#also tonks: cracks jokes

[potentialbreakupscng]

"i know i don't have to, remus. i want to."

there was an edge to her voice that most people were familiar with. hot headed, tempered, stubborn. several words that had been used to describe her over the years, which made it easy to bat away his insistence that he didn't need help. no, maybe he didn't. maybe he had done this thousands of times, but she'd be damned if she'd let him do it by himself again. never again. no matter what -- unrequited feelings she may have for him. she cared about him -- and it was what she did for people she cared about. helped. as much as she could.

with her own small bandages on the tips of some of her fingers -- having destroyed the skin on her fingers as she often found herself doing on full moon nights since meeting remus. worry. want to be there -- and knowing that she couldn't help someone she cared about. her pink hair is tied back from her face -- a few loose strands falling into her face as she finished replacing one of his many bandages. blood stained her unbandaged fingers and the flesh colored bandages on the others. blood never had an effect on her -- especially not after working on the field. blood and daeth were expected -- and at least she could get used to one of them. fierce eyes flicked up to his face as he began to protest again.

"stop." her hair turned a bright red as she snapped, eyes not leaving his. "you've done this thousands of times, and i'm doing it for you now. you've gone and made me care about you -- so i'm going to care about you and help." there was an unspoken truth behind her words -- a subject she's danced around but it wasn't the time for that. not when she'd noticed how little he'd been taking care of himself -- and she couldn't imagine how it felt, getting his only childhood friend back to have him ripped from his hands again a few years later. she winced slightly at the memory of sirius; her cousin. her family. to hide it, she moved to wash off her hands for what felt like the millionth time that evening, tugging off her own bandages and replacing them before she returned back to him -- with a vial of dittany in her hand. dittany she could've used on her own fingers, but saved specifically for him.

"and if you're worried about me seeing your bits, i've seen a few in my life, and once you've seen one you've seen them all," a joke, to ease the tension as she sat beside him. by then her hair had returned back to the pale pink she'd worn it in since the battle at the department of mysteries. she carefully unwrapped the worst one of them -- the one on his arm but doesn't wince at the sight of it. her lips purced, glancing up at him for a moment before she brings the vial up and uses her teeth to pull the cork out -- putting some of the dittany into her hand. "this is going to hurt," she warned, before carefully spreading the dittany onto the wound while her other hand instinctually finds his to let him...squeeze it or do whatever he may need to work through the pain. tonks carefully wrapped the arm back up with a clean bandage, her hands tender and trying not to cause any more pain than he's already in. a sigh escaped her, and she looked up at him. "tea?"

@lupiinee continued from x

[dustedmagazine]

Workers Comp — S-T (Ever/Never)

Workers Comp raises a raucous, twanging ruckus on this self-titled debut, spitting home-spun poetry about dead-end jobs off the back end of a bucking blues-vamp. Disappointments are rife, the struggle is real, but it’s always music o’clock somewhere, and that’s something to celebrate.

A stripped-down trio, Workers Comp marshals the talents of Deadbeat Beat’s Joshua Gillis on guitar, Luke Reddick of Divorce Horse on bass and Ryan McKeever of Staffers on drums. Fair warning, however, the new band sounds not much at all like any of its three predecessors. Instead, it evokes the humorous wallop of the Strapping Field Hands, and the drunken rave-ups of Hootenany-era Replacements. This country viewed through a cracked mirror, amped up and agitated, but also extremely articulate.

The disc starts with its honkey-tonk-i-est track, the Cash-worshiping “When I’m Here,” which starts in profanity and an aborted count, and goes from there. Gills drawls in an uncertain croak, but the lines include some doozies (My favorite: “Labor day in Baltimore/that’s time and a half/planting flowers on a plot between a joke and a laugh/if irony were ecstasy we’d rave until we die, eating bubblegum for breakfast or McDonald’s apple pie.” ) Indeed, the combination of absolute commitment and sly subversion might remind you of Ryan Davis.

It’s a good first track, but also a bit of a head fake. The rest of the songs run more to rock than roadhouse, though of a rootsy, blues-fired, early 1960s variety. And, these dear reader, are the good ones. “Pick and Choose,” rolls like a semi-truck on a steep down-grade, driver frantically looking for an off-ramp. “High on the Job,” maybe the disc’s best cut, flares out of a box drum cadence, its blues riff jutting off towards the horizon, as the singer spouts poetry. “Tripping hard in the parking lot of a quick stop on the go/feeling like an open mic at a lip-sync funeral,” drones Gillis, and it make sense in a lurid, trance-y way.

Gillis sings most of the cuts, but Luke Reddick takes over vocals on “Peel Away” and “It’s Fine” have a noticeably different tone to them, less sardonic, more anthemic and with the singing coming from a different place in the mix. In addition, Anna McClelland stops by to sing “Never Have I Ever,” slipping a bit of sweetness into Workers Comp’s bleak, hyperverbal dystopias, and it makes you think about what a different band they’d be with her as the singer. Still furious, still clanging hard, still letting loose an ecstatic “Whooo!” at unpredictable intervals, but lots more pop.

The music is consistently excellent, rough-edged and full of heart, but brainy enough to catch you up short. I played “Gilt Rigs” for a member of the family and asked him if he heard any Dire Straits in the guitars. “It’s like Dire Straits played by the Fall,” he said, and if you want to know what that sounds like, get on Workers Comp.

Jennifer Kelly

[cursed-blade-gf]

Everything Wrong with the Bigotry Wizard Series (HP) Because This Transfem Feels Like Throwing Hands

(Yes, I grew up with this shit and I know these books back and forth. It’s knowledge I really wish I could forget, but if it’s in there, I might as well use it for a good cause. And that good cause is rallying people against its terribly bigoted and racist author. Also, know that this is a way of weeding out followers and potentially hateful people so I never have to see them again, so choose wisely if you intend to argue these points.)

House choices are split between Bravery, Ambition, Smart, and Everyone Else, which is Tracking and is very ineffective as a teaching system and also forcing kids into a lane. These houses compete every year for who’s better at what? Following orders? Being obedient? Which is a system HIGHLY susceptible to bias and imbalanced competition considering Snape’s unfair treatment of every house that isn’t his and the overwhelmingly unfair come-from-behind victory the Hero house had at the end of their first year because they what? Saved the world?! What kind of precedent are you setting by saying you can win in school by being a hero when there is a house based on bravery? Favoritism anyone?

No one in an entire castle has ever questioned their gender or discovered their sexual orientation? Not the twins? Or Hermione? Or Tonks? Wild. (And no, I do not count JK’s off-the-cuff tweets “clarifying lore”. If it was actually true, you would fully and unabashedly address it in the books, ya bigot.)

Ah yes, rumors of a haunted house out in a village on school grounds when actual fucking ghosts wander the halls of the school, a poltergeist is constantly causing mayhem, a sad girl haunts the girls bathroom, and a LIVE FUCKING BASILISK SITS IN THE SEWAGE SYSTEM. And those sounds in the Shrieking Shack were the product of a kid sent there because he was dealing with lycanthropy. Yeah, sounds like a healthy way to deal with a kid with a physical disability…

Wizards in EVERY OTHER part of fantasy are thousands of years ahead of everyone else. Yudala in Critical Role was investigating pocket planes, the Astral Sea, and OTHER WIZARDS THAT WERE HUNDREDS OF YEARS AHEAD OF SOCIETY ALREADY. Essek was attempting to understand his own society’s god and had cracked the secrets behind TIME AND GRAVITY MAGIC. Caleb Widogast was a transmutation master and had, not only helped Essek discover the secrets of time travel, but had the ability to alter LIFE AND DEATH. Ayda Aguefort’s library was an educational beacon in a pirate town where people refused to learn to read and was creating new spells for herself and her friends. HP wizards live like they just discovered indoor plumbing and don’t know how cars work even though they already have time travel down. WHAT?! The MOST inconsistent.

Magic system. Everyone has unlimited free access to just three phrases that can control, torture, or kill people?!? And they teach that? To students???? in MIDDLE SCHOOL?!?! WHERE THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE SORTED INTO A HOUSE BRANDED AS AMBITIOUS?!?!!! Bud, D&D spells are CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. And not only that, but spells like Power Word: Kill and True Resurrection are both 9th level spells and require not only the physical knowledge of the spell, but YEARS, even DECADES of practice for normal people to learn. Even Dominate Person is 5th level and a solid overwhelming majority of the population doesn’t even know the Friends cantrip. And most people aren’t adventuring murder hobos that go on adventures for months on end to level up super fast to get to 17th level to learn 9th level spells mechanically.

Voldemort would get fucking merked by a full line of people with firearms. Dude couldn’t even take over a school of middle schoolers without working at it for 6 years.

Did they not have therapists in Hogwarts? Pretty sure everyone at that school could have used a trained therapist or a guidance counselor with a degree.

We make jokes, but they did not have access to contraceptives. And they had High Schoolers in a giant think tank sleeping in the SAME TOWER. If you think there weren’t unplanned pregnancies in that giant bowl of hormones, you’re crazy.

The hero and his friends standing up for the giant on the school grounds? Hermione being the only one standing up for the house elves? Common courtesy isn’t a heroic trait. That’s why it’s called COMMON courtesy. And why include house elves anyway? Slavery and writing house elves as “wanting to be enslaved” IS A SHITTY MESSAGE TO PUT OUT INTO THE WORLD.

The very obvious racist naming scheme JK shamelessly put forward: Kingsley Shacklebolt (Black Character), Cho Chang (Asian Character), Parvati and Padma Patil (Middle Eastern Characters), Dean Thomas (Black Character), Seamus Finnegan (Irish Character), Fleur Delacour (French Character), and more.

Lycanthropy was confirmed by JK herself to be about HIV/AIDS, which makes how they treated Remus Lupin (another terrible name) even worse.

Rita Skeeter was a character she created to resemble and, as such, harmfully and falsely stereotype and misrepresent transpeople and how she perceives them to be. She makes an active point to describe her as unattractive, having manly features, and in the fashion similar to that of a drag queen. She also spares no expense describing her as duplicitous, dishonest, and having a habit of “changing her body to spy on children”. Even her name insinuates she’s a mosquito. And that’s not even mentioning her actual trans character in the video game, Sirona Ryan. Sir(obvious) ona(woman in Japanese). You named her Sir Woman Ryan. You fucking cunts.

Goblins. Here we go. One of the most obvious problems. Described in book as being greedy, short, intelligent, hook-nosed debt collectors that wear special hats and run all of the banks and speak their own language. And as of the most recent video game, apparently also steal children. Sounds like an awfully racist and stereotypical description of what the hateful side of the world perceives Jews to be.

Even the heroes are perpetually being shallow, reductive, and downright awful people on a regular basis. Basing people on looks, degrading a female character for standing up for mistreated people, judging people based on how quirky, different, or off normal they are. All things that really fall in basic decency if you really think about it.

Attempting a redemption arc for the Dursleys, the Malfoys, and Snape, all parties being aggressively and shamelessly abusive characters for YEARS. Dursleys sticking the MC in a closet to live, refusing him food, shutting him in from the outside world, and generally just treating him with a truly overwhelming amount of disdain IS CHILD ABUSE. Attempting to bring any measure of redemption to their relationship after 14 years of that is irreproachable and irresponsible. Snape berates, abuses, and treats the MC like shit for years because he loves the MC’s dead mother, kills one of the MC’s main mentors, and then when the MC finds all of that out, he names his kid after the guy? Nice message, bruh. And I really shouldn’t have to explain the Malfoys.

The truly insane amount of coincidences and favoritism that stems from a kid’s relatives, pure dumb fucking luck, and a life experience that just happened by chance is fucking uncanny. The world thinks its story is about love and friendship and some shit, but continues to reinforce the ideal that this kid is special because of his mother and father and all of the things that he is capable of to defend against his mortal enemy stems from that. He corrodes Quirrell’s face, he blocks a death spell with a spiritual aura that summons the ghosts of the dead, he summons a patronus that was his dad’s, the wand he picks up from the store is just NATURALLY bitter rivals with his enemy’s, a magical cup just so HAPPENS to ignore its primary function ONE FUCKING TIME to allow for the MC, A PROPHECY mentions this fucking kid and the book even tries to bring in the forcibly branded Kicked Dog™ character that none of us gave a second thought to.

Quidditch is a truly stupid fucking sport. Who wrote the rules? Let me get this correct. Seven players on each team play on a field on brooms where two ANIMATED STEEL BALLS THAT BY THEMSELVES COULD SHATTER BONE AND CAUSE DEEPLY TRAUMATIC INJURY ACTIVELY HUNT PLAYERS while people play a rousing game of handball only two have one player on each team, completely separate from everyone else, are playing the world’s most difficult game of I Spy with a ball that truly would be the hardest thing in the world to see, no matter the lighting, and if they do somehow manage to catch this sentient ball that could really just leave if it wanted to, it counts for like 9x the usual points, usually rendering the entire rest of the game invalid or forcing the other team to be so far ahead that it doesn’t even matter. Nightmarish.

Harry pretending to dose Ron’s drink to improve his performance puts forward a terrible message of “as long as it’s to help, it’s ok to dose someone’s drink with suspicious liquid”. Even if he didn’t do it, you gotta understand how that looks, right?

The ethics of love potions in society in general are incredibly loose in the books for what they should be (especially considering a student actually dosed cupcakes with them at either age 14 or 15? Either way, it’s INCREDIBLY disgusting) and the fact that they actually taught love potions to a group of middle to high schoolers and put the ability to bypass consent in their hormonal claws should go incredibly high on the shelf with death spells, torture spells, and absolute control “bend your will to my own” spells and that entire shelf should be locked away in a safe and never touched.

You’re not supposed to go into the Forbidden Forest except on the occasion that we send you as 11-year-olds in there as punishment for wrongdoing.

There’s just a tree on the grounds that can fucking kill people. And one of our founders left a snake that can petrify and poison people in the pipes. We’re also going to let hell creatures that feed on the misery and woe of the living roam the school grounds for a year hunting a prisoner that really didn’t do anything. We’re also going to bring back a tournament people have died in so that three seventeen-year-olds and a fourteen year old can compete.

If there is any more things I missed, please don’t hesitate to add them in the reblogs. I really would like to know how much more problematic behavior and how many truly distasteful writing choices I’m missing in this extensive list.

[pamphlettyr]

JKR has always been a fascist and i can prove it mathematically

Exhibit A: Wizard School is British Public School. The School admits the elite regardless of origin. The Bell Curve had just been released, and basically the only 3 people who knew about it were scientists (disproved the concept) leftists (ethically negated the concept) and racists (loved it). Whether she had read the book, she reproduces the idea here. Hence why hermione must hyper-overachieve in order to prove her place. 

Exhibit B: Magic system is just servants. This is why it goes straight from ubermensch to slaves, because the servants have been erased. This is why the magic is dogshit, because instead of tapping into the divine, it is rendering the mundane as mystical. "carry this for me" "run and grab me the thing" "give me the chamberpot, and then take it away for me". This is why the three unforgivable curses are "kill him" "torture him" and "i don't care what it costs, make him do it anyway". The elimination of the caring labor that makes society actually run is deeply misogynist, but is also a cornerstone of fascist ideology. There are mothers, there are aurors, there are business owners, and there are slaves. 

Exhibit C: pottermore and the liberal brownie points debacles. Everyone pretends this was her being weird and the falling into reactionary ideology ass-first, but her behavior absolutely follows the patterns of other right wing ideologues, creating sensationalist, spreadable content which also contain right wing ideology. In her case specifically If she was a liberal but stupid, she’d have made dumbledore gay *and* tonks trans, tonks trans is a slam dunk, a no brainer. But that’s not what she did because she has always viewed queerness as degeneracy, and views tonk’s ability as an analog for getting a makeover by a team of professionals. You can tell she views queerness as degenerate because she displays the 3 types of gay experience that fascists will allow in society: You can be an invisible celibate monk like dumbledore, a victim who does everything right like lupin, or a pedophile rapist like fenrir.

Exhibit D: JK wrote House Elves as black people. Fascists constantly tell jokes which reproduce the idea that black people would be and had been happier under slavery (and if i understand correctly, segregationists said the same thing about segregation too)Indeed the speakeasy in Fantastic beasts has a House elf Jazz Singer. Her staunch argument in the story, and on Pottermore that slavery is good for the elves is a paternalistic one, and paternalism is the cornerstone of colonialism, which itself is the foreign policy of a fascist. Understanding this, we are legitimately lucky that she never had a reason to show wizard america in the 80’s because she would doubtless have introduced us to a little guy named rocky who can’t get enough of his crack pipe.

Exhibit E: the naming conventions. I know it’s innocuous, but fascist both require a teaching method that prevents you from imagining others complexly, and also find pleasure in reducing people to stereotypes. It is aesthetically pleasing to them, and fascism loves smuggling itself in through aesthetics, since it takes a massive fucking post to unravel them.

