#a future story will show us what Remus was doing through all of this

[shadowbriar]

Sirius Black - The Lion and The Lamb

Pairing : Sirius Black x (she/her) Reader Word Count : 5.1k Warning : One curse word. I'm so bad at this I don't think there's any other? Synopsis : Sirius' plot of pairing her with Remus has finally come to a success yet he finds it hard to find the joy in their relationship. Notes : Post no 3 for my 1 Year Anniversary Celebration. This story is a little bit all over the place, I'm sorry for that. Don't forget to fill the form here if you'd like to be tagged for my future works. If you like this story and would like to support me, please visit my kofi page and perhaps get me a coffee?☕ Sirius Black's Masterlist click here. Taglist : @jsjcue @ell0ra-br3kk3r @sofiacblair @when-you-cant-think-of-anything

It is only logical that someone like her, a bright witch with the wittiest mind and cleverest brain, would ever fall for someone who’s equally as brilliant. Someone who excels in his classes, despite the fact that he has a troublesome condition that restrains him from having a full attendance in his classes, is still being appointed as prefect due to his capability and proficient skill set. It’s simple logic, isn’t it? Smart people are attracted to smart people, the same way funny people are attracted to other funny people.

At least, that is the rule Sirius Black is believing in.

For years he has tried to play the matchmaker for Remus and her. ‘Accidentally’ pairing them up for school projects, ‘accidentally’ forgetting their group study session so the two of them would be left alone, and ‘accidentally’ always making her sit next to Remus in every chance presented. Sirius was determined to get them together. He would always argue that they just haven’t noticed the chemistry they have, how everyone in the room could tell that these two are in love with each other. Though James would always deny and say that no one except Sirius would see this so-called chemistry, Sirius has already made it his life mission to make them a couple.

“Truly, I love Padfoot but his antics on pairing us up is starting to get under my skin.” Remus grumbles as he walks with her through Hogsmeade. They were supposed to meet up at the Three Broomstick, her and the rest of the Marauders, but after an hour of waiting, the two knew that this is just another stunt Sirius’ pulled for them “Once we get back to the castle I will make him transform into his animagus form and turn him into a fur hat, I swear it.”

She chuckles, “I’d love to witness that.”

The two continue their walk until Remus halts all of a sudden, stopping his pace with an expression she couldn’t decipher. It was as if he was thinking deeply about something that is struggling to burst forth from his lips. His brows furrow and it’s taking a huge amount of self control in herself to not straighten them with her thumb.

“I have an idea that might make you murder me,” He says to her “But this is worth the shot, at least for me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you not tired of this? Of Padfoot always setting us up like this?” Remus questions, his arms now fold in front of his chest “Because I am. We can hardly hangout with the others anymore and don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with you, Love, it’s just that—”

“Sirius,” She cuts, nodding in understanding with a small laughter “I get it. What do you propose?”

Remus shrugs, “Well, since the boy’s so determined to get us together, why don’t we just.. Get together?”

“Get together?” She repeats with a raised brow “As in.. Date each other?”

“Yeah, precisely that.”

She stares at him with appalled eyes. Remus seems adamant with his proposal, his tone is firm and his body language shows 100% certainty, yet her mind still couldn’t process his words properly. The idea of them dating would be as logical as flying pigs. They are the true definition of platonic love. Dating Remus would feel like painting the Black Lake pink with a makeup brush, painful and useless.

Noticing her bewildered expression, Remus proceeds to explain his bid, “Alright, maybe I worded it wrong. I meant to say that maybe we should try to give the impression that we’re dating. I love you Dove, there’s no denying that, but we’re nowhere close to what Padfoot is insinuating and I just can’t live the rest of my school years being his experimental toad.”

“Ah,” She finally nods in understanding. Her facial expressions soften from the explanation, letting out a chuckle now as Remus’ words start to make sense “You still have to define try in this scenario, Rem. What are the rules and what not?”

Remus shrugs once more, “Just act like we’re dating in front of the boys, I guess.”

“Okay, and what does ‘act like we’re dating’ mean?” She questions further, her right hand now resting on her right cheek as she gives the offer a thought “Dating could have a very broad meaning, these days.”

“Hold hands, walk you to your classes, carry your books, you know those little things.”

“And how about the PDAs?”

“Like kissing?” Remus asks. He winces slightly at the thought, not out of disgust but more on the unlikelihood of either of them enjoying such action “We can opt that out. Just tell people we’re not a big fan of public attention for such gestures, they’ll buy it.”

She pursed her lips, brows furrowed now as she truly pondered her options. Sure the fact that Sirius is restless about his mission is irritating her, but is pretend dating really the answer? It feels cruel, knowing that Sirius came from a good heart, but Remus is right. Just how many more years should they suffer through this foolish mischief? If anything it will only grow discomfort between her and Remus and she surely wouldn’t want to lose her friendship with him.

“Should we put a time frame for it then?” She says, trying to help perfect the proposal “Say.. 3 months? Would that be too long? We could just tell people that we didn’t really work out by then.”

“I was going to say until the semester ends, but 3 months seems enough.” Remus nods, holding out his hand “So is that a deal?”

She smiles, taking his hand and shaking it firmly, “Deal.”

—-

The next morning when the pack walks down to the Great Hall, Sirius’ eyes are caught at the sight of his two friends sitting comfortably close to each other, already enjoying their meal and sharing what seems to be the most interesting discussion. James shot him a look, utterly puzzled at the intimacy they were showing. Peter was the only one who could still function and walk to the couple, sitting right in front of them.

“Morning, you two,” Peter greets, his eyes narrowed in an interrogating way “You left pretty early this morning, Moons. Didn’t even hear you go out the door.”

“Yeah, I had to pick her up from her dorm.” Remus shrugs, his tone casual as he rests a hand around her shoulders “You guys are here on time.”

“What is happening?” Sirius asks this time, a disbelief smile decorating his baffled face. He was still standing by the table, the only one who’s not yet seated. His eyes travelled to Remus’ secured hold around her “You two are more comfortable than I last remember.”

“Yeah, well, we decided to give it a go.” She explained with a smile, looking at Remus.

Sirius let out a chuckle, one that doesn’t sound the most sincere as he proceeds to question, his tone was laced with uncertainty, “Give what a go?”

“Dating.” She answers as she turns to him briefly before giving Remus a little peck on the cheeks “We’re dating now.”

Remus, who wasn’t expecting the kiss, turns crimson. It wasn’t the first kiss he’s received on the cheek from her, but getting it under the impression of their romantic affair still caught him off guard. He gave her a look, one that she understood was him being impressed at her act, before pulling her head closer to his shoulder. 

Remus’ eyes now travel to Sirius’ who is stupefied, still on his feet after witnessing such action. He doesn’t seem to be joyful, not even the slightest bit happy at the fact that his life mission is now finally achieved. Like someone hit the invisible reset button in the back of his head. Completely at loss of words and understanding of the scene unravelling before his eyes.

“You alright, Pads?” Remus asks with a raised brow.

James had to pull on Sirius’ robe in order to bring the black haired boy back to life. Sirius blinks, evidently trying to digest the new information with a scrunched brow. He finally takes a seat, resting his hand under his chin in an interrogative gesture, “What— When, uh, when did this happen?”

“Yesterday, after our Hogsmeade date.” She answers casually, squeezing herself closer to her ‘boyfriend’ as she continues “We figured.. You’re right. We do have chemistry between us, so we thought— Why not? Right, my Love?”

Remus smirks, seemingly amused at the pet name given, “Right, Darling.”

“Aw, not the pet names.” James fakes a gag “You two are going to beat me and Lils as couple of the year.”

Breakfast continued with so much laughter and bliss that her cheeks were starting to hurt. It feels wonderful to finally share tender and warm moments without having to worry that Remus might feel uncomfortable or that she would have to excuse herself to join her group of friends to run from a plot Sirius would pull on them. After what seems to be forever, the two of them can finally appreciate the platonic love shared in the group.

Yet through the delightful morning they’re spending, she couldn’t help but to notice the half-hearted laughter Sirius would let out or how he would play with his food more than to chime in on James' jokes. He wouldn’t meet eyes with her, as if he has a secret he wants to keep. Something she couldn’t tell what it was nor what it’s about.

—-

Fake dating Remus has been brilliant to say the least. Neither of them now have to feel awkward from each other, nurturing their friendship that was once put to halt when Sirius started his ruse. James and Peter have been more free to ask either of them to hang out too, knowing that Sirius wouldn’t pop out of nowhere and jeopardise the plan to have her paired up with Remus instead. Yet through all these splendid events, she couldn’t help but to notice Sirius’ withdrawal.

He has been more quiet whenever the five of them would hang out, being too busy with his assignments she knows full well he pays no mind about or excusing himself to get some rest. She couldn’t even see him alone, always having something in his schedule that would make him leave her in the hallways.

It would be a lie to say that she doesn’t miss his presence.

“Have you been giving the group more quidditch practice, Potter?” She asks as she plops herself to the sofa, scanning around the Common Room to look for the familiar black haired boy.

James makes a face, “No? We haven’t even done any practice for weeks due to the bad weather.”

A frown blooms on her face. Quidditch practice is Sirius’ most used justification to his pardon and to know that there hasn’t even been one for a while surely baffles her. What could be the reason for Sirius’ absence then?

“Where’s Sirius?” She voiced out “I haven’t seen him for a while now, it’s like he’s avoiding me.”

“Probably feeling undermotivated now that you two are dating. His whole life was devoted to seeing you two as a couple, now that it’s happened, I suppose Padfoot requires some time to recalculate his next life mission.” Peter comments nonchalantly “Perhaps he could finally find one that is actually useful for his future.”

She forces a smile.

A big question mark is still ingrained in her mind. She seems to be the only one to notice Sirius’ withdrawal and is actually bothered by it. Perhaps it was because the boys still see him in their dorm room and spend more classes with him that they could hardly notice the difference. Either way, she knows that she won’t get her answer by asking them about Sirius. She has to ask him herself. However that might be.

—-

Sirius’ palms have been more sweaty nowadays every time she was around. He was sure that one of these days his closest mates will call him out for the strange act he’s been pulling and how he’s committing the grandest sin to have feelings for his best friend’s girlfriend.

In his defence, Sirius never intended to fall for her. He’s always admired her, sure, only a fool would question that, but never has Sirius ever thought that such admiration stemmed from romantic feelings. He always thought and believed that her best pair is Remus, someone who is stable and responsible, unlike him who is impulsive and directionless in life. Someone who would follow wherever the wind would sail his ship to.

No, Sirius will never accept anyone who is less prudent than Remus to be her lover.

But that day in Potion class haunts him like a persisting ghost. How the cauldron of Amortentia smelled like her. A mix of her perfume, her favourite dish that she would always dig in whenever Christmas comes, and that scent of flower they did their Herbology paper on back in third year. There would be no chance that Sirius misinterpreted the scents. What he smelled from the love potion was her, only her.

Now he’s standing feet away from her, trying to cast the patronus charm along with the other students. He could see Remus succeeding in no time, producing a wolf shaped patronus. He could see the mixed emotions Remus had on his face. Proud of his success in conjuring the spell and bitterness over the form of patronus he owned.

He turned his gaze to Lily, a beautiful doe was running around her. James on the other side of the class was screaming in delight when he finally conjured his patronus, a magnificent stag standing by his side. Sirius knew that James would use this to pester on Lily more. People do say that some soulmates may have a connected form of patronus.

Sirius’ lips turned into a smile as he watched her successfully produce her patronus now. A beautiful rottweiler was running around her. What a perfect patronus, Sirius thought. A courageous and loyal animal, the perfect one for her.

Now Sirius tries to cast the spell himself. A couple tries and he finally managed to produce a full patronus, a german shepherd. He lets out a satisfied laughter, watching as his patronus runs around the class, stopping only when it met her patronus.

But Sirius’ patronus soon disappears as his focus dissolves, locking eyes with Remus who watches over the event with a confused look and an intrigued smirk plastered on his face. Sirius swallowed his own saliva in nervousness. Does this mean Remus knows about his growing affection towards his girlfriend?

—-

“I’m calling it, me and Lily are soulmates.” James says happily as he jumps on his bed, resting his arms behind his head as a pillow “Who would’ve thought, right? A stag and a doe. Merlin, we must’ve been made for each other for real.”

“Not really in the mood to talk about patronuses, guys.” Peter snorts, sulking at his still failure in conjuring one.

“Don’t worry, Wormy, your time will come.” Sirius says, patting the boy’s shoulder before heading to his trunk to put his books in “Took me a couple tries to get it too.”

“Right, your german shepherd patronus,” Remus notes, a suspicious smile tugged on his lips “Did you notice that yours were the only one other than her’s in the form of a dog?”

Sirius feigned a confused look, furrowing his brows, “Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, right! Her rottweiler!” James chimed “It was adorable when your patronus came to her’s, Pads. Too bad yours didn’t last too long. You surely need more practice with your spell.”

Sirius only let out a small chuckle, not saying another word as he silently prays that they would drop this topic. It’s uncomfortable enough for him to know that his patronus were fond of hers, adding to the stress of his realisation of her scent from the amortentia. Now to have Remus staring at him with an expression he’s dying to confront yet certainly not ready to face the consequences of, Sirius wonders if pairing her with Remus all these years was a mistake.

—-

“I think we need to call off this ruse.”

“Already?” She asks, putting down her book to meet Remus’ eyes “We’re not even half way through 3 months.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we need to get that long. Even if we break up now, I’m sure Sirius wouldn’t pair us up like he did before.”

She raised an eyebrow, confused, “Why would you think that?”

“Because that git finally realises that he likes you.” Remus says with a confident smirk.

Her eyes nearly popped out of its eye sockets. What Remus said just now is as surprising as hearing that Dumbledore and McGonnagal are holding their wedding this Yule break. Never in a million years would she ever expect such a reason to be uttered by him.

She let out a mocking laughter, dismissing his words, “You’re mental.”

“I’m not,” Remus denies, leaning closer to her to prove his words “That day in Charms class. His patronus came to you. You both had guard dogs as patronus. Why do you think that’s because?”

“Mere coincidence?” She questions, still finding his words to be baffling “We both have dogs as our patronus, so? They’re not even the same breed. You’re making a connection out of nothing.”

“Am I really?” He challenges “I mean, think about it! Don’t you think Sirius has been acting strange ever since we’re dating? And that day in Potion class, I bet you a hundred galleons, he smelled your scent from the amortentia.”

“He does not,” She says firmly, shaking her head in denial “And you don’t even have a hundred galleons, Remus.”

Remus rolled his eyes, “My point still stands. Sirius likes you, I’m certain of it.”

She frowns, still finding it hard to digest Remus’ words. It feels like some sick joke he’s trying to have her convinced. There would be no chance in hell that Sirius would like her. Why would he? All these years spent of him trying to get her with Remus, why would he now have feelings for her?

“No.” She says short.

“Why are you so defensive about this?” Remus groans “I’m telling you. We call things off now and I bet Sirius will waste no time and court you.”

“He spent his whole life in Hogwarts trying to pair us up, Remus. Now you say that he has feelings for me? Doesn’t that sound a little bit mad?”

He shrugs, “Maybe he didn’t realise his feelings for you until we did this fake dating.”

“That still sounds absurd.”

“Fine, don’t believe me,” Remus says, holding his hands up in surrender “But I still think we should stop our ruse now. If he really does have feelings for you, I don’t want him to feel like he’s betraying me or anything. I refuse to be the cockblocker between you two.”

She put up her book, closing their conversation with a nod. If Remus thinks that it would be best for them to stop their fake dating now then she would have no issue against it. It wasn’t like she was having the grandest time of her life fake dating him, but there would be no chance that she’s falling for his words, that Sirius secretly holds feelings for her because there’s simply no chance for that to ever happen in this life. No chance.

—-

“You broke up with her?!” Sirius asked, tone rising in disbelief and unexplained anger “Why?!”

“Because,” Remus answers with a shrug “I just don’t think that it was working.”

“So you dumped her?”

“No, it was a mutual agreement.”

Sirius still has his displeased expression on, glaring at Remus. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling this way. A mix of relief and rage at the same time. He was glad that they finally ended their relationship, for whatever reason Sirius isn’t sure he wanted to dig deeper on, but on the other side he can’t help but to worry if she was hurt by Remus’ decision. Even if it was a mutual agreement, who’s to say that she isn’t crying and bawling her eyes out from heartbreak right now?

“I still can’t believe you broke up with her.” Sirius mutters “You two have only been, what, a month together?”

Remus shrugs once more, letting out a tired sigh, “There’s no bad blood between us. She’s fine, I didn’t break her heart if that’s what you’re so riled up on.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Remus raised an eyebrow, giving him the ‘are you serious’ look.

“What?” Sirius asks, appalled “What’s with that look?”

“Oh, come on, Pads, stop acting oblivious.” Remus says, rolling his eyes “You might fool Prongs and Wormtail but you’ll never fool me, not about this.”

Sirius frowns, folding his arms in front of his chest in defence, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Remus glares.

Sirius squared his shoulders, showing his firm stand.

Remus sighs, patting his best friend's shoulder in an attempt to console him, “For what it’s worth, Pads, I’m not angry. If anything, I’m glad that you finally come to your senses and realise the true reason for your dedication in finding her a proper partner. You care for her, in a whole different world than how me or Prongs or Wormtail do. I just hope that you won’t be stupid enough to pull another lark on her.”

Sirius remains quiet, his defensive expression softens a little. It was one thing to realise his feelings for her, one thing to see all the signs scattered around them that he was so blind to see before, but it’s an entirely different thing to have it confronted by Remus. By the one person who he should feel most embarrassed to admit the feelings for. What kind of a friend is he? Has he no shame?

“I’m sorry, Moony.” Sirius begins “I never meant for it to go this way.”

“What are you saying sorry for? I just told you I’m glad about your budding affection for her.” Remus replies with a chuckle “You can throw away the shame or any foul feelings you have for liking her. I’m not angry or disappointed or anything you might think I feel. Matter of fact, if I could give you any advice, I’ll tell you to go and see her now and waste no more time. You’ve been dense for quite too long, it’s time you actually do something about it.”

“Are you sure? You’re not the slightest bit angry at me?”

“Pads, if you ask me one more time, I swear to Merlin I’ll hex you.”

Sirius smiles, genuinely at last. He feels like the heavy burden that has been sitting atop of his chest has been lifted. Like he could finally breathe and think clearly after being so suffocated by all the overthinking he’s done at night. He could feel the energy that used to flow through his veins slowly returning, making his confidence and bold self to be resurrected back to life.

“Moons,” Sirius called, grinning “You don’t happen to know where she is, do you?”

