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spcncershybrid · 4 years

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She will kill us all- Fred Weasley Imagine

GIF IS NOT MINE

(Summary: Your two best friends rope you into their recent prank little did you know you would be hurt too.)

Fred Weasley X Reader

So basically I’ve seen a lot of people being like ‘oh just imagine Fred’s death being a prank and at the funeral George stays behind and Fred just wakes up saying what a good prank.’ so uh here is something similar. There will be a second part!

April 29th , 1998

“Hey Y/N.” The twins say in unison as I enter their shop.

“Hey why is the closed sign up?” I say pointing to the door.

“We have a plan-“ George starts.

“-a brilliant, heart wrenching, sad idea.” Fred finishes.

“The both of you and plans is never a good thing.” I say sighing.

“Also if it’s just the both of you doing it why did you guys call me?” I ask confused.

“Well our mother won’t kill you for the idea we have planned.” Fred says nodding over to his brother who agrees.

“Just spill your brilliant, heart wrenching, sad idea” I say looking at them suspiciously.

“Well so you know how the whole situation with the Dark Lord is happening.” George says.

“Yes?” I question looking at them.

“Well one of us is planning on fake dying-” Fred says.

“I already hate the sound of this.” I cut him off.

“So I can fake die then at the funeral you guys can hide my body then we can all go home.” Fred finishes raising his eyebrows at me.

I dryly laugh. They can’t be serious. That idea is insane.

“We know what you're thinking-” Fred starts.

“Yeah that you’re insane!” I exclaim looking at them.

“She will literally kill us when she finds out!” I say rubbing my eyes in disbelief.

They really want me to be a part of this!

“She won’t hurt a hair on your head.” George says as Fred nods agreeingly.

“You know what. The thing I get in return better be amazing for helping you gits.” I groan.

“Yes, she’s on board!” George and Fred cheer circling around me.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

May 2nd, 1998

Today’s the day.

Instead of you-know-who killing us Molly Weasley definitely will.

I can’t believe I agreed to this.

“You ready guys?” George asks looking over to Fred and I.

“Ready to die at the hands of your mother.” I say sarcastically as I twirl my wand along my fingers.

They both laughed at my words and George headed inside.

Fred and I stare at the chaos engulfing around the school.

“After this we should go on a date.” Fred says swaying back and forth.

“Oh Fred Weasley you’ll be the death of me.” I groan softly looking up at him.

“Not if my mum kills you for helping us.” He says laughing as he stares back at me.

I roll my eyes at him and punch his arm.

“So will you?” He asked a playful smirk resting on his lips.

“Sure.” I say giving him a side hug as I notice Percy come upstairs.

“You go with Perce. I'll help fight inside. I promise I’ll be safe.” I say letting him go kissing his cheek.

“I promise I’ll stay alive for our date.” He says kissing the top of my head before going with Percy.

I run inside the building dodging the falling rocks and have my wand held high prepared for the fight of my life.

Little did I know it’ll be the one thing to fight for.

Later in the Great Hall

I walk beside George slightly limping as we enter the Great Hall. Immediately being met with sadness seeing our fallen friends whose lives have ended.

“Why is my mum crying?” George says as he stops abruptly.

“George who’s that on the floor?” I ask stopping next to him as my body grows cold.

Molly looks over at us, tears falling down her face.

We run over to her, dropping to our knees next to Fred’s body.

“There was an explosion that sent him flying into a wall. There was nothing I could do.” Percy said stunned as he watched the pair cry.

“No. You arse you promised!” I whisper angrily as I clutch his clothing tears already making its way down my face.

“Fred! Oh my gosh Fred!” I sob as I shake his body vigorously hoping his eyes would open.

”Come on brother please this was supposed to be a prank.” George whispered for only us to hear.

“He’s dead. My precious boy is dead.” We hear Molly say as we stand.

I look over to George and hug him. We both sob in each other’s arms, parts of us dying with the boy that lie on the floor.

One Week Later

I look into the mirror as I smooth out my black dress.

Today is the funeral. Fred’s funeral.

I take a deep breath and head down the stairs meeting the Weasley family.

We stand together mourning the loss of Fred, each of us nearly tearing ourselves apart as we look at his body lying peacefully in the casket.

“I wish this was a stupid prank.” I whisper to myself.

George walks up to me and stands beside me.

“So much for the plan.” George said sadly as we watched Arthur and Molly cry as they held one another.

“We’ll lay him down tomorrow morning. Morning was his favorite.” Molly said as she headed inside.

Soon enough the Weasleys head inside leaving George and I with the casket.

“You know he promised me he’ll stay safe. He even asked me out before the whole mess.” I say breaking the silence between us.

“Before the war he wanted to ask you out. He fancied you a lot. Ron and I bet each other a galleon if you two got together. I guess I owe him one.” George says laughing quietly recalling the memory.

________________

“They surely will get together.” Ron said as he stared at Y/N and Fred laughing and scheming together.

“They won't, they're both scared.” George said watching the pair.

“They would look cute together. Have you seen him when she’s near.” Ron said, staring at his brother sitting in front of him.

“You should’ve heard him yesterday talking about her. She walked in and he turned as red as our hair.” George says laughing.

“We should set a bet. One single galleon.” Ron said, smirking as he watched as Y/N slapped Fred’s arm playfully.

“You’re on brother. I bet that they won’t get together. This will be easy; they are both too scared to ask each other out. The Yule ball was pure luck for them. It’s been this way since second year.” George says confidently holding out his hand.

“I bet that they will get together.” Ron says matching his brother's confidence and gladly shakes his hand.

“Remember when he stepped on my foot during the ball.” I say laughing with him.

“I thought you would never walk again after. I was surprised he asked you seeing as you burnt the paper ball he threw at you to ask you in the first place.” George says laughing as we both reminisce on the events of the Triwizarding Tournament era of our lives.

________________

“He won’t ask me Angela, it's pure knowledge. Fred Weasley doesn’t like me.” I say sadly looking ahead at a Hufflepuff pair of students walking hand and hand after being asked to the infamous Yule Ball.

“He surely will. Just give him time.” Angela says comforting me.

“I sure hope so.” I say looking at her and get back to writing in my book.

Later on…

We all sat in the Great Hall as Snape walked past us, book nestled in front of his face.

Fred has non stop been flinging paper balls my way nearly getting me in trouble.

Out of my peripheral vision I notice him ball up another piece of paper.

I pull out my wand concealing it under the table as Snape walks past up stopping right behind Angela, who might I add is sitting right next to me.

Fred chucks the paper towards me but I react quickly.

“Incendio.” I say pointing my wand to the paper watching it burn and the charred pieces fall onto the table.

“Fred Weasley if you throw another paper ball my way I will use that spell on you.” I say glaring at him as I naturally get fed up.

“Open it next time.” He hissed looking at me.

Angela and George snicker watching the two of us bicker at each other.

A few moments pass and I silently pray that he won’t throw another.

I look around the room and hear a small thud in front of me.

I look down noticing a scrunched up piece of paper in front of me resting on top of my book.

I look over to Fred who’s motioning for me to open the paper.

I uncurl the ball and read it.

‘Georgie told me you were complaining about not having anyone to go with to the ball. So Y/N Y/L/N I invite you a one night Weasley special. Will you go to the ball with me? As friends.’

I smile at the scribbled writing and look up at him. He’s mimicking a ball like dance and nods to me. I roll my eyes and nod back as he cheers silently.

Although it was only as friends I was overjoyed.

“Told you.” Angela whispered to me as the twins get back to work.

Day of the Yule Ball

“Does this color seem tacky?” I ask Angela as I twirl in the mirror.

“It’s simple and cute. Fred will lose his mind looking at you in that.” Angela says as she smooths out her dress.

The dress wasn’t too elegant but it wasn’t plain either. It was a simple blue dress with glitter cascading the bottom half reminding me of the night sky.

I link arms with Angela as we head down the grand staircase making our way to the twins.

George and Angela grab each other’s hand and walk away leaving Fred and I standing alone.

We stare at each other not sure of what to say.

“You look beautiful.” Fred said looking at me.

“Thank you. You don't look too bad either.” I say laughing as we head inside where the students gather waiting for the champions to arrive.

After a while everyone dances with each other. I on the other hand stay sitting down watching the night unfold before my eyes.

“Come on you said you’ll dance.” Fred said walking over to me holding out his hand.

I grab his hand reluctantly and he pulls me to him as we sway back and forth to the beat of the song.

That was until we twisted too quick and his foot stepped harshly on mine causing me to wince in pain.

“I am so so sorry.” Fred apologizes profusely as he guides me to a table.

“It’s alright just remind me to never dance with you ever again.” I say jokingly as I slip off my heels noticing a large bruise slowly appear on it.

“Noted.” He said sheepishly as he helped me stand and led me to Madam Pomfrey.

________________

“You alright.” George says snapping me out of my memory.

“I will be.” I say sadly before turning on my feet and enter the Weasley home, leaving George outside.

I head upstairs not even bothering to stay down knowing I’ll break down at the sight of everyone upset.

Meanwhile...

George paces around outside staring at the open casket blankly.

What if the potion went wrong when he got hurt? He thought.

Yes he was scared that his brother was truely dead, the thought horrified him. The day their mum pronounced Fred dead he was scared believing he died.

But what if that wasn’t the case? He thought as he stopped.

He entered the house and looked around seeing if anyone was up. He quietly entered the different rooms noticing everyone asleep from the long day.

He quietly exited the home and went up to the casket staring at his brother's pale face.

Remember George just pinch him and he’ll wake up. We made this up ourselves. George thought to himself as he stood over the body.

His hand waved over his brother’s and pinched the back of Fred’s palm.

George stepped back and stared at him silently praying the potion worked. It had been a week at most since Fred ingested the potion.

Slight movement was beginning to be noticeable and suddenly Fred’s eyes were wide open taking in the night sky. He coughed slightly as George silently cheered.

“Welcome back to the land of the living brother.” George said, helping his brother out of the casket.

“How long was I out from that awful potion?” Fred said his legs buckled as he stood up for the first time in a week.

“A week.” George said, stabilizing his brother.

“Oh man how mad do you reckon they’ll be?” Fred asked, getting excited to see his family's reaction to the whole ordeal.

“Very. Y/N and I cried a lot. Mum and dad cried enough to fill an ocean.” George said laughing.

“You and Y/N cried? You saw me take the potion and I told you to tell her.” Fred said, slightly confused remembering the moment like it was yesterday.

“Beware drinking this might taste like what cat litter smells like.” George said, handing a special blended potion to knock Fred out.

“We don’t even own a cat. How do you know what it smells like?” Fred asked, causing George to roll his eyes.

”I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Fred said as he stared at the bottle.

“Me neither.” George says smiling widely.

“So after I drink this what will you do to wake me up.” Fred said mixing around the liquid watching it swish together.

“All I have to do is pinch you and you’ll wake up.” George said.

“Okay so it’ll affect me later during the war and make sure you tell Y/N so she doesn’t think I died for real.” Fred said as he held the bottle to his lips.

“Of course brother.” George said as he watched Fred drink the potion.

Fred gagged as he drank the potion as the different flavors coated his throat.

“Of course we cried. Percy said you were hit by an explosion that sent you into a wall. I thought you died for real. But later on in the night I remembered the potion would have protected you from anything.” George said as his brother regained mobility.

“So why did Y/N cry?” Fred asked, crossing his arms.

“I never told her about the potion Freddie. She was worked up about the war and it slipped my mind.” George confessed causing his brother.

“She cried over my dead body because you forgot to tell her I wasn’t actually dead! George, that was one thing that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Fred silently exclaimed.

Fred never wanted Y/N to cry over the prank. They already dragged her into the idea he didn’t want her to be heartbroken over the fact that he wasn’t really dead.

“We both thought you were dead Fred. There was no way of telling if you were alive or not.” George argued back.

“Please tell me that she didn’t cry for the whole week.” Fred said, staring at his brother.

George stood silently.

“She will be furious you know. Oh gosh she’ll probably hate me after this.” Fred said, running a hand through his hair.

“She wouldn’t hate you Fred. If anything she’ll hate me.” George says laughing slightly.

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow for the big reveal.” George says shrugging as he guides his brother to a shed on the property.

________________

“Where’s my boy? He’s gone!” Molly Weasley’s shocked voice pierces through the quiet home.

I quickly get up and head downstairs.

What does she mean he’s gone?

“He should be in the casket Mrs. Weasley. I don’t think we have grave robbers.” I say rubbing my eyes as everyone comes down the steps.

“He’s not here!” She yelled, sounding shocked.

Ron and Harry ran into the living room in confusion as they heard the commotion.

“Who’s not here?” Ginny asked as she walked in.

“Fred.” Molly said as she clasped her hand over her mouth.

I furrow my eyebrows and look around the room noticing one person of the Weasley clan isn’t here. George.

I huff and stomped upstairs. I walk along the hallway and knocked on his door furiously.

“Come in.” I heard him say.

I open the door angrily.

“You better have one hell of an explanation Weasley.” I hiss.

“On?” He asked confused as he sat up from his bed.

“Where is he?” I say crossing me arms.

“Who are you talking about?” He asked as he stood up from his bed.

“The bloody grindylow’s. You know exactly what I’m talking about George Weasley. Where is he?” I ask my voice raising slightly as I tap my foot on the floor.

“Y/N I wanted to tell you.” George started.

“Tell me where he is or you're both dead for real.” I say staring at him sternly.

“He’s at the shop. He’s in the flat.” George said as he stared down at his feet.

“This isn’t over.” I say as I walk out of his room.

I walk over to the room I’m staying in and grab my wand. I grab my old quidditch jumper and apparate to Diagon Alley.

I walked down over to the joke shop. I placed my hand on the handle and opened the door. I made my way towards the flat and opened it. Low and behold what do I see, Fred Weasley.

“Why are you here?” He asked startled.

“You’re lucky I don't have your head on a pike and because I know how to apparate properly.” I spat.

“Look, I know you’re mad.” Fred said as he put down a book.

“That’s not even the beginning Weasley. You had me worried sick you were dead for crying out loud. I cried for you, Fred and you’re here alive. Was the prank worth it? Was it worth the tears and the heartbreak? So help me on Gryffindor’s name was this whole thing worth it.” I yell at him as I bite back tears. Some cascaded down my face and I quickly wiped them.

“Y/N I’m sorry. I told George to tell you.” Fred said, his voice cracking.

“You’re sorry is all you have to say for yourself! You can forget about that damned date! Don’t even contact me!” I spat angrily as I ran out the room and down the steps.

I wiped away my tears and apparated back to my room at the Burrow.

“Stupid Weasley’s.” I muttered as I grabbed my rucksack off the bed. I began to fill it with my things.

After a few minutes most of my things were packed. I grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and sat down at the desk.

‘Dear Molly Weasley,

Sorry I won’t be here for the funeral. My condolences but I’m leaving. I wish you all the best. I'll be with my parent’s. Thank you for giving me a place to stay for the week I appreciate it.

Love,

Y/N Y/L/N’

I sealed the letter with tape and placed it onto my desk. I grab at my broom and open the window. I hop onto the broom and clutch the top. I pushed my feet off the window sill and flew off. The trip won’t be too long but it’ll probably take a while.

I soared through the air and sighed. I am going to miss them.

#fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #george weasley #harry potter imagine #fred weasley smut #harry potter #harry potter smut

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hiitsbee · 4 years

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From me to you | C.D.

Cedric Diggory x Reader

Warning:references to death

Masterlist

Summary:After Cedric’s death you find a letter left on your bed.

The chaos exploded around you:people jumped on their feet,shaking their hands in the air to celebrate the boys who had just came out from the labyrinth. You woke up too,trying to see who the winner of the Triwizard tournament was but while everyone was celebrating you soon realised that something was wrong.

Harry seemed to be almost a little dot from your seat but you immediately realised he was holding Cedric in a too weird way,and the Hufflepuff wasn’t even moving. You woke up,trying to walk down the field seats when Fleur’s scream froze the air. The students suddenly became silent as McGonagall turned around asking everyone to stay in their seats.

Your hands were shaking at the thought of what could had just happened and,soon,all your fears turned into reality. <<That’s my son!>> Cedric’s father yelled with tears falling down from his eyes. Your stomach suddenly twisted itself,throwing up its acid while you felt your throat being tied in a tight knot. Your usually bright eyes lost their lights and begun to burn like fire while your cheeks suddenly turned into slides for sealed tears. Even your legs couldn’t make you stand properly as you leaned your body against Pansy Parkinson’s who was standing right beside you

None of you ever got along well with the other,but in that moment all she could do was holding you. A hand of hers rested on your back while the other on your tummy as your eyes met:Pansy was crying too,her breath was short and heavy. You stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds and then you pulled away,running.

You made your way in between the students,hitting Ron who looked at you with the saddest stare you had ever seen in the last years. You even bumped into George and Fred,almost falling as the second one caught you right in time <<Y/n>> he tried to speak but you pushed him and kept running,crossing also Cho Chang’s way. You saw her on her knees,desperately sobbing with Luna right next to her,looking extremely hurt.

Once you made it out with not a single professor seeing you leaving you locked yourself in your bedroom.

Your back slipped along the cold wood of the door. The air was silent,not a single noise could be heard expect the ones from your sobs.

You curled up yourself,hugging your legs you had brought against your chest and hiding your face in the cloth of your uniform skirt.

Your breath was short,you were almost gasping for air while Cedric’s memories crossed your mind like movie scenes. His smile,his pinky cheeks,his hand holding yours. Everything was now just an image stuck in your mind which made your heart emotional.

<<Y/n!>> Cedric greeted you with a soft smile,wrapping your body in a tight hug. His hands caressed your back slowly as you hid your face in the crook of his neck. His scent filled your nostril. Fresh grass and hot thea:it was the boy’s scent which reminded you of home.

You shaked your head,waking up and walking towards your bed. You sat on it and rested your head on your pillow,sliding the hands underneath it. You realised that someone left a sheet of paper under the pillow.

You sat,holding what looked like a letter and read it.

To:Y/n

From:Cedric (Ced) Diggory

Dear Y/n,

As a child mum used to tell me to write down the feelings I couldn’t control to focus on them and on how contain the little flames they sent to my heart.The recipient of my letters used to be a so called “Jace”,he was my imaginary friend. A queit type,I remember describing him like that. But today I’m not writing to him,actually I don’t even know who I’m writing to. I’m not a child anymore,but I don’t even feel to be an adult. I’m in the middle of the thin strand of my life and I’m trying to not fall in the ocean under me. The funny part of what’s going on? I’m writing this letter the night after the first task of the Triwizard Tournament:the most dangerous competition of the entire Wizarding World which I have,obviously,taken part to. A paradox,you see. I regret it. I do. I put my name in the Goblet of fire during a moment of overstatement of myself. I was feeling confident,strong,powerful,I was feeling like someone my friends would look up to...I was feeling like an adult. But I’m not. I’m just a seventeen year old boy who has just realised he wants to live the life of a seventeen year old boy. Not the life of an adult,nor of a hero,or of a fighter.

Is it too late to understand what I put myself into? I do think so,but I can’t go back in time. The concern has begun to grow,the fear has begun to take control and I’m overthinking everything. During the night I lay down and I ask myself if after the tournament I’ll be a different person. Will I keep doing everything in the same way? Will I keep seeing everything in the same way? Then,when I’m finally falling asleep the scariest question starts floating in my mind:will I be able to spend the rest of my life with the people I love? Or will I become a ghost? Someone has just popped in my mind. Someone with a beautiful smile,a girl,with a beautiful smile.

I walk her to class everyday just to see it. She’s the prettiest girl on earth,the strongest,she taught me that every scar is a sign of victory. Her name’s Y/n. Such a sweet name. Such a sweet voice. She always greets me with a soft “Hi” and she calls me “Ced”. Once I asked her why:she said that “Ced” suits me better than “Cedric” because it sounds cuter. I don’t really know if she was just fooling me or if she was telling the truth,but I loved the way she talked to me. Y/n’s my best friend,maybe something more for me. I don’t know if she has the same feelings. I think she’s my soulmate. Not in a foolish way,like what you see in random movies. A real soulmate:the piece which complete you perfectly,the piece of the puzzle which complete the whole picture. I’m not saying this just because we think and act almost in the same way,I’m saying this because when I look at her I’m SURE she’s understanding my feelings,I’m SURE she knows what’s going on in my head,so she speaks and says the right thing at the right moment of the right day.I’m so grateful for Y/n. She’s the only person I’d love to spend the rest of my life with. I’d love to wake up in the morning and see her pretty smile,I’d love to look into her eyes and see the same,deep,clear ocean everyday. I want to hug her and protect her from the worst things of this world,from the cruel life,from the pain. I want to run with her in a field of daisies and butterflies. This is what I fear now:losing her,hurting her. What if she will lose me and it will be my own fault? As I said before I put my name in the Goblet of fire in a moment of overstatement of myself but when I saw all my friends cheering for me I didn’t want to disappoint them,but in not trying to disappoint the whole chorus I disappointed the most important voice. Y/n didn’t want me to take part to the tournament. She told me it was too dangerous,that I would regret everything. And she was right. I’m an hypocrite:I ignored her and now I’m here feeling sorry for hurting her feelings and scared for what my future is going to be. Such a trouble maker. An idiot,that’s better maybe,and as an idiot I should burn this letter in the fireplace,but I’m not. I’m sending this to Y/n.

