#and lily facing that for the first time in the magical world is so interesting to me

[pink-marara]

"Don't listen to him Mary, Mulciber can shove his broomstick in his-"

"Lily," Mary was slumped on the Griffindor armchair looking morose "Do you ever feel disapointed by the magic world?"

Lily looks at her "You mean like the War?" There wasn't a war quite yet, but everyone knew where the tension would lead to.

"More than that," Mary sat up straighter "I live in a small town in Ireland, I was always the darkest girl in my class,"

"People would always say 'where are you from' and 'why is your hair so weird' and other very nasty stuff,"

Lily reached over and squeezed Mary's hand.

"I grew up in same place as everyone else went to the same school, same shop, the same everything!"

Mary voice got more animated. "Yet I always felt like an outsider because my mother's from Nigeria."

"When I learned that I could do magic, I hoped I could find somewhere that accepted me fully..."

"And people treat you like you don't belong here too," Lily said when Mary stayed quiet.

"I'm sick of it all! I want to belong, I want to feel safe! I just want to be treated for what I do and not how I was born," Mary slumped into Lily's side.

"I never thought about how lucky I was that back home no one treats me poorly, I wish you didn't have to go through that," Lily wraps her arms around Mary, hugging her.

"Remember that magic is ours as much as anyone elses, no one can take that away from us,"

"And I promise you'll always belong with me," Lily stayed next to Mary gently rubbing her back in soothing circles.

"Thanks Lily," Mary said letting out a smile "You belong with me too,"

[utterdisaster1]

The Teenage Foolishness

Pairing: Sirius Black x male!reader angst at certain point, kinda smut at another. If you haven't read the previous post/chapter whatever, Y/N is muggle-born

Hope you like it! TW: use of Y/N, internalised homophobia, pining, erotic thoughts, erotic things in general, AMAB! reader, swearing, mentions of war, mentions of toxic family

After the first year, the following two were not particularly remarkable. That is not to say that the days were mundane, or that nothing interesting ever happened; rather, you were immersed in a routine devoid of anything exceptional to distinguish it.

You and the rest of the Marauders—a nickname coined by Lily of all people - "Unbelievable! You cost us 50 points, and for what?! Marauding around the castle like vagabonds… I cannot comprehend what is so special or enjoyable about being as much of a nuisance as Peeves!" - continued to pursue your intention of making the most of your years at the school, pranking those who deserved it (mainly the Slytherins) and not taking life too seriously

At times, you felt that James and Sirius, in particular, went a little overboard in targeting a specific individual, but simultaneously, he gave as good as he got, so you did not see much issue with the clear rivalry between your group and Severus Snape.

You continued to learn, to excel, and to immerse yourself in magical education, relentless in your persuit of knowing everything.

In your third year, you began tutoring some first-years in Transfiguration and Charms. You also encountered your first struggle - Arithmancy.

You chose it alongside Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures as your electives, thinking it wouldn’t be too challenging.

You did enjoy the Creatures class the most and found Ancient Runes, which included lessons on enchanting objects, warding, and curse-breaking, truly fascinating. You were always eager for those classes.

But Arithmancy… You thought it would simply be wizarding maths, but it was far from that. You barely scraped by in it and fully intended to drop it before fifth year. Spell-crafting be damned; if you had to read one more paragraph on the properties of numbers and shapes, you felt like you might spontaneously combust. And preparing for an OWL in it… that would be unbearable.

Another struggle that began in third year was dealing with feelings. Suddenly, you started experiencing peculiar emotions. Of course, there had been boys who caught your eye before, but it had never been significant. However, the affections you might have had, or not, seemed to grow in intensity.

Suddenly, instead of a mere sense of admiration, a deep longing emerged. You would catch yourself imagining how delightful it would be to walk hand in hand with them, to embrace them, to kiss them, to…

Even with the knowledge that your proclivities were not frowned upon in the wizarding world, the years you spent before joining it had conditioned you to feel guilt and denial. It felt as though you were being pushed by shame from one side and encouragement from the other, leaving no space for action.

So you suppressed those feelings, turning to those shameful late-night moments in which you inflicted some self-pleasure upon yourself.

You felt guilty thinking about schoolmates that way. The only comfort was that it usually wasn’t someone you were particularly close with, so objectifying them wasn’t thrown in your face the next morning.

Then the fifth year arrived, and with it, a very changed, taller, better-built Sirius.

He said he had spent most of his summer at his uncle Alphard's house, which had a Quidditch pitch nearby, allowing him to fly and work out every day. Training for his Beater position on the Quidditch team involved a lot of work from his arm and chest muscles.

And what a sight those muscles were, when he took his outer robe off, leaving only a thin dress shirt on. They were enthralling to watch, and it took you greater effort than fighting any duel, facing any Slytherin, or preparing for any exam to avert your gaze elsewhere.

It didn't help that he paid particular attention to you. There was something in his gaze that made you want to squirm.

It's worth mentioning you changed over the summer too. You barely had to lift your head now to look your dad straight in the eyes (which came with your mum droning on about needing to buy an entirely new wardrobe for you since all your clothes were too short). Your face became thinner, and your jawline more pronounced. You would often run, not from schoolmates, but for the simple release of pent-up energy from being deprived of magic (you would curse whoever it was that created the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, if they were still alive) and worrying about a possible raid from Death Eaters all summer.

You did try to act casual. But you were also 16. And suddenly, when the night came, the only thoughts you had, were of him.

His nature didn't help either. He was always affectionate with touch - an arm around your shoulder when walking together, his head always resting on someone's lap while relaxing on the couches in the Gryffindor common room. He did that with all of his friends.

So it meant he did it with you as well. In those moments, you begged to be back in the Arithmancy classroom, listening to lectures about numerological transcendence or whatever else you couldn't grasp, because it would still be easier than withstanding the force of Sirius Black's friendly affection. Friendly.

You always made sure to keep the outer robes on, so you could cover your crotch and the erection that occured whenever he tugged you closer to him or rested his head on your arm.

After one very close call, when he laid his head on your lap, you realised it had become essential never to sit next to him again. Not as long as you felt the way you did. It didn't help that the thoughts of his mouth so close to that particular area contributed to your unseemly activities later that evening and were followed by a sense of shame when you saw him the next morning while preparing to go down for breakfast.

And even if you told yourself that you were dealing with this insufferable infatuation, you couldn't help but feel jealous of the people who sparked Sirius' interest. You weren't the only person who had noticed how he had changed over the summer, after all.

It seemed every other week there would be a new girl clutching onto him like a lifeline. And considering the affection he showed his friends, you shouldn't have been surprised by how flagrant he was with them.

The shameless make-out sessions, blatant touching, and disgusting displays like feeding each other were hard to ignore. But over time, you got used to it. You didn't accept it, but it was just something that happened, yet another flaw in the world. It still was better than the fact that there was an actual war happening outside the school halls, a war against people like you, or rather, about ridding the world of people like you.

But then, one day, Sirius showed up for lunch with a boy. A Ravenclaw, one year above you. All of you were confused. And confusion turned into many different emotions when the ministrations that Sirius' girlfriends received were extended to him.

If you felt uneasy before, now you were actually physically sick. You wanted to vomit, to break something, or rather someone.

Ironically, one of the few comforts you had in the entire situation was knowing that if you never stood a chance with him, it wasn't because of your appearance or any other personal attribute, but simply because he was exclusively into girls. This made it easier to avoid letting yourself fantasise about being with him. At that point, however, the reality stung more sharply—knowing that he chooses not to have an interest in you, despite being open to it. It just made it all more painful.

So you quickly excused yourself and exited the Hall. You didn't run and cry, thinking about jumping off the astronomy tower like some heartsick, stupid people would do. You weren't sad. You were angry. Furious. Livid. Violent.

You hadn't noticed Remus going after you, all the way to the Forbidden Forest. You hadn't noticed him as you were throwing all known curses and hexes at a large pile of rocks, annihilating it in the process.

But after you were done, and decided to go back, there he stood. With this look of pity. Maybe you weren't as subtle as you thought, or maybe it was him being his usual, too perceptive self.

"I would say that it gets better, but I'm not going to start lying to you," he said.

"Are you- Do you- You too? With Sirius, I mean," you replied.

"Merlin no!" and after a short pause, "Well, maybe a little last year. But it went out the window after he insulted Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, massive turn-off," he said, the last part with a scoff, "And I'm more partial to the fair sex, being honest with you."

"How long have you known?" you asked.

"You know how my senses are heightened? Due to- you know. Well, some stronger emotions have the slightest scents that I can detect. They don't really compare to any normal ones… well, the technicalities don't really matter. Arousal is one of those scents, and I smelled it off of you while you were looking at him in the distance once or twice."

"Well, thank you for not calling me out on it," you said with the slightest of smiles. At that point, you also had to ask, because you knew it would nag you forever, "So if you can actually smell emotions, that means that things like…" You didn't exactly know how to ask whether he could smell you wank in the night, so you just made a gesture. He didn't seem unsettled by your question, to his credit.

"Oh, yeah, at first it was quite uncomfortable, but you weren't the first one to do it... Sirius was always hyper and he is the oldest, I suppose," he said, then continued, "I learned a spell to shield my bed from all smells in Second Year, but I forget to cast it sometimes," he said while rubbing the nape of his neck.

"Well, I've never felt more sorry for you, especially with Peter's dirty socks..." you said.

“Yes, well, it comes with living with four other teenage boys. But I’m the one who’s supposed to comfort you right now, not the other way around,” he said with a small laugh.

“You did say it wouldn’t just get better, as if from experience… Who were you that angry about? You, the calmest, most reasonable and even-tempered Gryffindor in history.”

“There was one particular girl that Sirius had dated about a month ago, and now even if I did try to ask her out, I’d be asking Sirius’ ex out. It did irk me, knowing he would drop her after a week or so anyway.”

“A shame you hadn’t told me; then we could wallow in self-pity together,” you chuckled a little. Maybe Freud was onto something with his “just talk about it and it will get better.” Although, you were also quite tired, so maybe there was simply no energy for anger at the moment.

“Do you want to smash some things too? I could conjure more rocks if you’d like,” you asked.

He smiled. “No, but I will tell you if I do. Let’s head back; I think we’re already late for Potions.”

You groaned. “Fuck Potions, we’re both rubbish at it anyway. Besides, I don’t know if I have it in me not to throw some beetle eyes or something equally disgusting at him right now.” You said this as you started walking back towards the castle.

“I am a prefect, you know,” Remus replied.

“Oh? So I suppose it wasn’t you who turned Mulciber’s hair into snakes yesterday?” you responded with a small chuckle.

He just huffed but didn’t rebut.

______________________________________________________________

What you and Remus failed to talk about and consider were appearances. There was nothing out of the ordinary with Remus’, but you, however, looked as if you’d just emerged from a fighting ring - messy hair, ruffled clothes, and scratches from the rock shards that you hadn’t even registered.

After worried questions stemming from a calm, “What happened?” from Peter, to James’ intense, “Did someone do this to you?! Tell. Me. Who!” you just said you’d fallen down the stairs, and Remus had taken you to the infirmary, which explained your absence during Potions class. And since it was just a theory lesson, you doubted Slughorn noticed or cared much.

The rest of the day, after fixing yourself up in the bathroom, you tried to act as usual. And it mostly worked. But, as seemed to be the pattern of the day, Sirius disrupted your attempts at casualness. It wasn’t his fault per se, since you always sat together in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Normally, you would chat and joke, having already mastered the subject. But today, you didn’t even want to see him, let alone talk to him.

Sirius wasn’t stupid, nor as self-conceited as some believed. He noticed the lack of banter and witty responses from you and asked, “Are you okay? You seem a little off today.”