—-

The library was pretty much empty now. Students have either gone back to their dormitory or down at the Great Hall to have their dinners. She too would find herself digging into roasted chicken and mashed potato right now had today been another ordinary day, but no. Today has been everything but ordinary.

Remus’ words echo in her head like a broken record. She knew that Sirius had been acting strange. She’s confident that she was the first to notice this. Even his reaction to their dating news was so out of character. The anticipated grin and jump of joy was never presented, only vacant eyes and forced laughter served by Sirius ever since.

Now she tries to bury the thousand of questions running in her mind by reading some books she knew would do her no good. She’s lost count of how many times she’s reread this one sentence. None of the words seem to enter her brain, lost into thin air as her eyes skimmed through the words.

“Hey.”

Her head was turned in the blink of an eye, neck almost cracked from the sudden force. She stares at the boy standing by her side with a surprised look, smiling faintly, “Sirius, hello.”

“Can I join you?”

“Uh, sure,” She says, heart pounding now “Take a seat.”

Sirius silently does, smiling at her with quite the nervousness. Whatever it is he wanted to say tonight, she knew that it messes with his heartbeat as much as it does to hers.

“Are you busy?” He asks, fidgeting with his fingers “I’d like to steal a little bit of your time if you aren’t.”

“No, I’m not busy.” She says, closing her book. She tidies her hair nervously, trying to compose herself in front of him. Something she’s never felt before, conscious of his appearance in front of Sirius. Lord, just what is happening in her heart, truly?

“I, uh.. I have something to talk to you about.” Sirius begins, his volume getting smaller and smaller that he’s practically whispering now “I heard that you and Remus didn’t work out.”

“Oh, yeah, we didn’t.”

“Are you okay?”

“Grand,” She bobs her head up and down, a little bit too cheerful for someone who’s facing a break up “Me and Remus are still friends, there’s no hard feelings between us. We just didn’t work out.”

“I see.”

She nods again, smiling awkwardly, “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah.. I mean, no, not really.” Sirius says, tongue tied over whatever lines he wanted to spill “I just— Well, I— Shit, this is so hard to say but I— Well, the past few days I’ve been thinking and I.. Well.. I suppose I owe you an apology.”

“An apology?” She asks, raising an eyebrow “What for?”

“For trying to pair you and Remus together.” He continues “I.. I realised that I might not have the proper reason for wanting to find you the right partner. I mean, I thought I did but some things that have happened recently have altered my perspective.”

She opens her mouth before closing it again, confused at whatever direction he was going for, “Sirius, I don’t believe that I understand a word you said just now.”

“I know. I’m not making any sense right now.” He says with a chuckle. The laughter was enough to melt the tension between them but once it died down, the heaviness on his shoulders returned that Sirius couldn’t help but to let out a sigh “What I’m trying to say is.. I think.. Well, I used to think that certain people belong to certain people.”

Her brows knit, listening carefully to his words.

“I thought that smart people belong with smart people. I thought that someone as smart as you should be with someone just as smart. I mean, it’s logical isn’t it? The lions belong with the lioness and the lamb belongs with the other lamb.” He continues, rambling “But then you started dating Remus, and that Potion class happened, and Charm class happened, and I began to think.. Could the lion be with the lamb?”

“I— Am I the lion or the lamb?” She asks, furrowing her brows “I’d be offended if you say I’m the lamb.”

Sirius grins, “You’re the lion, of course.”

“Then who’s the lamb? You or Remus?”

“Me,” Sirius answers, biting his inner cheek in nervousness “I’m the lamb.”

Her expression softens, slowly understanding his words.

“I know it was wrong of me to feel this way. You’re dating Remus, for Godric’s sake! I’ve been trying to pair you two for years and now that you two are dating, I can’t even fake happiness for it.” Sirius confesses, smiling pitifully to himself “What a friend, right?”

She takes his hand gently, softly squeezing it in assurance, “We can’t help who we fall in love with, Sirius. I’m sure Remus understands.”

“He does,” Sirius answers “Do you?”

She was quiet now. It all happens too quickly for her. Just a few hours ago she was fake dating Remus, then he told her that Sirius likes her, and now Sirius himself is professing his feelings. Sure there have been moments in her life where she admires Sirius more than she admires Remus or James or Peter, but it was never as strong as how Sirius is portraying right now. Never as clear as the devotion Sirius is offering her right now.

“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” Sirius says, noticing her mute as rejection “Just say the words and we can put this behind us. Pretend that this never happens.”

“Sirius,” She calls, holding his hand firmer now “I appreciate your honesty and truthfully, I— I don’t have a word to say to you right now.”

Sirius nods, understanding.

“I just.. I need time to digest everything.” She continues “And you’re not making me uncomfortable. If you’d like to dive further into whatever this is we’re feeling right now, I’m willing to give it a go, but I can’t promise you anything right now.”

“Give.. Give it a go?” Sirius asks, hopeful eyes now staring at her “You’re willing to give this a go?”

“I mean, sure. I’ve always wondered what chemistry you always talk about whenever me and Remus were in the same room because to put it frankly, I always thought that it was us who had the chemistry, not me and Remus.” She reasoned, smiling a little at the thought “But like I said, I can’t promise you anything. I can’t promise you that I would be able to return the affection as much as the one you have for me. I’ll try, but I don’t want to give you false promises.”

“That is more than enough.” Sirius says fast, grinning satisfiedly now “Thank you.”

She nods, returning his smile.

Relief was what best describes the two of them now. Sirius kisses the back of her hand gently, showing his grandest gratitude for her understanding and kindness. The same happiness was mirrored on her face, flustered at his gentle gesture. It’s only a matter of time now until the two hand each other their hearts. After all, german shepherds and rottweilers always make cute puppies, don’t they?

[lupinblacktheone]

The world through his lenses

Sirius decides to give Harry another Christmas gift: a history of James’ past. As told through Regulus’ eyes.

Dinner was at its end, with gifts exchanged and plates being washed. Harry was ready to go to bed and try to forget the latest horrors of his life when he felt his godfather’s hand on the top of his head.

            “Come with us.”

            Behind him, there was Remus Lupin, of course. They led him to a clean, unused room.

            “This used to be my brother’s”, Sirius explained as Remus opened the wardrobe to pick up a wooden box. “He was Orion and Walburga’s pride and joy until they found out what he had been doing.”

            “Cut off the suspense”, Remus said, handing him the box. “You are killing the boy.”

            “Oh, shut up, you”, Sirius rolled his eyes. “This was him at his fifth year, I guess”, he passed the photo to Harry.

            In his youth, Regulus Arcturus was a thinner and slightly taller version of his older brother. It was very easy to say where the genes had come from.

            “He was a very reserved creature, but someone managed to break through that.”

            “Who?”

            “Your dad”, he said with an affectionate, nostalgic smile. “He thought it would be easy, after all, he was already friends with me.”

            “Oh, how wrong he was”, Remus sat on the bed by Sirius’ side.

            “Regulus and I were not on speaking terms at the time, so I cannot give you all the details, but what James told me was that he laid eyes on Regulus one night and it was as if the centre of the Earth had changed. He decided to make a move that very night.”

            “Ugh, that was so stupid”, Remus complained.

            “What did he do? Lit the main hall up with fireworks?

            “Nah, he considered it too pranky, so he followed Regulus into the dungeons after dinner and asked if they could meet by the Lake the following night.”

            “Let me guess: he didn’t show up.”

            “On the contrary. He did.”, Sirius shook his head, staring at the floorboard. “With Rosier and Crouch by his side.”

            Harry stared at Remus, who was ready to pick up the story from there.

            “And they asked where we were”, he pointed at himself and Sirius. “You see, Harry, they thought James wanted a duel.”

            “How did he get out of there?”

            “Well, because they wouldn’t agree that was just a misunderstanding and leaving would be admitting defeat, all of them were ready to wait for someone who would fight by James’ side to pass by.”

            “That was it? They waited?”

            “These people were all about rules. Even the ones about duels. That level of decency probably saved James’ arse that night”, Sirius spoke again. “Unfortunately for them, Minnie found them before we did. She gave them detention and took 15 points from each House. When they were cleaning old trophies, all they could do was to chat.”

            “That was James’ chance. He had to explain to Regulus that what he actually wanted was a date.”

            “And he also had to convince Regulus he was being serious. The hardest part of it all”, they laughed. “He was lucky my brother was feeling mischievous. I had just been disowned and he thought he could get away with anything, so he agreed to go on a public date. He also knew he had some time before school gossip reached his parents’ ears, so he went crazy on future dates, calling James the love of his life and even accepting some PDAs.”

            “That sounds mean”, Harry mentioned, frowning.

            “A little, but James was glad to participate in their disgrace. And deep down, he expected Regulus to run away as soon as he received a letter from home, so why not have fun while he could?”, Sirius scoffed. “That was until Walburga threatened James’ parents.”

            “What did she say?”

            “She would have them killed if he didn’t stop seeing James.”

            “And what did he do?”

            “He broke up with James”, Sirius sighed again. “It destroyed both of them. And we only heard of Regulus again on your parents’ wedding, because he sent a gift with a note. It said:”, he snatched some notes off his pocket. “I want you to be as safe and happy as one can be in this day and age. I swear I will try to buy you as much time as I can. In the meantime, please take care of my heart. It will be in your pocket from now on.”

            “Why are you telling me this?”, Harry stared at his godfather, his expression between confused and angry.

            “Because if I don’t, no one else will”, he answered, simply. “This is a side of your father he didn’t show to the rest of the Order.”

            “And how do you know all this?”

            “I read Regulus’ journal, obviously”, the man laughed, holding the snatched notes. “I gave it to Dumbledore and Moody, maybe there is something useful about Voldemort’s recruiting tactics there, but I decided that my brother’s relationships were off-limits, so I kept those”, he fanned himself with the papers. “Nevertheless, I want you to have the pictures and the drawings”, he gave Harry an envelope sealed with tape. The backside read: J.F.P & R.A.B. – 1975. “Now, Harry, the only bad thing James did to my brother was making him insufferably sappy, so for the sake of your old godfather, please open that when you are back at your dorm, will you?”

            ***

            It turned out Regulus Black loved drawing James Potter, especially during Quidditch practice — Harry noted that as time passed, he fell more and more in love with his muse. As an even more carefree young lad, James would smile all the time, as if he knew he was being watched by an artist.

            Regulus played a bit with photography too, registering snippets of their time together. Amongst the images, there was what Harry was both more curious about and feared the most: an unsent letter. The page had various creases and old damp marks.

            My dear James,

            I want to thank you for the time we shared. I also have to say that I hope you move on. I heard you are getting closer to Lily Evans. I reckon she’ll be good to you. And she will also be able to give you what I couldn’t. A safe life under the Order’s good graces, for starters.

            I was being honest that night: I will do everything in my power to keep your parents safe. That includes receiving a Dark Mark — please, I beg you, do not tell my brother, this is hard enough as it is already.

            I wonder if this isn’t some kind of elaborate torture — they forcing me to watch as you live happily ever after and not only that: they expect me to be ready to manslaughter your family on command.

            Despite all this, I need you to know I love you dearly and that is why I ask you to forgive me for insisting on leaving. And… maybe you could remember me as the lad who fell for you, not your best friend’s younger brother or the idiot who was forced to join the wrong side?

            With all the love in the world,

            Your Reggie.

            “What are you reading, love?”

            Harry rested his head against the sofa, trying to catch a glimpse of who was talking to him, although he knew very well who was it. He smiled, accepting the cuppa and the peck the other man offered him.

            “A letter to my dad.”

            “Oh… from whom?”, Draco snuggled up to his boyfriend.

            “His ex-boyfriend”

            “Wait, your dad was bi?”, Harry nodded with a little smirk. “Tell me all about it. Who was he dating?”

            Harry paused for a bit. Draco was more than well-educated on the Black family tree — he was part of it, for Merlin’s sake! He wondered if telling Draco about the past of a relative would be like poking a wound with a chopstick. Personally, he wasn’t interested on learning anything about the Dursleys.

            “I am waiting for the tea, Potter”, Draco let out an indiscreet laugh.

            “Did your mother ever old you about her cousins?”

            “You and I both know my mother has dozens of cousins, but I presume you mean Walburga and Orion’s sons.”

            “My father’s ex was Regulus.”

            “WHAT? He dated your godfather’s brother? Weren’t they, like, best friends?”, Harry nodded. “Well, I understand his perspective.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “We Slytherins are very charming.

[myriadparacosm]

You think Sirius Black would go crazy over James having child? Do you even imagine how he will be for REMUS' CHILD? He will lose his mind.

I personally do not like the original relationship of Remus and Tonks (love you queen but your author is shit) because it felt forced to me - though it gave us one little Edward "Teddy" Remus Lupin.

Anyhow, let's trash canon out of the window because what matters is how Sirius would absolutely go mad for Remus' child - be it from Tonks or anyone else (male wizards would definitely figure out a way to get pregnant through magic but that's another story). He is already over himself for Harry and he wouldn't truly play favourite but it's /Remus/ so Teddy has a very important spot that Sirius probably wouldn't know how to deal with.

Sirius will literally sleep as Padfoot in Teddy's room to be sure nothing happens to him and Remus wouldn't not catch him right away. Teddy would always remember a dog spying on him at school or even when he plays outside.

In the case of Remus being an only father/sharing custody (because come on Remus and Sirius are soulmates and they will end up together)

Sirius would always try to get involved and he naturally becomes the favourite of Teddy - who sometimes calls him papa (because Sirius would definitely teach him french swear words to mess with Remus but Teddy will ask how to say dad in french) and it's an embarrassing surprise to everyone. Teddy will even fuse Pad with Papa because Remus often call Sirius Pad.

Though Sirius would recover pretty fast and use it at his advantage and Teddy is the perfect partner in crime: "You shouldn't speak with that tone to the papa of your child!" "Yeah! Don't speak to Padpa like that!"

Remus is, of course, smitten and desperate over all of this because he already has enough feelings to deal with without adding up his son bonding with Sirius like it was meant to be.

The school, because it's important that Teddy learns from Muggles before going to Hogwarts, is convinced that Sirius is the actual father of Teddy up until Remus showed up to pick him up. (yes Sirius responded to Mister Lupin but no one was there to see him blush and Teddy kept the secret in exchange of candies). He had to fight with Sirius who has taken the habit to drop off/pick up Teddy without /asking/ to finally do it by himself and the first time this happened - Remus thought his child got kidnapped until he called Sirius: "what do you mean he disappeared? Teddy is with me-- bollocks, not the chocolate Teddy!"

Sirius will literally adopt Teddy the moment he sees him. Harry was also smothered with his love but James isn't the love of his life (rude he says) whilst Teddy feels like the future, present and past of Remus all in one and Sirius is a very possessive person, which he is aware of, but he can't stay away.

He isn't perfect at taking care of Teddy at first because he is too much like a friend rather than a parent to Teddy but he learns fast and tries to be better. No one really asked Sirius if he ever felt like having children or even if he felt like he would be any good at it - to which he would have replied with a depecrating laugh and 'are you mad?' because Sirius is afraid at the idea of being a parent.

The question isn't so much important right now, not when he tucked Teddy in, hugging him as Remus read the traditional bed time story to them. Sirius always falls asleep there, definitely after Teddy despite what Remus says after waking him up so they can sleep properly in their bed ever since Sirius moved in indefinitely.

[juuls]

Juulna’s 2021 Multi-Fandom Fanfiction Rec List - Part Four

(Yes, I realize this is a year late, but this year's been a bit nuts. I still hope you enjoy these fics anyway!)

Based only on what I’ve read with my own eyes this year!

Follow me on my journey into what, at times, was…

…actually rather calming! Perhaps you can find some comfort and entertainment, fluff and angst and romance and friendship, smut and a distinct lack of it, space adventures and fantasy and modern adventures, serial killers and good guys, redemption and reconciliation and learning to become someone completely different — there is so much here I read that stuck with me over the past year, and the 2021 Fanfic Reading Challenge ( @fanfic-reading-challenge ) allowed me a new way to keep track of all of my favourites. So props to that event! Definitely participating again (considering I run the event, yeah, that's probably a given lol, but full disclosure).

Without further ado, here were my 2021 fic favourites!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six

Fandom: Potterverse

Bilmione:

Lady in Red by JamieOlivier

After a year of secretly being in love with Hermione, Bill finally gets a chance to show her how he feels. But what will happen between them when they're faced with the consequences of their night together?

Dramionarry:

Fourteen Thousand Galleons by @frumpologist

After the War, there is a boom of marriage and divorce. Hermione finds herself among the statistics of war heroes who couldn’t save their marriages. When she receives the invoice from her solicitor, she has no choice but to answer an ad in The Daily Prophet: Malfoy Heir Seeking Nanny.

But, everything is not quite what it seems as Hermione navigates the waters of post-divorce life.

GES Winner 2020: Best Love Story

Dramione:

The Library of Alexandria by @senlinyu

The Library of Alexandria is not for just any witch or wizard. Many bookworms may try but few are permitted to pass through its doors. The books residing there are ancient and powerful and, if one happens to make a mistake, the consequences can be rather—novel.

Height by @senlinyu

“Tall? That’s what you think I should notice about Malfoy? His height?”

Ginny quirked an eyebrow and licked the tip of her quill suggestively. ”Well, isn’t that your thing? Lockhart. Krum. McLaggen. Ron. The only thing they have in common is being tall enough to give me a neck ache.”

Hermione felt her ears grow hot, and she gripped her book tighter. “I don’t have a thing for tall men. Their height is—completely coincidental.”

Dramione Height Differences Minifest 2020.

The Malaria Visions by @heymanticore

Hermione has a series of vivid dreams about Draco Malfoy after taking anti-malarial medication. Can she reconcile the real Draco with the one she sees when she sleeps?

Presque Toujours Pur by ShayaLonnie

Bellatrix's torture of Hermione uncovers a long-kept secret. The young witch learns her true origins in a story that shows the beginning and end of the Wizarding wars as Hermione learns about her biological father and the blood magic he dabbled in that will control her future.

Remione:

Those Who Can, Teach by @inlovewithforever

“You do realize,” he spoke measuredly, “how absolutely insane you sound, trying to protect the long-gone virtue of your nearly forty-year-old professor? Who happens to be a werewolf?”

“You’re not my professor. Not anymore.” --- Dirty little Remione one-shot featuring gratuitous use of erotic poetry as foreplay. Canon divergent from the beginning of Deathly Hallows.

Moonlight by @kittenshift-17

Coming to call on a werewolf hours before the full moon rises has unexpected consequences for the brightest witch of the age. Hermione never expected that Remus would ever let her get so close, but the allure of moonlight finally proves too much for the lycanthrope to resist. Remione.

