#after that it was always when harry/ginny and I get married

[alwayshinny]

Hinny 📸

AU, where Blackinnon raises Harry - Sirius bought Harry a leather jacket for his birthday, and when Ginny's birthday came along, Harry insisted he had to gift her a leather jacket because she loved his so much… he also got her a little heart necklace. Ginny was ecstatic when she opened her present and hugged Harry tightly, tackling him to the ground and kissing his cheek, leaving him stunned and blushing with a goofy look on his face. Sirius and Marlene knew that day their godson was goner, and James's claim about Potter having a thing for redheads was 💯 true. It was the same look James had when Lily kissed him for the first time. Right after tackling Harry, Ginny gave her sunglasses to Arthur to transform into frames like Harry’s while she hurried inside to put on Ron's black t-shirt, which Molly shortened to fit her better. She insisted they had to match, and she asked Sirius to take a picture of them. Sirius had a lump in his throat when he took this photo because, just like James used to stare at Lily instead of the camera, Harry was doing the exact same thing with Ginny. It took Marlene five tries to get Harry to look at the camera, and Ginny, who kept giggling at the way Harry was looking at her with a dopey smile.

[sitp-recs]

hello <3 love your recs and i always look forward to discovering tropes i never knew i liked from this blog. don't know if this has been done before (probably, it's a common enough trope methinks), but anything for draco falling first and harry falling harder? preferably from draco's pov since i loveeeee when the oblivious narrator gets confronted with just how ardently they're wanted.

Hi anon! Sure, here are some recs for you :)

Touch Me Fall by @lqtraintracks (E, 23k)

Malfoy was such a ponce. And he was a complete snob. And he was so fucking fit Harry wanted to jump him where he sat. It would be too easy to forget his objective tonight: to really, really, really get Malfoy out of his system.

Welcome to the Broom Closet by incapricious (E, 23k)

Harry thinks he knows how his life will go: Become an Auror. Marry Ginny. Have a family. But then he sees an advertisement in the paper that no one else can see, and his life is turned upside-down. The Broom Closet: you can be anyone you want while you're there, but you won't remember it in the morning.

Waiting By An Open Door by Femme, noeon (E, 29k)

Draco starts following Potterwatch secretly during the War. He wishes Potter would come save him too. But that sort of thing only happens in fairy tales, and Malfoys don't get fairy tale endings, do they?

Open For Repairs by FeelsForBreakfast (M, 35k)

After the war, Draco works at a tv repair shop and Harry breaks things.

Here's The Pencil, Make It Work by ignatiustrout (M, 49k)

Harry thinks "Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?" is a much simpler question than, "Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don't, what will you do?"

In the Shadow of Your Heart by @lqtraintracks (E, 52k)

And thus began the very strange circumstance of their fake dating in public and real fucking in absolute secret. It was, with no comparison, the weirdest relationship Draco had ever been in – which was to say, it wasn't one.

The Boy Who Only Lived Twice by lettered (E, 54k)

Harry Potter is an Unspeakable. Draco Malfoy is the wizard who shagged him. Adventure! Intrigue! Secret identities, celebrities, spies! It's all right here, folks.

You open always (petal by petal) by birdsofshore (E, 65k)

Harry’s not the kind of person who pays for sex. He really isn’t. Until he is.

We Are Young (I'll Carry You Home Tonight) by Femme (E, 68k)

Harry and Draco have been falling into bed on and off again since the last election five years ago, much to the amusement--and financial gain--of their circle of friends. But when Harry agrees to work with Draco to put Kingsley Shacklebolt into the Minister's office, they can't work side-by-side again every day and sleep together; that would be courting disaster. Wouldn't it?

All Our Secrets Laid Bare by firethesound (E, 149k)

Over the six years Draco Malfoy has been an Auror, four of his partners have turned up dead. Harry Potter is assigned as his newest partner to investigate just what is going on.

The Star Splitter by oflights (E, 219k) - Harry falls first and harder, but I think you’ll enjoy Draco’s pov

On a routine time travel assignment to the past, Draco stumbles upon 7-year-old Harry Potter and witnesses his neglect and mistreatment by the Dursleys. In the moment, there is only one solution, even if it goes against all his training as a Time Agent: he has to bring Harry back to the future with him.

A Secondary Education by Thunderbird587 (E, 234k)

Fleeing the aftermath of his recent divorce, Draco Malfoy takes up a post as the new Potions Master at Hogwarts. At first he believes his hopes for a fresh start are dashed when he sees that a certain boyhood rival is on staff there as well. But Harry Potter is being weirdly nice to him, leaving Draco no choice but to play along.

[ashotofogdensoldfirewhiskey]

Love your fics!!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Would you consider writing Hinny’s first „i love you”?

Love YOU, anon! I have to confess, I don't know if I answered your prompt, because I did write Hinny's first "I love you" in Ch4 of Someone Else's life. I toyed with writing this moment differently at a different time, but realized I think I'm sort of married to the idea of them confessing it right after the battle, and I couldn't think of a way to rewrite the moment in a way that was meaningfully different. So, I hope you don't mind, I wrote the moment Ron realizes Harry & Ginny are in love, instead:

It’s one of those evenings in late May after the battle - when everything seems to blur together and time ceases to have meaning - that Ron seriously considers the possibility that he might have been a bit thick. 

Ron’s sat in the lumpy armchair by the hearth at the Burrow staring oddly at Harry and Ginny, tucked together on the opposite sofa. Ginny’s got her feet resting on Harry’s lap, and Harry’s absently rubbing her knee. It’s relatively innocent, as far as seating arrangements go, and yet Ron can’t help but stare at the casual intimacy of it anyway. 

They’re back together now. It seems to Ron they must’ve gotten back together the minute they’d had a moment alone after the battle. Ron had left Harry asleep in Gryffindor Tower one minute, and when he’d come back from lunch it had been to find them holding hands in the Common Room. 

“You together again, then?” Ron had asked, later. Harry had merely nodded. And Ron supposed that had been that. 

Ron hadn’t had the mental space to give the matter much more thought since - there’d been funerals (so effing many), and repairing Hogwarts, and Mum crying, and Hermione, and meetings about Auror training… 

He supposes it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re cuddling on the sofa. But, now that Ron at last has the time to think about them for more than a passing moment, he registers that he is surprised. Truth be told, he hadn’t expected it - them. 

And why should he have? Harry hadn’t mentioned Ginny at all, had he? 

Harry had broken it off with her - in public, at a funeral, of all places - and then never mentioned her again. Never intimated he was sad about their relationship ending, or that he missed her, or that he’d hoped they’d be together again when the war ended. It was partially why Ron had blown up on that awful night in that bleeding tent. Harry hadn’t seemed the least bit concerned with Ginny’s safety.

The closest Harry’d come to anything resembling emotion about it all was his last birthday, when Ron had caught them snogging passionately in Ginny’s room - with the door closed. It had seemed callous at the time, to Ron. One last chance to get a snog in before he left her behind. 

Harry and Ginny had only been together a few weeks, after all, much shorter than he and Lavender had been. And while, yeah, it was clear they’d liked each other, how deep could it have been, really? Ron had always assumed it had been new and shallow, maybe mostly physical (as much as that thought disgusted him). Like him and Lavender.  

But it couldn’t have been, could it, if they’d got back together so quickly? 

Just then, Hermione interrupts Ron’s musings by walking in from the kitchen and handing him a warm cup of tea. Ron sees that she’s made it just how he likes it, and smiles at her - she’s always doing thoughtful things like that. 

“Thanks,” Ron says, and drops his arm around her shoulders as she squeezes in next to him on the chair. Her presence beside him feels exactly like the perfectly made cup of tea she's just given him - warm, and sweet, and calming. 

He looks up again, watches Harry press a kiss to Ginny’s temple and mutter something to her with a soft look on his face, watches them smirk and share some private joke, and all at once, everything he’d thought about them subtly shifts and changes color. 

He allows the inkling, the what if to take shape: perhaps Harry and Ginny had always felt like this together - a warm cup of tea in front of the fire. Maybe breaking it off hadn’t been like breaking it off with Lavender had been, but instead had felt like those long cold months after Ron had abandoned Hermione, when Ron had been tortured, wondering whether she was alive, whether he’d ever see her again. 

The worst months of his life. 

Ron stares at Harry. His best mate. His brother. 

Harry hadn’t said anything about Ginny. But then, he hadn’t about Sirius, either, had he? Or his parents. Or Dumbledore. Ron knew that Harry didn’t talk much about his feelings, but he’d always supposed there were some unfathomable losses that you just couldn’t talk about. Having never experienced one himself - well, until now - Ron had thought that might just be the way it was. He assumed he would know if Harry was upset about something else. Something smaller. 

But maybe Ginny hadn’t been something smaller, at all. 

The thought that Harry might’ve been heartbroken on top of all the rest of the shite they’d gone through last year rankles. 

“Harry was cut up when they broke it off, wasn’t he?” Ron mutters to Hermione, jutting his chin toward Harry and Ginny. 

Hermione looks at him as though he’s daft, and he might be. “Of course he was.” She glances over to them to confirm they’re not listening, and then whispers, “I used to catch him staring at the Marauders Map all the time, when he was supposed to be on watch. He’d never tell me, but I think he was… you know, keeping an eye on her.”

The image is so pathetic that at first Ron’s inclined to laugh, but he doesn’t. “Blimey,” he says. “I didn’t… I thought he was alright.”

“Well, you know Harry,” Hermione says, but that’s just what’s bothering Ron, because he’s wondering how it’s possible he hadn’t known this. Hermione takes a long sip of her tea, and then adds, “I’m so happy for them, now, though. They’ve got a chance to be normal.”

“Yeah,” Ron agrees, watching as Ginny pokes Harry’s side playfully and Harry grins. “Normal.”

Ron subconsciously monitors Harry and Ginny for the rest of the evening, the pieces slowly falling into place. The mood is dreadful - it always is, these days - and yet it seems that they’ve carved out a little bubble of contentment in the gloom. A clasp of hands, a nudge to the knee, a sidelong smirk - Ron realizes they’re having a second, silent conversation beneath the family chatter. A private one.  

The wireless is on, covering the ongoing match between Ballycastle and Falmouth. 

“Everton should pull a Krum and catch the Snitch, sod scoring,” Bill says. “Ballycastle needs some dignity.”

“Or,” Ginny interjects, “he could pull a Potter and take a same-side Bludger to the head, miss the rest of the match. Might be kinder.”

“Everton can only dream of pulling a Potter,” Harry says drily. 

“You’re right,” Ginny says. “Only I can do that.”

Harry snorts and Ginny shoots him a playful wink while Bill groans. Ron would ordinarily groan too - he’s staunchly opposed to witnessing them flirt with each other on principle - but tonight… tonight it makes him feel something that isn’t quite happiness, but perhaps its cousin.

Because it occurs to him that they’re always doing that - bantering, setting each other up for jokes. They’d been doing that since before they’d got together, only Ron hadn’t thought anything of it then. Now, though, it strikes him as another piece of evidence he’d managed to overlook in the case he’s building: she makes him laugh. 

The match ends, and with it any pretense they have for staying awake. They all stand and begin their zombie-like drift off to bed, still in that surreal state where none of the loss seems quite real, like they all might wake up from it all at any moment. But they don’t. 

Ron’s in the bathroom brushing his teeth when he hears quiet murmuring in the hall. He slowly lowers his toothbrush, straining to hear. 

Harry and Ginny seem to be loitering outside her bedroom, waiting to use the loo, probably. 

“--wants me to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to reorganize the attic–”

“The attic?” Harry asks. 

“Yeah. Our ghoul put up a real fuss about moving back up there and wrecked it. Got used to living in Ron’s room, I think.”

“Poor bloke.”

“Yeah, mental that anyone would prefer Ron’s room.”

“Have you considered,” Harry asks drily, “that he’s just become a massive Cannons fan?”

Ginny barks out a laugh, and Ron can’t even find it in himself to be offended on behalf of the Cannons. 

“Wow,” Ginny snorts. “Maybe we can plaster the attic with Cannon’s posters. Make him feel right at home.”

They laugh, and Ron finishes brushing his teeth. He clatters loudly so that they know he’s in there, just in case. 

