her eyes bloodshot red, but the thing Fred will never be able to forget is her voice. How raw and vulnerable she sounded while saying the most horrible thing’s anyone has ever said to him, but he can’t blame her, he has no one to blame but himself because in the end it was he who caused all of this and now its come to bite him in the ass. He hears the door open and his twin brother George enters.
“Mom says breakfast is ready and she wants you downstairs. She says she’ll drag you herself if you don’t show up again today.”
“Tell her I’m not hungry and I’ll come grab a bite later.” I really don’t feel like being surrounded by other people right now. Not in this pathetic state I’m in. Besides it will take me willpower I don’t have to not hex Ron into oblivion.
“Well she will not take no for an answer and I wont either. What’s done is done now and you’ll have to face the world someday so start with your own family because everyone down there is worried sick about you and the least you can do is show your face once in a while so they know you haven’t died of starvation or sleep deprivation.” George has worry written all over him and I’m sure the rest of the family has it too. I feel even more like shit for worrying them.
“Fine. But I come back here if she is mentioned are we clear?”
“We weren’t gonna mention Y/N anyway now lets go moms worried sick for your dumbass.”
Breakfast was going smoothly with Ginny and Ron being exited for Quidditch season, Harry and Bill discussing the unfortunate events of the Triwizard tournament last year, dad asking Hermione about a rubber duck whatever that is, but the most shocking thing is mom asking me and George about the joke shop products. George is doing most of the talking but still the fact that shes even asking is awesome. I was finally feeling peaceful this whole winter break until I heard a hoot outside the window.
“I thought it was Tuesday but since mail is here does it mean its Friday already? Oh how fast time is going.
“No Arthur honey you are right it is Tuesday, Bill or George can one of you see if that owl has the owners name attached to it and bring whatever letter he has here to see who is it for.”
Bill got up from his seat and went to the window next to the countertop to look at the mystery owl. “Do we even know a Y/N Y/L/N?”
The room went quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the owls hoot asking for its treat. Bill seemed not to realise this as he took the letter from the owl, gave him a treat and sent it on its way.
“To Fred Weasley from Y/N Y/L/N… Who’s Y/N is she the girl you’ve been crying over this whole time huh Freddie?” Bill chuckled but I just grabbed the letter. I had no time to even be mad at him because once again my mind fogs up with only her. I couldn’t help but feel relieved and the happiest I felt in a long time. She has forgiven me. Y/N forgave me. That has to be it. Why else would she send me a letter?
“I had a great time with you guys but there’s important matters for me to attend so I have to go to now. Thanks mom the breakfast was amazing as always.” And with that I sprinted towards my room, locked the door and examined the letter in my hands. It was a bunch of them in here. I went to mine and George’s worktable threw some papers that were on top of it to make room for these letters and carefully opened the envelope.
The first thing that I grabbed was a photo. It was a polaroid of me and Y/N on the Gryffindor common room. Happiness filled my heart when I started remembering this night. I looked at the back of the polaroid and surely enough there was a writing on it.
Fred and Yn on the Gryffindor common room at 1 AM the night she turned 17. Listening to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”. Picture taken by major 3rd wheel George Weasley.
Tears filled my eyes when I remember this night. It was the night I looked at her the way I always should have. Not as a replacement of someone who didn’t care about me.
The next one was also a polaroid photograph but this one I don’t remember being taken. It’s a picture of Y/N teaching me how to play the guitar. I can make up that we are in her dorm but not more as the picture is taken in black and white. I look at the back and surely this one also has a writing on it but the handwriting doesn’t look familiar at all.
A drunken Y/N accompanied by a even drunker Fred trying to play the guitar in the middle of the night. If I fail my charms exam tomorrow I’m killing you both but right now you two look adorable. Picture taken by Cho Chang.
The third one is an actual letter. I chuckle looking at the handwriting. Always so precise and not even one line out of place. I always thought Y/Ns handwriting always contradicts her hot headed persona but it’s actually really cute. I start reading the letter and my heart stops.
Dear Freddie,
I can only imagine the shock that receiving a letter from me would cause you right now especially after our last conversation.
But I have a lot to get off of my chest and I wont be able to move on if I haven’t said it all. Call me a coward but I was really scared to ask you to meet me so I can say it in person, but maybe that’s what I have always been. A coward. A coward because I get scared when someone wants to enter my life, a coward because I hate trying new things at the expense of failing, a coward because I should be able to confront people who brought darkness and sadness to my life.
But one thing I will admit Fred Weasley is that I wasn’t a coward when It came to loving you. It was the first time that I let someone come into my life and heart the way you did, and it will probably be the last. Throughout our “relationship” if you can even call it that as it was more of you customizing me to be her, to be someone I’m not. But that’s why you even talked to me is it, because I reminded you of her.
The signs were right in front of me and I feel stupid enough not to have seen them. But I guess people are right when they say love is blind. Love is such a funny thing to me as the first time I experienced the right kind of love was through you. But that was me creating stuff in my head. You didn’t love me no, you loved the idea of me. But I loved you. I loved you more than anything or anyone I have ever loved, I loved everything about you. But you just don’t listen. You don’t listen to anyone around you. Not George, not your other siblings, not Lee or any of your other friends for that matter, not your professors, but most importantly you don’t listen to me.
You didn’t listen when I told you that the love my parents gave me was only because I reminded them of my brother, the love my old friends back home gave me was one of interest. Everywhere I go no matter who I talk to no one will love me for me. I came to accept that until I met you.
You were funny and crazy and brave and oh so gorgeous. You were basically everything I looked for in… well everything. In a friend or in a partner it doesn’t matter. I thought you saw me for who I am. A broken teenager with issues but that at the end of the day was deserving of love. Oh how wrong I have been but no more wrong than you. You knew this but you just didn’t listen.
That makes us both horrible people now does it. Me who thought you were some kind of savior or some kind of saint and selfishly wrapped myself around your love and you who used me because I remind you of your ex girlfriend who broke your heart. But mine is excused I feel like and yours isn’t.
You would have kept me going for who knows how long just so you can live your imaginations you had for someone else.
Did you think about her the first time we slept together?
Was I not enough for you Freddie?
Was I too clingy too soon?
Is it my hot temper that gets the best of me?
So many questions will be left unanswered on my end because frankly, I never want to speak of you again. Sure I am deprived of love but I will not take it if its not directed directly at me.
I still care about you and will continue to support you and George on whatever you set your mind into. I was waking through Diagon Alley last week and saw this little store with a “for sale” sign. It’s right in the middle of Diagon Alley. I hate how my first thought went that you would have loved it but I seem to do that a lot recently.
I’ll get dressed and think would Fred love this skirt or this shirt.
I start applying lipstick and I’ll think will Fred love this color.
I start eating and I’ll think does this look good enough that Fred would’ve stolen a piece of it when I’m talking to Ginny.
I don’t even know why I am telling you this. How pathetic I’ve become clinging into someone that doesn’t want me.
Anyway I’ve probably bored you enough with my ranting but I wouldn’t have been able to move on unless I said everything that felt heavy on my heart. I also attached some photos I thought you’d like to keep seeing as now you can see yourself with Kayla without having the burden to be near me.
Say hi to your siblings and Harry for me.
Have a nice life,
Y/N
#harry potter#fred x y/n#fred weasley series#fred weasley x reader#fred weasley imagine#fred weasley#fred weasley angst#george weasley#hogwarts#fred and goerge weasley#weasley family#sadnees#i hate this
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Sometimes Its Too Late (Past Fred x Reader)
House: For the reader to decide
Pairings: Past Fred x Reader , Draco x Reader
Universe: Not canon!
Warning: Talks about cheating (it’s not okay) and some mild bad words.
Word Count: 4.3k
Part 3 of the Dear Malfoy Series [Part 1] [Part 2]
So I did a little history to how Draco and the reader know each other. Just to add a bit to the story. This is not edited! I apologize but it was an 11 page doc and I was just excited to post.
Your new friendship with Draco Malfoy was complicated. She had known him from previous events she was forced to accompany her parents to. Her dad was the Head of Magical Games and Sports. His work often required him to interact with other top ministry officials, including Lucius Malfoy. But they weren’t close to the Malfoys, nowhere near it. Her family’s ideology differed greatly from that of the Malfoy’s. So most of her interactions with Draco were a smile and a nod at the events they both were forced to go. Draco had always been a very private person who tended to enjoy his own company. That only increased during her first year when she immediately became friends with Harry, Ron & Hermione. It seemed to (y/n) that Draco was hurt about Harry rejecting his offer of friendship and wanted to make his years at Hogwarts miserable. The Golden Trio quickly became the three people that Draco could not stand. He was never mean to her the same way he tortured the other three. He made snarky remarks to her on occasions but she could deal with them. Which is why she tended to ignore him at all costs. To her, it was better to not give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. They had never been on the best terms because of his treatment of her friends. This is why his newfound kindness made (y/n) dwell on his true intentions.
While she had dinner with Draco, he extended the offer for any other meal. She had actually enjoyed the company of the Slytherin Prince for dinner. They made small talk about their classes. It didn’t go unnoticed to either of them that not only were her friends looking at her, but others around the hall were too. Probably gossiping about how Draco Malfoy and (Y/N) (Y/L/N) Harry Potter’s Friend were sitting together. The feud and mutual dislike the two boys had between each other was greatly known to everyone at the school. She knew they were going to definitely be the talk of the school.
“Thank you so much for letting me sit with you Draco”, (y/n) said as she started to get up to make her way out there.
“It’s not a problem”, he answered simply as he too got up from his spot. “Let me walk out with you. I don’t they’ll follow you if they see you with me.”
She simply nodded at him and started to make her way out of the hall. She couldn’t bring herself to look back where she knew her friends were looking at her. They had been constantly looking toward her most of the evening. She just wanted this day to be over. They ended up walking to her common room in peaceful silence.
“You know we’ll be all they’ll be talking about”, she said out of nowhere.
“You know the people here can’t avoid good gossip”, Draco responded. “Everyone here is always so bloody interested in the life of others because they have nothing going for them.”
“Bloody pathetic if you ask me.”
(Y/N) let out a small laugh at his comments. “I can agree with that.”
Draco only laughed lightly while nodding at her. If you would’ve told her she would actually be having a civil conversation with Malfoy, she would’ve laughed right in your face. Because of how ridiculous that sounded, bloody hell it would’ve sounded ridiculous just yesterday morning.
----
(Y/N) thought she had done a pretty good job at avoiding her friends for the past couple of days. During meals, she’d sit with Draco. Sometimes his friends would join them. Blaise Zabini being surprisingly pleasant company to her while Pansy Parkinson wasn’t the nicest. But that’s something she already knew. She made small snide remarks to her but she would always shut her mouth when Draco would send her a glare. Luckily she only had to deal with Parkinson during the meals she would show up to.
By now the school had known that she and Fred were over. That and her new “blooming” friendship with Draco was all others could talk about. Some students guessed that she had dumped Fred for Draco. She had overheard Lavender Brown talking with Parvati Patil about how you were the one who had cheated on Fred with Draco.
“She got caught snogging Malfoy in an empty classroom by some second-year student.”
“Merlin, she's so pathetic. She really left Fred for that snake.”
“I know! I mean what can you expect from her type…”
She shut her mouth real quick when she noticed you were listening to their remarks. But not only were you ready to confront them; you also didn’t notice Draco standing a few feet behind you sending the girls a glare. Their odds of coming out of this unharmed were not looking good at all. Lavender grabbed Parvati’s hand and quickly made their way down the hallway.
You wished people would just mind their damn business. She should’ve just stayed in her dorm but she had a big test coming up.
With a big Transfiguration test upcoming, there was no avoiding the fact that (y/n) needed to go study at the library. There was no way she was going to fail this test. Screw Fred Weasley. (Y/N) clutched her books tightly and kept walking toward the library. She was still thinking about the comments made by the two girls when she ran into Angelina Johnson down the hall with a few other quidditch players, including Fred and George. They were laughing and he looked like nothing had happened or that it had really affected him at all.
She had to walk past them in order to get to the library and she knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. Just looking at him so carefree made her want to burst into tears right in the hallway. You couldn’t get more pathetic than her. Crying over a boy who doesn’t even care about you. She tried her best to just walk past them as if she hadn’t just been staring at them from down the hallway. She had finally made it past them when she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds to try and regain her composure and hopefully get rid of this horrible headache she was feeling. She heard someone call her name from behind her.
“Fancy seeing you around these halls”, George said to her as she turned around to face him. “I don’t see your new friends nearby.”
“Who”, she questioned him. She obviously knew who he was talking about but wanted to play dumb to his comments.
“Malfoy, Zabini, and Parkinson”, he answered. “I never really took you as the type to be their friend.”
“First of all, Pansy is definitely not my friend”, you responded with an eye roll. “I don’t know what to truly call Draco and Blaise.”
“Oh? You’re on first name bases now”, George responded with an eyebrow raise.
“Well maybe if my real friends had told me my boyfriend was cheating on me then I would actually talk to them.”
People were starting to stare at you in the hallway, interested in what was being said between the two of you. Fred and Angelina were a bit behind George watching on tensely.
“Look, I’m sorry abo-”
“No, if you were really my friend you would’ve said something. It doesn’t matter if he was your brother.”
“So you don’t get to come to me and try to judge me on who I talk to.”
Before George can say another word someone behind him spoke up. You thought it was the coward of your ex but instead it was his new girlfriend.
“Can we please speak somewhere else”, Angelina said behind him. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at the girl who had caused their pathetic love triangle. Can’t be in a love triangle if you’ve already been dumped.
“I really don’t want to talk to you and I definitely don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
“I just really need to tell you that we didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh really”, you answered mockingly. She probably sounded immature but you weren’t looking to be the bigger person anymore. “You two sure have a funny way of showing that.”
“Look, I’m sorry for hurting you. But things just happen sometimes.”
“Really? Because I could think of many ways this could’ve ended better”, (y/n) sneered with an eye roll.
They all stayed quiet, letting you keep on on speaking.
“But you know what’s funny? You knew we were dating and you went along with it. That just shows how pathetic you truly are.”
Before Angelina could answer her back with her own remark, two familiar faces walked through the group of students who had formed around them.
“What’s going on here”, Hermione questioned you and Angelina who were now standing face to face.
“Nothing Granger”, Angelina said with an eye roll as she still looked at you. She looked between you and the girls before making her way out of the crowd of people. Fred followed right behind her while George kept looking between the two of you before following them out. The group of onlookers started to finally walk away from the situation leaving her with Hermione and Ginny.
Why can’t she catch a break? Merlin why is she being punished?