Hungry Like the Wolf by @iamtarasoleil

"Where am I?" she demanded, though her voice still shook slightly from embarrassment. "My flat, obviously," the man replied with equal unease. "Who are you? Why are you here? … And why would you turn such a bloody awful record into a portkey?"

Siremione:

A cautionary tale. Or: why you should never bet with Sirius Black by theGoddessofSamothrace

Hermione has lived with two of the most eligible bachelors of the wizarding world for two years now. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black invited her to live with them when her relationship with Ron Weasley collapsed and she gratefully accepted. The household works for all three of them: there is someone at home when she gets back from work, Remus has an intellectual sparring partner and Sirius is kept in line just a little more when there's a woman in the house. But what happens when this comfortable setting is disturbed by a very, very bad decision on the part of a certain miss Granger?

Stay by nymueladyofthelake

Hermione finds herself targeted by a law, a Muggleborn Registration Act being led by Dolores Umbridge. Sirius and Hermione immediately form a marriage bond to protect her from receiving the trace. Remus isn't sure what that will mean for their pack bond or for his relationship with Sirius. The Order tries to circumvent the dark plans Voldemort has for all muggleborns.

The Sun, The Moon and The Star by @ladyblack3

WINNER! of Mischief Managed Awards 2018: Best Soul Bond Fic. Eight years after the war, life at Grimmauld place is settled for the widowed Remus, his metamorphmagus son, and the brightest witch of her age. What happens when they uncover that they yet may return a lost Marauder? What will Moony have to say about all of this? And was this their fate all along? Triad, HG/RL/SB!

Sirimione:

This Dizzy Life of Mine by @inlovewithforever

Hermione wants desperately to make the world a better place. Sirius wants more than anything for Hermione to take him, well, seriously.

AU in which Voldemort never existed, but blood prejudice and anti-Muggle sentiments reign supreme.

Looking Like a High I Want to Be On by weary_kind

It wasn’t the Wizarding World’s happiness that kept her out of Diagon Alley, not exactly. It was the news articles that were written about her during the divorce. They weren’t written about Harry. Or Ron... Just her.

Being as well-known as she was, the Daily Prophet had paid close attention to her relationship. Especially the end of it. How exactly they got ahold of her medical records from St. Mungos was anyone’s guess. But they had.

Sirimione & Remione:

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn't understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.

SSHG:

Meta: The Not-So-Comprehensive Guide to Hermione/Severus Clichés in Fanfiction by Electryone

The majority of HG/SS plotlines in under 500 words each. Time-turners added!

The Witchhiker's Guide to Beltane by TeddyRadiator

Wizarding Britain, ten years after the war. Things are good, but the Ministry thinks what's needed is a good old fashioned Beltane revel. Hogwarts is just the place to do it. In the meantime, Severus isn't enjoying life right now; he's the subject of Rita Skeeter's new tell-all book. And don't get Hermione started on how Ron continues to make her life a misery. Perhaps this Beltane stuff may just be the ticket to help them out as well. Written for Jenidralph in the winter 2013 LiveJournal SSHG_Prompfest.

SSHG & Drarry:

The Problem With Purity by Phoenix.Writing

As Hermione, Harry, and Ron are about to begin their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, they learn some surprising and dangerous information regarding what it means to be Pure in the wizarding world. HG/SS with H/D. AU after OotP.

SSHGRL (Snape, Hermione, Remus):

Snow Turns The World Deaf by TeddyRadiator

Severus has always believed that, if you love someone, you must promise them the moon, and deliver it. How do you wrestle that moon to the ground?

Fandom: Fantastic Beasts

Gramander:

Masquerade by @prosodiical

MACUSA's annual New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball is the largest, most magical event of the year - and Newt, dressed to the nines and miserably bored, really just wants to leave.

But when a handsome man in a wampus mask comes to his rescue, Newt finds himself very quickly swept away.

Five Times They Weren't, and One Time They Totally Were by Anonymous

Tina is beginning to think that this fiancé act is a getting a bit suspicious. But that can't be right; she just has an overactive imagination. Surely Percival Graves isn't serious when he calls Newt Scamander his 'betrothed'. Right?

Roar by @elenothar

After Graves' fourth escape attempt Grindelwald decides that turning the man into a magical creature - a process thought to be impossible to reverse - will take care of the problem quite nicely. Too bad he didn't anticipate Newt Scamander.

You Told Me Fortunes In American Slang by kopperblaze

Fill for this prompt on the Kink Meme:

Newt's dislike to looking someone in the eye and his aversion to human touch (that is not part of his family) is the result of someone playing an ugly prank on him when he was little. It's also the main reason that Theseus Scamander is a huge momma bear concerning all matters related to Newt.

After Graves is found and healed, he gets to know Newt a little better and falls in love. He quickly realises that Newt has been hurt in the past even without the constant messages from Theseus that hell is going to rain down on anyone in MACUSA even looking the wrong way at Newt.

I want to see Percival slowly gaining Newt's trust, then becoming part of his family and after months of careful wooing finally having his personal happy end.

Bonus: Newt has been in love with Graves for years hearing tales from his brother. The incident with Grindelwald was a huge blow to his ego until he realised that it wasn't Graves. Still he's too shy to make any first move towards the real Graves that is more than friendship.

Fandom: Star Trek

Michael Burnham/Mirror Gabriel Lorca:

Hearts Like Ours by justrunthroughthenightglo

When Prime Gabriel Lorca finds himself on the USS Discovery, he must prove to the crew that he is trustworthy, acclimate to being back in his own universe, solve a mystery which begins with Mirror Landry's ongoing scheme, and figure out why he feels so incredibly drawn to Specialist Michael Burnham.

Light your tinsel moon by @lesspopped

A mysterious phenomenon temporarily takes out the eyesight of Discovery's human crew. Everyone is looking for ways to burn off energy; Lorca and Burnham find a certain amount of freedom in the circumstances.

The Other by LadyFangs

Everyone has a secret. Some deeper than others. Sometimes, objects in the mirror are far closer and much more similar than they appear.

In which Prime Gabriel Lorca returns to his rightful universe only to discover that everything he thought he knew, and loved, is changed.

Michael Burnham/Christopher Pike:

The Other Half by @alethialia

Pike nodded. "You should let the crew know. We'll switch badges and get new uniforms to make it as clear as possible. I'll need to walk Kat through this one myself, though; some of the crustier admirals are gonna have a nutty."

Saru blinked; if he'd been harboring any doubts that he was talking to Pike, they clearly evaporated at the phrase "have a nutty" coming from Michael's mouth.

In the sudden silence: "Okay, but body-swapping?" Tilly asked, her tone hitting the sheer ridiculousness of it.

Tough Love by @alethialia

"Are you harboring a romantic interest in the captain?" Spock asked from across the mess hall table, eyes trained on her evenly, all-knowing.

They had been eating lunch. Eating lunch and finally talking and that had somehow led to...this.

Michael stared at Spock, completely thrown. "...what?"

Series: Respite by @alethialia

The Terran Pike comes to visit the newly-resurrected Captain Burnham on the Shenzhou and things get...heated.

The Trouble With Spores by @elenothar

One moment Michael Burnham is walking alongside Captain Pike in the dusk that comes startlingly early on Stellanis, contemplating suggesting they call off the fruitless search for their strange readings’ origins – the next she steps over some protruding roots and the world explodes into particles of light.

An away mission gone sideways leaves Michael and Pike unable to exceed a certain radius from each other. Turns out that keeping her feelings for him under wraps is easier said than done when occupying the same set of quarters.

No going back. by @wearethewitches

When it seems like the only way to further progress a negotiation between two Acamarian tribes is to let them plan a cross-culture wedding, Michael Burnham volunteers to be their guinea pig bride.

Her supposed fiance? Christopher Pike.

Stars, hide your fire by @wearethewitches

When Michael Burnham's Vulcan husband comes aboard the Discovery, it is discovered that things are not what they seem - and it may be up to Christopher Pike to set it right.

a needle pointing true by @elenothar

Humans have always had soulmarks, causing a lot of (unnecessary) drama that all other species shake their heads at.

All of Michael's marks, without fail, had needed months of knowing the other person to establish.

Less than two weeks after Christopher Pike came on board the Discovery her average is thrown entirely out of whack.

Readability by @elenothar

The most worrying thing about accidentally having linked her mind to her Captain's during first contact with a telepathic species is how little it worries Michael.

Chris has a less easy go of it.

Gen:

Watch the Stars Fall by @wearethewitches

When the Discovery goes through the wormhole, instead of Terralysium, they find themselves in an alternate timeline - one where the U.S.S. Kelvin was destroyed in 2233.

-

or, I want to fix Star Trek 2009 and now I actually have a plausible way to do it. Michael-centric, new plot and I refuse to name Vulcans an endangered species.

Deep Space Wives:

From a Small Moon by celestialskiff

Set during season one. Kira has always known she wants to be with women, but she's never had the opportunity to explore her sexuality. When she realises Jadzia Dax reciprocates her feelings, she can't believe her luck. Unfortunately, memories of her life during the Occupation of Bajor keep getting in the way of her relationship. (Please note this story contains references to past rape and to abuse. It also contains really quite a lot of consensual lesbian sex.)

Jim Kirk/Christopher Pike:

What They Made Me by KrazzeeAJ1701

Her mother, Frank and Kodos had all tried to break her, it just made her stronger in the end.

McSpirk:

Farrae Gunna by @straight-outta-hobbiton

Best, brightest, and most expendable. Leonard should have that printed on a t-shirt. That’s what the crew of the Enterprise is comprised of, after all— people who are the right mix of smart and bad. Why? Well, Leonard hopes to find that out.

[greenerteacups]

hi! wish you strength and time to finish Lionheart! you've such a rich, if I can say so, writing style, I'm enjoying every word! will it be a spoiler if I ask how much wolfstar will there be since it's nowhere in the tags? 👀

Thank you! I appreciate the good wishes for the future — I sometimes think of writing Lionheart, in the words of Donna Tartt, like "painting a mural with a toothbrush." Thinking big, but focusing on the small strokes.

I don't think the answer to your question will be a spoiler, but just for the people who prefer flying totally blind, I'll drop it under the cut. Spoilers through the end of Book 3.

I'm very sparing with the relationship tags for Lionheart, because as an avid reader, I know I get super annoyed when a tag (especially a popular one, like Wolfstar) fills up with fics where the couple isn't the focus. Admittedly, there's also a bit of hide-the-ball going on, because I think it's more fun to live in suspense. I mean, everyone knows what the centerpiece of the story is going to be, but I still have fun thinking about who Lionheart!Ron's going to end up with, for example.

With respect to Wolfstar, I hope the ending of Book 3 sort of telegraphs my intentions: they're a thing. They literally rode off into the sunrise together (a little visual joke on my part, teehee), and they're going to be together the next time we see them (which isn't going to be very long, incidentally; I think it's Chapter 42, if I have my outline correct?) I wanted to give them that sort of "older gay couple who still aren't used to Getting To Do This" vibe, which is complicated by the 13-year separation, and the fact that one of them is a teacher with a very stigmatized illness, and so probably has a bunch of internalized baggage about what it is and isn't acceptable to do in front of children. (Remus does, that is; it is my personal belief that Sirius would snog Remus in front of cameras broadcasting live to the House of Commons and also directly into his mother's brainstem, but that's neither here nor there.)

They're also worried about showing too much in front of Harry. They really, desperately want to impress him, both as a living reminder of James and a boy they're rapidly growing to love in his own right. All this is to say that they're going to be more comfortable with him as they learn to know and trust him. I don't know if that answers your question — I fear it doesn't — but I've not forgotten them, and they'll be back, and I suspect you won't be disappointed.

[asinglesock]

I would love to see this list of magic vs miracles once you've completed it, if it's short enough to easily post here!

So my magic & miracles in Acts of John writeup is kind of long to post here (and also not my best writing, alas). But I'm using the Anchor Bible Dictionary's articles on magic and miracles as guides for my analysis.

The definition given for magic is this:

a form of communication involving the supernatural world in which an attempt is made to affect the course of present and/or future events by means of ritual actions (especially ones which involve the symbolic imitation of what the practitioner wants to happen), and/or by means of formulaic recitations which describe the desired outcome and/or invoke gods, demons, or the spirits believed to be resident in natural substances.

The article talks about how historically scholars have tended to use the description "magic" for the practices of polytheists (who are usually othered by the texts I'm studying). But there's nothing inherent to this definition that excludes Jewish or Christ-follower characters from participating in actions that could be considered magic. You need 1) a human to commit 2) a ritual with the motivation of 3) obtaining a supernatural figure's intervention. That shows up in so many Bible stories I can't list them all here.

Here's the description for miracle:

“That which causes wonder—the extraordinary—is one essential element in miracle. The other is that the extraordinary phenomenon is inexplicable in terms of familiar, everyday causation and so is ascribed to a superhuman force or agency.”

Similarly to the case of magic, miracles can happen by any supernatural force: gods, angels, demons, etc.

For a miracle, you need 1) a supernatural force 2) to do something that causes wonder or amazement. I see a pretty significant overlap between magic and miracles--in the miracle stories of the apostles, they very much are calling on a supernatural force through ritual in order to intervene in a present or future situation. The same event can involve both magic and miracle.

I'm not 100% confident on this but I think the defining component for magic is the human's actions and intentions (and the supernatural result may or may not happen), while for a miracle the supernatural force is the defining component, and human participation is optional but not necessary (except in being an audience to be amazed).

Sources:

Scurlock, J. , & Kuemmerlin-McLean, J.K. (1992). Magic. In D.N. Freedman (Eds.). The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary: K–N (p. 464). Doubleday: Yale University Press. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780300261905-347

Zakovitch, Yair , and Harold E. Remus. "Miracle." In The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary: K–N, edited by David Noel Freedman, 847. Doubleday: Yale University Press, 1992. Accessed February 5, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780300261905-647.

[edupunkn00b]

You’re Family Now

Rated G - CW: Past abuse referenced. Other than that, it's a fluff factory :) - Word Count: 2380

Remy and Emile stop by for a little wedding planning while Logan is babysitting for Roman and Janus. Logan and Emile get to learn just how much the have in common. This story takes place in between Chapters 14: Want and Chapter 15: Joy in What Might Have Been. Other related stories: Remy & Emile and Happily Ever After. Written for TSS AUgust Day 12: Family

---

“Yes, Janus, I am absolutely certain… Mm-hm… Yes. Yes, Joy is perfectly content. And if she gets bored with me, Remy and Emile are coming over in a half an hour… Mm-hm, I remember, yes… Please… please enjoy your afternoon with Roman…” Logan swallowed back a chuckle at the anxiety in his ordinarily suave best friend’s voice. “Yes, yes, Joy is fine. Now go have fun… Yes, I am hanging up the phone now… yes… mm-hmm… yes…” Logan finally laughed, “Goodbye, Jan. See you at 7.”

Logan ended the call with one hand and looked down at Joy nestled in his other arm. “Your Papa is worried about you, little one.” Joy cooed around her fingers stuck in her mouth. Logan grinned, making the sign for yes and nodding, “Yes, that is exactly what I said! Do you think your Papa and Daddy will like a picture to show them you are safe?” Joy cooed again, swapping her fingers for her thumb. “That sounds like a ‘yes’ to me.”

Opening up his camera app, Logan snapped a few pictures of Joy and sent them off to Janus and Roman, along with a note, I am turning off my phone now, so do not call. Enjoy your date and we will see you at 7. “All right, then, I think we have Papa and Daddy sorted out. How about we have a little tummy time…”

---

A half an hour later, the front door opened and Remy stuck his head through, “Dad? We’re here…”

“Hello you two, come on in… we are in the living room.” Logan called from his spot on the carpet. Remy and Emile came in, kicking off their shoes and laughed.

"We?" Remy asked from the hall. "Oh, good, I was afraid Uncle Janus was going to back out at the last second again. The way they were going, Joy would be in college before they went out without her."

Laughing lightly, Emile called out as he entered, "Hello, Mr. Sanders!" He immediately dropped to the floor when he saw Joy. "Well look how big you've gotten…"

“I’m not sure who’s having more fun with that squish toy, Dad,” Remy chuckled, watching Logan and Joy laying on their stomachs on the floor, as his dad bounced a brightly colored toy in front of her, enticing her to lift her head and grab at it. Logan nudged it a little closer and she grasped it, pulling it toward her mouth.

“You got it!” Logan cheered, twisting to sit in front of Joy, making the ASL sign for applause. Noting the copious amount of drool dripping down her chin, he made the sign for eat, “Are you hungry, Joy? Do you want to eat?” Looking up at the boys, he added, "Are you you two hungry?" Emile shook his head.

"Oh, we're fine… we met Emile's parents for lunch after religious school got out," Remy answered, making faces at Joy.

Emile tilted his head, watching his soon-to-be father-in-law. “I'm curious, Mr. Sanders… Does Joy understand your signs? We use some ASL with the kids at Temple, but I didn’t know babies this young could learn it.”

“Infants and toddlers have a greater understanding of symbolic language than their oral control can support.” Logan stood, then picked up Joy, walking with vRemy and Emile to the kitchen to prepare her bottle. “By teaching them basic signs, they can engage additional learning pathways and, in my experience with the boys, at least, communicate simple ideas and needs long before they are able to form the words.”

Logan laughed, “I could almost literally go on about this all day. You two are not here for an impromptu lecture on early childhood development, though. Remy, would you get my computer from my room, please?” Remy nodded and sprinted up the stairs. “Emile, did you bring the checklist from TBT?”

“I’ve got it right here, Mr. Sanders!” He patted his shoulder bag then clapped his hands together, grinning, “Time for a planning party!”

---

Remy, Emile, and Logan, with Joy in his lap, were gathered around the coffee table in the living room. The table was covered with checklists, sample menus from three separate caterers, notepads, laptops, and the large planning binder Emile and Logan had started the weekend after Remy and Emile’s—unexpectedly joint—proposal.

The bespectacled pair had been working their way through Emile’s checklist for two and a half hours. Remy had long since tapped out. “You two lost me when you got into the foot traffic debate.” Emile blushed but grinned when Remy kissed his cheek. “How about I play with Joy while you two… do this,” he smiled, waving his hands over the library’s worth of material spread across the table.

Eventually, Joy had grown fussy and Logan took her back, resting her head on his right shoulder, rocking her back and forth while he made notes with his other hand. She was asleep within minutes. Remy shook his head, stretching out on the couch and watching his dad and his fiancee revel in their logistical planning element. “Dad skills, man. Dad skills…” his last word dissolved in a yawn.

