#again i recognize this is such a spoiled thing to complain about and im sorry if its annoying to read abt!!

[i-luvsang]

i hate being on the verge of tears in public !!! and it’s about fucking kpop i need to get a grip!!!!!!!$;73&38&2$.!’$/$3!/‘j$€{€!{£&jhhdjdhwijwgeieiehhejeiddggdneiwiwhuwjeieuebidnejskaowhhrbdieiruruidieieiehndozi&$:$£7:)3&k$$;$&jhdhiahJh

[ilikekidsshows]

I edited the ask slightly to make it clear this is about apologists making excuses for Chloé's behavior and not fans who just feel frustrated over not getting an arc they wished to see.

Anon said: I think what really annoys me is Chloe apologists that cry she’s, “just a kid she can learn to be better and outgrow her abusive tendencies” seem to gloss over or ignore that Chloe has been given MULTIPLE chances to do better for 3 seasons and at every turn she always returns to her spoiled bratty bullying ways. Especially in season 3 where she didn’t listen to Ladybug about never getting the miraculous and felt entitled to the power.

It’s just so annoying how chloe apologists act like she’s the real victim just cause her mommy doesn’t love her, news flash she’s not the only character in the show who has a bad relationship with a parent. It doesn’t give Chloe the right to degrade and abuse people. Im not sure if Chloe needs to hit rock bottom before she turn things around or this is heading towards a corruption arc. However im also annoyed when parts of her fandom claim it’s misogynistic that she doesn’t get better.

Because sometimes bad people stay bad and never get better, it would be a very powerful lesson to teach kids who are in toxic abusive relationships especially with childhood friends that sometimes you have to let them go and cut them off because they’re causing you harm. It was very powerful of Adrien to stand up to Chloe multiple times as an abuse victim and not let her drag him down to her level. All the people mad at him for queen banana don’t realize that Adrien can’t make chloe a kinder person. No one can make someone mean good.

Plus the show is chock full of actual good and kind girls with positive supportive friendships so having one or even two female characters turn out bad isn’t sexist to me. Same with people who claim Zoe is a Mary Sue and it’s wrong that she’s replacing Chloe. Which is weird because Zoe can’t replace what Chloe never was, a friend to the main cast. Chloe was never close with the class or their friend even if she tried to be involved in their projects he never tried to get along with the others.

Plus Zoe made a mistake by trying to emulate her family and be a bully but eventually realized being awful like them wasn’t worth their approval. Whether she’s a better hero or deserves the miraculous is another discussion but we’re talking about Chloe here. If she continues down the path of selfishness and hate becoming like her mother and her sister Zoe, who also comes from an abusive family, doesn’t that just means one overcame their trauma and the other didn’t.

Sorry for the rant just I’m so tired of seeing the tag be cluttered up by Chloe apologists who won’t stop crying or complaining about her character.

With what the canon actually gave us, Chloé's arc could have gone, and could still go, either way on the redemption/corruption scale. Yes, Chloé messed up royally in the season three finale, but she was under duress to a degree. While Chloé showed few signs of becoming a selfless hero, since most of the people she helped as a hero were people she put in bad situations to begin with or she helped out to get to hang out with Ladybug, she's also showed no signs of becoming a true villain the same way Lila has. We can clearly see Lila developing into a supervillain, but Chloé is very much stuck in the middle and could go either way if she suddenly got superpowers with no strings attached.

The real issue here is Chloé's civilian life. She's never been kind to her classmates and goes out of her way to make sure they have a bad time. This has never been influenced by whether or not she had a Miraculous, so obviously something not-superpowers-related needs to happen for her to see anything wrong with what she's doing.

And there's a real chance Zoé is meant to be that thing that makes Chloé see. Chloé could see how her sister was forgiven and welcomed by her classmates and realize how easy it is to stop being awful and get validation and friendship from the class that way. This realization might make her look down on the class as gullible fools, like Lila, or it might make Chloé want to belong and try to adjust her behavior, having her follow Zoé's lead.

Of course there's still a chance that Chloé will just keep swinging between sitcom arch nemesis and not-quite-a-supervillain, that she'll still be used as a civilian life obstacle for the heroes to overcome and she's not meant to be redeemed or corrupted. In this case I can see this fandom discourse continuing for years to come, since it's the uncertainty of Chloé's role that's fuelling it so much.

Crying misogyny every time your favorite female character is treated in a way you don't like, when it’s used in a way that’s clearly just a buzzword meant to manipulate people, is something I'm just so done with. In the case of Miraculous, though, it's especially misguided, with how much the creators clearly try to be feminist. It's one thing to say something they did fails at that goal and leans into sexist attitudes and another to say they're being purposefully misogynistic because the show isn’t to your tastes. Because, let’s face it, a lot of the show’s attempts at being progressive have been tone deaf, but it usually seems to happen by accident and sometimes, at least with Fei’s design, they seem to be willing to amend a mistake when it gets pointed out.

Also, because sexism and feminism are about gender politics, the thing with discussing sexism is not actually comparing a female character with other female characters, it's about comparing a female character with male characters. If a show aims for gender equality, a character's gender can't influence how they are treated. This means we need to see if we can compare Chloé's character to a male character and find equality.

And we can. Miraculous Ladybug has a male character who causes others pain on purpose. This same character has several chances to stop being awful with "not being awful" costing him nothing. He even shows a softer side in 'Style Queen', just like Chloé in that same episode, but ultimately tosses that change aside when he finds something he thinks can help him gain his goals, like Chloé does in 'Miracle Queen'.

I am of course talking about Gabriel Agreste. I have repeatedly said that Marinette and Chloé are mirrors, what the other could be if they changed how they view other people and themselves. Gabriel is a foil to Marinette, so he naturally mirrors Chloé as well. However, Gabriel's arc has a similar forwards-and-backwards beat as Chloé's does. Even Chloé Apologists recognize the similarities between the two, since I've seen them voicing concerns that Gabriel might get redeemed while Chloé doesn't, because they think Gabriel having sympathetic aspects is a sign of a redemption arc for him like it supposedly was for Chloé. Instead, they are still both firmly in the area of antagonists and villains.

Although I will concede one key difference: Chloé is still way more likely to get redeemed than Gabriel.

I also think that, even if Chloé does get redeemed eventually, it’s still important that Adrien didn’t just hang on waiting for it when she spent so long proving again and again that she didn’t want to change. Because the other characters couldn’t know for sure if Chloé would change. Just like in the real world you won’t know for sure if your toxic friend will ever change, so you might have to let them go for your own sake. Even if they might get better one day, even if you’re not their target, it’s not on you to stand by them when they do things that are against your personal ethics.

