#I like to think that my Wizards have really clean hair and mostly look put-together because they have access to immediate e

[spotinthespiral]

New pfp! 👍

Decided to use Ryan (my Pirate Captain) for this! Mostly because I seem to keep drawing my pirates despite Intending this as a wiz-centric blog lol.

I need to draw her and the others more often...

[colorsunimaginable]

Bought by a Death Eater - the spare dark au // death eater ! tom hiddleston oc x plus size ofc // part one

summary // Melisa Alder is an American witch caught in the Death Eater's clutches after Voldemort wins the Battle of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters hold an auction of mudbloods and bloodtraiters. After no one bids on her, she thinks she's stuck with her original handler, Goyle, Jr., but a masked Death Eater buys her at the last minute. What are his plans for her? Will she ever find out who's beneath the mask?

this is a darker, alternative version of my fic The Spare. It's mostly going to be smut.

word count // 2.6k masterlist

warnings // mdni, 18+. this fic will fetishize/body worship a fat female body, so if that offends you, please dni. this fic will have non-con/rape elements, bondage, light bdsm, sexual slavery, sterilization, and loss of virginity. caution advised or enjoy ;)

part one //

My life is over. And I’m laughing.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, I woke up in a hospital bed at the Ministry of Magic. They’re treating my injuries and I find out I’m not the only one who has been captured. Nearly a hundred of the young witches and wizards who’d been fighting against our world’s greatest evil had been rounded up like cattle after our brutal loss. There are more girls than boys and as they prep us - cleaning and sterilizing us - it becomes clear what they, the Death Eaters, have planned.

An auction.

The fucking idiot who captured me, Gregory Goyle Jr., really believes he’s going to get some decent money for me. It’s true, I’m a virgin, a supposed extremely valued quality, but that’s where the similarities between me and the rest of the “Lots” end. I’m a good 5-6 years older than all of the girls. I’ve got bright pink hair, and on bad days, I’m convinced I’m actually a whale pretending to be a young woman. Plus I’m not even British or very pretty. 

Sure, statistically, I know someone out there has to like what I look like. But when I’m being compared to the others, the idea of being the preferred one is laughable.

My predictions come true when no one bids on me. I’m the first female lot and the grand theater they’ve commandeered from the No-Majes is silent, despite Ludo Bagman’s best salesmanship effort. No one wants an ostentatious American cow. I guess the lure of my novelty and virginity isn’t a strong selling point. 

Granted, the literal blood on my hands from killing a guard backstage probably doesn’t help either. 

Bagman tries to lower my base price of five grand - the minimum for virgins - but Goyle isn’t having it. He takes it upon himself to demonstrate my worth, starting with hopping on stage. He pushes me to my knees while he stands before me. As he fumbles with his belt and jeers with the crowd, I quickly put two and two together to realize what’s about to happen.

In front of everyone, he’s going to humiliate me.

But I humiliate him first.

In front of everyone.

He’s gotten what he wanted - my head in his crotch, just not the way he intended. 

Before I can figure out what to do next, guards grab my arms and yank me to my feet to take me backstage. I expect some kind of blowback for what I did, but it doesn’t come.

When Goyle finally appears, he demands to know why I was taken off stage before I’d been sold. Yaxley, the Death Eater in charge, only points out the obvious. No one made a bid. Therefore, they aren’t going to waste time on me.

Eventually Yaxley gives in to Doyle’s annoying pleas, and agrees to let me go back out, on the condition my price be reduced by half. I was also supposed to wait until the very end. 

I listen as all the other girls get sold, their galleon numbers in the thousands. Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley’s are in the tens of thousands. I try not to think about it too much, because I know my worth as a person isn’t tied to physical money, but it still gets to me. I’ve basically been put on clearance.  All I can do is sit and spiral into self loathing while I wait until the end. 

When it’s finally my turn again, they bring me out to the half-filled, steadily emptying theater. The main event is over so no one’s really even listening to Bagman’s sales pitch.

And again, no one makes a bid. 

By this point, my self worth is on the floor in the orchestra pit.

I can tell Goyle is scrambling for what to do with me. His get rich quick scheme hasn’t worked and I’ve become a burden. He binds my wrists together in front of me and guides me to the opulent lobby. He’s muttering curses and threats while we wait in line for the floo. I find him pretty easy to tune out since it’s obvious he’s still a teenager and there’s no way he’s an actual threat to me. Especially once this damn magic suppression potion wears off. I’m relieved to not have been bought by anyone else. Maybe I’ll be able to find a way to escape. 

My eyes catch on a group of Death Eaters huddling by the main door. Some of the metallic masks are clearly meant to be scary, but they’re so elaborate they look more silly than threatening. The ones that really unnerve me are the simple, expressionless ones. With magic, the empty eye and mouth holes are pitch black and bottomless. 

My focus centers on one such mask. In that group he stands taller than all the rest. His black robes look militaristic right down to the calf-high boots on his feet. His companions have their heads huddled near and their indistinct whispers add to the solemn hum to the room. This Death Eater appears to be half- listening to this conversation, his mask partially turned towards the window. 

Goyle steals my attention when he pulls me forward, his foul breath close to my ear. “I ‘spose I’m the one that gets to break you in, don’t I?”

I silently huff as he keeps rattling on. My eyes go back to that tall Death Eater and I freeze.

He’s looking right at me. Like, I can see the entirety of his mask as he stares over his companion’s head.

I blink and look around me, checking to make sure it’s me, and not someone else he’s staring at. But when I peek back, he’s not even looking at me anymore. 

We’re two people away from our turn for the Floo when the masked Death Eaters all cut in line. I happen to glance back at where they’d been meeting and my heart skips a beat when that same Death Eater is still standing there, all by himself. 

Still looking right at me.

I pretend I didn’t just look back and make direct eye-to-empty socket contact with him and step towards the fire before Goyle does when it’s our turn next. It’s just the three of us in the lobby at this point.

Goyle reaches his hand into the Floo powder pot on a pedestal next to the fireplace just as a gloved hand comes down heavy on his shoulder.

And then he’s suddenly there. God, standing next to him, he feels so much taller than me, and I’m not short at 5’8”. 

“What do you want?” Goyle grumbles, seeming annoyed that this guy is bothering him. He hasn’t said a word and yet Goyle clearly knows who he is.

The masked man slips a hand into his pocket and pulls out a small bag of what sounds like coins and tosses it to Goyle. The boy fumbles it and it falls to the floor. While he’s picking it up, the Death Eater places a heavy hand on my own shoulder and maneuvers me so he’s standing between me and Goyle.

Maybe Goyle’s not a complete idiot because he understands what the man wants before I do.

He glares up at him. “You can’t be serious. Like, this has to be a joke. There’s no more than 50 galleons in here.”

… Fifty galleons? I immediately want to cry, so I take a sudden sharp breath, but the exhale is noticeably shakey. I keep going until I’m not on the verge of a freak out.

The man just stays silent, staring at him. 

Goyle looks between me and him briefly before deciding a plan of action. “Alright, we’ll find a room. Fifty’s enough for a blowie I think -”

The man shoves Goyle backward and he almost falls into the fire. I guess that’s his answer.

He turns me to face him and produces some rope with a loop on one end. He hangs the rope around my neck, pulling the long end through the loop, and I feel it tighten against my throat immediately. The harder he pulls, the tighter it is. 

Shady transaction over, the man turns for the door, leash in hand, and I’m forced to follow him or get strangled. Goyle starts to protest, but one look from the Death Eater over his shoulder shuts him up real quick.

~*~

My new owner leads me out into the night. We’re somewhere in London, and it’s so late the streets are empty. Which is good, because the last thing I want is a continuing audience to this nightmare. 

The asshole has longer legs than me and that means he’s taking strides I could never dream of matching. My thighs have always been monstrously thick and the friction always slows me down, especially right now when I don’t even have any underwear on. The rope around my neck is coarse, it’s fibers scratching my skin raw as we walk. I keep my hands clutched to my chest, a couple fingers shoved between my neck and the rope. When he finally stops, he grabs my forearm and pulls my fingers out for Apparating. 

We pop into a dark, overgrown yard. The man is quick to yank on the leash, pulling me behind him. He’s released my arm, so my fingers immediately go back to protecting me. He uses his wand to illuminate our surroundings and I can make out that this cottage we’ve arrived at is abandoned. Holes have been blasted through the walls and the thatched roof is rotting away, chunks of it already fallen. He leads me around to the back and shoves open a crooked door with his shoulder. 

I’d hoped that the exterior would just be a cover, a ruse for an actually decent place, but no, it’s just as derelict on the inside. He makes sure I’m inside the dusty kitchen before he magically shoves the door closed. The light from his wand reveals a particularly clean section of the tiled floor. If it weren’t for all of the dust and debris surrounding it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. He crouches, tapping his wand against several of the tiny tiles. They immediately fall away, creating the walls and steps for a hidden entrance below our feet.

I’m dying to know what lies ahead, but I’m also fucking terrified. Is he gonna keep me in a fucking dungeon?

After we begin our descent, the floor above us closes. We take the steps spiraling down at least two flights and at the bottom reveals another door. This one is heavy and wooden with a few serious looking locks. 

The final room we enter is what I’d call a studio apartment. A rather large, imposing bed on one end of the room, with a bathtub in the opposite corner and a little kitchen in a carved out nook. There’s a wardrobe, an armchair sat next to a small table, and a doorway where I can see a toilet. It’s lit with sconces on the walls, burning bright candle light. 

But the most eye-catching thing? The night sky above our heads. The ceiling is taller than normal for a basement. Which, in combination with the enchanted ceiling, makes the room feel twice the size that it is. Though I suppose that’s by design. 

After I enter the room fully, he closes the door behind me, and I hear the lock click. He turns me back to him and takes off the rope, tucking it away into his pocket. He seems to consider taking off the rest of my bindings before deciding to remove them.

I’m not sure what I expected him to do, now that he’s gotten me here, but just sitting in that armchair staring at me, wasn’t really on my list. His posture is relaxed, his wand loosely gripped in his hand. And he’s just staring at me, again.

All the nerves that have been building since the moment I laid eyes on him are almost at their breaking point. I can hardly bear to look at him, so my eyes stray to anything else, but I’m not really seeing.

“Strip,” he says, and my eyes snap to him. His voice is so deep, a perfect baritone. 

But surely, I couldn’t have heard him right.

His creepy, masked head tilts a smidge. “Strip,” he orders again, enunciating a little more forcefully when I don’t move. 

My eyebrows are together and my pulse is thudding in my ears, but I somehow find my voice. “No,” I say softly, my arms tucking into my torso. 

There’s an uncomfortable long silence as we stare at each other. I don’t move and he fiddles with his wand. Then he sighs heavily and stands to his full height. I can just barely see over his shoulder.

“This will be your only warning,” he says. “I do not reward good behavior. If you are disobedient and misbehave, you will be punished. Severely.” His cold, emotionless tone only amplifies the authority to his words. He doesn’t continue, leaving it up to me to decide my fate. 

Tears start to brim my eyes and I cannot imagine, after the day I’ve had, actually showing him my naked body. I’d genuinely rather face whatever punishment he has in store than that. 

Instead of words, I just shake my head, my feet automatically moving me away from him. 

“Very well,” he simply says, and raises his wand at me. “Crucio.”

The moment the spell hits me, I collapse to the floor, helpless to the pain striking every square inch of my body. I’ve been Crucio’d before, but every time there’s absolutely nothing to prepare you for it. By the time it’s over, I’ve curled up into a ball, barely managing not to sob. 

The Death Eater kneels, hovering over me, getting so close that his mask fills my view and I squeeze my eyes shut.

“No matter how benign your crimes, that will be your punishment,” he says. “Every. Time.” His hand suddenly grabs my jaw, turning my head to face him. “Do you understand?” 

Staring into his black, empty gaze, I nod. 

But that must not be enough for him because he rolls my head back and forth. “Use your words.”

To force them out, I have to swallow, and I know he can feel it. My voice is only a whisper, but the words are clear. “Yes, I understand.”

He stands, literally towering above me. Then his face starts to get closer and I realize it’s because I’m the one moving. Fully airborne, he maneuvers me into the bathtub, and the faucet immediately starts running. 

The water’s freezing at first and I gasp. Luckily, the cold clears my mind, numbing my emotions, and bringing in enough rational thought to slide off the mary jane shoes they supplied us with. I keep the white dress on. After all, they didn’t give us anything to wear underneath it. 

The water slowly starts to rise and warm, and instead of clutching my chest, my hands drift in the water. There’s so much blood on my hands the water has already turned pink. Because I’d… killed somebody. 

In one short week, I’ve been stabbed, tortured, kidnapped, half-sterilized, and my magic stripped away. And now, I’ve killed somebody. 

Oh, and I’m the property of a literal Death Eater. 

And, worst of all, he's fucking hot.

The absolute absurdity of that last thought has me laughing, like actual manic giggling. My life is over and I’m laughing like a fucking psycho. 

Thankfully, my emotions catch up with me and that laugh turns into full sobs. 

And that fucking Death Eater watches me the entire time.

[sycamorre]

17, 33, 34, 38, and 40 for the OCs asks!

-OC Questions- Gonna try to find art for as many as I can to help with putting faces to names.

17. Any OC OTPs?

A handful! Most are from my Elder Scrolls RP days but I'm slowly collecting some DnD ones.

We have the werewolf power couple Indes and Korgul, my wood elf Companion (as in the Companions faction) and her half-orc beau Korgul:

Indes' little sister Nidhel, a healer, and another Companion, Tural:

And I still need to draw them together, but there's the newest pair from our last campaign, Ori and Ranna.

I have other ships out there, but I hate boring people with them because they're either characters that have never interacted with anything outside of my own brain or are completely unofficially and I'm someone who doesn't like to make a fuss or gush over things that only I know or care about on here.

33. Your shyest OC?

This is honestly a bit of a hard one. I have plenty of quiet/introverted characters, but I don't consider most of them as genuinely shy. Most have no problem socializing, even if they do not have a ton to say. Likely either as the result of myself being the same way or because most are RP characters that kind of depend on interactions.

I will say pre-campaign/younger Oriana was definitely in the shy camp, though as a result of being uncertain and scared of her magic rather than her personality. Gaining confidence with that and her fighting skills definitely got her in the previously mentioned "quiet but not shy" category.

I do have one character I can think of that is definitely shy in a literal sense. My witchy-innkeeper, Aubrey, has a member of her staff, Annabelle, who came from a servant background and was not treated very well in her previous job, so as a result she became very shy and anxious. To the point where if she is berated by anyone outside of the rest of the staff, she will either run away or freeze up. Aubrey has her mostly cleaning to help keep her from having to interact with bad customers, but not always foolproof. Everyone's trying to help her, though it's a slow process.

The night sky-themed air genasi I've drawn before (whose working name is Stellara/Stellari maybe) may also end up kinda on the shy side if I ever do get to play her. Mostly because I imagine her as a bit of a hermit who just doesn't do socialization very well in general.

34. Do you have any twin characters?

I do! Jayni, my halfling wizard (previously bard) that was originally made for a short-lived Waterdeep Dragon Heist campaign, has a twin brother named Finn. He was originally taking on an apprenticeship to a tinker in the city, but if the characters ever came back, I'm not sure if I would keep that or have him doing something else.

The art is old and Jayni specifically has strawberry blonde hair now, but Finn still looks mostly the same c:

And technically, though I never did make any official art for them and they would be shared and not just mine, it was decided between me and the other player that Indes and Korgul's first biological kids would be a set of twins (Uram and Taram), so I figure they may count as well.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

Easily Wisteria, the Eladrin glamour bard (who I drew here) that I really wanna play someday. The entire idea behind her was that I wanted a bard that didn't necessarily having singing or instruments as their main "thing" and I wanted an excuse to make a character that would feel natural dressing in very flashy, hanfu-inspired dresses, and she was born out of those two thoughts. Instead of playing an instrument, her magic is triggered by her dancing and her fan, which would act as her arcane focus.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

If we talked about all of my fond memories with my OCs we would be here forever. I have literally been making OCs and RPing them since the end of middle school/beginning of high school, and I still occasionally lurk around my old stomping grounds to see what old buddies are up to and reminisce on the nostalgia.

For the sake of being relevant to this post and the people I know here, I'm gonna go back to my Elder Scrolls RP days in the shipyard here on tumblr. Some highlights of my time RPing as Indes and Nidhel, as well as a family friend, Vialgo (an Imperial Dawnguard member) include:

The player of Tor-Acr, an Argonian were-croc, asking for a spar RP literally a day before I said I was gonna start looking for threads and sparking Indes' first friendship in that community.

Watching Indes' and Korgul's relationship grow from occasionally butting heads, to genuine friends, to secret feelings for each other, to admitting everything when Korgul was at a low point and sparking honestly one of the best RP romances I have every had the pleasure of being a part of and that made both of our characters better as a whole.

Getting to host a tourney event for the other Companion players and watching everyone get to enjoy it and building closer relationships between the characters.

Vialgo talking down one of his commanders when he almost slipped up and realizing I could actually play a smooth-talking character rather than just the blunt, gruff ones or super sweet, honest ones.

A whole multi-part story where Herryk, another player's Dragonborn character and one of the Companions that Indes is closest to (basically a little brother to her), is almost killed by a dragon and she witnesses him literally fall from the sky when he gets dropped by the dragon. And she plays an integral part in his return and the emotional payoff was just amazing.

Just getting to see my characters get integrated into other people's stories and getting to make even better stories together. I love that about RP so, so much and it's why I love it just as much if not more than just writing things by myself.

[fweasleyswhore]

Let Me Take Care Of You - G.W.

a/n: this popped up in my brain and I wanted to get it out, this is with George because I felt like he fit the idea a bit more also i deadass haven’t written smut before like not as a joke haha funny so im so sorry if this is ass

Pairing: George Weasley x fem!Reader

summary: Reader confesses her feelings for George after the disaster of Bill and Fleur's wedding and spend a night together for the first time, which they can only wished would have happened earlier.

word count: 3.5k

warnings: Slight dom!George, slight sub!reader, mostly passionate smut, 18+ themes

The night was winding down. It was a beautiful ceremony, candles were floating around in the tent giving off a soft glow. A few straggling couples slow dancing. I was sat admiring the tent and the company when I felt a presence behind me. I looked up and my heart skipped a beat. George stood behind me, his hands placed in his pockets and the goofy grin he adorned everywhere was plastered on his face despite the bandage wrapped around his ear. 

I turned in my chair so I could see him better. “Hey, George.” I beamed up to him. 

“Hello, darling, would you want to dance?” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out to me. My breath hitched in my throat as I nodded and he pulled me out to the dance floor. I had liked George since I met him, he always seemed to bring light in my life that I lacked, but I had never acted on my feelings. I didn’t want to lose him. 

“You look beautiful tonight.” He whispered in my ear as we slowly spun around the room. His hand was placed on the small of my back, the other interlaced with mine. My free hand rested on his shoulder, our fronts were pressed flush together. I felt my face heat up at his words and our proximity. 

I put my head on his chest and locked my arm behind his neck. “George?” I said softly. I decided now was a good time to tell him how I felt. I needed to. I wanted to say this, look back up at him and kiss him. He hummed and I felt the way his chest rumbled as he did so. “George I think I lo-” 

My words were cut off by a loud crashing noise. I whipped around to see the cause of the crash. In the middle of the dance floor was a blue light. 

“The Ministry has fallen. They are coming.” As soon as it had spoken it was gone. The tent went quiet for a moment until flashes of black smoke started appearing. I watched as Ron, Hermione, and Harry apparated away. I grabbed my wand I had placed in my dress pocket and held tightly onto George’s hand. 

Bill grabbed Fleur and started dragging her away. I watched a death eater begin on them. 

“Stupify,” I yelled and he shot back into a table and collapsed. 

“Y/N, we need to leave, there are too many.” At George’s words, I looked around, wizards and witches were fighting or apparating away. I looked up to him and nodded seeing as there wasn’t much we could do other than get hurt. He grabbed my hand tighter and started bounding towards the Burrow. We started a protection spell on the house once we got there, it finished with enough time for everyone to get in. 

Bellatrix Lestrange stood outside, I saw her from the kitchen window pacing outside. “Where did Potter go?!” She screamed. I wasn’t sure if it was aimed at us or her henchmen. Soon enough all the death eaters disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. 

Molly was sobbing at the kitchen table, Arthur was consoling her. Fred was having Ginny clean a cut on his leg. Bill and Fleur weren’t around, I assume they apparated somewhere. Lupin and Tonks were arguing about if it was worth it to apparate home. 

I couldn’t find George. My eyes scanned the area once more but I couldn’t find him. I felt my eyes tear up as I turned back to look out the kitchen window. I tried to remember if he had left the house after we cast our spell. Deep in my thoughts, I didn’t hear him walk up behind me. 

“Y/N?” His voice was soft and gentle. I whipped around and immediately jumped on him. He returned the gesture, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me up so my feet were off the floor. I wrapped my legs around him to pull him closer afraid that if I didn’t he would disappear. 

“Where were you?” I whispered harshly into his neck. 

“Making sure my ear wasn’t bleeding. Y/N are you alright?” His grip on me tightened. I felt him move away so I pulled my head up to look him in his eyes. His eyes were scanning my face looking for a sign of injury. 

Then I felt like it was the right moment. I unwrapped my arms from around him and cupped his face. His eyes stopped scanning my face as they looked directly into mine. I let my eyes flicker to his lips and then back to his, he repeated my action almost like he was communicating the same words. 

I closed the gap and pushed my lips onto his. He kisses me back with no hesitance. His grip on me tightened, one of his arms traveled down to hold my thigh and support me. Our lips moved a few times, finding a rhythm with each other. Once we did it was a new experience. George sucked and bit on my lips as we kissed causing me to let out a soft moan. I ran my hands through his hair and tugged lightly earning a soft groan from him. 

We pulled away to breathe and he set me on the kitchen counter. Suddenly remembering his family was there I looked around making sure no one was watching our moment before I put my eyes back onto him. 

“Do you know how long I wanted to do that?” He asked with a slight chuckle. His hand found my thigh and he pushed up the skirt of my dress to draw small patters above my knee. 

“Why did it take you so long?” I panted out. He was making it harder to catch my breath. 

“Tonight I watched my family fight to stay alive, and I realized that there is so much happening right now,” He gulped as he showed his vulnerability. “Y/N, I want you. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember and I don’t want to fight this without having you beside me.” His eyes moved from the floor to my eyes and I saw him, the real him. He wanted to be loved, he wanted to share his love, and with the war building up he was afraid he was never going to be able to do that. 