“‘We’ can plaster the attic…?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ginny says casually. “I reckoned you’d want to help.”

“You reckoned I’d want to get up at, what was it, ‘the crack of dawn’?”

“Before the sun, even.” 

“Why would I want to do that?”

Ron makes to dry his hands with the towel hanging by the door. 

“Because,” Ginny answers, “You love me.”

The towel slips from Ron’s hands and falls with a muffled thump to the floor, so that he nearly misses Harry’s dry reply. “Yeah, fair enough.” 

Ron turns his head slowly to stare at the closed door in shock. 

“How long is that going to work for, d’you reckon?” Ginny asks.

“Dunno,” Harry says. “Let’s not test it.”

“Oh, I intend to.”

“You‘ll go mad with power.”

“Nah, I won’t,” Ginny dismisses. “I love you, too, so…”

Then there’s a suspiciously long pause that Ron doesn’t care to examine too closely. He’s too dumbfounded, anyway, by the casual admission of love they’d just thrown at each other, clearly not for the first time. He and Hermione hadn’t even said that to one another yet. They weren’t mental - it’d only been a few weeks since the battle.

And yet, here are Harry and Ginny, clearly comfortable enough with it that they’re already at the point of teasing.

The last piece clinks into place, and Ron realizes they must've felt this way for a long time, must've spent the whole sodding war waiting for each other. And he hadn't had any bloody idea.

Ron shakes his head like a waterlogged dog, and then makes a loud clatter of a job of opening the door so they have time to quit snogging or whatever the hell they’re doing before he has to see it. 

He finds them with put-upon expressions of innocence on their faces, leaning casually against the wall outside Ginny’s door. 

“Took you long enough,” Ginny complains. “What were you doing in there?”

“What were you doing out here?” Ron counters. 

“Kissing,” Ginny says flatly, while Harry looks down at his feet. “Had to do something while you powdered your nose.”

Ron rolls his eyes, though he feels less disgruntled than he would ordinarily. “Well get on with it, loo’s open now.”

“Thanks,” says Ginny, not sounding thankful at all. She turns to Harry. “Night, see you at the crack of dawn!”

She stands on her tiptoes and gives him a quick peck, while Ron pointedly looks away. Then, she takes her turn in the bathroom, leaving Harry and Ron in the hall together. 

Ron looks up at Harry, noting with some amusement the sheepish, guilty expression on his face. For a moment, an overwhelming desire builds in Ron to say something supremely soppy, like Happy for you, mate or I’m glad you’ve got each other or even Why didn’t you ever mention you were in love with my sister? 

But, he thinks better of it, and instead claps Harry gruffly on the shoulder. “G’night, mate.”

“Night. 

[lexithwrites]

Please give jily raising Harry!!!

Also do you think Harry would end up with Draco when he’s older or with Ginny? And how would Jily react to whoever his partner was?

eeee jily talk time

i still think they had harry young, maybe 21 or 22, and even though they didn't plan for it they decided to go for it

effie and monty were,,,scared but supportive, they let lily stay with them because her parents 100% weren't okay with her having a baby so young and before getting married, they dont talk for years because of this

james is the best boyfriend to pregnant lily he's so attentive and he googles everything he needs to know, sometimes he's almost too prepared lmao

when james is born the marauders are there and so are all the girls, james loses it and sobs when he first holds harry and lily and remus are just fondly watching james and sirius coo over baby harry for hours

harry is a quiet baby, he never cries, barely stirs honestly, and they think its kinda weird but the doctor, and effie, keeps assuring them thats its fine, he's just a lil quiet

but then he learns how to walk and hes a lil terror lmao he runs around the house in his nappy or with just a shirt giggling and screeching as james and lily run after him

uncle sirius and uncle remus come over a lot, basically whenever they can because sirius cant be away from harry for long, and remus loves walking around the park with harry on his shoulders

lily and james can both cook, but james prefers lily sitting back and relaxing as he makes their meals and then a smaller version for harry

james also does the night shifts, he refuses to let lily do it unless its to breast feed and even then he wishes he could do it for her

lily didnt get PPD really but she was tired and quiet for the first few months, mostly because her sister had Dudley and her parents were happy for her since she's actually married, it just gave her anxiety and made her sad

james is the greatest dad on earth, and lily is the greatest mother on earth, they were born to be parents to this lil guy and everyone can see it

they have weekly dinners at grandma and grandpas house, effie and monty dote on harry so much and they always have a present for him

lily loves dressing harry in tiny versions of james' outfits, her favourite is a pair of blue overalls and a red shirt and james will try and match with his son every time

harry and lily nap together on the big arm chair and james could make an entire photo album with the amount of pictures he has of it

lily takes pictures of everything as well, every little milestone, every event, every birthday, and they make a HUGE scrapbook for harry to give to him when he's old enough to care lmao

the girls also love going to brunch with lil harry, he's a well behaved boy and loves gawking at them as they talk gossip

the boys bring him over to peter's house because he has the biggest gaming set up and tv, and they play funny animated games to keep harry occupied

sirius and mary are harry's godparents

their first holiday together is in cornwall to the potter's beach house, its where james proposes with harry holding the ring box

harry is in their wedding in a little suit and everyone sobs its so cute

and they hold him for their first dance, harry is always included

[rewritingcanon]

Do you have any thoughts on scorbus kids king (beyond Albus insisting that they’re all named after stars and constellations and the likes) because in the same way that they’d get married at like 18-19 a la ‘traditional’ wizards i think they’d be the couple to turn up to christmas one year with a baby without telling anyone (nobody knows how they got the baby and theyre not saying shit) and boom. The first wotter-malfoy grandchild

oooooh! hmm! i actually go back and forth on scorbus children a lot. like i dont have set ocs or anything for them. i can see them with or without kids. i can see them with many or just one. i can see them as boy dads and girl dads. i can see them as all adopted or as donor-conceived. likeeeee i can see everything tbh. but i can tell you what i’m usually set towards:

i reckon one of their babies (i’m thinking the second one if they ever get so far) is sooooo weasley-coded. they don’t act like scorpius or albus but as their fucking grandma ginny. like they may not have the token red hair at all but they certainly act like one. and they’re a stereotypical gryffindor. (first gryffindor malfoy perchance)

i’m also thinking they need to have a diva daughter. like a mini narcissa/lucius just minus the moral abhorrence (they may or may not have a consumerism problem though)

one of the babies has to have the blond malfoy hair. preferably the eldest. idc if that makes me a stickler for tradition.

also i think they would pull the “my grandad is harry potter” “did you know i’m the chosen one’s grandkid?” “oh yeah just going to my pop’s place tonight… did i mention he’s harry potter?” ALL THE TIME 💀 like they would nottttt understand albus’ angst about it (at first) because they won’t experience the same type of pressure as being harry potter’s child.

i think it would be sooo funny if they had kids who are really popular in school and are super charming and good-looking and athletic and just very cool and easily liked. and meanwhile they’re dads are the biggest fucking socially inept losers.

if i was nice i’d give scorpius a bookworm kid. but i don’t think that would happen 😭 he’s fr cursed to be the only nerd there.

now here are some parent!scorbus hcs:

the whole misunderstanding angst between them is scorpius wants to rant to his child about the ottoman empire’s invention of major medical instruments and the child just wants to go play footy with da boys 💔

you best believe albus suffers the potter curse of just never understanding his child 😭 he would totally argue with them all the time. not to the point where they run away though.

i think albus would feel the desire to be a father more than scorpius would initially, but albus would be the strict parent. probably because he did shit like running away and deleting his family from the timeline so he doesn’t want that to happen again yk. how can you blame him

scorpius is the dad that spoils his kids rotten. like he’s NEVER mad. he’s always telling them how proud he is of them and how lovely and cool they are and he’s just constantly inflating their heads to the sizes of large balloons. he’s the dad they go to when they want to ask for something because he’ll normally give it to them. he’d rather they be brats then be unconfident and hate themselves.

also scorpius would get crazy separation anxiety. like it doesnt matter if his kid is 25 that’s his baby and they need to be in arms reach at all times

albus can be the type to freak out at his kids ngl 😭 tbf i dont think he’d do it without reason but he will definitely make them cryyyy and run to their rooms. yk when one of ur parents yells at you when ur a kid and u cry angry tears and can’t verbalise your feelings because you’re tiny and dont know the right words yet. and then you look to your other parent for help and they’re just standing at the side like “🧍‍♂️” yeah the one just standing there is scorpius 💀 no way he’s risking getting clocked too.

scorpius might not voice it in the moment but he’s very good at damage control and managing his family who probably runs quite high on emotions. also he’ll sneak his kids sweets to cheer them up even if they deserved to get yelled at lol

albus is the dad that cleans and washes and styles his daughters’ hair 😭 and he will do it aggressively too like he ties the cleanest but tightest braids and plaits and ponytails you best believe. also he doesn’t play around when his kids come home from primary school with a head lice notification slip. best believe he’s going to scrape through everything.

the kids definitely think scorbus are way too lovey-dovey with each other. cringiest parents ever.

albus is definitely the “how dare you talk to your father like that” kind of guy about scorpius.

albus would pack the most delectable lunch boxes ever and scorpius would write the sweetest daily notes for their kids and put them in the lunchboxes to cheer them

they do not play about bullying whatsoever. someone is getting right hooked if anyone dares with their kid. not hexed, right hooked

albus sobbed when he had to say goodbye to his first child for hogwarts. like he ugly cried right in the middle of the platform. almost collapsed.

scorpius is bombarding their kid with letters. like he’s writing them four times a day to ask how things are and how theyre finding classes and if their classmates are good to them?? and has to be asked to stop 😭

yk how harry was gassing tf out of hogwarts to albus only for it to be shit? just know albus is telling the biggest horror stories about the school to their kid only for them to go there and for it to be fine. this is the visual vibe btw:

albus’ favourite kid is definitely the one who is most like scorpius in some way. but he will deny it

scorpius still tucks them in every night no matter if they’re adults

albus is the type to bitch out alllll of his kids’ friends. “i don’t like [insert friend]” “why” “they seem very…. fake.” “dad you literally have zero friends besides papa why are you speaking rn”

scorpius loves hosting his kids’ birthday parties (bonus if he can make it extravagant) and albus hates it (he dislikes every other child except his own)

albus the type of dad to get the malfoy white streak and a beer belly and blame it on the stress of being a father (he loves his kid(s) heaps, just to be clear).

scorpius would tell his kids when they fell down and scraped themselves that his kiss could make it better. and when he kissed their bruise or cut he’d do a tiny healing spell and fix it so for yearssss these scorbus kids thought their dad was had super magical kisses (yk damn well albus took advantage of that excuse 😭)

if they adopted a kid of another race to them, scorpius is going leaps and bounds to understand his baby’s culture and raise him accordingly so they don’t feel too disconnected (albus will do so too but scorpius would be such an expert at it because he’s a research freak).

i think scorbus would generally follow traditional wizard norms but their kids wouldn’t. the kids are living in the house until they are 35 or something. reason is because their standard of living at home is amazing. albus cooks the best food. they get spoilt rotten by scorpius. they have the combined fortune of two of the richest wizard families… yeah life is good

i shall stop it there but lmk if you want me to yap more because i havent even started on aunt lily and uncle james or their crazy grandparents 😭

[toorumlk]

Harry/Ginny

AH HINNY!

oh man, i oscillate between really liking hinny one day and feeling completely indifferent towards them the next.

hinny might be the relationship i like the most for harry, and it's all because because of the family aspect. through marriage w ginny, harry officially became a weasley family member. and, of course he always was one, but he actually is a weasley on paper and i think having that in writing would mean a lot to harry. and my golden trio heart can't not mention that by hinny being married - ron and hermione are literally harry's brother and sister (in-law) now and !!!!! that just makes my heart melt (i know those two were always harry's family but bc of the aforementioned reason, etc. you get it)

so right off the bat, when i try to organize my more positive thoughts on hinny, i'm mostly focused on how the relationship best serves harry, and only harry. and this is where my frustrations with the ship begins: it's so hard to think the other way around because ginny's narrative purpose is just to be harry's ideal love interest, instead of being a fully fleshed character. i really love ginny with all her spunk and feistiness, but she's so underutilized. she had a cute crush on him in the start of the series which was adorable, but her character was inarguably just "ron's younger sister". and after she gets possessed by volde/gets saved from the CoS by harry, she still continues to have a puppy-love crush on harry until OoTP!!! GAAHHHH!!! Apparently joanne said hinny were always meant to be soulmates and i think if these two had a consistent "invisible string" motif throughout the series, it would've been so good (and almost as good as romione's slow burn). So...

