#I doubt the Dursleys took the time to talk to him

[impishtubist]

happy birthday, reese <3

For @r33sespieces :) 

---

“Shh, no, you have to be quiet.” 

Sirius pauses outside Harry’s room, cocking his head. Harry’s been holed up in there since shortly after dinner, but Sirius hadn’t thought too much of it. It’s been pissing down all afternoon, and Sirius figured both of them could use a lazy day. For his part, he took a luxurious nap earlier, and the newest book in a romance series he’s been following arrived by owl post this morning. He’s looking forward to curling up with it in front of the fire. If he’s lucky, maybe Harry will come downstairs with his chess set later and ask to play a game together.

There’s a whine from behind the closed door, and then a soft yip. Sirius blinks.

“Hazza,” he says, rapping his knuckles softly on the door, and he hears Harry curse. “Everything alright?”

“Fine!” Harry says quickly. “I’m just--”

He’s interrupted by a loud bark, and Sirius’s eyebrows fly up to his hairline.

“Can I come in?” he asks, and he hears Harry sigh.

“Yeah.” 

Harry’s standing over by the bed, dripping wet and clutching a soaked brown-and-white puppy against his chest. 

“Well, hello,” Sirius says as he steps into the room. “Who’s this?”

“Dunno,” Harry says, cuddling the puppy close and shrinking away when Sirius takes a step forward. Sirius freezes. “Found him out in the garden.” 

“Poor thing,” Sirius says. It’s been miserable outside for two days now. “Can I take a look at him?”

“Why?” Harry asks, instantly suspicious. 

“I just want to make sure he’s okay, that he doesn’t have any injuries or anything like that.” Sirius starts to pull out his wand, but Harry backs away, so he quickly pockets it. “Can we sit down?”

They sit on the circular rug in the middle of Harry’s bedroom, and Harry gently places the puppy in front of him. The puppy shivers, and then takes a few uncertain steps. He’s wobbly, but that seems to be due to how young he is, not any injuries. Sirius puts out his hand, and the puppy sniffs him. His tail wags.

“Aren’t you mad?” Harry asks softly, not meeting Sirius’s eyes.

“I’m not thrilled you snuck a puppy in here without talking to me first,” Sirius says. “But no, Harry, I’m not mad. If you’d told me you’d found him in the garden, I would’ve had you bring him inside, too. We can keep him warm and dry for a night, and then tomorrow we’ll take him to a shelter. Speaking of, can I dry him off? He’s shivering. You as well, kiddo.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Harry nods, and Sirius pulls out his wand. He performs a quick drying spell, and then a cleaning charm, and then casts a heating spell over both Harry and the puppy.

“I bet he’s hungry,” Sirius says. “Why don’t you bring him down to the kitchen, and we can feed him?”

Harry hesitates again, then gathers the puppy in his arms and goes down to the kitchen, Sirius following them. He doesn’t know what exactly is causing Harry’s reluctance, but he has a suspicion. 

He cuts up some leftover chicken for Harry to feed the puppy, and then goes into Remus’s office to gather up the rope toys Moony likes to use, as well as the crate he sometimes curls up in to nap off the Wolfsbane during full moons. Harry eyes the crate warily when Sirius comes back into the kitchen.

“So he’ll have somewhere warm and safe to sleep tonight,” Sirius says. “I doubt he’s house-trained, and sorry mate, but I don’t fancy him pissing all over the house all night.” 

Harry reluctantly nods. “Yeah, okay.” 

The puppy eats and drinks his fill, and then Harry entices him to play with one of the rope toys. Sirius can’t help the smile that touches his lips as he watches them, the puppy having the time of his life and Harry giggling--giggling!--while they play.

The puppy eventually tires himself out and falls asleep curled up in Harry’s lap. 

“There was a dog in the Dursleys’ garden once.” Harry’s not looking at him. He strokes one of the puppy’s ears with a gentle finger. “She was a stray. I brought her scraps from the table whenever Aunt Petunia sent me outside to do chores.” 

Scraps that Harry had probably needed for himself, but he’d split them with a stray instead. His heart ached. “That was really kind of you, Hazza.”

“She was my first friend,” Harry says softly. “My only friend. She lived in the garden for most of the summer, until Dudley found out about her.” 

“Oh, Harry.”

“He and his friends chased her off. Hit her with sticks and threw rocks at her. I never saw her again.” 

“She probably found a home,” Sirius says. “She sounds friendly. I’m sure someone took her in.”

“Yeah,” Harry says. “I hope so.” 

Sirius hears the Floo roar, and then Remus calls out a hello.

“In here, Remus,” he says.

Remus comes into the kitchen, and his eyes widen. “Well, you two were certainly busy today.” 

“Harry found him in the garden,” Sirius says. “The weather’s shite. I don’t see a problem with letting him stay tonight, and then we’ll take him to a shelter tomorrow.”

“Sure, of course we will,” Remus says, sounding amused. 

The puppy wakes himself up with a yawn, and then eyes Remus curiously. He gets out of Harry’s lap and trots over to the other man, sniffing him curiously. Remus holds very still--animals tend to have very strong reactions to him. Either they adore him, or they’re terrified of him. 

The puppy is apparently in the former category, because his tail starts to wag and he lets out a series of happy yips. Remus crouches down to pet him. 

“You’re a handsome fellow, aren’t you,” he says. “Yes, you are. And much better behaved than Padfoot.”

“You hear how he talks to me, Harry?” 

Harry laughs, and Sirius wishes he could bottle the sound. It doesn’t happen enough.

Harry and the puppy are inseparable for the rest of the evening. Remus keeps throwing Sirius significant looks that he tries to ignore. They’re not getting a pet. Hedwig is enough. In the morning, they’ll take the puppy to the nearest shelter, and Sirius will personally make sure he goes to a good home. 

When it comes time for bed, Harry lines the crate with plenty of blankets and sets the puppy inside. He closes the door and locks it, and the puppy immediately begins to whimper.

Harry chews on his bottom lip. “You’re sure he’s going to be alright in there?” 

The puppy whines, and Harry looks distraught. Remus squeezes his shoulder.

“He’ll be fine. He’s got toys and water and soft blankets. He’ll probably make a mess, but that’s alright. That’s what magic is for. He’ll settle down as soon as we all leave him be.” 

***

The puppy cries for an hour after they all retire upstairs. 

Sirius stares at the ceiling. He’s not going to give in and check on the puppy. He’s not. 

“Don’t even think it, Sirius,” Remus murmurs from his side of the bed.

“I’m not,” Sirius says. “It’s just--do you think he’s cold?”

“We gave him blankets and cast a heating charm.” 

“Maybe he’s hurt.”

“You checked him over before bed. He’s perfectly fine.” Remus rolls over and rests his head on Sirius’s chest. “He’ll settle down eventually.”

Remus is right--the puppy does eventually quiet down. Remus’s breathing evens out soon after that, and Sirius quickly follows him into sleep.

Sirius wakes up before dawn, his new normal, and pads downstairs to make some tea. Harry will sleep for at least another couple of hours, and they won’t see Remus until almost noon. 

But when he comes into the kitchen, the first thing he notices is his godson curled up on the floor. The crate is open, and the puppy is nestled in Harry’s arms, also fast asleep. 

“Sirius?” Remus comes up behind him, knuckling his eyes. 

“What are you doing up?” Sirius whispers.

“Needed a piss, and the bed’s cold without you. What--” Remus finally catches sight of Harry and the puppy, and immediately softens. “Oh.” 

“That’s why the puppy stopped whining last night, I bet.” 

“Probably,” Remus says. He wraps his arms around Sirius’s waist and props his chin on Sirius’s shoulder, though he has to stretch to reach it. “You can’t make him go to a shelter.”

“No,” Sirius sighs. “I won’t. Looks like we’ve got a pet, Moons.” 

“Looks like it. Where are you going?”

“I’ve got to write to the Board of Governors,” Sirius says. “I have six weeks to persuade them to add dogs to the list of approved pets for Hogwarts students.”

[jmagnabo92]

S&H Bonding - 17 - The Loss of Rights

Sirius stresses when Umbridge manages to take even more rights from Harry, and gives him some advice that is apparently too late.

A03

***

Given the unpleasantness from Umbridge over the situation with the Article, Sirius had come to worry that any day now Harry would be expelled.  She would find somehow, someway, and it could happen at any time.

His expulsion is clearly her ultimate goal between taking away his rights to letters, to see Hagrid, to go to Hogsmeade, and having him in detention every night for the last month.  He’s sure that she’s just waiting for another game or something to happen in practice to get him kicked off the team as well.  As it is, she attends every practice just waiting for the precious moment.

Luckily, Harry could talk to him, and Sirius could keep him calm enough not to do something stupid that would give her a reason.

He just hopes his worries are in vain, unfortunately, his gut is right.

“Pads!”

“Hey kid,” Sirius grins until he sees his face.  “Oh no, what happened?”

“As if it wasn’t bad enough that she’s been stalking me and having her own minions attempt to get me into trouble – she finally found a way to get me kicked off the team.”

Sirius frowns.  “How’d she manage that?”

“Well, the Slytherins show up at practice trying to wind me up by mocking me for the usual and then, I don’t even know what happened.  One minute I’m telling the team to just ignore them and the next I started fighting Malfoy – my anger was like ten times what it should’ve been considering.”

Sirius frowns.  It’s possible that Voldemort might’ve also been angry, and it amplified Harry’s anger.  “Did your scar hurt?”

Harry frowns.  “Yeah, it was aching afterward – not helped by the yelling of my teammates, the Slytherins, and Umbridge.  She berated me in front of everyone and took my broom.  I’ve been given a life-long ban and two weeks detention.”

“We’re lucky she didn’t expel you,” Sirius states.  “Although, considering that you just finished the month of detention for the article, it’s not good news.  But she has no control of over your life outside of school, so you could still do quidditch someday – once she’s gone.”

“Certainly seems like she has control outside of school.  I literally have no rights or privacy right now.  And she knows where the Dursleys live – who’s to say she doesn’t just attack me there?   What if she’s the one who sent the dementors?   I just – I don’t know how much more I can take of this.”

Sirius’ heart breaks for Harry.  It seems that even with some things going right, that most of his life is just circling the drain.  “It’s only a few more months.”

“And then what?  They find some way to charge me for Cedric?”

Sirius’ surprise shows on his face, no doubt, because he absolutely had not considered that Umbridge or Fudge would go so far as to charge his kid with killing Cedric.  

“You – you think that’s what they’re going to do?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense.  I mean, I – I have literally been tortured all year – Fudge tried to get me expelled in a hearing that was like a Death Eater trial after what I can only assume was an attempt on my life because not many fifteen year olds can product a Patronus and Umbridge seemed in utter disbelief that I managed it and – and with everything that’s happened, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Sirius takes a deep breath.  He couldn’t let Harry see his worries that he makes a good point.  “Kid, if they were going to do that, they would’ve hauled you in before the Dementors this summer.  So, I need you to take a breath and realize that that isn’t going to happen.  They’ve declared his death an accident and with the article and Amos Diggory taking up your cause afterwards, they wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Harry takes a calming breath.  “I guess that does make sense with everything else to factor in – I just… I’m worried about how far this is going to go.”

“Well,” Sirius pauses.  “I can’t honestly say that I know how far they’ll go, but you’ll be coming straight here this summer anyway.  I don’t care for Dumbledore’s reasonings, the fact that you were in danger there last summer is enough of a reason to bring you here.”

“Really?”  Harry asks, hopefully.

“Yes, as long as I’m here offering you a home, you’ll never have to go back,” Sirius smiles.  “I will protect you and give you the home you deserve.”

“You’re the best, Pads,” Harry smiles.  “I’m still upset that I can’t play anymore and that I lost your second first present to me.”

“Well, at least Dobby can steal your broom back and leave a replica in its place,” Sirius offers.  “There’s no way I’m letting her get away with stealing from you.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Harry offers.  “That does make me feel better.  I’ll have Dobby take care of it in the morning.”

“Good.  Do you want to talk about everything else?”

Harry shrugs, “Not at the moment.  I’m just exhausted by everything.  I’d rather just listen to you tell me stories or something.  You know – maybe about you, mum and dad?”

Sirius smiles.  “I’d love to tell you all about your parents if it helps.”

“Then I’m ready to listen.”

Sirius spends the next hour or so talking about Harry’s parents, which appears to make him feel better.

***

“What’s with the frown?” Bill asks, after the next meeting.  

Given that Harry’s spent most of the last week being upset that he’s not allowed to fly and still getting his hand split open every night, has made Sirius more and more upset for his kid.  Harry might be right about Fudge’s end goal for him (likely, Azkaban or dead), and although they obviously won’t be able to charge him for Cedric, they could manufacture some way or something that would land him out of the picture.  

Hell, he might even let Malfoy kidnap Harry or something.  The fact is, even with the article supporting Harry’s claims and the public questioning everything, Fudge has had the power and obsession to shut Harry up permanently and he could do it.  He’s definitely still thinking about it and Sirius isn’t sure what they could do to stop him (aside from hold him hostage at home) and that’s not fair to his kid.

He’s just worried with Umbridge’s stronghold at Hogwarts that it wouldn’t be long before she does something illegal and gets rid of him herself.  All those detentions alone would give her the ability and even if she just hurt him like she’s been doing, he could never speak up because most of the public thinks he’s a liar.  

“Sirius,” Remus prompts.  “You alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” Sirius offers. 

“Really, because you don’t seem like it,” Bill offers.

Sirius shrugs.  “It’s just – I’m worried about Harry.  He’s pretty much captive at Hogwarts, getting tortured by Umbridge every night, and he’s worried that they’ll find some way to charge him for Cedric or something else.”

Both Bill and Remus frown uncertainly.  

“You don’t really think that’s possible, do you?” Bill questions.  “I mean, they wouldn’t do that to a fifteen-year-old kid, right?”

“They forced him into a deadly tournament last year,” Sirius counters.  “Umbridge has had free access to take away every personal freedom he has and has been torturing him in detention every night with that quill.  What are they going to do next?”

“Maybe after O.W.L.s we don’t send him back to Hogwarts,” Remus says.  “At least if nothing changes.  As long as Dumbledore’s there, he should be fine.”

Sirius gives him a look, “You think what’s going on now with him there is fine?”

“Er – no.  Guess not,” Remus frowns.  “But technically, you aren’t required to continue on passed O.W.L.s, you just can’t use your wand until you’re seventeen.  So, he just has to make it a few more months.”

Sirius sighs and puts his face in his hands.  “How is this worse than the tournament?” 

“Because with the tournament, it wasn’t an everyday thing,” Remus offers.  “He was pretty safe – aside from the bullying – most of that year.  It was just not knowing what the tasks were and if he might get attacked there.  That’s three days compared to every day.”

“Plus, you-know-who was just a spirit then, not a full being,” Bill offers.  

“And the Ministry wasn’t after him, just annoyed by him.  Which wasn’t his fault,” Remus finishes.

“Thanks,” Sirius groans.

“You asked.”

“I didn’t actually need you to caption why it’s so much worse this year,” Sirius explains.  “It was rhetorical.  I’m well aware that one night can make things so much worse.”

“I know you wish that you could just take him away, and he deserves that – you both do,” Remus states.  “Let’s just hold off for now and get him through O.W.L.s, if things haven’t changed by then, I’ll help you take him away.”

Sirius smiles, “Thank you for the assurance.  And if something happens to me…”

“We’ll do whatever you want,” Remus offers.  “I promise.”

“Good.”

***

Feeling slightly better, Sirius is actually smiling when Harry calls him that night. 

“You know, the twins were trying to make me feel better about the sheer number of detentions I’ve gotten this year and they seem to think that I might’ve broken a record, what do you think?” 

Sirius laughs.  At least his kid was trying to find the silver lining.  

“Well, I think James and I or the twins might still hold the record.  We did spend a lot of time in detention.  Sometimes for things that weren’t actually our fault, like the time that the Slytherin quidditch team miraculously began to turn green and were unable to leave the bathroom on the day of a big match against Ravenclaw – had they won, they could’ve surpassed Gryffindor, although James wasn’t worried whatsoever because we had a better team.  Somehow, we got blamed (may or may not be because I got in a fight with my brother the day before), but we never made anyone ill during our pranks.”

Harry tilts his head in confusion.  “Why blame you if the match wasn’t a Gryffindor/Slytherin match?”

Sirius shrugs, “I suppose it’s because there was often a lot of fighting between the two houses and the other two just stayed out of it.  We ended up with a week’s worth of detention, but at least that one was together.”

“Hardly seems fair.”

“And the detentions that you’ve been getting are fair?” Sirius questions.  

“Well, no, not really.  Most of my detentions have been terribly unfair, but … guess it just is what it is,” Harry shrugs.  “Hermione felt bad about the article detentions and offered to try and take them on herself, but I told her Umbridge would only punish her, too, and might even take it as some sort of affront and give me more detentions.  At least, they’re winding down, again.  It’s just impossible to avoid her.”

Sirius frowns, “Well, maybe she needs a distraction or something?  Someone else to target her anger or thoughts on.”

“That’s what Ginny said, and the twins’ offered to distract her.  I wasn’t sure that I should take them up on it.  What if they expelled before N.E.W.T.s?”

“They’ll be fine,” Sirius counters.  “You don’t have to finish passed O.W.L.s and they already have the money you gave them and pretty great business idea.  You, on the other hand, well, you have to finish O.W.L.s or they could snap your wand.”

Harry frowns.  “So, it would be better if I – I let them?”

“I mean, I shouldn’t encourage you to ask them to risk themselves, so I won’t, but if that’s what they want or if they happen to help you out – I’ll deal with the fallout of Molly yelling at me because I know she will.”

“Hmm-mm, I’ll think about it.  It would be nice if she wasn’t so focused on me all the time.”

“I can’t say I disagree.”  He pauses, “So how’re things with Cho and Hermione?”

“Oddly enough, I think they’re on a mission together to do something, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, see, I’ve noticed that they’ve suddenly started spending my detention time together.  I always find them in some area of the castle (generally the library), but they’re never working on homework.  They seem to be planning something that always disappears when I show up.  And sometimes, I even see them working with the twins after DA meetings.  I am very confused – they literally got in several fights just a bit over a month ago.”

Sirius narrows his eyes.  He knows that Hermione can be quite vindictive when she wants to be (Skeeter can attest to that), and he’s sure when she’s fired up Cho can be, too.  Combined that with the way Umbridge has been going after Harry and the way Hermione and Cho both want to protect him, he’s sure their plotting has something to do with her.  

“Well, if I had to guess, they’re probably doing something that they figure it’s better if you have plausible deniability,” Sirius offers.  

“Something to do with making Umbridge pay, then?”

“Yes, and it’s best to just let them do it and focus on school.”

Harry frowns.  “I can’t imagine Cho would actively seek to make someone pay.”

Sirius laughs, “You mean the girl whose first reaction to the article was to rip Hermione to shreds?  Yeah, can’t see that at all.”

“Words are one thing, knowing what Hermione’s capable of is a little out of mental picture I have for Cho.  She’s so sweet and innocent.”

“Yes, well, I imagine that because you’re her boyfriend, and have been for over seven months by this point.”

Harry shrugs.  “I guess – does that mean I shouldn’t worry about it?”

“Yes.  Just relax, focus on school, and try to stay out of Umbridge’s way.”

Harry nods.  “Alright, I guess.  I’ve got a DA meeting planned so…”

Sirius coughs, thinking that the DA is a huge issue that is just teasing Umbridge.  If Umbridge found out… 

“Er – Harry, before you go, I think that we need to re-discuss the decision to lead the DA.”

Harry frowns.  “What do you mean?  Everyone’s a lot more focused ever since the Death Eater’s escape from Azkaban and the article.  They’re clearly preparing for the war rather than just school, so I feel like it’s even more important now, especially since there hasn’t been that many meetings with all of the detentions I’ve been getting.”

“I understand that it’s rather important, kid, I just also feel that you’re playing with some serious fire, here.  It was fine before, but she’s getting more and more desperate, and I just don’t think you should continue risking it because who knows what she might do to you.”

“Oh, come on, we’ve kept it a secret this long – so I think we’re doing just fine.”

Of course Harry’s blowing off the worry, he’s gotten a bit complacent, he’s gotten away with it for six months, and Sirius hasn’t expressed any worry since the start of the second term.  

“Seriously, Kid.  I think you should deeply consider just ending the DA.  You’ve got enough to be worried about and I don’t think you should continue it given that she’s trying her best to get rid of and silence you.  If she finds out…”

“It’ll be fine.  I promise.  Talk later.”

“Bye kid,” Sirius says before Harry shuts the mirror off.  He’s got this awful feeling, and he’s not sure this is a good idea anymore, but his kid’s a stubborn one and he could only hope for the best.

[assorted-fics]

Fics of the Week

Harry Potter

Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryTeller

“In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone.

Their best isn't perfect.

~

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.”

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him –

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

Family is better than war, surprisingly by silverseed

“Lucius Malfoy was happier with his family than he had ever been as a child. That didn't mean he regretted his decision to become a Death Eater.

At least, he didn't until Draco started behaving suspiciously Light-inclinedly.

OR: A character study for Lucius in SIAT”

Never Grow A Wishbone by ShanaStoryTeller

“She almost smiles, and true alarm starts to build in his chest. “I’m afraid I’m not here for something so small. Professor Roberts has resigned.”

“Good,” Draco says honestly, “Would you like a list of suitable alternatives? I know a number of competent potions masters abroad, but then of course you’d have to hire another teacher to act as the Slytherin head. I’m afraid you’ve dried up all the half decent Slytherin Potions masters.”

“Not all of them,” she says quietly.

He blinks. She can’t be serious. “You can’t be serious.”

“Gravely,” she says, “Mr. Malfoy, I am not above begging.”

What the bloody fuck. “I don’t even like potions!”

~

Draco returns to Hogwarts.

He has a duty to his blood and his name and his house, and he will fulfill it.”

Life skills outside the curriculum by Endrina

“It was "Witch Weekly", of all people and organizations, the first to notice and comment on The Boy Who Lived’s absence from the ranks of first years at Hogwarts. The magazine went on to elucubrate that the young hero was studying at a foreign school, possibly Beauxbatons or Holzschuhkäse.”

Doer of Good Deeds by Lomonaaeren

“Ron certainly knows how to recognize obsession when he sees it, thanks to feeling some of the same with Hermione. And he would rather that Harry's obsession with Draco Malfoy end sooner rather than later. Otherwise, Ron's afraid that he’s going to spend the rest of his life hearing about how ugly all of Malfoy's girlfriends are.”

no place like home by dirgewithoutmusic

“When Petunia Dursley refused to take Harry in she forfeited his birthright protection, so Dumbledore took the baby to the safest place he knew: Hogwarts.

The applicable staff (mostly just… not Snape) took Harry in on a rotating schedule as he grew from baby to toddler to child. They traded extra credit for babysitting among the older students, and Harry grew up knowing a few dozen different laps that were safe and warm to nap in.