“George I can’t imagine fighting this without you. I can’t imagine my future without you.” I grabbed his hand that was on my thigh as I said this. With each word I said I watched as his scared expression molded into a smile. 

“Really?” He whispered. 

“Definitely.” I replied. His lips were back onto mine and we shared a short but passionate kiss. 

The rest of the night we helped clean up. I helped Arthur get Molly to bed where he stayed with her then I helped Ginny clean up Fred’s leg and set him up a temporary bed on the couch, not wanting to climb the steps to his room. Once everyone was taken care of I found myself in George’s room. I wasn’t staying in here but I wanted nothing more for him to hold me while I fell asleep. 

The door creaked open to a very disheveled George. His purple and white speckled shirt had been rolled up his arms, the vest piece completely gone, his tie hung loosely around his neck. 

“Hey.” He spoke gently once he noticed me. I was sitting on the edge of his bed. 

“Hey,” I replied taking him in. “I’m sorry, I know you're tired I just don’t want to be alone tonight.” I began to wring my hands in my lap, waiting for him to tell me to leave. 

“I was hoping I would see you again tonight.” He made a few strides and sat next to me on the bed. I leaning into him immediately, resting my head on his shoulder. He snaked an arm around my waist and we sat like that for a few minutes. I turned my head so I could look at him. 

“George, I don’t know what this war is going to take from us.”

“Hopefully not my other ear.” He butted in. I couldn’t help but laugh, he pulled me closer as I did. 

“I was trying to say that from here on out I want to be with you, I-I want to be there when you go to sleep and be there when you wake up. I want us to have little moments with each other when we can, I have spent the past few years wanting something with you and I won’t continue without letting you know. I don’t know what that kiss meant to you downstairs but that was everything to me.” I spoke slowly and I stared at my hands. I was too afraid to look at him in such a vulnerable moment. 

“That’s all I want. That kiss downstairs was my future Y/N.” I picked my head up to look at him grinning wildly. 

“I’m your future?” I asked sheepishly. 

“You’ve been my future for the past couple of years, the plan at least. Y/N I’m in love with you.” I threw my arms around his neck and tossed myself into his lap. I peppered kisses on his cheeks while smiling. Pulling back I looked at him, he was smiling back at me, his eyes were looking into the darkest parts of me but he was smiling. I knew I would always be safe with him around. 

His hands began to rub into my sides gently. He leaned up, closing the gap between us. Our kiss was slow, methodical, and passionate. It quickly escalated into more hungry and fast as we continued. Without thinking I rolled my hips into his earning a groan from him. We broke apart. His face was flush, lips parted and slightly swollen as I bet mine was too.

We stared at each other for a moment trying to gauge each other and plan what to do next. Keeping eye contact I rolled my hips again. His jaw clenched and his hands tightened on my hips. 

“Do you want this?” He asked. His voice was deep and husky. His eyes were dark and it sent shockwaves through my body, straight to my core. 

“I need you, George,” I whispered back. That was all it took for him to tighten his grip on my hips and kiss me again. The kiss was hot and fiery. I began to grind into his lap again causing us both to groan. I could feel him harden beneath me as I rolled my hips into him. I continued to roll my hips, throwing my head back as he nipped and sucked at my neck. 

“George...” I moaned out his name, I could feel him smirk against my neck. 

Before I could prepare he flipped us over, I was laying on my back and he hovered over me. 

“You’re so beautiful Y/N.” My face began to flush as he looked at me with pure adoration in his eyes. He began to pepper kisses onto my face and the butterflies in my stomach dispersed as I began to laugh. 

“Are you sure?” He asked pulling back to look at me in my eyes. 

“Yes George, please,” I whined, I could feel the familiar feeling in my core that felt both like butterflies and sinking. I desperately needed his attention on my body. 

“Tell me if you need me to stop.” I nodded and he attached his lips back to mine. His hands traveled down my body, he pushed up my skirt up my thighs and it pooled around my hips. I broke the kiss and pulled it up above my head. Looking back up to George he took me in, trailing his fingers around the lace of my bra my breath hitched much like his own. My heart rate sped up as his fingers trailed down from my breasts and to the waistband of my matching lace panties. 

He pulled on the waistband of them, letting it bounce back onto my hips. Leaning back he pulled his shirt and tie over his head. I took him in, his toned chest and stomach eyeing the ginger trail of hair that could be seen down both. 

He undid his belt, pushing down down his trousers while maintaining eye contact. I watched him until my eyes flickered down to the tent in his underwear. I could hear him chuckle as I eyed his length, my eyes widening as he grew under my gaze. 

He moved again to sit in front of me on the bed. His hands moved up my legs and rested on my things, lightly kneading them, his lips soon followed. He repeated his assault on my neck on my thighs, nipping and sucking until he reached my covered core. 

His eyes flickered up to mine as he halted his actions. I nodded permitting him to continue. His hands came up and they traced my lips causing my breathing getting heavier. He pushed my panties to the side and reached out to delicately lick my clit. I dropped my head back and let out a loud moan. 

“My family is in the house you know.” He laughed against my core, his breath fawned over me sending shivers through my body. 

“Sorry.” I whipped my head up to see him smiling at me. 

“It’s ok, I want to hear you.” He said and summoned his wand. He placed a quick silencing spell on the room. “Don’t hold back darling.” My face heated up at the nickname and I quickly nodded. 

He turned his head back to my core and started to aggressively lick and suck at my clit. I couldn’t hold back the moans that spilled from my mouth as he continued his attack. His fingers came up, tracing the entrance to my core adding to the pleasure I was feeling. I reached behind myself and unclipped my bra to massage at my tits. 

He inserted a finger into me making me exclaim as he pumped it slowly while curling it. He pulled his face back to watch me as twisted and pulled on my nipples, adding to the overwhelming feeling crashing around me. 

“So pretty.” He fawned. I didn’t have time to have to be flushed at his comment as he inserted another finger into me making me scream out his name. He gently licked at my clit now and again as his fingers mercilessly pumped into me. Curling his fingers to hit that one spot over and over again his attention picked up on my clit. 

“George, I, f-fuck! I’m gonna...” I breathed out. The ability to make words passed me as my legs began to shake, the familiar feeling of a knot filled my stomach and my eyes clenched shut. 

He hummed onto my clit, acknowledging my plead and that was enough to send me over the edge. I came hard and saw stars as he continued his attack, milking my orgasm for all it could give him. He pulled his mouth away, soon after pulling out his fingers, massaging my shaking legs as I caught my breath. 

“Do you want to keep going?” He asked. I looked up at him, propping myself up on my elbows as I looked down at him. The tent in his underwear looked bigger as ever and his chin was glistening with my arousal. 

“Please.” I nodded. I grabbed him and pulled him on top of me. One of his hands propped him up while the other cupped my face as we kissed. Our tongues fought each other for dominance, I moved my hand down and palmed him through his boxers. He let out a groan which I used to my advantage to explore his mouth. 

He moved his hand from my face to grab my wrist. I halted all my actions and watched as he pulled his cock free of his underwear. My eyes widened at the sight of him, I felt myself grow wetter and rubbed my thighs together at the sight. He pumped himself a few times as his eyes raked over me, chuckling lightly to himself.

“Needy, are we?”  He taunted. He started to move his hand slower around himself, his eyes were dark as they looked into mine. I wiggled under his stare again letting out a whine. 

“George, I need you.” I managed to breathe out I heard him groan at my words. 

“As you wish.” He crawled on top of me, I linked my legs around his waist. My breathing intensified as he trailed his lips up my torso until he was trailing his lips along my jaw. He nipped and sucked behind my ear causing me to let out a breathy moan. I could feel him pressing against my entrance so I shifted my hips needily trying to take him in. He lifted his head and looked at my face as though he was committing it to memory. 

“Please…” I whined. He smiled down at me and reattached our lips. One of his hands found mine and he pulled it above my head, interlocking our fingers and leaning against it. His other hand trailed down my body until he found my hip, holding it steady. Our lips were still pressing against each other when he pushed into me. I moaned into his mouth causing him to pull away and smile at me. He continued to push into me, filling me up to the hilt. Being quite large, I involuntarily clenched around him trying to adjust to his size. He groaned and placed his head in the crook of my neck. He peppered kisses to my neck and didn’t move, letting me adjust. I felt quite full, in a good way, the stinging sensation I felt at first passed quickly. I ran my free fingers through his hair, beckoning him back to me. I kissed hard signaling for him to start moving. 

Slowly he pulled out halfway then pushed back in with more force. I moaned out his name as he repeated these actions, each time thrusting into me with more force than before. Hoisting my leg around his shoulder he continued his pace, this time hitting that spot deep inside of me that made my toes curl and my lungs lose the air they once retained. I was a moaning mess, saying George’s name like a mantra. Each feeling was both too much to handle and not enough. The familiar feeling of a knot was building up in my lower stomach. My legs began to shake and my breathing sped up as I felt myself tighten around him making each thrust leaving me feeling more full. 

“George, p-please, I need…” His hips snapped into me cutting off my sentence and turning it into a moan. He trailed his hand up and cupped my face. He picked up his pace causing my whole body shake begging for release. 

“What do you need baby?” His voice was husk and sent shockwaves through my body. As he continued his brutal pace and didn’t grant me my release I felt tears prick my eyes as it all became too much to handle. 

“F-Fuck, please George. Please.” A few tears fell as I tried my absolute hardest to hold back from falling apart. 

He leaned his head down and nipped at my ear. “Go on darling, cum for me.” He whispered into my ear. At his words I let myself fall apart, shaking and clenching around him. He continued to thrust, slowing down and stuttering until he filled me up, thrusting a few times as the aftershock of my orgasm made me spasm and let out a few small moans. 

He slowly pulled out of me and laid on top of my chest. Picking up our intertwined hands he placed a kiss on the back of mine. Brushing my fingers through his hair I tried to catch my breath. 

He rolled over and pulled me with him, now resting on his chest I could hear his heartbeat go back to a normal rhythm. 

“Y/N?” I hummed as a response, waves of fatigue fell over me and I traced small patterns onto his pale chest. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you, not anymore.”

I smiled at his words, shifting slightly so I could look up at him I beamed. “That took too long to happen,” He nodded eagerly and I laughed at him lightly. “I just mean I’m ready to fight for us.” 

He grabbed my hand resting on his chest and interlocked our fingers yet again. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

We fell asleep, tangled together breathing in each other and I never felt more complete than I did at that moment. 

[thebadgerclan]

SFW Alphabet: Wolfstar x Reader

Requested by @emmaloo21 

A/N: This is a little less in depth that my other alphabets, because I’ve already done a SFW alphabet for Remus and Sirius, which you can read here and here

Also, I would love some requests, fluff or smut, for The Darkling and/or Jesper! I really want to write for Shadow and Bone right now, so if you have any requests, send them in!  I’ll still write for HP, of course!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

You have the 2 most cuddly, snuggly, affectionate men in the Wizarding world, you bet your ass that they’re gonna show you affection.  Daily cuddle puddles, forehead kisses, hugs in the corridors between classes, holding your hand at meals and in classes that you share.  They can’t go more than a few hours without touching you in some way

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Like I said in Sirius’ alphabet, you become friends w/ the marauders and then bond with Remus and Sirius

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Like I said above, Remus and Sirius love cuddling.  You’re usually in between them, either being the little spoon to one of them and the big spoon to the other or facing one of them while the other spoons you.  Other times, you’re on one side of Remus while Sirius is on the other

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Oh yeah, they want to settle down, Remus definitely doesn’t have a list of houses and cottages he wants to buy.  Like I said, Sirius isn’t the best at cooking and cleaning, but Remus is amazing at it, and he bakes like a pro

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

It would tear them up, especially if the two of them would want to stay together.  I don’t really think either of them would handle it well, they’re too attached to you and love you far too much

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Sirius already has the rinds: a white gold band for Remus and a white gold ring with a diamond for you, and he’s wanting to propose about a year in

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

I’ve said this in both alphabets, but Remus and Sirius are very gentle, both emotionally and physically

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Remus’ hugs are bear hugs, squeezing the breath out of you, Sirius’ hugs are warm and secure, and when they both hug you, you’ve never felt more adored, loved, and safe

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Remus says it after 4 months and Sirius says it after 5

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Remus gets more jealous than Sirius, but they tend to react the same way: by coming to your side and tugging you close

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Sweet and tender yet all consuming and world shattering.  Sirius likes to be kissed on the cheek and Remus likes to be kissed over the scars on his face.  They both like to kiss you on the lips, forehead, cheek, hands, wrists, basically everywhere

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Remus, mostly thanks to Moony, wants kids with the two of you more than anything, but Sirius is a little more reluctant.  But he’s willing to consider the topic, and when/if you eventually have kids, he’s so in love with them

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

I HC that Remus is an early riser, so he’ll lie in bed while you and Sirius sleep, just watching the two of you sleep.  When Sirius and you wake up, Remus will kiss you both tenderly.  “Good moring, my loves,” he whispers

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Where Remus rises early, Sirius is a night owl, and he usually stays up till at least midnight reading.  Either you or Remus will curl up against his chest, and he’ll card his hand through yours or his hair while he reads, pressing kisses to your temples.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) They’re both a little hesitant to open up, both having their own sets of trauma, but eventually, they do.  It’s slow, but they get there

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Neither of them have much of a temper, so it takes a lot to get them angry

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

They both remember everything you tell them, Remus tends to remember more of the little things than Sirius

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The first time you told them you loved them.  You were dozing against Remus’ chest, Sirius spooning you, and you mumbled.  “Love you Sirius, love you Rem.”  That memory is burned into their minds forever

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Remus is the more protective one of the 2, Moony needing to protect his mates, but Sirius is pretty protective as well

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Remus doesn’t have the money to splurge, but Sirius does, and believe me when I say, he does.  Remus’ gifts are more heartfelt and oftentimes handmade

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

They can both be a little self deprecating, be too hard on themselves

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Like I said before, Sirius is a bit more concerned with his looks than average, and Remus doesn’t really care.  He’s apparently good looking enough for the two of you, and that’s enough for him

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes, while they’d still have each other, without you, they feel like they’re nothing

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

There’s a while drawer in your bedroom that’s the “communal drawer”.  It’s filled with random shirts, shorts, sweats, pajama pants and other things from all three of you that all three of you wear

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Remus can’t be with someone who isn't’ compassionate, and Sirius can’t be with some who can’t listen

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

I know how silly it sounds, bu Remus CANNOT fall asleep without a goodnight kiss from both of you

[plathfiles]

Super Freak

[ young Remus Lupin x reader ]

originally posted on my Wattpad @accioremu https://www.wattpad.com/user/accioremu

"Tonight is the night I get Lily Evens," James insisted to all of you. You and Remus were curled up together on the couch, him playing with your hair. Sirius was lounging on the chair and Peter was on the floor playing Wizard chess by himself.

You laughed under your breath at James's statement, "And how exactly do you know this, Prongs? I know your not passing divination," you joked, causing the rest of the boys to laugh under their breath. "Ha ha, Y/n," James nodded, sarcastically.

"Okay but seriously, what's your plan?" Remus asked. James cleared his throat, "Tonight at the Gryffindor party, I will woo her with my scholastic aptitude's," he smiled.

You could tell he didn't really know what he was saying, but you knew how genuinely he felt about your best friend so you offered some help.

"Okay...before you do that, I can talk you up to her. Her, Marlene, and I were going to Hogsmeade today anyway." You said. James appreciated the help, knowing that he would need it, if he wanted Lily Evens attention.

Kissing you goodbye before meeting Marlene and Lily, Remus tucked some of your hair out of your face. "Have fun," he smiled, not being able to take his eyes off of you. It was always like that, he was always admiring you. You chuckled in response, "I will," you replied.

"Y/n, let's go it's freezing!" Marlene yelled as Lily gave her a light shove. You looked back at them, letting out a giggle. "Okay Rem, I should go," you said, kissing him on the nose.

You pulled away, but Remus kissed you one last time before leaving. "Don't have too much fun, love," he joked. You nodded, then turning around to Lily and Marlene.

"Finally," Marlene joked, nudging you on the shoulder. "Oh hush, she and Remus are so cute together," Lily defended. You blushed, then looking at your two best friends. "You know Lily, if you give James a chance we could double date," you inquired.

Lily blushed, then focusing her gaze on the town. "You know how I feel about James, Y/n," Lily said. You rolled your eyes, "If you mean in love, then yes, I know how you feel," you smiled. Marlene let out a laugh as Lily shook her head, smiling.

"Did James put you up to this?" She asked. You knew that she was smart enough to catch on, especially when she knew that James liked her. "Yes, he did! I think you should give him a chance and Lil's, I'm not saying that because he told me to. I'm saying it because you both look cute together," You explained.

"Kinda like Y/n and Remus," Marlene pointed out, making Lily gawk in disbelief. "You too!" She said. Marlene laughed, "Awe come on, give him a chance, you know you want to," she joked. Lily sighed, thinking about what she would do. Then the two of you continued to Hogsmeade.

Later that night, the party was in full swing. Sirius was drinking like a fish, while flirting with a group of fifth years. James was passing out drinks, as Lily and him would casually make eye contact with eachother from time to time. Peter, was also passing out drinks, wanting desperately to be as cool as James.

You and Remus were seated near the fire, a glass of fire-whiskey in your guy's hands.

Looking over to the sea of people, mostly Gryffindors...you spotted a nervous Lily walking over to James. "Oh my god, she's going to do it," you mumbled. Remus, entranced by playing with your hair, looked at you confused, "Who's going to do what," Remus replied.

"Lily, she's making her way over to Potter," you said, sitting up to get a closer look. As you got up, Sirius drunkenly walked over to the two of you. "So you talked to her?" Remus asked.

Sirius looked to you, "Yes, go match maker Y/n!" He said, stumbling. You laughed under your breath as you saw him pass out. "Man, he is going to hate missing this," you joked. "Yeah well it's probably best they aren't interrupted anyway," Remus replied.

You couldn't believe it, Lily had actually taken your advice and Marlene's probably helped to. Speaking of, Marlene seeing Lily approach James, grabbed Peter by his robes to walk him over to where you guys were.

"Hey, we miss anything?" She asked. You shook your head. "No there just talking," you replied. "At least they aren't fighting," Remus said. You nodded, they did have a tendency to bicker. "Sirius is going to be sad he missed this," Peter said, shaking his head.

After seeing them talk for a while, they eventually left the portrait hole. "Wow," you said. "Yeah," Marlene replied, just as in shock as you. "Alright, it's getting late and the life of the party is already passed out," you said, pointing to Sirius and thinking it would be a good time to call it a night.

"I'll put Sirius to bed. Peter, help me," Remus said. Peter nodded, getting up off the floor. Before walking over to Sirius, Remus walked over to you. "Stay out here, yeah?" He questioned. You nodded, kissing him on the cheek. Remus and Peter picked up a passed out Sirius, walking him up to their dorm room.

You and Marlene took out your wands, then beginning to clean up the common room. Everyone groaned, knowing the party was over. Some went back to their common rooms and others lazily walked up their dorms. "I'm guessing you staying out here for Remus?" Marlene asked.

You nodded in response. "Okay then, don't stay up to late, Y/n/n," Marlene said. She then walked up to the dorm room that you, Lily, and her shared. You sat down on the couch, waiting for Remus and thinking what James and Lily were doing right now. Feeling some one take your hand, you turned to see Remus sitting down next to you. "I'm back, love," he said.

"So why did you want me to stay behind?" You asked. "I wanted to give you a proper goodnight," he said, leaning into kiss you. You kissed back, the kiss getting extremely heated. After a few minutes of making out on the couch, you both heard the portrait door open.

"Shit! McGonagall?" You whispered. Remus didn't know who else it could be and knew that the both of you were sure to get busted.

Looking up and over the couch your let out a breath of relief. "Thank god, it's just you two," You said, seeing James and Lily.

Remus sat up from on top of you and James raised his eyebrows. "Worried we were McGonagall?" He joked. Remus playfully glared at him, "Yeah, we did," he replied, getting off you.

"So where did the two of you go?" You asked Lily. Lily blushed, walking up to take James hand, "We talked," she replied shortly, giving you a 'we will talk later' look. You nodded understandably.

“Well, Lily and I are going to head to bed," you said, now fully off the couch. You kissed Remus goodnight, mumbling the usual "I love you," to him.

The rest of the night, you, Lily, and Marlene talked about Lily's night with James. As the four boys, talked about the party, Lily, and you.

[rosaliepostsstuff]

Good Team | B.W.

Pairing: Bill Weasley x fem!reader

summary: Right after you graduate from Hogwarts you manage to get a job as a curse breaker at Gringotts. You surprise your dear friend, Bill, as the two of you get an assignment together, to find precious manuscripts, in a place believed to be only a legend. word count: 7696

warnings: language, cigarettes (Bill is a smoker), briefly nudity (a shower), food and drinking, alcohol, a bit of violence, an injury

a/n: It’s finally here! I’ve been working on this one for so long, seriously, but it was a lot of fun. It’s my first Bill fic and it is pretty long so I’m a bit anxious, so if you liked it, please do leave some feedback, it means the world to me!

tags: @izzyyy-1​ ; @amourtentiaa​ ; @thisismynerdyself​ ; @pxroxide-prinxcesss​ ; @lumos-barnes​ ; @hufflepuffalice​ ; @slytherclawbitch​ ; @famdomhideout​ ; @mollenniumfalcon​ ; @accioweaslcy​​

 You drew the string on your trusted backpack and patted it gently.

You looked around the room one last time - mostly to calm yourself down rather than to actually check whether you had forgotten anything - if you had, you wouldn’t have noticed it anyway.

You picked the backpack up with ease, even though its contents would allow you to survive in the wilderness for weeks. Thanks to your fresh, new job, you had obtained a permit to charm it with the Undetectable Extension Charm.

You threw on your dragonhide jacket, then glanced at your watch while tying the shoelaces of your boots – 10 minutes till you were supposed to be at Gringotts to pick up your Portkey. Just enough time.

The day for William Weasley started ordinarily. He was supposed to be back at work at 9 A.M., after having a few days off thanks to an assignment well completed, to receive a new one.

He also knew someone new, from England, was going to assist him on this one. It wasn’t uncommon for him to work with others, curse-breaking was a highly dangerous, often tricky profession, after all, so he didn’t put much thought into it. Maybe apart from hoping they wouldn’t make his job more difficult for him, which was fair.

He had woken up in the small flat he was renting in the city. Having grown up on the outskirts of a small village in Devon, living in a big city was an entirely new thing to him – with all it had to offer. He quite enjoyed that, so even though he was out on the job rather often, he opted to rent a flat in the city and commute to work, outside of it, by apparition.