Clearly he didn’t connect the dots that your being "a little off" might be related to your supposed fall down the stairs. His mind was probably preoccupied with that Ravenclaw arsewipe he had shown up with, making it clear he was bi.

So you simply responded, “I’m fine,” and started taking notes. This really set Sirius off, because you never did that in Defence class. By Fourth Year, you had enough knowledge and skill to score an Outstanding in NEWT for the subject. You had even ventured into Knockturn Alley to buy books on martial magic, most containing curses only found in the restricted section of the school library. He knew why you were so determined to master this area of magic. With raids, disappearances, and murders reported every other day, who wouldn’t be?

Sirius thought that maybe something else had happened other than the fall, but what could it be? No one dared to challenge you to a duel or sneak up on you after you sent the youngest Yaxley brother to the infirmary with so many afflictions and injuries he didn’t get out until a week later (you only got three nights of detention since it was technically self-defence after he tried to use the body-bind curse on you from behind first. The Gryffindor privilege probably played a part in that as well). You didn’t seem to be under a side-effect of pain medicine either.

He only realized the lesson was over because of your abrupt departure the moment the bell rang.

But there was someone with you when whatever happened had occurred - Remus. He had the answers, and Sirius was adamant about finding out the truth. But when he turned towards the desk Remus sat at, it was empty as well.

Suspicious.

Both of you disappearing halfway through the day and then coming back disheveled with a very convenient story... Could you...? Together?

Now, with his mind racing, Sirius reached the only plausible conclusion: it became clear he was into guys too, and one of you must have gotten jealous, so you sorted it out. The idea that Remus could have been the one to be with you like that, while Sirius was left out, sparked something he never wanted to feel about any of his friends - jealousy.

He loved Moony, don't get him wrong. But it was you and him that always had a little stack of letters after the holidays for each other, since neither could send them during the summer. "Merlin! I didn't know we had some summer essays set to write. What will we do, Pete?" James would always laugh. It was you and him that hated going away from Hogwarts because the castle was where you truly felt at home. It was you and him that sat together by the Black Lake in you spot, sharing those quiet moments that seemed to stretch into forever.

Why wouldn't you consider him for something more, then? He wasn't a saint, he knew that. But he also had access to mirrors, and he was a friend as long as Moony was.

And he had to admit, when he saw you on the train in September, desire surged through him. But you never seemed to look at him too long, let alone show any sign of actual interest. So he tried what he had seen work on those desperate girls and used all the tricks he had. But those attempts only seemed to turn you off, making you retreat from him. He recalled that evening when he laid his head on your lap, asking you to braid or play with his hair, and instead of blushing and giggling like those girls did, you immediately needed to get back to the dorm, claiming there was "a book you forgot to return to the library, and you better run before Madam Pince closes it" or some other excuse. After that, you avoided sitting next to him, except for during class.

When he saw you could defend yourself from the baby death eaters - commonly known as Slytherins - he stopped pretending not to associate with you. He was openly best friends with a "blood traitor," which, in his parents' eyes, was as bad as being a "filthy little Mudblood." So, he would get punished anyway.

He cherished the surprise on your face when he sat next to you at the Sorting Ceremony, the delight in your eyes when you realised he wasn’t playing the charade he had in First Year.

He was always honest with you. He never felt it important to discuss his sexuality, especially since you never mentioned yours. He assumed you shared his sentiment. But now it was clear that you had discussed it with someone - just not him. Maybe you and Remus had a special spot as well? Or maybe, the spot by the lake was only special to Sirius, and you came there only when dear Remus was too busy, or worse, out of pity, because Sirius would sit there sometimes, hoping you would appear.

He hated that feeling. You were his friends. He shouldn't be mad at you two being close, being together. But he was. He was angry with you, and he was even more furious with himself.

Maybe if he just mellowed down his advances, you would start to show similiar affection towards him as well? Or maybe you did feel it, but was just awkward about it and he hadn't noticed?

And then there were the flings.

So on one hand, you might be plainly uninterested, wanting nothing more than friendship. On the other, you might have been interested, but he had ruined it.

He had ruined it all, just as he always seemed to. His mother had often said so. His father, his br- Regulus, never disagreed.

He didn't ever realise he was now alone, with tears glistening in his eyes, heading towards nowhere in particular

______________________________________________________________

The rest of the week was tense for the Marauders. Sirius retreated as he had after his first Howler back in First Year. Fortunately, this time he already had James. Pete stuck by him too, offering snacks in the evenings and welcome distractions. Both of them knew Peter didn’t need help with Herbology, yet he asked Sirius for it, for example.

Not that you and Remus were there to witness most of these moments. You were cooped up in the library, sometimes together with Lily, Marlene, and Mary.

You didn’t know if it was just instinct or if you were that easy to read, but the three girls took to comforting you as well. Your study sessions continued with the addition of Lily’s dormmates, which made things much more fun, but also much riskier, since Madam Pince didn’t take kindly to any disturbances of silence, and snickering was very much a disturbance.

One evening, Marlene said that when she was sad she did her first piercing by herself. She mentioned it off-handedly, while being scolded by Lily and Mary for getting her nose infected - that attempt was not as successful as the first one “or numerous following ones!” Marlene didn’t fail to add.

So, when you were returning to the common room, you asked her which piercing wasn’t too painful and if she would be willing to do it for you. She eagerly agreed, recommending helix piercings since earlobes were “too obvious.”

And as much as it wasn’t the most pleasant experience, it wasn’t too bad either. You settled for piercings in each ear. Marlene said it was fate, since the Hogsmeade trip would be happening in two days. You would be able to buy your own jewellery, wearing hers for now.

You were barely the first person to have some alterations to their appearance done, so it didn’t gain much attention from most, only your friends, who you didn’t have many of, especially since three of your dormmates seemed engrossed with something they were sharing with neither you nor Remus. Even Mary said you looked "dashing", and with her being one of the icons (Marlene had called her a guru) of style by that point, you knew it really meant something.

You saw the dark circles under Sirius’ eyes, as well as how puffy they were. You wanted to comfort him, truly you did. He was your friend, first and foremost. But now, it seemed he was avoiding you. You thought of cornering him somehow but thought better of it. One can’t make Sirius Black do or say anything he doesn’t want to do. And he did not take kindly to attempts at trying.

So, you left him be and didn’t address any of the occasional looks you got from him with anything else but, what you hoped was, a comforting smile.

The trip to Hogsmeade was as eventful as any other, but with you not only buying earrings but some rings as well. You made sure none were made of silver, mindful of Moony.

The Sunday, however, proved to be something entirely else. You were planning on writing the Potions essay and reading the latest issue of Transfiguration Today. You hoped there would be at least something more than a mere mention of the Animagus process, having found only some sparse remarks on it in the books you’d read in the library so far.

There was always the Restricted Section, but you needed the Cloak for that, and James was always with Sirius.

And as much of a pain as it was to write about the Draught of Peace, it was one of the possible potions to brew for your OWL exam, and you needed one in Potions, no matter how much you loathed the idea of studying the subject at NEWT level. But you needed the NEWT to be allowed into the Auror Training, and complaining would get you nowhere.

But when you were finally done and reached for the magazine on your nightstand, the dorm room burst open, and in came James, Peter, and Sirius. And they came with purpose.

“Right, we’re going to settle this. You,” James pointed at you and Sirius, “will stay in this room until you’re okay again. I will let you starve to death if I have to.” And with that, he came out, locking the door.

You looked at Sirius and didn’t know what else to say but, “Always with dramatics, that one.”

Sirius didn’t respond at first, just looked at you for some time. You avoided his stare, which clearly was the wrong thing to do, seeing what he asked you next.

“Why can’t you even look at me?” he said in a tone much more broken than Sirius should sound like. You had only witnessed a few times over the five years you’d known each other. So you did look at him, straight in the eyes, and responded.

“Of course I can look at you.” You really didn’t know how to handle this. You didn’t even know what exactly it was about.

“Since we returned in September, you don’t want to, though,” after a short pause, he asked, “We’re friends, right? Friends tell each other things.”

“Of course we’re friends. Why would you question that?” you said immediately.

He looked at you, intensely, expectantly. But you really didn’t know what he could want you to say. There was no way he knew about your crush, right?

Seeing that he wasn’t going to receive what he had hoped for, he said with a clipped tone, “Then why didn’t you tell me about you and Remus? Or James and Pete, for that matter?”

Now you were really bewildered. You wanted to ask what he meant, but he clearly wasn’t finished.

“I bet you told Marls and the other two, though, always hanging around with each other now. I mean, I could understand if you’d just started and were figuring things out, but once you’re having sex, I think it’s serious enough to mention it to people you claim are your family!” he finished, shouting.

“What do you- Are- Sex!? With who!?”

“Well, Moony of course, unless you were doing it with Marlene in the third-floor bathroom on Thursday too!”

"For fuck's sake, have you taken something!? Or is this some very elaborate prank!?" You didn’t allow him to respond just yet. "I’m not having sex with anyone, I’m not in a relationship with anyone, Marlene only pierced my ears," you said, pointing at your ears. "And I really don’t think that Remus fetching me from the Forbidden Forest is that significant to mention!"

Sirius seemed surprised. You rarely screamed or shouted, preferring to just hex someone if they were going too far. Of all the questions now flooding his mind, he asked,

"What were you doing in the Forbidden Forest?"

"I was smashing up some rocks, if it’s that important to you. And I left the centaurs one of the phoenix feathers I found last year in the Astronomy Tower, along with a very sincere apology letter the next day, so I doubt they’ll want to hunt me down. It was only a pile of rocks anyway; I made sure not to harm any trees or animals."

"Why?"

"You know centaurs are the ones that planted and protect the forest. They demand respect. I doubt me coming in all unreasonable and entitled to destroy parts of it, even as irrelevant as a pile of-" At that, he interrupted you.

"I don’t care about the centaurs! Why were you wrecking rocks, and if that’s what happened on Monday, why are you cross with me?"

"I— I’m not cross with you, and it doesn’t matter why. It’s stupid, and I’m dealing with it."

"Maybe I could help, you know. Or at least you could have told me."

You were getting sick of his apparent entitlement to all your issues and that, mixed with still not fully gone anger at him over the Ravenclaw, prompted you to say with a clipped tone, "Well, you seem pretty preoccupied these days. I wouldn’t want to get groped by accident."

His eyes widened, cheeks reddened, and his mouth opened and closed in a repeated cycle. He was visibly thinking about what to say next.

"Is that why you’ve been avoiding me? Seeing me with those girls?"

You barely even registered saying, "You forgot the Ravenclaw already?"

At that you saw a hint of a smirk on his face, but what was more noticeable was the step he took towards you. "Did it bother you? Seeing me like that?"

Oh, you definitely didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. So you quickly tried to escape the looming vision of actually confessing your feelings to him.

"Who wouldn’t be bothered? People do go to that Hall to eat their food. You and whoever else was your conquest of the week were trying to eat each other."

He only inched closer. "No one else was demolishing the forest because of that, though, were they?"

You faltered. You were losing this argument, and you’d have to go past Sirius to reach your wand, which you had inconveniently left on the bed.

"You know, a lot of things just started to make sense to me..." He was almost within touching distance.

"Well, enlighten me then," you said, hoping your tone was more confident than you felt.

"The way you distanced yourself, wouldn’t look at me too long... I thought I might have done something bad or wrong, but now I’m realising," and after a pause, in a much huskier tone, "I actually might have done the opposite."

He did touch you now, caressing your arm. "I’m going to ask you something, Y/N, and I need you to be honest." The hand went from your arm to your chin, directing your head to look him in the face. You hadn’t realised you had been looking just past his shoulder for most of that monologue.

The only thing you did realise, was that Sirius was tall.

"If I kissed you right now, would you return it?"