here's how i'd fix hinny (lmao):

i wouldve made the ginny a much more prominent character in PoA and beyond.

we get to see hinny actually have heart-to-hearts about the incidents of CoS - for ginny to play such an IMPORTANT role in the titular plotline of the second book, then to just have her blend into the background afterwards just boggles my mind - that was the perfect oppurtunity to make ginny an invaluable character in the cast. she has this huge experience in common with harry - being personally victimized by voldemort - that harry doesn't have w ron or hermione at that point and it would've been so nice to see harry find an equal, a confidant in ginny from then on - like, dont let the readers forget that harry and ginny have this huge thing in common, have it be with us in the back of our heads the whole time!

start the hinny romance subplot fr fr in GoF

the potential of ginny being a maybe date for harry to the yule ball, harry feeling jealousy towards neville for getting to dance and spend time w ginny and harry being like "wait a minute! i'm supposed to crush on cho! im jealous of neville??" that wouldve been FUN - again, they couldve been a less insane version of romione hello

having the hinny subplot unravel in tandem with harry's crush and relationship with Cho in ootp

in ootp, you can argue that the story attempts to make a foil between cho and ginny's characters but if that were the case, it could've done a way better job of it

with harry's relationship w cho - harry likes her bc she's cool and pretty but she wants to connect with him through their connection via cedric and his death, which is off the bat a hugely touchy/traumatic topic for both of them and cho couldn't possibly fathom what it's like to be in the presence of voldemort/tom but guess which other character does ehehe...

now we're at hbp and this is where the good stuff starts bc if i'd had it my way, we'd have gotten their friendship in poa and two books of solid romantic build-up up until now

i honestly had a such a fun time with hinny in hbp, ginny in her OWL year being so cool and harry's hugeass crush on her- harry being a hormonal teenager was hilarious to read like its implied that harry is having increasingly inappropriate thoughts about her throughout the novel and theyre just intercut with "BUT RON-" that's some good shit

my one gripe w hbp's hinny is that i wish we actually got to see their dates sneaking around hogwarts, finding the perfect hideaways for makeout sessions, etc etc i know hp wasn't a romance fantasy by any means but imagine how swoony it wouldve been if we got to actually see these sunset dates instead of just being told about them - it wouldve been cathartic to actually see harry actually live the life of a normal teen boy before everything fell apart lol

if we got all these invisible string moments between them throughout the series, harry thinking about ginny and how good it felt to kiss her lips before he walks to his death in DH would've felt so much more earned

from a storytelling perspective, the case with hinny begs the question of if you can have a love interest for the jesus figure of your narrative? can you make a believable, grounded and balanced love story for the chosen one? i honestly think so but then you'd have to put equal amounts of effort and work into creating two nuanced characters and unfortunately we don't see that effort be put in ginny's character and that's why harry's endgame falls short for so many people. earlier, i said that this is the ship i like most for harry, but honestly that isn't saying a lot - i think with an almost saint-like character like harry, its hard to imagine a satisfying love and partnership for this kid. i like tomarry as a ship for when im feeling a bit insane but other than that, my main harry ship is him with a lifetime of peace and healing.

i also want to argue that hinny was never meant to be a primary romance in this story - the main romance/love story in the series is ron and hermione's and i think joanne's romance prowess all went into romione and i'm so thankful for that because i think it makes for better story (also i'm totally biased)

i also cant not mention the freudianess of it all with hinny, right? like god freud would Love hinny bc what do you mean they look identical to jily, what is going on here. that and the fact they had their first kid at 22/23 years old like my god, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING you should be at the club!!!!! i do dig the failmarriage vibes they were serving in TCC, also.

[iamnmbr3]

hi there!!🫶🏻

Just a sad theory...how do you think Harry would've reacted if Draco had been killed (canon Harry ofc)?

Like how he'd react if death occurred in fiendfyre scene or after malfoy manor scene or after he couldn't kill dombledore and he escaped with snape or when he pleads to death eater but this time death eater kills him(better say each reaction of his in these situations if they make difference lol)

Think of this so much but can't find my answer...

Hello! It's always such a delight to see your questions in my inbox. They're invariably thoughtful and fascinating.

I think you're right that when Draco died specifically in canon would have huge implications for the specifics of how Harry would react. Generally though, if it occurred in book 7 during the war I think Harry would be very shaken by it and much more upset than others, or even he himself, might expect or understand. But he would try to compartmentalize it at the time.

Just like how after the Manor sequence he compartmentalizes and puts Draco out of his mind because he knows Draco may well be brutally killed as punishment for Harry's escape. He knows - and it horrifies him so much that for the first time ever he manages to block out Voldemort so he doesn't have to see it - but he has a mission to complete. All this suffering and death can't be for nothing. It just can't. Remember, following that escape there's a real turning point for Harry. He becomes single minded in his purpose to complete his mission whatever the cost and stops worrying or doubting or thinking of anything else. I think Draco's death would have a similar but even stronger effect on him.

But then the war ends. And he has time to think. And something about that particular death just haunts him even though it shouldn't really. I mean, he and Draco were never friends right? It's not like he cared for him? ... Right? And yet somehow as the years slip by he can't seem to get Draco out of his head. Wondering what could have been, whether Harry could have or should have done more? What would have happened if he'd thought to try to help him in sixth year, if he'd realized the full extent of Draco's doubts and vulnerability before that fateful night on the Astronomy tower? The years slip by and maybe Harry marries Ginny but feels that somethings's always just a little bit lacking in his marriage or maybe he breaks up with her and finds someone else, or no one at at all. But always in the back of his mind something is missing. There's some unanswered question. And whenever he goes back to visit Hogwarts he always finds himself turning to look across the Hall to meet a pair of grey eyes that aren't there.

Now, to get into the specific scenarios you mentioned:

if death occurred in fiendfyre scene

In this scenario I think Harry would feel a lot of personal guilt since he would feel that he failed to save Draco. Furthermore, he would probably also feel that perhaps Draco might have lived if Harry hadn't taken his wand. He's probably sick with horror in the immediate aftermath but pulls himself together long enough to complete his mission. And then the guilt plagues him for the rest of his life. At first he thinks that's all it is but over time he and others start wondering if there was something special about Draco, something more to him, to make him haunt Harry's thoughts so much.

Where it really gets interesting is there's also the possibility that Draco appears as one of the resurrection stone shades, which has all sorts of fun angst potential.

The other issue here is that Draco is dead when Narcissa asks about him. I think Harry probably still answers honestly but I think it doesn't change much since now she has nothing to lose and wants to avenge her son so she still lies for Harry.

2. after malfoy manor scene

So again, Harry definitely feels personal responsibility here. He also really dwells on the fact that Draco saved his life and died because of it. I think in any case where Draco dies after the "I can't be sure" sequence Harry spends a lot of time postwar thinking about what Draco did and why he did it and all the questions he'll never get to ask him and wondering whether if he'd done more earlier - during 6th year or another time - Draco could have gone down another path and been saved. Especially in this scenario though where Draco dies immediately after, essentially sacrificing his life for Harry.

Another interesting thing in this scenario is the question of whether Narcissa lives. If Voldemort doesn't kill her too then she still has her wand since there's no Draco for her to give it to. She might want revenge on both Voldemort - for killing her son - and Harry, for taking his wand and leaving him defenseless and for escaping. But also maybe part of her knows the wand might not have made a difference and that Draco surely recognized Harry and made his choice. Maybe she meets Harry during the battle and attacks him and wants to kill him but changes her mind in the end. Maybe they fight early on but then in the forest she saves his life because she knows Voldemort is the real enemy and she knows that Draco gave his life to save Harry's. Or maybe she even tries to take down Voldemort herself.

3. after he couldn't kill dumbledore and he escaped with snape

Ooh! This is interesting. I wonder how fast Harry would find out. He might discover it much later. We know he spends a lot of time worrying about Draco after the end of book 6 so this would basically be all his worries being confirmed. OR he might actually witness it through a vision from Voldemort. Since this would happen before the Horcrux hunt is really going on in earnest I think Harry would spend a lot of time brooding over it and it would give him a sense of purpose and a need to end the war before any more innocent lives are lost. Maybe Harry tells himself it's just a general feeling of responsibility, but it's also about grief and revenge over Draco in particular, even though rationally he knows Draco isn't someone he should be feeling this way about.

Of course, in this scenario a lot of other things in the story go very differently. First of all, Voldemort may become the true Master of the Elder Wand by defeating Draco (at least according to the canon version of wandlore; I think possibly he could never have mastered it because his fear of death meant it would always have chosen Harry) which means Harry might have died in the duel at the end....

Assuming he even made it that far because the Manor sequence would also go very differently. The Malfoys (assuming any of them were even left alive by that point and Voldemort didn't just massacre the whole family) might not be able to conclusively identify Harry and co right away and might have thrown them into the cells they had while they decided what to do (giving them a chance to escape) but they also might have chanced it and called Voldemort. Voldemort would've killed Harry on sight...thus destroying the Horcrux in Harry and knocking both of them out for a moment. Then Harry of course comes back to life. This means he might've had a chance to surprise everyone and try to escape (if so there's still probably a lot more carnage and death and everyone probably doesn't make it out not to mention Harry also doesn't get Draco's wand) or he might just end up getting killed a second time.

Really brings home how Draco - and his devotion to Harry - is a key part of what enables Harry to win in book 7. Voldemort really was defeated by the power of drarry.

4. when he pleads to death eater but this time death eater kills him

Harry definitely still tries to save him and feels terrible guilt over not being fast enough. Also here Draco dies right in front of him and his body is just lying there right where Harry can see it. He probably is momentarily distracted until his friends remind him they have a mission. He never gets the image out of his mind though.

[animentality]

I just wanna say that while I don't ship either of them myself, I respect that the ships that don't become canon, like Drarry and Zutara, will always have much more powerful and diverse communities than the ships that become canon.

You can't tell me that more people ship Harry and Ginny RIGHT NOW than Drarry, or that Zutara's fanbase is less active than Kataang's. I was in the tag an hour ago while on a megalomaniacal rant in discord, and literally most of it is Zutara things, and it's been like what. A decade? Still going strong off of scraps, huh? I admire it.

When a ship becomes canon, people celebrate in the moment and then move on. You get smatterings of people who re watch the series, and do some doodles here and there. But the ship dies with the fandom itself, because a canon ship is not even a ship, it's just part of the story. And it's not the most interesting part of the story most of the time, especially in a series as richly packed as atla. the romance isn't done that well, it's barely focused on. and that's fine, but it's not the thing atla fans really talk about to this day...

you don't see atla fans talking about how epic the kataang romance is. not really. that whole genocide is bad plot is far more interesting.

But when a ship is entirely nonsensical or only lightly hinted at, or maybe just entirely theoretical but intriguing narratively...

that ship can go on for years.

The lack of content is paradoxically what makes the fandom content even better.

Fans can do anything they want with an empty sandbox, and thus fans become creatives in their own right, constructing a canon that fits their own interests.

And that's far more intriguing to consider because of it.

A Kataanger can write about katara and aang getting married, but canon already did that. How interesting could that really be? the creators did that and it was whatever.

a Zutaran, meanwhile, is writing a whole new story and mythos based on the meager scraps they were fed a decade ago. They're totally re writing canon and reconstructing a narrative about opposing sides coming together in the form of their narrative representatives.

they're red blue shipping, fire and ice/water, sun and moon, enemies to lovers, the sunshine and the grump, bad boy x good girl, learning to forgive, redemption arc, theyre basically dispensing with canon and writing a psychopathic descent into their own psyche.

they're making entirely different stories because they were dissatisfied with an aspect of the one they got.

and frustration/need breeds creativity. it stirs the imagination.

if you were satisfied with your ship becoming canon, you celebrate and then you move on.

if your ship never got its chance...

well. you could spend a life time wondering what if.

and you're thinking well of course a durgetash crack shipper would feel this way... and you're right.

but I'll be here. I'll be here still thinking about durgetash long after the last Astarion x Tav shipper has gone.

it's the small things. it's the blank slate, the holes with potential. it's the little gaps in the concrete of canon, where the most twisted but entertaining weeds grow and can never be destroyed, not fully, not permanently.