The flat was pretty shabby, but he didn’t need much. The bed in his small bedroom was situated in just the right spot in relation to the window, that most of the year the sunrays hit him in the face, waking him up, at just the right time – like today.

He got up and grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to pull on after a quick shower. Then he had a mug of coffee with a quick breakfast. The grounds at the bottom of the mug stubbornly got into his mouth a few times, but he didn’t care really – he just spit them out and took another sip, glancing at the clock while the news reporter on the Muggle radio spoke in the background.

Bill could understand a few words here and there at this point – the man presented the weather forecast, as Bill was finishing his coffee and cleaning up after himself.

A quick change of clothes and a teeth brushing later, he was glancing at himself in the broken mirror of the tiny entry hallway. He seized a hair tie off a dresser and tied the upper half of his shoulder-length hair into a ponytail, then apparated to the headquarters of the Egyptian Gringotts branch.

Standing by the Portkey with less than a minute to go you felt slight nerves in your stomach. You couldn’t know if this was the excitement of your new job and finally getting to see and surprise Bill, or just the anticipation of the unpleasant feeling of travel you were about to experience.

You had no time to dwell on it. “Miss Y/L/N,” the goblin called out your name to signal you, and you grabbed the broken clock, then a few seconds of your insides turning later, you were standing in some kind of hall.

“Miss Y/L/N, right this way, please,” before you could have a look around, another goblin spoke from behind your back now, evidently not wanting to waste any time.

You were brought to an office and told to wait for your new supervisor to fill you in. You had a feeling this would take long, and you were right.

The office decor was quite unlikely for goblins, there was no grandeur – on the contrary, it looked rather mundane, and very beige. You got to study the appearances of Mr Wickedgher – the goblin you were waiting for – and his predecessors a few decades back. Behind the small window covered by aluminium blinds, you saw ordinary buildings on the other side of the street.

After a while, you started bouncing your knee up and down, while admiring Wickedgher’s quill arrangement – it was very neat. There were a few moments where you heard voices in the corridor outside the door, but they passed by.

Finally, the fourth time it happened, after a voice unmistakably belonging to a goblin, you heard a very familiar, deep and warm wizard’s voice. You straightened up in your chair a bit, (as if it mattered,) then got up when the door opened.

Bill was shocked to see you, just as you expected. You put your warm greetings off until you were done with this meeting. You couldn’t tell if Wickedgher picked up on the fact that you and Bill knew each other – and if he did, he didn’t really care.

You sat on the edge of your seat when he spoke – you had only received a brief description of your assignment in England and it seemed as if Bill knew nothing. Even though they were stationed in Egypt, the goblins were sending you into the middle of Europe upon learning some new facts concerning a legend previously believed to be made up. The task, although very challenging, seemed exciting.

“We were able to confirm one location you can start with, I’m afraid you’ll have to take it from there. We have prepared you a Portkey that will depart tomorrow at 7 A.M. precisely. Any further questions?” your boss asked calmly, glancing at a drawer in his desk very briefly.

You thought intensely – this was your first job, nothing came to mind now, but was there anything else you could ask about? Anything you should ask about?

You put your faith in Bill. He glanced at you after a second, to check if you were going to say anything, then replied, “We’re good, Wickedgher. Anything else today?” “I suppose you could use the time to show our new recruit our office, but nothing apart from that. Just make sure you’re on time tomorrow.” “Will do,” Bill said and you nodded, then you grabbed your backpack lying at the foot of your chair and the two of you left the office.

Bill had his back turned to you. A cheeky, slightly shy smile made its way onto your face. He turned around with arms crossed on his chest and an eyebrow raised, suppressing a smile. “Got something to say to me?”

You grinned at him, saying “surprise?”, and you saw him break, so you reached up to embrace him. He gave you a tight, Bill, bear hug.

“Why haven’t you told me, you rascal?” he chuckled, still holding you a couple of seconds longer. “I wanted to surprise you..! I applied right after I got my N.E.W.T. results and they reached back two weeks after. When they told me I was going to Egypt I knew I had to keep it a secret, though I didn’t know they were gonna give us a mission together until three days ago,” you explained, still beaming at him. When you decided to become a curse-breaker during your fifth year at Hogwarts, working alongside Bill once again seemed like a dream. No matter how helpful the rest of your friends have been over the years, you didn’t feel as good with any of them by your side, during your curse-breaking feats, as you did with Bill.

“That would be because I’ve just finished working on one nasty tomb down south then,” he told you, his facial expression saying he was just recalling that particularly difficult task he clearly just wanted to forget about.

Bill showed you around the few spaces to your disposition during work and you took some time to go over all the evidence you had been provided with, and prepare yourself for the assignment. Then the two of you decided to grab lunch and coffee together, to catch up.

“So where are you staying? Renting anything?” Bill conversed, lighting a cigarette, as the two of you sat at an outside table of a small café. “No, not yet. They still haven’t told me if I’m gonna be stationed here, or for how long. And as for today - I wasn’t really expecting to have to stay the night here just yet. I thought we were leaving right away,” you admitted, you still haven’t figured out where you’d be sleeping that night. “Oh- then, you can crash at mine. It’s not much, but it would be hard to find anything for you on such short notice…” Bill offered, concerned.

You felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. But then you supposed crashing on the floor of his flat was nothing in comparison to what you were probably gonna go through very soon.

“Thanks, Bill, I appreciate that,” you smiled at him kindly.

You followed behind him on the narrow staircase of the old apartment building, after a day full of walking around the city. On the fourth floor, Bill walked up to one of the doors, fumbling in the pocket of his jeans for the keys. Standing by his side, you had an odd mixture of feelings.

At 18, most of your friends still lived with their families. It was a part of stepping into adulthood, but nonetheless, it felt strange to think that you were about to walk into a friend of yours’ own flat.

Upon entering the tiny space, you saw Bill everywhere. It did look like a 20-year-old’s place. There was a faint smell of cigarettes present and it was quite tidy, but not Molly-like immaculate. Just like Bill – the most laid-back Head Boy Hogwarts has ever had.

Going from the tiny entry hall there was a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a room serving as a living room and a bedroom, with a foldable couch.

“I was speechless too when I first saw it,” he joked, making you chuckle. “Make yourself at home, Y/N! You thirsty, want something to drink, water..?” He walked over to the kitchen and visually searched it. “Nah, I’m good for now, thank you,” you replied, walking over to the couch after setting down your bag. “…Booze..?” he continued, in a tone pretending to be ashamed of the question, a single hand holding a bottle poking out of the archway. “Sure, Weasley, let’s get hammered the night before a job. 7 AM, remember?”

“Eh, suit yourself,” he said, stretching his back while he walked over to the window. The sun was setting, the room was illuminated by its pinkish-orange rays. He opened the window, reaching one of his hands into his back pocket for a smoke.

You walked up next to him and leaned on the windowsill.

It was a beautiful evening. The warm air was blowing in your face, the sun setting low and you lost yourself, enjoying that moment. You felt an immense sense of freedom, like you could do just about anything at that point. Nothing was stopping you, all worries and responsibilities forgotten. All you felt was the open world in front of you, and Bill next to you. You were happy.

“We should probably get an early night. A good rest before leaving for Merlin knows how long won’t hurt,” Bill reasoned, breaking the silence, as the smoke from his last drag was leaving his lips. The sun was almost fully set now, the inside was getting dark. He stubbed the cigarette out on the outside of the wall, then tossed it into an old jar, already half-full with others.

“Right, yeah…” you nodded, pulled out of your daydream. “Do you want to use the bathroom first?” he asked.

You felt a bit odd using his shower, though just like any shower outside of home.

After turning the water on you allowed yourself to relax a bit. You took a look around the kind of cosmetics he used and it felt like learning some deep secrets.

You lathered your body and tried not to think about the less pleasant part of your job, namely, when would the next time you get to take a proper shower be, after this one.

A double knock on the door startled you. “Would you like tea?” William asked from behind the door. “Uhm… yes..?” you replied, subconsciously covering yourself. Even though there were a closed-door and a wall between you, it felt strange to speak to him while you were naked. After that, he was gone again, and you quickly finished your shower.

When you walked out, the couch was unfolded and the bed was made. On the floor, some distance from it, laid a make-shift bed out of blankets.

Bill was in the kitchen, sitting by the small table, looking out the window with a steaming mug in his hands. Another one was waiting for you on the other side of the table.

He looked up at you as you walked into the room, then sat down opposite him. “Thank you,” you said, sliding the mug closer to yourself. “I like having one before sleep,” he confessed, referring to the tea.

When Bill was taking a shower you had a look into your backpack, preparing for the morning, then looked out the window some more to pass time.

He walked out in a pair of boxers and a loose, weird sisters t-shirt. You wondered if that was how he usually slept or if he put the shirt on because of you.

A bit hesitantly, you walked over to the bedding on the floor, ready to tuck in for the night, but he stopped you.

“You didn’t think that when I offered you a place to crash, I’d make you the one sleeping on the floor,” he pretty much stated. “Noo,” you replied sheepishly, both of you knowing well that you did.

You walked over to your spots and laid down in silence, then you could hear the rustle of Bill’s bedding as he tried to get comfortable.

“Thank you, Bill,” you said, quietly. “Not a problem,” he replied, and you rolled onto your side to sleep.

“Night, Y/N,” he said, sounding as if he were falling asleep already. “Good night.”

When you woke up it was already bright outside. You rolled onto your other side and saw that Bill was still asleep.

He was sleeping without covers, curled up in a ball. His long hair was messy and his face half-buried in the pillow. You let yourself look at him for a moment with a small smile on your face.

Glancing at the clock, it was still early. You closed your eyes back, to wait until he woke up. When you opened them again, you could smell the breakfast being cooked.

Bill was trying to be as quiet as possible so you wouldn’t have to be up earlier than necessary. As soon as you realised what was going on, you felt giddy. You stretched in bed, then got up. When Bill heard the commotion, he poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Morning,” you greeted with a smile upon seeing him, making your way to where he was. “Good morning, colleague,” he replied, then got back to making food.

He appeared to have washed up and dressed already, his hair half-tied up into a bun. You sat by the table, wincing after hearing the term. “Colleague?” you asked, not amused by that banter. He chuckled with his back turned to you, but didn’t reply. “Tea, coffee?” he asked sunnily instead. “Coffee, please.”

He poured some into a mug, then placed the ready food on a plate and carried all that to you at the table.

“Thank you, Molly,” you couldn’t help yourself.

Bill snatched a kitchen rag off the counter and with an angry expression, placed his hands on his hips. The resemblance was uncanny and you found that funnier than you probably should’ve.

With a smirk, he let go of the act after you giggled and joined you at the table with his own plate and mug.

“How did you sleep?” he asked. “Pretty good, thank you. It didn’t take me too long to fall asleep in the evening. And I actually woke up before you did, but fell back asleep.” “Oh, wow.” “Yeah, how was your sleep on the floor? You seemed to be pretty comfortable,” you giggled to yourself, recalling the image. Bill cleared his throat, “I am a man of many talents, and sleeping anywhere is one of them.” “Okay, then…” you suppressed another chuckle.

“How d’you feel before your first job?” “Excited, I guess?” you answered truthfully. “I think I’ll do okay. You always said I’d be a good curse-breaker…” “And I stand by that.” “How did you feel right before your first job? What was it, some castle ruin in Wales..?”

“Mhmm, yeah…” he mumbled, chewing on his food. “I remember not being able to get a good rest because Fred and George stayed up and had a little emergency. They mixed up the powder of a few different types of fireworks and almost blew the whole house up. Excited to go to Hogwarts, they were. Charlie and I had to help them fix it without waking mum up so she wouldn’t find out,” he grunted. “So you’re already one up on me.”

Bill extended his hand to you, to help you up after you’ve fallen out of the Portkey.

“Ahh, I thought I was getting the hang of it, I landed in Egypt pretty gracefully,” you grunted while getting up, brushing gravel off of your butt. “Practice makes perfect, love,” Bill commented, already scanning your surroundings.

You found yourself on a dirt road, and though the opening for the path was pretty wide, there were miles of woods surrounding you. You had a rough idea where in central Europe you were situated, in a valley between mountains. You didn’t expect to find what you were you were looking for so easily, however, so all maps you could need were securely in your backpack.

The weather was pleasant, much cooler than Egypt for sure, but it was still the middle of summer. You tapped the watch on your wrist with your wand to change it to local time.

“6:06 AM – look, we went back in time…” you joked stupidly and Bill looked at you with a half-smile.

“We should move. From this spot, it shouldn’t take us too long to find some clues mentioned in those notes.”

Your goal was to find a tower, where over 500 years ago, a wizard named Halllegend Hugshot supposedly lived and carried out his research and experiments. The fruit of said research was the true purpose of your mission.

The only real problem was that apart from a few lucky apprentices, nobody has ever seen the tower. Halllagend was believed to have disappeared without a trace somewhere off the coast of the Black Sea, and the folk from a nearby dwelling, long abandoned and in ruin, said the area was always empty, uninhabited. And till that day it was believed to be only a legend, magical historians saying that Hallagend never set foot in that part of the world.

You went on quite the hike through the woods, the only thing to guide you were vague notes and a few inaccurate maps from the middle ages. Dawand Davisshot, for example, would find his way to his mentor’s residence by cutting through a cave that has collapsed centuries ago.

You and Bill had your lunch on the way, wanting to make as much progress as you could before setting up camp. Hours were passing, you’ve made your way up a smaller mountain and the only thing keeping you from believing you were completely lost – were occasional sightings of things like peculiar rocks or old trees that may have been the landmarks mentioned by the apprentices.

“You think when we get there, what’s next?” you questioned Bill a bit out of breath, to relieve boredom, well into the afternoon. “Hmm?” Bill muttered, pulled out of his thoughts. “We find the tower, we high five, we get inside and then what? See a desk in the middle of the room, and on it, a pile of parchment rolls waiting for us to take them? What do you think the place is going to look like?” “Guess I haven’t thought about that in much detail. Could be anything... But I doubt a regular building would’ve remained uncharted for that long,” he pointed out. “I suppose,” you agreed. “I’m just hoping for no dragons inside. I’ve had my share of dragons…” you mumbled, recalling your venture to the portrait vault and mostly, the time you joined Bill on his job at a dragon sanctuary.

You’ve noticed that he stopped and hesitated to go further, looking around and down at the ground.

You dug your foot around a bit. The ground was covered with dense thickets, it was easy to blend in with the rest while walking. Underneath, however, was not soil, but solid rock.

“Good one, Weasley,” you praised, having a closer look, and he didn’t reply. The mineral was like nothing you’ve seen before. You didn’t reckon it was Muggle.

When a single ray of sunshine got through the leaves above, when the clouds moved with the wind, shining on it, it almost glowed.

“The place looks like what Humpty Wanderer or whatever his name was described…” Bill observed, suspiciously. “Where’s the tower, though,” he didn’t hide his mild annoyance.

It was true, the opening in the trees stuck out in the middle of the woods, and all that rock seemed justly out of place.

With the lack of a better idea, you took your wand out and raised it. “You think a simple spell will break his defences?” Bill quipped defiantly.

Ignoring him, you opted to start with the simplest one – you cast Revelio nonverbally and the mineral started to glow underneath the cover. You could see now that it covered all of the circular area of the opening in the trees.

You looked at Bill with the smuggest smile. “Shove it,” he retorted in a friendly manner, then flicked his wand to get rid of the thicket. The general glow subdued and shapes started to reveal themselves. Shapes you recognised to be runes.

“HA!” you laughed “Don’t take ancient runes for your newts, it’s good for nothing, d’you know how boring it is?” you mocked the voice of Bill from a bit over two years ago, when you were finishing your fifth year at Hogwarts, about to start your sixth year, and he – graduate.

“Yeah, I take it back, alright… I’d be fucked without you,” he muttered, studying the shapes without understanding. Instinctively, you’d counter that. But instead, you smiled idiotically to yourself at those words, reading a bit too much into them.

Bill looked up at you expectantly and you blushed a bit. “So… would you..?” he prompted, bringing you back to reality. “Ah..! Yeah, yeah, of course…” you muttered, then went on to translate the message.

“It says the passage can be opened on the night of the new moon… the new moon..?” you looked at him desperately. Waiting around for the right phase of the moon didn’t sound very pleasant to you. “No, no, that’s in a few days. What is it today, the 22nd ?” “Yeah.” “Then that’s three days from now,” he said, with focus written on his face.

It made you feel a bit guilty, as if by translating the message you were the one making you two sit around and do nothing in the middle of nowhere.

You set up camp in a pleasant spot not far. Being one to fear an encounter with wild animals after dark, you made sure to set up magical barriers as well.

The tents Gringotts provided its curse-breakers weren’t the most luxurious, the goblins had better things to spend their gold on. Your tent consisted of two rooms – one, middle-sized, with a bunk bed, a table that could fit four people and a small, very basic kitchenette. Off to the side was a bathroom.

“Shotgun the top bunk,” you announced after Bill finished setting up the tent and the two of you walked in. He tutted and swore.

That evening you prepared supper for the two of you and as a peace offering after snatching the superior bunk, you also made some tea.

“Bill..!” you called out to him when you were done. He had been hanging around before, then disappeared. “Out here!” he answered, by the sound, from somewhere near the tent entrance.

Upon stepping outside, you saw two foldable chairs and a table, and Bill standing next to them, looking unsure.

“Ah, making a house feel like home,” you commented and Bill winked in reply.

You sat outside as it was getting dark. Your moods were mixed after that eventful day. You were exhausted after the whole day of walking and you weren’t exactly happy with what you discovered. You couldn’t know what would happen on the night of the new moon. All left to do now was wait around for three days and it could still be for nothing.

But you supposed it could still have been worse.

And so both of you weary, you got ready for bed and clambered into your bunks. You turned off the light and tried to get comfortable in the cold camp-bed.

“Night, Y/N,” said Bill, yawning, bringing you a bit of comfort. “Good night, Bill.”

And so the first day ended.

When you woke up the next day, your whole body ached. Bill was already up, it was past 11 AM. After making a teasing remark about how well you slept, he disappeared somewhere, while you groggily ate ‘breakfast’ and got ready for the day.

He was still absent when you finished, so unsure what to do with your time, you grabbed a book you took the liberty of packing into your backpack. However, after you positioned one of the chairs in the shade underneath a tree, you managed to read half a chapter before you saw him walking back towards the tent.

You were curious as to what he was doing but didn’t want to appear nosy. Glancing up from your book with a small smile, you showed you had acknowledged his presence, and hoped he’d start talking first.

He smiled back and walked past you, inside. You fought a battle with your curiosity, your fingers almost ready to close the book.

But you reopened it fully in haste and pretended to be immersed in it, when he came back out a minute later, after having refilled his water bottle.

He placed the second chair next to you and sat down with a heavy sigh. Agonizingly slow, he opened the bottle and quenched his thirst.

“What’re you reading?” he asked, curiosity in his voice.

You tried not to show your mild disappointment and raised up the book to show him the cover and let him see for himself.

“Mhmm… I’ve heard about it. I read her last book and wondered if this one was any good.” “I’ve barely read a few chapters but so far it’s alright,” you pondered.

Bill hummed in response. He leaned back in his chair and looked up into the bright sky, closing one eye due to the sun poking through the leaves.

“I took a walk and had a look around the area,” he started. You hummed this time. It was exactly what you were waiting for. “Yesterday not enough for you?” you asked. “Why, muscles achy?” he teased you, nudging your leg with his. He was fit, you had to give it to him. Ignoring your groan, he continued – “I found a nice spot by the cliffside. Maybe we could go there tonight.” “Why do you wanna hang around a cliff edge during the night?” “I thought it would be good for stargazing if the sky’s clear,” he explained, making you suddenly feel a few degrees hotter at the thought. “If we’re to camp here, might as well do something worthwhile in the meantime,” he reasoned.

“Wow…” you exclaimed, after arriving at your destination as the sun was setting.

This spot showed a clear view of the valley and the stream running through it. You could see all the surrounding mountains and the different various layers of flora at different heights.

“Told you,” Bill said in an undertone.

The cliffside itself didn’t look as dangerous as you had imagined. The spot was actually quite cosy, you felt sheltered. You put a thick blanket over a large log to sit on it.

The two of you admired the view almost wordlessly until the sun was fully set.

The starry sky prompted a bit of nostalgia in both of you. You reminisced your years at Hogwarts, talking of your shared adventures and friends. Of how you visited the Burrow for the first time and almost sabotaged your trip, wanting to prepare a gift for the Weasleys. Or how indecisive Bill had been with his career choice in his OWL year.

A cloudless sky during the night caused a chill in the air. The two of you had brought blankets but you still subconsciously sat a bit closer to Bill and leaned into his side, as he leaned back on his arms, looking up at the sky.

“Good thing I went with curse-breaker in the end,” he stated. “Yeah… and here we are,” you chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” he said. Bill sounded different that night. He spoke in a tone you’ve never heard before. It was simultaneously deeper and softer, reaching into your very soul. And without thinking, you somehow spoke differently, too. Your voice was sweet and tender.

“We just make a good team,” you claimed with a smile. “Yeah,” he agreed.

There was a bit of a pause after that, after which he added – “…and I’d have bored my ass off otherwise,” making you laugh. “This camping trip’s not so bad after all…”

“Aaah, ah..! I almost forgot!” he began, straightening up abruptly. “I packed this…” he muttered, reaching into his own bag to retrieve a thermos with two mugs, one for each of you. He flicked his wand and the mugs filled themselves in the air, then floated into your hands.

And so the custom was followed. You went back into the tent before too long, and when Bill wished you a good night that time, it felt somehow better, spreading warmth through your body.

And so, the second day ended.

You felt a gentle stroke on your shoulder, that had nothing to do with what you were dreaming of. In an instant, you couldn’t even remember what you were dreaming of.

“Y/N…” Bill said quietly, standing next to the bed as you laid on your side with your back turned to him, and woke you up completely.

He retreated his hand, you took a deep breath, slowly opening your eyes, and stretched. When you turned, you saw him leaning his forearms on the railing. “I made breakfast and got tired of waiting,” he admitted, smiling a bit.

Indeed, you could smell food and coffee waiting for you at the table. The air was considerably chillier than the two previous days. When you got up and pulled a hoodie over your head, Bill opened the door a little to let a bit of natural light inside.

You sat at the table together, not saying anything, and for a moment you forgot why you were there in the first place. You forgot how inconvenient the delay seemed at first. You couldn’t place the feeling, but you were really happy about spending that time with Bill.

