#I also find it interesting that Romania seems to be doing so much better than us yet again

[samodivas]

Increase of housing prices in the EU from 2015 to 2023.

Some highlights:

Bulgaria at an +86,7% increase and the Czech Republic at +111,7%

Hungary breaking the damn chart with its +172,5% increase

Croatia at +79,9%

Latvia (+90,9%), Lithuania (+114,2%), and Estonia (+97,7%) each going above the 90th percentile.

[6lostgirl6]

Can you please do a Dracula fic for me where it is modern times and you are Dracula’s mate. He sees you and immediately knows what/who you are to him. He goes about trying to court you but he does it in the same way you would way back when. You find it cute and sweet, seeing as how most guys put minimal effort in and just wanna get in your pants. Basically you guys fall in love and he tells you what/who he is, you obviously accept it, and maybe ends with you asking him to turn you. Which he’s obviously gonna do.

Thank you. 🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️

Chivalry Is Undead

Pairing: Modern!Vladislaus Dracula x Fem!Reader

TW: Dracula haunted by your death, blood mention, dead bodies mentioned, reincarnation, mentions of past life, Dracula hissing at you, turning.

There was only one moment in time in which Vladislaus Dracula was able to find a sense of true happiness in his life. This was the time he felt like he was truly a human being rather than a monster, a tyrant. The time in which he still had you, his long lost wife.

Now, centuries later, he was considering taking a trip across the world to ease the pain of losing the only thing he had ever truly loved and felt that he could never recover from. The trip from Romania to America was rough, staying in the cargo hold of a boat until they reached land. By the time he was able to step out, the entire crew was lifeless and drained of all blood.

A few days after he arrived in the city, he decided to explore the area and get to know the city a little better.

It was impossible not to notice how out of place the vampire Lord stood in the crowd. He was dressed in clothes that would remind people of the Victorian era. It didn’t help that he was the only one to carry an umbrella during the day without a sign of rain. However, he also caught the attention of multiple women, none of which interested him. His beloved wife held a special place in his heart, there was no room for any other.

After walking for a while, he was suddenly hit with a very peculiar scent in the air. Dracula paused in his steps, his eyes widening as he took in the sweet aroma. His undead heart would have skipped a beat if he were human.

He could smell the scent of his beloved.

He hastened his steps, effortlessly pushing through the crowd as he did so. He wasn't going to let any disgusting human get in the way of him finding his lost love. He paused again, standing in the spot where the sweet aroma was at its strongest.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes in shock as he looked across the busy street and a rare smile appeared on his face. His pupils began to dilate as he stared across the street. There you were, standing near the crosswalk with a device in your hand that he remembered was a cellphone.

He couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than you; the exact image of the beloved he lost so long ago. The sensation of moving towards you itched in his body. He was tempted to forget about the traffic in front of him and just appear before you. It was your touch, your presence, and your entire being that once soothed his tyrannical soul. He missed you and desperately wanted you back in his arms and that is exactly what he'll do.

You were watching something on your phone, waiting for the pedestrian signal to change so you and a small crowd of people could cross the road. Soon, the pedestrian signal turned green, allowing you and the small crowd to begin walking across safely. After crossing the road, you went to walk down the sidewalk when you suddenly bumped into what seemed like a brick wall, causing you to drop your phone. 

With the stranger's quick reflexes, he was able to grab your phone before it could land on the pavement.

“Apologies, Miss...” He said, his voice was deep with a Romanian accent, handing out the device towards you.

"Thank you so much." You said with a sheepish smile, taking your phone back from the handsome stranger. "I'm really sorry, I should have been paying better attention."

Damn, even her voice is the same...

He waved his hand towards you dismissing your apology with a friendly smile. "No, do not apologize, the fault is mine. Might I ask your name?" He asked with curiosity.

You found him awfully charming and you gave your name out instantly. "What's your name?" You asked, just as curious about the handsome stranger. In that moment, the stranger took your hand not holding your phone and pressed a kiss upon your knuckles. You felt your heart skip a beat. 

“What a gorgeous name…” He muttered, staring into your eyes. 

Dracula’s keen hearing was able to sense your nervousness and your immediate attraction to him. His mind was hazy and fangs aching to make their claim upon your delicate throat. To claim you as his mate so he would never lose you again. "You may call me Vlad, my dear, I have traveled all the way from Transylvania for sight-seeing." 

“You’ve come a long way…” You uttered, your gazes were still locked on one another, unable to break the connection between you both. 

“I have, but I believe the agonizing trip was well-worth it, to see true beauty such as yourself.” He commented, smirking a little when he noticed the warmth flooding your cheeks. “I was exploring the city, but it would be lovely to have someone like you accompanying me. Would you like that?” 

Your eyes softened, giving a smile from his charm, he was quite different from the other men you would see around the city. It warmed your heart to have a man show genuine interest in you and want to merely spend time with you. “I would love that.” 

Dracula felt relieved as his eyes softened from your acceptance. He held his arm out and you quickly wrapped your arm around his own, elbows linked together. It was very old-fashioned you can admit, but you couldn’t help but prefer it. However, you couldn’t place it, but the gesture was oddly familiar, as if he’s done this with you before. 

Your relationship with Vlad has been going well for a few months now and you are happier than you have ever been. Since becoming his unofficial tour guide, you have spent almost every day with him. You have even been on a few dates with him, unable to resist his sweet nature and silver tongue. Dates that consisted of fine restaurants and extravagant tours of the city that you had never had the opportunity to experience before. However, you noticed that Vlad was very vague when it came to specifics about himself. In particular, he was not interested in discussing his past, his finances, or his methods of obtaining them and his need for carrying an umbrella everywhere. When you asked him why, he mentioned it was because he had a rare skin condition that would become irritated if exposed to direct sunlight.

Despite his mysterious behavior, you still found him extremely charming and you noticed that you were starting to grow intense feelings for him. However, as your relationship developed and your feelings grew, you began having dreams, strange dreams. More like nightmares because you would always dream about ancient times where you and Vlad were once married where the dream would end with your impending doom, you were never given details of your ultimate demise.

You never bothered to tell Vlad, not wanting to push him away or make him think you were crazy because you dreamt that you were his wife in some past life, you never wanted to ruin your chances with him. For instance, you were going on another date with him tonight, deciding that you both would meet each other in an extravagant park that was quite a distance from the city.

After getting into your car and making the drive away from the city, you arrived in the parking lot near the entrance of the park. Glancing outside your window, you turned off the engine before stepping out onto the concrete. It was just after dusk and the skies were starting to become darker as the minutes moved on. After locking your car, you headed over to the entrance and looked around. 

Part of you disliked Vlad not having a cellphone, due to him hating technology, but you had no way of getting a hold of him should you ever needed him or his location. Checking the time on your phone, you sighed as you were about to put it away. You were becoming a little anxious that you might have been stood up.

“Looking for something?” A pleasant voice whispered in your ear, thick Romanian accent sending shivers down your spine. 

You jolted slightly, gasping as you turned towards the person. Standing behind you with an amused smirk was Vlad, seemingly entertained by your reaction. You rolled your eyes and playfully smacked his arm, knowing that it wouldn’t hurt him. “You scared me!” You exclaimed, a teasing smile plastered on your face. 

“I apologize, my sweet.” Vlad replied, staring intently into your eyes. He thought it was delectable how scared you became, even if it only lasted for a meer moment. He was dressed in black with a thick overcoat. “It’s rude to scare the lady that captured my heart.” He continued, reaching out to take your hand in his own. He couldn’t resist touching you.

You felt your cheeks grow a little warm, gripping his hand as you both entered the park, enjoying the scenery. However, you were still a little distracted from the dreams you’ve been having. Usually, you were able to ignore it until you went home where you could reflect after your dates with Vlad. Now though, your mind was constantly replaying the dreams in a loop. You didn't notice how distant you became the more the date went on, getting lost in your own head.

Dracula noticed you were more quiet than usual, opting to replying in short answers or needing him to repeat himself. Dracula may have been old, but he understood when someone is thinking about something, something very important.

He stopped you both when you appeared next to a fountain, turning towards you and taking both of your hands in his own. "What bothers you so, my sweet?" He asked, concern evident in his gaze.

"I'm sorry..." You muttered, a little embarrassed from your behavior. "I've just been thinking about some things."

"Like what? Does something trouble you?" He questioned, squeezing your hands. Everything was feeling very familiar again, and you were starting to feel a little weird.

"I've been having...strange dreams lately. Dreams that seem very real and like I've been there before. But it's impossible, right? Dreaming about something that's never happened?" You explained, but it only left you asking questions.

Dracula swore his heart jumped to his throat. Could this mean you were starting to remember your past life with him? Was his mere presence and time spent with you the answer to getting you back?

"What do you dream about?" He stepped closer, his gaze refusing to leave your own. "What is it, my sweet?" He was eager to hear your answer.

"It's really stupid, it's like we've met before? The dreams start with us being married during an ancient time and the dream ends with me dying in some way and leaving you behind...the dream never gives me answers though..." You explained, voice low. "But, we were really happy and I woke up crying sometimes."

"It's because it was real..." Dracula replied, his eyes soft and if he could, tears would have been gathering in his own eyes. "It was real, my sweet..."

"But that's impossible, Vlad." You stated, a little confused from his reaction. "Past lives don't exist and even if you were alive during that time, you would be dead right now."

Dracula sighed, before looking around. He didn't sense anyone else in the vicinity, meaning that the both of you were completely alone. For once in his immortal life; he felt nervous, nervous for your reaction.

"Come, my sweet," Leading you by the hand, you both walked over to the fountain, sitting down on the stone structure. "There is something we must discuss."

"Vlad...this isn't because of my dreams, right? It's okay if you think it's weird..." You started before Vlad politely cut you off, showing his hand.

"My darling, the dreams you've been experiencing are very much real. Centuries ago, you were the love of my life and we were once married. My pride, arrogance, and selfish desires caused me to lose you forever. However..." He gripped your hand tightly. "I have you once more, in this life. I've been given a second chance at happiness my darling, with you." He explained, he didn't want to beat around the bush.

You stared at him, slightly in shock from his explanation. Your mind was going a mile a minute, and crazy as you may seem, part of you believed him. However, the logical part of your mind screamed at you to wake up. If it were true, how is Vlad here?

"Then how are you even alive, Vlad?" You questioned, looking into his eyes.

"Because...I am a monster, my darling." He hesitated before continuing, "I am Count Vladislaus Dracula and I am a vampire."

"W-What?" You asked, standing up and backing away a little. Not allowing you to escape from him again, Dracula stood up and closed the distance between you both once more. He towered over you, his intense gaze staring into your own. "Vlad, that's not-"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true." He stated, grabbing your hand.

"Vlad, this is such a stupid j-"

Suddenly, Vlad appeared in front of your face, hissing down at you with glowing eyes, fangs protruding from his gums and jaw slightly unhinged like a snake. His face was monstrous and for the first time, you were scared of him. You screamed in fear, struggling to remove yourself from his grip as he wrapped his arm around your waist, gripping your wrist with his other hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The monstrous face of Vlad returned to normal, pulling you close as tears gathered in your eyes, trying hard not to sob into his chest. He felt horrible that he had to show you this way, but he didn't know how else to convince you he was telling the truth. "You needed to see, darling, I'm sorry for scaring you." He caressed your hair.

You sniffled, your face pressed against his chest as Vlad continued caressing you, trying to calm you down. His monstrous face tormented your mind, however your heart was screaming that you needed to hear him out.

"M-My dreams..." You pulled away slightly, looking up at him as he moved a free hand to caress your cheek, wiping away stray tears from your skin. "W-We were really married...?"

He gave you a small smile, before nodding his head. "Yes, my sweet, but now we are given a second chance. This time, I will do everything in my power to protect you and keep you with me forever." He promised.

"But you can't..." You replied sadly. Vlad was a vampire, an immortal creature that would continue living for many more centuries, while you could die at any moment. You felt your heart breaking, knowing that even though you had a second chance, you would still lose him.

Unless...

"Unless you change me..." You mentioned, causing Vlad to look into your eyes with an unreadable expression. However, you didn't realize how much Dracula wanted to sink his teeth into your throat and change you right this second. However, he maintained himself as you continued speaking.

"Is that what you want, my darling?" He asked, pulling you close as his other hand moved to cup your other cheek. "Do you wish to become mine eternally?"

"Yes." You answered, wrapping your around his neck which made him want to purr from your affectionate touch. "Yes, I want to become your wife once more."

Without another word and breaking your gazes, he wrapped an arm around your waist before dipping you slightly. From this position, all you could see was the face of your former lover and the stars above.

"Your wish is my command." He uttered, before leaning down, which made you close your eyes instinctively.

You were bracing yourself, awaiting for the pain that would engulf you when Vlad would sink his fangs into your neck. The pain that would ultimately change your life forever. However, that never happened as you felt the man of your literal dreams pressing his lips against your own. You gasped slightly, the kiss between you two quickly becoming passionate.

Dracula couldn't hold back the pleased growl rumbling from his chest. The ability to finally have you in his arms again and tasting your sweetness through the kiss almost made him lose control. However, he wanted to make the change romantic and less painful.

Behind your closed eyes, more memories were revealed like a record player and you felt tears swell into your eyes once more. You remembered everything and your heart shattered, knowing how much pain your husband has been through since your departure.

Reluctantly, Dracula pulled away from the kiss, staring down at you with a pleased smile. Your heart was frantically beating against your chest and the way you were staring up at him made him feel an intense longing. "Are you ready, my darling?"

"Always for you, my king." You uttered in Romanian, your eyes full of devotion locking onto his own.

Dracula's instincts were going mayhem as his eyes widened, hearing those sweet Romanian words fall from your lips, uttering a name that you once called him centuries ago. He missed you so much, and he finally found you, he finally had his beloved wife once more.

"My queen..." He replied in Romanian, smirking down at you as his fangs extended.

Next thing you knew, was the excruciating pain in your neck as the love of your life sunk his fangs deep within your throat before you lost consciousness.

Spam Liking W/O Reblogging = Blocked

Taglist: Comment to be added!!

@prettywhenibleed @ghoulgeousimmaculate @britany1997 @scaramantica

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2005 - Number 56 - Donna & Joseph McCaul - "Love?"

This is a song in which several mis-steps were made, and I think the delegation knew they were making them from the start. Designed to appeal to a home audience who wanted past glories as well as a homely family vibe, what better than a brother and sister act with a little bit of traditional dancing in the bridge to add a flavour of Ireland and rekindle those memories of Riverdance?

It could have been so much more.

Donna & Joe McCaul are the brother and sister who won Ireland's third running of You're a Star, the Pop Idolesque competition to find Ireland's Eurovision representative. They hold the dubious status as Ireland's first ever representatives to participate in a Eurovision semi-final. They are also Ireland's first ever act to be eliminated in a Eurovision semi-final. It might be overdramatic to say that they mark the point at which Ireland's illustrious Eurovision past descended into a quagmire of a country's despair and self-mockery, but there's a lot of truth in that.

The song they won with was Love? It features some fairly generic lyrics casting love as an ordeal to be endured, but that is ultimately worth the trials and tribulations. It's a blasting, fast, vocal showcase for a strong voice and that is the first of the problems.

Donna has an amazing voice. She can carry this song confidently and it's really not at all easy to sing. Right from the first line, it's clear she has the lungs for a challenge and she does not hold back. There's a lot for her to do, but she's not at all out of breath at the end. If this song was Donna alone, it would be great. But it's not. Her brother is there and his voice is nowhere near as strong. He gets to sing the bridge and it's there that the clear disparity between their voices is apparent.

The delegation seems to have been aware of this. The levels on the microphones is different with Donna's much higher in the mix - her voice dominates his when they're singing together. It's sad to say this when there's a brother and sister on stage who are used to singing together and who are being sold a wholesome family act, but if this song was Donna on her own it would have stood a much better chance.

That's only one problem though. The other is the dancing. It's the thing everyone remembers from this performance. Ireland is trying to do Riverdance again. Only it's nowhere near as good as that and it's only a few bars in the bridge. It was a huge mistake to include it as it's not good, and it overshadows everything else in the song - including Donna's voice.

Love? is by Karl Broderick. I don't know whether he had any say in the staging, but it's interesting that his other Eurovision song was Maps by Lesley Roy in 2022 - another Irish song that is notorious for its staging.

Mentally subtracting Joe and the dancers from this and I'm left with something good. It's a huge performance with some interesting twists and turns in the melody, a contrarian take on Eurovision love that's strongly reminiscent of Nicola from Romania in 2003, which I also like a lot.

After this performance, Donna and Joe became a bit of a laughing stock in Ireland - and that appears to have been anticipated by some of the media. They got criticism from Louis Walsh - who had his own agenda here - who called them amateurs. They also had ads deliberately played over their live performance on a popular Irish comedy puppet show as a joke

Louis Walsh. Acerbic Irish puppets. You can see where this all leading for Ireland can't you? The bitterness within the country is building. At least Donna and Joe were able to laugh at themselves even as they were taken as a fit subject for mockery.

Donna carried on despite having her reputation trodden all over. She came out in 2008 which caused something of a tabloid media kerfuffle, but she has also released other music. She sang backing vocals for J. Anvil at the Maltese 2011 national final and came full circle to enter the Irish 2012 final. Joe got to the judge's houses in the 2015 X Factor while Donna got to the blind audition round of The Voice USA.

Perhaps the single best event that occurred as a result of this performance was Donna and Joe singing Love? at the wedding for song-writer Karl to his husband, TV Presenter Alan Hughes in what was described as Ireland's highest profile gay wedding since legislation allowing gay marriage was introduced in the country.

Donna and Joe, and Love? get way to much criticism for what should be an iconic modern Eurovision moment. It's time to start celebrating them and the song.

[just-a-smut-slut]

The Neighborhood

Chapter Fifteen

January passed quickly. Hermione had applied to several apprenticeships across England, but she had only heard back from one. The Head Curse-Breaker from Gringotts was looking for new Curse-Breakers in the upcoming graduating classes of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. It was dangerous work, but Hermione had the qualifications that they were looking for: two years of Advanced Arithmancy, six years of Ancient Runes, seven years of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and at least two years of Advanced Charms. She also wrote in her application the various awards she had won in her study of the History of Magic.

The letter that she received was more than enthusiastic. Something in the back of her head wondered if they needed a diversity hire since she was Muggle-born, but she hoped that it was her many, many accolades that proved her value as an apprentice. She wasn’t sure if she was interested in the line of work, but she couldn’t argue that it sounded exciting and interesting. She would get to travel the world and solve some of the world’s greatest magical puzzles.

She hasn’t heard anything about what happened to Malfoy. She even attempted to ask Crabbe and Goyle if they had heard from him but they just grumbled something about her being a nosy mudblood and walked off. After that moment of desperation, she decided that it may be safer and better if she focused on school.

In February she received two more offers for an internship, one with the Office of Wizard/Muggle Relations office at the Ministry of Magic and one for the Quibbler, the paper that Luna Lovegood’s father ran.

She accepted the offer from the Head Curse-Breaker at Gringotts. Within the fortnight, she got an owl back with a packet of information for what to expect.

Hermione was surprised to find that they were sending her with a team to a castle in the heart of Romania. The castle had recently been cleared of a cult of vampires and would be swept for curses and treasure belonging to the wizarding world. Hermione was assured that she would be completely safe during this journey. It was “to get her feet wet”.

Hermione Enchanted her bag so that it could hold an unlimited amount of items. All she needed to do was stick out her wand and use Accio. The item would then fly out. She also combined a feather charm so that it was weightless when inside the bag. It was perfect for the witch or wizard needing lots of reference material with minimal space to keep it.

Hermione would be traveling by Flip powder. Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore had wholeheartedly signed off on Hermione’s apprenticeship. While Professor McGonagall had hoped that Hermione would endeavor to work in the political field to help muggle Borns, she accepted that Hermione’s skill set made her a perfect candidate for this job.

Hermione was seen Off by Professor McGonagall, vanishing in a flash of green flames, and was immediately greeted by Roger James, Head Curse-breaker at Gringotts as well as Bill Weasley, Ron’s oldest brother and Cursebreaker for Gringotts. Mr. James explained that he’d wanted Weasley to be there to be a friendly face. Hermione wondered whether he knew that she had broken Ron’s heart. If he did, he didn’t show any ill feelings towards her.

“You’ll be working directly with Mr. Weasley. For the next two weeks, your orders are to shadow him and watch. Don’t go getting any wild ideas about trying to investigate anything yourself. We’ve lost veteran curse breakers more times than I care to say over their ego!”