Dear Y/n,now I’m talking directly to you,I’m not just writing random feelings down anymore. I don’t know how I’ll sent this letter to you,maybe through an howl or maybe I’ll just ask Harry,but please read it until the end. You deserve to read my previous words and the following:I love you. I love you with my whole hurt and I apologise for being too impulsive,I apologise if I’ll hurt you,if you’ll cry sour tears for me,I apologise for not listening to the most important person of my life just not to disappoint someone else.I really do. I hope you’ll find this letter and you’ll bring it to me to slap me in the face,telling me that I’m an idiot and then laugh together at how much dramatic I’m being,but if it won’t happen,please,know that I will always be by your side. No matter what. So please,I’m begging you:forgive me. Forgive me for the happy ending we won’t get. Keep on with your life,find someone that will love you and listen to you in the right way. Find someone you’ll hug with the same love you hugged me,find someone you’ll talk to with the same sweetness you talked to me,find someone who won’t throw everything away and regret it when it’s too late and make them dream as much as I dreamed about you and all your little things. You’re the only one who made me feel alive. Thank you.

Be happy,Y/n.

Forever yours,

Cedric (Ced) x.

#cedric diggory #cedric diggory imagine #cedric diggory oneshot #cedric imagine #cedric diggory x you #cedric diggory x slytherin!reader #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory x fem!reader #cedric x y/n #cedric diggory x y/n #cedric x reader #cedric x you #harry potter #harrypotterworld #harry potter oneshot #wizarding world

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the-fiction-witch · 3 years

Text

A kid p2

TV SHOW THE QUEENS GAMBIT

COUPLE BENNY WATTS X READER

RATING FLIRTY

I stood looking around the place keeping an eye on the little board in the center sipping my terrible airport coffee, it was awful but I needed coffee. I heard the little intercom the flight I was waiting for came in, I sighed and threw the gross coffee into the trash can, and headed to the gate it was meant to be arriving at seeing people slowly trickling out looking tired and angry most going to the arms of people waiting around for them, and as I stood there I saw the little fixed mop of blonde hair, and the moment he came out he saw me and he ran over into my arms

"Whoa! hey kiddo" I laughed petting his hair

"Hi Mr Watts" He smiled moving back and fixing his backpack a little

"Hey, How was the flight?" I asked him

"There was a baby. it wouldn't stop screaming" He sighed

"It's okay, how about we go get ice cream?"

"Yeah!" He smiled

"Where's your mother?"

"She's coming." He says

"Okay, you need anything?"

"The toilet"

"Alright run along then I'll wait for your mum," I told him so he left his backpack with me and he ran off elsewhere just as he did I saw y/n coming out with their bags and holding a little bottle of water to her head "Headache?"

"There was-"

"A screaming baby, Arthur told me" I laughed

"Ummm" she nods dropping her stuff and hugging me tightly I smiled and hugged her tightly too "I missed you benny"

"I missed you too, My sweet little flower" I smiled giving her a little kiss "Ohh... I may have promised ice cream"

"Might you have?" she glared "You got a lot to learn about kids benny" she laughs gathering their stuff

"What, you water them, give them... sunlight-"

"That's plants" she laughs

"Well I can't keep those alive either" I shrug

"You're fine Arthur's old enough and smart enough he pretty much takes care of himself" she laughs as Arthur came back and took his backpack "Come on kiddo, Benny's buying you ice cream"

"Yay!" He smirked running off towards the exit

"Who said I was buying it?"

"I did" she smirked linking her arm with mine and tugging me along after Arthur "And you can deal with him when he has the sugar crash from the ice cream in an hour"

"Fine" I sighed "So long as I get some kisses"

"when he's asleep" she smiled giving my cheek a kiss so I took them both to my car and got loaded up Arthur in the back and y/n in the front with me s we drove through new york to get to my apartment

"Mr watts?" Arthur asked sitting up leaning on the seat

"Yeah, kiddo?" I laughed

"sit back Arthur it's dangerous," Y/n told him

"Where are we going to all sleep?" he asked

"Well, I have a very lovely airbed. That sound good kiddo? you'll have the whole flat as your room"

"All of it!"

"All of it"

"Really?"

"Yeah if you're happy with the air bed"

"But.. if the whole flat is mine on the air bed? where will you and mummy sleep?"

"Ohh... I'm sure me and your mummy can, rough it in my bed together" I smirked winking at y/n

"Or maybe I should have the little airbed and let you boys share, have a boys-only sleepover in the bedroom" y/n smirked back

"Maybe, we'll see" I said slightly glaring at her, as soon as we got to the apartment we all headed inside me and arthur sat at the table playing a little freindly game if chess while y/n unpacked and hung things up in the closet "you can relax a minute y/n" I laughed at her scurrying around

"I can but I have things to do" she smiled messing with my hair as she walked past petting arthur's and doing his move for him

"Mum!" He whines as she went off doing something else

"You should take your mother's advice arthur, she's the second best chess player I've ever met" I smiled winking at her

"However arthur bare in mind Mr Watts does think the best chess player he's ever met is himself" she laughed

"Your good Mr Watts. But your cocky. And it leads you open" he says "checkmate"

"Hu. Well done kiddo, I think that's deserves some ice cream" I told him as he had actually beaten me then again I was being nice to him and I was distracted by y/n wandering around my apartment, I went and did him some ice cream as he packed the board away and I couldn't help looking at y/n, remembering the last time I saw her rushing around my apartment, however back then she was only in her little sheer nightie and I was often bending her over things or pulling her on my lap for a while. I forced it out my mind and gave arthur his ice cream, as soon as he was finished I got the airbed up and arthur decided he wanted it which was fine by me as it meant y/n was bunking with me. I leaned on the door frame watching y/n read him a chess book as a bedtime story as she tucked him into bed, I couldn't help imagining... What it would be like, for us to be a family.

"Sleep tight arthur, I'm just in the next room if you need me"

"Okay, goodnight mummy" he smiled

"Goodnight" she smiled getting up

"Goodnight Mr Watts"

"Goodnight arthur," I smiled back she turned the light off and came inside the bedroom so I left the door open a crack and got ready for bed too climbing in and smirking at her "so?"

"So?' she asks quietly

"We're finally... All alone"

"You seriously expect me to have sex with you with my son on the other side of the wall?"

".... We've had sex in worse places" I shrug as she climbed into bed "don't you remember... The beach?"

"I do, or the elevator"

"Umm that was fun. Come on... For old time sake my little flower?"

"No Benny," she giggled getting her book

"You really wanna read a book rather then snuggling with me?"

"My son is-"

"Our son. He is mine remember"

"Umm"

"Umm?"

"Uumm"

"What's the Humm for?"

"Nothing"

"No, tell me"

"Nothing, just..."

"I am trying y/n. I've never been around kids before I'm doing my best. I wanna be a part of his life, of you'll let me"

"Of course I'll let you benny,"

"I don't know how to go about it. That's all"

"Umm, he talks about you"

"Does he?"

"He does, mummy's new boyfriend Mr Watts"

"Mummy's boyfriend? Didn't know I was your boyfriend?" I smirked

"He thinks you are"

"Am I?"

"I suppose so"

"Wait... New boyfriend? Have you had boyfriends he knew about before?"

"No Benny, but he's a smart kid he knows he came from somewhere"

"I have a theory"

"Do you now?"

"I think it was that bathtub. Due to the timing, then again I don't know the exact timing due to me... Not knowing had knocked you up in the first place"

"I think it was that chair"

"Do you? It might have been the chair, I don't know it was somewhere in here I must have got you pregnant"

"Or the car"

"... Or the car. Did we-"

"On the way home a week before you left, from the grocery store"

"Ohh yeah... I remember that."

"Not a bad time for in the back of a beetle" she giggled

".... Maybe we should tell him"

"Tell him what?"

"What do you think. Tell him in his dad"

"I don't know Benny..."

"Why not, I wanna be a part of his life and a part of yours if you'll have me. It's not fair on him to grow up without a dad, not when I'm around"

"Benny, it's not like I wouldn't want a life with you, it's just it's been just me and arthur for so long now, and I don't know how people would react and who knows how it would go I mean you have no experience with children Benny, and I mean how long would it last? A quick roll in the hay again would be fine if I was still young dumb and twenty one but... Not when your thirty" she says

"Y/n. My sweet little flower." I smiled giving her a cuddle "you always were an overthinking pessimist"

"It's my way"

"I know, y/n I know we're not as young as we were back then, but I'm just happy to see you again to hold you again, and... Honestly it can last as long as you want, a week, a month, a year, or the rest of our lives and I'll still be happy, I know I'm shit with kids but I can learn, and who gives a shit what people think of us I'll marry you to shut them up if you really want" I told her

"You mean it Benny?'

"Of course I mean it. I wouldn't say it if I didn't. Y/n it broke my heart when you left i- I never thought I'd see you again. And when I did I... I didn't know what to do or say or think, I never knew about arthur and I wish I could have, I would have wanted to cuddle you and watch your stomach grow and hold your hand when you have birth I would have wanted to be there for all of it and... I wasn't. I've missed so much of his life and I want to be there, for him and for you so you don't have to be on your own anymore, so I can take care of you. Both of you"

"I'd like that Benny" she smiled giving me a kiss "still he's old enough we can't mess him up to much"

"Hes my son how much more messed up can he get" I laughed

"Still we can figure it out, I'm sorry I never told you and that you missed so much. It's okay next time you'll be here, won't you?"

"If there's a next time, I'll be there every second"

"I'd like a next time. I wanna give him a sister"

"A sister?" I smirked pulling her close to me "I think I can arrange that my little flower" I smirked pulling her to kiss me she happily kissed back running our hands all over each other umm it took me back all those nights in here lost in each other for hours on end.

"Mummy?" Arthur spoke up at the door that had been creaked open we quickly seperated sitting up

"What's the matter darling?" She asked trying to not to expose just how hot and heavy we where getting as we where both gasping a little

"Is it true?" He asked and we froze "what I heard? Is... Is Mr Watts my daddy?"

37 notes · View notes

pi-cat000 · 3 years

Text

BNHA: something sad (Resentment)

Summary: The last time Katsuki sees Izuku alive the other boy is rushing to save him. A ‘the Sludge Villain incident gone wrong’ aka Izuku dies.

Characters: Katsuki Bakugo

Fandom: My Hero Academia

WARNINGS! Major Character death, swearing, heavy angst, graphic descriptions of violence

Other parts in this AU: (Something Sad), (Anger), (Grief)

This is the direct sequel to (Implosion)

......

“Not many people get hit with a concussive blast of this strength and walk away will so few injuries.” Is what the paramedic that looks Katsuki over says, hand glowing a faint blue as he uses some sort of diagnostic quirk.

“It looks like you have a few cuts, bruising, strained muscles and sprained wrist from what I can see. I’d recommend getting a proper examination at the hospital but there’s nothing life-threatening here.” The medic continues.

The emergency doctor at the hospital confirms the diagnosis and shakes his head in disapproval, adding, “…bruising on your ribs and a fractured finger. No concussion, thankfully, but you’ll have a nasty bump on the back of your head. If your quirk didn’t make you naturally resistant to these sorts of shock-based blasts, you would be dead..”

…

After that, everyone is practically falling over each other to lecture him on how irresponsible and reckless he is.

His mum arrives and there is a lot of shouting which just pisses him off.

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACT WHEN I GET WOKEN UP AT ONE IN THE MORNING BY POLICE TELLING ME THAT MY IDIOT SON, WHO SHOULD BE ASLEEP, IS IN HOSPITAL!!”

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!

Then there is the quiet disappointment he gets from his father when his mum is done yelling which only fuels his resentment.

“I don’t understand why you did it son. Did you want to get into that fight? Or was it a mistake? Please. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on.”

Eventually, he finally snaps, “I fucking felt like it! That’s why I did it! And you know what, I’d do it again.”

It wasn’t like he could or even wanted to explain that he’d jumped out his window to wander the streets at midnight because he had had a bad dream and his All Might poster had looked at him funny. That the rage and anger were preferable to that sinking empty feeling that had turned his every waking moment into a pointless repeat of everyday routines and useless interactions. That every time he let himself pause and reflect, Deku’s stupid smiling face was mocking him from the afterlife.

Next, he spends an hour with Senior Officer Watanabe recounting every possible detail from his stroll through the streets to his climactic fight with Lanky, Tiny and Grease-Hair.

“Well, you definitely don’t do things in half measures kid. So far we have private and public property damage, unlicensed quirk usage, quirk usage with the intent to harm, vigilantly activity, assault...”

“Assault! Why the hell is that on the list. Those bastards started it.”

“You can’t go around beating people up no matter how good your intentions are!”

“So, you wanted me to just watch!”

“Yes!” A long breath, “I know it can be hard but you need to wait for the pros. You got lucky this time but what if things had been different? You had misread the situation. What if you had been badly injured? What if you had accidentally injured the victim or killed someone? There is a reason we make people get a license for Hero work. Seison Masuyama is a B-rank villain.”

“B rank? He wasn’t that strong.”

“His quirk, Kinetic-Force, collects kinetic energy and releases it in one overpowered attack. It’s deadly to most people. You were lucky he had already used it once that day and that you were resilient enough to withstand it."

After multiple repeats of the ‘you’re lucky you’re not dead,’ with a side order of ‘it’s a good thing you’re still a minor because you could go to jail for this,’ he gets to go home.

It is three in the morning by the time he arrives back at the apartment, two exhausted parents in tow, having been issued an ‘official warning,’ an order to complete 100 hours of community service and instructions to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He has never felt angrier or more resentful.

A days later and he is back at school, wasting his time watching clocks and avoiding classmates.

Nothing had changed.

…

The car screeches to a stop at the school gates, throwing Katsuki forward in his seat. His mum turns to fix him with a stern glare, eyes narrow.

“If you’re not waiting right here by the gate when I come to pick you up or so help me I’ll be escorting you to and from your classroom from the rest of your school life,” she threatens.

“Lay off you old bat,” Katsuki snaps as was becoming routine since his mum had started driving him the short distance to school, “I got it the first million times.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” A finger is pointed at his nose, waving in an almost menacing fashion. “Remember. Here. School Gates. 4:00pm. Don’t you dare think about ditching again.”

Katsuki sneers and kicks open the car door, turning to slams it shut with as much force as possible in retaliation. He stalks through the gates, shouldering his way through a group of loitering students. They all scatter when they recognise him. In some ways, he prefers dealing with the anger and yelling of his mum than his father’s quiet disappointment. That doesn’t stop it from being annoying as hell.

A spike of pain runs through his hand from where he must have used a little too much force on the door. Maybe he should take his father up on those kickboxing classes. Sure, he had practised punching after reading a bunch of online guides, but reading and solo practice were completely different when compared with real actual fighting. That was assuming he was going to be getting into more real fights. He opens and closes his bandaged fist, feeling a slight sting in his wrist and fingers. He glares. Four days on and he can still feel the echo of adrenalin. The thrill of righteous anger had been so much more satisfying than the directionless rage he was accustomed to. It had rekindled some of that fire that drove him to be the best, to win, chasing away the sickening emptiness which had been dogging his every waking step.

He wants to feel that again…He wants to do something other than listlessly go through the same daily motions as he drifts towards his now uncertain future.

“Hey Bakugō!”

He keeps walking, ignoring whatever loser classmates wanted to talk to him.

“HEY!”

A hand lands on his shoulder and Katsuki twitches, a hairs breath away from spinning and firing a blast point-blank into the pest’s face. Instead, he stops and deliberately turns to glower at the pathetic piece of trash behind him. Murata Taheiji from his homeroom is standing there, one hand on his hip, flanked by two other boys he doesn’t know the names of. Two more appear to stand in front of him, blocking his way. They are all puffed up like they think they’re hot shit. Katsuki scoffs. Are these failures really trying to bully him? HIM!?

“How about you get the fuck out of my way and go find a first year to pick on. You know, someone more on your level.”

That gets him an irritated scowl that transforms into a patronising grin, “You were always such a stuck up prick Bakago…Acting so high and mighty all the time. Not anymore, I know the truth. You’re just like the rest of us.”

“Huh?” he drawls, dragging out the sound, turning so he is facing the boy, “What the fuck are you on about.”

“My dad works for Musutafu police dispatch and he told me something real interesting yesterday.” A dramatic pause, “He said that you got arrested a few nights ago.” There is a laugh that is echoed by the four surrounding him. By now the confrontation has garnered the attention of several onlookers, who are slowly drifting closer.

“All that shit about being a Hero and you got arrested. What’d you do? Steal some candy from a convenience store? We all know you don’t have money.”

Around them, the growing audience is eyeing him with varying levels of eager anticipation like they think he’ll break down and start crying because of some dumb-ass insults. Damn, if that doesn’t just piss him off. How dare these losers think him that weak.

“Don’t compare me to your loser selves,” he dismisses aggressively, making to turn and forcefully elbow his way past. He is stopped by Murata’s hand which is still on this shoulder.

“You know what I think. I think you’re all talk.”

Katsuki stills, letting the words sink and curdle in his stomach. In one short move, he turns and steps in close to Murata so they are almost nose to nose.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he warns. The other boy tenses, looking like he wants to say something else equally stupid. If he remembers correctly Murata has some sort of muscle-enhancer, reflex quirk. One of the only worthwhile quirks in the school.

Katsuki jerks his elbow up and around in a quick jab. It smacks into the loser’s face. Crack. Guess having fast reflexes didn’t make a difference when you never saw the blow coming.

There is a cry of surprised pain and shouts of alarm from the peanut gallery. The other boy falls back, tripping over his own feet. It is ridiculously simple to lift a leg and deliver a kick to the stomach, not even a strong kick, so his failed bully thuds onto the ground, tossing up a small puff of sand. Unlike the fight in the ally, there is no rush of excitement, no spike of anger or adrenaline. No exhilaration. He is just irritated and maybe a bit disappointed. That’s what he gets for expecting anything out of the pathetic losers that went Aldera Middle School. They were more annoying than anything else.

Murata rolls around in the dirt, wheezing, trying to draw breath. He can almost imagine Deku running up to complain about his violent tendencies or sprout some shit about Hero’s needing to protect people like Murata didn’t ask for it when he decided to try his luck bullying someone obviously stronger than him.

The reminder of Deku sours his already shitty mood.

“Ah…you broke my nose. YOU BOKE IT…ah…it hurts. Do something!” The idiot calls to his equally idiotic friends as he tries to stop blood from pouring down his face.

Katsuki gazes coolly at the boy before directing his attention at the four other ‘bullies’ standing frozen around him.

“You extras got something else to add to that?” With Murata out of the game, the rest of the pathetic group shuffles about uncertainly.

“Ah…we’re good,” The tallest one says nervously, “Sorry about that Bakugō. No hard feelings right?”

He scoffs.

One of the boys moves forward to pull Murata upright, kneeling and pulling out a tissue to help stem the flow of blood. “Crap. I…I think Murata needs to go to the nurse. This looks serious.” There are a few more apprehensive glances in his direction like the other boys think he’ll insist on continuing the ‘fight’-ha! like this has been anything near a fight- until they are all bloody messes on the ground. Kaksuki rolls his eyes. As if he has the patience to deal with any more of these losers.

“Cowards,” he mutters, shoving past. The crowd of students who had gathered to watch the failed confrontation, scramble to get out of his way. A strong breeze rushes through the school’s courtyard, drawing attention to how quiet it has suddenly gotten. Barely audible whispers follow in his wake and he can feel many sets of eyes on his back, watching.

“He always did have a bad attitude.” They murmur.

“Guess he’s a real delinquent now.”

“…did you hear what Murata said. Do you think Bakugō actually got arrested?”

“That’s got to be fake right? Murata is full of hot air.”

“No way. I believe it. You don’t have to share a class with him, I’m telling you, Bakugō’s gone nuts.”

“Kind of scary when you think about it. With a quirk like that...”

He doesn’t know why they’re all so shocked. This isn’t the first fight he has gotten into on school grounds. Okay, so maybe he’d held off doing any real harm before now, well aware that U.A. would probably check his school record. It had never mattered to him because there was no point in beating up weaklings when he was obviously superior. Except for Deku…the only person he had ever really hurt, the only person he could get away with hurting without repercussions. And now he feels like extra shit. God, what a huge farce it had all been. Kaksuki clenches his fist and growls, wondering if it isn’t too late to ditch and go find somewhere secluded to blow off steam. Anything to escape this feeling of frustration.

He doesn’t have time to make a proper decision because news of his ‘fight’ had obviously spread to the staffroom. One of the second year homeroom teachers comes barrelling out of the school’s front entrance, eyes immediately landing on him.

“What happened!” Their eyes move past him to the bloody Murata, “Go wait in the principles office. Now.”

Well, he didn’t want to deal with his annoying classmates anyway. He stalks away, the sounds of the teacher fussing over Murata growing fainter behind him. When he arrives, the principal’s office is empty and he flings himself down into one of the comfy couches, irritated. The bell for homeroom goes off and Kaksuki remains sprawled across the couch, arm across his face to block out the light and his view of the clock slowly ticking away.

Just as he begins to contemplate leaving, Principle Fukuhara comes strolling into the room.

“ Bakugō,” the man lets out an exasperated sigh, “Sit up please.”

Katsuki moves his arm to peek out and glare at the man, deliberately ignoring the instruction.

“I just finished talking to Ms Yuki and the school’s nurse. You broke Murata Taheiji’s nose. I hope you realise how serious this situation is and that there will be major consequences. Aldera Middle School does not tolerate this sort of violence on its grounds.”

Silence. That was a fucking lie. Slowly, Katsuki pulls himself upright, meeting the man’s hard stare with his own.

