#I just. what the hell is up with Viktor? it intrigues me

[jules-ln]

Ok, so I can't stop thinking about Viktor in Arcane lmao

Not so much because I like him (which I do lmao) but more because his arc seems like convoluted mess of knots at first glance, and I don't understand it completely and I need to put this puzzle together

Also, honestly Arcane it's the perfect case for why "show, don't tell" isn't always good as it left a lot of things incredibly vague, things I think they should've stopped and clarify more

So let me take his character apart from the beginning to understand him

Spoilers btw

First I want to talk about Viktor's disability because apparently it was a big deal

I say apparently because at first I thought it wasn't a big deal for Viktor, it was just part of who he was

Like the first time we see him, he's confident, he seems secure in himself and the show itself doesn't seem to make a big deal out of him using his cane

But turns out that getting rid of his disability it was actually a big deal for Viktor and I want to search for an explanation that isn't that the writers probably had a subconscious bias about disability

Tbh I always thought that it was kind of implied that Viktor's disability was a result of his parents being exposed to dangerous chemicals in Zaun, like it wasn't just his sickness that was a result of being born in Zaun, but also his leg, don't know if it's just me but anyway the author is dead moving on

I'm saying this because it would make sense at least for Viktor to think that way. Because in his mind it's his disability = his sickness = the problems in Zaun. These three things aren't different for him, is one and the same problem that needs to be solved

This is also shown when Viktor is experimenting in himself with the Hexcore and instead of doing something that might help him idk stop coughing blood, the first thing he does is trying to undo his disability. And I've seen some people ask why the hell is Viktor more worried about his disability than the thing that's actually killing him. It's because in Viktor's mind is the same thing

Now, we can actually see hints that Viktor might resent his disability (and Zaun by extension) in the boat scene when he's a child, where even though his genius is great, his disability stops him from reaching the boat, from reaching his full potential (at least in Viktor's mind)

He resents not being able to be who he wants, who he could be if he had been born in Piltover and puts the blame on his disability and Zaun

This actually makes sense with later scenes when Viktor and Jayce show off what they've been working on to Heimmerdinger, the gauntlets and the claw (arm?). If Viktor and Jayce were working on these two things separately, very telling that Viktor's project (the claw) focuses on artisans, who are still "a step above" than the miners Jayce is focusing on. But if they're working together on the projects, we see that Viktor actually doesn't really wants to help Zaun

Because, what are these? Gauntlets and a claw to make people work faster? These are the solutions Viktor (and Jayce) come up when confronted with Zaun's problems, not actually helping them attack the root of the the problem. Like Miners have to spent hours working in dangerous conditions that affect their health? Well, let's give them something so they can work faster. This is merely palliative care, not caring to actually solve the real problem

Which leads me to the next point, Viktor doesn't actually wants to help Zaun to become a better place, he wants to get rid of the Zaun of now and transform it in Piltover 2.0. In his mind this isn't about helping Zaun, but getting rid of the thing that caused his disability and sickness, metaphorically eliminating them both

We can see this in Viktor's commune

Because, Zaun, even when it looks dirty and dark, all in all doesn't look ugly, like any place where poor people live, it's also full of individuality and self expression, art that's fighting to exist. Compare it to Piltover's Art deco and art nouveau inspired architecture that while, yes, everything looks very beautiful, it also looks very same-y

Viktor's commune also looks very same-y and in a way a bit Piltover inspired. Contrast Viktor's commune to the alternative universe we see where things are better in Zaun, it looks brighter and cleaner, but it also didn't lose any of the self expression and individuality that Zaun has. Individuality that is lost in Viktor's perfect world

Because again, it wasn't about Zaun, or about helping people, it was about Viktor taking something, destroying it, and substituting it with something he believes to be perfect. Perfect without any kind of disabilities that might hold Viktor back (which isn't true but that's what Viktor believes)

This sentiment later comes back when he tries his glorious evolution

Now about Jayce

Part of why I didn't understand Viktor's characterization at first was because I wasn't seeing the whole, I was missing a crucial part of the puzzle, and that was Jayce

At first I thought that Viktor was only interested in Jayce because of his idea of Hextech. But no.

The first time Viktor and Jayce meet, Viktor seems only mildly interested in Jayce's idea, but not enough to actually do something to help him, he was there because he had a job to do, he had to make sure that Jayce was arrested, only that

It wasn't until the judgement that Viktor actually takes an interest in Jayce, but not because of his idea

Viktor was attracted by Jayce's willingness to defend what he thought was right even when everyone else went against him. His personality and fierceness was the thing that later made Viktor take another look at Jayce's investigation

Compare it to how Mel first approached Jayce

Mel and Viktor are very similar in that both want to make something perfect (Mel wants a perfect Piltover, Viktor wants a perfect Zaun and later a perfect world), but they have different motivations. Mel wants to make a perfect city so that she later can gift it to her mother and prove that she's worthy of her love and affection, and that she's worthy of being part of her family

So in the judgment, Mel first sees and is interested by Jayce's idea, because it's something that can get her closer to her goal of being back with her family. Later she's interested in the inventor

But with Viktor is the opposite, he first is interested in Jayce as a man, that's what later attracts him to his dream

(Side note It's also worth noting that I think Arcane takes away Jayce's role in LoL of being Viktor's rival and gives it to Mel. More than that, with both Mel and Viktor being mages and Mel's magic being the thing that stops Viktor during the first fight between him and Jayce. I think that if Mel was more powerful, or Viktor was less overpowered [what the fuck arcane's writers, he's literally a freaking God] she could've stopped him)

Now this is important because I truly don't think Viktor's characterization makes sense unless he genuinely likes/loves Jayce without ulterior motives

In the rest of the first season, we see how Viktor slowly self isolates, in part because Jayce is leaving him behind to be with Mel, so that leads to Viktor taking more and more risks in a bit of a self destructive way, and I think this is in part because Jayce isn't with him. He probably also thinks it's his sickness the thing that's making Jayce go away, that's why he's trying to hide it in the beginning but I'm not to sure about that lmao

This later causes Sky's death, and I think her death is very important for Viktor. Not because he actually feels something for her, but because it's something that makes him feel very guilty

Because, if in the first season Viktor's actions were motivated in part because Jayce went away, then why Viktor's first instinct is to go away in the second season?

It's because of the guilt

In Viktor's mind he not only killed Sky, he's now the thing that killed sky. That plus the fact of how Jayce's acted during the bridge, hating on the zaunites. He probably thinks that Jayce doesn't care about him anymore

When he says "it was affection that held us together" he probably didn't mean it in a "I don't care about you anymore" but more in a "you don't care about me anymore, and you probably shouldn't anyway because there's no reason for you to do so"

When he goes away and creates a cult in Zaun, it's because Viktor is trying to redeem himself and make their dream come true. Viktor's commune is his version of their dream, a little bubble of perfection in an imperfect world

Of course that's not what Jayce wanted or meant when he thought about their dream, but that's just how Viktor misinterpreted it

That's why he's so insistent that Jayce go to see him after he's back from the future, because their dream wouldn't be complete unless it was both of them in it

So when Jayce shoot him, Viktor didn't think that maybe what he was doing was wrong, or that maybe he was crossing a line he shouldn't. When Jayce shoot him, he took it as Jayce rejecting not only their dream, but also Viktor himself

So he was hurt, he was angry. And in his hurt, the first thing he did was trying to justify his emotions by logic. The problem wasn't that what Viktor wanted was wrong. The problem was those pesky emotions messed everything up and if he just could get rid of them then their dream would become true and truly perfect (and Jayce wouldn't reject him). So he needed to get rid of emotions it didn't matter if he hurt the entire world (and Jayce) in his path to do so, more than that it was justified in his mind

I see what Viktor did after Jayce shoot him as he basically saying "I was trying to do this in the nice way, but now I'm angry and I'll show you what I'm truly capable of"

Ironically, his speech about what motivates humanity's greatest good is also what makes them do their greatest evil applies to Viktor 100%, his affection for Jayce is the thing that motivates him to help and to hurt everyone else

I also think that Viktor knew he was in part taking away some of the free will of the people in the commune, he probably just thought it wasn't doing them any harm, just taking away their "disability"

Now, in the future, Viktor realized that perfection, getting rid of humanity's mistakes, and getting rid of his disability; wasn't what he truly wanted, the thing that he truly wanted was to not be alone, and to be worthy of love, and Jayce was the only one who didn't make Viktor feel alone. So when Jayce hugged Viktor and showed him what he saw, I actually think it was like Viktor of the future telling his past self "this is not what you want, this is a mistake"

I also don't think Viktor learned to accept his disabilities in the end; because a heartfelt speech about loving yourself isn't going to make you forget a life of prejudice just like that lmao

But I do think that in that moment when Jayce showed him the future, he recognized that what he was doing was a mistake and stopped

In the end he got what he truly wanted, which was not being alone, being loved, and to be with Jayce, even if their dream of making the world a better place didn't become true

I read somewhere that Viktor in the game was inspired by Doctor Doom, and Idk if that's true. But if I had to compare Arcane Viktor to somebody in Marvel, it would be the Scarlet Witch (here I am thinking about fanart of Viktor dressed as the Scarlet Witch lmao), an extremely powerful being that gets carried away by their emotions, and ends up doing horrible things with good intentions

Yeah, I understand him a bit better now lmao

[inkspiredwriting]

Flirt and Fight at the Sparrow Academy

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves stood in front of the imposing Sparrow Academy mansion, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar facade. This was supposed to be their home, the Umbrella Academy, but instead, they had landed in the wrong timeline—one where the Sparrow Academy existed instead of their own.

"Ready?" Luther asked, his voice tense.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Five replied, leading the way into the house.

They barely made it through the door when they were met by the Sparrow Academy members, each one poised for a fight. The leader, Marcus, stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"We're the Umbrella Academy," Luther said, standing his ground.

Before they could explain further, the Sparrows attacked. Five found himself facing off against a woman with sharp eyes and a confident smirk. Y/n, he heard someone call her. She moved with precision, her strikes quick and calculated.

Five blocked her attacks, but couldn't help but notice the way her eyes sparkled with challenge. "Nice moves," he said, dodging a particularly fast punch.

"Thanks," she replied, a grin tugging at her lips. "You're not too bad yourself."

Their fight was intense, but there was an undeniable chemistry between them. Every punch and kick was matched with a flirtatious comment, a sly smile.

"You always this charming in a fight?" Y/n asked, blocking one of his kicks.

"Only when I'm trying to impress someone," Five shot back, grinning.

Y/n's laugh was short but genuine. "Well, consider me impressed."

The battle raged on around them, but Five found himself almost enjoying the sparring with y/n. She was skilled, confident, and there was something about her that drew him in.

Eventually, the Hargreeves managed to escape the Sparrow Academy, regrouping outside. As they caught their breath, Diego noticed the distracted look on Five's face.

"What's up with you?" Diego asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

Five shook his head, trying to focus. "Nothing. Just... thinking."

"About that Sparrow chick?" Klaus chimed in, a teasing grin on his face. "I saw the way you two were flirting."

Five rolled his eyes. "We were fighting, Klaus. It's not the same thing."

"Sure didn't look that way to me," Allison added, a knowing smile on her lips.

"Can we focus, please?" Luther said, trying to bring the conversation back to their current predicament. "We need to figure out how to get back to our timeline."

But Five's thoughts kept drifting back to y/n. There was something about her that he couldn't shake, and it annoyed him how easily she had gotten under his skin.

"Come on, Five," Viktor said, nudging him. "We've got work to do."

"Right," Five muttered, trying to push thoughts of y/n out of his mind. But even as they walked away from the Sparrow Academy, he couldn't help but glance back, wondering when—or if—he'd see her again.

As they continued down the street, Klaus threw an arm around Five's shoulders, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You know, if this whole saving the world thing doesn't work out, at least you've got a new crush to think about."

Five shoved Klaus off, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. "Shut up, Klaus."

The journey back to their timeline would be fraught with challenges, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Five knew that y/n, the intriguing fighter from the wrong 2019, would be a thought he couldn't quite let go of.

[nickeverdeen]

heya! can i request a HC for umbrella academy?

where five has a crush on reader but shes an airhead and doesnt figure it out, BUT, allison and viktor know so one day they catch five staring at reader and they point it out which leads to five getting embarrassed and looking away hella fast- idk where im going with this.... pretty much loverboy five with a crush on airhead reader 😭

thank u, stay hydrated!!

Hope you’ll like it! Please tell me if I wrote something wrong as I’m not really sure how an airheads usually act. Anyways I tried my best and I hope you’ll like it, love you 🫶💚

Five = blue text

Allison = pink text

Viktor = purple text

————————————————————

Five Hargreeves crushing on an airhead fem!reader

When Five first started interacting with you he started warming up towards you pretty quickly

You became friends or well… that’s what you considered him as he prefered to keep it as allies

Obviously that didn’t work

You on the other hand were just really glad that you got a friend

Despite his logical thinking, Five can’t help but be intrigued by your carefree and whimsical nature

It’s like small a mystery even he can’t solve

Five, being used to dealing with complex problems, is often baffled by the your scattered thoughts and blindness towards people who were trying to flirt with you

That is also one of the things he kidna also likes about you

It is pretty amusing to him

Five, in his own peculiar way, becomes protective of you

Yet you brush it off thinking it’s just him being protective towards you like towards his family

Being an airhead means that you also have an insight of some things

So when Five notices he starts to appreciate the unique perspective you bring to the team/family

Five, used to precision sometimes gets frustrated by the your forgetfulness and blindness

However, he can’t stay mad for long when you flash an innocent smile or do something adorably clumsy

Slowly Five secretly goes out of his way to make your life a bit easier

Like leaving helpful notes or subtly manipulating time to prevent minor mishaps

Five’s siblings were truly confused by his newfound interest, especially considering yours and his differences

Especially Allison and Viktor

They couldn’t put a finger on what he sees in the airhead considering he’s usually cold towards people like that but they were secretly amused by it

Klaus of course started teasing him about it

Five made sure not to snap at someome whenever you were around which made it better for Klaus

Despite the differences, there was a silent understanding between Five and you

Sometimes he even takes you to travel in time even if it would be only a few minutes

Mostly so he could hold your hand

He is much nicer towards you than towards others

Which leads Allison to talk to Viktor about this

A small speculations between the two siblings start

Seeing Five’s behaivor towards you made them believe that he may like you more than a friend

Viktor being Viktor had some doubts

Five stole a few glances at you during breakfeast when he was sitting across from you who is talking to Klaus

Your smile and carefree behaivor even in the morning is adorable

Viktor’s doubts are washed away when he and Allison catch Five staring at you

They decide to confort him about it silently so you wouldn’t notice

“You know if you’ll take a picture of her you can stare at it longer”

Five, caught off guard, quickly looks away, attempting to hide his embarrassment

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about”

Five, ever the stoic and composed one, quickly denies having any interest in the airhead

He brushes off their teasing, insisting that he was merely lost in thought

Allison since that day is the one teasing him about it while Viktor is the supportive one

He has been there with Sissy-

They make lighthearted jokes, causing Five to squirm uncomfortably as he continues to deny any romantic interest towards you

At which he fails terribly

Five, feeling the pressure, resorts to awkward deflections and changing the topic

To for example mission-related matters or starts analyzing some concepts, attempting to get rid of the attention from his personal life

The more you hang out with him the harder it is for him to hide his feelings

I mean you’re amazing

Despite his hiding, Five continues to steal glances at you, unable to completely hide his feelings

Of course Allison and Viktor exchange amused glances, silently acknowledging the obvious

It was driving Five crazy

Allison and Viktor, still determined to get Five to admit his crush, offer playful advice on expressing his feelings

They suggest subtle gestures or dropping hints, causing Five to groan in exasperation

“Come on Five, I’ve been there you just have to come clean”

“I am not in love with her!”

Despite the denial and embarrassment, there are moments when Five can’t help but smile when thinking about the airhead

Your smile, adorable behaivor, those eyes, that carefree and funny personality…

Shit, he has to confess before any other guy will do it

Five has Viktor’s and Allison’s support, he knows he’ll have to do it

Inside he feels like the 13 year old boy he looks like

Ready to confess his feelings towards you he fixes his tie and goes into the kitchen where you are…

————————————————————

✨And the rest is up to your imagination✨

[lowkeyrobin]

Readerxfive where the reader gets their tongue split? (You know when it looks like a snake tongue because it's forked) his and family's reactions. Pls and thanks.

ooo okay okay ; also btw I just did this as a preference cause I could do a whole oneshot on this & it just kinda worked out better that way, hopefully that's okay! (these can be taken as platonic or romantic unless i made some kissing jokes lmao) ; I also do not know much about this so sorry if anything is wrong / incorrect ; thanks for requesting, hope you enjoy! ; also some are missing bc I don't rlly know how to write for them yet I apologize :((

TUA ; tongue split

includes ; diego, klaus, five, umbrella! ben, viktor, sparrow! ben, fei, & jayme

warnings ; language, mouth stuff / talk idk

disclaimers ; when I use the /p or /r it can be interpreted as platonic or romantic, romantic as yk cute in a romantic way or platonic in a "awe my sibling / friend is so happy" way

masterlist

DIEGO

"eugh wtf..."

he switches up rlly quick tho

"that's actually really cool"

he's so interested by it / wants to know everything about it

begs you to do weird tricks with your tongue since you kinda have two (in his eyes) now

"yknow I could've done that for you for free"

"and if you did it wouldn't have even been sterile. you haven't cleaned those knives practically ever."

KLAUS

"ooouuuu look at you, snake child!"

he's obv into alt fashion (kinda) / non gender conformity so he loves having a friend / sibling / lover who's super cool like him!

if you hold things in your mouth with it (somehow) he's watching

kinda grossed out but so intrigued by it

like it's not everyday you see someone with a split tongue yk?

"how did you not die doing that? you couldn't make me do that blacked out"

FIVE

silently looks at you like 😐😬😐😟

"what the hell? are you okay???"

even if you've been talking about wanting to get your tongue split for a long time, he's convinced you got it against your will

after realizing this was solely your choice of how you wanted to express yourself, his expression morphs to more of a 🤨😊🥰

he doesn't really understand alt fashion / body modifications but he's obviously supportive, as long as you're happy

he usually catches you rubbing your tongue over your teeth on both sides since the inside of your cheeks move some

"fun, huh?"

"yeah, it's cool"

UMBRELLA! BEN

thinks it's so cool since he never really got to do crazy teenager things when he was alive

he likes seeing you able to express yourself the way you like because you're your own person

lowkey proud of you for doing it since he knew you'd been wanting to for a while but you had to get the guts for it first

honestly kinda concerned that it hurts a lot or something cause for a while you can't stop messing around with your tongue

but it's more like loosing a tooth, you're okay 💪

VIKTOR

again, super supportive and thinks it's really cool

he loves seeing you express yourself the way you want too, it's really sweet

loves watching you move your tongue around in all different ways and shit lmao

"wait- do it again"

THAT LITTLE CHUCKLE.

for the vik lovers /romantic ->

"wait, what's it gonna be like to kiss you?"