Hermione didn’t need to be told not to investigate. She wanted to sit back and learn as much as she could although she was worried that it would be awkward working with Bill over the next nine weeks. He was so much more different than Ron. He was pensive and serious, but also had a good sense of humor. He seemed to have the best characteristics of the Weasley children. Hermione thought that out of all of them, he favored his mother’s features more, but had to have been the tallest of them all. His hair was usually worn pulled back into a ponytail to stay out of his face while they were working.

After her trial two weeks, Hermione was allowed to try out methods and puzzles more and more. Me. James remained impressed with her skill set as they continued their search through the castle.

Hermione hated the castle. It was damp, dark, and smelled of coppery blood. Even though they’d cleaned out the bodies long before she’d arrived, Hermione could feel the dread and evil that had been wrought there.

“We’re going to be getting another team visiting over the next week,” Bill said over dinner that night. Mr. James nodded.

“Should be about six of them. Don’t worry though, Hermione. They’re more of an international outreach. They’re not up for any positions at Gringotts. It’s just a formality,” Mr. James took a long drawl from his chestnut ale. Hermione hadn’t been worried about another apprentice outshining her. She had proven herself over and over within the dungeons of that castle. Her wand was as quick as her mind and she’d helped them out of two mortally dangerous traps now.

When the new team arrived the next afternoon, Bill had her come with him to meet them. As the opened the door to the conference room they’d sat up in a tent, a sea of red, fur lined jackets filled Hermikne’s vision. Durmstrang.

Hermione met Draco’s eyes almost instantly. They were cold and unfeeling- as if he didn’t know who she was. Hermione let Bill introduce her to their team, the final introduction to their Charms professor, Professor Damon Herrcheck. This group of seventh year students were studying vampiric magic as part of their advanced alchemy class.

The words and introductions felt hallow. Hermione felt like everything that was said was underwater. She felt apart. She flexed her hands, squeezing them into fists and then releasing them. She had to get Malfoy alone. To find out what happened. To find out if he was okay.

She waited until nightfall. The group of students were staying on the outskirts of the cursebreaker camp. They each had their own magical tent set up in a circle formation. Hermione wasn’t sure which tent was Draco’s. She didn’t have to think about it for long when she noticed an emerald green scarf sitting on top of a pair of boots outside of one of the tents. She cast a disillusionment charm, making herself invisible and quieter, then crept to the flap of Malfoy’s tent and stepped inside.

The tent was large on the inside. It had a large sitting room in the center and two alcoves off of it. One looked to be the bathroom and the other looked to be a bedroom. On the farthest side of the tent was a large drive with a roaring fire. Malfoy was sitting on his sofa, reading. He shut his book with a hard snap and stood quickly as if preparing for a fight.

“Get out,” he said tersely.

“I just want to talk,” she removed the charm on her.

“No,” was his answer. He wouldn’t look at her.

“Draco, please-“

“Address me as Malfoy,” he Shot back to her.

Hermione stepped forward and he took a step back still refusing to look at her. “Did they hurt you?” Her voice cracked and Malfoy shot his eyes to her for just a moment- pain shooting across his face for a brief second.

“No, of course not,” he said.

“I won’t leave until you tell me what happened,” she said finally.

Draco finally turned to stare her dow, malice burning in his eyes. “They pulled my fucking memories out of my skull to look at them, Hermione. Get. Out.” He didn’t wait for her to leave before walking to his bedroom and pulling the curtain flap down.

Horror struck Hermione. They had seen everything. They knew they had- they knew how Draco felt about her. She was amazed that she wasn’t dead already.

She walked to the curtain separating her from him. “I’m glad you’re safe, Malfoy. I- I’ll respect your wishes. And, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” Her treacherous voice cracked again. She wasn’t sure what she was sorry for. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She was sorry he had a horrible family. She was sorry it wasn’t easier. She was sorry she couldn’t peel back the curtain and hold him.

As she walked back to her tent, she had a sinking feeling that this was truly the end of any hope she’d been clutching to. She wanted to tell him that she could try and publicists the memories, but she knew that he wouldn’t want to forget what had happened. They may have looked into his past but they couldn’t wrench it from him. He could hold on to that part of her. His words came back, “I wouldn’t want a piece of you, I’d demand you to be wholly mine.” She shivered. She wanted to demand that he be wholly hers. That he not go back to his family. That he let them rot. But she’s never ask that of him. And for all she knew he was just doing what they said so they wouldn’t take out their anger on Hermione. She thought back to his terrifying aunt. Her threats.

[al-longbottom]

Molly Weasley and Her Relationships With Her Family Members

These are headcanons I have about Molly Weasley and her relationship with each member of her family. This is entirely opinion and not at all canon. It also follows the headcanon of Neurodivergent Charlie and Autistic Percy.

I'm thinking I'm going to do this for each of the Weasleys.

~~

Molly and Arthur

Molly is high strung while Arthur is dreamy and calm. Every time Molly works herself into a tizzy, Arthur is there to calm her down.

They're very much like the sun (Arthur) and the planets (Molly) because Arthur is still, calm, very happy and sunny and Molly is constantly moving around him, attending to this and moving that and cleaning this but she always seems to find her way back to his side.

Molly and Bill

Molly has a complex relationship with Bill. He is her oldest and therefore he holds a special place in her heart but because he is the oldest she also had the highest expectations for him.

When he turned out to be very rebellious and adventurous, wanting to go out and see the world and grow his hair long and wear a leather jacket and ride a motorcycle she was not only scared for him but aggravated that he wasn't living up to her expectations... but of course, she can only stay angry at him for so long because he is her eldest after all.

Molly and Charlie

Molly hoped that Charlie would be everything Bill was turning out not to be but the weight of this expectation drives him away and more towards the things he finds comfort in: his interests. Like Dragons. He deep dives into his research, escaping in textbooks and fantasy novels that tell tales of fantastical creatures that can fly away to any corner of the world and then he learns about the sanctuary in Romania and he just knows he has to go, to live with the dragons and to live like a dragon.

Molly, who can feel her hopes for Charlie slipping through her fingers, desperately tries to encourage him to do better in school and pay more attention to his studies, helping him to achieve his role as Head Boy.

But she also tries something she was unwilling to do with Bill: compromise. She buys him books on dragons and listens to his facts and really truly does try to remember them, but she already has so much on her mind so eventually, she ends up just nodding along to his rambles, with the occasional 'yes dear, how exciting'.

Molly and Percy

From the moment Percy is old enough to talk Molly realizes that she has yet another son she doesn't understand.

He's more like her vision of what a son should be, hard-working and serious, always helping without being asked and not running off to play dragon rider or coming home with a new surprise piercing or tattoo.

But there's something about him... he's almost too serious, too rigid and black and white in his thinking and easily overwhelmed by Molly's frazzled tendencies.

But now she has the twins to worry about as well and doesn't have enough time in the day to worry about what Percy is doing and so he falls back into the background and this time Molly doesn't care or even notice when her expectations of him fall flat until it's too late and he's grown bitter with his family for never attempting to understand him.

Molly and Fred

Molly says to herself that she would never admit this (though it's obvious to George and even more obvious to Fred) but she is more partial to George when choosing between the twins. She believes Fred goes too far with his pranks and is more assertive with his personality than George.

She has a very short temper when it comes to Fred, always aggravated by one of his pranks or the other or at least on edge because she's expecting one to come. This short temper causes her to lash out at him more often than his other siblings and causes tension between the two of them. This brings on arguments that cause tension in their relationship.

Molly and George

While the twins have quite similar personalities George is more of a mama's boy and Molly tends to use that to her advantage to gently guilt him into doing things she wants and nudge him in the direction she wants. But Fred's connection with George is stronger than Molly's and ultimately she realizes it's no use and gives up on the twins.

Molly and Ron

Ron is sort of Molly's last chance at the perfect son but by now she has given up on the idea of a perfect son and has moved on to wanting a daughter and when Ron is born a boy and not a girl Molly is disappointed and doesn't even try to change him. He ends up fading into the shadows though greatly loves his mother, wanting to gain her approval.

When he becomes Head Boy he gets a taste of her pride and her love which reinstills his love for her and is one of his main motivations for wanting to do well in school.

Molly and Ginny

Molly expects Ginny to want to always be around her, as the only other girl in the family, and when Ginny instead wants to play with her brothers and wrestle and play quidditch and pretend to ride on dragons, she tries to push for Ginny to be more feminine.

The more Molly pushes the more defiant Ginny becomes, wanting to fit in with her brothers and do the things they do. Molly still holds Ginny to high, stereotypically feminine, expectations.

[americancowgirl19]

Artic Hoarfrost

Summary: Bill sends a letter to his brother Charlie about a rare dragon that turns out to be more than just a creature.

Warnings: Fluff, angst

Reader: Gender Neutral Reader

Pairings: Charlie Weasley x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 2,083

A/n: It didn’t turn out as romantic as I would have liked. It’s more of a platonic story but it’s still good! I hope, lol... and yes I created the Artic Hoarfrost, I think it’s a cool name.

Masterlist

Charlie was only studying in Romania for half a year when his older brother, Bill, sent him a letter. It had been a long time since Charlie had heard from him. The two brothers had been close growing up but now they were both out of Hogwarts pursuing different careers.

He opened the letter curiously but also excited. He missed his family but knew the distance would become easier with time. 

The letter started out simple. There were some casual questions and small talk before Bill got to the reason why he sent the letter. 

Around the same time Charlie was able to get a job in Romania Bill found a job as a curse beaker in Egypt. While at work Bill stumbled upon something that he thought Charlie should know.

In one of the crypts in Egypt there’s a dragon. It isn’t uncommon for Goblins to have dragons in their work areas. Charlie knew there is one in the Gringotts bank and it didn’t surprise him that there’s on in Egypt.

What does surprise him is the description Bill gives him. This isn’t a normal dragon but an Artic Hoarfrost. Charlie had thought the breed went extinct back before the first world war. To hear that there’s one captive in Egypt instantly intrigued him.

It was hard to convince his superiors to let him go to Egypt by himself. The sanctuary had just welcomed a new dragon. All hands were on deck to help the dragon integrate in the new habitat.

It wouldn’t be until another month later that Charlie was able to get some time to go to Egypt. As good as it was to see Bill again all Charlie could think about was the Hoarfrost. He had seen rough sketches of one before but to be able to see one in person would be amazing.

If Bill was right and the dragon truly is a Hoarfrost then Charlie knew he would have to convince the sanctuary to liberate the dragon from the Goblins. A Hoarfrost would slowly wither in the hot environment. 

“Why are they keeping the dragon here?” Charlie asks, following his brother through the desert to find the beast.

“Because it breathes ice and it’s hot,” Bill explains simply. Charlie sends him a look.

“They’re enslaving a dragon to keep themselves cool?” Charlie asks, not bothering to hide his anger.

“Which is why I sent the letter,” Bill says, sending him a glance. Charlie presses his lips together and nods.

“Oh, wow,” Charlie whispers, when they reach the dragon. 

The dragon is large but malnourished. After getting over the initial shock and beauty of the creature, Charlie notices injuries from the chains and the abuse the Goblins have no doubt forced it to endure.

“So, is it what you thought it was?” Bill wonders. The both of them watch as the wizard guards force the dragon to breathe it’s ice into different tunnels. These tunnels go to various work sites and buildings. While Bill enjoyed the cool air the dragon produced he would rather suffer the heat and have the dragon free.

“Looks like it,” Charlie mutters, clenching his fists when the dragon roars painfully. The wizards tasked with forcing the dragon to work used cruel spells that pierced right through it’s hide. “I want to get a closer look,” Charlie says, making a move to go closer but Bill holds him back.

“Not right now,” He says. “Those guard won’t let you close. We’ll have to wait for night fall,”

Grumbling, Charlie leaves with his brother counting down the hours until he can return. Bill did his best to distract his brother but Charlie was far too determined to go back.

He paced in Bill’s flat. His mind is reeling, all his thoughts centering around the dragon. He recalled all he knew about Hoarfrost’s, which wasn’t that much. A few things did strike out as peculiar. The dragon seemed to be half the size it should have been, which could be because of the conditions it is living in but Bill says the dragon has only been there for a few years. Such little time shouldn’t have stunted it’s growth.

Another thing that struck out to Charlie were the curses the wizards used. Those curses, while harmful, shouldn’t have penetrated the dragon’s armored hide as easily as it did.

Charlie couldn’t wait to return to the beast. He wanted a closer look. Hopefully he’d find some answers to the growing number of questions circling his head.

When Bill deemed it late enough, Charlie all but ran to the dragon. Bill struggled to keep up and was out of breath when they arrived. While Bill too deep breaths, Charlie approached the dragon.

The great beast was asleep. It’s curled around itself using their wings to cover as much of their body as possible. It’s an attempt to keep the coolness it’s body radiates to itself. While the room is cool it’s not nearly cold enough to healthily habituate the dragon.

“Charlie, be careful,” Bill warns. Charlie ignores him and continues closer to the beast. He freezes when it shifts. His heart hammers in his chest when the head emerges from under the wing. “Charlie,” Bill says, wanting his brother to come back but Charlie stays still.

A moment later it’s eyes open. A beautiful y/e/c stares right at him. Charlie waits trepidatiously for the dragon to react, to attack him, but it stays still. It’s eyes just stare and observe Charlie.

Charlie releases a shaky breath. He knew he wasn’t completely safe but he felt more comfortable. The dragon seemed calm but that could change. Charlie knew he should be cautious but he was simply too curious.

He takes a step closer but ends up stumbling backwards when the dragon’s entire body shifts. Their wings fold exposing more of the body. The tail comes around almost curving around Charlie and it’s head lifts to better assess him.

“Charlie!” Bill hisses. The dragon turns it’s attention toward Bill but remains unthreatening. Despite it’s calm composure Bill still takes large steps back.

“Will you calm down?” Charlie hisses back. “I know what I’m doing,”

“You’ve been around dragons for six months and now you’re an expert?” Bill snaps, keeping his eye on the beast.

“More so than you,” Charlie sasses.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Bill asks. “You got your closer look. Now let’s go,”

Bill had a point. Charlie got his closer look but he didn’t want to leave. This dragon was far too interesting to leave so soon.

Charlie ignores his brother and moves closer to the dragon. Bill releases a frustrated sigh. He was half tempted to go yank his brother away if he wasn’t so intimidated by the large dragon. He’s seen the beast encase more than one Goblin in ice before. He didn’t want that to be his fate but didn’t want it to be Charlie’s either.

The longer Charlie spent around the dragon the more unusual the beast seemed to be. It’s true that Charlie’s only spent roughly six months with real live dragons but he’s learned a great deal about their behavior in that time.

He remembers reading about Artic Hoarfrost’s at Hogwarts. It was well documented that their breed is territorial, aggressive and prefer their isolation. How did Goblins manage to capture and keep a dragon that’s well known for their aggression and untamableness?

Every moment spent with this dragon only raises more questions.

“Bill, what’s this collar around their neck?” Charlie asks, risking a few steps closer.

“I don’t know, probably something to keep the dragon in place,” Bill says, keeping his distance. Charlie didn’t believe that answer. Nothing is attached to the collar, it’s simply there around it’s neck.

Charlie turns his head and looks back into the dragon’s eye. There was something almost human to them.

Something human.

“Bloody hell,” Charlie whispers, his eyes widening. His heart drops to his stomach as a new theory races through his mind. “Bill, I don’t think this is a dragon,”

“What are you talking about, Charlie? That’s obviously a bloody dragon,” Bill snaps. Charlie shakes his head. “Charlie,” Bill scolds as his brother extends a hand toward the dragon.

“I’m telling you, Bill. This isn’t a dragon,” Charlie smiles sadly, as the dragon presses their snout against his head. “It’s an animagus,”

“What?” Bill asks. “You’re telling me that that’s a human?” Charlie nods his head, beckoning his brother forward.

“It’s far too small to be a hatched dragon. The hide is weaker and their eyes are human,” Charlie explains.

“How did they manage to do this?” Bill asks.

“I’m not sure,” Charlie mutters, his eyes going back to the collar. “But I think that’s how they’re keeping them,” Bill cautiously moves forward. He inspects the object.

“It’s definitely cursed,” Bill mutters.

“Can you break it?” Charlie asks.

“It’s going to take time,” Bill warns him. Charlie clenches his jaw but nods knowing there was no way around it. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out,” Charlie promises the dragon. It huffs and curls back into itself again.

“Charlie, they’ve been a dragon for at least five years,” Bill tells him. “I’ve seen how they treat them. The transition back to human life isn’t going to be easy,”

“I know,” Charlie mutters, following him back to his flat. “Let’s just worry about getting them free first,”

“The ministry’s going to want to hear about this,” Bill mentions.

“They’ll be too worried about punishing those involved. They won’t be worried about their best interest. Let’s help the them and then go to the Ministry,” Bill nods in agreement.

Every night for nearly a month, Bill and Charlie go to break the curse on the collar. Well, Bill goes to break the curse while Charlie keeps the dragon company.

“Don’t worry, Bill will be done before you know it,” Charlie whispers, gently massaging some sensitive spots on on their head. He smiles when he hears a purr like sounds. Even Bill smiles, a bit happy to see that they’re enjoying themselves.

Charlie continues to talk softly and continues his massaging. Halfway through the night is when the collar falls to the floor. All three of them tense before Bill steps back.

The dragon slowly stands up. The sound of the chains clinking together gain Bill and Charlie’s attention. Together, the brothers use their wands to break the chains which further frees the animagus. 

Charlie and Bill both smile as the dragon stretches and tries to shake the soreness from their muscles. They both take a step back as it releases a mighty roar.

“We have to get them out of here,” Bill says. Before Charlie could agree, the guards come rushing in. The dragon glares at them and growls. They’re forced to take cover as the beast breathes a stream of ice crystals in their direction.

“We have to leave!” Charlie shouts. The dragon ignores him and continues to extract revenge. “Please! We have to go! The Ministry will deal with them, I promise! But you deserve to be free,”

The dragon turns to him. Charlie looks at them pleadingly. The dragon huffs and lowers their neck.

“I am not getting on,” Bill says. Charlie grins widely.

“Come on! Live a little!” Charlie runs toward it. Bill groans and follows his brother. Charlie holds on tightly with extreme excitement while Bill is extremely uneasy.

The dragon flies them out of the crypt. Bills screams in terror while Charlie hollers. They fly far away before the dragon drops back to the ground. Bill falls off and groans on the ground.

Charlie slides off gracefully and comes around to their face. The dragon bumps its snout against his chest causing Charlie to chuckle.

“You’re free now,” Charlie tells it. “You can do whatever you want,” The dragon looks genuinely confused breaking Charlie’s heart.

Before Charlie could say anything else, the dragon steps back. Charlie watches the beast begin to shrink before taking a human form. He looks at you for the first time.

You’re wearing a ratty shirt and torn shorts. Your legs support you for a few seconds before you collapse on the grass. Charlie rushes to you.

“Are you alright?” He asks quickly. You manage to smile at him.

“Th-thank you,” You stutter. He smiles at you. “Thank you so much,” You fall into his arms. His eyes widen a bit but he hugs you back.

“You’re safe now,” He promises. “You’re safe,”

[achillieus]

let you down. (sebastian stan x reader)

summary: it's a universal truth but it's worth repeating; feelings eat us raw. or just an actor and a girl falling in and out of love over the course of three months.

(this was inspired by sebastian's visit to greece for his movie, monday, and is based on that, so that means in the story we’re in 2018. also i have this posted on ao3 too but while i’m writing the last parts i thought of posting it here too)

quick note: i wrote this back in 2018 after meeting sebastian in greece but i redited it now, so if you see any mistakes or typos please tell me :)

pairing: sebastian stan x reader

warnings: alcohol, sexual references, implied depression, sebastian desperately needs to hug the reader, it's kinda slowburn because i love the yearning

part: 2/6

(other parts)  (masterlist)

It’s Monday when they come back from their small trip to the south. You’re watering the jasmine in your balcony when you hear the engine of Argyris’ car slowly shut down and see two figures getting out of the back seats.

It’s him and a blonde woman. You remember meeting her that night in the terrace. You’ve learnt that she’s a great actress and will play the other main character in the film.

When she notices you looking at them, she waves.

“Hey, Sebastian it’s your friend there.” She gives his shoulder a soft nudge.

We’re not friends. That’s what you almost yell back at her.

His head shots up, smiling.

He’s always smiling. It’s getting annoying.

You can see him going through his bag as he calls your name.

“Look, I brought you some traditional sweets.” He’s holding a small wrapped up package. He starts wiggling it in the air.