“Don’t you dare run away from us (y/n) (y/l/n)”, Hermione said as she stood firmly in front of her. Ginny right next to Hermione, in an attempt to block her way. Hermione really sounded like her mother sometimes.
“We want to talk to you,” Ginny said as she gently reached for (y/n) hand. “But not here, too many nosy gits here.”
“Let’s go to my dorm”, Hermione suggested as one of the many perks of being a prefect was her own dorm. At this point (y/n) had yet to say a word to them but let them drag her to Hermione’s room. The walk to the dorm was pretty quiet, knowing that if she spoke right now she would more than likely burst into tears. Walking into the dorm, she took her usual spot on the end of the bed.
“What happened between you and Fred”, Hermione questioned you as she sat next to you.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“He told us you broke up. But that’s all really”, Ginny answered as she wrapped her arms around (y/n)’s shoulders.
“Did he tell you we broke up because I caught him with Angelina Johnson in his dorm”, (y/n) said as she felt the tears starting to come out.
“Is that why you were speaking to her in the hallway?”
“Are you serious”, Hermione exclaimed. “He did not mention that part! What a prat!”
“Oh, I am definitely going to go find him and hex him now.”
“Ginny! Wait a second”, (y/n) called after her friend and grabbed her hand before she went too far.
“I can’t believe I forgot you! Of course you should hex him too! Let’s go (y/n), we got to find him before curfew. Hermione can be our alibi.”
“No, I don’t want you to get in any trouble.”
“Don’t worry, mum isn’t going to be mad when she finds out why we hexed him. Mum would probably send him a howler giving him an earful.”
“As much as I would love to also hex Fred Weasley, we can’t Ginny”, Hermione stated sternly at the girls. She then turned to you and placed her hands on your shoulders. “What I want to know is what were you doing with Draco Malfoy!”
“He offered me a seat with him. I didn’t want to sit at my usual spot because I didn’t want to make things awkward. It just kind of went from there and I just kept sitting with him”
“Awkward how”, Ginny questioned you.
“Well, he’s your brother and I thought you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore if you saw we broke up. I thought being there would make things worse.”
“It doesn’t matter that he’s my brother. He’s the one in the wrong here and it doesn’t change the fact that you’re our friend.”
“That’s true (y/n)! We love you and care about you. Please don’t ignore us. But that still doesn’t explain Malfoy.”
“Well, he found me at the astronomy tower crying after it had happened. We talked and he wasn’t a complete git to me.”
“Are we talking about the same Draco? Draco Malfoy?”
“Yes”, (y/n) said with a small laugh. Feeling the relief of having her friends by her side.
“Maybe he hit his head and forgot how much of a prat he is?”
This only caused the three of them to burst into laughter. It was good to have her friends with her again.
-------
The gray sky was a reflection of every thought storming in her brain.
She didn’t really want to be at this quidditch match at all but Ginny and Hermione had convinced her to come out. She knew it had been three weeks since she found Angelina and George in his dorm but that type of pain doesn’t just disappear. She had been sitting in the quartyard with Draco earlier in the day, when she had mentioned coming to the game with Ginny and Hermione. She knew it was a long shot but she decided to invite him.
“Have you lost it”, he answered teasingly. “Why would I go to a quidditch game and sit in the Gryffindor section?”
“Why not”, she asked him with a pout.
“Because I don’t have a death wish (y/n). Plus if I don’t exactly want to go out in the hands of some Gryffindor.”
“You’re so dramatic Draco”, (y/n) laughed at his usual antics. Getting to know him more and more made her realize he wasn’t all that bad. “I forgot the Slytherin Prince can’t be anywhere near there.”
She only agreed to come to this blasted game only because she was dragged here by Hermione. Luna had joined them along for the game. She was honestly only here to cheer for Ginny if she was being honest. She had been watching quidditch for years but she still was confused on what was even going on. She simply cheered for Ginny or when the rest of the section went crazy. The game went by quickly with Hufflepuff in the lead but soon Gryffindor caught up and completely dominated the game. It wasn’t long before Harry had caught the golden snitch on his grasp. He lifted it up triumphantly in the air. As everyone was celebrating the big win for Gryffindor against Hufflepuff, the teams came back on the ground.
That’s when Fred kissed Angelina. He kissed her in front of everyone.
Y/N could feel the pity glances being thrown her way. She felt dozens of eyes on her, awaiting her reaction to the scene unfolding before her. She could feel her chest tighten as she tried to maintain her composure. She made eye contact with Hermione who was looking at her with sympathy pity in her eyes. Y/N looked away from Hermione and turned her attention to the dull gray sky.
“Are you alright”, Luna questioned next to her. Luna’s soft touch on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She had forgotten she was even next to Luna.
“Yeah”, (y/n) breathed out. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
“Heartbreak takes time to heal. It’s okay to still be hurt”, Luna whispered to her as she gave her hand a small squeeze.
“Thank you Luna”, she responded with a small smile. It didn’t exactly make her feel better but she was glad she cared for her. “I have to go. I’ll see you later.”
She didn’t give much time for Luna to respond before she made a quick exit out of the Gryffindor section. She needed to get away from here. She walked and kept on walking before she ended up in a random hallway in the castle. She didn’t even know where she was.
Just then (y/n) slid down and sat against the wall of the hall. She started to cry at what she had witnessed on the quidditch pitch. She shouldn’t even be crying over someone not worth her tears. She hated that she still felt hurt over Fred. The betrayal of someone she loved and trusted still burned deep in her chest. She should be over him, she should not even care what he does.
(Y/N) hated that they could just flaunt their relationship like it was nothing. Like if she wasn’t the collateral damage of them. She hated the pity looks she got from others. Everyone knew by now what had happened...that she wasn’t good enough to be loved by him.
She heard footsteps come her way. She tried to wipe away her tears, not trying to be caught like this. She probably looked so bloody pathetic right now. When she looked up from the floor, she saw it was Draco. He shows up at the most convenient times.
“What’s wrong”, Draco said as he made his way toward her. Once he was in front of her, he knelt down to be able to speak to her at eye level.
“I hate him”, (y/n) said simply. “I hate that he could do all that to me and just move on like nothing.”
Draco looked into her (y/e/c) eyes waiting for her to continue.
“He kissed her in front of everyone after the game.”
“I hate all the pity looks from everyone in this school.”
“He’s a git that never deserved you”, Draco said to her as he offered her a hand to get off from the floor. (Y/N) looked at his hand and accepted the gesture from him. He helped her stand up from the worn out floor.
“Thank you for being here for me this past few weeks”, (y/n) said as she looked up at him. “You’ve surprised me Malfoy.”
“Gee..thanks (y/l/n)”, Draco responded with a playful eye roll.
“I know we never were really friends, but you’ve been here for me and I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, so we’re definitely friends now”, Draco jokes with an eyebrow raise.
“Hey! I take back my friendship then Malfoy”, you laughed as you playfully smack his arm.
“You’re not allowed to take it back”, he said with a smile.
Before she knew it, Draco had engulfed her in a hug. He snaked his arms tightly around her figure. (Y/N) wrapped her hands around Draco’s waist as she buried her head into his chest. She could feel Draco stroke her hair gently.
Lost in the comfort of Draco’s arms, (y/n) ignored the world around her. All she could concentrate on was his soft touch and how he smelled like expensive cologne, green apples, and mint.
What she failed to realize was that a few seconds after, Fred and George entered the same hallway.
But Draco did notice this.
They stopped for a couple of seconds to look at them. Draco noticed that Fred’s glare lingered on them as George continued to walk away pulling his brother along. He could only throw his signature Malfoy smirk.
------
The more time you spent with Draco the harder you fell for him. And it scared you a lot. Last time you fell this hard for someone was when you were dating Fred. You didn’t want to get your heart broken again but you were definitely head over heels for him. You felt butterflies in your stomach every time he looked at you or when he would laugh at your silly jokes. He was even trying (like really really trying) to be nicer to your friends. He was more civil with Hermione and Ginny but still a little hesitant with Ron and Harry. At least the three of them weren’t trying to constantly hex each other anymore. Ginny had even once gone as far as to joke with you that if all it took for him to be nice was to be around you, she herself would’ve set you up with him. Although she and Ron had a running theory that Draco was replaced by someone nicer, something that you could only laugh at when mentioned.
Hermione and Ginny were convinced that he had a crush on you as well. But you were still afraid that those feelings weren’t mutual. What you didn’t see were the glances he always gave you when you didn’t sit with him during meals. You had come up with the solution to sit for breakfast with Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry. While during dinner you sat with Draco and Blaise. You were oblivious to the fact that he also felt the same butterflies in his stomach when he spoke to you. Or how he was internally freaking out when you grabbed his hand while the two of you ran to herbology to prevent from being late to class. You thought it was just a friendly gesture for him to help you everyday with potions because of how bad you were at it. But everyone else knew that Draco wouldn’t just help anyone.
The closer you got to Draco the more you fell for him. And the farthest Fred drifted from your mind. Soon, he became nothing more than just another student at Hogwarts to you.
------
The Yule Ball was approaching quickly. Bringing a lot of bitter sweet thoughts to you. It was about to be a year since Fred had asked you to be his date and later his girlfriend. The dance was only a week away and you had yet to find a date. Going solo wouldn’t be so bad but having a date would be more ideal.
It was Saturday, just like every other Saturday since she got to Hogwarts, she sat under her favorite tree near the Black Lake with her current book. She was currently reading a book about a tragic love story between two star crossed lovers. She was a sucker for these types of books.
Engrossed in her book, she didn’t notice Fred come to her until he cleared his throat. If she never had to speak to Fred Weasley another day in her life, she would have been nothing but happy about it. Well sometimes you don’t always get what you would like.
“What do you want Weasley”, she sneered at her ex. “I was enjoying my time alone.”
“Look I’m not here to argue. I want to talk civilly with you”, Fred said pleadingly. He looked at her with the same stare he had the night she had caught them.
“Then talk”, you answered with a shoulder shrug. You put your book down and stood up so that you were face to face with him.
“I’m so sorry for all the hurt I caused you. I really am (y/n). I regret it so much.”
“A little late with that apology Weasley.”
“I know but I miss you (y/n). I miss you everything about you. I was so confused and I let it get the best of me. But I realize now that it’s always been you.”
“Look Fred, I do-”, you spoke before he quickly cut you off. He was closing the gap in between the two of you. She could feel his intense gaze on her even though she was looking out towards the lake.
“I mean it darling. I miss you and I need you back.” He placed one of his hand on her upper arm and the other on her cheek.
“No Fred! You don’t just get to waltz back into my life after breaking my heart.” You said as you removed his hand from your cheek.
“I’m really sorr-”
“You don’t just get to put me on the sideline until you decide if you actually loved me or her. I deserve much more than that.”
“I’m not going to stand by like some idiot waiting for you to come back to me. I maybe would’ve been stupid to take you back before, but not anymore.”
“We can work through it”, he tried to plead with her. “I will do anything to gain your trust back.”
“It’s too late for that Fred”, she said simply as she grabbed his other hand to remove it from her upper shoulder.
“Let go of my girlfriend”, Draco's voice boomed as he made his way toward them. Both she and Fred turned to the blonde making his way angrily toward them. Fred’s grasp was still firm on her arm.
“I said let go Weaslebee”, Draco snapped as he pulled his hand away from your arm. Once Fred’s hold on her was gone, Draco pulled her behind him.
“Girlfriend? Are you seriously going out with Malfoy”, Fred asked you with shock all over his face. He looked at you hoping that you would tell him that Draco was lying.
“Yes, he’s my boyfriend”, you answered him while looking up at Draco. Your hand now firmly around his bicep.
“Are you serious (y/n)?” He asked once again, praying you’d say that it was all a joke.
“I am Fred. I meant it when I said we were over for good.”
Without saying anything anymore, he walked away from the two of you. He was clearly heartbroken but you really didn’t care anymore. Maybe now he’ll know how you felt. You turned again to look at Draco who was looking down at you with a silly grin on his face. “You know you never asked me to be your girlfriend.”
“Sorry about that. I saw you talking to him and that’s the first thing that came to mind.” You could see the pink starting to tint his porcelain skin.
“Well, I’m not saying I am opposed to it. But you should definitely take me on a date before.”
A genuine smile, that you had grown to completely adore, grew on his face. “Well, how does the Yule Ball sound? I promise I had a better way planned to ask you.”
“When were you planning on doing that”, you questioned him. “The dance is only a few days away. Someone could’ve totally swept me off my feet and asked me?”
“Not really, not after I had Goyle and Crabbe stop anyone thinking about asking you”, he joked. Well you hoped he was joking because knowing him…
“You’re something else Malfoy.”
“But you like me.”
“Yeah, I guess I actually really do like you.”
Unknown to you, that was the very moment Fred had realized he had totally screwed up and truly lost you. Something he’d never forgive himself for.
OMG this is was big one to write! I had so much I wanted to include but I decided to leave those ideas for separate writings. There is still one more part to this. It’s a Fred POV. Let me know if you would like to be tagged when I post it.
Tag List: @philsloveycacti @thecrazytealady @impossibelle @stuckindilemma @idkmanicantenglish @28cnn @bettysgardenswift @crazyjuly @alluringshawn @britishspidey @emmamarie7708 @slytherinambitious @loostssoul @bellaiscool @cherrytomato2 @lindsaytriestowrite @famdomhideout @mina-kimi @loveforreading @legili-mens @keepsmilingandstayhappy
If your name is crossed out, I wasn’t able to tag you.
Reminder: None of my work can be reposted anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you give credit, please do not repost!
