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wordsarelife · 6 months ago

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⛧༺ NO BODY, NO CRIME ༻⛧

EPISODE 01: dinner and a glass of wine

pairing: theo nott x potter!reader

summary: the christmas holidays have just begun, but still a threatening atmosphere lies in the air and suddenly, you find yourself at a crime scene

warnings: extremely big trigger warning for the whole series, in this chapter: mentions of blood, a corpse, (small) jump-scare

note: hello guys, welcome to the first episode of no body, no crime!! i’m so excited for this series and hope you enjoy it as much as i do!! the next episode is coming out next monday!! let me know what you think in the comments <333

the soft tunes of christmas music filled the air around you. the great hall was less filled than normal, most of the students deciding to go home for the holidays.

"can you pass me the potatoes, please?" ron's red hair was illuminated by the soft glow of the fairylights behind him. the auburn sweater he was wearing was highlighting the contrast even more.

"here" hermione said, holding the bowl across the table, as ron eagerly grabbed it.

"where's ginny?" harry muttered. he had his nose buried in a book about quidditch techniques you had bought in hogsmeade. he had been busy studying it all night, but apparently not busy enough to not notice ginny's absence.

"she's sitting with luna" you pointed out, as your eyes glided along the slytherin table. ginny and her had grown closer since the beginning of the year and you had to admit that you had quickly taken a liking to the blonde girl. she was a bit strange, admittedly, but lovely none the less.

"she's been busy all year" ron muttered, mouth filled to the brim. "seems like we've gotten too boring for her"

"allow your sister to have her own friends" hermione shoke her head. "and for gods sake, please close your mouth, ronald."

despite the approaching festivity, the atmosphere in the hall was eerie. maybe because only a few people were sitting at eachs house table, making the hall seem weirdly out of place.

the slytherin table was by far the emptiest. probably because most purblooded and traditional wizard families made a hail mary out of everything that would allow a party, showing off their wealth and status.

the only thing that contradicted this assumption was that several children from the most influential pureblood families had chosen to stay. your gaze swept across the table, taking in each one in turn.

draco malfoy, displaying a usual attitude of displeasurement. you guessed that the malfoys weren't the people to listen to christmas music around the holidays.

next to him, blaise zabini, who was munching on a mouth full portion of potatoes just like ron was.

across from them and her back facing the rest of the hall, including your line of sight, pansy parkinson. her perfect cut bob of black hair moving slightly everytime she turned her head to the side, as she attentively listened to what draco was telling her.

a few feet away, mattheo riddle and lorenzo berkshire were quietly discussing something. it looked somewhat urgent, as both of them leaned over the table top, and not even mattheo, whose face you could see, wore his usual smirk.

just before you were able to wonder about his absence, you noticed theo nott walk into the hall. he looked just like always, messy curls falling onto his forehead, dark circles under his eyes and that face, that made every thought in your head disappear.

not that you liked any of them, but theo had always been your favorite. he was a true slytherin. cunning, loyal and determined. even though he had reason enough, there was no arrogant bone in his body.

you had liked him from the first time you had talked to him last year, when snape had coupled you up for a potions project. he had not even been as pretentious as you had thought he was, considering he was always hanging around malfoy.

but theo was nice, actually nice.

"hello?" ron's voice was so sudden, you knocked over the cup of pumpkin juice beside you.

hermione cleaned the juice off of the table with a simple flick of her wand, as she rolled her eyes at your distractedness.

"what?" you wondered.

"the cookies, please?" ron smiled and your expression turned sour when you noticed the pieces of potatoe stuck between his teeth.

you nodded nonetheless and grabbed the plate of decorated christmas cookies. you took one for yourself, a delicious looking christmas tree, before you planted the whole plate in front of ron, knowing that he was gonna take one cookie after the other anyway.

"i think we're good company" harry said, and while you weren't exactly sure what he was talking about, you nodded.

"obviously we are"

"i mean, she could've brought luna along, right?" he closed the quidditch book with a thud and crossed his arms.

"ehh" you muttered. you were saved by the loud sound of the door, that flew open and revealed professor burbage. she walked up to the teachers table in a hurry, quickly excusing her late arrival, before she sat down next to dumbledore.

you noticed the look of worry on her face and wondered what she was thinking about.

“what’s gotten into her?” hermione asked and you were glad someone else had noticed the professor’s strange behaviour.

“everyone is stressed around christmas, right?” ron muttered without an ounce of interest.

“i’m sure that’s it” harry nodded, glad that he could now shift the conversation back to it’s initial topic. “so, about ginny—“

“you’re mentioning her an awful lot, harry” you joked, enjoying how your brother’s face lost all it’s colour and his eyes darted between ron and you quickly. ron hadn’t even noticed the implication, if he had even listened to you in the first place.

you could read the boredom from the redheads face as he rearranged the cookie plate, until it showed a little scene with a christmas tree, huge presents and two happy gingerbread men.

you tuned the conversation out too, as harry continued to speak. you decided that it was hermiones turn to listen now.

you rather turned your head to look at theo once more, who looked up at the very same time, probably feeling eyes on him. but he didn’t look in your direction, but to the teachers table. you furrowed your brows, before you followed his line of sight, your eyes ultimately landing on professor burbage. she looked just as worried as before, as she hectically looked between theo and something clutched in her hand.

you looked back to theo, who simply rolled his eyes, averting his gaze from the teacher and focusing back on the untouched food beside him. draco muttered something in theo’s direction and the latter barely reacted, managing only a weak smile, before his focus was gone again.

you sighed, deciding you had spent enough time with your friends to leave without feeling bad. “i think i’m gonna head to bed” you smiled, standing up.

“oh” hermione simply noted. “should i accompany you?”

you shook your head, “i’ll be fine”. her offer was nice, but you wanted to be alone for some time. it was especially during times like these, that you most missed what other people had: a real family. you still had harry and your friends, but it was different from what you sometimes wished for.

“i’ll see you guys tomorrow” you waved. ron, mouth filled to the brim, only waved back to your relief and harry nodded, muttering something about a game of chess ginny had promised.

you headed out of the hall just a mere second later, pulling your sweater over your head, that you had taken off in the hall, because of the brizzling warmth of the fireplace at your back. you took the usual route to the tower. it was the place you often spend time at whenever you wanted to be alone.

the stairs creaked loudly beneath each step you took, indicating how old the whole structure was. you walked across the wooden beams, leaning your body over the railing as you breathed in the cold of the air and your eyes wandered across the snow beneath you.

it was so calm up here, so silent.. until. the wood creaked loudly, indicating steps coming up towards you. your heart began beating faster, debating who could be coming up here. you had never ran across someone else at the tower.

maybe it was harry? you stepped closer to the stairs, expecting your brothers dark and messy hair to peak from the entrance, but it wasn’t harry who then stepped onto the plattform across from you.