"you wanna find out???"

"...yeah"

SPARROW! BEN

like Diego, repulsed for a moment

lowkey didn't realize what was happening for a second LMFAO

"oh wait, that's cool"

asks you a few questions and life returns to normal

but he finds you toying with the split tongue a lot pretty cute /platonic or /romantic

like you're so happy about it and he's just like 😊

FEI

"oo, that's nice. any aftercare you need to take care of? ill help you. you need some Tylenol?"

so nice lmfao

she finds it so interesting

she asks a handful of questions

also finds the messing around with your new tongue pretty cute /platonic or /romantic

she's just happy that you're happy man

lowkey wonders how different it is for you now, just in general lmao

JAYME

you're alike now kinda omg 🗣🗣

she's got snake venom, you got a snake tongue

she finds it so rad

little fistbump when she first sees "haha, nice dude!"

so obsessed with watching you do little tricks and move your tongue around

lowkey the cool older sister (or wise friend or lover) who encourages you to follow your little alt dreams because she kinda can't with being stuck to the academy

damn you reggie with that dress code...

she absolutely loves it tho

[great20sworld]

LIVING THE DREAM

A Viktor x Reader fanfiction

Author's note: Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6 and chapter 7 are available in my Tumblr page along with summary.

Chapter 8: Birth of an Era

___________________________

"The arcane is a curse upon our world"

"This power corrupts and consumes"

"Escape the warmongering of mages, not cultivate it"

The storm in his mind had endured those prejudiced, cowardly voices of those councillors who deemed themselves worthy to run piltover. It hurt, but it didn't destroy. Until he heard one voice, desperate and uncaring of the storm he had cultivated through his toils. The voice he loved, destroying him without even knowing it.

"My son isn't in his right mind"

"...chased an impossible dream"

"...foolish and unwise"

For goodness sake, magic saved her life! Nobody could have comprehended what he saw that day- the light, the beauty which blinded him and saved him, which prompted him to believe, gave him a purpose, a dream to set down on the road to.

Now?

Now the very same was being ripped apart from his very core. The trees of knowledge, of the gorgeous magic which had deep routed itself on his mind was being ripped away by uncaring hands, the pain bleeding down to his soul. Mrs. Kiramman, Caitlyn, all of them... They had believed in him once, and because of some wretched burglars who wrecked his entire workshop they paid the price of being humiliated just like him for what he had chased down. He hated to admit it, he really did- but he has no more fight left in him. The empty soul withering away without its passion. Jayce had left the crystal which he had kept binded to his wrist for so long on a boulder next to the edge. Let everyone know why he did it. If anyone cared.

The thriving city which he could view from up here mocked him all the same, making his head throb with the pain of rejection like the strike of a hammer down on it. He couldn't even fathom the thought of retreating back into the shadows of their forge and building hammers, when his heart still lay elsewhere.

He had failed. Failed to unveil the light of progress to his beloved piltover, and if he couldn't do it- there was no hope left.

The nails of his fingers digging into his palm as he clenched them tightly brought him to the present and he inches closer to the edge...

Goodbye cruel world.

See you on the other....

"Am I interrupting?"

Startled, he turns, breath hitching, almost losing the balance he had.

The assistant.

Is this man an omen? He seems to be there always whenever Jayce is broken!

He scoffs, covering his face with an exasperation he hadn't thought possible till now.

"The hell's your problem?! What's that? Another list with my name on it?"

He wants to snatch it from his hands and throw it into the abyss.

"Actually...yes. But, only because you signed your notes. Every page, might I add..." Golden eyes darted over the pages.

"Eh...a little egotistical, don't you think?"

Patience is a virtue and Jayce is a saint.

"Is that why you came? To insult me?" Jayce spat, turning away in contempt.

"No...no, I was intrigued by what you said at the trail"

What is his deal?

"That makes you the only one." Jayce says, as he hears the end of a metal cane tap on concrete as the man approaches tries to approach his side.

"Yes, well, I wanted to talk about your work... This hextech theory of yours"

How Jayce hated when another in the scientific community voices them as mere "theories".

"It's not a theory! I saw with my own eyes what magic can do, the lives it could save...you've no idea how beautiful it is..!"

The cold bite of frost, of the raging snowstorm in the mountains, the frozen weight of his mother's form next to him, the desperation with which he called out to the hooded figure and the warmth he had felt when saved... Jayce remembers it as clear as yesterday.

"...and now it's gone" his voice wavered, and he hoped the man didn't notice. "No one believed me."

"..."

"Nobody's ever believed in me. A poor, cripple from the undercity? I was an outsider the moment I stepped foot in Piltover... I didn't have the benefits of a patron or a name... I simply believed in myself. Which is why I'm here, because I think- you're onto something"

Jayce looks at him. This man who appeared as if he was one of the aristocrats, calm composed and with palpable gentleness, had a certain set look in his amber eyes. It was different from the cold blue of his professors, and the judgmental, only barely tolerant ones of his patrons. It was... Hopeful. The eyes of someone who seeks, who explores.

"I want to help you complete your research." He states, looking out into the world below them.

"No one thinks it can be done..." Jayce reminds him, softly.

"When you're going to change the world, don't ask for permission."

The man says, before extending his hand, the crystal resting in his palm, looking back at him invitingly.

Is this a dream?

Could he be hopeful...once more?

With a hesitation only weakly fueled by self doubt, Jayce takes the crystal from his hand, clenching his palm around it, as if making a promise.

One more time.

He looks back at the man.

"I don't even know your name...."

"It's Viktor." He answers.

_______________________________

Well, you now know the meaning of hyperventilating, your eyes trained on the scene unfolding before you. You resist the urge to applaud as Jayce and Viktor finish their conversation, careful not to blow your cover carefully hidden behind the veils of darkness which filled the place, feeling as if you were getting the front row seats to the movie you were waiting for for years- and it did not disappoint.

You couldn't resist the squeal coming.

"what the- who's there?!" Jayce becomes startled, turning around as Viktor is also alerted. You cover is blown when their eyes land on you.

"YOU!" Jayce points at you and gasps, as Viktor looks at Jayce.

"You know her too?"

"yes! She came to my prison cell last day!" Jayce says, looking at Viktor. "Your advice was completely useless by the way." He directs his gaze back to you.

Viktor shakes his head disapprovingly. "So you did go there!"

Jayce looks at Viktor. "Is she your assistant?"

Viktor frantically shakes his head negatively while you frantically nod.

"no!" Says Viktor, "Yes!" You say.

"Jayce, don't you think it's high time we get to work? Figure out whatevers up with that...umm..." You gesture vaguely towards his crystal.

"oh yes! The leftover calculations are on my board...wish we had some light..." Jayce says, walking through the small rubble piles.

"Oh, like this one?" You say, smiling triumphantly as you pull out a kerosene lamp from your bag.

"You seem awfully prepared..." Viktor muses as he takes the lamp from you and lights it, it's soft luminescence bathing the dilapidated room.

"I am your assistant afterall..." You smirk.

"you're not-"

"Over here, yes... This is where I've been struggling with the calculations..." Jayce says, sitting down on and opening the notebook which Viktor brought.

You walk over to Jayce, sitting down next to him and leaning towards the notebook to get a better look at the figures, since you realise to your disappointment that most of what is written is in a language you do not follow, and only a small portion of it is legible English. Viktor goes to study the blackboard, picking up a chalk absentmindedly from the small box sitting next to it. You expected to be completely stumped by the diagrams and calculations, but surprisingly- as if something clicked, your eyes are stuck on what appears to be the planetary model. Beneath it is written, "crystal needs excitement".

The gears in your brain starts to turn hopefully. Seems like the source for this power is something resembling the electrons in an atom. Could it be that the energy could be similar to electricity? "Attracts other metals in short vicinity" the next sentence read. Attracting metals- magnetic property. Whatever this was, the excitation of it lead to magnetic properties of the material.

Electromagnetism. Analogues to it, maybe?

Your gaze darts towards Viktor who was redoing the calculations on board, regarding what you thought was frequency- based on a graph which showed values in various units of Hertz. So, that was valid in this world.

"Does the crystal have an energy field around it, Jayce?" You question, looking at Jayce.

"An energy field? Yes, it reacts whenever it is penetrated and..."

"produces magnetic properties? Such as attracting metals and behaving like a magnetic needle?"

Viktor's attention catches. "Based on this- yes..."

It was indeed electromagnetism. You mind rushes through all the info you had. "So we have to provide the crystal with energy which channels its own energy to circulate in it- until it looses its magnetic field, and yet works, without the added energy loss..."

Both Viktor and Jayce looks at you, and you're relieved to see a small flicker of interest in the former's gaze.

"If we could get it to work without an external field, we could be onto something." Jayce supplies helpfully, ruffling through the pages in which he had elaborated what appeared to be the laws of thermodynamics but with the added modifications for this world.

"Here, Jayce, you said it emits light?" Viktor circles something regarding the factory of photons on the board. "Yes, when hit with light, it seemed to be excited- but also not so much to keep it going."

Your brain starts to remember. "If we channel the residual energy into a bigger energy state, maybe while destabilising, or returning to stability it might emit the energy we require?" You ask timidly, remembering that particles do tend to jump from higher energy levels to lower energy levels to gain stability and from lower to higher when supplied with sufficient energy.

Jayce finds himself at a loss of words and looks at Viktor, who, to his surprise looked like the answer was in the tip of his tongue.

"wait a moment, we're getting something like this here..." He mutters, the speed of chalk scratching on the blackboard increasing as he proceeds.

Could it be similar to photoelectric effect? You had to check. You get up from your seat, taking a chalk from the box and drawing a small diagram which depicts rings of energy and particles on them and an incoming ray of light represented as a wiggly arrow. You note Viktor's gaze following you.

"Does it emit similar amounts of energy it is hit with? Then, we'll need quite an amount of frequency for the source of energy which hits it to produce something reasonable out of it." You supply.

"That can't be right..." Jayce's sighs. "All this time, I thought I should dampen the oscillations, because in very high frequencies, the crystal might as well detonate..."

"No..." Viktor breathes, his gaze darting to the diagram you made. He writes something on the bottom most ring in your drawing, and then mumbling something to himself, followed by scribbling something on the topmost ring. He nods to himself before tapping what he was writing down on the board, going through whatever was discussed behind him through written format and equations. "....the residual energy will only even stabilise at high frequency, she's right! We'll have to-..."

"Crank it!" Jayce and you chime in unison, eyes bright with excitement, your lips spread in a delighted grin.

Viktor turns, and then nods affirmatively, looking like a proud teacher, "yes! Yes...We'll have to... Crank it!"

"It works!" Jayce says, smiling at you and Viktor. "Eh, on paper..." Viktor says, quirking his brow at the blackboard. You feel your heart quicken when his golden gaze lingers on the diagram you made, with his lips quirking upwards.

"we could have tested it if we had access to my equipment" Jayce runs a tired hand through his face.

"....which is being destroyed tomorrow"

Viktor's words stops both your and Jayce's train of thought, the disaster about to arrive making both of you loose focus. Jayce's more so than yours. "What?!" He exclaims, jumping up to his feet.

"Oh... I, yeah. I, meant to tell you..." Viktor stutters abashedly, looking towards you as well as if for further confirmation.

Jayce's heart races, his mind in catastrophe. All those sleepless nights, early mornings, his blood sweat and tears were spent on those research equipments, with countless findings and puzzle pieces for the next upcoming ones as well. They can't just destroy it!

"That research is everything! My...my whole life. Maybe if we showed them the equations they'd let us..." Desperation shines through Jayce's voice

"We need more than promises." Viktor says, with mild finality. "We need...proof."

"Besides, they don't care about the groundwork, the mechanisms- they're not scientists or researchers. What they need... Is the tangible product." You say, dejectedly, a memory grazing your mind about how your projects had gotten rejected more than once because of lack of "scope".

Viktor looks at you in a brief moment of understanding. You both saw eyes to eyes before Jayce interrupts.

"Not without the crystals. The enforcers took them all. They're gone." His throat constricts slightly, as if swallowing down an emotional heart stuck in his throat, threatening to make him cry, as he sinks back down to his seat. Poor thing. You're about to comfort him when suddenly,

"yeah, locked away in heimerdinger's lab" says the smart voice with keys jingling at the end, emerging from his pocket.

Oh, how had you managed to forget this part?

"No. No. No! You heard the council, if we're wrong..."

"Better be right then." A tiny mischevious smile with a glimmer in his eye. You feel a flutter in your stomach when for a brief moment, the gaze seemed to approach yours, as if to show you how tricky he can be.

"Why? Why would you risk this?!" Jayce implores, eyes narrowed in disbelief at the lankier man.

Oh boy, here goes.

"Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?!"

"Scientists seek discoveries- ways to make the world a better place!"

You felt shivers down your spine at the passion lacing his accentuated voice. Nothing more captivating than true focus in it.

"This hextech dream of yours...has the potential to do that..."

"Don't worry Jayce, we'll make your hextech dream a hextech- reality." You smile encouragingly.

Jayce rises from his seat, walking over to between you and Viktor, placing a hand on each of your shoulders, gripping it promisingly.

"Our hextech dream." He states, as your heart soars.

____________________________________

"So far so good..." Viktor whispers crouched infront of the lock, of the door labelled "Prof. HEIMERDINGER", Jayce holding up the tiny light for him and you holding the notebook and crystal, behind them. Viktor and you had convinced Jayce to break into Heimerdinger's lab and take what's rightfully his. Viktor was about to turn the final lock when suddenly, a brighter light shines onto your faces. Jayce flinches, your eyes narrowed and Viktor hisses.

You stiffle an out of place chuckle.

You three lift your gazes to meet Mel Medarda's sharp, serious demeanour with a hint of playfulness about her.

"Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavour. That's quite the conviction." She comments, her voice soft velvet, but the context making it dangerous. The golden ornaments around her commanding attention to her presence even in this dark hallway.

"The councillor! Uh- what a surprise to see you, huh?" Jayce fumbles, trying to sound as if this was a completely normal situation, as Viktor suddenly comes up with pearls of words making you want to facepalm and walk away.

"Wait a minute, this isn't my bedroom...! Heh... How could I have-..." He pretends to fiddle with the keys, looking at the lock as if it had betrayed him. Jayce and you exchange disappointed looks, and with a sigh, Jayce decides to take matters into his own hands as he straightens up.

"Please. We can prove that it works."

The beautiful voice snaps back with controlled derision. "Hmm. You couldn't do so earlier today, how is tonight any different?"

"We figured out how to stabilise it." Says Viktor, straightening up alongside you, flinching lightly when the light flashes at him.

"You're the professor's assistant."

"No, he's my new partner." Jayce corrects her, making you smile gently.

Her gaze floats over to you, fixing on you with grace. "And you? Never seen you before.."

"Uhm... I-" you stammer.

"She's my assistant! New addition, latest interview."

Jayce and you look at Viktor, mildly surprised. You feel your ears go slightly pink at Viktor's words.

"Um...yes! She's part of this project too!" Jayce saves the lie. Mel didn't seem to be in disbelief. She focuses her attention back on Jayce.

"Even if you manage to prove your theory, the Council would destroy it."

"Heimerdinger will recognise the potential." Viktor says confidently. Mel scoffs at that. "He already does, and it scares him. It scares them all."

"What about you?" You ask suddenly, remembering her interested expression back in the trail. Her smirk fades, considering the three of you before speaking in a voice which you believed to be reserved for the council.

"I recognise that any worthwhile venture involves risk."

Suddenly, all of you are alerted by a whistle sounding from just around the corner, seemingly from a guard of the academy. You sense Viktor and Jayce freezing, as Jayce quickly tries to save you all...

"Councilor, this technology, it's real. And no matter what happens here, it's going to change our world. We should be the ones to lead it. Piltover, the land of progress, equality, innovation! I know it sounds impossible, but when have we ever let that stop us?"

"Please...just give us a chance."

The tension in the air grows with Mel's momentary silence as Viktor and Jayce hold their breath, preying to everything internally. Meanwhile, you were just glad to be here. Mel finally speaks,

"One night, gentlemen and assistant. Impress me, or I'd suggest you pack your bags." The words ignited excitement within all three of you. Mel turns towards the corner, switching of her flashlight and distracts the guard expertly, like the dazzling charming Councillor she is.

Jayce flicks back on the light and grins to himself appreciatively, and Viktor opens the door.

_____________________________________

"Wow, this soldering iron heats up so well! And no residue at the tip! And look at that rheostat! The resistance is so precise at each point, holy-!" You squeal over the equipments in the middle of work the three of you are engaged in (your work field in electrical sciences back at home helping you immensely) as Jayce removes his goggles to look at you curiously.

Your suggestion of the crystal being stabilised enough to become destabilized by high energy supply later had Viktor saying that more power sources would be required for such a process. So you and Jayce were building metallic platforms and holders to conduct more power into the circuitry for the crystal, while Viktor fishes out the said crystal amoungst all the other things in heimerdinger's lab.

"Sorry, sorry... it's just, where I come from, the lab isn't maintained this well..." You giggle softly, still looking over the equipments. "Where are you from?" Jayce asks in turn, and you are so thankful for Viktor's interruption.

"Everything's intact, right?" He passes over the blue breathtakingly gorgeous crystals over to Jayce. "Yes." Jayce says and you move over to their side of the massive table where the setup is as you watch him put the orb on top of a small metallic platform you and him crafted right now. Immediately, you are left to marvel at how the energy is derived from the crystal, the wires linked to it sparking brilliantly. So there was indeed a force field self contained inside it.

"It's time to crank it." You've never seen Viktor look so giddy yet uncertain until now.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jayce questions, looking at the crystal which may or may not blow up everything, destroying all of you- to which his partner grimaces and shakes his head. This was the assistant Heimerdinger chose to handle all tech that was dangerously improving within the academy walls. Absolutely fabulous.

"You do realise that this thing can kill us, right?" You question, looking over to the skeletal man. "You do realise half of this idea is your own suggestion, right?" He questions back with a smirk. This man. This absolute unit of work.

Jayce switches on the circuitry, and the orb crackles, it's jagged edges emitting bright blue hues, painting all that is near in its colour of vibrancy. Viktor presses the button to increase the supply frequency from the main source. The metal arches clanks and spins angrily, the forcefield powerful enough to spin out shards from the table.

"I don't think it will hold! Look at the build up...!" Jayce worries.

"The resonance will stabilise it. Trust me!" Viktor reassures him, his eyes narrowed but never turning away from the contraption.

"If we manage to reach maximum amplitude... Shouldn't we be able to see the flux?" You ask, unsure.

"oh, I'll show you the flux!" Viktor grits his teeth behind sealed lips and increases the speed of the rotating metallic wanes. The three of you watch as the crystal behind to float in its own created power field, its small metallic platforms spreading around it like a lotus. You grin. "Huh... So it did."