This was a Harry who grew up among books, among old transient walls and learned professors. They gave Binns night duty sometimes, and let him talk young Harry to sleep. This was a Harry whose world changed, on principle, daily. The stairs moved. The walls became doors. You had to keep your eyes open–you had to pay attention. So he did.

He grew up in a school. Knowledge was power, but knowledge was also joy. This was his sanctuary. There was magic in his world from birth.”

Merlin

Garden or Graveyard by ShanaStoryTeller

“Merlin has a secret. Arthur, it turns out, also has a secret.

It's the same secret.”

True Love by platonic_boner

“AU where soulmates can’t lie to each other.

(That’s okay, Merlin wasn’t planning to lie to Arthur anyways! Haha.. ha.. ha…)”

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Son of the Desert by ShanaStoryTeller

“Every time Edward sees the circle on the back Mustang's hand, he wants to scream, wants to reach across the desk and shake him, wants to wrap his hands around the older man's throat and ask if it was worth it, if this desk and his rank is worth the screaming, crying, writhing, burning bodies of his people -

"Something to say, Fullmetal?" Mustang drawls.

Edward snaps the file shut, "Nope."

[prongsno]

What would happen to Harry on parents evening? I'm curious 😫😫

Petunia coming with him, completely distant the entire time but then as soon as they enter the school she puts on a smile. There are so many happy families all around him; children who hold onto their parents hands and swing in their arms, laughing and talking like families should. The teacher shows some of Harry's best work and says that he's a good kid but quite quiet in class and that she wishes he would speak out more. Imagine when the kids have to do a family tree activity and all of his classmates are chattering excitedly about their dad's granddads mum who was a nurse in the war. And Harry just stares at his blank piece of paper, not even knowing what he could put.

[lucky-katebishop]

Okay, it doesn’t make much sense why Godric’s Hollow was completely destroyed. Voldemort pretty much just went in and out, and sure, a few things were broken, but I doubt that everything would be destroyed. SO I have a headcanon that everything else was placed in the Potter vaults and Harry got ahold of some of the things around fourth year. I like to imagine that Harry wears James’ old band t-shirts and Lily’s sweaters that her mom knit her. Snape sees Harry wearing the all too familiar green sweater with embroidered lilies and almost faints and is extra mean to him that day, as well as any day he recognizes a sweater. Sure, the clothes are a bit baggy and they don’t always fit, but they’re so much better than anything the Dursleys have ever given him. 

He wears their old Gryffindor ties but not the robes because they don’t fit and they’re a bit outdated. Harry wears one of James’ old ties and doesn’t realize he took the one that Sirius had charmed to change house colors every time points are given to him, so one transfiguration lesson his tie changes to green when he’s awarded ten points and McGonagall has to sit down because she experienced so much nostalgia. Harry has a smile on his face the rest of the day when he hears her mumble, “James and that damn tie”

Harry finds their old textbooks and they’re outdated but he keeps them anyways because James doodled in the margins with the other Marauders, and Lily has a lot of notes in all of her charms textbooks. He starts getting extra points on his homework for his “smart insights” but instead of like HBP where Hermione blames him for cheating, she doesn’t say anything because she knows how much it means to him. 

The only textbooks that aren’t outdated are his history of magic books so he uses them and has to keep from laughing whenever he reads little doodles that his parents left in the margins like, “Binns is the most odious person alive dead” and “I bet Binns died from giving one of his boring lectures” and “Padfoot I’ll give you fifty galleons if you manage to make Binns cross over.” There’s games of tic-tac-toe and profanity and so much evidence of life that Harry can’t help but feel closer to his parents, in a way that “you look just like your dad but you have your mother’s eyes” couldn’t manage. 

(this is unrelated but I like to imagine that Binns sometimes gets Harry’s name wrong, and it’s not even that he sometimes calls him James, but he calls him Fleamont because the old ghost was teaching even back then). 

Harry finds old photo albums and Hermione has to talk him and Ron down from blackmailing Snape with old pictures of him as a gangly teenager because she really doesn’t want to prevent any murders, or Merlin forbid, expulsions. 

I might think of more but I just like to imagine Harry actually having things his parents had, because where did it all go? He deserves more than empty platitudes and mere memories, but evidence.

[malarki]

Harry Potter FanFiction I greatly enjoy (it’s just tomarry and sevitus)

Fair warning, I’m not good at describing stuff, and most of these are not complete (yet) but if you have similar tastes as I do then you’ll definitely like these stories.

Meddling of a Mischief Maker - by Athy

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380535/chapters/12427268

I enjoy this fic because it shows a more human Voldemort with him still being an asshole as per usual. They do a good job of having Voldemort believably change into a not crazy murderous bastard haha. It also has Sirius interacting with Voldemort and for some reason I find those scenes hilarious in any fic I read.

“Harry's being a horcrux is a bit reworked here in this AU Story set during the summer after 5th year. A Mischief Maker intervenes in the Ministry during Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel, changing the course history. MorallyGrey!Dumbledore, Sirius, Restored Souls, HP/TR”

Draw Me After You (Let Us Run) - by ToAStranger @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327684/chapters/53334382

This story is a delight, it’s tone is very good and they do a great job of writing in the characters ‘voices’ for their pov’s. I especially like the posh way Voldemort talks and acts. This story is also hilarious on top of just being a very good slowburn, AND it has Sirius, which as you might have guessed, I love dearly. They also don’t bash any of the characters, and instead make them well rounded but flawed individuals, which I really appreciate.

“Harry Potter,” comes the soft, sibilant hiss of a voice he has heard in his dreams, in his nightmares, in his waking hours for years.

Slowly, carefully, Harry twists over and pushes up onto his hands and knees. He stays there, short breath fogging in front of his face, and his pursuer lets him. Harry has no doubt of that; he’s being allowed this respite. This small moment to catch his bearings, heart pounding in his ears, blood singing.

“It seems I have finally caught you.”

Consuming Shadows - by Child_OTKW @childotkw

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7040089/chapters/16011331

I’ve read two of childOTKW’s fics and both of them are fantastically written and attention grabbing stories. This one was the first one I read, and it has a very interesting take on lily Potter (one which I really enjoy) and the plot can leave you on the edge of your seat at times. The characterization is great, and the process of Harry and Tom getting to know each other is done very well.

“His attention skipped passed the students and moved to the politicians’ pavilion. His gaze locked with crimson, and he nearly faltered under the sheer hunger in those eyes.

It unnerved him how fixated the man was on his dirtied, exhausted figure.

But what troubled him more was the slight smirk he could make out on the man’s lips. It was almost pleased.

On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husband’s life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard.

But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes.”

A story that is kind of similar but not really: The Train to Nowhere

You Belong To Me (I Belong To You) - by child_OTKW

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270490/chapters/25203408

This is a story inspired by the manwha ‘At The End Of The Road’ by Haribo. A comic I read before reading this, which is very good I recommend it. They do not take the exact plot from the comic though, obviously changing significant details for it to work properly as a Tomarry Fic, but one main thing stays the same, which is that this is a body swap. Honestly I really enjoy childOTKW’s works, and this is no exception. The characterization is wonderful as always, and Harry is Fantastic. Plus I’ve always been a fan of time travel fics. (Fair warning this is another slow burn and Harry centric)

“What I find absolutely fascinating,” Riddle said, stalking closer, “is you.” He marched forward, backing Harry up until he was pinned to the cool wall of the common room. “Do you know why?”

“No. And I’ll be honest here, Riddle, I don’t particularly care.”

The taller boy grinned at him, small yet infinitely pleased. “That. Right there.” One hand rose and brushed some of Harry’s fringe from his face. “Nathan Ciro was a spineless little boy too afraid of his own shadow to dare even glance in my direction. But you…”

He leaned closer, “You look at me like you want to stab me.”

“After an accident, Auror Harry Potter wakes up in the body of fourteen year old Nathan Ciro, a tormented Slytherin who recently tried to end his own life. Seeking answers to his strange predicament, Harry returns to Hogwarts, and causes quite the stir through staff and students - especially when they come to realise he is not the same boy as before.

He tries to avoid suspicion, but as his quest for the truth draws more and more attention to him, Harry begins to think that he might not like what he will discover.”

Some Bonus AU tomarry

A Thousand Paths Among The Stars - by Haplessshippo @haplesshippo

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12015060/chapters/27191238

This is a star trek au and it’s honestly my favorite tomarry au fic. Granted, I am a huge sci-fi fan. There’s also a bit of a twist at the end, or at least it surprised me, due to the way we usually expect tomarry plots to go.

“Harry Potter, newly appointed Captain of the Marauder and son of the famous Captain James Potter, was falling apart at the seams. His crew didn’t respect him, he was lost in the empty expanse of space, nightmares plagued his sleep, and his Commander deserved the Captain position more than he did. Good thing multiple attempts on his life and a vicious warlord after his head was all it took to turn it all around.

Alternatively, that space fic in which Harry Potter almost dies too many times, Tom Riddle slowly becomes the most smitten fool on the ship, and the rest of the crew are all just a bunch of assholes with popcorn watching the show. And exploding ships, don't forget the exploding ships.”

The Matchmaker - by TanninTele

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16507676/chapters/38664089

I am ALSO a huge true crime fan, and this story has a criminal that kinda reminds me of one that might appear in Hannibal (but with less murder). I enjoy the characterization, though tom is pretty tame in this compared to more cannon fics, considering he’s not the criminal and instead an investigator. Harry is also different from how people usually portray him, but I still like it.

“'The Matchmaker' is a serial abductor whose modus operandi consists of pairing two same-sex individuals together in a coffin, six feet underground - buried alive. He isn't a killer. He's a kidnapper with morals, and Detective Chief Inspector Tom Riddle finds himself obsessed with solving the case.

Unfortunately for Tom, the Matchmaker is just as intent on knowing him.”

And on to the Sevitus Stories

Far Beyond A Promise Kept - by oliversnape

https://archiveofourown.org/works/547431/chapters/974693

A classic, Harry stays with snape and unintentionally proves all his assumptions wrong and makes snape care about him. Both the stories have this aspect, but this one has snape a bit nicer from the get go. Probably because it takes place during the third book, so they’ve only known each other two years. It’s quite wholesome though, and I rather enjoy the progression of their relationship.

“Snape never wanted anyone to know of his promise to Dumbledore, but has realised that he can protect Potter much better by taking a less passive role in the boy's training. Actually liking Harry Potter has never been part of his plan. mentor/guardian.”

Crime And Punishment - by melolcatsi

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102232/chapters/58018174

Snape and Harry have way more of a rocky start in this one, and Snape having to pick Harry up from the police station Really Doesn’t Help Snape’s opinion of him. This story very realistically shows the progression of their relationship, going from enemies to family, and near the ‘end’ (it’s not finished) it becomes very wholesome with Snape trying to help Harry with his mental and physical health after years of abuse/ neglect.

“Harry is accused of burglary. The Dursleys leave him to rot. Dumbledore sends Snape to remedy the situation. Harry finds himself in the care of an irate Snape. Not slash, gen-fic w/ focus on Sevitus relationship. Angst galore. Warnings: coarse and suggestive language, mentions of abuse/neglect. Un-betaed and un-Britpicked.”

[sweeethinny]

Christmas Magic (M)

I wanted to do something for @fightfortherightsofhouseelves #hinnychristmasfest, and as a few days ago someone asked me about how I thought hinny's first time had happened, here it is :) thanks to Dusk who read that one shot yesterday, and the whole group of Hinny at Discord who advised me, helped me with my 8643846353 doubts. And thanks to Google, who explained many things to me so that I could make this as close to reality as possible.

AO3

---------------------

Warning: This chapter contains sex, and description of sex

‘’Hermione, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t look like sex.’’ Ginny said, rolling her eyes at the book in front of her. The anatomy of a woman and a man was well exposed on the page, each little part being explained as to why it served, and some even explained how.

‘’And what do you know? You are the one who came to ask me about it.’’ The friend took the book from Gin’s lap. ‘’What else did you expect it to be?’’ Hermione looked at her, and Ginny really wanted to tell her that she hoped it was less… biological, and more real and emotional. She didn't feel all that logical and scientific explanation when Harry touched her last week, not even when she touched him. It was far more chaotic than the book made it appear to be.

The author did not explain that you would feel in the clouds, and that your legs would become so limp that you would think that there were no bones in your body.

But maybe that would change when it came to sex.

‘’I don’t know, but it looks disgusting.’’ She frowned at the drawings in front of her.

‘’Well… I don’t know if there’s any other way to look.’’ Hermione said, shrugging her shoulders and closing the book, starting to look for another one in her huge pile.

‘’Hermione, but don’t you think there are things you can’t explain? Things that don't appear in an anatomy book?’’ Ginny asked, hoping that it would explain to her friend that sex couldn’t be just that. That should be more than... insert and rub. If it were just that, if it meant nothing more, then what fun would it have?

‘’Nah. What wouldn't appear in the books?’’

‘’I don’t know,’’ She shrugged. ''Maybe it will change depending on how you feel about the person, or… I don't know.'' Ginny gave up, getting up from her own bed and walking around the room, a little worried that maybe she wouldn't have made the right decision if only that summed up what it was sex.

Of course, Hermione knew about a lot, and human relationships were always a problem for her, but it didn't seem to be just that. It seemed that really, sex was just… biological. After all.

‘’Ginny, you read... This can increase the bond between two people, but honestly, I don’t think it would change anything more than that. Maybe you've just based yourself on too many novels, and you're thinking this will be the same.'' Hermione spoke quietly, almost as if she wanted to apologize to Ginny that she was dreaming too much about that moment. ‘’Authors tend to glamorize more than necessary in novel books.’’

''Yeah, maybe that's it.'' She nodded, taking her coat and cap from the rack behind the door. ‘ I’m going for a walk.’’ Ginny said, still somewhat discredited that she had been deceived by all those authors.

''Take care. I'll stay here if you want to talk.’’ Hermione spoke before Ginny closed the door, a little angry for the last hour she spent for nothing.

She and Harry hadn't been having much time since he started studying for the Auror exams and she for the NIEM, and every minute mattered a lot, so missing an hour that they could have talked, kissed, or even for throwing snow at each other, it seemed like a lot.

And Ginny didn't even come to an ideal conclusion.

Since the war ended and they came back - not that they had really separated, Ginny always said that - their relationship had evolved in a hurry that she did not regret. They went from, kissing under the peach tree in the daylight, to kissing at night on the lake (where they wore little clothing), and then, to finally kiss in her bed, and touch each other.

They have learned a lot since then. Harry was always patient and very concerned that he was doing it right, and that Ginny was enjoying it, so he paid close attention to all her signs and her advice. He didn't care when she put her hand over hims to help him, or when she asked him to stop because she didn't like it so much anymore.

Ginny also listened to him, even though Harry almost never complained, she learned that he liked when she paid special attention to his balls, his nipples were very sensitive too, and that like her, speed and angle also mattered.

Everything was quite intense and chaotic inside her, it was always as if something exploded and fireworks cut across the sky every time Harry made her feel in a new way, each miserable discovery seemed too much.

It was she who introduced the subject of sex to them. After she returned to Hogwarts alone - not for Hermione - Ginny had plenty of time to think about it. So when they met on one of the Hogsmeade tours and were alone, Gin commented that she wanted to. It was a strange thing, although it seemed right to communicate him about her will, she thought that maybe she was doing something wrong given Harry's minute of silence.

‘’I’ve also been thinking about it, but I didn’t want to be an idiot and make you feel pressured if I commented.’’ He said.

They talked then, she said that leaving aside the romance books where the couple had sex, she didn't know much. Nor did Harry, he said that Seamus used to take magazines to their dormitory, but that there was never a real explanation of what it was like to have sex. Which relieved Ginny, who was afraid to be the only stupid one there.

He said he was afraid it would hurt for her and that he didn't do it right, she said that they wouldn't easily do it right, but that they could learn together. And about the pain... she could handle it.

But if she was sincere, she wished there was a way to not hurt. It didn't seem so much fun if it hurt.

The two talked about their insecurities and fears, and it was interesting to be able to open up that way with Harry, made Ginny love him even more. And she couldn't even remember when he told about years with the Dursleys before Hogwarts, without wanting to cry again.

It was important to talk to him, she knew that.

The two decided they were going to get ready, Harry wanted her to be able to make the most of what he could provide, and Ginny wanted to not be so scared at the moment. 

First, she looked in magazines - muggles and magicians - but nothing seemed to really help her, because even though it was written that she didn't need to fear and that it was necessary to relax, they didn't teach how, and they made everything seem even more important and bigger than it already was. Ginny had to go to Hermione. She knew about everything, she had read all the books, she should have known about it.

But Ginny received that bucket of cold water. Hermione's books made her feel discouraged, the statistics and scientific data made Gin think that nothing was right, and that yes, maybe sex wasn't too much. Nothing more than a biological necessity.

What magazines made it seem like the most important moment, the books painted as just a matter of science.

Ginny was confused.

She wanted to have sex with Harry, while she was a little too discouraged, but she also didn't want to throw in the towel and give up when they had already gone so far. Perhaps there could be a middle ground? Something that would make people sleep with others besides carnal need?

So she went for her second option, even though she was reluctant.

She had another week of Christmas break before she had to go back, and maybe the two of them couldn't even get time together to be able to enjoy it decently, but she just needed to talk to someone. Maybe on Easter break when she got back, or during a trip to Hogsmeade, they could do it. Perhaps she was more prepared, then.

‘’Ginny!’’ Fleur said as soon as she opened the door and found her sister-in-law standing there, her cheeks flushed with the wind and looking more nervous than usual. ''It's all right? Come in!''

‘’Yes.’’ Ginny said, cursing herself for having to ask her for help. ‘‘Bill in?’’

‘’No, he left just now.. do you want to wait for him? It shouldn't take long--’’

'' --No, he better not be around.'' Her voice came out a little too hard, and Ginny forced herself to clear her throat and calm down, thinking that if it weren't for Fleur, she wouldn't have anyone else to talk to about it. - her mother was not an option. ‘’I came here… I came to ask you for help.’’

‘’Oh…’’ Fleur nodded, a little wary. ''Sure. Take off your coat, I'll make tea for us.'' She was being very polite, which Ginny thought was good, because if she had to deal with the same arrogance of Fleur from the past at a time like that, maybe she would just give up and tell Harry that they had better do it without even knowing how it worked.

She took off her coat, gloves, snow-soiled shoes and cap, then, following her brother's house, Ginny reached the kitchen. She didn't quite know how she was going to start talking or how she would feel when she said something so intimate to Fleur, but maybe there wasn't much theater to do and she just had to tell her the truth.

‘’What brings you here?’’ Fleur appeared, floating the cups, milk and sugar in front of her. ‘’Let's sit on the couch, it’s more comfortable there.’’ Ginny nodded and followed. ‘’I hope it’s ‘ze way you like it.’’

‘’Thank you, it’s great.’’ Ginny poured herself the milk and dropped the amount of sugar she liked, taking the hot liquid to see if maybe that would give her enough courage. ‘’Hm .. Fleur, I wanted to ask you something.’’ She started, taking a deep breath and not looking at her sister-in-law. ‘’But you can’t comment on Bill. Not even with my mother.’’

‘‘My mouth is a grave.’’ She signaled as if she had closed her mouth, blond eyebrows raised slightly as she stared. ‘’You’re worrying me a little bit.’’

‘’Harry and I were talking about… Er .. Sex, and I wanted to ask you for help with that.’’ Ginny felt her cheeks were on fire, it was as if the sun was in front of her, so great was the heat. ‘’I don’t know .. I don’t know how to do it, and I think you can help me with that.’’ She admitted, feeling a little more failed than she imagined.

‘’Oh… I can help you with ‘zat, of course.’’ Fleur cleared her throat, placing her cup on the coffee table and facing Ginny. ''What you want to know?''

‘’Everything.’’ Ginny also put down her cup. ‘’Hermione showed me some anatomy books, and I read some magazines, but .. it doesn’t seem very real.’’ Fleur nodded, seeming to think about it. She shifted a little uncomfortably on the sofa and ran a hand through her blond hair, as if searching for the right words.

‘’Ok .. Let’s start at ‘ze beginning; you want this? You know, sometimes we end up feeling pressured to do it, even if ‘ze guy doesn't say it. And sex is an important step, it’s a level of intimacy that you need to be sure of what you’re doing.’’

‘’Of course I do. I was the one who told him I wanted to.’’ Ginny said, confident enough to face Fleur back, not her and Bill's picture frame on their wedding day. ‘’Harry doesn’t pressure me.’’

‘’Good.’’ Fleur nodded. ''If you feel ‘zat way, you need to know ‘zat... ‘zat it can be awful ‘ze first time, because it's ‘ze first time, and that's okay, practice makes perfect.'' She blinked, and Ginny felt her own cheeks flush like fire again, but continued to stare at her sister-in-law. ‘’If ‘Arry .. does things for you first, you’ll be able to enjoy ‘zit more, without feeling so uncomfortable, you know? It's something new, your body is not used to it, so the more relaxed and comfortable ‘ze better. And .. live ‘zat moment, it can last minutes, or seconds, but it is an important experience, maybe even more for ‘Arry. You are new, a long time ago to gain skill and improve performance.''

‘’What if I don’t think anything is too much? And if it’s just… I don’t know, but if it’s boring?’’ She asked, curiosity and fear dueling in her chest.

‘’Ginny, if it were boring, you wouldn’t have ‘zat many siblings.’’ Fleur said, finding it funny even though Gin had made a face at the image. ‘’Sex has to be good for both of you, don’t be shy about asking ‘Arry to do something for you, or change, or even stop. If you want him to stop in the middle and have him stimulate you in another way, that's fine. If you want it to just stop, you can say it too. Sex is communication, you can't just stand there like a dead man.’' The two laughed, much to Ginny's surprise.

‘’Hermione thinks sex isn’t anything other than human need.’’ She commented, not wanting to gossip about her friend, just wanting to get it out of her mind. Fleur shrugged.

‘’It goes beyond that, but I think she will only know when to do it. It’s a different experience for each person, you know? If you want to know, on my first time, I was bored and hated doing that, I thought it was not for me. Afterwards, I just understood what I liked and what I wanted.’’ She smiled sweetly, in a way that Ginny wasn’t very used to seeing. Not that those looks were directed at her, because they were usually for Bill. ‘’You’ll see, just live in the moment and don’t put so much pressure on you two. It’s the first time, not the last.’’

 [...]

 Ginny and Fleur had talked for a while longer that day, and after Bill arrived and was suspicious as to why Ginny was there, she went back to the house. Fleur had convinced her to buy nice clothes for their date; ‘’Not ‘zat you have sex that day, but just to prevent it.’’

On the 24th, the day of their date, Ginny dressed up like never before.

She carefully braided her hair on the side, put on the most beautiful earrings she had (Aunt Muriel's earnings, a few years ago), put on makeup so that her pale face didn't resemble a skull so much, painted her lips an intense red, and she wore the lingerie she had bought - even if they did nothing, she wouldn’t play with fate and let Harry see her with colorless panties and a bra that couldn’t hold anything anymore - and the thick pantyhose that would keep her legs warm.