“Well, do you have anything to say for yourself and your disgraceful behaviour..”

Katsuki narrows his eyes, “The idiot was asking for it.”

Obviously, it's the wrong response going by how the skin tightens around the man’s eyes, “I see...I’m sorry you feel that way. Up until now, our school has been more than lenient. We have overlooked your shameful behaviour these last few weeks because we wanted to give you time to settle after going through such as tragic incident. However, I am afraid that this time you have gone too far. Your parents will be notified. You’ll see the school councillor. You will be staying back for after school detention. Since this is your first major incident we…”

“First?” He cuts the man off. He is sick of hearing the moron’s voice. “Hahaha and people say you don’t have a sense of humour.” He laughs an unpleasant laugh which increases in volume until he is almost shouting.

“What sort of shit hole are you running? Three years I’ve been beating up the dumb idiots that come here and now you decide to care. Why is that huh? Is it because I’m no longer going to put this shitty place on the map and become a famous hero! HA!”

He lets his voice quieten, sneering “I’ll never be a hero so you’re shit out of luck.” Finally saying it out loud is like throwing a bucket of water over the embers of an already struggling fire. It hurts deep in his chest. The expression of shocked disbelief is almost worth it.

“Thanks for proving what a worthless profession it is,” he finishes with another hash laugh, rage simmering under his skin. When he tries to stand and leave a hand lands on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

The principal, who still looks somewhat stunned at his sudden outburst, orders, “Sit back down Bakugō! I am far from finished.”

Why do people always feel the need to grab him. He is so fucking sick of everyone pulling and tugging on him, trying to control him and hold him down. Katsuki turns slowly, that simmering rage pulsing, running down his limbs. Pop pop pop go his hands. He feels as explosive fire gathering in behind his eyes and in his shadowy stare. It is not the dramatic, adrenaline-induced anger he had felt when preparing for the ally fight. No, this is a dark burning rage, fuelled by his growing resentment.

“Touch me again,” he growls, low and intimidating, “and I’ll kill you.”

The principal snatches his hand back like he has just been burnt. A poignant silence follows in the wake of his threat.

“Suspension,” the man says, swallowing, “You’re suspended. I’m calling your parents right now.” And is it just him or does he look genuinely worried? There is even a hint of fear in his wrinkled face. Katsuki takes vindictive joy in the achievement. Finally…finally the worthless morons are seeing him, truly seeing him and not whatever Bakugō -delusion they’d all cooked up in their heads.

#bnha #mha #boku no academia #my hero academia #bnha fanfic #MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH #Katsuki Bakugō #‘the Sludge Villain incident gone wrong’ aka Izuku dies #graphic descriptions of violence #angst #bakugou swears and gets into fights #coarse language #fanfiction #fanfic #something sad au

28 notes · View notes

tomtenadia · 3 years

Text

Island Dreams - Epilogue

So, this is it. We officially reached the end. I must admit I am very sad. Writing this story has been such a great journey but Aelin and Rowan have their happy ending. This chapter is set 5 years after the events of the previous chapter. it's divided in two parts. The first one we have Aelin telling in first person what happened in five years. Part two has a snippet of our beloved Whitethorn-Galathynius family. we get to meet Freyja and Morrigan and a surprise too. I hope you love the girls.

I want to say a massive thank to every single person who read the story, reblogged it or left a comment. Thank you. I am so grateful for all the support you gave me.

I am coming back.. A Little Braver is going well and I hope to be brave enough to post chapter one soon.

And now i'll leave you to the story. Enjoy <3

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

5 years later

My name is Aelin and my story began five years ago. I was once heartbroken and one day I left my old life behind and took a flight to Scotland, and then a ferry and I ended up on this island called Lewis. I am a bookworm and one of the first thing I did once on the island was to go and hunt for a bookstore. And well, you know the story after that. It’s been five years since the day Rowan and I officially tied our lives together at Callanish. As promised we went back there after a year and a day and renewed our vows.

Married life had its ups and downs but Rowan and I fought through every single challenge that came our way. We made it work, we fought for each other as we promised and we love each other just as we did when we began. And some. Every year Rowan has been celebrating the anniversary of the day I arrived on the island and officially entered his life. Sometimes I think he prefers that day to our wedding anniversary. Anyway, as you remember we finished the story with the four of us, Rowan, me and our two girls Morrigan and Freyja. Those two cute bundles of flesh are now two very active five years old driving mum and dad crazy but also being the most precious thing in our life. They will start primary school next month and I am trying not to cry if I think how much they have grown. Physically they are their father’s clone. They both have deep pine green eyes and his same silver hair. Freyja likes it long and loves when either I or Rowan braid it. He has become quite a wizard at braiding our daughter’s hair. Morrigan, on the other hand, prefers it short. But the similarities end with that. Personality wise they cannot be any more different. Freyja is like me. Rowan calls her his wee Fireheart. She is fierce and stubborn. She has a very strong personality and for a five year old she has her ideas clear on what she wants. She is like quicksilver and always active. She is the first one to wake up and the last one to go to bed. She is curious and fearless and loves nature just as much as her father. She is out little hurricane. Morrigan, on the other hand, is the calm one and reserved and she reminds me so much of Rowan. She observes a lot and when you think she is not paying attention, she comes up with question that makes you realise she was listening after all. She has an inquisitive mind and her non stop questions can be exhausting after a long day. She is shy. Where her sister had been since tender age happy to be with anyone, Morrigan has always been very selective. Growing up she has her favourite selection of adults. She is very close to her father, probably because they are very similar, but Uncle Malcolm and Aedion come second. Aedion got her hooked on planes. Once we were at his and Lys’ house and Morrigan grabbed one of his models planes and started playing with it. Aedion had started talking about the plane and now when they are together she always ask him about planes. We think she’ll be a pilot. Both girls are obsessed with books just like her parents and Rowan has taken upon him the job of teaching them to read. Morrigan can read very simple words and write her own name. Freyja would too if she could sit down for more than five minutes. Good luck with the teachers. She is very bright, she just can’t stay still for very long. She was probably the one doing all the kicking while in the womb. The amazing thing is that they get along. It took us a while to teach them to sleep in their individual rooms. For a while in the morning we would find one in the other’s bed. Always curled up together as they used to do when they were little. Freyja at the park always play the protective one and looks after her sister and chases away the kids who try to take advantage of her sister’s calmer nature. If we were in a fantasy I would imagine Freyja being the woman learning to wield a sword and who would train with the guys and dreamed of becoming a knight. Morrigan, I imagine her as the one with her nose in books and who dreams of becoming a healer. I think Rowan is writing a story about them. Oh yes, I will tell you about his book in a moment. There is a further family member that I need to introduce: our son Dalamar. Yes, Rowan and I have scandalised parents at kindergarten with our weird names. Freyja did not cause much problems but a couple of mothers had a go at me for calling my daughter with such as negative name as Morrigan. I usually explain that I do not expect my daughter to become the goddess of war but that simply Rowan and I liked the name. And do not get me started with Dalamar. No-one apparently has read the Dragonlace chronicles so when we say Dalamar is a dark elf in the books, well, the glares we get are incredible. But again, Rowan and I wanted an original name. We started searching in books to find something we liked and then Rowan found his old copy of the Dragonlance chronicles and he suggested Dalamar. I joked that if we truly wanted to scandalise Stornoway, we should have called him Raistlin. So in the end we went for something less alien and settled on Dalamar. Anyway, Dalamar is two. He was planned though. Rowan and I had decided we wanted a big family so once the girls were around three we started to try and add another member. When we had the conversation we had talked about having four kids, but alas, Dalamar’s birth has been so full of complication that my chances of another pregnancy are now non existent. But Rowan and I are happy. We have our big family. So, Dalamar has blond hair, much fairer than mine and very light blue eyes. He is a gorgeous wee boy. In terms of personality he is halfway between his sisters. He can be adorable one moment and stubborn like a mule the next. But at least they get along and again, Freyja has taken him under her wing. She really is our knight in shining armour. Both girls are fluent Gaelic speakers. After they were born I asked Rowan if he wanted to teach Gaelic to the girls and he had been very happy about it. So we decided that he would speak only Gaelic to the girls and I was the boring parents with English, although sometimes I am brave and I practice with them, then I embarrass myself and revert to English. We have started the same process with Dalamar and he is like a sponge. Morrigan sometimes helps me with my exercises and Gaelic homework. I am taking classes as well when I can. It’s quite embarrassing when you are almost forty and your five years old daughter tells you “Don’t worry mum, you are doing great.” And then adds something in Gaelic and you need to wait for your husband for a translation. Kids, aside… our lives haven’t changed very much. Rowan still works at the bookstore and Malcolm’s sister is still his assistant. She had been wonderful and he could easily count on her when he needed to stay at home with me and the kids. The shop is becoming very popular, my Facebook page has now reached many followers and a year after our daughters were born he finally managed to set up a website for online ordering. My dearest husband also managed to write a book, find an editor and have it printed and distributed in some smaller bookstores. Of course I told him to have in his shop. We did a book signing hoopla and I don’t think I ever seen Rowan so embarrassed. Anyway, he wrote a fantasy and as promised I was in it and I was Queen as requested. He was my warrior. Loads of angst and epic battles but we end up together. I am very proud of him. Now he is working on one were our children are the main characters. I have only read the fist few chapters and I love it already. But I am his wife so I am biased. I still work at the hospital and still love my job. I started helping as well as paramedic and specifically in the air squad. The team that gets to be airlifted at the site of accidents and the whole thing required a special type of training and it had been amazing. On occasions, I get to work with Aedion. He flies, I save lives. I wish I could tell the London guys that they were wrong. Working in a small hospital is not throwing away my career. I feel more satisfied than I ever felt when I was down south. Malcolm is still my second and I still adore him. Three years ago he finally got married. After my wedding Aiden went for his last deployment and made it back alive and then retired from the navy. He and Malcolm started dating seriously. A year later they moved in together and a year after that Malcolm finally proposed. Aiden has found a civilian job and well, they got their happily ever after. Another couple who got their happily ever after is Lysandra and Aedion. He proposed about five months after mine and Rowan’s wedding and three months later they were married. They had gone for a very small and private ceremony. One year later they had their fist child a boy named Marcus and now Lysandra is pregnant with their second, a girl. She climbed up again the ladder at the hospital and now she is just one level below the head of the department. Then we have Elias. How can I forget him? He is still in Shetland and we keep in touch and we meet when he is back on the islands. His job is going wonderfully and recently got promoted. Two years ago he got married to Ciara and he is happy and a few months ago she gave birth to an adorable little girl named Martha. She is cute. I have seen her when they came down last month. We remained good friends and both had the happy ending we wanted. We still joke and we love to compliment each other on making marriage number two stick. His book addiction got worse and I think I created a monster. He also bought Rowan’s book and raved about it for months. Then we have Elide and Lorcan. We see each other quite regularly. Every year in July they come to Heb Celt and now they can stay at our place. We have been down to Glasgow a few times and Lorcan yearly provides Rowan with tickets for the Six Nations and we religiously go and see the matches. I am officially a Scotland’s fan and I even learnt Flower of Scotland. The boys are proud of me. Elide is still a teacher and Lorcan still the coach of the Warriors. Their family has gotten bigger as well and they have a boy and a girl and Elide is expecting a third one. Apparently they want a big family too. Oh and Lorcan can smile for more than a second. I must admit I have changed my mind about the man and once he gets comfortable with someone he is actually quite a decent human being. He as a dark sense of humour and us two are usually the ones scandalising the group with dark jokes. Aunt Maeve is still running her cafe and she had been a great help as well while the kids were growing up. She would come up with crazy excuses to offer to babysit them and gave us plenty of chances for me and Rowan to have some time alone. Especially after the two births. She also spoils the girls and love to bake for them. Freyja loves to bake with Maeve and, like me is obsessed with cakes. Also, baking is the only activity when our energetic daughter can stay still for more than ten minutes. Morrigan, on the other hand is fussy as her father and not a fan of sweet stuff. We really got one clone each. Dalamar is still too small but he eats anything. My mum has joined the group as well. She has bought a flat up here and sold the house in London. She decided that she wanted to be a part of her grandchildren lives so she moved up here and she is in good terms with Maeve and sometimes she helps her at the cafe. The two of them cooking are becoming very popular in town.

***

“Come on, let’s go and see dad in the shop.” Aelin took Dalamar’s hand and made sure the twins were walking in front of her. Morrigan started blabbing something in Gaelic but Aelin didn’t understand. “Beurla, mo chridhe,” said Aelin to her daughter. “Tha mi duilich, mum.” Morrigan gave her a toothy smile, showing off her missing tooth. They walked to the shop and once they got in the two girls ran to their father who crouched down and they crashed into him. “I bring chaos.” Joked Aelin while Dalamar was still holding her hand. Rowan had started hosting afternoon for kids in his shop when he would reads books or just have storytelling sessions. He had started during the school holidays to have a way to keep the younger children busy but then it became very popular and he kept going, so once a week the shop is invaded by parents and their kids. The twins loved to listen to their dad tell stories. Dalamar loved it as well but he was far too young to understand what was happening so most of the times he would end up playing with Lys and Aedion’s son Marcus. Aelin reached Rowan and gave him a kiss and the twins made disgusted noises and Aelin laughed “one day you will find a boy or a girl and you’ll want to kiss him or her as well and it won’t be as disgusting,” she said tickling Freyja who was the one who was the most disgusted. “I am going to be a knight. I don’t need a boy.” Added Freyja proudly. “I am going to be a doctor like mum.” Was Morrigan’s turn. “So, a knight and a doctor, I guess we got very lucky.” Rowan pulled Aelin in his arms “looks like the goddess of love wants to fight and is not interested in love and the goddess of war wants to heal people.” “Well, you can’t say that we don’t have an interesting family.” Joked Aelin. Then Rowan bend over and lifted Dalamar in his arms “and you?” He kissed his cheek “what do you want to do?” “Tuathanach.” Replied the boy hugging his father. Aelin laughed and brushed his blond hair “that is lovely, my love.” With time and once they were properly settled down they had decided to dedicate a part of the land they owned to have a small farm. They had a couple of cows, a few chickens and loads of sheep. Dalamar loved to run after the sheep and help his dad look after the animals. That’s why Aelin and Rowan were not surprised when he said he wanted to be a farmer. The twins went behind the counter and grabbed the colouring books that Rowan kept stashed for when he had them in the shop and the pencils and ran to the kids’ table at the bottom of the shop. Rowan placed Dalamar on the floor “Go and colour with your sisters.” “Tha.” And the boy joined the two girls. Aelin leaned exhausted against Rowan. “You look tired.” “They have far too much energy. We went to the park. Freyja ran and jumped the whole time. Morrigan wanted to pat the ducks and almost ended up in the pond and Dalamar chased every single dog or cat.” She explained, looking at their kids with affection “then we had ice cream, we went to say hi to Aunt Maeve and grandma Evalin and Freyja and Dalamar stuffed themselves with carrot cake. Morrigan just had a carrot. She is annoyingly healthy like you.” “My girl.” Said Rowan proudly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love them madly, but I just wished they had just a smidge less energy.” Rowan kissed her forehead “I’ll entertain them tonight and make sure they go to bed early. Hopefully they will run out of energy soon.” “Morrigan and Dalamar perhaps. Not Freyja, that girl has limitless power.” “Just like her mother.” Rowan’s arms squeezed her tight “The girls are going to school next month so hopefully they will calm down a bit.” “I am terrified at the idea of Freyja sitting on a chair all day. I feel sorry for the poor teacher.” Rowan laughed “she might find it interesting and actually sit.” “Ro, she can’t even stay still when you read stories.” He scratched his head “I was thinking we can sign her up for some sport.” “You can take her swimming.” Suggested Aelin. Rowan had kept his job as swimming instructor with Dorian and they had made it work. When the kids were at home she would take them to the swimming complex and once Rowan was done they would all swim together. He had begun teaching the twins to float and some very basics techniques. Freyja had loved it, but she preferred jumping from the smallest platform. Morrigan on the other hand had been a good student and had followed her dad’s instructions and could do a nice basic breaststroke. Dalamar would soak with Aelin with his water wings. He loved being in the water. “She could become one of those athletes who jump from platforms into water. A professional diver. She is surely fearless for a five years old.” “I can see her as a rugby player.” And Aelin laughed. “We’ll let her decide.” “Of course,”Aelin kissed him “Look, some mum and kids are arriving.” Rowan was due to start his storytelling session very soon and mothers, fathers and kids had started to arrive in the shop. Five minutes later Rowan took his position at the bottom of the shop on his chair. All the kids sat on the floor on the colourful mats Rowan had bought. Morrigan and Dalamar would sit at his feet, but Rowan would alway keep Freyja in his arms so he could hold her still for a while. “Thank you everyone for coming this afternoon. Kids, are you all comfortable?” Aelin stood in a corner and stared at him as per her usual. Rowan was such a natural around kids. It had been so easy for him to settle into his role as a dad. He had been amazing with their kids and he’d do literally anything to make them happy. But at the same time he had managed to keep the wonderful balance to prevent them to become spoiled brats whose parents would give them anything. “Today’s story is about a princess. Her name is Aelin.” “Like mum.” shouted Freyja in her father’s arms. “Tha, mo chridhe.” And Rowan kissed her head and a smug smile appeared on the girl’s face. “She is fierce and brave and very, very beautiful. So beautiful that all the princes in the realm wanted to marry her.” Aelin laughed and blushed a bit. “Is there a dragon?” Asked Freyja who seemed had already passed her attention span limit. “Shhh, my love.” But he knew it was a desperate hope. “The princess had been put under a spell by her horrible stepmother who was very jealous of her. She could not enjoy true love with the man she loved until the dragon that held the necklace with the spell was killed. Aelin was in love with the captain of the guard, a man called Rowan. The wicked stepmother had found out and so punished her. She had planned to marry her off to a wealthy old man.” When Aelin noticed Freyja was getting fidgety, she took a chair and sat beside her husband and grabbed their daughter so that he could continue his tale. “Rowan offered to go on a quest and kill the dragon but Aelin refused to be left behind. She was not a damsel in distress. So during the night she gathered some of her stuff, donned her armour and together they set off on an adventure. During their trip he would train her with the sword so she could defend herself. It took them a few months but they did manage to reach the dragon’s lair.” “Dragon.” Freyja was ecstatic and Aelin held her tight. “But while they took the path through the magic forest to reach the dragon lair, Rowan and Aelin got separated. The forest was very dangerous but they were both very brave and fought all the perils and when Aelin finally reached the lair she saw that Rowan was already there but he was injured. She drew her sword and decided to face the dragon alone. In the forest she had discovered that she had fire magic and she wanted to punish the dragon. So she started fighting him, but the dragon was huge and she was getting tired. In that instant Rowan woke up again and walked to her. Together they fought the dragon and eventually killed it and destroyed the necklace, setting Aelin free. She finally kissed him and slowly they returned back home. Once back at the castle, they discovered the wicked mother was gone and Aelin and Rowan decided to get married. They invited all the villagers and they lived happily ever after.” Rowan had to simplify the story to make it acceptable to young kids but they seemed to have liked it. He told a few more stories and two hours later the shop was empty and he was alone again with his family. Dalamar had fallen asleep in Aelin’s arms. Morrigan had gone back to her colouring book and Freyja was pretending to be a knight, swinging around the toy sword Rowan had given her. “I am princess Aelin and I kill dragons.” She shouted while Rowan chased her around the shop. Rowan finally grabbed her and lifted her like a sack of potatoes “dad, the dragon,” she protested while trying to wriggle out of her father’s grip. “Freyja!” Aelin noticed Rowan’s command voice. The one that could actually slow down the little terror. The girl stopped moving and Rowan sat her down beside her sister and she grabbed a colouring book and joined Morrigan in silence. “You really have super powers.” Rowan leaned over to kiss his wife’s head “Give me ten minutes and we’ll go home.”