There he was, with all his cool aura – his hair half-tied up at the back per usual, slight stubble on his face, wearing a loose, grey t-shirt, fitted jeans and boots. And you got to see him with his resting face on, then furrowing his eyebrows slightly as he wondered whether to put raspberry or strawberry jam on his toast, while he sipped on his morning coffee. And nobody, and nothing else around.

He looked up suddenly, noticing you haven’t touched anything yet and pulling you back to reality, his blue eyes pierced into you. You dropped your gaze instantly and he did the same, you felt the heat reach your cheeks right away.

He cleared his throat quietly, possibly making the situation more awkward. “The weather got worse,” he began, having made his decision concerning the jam. “Yeah, it’s chilly, isn’t it?” you chuckled, hugging the hoodie tighter around yourself. Bill turned to you with a smile and you noticed once again, that he was wearing a t-shirt. “Right, of course…” you recalled all the times at Hogwarts when you’d wrap yourself in jackets and scarves, while he walked around in barely a thin long-sleeve.

You spend the rest of the morning each doing your own thing. It started raining in the early afternoon, providing you with the background noise of pitter-patter, the droplets hitting the tent’s surface.

Bill suddenly remembered he had packed his set of wizards’ chess, which kept you entertained for about a couple of hours.

“It is still gorgeous outside, though,” Bill pointed out, pulling the fabric covering the entrance back a bit to take a look.

He walked over to his bag with a purpose, grabbed a hoodie and pulled it over his head. “Care to join me..?” he asked. “In what?” you questioned in reply, confused as to what he had in mind. “Getting a bit of fresh air,” he answered, matter-of-factly. You stared at him with an expression suggesting the idea wasn’t very appealing, which only seemed to make him smile wider.

He snatched his jacket and throwing it at you, said – “Come on..!” with a grin, then pulled the hood over his head and walked outside.

Fully certain you had gone insane, you put on his jacket and joined him. He looked completely unbothered, content just standing there. Having cast the umbrella charm, you quickly skipped over to cover him too.

Bill dried a part of a boulder for you to sit on. “See? Pretty nice,” he noted and you scoffed in response. But his shit-eating grin meant you couldn’t keep a straight face.

It wasn’t bad, despite the rain it was quite sunny. You had Bill’s jacket on, keeping you warm from the wind, surrounding you in his scent, and his mood was contagious.

He reached into the pocket of his jeans. “You wanted to go out just so you could have a smoke, didn’t you?” you quipped. “Not just for that,” he countered with a cheeky smile, putting the cigarette between his lips. “Remind me, have I asked you before what your mum said when she found out that you smoke?” you put on a face of the deepest thought. “…she doesn’t know,” he answered, lighting it.

He was right, it was pretty nice.

You sat in comfortable silence. When he finished smoking, you put your head on his shoulder, almost pulled in. It came to you without another thought, to wrap your arm around his, your other hand resting in his elbow, and he rested his cheek on top of your head.

The sound of rain all around you, tapping against the leaves above brought you a sense of serenity. You looked at the sky above, wondering if you could perhaps spot a rainbow somewhere, as the sun poked through the clouds for a moment.

You felt the gentle weight lift off of your head and, almost instinctively, you lifted your head too.

“Do you think I’d look good with earrings?” Bill asked, thinking deeply.  “Or just like one, maybe..?” You chuckled, shaking your head. You couldn’t believe this guy.

“Probably depends on what kind of earrings you’re thinking of…” “Something cool,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Ah, of course. Well then, I guess so. Would match your vibe,” you said without much thought, not looking at him.

He was suspiciously quiet, so you turned your head and saw the mischievous smile. “So I’m cool, huh?” he shrugged his eyebrows.

“Forget I said anything,” you shook your head again and tried not to smile or blush. “Fat chance. I’ll store this one deep down,” he announced. “Though I may have heard that one once or twice before…”

You had no witty comeback for that, and your façade cracked quickly. You started laughing and Bill joined in quickly. It felt light-hearted.

You didn’t know when his face had gotten so close to yours, he brushed a strand of hair off your face and his hand stayed on your cheek. His thumb brushed over your skin delicately and you leaned closer, leaving the last step to him.

He connected your lips, yet they were barely touching. He tested the kiss as if he expected you to push him away any second, and when he pulled away it left you awakened and frustrated.

He saw that in your eyes, while his showed shock. He kissed you once again, passionately this time, pulling you in. You kissed him back with just as much emotion, you wrapped your arms around his neck and his hood got pulled off in the moment. You failed to realise you broke the umbrella charm. One of his hands remained on your face, cupping your jaw, while the other found your waist, both of them felt as if they were made to be there.

He pulled away reluctantly. Only then you realised just how soaked the two of you were and laughed about it. Needless to say, you ran back to the tent hastily, to dry yourselves off.

And that night you could safely say that it felt, by far, the best out of all the previous times, to be wished good night by Bill when he lied next to you in the warm bed, as the sound of rain lulled you to sleep.

And so, the third day ended.

The final day before the new moon, the weather was considerably nicer.

You didn’t talk much on your way there. It was getting dark quickly, but you could see the spot in the distance – the almost courtyard-like area where the tower, or the passage to it, was supposed to appear, stuck out like a sore thumb.

You arrived there and waited. It got dark, and you still waited for something to happen.

“It said the passage can be opened, but not how to open it,” Bill pointed out.

You didn’t say anything. Truthfully, because he was right. And the fact that there could be something you should be doing right now, but instead, you were just standing there, was scary. You could be waiting until the very dawn and nothing would happen, and for your next chance, you’d have to wait for a full moon cycle, or come back to the goblins empty-handed.

“It’s… it’s still early, the sun has just set,” you attempted to stay positive, looking up at the dark sky and trying to find the moon.

It took some more waiting for you to start seriously worrying, Bill was pacing the area and smoking. But then you felt something.

Very strong magic in the air, it was like the whole ground was shaking, shaking your insides, while none of that physically happened. The moon shone through the opening in the leaves above, and once more, the rock below you started glowing.

This time the glow kept growing, it became unbearable, you had to close your eyes to protect them, and the magical force became so strong it was pushing you away from the circle.

This lasted for maybe two minutes, yet felt much longer. You saw through your eyelids that it was dark again, and nothing was pushing you away anymore. You were finally able to take a proper breath.

“You okay?” Bill asked, concerned, from somewhere behind you. “Yeah,” you answered and nodded, even though you could see nothing. You cast Lumos Maxima overhead and Bill finally joined you as you realised you stood a few meters away from the steps leading up to an old, wooden doorway. Doorway into the tower.

You looked at each other as if trying to find answers for what just happened. When you walked up the steps slowly and approached the doors, everything suddenly became eerily quiet. You could no longer hear the forest around you.

“What do you think?” you asked Bill quietly. “Just… just stay on your guard.”

You did so, but without seeing any other option, placed your hand on the door handle.

You knew immediately what happened, feeling it drive through your mind. It was enchanted, the entrance used Legilimency on you, but this was not your first time. You blocked your mind quickly, and the lock clicked soon. You pressed the handle and opened the door ever so slightly, just so it wouldn’t lock again.

“It was enchanted. The handle. Some security charm, it used Legilimency on me,” you explained, coming down from the shock. “Did you manage to block it?” Bill questioned, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Yes,” you replied as if it were obvious.

“Can you use Legilimency on objects?” he asked after a few seconds, remembering you were a natural Legilimens. “Think about it, Bill, you should have your answer. Though if something’s charmed to have sentience, maybe. Haven’t tried…”

You stepped inside, keeping your eyes and ears peeled for anything dangerous. Bill lit the lamps, and you were able to get a proper look at the spacious room.

It looked like a normal house. From the 1400s of course, but nonetheless. Not a hermit’s lair, not some kind of evil den, but a house someone lived in. It wasn’t even dusty, or cobwebbed. An illusion charm?

After searching the entire first floor you still didn’t come across a study, a lab, or anything alike. You were about to leave one of the rooms when you heard a familiar purr.

“He had a cat..?” Bill wondered, but your eyebrows furrowed. “A chimaera, rather,” you replied, making his face fall.

There was no other way out for you, anyway. Hoping your experience with chimaeras would prove enough for you to handle this one, somehow, you stepped back into the main hall.

The beast stood guard in the centre of the room, proudly, and didn’t show any signs of aggression just yet. It watched contently as you made your way along the walls towards the exit at first, but it didn’t like it when you got closer to the staircase upstairs.

Its purrs changed into growls and its hoofs kicked the ground angrily, giving you a clear signal to stop. The surroundings changed, the paint started to peel off the walls at first, everything began to age rapidly. The tower seemed to shake the stronger, the louder the beast roared, and threatened to fall apart.

There was no other solution now, but to fight it. Yet even for two certified, skilled wizards such as you and Bill, and adult chimaera was a dangerous challenge. Stunning spells were flying, you had to dodge attacks from the beast who could not decide whom to attack while thinking of a solution.

As you were getting tired, so was the beast, but that still didn’t mean your success was close. You saw your chance when it was about to pounce the ground in front of you. You got ready to cast the Conjunctivitis curse and raised your wand.

The chimaera hit the ground and you felt a sharp pain at the back of your neck, then everything went dark.

When you eventually came back to your senses, you felt incredibly tired. Your head was lying on something soft and warm. You could open your eyes, but you didn’t want to, you felt comfortable like that.

“Y/N..?” you heard a warm voice say as someone’s fingers delicately pushed some hair off your forehead. Bill’s voice, and Bill’s hand, you realised. And underneath your head, was Bill’s lap.

You opened your eyes slightly and saw his face, a bit shiny and dirty due to the dust that stuck to his sweat. He was relieved. You also noticed you were still inside the main hall of the tower.

“How do you feel?” You took a breath and wet your lips. “I could use a nap,” you admitted, making him smile.

You sat up with his help and felt the back of your head. It still hurt a bit, but probably not as much as it should’ve. You could feel a freshly healed wound there - Bill’s doing.

“Where is it?” you asked, impressed with how not only Bill remained intact after you’d collapsed, but also you were still alive. “I managed to push it back into one of the back rooms and close the door,” he answered, looking into space as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

You looked around all the rubble and remembered why you’d come here.

“Soo… all that for nothing, huh,” you said grimly. “Well, not quite,” Bill corrected you, “there’s still the attic.”

You carefully climbed the spiralled stairs, hoping for no more security beasts or charms. You took the door which stood out the most and hit the goldmine.

A room full of bookcases and worktables, measures, ingredients and lab glass. Little bottles everywhere, and above all, scrolls upon scrolls of parchment.

It felt weird to finally be done with it. You were almost sad to leave, as you hiked back down the mountain the next morning, but shook the feeling off instantly. You couldn’t know what the future held for you. What epic assignments were yet to come. One thing was certain.

“Soo…” Bill began, looking straight ahead. “…Still looking for a place to live..?”

[southslates]

something wicked this way comes

@grishaversebigbang - it’s been so awesome bringing this six of crows harry potter inspired AU to life!

materialki: @violetfolgi, @spirilium [here], @forgetyourtroubleshappyday, @margot-arts [here], @art-by-me19, @purns-art

summary: Kaz and Inej meet as Hogwarts first years and become fast acquaintances and allies and then something more. A story about falling in love. Slytherin house isn't ready for these two.

ao3 link

prologue (the hogwarts express, year one!) below the cut!:

Inej was always early. She’d slipped into the first open compartment she’d found in the Hogwarts Express, cosying up to the window. She couldn’t stop anyone else from joining her— by the time the late stragglers arrived at the train, she’d probably have to share the room with someone else. 

She sighed at that thought, but decided to sit in silence and stare out the window in solitude for as long as she could. Inej could see the entirety of platform 9¾ from where she was. Her own parents had dropped her off almost half an hour ago, and hadn’t been able to stay. She didn’t blame them; she understood the timeliness required of their profession, and they’d cried over her enough before they left. 

With a quick crack of static, the speaker above her head started to blare. “The train will be leaving in ten minutes,” it said. “We will not stay back for stragglers.”

It was the families of the first years who seemed to be holding up the platform, but Inej saw them slowly start towards the train too. The corridor outside her closed door started up a racket, and she winced. She just wasn’t a fan of loud noise, or of too many people. 

“Ay, you think this one’s free?” she heard, and then the door to her compartment was pushed open. She expected to see a few loud-mouthed fourth years, perhaps even a sixth or seventh year who would force her to leave her blissfully open cabin and walk into the unknown. Instead, she turned her slight head to see a boy who couldn’t be more than a year older than her. 

“It’s full,” he said behind him. His voice was a bit raspy but still pre-pubescent, nothing like anything Inej had heard before.

“Damn it.” Noise dissipated from the corridor, and Inej looked away from the strange boy, tugging her luggage closer to her and staring out the window once more. The platform was empty of children, full of crying parents; almost. She could make out a few stragglers just now coming through the pillar which marked the platform as an in-between. 

“Five minutes,” the speaker rang. 

Inej heard the compartment door slide shut. When she looked to the left again, she saw the boy seated across from her, glaring forward at nothing. She didn’t know what to say to him, so she said nothing, just pulled herself up onto her knees on the seat. A minute or two passed, and the silence switched from slightly uncomfortable to something fitting. Inej was a bit grateful. If she had to sit with someone, at least it wasn’t someone who wanted to make her uncomfortable. 

As the platform grew stagnant, she turned the slightest bit to face the boy, letting her hair fall in front of her face. He was staring straight ahead at the empty seat in front of her, his dark hair falling into his coffee-colored eyes, his mouth in a thin line. He had the chubby cheeks of childhood, the ones she shared, but they looked almost hollow— perhaps they’d look sharp when he grew older. He was wearing a set of wizarding robes, one meant for children— Inej was too, but his were tailored well, and made of a silky fabric she couldn’t name. 

There was a plain black bag at his side that was deceivingly simple; it was made out of a shiny material, too, and rather clean. Inej wondered if he was a member of one of the ancient wizarding families— that seemed likely, though she couldn’t be sure. She scrunched her eyes together and thought she could make out something stitched into the bag’s handle. K. Rotvold? 

“You’re staring,” the boy said, and Inej looked up. She didn’t know how long he’d been watching her trace him. She didn’t say anything. “Who are you?”

“Inej Ghafa,” she whispered after a moment. Her name wouldn’t mean much to anyone— it was her father’s, and it was her mother who was the family wizard. Her father was a muggle; the descendant of squibs, but a muggle nonetheless. 

He nodded and then stared at her, his eyebrows drawn, as though he was doing calculations on her face. He said nothing, so Inej was forced to ask. “And you?”

“Kaz. Kaz Brekker,” he said curtly, his voice rough, like salt. Perhaps that was just puberty. It was an odd sound.

Inej was sure the name on his bag was not Brekker, but she didn’t want to bring that up. She and Kaz met eyes and then both quickly nodded their heads at each other. Then she turned her face back to the window. 

Their quiet existence was interrupted not even a moment later. “The Hogwarts Express is now leaving,” said the announcer. At that moment something suddenly pressed against the compartment door and a girl burst through it, tugging a boy behind her. 

She was tall, far taller than Kaz and Inej and even the boy behind her, and breathing heavily, but smiling. “Told you we’d make it, Jesper!”

The dark-skinned boy, Jesper, let go of her hand and ran it through his hair. “I don’t even know you.”

“We’re friends now,” she turned to him and closed the door behind them just as the train set off, slowly starting to speed out. In a split-second, Kaz scooted down to sit right across from Inej as Jesper fell into the seat next to him and the girl sat down next to Inej. They both clutched their bags tightly to each other.

Inej internally groaned at the intrusion, and when she looked up Kaz was making eye contact with her. His face was stalwart, but she almost felt as though he would be rolling his eyes if he was capable of it. This boy was already an enigma to her. 

“Hi!” the girl on her side said, green eyes shining, bag clutched to her chest. Inej turned to her and gave her a small smile, putting her feet back onto the ground. “I’m Nina! I’m a first year.”

“Hello,” Inej intonated. 

“I’m Jesper, and I’m a first year too,” the boy across from Nina smiled. Then the four of them fell into an awkward silence. 

“I’m Inej,” Inej said. “And this is Kaz. We’re both first years.” At least, she assumed Kaz was.

“Nice to meet you!” Nina said, bending forward to Kaz, as though to shake his hand. He leaned back into his seat and glared at her. “Wow. No need to be like that.”

“Sorry for bursting into your compartment,” Jesper said. “We didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“You weren’t—” Inej blushed. “Nothing, there’s no problem.”

“Great!” Nina said. “I’m so excited to get to Hogwarts. I’ve been practicing magic for a bit but going to the school will be so cool. I want to be a—”

“How’ve you been practicing magic?” Kaz asked, suddenly sitting up.

“I’m—” she almost blushed. “I’m part veela, actually, and I was mostly raised at the Little Palace. You must have heard of it—”

“I have,” Kaz interrupted again. “Veela,” he murmurs, almost as if to himself. “You must know your way around a wand.”

“We work more with specific types of magic,” Nina said. “I specialized in blood magic, mostly for healing. But I’m not very good at it— hopefully it’ll be better with a wand.”

“You’re a heartrender,” Kaz said, seeming a bit taken aback. Nina scrunched her brows. 

“You know about the orders? Are you—”

“I like reading,” he said simply.

Nina nodded slowly and leaned back. “What house do you want to get sorted into?” she asked.

Jesper spoke first. “I’m not sure. Don’t really think I’m meant for Slytherin or Ravenclaw, though.”

“How did you two run into each other?” Inej asked quietly. 

Jesper started laughing. “We were both running late outside the station and came in together.”

“Are you also grisha?” Kaz asked suddenly. 

Jesper seemed a bit shocked, but quickly shook his head. “Nopes,” he popped. He nodded to Inej. “What house do you think you’ll get sorted into?”

“I don’t know,” Inej shook her head, letting more of her hair fall into her face. “I don’t really know much about Hogwarts. I wasn’t supposed to come here.”

“Oh,” Jesper said, then leaned in to look at her. “Were you supposed to go to Karmana?”

“Sort of,” Inej said. “My family travels a lot. We were in England when the letters came, so I got sent here.”

“Cool!” Jesper said. “Well, I’m glad we got to meet you. Now we can all be friends.”

“Excuse me?” Kaz said. Jesper turned to him with a bright grin, refusing to falter as he was met with a stalwart glare. Nobody replied to him; Nina asked Inej if she’d bought her robes, and from where, and if she was looking forward to sharing a dorm. 

Nina was loud and boisterous, and Jesper was funny and constantly in motion, and Kaz was quiet and mean— he’d taken to glaring at Jesper as the boy tried to talk to him about brooms. They were a strange group, the four of them, but even Kaz didn’t grumble as they sat, together, in the boats that would take them to see their first real glimpse of the castle. 

[headcanonsandmore]

“Letters to Charlie” 

Summary:  A selection of letters from Ron to his brother Charlie, throughout Ron's first four years at Hogwarts. Includes some mild Romione mentions.