Logan caught Emile’s eye and they both fought back knowing laughter, each sufficiently familiar with Remy to know that he was not far behind Joy in joining the land of the dreaming. After a few more minutes, Remy’s breathing had slowed to a steady, quiet rhythm, his face relaxing into a blissful cherubic expression. He shivered in his sleep and Logan started to rise to find a blanket.

Emile waved him off, “Please let me, Mr. Sanders.” He followed Logan’s gaze and pointed to a door near the hallway. “Blankets are in there?”

Logan nodded, tilting his head. “You are quite observant, Emile.”

Emile was back in a moment with a plush knit blanket. Logan watched Emile’s face as he opened it up and covered Remy, taking extra care not to wake him. The softness in Emile’s expression as he tugged at one corner of the blanket, making sure Remy was completely covered and comfortable, spread a warm fuzziness through Logan’s chest.

Emile looked up, grinning at Logan and whispering, “They’re both so cute when they sleep.”

Logan looked down at Roman and Janus’ sleeping child in his arms and rubbed her back. He leaned in closer, sniffing the sweet baby smell of her wispy hair. He smiled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “It… It has been a long time since the boys were this small…” He chuckled, looking at Remy, noting his adult son’s five o’clock shadow. “Boys,” he repeated, shaking his head.

It hadn’t escaped Logan’s notice that holding Joy felt so very different from holding his own sons when they were this age. He harbored no doubt that he loved this little girl, blood or not. If nothing else, his extended family was walking, talking, loving proof of the—correct—adage that the blood of the covenant is thicker than the waters of the womb. He’d lay down his life for this child, just as he would for his own.

But he couldn’t simply ignore the lack of tension he’d felt that he had always associated with the boys when they were infants. At the time, he had thought it was his own natural reaction to being charged with the care of such a tiny, vulnerable little being. But now, holding Joy, that anxious undercurrent was gone and all he felt was bliss.

Logan' heart jumped into his throat when he realized why.

When his sons were babies, Logan had always been a little bit... afraid. Even when Remy was just an infant, Logan had already learned by experience how important it was for the peace of the household to steer clear of her moods. It had kept him cautious and guarded in his words and behavior, and drove him to take Remy on long outings to the park or the Seattle U campus whenever possible, just to get out of the house. By the time Patton was born… Logan shook his head slightly, halting his spiraling thoughts.

Emile noticed the change in Logan’s face from across the room.

“Mr. Sanders?” He stepped closer to where his soon-to-be father-in-law sat. “Are you alright?”

Logan reached up with one hand, touching his cheek. His fingers came away wet with tears. He fished in his pocket for a tissue and hastily wiped his face dry. “Yes, yes, of course, Emile,” he shook his head, schooling his face into a more careful mask. “Yes, and please… I apologize.”

Emile touched his hand, “It’s okay, Mr. Sanders, I was just worried about you.”

“I am fine, truly.” Emile peered at Logan for another few moments before nodding. Logan tucked Joy closer to his shoulder and re-centered his attention on the notepad in front of him.

After he’d composed himself, Logan grasped for a new topic. His eye caught on the engagement ring on Emile's hand. “There is something I have wanted to say to you, Emile.” Emile knelt next to the coffee table, putting down the highlighter he’d been using, giving Logan his full attention. His shoulders relaxed a bit when Logan smiled at him.

“I am inexpressibly happy for both of you. It brings me a great deal of joy that Remy has you in his life. It would embarrass him to hear me say this, but…” Logan glanced quickly at his son, checking to be certain that he was still asleep. “I know that he loves you very much and…” Logan sighed, wincing a bit at his awkward phrasing. “Knowing that you two are about to be married… it makes me… hopeful." He shook his head lightly, marveling at the shy young man in front of him. "Remy is so very lucky to have you. You make him happy.”

Emile grinned, “I feel like I’m the lucky one, Mr. Sanders. Meeting Remy was… life-changing .” Emile looked at Remy as he spoke. “If I’d never met him or... Or if Remy hadn’t been so completely and perfectly… Remy…” His smile fell as he considered, for just a moment, what his life would be like now without Remy. He swallowed hard against the growing lump in his throat.

He looked at Logan for a moment before staring back at his hands, picking up the highlighter and twisting it between his fingers, “I… don’t know if Remy’s told you much, but… I was… I was engaged before Remy and I started dating.”

Logan saw an all-too-familiar haunted look in Emile’s eyes as they flashed over to meet his gaze before returning his attention to the highlighter in his hands.

“He would... Well, he was, um…” Emile bit at his lip, voice trailing off.

“He was abusive?” Logan asked quietly.

Emile’s eyes widened, and he stared down at his hands, twisting the cap on the highlighter. Emile nodded once, then quickly added, “Maybe abusive is too strong a word… he wasn’t…” Emile shook his head and licked his lips, breath caught in his throat, “He never actually hit me… he just…” he sighed, words failing him.

Carefully shifting Joy to his right arm, Logan leaned toward Emile and held out his left hand, palm up. His scar, while nearly decades old, was shiny and unmistakable close up. Emile froze, staring at Logan’s palm. “They very rarely do in the beginning.”

Emile suddenly remembered the first time Remy had talked about his parents. ‘My dad just... well... he got stuck in a bad... situation.’

Logan continued, “Emile, you were brave and lucky to have left when you did.”

Emile’s eyes started to fill with tears and when he looked up at Logan’s face, he saw he wasn’t alone. “Mr. Sanders… would it… would it be okay if I… I hugged you?”

Logan smiled, holding out his left arm in invitation, Joy still cradled against his chest and supported by his right. Emile sat next to Logan, wrapping his arms around him. Logan squeezed with his left arm.

Emile and Logan sat quietly together, long after both of their tears dried, just watching Remy and Joy sleeping. They didn’t speak, they didn’t plan, they simply basked in the serenity and contentment that fell down over them. It was a peace that they’d both been seeking for a long, long time.

Eventually, Joy started to wake. Logan gave Emile another squeeze and recovered his arm. “She likely needs changing… that’s a diaper cry.”

Emile grinned, “How can you tell?”

Logan shrugged, rising from the couch, “You just start to hear it.” Emile followed Logan to the other room. “Oh,” Logan craned his neck toward the living room, “Would you bring—” Emile held up Joy’s diaper bag. “Perfect. Thank you, Emile.”

Logan began to change her diaper, narrating for her what he was doing and using the signs for diaper, cold, wet, and dry, as he went.

“Um, Mr. Sanders…?”

“Mm-hm?,” Logan hummed, holding a clean diaper under his chin as he wrangled a very squirmy Joy.

“I know you’d prefer that I call you Logan, but, um…”

Gently shaking his head, Logan corrected him, “I would prefer that you call me whatever makes you feel most comfortable, Emile.” He smiled while he strapped the velcro tabs on the fresh diaper cover. “I simply do not want you to feel obligated to call me something formal.” He started snapping Joy’s sleeper closed. “You are part of the family now.”

Emile handed Logan a disinfecting wipe for his hands, fiddling with the lid on the dispenser. “Well, I was wondering… would it be alright with you if I called you… ‘Dad?’” Logan turned to face him, rocking Joy against his shoulder. Emile stammered, “I—I call my own father Abba, so it’s not like you're taking anything from him or…”

Logan smiled and whispered in a rough voice, “That would be perfectly acceptable to me, Emile.”

Emile nodded, calmed by Logan’s sanguine reaction.

“Here, would you like to hold her?” Logan asked, shifting his grip on Joy.

Emile grinned, “Oh, yes, please!” Reaching carefully, Emile cradled Joy’s head, wrapping her in a football hold and swinging her gently, laughing when she cooed in response. “Well, hello there, little one… Pretty sweet family we both lucked into, huh?”

---

@tsshipmonth2020 (a little late for day 12...)

taglist: @mavenmush @demon9980 @crossiantgay @psychedelicships @justmeandmygayships @ts-creator-boost (why not)

[kohanayaki]

.:Time and Time Again:. (Marauders Era x Reader) Ch 6

You continue the tale of how you, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter became known as The Marauders.

LINKS:   CH 1   CH 2    CH 3   CH 4   CH 5   CH 6   CH 7   CH 8

___________________________________________________________

Ch 6 .:The Making of the Marauders:.

~Previously~

“That was when they were first starting to put the map together,” you continued, “but that wasn't even the biggest secret they had. Of course, I wouldn't find out about that for another year. . .”

“So at this point I knew that they were hiding something else, but not what it was,” you told Harry, continuing on with your story, “But one night we had planned to meet up and use the invisibility cloak to map out the underground tunnels that ran through the storage cellars, and they never showed up. So I snuck into the Gryffindor common room through the secret passage and found their dorm completely empty. But what was there was our work in progress map. . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   1975  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This isn't going to work,” Peter said flatly, watching James and Sirius draw a large circle in chalk on the floor of the Shrieking Shack.

“Not with that attitude it's not,” James said, “if there's a way we can speed up this process I'm willing to give it a go. I don't know how long I can go on with this bloody leaf in my mouth.”

“Is this even real?” Peter sighed, “it looks like what muggles think magic is.”

“It's real all right,” Sirius said, “old, but real. I mean, Transfiguration was founded on the principles of magic circles! I'm not really sure what these runes on the side mean, but it's probably not important.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Peter retorted, “Remus, back me up here.”

He turned towards Lupin, but he had long since dozed off, arms crossed as he leaned against one of the nearly decaying walls in the corner. Peter sighed, taking a piece of paper from the ground and crumpling it into a ball before promptly throwing it in the sleeping boy's face. Lupin jolted awake, realizing what had happened and chucking the paper back at Peter in annoyance.

“Not a moment of peace,” he huffed under his breath.

“Sounds awfully boring,” James said over his shoulder.

“Blimey, what time is it?” Remus said, panicked as he noticed the light had completely gone from the sky, “It's long past sundown.”

“So?” Sirius shrugged.

“So, we told (Y/n) we'd meet them to work on the map at dusk,” Remus said, “They're probably looking for us right now!”

“Oh, they are,” you announced your presence, an unimpressed look on your face as they jumped, whipping around to look at you.

“(Y-Y/n)!” Sirius stuttered, “how did you—”

You held up the map, raising a brow at the four guilty looking boys.

“Right. . .”

“You snuck into our rooms?!” James said incredulously as he saw the map, which he was sure he had left on his bedside table, in your hands.

“You've snuck into my shower before, Potter,” you glared lightly at him.

“Point taken.”

“Okay, look, I'm sorry we didn't show tonight, and I know we've been acting weird,” Sirius sighed, “the truth is—”

“Lupin's a werewolf.” 

The color drained from Remus' face, slightly mortified that you already knew.

“Come on, guys,” you said, “the claw marks and you lot disappearing whenever there's a full moon kind of gave it away. You aren't exactly subtle about it.”

You could sense the intense nervousness in the room, especially from Remus. Ok, so maybe coming right out with it wasn't the best course of action.

“Look,” you said, “if you're worried about anyone else finding out, they won't. I mean, the only reason I even knew you were here is because I'm literally helping you make a magical map that details all the secret passages and shows where everyone is. I won't tell anyone, I swear.”

They still seemed a little unsure, and you bit the inside of your lip slightly.

“If it'll make us even, I'll let you know a secret of my own,” you said, “it can even be future blackmail me if you really don't trust me.”

“No, it's not that, (Y/n),” Remus said as he stepped forward, his throat feeling dry, “it's just, well, I've never really told anyone except the people in this room. Having someone else know. . . it's just a lot to process, but if had to be anyone I'm glad it's you.” He paused for a moment, feeling oddly self-conscious as he regarded you. “When I turn into a werewolf I can't recognize any human as someone I know. I have no control over myself in that state. In the worst case scenario, I could injure or even kill someone I didn't mean to. We originally started taking note of the secret passages and rooms to find a place where I could turn safely and not hurt anyone, and we settled on here. I don't remember much when I come out of it, but. . . I do feel this painful sense of separation each time. Werewolves are pack creatures by nature, so being isolated in that state is. . . agony, if I must be honest. They all figured, I can't recognize humans, but perhaps I could recognize other animals, so. . .”

“They're trying to become animagi,” you finished, “so you won't have to be alone. That's. . . that's actually really sweet,” you said, a breathy laugh escaping you.

Remus thanked Merlin the Shrieking Shack was as dimly lit as it was so his beet red face was at least somewhat less noticeable.

“I agree,” Remus said, turning to his friends and sharing a rare, genuine moment with them. “And, you don't have to tell us your secret,” he said, turning back to you, “it's okay.”

“Hey, I wanted to know,” Sirius said, Peter swiftly elbowing him in the ribs.

“I was actually planning on telling you anyways,” you said, “If you guys are trying to become animagi, I can help you.”

You took a few steps back, bracing yourself against the wall.

“Promise me you won't freak out.”

After receiving a few quick nods, you kicked off the wall. Your body seemed to morph in mid-air, shrinking and re-configuring so fast that by the time you landed on the floor you had been entirely replaced by a large, (e/c)-eyed wolf with fur reminiscent of your hair.

Peter yelped, instinctively putting Sirius in front of him who was gawking at the sight. Remus was in complete shock and you could have sworn you saw James' glasses slip down his face.

In your animal form your heightened senses could sense their fear, and you tried your best to assuage it. You padded around in a circle, sitting down and blinking up at them to try and show them you were in control of your actions. After you figured they'd seen enough, you crawled back into your robes, which had pooled on the floor when you'd transfigured, and willed your body to turn back.

James, Sirius, and Peter looked somewhere in the intersection of shocked and terrified, but Remus looked nothing less than impressed.

“That's amazing, (Y/n),” he said breathlessly, “your transformation was seamless, how long have you had this ability?”

“My aunt had me go through the process when I was nine,” you said, a bitter edge to your voice as you fastened your clothes back around you, “it's not fun, but obviously useful. And thank you, but trust me, it didn't come at all naturally to me. I spent a good part of my winter break stuck with a wolf's hind legs, which is just as inconvenient as it sounds.”

“But this proves that it's possible!” James said, a new rush of energy invigorating him, “we can actually pull this off.”

“If I can manage to keep this sodding leaf from choking me every ten minutes,” Peter grumbled.

“Here, this should help with that,” you said, drawing your wand and pointing it at Peter's mouth. With a simple sticking charm, he suddenly felt the odd sensation of the leaf in his mouth disappearing, only to find it had melded with the flesh on the underside of his tongue.

“It's a long process, but yes, it's possible,” you said to James. Your eyes drifted to the floor where the magic circle and pages of runes were still scattered about, “if you were thinking of taking shortcuts, you might have wanted to read the warning about this spell requiring a blood sacrifice.”

The quartet paled and you laughed at their dumbstruck expressions.

“Kidding,” you grinned, “but seriously, there's no shortcuts. Now look alive, boys. We have a lot of work to do.”

_________________________________________________________

From then on, you helped the four wizards along on their quest to become fully fledged shifters.

“In order to become an animagus, a wizard must keep a Mandrake leaf in their mouth for an entire month, even when eating and sleeping,” Peter read aloud from the book they'd snatched from the restricted section, “Next, under a full moon, the wizard must place the leaf in a vial full of dew that has neither been stepped on nor exposed to the sun. The resulting potion must be stored in a dark place, and the following incantation: Amato Animo Animato Animagus, must be recited every morning until an electrical storm arrives, at which point the potion can be taken.”

“Blimey, all that to turn into a bloody cat?” Sirius said, exasperated.

“Well we have the first part almost done,” James said, feeling the faintest outline of the leaf still under his tongue, “Next full moon we'll have to go dew-hunting, I suppose. Looks like you'll have to stick it out for a few more cycles, Moony,” he said to Remus.

“That's alright,” he said, “I've made it this far.”

“He won't be alone for those,” you said, “I'll spend the full moons with him until you guys are ready.”

“What?” James said, looking at you like you'd just told him you were off to join Voldemort, “not a chance, that's way too dangerous.”

“Aw, don't act like you're all concerned about me all of a sudden, Potter,” you smirked. When his expression didn't change it took you aback slightly. He was actually worried about you. “Look, I'm probably the best suited for it anyways,” you said, coughing a bit to coast through the awkward tension, “Remus and I are both wolves, or at least partly. If one of you end up turning into a sheep or something you might be dead meat, not to freak you out or anything.”

“That's reassuring,” Sirius said under his breath.

____________________________________________________________

“You really don't have to do this,” Lupin insisted as you sat on the floor together in the Shrieking Shack later that month.

“I want to,” you assured him, “take it as a thanks for helping me pass Arithmancy. Besides, it's a perfectly fine excuse for me to practice interacting with other animals in my animagus form.”

The boy beside you was quiet for a moment, shoulders tense and jaw set tight. It wasn't that he wasn't happy you were here, he was more grateful than you could know, but he was terrified that he was going to end up hurting you. On top of that was the fact that he didn't want you to see him as he transformed. It wasn't pretty, and it was visibly painful. He didn't want you to think any lower of him, though he knew that fear was irrational.

The calming jazz record that spun on the other side of the room was the only noise between you two for quite some time, but you understood that he needed time to gather his thoughts. This was something so deeply personal you were surprised and a bit honored he allowed you to be here at all. You noticed the photograph that he held in his hands; it was of Hogwarts, taken from the very edge of the forest. The sun was peeking over the horizon, spilling out between the complexly constructed towers that made up the castle's exterior, and casting a warm, golden hue over the landscape.

“It's beautiful,” you said, “the picture.”

“It is,” Remus smiled to himself and nodded, “James gave it to me, as a reminder. He said that matter what happens during the full moon, the sun will always rise on us again.”

“Huh,” you mused softly, “perhaps he isn't such an insufferable jerk after all.”

“Oh, no, he is,” Lupin chuckled, “but he is also a very good friend, and endlessly thoughtful even if he denies it.”

You let that sink in for a moment. You supposed he was.

“Well,” you said, laughing a bit as you shifted in your seat, “this isn't as deep and meaningful as the photo, but I brought something for you.” You reached into your bag, retrieving something that made Remus' eyes widen.

“Where did you get that?” he said, elated as you held out his favorite chocolate bar which had been out of stock at Hogsmeade for weeks now.

“You guys have a secret tunnel that goes right to the Honeydukes cellar and you've never taken advantage of their storage?” you grinned.

Lupin hesitated as he held the bar in his hands.

“So you stole it?”

“I left five dracma in the tip jar,” you rolled your eyes, “I'm not a death eater.”

His smiled returned at that, and he ripped open the familiar foil gratefully.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“It's the least I could do,” you said.

“It's really not,” he said, turning to face you fully. You were left a bit breathless as the unexpected intensity of his eyes. “None of this is the least you could do, because the least you could do is nothing,” he continued, rambling, “we were so horrible to someone you consider a dear friend, and you were willing to look past that. You're risking your life by even being with me right now, (Y/n).”