You didn't miss Viktor's playful smirk directed at you as he leans over to Jayce "I told you it would work... All yours." He gives Jayce the room to inspect his creation. Jayce is lost for words as he inches closer to the miracle. "It's never done that before..." He looks at you and Viktor before hesitantly reaching over to the dial to crank it. "All right. Here we go."

The crystal rises up towards the small metallic arches, its forcefield reacting with the special structures attached halfway onto to the top, the frequency of energy input making it growl like an ill-contained beast with potential no one could dream of- beautiful intricate arcs being made in mid air as it soars within its confinement.

One could only contain a beast for so long.

It explodes- blinding you temporarily with a flash, the energy release so powerful it sends you tumbling down onto the cold hard floor as a beam of charge shatters from the small crystal to the window, dangerously radiant and blazing.

"DISENGAGE!" Viktor shouts, ducking down to the table as Jayce tries to reach the button, but he's too dazzled.

You stand up quickly, your otherworldly strength making it easier for you reach over and slam the button, resisting against the magical forcefield, but not before the glass shards from the broken window implodes and cuts through the air hazardously. The crystal, loosing its motive of lethal disturbance falls back down to the platform, plunging you all in darkness as inertia makes the three of you tumble backwards, you hitting the floor first because you were already crouching. Your elbows hit the floor as you try to get up, Viktor trips right on top of you.

"Incredible!" The golden eyed man says in bated breath.

Startled at the sudden intrusive contact, you lift your torso, only for your nose to bump against viktor's, his dark hair hanging over his forehead brushing against your forehead, right when Jayce softly turns on the circuit, bringing back the light, illuminating the tender sight of his face in front of your eyes. A moment passes. Then, Gasping, and flustered, Viktor gets up, stuttering apologies.

"umm...You two okay?" Jayce starts, an embarassed expression finding itself on his face, as he tries to ignore the both of you. "Yes! Definitely! Right! So it works!" Viktor immediately starts to talk, hoping to heavens his blush isn't as obvious as he felt it to be. "We just need the right frequency!" You join in, quickly getting up to your feet.

Without wasting any more time, you start to build up the frequency again, this time knowing more accurately what to do. Adjusting the metallic arches for maximum coach, while still allowing room for garbage discharges, and safety valve action Jayce runs the system again. Suddenly, you hear something from outside.

Footsteps. Multiple of them.

"Someone's coming!" You warn, turning to the men. Soon enough, someone tries to push open the door. Acting fast, Viktor pushes his cane in between the door handles but it seemed as though it wasn't enough, as the banging increases in strength. You immediately press your back against the doors, pushing it back, hoping your strength acts up. Viktor turns to Jayce, his voice filled with controlled urgency.

"They're almost through! No pressure..." He tries to be calm. "That sounds like pressure!" Jayce yells incredulously.

Your breath quickens, feeling the door hit against your back everytime the big tremors of kicks and punches rocks the other side. Viktor's attention darts back and forth between you and Jayce frantically. Suddenly, you hear a voice. From your wrist.

"Power 100%. Thank you for the recharge."

Your head turns to look at your wrist. The Chronoporter works! With a delighted grin, you bring your wrist closer to your face so you could see the dial light up and the mechanical voice chime from within quietly to you.

"Chronoporter! You're back!" It felt like greeting an old friend.

"I detect high levels of electrical oscillatory frequencies nearby. Please unplug me..." The Chronoporter says.

"You weren't even connected! The charge was so powerful it enhances everything!" You say giddily. "How?! Nothing can be that powerful that the mere vicinity charged me! " The mechanical voice mimicks human enthusiasm at wonders.

"Y/N who are you talking to? Don't let them know we're inside!" Viktor whisper-shouts to you.

"Oh sorry sorry!" You wince, and say softly to the Chronoporter. "Be quiet now, I'll talk to you later." The Chronoporter engages mute in its system. "Good watch." You sigh, feeling the kicks behind you again, this time more powerful- the seams of the huge door rattling violently. A kick to the middle, however, hits your spine, making you fall forward. Viktor comes to your aid, pulling you up.

"Are you okay?" His worried voice makes you smile as his eyes roam to your spine for any cuts of bruises. "Yes..." You hold onto his arm as you get up, his bad leg trembling lightly from supporting you, but his attention is stretched to the crystal which floated amoung the symbols, spinning and destabilizing amoung the strange symbols floating around and over it, as the man who believed in their potential closes his eyes, envisioning all that magic had to offer to his life.

For progress.

The crystal's glow intensifies, surrounding air crackling with magic as blue filaments sparkles around and zipped through its force fields like tiny blue commets, the rumbling emanating from the core suddenly evolving into a thunderous crack unleashing a torrent of energy, a plethora of symbols buzzing past the shimmering light, the mesmerising dance of energy through the labyrinthe of wires meticulously constructed by you three as the floor seemed to fall beneath your feet...

The enforcers break down the door, Heimerdinger stepping in with them...

The air stilled in reverent awe at the breathtaking marvel before their eyes.

Suspended in radiance of azure, Jayce, you and Viktor drifted in the air, as if in space, surrounded by shimmering stardust like particles. The patterns of magnetic field in the ceiling as you floated close enough to touch it. The exhilarating ecstacy finding home in your faces was delightful as the fields of the crystal seemed to cradle you lovingly. Jayce was chuckling happily, with shaky breaths as Viktor gazed around, both his legs working to push him forward in the air.

Your {eye colour} eyes meets the golden ones, a shy intertwining of gazes of two souls floating in pure arcane magic, an exchange of delight, a tale as old as time. Your heart soars as you look the man who seemed like an angel with a halo over his head, his cheeks covering softly in a blush. Due to joy or the adrenaline rush, you didn't know. Other voices and noises in the room seemed to blue around you, only registering that you two weren't the only ones here when Heimerdinger says,

"Will you please stop hovering?"

You chuckle as Viktor winces. "I'm not sure how to do that, sir!"

"This is not what Piltover's future looks like, my dear boys....and....girl..." Heimerdinger says, his gaze directed upwards at the three of you.

"That's for the council to decide." The rich velvet voice sounds through the door, as Mel walks in, the scene framed perfectly for her to admire.

"Perhaps it's time. For the era of Magic."

"Uh, Hextech. For the era of Hextech." Jayce corrects her happily, hovering upside down.

Era of Hextech indeed.

You thought in as much relief as jubilation- everything was going according to plan.

Innocently enough, you were in such thrill to not remember what the eye of zaun had achieved in the depths of the undercity, with the same crystal, and a little girl who handled it. Neither were you aware of the eye which watched from the shadows, sent for you.

____________________________________

Chapter 9 available NOW in my Tumblr page.

[starwarsgirlie]

We Belong To Death

Hi friends! Here's the first chapter of my Viktor X Reader fic!

Chapter 2 Here ----->

The reader has female anatomy and goes by she/her pronouns. Further chapters will contain NSFW content! 

PLEASE comment what you think or what you'd like to see! I love collaborating!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters besides Persephone. I used the League of Legends lore for a large portion of this chapter's plot!

Trigger Warnings: death, war, violence, sexual themes, murder.

Chapter 1 - The Underworld

The years of the Rune War were filled with blood, loss, and pain. Runterra was where one would find blood more often than water and magic more often than blood. The arcane has always been a force that still needed to be understood. Beauty and destruction impossible to contain. A beautiful hell.

In this world of blood and magic, our story begins with a husband and wife, Mihira and Kilam. Fleeing their war-torn home, they came to a mountain known to grant those in need magical gifts at a price. Desperate in Runterra hell, Kilam helped his pregnant wife up the hill. Upon reaching the stars, everything became silent. Mihira and Kilam hung to each other in confusion. "My love, what are we to do to ask for this gift?" Mihira whispered. Looking down at his wife, Kilam shook his head in confusion before seeing her usual green eyes change to the iciest glowing blue. Kilam was thrown back with force while Mihira was lifted into the air, engulfed in the arcane. As soon as she rose she was laid down again by the power, unconscious.

Soon after this event, the two fled to Demacia, still not knowing the gift they received. Demacia, at the time, was a haven from the magical war around them. It was here where Mihira gave birth to twin girls, Kayle and Morgana. Upon giving birth, Mihira immediately felt a calling to fight in the battle and refused ever to touch her girls again. It was clear to Kilam that this was the price paid for their gift from the arcane, which was still unknown to both.

Kilam continued to try to help Mihira return to who she was. After falling pregnant with their third child, Kilam thought this would bring her back, but he was wrong. She continued to fight, and for fear of his children's safety, he fled the moment y/n was born. 

Keeping his three girls safe for the next ten years, he saw them grow. Kayle became greatly intrigued by justice and law, while Morgana became more interested in people's ability to lie and manipulate others. And then there was his youngest, y/n, or as he called you, Persephone. Your mother gave you the nickname as she laughed over how many she had killed while pregnant. You were her child of death. Despite the darkness of the name, your father always told you that just as there is beauty in life, there is beauty in death. A living thing is not living unless it experiences death. Death gives our life meaning. 

For years, they lived in peace. Mihira had not found them, and Kilam began to enjoy the life he was living until Kayle and Morgana's tenth Birthday. On that day, he got each of his girls a necklace. Kayle's was a golden sun, and Morgana's was a silver moon. Upon opening their gifts, Kayle poked at Morgana like she always did, "He got you the moon because you're dependent on me to shine." This affected Morgana greatly, making her angry and begin to scream at Kayle, "I HATE YOU! YOURE HATEFUL! BEING SISTERS WITH YOU IS A WORSE HELL THAN WITH MOTHER!" As she continued sobbing and screaming, purple smoke-like energy rose from her body and reached for Kayle. In defense, Kayle exuded the same smoke, but it was white, and so a struggle between the smoke began. Being only eight years old and unable to handle this traumatic event, you began sobbing while your dad screamed for his daughters to stop. It all became too much, and all you could do was scream. As you screamed, a wave of red smoke washed out from you, pushing Kayle and Morgana to the floor. In the stillness of the next moment, you looked around you and noticed all the plants and flowers were dead. Your father stood silently, gathering you together and putting you to bed, knowing he didn't know what to do. It was then that he realized the gift that was given to him and Mihira on that mountain.

A few weeks after the incident and after the war ended, it became clear that his children possessed the power of the arcane. In a world where magic is hated, feared, and forbidden, he knew the only thing he could do was teach you to keep it hidden. He read and searched for someone to help him until he found a Yordle named Heimerdinger. The wise Yordle understood the magic the three girls possessed but also encouraged the girls to hide it. Heimerdinger concluded that each sister drew her power from a source. Kayles was the arrogance and righteousness of those around her, and Morganas was the pain and suffering. Heimerdinger rarely got frightened of something he was researching, but that changed with you. The stealing of a living being's life force enhanced your magic. This explained the death of the flowers in the house when you were upset—despite this fear, months passed relatively peacefully... until the arrival of Mihira.

With the distraction of the war being over, she was now possessed by the will to train her daughters and raise them as soldiers of wrath and fury as she had. After all, her becoming the bloodthirsty soldier was the price she paid for the magic you and your sisters got to have. She burned down the city, looking for you and your sisters, killing anyone in her path. Only with the help of a mysterious mage was she captured and taken to the depths of Stilwater Prison. However, everyone now knew who you three were and your powers. "We live in a time where your gifts are feared; you cannot stay here any longer," your father said through tears. And before you knew it, you and your sisters were sent to different parts of Runterra and told never to speak of your past. Heimerdinger was the one to take you to Piltover. It was there where he gave you to the older woman, Granny Ray. "My girl, you are of a small age, but you must be brave; this woman here will love and look after you, so fear not. I, unfortunately, cannot stay as I would draw too much attention, so for the next ten years of your life, you are to live with Granny Ray in Zaun." "My girl, I will come get you on your 18th Birthday and take you to Piltover, where you can study whatever you want to make a life for yourself." "When can I see my father again?" you sobbed. "My sweetest child, it is best not to think of that at this time; he has much work he needs to do and told me to tell you how much you are loved." "One final thing, my sweet girl, you must change y/n. It is too well known, so what would you like to be called from now on?" "M-my dad called me Persephone." "AH! The story of the girl in the underworld, how fitting; from now on, Granny Ray and I will refer to you as Persephone, ah, or even Percy for short!"

[megaalodon]

Arcane ramblings!

1 | Heavy Is The Crown

Pacing is fast as fuck, but I can dig it.

So Mels gold things are magic? And she keeps it a secret? I'm intrigued.

Jayce uses the Hexcore to save Viktor... It's fine and understandable, but I think the only time the fast pacing bothered me.

The subtle animation on Caitlyn when the coffin closes on her mother. The way she tries to look at her just a little bit longer...

I like that while Caitlyn feels hate and anger she is a bit more introspective with it. Feel right for her character and it's refreshing to see in fiction.

Mel facing failure... He wavering (?) with the Hextech in the end...

Jayce's (accidental) child killing has consequences and he really had to face grave danger because of it. I liked that too.

The council members are all so fucking traumatized, holy hell. They are not likeable, but I do feel sorry for them still.

Hextech weapons. The thought is terrifying. Hyped for Viktors reaction, tbh.

Vi finding a new purpose... for now. She is drifting, I think, without somebody to protect.

The new characters... don't know what to think about them, yet. But they seem okay. It's just a lot to take in, after such an episode.

Insane episode overall. Feels dangerous.

2 | Watch It All Burn

A fitting end for Silco, back in the water, all his orderly hair floating free

Loved the scene between Jinx and Sevika

The focus on Sevika was very welcome too

The gambling based arm... sillyyy! Kinda loved the contrast between it and Jinx's declaration to kill (?) the rest of her family.

Intrigued by the little girl she picked up, too. I enjoy their interactions.

The way Vi The Protector turned to Vi The Monster, echoing the enforcers in the very first scene of the series. Truly tragic.

Ekko, Jayce and Heimerdinger... fine enough scenes but they felt a bit disjointed from the rest.

Jayce and Viktor needed a lot more time to breathe. Viktors new form did need a lot of more time in general. The pacing really fails those two at the moment.

I do find Viktor as a messiah pretty interesting, tho.

He and Jinx are on a rise in the Undercity, I think. Two new leaders. That is the core of the episode to me.

A bit more overt humor than the last episode. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. But it was never horrible.

3 | Finally Got The Name Right

My headphones died while watching. Very frustrating. I think this episode has some really mighty sound that I could not hear because of my shitty emergency headphones. Will rewatch it as soon as my new ones arrive. Could not get into this episode like that, sady.

I like Caitlyn as a powerful pawn, even though I'm not so hot about that Black Roses plot so far. But we will see.

I feel so sorry for Vi, holy shit!

Ekko, Jayce, Heimerdinger scenes worked better for me this time. I think Heimerdinger is a bit to... cutiefied? To adorable for the role he played in creating Piltover, tbh.

[akstzs]

still so pissed about the Five and Lila thing bc the more I think about it the more unnecessary it becomes

one thing I noticed is that season 4 probably had the least romance subplots introduced compared to the past seasons probably because they introduced love interests for Luther. Diego, Allison, Klaus, Umbrella Ben, and Viktor in previous seasons

And the apocalypse of this season needed to have Sparrow Ben and Jennifer together for basically the whole season bc how else are they gonna touch each other so much they end the world /s

and Five was the ONE CHARACTER I was banking on not having a love interest outside of a mannequin but of course they have to set him up with Lila in the most convoluted way possible

it would have been SO EASY not to do that

It takes them six years trapped in the subway for them to get together? THEN DONT HAVE THEM TRAPPED THERE FOR SIX YEARS

six years was NOT NECESSARY, LITERALLY IF THEY HAD A MONTAGE OF THEM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE SUBWAY FOR LIKE A YEAR OR EVEN A FEW MONTHS IT WOULDVE GOTTEN THE SAME POINT ACROSS

they literally could’ve fit their screen time in that episode with anything else: trying to develop ciphers to figure out the subway instead of another Fives notes just being there on the tracks and also show the emotional toll it takes on them in ways that DONT LEAD TO THEM KISSING EACH OTHER like Lila realizing how long it’s been since she’s seen her kids or Five writing in a notebook and realizing he’s basically doing the same thing he was in the apocalypse trying to find a way home and hinting towards the diner scene where Five realizes it’s all a cycle that leads to the end of the world everytime

we don’t even find out any specifics on how the dimension subway works other than each station is an alternate universe, sure wish we had time to explore it more but ig we just had to have Five/Lila strawberry greenhouse cottage core instead

fricking got my hopes up bc they started the mission by being like we’re going to try and stop Ben’s death which was SO INTRIGUING TO ME and I fully thought it was going to happen bc they brought back the other umbrellas’ younger actors but oops wrong train

hell throw a bit of comedy and show Five picking up another mannequin and taking it along with them with Lila openly judging him

and worst of all even after they get out of the subway the stupid romance subplot turns into a love triangle with Diego

what was even the point of the earlier episodes of the season where Diego suspects Lila of cheating on him and Five reassuring him that she would never do that when it turns out that he was right to be suspicious bc BOTH OF THEM BETRAYED HIM

and so for the rest of the show Diego and Five are just bitter and angry for each other and Five NEVER FUCKING APOLOGIZES and so the ending where they all die together does not feel as deserved as it could have been because there’s still unsolved tension within the family so they don’t even end it all being truly united and content

Steve fricking Blackman insisting that Five MUST have a romance plot, sir have you forgotten that the main theme of this show was supposed to be FAMILY? NOT EVERY CHARACTER HAS TO HAVE A ROMANCE. HE ALREADY HAD DOLORES. FIVE WAS GREAT IN THE LAST THREE SEASONS AND ONE OF THOSE REASONS WAS THAT HIS MAIN MOTIVATION WAS HIS FAMILY BUT NOO IN THE LAST EPISODE LILAS LIKE “it’s done” AND HE JUST FUCKING LEAVES THE MAIN BATTLE? HELLO?? HE CARES ABOUT PEOPLE OTHER THAN HER. Season one and two Five going “but what about my family” you will always be famous so sorry you were switched out with an imposter in the six year time skip

it’s such a shame bc I actually really liked the diner scene and the concept of the new dimensional subway thing but it just got completely ruined by this shoehorned romance and the butchering of Five’s character

[zalisok]

TUA Season 4 Episode 5

Okay, time for episode 5!

oh no they got lost. they were literally stuck in the subway for more than six years??? jesus christ what a nightmare

ow. ow. ow.

anyways how did they find all those supplies??

oh someone please help klaus

i don't think using a lighter in a wooden box is the best thing to do but desperate times do call for desperate measures

what's worse is that he literally has a fear of being locked up :(

why are viktor and reginald in the same car? i hope they don't kill each other

oh my god viktor asdkjashf no more fights over the radio i guess

"the only variables you consider are black and white. there's grey in this world. i live in that space." i like that quote

oh the poor birds

yes viktor, what the hell

ok, what is the cleanse??

how did ben and jennifer not notice the carnage they left behind?? or do they just not care??

aww ben and viktor

viktor's not going to give up so quickly

diego and luther are still in the CIA??

yes luther stay on track.

legs and eggs??

oh it's been so long for five and lila? poor guys.

five no don't give up :(( lila, five, no...

exsqueeze me??

whose side is sy on? what does he stand for?? who is he???

aww doggy...oh thunderbolt can help him!!!