“hey” theo nott muttered, hands pushed into the pockets of his pants while he looked at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

“hey” you said, just as neutral. you tried to act casual, as he walked closer and you followed him back to the middle of the plattform, awkwardly standing next to each other.

theo fished out a cigarette from his pocket. “is this okay?” he asked, pointing between the two of you.

you furrowed your brows, confused what he was talking about, before you realized that he was probably asking about your permission to keep you company. “sure” you nodded and the lightened his cigarette.

“you smoke?” he asked, holding the burning cigarette in your direction as if to offer you a blow.

you shoke your head, although you had to admit that it was intruiging to take a drag when a boy with such blue eyes was the one offering it.

“do you come here often?” you asked softly, deciding it was more awkward to just stare at him in silence.

“sometimes” theo shrugged. “they get exhausting, my friends i mean”

“yeah, mine too” you nodded.

“wouldn’t have held you for a person that particuarly likes to be alone” theo muttered, before he turned his head, blowing the smoke out from his lips, without it hitting you. you appreciated the gesture.

“it gets too much, sometimes” you shrugged. “i don’t mind to be alone”

“then you probably mind my company, huh?” he smirked, looking into your eyes with a deep kind of sincerity.

“not at all” you shook your head, mirroring the smirk on his lips. “although i would prefer malfoy”

“oh shut up” theo laughed, his eyes glistening, almost surprised at the sudden joke. you felt proud that you had made him laugh, even if you had to mention malfoy.

“i’m so sincere right now” you giggled, both of you not believing a word you were saying.

theo threw down his cigarette, stomping on it, before he let it disappear with a flick of his wand. he looked up at you and opened his mouth, about to return a witty remark, when a loud bang rang out.

you both froze at the sound, the laughter abruptly cut off as the echo of the bang bounced off the stone walls. the great hall felt miles away in that moment, and the air thickened with tension. theo’s playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a look of concern.

“what was that?” you whispered, instinctively taking a step closer to him. the sudden shift from light-hearted banter to fear sent a shiver down your spine.

“the door” theo muttered in recognition. the tower was right on top of the entryway to the castle. now that you thought about it, the bang did sound awfully like a heavy door falling close.

“who would even go out there now?” you wondered, your heart still beating fast as the shock settled into your features.

“i don’t know” theo stepped away and closer to the staircase. “are you coming or what?”

you quickly nodded, as you followed him back down and through the corridor, before you froze in front of the door.

“maybe it was the wind” you suggested, though the tremor in your voice betrayed your uncertainty.

theo raised an eyebrow, a hint of skepticism dancing in his gaze. “you really believe that?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, his posture relaxed but his expression alert.

“well, it’s possible,” you replied, though you didn’t sound convinced. the notion felt flimsy in the wake of the unsettling noise, and the creeping feeling of dread wasn’t fading.

“possible, sure,” he replied, “but it sounded too loud for the wind. we need to check it out. it could be something... important.”

your heart raced again, this time from a mix of fear and curiosity. “important? like what?” you asked, biting your lip.

“i don’t know,” he admitted, glancing back at the heavy wooden door. “but don’t you think we should at least look? it might be someone in trouble.”

you hesitated, looking back down the corridor where you could see flickers of light from the torches along the walls. “but what if it’s something dangerous?” you countered, feeling a rush of apprehension.

“better to know than to wonder,” he said, his tone serious yet gentle. there was a spark of determination in his eyes, and you found yourself drawn to his confidence. despite the risk, the thought of turning back felt more frightening than facing whatever lay beyond the door.

theo looked back at you once more, before he sighed and nodded, pushing the heavy door open. what revealed itself was the dark of the night, as snow fell into the entrance you were standing in, quickly cooling your face.

“it’s too dark” theo noted. both of you took out your wands, using lumos to light the way. theo urged you to follow him. the snowfall was so heavy, that even the light of your wands did almost nothing.

theo was just a few steps beside you, when you felt it. “theo” you whispered, as your body and heart froze simultaneously. “theo” you repeated, a bit louder. you could see the light of theo’s wand come closer again. he had heard you.

“are you alright?”

you shook your head, what he probably couldn’t see. you could only make out his body. “there is something there”

“what do you mean?”

“i’m feeling it against my foot” you muttered. “there is something on the ground. i’ll have to come closer to make out what it is”

“be careful” theo held you hand to stabilize your body, as you kneeled down, moving the light of your wand across the object on the ground in front of you. it was dark, black robes, hiding something beneath them. but you just couldn’t make out what it was.

then suddenly, you gasped in shock. your light glided over a face, mouth, nose dripping blood. wide eyes, opened in terror as they stared at you unmoving. you screamed, falling back into the snow, as theo surged forward, trying to catch you.

“y/n!” he called, panic rising in his voice as you struggled to breathe, your heart racing wildly “what’s wrong? what is it?”

“professor burbage” you muttered, over and over again.

“what?” theo leaned in closer, still holding onto you, his face drained of color.

“she’s dead!” you choked out, voice trembling, eyes fixed on the professor’s face, still staring up at you, frozen in her final moment of horror.

you heard theo gasp, his own breath faltering for a moment as he processed what lay before you both. without another word, he pulled you to your feet, wrapping an arm around you to support your shaking body. “we have to go,” he muttered, his voice tight with fear. with one hand, he held his wand forward, the dim light flickering in the swirling snow, while the other held onto you as you stumbled back toward the door.

the last thing you saw as the heavy door closed behind you was professor burbage’s body, half-buried in the snow, her lifeless eyes still staring, as if warning you of something far worse to come.

go to the next part

taglist: @melsunshine @shereadsandcries @ch3rry-lips @the-sylver-dragon @mayamonroem @allurearia @prongsprincessworld @brokenpoetliz @winterbarnesblog @mysummerwinesblog @cowboy-luvr @ahead-fullofdreams @mietlynn @maxsisly @too-efn-old-to-be-here @reverse-soe @insideoutjulie @thestrawberrythatgotaway @dvartesgfs @chimchoom @eggsysstuff @uku-lelevillain @lexi2005

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arosesstorm · 9 months ago

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wreathe ; sebastian sallow

words count: long read

fem reader! x Sebastian Sallow

warning: jealous Sebastian

summary: Sebastian looks like her bestfriend under the sunlight, but as soon as the night comes the lines get blurry and everyone's obvious to it.

part one, I guess?

English is not my first language, trying my best, enjoy :)

Sebastian was known for being a charmer and a good learner; people whispered about his ability in dueling and his look was praised by many.