You were overwhelmed. And, more importantly, starting to get hard. No.

But apparently, your subconscious decided to answer for you, and you nodded.

Sirius didn’t wait a second. He leaned in, practically attacking your mouth.

The kiss was rough, with teeth clashing at first. You supposed it was probably clumsy, but you didn’t have anything to compare it with.

You tried to mimic what Sirius was doing, and in a moment of daring (you were still a Gryffindor, after all), you bit his lower lip, eliciting a low groan from Sirius.

You usually learned best through practice, and kissing apparently wasn’t an exception. You became more confident with each second his lips moved with yours, and when you felt his tongue brush against your lower lip, you instinctively opened your mouth.

The tongue slipped in immediately, accompanied by a satisfied hum from Sirius. It was strange, the sensation of it in your mouth at first, against your own. But you quickly found yourself enjoying it, and the fact that his hands were now firmly on your waist, running up and down, certainly didn’t discourage you.

For someone who detested the very thought of being overpowered, you surprisingly enjoyed Sirius’ dominant position right now.

You rested your arms on his shoulders and started running your right hand through the hair on the back of his head, eliciting another groan, of satisfaction, you hoped.

You began to move your tongue along with his, and sooner than you realised, it became a battle. You were growing more and more eager to explore his mouth as well.

The fact that you were currently making out with your long-term crush was not lost on you, nor did it fail to make you even more aroused with each passing second. You had imagined a moment like this many times. In fact, you had imagined many other moments, and seeing how physical Sirius was, there was a big chance of them turning into memories or maybe, if you dared to think, regular occurrences.

In fact, you wouldn’t settle for anything less. You were not interested in becoming one of many in the long line of Sirius Black’s dalliances, as Remus liked to say sometimes.

And so, with great effort - both in actually willing yourself to do it, as well as managing against Sirius’ strength - you pulled away.

His eyes were half-lidded, pupils dilated, but a brow started to rise in question.

"I’m not ruining our friendship for a week of fun with you, Sirius," you said, still breathless, but it was clear you were being frank right now.

"I’m not either," he responded. "I want it to be more," he said.

"What are you saying?" you asked with a smirk, knowing very well what, but still wanting to hear it.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "And you complained about James’ flair for dramatics," he said, and immediately dropped to one knee and took your hand. "Y/N L/N, will you, the breathtaking vision of enchanting beauty, the enthralling light of brilliance, do me the honour of allowing me to become your partner in love and life?" he asked in an over-dramatic tone.

You laughed and said in the same manner, "Sirius Black, your words have melted my heart completely. I’d be thrilled to become your boyfriend."

He pretended to cry, followed by a quite amusing spectacle of pretending to die out of sheer joy, and then stood up, held you to him, and kissed you again, this time more tenderly. This kiss didn’t seem desperate but wasn’t chaste in any way either. You pulled him closer by his shirt, having your chests press together. He seemed very satisfied with it.

He was starting to pull your sweater off when the doors burst open with James in the front yet again, this time shrieking. Remus, who apparently joined him and Peter in the common room during your time alone with Sirius, said, "Turns out you were right, they were suffocating each other... Not in the way you predicted though," he added with a low chuckle.

Peter’s face was as red as a beet, and James just stared. After a while, he said, "I call you both my brothers, so it’s incest, you know. I’ll tell my mum."

"You’re just worried I’ll cut into your cuddle time with him," you said to James, receiving a laugh from Remus and a smirk from Sirius that contradicted his severe tone.

"He could never cut into that, Jamie, you don’t have to worry."

James decided to just shove him with a laugh as a response.

[chernabogs]

I can see an entire bouquet matching Malleus 😭 Calla lily, Ivy, Red Salvia, NATSURIUM and White carnation with pecks of Daffodil and Fern

Don't feel obligated to use all of them! Chose whichever you find most suitable! I just could stop with one alone, the more prompts i read the more i had this idea for a story in my head

I think you and I had the same idea cooking LMAOOO I hope I did this well! <3 Thank you for the request!!

Sin Eater

Inc: Malleus, Reader, a sin eater, and one advisor WC: 3.4k Warnings: Heavy discussion of grief and coping with loss Flowers: Calla Lily (something at first sight), Ivy (we’ve always been friends but we were never just friends), Natsurium (I refuse to bury you), Daffodil (a god bows before a mortal), Fern (In a world of magic, the greatest miracle was you... subtly implied) Summary: A quiet conversation in a hall between a prince, a starving idol, and a body.

Their arrival is marked with the sombre chiming of Dragon City’s bells, which is the only reason Malleus knows they’re approaching Black Scale. The window of the bedroom you shared is wide open, letting in both the breeze and the song as he stands so still that one may consider him to be a mere statue on display. He feels equivalent to one; his breath is shallow, his body cold, and his expression far away enough that he hardly registers the carriage approaching. 

“Your highness?” A faint voice speaks by his right side. Malleus’ finger twitches at the sound as his emerald gaze slowly slides from the streets below to the advisor who is now anxiously twisting her sleeve. He can hardly remember her name—advisors come and go so often that they’ve become a blur in his mind—but he’s taken to calling her Scops due to the owlish stare that she always seems to wear around him. “The sin eater is here.”

Malleus stares for a moment before he looks back down to the courtyard. The carriage door is open, and a figure is now standing on the stone, speaking with one of the guards. The discussion is brief, ending with the guard walking to the doors and the figure looking upwards at the palace walls. A golden mask conceals their face, capturing the rays of the sun which battle through Briar Valley’s ever-present clouds, and they wear a simple black funeral suit. 

“I see that.” He replies curtly, his voice ungiving on how he’s really feeling. “They arrived quite quickly, didn’t they?” 

“I suppose they have,” Scops steps a bit closer to the window to look down at the sin eater. “Strange, really. It isn’t like their profession is a competitive market anymore.” 

Sin eaters used to be far more prominent in Briar Valley back when it was still Briar Nation, and old traditions were held to a greater esteem. Unfortunately, the changing of times meant the dismantling of old organizations and beliefs, rendering the sin eaters as nothing more than a token piece in a funeral party. Perhaps once they were esteemed in a religious fashion—but not anymore. Now they will sit for anyone, so long as they get their meal. 

You had always admired the old traditions, though. He remembers your avid interest in his family’s history, and the many nights you’d waste away in the library, reading tome after tome in delight. You had been the spearhead of a new age for old beliefs—revamping Briar Valley’s tourism through the demonstration of habits long dead—and you had made a difference. That’s why there is a sin eater here today. 

Malleus dislikes their presence, however. Them being here means that what he’s going through is not just a simple dream. He exhales through clenched teeth and forces his shoulders to relax as he turns on his heel and nods. 

“Regardless, it’s best not to keep guests waiting.”

_____________________________________________________________

The hallowed hall in which you lay is silent, even with the presence of the sin eater looming over your shrouded form. How they managed to move quickly enough that they arrived before Malleus did is something he decides not to question—nor does he question how they knew of the hall to begin with. Their profession is one that draws the most peculiar of magic users into it. Like a bloodhound, they caught your scent and followed it to the room. He’s surprised the guards who have been standing watch over you for a day now permitted them to enter. 

Malleus enters alone and waves for the room to be sealed. He notes the hesitation in his guard’s body language before they oblige, stepping away to pull the great wooden doors shut with a resounding boom that stirs a pair of birds residing in the rafters. Their wings flutter in distress as Malleus spares them a passing glance before returning his focus on the figure ahead. The sin eater has turned to look back at him, and he sees upon closer inspection that the mask they wear lacks a mouth. They incline their head in greeting before speaking in a surprisingly clear tone considering their facial obstruction. 

“Your grace. Forgive me for the intrusion before your arrival; I merely wished to prepare in advance.” Their voice is soft and low as they touch a hand to the place above their heart. Malleus hardly reacts to their words as he brushes past them to where you lay, body enshrouded in a white sheet with a torc affixed upon your neck. His fingers brush along its form; forged of mystium and gifted to you as a token by him. It was the closest he could get to a marriage declaration in the eyes of the Senate. 

“It’s hardly my place to prevent a sin eater from completing their role.” He replies languidly as his fingers skim off of the torc to rest on your chest. Stiff, still, and cold against his fingers. “I just wish you had not come to begin with.” 

He doesn’t wish to have you buried quite yet, but he knows he’s already pushing the limit of how long he can keep you. He kneels by the platform that holds your form as his fingers brush along the shroud that hides you. If he could, he would drag you off of this macabre display and back into the rooms you shared for so many decades together, to wrap you in his arms and pretend this isn’t happening. 

But that was foul. Utterly, utterly foul. Your body would putrefy and decay while he clung to a false hope of resurrection. 

No, the sin eater is here now. He just doesn’t want you out of sight quite yet. 

“Many do not welcome me, but I have never left without gratitude.” The sin eater replies softly. Like a god before a mortal, Malleus’ ethereal features are painted into a stony expression, his gaze still distant. He hardly feels a part of this world right now as he hums quietly in turn. 

“Perhaps.” He muses as his fingers toy with the shroud before he turns to look at the sin eater. Like his own face, their mask is a stony expression, their eyes concealed from his seeking gaze. If they were to not move and speak then they could easily be dismissed as one of the many statues adorning the hall. “How shall we proceed?” 

“Do you feel ready to proceed?” They posit as they gesture to your form. 

Malleus rises back to his feet but doesn’t remove his hand from your body. The pungent scent of flowers—used to disguise the sweetness of decay—wafts up with the abruptness of his motion. “The opportunity to refuse has long passed. I am aware that there is a feast to be had—that, they regaled me of this back when they were still alive.”

You had been enamoured by the concept of Briar Valley funerary rites throughout your time in life. He remembers thinking it to be grim when you would speak of them, and rather anxiety-inducing when you began to plan for your own. He always knew that your status as a human meant that you would join the stars long before he did—he had simply not wanted to think about it, though. In the end, your efforts to establish your own postmortem care had saved him a great deal of distress these past few days.

Your ability to think far ahead had been one of the many aspects he had loved about you. 

“Indeed, and I am delighted to see one is set for me.” The sin eater drifts off of the steps of the platform towards the far side of the room, where a table lay with an array of foods on it. Wine, dates, meats, and a variety of other luxuries decorate pristine plates and spotless cutlery. He had spared no expenses in the lavishness of your memoriam. “Sometimes I have served people who are still cooking the final meal by the time I arrive. But then again, I would expect a prince to have ample amounts of resources available to get things done.” 

“I give nothing but the finest when it comes to them.” Malleus retorts sharply as he goes to sit in the chair on the other side of the table. Before he can properly settle, the sin eater raises a hand and shakes their head. 

“Turn the chair around if you please. You are not meant to see my face when I eat—that honour is for the deceased, and the deceased alone.” 

Malleus pauses, his hand resting on the back of the chair before he obliges and twists it around to face the wall. He then sits down and crosses his legs patiently. Despite the fact that he knows the sin eater to be unarmed, he still feels a prickle of paranoia creep up his spine. Old habits die hard when one has been hunted for so many years. 

Eventually he hears the sound of the sin eater sitting down in their respective seat, followed by something heavy hitting the table. The sin eater clears their throat, and the sound is far clearer now than before. Their mask has been removed—which means the rite has officially begun. Malleus inhales and readies himself for what he recalls the next few steps to be. 

“Tell me about them. Call them to the table where we feast.” There’s a brief pause then before a fork scrapes against porcelain plates. Malleus’ eyes flutter shut as he gives a low sigh. 

“Mira calirh.” The affectionate term flows from his tongue easily as he touches upon memories long passed. How can he summarize you in a simple conversation? You had been a person of many complexities—of devotion, of will, of love as boundless as the sea. To boil all that you were down into a mere few lines felt sacrilegious in his heart. 