Read on FFN.                             Read on AO3. 

~~~~~~~~~

[1st October 1991]

Dear Charlie,

How are things at the reserve? You said in your last letter that you’ve been getting a lot more burns than normal; have you asked mum for her recipe on salves?

Anyway, I’m settling in okay at Hogwarts. Really glad I was in Gryffindor; my friend Harry was really worried about it, I think. He’s doing fine, but I wish everyone would stop gawking at him all the time. He’s a good bloke; bit quiet but, considering what his aunt and uncle seem to be like, that’s not surprising.

Also, there’s this girl in our class who’s pretty annoying. She treats everyone like they’re idiots and she’s such a teacher’s pet! Her name’s Hermione Granger, and she’s always butting in whenever me and Harry are chatting. She’s not all bad, but I wish she wouldn’t be so uptight about everything. You’d think that someone with hair that bushy would be a bit more fun-loving, but she’s very straightlaced. But I saw her laughing the other day at a joke I made, so maybe she’s not so serious all the time? She has a cute nice laugh.

Don’t tell the twins I said that, or they’ll never stop going on about it.

Anyway, hope you’re okay and that everyone at the reserve is doing fine,

Love,

Ron

  [12th November 1991]

Dear Charlie,

Glad to hear that that the Common Welsh Green pair are doing okay. Things have gotten pretty weird at Hogwarts; someone (probably Peeves) let a troll into the castle at Halloween! Me and Harry had to rescue Hermione Granger from the troll; she covered for us, so we didn’t get punished. McGonagall even gave us some points for Gryffindor!

Hermione’s alright, I think. Bit intense, but she’s not as stuffy as I thought. I mean, it was kind-of my fault that she ended up getting caught by the troll, so I’m glad she didn’t hold a grudge about it. She’s always asking me about stuff, probably because she’s never grown up in a magical family. You wouldn’t think it if you saw her in class, though; she gets so many questions right and she’s apparently memorised the textbooks! Barmy, I know, but she’s alright.

Speaking of dragons, do you know if there’s any way of getting a baby one out of the country? Hagrid has a baby Norwegian Ridgeback in his house, but it’s dangerous for the baby to stay here.

Love,

Ron

 [16th August 1992]

Dear Charlie,

We managed to rescue Harry from the Dursleys! Mum went mad when we got back, but no harm done. Harry’s aunt and uncle had bars put on his window!  I told mum we had to get him out quick; good thing I noticed he wasn’t responding to my letters. Apparently, a house-elf was trying to stop him going back to Hogwarts; weird, right?

Hermione’s saying that she’s hoping to meet up with us in Diagon Alley; I hope so. It’ll be nice to see her again. Apparently, she’s already done all her homework, but that’s what she’s like. What do you think I should get her for her birthday? I asked Harry, but he suggested one of the textbooks (the poor bloke’s never had to buy any presents for anyone ever). I was thinking maybe some of her favourite long-lasting quills, but I’m not sure. Do you reckon I should get her something more… girly? Her best mates are two blokes, so maybe she’d like something to make it clear that  I we don’t just see her as another boy? What do you think?

I’m looking forward to Hogwarts this year; hopefully, it should be a bit quieter than last year. How’s your summer been going? You mentioned about the Chinese Fireball having fang rot; has that been fixed yet, or is she still having troubles?

Hope all’s good with you,

Love,

Ron

 [6th January 1993]

Dear Charlie,

You’ve probably heard the news already about the attacks happening at Hogwarts. The teachers don’t seem to know who’s doing it. Me, Harry, and Hermione have been trying to figure things out, but we haven’t got any leads lately. We thought it might have been Malfoy, but turns out he’s not doing it (still too happy about the attacks, though, the little git!).

I’m really worried about Hermione, to be honest. The attacks are always against muggle-borns and I’m scared she’s gonna be attacked. Do you know if there’s any creature that can petrify someone? I would ask the defence teacher, but Lockhart can barely tell one end of  his wand from the other. Can’t see why Hermione likes him so much; can’t she see how much of a stupid twerp he is?

Like I said before, I’m really sorry about breaking your old wand. I know you said you don’t mind and you’re just glad I was okay, but still. It keeps making weird bubbles whenever I try and cast any spells. My own fault for breaking it, I guess.

Hope you’re well,

Love,

Ron

 [8th May 1993]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione got attacked. She’s been stuck in the hospital wing ever since.

I’m scared. Harry’s managing to keep his head screwed on straight, but I can’t concentrate in lessons. I keep expecting Hermione to be sat next to me, and whenever I turn to look at her, I remember where she is. All pale and cold, like she’d dead or something.

What do I do, Charlie? How do I help her?

Love,

Ron

 [1st June 1993]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione’s okay! The mandrake stuff finally got given to her, and she’s back to normal! I haven’t smiled this much in months! She gave me and Harry a massive hug each when she turned up in the great hall; me and her couldn’t quite look each-other in the eye afterwards, but I think we both got a bit overwhelmed, you know?

Turns out, this was also because Lucius Malfoy was trying to stop dad’s muggle protection law being passed; people could have died!

Confused as to why none of the teachers bothered to ask Myrtle, since she was a witness to the last time the chamber has been opened, but I guess we’ll never know. Were the teachers like this when you were here?

Anyway, got to go; I insisted that Hermione play some chess with me, since our exams have been cancelled (can you guess which Gryffindor was upset about that?).

Love,

Ron

 [3rd September 1993]

Dear Charlie,

We’re all settling back in at Hogwarts; I’m still using those quills you got me in Egypt (thanks again, by the way). Everyone’s talking about Sirius Black, and Malfoy won’t stop being smug about how he knows something we don’t (arrogant little twerp as always).

Hermione’s cat is a bloody nightmare; he’s spent every evening trying to get at Scabbers, but Hermione won’t hear a word against him! Honestly, I don’t get why she can’t just keep the cat away when I ask her to. But she’s always had this thing about being right about everything, so it’s not unsurprising. I just wish she’d stop acting like it’s normal; Hedwig’s been around for three years, and she’s never attacked Scabbers!

Having said that, the first Hogsmeade visit is something to look forward to. It’s gonna be a bit different because Harry can’t go (his aunt and uncle refused to sign his form), but me and Hermione are going to make sure we take back lots of stuff for him so he doesn’t feel left out.

I am a little nervous about going, though; me and Hermione spend loads of time together, so why would this be any different? Probably nothing. Maybe it’s just because we’re bickering more because of our pets? Yeah, that sounds about right. I’ve already got her birthday present, so hopefully she’s not too angry at me and won’t mind me giving her a present.

Let me know how the Chinese Fireball baby is doing,

Love,

Ron

 [4th January 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Hermione just can’t keep her nose out of things! She reported Harry’s firebolt to McGonagall, and now it’s been confiscated! She says it’s because it could have been sent by Sirius Black. I know that’s a possibility, but she didn’t need to go behind Harry’s back about it!

I swear, this girl is driving me nuts!

Love,

Ron

 [13th February 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Me and Hermione have made things up; she even apologised about Scabbers. She must have been really upset, because she started crying and hugged me! Is it normal to get all flustered when a girl hugs you? Cause it didn’t the same as it did when she hugged me at the end of second year.

You’ve probably heard from Hagrid about Buckbeak being executed. We’re trying to get an appeal plea sorted; it’s mostly me and Hermione doing it, since Harry’s got other stuff to worry about. It’s nice being friends with Hermione again; I hated it when we weren’t speaking. It’s still a bit awkward (we both can’t quite look each other in the eye at times), but that’s probably normal, given what’s happened.

Remember to put that salve mum made on your new scars,

Love,

Ron

 [14th July 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Hope you’re enjoying the summer so far; it’ll be great to see you again, mum’s organising the room situation, so I think you’re sharing with Bill. Can’t wait for the world cup! Do you think Ireland will win against Bulgaria? I’ve been saving my pocket money all summer for it, so I can buy some souvenirs! Are you gonna bring some stories about the dragons when you get here?

Mum’s said I can invite Harry and Hermione over, and they’ll be coming to the world cup with us! It’ll be brilliant to see them again; Harry deserves a break from those horrible people he lives with, and Hermione could do with a break from work in general (she’s already finished all her summer homework, but that’s what she’s like).

It’ll be great to have both of them here for the summer; I hope Hermione doesn’t mind sharing with Ginny, since Gin’s more of a Quidditch-head than Hermione is. Mum keeps on at me to tidy my room before Hermione arrives, but it’s not as if she’s staying in my room, is it?

I did clean up my room a bit, though. Hermione’s a bit funny about mess, and I don’t want her to think I’m a slob.

See you soon,

Love,

Ron

 [30th October 1994]

Dear Charlie,

I’m still angry at mum, dad, and Bill for keeping us in the dark about the Triwizard Tournament; half the other kids from wizarding families knew! Speaking of the Tournament, the students from the other schools have arrived. You won’t believe it but Viktor Krum’s a student at Durmstrang! He’s a bit grouchy looking, but I guess he gets sick of people treating him different all the time. I didn’t know he was eighteen; he looks way older. The Slytherins are trying to cosy up to him, but he’s knows exactly what they’re doing; I saw him telling a few of them off for being unpleasant to the muggle-born first years. So I guess he’s alright.

The students from Beauxbatons are all nice enough but one of the girls has some sort of Veela charm thing. Hermione keeps glaring at me whenever I get caught in it, but it’s hardly my fault, is it? Harry gets affected too, but does she yell at him? No, of course she doesn’t. I swear, Hermione’s been weird ever since the term started; the other week I caught her staring at my hands for no reason. She got all flustered when she saw I’d noticed, and yelled at me to concentrate on my work. I’m worried about her. Did that ever happen between you and your friends at school? Is this something that happens around our age? I know that mum said things start to change after you get into your teenage years.

Speaking of change, I hope I can get some new dress robes before I ever have to wear these ones. Do you think Bill has any old ones he can let me borrow? I don’t get why mum didn’t just remove the lace and change the colour. I was going to ask Hermione to do it, but I don’t want her to think I’m whining. I just wish I could have some decent robes like all the other boys have. I know money’s tight at the moment, but even the twins have got alright-looking robes to wear I’d feel a lot better if I wasn’t stuck wearing rubbishy clothes for once.

Apparently, the tournaments due to start tomorrow evening. Me and Harry did have a think about entering, but it’s probably too high security. Fred and George said they’re gonna enter, because they turn seventeen in April, so they won’t need to use much aging potion. Should be interesting to see whether they succeed. I just hope we get a decent Hogwarts champion; Cedric Diggory’s alright, but half the girls get giggly over him and it’s bloody annoying. Hermione says it’s because he’s a prefect, but she’s a bit funny like that. If I ever end up a prefect, I bet I wouldn’t have girls giggling and getting flustered about me.

Got to go now; Hermione said she wants to go over our Transfiguration homework in the common room.

Love,

Ron

 [25th November 1994]

Dear Charlie,

You should have told me you’d be here for the first task! I know it was secret, but it would have been nice to catch up! Glad the trip over was safe and that the dragons are all okay. That Hungarian Horntail was a nasty piece of work; Harry almost got hit by it!

Speaking of which, me and Harry are best mates again. I’m glad; it was miserable when we weren’t speaking. Funnily enough, he said he didn’t even need an apology; just told me to forget about it. Weird bloke, but it’s great to be friends with him again. Hermione got all teary and told us we were being stupid, but she’s never really understood things like this, so there you go.

Love,

Ron

 [17th December 1994]

Dear Charlie,

Glad to hear the dragons got safely back to Romania with no issues. I almost wish I was there instead; ever since this ball thing got announced, half the school’s gone mad about it. Everyone’s asking everyone to it, and I don’t get it. Why can’t we all just go as friends and have fun? But the boys keep going on about dates, so I said I best go with someone good-looking. Yes, I know it’s dumb, but how else will I get everyone to not laugh at my robes? I even asked McGonagall if I could go in my school ones, but she insisted that I use my official dress robes (although she did look sympathetic while she said it, so I guess she understood where I was coming from).

Flitwick’s doing alterations to people’s robes, but he was so swamped with requests that there isn’t any room for me to get mine changed. I swear, I can’t wait until the ball is done and I won’t have to worry about this stuff anymore.

I’d happily stay behind in Gryffindor Tower with the first, second and third years, but I can’t leave Harry in the lurch. He’s got to be there to open the ball, and it wouldn’t be fair to leave him on his own; the poor bloke isn’t good with crowds, especially since half of the school still gawks at his scar every day.

Hermione doesn’t seem to take much interest in the ball, so maybe she’s also planning on staying behind. She got angry at me when I mentioned about going with a pretty girl, which is understandable (it was a dumb thing to say). Hopefully, she’ll have forgiven me by the time Christmas swings around, and we can just go and have fun at the ball. Just as friends, obviously. Maybe if we’re having a laugh, I won’t have to think about my robes looking so awful.

Love,

Ron

  [27th December 1994]

Dear Charlie,

I swear, if I ever have to go to another ball again, it’ll be too soon! Hermione’s still angry at me about it; which makes sense, since I was a bit of an arse. But, well, she went with Krum! Seriously, he’s eighteen and she’s barely fifteen! Why didn’t any of the teachers think that was creepy? Why was I the only person who got irritated by it? Is it really so bad that I don’t want my friend being pursued by some creepy eighteen-year-old git? I know what the twins are saying about it, but it’s alright for them, isn’t it? They had decent robes and could actually ask a girl without the girl glaring at them like they’d only just realised the girl was a girl! Gits. They don’t get it.

Ginny had a nice time with Neville, at the very least. Neville’s a good bloke, and I’m glad he treated her well. Apparently, she borrowed a dress off a friend for the ball. I wish I was shorter so I could have just borrowed something off Harry; that would have at least made things a bit easier. Then I wouldn’t have already been a bad mood before we even got to the ball.

Seriously, I’m never wearing those robes again. I don’t care what mum says, I’d rather go in my normal school ones that those frilly disasters.

Me and Hermione are being more polite to each other than normal, which is probably for the best. I hate the fact that I got so angry at her, but I’ve learnt now to not act like that again. I mean, considering she got Krum, I don’t think she’ll need to worry about me acting like that again. It wasn’t as if she even said she wanted to go with me, either; how was I supposed to know? I’m not a mind-reader!

Hope your Christmas is going better than mine, and thank you for the burn-proof socks; they’ll come in handy against the Skrewts.

Love,

Ron

 [27th February 1995]

Dear Charlie,

It was nice getting some of the limelight for a while; everyone was asking me about what it was like during the second task. I even had Padma Patil hanging on to my every word about it; I even managed to apologise to her properly for being such a berk at the ball (she was my dance partner, but we didn’t do any dancing). She seemed pretty okay with it.

Fleur Delacour (you remember, the champion who used the calming charm on her dragon in the first task) is being very nice lately; I think she got the impression me and Harry helped saved her sister in the second task. She even gave me a kiss on the cheek after we were all out of the lake! It’s nice to get attention from girls for a change.

Funnily enough, Hermione get glaring at me for the rest of the day. Funny how it’s fine for her to get attention from boys (that creep Krum had her as the person he’d miss the most; they’ve only been to the Yule ball together, the pervy git!), but I can’t do so much as talk to other girls without getting the cold treatment from her. Barmy as ever, but that’s what she’s like.

I think Harry’s really happy about the tournament just having one task left; at this point, I just hope he gets through it with no injuries or anything. Poor bloke’s had another rough year, and I hope he can take it easy after this is all over.

I wonder what I’ll get for my birthday this year. You think Hermione will get me anything? She’s so irritable lately that I wouldn’t be surprised if she just gets me a card and some chocolate frogs. Given what’s happened between us lately, that sounds about as much as I can hope for.

At least we’re still friends, though. I’m not that much of an idiot that I’d stop talking to her over this. I almost lost one friend this year; I don’t want the same thing happening with Hermione.  

Love,

Ron

 [29th June 1995]

Dear Charlie,

Harry left the hospital wing a few days ago. Me and Hermione are trying to help him as best we can, but the poor bloke still’s struggling. I’m not surprised, considering what he went through.

Dumbledore’s said that things are already changing. I just hope he knows what to do. But he’s still saying that Harry needs to go back to the Dursleys this summer. I hope we can pick him up as soon as possible; Harry’s relatives are bloody horrible.

After the third task, me and Hermione stayed up in the common room. We’ve both said we’re gonna help Harry with whatever happens in future. She also hugged me before she went to bed. It was different this time. It seemed like neither of us wanted to let go.

Stay safe,

Love,

Ron

 ~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed it!

[isamijoo]

Antidote

Written for @gameofdrarry Exploding Snap 2021. My card was:

Write a Drarry fic of 987-1625 words following this prompt: Immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and Harry are advised to go to therapy or to see a Healer to help them develop appropriate coping strategies. How do they feel when they run into each other unexpectedly?

Title: Antidote

Author: isamijoo

Rating: T

Word Count: 1612

Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Talks about Healers and Therapy, Invisibility Cloak, Astronomy Tower

A/N: I did have some trouble with this. I'm not comfortable writing about therapies so you can see how I avoided that and instead focused more on the boys, namely Draco. I purposely kept it short because of the word limit. I included bits of what I wanted to include, so the fic ends up feeling like random scenes thrown together, which doesn't sound really appealing. But I feel satisfied with how it turned out. Thank you to @sky-is-torn for the beta!

READ ON AO3

~~~

After the Battle of Hogwarts, the administration wanted to ensure the returning students would continue their education feeling secure and safe in all aspects. Thus, at the beginning of term, staff noticed a new door next to the Infirmary. The door, the Headmistress explained during the welcoming feast, led to the offices of two Mind Healers, Healer Park and Healer Algot.

Every student was required to meet either one of the Healers at least once. The first session was marked on each student’s schedule; skipping the session would cost house points and incur detentions.

Draco Malfoy was forced to return to Hogwarts as part of his sentencing. He joined the other Eighth Years, though he kept mostly to himself. Draco rarely sat in the Eighth Year Common Room because it was often taken up by Gryffindors, who made up a majority of their year.

Harry Potter was always around, but Draco never knew what the Saviour was up to.

Potter had cut his hair short, though still untamed and unruly. He was clean-shaven and sported a new pair of round-rimmed spectacles. He had also grown since sixth year. Perhaps now that the Dark Lord was dead, he finally had time to eat properly.

Sometimes their eyes would meet during classes or meals — silver with green.  Potter would stare at him, unblinking. Draco was always the first one to look away.

~~~

When it was time for Draco to visit the Healers, he went without putting up a fuss.

He halted at the door when he saw Potter in the waiting room. Potter was seated in one of the two armchairs, slouched and flipping through a magazine. He hadn’t noticed Draco yet.

Draco walked to the registration desk, which was manned by a thin woman with greying hair. There were two white doors beside her, each labelled with the name of a Healer.

After registering, Draco was instructed to take a seat. The only available one was beside Potter, who now had his gaze fixated on Draco, magazine forgotten.

“Malfoy, how are you?” Potter smiled.

Draco lowered himself onto the armchair, back straight and hands folded in his lap. “I’m fine, thank you,” he said stiltedly.

“It’s good to see you here,” Potter said. “What are the odds of the two of us having a session at the same time? Maybe they arranged the timetable in alphabetical order."

Draco tilted his head and regarded Potter curiously, which made the other wizard chuckle nervously.

“You know, like the Sorting. I went directly after you.”

“The Sorting in first year? You remember that?”

Potter shrugged, mumbling, “I remember a lot of things about you.”

“Look, Potter,” Draco muttered wearily, cheeks warm. “Why are you talking to me?”

Potter rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re not children anymore, Malfoy. The war is over.”

Before he could retort, Draco was called to meet Healer Park while Potter went into Healer Algot’s office. Healer Park was a middle-aged gentleman with kind brown eyes. Draco wasn’t too forthcoming, so the Healer just asked him harmless ice-breaking questions. After an hour, the Healer gave him another appointment slip for the following week.

Potter got the same slip too.

Before they exited the waiting room, Potter suggested they grab some snacks from the kitchens. Draco grudgingly agreed; he was feeling bleak and could use some sweets to lift his mood.

As Potter led the way, Draco observed Potter’s gait. If Potter stood straight, he would be almost as tall as Draco. But now he walked with his shoulders hunched, as though the act of saving the wizarding world had also thrust its problems onto his teenage shoulders.

Draco wondered how much Potter knew about legends of the Greek Titans, of Atlas and the globe on his back. If Draco offered to tell the story, would Potter place his head on Draco’s lap and listen attentively, like Draco had done with his mother when he was a child?

In the kitchen, they sat together on a wooden bench, surrounded by treats and desserts. Potter talked openly and happily, as if enjoying Draco’s company. He remained this way — treating Draco in a friendly manner — until they reached Draco’s private dorm. He was the only Slytherin who had returned for Eighth Year so he had a room to himself.

“I had a great time, Malfoy.” Potter beamed. “I’ll see you around.”

Draco said nothing as he watched Potter walk away.

~~~

The following week, they met in the Healers’ waiting room again. Potter talked while Draco listened, basking in his attention and drinking in Potter’s bright green eyes and straight white teeth.

When Draco sat in front of Healer Park, he opened his mouth and, as though channelling Potter’s energy, shared his deepest regrets with a stranger with kind eyes.

~~~

The Healer had advised Draco to seek forgiveness.

Draco apologised to Potter at the Astronomy Tower, overlooking the school grounds while the cool breeze chilled him to the bones. Once the words were out, he couldn’t stop. His mind yanked at each of his mistakes, uprooting all his flaws from his first year, from the first time he spoke to Potter, from the moment he was born until he felt raw and sick.

He hadn’t noticed that while he spoke, Potter had gently guided him inside and sat them both on the steps. Potter was silent as tears streaked down Draco’s face.

When speech finally failed him, Draco wiped his face with a sleeve. Potter slid closer and engulfed Draco’s thin body in a hug.

Potter apologised for sixth year, for the scars on Draco’s chest, for failing to help when he could’ve.

Their first kiss, clumsy and laced with longing, tasted like rainwater.

~~~

Draco’s obsession with Potter was insatiable.

Potter was like an addictive potion. If you’d never had it, you could live and die happily, not knowing what you had missed. But once you get a taste, you’d want more and more and yet, it’d never be enough.

Draco couldn't count the number of times they dragged the other inside alcoves or empty classes for a snog. Potter’s lips were warm, delicious, sometimes even sweet. He kissed with a passion Draco envied, with his whole body leaning in and his hands all over Draco like a starving man.

Being the centre of Potter’s attention was like standing on the surface of the sun. Draco’s skin burned at every contact with Potter’s hard body, but with the heat came pleasure.

Draco was infatuated.

And maybe, just maybe, it was the same for Potter.

~~~

The first time Potter pulled off his Invisibility Cloak in front of Draco, the blond had yelped in surprise and accidentally banged his head against the headboard.

Potter climbed into Draco’s bed, clad in only a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “Are you afraid of people finding out about us?” he asked, his warm body pressed to Draco’s side.

Draco shrugged. His father was in Azkaban, his mother was sentenced to home arrest for 15 years, his family name tainted, his family fortune would deplete quickly if he didn’t take over the family business once he graduated.

Draco didn’t want to think about the outside world. It was too scary.

But having this with Potter wasn't any less terrifying. Nobody would be pleased to learn that The Saviour was sharing a bed with a Death Eater. Any animosity would certainly be directed at Draco. He was a criminal, after all.

Potter had nothing to lose, while Draco would lose everything.

Suddenly his vision blurred and he found himself looking through a layer of translucent fabric. Potter had spread the Invisibility Cloak over them.

“There.” Potter sounded smug. “No one can see us now.”

Draco’s body shuddered with laughter as Potter rolled on top of him. The cloak cascaded down Potter’s head and Draco’s fingers brushed its velvety texture while they kissed under its cover.

Was taking pleasure in The Chosen One’s embrace a crime?

~~~

“You shouldn't have saved me,” Draco murmured one night, mouth pressed against Potter’s jugular as they both lay breathless, sweaty and sated. “You should have left me in the fire.”

Potter’s arms tightened around Draco's bare body, pulling him until his long pink scars kissed Potter's brown skin.