He had a habit of breaking the rules and he was stubborn, as much as it was allowed.

What most people didn’t know about him though was that the boy had in fact scares so deep, every once in a while they started to bleed.

And god was Sebastian Sallow hot headed.

"Ominis!" You couldn’t help but wrap your arms around the boy’s neck as soon as you saw him.

"I missed you" you whispered into the boy’s chest, his arms slowly holding you closer.

"Well well, isn’t this our very own savior" the boy muttered smiling.

After everything that had happened the year prior, Ominis had been a constant in your life; exchanging letters almost every day over summer, the two of you had met up to hang out a few times too.

He used to tell you about his family issues while you confessed yours.

Your bond became so strong you felt he was the brother you never had.

"Y/n!" You turned your head just in time to see Anne sprint your way and wrap her arms around your torso.

"Anne" you smiled, embracing her, "it’s good to see you".

She looked good, you couldn’t help but notice, her cheeks were pink, and she seemed to have gained a few pounds too; she was surely looking much better than the last time you had saw her.

"I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back, even if I have a load of work to catch up to", a breath and then a whisper: "uncle Solomon won’t admit it but he’s happy he is finally alone".

Anne left your side then to crush into Ominis.

That’s when your eyes had met his.

"No hugs for me?" The boy had asked, with that same playful tone you’ve grown to love.

If possible, your smile grew bigger.

"Sebastian" you mumbled, letting the brunette cage you in a hug.

Sebastian had always been your light in your time at Hogwarts: with all the fights, the heartbreak and the laughters he had somehow guided you through your first year in the magical world.

Sticking by his side at first felt natural, like you two were somehow tied together; that was, until you grew attached and your new best friend felt more like a man to you.

Everyone knew: you, Sebastian and Ominis were a solid trio, when you were looking for one you always found the other two nearby.

But this year, with the newfound health of Anne since the death of Lockwood, your trio was about to become a quartet and you were somehow excited.

"How have you been?" You whispered in Sebastian’s ear, his nose brushing against your hair as he muttered back: "Good, kinda missed you".

"Come on guys! We’re gonna be late!" Anne was excitedly pushing you towards the great hall before you could protest.

Back in your seats, with Sebastian’s shoulder brushing against yours, you realized how affected you actually were by his presence.

This year was going to be a long one…

The morning after, you woke up to an excited Anne walking around the room putting on her robes as she was chased by Imelda’s harsh insults.

"Please shut up" the brunette pleaded as the Sallow girl kept on rumbling how exciting this whole journey was going to be.

"It’s first day, can you guys believe it?" She squitted, disappearing into the Common room, leaving you two behind.

"I swear if she doesn’t calm down".

When you saw the girl again you couldn’t help but notice her bright eyes as she was laughing with Ominis at the Breakfast table.

"Goodmorning" you spoke, approaching your friends, sliding swiftly beside Sebastian.

"Good morning to you" the boy spoke, gently brushing your shoulder once you were seated.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Ah! They were vexing me" Sebastian spoke "it is fortunate you came to rescue me".

"Oh Sallow, how many times will I have to save your ass?"

Anne chuckled out loud as Sebastian let out a scoff "nevermind, you’re even worse than them"

Before heading to your first lesson of the day, Charms, you passed by the Gryffindor table, hoping to see the friends you still haven’t had the opportunity to meet.

"Natty!"

The girl turned around with a smile, "y/n! How have you been? Did you receive my owl?"

"I very much did, thank your granny for those cookies, they were amazing".

"Which cookies? And why didn’t I get any?" Garreth’s voice rose from beside natty as you aknolowged the boy.

His red hair were longer and his shoulders broader, it was hard to tell since he was seated, but you could definetly say he had grown up.

"Shut up, Garreth" Natty had dismissed the boy as you left the table.

Ominis was waiting for you at the entrance as you both left to class.

That night, seated by the fire in your common room, you were reading a book while Anne was making small conversation with Imelda.

You didn’t know how the conversation led to it, but Grreth’s name was brought up, Imelda noticing how much the ginger had grown over summer, pointing out he would have made a fine beater.

"You were talking to him this morning, weren’t you y/n?"

Your attention was suddenly brought back to the present.

"Yes", "could there be something tender?" Imelda smirked as your nose left the pages to focus on the conversation.

"Obviously not" you had replied, to which Anne softly smiled, "Imelda, quiet down, people are gonna hear us".

"You’re no fun" she had replied, changing topic.

That night, as you lied in bed, you kept on asking yourself if in fact you were somehow charmed by Weasley, or any boy for that matter and the answer came like a whisper, so soft you couldn’t hear it either.

"Who do you think is gonna make team this year?" Anne had asked, walking with you, Omins and Sebastian to Hogsmade.

"Why do you suddenly care about Quidditch?" Sebastian had asked.

"I haven’t seen a game in ages!" She replied stern.

The bickering between twins bringing a smile to your face as you locked your arm with Ominis, "hey you".

While the twins bickering fell into the background, Ominis turned to you "what about this thing with Weasley?"

"Ominis!" You scolded suddenly, taken aback by his comment, "how do you know?"

Ominis scrolled his shoulders "so it is true? You fancy him?"

"Who fancies whom?" Sebastian had token a step forward, suddenly intrigued by your discussion with Omins as you held the blond boy’s arm tighter, that was enough of an answer for him.

"Oh nobody, just stupid chatters" the boy dismissed before Sebastian could investigate further.

The thought of you fancying someone hunted the boy for the rest of the day, even when the night had quieted the chatter down and everyone went to sleep.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it, so he left the warmth of his bedsheets, putting on a green and silver jumper and disappearing into the corridors.

Making his way to the common room Sebastian was surprised to see someone else there.

Their head was stuck in a book and their legs curled up onto the couch.

He had recognized right away the silhouette and he felt like smiling.

You had escaped your room that night, determined to finish the book you had been reading.

It didn’t startle you when you felt a weight pop beside you on the couch, instead you couldn’t help but smile when Sebastian lowered the book from your hands, meeting your gaze.

"Come back to me, will you?" He had whispered chuckling.

"I was just about to find out where the main character had disappeared to" you answered, your smile betraying your fake annoyance.

Sebastian chuckled again, his gaze shifting towards the fire.

"Couldn’t sleep?" You asked then, your gaze worried.

The boy hummed.

This scene had happened so many times already: the boy sadly confessing the pain of his sister’s illness to you, in the dark of the common room, only allowing himself to be vulnerable in your presence.

But this time, this time his sister was better, sleeping peacefully upstairs and you were there, with your eyes sleepy and your skin warm.

So Sebastian found himself smiling as he looked your way.