Exhibit F: The post HP franchise elements. The play where the kind guy who is murdered by a fascist, isn’t murdered and joins the fascist because it turns out you can be a nice dude and a wizard nazi. Same play where the woman who staunchly argued against slavery and was belittled for it was portrayed by a black woman. Black Hermione just tickled JK Rowling, that’s how she put it too. Also, nobody can say enough about How fucked fantastic beasts is, the movie in which we have to stop johnny depp from preventing the holocaust because the wizarding way of life is actually immoral, but that won’t stop the guys with the torture prison. Exhibit G: The casting. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all the queer british actors, and queer allies didn’t wind up getting cast in the film, even as cameos, when the list of british actors who did wind up in the series is 20 miles long. Exhibit H: the goblins: A ton of ink has already been spilled about this, but I think something needs to be said. By “reading you into” the wizarding world, and giving you the secrets about what’s happening behind the scenes, you can already see where this is going, it flips the moral calculus about who is wrong in antisemitic violence, and creates a conceptual framework that a fascist could exploit. Crucially it doesn’t have to be jews, For the sake of argument, let’s say, she could expertly slip into this kind of rhetoric where she reads you into the secret way that the world is being ruined by trannies like me. Exhibit I: new labor. If you know you know, I'm not going to rehash the last 30 years of British politics for you, but JK supported new labor, even in their choice to attack Iraq in support of America's genocidal slush fund.

Conclusion: Orson Scott Card, noted bastard and Direct Descendent of Brigham Young, wrote the novel “Ender’s Game”. Ender’s siblings engage in a political project in order to catapult ender’s brother into political prominence, and inject his ideas about how to solve the world into the public discourse. To accomplish this Ender’s sister starts Demosthenes, and Ender's brother starts Locke. Demosthenes' job is to constantly pull in liberals with lowest common denominator crowd pleasing stuff, Locke's job is to bring in a dedicated audience of hierarchically minded fascism enthusiasts. Demosthenes will grow her audience, until she has sufficient margin, and then begin to signal how Locke has some good ideas, weeding out the savvy audience who would reject Locke anyway. This sets the stage for an accelerating rightward shift which takes people who might never have come to Locke on their own, and grabs the furthest left available audience and everyone between Demosthenes’ original position and Locke’s platform, and rapidly sweeps any who could be even temporarily bamboozled into supporting Locke into doing so at a critical juncture.

[fluffyflamingo20]

the Lost potter W.T.M

the letter

It was august 25th 1996 13 years after the twin of harry potter daisy potter had supposedly died. It was not as loud in the great hall as it usually was as harry potter was quite quiet today Morning the lose of the sister he could of had as Layla stays blissfully unaware of the fact she even had a sister yet alone one everyone believed to be dead.

it was on that faithful night of halloween that the dark lord came stunning the oldest potters and attempting to kill the young potter twins causing one to disappear that night believed to be dead.

Little did they know today they would be finding out the truth of everything.

Potter manor

James, lily, remus and sirius were in a empty room that no one goes in, a room that once belonged to Daisy potter.

Lilly was crying holding onto a picture of her, her daughter, harry and her husband.

however James was staring at the wall sadly wondering what it could of been like if his eldest daughter was here. Meanwhile sirius and remus were thinking about the times Daisy first said there names and remencing in the times they spent with their god-daughter.

James broke the earshattering silence "Do you think she could be alive?" He asked his shoulder slumped in defeat his voice cracking slightly and the hope he had for his daughter being alive deminishing more and more each year as he asked the same question.

"I dont know prongs i truly dont" was lily's soft voice rang across the room

As Remus opened his mouth to comfort his friends a flash blinded everyone in the room as it floated down landing ontop of james' lap.

As James read the letter mixed emotions flashed across his face. Hope. shock and finally anger.

Sirius spoke up after a moment asking the question on everyones mind "what does it say mate" James says nothing only passing the not to sirius

_________________________

Dear Mr and Mrs potter,

I am writing this letter to inform you that your daughter faisy is alive and she did not die that night on halloween.

If you would go to the great hall in hogwarts i shall allow you to not only meet her but you will also be watching your daughter life.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledoore

__________________________

To say they were shock would be and under statement but even behind that shock they were slightly hopefull.

"What if its just anither prank"  James asked degectively after all it wouldn't be the first time someone did a cruel joke like think

"What if its not?" Lily asked slightly worried

"Well i guess we'll find out" was Sirius' Mischievious reply

"Besides if its a prank we could alway kill the person we are the marauders im sure we could get away with murder." Sirius Joked trying to lighten the mood and it worked as everyone else let out a slight chuckle just before they appeared infront of the great hall with a bunch of others.

Great Hall

They were all eating as harry's had decided it would be easier to stop acting weird as his sister may begin to figure things out after all layla was a Ravenclaw.

Suddenly there was a bang as the doors to the great hall slammed open and the malfoys, Lucius and narcissa, the lestranges, bellatrix and rabastion, the Tonks, Admadora, Ted and Nymphadora, the potters. James and Lily, The weasleys, Molly Arthur, Billy, charley, Percy,the twins Fred and George and the lupin-Blacks, Sirius and Remus along with sirius' brother regulus the auroras Amelia Bones, Madeye moody and cornelius fudge

"Mum, dad what are you doing here" Asked a confused Layla and harry potter

"This better not be a joke dumbledoore." James potter said competely ignoring his childrens questions in his moment of frustration

"Whatever to you mean dear boy" Dumbldoore said confusion replacing his usual knowing twinkle

"The letter" Was lily potter's frusturated reply clearly not in the mood for games

"Yes" Lucius drawled "It seems that you sent us all a letter saying we have to watch the life of the potter offspring that apparently didnt die all those years ago"

"I did not send you a letter-" was all dumbdoor got out before there was a bang and roughly 14 people fell out of a see through portal the children landing ontop of eachother whilst the adults landed beside them looking confused.

"Ouch thats my foot"

"Get off me you fat shits"

"Get your butt out my face"

"Get you face out of my butt"

"Guys your sqaushing me"

"Their sqaushing you? because your all sqaushing me"

"what do you pigs eat"

Mcgonagall Cleared her throuat as everyone pointed their wands at the group.

"Who are you and what is your buisness here??"

"why are you pointing a stick at us" Ryan wheeler said at the same time Mia gaunt said

"is that a stick?"

"No its a wand-" Hermione started in her I know it all tone

"Mhm, whatever you say. Now where are we? Mia said cutting hermione off not really believing its a wand.

"Hogwarts" Harry said feeling a sense of famility from the girl

"What the hell is a hogwats" Dustin blurted out.

"No he said hogwash." Lucas said to Dustin

"No he said hogwats."

"Hogwash"

"hogwats" their arguing was cut off by dumbledoore

"Hogwarts my dear" Dumbdoore corrected in his 'grandfatherly' tone and twinkling eyes but if you looked closer you could see the annoyance in his eyes.

"Hey. Look its gandalf" Mia said pointing at dumbledoore muggleborns and Some half-Bloods who know who gandalf was snickered or laughed as the purebloods were confused.

"No he's the great albus dumbledoore" Molly Weasley announced.

"What the hell is a dumbledoore?" Dustin asked at the same time as Lucas asked

"His names albus?"

Before anyone could say anything another portal appeared and a letter dropped down

______________________________

Dear hogwarts,

We will be watching the life of Daisy Potter or as others know her Mia Gaunt.

no one will be able to leave the hall and toilets will appear momentarily as well as couches.

when you get hungry food of your choice will appear.

Yours sincerely,

anonymous

_________________________________

with that the hall changed couches as well as doors appeared leading to toilets.

"Well i suppose you should introduce yourselves before we start." Dumbldoore said with the twinkle in his eyes seemingly brighter than before with that they all began to introduce themselves

"Jim hopper"

Joyce and the rest of the party gasp having not realised before that hopper was there She quickly gave hopper a slight kiss and eleven also know as Jane hugged him with tears in her eyes

"I never stopped looking for you" She whisper

"I know kid" He whispered back before they parted "Let's carry on with the introduction shall we." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Joyce byers"

"Ted wheeler"

"Karen wheeler and this is holly wheeler" she said pointing at the young girl in her arms

"Claudia henderson"

"Nancy wheeler"

"Johnathan byers"

"Steve harrington"

"Mia gaunt"

"Ryan wheeler"

"Robin Buckley"

"Max Mayfield"

"Mike wheeler"

"Will Byers"

"Jane hopper"

"Lucas sinclair"

"Erica Sinclair"

"Dustin henderson"

With that they all sat down on their own couch as the movie began to play showing the title:

STRANGER THINGS

katherine Mcnamara as Mia Gaunt

Nathaniel Buzolic as Ryan wheeler

[whinlatter]

please talk about something subtle you've put in a story that you hope readers pick up on

Oh man, it was a mistake to ask me this. But I have been desperate to talk about Ginny's t-shirts in Orchards so - let's get into it 👕👚🌳🌿 (Thank you for asking and sorry I can't answer anything like a normal person.)

On Ginny's t-shirts... The slogan t-shirts Ginny wears in Orchards symbolise the dynamics between Ginny and all the people in her life in the summer of 1996, especially her relationship with Harry and the rest of the Weasley family. When Ginny wears a particular shirt, I wanted it to be both a wink to the reader about the arc of that summer - little flags for the plot and for shifting dynamics in characters' relationships - and also a way to smuggle in little headcanons about Ginny's relationships, often with her siblings (and a bonus one, for a surrogate sibling, if anyone spotted it - spoiler below the cut)

I always wondered, with all the Weasleys' secondhand clothing, what Ginny must wear. I loved the idea of her rotating her family members' old t-shirts, as a little love letter to each of them. (I like to think she has a Percy t-shirt somewhere - a t-shirt from some academic competition, no doubt - that she'll dust off and wear again after the war, when they've made their peace with each other.)

So here's a a truly deranged full breakdown of the significance of each of the t-shirts, which I've pulled from my mad writing notes document and share with anyone even a little bit interested, haaa. They're in the order they appear in Orchards, so you can hopefully see their place in the arc of the plot, and broken down by writing/plot and headcanons. Ok let's goooo! 🤸🏻‍♀️

T-shirt 1: Dragon-Tamers’ Guild, Class of 1994 (Relationship: Charlie) 🐉

Writing/plot: Ginny wears this in her opening scene, where Harry and Ron come up to demand she joins them in two-a-side Quidditch. T-shirt 1 had to be a Dragon Tamers' t-shirt, given Ginny's about to spend the summer taming one particularly grouchy dragon (Harry James Potter). And it had to be yellow, because this is Ginny's entrance, so it has to be bright bright bright, sunshine and summer and happy colours from the get-go.

Headcanon: Of course Charlie would give Ginny, the only other animal-lover of the Weasley household, a dragon-themed t-shirt. 1994 is also the year the Triwizard Tournament kicks off, and Charlie comes back to England that summer, so would be the perfect time to hand over a t-shirt to his little sister.

T-shirt 2: My Brothers Started a Joke Shop and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt (Relationship: Fred and George) 🤡

Writing/plot: Ginny wears this at breakfast early on in the fic (the structure of the fic loosely follows the time of day - it starts with breakfast, it will end with evening after sunset). I wanted this t-shirt to flag to the reader that a new phase of Harry and Ginny's relationship is about to kick off - they're about to enter their own comedic double-act era, à la the twins (and, like the twins, a lot of their jokes will be at Ron's expense).

Headcanon: This is definitely a new t-shirt. Fred and George will have given it to Ginny earlier that summer to wear to promote their products at school in the new academic year. The twins may not like that their sister is cool and getting a lot of attention these days, but they're determined to make a few galleons off of it.

T-shirt 3: The Weird Sisters t-shirt (Relationship: Tonks) 🎸

Writing/plot: This actually ended up as my favourite, completely by accident. I originally meant for this t-shirt to be Ginny's own, as a reference to the Weird Sisters poster Harry discovers on her wall in DH. Purple just seemed like a wizardy colour. Ginny wears it in this early flirty scene where Harry, for the first time, seeks her out alone, and comes up to her bedroom. Although he won't enter the room - it's important that that happens for the first time in DH - I liked the idea of her cracking the door open a little and wearing a t-shirt that teases hints of the room inside.

It was only when I was doing final edits and canon checks did I remember that Tonks wears a Weird Sisters t-shirt to pick Harry up at King's Cross at the end of OotP, and also that it's purple??! And then I remembered that great moment in OotP where Tonks turns her hair red, and Harry says she looks like Ginny's older sister. I love that scene. It's so full of early Harry/Ginny hints: Harry noticing more details about Ginny; Ginny, Tonks, and Sirius chatting and cheering Harry up, and Ginny and Tonks showing clear signs of bonding in a little sister/cool big sister way. I love that it ended up as an accidental nod to happy hints from an earlier time.

Canon details: Now I think of this t-shirt is a gift from Ginny's honorary, weird older sister. Tonks has definitely promised to take her to a Weird Sisters concert one day. As Ginny will also spend the summer wishing Bill was marrying Tonks instead, this t-shirt is therefore a subtle anti-Fleur protest.

T-shirt 4: Blank t-shirt (Relationship: Ron 1) 👕

Writing/plot: I wanted Harry to have started to notice Ginny's outfits to such an extent that the first time she wears a blank t-shirt, he's like - excuse you? But then Ginny suggests she'll write her own slogan on it later (‘I’ll write one on later. What do you think of Ron Weasley: Stop Bringing Shame on This Household?’) The t-shirt therefore becomes a way to tease Ron, but it also hints at the tensions in Ginny and Ron's relationship that will be partly resolved by a later t-shirt (Ron 2)

Headcanon: Ginny's clothes are mostly secondhand. But she's also the only girl, and increasingly looks very physically different to her brothers, so when her mum does buy her clothes of her own, they're cheap and non-descript, probably from a multipack.

T-shirt 5: IKEA t-shirt (Relationship: Arthur) 🏡

Writing/plot: Ginny wears this in a scene where Harry and Ron are both watching Ginny and Hermione like dorks. Though they don't know it, both couples are slowly starting to build something, just like you build IKEA furniture (slowly, agonisingly, with no clear instructions and lots of tears/tantrums).

Headcanon: Arthur Weasley definitely has heard of IKEA and longs for the day he, too, can push a trolley around a big Muggle furniture warehouse with a little pencil and tuck into some meatballs in the cafe. A Muggle-born friend definitely gave him this t-shirt knowing he'd be thrilled, and he has passed it onto his daughter who also, secretly, shares his love of all things Muggle.

T-shirt 6: Witch Weekly’s Knitter of the Year Finalist 1984 (Relationship: Molly) 🧶

Writing/plot: Ginny wears this in a scene where she is making her mother tear her hair out over her lack of interest in being a prefect/behaving herself at school, and she and Harry team up as a comedy duo again. I liked the idea of Ginny both wearing her mother's t-shirt while she drives her to distraction, showing all the ways Molly sees herself in her daughter and projects some of her own worries onto her. I also wanted to suggest the idea of Harry and Ginny working together like two knitting needles, colluding to wind up Mrs Weasley. (Molly also spends this scene beating some dough into a pulp on the counter top, and fighting a losing battle there, too).

Headcanon: In 1984, Molly and Arthur had five children under the age of ten running around, squabbling and generally tearing each other apart around the Burrow. Bill and Charlie will have gone to school, and probably have received first batch of Weasley jumpers. I like the idea that Molly took up knitting when pregnant in the late seventies/ early eighties. By the mid-80s knitting is less of a creative outlet and more a slightly manic, neurotic and cheap way of reusing old wool to make new clothes for growing children (and also to take her frustration out on some wool by spearing stitches with sharp needles).

T-shirt 7: Gringotts Curse Breakers' Team-Building Day, May 1993 (The Hardest Curse to Break is a Bad Attitude!) (Relationship: Bill) 🔑

Writing/plot: Ginny wears this in a scene where she's trying to get the trio to lighten up and joke around with her (she's our little bad-attitude breaker). This is another favourite of the t-shirts and I would pay a lot of money for a workplace comedy fic about Bill at this away day.

Headcanon: This is one of those t-shirts you get given at an event and never really want to hold onto (I imagine a team-building day involving grumpy goblins was not a day Bill remembers fondly). But he has seen Ginny has a t-shirt from all her other brothers. The small, petty part of him that always wants his little sister to revere him wants to make sure she has one from him, too.

T-shirt 8: The Chudley Cannons jumper (Relationship: Ron 2) 🧹

Writing/plot: At her birthday dinner, Ron lends Ginny his favourite Chudley Cannons jumper when she starts to get chilly in the evening. Ron and Ginny's relationship won't be fixed completely by the end of the summer - in fact, they're about to go to school, where it'll get a whole lot worse. But this gesture holds out the promise to the reader that things will be alright between them again, that they're going into this new school year with a base level of deep love and affection for each other. Ever the over-protective big brother, Ron will not let his sister be cold on his watch.