[bakedpieceofchicken]

YES THIS IS @inexchangeforyoursoul‘S FAULT AND YES THEIR ART IS AMAZING WHY DONT YOU GO CHECK IT OUT ALREADY AND (EVEN THO THE POST I LINKED HAS IT) IM ALSO GOING TO LINK THE AMAZING FIC SOMEONE ELSE WROTE FOR IT!!!

Word Count: 3,173

Summary: Sako becomes unexpectedly acquainted with his colleague’s son.

notes: i have never written mr. compress in detail before this, just a warning. oh well, let’s see :^)

There was a knock on the door.

Keigo’s wings perked up in response to the unexpected noise. The little winged boy, distracted from the TV show he had been watching, stood up on the couch with both feet (dad would definitely yell at him if he weren’t asleep right now). He looked at the door--and then looked at the littered floor space between the couch and the door.

Keigo launched himself off the couch, using his wings to guide him above the floor to the door in only one magnificent leap. Alright, maybe it could be considered cheating that he was using his quirk. Nobody was keeping count, though.

Giddy that he made it (he knew he would but it still made him happy knowing he achieved such an impressive feat), he opened the door slightly and peaked his head out (just like how dad taught him)...

...to a stranger he didn’t recognize. Disappointment hit Keigo like a truck.

“You’re not mom,” Keigo told the man, frowning.

Sako blinked at Keigo, slightly startled at the sight of the child. Takami never mentioned having a son and Sako certainly never suspected the man of having one.

The boy didn’t look like his father too much but there were still some distinct similarities that made it undoubtedly clear that they were related by blood.

“I’m afraid not,” Sako said with a deeply sympathetic tone, taking off his hat and slightly bowing politely to the boy. “My name is Sako Atsuhiro. I’m a colleague of your father’s and I came to discuss work-related business with him. Is he around?”

“He’s sleeping right now,” Keigo said. “He doesn’t like being woken up.”

“...Should I come another time, then?” Sako asked. “What time would be appropriate?”

Keigo shrugged. “Sometimes he’ll be asleep for an hour and sometimes he’ll be asleep for ten.”

That did sound like the sleeping schedule of the erratic man Sako was horribly familiar with. “Ah.”

“You can come in though,” Keigo said. “If you want.” He opened the door wider this time, allowing Sako to see the absolute massive mess that was their apartment.

Used food cartons unceremoniously thrown around on the ground, empty bottles of alcohol all over the place--was that broken glass on the floor in the middle of the living room?

It was even worse than what Sako had imagined Takami’s living space would look like. He had a child living with him, for goodness sake.

“Don’t step on that spot.” Keigo pointed to the area with the broken glass. “Dad says the pieces are sharp and you could cut your feet there.”

Well, the pieces wouldn’t because Sako was still wearing his thick-soled shoes. He appreciated the kind sentiment of the child, though. It was terribly endearing and so... different from his father.

“Thank you for the warning, my boy.” Sako ruffled the child’s hair. “Do you have a name that I could call you by?”

“Takami Keigo,” Keigo answered, floating himself above the ground to the couch. The couch was nice; it was his safe spot away from the rest of the apartment. “You’re the first person I’ve met who wants to visit dad. The only other person who ever visited was mom.”

Not surprising. Sako wouldn’t consider Takami to be a very sociable man. “Where is that mother of yours?”

“I don’t know,” Keigo answered in a genuinely naive tone. “She left and then never came back.”

Sako winced at the brutal honesty. The situation had become quite clear to him, now. Sako sighed, taking another glance around the apartment filled with trash. Oh, Takami... what a failure of a father you appeared to be. This just won’t do, will it?

“Do you want to see a little trick I can do?” Sako asked the child with a wink. Keigo’s eyes lit up with interest and Sako felt pride swell in his chest for having made some form of light return in the boy’s eyes. 

“What kind of trick?”

“Well, if I told you now, it’d be spoiling the show, wouldn’t I?” Sako shouted, raising his arms in a grand gesture. He plucked the remote from the couch and turned off the TV. “Are you ready to watch the show?”

Keigo brightly smiled in anticipation. “Yeah!” He said, having appeared to be more excited than ever. He bounced in his seat on the couch, eyes locked onto Sako, and Sako was oddly sentimental about the fact that he was performing for someone else again.

“Let the show begin!”

--

“Hi, Sako-san,” Keigo politely greeted, opening the door at the sight of the man. “Dad’s not here at the moment.”

“That’s fine,” Sako said. “Do you mind if I...?”

“No!” Keigo gestured for Sako, “Come in!”

Sako stepped into the apartment, examining it once again for any changes since his last visit. Keigo ran to his spot on the couch again, looking at him expectantly.

“Are you going to do another trick?” Keigo asked. “I wanna see!”

Oh, the crushing guilt Sako felt at that moment. Of course, the boy wanted to see him perform again. He was so enraptured the last time Sako saw him--and he kept asking about how Sako pulled his tricks off. Sako replied to all those questions with the same answer: A magician never reveals his secrets!

Which made the boy quite irritated, but Sako was not a lenient man when it came to the art of his practice.

“Your father should be home soon,” Sako said after glancing at his watch to keep track of the time. “There wouldn’t be enough time, I’m afraid.”

Keigo’s face scrunched up and those wings of his drooped in disappointment. If his goal was to guilt-trip Sako even further, than he’s certainly achieved that in no less than five seconds. How keen of him to manipulate Sako’s emotions like that, intentional or unintentional.

“Well, maybe I have time for one trick...”

It was rather amazing how a child’s mood can fluctuate wildly within such a small span of time. Keigo’s wings perked up immediately and the child’s eyes lit brightly in comparison to the dullness that once occupied them. He didn’t smile, but he was visibly cheered up at the prospect.

“Watch closely,” Sako ordered the boy. He pulled out a small piece of paper and a black pen from his coat pocket. He drew a little bird and showed Keigo his drawing. It was a silly little doodle, nothing too amazing. That wasn’t the point of the trick.

He took one of the empty bottles from the floor, rolled up the piece of paper and inserted it into the bottle. Keigo watched him, observant eyes focused on the movements of his hands.

Sako then placed the bottle on the living room table in plain sight where Keigo could see it. His gloved hands blocked Keigo's view of the bottle and the bottle magically disappeared in between his hands that moved apart from each other.

“You turned the bottle into a marble,” Keigo complained. “That’s the most obvious trick you could’ve pulled off!”

“Oh?” Sako grinned deviously. “Why don’t you check what’s under your seat, then?”