#draco malfoy#fred weasley#draco x reader#draco x y/n#draco x you#fred x reader#fred x you#fred x y/n#draco malfoy x reader#draco malfoy x y/n#draco malfoy x you#fred weasley x reader#fred weasley x you#fred weasley x y/n#harry potter#george weasley#fred weasley angst#draco malfoy fluff#weasley twins#hermione granger#ginny weasley#draco malfoy angst#fred weasley au#hp#slytherin#gryffindor#ravenclaw#hufflepuff
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can we talk about how most all artists have developed their creative voice through the pandemic and the other horrible, life-changing things we've gone through? it's bittersweet, but so beautiful at the same time, to see my favs expressing themselves in such unique ways.
billie went from being purple to golden, harry is writing such sweet, coffee-shop-y, 90s soft disco/indie music, rosalia wrote a freaking collage instead of an album, mitski is getting louder in some strange way...
here's my opinion of harry's house:
music for a sushi restaurant: felt very 90s video game energy. i woke up and the first thing i did was listen to this, and i want to set it as my alarm. i would wake up with a smile on my face, ready to complete my little tasks of the day.
late night talking: i really just wanted to get up and dance. the harmonies are amazing. just. wow.
grapejuice: right off the bat, i'm horny. it's a hot song. H de horny, de harry, de "here i am: comeme todo el grapejuice". i want to have sex to it. the counting? my insides are twirly. but it's also weirdly romantic? like, we know, harry. you've had sex and it feels great.
as it was: disco crying. it feels like sobbing in the floor of a narrow bathroom at a party hosted by someone who hasn't acknowledged you all night. you can try to fool us with the jumping, fun music video but we know the truth. it's sad.
daylight: the lyrics. he's on the roof and they are on an airplane???? he's trying to reach them. i'm crying. also at 1:05 when the drums come in???? it feels so helpless. he's trying so hard. + the ending? devastating.
little freak: you're walking out of the bathroom at a party after crying. tear-streaked, lights everywhere but on you. you're insignificant. little do you know, someone is watching you as you look down to your feet. they're forcing their twitching hands to stay still, and if they don't concentrate hard enough, their body might just intuitively reach to you.
matilda: sobbing in big sister. literally, crying in the library in front of the books i study for everybody but myself. "you don't have to be sorry for doing it on your own". also that 7th on the outro?? goosebumps. i am a new person after listening to matilda.
cinema: okay i was definitely spiraling and this is the best. i can't wait to get the vinyl and listen to this at 2am. "do you think i'm cool too, or am i too into you?". that's it. the adlibs on the last 45 seconds. i'm alone this evening at home, and i'm definitely going to scream the adlibs. pray for the neighbours.
daydreaming: okay harry we get it. you're good at sex. you're a romantic guy.
keep driving: summer. listening to this song after failing my drivers test. driving in a convertible with a bandana on your hair, eyes closed and arms in the sky, laughing with your whole chest. did he just say side-boob? as he should.
satellite: bo burnham spiraling vibes. it's so bittersweet. you know when you're hanging out with a friend and someone they know comes up and starts talking to them? and you're standing on the side, waiting to be interesting enough to resume whatever you were doing? like a satellite.
boyfriends: i genuinely don't give a shit about harry's sexuality, but i hope he finds peace. now, onto the commentary. men are trash. it's vulnerability, it's trying over and over again. what's worse: it's asking him to try. it's him dismissing you. it's confusion. this one broke me.
love of my life: again - the harmonies??? hyperventilating rn, and im not even joking. a love letter. AAAAAH THE PIANO THINGY. I'M SHAKING. THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
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Hearth.
A/N: I dunno if I've got any desi/brown/poc readers but if you're reading this I love you so much and you (us) deserve the same validation and representation others get.
Here's a blurb as to what it feels like celebrating Eid with Harry! Enjoy!
Warning: none — just loads of fluff.
More Inspos, Masterlist, Let's Talk
The night's pretty with murky clouds and thick layer of moon's brightness as Y/N cleans her flat, from scrubbing her Persian rugs to deep cleansing her vases back from her homeland. The flame evaporating from her candles scented like springs of Kashmir, flickers from her blowing sheer curtains due to the zephyr flurring outside.
She feels content, at peace waiting for Harry who promised that he'll be at her place by 11. He always comes an hour early helping her in setting the table before the iftari, they've been doing it together since the start of ramdan until today when he texted her he's busy along with a sad smiley.
It was fun. He fasted with her once or twice and would make sure she's hydrated enough once they break it, his love for rooh-afzah (it's a drink red in color made from essence of roses and some sweet herbs) will never fail to make her giggle as he'd demand for more after gulping two glasses already.
Then showing her his tummy along with his food pregnant jokes.
Her classes are online so it gave her time to experiment some cooking. They'd make samosas together and she always had an urge to hold back her cooes as his tongue used to poke out in concentration everytime his diligent fingers folded the samosa sheets skillfully.
"Did a pretty go'job here, innit?" He'd grin raising it like a summat trophy.
The moment he used to leave her flat (ofcourse after giving a tight hug before doing so) they both missed eachother terribly, y/n doesn't like the way her home falls into an abyss without his presence.
He's like a sunshine that warms her insides up.
The whistle of kettle and several raps of knocks on her door drags her from her fond memories of them together, she slings her feet down from the coffee table rushing to open it.
"Angel."
Harry says breathlessly prolly because he climbed three flight of stairs to get to her or that he's utterly flustered.
Her eyes remain struck at the thingies piled in his arms, a box of chocolates, many brown bags and stems of freshly blood ripped roses tucked between his knuckles.
He bought all of these gifts for her.
To make her feel like home.
To be her home.
What the fuck, nobody has ever done that for her —-- she just mighty cry.
Her mouths gupples like a fish too overwhelmed to react her emotions out and he gives her a sweet smile kicking the door shut with his feet -- gestures her to wait when she almost jumps like a cub to hug him and puts everything on the sofa knowing the things inside them's too delicate.
"C'mere, baby." He grins and she doesn't waste a moment falling in his embrace. Her cheeks smashes against his taught chest and she fists the hem of his shirt smiling too hard for her own sake as he sways them with his own rosy cheek squished against her temple.
"I love you so much, thank you." She murmurs gazing up at him with glinting eyes -- arms still lopped around his waist and his chin doubles adorably as he gives her his signature bunny grin kissing the tip of her nose, "Love you too bubba ... don't want ya homesick, at alllll."
The aggressive whistle of kettle parts them away, "Cuppa cha? Then we'll unwrap these pleasanteris." She points at the paper bags.
He nods flopping onto the floor cushions beside the large oak window of the balcony where they could bathe in moonlight.
"Thank you." He quips, kissing her fingertips while slipping his fingers under the handle of mug and takes it from her as she sits infront of him. He admires her for a second —- fawning over how she's looking so soft and cuddle-able wearing a baggy mauve kurta and some mismatched shalwar.
The tearing open of the stuffing tissue brings him back to focus --- this, he wanted to see this happiness dance over her features as she clutches the ethnic traditional dress he bought for her infront of her and when lifts it down he's met by overly excited eyes.
It's ethereal with golden details, handmade wire work and sheer fabric.
"It's gorgeous, pups." She squeezes his hand and he takes the sip of his cha smiling against the rim of the mug shyly, "Wasn't s' sure -- Sarah helped me in collecting stuff." Sarah's Y/N's bestfriend who was the only desi/brown in her filming class.
"No wonder she was being a lil sneak." Y/N chuckles already rummaging for what comes next.
He wanted to make sure he gets her everything they do traditionally in her culture and ate Sara's ears off to help him buy the most special thing and it's right there creating sweet noise when they touch eachother, dangling from her fingers.
"Churiyan .... " She whispers bitting down a smile. She loves glass bangles. Their colourfulness cheers her mood up and she'd always go with her Nani a night prior eid to select the most flamboyant pair of them from a bazar (market).
"This -— " She gestures to the gifts scattered around them, " —-- all of this and you, means alot to me." She sighs giving him a wet smile and he smoothes his thumb against her cheek like she's the most fragile thing to exist.
He watches her in a tad confusion when she stands up with a giggly squeal putting everything away and comes back with a tube of henna in her hand.
"It's chand raat t'night 'cos tommorrow is eid -- usually I spend it with Sarah and we apply henna to eachother, we're horrible at it honestly but now she isn't here 'm gonna bite yours ears —-" He cuts her off. Ushering her to sit back on her spot. He couldn't be more glad to spend all of his time with her whether it's just watching her make designs on her hand with henna.
"Your cha's waftin'." He shakes his head bringing it to her lips, "It's hot." She tells him drawing a circle on her palm and filling it with beautiful darkness of henna.
"Okie then ... " He blows at the hot beverage to cool it down and again brings it to her lips, "Now." He croons softly to her. She holds his wrist taking a sip from it -- he tucks the strand of her hair back and she smiles up at him making him chuckle when she takes a huge sigh as if her soul just woke up.
"What do we d'tommorrow?" He asks. Knowing most of the time they went to Zayn's house on Eids his mother used to fill the whole table with delicious dishes and the whole day was spent having fun.
"We do nothing but have loads of nice time -- I already made a dessert 'cos I know I'll be too lazy in the mornin', and invited your friends if that's okay?" She glances up at him done with her left palm.
"Perfect then," He nods, "D'ya need help with the other one?" He asks grabbing her right hand and the tube of henna from her.
"Yes, please." She shows him her hand covered with with henna and since it's wet she could do one thing wait or let him do it. The second options sounds more good.
"Not on me if it gets messed up." He warns her nonchalantly following the same pattern of her left hand. Stealing glances of her attractive face every now and then, dotting her moles with his intense gaze, he just thinks her brown eyes look more intricate – it's specks as if the forests soil on the first rains when they dilate with her racing heartbeat.
They're like an open book to him and at the same time mysteriously dark that he feels like burning a match to melt in them.
"You did it way better than me," She snorts examining it closely and turns the other way round to lay down on the carpeted floor and rest her head in his lap. He wipes his own hands watching the dark henna leaving a swipe of color on his fingertips.
He pets her hair, dimples milking into his cheeks when she raises her both hands infront of him -- blocking the moonlight that's falling on her, "When I was small I always used to end up getting it on my face and lemme tell ya. Having a yellow blotch isn't even a tiny bit fascinating on the only day you could dress up fancy."
His chest rumbles with giggles and he brings her hands closer to her lips blowing raspberries at them to get them dry early.
Comfortable silence envelopes them in to the point where they could hear crickets singing outside and moonlight sparkling on their skin —- she breaks it cuddling up into his chest.
"I really appreciate this, Harry." Her voice hushed whisper and her cherry stained lips couldn't resist but to patch kisses where his heart lays and she could sense it kicking a pace, "The fact that you did so much just for me -- is beyond my thought. I really feel like home." He let her speak. Squeezing her shoulders to convey the fierceness of his emotions he holds for her. His silken lips pressed to her temple and his eyelids flutters with each spurt of breath she inhales.
"I'll keep making you feel like home, till the day you'll allow me." Today. He for actually felt that his home was never a building or the luxurious furniture adorned inside it, but her. It's always gonna be her.
Because the moment he gets lost in those eyes all he come across is their shared laughter, their moments spent on this balcony right outside sipping onto their chas and watching the city wake up infront of their eyes, going to places he has never been to before, doing things he never thought he'd do in hundered years —- he isn't a big fan of spices but he still pretends like a big boi infront of her while eating pani puri she's oh so obsessed with.
The times she was never embarrassed to introduce him to her community or her friends, and getting soaked into rains even though they could've just used his car, having days planned to make him try new desi dishes, going to buy candles of many scent and shapes with him but then never feeling like leaving the store until he warns her that he'll throw her on his shoulder infront of everyone.
Going to Turkish markets together. He's a bread lover and so all this time he doesn't feel like leaving the shops filled with different kiln and tandoori breads. Eating Simit and drinking black tea in the amardu cups sitting outside the cafe –- he likes it with cheese while she might sound bland she just likes a bit of butter.
Them deciding for hours and hours which Persian rug to buy -- but never buying it apologising to the shop keeper.
Giving eachother head massages from the organic rosemary Morrocon oil that one of her friend gifted her, (Y/N) thinks she's one hell of a masseuse but Harry thinks otherwise —- though he would never ever break her heart so it's better keeping it a secret.
His nose creates a purring sound while he sleeps leaning against the wall, he doesn't even remember when he fell into the deep slumber with his large hand still wrapped around her wrist in a protective manner to keep her from moving.
It's cute.
Though when she stirs to regain consciousness with the birds chirping outside she feels remorseful finding him sleeping in such an uncomfy position just because of her and he wakes up with a loud wheeze —- blinking rapidly to see what just happened only to visibly relax back when she shushes him gently.
"Baby .... shit." He grogs out, knuckling at his eyes pointing at her jaw which's covered into a orangish streak, "Don't tell me." She groans bumping her head against his bicep.
A moment later they burst into fits of hoarse giggles and chuckles. She'd try to suck in air to not to snort and would do it nonetheless driving them more into belly aching laughter.
"Eid Mubarak, I guess?" He cackles loudly. Dimple coveting in to his velvet of skin. Rubs the tip of his nose against her's affectionately and swoons her in his arms to hug her warmly.
"Now -— go 'n dress up, c'mon." He cups the nape of her neck playing with the baby hair there and she whines smushing her face against his chest, "No. Lemme sleep some more."
"Heyyy none of that, c'mon sleepy girl you'll regret it later." He boops her nose smiling down at her fondly and she grumbles mumbling something in between you're so annoying or you're being so much like my mum.
He waits for her laying on the sofa with his arms folded and eyes closed. Prolly took a mini version of nap only to perk his head up grabbing the back of sofa when she returns with wet hair, soft clean face and lips tinted cherry wearing the dress and bangles he bought for her.
An enchantress from head to toe, he wouldn't even complain if she bewitches him.
He needs someone to pinch his bum because he thinks his eyelids might have struck. He takes a dramatic breather mischievously, pupils dilated cutesly and heart shaped lips parted with the sweet loving words in praise of her beauty burning at the tip of his tongue.
His fawning gives her butterflies. Expanding her chest with warmth and she does a three-sixty when he spindles his nimble in the air demanding her to show herself from every angle.
Her head falls back. An echo of happy giggles resonating in the room when he smacks his hand against his chest and flops into heaps of sofa cushions.
"You're fuckin' beautiful, a total knockout." He walks towards her with his hands spread open and takes her's to kiss the inside of her palms, "So are you." Her voice small with shyness. He sits on her on sofa and stays beside her with his chin perched upon his knuckles staring at her like she hung the moon -- as if she's a prayer come true.
"Did you get me ready to d'nothing?" She turns towards him. The curled up fringes kissing the apples of her cheeks same as his fingertips are dying to do so.
"I might sound selfish but it was a trap to get you ready early so I could admire you till everyone squeeze between us ... " He smirks and she huffs sinking deeper into the sofa throwing her limbs in air and his breath hitches when her bangles clanks together producing a beautiful noise.
"Harry!!" She whines.
"Okie, time to fill some grumpy kitten's tummy." He announces standing up to head to kitchen and she shakes her head with a silly smile trailing behind him.
All she knows is that. This Eid she'll have the best time of her life, as she could already feel his energy and love radiating in every corner of her home.
.
@harryforvogue idk why but everytime I'd sit to write this blurb you'd pop in my mind, hope so you're not hiccuping wildly.