“Tell me of your first.” The sin eater prompts, and so he does. 

“I met them outside of their dorm. I thought the place was abandoned, but suddenly they were there before me, sleep-dazed and curious. I remember thinking how calm they were when facing me directly—only to find out they hadn’t a single clue about who I was.” Malleus’ lips curl into a faint grin as he pictures the moment so clearly. He can see you in your youth, eyes glassy with sleep and hair slightly dishevelled. You had not registered in his mind as someone of importance quite yet. 

Oh, how such a thing would change. 

“Tell me more.” The sin eater urges. He can hear the wine glass lifting and being set back down on the table. Malleus’ hands clasp tight as he feels his fingers begin to grow numb. In his peripheral vision, he thinks he sees movement from the pedestal. He resists the impulse to look its way as he considers his next words. 

“It made me feel… alive. For a moment. They would accompany me, speak with me. It was shortly after my overblot that I began to consider them as a friend—although I suspect we never were just that. It was two summers later that I began to consider them something more.” 

Malleus pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts. He remembers that summer—it had been warmer than usual in the Valley, and you had come to visit for a week. He recalls the smell of sunscreen and the sight of you with your hat on your head as you sat in a field of eternal green. The land was lush and abundant with life, but it had been you that had drawn his gaze the strongest. 

The sin eater pushes a plate away before grabbing another. It drags across the wooden table with a bitter screech. “Is that so?” 

“Quite. They stayed with me for a week, and I wished every night that the next day would never come, only so that I could hold onto them for just a bit longer. I kissed their cheek before they departed through the mirror back to NRC—I wanted to kiss their lips, but I panicked and missed.” He can’t help but laugh at that. His palms had been sweating and his mind had been in a panic when he clumsily pressed his lips to your cheek in a kiss of farewell. “Foolish I was. Fortunately, it didn’t turn them away from me. The next time we met, they made sure my aim was true.” 

“Young love has a habit of sending our hearts aflutter, no?” The sin eater muses as more scraping sounds out. “Tell me when you loved them.”

When? Malleus’ brow furrows as he considers the question. When did he not, really? 

“Every day. Every hour. Every minute. I think once they became mine there was not a moment I did not love them, even when we had our disagreements, or the obligations of my role drew me abroad. I loved them in the day, I loved them in the night. And in the sparse moments between, I loved them even more.” Malleus feels his jaw clench slightly. “We could not be married, and so I made sure they knew my devotion.”

“You could not marry because they were not fae. I remember that being a point of contention in the papers.” 

The sin eater must be a fae themself, then, if they can recall the tabloids from that time so easily while looking as young as they appeared. Malleus bristles at their comment. 

“Yes, that was a point of great contention, and one I had to swallow despite working to change the laws. Even my grandmother agreed that such outdated beliefs had no business in and amongst our courtiers.” 

He had fought viciously against nobility for the opportunity to keep you by his side. Eventually it had ended in a standoff, with the courtiers begrudgingly agreeing to permit you to live in Black Scale, so long as you never officially became his consort. Your body hasn’t even been cold for a day, and he’s already heard rumours from Scops that the Senate is hunting for a suitable replacement. 

The knowledge tastes like bitter fruit on his tongue.

He thinks he sees the flutter of white fabric moving at the pedestal again. His brow furrows as he rationalizes it away as a trick of the odd lighting in the hall. Still, the cold breeze that follows makes him shift in his seat uncomfortably.

“Tell me how you loved them.” The sin eater diverts his thoughts and the conversation once more as something heavy scrapes across the table. It may be the plate of quail he saw—or the pig's head. “What did you do to always let them know?” 

“Everything. Anything they wanted I would give to them. If they had asked me to move the mountains we rest on, I would do so. If they asked me to pluck the sun from the sky and fasten it into a brooch for them, I would make sure it was held by the finest of metals. If they wished for the rains to fall and the earth to turn green, then I would drag the clouds from across the world to where they stood.” Malleus shivers again as he feels an ache in his chest. It’s been there for days now. “Magic bends to my whims, but I bent to theirs.” 

“But you couldn’t give them time.” There’s a licking sound and a low hum of satisfaction from the sin eater. “Time will eat everyone in the end—much like how I feast on their memories now. You could give them every precious gem and flower in the world, but you could not give them a second more than what they were meant to have.” 

“If I could have, then I would.” He snarls back, his head turning slightly to glare at the blurred image of the sin eater. “I would have stolen the seconds from anything and everything and given it to them instead. The gods know they would have benefited from it. They had plans, ideas, to improve this nation and now? Now they’re already beginning to decay.” 

“As things do.” The sin eater tosses a bone onto a plate as Malleus looks back to the wall. He feels something cold brush against him again, and then the scraping of a chair to his right. His shoulders tense at the sound and he wonders if the sin eater has changed places. 

Until they speak. 

“How very kind of you to finally join us.” 

The comment is simple and one that draws confusion in Malleus until it finally clicks in place and his entire body plunges into freezing water. The world spins to a stop as he hears a whispering voice by his ear, its words indiscernible. Malleus’ eyes widen and dilate as any words he had to say stutter to a stop from his lips, drawn shut by a cold touch brushing up his arm—much like how his touch had brushed along yours moments ago. 

“One last bite, then.” The sin eater interjects once more as they push another plate away. “Tell me how you will keep them alive. The body may be rotting, but the soul does still linger. Within this hall, within this palace, within the memories stored in your mind. How will you honour that?” 

The words become clearer now. Your voice is soft as your breath brushes against the skin behind his ear, making him shiver as a small, painful sound escapes him. The scent of you lingers just beneath that of the roses your body was bathed in before being wrapped for your cremation. He can feel the brush of the shroud against him as phantom fingers touch his back. 

He wants to turn to see you as he once knew—but something tells him that doing so will merely send you away faster. 

“Their legacy.” He offers slowly, eyes fluttering shut again as he loses himself in your touch. “Their memory carries on through years upon generations of work. They brought life back to Briar Valley’s beliefs. They reshaped this old, rotting home—reshaped me—into something better. I may have portraits of them, and statues, and items that they loved dear stored in my rooms—but I think the only thing they would wish for me to do is continue the work they had started.” 

A sensation floods him then like that brought on by a lover’s kiss. It curls around his wounded heart and floods itself through his veins, warming his body in a way that it hasn’t been able to for days. Another pained sound leaves him, but it is not drawn out because of any agony. 

Then, as quickly as it arrived, the sensations are all gone. Your scent disappears, your touch disappears, and Malleus Draconia is left once more to sit in a stiff wooden chair in a large, desolate hall, with a body and a sin eater as his company. He wants to grasp for you and hold you in place like he did so dearly with your body—but the voice screams at him again that this is not the way it plays out. 

The sin eater sets the cutlery down before drawing their mask over their face. They push the chair back to stand, and only when they’re on their feet again does Malleus turn to them. He can feel wetness on his cheeks as he stares at their slender, frail form. He had managed to keep himself from crying so far—but now it’s become a battle he can no longer wage.

“What a delectable meal.” The sin eater sighs as they brush down their suit before stepping away from the table. They pause as they face the prince before bending at the waist in a low bow. The black pits that represent their eyes do not stray from his face as they do so. “They rest—as you should, too. I know you have at least another day of the wake to endure, so try to recover as much energy as you can. They would not want you to suffer on their behalf.”

Malleus doesn’t reply as his gaze drifts to your shrouded form on the pedestal. His love, his partner, his calirh. When the sin eater is already halfway to the door, he clears his throat, causing them to pause and look his way. Malleus stares at their masked face with an expression of neutrality once more. 

“... thank you.” He offers softly. The sin eater tilts their head, bows, and steps out of the silent hall.

[yallthemwitches]

Some James (and Potter family) Headcanon

Because I always seem to fixate on Lily hc and he needs some love:

---James didn't really chase after Lily because she was pretty, intelligent, and cheeky (though those helped) but rather because she was a challenge for him. Not in the sense that she said no for years and he loved the chase, but because Lily as a person really expanded his worldview. Due to his extremely coddled upbringing and lush life due to his blood status/ quidditch ability, James always gravitated to people that made his life more difficult in an enriching way: Sirius was the first person to ever "hit back" with his own antics and not shy away from taking the piss out of him, Remus had a troubled life completely foreign to James that provided lots of apparent troubles but also made James see bravery in a new light, and Peter made him a mentor figure who saw merit even in meekness. Lily came from a different background from him and despite having a temper was highly rational and never reactionary even when faced with discrimination. Despite growing up in one of the hardest times to be a muggleborn, she overcame it. She found meaning and joy in even the darkest places ( her friendship with Snape being the most difficult of examples to understand.) and made James better because she didn't resign to looking at the world like he did, but rather sharpened his vision of it.

--Of all the many muggle movies Lily showed James, his absolute favorite was Harold and Maude ( Hal Ashby 1971). It was the first time he had ever seen a depiction of mortality really laid out in front of him and it was the first time Lily ever saw him cry.

--Nothing made James more angry than when Lily would be harassed for her blood status and the fact that she was dating him. This feeling was often left unresolved as Lily refused to let him retaliate, saying it was stooping to their level to fight back.

---While also having just natural unruly hair, James like keeping his hair unkept because it was an act of rebellion from his parents who acquired the family fortune on hair taming products. He felt like it brought a sense of irony to the household.

---I feel like this one MUST be canon: James hated Snape for a lot of reasons but I think the biggest was that he was so close to Lily for so long and James was never so lucky. Then, once Snape started to be into dark magic it was all the more reason to detest him.

--I know everyone loves Fleamont, but I am always partial to thinking about Euphemia Potter because there is so little known about her. I like to think she was a very eccentric and worldly person who gave her interest in muggle things to her son. I have this image of her listening to 1960s muggle zamrock around the house ( artists like WITCH and Amanaz---60s trippiness meets African traditional music). For a while I had this headcanon that she worked directly with the Statue of Secrecy Department ( hence why she met the Potters' in the first place due to Henry Potter's influence) so she was very up to date on the very thin line squibs and muggles would walk into either finding or revealing the wizarding world (like how hilarious would it be if someone like Alejandro Jodowosky or David Lynch was a squib and Euphemia was their case worker and had to call them up and be like "Cutie, you are giving away too much, take it down a notch" so they don't accidentally reveal wizard secrets.) For this reason her and Lily got along really well.

--James really loved to read! Everyone always makes James this jock, prankster bad boy but the kid was super smart ( I mean he became an animangus and made the marauders map--its literally canon). He had loads of books on Transfiguration and mostly read nonfiction, but Lily got him to read more fiction and muggle works once they got together. He was more practical about his reading though and was not very interested in the more existential topics that Sirius would often carry around.

--When he found out Lily was pregnant he quit the order on the spot. No questions asked. Lily was annoyed by this for a while. He pulled them out of missions before she had even finished her first trimester and even so she felt like he would have been much more helpful out on the field then playing house with her at home (especially when she wasn't even showing yet). Lily even wanted to keep doing missions until she was farther in her pregnancy, but James was beside himself about the idea of her continuing to be in danger while pregnant. It was one of the biggest fights they ever had and ended with James crying, which immediately broke Lily down.