[hjparisian]

speak now or forever hold your peace- harry j potter x reader

p: harry j potter x reader (she/her pronouns) w: not proofread, bit of swearing, mean ginny (it's for the plot i swear i love her shes so slay) a/n: in honor of speak now tv being announced (and exams being over) i decided to write this lil thing. pls note i have not been to a wedding so excuse how its written.

It was the day that (Y/N) was dreading the most. Harry and Ginny's wedding day. She was honestly shocked that she was even invited, though she assumes it was cause of Harry. Though she was friendly with the Weasley's, she was never really close with Ginny.

(Y/N) and Harry briefly dated during fourth year but decided to remain friends. But the feelings never really left (Y/N). Even after she saw him go after Cho and Ginny, there was always a part of (Y/N) that would always love Harry.

She was debating on just staying home, wallowing in pity while eating her favorite ice cream and watching whatever was on the telly. But (Y/N) knew that Harry wanted her to go, and she couldn't ignore her best friend's wishes.

So now here she was, at the venue in a lavender colored dress, deciding if she should just run away now. As she ready to back out, she heres a voice calling her name.

"(Y/N)!"

(Y/N) turns around and sees Harry walkings towards her with a grin on his face. Well, fuck. So much for escaping.

"Hey Harry." She responds, forcing a smile on face. He looks good, she thought. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt underneath the jacket. Even though it was simple, he made it look beautiful.

"I didn't think you'd come," Harry says sheepishly. (Y/N) speaks, "Well I couldn't miss my best friends wedding. Also, I didn't think you'd let me stay home." Harry chuckles at that.

"So," (Y/N) started. "How are you feeling? It's your big day after all."

"In all honesty, I'm really nervous," He says. "I just have a feeling that maybe this isn't right." (Y/N) was shocked at that part.

"What do you mean? Isn't this what you've been wanting? You were crushing on Ginny since sixth year and now you got her."

Harry sighs. "I know, I know. But I can't help but think that it should've someone else. I don't know, maybe I shouldn't have done this."

Someone else? As much as (Y/N) wanted to know who he was thinking, it wasn't important. "Harry, the Weasleys would probably kill you if you called off the wedding. Besides, it's probably just nerves like you said, so don't let it get to you."

"But I can't get this feeling to go away," Harry says. "I think it would be just as bad if I were to marry Ginny while thinking about someone else than calling off the wedding.

He examines (Y/N), eyes flicking from her lips to her eyes. "(Y/N), I think I-"

"Harry!" The two turn to see who it was, finding Hermione running towards the two. "Oh hello, (Y/N)!" She smiles before turning back to Harry. "Do you know where Ginny's bouquet is? We can't find it. Oh, and Ron thinks he's lost the rings. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley have gone mad and won't stop yelling."

Harry lets out a groan, "I better go figure this out. (Y/N) I'll catch you in a bit." He runs off, leaving (Y/N) and Hermione alone.

Hermione turns to look at (Y/N) before speaking. "How are you feeling?"

"If I'm being honest Hermione. I feel like shit," (Y/N) complained.

Hermione was always there for (Y/N) and vice versa. She was there when (Y/N) and Harry first got together and when they ended it. She watched as (Y/N) gazed at Harry with Ginny during sixth year. Hermione knew that (Y/N) still loved Harry.

"You know, I was kind of thinking it would always be you and Harry." Hermione said. "I think Ron did too. Don't get me wrong, Ginny is a good girl, but I could never really see her and Harry together."

(Y/N) spoke, "Well, I guess that's how it's gonna be. But Harry's not sure if he wants to go through with it. Says he feels like there's someone else. As much as I don't want to see Harry getting married to someone else, I don't want the Weasleys to hate him for calling it off." There seemed to be a flicker of realization through Hermione's eyes, seeming to piece some unknown puzzle together.

"(Y/N), have you ever thought that maybe he misses you? I saw the way he was looking at you when I was looking for him, and it's definitely not a way friends normally look at each other."

Before the two could say anything else, there was a faint "Hermione! Where are you?" Hermione sighed. "I should go back. But (Y/N), think about it, and think about what you want." She turns and runs off, leaving (Y/N) alone.

(Y/N) began to walk around the venue, not ready to sit down and anxiously wait for the worst thing to happen. "What do I truly want?" She thought. She certainly didn't want to see Harry marry Ginny. And is there really a chance he misses her?

While deep in her thoughts, she bumps into the man that she was thinking about. "Oh! I'm sorry Harry, I should've been looking," She says.

"It's alright (Y/N)." He smiles at her. "I should prolly get going though, you should too, the wedding is about to start." He starts to leave, but a hand grabs his wrist before he could keep going.

"Wait, Harry," (Y/N) says. "What if you don't go through with this? Let's just leave, we can sneak out the back door!"

"But (Y/N), you said-" (Y/N) cuts him off. "I know what I said, but you should follow your intuition. If there's really someone else you're thinking about, you can't marry Ginny!"

"It's too late-" "It's not too late Harry! You can still back out!"

"(Y/N) I-" There a voice that cuts him off.

"Hey, Harry!" It was Ron. "We gotta go mate, the weddings about to start."

"Oh right," Harry says. "(Y/N) I'll see you." He smiles sadly as both him and Ron leave.

(Y/N) decides to go inside and take her seat between two people she didn't know. It seemed like everyone in the world was here just for this one wedding. Well, it is the wedding of the Chosen One so, guess it makes sense.

The wedding music began playing. Out comes Ginny in a big poofy wedding dress, strutting with high confidence. If it weren't for the fiery orange hair contrasting it, (Y/N) would've thought she looked like some sort of pastry.

She turns to look at Harry, only to see him looking back at her. Upon seeing she noticed, he move his gaze to Ginny as she now stood in front of him.

The priest began speaking. "We are gathered here today to..." But (Y/N) could barely listen. Worried for her friend who was about to marry someone he no longer loved. And even though Harry managed to defeat Voldemort, there's no way this man is going to back out of a wedding to the family that took care of him during his Hogwarts years.

"...to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Ginny smiles before saying, "I do!" The priest turns to Harry. "And do you, Harry James Potter, take Ginerva Molly Weasley to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

There was a moment of silence, everyone excited to hear Harry say those two words. "I um," he mutters out. If one looked closely at Ginny Weasley, they could see her eyes almost glaring at him. "Come on Harry." She quietly says to him.

"I-er, I do," Harry says.

"If there is anybody in this room who can show just cause why these two should not join in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Silence. The one and final chance to stop this from happening.

The priest began to speak, "Well I-" A figure in a lavender dress stands up, shaking visibly. Loud gasps fill the room, everyone wondering who is this girl that's stopping the event of a lifetime. Ginny was fuming. Mrs. Weasley looked like she could faint. Hermione looked shocked but started to seem somewhat proud at the girl. And finally Harry, looking both stunned and relieved.

"I object." (Y/N) exclaims. "I'm sorry Weasleys but, I can't let Harry get married without hearing how I feel about him." She turns to Harry. "Harry, I've been in love with you since the moment we met on the train when we were eleven. Even when we broke up in fourth year and decided to stay friends, I still loved you. Seeing you with Cho and Ginny hurt me, but I never wanted to say anything because you looked so happy. But I'm still in love with you. If you still love me, I'll be outside if you want to join me. But if you love Ginny more, I understand and support your choice, and I hope you'll have a great marriage."

She walks away, not looking back to see what he might say. The audience looks at Harry and Ginny, who looks ready to burst.

"I cannot believe the audacity of that bitch! She just shows up and ruined our wedding!" She screams. "Thank goodness she fucking left. Now we can finish this, right Harry?"

Harry was staring at the door where (Y/N) exited. The one girl that was there during every single adventure at Hogwarts, was in love with him. The one girl he's been thinking about and missing lately, was so close to being in his arms.

"Harry!" His eyes land on Ginny. "They're waiting! Just one kiss and we're finally married."

"Ginny, I can't marry you."

The crowd gasps and Harry's ninety-nine percent sure Mrs. Weasley fainted this time.

Tears started lining Ginny's eyes. "Why not?! Cause of her? You're gonna leave me for her?"

Harry felt somewhat bad for the girl. She was about to get married to the man of her dreams only for him to end it. "I'm sorry Ginny, I still love her. And it wouldn't be fair for me to marry you when I'm missing someone else. You're a nice girl, Ginny and you deserve someone better."

Harry starts running out to find (Y/N). "Harry don't you dare!" He hears Ginny scream, but he doesn't turn back. Only focusing on finding the one he loves.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N) where are you!" He screams.

He hears his named being called by her. "Harry!" He sees (Y/N) running towards him. "Absolutely stunning" he thought to himself.

(Y/N) jumps into Harry's arms, almost knocking them over. "I still love you (Y/N)," Harry says to her. "I love you. You're the one I want to be with."

Harry smashes his lips against (Y/N)'s. Proving to her that he's all hers. She kisses back, hands on his shoulders while Harry's was on her waist.

Harry was the first to pull back, staring at how beautiful (Y/N) looked. Lips and cheeks tinted from the kiss, the sparkle in her eyes, the way her lavender dress fit her perfectly. She was beautiful, and she was Harry's.

"I love you Harry." She breathes out.

"I love you too (Y/N)," He says.

"Let's run away."

[mastermindmiko]

Gatherings at the Burrow (Ron edition)

Pairing: Ron Weasley + Reader Warnings: none, but lmk Word count: 4627 words Summary: Gatherings at the Burrow, through a series of events always lead to a happy couple forming, this time it's Ron's turn.

I'm going to make this a little series with each Weasley having a chapter with sort of the same overarching theme, I'm not going to set any deadlines, cause we all know I'm not good with that, but here is the first one!

Gatherings at the Burrow have never been anything short of brilliant, I've only ever gone there for three years, but each year seems to be better than the one before it.

"You really should visit more often, dear." Molly says, whilst giving me a hug as soon as I enter. I raise my voice, sure to make sure that a certain someone that is also present hears, "I would, If my stupid boss gave me some time off every once in a while!"

"Go complain about it to HR!" Percy yelled back from the kitchen. Molly leads me to the living room where the whole room is filled with excitement. I wave to everyone and then take a seat next to my closest friend in the room Ronald Weasley.

"I haven't heard from you in a while, I almost thought about visiting Percy at work just to see you." Ron says, pressing a kiss to my cheek as greeting. I smile at the gesture and replied, "Since when was two days ever considered a while."

"It is when you're my friend." Ron says with a cheeky grin. Harry waves from behind Ron, and I say, "It must be terrible working with him everyday."

"It is..." Harry agrees, "Especially when he only talks about you or the Chudly Canons."

I flush a deep shade of red and pretend to not notice the way Ron shoves Harry. The twins babble about their new inventions and how great the shop's been ever since they finally rebuilt after the war. The older Weasleys (Bill and Charlie, along with their father) bicker about how Bill can't give his child candy after seven at night. Ginny telling Fleur how excited she is about her first Quidditch game as the Chaser of the Holyhead Harpies next week.

Even with all the clatter and noise, it's still very comforting, even more so when Ron slips his arm around my back. Another person enters the room and Ginny runs excitedly to the door. I hear a load of giggles and at their recognizable sound, Ron removes his arm from around me.

Ron and Hermione got together as soon as the war ended. I only got to know them when I started working for Percy, especially since the twins wanted to know who 'Percy's new victim' was. They seemed so happy together but before their one year mark, they broke it off. It's been two years since, I can't help but wonder if they sometimes think it's a mistake.

I've never been one to meddle, but as Hermione sat across from us, next to Ginny and Fleur, I couldn't help but notice the way Ron was avoiding her eyes. He'd only gave her a half-assed wave when she entered the room.