He looks so jolly and proud of himself. It makes your throat dry.

And before you can control it, you laugh. You can’t see it from where you’re standing but he bites his bottom lip at the sound.

/

Two hours later he’s sitting in your kitchen devouring half of the pastries he got you.

“These are actually so good, how can you not like them?” He says and it comes out all garbled. His mouth is full of sugary dough.

You do like them. But he does too. And you can find them anytime you want here. You doubt it’s the same in New York.

“They’re just not my favorite,” he nods “but thank you anyway.”

“Well let’s say you owe me,” you furrow your brows in confusion “and will repay me by sending me some of those once I’m gone.”

He laughs before taking another bite.

And as you stare at him, you notice that he’s different. His gaze is tranquil, his voice is soft and he has some cream at the corner of his lips.

Like that, he looks more like a guy you met at college than a well known actor.

Like that, we could be friends, you think.

You talk a lot. He tells you about his time in Romania and his first audition. It makes you realize you are far more interested in acting than what you thought. You tell him how you think team Iron Man is the superior team. He gasps, as if he is hurt.

He doesn’t mention his girlfriend. You don’t ask about her. It’s easier for both of you this way.

/

A stifling heat rises to your body as you walk under the burning sun. You don’t realize how Argyris gets you to give Sebastian a tour around the city, but you can remember a pair of light eyes pleading you.

You can easily hear him humming to himself. You turn to look at him. He’s wearing a hat and his forehead is sweating. He doesn’t seem to mind.

“You’re in a very good mood today.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Well I’m stuck with you for the day so what choice do I have?” You shrug.

He makes a face at you. You crack and a huge smile forms in your face.

He leans closer, mouth to ear and then he speaks.

“You know, I can’t tell if you hate me or just like me too much.”

His breath hits your cheek.  

You try not to blink at the sudden foreign touch.

His words find your skin and they’re so clear and powerful. Suddenly you’re an open page to him.

He crosses his arms in front of his chest and waits for an answer, a nod, a glance.

You are still standing close, the city sounds doing nothing to ease the heated silence between you two.

He realizes you’re not going to give him any response so he lowers his eyes.

And then, when he looks up again, it almost feels like he gives you mercy and agrees to let you get away with it this time.

He smiles.

“So where is Acropolis?”

/

When he’s lying on your couch after six hours of being a tourist and under the summer sun he looks exhausted. Still he’s his typical talkative self.

“You are always so pumped.”

“And you rarely are.”

“Doesn’t it get tiring?” you ask each other at the same time. It seems like you are two different sides of the exact same coin. One body. One heart.

“Today was nice.” He stretches his arms. “Thank you.”

You open the window. There is barely any wind out there. The air smells of hot cement and flowers.

The man on your couch has closed his eyes, breathing softly.

You try to ignore him over and over for the last days. Until you cannot ignore him anymore; your world has come to an end.

So many people know who Sebastian Stan is.

Only few will ever know him like this; falling asleep on a cheap brown couch with his hair messy, his chest rising and falling and his mind empty of thoughts.

These are photographs of your memories now.

An involuntary smile spreads across your face at the thought.

You see him swift and his hand clenches tightly around a throw pillow.

“Stop looking at me like that you creep,” he says.

“Come closer,” he means.

/

The sun is long gone and he’s still asleep when there’s a knock on your door. It’s Argyris.

“Please tell me he’s here.”

You nod and motion towards Sebastian’s drifted away body.

“When I left you this morning, I didn’t actually think you’d last this long together.” He tells you the moment he sees him.

The words fall out of his mouth too easily for your liking. “But I should have known better.”

You don’t understand much. You take a step out of your door. You don’t want to wake him up.

“Do you know how many times he mentioned you while we were away?’

Everything stops and falls quiet in the hall.

The words choke you. You shake your head.

“I need you to be smarter than him.” He says and touches your shoulder. “His world moves too fast for people like us.”

It’s effortless not to look at the man in front of you. It’s hard not to shallow his saying.

/

He wakes up an hour later. He looks at you and it feels sacred. His eyes are still red and the pillow has left a mark on his left cheek.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep here.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it was rude, you should have yelled at me to wake up or something.”

“But you looked tired.”

You carry on with doing the dishes and you hear the couch squeak as he stands up and steps towards you.

The water is refreshingly cold on your skin and the soap smells like lemon.

His hands find your waist and his touch is burning. You wish he disappears. You wish he stays for the night. You don’t even know what you’re wishing for anymore. He comes closer and rests his head on top of yours.

And then he wraps his arms around you and you get flashes of days and nights where there was not enough air for you to breath and your ribs ached.

His action is not so noble. It feels like his body steals all the rationality you have. But it gives you this feeling that there will be no more starless skies at night. And that’s enough for now, so you don’t complain.

His skin feels soft and he smells of sweat and vanilla. Somehow you find that alluring.

He looks at you for a second, like he’s trying to memorize your face. And then he pulls away completely silent.

You try to understand what he’s thinking but he gives nothing away. You were never good at reading people.

You blink and he’s almost out of your apartment.

“Goodnight” he shouts.

“Goodnight” you whisper.

/

You close the window. You wonder how he will spend the night. He probably won’t sleep soon. He just woke up.

But you can’t sleep either.  You just move around in your bed. You sink into the sheets and try to close your eyes.

Your phone buzzes.

He follows you on Instagram.

I need you to be smarter than him.

You go through his profile. You want to think he’s doing the same. You want him to do the same.

His world moves too fast for people like us.

You sigh. Perhaps there could have been a time when you would have stayed away from him, but you can’t pretend to ignore it for much longer. And you’re scared of it. And you’re scared of him.

But you’re more scared of how hard it’s for loneliness to fade. And you wish this doesn’t end like a greek tragedy.

/

One day of the following week you go out for coffee. The curly haired woman comes with you. You don’t understand why. And while you’re adding more sugar to your espresso, she tells him she loves his acting. She uses all kinds of adjectives to describe it; hopeful and poignant, celestial.

You like the way she talks. She sounds beautiful. You almost envy her abundance of words.

But Sebastian stops listening.

He watches the way your fingers wrap around the sugar box. He can see your nerves and your synapses move underneath your skin and he thinks he’s watching a dance show.

He will never tell you, but it’s then; under the morning sun and with sugar in your hands, that he feels his heart beat with the power of cymbals for the first time.

He thinks you don’t have to know.

He’s wrong.

You learn the girl is an actress herself. They’ll be in the movie together. They look stellar together.

Looking at them, gives you a violent feeling that wrenches your stomach around.

You can’t hate her for that. You feel like it’s more your fault than hers. That feeling however, grabs you by the shoulders and doesn’t let go. You try not to let it show.

But for some reason when Sebastian almost touches your palm, you look at her and you’re certain this is entirely mutual.

You make a silent agreement to not include him in any of this.

/

“You were extremely quiet earlier.” He says as you reach the building you call home.

He wants to spend time together until his scheduled shooting. You don’t complain.

“You always say that.” You try to joke. He looks right at you.

And then you notice that his eyes aren’t the color of the sea. They’re more grayish blue. They’re like a frozen lake in December.

“I know,” he starts messing with his hair “But you can’t deny you barely talked back there.”

When you enter your apartment, he immediately throws himself on your couch. These last few days it feels like he owns that right spot there in front of your big window.

“I’ve told you, I talk when I have something to say.”

He smiles at your words.

“Then I must be lucky you talk to me.” He whispers softly.

You sit next to him. If you move a little closer you could touch him, feel his warmth. You don’t.

You never thought of how easy it has become to talk to him. You don’t keep your thoughts locked and your teeth clenched around him. And that’s a novice feeling for you.

You let your eyelids fall close and lay back.

There’s a language between you two. It starts with secret glances and whispers and now it contains words that build and ruin bodies and souls.

Sometimes you want to say them all together. Sometimes you just want to open your mouth and let everything flow out but then you’re scared you’ll make him mad. Or you’ll make him love you.

You can’t decide which is worse and that’s enough to stop you.

“What is this thing between us?” He sounds all tender-like, but his blood feels heavy at the moment. He’s not sure if he can keep breathing. He regrets the words that leave his lips, when it’s already too late.

You have the answer figured out long time before he asks. But you’re not ready to give it to him.

“I don’t know” you open your eyes “I don’t know.” You repeat.

/

He doesn’t tell anyone but sometimes he feels nauseous before a shooting. You can clearly see that now. His pacing up and down the room and his roaming eyes give him away.

You are surprised. You never thought he could be nervous. He looks so confident and radiant all the time; you sometimes forget he is still a regular human being.

“You have no reason to worry.” His lips twitch.

“I know.”

“But you still worry.”  You grin and catch his arm to stop him from moving.

The look he gives you is acute.

“You have no reason to be sad,” he starts, without breaking eye contact “but you still are.”

You feel naked and hug yourself close.

It’s very strange to have someone scratch everything from you and see your raw truth. You’re not certain it’s something you enjoy. You wish it didn’t make you quiver.

Sebastian wishes he could scratch deeper under your dermis and your fingernails and slither there between your muscles and your heart where blood runs thick and melancholy hasn’t conquered yet.

“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head.

“You didn’t say anything hurtful.”

You worry your words may come out bitter. You don’t want that.

“It won’t last forever.” he says and then your name appears in his tongue. You like the way he says it. It almost sounds like poetry. “You won’t be sad forever.”

You smile and, in that moment, you aren’t a worldwide known celebrity and a girl in her early twenties. You are just two people seeking comfort.

/

The same night there’s a party for the first day of shooting. You don’t feel like going, but he doesn’t let you stay home.

What did you do last night?

Went to a party with Sebastian Stan, typical Thursday night.

You can picture the look on everyone’s face. It makes your lips turn upward just a little.

“I told you to be careful.” The voice sounds almost far away but your neighbor is standing right next to you as he mutters.

“I am.” You say with a laugh. He crosses his arms.

“No, you are here, watching him starry-eyed.”

Your fingers start playing with the rough fabric of your dress.

“I don’t know how to stop it.” You whisper.

He tells you to not entail yourself in something you don’t know the way out of. But what does he know about solitude and rushed breaths?

What does he know about a pair of eyes that look like a frozen lake?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

/

He’s watching you from afar while you talk with Argyris. He notices how your chest moves along with your breathing in a way it looks like it’s made of pure glass.

For a while he thinks of staying there and keep observing you but then Argyris leaves and you’re all alone. And he starts walking closer to you.

All eyes are on him as he goes through the main dance floor. The curly haired actress stops moving to the beat and follows him with her gaze.

They both reach you.

And you know he’s moving towards you before you can see him. It’s like your body is aware of his presence madly fast.

His eyes seem darker under the hazy light.

He grabs your hand.

You almost heave.

“Let’s get out of here.” He breaths.

/

You walk for some time. It’s late and Athens is quiet around that time. There is only a soft broken sound of cars and you think about that time you saw a car crash happen in front of your eyes.

You sit close in an old dirty staircase in a forgotten back alley. The city has a lot of those, but people don’t notice. They just walk past them, always in a hurry.

Sebastian sighs heavily. He looks at you in a way it makes you think he’s trying to memorize everything. The way midnight air caresses your body, the way red lighting falls in your hair from that street lamp. He looks at you for an indefinite and long period of time and it feels exquisite.

You place your fingers on his palm and the world flickers. He’s still wearing the rings they gave him for the movie and they feel cold against your skin.

“Do you ever miss Romania?”

The question startles him.

“Every day.”

You nod. Maybe he knows more about sorrow than you give him credit for.

“I remember the dog fence and our neighbors’ daughter and the orange sky through my window, minutes before sun set.”

Your hand locks around his and you stay silent for a while.

“This is the Lyra constellation.”  His eyes light up as he looks up.

You remember reading about how much he’s into space. It’s intriguing.

“Where?”

He doesn’t let go of your hand. Instead he picks it up and guides it with his own. His body moves closer. There’s no cold in the air.

As your eyes search for the stars that your hands point at, he watches you and he’s certain that one day he’d love to lay on his back, with you on his side and show you all the little dead planets in the sky. Show you the secrets of the universe.

And he feels like this is the type of beauty that musicians try to write songs about.

“Ah!” Your grip becomes tighter and you smile. “I can see it!”

He laughs at your childish enthusiasm.

You laugh too.

And then you let your head fall on his shoulder, your hair touching his bare skin. You don’t blame them for making him wear sleeveless shirts for the film.

You can him feel shudder at your sudden motion, but then he exhales and his muscles relax.

He observes the features of your face from this angle. He almost traces them with his fingers.

“They’re probably going to kill me for stealing you away from the party.” You whisper.

“I think I was the one who grabbed your hand and left.” He laughs again and you can feel his chest pounding.

His phone buzzes. He doesn’t look at it. He closes his eyes.

“Δείξε μου όλα τα αστέρια. ”

He doesn’t understand a word but your voice sounds too close. You feel too close. And that’s almost tearing him apart.

“What does that mean?”

You turn to look at him. The neon sign on the old building behind him keeps trembling.

“It means, show me the stars.”

And he does. And he feels like he could burn alive.

And you will never tell him; but you still think of him when you catch a glimpse of burning stars.

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[readyplayerhobi]

Jung Hoseok and the Magic to Happiness | 02

; Hufflepuff Teacher!Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, future angst, future smut

; Word Count: 6.5k

; Synopsis: An unexpected issue with your Ministry of Magic job leads to you taking the role of Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. It’s here that you meet your best friend’s younger brother for the first time in years, the Hufflepuff Head of House, Jung Hoseok. While you contend with seeing him once again, Hoseok tries to show you that he’s very much a man and no longer the gangly teenager you once knew.

; A/N: After almost three months of no writing...I finished this chapter :) I hope you enjoy...please leave me feedback in the form of comments or an ask. The long break has made me worry about a bit about whether people will even read my stuff anymore lol

Last Chapter ; Next Chapter

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The next two months pass by with only a few growing pains in terms of teaching. You’d discovered pretty quickly that a group of twenty students could easily turn into pure and utter chaos. Particularly when one of them accidentally turns another into a turnip.

That had not been the best first-week experience if you were being honest.

There had been a few minutes when you’d been convinced 

But you were certainly getting used to everything. It was odd being on the other side now, being the one who commanded attention from the students. You had an almost desperate need to be liked by them at first, but the other professors had quickly dissuaded you from that. They were not your friends, and you’d learnt that if you gave them an inch then they’d take a mile.

It had been pleasant though, and you were certainly enjoying everything. There was nothing better than the smile on a student’s face when they got a spell right, with the knowledge that you’d been the one to teach them that. 

The comments you’d been told on your first note about the house stereotypes had also proven to be true. You’d never seen so many Slytherin’s chatting happily with Gryffindor’s and so forth. Whole friendship groups were made up of varying houses and none appeared to be left out. Nor had you seen any house related bullying as there had been in your day.

Once typical insults of a Slytherin being home to a Death Eater had vanished for the most part. The one time you had seen it, hurled by a Hufflepuff of all things, had resulted in complete outrage amongst all the students. It had warmed your heart to see the younger generations working in far better harmony than yours or your previous generations ever had.

Chaeyoung had become the equivalent of your work best friend, bringing her marking over to your office and spending time chatting happily with you. Seokjin had also become a close friend or at least as close as someone could get in only two months. The two of them were fascinating, coming from vastly different lifestyles.

Her family were practically magical royalty in France, though she’d moved to the UK whilst only a child to live with her grandparents after the deaths of her parents. As such, she’d ended up attending Hogwarts and had been in the year below Hoseok. Despite her initial French upbringing, she had no hint of an accent though she’d spouted fluent French to you when you’d queried her language abilities.

She also spoke Spanish, which had led to her initially getting a job as a translator at a magical exporting company. It had amused you thoroughly that it had been based in Devon, along the southern coast of England with France just over the narrow Channel Sea. Chaeyoung had laughed at the time, acknowledging that the mild weather was much nicer than the temperamental mistress you had to contend with here in northern Scotland. 

It hadn’t proven to her liking though, and she’d soon ended up applying for the vacant History of Magic position. She’d been quick to explain that she’d taken up an extra qualification in her chosen area and that she wasn’t just randomly picked. You knew from Jisoo that muggles had a different way to education, but there were no real universities here in the wizarding world. 

Chaeyoung studied hard enough and was very knowledgeable about her chosen area, so you didn’t see too much issue regarding it. And she was a popular teacher, helping to turn a subject that many would often find dull into something fun and interesting.

Seokjin, on the other hand, was older than you. He was 36, with a wife of ten years and two young sons. He’d trained in astronomy in the Ministry and had brought his skills to Hogwarts three years ago. You’d ended up bonding together over your dual experiences in the Ministry; both lamenting over the different departments and positions you’d had yet the same bureaucratic headaches. 

He was a joyful sort with a smile always on his face for you and his students along with a genuine passion for the stars and the universe. You knew that he made it a goal to read much of what the muggles were doing, his fascination with the fact that they’d been to space bordering on an almost obsession.

It was no surprise to you that these have been the two that you had ended up so close with. Both had the experience of working outside of Hogwarts and that seemed to make you all different from the other professors. Everyone else had interned here immediately after finishing before taking on their chosen role.

Jimin came from a long line of auror wizards and witches that stretched back centuries. This meant that he had extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts inherited from their wise teachings. His mother and father still worked in the Ministry, which meant that he’d slipped into the Defence Against the Dark Arts position with ease. 

Which was a good thing as it had remained an awkward position after the Second Wizarding War. It was a role that was often hard to fill as some many witches and wizards felt that it would be best to ignore that the Dark Arts even existed. If no one knew about the Dark Arts, and all the horrific violence and devastation that had occurred with them, then there wouldn’t be any need to defend it. 

That was, of course, a most ridiculous idea and Hogwarts had firmly resisted any such attempts to whitewash both the history and the concept of the Dark Arts. By not acknowledging what happened, and teaching to both understand why it happened alongside how to protect against it, then it would just happen again.

But it remained an exceptionally unpopular position due to the intimate knowledge of the Dark Arts required. To know how best to protect against the Dark spells, you had to know what the Dark spells were. 

You had experienced at least three professors during your tenure as a student.

That had all changed five years ago though when Park Jimin had finally taken over when his predecessor had packed it all in to go and study the famous dragons in Romania. The handsome silver-haired professor was young, but he had won over the staff of the prestigious school with his astonishingly good spellwork.

The fact that he had also made short work of their hearts was because he was also incredibly good looking, much to his benefit when it came to dating you were sure.

Jimin wasn’t just a pretty face though; he was the best dueller in the school. From what you’d been told, he had yet to be bested. Which honestly, was to be expected from someone with such a prestigious bloodline as his.

But not only that, he’d proven to be sweet and kind to his students with a backbone of steel as well. While there may be no true bad blood between houses now, Slytherin still garnered an air of suspicion from other houses even to this day. 

Given the preponderance of dark witches and wizards that the house had produced over the years, it was a well-earnt suspicion, unfortunately. Still, you didn’t believe that the bad decisions and choices made by people long ago should have any bearing on your current students; all of them born long after those terrible events.

Jimin had proven to be an excellent example of why you should never stereotype people based on what others had done. In your opinion, he was an exceptional teacher and had taken on the helm of the Defence Against the Dark Arts role with the clear mindset of not only helping to protect his students but also to try and prevent them from making poor choices.

It was a tough subject to teach as it meant constantly walking a narrow line while also steering students true through narrow and murky waters. There were plenty of students who might find themselves a little too fascinated in the concept of the Dark Arts, after all.

According to Chaeyoung, Jimin tried to combat this by making sure to teach them about the history of the Dark Arts. From what you understood, he held no punches in making sure they all knew the horrific acts of murder and sacrifice that had been committed to preventing students from romanticising a dark part of wizarding history. 

Not only that, but he made sure to teach about the most infamous dark wizards in history; the Death Eaters and Voldemort. This was all to ensure that they did not repeat the mistakes of the past. He took his role seriously, whether it was through spellwork or simply enriching the minds.

Despite his relative youth, you’d come to know him as passionate and hard-working with a true love for his students. Whether they be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. It was just one of the many things that you had come to grow to love about Hogwarts in your short time here so far, the way the school had adapted and grown so quickly.

Hogwarts was a castle that had been built from stone carved centuries ago and housed ancient treasures of the wizarding world, but the Battle of Hogwarts had been a turning point for many. No longer did it constantly look at the past with pure pride, and to many - ignorance, but instead looked to the future as well.

It sought to teach well-rounded wizards and witches that would enrich the community. Which meant it had attempted to modernise itself as much as it could. Of course, it didn’t match the sparkling modernity of steel and technology that the muggle world had developed over the last two centuries but it was improving itself and working to develop new magics that would mirror some of the advancements that the muggles had made.