#harry styles imagines#harry styles x y/n#harry styles x y/n imagines#harry styles fanfic#harry styles one shots#harry styles blurb#harry smut#harry styles smut#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles dirty imagines#harry x reader
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disco elysium
i fall into a proper gaming binge every half a year or so, and then forget that computers games exist altogether. my last bout of addiction was hades, a gorgeous roguelite about trying to get out of the underworld and dealing with family, bigger on the inside than it seemed outside. now i've spent a week headfirst into the beautiful madness of disco elysium, and i'm nowhere close to done. middle of the second playthrough, at least a couple more ahead, maybe three, maybe five - this kind of not closer to be done. finally, almost a decade later, there's a spiritual successor to planescape: torment, perfect, unique and compelling like nothing else. i'm head over heels in love.
(and a note: it's very much a game that can and should be played by non-gamers. it's a true click-and-pointer; the entirety of its action happens through dialogue. give it a try.)
in disco elysium, your character wakes up in an absolutely trashed hotel room, coming off a bender of epic proportions, fucked up beyond recognition, and fully amnesiac. it turns out you're visiting a (very much not) sunny town of revachol, a slowly decaying remnant of revolution and consequent war, and, well. you're a cop, and you're here to investigate a murder. namely, a murder of somebody whose dead body is still hanged in the backyard…
this is a horrendous mess, and you are a horrendous mess - bloated, amnesiac, confused, weird, pathetic, with a host of warring impulses and demands fighting for space in your head - but thankfully there's a pillar of stability and light in your dark world, waiting just downstairs: lieutenant kim katsuragi, your assigned partner from another station, a man with godlike sense of dignity and practically endless amount of quiet patience for your bullshit. together with him, you can investigate a crime, try to stop a small civil war, solve a couple of questions of the universe, and maybe, if you play your cards just once, dance a truly epic dance together in a shot-up church. there are also cryptids, karaoke, board games, collecting bottles for money, a mystery of a crashed police car, discovering your own feelings about the homo-sexual underground, and many, many other things.
(the gameplay: you have four sets of stats (intellect, sensitivity, physicality, interacting with objects) and, depending on how you distribute them, you play a wildly different character every time. there's no way to fail: your detective can be dumb as a bag of rocks but able to get by on intuition and muscle memory, or smart and horrible with people, or empathetic and weak, or - the combinations are endless. the game is conducted via a combination of red stat checks that you can do only once, and white checks that you can try, fail, up your stats and retry again. aside from a handful of cases, a lot of time it's easier - and funnier - to accept failures rather than try for a perfect go every time. you are a hot mess, after all. there are ten game days, a variety of sidequests and tasks, and almost endless variability in how you approach them. everything is connected, except for that one door.)
(there's also a political system, where you eventually pick up your political affiliation: a communist, a libertarian, a fascist, and a wishy-washy uncommitted liberal. the game has a lot of things to tell you about all your choices, most of them funny, some of them horrendous. there's no innocence here, and no way to weasel out of the consequences of your worldview; and you could also see that it was done by eastern europe people.)
and the thing is. the thing is, it's very much the kind of a game where you perform a field autopsy on a three days old corpse while a couple of preteen kids are watching avidly and offering their color commentary, and at some point you have to rummage in the corpse's mouth and feel its brain stem. a lot of very, very bad things happen or happened - to you, to the people around you, to the town around you, to the world around you. where in fallout you rolled into town with your stats jacked high and your blaster in hand, and solved ancient disputes and established peace, here the weight of the history is very, very heavy, and you're very, very small. you can't solve the decades of violence and war and trauma and colonization and poverty with the power of your save-scumming and pithy one liners, alas; but you can solve a murder. you can help a sweet and worried old woman. you can put your cheek to a kid's fuzzy plush toy, when offered. you can tell a person, gently, that their loved one is dead, and lie about how drunk they were when they did that. you can replace a taxidermied bird you broke. you can sit on the swing with your partner, waiting for the low tide, and whistle together - two birds on the wire…
it's the gentlest, kindest, sweetest, most hopeful game i've seen in the last decade. it's a goddamn manifesto to human spirit, and to how only - well, love - holds the world, always falling apart, together. a huge part of it is your relationship with kim, because believe me, whoever you are, most of your playthrough would be dedicated to chasing kim's approval and to winning his trust. but it also sneaks into all the cases, all the dialogues, all the little throwaway details. everybody is human; everybody is awful; everybody is holy, even you. oh, even you.
(there are storylines you can or can not discover. about why harry is such a mess - and it's awful and i loved how it was done, with empathy and grace and no judgement; about the state of the world, a bit of eldritch horror so throwaway and beautiful i would read entire volumes just about that; about the city of locusts; about a small girls' memory of playing in the reeds; about the scar of the revolution. suliram, ram, ram…)
(it's also brilliantly, awfully, absurdly, hysterically funny. Art Cop run alone makes me just about die. every failure is funnier than the other. you can be as weird as you want to - in fact, the game encourages you to be as weird as you want to be - and the world around will react accordingly, outperforming you in sheer absurdity. there's a war-and-peace sized amount of dialogue and description in the game, and it's written by some damn genius of pratchettian caliber.)
and, and and. honestly, the best way to get sucked into this game is not reviews, it's random quotes and screenshots, out -of-context spoilers - it's more or less impossible to resist. but please, oh please, give it a try.
>Someone's been walking around in your dreams lately, looking for something. Tidying up, rearranging. Storing away all the unrealized dreams, putting old pains in boxes. The worst nightmares have settled down for a while. A spot of light on the bedroom door after the dark. The fluttering of eyelids in the spring sun. A thought that arises, only to disappear again. And yet there's a pattern emerging…
>What if you didn’t lose your memory? What if something in Martinaise came and stored it all away. For you to slowly open one box at a time. So you can choose which parts to keep. Keep almost none of it. Only the flowers on the windowsill. Only the distant sound of a radio. Lose all the actors, the dark shadows, leave only the still lifes, the blissful distant wash of waves. If everybody knew -- you never did. She’ll be coming soon. That is all.
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Her Majesty || 18
Queen
April 15th
Morning discovered me hours ago when Harry's alarm trumpeted through the room, and he forced himself out of bed. Since four o'clock this morning, I have been in and out of sleep. If I am honest, I don't want to take on the day. I have been dreading this day for years, and quite frankly, have been praying it would never come – but I was ill-prepared for how quickly it snuck up on me. But here I am, on the warm side of my bed, longing for my past self as Princess Anastasia but having to remind myself of my new title as Queen.
"What is the Queen going to do on her first day as Queen? What's the first order?" Harry softly requests, and I raise my brow as I convene up against the pillows and cock my head to the side.
I want to spend my day in bed and wrap my head around things.
"What is the King's first order?" I respond with a hint of sarcasm laced to my tone.
Harry elevates his beverage to his lips and shrugs, "I am on my third coffee, and my duties are to keep the palace safe, the same as any other day," Harry responds, not appearing to be phased by the fact that he has a title.
"You do realise that even by telling everyone that I would be king, I cannot be King, Anna."
"You do realise that I make the rules, right?"
Harry laments, "A King has a higher power over Queen. Therefore, I do not have the right to be over you, Anastasia. Therefore, I cannot be titled, King."
I roll my eyes, "We can have this conversation later. I am going back to sleep."
"No, you are not," Harry returns as I settle into the bed and draw the blankets to shelter around my body. "Anastasia, you have a strict itinerary that you have to stick to, which means your ladies will be up here in ten minutes."
I stare at Harry and groan, "Did I forget to ask to sleep in?" I could have sworn that being Queen didn't come with an obligation to be awake at the crack of dawn.
"Well, I did ask the bagpipes from a piper just below the terrace to be put on hold until seven, darling," Harry notifies me.
"And what time is it now?" I request.
Harry smirks, and I moan as he glances at his watch before flicking his eyes towards me. That damn smirk gives it away.
I wait a few moments, and the bagpipes commence their morning routine. Every morning at around six, I am awakened by the Piper's sounds to the Sovereign if I am not already awake. My father resented it, but he kept it around, not only because it is part of the Royal arrangements but because my mother appeared to love the morning wake up calls. Most of the wakeup sequences were at six, but my father extended it to nine in certain months. Of course, it depended on what was transpiring in the royal world.
The Piper's principal responsibility is to play every weekday at six or nine am for approximately 15 minutes under His Majesty's window when he is in residence at Buckingham Palace. Now that I am Her Majesty, they play for me, under my terrace. I don't want to remove the pipers, essentially because it is a tradition, but I will be damned to be woken up every morning with them under my terrace at six in the morning.
"Thanks for the hour," I sigh, rubbing my eyes. "Can you please request that the time is changed from six? I prefer not to hear them until at least ten, perhaps eleven?" I softly beam, doing my ablest to appreciate the art of the bagpipes.
Harry steps closer and hands me his coffee before leaning down and kissing my cheek, "I don't think they will appreciate playing so late."
"Nine?" I suggest, "I think that is fair."
"I think that is fair," Harry nods his head, and I take a few sips of his warm coffee.
"Could you make this any stronger?" I chuckle, taken back by the intensity of his coffee.
Harry shrugs his shoulder, "At least I didn't add bourbon to it this morning," Harry sarcastically smiles.
I hand Harry his coffee back with another stifled laugh escaping my lips. I know that he adds a little alcohol to his coffee some days towards the ends of his shifts, especially if they have been excessive and problematic. "What do you have today?" I softly ask while we have a few extra minutes alone.
Harry steps away from the bed and tells me what he has planned for his day. My head cocks to the side as he stands in front of me, everything about him causing me to smile and swoon over him.
Harry is incredibly handsome and never fails to find me between shifts to give me a few minutes of his short time. This man with dewy, mist valley-green eyes, lush hair he grooms so carefully that has a rippling quality, is a man that I thank the heavens for every day. The last few months have been horrible and heartbreaking, there are still days where I have no clue how the fuck I am going to survive the journey without my father, but Harry always makes sure to make it known that he is right beside me through everything.
Harry is a man that holds my heart in his golden hands and cherishes it, he has every opportunity to throw it to the wall and walk out, but he doesn't. He has managed to survive the horrible honeymoon phase. Our honeymoon phase hasn't been what it was meant to be; it has been emotional crying, it has been painful, sad, and full of anger all in one.
The man in front of me is dashing with a rascal's smile and worked his magic to give me what was rightfully mine, he didn't pride himself on running the monarch for a short time, and he didn't try to keep the authority that he had. The man that stands in front of me is an exceptional husband; I couldn't have asked for anyone better, and one day, he will be a great father to our children if we ever have children. This man is an influence on society, and I am lucky to have him.
Harry waves his hands in front of me, "Anna? Baby, are you listening?" Harry questions, snapping me from my daze.
I take a breath and smile at him, "Yeah," I lie through my teeth, and Harry shakes his head disapprovingly.
"You're shocking at lying."
I lift my shoulders into a shrug and push the covers off my body. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and step towards Harry. I kiss him sweetly before pulling away and smiling. "What was that for?"
I offer him nothing but a small smile and dreamy eyes that can't peel themselves away from him.
"Mmm, I need to get back to work," Harry changes the subject as two of my lady in waiting's walk-in. "See you later," Harry kisses me softly, becoming rigid as he clears his throat and notices the ladies looking at the two of us. Harry doesn't feel comfortable with PDA in front of the staff and is still unsure how to act. It's humorous to a certain extent. He hated hiding the relationship, and now he doesn't know what to do now that he doesn't have to hide anything.
I reach for his hand as he steps away. Harry stops and looks over his shoulder before turning back around to face me, "What is it?" he softly asks. My eyes glance between him and his coffee in his hand. Harry rolls his eyes and hands me his coffee, "You're lucky I love you, my darling," Harry grins, "Now, goodbye," he begins to walk away, leaving me with the rest of his coffee and my staff.
I chuckle as the ladies watch him leave, swooning over him in the same manner I do. "You're lucky," one begins as she holds a few dresses across her arms.
"I know," I smile, well aware of how lucky I am. "What do I have the pleasure of wearing today?" I question, looking at the dresses, giving the ladies full reign of what they dress me in as I sit down on the edge of the bed.
♛ ♛ ♛
When I was a little girl, I filled my time prowling the hallways of the various estates we have, all of which had their unique quality. To this day, my favourite place is in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle. I allocated ampere-hours in the gardens, playing hide and seek with the assistants and the bodyguards, countless hours picking wildflowers and chasing butterflies. I would do anything to go back to the days where life was simple, where all I had to think about was which flowers I desired to plant when I wasn't learning about the world and learning to speak different languages.
I remember one spring, Dad brought me to Hillsborough Castle; he and his staff purchased various flowers and shrubs I had picked out one day, we went through a magazine. We later spent that weekend planting the array of plants. Somehow, my father discovered a way to make everything match and look colour coordinated. I wasn't much assistance in the garden, I dug a few holes with my little shovel and helped water the plants, but he and his staff did most of the dirty work. It was when things were manageable, when we could be a family without anyone torturing my father. Perhaps back then, things weren't as simple as I assume, and maybe I was naive, but in my memories, things were simple.
We were happy.
Unfortunately, I can't travel to Hillsborough Castle and attain my peace, and I can't proceed to where I have always been satisfied. Right now, travelling too far is out of the question for safety reasons. Madeline can't fly back home to her family because of safety concerns. If I could, I would love to discover myself in rolling hills and grassland, where it appears neverending. I would love to advance to the countryside, to view the sunset over a meadow and gather nothing but the harmony of nature when the sun submerges into darkness. Harry's mother's home was calm and serene. There were no sounds of cars continually driving around, no people standing outside my place of residence daily, and no staff. It was normal- something I crave but can't possess. I wish I could be out feeding the baby animals and savouring life in the slow lane like I did the few times I have been up there.
I necessitate a scenery change, but I am unsure where the scenery change can occur when I am not authorised to travel. I still think running to Greece and changing our identities is a superb idea, but there is no way in hell I can convince Harry into the concept. Harry has expressed how ludicrous the idea is and logically explained to me the reasons why it is not happening. I think we would be fine with mundane duties and living in Greece. At least we wouldn't have Pippa around to pester the shit out of us. That woman is relentless; she has not given up on her notion of expressing how incompetent I am to be Queen.
What I want is for us to be happy without doubt lingering around us. I don't want the fear to continue to gloom over me. As strict as the palace is and the fact people are constantly watching, I am still concerned. Before my father's passing, I was carefree. I used to wander the halls' without much thought, but now I struggle to step outside my room without the second thought of whether something could happen.
I do not have proof of who killed my father, all I have is my suspicion, and I am convinced that these same people will come after me or, worse, Harry.