With my heart (for some absurd reason) heavier, I sighed and went to the kitchen to get myself a drink. I stand up and Ron's hand wraps around my wrist. He asks, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go get a drink, want one?" I asked, and he shakes his more than half full cup at me with an appreciative smile. I turn to everybody in the room and shout, "Anyone want a drink?"

The room quiets before everyone starts telling me their drink orders, hectic as always, just the way I love it. I head to the kitchen and Percy's got his papers set out in front of him, working. I walk in, and say, "You can't be married to your work forever, you know."

"I'm aware..." He trails off, as he continues to read some paper, underlining certain aspects. He continues, "But until that day..."

He continues to work, not even sparing me a glance as I start filling up eight glasses with drinks, trying not to get in Molly's way while she's cooking. I say, "You can afford to not work, excessively for one day, you know."

"I'm aware of that too." Percy says, and I slide his drink across the counter to him. The noise alerts him and he reaches out to grab it before it slides off the edge. He opens his mouth, but I interrupt him, "You can't possibly be doubting my ability to make a drink for you after three years."

He presses his lips into a firm line, and nods his head in thanks. I've learned to pick up on his mannerisms over the years. I try one last time, "Percy, come on, everyone's waiting for you, and I really don't want to spend the night, thinking that you're here all alone, working."

"I'm hardly alone, I've got mom."

"Who's about to finish cooking and will light up your papers, if you don't spend time with your family." Molly threatens, and Percy's wise enough to start packing up his papers. I finish up the last of the drinks, and place a spell to send each of them to their respective owners.

"Are you sure you don't need any help, Molly?" I offer for the third time that night, careful not to call her Mrs. Weasley as to avoid getting scolded. "No, no, no, you go rest my dear, and you enjoy your time, I simply do not know how we spent all those years without you."

"Your youngest son is to blame for that." I say, blushing at Molly's kindness. Molly fumes, "I honestly do not know how you were with that boy in school not only for seven but for eight years, and he's never even talked to you, I know he regrets it, all those years he's wasted not being in love with you."

"He's not in love with me-"

"He is." Percy interrupts me, and I say, "He's still hung up on Hermione, that's for sure. Besides, he's expressed his feelings about dating his friend more than once with me..."

After Hermione and Ron broke up, it sort of shattered the dynamic for a bit. All the awkwardness hung in the air, and even if it's mostly faded by now, Ron always says how he'd never date a friend, and how he'd rather face Voldemort again than go through all of that again. Sometimes when he talks about it, I feel as though he is looking right through me, warning me even.

"Ron's always been a bit daft when it comes to matters like these, give him a bit." Percy says, and I roll my eyes, I'd be foolish to even allow myself a sliver of hope, especially since I couldn't care less about who Ron dates.

I head back into the living room and once again the only spot left is beside Ron, I sit back down next to him on the sofa. Percy enters the room and the twins shuffle aside to provide a place for him, and Fred sends me a wink while George wiggles his eyebrows between me and Ron.

I roll my eyes at their antics, and Ron says, "There's something I haven't told you."

I shift all of my focus to him, and gesture for him to keep talking. Ron explains, "You know how strict the ministry is about breaking Auror Protocol, even more so when you've just finished training- like me, and long story short, I broke protocol, and now I'm suspended for two weeks."

"Ron! Have you told your family about this?"

"No."

"What did you even break protocol for?" I ask, furiously. It's already nerve wrecking enough that he's an Auror, dealing with all these dark wizards constantly, and not just him, but Harry too. Ron says, "Harry was in trouble."

I sigh, knowing that there is no way I could scold him for that. I place my palm on his forearm and say, "You've still got to be careful, Ron."

"I know, I can't have anymore dark wizards harming anyone I care about." He says, and he looks at me, that look, that stupid stupid look with his stupid blue eyes. I feel the butterflies flutter in my stomach. I urge them to stop, these are dangerous feelings and I will not have them.

"You really should tell them, sooner rather than later too." I advise, and he nods. He continues to look intently into my eyes, if this wasn't Ron, I'd be sure that he was going to kiss me, but Ron wouldn't dare. He'd sooner kiss an enemy rather than a friend.

He clears his throat, looking away, and pulling away from my touch. The butterflies die, and they are replaced with a painful feeling in my chest. He leans down, elbows on his thighs. He says, "I hear you're moving."

"Yeah."

"With um Thomas?" Ron says, and it's at moments like these where I think that there's something more. I reply, "Dean? No, it's not like that with him."

"You aren't dating?" Ron says, looking at me, eyes wide. I swallow, "No, I would've told you if I was dating someone, and it's been like that with Dean anyways."

He nods, and gulps down a few sips of his drink. He straightens his back and asks, "When are you moving?"

"I'll be officially moved in by Saturday."

*** ⋆｡°✩***

"Thanks for helping me Dean."

He sets down the last of the boxes, and he wipes away a bit of sweat from his forehead. He smiles, tired but genuine. I add, "I really appreciate it."

"You know I love spending time with you, but why couldn't Weasley help you out?" Dean asks, and I turn around and start pulling out a few items from the box entitled kitchen. I act, "Percy? He's working yet again, could not get him away even with a-"

"No, Ron. I'm sure he'd be happy to help, after all he is in love with you." Dean explains, looking at me intently, I turn around to face him and sigh. I haven't told Dean about the many conversation I've had with Ron regarding this topic. Last he talked about it was during Bill's birthday party, less than a month ago.

"Congratulations Bill! You're not only old, but you're very old!" George lifts a glass and laughs. The laughter echoes around the table, as Bill shoves his younger brother. Bill replies, "In a blink of an eye, you'll be even older than I am."

George waves his hand dismissively, and sits down next to his future wife Angelina. He wraps an arm around her and gives her a kiss on her temple. I could only hope to be that in love with someone someday. I can imagine how wonderful it would be, the kisses, the stolen glances, the words of appreciation-

"It's manic if you ask me." Ron whispers in my ear over the loud music in the club. I turn to look at him faces so close that I can could the freckles on his cheeks. I ask, "What is?"

"Dating your friend." Ron says, and I sigh, getting ready for another monologue. He starts, "If they break up, not only would if effect them, but also the whole group, I mean, he'd lose her and maybe even Lee, not to mention, it would put Fred in an awkward spot, who to chose, and-"

"I think it's wonderful." I stop him, and he raises an inquisitive eyebrow, I start my own rant, "You wouldn't have to go through any of that first date awkwardness of not knowing what to say or what to do. You wouldn't worry about what to get them for gifts because you've already gotten them gifts your whole life. You'd feel comfortable around them and you'd feel like they're your best friend too. My favorite part of it is that when you get older, and have kids, and grandkids and all that, you'd have so many more stories to tell them about how much that person means to you even before you ever fell in love with them."

I take in a breath, looking at George and Angelina, Bill and Fleur, Luna and Ginny, hoping that someday I might have what they have. I turn to look at Ron whose been silent since I've finished talking, and I could feel the gears spinning in his head, and I could see his cheeks turn red. He says, "You didn't think of one last thing."

"What is it?"

"That if you lost them, it would hurt a million times more."

Dean says, trying to convince me of my hidden love for Ron, "Don't give me any of your bullshit, I'm the one person who knows you better than he does..."

He takes a step towards me and places a hand on my cheek. He bends down and presses a small peck to my lips. He whispers, cheeky, "And that's only because I've been inside you."

I gasp, and hit him arm playfully, he laughs, and I turn red. "And you love him too, and don't even try to object."

"We've been at this for seven years now, and the only times when you stop kissing me or more is when you're in love with someone. The first time, it was with Neville and now, it's with Ron. You can deny it all you want like I know you've been, but you're going to find out soon enough."

"I really hate you sometimes, you know." I huff, pursing my lips. He smiles, "You know you love me."

I break into a smile, and wrap my arms around him in a friendly hug. He reciprocates, and then presses a sweet kiss to my cheek. He sighs, "I've got to go meet up with Seamus."

"Okay, thanks again for helping." I say, and the doorbell interrupts us. I wasn't expecting anyone. I walk over to the door, and open it. Before the war ended, I would've never done such a thing, but now I can open the door to my home without worrying about being attacked.

Ron stands with his face flushed a bouquet of my favorite flowers. Dean picks up his bag from the ground, and that's when Ron notices him, his expression hardens immediately. Dean says goodbye to both Ron and I then walks out the door.

I don't mind Dean's flirts from behind Ron, as I roll my eyes, and pull Ron inside. I close the door behind us, pressing my back against it. A smile on my mouth, as I wait for Ron to say something. Ron asks, "Is that Thomas?"

"Yes, you've shared a dorm with him for seven years, I figured you'd know what he looks like by now." I joke, but my grin drops when Ron scoffs and lowers the bouquet. Ron asks, "What was he doing here?"

"He helped me move in." I explained. He frowns and says, "Magic couldn't help you with all those boxes?"

"Not in a muggle neighborhood, no." I say, and Ron folds his arms. The bouquet bunches up at the ends from the action. I tentatively take a step towards him and I question, "What are the flowers for?"

"And you didn't think to ask me for help?" Ron snaps, and his tone surprises me. I shrug my shoulders and say, "I thought you'd be busy, and I wouldn't want to bother you."

"But you'd bother Dean all you'd like."

"Why are you saying his name like that? You guys are friends." I say, appalled by his tone, spitting venom. Ron sets the flowers down on one of the random boxes that surround us, and spits, "If you didn't want to tell me about your personal life that's fine, but you didn't have to lie to me."

"I didn't lie to you about anything." I defend, getting heated up myself at all his accusations. He shouts, "And Thomas only came here to help you move."

"Yes!"

"I'm not an idiot, I know what's going on between the two of you." Ron says, and I sigh, exasperated, "Nothing is happening!

"Please! It's been happening since third year." Ron says, and I huff, "Yes, but it's stopped, for a while actually. And you don't get to do this! I don't owe you any information about my life that I don't want to share."

"My mistake, I actually thought we were friends."

"We are friends, but you don't get to accuse me of things that only you see, and even if I was dating him, why would it be any of your business?" I shout, and he opens his mouth to retort, but then shuts his mouth and the door of my new apartment right behind him.

*** ⋆｡°✩***

I still hadn't gotten over what happened with Ron by the time that I go into work on Monday. The first thing I notice is Mr. Weasley not standing beside me in the elevator. The second thing I notice is the lack of red hair on my way to my office. The third and most concerning thing is that Percy Weasley, the Percy Weasley has submitted an absence notice.

If Percy is not working that must mean that something awful has happened. I send a Patronus to Percy and hope that he sends a reply quickly, my worry has me waiting twenty minutes before I rush to my supervisor's office to ask her what happened.

I knock on her door, and wait for her sharp voice yell a sound of acknowledgement. I walk into her office and stand in the middle of the room with my heels digging into her thick fur carpet. I say, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you knew why Per- Mr. Weasley isn't here today."

"It was a surprise to me too, if I'm being honest." Her voice is harsh as she scribbles something down with her quill. She continues in a slow voice that has be just about ready to start yelling for her to get out with it, "Something about a family member in the hospital."

My heart lodges into my throat, and I think of all the horrible horrible possibilities as I excuse myself and nearly run to the apparition grounds to make it to St. Mungo's.

Molly's been getting really tired with her old age what if something happened to her, and Mr. Weasley too especially after Nagini attacked him a few years ago. What about Fred and George? They couldn't survive without each other! What about Bill? He's got a kid now!

Ron...what if something happened to Ron? Despite his stubborn attitude and insane jealousy, I don't know what I'd do without him. I haven't heard from him since the fight either. My fast paced walking turns into a full blown run, and as soon as I make it to the apparition grounds, I recklessly apparate without any regard for my safety.

What would I do if I didn't have to spend a decent amount of time writing him a letter everyday? What would I do if I had to spend a day without his incessant nagging and his irrational logic, and his gentleness and care, and his dumb smile.

St. Mungo's isn't as busy as it usually is. The receptionist tells me the ward that an unspecified Weasley is staying in, and I'm sure that I look insane, running like a mad woman to get to the proper room. I can feel my heart pumping in my ears as I see a sea of red hair. I see them one by one; Molly, Arthur, Percy, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and-

"Ron!" I say, as I wrap my arms around him in a bone crushing hug. He's takes a step back from the sheer force of my hug, and encases me in his arms. I pull back and the words spill from my mouth, "I came as soon as I heard, I thought something happened to you."