Headcanon: It broke Ron's heart when Ginny picked the Holyhead Harpies as her team - she used to support the Cannons with Ron, but picked the Harpies out of spite the first year Ron went away to Hogwarts and she was left at home alone. Seeing his sister wear the Cannons jumper again makes him really happy.

T-shirt 9: Discarded t-shirt (Relationship: Harry) ❣️

Writing/plot: The fic ends with this suggestive, hopeful scene from summer '98, where Harry wakes up on the right side of Ginny's bedroom door for a change, and wonders where the t-shirt she wore the night before has ended up. He spent the summer of '96 inspecting her t-shirts, and then, somewhere along the way, he finally realised he's actually much more interested in what's underneath Ginny's t-shirts. Two years and a whole war later, the reader is reassured to know that Harry James Potter finally gets to take Ginny Weasley's t-shirt off, at long last.

Headcanon: (It's definitely one of Harry's t-shirts).

[alohaemora]

Fic Reread Tag Game

Thanks for the tag, @artemisia-black and @evesaintyves 💜

I do reread my fics! But something I'm currently working on is learning to reread my older fics with the intent to appreciate my growth and not nitpick or go straight into editing mode.

Comfort Fic: Hah my favorite fics of mine are ones that probably don’t read as comforting at first glance. But there's a one-shot I wrote recently that brings me comfort despite its somewhat angsty undertones: Reminiscence, a little missing moment from OotP featuring some Sirius and Harry godfather-godson goodness.

There were many things about Harry that reminded Sirius strikingly of Lily. The bits of James had been easier to spot, but the more Sirius watched his godson, the more he saw Lily. In the cutting remarks. The withering looks. Even the way he wrote, the witty asides in his letters, the dark humor he injected into his prose. Sirius, more than anyone, had always appreciated Lily's grim sense of humor.

Fic I Always Return To: Definitely Human Spirit. My most ambitious project to date, it is a (WIP) chronological account of Remus Lupin's life (from birth to death) and a true labor of love. I've really enjoyed being able to slip in fun little details of the Marauder's era that we get in the books, bring to life Remus's distinct relationships with his parents, friends, and Tonks, and put his immense trauma and self-loathing into words. In particular, I've loved being able to explore the darker sides of his personality, his tendency to mask his anger with politeness/passive-aggressiveness, to bury his feelings deep and avoid confronting them, to redirect/manipulate others strategically.

"Do you have anyone?" Dad asked again, very quietly. "Any…any women?"

Remus bit out a harsh laugh. "Is that a joke?"

"No, I—"

"Oh, yeah, there are loads of women," Remus said coldly. "Because that's every woman's dream, isn't it? To be with someone who could kill them once a month? Someone who goes through jobs like teabags?"

Dad's face grew redder. He looked ashamed, like he regretted saying anything. "I wasn't…I'm not making light of things, Remus. I was just…it's not something I would recommend, personally. But your…your mother always hoped—"

"Don't," Remus snapped, his hands trembling around his cards. "Don't talk about her."

Favorite Little Gem: I enjoyed writing many portions of The Meeting, which features Dumbledore and a grieving, rage-filled Snape soon after Halloween 1981, when Dumbledore offers him the potions master post. I enjoyed sneaking in little parallels between this moment and Harry and Dumbledore's conversation after Sirius's death in OotP. (I also just love writing dialogue between Dumbledore and Snape lol, it's so much fun.) And at that, Severus's fury exploded. Raising his fist, he slammed it onto Dumbledore's desk, causing several of the headmaster's precious silver instruments to fall to the floor with a crash. "But you didn't protect them!" Severus snarled, his voice cracked and hoarse. "You didn't live up to your word!"

Tagging @hinnyfied, @somesunlitdays, @ashesandhackles, @turanga4, @indihpblog

[sapphicwhxre]

may i ask for a preference/ head canon (idk the difference) of how the girls would react w the reader has a panic attack

preferences include more than one character ─ hence the name, you can read for the character(s) you prefer ─ and a headcanon is something you consider canon that isn't, or what they'd be like for that specific idea. hopefully that clears it up for you :) i kept this one short but thank you for requesting, enjoy <3

• what the girls would do during your panic attack •

Г includes: hermione granger, pansy parkinson, ginny weasley, cho chang, luna lovegood, fleur delacour, padma patil, parvati patil, lavender brown, angelina johnson, daphne greengrass, astoria greengrass, nymphadora tonks, bellatrix lestrange, and narcissa black

tw // panic attack and anxiety mentions

♥︎──

hermione granger

♥︎──

• has had them and is familiar with them

• terrified only because she doesn't want you to feel that way

• gets a little panicky/frantic but immediately does anything and everything that she knows soothes you

• talks you through the whole thing ─ she'd die before letting you feel alone during this

• lets you lay in her lap after you've calmed down and reads to you (also forces you to have a glass of water)

♥︎──

pansy parkinson

♥︎──

• she's had them too but never put a name to them or really understood them

• her image was more important than dealing with her anxiety

• thinks back to what's helped her in those moments and does the same for you

• not a lot of talking since she's scared of making it worse

• but lots of touch and grounding and eventually holds you and tells you you're ok

♥︎──

ginny weasley

♥︎──

• molly and arthur are extremely loving and she passes that on ─ i also refuse to believe that her brothers didn't drop everything for their anxious little sister

• gives you your space though because her family has good intentions but smothers her when she's upset

• not one for reassurance while it's happening but stays and you just know you're not alone in this

• afterwards, she'll reassure the hell out of you of course

• and counteract every worry and fear that hurt you

♥︎──

cho chang

♥︎──

• freezes and panics a little ─ even wondering if it's her fault

• but has quick ravenclaw thinking to calm the both of you down

• uses all of your favourite pet names in soft whispers

• verbalises what she wishes she'd been told in her worst moments

• nothing but validation from her, so you never have to feel stupid or bothersome

♥︎──

luna lovegood

♥︎──

• instantly recognises that you're having a panic attack

• definitely knew you were anxious before it got to that point so she's already holding your hand or stroking your hair

• her voice is extremely grounding and soothing

• what no luna headcanon is complete without, her searching for a creature that caused and/or made the anxiety worse

• and, of course, making you a charm for your anxiety

♥︎──

fleur delacour

♥︎──

• i think she'd be a little lost before realising you're having a panic attack (even though she used to have them during the tournament)

• and as soon as she does, this girl goes into overprotective girlfriend mode

• no one touches you, nothing stressful comes into contact with you

• she can and will get you to focus on nothing but her

• and listens to your every word after you've calmed down

♥︎──

padma patil

♥︎──

• the more vigilant of the two twins ─ it doesn't take her long to realise somethings wrong

• asks you if you're alright and that's when she has her confirmation

• sees if you need anything, calms you down with words of encouragement

• encourages/praises any progress you make like steadying your breathing, giving a shaky smile, anything that shows you're getting through it

• so proud of you for pulling through and makes sure you are too

♥︎──

parvati patil

♥︎──

• you know how i said padma's more vigilant? well i think parvati takes action faster

• her instinct is to love and protect you

• holds you close for sure, shushing you, and rubbing circles on your skin

• has this faith that you'll be okay because you just have to be

• gives you kisses and tells you that you did wonderfully, and how strong you are

♥︎──

lavender brown

♥︎──

• probably panics too

• resorts to touch, letting you know that she's there for you

• so many words of reassurance leaving her mouth

• won't leave your side for absolutely anything until she knows you're ok

• cuddles and kisses you when you've calmed down

♥︎──

angelina johnson

♥︎──

• i feel like she's one of the only ones that doesn't get scared

• she immediately focuses on getting you to just breathe instead of her own feelings

• there's obvious care but also just a determination to make your anxiety go away

• doesn't give up or get frustrated ─ she'll hold your hands and tell you it's okay for hours if she needs to

• takes you for a walk or for your favourite thing to do to get your mind off of things

♥︎──

astoria greengrass

♥︎──

• daphne was probably the one to help ground her when she first had one

• she uses love and kindness to help you like she learned

• she's really tender and caring with you

• lets you play with her fingers or jewelery until you're fully calmed down

• the number one enforcer of it's not your fault

♥︎──

daphne greengrass

♥︎──

• like i mentioned before, i feel like she took on the role of caring for astoria ─ especially when it comes to anxiety

• but it's more touch than words ─ cupping your face and making your eyes meet hers

• can keep calm but if someone comes near either of you, she'd death shoo them away

• thanks merlin internally that you're okay and smiling again afterwards

• gives you time and talks you through the entire thing

♥︎──

nymphadora tonks

♥︎──

• despite her playfulness, she knows when to stop and this is one of those moments

• she just wants you to feel safe and that's what she does

• gives you something like her jacket to ground yourself with

• i love the idea of her going to her natural hair colour to remind you that it's just her, the girl who loves you and you're safe with

• cracks a joke once you're in the headspace for it so she can hear your laugh and see your smile

♥︎──

bellatrix lestrange

♥︎──

• gets really confused at first ─ people aren't supposed to cry around her unless she's making them cry

• hesitates to touch you or talk to you since that's what she would want when she's in a frenzy

• but her need to do something would take over and she'd go to your side

• her voice goes so soft and she's highkey suffering seeing you like this

• tells you something along the lines of never do that again but you know she was just terribly worried

♥︎──

narcissa black

♥︎──

• not entirely sure whether you want her to do something or not

• intuition takes over and tells her she should

• she's very good at focusing on your needs instead of hers

• so she's rational instead of desperate to make it better ─ knows what to say and do

• would tell you how much she loves you over and over again until it sinks in

───────

[xmalfoyweasleyx]

Two empty years - F.W (smut)

Summary: Y/N is like a sister to Fred, but when he sees her again after two years, things change, a lot.

Warnings: 18+ smut, but also fluff and a plot, also briefly choking and praising. (to be clear, they talk about her being little but she's absolutely 18+ in this story!)

A/N: This is my first story but I worked VERY hard so I hope you like it. Let me know if you see mistakes or have tips x

2,3k words

27 July 1997

I felt sick when my feet landed on the soft grass next to the Burrow. I wasn't a big fan of appareting. I ran as fast as I could to the door. Molly and Ginny already waiting for me. "Are they here yet?" I asked, not able to hide the fear in my voice. Ginny fell into my arms and hugged me. "I missed you Y/N" she murmured. Molly gave me a smile full of sympathy and sighed: "Hello dear, no they're still not here."

Alll of this, just for getting Harry here safely. When did the upcoming war get this far? A month ago I was at Hogwarts worrying about an essay for potions. And now. Now I'm here. Worrying about my friend’s life. I wanted to help too but they didn't let me.

"Who's there? Who's helping?" I asked, nervously playing with the hem of my shirt. "All of them, Hermione, Ron, Tonks, George, Fred,..." Ginny answered but I stopped listening at Fred's name.

Fred. I haven't seen Fred in 2 years. Two.

It was my own fault. I used to visit the burrow every summer. The Weasleys were like a family. But that was the problem. I've been Ron his best friend since my first day at Hogwarts. I got sorted into Y/H. It was a dream coming true. And since then I visited the burrow every summer. Oh and don't forget the Holidays. Even getting the sweater with my initials on it.

But I never came back, since the day it happened. The day I fell in love with Fred Weasley. It's been two years. I saw him with a little boy. The boy was crying. It was something about the way Fred comforted that boy that made me melt inside, it made my knees weak. I promised myself I couldn't let this happen. I. was like a little sister to him after all. There was no way Fred could ever see me like this, like... a woman. I was a sister, I was his little brother's best friend. He probably loved me. But he would never be in love with me. And it got worse because I started fantasizing. I couldn't get my eyes off him playing quidditch. Watching him move with the sweat on his face. He made my stomach tingle in a way I've never felt. But I was young, and I knew that. I couldn't be that sexy girl, the woman I had to be to make him notice me as something else than an innocent, cute friend. Because we were friends too, good friends, always joking together.

So I never visited again. I just couldn't see him. And I didn't, because he left Hogwarts, I didn't even visit their shoppe once.

"Come inside dear" Molly offered "I haven't seen you in so long! But Ginny told me you still talk a lot with her in school, I'm happy to hear that. And I'm also happy you joined The Order!” she smiled wide like always. And then we heard something. It was Harry and Hagrid. Suddenly a wave of anxiety hit me. I was going to see Fred. If he was okay... Fuck, what if he wasn't okay?

I was ripped out of my daydreams when I heard a scream, it was Molly. I turned around quickly. Seeing a redheaded tall boy. That's when my heart skipped a beat. Blood all over the boy's face.

Oh no.

After one minute I noticed it wasn't Fred. It was George.

"George!" I gasped while kneeling in front of him laying on the sofa. "Y/n? Is that you?" he mumbled. "Yes it's me, what happened?" I gulped.

Before he could answer someone stumbled next to me. Grabbing George immediately. "George!" he panted. It was Fred. I knew it without even looking. He was sitting right next to me without even releasing I was there.

"Y/n is here" was the only thing George answered.

That's when our eyes met. For the first time in two years. After two years of purposely ignoring him.

It was silent. Something flickered in his eyes but I didn't know what it was. He grew up. Even more. He was an adult now. But so am I.

Change of POV

Fred didn't know what happened. Y/n, he missed her. He always knew she was pretty but he never really thought about it. And now, she was... she was older? She was a woman now. He couldn't really describe it, how she was just exactly the same sweet little girl who was like family to him, but how she still changed so much. How she was actually... hot now? She was so damn hot now. Of course she was. There’s always been something about her that he couldn't really describe, this feeling. But he didn’t want to feel that way, he couldn’t, she was younger, she was his brother's friend. She was y/n.

"Fred? Hellooo??" he heard his mother scream, waking him up from his thoughts. He didn't realize he was staring at y/n the whole time. "We have to heal his ear" he shot, trying to make up for his recent stare incident.

"I can do it" y/n said calmly. "What do you mean?" George whimpered. They all looked confused now. "I've studied about it, I want to become a healer and I'm studying already. I know how to but never actually performed a healing spell" she admitted. "I think you should try" Fred said. Making y/n smile at him while biting her lip unconsciously. It made Fred gasp a little for air while his stomach tingled again. She turned her head back to George causing a wave of her scent filling up Fred's nose. He didn't even know the smell would be so familiar to him. He had missed her, that's when he realized. God he had missed her and she was finally back.

A few hours later it was calm again. Most of them already asleep after the exhausting day. Y/n couldn't sleep. She sat in the sofa near the fireplace listening to the rain on the window while sipping from her coffee. "Seriously. Are you still drinking coffee at this time of the day?" she heard Fred saying. "I always do" she pointed out.

"I know" Fred sighed. "So, why is it so long ago since I've seen you? You didn't even visit our shoppe. I've told you so much about it back at Hogwarts."

Y/n sighed not knowing what to answer now. Because I love you and keep having dirty fantasies about how you would rail me.

She couldn't answer that, that's for sure. "Just... stuff... Lot of work with the healer thing" she lied. Fred sat next to her. "You've changed" he said. "Of course I did Freddie, it's been a while" she laughed. Giving Fred butterflies because of the nickname.

"Yes, but I mean, your lips and hair and .." he almost said what he wanted to. But lucky for him, he could control his straightforwardness for once. It even made him blush. What the fuck did he just blush?

Not going unnoticed by y/n, she laughed mockingly. "Is Fred Weasley actually blushing? Are you Fred?" she mocked while standing up and hovering over him. He was speechless. Something he never was. "Did you wanted to say boobs? That I have more boobs now? Or were you talking about my ass?" she smiled. Obviously trying to mock Fred. He sighed deeply, trying to be himself again.

It worked. He stood up, now standing very close to y/n. Hovering over her because he was still so much taller. "I know what you're trying y/n y/l/n" he smirked. "I know you just got shy because of me" she answered feeling bolder than ever. Their faces were close, a sexual tension that would be clear to every person, even Ron Weasley. "So tell me" y/n added, coming closer and closer. "Were you looking at my ass Fred Weasley" she whispered in his ear.

Suddenly the floor beneath her disappeared she couldn't process what happened. And then she saw it, they appareted. Standing in a room that was probably Fred's apartment.

"Fred?" she gasped. And before she knew it his lips were on hers. Moving perfectly together. The kiss was full of passion. She grabbed his head and pushed him even closer, slightly tugging his hair. He grabbed her hips and she moaned lightly. And suddenly the kiss was over. She saw a confused boy standing before her. Trying to process what just happened.

"I-I'm so sorry" he sighed. Her heart felt like it was about to break into a million pieces. How could she forget the fact that she was still... well... herself. "I know, I'm like your sister, you don't see me that way" she whispered, hating herself for letting her voice crack. "I shouldn't have done it" he said. Suddenly a boiling anger grew inside y/n.

"Am I that unattractive! Am i?! You know, I didn't see you in that long because I'm in love with you. That’s why! But you don't think about me like that. I'm 0 % sexy to you. I...I..." it all rambled out of y/n's mouth. "Hey hey" Fred sighed grabbing your hands to comfort you. "That's not true, when I saw you today, I was speechless, you're not 0 % sexy, god no, you're so sexy y/n" he admitted. "Why did you say it was a mistake." she questioned. Fred was still astonished by the fact she confessed her feelings to him. "I've just never been so confused. The girl I've known for years suddenly makes my stomach tingle. I don't I don't..." Fred tried to explain but y/n cut him off: "then fuck me"

"What?" Fred asked more confused than ever.