Keigo blinked before hesitantly standing up from the couch and lifting the couch cushion to reveal an empty coffee can.

“Look inside,” Sako said and the man could see the realization visibly dawning upon the boy. It was quite amusing, he had to admit.

Keigo, already having a good idea of what was going to happen, shook the can and out came the rolled up piece of paper. He unfolded it and his face displayed visible shock at the drawn bird.

“No way!” Keigo shouted, jumping. He showed the drawing to Sako with a look of disbelief. “There’s no way! How did you do that?”

Sako only smirked smugly in response, causing the winged boy to huff in annoyance at the lack of verbal response. “One of these days, I’m going to figure it out! I bet you have a second, secret quirk!”

“That’s quite the theory,” Sako said. “Unfortunately, it’s not true. Ask your father if you really don’t believe me.”

“I bet dad doesn’t even know!” Keigo added. “You can’t keep it a secret from us forever!”

The door opened, revealing Takami (who was fashionably late by ten minutes). He blinked at the sight of Sako and his rather riled-up son together.

“Am I interrupting something?”

--

Takami was sleeping soundly on the armchair, snoring loudly and reeking of alcohol.

Sako had decided (against Keigo’s warnings) to try to wake the man, but the man was a heavy sleeper. He decided to give up after five minutes of trying to wake him up to no avail.

“You’re lucky,” Keigo told him. “He gets really mad if you actually do wake him up.”

“That’s how that happened.” Keigo pointed to the area with broken glass, which still had not been cleaned up. It had been weeks now.

“My, oh my,” Sako shook his head in disapproval. He took one of the plastic bags lying on the floor and started to pick up the individual pieces of the broken bottle with his gloved hands. “Do you happen to have a broom in the vicinity?”

“No,” Keigo said. “Sorry.”

It’s not your place to apologize, Sako thought sourly. He felt pity for the boy, if he had to be honest. This apartment was definitely not in suitable living condition for any children.

“Is... is there any way I can help?” Keigo asked. He bent down besides Sako and tried to pick up one of the pieces with his bare hands--

Sako grabbed him by the wrist. “Don’t,” he hissed to the boy. “You’ll cut yourself.”

“It’d be faster if I helped,” Keigo said. “I’ll be super careful, I promise!”

“No,” Sako smoothly said. “This isn’t a job for children. Why don’t you go back to watching television?”

“I’m not a kid,” Keigo argued. “Okay, I’m five. But dad says I’m really mature for my age! So I can do grown-up things too!”

“Go.” Sako swatted Keigo away. “This is non-negotiable.”

Keigo pouted and watched the TV with a disgruntled look on his face. After Sako was finished cleaning up the glass, he began to pick up the other trash that resided in the apartment. Keigo watched him with observant eyes and Sako sighed dramatically.

“Yes, you may help if you wish.”

That got Keigo scattering to pick up as many cans and bottles as fast as he could, almost as if he was playing a game with himself. The child was so fast that he was cleaning up at an even faster rate than the leisurely slow pace Sako had set for himself.

“Too slow!” Keigo taunted Sako with a grin. “Looks like I win!”

There was never any game that had been decided in the first place. Sako wasn’t one to ruin a child’s moment of victory, however. Meanwhile, Takami slept peacefully in his chair, oblivious to the world and his son who noticeably deserved a much better father.

--

Sako was a man of many talents, and cooking just happened to be one of them.

Takami was nowhere to be seen (not unusual), but Sako found that he didn’t mind. His son was a much better companion, anyways.

The child seemed to be in quite a lot of awe at his slice and dice technique. It wasn’t magic; no, not in the slightest. Keigo was impressed nonetheless.

“All the pieces came out evenly!” Keigo noted. “Can I try?”

“No,” Sako said without skipping a beat. Keigo had been trying to use his wings to elevate himself to where he could reach the knife that he left on the cutting board on the counter top, so he used a hand to force the child back down to the floor.

“No fair,” Keigo whined. “I never get to do any of the grown-up stuff.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Sako scolded Keigo. “Trust me when I say that doing ‘grown-up’ things isn’t as sensational as one would make it out to be.”

“Now, be a good child and wait in your seat.”

“You can’t make me,” Keigo said. “You’re not my dad.”

True, true.

“Yes, but I’m cooking for you out of my own hospitality. The least you can do is let me work my craft.” Then, Sako had an idea.

“Think of it like this: you don’t interrupt a magician when he’s performing on stage, do you?”

“...No,” Keigo said.

“Exactly!” Sako pointed to the seat on the couch. “After you, my valued audience member.”

Keigo was rather compliant after that, waiting by the couch but his eyes weren’t on the television. He watched Sako cook with curious eyes and an even more curious mouth if the questions that slipped out of the child were anything to go by.

Ah, the innocence of youth. How Sako missed it. Keigo was a good reminder of the children Sako used to perform for.

Keigo gaped when Sako set down the plates. “Nobody’s cooked ever since mom left.”

The little smile that came with the first bite warmed Sako’s heart. He was certainly no father by any means and he never planned on ever having a child; but Keigo made him wish that he had a son he could cook for, a son that he could perform tricks for and a son that he could live for.

“Thanks, Sako-san!” Keigo chirped, looking at Sako with such appreciation and admiration in his eyes that it almost hurt to watch. 

All he did was feed a child. Apparently, that was the world to Keigo more than anything his father might have done for him in months.

--

“You’re good with kids,” Takami said. “Real good.”

“Well, I’d hope that is the case,” Sako stated. “Considering my former occupation and whatnot.”

“It’s annoying,” Takami scoffed. “That kid constantly asks about you all the time now. It’s starting to grate on my nerves.”

Perhaps if you took better care of your son, he wouldn’t be asking for my company so much then, Sako thought. He always knew Takami had a bit of a reckless side to him, but he didn’t realize how irresponsible the man could be. Especially considering the man was in charge of a little boy now.

“What do you want me to do about it?” Sako sighed. “I can’t help what the boy wants, after all.”

“I want you to stop barging into my apartment unannounced,” Takami said. “It’s my house. I never gave you permission to come and go as you please. I thought you were supposed to be the polite one.”

“I wouldn’t need to barge into your apartment unannounced if you would just keep to your word about our meeting times,” Sako said. “Ever heard of the word ‘punctuality’? No, I’m guessing you haven’t.”

Takami growled--he growled as if he had a right to be mad about the bullshit Sako had called him out on--and he slammed the can of beer he had been drinking out of against the table. “That doesn’t give you the right to speak to my son!”

Oh, how things have escalated. This was a rather troublesome development, Sako had to admit. “If it bothers you so much,” Sako had to remind himself that Keigo is not his responsibility, “then I won’t talk to your son again. Though I ask of you to make a more conscious effort to meet with me at the times you prescribe me.”