The media have attracted attention to Harry and me. The night on the balcony, as expected, drew attention to us, but in my lapse of judgment, I wasn't considering how this could affect him. He is now another target. If the Aces, whoever they may be, are still out for blood, their next bet would be him. In the mind of someone who wants revenge, money or really anything, they will go for the person who has the most impact. If they take out Harry, one less person will protect me before taking me out unless we comply with their requests. With each day that has passed since my father, I have waited for some request from this unknown group of people. I have waited for a phone call or a letter with their demands, but I have not received a single thing.
When I stayed at Harry's mother's, there were letters sent to her house addressed to myself and Harry; what happened after that night, I do not know. Harry said he would take care of it, and nothing has appeared since. After that night, I stopped looking into things and having Harry followed. I knew that he was right- some things are better left unknown. How Harry handles situations is not of my concern. Harry has his job, and I have mine. He does not tell me how to be a Royal, and I do not tell him how to do what he has to do. I know his field of work has gotten very messy over the last few months. He has done things he never imagined he would have to do.
The door to my office opens, distracting me from my daze of thoughts that have been accompanying me most of the day. Harry steps into the palace office and closes the door behind him, intentionally shutting the door on the people accompanying him. "Anna," Harry begins as he shuffles closer to the desk, he gestures between us and the door and shakes his head, "I have a man trying to measure me for clothes, a woman with an iPad wanting to be my assistant, and I have a man holding a fruit platter… Make it stop, please." Harry breathes out softly, "I appreciate their efforts, but I don't need an assistant. I can do my job."
"Fruit Platter? That is better service than me," I snicker.
"Sweetheart, I am highly frustrated with it." But, unfortunately, Harry doesn't recognise my humour or appear amused by the events.
"I will ask them to tone it down. Call them in," I instruct, gesturing towards the door.
"Surprised they can't hear us and just walk on in," Harry murmurs, advancing towards the door and unlocking it, allowing his array of followers to wander into the office.
The staff stand in front of me in a line, almost as if they are aware of what the conversation will hold. "I know you all have good intentions, but His Highness doesn't want to be followed, if he needs something, he will ask, but he doesn't need the extent of these privileges as my father did. Harry will let you know when and if he needs something. He is very low maintenance…" I graciously explain, "Mike, when he has the time, you can talk to him about suites and what he wants. Estelle, Harry doesn't want an assistant; Matthew takes care of everything. If Harry needs any help, he will ask," I direct each issue head-on, doing my best to be respectful, "And Luke, Harry doesn't need you to follow him with food unless asked; he will make his coffee when he wakes up. He takes a coffee at seven, he will ask you if he needs anything else, give him coffee, and you will be his best pal. He appreciates it, but he likes to be left to his own devices." ... "Think of him as a lone wolf, he was under the radar before marrying me, and he likes to stay that way."
Mike clears his throat and nods, "All due respect, your mother put us on his service."
"You can be on his service. Just keep a distance, thank you," I dismiss the humble team, and they all shuffle out gradually before shutting the door behind them.
"Rough first day?" I chuckle, and he leans on my desk and crosses his arms over his chest while he nods his head. "I just want to do my job, Anna."
"Well, honey, your job isn't just security anymore."
"It is," Harry disagrees.
I know the transition is going to be incredibly rough. He has gone from being security to being a husband to being a quiet King to becoming second to the throne and being waited on by the staff. I don't expect him to attend charity events, cut ribbons and be a royal member. But, on the other hand, I don't anticipate him to give up being security and guarding the palace, but I am not sure how it will operate with him being on my service.
"You know you will need security, Harry?"
"Anna, Matthew and I have it sorted out. Can we discuss something else?"
"Every Thursday, we don't have royal duties. Instead, we have family dinner with my mother," I inform Harry, "And I'd like us to commit to one day a week where it's just you and me even if it's just an hour."
Harry nods his head, "Of course, Anna."
"And we need to find our charities and volunteer work."
"Sure, I'll show kids how to run a security detail team."
"Harry," I press, "I'm serious."
"We can call it Harry's boys and girls' scouts, just without pitching a tent. Instead, I'll show them how to hogtie a person and keep people safe."
"I can't tell if you're joking or not."
Harry stares at me with a straight face, "I am not joking."
"Christ," I mutter, "How are we going to survive ruling a monarch."
Harry elevates his shoulders into a shrug, "I am just here for the ride, but I need to go over protocols and security things with you," Harry changes the subject, taking my ink pen from my hand and shifting the paperwork in front of me away from my body.
"I was working on that," I declare as I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest, now mimicking his position.
Harry nods his head and places my pen in his breast pocket, "Right, so we need to have an unwritten understanding. When security says 'we are leaving', it means just that." Harry notifies me, already prompting me to roll my eyes.
"Just because my title changed doesn't mean I forgot the protocol."
Harry hums, "You need to redo your security training."… "You need to do your SAS training; you have a refresher course to do." Harry reminds me of what feels like the hundredth time.
I just have no desire to do the damn course.
"Will you be my teacher?" I smirk.
Harry sighs, "The tunnels are off-limits for the next few days."
"Oh, damn, now how I will be a product of any illegal activity? How will I escape the palace?" I sarcastically respond.
I have no intentions of escaping through the tunnels or causing any dilemmas; for the most part, I am emotionally stable and know that I cannot go off and get drunk because life as a royal isn't enjoyable.
"Princess—"
"Ah, no," I cut Harry off, "Wrong title, and don't even try to refer to me as my title. You know I hate it."
"And I hate when you make my job troublesome, which you are doing," Harry points as he gestures towards me, "Security is heightened. I need you to at least pretend to care."
"Fine," I mutter, "You're such an ass when you're the security detail."
"Anna, just get your training done with Matthew at the very least."
He is getting frustrated with me. I can tell by the way he is clenching his jaw and tapping his shoe against the flooring. He means well, but the training is a pain in my ass.
Why should we stage a kidnapping and show me how to handle the situation when if we wait long enough, it will happen?
Nothing surprises me with this monarchy. I wouldn't be surprised if Pippa tied me up, forced me in the back of her car and drove me across Europe before abandoning me in the middle of nowhere. After my father's incident, nothing is really off the table in terms of events that could take place. No amount of training saved my father.
"I will," I accept, leaning forward and standing to my feet before I encase my arms around his neck, "You need to relax," I inform him, his arms dropping to his side before his hands rest in the small of my back, enabling me to stand between his legs and bring our bodies closer. I give him a small smile. Then, I kiss him softly and leisurely.
"Easier said than done," Harry murmurs against my lips. I cut him off and kiss him more profoundly, not wanting his words but his affection.
He draws away with a sigh, "I have to be on your mother's service in a few minutes."
Mood killer.
Blinking with feigned innocence, I whisper, "Oh, come on," taking a chance and moving to caress the tender skin on his neck with sweet kisses. He cocks his head to the side, enabling me to kiss his fevered skin, my hands pursuing their way to the buttons of his shirt. Finally, my fingers touch the material of his tie, and I tug on it benevolently.
His tie unravels between my fingertips, and he moans softly when I introduce my kisses to his jawline, gingerly making my way to his lips. Aching tension between the two of us builds with a gentle persuasion of my kisses.
Harry breaths heavily, and his hands squeeze at my waist with a sense of frustration laced to them. Then, with a long, liquid kiss that rushes lust through us, his fingers dig into the material of my shirt.
Unchaining wild, delicious feelings brew inside me, eagerly demanding to escape with every moment that passes by. I feel him pull me closer, the tension at the edge of his fingertips kneading into the material.
I press my body against him, his fingers bunching my shirt even further, "Anastasia, we can't," Harry breaks our kiss with a whisper, putting space between us. He softens his eyes and shakes his head, "We are being watched," Harry breathes, "Camera's aren't cut to this room."
"Cut them, please?"
"I can't… How about later?"
I roll my eyes, irritated with him, "No."
Harry chuckles and begins to adjust his tie, clearing his throat, "I don't think you want the rest of the team watching… I get off at nine tonight. Wait up for me?"
"I think one of my executive orders as Queen is that we no longer have to schedule these things." I gesture towards the small space between us. "I'm tired of it."
It has been a hassle to get alone time with him for quite some time, and there's always something happening or someone interrupting.
"Take it up with security."
"You are security." I point out, irritarted to say the least.
"Well," Harry laughs, "I will have to have a code word with Matthew for when to cut the surveillance."
"Yeah, you get on that," I respond, taking my pen out of his pocket and sitting back down on my chair. "Can I ask you something?" I softly ask.
Harry narrows his eyes down on me, "Not sure I like the sound of this, but sure," Harry nods his head.
"This is private," I inform him.
"You can speak; nobody can hear us. They can just see us," Harry flicks his head to his side, subtly gesturing towards the hidden camera in the painting over the fireplace.
I compose myself for a moment before I take a leap of faith, "What happened with Victoria?"
"Uhm, she died?" Harry is confused.
"No, I mean the story."
I want to know the story he managed to spin to the press. I know he tends to release stories when he can’t get the Palace social media team involved.
"She was found. Louis got the coroner report back, and it was a snake bite. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong day to go hiking," Harry responds with a shrug.
"And Henry?"
Harry takes a breath and heavily sighs, "Do you not read the tabloids?" Harry sighs. I can tell that he doesn’t want to have this conversation by the way his jaw clenched and he looked around in an attempt to gain a moment to find an excuse.
"I have not been in the mood to read what the media has to say," I respond.
"Henry... He passed in his sleep peacefully."
"And what happened after the private funeral?" I question, unsure of what happened after the service took place. Against everyone's wishes, I insisted he was given a service, whether he deserved it or not for the events that took place. I didn't want everyone to be heartless. My father wouldn't have wanted such a thing.
"We all went our separate ways, you went to the room, and I went back to work?"
"No, with him. Where is he?"
"Oh," Harry sounds, "That, I cannot tell you."
I cock my head to the side, "You cannot tell me where he was laid to rest?" I am surprised.
Harry shakes his head, "No, I cannot."
"What about the rest of the Aces' like Henry's Dad?"
"Anna, I have a lot of people I am trying to track, just like I have a lot of things I need to do. I can't answer these questions. I need to go though." Harry politely dismisses the conversation.
As much as I want to press further and ask questions for my peace of mind, I know that now isn't the time or the place. "Be careful, okay?"
"Always," Harry nods before leaning down and kissing my cheek, "I love you and stay out of trouble while I am gone."
"No promises," I respond with a smile before he walks out, leaving me alone in the office where most major royal documents are signed.
This office has been used for many years by my father. It has been the places he has signed checks, and he has signed Royal assents— this room has been used for an array of different monumental things, and as I sit here in this room, I can't help but feel a weight on my shoulder intensify. I don't feel at ease as my pen glides across the paper and I sign my name across the lines; I don't feel this task is taken lightly. This office is the starting to place to the world as we know it, this room is where things begin, and as my reign begins, I am not sure my confidence starts here.
Being in the same office my father once sat in, I thought I would feel at ease and feel comfort— I don't. I feel the opposite. My world feels suffocated and anxious. This simple task of signing the lines makes me question my power. What I am doing today is a mandatory and straightforward procedure, it is nothing significant in the sense of signing a new Royal assent or signing the rights of dubbing a fresh Prince or Knight, but it feels as though it is a big deal.
I thought my mother would play a more significant role on my first day. I thought she would be with me to sign these documents and figure out what I am meant to do. But, instead, she seems to be doing her own thing. I don't blame her for not wanting to be a part of things, and the monarch has impacted her more than she would like to admit. To an extent, I think the monarch helped kill her spirits, especially in the last few months with what has been happening. My mother was nice enough to team with Harry to give me what was rightfully mine. Still, I expected to have some help from her— Mother has some insight into things, watched my father run the monarch for years, and knows a few things that I may not have caught onto, but she doesn't want to be a part of it. I have no clue where she is going.
All I know is that Harry is on her service.
♛ ♛ ♛
April 21st
Sitting in my office and staring at the four walls for days' led me to escape into the gardens to get some fresh air. Harry will kill me for coming out here without anyone with me, but I need some space. I am not surviving. I have had multiple meetings with influential people I do not know how to accommodate. I don't know why I am being thrown full force into this. I was hoping for a lighter transition, but that has been far from the case. I cannot keep up with everything. I don't know how my father managed.
The gardens are peaceful and quiet. They have always left me with a sense of calmness. No matter what is happening in my life, walking these gardens gives me a sense of hope. The gardens are blooming later than usual, but the Rhododendrons and Camellias are beginning to bloom.
I take a deep breath in the fresh air and stop wandering as I reach one of the many trees full of pink blossoms. It's breathtaking. The blossom trees leave me in awe every spring. I don't know how the gardeners keep the 39-acre garden at Buckingham Palace looking as unique as it does; everything is immaculate.
Spring-flowering trees are spread throughout the garden, but some areas are more than others. One of my favourite trails is the Queen's Walk. The walk has a vibrant display of trees and camellias. However, I am not sure what it is about the trek that excites me and brings me happiness. I am not sure if it's the outburst of assorted colours or just the quietness and the sound of nature humming.
There are more than two hundred several flowers in the gardens, varying from single flowers to frothy, peony-like efflorescences. There is a touch of everything within the gardens, and everything flows excellently. I bend down and caress my hand delicately to brush against the Blue lilacs that symbolise happiness and tranquillity, something I am longing to feel at the edge of my fingertips. I glance towards the Magenta lilacs and smile to myself, inhaling their scent and deep meaning of love and passion. The firm, sweet, heady scent of the lilacs lingers, and I stand back up, wandering away from the lilacs, leaving them to bloom on their own.
As I walk the small trail, I regard a man who appears out of place. He doesn't seem to belong here in the gardens. Nobody should be out here besides the groundskeepers, the horse trainer or security. The gardens at this time of day are not bustling with staff or anyone. They're withdrawn, which is why I prefer to wander out here. At first, I believe the worst, but my heart rate decreases and my stomach settles as soon as I notice the royal tour guide pamphlet hanging out of his pocket.
"Can I help you?" I challenge from behind, startling the man who seems to be heading towards what we call 'The island within the lake'.
Nobody goes towards the little lake; it is off-limits to most to help maintain its natural environment. I have been out there on a few occasions. It's a beautiful view, something I have always loved, but we keep it off-limits for the wildlife that is out there. We aren't one-hundred per cent on everything in the acres, but we know there is danger. My father told me a story about one of the purple flowers out there. He says it can kill someone in seconds. The poison within the purple flower is vital, so strong that years ago, dipping an arrowhead in the plant would guarantee death to anything it hits. This is how it got the nickname of "wolves bane", as it was used on arrowheads to hunt wolves to ensure they died. As scary as it sounds, it fascinated me. I am not sure how they figured out years ago that dipping an arrow would ensure death. I can only imagine someone came across the wolves bane on accident and used it for their advantage.