Perhaps the only thing you’d found a little awkward to embrace was teaching itself. You’d been eager to begin but had quickly realised that teaching was much more complicated than you’d imagined. For all of the good things that Hogwarts was doing lately, it seemed odd to you that they didn’t even bother teaching their professors to teach.

A few discussions with some of the others had revealed that they also had this issue when they’d started. It seemed to have been easier for those who hadn’t spent too much time away from the school after they’d graduated but it had been a long time since you’d been schooled here. Teaching methods had changed and you’d struggled to maintain a healthy balance of actually teaching, answering questions to help students, having open hours to encourage students who were struggling to have extra tuition and finding time to mark the essays that you handed out. 

In short, it had been a very steep learning curve for yourself. Thankfully, your students had given you the benefit of the doubt, which meant they’d been very accepting of any mistakes you’d made. You’d also worked with the other professors to establish a good teaching plan for each of your lessons while also cross-referencing to ensure students weren’t loaded with too much homework.

It was more work than you’d expected, which made you understand how naive you’d been. But you found it to be satisfying work and the reward of seeing students learn and retain their knowledge throughout their lessons was better than anything you’d done in your previous job. And that was to say nothing about the pure wonder and joy on the faces of the first-year students when you had begun their education.

Underlying all of your experiences so far though was one Jung Hoseok. Whilst you’d become quick friends with Seokjin and Chaeyoung, Hoseok was a strange enigma to you. He was friendly and always willing to help you whenever you got confused over something or were feeling a little stressed.

His job as the Care of Magical Creatures professor meant that you rarely saw him during school hours. A large portion of his time was spent outside in the Forbidden Forest or in the custom-built buildings that housed many of the fantastical creatures that he cared for. You knew that he did have a classroom though. It wasn’t anywhere near yours but it held a lot of the smaller creatures that didn’t do so well in the Scottish climate.

Hoseok’s commitment to his job was commendable as he often spent a lot of hours outside. Which meant that as the months slowly shifted to winter, he was finding himself in the cold and rain a lot more often than not.

More than once, you’d spotted him outside when peeking through one of your classroom windows and noted him completely drenched as the rain poured down. It made you cringe each time you saw it, knowing that his robes would be heavy with water. But he never complained about it, even though he was the only professor who also had to work on the weekends.

On top of that, he was also busy with being the Head of Hufflepuff. From what you understood from your talks with Jimin, it meant always being available outside of learning hours for his House students. Whether they wanted to talk about a problem they had or simply needed advice, he was there to help them with whatever they needed.

It also meant that he had to attend every Quidditch game, and you wondered how he managed to cope with such a full schedule. You felt exhausted after a week of just your normal work but knowing how much extra he put in was mind-blowing. 

Despite this though, you’d noticed over time that Hoseok always made sure to be present for every meal in the Great Hall. And much like the first meal you’d shared at the top table, he always sat next to you. You hadn’t thought anything of it until Seokjin had casually mentioned one day while you’d been at Hogsmeade with him and Chaeyoung that he’d never sat in that place before.

His old spot was actually on the other side of the table, next to Taehyung and Jimin. Seokjin hadn’t even thought anything of his comment but it had caused you to pause, wondering why Hoseok had felt the need to change his position. At the time, you’d simply shrugged and pointed out that you’d known him when he was younger and that his sister was your best friend. 

It only made sense that he wanted to be there to help you out and make sure you were okay.

But that excuse started to falter when you thought about the fact that he never mentioned Jisoo to you. Hoseok didn’t mention anything of the past that you both shared. Instead, he would talk about Hogwarts now and your jobs or ask about what life was like at the Ministry when you’d been there. Those topics often led off onto little tangents and you’d both find yourselves chattering away with each other as the meals went on.

The others would get involved too when they could, but there was something...singular about Hoseok’s focus. And that was to say nothing of how he always made sure to walk you back to your quarters after dinner. There was never much talk that happened then, instead, the two of you simply enjoyed the architecture and decoration of Hogwarts as you found different ways to get back, the company exquisite in its silence.

A comfortable silence that you hadn’t found with many other people.

Chaeyoung was convinced that Hoseok liked you. You’d tried to debunk that theory by pointing out that he’d fancied you when he was younger and it was probably just the allure of an older girl who was more accessible to him than others. You were always around given your friendship with his sister and he’d probably just transferred his teenage hormones onto you at the time.

If anything, he was probably embarrassed about how obvious he was back then. Poor Hoseok had never been subtle in anything.

Despite your defence, Chaeyoung had simply given you a look that you hadn’t been able to interpret. Nor did you understand the subtle glances and smirks that she exchanged with Seokjin whenever Hoseok sat next to you at the dining table. It was like there was a silent conversation happening between the two of them about you, only you weren’t included in it.

Thankfully, you weren’t the type of person to be too influenced by other’s thoughts and opinions. So you didn’t let Chaeyoung’s opinion on the subject impact upon your burgeoning friendship with Hoseok. So even though there was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that there was something more, you ignored it and chose not to ruin the fledgeling friendship you had.

You’d felt a sense of relief though that Chaeyoung had been too busy with marking papers to attend dinner last night, which meant that she hadn’t been able to overhear your conversation with Hoseok last night. The two of you had been discussing his lesson plans for the next few weeks and what creatures his students were going to be studying.

He’d suddenly gotten an odd look on his face before grinning. If there was one thing you had learnt upon being back at Hogwarts, it was that Hoseok’s smile was perhaps one of the prettiest things you’d ever seen. Which was why you’d smiled back at him immediately, even though you had no idea what he was so happy about.

But he hadn’t made you wait and had instead asked if you were tonight. You’d acknowledged it and confusion had been written all over your face but he’d just given an enigmatic shrug. All he’d said after that was to meet him at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest an hour after dinner. 

Which was why you were now standing in the dark. Your robes were wrapped tightly around you but it did nothing to stop the way you shivered, jaw tight as a cold wind rushed through the trunks of the trees before you. Part of you wanted to run back to the castle if only to grab your winter coat, but you didn’t want to look like you’d stood Hoseok up. 

Though you did wish he’d turn up quicker rather than later.

Huddling under your cloak more, you clasped the edges together with your hands and pushed it up to cover your mouth and nose. It didn’t do a whole lot against the cold, but it was better than being exposed to it. Even though the wind wasn’t strong, it was still enough to cause your robes to flap, the sound loud against the quiet of the grounds.

The only other sound right now was the wind as it howled through the Forbidden Forest, making the already dark and ominous area look even scarier. Even though you were now an adult, there was an underlying fear of the forest before you. Perhaps it was because it had been firmly ingrained in you as a student that this area was off-limits or something.

Still, you wouldn’t want to go walking around in it on your own anytime soon.

The sight of the trees suddenly moving ahead of you made you gasp quietly, body freezing in position as you squinted to try and see what it had been. You knew that the forest was full of many magical creatures; not all of them gentle and kind.

Swallowing hard, you stayed in place to try and avoid attention, gaze skittering around as you tried to find that shape once more. A branch cracking caused you to flinch, your hands tightening into fists around the material of your cloak and you had to clench your jaw to stop any noise from escaping.

The black shape formed once more ahead of you and you almost shrieked in fright, getting ready to run away until you saw a sudden flash of brighter colour. Frowning, you let your hands unclasp themselves until you realised it was a yellow scarf and realisation flooded through your body.

“Bloody hell!” You cursed, the syllables being spat with indignation. Hoseok looked up in surprise, his own eyes widening in surprise before concern etched itself onto his face when he saw the dual outrage and fear on you. Striding forward, you met him just as he was about to cross over the boundary of the trees onto the grounds of the castle and poked at this chest, a scowl on your face.

“You didn’t think to warn me you were going to be coming from the forest! Merlin’s beard, I almost ran away because I was afraid it was something that was going to hurt me.” Hissing at him, you realised belatedly that you had to look up to him to do this. Damn him and his growth spurt.

Still, he at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it might seem a little scary. I was just coming back from checking on the centaurs; I haven’t been able to meet them in a while and wanted to see if they were okay.” His explanation was logical but it still made you scowl.

“Why aren’t you carrying a light or something?! Do you always just gallivant around the Forbidden Forest in the dark? Aren’t there dangerous things here?” You pepper him with the questions quickly, each one causing his brow to rise higher incrementally. It’s a good job that it’s dark because you don’t notice the way the corner of his lips quirks up in amusement at your tirade.

“I don’t use one in there, not normally. I know my way around very well. I have worked in this forest for years now. But I do have lanterns dotted around in case I need one and I can always use a lumos spell, like now. I figured you wouldn’t want to journey in the dark.” At that, he pulls his wand out of a pocket in his robes and mutters the spell, the tip lighting up with bright white.

Narrowing your eyes at the sudden influx of light, you’re momentarily startled by just how handsome Hoseok looks in the light. It casts an almost blue glow to him, his normally sun-kissed skin looking paler than you’ve ever seen it before. The shadows on his face only serve to highlight the sharp angles of his features while his eyes almost glitter.

It’s only then that you realise you’re staring, quickly averting your gaze away and focusing them on your hands instead. At that moment, another harsh wind blows through and you shiver in response, your shoulders lifting as you try to curl in on yourself.

Gripping your cloak once more, you’re too distracted to notice what Hoseok is doing. The only sign is the light going a little wonky for a few moments before you’re startled by the sudden feeling of softness on your neck.

Letting out a small ‘eep’ of surprise, you jerk away only to see Hoseok staring at you with wide eyes, his scarf no longer wrapped around his neck and instead being held out to you. The Hufflepuff colours look washed out in the odd light and you pause, giving him a confused look as you glance between the scarf and him.

Brows raised, he lifts the item before giving you a slow smile. “You’re cold. You can wear this if you want. It’s not as chilly in the forest but I don’t want you to get poorly because of it. I should have warned you, sorry.”

It seems like all he’s done is apologise so far and it makes you feel bad, causing you to nod your head and take the scarf from him. Wrapping it around your neck, you immediately feel a little warmer and you can’t help but take a deep inhale of the scent woven into the soft fibres. It’s a more concentrated form of what you get to smell every meal time; citrus and something with a slight hint of spice.

For a second, you wonder if it’s a cologne it’s bought himself or if perhaps it’s something a woman bought for him. It suits him, either way.

“Are you ready? You don’t have to come if you’re feeling uncomfortable or anything…” Hoseok trails off, biting his lip in an almost nervous way that makes you feel a little odd. Pushing the thought away, you hum and glance behind him into the forest. Your curiosity was too much and so you nodded firmly, giving him a gentle smile before gesturing for him to start walking.

Without another word, he turns around and begins to walk once more. You notice casually that he’s following a path cut into the forest, the ground level and even compared to the wildness all around you. Alongside the sound of your boots on the dirt, you realise that there are a few other noises all around you.

The gentle hoot of an owl is overwhelmed by a shriek far away, causing a chill to run up your spine. Shuffling forward a little quicker, you almost reach out to Hoseok as a tinge of fear takes over. As if he can tell, he turns around and gives you a concerned look.

“What was that?” Whispering, you glance around and wonder if you should talk loudly. Hoseok looks in the same direction as you do before shrugging slightly.

“Could be anything. This forest is full of creatures, both magical and mundane. Might be a bat or could be something else. Don’t worry though, there’s not usually anything dangerous around this part of the forest. It’s too close to the edge and the creatures that can do the most harm prefer to remain deep within the forest.” It’s almost casual the way he slows to walk alongside you, giving you the safety of his presence but you notice it all the same.

Not that you comment on it, of course. But you appreciate it nonetheless.

Giving him a noncommittal sound, you continue until he takes a sudden turn off the path. The forest floor is dense with foliage and tree roots, causing you to trip a few times. Hoseok helps you along, reaching you to hold your arm to keep you upright when you trip over one too many roots and you get the sense he’s enjoying this.

Maybe it’s because he lets out a soft chuckle when you swear loudly, scowling down at the deeply embedded rock that you’d accidentally kicked. Despite the fact your best friend’s little brother is leading you deep into a scary, dark forest, you don’t feel any concern about him. What could be in the forest, sure, but not him.

He gives off a sense of security that surprises you. All those years ago, Hoseok had been the perfect example of an annoying little brother to Jisoo. Always irritating her and doing things with the sole purpose of being a pain, which in turn meant doing those things to you as well. But now he seemed dependable and you got the sense that you’d want him with you if anything bad happened.

“Okay, we’re almost there. Now, I need you to stay very calm and don’t make any large or sudden movements. You might scare her.” Staring at him in alarm, you suddenly realise that you’ve not even questioned what he’s wanting to show you. Not that he’d have told you, you’re positive of that, but his instructions make you feel a little uneasy.

Upon seeing your face in the light of his wand, he gives a small smile and rests his hand on your arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, I promise, you’re going to like this. You’ll understand what I mean.” Frowning at him, you watch as he starts forward once more and realise he’s heading into a little clearing. Sighing deeply, you realise that you don’t want to stand there on your own so you follow him slowly, almost hesitant to see whatever he’s bringing you to.

You swear, if it’s one of those obscenely large spiders that’s supposed to live in this forest then you’re going to jinx him with something he’ll still be suffering from in a year.

The clearing is small and almost circular, though the position of some trees makes it seem a little broken in places. Long grass that is almost bouncy cushions your feet and you wonder if flowers would grow in the daylight, the canopy of trees above broken and allowing more sky through than elsewhere.

During the day it would get a lot of sunlight, but at the moment you couldn’t help staring in awe at the moon as it glowed brightly, it’s full body visible against the black of the sky. A few stars twinkled serenely alongside it, looking peaceful and creating a beautiful image. 

A pale, ghostly colour catches your attention from the corner of your eye and you find yourself pressing to Hoseok a little closer. His back is strong and solid against your hands as you tense in concern, peeking around him to try and catch what it was.

What you see causes you to gasp out loud, letting go of Hoseok’s robes abruptly as you take a wide step away from him to get a better view.

Long, sinewy legs move through the forest in an almost dainty manner, picking their way through the undergrowth with care and precision. There’s almost no sound as the creature moves towards the clearing, only the softest rustle of leaves that can’t be avoided. It’s fascinating how quietly it can move given its size and you wonder if it’s some magical ability that allows that.

Within moments, the shape coalesces into a clearer image as it passes through the edge of the trees on the other side of the clearing. A silver coat practically glows under the moonlight, giving the creature an ethereal feel that makes you feel that it’s not even real. That you’re just seeing an apparition instead of a real animal.

The horn on its head is long and spiralling, ending in a deadly point while the pale white mane and tail flow in elegant waves towards the ground. Golden hooves paw softly at the grass, glinting slightly.

A unicorn.

“Merlin’s beard…” You whisper, pressing a hand to your mouth before looking at Hoseok. “A unicorn...that’s a unicorn!”

They were rare creatures, even rarer now due to being hunted over the centuries by both muggles and wizards. Muggles thought them a myth now while you knew the rumour of the powerful properties that unicorn blood had. You hadn’t even known the Forbidden Forest had unicorns in them.

“It is. I haven’t named her, seems a little wrong to name her. They normally don’t really like men but I found her when she was injured two years ago. She was dying and I helped nurse her back to health. Unicorns have great memories and we’ve kind of become...friends? Or as much of a friend as you can be to one.” He finishes, smiling as he watches the unicorn snort almost in agreement.

Her eyes are a deep black in the moonlight but you note they look almost friendly and kind. Hoseok’s hand on your back pushes you forward slightly, causing you to start and look back at him with wide eyes.

“Move slowly...hold your hand out to her so she can see it and smell it. Be careful and like I said...no sudden moves. You’re a woman so she’s more likely to accept you anyway, but she’ll let you know if she’s not happy.” Gulping, you nod and take a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, you try to stop the trembling in your limbs.

Whether it’s from excitement at finally getting to see your favourite magical creature in the flesh or fear of being gored to death by that dangerous horn, you don’t know. But you follow Hoseok’s words, trusting him to be right.

Slowly, you walk forwards with your hand out, palm side up. Each step you take, you stare intently at the body of the unicorn to try and catch any movement that might be viewed as hostile. Given she had four legs, there was no way you could outrun her but you’d at least like to say you had a head start.

Despite your worry, she makes no threatening moves. If anything, she seems cautiously curious; her ears pricked forwards towards you and her eyes remaining focused solely on you. Not a muscle in her body moves, only the chilly wind blowing through her mane and tail.

Finally, you’re almost within touching distance of her. But instead of carrying on, you stop. Something inside you tells you that it’s a good idea to do that, to let her come to you and accept you. So you remain standing there with your palm held out to her, watching her closely.

Nostrils slightly darker than the rest of her body flare wide a few times, likely taking in as much air as she can to smell you. It isn’t enough though and she slowly extends her neck out, her refined head stretching out until you can feel the hotness of her breath. Not moving, you let her investigate until finally, she takes one careful step forward and presses the velvety softness of her muzzle into your hand.

Smiling, you let her increase the pressure before turning your hand and gently stroking her. There’s a moment of almost curiosity in her eyes, not that you can tell what a unicorn is feeling, before she lets out a huff of air and leans her head into your touch, obviously enjoying the feeling. 

Your smile turns into a wide grin as you run your hand along her face slowly, letting her get used to the feel of you before you gently scratch at her chin. Almost instantly her ears flatten and you feel a pang of panic, but she just lifts her head and lets out a nicker of contentment, giving you a better position.

“She likes you.” You hear from beside you, and you turn to see Hoseok patting the unicorn’s neck.

Turning away from you momentarily, the mare lets out a soft whinny as she looks behind her into the forest. Frowning, you crane your head to try to see what she’s looking at. Soft footfalls being and you look at Hoseok in confusion, tilting your head at the sight of his grin.

Before you can ask him what’s going on, there’s a high pitched neigh and the mare turns her head back to you, butting at your hand gently. Glancing to her side, your jaw drops once more and you can’t help but squeal lightly.

A foal is standing next to her, it’s coat fluffy with baby fur and a beautiful golden that contrasts completely from its mother. There’s no horn on its head, only a tiny nub that will one day grow long and tall. Gangly legs look too long for its body and the short, fuzzy tail make you coo in delight as it flicks it from side to side eagerly, those big eyes staring at you as it almost dances in place.

Looking at its mum, you almost ask for the permission with a hand raised in the foal's direction and you could swear the unicorn almost nods. Slowly, you move towards the foal and stroke along its short neck, marvelling at how soft and fluffy it is. The foal snorts, its entire body wobbling from the movement and you giggle in delight, completely awed by the sight of them both.

“She had this foal only a month ago, so he’s still pretty small. But he’s a sweetheart and so friendly. As you probably know, he’ll keep that gold coat for two years before paling out to silver.” Hoseok says casually, still stroking the mare and smiling at her fondly. 

For a few minutes, you’re too busy playing with the foal to pay attention to his words but they finally sink in.

“What do you mean, as you probably know?” Neither of you had discussed unicorns so far during your mealtime talks, so you didn’t know why he’d think that. Sure, you’d been taught about unicorns in school but that had been so long ago and it hadn’t even been a full class on them. 

Your love of them had meant you’d learnt much more about them, absorbing all the information you could find in books when you were a teenager. The fact that you were finally standing here, stroking not only a unicorn but also her foal was something that you’d always wished you could do. Given how rare they were though, you’d never expected it to happen.

“Well, they’re your favourite magical creature, right? Or they were, anyway.” He frowns slightly, unsure if he’s got something wrong and you simply stare at him for a moment.

Had he remembered that from when you’d been at Hogwarts? Given your love of them, it was only natural that he’d known about them back then given how often you’d spent time at his house to have sleepovers with Jisoo. But you’d have thought he’d have forgotten all about that by now.

Jisoo didn’t even remember this as you’d both grown over the years, the obsession of teenagers mellowing out. Unicorns remained your favourite magical creature, but you didn’t hold that deep passion that you did back then. The fact that Hoseok had remembered stunned you into silence for a moment though, causing you to frown down at the foal.

“Yeah...yeah, they are. I...I mean...thank you. For remembering and showing me this, this is amazing. I’ll never forget this, Hoseok.” You’re not entirely sure how to thank him properly, because you don’t know of anyone else who could show you a unicorn like this.

Before you can say anything else or Hoseok can respond, you’re both distracted by the way the foal lets out a squeal and butts his head into you lightly before jumping away. Taken aback, you watch him for a moment for he does it again, his impossibly slim legs wobbling slightly as he trips on a rock.