“Deal,” Takami grunted. “Glad that’s done and over, then.” The man finished the can of beer in one swig.

--

Sako tried not to let himself think about Keigo.

Keigo wasn’t his son. He wasn’t his responsibility. Yet, there was this certain guilt that occupied Sako’s mind whenever he was even reminded of the boy’s existence. It was hard to go through an entire day without thinking about the fate of the winged boy.

So, one day, Sako asked, “How’s Keigo doing?” because it was a little suspicious how the man didn’t seem concerned in the slightest about returning home despite it having been hours since he was last home.

“Oh, that little bugger?” Takami grunted. “He’s out of my hands already.”

Sako froze. “Excuse me?”

“The government took him away,” Takami said. “Keigo went and saved this group o’ kids or something and apparently one of the agents saw that he had ‘potential’ in him to become a hero.”

“Him? A hero?” It wasn’t that Keigo didn’t have potential (oh, he most certainly had potential). It was that... well...

“Yeah, well,” Takami spat on the ground, “I signed their damn contract. It’s what his mom would’ve wanted, anyways.”

“And what will you do when the boy finds out about your true occupation?” Sako asked. “Does he even know?”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Takami said. “I’m not that stupid.”

Yes, what a stupid father Takami would be if he didn’t tell his own son what his real career was. Honestly, did the man even think twice before opening his mouth to speak?

“He’s better off in their hands,” Takami rationalized.”You saw what things were like when it was just us two, didn’t you?”

Yes, and then you pushed me away from your son, Sako bitterly thought. The man had no one to blame but himself for his irrational behavior. “I suppose you’re right.”

“He’ll get a real bed now,” Takami added. “And three meals a day. I bet he’s already forgotten all ‘bout me.”

They both knew that wasn’t true. Despite Takami’s misgivings, Keigo never stopped looking up to his father. Even Sako could tell how much the boy seemed to idolize Takami no matter how much Takami seemed to neglect his own son.

“Perhaps,” Sako muttered disdainfully.

--

Sako felt like an old man when he watched Keigo--no, Hawks-- all grown up and flashing these award-winning smiles at fans who recognized him.

It felt weird to call him Hawks.

No man lives by their stage name alone--that is a dangerous ideal that most performers steer clear of. Yet, it seemed that nobody else knew the man’s real name. How peculiar, indeed. Sako wondered if that was their doing.

Irrationally, he turned to a random civilian from the crowd. How daunting he must appear, being a supposed “leader” of this new huge organization to have approached a new recruit spontaneously.

“Would you like to see a trick?” Sako asked with as much charm as he could muster up. When they agreed, Sako pulled off a magnificent card trick that seemed to stun them into silence.

Someone else, who had been observing him perform the trick (oh dear, where did this crowd come from?) asked him, “How did you... do that?”

Sako didn’t even need to answer the question himself. Oh, how that once-young boy knew him and his antics too well. Even with his face covered, the name would of course undoubtedly have been a dead giveaway (if he was more careful in the past, he would have given out a fake one).

Right on cue, Hawks was there, saying, “Don’t you know how this works? A magician never reveals his secrets!”

He taught him well. Perhaps, a little too well.

[nukagalreacts]

Part two of F04 Companions react to arriving to a settlement to late and the whole place has been razed!

omg y’all sorry im a week late on this but here it is and I hope you like it! Thanks again for the request and thank you for your patience with me!

Codsworth: It always made him proud to see Sole helping so many settlements, their ability to put themselves before others and show kindness to strangers was a quality he had admired in Sole from the very day he had first started working for them. The ability to be selfless in world like this was hard, but Sole managed to do it day in and day out, without complaining or wondering why them when bad things happened, and they were happy to have a bot like Codsworth looking out for them across the Commonwealth. Today was no different either and Sole had been up bright and early before getting a distress signal from a small settlement not to far from Sanctuary, and was quick to gear up and call for Codsworth who was ready at a moments notice.

Codsworth was helpful in keeping the path clear for Sole as they focused on getting to the settlement and bracing themselves for whatever enemies awaited them. A bit later they came up and over the hill that was suppose to overlook the small settlement and Codsworth felt horrible as he saw that everything had been burned to the ground. He could see that his master was visibly shaken by this and did his best to provide words of comfort and let Sole know they would help them track down those responsible for this horrible crime. Him and Sole went down the hill and got to work looking for any evidence of who or what did this, Sole was glad Codsworth has multiple keener eyes then they did or else it would have taken a lot longer to search through the charred rubble.

Nick: The detective and Sole where like the same person when it came to going out of their way to helping anyone who needed it, so he was usually the one Sole picked to come along with them when a settlement needed assistance. Nick and Sole were widely recognized among the settlements and people always reached out to them first when needing help, and since Nick was a synth it actually increased people’s trust of synths in general as more people came to realize that synths weren’t a bad thing and most of them were just trying to live their lives.

Today was going to be no different than any other, they were just going to do a check in with a settlement that had been having some ghoul problems lately and as of last time they had gotten better defenses and seemed to be doing well. Instead they were greeted with the site of ashy, blackened ruins and bodies of ghouls and settlers scattered around the area. He could feel the disappointment and sense of failure wash over him and could see Sole’s eyes get a bit watery not just from the smoke but trying to hold back any emotions. This wasn't the first time this type of thing had happened and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but it didn’t make the failure sting any less. From what he could see with how many dead ghoul bodies there were it looked like maybe the settlers were caught off guard and got overtaken so fast that they didn’t even have time to send out a distress signal. All they could do and hope for now was to go and see if they could find any survivors in the surrounding area.   

Cait: She hated going out of her way to help anyone unless there was something in it for her, even then the reward better be something pretty spectacular if she has to risk her ass for someone. When she had first started traveling with Sole and they went off to help a settlement she moaned and groaned the whole time saying what a waste of time it was and people needed to learn how to defend themselves and not rely on others for help, over time though Sole had softened her up a bit and convinced her helping these places was for the betterment of the Commonwealth as a whole. Cait couldn’t deny either that helping so many places out had its perks and they ended up getting weapons and other supplies for free from grateful settlements, and it felt good to be seen as somewhat of a hero instead of being seen as some low life junkie.

Not every mission went smoothly though and she had seen her fair share of razed settlements,so the one she was staring at right now didn’t affect her at all, not like it did Sole anyways. Cait’s whole life had always been nothing but violence and neglect, her emotions had become limited and all but stunted as an adult, with Sole that had changed a little bit but not by much. In this case Cait acted as the more level headed one who would try to get Sole to calm down and think rationally so they could go kick the ass of whoever raided this settlement, now that was something Cait was always happy to do.  