When it came time for the outfit, Ginny had to stand for a few minutes in front of the pile in her closet, wondering which of those sweaters best suited the skirt she had separated earlier. There were some she stole from Ron, the ones her mother stitch for Christmas, some from George... She didn't have a decent shirt.

She was never on a date itself, even those in Hogsmeade it didn't seem that important.

It was the first time the two of them were going out on their own, for a real date, and it was Christmas, she had to be presentable, even though Harry didn't care and made it clear that he thought she was beautiful even with her torn pajama pants. Ginny cared.

Searching deeper into her mess, she found a sweater that she didn't even remember existed, maybe she received it as a gift in the fourth year, from her parents, or ... she didn't remember, but it wasn't important. The sweater had no holes in it, nor did it look old, and none of her brothers had worn it before, which was perfect. Besides, the fabric was thick enough that Ginny wouldn't freeze to death outside.

After finishing putting on her boots, zipping up her navy blue skirt, and getting comfortable in her white sweater and turtleneck, Ginny was ready. Anxious as never before and looking every second at the slim watch on her wrist.

Harry had said he would drop by to pick her up at six and it was still half past five… Maybe Ginny was in a hurry. Maybe when he arrived, she would show that she was anxious.. Should she have put on that red lipstick?  Was it the best option to go out with a lipstick like that, when you intended to make out with your boyfriend? Maybe she was underdressed because Harry wanted to take her to a very fancy restaurant?

Ginny should look for a better outfit, she--

‘’Gin?’’ The voice startled her, causing her to drop the perfume bottle on top of the pile of clothes she had shifted to the right, and slowly turned to find Harry and her door, looking almost more distressed than she was. ‘’Everything okay?’’ He looked at the mess around her, a chuckle rising from his lips.

‘’Yes, yes.’’ She composed herself, smiling from ear to ear and walking towards him, looking much calmer now that he was there.

Harry was simple, new dark jeans, a gray sweater and his sneakers. He didn't seem to be going to a chic and elegant restaurant - which would use more than 7 cutlery and 3 different glasses -, which calmed her down and made her take a deep breath while hugging him tightly and breathing in his scent.

‘’I brought this for you.’’ He showed her the bouquet hidden behind his back, his right hand shaking slightly as he handed her the flowers. There were all kinds of flowers, jasmine, yellow roses, even blue flowers, and it was the most romantic and cute thing she had ever won. ‘’I didn’t know what your favorites were then, I just chose the most beautiful ones.’’

‘’Harry, it’s beautiful.’’ Ginny kissed him, not needing to stretch this time, thankful for the heels of her boot. ‘’You look beautiful too.’’ She whispered against his mouth, his arms around her waist and keeping their contact even closer.

''Thanks. You're not too bad either.’’ He raised an eyebrow, a wry little smile. ‘’The skirt is fully approved.’’

‘’As if I care what you think of my outfit.’’ Ginny lifted her chin, holding her laugh and placing the flowers in a vase she had conjured. ''We are ready?''

''Yes. I was happy not to run into your parents… it would be strange.’’ Harry made a cute face, wrinkling his nose and wrinkling his forehead. ‘’Your mom would have made a fuss about the flowers.’’

''Of course she would.'' Ginny put her arm around Harry's, letting him guide her through her own home. ‘’She gave me a speech yesterday about how you’ve been changing since you’ve been with me… Apparently everyone is talking about how happy you and I are.’’

‘’They talk too much. They should start worrying about their navels themselves.’’ The two donned their jackets, gloves and cloaks, ready to face the cold outside. ‘’But, I’ve been happier on your side than I have been in my past..16 years? I think.’’ Harry stopped to think, looking at the floor as if he was digging deeply. ‘’Yes, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.’’

‘’And you had to think about it?’’ Ginny pushed his shoulder slightly, already walking out of the house. ‘‘How come I’m not the first and last thought of your day?’’ Harry laughed, openly, in the way that made her laugh and feel her stomach churn.

‘’But you are.’’ He took her arm again, ready to Apparate wherever they were going. ''I was just kidding. I don't need to think too hard to know that I've never been as happy as I am with you.'' Harry said, looking at her as if that was the simplest thing to say, as if he didn't do things for her that Ginny never thought she would feel.

So they Apparated.

It was a place she had never been to. Well, she didn’t walk around London much, so it didn’t mean much, but in particular that place, she didn’t even know it existed.

There were lights, lots of lights, and it looked like it came out of a fairy tale book. She felt like a muggle when they witnessed magic. It was unbelievable that something like that existed.

''Where are we?’’ She couldn’t stop looking and maybe her neck would hurt if she stayed like that for several minutes, but it was totally worth it.

There were those boxes with teddy bears inside and something that Ginny didn't quite understand what it was, that were trying to grab the toy. On the other side, there were stalls with foods so fragrant that she could already feel her belly growling with hunger. And even though she looked at everything and Harry walked around calmly and also looked shocked by that place, it looked like they couldn't make it to the end or see everything.

‘’Hyde Park.’’ Harry was also looking everywhere, and even though the wind seemed to cut their cheeks, neither of them seemed to care. ''This is amazing.''

‘‘Yes.’’ Ginny’s eyes flashed with the big wheel that spun ahead. ‘’And we’re magicians.’’

[...]

 The two had enjoyed themselves at various attractions. They took pictures together with reindeer ears and eating cotton candy, rode the ferris wheel and could see London from above - it was different to be in heaven and not on a broom -, ate and bought several things, and finally, they skated on the rink of ice. A very ... different experience.

‘’We’re worse than that little boy under eight years old.’’ Ginny muttered a little irritably, getting up from what looked like the fifth tumble in less than ten minutes.

''My ass is freezing.'' Harry circled her, not looking much firmer than the old woman next to them.

‘’We should know how it goes.’’ Ginny tried again, flexing her knees and straightening her arms like that 12 year old girl had taught her, managing to walk more than two meters without falling. ‘‘We already ride a broom.’’ She whispered to Harry beside her who risked spinning around like a woman had done. ‘’That was terrible.’’

‘’Don’t laugh at me!’’ He barked, but he also laughed. ‘’I’m trying.’’ They held hands, ready to make the curve that had made them fall like two stooges. ‘’There’s no need for despair…’’

‘’You were the one who despaired when that little girl passed us.’’

‘’She was whirling in the air!’’ Harry stared at her, eyes wide. ‘’And she mustn’t even be ten years old.’’

‘’Calm down, love, we’re doing great.’’ Ginny laughed, managing to stop and without hitting the ground. ‘’We’re learning, see? It was only the first few times, then we take the practice.’’

''You're right.'' Harry walked around her again, a silly smile in his eyes. ‘’Please try not to be jealous.’’

‘’I’m going to try, Potter.’’ She rolled her eyes, following him up the track again, dodging people in a mastery that shocked her.

‘’Look at you! Without pushing anyone this time.’’ Harry said, also dodging and getting back to her side. ''We were born for this.''

‘’Yes.’’ She smiled proudly. ‘’I knew we were going to make it ... Want to try to spin like that little girl? I hold it around your waist.’’ Ginny winked at Harry, who laughed denying and getting a little flushed when the guy who passed them laughed at both of them.

 [...]

 The day seemed much quieter than it used to be at Hogwarts. Ginny could hear birds singing in the window, but nothing that resembled the morning conversations of roommates, owls flying, people already walking and talking loudly. It was much more cozy.

It was also better when Harry was hugging her half naked, sighing softly and looking completely at peace.

They had returned from the park well after ten o'clock, they still strolled the streets and bought hot chocolate to drink in the comfort of Harry's house. Molly had not enjoyed Ginny sleeping with him, especially when George and Ron weren't there and the two would be alone, but Harry convinced her that they would be fine and that they would be at The Burrow early.

Ginny felt a little anxious when she allowed them to realize that they were alone, Harry was only wearing sweatpants and she was only wearing his T-shirt - even if she had continued with the lingerie, because ... a woman could hope. At the same time that her thighs tightened at the thought, a part of her brain began to process the whole idea.

She still had remnants of yesterday's makeup, and her breath was not the best, other than the hair that was a mess. But Harry was being a very comfortable and warm pillow ... Maybe she could make breakfast for their both? That way she would have reason to get up and look in the mirror.

And that's what she did, after ten more comfortable minutes in her boyfriend's embrace, she slipped out and started her mission. They might not even have sex today, but Ginny was also not going to be with him on bad breath and in the mood to pee.

After taking care of everything needed, Ginny went to the kitchen and started her second job; Cook. She knew the basics, pancakes, frying eggs, sauteed mushrooms, and could even risk making that tea that Harry liked so much. They had to be at her mother's house until ten, and it wasn't even nine yet, she had time.

The kitchen was neat and complete, with utensils she didn't even know what it were for, and like the rest of the house, it was a lot tidier than you'd expect where 3 guys lived. The windows were large and there was plenty of light, the carpets were - at least every time Ginny was there - in place and clean, and there were no socks thrown around the house. Even the plants Hermione bought for them were alive.

Harry always said that George was much more organized than he showed, and that Ron was the only one who ended up leaving things out of place - and she knew that Harry had a terrible cleaning habit thanks to his aunt, which explained the always clean house .

When the pancakes were almost ready and Ginny was pouring tea, she heard footsteps behind her.

‘’I thought you wouldn’t wake up anymore.’’ She said, without looking back, spilling the milk as she knew Harry liked it, waiting for the pancake to finish cooking.

‘’Being happy is tiring.’’ Harry murmured, his husky voice making her skin crawl. ‘’You didn’t need to do this.’’

‘’I wanted to,’’ She shrugged. ‘’And I was hungry.’’

‘’We could have dealt with that too.’’ Harry laughed softly, making Ginny bite her lip and laugh too. ‘’Merry Christmas.’’ He wrapped his arms around her waist, his head resting against her right shoulder.

‘’Merry Christmas.’’ She looked at him, almost knocked over by his cute beauty.

There were days when Harry or she ran away from their rooms and slept together, the nightmares were still quite present and each other's presence there was quite comforting. But something about not having to wake up almost five in the morning to get back to her own room before someone woke up, didn't let her enjoy his face when she woke up; all crumpled by the pillow, his hair even more wild, his eyes a little puffy and small.

Ginny wanted to squeeze his cheeks and kiss him.

‘’Do we still have time before we need to go to your mom’s house?’’ He was looking at her in a way that wasn’t as simple as it normally was. The green eyes were darkening and the pupils dilated, and his breathing seemed to be much faster than before.

Ginny didn't think she was getting any different, feeling the warmth of his bare chest on her back, her belly tightened and the hunger seemed to disappear suddenly, staring at Harry so close, both wearing less clothes than usual, the little sunlight illuminating his face and making him look even more handsome with slightly burnt cheeks of the Cold.

 ‘’We have plenty of time.’’ She spoke almost in a whisper, her body seeming to burn in a new and delicious way.

‘’Good.’’ Harry spoke before he kissed her. It was a kiss that also seemed new, much less delicate than all the others they had already given, even those given at times when the two were very connected and hot.

It was much more hungry, needy, and intimate than everyone else.

Things proceeded with a naturalness that Ginny did not expect. It was like a dance that they had done millions and millions of times together, synchronized with each step and never losing a beat or bumping into each other's feet. It seemed as right as saying that today was Christmas, that it was cold outside, and that she loved him with all her heart.

They danced together in the kitchen, Ginny leaning against the counter as the light came in more and more and the birds sang even louder. Then they went to Harry's room, their hands seeming to take on a life of their own during that short journey, exploring and longing for the moment that there were no more pieces of clothing to stop them.

‘’Are we doing this?’’ She asked, in a hushed voice from Harry’s kisses. His hands went up under her shirt, touching the skin on her belly and looking a little shaky when they touched the bra seam.

‘’Only if you want.’’ He murmured against the skin of her neck, looking a little anxious. ‘’You’re the boss’’ Harry looked at her, his glasses crooked on his face and the black strands being lit by the incoming sunlight, showing some reddish brown strands that Ginny had never noticed.

Her heart exploded, looking at the man on top of her who made her feel things that no one ever dreamed of making her feel. Harry didn't even make an effort to make her feel her body on fire.

Hermione was wrong, Ginny realized, it was about feelings, about giving in, about being comfortable with the other. This was not just science, it was about trusting and a lot of things she had no idea about, she just felt.

She felt the tightness in her thighs, her belly swirling in flames, her head becoming cloudy with any coherent thought beyond her imagination, working hard to remember the times she imagined it.

She imagined that when Michael pressed against her the first time and made her feel like he was feeling during the kiss; it was Harry over there. When Dean touched your breasts; it was Harry over there. When Harry touched her under her skirt in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, the two of them in complete darkness, she pressed against the tree and he moaned in her ear when he first felt her. It was always Harry.

On the nights when her imagination was simmering while reading a novel, during the year that he ran away so she wouldn't feel so alone, during the days after the war when they kissed at the lake, when she returned to Hogwarts and Harry was going visit her clandestinely.

It wasn't just science, friction and something biological.

‘’We’re doing this.’’

Then the dance - the one that Ginny already knew a few steps from - started to unfold naturally.

His shirt found the floor and Harry widened his eyes at her lingerie, stopping to kiss her to run his hand over the lace on her breasts and then dropping down to engage the lace on her hips, looking lost with the light blue fabric that left little for the imagination.

''Wow.'' Harry muttered, looking much more hungry than she remembered seeing him, and Ginny can't help but blush and want to hug her body as if to protect herself.

‘’Does it serve as a Christmas present?’’ She said, trying to sound as confident as possible, but feeling more embarrassed than when she sent the valentine card to Harry when she was 11.

‘’You don’t even have to try so hard, honestly.’’ Harry laughed, which made her laugh, relieved that there wasn’t a strange atmosphere around them. Fleur said that this could sometimes happen - ‘’It’s also important for most boys.’’

‘’Good, because you need to be careful with that, it’s the most beautiful thing in my entire wardrobe.’’ Ginny pointed at her body. ‘’You’ll see me using it more often.’’

‘’Oh.’’ Harry’s eyebrows almost hit the ceiling.‘’So will there be other moments? Ginny, please, we've barely started, don't put so much pressure on a man.’’ She tapped his arm, blushing like a little girl and laughing at his boldness to feel so confident when the two were about to have sex for the first time.

‘’Shut up, Harry.’’ She asked - or order - and kissed him, hands firm on the back of his neck so that it was impossible for him to get away from her again. Not that Harry looked like he wanted to run away, but it was just a worry that was in the back of her mind.

They didn't speak much after that. His mouth parted from her lips, but instead of speaking, Harry dedicated himself to kissing every bit of her, the sun illuminating his skin and hair, as he descended more and more, looking quite focused on not forgetting any details.

His hands also strolled over Ginny, soon reaching for her back and lifting her off the mattress so that he could properly open her bra, causing chills that she never thought to feel. It was different from the times he took her bra off just in moments of making out, it seemed much hotter now, almost feverish, even though it was cold outside.

Ginny's whole body seemed to be on fire, as if summer had come earlier and she was resting under the sun, feeling her skin warm and starting to get that usual red hue. But this time, it didn't burn and made her want to die because of the discomfort. No, this time Ginny was willing to burn. It was one of the best feelings.

Gradually Harry's hand went down her belly, his mouth going down to her now naked breasts, and everything working in a synchronized order that was delicious to feel. Her organs tightened when he finally reached below her navel, on top of the tissue that was starting to become too uncomfortable.

They had never been in that state of nudity, usually pants, a skirt, or even a T-shirt, were on the body, and even though Ginny was feeling insecure because they were so on display for Harry before, now she just wanted nothing more to be among them, that Harry's hand could actually touch her flesh, that he didn't wear anything else too.

‘’Harry.’’ Ginny spoke, the feeling of pleasure building with each second. He had really learned to use his mouth - not his teeth, as he used to do at the beginning.

She squeezed his hand with her own, lifting it up to put it inside her panties, which made him laugh; ‘’You’re in a hurry.’’

‘’Just… hurry up.’’

Harry fulfilled her wish, not only using his hand but also finally getting his face between Ginny's legs. Taking off her panties and looking at that synchronicity they had learned together that made her know heaven and hell in a short time.

It was a little devastating that Harry was so good, and that it made Ginny feel so good when he was there, making her more and more noisy and more and more anxious for reach the peak of the mountain where everything seemed too good, and nothing could stop her from just throwing herself up there, feeling the most powerful person in the world.

Harry groaned along with Ginny when she came, her hands caught in his hair, she was barely able to keep her eyes open as she arched and received a good deal of sunlight from the window behind her, that fireball that had formed in her belly seeming to explode.

It was almost painful, it felt so good.

The next few seconds were followed by a rush and anxiety that Ginny was unaware of. In one moment Harry was in the middle of her legs, in another, he was on top of her naked, moaning her name when her hand snaked over her abdomen and reached for his dick.

It was a perfect dance. Desperate. But still, Ginny enjoyed it.

‘’I want it to be good for you.’’ He murmured against her neck, groaning as Ginny tormented him a little.

‘’Harry, you’re already done.’’ She admitted, sincerely.

‘’I… I don’t know if I can take much.’’

''And I'm not really mad about it ...'' Ginny used her other hand to lift his face, to feel a little breathless at how dark his eyes were, his huge pupils looking like holes in the orbs green. ‘’We have all the time in the world. It's only the first time.’’ She shrugged, stopping masturbating so that it really made him concentrate. ''I love you.''

‘’I love you too.’’ Harry kissed her, in love and making her melt on top of the sheets, still getting used to the orgasm that had totally relaxed her. ‘’Please tell me if you want to stop or if hurt.’’ His voice came out a little hoarse, muffled by the fact that they were still kissing.

When Ginny first felt him there, it was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was strange, different, and kind of uncomfortable. But it was still good. Each time he went in it was as if her body expanded and prepared for the act. It was as if all of her had been waiting for years for that sensation that she couldn't describe what it was.

‘’No,’’ She grabbed Harry’s shoulder when he threatened to take it off, perhaps afraid that her contraction would mean something other than just that she was getting used to it. ‘’It's okay, put it back.’’

It was a dance that Harry and she seemed to be unable to dance to, but the music was not entirely unknown. They knew the melody, now they just had to align the steps.

Ginny waited patiently for the pain Fleur had said she could feel, just like Hermione commented, but all she felt was a slight discomfort - like that when you first get on a broom and don't know what to do with your hands and hands. feet - and then, nothing more, just that expansion that was almost good to feel.

When Harry finally found his pelvis with hers, the birdsong seemed to fill the room, along with the sounds they made as they settled. It was as if they understood what to do with their hands when it came to music, and now they could start waltzing without getting so lost.

‘’Everything okay?’’ He asked, his voice in a tone Ginny had never heard before, looking almost filled with pain and lust just as much.

''Yes. You?’’ They stared at each other, breathing what seemed to be all the air in the room. Or the world.

''Everything's good.''

‘’Are you… are you going to move?’’ Ginny didn’t want to rush him, but the melody seemed to start to speed up in her ears and her body was wishing they didn’t stand still as they were.

‘’Just… I just need a second.’’ Harry closed his eyes, hands steady beside Gin, supporting his weight and seeming to tremble slightly, as if it were too much for him. She was happy to know that it was also messing with him.

Ginny felt strangely good when Harry finally moved, it was still weird - very weird - but he seemed to be doing things for her that she wouldn't know how to explain, even if she thought hard (which she couldn't do). It seemed to mess with all of her inside, as if from one hour to the next, the music changed and took on a rhythm so different and new that you stand between paying attention to learn to sing the lyrics, and dancing awkwardly just following intuition.

It was as if all parts of it, the room, the world, moved out of place and were rearranged differently.

‘‘Sorry.’’ Harry startled her when his glasses fell on her face, his cheeks flushed and sweat was pricking his forehead, looking more focused than she had ever seen.

‘’Let it go.’’ She left his glasses anywhere else, her hands holding Harry’s face as if Ginny never really realized how committed he was to making it good. All focused and anxious, as if he was afraid he might hurt her. ‘’Babe,’’ Gin whispered, as if sharing a secret. ‘‘Let go.’’ She knew it would be difficult for Harry to hold on until they understood how to dance that song the right way. They took many attempts to learn how to use their mouth and hands, but, one hour they learned, at least Harry never complained and she never did.

They had all the time in the world.

The birds sang louder, just as the bed creaked when Harry moved again, kissing her and losing some of the balance he kept in his arms, seeming to finally free himself from the desire to reach perfection when they were just starting.

Harry said her name in a way that would torment Ginny for the rest of her life, she knew that, tightening the sheets even more at the side of her head and biting her bottom lip as it curled over her. The world seemed to stop spinning, the sky let all the stars fall, and everything inside her seemed to change.

She could never forget that.

That’s why they didn’t write it in the books, so there was no data, articles, and difficult names for that; it simply was. It just happened and changed the order of everything. There was no way to explain an event like that.

Harry moaning her name and losing all of his remaining strength, falling on top of her and looking almost shaky, grabbing her like she was the only thing that still kept him on Earth.

It was much more than Fleur, and especially Hermione, they could report.

Ginny wanted to cry, even though it was completely stupid and meaningless, she wanted to cry.

‘’I love you.’’ She said, the birds singing and the sunlight illuminating the two even more now.

Harry continued to hug her, also looking shaken.

‘’Sorry I didn’t make you come, I swear I tried and--’’

‘’--Harry,’’ Ginny interrupted, not knowing how he had the courage to apologize. ‘’Don’t say that. I liked it, I swear.’’ She assured him, feeling his body relax over hers. ‘’We still have a lot of time to learn.’’

‘‘We have.’’ He kissed her shoulder. '’Merry Christmas, Gin. You make me the happiest man in the world.’’

‘’Are you saying that because we just had sex?’’ Harry laughed, looking at her and smiling from ear to ear, even though he looked sleepy.

‘’I’m saying this because it’s the truth. You made me the happiest man in the world yesterday too, and we don't have sex... You always do.'' Ginny blushed, laughing softly and feeling that tightness in her stomach that she always felt when he said things like that to her.

‘’You also make me the happiest woman in the world, Harry.’’ She winked at him, kissing the tip of a finger and touching the tip of his nose. ''Merry Christmas.''

[scvrllet]

our secret place / r.b

Pairing: Regulus Black x Reader

Summary: You’ve grown used to taking autumn walks by yourself but weren’t agaisnt having someone join you

Prompt: Going For A Walk

Words: 1.6k

A/N: This is my piece for @eleven-times-lively​​ and @masterofthedarkness​​‘ A Very Harry Potter Halloween event. bro it was 1:21am when i wrote this because i forgot i had to have this posted for today

Dried leaves littered the ground in hues of red, orange, yellow and brown. The trees were bare and the air was becoming cooler with every passing day. Winter was getting close which meant you had limited time to enjoy the autumn weather before snow would pack down. 