“He wants you to play,” Hoseok says softly, smiling as he watches you both. Glancing to him, you raise a brow before grinning back at the baby unicorn. Tilting your head at him, you purse your lips before jumping forward and raising your hands in claw motions. Almost immediately, the foal leaps forward before darting back to you and you giggle, already planning your next move.

Yeah, okay, you might be thirty-three years old...but you were going to play with the baby unicorn.

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Commission info for Love Letters from your favorite character here!

- Honestly, your probably meet him through his Dad or all people

- You meet Arthur at the store, you’re probably at a department store or the grocery store

- Maybe you work here, maybe you just come there weekly to run errands

- But you’re probably a personal shopper

- And you’re looking for something in particular, but every time you go to that section, there’s this lanky middle aged man just standing there

- And you really don’t want to get involved

- But your over active imagination gets the best of you

- What’s if he’s a widower? And he’s just not used to shopping because his partner did all of that

- Or what if he’s trying to get a gift for his new love interest and he’s just trying to get back out there

- And well, if he is a widower, and he just needs some help- shouldn’t you help him?

- Isn’t that just the right thing to do?

- So even though you don’t want to get involved, you very hesitantly approach this red haired man

- “Um, excuse me sir- but is there something I can help you with?”

- He lights up when you approach him

- Looks like the poor thing is a widower

- “Would you explain the purpose to me of this item?”

- He’s holding up a bath kit, one that comes with a bath bomb, some bath salts, and bubble bath soap

- “Um well it’s a bath kit sir”

- He looks at the package for several ing moments before pointing to the circular bath bomb

- “Is this a sweet? Is it a treat you eat when you’re in the bath tub?”

- You practically fall over yourself rushing to tell him that no, it is in fact not a treat

- “It’s like a bubble bath type of thing, you drop it into the water and it turns the bath a certain color, this ones a fortune type so after it’s done fizzing out you get a little fortune.”

- “Well isn’t that fascinating, you Muggles are quite remarkable”

- You don’t think it’s that amazing, just some baking soda and aromatics

- Also what’s a muggle? Is that some middle age slang for young people?

- You help him to the register, and you think that’ll be it, you’ll probably never see him

- So imagine your surprise when you see him again next week, this time in front of a completely different section with the same expression

- “Well hello again, can you help me with this?”

- It’s sort of a fast friendship, you learn a little more about him with each visit

- He is in fact, not, a widower

- He has 8, no 7 children

- And he works for the government

- “A glorified paper pusher really” he says, but you get the feeling he’s being humble

- “How old are you, if you don’t mine me asking?”

- You tell him and he smiles

- “That’s how old my Son is, you two would be a good match.”

- “Which one? Don’t you have seven?”

- He smiles, because you still count Fred as his child even though he’s gone, just like him

- “Take your pick, I’ve got a whole volleyball teams for you to pick from”

- You laugh

- He’s a nice guy, the exact image of what a dad is, you think

- You like him

- Arthur likes you too, he thinks you would be a good match for Percy, maybe George

- He wants to give Percy a fighting chance, he’s a good boy-

- But he’s got his nose stuck in a book most days, Arthur considers it lucky if he ever gets married

- So it’s in early winter that he drags Percy with him to the department store hoping he’ll run into you

- “Why do I have to come along again?”Percy asks grumbling as he walks beside his father

- “Because I’m buying gifts for my department-“

- “You never buy us any gifts” Charlie teases from his other side

- Arthur also brought Charlie, to seem a little less obvious about his intentions of setting you up with one of his children

- He figures Charlie is the most harmless, if you see Bill... well that would be disappointing for you

- considering he’s married and all

- And the scars might raise more questions than he’s willing to answer

- And then Ron was busy at the ministry today, an emergency or something.

- He’s already decided as he walks through the store that if this doesn’t work out, he’s bringing George next week-

- And if that doesn’t work out, well-

- Maybe Ginny would be more your type

- how solid are Harry and Ginny really

- He’s so caught up in his own mental gymnastics that he doesn’t realize one of his sons isn’t following him until he’s well inside the store

- “Where’s Percy?”

- “Oh, he left like 15 minutes ago to take a phone call for work, but I bet he snuck off to that bookstore across the street.” Charlie says casually eyeing a brightly colored display

- Arthur sighs, well he does need to get some gifts for the kids, almost Christmas and all

- “Hello Arthur, what are you dissecting today?” You ask when you see him

- “Just picking up gifts with my son-“

- A small frown lilts onto your face, his son?

- It’s only a little shift of your head and you see him

- Well isn’t he just gorgeous

- He’s got a firm build, toned arms littered with dozens of scars and burns

- His face is chiseled, with a light dusting of red hair, matching vivid hair is long and pulled into a bun

- And the deepest brown eyes you’ve ever seen

- Damn what a hottie

- Arthur should have told told you his son was a total smokeshow

- And he’s got 6 of them?!? Are they all this gorgeous?

- Arthur doesn’t miss the way you look at Charlie

- And one glance at Charlie is all He needs to know that the feeling is mutual

- Why didn’t he think of Charlie?

- Well- actually he had started to think that maybe Charlie just didn’t feel that way about people.

- And so, to be supportive, he wasn’t going to push him into any romantic relationship

- But well since he seems to find you pleasing-

- “This is my son Charlie-“ he says putting both his hands on Charlie’s shoulders and jerking him closer to you

- A light red begins to dust Charlie’s cheeks, wether it’s from embarrassment or attraction he’s not sure

- You fidget in front of him feeling oddly self conscious

- “Nice to meet you, I’m (Y/N)”

- He takes you hand in his with a firm squeeze and you feel a little lightheaded

- His hands are surprisingly soft

- On closer inspection he’s got a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose

- Adorable really

- “So how do you know my dad?” He asks when Arthur is busy /giving you two time to get to know each other looking through the candle selection

- “Oh um I don’t know I guess we just became friends talking about how stuff works?”

- It’s a little weird to think about it, Arthur is your dads age, but he’s like your friend?

- It’s kinda weird tbh

- You wonder how Charlie’s digesting it but he just grins

- “Yeah that sounds like Dad.”

- It’s cute, the way he looks at his Dad

- You remember hearing about Charlie, that he works far away and that Arthur and his wife worry about him. And that he likes animals

- It’s kind of like meeting a celebrity, you know all about him

- except for the fact that he’s a wizard of course

- Well, it was nice meeting one of Arthur’s famous son’s, you suppose he’ll go back to Romania soon and -

- “I was wondering-“ he leans down, his voice low “if you might do me a small favor?”

- Your eyebrows thread together and your head tilts to the side a bit

- “It depends on what it is”

- Charlie only grins

- And so you find yourself standing in front of King’s Cross Station on your next free day, wearing a nice outfit that seems neither too causal, or like you’re trying too hard

- Your fingers fiddle with the hem of your shirt until you see Charlie round the corner

- Well doesn’t he look absolutely delicious

- He’s wearing a crisp white collard shirt and a sweater over it, with a pair of khaki trousers

- Very dark academia

- “Sorry have you been waiting long?”

- You shake your head

- “No only a few minutes, have you thought about what you might want to get him?” You ask and he flashes a little and shakes his head

- “The best I could think of was a gadget of some kind?”

- You nod, you can work with that

- The favor Charlie wanted was pretty simple

- He needed help picking out a Christmas gift for his Dad

- Oddly wholesome in its own way

- You take him to a large department store

- “Maybe this pasta maker?”

- “No, Mum’s already got one”

- He should know, his dad enchanted it to make pasta on its own

- “Than maybe this waffle maker?”

- He shakes his head again, they had one and it did not end well

- You go to several stores throughout the day, but there’s nothing quite right at any of them

- Eventually you both slump down on chairs, untouched mugs of tea in front of you, both of you utterly exhausted

- “This is so much harder than I thought” you mumble, Arthur seems like such an easy to please person

- “I’m sorry” Charlie says, honestly the reason neither of you can pick something is because he can’t be honest with you

- Yeah his Dad loves muggle gadgets, but he loves them because he wants to take them apart, to see how it works

- And then he wants to enchant certain parts to make the contraption even better

- But he can’t tell you all that now can he?

- Not when you’re a muggle

- He sighs leaning back in his chair

- Maybe he shouldn’t have asked you for help, he saw how close you and his Dad were, like you were already family-

- But it’s unfair to you to monopolize all your free time like this-

- “It’s no problem really, this is actually really fun”

- You’re not lying, hanging out with Charlie is really fun.

- Usually spending time with people you’ve only just met exhausts you

- But being with him makes you feel comfortable, the two of you falling into a comfortable rhythm

- Guess he’s kinda like his Dad in that way

- You feel your mouth quirk into a small smile at the thought.

- He kinda looks like his dad too on closer inspection, around the jaw and-

- “Are your ears pierced?” You ask, and Charlie immediately flushes. A hand nervously fluttering to his ear

- “U-um yes, I did it when I was younger-“ he lets out a nervous laugh

- You raise an eyebrow

- “What did some girl break your heart?”

- He sputters at that

- “N-no of course not”

- You feel a wicked grin curling on your face, he’s awfully fun to tease

- “Boyfriend then?”

- He’s burning so bright red that you think steam might actually start coming out of his ears

- “N-no it was nothing like that,” his eyes are looking into his mug, fingers still twiddling with his earlobe.

- “My brother and I got them at the same time with our other friend. It was really their thing, wanting to get the piercing that is, I just joined to be apart of it”

- You can certainly see it, Charlie getting swept up in his friends things.

- “Besides this sort of thing... it doesn’t really suit me” he lets out a nervous laugh and you feel your heart swell

- “I think it would look great on you” The words leave your mouth without even thinking and you feel your face grow hot when they do.

- What are you saying!?!

- You’re embarrassed, but Charlie’s flattered.

- He’s never been the favorite sibling, he’s not as brave as Bill, or as funny as George, Percy’s the smart one, Ron’s the charismatic one, and Ginny’s the athletic one

- He hasn’t got anything to compete with honestly-

- All he can do is try to emulate his siblings, he guesses he’s still trying to figure out who he is

- Which is a little pathetic at his age- at least that’s how he feels

- But hearing you say it would look good on him- well it makes his heart flutter

- Meanwhile you’re completely ignorant to the fact that you’re making his heart race

- Completely caught up in your own embarrassment

- Geez you’re just blurting stuff out like a kid

- A lightbulb goes over your head

- “Hey I think I might have an idea of what your Dad might like!”

- You practically tug him into the the next shop, his face contorted in confusion until you show him what you thought of

- “Oh Merlin, it’s perfect”

- You’re both standing in the toy section of a department store

- Charlie’s watching the bubble machine like it’s the best thing he’s ever saw

- His dad is going to love enchanting it

- While Charlie’s asking the clerk about gift wrapping and other things you wander around the store

- Stopping when you see a rack of candles

- They’re the ‘homesick’ candles, with a scent that’s a place

- And then you see something else glint from the corner of your eye

- “Thank you so much for your help today-“

- You’re both standing in front of king’s cross again, you’re about to go home

- Charlie takes a deep gulp, if he was brave like Bill he might ask you on a date- a real day

- But he’s not

- So he’ll just thank you for your time, and ask for a business card so he can send you a tasteful gift with maybe a card asking to spend time again with you

- But before he can get the words out you thrust something out to him

- It’s a neat folded striped pink and green bag

- He takes it carefully on his hands, leading inside

- “Candles?”

- You nod

- “They’re those homesick candles, they have a scent for places, I got you London and then another one that says English country- it’s amber, honeysuckle and moss, I thought you might like it” you’re blabbering-

- There really wasn’t a need to do anything like this for him

- But well- you know he probably feels so homesick, not to mention his rowdy siblings

- So maybe this will offer him some comfort

- But he’s not looking at the candles he’s looking at something else that’s glinting beside them

- Thick fingers gently pinch the end of the thick paper square

- It’s a pair of earrings

- They’re Dragon Earrings

- “Oh that.” You look at the item with a wide expression “it’s really like a gag gift, I know you work with animals and you’ve got the piercing so-”

- Charlie’s grinning

- “You didn’t have to do all this.”

- “O-oh no, it was no big deal at all, I um- I wanted to.” You give him a shy smile and he feels butterflies erupt in his stomach

- He’s never going to be as brave as Bill, or as Smart as Percy, as funny as George or loyal as Ron.

- But he wants to be kind

- As kind as you, if not more

- “No, I couldn’t possibly let you do something like this for me, especially not after all your help today”

- You feel yourself deflate, ah you were overstepping weren’t you?

- It’s just- you’ve heard so much about him and you work so well together,

- You had started to think of him as a friend

- But clearly it was too much -

- “Let me take you out to dinner sometime,” your eyes snap to his face, which is dusted with pink, deep brown eyes staring into your own

- “To repay you for all the kindness you’ve shown me today”

- You feel a smile spread across your face, arching into a goofy grin

- He’s looking at you hopefully, pieces ears burning red. A matching hopeful smile curled onto his face

- “I would love to”

[true-blue-megamind]

Fan Theory Thursday – The Not-So-Evil Overlord?

Shhh… Want to hear a secret?  Come closer... SPOILER ALERT!

Okay, this one delves a little deep into the imaginative side of Megamind fan theories, however I believe it holds enough interest and has enough support to be well worth discussing.  There is a supposition which I frankly love: our favorite blue alien was an Overlord of sorts before he briefly took control of Metro City, and he had good reasons to be so.  That might sound a little crazy, but bear with me.

This idea has appeared in several fan fictions, and essentially goes as follows: Megamind was more than a supervillain; he was also a crime boss, and he chose that path for the most unlikely of reasons. Bizarre though it may seem, his primary drive was bettering Metro City.  (And, yes, I’m aware of how contradictory that sounds.)  However, it’s logical when considered more closely.  By making himself the de facto ruler of the city’s underbelly, Megamind was able to control crime to an extent, probably even setting limits on certain activities, and guidelines for others.  In the majority of fan fictions using this concept, that includs things like reducing violent crime, setting purity standards and purchase limits for narcotics, and ensuring sex workers were neither underage nor abused.

I’ll be the first to admit that, on the surface at least, this seems like nothing more than fans seeking to justify or even moralize a beloved character, but research reveals that there is actually some support for this theory.  Firstly, there is the fact, touched upon previously in the Fan Theory post concerning the Warden, that Megamind was clearly already establishing control over other criminals at a young age.  While writing a truly wonderful blog article, Demishock actually went through the trouble of deciphering the newspaper clipping shown at the beginning of the film’s title sequence.  It contains, among other things, a reference to the fact that, although an elementary school age child, Megamind was feared and obeyed by other inmates at the prison where he grew up.  A quote from the Warden reads: “I've got experienced, hardened criminals in here who are afraid of him.” The article goes on to mention an incident which involved a few other inmates, adding that “the other prisoners refused to point fingers for fear of retaliation.”

It is quite possible that Megamind was already building and consolidating a base of power.

Next, there is the fact that the blue man seems to have lines he won’t cross, even as the self-proclaimed Evil Overlord. In one of the storyboards, when Megamind is approached by the Doom Syndicate, he clearly holds them in disdain, yet they are careful to placate him.  Obviously they have somewhat different standards.  When Agent Orange—who was later reimagined as Psycho-Delic before being cut from the film entirely—compares Megamind’s “inspirational” defeat of Metro Man to “a car crash on prom night,” the blue alien looks rather disgusted. Although they refer to celebrating his victory, it also seems the Doom Syndicate may be indirectly asking Megamind’s permission to go on a crime spree. While this may be because he is the new Overlord, it seems odd that other villains would immediately leap to the assumption such approval is necessary if they were accustomed to acting on their own. However, if they were already in the habit of requesting the blue alien’s sanction, their actions make more sense.

Whatever the case, it seems that, once again, Megamind and the Doom Syndicate may have very different ideas of what sorts of crimes are acceptable. The Destruction Worker refers to “really putting the screws to the city,” while Agent Orange adds his desire to “swim in the torment of the innocent.”  However, these suggestions don’t seem to match what we actually see Megamind doing.  In the movie, Megamind does, indeed, go on a crime spree, but none of it appears to be violent.  He certainly causes chaos, but no one seems to ever be injured.  In fact, in the DVD commentary, one of the creators even states outright that the supervillain never goes beyond vandalism and theft because he doesn’t really want to hurt anybody.  (Indeed, in the film it rather seems that, by being raised in jail, bullied, and constantly rejected, Megamind was pushed into supervillainy.) This, together with the previous evidence, paints an image of a man who has been forced to do some harsh things, but who nonetheless dislikes violence and, deep down, possesses a certain moral code, albeit a skewed one.  

There are, in fact, several other details that point toward Megamind being far from truly evil despite being a supervillain.  As I mentioned in Megamind and Identity, he displays several redeeming qualities, such as his largely friendly treatment of Minion, his respect for Roxanne’s intelligence, and his playful, affectionate game of fetch with the brainbots.  However, I won’t go into a long explanation about that here as it can be found in the aforementioned post.

Nonetheless, I don’t believe we can seriously expect that the former villain has never once hurt anyone in his life.  Keep in mind that, as discussed in the post How Strong is Megamind, the blue alien almost certainly had to fight in order to survive.  However, his unwillingness to attack citizens suggests that he only injured others when it was absolutely necessary.  Similarly, the aforementioned “news article” indicates that he may have limited his physically aggressive responses to other criminals only. (After all, the reference to prison inmates fearing him is the sole evidence of possible violence we have.)  I have seen it suggested here on Tumblr that he may have taken over Metro City in part because he believed that, if he didn’t, someone worse like the Doom Syndicate would.  It may even be possible that he was afraid of appearing soft and thus losing control over the criminal underworld.  

Of course, it has to be mentioned here that Megamind also fought with Metro Man, who certainly wasn’t a criminal.  However, there are two factors that I believe need to be considered.  The first is that it is very likely that Megamind didn’t expect he could truly harm his nemesis. This is evidenced by both the his apparent shock when Metro Man seems to actually be dead, and by his overt statement during the museum scene that he “didn’t think it would really work.”  The second is that, as young Metro Man was a bully, tormenting Megamind without provocation and encouraging other children to do the same, Megamind may have mentally placed him in the bad guy/threat category.

His lack of violence is not the only proof that Megamind had a better heart than most credited him for even when he was a supervillain. Keep in mind that he had a holographic disguise watch and a hoverbike.  Presumably, Megamind could have simply fled Metro City when Titan turned evil, but he didn’t.  Instead he went to Roxanne for help, stating that if they could not find the new villain’s weakness Titan would “destroy the whole city.”  And this was after Titan had tried to kill him.  Clearly, despite being a supervillain, Megamind cared enough about his home town to put his life in danger.

The final support for the Benevolent Overlord theory is less obvious: Megamind had to have been getting funds from somewhere even when Metro Man was still functioning as the Defender of Metro City. (Indeed, in some of the early concept art, the Evil Lair was imagined as a luxurious space boasting things like a huge library and a sleek laboratory.  Some fans still picture the living quarters in much the same way despite the creators stating that he built his inventions from whatever he could get his hands on.)  Near the beginning of the movie, Minion mentions a supplier in Romania, and presumably he and Megamind had to be getting food and other necessities somehow.  While it’s true that the blue villain was clearly not above thievery, we also know that his plots were always defeated by Metro Man, so it’s safe to assume that he rarely if ever got away with stealing anything before the former hero’s supposed “death.”  Of course, it also seems extremely unlikely, even laughable, that Megamind would have had a day job.  Where, then, did the money come from?  Many fans theorize that, as the local crime boss, he received a cut from all illegal activity. It certainly seems like the most probable explanation.  

Art by Kory Heinzen, found in The Art of Megamind by Richard von Busack

So why would Megamind build his technology and machines largely from scrap if he had a constant cash flow?  Given his concern for the city, several fan fictions have imagined the blue man secretly and anonymously donating a significant portion of his ill-gotten money to various charities and non-profits.  That idea is not directly supported by any evidence, but it does fit with what we know.  It’s also consistent with Megamind’s character: a feared supervillain who possesses a surprisingly good heart and, given his past, knows too well what it’s like to be thrown away by society.

So, was Megamind a crime boss as well as a supervillain?  Did he use that position to secretly better life in Metro City?  If so, is he still doing that now that he is the Defender of Metro City, thus curbing criminal activity from within as well as fighting it from without? (For the record, given that there is no apparent gang war happening during The Button of Doom, I would propose that the answer to the last question may be yes.)  These are certainly interesting ideas to consider, and the mere fact that this animated film offers enough details to argue the point is a testament to just how well-constructed the movie is.  I consider it yet more proof that the film Megamind is truly an underrated masterpiece.