"Fuck me Fred Weasley". she breathed.

They stood like this for a few seconds. "Fuck it" he hissed, grabbing her hips again and pushing her against his wall, kissing her like his life depended on it. Y/n jumped folding her legs around his hips pushing his core closer to hers. Slightly grinding up and down. He grunted into her mouth.

"Can I take your clothes off?" he asked. Y/n nodded and with one little spell her clothes were all gone. Fred's eyes widened. Attacking her with open mouth kisses on her neck. "God you're so sexy, so fucking sexy" he sighed in between the kisses. Making shivers go through y/n's body. His lips attacked her nipples passionately, making her moan his name. Fred swore it was the most beautiful sound ever. A sound he would never forget.

"Please Fred" she sighed. "Patience baby, patience" he hummed in her ear. Slowly rubbing his finger through her folds teasingly. Kissing her lips softly. He went down on his knees and suddenly y/n felt his soft lips attaching to her wet core. "God" she moaned. Fred sucked gently and moaned while y/n ran her hands through his red locks.

This must have been heaven. It was the best feeling they've ever had. Fred thought it couldn't possibly get better, pleasuring y/n being the best thing he ever did. The way she tugged his hair and moaned his name... But then she pulled him away. In a second she was on her knees before him. "What are you d-" he tried. "Shut up. I'm showing I'm not that innocent any more. I'm yours now Fred" she breathed. Before Fred could answer she pulled his pants down. Revealing his throbbing cock. Making him whine.

Y/n kitten licked his tip and heard him sigh loudly above her. She looked up through her lashes, looking at the tall guy with innocent eyes, taking his cock in her mouth. "God y/n, you're going to be the death of me princess" he grunted. She bobbed her head and swirled her tongue, trying to put as much as possible in her mouth. Little moans left Fred's lips. "Y/n I'm going to cum if you keep doing that” he said between grunts. Y/n grabbed his thighs and gagged while tears formed in her eyes. "Good girl" he moaned. Leaving y/n proud but still waiting for her own release.

Fred didn't want to cum yet. In one move he grabbed y/n delicately by her ass, pushing her against the wall. His tip touched her core softly. "Fred" she moaned. "Are you sure about this baby?" he asked. Y/n nodded eagerly. "Make me yours Freddie" she answered.

That was it, Fred pushed slowly into her. Leaving them both moaning in synchrony. After a while Fred started moving slowly. His sweaty forehead resting on y/n's. Looking straight into each others eyes. "Faster Freddie" she groaned. He started pounding into her mercilessly. Making them both moan even louder. The sound of grunts, their skin slapping and her body banging against the wall filled the room. His fingers dug into her skin while she grabbed his back firmly.

"Good girl, you feel so good around me" he whispered into her ear making her moan louder. Suddenly he grabbed her neck gently, but still firm. His long fingers fitting perfectly around her skin, making her gasp at the sudden pleasure. Feeling his cock rubbing her g-spot faster and faster. "I'm gonna cum" she almost screamed. "Me too baby". Fred went even faster while they looked in each others eyes, seeing the passion exploding. "God I love you, I've always loved you" he sighed. "Me too Freddie, I love you" she moaned.

And with one last sloppy trust they both came. Moaning each others name while riding the orgasm out. Looking at each other with eyes full of disbelief but mostly happiness. "Well that wasn't what I expected to happen today when I woke up this morning" he joked. Making y/n laugh while planting a soft kiss on his lips.

That night they fell asleep in each others arms. Still sweaty and exhausted from before. Just like two empty years without each other, never really happened.

***

[comfortwriting]

The Widow - F.W

Masterlist, Requesting rules, Writing Prompt Masterlist

Fred Weasley x Fem Reader

Requested/About: The reader and Fred have been married for a year,  they were supposed to be celebrating their anniversary - but instead they are fighting for their lives in the battle of Hogwarts. When Y/N is finally reunited with the Weasley's in the great hall, her life shatters completely.

Warnings: Mention of death, blood, corpses, open wounds, loss of limbs, bombings/explosions, mention of children dying.

Cloud Nine. Above the clouds. That's how you would describe your life ever since you and Fred moved out, got married, and lived every day together like it was your last.

Too many late nights messing around in the living room, dancing, coming up with pranks for when you have children and grandchildren to fool around and cause mischief with. Too many early, sleep-deprived mornings watching the sunrise and listening to the birds sing like they were the worlds biggest choir.

You were initially quite excited to celebrate your first wedding anniversary with Fred - you had planned to cook him a three-course romantic meal if he didn't beat you to it, you had already bought him gifts - a new dragon scale suit for work, a car (which you guessed it, could fly), and you had papers in the thick envelope waiting for him to open with the news of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes going oversees to please many other young witches and wizards.

Instead of all you had planned, tonight, you and Freddie, like many others, were fighting for your lives in the battle of Hogwarts. Your wand gripped tightly in your hand, on the lookout for death eaters - even Voldemort perhaps - you and Fred got separated when a loud bang broke out, followed by the screams of young children.

"Do what you must, my love!" Freddie winced, lifting himself off the floor, striking his wand out at the death eater in front of him, George and Percy fighting alongside him.

You wanted to stay with your husband, you wanted to see him make it out of this alive, you wanted to have the chance to give your life to save his if it came to it - but you also couldn't justify leaving young children and teenagers to suffer at the hands of the death eaters, who were hellbent on causing destruction and tallying up the death toll - you had already lost enough; your little sister.

You shook your head, coughing at the dust and dirt rising in the air from the blast "I can't leave you - I can't-"

A bright flash hit the death eater, killing them instantly, Fred turned and hurried over to you, his hands cupping your dirt and blood stained face "Y/N Weasley, my darling, you go now and don't look back! Those children need you, I promise I'll find you - you won't lose me."

Tears filled your eyes at his words, at the thought of leaving him without knowing if he would make it out alive to deliver on his promise, but Fred was right - children were counting on you - you couldn't leave them to die.

"Okay love?" he kissed your lips softly, for as long as he could before another loud bang rang through.

Pulling away you nodded your head "Okay Freddie, I love you-"

Before Fred could respond, another bright flash burst through and George shot out, slamming against the wall, Freddie instantly yelling and pointing his wand, swinging it through the air.

Your tears spilt down your face as you mustered the strength to stand tall and run, run towards the sound of the loud blasts and screaming children. The smell of smoke choking you, the dust, dirt and smoke stinging your eyes as you pushed further and further towards the children - most of them already dead and cold, whilst the others were seriously injured, losing blood and missing limbs.

The children who were holding on, you aided, stopping them from bleeding, stitching their wounds and leading them all to safety once Tonks and Remus showed up, both worse for wear.

"We'll take it from here, Y/N," Remus said, whilst Tonks lead the children to safety.

"T-Thank you," you choked, coughing.

"You need to get out of here, now and fast, before they come-"

"I need to go back to Freddie," you quickly limped, wiping your eyes.

Remus stopped you "Y/N, you can't go back there, it's too dangerous, you need to wait for them out of the way-"

"No! I can't, he's my husband-"

"What happens if a handful of death eaters find you on your own? Limping towards a path you may not reach - they will kill you! Think of what that will do to Fred!"

"I promise I'll find you - you won't lose me."

Your gut feeling screamed at you, telling you to ignore Remus and sprint towards your husband, even if your ankle wasn't ready for such a trial - but your heart kept telling you to wait for him, to go to safety and wait for him to return.

You went with your heart, ignoring the strong churning of your gut.

"Thank you, Remus."

You limped throughout the castle, facing stray death eaters along the way, your strength and motivation to find your husband pushing you further and further, escaping death and more serious harm - part of you felt a little better, less on the edge and more relaxed, part of you felt that deep down inside you would get to see those deep brown eyes, and feel those strands of ginger locks through your fingers as you cuddle your husband in bed.

Before the hope inside of you could spread any further, the final blast shook the castle, the boom making your heart and stomach drop - you didn't know how, or why, but this time a switch inside of you flipped, and you the hope inside of you shattered to pieces.

Bursting through the huge doors you once stood in front of with Fred in the first year, you limped past the many wizard and witches, dead, injured, and alive in mourning. Before finally reaching the Weasley's you looked down and noticed both Tonks and Remus dead, their arms outstretched to one another - moments before they were alive, coming to your aid.

Looking desperately for your husband, searching for his blinking eyes, his golden hair, and clear voice, but instead, you were face to face with George and Molly, their eyes red, cracked and glassy with tears. George's jacket coated in filth, and in large splatters and trickles of blood.

"W-Where is he?" you asked, looking for Fred between the Weasleys "Wheres Fred?"

Molly's lips quivered and George's voice cracked as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Y/N... my dear... he..." Molly trailed off, coming closer to you, her arm wrapping around you.

"He didn't make it." George cried out, moving to the left, revealing Fred's body.

You weren't standing up anymore, you couldn't remember how you found yourself on the cold floor, on your knees, bending over Fred's cold stiff body, crying and wailing on his chest, the drying blood crumbling and smearing at your touch when your hands went to stroke his hair, full of debris.

The wind had been knocked out of you, you couldn't breathe.

"We're so sorry," Percy cried, crouching beside his little brother's body "I tried to save him - the blast - it just - it happened so fast, I-"

George and Molly cuddled you from behind, holding you and keeping you grounded.

Opening your eyes, you looked into Fred's searching desperately for any sign of life, but nothing was there, not a flicker of gold, or mischief.

Cloud Nine. Above the clouds. That's how you once described your life when a lad named Fred, your best friend, first crush, first boyfriend, and husband was in it.

Not enough late nights messing around in the living room, dancing, coming up with pranks for when you thought you would have children and grandchildren to fool around and cause mischief with. Not enough early, sleep-deprived mornings watching the sunrise and listening to the birds sing like they were the worlds biggest choir.

Fred would never have a chance to cook for you, or you for him, you would never get to see him waltz around the shop floor of the joke shop looking dapper in his new suit, you would never have your heart warmed by the joy and pride on his face as he opens the envelope and reads how his future is going to be more than he ever could imagine.

Last year, you and Fred got married and had the rest of your lives together waiting for you, and now, one year on, you had become a widow, having no choice but to live without the man you prepared to spend the rest of your life with.

"I promise I'll find you, Freddie," you whispered, walking around his joke shop, handing the letter to George "you won't lose me."

taglist: @horrorxweasley @amourtentiaa @alwaysnforeverfangirl @inglourious-imagines @reeophidian @sebby-staan @onlyfreds @xmalfoyweasleyx @livvysnaps @supermassiveblackhope @youralternantpersonality @snivellouss @potters-heart @the-romanian-is-bae

[messrmoonyy]

22 please with remadora

Prompt from this list. Sorry this took so damn long. Just a shirt little something to get me back in the flow of Remadora after my motivation to write for them dried up.

Prompt: Listening to them while they vent.

Pairing: Remus lupin x Nymphadora tonks

Warnings: language

“ I swear to shit I am going to ring that bastards neck the next time I see him! And that stupid fucking undersecretary too! “ Remus blinked a few times in mild shock as he paused in the middle of writing his report at the desk in the library. There was the mild sound of someone stomping around too. Language that colourful could only come from one persons mouth, said person appearing in the library moments later.

She pushed the door open so harshly he was surprised it stayed on the hinges, then again questioning how it even stayed standing when she slammed it shut just as rough.

Her face was flushed with anger, her hair a similar shade. It looked almost pulsating as it shifted between a few varying shades of red.

“ good morning Nymphadora “ he tried, placing his quill down and chancing a slight glance at her. He half expected her to yell at him, but then again she had seemingly sought him out. She looked over at him and shrugged off her auror robes, tossing them to the sofa and flopping down.

“ mornin Remus “ she mumbled, her anger seemingly simmering ever so slightly. He talked his quill a little awkwardly against his parchment, unsure of what to say. He got the feeling she had a lot to get off her chest. But also didn’t want to risk making her even angrier by bringing whatever it was up. But she knew he often hid away in the library, that no one bothered him there. So she had gone there with intention. So he just hit the bullet.

“ bad day at work I assume “ she scoffed at that and pulled at a thread on the sofa

“ the bloody worst “ he placed his quill down and turned to face her more, clasping his hands in his lap.

“ would you like to talk about it? I’m a very good listener “ his heart fluttered slightly as she seemed to crack a small smile

“ no you’re just too polite to interrupt. There’s a difference “ he didn’t get chance to answer her remark though, as she suddenly dived into a fully animated story of her day at work. And just how awful it had been. Her ranting was a little jumbled, her annoyance clearing messing with her train of thought and she diverted off the main topic multiple times before looking back around. He simply sat and let her get it off her chest. He didn’t understand a lot of what she was saying, names of ministry workers and various points that he was certain she shouldn’t actually be telling him. But he still listened.

By the end she actually looked quite exhausted, clearly her tangent and her flailing arms to elaborate her points had turned out. All that paired with the awful work day of course.

“ so now you see? Hmm? “ he blinked a few times before nodding.

“ I think I caught the general gist. The minister is a knob, as is umbridge. The other Aurors are as smart as a half dead flobberworm. And you lost one of your favourite gloves “

“ yeah that’s about right “

“ great “ the smile was back on her face again and he mused that he much preferred it to her angry scowls “ anything I can do to make you feel any better? “ she wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively then, his face blushing a burning red in response which simply made her laugh. And he lost all case for his embarrassment, because at least she was happy again “ I’m joking. A hug’d be nice though “

He was out of his chair without a second thought and joining her on the sofa. He raised an arm and she snuggled up into him, his arm holding her gently and pulling her close.

“ see, better already “ she said, slightly muffled by her face half buried into his cardigan. She took a deep sigh and wiggled again to get comfy before going still “ thank you for listening to me. I know you were busy and I know I waffle on a bit sometimes. But I feel bad dumping it onto Sirius sometimes, he’s so moody just lately “

“ it’s fine. I’m happy to listen whenever you need” he felt her smile against him and he pressed a light kiss to the top of her head.

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

All the Stars- Fred Weasley x OC

Fred Weasley x Mallorie Bishopp

Description: the war is finally over and everyone is trying to get back to normal and be rebuilt. After finding Mallorie stargazing and reminiscing about a loss, Fred elects to stay with her.

Word Count: 1.1k

May 2, 1998. The day that Mallorie witnessed Voldemort die, a.k.a. she’d never let herself forget. It was the best day of her life. Of course she was relieved to hear the news, but seeing his lifeless physical being was a whole different feeling. She fell to her knees and cried in relief before hugging Ginny, who had been closest to her. 

Life after the war was hard for her. Everywhere she looked, she just saw the lives lost, especially that of Lavender Brown who Mallorie had formed a friendship with. She found that cleaning up the remnants of debris at Hogwarts was therapeutic. After helping rebuild Hogwart, Mallorie finally got to start up her bookshop. She had both wizarding books and muggle books and she couldn’t have been prouder with herself. 

Fred and George, whose shop was just a few buildings away, were also absolutely proud of her. They ended up being her first customers, buying some muggle joke books. After her first day, they took her out to dinner in celebration. Fred ended up moving in with her to the apartment above her shop so George and Corinne could live together. 

One thing that Fred learned about Mallorie was that she often liked disappearing to the roof at night. She always liked the stars and sometimes read books on constellations and planets. After Nymphadora Tonks’s funeral, Fred found that the roof trips became more frequent. Mallorie had looked up to her, especially after she joined the Order of the Phoenix. She was devastated to see Tonks’s body in the casualties section in Hogwarts. So, she found herself going to the roof to get away. More often than not she’d just stare at the constellation Chamaeleon. 

That’s where Fred found her at 2:30 a.m., staring at the constellation he learned to recognize. She was laying flat on her back with her hands resting on her stomach. Her hair was splayed out around her head, kind of looking like a crown in Fred’s opinion. He didn’t say anything as he laid down beside her also on his back. His hands laid on his side lazily. It was quiet for a few minutes and Fred found himself almost falling asleep.

“Do you know why it’s Chamaeleon?” She asked softly, not taking her eyes off of the sky. 

“Hm?” He looked at her with knitted eyebrows.

“Do you know why it’s Chamaeleon that I look at when thinking of Tonks?” She elaborated. Fred thought for a minute before shaking his head. 

“No. Why?” She sighed softly, closing her eyes for a minute before looking at him.

“Chameleons can change on command, whether it be for survival or just simple want. They remind me of Tonks,” she explained, her voice cracking near the end. He waited to see if she would say something else, and his patience paid off. 

“Fred I miss her so much,” she whimpered, looking at him with tear filled eyes. Fred jumped to action immediately. He turned on his side and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her as the tears began falling. He let her cry into his chest, not caring about his shirt being wet. He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. 