Your arm was resting on the back of the couch as it held your heavy head up, you were facing him, your breathing softly pleasant.

"Do you really fancy someone?" The boy found himself ask, suddenly.

You chuckled, looking at him playfully.

"Why?" You had asked.

"Just curious, you never told me you liked someone".

"It’s not- it’s Imelda starting stupid rumors to see me flustered, that’s all" you reassure.

He could finally relax, his back meeting the cushions as his fingers traveled to your leg.

"You want to finish the book, don’t you?"

"It’s fine" you laughed, but Sebastian didn’t buy it.

"Come on, finish it, I’ll keep you company".

It was hard to focus back on the story, with his hand tracing small circles above your bare leg, but it became quickly a gentle caress as you kept on reading.

It was ten minutes later when you started to get sleepier.

"Seb" you muttered closing the book, the boy humming while looking at you.

"We should get some sleep".

"Maybe we should"

Neither of you making the move to leave.

"I’m comfy" you admit laughing softly.

"Let’s not leave yet, then" he spoke.

The fire was cracking in the background when you shifted, moving closer to the boy, your head now resting on his shoulder as you fell into the warmth of his body.

Sebastian held his hand firmer on your leg now, helping you get closer, as he rested his head on top of yours.

"Would you tell me?" He asked then.

"Tell you what?"

"If you fancied someone, would you tell me?"

"Yes Sebastian, if I’ll ever find someone pleasant enough, I promise I will tell you first".

Four weeks had passed since the start of term and with October approaching the air had got chillier and the days shorter.

You had spent the last three hours in the library, making a research for a new species of mimbulus mimbletonia, something professor Sharp believed to be absolutely essential and you were ready to hide into the comfort of your room and fall asleep.

"Y/n!"

Your eyes travelled the room till they settled on the young man dressed in red and gold making his way towards you.

"Hey, Garreth"

"Hey" he smiled softly, "were you headed to your common room?"

"Yes"

"Mind if I accompany you?"

"Hu? Ah no, you can come".

You and the boy left the library, heading for the dungeons.

"I was wondering if you had a spere hour tomorrow morning? If I can be honest with you I’m not keeping up well with Onai’s crap about tea leaves".

You couldn’t help but slip a laugh.

"So now you’re laughing at me?" a playful smile plastered on his lips.

"No, no, I’m sorry."

You turned to your right, Garrett following behind as you started to walk down the stairs.

"I have a free hour right after breakfast, sounds good?".

Garreth’s smile widened "sound lovely to me".

"What is it that you fail to get about the art of predicting catastrophes?" You teased as the boy stroke his neck.

"I seem to prefer to see only the bright side"

Letting out a stern chuckle you jumped the last step, the sliver snake appearing on the wall as you turned around to face the ginger.

"First lesson: there are no bright sings in divination".

You herd someone caugh as you turned around, Sebastian was lying by the door, his eyes locked onto you.

"Goodnight, Garreth" you spoke as you made your way into the Slytherin common room.

Garreth looking at you disappear before Sebastian followed inside and the door turned to be a wall again.

"Escorted by Weasley, huh?"

The sound of the water fountain running in your ears as you made your way downstairs with Sebastian.

"It seems so" you had replied distracted, something that sent Sebastian’s soul on fire.

As soon as you stepped into the common room, Imelda’s voice rose up.

"So I was right? Weasley boy for the win?"

You scoffed and Sebastian felt his body go still.

Were you really going out with that loser?

He didn’t know how much it bothered him, until the following day, at breakfast as he was talking about something funny that happened in his class you excused yourself, mumbling you had to meet up with someone.

Of course, that someone was Weasley and of course, as impulsive as he was, he was tempted to follow you.

"Sebastian" Ominis had called, sensing the shifting of his robes, "please don’t do it".

Sebastian had scoffed then, returning to his place, violently eating was was left in his plate.

He had time to calm down until he saw you again: your shoulders were moving up and down softly as you rested your head on a potion’s book, peacefully swimming into sleep.

It felt like his anger disappeared for a second as he pulled a chair close to yours, his own head resting on the table as he looked at you.

He stole a few glances at your harmless form, before squeezing your shoulder softly.

He felt like choking when you softly smiled at him as soon as you your eyes opened.

"Sebastian" you spoke, a voice so soft he thought he had never heard something more adorable in his life.

"Why are you resting your head on the table?" You had asked then, to which Sebastian smiled.

"I heard this is were we take naps" the boy teased as you shifted softly, a strand of hair falling into your eyes.

Sebastian’s finger brushed it off softly, moving a strand behind your ear, discovering your face once again.

That gesture might have woken you up suddenly because you jumped on your seat, quickly collecting your things.

"Oh god, I really fell asleep!"

"Hey, hey, calm down there, will you?"

But your panic only increased as you saw what time it was.

"I was supposed to meet Garrett half an hour ago!"

"Garret? Again?"

"Yes, we didn’t get to finish this morning"

If he had known that waking you up would have resulted in you leaving him behind for Weasley, he would have much preferred watching you sleep.

Sebastian got up at the same time as you, his anger coming back to him in waves, "does Weasley really need your help?".

You looked taken aback "yes, he has told me himself he needs help in divination".

Sebastian chuckled darkly, "and he asked you?"

"Are you saying I’m not competent enough?" Your demeanour suddenly changed and Sebastian witnessed as your soft aura started to tint black.

He knew this side of you, he had seen it one to many times and it didn’t scare him, in fact, it fascinated him.

The fire in your eyes was matched now, as Sebastian grew taller.

"I’m saying you wouldn’t be the first person that pops into my mind".

You scoffed then, holding the books closer to your chest, pride filling your lungs.

"How about you leave the adults to study and mind your business?"

"The adults?"

"Yes you child"

You tried to turn away from him then, but the boy wouldn’t let you go far.

"Hey! Don’t turn your back on me while I’m talking!"

"You’re not talking Sebastian, you’re behaving like a five years old"

"Said the one who can’t finish a conversation like two mannered people!"

Your eyes got bigger "are you saying I’m not well mannered either?"

A sigh escaped your lips "listen Sallow-"

"Sallow?"

"That’s still your name isn’t it?"

"Thought you preferred to call me something else".

That unusual use of words didn’t go unheard from you, as you stared deep into the boy’s orbits.

"Careful there, Sallow, you sound almost-"

"Almost what?" The brunette challenged you.

You felt your blood boil as a voice raised from the students around"get a room!" Someone yelled out.

"Shut it!" You both replied, parting ways, boiling inside, holding hands with pride.

"She’s so stubborn!" Sebastian huffed.

"Mh what a news" Omins mumbled.

"It’s just, do you even think she’s good in divination?"