ALLISON??? she is so OP now???

ALLISON GET UP GET UP GET UP

oh claire no no no

ALLISON KILL HIM

oh my god she is a ballbuster

"i'm an actor, you motherfucker" YES GO ALLISON

oh diego :( he's trying so hard for his family:(

what. wait what. what??? ok i need a moment. what is going on??

what? what???????? i need to pause. that was so sudden??????? i don't get it???? the sudden change in tone was way too jarring?? why did five kiss lila????? ok i'll continue watching and try to process this later because what the fuck? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN

is gene jealous? and i am so intrigued by sy??

oh luther is actually getting stuff done! go luther!!

oh SHIT that guy is part of the keepers???

luther connect the dots. connect the dots luther. YES LUTHER GET THEM

why'd they call diego fat he's so in shape??

fight scene let's go

that staple in the palm owwwwww

oh they are not holding back

luther and diego sheninigans let's goo

five. lila. get back to your family. stop. i know you've been through a lot and you deserve a break but not like this. get moving. (i don't think i'm fully processing what's happening it's going to need time to sink in)

are ben and jennifer okay?? please no more vomiting

why is that book there?? placed conveniently??? is it from five from another timeline???

why would you HIDE THAT FROM HER FIVE

oh my god Klaus is still down there....

Allison!! Claire!!! help him!!!!!get hIM OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

omg YES

"God?" "cLOSE ENOugh"

yes lila. GO BACK GO BACK.

five. you shouldn't have hidden this from her.

"survival" so they were doing this to survive? what does this mean?

five. you can't just give up like this.

lol viktor just pushing reggie

why are they trying to kill them?????? and what exactly are viktor's powers?????

"you tore my suit when you threw me into the car" "bill me" I CAN'T

reggie where did this come from :(((((aww:((((((is he being genuine or manipulating him??

oh is jennifer okay:(

omg the keepers are literally everywhere.

WHERE'D SHE GO??????

HOW'D SHE GET THERE??????

oh jennifer what's happening???

WHAT

WAS THIS ALL A SETUP

why is abigail involved??????????? what is she?????? oh my god what????

gene wHO EATS AN ICE CREAM CONE LIKE THAT

i have a lot of thoughts but let's save that for later

[the-ravenist]

We Meet Again

Five Hargreeves x Black!GN!Reader

Reader uses they/them pronouns, reader is black, has powers yet not a Hargreeves, Five & Reader are 17, Reader has locs, ex-lovers to enemies(?), Five is ooc, Viktor will be used, this isn't related to the show

The sound of heavy double doors closing echo's throughout the large mansion. In the center of the black and white checkered floor are 7 people, 6 adults seeming to range around mid 20′s-early 30′s, and a teenage boy who looks about 17 years old. The teenage boys seem to be on edge, looking around the room as if looking for something or in this case someone. One of the lanky adults, Klaus, wanders off from his place behind his brother with the rest of his siblings to stand next to the kid, looking down at him he asks,

“Hey, uh Five,” yes that was the boys' name. Five, like the number, his ranking, the number after four, “you said we are  supposed to meet someone here yet the place seems....abandoned.” Klaus asks as he looks around the grand entrance, intrigued by the vintage aesthetic it gives.

The said boy looks up at his brother only to glare at him before huffing and replying, “I know and we are,” he walks to the staircase in the room, “this place is too clean for somebody not to live here.”

Klaus was about to reply before hearing one of the ancient vases falling and shattering on the ground when the siblings look towards the sounds distracted a person had appeared at the head of the stairs with firearms of all kinds floating around their head directed toward the odd sibling group. Their gaze seems to be centered on Five, their eyes hold no emotion other than slight anger. 

With a low yet booming voice, the person says,

“It’s weird seeing you here Five Hargreeves,” the guns are cocked and aimed at said person. At the voice, the group turns to the person alarmed and armed. Five lowers his protective stance and holds his arms up in surrender, his slight smirk, and innocent eyes irritate the wielder of the weapons.

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," Five teases the mystery person and walks forwards with hesitant steps. Yet an invisible force seems to stop his stride, he looks up at their face to see that their nose had started bleeding yet their face remains unbothered.

Tired and annoyed at his supposed younger brother, the second shortest man, Diego, steps up with a knife in his hand.

"Oh okay, I'm tired of the secrets and shit," his voice is short of a yell as his eyes shift from his brother to what looks like a modern grim reaper.

"So, tell me who the hell you are since this el carbón won't tell us shit," he finishes with a firmer tone.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself. It is quite rude of me right?" The guns are aimed at the siblings again instead of just Five, “ it seems that common courtesy has slipped my mind.” They also release the telekinetic hold on Five which stops the flow of blood from their nose.

"My name is (Y/N) and you are Diego, Allison, Viktor, Klaus, and Luther," they say looking at each named sibling. “Or in other words The Umbrella Academy.” The siblings are more on edge when their names are spoken by the mystery person, well their name is supposedly (Y/N).

While the siblings are staring in fear, Five is in rather awe, looking at the melanin deity that he used to call his friend. Even though they were definitely more than just friends. Locs that used to be at their ears are reaching a little bit under their shoulders, they're way taller than before, and they've seemed to gain muscle well almost everywhere. When green eyes meet gray ones they narrow in anger and sadness-filled glare(mostly anger from (Y/N)). He goes to speak before (Y/N) beat him to it.

"Get. Out. Now," they speak with a firm tone, leaving no room to argue. Everyone seems to step back slightly from the tone of their voice as well as the guns which seem to loom over them.

Luther scoffs and puffs out his chest a bit, pushing his way in front of Five, he says with such confidence as he looks from the guns to (Y/N) and back.

“This is so stupid, intimidating us with guns,” Diego goes to stand with his buffer brother to say. “I bet those aren’t even loaded,” he finishes his brother's statement.

With a twitch of their hand, they move a shotgun downwards, and telekinetically the trigger is pulled. Leaving a hole near the boy's feet, sensing the tense atmosphere Allison goes to speak but stops when (Y/N) speaks.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want your neck slit," they mockingly tilt their head while glaring at Allison. "Again of course," they finish, their eyes sparkle with slight amusement.

Allison's body goes rigid as well as the others when they notice a knife dangerously close to her neck. Viktor does not want his sister to get hurt, so he speaks up in a calm voice.

"Hey, hey can we not do that," he says with his hands raised. " Five has brought us here to talk. It appears that you may be able to assist us."

(Y/N) scoffs at this claim, their glare hardening when their eyes meet with Fives again. Looking away from his green orbs they look at the others before telekinetically putting the guns away. Klaus and Viktor watch as weapons float up the right stairway away from their sight. In the middle of the room, they walk down the grand staircase while pulling out a tissue from the back pocket of their dress pants to wipe the blood from their nose.  

“Okay, I’m here and you no longer have a red dot on your heads,” (Y/N) states as they wiped their face. “What is it,” they ask with a shrug of their shoulders.

A bit annoyed that his siblings, out of all people, got  (Y/N) was able to cooperate so quickly, Five blips in front of Diego and Luther glaring at ex-coworker(?). 

“Yeah, yeah now if we can skip the greetings we got some serious shit to discuss,” Five states in a yell, looking from his siblings to (Y/N). “Like oh, I don’t know, the world ending in two days!”

(Y/N) just rolls their eyes at Five’s outburst. Still such a child, they think.

“I guess I was correct about the formula being wrong,” ignoring Five as they scan his new look. ”I was right per usual,” they finish with a smirk.

“Oh, and the whole world ending again because a certain someone wasn’t careful,” the siblings glance at Five before they look back at (Y/N). “I can’t help you with that.” 

(Y/N) goes over to the broken vase on the floor to clean up while Five is silently raging. He marches over to them, huffing a little bit which each step. 

“What do you mean you can’t help,” he asked baffled and frustrated.

“Well, it’s just as I said,” they say as they start picking up the broken vase. “I cannot help you.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

They look at Five from their crouched position to smirk at him, “why can’t it be both?” 

With a growl, Five walks away from them, just as Diego is walking toward the brown-skinned teen. He pulls out a knife from his thigh holster to hold it against their neck, rather than acting terrified (Y/N) remains unfazed by the situation.

“If you wish to live, you will help us, I’ve already lost my girlfriend due to her getting involved in this shit,” he presses the blade harder. “So tell me exactly you wouldn’t help us save the world?”

“I have every reason to say no, and I’m sorry about your loss,” (Y/N) grasps the porcelain sharps tightly. “Now if you wish to keep that hand, I suggest that you remove your knife from my neck,” they say as they look at the slightly bloody hands.

Ignorantly he asks, “or what?”

Now fully paying attention to the interaction between the two, Five mutely warns his brother. Well, at least he tries. While Diego is pushing the knife hard enough that it draws blood, you can feel the decorative shards mold together, forming into a porcelain baton.  Gripping the newly made weapon in your hands you glare at your assailant with narrowed eyes and a slightly bloody nose, you say in a low tone.

“Or I could leave you with a broken nose,” before he could question you swing the baton full force at his face. Knocking him backward that he lads on his back at the front of the stairs.

The group looks from you and their dazed brother in shock, they stand a lot straighter when they stand up fully, facing toward the siblings. With your hands and nose bleeding you face them with a challenging glare and tense shoulders.

“Now I said, no. Now you could leave while all of y’all are standing or we could do the hard way and y’all can live with the shame that a child took down The Umbrella Academy.”

Five blips in front of his siblings his glare and posture matching (Y/N)’s. They let a small smirk crawl on their face as they sigh in fake disappointment.

“I guess that some blood with shed today, I wasn’t hoping it will be yours, seeing as we meet again.”

Well he is my first fanfic, I’m sorry that it took so long for me to post this I’ve been busy w/ exams and finding some colleges. I hope I did well for my first post, this will probably get a part 2, I’m not entirely sure. I apologize for the lack of Five and Reader moments, and characters being ooc. If you see this on wattpad, especially by the author @/Ravenfashionista, that is me.

[random-imagines-blog]

Post Red {Viktor Krum x Reader Oneshot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 3072 Summary: At a time when he should be focused on the game, Viktor Krum is distracted by you, his childhood best friend, and a blonde-haired boy who won’t stop flirting.

The Quidditch World Cup. You came just about every year, getting pretty okay seats with your best friend Viktor and his family. His parents and yours were good friends, which instantly meant that you were best friends. And with his father holding season passes to every Quidditch world cup, no matter where it was, this had become a yearly tradition. “I’m going to be on the Bulgarian team one day,” Viktor would always state as you watched the players fly. Bulgaria was always his favorite. Home country pride. It was yours too, but sometimes you liked to cheer for other times to mix things up. You would always grin and nudge him to point out something a player was doing, but not this year. This year, you were at the top of the stadium, standing next to the Minister of Magic in a special area, watching Viktor Krum play in Bulgaria versus Ireland. He was achieving his dream.

Every time that he flew past you, you jumped up and down, waving the flag of his team. He had become the star seeker of the team so quickly, it made your head spin. But you were nothing if not supportive. You used up your allowance to buy his merchandise, even though he could get it to you for free. It almost became a joke between the two of you, how you would always show up to his house wearing a sweater with his face on it, bright and smiling. You always made the joke that he was smiling on the sweater because it was the closest that he would ever get to your chest. He would make the joke in return that he was just smiling because he finally was looking at someone good looking - himself. He was actually very funny for a serious looking man.

You weren’t the only one high up in the stadium. Sharing a box with you was the Minister of Magic himself, and a man with his son. The boy was two or three years younger than you, you would assume by his size, and his hair was as silver as snow, just like his fathers. You had no interest in them. You weren’t here to make friends. You were here to support the best one that you had. But you did give a friendly hello and smile to the Minister, as it was better to have a friend in him than an enemy.

The other boy though, he wanted to have more than a friendly hello with you. He kept moving closer to the part of the box that you were occupying. He spoke to you with a very snobby voice, and though it would be considered rude and your parents would be disappointed in you, your direct reaction was to pretend that you didn’t know English.

“I’m Draco Malfoy,” He said, sticking his hand out to shake yours. “We’re here with the Minister of Magic. Are you here by yourself?”

Rather than shake his hand, because you honestly didn’t want to touch him for too long, you tapped yours against his in a high-five. “Ja, go fast!” You said, pointing at one of the Bulgarian Chasers who just flew past you.

The look on Draco’s face was worth it. But there was still a long game ahead of you. It could go on for hours. For days. Hopefully for the former though, because Viktor was a really good seeker. You had full confidence that he would get the snitch before it turned midnight.

Draco went and stood by his father for a little bit, and the two had quiet conversations. You didn’t pay him much attention. You were too busy watching the game. Even during lulls when it was just Chasers fighting over the ball in the middle of the pitch, you were intrigued. You didn’t pay attention to anything else - except for maybe making faces at Viktor when he passed by you on his way to catch what he thought was the snitch. He was darting back and forth so quickly though, it was hard to tell if he had seen you.

Since the World Cup was officially sponsored by Butterbeer, it kept being brought up to your box by people who worked for the Quidditch federation. It was enough to keep you warm as the game went into the nighttime. The skies seemed to threaten rain, but you didn’t care whether it fell or not. You were having fun, regardless of the weather.

The Irish scored the first goal. You booed, even though the others in your box seemed to be very supportive of the green team. You smiled apologetically at Fudge as he gave you an odd look, but didn’t pass a glance at the other two. However, the young boy came and stood beside you again, leaning over the box to look down at the people below in the lesser seats. He was sneering at them, like they had done something wrong by just existing there. That was worth a look to you at least. He caught your eye, and that sneer turned into a smile.

“Is this your first time at the Quidditch World Cup?” He asked. You shook your head, still feigning not knowing any English. “We come every year. But this is the first time that we’re in the Minister’s Box. So how did you get up here anyway? Who are you?”

He wasn’t letting up. You tried to look up at the players again, but the war for the Quaffle was going on in the middle of the pitch which meant there wasn’t much to look at right now. He nudged your side, so you finally answered, giving him your first and last name.

“Sounds exotic,” He said, which made you have to turn away and roll your eyes. Leave it to someone from England to think that your name was exotic, when it was commonplace where you were from. And not like he had the right to judge - what sort of name was Draco?

There was finally some action on the pitch, which took his attention from you for a little while. Unfortunately it was Ireland again, scoring the second goal of the game. Your eyes scanned the pitch to look for the familiar frame of your best friend and you saw him across the stadium. He was balanced on his broom, sitting on it in a way that made it look easy. Comfortable. You always admired how effortless he made it look to fly, while you were always hunched down, holding on with both hands until your knuckles had started to hurt. You waved at him when you thought you caught his eye and he smiled back at you. You chuckled as you heard a few girls in rows below you start to squeal because they thought that it had been at him.

“He’s overrated,” Draco muttered beside you.

“Krum?” You asked - before realizing this was very close to exposing yourself as a fraud.

“Yeah. He’s not even that good. In fact, I’m better than him. I’m the Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team. I got in second year, which is really rare, actually.”

You let his voice go in one ear and then out the other. This boy seemed to like to talk about himself an awful lot.

Ireland scored a third goal, and you groaned loudly, cutting off Draco in the middle of a sentence. “Oh, are you cold?” He asked.

Either he didn’t notice that you were shaking your head, or he didn’t care. He moved in closer to you and tried to put his arm around your shoulders. In your discomfort, you took a few hasty steps away, and ended up bumping into the Minister himself, stepping on his robes which almost pulled him down.

“I’m so sorry,” You said in horror as you realized what you had just done. You helped him to upright himself, and he gave you a wary look, like he should have expected this.

“It’s quite alright,” He said, but he did wander to the other side of the box, far away from you. You watched, feeling a bit bashful about what just had happened. At least, until there was a cheer from the fans. Ireland scored yet another goal. You sighed, and put your gaze back on the game. Viktor had moved since you had last seen him, and you began to scan for him once more, only for him to pop up not too far from you.

“I knew you spoke English,” Draco said from next to you. You almost forgot about the little twerp, but here he was, making himself known again. You never met anyone so infuriating before. He just couldn’t pick up a hint. “Come on, talk to me. Do you go to Hogwarts? I felt like I would have seen you there.”

“I don’t go to Hogwarts,” You stated. “You have not seen me before. And after this, we shall not meet again. Please, leave me alone.”

“I’ll be telling my father about your rudeness,” He said, finally turning away from you. You let out a sigh of relief. Maybe you could finally get into the game.

There had been a few close calls of Ireland getting the snitch. They were winning by quite a lot, and you could feel Viktor’s frustration from where you were standing. He kept looking at you, and you didn’t have much to offer him except for crossing your fingers.

“I think you should come to have dinner with us after the game,” Draco said, strolling back over to you after a while.

“The game could go on for hours, or even days,” You said, clenching the fence in front of you. You had never felt the urge to punch someone before but it was growing slowly and steadily. Something about his ferret like face.

“Well, we’re taking a break soon. We brought our new house elf. It’s an alright cook, it’ll do for the occasion. And you’re going to join us, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine here, thank you,” You said, scoffing at the idea of a break. You had no intention of leaving the game until it was over, even if that meant starving or peeing yourself. You were dedicated to stick it out for Viktor, at the very least.

He was flying not too far, eyes peeled for the stitch. But he looked at you. He was able to smile once more, but a hand grabbed yours and pulled you away from the fence. In your astonishment, you had let go. “Come on, we’re going to have something to eat.”

There was a sound of awe from the crowd at the exact same time that something went soaring by your head. You just barely managed to duck before it turned around and came back. A bludger. But how in the hell did it-

It went returning the way that it had come from, flying across the pitch. That was when you saw Viktor again, a little closer to you this time, holding a beater’s bat. He tossed it back to the beater, who went soaring after the bludger, while Viktor looked over at you. You put your hands over your heart as a thank you. He had always been a little overprotective of you, but right now, you were grateful for it. You were able to snap your hand away from Draco’s grasp, who was still ducking from the bludger attack. “I said I’m fine here. And if you, or your father, have a problem with that, you can shove it up your rear!” You shouted. The Minister overheard this part of the conversation and let out a little ‘oh my’ in surprise.

You didn’t even care. Enough was enough. If he grabbed you again, you would be telling everyone that you were being assaulted, and put him on full blast. Though he looked rather shaky after the encounter with the bludger, so you had the feeling he wouldn’t actually be bothering you again. You returned back to the fence so you could overlook the pitch again, and wrapped your hands around it so no one would be able to drag you back again.