(Art source @blvnk-art )

[hollowed-theory-hall]

hi😊 what do you think was Petunia's reaction when Harry told her year after year about Voldemort's return? especially after the 4th and 6th years. Petunia is a very interesting and for me disgusting character

I think we are told her reaction:

“Lord — hang on,” said Uncle Vernon, his face screwed up, a look of dawning comprehension in his piggy eyes. “I’ve heard that name . . . that was the one who . . .” “Murdered my parents, yes,” Harry said. “But he’s gone,” said Uncle Vernon impatiently, without the slightest sign that the murder of Harry’s parents might be a painful topic to anybody. “That giant bloke said so. He’s gone.” “He’s back,” said Harry heavily. It felt very strange to be standing here in Aunt Petunia’s surgically clean kitchen, beside the top-of-the-range fridge and the wide-screen television, and talking calmly of Lord Voldemort to Uncle Vernon. [...] “Back?” whispered Aunt Petunia. She was looking at Harry as she had never looked at him before. And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother’s sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean. Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister’s) were not narrowed in dislike or anger: They were wide and fearful. The furious pretense that Aunt Petunia had maintained all Harry’s life — that there was no magic and no world other than the world she inhabited with Uncle Vernon — seemed to have fallen away. “Yes,” Harry said, talking directly to Aunt Petunia now. “He came back a month ago. I saw him.”

(OotP, 38-39)

She is terrified, so terrified that she is willing to acknowledge magic and even feels some worry towards Harry, for what Voldemort returning would mean to him — because she knows how her sister died.

Like, I think for all of Petunia's talk, she still loved Lily, and felt protective over her as older sisters usually do. I think, initially, a lot of her hate for magic came from jealousy, yes, that Lily was the first witch in their family and how proud their parents were. But I think, she also hated her sister left her for that world of magic. A world of magic she tried to join (she sent Dumbledore a letter) but couldn't. I think a lot of her bitterness is from that.

The world of magic stole her sister from her. Then, a wizard, James Potter, stole her away again. And then, finally, a wizard (Voldemort) killed her sister. In her eyes, magic only ever distanced and eventually took away someone she used to love as a child.

So she's bitter and terrified of magic.

And, we see that she, well, I wouldn't say she's even kind to Harry, but she's less forceful after this point. She's terrified of Voldemort being back. She's scared for her family (Vernon and Dudley). Dudley was just attacked by dementors and she knows things like that would become more and more common now that Voldemort returns.

I think, from the passage above, deep down, she is concerned for Harry. I wouldn't say she loves him or cares about him like family, (because she doesn't. Not really at least. Her feelings about Harry are weird), but I think she has a vague sense of concern. Like, a more distant care. Like if you hear someone you went to high school with just died in some horrific accident. Like, you weren't close to that person, and you haven't seen them for years, you don't really care and their being dead won't really affect your life in any way, but there is a certain emptiness that comes with knowing a person you saw every day for years, someone you knew in some way, died horrifically.

Because it makes you feel something, but it's not the same fear you'd feel for close family you care for.

[justanoasisimagines]

Sparks fly (1/?)

Summary; Y/N "Sparks" Potter is the twin sister of James Potter. After the first Wizarding War she struggled after losing her twin, Lily, Sirius and Harry. As Dumledore refused to allow her to get custody. With the Dark Lord rising, she's done lurking in the shadows. This is her story. Pairing; Eventual Remus Lupin x Female Reader WordCount; 1,525 Warnings; Mentions of grief, mentions of Snape's bullying, Angst and fluff, use of Y/N A/N; Reader goes by Sparks Requests are open! Credit to @cafekitsune for the banner and the divider

With the Dark Lord risen a choice was to be made; what was easy and what was right. Too many had joined the darkness he spread. Yet the light was brighter. Eventually, they won but at a great cost.

Those who survived the first Wizarding War struggled with haunting memories, which often crept into their dreams creating horrific night terrors.

Y/N "Sparks" Potter was no different. She'd fought hard and valiantly, side by side with her twin brother and her friends. On the thirty-first of October Nineteen eighty-one, the Dark Lord was defeated by her nephew nonetheless, yet while he survived he felt the need to grieve for him too.

Professor Dumble had refused her custody. He'd attempted to reason with her. According to Dumbledore, it was in Harry's best interest to keep him away from the Wizarding World. Yet Y/N believed there were better options. Why would Dumbledore leave him to a couple who despised magic? Who hated his parents. She could see no good reason why Harry should be left with them.

After Sirius's arrest, she couldn't take anymore.

With her spark diminished, Y/N sunk into the shadows. She couldn't handle any more pain and sadness. She'd lost friends, and her family, and one of her best friends had been an accessory to their death. Her nephew being taken from her grasp was enough.

She couldn't handle the betrayal. She'd been fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and Sirius. Knowing because of them Harry wouldn't be able to recognize her in the years to come. Y/N "Sparks" Potter went underground.

"How can you be so certain she will show up?" Sirius stood in the kitchen of his childhood home, a hand resting on his hip.

"I don't. However, you were not there when she begged Dumbledore to allow her custody of Harry. I was. It took her three years to let me know where she was."

"So you agree, we can't guarantee."

"She will trust me"

"At least one of you trusts me." Sirius and Remus's heads snapped towards the doorway. There she was. Older and the bags under her eyes suggested she had not slept properly in days. For the first time in over a decade, the three of them were in the same room. Remus was the first to react, engulfing her in a warm and familiar embrace.

The two had seen each other only a couple of days ago, yet that was a couple of days too long in their opinion. When they pulled away, she kept him at arm's length, examining him closely.

"Are you looking after yourself? She asked. Remus nodded but the skeptical expression she maintained was welcomed. She'd always worried about him too much.

"I'm fine, you worry too much"

"You would do the same for me."

"You both worry too much. Hello Sparks." Remus stepped aside allowing the two to get a good glimpse at each other. Sirius took a gingerly step forward as did Y/N. Suddenly it became chess. For every step one made the other matched.

Until at last they were both face to face. Looks of familiarity were exchanged. Many conversations needed to be had but they could wait. Sirius opened his arms; an opening an invitation.

The floodgates opened as emotions rushed forward. Both searching for unspoken comfort. Both had lost so much as a result of the first battle. None of them were no longer excited about entering adulthood. They were adults who were tired and tested for the harshness of the world.

Remus gazed upon the two fondly. Finally, the two had been reunited and soon everyone would be reunited at last.

"I'm done hiding Sirus. History can't repeat itself."

"I wouldn't really blame you if you'd stayed away. I know what you lost"

"Is Harry already here?" Sirius observed her eyes soften. Harry was none the wiser today his life would change. Today he would gain another piece of his family. Another warrior ready to fight for him. To protect him at all costs.

"No, the order has gone to retrieve him. He'll be arriving shortly. However, there's something you need to know." Sirius then proceeded to inform her of the Ministry's latest tactic. Harry was now being used as a political pawn in the constant back and forth between Dumbledore and Fudge.

"The longer Fudge is in denial, the more power he gives. Surely Fudge understands that."

"He's scared, Sparks. Sometimes it's easier to turn a blind eye than face the truth." Remus replied as they all glanced at each other, full with contemplation.

"So what can we do?"

"Focus on Harry and recruiting. If he wants a fight we're going to give it to him."

Sitting around the long table, examining the array of faces. Some were familiar others were those of strangers. She glanced down, picking at the skin around her nails, a habit she'd picked up whenever she was anxious. She struggled to pay attention to the influx of information.

There was no time to paddle in the shallow end.

An arm draped over the back of her chair. She didn't need to look up to know who it belonged. One of Remus's qualities was subtly, He knew how to comfort someone without saying a word. A smile was exchanged between the two of them as she relaxed into the chair, leaning into his arm.

"The prodigal twin has finally returned. Tell me, have you finally decided to claim your nephew" Severus goaded. She'd expected this from him. Their relationship in the past had been muddled in conflict. They'd been friends against her brother's wishes, but after he called Lily a mudblood, she couldn't stand by and allow it. She distanced herself shortly after that.

"Snivellus"

"Sirius don't"

"He can't speak to you like that."

"Are you going to stop me?"

"Are you two seriously still behaving like this? None of us are children anymore! I had the opportunity to be an Aunt taken away from me. Dumbledore told me it wasn't safe. I put trust in the man I know. All the while feeling betrayed. I'd lost the chance to watch Harry grow up. Up until the moment I held Harry in my arms for the first time, I'd never known what it was like to love someone unconditionally."

"Sparks you don't have to explain" Sirius replied.

"Don't I? Severus is only saying what people are probably thinking. When I heard Sirius was on his way to kill Harry I made sure I was close by. Even opened up a bookstore in Hogsmeade. Last year, I attended every single one of his tasks. Having to lurk in the shadows while evil attempted to take my nephew from me. Do you have any idea what it was like to stare at him and see my brother looking back at me? All I've had for the past fourteen years is knowledge given to me by others. So if anyone dares to believe I would allow anyone to hurt him then-"

Suddenly everyone was looking at the door. Y/N turned her head to see Harry standing in the doorway. Harry was James's double. Like looking at a photo.

"So you're my Aunt?" She nodded in response, as Sirius beckoned him into the room. People excused themselves, allowing them some privacy.

The silence was awkward. No one knew what to say, yet the energy was charged.

"How much did you hear?" Sirius questioned.

"All of it. Why would Dumbledore do that? Does he know how cruel the Dursleys are?"

"Dumbledore did what he thought was right. I need you to know, I would have raised you in a heartbeat."

"This is a lot to take in." Harry looked down. In the past few hours, his life had spun like a timeturner. He didn't know what to think, but he always desired to have someone to care about him. From her speech, it generally felt like his Aunt cared.

"If you have any questions, you can ask them. I'll answer them and if I can't I'm sure Remus and Sirius can help."

"Sirius called you Sparks earlier. That's the other name on the Marauders map. Why Sparks?" All three of them laughed amongst each other, a nickname which had stuck. For the most ridiculous of reasons.

"Someone over here is awake from the moment their eyes open. So we nicknamed her Sparks because the second she opens her eyes a spark is lit."

"Are you an animagus?"

"Yeah someone had to keep this lot in line. My animagus is a wolf. I've heard yours is a stag. Just like your Dads"

"Am I anything like him? My Dad"

"The way I see it, you're the perfect combination of two people I loved. Fiercely protective of your friends, a rule breaker and stubborn like your Dad. Meanwhile, your ability to be uncannily kind that's your mother's heart. She was kind to everyone even if they didn't deserve it." She leaned over and placed her hand on top of Harry's with a gentle smile.

As events would soon unfold, friendships would be tested. Love would blossom between old friends. The Dark Lord would attempt to overtake the Wizarding World again. Again he would face those brave enough to stand against him.

[littlewriterfullofwords]

I have a request for james,James loses his interest in lily after arriving as a guest at another wizarding school come hogwart and starts to have an interest in reader from the guest school🤭

Sure thing! Hope you enjoy☺️

Something About You

Parring: James Potter x gn!reader

Summary: You loved new friendships but there was something wrong about this one

Warnings: kinda obsessed Lily, quite quiet James, little fluff I guess

A/N: Hello. Hope you enjoy reading that☺️ Let me know!

"And here, we eat." Again, after 30 minutes of showing the school, you and a brown haired guest student ended up in the Big Hall. "Also we have big meetings here as well."

"Just like in Hogwarts." The girl by your side smiled shyly. "Our Great Hall is exactly the same as your Big Hall. Big room for big things."

"Of course your Great Hall is like our Big Hall." Out of nowhere, your classmate, and another guest student, appeared in the hallway. "And to make it funnier, it's exactly the same as the Great Hall in the Durmstrang."

"No one asked." You playfully rolled your eyes and then gently smacked his arm. "Lily, shall we go outside?"

"Yeah. Can we take James with us?" Asked the girl from Hogwarts, her eyes almost reminded you of a puppy.

"That's not my decision to make." You shrugged and looked at your classmate who only nodded. "Let's go then."

You all might ask "why were Hogwarts' students in Ilvermorny?" Coming with the explanation in 3, 2, 1.... For fun. Really. The teachers from both schools had decided that students exchange would have a great impact on open-mindedness and friendliness. So they organised the exchange and here we were.