For the past six years you enjoy your autumn walks alone, or at least tried to. After your third year you had grown used to the feeling of loneliness but that didn’t stop the feeling entirely.

Before you were sent to Hogwarts, you would take autumn walks with your friends and family. It became a tradition to spend at least one day out in a forest or park where the leaves crunched beneath your feet. It was one of your fondest memories and one thing you missed the most while away at Hogwarts. Taking those walks alone felt lonely and going on walks during the summer time with your friends and family felt different. You quickly realized that you’d have to settle for those walks. 

From time to time you’d miss the laughter and conversations made during those walks you once took with friends and family but you knew there was nothing you could quite do to fill that void. Your friends didn’t seem to like the idea of walks, finding there to be ‘better things to do instead’ as they phrased it so you had stopped offering and just went by yourself.

You’d be a little sad at first when you started your walks, wishing for one of them to run up and join you but it never happened. You could only dream.

Today you took the same path as you always did. The narrow path behind Hagrid’s Hut which, after a few twists and turns, would lead you to a wider walking trail lined with tall trees. If you’d walk far enough, you’d even come across a pond with ducks and frogs and flowers all around it. The area was beautiful and even more during the autumn season. You had discovered the area when you were taking an old route back in fourth year and had gotten lost. This resulted in you ending up near the pond for the first time and after you found an easier way of reaching it, you made sure to visit it as much as possible to bask in its beauty. 

When you neared the pond, you stopped frozen in your tracks when you heard laughter from the pond. You were certain that no one knew about it but if someone had found it, why have you never ran into them before and more importantly, why today. 

Debating on whether you should turn around to leave or stay to find out who it was, you eventually chose the lather and quietly walked towards the source of the laughter.

Their back was facing you as they crouched down at the lake. A flock of ducks in the water were in front of them and you assumed that was the cause of their laughter. Ducks were amusing creatures after all. As the figure of the boy at the pond became clearer to you, you had briefly forgotten about being quiet which led you to walk into a tree. 

“Ow. Stupid tree!” You muttered, scowling at the tree as you rubbed your arm which thankfully, didn’t get cut on the rough bark. 

“Are you okay?” The boy from the pond asked, now standing in front of you with a concerned expression. 

“Oh yeah, I am. Thank you.”

You had felt like you had seen him before but you couldn’t exactly pinpoint how. There was just something about his grey eyes that seemed so familiar to you.

“How did you find this place?” He asked you.

“Found it back in fourth year. Well, I technically got lost and stumbled in but same thing.” You replied causing him to chuckle. You raised a brow at him before asking: “Something funny?” 

The boy didn’t stop like you had expected him to but instead smiled at you. “Yes, I find your story rather funny. Probably because I found it the same way as well, except it was second year for me instead.” He said, finding your shocked expression amusing and another reason to laugh. “Did you think that only you knew about this place too?” 

Embarrassed for having thought you were lucky to have found a secret spot all for yourself, you faced the ground and nodded. Hopefully he would assume it was the autumn breeze that was making your cheeks red and not because you were feeling embarrassed. 

“Well then, seeing as for the past four years I’ve only seen you here, it can be our little secret. I doubt the other students would have the nerve to go so deep into the forest.” He suggested and you smiled at him, an action he mirrored back before realizing he hadn’t introduced himself and extended his hand. “Regulus Black by the way.” 

So that was why he seemed so familiar. The Blacks were a well-known pureblood wizarding family in Great Britain. Aside from being one of the most noble and ancient pureblooded families left, they were also known for their good looks. Notable features of the Blacks were cool grey eyes and black unruly locks, both of which Regulus had inherited. It was a wonder how you haven’t recognized him sooner.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” You replied as you shook his hand. It was cold, you noticed, soft but quite cold. 

“How have I never seen you here?” Now it was your turn to ask the questions. He had mentioned that he’s only ever seen you here before so that would have meant you should’ve seen him as well. 

“I didn’t want to bother you.” Was his answer and a wave of realization washed over you. 

“And that’s what I’m doing right now. Oh god I’m so sorry, I can leave if you’d like?” You offered with a weak smile. Perhaps you shouldn’t have decided to investigate who the person by the lake was. Especially when he’s been purposely making sure not to bother for the past two years. Merlin you were an idiot. 

“No no, it’s alright. I don’t mind you being here, honestly. It is our secret little place now after all.” 

You scanned his face for any sign of lying and/or silent pleading for you to go away but you found none. He genuinely didn’t mind you being here when he could’ve been alone and despite only having met him five minutes ago, you didn’t mind having him here either. 

“Well since it’s our little secret, how do you feel about going on a walk?” It felt like you were holding your breath as you waited for his reply. 

You had to stop yourself from signing in relief when he said: “I’d like that.” with a small smile. You mirrored the expression before motioning for him to stand by your side before walking down the pathway that led towards the pond. The two of you walked for what felt like hours but the fact didn’t seem to bother any of you. A majority of the time you were both too busy laughing or talking to notice anyways. 

It wasn’t until when the sun had started to set behind the mountains that the two of you realized just how long you have been out. Extending his hand out for you to take, you hesitated for a moment before clasping your hands in his. When you were firmly holding his hand he smiled at you before running , catching you off-guard and pulling you along with him.

When you were finally able to match his pace and run alongside him, still hand in his, the two of you laughed as you imagined what would happen if Filch had caught you sneaking back into school when students were supposed to have been in their Common Rooms. 

“If we get caught you’re buying me a Butterbeer.” You said when you neared the school. 

“Deal.” He replied before walking inside the school with his still holding your hand. 

The halls were empty and you could hear the faint noise coming from the Great Hall. You could both probably make it there without getting caught if luck was on your side. 

“Students in the corridor! Students in the corridor!” Filch’s voice echoed through the hall that you and Regulus were walking through. 

“Shit.” You heard Regulus mutter before turning the corner and running down the hall. The two of you ran through many different corridors and hallways before he pulled you into an empty classroom and locked the door. It was then that he had finally let go of your hand.

The two of you stood there, hands on your knees as you tried to catch your breath before breaking out into a fit of laughter. 

“Did you see his face?” 

“No, I was too busy trying to make sure he didn’t see us!” 

“I’ve never seen his eyes go so wide you should’ve seen it.” 

Silence followed after you had both calmed down. Had it been with anybody else, just standing there in front of each other, it would have been a very awkward experience but for some reason, it felt normal when you were with him. 

Despite only knowing him for a few hours, it felt normal, like you were supposed to be doing this. 

The two of you looked at each other with lazy smiles, enjoying the comforting silence until you opened your mouth to say: “You still owe me a Butterbeer.” 

“Only if we can do this all over again after.” He said. 

You knew you were supposed to say no. It would risk you House Points. Bloody hell it could even risk you expulsion if you were to get caught enough times and yet you agreed and shot him a warm smile. 

“As long it’s with you.” 

----------

Regulus Black Taglist: @marvelsmerc @hec1930 @jjklefttoe @mxchiefxmxnagement​

General HP Taglist: @birdie-writes @lunaralpha270 @tinylumpiaa @slytherin-chaser @bloodblossom73 @pcseidcnsvoid @mischiefsemimanaged @accio-rogers @iamak20 @klaus-m-trash @obsessedwithrandomthings @susceptible-but-siriusexual @masterofthedarkness @lupins-sweater @hariosborn @vernon-dursley @slytherinwriter618 @missmulti @sambucky8 @a-c-lee @criesinlies 

Permanent Taglist: @sleep-i-ness @emmaloo21 @62442-am @flowersgrewbackasth0rns @un-limit-edd @angelicbabybutterfly @a-golden-sunflower-vol-6 @aliyahcat111

join my taglist!

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

“Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets” has a semi-engaging mystery, but is bogged down with so much unnecessary filler.

Harry Potter is back with his horrible guardians, the Dursleys. He longs to go back to Hogwarts, but hasn’t even gotten a letter from his friends asking him how he’s been. It’s revealed that a house-elf named Dobby has been the one intercepting the letters. Dobby warns Harry not to go to Hogwarts this semester, but Harry refuses. It turns out, Dobby might’ve been onto something because weird things start happening like kids turning into stone and Harry’s new ability to talk to snakes.

These first two Harry Potter movies are way too long. The first movie spent too much time gushing over the wizarding world and this movie spends too much time showcasing unnecessary plot points. There’s a lot about this movie that doesn’t make sense. For example, if Vernon Dursley didn’t want Harry around, then why does he insist on keeping him locked up. If he doesn’t want to deal with all this magic stuff from his sister-in-law’s side of the family, then he should just let Harry go to Hogwarts and stay there. It’s revealed later that Tom Riddle lived in Hogwarts and had nothing to do, so why couldn’t Harry? Another example is why didn’t Dobby just tell Harry what was going on instead of making those half-assed attempts at stopping him from going to Hogwarts. What was up with the Weasley’s car? Was it sentient and escaped to the woods only to deus ex machina Harry and Ron from the spider plot that didn’t serve anything more than a misdirect? The Aragog plotline was useless and required Hagrid to be thrown in prison, no doubt to set up the sequel. Why did Hermione turn into a cat only to be revealed to be petrified? It’s really uncomfortable to think that it’s probably because some weird writers were abusing their powers to live out some not-okay fantasies. I really wished this movie could just cut the fat of its script and just focus on the mystery of why children were turning up petrified. The reveal of Tom Riddle was really dumb too. The scene where he’s rearranging the letters of his full name took too long for something so stupid. I have so many other minor complaints, but I’m starting to think that it’s just symptomatic of the fantasy genre. Maybe that’s why I never enjoyed famous fantasy series as a kid. Like, what’s stopping any wizard from going anywhere if they have a lock-opening spell? Who’s to stop anyone from cursing a Quidditch game if the referees literally don’t give a shit about anything. I mean, in the first movie, the Slytherins were roughhousing the Gryffindors, but no one said anything. In this movie, the ball is smashing through bleachers and no one pauses the game. I complained about the dumb rules of Quidditch in my last review, so I won’t go into it here. At least Ron was good in this movie. His facial expressions and reactions to situations were so fun to watch. Hermione also has this leader-like attitude that I really liked seeing. It helps that Emma Watson was such a great actress even at that age. I heard that the franchise starts picking up with the third movie, so I’m hopeful for that. It’s probably because Chris Columbus won’t be the director for any of the other movies.

★★★

Watched on April 11th, 2022

[hpdabbles]

If your taking prompts I would like to ask for Naruto being corrected on Remus' name and other things in that AU.

Naruto vetoes Dog-man's childhood home the moment he saw the bland dead stare the older man gave the house. It was the same kind of look Sai gave the old Root bunker they had been assign to clean out when it was discovered sometime after Pain's attack.

He knows some people think emotions shouldn't get in the way of missions but Naruto also knew those same people would gladly go back to war for no other reason than bloodlust.

If they could give in to the desire to harm others just because then Naruto had the right to throw a fit in the Hokage's office until Sai was removed from the mission and didn't have to go back.

He also had the same right to do the same about Grimmauld Place. The woman in pink that Naruto had forgotten the name of- he mentally refers to her as Pink Lady- had pursed her lips but Naruto had complete control of the decisions thanks to the Honor Clash.

The rest of the council had gone into a frenzy once they realized that Naruto had won and it took 'Emus cautiously suggesting everyone is bonded by an Unbreakable Vow so the knowledge of the deal wouldn't be able to leave the room as to avoid encouraging others from fighting their way out of the law, in order to calm them down.

Naruto didn't care one way or the other as long as the deal for Dog-man remained.

There was a lot of paperwork that had to be filled but 'Emus took care of it for them after Dog-man claimed him as his "Vassal" which meant 'Emus had the right to make choices for them or something.

The three had walked out together with Dog-man's arm wrapped around Naruto's shoulders like he was afraid the ninja would disappear if he didn't. Naruto didn't mention it though because even he knew when to keep his mouth shut about something.

Pink Lady then offered a Potter property in the far countryside of the country, practically isolated. She was upset that they refuse to use a "noble and ancient ancestral home" but Dog-man looked far happier to not have to go back it was worth making her life just the slightly more complicated finding them a new place.

The moment Naruto saw it he knew it was home. It was a large manor with a dense forest, and while the trees weren't as large as the Leaf's nor as bright, Naruto didn't care.

He was finally back among trees.

The building itself was covered in overgrown rose vines and wild grass. It's also rather old, more dust and possibly molds than wood but it made him happy so the three sign the forms, and Pink Lady left them to settle.

Naruto chooses the last bedroom on the right side of the building because it's closest to the forest and something in his chest settles when he throws the window wide open to listen to the rustling of the leaves.

He leans on the windowsill, watching the light die over the trees and enjoying the breeze brushing his hair. It's peaceful, with no sounds of cars or the bustle of a suburb. Just nature.

That's how 'Emus finds him two hours later.

"Are you hungry Harry?"

"Straved!" Naruto chirps turning his head to the man who smiles at him shyly.

"Sirius and I are thinking of going to the muggle town for some food. Would you like to come with us?"

"Will there be ramen?" Naruto doubts it as he hadn't been able to find one in his old home and he lived in the city. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

"No, I'm sorry I don't think there is. But I saw a pizzeria if you prefer?"

"That sounds good 'Emus." He hops away from the window, frowning slightly at the distance. It seems no matter his life he is doomed to be short.

"I've been meaning to talk about that. You do know my name is Remus? Remus Lupin." The man says following the energetic child down the large but aged hallway to the sitting room Dog-man is waiting in. They travel by fire here which is the strangest but most interesting form of chakra he's ever seen.

"I know." Naruto chirps grinning up at the man with mischievous glee "I like 'Emus so I'm going to call you that. I used to call my older master Pervy Sage and nothing made me change that either."

"...I see." The other jinchuriki responds in a tone that means he doesn't understand anything but is too worried to ask for more details. Naruto gets that a lot.

"Master?" Dog-man questions making Naruto's smile impossibly wide even as a hint of grief bleeds into it. He knows in this world it's not common to refer to their teachers as masters.

"He taught me how to fight so I call him master. He was a master of his field so I call him that to respect for his title."

"Will we ever get to meet this great master?"

"He's dead"

Dog-man's grey eyes dim slightly "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure he would be proud of how far you've come from his teachings"

"Thank you." Naruto dips his head to hide his blush. This body is just as expressive as his old one but somehow his checks tended to dye pink far easier.

The three stand in silence for a moment. The wizards were awkward with each other due to the ten years they have been separated, with all the unspoken words hanging in the air between them. Meanwhile, Naruto, who dedicated ten years of his new life to finding them now didn't know what to do that he had found them.

He like to make them his friends but their interactions were weary and cautious as if though the two men didn't know how to speak to him. They also saw him as a young child even though Naruto is mentally twenty-seven (including the ten years he's lived as Harry Potter) which made things even stranger.

"You said something about pizza?" Dog-man finally breaks looking through his now cut and wash hair to offer 'Emus a slight strain grin.

"Yes. I know there was one when I went earlier for cleaning supplies. We can rent a room at the hotel there until we get this place ready to live in while we are there." 'Emus looks slightly relieved at having something to grasp on to turning his body to face Dog-man, with his chakra flashing into a warm hue.

Naruto tilts his head studying it, squinting his eyes when Dog-man's own chakra warms in response. "Are you two together?"

Both men go alarmingly red and Naruto finds himself smirking at their stumbling babble of denials. "I don't mind if you are. I like girls and boys if you think I have an issue with you being both males."

"Oh." 'Emus blinks while Dog-man suddenly finds the rotting wallpaper very interesting. "You're awful young to know that about yourself aren't you?"

"Not really." Naruto shrugs wondering if they will have a problem with him liking both like the Dursleys did. Not that it would matter or change anything, but it would disappoint him. "Do you have a problem with it? My uncle and aunt did. They said it was unnatural"

"No of course not." Dog-man jumps in, frowning. "It may be strange to a muggle but same-sex marriage has been legal since the early 1800s in the wizarding world. It's...just surprising you have it figured out so young is all. Right, Remus?"

"Yes, of course. I'm glad you shared that with us Harry. Thank you." The other man sounds sincere and Naruto can't help but give him a grin so wide it makes his cheeks hurt a little. "Just so you know, I like both too."

Naruto knew there was a reason he liked his fellow Jinchuriki.

"I just like men," Dog-man adds shrugging his shoulders as if though it meant nothing but the way he glances at 'Emus from the corner of his eye says otherwise. " Since we are going to be living together from now on maybe we can get to know each other over a nice pizza."

Naruto agrees though he is a bit amusing that neither man fully out denied wanting to be together but they need time to reconnect and that he could understand.

"Let's go get something and then we can do proper introductions." The ninja chirps, reaching out to grab onto 'Emus sleeve while Dog-man lights the fire.

"We already introduce ourselves." 'Emus says amused

"Yeah, but it wasn't proper so it doesn't count"

"How are they proper?"

"You have to say your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dream for the future."

"What if you don't have a dream?" Dog-man says in a joking manner but his charka gives away his sadness and his uncertainty. Years being blamed for a crime he didn't commit, his youth rob from him in a way that can never return has done this.

Naruto waits until they lock eyes in order to answer.

"Then we find a new one. Together."

[theazkabandreamer]

A Letter from the Blue

Can also be read here.

__________

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at Number Four, Privet Drive. Dudley was shouting at his parents about his new diet and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were taken aback by their son’s anger and none of their words had any effect.

Harry could still spot a Dudley tantrum a mile off, so he wolfed down his leaf of Lettice and carrot stick before Dudley had tipped the table over in a fit of rage as Harry rushed off to his bedroom before anyone noticed.

He opened up the loose floorboard under his bed and took from it a large box and opened it to reveal a giant fruitcake which Mrs Weasley had sent to him. His mouth watering slightly, he cut a large piece off and began to eat.

‘This was breakfast’, Harry thought as he munched on the fruitcake, its flavours reminding him of Hogwarts and the Wizarding world.

He could still hear the shouting below and his room shook as Dudley must’ve thrown something. Judging by Aunt Petunia’s wail, it was one of her prized plates.

Although the shouting was unsettling, Harry was glad that he wasn’t the one on the receiving end of it for once.

‘But he shouldn’t be here’, he thought miserably.

If Sirius had managed to clear his name, he would be living with his Godfather instead of the Dursleys. Harry had spent the last few weeks lamenting on the home he almost had.

He had heard from Sirius the other week. Sirius had written to Harry telling him that he was out of the country and was safe from the Dementors. He also told Harry to write to him if Harry needed anything.

Harry put the letter in the loose floorboard under his bed where he kept Mrs Weasley’s fruitcake and the treats that his other friends had sent him.  

As Harry was chewing on his piece of fruitcake, a white shadow landed on his bed and it took him a moment to realise that it was his owl, Hedwig.

Hedwig looked up at him expectantly with her large amber eyes and in her beak was a yellowish envelope. Harry greeted her warmly as he took the envelope and offered her a bit of his fruitcake.

Hedwig nibbled at a couple of sultanas and cherries before giving Harry’s ear an affectionate bite and taking off and flying out of the window.

Harry looked down at the yellowish envelope and saw it was addressed to him in neat handwriting - He had the impression that he had seen it before;

Mr H Potter The Smallest Bedroom Number Four Privet Drive Little Whinging, Surrey

With trembling fingers, Harry opened the envelope revealing a single sheet of frayed parchment folded in two. Something dropped out of the envelope and Harry looked to see that it was a bar of Honeydukes Chocolate. Harry had a feeling of who was writing to him.

With his heart beating in his chest, Harry unfolded the parchment and began to read:

Dear Harry,

I hope you are enjoying your summer and are not too despondent about the events of last term.

I’m writing to tell you how very proud I am of your progress last year. You have come a long way with your Patronus Charm and by doing so, you saved quite a few lives, including an old friend who I thought was lost to me for twelve years. In case this letter falls into the wrong hands, I’m going to call our friend Padfoot.

I’ve heard from Padfoot and he is a long way from this country. The Dementors will never find him and it appears that he is enjoying the sun as well. I’m quite jealous of him - It’s pouring with rain where I am.

By sparing Wormtail’s life, you showed a great strength of character. I may not have agreed with your decision at the time, but I have been thinking on what you said about your father and I too, do not believe that James would want us to be killers.

You reminded me so much of James whilst watching you practice casting your Patronus on that Boggart. Your father wasn’t one to give up after a setback and would often get straight back on his broom after falling off.

James would’ve been very proud of your efforts to secure the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. You fly just like him, but in many ways, you are like Lily.

Your mother had a kindness that I never thought that I deserved. She was fierce when she wanted to be and like you, she had a few choice words when she was angered.

It is tragic that your time with them was so short. They loved you very much and there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t miss them. But although they have gone from this world Harry, they will always reside within our hearts.

Your Patronus is proof of that; As Dumbledore no doubt told you, Prongs rode again that night.

You have been a pleasure to teach and I wish you well in the future.

I would tell you to stay out of trouble, but James would be disgusted that I would ever suggest such a thing to his son and I don’t think that Padfoot would be impressed either. I’ll just tell you to take care instead.

From your favourite Professor,

Moony.

P.S. I know that it’s a little early, but I wish you a Happy Birthday and hope you don’t eat that chocolate all at once.

Harry let out a laugh as he finished reading the letter as happiness swelled in him like a balloon. Professor Lupin had been his favourite teacher last year and Harry hated seeing him leave.

It took Harry a moment to realise that his eyes were wet. He hastily dried them with his bedsheets. To hear Lupin talk about his parents brought him great comfort and his parents seemed more real to him as he read Lupin’s words about them.

He looked at the bar of Honeydukes chocolate in his hand and smiled; He had had enough chocolate for a lifetime, but compared to Aunt Petunia’s wilted salads it was a great treat.

He unwrapped it and broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. The warmth spread through his body instantly and it reminded him of the many nights he had spent practising the Patronus Charm with Lupin.

Harry realised that he wasn’t bothered about the shouting in the kitchen anymore. He felt content as he munched on his chocolate and fruit cake as he put Lupin’s letter with Sirius’s.

[goldie90]

Watching Harry Potter with the Sawyers 🧙‍♂️🔮

I think J.K. Rowling did something really great when she wrote the Harry Potter books. The story about this young wizard is absolutely amazing and when the first book came out, it was also the first book I really liked to read. (It´s hard to imagine today, but as a child I didn´t liked reading that much, but this book changed that, so I guess you could say, J.K. Rowling is responsible for my love for books.😊) I´ve readed every book of the series and I loved them all. But not only the books are amazing, the movies are too. Also one thing I found pretty cool, was that when the first movie came out, I was the same age as Harry and his friends (which made watching it even more fun, because it was so easy to relate to the characters) But even now, I still enjoy watching it, so if I would live with the Sawyers, I would definitely want to watch it with them. And I´m pretty sure that most of them would like it. 