The unknown man turns around, and I take in his features, but what catches my eye the most is his button-down shirt. I follow the length of his arms and rest on the edge of his shirt.
"I uh- I have lost my group," the man responds, promptly curtseying as he notices who I am.
The man holds his hand out, prompting me to shake his hand. I stare at the cufflinks on his button-down, intrigued by them. I would expect to see these sorts of cufflinks in vegas or at a place where card games are a fortay, not at a palace and on an ordinary man. One cufflink features a Jack, King, and Queen and the other cufflink features three Aces in a foldable card deck. They're not the ordinary cufflinks, perhaps he is some sort of magician, or he just really likes cards. Who knows?
"Do I pique your interest, Princess?"
I shake my head, letting go of his hand, "I've never seen those kinds of cufflinks."
The man nods his head, his eyes flicking down to his cufflinks, "You never know when you'll need an Ace up your sleeve," the man smiles, seeming mysterious but pleasant in the same manner, "I'll let you be, Princess. Can you direct me back to my crew?"
"You will not be able to get back into the Palace; I will take you," I respond, gesturing along the stone path before I begin to walk towards the palace. “I hope you didn’t touch or pick any flowers,” I comment, noticing the pollen stain at the edge of his white shirt. Of course, I expect children to want to touch and pick the flowers, but not a grown man.
The man shakes his head, and his eyes dart around. A clear indication is lying. I know he picked some of the Lillies; I can see precisely where he snatched them from. I don’t say anything; instead, I change the subject. "So, you got lost in the gardens?"
"Yes, I had stopped to check my phone; I have been expecting a call from a family member; I and when I looked back up, I was alone and standing in the middle of a garden," The man explains, "Quite embarrassing to get lost on a guided tour. I am surprised guards didn't cease me."
“I would be concerned about the gaggle of geese wandering around the fields. They get mean. I'd highly suggest for you not to lose your tour group," I half-smile, unsure of how the tour group left him behind, but it does happen. I remember one occasion where a little kid decided to play hide and seek within the palace. He snuck off from the tour and found himself in the dining hall. It was quite a chaotic mess. I am sure there was some sort of protocol to follow. Harry was the one who found the kid and called off the protocol. He didn't fully tell me about the day, but he briefly explained that it was hectic trying to lock half a palace down to find a lost tourist hiding amongst the furniture.
"I don't intend to. But, again, I am sorry for the inconvenience."
"It is okay," I shake my head, trying to be reassuring despite him trying to hide the fact he took a few Lillies.
Mistakes happen, it is easy to get lost at the palace, hence why there is a tour guide, but I assume I need to find a new guide since this group lost a man. I glide my fingers over the touch system that opens the doors through fingerprint and a unique key.
I push the door open and allow the man inside the palace, "Your tour group is right up there," I flick my head towards the small area at the end of the hallway. I can hear the tour guide talking about one room containing a magnificent array of paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Canaletto.
The man clears his throat and politely nods before hurrying down the hallway, where I watch him join the group of tourists who are more fascinated with the paintings than with me. A little girl notices me and waves. I smile and wave back.
I watch the small group for a while, mainly watching the man who seems to settle into the group and fit in. I smile to myself, happy to have helped a lost soul wandering the palace before I turn around. I gasp and put my hand over my chest, "Christ, you can't do that," I sigh, catching my breath as Harry stands in front of me with barely an inch of space between us, "Any closer and you'd have been on top of me." I press my hands to his chest.
"Have I not taught you to be aware of your surroundings?"
"I was," I respond, clearly lying. I know exactly what he is going to allude to. If I were aware of my surroundings, I would have been aware of how close he was to me. I already know he is going to give me hell about it.
Harry gently takes my hand and glances around, making sure nobody can see us before he opens a secret door, and we step into a different room. He closes the door, and I lean on the wall, taking a few deep breaths to bring my heart rate back down. "You alright?" Harry kisses my forehead before giving me a soft smile.
"No, you about gave me a heart attack," I respond, slapping his arm lightly, "One of these days, I will do the same to you."
"You give me heart attacks daily," Harry murmurs, his hands dropping to my side and resting on my waist. "In all seriousness, you need to be more aware, Anna. I could have been a murderer."
"That is what I have you for, to fight off murderers." I smile up at him.
Harry rolls his eyes, "You don't make my job easy, that is for sure," Harry chuckles.
"Mhm," I hum, "So why were you hovering so close? What do I owe this visit?" I request. Harry benevolently pulls me closer, and I settle into his warm embrace, feeling at ease for the first time in a few days.
"When I saw that you kicked Oliver off your service, I figured you were at your witts ends."
I rest my cheek on his chest and let out a breath, his arms tightening around me and holding me in the silence.
For the first time in a while, silence feels like a treasured moment. Nobody is requesting me, nobody telling me what to do or how to do it, nobody calling my name or needing me to be Queen. For the first time in a while, I can breathe and enjoy the silence without feeling the excessive need to cry or have a panic attack.
Oliver seems to always cop the shity end of the stick with me. He has from the moment he was on my service the first time. Earlier, my emotions got the better of me. I couldn't take it anymore and needed time alone. Nobody understood that I needed to compose myself. Everyone was suffocating me. When I managed to escape the chaos of everyone, Oliver was on my tail, following me everywhere. I couldn't take it. I needed utter silence and alone time. This time, I didn't threaten to fire him. I simply told him he wasn't on my service and to leave. Surprisingly, he listened to me.
"You can't kick him off your service."
"I needed space," I respond, lifting my head from his chest and stretching away from his embrace. "You don't get it," I mutter, turning my back towards him. I swallow hard and look up at the ceiling, doing my best not to allow the tears to fall from my eyes that are welling up.
Harry stays silent for a minute before he clears his throat, "Anastasia, sweetheart, do you want to talk about it?"
I don't respond. I stare at the wall and wipe my tears away, not wanting him to see me cry over everything. I am stronger than this. I don't cry when I can't do things.
The flooring creeks and Harry's shoes sound against the floors before his hands are on my waist again, "Anna," Harry whispers, tenderly tugging my waist and turning me to face him. Before he can do or say anything, I bury myself into his chest, still not wanting him to see me cry. He has seen me cry so many times in the last few months, and I am tired of it. I am tired of crying and feeling everything at once to feeling nothing. There is no in-between when it comes to how I feel. I am either all there, or I am not.
Harry holds me close, his arm tightly around me as his hand rubs circles on my back, "Okay," he whispers, trying to comfort me soothingly. "The other night, I was so tired, frustrated and stressed that I fired one of the security guys, and I got enraged at Matthew to feel better. We argued for a good thirty minutes before we stopped, and he just laughed."
"What?" I sniffle, surprised to be hearing of such a thing. It is rare to see Harry lose his shit on people, perhaps I am not around when it happens, but I don’t hear or see this side of him.
"Yeah, I lost my shit the other night. It happens, Anna. It happens to all of us, and it's okay to lose your shit and let it out. It is okay to want time alone and to cry. You don't need to hide it, especially from me."
"I'm tired of crying, Harry."
"It's part of the grieving process… But everyone has their moments, some more than others. Anastasia," Harry trails off, his hand moving to force me to look at him. Instead of fighting him like initially planned, I look up at him, "Life isn't easy, especially yours, but it will be okay."
"I'm the only one not okay."
Harry shakes his head, "No, you're not. Your mother cries too."
"Only seen her cry twice, the hospital and the funeral."
Harry takes a breath, his eyes softening as he opens his mouth to speak, but he stops himself. Harry bites his lip, pondering his thoughts and what to say. I cock my head to the side, unsure of how to read him or what his thoughts are. "Anna, sometimes things aren't always as they appear."
"What do you mean?"
"I have to get back to work," Harry dismisses the conversation, his hand raising to wipe away my tears, "I have to put a plan in place for your first event as Queen; I will be done in a few hours, do you want to go out for dinner?"
"Like leaving the palace?"
Harry nods his head, "Yes, you haven't left since coronation day, and I think you need to have some sort of normalcy."
I nod my head and smile at him, "I would like that a lot," I agree.
Honestly, since my father's passing, I haven't left the palace much or at all unless for royal events. I haven't felt the desire to go out and be in public, nor have I been allowed. Security is always high, and I am always on a high-risk alert. I have become accustomed to the high-risk level threat and haven't even asked to go out. I figured at some point. Someone would be released into the world where I could be normal for a few minutes.
"Be ready to leave at six; Matthew will take you to my car." Harry leans down and kisses my lips lightly, "And keep an eye on your surroundings," Harry winks, wiping my cheek with the pad of his thumb one more time. "Oliver is back on your service, but he will keep his distance, okay?"
I agree, "Okay," I respond before he walks back out through the secret door where he steps back into the initial hallway, and I sojourn in the room he brought me into. I walk across the red carpet and take a seat in the leather chair. I slip off my heels and lift my legs onto the leather chair, tucking them under me before I place my arms on the armrest.
Oliver walks in offers me a small smile, "Permission to enter?"
“Smartass," I mutter with a slight chuckle, "I'm sorry, Oliver."
"It's okay, Her highness."
"Is it okay if you make sure nobody comes in here?" I question, "I would like some time alone," I softly instruct, resting my head on my arms.
"As you wish," Oliver agrees, exercising towards the door and stepping out, leaving me alone in a room where very few will find me.
#harry styles fanfic#harry styles imagines#harry styles fanfiction#imagine harry styles#harry styles prompts#harry styles blurbs#harry styles writing#fanfiction#harry styles fanfictions#Imagine harry styles#harry styles fic#harry styles one shots#harry styles preferences#1d imagine
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Fics I read this week
Some of these may have been read earlier than a week ago, but I tried to keep it contained. Not sure I’ll keep this up, but I’ll try.
Finished:
Rated E:
the origin of change, by kissteethstainred, rated E
Lan Xichen said, “Time for regrowth and mourning is, of course, the most important. But there has also been a—frequent—discussion of marriage.” He paused to drink more tea. He almost seemed apologetic when he added, “Your name has been brought up often.”
“For marriage,” Lan Wangji repeated.
Except with Wei Ying in the picture, nothing goes exactly as planned.
Opportunity, by brooklinegirl, rated E
Lan Zhan is jostled slightly and he turns in his seat to see a harried-looking man squeezing in next to him. There isn't an empty seat there, and the bar is quite crowded. "Sorry," the man says, sounding out of breath. "I know I'm all up in your business, I'll move, I promise, I just—" He blows his breath out. "I'm going to lose this seat next to you, that dude over there has been eyeing it, and it's mine as soon as this guy leaves.”
Rated M:
Oxymoron, by feline_somnambulist, rated M
Jiang Yanli was in the kitchen. She hummed softly along to music being played somewhere else in the house, as she shuffled carefully back and forth from the prep table to the giant vat of soup. The house smelled like pork rib and savory broth. As always, she was beautiful in her element, a goddess of her domain despite the limp and the leg brace.
Her phone rang just as Jiang Cheng entered the kitchen. She saw him and smiled as she made her careful way to the phone on the wall-mounted charging station.
Jiang Cheng put the stack of paperwork down on a counter. He got to the phone first, picked it up. It was Lan Wangji’s number. He rejected the call and put the phone in his pocket.
“A-Cheng? Is everything okay?” Jiang Yanli asked, a frown creasing her brow. “Who was that?”
It Ends With the Beginning, by feline_somnambulist, rated M
They fight. They part. Jiang Cheng is hurt. Wei Wuxian comes to help. Wei Wuxian runs. Jiang Cheng is tired of chasing. They fight.
Until The End, by abCEE, rated M
"When I -- when I tied my ribbon around our wrists, I knew what I was doing and I privately honored it." Wei Wuxian's brows continued to meet as he tried to understand where the conversation was going until realization dawned on him. "Wa -- wait! Lan Zhan, is it what I think it is?!!" "It is usually done at the end of a wedding ceremony --" "What-" "But it could have been acknowledged as an engagement." "Lan Zhan!" He cannot believe what he is hearing now. "But my ancestor revealed herself --" "And we bowed… three times. We bowed, Lan Zhan!"
In which wangxian are married since the Cold Pond Cave incident, knows how proper communication works, and had confessed in the middle of the Sunshot Campaign. Things went spiraling up and down from there.
Rated T:
as it should be, by Sienne, rated T
Post-canon Lan Qiren time travels to before the Cloud Recesses lectures. The Cloud Recesses are quiet and peaceful, something his home hasn't been in years. ...In fact, it is too quiet and peaceful.
Judgment Day, by Grace_Logan, rated T
Cornered Wei Wuxian sees only one way out after cluing in on the Jin's plan.
Welcome To Gusu, by perkynurples, rated T
Deep in the lush forests of Gusu hides an aging resort that hosts dozens of children every summer for an unforgettable couple of weeks. It’s where Lan Wangji grew up alongside Wei Wuxian, and when his childhood friend (for the lack of a better term) surprisingly returns years later in the position of Senior Counsellor, seemingly hell bent on causing the same kind of mischief that got him kicked out of Gusu in the first place, but also taller, broader and tanner than ever before, Lan Wangji knows he’s In Trouble. Or, this fic has it all: longing looks over campfires, found family dynamics, ill-timed skinny dipping, teenagers inappropriately shipping their counsellors, camp weddings...
Therapy is a Performative Act, by cinder1013, rated T
“What does your dad think of your comedy?”
“Oh, he hates it, but it pays the bills and I need it to pay for my goddamn fuckin’ therapy.”
Jiang Cheng stumbles into being a stand-up comic and his favorite topic is dear ol’ dad.
sorry, i love you, by moon_thief, rated T
lan wangji was practically seething as he watched it happen. what kind of person could be so careless, unruly, undisciplined-
and then their eyes met.
oh. oh.
Tremble a Prayer, by cqlorphan, rated T
They kiss, and Lan Wangji regulates himself. There are no tears pricking at his eyes. There is no lump in his throat. His hands are undressing Wei Ying, and then Wei Ying’s hands are on his hands.
“What is it?” Wei Ying says, between kisses.
Even with Wei Ying back, Lan Wangji's sadness overwhelms him at times. He tries, and fails, to keep it from him.
The Quiet Work, by ShipsAreLaunching, rated T
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian get a summons for help from a minor clan in Gusu. When they go to investigate they find a horrible truth, and do what they do best.
Rated G:
Ink Stains Not So Ignored, by Preludian_Staves, rated G
Qiren found something that he still couldn't bring himself to ignore about his youngest nephew's husband.