Half an hour later they were finally at home. Rowan carried a sleepy Morrigan and Aelin carried Dalamar who had been sleeping for an hour now. Freyja had followed in silence, with her sword tucked in the belt loop of her trousers. “I’ll make dinner, you change the kids.” Aelin nodded “Let’s go Freyja it’s jammies time.” The little girl gave her a huge smile and followed her mother with Morrigan at her side. Aelin placed Dalamar on the bed, and helped the two girls change into their night clothes. “Did you have fun at dad’s tonight?” “Yes.” They both squealed. Once they were ready, Aelin tied Freyja’s hair “now go back downstairs to dad but let him cook, okay?” The two girls nodded and left the room. Aelin grabbed her little boy and took him to his room, changed him into his pyjama and tucked him in bed “I love you,” she told him while kissing him on the cheek. Then grabbed the baby monitor and joined the rest of her family downstairs. The twins were on the carpet playing quietly with Morrigan’s planes. Aelin joined Rowan and hugged him from behind “Dalamar is in bed and the girls are playing.” She kissed his back “and your food smells amazing.” “Freyja finally calmed down.” “My mum says that she reminds her of me when I was little.” Aelin squeezed him. He switched off the hob and turned engulfing her in his arms “It does not surprise me.” And he kissed her deeply and Aelin replied in the same manner. He pushed her to the table and she grabbed his butt pulling him to her and she moaned against his mouth. He kissed her neck and Aelin’s hands found their way under his t-shirt. Then she pulled away “Ro, the kids are in the other room and awake.” Rowan leaned his forehead against hers cupping her face in his hands. The kiss he gave her was full of need and love “I know.” He sighed pulling away. Their intimate life had taken a bit of a hit and most nights they were too tired to even try and do something. The last time they had managed to get some action was when Aelin’s mother had kidnapped their kids for an entire weekend four months before. And the mornings were not good either because the twins had the habit of waking up and joining their parents in bed for some family cuddling. Aelin crashed her forehead on his chest “I miss our wall…” she laughed “but I know that I would fall asleep as soon as my back hits it.” Rowan kissed her again “I miss you too.” Then pulled away “Come one, let’s go and feed our hurricanes.” In that instant she heard Dalamar calling her through the baby monitor and five minutes later Aelin was downstairs with a weepy boy in her arms “Someone else is joining us for dinner.” The five of them had dinner and once they were done the kids moved to the sofa and Aelin gave them her old laptop so they could watch their hour of tv. She and Rowan had never bought a tv and the kids never asked for it but allowed them to watch an hour of cartoons on Netflix in the evening after dinner while they cleaned up. Most of times they got bored after half an hour and went back playing until bed time but when they were tired they did manage their hour. “They are watching Totoro again.” Said Aelin, joining Rowan in the kitchen with a pile of dishes then she grabbed a towel and started drying all the ones he had already washed. “They do love Totoro.” He added smiling. “Morrigan the other day said she wants to study Japanese so she could talk to Totoro and Freyja wants to go in the woods to look for him.” Rowan roared with laughter “I love the idea of studying Japanese, though.” “Our two wonderful weirdos.”Aelin stored away all the dishes. Once they were done they got back in the living room and silence reigned. The laptop was on the carpet and the three kids were are all hugged together on the sofa. Dalamar sleeping on Freyja’s chest like in the scene where Mei sleeps on Totoro’s belly, her arms protectively around her brother’s back. Morrigan was snuggled against her sister, her hand holding one of Freyja’s. Aelin gasped at the scene and Rowan pulled her to him and kissed her head “they are finally fell asleep.” He turned Aelin and held her from behind, his chin on her head and his arms tight around her. “This is it, Buzzard. This is my island dream.” Rowan kissed her temple. “This is my dream too.”

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#rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius #rowan x aelin #rowaelinkids #fanfic #Throne of Glass series

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omgrachwrites · 4 years

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Tell a Tale of You and Me - Chapter Twenty

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: You knew that making a bet with Sirius Black was like making a deal with the devil but you just couldn’t help yourself. You had never been a heavenly woman.

Warnings: fluff, mentions of sex

Words: 2169

A/N: I have to reward you guys for putting up with all the angst so here you go! There will only be 2/3 more parts of this! Hope you guys enjoy and please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged! I love you all! xxx

Chapter Twenty

There was complete silence in the church, even Sirius’ mother was silent, and perhaps she had died from the shock, that thought almost made you giggle. Time seemed to slow down as you looked at the beautiful man who had just burst in. When you asked what he was doing he hesitated and he looked at you with so much fear that it broke your heart. You glanced at Lily and your friends who were staring at Sirius and your eyes moved over to the opposite side of the church. Walburga was – unfortunately – still alive though her face was steadily growing red.

You looked up at Regulus to find that his eyebrows were knitted together as he frowned at his brother but you could see a hint of sympathy hidden within his eyes, “Sirius?” Regulus prompted and Sirius jumped, almost as if he had been startled.

“I’m sorry Regulus,” Sirius sighed before he looked over at you, “I had to come, I had to say this, you can tell me to leave but please hear me out. Please Y/N.”

His voice was so pleading that you found yourself nodding, you were really curious about what he had to say, “okay.”

Sirius gave you a grateful smile, “thank you, you look beautiful by the way,” he chuckled, making you blush, after all this time he still had the power to make you blush, “I love you Y/N and I’m sorry that’s it’s taken me so long to say it out loud. I don’t deserve you, I never have, you and Regulus will be the perfect couple and I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll make you happy. My brother is a great man. Whatever you choose, I will love you till the day I die but please, consider choosing me. Reg, I’m so sorry but I love her, so much that it almost hurts.”

Sometime during Sirius’ speech tears had escaped your eyes and they were running over your lips in great torrents, you just knew it was ruining your makeup. You loved him too, every feeling that Sirius had towards you was completely and utterly returned.

Before you could answer there came a high pitched scream, “you beast! Get out, get out before you ruin this beautiful day!” Sirius flinched at his mother’s harsh words.

“Mother,” Regulus said in a warning tone and Walburga fell silent. Regulus let out a deep breath as he turned to face you, taking your hands in his, his eyes were sad and soft around the edges. You suddenly remembered that this was his wedding day too, it wasn’t just yours, “how do you feel about Sirius? Do you love him?”

There was no way that you could deny your feelings for Sirius any longer, “yes, I do, with all my heart.”

Regulus sighed sadly and turned back to face his brother, walking down the steps that led up to the altar. Sirius almost shrank back as Regulus grew closer, “I heard what you said to Lily last night, that you weren’t going to come and that you wanted to give Y/N and I a proper chance,” Sirius nodded in confirmation and you frowned, you had no idea that Lily had even spoken to Sirius, “but I know now that both you and Y/N will be miserable for the rest of your lives. I can’t bring that upon you two; you’re both much too important to me. You too should be together; you were clearly made for one another.”

For a moment, your brain almost short circuited as you felt the happiness bloom in your chest, you couldn’t quite believe that Regulus was doing this for the both of you, he was so kind, “Regulus, you’ll be miserable. Nobody can win here.”

The guests were watching the interactions between the three of you like it was a stage show. Regulus smiled at you and he shook his head as he kissed your forehead, “I’ll be happy knowing that you’re happy. Besides, I know you don’t feel the same way about me, thank you for trying but I don’t want the rest of our lives to be built on a lie,” you nodded, feeling sick and feeling guilty.

Regulus turned away from you and walked up to Sirius, pulling him into a tight hug. You could see Sirius’ shoulders shaking and sure enough, when the brothers pulled away Sirius was crying, “will you have me Y/N? I can’t offer much but I can love you and I will never let you go again.”

You smiled as you felt tears prick at your eyes, Merlin, how you loved him. However, before you could run to him, Walburga spoke up again.

“No! I will not let this happen!”

“Mother!” Regulus shouted his face uncharacteristically hard, “for once, can you just be quiet?”

Walburga gave her youngest – her favourite – son a shocked scowl before she pointed an accusing finger at your parents, “and you two! What do you have to say about this?”

There was a pause and your mother smiled at you, “we want our daughter to do what makes her the happiest. We didn’t know that she felt so strongly about Sirius.”

You smiled gratefully at your parents while Walburga sputtered and gasped, her face now stark white. She stormed to the church doors and gave Sirius a nasty look but with Regulus’ arm around his shoulders, he stood tall and defiant. When she was gone, Sirius repeated her question, he seemed so more confident, much like his normal self.

“How about it, Y/L/N?” he smirked as he gestured to himself.

You rolled your eyes slightly as you ran down the aisle and you all but jumped into his warm and waiting arms, giggling as everyone cheered and Remus shouted, “finally!”

Sirius cupped your rosy cheeks and he gazed at you with complete adoration in his gorgeous eyes, this had turned out to be the happiest day of your life, “Merlin, you look so beautiful; I firmly believe that I’m the happiest man in the world. You know, this is a bit forward but to hell with it, we shouldn’t waste a good wedding. Will you marry me, right here and now? I know that you’re the one.”

You rested your hands on your chest, you wanted to marry him but not like this, “no Sirius,” you continued when his handsome face fell, “you’re the one for me too and I would love to marry you but your mum organise this whole day. I had no say in it, when we do get married I would like for us both to organise it. You don’t have to take anything from your hag of a mother, not anymore, especially not a wedding.

Sirius’ eyes sparkled and shone, creasing at the edges as he smiled at you, “I love you so much,” he pulled you closer by the skirts of your dress. The champagne material was bunched up in his hands as he captured your lips in a passionate and hungry kiss. He swallowed your moan as you curled your fingers through his soft hair.

The guests were whooping and cheering but they sounded so far away, almost like they were underwater. You paid no attention to them; all you were focused on was Sirius’ gorgeous lips and his thick stubble brushing against your lips. When he pulled away your lips felt swollen and tingly, and you felt a little bit dazed. Grinning, Sirius swopped you up in his arms bridal style, you giggled and pressed a kiss to his cheek as everyone laughed.

“For those of you who were only here for the alcohol then never fear! The Three Broomsticks had been reserved just for us!” Regulus called out happily, being replied with cheers and yells. He sounded happy but you could hear the strained sadness in his voice.

It was a bit of a struggle to get everyone to the reception but it was completely worth it. The pub and the garden had been decorated so beautifully, it was your parents who had done it; it was like something out of a fairy tale. There were roses everywhere and the air was alive with the sweet smell of honeysuckle as bees hummed lazily over the flowers and fairies were flying in and out of the flowering shrubs, giggling as they did so. A large white marquee had been set up in the middle of the green lawn. It reminded you of a legend you had read once, about a King who ruled over Camelot.

Sirius looked around in awe, his handsome face lighting up in wonder, “let’s get this party started shall we?”

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The reception – and Sirius’ girlfriend – was beautiful, the pub had been decorated to perfection, Y/N’s parents had done a really great job. Sirius grinned as he walked out into the blazing sun with a round of ice cold Firewhisky’s mixed with pumpkin juice. It sounded like a weird concept but it turned out to be delicious. He pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek – he was so happy that they didn’t have to sneak around together anymore – and she beamed at him as she plucked a glass from the tray and took a long gulp of her drink.

“I reckon that they’ll be the first of us to get married,” Y/N smiled, her face lighting up as she pointed at the middle of the marquee where James and Lily were dancing.

Sirius grinned as he watched his best mate dance with the love of his life and Sirius wondered whether he should tell Y/N the secret, “don’t say anything to Lily but me and the boys have already been to look at engagement rings with James. He’s going to propose soon.”

Y/N gasped happily, her eyes filling up with tears as she rested her head on Sirius’ chest and Sirius smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Hey, congratulations you two,” Morgana grinned as she made her way over with Remus who was holding their baby daughter in his arms.

“Thank you,” Y/N giggled and hugged Morgana, “who would have thought that we would have ended up here?” she asked, smiling and looking up at Sirius like he was her entire world. He was hopelessly in love.

“I knew you would,” Remus grinned, “it was painfully obvious from the start of 7th year that you were each other’s soulmates.”

Remus’ words were so lovely; all that Sirius and Y/N could do was smile and gaze at each other.

The party grew more and more raucous, and Sirius felt drunk and giddy, he hadn’t even drank that much. His happiness had a big impact on how he was feeling. Sirius had danced with everyone, even Professor – Minerva – McGonagall who was now red faced from all the sherry she had been drinking. Sirius was having such a good time but he just wished that he could whisk Y/N away; he didn’t want to be impolite. Remus and Morgana had been the first ones to leave due to them having a new born so Sirius supposed that at least they weren’t the first ones to leave.

He smirked as he spied Y/N standing alone at the bar and he sauntered up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, grinning at her surprised gasp. He moved his lips down to her ear as he moved his hands downwards, “I can’t wait to get you all to myself,” he almost growled as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

Y/N hummed happily as she pressed herself against him and she turned to face him, she cupped his jaw, running her nails over his jaw gently, causing Sirius to get goose bumps. She leaned in, as if to kiss him and Sirius could hear the blood pumping in his ears. Y/N smirked as she stopped, an inch away from his lips, “then what are we waiting for?” she fluttered her eyelashes and Sirius almost felt his eyes darken with lust, “let’s get out of here while everyone is preoccupied.”

Y/N grinned at Sirius as she walked out of the en suite with the linen sheet wrapped around her, and she got right back into the warm bed. It was about 6am, they had made love all night, they had told each other that they were making up for lost time but Sirius hoped that they had made a baby.

Y/N ran a gentle hand down his stomach as she rested her chin on his chest, “I’m the happiest that I’ve ever been. The day that I had always been dreading turned out to be the best day of my life. I love you Sirius.”

Sirius grinned lazily as he smoothed his fingers through her wild and tangled hair, “it was a day that I had been dreading too, I love you so much,” he kissed her lips, “thank you for choosing me,” he whispered against her lips.

“I’ll always choose you Sirius.”

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cauls-antique-pepperbox-pistol · 3 years

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[SPOILERS FOR THE DESOLATIONS OF DEVIL'S ACRE!! This is an alternate ending of TDoDA. Also trigger warning: suicide]

Hii, if someone remembers me talking about this alternate ending that I already had in mind before even reading TDoDA, this is what I was talking about. Editing all this here on tumblr was a pain oof. This one-shot is hella long, I think I’ve never written this much before. Also my writing is probably not WOW SUPER AMAZING, but I write cause I want to, so like 👌 (besides, I have immensely improved, you don’t wanna know what my writing looked like back in 2018-19) anyway enjoy

He felt like the air was being pulled out of his lungs. No. Like he was getting torn away from himself. Bits of his soul flying into the hands of a girl, her skin glowing brightly from the rest of him. She was struggling to hold it all in, though. Just give it back to me, he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the strength.

He felt himself shrink. It should've hurt, but it didn't. He was too weak to feel pain. Caul caught a glimpse of two familiar green eyes, fearfully staring at him from a distance. Alma. He raised one of his awful hands, wanting to grab her. But he froze as he watched each of his long fingers break off, like wood splits in a fire. He looked back at his sister, panic creeping into him. What is happening to me? His sister wasn't looking at him anymore, though. She grabbed the girl's shoulder, shouted something and nodded and the girl ran off, toward the exit. Everyone else followed and left Caul behind. He felt so tired and empty, he didn't even try coming after them. Emptiness was all there was, just like before. Something was pulling on his legs, dragging him deeper into the pool behind him. Legs. He had legs again. This isn't right.

"Jack." a familiar voice said, not too far away from him. With great effort, he turned to spot the owner of the voice. It was his brother, Myron, embraced by a blue outline, which was slowly fading. But it was all wrong. He was young, a boy, around fifteen years old, wearing a torn suit and hat that were way too big for him. "Mum and dad called for us, Jack!" he said again. "We have to go!" Caul was so tired. He just wanted to give in to the water pulling him into its depths behind him. The ocean behind him. What? The ground underneath him loosened, turning to sand. Wind ruffled his hair. Seagulls seemed to laugh down at his demise. They were at a beach. He gave his brother a confused and helpless look. Myron shielded his eyes with one hand and watched the waves in the distance. "They're pretty far out already!" he shouted over the sound of the wind. "We should really go. They're waiting for us."

"I don't want to." Caul managed to say, but then gasped at the sound of his own voice in surprise. He, too, sounded fairly young. "But we have to follow them, Jack. We have no other choice." Myron said and now he was looking back down at his little brother with a sad expression. And then, right in front Caul's eyes, Myron seemed to rapidly grow older and taller. His expression was saddening more, his face mirroring a horrible and long forgotten past. Then he repeated his words, his voice deeper, bitter and less innocent. "We have no other choice." The seagulls overhead disappeared to make way for a brewing storm and it began to drizzle. Both of the brothers were startled by the sound of thunder, but strangely, the rumbling never stopped. It kept going, until the ground beneath them joined in and shook from the noise, making the sand dance. Caul struggled to keep himself on the shore even more, as the waves grasped him. Myron pointed his face toward the sky. He took off his hat in awe, revealing two antennae sprouting from beneath his hair and brought his hat down to his chest, almost hugging it. He hummed and said, "I don't think this is supposed to happen." A lightning lit up the dark and stormy horizon. "No, we certainly can't go in the water now." Myron said, shaking his head, then turned and looked at something on the dune. He spread his arms as if a dog was running toward him. "PT, come over here! That's a good boy!" In the distance, a bear grunted. That was the last thing Caul heard and the last thing he saw seemed to be the dark clouds falling from the sky, crashing down on them. And then there was nothing. Only the deafening sound of silence. No one else was there. Not even his brother. Only he was. Alone behind his eyes. He had passed out.

[—]

They all woke up to the sound of thunder. Gasping and wide-eyed, they searched the place around them for their friends. "Noor!" Jacob shouted and then a hand grabbed his. "I'm here." Noor said, right next to him. They looked each other up and down, asking if they were okay, coming to the conclusion that, yes, they were alright and that they weren't dead. Jacob carefully and slowly stood up. "We're back." he said. It was Abe's house, its porch and yard, to be exact. "But how?" Noor asked, standing up, too. The bushes surrounding the yard rustled and they both held their breath, in fear of whatever was over there could hear it. But then they heard their friends' voices and then saw each of their heads pop out of the bushes. They came running over to them, shaking leaves off their arms and legs on the way. "I hit the button on the Expulsatator right when Caul appeared!" it was Emma, holding up a little black thing. "We made it!" But then Hugh came running, Fiona hurrying over alongside him, their hands linked. "He's still here. And alive." he said, in between heavy breaths. "Fiona just saw him." Hugh pointed in the direction they came from. "Come over to me, children!" Miss Peregrine called out, her voice wavering. Together, they all backed away to the porch and anxiously watched the woods ahead of them.

They expected something monstrous—a giant ten-fingered hand reaching out from between the trees, greedily feeling the ground for Miss Peregrine and her wards, or a large terrifying face filled with hatred beyond imagination. Instead, a tiny figure rose from behind a bush, then swayed, unsteady on their feet, and fell. It was Caul, exhausted and apparently not used to having real legs again, laying splayed on the ground, only his upper body pointing out of the bush. He groaned as he kept trying to push himself back up, but failing over and over again. "You've got to be kidding me!" Emma said. Miss Peregrine slowly approached him, but soon stopped, in order to still keep a distance. She narrowed her eyes, examining him. He was his old self again. Everything was the same, except for a few tree branches that led off his shoulders and two very prominent ones sprouting from his head, though you could almost call them horns. Red, lightning-shaped scars spread across his body.

Caul was muttering, while glaring at something behind the bushes. Then a voice. "Oh, finally!" it said, happily. "It's over, I'm free!" An older man stepped out from behind a bush, looking a bit worse for wear—his suit was torn and a huge piece of his hat was just dangling from it. His face was shining with relief, though. It was Myron. "I'm finally myself again!" he said and laughed, as if not quite believing his own words. Myron looked himself up and down, touching his face. "Just me and only me!"

"Shut up." Caul said through gritted teeth. "You should be grateful that I was keeping you alive the entire time."

"Grateful?" Myron said, shaking his head, bitterly. "No, never. You put me through hell." In the past days, Myron had been attached to his brother in some parasitical way and had seen all the horrible things his brother did, had shared a mind and body with him.

"You should thank me for lending you all my knowledge. Admit it, without me you would have never made it this far." Myron said, then finally noticed the group of peculiars standing further away from them. At the sight of Miss Peregrine, his eyes widened and the antennae on his head shot up, pushing his hat off. He caught it in time and then smiled, awkwardly. "Alma!" he called out and waved his hand, but put it down again when he saw his sister's confused expression. Myron cleared his throat, apologised and put his hat back on to hide his antennae. Jacob stepped out of the crowd. "What you told me was true." he said to Myron. "You helped us...again. Thank you."

"My pleasure." Myron said with a nod. "I decided that it was the least I could do. But I thank you for finally setting an end to...this." Myron nodded at his brother, who stared at his hands like he'd never seen any before. Caul's eyes got big, as panic crept into him and he realised what had happened to him. "Where'd they go?" he said, his voice trembling with growing rage. "Where did my powers go? Where is my SOUL?!" As Myron tried to answer his questions as good as possible, Caul asked more and more of them. "Where am I?! Why am I not in my library?! I want to go back! BRING ME BACK TO MY LIBRARY!" he screamed, in a fit of anger. He hit the grass with his fists over and over again. "Does anyone happen to have a bit of sleep dust?" Myron shouted over Caul's voice. Murmur broke out amongst the peculiars, searching for Mother Dust's powder. Meanwhile, Caul seemed to be trying to find something, hastily looking around the place. Then his eyes locked on Noor and he got furious, as he remembered the way she was draining his light. "YOU!" he screamed and everyone, including Noor, flinched. "YOU TOOK IT! YOU'VE STOLEN WHAT'S MINE!" And then he tried to crawl over to her, but he still didn't have enough strength to pull himself forward. He wasn't used to being weak again. "I've got some!" Emma shouted. "Here, take this!" She came running toward Caul, held her breath and closed her eyes, and lastly threw the sleep dust right into his face. As a reflex, he shut his eyes and tried to get the dust off with his hands, but breathed it all in in the process. Soon, the dust was starting to work its magic and suddenly Caul's arms got too heavy for him and he gave up on removing the stuff. By then he had stopped screaming and flailing. "Goodnight, asshole." Emma spat. He said, "What...did you..." and then his head dropped down and he was suddenly deep asleep.

Myron stood over him, looking down. "We need to cover him with something, since he...well, he doesn't have clothes at the moment." he said to Emma, who was the nearest to him. She grimaced, disgusted, then turned to Jacob and shouted, "Can you get a blanket from inside?" Jacob nodded, took a step toward the house, but then stopped. "Mr. Bentham?" he said and Myron looked at him. "I think you should come and see where he lived." Myron hesitated for a few seconds, staring nervously. He knew who Jacob meant by he. "Why, of course." he said, eventually. He came over, walking past Miss Peregrine, who locked eyes with him for a moment, her face seeming to say pay your respects.

They entered the house, through the torn screen door. Myron stared at it, a bit shocked. "Was this when...?"