Ominis did seem startled by the question, but he answered nonetheless.

"I mean, is there a thing y/n is not good at?"

Sebastian couldn’t answer as he sighed flustered.

"He’s a nightmare Anne!" Y/n complained pacing back and forward into their room.

The twin of her best friend, who was at the moment an annoying prick, was resting on her bed, trying to take care of a strange purple plant.

The Sallow girl hummed, listening to her friend rumble.

"He practically attacked me! Saying I’m incompetent? After everything I did?"

"You know he doesn’t think that about you" Anne scolded.

"But he said it! The way he was looking at me Anne, I felt like jinxing him on the spot!"

The twin left a chuckle, "you know he’s protective of you y/n".

Y/n fell into the bed, her hands tight knots as she sighed flustered, "the way that boy riles me up!"

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likesdoodling · 1 year ago

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I wanted to draw something from Coil (the sequel to Magic and Mystery by Allegory_for_Hatred) and I also wanted to do something with really dramatic lighting~

So I did this.

Btw. Would highly recommend this fic. It is. Amazing. Magic and Mystery and Coil are two of my favourite bsd fics. Basic premise?

Dazai goes to hogwarts.

Yeah!

The writing is just really cool.

#Coil #sequel to #magic and mystery #by #allegory for hatred #ye #dazai osamu #bsd fanart #bsd hogwarts au #yeye #dazai fanart #coil fanart #bungou stray dogs

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marmotish · 3 days ago

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This might be too obvious, but x files Chester and Freyja AU 👀👀 Chester is the scully of the duo, has absolutely encountered supernatural/magic in his day-to-day but is like nah the science just doesn’t add up (my boy you HAVE A WIZARD HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE) whereas Mulder Freyja is like yeah the aliens mythical magical creatures kidnapped my brother and I would do anything to get him back but also the creatures are kinda based ngl

F: “Although multidimensionality suggests infinite outcomes in an infinite number of universes, each universe can only produce one outcome.”

C: “…I was 23 when I wrote that.”

The FBI’s most Unwanted is one of only two British expats in the Bureau so of course they assigned the only other one to babysit her.

#hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #freyja young #chester davies #ask #anonymous #x files au #au tag #I have no idea what the British equivalent of the fbi is - probably MI-something but I just chucked them in the FBI anyway #because it’s funnier that the only two made to work in the FBI’s basement are the only two British expats in the bureau 😂

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miko1357 · 9 months ago

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MAGIC AND MYSTERY/COIL FANS PLS TALK TO ME 💔

#bsd #bsd art #bungo stray dogs fanart #chibi art #bsd fanart #chibi #digital art #digital drawing #bsd dazai #bungou stray dogs #magic and mystery #coil #bsd fanfic #magic and mystery Dazai #hogwarts au #dazai fanart #dazai #dazai osamu

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magicalbunbun · 9 months ago

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There's a game called Hogwarts Mystery where we can actually date someone in some of the side quests.

There's a Ravenclaw student named Andre who help the player design the outfit.

Would him and Y/n(the one who based on Rarity) get along?

Here's a video for this btw

No, because y/n won't fell in love with anybody, of he did that would mean y/n is doing that for a plan.

We can call him Aromantic

Even snape would call him a red flag, oh and have a small respect for andre..

#hogwarts x reader #hogwarts oc #harry potter snape #hp x you #hp x reader #hp x male reader #hp x y/n #Aromantic #harry potter x reader #harry potter au #harry potter #hogwarts mystery

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ariparri · 1 year ago

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New Ace of Clubs

So some of you are aware that the former Ace of Clubs has been removed. If you're not aware, you can read this post to get updated.

I'll be making a new Ace of Clubs. I haven't figured out what character to use just yet, but if I don't have a character for that role by the end of the month someone can nominate their MC.

If you're interested in having your MC as the Ace of Clubs please refer to the Clubs description from the Cardverse Masterlist pinned in my blog masterpost.

Update: Liz most likely will take the role as new Ace of Clubs.

But others are more than welcomed to join the AU!

#hphm cardverse info #hphm cardverse #hphm au #hogwarts mystery au #hogwarts mystery #hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery

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darkmarkmarauder · 2 months ago

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Caveat - T.R.

!warning!minorsdni

Summary: Past curfew, the Three Broomsticks buzzes with laughter and firewhiskey-fueled mischief—but you don’t care. You live to provoke, especially when it comes to Tom Riddle. Dressed to turn heads, you push his patience to the limit, daring him to react. And when he finally does, his attention locked on you and well, isn’t that exactly what you wanted?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐠𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 ��𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐰, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐘/𝐍.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫, 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬—𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚, 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔—𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬. 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞—𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐘/𝐍 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠?” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝. “𝐀 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞. 𝐎𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭?”

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆.”

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬. “𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦. “𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧.”

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬.

𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. “𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐠—𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. “𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭. “𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.”

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞. 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥.

𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝. “𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞.”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝. 𝑳𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒅. “𝐎𝐡, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐦. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐞.”

𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬. “𝐍𝐨?” 𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧?”

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

“𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫. 𝐇𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐒𝐨, 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐚𝐰. 𝐎𝐟 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝑻𝒐𝒎 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒈 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞.

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐠𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝒉𝒊𝒔.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬.

𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫—𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅.

𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐲. 𝐀 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤—𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩, 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐘/𝐍’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐤, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞—𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦—𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧. 𝐀 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩, 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔—𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠.

“𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. “𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦—𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨.

𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐧.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬. “𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡. “𝐍𝐨?”

𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐡, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. “𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭.”

𝐘/𝐍’𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝. “𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞.”

𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫—𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧. “𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞. “𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞—𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅.

“𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞.

𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.”

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬.

“𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐤, 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞��𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐀 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭, 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝—𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.” 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩.

𝐘/𝐍 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫.” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭—𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝.

“𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰—” 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧.

𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐮𝐩, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

“𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒏-𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐭.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝.

“𝐎𝐡…” 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐩, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲.

𝐓𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧��𝐲, 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐚𝐰, 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫-𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. “𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡. “𝐈… 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

𝐀 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

“𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐫-𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚. “𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟… 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭.

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨.”

𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐘/𝐍 𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐩, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞. “𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞. “𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐤.”

𝐘/𝐍 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧. “𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.”

𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞. “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

a/n: LOVE ME SOME RIDDLE FR

ii want to start writing about the Riddle family including their kids Mattheo, Marvolo and Delphini

ii love writing these too tho so I’m gonna release both

MASTERLIST

99 notes · View notes

wordsarelife · 6 months ago

Text

⛧༺ NO BODY, NO CRIME ༻⛧

EPISODE 02: no, there ain't no doubt

pairing: theo nott x potter!reader

summary: you and theo begin to investigate the murder, while trying to keep the operation under wraps and each other save from the killer

warnings: extremely big trigger warning for the whole series, in this chapter: mentions of blood, a corpse, murder

note: hello guys, welcome back to the second episode of nbnc!! i hope you like it so far! if you have any theories, do not be shy and share them in the comments!!!

you were staring at the wall across from you. dumbledores office was different than you would have imagined. you could hear the teachers voice, but it didn’t really reach your eyes, your mind wandering back and forth between what had happened prior.

professor burbages face was such a clear image in your mind. way too clear, way too disturbing. you could feel her eyes linger on you, feel the pain that had etched itself onto her features and the wetness of the blood on your fingers, that you had picked up as you had fallen back into the snow.

you felt theo’s arms around you, as he pulled you into the castle. you had felt his quick heartbeat against your ear, his shaky breath had been louder than yours and you hadn’t been able to stand on your own.

“it’s okay” he had muttered, pressing you to his chest, as if to shield you from every bad thing in the world. “you’re okay” his voice was muffled as he spoke into your hair, hiding his own face as if to gain some sort of comfort from the close proximity.

“did you see anyone?” mcgonagalls voice reached your ears and your mind broke free off the memory.

you shook your head, not having the ability to speak. theo send a worried glance in your direction. you were fiddeling with your hands in your lap, the look of terror still on your face.

“there was no one there” theo said. “we didn’t hear or see anything apart from what we told you” his voice had grown aggravated through all the questions you had had to answer. “can we please continue this another time?”

“just a few more questions, mr. nott” dumbledore said softly, holding a bowl filled with lemon drops towards you. both theo and you shook your head.

theo sighed, but nodded at the professor’s request. then, all of a sudden, he reached over and took your hand in his, so you could hold onto something and knew that he was there.

you looked up and theo send you a reassuring smile.

you ended up at the common room at half past three. the questioning had continued all throughout the night, with the teachers grappling to find answers. you were sure that they knew more than you, as they exchanged mysterious glances at everything theo and you told them.

you couldn’t stop thinking about it and you were so incredibly scared. you wished theo was there, he was the only one that understood what you were going through.

you climbed the stairs to your dorm, deciding that it was to no use to sit around the common room all alone. hermione was fast asleep when you opened the door. the teachers had probably informed them that you were being held back, but probably without disclosing the real reason.

you got rid of your uniform and changed into your pyjama. you took another glance at hermione, before you quietly walked to her bed and crawled under the blanket. she stirred a bit in her sleep, but didn’t wake up, as you pushed your face into the pillow next to her.

you needed some sort of comfort and just knowing she was there was enough to send you to sleep, the exhaustion taking over before your mind could wander back to the nights events again.

the next morning, the castle felt strangely quiet. you awoke after hermione, who had probably already left for breakfast or something else. for a moment, you simply lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the stillness linger. but the memories crept back in as they always did—professor burbage’s face, the coldness of the snow, and the horror that gripped you when you realized something was terribly wrong.

you slipped out of hermione’s bed, there was no point in staying any longer, pretending that a few more hours of sleep could wash away what had happened. your limbs felt heavy as you dressed, your mind replaying the details over and over. every time you closed your eyes, it was there again—her face, twisted with fear, and the blood, so much of it, on your hands.

downstairs, the common room was empty, except for theo, who was waiting for you. his back was turned, his posture rigid as he stared into the fireplace.

“theo” you said in surprise. he turned around and send you a soft smile.

“i couldn’t sleep much” he muttered, “thought you might want some company”

“but the password?”

“it was way too easy to find out” he shook his head, laughing softly. “you guys should better change it” he added, a bit more worried, realizing the danger a security breach like that held.

you quickly nodded, your eyes wandering over his features that softened when he noticed the tears brimming in your eyes.

he stepped closer, pausing for a second, before he finally opened his arms, so you could cry against his chest.

“i’m sorry” you muttered, ruffling your nose. “i’m sorry”

“what for?” theo asked, voice calm and warm like he could send all your fears to sleep with a simple word. “you saw something terrible and rightfully it messed you up, it messed me up too”

“i’m glad you’re here” you whispered and you could feel him nod his head. “you’re the only one who understands”

“just like you” he smiled as you stepped back. “but i’m also here because of something else” he waited for your permission to explain.

“go on” you urged, cleaning the left over tears from your face with the back of your hand.

his hand went into the pocket of his trousers and he took out a folded piece of paper that he then held in your direction. you took it and opened it up. “professor burbage had that with her. outside”

your eyes studied the symbol on the paper. it looked familiar, but you couldn’t quite place it. the lines were sharp, forming an intricate design that seemed purposeful, almost like a rune. your heart started to race as you stared at the symbol, trying to pull the memory from the back of your mind.

“i’ve seen this before” you whispered, but your voice was uncertain. “i don’t know where, but i’ve definitely seen it”

theo leaned closer, his eyes scanning the paper along with you. “i thought the same thing when i found it. it was clenched in her hand. almost like… like she was trying to hold on to it.”

“did dumbledore see this?” you asked alarmed. “why did you take it?”

“i didn’t think properly before i did, it was the first thing that i saw, i realized only later that she had probably held it in her hand. otherwise it would’ve been wet”

“this is evidence, theo” you shook your head, brushing back your hair with the piece of paper still in your hand. “you can’t just take evidence from a crime scene!” you scolded.

“well, i didn’t know it was a crime scene when i took it” he excused. “apart from that, maybe the rune entails a secret message or something? something the killer could’ve used to get burbage outside”

your eyes widened, before you quickly nodded. “okay” you pushed the paper back into his hand. “what do we do now? go to dumbledore and tell him?”

“because that worked so great before” theo said softly, but you could hear the annoyance in his voice.

“he just said that we can’t be sure it’s a murder”

“well it looked like a bloody murder, didn’t it?” he grimaced, “all the blood”

“yeah” you agreed. “it definitely did. but what do you suggest we do if we won’t tell dumbledore? who could we tell then?”

“no one” theo shrugged. “we keep it between us, until we find out more”

“find out more?” you asked surprised. “do i look like sherlock holmes to you?”

“no, but you come close to doctor watson”

“ha ha” you shook your head and crossed your arms, before you thought for a second. “alright” you finally said “let’s get some breakfast, i might know someone who can help with that after”

he nodded, ready to leave the common room, but you held him back by his arm. “but not together, no one should know what we’re trying to find out. and no word about professor burbage, we don’t even know if it’s public knowledge yet”

“okay” theo muttered. “for someone who claims to have no idea about this, it comes to you pretty naturally”

“i’ve read a lot” you shrugged, but couldn’t bite back the smile that crept onto your face. “come on”

theo and you split up. you sat down at the gryffindor table next to ron and across from harry, while theo wandered off to the slytherin table to join his own friends.