"People should know that not all Weasleys are interchangeable, they should always mention who got hurt, I was so scared that something happened to Percy or Fred or Bill or-"

"It's Ginny who's hurt." Ron explains, and I feel stupid with the way I've been complaining when someone is hurt, and even more so when I feel everyone's teasing eyes on us. I ask, "What happened?"

"She fell off her broom in a match, and she would've been fine if she wasn't hit by a bludger too." He says and I scrunch up my face at the description. I just can't imagine what poor Ginny must be feeling right now. I ask, "What did the healer say?"

"That she's in stable condition, she's not awake at the moment, but none of the broken bones are that serious. She won't be playing for a while, but nothing is permanent, and she'll be okay." Ron says, and I nod my head. My relief along with worry take over my body.

I look into Ron's eyes, and lift my hand up to cup his cheek. I sigh, looking at him. Grateful that nothing's happened to him. The relief is too overwhelming that I believe I can't deny what I'm feeling any longer. He gives me that look, and he pulls me in by my waist.

Ron was right, it would hurt a million times more if I lost him. That's when his touch felt like fire, and I could feel my throat close up. I can't believe I let this happen. I fell for him, for this moron standing in front of me right now. I let out a shaky breath, and pull away from his grasp.

My initial reaction is to run away and never look back, but instead, I go sit next to Percy, who has worry radiating off him. I provide support for the rest of the Weasley family, not sparing Ron one glance, hoping that the words don't tumble from my throat.

*** ⋆｡°✩***

The next Weasley gathering was in celebration of Christmas getting closer and closer as well as Ginny's fast and marvelous recovery. No one, not even the healer's expected her to bounce back that quickly, but Ginny is an amazing witch, it was foolish to not expect it.

I wasn't going though, I'd sent Ginny a gift, and an apology to Molly for not being able to make it. My obstacle at the current moment was trying to get Percy to leave the office to go to said gathering without me. I say, "I can't go, Percy."

"You say that but you still haven't provided a valid excuse." Percy says, and I shrug my shoulders, "I've got work."

"Did you forget that I'm the one who gives you that work? You don't have anything to finish!" Percy says, exasperated, and I sigh, "I just can't Percy."

"But if you-"

"I can't." I stop him sharply, I run a hand through my hair, hopelessly and whisper, "Not while he's there..."

"I'm sure Ron wouldn't mind it, you had a fight, all friends fight. It's normal." Percy reassures me, and I feel my eyes water as I begin to explain, "I fell for him, Percy, and even if he does like me back...You know how he feels about dating his friends, imagine how he would feel about dating me, who is a friend and even considered a member of his family."

"I'm sure everything will be alright." He says, before mumbling something quietly under his breath. He apparates to the Burrow and I organize my office before going back to my apartment for the weekend. I place the pens back into my case. The paper sin the drawers and I lock them up with enchantments and passwords.

I hated not being at the Burrow, not making everyone their drinks, not seeing Ginny after being very worried about her. I couldn't believe that I let my feelings influence my life this much, especially when it came to the Weasleys. They are some of the most important people in my life, and I couldn't-

"Percy told me you'd be here."

I gasp at the voice, and I spin to where it came from. Ron. The silence was thick between us. I cleared my throat, and turned around to continue sorting papers into stacks. I ask, "How's Ginny?"

"Good..." He trails off and the silence spreads over us once more. I ignore it this time and try to focus on getting the organization done as soon as I can to get back home. I'm not sure how long it is before I feel him wrap his arms around my middle and spin me around to face him.

"Mom was disappointed you didn't come." Ron said, and I hoped what he really meant was 'I was disappointed you didn't come.' I don't say a thing, and he pulls me closer to him. The butterflies threaten to swallow me whole. I push his arms away, and I say, "Ron, you should get going."

"Why?"

I try to push passed him but he cages me in between his arms and my desk. I look past him focusing on a picture hung in my office behind him. He adds, "Didn't you think I would notice the way you've been giving everyone the cold shoulder since you saw us at St. Mungo's?"

I stay silent, he was right. I didn't send any letters, and the replies that I've sent were dry to say the least. He says, "I'm sorry, if this is because of the fight, but-"

"It's not because of the fight." I reply, and look at him. I can see the desperation in his eyes, and it gets my heart pumping faster. Ron furrows his eyebrows, and questions, "What is it then?"

My eyes well up, and I look down at the ground. Ron lifts my chin up with his index finger. He says, "You can tell me anything, you know..."

I let out a bittersweet laugh, and sniffle, "Not this, you'll hate me for it."

"I could never hate you." He reassures me, but he doesn't know how little it does. I feel a tear fall, and I cover my face with both my palms. I sob, "I'm so sorry, Ron, I didn't mean to, I promise."

"I'm in love with you." I say, the weight off my shoulders and onto my chest as I await his response, tears falling faster than before. I hear him take in a shaky breath before wrapping his fingers around my wrists. He pulls down my palms away from my face. His movements are slow and they feel like torture, waiting for him to say something or do something.

He gazes at me, and I feel even worse than before, I can't lose him. I can feel another apology about to tumble from lips when he silences me. I'm completely irresponsive as I feel his lips against mine and the feeling of his palms on my cheeks spreading to the rest of my face. I pull away from his lips and ask, "But you said-"

"Everything I've ever said about not wanting to date a friend was a weak and desperate attempt of trying to get you to not fall for Dean." Ron says, and I question, "But when Hermione-"

"The reason why Hermione and I broke up was as I told you, I didn't like her anymore, but the other reason was because my older brother's secretary had it out for me and my heart, and I couldn't spend another moment away from her. I didn't want to rub it in Hermione's face, but I should've handled it better than that."

"You're acting very mature right now." I say, beginning to light up, and Ron chuckles, "Bill had a talk with me after you left St. Mungo's, I've been waiting for the right time to talk to you about it."

"Remind me to thank Bill."

[the-al-chemist]

Another Day

A/N: July’s prompt for @hp-12monthsofmagic is “Surprise…”, and this story contains a fairly big one. I’ll let Charlie tell you about it… Warnings: two minor swear word, one of which barely counts as a swear. Tagging: @fantasywriter19 and @toads-in-my-pockets, who I think may particularly enjoy this little story.

The sun was high in the sky, making the autumn leaves on the ground glow in shades of gold as Charlie arrived in the front garden of the Burrow. From inside the house, the sounds of laughter and clattering pots and pans could be heard as he crunched his way across the yard to the front porch, still dizzy from his Portkey.

He knocked on the front door and was greeted by his mother, who immediately smothered him in an almost rib-breakingly tight hug.

“Bloody hell, Mum. It’s like you’ve not seen me in six months, not six weeks!”

“Well, six weeks is a long time when I had gotten used to you being around all the time,” Mrs Weasley replied. “It’s just lovely to have you home, dear.”

Charlie’s mother let him go, looking almost expectantly behind him before sighing deeply.

“What’s the matter?” Charlie asked her.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I thought that maybe… Oh, never mind. Come on inside, dear.”

Shaking his head despairingly, Charlie followed his mother inside the house. It didn’t look quite the same as it had when he was growing up, but it still felt like home, a fact he was grateful for, given the state the house had been in at the end of the war. The Death Eaters had completely ransacked the house and destroyed parts of it; it had taken Charlie and his brother Percy the best part of a year to fully restore it to its former unglorified glory.

In the living room was Percy himself, along with Charlie’s other two eldest brothers and their father. Charlie hugged each of them in turn, finishing with his older brother, Bill.

“Where’s Fleur?” Charlie asked him, looking around himself as if his sister-in-law might suddenly appear out of nowhere - which, in fairness, she could.

“She went for some air,” replied Bill, smiling broadly. “She’s out in the back garden watching Harry and Ginny teach Teddy to ride a broom.”

“Right. And the others?”

“Ron and Hermione should be here any minute now, and knowing Artemis, she will be here ten minutes late.”

“Of course. Why break the habit of a lifetime?” Charlie said, raising his eyebrows knowingly. “I’ll go and show my face outside.”

In the back garden, Fleur Weasley was sitting on a deck chair with a glass of water, watching Charlie’s sister Ginny and her boyfriend holding a blue-haired toddler upright on a broomstick. At the sight of her brother, Ginny left Harry and Teddy to their flying lesson and ran across the grass towards him.

“Did you come here alone?” she demanded, without even saying hello first.

“It’s nice to see you too, Gin.”

“Yeah, whatever. Answer the question.”

“Uh, yes. Why?”

“Oh, mum was getting all excited. She got it into her head that you were bringing a girl home as a surprise.”

Charlie blinked. “Why would she think that?”

“Because Mum just loves marrying people off, doesn’t she?” Ginny laughed. “And because you only ever usually come home when it’s a special occasion.”

Ginny had a point, Charlie had to admit that. When he had first left home at eighteen, he struggled to afford Portkeys, and always found himself feeling more homesick returning to Romania after visiting his family. Going home infrequently had become somewhat of a habit, but after the war ended and he moved back to Romania following a year’s sabbatical, his priorities had changed. He had visited more often in the last five months, but it just so happened that his visits had coincided with big events: Ginny’s graduation, George’s shop re-opening, Ron’s engagement. This was the first time he had come home without there being some sort of occasion, the first time that it was just another day in the life of the Weasley family.

“Anyway,” Ginny continued, apparently not noticing the somewhat guilty conscience of her brother, “Mum started putting twos together, you know what she’s like.”

“She does like putting twos together.”

“So, you definitely haven’t brought a girl home, then?”

Charlie looked one way and then the other, before holding his hands aloft and shrugging his shoulders.

“Mum will be disappointed,” Ginny laughed, and Fleur smirked into her glass of water.

“I expect zat she will cope,” she said wryly.

From inside the house, Molly called that dinner was ready, and the whole family made their way towards the kitchen. Charlie ducked under a platter of roast potatoes making its own way to the table in order to greet the latecomers: his youngest brother Ron and his fiancée, and Charlie’s best friend from school, Artemis Hexley.

“Trust you to arrive just in time for food,” he muttered to her as he pulled her into a hug. “Though you could’ve at least brushed your hair.”

“Oh, piss off,” Artemis prodded Charlie in the ribs and wriggled out from his arms. “How was your journey here, anyway?”

“Not too bad.”

“The grannies of Ottery St Catchpole all survived you apparating, then?”

“You know, that joke stopped being funny about eight years ago.”

“To you, maybe.”

Artemis grinned wickedly and made her way to the table, Charlie following behind her. As the plates of food were passed around and the kitchen was filled with the sound of lively conversation, he realised how much he had missed moments like this. This was exactly what he had wanted for his visit home.

When the chatter at the dinner table reached a natural lull, Charlie cleared his throat quietly. Before he could say anything to fill the gap, however, Bill rose to his feet.

“I didn’t realise there were going to be speeches,” said George, through a mouthful of food.

“I’ll be quick, I promise,” Bill laughed sheepishly. “It’s just that while everyone is here, I - well, Fleur and I - wanted to tell you all something.” He placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder and smiled at her so widely he looked as if he might burst from happiness, before telling the rest of the family: “We are going to have a baby.”

Suddenly, the kitchen was filled with even more noise and movement than before. Molly and Arthur Weasley rose from their seats to embrace their oldest son and daughter-in-law, Molly making high-pitched noises and crying. Percy congratulated them heartily, and Artemis dropped her fork on the floor in surprise.

Charlie bent down to pick it up and handed it back to her, their eyes meeting as the fork exchanged hands. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, and he gave her an almost imperceptible shrug in response.

Just like that, the day now belonged to Bill, Fleur, and their unborn child. The talk at the dinner table had turned to babies, to names and dates and sleeping arrangements. Even after dinner ended, the discussion continued, with Charlie’s mother rushing to find the family albums to find photos of her own seven babies for everyone to look at, an ordeal Charlie managed to escape by offering to clean up after dinner.

“Can I just grab a glass for Fleur?” Bill asked him, once everyone else had retired to the sitting room.