“I know it’s difficult,” he started softly. “And to tell you the truth, you’ll never stop grieving. There is no ‘getting over’ the loss of a friend or loved one. But you know what you will do? You’ll learn to live with it. You’ll heal and rebuild yourself just like the way you rebuilt Hogwarts. Understand?” Mallorie had never heard him be so serious, it was a little jarring. Nevertheless, she nodded before wiping her nose. 

“When you look at Chamaeleon, you see her, and you’ll always see her. When you look at it you’ll remember how much you love her and how dear she was to you. And in the end, I think that’s what’s best.” Mallorie smiled weakly.

“You’re right,” she mumbled. Fred felt himself smirk.

“Did you expect anything else?” He asked cockily. Mallorie rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm. 

“Way to ruin the moment,” she said sarcastically. Fred laughed in response and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing with him. 

“Guess I’m just that good, huh,” he snickered. Mallorie shook her head and looked into his eyes. Fred hummed in thought, prompting Mallorie to ask what he was thinking. 

“You know, I’ve always thought the stars are beautiful. They’re nothing compared to your eyes, though.” Mallorie blushed profusely and cooed.

“Aw, you’re such a sap Fred.” It was Fred’s turn to blush and he shrugged.

“Shut up,” he mumbled embarrassedly. Mallorie continued to coo obnoxiously at him until he finally began tickling her to shut her up. She squealed as his fingers dug into her sides and began laughing loudly, begging him to stop. She was on her back with him hovering above her by the time he halted his movements. They stared at each other, both breathless and smiling at each other. Fred leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before moving beside her again. 

The two laid there staring at the stars until they fell asleep right there on the roof. Mallorie woke up first around dawn and went back inside to start on breakfast. She hummed along with a song on the radio as she flipped a pancake over. When Fred’s arms wrapped around her from behind she nearly jumped out of her skin. 

“Frederick Gideon Weasley what is wrong with you?” She exclaimed, smacking his arm. Fred only laughed and held up his hands in defense.

“I’m sorry! You were facing away and I just couldn’t help myself. Something came in the mail for you,” he explained, handing her a box. She read the return address, and her eyebrows knit together in confusion when she didn’t recognize it. Carefully opening the box, she just barely peeked over it just in case it was dangerous. There was a letter with her name on the front of it. Fred and Mallorie exchanged a curious look and Mallorie picked up the letter and opened.

Mallorie,

I found this in Tonks’s things. She always talked about how much you liked it, and I figured it was only right that you received it now that she’s gone. I hope you like it.

Sincerely,

Sirius O. Black

Mallorie set the letter aside and pulled out what the letter had been on top of. She teared up when she realized what it was: Tonks’s leather jacket. She held it against her chest for a moment before putting it on quickly. Fred smiled at her.

“It looks wonderful on you, love,” he said softly. Mallorie smiled tearfully at him then hugged him. She just knew that it could only get better from here, and Fred would be right there with her. 

[vaindumbass]

The ministry is good for one (1) thing... getting Tonks a date

‘Why-’ Tonks says to the head that is currently sticking out of her fireplace, ‘Why did you ask me for this job.’

Charlie doesn’t even hesitate before answering. ‘Because you speak French fluently, and because you love me and therefore couldn’t say no.’

Mentally, Tonks curses out the Black family and their fucked up traditions. Why French, of all things? Then she corrects herself and blames her mother instead, for keeping this particular tradition. Couldn’t she have gone hunting when she was ten, instead? Bella always thought that was great fun.

Out loud, she replies. ‘I could’ve said no. If I wanted to.’

‘So you want to do this? Good to hear! You can always thank me later, a gift basket would be nice-’

Tonks scoffs at Charlie’s way too wide grin, a laugh threatening to crack out on her face too. ‘You know what, Charlie?’

‘What?’ he says, smugly, as if he’s won.

‘You weren’t completely wrong. I couldn’t have said no.’

‘I know.’

‘You were wrong about one thing, though.’

The fire crackles as Charlie cocks his head. ‘Well?’

Tonks pulls her face into something sad and melancholic to the best of her ability, and looks dramatically into the distance. ‘I don’t love you.’

Charlie’s gasp is loud enough that Tonks almost fears that he’ll douse the flames, somehow. ‘How dare you! Was all this…. a lie?’ After he has stared morosely into the flames for a while, though, he asks: ‘But seriously, babe, what is it?’

The back of Tonks’ shoulders itches a little now that they aren’t joking anymore, and she feels a bit too closely scrutinized. ‘It’s not that bad, okay? You don’t have to look so worried.’

Charlie still looks worried.

‘It’s just- remember how you asked me so that I could translate what she would say?’

‘Sure.’

‘Well, since she’s here partially to improve her English, she told me that I wasn’t really needed.’

‘Okay.’ Charlie says, ‘And?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You wouldn’t be bothered this much by that. I know you, can’t fool me.’

‘Okay so I may have-’

‘May have or you did?’

Tonks ignores him, words spilling out of her. ‘I may have spilled my coffee on her. And she’s so fucking pretty, Charlie, and confident, which I’m apparently attracted to?’

‘There we go,’ He mutters under his breath. Tonks isn’t done.

‘And she doesn’t sugarcoat stuff, you know? So logically I know that she means it when she says that it’s okay, and that she doesn’t mind me ruining her clothes, but what if she secretly hates me now?’

‘Mhm.’

‘She was perfectly kind, though, and have I mentioned how good-looking she is? Name is Fleur, by the way, and sure looks aren’t everything, I change mine on the daily, but the way she looks when she smiles… Only, there’s no excuse for me to stay around her, anymore, and now I’ll never see her again, and she’ll only remember me as that horrible person who ruined her day.’

Charlie’s laugh rings around the room, warm and comfortable, and some ash gets on the carpet when he finally decides to just step out of the fireplace. ‘I’m going to have to stop you there, babe. You’re not just here to speak the language of love-’ After these words, there’s a horrible eyebrow wiggle, and Tonks makes and even weirder face back, just because she can. ‘- but also to show her around!’

‘I don’t even work here anymore! It really is weird that you couldn’t find anyone else who speaks French. I mean- Sirius does?’

‘Yes,’ Charlie responds, while walking around in her house in that comfortable way of his, easily settling down on her couch, ‘because I know Sirius so much better than I know you.’

Tonks lifts up his legs so that there is some space for her to sit, and then keeps one hand curled around his ankle, the other gesturing wildly, almost hitting the lamp that stands near. ‘I don’t know! You both like animals, right?’

‘You know very well that Sirius has adopted a hippogriff. Now, if it’d been a dragon-’

‘Fair enough,’ Tonks says, because while she loves Charlie’s ranting there’s still one topic she’d like clarity on, ‘But still, aren’t there people who speak French and, like, actually work at the ministry?’

Charlie purses his lips. ‘Maybe. But while I am very aro ace I still have eyes and she’s indeed very pretty, and you are very single, so-’

He can’t even finish the sentence before Tonks has thrown a pillow at him. He throws one back, of course, and soon enough they’re two adults in a full-on pillow war, laughing up and until Tonks accidentally punches Charlie in the face.