“I left you once,” Potter whispered, lips brushing Draco’s temple. “Never again.”

~~~

“Do your friends know about us?” Draco asked when Potter took his hand on their way to the Healers’ office.

“Er, yes,” Potter admitted sheepishly. “I’m bad at keeping this a secret. Are you upset?”

Draco glanced at their clasped hands pensively. “I’m not sure. I’m not sure how I feel about this. About us.”

“Maybe we should talk with the Healers,” Potter suggested when they reached the waiting room still holding hands. “Get their advice.”

“You want to ask them for relationship advice?” Draco said incredulously.

“Why not?” Potter grinned. “Although, I should tell you before we go in…" He stepped closer, and Draco couldn’t avoid gazing into his emerald eyes. “I really like you, Draco. I think I’m in love with you.”

Rasps escaped Draco’s throat as he struggled to respond.

Potter didn’t wait for any reply. He just smiled and kissed Draco's knuckles before entering his Healer's office.

Draco stood frozen for a good five minutes before he finally went into the other office and took his usual seat on the sofa opposite Healer Park.

"How are you today, Draco?" the Healer asked gently.

"I think…" Draco closed his eyes, picturing Potter's joyful smiles and hearing his own heartbeats loud in his ears. "I think I'm in trouble."

Healer Park appeared concerned. "How so?"

Sighing, Draco leaned back. "I'm falling… for Harry Potter."

[kalimagik]

Tumbling Walls

Ron Weasley x Reader

Word Count: ~3.7k

A/N: This Ron piece was requested by @siriusly-addicted-to-writing​ with the prompt: “Who hurt you?” My requests are opened! So send in any ideas you have that you would like to see me write! I love writing for Ron so much and hope you guys enjoy reading for him just as much! Feedback is always welcome! Happy Reading <3

Michael Corner. His words were burned in the back of your head. “I don’t love you. I never did.” He had used you. Used you as an emotional punching bag, used you as an object, used you for your body. It had been nearly 3 months, but they were still there burning. You had given him everything because you thought he was the one. The two of you had talked about marriage for god’s sake! You moved across the country, to London for him because he got his dream job. You took a job you detested. You even moved in with him, but now it was like you were starting all over again and London was brand new, tainted, but new. That little snot.

“What can I get for you today?” you asked your what felt like the millionth, table of the day. Everyone who seemed to come to this restaurant where you worked was gross. They were those types of old, privileged men who thought that they could have anything they wanted. At the end of every shift, you had to shower twice just to get the gross feeling off of your skin.

You thoughtlessly made it through your shift, not even upset to be walking into the pouring down rain if it meant you could get away from that place. The rain pounded on the pavement as you opened your bright yellow umbrella. Your mind wandered to your mum’s offer to return home. You could help her as a healer for the wizard population in your town, but that wasn’t what you wanted to do. In fact, you didn’t really know what you wanted to do.

You’d spent the last few years after Hogwarts, after the war, trying to figure out just that. But when you reconnected with Michael randomly in other parts of Europe while traveling, you were swept away. You were together for nearly 2 years… So figuring out what you wanted to do was put on hold when you decided to fall in love.

The rain wasn’t letting up. Your feet were soaked. You could apparate to your flat, but most of the tenants were muggle, so that wasn’t an option. Just like how you couldn’t use any magic at work. Stupid statute of secrecy. Okay, you did understand the reasoning for it, but you were just flustered about the rain. It was England though, so the dreary weather can only be expected. You were so preoccupied mentally that you didn’t even notice the blur of bushy brown hair coming at you.

“Oof!” you groaned as you bounced back from slamming bodies into another on the street. “Merlin, I’m sorry.” You let the wizarding slang slip.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” a familiar voice spoke at the same time.

“Hermione?” you asked, looking under the hood of her rain jacket.

“Y/N! Hi! When did you move back? I haven’t seen you since- since-” Hermione’s voice trailed off. Mostly everyone’s did when the last time they saw each other was shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts.

“I’ve been back for almost 9 months,” you thought, 3 of those miserable…oh well.

“How haven’t I seen you yet! What are you doing? I'm so happy I ran into you. Why don’t we get out of the rain and we can catch up?” You just nodded, knowing Hermione was not someone who would take a no from you. “Excellent! There’s a little pub over here. It’s clean, quiet, and quite nice overall.”

You were not planning on doing anything but going home and showering as you still smelled like the restaurant you worked in, but this would be better than spending your night wallowing in self-pity.  So, you followed Hermione down the London street and into the dry pub, feet and socks completely soaked through.

“So,” Hermione started, settling into a seat and taking off her coat. “What have you been up to? What are you doing now?”

You sat there thinking about your sad existence. You didn’t want to talk about Michael and you didn’t want to particularly talk about your dead end job or the tiny flat that you had moved into. “Uhhh…I’m making ends meet. Looking at some different jobs.”

Hermione ordered you both a beer and when the waiter brought them, you held it tightly in your hand, enjoying the coolness of glass.

“What about you?” you asked, taking a sip and looking at Hermione, hoping to get the focus off of your life.

“I’m working in the ministry now. It’s a lot of work, but I like it a lot. I like being able to make a change in the ministry and rebuilding our community.”

“That’s fantastic. Everyone always knew you’d do important things.”

Hermione laughed at that. “I don’t know. People still ignore me when I talk about having rights for house elves, but that’s one cause I refuse to relinquish.”

“Hermione!” a voice said from behind you.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I was meant to meet Harry and Ron here tonight. Running into you was just a happy accident! I’m sure they’d love to see you. Over here!” Hermione waved to them as you felt the two boys got closer.

Oh great, more people from school. And you still hadn’t showered, so you still felt the stares of all those gross old men.

“Look who I ran into today,” Hermione grinned, motioning to you.

“Y/N! Blimey! How long has it been?” Harry asked, hugging you. Yes, he was hugging you. You weren’t even that close with the trio in school. But, having familiar faces around was refreshing.

“Hello,” Ron nodded in your direction. You were surprised when you felt little flutters in your stomach. You hadn’t had a feeling like that in months. You had always had a crush on Ron, but just from a far. You were much too nervous to ever act on it. He had all of these wild adventures and you just went through school focusing on well, school.

“Hi,” you responded quietly. Harry sat next to Hermione, which left Ron to sit next to you. Conversation flowed easily, you laughed for the first time in months. You felt like you had a place where you belonged since moving to the city.

You fell in with Hermione, Ron, and Harry easily over the next few weeks. You still kept her flat and job to yourself, but you had people to spend time with after work and on the weekends! No to mention, Hermione was helping you look for other jobs. She didn’t know you were serving, but she did know that you were unhappy with what you were doing. It was nice. And none of them knew about Michael either, even though they all went to school together.

You grew closer with each of them in their own way. You felt comfortable with each one and you were happy to call them your friends. Hermione would always hold a special place in your heart because she was the one who invited you to the pub that day, but you and Ron’s relationship grew exponentially. He would joke and mess around with you like he had known you for years. There was this magnetism about him that just pulled you in. That crush reemerged, but you weren’t ready to let anyone in again.

You were definitely healing, but part of that healing meant that you built a stonewall firmly around your heart. There might as well be barbed wire and electricity reinforcing the wall that it was closed up so tightly. With all of that, your heart still fought against the wall, beating hard each time the red head made you laugh. You kept him at an arm’s length, but your elbow seemed to be bending a little more with each interaction.

Then, a night out happened.  You had finally felt as though you could let loose. You wound up at a pub with the trio and Ginny after going to a pop-up wizarding club. The lights and the music and atmosphere were more than you could ever imagine. It was the best night that you had had in forever. You didn’t go overboard with drinking or anything but you had a good buzz going on. You felt great!

“Harry and I are going to go get us some drinks,” Ginny announced, getting up from your little table in the corner.

“Oh! I’ll come! I need to use the loo,” Hermione responded, following behind the other couple.

Ron slid further into the booth, resting his head on the red leather. “I reckon that was the best night I’ve had out in a long time.”

“Work does sound like it has been busy for you and Harry.”

“Most definitely. I don’t understand why people can’t just follow the rules. It would make my life easier.” You chuckled at the casualness in his voice. “How has your week been? We didn’t see you aren’t much in the evenings.”

“I had some long shifts.” You kept it all vague, but that didn’t stop Ron from noticing how you were holding back. He could tell from the tone of your voice. At this, he rolled his head to look at you. You sitting there, playing with your fingers.

“You look really nice tonight,” Ron admitted, taking in your side profile.

“Thanks.” You avoided his eyes, but his blue eyes were just asking for you to look deep into them. Those alarm bells were going off in your head. You were not going to let yourself be swept away again.

“I don’t know if you are actually getting how beautiful you look.” He smiled softly. “You’ve actually looked beautiful every day from the moment we reconnected.”

Your cheeks felt warm as you took the salt shaker in your hands to preoccupy yourself. “I was wearing a polo and khakis when we met again.” You snickered, remembering how much you had just wanted to go home and shower.

“Yeah, but you can really work khakis,” he flirted. He’d been flirty before, but something about this felt different. And where were Ginny, Harry, and Hermione. Getting drinks didn’t usually take THAT long. Those alarm bells were getting louder as Ron moved a little closer to you.

Your heart and your head were saying very conflicting things. One was thinking ‘there is a very cute boy sitting close to you AND flirting with you! Go for it!” and the other was saying ‘remember the last time that you let a boy get this close to you!?! That didn’t end so well!!’ It was very confusing and made your head hurt.

Before you could listen to either one, Ron was a mere centimeters from you, eyes flashing between your own and your lips. “I’ve really liked seeing you again.” He whispered. “I know we weren’t close in school, but I really wish we would have been.”

You breath hitched in your throat. This was literally like a childhood dream coming true. You closed your eyes and let his lips connect with your own. It was sweet, but quick, because you pulled away, eyes shooting open again.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, no, it’s not you,” You shook your head, gathering your bag. “I do have to go, though.”

“I thought we were all going back together! Bloody hell, it’s 1 in the morning. Just wait for all of us.”

“No, no! It’s fine, tell the others I said goodbye! I’ll see you all soon.” You rushed towards the door, not even noticing that you were running past Harry and Ginny with glasses in their hands for all of you. You didn’t stop at the door when Hermione asked where you were going. The moment you stepped outside, you darted in the alley and apparated just a block or so from your flat.

The cold nipped at your skin. Merlin, you left your coat back at the pub. Your lips still tingled, asking for the connection once again. Ignoring the feeling, you briskly walked to your apartment building and stuck the key in the door. You were almost to the safety of your small, but warm flat when you heard the familiar *pop* of an apparating wizard.

“You left something back at the pub,” his soft, deep voice called out to you. You didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was, but you really weren’t sure how he knew where you went.

Slowly turning from the door to your apartment building, you faced the redhead that you had just left. “Thanks,” you whispered. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Hermione has known where you lived all along,” he chuckled. Your eyes widened at that comment. She always was the brightest witch in your year, figures she’d find the truth about this out. “But, if you wanted to keep it to yourself, we figured that we should let you.”

“Doesn’t make me feel much better now,” you mused.

“Why’d you run away?” he asked, jumping straight to the punch, your coat still in his hand. He had been a Gryffindor after all, bravery and looking for action.

“I had something to do. I need-needed to water my plants,” you lied. Gosh, you were awful at lying.

“At 1 AM?” Ron raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, they’re on a weird watering schedule. Keeps me up all night,” you joked.

“Why have you been keeping us at an arm’s length? I thought we were all becoming great friends,” he continued.

“I’m not doing that,” you lied again.

“Bollocks Y/N! You are. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you stop short before the end of a story. Or how you keep all of your answers about the last 2 years as vague as possible. Part of me felt like we were creating something, building up to something. We clicked, Y/N. You can’t deny that.”

You looked at your feet, keys still dangling on your fingers.

“Who hurt you?” Ron asked directly. “I remember you in school. You may have been quiet, but you were so full of life and so full of potential.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to look up at him. How could this boy read you so well? You’d given him nothing to work with. But, him remembering how you were in school struck a chord. He’d noticed you…

“It had to be pretty bad if you refuse to open up to anyone.”

You closed your eyes, breathing out deeply as you laughed to yourself. Bad didn’t even begin to cover it.

-

London felt like a whole new world. It was so exciting to be back in the city and starting a new life with the boy that could potentially be your forever. You had never felt more optimistic or hopeful about the beginning. Everything was falling into place. Michael started his job with Gringotts and was making good money, so that gave you time to shop around for a job that you truly wanted.

Michael was to meet you for lunch at your favorite little café, so you figured you would get there early to put your name in. You felt giddy with excitement. Michael said that he had some news for you and you could only imagine it was something like talking to your dad to finally ask for your hand.

You ordered an iced tea for yourself and tea for Michael along with a few appetizers for the both of you. Your 2 year anniversary was the next week. This would be a romantic day no matter what. He’d been working so many hours, but that was part of being newer at the bank.

Glancing at your watch, you watched as the hands moved from 11:45 to 12:15. You may have been early, but now Michael was running late. He didn’t show up until 12:30.

“Hello, hun,” you greeted him, standing to kiss his cheek. “Work was busy I’m assuming.”

“Yes, it was.” Michael was being short with you, how odd.

“At least you managed to get away. I ordered some of your favorites. I hope you don’t mind. You said-”

“I need to tell you something, Y/N.” Michael cut you off.

You looked up with him at bright eyes. Maybe he was just nervous. And going to ask you something that would change your life forever!

“Go ahead,” you responded calmly, hiding your excitement.

“We are breaking up. I’m breaking up with you.”

The words stung as he spoke them. You didn’t understand. Where was this coming from? He had literally asked you to come and live with him here. Before you could even stutter or ask, he stood up again and left. You were left there alone.

Not wanting to break down in the middle of a London café, you made your way to the flat you shared through glossy eyes. Maybe you should pack? You couldn’t stay there. You didn’t have the money to afford that flat. Where would you go? Why did he do this?

Instead of putting your things in bags and flying around in a blind rage, you sat on the couch. Emotions were swirling around inside you, but you just sat there and stared at the wall, unsure of what to do.

Michael returned to the flat promptly at 6:30, when he usually did. “Oh, I didn’t think you would be here.” The shock was evident on his face.

“Where else would I go?” you got out in a hoarse crack. “Why are we breaking up? I think you owe me that.”

“I don’t love you.” He stated simply. “You were a good bandage for a while, there when I needed you, but I’m sorry. I don’t love you. I never did.” You’d been holding back your tears all evening, but it was no use anymore. They came flowing like a waterfall.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He wasn’t actually sorry. You could hear the lack of emotion in his words.

You just shook your head at him. You couldn’t look at him once more. You wanted to scream and cry, but he didn’t seem to care at all, so why should you. Why should you show him and give him the satisfaction to know that he had broken you?

You stood up straight, wiped the tears quickly. “Go out to dinner. I’ll be gone by the time you get home.”

-

Ron stood at a small distance, watching you see a past memory flash across your eyes. You had built that wall for a reason, but maybe it was time for it to come down was all Ron could think about when he looked at you.

“I was hurt,” you whispered. You were still standing in the street, but you didn’t want him to see your sad flat. “Badly. I can afford to let someone else in, not when I gave my everything already.” You shook your head.

“You should talk to someone about it.” Ron offered. “It won’t hurt you so much then.”

“I don’t like to relive it.”

“Can you at least tell me who?” Ron asked, walking closer to you.

“You might know him.” You scrunched up your face. You didn’t really want to talk about your ex, but it was starting to boil over inside of you.

“Please tell me.” Ron asked again, eyes pleading with you.

“It was Michael Corner…” After the name, everything spilled out of you like word vomit. Meeting him again, the 2 years you spent together, the break-up, the fact that you didn’t even really know why he broke up with you, everything. You wouldn’t be surprised if Ron walked away right after that. It was a lot for anyone to handle.

When you finished, you searched Ron’s face for any sign of, well, anything. Any feeling, any inkling of what he might be thinking. “Say something?”

“That bloke deserves a swift punch in the gut.”

The bluntness surprised you so much that you just started to laugh maniacally. How could the simple words improve your mood so much?

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Ron then asked as he moved close enough to rub your arms with his hands. “You’re freezing.”

You nodded at him, agreeing that getting out of the cold was probably a good idea. You gave in. Ron already knew you lived in the building, so there’d be no use in trying to convince him to go somewhere else at nearly 2 AM. Once the kettle was on the stove and you settled onto the lumpy couch, you felt relaxed.

“I just have to say it,” Ron broke the silence. “What Corner did to you was terrible, but he is missing out. You are brilliant and funny and amazing at making the most out of a shitty situation.” He rambled.

You just chuckled in response, playing with a nonexistent thread on the couch. “Thanks,” was all you managed to say.

“I’d like to take you out sometime. If you would be okay with that, of course.” Ron followed.

You felt the walls around your heart begin to crumble. As if each word that Ron spoke, another stone was being pulled out of its place. It was loosening its hold. Your heart wanted to break free.

“Of course, after your story, I understand if you aren’t ready. I’ll wait until you are, but you should know that I will have flowers delivered here every day until that time. Just so you remember that I’m waiting around.” He chuckled at his own idea.

The smile that grew on your lips was real and genuine. Your heart was fluttering so wildly that it bashed against your walls from the inside. But when you looked Ron in the eyes, those blue eyes that looked so concerned for you, the wall just imploded. Each side surrounding your heart, well, the walls fell down.

“I’d like that,” you responded simply.

“Brilliant,” Ron got out as the kettle began to whistle, signaling the boiling water. “I’ll go prepare us some tea and then we can pick a date and time for our date and then you can leave the rest up to me.”

You watched, feeling content, skin burning with warmth as the boy who wiggled his way past your walls poured you a cup of tea.

[aleator]

day 30 - magic au (thor/tony)

Tony has never taken a familiar. It’s not that he does or doesn’t need one, it’s just unusual that at nearly forty years of age it hasn’t really crossed his mind. He’s never met a familiar he felt particularly attached to, and he’s gotten along with his work just fine without the assistance. The other witches and wizards and magic folk he’s come across all inquire about it, but he never has anything interesting to say in response. He lives in his little cottage on the edge of town and does his work as a healer perfectly well and that is that.

He’s in the forest one morning gathering fresh ingredients for his spells and potions when he hears the sound of a monster yowling in the distance. These are mostly peaceful woods, so if something dangerous has gotten too close to town, someone needs to take care of it. And that someone will just have to be him.

So with his basket full of flowers and mushrooms and other assorted foraged items he goes deeper into the woods, searching for the source of that eerie sound.

He finds it a few minutes later, trapped amongst the trees and bushes of the forest--a great beast of a lion, larger than any creature that normally roams these woods. Its front paw is caught in a trap, and even from a distance he can see the trap is bespelled so that any creature caught within it cannot escape on its own. Tony narrows his eyes at it, ready to have words with whoever would put such a thing in these woods.

But first he has to deal with the creature caught inside it.

He sets down his basket and approaches slowly, hands open to show he’s unarmed. The lion smells him coming--or perhaps hears him--before it sees him, and it swings around toward him with a mighty roar. The lion lunges and swipes with one free paw, but with the other stuck in the trap it can’t go far.

“How dare you attempt to trap me here, human?” the lion says in a deep voice, and Tony doesn’t even bat an eye. “Release me at once so I may tear the flesh from your bones.”

“I didn’t set this trap, but I’m going to try and get you out of it,” Tony says as calmingly as he can, hands still up as he moves closer. “Though if I had, threatening to eat me wouldn’t make me too keen to release you.”

“Oh, I would not eat a human,” the lion says, and Tony swears he can see it wrinkle its nose up. “They would taste abysmal.”

“Good to know,” Tony murmurs, and he slowly crouches down near the lion to inspect his paw in the trap. He tenses up as he tears his gaze away from the lion’s teeth and claws, but his trust is rewarded with no tearing of flesh from bone and he slowly relaxes.

“I think I can trace the magic back to its creator,” he says as he pokes at the energy surrounding the trap.

“Good. Tell me who set this foul trap so I may--”

“Yes, I know, tear the flesh and all that. The person who made the spell may not have been the one who laid the trap.”

He ignores the magic for now and begins to work on opening up the trap. The lion shifts restlessly for a few minutes, eventually settling down and watching Tony. Finally Tony is able to pull back the top half of the trap and release the lion’s paw, the lion growling lowly to mask the pain.

“No, don’t stand up,” Tony says to it, holding out a hand. “Wait here.”

He gets up and brushes dirt from his pants before going back to retrieve his basket of supplies. Then he returns to the lion and kneels back down with the basket at his side. Surprisingly, the lion sits patiently while Tony works, watching him with a piercing stare, one eye ice blue and the other a piercing gold.

Eventually Tony has a poultice made, and with a few quietly spoken words he imbues it with his healing magic. Ever so gently he puts the poultice over the lion’s injured paw, smiling when the lion squirms but doesn’t say anything.

“There. Give it a few minutes and you’ll be good enough to walk,” he says, sitting back on his heels and putting the rest of his supplies back in the basket.

The lion stays still and continues watching him, but Tony doesn’t pay any mind. He goes back to inspecting the trap, looking for any magical signatures on it, until those few minutes have passed and he turns his attention back to the lion’s paw.

“You are a very trusting human,” the lion says, muscles flexing beneath its sinewy skin.

“You don’t strike me as someone I shouldn’t trust,” Tony replies.

The lion cocks its head. “How do you figure?”

“You haven’t eaten me yet, have you?”

“I don’t--”

“Eat humans, yes,” Tony says with a smile. “Look. The bleeding stopped.”

He gestures to the lion’s paw, where the poultice has healed the worst of the lion’s injury. It will take a while longer to be fully healed, but he doubts the lion wants to sit here in the woods that long.

Tony takes a moment then to disable the trap so it can’t hurt anyone else, then looks back up at the lion.

“If you come back to my cottage I can make something stronger to move the healing along faster,” he offers, standing back up with his basket. The lion watches him warily and he adds, “You don’t have to. You should be able to walk now.”

Growling, the lion moves to stand on all four paws, only to wince and lift his injured paw from the ground. After a long moment of consideration, the lion looks back at Tony and says, “I will come with you.”

With a smile, Tony turns and leads the way back through the woods to his cottage, unconcerned with having such a large, dangerous creature trailing behind him. After a few moments, however, he doesn’t hear the rustling of a lion moving through the underbrush behind him, but of something else. Turning back, he sees not a lion but a man, tall and broad like a lion, with long golden hair and the same mismatched eyes. He’s holding his injured hand to his chest and isn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing.

“Okay,” Tony says calmly, like this happens to him every day. “It’s this way.”

He continues on toward his cottage in silence, reminding himself to be polite and not ogle the mystical creature following him home. The lion hasn’t hurt him yet but when it comes to magical creatures one can never be too careful. It really would be foolish to make it this far only to mess up because he wanted a peek.

Thankfully there is no one waiting for Tony at his cottage and he’s able to get the naked shapeshifter inside without anyone seeing.

“Have a seat,” he says, setting down the basket and going to fetch a blanket from his bed. He delicately drapes it over the lion for some modesty, then turns toward his workbench, which is currently a mess of bottles and beakers and scraps of paper covered in notes.

“This might take a while. Are you hungry?” he asks. The lion hesitates a moment, then nods. “Do you have a name?”

More hesitation, but then-- “Thor.”