"Yeah," Jacob said. "When the hollow came." Myron suddenly felt uneasy and guilty, as if he had been the hollowgast himself and killed Abe. He hadn't, of course. But he had taken a part of Abraham's soul. If not, his peculiarity wouldn't have ended up diluted and might have saved his life. They stopped in the middle of the living room. "So this is my grandfather's house." Jacob said. He went over to the sofa, picking up a fuzzy blanket. "It's so...simple." Myron said, taking everything in. "I think he liked it that way." Jacob replied.

"He did." While Myron was still fascinated by the four walls around him and its furniture, Noor came up to Jacob. "Is he the wizard guy?" Noor whispered, leaning in to him. "What?" Jacob frowned. "I mean the architect." she corrected herself. "Bentham, right? The one who wrote the list with the ingredients?"

"Oh, yeah, this is him." Jacob said. "He was calling out to you in the library, remember? That was his voice. You just couldn't see him, yet." Noor made an oooh sound, nodding. "Are those antennae his peculiar trait?" she whispered again, as they watched Myron take his hat off in front of a framed picture of Abe. Jacob shook his head no. "I don't think so." Myron had returned from the library of souls, had been exposed to its power, which was the best explanation to his appearance there was.

Jacob showed the blanket to Myron. "Will this be enough?" Myron nodded. "That will be enough. There's not much of my brother to cover, anyway." he winked and smiled, chuckling at his own joke. "Well, let's get this over with." They met with the rest outside. Caul was still laying in the grass, sleeping on his stomach. No one had dared to go near him—for good reason. They had seen him play dead a few times before and didn't want to be tricked again. Only this time, he wasn't playing. Jacob dropped the blanket over Caul and together with Myron's help wrapped it around his body, as if tucking him in. He looked uncannily peaceful, but they knew that he was a monster, that had tried to kill them minutes ago. That was the thing about monsters—they're harmless when they're asleep and don't you dare wake them.

"Some of you will stay here and keep watch over the situation," Miss Peregrine announced. "and the rest will come with me to Devil's Acre to get the home guards, so they can carry my brother to a secure place where the world is safe from him." She went around and listed the ones staying at Abe's house—Bronwyn, Emma, Jacob and Noor, in case there were still powers left inside Caul. "And you, brother." Miss Peregrine glanced at Myron. Before she would leave with some of her wards, Myron had one last question. "Will my sentence be lightened?" he asked, carefully, like a child asking if they could stay up a bit longer. "That's not completely up to me." Miss Peregrine replied, without looking at him. "But if it was, would you lighten it?" he asked again. She gave no answer to that. She was already leaving.

[—]

There he was now. Asleep on the backseats of a car, the movements cradling him, familiar voices talking quietly around him as they drove. Later he was limp in the arms of one of the home guards, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, almost like a newborn. Angry, horrified and disgusted stares of people pierced through him, as he was carried down a street like a trophy. Shouts echoed from both sides, but he could barely hear any of them. Their hatred and anger toward him was justified, but their efforts were for nothing.

Everything got a bit more quiet, then. They went through a long hallway, passing rooms filled with the noise of people using typewriters. The home guard stopped, alarmed, as Caul shifted slightly in his arms, taking a deep breath. He was still asleep and only made himself a bit more comfortable. But he wouldn't be sleeping peacefully much longer. Eventually, the guard rid himself of his duty, putting Caul down in the corner of a padded cell, a place safe for him to wake up in, protecting himself and the people around him as well. Then the guard closed and locked the door behind him, the cell falling into silence.

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . .

He was very slowly waking up, opening his eyes, but closing them again and every time he did open them, the room around him was blurry and spinning. He felt so light, he thought that he was floating. Caul had to think of a song and hummed along to it, swaying his head and smiling, dazed. The song started to distort into a voice, though, many voices and sounds. Someone called his name, seagulls were laughing, waves crashing and thunder bringing down the clouds. Everything was so loud. He tensed up, turning his head from side to side, as if trying to get rid of a nightmare. Keys clattered from outside the door, footsteps on linoleum floor. Caul forced his eyes wide open, gasping. He still couldn't quite see, but it was getting better. His head dropped down and he got a look at his arms. What happened to my arms? They seemed to be merged together, fused into one. He tried to pull them apart, but nothing happened. He panicked as he kept on struggling to get them free. Caul tried to scream, but there seemed to be no voice coming out. What did they do to me? he thought, as memories started to come back. Then his vision sharpened and he realised that his arms weren't actually merged together, not really, that is. Someone had put him in a straight jacket. He grunted, slammed his head against a wall of pillows in frustration. Smooth. There were pillows everywhere. On the floor, on the walls and on the ceiling. And then he realised what this place was. A wave of anger coursed through him, but before it could burst out of him, he pushed it back down. It would only be a waste of energy, so he decided to keep it for later. Caul just sighed instead.

A little window in the door slid open and a pair of eyes appeared in its frame. Caul narrowed his eyes at them, trying to recognise the person, but that turned out to be nearly impossible. "You'll remain in here for a few more hours, until we can be certain you're not posing a threat to us anymore." the guard said. "Where...are...they?" Caul mumbled, finally able to speak again, if only barely. "The ymbrynes asked us to give you the information you need, so that's what I'm here for now—you're in Devil's Acre's jail, you inhaled a large dose of sleep dust, which you're currently recovering from and we imagine you already experienced some its effects." the man said, then stopped, checked a little piece of paper and looked at Caul, who was far from okay as reality continued to crash in on him. "Anyway—" the man began, but then Caul started screaming the names of his siblings. He got on his knees, trying to stand up without his arms, but he just fell onto his side. "If you keep on screaming, we might have to keep you in there for a bit longer." the guard said and at that Caul froze, looking up at the door. "I'm calm now." he said, quickly. Of course, that was a lie. "Far from it." the guard replied. "I'M CALM NOW!" Caul screamed again. "LET ME OUT!"

"You'll only be put into another cell. So, what's the difference, hm?" the guard shut the little window in the door and then Caul heard him walk away.

This is ridiculous, Caul thought. He used to rule over this place. He was the one putting people behind bars. Now, they put him behind bars, trapped him in his own home. Forever.

He managed to push himself back up and then he sat there, thinking. He thought about his brother and hoped he, too, ended up in jail. It's only fair. And he thought about his sister, how he wished his hands would turn back into those deadly claws again and how he could grab her and watch the life go out of her. But he couldn't. He was back at the beginning now. And also at his end.

[—]

In the next few hours, they had to switch the guards several times after they complained about Caul talking too much. Which was true. He told them jokes that weren't funny, sang at the top of his lungs, screamed and pretended to cry, other times cackling for no apparent reason. The sleep dust had stopped working, unfortunately and Caul was testing the guards' mental limits, until they would give in and let him out. "Why not come in and join me?" he said once, slapping the pillows beneath him. Sometimes he'd wink at them, if they were looking inside. "It's so cozy." He was free from the straight jacket now, but hadn't moved cells yet. "I liked him more in that sedated state." one guard would say to the other, both shaking their heads in agreement. Thankfully, there was light at the end of the tunnel and Caul was finally getting a new home; another cell, but with less smooth pillows, a bed and cold, grey concrete walls. He hadn't seen his new cell, yet, though. But he was going to and he was going to hate it.

"You think they'll execute him at some point?" a guard asked another one, who was fumbling with his keys in front of Caul's cell. "I don't know. I thought the ymbrynes got rid of death sentences." said the other. "Either way, they told us to move him to a new cell." Then from inside the cell, Caul's voice blared, causing the guard to drop his keys. "Oh, please! End this nightmare that I call my life!" he wailed and then laughed. "Just kidding, though I'd gladly challenge death again." The guard picked up his keys and sighed in frustration. "You know the drill—you stay in the back of the room, while we enter. We have guns, you don't." he said, while unlocking the door. "Understood?"

"Yessir." Caul replied, snickering. They went in, one of them immediately aiming a gun at Caul, who stood opposite from them, on the other side of the cell. Caul raised an eyebrow. "Still afraid?" he nodded at the gun, grinning. "Just being careful." the man holding it replied. "Ah. Is that so?" Caul said. He made a twirling motion with his hand, then snapped his fingers. The guards stepped back, anxiously looking around, waiting for something to happen. Caul clicked his tongue, disappointed. "Hm, no, nothing. Not even a tiny spark." he was referring to his lost powers and pointed up at his branch-like horns. "That's all that's left, then." He stretched out his arms toward the guards, as if offering them to them. "Take me away, boys." The two men looked at each other, sighed and then the one, who was not holding the gun, handcuffed Caul. "Oh, please be gentle. I'm sensitive." he fake-whined, as the metal rings closed around his wrists. "You weren't gentle with us either." the guard reminded him. Caul thought for a moment, a bit caught off guard by that. "Well—" he began to say, but then the man slapped his shoulder, lightly. "And after all, we're just doing our job." he interrupted him. "Let's get you out of here."

They shoved him toward the door, urging him to walk faster by poking his back with the barrel of the gun. The guards led him through the long hallway, all the while Caul was complaining about the way he was treated. Every now and then he would also peek inside other cells, only to be stopped by the sound of the gun being cocked behind him—a warning. Downstairs, another long hallway awaited them. They had to go all the way through it, the prisoners inside recognising Caul, shouting and trying to reach out to him through the prison bars. Most of them were ambrosia addicts and were begging him for that stuff, thinking that that's the reason he was there. His face was the main symbol of that drug business and to see him was like seeing the light at the end of a tunnel, the sun rising, a god descending to bestow gifts upon them. "Oh, please share some with us, sir! Even if it's just a drop!" one of them pleaded, kneading his hands together like a prayer. But they were already past him. "Not today!" Caul shouted after him, looking back. "Maybe another time!" There wouldn't be another time, though. "Face forward." the guard with the gun growled.

Arriving at the end of the corridor, they unlocked a new door and shoved Caul inside. He stumbled, then caught himself and gaped at the room in front of him. It was almost sad. The room was parted with a wall of prison bars and the cell was bigger than the first one, but no one had really thought of filling all that space. There was a bed underneath a tiny window high up in the wall on one side and a small table and chair on the other. Everything surrounded by a grey floor and ceiling and walls, all with the same shade of grey. Caul hated it, as expected. "Can I go back to the padded cell?" he said, giving them a sweet, but forced smile. "No." one of the guards smiled back at him. "Now get in." Caul groaned, annoyed, but did as he was told and trudged inside. With a gun pressed against his temple, they opened his handcuffs. He massaged his wrists and grimaced in pain. "Why did they have to be so tight?" he asked, glaring at them. "What if you cut off my blood flow? Did you think about that?"

"Don't be a baby." the guard said. "Are you a doctor or something?"

"Yes. Not a certified one, but I would consider myself a doctor, yes." Caul replied, seeming a little offended. "I'm afraid my patients didn't always survive, though..."

"Patients, yes?" the man spat. "You mean innocent peculiars who fell victim to your wicked experiments?"

"That's your way of saying that." Caul said. The guards laughed, one of them patting Caul on the shoulder and said, "Whatever you say, little man." and they went out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind them.

Before they left completely, Caul's eyes got wide and he remembered something. "Is my brother here, too?" he shouted after them. "Myron Bentham?" The guards looked at each other for a moment and exchanged a few words, whispering, then they shook their heads. "His name is not on our list." they replied, shrugging.

This can't be, Caul thought. He gripped the prison bars. "Will he be here?"

"That's up to the ymbrynes." one guard said. "Check that list again. He has to be here." Caul insisted on it, with pressure in his voice. "Fine, but we're pretty sure they only lengthened his exile here in Devil's Acre. Looks like he's better than you." the guard said and then they left, disappearing down the long hallway. "He gets to live in a fancy house, while I'm rotting in here?!" Caul screamed. "He's just as bad as I am!" Caul continued to screech about his brother having attempted mass murder, which luckily failed, but cursed Caul and his followers with seemingly endless agony and insatiable hunger, walking the earth as monsters with contorted bodies. He continued screaming about how Myron had ruined everything, the sound echoing through that whole section of the building, his hatred seeming to never end, but then a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him and he slowly slid down to the cold concrete floor. His lack of powers was still causing him problems. Through the tiny window, he saw faint light outside, the sun rising. And even though he didn't know for how long he had already done that a few hours ago, he felt like sleeping again.

[—]

Smoke was still rising up from the ground, each street and alley having turned into their own little Smoking Street. Houses had been used as punching bags by the monsters the wights had become, whose dead bodies were now scattered across the Acre, some on the burned ground and some dramatically lying limp on rooftops. Their fighting had been for nothing—they were dead, their leader alive, but behind bars and left with no powers. Miss Peregrine and Myron walked down a street, side by side. Both had the same sour expression aimed at the place around them. "You don't seem fazed." Miss Peregrine pointed out. "No. I've seen all of this happen. Saw it through his eyes." Myron said, suddenly disgusted by the recurring memories of it. Ash softly rained down on their clothes and Myron sometimes took off his hat to shake it all off, only to end up getting ash in his hair, too. This was not some leftover of Caul's desolations, though, but ash from houses and other things that had burned during the battle. Lastly, they stopped in front of Myron's house and he gaped at it, sighing in relief. "Your house is one of the still standing buildings." Miss Peregrine said. "It even kept ninety-nine of us peculiars safe for a little while." Myron slowly approached his house, taking off his hat. "When Jack got so close to it," he said, remembering the scene. "I thought it was lost for good." There was still evidence of the havoc Caul had caused around the house—there, where his personal tornado had spun, was a wide and not too deep trench surrounding a part of the house. But the Quilt stopped Caul from moving on to Myron's house. Other than its surroundings, his house seemed to be in top shape, except for some scratches.

The trench was luckily a bit narrower at the front door and Myron simply hopped over it and held out a hand to his sister and with his help she crossed it, too. Myron opened the door and an oh my God escaped his lips. He held the door open for Miss Peregrine while putting a hand on his forehead, not believing his eyes. "I'm home again, actually home." he said. "I didn't think I'd see this place again."

"I must mention that some things have changed, though." she said to him. Myron turned to look at her, alarmed. "What has changed?" he asked, turning a bit pale. "We decided to bring your Panloopticon to good use, for example." Miss Peregrine replied. "Peculiars here can use it to travel to places in an easier way now. Sort of like a main station. I suppose that is its purpose, yes?"

"Yes...that's good to hear. If only I could have been there when you started using it." Myron said, colour returning to his face. "I almost thought you meant the..."

"Wax figures?" she said, sternly and at that Myron's eyes widened, again. "Yes, we gave them a new home and they're currently being watched over and taken care of." Myron looked pained and didn't reply to any of that. He knew what he had done and there were no excuses to cover anything up with. Soon he would have to confront his crimes, but so would his brother, who was the most guilty. From the depths of the hallway, a little man came running, one side of his hair messed up. "Mr. Bentham!" he called out, flapping his hands in excitement. "Nim!" Myron said and laughed, as Nim embraced him in a hug, making him stumble a little. "It's so good to see you again, sir!" he said, barely being able to contain his joy. "I missed you, too, Nim," Myron replied, then patted Nim's back. "but I need to talk to my sister in private now." They let go of each other and Nim vanished back into the direction he came from. They also met Sharon on their way to the library, but he only greeted Miss Peregrine and didn't even look at Myron.

"Nim has helped us, too." Miss Peregrine said, as they entered the big library. "He showed us the copy of the list of ingredients that the wights were using to resurrect our brother. Only that by then, we were a bit too late." The two siblings sat down on the sofa, as if preparing for a harsh conversation. "Percival Murnau." Myron guessed. "It was him, wasn't it?" Miss Peregrine nodded at that and a chill went through her brother. "That's no surprise. I never liked him, he never liked me."

"We thought we had won and that he needed my heart." Miss Peregrine explained. "Which wasn't very pleasant information, either, considering he was still out there, but at least we were expecting him to come back for me. So we thought we had control over the situation." Myron shifted uncomfortably, looking around for something—probably for PT—but he soon stopped, remembering his grimbear wasn't around anymore. In stressing moments, he would always seek comfort by patting and hugging PT. "But you didn't have control over the situation." Myron assumed. "No. We certainly didn't." she said. "It wasn't mine, but Velya Greenshank's heart that Murnau needed—and eventually obtained." Myron nodded, knowingly. Then there was a crushing silence between the two. There was so much to say, but all that was a struggle to put into words. For now, they just silently prepared for the rest of their conversation.

"When he brought his wights to Abaton, I knew it didn't look good for me. Jack somehow robbed me of my newly obtained powers, turning me back to my old self." Myron said, gesturing at himself. "I was weak and they were way bigger and so much more powerful than me. After a few close calls, I ran away into the library and hid there. At this point, they were far too busy training outside and seemed to have forgotten about me."

"Mr. Portman told me that the soul jars he used were already placed there, ready for him to take them," Miss Peregrine said. "and I wonder...did you put them there?" Myron nodded. "Yes, that was me. Luckily, there was still a bit of Abraham's soul left in me. My ability to see and handle soul jars was barely there, but just enough to do this one last deed." he explained and then his expression darkened. "It wasn't long until Jack remembered that I was still trespassing his library—as he would say—and he was far from done with me. And he needed me." Myron took a deep breath and then continued. "He didn't admit that, of course, but when he caught me, I must have blacked out and the next thing I knew was that...I was him. I was still me, but also him. We were connected in some sick and cruel way, merged, forced together to live as one." Miss Peregrine was listening closely now, fingers placed on her lips. "He had complete access to my knowledge on Old Peculiar and other things that turned out to be useful to him, while I had to endure the chaos that was his mind and watch him do all the horrible things he did." Myron said and shuddered, remembering everything. He shook his head, trying to shake off those horrible thoughts. "I wish I could have been there, by your side. Even before all this happened. There is so much I regret—" Miss Peregrine stopped him, not wanting to confront all this again at the moment. "I know, Myron, and we will get to those regrets soon," she said. "but I want you to know that...despite everything I'm still glad you're back here with us. I don't think I can entirely forgive you, but you're still my brother." Myron nodded, understandingly, smiled subtly—while his sister wasn't—and then he awkwardly cleared his throat and stood up. "Well, I better go and see Nim. He's been waiting for me for months now after all." he said, then went over to the door and before he left, he waved at his sister. She waved back and thought to her herself, it hasn't been like this in over a century.

[—]

"We checked again and he's not on the list." a guard said, already tired of the following argument. "WHAT!" Caul barked, jumping up from his bed. "You're lying!" He stomped over to the wall of prison bars, gripping them, as if wanting to break them. "Show me! I want to see it!" he demanded. The guard drew in a deep breath, turned the paper with the list on it around and showed it to Caul, at a safe distance, in case Caul tried to snatch it from him. With his eyes narrowed, Caul scanned the paper, working it over for his brother's name. Of course, he found many names but Myron's name. "This list must be a fake!" Caul protested. "In fact, you just wrote it while you were apparently gone to get the real one. Yes, you thought you could trick me and play a joke on me. You think you're so fucking funny, hm?" The guard blinked at him, probably barely following Caul's rant. "But you know what?" Caul said and picked up a chair, then threw it at the opposite wall and yelled, "I'm not someone you play jokes on!" The chair broke apart into several pieces and was now scattered on the floor at Caul's feet. "Wow, that's badly made." he mumbled. Caul picked up one of the chair's legs and pointed it at the mess he made. "This could be you." he warned, his voice low, trying to sound threatening. "Sure." the guard shrugged.

Caul sighed and tossed the chair's leg over to the rest of it. He shuffled back to his bed and let himself fall down on it, defeated. "This isn't fun." he whined. "We'll be handing out meals soon. Maybe you'll find some fun in that." the guard said. Caul's head shot up at the word meals. "Do you have souls?" Caul asked, smiling. "We had plenty of them, you know. I'm sure you kept some after you scavenged my fortress. It's okay, you can admit it."

"No, we just hand out bread and water." Caul cursed silently and his head dropped back down. He heard the guard's footsteps getting quieter, leaving the room and entering the hallway. He felt like shouting something after him, but figured it wouldn't be worth it and that it wouldn't lead to anything. Caul stood up on his bed on tiptoes and watched the street outside through the tiny gap in the wall, which they just barely called a window. The sky was gradually darkening, the sun saying its last goodbyes to Devil's Acre's smoking ruins. I did this, Caul thought to himself and a sudden pride and joy shot through him as he saw his desolated home, but that was soon interrupted by familiar voices of people walking down the street. He squeezed his face into the gap, eyes wide and spotted Jacob, Noor and what appeared to be a floating pair of pants—Millard. They've ruined everything. He got angry again and decided to get their attention. "HEY!" he screamed and they all flinched, staring into his direction. Caul gripped the metal bars in the window. "You think you defeated me, think it's over, don't you?"

"Well, didn't we?" Millard said. "You look very defeated if I'm being honest."

"Oh, this is only temporary! My strife will never end, I will never end! But yooouuu will, children!" Caul sang, but at this point even he wasn't sure about that anymore. Then he addressed Jacob, knowing he'd always been able to scare him. "And especially you, Jacob, know that. Nothing ever really has an end." Jacob backed away, a little caught off guard. Before he could talk back, Noor squeezed his hand. "Come on, guys." Noor said. "That's all just crazy talk." They were about to leave, when Caul screamed at them again. He hit his fist on the wall, cursed when he hurt himself and shook his hand, trying to get rid of the pain. "Damn you!" he cried. Noor rolled her eyes, reached her hand up into the air and stole the light from the street lamps around them. But as she did that, Caul noticed a blue light emitting from underneath his shirt and he gasped. It seemed to float out of him and he began to feel even weaker than he already did. No, no, no. He tried to grasp it, which failed, of course, for he wasn't a light eater. But then it suddenly seeped back into him, right when Noor was finished with what she was doing outside. Caul clutched his chest, as he watched them walk away. "My soul," he breathed. "it's still there. A little bit of it." There was, indeed, still a bit left in him. A part Noor couldn't eat, a part as thin as a string close to snapping, keeping him alive. But it held no powers.