“morning” harry greeted. “where have you been so long?” he wondered, before he raised his brows and touched your cheek. “have you been crying?”

you shook your head, quickly wiping over your cheeks to get rid of the remaining wetness. “no” you muttered. you couldn’t even trust your own voice. theo and you had sworn not to tell anyone what you knew and that probably included your brother. he would find out soon enough anyway.

“good morning” dumbledores voice rang out loud and clear throughout the hall, before harry had the chance to question you further. “something terrible happened yesterday” he paused for a second, before he added. “professor burbage has been found dead”

waves of shock went through the hall, as gazes were exchanged and heavy whisper broke through.

you looked at theo across from you. neither of you had thought that the teachers would share the news so fast.

“we can’t be sure what happened yet, but professor slughorn is currently trying to inform the aurors in the hope that we will soon have an answer to every question you might have” he smiled softly. “for now, please remain calm and—“

the door to the great hall flew open, revealing professor slughorn, who quickly hurried inside. “albus!” he called loudly, not caring who was listening “the castle—, it’s been” he shook his head, as if to try and rearrange his thoughts. “a terrible snowstorm has cut every tie to the outside world” he finished, having reached the teachers table, face reddened and trying to catch his breath.

no one in the hall dared to matter a word, not even ron, as the three of you stared up at the teachers table where dumbledore and slughorn were hurriedly whispering with each other.

“alright, alright” dumbledore nodded finally, as slughorn sank down in his seat. mcgonagall slightly tapped his shoulder in comfort, but slughorn looked like he was about to faint as he wept a hand through his thinning hair.

“it seems like another problem just introduced itself” dumbledore’s smile was unwavering, but you noticed a hint of discomfort on his face. the same discomfort he had worn the day before, when you had told him about professor burbage. “it’s seems that a magically forged storm has reached the hogwarts grounds. there is no need to worry, as this will be taken care of. as stated before, please remain calm, make sure to stay together and continue on with your day”

“magically forged?” harry muttered. “and what about professor burbage? what does she have to do with everything?”

“i don’t know” you replied warily, locking eyes with theo across the hall, before you nodded to the door. “i have to go” you told harry and ron, before you got up to leave.

“what? where?” harry tried to reach for your hand, but you drew it back quickly. “you’re acting strange, y/n. what’s going on?”

“nothing” you shook your head, quickly searching for an answer that would leave him satisfied. “well, i have this uh— girl problem that i need to talk to hermione about” you eventually replied, acting as if you were embarassed.

“oh” harry muttered, while ron’s cheeeks quickly grew rosy, as he averted his eyes. “okay, then go on” harry encouraged uncomfortably. “but, let me know if you need, uh, any help, yeah?”

you nodded and finally left the hall with a last wave to your friends. “bye” they answered your greeting, before they quickly turned their heads, falling into conversation with neville and ginny.

theo, who had caught your hint, met you in the corridor outside the great hall. “did you know they would tell everyone?” you blurted out as soon as he arrived.

“what? no!” he shook his head. “what’s even worse is the storm. do you think there’s a connection?”

“maybe the killer is not finished” you muttered, finger pressed to your chin, thinking.

theo kept silent, watching you with wide eyes, as he thought about what you said. “that means—“

“yeah” you nodded “he’s still here and his next victim is too”

“shit” theo shook his head, his hair moving and a few curls falling into his eyes. he tried to push them back, but it was to no use. his hair perfectly displayed how he was feeling on the inside. he sighed. “you might be right, but we have a chance to stop him, before anyone else gets hurt, so what do we do? you said you knew someone who could help with the rune?”

“hermione” you simply answered.

“of course” theo smirked. “who else?”

as you had expected, hermione hadn’t been at breakfast, not so late in the morning at least. not even the approaching christmas feist was an excuse for her to rest.

you found her in the library, sitting at a table, accompanied by various stacks of books. she was concentrating on a piece of parchment, as her finger expertelly swerved over the book in front of her.

“wait” theo said, holding your arm, before you could walk around the shelf you were standing behind.

“what?”

“maybe i should wait here” theo shrugged. “we agreed to tell no one that we are trying to find out more, remember?”

“yeah, uh, of course” you nodded, outstretching your hand to take the piece of paper with the rune on it into your own hand.

“i’ll wait here” theo promised and you smiled at his assurence.

hermione didn’t even look up when you called her name. she blessed you with ignorance, as she turned the page of her book.

“oh, y/n” she finally said, when you repeated the calling. she pushed one of the stacks of books to the side, so she could have a proper look at you. “are you alright?” she asked, brows furrowed as she stared at you in deep concentration.

you answered her question with a stunned expression to which she sighed, concluding she had to explain herself. “well, you slept in my bed last night, which you only do if you’re feeling unwell or scared” she paused and took another look at you “and you’re in the library before eleven”

“maybe i just wanted to sleep next to someone?” you muttered, cheeks turning red as you thought about theo hearing that you had been so scared the night before you had to sleep in someone elses bed.

hermione shot you a look that clearly said, don’t be ridiculous.

“okay, fine” you nodded. “professor burbage was found dead. i found her”

“i know” hermione said as if you were talking about the weather.

“how?” you asked confused. “dumbledore only announced it before i came here”

“you speak in your sleep” hermione informed. “i went here as soon as i finished eating. i’m trying to find out something about the magically forged snow storm outside”

“how did you—“

“my parent’s letter arrives every tuesday, eight a.m. sharp. this morning it didn’t” she shrugged. “that could only have two reasons: first, my parents forgot to send it, which they never did in six years and let’s be honest, they’re dentists”

you nodded, as if you understood the correlation between the punctuality of letters and dentists.

“or” she went on “somehow the owls had a problem coming through, which they never had before, not in a thousand years” she pointed to the edition of a history of magic in front of you. “then i took a look outside and there it was: snowstorm”

“yeah, okay” you nodded, impressed that she had found out all of that on her own.

“so, what do you need my help with?”

“how do you—“

hermione sighed. heavy. “library, you, eleven a.m., remember?”

“sorry” you winced, before you held the piece of paper in her direction. “professor burbage held this in her hand when i found her”

“this is evi—“

“it’s just a copy” you quickly lied, not willing to risk her going to dumbledore about this. she was your best friend, but she was still hermione.

hermione inspected the paper, before she sighed once more. “would you please tell nott to stop hiding behind the shelf? his eagerness is distracting me”

you didn’t even question how she knew about that, as theo stepped around the shelf and into the open. “hey, granger”

“hello” hermione didn’t even aknowledge the boy, instead she kept staring at the rune. “so you were there too, huh?” she finally said, as she gave the paper back to you.