Bubba and the twins would probably immediately agree to watch it, (especially Chop who really loves the whole fantasy genre) while Drayton would be a bit sceptical, cause when I tell him about this movie, he would think that it doesn´t sound like it would be an realistic story and well, he´s right.😄 So maybe it would took a bit of time to convince him to watch it with us, but in the end he would reluctantly agree, telling himself that the movie can´t be sooo bad, cause at least it don´t have talking animals in it. Or robots. Or space ships. And because the main characters are children, there´s also no risk that the movie could have any inappropriate scenes in it. So yes, he´ll watch it with us. Grandpa don´t have an opinion on that matter anyways. He don´t know what´s going on when Bubba puts his wheelchair in front of the tv and honestly, he doesn´t care either. He´s just going to sit here, maybe taking a little nap while the rest of us is watching the movie.😴

During the opening scene, Drayton´s doubts about this movie will grow, cause when he sees how a cat transforms into a woman, he immediately sees all his fears confirmed. 

It´s going to be an highly unrealistic movie with a silly storyline and he´d agreed to see it. Damn, what have he gotten himself into again? Now he have to watch that stupid thing, or else everyone will be disappointed with him and when we´re disappointed, we will annoy him and then he have to beat us with the broom,🧹 but honestly, he don´t want to, because he´s tired from working at the gas station the whole day. So yeah, it seems like he´s in a really tricky situation right now and let me tell you, he´s not happy about it. 

Also, he´s not sure what to think about this man named Professor Dumbledore. This guy seems weird - also have he ever heard about shaving? His beard is way too long, it looks ridiculous! Who´d he think he is - Santa Claus?🎅 The longer Drayton looks at him, the more he feels the urge to give him some good smacks with the broom, maybe this would teach him to take better care of his appearance.

But at the time the Dursleys make their first appearance, Drayton´s mood will improve immediately, because he likes this family right away. 

In his opinion, they´re seem like nice, reasonable people. Uncle Vernon is the type of man, he would actually like to hang out with. The type of man he can imagine himself drinking a cold beer with, while having a nice conversation. And Aunt Petunia.... Oh, she´s amazing! What a sweet, lovely woman! 

And she´s so beautiful.😍

For the first time in his life, Drayton´s got a crush on a fictional character💘 and when he realizes it, he will be shocked about himself, because all of a sudden there are lots of inappropriate thoughts in his head and he know he shouldn´t have these kind of thoughts about a fictional woman, much less about a married fictional woman, but he just can´t help himself - Petunia Dursley is just too hot and Drayton can´t stop fantasizing about how she´s might looking under her pretty clothes... 💦 He´s not proud about it, definitely not. No, he´s deeply ashamed, to the point that he even considers to smack himself with the broom to get these sinful thoughts out of his head, but he decides against it. At least for now. 

During the scene in the zoo:

Nubbins will get really excited, because as soon as the snake escapes from the terrarium, he´s pretty sure that it´s going to eat one of the people at the zoo and damn, how great would that be? Watching someone being eaten alive by a giantic snake sounds like so much fun, also in his mind it just makes sense, cause what´s the purpose of letting the snake escape if it´s not killing someone? Of course, whoever wrote this story must have thought the same thing. 

So needless to say, my darling won´t be happy when he realize that the snake is, in fact not going to eat someone and at this moment he actually starts to think that he would be an much better screenwriter than all these stupid screenwriters out there who seem to think that it´s funny to get the audience´s hopes for some death scenes up, just to crush them afterwards. Seriously, what kind of person does such a thing? It´s just not fair! But even though he´s really angry about the whole thing, he will still enjoy these scene:

And he´s not the only one. Me, Chop and Bubba would also laugh about it, while Drayton wouldn´t be sure what to think about that situation. Of course, seeing this spoiled brat locked up in a terrarium is funny, but Petunia is so in panic because of it, and therefore Drayton won´t be able to laugh about it. 

And during this scene:

Drayton won´t even complain about how unrealistic that whole letter invasion is, because he would be to busy feeling bad for Petunia and Vernon. In his opinion, they don´t deserve something like this. They´re nice, decent people who have selflessly taking in their nephew, after this Dumbledore just left him at their door and that´s his way of thanking them for it? Terrorize them with letters? Unbelievable! Who he think he is? Professor or not, such an behaviour is just completely unacceptable and once again he feels a strong urge to give this man a good beating with the broom, but of course, that´s not possible, so instead he just gives me, Nubbins and Chop a few smacks when we dare to laugh about the situation.😟

When Harry is finally at Hogwarts

Chop will be totally amazed by the speaking hat, because A SPEAKING HAT - how groovy is that? Also, the hat decides in which house every student comes? Damn, that´s really groovy! Also, it must be really smart if it´s able to do so.

 And now he will try to imagine how it would be if he had a hat like that. He would wear it all the time and therefore he would always have someone to talk to. Even if he were driving around in his truck all by himself, he wouldn´t be really alone, because the hat would be there, right on his head and they´re could have a nice conversation about music... or aliens 👽🛸 - do hats believe in aliens? Chop is not sure about it, but he would really like to know, so this would definitely be one of the first questions he would ask the hat. Also, they´re could sing songs together.🎤🎶  Getting high together (Are hats able to get high? That´s another question he would have to ask it) Damn, there are so many things he would like to ask! Not to forget that such a hat would be a really stylish plate cover. Yes, Chop would really love to have a speaking hat, so much that he just have to share his thoughts with us, even though his twin would be the only one who´s interested in this conversation. Personally, Nubbins wouldn´t want to wear a speaking hat, but the thought of Chop wearing it is pretty cool. This way he could still talk to it, whenever he´s spending time with his twin and of course, he would also like to ask the hat some questions. Does it like headcheese? And if not, are there other speaking hats out there who like it? Also, what are hats doing all day long? Isn´t it annoying for them that they don´t have hands or legs? They´re will discuss this topic for quite some time, until Drayton would yell at them to shut up, because he can´t stand their stupid conversation any longer. The whole hat thing is already unrealistic enough, like anything else in this movie, there´s no need to make it even more unrealistic by talking about such things. Also, I think it´s important to mention that right now, Drayton is in a bad mood anyways, because we haven´t seen Aunt Petunia on screen for a while and he already misses her.💔 In his opinion her and Uncle Vernon should play a much bigger part in the movie, (in that case it could actually be a good movie) but no, instead we have to watch this little boy going to a school full of unrealistic things like ghosts and speaking hats. Yes, Drayton already dislikes the movie a lot, but during this scene, he really starts to hate it:

What these kids are doing??? That´s no way to treat a broom!!! And this teacher is even encouraging them to do such a horrible thing. This school actually teach the students to mistreat brooms. That´s just.... Drayton won´t even find the words to describe how shocked he is about this so called flying lesson. And he thought the worst thing people would do to their brooms is to sweep the floor with them, but oh how wrong he was! This is much worse! Forcing these poor pieces of wood to carry you around....😰 Seriously, what kind of person does such a thing?

Needless to say that during the Quidditch scene:

Drayton would be even more shocked. So now broom mistreatment is actually a sport? That´s disgusting! Oh, how he wish he could show these people what a broom really is for! At this point he feels an almost desperate urge to give all these characters - the students and the teachers - a good beating, so they´re would never dare to mistreat a broom again.🧹😠

While Drayton is fantasizing about his revenge on the quidditch players, the rest of us would really enjoy the movie, even though Nubbins would complain about the missing of death scenes a few times. During the quidditch match, he was hoping that one of the players would fall off their broom and break their neck😲 and when Harry, Ron and Hermione found the three headed dog named Fluffy,

he of course hoped that they´re would get eaten by it. It would have been such a great scene. Just think about it: The dog got three heads and there are three kids, so one for every head. This way, Fluffy could have killed them all at the exactly same time and damn, how funny would that have been? 

But of course, it didn´t happened, so my dear husband is of course a little bit unhappy.😞 

And it only get worse when the troll shows up:

During this scene, it actually looked like the children are going to die, especially Harry, so of course, Nubbins got really excited while watching it, but then the scene was over and everyone made it out alive, which was a big disappointment for him. 

Meanwhile Bubba was very relieved, because unlike Nubbins, he don´t want to see someone die (especially not Harry or his two friends), so during the troll scene, he actually covered his eyes a few times, cause the whole situation really scared him. Chop on the other hand didn´t cared if the kids would die or survive, he was too amazed by seeing the troll to even think about it. In his opinion the movie is great because of all the magic creatures in it.🐲👻🦄 Seriously, the only thing that would make it even better for him, would be if there were some aliens.👽🛸🙄

During this scene:

Nubbins would most likely ask us something like: “Wha - what do you think uni - unicorn blood tastes like?”😮 And that would be only the beginning of a very long and very disgusting speech, which would also include the question if you could make headcheese out of unicorn meat.🤢 And of course, he wouldn´t stop to talk about it, until I would kiss him to shut him up,💏💕 which will lead to Drayton yell at us and threat us with the broom, because he don´t want to watch us making out (mostly because it makes him think of Petunia again).  

So after this short interruption, Nubbins will simply going on with his speech and he will only stop when Ron got knocked out on the giantic chessboard.

Of course, my darling hopes that the boy is not going to survive🙄 and he´s also very excited to see Harry die.

But of course, it´s not happening. So when the movie ends and all three of the children are still alive

he´s not very happy about it. But at least Professor Quirrell died, so he isn´t completely disappointed. Also, there were many things in the movie that he really liked, so he´s able to see past the fact that there weren´t enough death scenes. 

Meanwhile Chop simply loved the movie. He will actually say that it´s one of his fave´s now.😀 Bubba also enjoyed it very much, while grandpa don´t even know that we watched a movie.😞 Drayton would act like he didn´t liked it (which is also true for the most part). He would complain about how unrealistic it was, also he´s still mad about the great amount of broom mistreatment in this movie.

But later that night, when everyone is asleep, he will sneaking downstairs, just to rewatch all the scenes with Aunt Petunia in it, dreaming about how his life would be if she were his wife.💑💕 

💗 It´s official: Drayton Sawyer is now a selfshipper.💗

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXLI (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: That’s right PoA gifs are making a comeback -Danny

Words: 3,121

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Chapter Three: A Brief Talk.

Mel was packing up the stuff she'd taken to the mission when someone knocked on the front door. 

She heard Erick said he'd get it a second later. Mel put everything in her bag and hung it over her shoulder, rushing out of her room. Dumbledore stared at them with a smile.

"I must say you worked faster than expected."

"We did our best — Oh!" Erick went to the living room and grabbed his bag, drawing out the men's wands. "These are from the death eaters — maybe you'll be able to track them down?"

"I could, if Ollivander hadn't gone missing," Dumbledore said sadly. Mel didn't ask about it, she wasn't ready for any more bad news. "Anything I should know?"

"Yeah," Mel approached. "I'm upset."

Dumbledore gazed at her quietly.

"I said I'd tell you everything and I will, but you must wait a bit longer. We'll visit Harry's house tonight, and pay a visit to Slughorn."

"You said we couldn't talk to him."

"This time will be different. This time I'll go with you."

"How wonderful," Mel said sarcastically.

"I'll get my stuff," Erick gave her a look that was meant to stop her rudeness.

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded, "do close the door on your way out, Mr Flint."

She followed him out in silence, her uncle approached the entrance of the Dursley's house and knocked on it.

"Were you in danger?"

"No."  

"Then you know I didn't lie."

"You didn't tell us everything," She replied. "You keep withholding information and I'm not some disposable thing you can use as you please —"

"That was never my intention," Dumbledore interrupted. "By the end of the year you'll know all, and you'll understand why I've acted this way."

Mel seriously doubted that but she'd been proven wrong before, she was willing to hear his side of the story.

Mr Dursley complained all the way to the door, he opened it abruptly, freezing at the sight.

"Good evening. You must be Mr Dursley. I daresay Harry has told you I would be coming for him?"

Harry rushed down the stairs and stopped at a considerable distance from his uncle. He looked torn between amusement and panic, holding a pair of trainers in one hand and a telescope in the other.

The young witch eyed Mr Dursley up and down and held back a smirk. He was wearing a reddish dressing-gown. The last time she'd been standing this close to the man he'd looked gigantic, now he was barely able to reach her nose.

"Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that we were coming," Dumbledore said happily. "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times. It is a long time since my last visit, I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing. What do you think, Mel?"

"Oh, it's been years," Her voice trembled with contained laughter. "The house looks exactly as I remember, though. Is your chimney still the same after the Weasleys burst through it?"

Harry snorted at this, and this caught the old man's attention.

"Ah, good evening Harry... Excellent, excellent."

"I don't mean to be rude —" Mr Dursley spoke.

"— yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia— Albus Dumbledore, we have corresponded, of course. And this must be your son, Dudley?"

Mel looked at the boy, it had been almost two years since she'd last seen him: He was muscly big, with the body of a trained wrestler. She didn't like that he'd be able to kill a child with his bare hands and call it a sport.

"Shall we assume that you have invited us into your sitting room?

Dumbledore crossed the hall and she followed, Harry jumped the last steps and approached them.

"Aren't — aren't we leaving?" He inquired.

"Yes, indeed we are, but there are a few matters we need to discuss first. And I would prefer not to do so in the open. We shall trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality only a little longer."

"You will, will you?" The Dursleys were all glaring at them.

"Yes, I shall."

He drew his wand so rapidly that Harry barely saw it; with a casual flick, the sofa zoomed forward and knocked the knees out from under all three of the Dursleys so that they collapsed upon it in a heap. Another flick of the wand and the sofa zoomed back to its original position.

"We may as well be comfortable."

"Sir," Harry started anxiously. "What happened to your — ?"

"Later, Harry. Please sit down."

The boy looked at her searching for an answer, but she had none. It was her first time seeing Dumbledore's injury as well. She walked up to the armchair and stood next to where her uncle had seated. Harry sat in front of them.

"I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment, but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

A third twitch of the wand, and a dusty bottle and five glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-coloured liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

"Madam Rosmerta's finest oak-matured mead," said Dumbledore.

Mel took her glass and inhaled the sweet scent before drinking it, hiding her grin. She was starting to feel less annoyed now that Dumbledore was torturing the Dursleys with his displays of magic.

"Well, a difficulty has arisen which I hope you will be able to solve for us. By us, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But first of all, I must tell you, kids, that Sirius's will was discovered a week ago."

"Oh. Right..." Harry muttered.

"This is, in the main, fairly straightforward. You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit a few of Sirius's personal possessions. Emily knows this of course, but Sirius left the other half of his gold to you and your brother, Mel. As well as the rest of his belongings, which you'll be able to use once you're of age."

It was obvious Leon was going to inherit stuff from Sirius, the man was eager to provide for his new family, he wanted to be there, make sure his son would never be left to his luck.

"The slightly problematic part of the legacy —"

"His godfather's dead?" Mr Dursley interrupted. "He's dead? His godfather?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore without further explanation. "Our problem is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place. To the three of you."

"He's been left a house?" Mr Dursley questioned.

"He's not done talking," Mel snapped, Mr Dursley turned purple at her statement.

"You can keep using it as headquarters," said Harry. "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it."

"Me neither," Mel accepted. "I don't need it, nor I think my brother will want to use it once he's old enough."

"Brother?" Mrs Dursley asked in bewilderment.

"That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."

"Why?"

"Well, Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black.' Your brother should be the one to take it, but we can't be sure if the rules apply since Emily and Sirius decided to use her last name. While Sirius' will makes it perfectly plain that he wants you to have the house, it is nevertheless possible that some spell or enchantment has been set upon the place to ensure that it cannot be owned by anyone other than a pureblood."

"I bet there has," Harry lamented.

"Quite. And if such an enchantment exists, then the ownership of the house is most likely to pass to the eldest of Sirius's living relatives, which would mean his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."

Harry stood up in distress.

"No..."

"Well, obviously we would prefer that she didn't get it either. The situation is fraught with complications. We do not know whether the enchantments we ourselves have placed upon it, for example, making it Unplottable, will hold now that ownership has passed from Sirius's hands. It might be that Bellatrix will arrive on the doorstep at any moment. Naturally, we had to move out until such time as we have clarified the position."

"But how are you going to find out if we're allowed to own it?"

"Fortunately, there is a simple test."

"Will you get these ruddy things off us?" Mr Dursley yelled.

Harry looked around; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, their contents flying everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry... But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know."

Mel left her glass on the coffee table and waited.

"You see," Dumbledore continued, "if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited..."

There was a loud crack, and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat's ears, and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys' shag carpet and covered in grimy rags.  Aunt Petunia let out a hair-raising shriek; nothing this filthy had entered her house in living memory.

"Kreacher," said Dumbledore.

"Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't! Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix, oh yes, Kreacher belongs to the Blacks, Kreacher wants his new mistress, Kreacher won't go to the brats and the Black bastard! Kreacher won't, won't, won't —"

"As you can see," said Dumbledore over the yelling, "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

"I don't care," said Harry with repulsion. "I don't want him."

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

"You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?"

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

"No," Mel replied, "we need him far from them."

"Give him an order," said Dumbledore. "If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."

"Won't, won't, won't, WON'T !"

"Kreacher, shut up!" Harry demanded.

It looked for a moment as though Kreacher was going to choke. He grabbed his throat, his mouth still working furiously, his eyes bulging. After a few seconds of frantic gulping, he threw himself face forward onto the carpet (Aunt Petunia whimpered) and beat the floor with his hands and feet, giving himself over to a violent, but entirely silent, tantrum.

"Well, that simplifies matters," said Dumbledore brightly. "It seems that Sirius knew what he was doing. You three are the rightful owners of number twelve, Grimmauld Place and of Kreacher."

"Wonderful, I own a haunted mansion," Mel sat heavily on the armrest of Dumbledore's chair.

"Do we have to keep him with us?" Harry asked.

"Not if you don't want to. If I might make a suggestion, you could send him to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen there. In that way, the other house-elves could keep an eye on him."

"Yeah," said Harry, "yeah, let's do that. Er — Kreacher — I want you to go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchens there with the other house-elves."

"You're not allowed to leave your duties unless we ask you otherwise," Mel added.

Kreacher, who was now lying flat on his back with his arms and legs in the air, gave Harry one upside-down look of deepest loathing and, with another loud crack, vanished.

"Good. There is also the matter of the hippogriff, Buckbeak. Hagrid has been looking after him since Sirius died, but Buckbeak is yours now, so if you would prefer to make different arrangements —"

"No," said both of them, then Harry added, "He can stay with Hagrid. I think Buckbeak would prefer that."

"Hagrid will be delighted. He was thrilled to see Buckbeak again. Incidentally, we have decided, in the interests of Buckbeak's safety, to rechristen him 'Witherwings' for the time being, though I doubt that the Ministry would ever guess he is the hippogriff they once sentenced to death. Now, Harry, is your trunk packed?"

"Erm..." Harry blushed.

"Doubtful that I would turn up?" Dumbledore smiled.

"I'll just go and — er — finish off," said Harry, picking up his telescope and trainers.

"I'll help," Mel said.

It was the first time she'd ever been in his room. The only time she'd managed to look around was when they rescued him on the Ford Anglia. It was evident this was the only place in the house Harry was allowed to exist freely: A bit messy from running around and packing everything in a hurry, but she didn't mind it at all.

"Cozy," She teased.

"Shut it," He replied, hastily picking up his stuff. "I should've known... of course he wouldn't leave me..."

"You had your reasons to doubt," She shrugged, then added. "We both do..."

Harry stopped and looked at her, but she wasn't in the mood to talk. Mel helped him pack and soon enough everything was in place, she grabbed Hedwig's cage and smiled at the creature.

"Hi there..." She looked back at him. "I'll never forget the look on your uncle's face when we arrived, he looked so frightened!"

"I'm glad I don't have to stay," He picked up his stuff and guided her out. "Because he would murder me if I did..."

Mel snorted, following him to the hall. However, Dumbledore hadn't moved.

"Professor?" Harry spoke. "I'm ready now."

"Good. Just one last thing, then... As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a year's time —"

"No," said Mrs Dursley.

"I'm sorry?" said Dumbledore.

"No, he doesn't. He's a month younger than Dudley, and Dudders doesn't turn eighteen until the year after next."

"Ah," He smiled, "but in the Wizarding world, we come of age at seventeen."

"Preposterous," mumbled Vernon.

"Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The Wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own."

Dumbledore's air changed, and although it wasn't obvious, he was once again emanating power, now more than ever he looked like a man no one should try to upset.

"You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. I'm thankful Emily agreed to move in next door all those years ago and relieved a bit of Harry's misery. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."

"Us — mistreat Dudders? What d'you — ?"

"The magic I evoked fifteen years ago means that Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house 'home.' However miserable he has been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you have at least, grudgingly, allowed him houseroom. This magic will cease to operate the moment that Harry turns seventeen; in other words, at the moment he becomes a man. I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time."

Mel would've loved to add a few insults of her own, but she knew there was no use, they would never learn, would never feel guilty for treating Harry the way they did and to be honest, Dumbledore was right, Mel and her mother were his real family.

"Well... time for us to be off," said Dumbledore, standing up. "Until we meet again."

Mel looked at them one last time without saying anything, something in her felt different, there was a bittersweet emotion that kept her from enjoying herself, and at the same time stopped her from snapping.

"Bye," said Harry shortly.

"We do not want to be encumbered by these just now," Dumbledore said, pulling out his wand and pointing it towards the boy's trunk and owl. "I shall send them to the Burrow to await us there. However, I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak... just in case. And now, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

Erick was waiting patiently against the front of her mother's car. His backpack was hanging from one shoulder, and when he saw them he quickly approached.

"All good?"

"Yes, we just wanted to chat a moment before leaving."

"Chat?" Erick raised a brow, he knew the Dursleys weren't friendly people.

"We'll explain later. C'mon, time to go."

"We're not taking the car?"

"No," said Dumbledore. "It'll be faster if we use magic. Keep your wand at the ready."

"But I thought we're not allowed to use magic outside school, sir?" Harry asked.

"If there is an attack," said Dumbledore, "I give you and Mel permission to use any counter jinx or curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight."

"Why not, sir?"

"You are with me... This will do."

He stopped at the end of the street.

"You have not, of course, passed your Apparition Test," he said.

"No," said Harry. "I thought you had to be seventeen?"

"You do," said Dumbledore. "So you will need to hold on to my arm very tightly. My left, if you don't mind — as you have noticed, my wand arm is a little fragile at the moment."

Erick looked down briefly at his hand and paled.

"Professor, I passed my apparition test last month, I can take Mel so you don't tire yourself out."

The idea of Dumbledore 'tiring himself out' was laughable, but Mel didn't want Erick to feel stupid, and it appeared that Dumbledore was of the same mind.

"Very well, Mr Flint, if it's not much trouble..."

"It's not."

"You know where to go."

Erick offered his arm to her.

"Ready?"