"So." Lily, who was happily scanning the yard, stopped her eyes on you. "Do you have your favourite subject? Mine is alchemy."

"I'm good at defence against the dark arts." Stated nonchalantly your classmate as if it was the most well-known thing in the whole world. "You too James, right?"

"Well, I'm not that bad, I guess." Murmured James and shrugged his shoulders. "But I prefer transmutation. What about you, Y/N?"

The question was directed your way, yet at first you didn't answer. You were taken aback how your name sounded in James's lips. It was different from anyone ever saying that, softer, even magical.

"Oh, sorry." When you remembered you were supposed to answer, your cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "I like ancient history and runes."

"Yeah, of course you do." Now it was your classmate who rolled eyes playfully. "You would be scribbling those little signs everywhere."

"That's for protection."

"That's for protection."

Who would think that you and a guest student would be so good together. Saying the same things at the same moment? That only happens with friends.

"Wow, pump the hate breaks, guys." Your friend chuckled nervously. "No need to yell at me."

"We don't yell." Answered James and ran his fingers through his dark hair.

We?

Why did it sound so good?

The days were passing by so quickly that you didn't realise 2 weeks of the exchange passed. 2 more to go!

But that wasn't the only thing you noticed. The eyes. Brown eyes hidden behind the glasses were almost everywhere. And were following you and your every step.

"James!" Lily waved at her friend, who was walking out of the classroom with your friend, as they approached the two of you.

The little satisfaction when Potter stopped by your side, no Lily's, made your eyes shine a bit more than normally, that's why you looked at the ceiling to hide the sparks.

You felt Evans stiffening up a bit by your side and heard her sharply inhaling the air. She wasn't happy about that.

"Let's go to the Big Hall." Offered your friend and the four of you headed to the big room on the first floor where the late lunch was being served.

Nothing would be weird or unusual except for James walking by your side. His hand would, from time to time, brush against yours, making you shiver underneath your robe.

"James." Lily turned her face to her friend who only hummed in exchange. "Did you know that one of the creators was called 'James'?"

"Yeah. I heard." The answer was a lot colder than it should be, and for sure his attitude towards Lily changed since their arrival.

"The funny thing is, we are older than you." Joked your classmate. "By the whole 637 years."

When all of you reached the Big Hall, Lily quickly changed her spot, so she could easily sit next to James. You only smiled at that, it was cute on one side but a bit annoying on the other. But it wasn't your deal.

As many of you had noticed, James was seeking your presence. That's why he sat next to you in the Big Hall, even moved closer.

"So what are your plans for the future?" You asked, taking sips of pumpkin juice from your cup.

"I wanna go and take a nap." Whispered your classmate for what you kicked him under the table. "What? I wanna sleep!"

"Plans for the future! Like the future future." You explained in a way no one could misunderstand. "In 15, 20 years?"

"I wanna be a teacher in Hogwarts." Said Lily, her fingers tracing the decoration on the fork. "Probably charms."

"What about you, James?" You asked calmly. "What do you plan?"

"I want to be an auror. Or a Quidditch player."

Was it something you expected? Partially. Being an auror also ran through your head, many times. But did it suit you? Maybe.

"Y/N." You looked at Potter whose hand was on yours. "You zoned out."

"Yeah, sorry." You smiled shyly, eyes moving from one person to another. "What was going on?"

"We were waiting for your answer." Explained Lily. "About the future."

"Oh, right." You nodded slowly. "Either an auror, like James, or a minister of MM."

"Oh, Merlin." Your classmate rolled his eyes. "Right, you wanna change the world. You an-"

"That's amazing." James interrupted your friend and with a smile on his lips was looking at you. "Tell me more about that."

It wasn't 'us', it was 'me'.

Something inside of you started to scream that it woke the butterflies up, giving you the ache.

That was the moment you knew James prefered you. You over Lily.

[orqheuss]

How to ask for help - PART 2

(Ominis/GN!Reader FLUFF)

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Summary:

The five times you helped Ominis, and the one time he helped you. *** You take Ominis for a spin.

Word count: 6.4k

Part 2: Flyin' Blind

March, 4th year

It wouldn’t be until months later that you had a moment to talk to Ominis. It wasn’t that you were avoiding each other— quite the opposite on your end, actually. Unfortunately, you just ran in different circles. Well, you did in a sense. He was often found with Sebastian, and those two disappeared to random corners of the school at any chance they got. You, on the other hand, lacking as you were in the friend department, spent a majority of your time flying around the Scottish Highlands. It was freeing to you, to be that far away from the castle and, in turn, away from the responsibilities of being a student at Hogwarts. You had been in school before your Hogwarts letter arrived, along with the estimable Professor Fig to explain the magical world to you and your muggle parents, but never had you gone somewhere so…interesting. For somewhere considered the “safest school in the Wizarding World,” it sure was, decidedly, not that. 

Currently, you had just returned from your flight to Upper Hogsfield and were doing laps around one of the more dangerous spots, the Astronomy wing. That tower in itself was quite precariously built, let alone the sheer height of it and how easy it would be to climb over the railings. You loved it, though; it was the perfect spot to practice tight turns and barrel rolls. That is, until a student at the very top calls out to you and nearly knocks you to your death. 

“Nice flying, lily pad!” 

You yelped in surprise, grabbing tightly to the broomstick under you and willing it to a screeching halt, casting a scathing glare to the boy who scared you silly. 

Sebastian Sallow lowered his hand from where it was raised in a wave, his face morphing into a bashful look of regret— a very similar face to the one he made when you first met. 

“Sorry…” he said, an apologetic smile creasing his face. 

As you flew closer to him, you heard a second voice come from his right. “Honestly, Sebastian. Because calling out to them went so well last time.” 

In your fright, you didn’t notice one Ominis Gaunt on the other side of the boy, his hair lightly ruffled by the freshly spring breeze and dislodging his normally perfect quiff. They were both dressed smartly in their casual weekend clothes— a starched cream button down with rolled sleeves under a forest green sweater vest and pressed dark brown corduroys for Ominis, and a patchwork brown sweater tucked into black trousers for Sebastian. Your heart gave a little lurch at how nice the blond looked outside of uniform. 

Strange, you thought to yourself. That was a reaction you hadn’t felt before. 

The troublesome brunette smiled again as you reached them, his arms now resting on the railing of the tower in a similar position as his counterpart, letting his body lean slightly over the edge. His hand bumped against Ominis’ clasped together ones. 

“Oh hush,” he mused. “Here they are, safe as life.” 

The blond snorted but didn’t say anything, just fondly rolled his eyes at his best friend. 

You cocked your eyebrow at Sebastian, joining the conversation from your perched position in the air. “What did you call me, Sallow?” You nodded in greeting to the other boy. “Hello, Ominis.”

He nodded in return, beaming at the sound of your voice. 

The brunette jokingly winced, clutching at his chest like you personally hurt him. “Reduced to last names only? You wound me, lily pad.” He relaxed again, laughing at your confused face. “Well, seeing as you fell into a pond when we first met, I thought it was an apropos nickname, don’t you think?” 

You looked at him with amusement, gesturing with your head towards the quiet blond boy. “Ominis was the one with the plant on his head, not me.” 

The Slytherin in question groaned, dropping his chin towards his chest. “Don’t remind me.” 

“That is true,” the freckled teen said. “But Ominis would hex me where I stand if I dared call him that.” 

“And what makes you think I won’t do just that?” You smiled now, big and bright against the sunny sky as you goaded him on. 

“A chaotic sense of trust and a normally accurate read on people's true intentions?” He joked. “That, and I know that my friend here wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me.” He slung his arm across the grinning boy’s shoulders, flashing you a cheeky grin of his own. 

Ominis picked up Sebastian’s arm by the sleeve, his forefinger and thumb pinched around the fabric as he dropped it back to his side with a wrinkle of his nose. “On the contrary,” he teased. “I think I’d let them. Could take you down a peg.” 

You liked this side of him, you decided. The humorous side. The carefree side. It was much better than the prickly pine of a boy that you met by the Greenhouses. 

Sebastian’s mouth dropped in shock as he laughed, a smile still tweaking the corners of his lips. “Et tu, Brute?” 

The blond chuckled, “Don’t quote Shakespeare to me when you barely remember the plot of the play, you swot.” 

“I remember it enough to know a betrayal when I see one.” 

“Anyway—” you cut in, stopping their banter before it got too far along. “What are you two doing up here on this fine day?” 

Ominis jumped at the sound of your voice, forgetting you were there for a moment. You watched that lovely shade of red cross his nose and cheeks for the second time since meeting him, a smirk of your own growing on your face as you saw him look to the side, smiling bashfully. 

You would dissect the fact you just called him lovely later. 

The brunette sighed contentedly as a breeze blew through the valley. “Just enjoying the beautiful weather for once.” 

He looked to his side, catching sight of the last dregs of color painting the tips of his friends' ears. An idea seemed to spark to life in his mind, his eyes flicking between the blushing blond and the stupid, proud smile turning your mouth. His own carefree grin stretched mischievously. 

“Say…” he drawled. “I was just talking to Ominis about teaching him how to fly. Kogawa just kind of left him alone in first year when she taught the basics.” 

The lithe Gaunt frowned in confusion. “No you weren’t. You were talking about how pretty Poppy looked—” 

“But—” Sebastian cut him off. “Since you already have your broom out, and you seem more than capable, maybe you could help him figure it out.” 

Ominis stuttered at the notion, his eyes widening once he picked up what his roommate was trying to do. “Sebastian wait—” He turned to you, looking quite like a gasping fish, opening and closing his mouth as he searched for the right words. “You—you don’t have to do that—” 

“I’d love to.” You cut him off. 

He stilled, shoulders relaxing minutely. Perhaps this wouldn’t be too bad for him. “Oh. Um— are you sure? I-It may be a lot of work—”  

You cut him off again, that smile that hadn’t left your face since joining him atop the tower still evident in your voice. “I would love to teach you how to fly, Ominis.” 

He let his own smile finally return then, a soft thing that made your heart feel strange, warm, almost, in your chest. “Okay. Thank you.” His voice was soft when he spoke— sweet like a melody. 

Silently, you took back what you said to yourself earlier. You liked this side of him more. The shy, entirely too cute for his own good, side. 

Sebastian clapped him on the back, dissolving the strange, but comforting, tension that was brewing between you and the pretty blond. “See? Everything worked out.” He simpered, triumphant, before speaking directly to Ominis. “You’re in good hands, my friend.” 

He tilted his head towards you then, his voice raising so you could hear better. “Right, lily pad?” 

You nodded, saluting him with two fingers. “Sir, yes sir.” 

Ominis chuckled, directing his next words towards where you were still hovering. “Meet you by the quidditch pitch? Half an hour?” 

His heart stuttered at how tender your voice was when you replied, like your words were just for him to hear. “See you there.” 

He nodded at you in farewell, turning on the balls of his feet and walking towards the spiral stairs, the red tip of his wand blinking through the shadows. You watched him go, that stupid, dopey grin making its way back on your face as you thought about what it would be like to spend time with him— alone. 

Sebastian cleared his throat, drawing your mind away from the pleasant images of Ominis’ charming disposition and towards the brunette’s smug, annoying sneer. 

“What?” You asked, irritation leaking into your tone at that troublesome look in his eyes. 

“Nothing! Nothing.” He held up his hands placatingly, backing away from the railing finally and turning in the direction that his friend had just left in— his Cheshire smirk somehow got wider, stretching his cheeks almost unnaturally. The brunette called over his shoulder to you as he walked away, “Have fun!” 