During the next days, Caul got so bored, he started playing imaginary chess with the guards and cheered every time he won. He always won—because he was the only one playing. Other times, he would even flirt with the guards, only to be rejected or ignored. Again, they often had to switch the people guarding him because of that. "Who would date you?" one asked, laughing. "Oh, I know someone who would and who was dating me," Caul replied. "but he's DEAD!" And so Caul would also scream and cry sometimes, still mourning his downfall in one moment, only to break out cackling and going on about how he will escape in the next. He would always claw at the tiny window—which he would never fully reach and never fit through—to get outside. After realising he wasn't able to do that, Caul would break down crying again, then come to accept his fate and play jokes on the guards like he did before. This went on and on, over and over again. A cycle of mental torture for both the guards and Caul himself—if there was anything left of his mind to torture.

Days later, it finally had an end, when they dragged him to court and confronted him at a trial. At first, he didn't appear to be bothered much by everything around him. On the contrary—smirking, he leaned back on his chair and rested his legs on the table in front of him, arms behind his back, handcuffs around his wrists. The ymbrynes told him to stop that, though, so Caul brought his legs back down and rolled his eyes, muttering something about, "I'm not a child anymore." Two guards were by his side, whispering warnings to him. His siblings were there, too; Myron sitting opposite from Caul with his sister next to him, his antennae waving around, nervously. Miss Peregrine had her hands folded together and was glancing over at the other ymbrynes, waiting for the trial to start. In the course of it, Caul proudly confessed to everything they accused him of, even revealing other horrible crimes the ymbrynes did not know about—such as what he did to his brother, Myron. As soon as Caul mentioned that, everyone's eyes locked on Myron and he sank down on his chair, colour leaving his face. Caul gave him a sinister grin and mocked him, but then an ymbryne interrupted Caul. "I'm sure your brother can speak to this without your help, thank you." she said, coldly, and then she addressed Myron, nodding at him. "Mr. Bentham?"

"Yes, er..." Myron sat back upright and cleared his throat. "I do actually...have something to say to this."

"Of cooouurse he does..." Caul said, quietly and rolled his eyes again. Someone shushed him. Myron pushed back his chair and carefully stood up, his hands shaking. His eyes were scanning the table in front of him, anxiously. "As we all know, I am quite guilty as well. Very guilty, actually." he began and slowly raised his head. "Yes, I have worked together with my brother, even after I noticed that something was off about him. Yes, I did try to murder him and his followers back in 1908. Yes, I also lied to Abraham Portman about what I would use his soul for. And yes...I even forced my healer to turn peculiars into living statues with her dust. To that there is no explanation nor justification, I know this."

The court room was quiet, even including Caul. He was playing around with a few leaves that were growing on his horns, barely listening to what was going on around him. Myron continued, glaring at Caul. "But, your honour, if I may...my brother, Jack Bentham." he said, his voice becoming louder and Caul immediately turned his head to look at him. "My own brother tormented me, enslaved me, tortured me. He did not spare Alma, either." Myron gestured at Miss Peregrine. Some ymbrynes nodded, others were writing something down. "There's still something else we wanted to address..." said an ymbryne, looking up from her notes. "And it's your list of ingredients. We know now that you purposely mistranslated mother of storms to fool the wights, which did not work. But out of everything, you chose mother of birds and we would like to know why. You could have put an important ymbryne in danger, maybe even your sister." Myron looked down at Miss Peregrine in regret, then he nodded, remembering. "Yes, that wasn't right." he said. "I was angry and I shouldn't have done that."

"He was angry!" Caul laughed, his voice sudden and loud, startling everyone in the court room. "You know who was angry, too? ME! Is that your excuse, Myron?" Myron ignored his question and just went on. "All I wanted was to put an end to my brother. I knew about the prophecy for a long time and when I realised that Jack was a part of it, was meant to become this king, this monster, I tried everything to prevent—"

"But you failed!" Caul shouted and cackled. "You can't stop prophecies from coming true! Destiny will always find a way! Think, Myron, think!"

"I would love it if you didn't interrupt me." Myron said, calmly, but there was pressure in his voice. Caul rolled his eyes. "Blablablah...would love it if you didn't interrupt me...blablablah." he muttered, mocking his brother. "Jack! This is serious!" Myron yelled, slapping the table. "We're in the midst of a trial!" Caul looked around, grinning. "Really?" he said, sarcastically. "Oh, you're right! We really are!" He laughed. Myron threw his arms in the air in frustration, then put a hand on his forehead. He sighed. "I can't believe this is happening."

Miss Peregrine tugged on his sleeve, asking him to sit back down. He did, eventually and buried his face in his hands. "Already giving up?" Caul was giving his all at mocking his brother. This might be his last opportunity, after all. "Remember what I said about how your will is weak? This is what I meant!" Miss Peregrine was whispering something to Myron, who then shook his head—I can't do this—and she nodded at the other ymbrynes, signalising them to end this. "I think we're done here for today." one of them said. "NO!" Caul screamed at them, then kicked the table. The guards immediately held him back from causing any more damage. "MYRON, LOOK AT ME!" But his siblings were already being led out of the room. Caul wanted to get up, to run after them, but the guards were stronger and kept him down on his chair. He struggled and screamed bloody murder, until a guard cupped a hand over his mouth. But Caul only licked his palm and gasping, the guard quickly pulled his hand away again. Caul laughed at that, but then continued screeching, demanding to be let go. "He needs to sleep again!" an ymbryne shouted. Two men, wearing gas masks came in through the big door, one of them holding a white little bag. They rid the current guards of their duty. One put a hand on top of Caul's head, while his other hand gripped his shoulder, pushing him down. The second man opened his bag and poured white powder onto his hand, which Caul immediately recognised. "NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!" he screamed, panicking. The one with the powder forcefully planted his hand on Caul's other shoulder and carefully brought the powder closer to his face. When his hand was above Caul, he sprinkled it onto him. Still yelling and struggling, Caul involuntarily breathed it all in, then coughed and sent out a cloud of white dust. Again, Mother Dust's powder was working perfectly and quickly. Caul was able to slur out some last words, but they were almost unintelligible. The guards let him go as his head dropped down and he went limp on his chair.

[—]

He'd been staring at the blank wall, tucked into a blanket on his bed, only his head poking out. Caul had slept through most of the dust's effects and was now just laying there, thinking about nothing. He rolled onto his other side and flinched when he spotted his sister sitting on a chair behind the wall of prison bars. He sighed. "How long have you been here?" he asked, his voice raspy. Miss Peregrine consulted her pocket watch. "For twelve minutes and twenty-four seconds." she replied. Caul propped himself up and groaned as he slowly sat up on his bed. He had never looked so miserable as he did in that moment. "Why are you here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her, then widened them as he looked at a bright spot on the floor. He followed the beam of light, that was casting it, up to the window behind him. It was daytime, but what time exactly? "What time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon." Miss Peregrine said. "You're going to ruin my sleep schedule if you keep on doing this to me." Caul complained. "You probably won't need a proper sleep schedule, since you will stay behind bars for forever." Miss Peregrine said. "And it's up to you if we have to put you to sleep over and over again. It was for your and everyone else's well-being."

"Forever? In here?" Caul didn't seem particularly surprised, though. "Yes. That was your punishment." his sister replied. "We didn't get to tell you at the trial." Caul shortly laughed, even sounding a bit hopeless and shrugged. "Fun. Speaking of the trial, why wasn't Miss Avocet there?" Miss Peregrine hesitated at first. "She died." she said. "She died the night you surrounded Myron's house. Since one of us had been killed, we had to put an extra amount of energy into the Quilt and that became too much for her."

"Oh." Caul only said and stared at the floor. They didn't say a word for a while, as if holding a moment of silence for Miss Avocet. As much as Caul despised the ymbrynes, Miss Avocet especially, he had never imagined the day she would die for some reason. She had been in peculiardom for such a long time, that she seemed too old to die.

"I brought someone with me today." Miss Peregrine said, breaking the silence. "He's waiting outside." Caul's head went up, a smile filling up his tired face again. "Is it Myron?"

"No, he has had quite enough of you." Miss Peregrine said. Caul's face dropped and he crossed his arms, tapping his foot, annoyed. His sister stood up and went to get the person she brought with her. She came back with a tall young man with jet-black hair, who cautiously and slowly walked in. Caul grinned from ear to ear. "Ah, Jacob Portman, peculiardom's hero! What a delight!" he said and finally found the strength to get out of bed. Jacob approached the prison bars and locked eyes with Caul. "We need to talk." he said, his face serious. Caul hopped over to him. "Of course, of course. Whatever it is, I'm all ears, it can be anything!" Caul said, beaming and he sat down on the cold floor, tailor-fashion. He looked up at Jacob, like a child, eagerly waiting for him to continue. "What do you know about my grandfather?" Jacob asked. Miss Peregrine offered him her chair and he sat down on it, while she stepped away to the door, but still watching them from a distance. "Ah, Abraham." Caul said, sighing. "Still on the search for things you don't know about him?" Jacob nodded. "A wight's hollow you sent took him away from me, killed him, after all." he said. "I didn't get to ask him much."

"Oh, right. I forgot." Caul shrugged and laughed a little. "Maybe you should have done that before he died, then."

Idiot. Anger crept into Jacob. He turned his head to check on Miss Peregrine behind him—she was examining the doorway—and then he leaned forward, getting face to face with Caul's stupid grin. "Did you know when your parents were going to drown themselves?" Jacob whispered.

Caul's grin vanished and his face tensed up, eyes wide. That touched a soft spot. "Don't ever bring this up." Caul hissed back. "Then let's have a proper conversation. Speaking to the male, remember?" Jacob said, giving him a fake smile. Caul shifted uncomfortably and sighed. "Jesus, when did you become so bold?" Caul said, actually seeming a little hurt. "Fine, I'll tell you what I know about Abe. Where do I start? Oh, yes! He was a piece of shit, who had too much pride, which got him killed in the end. I kind of miss him. But thankfully you remind me so much of Abe! It's like he's right here, in front of me, glaring at me. Just like he always did and like you are doing it right now." Jacob got up from his chair. He was giving up on talking to Caul. "This is pointless." Jacob muttered and turned to leave, but then Caul jumped onto his feet and one of his arms shot through the prison bars, grabbing Jacob's wrist. Jacob was pulled backwards and stumbled, hitting his back and head on the cold metal. Caul's other arm came for his neck and put him in a chokehold. "Pointless, hm?" Caul hissed into his ear. "Was it pointless for you to come into this world, too?"

"Let go!" Jacob yelled and tried to struggle against Caul's grip. Miss Peregrine rushed over, alarmed, but by then Jacob had already wrenched himself free. Miss Peregrine protectively led him away from her brother, who was watching them with flashing eyes and a devilish grin. "Hey, I wasn't done, yet!" Caul shouted, but Miss Peregrine shook her head at her brother and then they left and Caul was alone again. He tried shouting after them one more time—"You're just like him, Jacob! A copy of Abe, nothing more!"—and hoped the echo would take his voice far enough to reach them, but then he heard a heavy door slam shut further back in the building, telling him that they were really gone.

Later that day, Miss Peregrine came back to see her brother again, without Jacob this time. She went in and caught Caul standing on tiptoes on his bed, looking out the tiny window, grumbling something to himself. What or who he saw outside was Myron walking down the street, arms linked with Nim. He was laughing about something his servant just told him. They were happy and free—and Caul wasn't. His grip around the prison bars tightened. "This traitorous, arrogant..."

"Is there a problem, Jack?" Miss Peregrine asked and at the sound of her voice, Caul spun around, almost falling off the bed. For a moment, he only stared at her, then pointed at the window. "Why does Myron get to live his best life out there, while I'm trapped in here?!" he complained, like a little child. "Oh, he is facing his consequences, don't worry about that." Miss Peregrine assured him. "He's just not as dangerous as you are."

"Not dangerous?" Caul said. He held two fingers above his head and wiggled them. "Have you seen those things on his head? He looks like he came from outer space!" Miss Peregrine raised an eyebrow at Caul's branch-like horns. "What—oh, fine..." he said and groaned, when he noticed what she was looking at. He sat back down on his bed and wrapped the blanket around himself like a cocoon, putting on a grim expression. "Why are you even here, if you could be out there with him?" Caul grumbled. "I am talking to him quite often, actually. He has told me many things about your time together and—" Miss Peregrine began, but was interrupted by her brother shortly after. "Oh, boo-hoo! Poor Myron was enslaved! Poor Myron was tortured! Poor Myron got his legs broken!" Caul wailed, mockingly and rocked back and forth. "I was stuck in the body of a hollowgast for a few years, Alma." Miss Peregrine nodded. "Yes, I know." Caul sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't care about that."

"I do," Miss Peregrine said. "but unlike you, he tried and is still trying to better himself."

"We both know that even if I showed any signs of becoming a better person I'd still stay in here, so what's the point?" Caul muttered.

"Yes, that's true. Sometimes you can't get out of a situation, but you can make it better. That's what we always did, back when your forces were lurking behind every corner." Miss Peregrine replied. "Think about it." And with these wise last words, she left the room. Little did they know, that this was the last time they talked to each other. Caul stared down at the concrete floor, where a few shrivelled leaves lay scattered. Forever, they had said, he would stay behind bars forever. Why don't they just kill me? Another, last leaf fell from one of his horns, joining their dead friends. He was just like them. The life had gone out of him, his horns had gone naked. I am become death. His own death.

Over the course of that week, Miss Peregrine hadn't visited him again and Caul's condition worsened. He barely said a word to the guards anymore and usually just sat on his bed, boredly scraping his horns up and down on the wall. Which was good for the guards, since it made their work much easier. However, when Caul started to refuse the bread and water they were giving him, they reported his behaviour to the ymbrynes, who told the guards not to force it onto him if he didn't want it. With each day, Caul became paler than he already was and looked more and more tired. He didn't even look out the window and complain about people walking down the street anymore. Sometimes Caul would trudge over to a corner and stare up at a spider on the ceiling and after that, he'd crawl back into his bed—and that would be one whole day for him.

Eventually, he stopped getting out of bed entirely. Funnily enough, the guards actually spoke to him voluntarily now, but he never really answered. Maybe he would nod or hum in response sometimes, but that was it. Rumours were spreading quickly among the guards—you think he's going to die soon? I mean, look at him. Looks like a corpse—and they were right. Caul was slowly and quietly dying. And it wasn't long until he would finally meet his end.

At the end of that week, Miss Peregrine came back to see him, knowing that apparently he was refusing to drink and eat, but not knowing how bad it already was.

She slowly walked in, trying to be quiet, since Caul appeared to still be sleeping, though it was the middle of the day. A ruined sleeping schedule, she thought. Like he said. Miss Peregrine approached his cell and decided to wake him up. "Jack." she called out. No reaction. Then again, a bit louder, "Jack." Still nothing. She narrowed her eyes at the blanket wrapped around him. Is he breathing? No, it wasn't moving up and down. "Jack?" she called out again, nervously, her voice rising. And then she was yelling. "Jack! JACK!" He was sleeping, yes, but in a different way. In an eternal kind of way, getting pulled deeper into a state he could never return from. He had finally given in to the death that he was always able to evade for so long. A blue little string of light swirled out from his nose, floating up and out the window, into the open street—a soul leaving its host. Miss Peregrine cupped her hands in front of her mouth in shock, her eyes wide as she stared at him. She rushed out to get the guards.

#tdoda spoilers #the desolations of devils acre spoilers #the desolations of devils acre #caul bentham #myron bentham #alma lefay peregrine #jacob portman #noor pradesh #mphfpc

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theheartsmistakes · 4 years

Text

The Last Night Part XXII

(Author’s Notes at the end)

Parts I-XXI:

Here is Part I

Here is Part II

Here is Part III

Here is Part IV

Here is Part V

Here is Part VI

Here is Part VII

Here is Part VIII

Here is Part IX

Here is Part X

Here is Part XI

Here is Part XII

Part XIII

Part XIV

Part XV

Part XVI

Part XVII

Part XVIII

Part XIX

Part XX

Part XXI

.XXII.

“Lucie!” Her father’s voice came from the other side of the door as it cracked open inviting in a warm light that chased away the darkness from inside Lucie’s bedroom. Lucie, being only five years old should have been asleep hours ago, but was sitting up in bed with her old stuffed rabbit in her lap, and both hands firmly clamped over her ears.

Will, dressed in his white stocking pajamas, his black hair a mess of tangled curls stepped into the room. “Lucie, I heard voices-- what’s the matter?”

Lucie uncovered her ears and slowly opened her eyes as her father walked into the hazy moonlight that came in through the oval window like a dramatic spotlight. “They won’t stop whispering at me, Papa.”

“Who?” Will looked around her room. “Is someone else in here?”

Lucie nodded.

“Where?” Will demanded.

“They’re not here now,” said Lucie. “You frightened them off, but they wouldn’t stop whispering to me.”

A strange recognition filled Will’s expression. He walked over to Lucie’s side of the bed and climbed in beside her. “Is that so?”

She nodded. “They can be so loud. I think they just want someone to talk to, and I don’t mind, but I want to sleep.”

Will smiled. “As you should be. What do these visitors say?”

Lucie played with the silk ear of her rabbit. “They mostly just say my name. Whisper it over and over again, like they can’t say anything more. Are they ghosts?”

Will nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

“How come I can see them?”

“Because you’re a Herondale,” said Will, proudly. “All Herondales can see ghosts.”

Lucie contemplated this for a moment to the best ability of her still developing five year old brain. “So even James and Mam?”

“Only James, not Mam,” explained Will. “Mam was a Grey before she was a Herondale. It’s hard to understand, but you will.” He tilted her chin up with his finger. “Only born Herondales have this particular talent.”

“And devilishly good looks,” parroted Lucie.

Will barked a laugh. “Exactly.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “They’re nothing to be frightened of. They can’t hurt you. They’re just looking for a friend. Now, you go to sleep and if these ghosts visit you again, you remind them that your bedtime is seven-thirty and if they’d like to visit you it must be before then.”

Lucie nodded and slid down beneath the thick comforter. Will tucked Lucie in all around until she resembled a log underneath a fancy blanket. With his white slippers shuffling along the floor, Will left the room and closed the door behind him.

For a moment, her room was quiet and she thought her father might have chased the last of the voices away.

When she was almost asleep, she felt a cold breath of air against her cheek.

Lucie.

LUCIE!

The whispering could be heard even as she folded a pillow over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. They continued until finally she sat up and yelled into the void, “BE QUIET!”

The voices went out in a whoosh like a candle being snuffed. Nothing could be heard except for the grandfather clock’s ticking on the wall in the hall and the crickets chirping in the warm summer’s air outside. With a curt nod, Lucie closed her eyes and fell asleep.

“Good,” said Belial as he stood from the bed. “You received my message.”

Lucie’s eyes flickered to Grace cowering in the corner beside her mother. Tears stained Grace’s face and her chin shook with more to come as she looked apologetically at Lucie.

“What have you done?” Lucie whispered.

“I had no choice,” said Grace. “He was going to kill my Mum and he would never bring Jesse back. I wouldn’t be left alone— not again.”

Blood boiled in Lucie’s cheeks. “You really think he’ll uphold his promise? He’s about as reliable as a trained lion. He’ll get what he wants from you and then tear your face off.”

“What do you know of it?” Snapped Tatiana Blackthorn. “You’ve been handed things your whole life. Blessed. You’ve no idea what it means to lose something you love.” She turned her attention to Belial. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I killed seven innocent souls, I’ve released six demons from captivity using Shadowhunter blood, and I’ve brought you the girl. Now, return my son and we’ll be on our way. You can do what you wish with her.”

Belial blinked lazily.

Lucie hadn’t noticed before since her focus was entirely on the prince of hell lounging on Grace’s chiffon bed. The two women broke apart like curtains and resting behind them, on the bench beneath the window like he’d fallen asleep reading a book, was Jesse’s body.

Lucie gasped and took a marginal step closer to him, but stopped.

Death begets death begets death. You cannot take from death without giving to death first and sometimes it takes more than its share.

“Grace!” Lucie reached forward.

Belial snapped his fingers and Tatiana’s body crumpled to the floor with a sickening crack. Her neck lolled to the side like a broken stick. Grace screamed and fell back against the wall behind her just as Jesse gasped from the window seat.

Limbs flailed around as if he were trying to save himself from drowning until he fell to the floor on his hands and knees gasping for breath in lungs that haven’t been used in years. Lucie thought she could hear his heart beating until she realized it was her own. He sat up and clutched his chest, his blue, green eyes darted frantically around the room.

Grace fell to the floor beside him. “Jesse, it’s alright. It’s alright!”

Jesse wouldn’t look at her. His eyes locked on Lucie. “No, what have you done.”

“I haven’t done anything,” said Lucie.

“Then why are you here?” His face turned red in the cheeks. “I told you specifically not to come. Damn it, Lucie, why didn’t you listen.”

Lucie moved back a step. “I did listen. I came here to tell Grace that I no longer wanted to be a part of our agreement. I came here to tell her that I was giving up. I thought I was honoring your wishes. How was I to know that he was waiting here for me?”