“Of course you can,” Charlie ducked out of the way of a cupboard to allow Bill to summon a glass from it. He chuckled to himself and shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re going to be a dad.”

“Neither can I.”

“You must be so happy.”

“I am,” said Bill, still smiling. “Terrified, but happy.”

“It’ll be alright. You’ll be a great dad.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

“I mean it,” Charlie held his hand out to Bill. “Congratulations, mate.”

The two brothers shook hands before wrapping their free arms around each other’s shoulders.

“I’m just glad you decided to come back this weekend,” Bill said. “We didn’t want some people finding out before others, and you know how hard it is to get everyone in one place when it’s not for something specific.”

“Hm, yeah.” Charlie nodded, aware that Artemis had just entered the room and pulled a face that made it hard for him not to laugh. “Tough, that.”

“I mean it, thank you. Anyway, better give this to Fleur. Sorry, Artemis, didn’t realise you were behind me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Artemis paused before briefly hugging Bill around the waist. “Congratulations, by the way.”

She watched Bill carry Fleur’s glass out of the room, before leaning back against the kitchen table and watching the dishes wash and dry themselves at the sink.

“You didn’t fancy looking at the photos of baby Bill in the bath, then?” asked Charlie.

“Not really. I lived with him for half of last year, if I wanted to see his knob I’d have had plenty of opportunities to do so.”

Charlie laughed and used his wand to direct the clean plates into the cupboard before joining Artemis on the edge of the table.

“So much for it just being another boring, regular day at the Burrow,” she muttered quietly, rolling her eyes.

“I never said it would be boring,” replied Charlie, his voice also lowered. He sighed. “That’s the thing about big families. There’s always something going on with someone. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Honest?”

Artemis turned her face towards Charlie, holding his gaze.

“Yeah,” she said, completely honestly. “If anything, it’s kind of funny. You had this brilliant plan set out for weeks, and Bill swoops in at the last minute with the exact same idea.”

“Well, they say great minds think alike,” Charlie grinned. “You think that’s funny, you should hear what Mum and Ginny said.”

“What was that?”

“They thought I might be bringing home a girlfriend this weekend.”

“Did they really?” Artemis smirked. “That’s brilliant. What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No, I just went like this,” Charlie held his hands up slightly and shrugged his shoulders. Artemis blinked at him. “What? It works every time.”

Artemis burst out laughing, using one hand to stifle the sound of her giggles as Charlie shushed her through his own.

“We can’t now, can we?” she whispered, once the two of them had composed themselves.

“Not really, no.”

“That would be unfair.”

“It would,” said Charlie. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s just good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back. I missed you.”

“You too.”

Charlie cast a glance over his shoulder at the door before wrapping his arm around Artemis.

“So, now what?” she asked, reaching across him to take his free hand, her fingers walking over his like the rungs of a ladder.

“We let them have their day today, and then we will just have to make a new plan so we can have our turn another day.”

“And that’s when we’ll tell them about” - Artemis’ eyes flicked from Charlie’s right hand in her lap to his left on her shoulder - “us?”

With another look back at the door, Charlie pulled her closer to him, kissed her hairline, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Yeah. That’s when we’ll tell them about us.”

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Hiii :)

Do you have any Harry headcanons ?

In the previous episodes: Headcanons about the Potter kids and Teddy Headcanons about Ginny

Now, some Harry headcanons:

His favourite colour is red but that's basically canon

Called the big black dog he and Ginny adopted "Pad" (in reference to Padfoot of course), literally the only animal he managed to name out of all the zoo they have in the house

Canonically he becomes Head Auror at 27, around the same time Lily was born, so I think it happened for a similar reason to Ginny changing her job. Harry loves being in the action and it definitely wasn't his last opportunity to become Head Auror, but basically never going in the field and generally having way more stable hours meant having way more time for the kids

After the war, he discovers that there's an actual Potter vault at Gringrotts he started having access to at 17. There he finds, besides more money, a lot of family heirlooms, diaries, and things taken from the cottage and so he starts discovering more about the Potter family.

When Ginny goes back to Hogwarts, Harry doesn't exactly have the easiest time dealing with her absence. So once he understands that drinking himself to death might not be a great idea he decides to keep himself extremely busy. Obviously, Auror's training helps, but also he spends a lot of time with Teddy and, inspired by what he finds in the Potter vault, he starts investigating his family, finding distant relatives or simply people who knew his parents and grandparents and maybe even great-grandparents. Not only from the Potter side but the Evans one too. He writes to Ginny about it and it becomes a sort of game where she suggests places to check (especially with her pureblood knowledge of the wizarding world) and many of the people Harry meets become inside jokes between them, like some sort of characters

Lily has him wrapped around her little finger. In his defence, she looks just like her mother, what is he supposed to do??

He is like ridiculously good at his job? Especially when he comes to terms with the fact that he can be very intimidating and starts using that with purpose

He is the one that cooks usually, a sort of reappropriation of the activity after his childhood. Now he does it for the people he loves and that very much love him back.

When the kids are all at Hogwarts, he decides that he needs another hobby besides cooking. I've always imagined gardening because it's an open-air activity and it's very methodical and therefore relaxing. Maybe he starts keeping a vegetable garden.

Robards is absolutely the new addition to his collection of father figures.

When he becomes Head of the DMLE, he gets as secretary a very competent, very grumpy, lady that is old enough to be his mother. Harry adores her because she doesn't give a fuck about him being Harry Potter and when she retires he is grumpy about it for months.

On this note, Harry takes Ron leaving the Aurors as a bit of a personal offence. He gets over it eventually but oh, he definitely complains about it

The Auror partner he has for years is a guy ten years older than him, that already has a wife and very young kids when Harry meets him, so he becomes a bit of an older brother to Harry [I hate when people give Harry no new friends in the Aurors, the man works there for a billion years]. The Potters are all friends with this other family, they have dinners together once in a while, the kids are invited to the others' birthdays, stuff like that

When Ginny plays for the Harpies he is the only guy in the group at parties. The only players with a partner are a couple of older married women that don't usually go to parties, all the younger girls are young and single so they basically adopt Harry as a brother and ask him for advice with the guys (to Ginny's great amusement and Harry's horror) but he actually grows into the role

As much as he hates to admit it, one thing he learns from hanging out with Quidditch players is how easier it is to be friends with other famous people than non-famous ones

He teaches his kids how to duel because he is paranoic and also there's nothing more Harry Potter-like than teaching your kids in borderline illegal ways despite being Head Auror

He has some quirks that come very clearly from being raised by Petunia, like being a bit of a neat freak. In general, he needs some things in the house to be done in a certain way

When he eventually retires, he picks up some cases here and there as a private investigator, mainly because I think it would be hilarious for him to be in competition with a department he led for years

In short, grandpa/great-grandpa/great-great-grandpa Harry has Harry's idea of a perfect life: he spends a lot of time with the grandchildren, he has his vegetable garden, he has fun solving only the more interesting mysteries, he goes to events to support his writer wife, and they have a fun trip once in a while

[mo0nyy4siir1us]

I was thinking about this earlier, and I thought "it's short enough, I can write it" so yeah.

Unrequited Drarry.

Harry and Draco had grown closer after the war. Draco wasn't sure why Harry had decided he was worth of his attention, but he wasn't complaining. They never bickered anymore, they could have a chat without throwing insults at each other, and... It was nice.

Draco was head over heels for Harry. Merlin, he had been for years now. And, to be honest, he had gotten his hopes up when they started being friends. But... Harry was still with Ginny. He liked her. He loved her, he'd said it himself.

"I truly think she's the one, Draco.", Harry revealed one day. Draco grinned at him, but his heart ached so painfully.

He knew it was his own fault for getting his hopes up. Harry had never shown any signs of liking him, he was the one making up stuff that wasn't, and would never be real.

Still, it hurt. He couldn't help but cry a little bit later that night, knowing he'd never get what he wanted the most in his life. Draco would always be pining from afar. When Harry and Ginny got married. When they had their first son. When they were the happiest they'd ever been. Draco could do nothing but feel happy for Harry and slightly jealous of Ginny.

[lostdrarryfics]

lostdrarryfics monthly roundup Aug + Sept: Part 1

Oops! We got busy and never posted the monthly roundup, so we're splitting it into two parts. Here's Part 1! Please let us know if you recognize any fics!

You can also browse our lengthy lost fic masterlist, where we have compiled every request we have been unable to find over the past few years. We're always hoping someone will recognize a fic so we can let the asker know what it was!

1. i found the fic on pinterest and im pretty sure the person whos pinterest i found it on wrote it but i did read it on ao3. it was an 8th year darry post war hogwarts. there was ptsd in the tags. there were 13 chapters but the last one (13) was an explanation of why it was on hiatus, it could have changed by now idk, the main plot was that draco was cutting himself but specifically to try get rid of his dark mark (or just sh i cant remember) and harry discovered this and wanted to help. he went to this meeting that the students ran and got tips on how to help. was told that for a couple of people painting their arms helped them and one lended their paint to harry. so harry and draco kept meeting up and harry would do these amazing art paintings on his arm(to cover the dark mark specifically i think) and draco was so relaxed. i think they got into a fight and draco relapsed and then harry discovered this in the basement of hunydukes(?). and afterwards draco talks with pansy and blaise and realises that he likes harry (again i could be mixing up with a different fic but im pretty sure it was this one)

2. postwar drarry fic where draco was previously dating another man before his current relationship with Harry and kind of embraces that memory..? I think he was telling Harry about this other man and I think there was this specific line about how draco and the previous man had similar cracks and were similarly broken so they thought their cracks fit tgt and thought it was love but it rly wasn't..???

3. been looking for this fic for a while, so I guess it was posted 5+ years ago. Probably on AO3, but I’m not sure. It’s AU, Harry is poor and decides to sell his virginity at Sirius’ brothel. Draco, also a virgin, buys it. Here it is what I remember: Both Harry and Draco are virgins. Harry needs money (to go to college? university?) and decides to sell his virginity. Sirius is a sex worker/has a brothel and tries to dissuade Harry, but can't. Draco is about to get married (a marrige Lucius arranged for him). Lucius takes Draco to Sirius' brothel. Draco insists in a inexperienced hooker. Draco and Harry hook up and obviously fall in love. Draco pays for Harry exclusivity. All of above are what I'm sure about (or as sure I can be). However, there are other informations that I think were important in this fic: When Harry talks to Sirius, Sirius thinks in selling his wand because it's something rare (like, only tradicional pure-blood have one). There is something about lycantrophy, Remus takes care of other werewolves and he needs Sirius' wand to make wolfsbane.

4. draco and harry are already in a relationship but draco is so self hatred and he believes he don't deserve harry. Im not sure if he already tried breakup with harry but harry is so in love with draco that he don't accept de breakup so draco to finally leave harry líes to him tellin him that he don't want to be tied in a relationship and he wanna explore being with other people and be more sexually adventorous or something in that context. These are the  scenes that i remember: Draco talking with ginny because he knows she still in love with harry and would have him back no matter how and that this is a chance draco is giving her. After the breakup harry find draco and tell him that they dont have to be boyfriends but that at least draco  let harry be one of the persons that draco have fun with because at least that way he still in draco's life. In the end ginny based on harry's heartbreak make harry come back togheter with her and draco see them in a restaurant and believes he make the righ choice.

5. I'm very positive this story is in ao3. I don't remember much but the story is set after the war where Draco discovers the hidden secrets of his ancestor Malfoy, I remember it has something to do with dragons and daggers or something. Then Harry and Draco went together to uncover the mystery. I remember they went to some kind of desert place? Then a cave where there were a lot of paintings or stuff from Malfoy's ancestors. Then I remember Draco and Harry sort of doing a sex ritual on a stone table I think. Then Draco got pregnant. In the end I remember Scorpius and Harry living in that cave if I'm not mistaken.