The first thing you saw once your feet touched the ground in front of the quidditch pitch was Ominis dressed to the nines in a cocoon of padding. You held in your snickers as you took him in in all his glory, observing first the knee pads and chest harness wrapped around his limbs, then moving your eyes up towards the thick, pillowy protection decorating his shoulders, until finally your eyes locked onto his baby blues peeking out from under the much too-large hard hat covering the entirety of his forehead. That was the moment you truly lost it, giggles pittering out of your throat as you struggled to speak through the laughter. 

“Ominis, what in Merlin’s name are you wearing?” 

You had the decency to quiet your sounds at the self-conscious look that crossed the blond’s features, instead admiring the pink that twinged the tips of his ears through the helmet. He reminded you of a story your mother used to tell you before you went to sleep— a little mouse who was born with ears twice the size of his head. You couldn’t help but draw a comparison to how the tiny fellow’s ears flopped out from under his hat to the increasingly rosy ears of your Slytherin companion. 

Ominis puffed his chest like an irate diricawl, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders against his tiny shakes of insecurity. “Quidditch gear! It’s important to be safe when in the air, you know.” 

You laughed again at how ridiculous he was in that moment, preening like a proud peafowl, sans the feathers. He deflated slightly, fighting against the small smile that was threatening to crease his lips at the sound of your joy, even if it was directed at him. You took the look creasing his face as one of disheartenment, crossing the small distance between the two of you and patting him gently on the shoulder. 

“I’m very sorry, Ominis. You look quite dashing like that.” You simpered, stifling your laughter once more in an attempt to salvage the blond’s pride. 

The young Gaunt shrugged off your hand halfheartedly, turning his face away from you and grumbling to himself under his breath. You distinctly caught the word “twat” being muttered before he shook off the final dregs of color from his face. You sincerely apologized this time when he looked back at you, his eyes focused just over your shoulder. He nodded his head, a tiny smirk tweaking the corners of his lips as his way of saying he took no offense. 

A grin split your cheeks at the possible debauchery that invaded your thoughts. With a quick, sharp gasp, you feigned interest in something just off to the side of the both of you, craning your neck enough that the blind boy would surely take notice. 

“Oh my, what’s that over there?” 

He quickly whipped his head to the side, stretching so that his ear was focused for any strange sounds. “What is it? What did you see?” 

You smiled wider, mischief swimming in your eyes that the boy couldn’t see. He was so focused that he didn’t notice your nimble hands approaching his head, wrapping around the sides of his helmet and quickly yanking it off. 

“This!” You said, promptly dropping the head protection towards the ground before punting it far into the air with a grand kick. It flew with the birds just arriving back from their flight south, rotating like a planet on its axis against the clouds before falling back to earth, bumping down the canyon leading towards the thin river stretching along the school grounds. 

Ominis stood stock still at your left, his mouth opening and closing in shock as he heard his precious protection tumble down the grass and splash into the water below. His eyes were the size of saucers, eyebrows raised into his hairline and his blond tresses fluttering in the breeze blowing through the valley, giving him a delightful case of helmet hair. You shook with laughter, sputters of mirth cresting out of your chest and filling the air around you with the sweet twinkle of your happiness. He liked this side of you, he reasoned. The mischievous side. The cheeky side. It was much more preferable than the crestfallen and meek lilt of your voice that he drew out when he first declined your help all those months ago outside the Greenhouses. 

Even still, you did not know him well enough to know that he enjoyed just as much knavery as his freckled best friend. How could he not take advantage of this moment? It was incredibly rare that he made new friends, after all. 

Ominis schooled his face into one of outrage, squaring his shoulders in faux indignation as he shook his head. 

“Outrageous!” He spat. “It was a mistake coming here. If this is how you treat your friends, I shan't stay a moment longer.” 

He bit his lip to stifle the laugh that threatened to spill out, turning on the balls of his feet like he was about to stomp his way back to the castle. Just like he thought you would, your laughter quickly ceased its tumultuous volume, a somber look crossing your face as you grabbed at his arm. 

“Ominis wait!” You cried, a frown turning down the corners of your mouth and eyebrows scrunched above your eyes. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

He could hear your honesty in your words, and he almost felt bad for making you feel like you’d done something wrong. Almost. 

“It was just meant to be a bit of fun. I didn’t mean to offend—”

He couldn’t hold it in anymore. A low chuckle spilled from his lips, rumbling his chest. You could feel the sweet vibrations where your hand was still latched around his, quite pronounced, you realized, bicep. 

Your mouth dropped open in mock outrage, a smile turning your mouth just as quickly as the frown did earlier. “You prick!” 

The grin in your voice just made him laugh harder, his arms raising to press against his stomach in elation. You started laughing along with him again, releasing his arm (not without a final squeeze against his muscles that you refused to acknowledge, of course) and smacking him lightly with both of your hands, each one hitting with a soft thwack. 

Ominis, still giggling in gaiety, caught both of your wrists in his hands, holding them as soft as one would stroke a butterfly's wings as he finally turned to face you. The smile stretching his cheeks was enough to knock the wind out of your lungs. 

“Ouch! Quit hitting me, you muppet!” 

You weakly struggled against his hold, thinking to yourself that the silent strength of his warm palms wrapped around you felt quite nice. 

“That’s not fair, Ominis!” You simpered, a giggle still dangling from your stretched lips. 

“All is fair in devilry, my dear.” The blond said, his breathing finally calming down. 

Looking into his eyes, still squinted in happiness and glowing brighter than the moon on a cloudless night, you fought the urge to flip his grip around and take both of his hands into yours. Color bloomed across the bridge of your nose at the thought— if anyone were to see you now, you’d blame it on being in the sun for too long. 

Little did you know, Ominis was fighting a similar urge within himself: the urge to run his thumbs across the pulse point on your wrist and bathe himself in the soft thrum of your heartbeat. 

Shaking yourself from the foreign, but not entirely unwelcome, emotion warming your chest, you gently pulled your wrists from the Gaunt boy’s grasp, smiling softly to yourself at the grin still stretching his face and the carefree look in his eyes as you summoned your broom from the ground.

“Well, my dear,” you teased, prodding the boy in the chest with the end of your broom. “I say we take to the skies while there’s still daylight, shall we?” 

If he was bashful about the term of endearment he called you, he didn’t show it. Instead, he summoned the school-owned broom into his hand and presented you with his arm, waiting like a debonair gentleman for you to rest your hand in the crook of his elbow. You gladly took it, guiding him excitedly into the grandiloquent quidditch pitch so your lesson could begin. 

Ominis prided himself on how quickly he determined the disposition of a person— it was one of the strengths of being blind, after all. What he couldn’t gather from sight, he learned through his stronger senses: sound and touch. His wand helped him a majority of the time with everything else, particularly body language. People don’t realize how much they give away about their personalities through how they hold themselves. He knew everyone in the castle— was always aware of them— by their cadence. Sebastian was brash— confident— his footfalls always loud and precise. He knew how everyone saw him and he reveled in the attention. The blond was aware of Anne Sallow in the same way. He remembered how when she was at Hogwarts she was quick with her steps, her feet barely touching the ground and moving like she was constantly on a mission. This skill of his helped him immensely on a day to day basis. He knew who to avoid, who he was safe to walk by and make idle chatter with, and especially where all the professors were. He was no stranger to sneaking around after hours, of course, so it helped to know each and everyone by their general aura. He liked being aware. Awareness was safe. Awareness kept him safe. 

So it greatly troubled him at first that he wasn’t initially aware of you. 

The blond hadn’t really paid much attention to you in the past, if he was being honest with himself. Ominis liked to be in the know about everything, so the fact that you were an enigma should have intrigued him. He knew of you, sure, but you were more of a recluse— a feat worth noting, if he said so himself, particularly when taking into account that he knew nearly all secret rooms and passages in the castle. Knowing of someone, and being aware of them, he was always sure to note, were vastly different. Even still, he only really noticed you more once you had introduced yourself. You had this quiet presence about yourself— a flower growing in the crack of the pavement. Since that moment by the pond— the kindness you showed him when he did nothing to deserve it and the honeyed tone of your voice when you procured his prized possession from under the depths— the young Gaunt boy made it his goal to have you join him in the light where you belonged. He liked keeping his friends beside him, after all, no matter how few of them he had. 

Of course, he would deny that if anyone ever asked. Ominis Gaunt was not needy. He just really, really wanted to talk to you again. 

That was all. He just wanted to be more aware of you. He was aware of all of his friends. That was his secret skill— his pièce de résistance. 

That being said, this was a much higher level of awareness than he had been prepared for.

While Madam Kogowa was a force to be reckoned with, with her stoic nature and sturdy disposition, you were a gentle but firm study. You directed him through the basics of broom handling, tapping him on the shin with your foot to correct his placement and letting your warm hands carefully place his fingers in the correct positions on the shaft. Each movement had a purpose; it was almost like a dance, but only you could hear the music. Above all else, you never lingered. You never tried to direct the boy by grabbing at him and pulling like so many people often did— even Sebastian, on occasion, if he wasn’t thinking through his actions. But, you never did that. Each time your fingers would brush against a part of his body, you would retreat out of his personal space. If it was anyone else, he would have appreciated the gesture. But, the more your soft hands touched his, every time your body heat would hover just so against his clothed arms, he wished you would linger, and he didn’t know what to make of it. 

Ominis Gaunt knew a lot of things. He knew that the sun would rise every morning and the moon would rise every night. He knew that honeysuckle was his favorite scent and earl grey was his favorite tea. He knew that he was different from his family in every way that mattered. He knew that Sebastian and Anne were his brother and sister, even if it wasn’t by blood. 

What he didn’t know, though, was how he felt about you. He didn’t like not knowing things. 

For once, Ominis, the ever Emotionally Intelligent boy that he was, was at a loss. 

Whatever this emotion in his chest was, though, he liked it— how it felt at least. It was warm, and after growing up in a house that was the metaphysical embodiment of cold, he craved warmth more than anything. 

“Ominis? Are you alright?” 

Your sweet cadence broke through the ever constant bustle of thoughts in his brain, silencing all sporadic movement in its tracks and leaving just the softness of your voice to fill his ears. He loved how you said his name— how you were sure to always mention that you were talking to him and him alone in your sentences. Even before when you were talking to Sebastian, you directed everything at him with one simple word. It wasn’t like it was the first time someone had ever addressed him directly in a conversation, it was proper etiquette after all, but the way you said it made him almost appreciate the foreign-ness of it— the distinct other-ness of his name compared to those of his peers. There was something lovely about the musicality of the vowels and consonants when you said it: Ominis. He’d never noticed how it rolled off the tongue before. Particularly, how it rolled off your tongue. Shaking himself from his thought spiral, it took him a moment to fully grasp what you had said in completion; it was like he was hypnotized by the gentle sway of your words. 

“Hmm? Oh, yes— yes, my apologies. I was simply lost in the clouds for a moment.” 

The boy could hear your steps as you paced around him— feel your eyes boring into his clothes with enough intensity to set him ablaze. Yet, there was a softness there, as well. Much like everything else to do with you, there was a pleasant heat to it, like a fire after a long winter day. You seemed to study him like Sebastian would study a book he hadn’t previously read, curiosity brimming under the surface and a yearning for understanding swimming in your aura, painting it a lovely shade of sunlight. Underneath your gaze he felt vulnerable— practically naked, even with his layers of clothing. You were gazing at him so intensely, it was almost like you knew more about him than you let on, like you could see right into his soul and pick him apart piece by piece until there was nothing left but his fragile beating heart in your hands. 

For a moment, he was considering letting you do just that.

“What exactly are you doing?” He asked, trying to ignore the goose-flesh rising on his arms. 

You stopped then in front of him, your face close enough that he could feel the warmth of your breath against his cheek when you spoke, the timbre of laughter dressing your words. “Well, I hope you enjoyed your time up there, because you’re about to experience it for real.” He could nearly feel your smile against his skin and it nearly sent him spiraling. “I promise, everything will be alright.” 