Deacon: The man may be a compulsive liar who changes his face every other week and no one really knows who he is besides those he works with, but deep down he cared about helping the people of the Commonwealth, even those who weren’t synths. In between doing missions for the railroad with Sole they would go out and do their best to help struggling settlements rather that would be building up defenses, taking care of raiders, or just helping with crops, no job was to big or small for them.

In the morning they had been making their way to a drop box location for info on their next mission when they spotted wafts of black smoke not to far from their location. They shared a look before making the mutual decision to go check it out. Deacon expected to find a camp of super mutants but it was so much worse than that, from behind his sunglasses he could make out a pile of bodies of what he assumed had been innocent settlers all stacked in a gruesome display of guts and blood. Super mutants had already come through here and slaughtered and destroyed everything without mercy, it made his stomach twist and turn as he turned away trying to keep down the bile half way up his throat. He felt horrible that him and Sole hadn’t passed by sooner they could have saved everyone here, but he guessed this is just the way the cards played out sometimes, and they couldn’t always be in the right place every time.

Curie: Someone needs help she is the synth for the job and will come running from anywhere in the Commonwealth to help anyone out! Curie has become a well known face among the people because she is so handy at her medical practice and hasn’t had a patient die on her yet, and everyone loves her friendly and calm personality. Whenever Sole is going out to a settlement she never leaves Curie behind no matter the reason she is going out to help them.

This time around Sole and Curie had plans to stop at a settlement not far from Sanctuary because some of the younger settlers kept coming down with a certain disease, and Curie had found a way to make a vaccine for it and planned to treat all the settlers with it. Curie was overly excited as they made their way down the trail that led right into the settlement, her medical bag carrying all the vaccines dropped out of her hand and Sole could hear the syringes breaking along with other medical equipment as they stared in shock at the destroyed settlement. Curie cried out and covered her mouth in horror, she had loved this place and the people in it so much and had come to care for them like family and in the blink of an eye something had stolen it all away. Curie slumped to the ground not understanding why this had happened, why the Commonwealth had to be such a cruel place.

Danse: Before he had found out he was a synth and worked for the B.O.S, helping out settlements and clearing out the filth to cleanse the Commonwealth had just been a job, he was only following orders as a soldier, nothing more. With Sole though he had learned compassion and he actually began to care about what really happened to the settlers and the people of the Commonwealth, he didn’t view this place anymore as just another stepping stone in a mission. It took awhile for people to warm up and trust the former Brotherhood soldier but they soon realized what a changed man he had become, and where thankful for any help he could provide. Afterall Sole had faith in him, so why shouldn’t they give him a chance to.

In the past week him and Sole had been frequently getting distress signals from settlements along the coastline due to an increase in super mutant attacks. Both of them had been out here for awhile helping build up defense’s, setting traps, trying to provide weapons and training to better equip the settlers so they wouldn’t always have to depend on them for protection. Things had settled down and him and Sole had packed up ready to make their way back to Sanctuary when another distress signal blared over the radio on Sole’s pipboy. They had already made some good distance when leaving so it took longer for them to reach the area again and Danse felt horrible when he saw they where to late, super mutants had already razed the settlement and were gathering up the leftover spoils and munching on a few unlucky settlers. Danse felt his blood run hot as he glared down the mutants with disgust, he was going to make them pay for this! He began firing at them with Sole following close behind covering his back, the mutants didn’t stand a chance against the rage that was fueling Danse in his attack.

Also yes I left Dogmeat out on purpose

[nerdygirlsrp-blog]

School Shopping // The Sequel We Deserved.

@huffleporr / @rpuff 

Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy 

Albus waited by the pub, his leg hoping up and down. He was impatient, it had been a whole 3 weeks since he last saw his best friend and his patience was wearing out.

"I hope he hasnt left!" Scorpius thought to himself as he weaved his way through the crowd searching for his curly haired friend. He couldn't believe his dad  insisted on stopping by the ministry on the way to diagon alley.

Albus saw the blonde haired boy weaving in and out of people, he smiled wide as he saw them. "Scor!" Al smiled trying to call the blonde boy to attention. "Hey!" He went in for a hug, "How was your summer?"

"Great until you called me Scor." Scorpius replied shaking his head at his stubborn friend. "I hope you weren't waiting long? Dad had to stop by the ministry for something or other" he explained rolling his eyes.

Al smiled, it had been a joke between the two of them for years. " What would you prefer I call you Pius?" He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Your father is so difficult," his tone was over dramatic in the teasing yet empathetic kind of way. "I've only been waiting HOURS." He sighed,

"Well I'm sorry for inconveniencing you SOO much!" Scorpius replied with a smirk. "I bet you were really busy polishing your broomstick or something"

Albus's eyes grew in size at the innuendo. "Uh- I... I D-don't do that.." which was completely untrue, he did polish is broomstick - sometimes several times a day. He shook his head, "You are sooo weird, lets get going or else all the books your want will be sold and then you are gonna end up crying in flourish and blotts... again."

Scorpius raised his eyebrow at his friends stuttering. "Uh i know you don't. We hate quidditch" he says shaking his head as he turns away from his friend and starts walking down the cobbled street "and that was one time do you have to keep bringing it up!" He says exasperated.

Albus wanted to laugh, wanted to point out the obvious innuendo but Scorpius seemed so content with his own cluelessness that Albus couldn't spoil it for him. "I'm going to keep bring it up until I'm dead, in fact I plan to bring it up at your wedding, and at your daughters birth and at your daughters wedding and at your funeral. So be prepared."

"Oh so I'm dying first now? I thought we agreed you'd die in some tragic accident and I'd deliver a dramatic eulogy at your graveside. I already started writing it!". *ahem* scorpius clears his throat and raises his arms almost hitting a nearby witches hat off. "here lies Albus Severus Potter. He was named after two great headmasters of hogwarts. Both of which were douchebags."

Albus started violently laughing, His smile wide as he just looked at his friend. "Oh yeah Scorpious Hyperion Malfoy, named after two stars constellations because the Malfoy family name need to grow more and more pretentious with each generation." He mocked. "But let's be real, I die first and I would come back to haunt you until you died just so I could re-tell the book store crying incident at your funeral."

Scorpius elbowed Albus in the ribs And put on his best swagger "well then you better respect your superiors peasant" he replies with as haughty an expression as possible which was only slightly undermined when he tripped over an uneven cobblestone barely catching himself. " you didn't see that" he quickly says checking to see if Albus noticed his stumble.