I’d buy a big house where we both could live, by failed2be_chill, rated G
“Ah, so you want to play with the rabbits and enjoy their soft fur and silly little nose twitches while your poor husband toils in the heat of the day with hammer and nail doing exhausting manual labour. I see how it is. It’s a good job I love you, huh?” Wei Wuxian kisses his husband’s soft cheek.
“Mn, very good.”
---
Or, married WangXian embrace the practical and symbolic joys of home ownership. Domestic bliss.
Family, by Speechless_since_1998, rated G
Jiang Cheng blinked as his brother while he played with the baby he was holding.
He hoped he had misunderstood, but he had proof that it was true right in front of him.
So he did the only sensible thing that came to mind, "Wei Ying, what the fuck ?! '
"A-Cheng, language!" Shijie scolded him with a stern look.
"A-Jie, you can't really accept such a thing!"
"Why not? He is so cute!" she said, making funny faces at the child, totally in love with him.
Was it possible that he was the only one with a bit of mental sanity left?
A Lonely Guqin (No More), by Asphodel_Meadow, rated G
Wei Wuxian is the first person who makes Lan Wangji want to have a duet.
piercing, by escapingaugust, rated G (read the tags)
Stolen Midnights, by hinotoriii, rated G
There are nights where sleep eludes Wei Wuxian. Where the demons of his past are too loud in his mind, reminding him of that which he could never forget, second life or not.
Unfinished:
Not Rated:
Disclosed Regrets, by zLanWuxian, Not Rated
The majority of the cultivation world are pulled into a room that suspiciously resembled the burial mounds. (Their golden cores were sealed too. As to why, nobody knew.)
They are invited to watch Wei Wuxian's life.
What will they do when they find out everything they believed was a lie?
(Or: The characters of Mo Dao Zu Shi watch Mo Dao Zu Shi)
Rated E:
Where You Fell, by Sweet_William, rated E
Years ago, Lan Wangji was a Senior in high school, readying himself for graduation and the coming years studying at the Gusu Lan Institute of Music. Everything in his life made sense, from his role in his family, to a future as a classical musician. The only thing that didn’t fit was the sudden epiphanies he had about himself brought on by his bothersome and flirtatious classmate, Wei Wuxian. When the growing attraction and friendship was cut short by the other boy’s disappearance, he mourned what could have been, but ultimately had to move on. What he didn’t know was that fate would bring them back together again one day, or the reality of how far apart two lives can diverge, how some can find peace and prosperity, while others can fall farther than he ever imagined.
A Narrow Bridge, by FrameofMind and Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle), rated E
Once, Lan Wangji made a choice to step aside. Ten years after Wei Ying’s death, he finds a way back to choose again.
Setting fire to our insides, by StarsAlignNomore, rated E
Lan Wangji dies after the thirty-third strike. Lan Xichen does not handle it well.
*fleabag voice* This is a fix it.
Rated M:
Live Again, Love Anew, by kkanime5555, rated M
“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian finally speaks up.
“Mn.” Lan Zhan hums to show he’s listening.
“I think we traveled back in time.”
...
“I’ll go, Lan Zhan. I’ll come to Gusu with you.”
-----
Or,
Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are soulmates and, upon Wei Ying's death, they are sent back to when they first met as kids on the streets of Yiling. From there, they both are taken to Gusu, where they are raised together, gradually learning of their shared feelings and finding out the mystery of who sent them back in time and why, all while planning how to save the world, preferably with all their loved ones left alive.
A Torn Red Ribbon, by shiroakuma, rated M
The night before they marched into the Nightless City, Lan Wangji was invited to join Wei Wuxian in his tent.
Unbeknownst to him at that time, it became their last real conversation.
In which, a resounding victory against the QishanWen Sect is won seemingly at the cost of Wei Wuxian's life. Lan Wangji still spends some time being heavily injured. Lan Xichen tries to pick the pieces left behind by the war. The Jiang Sect is renowned thanks to the revered Wei Wuxian and the cultivation world is plagued by unknown forces while Lan Wangji meets with Wei Wuxian in his dreams.
Sacrifices Made with Blood, by NocturnalFriend, rated M
Lan Wangji knew it was too late, there was too much blood on Wei Ying's hands already. Still, if he asked his brother for help, surely. There was a way to rescue the man who held his heart?
Or: Trust is not easily given and all to easily shattered. Lan Wangji learns this in the worst way, when Lan Xichen gives into the demands of the cultivation world. Although nobody could have predicted the whims of fate, giving them another chance at righting things.
What makes you sing?, by Fictio, rated M
Madam Yu was never known for her matchmaking skills but she was known for her inherent meddling. Though it still came as a surprise, when on one fine Saturday afternoon, she called Wei Ying and set him up for a blind date.
There She Rose, by Aiiiru, rated M
Many years had passed yet whispers and gossips about YiLing Matriarch still stayed alive like unruly weeds refusing to die.
"That damn Wei Wuxian must have cursed this year's harvest with 'unkillable' locusts" "But Wei Wuxian had died right?" "Didn't you know that her body wasn't found?" "I heard some cultivators saying that during the chaos, some people saw her leaving in a sword, flying away with someone else." "That must be the demon with whom she signed a contract, a female challenging three thousand or was it five thousand cultivators by herself? Hah!! She definitely has ties with evil creatures and ghosts." "I heard from my cousin in Yunmeng that YiLing Matriarch was born shameless." "Some say she was a male but took female form to seduce the ghosts of burial mounds and gain power by starting demonic cultivation" "Shhh! Don't talk so loudly! My cousin knew a man who loudly gossiped about Yilling Matriarch only to be cursed to death the next day"
Visitations, by Vir_Abelasan, rated M
"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan says, stutters, "I'm sorry."
And now Wei Wuxian sees it, the red rimming Lan Zhan's eyes, the rumpled edges of his blazer. There is an old, familiar urge for him to reach over, to hold Lan Zhan's hand and smooth his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine.
"We're all a bit sorry about this, I think," he says instead, and finds that he means it. For Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and everyone else in that Guanyin temple, the pain must be unbearably fresh, like skin just flayed open. But Wei Wuxian's chest had been cracked open a long time ago, his wounds licked and cauterized and sewn shut over five long years - Ever hurting, but a dull, constant ache, "It's really alright, Lan Zhan."
Five years after being accused of corporate espionage and losing everything, the Guanyin Scandal breaks open and Wei Wuxian finds a familiar face at his door.
Kiss My Wounds, Bless My Scars, by Pegunicent, rated M
When he is sixteen, Lan Wangji makes a choice. He becomes Wei Ying's bride.
Rated T:
the one where Jiang Yanli visits (and she's a fucking goddess), by ShippersList, rated T (part 4 of a series)
Wei Wuxian’s sister was a fucking goddess so it was a travesty she wasn’t being fucked like a goddess deserved.
Luo Qingyang decided to do something about it.
(Also, family feels and some plotting but that's beside the point.)
obscured in the shade of the willow, bathed in the light of the moon, by cloud_wanderer, rated T
Wei Wuxian leaves the Burial Mounds for the first time to attend his martial brother's wedding, and everything changes from there. (a.k.a. a universe in which Nie Huaisang schemes to thwart Jin Guangshan's plans and ends up saving Wei Wuxian and the Wens in the process)
Wei Wuxian meets Xiao Xingchen and helps found a sect in Yiling.
Inchoate, by Marinelifeclub, rated T
“Where would you even go once you left? Wait a few more years before leaving." persuaded Jiang Fengmian,
“Will I live to see that long?” Wei Wuxian whispered under his breath.
Jiang Fengmian felt cold at those words. He always thought his children would be the ones to heal the scars left by their mother on Wei Wuxian, but just the concise way he spoke about them, he knows that wasn’t true. Now his best friend’s son sat in front of him, confessing to not thinking he will live to see himself become a man. Cangse and Changze must be furious in their graves as the sweet smiling son they raised endured pain because of a jealous woman and a cowardly man. Sighing, he did the only thing he could to make things right and accepted the boy’s wishes.
At age 14, Wei Wuxian left Lotus Pier and never looked back.
Wei Wuxian leaves Lotus Pier and while things change something’s are just set in fate.
Here We Go Again, by Alliandra, rated T
He looked over to where the swordswoman was still fighting, but her focus seemed entirely locked onto that fight so it was unlikely that she could have had anything to do with the energy drain. He was still wracking his brain for something else to do to assist, so this thing didn’t kill them both, but now he was feeling weak, dizzy and currently not far from helpless.
~~~~~~~~~~
It has been several months since the events at the Guanyin temple and Wei Wuxian is wandering around on his own. After he helps a stranger kill a very dangerous beast he uncovers what seems to be a conspiracy aimed at ending his life. He heads back to Cloud Recesses with his new companion in tow, looking to get Lan Wanji's help in working out what is involved.
Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling made a surprising discovery under Koi Tower that may well be linked to the threat against Wei Wuxian's life.
Can they all work together to find out what is going on and put a stop to it, before something disastrous occurs?
Nie Huaisang's Ten Steps to Fix The Fucked Up Reality, by cosmic_zephyr (ProudHaikyuuTrash)
1. Find the time travel array in the Nie library 2. Convince (manipulate) Wei Wuxian to use demonic cultivation to activate the array. 3. Transmigrate to the body of your 15-year-old selves with Wei Wuxian and Survive his wrath. 4. Come up with yet another exaggerated, slightly concerning, plan to save Lotus Pier, Dafan Wens and your brother. 5. Use Empathy to make the Wen siblings side with you in the mess that is soon to come. 6. Kill the main Wen family and make Wen Qing the new leader of Qishan Wen so innocent people are not killed. 7. Annoy the hell out of Lanling Jin just for funsies and also a political statement because Jin Guangshan can suck it. 8 Preferably, just for your own sanity, find a way to kill Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao. 9. Work with Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing to solve the sabre problem of the Nie clan. 10. Live a happy life with your brother alive and the cultivation world not being the huge fucked up mess in your own time-line. P.S. Matchmake the pining pile of disaster and gay aka Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.
Aka canon divergence where Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian (and Lan Wangji) travel back in time and save the cultivation world.
Deal, by Rahar_Moonfire, rated T
Nie Huaisang wants revenge for his brother. He also wants his friend Wei Wuxian back. Lan Wangji left the Cultivation World after Wei Wuxian's death and hasn't been heard from since. It's a good thing Nie Huaisang has spies everywhere. He has everything he needs to put his plan into motion: the notes, the instructions, the "willing body," and the patience to pull it all off.
Now he just needs to be sure Wei Wuxian survives long enough to pick up Nie Huaisang's bread crumbs, solve the puzzle, and shatter the Cultivation World again. The only person suitable for that job is Black Jade of Yiling, the husband of the infamous Yiling Patriarch, Lan Wangji.
Rated G:
Hadn't gone as I planned, by hamlets_ghost, rated G (part of a series)
Lan Xichen leaves the Cloud Recesses with Wei Wuxian and Wangji to meet his mother.
He cannot stay.
[continuation of 'Hold on to your heart']
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Counting up the seconds
Frodo x F!Reader
Summary: After the fellowship has entered the woods of Lothlorien and spoken to lady Galadriel, Reader notices that Frodo is missing. After she goes to search for him, she finds him sitting alone against a tree, crying. He tells her about the worries about the quest, how he’s still grieving over Gandalf and about what the lady of light has told him. The reader comforts him.
Note: I put in a Harry Potter reference at the end, so if anything seems familiar that’s probably why!
A sigh left your mouth as you sank into the hot water. Lady Galadriel had welcomed you and the rest of the fellowship into her realm, and had offered you food, a bed and a bath, and you weren’t about to pass the opportunity to get thoroughly cleaned. After you had put the Lavender-smelling shampoo in your h/l h/c hair you sunk back into the water, with only your head and your knees sticking out. Your mind drifted back to Gandalf and his fall, the memory almost immediately making you tear up. His death had taken a toll on all of you, but it seemed especially hard on the hobbits.
‘‘Poor things.’‘ you mumbled. The water had started to lose it’s warmth, so you rinsed out your hair, put on the clean clothes provided by the elves and made your way back to the rest of the fellowship. You sat down next to Frodo, who greeted you with a small smile and a nod, which you returned. Nobody was in the mood to talk, but in the distance a faint singing could be heard.
‘‘A lament for Gandalf.’‘ Legolas spoke softly. He had changed into a silvery-blue tunic and loose pants.
‘‘What are they saying?’‘ Sam asked.
‘‘I do not have the heart to tell you,’‘ the ellon answered, his usual bright eyes dull from sadness, ‘‘for me the grief is still to near.’‘
And it was for you, too. So you bid everyone goodnight and headed of to bed.
It was very late when you woke up again. The moon stood high in the sky, casting a faint glow over your sleeping companions. You smiled at how peaceful they all looked, despite Gimli’s loud snoring in the background. Then your eyes caught sight of an empty bedroll. Frodo, you thought. Where has he gone of to? You quietly made your way past Boromir, Merry and Pippin to the other side of the room and sneaked out. He couldn’t have gone far, you thought to yourself, when suddenly you were stopped by the sound of someone crying. And when you looked around a big tree you saw Frodo, sitting on the ground with his knees to his chest, tears in his big blue eyes, trying to stifle sobs that made your heart ache.
‘‘Frodo?’‘ you called out, placing a hand on his shoulder. Frodo’s head shot of and his eyes widened at the sight of you. Oh no, you were the last person he wanted to see him like this. He had a crush on you ever since you joined the fellowship in Rivendell. Eru, you must probably thing of him as a weakling. He wasn’t a strong warrior like you and he had already trouble carrying the ring and now you saw him crying and-
‘‘Frodo? Frodo! Are you okay?!’‘ Your frantic voice brought him back to reality again. Both your hands were on his shoulders now, an you had a worried look in your eyes.
‘‘No.’‘ he croaked, and that’s when he broke. Big tears fell down from his eyes as broken sobs left his throat, no matter how hard he tried to stop them. He felt embarrassed. You were his crush, he wanted to show you he was strong and brave, not pathetic and weak.
‘‘I’m sorry-’‘ he choked, ‘‘I don’t mean to be a burden.’‘ but you only shushed him and took him in your arms, placing a kiss between his brown curls.
‘‘It’s okay, Frodo. It’s okay to cry.’‘ you whispered, softly rubbing his back. It took a while for him to fully calm down, after which you both shared a moment of comfortable silence.
‘‘Do you want to talk about it?’‘ you asked, your arms still wrapped around him. He thought for a moment.