"Like we have a choice," She groaned, firmly holding onto him.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha​​ @vampiregirl1797​​ @siriuslysirius1107​​ @stardusthigh​​ @mikariell95​​ @vernon-dursley​​ @thesuitelifeofafangirl​​ @tomshollandz​​ @wlwmaximoff​​ @reverse-hxlland​​ @hamiltonwc​​ @omiwashere​​ @t-rexs-world​​ @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @21bruhs​​ @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual @dielgonacoffee​​ @thelastpyle​ @cedricisnotdead​

[vivithefolle]

Vivi, was the Harry and Ron fight in GoF both neutrally their fault???

Again, I will copy-paste a Quora answer of mine...

Both were in the wrong and both were in the right.

It takes two to argue, and it’s pretty hypocritical of everyone else to claim that Ron “should’ve known better” when even Dumblegoddamndore wasn’t even aware of the fact that the Goblet could get Confunded in the first place!!

How is Ron supposed to figure out that the Goblet has been tinkered with when it’s never happened ever before?

Ron is right to want Harry to be fully truthful with him - even though people are allowed to have secrets, here Ron was visibly distressed by the situation so Harry could’ve come clear about Voldemort’s involvement.

“Listen,” said Harry, “I didn’t put my name in the goblet. Someone else must’ve done it.”

Ron raised his eyebrows.

“What would they do that for?”

“I dunno,” said Harry. He felt it would sound very melodramatic to say, “To kill me.”

*sighs* Harry, people have been planning to kill you for three years now and you’ve always told your friends straightaway. Why is this time different? What makes it melodramatic this time and this time only?

I don’t think that Ron thought Voldemort could be behind Harry’s name finding itself in the Goblet. And I also think that he would have stopped being stubborn eventually - we actually see it, Ron’s attempt at reconciliation, before the first task:

Harry heard a tiny pop! in the fire behind him and knew Sirius had gone. He watched the bottom of the spiral staircase. Who had decided to go for a stroll at one o’clock in the morning, and stopped Sirius from telling him how to get past a dragon?

Well sorry to inform you Harry but it’s called a common room for a reason

It was Ron. Dressed in his maroon paisley pajamas, Ron stopped dead facing Harry across the room, and looked around.

“Who were you talking to?” he said.

Smol ginger bean worrying for his best friend and platonic soulmate in the dead of the night, exhibit A

“What’s that got to do with you?” Harry snarled. “What are you doing down here at this time of night?”

“I just wondered where you –“ Ron broke off, shrugging. “Nothing. I’m going back to bed.”

Melodramatic angsty teenager is Too Offended For Rational Thought, #1

Smol ginger bean worrying for his best friend and platonic soulmate in the dead of the night, exhibit B - attempt at reaching out failed, but is duly noted

“Just thought you’d come nosing around, did you?” Harry shouted. He knew that Ron had no idea what he’d walked in on, he knew he hadn’t done it on purpose, but he didn’t care – at this moment he hated everything about Ron, right down to the several inches of bare ankle showing beneath his pajama trousers.

Melodramatic angsty teenager is Too Offended For Rational Thought, #2 - rare moment of self-awareness, tragically lost to hormones

“Sorry about that,” said Ron, his face reddening with anger. “Should’ve realized you didn’t want to be disturbed. I’ll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace.”

Question: How do I de-escalate the drama between my best friend and I?

Answer: Not by doing this

(gotta say though, if Harry’d not been an arse it wouldn’t have happened buuut teenagers and their emotions, yknow)

Harry seized one of the POTTER REALLY STINKS badges off the table and chucked it, as hard as he could, across the room. It hit Ron on the forehead and bounced off.

Man, Harry and Hermione really like throwing stuff at Ron, don’t they? It’s almost as if this whole “Ron is a violent abuser” argument is just projecting the flaws of a character you like better onto a character you dislike because you feel uncomfortable acknowledging the flaws of a character you possibly identify with. Oosh!

“There you go,” Harry said. “Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you’re lucky… That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

HARRY JAMES POTFUXXER DON’T YOU EVEN FREAKING GO THERE YOU LIL B-

Here is my opinion on the thing: Ron doesn’t envy Harry his LIFE!

Ron KNOWS! Ron knows what Harry’s life is like! Ron’s rescued Harry from the Dursleys, do you think he’s forgotten about the bars on the windows or the dozens locks on the door? Ron knows and that’s NOT what he envies Harry!

What he envies is Harry’s financial security! The knowledge that you have money to rely on! That if anything goes to crap you can afford to stay in a decent room somewhere! The knowledge that you’ll have food to make a meal with! Those are things Ron can’t take for granted because he doesn’t have them!

… Okay I went on a tangent - the point is - Ron doesn’t want to be Harry! He’d like to be famous and celebrated (what little kid hasn’t?), but it’s the financial security he is really envious of.

He strode across the room toward the stairs; he half expected Ron to stop him, he would even have liked Ron to throw a punch at him,

*waggles eyebrows* kinky

but Ron just stood there in his too-small pajamas, and Harry having stormed upstairs, lay awake in bed fuming for a long time afterward and didn’t hear him come up to bed.

Wanna bet that Ron spent that night mentally abusing himself over being an arse to Harry and whether or not he is “worthy” of being Harry’s friend?

Essentially:

Ron is right for wanting Harry to tell him what really happened.

Harry is wrong for expecting Ron to know everything as though Ron was actually present at the scene.

Ron is wrong to not trust Harry when the latter tells him he hasn’t put his name in the goblet - although some skepticism is healthy, here Harry repeated a few times that he hadn’t put his name in, so Ron shouldn’t have doubted it so much.

Harry is right to be miffed at Ron for not believing him - though he could have been a bit more open with the actual reason why his name came out of the goblet.

As an anecdote, that fight has always bugged me because it doesn’t really make sense to have Ron suddenly distrust Harry and I mostly blame it on Rowling needing to show us how Ron is “what Harry’ll miss the most” and what better way to do this than to take away Harry’s Wheezy for a while - but I’ve found an alternative explanation that actually fits in Ron’s characterization as a whole.

This is the year right after Ron discovered that his beloved pet he’d sheltered and slept next to was actually a murderer and a traitor to boot. In real life, that kind of betrayal can absolutely destroy a person’s ability to trust others, and the damage might never fade.

So here’s my explanation: the reveal of Scabbers’ true identity affected Ron more than he let on and it took a stupid argument with Harry for it to come to life, before the argument gets solved and Ron can separate what happened with Scabbers from Harry’s secrecy over the Goblet.

[halothenthehorns]

The Life that Never Lived

TALONS AND TEA LEAVES

I can never say enough, how much I thank you all for the constant reviews and support I get just from watching the views shoot up every time I check. You are the reason I do this!

HPHP

"Can we please have lunch now," James groaned, rubbing at his stomach and eyeing Lily hopefully before Harry could start.

"Oh yes, alright," Lily sighed, then asked, "would one of you go get the baby please."

Sirius jumped to his feet and did as asked, while Harry followed his Mom into the kitchen, badgering her about letting him help this time. She finally relented, leaving Remus and James in

rather awkward silence.

Remus got to his feet and shuffled awkwardly for a second, then gestured vaguely to the kitchen as he began,"ah, guess I'll-"

"I'm not mad at you Remus," James interrupted, patting his hands on his knees with nerves and not exactly looking over at him. "It's not like it's really your responsibility to look after him-"

"But I still should have done something," Remus cut off, temper at himself beginning to rise again. He didn't really get mad at too much, liking to think of himself as a rather laid back person, but his own actions had set him on edge like he had just found out his future self had dumped Harry at the Dursleys.

"Like what?" Sirius asked, making the pair turn and see Sirius leaning against the door, the baby cradled in his arms.

Remus cast his mind around before offering, "gotten Dumbledore to set up somewhere I could have seen Harry, even if it was infrequently it would have been better than nothing."

Lily and Harry made their reappearance, Lily catching on at once and cutting in, "sorry Remus, but I don't see that happening."

"Why not?" both James and Sirius huffed, since this had been something they had both been thinking.

"Well think about it," Lily snapped. "You're sitting there blaming one of your best friends for something that even Dumbledore or Hagrid didn't do! No one had been there to check on Harry since he was left there, or worse Dumbledore knew and did nothing. Why I still can't imagine, but I still haven't forgiven him for what these books have implied he did back during Harry's first year, so lay off someone who might not have even been given a say in the matter."

Sirius opened, then closed his mouth and turned his attention back to the baby, rather shamefully scuttling into the kitchen to get the kid his food. James shifted his weight around, but nodded and caught Remus' eye saying honestly, "okay, true. I am sorry for, ah, being mad."

Remus hesitated, rocking back on his heels and still looking up to arguing the point anyways, then gave a dark laugh at the irony he was still holding this against himself when clearly no one else was. Now more curious than anything, he persisted, "has anyone stopped to question why though? What exactly was Dumbledore thinking when he cut off Harry like that? Remember how we thought ol' Mrs. Figg might be the same from the Order, and all those random people Harry saw when he was younger. Why didn't he grow up with someone telling him what was going on?"

"Dumbledore explained that in the first chapter," Harry reminded, "said he didn't want me growing up knowing my fame and all."

"I get that," he waved off, "and I'm not saying there's an easy way to explain that to you at any age, but if you'd grown up knowing it, been treated as a normal child and not a hero like someone should have while explaining this to you-" he finished giving a suggestive look to Lily like he expected her to give a counterargument.

She didn't though, no one did. They all saw a leader in Dumbledore, someone to be respected and not questioned too deeply, but this was Harry they were talking about. Had he really done something to make sure Remus didn't do exactly this? If so, then that truly was going to tick them all off, where did he get the authority to do that?

Harry was gently testing his feelings, trying not to pry too deeply as he pondered if he'd ever really been given an answer to this. He was still sure his headmaster explained to him more

properly about these types of things later in life, but had Remus been mentioned during this? He didn't think so, and now almost hoped he had asked at some point.

With nothing else to say on the matter, they ate lunch in relative comfort, and after they were done Sirius insisted he wanted to keep the baby around again. They were all confident nothing to bad should happen to Harry this year, so no one protested as Sirius began one of the toddler's favorite

games, and started releasing colorful puffs of smoke from his wand while he used his chubby fists to clutch at them, random peals of laughter erupting all around.

Harry took one more moment to capture this, looking around at his family and determined to keep this very image in his mind for the rest of his life, before starting his chapter.

The next morning at breakfast, the first thing they saw was Malfoy seemingly entertaining some of Slytherin house with an amusing story.

"Highly doubt it was actually that funny," Sirius said in a goofy voice since he was still mostly entertaining the kid.

As they were walking by, he pretended to faint, to cheering laughing.

"Wow, Sirius was right," Remus rolled his eyes.

"First time for everything," James grinned.

Hermione just told Harry to ignore the lot of them, it wasn't worth retaliating.

"Easier said than done," Harry grumbled.

Another of Malfoy's gang, Pansy Parkinson, caught sight of Harry and jeered at him that the dementors were coming for him.

Harry ground his teeth together in annoyance for a moment, but then Sirius gave a snarky laugh and demanded, "was she actually trying to scare you, because that was pathetic."

Harry slammed into his chair next to George, who asked what was wrong with him. Ron explained just as Malfoy set up another uproar of laughter again at the Slytherin table with his fainting act.

"Probably caught sight of his own reflection," James grumbled.

George called him a git,

"My sentiments exactly," Remus smirked.

stating that he hadn't acted nearly so cocky when the dementors had been near them. Fred agreed that he'd come running into their compartment with wet pants.

"Now there's something I would have liked to see," Sirius grinned, still not completely over his disgust at the beasts, but pretty sure he'd tolerate them just to watch that.

Both of the twins agreed those dementors hadn't made them feel any better, but Harry morosely asked if they'd passed out during their experience. George told Harry to cheer up, no one could act very well with those things around, remembering when their dad had to go out and visit Azkaban once, and he'd come back to the house shaking.

James grimaced and nodded in disgust, having personally never been there himself, but knowing someone else who had that came back in the same way.

Fred agreed that dementors had the effect of draining happiness out of anything, and that most of the prisoners went crazy while there.

Sirius refused to let his mood drop back down at this nasty little reminder, continuing his own personal game with the baby, which made the others realize all the more why he had insisted on wanting him down here.

Then he added on a happier subject Malfoy wouldn't be acting like this long once the first Quidditch game came around, Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

"How could I forget," James smiled, distracted at once from keeping an eye on Sirius to make sure he really was okay.

"I want that chapter," Sirius said at once. "I haven't gotten any of them!"

"Well you can have it," Remus said in disgust, "cause I'm rather sick of them at this point."

"Cheer up Moony," James said with a shrug, "yeah those past ones were awful, but there's no way anything like that can happen again this year. I'm sure Harry will finally have a good game."

He finished with more hope than he should have, rather annoyed that his son couldn't seem to go one year without something bad happening.

This did lighten the mood when Harry remembered his only past game against Malfoy, where the blond had lost quite poorly.

"There's a pick me up," Lily smiled indulgently, still personally feeling she'd rather pull Harry from the team altogether, but it was clear he enjoyed the game as much as any of these boys. She didn't have quite as much faith as them that everything was going to be peachy this year, but she hoped as well.

In a much better mood now, he turned eagerly to his breakfast as Hermione began looking at her schedule for this year, stating they had some new classes. Ron was peeking over her shoulder though, and began laughing that she'd been over scheduled, there wasn't enough time for all that.

Harry was blinking in puzzled shock and confusion, and then looked around to see the others were as well. What on earth could Ron have said that felt so significant to him?

"Can she really have just doubled up her schedule like that?" Lily asked with interest.

"I don't see how," Remus shrugged. "Like Ron said, there really isn't enough time in the day for all of that."

"Then what's she playing at?" Sirius demanded.

They all shrugged, at a complete loss, and Harry continued eagerly hoping for a better answer.

Hermione said she'd worked it out with McGonagall,

"Well that explained nothing," James grumped.

but Ron was persistent as he pointed out some of the flaws, like how at nine o'clock she had both Divination and Muggle Studies at the same time, which repeated with some more of her classes down the list.

"That's impossible though, right?" Harry asked, ruffling up his brows with confusion and annoyance that he really thought he should know the answer to that.

The four of them exchanged stunned looks. Not as impossible as Harry might think, but time magic was a very obscure thing, hardly anyone understood it properly, and those that did, didn't share willingly. For Hermione to have gotten a hold of something like it, even with McGonagall's assent, was mind blowing to them all.

After a bit more of a pause, Lily said slowly, "well, no, not impossible dear. Very ah, very hard to pull off, but not undoable."

"How?" Harry persisted, getting rather eager now they really might know.

"Can't say for sure," James said, running his hand through his hair in confusion. "It's not something any of us have knowledge about, correct me if I'm wrong." He finished with a hopeful

look at his friends.

They however, both shrugged and agreed with the couple. Sirius thought he had once heard of something odd in time magic happening to an Unspeakable, but it had been from a girl in a bar months ago, so he couldn't actually remember the details now. Something about a girl, named Eloise Mintumble, dang what had happened to her again?

Harry nodded in understanding and deflated a bit, knowing it wouldn't do any good to continue pestering them about something they couldn't answer. He did ask though, "but, what if you

wanted to take Arithmancy and Divination, if they really happen at the same time is it just not allowed?"*

"Well no," Lily said fairly, "you'd have to rearrange your schedule and possibly take it without your normal classmates, like Hermione would attend Divination one day and most likely take Arithmancy with perhaps the Ravenclaw students instead of her usual house, and that would have explained it if she wasn't taking three at once. There really just isn't enough time to work all of that in. Plus, it would have been marked on her schedule as such, not the way Professor McGonagall worked it up."

Ron was laughing, saying she couldn't be in both places at once, but Hermione told him he was being silly, she wouldn't be doing that.

"Yes, Ron's the one being silly," Lily rolled her eyes.

He tried to keep arguing, but Hermione wouldn't have it, telling him to get on with his breakfast.

"Wow, she really wants him to let this go," Remus said with a frown.

"And I really hope Ron doesn't let her," James replied with the same frown.

Ron tried one last time, but Hermione snapped at him that what was it to him if she had a full plate this year?

"Because it's weird," Sirius insisted, not that anyone here needed him to remind them of that.

She'd fixed it with her head of house. Hagrid walked in then, carrying a dead polecat.

"Well that's not encouraging," Lily frowned in concern.

"A bit ominous," James agreed in surprise. They really did like Hagrid, but his few experiences with Harry and his pets hadn't ended well so far.

"Don't fret you two," Remus rolled his eyes, "Hagrid can handle anything in that class."

He spotted the trio and told them how excited he was, that they were going to be in his first ever class, and he really hoped it went well.

"So do I," Lily muttered.

Then he walked away towards breakfast, still brimming over at how happy he was to be a teacher, with the dead polecat hanging limply from his hand.

"That, I will admit, is kind of gross," Sirius wrinkled up his nose. "Eating with that thing on the table."

Ron couldn't help a bit of unease as he asked what Hagrid could be doing,

"See," James nodded, "we're not the only ones."

but they realized they'd have to wait for later to find out, as they had Divination to get to, which was up in the North Tower.

"Well glad we get to see this new class," Remus said eagerly. He didn't think much of the future seeing magic, but he wasn't exactly against it either.

"Sorry it had to be so far away though," Sirius grimaced in disgust.

They called a goodbye to the twins, but couldn't exit the hall without Malfoy giving one more performance.

"That's not even funny," James snapped. "If he's going to mock you, at least come up with something better than a three-year old's act."

"James," Lily said severely, wondering if he'd just realized he'd said picking on their son was okay.

"What?" he snapped right back. "You can't stop children from picking on each other Lily, the world doesn't work like that."

The two sat there for a few moments giving each other moody looks, so Harry just decided to read on and hope to ignore this.

Harry could hear people's continued laughter ringing up the stairs.

"Glad to see the whole house has the same sense of humor," Sirius said in disgust, "has to make Malfoy feel better about himself somehow."

Even after two years in this school, they still didn't know every passage of this castle,

"Seven won't either," Remus grinned, finally finding a lighter topic to discuss. "In fact, I'm pretty sure there's no one who actually knows every secret about this school."

and they had never been up to the North Tower before.

"We did, back when it wasn't being used," James nodded. "Peter found the entrance to it, and we kind of used it as a secret meeting place sometimes." Privately keeping out where else they tended to spend their free time. Harry did know about the Shrieking Shack, but not how to get there.

"Wonder what they did to it now it's a classroom," Sirius said eagerly.

Ron was begging for someone to show them a shortcut,

"There are a few," Remus nodded, "but either way, it is a long walk."

as they climbed up the seventh staircase, winding up on an unfamiliar bit of corridor, with a nice painting of a green landscape.

"Oh I remember this nutter," Sirius smirked, now watching Harry eagerly to see how he reacted.

Hermione pointed down one corridor,

Remus leaned in and whispered in Sirius' ear, "if only they had some sort of map to help."

Sirius nodded eagerly, but Harry didn't notice the exchange.

but Ron looked the way she was pointing and said that had to be south, as the lake was visible from there.

"Credit to him for noticing that," Lily said in approval.

Harry had no idea, and was simply enjoying the magical painting. As he watched, a gray pony came trotting onto the scene, and began happily chewing up the grass. While Harry was long used to the magical paintings of the wizarding world going about, he still loved to watch it.

"Agreed," James nodded, "I always find something interesting to talk to them about."

The way he said it made it quite clear these talks weren't always wholesome, but Harry was laughing lightly so Lily didn't see the point in demanding details.

As he kept staring, a tiny man came charging onto the scene dressed as a knight, armor and all. He stopped next to what was obviously his horse, doubling over and panting. The green stains on his knees showed he had recently fallen off of said horse.

"Bet his attitude hasn't improved any," Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'd be more worried if it did," Sirius shrugged, "he is a painting, their behaviour shouldn't change too much."

He caught sight of the three of them, and pulled a sword out that was much too big for him, calling them several ye old names and demanding a fight.

By then the three boys were laughing in both remembrance at their own interactions with Cadogan, and Harry's astonished look at the little painting. Only Lily didn't really know how to

feel just now, not used to this rather exuberant nature from a painting.

Even as he did though, he swung his sword that was bigger than him just that little to far and it swung into the ground point first, while the painting landed face first next to it. Harry asked if he was okay,

"You are so sweet," Lily smiled at her son, which only increased the boy's laughter all the more at Harry's concern for a painting.

but the painting wouldn't be pandered and got back to his feet, tried to wrench his sword out of the ground to no effect, then sat back on the grass. Harry jumped in with the question if he knew where the North Tower was.

"That'll get his attention," Remus nodded approvingly.

The knight's mood changed at once upon hearing they were on a quest, and shouted they could follow him through any deadly adventure to find this place.

James opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it again. He didn't seem to find mocking death that funny anymore.

Then he ran right out of the side of his painting, the three of them scrambling to keep up as he continued in this way, only keeping track of him as he pelted through every painting shouting of the adventures this could lead to. They briefly caught sight of him jumping through a painting full of well dressed women,

"Bet he wouldn't have minded staying in that painting a bit longer," Remus whispered, making

Sirius release a surprised snort of laughter, making the baby in his lap giggle anew.

startling the lot of them though he showed no care as he continued leading them up a spiralling staircase. When they finally reached the landing, he praised at what fun they'd had, and told them that if they needed any more help with these things to simply give Sir Cadogan a call.

"He's certainly handy to have around," Lily said in some unease, still finding him rather odd.

"Plenty entertaining to," James smirked.

Ron agreed they'd do just that, if they ever needed anyone mental.

"You'd be surprised how often someone mental can come in handy," Sirius grinned.

They looked around to find a few other students in their year mulling around, while Harry looked at his schedule again and told that their Professors name was Sybill Trelawney, but where was she? The moment he said that, a staircase fell from the ceiling, ending right at Harry's feet.

"She seems to enjoy a show," Lily said in amusement.

Harry went up first, and found himself in a circular room, with tiny tables and beanbags all around the room, the curtains keeping the room in permanent shadows and the fireplace flickering with mystery.

"At least it sounds comfortable," Sirius grinned, "much better than those stools in the other classrooms."

"I would have fallen asleep in there for sure," Remus rolled his eyes.

The room was already boiling, and there was some smell lingering around the room seemingly coming from a teakettle.

"You're actually starting to make me sleepy just thinking about it," Sirius nodded in agreement.

Along the walls were dusty books, crystal balls, and many other mystical objects. Ron had climbed up next to Harry, and whispered where the teacher was, and his answer came from a whispering voice behind them, welcoming them all while stating it was nice to see them in the physical world for the first time.

Lily rolled her eyes indulgently, she'd clearly pegged this woman right about putting on a show.

They turned to find a woman, stout and covered in thick green shawls wrapped all around her. She wore many golden bangles and heavy such jewellery, with round glasses that gave her the appearance of a gleaming insect when she blinked. She made her way to one ornately done overstuffed chair and instructed the rest of the students filling in to take a seat. She then introduced herself, and explained that they'd never seen her before because she disliked going into the rest of the world, it tended to obscure her Inner Eye.

"Explains why we didn't even know who she was before now," James nodded.

"Think she really does have an Inner Eye?" Sirius asked with amusement.

"She clearly thinks she does," Remus pointed out, causing all of them to laugh again.