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you wouldn’t believe me,” groaned Jesse. “I thought you’d think I was bluffing to keep you from trying.”

Lucie scoffed. “And look how well your dishonesty worked out.”

Grace cried over their dead mother and clutched at her thick collar in a feeble attempt to wake her up.

“Enough,” said Belial, growing bored of the exchange in front of him. “I have upheld my bargain. It’s time for us to go.”

“No!” Jesse tried to stand. Belial cocked his head and Jesse fell back against Grace.

“Another move and I’ll kill you again, this time with no chance of return.” Belial’s eyes flickered over to Lucie. “I’ve realized I’ve been going about this the wrong way. I tried to capture the Carstairs girl thinking that she would get you to join me, but she’s far too much trouble. No, there was another pawn hiding right underneath my nose. The Blackthorn boy. It didn’t occur to me until you came to visit Grace and asked for her assistance in bringing him back. She was a good pet and delivered the message to Tatiana who in turn delivered the message to me.”

Lucie glared at Grace with her arms wrapped around Jesse’s shoulders. But how could she blame her? If the tables were reversed and it was James she was trying to revive, she might have done the same. No, she was positive she would have done the same. She’d allowed Jesse to give his last breath to her brother to save his life. In the end, she had been willing to give something up for the life of someone she loved. She could not fault Grace that.

“I’m not going with you,” she said. “The entire clave will be here shortly and you’ll be banished back to whatever level of hell you came from.”

Belial grinned. Despite herself, Lucie found it quite a charming smile. “Wonderful. A family reunion. It’s been so long since I’ve spoken to my daughter. I’ve wondered how she fared all these years.”

“She fared nicely without the likes of you,” said Lucie, cursing herself for not bringing a short blade or at least a couple of throwing knives. She’d left in such a rush, she didn’t find a need. Her uncle was notorious for hiding weapons about the manor. Her aunt was always cursing him about it when they were children and Christopher or Anna would somehow wander down the hallway with a curve blade in their chubby little hands.

The hallway, Lucie nearly gasped as she remembered the cross blades hanging in the hallway.

The door behind her remained open. Only a few steps back and she could make a break for it and at least have a chance at defending herself.

“I wouldn’t try it if I were you,” said Belial, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Not unless you want me to start breaking bones in their bodies starting with the smallest.” He raised on his hands and folded his fingers. The door slammed behind Lucie and she heard the faint sound of the lock. “We don’t have much time. I have a very short window back into my realm and we’ll need to be going now. That is if you want your friends to live.”

“Lucie.” Jesse fought against Grace’s hold. “Do not go with him. I’m not meant to be here. I’m not meant to be alive.”

“How rude,” said Belial. “Do you have any idea how hard your mother and sister worked to bring you back to life. The least you could do is be more grateful.”

“If I go with you,” said Lucie. “If I agree to do what you ask, you’ll promise to leave them alone?”

“You have my word,” grinned Belial and extended his hand towards Lucie.

Every instinct drove her to pull away, to run, but then some stronger instinct took control, and of their own free will her fingers closed round Belial’s. Heat seared down and through her, swift as wildfire chased by wind, and as it moved she felt something strong and heavy wrap around her waist.

Her connection broke with Belial as she was dragged back to the center of the room. She turned her neck and looked up.

“Thomas?”

His face was contorted in rage as he yelled over his shoulder to the hallway, “Now!”

A figure dressed in Shadowhunter gear stepped into the room. Lucie didn’t recognize him at first as his face was hidden behind a curtain of black hair. A spear flew from his hand towards Belial.

Before she could even blink, it’d somehow stopped inches from Belial’s chest, and shot back at the shadow hunter with blinding speed impaling the person in the chest and pinned them to the wall like a collected insect.

It wasn’t until then that Lucie caught a glimpse of the face against the wall. Mouth open and eyes glossy as he stared down at the stick protruding from his chest was Alastair.

A/N: Hope you all are well! Good news, next update is coming in just a short seven days, Dec 13. You know the drill: hit that like, share, leave me comment, and follow along for more updates. Stay safe and stay healthy!

#thelastnight #jordelia fanfiction #james x cordelia #james and Cordelia #james herondale #Cordelia Carstairs #Lucie x Jesse #lucie herondale #jesse blackthorn #chain of gold #Chain of Iron #chain of gold fanfic #cassandra clare #the shadowhunter chronicles

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rainydayhogwartsimagines · 4 years

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Hii I have a request if you are doing some rn it's for draco and its just before the war starts and him and the reader (snapes daughter) run off to a house dracos parents have but when the reader is told her father has died they have to go back for the funeral and see everyone again (eg. Harry, Ron, dracos parents ect) ❤️

Oh the angst that is about to happen

Note: Sirius is still alive in this, originally I had this idea that Draco actually saved his life in the ministry battle.

The house was silent with the exception of the faucet's drip and Draco's breathing. Right now the summer house was the only peace he had. You were off with the trio, doing God knows what, worrying the hell out of Draco before you walked in. Draco looked up, rushing to you. You seemed to be in this state of shock as Hermione, Ron and Harry all followed. "What happened?" He asked. You said nothing, your mouth slightly open, eyes wide in this state of shock. "...Snape..." Hermione swallowed. "Severus is... Dead." Harry said making Draco look at you. You still seemed unresponsive. "How long has she been like this?" Draco asked. "Since Snape said goodbye." Ron muttered, sitting on the black couch with his face in his hands. Hermione sat next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. "Y/n... Please say something." Harry begged. You swallowed, staring at one spot on the floor. "Gone." Was the last thing anyone heard you say before your body seemingly gave out and you fell over, Draco catching you.

You spent the next few days processing what happened. No one could talk to you, not even Draco could get you to utter a word. You were an orphan and caught in a war you barely understood as a fucking child. No one should suffer this much, no one deserves that pain. When the funeral was planned Snape asked that his final resting place be in a muggle cemetery. The oddest request but a good one. This meant a very small chance of Voldemort disrupting it. You expected a very small crowd but that was not the case. Students from all houses, even a few death eaters and teachers all showed up.

Mcgonagall sat next to you, Molly Weasley on your other side. The two women spent their time raising you, helping you through all of this. You still had that numb expression on your face. You tried to recall a time with a very very happy moment with your father. There were plenty but none of them were real moments that stayed with you. You remembered him showing vulnerable emotions and expressions to you but you never recalled a true moment where your father seemed truly happy. Then it hit you. The grading papers.

You sat in a seat next to your father's desk. "Father." You muttered. "Yes Y/n?" He asked. "What was mum like?" You asked. He never gave you a full answer to that. But something about his expression told you that he was going to give you a full answer this time. "Mia was a very strong woman... You take after her." He said with a mindless nod. "What made you love her?" You asked. He pondered at that. "Her intelligence." He replied. "She was smart?" You asked. "She was more than that. She had an answer for almost everything. But not in the way you'd expect." He stated, writing on a paper. "Like Hermione?" You asked. "No. Like a philosopher." Snape corrected. You nodded. "Am I like her?" You asked. He stopped writing and looked at you with a soft smile, moving your hair and looking at the eyes that reminded him everyday how strong you truly could be. "In more ways than one." He assured. You smiled and he went back to writing. "You have your mother's eyes." He told you. A fact you already knew but it was so sincere in the moment, you nearly had tears form.

An observation that would stay with you. An observation that nearly made you cry. The last comment from your father that he told you. Even in his dying moments Severus placed a hand on your cheek, brushing away the tears and he told you "Even in war.... You still have your mother's eyes."

You bit your lip, wiping your eyes and gripping the hem of your black dress. Molly swapped seats with Draco, him sliding his hand into yours and you buried your face into his black suit jacket. He held you close to him, closing his eyes as people got up to view him. His parents were silent, Narcissa being genuinely upset that someone who kept Draco safe and away from all of this was gone. He watched Draco grow up, for God's sake, you grew up in their home. Lucius couldn't face you. Not knowing he contributed to the loss of such a man.

Harry didn't necessarily like the man. He was a disagreeable person but the one thing they always settled on was you. Harry was like your brother, keeping you safe and sound when he needed to. To see this man gone was a hard hit especially since you were in pain and Harry couldn't fix it. Not this time.

Hermione was the same as Harry. Snape tended to give her a hard time for being intelligent but she did enjoy seeing him with you. Snape, even in class showed a happier side to him, encouraging you to show your intelligence and to think outside the box. She may not have liked him completely as a person. But even she could admit he was a damn good father to you.

Ron was more conflicted. He didn't like Snape. Snape didn't like him. Like Harry, the only common ground he had with him was you. Ron tended to be a bit more hardheaded but his feelings became less bitter when Severus actually acted kind and accepting to Molly. When Molly treated you with kindness and provided a second home to you, Snape was glad for this and encouraged you to go to them when you needed to.

Draco was not like any of them. Draco grew up along side you, he knew Severus a lot better than the others. He saw the truly vulnerable moments, he was there for the arguments, the laughter, the smiles and the family he knew to be yours. Lucius allowed you to be around Draco, seeing Severus as a friend more than an enemy. Draco and you had each other's backs in the toughest of situations and Draco was glad to see that you had someone like Draco assuring you that you were stronger than most people. When Draco actually fell in love with you, Severus had no objections to you two being together. Only that you two be slightly secretive due to your open affiliation with the Order and Draco being a double agent. In the end, that same thing is what killed Severus, being a double agent. The secrets literally destroyed him.

As the casket was lowered, there was not one wizard who didn't raise their wand, using the light to signify one that they lost. You dropped a single white rose onto the casket, Draco holding with one arm and you raising your wand sadly. Eventually people began to leave, leaving you standing by his graveside. The rain began to fall, Fred holding an umbrella over you as you stared vacantly at the ground. "...He was always such a pain in class... But he always seemed happy when you were around." George muttered. You let out a shaking breath. "We're here Y/n. All of us." Arthur assured.

"... What's your favorite memory of Snape? Everyone." Harry asked. "...When he smacked Ron and you upside the heads because you wouldn't stop talking and Y/n nearly toppled over because Ron made a weird noise." Ginny answered. "When Fred accidentally stepped on his cape and he was pissed for weeks, growling at him in class." George said. "When he pulled two students out of a carriage at the Yule." Hermione said making Ron smile. "When he nearly set Draco on fire for kissing Y/n in front of him." Ron said. A small smile tugged at your lips. "When he would read to me and Y/n growing up and he did those voices." Draco said making you finally smile. "When he nearly cussed out Quirrell for releasing the troll in our first year." Harry said. Everyone looked at you and you swallowed. "When me and him sat in his office and he finally answered questions about my mother... And he told me that..." You took in a breath, staring the single white rose. "I had my mother's eyes." You said. Finally. You spoke.

Suddenly though, the trio understood what sent you into shock. Hearing those words again... It must've changed the meaning of the memory you had. Draco kissed the side of your head and you sighed. "This is hard." You muttered. "You lost your Dad Y/n... It's okay to grieve." Remus said, making you all turn around as him and Nymphadora walked over. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, giving a nod to Draco as a greeting.

"Severus was always a tight ass in school. But God damn was he smart." Sirius said. You let out a sad laugh. "He always had a soft spot for your mother though." Remus said making you turn. "What?" You asked. "Your mother. Mia." Remus said. "You... She was a wizard?" You asked. Everyone looked at you surprised. "You... Didn't know?" Remus asked. "Dad never answered conclusively and she's buried in a muggle cemetery." You said, motioning to the other grave. "....She was Songbird." Sirius said making Fred and George gape. "She was a Marauder?!" George asked. "Yes." Remus and Sirius answered in unison. "How the hell did dad like her then? He hated you guys." You asked. "Well hate is a strong word--" "Oh no. He hated you." Draco nodded. "No one could hate Mia. Not even Filch." Remus finally answered. Sirius looked at you as you stared at Snape's grave.

Tears streamed down your face and you let out a long breath. "Are you okay?" Sirius asked. You nodded after a long silence, the rain hitting the umbrellas. "I think I'll be okay..." You began

"I have my family with me."

Taglist: @amhyeah @newtaholic-staygold @bbeauttyybbx @fleurho @yodeadxss @mariah-can-dream

#draco fuckingmalfoy #draco imagine #draco malfoy #draco x reader #draco x y/n

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narniadynasty · 5 years

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This is the start of how it all ends

"If I have read the chronicles aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?" | "My sister Susan, is no longer a friend of Narnia." | "Whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'" | "Oh Susan! She's interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up." | "Grown-up, indeed, I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."

"Well, don't let's talk about that now," said Peter. —

No, Peter, how about we do talk about that now.

You’re right Tirian. There are two sisters. Lucy and Susan. Susan is not done. She is alive and breathing. She is living. She is a young woman who is still growing.

Can the same be said for you Peter? How about you, Lucy and Edmund? How old are you now? How old will you be tomorrow? Or the day after? How old will you be when she is two years, ten years, fifty years older? Here’s the bitter truth: you won’t change. You’re dead. You don’t age. You don’t grow or live or breathe. Your time is done like it will be tomorrow and the day after. How it will be when she is two years, ten years, fifty years older. She grows, but you? You’re dead.

Lucy, you’re a child gone before you should be. Edmund a young boy only a bit older. Peter you’re a young man who had a whole future ahead. How will you be tomorrow? You’ll be the same. A child gone, a young boy only a bit older, a young man with a whole future ahead behind. You won’t change. You’re done.

Eustace do you remember when she smiled? Do you remember when she laughed? Narnia was not everything she was. It’s not everything you should have been either. You were a child who only knew Narnia. You did not grow or live. You’re dead too. Do you ever think about what you could have done? You’re potential is all that’s left now. The potential that died with you.

Jill, oh Jill. Yes, Susan was to keen on being grown up but...did you grow? Did you age and wither as life went on? Did you dream and become? Do you breathe and live? No. You’re dead. A young girl on the cusp of becoming a woman, gone. Do you regret it? Do you cry? Do you wonder where your parents are? Oh Jill, are you sad?

Professor, professor! Digory, do you remember her? Do you remember the child that came to your house? Do you remember the one who cried when she returned from out of a wardrobe? Do you remember the Queen who would gaze back with old eyes? Do you remember the Queen the woman the girl who looked at the world and decided ‘Yes, this will do.' upon her final return?

Polly dear. You’re a woman with a life fully lived. You’ve grown and changed and breathed. Is it fair? There are two young girls who listen as you speak, three young boys who follow. Is it fair? Tell me my dear, is it fair? They are dead. They will not grow. They will not age or live or change the world...but you did. Is that fair?

When do we talk about it, Peter? When do we talk about the Queen left behind? When will you say her name? Do you fear it? When do we talk about the woman alive and breaking and mending and aging? Are you jealous? When do we talk about how you all left her on her own? Are you angry at yourself? Angry at the others? Angry at the Lion? When will you speak of her? When will the Narnians hear her stories? When will they hear about how she and Lucy sat by the dead Lion’s side throughout the whole night? When will they hear about how she saved Edmund with an arrow notched and loosened before you even arrived? Will you tell them about how she cried when you all thought you’d lost him? When will they hear about her crowning? Will you ever tell them how she laughed and danced with everyone who asked? Will you tell them about how she always was the last to sleep and first to wake? When will you speak about how she’d fight blood-covered and clothes shredded to keep peace? When will they hear about the hands she’d stain each time without question in their names? When will they hear about the days where her fingers refused to unbend from her bow with how long she held it loosening arrows left and right? Will you tell them about Rabadash and how she was almost taken from all of you and them? Will you tell them how she cried each night for the soldiers lost in her name? When will they hear about the Gentle Queen who did not want to follow when you chased the stag? When will you tell them that she did not want to leave, but that she had become a mother to your younger siblings in the absence of your mother, had the urge to protect and thus followed? When will they hear about the young girl who’d speak to you in quiet in an understanding voice when you all returned through the wardrobe? When will you speak about the girl who'd stay awake through each night until she could not stay awake anymore only to fall asleep on the couch before the fireplace, realizing all of you wouldn’t be returning? When will you speak about how you did return and she laughed the brightest laugh you’d heard in so long? How she looked at Lucy and Lucy looked at her before they bolted unashamedly to the clear blue water that lay before you? How she dressed in her old gown and slung her bow over a shoulder and donned her armour without question because Narnia needed her again? Will you tell them how Aslan told you you wouldn’t return and she nodded her head and moved on? How she listened to the Lion’s words to the latter? Will you tell them how she will change your world for the better? Even in the absence of you and Lucy and Edmund and Mum and Dad?

When will you say her name?

#narniaedit #narnia #The Chronicles of Narnia #userdorian #quecksilvereyes #usercharl #tconedit #narnianetwork #mohedit #t. edit #c. susan pevensie #mohfic #lorde + susan = all the feels #those two lines though #from yellow flicker beat #are such a susan mood

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official-weasley · 3 years

Text

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 4, Ch. 8

PART 4: THE YEAR WHEN EVERYONE HAS A CRUSH Chapter 8 - Seeing the Unseen

Charlie

I still couldn't believe that I managed to convince Bill to come with us. Of course, now that he was going to do so, he couldn't tell mum as she would be angry at both of us.

Somehow, Barnaby managed to get the third broom. When we asked him about it he said that he would rather not say and that we might not want to talk about brooms around Snape for him to get any ideas. Nova reckons that he took a broom Snape confiscated from one of his students and if that was the case I have to say, Barnaby is bloody brilliant.

At first, I thought it was going to be strange having Bill with us in the Forest. But the closer we got to leaving the more I thought that it really was a good idea to bring him. He was very skilled in both Defense Against the Dark Arts and dueling and he would probably know better what to do than us if something ought to attack us.

Of course, Bill told us immediately that day at breakfast that we are not going deep into the Forest and that if we don't find anything interesting within an hour, he is getting us out of there. I liked how optimistic he was that he will find a way out as I remembered how Nova and I got lost on Christmas Eve.

I was hoping that we wouldn't come across Torvus again as we promised him that we wouldn't go inside again and I was afraid he wouldn't be as merciful as he was the last time.

Barnaby joined us for lunch and he started predicting what we might see in there. Penny, of course, was mad at us again as she marked our adventure as foolish but when Bill told her that he feels the same and that that's why he is going with us, she calmed down.

Tonks, Tulip, and Jae, on the other hand, were jealous that they couldn't tag along as they got a week's worth of detention by Snape as he was the one who found them sneaking out of the Kitchens this time. They made matters for themselves worse when they told him that Dumbledore caught them a few times but didn't give them detention making both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor lose 20 points each.

Nova and I were so excited at dinner that we could barely eat anything. Meanwhile, Bill was getting more and more annoyed by the fact that he agreed to go with us and he was sure if he sent Pip to mum at the right time, she could've already handled the situation. I reckon that Bill was enjoying the whole thing at least to some degree. He was so used to being good and he was probably going to be made Head Boy next year but I knew he couldn't help by being at least a little excited about it.

We sneaked out of the Castle with our brooms, walked to the edge of the Forest, and mounted them. I liked Nova's suggestion that we should share a broom when she sat behind me and put her hands around my waist. I was happy she didn't put them over my chest as she could probably hear my racing heartbeat.

If I could guess, I would say we went half as deep inside the Forest as Nova and I did the last time. We knew that was all Bill would allow us but we didn't mind. We got off our brooms and looked around with our wands lit.

I liked how quiet it was in the Forest. There was a certain calmness, privacy, that you couldn't find anywhere else. We were walking for about ten minutes when Bill stopped us.

“What is it?” I whispered as he extended his hand, gesturing us to stop.

“Might as well listen if we hear anything or did you three come in here to snog?” He winked at us, a smirk on his face. That was the first time I saw him smile after I let it slip that we didn't need dueling lessons for the Duelling Club.

“But there's nothing here?” Barnaby got confused.

“What was the point of coming if we won't get to see anything?” I joined in, hoping he would let us go further.

“Shhh.” Nova put a finger on her lips leaving Bill with an open mouth as he was just going to say something back to me.

“What, what do you hear?” I asked, excited.

“It sounds like a Unicorn walking.” She grinned. We all listened.

“I can't hear anything.” Frowned Barnaby. Neither could I.

Nova took a few steps to the left and listened again. Bill joined her, trying not to move.

“Are you messing with us, Nova?” He glared at her.

“No.” She said sincerely. “You can't hear that?”

“Hear what?” Barnaby was getting impatient.

Nova gestured that we should follow her. We all started walking after her, straining to hear what she was hearing. Bill was getting nervous and kept clenching his wand. For the first time, I doubted Nova as I couldn't hear anything.

Suddenly we saw a clearing ahead. We hurried to it and Nova gasped.

“See! There it is! I told you.” She pointed at the center of the clearing and my eyes widened. I couldn't see a thing. I looked at Barnaby and Bill who looked just as puzzled as I did.

“Uhm, Nova...” Bill built up the courage to say something. Seeing things that weren't there wasn't exactly good. “What are we supposed to be looking at?”

“Can't you see it? The horse-like creature?” Nova turned to us, seeing how confused we were for the first time. We all shook our heads. I was getting concerned for her.

Nova carefully took a few steps towards where, whatever she was seeing, was supposed to be. She bowed her head and did the same introduction method as she did with the Hippogriff last year. The only problem was she was bowing to air, as there was nothing there. She started to move her hand around in the air as if touching an invisible creature.

“You are honestly going to say you can't see it?” She turned around, beaming from excitement. Barnaby blinked at her. I narrowed my eyes, hoping I could spot something while Bill was scratching the back of his head, not knowing what to do.