‘‘I can’t do this y/n,’‘ he let out a sigh, ‘‘this whole quest is just- and- and this horrible ring-, I know that I volunteered to take it to Mordor, and I want it destroyed, truly! But,’‘ he swallowed, ‘‘I’m starting to regret going on this quest. And now with Gandalf’s death-.’‘ But he got cut off by the upcoming tears, so instead he laid his head on your shoulder.
‘‘Will I ever see the Shire again?’’ he asked, and you turned to face him.
‘‘You will.’‘ you answered, and you continued;
‘‘Think of it like this. You know how when people die, people say they’ve run out of time? As if there is an hourglass or a clock ticking away the seconds? What if, instead of counting down the seconds, you count them up!’‘ Frodo looked at you, confusion written all over his face.
‘‘What do you mean?’‘
‘‘I mean it like this. Right this very moment, despite how dangerous this quest is, you are save. You can go to sleep, walk around, you can even do a handstand!’‘ and you stood up to do the latter, making him chuckle.
‘‘Right this very moment, you are safe. And look! Another second has passedl And a third, a fourth, and a fifth, and you are still okay!’‘ you took his hands in yours, a blush making it’s way to both of your faces.
‘‘Whenever you feel scared or worried about the future, just keep counting up the seconds. And I promise, Frodo Baggins, you will see the Shire again, and until then, I will be right by your side every step of the way.’‘
Then Frodo did something he hadn’t done in a very long time. He smiled. And oh, what you wouldn’t do to make him smile like that every moment of the day. But it quickly disappeared as he said;
‘‘You won’t be, though.’’ You frowned at that. Of course you were going to be there for him. He was your friend. You cared for him, loved him, even! But you weren’t going to tell him that just yet. Seeing your expression, Frodo quickly explained,
‘‘I spoke with lady Galadriel a little while ago. She told me about what would happen should this quest fail, and that to be a ring-bearer, is to be alone.’‘
‘‘Hmmm,’‘ you said, ‘‘I suppose that just shows that even the wisest can say stupid things sometimes.’‘ Frodo sputtered, did you truly just call the lady of light stupid?! You chuckled at his reaction.
‘‘It’s just that, if I were to be Sauron, i would want you to feel alone, because if it’s just you, you’re not that much of a threat.’‘ You smiled at him, which he happily returned. You helped him get up and led him back to your bedrolls, for tomorrow a long journey lay ahead of you. But, Frodo thought as he drifted off to sleep, as long as you were with him he’ll be alright. He’d just keep counting up the seconds until he got back home.
#frodo x reader#frodo baggins x reader#the hobbit x reader#lord of the rings x reader#lord of the rings#the hobbit#lotr#th#frodo#frodo baggins#frodo x you#the fellowship of the ring
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Ghost of You
A/N: Hello my lovelies! This was a pain in the ass to write and I kept going back and forth with ideas, but it’s done and it’s here!
Spencer x Fem!Reader
Soundtrack: Ghost of You - 5SOS
Warnings!: Mentions of Death, Alcohol Consumption, Mentions of drug use and relapse
Word Count: <1k (It’s a lil baby)
Masterlist
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My Dearest Y/N,
Waking up, for a split second, I feel peace. I just feel your warmth. But, my arm reaches over to your side of the bed and it all comes crashing down. I still can’t sleep on your side. It’s been so long, but your stuff is still just the same. I can’t bring myself to move it. Your favorite mug is still on your nightstand, but your lipstick stain is fading. I wish I could just hold you once more. I know people would probably see what I’m doing and find it pathetic. They would probably find me insane. Writing to someone who will never read it. But it’s my last connection to you. I wish I could just dream a bit longer. The nights where you come visit. If I could dream long enough, please just tell me I’ll be fine.
I’ve drank myself to sleep trying to block out the nightmares that still come. I know you hate when I drink. I’ve just felt so… empty. I can’t watch you leave me every night in that horrible nightmare. The night you slipped from my grasp, and it was all MY fault. I knew you were my angel on earth, but I didn’t mean for you to leave me so soon. You made my world so much brighter. I could see the worst things a human could do on a case, but coming home to your arms. Your kisses. Your cuddles. They could make even the darkest day fill with sunshine and warmth. You saved me. But I couldn’t save you.
I’ve known you for 20 years, but it doesn’t ever seem to be enough. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was the little shy boy with big glasses playing chess all alone. But you, a beautiful angel, came over and sat with me so I wouldn’t be alone. With your white sunflower dress and your big beautiful doe eyes. I didn’t know much then, but I know I loved you from that moment on. Somehow, you put up with me. You stuck by me as your best friend for 20 years. I’m lucky to have felt your love for the last 5. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it to the bureau. I wouldn’t have survived working late nights for 3 PhDs. You were always the light of my life. But you burnt out too soon. You shared so much light with others, you didn’t save any for yourself.
I tried cleaning up today. I let the apartment go since you were here. I came across some of your things. I found your old Zeppelin shirt. The one you wore when you ran from home to come with me. We were so young. It was so dumb. You had a whole life ahead of you back in Vegas. But you followed me, all through school. All the way to Quantico, just for me. We were so young. Too dumb to know things like love. But, I know better now. I keep thinking of what we’d be doing if you were still here. We’d probably be here, in our house. We’d be engaged now. Assuming you would have said yes. I’ve had a ring sat in my mess of a sock drawer for ages. I was planning on proposing that night. I had it all planned out. Rossi helped me plan the whole thing. I was going to take you out in his yard during the party, under the string of warm lights you loved. Your favorite flowers all around. Garcia had dibs on filming the whole thing just because she knew you’d love it. We could have spent our whole lives together. I keep thinking. If you hadn’t followed me. Hadn’t loved me, maybe you’d still be here.
Is life really worth living without you in it? I feel..lost. Sometimes, it feels like it’s not. It feels cold. Dark. Our one crack was my addiction. The one time I thought I lost you. But you helped me. But I almost fell back down that rabbit hole without you. But, that night I dreamt of you. You held my hand and told me it’d be okay. I didn’t relapse. I almost have. A few times now actually. I just can’t live in a world without you in it, Y/N. Why do the best people leave first? It’s hard to believe you just aren’t coming back. I don’t know that I would call ours love at first sight. However, our love was greater than any story I’ve ever read. That night, the one thing I work to protect you against is what took you away. Scratch, of all things in this world, took away the one thing that gave me hope. The one thing I swore to protect you from. I failed you, Y/N. I love you. Always and Forever.
But for now, I’m just dancing through our house, left with the Ghost of You.
Forever yours,
S.R.
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Tags: @timey-wimey-lovi @harrys-creature @spencer-reid-in-a-pool @redbullchick @etherealsxnder @samanddeanstolethetardis221b @blushingspencer @groovyreid @drspencr @sheerhotspace @reidetic @baubaby @elli-z4 @katherineisagubler @andiebeaword @dreatine
#httpnxtt#spencer reid angst#spencer reid#spencer x reader#Spencer Reid fic#Criminal Minds#fanfiction#criminal minds fanfiction#criminal minds angst
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For the dialogue prompt. If you are still taking them. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"
Hello, my dear! Thank you for the prompt! I hope you like it :)
“Don’t you dare walk away from me!”
Sansa cringes at the harsh command but is she really surprised? She’s been ridiculing him for nearly fifteen minutes straight, unconcerned with the presence of an outsider. Who talks to their sweetheart this way? Are they really sweethearts? They seem more like enemies begrudgingly meeting for peace talks. Robb had said she’d done the proposing which is fine but why has Jon agreed to marry her?
She doesn’t want to watch this but it’s hard to avoid considering the position she’s in, on her knees at the foot of Bridezilla. Sansa’s a seamstress and she’d agreed to make the dress alterations.
Unfortunately, she’s seen this before in her line of work. Some people really get a little too wrapped up in wedding hysteria and less desirable facets of their personality come out. She had hoped Robb’s old friend might’ve chosen better for himself but Sansa will admit she’s made some poor choices herself in the past.
At least, I never got close to walking down the aisle with Harry or Joffrey though.
She’s not so sure Jon will make it to the sept in six weeks either based on the way his jaw’s been clenched throughout this visit.
She has a good feel for these things by now. She’d not like his fiancée from the moment he’d introduced her and she predicts the marriage won’t last a year even if they make it through the wedding.
She can’t blame him for having had enough of this today. Better to walk out and cool off until she calms down and they can talk like adults maybe. The last time she’d witness a tantrum quite like this, Rickon had been three.
He pauses with his back to them, his shoulders slumped. She wishes he’d walk on through the door but knows he may very well bite his lip and turn around.
She won’t make you happy in the long run. I wouldn’t mind trying though.
Sansa bites at her own lip for that. She has no right to think such things. He’s engaged and she’s just the woman altering the wedding gown. Well, she’s more than that. He’s Robb’s old friend but maybe he’s her friend, too. He’s been coming around the flat a lot since they reconnected a couple of months ago. Still, he’s engaged. So what if he’s handsome and friendly and makes her smile like no other guy has in a long while?
“Jon Snow,” his bride-to-be says in a threatening tone, “if you walk out that door, we are through. Do you hear me?”
He turns and Sansa tries to mask her sigh, certain he’s giving in. But his eyes aren’t on the woman in yards of ivory lace. They’re on her.
“I’m sorry for you having to witness this, Sansa, and I’ll compensate you for your work.” His eyes flicker up to the woman he was planning to marry with a cold look. “I hear you and we’re through. I’m definitely done with this farce of a relationship. You can keep the ring if you like but I won’t be marrying you.” He then turns around and walks out the door.
Stunned, Sansa’s face flushes embarrassment on behalf of them both but a small little part of that flush might be a wicked little jolt of…something. She’s probably horrible for feeling pleased by this and by the fact that he spoke to her first.
Several seconds pass before Bridezilla gasps with shock. Apparently, it took that long for it to sink in that he actually left and what his words mean.
“I’ll just, um…” Furious. There’s no other word for the glare she receives and Sansa nearly recoils in fear. “I’ll give you the room,” Sansa murmurs before standing.
But before she can scurry to her sewing room in the back and hope that Jon Snow’s fiancée ex-fiancée will be gone when she returns (even if she’s still wearing a wedding dress with dozens of pins in the hem), Bridezilla says, “He never shuts up about you.”
“I…what?”
She says nothing else, just shoves her way past Sansa and leaves without another word and Sansa’s left there to agonize over those words all afternoon…but not indefinitely.
“I knew it was a mistake,” Jon tells her later right before closing time when he comes back with his checkbook and a lemon cake for her from her favorite bakery.
“Then, why were you doing it?” Sansa asks, failing to completely contain her moan as she takes her first bite after waving off his money. “Gods, this is good.”
He grins, his dark eyes flashing at that moan, damn him. Then, he considers his answer to her question. “I don’t know. Clearly, I know nothing just like she always tells me.”
“That’s not true. You know stuff, Jon.”
“Thanks. I guess we’d been together for a good while and, when she asked me to get married, I thought maybe that would make things better again…more like they were at the start.”
“Things haven’t been good for a while then?”
“No, it’s been a bad six months. Maybe longer. I’d been on the verge of suggesting a break right before she popped the question but hesitated because…” He scrubs at his beard.
“Because?”
“I feel like a coward but she gets so angry and hateful.”
“Yikes. I had a boyfriend like that once.” His eyes narrow dangerously, nearly making her laugh. “Over a long time ago but I’m sorry for you. It can be difficult walking away. I don’t think you’re a coward. Sooner or later, you managed to break it off.”
“Yeah. Anyway, thanks for listening to me.” He starts to rise from where he’s been sitting beside her in the quiet shop but then pauses and slowly takes her hand. “Sansa, I just want you to know that seeing you again after all these years and hanging out together has been, um…special to me.”
‘He never shuts up about you.’ She swallows hard. “Me, too.” I never shut up about you either. Hadn’t Jeyne teased her about that other day?
He gives her a sheepish grin, releasing her hand. “I’d better go.”
She nods but then can’t help but ask, “Did you have some place to be tonight?”
“Not really. I mean, I suppose I’d better find out how much of my stuff has been thrown out on the sidewalk.”
“Oof. Do you need a place to stay?”
What is she doing? He just broke up with his fiancée. He’ll need time and inviting him to stay is too forward perhaps. He’s a friend. I wouldn’t want him alone in some motel or whatever tonight.
“Thanks but I didn’t give up my apartment. I guess that might’ve been my subconscious wanting to keep a way out.”
Probably so. She doesn’t say it. “Well, if you’re hungry and want to watch me eat something other than lemon cake, you could come by for dinner.” His eyes widen and she panics. “I mean, anytime. Not tonight…unless you…whenever. Sometime soon maybe.” Gods, she’s feeling like an idiot.
But he doesn’t look at her like she’s an idiot. He looks pleased. “I may take you up on that sometime soon.”
And, he does.
Dinner together a week later and then the following week. It becomes a weekly habit, dinner with Jon Snow. Jeyne’s still teasing her but she says they’re just friends. He still needs time and they might need time to be more.
Maybe not too long though.
Before long, he’s over more often than he’s not and maybe things are changing between them. The rediscovered friendship and the tenuous other thing between them is blossoming and Sansa couldn’t be happier.
And one night, a two months after he would’ve been a married man, Jon shows up at her apartment with a lemon cake and a bottle of wine and she knows tonight would be a good night to cross that boundary from friendship to more.
He’d offered to clean up the kitchen after dinner so she’d slipped off to her room, the wine giving her a boost of courage. There’s no mistaking the fire in his eyes lately when they’re alone but he’s held back from making a move. Sansa thinks he needs a little push.
She emerges from the bedroom wearing something considerably slinkier than the flannel pajama bottoms and comfy tees she usually wears when they settle on her couch to watch movies on nights like this.
“Sansa…”
His eyes are round and his mouth keeps moving but no other words come out. He’s looking her up and down. He gulps and his mouth starts moving again with no words. It’s pretty damn cute…until he turns away towards the door.
“Jon?” Her chin starts to tremble. Has she misread everything so badly? Is he not interested in the things she’s interested in? Is he going to leave her standing here when she’s never said one hateful thing to him?
Don’t you dare walk away from me.
She almost sobs those words until he shoots a mischievous grin over his shoulder and her lips are immediately quirking into an answering one, all her insecurities flying away like sparks from a bonfire.
That mischievous grin becomes a smoldering look when he’s standing half way between her kitchen and the hallway. “I’m just going to make sure your front door’s locked, sweetheart.”
“My front door?”
“Yeah.” His voice drops into a husky tone smooth as fine liquor and just as heady. “Because once I kiss you, I don’t plan on stopping and I promise you’ll have a very hard time getting rid of me.”
She has no desire to ever get rid of him.
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