Harry and Lily couldn't help but notice how giggly the lot of them were being, and wondered if this was how they normally made up a fight, making a lot of idiotic jokes at each other.

There was no comment to this, so she continued by saying that she was pleased they'd all chosen Divination, as it was the hardest of any magic to learn.

"Now that was just a bit pompous," Lily scoffed.

"All teachers think their branch is the hardest," James agreed.

She did warn though that this class was selective, you must have Sight to progress. Books weren't going to be of much help here.

"Sounds like a loaded class if you ask me," Sirius raised his brow in surprise, "if the teachers already saying she can't teach you much."

Harry and Ron couldn't help but shoot a laughing look at a surprised Hermione.

"I can see where that would bother her," Lily nodded.

Trelawney was still talking of how other wizards were good at making banging noises, smells, and disappearing,

"Are those actual fields of magic," James asked between loud bursts of laughter, "because I think Sirius is most proficient in the smells!"

Remus muttered something under his breath that caused all three of them to continue laughing like idiots. Harry waited indulgently until they had subsided before continuing.

but her branch was much more focused on the mind and mystics of life. Then she turned on Neville, and demanded to know how his grandmother was doing? Neville's lip trembled slightly as he said that last he'd heard she was fine, and Trelawney warned him not to be complacent with that.

Now they were frowning, not finding that remotely funny. Why on earth would this woman say something like that to a child?

Trelawney turned away again like nothing had happened, and began listing some of the things they'd be learning this year, before cutting herself off again and turning on Parvati Patil, warning her to be weary of a redhead.

"What does Ron do to her?" Sirius chuckled.

"Might not be Ron," Remus reminded, "one of the Weasley twins might pull something on her later."

Parvati gave a fearful look at Ron and began edging away from him.

Lily made a little 'pfft' noise in disbelief.

Again Trelawney kept talking like this was perfectly normal, predicting that come February classes would thin out a little due to illnesses, and come Easter someone would leave them for good.

"Well she's just going to be buckets of fun huh?" Sirius snickered.

Harry puzzled why he felt like Trelawney was right, but shrugged and kept going.

Then she turned on Lavender, who tensed up, but the teacher merely asked her to go and fetch the teapot on the shelf. Lavender looked plenty relieved,

"Can't blame her at this point," James nodded, still smirking, "she probably thought she'd get the next death omen."

and she did this, but before she could return to her seat, Trelawney clutched her hand and told her the thing she feared, would happen on Friday the sixteenth of October.

"That poor girl," Lily frowned. "Why would she say something like that?"

"Like you said," Remus shrugged. "I think she's enjoying scaring them. When that Friday comes and goes, and nothing happens, I'm sure these kids will realize they're being played."

"Kind of wishing I'd taken Arithmancy now," Harry grumbled, more annoyance coming up the more he heard about this new teacher. He also had a vague feeling, like she did something really important to his life, or perhaps said something to him? It was such a little thing he didn't really even register it underneath all the grumbling.

Then she addressed the class on their lesson for the day, telling them they were all to drink a cup of tea, swirl the dregs around, and consult their text on what they could mean. Before they could begin, she said to Neville that after he broke his first cup, to not grab one of the pink ones next.

"That's self-fulfilling prophecy," Lily pointed out, "if you say something like that, it's bound to happen."

"So none of you really believes in this stuff?" Harry clarified.

"I think psychics exist," Sirius shrugged, lounging back comfortably. "I had a Great Aunt that was one, she actually did these same kinds of things and had my brother and I going for ages. This Trelawney woman in particular? Nah, she's enjoying herself more than anything."

"So, was your aunt really psychic, or pulling the wool over a couple of naive kids?" Remus asked.

"Both," Sirius grinned, "Dad swears she made a real prophecy to him when he was younger. Never did tell me what it was though, but the way he said it, yeah I believed him."

"Well, aside from Sirius and his gullible nature, no, I don't think any of us believe this," James grinned.

"I'm not gullible," Sirius snapped right back. "Prophecies really do exist!"

"Moving on," Lily rolled her eyes at the pair.

Not ten minutes later, there came the distinct noise of breaking glass, and Trelawney descended on him with a broom and a reminder she favoured the pink cups, and not to grab one of those.

"Well that was fast," Remus remarked.

Harry and Ron had some difficulty gulping down their hot drink,

"At least there's a bonus to this class," Lily grinned.

but finished and did as instructed, Harry flipping through his pages as Ron passed over his cup. Ron asked what Harry was seeing, and Harry just muttered a bunch of brown crap.

All four of them released surprised snorts of laughter at Harry's sass, he clearly wasn't taking this class very seriously, though none of them said it in fear of eliciting a joke from Sirius.

He couldn't help but feel heavy eyed within the dark room and thick smells of the class, making his brain drag.

"Sure she does that on purpose," James nodded.

Perhaps Trelawney heard this, as she called the class to open their minds to the supernatural, block out the mundane of the world.

"Think she heard that, or just good timing?" Sirius asked.

"Timing," Lily shrugged, "Harry can't be the only one who's thinking that."

Harry gave himself a shake then, and took a real crack at finding images while telling Ron that he found a messed up cross, which according to the book meant Ron was going to have a suffering trail, but there was also the sun in there, which meant he was going to be happy about it.

"Sounds like life," James rolled his eyes, "so sorry to Ron for living."

Ron told Harry he needed to get his Inner Eye tested.

None of the boys bothered to stifle their laughter one bit, even Lily was giggling and said to James, "Ron just beat you out of a joke dear."

"I'll forgive him," James chuckled, still bright-eyed.

Ron went for Harry's cup next, saying he first saw a bowler hat, and thinking this meant Harry was going to be the next minister! Then he caught sight of an acorn, which apparently meant money was coming his way.

"An acorn means gold?" Remus demanded. "What exactly does that book translate?"

"You let me know if you figure it out," Harry smirked.

Then he kept spinning it, saying he found something like an animal, maybe a hippo, or a sheep.

"Ron just went from a hippo to a sheep," Remus smirked, "can't imagine what either of those things mean."

Trelawney overheard that, and came over snatching Harry's cup away from Ron while spinning it counter clockwise.

"Did she say to turn it counter clockwise like that?" James snickered. "I don't think she said to do that. Could have saved a bit of confusion."

What she found was a falcon, which meant Harry had an enemy.

"Wow, thanks, I was trying to forget that for five minutes," Lily huffed.

"How did she get a falcon from a hippo?" Sirius demanded of nothing.

Hermione was frowning at her, telling that everyone knew that, as Harry was famous for being against You-Know-Who.

"I love Hermione," Lily beamed, "that girl keeps everyone in perspective."

"She is good to have around," Remus agreed with just a hint of admiration at this girl saying something like that to a teacher. James said as much out loud in amazement, none of them having

guessed it would be this girl who would make a smart comment like that to any adult.

Then Sirius defended her, saying, "now remember what got them to be friends in the first place? Hermione's clearly willing to do a lot, like lie, to defend Harry and Ron."

Harry was smiling, more than pleased his family didn't seem to find either of his friends annoying like he knew some of the kids at school had.

Trelawney ignored her, still eyeing Harry's cup as she found a club, which meant he was going to be attacked soon, muttering to herself how this was not a happy cup.

"Well I've never met an unhappy one so I'll believe you," Sirius smirked.

Ron muttered how he'd thought that part was the bowler hat.

"How do you get a club and a hat twisted?" James burst out laughing.

Then she found a skull, that danger was creeping up on Harry. Finally her eyes spotted something else that made her scream.

"Well she's certainly got their attention," Lily said, raising a brow in surprise.

Neville's hand twitched so hard in shock he broke his new cup.

"Guess she didn't see that coming," Remus smirked.

Trelawney sat down in the nearest chair, closing her eyes in shock.

"She's really hamming this up isn't she," Sirius noted.

She was begging Harry not to ask what she'd seen,

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "as if the whole class wouldn't ask after that little scene." He remembered the sinking feeling of attention as all of the students got up to go around them.

but Dean did anyways, trying to look into Harry's cup himself now. Trelawney gathered herself up and whispered that she'd seen the Grim.

Sirius lost it. Still holding the baby to him, he continued laughing and blinking tears out of his eyes as he realized just how accurate that sentence was. James and Remus weren't much better.

"A giant, black, Scottish Deerhound is going to be tailing you for the rest of your life now," Lily nodded in approval, "well she's got that one right."

"I- told you-" James said between gasping breaths, "we should have- call-called him Grim!"

"And I told you," Remus rebutted, massaging his ribs and trying very hard not to continue laughing as he said, "we should have called him Cloud. It's got a better theme."**

"I like Padfoot," Sirius sniffed, "I think Peter had it better saying we should nickname more after the animals."

"Which is why you two won the vote," James agreed.

Harry was very curious and wanted to ask what other nicknames they might have considered, but decided to ask that later. ***

Harry had never heard of it, along with a couple of other students, but some like Ron looked just as shocked as Trelawney, who explained that it was the spectral dog of death.

"I'm rather flattered she thinks so much of me," Sirius smirked.

"You're so big headed," Lily rolled her eyes at him, "you think every black dog in the world relates to you."

Harry felt his stomach leave him, remembering again that black dog he'd seen the night he'd run away from the Dursleys.

Remus muttered something that made Sirius snicker again, and James release another snort of laughter.

Hermione was looking herself now, and told that she didn't think it looked like a Grim at all.

"Ha!" James laughed, eyes gleaming with continued mirth. "Hermione's going to be the buzz kill to this class, isn't she?" He didn't sound very sorry about it.

"Well this class obviously needs one to keep them from exaggerating," Lily nodded in agreement.

Trelawney finally regained all of her composure, and looked at Hermione with akin to dislike.

"A first for both Hermione and a teacher I'm sure," Sirius nodded.

She told Hermione that she had a very poor aura, and didn't see much for her future predicting skills.

"Was that supposed to be insulting?" Harry asked.

"I guess," Remus shrugged.

Seamus was still looking at the cup, twisting his head from side to side and squinting as he said it sort of looked like a Grim when he did that, then cocking his head the other way and stating but now it looked like a donkey.

The boys almost lost it again, snickering away while Lily continued to giggle as well and state, "if you have to do that much to figure it out, it's hardly a good sign."

Harry couldn't help but smile indulgently at all of them. Back then he knew his thirteen-year-old self had been equally scared and annoyed by this, but watching his family mock the whole

instance actually did put a funny spin on it. It also helped to know what exactly had been dogging him this year, and that he obviously wasn't going to die anytime soon.

Harry lost his patience, telling the class that if they were all done deciding whether or not he was going to die.

"Oh, snappy," James smirked.

"Nice little reality check moment," Lily chuckled.

Nobody would look him in the eye to respond.

"Oh please," Sirius rolled his eyes, "these students are so easy."

Trelawney decided that was enough of class today, and gave them all an early dismissal. Harry and his two friends made to leave, though he couldn't help but notice Ron was avoiding his eye as well.

"Oh, not Ron to," Remus groaned.

"Well he did grow up learning about Grims and such," James nodded fairly. "Remember how Peter flipped out when he first saw Sirius, called him a Grim too. It can be a little shocking at

first."

"I think they're just being superstitious kids," Sirius snorted, rather siding with Remus on this one.

Before they could leave though, Trelawney gave Neville one last warning that he would be late again on the next class, so do some extra studying.

Lily rolled her eyes in contempt, this woman really was going to get on her nerves, wasn't she?

They left and made their way to the next class, Transfiguration.

"Well that was a fun first class," Sirius said with chipper.

"Honestly can't wait for the next one," Remus agreed.

They got a little lost again, so even with their head start they only just made it in time.

"Not a good omen for how the rest of the year works out," Lily grinned.

Harry and his friends sat in the back of the class, so that it would be harder for the other students to stop looking at him like he was going to drop dead any second.

"Not a pleasant feeling," Harry shrugged, "though sadly I was used to being stared at by this point."

He didn't pay any attention to today's lesson, which was McGonagall explaining about Animagi,

All five of them went bright-eyed with interest at this, James and Sirius sharing a wicked grin. Sirius adding on, "this was the class that gave us this idea!"

"We did all kinds of research for ages," James agreed, "double checking all sorts of facts to make sure it would work."

"Did you know what animals you were going to turn into?" Lily asked with interest. "It would be rather pointless to go through the whole process and find out you were all something small and not useful."

"Yes," James nodded, "there's a charm that will tell you. It's fairly reliable, never seen it be wrong."

Harry looked extremely interested in this, nodding as he remembered all the things McGonagall had talked about in this class, and dearly wishing he could spend hours interrogating his Dad and Sirius about these things. He somehow knew, without understanding, he'd never taken to becoming an Animagus himself, but he did rather like the idea. Why wouldn't you want to turn

into an animal at will?

Lily, while still finding the fact that they were illegal one of her greatest hangups as of right now, was rather curious on the subject. She didn't have the inclination to be one but found the whole concept of your animal spirit fascinating. She was determined as soon as those three boys registered, she'd end up launching a whole field worth of studies.

which was a wizard that could change into an animal at will. McGonagall herself demonstrated what that was like as she turned into a tabby cat with square markings around her eyes. When she changed back to her normal self and realized she didn't have anyone's attention, she told them that though it didn't matter, she usually got some applause for that.

That garnered a laugh from all of them. "'Not that it matters'," Sirius chuckled, "oh, she's completely miffed she doesn't have their undivided attention."

"Well can you blame her?" James demanded, still smirking himself. "It takes a lot of work to become an Animagus, I think she enjoys that round of applause for her dedication."

Everyone's eyes flickered towards Harry again, but no one chose to explain except Hermione, who put up her hand.

"Why am I not surprised," Harry nodded, always thankful he could rely on Hermione to answer the questions he found uncomfortable.

She began by explaining they'd just gotten out of Divination, but that was all McGonagall needed as she surmised that someone had been told they were going to die.

All three boys released surprised snorts of laughter, making Lily and Harry give them concerned looks.

"Oh don't mind us," James wheezed, looking far too giddy for the comment as far as Lily was concerned.

"Yeah, we're just over here trying to understand why she always got so lofty with us, when she goes around saying things like that," Remus cackled.

Sirius looked likely to fall off the couch soon, he was still laughing and trying his hardest to not let the baby fall and squirming all around. James finally took over the situation by taking his son back, forcing Sirius to come back down to earth.

There was a brief squabble where James won and was still cuddling his son as Harry continued.

Harry told that it was him, and McGonagall told him that it was a known practice of Trelawney's to tell one student every year they were going to kick the bucket ever since she started here.

"Well she's just a right ray of sunshine," Lily laughed, unable to keep that sarcastic tone out of her voice.

None of them had yet to, and because she never spoke ill of someone she worked with, she paused and had to draw a breath before continuing in the same tone that she didn't put much stock in that branch of magic. A true Seer was of the rarest variety, and Trelawney...

"She's really going out of her way to make sure this class knows how she feels," Remus grinned.

She cleared her throat hard before finishing that as Harry looked perfectly fine to her, he would not be exempt from homework, though if he did croak, he didn't have to worry about turning it in.

"Best teacher ever!" Sirius grinned like a maniac.

"Love her confidence in you," James agreed fervently.

Remus and Lily just laughed lightly, and Harry couldn't help but agree with all of them.

Hermione laughed, and Harry couldn't help but feel better for it. It was a lot harder to feel spooked over the whole mess,

"You were actually scared of this?" Lily demanded, some of her humor gone and annoyance rekindling at that teacher.

"A bit, yeah," Harry admitted with a shrug, "but I guess it was just the environment and stuff. You guys convinced me already it's ridiculous."

"Glad for that," Sirius nodded with content.

away from the atmosphere of the class. Ron still looked a little grim himself as he eyed his best friend, and Lavender was whispering what about what happened to Neville and his cup?

Lily snorted and shook her head, but didn't bother to repeat herself.

When lunch arrived, Hermione tried to convince Ron that he was being dramatic, but Ron still wasn't touching his food.

"Wow, this is really bothering him," Remus noted in surprise.

"Like I said," James offered with a small frown, "Ron might just be the superstitious type. Once he realizes it doesn't really affect anything, he'll get over it."

He asked if Harry had seen a black dog around, and Harry told of what he'd seen when he ran away from the Dursleys.

"Not the best thing to tell him right then," Sirius said lightly.

Ron's fork fell from suddenly numb fingers.

They all nodded, that had been about what they were expecting.

Hermione wasn't fazed, telling that it had probably been a stray.

"Now that I'll disagree with," Remus smirked.

Ron told Hermione off for that, saying he'd had an Uncle Bilius who had seen a Grim, and he'd died twenty-four hours afterwards.

"Ouch," Lily winced in sympathy. "Okay, I know why Ron's so spooked about this now."

"Yeah," Sirius and Remus nodded together, determining to stop picking on him for this now.

"That's Ron's middle name," Harry said randomly, looking for something more pleasant to think about.

Hermione still wasn't impressed, saying that was all coincidence.

"That was a little harsh," James frowned.

"Agreed, that's not something she should have taken so lightly, even though it probably is a coincidence," Remus agreed.

Ron was getting outright mad at her now, telling her that wizards should fear the Grim! Hermione said it was rubbish, they just died from fright at the thought of it.

"Nah," Sirius chuckled, "there are much scarier things to die of fright from than that."

It wasn't a sentence of death, it was just a byproduct of it. Harry was smart enough to still be alive because he hadn't realized what was going on and decided he might as well start digging his grave.

Remus couldn't help another bursting laugh. He wasn't used to Hermione giving off such dark humor, but he found it all the more hilarious coming from her.

Ron was still speechless as he stared at his friend, but Hermione was still going, saying that she found the whole class fairly useless. Ron snapped back it hadn't been a guess, he'd seen that Grim! Hermione shot back that he hadn't even seen it, he'd thought it was a sheep.

"She's got another point," Lily nodded in agreement.

"Ron and Hermione are taking this to an extreme," Sirius noted, "it's a petty argument. Why are they treating it like this?"

"They treat everything like this," Harry noted in a long-suffering voice.

Ron was sure Hermione was now just being mean because Trelawney had insulted her aura, and she just didn't like how badly she was going to do in this class.

"Wow," James said, raising a brow in surprise, "and you put up with this all the time?"

"Yep," Harry nodded, popping the P for emphasis. He was far too used to this to really care though.

Hermione lost her patience, slamming her book down on the table and rattling some plates.

"Temper, temper," Remus muttered, noting she did seem to have one before as well when it came to this type of thing.

She snapped that she wasn't going to be putting up with this class long anyways if guesswork was all it took. She had enjoyed her Arithmancy class much more.

Harry blinked, both shocked and puzzled, then glanced up and around to see the rest of them were as well.

"What did she mean?" Lily asked anyways, not really expecting an answer from all the blank faces. "She hasn't been to that class yet, she's been with you all day."

True to her guess, no one answered. They were all rather stuck, and found it rather frustrating they couldn't figure something out about a third year. Bright as Hermione was, how on earth could she be doing something like this, and none of them understood how?

She stalked away, and Ron now switched to puzzlement as he asked what Hermione had meant, she hadn't been to that class today.

"Glad Ron's just as confused," Remus muttered.

Harry had no idea, but didn't bring it up as they headed outside for their first Care of Magical Creatures class.

Harry pushed eagerly past his confusion about Hermione, wanting very much to remember Hagrid's first class.

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other,

"A first I'm sure," Lily said with just a hint of sarcasm.

but Harry was far too used to this as they headed towards the Forbidden Forest, finding the Slytherin's already in attendance.

"Oh come on!" James groaned in disgust. "They already have to deal with those jerks in Potions."

Malfoy was chatting with his friends, who were snickering along.

"Probably the dumbest conversation ever," Sirius grumbled.

Harry had the feeling he already knew what they were talking about. Hagrid made his appearance then, telling them to come closer and to follow him!

"At least he's enthusiastic," Remus grinned.

"The best teachers are," James agreed.

He at first began leading them towards the forest,

"Oh please no," Lily shuddered.

"He shouldn't," Sirius frowned, "at least not until his sixth year, seventh at the latest."

"Say what?" Lily balked at him.

"Sure," Remus shrugged "the advanced classes learn how to find and study them in their more natural habitat."

Lily frowned, not really sure how she felt about this. She'd heard more than enough about Harry being in there, but then she could hardly fault him if he did do it for a class. Then again, one of those times he'd been in there was for a detention, and that hadn't exactly gone over well.

and Harry was not pleased at that prospect, having more than enough nightmare fuel from that place.

James couldn't really help but agree, though he thought this class would go a long ways to helping his son if ever he did choose to go back in there.

His assumption was wrong though, as Hagrid made a sharp turn and instead lead them towards a fenced off field.

Lily still couldn't help but release a breath of relief, thankful that she didn't have to deal with that place for now.

There wasn't anything inside yet, as Hagrid told them to come around and begin opening their books,

"Uh oh," Remus frowned.

"Ah, was there some kind of instruction manual we missed?" Sirius asked curiously. "Because I thought you never did get that thing open."

"I didn't," Harry nodded, looking rather upset. He felt like he'd let Hagrid down by this, but he still had no clue what to do with that book. He was also trying very hard to ignore this impending sense of doom, something wrong was going to happen in Hagrid's first class, which made him very uneasy.

but Malfoy was the first to interrupt by asking how to do this? Some of Hagrid's enthusiasm dropped as he realized Malfoy wasn't the only one, they all pulled out their copies of The Monster Book of Monsters, each wrapped up tight.

"Poor Hagrid," Lily frowned, feeling sympathy for him.

"Don't know what to say honestly," James shrugged, "cause I've got no idea either."

Then Hagrid told them that you were supposed to stroke the spine of the book, in a tone implying he had found it obvious.

Remus blinked several times, wondering if he'd heard that right, but no one really interrupted Harry to find out since he was fixing to read it anyways.

He took Hermione's book as an example, tore away the tape sealing it shut, and before the book could do anything Hagrid ran his hand down the brown spine of the book, which then fell open happily.

"Well there you go," James said, quirking a brow in surprise.

"Points for originality," Sirius agreed, "I never would have thought of that."

Malfoy jeered that of course that should have been obvious, his tone implying the exact opposite.

"That jerk," Lily frowned severely. "He didn't figure it out any more than anyone else. Hagrid should take points or something away from him, he shouldn't be allowed to talk to a teacher like

that."

"Here's hoping," Harry nodded in agreement.

Hagrid looked confused as he said he'd thought it was funny.

"I agree," James nodded fervently. "Now that I get the joke, I think it's actually quite hilarious, a monster book that you have to pet to open."

Malfoy didn't agree, mocking that it was quite a laugh if it didn't bite his hand off.

"Wish it had ripped your hand off," Sirius grumbled.

Harry told Malfoy to shut it, while Hagrid continued to look more upset by the minute.

"Wish you'd done more then tell him off," Remus huffed, he more than agreed someone needed to knock that kid down a peg.

Hagrid seemed to lose some of his train of thought as he said that now they needed their creatures, and walked off into the forest.