Tony smiles and goes to quickly put together something for Thor to eat while he works on a spell to hasten the healing of his paw. Er, hand.

“I’m Tony,” he tells him, finding some leftover stew that should be fine to eat cold and ladling it into a bowl. When he brings it over to Thor, he takes a moment to look him over more openly, wondering if this is just what he naturally looks like or if he’s purposely making himself so attractive.

“Don’t worry, it’s not human,” he jokes, and Thor rolls his eyes but takes the bowl from him.

“I would be worried about you if it was,” Thor says as he carefully balances the bowl in his lap and uses his good hand to hold the spoon.

Now that Thor’s settled, Tony starts making something stronger for Thor’s injury. He gets out the right ingredients, finds the right page in his book, and gets to work. Thor is mostly quiet, setting aside the empty bowl once he’s finished eating and just watching Tony while he works. Eventually he gets up and goes over to Tony’s bed instead, lying down with a yawn. Tony glances over but doesn’t stop him, letting him sleep if he needs to.

When the potion is finished, Tony leaves it to simmer and lets Thor keep sleeping, puttering around the cottage in the meantime and cleaning up a bit before he sits down with a book in the rocking chair by the hearth. He reads for a bit until he dozes off too, the book sliding out of his hands and into his lap.

He wakes a little while later to find his book on the floor and Thor staring at him from across the room. Tony smiles at him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and bending down to pick up the book he dropped.

“Did you see the potion I left for you?” he asks, not concerned that Thor was apparently watching him sleep.

Thor nods and holds up his previously injured hand. “I took it. It’s a lot better now.”

“Good,” Tony says with a sigh, sitting back in his chair. “I’m glad. You’re free to stay the night if you’d like before you move on.”

Thor is silent for a long time--long enough that Tony starts to think he’s said something terribly wrong--but then Thor finally speaks up to say,

“I think I’ll stay.”

Caught by surprise, Tony just says, “What?”

“You don’t have a familiar,” Thor says with confidence. “I’ll stay.”

“You want to be my familiar?” Tony asks, not sure he’s understanding this correctly. He’s never had any kind of spirit or creature or what have you just decide it wants to be his familiar before. “I can’t just-- You’re a lion. I don’t have the space.”

Surprising him once again, Thor gets up without saying a word, the blanket slipping off him. Tony politely averts his eyes, and the next thing he knows a golden-brown cat is padding quietly over to him and hopping up into his lap.

Startled, Tony sets aside the book and rubs a hand over the cat’s back, listening to Thor purr at his touch. Thor looks up at him with those same gold and blue eyes, and Tony scratches under his chin, smiling.

“I suppose you can stay, if you’d like,” Tony says. “I still have to find out who set that trap in the woods. You can help. But you can’t--”

“I know, I know,” Thor says with a sigh, and Tony holds back a laugh at that big lion voice coming from this small cat. “No tearing of flesh.”

“And no eating,” Tony adds, laughing out loud this time as Thor nips at his fingers with his little cat teeth.

He pulls his hand away and goes back to petting Thor instead, soothing him until he’s a loudly purring, relaxed ball of fluff in Tony’s lap. Tony smiles and thinks that maybe having a familiar won’t be so bad after all.

[afandommultiverse]

Our Little Piece of Heaven - Julius Novachrono LEMON

Words - 2666

Summary - Being the Queen of Clover Kingdom had its ups and its downs but your little piece of heaven exceeded all. A/n - This is unedited and it took days to write so it kinda jumps but its good, hope you enjoy!

"JULIUS!" Marx screamed for the wizard king, he was, of course, missing from his office, again. But this time, Marx knew Julius couldn't be late for something as important as this. It was the coronation of the new Queen and he only had 3 minutes to find the missing mage.

"Julius- oh god, JULIUS!" He spotted just trying to dodge around a corner, but just before he could get away. Marx grabbed his wrist and pulled him the other direction. A strength you wouldn't think he had suddenly reared its head as he dragged Julius ruthlessly down the halls of the castle.

"Marx I was really busy-"

"TOO BUSY FOR THE CEREMONY?!? I'm sorry, Julius, but this is your job. And it's my job to get you there on time so let's go!" Julius swore his arm was going to pop out of its socket. 

***

The beginning of the ceremony was bland and boring. All the royals and nobles gathering for the event, gossiping about the new queen. What she looked like was a mystery, some said she was a brunette, some said a blonde, and few thought of a fiery redhead. Julius was rather annoyed but kept his smile tight, but when he saw her, he couldn't help but let his jaw drop.

The trumpets began and the guards opened the door to show off the beauty who was to be King Augustus' wife. The world seemed to stop as Julius laid his eyes on her. A long and cascading dress falling from her shoulders. Sewn together was the most gorgeous green he had seen, with highlighting gold clovers falling down the length of it. For a second he thought he might have set off a spell on accident but when the sound of the screechy King's voice filled his ears, he was suddenly brought back to reality.

"She is simply gorgeous, isn't she? Yes, yes, I just can't wait for tonight." The thought of the hands of the bastard on your body drove some kind of anger in Julius that he had never felt before. He had to stop himself from reaching over and grabbing the coward by the neck, ring him out in front of the entire upper-class capital, and he knew he could get away with it too.

Alas, he could not.

As you reached the end of the room, the blessing began. While this would be your coronation, it would also be the wedding, so as the priest began his preaching of matrimony, everyone else readied the crown and vows.

It all seemed to go by in a blur though because as Julius blinked, the whole thing seemed to be over.

"Smitten, sir?" Julius smiled softly and looked down and Marx as everyone began to vacate, leaving the newlyweds to do... well what newlyweds do.

"Can't be, Marx. She's the Queen." Evading a proper answer Julius began to walk away, slower than usual. Marx cared not to follow, somehow knowing he should let the Wizard King be alone, just this once.

***

It wasn't long before Julius saw you again, it was actually the next morning. You had bumped into him while trying to sneak out of your own room. You let out a short scream as you feel unbalanced, but before you could hit the ground, Julius' hands shot around your waist. Grabbing onto the fluffy collar of his robe you steadied yourself. You didn't look up at him until he spoke, too busy trying to straighten yourself out.

"Rough night?" It wasn't until you looked up that he realized who he was holding, and when he did, he had to stop himself from squeezing tighter.

"Oh, I uh, guess you could say that, yes." You stepped back looking down and combing back a piece of disheveled hair. Julius' eyes shot to your neck looking for any sign of harm or marking but found nothing.

"Are you... okay?" He couldn't help but ask. Your eyes seemed to drop their false cheeriness and instead turn gloomy and sad.

"Uhm yeah, as happy as I can be being, married against my will and all."

"I'm sorry... He didn't...?" Julius couldn't finish the thought, less the sentence.

"What? Oh! Oh, no. I think that was the only good thing that happened yesterday." Your face dropped again and Julius couldn't stand it.

"Well, I wouldn't say the only thing, you did look absolutely dazzling in the dress." A furious blush burned your cheeks as you looked away, a smile pulling at your lips. He was smitten.

"I'm sorry, you know who I am, but I don't know you."

"Me? Why, I'm Julius Novachrono, at your service, your majesty."

"Oh my, I'm sorry! I didn't know I was in the presence of the Wizard King!" You seemed to straighten yourself more and tried to act more posh and proper.

"Oh no, don't apologize, I'm quite unprofessional." You stopped for a second before your strict and stiff manner dropped suddenly when you burst out in laughs.

"I'm sorry, I've never met someone quite like you."

"Yes, well I hope you'll find I'm like no other."

***

Months pass and you only grow closer to the strongest mage. You found his humor to be inappropriate and rather bash but his lack of regard for other nobles and royals is what truly brought you closer.

Right now you both were running away from Marx, Julius had some work to do but it seemed he couldn't do much of it anymore with you running around his thoughts. Some more coarse and indecent than others. He couldn't rid himself of thoughts of you filling his ears as you raced down the halls together, Marx and guards close on your tail.

"Your Majesty please-!" But in the blink of an eye, you two were gone. Teleported to a little cabin sitting in the woods hundreds of miles away. It wasn't the first time Julius had taken you here before. It was your little safe haven. You found it when Julius spirited you away from the kingdom one late night to watch a meteorite shower on a tall hill. A blanket and a basket had been laid out for you two, with a candle already lit.

"Julius?" You questioned. Turning to find him with a few flowers in his hand.

"I must admit, Your Majesty, you've thrown me through quite the whirl, and continue to do so." He whispered, twirling the little flowers in his hand. You walked over slowly, reaching out to fix the chain that held his coat on and together. It always seemed to twist and tangle throughout the day and you seemed to always find yourself fixing it.

"I told you to call me Y/n." You answered, not knowing how to answer such a confession. You liked the Wizard King, a lot more than you should have, but knowing Augustus- this would get you both killed. He chuckled and grabbed your hands, holding them and rubbing at your wrists. It was quiet after that, sort of holding each other before you looked up at him.

"Have I ever told you I love your eyes." His eyes were so warm and they always seemed to sparkle slightly. "They're so gorgeous..."

You didn't know who moved first but you could never forget the moment Julius' lips touched yours. Soft and endearing he kissed you, tenderaly wrapping his arms around you and bringing you closer. You kissed for a few minutes before pulling away and setting down, wrapped up in each other and enjoyed the shower.

After, you decided to go on a walk and found the abandoned cabin. It was in a small clearing protected by massive amounts of mana. Small purple flowers enveloped the little cottage, glowing softly and illuminating the soft surroundings.

"Did you..?" Julius shook his head, looking on with as much excitement and amazement as you.

Looking at it now the cottage had excelled each of your expectations. When you and Julius returned from your night, he had sought for the owner of the cabin only to find it had been abandoned for sometime. He bought it without hesitance and without telling you too. He only began to dread the idea after, what if this was moving too fast? Hell, you were already married to the king, what was he doing? But one night when you had been hanging out in his office, helping him with anywork you could understand, you found both the billings and structural reports for it.

"What's this?" Julius knew what was in your hands the moments he looked up from his own pile of papers. "Is this- Julius?" Your head shot up with a huge smile stretched across your face.

"You bought it!" Before he could even blink, your arms were around his neck and your lips on his. He couldn't waste a single second, gripping you tight he kissed you back with fever. He had been thinking of your lips everyday since that night and was ready to risk everything to feel them, thankfully you had no problem kissing him first.

"Now we have to decorate!"

You both would sneak away to clean it up and trim back plants. You wanted to keep it mostly natural because it was gorgeous that way, but of course, you had to make sure the foundation was secure and safe to stay on. The house was already in pretty good shape, just some dusting and furnishing and it was already perfect.

***

Walking in the fire was already set, the cabin was warm and welcoming like a fucking hug. It was your little piece of heaven with him. Where you could really be with him. You were sick of it, aching for him while your husband sleeps besides you drunk of liquor and the women he had fucked earlier. It annoyed but and the same time you were thankful he hadn't really tired to put his hands on you besides a little groping.

Tonight you would welcome Julius to your bed and you pretend this was normal. You weren't the Queen and Julius wasn't the Wizard King. You could be together in your little piece of heaven.

***

After dinner and some sitting outside and watching the flowers come to life, you felt it was time. You stood from your seat and set your glass besides Julius' on his side table. He looked up at you, curious and almost innocent looking- but you knew more than anything he wasn't and touch close to innocent.

"Y/n?" He leant back in his seat, almost as if he knew what you were going to do all along, and then it struck you. You straddled him with a laugh and wrapped your arms around his neck.

"You knew where this was going all along didn't you?" you questioned, a smile pulled on your lips.

"I admit, I was worried when you said you wanted to get away for a few days."

"Worried?"

"I thought... I thought you might want to stop and I- I just wanted to be prepared, so I know." You cupped his cheeks, leaning forward you kissed him.

"I never want to stop. Never." He smiled and kissed you kissed you back, his hands were hot on your hips and slide up your back, one going to tangle in your hair. You pulled back for air and ground your hips slightly, tightening your thighs around him. You didn't mean to but it felt good. Julius nipped at your neck and growled against your ear,

"Again," You did, again and again and again. The friction felt good, and lit and little fire that filled your veins and warmed your belly, but you need more. Gripping his hair you pull him back from kissing against your neck and collar bone, panting hard and griping him tightly.

"Bed, now." You found yourself against your sheets before you could blink, Julius was above you, staring at you seriously.

"Are you sure about this? I mean if anyone-

"I've never been more sure of anything else in my life, Julius." You pressed back and lifted the simple dress you had been wearing and threw it the side. You shrank a little in graze and even went to wrap your arms around your free breasts but he pushed forward and kissed the tops of them, kissing lower and lower before his lips wrapped around your bud sucking softly and skimming his teeth against it just right. Gripping his hair, it took a little to hold back your small cries, sensitive to such a new feeling. He showered both tits with attention before kissing down your naval and pulling your panties down your legs. Julius leaned back a little and watched as you tentatively opened your legs, embarrassed to be beared open and dripping.

"God, you're gorgeous." Julius leaned forward to kiss up your thighs leading to your centre. He blew lightly against your clit and you tensed before relaxing, only to be surprised by the soft glide of his tongue up your slit.

"Oh- J-Julius!" Your head falling back against the sheets as your hand tangles in his blonde hair . It went all like that for a few minutes before you felt Julious push in to you, making you tense and grip him a little tighter. He pulled away and kissed at your thigh, waiting for you to relax before moving his finger.

"It's okay," You let out a breath and whined, he curled his against you and rubbed just right making you rock your hips against his hand in a gentle rhythm. "That's it.." Julius climbed up and kissed at your neck, thumb moving to rub against your clit.

It wasn't anything crazy, just a moment, goosebumps covered your skin and your breathing stopped for a few seconds, head blank and fuzzy you moaned, releasing a small burst of fire in your belly, relaxed against the sheets. Feeling a little tired you peeked your eye open to see Julius looking down in slight concern but nonetheless content.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked, kissing gently at your shoulder.

"No, come here." You turned his head and captured his lips, pulling him between your legs more comfortably. He pressed against you gently before pushing in, gentle and slow he waited for you. He ground against you, testing, and was pleased to hear the small moan leave your lips. He pulled back and thrust, loving the way your arms gripped at him.

"Please, just a little faster," You whispered pleadingly in his ear, he couldn't take it, and he did go faster and just a little harder. He wanted nothing but to ruin you, months of pent up frustration waiting to be released, but there was time for that later, right not it was for you.

"Julius!" You cried and angled perfect thrust, hitting a spot that sent your stomach in knots. "T-There-!" It didn't take long for you to cum again with the aimed thrust. Griping at his back, you clawed down his back a little, this time it was more intense, making you squeeze your legs around him.

The feeling of you cumming on his cock had him there in seconds, he pulled out fast and finished on your stomach and breasts. He wanted nothing more than to cum inside you and see you dripping with his seed, but he couldn't risk you getting pregnant. Not yet.

Julius settled besides you as you too caught your breath. You turned and cuddled into his side, pulling the top sheet over you. Julius' arm came to wrap around you and pull you closer. You felt him draw shapes against your back, soothing you to sleep.

"Julius?"

"Mhmm?"

"I love you." His fingers paused and he turned to look down at you. He gripped your chin gentle and kissed you, softly and timely, he pulled back.

"I love you too."

[apothecarinomicon]

Spring week 1 part 1

I’m not quite sure how to begin.

I’m not typically one for journaling but it would appear to be part of the gig, as it were. I found this book—the one I’m writing in, heavy and musty and leather-bound—sitting on the table when I arrived, open to a blank page. There are at least a thousand pages filled before it, and no matter how many blank pages I flip past this one I can’t reach the back cover without closing the book entirely.

Mòrag told me things that present themselves for investigation here tend to be worth exploring, and if my gut tells me what’s right not to stray from its guidance. But I’m getting ahead of myself—you don’t even know who I am.

My name is Fionn Gill, and I’m a witch. I know, I know, but I don’t get into all that “warlock” “wizard” shit. It’s just a way to separate and belittle the same practice based solely on the gender of the practitioner, in my opinion. My specialty lies in potion-making, though I’m not very experienced. I’ve really only just finished my training—I’m from Huntsmanland and they’re not nearly as magically-inclined there as they are in High Rannoc. This is the first part of the country I’ve visited other than my tutor’s homestead and I must say, it hasn’t made the most stellar impression.

My tutor Edith received a letter stating that services would be required in the town of Greenmoor, and since the letter didn’t specify her services, she sent me to take care of it. I don’t know if she expected it to be an indefinite position, but here we are.

I didn’t bring a lot with me—just enough for the journey. It was about all I could carry walking. I arrived in Greenmoor with just about the clothes on my back, hoping they had an apothecary of their own so I could get this over with.

I’ve never really been one for small towns, and nor do they have much love for me. I’ve always thought I was meant for adventure—movement, action, peril, all of it. Small town life just feels so… stagnant. Nothing changes, no one grows or changes or has anything interesting to talk about. It’s enough to drive you mad.

Not to mention the natural suspicion of outsiders. I could see it on Mòrag McKinney’s face, even as she greeted me at the edge of town in her official capacity as mayor. Her hair was done up in a huge bun of thick braids on top of her head—a hairstyle with a formality at odds with her armored clothing.

She seemed surprised when I told her I was the witch. That’s not uncommon—like most intellectual and healing work, witchcraft is traditionally the domain of women. Even in the relatively forward-thinking country of High Rannoc, I tend to get some variation on ‘oh, how progressive!’ when I tell people my vocation. Often if you get a man doing witchcraft, his neighbors will whisper certain things about him. My neighbors back home were whispering those things about me anyway, so that wasn’t much of a hurdle to me.

Mòrag (she insisted I call her by her first name once we’d been properly introduced) gave me a brief tour of Greenmoor. It is, to put it lightly, tiny. I’d estimate a population around fifty. Near everyone has a job that serves an internal function to the community, with maybe the exception of the innkeeper. There are blacksmiths, miners, a carpenter, a tanner… she didn’t indicate any artists or poets or anything of that sort to me, which was disheartening. Even when I thought I would only be here briefly, I was hoping to enjoy the finer things the locals had to offer. The closest this town comes is a library, but I sorely doubt they have any kind of collection of works by local authors.

Mòrag pointed out all the magical resources in town, and some of them impressed me—the lunar tower and ritual circle in particular looked useful. She did not show me any apothecary, and following her aforementioned advice, I took that to mean there wasn’t one. Can’t wait to go out and experience the joys of foraging in the wilderness myself.

Once we’d gone through the entire village, she showed me to the cottage where I’ll be staying. It’s a little ways away from the town proper, down a walking path through some trees. It’s little more than a one-room thing, with only the washroom closed off from the rest of the space. The walls and door are made of dark wood, and the outside still has bark attached in many places. The roof is sloped and overgrown with moss and ivy. Inside the main room there is a bed, a large set of shelves which ought to have reagents and potion-making materials on them but are mostly bare, and a table on which this book sits. The washroom has a tub and a latrine—no plumbing to be found. Out back sits the remains of a garden, only one plot of which looks salvageable. A ways back into the trees there’s a creek. Most of the rest of the clearing is in the early stages of becoming overgrown, with trees and bushes and flowers starting to stretch themselves out and remembering how to be wild.

Mòrag told me the witch who was here before me was a bit of a recluse. No one in town knew very much about her, and she seemed to prefer it that way. They came to her for her healing potions and never made it past small talk and kept inviting her to parties and festivals even though she never attended. And then one day nearly everyone in town woke up with a gift from her—the farmers received her animals, the barkeep her ferments, the innkeeper and bakers her crops. As the townspeople tallied their gifts they realized it amounted to nearly everything she owned. They went together to her cottage to ask her why she’d given it all away, and found her cottage—this cottage—empty. The ensuing search turned up no body, no note, not a shred of evidence to speak of. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air. As the townsfolk talked and wondered what had happened, they quickly realized no one knew her well enough to provide any real insight. They couldn’t even come to a consensus on what her name was.

They had quickly moved on to discussing the more pressing issue: the town was lacking a healer. The general store owner had worked with my tutor Edith in years prior (Edith loved to tell stories of the time she spent pursuing the culinary arts). Thus, the letter and thus, my presence.

Mòrag told me she hoped I might be more engaged in the community than my predecessor. I decided to refrain from telling her not to get her hopes up, and instead expressed my confusion: I’d thought this was a single gig, that I was to heal someone of their illness and then leave.

She disabused me of that notion with rather more intensity than I think was warranted.

She told me that unless my predecessor reappeared, I was all they had. She said Edith had spoken highly of my abilities in her return letter (I doubted that—Edith never spoke highly of anyone). She told me I would receive a base pay of 20 silver per cure to start, and that if I did the townsfolk well and they grew to like me, they’d most certainly be willing to pay more. She told me that the folks of Greenmoor were good people, even if they were a bit disaster-prone and some of them could make good use of a little more common sense.

And, well, how do you say no to that?

When I asked where I would be getting my materials, she told me the areas surrounding Greenmoor were rich in natural resources. So it will be as I feared. I’m glad I brought my off-road boots.

Mòrag left me to get settled in and I immediately took stock. There are no reagents on the shelves (of course not! Why would there be?), but I did find a cauldron, mortar and pestle, and a copper alembic (which is used for distilling)—so at least once I have the reagents I’ll be able to do some basic cooking with them. I also found a small leather-bound book with vague descriptions of some of the areas surrounding the village. I should be able to cross-reference it with my notes on the environments where useful reagents can be found to make searching for materials a bit less painful.

I pulled a matted tangle of weeds out of the garden plot, but it looks like whatever was planted underneath already shriveled away to nothing. Well, at least the land’s clear now.

One thing that I knew I’d need if I was going to be able to handle this was a familiar. I’ve never been one for conjuration but in this case it’s an unfortunate necessity. I was supposed to be getting one within the next few weeks at Edith’s anyway, and I already knew the process. You’re supposed to have a more experienced witch observe your first time, but that’s just academic formality—there’s nothing actually dangerous about the process.

I found what looks to be a quarter cran basket (was my predecessor into fishing…?) under the bed, and set out around the property collecting small rocks and flowers and toadstools that had the right kinds of vibration. They were for use in the ritual, but also collecting them was a good start to cleaning the property up. Because if I’m going to be living here, it cannot stay looking like this.

I took the basket into the woods near the creek and laid its contents out in a circle as wide as I was tall. Before I placed each one down, I held it for a moment and asked it to help me with my task. Then, I sat in the center of my circle and closed my eyes and tried to meditate. Clearing my head has never been my strong suit, but I’m usually able to fudge the process enough to do what needs doing. This time took a bit longer than usual but eventually I managed. I felt my energy (spirit, consciousness, whatever) radiating out from me, pink and orange and bright and loud, first to the edges of the circle and then beyond. All of it asked a single question and listened for the answer.

The response came from much closer than anticipated, when I felt something small hop onto my knee.

I opened my eyes and looked down to see a frog staring back at me, blinking lazily and making small, guttural noises. Her back was green and rough and slimy. One of her eyes was milky, pointing vaguely off to the left, while the other gazed straight at me. The tips of her toes (three on each foot) edged closer to brown than the rest of her body.

Having clearly presented herself, she now asked if my gut said we would be good partners.

I’ve named her Ailean.