She gets him some ice and then they just cuddle on the couch for a bit, legs intertwined, and as Charlie tells her about the proper way to clip a dragon’s toenails, she gets a feeling as if she might just be able to handle the whole Fleur thing.

~~~

Tonks is not able to handle the whole Fleur thing. 

They don’t spill their coffee again, they’re trying to be careful now, but she’s already confusing departments, and accidentally pressing all the buttons in the lift, which isn’t really appreciated by anyone.

Fleur just laughs at that. ‘How did you press all of them?’

‘I was-’ Tonks stammers, ‘I was trying to hold on to something so I wouldn’t fall.’

‘Why not hold on to me?’ Fleur asks, a thick French accent coating her words, and Tonks just stares for a while. Is this flirting? Is it a joke that Tonks is simply too dumb to get? Should they respond to this with ‘but then I wouldn’t have fallen for you’ and some finger guns?

Tonks only knows the answer to that last one (it’s ‘no’, in case that wasn’t clear). ‘It’s- erm- I mean-’

Fleur just smiles at them in a way that Tonks wishfully thinks might be flirtatious. Tonks is suddenly very glad blushes don’t really show up on their dark skin.

A voice calls out ‘Department of Magical Games and Sports’ and Tonks and Fleur get out, because this was the next part of the tour.

Fleur, her eyes lingering on the various posters hung on the walls, says, ‘Aren’t people here supposed to be impartial? This must be inefficient.’

‘For sure,’ Tonks says, never one to defend the ministry, ‘it’s all a bit shoddy, as if it’s taped together with duct tape.’ (They very carefully pronounce that last word. Who knows, maybe muggle knowledge will impress Fleur?)

‘Then why do you work for it?’

A laugh curls Tonks lips. ‘I don’t! Me and Moody, that’s my old mentor, have opened a sort of private detective office.’

They aren’t even walking through the corridor anymore. One quidditch poster (The Chudley Cannons) is slightly crinkled where Fleur’s shoulder is leaning on it. She throws a bit of her long blonde hair over her shoulder. ‘Then why are you giving me a tour here?’

With a bit of a crooked grin, Tonks answers: ‘Like I said, a bit shoddy.’

Tonks likes the fact that they’re talking now, likes it very much, and therefore they try to lean on the wall just as casually as Fleur does, but they miscalculate, and the ground suddenly comes at them with an alarming speed.

‘Watch out!’ Fleur says, from somewhere very, very close, a flowery smell suddenly surrounding them. One of Fleur’s arms is around their upper arm, the other one curled around their waist. Fleur is very warm. Coincidentally, so are Tonks’ cheeks.

They get up quickly, trying not to elbow Fleur, avoiding eye contact just a little bit. ‘When you said I could hold on to you, I didn’t think I’d need it this quickly.’

Fleur snorts. ‘I am not all too surprised, honestly.’

‘That’s fair,’ Tonks' heart is still beating wildly.

There’s a bit of a silence, and Tonks wrecks their brain for something to talk about. They don’t want this to be over just yet. Luckily, Fleur speaks up.

‘How is being a metamorphmagus? I am part-Veela, and I know other magical beings are immune for that, but I do not know much more. What do you change most often?’

‘My hair,’ Tonks laughs, raking a hand through it (short and a deep blue today), ‘It’s partly apart from my body, in a way, so it takes a bit more effort to change, but once it’s a different colour it stays that way without any effort.’

Fleur cocks her head. ‘It takes effort to change?’

‘For sure. Not all that much, but if I change too much for too long I get a headache. I would never change my skin tone, but if I did I’d get really grouchy, most probably. Oh! And I sometimes change my nose and such as a party trick.’

‘Sounds fun,’ Fleur says, a smile playing on her lips. Tonks seriously considers changing their nose into the one of that squid in the cartoon Hermione showed her, before realizing that that wouldn’t impress Fleur, but rather the opposite.

‘It is! But I get tired if I do it too much. That’s also why, on days that gender is-’ Tonks makes a vague hand gesture, ‘- I sometimes wear a binder, because while I can make my chest flatter, sometimes I’ll be concentrating on some work and suddenly, bam!’ They mimick an explosion in front of their chest, pushing their hands forward.

Fleur snickers. ‘Poor you.´ That sounds like the end of the conversation, but Tonks has finally had enough time to get their brain to work again, and they’ve come up with a new topic.

‘So, what are you here for?’

‘Did you not get that information?’ (Tonks had never said it was a good topic)

‘No, I did, but I thought you might be able to explain it better?’

‘Oh.’ Fleur says, ‘well, I am looking into the practical applications of magic, but specifically on magical creatures. Dragons, for example, can be lured to sleep with a sleeping charm, but can resist most hexes without any effort.

‘Giants, who can also resist hexes, can easily resist a sleeping charm, but curses can seriously harm them, and that’s already fascinating, but I’m going to look into what effects other kinds of magic have, outside of wizardry, starting with Veela magic, because I happen to possess that, and that's not even talking about how that magic works. Only female Veela have any sort of non-wixard magical power, but the magic is not stored in the uturus as one might think, because I do not have one, but still have magic. How does the magic know that?’

Fleur had been talking slowly and deliberately ever since Tonks had met her, as if she was weighing the words, remembering the pronunciation, but now she talks faster, a flush on her cheeks.

‘But I'm getting of topic. I will mostly work with stuff like: why does Veela magic affect unicorns but not dragons? Why does it affect giants but not metamorphmagi? And if it doesn’t affect metamorphmagi, then why do you still get so flustered?’

‘I-’ Tonks says, ‘Erm-’

‘Do not worry,’ Fleur says, smiling ever-so-slightly, ‘I think I know the answer. Would you like to go on a date with me?’

Honestly, Tonks didn’t think a dingy corner lined with quidditch posters could ever be romantic, but Fleur makes it work, with the soft lighting on her cheek, and that fucking gorgeous smile on her lips. ‘Yes,’ they answer (was there ever another option?), ‘I’d like that very much.’

In a sudden rush of courage (what are they, a gryffindor?) they ask: ‘Can I kiss you?’

Fleur nods, and they discover that yes, Fleur’s smile tastes as wonderful as it looks.

[tatwaffel]

100 Remadora headcanons!

1, when Tonks arrived at headquarters for the first time, she tripped over the troll leg and Remus was the one to help her up

2, Tonks charmed the socks off him - literally! once she wanted to warm his feet after a winter mission but set fire to his socks

3, Tonks has developed a habit of sitting on the kitchen counter and watching Remus when he's reading the papers

4, Tonks caresses his scars when they're alone

5, he's drowning in self pity sometimes and she hates it

6, Tonks wore her boots when she married and Remus found it lovely

7, since his hair often hangs in front of his eyes, Tonks usually wipes it off his forehead

8, he loves pink hair on Tonks since it's her happy colour

9, Remus has not once asked her to change her appearance for him

10, lots of cuddles! they're literally always cuddling

11, Remus loves kissing her forehead

12, Tonks wore one of Remus's sweaters when he was with the werewolf pack... because he coincidentally left her favourite at headquarters

13, Tonks usually is the one to patch him up after full moons, tho it took some time to convince him she doesn't mind doing it

14, they love hugging each other

15, after the Battle in the Department of Mysteries, Remus stayed by Tonks's side in St Mungo's until she woke up - he was absolutely distraught

16, Tonks once slapped Remus across the face: that was when he wanted to get rid of the baby when Tonks told him she was pregnant

17, Tonks can fall asleep anywhere, preferably with her head on Remus's shoulder on guard duty... not that he minds, of course

18, they're equally stubborn, but Tonks usually wins arguments

19, Remus usually makes her tea because she just isn't capable of doing it properly, for Merlin's sake!

20, Remus loves Tonks's giggles

21, Tonks, on the other hand, loves the way Remus's lips curve when he smiles

22, they fell for each other around Christmas of 1995

23, Tonks can be incredibly clingy, especially when she's sick

24, tho she'd never admit it, Tonks has learned to love Remus calling her "Nymphadora"

25, Remus gets genuinely terrified when Tonks's hair turns red

26, he makes a huge fuss about every yet so tiny bruise she's got

27, Tonks is a horrible dancer, Remus isn't... their wedding dance was hilarious

28, Tonks appreciates very much that Remus takes her seriously and sees her as an adult

29, Remus usually cooks because Tonks is prone to burning things

30, Tonks sometimes shares Remus's cup of tea - well, she takes it and he has to deal with it

31, they complete each other perfectly, that's why they match so well

32, Remus is the only one to calm Tonks down when she'd anxious, he offers her the safety she craves for - this is her first real war to fight and she needs someone by her side

33, Remus couldn't go on without her at some point anymore, she keeps him going

34, their boggarts changed into each other's corpses after they fell in love

35, Tonks loves her new patronus

36, Remus can be incredibly jealous

37, he's also pretty over-protective, Tonks acts like she's annoyed by it but she finds it kinda cute

38, they both had nightmares during the war, but had a hard time opening up to each other about it

39, glances across the room

40, he marvels at how well her small hand fits into his large whenever they hold hands to apparate

41, whenever Remus reads a book, Tonks lays her head in his lap and naps - Remus sometimes trails his hand through her hair when (he thinks) she's asleep

42, Tonks is one for cheek kisses

43, he proposed to her

44, when Remus returns home after full moons and they go to bed, he usually rests his head on her chest, needing to be near her

45, Tonks had a hard time convincing Remus that he was indeed worthy of love

46, during long over night missions, Remus sometimes kept guard so she could nap a little

47, Tonks wrote letters to Remus when he was with the pack, but he rarely responded - what he did indeed was keep them all safely stowed

48, Remus was heartbroken when he found out Tonks suffered from depression, but yet it only made him believe that she deserved better than him

49, they trust each other with their lives

50, they share their love for chocolate frogs

51, one day, Remus unconsciously rolled up his sleeves in her presence because he didn't really mind her seeing the small silvery scars on his arms

52, no matter how cold it is, he'll always lend her his cloak when she's freezing

53, he loves taking care of her when she's not feeling well

54, Remus once did a sketch of his wife when she was asleep

55, they both cried at their wedding

56, Remus actually never wanted to hurt her... he didn't really succeed tho

57, when looking for Tonks at Grimmauldplace, Remus usually isn't far

58, he sometimes watches her over the brink of his tea cup

59, he's one of the few people Tonks feels completely comfortable around with her natural body form

60, he always keeps his hand on the small of her back when he sees her to the door

61, she hugged him first - that was when she noticed him feeling anxious for the first time

62, he kissed her first - that was after a mission they almost died, somehow his heart took over

63, they reunited shortly before their deaths

64, Remus died a few minutes earlier, Tonks was killed while weeping over his corpse

65, the entire Order of the Phoenix knew about them long before they did - Sirius, Mad-Eye and Kingsley even did bets

66, Tonks managed to get Remus to open up and have a cry on her shoulder after Sirius's death, but after that he distanced himself from her completely

67, Remus saves her some of Molly's food when Tonks returns from work late

68, he always waits until she returns from late missions

69, they renovated Remus's old cottage and made it their home

70, he's one head taller than her

71, after they married her called Tonks "Mrs Lupin" at times, not to tease her but because he was hella proud that she was his wife

72, he had to stop himself from being clingy around Tonks after bad full moons because he thought himself to be a monster

73, he always held back her hair when she had to throw up during her pregnancy

74, they call each other "sweetheart", "darling" or "love" - but never things like "babe"

75, Tonks likes to listen to Remus telling her old stories about the first Order or his year as Hogwarts professor

76, Remus drinks whisky when he's upset or sad, Tonks usually goes for gin

77, they had a few arguments about Tonks's sleeping habits since she's a workaholic sometimes and "forgets" about going to bed

78, Tonks adores the wrinkles at the corners of Remus's eyes

79, she's always cracking jokes, Remus often chocked on his tea when she did

80, despite Remus's trust issues, he never had a hard time trusting Tonks

81, Mad-Eye Moody paired them on missions not so much by incident but rather because Remus was a good influence on Tonks

82, however, Mad-Eye was furious when Remus started to reject her

83, they both remembered the day the other told them that they loved them for the first time

84, Tonks never intended to fall for a bookish, calm ex-professor... but here she is

85, being away with the werewolves, Remus realized how much he actually loved Tonks - the amount of love his heart held for her scared him

86, he visited her late night on Christmas day 1996 tho she didn't want to celebrate at the Burrow - but he just couldn't stand the thought of her being alone at Christmas Eve

87, Molly yelled at Remus several times for breaking Tonks's heart

88, Mad-Eye actually had to comfort Tonks and hug her one time when she had reached the rock bottom of her depression

89, Mad-Eye too yelled at Remus for breaking Tonks's heart

90, they had some mild arguments about Tonks's taste in music

91, Tonks fell asleep in the parlor every now and then - whenever Remus was around, he tried his best to not wake her while covering her with a blanket

92, they're an absolute dream team on missions together

93, Kingsley was the one to find their corpses and bring them down to the Hall

94, they spent New Year's Eve 1995 on the rooftop of Grimmauldplace watching the firework, Remus conjured a pink one from his wand

95, Tonks sometimes got ink on her fingertips and Remus, whyever, thinks it's cute

96, they notice the tiniest details about each other, such as a fresh scar on the wrist or a bruise on the elbow

97, he takes over writing the reports after a mission because he knows she hates it

98, she's best a stunning spells, he's best at the patronus charm

99, they shared a bathroom at Grimmauldplace and things got very awkward

100, it's about touch with the two of them: a tight hug when he's anxious, a loving embrace when she returns from work, linking arms when they walk together at nighttime, a gentle kiss on the lips when he wants her to know he loves her, a tender peck on the cheek when she returns from work, a light kiss on the forehead when she falls asleep next to him, holding hands when they apparate, locking fingers when he actually wants to hold her hand, hands tracing and lingering when they walk past the other, the slightest touch of a fingertip on his hand when she wants to comfort him during an Order meeting...

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXLIII (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I knew ppl were going to drop my fic in this book bc I made things complicated but I don’t regret the plot— did it still made me sad? yes it sure did -Danny

Words: 5,256

Series’ Masterlist

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Listen to: ‘No Control’ -by Dylan Reynolds

Chapter Five: The New Routine.

Dumbledore knocked on the door three times and Mrs Weasley's voice was quick to answer.

"Who's there? Declare yourself!"

"It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry. Mel and Erick are with us."

"Harry, dear!" Mrs Weasley opened the door at once, letting them in. "Mel! Erick! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!"

"We were lucky, Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. The children's doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!"

"Hello, Professor... Wotcher, kids."

"Hi, Tonks."

Tonks was looking remarkably grim, Mel looked around the kitchen.

"Where's my mum?"

"I told her to go to bed," Mrs Weasley said sweetly, "it's almost midnight, the baby kept her up last night and she needed to sleep."

"I'd better be off," Tonks stood up. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly."

"Please don't leave on my account," said Dumbledore, "I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour."

"No, no, I need to get going," She replied. "'Night —"

"Dear, why not come to dinner at the weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming — ?"

"My uncle's coming?" Mel asked with excitement.

"No, really, Molly... thanks anyway..." Tonks said tensely. "Good night, everyone."

"Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts," Dumbledore told them. "Take care of yourself. Molly, your servant."

He and Tonks disapparated, Erick spoke up.

"You have a lovely house, Mrs Weasley."

"Oh dear, well, we do make an effort on making it cosy," Mrs Weasley smiled.  "You're like Ron, all of you, you look as though you've had Stretching Jinxes put on you. I swear Ron's grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I am," said Harry.

"A bit," Erick agreed.

Mel sat down between them, she was quite pleased about Mrs Weasley's comment on her growth, even though hers was less noticeable than the boys' who now were five and seven inches taller than her.

Crookshanks and Grey quickly made their way to them. Grey didn't like Erick very much, though Mel didn't know why. Crookshanks, on the other hand, was a huge fan.

"So Hermione's here?" Harry asked as he watched the ginger cat ruin the impeccable set of clothes Erick was wearing.

"Oh yes, she arrived the day before yesterday. Everyone's in bed, of course, we didn't expect you for hours. Here you are — Bread, dears?"

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley."

"So you persuaded Horace Slughorn to take the job?"

"It wasn't hard," Mel smiled. "Professor Slughorn was eager to get to know us better."

"He taught Arthur and me. He was at Hogwarts for ages, started around the same time as Dumbledore, I think. Did you like him?"

Harry and Erick shrugged, Mel kept her attention on her plate.

"I know what you mean... Of course he can be charming when he wants to be, but Arthur's never liked him much. The Ministry's littered with Slughorn's old favorites, he was always good at giving leg ups, but he never had much time for Arthur — didn't seem to think he was enough of a highflier. Well, that just shows you, even Slughorn makes mistakes. I don't know whether Ron's told you in any of his letters — it's only just happened — but Arthur's been promoted!"

Harry made a funny noise, taken by surprise. Erick did a sort of delighted hum and Mel stopped eating, staring at her attentively.

"That's great!" Harry said.

"You are sweet... Yes, Rufus Scrimgeour has set up several new offices in response to the present situation, and Arthur's heading the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. It's a big job, he's got ten people reporting to him now!"

"Sounds important," Erick smiled.

"What exactly — ?"

"Well, you see, in all the panic about You-Know-Who, odd things have been cropping up for sale everywhere, things that are supposed to guard against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. You can imagine the kind of thing — so-called protective potions that are really gravy with a bit of bubotuber pus added, or instructions for defensive jinxes that actually make your ears fall off..."

Mrs Weasley looked beyond proud as she told them all about her husband's new job. Mel was happy for him, she couldn't think of a man who deserved a promotion more than Mr Weasley.

"...So you see, it's a very important job, and I tell him it's just silly to miss dealing with spark plugs and toasters and all the rest of that Muggle rubbish."

"Well, the heart wants what it wants," Mel chuckled, she was unaware of the way both boys looked at her.

"Is Mr Weasley still at work?" Harry questioned.

"Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, he's a tiny bit late... He said he'd be back around midnight..."

Mel felt something awful crawling up her chest when she noticed all the tiny hands on the clock were now pointing at 'Mortal peril'.

"It's been like that for a while now," Mrs Weasley commented, "ever since You-Know-Who came back into the open. I suppose everybody's in mortal danger now... I don't think it can be just our family... but I don't know anyone else who's got a clock like this, so I can't check. Oh!"

Mr Weasley's was now currently pointing at 'travelling.'

"He's coming!" She got up, a second later there was a knock on the door. "Arthur, is that you?"

"Yes. But I would say that even if I were a Death Eater, dear. Ask the question!"

"Oh, honestly..."

"Molly!"

"All right, all right... What is your dearest ambition?"

"To find out how airplanes stay up."

Mel and Harry shared a look of amusement, she heard Erick mumbling 'How do they stay up?' Mrs Weasley tried to open the door but her husband kept it shut.

"Molly! I've got to ask you your question first!"

"Arthur, really, this is just silly..."

"What do you like me to call you when we're alone together?"

The group of teenagers froze.

"Mollywobbles," Mrs Weasley whispered to the tiny crack in the door.

Mel choked on the soup, Harry had to hide his face entirely to control his laughing fit after watching her almost die, Erick quickly patted her back.

"Correct," Mr Weasley said brightly. "Now you can let me in."

"I still don't see why we have to go through that every time you come home!" Mrs Weasley complained as the man walked in. "I mean, a Death Eater might have forced the answer out of you before impersonating you!"

"I know, dear, but it's Ministry procedure, and I have to set an example. Something smells good — onion soup? Kids! We didn't expect you until morning!"

They all greeted Mr Weasley, Mel finally able to breathe and Harry able to speak without cracking up.

"Thanks, Molly," He said when the woman set a plate for him. "It's been a tough night. Some idiot's started selling Metamorph-Medals. Just sling them around your neck and you'll be able to change your appearance at will. A hundred thousand disguises, all for ten Galleons!"

"And what really happens when you put them on?"

"Mostly you just turn a fairly unpleasant orange color, but a couple of people have also sprouted tentaclelike warts all over their bodies. As if St. Mungo's didn't have enough to do already!"

"It sounds like the sort of thing Fred and George would find funny," said Mrs Weasley with doubt. "Are you sure — ?"

"Of course I am! The boys wouldn't do anything like that now, not when people are desperate for protection!"