“You're not joking?” Her face fell as she saw we were not amused then Bill gasped.

“Nova, how does the creature look like, describe it.” I looked at him. Apparently, he was on to something.

“Well, it's kind of ugly but beautiful in its own way. It has a sort of a blue hue you could say even though it looks like it was skinned alive.” She frowned. “And it has wings. Charlie, I wish you could see them, they are beautiful.” Her eyes sparkled and I was grateful it was dark so nobody could see my red freckled face.

“Oh, no.” Bill sighed. He looked at me and I could see he was uncomfortable.

“What is it?” I whispered as I was getting impatient to find out.

Bill gestured to me and Barnaby to follow him as we got closer to Nova. He put his hand on her shoulder.

“Nova,” he said gently, “does it have white, foggy eyes?”

“Yes! I knew you could see it!” She grinned.

“We can't actually.” Bill's nose wrinkled. “Nova, the creature standing in front of you is a Thestral.”

A Thestral. A Thestral. Where have I heard about them before? I could swear I read about them somewhere.

“Thestrals can only be seen by those who've...” Bill continued. Seen death! That's it!

“Seen death.” Nova's skin turned so pale that I thought she was going to faint. She nodded, realizing why she was the only one who could see it.

“I can see it because of my dad.” She tried to keep her voice steady. I instinctively took a step closer, in case she would start crying.

Bill nodded and pulled her into a hug.

“It's a shame.” She whispered and returned the hug. “That you have to witness death to see something so incredibly special.” She went back to the Thestral, petting what I assumed was its head.

I got that weird feeling in my stomach again, when Bill hugged Nova as if I didn't approve of it and I couldn't help but think it should be me in his place. The same feeling I got when she giggled at something McNully said that day before the match. I was looking at her, walking around the, to us invisible, creature and I admired her for how strong she was, coping with the fact that she was the only one who saw someone die.

We left her in peace for as long as she needed. It looked like she was getting some sort of closure from the creature. Bill then stepped to her, apologized and said that we have to go back.

“Are you okay?” I asked as she was walking beside me on our way out.

“Mhm.” She hummed. “You might not think as it looked rather terrifying but it was soothing being in its presence.” She smiled.

“That's good.” I nodded. “We can go again if you would like to see it again.” I whispered so that Bill wouldn't hear us.

“Thank you, Char, I would love to.” She had the most appreciative smile on her face.

I couldn't help but drift off as I imagined walking through the Forest, just Nova and me and she got scared and grabbed my hand. We stopped and I looked at her, our noses almost touching. I ran my fingers through her beautiful hair and got lost in her dark blue eyes. I could feel my heart racing and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I leaned towards her and kissed her.

KISSED HER?

I shook my head as I snapped out of it. I looked at Nova, still walking beside me, her hand in her jacket and not in mine. And as I felt the wish of holding her hand I finally concluded, that it was pointless denying that I saw Nova more than a friend.

I was going at it in my head for months. I thought that it was normal to feel all of that for your best friend. Perhaps, the more your friendship grows the more you feel that way, kind of a thing. I constantly thought about her but I always thought that that's just what friends do. But the image in my mind, me kissing her and the painful realization that it wasn't happening made me realize that I fancy my best friend.

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sxpphire-skies · 4 years

Text

SHINE ON MOONY

r. l. lupin tribute! ft. teddy lupin <3

Title: Shine on Moony

Rating: PG (may include words like bloody hell)

Triggers: This may remind you of a loved one who you've lost. If that triggers anything, please don't read along as I don't want to be the cause of something big.

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?"

The snow from this winter hadn't even come close to melting. The slushy snow wasn't that pleasant when you have three little ones running around. Harry was happy to come to the Burrow for their week off. Ginny had convinced the Head of the Daily Prophet to let her a week off for the celebration of Remus Lupin's birthday. Harry and Ron had gotten a week's vacation as well.

After the war, the whole family had decided to celebrate each and every family member who had died in the war's birthdays. It was supposed to make it seem like they were still alive. But Harry found himself getting the nightmares of war again.

Damn that stupid scar, he thought. No, a little voice in his head said. That voice, as Harry thought of it, was either Dumbledore, or Sirius. Not stupid. Did you have to grow up earlier than others? Yes. But it made you stronger man Harry.

Harry shook his head. That was the Dumbledore voice speaking. He looked out the window of Number 12 Grimgauld Place. He remembered seeing Death Eaters outside when he, Ron, and Hermione came here. He shook off the memories once more. They only brought back feelings of guilt and sacrifice.

"Harry are you ready to go?" Ginny asked from the kitchen. Harry stood up and watched as she carried Lily in. Albus Followed behind.

"Yeah. Albus? Lily? Are you two excited?" They nodded excitedly.

"Are Hugo and Rose coming?" They changed. Ginny nodded.

"Yes! I have some muggle toys I want to show Hugo. It's called a Yo-Yi. Right Mum?" Lily pointed at her bag happily.

"I think you mean an Yo-Yo. " Harry corrected. They laughed and took the Floo to the Burrow.

"Harry! Ginny! Children!" Shouted Mrs. Weasley as she hugged them each. "It's been ages!"

"Mum we came over on Sunday! Two days ago!" Ginny said laughing.

"Hello you four! James is at Hogwarts isn't he?" Said Mr. Weasley as he too hugged them each.

"Yeah. He wanted to come with Teddy, but McGonagall gave him detention again." Harry informed.

"Oh just like his uncle i pan,t he?" They turned around to see George smiling.

"Uncle George!" The kids hugged him. "What kind of trick do you have today?"

"I have many! But I think you guys would rather play with Rose and Hugo." He said as Ron, Hermione, Rose, and Hugo came in through the Floo. Quickly followed by Andromeda, and a miserable looking Teddy.

"The doorways' getting a little crowded Mum. Maybe we should get to the living room?" Said Ginny as everyone walked to the living room. Lily, Rose, Hugo, and Albus went to play with their 'Yo-Yi's' as everyone else sat down.

"Teddy was wondering," Andromeda said when everyone was a little quiet, "if instead of having the usual toast, we can maybe describe what Remus was? Teddy, you can take it from here."

"I want to know who he was." He said quietly. "What kind of person he was."

Teddy reminded Harry a lot of himself as a child. A little lost, a little found. Knowing one side and curious about the other. He was very intelligent like his father but also stubborn and kind hearted like Tonks. Teddy was a lot of things. Teddy, now seventeen, was a very tall metamorphagous. Well, tall for now.

"I don't know much about my father. And I know you all know him better than me. I've actually thought about asking you guys this before, but I never really had try courage to. So I want everyone to take turns and say what made my father so special. Grandma already told me what she thinks so now let's start with Grandma Weasley."

"Oh what a lovely idea dear, " Mrs. Weasley wiped her tears. "Remus was most definitely the bravest people I've ever known. He was caring, kind, and very helpful. He was self-conscious sometimes, with him being a werewolf and all, but he was definitely one of the kindest person I'be ever met." She sat down.

Teddy nodded smiling. "Grandpa Weasley?"

"Remus Lupin was one of those people who would never, ever break your trust. He was the most trustworthy person. Dumbledore trusted him. And it's not easy to gain Dumbledore's trust." He sat down.

"Uncle George?"

"Remus, or Professor Lupin was one of the most brilliant person I've ever met. He made the Marauders' Map. A gem he was. I bet Fred's playing cards with him right this instance. They're holey you know. He was the master prankster. Moony will shine on." And he sat down. Harry turned to see Mrs. Weasley and Hermione in tears. Ginny was trying to hide her face.

"Aunt Ginny?"

"I wasn't as close to Remus as I was with Sirius, so I'm going to say this behalf of what Sirius told me about Remus. I remember he told me this when I was fifteen and I can just picture Sirius laughing and Remus getting angry yet embarrassed. They told me not to tell anyone, but I don't think they'll mind if it's for Teddy. Sirius told me about the time Remus kissed him." Harry smirked. Sirius had told him this too in a letter during the summer before his fourth year. The others started giggling, and Andromeda looked a little concerned.

"Bloody hell! They had to be drunk!" Ron chimed in.

"Ron! The kids will hear you!" ️Hermione said.

"I got the kids!" And George was off with his magic tricks.

"Don't worry Mrs. Tonks, and Ron they were drunk. And I'm pretty sure Tonks already knew. It was in their fifth year and Gryffindor had one their house cup. They just had too many bottles of Firewhiskey. Sirius also told many more stories, but I think those are more private. Maybe we'll talk after everyone else goes." She sat down.

"Err...sure. Aunt Hermione?" Hermione sniffed as she stood up.

"Professor Lupin was the only Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who wa actually good. He taught actual, rel defense against the dark arts. He helped me get over my fear of faliur and was not only a great teacher, but an intelectual motivator." She sat down.

"Ron?" Ron stood up.

"Wow. After all the amazing speeches, if you will, I haven't got much left to say. However, I will say this: Remus was a loving father. He loved you Ted. He would've been the best father, even better than me, even better than my dad. Why? Because of all the things he's been through. You were the best gift he ever got. Okay, maybe not as close to Tonks, but if he were here right now, he'd be the happiest man on earth. He would be happy to see how well you've been raised...Bloody hell! I've spent too much time around Hermione! See what your coversations about me being a more serious father has done?"

Ron turned to Hermione who was blushing furiously. She mumbled something about him taking her too seriously as they sat down.

"Thanks Uncle Ron. Now, Uncle Harry." Harry's hands were sweaty. He remembered what his parents had told him in front of the Mirror of Erised when he came across it after the war: "Raise the lost as your own."

"Remus Lupin was...He was..." He knew what Remus was but couldn't say it properly. "He didn't deserve to die. No one in the war did. And I'll tell you only one thing. One thing he said...in a dream of mine." Harry had never told anyone about the Ressurection Stone. except Ginny, who he knew would never tell anyone. "In my...err dreams, yeah. He told me this 'he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.' I think that he's still here. The dead are always around. They never truly leave us. You can always find them," he touched Teddy's heart, "in here. Remember that."

-end-

@generouslycookedvinyl @sleepy-artistic-roses @potterhead4lyf @obsessedwithrandomthings @overthemoon4themarauders @marlmckitten @blisvfull @wand3ringr0s3

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adenei · 4 years

Text

Finding My Way Back To You - Ch. 4

Father Knows Best

Hermione waited as Ron unlocked the door, and he gestured for her to go in first. She slung her jacket over one of the chairs as she walked aimlessly towards the bedroom. Hermione was trying to process everything as she grabbed her toothbrush and pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

As she brushed her teeth, she reflected on what had happened. Hermione wasn’t planning on doing anything tonight, except maybe drinking a bit too much and hopefully loosening her lips to tell Ron how she felt. But he’d stopped her. And she was honestly annoyed that he had. But then he suggested they go for a walk and scope out one of the houses. The house that was her parents. Her parents. They were alive. They were okay. They remembered her because the spell broke during her torture. They weren’t mad. But..how could they not be mad at her. Hermione was expecting the worst, and yet they were relieved to see her there, and even understanding.

She spit into the sink and rinsed her mouth out. Hermione moved to use the toilet and change her clothes next. Her parents wanted her to stay with them, but she’d said no. Why? Ron. She couldn’t abandon him. He’d come with her all this way. She was hoping she’d be able to spend time alone with him to sort things out, but instead they’d found her parents within the first twenty four hours. All because he suggested a walk.

Hermione felt a wave of gratitude flood her system. She was going to have her parents back, sooner than she thought, and it was all because of his suggestion. She opened the bathroom door and picked up her clothes. Ron was sitting on the bed, waiting for her to come out, presumably so they could switch. He stood up to walk toward the bathroom, but Hermione cut him off.

She dropped what she was holding and met him halfway, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she said into his shoulder.

Ron wasn’t expecting the hug, and it took a moment to react, but he gladly wrapped his arms around her. “Er, you’re welcome, though I’m not sure for what?” he said awkwardly, but he never let go of her.

Hermione looked up at him. “For suggesting we go for a walk. For not letting me get drunk instead tonight. For helping me find my parents.” Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot as she looked away slightly. “For being here with me.”

I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Ron thought. “It’s nothing,” he said instead. Why was it so hard to just tell her how he felt? “Wouldn’t want you here alone,” he added in an attempt to salvage the moment. He felt her grip on him slacken as she let go and picked up the clothes she’d discarded.

He continued onto the loo as she put her clothes away and pulled the covers back on the bed and climbed in. She picked up the book on the nightstand, and attempted to read. She heard the door open and watched Ron come out of the loo. He put his things away and made his way to the door, undoubtedly heading to sleep on the couch.

“Er, night, Hermione,” he said to her.

“Goodnight,” Hermione said as she watched him turn to walk away. Hermione glanced to the left of her at the giant bed where she was only occupying a tiny amount of space. “Ron?” she said as she saw him out by the couch in the other room.

“Yeah?” he stopped and looked into the next room at her.

“Y-you don’t have to sleep on the couch if you don’t want to,” she said hesitantly.

“It’s fine, Hermione. I’ll be fine,” Ron protested.

“Well, you don’t have to,” Hermione was getting a bit frustrated now. “This bed is enormous.” He stood there looking at her, not knowing what to say. “I don’t mind,” Hermione finally said.

“I don’t know…” Ron finally said.

“Please?” Hermione couldn’t believe she was begging him to share a bed with her. Maybe I’m reading too much into everything. Maybe we are just friends, she thought. “You shouldn’t have to sleep on a couch. Besides, if I’d stayed with my parents, then you would have a bed to sleep on,” she reasoned.

She watched him think about it, and after an excruciating few seconds, watched as he walked back into the room. “You’re sure?” he asked again.

“Yes, Ron, it’s fine.” Hermione said as he pulled the covers back and slipped in. Hermione went back to her book for a while as Ron lay there.

“Hermione, why didn’t you stay with your parents?” Ron asked.

She stopped reading and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Your parents wanted you to stay with them. Why’d you come back with me? I would have understood..”

Hermione stared at the space between them as she thought about it. She knew the reason why, but wasn’t sure if she wanted to admit that. She closed the book and set it on the nightstand next to her. “I wanted to stay with you,” she said quietly.

“I-I’m glad you did,” he said.

And just like that, the little glimpse of hope had returned in Hermione’s heart.

********************

Ron woke up early the next morning and realized his arm was wrapped around Hermione’s waist. Somehow, despite falling asleep on separate sides of the bed, they’d both inched closer to each other, and were cuddled together. Not that Ron minded in the least. But she was asleep, and he wasn’t sure how she’d feel if she woke up, so he carefully extricated his arm from around her and got up. He went to use the loo, and cast a silencing charm on the door so he wouldn’t wake her.

When he finished, he lifted the charm and went out to the other room. He blamed the time difference for why he was wide awake at 6:30, and was thankful that Hermione was still able to sleep. The sun was beginning to appear over the horizon, and Ron thought some fresh air might be good for him. He scribbled a note to Hermione, letting her know he was going for a walk and left it on the table.

Ron locked the door behind him and headed for the park across the street. It had several walking paths throughout it, and he began wandering aimlessly down one of the paths. The weather looked as though it was going to be another beautiful day. Maybe he’d convince Hermione to come out with him later and explore the area since they didn’t have to spend it making phone calls and trying to track down her parents.

He continued walking, staying on the same path so he wouldn’t get lost. It was quiet and solitary for the most part, until Ron saw someone else who was out for a jog on the path down a ways from him. As the person got closer, he looked more familiar. Mr. Granger had slowed to a stop in front of him. “Ron! I wasn’t expecting to see you out here this early!”

“Er, good morning, Mr. Granger. I think the time difference is still having a bit of an effect on me. I couldn’t sleep any longer,” he said.

“Ah, yes, I remember it took a good four days before we were fully acclimated ourselves. Care to walk with me for a bit?” Mr. Granger asked.

“Er, sure,” Ron agreed and turned to head back in the direction he came from.

“How is Hermione doing?” Mr. Granger asked him.

Ron thought for a moment. “She’s handling things fairly well. To be honest, we were both surprised to find you so quickly. Let alone that you remembered her. She wasn’t prepared for that,” Ron admitted.

Mr. Granger nodded. “If it’s all the same, we weren’t prepared to see her yesterday, either.”

“Are you both really not mad at her for what she did? Sending you here, I mean?” Ron couldn’t help but ask. He wanted to help prepare her if there was hidden anger and resentment.

“We were at first. I was quite livid myself, if I’m being honest. But the more we thought about it, the more we figured there had to be a reason. Jean and I could tell Hermione was keeping things from us.”

“She wanted to protect you as best she could,” Ron interjected.

“We know. I do hope she’ll be honest and forthcoming with us as we move forward. I can’t say it’s been easy to watch her pull away over the past few years.”

Ron thought about what Mr. Granger had said. “I’m sorry if I took her away from the time she had to spend with you. Mum and Dad always said I could extend the invitation to have Hermione stay with us as well as Harry. I guess I never thought about it taking time away from you both.” He wasn’t sure what urged him to give an apology, but it felt like the right attempt.

“We don’t blame you, Ron. It’s where she wanted to be, and we wanted more than anything to give her the world,” Mr. Granger reassured him. They walked quietly for a while before Mr. Granger stopped at a bench and sat down. They were nearly back to the street where Ron and Hermione were staying.

“Are you two together, then?” Mr. Granger looked at him, waiting for an answer.

“What? Oh, er, no,” Ron said. “Just- just friends. Best friends, really.”

Mr. Granger nodded slowly. “I admire your loyalty to her.” He stared ahead, watching a dog play fetch with his owner across the field in front of them. “You both said she was tortured and that’s what broke the memory charm Hermione had placed on us?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, that seems to be the most logical explanation. It was sudden for you both, right? The memories didn’t come back gradually?”

“It was like a lightswitch had been turned back on. Quite sudden. Will you be honest with me, and tell me how bad it really was?” Mr. Granger asked him seriously.

Ron stared ahead, not seeing the landscape before him, but visions of the horrors of Malfoy Manor. “It should have been me. I tried to take her place. Begged them to take me instead of her, but they took Harry and I and locked us away in the cellar. She was screaming, and all I could do was punch the walls and pull at the bars to try and get to her. I kept yelling her name..”

“How did you get to her?”

“Dobby. He was an elf. Harry somehow asked for help and he appeared. Elf magic’s different from our own. Dobby helped get the others to safety, and we were able to escape when one of the Death Eaters came to check on the noise we were making. I managed to get his wand and we went upstairs. Hermione wasn’t screaming anymore…” Mr. Granger didn’t need to know about Pettigrew and his magicked hand that was his own demise.

“Bellatrix was about to give Hermione to Greyback. I lost it and started attacking them. I needed to get to her, but then she had snatched her up again and threatened us all. That’s how she got the scar on her neck. Dobby came back and loosened their chandelier. The diversion worked but Bellatrix jumped out of the way and dropped Hermione so that it landed on her. I was able to pull her out and get her to safety. It’s all a blur, really.”

“Was she-”

“She wasn’t conscious when we got to Shell Cottage. Hermione will probably spare you the details, and for good reason. I carried her in and my sister in law immediately started to tend to her. Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus. It’s a torture curse that inflicts horrible pain. Another friend from school - Neville- his parents were never the same after it’d been used extensively on them. I couldn’t think straight, and it was brutal waiting for her to wake up. I didn’t know what I would do if she didn’t.”

“How long did it take?”

“Twenty hours. She needed a lot of pain potion to help keep things in check, and then the nightmares started. It took almost a month of healing, and then we’d jumped right back into the mission. I was worried she wasn’t ready, but she insisted we needed to make the next move.” Ron hadn’t realized that tears had escaped his eyes. He hadn’t talked about Hermione’s torture with anyone except Bill and Fleur.

“Thank you for being honest with me. I won’t tell Jean, or Hermione for that matter.”

“I don’t know how much she plans on telling you, but I do know she wants to be up front about everything that’s happened without worrying you too much,” Ron tried to explain.

“Well, she’s safe now and that’s what matters,” Mr. Granger said.

“You wouldn’t ask her to leave the magical world, would you?” Ron asked before he could stop himself.

“I won’t lie to you, Ron. It’s crossed my mind. But she loves it too much. It wouldn’t be fair of us to ask her to leave it behind,” Mr. Granger answered.

Ron didn’t respond. He stayed quiet, thinking of what life could possibly be like without her in it. He couldn’t imagine it.

“You care about her, don’t you. More than just as a friend?” Mr. Granger broke the silence.

“I do, sir,” Ron responded.

“Does she know?”

“I hope so.” Ron looked guiltily at his questioning face. “I haven’t told her as much, no.”

“You should tell her,” Mr. Granger told him.

“I’ve tried. But every time the moment seems to be broken, or something life altering is happening, and it just hasn’t been the right time,” Ron tried to explain.

“Then make it the right time. Don’t wait, Ron. I almost waited too long to tell Jean how I felt and could have lost my chance to be with her.”

“But-”

“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in her response, if I’m not mistaken.” Mr. Granger cut him off as he looked at his watch. “I need to get going, or I’ll be late for work.” He stood up and began to walk away. “At least think about what I said. We’ll see you both this afternoon.”

Ron nodded as he watched him walk away. Don’t wait for the right time, make it. Maybe Mr. Granger was right. He’d come so close to telling her how he felt so many times now. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to wait any longer. Then, if she did reject him, he’d at least be able to have some sort of closure so he could try to move on. He hoped that wasn’t the case. Ron got up from the bench with a newfound resolve, and headed back to their temporary flat, determined to make the most of the day ahead.

#romione #hp australia #slow burn

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