Al raised an eyebrow tripping because of the force of scorpius’s push, when did his friend get so strong. “Or what, are you going to tell your daddy?” He asked making fun of his posh accent, and then he laughed at the stumble that Scorpius tried ever so gracefully to pull it off. A part of him really wanted to mock Scor, but as he had fallen nearly flat on his face seconds before he let it go. “See what?” He asked feigning ignorance. “Seeing you get to the book store last because you are as slow as a flobber worm ?” He smirked and then started running towards the shop zipping in and out of peoples way."

“There’s nothing wrong with being articulate" Scorpius huffed chasing after his friend, ignoring the wizard shouting something about "out of control youths". He quickly caught up with Albus. "last one to flourish and blotts carrys the books" he challenges with a gleam in his eye.

Al was long gone so he couldn't respond to the words of his friend. Scorpius was posh, there was nothing he could say that would change that. Albus thought he had the lead, always a bit leaner then Scorpius he was able to dodge bodies faster, but suddenly Scor was running in line with him, Albus pouted. "But my arms are so weak" When had Scorpius gotten so fast?

Scorpius laughed. "Well then they need the exercise!" He shouted racing ahead and he zig zaging around a girl carrying a pet toad and Skidding to a halt in front of the shop smiling. He knew volunteering to take his  greyounds on their daily run would pay off. He leans against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching Albus run the last few feet.

Albus was tired out to an embarrassing amount considering how short the run was. He finally got to the door and tried to catch his breath glaring at Scorpius. "I never agreed to your terms, I will accept my title as flobber worm and nothing more!' He crossed his arms looking at Scorpius like he was challenging him to argue.

"As you wish Mr. Flobberworm. After you," he says while opening the door with a flourish and nearly pulling the older boy on the other side right off his feet. "Sorry!" Scorpius practically squeaked and helped the boy pick up his quills from the pavement.

Albus started laughing at the display. Not offering to help or anything just watched as the very young boy and Scorpius scrambled to pick up the mess."Always creating trouble, Scor, can't trust you with opening doors.

"Scorpius felt his cheeks flush. Handing the boy the last ink pot, which thankfully hadn't  broken, he stood up brushing himself off. "Yeah well we cant all be perfect." He said giving Albus a wry smile. He didnt know why he suddenly felt so awkward. God knows its not the first time he's fallen on his face around a bunch of people.

"Oh I know, " Al said with a smile and a friendly wink going for the door that Scorpius had tried opening earlier. "Lets get these damn books and hope nobody recognizes us, I don't think I can handle a 'what is it like to be Harry Potter's son' conversation today." He walked into the busy shop. "Divide and conquer or just teamwork?" 

Scorpius walked into flourish and blotts immediately taking a deep inhale. He loved the smell of books. "Divide and conquer sounds good. I needed to check if they had this one book by....." he trailed off into a mumble while wandering to the right of the door and into the next aisle over gazing at the shelves longingly.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Books just smell like paper" he argued knowing that he probably didn't have the blonde's attention anymore. He said divide and conquer and Al knew that wasn't the smart way, to let him go off on his own. "Okay meet back together in 20 min?" He shouted doubting Scorpius heard him. He rolled his eyes, picked up a cart and went shopping. Once he picked out his books he went searching for Scorpius. "Score!" He called out.

Scorpius was in the far back corner halfway up a ladder leaning against a shelf labeled 'Arithmetician” nose deep in a book that weighed nearly as much as a house elf. Completely oblivious to everyone in the store around him, including his friend shouting, he continued to read the monstrous book despite not completely understanding it.

It took another 20 minutes to find Scorpius in the back of the store where he was sure no living human had entered in nearly 50 years. Al shook his head seeing the sight that Scor had found himself in. "Scorpius!" He called again. "Dude, we got to go!" 

Scorpius looked up abruptly startled by the loud voice. "Oh crap. Im sorry!" He said hastily putting the book back on the shelf and climbing down the ladder to the shop floor. He noticed the books in Albus's cart and realized he hadn't actually grabbed anything on his list yet."I uhh got distracted. Give me one minute while i get my stuff". He says while searching his pockets for his school list.

Albus only had himself to blame. "I want to go to the ice cream parler." He wind slightly, "and too WWW. I've already spent 40 minutes to long in here Mr. Malfoy, you have 5 minutes, and your are carrying the books"

" oh stop complaining you'll get your ice cream" Scorpius said as he finally found his list and walked off to get the books he needed. He knew the store like the back of his hand and was back with Albus, books in hand, in under 10 minutes. "There. Happy now?" He teased.

"Not really, I can feel the impending nerdiness starting that take me." Albus said when is friend fond him 10 minutes later, he moved them towards the check out line. He stood in like starting to imitate the sounds of someone chocking. "I can't go on, its killing me.... tell my mother I loved her!" 

"I4m sure she will miss you dearly" Scorpius rolled his eyes at his over dramatic companion "now knock it off. I thought you didnt want to draw attention to yourself" he pointed out as he noticed two witches glancing sideways at them.  He quickly paid the wizard and headed towards the door only briefly glancing at the shelves of books on the way.

"I will do no such thing," Albus commented and payed for his books. Al looked around and saw the two women. "Let them talk they are just wishing their children were as awesome as we are." He shrugged and smiled "Let's go cause havoc somewhere else." He made his way out the door and into te street.

Scorpius followed. Admiring his friends confidence, no matter how shallow. "Havoc? Why we wouldn't dare! " he scoffed.  catching Albus's eye. "Nothing but pure unadulterated mischief from us. After all we have standards!"

Albus half smiled at his friends comment. "Of course how dare I mix the two up, mischief it is!" He stopped in the middle of the street.  "Did I tell you what Teddy gave me?"

"No you didn't" Scorpius said. He grabbed Albus's arm to pull him out of the street and apologetically waved at the grumbling group of goblins passing them. "How about you tell me over ice cream and not the middle of a busy thoroughfare."Albus glared at him 

"Who uses words like Throughfare?" He mocked his friend and head to Fortescues, there was very little wait, surprising for a mid-summer day. They sat and Al pulled out the peice of blank paper and handed it to Scorpius. "Do you know what this is?"

"A list of your positive attributes?" He asked glancing up from the blank paper with a smirk. Taking a bite of his sour apple ice cream.Albus rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

"No it's a list of all the girls that will go out with you this year." Albus took a bite into his first scoop, mango flavored ice cream. "No its..." He lowered his voice and smiled. "It's the map."

Scorpius froze with his spoon halfway to his mouth and stared at Albus. ice cream slowly dripping onto his slacks. "THE map? Your Fathers map?!" He asked. Excitement clear in his voice.