"So is that why you're late, Metamorph-Medals?"

"No, we got wind of a nasty backfiring jinx down in Elephant and Castle, but luckily the Magical Law Enforcement Squad had sorted it out by the time we got there..."

Harry yawned beside her, Mel was starting to feel weary herself after days of sleeping in the backseat of a car.

"Bed," said Mrs Weasley. "I've got Fred and George's room all ready for you, boys. Mel, you're sharing Ginny's bedroom but I don't want you to wake the girls up. Is it okay if you sleep with Erick and Harry tonight?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Mel yawned, too sleepy to care.

"Where are the twins?" Harry asked.

"Oh, they're in Diagon Alley, sleeping in the little flat over their joke shop as they're so busy," said Mrs Weasley, and Mel could tell there was a hint of pride in her voice. "I must say, I didn't approve at first, but they do seem to have a bit of a flair for business! Come on, dears, your trunks are already up there."

"'Night, Mr Weasley," said Harry.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Erick added.

"Have a goodnight!" Mel ended.

"G'night," said Mr Weasley.

Mel had been in the twins' room a couple of times through the years, it was startling when she walked in and couldn't recognize it. The smell of fireworks was still hanging in the air and there was a few boxes of their personal items laying around, but almost nothing left from their essence in the room, it made her feel homesick.

There were only two beds since they weren't expected until the next morning. Mrs Weasley quickly made a third bed appear with a flick of her wand, it was smaller than the other two, mostly blankets and cushions piled together. She apologized profusely, but Mel didn't mind, she would've slept on the floor considering how exhausted she was.

The boys insisted that she took one of their beds but Mel refused, when she came back from changing Erick was already tucked in her pile of blankets. Harry was grinning at the way his feet were hanging over the edge.

The following morning she was awoken by the door slamming open and a pair of feet stomping into the room. She hid her face between the pillows, Harry's mattress squeaked as he sat up, and fabric rustled as Erick pushed down his blankets.

"Wuzzgoinon?" Harry asked sleepily.

"We didn't know you were here already!" There was a soft thud coming from Harry's bed after Ron sat down on it.

"Ron, don't hit him!" Hermione sat on Mel's bed.

"Dear Merlin," She groaned, hiding under the covers. "I'm going to murder you two..."

"All right?" Ron asked.

"Never been better," said Harry, sounding a bit more awake. "You?"

"Not bad."

"I knew there was no way I'd have a quiet morning here," Erick grumbled. "Hi, 'Mione..."

"Hi!" She said brightly, then shook one of Mel's legs. "Wake up! I want to hear all you did during your mission!"

"When did you get here? Mum's only just told us!" Ron said.

"About one o'clock this morning," Harry replied, Mel turned around and squinted, trying to get used to the sunlight.

"Were the Muggles all right? Did they treat you okay?"

"Same as usual... they didn't talk to me much, but I like it better that way. How're you, Hermione?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"What's the time? Have we missed breakfast?" Harry said.

"Don't worry about that, Mum's bringing you up a tray; she reckons you look underfed," said Ron.

"Well, he is," Mel replied, finally sitting up. "You should've seen my mum — almost forced the food down his throat once..."

Harry threw a pillow at her, but he missed by a considerable distance.

"So, what's been going on?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Nothing much, I've just been stuck at my aunt and uncle's, haven't I?"

"And we just had a road trip around some towns," Erick said, getting out of his covers only to sit down on Harry's bed.

"Come off it!" said Ron. "You've been off with Dumbledore!"

"It wasn't that exciting. He just wanted us to help him persuade this old teacher to come out of retirement. His name's Horace Slughorn."

"Oh... We thought —" Hermione hushed him, Ron was quick to correct his mistake. "— we thought it'd be something like that."

"You did?" Harry grinned.

"Yeah... yeah, now Umbridge has left, obviously we need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, don't we? So, er, what's he like?"

"He looks a bit like a walrus, and he used to be Head of Slytherin," Harry shrugged, then he glanced back at their friend and raised a brow. "Something wrong, Hermione?"

The girl gave a start, straightening in her place.

"No, of course not! So, um, did Slughorn seem like he'll be a good teacher?"

"Well, he's got a sharp mind no doubt," Erick yawned, laying on the mattress.

"He can't be worse than Umbridge, can he?" added Harry, softly kicking Erick to move him away from his legs.

"I know someone who's worse than Umbridge," Ginny walked in sulking. "Hi, guys."

"What's up with you?" Ron questioned.

"It's her, she's driving me mad."

"What's she done now?" asked Hermione.

"It's the way she talks to me — you'd think I was about three!"

"I know, she's so full of herself..."

"You better not be talking about my mum," Mel joked.

"Can't you two lay off her for five seconds?" Ron scoffed.

"Oh, that's right, defend her! We all know you can't get enough of her," Ginny rolled her eyes.

Harry and Mel shared a confused look, and just when he was about to ask the door opened again. The boy pulled up his covers so fast that Erick fell to the floor.

"Oh," Mel said quietly, staring up at Fleur Delacour.

"Children," she said brightly. "Eet 'as been too long!"

Mrs Weasley walked in right after her, looking upset.

"There was no need to bring up the tray, I was just about to do it myself!"

"Eet was no trouble," Fleur left the tray floating between their beds and kissed her and Harry on both cheeks. Erick got up with a scowl, he shook Fleur's hand, not letting her touch him any further. "I 'ave been longing to see you. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again."

"Oh... is she here too?" Harry asked.

"No, no, silly boy," Fleur laughed, "I mean next summer, when we — but do you not know?"

"We hadn't got around to telling him yet," Mrs Weasley said grumpily.

"Bill and I are going to be married!"

"Oh," said Harry, looking back at Mel begging her to help him. "Wow. Er — congratulations!"

"That's brilliant," Mel was unsure of how to react, none of the other women in the room looked happy.

"Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming — zere isn't much to do 'ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well — enjoy your breakfast!"

She turned around and left the room with a joyous air, then Emily walked in, holding her son.

"Hi kids," She smiled.

Mel jumped out of bed and gave her mother a big hug. She took her baby brother and kissed him all over his small face. Mrs Weasley muttered something Mel could not hear, Ginny inched closer and started to play with Reggie's little fingers.

"Mum hates her," the girl told her, clearly talking about Fleur.

"I do not hate her! I just think they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!"

"Well, it's not like we all have time to spare, do we?" Emily asked carefully, brushing the hair away from Mel's forehead.

"They've known each other a year," said Ron crossly.

"Well, that's not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It's all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center—"

"Including you and Dad," Ginny smirked.

"Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other, what was the point in waiting? Whereas Bill and Fleur... well... what have they really got in common? He's a hard-working, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she's —"

"A cow," Ginny replied. "But Bill's not that down-to-earth. He's a Curse-Breaker, isn't he, he likes a bit of adventure, a bit of glamour... I expect that's why he's gone for Phlegm."

"That's exactly what people used to say about me and Matthew," Emily raised a brow. "Now they tell me we were the perfect couple! You see, time's all it takes to change one's opinion, I think we shouldn't talk about relationships that aren't ours."

"I think she's lovely," Mel shrugged, softly kissing her brother's cheek. "You guys are being too harsh on her. I mean, Ginny, you're beautiful —"

"I'm sorry, Mel, I have a boyfriend," She joked.

"— But that doesn't mean you're silly, does it?" Mel sat down on her bed. "Have you forgotten how nice she was to Ron after he helped her sister?"

Mrs Weasley left looking rather tired, Emily kissed Mel, Harry and Erick on the cheek before leaving, leaving Leon Regulus in the room.

"Don't you get used to her if she's staying in the same house?" Harry chuckled, staring at the way Ron was struggling to breathe.

"Well, you do... but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then..."

"It's pathetic," said Hermione, without even asking she took Regulus out of Mel's hold, ignoring the girl's protests.

"I feel your pain, Ronnie, don't listen to them," Mel sighed, leaning back on the bed frame.

"You don't really want her around forever?" Ginny insisted. "Well, Mum's going to put a stop to it if she can, I bet you anything."

"She shouldn't!" Mel replied. "What would you feel if you were deeply in love with someone and everyone tried to keep you away from them? You're own family!"

"How's she going to manage that, anyway?" asked Harry.

"She keeps trying to get Tonks round for dinner. I think she's hoping Bill will fall for Tonks instead. I hope he does, I'd much rather have her in the family."

"Yeah, that'll work," Ron snorted. "Listen, no bloke in his right mind's going to fancy Tonks when Fleur's around. I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn't doing stupid things to her hair and her nose, but —"

"She's a damn sight nicer than Phlegm,'' Ginny made a face of disgust.

"And she's more intelligent, she's an Auror!" said Hermione, Reggie cried a bit and Ginny took it away from Hermione.

"Fleur's not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament," Harry argued.

"Not you as well!" Hermione scowled.

"I suppose you like the way Phlegm says ' 'Arry,' do you?" Ginny huffed.

"No," said Harry, blushing a bit, "I was just saying, Phlegm — I mean, Fleur —"

"Oh, please," Mel snorted. "You're just upset because Bill is your favourite brother, Ginny — you're scared he'll stop hanging out here once he marries Fleur. Hermione, I know you're lying, you're not angry because she isn't smart enough for your standards."

Hermione blushed a deep shade of red.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you don't," She grinned. "But you know she's not any of those things, I know you do. I mean, so what if she's confident, as long as she loves Bill like he deserves, right? Don't you want him to be happy?"

Ginny looked at Reggie for a long time, then she sighed heavily.

"I would like her to respect our way of handling the house, that's all..."

"That's understandable," Mel nodded. "But she's the one having to get used to the Weasleys, and if I may give my opinion, you guys are as peculiar as any French girl."

Ginny's face showed a small grin.

"In my opinion," Erick spoke casually, grabbing a toast from the tray. "Fleur's too ostentatious — but she knows how to use her charm, which means she's got a brain. Joseph told me she was a great conversationalist—"

"Can't you talk like a normal bloke?" Ron frowned. "Do you like her, yes or no?"

"I'm saying she's nice."

"Nice?" The redheaded boy asked in bewilderment.

"She's not my type," The older boy rolled his eyes.

"What's your type, then?" Ron demanded.

Erick threw a quick glance at Mel before replying.

"Friendly."

"Okay, maybe Mel's right," Ginny continued, Reggie started to get restless and she swayed him a bit from side to side. "But I still get along with Tonks better, at least she's a laugh..."

"Well, she can still come and hang out, but you can't force love."

"She hasn't been much of a laugh lately though," Ron pointed out. "Every time I've seen her she's looked more like Moaning Myrtle."

"That's not fair," Hermione frowned. "She still hasn't got over what happened... you know... I mean, he was her cousin!"

Harry quickly looked down and busied himself with a spoonful of eggs, Mel grabbed a cup of tea and drank half of it in one large sip.

"Tonks and Sirius barely knew each other! Sirius was in Azkaban half her life and before that their families never met —"

"That's not the point — She thinks it was her fault he died!"

"How does she work that one out?" Harry asked, his mouth half-full.

"Well, she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn't she? I think she feels that if only she had finished her off, Bellatrix couldn't have killed Sirius."

Mel tried to remember, there was a huge part of that night she couldn't recall.

"That's stupid," said Ron.

"It's survivor's guilt. I know Lupin's tried to talk her round, but she's still really down. She's actually having trouble with her Metamorphosing!"

"With her — ?"

"She can't change her appearance like she used to. I think her powers must have been affected by shock, or something."

"I didn't know that could happen," said Harry.

"Nor did I, but I suppose if you're really depressed..."

Mel suddenly looked down at her hands and gulped. She hadn't tried to do any kind of magic ever since she'd come back from the Ministry, now a new fear was rising above everything else, the possibility of not being able to be as good as before because of her anguish.

"Ginny," Mrs Weasley walked in again, "come downstairs and help me with the lunch."

"I'm talking to this lot!" Ginny exclaimed, her attention quickly leaving Mel's brother.

"Now!"

"She only wants me there so she doesn't have to be alone with Fleur! Emily's too tired all the time, mum doesn't let her do anything..." The girl got up to leave the room, but Mel stopped her.

"Hey, give that baby back!" She demanded. "I was holding him first!"

Ron stood up and took the baby, claiming no one ever allowed him to play with him. Ginny turned around swiftly, mocking the way Fleur would usually move, once she got to the door she looked over her shoulder one last time before leaving.

"You lot had better come down quickly too!"

Harry, Mel and Erick ate silently while Hermione examined some boxes, Ron was now playing with Reg.

"What's this?" Hermione held up a small telescope.

"Dunno, but if Fred and George've left it here, it's probably not ready for the joke shop yet, so be careful."

"Your mum said the shop's going well," Harry mentioned. "Said Fred and George have got a real flair for business."

"That's an understatement. They're raking in the Galleons! I can't wait to see the place, we haven't been to Diagon Alley yet, because Mum says Dad's got to be there for extra security and he's been really busy at work, but it sounds excellent."

"And what about Percy? Is he talking to your mum and dad again?"

"Nope."

"What a git," Erick muttered, drinking his tea while watching Hermione examine the telescope.

"But he knows your dad was right all along now about Voldemort being back —"

"Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right," said Hermione. "I heard him telling your mum, Ron."

"Sounds like the sort of mental thing Dumbledore would say," said Ron.

Mel didn't try to contradict him this time.

"He's going to be giving me private lessons this year," Harry said casually. "Mel already finished hers and he'll have time to teach me."

Hermione gasped, Erick merely looked up from his food.

"You kept that quiet!" Ron exclaimed, Mel's brother slipping from his hold without him noticing.

"I only just remembered. He told me last night in your broom shed."

"Blimey... private lessons with Dumbledore! And he said you're ready to go, Mel? I wonder why he's—?"

"Careful with Lee before you drop him flat on the floor!" Mel scowled. "I see why no one lets you hold him..."

"I don't know exactly why he's going to be giving me lessons, but I think it must be because of the prophecy," Harry continued to speak, eyes fixed on his food. "You know, the one they were trying to steal at the Ministry..."

Erick pulled out his wand and with a quick movement, his plate started to follow him around the room. He took Leon Regulus and mumbled something about the baby needing a nap and Ginny needing help back in the kitchen. Mel wished she could've left with him.

"Nobody knows what it said, though," said Hermione once the Slytherin was gone. "Mel broke it."

"Although the Prophet says —" Ron started.

"Shh!" Hermione interrupted.

"The Prophet's got it right," Harry forced himself to look up. "That glass ball Mel destroyed wasn't the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore's office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said... it looks like I'm the one who's got to finish off Voldemort... At least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives."

She wished she could've spent at least one day without thinking about the prophecy, but Harry had to live knowing that he'd have to face Voldemort, so she couldn't complain.

BANG!

Hermione vanished behind a cloud of dark smoke.

"Hermione!" shouted the three of them.

The girl stood up, coughing.

"I squeezed it and it — it punched me!"

"Don't worry," said Ron biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh, "Mum'll fix that, she's good at healing minor injuries —"

"Oh well, never mind that now!" said Hermione, pushing it aside. "Harry, oh, Harry... We wondered, after we got back from the Ministry... Obviously, we didn't want to say anything to you, but from what Lucius Malfoy said about the prophecy, how it was about you and Voldemort, well, we thought it might be something like this... Oh, Harry... Are you scared?"

"Not as much as I was," Harry shrugged. "When I first heard it, I was... but now, it seems as though I always knew I'd have to face him in the end..."

"When we heard Dumbledore was collecting you in person, we thought he might be telling you something or showing you something to do with the prophecy. And we were kind of right, weren't we? He wouldn't be giving you lessons if he thought you were a goner, wouldn't waste his time — he must think you've got a chance!"

"Of course he does!" Mel got up, starting to pick up the pieces of the tray that had smashed when the boys ran to help Hermione. "Harry's a great wizard, we just need to teach him how to fight..."

Her friends looked at her with pity, they must've been thinking of her lifeline connection with Harry and how it could affect her, but Mel couldn't look afraid or else they wouldn't believe her words.

"Guys, we'll get through this..." Mel looked down a the tiny scars on her palm, rubbing them gently.

"That's true," said Hermione. "I wonder what he'll teach you, Harry? Really advanced defensive magic, probably... powerful countercurses... anti-jinxes... probably the same things he taught to Mel. And evasive enchantments generally— Well, at least you know one lesson you'll be having this year, that's one more than Ron and me. I wonder when our O.W.L. results will come?"

"Can't be long now, it's been a month," said Ron.

"Hang on, I think Dumbledore said our O.W.L. results would be arriving today!"

"Yeah, that's true!" Mel admitted, leaving the broken plates on the desk.

"Today? Today? But why didn't you — oh my God — you should have said —" Hermione squeaked. "I'm going to see whether any owls have come..."

Ron and Hermione left the room quickly, Harry and her were left alone, but this felt a thousand times less awkward than a year before.

"Thank you," Harry said, helping her fold the blankets.

"I didn't do anything. You know they're scared, even if they don't show it..."

"I'm thanking you because it must be hard for you as well, not to show it," He tilted his head. "Usually, you're an open book..."

"I used to be," She corrected. "My feelings are just mine, Harry, and no one else needs to know about them."

He frowned.

"Still, you know it's better not to hold things in, right?"

Mel stared at him.

"Look at you, teaching me about how to handle my emotions!"

The boy let out a chuckle and reached to hold her hand.

"It's going to be okay, Mellow."

She melted at the name, it'd been a long time since he'd called her that. She looked down again at her scarred hand, and that stirred her into talking. An idea started to take form in her mind.

"What if there's a chance you don't have to be the only chosen one?"

Harry blinked.

"What?"

"What if I am your backup?"

"H-How would that even..?"

"Think about it," Mel started. "I was there when he tried to kill you, and that's when our connection was created — it grows stronger when you inch closer to death... What if the reason we can feel each other's pain, is because it warns us about the incoming danger? What if the reason we're connected it's because I'm destined to take your place if you die?"

"But — but the prophecy said it was a boy —"

"Prophecies can change, you're not obliged to copy them exactly as they're told! Even Dumbledore thought I could be the child of the prophecy! What if, in a way, we both are?"

"It doesn't mean anything, Mel. I chose to be —"

"Who says I can't choose to help you?" She lifted her right hand. "I marked myself with the prophecy, see? If we do this together we'll have a real advantage. We even promised it back in the ministry, didn't we? If you die I take your place, if I die —"

"I make sure is not in vain," Harry had finally made up his mind. "D'you think Dumbledore knows? Do you think that's why he wants us to decide for ourselves what we'll do with our lifeline?"

"I have no idea," Mel responded sincerely. "But if we're doing this, we need to set the rules now."

Harry thought about it, then he grabbed her hands and squeezed them lightly.

"Let's talk."

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha​​​​ @vampiregirl1797​​​​ @siriuslysirius1107​​​​ @stardusthigh​​​​ @mikariell95​​​​ @vernon-dursley​​​​ @thesuitelifeofafangirl​​​​ @tomshollandz​​​​ ​​ @reverse-hxlland​​​​ @hamiltonwc​​​​ @omiwashere​​​​ @t-rexs-world​​​​ @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @21bruhs​​​​ @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual @dielgonacoffee​​​​ @thelastpyle​​​ @cedricisnotdead​​​ @aconfusedslytherin​

[onlydreamofmysoul]

Let Them Eat Cake part ii (Wolfstar bake off au)

This week on The Great British Bake Off

“Oh Lord I’ve just gone and dropped my dough. Repeat, I’ve just dropped my dough”

“I forgot to turn my oven on.”

“I’m going home for sure.”

Remus woke up to his phone ringing.

“Remus!” His mom half-yelled down the line, “You came third in the technical!”

Remus rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Mam, I already told you that, I rang you right after it happened.”

“I know, I know,” Hope said, “But the first episode only came out last night so I’m all excited about it again. Christ Re it’s so strange seeing you on the telly.”

Remus let out an amused huff and flopped back down onto the plush hotel pillows. “Thanks?”

“I’m so proud of you sweetheart… What have you got on today?”

“We’re filming again today, so the first two challenges.”

“Oh, what’s the theme this week?” Hope needled and Remus rolled his eyes fondly. “Man, you know I can’t tell you that yet.”

“I’m your mother. I think if you told anyone, it should be me.”