-

The game finished with Bulgaria’s loss. You were disappointed, but it wasn’t Viktor’s fault. He still managed to catch the snitch, so he had done his job. It was the Keeper that you were disappointed with, and you would be bringing that up to him later.

You descended the endless flights of stairs, blending in with the crowd after the game - many were celebrating but there were quite a few who looked the same as you felt. Damn Ireland, you were thinking to yourself. And damn the Bulgarian Keeper! He hadn’t been able to do his job properly. Even Viktor would have done a better job, and it was his least favorite position!

You managed to veer away from the crowd to go to your own little campsite. Much like the others around yours, the tent was much bigger and roomier on the inside than it appeared on the outside, thanks to a little magic. You marched on through the flaps to go inside, and change out of your clothes. It had been a long game, and you had definitely sweated at least a little bit. You wanted to be much more presentable when Viktor would come along and join you.

The flap came open once more, and Viktor strolled in, just as you were fastening the button on your bottoms. He had perfect timing - now at least, maybe not so during the game. His jaw was clenched, you noticed, and he looked very angry. He’d lost games before, but still reveled in the fact that he had been playing. This was not a mood that just came from the game.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, watching as he walked past you to the armchair that was in front of the budding fire. Thank heavens for magic - a fire and a tent would never have worked otherwise.

“That boy who was touching you-” He said, sinking into the chair, and spit directly into the fire with disgust. “What’s his name?”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about him, Vik. I think you scared him enough with the bludger. He wouldn’t even come close to me after that. Turned white as a sheet,” You chuckled at the memory, but his anger seemed to rage on.

“No, tell me his name.” Viktor demanded. You sighed, and walked to where he was sitting. The chair wasn’t big enough for the both of you, but it had rather wide arms and you planted yourself right there. You leaned your head against the top of his, the bristly growth of his hair tickling your forehead. “Y/N...”

“He was a stupid, petulant child who I am never going to lay eyes on again, Viktor Krum. Why did it make you so mad?”

“No one should be touching you. No one should be dragging you...” He said, moodily. He was staring into the fire, not at you at all.

“Tell you what. I’ll let you know his name after you calm down, how about that?” You suggested. It would take some time - he had a temper like a bonfire that would just keep on burning until the morning.

“Fine,” He grumbled. He said nothing more, and the two of you sat in silence, staring at the fire as it crackled, and listening to some of the cheers from outside. People were still celebrating the Irish win out there, and it gave everything a joyous atmosphere. “I’m not angry anymore.” He said after a few more minutes.

You pulled away from him, and took a look at his eyes to see if he really was in a post-red mood. He still looked grumpy but the worst of it seemed to be over. “His name was Draco Malfoy. His father is friends with the Minister, which is why I didn’t do much about it myself. You took good care of me, Vik. Just be happy that it ended the way that it did and we could move on with our lives.”

“If I see him again, I’m punching him,” Viktor grumbled. You shrugged, alright with that since the likelihood of it seemed so low.

“That is a price that he will have to pay then,” You smiled, moving back towards him and fell into his lap. Before you could try to get up, his arms went around your waist and started to tickle you in the way that he knew you hated. Fingers digging into your skin, it was a horrible feeling but the closeness that it brought wasn’t entirely terrible. “Vik - come on, stop...”

“I like it when you call me that,” He said, finally letting a smile come across his usual gruff features. You smiled in return, and lightly ran your fingers across his sculpted jawline, feeling the bone beneath his skin. His breathing hitched, and he held you closer, tighter.

You grew closer, until you could feel the heat of his breath on your lips. Viktor was so close - and you hadn’t realized until this moment that this was something that you wanted. You had always been friends, and your parents had teased since the beginning that they were planning your wedding to each other. But this was the first time that you had seen what they had been seeing.

Screams came from outside, and they were far from being the joyous kind. There was serious fear in the female voice that you had heard. And then came others. More and more screaming. The tent seemed to move as people were rushing past it. You could just see it through the crack between the flaps which acted as doors.

“Stay with me,” Viktor said, getting up immediately. You agreed to this without question, and when he offered you his hand, you took it. Whatever danger was out there, you were certain that you could face it together.

[never-enough-fanfiction]

Joker as a dad

Of coure I can dear anon!

That was a LOT of mess to organize since I had a lot of ideas but it was awesome and funny.

Joker's relationship with his s / o is told in every story, so here I will focus on his relationship with children.

Enjoy!

Joker never planned a family, whatever he might say, he always saw himself attracting misfortune and / or death to everyone close to him.

But damn it, don't even think he is one of those who disappear without a trace at the sight of two lines

This dude is ready to go to the very bottom of hell for his child and will always be within thier screams

He would rather perish than give anyone a chance to drag them through a hell like he has been dragged

Weird uncle Joker has also more patience to his kids than to Shinmon’s twins.

Probably because he loves them more.

Or they are just less feral than the Asakusa’s kids.

Does Joker have any idea how to take care of child? Nope. But he can be childish so they understand each other on mental level.

Kids are easy to impress, especially when you know how to throw flaming cards. At this point, Joker's ego — about how cool he is — is big enough to crush him.

He doesn't know very well what to do then the kid tosses a tantrum. Hysteria is annoying, so he usually sits there doing nothing waiting for them to get over it. 

In general, emotions are your field of expression.

Joker don’t have problems with his kids dream jobs. He will only actively discourage them from becoming priests.

He was a lonely wolf for a long time with unlimited freedom, if suddenly he is forced to adapt all his time to children, he will go crazy. Even more than it has already gone. Let him disappear from time to time and wander underground on his own.

Not to mention the need to discover the truth. This man has a work to do.

No problem tossing the kids a bit too high. The good side is that he always catches them.

He is also very fast; some even claim he can teleport. Magical or not, this ability comes in handy every time Joker leap to protect his kids from any harm sometimes even with his own body. He's been through a lot already, a falling vase, being crushed by a wardrobe, and even a fall down the stairs.

One of the first lessons was "Don't trust the empire and the church. Everyone lies." After a while it turned into "Don't trust the empire and the church. Everyone lies, except for mom and me. "

Despite the lack of formal education, Joker learned a lot about the history of the empire through his research, and can help his kids with homework. Only later do you get phone calls from school that your child is questioning everything in the textbook.

Joker generally sees no point in sending his kids to school. Just sit them next to Viktor, and they'll be smarter than their classmates combined.

Is Joker a member of best dads’ club? Hell no.

Does Joker give it his all? Hell yeah.

Trips!

The most important thing for him is that they are independent and have fun in life, and he always care about the second matter when spending time together

Nether is their second home. Or the third, if you include his and Licht's hideout.

They've probably walked around all this "safe Nether" and know more corners than Joker himself.

By "safe" I mean that Joker makes sure no unwanted ears hear that he has someone he cares about and checks in advance destinations of their trips.

Sometimes he also drives with them on his vehicle.

Asakusa is actually one of the safer places on the surface. No one who intends to make life difficult for others will survive in this wonderful place, so automatically there are no Joker's enemies. On the other hand, as long as you don't bother the inhabitants, they don't mind you, no matter how strange you may be. Therefore, you can sometimes meet the Joker showing the city to his children.

Yes, your children are taught to gamble from an early age and grow up with children similar to Hika and Hina, good luck with that.

Uncles!

Viktor, as a crazy uncle, is probably not a surprise to anyone. While it may not be such a good idea to entrust young children with him, when they start school, he is a great source of information.

Licht, on the other hand, is glad to have his own little curious listeners to whom he can show various, strange things.

Just make sure they don’t touch his stuff.

They also know uncle Mr. Burns!  

Not that Joker ever told him he has kids. On one trip to Nether while they were playing hide and seek (read: Joker lost the kid out of his sight for a while), he found them talking to Burns.

The captain was intrigued not only by of the sole idea of meeting a child at the bottom of the Nether, but also this one was deceptively resembling an insubordinate teenager from years ago.

Grandpa mode kicks in just a tiny bit.

Now the fun part!

Joker sometimes likes to do something dangerous to feel alive. And his children seem to have inherited it.

You see, when you need to wake Joker up, it's better not to do it violently and if you can't keep your distance, be prepared for the need of sudden dodge. Joker's past looks as it looks, shit happens and there is a chance he will wake up in fight mode

Your kids on the other hand usually are more like:

* Forces his eyelids open * "I need to pee, come with me"

Let's ignore the fact that they needed to pass the toilet door to get into your bedroom

Joker also is best buddies with monsters from under the bed and the wardrobe

[queen-pudi]

Cuteness Overload

Hello! So I’ve never written a fic before and English is my worst subject in school but when I realized I read every single fic on this app for Fire Force I got sad so I made this. Please enjoy and if you like it maybe I’ll make more! Also thank you to @seashellsandshores for getting me into Fire Force, proofreading this for me and overall being a great friend!! She is a much better writer than I am so please check her out!!

Viktor x Reader

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Being a new recruit to Company 8 was something you thought you were prepared for but apparently weren’t. You were a little shy in the beginning but over time you warmed up and created a family within Company 8. Sure most families don’t have siblings getting attacked and kidnapped by a cult every 2 weeks but it’s still a family nonetheless. Your power was the ability to use your hair as any sort of weapon you want. It was a little hard to get used to but once you got the hang of it was super useful on the field. 

However, you still had a hard time controlling your power, especially when you were flustered or nervous. When you were a bit flustered like most people you’d blush but sometimes you’d been known to get so hot your cheeks would go up in flames. Sometimes going as far as your hair catching on fire and wrapping yourself in a cocoon. 

At first, it was annoying but overtime you got used to it, and overall most of your shyness was just you trying to avoid having to explain why you were having a mini bonfire on your face. You had been doing a great job until Viktor showed up.

 When he joined Company 8 you just about burst into flames. In your eyes he was perfect. He was everything you wanted, witty, smart, kind, and extra points for the height and that beautiful head of hair

When he first came to Company 8 he wanted to learn as much about everyone as he could. This meant he wanted to set up appointments to meet with each and every one of you guys, this obviously including you. Due to your condition and his overall, well everything, you were dreading this moment. You had gotten better at hiding it but normally you weren’t going to be as close as you were with him. It was just going to be you and him with all his attention on you. 

“SHIT” you screamed, at the mere thought of talking to him you had burned your pillow and effectively rendered it useless. Sighing you threw it with the other ones and went to get a new one. 

Viktor saw you as an enigma. You had been actively avoiding him ever since he came to the company. Only ever speaking to say Hello or goodbye or “Arthur accidentally stabbed himself with his sword again” You barely even made eye contact with him and he was starting to get curious. He knew he could be a bit eccentric but you haven’t even spoken enough to see that side of him. 

Truth be told he also fancied you. He thought your quiet nature was cute but he also found it fascinating how you became so confident and fierce when you were in battle or when you were in a meeting. He wanted to get to know you but every time he got close you’d dodge him or go off with someone else.

He was patient though because he knew his time would come where he could sweep you off your feet and impress you with his intelligence. 

While you avoided him for a while it was finally time to have your meeting with him. To say you were nervous was an understatement. You were like a walking radiator at that point. It’s amazing how you aren’t a puddle right now. 

After standing outside the lab door debating the consequences of just quitting and joining the circus you finally gained the courage to knock. Before you could though Viktor was already opening the door on his way to find you

“Y/N! I was worried you wouldn’t show up!” He exclaimed just a little louder than he wanted to and instantly regretting it once he saw you flinch

“Well, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to improve on my abilities!” You said trying to come off confident but ultimately failing when your voice started to crack. You walked into his makeshift lab. It wasn’t perfect but it would do for now. You observed all the equipment like a child, curious on how it works and what it was used for. 

You stopped when you felt a pair of eyes watching you. You turned and saw Viktor looking at you with a dopey grin. You spun around fast, feeling your face warm up not even a minute into this and you were already on the verge of erupting.

For the first 5 minutes, it was an awkward silence. While he took your vitals you were trying not to turn into hades as he was just inches away from your face. He was trying to scramble for something to say. (All that brainpower and he can’t even think of a dad joke smh) 

“Well it looks like you are perfect!” he said after finishing the first round of tests. You knew he meant you were in good health but to hear him call you perfect was enough to set your cheeks blazing. You were scrambling to calm down before he took notice of your predicament 

The next test was just accessing your abilities. Show all the things your hair could do and so on. Nothing really interesting, although you did burn a hole through the wall and almost gave yourself some wicked whiplash. 

For a while he was chalking this up to the uncomfortable setting of him constantly probing you with tools and questions. After a while though he started to worry it wasn't the setting that was making you uncomfortable but him.

Viktor tried to make conversation but all he would get was a few chuckles and some nodding. It was starting to get to him. He knew he wasn’t as sweet as Shinra or as Attractive as Obi but he thought he was good enough in the looks department and overall a pretty nice guy. 

The meeting eventually came to a close and he had just about enough of your lack of response. As you were on the way out he just couldn’t help himself 

“I’m sorry but am I doing something wrong?” he asked, concern lacing his voice, you stopped in your tracks and looked at him in confusion 

“No you have been great-” “ Then why won’t you talk to me, hell you barely even look at me!” He cut you off. He was frustrated at this point, and rightfully so.

Thinking back on it you had been a bit ruder than you intended to be. While trying to keep your distance you had basically ignored him. It was almost as if he was just another wall to you. 

“I have been trying to talk to you for weeks only for you to avoid me at every chance you get. I was hoping to maybe establish some sort of friendship during this meeting but you have been ignoring me and when you do acknowledge me it’s with short responses and nods. You don’t have to like me but at the very least you could pretend for a second-” He blurted out. 

He hadn’t intended to word vomit all at once but he couldn’t help himself. He was a curious creature by nature and he needed to find the answers to all these questions he had.

“It’s not that I don’t like you, it's just the opposite! I just…” you trailed off you had noticed that in his state of frustration and your panic you 2 had inched closer to one another. Your faces just within inches of one another.

Ultimately it was too much and you could stop your cheeks from flaming up. Viktor backed away in shock wondering why you didn’t mention this before. Before he could ask what was wrong you had cocooned yourself in a little hairball out of complete embarrassment. 

“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to! You are just so nice and smart and I just get so flustered when you are around! I want to get to know you but then this happens and I’m sorry-” you were trying to calm down but you just kept getting more embarrassed causing your cocoon to heat up more.

Viktor was just in awe. Besides the fact that you were in the process of turning into a human butterfly, he sort of found it adorable. This combined with what you were saying he was also in the process of burning up

“Y/N! It’s ok! I’m not mad!” he said in an attempt to calm you down “I actually think it’s sort of cute” he mumbled just loud enough for you to hear. This intrigued you enough for you to calm down so that you could look at him, cheeks blazing an all. 

“Really? What’s so cute about me turning in a human lighter?” 

Viktor laughed while taking a seat next to you “I find everything you do cute when you laugh and your nose crinkles; cute when you yawn and instantly cover your mouth with both hands to hide your face: cute, and when you turn into human torch from fantastic four when you get embarrassed: cute” he confessed

You slowly cooled down and let your hair unravel. You mustered up all your courage to look at him. Your cheeks were still emitting flames but not as bright as before. He gave you a soft smile which you returned. You don’t know how it started but slowly you 2 started to lean in. Lips just a breath away from each other until

“Viktor Y/N its time for dinner…” Hinawa said, bursting into the room. You and Viktor bolted away from each other, flames starting to engulf your face. Hinawa paused, processing the scene that was in front of him. 

“Lieutenant this is not what it looks like! I mean it sort of is but it’s also no-” You screamed frantically

 “When you two are done making out can you please join us for dinner. Afterwards we can discuss workplace romance and fill out the proper paperwork.” He announced while on his way out. 

Mortified you wrapped yourself up into a burrito and ran out the room. Left in the lab was Viktor who looked just about as red as you, wearing a lovesick smile, “Like I said: Cute”

[insane-mane]

Did you see the new video of The Ink Tank's version of the Negative Ten?

I really enjoy this new take!

The lineup feels much more balanced, and adding a few characters that I never really considered returning was a neat creative decision that adds something extra to the ensemble, makes it feel larger.

The fact the circus freaks were originally added didn’t feel like a lot of variety was there, so an actual zombified Zombozo woulda been way more neat! Excluding Sublimino made sense, he was only good for about…two things, and half the time I forget he’s even there. Definitely more of a B villain. Kane North is an odd, yet way more effective substitute in comparison.

Viktor and Camille’s Ex’s inclusion were almost a shock, since the Forever Knights have a big anti-alien thing going on. But hey, they’re no strangers to taking alien tech and using it for themselves, why not throw in alien labor in there as well, viewing them as expendable (especially Logan since he ends up dying anyway).

Kevin seems like a no brainer, being one of Ben’s main big bads. The collar idea is very intriguing, and gives Kev a reason to follow Driscoll’s orders (aside from the insanity part). He prob could’ve stolen his own Null Void Projector, but then we wouldn’t have that brief moment between him and Gwen, adding to future events. Either way, really neat addition even if he’s not fully himself.

Reinventing others like Rojo is so simple yet changes things in such a neat way, explaining why she’s there and how she has new armor instead of just a throw away line, and acknowledging how she’s still semi-infused with alien tech! As much as I love the Forever Ninja, having her take the place of a non-speaking character with no personality makes sense. She def would’ve made an interesting foil for Cooper, with him overcoming her by using his abilities but still being limited before the climax.

Having the story also give a better introduction to Cooper is a WAAAAY better subplot than…the typical Ben and Gwen bickering (over a movie ticket no less). Makes things feel more interesting. I really love the “hearing aid” aspect, and his eventual mastery of his technological abilities by making an amalgamated suit. Gives sooo much more to the character here and makes his return even more neat by seeing his progression w/o the use of the goggles.

Driscoll staying in the shadows til the final fight really adds more to his master planner vibe, orchestrating everything and waiting for the right moment to finally use the sub energy, adding to the grand feeling this special has and actually living up to Max’s talk about it. Having him similar to Servantis by viewing Ben as a threat than just a minor inconvenience really creates a better build up than what was sorta loosely put together. Hell, you could say Servantis, while not on the same side as Driscoll wholesale, was at least in agreement that Ben is still a major threat. Could help tie everything together that way idk I’m spitballing if anything. Side note: 100% agree it was weird how Driscoll showed up and Enoch left in the dust. Honestly would’ve just kept Enoch as the Forever King, myself.

Finally, having Ben cycle through his aliens in order to get a new one is great, and having them be Feedback would’ve blown me away as a kid! Love how you wanted to tie everything together into later canon with this, it definitely lead to what coulda been an even cooler special had they originally had the hindsight of the franchise to their knowledge. This would’ve been a masterful way to help things feel interwoven perfectly.

Whether you think it makes for a better ending to the show depends on where you put it, I personally think it’d fit before SOTO, as this would’ve be a *really* fun romp before getting into the higher stakes of universal destruction.