"Well my Grandfathers map," Albus correct him but smiling widely, taking a bit of his second scoop, pistachio. "He gave it to Teddy when Teddy was in third year and then Teddy gave it to me, since James got the cloak." Al was piratically buzzing. "Do you know what this means?"

"Studying as late as we want in the library. And in the restricted section And knowing exactly where the 5th years are so we can void them. And knowing where the teachers are incase we have questions...."he whispers excitedly wiping the ice cream off his trousers. mind racing with possibilities.

Albus looked at his best friend with a look that was torn between rolling his eyes and exasperation. Of course his mind would go there, of course he would be excited about late nights library visits.

 "Or we could you know... do something cool." Albus smiled "like finding the room of requirement."

The retort died on his lips as Scorpius's eyes widened. Obviouslyhe knew all about the room of requirement. His father had talked to him about it the day before he came to Hogwarts his first year. Telling him all about the magical room that changed into whatever you needed. But he also cautioned Scorpius that the room can also change people. Scorpius was hesitant. Not sure if he was ready for that. But he saw the excitement on Albus's face and couldn't bear to disappoint him. "Yea totally!" He said throwing on a fake smile and taking another bite of ice cream.

Albus smiled and took a bite of  watermelon, "And sneak into Hogsmead get some Firewhiskey, if we bring it back everyone could have a great night, he would be heros!" He was excited at this possibility. "This year is going to bloody fantastic! Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Hogsmead!"

" it would be better if you were taking ancient runes with me instead of divination" Scorpius replied half teasing. He still thought Albus taking that subject was ridiculous. "Also not to distract from our exciting plans but what the hell are you eating?" He asked finally noticing that Albus had multiple flavors in his bowl.

"Okay the reason its called Ancient Runes is because nobody uses them because everyone who used them is dead so I wonder... what is the point in studying them really?" He asked with a half raised eyebrow.and then he smiled "It's the Albus Sundae." He said with pride. "All my favorite flavors conveniently placed in perfect eating order"

"Only to gain a greater understanding of those who came before.  And to write insults   on the fifth years stuff without them knowing" Scorpius replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "And what flavors are those?"

"I'm down for writing part of that." Albus replied taking a bite of his final ice cream. The fifth years were going to be more annoying this year then ever. "Steal the snitch before quidditch matches." He raised an eyebrow. "Mango, Pisachio, Strawberry and Ginger." 

"Well you didn't take ancient runes so tough chocolate frogs"  Scorpius replied. "Also that is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. Did James use magic on you as a kid or something because that is not normal taste buds," Scorpius said with a look of distaste on his face.

"That's why I keep you around." Albus said straight faced finishing his ice cream and smiling. "Probably," he said with out thinking about it. He knew his taste in ice cream was a unique one. "Are you done yet? Or are you planning on turning 80 while finishing that ice cream?"

Scorpius made a point of finishing his ice cream as slowly as possible just to annoy his friend. "Whats wrong. Sick of me already" he said with a look of pretend hurt on his face.

"Yes, your father doesn't pay me enough to hang out with me." It was really Al's anxiousness that made him want to eat going - while his friend could sit for hours reading and studying the energy inside of Albus needed to move.Scorpius notice his friends rising anxiety,

  By now Albus's nervous ticks were practically a second language, And decided not to push it. He got up and threw out his bowl. "Well then where to next?" He asked pulling out his parchment once more.

"WWW?" Albus asked, he knew his uncle Ron would be working there today and they were getting a new shipment in of skiving snack boxes. "It's always loads of fun, what time does your dad want you back?"

"Sure I'm always down to visit WWW" he said purposefully pronouncing every W sound so it sounded more like "WHOO" than initials. " and now that we have the map there's a whole new use for all of those gadgets!" He said excitedly skipping towards the bright orange and purple building. "And he wants me back by 6. Dinner with the grandparents tonight" he called over his shoulder to Albus.

Albus didn't react, he had learned that if he made a big fuss over the way Scor said things that Scor would only say them more often and at a louder volume. "Exactly." He agreed following his blonde friend through the people once more. "Boring," he said with annoyance "think you could ditch?"

Scorpius thought about it for a moment. "Unfortunately no. They haven't seen me since I got back from school. And I know Grandfather can't wait to lecture me on that letter Father got from Headmistress last year." Scorpius answered dejectedly. He couldn't believe his Father had shown his Grandfather that letter. It's not like  he's the first kid to accidentally flood the 4th floor bathroom with a banned Weasley’s product.

They entered the shop and Albus couldn't help but smile "oh right - your grandmother is scary about that stuff." His grandmother had just shaken her head, in fact the only person who has been a little upset has been his father who had yelled at him. "Damn well maybe you can come round for dinner tomorrow," it was still a couple weeks until term started and he did not see his best friend enough this summer. His attention was directed towards a tall tower of skive boxes. "Ohhh look! Migraine mints!"

"Yeah you know how he is about 'upholding the family name' and all that." He responded. He knew that it was more about rehabilitating the family name after the last war. He tried not to let it bother him but he couldn't help but notice the looks he got even stepping into the shop. Sometimes he wished he didn't look so much like his father. He brought his attention back to his friend perusing the new merchandise. "We could try and sneak those into James's drink at breakfast sometime." He said picking up a box and glancing at the picture of a wizard grabbing his head with a cartoon-ish look of agony on his face. "I actually wanted to ask if i could sleep over day after tomorrow. Father has a work thing." He asked glancing sideways at Albus. 

Of course he knew, Al had grown up with the same thing, except instead of Scorpius's case Al was never able to live up to what his parents expected of him/ He wasn't a Gryffindor, he hated quidditch and his best friend was a Malfoy, he had broken all of his families rules. "I'll have to ask my mom," He said with a smile. "I'm sure it will be fine, you are my mothers favorite child."

"Well there’s not a lot of competition is there" Scorpius replied trying to lighten the obviously dampened mood. He turned back to the display and grabbed a random box. "'Instant blizzard' now this could make the the quidditch changing rooms after a match super fun" he said adding to the box of mints in his basket.He opened his eyes wide laughing.

 "Oh my can you imagine?" Al started laughing. "That would really dampen the whole mood." He paused grinning widely and turned towards the next shelf. "Oh they have rainstorm in a can, maybe we could put that in potions class room. cancel class for the day."

"Perfect! We can plan it for the first test" Scorpius replied. He may be a giant nerd but god he hated potions. "We should also stock up on puking pastels, fireworks, trick wands to give to first years, and some peruvian darkness powder if you can convince your uncle to give us some. It being banned and all."