"Wait, he didn't say which page to turn to," Lily noted with concern.

"Wonder what he's showing," James agreed with more curiosity than anything.

When he was out of sight, Malfoy kept going with his diatribe, stating that Hagrid getting made as teacher was a disgrace, and his father would throw a fit at the Ministry.

"Is that his go-to for everything?" Sirius asked in disgust. "How does anyone stand this kid?"

"Search me," Harry muttered with disdain.

Harry told him to shut up again, and Malfoy just mocked Harry that there was a dementor behind him.

"And that joke is still not funny!" James snapped.

Conversation was cut off by Hagrid coming back in with half a dozen beasts. The front half of their bodies being eagles coupled with wings sprouting from their sides, and the back half being horses.

"Hippogriffs," Remus and Sirius said at once, both grinning at this prospect.

"This out to be fun," James grinned brightly.

"I didn't even know the forest had those," Lily said with honest interest. "Though I do wonder if that wasn't a little big to start?" She posed it more as a question than anything, not having much to do with the field she wasn't really sure on the matter.

"Nah," Remus shrugged, "sure it is a bit advanced, more would have preferred showing that towards the end of the year than the first class, but it's not above them either. A competent person

can learn how to handle one easily enough."

"Sure," Sirius nodded. "We only ran into one, they're really secluded and spend a lot of time in the high branches. This little foal fell down in front of us, and the parents were close by, so we didn't stick around even though we did know what to do with them."

They ranged in a variety of colors, all tethered together with thick collars that led to chains in Hagrid's hand. He corralled them all to the fence, where the class took a collective step back. He introduced them as hippogriffs, declaring them as beautiful. Harry only slightly agreed.

"Oh come on Harry," Sirius said bracingly, "I haven't agreed with a lot of Hagrid's pets before this, but you've got to admit this one fits the bill."

Harry nodded in agreement as he said, "it was like seeing a Centaur for the first time. Just took me a moment to get over the shock before I could appreciate it fully."

It did have a majesty about it, with the front feathers blending into horsehair, the way they tossed their heads, and the sharp intelligent eyes watching them. Hagrid began by saying they could all come closer, but no one moved.

"This class is depressing me," James rolled his eyes.

"Leave them be," Lily scolded at once, "Hagrid hasn't even gotten to how to handle them yet. I'd still be nervous too."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry were the only ones to begin inching forward.

"There's always one brave one," Remus beamed.

Hagrid beamed at them as he began to explain about these creatures, starting by saying how proud they were, and you should never insult one, or it would be the last thing you do. Harry caught sight of Malfoy and his friend's clearly not paying attention,

"Well that's not good," Lily frowned at once. She didn't like those boys more than anyone else, but she certainly didn't want to see them get hurt; which was bound to happen if they truly weren't paying attention to Hagrid in this instance.

"Those little jerks better not do anything to mess with Hagrid," Sirius growled at once.

Harry's bad feeling was rearing up again at once, and he didn't like that his first instinct was to think Sirius was right.

talking at the back of the class, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice as he continued explaining how to approach the hippogriffs for the first time. First you were to walk up to them, and take a bow. If they bowed back, it was them giving permission to approach them, but if they didn't bow back, it was best to move back, as their talons were very sharp. Then he asked for a volunteer, and in answer, the class took another collective step back.

"Ouch," James winced, "and that was sound advice, why are they still so nervous."

Lily just looked to the ceiling in wonder, did any of these boys have a sense of life? They certainly didn't show it very often, since it seemed more often their first instinct was to jump headlong into whatever they saw fit.

Even Harry and his friends still felt nervous, as the animals continued twitching around in unease, clearly uncomfortable with being tied up.

"Now that's a legitimate concern," Lily nodded in understanding, "exactly how tame are these?"

"Quit being such a worry wart Lily," Remus chuckled. "Hagrid's there, and I'm more than confident he can handle this. No, they don't like being tied down, but who does?"

Lily hesitated a moment more before nodding, and amazingly her nerves actually did relax.

Then Harry saw the begging look Hagrid was giving the class, and Harry said he'd try.

"That'a boy," James nodded in approval.

Harry grinned hesitantly back, not exactly mentioning that he had done this more out of loyalty to Hagrid, not out of real interest in wanting to get closer to that Hippogriff.

"What would have happened if no one volunteered?" Lily asked curiously.

"Most likely, the teacher would have demonstrated himself," Remus shrugged, "in this case Hagrid obviously, but there's always one brave soul who volunteers, so it's usually not an issue."

This caused a stirring in the class, Lavender reminding Harry of his tea from this morning.

"Oh please," Lily muttered scathingly, "this exact set of circumstances would have happened whether Harry drank a cup or not."

"Now Lily," Sirius said at once, a light gleaming in his eyes, "think about that. Divination doesn't write what is to happen, it helps to predict what could happen."

Lily looked rather stunned for a moment before nodding, admitting she'd been a little too harsh that time.

"Can't believe you're defending that subject," Remus noted in surprise.

Sirius chuckled and admitted, "well I still think that teacher was rubbish, but I'm hardly going to pass up an instance to correct Lily."

She scowled over at him without any real heat, causing Harry to chuckle lightly before reading.

Harry gave them no notice as he approached, while Hagrid set one of them apart, introducing him as Buckbeak, a dark gray colored hippogriff, and took him apart so that Harry could approach him. When Harry was ready, Hagrid cautioned not to blink too much, he could take that as mistrust.

"Which means you're going to want to start blinking at once," James noted with amusement.

Harry felt his eyes itching at once, but didn't allow that, trusting Hagrid's advice as he kept eye contact when Hagrid instructed him to bow. It made Harry uncomfortable to expose his neck like that, but didn't argue either as he did.

"Glad you're smart enough to listen to him," Remus nodded in approval.

After bowing, he glanced up to see the hippogriff didn't look up to returning the gesture.

"Wonder why," Sirius asked curiously.

"Probably because Harry was still too close, the hippogriff might still have felt threatened," Remus speculated, though not for sure since he wasn't there. There was also the fact that, these were still animals, and it was impossible to truly ever predict what they would do, feel, or think.

Hagrid began to tell Harry to start backing up, he was a little too close, but then the hippogriff did bend it's scaly knees in an unmistakable form of bowing. Hagrid congratulated Harry, telling him he could go and pet him now. Harry would much rather had been told to go back to the rest of the class,

"You're not exactly getting into this," James noted lightly.

Harry just shrugged, he wasn't taking that back.

but moved forward and began lightly rubbing on its beak, which he seemed to enjoy, half closing his eyes and leaning into the touch.

"The area where the beak merges into their face is a particularly scratchy spot to them," Remus nodded, "so I'm sure he did like it, if you were patting in the right spot."

The rest of the students began applauding, all except Malfoy and his friends who looked more like they'd missed a good show.

"Did they really want that thing to attack you?" Lily asked in disgust.

"After what he said about Hermione last year, I'm not putting anything past him," James hissed.

Hagrid then told Harry he'd built up enough trust to ride him.

"Ride him?" they repeated in shock.

"Now that is a bit advanced," Remus noted, "definitely should have been a bit later in education when he's had more confidence, and time, with the beast."

"Guess Hagrid really wants to show off," James shrugged, unable to hold back a hint of jealousy, this was something he'd never got to do before.

Harry did not agree, as the only thing he'd ever flown was a broomstick, and had a feeling the hippogriff wouldn't feel anything alike.

"It won't be," Sirius agreed, "but a fun experiences all the same." He also sounded just a tad envious, he would love to try something like this.

It took a lot for Lily not to snap at them; they were being idiots again, but she also consoled herself that she might be just a bit jumpy and over reactive of late, so held it back she did.

Hagrid began instructing Harry on how to get on, making note not to be pulling feathers as it would bother him, and Harry found a niche where his wing merged to scramble onto the back.

"He didn't even give you a saddle," Remus noted in amusement, "nor did he mention where you are supposed to hold on."

"Didn't exactly give him anything to steer either," James remarked, "so I'm hoping this one doesn't get any ideas."

Buckbeak took to his full height, and when Hagrid gave him a smack to get going, his twelve foot wing span exploded on either side of Harry, and they were off. With several hard downstrokes, they were up in the air and gliding around the enclosure, and Harry had no doubts he'd much rather be on his broom. The horse like creature was a shaky fit, and he had nothing to hold onto or steer except feathers all around, leaving him to clutch at the neck perhaps a little too tight.

"Sounds like a ton of fun," Sirius said eagerly.

"Though I'm glad you're hardly going to quit the Quidditch team in favor of starting a Hippogriff team," James snickered, finding plenty of amusement in that.

Thankfully the ride didn't last long, as without command Buckbeak began soaring into the green grass again, and Harry barely had time to lean back and brace himself as a thud announced his return to land.

"You didn't exactly sound like you were enjoying that," Remus noted with high amusement.

"It's not something I'd want to repeat," Harry admitted, then he blinked for a moment and wondered if that gut feeling was really telling him he had done just this. He certainly hoped not.

Lily couldn't help but grin, more than happy to admit she was just as happy to hear Harry was both safe on the ground, and didn't have a sudden urge to go back up there again.

Hagrid applauded him again, then asked who wanted their turn. The rest of the class had no more qualms about coming forward and being paired off.

"Typical," James grumbled, "they think it's plenty fun now."

Hagrid set them all up, and Harry went back to sit by Hagrid and watch while the students took their turns. Neville was having some issues, as his hippogriff didn't seem likely to bow anytime soon.

"He did have problems with his broom," Sirius remembered, "he's probably just as nervous now, which I'm sure that hippogriff noticed."

Ron and Hermione were now working with a bay one, while Malfoy and been given Buckbeak, who had just bowed back and was being petted by said boy.

"Buckbeak just lost some points with me," Remus muttered to Sirius, who nodded in agreement.

Malfoy wasn't impressed, saying of course it had, it had bowed to Harry after all, meaning it couldn't be very intelligent.

"He what!" Sirius choked out.

"That idiot," Remus frowned, leaning forward in concern. While he hardly liked Malfoy, that kind of insult could get him killed.

Before anyone realized what had happened, Buckbeak lashed out, scraping his claws at whatever he could reach of Malfoy before Hagrid jumped in, putting Buckbeak's collar back on and dragging him away from a bleeding Malfoy.

"Uh oh," James muttered, bouncing around in agitation now, causing the baby in his lap to giggle, thinking this was a new game.

This sadly didn't actually release any tension in the room this time. They had been begging for someone to hit Malfoy for ages now, but not like this! What if this kid really did die? They would all feel ten kinds of awful for ever having mocked him, he was still a child after all, a bad one but still, even Malfoy didn't deserve that!

Harry was reading in honest panic now, very much not appreciating that he had been right in this instance.

When Buckbeak had been secured away, Hagrid ran forward to take a look, finding Malfoy's arm to have jagged tears in it, his blood painting the ground in an uneven pattern as Hagrid picked him up and began carrying him up to the school.

They were all still frowning in deep concern. At least that wasn't in the chest like they had feared, but there was some very important things in the arm that Malfoy could still die from if this got too serious. None of them could think of a thing to say, so the quiet remained while Harry read.

The rest of the class followed in subdued form, the Slytherin's taking the chance to shout abuse about Hagrid.

"About what?" Lily arched a brow in disdain. "How was that Hagrid's fault? Malfoy was the one who didn't listen, in fact I'd laugh if someone decided to give him a detention on top of this."

James managed a half amused laugh at this, noting lovingly he had been thinking along those same lines.

Pansy in particular looked near tears as she swore she'd see that man fired for this.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Remus snapped in disgust. "They can't fire him, he didn't do anything wrong."

Dean shot back that it had been Malfoy's own doing!

Sirius released a surprised snort of amusement, noting pleasantly, "you just mimicked a kid we hardly even know this time."

Remus gave him the stank eye, he still didn't find it that funny.

Crabbe and Goyle tensed up, looking ready to fight back,

"Ooh, I'm so scared," James scowled.

but then they reached the shadow of the castle, and recognized they couldn't do anything. Pansy was still wailing in despair as she declared she was going to go check on him.

Lily was the only one who looked rather touched by this. Malfoy was an awful child, but they were seeing him from Harry's perspective. If Malfoy had actually managed to get a girlfriend,

maybe he really wasn't as bad as he pretended. She declined mentioning this, knowing quite well the boys wouldn't find that interesting.

The rest of the Slytherin's skulked off, while the Gryffindor's headed off to their tower, still talking about it, but with a more hopeful tone as Harry pointed out Madam Pomfrey had fixed far worse with ease.

"Very true," Remus nodded in agreement, "and he did get there fast enough, there really shouldn't be a problem." Even he couldn't deny that there was still hints of nerves in his voice even as he said that. The best medics in the world couldn't fix everything.

Ron was working himself into a fury again, growling that this was the worst thing that could have happened in Hagrid's first class, and it was all Malfoy's fault.

"Agreed," Lily sighed, more than disgruntled at the boy's actions.

That night at dinner, they were dismayed to see Hagrid hadn't made an appearance.

"Not a particularly good sign," James frowned in concern.

"They wouldn't really fire Hagrid would they?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Dumbledore wouldn't," Sirius said at once.

"They really shouldn't," Remus agreed, explaining better, "if a teacher got fired every time an accident happened in this school, they'd be going through teachers by the month. Accidents

happen in a building full of too many kids and not enough supervision, it's just a fact of life. They really can't blame this all on Hagrid."

"Let's hope a Malfoy will agree with you," James muttered, no hope at all in his voice.

Hermione whispered that Hagrid hadn't really been fired for this?

Sirius was still a little too distracted to notice this time Harry had just mimicked someone.

Ron shot back someone better not have! Harry was distracted by watching the Slytherin table, where the group from their class were all sitting close together and having their own whispered conversation. Harry had the sneaking feeling they were making up a story of what they said happened.

"Well then it's a good thing there are more witnesses than those prats," Lily spat in disgust.

That night they spotted lights on at Hagrid's place, and Harry said that he wanted to go visit him. Ron agreed as it wasn't curfew yet, but Hermione hesitated, eyeing Harry.

"Why?" Sirius demanded, blinking at the random distraction.

Lily frowned pitifully at him, not exactly wanting to mention she had a good idea why Hermione might say that. Harry had a good idea as well, but simply read out sadly.

Explaining that Harry wasn't supposed to be wandering out there, with Sirius Black still around.

"Oh," was the only answer Sirius could come up with to that, slumping back in his seat and crossing his arms moodily. He had almost this whole bleeding chapter without having to think about that, now here was Hermione bringing it up.

James took pity on him and passed him back the baby, forcing an almost genuine smile back onto that Godfather's face.

Harry pointed out he wasn't supposed to leave past the dementors, no one had said anything about the common grounds. Hermione didn't argue further as they left, though still happy they didn't see anyone as they weren't positive this was allowed.

"Of course you are," Remus scoffed, "if Ron said it's not curfew yet, then it's not." He failed to mention something he had noticed, but the others seemed to have skipped in this whole mess. He hadn't seemed to have called Harry to his office yet for that talk that was so desperately needed... surely he was just busy because of the first day back, right?

They knocked on the cabin door, and while Hagrid did call for them to come in, they didn't walk into a good sight. Hagrid was slumped across his table, a huge mug hanging from one hand, and he wasn't focusing on them very well.

"Crap," James muttered in concern, but he was the only one who did. The others had tensed up, now fearing the worst really had happened and someone had actually managed to fire Hagrid.

This really shouldn't be possible though, only Dumbledore actually had the power to fire his staff, and no force on earth should have convinced him to do this!

Hagrid began slurring that he'd broken a record, the shortest teacher to ever have lasted.

Lily opened her mouth in outrage, fully prepared to give a verbal beating to the poor schmuck who had done this to Hagrid, but Harry had been reading ahead a bit desperately, and read loudly before she could get started.

Hermione gasped in shock, demanding to know what had happened, and Hagrid acquitted that it hadn't happened yet, but Malfoy would see to it.

"Oh thank Merlin," Sirius said in relief.

"It doesn't matter what Malfoy says," James said hotly, "Dumbledore won't fire Hagrid! I'll bet my wand on that, especially because it wasn't his bloody fault."

Ron asked how serious Malfoy's injury was.

Sirius released a half-hearted smirk, but he was honestly too curious to hear the answer to reply this time.

Hagrid explained that Pomfrey had fixed it all up in seconds, but Malfoy was still claiming to be in horrible amounts of pain.

"Liar," Remus spat at once in disgust, this finally distracting him from his own thoughts. "If Madam Pomfrey fixed him, then she bleeding fixed him. That brat's lucky he didn't lose his whole

arm, I'll be surprised if he even has a scratch left."

Harry snapped that he was lying.

"I'm glad you believe me Harry," Remus noted in amusement.

Harry gave him a grin while Lily groaned and said, "oh not you too! Please don't encourage that, it's annoying enough when Sirius does it."

Before any of them could comment further, Harry decided to keep reading loudly to avoid a useless dispute.

Hagrid agreed, but Malfoy still had a lot of pull with the ministry, who had told him he'd started to big with hippogriffs,

They all pursed their lips, unwilling to admit this had sort of been on their mind earlier, but then James riled up and grumbled, "but Hagrid was handling things fine, it was Malfoy's fault for not paying attention."

Since they all agreed with him anyways, and couldn't think of anything else to add to that, Harry kept going still rather subdued.

that he should have started with something smaller like flobberworms. Hagrid was blaming himself, but Hermione told him how wrong he was, it was Malfoy's fault!

James poked Sirius before he could mention it this time.

Harry agreed they'd seen the whole thing, they'd stick up for Hagrid that nothing had gone wrong until Malfoy screwed it up. Ron agreed they would make sure people knew what really happened.

Sirius stopped his glaring at his best mate to smile warmly at Harry, knowing without a doubt any of them would have done the same thing in a heartbeat.

Hagrid beamed around at all of them, reaching forward and pulling Harry and Ron into a rib snapping hug.

Remus chuckled and began in a conversational tone, "well, if you do go up to the Hospital to get checked out, make sure to point out to Madam Pomfrey that she needs to discharge Malfoy on the

grounds he's an idiot."

"Duly noted," Harry nodded.

Hermione then told him he'd had enough to drink tonight.

"And I agree," Lily smiled lightly.

Hagrid agreed, and stomped outside where a splashing noise could be heard. Hermione poked her head out and informed them he'd stuck his head in a water trough.

"Well that'll clear you up quick," James chuckled.

Hagrid came back in, shaking out his wet hair and thanking them for coming to see him, when he caught sight of Harry and began screaming that he was out of his mind.

"Wow," James blinked in surprise, "overreaction much."

"Guess I really wasn't allowed on the grounds," Harry noted absently, rubbing his ears at the remembered volume.

Sirius grumbled something under his breath, but refused to let himself react this time, pulling his wand back out and creating a puff of red smoke and making the little baby giggle all over again, the act making him feel slightly better. Though he was forced to continue listing.

He stormed over to Harry and grabbed him, hauling him outside as he told Harry he wasn't supposed to be out of school, then he turned on Ron and Hermione for letting him. He marched them all back to the castle, telling them they'd better not pull a stunt like this again, Hagrid wasn't worth the consequences.

"Unnecessary as that is," Lily noted, giving Sirius a protective sort of watch to make sure he really wasn't going to sink back down into a depression again, "that was still kind of sweet."

"I'd just like to point out that if Harry didn't know what was going on before, Hagrid would kind have blown that then," Remus agreed, placing his elbow on Sirius' shoulder and leaning on him as have blown that then," Remus agreed, placing his elbow on Sirius' shoulder and leaning on him as if he were bored with the whole topic.

"Chapter's over by the way," Harry nodded towards Remus for his turn.

HPHPHP

*Question offered by Grank, I know it's not the best explanation especially when you consider sixth and seventh years who all take combined classes with all the houses and so it wouldn't work out in the same time frames then, but that one really did stump me. I'll try to work out something better and have Harry bring it up again at the end of the year.

**Random note, the dog that played Sirius in the Order of the Phoenix movie was a Scottish Deerhound named Cloud, thought it was funny enough to put in here.

*** Anyone want to suggest some nicknames? I've thought up a few more I'll sprinkle in, but I'm just curious.

[childotkw]

Raise you from Regulus raising Harry alone to Regulus actually getting Sirius out of prison at some point. Sirius would be disillusioned by the order, because they abandoned him when his Death Eater little brother (who he himself abandoned) didn’t. It would be awkward in the beginning because of all the history and Harry clearly preferring Regulus, until one night they just talk and yell and cry and suddenly they are a pack, and they all protect each other, whatever it takes. (1/2)

(2/2) and one day Dumbledore arrives, talking about prophecies and fate and Sirius tells him where to shove his shit but Regulus ‘knows’ so they talk and plan. All the while people try to sway them but they stay together, and they also let Harry know pretty early because it’s his life and also the kid has a temper. It’s hard, but they become a tight knitted group and they survive. Sorry, I got a bit too passionate, but think about it!

--

See I love this, but I might tweak it a bit to make it mesh with the overall idea I’ve got going.

Regulus knew Sirius was innocent. Knew it in his bones because for all he tried to deny it, for all he fought and ran - Sirius was a Black, and when a Black loved, they loved deeply, and they loved fiercely. There was no doubt in Regulus’ mind that Sirius was innocent. Which is why he found it so curious that not one of Sirius’ so called ‘friends’ seemed interested in him getting a fair trial.

So, in between feeding Harry and bath times, Regulus did what he did best. Investigated. Theorised. Dug deeper. And what he found made him want to cry and laugh and scream.

Because it was so convenient. The Potters dead. Sirius, Harry’s godfather - his legal guardian before Regulus had swooped in and claimed the title - imprisoned.

And little Harry. Alone in a muggle home.

Regulus could see the plans he had unwittingly unravelled. And when he found out who pressed for Sirius to not have a trial? When he connected that to who left Harry at the Dursleys?

Well. 

Sirius did not love him, this Regulus knew. Sirius despised him. Thought him nothing more than a puppet for their parents. But Regulus still loved his brother, and he would not stand by and allow Sirius to stay in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. 

Though he couldn’t just start screaming from the rooftops that his brother was innocent. He had to be clever. He had to be cunning. He had to be the Slytherin his brother hated, if he wanted to save him.

It took years, years of careful manoeuvring and planning and blackmail - but just when things started coming together, the news broke.

Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban.

Regulus stared at the newspaper that morning and laughed until he cried because of course - of course Sirius would ruin his plan without even being aware of it.

A week later, a grimm followed them home. 

Once all was said and the truths revealed, Regulus put Harry to bed and dumped a folder on Sirius’ lap that night. He poured them both some fire whiskey and watched from over the rim of his glass as his brother realised just how soundly he had been betrayed - and by whom.

Regulus proved to Sirius that the Light side he had fled to was just as corrupt and twisted as the Dark, and though it was what he had wanted for decades at this point - his brother reaching for him, his brother wanting him - Regulus got no satisfaction from seeing Sirius break down on his kitchen floor.