[residentraccoon]

Semifinal 2 predictions

AUSTRALIA - They're totally in. Not much to elaborate, seems to be greatly appreciated so far, and the juries will appreciate it too. Q

GEORGIA - Lmao Georgia being Georgia and sendig whatever the hell they want. This song is kinda fun and inoffensive but will def not qualify...this semi is way too hard. NQ

CYPRUS - SO fkin glad they choose something different than a girl diva pop banger. This will get televotes, the juries...I don't know. Maybe yes? I'm putting Q but it will depend a lot on the staging.

SERBIA - This has such an interesting beat and message. Sadly, I don't think either the televote or jury will understand it enough to sneak in the top 10. However, I've seen this being pretty popular with the eurofans...plus Montenegro and North Macedonia will most likely vote for it. Bloc voting ftw Borderline?

FINLAND - Ah, yes. Finland and their trademark rock. Maybe they will qualify, and The Rasmus is a pretty popular band just like how Hooverphonic was last year. I'd say Q

AZERBAIJAN - I'm writing this before their act reveal, I'm going to be very honest, they're Azerbaijan. They have revealed to have a Swedish production behind so I don't have to say anything more, they are in. Q

SAN MARINO - Yeah, I don't see this qualifying...though I can see the televote placing it around 9th, 10th-ish? I also have a feeling that the juries will hate it with a passion lmao, most countries placing this last or 2nd to last. NQ

ISRAEL - Ngl the revamp didn't help this with anything...I think this might be an NQ but his voice alone is very, like very good and might get some votes. I don't know, NQ at the moment.

MALTA - Malta, honey, what did u do? You went from basic girl pop song to basic girl pop song lmao. The new song...I think it's slightly better than the old one, though I think it still has like zero chances. The uplifting message feels very very superficial and I don't think anyone will find it inspiring...NQ

MONTENEGRO - Jury magnet, that's all I can say. This is really good, ngl, Montenegro really stepped up their game. I'm feeling Q with them this year. So proud 😭 Speaking of Proud...I can see the fate of N. Macedonia 2019 in Breathe. Will definitely score well with the juries. Q

ROMANIA - Oh boy. Look, I really want us to qualify, and missing the finals for 3 years straight for a country that used to qualify every year in the past is...sad. WRS is one hell of a performer, and seeing how he improved the show from the semifinals to the final in just 2 weeks is insane. So I'm pretty sure that what we'll see in May will be even better than what we saw in the national final. Maybe even better vocals. But since this (imo) semifinal is really stacked, with countries that almost never miss out any final (Australia, Sweden, Cyprus, Azerbaijan...hell even Serbia), I don't know how this will do. This year, however, I feel the televote will rank us higher than the juries, as opposed to past years, when juries ranked us higher. I'm putting this as "Borderline" at the moment.

CZECH REPUBLIC - I used to think this will qualify. I really did, and I want to, because this song rocks. But I saw their performance in Romania's NF and...okay, maybe she had problems with the in-ear but Domi was really off key during the entire performance. This can probably miss out in the finals simply because of that. Hope it was just a minor problem that couldn't make her able to sing well. Otherwise, probably I'm putting this at Borderline.

POLAND - Oh dear, how over- I mean I saw this being so appreciated in the fandom, and is also the kind of ballad that appeals to juries. So, no need to explain more, this is Q

BELGIUM - I like this, but I have no idea how well it will do, really 😂 it would either NQ or score in the Top 10, nothing in between. Borderline? Q? I'm not sure at all, can't tell to save my life.

NORTH MACEDONIA - Aww, good effort, North Macedonia. I don't think this has a big chance...maaaybe the juries will kind of like it, but otherwise...maybe it can improve with the staging? NQ

SWEDEN - Again, I'm writing this before we get to listen to their act, Sweden will Q because they're Sweden. Either if they choose Cornelia, or Bagge (read somewhere he could win it because of his popularity - so maybe Tix vibes?) they are in. Lesgo Cornelia ur 100% in the final. Q

ESTONIA - Same story as with Greece, I see him easily qualifying, it's a safe song that appeals to both televote and juries. Q

IRELAND - Listen I'm totally rooting for Ireland to qualify this year because their song in my opinion s l a p s but this semi is fkin hell. Please keep the staging minimalistic and do not make her run on a treadmill like Lesley 🙏 It's...probably NQ? I really can't tell? Jesus what even is this semi

OVERALL

1st-3rd: Australia, Poland, Sweden

4th-7th: Finland, Cyprus, Montenegro, Estonia

8th-12th: Azerbaijan, Serbia, Romania, Czech Republic, Belgium

13th-18th: Georgia, San Marino, Israel, Malta, North Macedonia, Ireland

[justauthoring]

To Be Loved (6/?)

Prompt: Perhaps, you understand Harry Potter better then anyone else. Perhaps, it’s why, when your eyes meet his for the first time, you feel an instant connection. Perhaps, it’s why, you love him.

Based off of: The Harry Potter Series Pairing: Harry Potter x Black/Tonks!Reader, slight Fred Weasley x Black/Tonks!Reader A/N: OKAY! WE’RE FINALLY BACK!! I’m so happy to finally be continuing this series and I am so excited to see what you guys think of it -- especially come POA and on! I worked really hard on this chapter and I hope it was exactly what you guys were expecting.

Also, come the end scene with the house points, I lowered how many points Gryffindor has originally so it, you know, makes more sense.

Oh, how Ted and Andromeda would be disappointed in you.

You, who has never once acted out. You, who prided yourself on always being the best you could be. You, who had somehow found yourself wrapped up in detention with four others and for some reason, was a bit elated at the thrill of it all.

Of course, you’d never say that aloud.

Following closely behind Hermione, you eye the back of Filch with distain, rolling your eyes at his comment of “missing the old punishments” which was obviously a subtle-not-so-subtle threat. Because you highly doubted Hogwarts would ever approve of such teaching methods.

But then again, by the look of fear on Hermione’s face -- who were you to truly know?

“You’ll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight.” Filch explains, just as the group of you reach his hut, Hagrid himself stepping out. “He’s got a little job to do inside the Dark Forest.”

Maybe you were wrong about Hogwarts’ teaching methods after all...

“A sorry lot, this, Hagrid,” Filch calls sharply.

Glancing up at Hagrid, you frown at his lack of a reaction.

“Good God,” Filch huffs, exasperated, “you’re not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?”

You absolutely hate the smug look on Malfoy’s face.

“Norbit’s gone,” Hagrid sniffles, “Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Hermione doubts, shaking her head in confusion. “He’s with his own kind.”

“Yeah, but what if he don’t like Romania?”

Lips parting, you frown -- you guess, that was, sort of, hard logic to argue with.

“What if the other dragons are mean to him? He’s only a baby after all.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Filch cuts in, disgusted, “pull yourself together. You’re going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you.”

You share a nervous look with Hermione.

“The forest?” Draco calls, all squeaky-voiced and panicked. “I thought that was a joke. We can’t go in there. Students aren’t allowed. And there are...” On que, just as Draco pauses, you hear a distant wolf howling. “...werewolves.”

You roll your eyes. Figures he’d be a coward when he came down to it. All talk.

“There’s more than werewolves in those trees. You can be sure of that.” And after a dramatic pause, Filch steps forward with the intent to leave. “Nighty-night.”

You turn to Hagrid expectantly.

“Right. Let’s go.”

-

Hagrid had split you off with Draco and Harry and while you detested having to be with Malfoy, it wasn’t so bad with Harry there too. You simply ignored the boy as he rattled off about his this was ridiculous and ‘servants work’ -- you’re sure he makes some sort of comment about ‘wait till my father hears about this’ but you don’t much care either way.

You stick close to Harry, keeping one hand on Fang along the way. Even if he was ‘a bloody coward’ as Hagrid so kindly put it, it felt nicer having him by yourself.

But the calm only lasts so long -- or what could be considered ‘calm’. The three of you halt to a stop at the sound of Fang barking, the action causing you to jump violently, your attention instantly being stolen by the sight before you. The injured unicorn Hagrid had sent you all off in search of, clearly dead now, with a cloaked, hidden figure hovering over him.

You blink, head turning towards Harry when he lets out a cry of pain. Your eyes widen when you realize he’s touching his scar. 

“Harry, what’s--”

But you’re cut off by Draco screaming, loudly, and running off in the next second. Fang follows him, and the loss of him next to you causes you to let out a light whimper of fear, turning back in the direction of the hooded figure only to find it now looking directly in yours and Harry’s direction. 

You stumble back, expecting Harry to follow you and the both of you to run off together. But Harry doesn’t ever break out into a run.

“Harry!” You whisper harshly, just as the cloak figures moves, almost gliding towards the two of you -- though it’s clear to both you and Harry, that he’s after him and not you. “Harry, we have to go!”

You pull on the sleeve of his cloak and he stumbles back, crashing into you. The two of you lose your footing, and a scream tears past your lips as you crash into the forest floor, eyes widening in terror when you realize just how close the figure has gotten.

But it does make it closer then that. In the next second, the sounds of hooves rattling echo above the both of you, and then there’s a massive shadow gliding over the top of your heads, landing directly in front of you -- thus blocking the hooded figures path to you and Harry.

Your eyes widen when the centaur easily scares it off.

Harry turns to look at you, and you share a baffled look back at him, just as lost. He stands, helping you up to your feet just as the centaur starts making his way towards the both of you. 

“Harry Potter,” and you blink, “you and your friend must leave. Many creatures know you here. The forest is not safe for the both of you at this time. Especially for you.”

“But...” Harry whispers, astonished. “What was that thing you saved us from?”

“A monstrous creature,” he says simply, “it is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn.”

He gestures to the slain creature, and you frown at the sight of it.

“Drinking it’s blood will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But at a terrible price. For you have slain something so pure...that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half-life--”

“A cursed life,” you finish, causing both pairs of eyes to fall on you. Flushing, you shrink into yourself. “Sorry,” you eye Harry, before turning to the centaur. “Something a friend told me once.”

“You are right,” the centaur nods gently in your direction.

“Who would choose such a life?” Harry whispers.

“Can you think of no one?”

“Do you mean to say that that thing that killed the unicorn...that was drinking it’s blood, that was Voldemort?”

You gasp at the sound of the name, “harry!”

“What?” He turns to you, wide-eyed.

“You can’t just--”

“Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?” The centaur interrupts you, leaning so he’s right before the both of you.

And then it dawns on you, and by the look on Harry’s face, he’s realized it too.

“The Philosopher’s Stone.”

“--Harry!”

You blink at the sight of Hagrid and the rest.

“Hello there, Firenze,” Hagrid greets. “See you’ve met our young Mr. Potter. And of course, Ms. Tonks. You all right there, you two?”

Glancing at Harry, the both of you quickly nod at Hagrid.

“Harry Potter,” Firenze calls, stepping towards him, “this is where I leave you. You’re safe now,” he turns to you, smiling gently. “The both of you. Good luck.”

You watch in astonishment as he turns, galloping off.

-

“I’ve always heard Hogwart’s final exams with frightful, but I found that quite fun.”

Laughing gently at Hermione, you shake your head.

“Speak for yourself,” Ron snorts, before his attention is stolen by Harry. “All right there, Harry?”

Glancing past Hermione’s shoulder, you frown at the sight of the boy holding a hand to his scar much like he had that night in the forest.

“My scar,” he whispers, “it keeps burning.”

Frowning, you speak up; “it’s happened before.”

“Not like this,” Harry argues.

“You should see the nurse.”

“I think it’s a warning. It means danger’s coming.”

Just as he finishes speaking, Harry comes to a slow stop.

The rest of you follow, glancing at each other curiously. But before either of you can say anything, Harry’s mumbling to himself; “of course...” and then, he’s suddenly rushing forward. Right towards Hagrid.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you find it odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon...and a strange just happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs? Why didn’t I see it before?”

Equally as panicked as him, the four of you break out into a run, directly for Hagrid.

“Hagrid,” Harry calls, wasting no time for greetings. “Who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?”

“I don’t know,” Hagrid shrugs, baffled. “I never saw his face. He kept his hood up.”

Your eyes widen, turning to Harry; “just like in the forest.”

“You and this stranger must of talked,” Harry continues, nodding at you.

“Well,” Hagrid slows starts, recalling the moment. “He wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. I told him, “after Fluffy, a dragon’s gonna be no problem’.”

“Did he seem interested in Fluffy?”

“Of course he was interested. How often do you come across a three-headed dog? But I told him, ‘the trick with any beast is to know how to calm him’. Take Fluffy, for example. Play him music and he falls straight to sleep.”

The four of you look at each -- he just gave it away.

“I shouldn’t have told you that.”

-

“Do you think Ron and Hermione will be alright?”

“Yes,” Harry says quickly -- and it’s almost so quick, it sounds like he’s try to convince the both of you that it’s true. After that game of wizard’s chess, you were worried about Ron, and while you admired Hermione’s bravery and selflessness to stay back with him, you couldn’t help but worry at the idea of the four of you being separated.

Pausing to look at you, Harry nods; “they have to be.”

You nod at him, smiling faintly.

Then, the two of you stop in front of a door.

“What do you reckon’s next?”

“Quirrell and Snape are what’s left,” you whisper, shaking your head. “So, honestly, no idea.”

Harry let’s his hand fall on the handle, turning to you; “all right?”

You nod, “go on.”

He pushes it open and almost instantly a foul floods you. You pull at the sleeve of your sweater, pulling it over your nose to block the smell. Harry does the same, and the both of you eye the huge troll, with a bloody lump on it’s head with watering eyes. It was even bigger then the one from the bathroom.

“Quirrell,” you gasp, eyeing it with disgust.

“I’m glad we don’t have to fight that one,” Harry comments, pulling at your sleeve. “Come on, let’s go.”

The two of you quickly slip into the next room, staying as quiet as possible not to wake the troll. A sense of relief floods you as the foul smell no longer is invading your senses and you brace yourself for what’s next, only to find yourself puzzled by the lack of anything frightening. Just seven vials lined before you.

You take a step forward, and Harry follows, then, instantly a whooshing sound echoes.

You jump, glancing behind you, you eye the fire that now blocks the way you’d came with bafflement. It’s purple, not orange like a normal fire. And, glancing ahead of yourself, a black fire traps the both of you inside from the other end.

“Snape’s,” Harry says, “what do we do?”

“I...--” You eye the room with puzzlement, before noticed the scroll laying next to the bottles. “There,” you call, stepping forward and quickly unrolling the paper. Harry steps closer to you, leaning over your shoulder to read.

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, One among us seven will let you move ahead, Another will transport the drinker back instead, Two among our number hold only nettle wine, Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend; Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; Fourth, the second left and the second on the right Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight. 

“It’s a puzzle,” you mumble and Harry turns to you. “Purely logic,” you further explain. “A lot of wizards don’t have an ounce of logic, meaning they’d be trapped here forever.”

Harry huffs, shoulders falling. “So will we.”

You shake your head, swallowing thickly. “I think... I think I can work it out,” you say softly, not trusting your own self. 

What if you couldn’t?

“Give me a minute.”

Three minutes later and you let out a cry of frustration, Harry turns to you in panic.

“I need Hermione,” you cry, turning to him with a shake of your head. “She’d know what to do. She’s smarter then I--”

“Hey, that’s not true,” Harry cuts in, surprising you. “You’re just as smart as she is.”

“Harry,” you sigh, shaking your head. “You know that’s not true. Hermione knows everything about everything, she’d be able to figure this out. Just like she was able to figure out the Devil’s snare. You and Ron too. You got the key, and Ron beat the Wizard’s chess, I haven’t--”

“What happened before doesn’t matter,” Harry cuts in, stepping towards you, setting his hands on your shoulders and squeezing them reassuringly. “This is now, and I know you can figure this out.”

Eyeing Harry, you hesitate a moment before nodding.

Five minutes later and the solution comes to you.

“I got it!” You exclaim, Harry instantly rushing towards you. “The smallest bottle,” you point at it, “will get us through the fire. Towards the stone. There’s only enough for you, that’s hardly one swallow.”

“Which one will get you back though the purple fire?”

You point at the bottle.

“Drink that,” Harry nods at you, continuing before you can argue. “Find Ron and Hermione, help them get Dumbledore. I’ll be able to hold off Snape, but I’m not match for him.”

“But... Harry,” you whisper, frowning up at him. “What if... he’s...?”

“I was lucky once before.”

And then your body moves on it’s own, surged with fear and terror for him, stepping forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Almost immediately, you recoil. cheeks burning and a quick glance at Harry and his cheeks are just as red.

There’s a pause, the both of you not sure what to do, before Harry is mumbling; “you go first,” he coughs gently. “Make sure you get through. You’re positive you have the riddle right?”

Swallowing thickly, you nod; “yes.”

“Okay, go.”

And you drink the bottle, wincing at the burning feeling that floods down the back of your throat. “It’s not poison,” you mumble, “just... cold.”

Harry nods. “Okay, go, before it wears off.”

You eye him one last time, carefully. “Be safe.”

“You too.”

-

Turning from the twins with a bright smile, you fall silent, as does the rest of grand hall at the sound of glass dinking. All eyes fall to the head table, where you notice Dumbledore standing up.

“Another year gone,” he starts, “and now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding.”

Eyeing Harry, Ron and Hermione, you frown.

“And as I understand it,” Dumbledore continues, “the points stand thus; in fourth place, Gryffindor with two-hundred-and-sixty-two points.” An echo of claps surround you, but your face falls with disappointment. Nothing like your house cup coming in last your first year, and undoubtedly because of you and your friends...

You don’t think your father would be so proud of that.

“Third place, Hufflepuff with three-hundred-and-fifty-two points,” raising your hands, you clap. “In second place... Ravenclaw with four-hundred-and-twenty-six points. And in first place,” letting out a sigh, you frown as you wait the inevitable. “...with four-hundred-and-seventy-two points, Slytherin house.”

Letting your head fall into your hand, you make careful watch not to look at the Slytherin table as they burst out in excitement, claps and cheering.

“Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin. Well done.” Dumbledore acknowledges. “However,” and at this, you pause, brows furrowing. “Recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award.”

Turning to Ron, you both share a look of hope and curiosity.

“To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect...while others were in grave peril...fifty points.” Smiling brightly, you turn to Hermione, bringing her in for a quick hug as her cheeks warm faintly, smiling widely herself.

“That’s amazing,” you whisper, nodding at her warmly.

“Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess...that Hogwarts has seen these many years, fifty points.”

Eyes twinkling, you clap for Ron, as he turns to look at the three of you in astonishment.

“And third, to Miss Y/N Tonks,” and you pause at the sound of your name, wide-eyes turning to Dumbledore as he smiles gently at you. “For her will of strength and cunning loyalty to her friends, fifty points.” Blushing faintly, your eyes lower as cheering erupts around you once more, this time for you. The twins reach across to excitedly shake you, while the rest cheer for you.

And along the way, your gaze meets Harry’s and he’s smiling brightly at you.

“And,” Dumbledore starts, “to Mr. Harry Potter...for pure nerve and outstanding courage...I award Gryffindor house sixty points.”

“Amazing job, Harry,” you call to him brightly, clapping for him..

“We’re tied with Slytherin,” Hermione reminds, leaning forward to eye the three of you excitedly.

“And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies...but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award ten points...to Neville Longbottom.”

At that, the entire Gryffindor table erupts into loud cheering, all for Neville who stares back in astonishment.

“Assuming that my calculations are correct...I believe that a change of decoration is in order.” He claps once, and you look up with a bright smile as the green Slytherin banners from above turn red for Gryffindor. “Gryffindor wins the house cup.”

Standing up, you share bright, excited smiles with the rest of your fellow Gryffindor’s, following suit as you all throw your hats up into the air.

-

“You’ll make sure to write to me, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course, ‘Mione.” You smile brightly, nodding at her. “I won’t forget.”

“Okay,” she smiles, all bright-eyed and excited. “See you next year?”

“See you next year.”

You share one final goodbye, hugging her tightly before she’s turning, heading off to where her parents await -- looking both confused and still amazed by everything around them. You watch with a laugh, before turning in search of Andromeda and Ted. Along the way, you find Ron and his family, sending the boy a wave to which he easily reciprocates.

This of course catches the attention of the twins, and with goofy grins they wave at you too, causing you to laugh.

And then, you catch sight of Ted and Andromeda, and you move to rush off towards them, before you notice Harry. He’s with his uncle and aunt, and remembering the distasteful stories he’d told you about them, you make the quick decision to bound over to him.

“Harry!”

He turns at the sound of your voice, blinking at the sight of you before sending a nervous look back at his uncle.

Coming to a stop before him, slightly breathless, you smile. “I just wanted to say goodbye,” you whisper gently, stepping towards him. “And I’ll make sure to write you over the summer as well.”