“huh?” theo muttered, taken aback by her question.

“how did she look?” hermione continued without being fazed by theo’s lack of an answer. it seemed that she had already made up her mind about his involvement. “was there blood?”

“a lot” you nodded.

“well, it was obviously murder” hermione concluded. “but not by magic as it seems.”

“so you don’t know what this is?” you asked. she had not mentioned anything about the rune. “i think i have seen it before, it seems familiar”

“of course i know what it is” hermione replied almost offended. “and you recognize it, because you have seen it before. it was the coat of arms for an old underground organization at hogwarts— the nocturne society”

“of course” theo smiled in recognition. “it apparently got forbidden a few years ago”

“and rightfully so” hermione nodded, as she pushed one of the opened book into yours and theo’s direction. “here. they had connections to the dark arts, sometimes that ended in some real trouble”

you overflew the passages, which talked about various situations where the doing of the organization had led to injuries or other incidents in the school and grounds around it.

“well, why would someone draw this coat of arms on a piece of paper and give that to professor burbage?” you wondered.

“maybe to threaten her?” theo shrugged.

“actually” hermione interrupted, her voice cutting through the room as she glanced between you and theo. “it’s a warning. there have been rumors that the organization had returned, with new members of course, but this was always their way of warning those who came too close to their business”

“so professor burbage might have found out about something she shouldn’t” you concluded. “but would one of them go as far as murder? i mean if it’s someone from the nocturne society it has to be a student, right?”

hermione nodded. “a student with a broken moral compass and no respect for rules”

“i think rules are the least of their worries, granger” theo laughed.

hermione crossed her arms, unimpressed. “well, i wouldn’t know about any of those delinquents” she looked between the two of you, before she added “but i hear your friend riddle has a special appreciation for the dark arts—and certainly no less for forbidden underground organizations.”

you and theo exchanged a glance, before you nodded. “thank you hermione, you’ve been of great help”

“of course” hermione smiled and you and theo got up to leave, but she held you back. “be careful with him” she send a pointed look against theo’s back. “someone who’s so close to people who practice the dark arts might not be far from practicing it himself. he could be dangerous, y/n”

“i’ll be careful” you promised, intentionally ignoring everything else she said. “don’t mention it to harry”

“i won’t” hermione assured. “as long as you get out alive”

you caught up with theo, before he had even noticed you were missing. hermione continued her research on the magically forged snowstorm as the both of you left the library and her behind.

you found mattheo in the corridor to the slytherin corridor. he wasn’t alone, but heavily making out with a girl, which turned out to be millicent bulstrode. they didn’t notice either theo or you as you approached and theo had to physically tear them apart, after repeatedly calling mattheo’s name didn’t work.

“nott” mattheo groaned loudly, millicent still in his arms. she didn’t even acknowledge you.

mattheo furrowed his brows, as he noticed you behind theo. “potter” he exclaimed surprised. “came for a kiss, i suppose?” he kissed the air in front of him.

“hey!” millicent muttered, slapping a hand against mattheo’s chest, but making no move to leave.

“we need to talk to you” theo said coldly, not impressed by mattheo’s attempt to flirt with you.

“we?” mattheo laughed. “who’s we? you and potter dating now or what?”

“no” theo muttered between clenched teeth and even though you didn’t knew him well, you could tell that he was beginning to get angry. “we need to talk” he repeated.

“well, you can talk to me later” mattheo smirked unimpressed. “i have other things to do” he took a look at millicent, before he returned his eyes to theo and you. “everyone has to wait their turn.”

“you disgust me, mattheo” theo spit, before he took your arm to lead you out of the dungeon. “come on, we’ll come back later”

you nodded, quickly tearing your eyes away from millicent and mattheo, who had already begun kissing again. “is he always like that?” you asked and theo sighed, before he nodded.

“usually he is a bit more likeable”

“i hardly believe that” you laughed and theo smiled at you. “but maybe we can use the spare time to look for more clues in professor burbages office”

“you think that is a good idea?” theo quirked a brow, clearly challenging you.

“well, you thought investigating a murder was a good idea, so i won’t take any judgement from you”

theo laughed and you thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. you found it almost unbelievable how close the two of you had grown over the span of hours. theo had been practically a stranger all those years you had spent in the same school, but now he felt like he was the closest friend you had. trauma was a really bonding experience it seemed.

professor burbages office was right behind her classroom. a small staircase led up to the door, that held all the clues you were searching for.

“it’s locked” theo concluded when he tried opening the door.

“did you bring your wand?” you asked, but theo shook his head and you had to do the same, after he returned the question.

“well” you smiled, kneeling down in front of the keyhole. “then we need to do it the muggle way” you grabbed one of the bobbypins out of your hair and pushed it open, leaving a long and thing metal stem. you picked the lock expertly and the door sprung open in a matter of seconds.

“where did you learn that?” theo asked, surprised by your unusual skill.

“my aunt loved to lock the kitchen when harry and i were children” you shrugged. “sometimes we were so hungry, there was no other way”

theo nodded and you missed the look of compassion on his face, when you walked into the office before him.

once in the office, you split up, each of you searching a different half of the room.

you sorted through a stack of paper in the cabinet that stood at the back of the room, when you heard theo sigh loudly.

“this is just a bunch of school stuff” he muttered. “i had hoped for something clearer”

“like what?” you laughed.

“i don’t know” he shrugged, as he opened another drawer. “maybe a death threat?”

“i think the killer might be a bit smarter than that” you exclaimed, right as your eyes fell on an opened bottle on the dresser next to you. you raised your brows, before you took the bottle into your hand.

to burbage— for when the pressure gets too much. consider this a parting gift.

you frowned, rereading the cryptic message. "parting gift?" you glanced at the wine again, and suspicion clawed at your thoughts.

suddenly, a sickening realization dawned on you. the note wasn't a friendly gesture—it was ominous, almost mocking. as you examined the bottle closer, a faint but unmistakable scent lingered in the air—bitter almonds.

poison.

“theo,” you called, your voice tight as you held up the bottle. “come look at this—”

but before you could finish, a loud noise echoed from outside the office. both of you froze. heavy footsteps approached. they weren’t casual, nor hesitant. they were deliberate.

theo shot you a sharp look, his hand instinctively moving toward professor burbage’s wand that was still laying on top of her desk. you quickly placed the bottle back on the dresser, your heart pounding in your chest.

the footsteps grew louder, closer. someone was coming. someone who might have known exactly what you were about to find.

theo moved to the door, his face tense as he mouthed. “what now?”

before you could answer, the handle to the office door rattled.

go to the next part

(let me know if you want to be added/removed)

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