“You don't—”

“I do know that,” Remus said sharply, “I've never been in contact with anyone as a werewolf. The one time I was, I. . .” he trailed off, and it hurt you to see his pained expression, “I just don't know how I'll react.”

“You're saying that as if something bad's already happened,” you said gently, “it'll be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked quietly, equally full of frustration and admiration.

“I'm willing to put my trust in you, Remus. I think it's time you put some trust in yourself.”

Lupin's heart pounded a little harder in his chest. Had you ever called him by his first name before? You looked at him so reassuringly, so confidently. He couldn't understand it, but your words reached him to his core.

“(Y/n). . .” he trailed off, blinking rapidly. A shaky breath escaped him, and your stomach dropped.

“Remus?”

Suddenly you saw something shift in him. His breathing became heavy and his pupils dilated, completely filling his irises in a matter of seconds. He braced himself against the wall as he stumbled to his feet, his skin slowly taking on a gray hue.

“It's happening,” he said, voice deeper and strained, his neck convulsing, “you have to transform, now!”

You didn't waste any time, taking the shape of your wolf form and padding away a cautionary distance. Your stomach churned as you watched Remus yell out, his expression full of pain as his body grew in size, his cries slowly becoming reminiscent of howls. His face contorted in agony as his head morphed into a more animalistic shape, ears growing from his scalp and fur appearing as if his werewolf was fully formed inside him, physically escaping through his skin. You've seen werewolves before, but seeing someone you know actually turn into one, it was completely different. Nothing could have prepared you for this. Seeing anyone in this much pain made your chest tighten harshly.

At last it seemed the transformation was complete. Remus Lupin was gone, and in front of you stood a creature of at least eight feet, perched on his hind legs and towering over you especially in your animal form. You could hear how ragged his breathing had become, his body convulsing with the motion; growing and retracting like a beating heart. You heard a whimper escape his throat, and you could tell he was still recovering from the pain.

You steeled yourself, making the decision to alert him to your presence subtly. You tilted your head upwards, releasing a similar sounding whimper to his. Immediately the werewolf across from you was on high alert, his head snapping towards you and his lips pulling back into a snarl as his ears lowered. You took an instinctive step back, lowering your head slowly. He seemed puzzled by your behavior, which made sense seeing as Lupin told you he never interacted with any other animals during the full moon. His head tilted inquisitively and he took a heavy step forward. You forced yourself to not back away, testing the waters. His eyes narrowed again as he saw you standing your ground, but you quickly sat down, your head tilting to expose your neck slightly. You made doubly sure not to show any signs of aggression; you knew you had no chance against a werewolf at full strength.

However, he seemed to take your queues well. His tail seemed to relax a bit, his eyes returning to their full, round shape as he looked at you with curiosity. You sniffed up at him and he hesitated, but eventually circled around you and did the same. You could almost see the turmoil in him, as a werewolf you doubted anyone he came across treated him with anything less than terror in their eyes, but you were completely relaxed.

He whimpered again, and you were shocked at the sign of submission. You rose to your feet, and he didn't back away. You let out a friendly yip, which he returned, and you felt the weight lift off your chest. You leaped to the side, and he followed you, running alongside you as you bounded across the room, practically leaping off the walls. You jumped at each other playfully, rolling across the floor in a mess of fur. You smiled inwardly as this continued throughout the night, no longer seeing fear or pain or aggression in his eyes when you looked into them. Even if he wouldn't remember most of this, you hoped he would at least feel better in the morning than all the times he had to go through it alone.

Exhausted from all the playing around, you padded softly back to your robes, crawling inside yours and and gesturing over to him with your head. He followed you, coming down to all fours before laying beside you. You weren't sure when sleep came over you, but it was like the world's most comfortable blanket had been thrown over your shoulders, and your eyes drifted closed of their own volition. . .

“Merlin's beard, just what were you two doing last night?!”

You and Remus both jolted awake at the sound of James Potter's aggravatingly loud voice but quickly came to your senses. Remus' arms were wrapped around you, your back facing him. You were just barely covered by your robes with nothing underneath as a result of your transformation. As you scrambled to get decent your face heated even more as you saw Remus was currently without a shirt, his pants ripped considerably. You scrambled away from each other, trying to make yourselves decent.

Peter was howling with laughter, James looking smug as ever. Sirius was oddly quiet, but you were too wrapped up in the embarrassment to notice his behavior.

“What was that about being 'endlessly thoughtful'?” you grumbled to Remus.

“Right, I completely take back what I said,” he scoffed, “ 'insufferable jerk' is much more accurate.”

“Close your eyes, you perverted git!” you yelled at James, who was blatantly staring at you, “toss me my clothes at least, would you?”

James bit back a smirk as he grabbed your bag that was sitting in the corner of the room— clothes you had brought with the intention of changing into after returning to your human form when Lupin fell asleep. He tossed it over to you and you began to change under your robes. As his back was turned to you his mind began to wander. You'd always been attractive, sure, but since you'd always been his rival he hadn't really given you a second thought, especially when he'd been trying to get Lily's attention for ages. But just now, thinking about how downright adorable you looked when you'd yelled at him, something in him shifted. He shook it off quickly, turning to Lupin with a grin he'd managed to put on concernedly fast.

“You cheeky bastard,” he said to Remus, who was furiously changing into a new shirt, “you just wanted her alone, didn't you? Do you really need us to become animagi after all?”

“You're the worst, Potter,” the werewolf glared at him.

“Don't listen to him, Remus,” you grumbled, straightening out your tie as you slipped it on over your shirt, “he's an even bigger idiot than he looks.”

“Are you implying I look stupid?”

“Implying may not be a strong enough word.”

__________________________________________________________

It had taken months of brewing the potion and getting all the necessary preparations in order, but they were finally ready. Remus sat with you in the grass, wand at the ready to undo any untoward transfiguration that happened on accident. Peter, Sirius, and James stood across from you, standing at the edge of a stone ledge about five feet off the ground. You'd said that a leap of faith is what would best trigger their first transformation. They looked nervous, but they were prepared as they'd ever be. Over the last year you had grown considerably closer to the four boys you had miraculously come to know as friends.

“Remember, focus on your emotions,” you said, “you need to pick a strong one, let it fill your body and flow through you. If you block the magic off from any part of your body, it's not going to be pretty.”

“Right, but how do I—”

“James, I swear, I'm really rooting for you to be a mute animal.”

“But how do you choose-”

“Just do it already!”

“Oh, sod it,” James squeezed his eyes shut, not giving himself time to second guess before jumping off the ledge. For a moment he was certain he was about to land face first in the dirt, but then it happened— a moment where time seemed to freeze and his body felt completely weightless. He felt this sensation where his arms and legs vibrated with an intense, foreign energy. Images flashed through his mind in that brief moment in the air; Sirius manically laughing as they ran away from Filch, Remus snapping off a piece of chocolate to offer him after he'd lost Gryffindor a Quidditch match, and, unexpectedly, you. A feeling of warmth spread through his chest, and he grasped onto it, letting it flow through his body like you said. In an instant he felt torso shift, his shoulders narrow, his neck elongate; and when he landed on the ground he still landed face-first as he predicted, but in a completely different form.

He could see you and Lupin in front of him, mouths agape. He was about to say something when he found his vocal chords only allowed him a gruff whine. Shocked, he lifted his head, which felt much heavier than he'd last recalled, and as he looked down at himself he was taken aback to be met with a pair of hooves right beneath him. He staggered to his feet on wobbly legs, of which he now had four. As he tilted his head he could see the shadow of a pair of antlers twisting into brilliant shadows on the grass.

“Potter, you did it!” you exclaimed, “you actually did it!”

“Well how about that,” Remus chuckled, “a stag.”

“It fits him, I think,” you grinned, looking over at Sirius and Peter who looked determined and terrified respectively. “Well go on, it's your turn now!”

Sirius braced himself for the jump, but somehow he found no fear in his system. After seeing James shift in the air right before his eyes, he knew he could do it. He looked over at Peter who was nearly shaking.

“Come on, Peter,” he said, “we'll go together.”

“I-I don't know about this, Sirius,” Peter said, “I'm not ready, I don't think I can do this.”

“It's just a little jump,” Sirius said encouragingly, “you can do this.”

After a few nerve wracking deep breaths Peter gave him the smallest nod one could manage.

“We'll go on three,” Sirius said, “Ready? One—”

“AaHH!”

Sirius shoved Peter off the ledge, knowing he wouldn't jump on his own, before taking the plunge himself. Peter's screams became higher and higher pitched as he shrank at an alarming speed, almost an undetectable size by the time he hit the grass. A small brown rat scurried across the field towards you and Lupin.

The stag in front of you made a sound, dragging his hooves across the grass in what you could imagine as James' unadulterated laughter at his friend.

Sirius began to morph almost as soon as he left the ground, something you were surprised by. He landed on his hind legs, landing gracefully as his front two followed, and a shaggy black dog looked back at you with mischief in its eyes.

You couldn't help but go over and pet him. You laughed as he nudged you with his nose, a resistance that was quickly halted as soon as you started scratching him behind the ears.

“I have to say, I didn't think you would actually manage that on your first try,” you said, secretly prouder than they could have known, “but if anyone could have done it, it's you three stubborn goons.”

James huffed as he saw you continue to pet Sirius, using his antlers to prod the dog out of the way. Sirius barked, lunging at him playfully. It was quite a scene to see the two interact.

“Honestly, this is a pretty solid group,” you said, “you've got James who blends perfectly with the surrounding wildlife so he wouldn't be suspicions, Sirius who could probably do a fair bit of damage as a dog if he needed, and Peter who can fit through small spaces and snoop around the castle virtually undetected.”

“Quite an odd pack,” Remus chuckled.

“Definitely,” you agreed, “but a pack nonetheless.”

And that very week, Remus Lupin was able to spend his first night as a werewolf with his four friends by his side.

__________________________________________________________

“So, how did we choose which animals we turn into?” James had asked you the next day at breakfast, “I specifically tried for a dragon.”

“You don't get to choose,” you rolled your eyes, “You're a stag, that's the end of it. It's pretty much up to chance.”

“I'm sorry, you're telling me I could have turned into a fish and died right there on the ground?!”

“If only,” you sighed dreamily, earning you a playful shove from James. “Alright, it's not completely random, but you're definitely in the unknown the first time you turn,” you went on to explain, “and once you turn for the first time, that's it. That's your animal. A wizard takes on the animagus form of whatever animal most closely resembles their personality. So, a horny bastard for James, a loyal little puppy for Sirius—”

“A bitch for you,” Sirius quipped.

“Never heard that one before,” you scoffed, purposefully messing up his hair.

“Hey, watch it!” he shoved you off him, twisting each of his curls back into form.

“Well, look who's a high maintenance pup,” you chuckled.

Around the same time that year, you finally completed the map. It came together beautifully, each different way of folding the paper revealing a different level of the castle for easy navigation. You'd included the surrounding forests as well as the parts of Hogsmeade that applied for the secret passageways, all of which were marked with symbols and the unique names you'd all come up with. Every student and staff member at Hogwarts had a tiny scroll with their name that appeared in their location. Remus had added the nice detail of including footprints at the last second, so you could see which way they were facing and walking as well. It was fireproof, rip proof, and prone to insulting anyone else who tried to read it. It was the pinnacle of your magical (and slightly illegal) achievement.

“We should write our names on it,” James said, looking down proudly at the finished map, “it belongs to us, after all. We don't want anyone else taking the credit.”

“Yeah, fantastic way to get caught,” Sirius rolled his eyes, “what if Filch comes across it? That's like leaving your signature at a murder scene.”

“You should use code names, then,” you suggested, “I know you guys call Remus 'Moony' as a joke, but I kind of like it.”

The scarred boy blushed lightly at the compliment, a brow raised to his other three friends.

“Alright then, I guess you should all say hi to Rudolph over here,” Sirius said, jutting his thumb in James' direction. The bespectacled boy narrowed his eyes before shooting back.

“Right! And this is my good friend, Snuffles.”

Sirius lunged at him and James swatted him away in laughter.

“Come on, you two,” Remus said, “or we won't put anything down for you at all.”

“I've got an idea for Peter,” you piped in, “When my mom used to garden she said she didn't mind having rats there because their tails resembled worms, which were an old a sign of healthy soil, I know it's odd, but I think Wormtail sounds pretty cool.”

Peter seemed to perk up at your acknowledgment and nodded. It suited him somehow.

“Should we pick animal features too, then?” James mused, “I guess Antlers doesn't really sound that cool. What's another word? Horns? Give me some analogies, guys. What else do they look like?”

“Yours honestly kind of look like a couple of bent forks,” you snickered.

“Prongs?” Sirius snorted, the laughter that followed nearly splitting his sides.

“Oh, go on, what have you got then?” James scoffed.

“I was thinking Padfoot,” Sirius said, “like a dog's paw prints.”

“You know, for someone who was just making fun of code names a second ago you sure have given a lot of thought to yours,” you teased.

“Shove it,” he smirked, “What about you? Can't very well have a second Moony.”

You stared at him in momentary disbelief.

“Me?”

“Well, yeah,” Sirius chuckled.

“We couldn't have done any of this without you,” Remus reminded you with a smile.

“I think you've more than earned an honorary title as one of us,” James said.

“That is, if you want to,” Peter said timidly.

You looked at the four of them, genuinely touched.

“I. . . I don't know what to say,” you smiled.

“You could say 'yes',” James piped up.

“Alright, you loons,” you laughed, “if you leave Severus alone for good, then yes.”

“Hey, I think we've been pretty good about that lately,” James pouted.

“Yes you have,” you admitted, “It's the only reason I bothered to give you the time of day, but this time it's a promise.”

James rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face was undeniable. He'd never admit it out loud, but being friends with you was more fun than messing with Snape ever was.

“Alright, fine. (Y/n) (L/n), I solemnly swear that I will leave tormenting our dear old friend Snivelus behind us forever,” he said dramatically, putting a hand up at his pledge.

“Oh, bother,” you laughed, “the only thing you'll 'solemnly swear' to is that you're up to no good.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“Then that's settled,” Remus smiled, “you'll need a code name too.”

“Let's see,” Sirius hummed in thought, “What other defining features do wolves have besides. . . well, their. . . fangs?”

“They're canines, you numbnut,” you huffed.

“Close enough, I'm writing Fangs.”

“Oi, I didn't agree to that!”

“Too bad, I'm already writing it~”

“Okay, well if that's the stupid name I'm getting saddled with them I'm going to write it myself,” you said stubbornly. You actually didn't mind the name at all.

“Well that's it, then,” James said, “Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs, and Fangs. We could join the bloody circus.”

“All we need is a group name,” you said, half joking.

“We've already got one,” James said proudly.

“Oh? Let's hear it, then.”

“The Marauders.”

“. . .”

You kept your face straight for exactly three seconds before you burst out laughing. The four boys flushed with embarrassment.

“The Marauders?” you chortled, “what are you, pirates?”

“It's what McGonnagall called us the first time we got ourselves into proper trouble,” James defended himself, his cheeks reddening, “You rowdy mob of marauders, she'd said.”

“Huh,” you chuckled, coming down from your laughing fit, “Well, then I suppose that would make this The Marauders Map. I'll admit, it actually kinda has a ring to it.”

And despite your group's joking quips and bickering, they couldn't agree more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait,” Harry said, eyes wide at your story, “So, my dad was an animagus too?”

“Sure was,” you smiled warmly.

“This whole time I thought 'Prongs' was just because his patronus was a stag.”

“Your animagus form is usually the same animal as your patronus,” you explained, “In some very rare cases they can be different, but they work in the same emotionally driven vein of magical ability, so it would make sense that they'd be linked. Your father was extraordinary at both, because as much as he would deny it, he felt everything very deeply.”

Your eyes drifted to the wall opposite you in the living room, and a small but sad smile graced your features.

“Love is often the most powerful emotion a witch or wizard can draw from,” you said softly, “but you already know that.”

Harry followed your gaze over his shoulder. There, posted on the wall among a collage of photographs from the Order was a picture of his mother and father. It was one he'd seen a hundred times, and one he had his own copy of: them in each others' arms in a London park, autumn leaves swirling around them as they danced without any music. Even from this distance he could see the emotion in their eyes as they looked at one another— like they were the only two people in the world.

“Yeah,” Harry said, wiping a stray tear from his eyes, “I do.”

Read chapter 7 here!

Taglist:  @sleep-i-ness, @blackpinkdolan, @parker-natasha, @ornella0910 @undertaker1827 @thatwierdo-koemi @nxstalgicnxbxdy @calaryssia @aleksanderwh0r3 @juggysgirlfriend @beautifulsweetschaos @kattirin @mialupin1

[limetimo]

RAB fics this week

Even if I can't by Inexorablement - funky house elf magic accident in the cave → time travel! In which Harry finds himself in 1975 with a scheming Regulus Black, pretending to be a Seer in order to help the Order defeat Voldemort.

The Horcrux Hunt by Keysie - Remus & Regulus enemies to besties, we love them!

You're Not the Boss of Me by Trex_patronus - Sirius @ Regulus: Could you maybe not die of blood loss in Bellatrix's dungeon? // Regulus: You're not my real mom don't tell me how to live Or: a tender Black bros story

Heroes (just for one day) by Sympathy4theDevil :(((((( big sad

Home for Wayward Boys and Wanted Criminals by Sympathy4theDevil !!!!!! big happy! After PoA, Sirius needs a place to stay. Thankfully, there's someone more than ready to take him in.

rewrite my heart (let the future in) by secretpersona - "rewrite my heart" more like "give my heart to the author", Regulus and Pandora give me life

Sky Full of Stars by TowardTheStars Hollywood AU, Regulus is flatmates with Severus, and Sirius is a film star with dark dark secret from his past.

Accidental Rewind by myriadofrainbows Harry and Draco are Aurors, 49, and best friends. And then they get yeeted back to when they were seven in a freak accident. Well, it's not like they can get back home, so they start shaping the future to their liking. Regulus didn't show up yet but he's in the tags :D

Deliver Me From My Friends by minkhollow This!!!! Is so good! Sirius falls through the Veil to London Below where he makes some new friends and his long lost baby brother. "You're letting a teenager fight the Dark Lord alone?" Regulus says and makes the prophecy his bitch. Professor Device (subtle Good Omens crossover, very neat) would be proud.

Drugs and surgical scrubs by anauro Modern Muggle AU! Addicts Marauders! Doctor Regulus! Unrequired Bartylus! Slowburn Jegulus! Amazing writing!

Broken by regulusrules Sirius falls apart blaming himself over Regulus' death. What is grief but love that lingers (or however that quote goes)?