[calypsoff]

Sixteen. Part 4

Walking around with a gut full of Chris’ babies and his tee on, life is great. It is what I have craved, and then this heat. I smiled closing my eyes as I moved my face up to the sun, this is what I want. I am happy, and the sex was great, I can never get bored of Chris’ dick game, he is so fucking good at it. Stepping outside smiling to myself, just on time. Mel started to call, she said she was. Chris is still asleep; he is tired which doesn’t shock me. I even shifted him from me, and he didn’t move at all, I love the soreness. I also love that Chris has been eating fruit, it was better to swallow, tasty I would say “Morning!” Mel spat “good morning friend” sitting down on the lounger, a little sore I would say. I can feel it now, the soreness “damn” I breathed out “mhmmm so how is Mexico? Spill the tea, unless Chris is there?” I smirked “he is asleep, I think I wore him out. I wore him out, you know” I can’t stop smiling “wore him out? How did he take the handcuffs?” I giggled “he uhm at first didn’t trust me, made me twirl around with my booty out. And I just used my cute face, he agreed but he was annoyed. His wrists were sore, so he says. But it was good, we had a good night. I did think I would be sleeping with him but I woke up early and I am talking to you. I actually wore him out, girl I was riding him but then I took the handcuffs off him and he gripped me to the bed” Mel screamed down the phone and so did I “you are having the time of your life! How many times!?” she half shouted “girl, I don’t know. I think he came about six times; I don’t know. Maybe it was pre-cum but I got him good, one minute I want to light my blunt” placing the phone down, I am so happy like I feel so good, I want to ride him right now.

Blowing the smoke out from my lips “I am back girl, but yeah. Its wild but my sex drive has been turned on and I can’t stop, I orgasm so hard. Bitch, I do!” Mel can’t stop laughing “the fuck has happened to you? Like seriously? You and Rakim didn’t have any sex, the hell. What changed” I shrugged “because I fancy my man, my best friend, my childhood lover. He is everything I have wanted Mel and I am happy. Oh and” placing the blunt between my lips “oh and what bitch? Girl you are bad, like forget him biting your damn neck, you are the worst now. Out of nowhere” blowing the smoke out from my lips “I ain’t taking the pill, I have been off for like six or seven weeks now” the phone went silent “you both playing with fire!?” Mel shouted “well me, but I want a baby” I am being deadass “wait, hold on Robyn. Baby, what the fuck is happening? What do you mean me? Chile, you have a career. You are doing it at the wrong time, why are you doing this?” they going to call me crazy “I just want to be a mother, I couldn’t care less for this life Mel. I am happy to be not famous, I am content with this” Mel is speechless I get it but I want a baby, I want to have a baby with him “and Chris is ok with this?” clearing my throat “maybe not but he will be fine, if it happens then it happens. Chris says no but then he gets over it, I want to be a young mother Mel. I can still do all this shit; I just want to have a family. I want a husband, I just want the family I didn’t get, and I will do everything I can do keep that” Mel doesn’t approve clearly “he deserves to know” Mel mumbled “when it happens, I am telling you about this situation and that is it” she needs to accept it.

Placing my hand on his chest and pecking his lips “Chris, baby. Wake up” a smile formed on his face, he is awake “wake up my love” pressing a kiss to his lips “morning” he said groggily “I want this every waking morning, for you to be in my bed. Wake up, I am waiting to have something to eat ok?” Chris nodded his head and stretched out his body, he is so sexy. Shuffling off of the bed, he will come when he is ready, let me go and wait for him. Smiling wide walking over to the dining table, I am so in love and if they think I won’t drop my career, I would. Maybe I am crazy in love, I feel it but I just want him” pulling the chair back, sitting down slowly. I am still a little sore, I do understand Mel is not happy with me but if Chris and I did make it when we were younger, my life would have been so different, his life would be. He would have been famous; I just know it. I have been off the pill for a while now and I am just thinking when will I get caught but I got a little feeling in my stomach, I think maybe it’s just me but I am late with my period and I haven’t said anything, leaving it in god’s hands if I am, then I am.

Here is my lazy man, look at him half sleepy “I smell like you, sniff my face” Chris leaned into me, sniffing his face “it smells divine” I snorted laughing “not wrong though, smells wonderful. Love you though” he pulled the chair out “so, gather yourself together so we can go and explore together as a couple. Take you to some spots that I like, I know you will love it” Chris cooed out shuffling his chair in “I am here for it, I am going to tan while I am out here. I look a little tanned, but I need it more. I am too light skinned right?” he isn’t wrong “so can I, remember when I started getting so pale because of how cold it was in Virginia? You called me Casper” Chris busted out laughing “oh shit, I did. Casper the green eyed ghost, oh my god. How do I come out with such shit and you don’t whoop my ass about it. I have called you a lot of things, it’s crazy because we have done so much together in such little time. Wild” watching Chris pour the OJ into the glass “that is because we spent every day together Chris, weekend included. Was you intrigued by me?” tilting my head to the side “I was, like I ain’t ever seen a forehead that big” hitting his arm “why do you have to be this way” I chuckled “I am joking but yeah, you were different. You are from the islands and your accent, your face, your small titties. It just caught me” I swear, I hate him “you’re so annoying, mr I am tired. You are so weak” kissing my teeth “you know how hard I came!? You know how much strength it takes from me to ejaculate!? Not my fault you don’t have an off switch” he is not wrong I don’t “not my fault I be feeling horny” annoying ass.

The many reasons why I love coming to Mexico is because I get to do what I like without having my bodyguard around, I don’t get harassed at all “where we going again? I don’t remember you mentioning it” I actually did but he doesn’t remember “so we are going to Gran Cenote, Best Cenote in Tulum, just you and I and good vibes. Honestly you will love it” I am saying this but I haven’t been there, I just got Jen to research it and it sounded good “been there before” see how I knew he would ask that “no” I couldn’t help but smile because he got me “but you know it’s good” waving him off “don’t be so negative” Chris snorted laughing “it’s ok, I trust you. To be honest I would be happy to be just in that beautiful home you got us in, it’s amazing” then it came to me, he is wearing jeans “Chris, did you bring any other clothes? How are you wearing jeans in this heat” I should have done a spot check on his clothes, I am so dumb “mhmm, what is wrong with jeans?” is he hot or cold “because we are on holiday together and it’s hot here! You should be wearing light colours, I can only imagine how heated it is around your dick, you are so musty. So you got nothing else?” he shook his head “you know what, I will get the driver to take us to get you some swimming trunks, you will need it. I promise you” Chris sighed out, he is annoyed but he is actually the annoying one wearing jeans and a tee but I love him, including his stupidity “excuse me” the driver looked in his rear-view mirror “before we get there can you take us to get some clothes, men’s please” I was expecting Chris to refuse but he didn’t, he knows he is stupid but my fault I should have checked before going with him.

The driver took us to this very cute boutique, I am impressed “thank you” I said to the driver “you don’t need to walk us in” I think I will walk with my stupid boyfriend here, the store assistant eyes widened but she bowed her head “welcome, welcome” stepping into the store “hi” the guy behind the cashier desk came up to us “welcome to Crasqi Rihanna, I am Viktor” he shook my hand, I assumed he was going to be Mexican but no, just a regular American, maybe he moved here. He shook Chris’ hand “Chris” looking around the store “Viktor, welcome” stepping to the side “my boyfriend here decided to wear jeans when we are going to Gran Cenote” the guy chuckled “well you come to the right place, we have the full range. Are you looking to swim” nodding my head “I am, and he will be but he isn’t saying much, speak up” looking behind me “yeah” Chris side eyed me, but he is stupid “I want to get him a few swim shorts and some pants for this weather too, he is ok with top but if you can show him the range and he can change into it. Also you got slides?” I would like to kick Chris, he looks like a goof “come right this way” gesturing Chris to go ahead of me, he can choose what he wants.

Chris has gone to change into the shorts, least he is wearing a tee but I do understand Chris. He doesn’t have holiday clothes because he hasn’t been away like that that so I won’t keep bringing it up with him because if so, he will end up being angry at me about it but he really needs to know how to dress. I wonder if he will let me pay, I doubt it but I won’t be pushing him about it if he wants to do it “he is taking him time” I said laughing, he is taking ages “I am done” he walked out of the dressing room with his shorts on and tee “see, you look better. You got your stick legs out and everything” looking down to his feet “I bet your feet feel free, maybe put your socks on under the slides, give me your clothes” walking over to him, taking his jeans and sneakers from him “my feet ugly?” shaking my head smiling “you can take them off when we get there, do it” Chris nodded his head “you can sit here sir and do it” Viktor gestured him too “thank you” while he is doing that I can go and pay, he won’t notice and this will be nothing anyways.

Folding his jeans while back in the car “taking care of me?” Chris grinned at me, smiling lightly at him “I am, there is a reason why I do at times buy on the go. Different climates, if I am going Barbados I know how to dress there but mainly if I am on the road and I am in Europe, it’s unpredictable so I just kind of buy on the go. You will get used to it” placing his folded jeans on my lap “it’s Texas, you know. I don’t be predicting things. I am a simple man Robyn, my bad” he shrugged “stop it, it’s fine Chris. I want to spoil you” Chris sighed out “you paid too, thank you. For everything, you really opening my eyes to things and just the simple fact you got my legend Lebron to say that to me and now this, thank you. I find it hard sometimes. Sometimes I want to be like no but I remembered I said I would let you. If I see it as Robyn I am cool, still a little freaked out about Rihanna, I mean ask the driver. Can you imagine that you got Rihanna here” he is so stupid “speechless friend” Chris eyeballed me “see!” shaking my head “stop it” I mumbled, I would like to say for him to get over it but I can’t, that would be rude of me because it is new to him still.

Getting out of the car “Miss Fenty, I am guide” the guy didn’t wait a second “hi” I smiled, throwing Chris’ jeans in the backseat “I am Juan, welcome” pulling down my beach dress “thank you” smiling at him, looking to the side of me and Chris finally appeared “I am your guide” he shook Chris’ hand “nice to meet you” Chris said and then looked at me “what?” I shook my head “is it far this place?” he asked, I knew he would “like wearing slides won’t hurt?” the guy looked down at Chris “I understand what you mean, no it’s not far. I am taking you there and that is it. We usually do a longer version, but it’s personalised to you Rihanna” he smiled at me, like the type of smile you give to someone you love, holding onto Chris’ hand “miss Fenty would you like me to come with as protection?” the driver thinks he is my bodyguard “no we are fine, let’s go Juan. I am sure Chris will protect me” Chris rolled his eyes “did you put sun cream on?” I asked him, I mean I thin I know the answer “no” I knew it “you’re a good boy” I said through gritted teeth.

This is so amazing, like I haven’t been here “Gran Cenote is comprised of a river like open air cenote flanked by two snorkelling areas and surrounded by caves and caverns” there is literally a hug gap in the cave, and I can see the crystal clear water, it’s a little scary to look down. I let out a scream as Chris jokingly pushed me “idiot” Juan laughed “Rihanna you would be fine, you can free dive off this, nothing would happen to you” I don’t think so, is he crazy “these are water-filled sinkholes that naturally occur in limestone rock when an underground cave collapses in on itself and exposes the groundwater underneath. There are thousands of cenotes dotted around but you can free dive, it’s not high at all, it looks it but you can jump in” looking at Chris “let’s do it” frowning at Chris “uhm, I mean I can swim but still, I mean I am used to the water” Chris wants to do it “are you sure it’s safe? I mean the water is so clear, but we won’t die? It is deep enough” Juan placed his hand over his heart “I would not danger Rihanna, I promise you. I have done it myself, see the couple across there, watch them do it” the guy just did a little run and jumped down, my eyes widened watching him free fall down and then splashed “it’s not far down” he says that but, is the guy even alive but he is. His head popped up from the water “then you climb up the stairs back here, I promise it is fun” I am between saying no and wanting to do it, looks fun” if I don’t I know Chris will.

I feel so nervous “you won’t let go of my hand right? You won’t let me drown either? You promise, if you let my hand go I will cry” Chris laughed “promise, when I count to three we both run and jump?” I feel the adrenalin right now in my body, I am nervous “I will video you both running, when you ready!” Juan shouted, I told him to video us “not let my hand go” I said again” Chris laughed “I promise, right? I am going to start counting. So one, two, three” Chris moved but I didn’t, I was testing him and he stopped “what?” I snorted laughing “I was testing to see if you did hold my hand and not let go, seriously. I am a little scared, like still?” Chris groaned out “baby, it’s fine. You spider monkey, you will climb anything. We start again and you count, I promise I got you” now we got to start again, hearing a little cheering. Then I see that couple just cheering on, I wish they didn’t “fine, one… two… three” Chris and I started to run and then we both jumped, feeling myself fall and I let out the loudest scream I could.

I can’t believe I just did that, looking “you did it!!” Juan shouted, feeling Chris pull me to him “that was nothing, I want to do it again actually” wrapping my arms around his neck “this is nice, look at it” looking around us, this is really a cave too. Chris pressed kisses to the side of my face “this water is so clear” looking to him “it is, see I told you I got you. I didn’t even let go of your hand but I think I fell in deeper than you, I am fat” he chuckled “my ass, you just a man” pressing a kiss to his lips “I liked it though, and I got to do it with you. Makes it even better, let’s go to see the guide. Before we just stay here forever” Chris moved to swim away, I did think he would let my hand go but he didn’t. He pulled me along “you can swim?” I said confused “mhmmm no, I seen it on films. I ain’t scared of it, I got you” I like that, turns me on actually. He yanked me ahead of him “climb up then” I love a protective man; he is the best.

Taking a sip from the cocktail, I am tired, and I didn’t even do anything “we made memories” Chris passed my phone back “we did, good video. I feel like this is our honeymoon” I really do “it does, I was thinking the same thing “we think alike, that is twin behaviour” I pointed to him “we see each other” I giggled “we do, so when you go back to Cali you doing what?” he asked “rehearsals, few days. Because I am using old content I don’t need to really do anything big, then rest day and then I am off to my first date. Hopefully you are coming? You are staying with me right?” I want him to just stay “uhhh no, what I am thinking is to go back to Virginia, see my family. Go to Texas and then me and the boys meet you there. I want to see my mom before going, she keeps asking. She misses me” I don’t want to sound selfish, but I will “fine, you are coming though yes?” he nodded his head “I am, promise. Then while I am there I can catch up on my social media things. I know like things are a little wild, I see people using my mug shot too. Rihanna got a thug in her life, they don’t like that I am a soft nigga, I ain’t like I was but what can I do to stop it you know” squinting at him “does it bug you? With what they are saying, they don’t know you and I am not even give then content, I will post when I need too, I think once I start doing my promo for the album the question will come up and I am going to tell them what kind of man I got in my life, you’re the sweetest guy” Chris put his head down smiling, he is so sweet.

[darkobsidianquill]

Harry Potter and the descent into Darkness..

Chapter 29

The morning of the third task dawned and Harry made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a bigger deal than usual since the Minister for Magic was there, as well as a number of extra guests, even thought the actual task wasn't until that evening. Harry had been exempt from his exams because he was one of the tournament champions but he had only taken up that offered relief in History of Magic and Divination. In his other classes, he had insisted on taking the exams anyway. Ron had been utterly dumbfounded by this, while Hermione was beaming with pride.

That morning, for example, was his History of Magic exam that he didn't need to, or even remotely want to take. So his plans for the morning was to sit in the back of the classroom and read. His plans were interrupted when Professor McGonagall came up behind him and told him that all of the champions were supposed to gather in the small chamber off the Great Hall.

"But the task isn't until this evening," Harry said, looking at her in utter bewilderment.

"Yes, but the champion's families are invited to watch the final task. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

Harry gaped at her in utter dumbfounded confusion.

"My...family?" Harry deadpanned.

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

Harry gave her a piercing look and she actually looked a bit unnerved by it. "Is this Dumbledore's idea?"

He didn't seriously get the Dursleys down here, did he? Harry was quite sure that nothing short of the Imperius curse would get Vernon Dursley to come with in a hundred miles of Hogwarts.

"You may be surprised by what you find there, Harry. You have until the end of breakfast," she said before turning and heading off to inform the others.

Harry blinked after her, still entirely confused as to what was going on. There really was no way in hell that the Dursleys would be at Hogwarts. Just no. way.

So who was it? Surely not Sirius? He hadn't written anymore letters since Harry's visit the week prior, so Harry really didn't know what was going on with his godfather. He could have taken polyjuice potion and disguised himself, but even that would only work with Dumbledore's assistance and Harry just didn't see that as being very likely. And even if it was, it was an insanely risky thing for Sirius to do! The Minister of Magic was sitting no more than twenty feet from Harry at this very minute.

"What do you think is going on, Harry?" Hermione asked in a hushed, worried, voice.

"I have no idea," Harry said, still staring after McGonagall.

Hermione was frowning and looking just as concerned and suspicious as Harry. Finally she sighed and looked at her wrist watch.

"We'd better hurry, Ron or we'll be late for Professor Binns."

"Right," Ron said before stuffing another fork full of eggs into his mouth. He finally finished and then gave Harry a slightly concerned look before speaking again. "Well er... good luck, I guess?" Ron said giving Harry a hesitant look and shrugging.

"Yeah... thanks," Harry said nodding his head at them. They both stood and hurried out of the hall to take their History of Magic exam.

Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall, slowly mulling over what could be going on. He watched as Fleur got up from where she was sitting at the Ravenclaw table and joined Cedric as he crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward.

Harry was frowning away at the door. He was almost dreading what he found find behind that door. Finally he stood up and slowly made his way towards it.

The door of the side chamber opened suddenly and Cedric stuck his head out, momentarily searching around before he spotted Harry.

"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!"

This only made Harry start. Who the bloody hell was 'they'? If it was Sirius under Polyjuice, it would he a 'he'. He didn't know enough potential family members to form a 'they', and he still knew that there was no way in hell that the Dursleys would set foot in Hogwarts.

Unless Dumbledore really did put them under the Imperius. Did he seriously think Harry would fall for that? That he wouldn't notice? Was this some attempt to convince him that it would be okay if he went back to his relatives? Was –

Harry stepped through the door and blinked. There, standing a few feet from Fleur, her mother, and her little sister Gabrielle, was none other than Mrs. Weasley and Bill, standing in front of the fireplace, beaming at him.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly. Harry gaped at them before a small smile crept onto his lips.

Well, this was certainly better than anything he had feared. He walked over to them, still rather stunned, and came to an awkward stop directly in front of them.

"Thought we'd come and watch you, Harry!" she said as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. He felt himself go red at the overly affectionate gesture and stood there stiffly as she began to look him over.

"Good Merlin, Harry! Look at you! You've shot up like a weed! You were always such a small dear, no offense of course Harry. You must have grown half a foot! If not more!"

Harry ducked his head and ran his hand through his hair, trying to hide his grin.