Albus liked where Scorpius thinking was going and he nodded. "George more then Ron, Ron would just tell dad." He looked around seeing if he could find them. "Oh night  glasses!" He pointed at a box. "That will be great for when we are in search of the prefects bathroom.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. 'And he thinks i get distracted easily' he thought to himself. "aren't the prefects bathrooms on the map?" He asked grabbing a couple skiving snack boxes on his way to his friends side. "Though i suppose seeing in the dark is rarely a bad idea"

"Yes" Al answered, "This way we don't have to light our wands." Al grabbed two pairs and threw them in the cart. "Okay... We will get to go and restock at Hogsmead. Do you think that’s enough?"

Scorpius shifted a few things around to count everything. "Yep except the darkness powder." He said glancing around to see if George was available. He tended to blend into the walls with his orange hair and purple coat

.Albus smiled and snuck behind the register and towards the back room. He went into the office putting on a giant smile. George was easy to find and he got his attention. There was a short interaction which he left with a couple arms full of new product and a tiny jar of Darkness Powder. "Score!" He made the pun calling his attention and announcing victory.

Scorpius turned to the door refusing to acknowledge the pun. " anywhere else you need to go?" He asked opening the door with one hand. His bag of tricks in the other. "I have another hour or two to kill before I need to floo back"

Albus purses his lips "nah I'm good - but I don't have to be back yet so we can either head to the pet store, the leaky cauldron or muggle London." He didn't really care he just wanted to spend the next two hours with him, cursing family obligations.

"Hmm" Scorpius mused over the three options provided "Father still doesn't want me going into muggle London 'unsupervised'" he said making air quotes with his fingers. "leaky cauldron sounds good. After all not all of us ate 4 scoops of ice cream" he said giving Albus a vaguely disapproving look.

Albus nodded - his father would not be happy if he had gone out to muggle London but it was best to go to the leaky, he nodded his head and left the shop towards the bar "I don't know where it all goes, I swear if I start getting fat I'll stop eating so much."Or you could exercise" Scorpius suggested walking next to his friend and bumping his shoulder teasingly. "Need to get fit if you want to get someone by the first hogsmeade weekend.""Fit?" Al asked raising an eyebrow. "Is that what happened to you this summer? Are you exercising in order to get fit? Should I be prepared to loose you to the ever seductive pull of Quidditch because that’s what you exercise boys like to do."

"Quidditch! Oh god no kill me!" He said dramatically pretending to vomit at the idea. "I just figured it would be easier to run from bullies and authority figures if I didn't have to stop every 30 seconds to catch my breath" Scorpius standing aside to let the group of what looked like 2nd years leave the pub before holding the door for Albus.

Albus walked through smiling softly at his friend. "Oh I went to look to innocent to have them ever expect you to begin with." Albus found a table and waited for a pretty witch to take their order. "I'll have a butterbeer." He said with a smile and turned back to his friend. "You don't have to run from bullies anymore do you?"

"Oh, I just look all innocent to begin with, that way they never suspect you.""Yeah and we know how well that plan has worked out in the past" he said giving his friend a knowing look. "same for me" he said to the witch. She came back with the drinks almost instantly. Scorpius took a slow sip letting the drink cool him down from the summer heat  "Well you know how some of those gryffindors can be." He replied setting his drink down. "The slytherin bias is still pretty strong and a lot of people don’t believe its possible to be a 'former' deatheater." He tried not to let the bitterness show in his voice.

Albus had a sip of the butterbeer nodding and listening to his friend. "Yeah," Althought he never had to deal with the label of death eater tarnishing his family he could understand why it would be hard. Al wished they lived in a world wear there fathers were not as important as they were. "Well screw them, you can out spell them any day!"

Scorpius shrugged. Thats true. His teachers say he is the brightest student since Hermione Granger, except potions of course, and that isn't a compliment to be thrown out lightly. He smiled. Albus always did know what to say to cheer him up. He took another sip of his drink and turned to his friend. "So are we gonna look at that map or what?" He asked his friend excitement coming back into his voice.

"Nah," Albus said with a grin and pulled out the paper from his pocket. "I figured it would be better to build the anticipation." He smiled and then pulled out his wand looking over his shoulders, "So all you have to do is point your wand and say "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Scorpius pulled out his own wand  and placed the tip on the parchment. "Together?" He asked catching his friends eye.

"Together." He confirmed and in time the boys cast the spell and the parchment came to life, Al just watched in awe as the whole castle came alive. "Oh wow... this is... amazing!"

Scorpius was awestruck. It was perfect. Every detail from the number of steps on the main stairway to his favourite reading nook in the library were in exactly the right place.  He couldn't believe that students only a few years older than he was had made such an incredible piece of magic. "Quick unfold it the rest of the way" he said to his friend carefully grabbing a corner to start opening it further.

Al helped open the map and spread it wide between them. "Look! There is professor Longbottom!" He exclaimed pointing to the little dot on the map. He got lost studying the map, "There's a little alcove by the Slytherin entrance, did you know about that?"’

"There is? Where?" He asked looking over at where Albus was studying the map. There just to the left of the secret entrance to the common room there looked to be a small alcove only big enough for a couple people, (though he couldnt be sure since he didn't know exactly how proportions worked on the map) "how did we never notice that before?" He asked slightly confused. They had done their fair share of exploring in the last two years but he didn't remember every seeing it before.

"It must be behind a trick wall or something." He wanted to be back at Hogwarts now, he wanted to it have to worry about his parents or Leaving Scorpius. School felt more at home then home did. He missed the freedom. Smiling softly he looked at his friend. "We are never going to have any free time this year - are we?"

Before Scorpius could respond the witch who took their order came back to the table to ask if they wanted a refill prompting Scorpius to look at the clock and realize they had been in the pub for almost 2 hrs. "No thank you just the bill" he replied. Turning back to Albus he pointed at the map. "I need to get going before Father gets home from work. How do we make this thing blank again?"

Al just smiled held out his wand and said "Mischeif managed." The map folded itself once again. He was sad to see his friend go. "I'll owl you about coming over in a couple days. Have fun with your grandparents."

Al just smiled held out his wand and said "Mischeif managed." The map folded itself once again. He was sad to see his friend go. "I'll owl you about coming over in a couple days. Have fun with your grandparents."

"Thanks, I'll try." Scorpius said grabbing his bags and paying his half of the bill the witch had just placed on the corner of the table. "I'll see you soon hopefully" he said as he opened the door giving Albus an awkward wave nearly dropping one of the books he was carrying. Half giggling he stepped through the door closing it softly behind him and heading down the street to flu home.