“Well if I were telling anyone, I would tell you, however…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re not telling anyone.” She said a little disappointed. “It was worth a shot.” She let out a melancholic sigh, “My only child, too big a star now, doesn’t even have time to talk to his own mother.”

“I’m currently talking to my own mother so I think that contradicts your point a little.” Remus chimed in. “Also, I hardly think being on one episode of Bake Off counts as a star.”

“Well it’s all anyone here at home has been talking about for at least a month.”

“Wow, they really need to get a life.” He said dryly and chuckled when his mother began to admonish him. “Oh mam, I’ve got to go, I’m almost late for filming, I’ll call you later.”

“That sounds like a cop out if I’ve ever heard one Remus Lupin, but I’ll let you go anyways. Good luck today, I love you.”

“Love you too mam. Talk soon, bye bye.” He pressed the end call button and lay with his phone on his chest for a moment before actually checking the time. He had about an hour before he was expected on set. He rolled out of bed with a groan and headed into the shower.

Remus quite literally ran into Sirius.

“Oh shit sorry!” He cried as they collided. Sirius caught Remus’ wrist to steady himself and held on for a split second before letting go.

“In a hurry Lupin?” 

Remus flushed a little, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah I was supposed to meet Lily at the door five minutes ago but I got caught up.”

Sirius just maintained eye contact for a moment before reaching out and touching the sleeve of Remus’ cream knit sweater. “This is nice.”

Remus lost his words. “Oh um, thank you. I made it actually.”

Sirius quirked a smile. “A baker and a knitter? You’re a real home-boy.”

Remus laughed a little. “Yeah you could definitely say that. I knit when I’m watching TV or whatever, I hate when I don’t have something to do with my hands. ‘Idle hands’ and all that.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Remus said, shrugging him off despite the fact that he was possibly about to lose his mind. The Sirius Black was teasing him.

“Anyways, I should probably go.” He said, ducking his head. “Lily’s waiting for me.”

“And we’ve got a show to get to.” Sirius added.

“Yeah,” Remus smiled. “Yeah we do.”

“Hello and welcome back everyone, to this week’s episode of The Great British Bake Off.” James said grandly as soon as Marlene had signalled that she was recording. “This week, it’s bread week.”

Remus sighed. He fucking loved bread. He was coeliac, so he didn’t eat bread but… he fucking loved bread.

“For our first challenge,” Sirius announced, “Our judges would like to see two plaited loaves. Any flavouring is up to you, but each loaf should be twelve inches in length with clear, defined plaits.”

The bakers all nodded and the camera panned around the room to catch everyone’s reactions. 

“Alright then, Sirius, dough you want to tell them to begin?”

Remus bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. That pun was so cringy but Remus was a sucker for bad jokes. 

“Why yes James, I most certainly dough. Three, two one… Bake!”

Marlene started her rounds today by coming straight to Remus.

“So Remus, what’re you making today?” James asked, appearing by his side. 

“Well the first one, is going to have basil and some tomato sauce and then have some mozzarella plaited in.” Remus said as he took out a glass bowl and began adding ingredients to it. “Then the second one is going to have four different kinds of cheese in it.”

“So basically, no one who’s lactose intolerant can go anywhere near your bread.”

Remus laughed and scratched his cheek. “Pretty much. But I mean, neither of them will be gluten free, so I can’t eat them either.”

James grinned. “I suppose I’ll just have to be your official taste tester then.”

“You know, those already exist. They’re called judges.” Remus chirped and Sirius who was passing laughed, shooting Remus an appreciative look.

James moved on to Lily and Remus could hear her telling him about her toffee bread. Remus had seen her practicing it - it always looked amazing and the other contestants had raved about it. Remus had gotten the recipe from her and he was going to try to make a gluten-free version when all of this was over.

Remus covered the bowls with a layer of cellophane and put them in the proving drawer, waiting until they had at least doubled in size before he would take them out again.

In the meantime, Remus got busy finely chopping fresh basil, making a tomato sauce and slicing mozzarella.

“Looking good, Lupin.” Sirius said, jumping up to sit on the end of Remus’ bench, away from the food.

“Why thank you.” Remus said then had to slap Sirius’s hand away when he tried to steal a slice of cheese. “Oi, get away you cheeky bugger.”

Sirius shrugged,” I’m just trying to relieve James of his official taste tester duties.”

“You’re trying to relieve yourself from your stomach grumbling is more like.” Remus shot back, but he held out a chopping board with his many different cheeses all neatly sliced and grinned. “Go on then, you can have one.”

Sirius’s eyes glimmered. “You know, I quite like you Lupin.” He said, before hopping off the table and wandering away.

“It’s a good thing I quite like cheese Mr Lupin.” Dumbledore said in an almost teasing tone as they reached Remus’ bench to judge. They cut the first loaf and each had a taste.

“I think I would have liked it to have stayed in the oven for a little longer.” McGonagall said, “It’s just missing the really crusty outside we were looking for. But the flavours are wonderful, I quite like the concept.”

“And I, as the official taste tester, i think it’s amazing.” James said, stealing a slice and there were a couple of giggles around the tent. Even Remus cracked a smile.

“Let’s move on to the next one, shall we?” Remus just nodded, his jaw clenched as he listened. This time, the knife made a much more satisfying sound as it cut through the bread. Remus couldn’t help but sigh a little in relief, his eyes trained on the loaf to see if the bake was even.

“Now, this one is much better.” Dumbledore said before he took a bite. His eyes fluttered closed as he chewed and Remus pursed his lips together to stop himself from smiling. “Very enjoyable Mr Lupin, I can’t find a fault with this one.”

McGonagall nodded in agreement and with that they moved over to Lily’s bench. Remus sat down on his stool with a sigh, his shoulders slumping.

 “Hey, good job. ”Sirius whispered as he passed and Remus smiled. Yeah, he quite liked bread.

“Ah look at little Remus, eating his salad.” Tonks teased, ruffling his hair as she plopped down on the chair next to him. Remus scowled. “Believe me, if I could be eating bread like the rest of you lot, I would be.”

“Alas, alack!” A guy Peter, another contestant proclaimed. “We get to eat your bread though. It’s so good mate, much better than that sad lump I presented.”

Everyone around the table started sniggering. Peter had had a bit of an accident resulting in burned bread. It was edible, but it really hadn’t looked like much.

“I’m really going to have to up my game in the next two challenges.” He moaned. “I really don’t want to go home yet.” They all nodded in agreement and the table went quiet for a moment as everyone thought while they munched.

“What a rowdy bunch you lot are.” Sirius said, he and James each pulling up a chair. ”Can we…?” He asked, pointing to the selection of breads, all sliced in the middle of the table.

“Yeah of course,” Remus said. “They’re there to eat.”

Remus certainly didn’t that Sirius immediately went for one of the loaves he made. Nope. Not at all.

“So how are we all feeling about the next challenge?” James asked, tearing parts off his hunk of bread and popping them into his mouth.

“Oh my god, new rule.” Tonks declared. “No competition talk when we’re on our breaks. I need to talk about something other than the ratio of sugar to flour.”

Sirius chuckled at her abruptness. “Fair enough. Let’s see… What are your favourite colours?”

“Basic question.” Tonks countered, leaning back in her chair, “But I’ll take it. Mine is pink.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Remus said dryly, gesturing to her hair. Lily choked on her food.

“What’s yours then Remus?” Tonks challenged. 

Remus shrugged. “I don’t have a favourite, I like them all.”

“Even brown?” Peter piped in. 

“Especially brown. It’s the colour of chocolate. It’s also like the most hated colour, it needs some appreciation.”

“It’s one of the most hated colours because it’s boring. Like is there any colour more dull than brown?” James asked.

“Beige.” Lily said and James pointed a finger at her, indicating that she had made a valid point. “Okay, that’s very fair. Beige is boring as fuck.”

“I can’t believe this is a conversation we’re having.” Sirius mused and Remus looked at him incredulously. “You’re the one who started it!”

“I asked for favourite colours, not the opposite. It was you who set us on this dull - coloured path.” Sirius counted, his eyes playful. Tonks looked between the two of them for a moment before checking her watch.

“I hate to be the one to break up the band but, it’s time for us to get back to it.”

“Ah, the woes of the working life.” Sirius lamented and Remus snorted. 

“Oh hush, you have like, the best job ever.”

Sirius threw his arm around James’ shoulders. “That’s very true. Come on then Jamie, let’s get back to it.”

“Our next challenge, is of course our technical.” James announced as the cameras began rolling. “This week, our judges have asked you to make bagels.”

“You should have five identical bagels at the end. Your instructions are on your bench.”

“Ready?”

“Set.”

“Bake!”

Remus lifted the cloth that was covering the ingredients and recipe McGonagall and Dumbledore had written for them. He both loved and hated the technical, possibly for the same reasons. The steps were vague and needed a lot of thought which was pretty annoying but it challenged him and pushed him to see what kind of baker he was. 

“You ever made these?” Lily asked and Remus shook his head. “No, never. You?”

“Nope.” She said, popping the ‘p’. “This should be interesting.”

Remus chuckled as he began reading the instructions. make a dough, it read.

“Don’t you love how specific these instructions are?” Remus said to Tonks sarcastically and some of her hair fell out of her comically short ponytail as she laughed.

“This dough is meant to be stretchy I think.” Lily commented and Remus nodded his head. “Yeah, I’ve heard that too.”

Remus set to work, covering his dough in cellophane once more and popping it into the proving drawer. 

“You know I could really get used to this proving business,” he commented, “It gives me the chance to make a cup of tea.”

“Glad to see you have your priorities.” Sirius joked as he appeared. “Any chance I can have one too?” Remus just nodded to the bench in response, where he had already taken out a mug for Sirius. 

Sirius finished making the tea as Remus took out a pot, filled it with water and put it on the hob to boil. Just then a panicked wail sounded through the tent. 

“Oh lord, I’ve just gone and dropped my dough. Repeat, I dropped my dough.”

James was immediately at his side to help him figure it out. They chatted intensely for a minute, the cameras circling like vultures as Peter forlornly tossed the ruined dough in the bin, but began to make a new one. Remus let out a shaking breath on his friends behalf, Peter would really be racing against the clock. 

“It’s make it or break it time.” Remus said, turning back to his own work , decking to focus on that for now. His thoughts wouldn’t help Peter and all Remus could do right now was work on his own project. Having divided his dough and rolled it into shape, he boiled them one by one, praying he was doing the right thing. “And now you fuckers are going in the oven.”

“Oh my god Remus.” Marlene said. “We had great footage of you there and you totally just ruined it.”

“Sorry sorry, I’ll do it again.” Remus smirked and slid the tray into the oven. “And now you little shits are going in the oven.”

Marlene just turned around and left as Sirius’ laugh filled the tent. 

Remus walked up to the table to present his baking to be judged. As per the rules, he placed the plate down behind his picture and sat in one of the stools lined up, facing the table. McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived, looking much to chipper for Remus liking, not when he was struggling not to start biting his nails. He chose instead to pick at the hem of his jumper until Lily took his hand in hers. He was grateful - he really liked this jumper.

Peter was disappointed but not at all surprised when his bagels hadn’t risen enough. How could they have when making a second batch had essentially cut out the proving process. Tonks’ were a bit too small. Lily’s were a bit too chewy. Remus  bit his lip to stop himself from beaming when his were the best of the bunch. Still not perfect, not by a long shot, but he had won the technical challenge and his relief sent him out of the tent, unable to lessen the grin on his face as Marlene questioned him.

“How are you feeling, after today?”

“I’m feeling pretty good! I got off to a bit of a rocky start today, but I think I recovered well so I’m looking forward to sinking my teeth into the challenge tomorrow.”

Marlene gave him a thumbs up and wandered away to find some of the others.

“Well done Mr Technical Challenge!” Lily cried, slinging her arm around his waist as they began to walk back to the hotel. 

“Why thank you, Ms Star Baker.”

“We make quite the pair.” Lily observed.

“That, my dear Lily, we most certainly do.”

Remus woke up in Lily’s room.

“Ugh, that alarm is so loud.” Remus groaned and ignored Lily giggling at him.

“I can’t believe how much you’re not a morning person, you seem like you’re hungover or something.”

“I am hungover as a result of life, Lily.” He muttered. “Existing is exhausting.”

“By god, you really are dramatic in the morning.” She gathered up a towel and some toiletries. “I’m going for a shower and to get ready. Meet you for breakfast in twenty?”

Remus nodded in agreement, shoved on his shoes and started gathering the one or two belongings he had. He hadn’t meant to sleep in Lily’s room, but they had stayed up so late talking the pair had just drifted off. It had been the best night Remus had spent her so far - he and Lily curled up under a pile of blankets, each nursing a mug of hot chocolate as they gossiped like school girls.

Remus stepped out the door and very closely avoided a collision with Sirius.

“I’m getting a freaky sense of deja vu right now.” Remus said, grinning.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “This… isn’t your room.”

Remus shook his head as they began walking down the corridor. “Nah, it’s Lily’s, I’m heading back to mine now.”

“You and… Lily?”

Remus choked as he realized what Sirius was thinking. “No, no, God no. I mean, Lily’s fantastic but no. We’re just friends, we fell asleep talking.”

Sirius’ shoulders almost seemed to visibly lighten. “Oh right, yeah.”

Remus grinned and nudged Sirius’ shoulder with his own playfully. “Lily’s not really my type.”

“Oh yeah? What is your type then?”

“Oh you know… not women.”

Sirius smirked and looked at Remus sideways. “Now that, sounds like something I quite relate to.”

Remus slowed to a stop as they reached his door. “I suppose I’ll see you in the tent?”

“That seems pretty unavoidable, doesn’t it?” Sirius threw him a cheeky wink and turned on his heel, continuing down the hall. Remus would be lying if he said he didn’t watch him walk away.

“Welcome back for our showstopper challenge!” Sirius said, smiling at all the contestants. 

“This will be your second showstopper, so get ready.”

“That’s right,” James continued, “This week's challenge will be to bake pull apart rolls.”

“Jamie, are you sure you have the right challenge? That doesn’t sound very showstopper like.”

“Why thank you Sirius, you’d be right. I did forget to mention that your rolls should make the shape of your favourite animal.”

Remus rolled his eyes at the obviously pre prepared banter and yet he found himself smiling anyways. 

“Ready.”

“Set.”

“Bake!”

Remus immediately set to work, knowing exactly what he wanted to do and how to do it, however he had been cutting it quite close on time every time he had practised, so he wanted to work as quickly as possible to allow for all and any mishaps that tended to happen under pressure. 

He made, proved and rolled out his dough in record time and was now assembling the little rolls into the shape he wanted. He was shading the top with poppy and sesame seeds and stepped back for a moment to admire his handy work. He was in no way close to an artist, except for when it came to baking. If his canvas was starch and glucose, he might as well be Michelangelo. 

He made one or two more adjustments before putting it in the oven for thirty minutes. That still gave him twenty minutes to spare, making this the fastest he had ever completed his challenge. Maybe the pressure had its benefits after all

“Oh fuck.” He heard Lily say from behind him. 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.” She cried, her time getting more and more panicked. 

“Lily?” Remus asked, whirling around in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to turn the oven on.” She whispered, her face pale. 

“You… What?”

“I forgot to turn the oven on! Remus I’m screwed this won't heat up for at least ten minutes and I have fifty minutes of work left at least!

Remus wasn’t sure what overcame him in that moment, maybe some panicked curled hormones but suddenly he was in full disaster mode. 

“Okay,” he muttered, opening his own oven and adding another wire rack. “Okay Lily, put yours in here with mine while your oven heats up. It’s not ideal, I know but it’ll get you started.”

“Remus Lupin.” Lily declared as she collected her tray and walked around her own bench to reach him. “You are my literal hero.”

She lifted herself up on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek swiftly before putting her doe - shaped dough in the oven and racing back to her own workspace to turn hers on. 

Remus let out a shaky breath as he sat down for a moment. It was such a simple mistake that could happen to any of them.  Remus vowed to himself to be extra vigilant from now on and to never assume he did anything on muscle memory. Here everything was strange and new and it could quite throw off your routine, especially if you’re used to working consistently in one particular venue. 

“That, Mr Lupin, was quite the save.” Sirius commented, swooping in like he always did. Remus smiled weakly and ran his fingers through his hair. Just then Lily appeared again and took her bread out of the oven. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She cried as she dashed back to work, putting her bread in her own oven with a deafening clang. 

“Thirty five minutes left!” Sirius called and Remus stood up cracking his knuckles. He could chat to Sirius later, right now? He still had a little work to do. He grabbed the little bit of extra dough he had set aside in the fridge and set to work. 

“Mr Lupin, if you would please bring your challenge up to the table.” McGonagall called and even in his mild panic, Remus could still take a moment to appreciate the lovely lilt in her words. 

He set his baking down on the table and stepped back to look at his work - a wolf, howling at a full moon.

“The moon detailing is quite clever Mr Lupin.” Dumbledore said and Remus sighed in relief. It had been the little bit of dough he had set aside - put in the oven later to account for it’s smaller size.

“It certainly looks excellent, but the question stands; how does it taste.

“Remus winced as they pulled apart his, frankly, perfect design and each took a bite. Dumbledore gave him a broad smile and Remus bit his lip, grinning.

“I think you’ll find we’re very pleased Mr Lupin. These truly are very good.”

Remus could actually pay attention to the rest of the assessments after that thrilling review. He watched Peter present his rat bread (side note - what in the world had possessed him to make food in the shape of a rat?), Lily displayed her doe which had turned out very well in the end and some guy even made an alpaca. Remus didn’t know that dude too well yet, but he thought his name was Benji.

They all sat once more on the stools lined up at the front of the tent while the judges made their decisions. James and Sirius regaled them all with stories from their childhood while they waited,

“And then what do you know?” James cried, his hands flying everywhere as he told the story. “I look up, and there’s Sirius, hanging out the second floor window with his trousers down around his ankles.”

The entire room burst out laughing, Remus was pretty sure there were tears streaming down his face.

“But what made you think that would be a good idea?” Remus wheezed, still unable to breathe properly for all his laughing, but desperate to get a look into teenage Sirius’ state of mind.

Sirius just shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” He admitted sheepishly and that set everyone off into another round of deafening laughter, when the judges walked in and they all sobered quite quickly.

James and Sirius conferred with them quietly in the corner a moment before walking back over to the contestants.

“Today, I have the absolute pleasure of announcing our star baker.” Sirius said, looking around the room with a small smile. “Our star baker this week is…” Sirius scanned the crowd for a moment before his eyes landed on Remus. “Remus.”

Remus didn’t even move. He wasn’t even sure he could if he had wanted to. He had won star baker.

“Which leaves me with the awful job of announcing who’s leaving us today.” James said in a flat tone but Remus didn’t even hear or register that some guy Fabien was leaving. He was just another baker Remus didn’t even know that well. But he was star baker. Lily pulled him into a hug and held him tight. The room around him was filled with pats on the back and congratulations and Sirius looked him right in the eye and mouthed well done.

Remus was pretty sure he wanted to live in this moment forever.

“Remus, would you be alright calling your family on camera? We’d just like to capture their reaction.”

Remus nodded and rang his mom. She answered on the first ring. “Hi, Ma?” Guess what?”

“What is it love, how did your day go?”

“I won star baker.”

Marlene giggled behind the camera as Hope let out a series of delighted yells. Remus laughed along with her for a moment. “Okay mam, I’ve got to go finish my interview, but I’ll call you later, okay?”

He said his goodbyes, hung up the phone and turned back to the camera. “So Remus, what were you thinking throughout the challenges?”

“Well after the first one, I kept thinking I’m going home for sure. But obviously I recovered a bit.”

“A bit? Marlene chuckled. “From going home to star baker. I’d say you recovered quite a lot.”

Remus chatted with Marlene for a few more minutes before she sent him away, claiming she had taken up enough of his time. Just as he was beginning to leave, Sirius sidled up to him.

“Well, if it isn’t the brightest star.” Remus teased.

“I think that today,” Sirius countered, “That would be you.”

Remus blushed and looked down at his feet. “Want to walk back to the hotel?

Sirius smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”