“Really?” And his eyes light up with excitement at that, “I’d like that.”

“Okay,” you nod, stomach fluttering. “Have a good summer.”

“You too,” Harry nods, waving at you as you step back, turning towards Andromeda and Ted.

Reaching them, you grin brightly up at them. 

Ted grins at you; “take it you had a first good year?”

“It was...” And as you move to finish, your gaze falls behind you, on Harry. “Wonderful.”

-

Part 7?

TAGLIST: @storiesbystarlight - @scattered-mood - @tinymidgetsstuff - @itsfangirlmendes - @im-a-totally-random-person - @slytherinwriter618 - @bloodorangemoonlight - @subjecta13-thefangirl - @areallydrypie - @euphorictulip - @missmulti - @tinytommyshelby - @you-bleed-to-know-youre-alivee - @divergenttribute33qrunnerslytherin - @flaming-keys - @xsiredstyles - @silver-stilinski - @sweetheartliz07 - @bljndbeths - @justanotherfangirl2015 - @iilwdobyayy - @noxceleste - @gredandforges - @moonxxstxr - @sarablog10 - @schnapped - @officiallydarkgeek - @jovialcat123 - @justfangirling - @dubugf - @galacticstxrdust - @lovelyhufflepuff38 - @thequeenofpataos - @pieces-by-me - @kobachi-chan - @ezgithchaotic - @anscombecat - @depressed-teen-needs-her-coffee - @mcrvellouslystcrk - @yuptha-tsme - @euphoniumpets - @vxxn128 - @blisfvll - @stilesslove - @briargardens - @izzytheninja - @pepelachanel - @ikeamafiaisfunky - @eleven-bycrs - @villanqe - @abelbai000 - @stilinskiswritings - @im-an-angel-of-the-lord-you-ass - @awkwardnesshabitat - @celyndavies - @moonliightbabes - @figlia–della–luna - @nartassenav - @yoongisdumplingcheeks - @huffledor-able541 - @socialflake- @thatbandchick39 - @justanotherrandomlonlyfangirl - @missryerye​ if you’d like to be tagged, just send me an ask!

[lucisfavoritedemon]

Something Domestic

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Summary: You never thought your life to be grand, but you never saw as absolutely terrible either. You were always happy with the things you had, but the one thing that you always wanted was to find love. Little do you know love is just two steps away, and across the hall.

Square Filled: Neighbor AU @marvelfluffbingo

Warnings: super cute fluff, anxious Bucky, shy reader, slight smut, implied smut, slight angst 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 3573

A/N: This originally was going to be a platonic Sebastian Stan x reader fic, but I got inspired to do something else. I was somewhat inspired by a TikTok POV called Two Lost Souls by hlovesmarvelpov which is where I got the idea to write what life was like for Bucky in Romania. I want to give credit to @nix-akimbo whose art I used in the collage for this story. Pics are linked here, here, and here. Other images we're found off of Pinterest, but the collage is mine made on Canva. Everything in italics is 3rd person POV of Bucky’s thoughts. This is not beta read, so all mistakes are mine.

Enjoy!

I never knew where life would lead me. I knew I wasn’t going to find something to do to make me rich. All I really wanted was to find a good job that paid me enough to get by. Living in Romania was an absolute dream. It was so beautiful, and it was always so interesting. Everyday felt like a new adventure. At the market you never knew who was gonna show up, or what was going to happen.

One day while at the market, just shopping for some fresh produce to restock my apartment with for the week, I saw an interesting looking man. I had never seen him before, and he definitely didn’t look like he was from around here. Something about him drew me in, but I was too shy to approach him to say hello.

I was definitely at that age where I was ready to look for mister right, and finally settle down. I seemed to have met every guy in this city, and none of them were to my liking. They all seemed very bold, manly, and had egos bigger than some of the buildings. That wasn’t really something I was looking for, and to be fair it was probably just part of their personalities, no judgement there.

There was something about this stranger though that was different. Yes, he was very handsome and buff, but he looked very shy and reserved. Not something I was used to, and that probably contributed to why I was so attracted.

He seemingly glanced my way, and I turned to look away. I knew I must have been staring and I felt awkward about that. So, I quickly finished up my shopping and ran home. I really hoped though that I didn’t make him think that I found him creepy. Damn my shyness, and anxiety.

It had been a few days since I saw the stranger at the market. I was walking down the street to my office when I happened to pass him by. He seemed to pause his gaze for a quick second before looking away. I walked past him at a decent pace, hoping he would make the first move to say hi, but alas, he did not.

The week went by, and it came time for me to head back to the market to restock my produce for the week. I ended my shopping spree and turned to head home when I ran right into someone's very muscular chest. I almost fell back when the person grabbed my arm, catching me.

“Are you okay, miss?” The person asked, speaking Romanian.

“I am fine thank you.” I looked at the person, and it was the stranger I saw last week.

“You’re welcome. Sorry I knocked you over.”

“Please, don’t apologize. I was the one who bumped into you.”

“At least allow me to help you carry your groceries home.”

I nodded and handed him a bag. He gestured for me to start walking, and I led him to my apartment complex. “My place is a bit messy, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come over to see it.” I said, going to unlock the door.

“Don’t apologize, I won’t go in if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I feel bad having you follow me all this way, and not even offer you a snack or something.”

“You’re too sweet. I’m okay, doll. I’ll stay out here. It also wasn’t too out of the way for me.”

“Are you sure?” I reached my hand out to take the bag he was holding.

“I’m sure,” he handed me the bag and turned to walk away, “and if you need me, I live just across the hall.” He walked over, unlocking his door, and opening it.

I almost fell back in shock. How did I not know this man lived across the hall from me? I surely would have seen him walking out. He turned and smiled at me before walking into his apartment. I tried not to look shocked, but all this time I had no idea he was living just 5 steps away. 

I close my door quickly and go to put my produce away. I tried to keep the stranger off my mind, but that seemed like an impossible task. Then, I thought of the perfect idea, I would invite him over for dinner. I wanted to get to know him, I needed to. Put all these wandering thoughts to rest.

I made us a lovely dinner of chicken and potatoes. I set everything up to look somewhat nice, and go to knock on his door. When I went to open my door to walk out, he was standing there ready to knock on my door.

He had a bouquet of different assorted flowers. I give him a small, shy smile as he hands them to me. I, of course, take them and find a vase to put them in. As I put them in the water, I look over at him, and he looks kind of sad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you expecting someone? I didn’t mean to come off straight forward. I just-”

“I wasn’t technically. I was going to ask you if you wanted to join me for dinner?”

“Really?” He perked up, and I nodded my head, “I was going to ask you the same thing. A home cooked meal sounds better than one you can get at any restaurant.” He chuckled.

We sat down, and talked for hours. He avoided some of the questions I asked him, but I wasn’t going to push him for answers if he didn’t want to answer them yet. We laughed, joked, and just enjoyed each other’s company. 

“I realised that I never asked for your name, doll.” He spoke up.

“My name is Y/n. I never asked yours either.”

“I guess we both figured it would come up eventually. My real name is James, but you can call me Bucky.”

I smiled as I thought of what a lovely name that was. I didn’t ask why he preferred Bucky over James. Something in me wanted to make him love it, adore it. I wanted him to treasure his given name as I was right now.

The night came to an end much to our dismay. I didn’t want to say goodnight though. I wanted him to stay, which wasn’t like me at all. I usually said yes to one date, and that was that. I don’t know what was different about Bucky, but he brought out a new side of me. He intrigued me, and I had to know more about him.

“Until next time, doll. Promise you won’t bump into another guy before then?” He chuckled.

I giggle, “I promise. You’ll be the only guy I bump into now. At least that’s my hope.”

He kissed my cheek before walking to his door, and I could have sworn I was flying. If that was the way it felt when he kissed my cheek, what would it feel like if he kissed my lips.

~*~

Over the course of three months every Sunday Bucky and I had dinner together. We started with switching off, but slowly Bucky had been taking over our Sunday night dinners. Tonight when I went over I realised that I was slowly moving into his apartment. 

“You okay doll?” He asked, looking at my far off look.

“Yeah. I just realised it looks like I’m starting to take over your apartment.”

“That was one thing I was going to ask you about tonight.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll pick up my stuff and take back to my place i didn’t-”

“Not that. I was going to ask if you wanted to move in together. It doesn’t have to be in my apartment, and I know we’ve only been together for a few months, but-”

“You want to move in together?”

Bucky just nods slowly, and I rush to hug him. I no longer had to wonder what it would feel like to be wrapped up in his arms. I no longer had to feel that lonely feeling I felt after our Sunday night dinners. I tried to keep my mind from racing with all the things I had wondered about. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Bucky chuckles, squeezing me back.

After dinner, we walked over to my apartment to get some extra blankets and pillows. I hoped I hadn’t rushed him into this by slowly looking like I was trying to move myself in on my own. I hadn’t even realised that our hangouts had left with me leaving my belongings all over the place.

“My place is your place now.” He spoke up, placing the blankets he was carrying on the bed.

“I didn’t rush you into this did I?”

“No. I know it seems quick, but I just get this feeling when I’m around that makes me not want to take things as slow as we probably should.”

“I was worried I was rushing you into things. I didn’t even realise that I was leaving things over at your house.”

“No. I have been planning on asking you for a few weeks now.”

I smile as we curl into bed together for the very first time. He was warm, and I felt safe laying in his arms. Laying there for the first time in a long time, I fell asleep almost immediately.

~*~

It has been 6 months since Bucky and I started seeing each other, and it has been the best 6 months of life. Even the last 3 months have been amazing. I have enjoyed every minute I have spent with Bucky. He is sweet and kind, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better. He had my heart in his hands, and I didn’t want it back.

The only thing that was strange is he didn’t talk about his life at all. He wanted to hear all about my life, but he wouldn’t speak about his life prior to coming to Romania. I knew he originally came from America because we both switched from speaking Romanian to English when we are alone.

“Is everything okay, doll?” Bucky asked, tearing me from my thoughts.

“I was just thinking.”

“About what? You know you can tell me anything right?”

“Tell you, yes. Ask, no.” I kind of snapped as I stood up to put my plate in the sink.

“Is everything okay?” I could hear the panic in his voice, and I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I knew I had to say something, or it would eat me alive.

“I just don’t get why you want to hear all about me, but avoid questions about your life. I get it if you don’t want to talk about it now. I just don’t like it when you dodge it altogether.”

“Okay I understand that, and I’m sorry.”

Bucky really was sorry. He didn’t want to scare her away with the horrors of his past. He wanted her to know more about him. He wanted her to know that he is way older than what she may think he is. That he fought side by side with Captain America during WWII. 

He couldn’t get the words out though. He would lie awake at night trying to figure out how to tell her. Even on the nights when he found it hard to sleep, and he couldn’t lay there anymore, he wanted to wake her and just spill all the stories. 

He found warmth and comfort in her, but he didn’t want to haunt her with his past. He couldn’t taint such an angel like her, no matter how bad he wanted her to know. To hear her voice break just a little as she expressed how she felt broke him.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I just want you to know that it hurts me a little whenever you don’t give an explanation.”

“I want to tell you all about my life, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’m sorry.” His eyes went down, and my heart broke for him.

“James, look at me please?”

Bucky loved when she called him James. It was like she was trying to teach him to love his given name, and it was working. It rolled off her tongue so sweetly, and it came out so easily. He couldn’t help but obey when she asked him in that sweet tone of hers.

“The fact that you want to is enough for me right now. I’m not upset,” I smile sweetly at him, and walk over, placing my hand on his, “I don’t want to push. When you are ready, my love, I will be here waiting to listen contently.”

Bucky’s heart sighed in relief. He was worried that he had mucked everything up. He cared too much about her to let himself ruin things. If she wasn’t content with his response he would have told her everything. If it meant keeping her happy, he would give her the world. 

~*~

My conversation with Bucky seemed to have gone well. He slowly started to open up little by little. He was a bit vague, but at least he was trying. The first time he actually opened up a little was the first night I had noticed he was having a nightmare.

He was tossing and turning in his sleep, and I began to worry. I had heard never to wake someone up from a nightmare, so I sat there till he shot up. He was covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. He went to lay back down not realising I was already awake until I turned on the light. He looked over with sad, apologetic eyes. I just laid my hand on the small of his back letting him know everything was okay.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn't, I was already awake.”

I caressed his cheek, rubbing my thumb against his cheek. He slowly leaned in, and I followed until our lips came together. Sparks flew between us, and I felt butterflies. His lips were soft and gentle. The gentle kiss though soon turned into more. 

Bucky was gentle and slow. Making sure he wasn’t pushing my comfort level, and made sure he wasn’t hurting me. It felt amazing, and was the best night ever. I hoped that with Bucky and I becoming so intimate he would see that no matter what, I wasn’t going to go anywhere.

Bucky wasn’t sure how Y/n would feel if he initiated the kiss, but she put just as much passion into it as he did. He pushed into it more, and she returned it. Before he knew it he was on top of her naked body. He made sure he didn’t push her to do something she didn’t want to, but he could tell in her eyes she had been waiting a long time for this moment.

He made sure to be as gentle with her as he possibly could, but the urge to be inside her was too much for him to bear anymore. The room was filled with their moans as their bodies were connected so intimately.

Bucky felt that everything was going to be okay between them after that night. He held her as tight as possible after that, and was able to sleep through the rest of the night. Maybe he was worried about nothing. He felt like he could do anything now as long as he had her by her side.

~*~

“James, will you run out and get some fruit for me?” I hollered from the kitchen.

Bucky came into the room as he finished getting dressed, “anything specific you want?”

“No, just something I can turn into jam. The stand has been doing really well, and I’m running low on fruit.”

Bucky smiled as he walked over to me kissing my cheek, “anything for you, doll.”

Bucky left shortly after that, and I started to package the batch I had already made. Once I finished jarring what I had, I went to the walk-in pantry we had and started to shelve them. I thought I heard the door open so I called out to Bucky, but I got no answer.

“Everything alright out there my love?” I walked out of the pantry to be met by a man dressed in an all blue outfit. He was carrying a shield on his back that was red, white, and blue with a white star in the center.

He was looking through our kitchen, and I began to panic. I had no idea who this man was, or why he was in our apartment. I couldn’t find words to say when he noticed me.

“Where is Bucky?”

“Why do you want to know?” I asked, speaking in Romanian.

The man just turned around and looked at the top of the fridge. He pulled down a book, and that’s when I felt a hand on the small of my back. I jumped slightly at first then I realised it was Bucky behind me.

The stranger turned around, and saw Bucky. He started asking weird questions like if Bucky knew him, or why he pulled him from a river? All of it was so confusing and worrying to me. Before I knew it we were being attacked by the police. 

Bucky took off and I tried to follow him, but the stranger told me to stay put. Once the fight took the streets, I tried to follow on foot. By the time I got where I thought they would come out of, they were being surrounded. Bucky was being shoved to the ground and handcuffed. 

“James!” I yelled, rushing to him, and fighting the blockade of police.

They shoved me back, but I fought back harder. It was no use though as they loaded Bucky into a huge truck. I felt like my world had just come crashing down on me. Everything that happened this last year all came flooding back to me. I knew I had to get Bucky out of there. He was an innocent man, and I knew as long as we had each other, there would be nothing we couldn’t conquer.

~*~

Y/N tried to move on as best she could, but her heart felt empty. The day they took Bucky away in handcuffs was the day her heart left her. She closed her stand in the market, and went back to her dead end job. She moved out of their shared apartment because the thought, or even smell of him was too painful.

Y/n thought that the love of her life was gone forever. She even thought about moving away permanently, but loved the city too much to do that. The once bright and bubbly girl went back to her old reclusive self before she met him. No one had ever put the light back into her. Her smile was gone, and she hardly ever laughed anymore.

She was returning home from work one night, and decided to take the long way home. She wandered towards her old apartment complex as she often did. Ignoring the weird looks she got from the people she passed by, she kept her eyes to the ground. That was her mistake as she was lost in thought when she bumped into a muscular chest, almost falling to the ground. 

A firm gentle hand grabbed her arm kept her from falling, and she fought back tears as she remembered her very first full encounter with Bucky. “I’m sorry, I should have been paying attention.” Her voice broke as she fought back the pain, not wanting to look the stranger in the eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I almost knocked you over.”

“Please don’t apologize. I was-”

“The one who bumped into me?” 

Y/n heard the man chuckle and almost felt like she could hear Bucky behind the chuckle. She gained enough courage to look up at the stranger who she bumped into, and the person she saw was not who she was expecting.

“You okay doll? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She didn’t even hesitate to jump into his arms. It was the reunion she waited almost two years for. He picked her up and held her tightly as if he let her go, she would disappear. Y/n nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck taking in his scent.

“I’m sorry I left you. I-”

“It’s not your fault James. You’re back, and that’s all that matters.”

Bucky pulled away slightly from the hug to look her in the eyes. He pulled her in for a soft, gentle kiss. For the first time since that terrible day, Y/n smiled into the kiss. Now that they were back in each other’s arms, she finally felt like her heart was put back together. 

She didn’t care what happened, she was just happy to have him back in her arms. She was happy he was safe and sound with her again. The light in her eyes had returned, and Bucky felt like he was falling in love with her all over again. The world could throw whatever it wanted at him now. He had his girl back, and he felt like he could overcome anything as long as he kept her by his side for the rest of his life.

[lunastwilightblog]

Hi, I have a follow up inquiry to one of your asks. I know people seem to be on the older coven bus, with the Volturi, Romanians and Egyptians, so I was wondering if there was any tension with the Romanians and Amun at the Cullen house. Also, how do you think Carlisle met both covens, since we already know his background with Aro and co. I’ve always wondered whether Amun, Vladimir or Stefan actually liked Carlisle.

I was actually thinking about this myself. If the Volturi hasn’t stepped in and destroyed both covens, then it was probable that the Romanians would’ve destroyed the Egyptians. This begs the question that why wasn’t Amun insisting that Vladimir and Stefan leave, or at least spend the time that they weren’t on the field somewhere else, especially as they know what horrible people they are and the consequences of letting them say that they claimed victory against the Volturi in case of a fight and a victory. Honestly, I’m going to have to re-read Breaking Dawn to see if there was any tension written, but I don’t seem to recall any that Bella noticed, so if anybody has any lines that shows such tension please let me know

Because once again, what we read when we read this part of Breaking Dawn is only Bella’s perspective and what she notices. We also know that, from Eclipse, that Edward sometimes hides stressful things from Bella, so if there were any tension he would’ve noticed it yet would not have said anything unless it was absolutely vital. Personally, considering the rivalry that was about to have unfolded between the Romanians and the Egyptians before the Volturi, I believe there was definitely tension and serious dislike made evident whenever they were in the same room. I mean, we read the Romanians speaking aloud about everyone in the room with them all in earshot and Bella finding them very judgemental - and she was someone that with whom they have not yet had a conflict, so I imagine the people with whom they have had disagreements they would be much more vocal against with their dislike and judgement

As to what this tension might have materialised as, we cannot know for certain, but I can take a guess and say that it was just talking about the other to the others present and they think might sympathise with them (or not. Vladimir and Stefan don’t really care about how they come across). On the other hand, it might have just been thoughts that Edward had to deal with because they were all there united in something that tends to bring vampires together: revenge. While they might hate each other, Vladimir & Stefan and Amun all wish to see the back of Aro, and had the opportunity to stand with a large coven against him as a stronger force than they’d be alone (while Amun didn’t want to fight, he was proving to Aro that he does have allies and can find an army on a short notice). They may have tolerated the other coven better than even they expected they would have

As for how Carlisle met them, I guess that he must have done so in a similar way to how he came across the Volturi: just travelling and exploring the world, meeting everyone. We know that he spent a couple of decades at the beginning of the 18th century in Italy, but not much after that until we find him in Chicago

I think it’s likely that because Amun lives permanently in Egypt, that Carlisle must have met him there. Naturally anyone who has heard of the pyramids and now has a chance to travel the whole world would have wanted to go to Cairo, so he was probably just doing some travelling and then became interested to know that one of the former pharaohs was still alive

As for how he met the Romanians, that’s more ambiguous. Considering how Vladimir and Stefan are always travelling, always on the run, to avoid being hunted down potentially by Demetri or by gaining attention simply by existing and hunting in a specific area, the most likely scenario in which I visualise them bumping into Carlisle is by happenstance. They could’ve been in Romania, as I imagine after hearing about what happened to their empire that Carlisle wanted to see if he could see any remains of the castles or speak to someone from that time, and they obviously have a sentimental connection to the area so probably frequent it far more than any other part of Europe (they are likely to want to remain close to where they felt most powerful). But what I am certainly surprised about is how they obviously spoke to him and told him about themselves when they rejected Laurent; they must like Carlisle more than they have other vampires upon whom they have happened

So I think that the Romanians like Carlisle, or at least have some sort of respect for him. I think as they rejected Laurent for his want to follow them due to the power they once had, and how they could see that Carlisle has no love nor want for power, they can see that he is not a threat to any attempts they would make in the future for another empire and he is as trustworthy as a vampire could possibly be

I think Amun is more cautious of Carlisle considering his protectiveness over Benjamin, But for the same reasons as the Romanians, he is able to trust Carlisle. Carlisle will not steal Benjamin from him as Aro stole Demetri. So it’s not as if either of them particularly likes him as a close friend, as we don’t know that yet and I don’t think they’ve spent enough time with each other in order to say they are close friends, but there is certainly an understanding and trust between them that allows them to act very cordially. Everyone knows that Carlisle is a family man and not a power-hungry sycophant or deceitful liar, so the one thing everyone knows is that he isn’t a threat and he means what he says, so even if they didn’t like him, they can trust him, and that is enough for the kind of world that they live in

[rextasywrites]

Grab a bite (Lady Dimitrescu x f!Reader)

Hello! This is my first smut fic here on Tumblr. Please enjoy, I tried my very best <3 mostly smut with a hint of plot, maybe i can expand this idea??? have fun!