Evolution is spelt with an R by de_sire Regulus barely makes an appereance but the author said werewolf rights and I'm here for that

A Thing Like Stars in the Dark by toliveinthesky - Regulus survives the cave but the Inferi muched on him pretty badly. Getting used to his new disability, slumming it up on Sirius' couch and trying to survive a James Potter, Regulus has a lot to do. Very lovely! Do recommend

when you were mine by battlehamster Modern muggle AU, felon Regulus, single dad James, uncles MArauders, chaos and slowburn!

Saving my Brother, The Lionheart by sailwordb Regulus thinks there's only one path for him, even if he's not eager to walk it. Well, Sirius and his friends think differently, they only need to convince Regulus of it too. Slow Marlene McKinnon/Regulus

Inked by Drunkonturpentine Wolfstar, Regulus only shows up twice but it's worth it! the depthhh

Wit Beyond Measure by minkhollow Ravenclaw Regulus and Lily stick the Diadem into a microwave :D

our choices seal our fate by sundaywriter Regulus kidnaps Harry from the Dursleys what more do I need to say?

As Soon As He Can by Trex_patronus sassy ghost Regulus Horcrux hunting with MArauders and friends!

i see how this ends (poorly) by Quillium seer Regulus sees in his dreams of how people around him die. Once he finds out that fate is not set in stone, he sets out to save them all.

through a glass, blackly by wheresmejumper This is! FANTASTIC! Regulus survives the cave, almost dies about a hundred times more as he works with Sirius and James on destroying Voldemort. lots of Black brothers ♥♥♥♥♥

Good Snake Bad Snake by gladheonsleeps Regulus is a teacher at Hogwarts and him and the other professors had had enough of Dumbledore's BS :D

Madness by any other name by AtomicMint Regulus doesn't want an army of younger Hufflepuffs at his disposal. He's getting one anyway. Neat!

After Everything, Always by Reggie4dayzz It's fight or fuck and James and Regulus chose to fuck. Casual enemies with benefits to explore the possibilities of gay sex, what could possibly go wrong?

regulus black, librarian extraordinaire by woodstonight Regulus hits da bricks and becomes a librarian in a muggle area. Some years later, a Harry Potter walks in the library. It's the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

[spxllcxstxr]

Wouldn’t It Be Nice • R.L

(Gif not mine)

Request: maybe a blurb where the reader is dating Remus and one day, they randomly decide to miss classes and go on a date instead. maybe a walk, so it’s super simple but they talk about their life - their future and that makes it romantic. basically a fluff. lkshda I don’t know I just want him to hold my hand and kiss my forehead. Love your writing! — anon and hii, you asked for more remus requests and as a remus simp i just had to comply. i'd love to see more one shots that show both sides of remus: the softy, cuddly boy and the sassy, snarky comments king. so maybe have a moment where he's being cute with the reader and the immediate other they're sassing each other off and that's just how their relationship works :) — @moonysimpp

Summary: You skip a class and plan a wedding

Warnings: brief weed mention, skipping class, a little suggestiveness?, talks about marriage, no mention of Voldy/the war

Word Count: 1.4k

A.N: At first, I wasn’t going to combine these two requests...but I made Remus both snarky and soft so I thought why not? I hope that’s ok with the two of you, I feel like it just worked out well this way. As always, let me know what you think and love you all ❤️

Title: The Beach Boys - Wouldn’t it be Nice (I just got this vibe immediately after reading the request)

****

“Have I gone completely mental, or is the Remus John Lupin actually asking me to skive off History of Magic?”

Remus stands across from you, leaning his shoulder against a stone pillar, red and gold tie prim and proper, hands buried deep in the pockets of his slacks. His eyes lazily roll at your theatrical gasp.

“And in our N.E.W.T. year!” You continue, dramatically clutching your chest. “What a naughty boy you are, Lupin. Can’t believe Minnie ever made you a Prefect!”

He raises an eyebrow at you, the right one, with the white jagged scar cutting it in half like a bolt of lightning.

“Are you done yet, love?” He casually asks, amused by your antics.

“Am I done?” You repeat, shocked. “My bad influence of a boyfriend is trying to get me to play truant!”

He snorts at your claim knowing full well you and Sirius skipped Herbology yesterday to get high behind Hagrid’s hut. No one was a bad influence on you except yourself, and everybody knew it.

“C’mon, Lily’ll take notes for us.” Remus takes a hand out of his pocket and rubs the back of his neck. The very simple and casual action has your heart fluttering.

“Oh, yeah.” The red head beside you scoffs. “‘Lily’ll take notes for us.’” She mocks in a lower voice to imitate Remus’. “Y’know, as Head Girl, I should be taking points away from you, Remus.”

“That’s rich comin’ from you, Lily.” Remus chuckles, reluctantly dragging his body away from the wall and closer to the two of you. He brings his index finger to the bottom of his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “Who was it again that let you off when you and James got caught in the Prefect’s bathroom—“

Your friend’s face gets drenched in deep red embarrassment. Her eyes grow as wide as dinner plates. “We agreed to never speak of that, Remus.” Lily’s voice is deadly serious as she interrupts his thought.

Everybody in the entire castle and their pets knew all about how Remus walked in on something happening between James and Lily in the Prefect’s bathroom in December, but nobody except the three of them knew the exact story. It was considered major drama in the castle and even after months, people are still whispering about it.

He smirks at her bright and flustered face before turning his triumphant gaze onto you.

“So, you joinin’ me, love?” Remus asks, his hand outstretched towards you.

You always had trouble saying no to Remus Lupin.

“Hm, spend time with my boyfriend or be put to sleep by Binns’ awful monotone lecture? What a hard choice.” You snark before immediately grabbing at his hand and interlacing your fingers.

“Thought so, love.” Remus cockily voices, still smirking.

Remus’ lips briefly connect to your hairline in a kiss before he starts pulling you outside.

You barely have enough time to call out a goodbye to your friend before you’re scampering to keep up with Remus and his extremely long legs.

The air is cool against your skin, when you first step out onto the grounds. It’s crisp and clear and it beats sticking around in the musty castle. Students with all different colored robes dart around you, trying to make it to their classes in time.

“So what do you have planned for us on this fine day, Rem?” You ask, sauntering down the green rolling hills, occasionally purposefully bumping into his shoulder.

“Ah, I don’t have anything planned exactly.” He admits, thumb stroking your hand as the two of you pass Hagrid’s hut. “Just wanted to be with you. And not go to class, of course.”

“Wanted to get me alone, hm?” You tease, swatting lightly at his shoulder.

You can practically hear his eyes roll around in his sockets, something he does frequently since he has to deal with both you and his four other best friends. You don’t think there’s been a day since first year when his eyes haven’t made their rounds.

“You’re positively obnoxious, y’know that?”

You’re stepping over the plants and underbrush making up the tree line of the Forbidden Forest, trying not to get your foot submerged in mud.

“Yeah, but you love me.” You tell him, trying to balance on a fallen tree branch.

“Eh...” Remus shrugs, watching you maneuver around a twisting vine.

You narrow your eyes and stick your tongue out at him as a response.

He takes you to the spot Kettleburn usually lets his Hippogriffs roam around between lessons, a large clearing with some boulders and tree stumps to sit on.

The Forbidden Forest is beautiful in the soft May sunlight.

The leaves are lush and green, alive with various creatures noisily chatting away with each other. You hear the faint trampling and pounding of hooves off in the distance. Sweet scents of spring flowers drift through the breeze, relaxing your tense muscles.

The Forbidden Forest is even more beautiful when you’re supposed to be listening to the ghostly form of Professor Binns drone on and on about the Gargoyle Strike of 1911 in a stuffy old classroom.

Your back leans up against the rough bark of the nearest tree. It digs into your back and probably dirties your robes but you find that you don’t mind at all.

Eyelids flutter shut and you inhale the cool air deeply to ease your mind. The rustle of leaves from the gentle breeze and the chirping of surrounding creatures fills you with a sense of comfort.

Slowly, you open your eyes to see Remus sitting on a large dark boulder, gazing at you intently.

“Do you think Dumbledore would let us get married here?” You ask dreamily, observing the pale yellow sunlight filtering through the leaves.

Even from this distance, you can tell Remus’ body goes rigid.

“M-married?” He sputters meekly. “Is this a proposal? Are you proposing to me right now?”

Remus jumps from his seat, robes billowing behind him as he anxiously strides towards your spot.

“Do you want it to be a proposal?” You cock your head to the side.

“No!” He shouts, eyes wide. “I mean—fuck!” Remus continues to sputter, ears glowing pink.

You laugh at his fluster. “Relax, Remus, I know what you meant.”

“Oh thank Godric.” Remus huffs out a laugh before pressing his own back to the tree next to yours. “Just give me a few years and I’ll buy you a ring, love.”

“Well now I’m just excited.” You giggle, admiring how he’s carefully turning his head to survey the clearing.

The pale jagged lines of his scars dully glimmer in the rays of sunshine that make their way through the treetops. It’s almost angelic.

“It would be nice to get married here, wouldn’t it?” You hear him murmur, more to himself, you suspect.

“Just how many wizards you reckon been married in the Forbidden Forest?” You chuckle. “Darling, I think we’re obligated to be the first.”

Remus shakes his head fondly at the notion. His head lulls back to face you, eyebrow raised.

“Oi, you don’t need to convince me. Dumbledore’s the one you ought to ask.”

“Ah, he’s a softy.” You wave away his thought. “We’ll be fine.”

Remus raises his arms like he was presenting the wild and untamed forest behind him. “I don’t know love, it is called the Forbidden Forest.”

You shrug. “Well maybe they’ll rename it.”

“Oh yeah? To what?” Remus snorts, running a hand through his sandy curls.

You smile, making a grand gesture with your arms. “The Forbidden Unless You’re Remus and (Y/n) Lupin Forest.”

“Y’know what?” Remus smirks, kicking off of the tree. “I like the name change.”

“Oh yeah?” You raise an eyebrow as he ambled closer to your position.

“I particularly enjoy the (Y/n) Lupin part.” He places his hands on either side of your head, foreheads almost touching.

You hum in response, eyes gazing into his own honey brown ones. His eyes flick down to your lips before pressing his own to the top of your forehead.

Warmth spreads from where his lips connect with your skin, a smile instinctively growing across your face.

“Remus and (Y/n) Lupin.” He muses as he pulls away.

“Now that I think about it...” Your index finger taps against your lips in thought. “(Y/n) and Remus Lupin rolls off the tongue a bit better.”

“Whatever you say, love.” He happily sighs.

•

All Character Taglist: @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @cherie-draco

Remus Lupin Taglist: @lunalovecroft

[trashyswitch]

Day 1: The Teasy Meeting

The sides are having a meeting, and Virgil is being teased nonstop. Will Virgil survive? And what will happen when the meeting's over?

WELCOME OCTOBER! WELCOME TICKLETOBER! Hope you enjoy this fanfic!

Logan was having a full on meeting with the other sides about specific matters that needed to be discussed with all the other sides. The meeting was going fairly smoothly, with Logan using a white board and turning to write on it.

“Now, we all know about Thomas’s boyfriend. What are some best potential date nights we can come up with for Thomas to suggest for the future? This is open for anything other than a murder spree, Remus.” Logan told them.

Remus put his hand down and huffed with annoyance.

Meanwhile, Patton was silently giggling through the entire meeting and was wiggling his fingers in Virgil’s direction. Virgil widened his eyes, and covered his face with the notebook he had brought to the meeting. He had been making a list of suggestions from earlier, and the list was visible the moment he covered his face with the notebook.

Patton then proceeded to use morse code on Virgil’s knee.

‘Taaaap...tap tap...taaaap tap taaaap tap...taaaap tap taaaap...tap taaaap tap tap...tap.’

Virgil bit his lip and closed his eyes. He knew EXACTLY what that was supposed to mean.

Just so Virgil didn’t get the jist (he did), Patton started drawing the letters onto Virgil’s back.

‘T-I-C-K-L-E’

The moment Logan turned around, Patton moved his hand back to the table and nodded. Logan surprisingly didn’t suspect them to be not quite listening, and smiled to Patton proudly. Patton gave Logan a thumbs up to solidify that ‘you’re doing great!’ and gave him one last nod of approval. Logan turned back around to talk and write at the same time, with new-found confidence.

Virgil looked over at Patton and was about to roll his eyes at his dad-like antics. But his expression completely changed to worry the moment he felt one hand on his knee.

Uh oh…

Patton then squeezed it, sending Virgil 5 feet in the air.

“Goodness! You okay Virgil? Did you feel something?” Patton asked, acting genuinely concerned.

Virgil looked at Patton with a ‘you know exactly what happened’ face. “Yes...I’m fine.”

Patton hummed in confusion. “What’s with the face?”

“Is something the matter, Virgil?” Logan asked.

“Ignore me!” Virgil covered his face with his hands and looked down at the table. “Please.”

“Very well.” Logan decided.

Logan continued back to writing, while Patton smirked in Virgil’s direction. He was being REALLY evil, and he had no regrets being this evil.

Virgil shot him a ‘you’re dead’ face and elbowed Patton.

In response to that, Patton tickled his belly for a second or so. This certainly set Virgil into the more obedient mood again.

Patton giggled silently and wiggled his fingers for Virgil to see. Virgil did NOT like where it was going.

Next, Patton traced a finger on Virgil’s ribs and slowly counted the ribs from the bottom to the top.

1...2...3...4...5...6- AJIBDYVSUBVDGCDGC!

Virgil wiggled and grabbed his hand, to prevent him from tickling. But Patton smirked and started tickling with his other hand!

Virgil tried to curl away from Patton’s evil fingers, but he couldn’t!

But then, it all stopped!

Patton was back in his seat as if nothing happened, and focusing all his attention on Logan! Oh my gosh, Patton was EEEEEVIL!

Patton then started playing footsy with Virgil’s feet under the table. Virgil closed his eyes and put his hood on, showing how embarrassed he felt like this. And yet...it wasn’t the worst experience to be in...

[An hour later:]

Patton, Virgil and the rest of the sides were dismissed from the meeting and allowed to return to regular life. But before Virgil could even think to put his headphones on, Patton grabbed his arm and pulled him into his room. “Come on, come on, come on I’ve been waiting the whole meeting for this!”

“AAAH! FOR WHAT?!”

Patton stopped, laid Virgil down onto the ground and wiggled his fingers. “Tickle time!”

Wait WHAT?!

Virgil squeaked and squealed as Patton started tickling different tickle spots on Virgil’s body. The sides, the hips, the ribs, the armpits, all of it was tickled for at least 2 minutes.

It didn’t take long for Virgil to start giggling and wiggling around in Patton’s arms. “Stahahahahap! Whyhyhyhyhy?”

“Cause I wanna tickle my dark, strange son! What’s so wrong with that?” Patton asked curiously.

“Nohohohothihihihing.”

“Good. Now lean back…” Patton stopped tickling and gently pushed Virgil’s body to the floor. “Relaaaax…” Patton moved Virgil’s bangs out of his face and cupped his cheek… “And tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!” Patton started tickling Virgil’s neck, specifically focusing on the chin and the side of the neck. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!” Patton continued to repeat the same word, knowing it would drive Virgil bonkers!

Virgil squealed high pitched and let out squeaky giggles as he shook his head back and forth. “Nohohohohoho! Hahahahahahaha!”

“Kitchy kitchy kitchy kitchy kooo!” Patton teased, switching his tactics.

“Nohohohot the teheheheheheasehehes!” Virgil begged.

“But the teases are the best part of being tickle tickle tickled!” Patton reacted. “Wouldn’t you think so, Mr. Belly?”

Patton started squishing the belly into a mouth and unsquishing it to make it talk. “Yes! I do agree wholeheartedly! Yes yes yes yes yes!” Patton said in a low, silly voice as he made the belly lips nod up and down.

Virgil laughed at that. “Yohohohou’re sohohoho weihihihird!” Virgil reacted.

“Why thank you! That is my job, after all.” Patton teased with a wink,

“Yohohohou hahahahave nohoho johohohob!” Virgil shot back, sounding a little like Logan with his comment.

“You’re right, you’re right. But being a stay at home father is a volunteering job that has lots of impact!” Patton told him.

Virgil finally stopped coming up with reactions and focused on getting away from Patton’s ticklish and quick fingers.

Patton then leaned in, placed his lips onto Virgil’s belly and blew a raspberry onto his belly. Virgil squeaked and shrieked, bursting out laughing with squeaks and snorts in between. Patton smiled and blew another raspberry! And another! And another! The raspberries would not stop!

Except for once, when Patton wanted to tease him. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle, Virgil! Doesn’t this feel good? Doesn’t laughing like this feel good?” Patton asked.

Virgil couldn’t help it! He nodded his head in response! He admitted but yes! It did feel good! It felt great!

In fact, it felt so good that he turned into his kitty form! Yes, you heard that right, kitty form. Virgil had a kitty form! How? Well...That’s a long story.

Patton smiled proudly. “KITTY!” Patton paused his tickling and clapped his hands rapidly.

Virgil giggled at the reaction Patton had given him.

“I guess that means you want me to keep going?” Patton asked.

Virgil nodded again while Patton nodded in understanding with pride filling his heart.

Patton moved his hands to Virgil’s neck again and started skittering on either side once exposed. When Virgil curled to one side, Patton tickled the exposed free side. It worked the other way too! Virgil was a mess of giggles and snorts from Patton’s fingers alone. The neck was a really good spot to get for both cat Virgil and human Virgil!

Then, Patton tickled up the skull, and started scratching behind his ears! This made Virgil purr while he giggled! It was so cute, Patton couldn’t get enough! “Awwww! The kitty loves the ear tickles! How adorable!” Patton teased.

“Nohohohoho! *purrrr* Nahahahat the ehehehehears! *Purrrrr* *snort* Pleehehehehease!” Virgil giggled.

“Tiiiickle tickle tickle kitty Virgey!” Patton teased even more.

“Nahahahahahaha! *purrrrrr* Nahahahat fahahahair! *Puurrrr*, *Puurrr*” Virgil was wiggling his body as well, and slapping the hardwood floor with his tail.

“Naaat faaair? The poor kitty is all pouty and maaaad! What a sad situation! Such a tragedy!” Patton teased with a fake whiney kinda voice put on.

Virgil waved his paws in the air, and reached his paw up to his ear to swat Patton’s hands off those sensitive ears of his. In response to that, Patton grabbed the swatting paw and started tickling around the outside of the toe beans! “Kitchy kitchy kitchy-”

“MEEEEEEEAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Virgil screamed! It almost sounded like Virgil was trying to meow! But the laughter had taken over and completely drowned out any chance of a kitty sound!