And now here I am, writing all of this down. I don’t know if I’ll be able to manage this every day. Whoever reads this may have to settle for a few times a week. With that said, I do think I’d like to go back and read what my predecessor wrote. Maybe it’ll give a clue as to where she’s gone, and help me escape this position sooner. She seems to have been quite the prolific writer—getting through her logs could take months, especially if the townsfolk keep me particularly busy with their various woes. I’ll have to start reading sooner rather than later.

Speak of the devil, there’s a knock on my door. It hasn’t even been a full day and I might already have my first customer. I’ll finish this later.

⇦●〇●⇨

[magicapandora]

Pre-Date Jitters

I decided to actually write about Rosie and Victor and thought it would be cute to show them being nervous about their first date so here

Rosie felt like they were gonna throw up.

They've been pacing back and forth in their dorm for the past 20 minutes now, constantly checking their reflection in the mirror and looking at the grandfather clock near the entrance. Those 20 minutes felt like an hour to them and they looked at the clock again.

10 minutes.

“What’re you doing?” A voice came from one of the beds in the room. Rosie jumped, letting out a small yelp and whipping their head to the voice. Rosie saw their black haired roommate, sitting crisscrossed with a book in her lap and several notes and papers scattered on her sheets.

Rosie pushed their bangs away from their face, tucking the extra hair behind their ears.

“Oh, hey Melds,” They gasped quietly, sitting down on their trunk and letting all of their weight down, slumping. Ismelda had gotten used to the ridiculous nickname their short roommate had given them and simply rolled their eyes, setting down the transfiguration textbook on top of the other scraps of paper.

“Okay, what's the deal with you? You're way too nervous, even for you.” Ismelda asked, tilting her head and staring at the curly haired individual. Ismelda knew Rosie had a date, since they never shut up about it all week leading up to it, but now it looked like they were gonna barf at any point.

“Oh, just pre-date jitters, that's all.” Rosie laughed dryly, rubbing their hands together and wiping the sweat from their palms. It was only fall and yet Rosie felt like it was 100 degrees in the dorms, which they found ironic since they're in the dungeons. Rosie hadn't felt this nervous since their first date during 5th year with Diego.

But this was different. This was someone Rosie actually had strong feelings for, not a puppy crush or anything like that. Victor made Rosie feel things. Good things. Things that made Rosie scream and yell into their pillow and annoy their roommates. Rosie didn't care, they were finally gonna have a real date with him and they're sweating like a sinner in church, and it felt like they were in hell.

“Rosie, I've seen pre-date jitters from Merula. You, however,” Ismelda said, getting up from her bed and walking over to the medium toned enby, bending down to their level, “are going into a borderline panic attack.”.

The black haired witch took out a white handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to the shorter one. Rosie looked at it, then quietly took it and thanked Ismelda. Rosie quickly wiped their hands and their face from any perspiration and handed it back to Ismelda.

“Nah, keep it for now. I don't want your weird sweat on me,” Ismelda grimaced, scrunching her nose at the handkerchief and standing upright. Rosie took a deep breath before standing up too, gaining some composure and walking over to their full length mirror next to their bed. Rosie smoothed out the soft and lacy fabric of their skirt and checked over themself one more time in the mirror.

“Do I look okay? Is this too much? I don't wanna over dress-WAIT, what if I'm under-dressing? Am I dressing appropriately? What if it starts raining? What-”

“ROSIE!”

Rosie flinched at the loud shout, seeing Ismelda from the reflection of the mirror stalk over to them and spun them around to face her. Ismelda had a dark look on her face, not angry or annoyed but...holy shit, was Ismelda concerned?

“Rosie Mayfield, you are fine. You look good for being the personification of a Rainbow Brite and My little Pony. No, it won't rain, I checked the weather. You two are just gonna go around Hogsmeade, so you aren't going anywhere fancy. If you can survive a murder attempt, Kidnapping, several dark Wizards and witches, and fighting a damn dragon, you can survive this stupid date. You are fine.``

Rosie's eye was wide, their mouth slightly agape. Ismelda sighed, adjusting Rosie's eyepatch slightly to make sure it was secure, then wiping some dust off that had fallen on Rosie's shoulders.

This was weirdly intimate, Ismelda the wannabe dark witch helping one of their housemates with a date. Rosie didn't hate it, they actually enjoyed having this quiet moment with Ismelda, letting the goth girl adjust their outfit and hair how she saw fit.

Ismelda turned the shorter one around again, this time much more gently and less abrupt. Rosie saw their reflection and sighed in relief. Ismelda had pushed Rosie's bangs forward, letting the curls fall in their face and frame it, but also tucking a bit of hair to show off Rosie's eyepatch, a dullish dusty pink with a black rose embroidered on the leather patch.

“There. You're ready.” Ismelda stated, the smallest smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Before Rosie could say a thank you, Ismelda shoved Rosie near the exit and walked away, going back to where she was before. “Now go on that date, Rosie. Don't chicken out or I will curse you,” Ismelda said, sitting on her bed and opening up the same transfiguration textbook she had opened a couple of minutes ago.

Rosie looked back at her freckled girl, then smiling and running down the stairs, quickly shouting ‘Thank you!’ Before going out of the common room door.

Ismelda sighed, smiling a bit before going back to her notes.

Meanwhile, in the Ravenclaw Boys Dorm

“But do I look good?”

“Victor, for the 3rd time, you do, so shut up.” Talbott sighed, his attention mostly focused on his divination homework. His attention was then very abruptly halted when the taller ravenclaw snatched the book from Talbott’s hands and threw it to the other side of the room. “Hey! What the hell?” Talbott yelled, looking at his roommate, debating whether or not to punch him in the face.

“Tal, I know you're not actually looking at my outfit,” Victor sighed, putting his hands on his hips and raising his eyebrow at Talbott.

“That's because you're wearing the exact same outfit you wear everyday,” Talbott emphasized, motioning his hand up and down Victor's body. I mean, he wasn't wrong. Victor simply just put on what he has in his closet and thought it was acceptable. “This is a date, you weirdo. You gotta look nice for Rosie or else they'll think you don't care about your appearance.”.

Victor opened his mouth to debate, but then slowly closed it and realized that Talbott was right. He didn't have a lot of nice clothes and the ones he did have were mostly sweatpants, flannels, and hoodies. Not really ‘going out on a date’ material. He knew he should've just gone to Andre for help.

As if on cue, Andre was at the entrance of their dorm room and looked at his two roommates. He sighed and went over to Talbott’s closet, opening the mahogany doors and sifting through the few racks of clothes he had. Talbott quickly noticed this and stood up abruptly from his desk.

“Why is everyone touching my stuff today?!” He yelled in frustration, flinging himself and laying face down on his bed, groaning into the sheets. Victor laughed, leaning on the wall and looking over to his more fashionable roommate. Andre quickly pulled out a dusty pale blue turtleneck and a pair of black slacks with a matching belt, then with a pair of plain black boots. He strided over to Victor and handed over the clothes to him.

“It's a miracle that you and Talbott almost have the exact same measurements and height. Even if you're a bit broader with your shoulders and chest, the top has some elasticity so it'll fit,” Andre said, going over to his own desk and rummaging through some hair and makeup products he kept in case of emergencies like these.

Victor looked down at the clothes in his hands, quickly changing into the new outfit Andre had provided for him. He flattened the pants to make sure there weren't any creases and quickly turned around in front of the mirror-wait...oh right. Vampirism. He sighed, seeing the clothes but not his own body. He forgot that the mirrors at Hogwarts all had silver backings. He then went over to Andre's mirror, which was one of the only mirrors that was normal, having a plastic backing instead.

Andre pulled up a chair in front of his mirror and motioned Victor to sit down. Victor reluctantly did, fiddling with the cuffs of the sleeves, rolling them up and down constantly and feeling the knitted material of the turtleneck.

He felt Andre talk a chunk of his hair and pull it a bit harsh, making the pale teen wince in pain as Andre fiddled with his hair and styled it. He spread the short ponytail with his fingers and let the rest of his hair be as is, then messing with his bangs to have it frame his face.

“There, much better.” Andre said, admiring his work. Victor stood up and looked at himself in the full length mirror, He actually didn't look that bad.

He looked like a whole new person, but in a good way.

“Oh wow, you clean up nice,” Talbott said, leaning on his arms and looking at his fellow vampire. Victor chuckled a bit, hearing a compliment from his distant roommate was a bit flattering.

“Okay, you have a date you need to go on! So, c’mon! Get outta here!” Andre shouted, pushing Victor out of the dorms while laughing. Victor laughed too, running down the stairs quickly and jumping from the last 5 steps.

“Hey! Thanks! I owe you both favors!” He yelled, about to open the door to the common room before running back to his dorm and grabbing a black, blue, and silver scarf from his bed, then shouting another ‘thanks!’ Before Andre and Talbott heard the common room door slamming shut, making almost the entire house shake from the force.

“You think he’ll be alright?” Talbott asked, going towards the slightly damaged divination textbook from the floor and wiping the dirt off of it. Andre sat on his bed, picking up the latest copy of a fashion magazine and flipping to the first page.

“Eh, if he can survive us, I think he can survive a date with our favorite cursebreaker.”

[aspiring-ginger]

Thunderstorms Ch.1 (Fellowship x Reader)

Summary: Reader is in for a pretty large and unexpected surprise when a massive thunderstorm hits. How did the Fellowship of the Ring end up in your backyard?

Warnings: Language

Word count: 3,151

Pairing(s): Platonic Fellowship of the ring x fem!reader, eventual romantic interest (Lord of the Rings)

Who do you want Reader to end up with? Vote here!

A/N: Okay, absolutely no one asked for this, but here we are. I’ve been kicking myself for not doing requests or FMN ch2 because of terrible writers block but I got a random stroke of inspiration and decided to write this. I figured it’d be better to write anything than nothing at all! Because this is in a modern setting, reader is from the US because I am, and any slang I use I want to be authentic and don’t want to offend anyone by trying to pass it off as somewhere else. I hope y’all enjoy this!

Comments and feedback are always appreciated! Let me know if you want more!

Taglist: @thunderdog8​ 

Masterlist I Next 

You stretched out your stiff muscles as you stood from your desk chair. You rubbed your hand down your face and paused your music, deciding that it was time to take a break and make some lunch. Groaning as you opened the refrigerator door you called out,

"Alexa, play some music" Not really caring what it picked as long as it was something.

You were home alone in your childhood house, and any noise was a much needed distraction from the eerie creaking and groaning of the building around you. Your parents were off in their summer home down south having to take care of some repairs or leasing or something, so they left you in charge. You didn't mind, it was a place to stay while you worked and took online classes to finish school. Plus, you had the whole place to yourself, so it didn't matter how messed up your sleep schedule was, or how much noise you made. 

You would have to go to the store soon, you thought to yourself, glancing around your mostly empty shelves to find something edible. You decided on a quick sandwich and some fruit, grabbing the necessary ingredients and humming along to the music as you worked. 

When you finished, you debated watching something as you ate or simply eating as you worked. You decided on the former- after all, you'd been on top of all your school work so there was no rush to get anything done. With that decision out of the way now you just had to decide what exactly to watch. You sat down on the couch with your drink and food in hand, looking around the living room for inspiration. 

It had been awhile since you watched any of your favorites again, you thought as your eyes landed on a Harry Potter DVD that had been collecting dust on top of your playstation from whenever you watched it last. But no, you weren't really in the mood for wizards. Pirates of the Caribbean? That was always a good one. Plus, it had Orlando Bloom in it so….yay. You snapped your fingers- that was it! Lord of the Rings! It still had Orlando Bloom, but it had that deep fantasy setting you've been craving. You popped in the first disc of Fellowship, extended edition of course, and began happily munching on your lunch.

---

Your heart swelled as the credits rolled, remembering just how much you loved those movies. The scenery, costumes, soundtrack, actors, everything about it was just so, so, ugh! You just loved it so much. You grew up on these movies and they always had a special place in your heart. 

They were still super long, though, and you needed to get back to work. You cleaned up the living room and headed back upstairs to finish your essay for class. Smiling, you decided to put on the soundtrack from fellowship instead of whatever you were listening to last. Maybe then you would get more inspiration? Or at least time would pass quicker. Whatever it was, you just needed more to satisfy your lotr craving. You were definitely watching the other two movies when you were done.

You got several hours of good work done, not even realizing when your music had switched to the two towers. You were snapped out of your work-zone when a clap of thunder sounded outside, and you realized just how dark it was. The only light in the room was your computer screen. You went to turn on the light and continue working when you saw lightning flash from outside your window. Frowning, you remembered when you checked the weather this morning and the chance of rain was very low. Of course meteorologists are never really 100% right all the time, but this seemed a little off. How could they miss a huge thunderstorm? 

You just shrugged and sat back down at your desk to finish- you were so close to being done! At least you'd sleep well later to the sound of rain. You saved your document just go be safe. Yeah your program autosaved your work but you couldn't be too careful if there was a storm. What if the power went out? Whatever, you just needed to focus to finish the last two paragraphs and then you'd be done. 

You glanced up to your window as you began to type when- a huge rumble of thunder shook your whole house and lightning flashed incredibly bright. You felt the weight of the thunder even rattle your insides as you were seemingly blinded by the lightning. Blinking, you looked around to see what the hell just happened. There was nothing but darkness around you, your monitor no longer showing the essay you'd been working on for so long. You were right- the power went out. And holy shit were you glad you saved.

If the thunder and lightning were so close together, that meant the storm was above you, right? You stood up to get a closer look out your window. Wind was howling, whipping the rain and trees all around in the torrential downpour. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed again, slightly farther apart this time, and what you saw outside….well you definitely didn't expect.

The brief flash of light illuminated figures of people laying down in your backyard. What? You rubbed your eyes and looked harder out into the darkness, still seeing the motionless shapes. Your backyard was fenced in and locked, there was no way so many people could get in. And why were they just laying there? In the rain?? You were so utterly confused. There was just no way. You had to be going crazy. This was just you seeing things in the shadows because you were home alone. It was nothing. 

Your stomach churned as you paced around your office. Should you go outside? Or at least downstairs to get a closer look? What if they needed help and were stuck in the rain? There were some woods beyond your property so maybe they wandered in. But no. Were you crazy? That's how stupid people always die in horror films. Something incredibly weird and scary happens and they go check it out. And then they get brutally murdered or something. No. Out of the question. You tried to tell yourself that you were just seeing things, making shapes out of shadows for nothing. There was nothing there. But no, your stomach didn't agree. Your gut told you there really were people out there. You saw them in the flash of light. If they were just shadows, you wouldn't have seen anything from the lightning.

Okay, so, there really were people in your yard. What should you do? Call the police? And then what? Hi officer I think I see a bunch of men in my backyard. No they're just laying there. How dumb would that sound?? Ugh no, you couldn't do that. If they were just laying there….how long had they been there? You certainly didn't see anything from the kitchen during lunch. The knot in your stomach twisted further. If they ended up needing help or something and you just sat there doing nothing, you would end up kicking yourself about it later.

Ugh! Curse your stupid moral compass and your need to help others. If this was how you died by being the stupid person in a scary movie, then so be it. You used the flashlight from your phone to light the way through your house, throwing on some shoes and a raincoat as you headed downstairs. Since it was still light out when you were last down here, the blinds were all open and you had a good view outside of both the front and back. There were definitely people out there. Now that you were closer you could make out at least...8 bodies in the grass? You crept into the kitchen and shined your flashlight out the glass door. Your light reflected off of several of the figures. You thought they might be wearing reflective gear or something, but the light wasn't as bright as it should've been. No, that was metal that reflected the light. 

You squeezed your eyes shut and clenched your fists in hopes of gathering up some courage. You sighed and tried to calm your nerves. You reached out and unlocked the door, pausing to see if the bodies would react to the noise. They didn't flinch, so after a moment you pulled the door open, and slid the screen door to the side . They didn't react to that either, so you stepped out into the rain.

Without turning your back on them, you stepped around to the wood pile nearby, glancing back to grab a long stick. There was no way you were gonna touch these strangers. Stick in hand, you crept up to the nearest one. Upon closer inspection, you saw what was reflecting the light from the door. Laying in front of you was a man with dark medium length hair. His clothes were ragged, a green cloak hung around his shoulders.  It certainly looked nothing like anyone would wear currently. Strangest of all, however, was a sword strapped to his back along with what appeared to be a blanket. Tilting your phone around, it looked very real. A foam sword or prop wouldn't shine like that.

You looked over to another figure and saw a similar sight. A man with medium length hair and a green cloak but instead of a sword on his back, he had a large round shield with what you think was a sword strapped to his hip. What the fuck? You glanced to another, a man with long blond hair and a matching green cloak but this time with a bow, daggers, and a quiver full of arrows at his back. You knew these props. It looked so familiar. Your breathing picked up as you looked over another figure. This one was much smaller. He had shorter, currier hair and again the same matching green cloak. Where the other men had boots however, this man...child(?)'s feet were bare. And large. Much larger than you would think for someone of his size. 

The pit in your stomach sank much deeper. You knew who these men were, or, at least trying to be. You literally just watched the first freaking movie. You identified each member of the fellowship of the ring. Aragon was in front of you, followed by Boromir, then Legolas. You saw Frodo, Sam, and you couldn't tell which one was Merry or Pippin from this distance but there were definitely four Hobbits. The furthest figure must've been Gimli. Gandalf was not among them, but that would make sense given the rest of the fellowships matching green cloaks. You were definitely freaking out now. There were a bunch of freaking cosplayers passed out in your yard? What the hell were you gonna do now? Your thoughts were racing, but your stomach was faring much worse. Somehow, you thought, it was much worse than it seemed.

You thrust your stick forward, prodding at the 'Aragorn' that lay at your feet. He didn't stir, so you poked a little harder. You thought you saw his breathing quicken, but reached forward with your stick anyway, just for good measure. The man shot up and grabbed your stick away from you in one fluid motion, drawing his blade with his other hand.

You stood like a deer in headlights, unmoving with eyes wide. The man held his sword out at you, pointing it at your throat while he glanced at his surroundings. You blinked and quickly threw your hands up in surrender, dropping your phone in the grass. Thankfully, it landed face down so it still provided some light. Rain continued to pour.

'Aragorn' looked back at his companions all strewn about then turned back towards you, thrusting his sword in warning.

"Who are you and what have you done to them?" The man spoke and you just stared, mouth agape. 

"What is this place? Answer me!" He insisted and took a step forward bringing the blade closer to your throat. There was no way that thing was a prop. That thing looked sharp.

You tried to speak, your mouth suddenly dry and tongue getting caught in your throat. His yelling, it seemed, was loud enough to wake the others, as they began to stir. 

"Aragorn. What is this place, what is going on?" You heard another voice speak and a blade removed from its sheath. Boromir stepped up to Aragorn's side and held his blade out at you as well.

Your mind was racing at 100mph but you were just frozen in place, shock taking over your body. How were you supposed to respond to this? What were you supposed to do? Looking at each of them, that was, without a shadow of a doubt, Aragorn and Boromir. 

"I-I…" you began, trying to form the right words. Aragorn simply raised a brow, "I-uh.. my name is (y/n) and um, you're in my backyard? I have no idea how you got here."

"Your yard? This is your house?"

"Uh- yeah um...do you want to come inside?" Aragorn and Boromir exchanged glances.

"How are you so quick to invite us in? What do you want from us?"

"Nothing!" You answered a bit too quickly, your voice going up in pitch, "Uh I mean n-nothing. I don't want anything from you. I was just writing in my house when the thunder hit and I looked outside and you all were just laying here, so I came out to see what was going on. Look, I wasn't even armed!" You gestured to your stick that was still in Aragorn's hand. 

He glanced down at it and indeed, it wasn't even sharp. He dropped it to the ground, calling out something in elvish, you only picked up Legolas' name. He responded in kind, and Aragorn nodded. He called out another phrase and turned back to you.

"You seem to be telling the truth, and we have no memory of how we arrived. We are in no position to refuse such a generous offer, but know this-" he twirled the sword in his hand before sheathing it, "should you try anything, we are armed." Boromir did the same, and you nodded in agreement. Legolas was helping the others up. 

"Please, um, follow me." You weren't sure if you should let them go first or show them in, so you decided to enter before them to show that you really didn't have any traps or anything malicious. 

You held your back door open for them as they entered one by one, all looking around at their strange new surroundings. Aragorn was last to enter, and you awkwardly shut the door behind them and locked it. They all looked to you expectantly, dripping water all over your kitchen. 

Aragorn cleared his throat and took a small step forward. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This here is Boromir of Gondor, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, and Gimli, son of Gloin. The halflings are Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, Samwise Gamgee and, Frodo Baggins." Each bowed their heads as they were introduced. "And your name once more, my lady?"

"(Y/n) (l/n)....of Earth..?" You winced as you added the 'earth' bit. Here you were with your childhood heroes all standing in your kitchen, and you were just making a complete fool of yourself. 

"You have our gratitude, my lady. " Aragorn put a hand at his heart. "Would you, perhaps, direct us back on course so we may be on our way? We would hate to impose." He glanced around your kitchen as he spoke, looking curiously at your appliances.

"Um..about that." You began to sweat. How the fuck are you supposed to tell them that they're in a completely different world with little to no chance of getting home?! "Uh, please um take a seat if you want. This um.. is going to be hard to explain." The men gave you strange looks while the hobbits pulled out your four kitchen chairs and sat down.

"You're not in Middle-Earth any more, but that's pretty obvious I guess. Uh, here it's called Earth. Just Earth, no middle. We don't really have any kingdoms here, each country has their own elected officials or dictators. We're in the United States of America, or the US for short. You um… you're in a different world than yours. And time, I guess. We're also a lot more advanced with our technology than you. Oh shit- um.. I realize now that it's weird  that I know you're from Middle-Earth but let me explain ummm" you were definitely panicking now "Middle-Earth exists here? But.. to us, it's just a work of fiction, a story from a book. A really popular book. Like, the whole world has probably at least heard of it. So you're all um, characters in the book. Well, books actually. It's a series. Um, the author is J. R. R. Tolkien and the series is called The Lord of the Rings. And movies too. Really famous movies…" you trailed off.

They all stared at you in shock. 

"I can prove it! Here….you must still be in the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. I mean no offense, but I'm guessing that you just went through Moria and then Lothlorien, and were making your way down the river Anduin and planning to approach Mordor from the north...right?"

Their eyes went wide and they all exchanged looks. 

"How do you know that?" Gimli asked.

"Well uh, I can tell because of your cloaks. You got them from Lorien, they have the leaves. And they look new, they're not that dirty yet. And Gandalf isn't with you.." you finished sheepishly. You almost said because Boromir was still there. And they were all still together. Thank god you kept that information to yourself.

"So," Boromir began, "Your entire world knows of the ring? And our mission?"

"Of course!" Their shoulders sagged so you quickly added, "Well the books and movies are super popular! A ton of people know your story, but that's a good thing! Everyone knows your story because they love it and they're rooting for you. They want your mission to succeed and to see the ring destroyed, too." They looked visibly relieved. " I swear on my life that I want nothing to do with the ring and I want you to succeed at all costs. I've grown up loving the books and the movies, so it really means a lot to me." You swallowed as you realized how awkward that sounded.

"Thats nice but, what's a movie?" Pippin asked.

Oh god, this was going to be a very long night.

Taglist is open!