Warning: period blood kink! smut! don’t like don’t read please!

Find this fic on AO3

 The days in the castle hadn’t been pleasant to you...to say it in a mild way. The three vampire chicks had thrown you into the basement, up to rot along your mates. The first one to go was Mike. He had suffered from a cold before you headed into the mysterious village, and his cold soon turned into pneumonia. There wasn’t anything you could do for him apart from making sure he was as comfortable as he could be.

 The next one to go was Jasmin. In the cells you three (and a corpse) shared were quite a few rusty nails and she had the misfortune of stepping on one. Sepsis took her in less than 24 hours.

 Just a few hours ago, it was James who perished. The food given to you by the vampires was barely edible.. for humans. While you suffered from stomach aches quite a lot, James had a bigger problem. His food allergies were through the roof, and a simple dish with some nuts in it was his last meal on death row. You tried to make a tracheotomy, you really did.

 The vampires kept you in the cage for just a little bit longer. The bodies were taken away by them, but you had no chance of escaping. As you laid on the uncomfortable bed that kind of resembled a murphy bed, your mind went to everything you had left behind. Your family, your friends. All of this for a stupid job and “exploring Romania”. Fuck this shit. Were they looking for you? Were they missing you?

 Your stomach churned at all the anxieties creeping up your throat, making you choke back whatever was trying to come back up. But that wasn’t the only weird feeling in your stomach. While you didn’t know how long you had actually been in this hellhole, you knew your birth control ran out several days ago, and now your body was keen on getting its hormone household back into place.

 As if your uterus called her, one of the vampire ladies stood in front of the cell you were locked in, licking over her lips. You couldn’t tell if the darkness of her lips was from lipstick or the fact that she was a half dead monster. “Lady Dimitrescu awaits you.”, the lady said and unlocked the cage. When you first stood up, you had to press your hand against your stomach, feeling how the cramps were slowly getting worse inside of you. The lady just watched with raised eyebrows - do vampires even get periods?

 She led you through the impressive castle, and you wondered when someone cleaned in here for the last time, spiderwebs and dust were settled on nearly every surface. But boy, if it wasn’t impressive. Bigger than anything you had ever seen in your life. This sentence also was fitting for Lady Dimitrescu, who was sitting on her luxurious bed, covers of satin under her impressive...body.

 “My dear, I knew you would make it alive out of there!”, she gave you her biggest smile, and when she stood up...Jesus, she was taller than anyone you had ever seen, easily reaching 2,5 meters. Absolutely supernatural. But the thing which caught your eyes the most were her huge breasts. They were right at eye height for you, and being killed by massive tits seemed like the most pleasant death in this place. Well, at least better than dying because of a rusty nail.

 Lady Dimitrescu cupped your cheeks, feeling how the past few days had made you visibly lose weight already. “Oh my...if you want to survive the ritual, we have to nourish you. Daniela, please, get us some of the wine. I wouldn’t want my daughter to starve, would I?”

 Daniela came back with a bottle of the wine Lady Dimitrescu mentioned, pouring it into two glasses before handing you one, the other one to her...mentor? Mother? You didn’t know. Lady Dimitrescu made your two glasses click together and took a sip off the exclusive fluid, smiling as it made its way to her stomach. The taste wasn’t unpleasant, not at all. A strong taste of dry wine, but the aftertaste was slightly metallic. “You know you are allowed to speak with me.”, Lady Dimitrescu said as she put her glass on the nightstand, which had looked hilariously small in her hands. “You are part of the family now, dear. There is nothing to hide.”

 “Why me?”, was everything you managed out. Daniela had left the room by now, but that didn’t help to lessen your anxiety.

 Lady Dimitrescu chuckled and took your hand into hers, giving you the gentlest smile a vampire demon whatever the fuck she was could give. “Because you are special. The first moment my daughters spotted you in the village, I knew you’d come here. I knew you’d make it out of there alive. And now, I will prepare you for the ritual.”

 “What kind of ritual?”, the questions were clouding your mind. The last ritual you heard of was from Midsommar, and you had no interest in being burnt alive! As your hands started to shake, Lady Dimitrescu tightened her grip on them.

 “I will make you one of us. But first, you have to show me you can handle this life. That you can handle…”, she got closer to your ear as she whispered into it, “my needs.” Her needs?

 Lady Dimitrescu took the glass from your hands, putting it next to hers. Once her hands were free she placed them on your shoulders, pushing you down into the satin covers of her bed, and once you hit the sheets, your eyes felt so heavy. “Don’t fall asleep little dove!”, Lady Dimitrescu shooed, tapping her long fingers against your skin.

 “We would have started this sooner, but sadly”, Lady Dimitrescu gestured to your pants, “you have used this pill which stopped your period. And I need a good taste of you before we can continue.” What? A good taste?

 “I thought vampires drink blood!”, you bursted out, cupping your mouth once your brain realized what you just said.

 Lady Dimitrescu laughed loudly, giving your thigh a little pat. “Oh, we do, little dove. But I need to taste your innocence.” Your innocence… Her words flew around your brain while her fingers touched your bare skin from the holes in your pants. The bucket of water and the washing cloth might have helped you with feeling filthy, but it didn’t help with any ripped clothes. “It won’t hurt, I promise you. And once you have passed this test, you will be one of us in no time.”

 “...Okay?”

 “Good to hear that you agree with me, little dove!”, Lady Dimitrescu smiled, and her next move shook you to the bone. Out of the fingers of her right hand came claws, something straight out of a Wolverine movie! You froze in shock as she came closer, but instead of hurting you, all she did was slowly ripping the fabric of your clothes - or better said, what was left of them. She hummed at the sight under her, while your face became hotter and hotter. “Do not worry, dove. You will get new costumes when I am done with you. We will burn this trash you called clothes. Cheap trash.”

 Soon you were left in your undergarments, Lady Dimitrescu eyeing you up and down as if you were a piece of meat, ready for the predator to rip into its prey. And it wasn’t that wrong of a thought. In the end, you were at her mercy, but slowly her soft touch made you feel warm on the inside, spreading from your stomach, reaching all the way to your fingers and toes, a warmth you hadn’t felt in days. Was it the wine? Or was it something else?

 Lady Dimitrescu smelt old. But not an unpleasant old smelt, not this smell from nursing homes, where the rotten flesh melted into the seats of the wheelchairs. The smell of old books and knowledge, aged like the fine wine she had just given you.

 As your mind was clouded, Lady Dimitrescu continued to undress you. Your period had started by now, and a single drop of your blood fell on the satin covers under your ass. She chuckled, dipping her finger into the blood, licking it clean. “Have you ever laid with a man before, my dove?”, Lady Dimitrescu asked, to which you were ripped out of your thoughts, your reply a simple nod. You didn’t trust your voice anymore. “That’s good. You are pure. You are innocent. Just perfect for my daughters and me. Oh little dove, we are going to have so much fun together!”, Lady Dimitrescu laughed as she clapped her hands together, giving you her widest smile - and for a moment you could spot her fangs. What a weird turn on all of this was.

 Once her finger was clean, a hunger formed inside of her. Your blood...it tasted so good, so fresh, so healthy. Unlike anything she had eaten in the past 500 years - and she fucking wanted more. “Come here, little dove. Spread your legs for the Lady.”, she said as she grabbed hold of your hips, pulling your middle closer. The claws on her right hand had gone back into her skin, and at this point, you didn’t even want to ask why. At this point, all you needed was her.

 Lady Dimitrescu settled between your legs, “Let’s make this a pleasant experience for the both of us, shall we?”, she smiled as she pulled down her dress, exposing her big breasts. “I noticed your stares.”, and by the gods, they were everything you ever wanted and needed. Big, her dress had held them up, it must have been painful to her. They were saggy, but who didn’t appreciate a great pair of tits? You reached upward, your fingers sinking into the soft flesh as she chuckled. Lady Dimitrescu placed her hand on yours, letting you feel her up as you desired.

 “Come on, little dove”, she smiled after some groping from your side. She couldn’t deny, your eager massages on her breasts had left her wet and ready, but she had to prepare you. Maybe once she managed to spill a sweet orgasm from your lips, maybe then she would engage in some self centered pleasure. But right now, you were her main focus.

 Her fingers dipped a finger between your folds, scooping up your wetness mixed with blood. Lady Dimitrescu hummed in delight as she sucked her fingers clean, happiness clearly evident as she savoured the taste on her tongue. “You want to try it too?”, you shook your head in response, to which she laughed, “Oh, you will appreciate blood soon enough, little dove!”

 You couldn’t gasp when Lady Dimitrescu grabbed your hips, pulling you up against her mouth. With your legs wrapped around her shoulders, she had your pussy right in her face, taking in the sweet smell of your arousal and the metallic undertone of blood. Just how she liked it. Just how she imagined it. “Oh, having to wait for you for so many days was terrible, little dove. But now, you are mine.”, she whispered as she dove her head between your thighs, taking in more and more of you. The moment her tongue hit your folds, a loud gasp escaped your throat, surely the vampires outside of the room would hear you. Lady Dimitrescu just chuckled against your wetness, flicking her tongue over your clit as the sweet taste of your wetness spread all across her mouth.

 Her tongue was in the same proportion as her body, longer and thicker than anything you had ever seen before - or felt before. She slurped up whatever fluid she could reach, humming in delight whenever blood found its way into her mouth. The blood of a healthy and innocent virgin had been her favourite kind for so long, so hard to come by and the resulting fullness lasting for even longer. Maybe she wouldn’t turn you and keep you as her little to-go human. But where would be the fun in that?

 As much as you wished she’d use her fingers too, it was like Lady Dimitrescu was reading your mind. “No penetration for you, little dove. You need to stay pure, untouched.”, but eating your pussy out was fine? Well, you had to play by her rules, not yours. You relaxed further in her grip as Lady Dimitrescu refreshed herself on you, feeling hundreds of years younger.

 Your orgasm came crashing down on you, unexpected but with a force you had never felt before. While you groaned and trashed under Lady Dimitrescu’s grip, she kept her lips on your pussy, taking in all the juices she could get her mouth on, the hint of blood making her moan in delight.

 The next thing you know is that the pain in your abdomen had stopped and Lady Dimitrescu had put clothes on your. You rubbed your eyes, blinking as you made sense of what had happened while you were out. The clothes on your body were dark and silky, just like the dress of Daniela before. The hunger inside of you was burning your stomach down, but it wasn’t just a simple hunger.

 You were lusting for blood. Well, time to find Lady Dimitrescu and tell her about the little changes in your body...

[ghostofstudentspast]

One of a kind

Charlie x Reader

Prompts: “Please shut up, I can’t stand how appealing your voice is.”

I have such a soft spot for Charlie Weasley, I think he’s so underrated and deserves so much more love!! So I wrote this little piece that’s completely and utterly filled with fluff. I also wrote it for @summer-writes writing challenge (and you should check her out too because she’s lovely)!

Three days. That’s how long it had taken for you to develop a crush on Charlie Weasley. You’d vaguely remembered him from your days at school but he was two years above you and let’s face it, Hogwarts is a big school.

Now, it was rare to see the two of you apart. You’d joined his team in Romania almost two years ago now. Starting as a glorified intern, you were more than happy to just be around the dragons. Today you were counted as an integral part of your research team. While Charlie focussed more on the handling and transporting of dragons, you were at his side to monitor the creatures’ health. Always the first to clock injuries, diet changes and sicknesses you really were an expert in the dragon department.

Not only were the two of you a wonder team but you got along like old friends. His happy go lucky demeanour sparked your creative side which meant work was never boring. Your sharp tongue counterbalanced his quick wit which meant you were always tossing back and forth a little ball of banter.

You worked together and you were known to take work home. It only made sense when the two of you moved in together a few months into your partnership. You set basic boundaries and you mostly managed to squash the tiny little voice in your head that begged for him to make a move. If being platonic meant you could have Charlie in your life, you were happy to just be friends.

Living together worked out to be a blessing, the only problem was his singing. Not because it was bad, oh no quite the opposite. His voice was gravelly and had such a warm tone to it that it was like fire whiskey to your ears. He was constantly singing, while he cooked, in the shower and even on the job. It got to the point where you would just zone out as soon as you heard his voice. It always gave you butterflies. No not butterflies, they were fully grown dragons flying around in your stomach.

“Y/N!” the object of your thoughts came bursting into your living room, full of energy as always, “there’s a rumour going around that we might be getting a Hungarian horntail in sometime this month!”

He dropped onto the sofa across from the chair you were currently perched on and grinned. The two of you had been busy at work preparing to transfer some dragons in from a sanctuary across the country. It was always exciting when you had new dragons to study and look after but Charlie was especially thrilled each time. You’d never met someone who loved their career as much as he did.

“That’s fantastic Charlie!” you closed the book that had occupied you and watched the curly headed man toss a ball up in the air as you chatted. He always needed something to keep him busy, he always had energy to burn. “I heard there’s some babies coming along as well.”

“I know, it’s fantastic,” he shot you a quick grin, “it’ll be like a brand new addition to our little family.”

“Our family?” you chuckled and raised your eyebrow at him, “that makes you what? Their uncle?”

“Mm yeah, you’re right, we’re like the fun uncle and aunt that the kids can’t wait to see at Christmas,” he stuck his tongue out at you and tossed the ball up again with ease.

“You’re one of a kind Weasley,” you shook your head and stuck your tongue back out at him.

“Then aren’t you lucky you know me?” he winked at you and rolled off the couch to stand up. You weren’t too phased by his flirty personality as much as you were when you first met him but it still kicked up a little blush on your face when he caught you off guard.

“I’m gonna shower and then I’m thinking of making pasta. You know, in case you’re interested.”

“In what, the pasta or the shower?” you flirted back and smirked up at him, “cause those are two very different offers Charles.”

“Hey, I’ll leave that for you to decide darling,” he wiggled his eyebrows and tossed the ball up and down again as he backed out of the room. He turned to leave and yelled a quick, “I’ll be in the shower!”

You smacked yourself in the forehead with your novel as your cheeks coloured red. You let yourself take the five seconds to consider following him before putting the book back in your lap and distracting yourself with the text. He just couldn’t help being flirty, you knew that, it was a part of his personality. You’d be a hypocrite if you didn’t say the same about yourself. But with Charlie it was always slightly different.

“Carbs will fix this,” you muttered, choosing to let your thoughts drift to pasta instead.

And there it was, as if on cue, Charlie singing in the shower. You couldn’t help but smile a little bit as he loudly sang along to whatever was stuck in his head today. He was far from shy and you loved that about him. The man could be comfortable anywhere and never had any shame for being a bit strange.

It was easy to fall in love with him the way you had. He was kind, fun, handsome and practically your best friend. You would be shocked if anyone managed not to fall in love with him if they were in your position. You knew you were basically an old married couple at this point anyway. Last Christmas he’d even taken you home to the Weasleys for a few days to meet his family. Normal, colleague behaviour, right?

“Hey,” Charlie stopped in the doorway on his way to his room, towel wrapped around his waist. It wasn’t rare to see Charlie walking around without a shirt, just as you would often walk around without pants. It was your house. But still, your eyes skipped over his torso and you forced your eyes to stay on his face. “so, yes on the pasta? Maybe some ice cream?”

“You should know you don’t even have to ask at this point Charlie,” you grinned and shooed him out of the room, waving your book at him.

His humming made nice background noise to your reading, trying your hardest to stay focused on the words on the page. Eventually you gave up and decided to see if you could help in the kitchen. There you found Charlie stirring a pan on the stove and humming along to the radio he had playing from the counter.

“You know you have a wand right?” you crossed your arms with an amused smile playing on your lips.

“You know, somehow this seems safer for me,” Charlie barked out a laugh and turned to grin at you, “don’t exactly have a great track record with household magic do I sweetheart?”

“Can’t deny that,” you laughed and pulled some plates out of the cupboard and started setting the little table in the centre of the kitchen. The two of you sitting down to gorge yourself on cheesy goodness.

You often split the chores between you, alternating who cooked for who. It wasn’t really a competition to see who was the better cook between you but if there’s one thing he could cook well it was comfort food. Something that came naturally to the Weasleys was a creating comforting environment so it was no surprise.

“Nope, I got it!” You grabbed Charlie’s plate before he could get up and put it away, “You cooked, I clean.”

“You’re too good to me,” Charlie chuckled and helped bring everything to the sink, “one of these days my mother will demand I marry you.”

You bit the inside of your cheek and turned towards the sink so he couldn’t see your eyes widen. Wouldn’t be so bad Charlie, you thought to yourself. You could hear him continue to hum along from the living room as you flicked your wand over the dirty plates to clean them. He came waltzing back into the kitchen as Frank Sinatra played over the speakers. Reaching out his hands dramatically to serenade you as you leant against the counter and crossed your arms with a smirk.

“Please shut up, I can’t stand how appealing your voice is,” you pretended to plug your ears.

Charlie just shook his head with a grin and continued singing, grabbing your hand to pull you into the kitchen to join him in his dancing.

I could be a king on crown

Humble or poor, rich or renowned

There is nothing I couldn't do

If I had you

You let out a laugh as he spun you towards him and rocked the two of you back and forth. Your hand clasped in his, the other on your waist he danced the two of you through the small kitchen. Resting your head on his shoulder, eyes closed as you listened to him sing along. He smelled like fire and cinnamon and Autumn. A smile was permanently stuck on your face even as your heart skipped a beat.

His hand was warm against yours, scars littered his fingers and forearms along with light freckles from the sun. His thumb stroked the back of your hand as you swayed comfortably, the music fading out.

You opened your eyes to look up at the man who held your heart and were surprised to find him looking back. His hand travelled up to your cheek and his calloused thumb stroked your cheek gently. You held your breath and nuzzled your cheek into his hand.

“I am so insanely in love with you,” he whispered. It was so soft, you’d feared you’d misheard him somehow. “It’s driving me crazy Y/N.”

Without second thought you stood up on your toes and pressed your lips to his. Your arms easily resting on his shoulders, pulling him closer to you as his hands gripped your waist and steadied you. His lips were soft and moved perfectly against yours. You smiled into the kiss and let out a soft chuckle as your forehead came to rest against his, the two of you smiling and laughing breathlessly.

“I love you,” you smiled, “I’m so in love with you,” you let out a joyful laugh as Charlie picked you up with a dopey grin on his face and kissed you again. You wound your hands in his hair as he held you against him.

“Thank god,” he laughed as he set you down, your feet touching the floor again. “there was a moment there where I thought I’d have to find the dragons a new aunt.”

You slapped his chest with a laugh and rolled your eyes at him. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead it’s a smile. It was everything you could have possibly hoped for with Charlie.

“So you really think my voice is incredibly appealing huh?” he asked with an innocent expression in his face, a gleam of mischief in his eyes.

“Oh shut up,” you laughed as your face flushed again.

“No, In considering a career change now,” he teased, “Yeah I can see it now, Charlie the dragon taming pop star.” he squeezed your hip with his hand.

“Right, you call me when that works out,” you snorted and patted his chest with your hand.

“What if I can’t wait that long to call you?” he smiled at you and kissed the tip of your nose.

“I’m sure we can arrange something,” you smirked and tugged him down by the front of his shirt to kiss him again.