Patton gasped. “Did you just try to meow?!” Patton asked. “SO CUTE! That just makes me wanna tickle you more!” Patton tickled both ears now!

Virgil threw his head back and SCREAMED with laughter!

Patton continued to coo and tease at the purple kitty cat. “I just wanna tickle you forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and-”

Virgil hissed. “STAHAP IHIHI GEHEHEHET IHIHIHIT!”

Patton cowered a slight bit. “Sorry Virgey.” he said, feeling a little guilty.

“Ihihihit’s fihihihine.” Virgil replied.

Patton eventually stopped tickling him and gave him belly rubs and belly scratches next. Virgil purred, yawned and streeeeeetched out his long cat body. “*Purrrrr*...That feels greeeaaaat!” Virgil told him, feeling like the ultimate loaf of fur.

“I’m glad.” Patton told him.

Virgil continued to purr and giggle once in a while, and slowly fell asleep. Patton smiled as he heard Virgil’s breathes slow, and gave him a stuffed animal to sleep with. The moment the toy was placed in front of Virgil’s paws, Virgil reached his paws out, grabbed the toy, and stretched onto his back with the toy in his little paws.

Patton had to prevent from squealing at that moment.

“Sleep tight Virgil.” Patton told him.

Virgil purred in response, making Patton giggle a little.

A few hours later, Virgil turned himself back into a human being and got his clothes back on. Patton was covering Virgil in love and coos like usual, and was even being cute about how much he loved being tickled earlier!

“I didn’t love it that much...I liked it, but I didn’t love it.” Virgil told him.

“Like, love, same thing in my book!” Patton declared.

Virgil couldn’t help but giggle at this. “In all honesty, it was really fun. I loved it.” Virgil replied.

“I KNEW IT!” Patton hugged Virgil to the ground and started tickling him all over again. At this pace, the tickle fight was never gonna end!

[slyttherins]

Meeting the Weasleys | Bill Weasley x Reader

Summary: The reconstitution of the Order of the Phoenix bring Bill back to England to help his family and others fight against Voldemort. Bill takes you along and you meet his family...who has no idea he has a girlfriend

Pairing: Bill Weasley x Reader

Word count: 1880

-

Muggle transport sucked. Especially planes. Fascinating transportation system, but why must they take so long to get to places? Portkeys were much faster.

Usually, when going to his family home, Bill would use a portkey to the Burrow, but as the Weasleys had temporarily moved to the new Order of the Phoenix's headquarters, there was no point going there. There was also no portkey available to Grimmauld Place since it was a secret house.

A plane was the only option.

''You didn't tell your family you wouldn't be coming alone?!''

Bill slung his satchel bag over his shoulder, thankful for the extension charm. ''Erm, no. I wasn't going to announce to them that I have a girlfriend through a letter, it doesn't sound really serious.''

For that, he wasn't wrong.

''We can't just show up together on the doorstep, Bill.''

Suddenly, you started re-evaluating your decision to come to England and think it was a bad idea. It's not like you and Bill were old friends. You had never met his family. What if his mom was angry for not warning her he was bringing his girlfriend? Would this put you on her bad side?

Bill shrugged, seeing no issues. ''Why not? Mom won't mind. She'll be so happy to see me that she'll forget to be mad for not telling her about you. It'll be fine, Y/N.''

As you expected, it didn't go like Bill had planned. He was a fool to think he could trick his mother like that. Molly was furious.

At first, she was confused. Then, she thought Bill had brought a friend to help with the Order - they could always use more wizards and witches on their side. But, when he introduced you as his girlfriend, her mood changed and she started scolding his oldest for not telling her something so important - even swatted his arm with the spoon she was holding. Ouch.

Bill too had been surprised by his mother's reaction, having not been talked to in that tone since his teenage years.

''William Arthur Weasley, how could you do that? You disappear in Egypt for six years and come back with a surprise girlfriend and expect me to not get mad and act as if it's nothing important? How long have you been hiding this from us? I'm your mother, how could you hide this from me?'' her voice boomed through Grimmauld Place. It was like getting a real-life howler. Pretty scary.

Once Mrs. Weasley was finished, she turned to you, her facial expression completely changed, and smiled warmly. ''Sorry about that, dear. Some people have no manners and assumes they can't be scolded after leaving the nest.'' She narrowed her eyes at Bill. ''I'm Molly, Bill's mother...but I'm sure you've caught that already. What's your name?''

''Y/N,'' you introduced. ''I'm sorry for coming unnoticed. I kept telling Bill it wasn't a great idea.''

''Don't feel bad, it's all forgiven.'' The plump woman smiled warmly at you. ''Would you like some biscuits? I just took a batch out of the oven.''

.

After eating some biscuits in the kitchen and chatting a bit with Mrs. Weasley - Bill was trying to be forgiven -, you and Bill took your luggages upstairs and went to put everything away. There weren't a lot of rooms left - a lot of members of the Order had taken residency at Grimmauld Place -, but Mrs. Weasley had kept one for Bill. Ron was supposed to share with him, but now that you were there, Ron was going to have to move rooms. Sorry, Ron.

''I didn't think she would be that angry. If I has known, I-''

''Angry? She was furious, William!'' you interrupted as you entered the bedroom, finding it a complete mess. There was a trunk opened in the corner, quidditch magazines and wrappers on the nightstand, and dirty clothes everywhere. Bill's little brother was a messy person.

With a few whisks of his wand, Bill gathered Ron's stuff and put everything in his trunk - dirty or not - to make room for yours. In the end, the trunk struggled to fit everything, but with a little bit of magic, everything was possible. It might explode when Ron will open it, but it wouldn't be your problem then.

''I guess I overestimated myself.''

You started with your clothes, folding them neatly in the chest drawers and hung the jackets in the small wardrobe. There was an old smell floating in the room, but it was inevitable in a house this old.

While you did that, Bill reached for the toiletries items, frowning confusedly when he saw how many bottles of who-knows-what you had brought. What were they all for? Did you really need all of those?

''I...I thought she was going to hate] me because of that,'' you admitted, genuinely scared you were going to be one of those girlfriends that's hated by her future in-laws. All because Bill omitted to tell his mother about you.

Bill huffed a short laugh, but seeing how you were genuinely worried of so, he turned into a serious face and he came up to you, wrapping his arms around you from behind. ''That's very unlikely,'' he said, turning you around in his hold and tilting your chin up. ''My mom has no hatred in her body - except for the ones who harm her children. I promise she doesn't hate you.'' Bill kissed your temple, but his speech didn't convince you completely.

''Well, she was yelling. To me, yelling is not something positive.''

''At me. She was yelling at me,'' he corrected. ''But then, she offered you biscuits, didn't she?''

''She did.''

Food was how Molly showed affection and care. She loved to cook all sorts of meals and desserts to feed the ones she loved. If you were particularly kind with her, she might cook your favorite dish at supper.

''Let's finish unpacking so I can introduce you to the rest of the family.''

You nodded and slipped out of your boyfriend's hold. Hopefully it'll go better, this time.

.

When you left the bedroom, you ran into two boys of the same height and physique, which you recognized as the infamous twins. Bill had told you about all members of his family on the plane journey, but telling apart who was who was another story though.

They both hugged their brother - who was almost as tall as them -, having not seen each other in a while and, when Bill introduced you, they looked shocked.

''Girlfriend?'' Fred repeated, sounding surprised. He glanced at you mischievously. ''Have you slipped him a love potion?''

It was all jokes, but you didn't know their humor so you took him seriously.

''Excuse me?'' You were offended that they could think you did something like that. Slipping someone a love potion was vile and immoral. Plus, love potions only created infatuation, not love.

Beside you, Bill rolled his eyes and laughed lightly, which told you they were only joking. ''Is it that difficult to believe that I got a girlfriend? Last time I heard, you all agreed I was the coolest brother of the lot.''

''The coolest, perhaps, but not the most skilled in the flirting departement,'' Fred teased. ''I think I deserve that title.''

''It's just, our brother never brought a girl home before,'' George explained to you, feeling sorry for the misunderstanding. ''How did mom take it? Her oldest son taking a girl home, she must've been emotional.''

''She was thrilled-''

Thrilled wasn't the word you would've employed.

''He's lying. She hit him with a spoon,'' you corrected.

Bill nudged you. ''Y/N! You're supposed to be on my side.''

You shrugged.

''A spoon?'' Fred and George chorused. ''I thought it was only us who got the spoon.''

.

Next was Ginny and Ron, which you met at the dinner table.

Although she was the youngest, Ginny was the closest to Bill. There was a special bond between the two that made you smile fondly.

Farther into the kitchen, another ginger haired boy stood on his mother's heels, trying to steal something to eat. Upon hearing Bill's voice, he turned and joined his sister, but didn't fail to give you a confused look, having never seen you before. If he had, he would've remembered.

''Who are you?'' He took a bite of the bread he stole and Ginny elbowed him for being rude.

In response to Ron's question, Bill slid an arm behind you, grin on his lips and raised his eyebrows, waiting for his siblings to catch on. Since knowing him, you had learned that the eldest Weasley didn't like to make a big deal out of any news - counting having a girlfriend.

It didn't take long for a wide smile to spread on Ginny's face. ''Oh my Godrick! I was not expecting this when you said you were coming home. I'm so happy for you,'' she told Bill and then turned to you and introduced herself - although you already knew her name - and kindly asked for yours. ''Finally, I will no longer be the only girl among those boys. Why have you kept her a secret?''

''I did not-''

Ginny gave her brother a look. ''You didn't tell us. It's the same thing.''

''Maybe he didn't want you to steal her from him,'' Ron joked, making fun of his sister's excitement.

Ginny glared at him, about to say something back, but before she could, Molly called out that dinner was ready. A loud crack echoed and Fred and George aparated in the kitchen, sneaking on Molly and making her yelp.

''Just because you're allowed to do that doesn't mean you-''

''Do you need help, Mrs. Weasley?'' you offered.

Although Bill had promised his mother didn't hate you, being helpful would surely get you on her good side.

Molly smiled at you, thankful for the help. ''That would be very appreciated, dear. You take the soup and bread to the table. Don't forget to place a cloth underneath the stockpot or else it'll burn the wood of the table.''

You nodded and got to business.

While you were helping Molly, two men arrived in the kitchen. One of them had dark curly hair and the other had a walking stick. They introduced themself as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. You had heard of the former in the newspaper, but didn't dare ask questions. You simply smiled at him politely.

''Where are the others?'' you asked Bill when you sat down beside him, looking at the kitchen's entrance thinking two more Weasleys would come in. ''I thought you had five brothers.''

''Charlie is in Romania working with dragons and Percy,'' Ginny paused, glancing at their mom in the kitchen, taking something out of the oven. ''He doesn't live with us anymore.''

Ginny didn't need to say more for you to sense that Percy was a sensitive subject for the family. Especially to Molly. You felt like there was more to it than him moving out, but didn't dare ask as it wasn't your businesses.

Thankfully, the subject was dropped fast enough and Ron and Fred started arguing about who would get the ladle first, only for Ginny to roll her eyes and take it before them. Once she was done, she gave it to you to purposely annoy her brothers, which got a complaint from Ron.

''It was my turn!''

[iwhishtomeetinournextlife]

An anonymous love (Part 1)

Summary : Y/N sees Sirius Black running away after a particulary rough letter from his mother. She wants to cheer him up and decide to send him a letter, anymously, she knows how much he hates her house.

Warnings : Slytherin!Reader, female!reader, reader is worried about Sirius, not proof read

Word count : 1.8k

English is not my first language, sorry if there is any mistakes

You're here - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

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Y/N loved receiving letters but even more sending them, she loved including all sorts of little gifts in hers; flowers, drawings, photographs, candies sometimes, she loved it even more now she was a witch,  she started doing experiments with her magic. She learned how to make the drawings moves, charms the flowers so they would reopen as fresh as new, she even found a way for the letter to be read out loud if desire, in a way were it doesn’t fold and destroy itself the ways howlers do, so it could be listen to over and over again, her family especially loved that one.

She wanted to see now if could even include kisses, or even hugs, the feeling of arm wrapping around you to squeeze you tight was one of the best feeling to her and she wanted to be able to send it to anyone, so they could feel it whenever they wanted.

She was able to put the hugs and the kisses on little cards who had to be unfold, it took many mistake, accidents and retry but she was able to do it after some times. It wasn’t as reusable has she had hoped, only three uses who doesn’t last more than five seconds, but she was confident enough to know she will do better in the future.

She had send her last version to her parents a few days ago, one she was the proudest of, and was now waiting for their respond. Making sure everything was perfect was important as the first time she tried to do it the message felt like a dagger stabbing her chest. Thankfully she had no injuries, Mrs Pomfrey assured her there were nothing, the pain stayed a few hours though and she could have kissed the nurse for excusing her from the morning class that day, she would have not been able to work anyway.

Y/N was now waiting at the slytherin table next to the few friends she was able to make among her own house, quietly eating while listening to the crazy story of the friend on her right, laughing joyfully. She turned her head when she saw the owls starting to enter the room, eager to find if she will receives the respond of her parents, she watch as the other student opened their own mail, including the raven-haired boy at the gryffindor table, Sirius Black.

He had catch the eye of Y/N like many others, girls and boys, but she never dared to make a move, she was a slytherin and she knew how much he hated them. She had thought many times to send him an anonymous later but what for ? It would be a lost cost and she rather let the feeling die rather than being hurt. Well, at least she thought her feelings would disappear as time went by but she was incredibly wrong, it only got more intense.

Being in most of his classes was of no help, his cocky behavior, his stunning looks and charming smile. What bugged her the most was how brilliant he was, she never saw him study or even really paid good attention in class but was somehow able to earn good marks. She was a bit jealous of him for that if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t a bad student per say but did have to be focused and study to have good grades. They talked a few times before, mostly him helping her out with classes but he was nothing but nice and patient with her despote the green of her tie.

She fell for him even more when she saw him helping first years travelling the corridors and defending a third year against her bully, the punch was perfectly aimed for Merlin’s sake ! She loved every story he told her, all the pranks, the aventures, the quidditch match. The more she learned about him, the more difficult it was for her to keep her eye away from him.

“You’re drooling again”, Jacob snapped her out of her mind “ ‘m not !” swipping her lips just to be sure, making her friends laugh, she was red of embarassment, so out she hadn’t notice the owl giving her her parent’s letter. She gratefully took it before giving a bit of food to the owl who then flied away. Y/N got interrupt has she was opening the enveloppe.

“C’mon, you cant’ keep looking at him from afar for the rest of school ! Talk to him for once and save us the lover eyes !” said Olivia, “I can’t, you know he hates slytherins” her friend opened her mouth to protest before being cut. “Plus, he is way out of my league, he is like-" Y/N hesited a bit on her words, waving her hand around “- a sun giving life around him and I’m just somekind of, I don’t know, insect in the dirt”. Her friends around all gave a chorus of long sighs, they heard that a million times before, she rolled her eyes “My point is, I will never have the courage to ask him out”.

Before anyone could talk, a loud sound was heard comming from the gryffindor table, followed by the sound of turn up paper. When Y/N looked, she frowned, seeing Sirius almost running out of the room. “Wait mate !” James Potter, his best friend, tried to follow him but Remus Lupin stopped him. Y/N didn’t quite catch what they were saying, something about him needing to be alone.

And alone he stayed, she didn’t see him for the rest of the day, and she learned during the dinner that night it was because of the letter he received from home, it was quite known by most of the people who cared enough to be aware of the disastrous relationship of Sirius and his family, as it wasn’t unusual to see the boy upset because of his mother. Y/N’s blood boiled every time it would happened, how could someone treat their child that way ? Taking their time to write every horrid words just to cause pain ? Using something she loved so much to cause trouble instead as it should be : for the one you loved.

The scene earlier that day worked her up so much, she put her parent’s latter away without reading it, and it is only now in her bed she remembered even having it. She smiled at the curved letters, it was her mother’s handwritting, she very enthousiatly explain how her and her dad loved the hug, that coupled with the speaking spell “It was like you were right here with us !”, well not quite as she precised right after, but it felt nice to feel and hear their daughter after so many weeks apparts. She laughted when her father this time wrote she should find a way to commercial it, as she will become the richest witch of the wizard world. “Sure thing dad” she thought to herself. She carefully fold the paper before putting it in her “letter box”.

Then when she laid down, she couldn’t stop feeling sad for Sirius, he had such terrible parents but deserved so much more. She turned and turned and turned around in her bed, searching for a way to cheer him up and then she stopped, thinking of the letter of her parents and the success of the hug in the message, perhaps, she could send him something ..? She blushed at the idea, what could she says ? “Hey, your parents suck but your butty could send me in outter space”, sure, yeah, what a great idea Y/N.

She sighed, fine, maybe not that harsh but she could try to remind him how much is he loved here and how much of a great person he is. So she sat down in her bed, took a piece of parchment, her ink and her quill, careful to not wake up her roomates as she closed her curtains. She blow air through her mouth for a minute, gathering some courage, and then she start to write, hoping he would like it.

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

The next day when she woke up, or more like when it was time to get ready since she didn’t close her eye all night, wanting the message to be perfect : the drawing, an illustration of a dog, a stag, a rat and the moon, remembering the nickname and the jokes the marauders gave and made to eachothers, she charmed it for the little animals to run around the paper, leaving paws or hooves print behind –which disappear after a few step of course-, the curves of the words, the ink, she had opt for her favorite dark purple, the flowers had she picked, some wind-flower and cyclamen, that she carefully stuck to the parchment.

And of course the final touch : a kiss on the forhead. She had thought of a hug but decided it was too much, it could be scary to suddenly feels arms around you. A smol kiss was more appropriate, a bit bold yeah, but more fleeting, less intimidating and still a tender gesture.

When she was happy with the result and check any error in her words she put the message in an envelopt, decorated with stars, showing the cannis constellation, because of Sirius name obviously. And then put it in her bag, careful so her friend would not see it.

Once she was ready and out of her room with her friends, she realised she had no idea on how to give it to him. Surely not by hand, she didn’t put her name anywhere for a reason, maybe slide it into his bag during class ? But she was to scared to be caught.

She didn’t have to worry about it to much, since Sirius wasn’t at the class she shared with him, his friends looked troubled and worried, calmer than usual. Y/N felt a weight setting in her stomach, was the letter that bad he didn’t want to show up today either ? When he wasn’t at lunch either, she decided to send him by owl.

She excused herself from her friend, saying she had to send a letter, it wasn’t unusual for her to do so, so they didn’t even flinch. Once at the owl aviary and once she gave it to an owl and walked away, trying not to think to much, she stop. What if the letter only made him more upset ? Of course nothing she wrote was mean, but what if he didn’t like at all the idea of some unknown person looking in his private life ? Feeling arrogant enough to think they could cheer him up when his friends, those whom he consider family, weren’t able to do it ? Y/N turned around to take the letter back but it was too late, the bird had fly away, and since he was at hogwarts, he will have it in a few minutes only.