6. I think it’s set during eight year, I remember no one wanting to pair up with Draco, and I think it must’ve been in Potions. Harry must’ve volunteered to pair up with him. I remember it being in Draco’s POV, and that he described Harry as looking sleepy between Ron and Hermione. And then somehow, they get transported to like the countryside or the highlands where they have to operate a muggle car to get back to Hogwarts. It’s like an adventure of sorts. I’m sorry it’s vague but it’s what I remember. There’s no fake relationships trope or anything like that. I think it might’ve been before the war or maybe an au? But it’s defo like an adventure fic with them trying to operate a muggle car. Fic is not Right Hand Red by lqtraintracks

7. I read it about 8 years ago and I think it was on a drarryforum.com/forumdrarry.com. Okay, so it's after the war - they're all adults living their lives. Draco is working in a bar/restaurant/bistro/sth like that for a man that he is indebted to. I think he works as a waiter too, but he definitely is available to "rent". He's forced to work as a sex worker for the food place owner till he pays off his debt. I think the owner used/is using him as well. One day Potter comes to the place, the owner is happy and they chat (idk if they know each other, but maybe) and Harry sees Draco (maybe he's waitering for him?). Harry is delighted in Draco feeling humiliated, and somehow the owner tells Harry about their arrangement, offers Draco to him (maybe even for free cause of admiration for Potte) and Harry ends up renting Draco for some time. Harry is very dark, possibly with PTSD, definitely taking pleasure in hurting Draco and degrading him. The first time they are in bed together he humiliates him verbally, I think by making Draco admit to enjoying what Harry's doing to him, and forcing Draco to ask Harry to continue/let him come (something like that). It's non-con (duh lol), very dark and there's a lot of angst. I think they develop some feelings for each other maybe, but doubt it has a happy ending - certainly not fluff. It has several chapters, is in English (I read a Polish translation I think?) and is sexually explicit. It's possible Harry is violent towards Draco overall, but I might have confused it with another fic I'm looking for. Maybe there are some other characters in the background, but mainly It's Draco and Harry. Lucius might be dead and Narcissa is either dead as well or very sick and/or poor and Draco has no one. Harry has some power position probably,  Aurors with Ron, prime minister or something like that, and Draco is bottom and submissive, but that might just be cause Potter has all control. And it's 100% not the fic in which Draco has some sort of debt and is using some potion to not look like himself. And Harry is really cold and damaged. Might be vengeful towards Malfoy, either for the school years, or him being a Death Eater or both.

8. Looking for an ao3 fic. In this one Draco has a really special bond with his wand, and I only remember this scene where he is at the quidditch stand with the professors and he is practicing magic in there, but I don't know what. Also the wand is a lot of the plot, maybe it's bc he can't do magic with another wand and maybe he was a Ravenclaw but I'm not sure either:( but I think he was happy and wasn't bad like the canon. I remember one more thing I think, Draco was with McGonagall on a scene looking at a quidditch game, he was really happy with her and McGonagall likes him as well, I think he had a special bond with the professors bc Lucius and Narcissa was bad parent, maybe even wasn't with him anymore, also he was a ray of sunshine! He was really cute/adorable Fic is not The Mirror of Ecidyrue series by starbrigid

9. I think the title included the word "tomb". Anyway Draco and Harry were in some desert and they were traveling with other authority figures (I think Aurors and Harry was head Auror). For some reason they were looking for something and they found an entity which killed two people traveling with them or badly injured them. The entity targeted them because it thought Draco was it's long lost lover. I also remember a scene where Draco didn't want to get on a camel because it was uncouth or something.

[danpuff-ao3]

Snarry-a-Thon 2019

Snarry-a-Thon is an annual fest of Snarry goodness that always brings so much creativity and joy in the Snarry community. I am forever blown away by how much talent and passion Snarry-lovers have. With that in mind, I wanted to create some special recs for a fest near and dear to my heart.

With that, here are my Top 5 picks for the 2010 fest! But first...

Disclaimer: my rec lists are created based on my personal experiences and preferences. There are plenty of other stories and authors who are quite good and deserve just as much love. This is not meant to be an objective “best of the best” list, but the subjective opinion of a longtime reader and fangirl.

Amortentia

by avioleta (@avioleta). Rated: E. Words: 21,057. First time. Past relationships. Non-consensual drug use.

A few years after they married, Harry discovers Ginny has been dosing him with Amortentia the whole time. He goes to Snape for help to reverse the effects.

Cutis Fame Morbus

by Lilian. Rated: T. Words: 11,897. Hurt/comfort. Bed sharing. Dub-con cuddling. Naked cuddling.

Sometimes, redemption comes with the face of a deadly wizard-disease and its only cure: forced cuddling.

A Snake's Story

by pluperfectsunrise. Rated: M. Words: 8,472. Animagus. Healing.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter finds an injured snake and nurses it back to health. It’s Severus Snape, of course.

How We Were Warriors

by Writcraft (@writcraft). Rated: E. Words: 51,567. Queer themes. Implied/referenced homophobia. Emotional hurt/comfort. Getting together. Slow burn. Falling in love. Healing. Past relationships. HIV/AIDS. Queer history. Pride parades. Happy ending.

A homophobic attack in London’s Soho brings Harry to New York City to discover more about the past. Still haunted by love and loss in the eighties, Severus just wants to forget. In Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, past and present collide, and in one another Severus and Harry find hope for the future.

Hero Worship

by zalil. Rated: E. Words: 14,051. Past relationships. Light dom/sub.

When Snape meets Potter a few years after the war, he is surprised to see that the little brat has come to be a strapping young lad with the muscles of an Auror and a command over his magical powers that makes Snape want to fall to his knees and worship him.

Snarry-a-Thon 2019 Masterlist

[mischieflower]

Sirius gives Harry a glimpse of the past

Sirius Black is brooding. something very unlike him, but then again he hasn't been much like himself in quite a long time. The order hasn't been like anything of it's past, the most obvious part being snape was a part of it now.

The dire fact was that everytime Sirius would have to enter a room to see Snape sit in the living room talking with other members of the order, Sirius can practically hear James calling him a slimy git and Sirius has to try very hard not to laugh to himself.

He's been trying very hard to not think about James as much but it's been frankly impossible. Sometimes, he thinks to himself how his best mate might have reacted to something ridiculous that happens during the meetings or the jokes he would make to lighten the atmosphere. Every time he says something unserious and Molly sends him a tired look, he thinks to himself that James would have given him a high five for that one. When Harry gives him a hug he sometimes thinks it's James, and it's rather pathetic of him.

It doesn't help when his godson contacts him through the fire in a panicked state, all worried about his parents.

"How did she marry him? She hated him"

Those words brought a wry smile, a smile filled with too many memories that made his small heart grow in size. He knew he should have been more worried or serious about Harry's questions like Remus was, but he couldn't help but use an old ruse he used all the time whenever someone at Hogwarts seemed too confused on how Lily Evan's started fancying James Potter especially since she seemed to hate him.

"Nah she didn't"

So when Christmas rolls around, Sirius decides to pick up Harry , risking almost everything (but what's new). Harry is ecstatic to see Sirius, and all the dark thoughts that swirl in his head constantly disappear. Mr. Weasley was recovering and looked much better, and after a rather rude wake up call from Ginny---- Harry tried his best to not let Voldemort to mess with his head. Things seem better than usual and he spends all his time with Sirius.

"I miss your father" Sirius said, taking a sip of firewhiskey. Harry looked up from the rug he was seated on, up at Sirius seated comfortably in the armchair. "He loved Christmas. Not as much as your mother though" He adds as an afterthought, and there's a delicate smile on his face when he mentions Lily.

"Really?" Harry asked, his eyes bright.

"I know you were struggling with everything that has been happening" Sirius said, turning to him and Harry looks at the flames dancing together in the fireplace. "Just know that I'll always be there for you, just like your parents were for me"

Harry tries hard not to let tears prick his eyes and continues looking at the flames, scared that if he met Sirius's eyes his resolve might melt. Sirius continues, "And I know you felt bad for Snivellus and thought you were similiar. I also know James would be up in the afterlife trying to figure out a way to kill himself again hearing you say that"

Harry chuckled at this, he still felt mixed feelings about the whole ordeal but he had to admit that spending time with Sirius and Remus had him feeling better about things. Maybe he had jumped to conclusions too quickly, he was always told his parents were wonderful people in love, so it wasn't right to jump to the conclusion that there wasn't love between them because of Snape's memories.

Sirius studies his godson for a couple of seconds before he decides to take weight off of his shoulders, "Look Hogwarts at my time was very different. There was an impending cloud of doom all around us because we knew a war was coming, and all of us were fighting on the side that could get us killed. Yet, those seven years went by in flash filled with mischief, friendship, love and happiness. It was the time the Marauder's welcomed everyone back with pranks and back when christmas balls were every year. Flirting with professors too" Sirius grinned as he told Harry, his insides feeling warm. "And oh god and the whole Lily Evans and James Potter saga, What a time!"

"Lily Evans and James Potter Saga?" Harry asked curiously, and he felt the ends of his mouth turn up. there was this warm feeling that filled him whenever he heard of his parents, and no matter where he was he knew that just thinking of them could conjure up this warmth.

"Oh yes" Sirius grinned. "It's no surprise I guess, but your father was a a heartthrob, though i'll never understand he looked like a loser to be honest, back at school and a charming flirt who used to charm any witch... well except your mother of course"

Sirius chuckled before continuing, "They bickered in our first year itself, and then this continued through third year before he asked her out and she rejected him. He didn't stop there though, and continued asking her out and at first he did it to tease her but at some point, we all knew that he really did fancy her and eventually was in love with her. Your mother on the other side found him an arrogant toerag and thought the whole thing was a joke, rejecting him in creative ways. A bit of personal input Harry but I'm sure she did find a bit of amusement being asked out by him she always had a ghost of a smile on her face. But then things went to hell I guess with the end of year five, which you saw in Snape's mind"

"Oh" Harry said, "so you guys did bully these people for fun"

Sirius flinched at the word choice, "It wasn't necessarily bullying, it was just teasing and pranking. very harmless and most of the school enjoyed it. but yes what you saw with what happened with Snape, was something that was reserved just for him. And don't be mistaken, you only saw one side of his memories, he certainly did horrendous stuff too. hurt your mother a great deal and of course James wouldn't tolerate that, would he know?"

Harry felt a smile start to form at that last sentence. His parents were something else, he could only hope of having a love like that, but he knew with Voldemort clouding his life, there was a slim chance. However, just hearing about his parents gave him a buzz that even firewhiskey didn't give hm.

"And like Moony was saying, James deflated his ego and matured meaning he stopped asking out Lily knowing that she didn't like him" Sirius grinned, and Harry could tell he enjoyed this part of the story. "And of course, when James stopped asking her out, dearest lilyflower starts developing feelings for him. I guess it helped that Lil's friends and us became close friends during our sixth year"

"But they didn't go out until seventh year?" Harry asks curiously, already smiling over the nicknames Sirius used for his parents.

"No and you won't believe it, but Jamsie made Head Boy and of couse as everyone knew it Lils became Head Girl. The line between friendship and love began to blur as they spent more time together and flirted a disgusting amount. And well personally I always knew she had a fat crush on him during sixth year which she tried keeping a secret since she thought he was over her." Sirius lets out a bark of laughter, "As if!"

"Anyways, they finally kiss and get together, then get married and have you and well the rest... you pretty much know" Sirius ends lamely.

"Wow" Harry whispers to himself, "and to think I was scared that they were forced or something to get married"

"Right!" Sirius laughs, "But I don't blame you, Harry, for thinking that way. You were supposed to be all our golden child, living with endless amounts of love and well...wealth. Your childhood has been exceedingly hard, something your parents would have never wanted. You didn't even know your parents well, that excuse of a human and walrus raised you"

Harry bursts out into laughter and the description of his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. He doesn't even realise when tears fill his eyes or his heart grows heavy, recalling everything Sirius had told him.

He had been so robbed.

Soon hot tears pool in his eyes and he tries looking in another direction and prays that Sirius has had too much firewhiskey to notice.

But of course, he does.

He stands to his feet and pulls Harry into a hug. A long one, a hug in which he tries to communicate how much he missed Harry's parents and how much he loved Harry as his own.

When they pull apart, Harry is smiling and so is Sirius ,though, both their eyes are still damp with tears.

"Now the next time you say you feel like you're Snivellus again, James might actually find a way to come down here... though that might not be entirely a bad thing"