Mrs. Weasley made a tutting sound next though, and he looked up at her curiously. "Really should do something about that hair though. Getting a bit shaggy," she said and Harry saw her eyes dart over to Bill and frown at his long hair, tied into a loose low ponytail. Harry grinned.

Bill rolled his eyes at his mother and offered his hand to Harry. "Hey, Harry. Charlie wanted to come too, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Fireball. Said he's never seen anyone able to dominate one like that before. I know some people get kinda squeamish over the parseltongue thing, but Charlie couldn't help but wonder if he could find someone who speaks it to recruit for up at the reserve."

Harry barked out a small laugh and Bill smirked.

Fleur, Harry noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. Harry could tell she had no objection whatsoever to long hair or earrings with fangs on them.

"This was really nice of you two," Harry said taking a step back and grinning at the two of them. He really was quite surprised, but he couldn't help feel a bit odd about the whole thing.

Harry glanced over a Fleur again and then back at Bill, who had now noticed her as well.

"Hey, can I introduce you two to everyone?" Harry said suddenly, smirking at Bill. "This is Cedric, although I suppose you probably already know him...?" he trailed off and both Weasley's nodded. Cedric grinned and nodded at the two of them, giving a quick greeting. "And over there is Viktor Krum. Hey Viktor!"

The Bulgarian turned over and looked at Harry with mild confusion. They had got on well enough at the Yule Ball but that was ages ago, and they really hadn't spoken since. They barely said anything at the second task and hadn't even come within five feet of each other since then.

"Viktor, these are some very good friends of mine, Mrs. Molly Weasley and her oldest son, Bill. I'm sure you two are already aware of who Viktor is."

"Oh, er, yes dear. It's a pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Weasley said. Bill, however looked considerably more enthusiastic and made a couple comments on various noteworthy games and plays that Krum had been responsible for.

"And of course, the oh so lovely Ms. Fleur Delacour," Harry said doing a sweeping motion with his hand and smirking up at Fleur who was grinning and rolling her eyes at his antics. "Fleur, this is Mrs. Molly Weasley and her eldest, Bill. Bill works as a curse and ward breaker for Gringotts.

Fleur's face lit up when she came face to face with Bill and Harry thought he even saw the faintest dusting of a blush. His grin widened.

The two began to speak then and Fleur even introduced Bill to her little sister and mother. While they chatted away, Amos Diggory came up and glared at Harry who stood there with a bewildered frown on his face.

"Can I help you with something?" Harry said curtly.

"You think you're hot stuff, do you Potter?"

"Uh.." Harry blinked, not finding the man even remotely amusing.

"Ignore him," Cedric said stepping between the two and trying to pull Harry aside. "He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Tri-Wizard Tournament – you know, where she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion."

"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he?" Amos Diggory said over his son's shoulder. "But you'll show him, Ced. You've beaten him once before and you'll do it again!"

Harry gave Mr. Diggory a blank, bewildered look. When the bloody hell had Cedric ever beaten him at anything? He almost said as much before he realized what the man was likely referring to.

"Wait, you mean during that quidditch game where a hundred dementors attacked me on my broom, fifty feet in the air, and sent me falling to my death? Well, I suppose if you want, you're free to consider that a victory, but I think Ced has more pride than that."

Mr. Diggory looked as if he were about to explode before Mrs. Weasley cut in abruptly.

"Rita Skeeter always went out of her way to cause trouble, Amos!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!"

Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry, but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he merely shrugged and turned away.

Bill finally separated from Fleur and came over to investigate what was going on with the Diggorys. Seeing that things were possibly getting a bit uncomfortable he turned to Harry and asked, "Fancy giving us a tour, Harry?"

Relieved for the distraction Harry grinned and agreed.

The rest of the morning was spent walking over the sunny grounds with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, showing them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship. Mrs. Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man named Ogg.

Finally, the trio returned to the castle for lunch.

"Mum – Bill!" Ron said, looking stunned as he joined the Gryffindor table. "What're you doing here?"

"Come to watch Harry in the last task!" said Mrs. Weasley brightly. "I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?"

"Oh... okay," said Ron hesitantly. "Couldn't remember all the goblin rebel names, so I invented a few. It's all right," he said, helping himself to a Cornish pasty, while Mrs. Weasley looked stern, "they're all called stuff like Bodrod the Bearded and Urg the Unclean; it wasn't hard."

Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to them too and Harry suddenly felt as if he were back in the Burrow surrounded by the army of gingers.

Hermione showed up and Harry couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Weasley seemed a bit cold to her. He couldn't come up with a single reason as to why the change of attitude could have taken place until Ginny leaned in close and reminded him on the article in Witch Weekly that came out about Hermione and Krum all those months prior.

Harry couldn't help but find it humorous that earlier Mrs. Weasley had scolded Amos Diggory for thinking badly of Harry because of something Skeeter had written, and now she was doing the same thing to Hermione.

After lunch Harry found himself itching to slip away from the pair to pay his daily after-lunch visit to Tom. He hoped that he would just manage to get his time-turner activities lined up perfectly and begged off from the pair for a moment to 'go use the loo'. He slipped inside, pulled on his cloak and activated the map. He saw the second Harry Potter dot waiting in the hall outside the privy he was currently standing in and grinned. His other self was simply waiting for him to leave so he could slip in and take his place.

Perfect.

He slipped out, watched the dot of his future counterpart slip in after him, and quickly made his way out of the castle and across the grounds towards the edge of the wards.

A matter of minutes later and Harry was using the portkey and appearing in Tom's entry hall.

Obviously, his afternoon breaks no longer had anything to do with Tom meditating. Instead they usually skipped straight to an hour or two of dark arts instruction and some dueling practice.

Harry stepped into the study and let his bag slip off his shoulder as he came over and sat down beside Tom's chair. The older man was already comfortably perched in his chair with a periodical of some sort in his hands. Harry sighed in relief as he leaned back and Tom's hand automatically went to his hair.

"How has your day been so far?" Tom asked airily.

"Had a bit of a surprise come at me this morning," Harry said with a chuckle.

Tom paused and looked down at him curiously. "Oh?"

"Yeah, apparently there's this whole thing about the 'family' of the champions coming to the third task, and right after breakfast we were supposed to meet with them. For a minute there, McGonagall actually had me convinced that Dumbledore had somehow forced the Dursleys to show up. Turned out that Ron and Ginny's mum and oldest brother turned out to watch. I've been playing host all morning. It's honestly getting a bit exhausting, and I still have the rest of the afternoon to show them around as well."

"Playing tour guide to a pair of blood traitors, how droll," Tom sneered and Harry chuckled.

They quickly slipped into their normal routine, but Tom cut it short after only forty minutes of dueling practice. Since the task wouldn't be held until late that evening, he didn't want Harry to be excessively tired from his overly extended day.

He walked Harry to the time-turner room and just as they got there he spoke. "Ah yes, one last thing, Harry."

"Yes Tom?" Harry said turning around.

"I will be calling the Death Eaters to me tomorrow night. Severus will likely be late to the meeting since I have instructed him to go to Dumbledore first. I expect the man will send Snape to me to resume his role as spy, so I am still confident that he will make it, albeit delayed."

Harry nodded his head. "Alright. Will it be suspicious if Barty disappears from the castle at the same time as Snape being summoned? And what about Karkaroff?"

"I have told Igor not to attend. It is for the best on several levels. Dumbledore will likely be watching to see if the Durmstrang headmaster returns to me. It is also likely that several people he tried to sell out to save his own skin will attend and they will likely not be pleased with him. Barty will slip out ahead of time and hopefully his absence will not be noted."

"Should I be there?" Harry asked, finally voicing the one thing that he was most curious about.

Tom paused but smiled. "Yes, pet. I would like you there. I have plans, actually. We need to discuss them in more depth. I want you to make sure you come tomorrow after lunch so we can go over them."

"Alright. I'll be here."

"Good," Tom said with a small smirk before leaning forward and wrapping a hand behind Harry's neck and pulling the younger wizard in close. Their lips brushed against each other lightly once, causing magical sparks, then twice, magic popping and hissing even more, before the kiss deepened and they both momentarily lost themselves to the heady, needy, feelings. Their lips parted and tongues began to come together in a sinful dance. Harry groaned and pressed himself against Tom as his body was suddenly desperate for more contact and more friction.

Tom, always being the one with far more self control and restraint, finally pulled back and Harry whimpered. Tom chuckled lightly before smirking down at Harry with mild amusement, layered in lust.

"Mmmm... so responsive. So eager." He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly against Harry's while letting his thumb rub circles into Harry's jaw. He brushed across a faint stubble and chuckled. "You need to shave," he mumbled against Harry's lips.

Harry shrugged. "Do you mind it?"

"No. It's good to know you're old enough for facial hair."

Harry rolled his eyes and gave Tom an annoyed look. "I'm almost fifteen, not twelve."

"Please don't remind me of your age, Harry. I prefer to remain blissfully deluded."

"You're the one that brought it up."

"Yes, I suppose I did." Tom sighed and took a step back and hissed open the door to the time-turner room. "Alright, pet. You should be getting back. I expect you to return to me victorious. It would be utterly obscene for you to lose to those incompetent children."

Harry snickered. "Those 'incompetent children' are all three years older than me."

"Again with the age... Yes, they are older, but they are not you, and they have not been trained by me."

Harry grinned and nodded his head. "Alright, I swear not to disappoint you," he said in a cocky, amused voice. "If I get the chance, should I visit tonight after the task?" he asked, more serious now.

"If you wish. I suspect you will be quite worn by then though. Just come to me tomorrow so we can prepare for tomorrow night."

Harry smiled and nodded one last time while walking backwards into the small room that contained the time-turner. Tom finally closed the door and Harry sighed as he turned around and slipped the small magical hourglass around his neck.

–

Once again hidden by his invisibility cloak and using the Map to guide his way, he made his way back into the castle and waited outside the bathroom while his earlier counterpart slipped inside and then disappeared. He went inside, removed the cloak and stuffed it and the map into his bag before exiting and meeting back up with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, who were none the wiser to the fact that he had actually been gone for nearly an hour, in the time that they thought he had merely gone to the loo.

He, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley whittled away the frustratingly long afternoon with a lazy walk around the castle, and then returned to the Great Hall for the evening feast. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table again. Bagman looked quite cheerful but Cornelius Fudge was looking rather annoyed.

There were more courses than usual, but Harry ate about as much as ever. Nerves weren't really an issue here. He'd had Tom throwing nasty dark hexes and curses at him every day for more than a month and didn't honestly expect anything that he would find in the maze more dangerous than the Dark Lord. Granted, Tom hadn't been honestly trying to kill him, but the man didn't pull his punches either. In more recent weeks, every dueling session had ended with a twenty minute 'break' where Harry would rest while Tom healed his wounds and applied the counters to all the curses he'd been hit with.

But he had been getting hit with fewer and fewer curses ad their training progressed. So if nothing else, Harry knew he had gotten a lot better at dodging.

He was also confident about the task because he had gotten a summery of all the different things inside it from Barty weeks ago.

After the last course Dumbledore called the Great Hall to attention and spoke a few words that Harry didn't care about and absently tuned out. McGonagall came up behind him and gathered him up to leave with the other champions. He, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all lead out of the hall and across the grounds towards the Quidditch field. They went through the locker rooms and onto a small open patch in the field at the entrance of the now twenty-foot tall hedge maze. The task would be starting at 9pm, and it was currently 8:32. Harry could hear the sounds of the spectators gathering in the surrounding stands and found himself gazing up into the dimming evening sky. The horizon was glowing orange but if he looked straight up he saw a deep purple filling the air.

That would be the only thing to really complicate the task. It would be done in the dark. But that was the point. The task was intended to be frightening. Being in a dark maze; lost, unsure where to go, and what you would find around the next corner. Only the dim glow from the tip of your wand to illuminate your surroundings. The creatures inside weren't necessarily all that bad – mostly they were creatures raised by Hagrid, and while Harry would easily admit that Hagrid had an idiotic love for deadly creatures, he knew that none of these were beyond his ability to handle. But it was the not knowing that was intended to make it frightening. Add that to the frantic search for an end to a dizzying maze...

Harry found himself sorely contemplating using his serpentine sea krait form and the locator spell again. He knew exactly what he was looking for. At the center of the maze was the Tri-Wizard cup. All he would have to do was zero in on that cup and he would be led straight to his destination. And if he used his sea snake form, he could slither right under the damn hedges. His skin was tough enough to endure some stupid brambles.

But that would leave him vulnerable to some extent. There were some things that he would have difficulties dealing with in his snake form. His offensive parselmagic repertoire was still fairly limited. Tom had been teaching him some parselmagic spells, but it hadn't been their focus.

Besides that, there was that whole 'the judges would be monitoring his spellwork' thing to consider. And Cornelius Fudge was one of the judges. Dumbledore knew about his so-called animagus form, but none of the others did. And if Fudge found out about it, it would have to register as an animagus... even if he wasn't one.

So that idea was out. He couldn't fall back on his sea krait form. He would have to do this as a human. But he could still use the locator spell. He just wasn't sure if the summoned black snake would stick to the hedge pathways or if it would just cut right through them and leave him behind.

Of course... he could just cut his way through the damn hedges. There was nothing in the rules that said he couldn't.

Harry was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Cornelius Fudge's voice a bit behind him. He turned around and saw the three headmasters and the Minister of Magic gathering with Ludo Bagman and talking amongst themselves. Harry checked his watch and saw that it was now 8:45pm.

Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all standing around in various states of nervousness. Harry realized he was the only one out of the four that didn't look about ready to piss himself and he smirked. Harry walked over and watched as Fudge separated himself from the headmasters who seemed to be in the middle of some sort of talk with Bagman. Fudge clearly looked tired.

"Minister Fudge?" Harry said in the most innocent eager voice he could muster. It was surprisingly convincing.

Fudge started and turned around to blink owlishly at Harry.

"Oh, my! Harry Potter. How are you doing, young man? Was there something I could help you with?"

"Oh no, I don't need anything, I just wanted to greet you and thank you."

"Thank me?" Fudge asked, clearly confused.

"I know it's been quite a while, nearly two years now, in fact, but I really wanted to express how grateful I am for the help you gave me back during the summer before my third year. You know, the summer when I accidentally 'blew up' my muggle aunt, and you allowed me to stay in Diagon Alley after Sirius Black had escaped."

"Oh! Oh, yes... well that was.. a very... busy time. Much going on then. Quite hectic. And it really was no problem at all – that mess with your aunt, I mean."

"Well, I really did appreciate your help. I understand that elections are being held this summer. It's really quite a shame I won't be of age to vote yet, because I'd love the opportunity to vote for you. I'm really looking forward to when I'm old enough to finally partake in the whole workings of the magical governing system. In fact, I learned this year that along with inheriting the ancient Potter fortune, I've apparently also inherited the right to a seat on the Wizengamot for the Potter line. I intend to claim it once I'm old enough."

Fudge blinked and looked a bit dumbstruck for a moment.

"I-I had no idea you had political aspirations," Fudge stuttered out.

"Well, certainly not anytime soon. I'm only just about to turn fifteen next month, after all. But I've found that the inner workings of governing and politics have sparked my interest recently."

"Oh... is that so? And you say that you'd vote for me?"

"Of course," Harry said with mock eagerness and an only partially hidden sly smile. "I know that the word of a teenager probably isn't much, but I'd be more than willing to give you a public endorsement."

Fudge's face instantly lit up and Harry could see the calculating glint in the man's eyes.

"Is that so?" Fudge asked in a tone that was apparently supposed to sound only mildly interested, but came off as rather eager. Harry smirked.

"Of course."

"You know, Harry my boy, I have to admit I'm rather surprised. I was under the impression that you were..." Fudge trailed off, as if he were suddenly unsure what exactly he wanted to say.

"Ignorant of wizarding politics? Too stupid to know how to make use of my famous name? Far too loyal to a certain headmaster to support someone he rarely shows much love or the proper respect for?"

Fudge blinked at Harry's response for a stunned moment before a sly grin of his own spread across his face.

"You are certainly not what I had been led to believe you were, Mr. Potter."

Harry's grin widened. "No I'm not. And Albus Dumbledore does not show you nearly enough respect for the powerful position you hold. You are the Minister of Magic and you've been the Minister for five years already. You'd think after five peaceful years under your leadership would earn you some proper respect from the man."

Fudge's chest puffed up and his nose rose a bit into the air, imperiously. "Yes, you would think that," he said with an indignant air.

Harry noticed out of the corner of his eyes that the Headmasters and Bagman seemed to be wrapping up whatever they were discussing. "Well, I should probably go back and rejoin my fellow champions. But if, during the summer sometime, there are any events or perhaps some place that you think would be beneficial for the two of us to just happen to run into each other in the presence of photographers feel free to send me an owl and let me know."

Fudge's grin grew feral for a moment before he masked it and gave Harry a curt nod. "I just may do that, Mr. Potter. It's been a pleasant surprise speaking with you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Harry added with a grin of his own before giving the Minister a curt nod of his head and walking over towards the other champions.

A few more minutes passed and the judges left the starting area for the judges box and the four champions were left standing beside Ludo Bagman. The man brought his wand to his throat and said Sonorus, activating the voice amplifying charm.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!" he called out excitedly. "For tonight's task our four champions will have to make their way through this magical maze filled with dangerous challenges and deadly creatures! The current standing of our champions are, Harry Potter in first place with a total of 88 points! Cedric Diggory in second place with 76 points! Viktor Krum in third place with 72 points, and finally Fleur Delacour in fourth place with 60 points.

"As the champion with the highest current standing, Harry Potter will be let into the maze first. Two minutes later he will be joined by Cedric Diggory, than another two minutes they will be followed by Viktor Krum, and finally Fleur Delacour. The champion that reaches the center of the maze first will receive full marks! The champion with the highest number of points by the end of this evening will be our new Tri-Wizard Champion!" Bagman finished with a loud yell and the crowd cheered.

Bagman removed his wand from his throat and turned to the champions. "There will be professors walking the perimeter of the maze so if any of you get into any trouble and can't get yourself out of it, just shoot red sparks into the air and someone will come to get you."

They all nodded and finally he turned to Harry. "Well, Mr. Potter. On the count of three, head in.

Harry stood before the entrance to the maze and waited as Bagman counted down from three and then shot off sparks from his wand.

Harry quickly strode forward and made a left at the fork in the path and walked a short ways down the hedge before he stopped and took a deep breath to calmed himself a bit. He focused on a mental image of a great black serpent, coiling and slithering. He felt the build of his parselmagic and called it forth, coiling it around him like the great black snake in his mind. Then he focused on the image of the Tri-Wizard cup.

Once he was positive he had the correct image and focus established, he hissed out §find the Tri-Wizard cup§.

When he opened his eyes, the familiar hazy, distorted image of the great black serpent filled his vision. It had been a while since he had used this spell and he smiled at it. It was slithering in mid-air in front of him, turning it's head from side-to-side for only a moment before it began to slither down the path in the hedges and turned a corner. Harry lit a quick Lumos on the tip of his wand and hurried after it.