She felt the weight in her stomach get heavier, she hoped so much it will not make things worse.

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

Hoped you liked my first fic ! I don't know when the second part will be posted but I'll do my best for it to be soon.

Have a nice day ! Love you <3

[princesssarcastia]

2021 Harry Potter Fanfic Primer

im here to point fingers at the incredible authors that have enabled my new interest in HP content.  im still conflicted and upset about it, tbh, but for now we’re leaning into the curve.  we’re getting out our shovel and finding out just how deep we can make the hole we’re in.  hand in unlovable hand my beloved <3.  anyway, these fics are wonderful, their authors are wonderful, and you should go read their stuff. if there’s a star next to it that means im losing my mind over it and always will be.

Creatively Maladjusted, by elumish on AO3, 101k  (they also have a wonderful writing advice blog on tumblr, @elumish, which I recommend following if you are a writer) 

A very excellent re-telling of harry’s first year at hogwarts if he were sorted into Slytherin, plus some more not!fic or piecemeal re-tellings of his second and part of his third year.  Harry, in this, has a slightly different trauma response to growing up with the Dursley’s.  He’s a bit quieter, and the signs are a bit more obvious to the people around him, and I enjoyed that immensely. 

Honestly, if you’re going to get sucked into something you have absolutely no business getting sucked into, elumish is the way to go, their fic is incredible. their teen wolf fic is also immaculate, if you’re so inclined. 

Dissonance, by ImpishTubist on AO3, 2.5k (@impishtubist on tumblr)

Set during fifth year.  Oblivious!Harry has always been a delightful trope when well executed, and this is well executed.  Plus, some angst between Remus and Harry over what Umbridge has been doing to him.

I would certainly recommend a lot of ImpishTubist’s other hp work on AO3, like Lacuna.

blow us all away, by rexcorvidae on AO3, 23k (@rexcorvidae on tumblr)

In progress (like, updated last week in progress).  Currently in the beginning of Harry’s first year.  Fem!Harry, Indian!Harry.  Hagrid puts Harry in touch with Remus when she has questions about her parents, and they become reluctant, traumatized, angst-ridden pen pals who keep missing each other’s true intentions like ships in the night.  hot DAMN do I love this fic.  there’s hints of the way the dursley’s treat Harry peaking through in her letters, and I appreciated the attention to “hmm, her experience as a girl of indian descent in britain under the thumb of a bunch of white people who like being Normal may not have been gucci”

Definitely comb through the rest of their HP fic, too, I may or may not have gone feral over it.

Where the Heart is, by silver_fish on AO3, 15k (@kohakhearts on tumblr)

Woof.  This one said, “hey, harry was probably SUPER depressed in the summer after fifth year.  like, clinically.  maybe someone should do something about that.”  Fuck yeah.  Then this one said, “that someone was Snape.”  You all know my opinions on Snape; generally, Bad.  But damn if this fic didn’t wholly convince me by the end of it.  I thought it was a very realistic way for Snape to start seeing Harry as a person all on his own, and not a proxy for Snape’s angst over James and Lily, respectively.  The angst is wonderful, the ending is even more so.

*bernie sanders voice* I am once again asking you to read through the rest of the author’s HP fic.  a lot of them have similar themes; there’s actually a great one with Molly that i’m not reccing here, Wonder.

☆Bindings, Bindings, by Quietlemonhush on AO3, 60k (@quietlemonhush on tumblr)

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU HOW MUCH I ENJOYED/AM ENJOYING THIS.  If I had to pick a single fic and say “you, it’s your fault I’m stuck here,” it would be this one.  Anyway Lily in the afterlife is So Very Angry about how Petunia is treating Harry, and how Sirius is rotting in Azkaban, and how Remus is alone, that she literally brings herself back to life and drags James and Regulus with her.  All three of them are there to chew bubblegum and fix everything that went wrong after they died—and would you look at that, they’re all out of bubblegum!  There’s only Fury left.  That inciting premise is very crack, but every moment after that is very much not crack.  Lily and James love harry more than anything, the way a child should be loved; James and Sirius have the epic friendship of a lifetime; Sirius and Remus have staggering amounts of resolved sexual tension and take turns keeping each other in check; Regulus, though he realized that Voldemort and his family were shit before he died, is still unlearning all his racist bullshit and, also, years of trauma.  Actually, they’re all traumatized, but hey: now they have one another again and not a damn one of them seems inclined to let go anytime soon.  Quietlemonhush went, “hey, HP has a lot of Awful people in it, and a lot of Righteous people in it, and many of them are Very, Very Powerful; also, love is the most powerful force in the universe” and i said “hell yes tell me more right now.”  And then they did!

Quietlemonhush writes Sirius/Remus in a way that makes it sooo much fun to devour, so the rest of their HP fic is most certainly worth a look, if that’s your thing.

Rebuilding, by Colubrina on AO3, 113k (@colubrina on tumblr)

Hermione/Draco (*shrug emojis into the abyss* yeah, yeah, like none of us have ever been there before).  Takes place during Hogwarts 8th year, and while the beginning is, IMO, a little unfair to Ron, it gets much better.  Tells the story of Hermione and Draco clearing the air, learning to like each other, having some hormones over each other, and then falling in love.  Also tells the story of Hermione and Theo Nott becoming friends; the story of how every single 7th and 8th year student is fucked to hell by the war and the Carrows; the story of how they start an emotional support group about it and all become friends; and the story of, what the hell do you do with yourself after that kind of trauma?

I’ve been dipping in and out of Colubrina’s HP since before I was even on tumblr; I actually found them in those dark yesteryears when the only fandom interactions I had were on fanfiction.net.  Of such fame as Green Girl, which is an HP fic staple, and has also written a lot of wackier, crackier, and darker things than that.  If you don’t take yourself too seriously, I highly recommend many of their big HP works, though I imagine it’ll press some people’s buttons.  Colubrina’s work really does take up a corner of my mind whenever I’m in an HP mood, and will take up yours if you let it.

☆ all waiting is long, by shuofthewind on AO3, 149k ( @shu-of-the-wind on tumblr)

This is so well written that I can’t stop thinking about it.  It is occupying my mind when I lie awake at night, you know?  It’s one of those.  Hermione messes with something she probably shouldn’t have in Grimmauld Place, so when Sirius is sent through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, she gets thrust into an alternate universe...in 1975.  Instead of handwaving it away, shuofthewind actually gets into the mechanics of it in a way that makes sense, to emphasize that hermione is never going home.  ever. The world she finds herself is shifted slightly to the left, quite a bit darker, but in a “the author is treating the idea of a society-wide conflict over blood purity much more seriously than JKR ever did” way, not a sensationalist way.  Now, Hermione has to grapple with all her grief at losing everyone she’s ever loved or known, the moral/ethical/magical implications of sharing what she knows about her future in an alternate world, and, you know, a goddamn war with people who want to murder her for being who she is.  This Hermione is smart, and she’s kind, and she’s powerful, and she’s making real friends.  If you hate JKR’s guts I’d go read this right now, because it delivers in all the ways she failed us.  It’s plotty, its got great world-building, and it pulls back the white curtain on the wizarding world to show you that, like real life, it’s multicultural and full of queer people...and the discrimination that comes with both.

shuofthewind write epics, mainly for the MCU, and I’ve read some of them a looooong time ago, so this fic kinda seemed out of left field for me but im SOOOO GLAD it exists.  If you want MCU fic you can sink your teeth into, go for it, but alas, they do not have any more HP fic (.......yet?)

Speak Now [+] Listen Now, by mrsfrizzle on AO3, 33k altogether

Harry reaches out to Remus for support because Umbridge is getting to him with her literal torture.  Remus, being a former professor, former mandatory reporter, person who loves Harry and has since he was born, and all around good man, tells Harry he has to tell someone, or Remus will.  It’s everything any adult looking back on that time in HP canon ever wanted, which is for an actual adult to say “what the fuck, those are literal chidlren” and then do something about it.  Then, a far more dangerous task: Harry trusts Remus enough to go to him about the Dursleys.  Harry and Remus’ relationship develops SO WELL, and there’s a bit of exploration about how Sirius may not exactly be guardian material, because he did in fact spend 12 years of his life getting tortured instead of growing up.  I think I’m actually going to go reread this right now, because it speaks to my id.

they do have some other HP fic which did not appeal to my hyperspecific wants, but may appeal to some of yours.  I think they’re also a published author, there should be a link on their profile page.

chase the stars, by Duskglass on AO3, 101k (@felix-duskglass on tumblr)

When Harry is five years old, a picture of him ends up in the Daily Prophet, and Sirius Black, Terror of Ministry Officials Touring Azkaban everywhere, gets a hold of that issue.  He then, in order: breaks out of Azkaban; crosses the countryside to Surrey; Finds Harry: Kidnaps Harry; Breaks Into Remus’ Apartment; starts processing (or maybe just acknowledging) his trauma from Azkaban, the war, and his childhood; and pines after Remus.  It’s a little plotty, and deals a lot (sometimes through flashbacks) with the specific awful things that happened to Sirius—largely because, after years in the constant presence of Dementors, those are nearly literally the only memories he has left.  It’s a wonder he’s got the strength to love Harry and Remus at all.  But then, maybe it isn’t.

This is a Very Serious Fic, but the rest of Duskglass’s HP work is actually just cracky enough to tickle your funny-bone, while still making you think “okay but why couldn’t we have done that in the first place.”

So!  That’s it for recs, for now.  These are all things I’ve found and read in the last month; if any of y’all are interested in my old HP recs, let me know and I can make a post for that, too.  While I’m still very conflicted about my choice of current fandom, I am not in ANY way conflicted about my taste in fic and authors.  Send these guys some love, read their fic if you’re so inclined, and leave some nice comments at the end of it.

[thecat-isblogging-blog]

i finished Home for Christmas! i must say, all these metas have worked as great companion pieces bcoz i can tell even more what u are doing!love the moment of remus immediately responding to his father's facade breaking & mood changing when he meets james. james feels like a happy escape, something you & your co-writer have hinted in metas. can you talk on that ending mood switch more? i want to know if i missed anything! looking forward to more of your work & future chapters of Toys!

Thank you so much anon! I'm happy to hear you've been enjoying the fics. It's been wonderful to also revisit my own thoughts and I can feel the writing slump starting to dwindle. <3 Remus' relationship with Lyall is fascinating to me, it's something I want to continue into my next fic which will be a Lupin and Tonks centred story. As you could probably tell, there is still a lot for this father and son to work on! Lyall, as we know from Pottermore, is a very complicated character who loves his son dearly and is paying for some very horrible mistakes in the most painful way possible. His relationship with Remus is contrasted both by Hope and James in Home for Christmas.

Canon doesn't tell us when Lyall eventually told Remus the real story behind the attack, why it happened and who did it. In this fic he hasn't yet had that conversation with his son, which provides a very heavy burden on Lyall. 'Lyall kept the truth about the attack, including the identity of the attacker, from his son, fearing Remus’s recriminations.' He doesn't want his son to hate him, he's afraid of what the truth will mean to their relationship, so he overcompensates with protection for a truth he hasn't said yet. There's a lot of tip toeing happening, although genuine and coming from a good place, it doesn't strengthen their bond in the least.

The guilt that Lyall faces, spills into Hope and spills into Remus. Hope knowing the truth, makes it easier for her to fight against it at times. Remus not knowing the truth behind this tip toeing, thinks it's because his father is overly protective and afraid of what damage Remus could do or be done to (not a wrong assumption but not quite the right one). So the three of them play this game of misunderstandings and never telling the full truth, and it piles on and on.

Before James shows up, Remus is hurt and angry at the overheard conversation. He craves to see his father get angry so he tries to push him over the edge. And yes, Lyall gets angry and Remus believes it's directed at himself when truly it isn't. Lyall is suppressing a lot of guilt, anger and sadness at his own actions, the 'ruining' of the two people he loves most in the world.

When James arrives, well what a breath of fresh air he is, and Lyall sees it. Now Lyall can't possibly know that James is aware of Remus' 'furry little problem', but what he does see is a version of his son without the burden - and that hurts deep inside of him. He realises that Remus beside him, feels the burden of his condition.

The way I view James, is a focal point for those around him, an anchor really. He plays the same role in his life and in his death, with Sirius and Remus holding onto him through their grief as a way to keep going. Even James putting his arm around Remus, it grounds him in a way his father isn't able to.

James is the most difficult character for me to write! But I love him for the strength he is to our very troubled characters. <3 My thoughts are a little bit everywhere, but I hope that answered your question anon!

[stressisakiller]

You look like your mother.

Fred Weasley x Potter!reader

Summary: You are Harry Potter’s older sister and you look just like your mother. You having a terrible day and messing up in Potions was the tipping point. 

Requested: Anonymously requested -  Hey! I love your writing! Could you maybe do a Fred Weasley imagine where the readers a Potter. Harry’s older sister, that looks exactly like lily. And maybe there an accident in class and everyone’s shocked that Snape doesn’t get upset. Maybe she’s a favorite and can basically can get away with everything. And she’s dating Fred of course.

Warnings: Nothing really. Like 3 curse words.

Word count: 1.3k

Everyone knows the story of how your bother survived Voldemort’s killing curse and somehow defeated the dark lord. What they didn’t talk about was his sister who was two years older than him watching their parents be killed and believing that she was about to watch her brother die as well. They don’t talk about the red-haired green-eyed older sister of Harry Potter. Why should they, it’s not like you were the reason that Voldemort failed, no, you were just there to witness the end of your family as you knew it. When Sirius arrived at the house you latched on to him and refused to let go, even when hagrid came and took your brother you refused to leave the man you called uncle. So instead of having to go with Harry to the hell hole that is your real aunt and uncle’s house you were raised by your uncles Sirius and Remus. Your upbringing was practically the opposite of Harry’s while he grew up knowing very little about Magic, you grew up surrounded by it. 

Although you didn’t grow up in the same house as your brother, you and your uncles made sure to visit as often as you could. You made sure that Harry knew that he was loved and that you would always be there for him. Against Dumbledors wishes, you told him that you were his sister, that your parents were killed by an evil man and that magic was real. Harry had to stay with Vernon and Petunia for safety reasons but that didn’t mean he couldn’t know love and family. On the day that you turned eleven and received your Hogwarts letter you immediately had Sirius and Remus take you to see Harry. You told him that you wouldn’t be able to come and see him since you were going to be at school but that Remus and Sirius would come by and check on him as often as they could. You assured him that you would write to him as often as you got the chance and that he would get to join you at Hogwarts when he turned eleven. He was there with you when you boarded the train and he was there when you got back. You were the one to take him to Diagon alley, along with Hagrid, Sirius, and Remus. 

It was your fourth year, his third when you started dating the older Weasley twin. Although you looked the spitting image of your mother, being raised by two of the Marauders meant that you acted more like your father. You had met the Weasley twins on the train to Hogwarts your first year and the three of you were inseparable. You helped with the pranks although you were the voice of reason, keeping them from going too far, you were your mother's daughter after all. The thing that surprised everyone the most was your relationship with Professor Snape. Though you were a Griffendor through and through you still managed to be on his good side, some even said he acted as if you were one of his Slytherin students. You maintained that it was simply the fact that you excelled at potions and were able, for the most part, to keep the twins in line during said class. Or you could at least keep them from purposely causing their cauldron to explode. 

It was a Monday, for you it was the mondayest monday to ever Monday. Everything was going wrong, you spilled your tea at breakfast, managed to lose all of your transfiguration homework and you and Fred were having a bit of a spat. He had gone a little too far on one of the pranks they were planning, against your warnings, and someone ended up getting hurt. All you wanted to do was go lay in bed and eat some of the chocolate that remus had given you after class on Friday. 

You were currently working on a rather complicated potion for Snape when you fucked up by adding one too many drops of  Acromantula venom. The next thing you knew your cauldron was smoking and a foul stench was filling the dungeon. You rushed to try to fix it but it was too late and your potion was ruined. You were trying to keep yourself from crying after the day you had had when Snape came over. You flinched as he stepped in front of you but instead of telling the class how incompetent you had been he said something completely unexpected.

 "See students, this is why you need to be careful as you add ingredients. Even the best of us mess up sometimes and it's not always just a bad smell and a ruined potion that comes of it." You looked up at him, eyes shining with tears and in a tiny voice managed to breathe out a thank you. He looked down at you for a second longer before softly telling you that you could try again during your free period the next day and that you were free to leave and pull yourself together if you needed. You stared at him for a second in disbelief before nodding, packing up your stuff and heading out the door.

 You reached the dorm and decided that a shower would help you calm down. You took your time standing under the hot water and letting the tears that were welling up earlier fall. You got out and felt refreshed, you were thankful that potions was your final class that day and dinner would be starting soon. You threw your long ginger hair into a messy bun on the top of your head, got back into your uniform and started towards the great hall. 

Your path was blocked once you left the common room by a familiar mop of red hair. You looked at the Weasley in front of you, wanting nothing more than to ignore him and walk past. Let him have a taste of his own medicine you thought. But then you met his eyes and all you could see was the regret and sadness he was feeling at failing you and making you mad at him. You watched as he struggled to figure out what exactly to say to apologize and show you how terrible he felt. You brought him out of his stupor by placing a gentle hand on his arm.

 "You realize now why I tell you to hold back on your pranks sometimes right?" You asked watching as he nodded looking ashamed, a soft smile came to your lips as you continued. 

"So in the future will you listen to me when I warn you to rethink your pranks?" He nodded again this time you could see the hope in his eyes.

 "Well then as long as we agree on that then I forgive you. I can't stay mad at you for long and honestly,  I don't want to." 

He pulled you into a hug apologizing for how he had acted and how much he wanted to be there for you when he saw how difficult your day had been. You pulled back, and gave him a quick kiss before hooking your arm through his. You looked up at him 

"Lead the way handsome, I had a terrible day and all i want right now is to stuff my face with some good food while spending time with my favorite person." He kissed you on the head before starting off down the hall. He couldn't help the cheeky grin that appeared on his face as he asked 

"Who the hell did you have to kill in order to get on Snape's good side. I mean I knew you were a favorite but today he almost seemed nice to you." 

You shrugged.not wanting to tell him about how Sirius had told you about the crush that Snape had on your mom and how he was nice to you because you looked so much like her. For now you decided to just be grateful that Snape had taken pity on you and not rubbed the failure in your face. You decided that you would silently thank him by making the potion perfectly tomorrow.