Every corner Harry took with caution, but after about ten minutes of encountering nothing but more bushes he began to feel an annoyed sense of disappointment. Finally, as he was making another left, trailing after his black locator snake, he felt a powerful disturbance in the magic near him. He brought his wand up higher and put a little more power into the glow on the tip of his wand to increase the light level. He could hear a clicking sort of sound growing louder as he continued to progress further. The clicking sound increased in volume and quantity – whatever was making the sound, there was more than one of them. It was also unnervingly familiar.

He turned another corner and saw white webbing stringing across the hedges and ground and many small black things moving and scurrying along the ground and climbing on the bushes.

Harry almost groaned as he called his locator snake to stop and wait for him. Baby acromantula. Each one was about the size of his palm and they already had fully formed pincers. Harry also knew that even this 'small' their poisonous venom was still nasty enough to hurt quite a bit and leave him temporarily paralyzed.

He aimed his wand and began to send out wide range slashing hexes. The blasts left his wand like five-foot long slashes of sharp magical energy that severed any spiders in his way. Unfortunately the spiders didn't exactly line up in neat little lines to be sliced up and the huge number of fist-sized spiders were quickly encroaching on him so he quickly switched tactics to an area affect blasting spell that radiated out from him at the center. He knew Tom would scold him for using such a magic intensive spell, but Harry knew he had plenty more magical energy in reserve and hopefully he could keep his attacks more focused from here on out.

The blast had easily taken out the vast majority of the spiders and most of them were now running from him. He continued down the row and stepped on several of the acromantula as he walked, smirking viciously as he felt them crunching beneath his dragon hide boots.

"Send my regards to Aragog," Harry muttered under his breath as he left the pathway filled with dead spiders behind and instructed his locator snake to keep going.

The night sky was growing darker the longer he continued to go but he felt confident that he was making good progress. The snake hadn't led him into a single dead-end the entire time, which was a promising sign that it was working correctly.

After another turn he came across a long stretch of hedge filled with a strange yellow mist. He was almost sure he'd read something about it at some point but couldn't quite place what it was. It was as if it were on the tip of his tongue, but just not there. He grumbled to himself about Barty not warning him about whatever the hell this was and cast a few detection spells with his wand to try and identify any harmful effects the mist might have.

His spells didn't turn up much. It wasn't poison. It wasn't a sedative. It wouldn't cause pain. What the hell was it?

He considered trying to find a way around it. His inner Slytherin was telling him that self-preservation was paramount and if he had no idea what he was up against, he should turn back. He hated the idea of relying on his Gryffindor side for anything, but in this instance, he was just too annoyed at the whole thing to go back. Plus his locator spell had been working so well so far.

With a muttered 'Screw it', Harry took a few steps back and did a running jump into and through the mist. He felt the effects the first time his foot hit the ground, but he had a running start and his momentum pushed him forward a few more long strides before the disorientation got to be too much and he came to a total halt.

Despite the fact that his feet were planted firmly on the ground, Harry felt as if the entire world had just turned upside down. Literally. His shaggy hair and school robes were all hanging up as if the sky were down, and he felt the effects of gravity trying to pull him into the air. Part of his mind screamed that if he lifted his feet from the ground he would just go floating away, but he knew that was idiotic.

"Oh hell. Anti-gravity mist," Harry muttered to himself as his hand came up and he smacked his forehead.

Harry lifted his wand, closed his eyes and began muttering lowly under his breath. The counter to disable the spell wasn't a single spell, but rather a short chant that had to be repeated several times before it started to work. About a minute later the mist was dispersing and Harry could feel the disorienting feeling of the world turning right-side-up again and suddenly down was down and up was up. Harry heaved out a sigh, quickly followed by an annoyed huff.

A few quick strides and Harry had caught up with his locator snake, that was waiting around the corner for him. Two turns later and Harry was dodging a blast of fire from the largest and most horrendously ugly blast-ended skrewt that Harry had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

The thing was at least ten feet long and had a gigantic scorpion's tail with a stinger on the end, curled up over its back, ready to strike. What Harry could only assume was its front end, was expelling blasts of fire, and its back was covered with a hard protective shell that Harry knew was resistant to most neutral spells. He could think of a half-dozen dark spells that would rip right through it and growled out in frustration at not being able to use any of them. He found himself loudly cursing Hagrid for ever breeding the damned creatures as he dodged another blast of fire, and rolled out of the way of its tail as it came down and pierced the ground where he had been a moment before.

As he rolled on the ground he caught sight of it's unprotected underbelly and quickly aimed his wand, sending off a powerful blasting hex. The skrewt was sent flying several feet into the air from the force of the blast and ended up falling back down on its side. Harry jumped to his feet, darting back a few feet to give himself more space and began sending powerful cutting curses at the now exposed underbelly. He slashed into it again and again, causing sickly whitish gray goo to seep out of it. He nearly wretched at the stench of it and as soon as he was sure the damned thing wasn't going to get back up, he ran around it and down the hedge row after his locator snake that he had to call back to him because he'd forgotten to stop it this time.

Harry continued down the seemingly endless rows of hedge, grumbling to himself about stupid half-giants breeding stupid killer monsters when he came face to face with a sphinx. It looked for all the world to be a large lion, except instead of a lion's head, there was the face of a woman inside the large furry mane. A wide grin spread across Harry's lips. He knew he was close. The Sphinx was supposed to be guarding the inner-most access point to the center of the maze. Beyond this would be a single giant acromantula and then the cup.

He took a few cautious steps towards the sphinx and came to a stop several feet from it. It had been pacing back and forth but now came to a stop and sat down, looking at him calmly.

The feminine face smiled at him and then spoke. "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"Alright... I know it's not as simple as me asking you to move aside, so how about you get to the point."

"You must answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Can I hear the riddle?"

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of the middle and the end of the end?

And finally give me the sound often heard,

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

Harry blinked and quickly started repeating the words to him in his head. Barty had warned him that the damned thing would have a riddle, but he'd had no way of knowing what it would be.

"Can you repeat it slower?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

Again she smiled and repeated the poem.

"A person in disguise," Harry muttered, "who lies... oh..." Harry chuckled. "A spy. I'm familiar with that... Alright, that's the first part. Last thing to mend, middle of middle end of... D. Okay, spy, d and... the sound often heard during the search of a hard to find world. Uh... no. Er? Spy, d, er... Spider." Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. The last creature he had to face was a giant acromantula. He already knew that. So of course the answer to the damned riddle was 'Spider'.

"Spider," he said confidently.

The sphinx smiled more broadly, got up, stretched and moved aside. He dashed ahead and resumed following the locator snake. The spell led him to the right-hand path and Harry could see the faint glow of the Tri-Wizard cup at the end of the long path he was currently on. Part of him wanted to just make a run for it, but he knew it wouldn't be that simple. There was supposed to be a giant acromantula here damn it, and he wasn't going to get caught off –

"GAH!" Harry yelped as something fell down from above and he quickly had to roll away before a pair of giant pincers came snapping down at him.

He growled angrily at himself for being caught so easily off his own guard and quickly began throwing hexes and curses at it to distract it from its focus on him while he scrambled to put some distance between them. Once he finally felt like his footing was reliable again he threw a well aimed severing curse at one of the beasts legs. It came right off and the enormous spider roared out in angry pain. It stormed over to Harry's position and he quickly found himself being pressed into the bramble filled hedge. He used another area effect curse that blasted the beast back enough for him to try to bolt away. Unfortunately one step and he found himself falling head first into the dirt. Some evil little creeping tentacle-like vine and twined itself around his ankle and was currently digging its barbs into his skin.

Harry roared in anger and quickly aimed his wand down at the plant, freezing it and then pulling the remains off his leg. The annoying distraction had given the spider enough time to recoup and he only just barely crawled out of the way as the damn thing crashed down with it's giant pincers again. It was up and crashing down again and again. Every time he managed to shuffle a few feet to one side or the other and it was instantly upon him again. Finally he manged to get a good shot off and sent off another powerful area blast that sent it flying away from him again.

Harry staggered to his feet, feeling his magical reserves running low. All these damn high level neutral spells were draining him too fast and it was irritating. He sent off two more aimed severing curses, cutting off another two legs. He quickly ran and rolled underneath the flailing body to the opposite side and severed another pair. The monstrous spider was screeching in pain and anger and took another low swiping snap at him. He dodged it and managed one more severing curse, cutting off another leg and sending the beast crashing down to the ground. Unfortunately the ground it was crashing into was the same ground that Harry was currently crouching on.

Harry made to dodge and roared out again, cursing the tournament and Professor Sprout because he was sure that she had something to do with these damn bloody vines, as he found himself once again trapped by one of the nasty barbed plants.

The spider crashed down on top of him, and he screamed out in pain as one of its pincers sliced down along the side of his torso. He freed his wand arm, pointed his wand directly into the acromantula's head that was only feet from his own face, and sent off the most powerful non-dark blasting spell he knew. The beasts head exploded and its body became nothing but dead weight upon him.

Harry groaned miserably and felt himself collapse back into the dirt, exhausted and angry. He felt mostly annoyed at himself for being hurt so badly by something he knew was coming. He would never hear the end of it from Tom.

Oh, and acromantula bites are poisonous. Great.

With a groan, Harry began to shimmy out from underneath the beast. He sent several freezing charms at the various thorny vines that were still trying to get their barby mits into him.

He finally managed to pry himself free of it and weakly stood to his feet... and promptly fell to his knees with a sharp yelp of pain.

His ankle, which was bleeding from the barbs from the thorn, also seemed to be sprained... or maybe broken. He hoped it wasn't the latter Again, growling in anger and annoyance he cast a numbing spell and spelled himself a temporary splint to support his weight. He felt the searing burn of the acromantula venom in the large bloody slash down his side as it slowly spread. His body was going a bit numb and he could feel his head getting heavy but he pushed himself past it. He could see the damn cup. He wasn't going to pass out until after he'd touched the fucking thing. Thenthey could take him to the infirmary.

He limped down the pathway, wincing at the sharp pain in his ankle, and grumbling and growling to himself under his breath. He was wobbling and weaving from side to side as he just barely clung to consciousness. Finally, just as his vision was growing dim and he was about to slip into a quiet abyss, his hand stretched out and grasped the edge of the ornate Tri-Wizard cup from the pedestal it rested upon. He and the cup fell to the ground and then vanished with a soft pop.

– –

Harry woke up with a pounding headache. He blinked several times to find nothing more than a whitish blur. It took him a moment to realize that his glasses were missing. He really needed to investigate that ritual Tom had mentioned about fixing his eyesight. He was laying on something relatively soft, but the sheets and pillow were overly starched. He heard voices and saw the blurry forms of people rushing about. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked through his shitty vision to make sense of his surroundings.

The hospital wing. Ah. That makes sense.

"Oh, Harry!" a shrill female voice gasped from somewhere to the left and he turned his head to see a red-headed blur that he figured was Mrs. Weasley. "Oh goodness dear! We were so worried when you appeared with the cup unconscious!"

She continued to prattle on about all her worries but Harry wasn't particularly paying attention. He turned and looked towards his bedside table and found his glasses and his holly wand sitting there. He grabbed his glasses and by the time they were back on his face, several other people had joined Mrs. Weasley at Harry's bedside. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were there, and Harry noticed that Moody was standing against a wall on the opposite end of the hospital wing, watching him closely.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Really!" Harry said loudly as he raised a hand, trying to calm them all done.

"Fine?" a surprisingly distraught Ginny yelled. "Harry your ankle was broken and you got bit by an acromantula!"

"Broken? Shit, I didn't realize it was that bad," Harry said, grimacing. "I was hoping it was just sprained."

"Were you the one that conjured the first aid splint, Mr. Potter?" the voice of Madam Pomfrey broke into their discussion as she came up to them from where she had been standing beside another patient's bed. Harry realized suddenly that Fleur and Cedric were also in the infirmary, and each of their beds were currently surrounded by their family members.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the splint. Well it happened with only about twenty feet to go before I got to the cup so there was no way I was going to just sit there and send up sparks when I could literally see the cup, mere feet from me. So I cast a numbing charm and conjured the splint."

"You walked on a broken ankle?" Mrs. Weasley yelled and Madam Pomfrey gave him a very stern, disapproving glare. Harry grinned and shrugged, unapologetic.

"Well, I suppose it could have been worse, knowing you." Madam Pomfrey said with a heavy sigh. "That was a very impressive healers splint, Mr Potter."

"Thanks," Harry said with a grin. He glanced back over and Fleur and Cedric and nodded his head towards them. "What happened to them?"

"One of Hagrid's skrewts got Fleur," Ron said in a quiet sympathetic voice. "I heard they were nasty."

Harry scoffed. "Nasty doesn't even begin to cover it. Came across one of those myself. You know those damned things grew to be ten feet long?"

Ron's face paled.

"We don't actually know what happened to Cedric yet. He's still unconscious. Viktor came upon him and found the hedge trying to eat him. He sent up sparks to alert the professors," Hermione said quietly as she looked over at a very concerned Mr. And Mrs. Diggory who were standing at Cedric's bedside.

"So did Krum at least finish?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah, he made it to the center. They'd returned the cup portkey to the middle by then and he appeared with it thinking that he'd won," Ron said. "But you had shown up first with it, and it took him nearly thirty minutes longer than it took you."

Harry smirked and let himself fall back down onto his bed. "So Poppy, how long will it take for you to fix me up this time?" Harry said as he stretched his arms out and then folded them behind his head.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes went wide and it looked like there was a battle going on inside her over whether to be annoyed, angered, or amused as his use of her first name. The Weasleys and Hermione all looked stunned, except for Ginny, who apparently found it funny.

"I will be keeping you here until tomorrow evening, at the earliest. I've removed all of the taratal barbs from your legs and ankle and your broken ankle should be mended by morning, but it will probably be tender for several days. I've administered the antidote for the acromantula venom, but I want to keep an eye on you to make sure you aren't suffering any adverse effects from your bite," Madam Pomfrey said after having decided to ignore his earlier use of her first name.

Harry frowned at this and sat back up. His eyes darted over to 'Moody' who was still standing towards the back of the hospital wing, clearly listening in.

"Are you sure you can't cut me a break and let me out after lunch if I promise to stay in bed?" Harry asked taking on his most innocent look with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage.

Pomfrey's eyes narrowed and she rose a single eyebrow at him as if silently asking 'Do you really think that's going to work on me?'.

"No," she said.

"Pleeeease?"

Ron snorted and Ginny had to put her hand up to stifle her snickers.

"No means no Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said looking stern.

Harry huffed out in frustration and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Hey Ron, do you think you could grab my bag from the dorm? It's sitting on my bed and it's got some stuff in it I need."

"You are to rest Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said in a scolding tone.

"I will! I promise! But sometimes I can't get to sleep without reading for a while first, alright? Just books, that's still resting, right?"

Pomfrey frowned but sighed. "Fine."

Harry turned his attention back to Ron and gave him pleading eyes.

"Er, sure mate. You want me to go get it now?"

"Nah, just if you can make sure I've got it before you go to bed, I'll be fine."

"Alright."

The group went on to talk for a bit longer. Bill showed up several minutes later. He spent a few minutes with Harry showing his proper concern, and congratulating Harry on his win, but Harry could see the man's concerned eyes frequently darting over to Fleur's bed and Harry couldn't help but smirk. Bill was only able to stick around for a short while before he had to leave in order to get back home for work the next morning. Mrs. Weasley reluctantly left with him since it was getting quite late. At some point Cedric woke up, but Harry wasn't able to hear whatever it was that he'd told his parents and Madam Pomfrey about what had knocked him out. Whatever it was, Cedric looked pretty embarrassed by it, so Harry figured he'd let the guy save face and not ask.

Ron was enthralled by Harry's tale of the various nasty things he went up against and had Harry describing every bit of it even though everyone in the stands had gotten a play-by-play announced by Ludo Bagman thanks to some sort of magical surveillance system that allowed him and the headmaster's to watch and judge the champions. Apparently hearing it from Harry himself made it more interesting, plus Bagman hadn't caught everything. The visibility wasn't always best and they had trouble focusing it on more than one or two champions at once. Harry asked how it was that no one knew what happened to Cedric and Ginny said that whatever happened to him happened at the same time that Harry was fighting against the acromantula and people were a bit distracted.

Hermione told Harry that he'd gotten a full fifty points for completing the task first, and in a record-breaking time. They'd asked him how he managed to make it through so fast, and Hermione pointed out that Bagman hadn't mentioned him hitting a single dead-end. Harry had whispered to Ron and Hermione that he'd used the same spell he used to find Ginny in the second task. Ron didn't seem to remember what spell exactly Harry was referring to, but Hermione seemed to catch on, remembering that it was a parselmagic spell, and changed the subject.

Obviously since Harry had been in first place already, finishing first in the maze meant he'd won the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The crowd had roared and cheered for him as he was levitated and carried off the field and back to Hogwarts for medical treatment.

Madam Pomfrey came in and told them all that her patient needed his rest so they all bid him farewell and left. Ron told Harry he'd be back right away with his bag and disappeared out the door.

'Moody' came over and Harry was surprised that the man had stuck around that long.

"It was my understanding that you had an appointment tomorrow afternoon," Moody said quietly under his voice as he came to stand beside Harry's bed.

"Yes and I still intend to keep it. That's why I'm having Ron bring me my bag," Harry mumbled, keeping one eye trained on Madam Pomfrey who was currently attending to Fleur and working to shoo her sister and parents away.

"Will that be possible?" 'Moody' asked.

"Of course it will. As long as I can use T-our Lord's time-turner, I can leave and get back here without anyone ever even realizing I was gone," Harry hissed quietly.

"Time-turner?" Moody said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, that's how I've been getting away so often for the last few months."

What was left of Moody's eyebrows rose high into his forehead but he didn't say anything else.

"Do you need my assistance getting out?" he asked instead.

"If you can come by around lunch time and leave the door open so I can slip out under my cloak that would help," Harry whispered quickly.

'Moody' nodded his head before standing taller and leaving.

A couple minutes later Ron returned with Harry's bag and then bid his friend goodnight. Harry quickly checked through his bag and confirmed that the Map, the cloak and his cypress wand were inside inside the security pouch in the bottom.

Out of habit Harry's right hand slipped up his left sleeve of his simple white hospital wing robes and fingered the leather cuff strapped there. He was glad that Pomfrey hadn't felt the need to remove it when she'd spelled off his torn and bloodied clothing to address his wounds. He probably would have had a bit of a panic attack if he'd woken up and felt it missing.

Satisfied that he had everything he needed he resecured his things inside his bag, and pulled out a book for the sake of keeping up his story for the healer. He only read for about twenty minutes before he felt his exhaustion totally kicking his ass and he set the book and his glasses back onto his night stand and settled down into his bed.