His heart was beating too hard for him to care that you ignored his question. 

Ominis nodded, all reason thrown to the side and down the hill with his helmet because of you— your proximity, your grace, your laugh. How he adored your laugh. Even after knowing you for just under a year and talking to you a total of twice, your laugh was slowly becoming one of his favorite sounds. 

Yes, Ominis the All Knowing did not know why he felt like this around you, but, Merlin help him, he was going to figure it out one way or another. 

Ominis was flying much higher than he should, that much was for certain. Perhaps this was truly a bad idea, you mused to yourself as you watched him cling to the single piece of wood keeping him afloat. Without the padding he had, begrudgingly, shrugged off moments before take off, he was quite light it would seem. All it took was a particularly strong gale and he was soaring higher than the stadium pillars. Neither of you had taken into account the breeze that flew in from the coast that day in your assessment, the air carrying the lovely scent of pine and a hint of the salty sea. While the ground portion of the lessons had gone well, the air portion was proving to be quite tedious. 

You could hear the air cutting against the wood of his broom as he raced around in circles, screams like that of a banshee ripping themselves out of his throat as he fought against the possessed carousel he found himself stuck in. If it wasn’t such a dire circumstance, it would have honestly been quite funny. Around and around he went, slowly making his way from one end of the quidditch field to the other like a tornado shifting itself across a barren field. It was amazing he hadn’t gotten sick yet. 

The startled shrieks from the boy sent you into motion, quickly grabbing your broom from the ground and speedily making your way to the terrified blond, climbing up, up, up into the sky until you were parallel with his frightened form. You were sure that if you reached up with your full wingspan, you could touch the stratus clouds streaming across the brilliant blanket of blue above you. Ominis’ entire body was rigid, his arms locked around the handle of the broom in a gripping hug and legs nearly fused together at the ankles from the strength he was exerting trying to stay upright. His features, from what you could tell, at least, were just as tight. You caught a glimpse of a deep frown, furrowed eyebrows, and tightly closed eyes. 

There was no time to feel guilty as you raced after him, keeping to the far right of his cyclone and out of the way of any flailing limbs in case he, Merlin forbid, decided to let go. This entire thing was a bad idea. The next time you saw Sebastian you were going to throttle him into next week. You weren’t stupid, you knew that he suggested this because he wanted you and Ominis to get to know each other more— ulterior motives aside, he just wanted to be a good friend and expand the blond’s horizons. 

And now here he was, quite literally against the horizon. 

What were you possibly thinking, agreeing to help him? 

You weren’t thinking, was the thing. You were distracted by how his hair was ruffled in just the perfect way and his cheeks were that stupid, adorable shade of pink from the early spring breeze chilling his skin. 

You prayed he could hear your voice over the wind roaring in his ears. “Ominis, you need to stop spinning!” 

“I don’t bloody know how!” His voice sounded like it was coming from all directions at once. 

Well, at least he stopped screaming. 

“Unwrap your legs, it’s throwing off your inertia!” 

“My what?” He questioned, his voice rocking back and forth as he got closer and farther from you in a constant pattern. 

You shook your head, “Nevermind! Just do it!” 

He hesitantly did as he was told, releasing the death grip he had on the broom with his thighs and unlocking his ankles. Sure enough, he stopped spinning. 

He was still zipping back and forth across the stadium of course, but, as the saying goes, baby steps. 

You flew next to him now, able to finally catch up with his motions and be within arms reach if things go wrong. His upper torso was still practically glued to the shaft of his broom, causing his increasing speed. At this point his wand was nothing more than a pretty accessory trapped between his clenched fingers— there was no way it was picking up anything to help the boy sense his surroundings better. 

For a lack of better terms, Ominis was flying blind. 

You called out to him again, trying to keep your tone gentle so as to not stress him out more. This was a very delicate situation; one wrong move and there would be a Slytherin shaped hole in the middle of the Quidditch field. 

“Okay, Ominis. Now, lean away from the stick.” 

He made a noise similar to a kneazle who just had its tail stepped on. “I can’t!” 

Annoyance festered in your gut. “Yes, you can! Just loosen your grip. You’ll be okay, I promise!” 

He scoffed— well, as close to a scoff as he could muster. “If I remember correctly, you said the same thing before we got into this mess. Bugger all your promise did, then!” The broom wobbled underneath him and his arms latched on tighter. “And what part of ‘I can’t’ do you not bloody understand? If I let go, I’ll fall!” 

You groaned, throwing your head back in exacerbation. “Oh for the love of all things good—”

You had to think fast— things were getting much more complicated than you had originally imagined. Every lap back and forth across the arena was getting closer and closer to the trees that lined the tall walls of the Hogwarts grounds. One more lap and the boy was likely to slam into a tree before even being able to stop himself. The broom under you began to shift against your weight, feeling your rising panic wash through your body like an oncoming tide. 

The time for gentleness had passed. It was time for action.

“Listen, I know you’re scared, but we are far past the time for proper broom etiquette. I’m going to need you to jump.” 

The Slytherins head whipped in your direction faster than the wind slamming against your face. “Like hell I’m doing that!” 

He faced forwards again, every muscle in his expression screaming trepidation. He knew you wouldn’t just tell him to jump if there wasn’t a very important reason to do so. Gods, he hated how much he trusted you already, even when you were telling him to do something that would most definitely get him killed. 

“You’re actually trying to kill me. Sweet Merlin, my time has come.” 

You felt bravery rear its head deep inside of you, turning your words to stone— solid, sturdy, and twice as strong as the cement holding your grand school together. 

“Ominis, if you don’t jump right now, that tree you’re speeding towards is going to kill you— not me. You have to jump. I will catch you.” You swallowed against the nerves lodged just under your jaw, mustering all the courage you had into your next statement— words forged in steel stronger than damascus itself. “I swear on my life, I will not let you fall.”  

You could see every nerve in his body fire off all at once, scorching his entire existence in a flame of fear. He seemed to be struggling against himself, fighting the urge to go down with the ship and instead listen to your words. He knew that you would not fail him; your time together may have been short, but your desire to help others— your desire to help him of all people— was something that even he could not balk at. The thought of death reared its ugly head, and the young Gaunt knew that if he did not act soon, he truly would be just another pretty dead thing for nature to swallow whole. A lovely way to go, he thought, just got today. 

With a lack of grace that he was becoming accustomed to as of today, his body moved before his mind could process what it was doing, and he jumped. 

Against the screaming wind in his ears as he began his plummet to the ground, he heard the school broom slam into the tree just beyond the pitch, its once well used, but sturdy, wood splintering in every direction before tumbling to the grass below. 

“Levioso!” 

With one swish of your wand, you caught the boy in the air, carefully lowering him onto the back of your broom and allowing his shaking arms to snake around your waist before gently gliding the both of you to the ground. He’s off faster than a flash of lightning once he can feel the grass below his feet, wrenching his hands away from your wool sweater like it burned him before lowering shakily to his knees and all but toppling over against the earth. His chest heaved with each inhale and collapsed against every exhale as his unseeing eyes stared above, silently thanking every god he could name that he survived what he had ultimately decided he should not have. The relief from the both of you was palpable in the air, coating the once cool spring breeze with a blanket of stillness. Unsure if you should leave him to his thoughts or help him up like any friend would— if you could even call yourself a friend of his anymore— you decided to find a safe middle ground by carefully making your way over to him, steps sure but soft like one would approach a nervous puffskein in case he decided that he didn’t want your company ever again, and laid down an arms distance away. 

Unlike what you thought he would do, Ominis seemed to relax a bit once he felt your presence, letting his shoulders fully fall against the grass and allowing the tenseness that had befallen him to release into the world around him. Now that he was on land again, he felt safe— safe next to you, lying silently next to him underneath the afternoon sun. 

It was a while before either of you spoke, just letting the calming presence of nature around you seep into your bones like flowers to sunlight. 

“I am never doing that again.” Ominis said, a sigh heaving from his chest as he fisted the soft earth below his fingers. 

You laughed lightly, a tiny thing that got caught in the breeze much too quick for the boy’s liking. “I do not blame you— nor will I make you.” 

He chuckled in return, closing his eyes and fully basking in the last dregs of warmth breaching over the horizon before the chill of night settled across the Hamlet. “I’m pleased to hear that. It wouldn’t be a very friend-like thing to do to attempt my murder again.” 

A smile broke across your face at his words. “You’d still consider me a friend? I thought for sure that little excursion would have put a damper on whatever iota of a cordial relationship we had going for us.” 

He scoffed, reaching across the space between the both of you until he located your fingers. He took them into his own, intertwining his hand with yours. “I have had friends put me in much more dangerous situations than that, I assure you.” 

Ominis leaned his head to the side, an easy smile stretching the corners of his lips as he spoke his next words directly to you. “My dear, I fear you’re stuck with me now.” 

Your heart sputtered in your chest, tripping over its beats like a newborn hippogriff before it learns to fly. Heat painted your cheeks the color of the sunset far above your heads. 

“I think I’m alright with that,” you said, voice taking that softness that you’ve come to realize was reserved just for him. 

He did not let go of your hand until night had fallen and he safely walked you back to your common room, your broom tucked under his free arm while you led him with the other. Upon reaching the door he turned, fully facing you and smiling so sincerely that your heart nearly stopped for a second time within the span of an hour. His wind-tossed hair fell against his pale forehead, cascading just above his resplendent eyes and making him look like a renaissance painting. 

His words only reached your scrambled mind once he turned to leave. “Until next time, lily pad.” 

Oh. Oh. Oh no. 

This was going to become a problem.

like what you read? here's more!

[greenerteacups]

In future film adaptations of the HP series, DH is the one book I'm happy for future filmmakers to "mess around" with as much as they like to improve the visual / story experience for all the reasons you mentioned. I'm very happy for them to do a somewhat Twilight film Breaking Dawn-esque departure. Like, instead of focusing on the trio in the woods the whole time, let's get into what the Order are up to, let's show our friends keeping the DA alive at Hogwarts, let's show the other muggleborns having to go into hiding, let's flash over to Draco suffering the worst house guests ever... like we have this expansive cast of characters, let's not waste them for the extended camping trip from hell... also the best part of HP is the wizarding world itself, so many amazing magical set pieces in the world... and we spend the last book mostly in the forest...

Speaking of which, with there being a new series adaptation in the works (with rumours of potentially more HP series to come... perhaps even a Lily Potter / Marauders/ Snape based one...) is there anything you're excited about finally seeing adapted from canon or are terrified of potentially seeing butchered onscreen?

Yeah like and also it isn't even an INTERESTING forest. Like the "children wander into the enchanted forest and face [insert monstrous metaphor for adulthood]" is one of the oldest fairytales in recorded history, with a ton of creepy lore to draw on — you could have had the kids running through mystical haunted forests of ancient Britain! Running into the ghosts of Roman soldiers and Celtic ruins and magical creatures! Forest of Dean could have been COOL.

To your other point: I'd much prefer a Marauders series to a remake of the original. I'm of the not-unpopular opinion that the HP movies are as good as any adaptation of any book can get (save probably the Lord of the Rings movies) in terms of how they balance story structure, fidelity to the text, and onscreen pacing. The cinematography decreases sharply in energy and verve after Alfonso Cuarón, and the later movies unfortunately suffer from the mid-2000s trend of desaturating the frame, but they're solid movies and like — okay, in my heart of hearts, there's a little part of me that's like. Daniel Radcliffe will always be my Harry. I grew up with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson and Tom Felton, and seeing someone else in those roles will never hit me like it did to see eleven-year-old Hermione Granger alive for the first time on that screen. Which is not a real reason. But there you go.

There's also the problem of the genre pivot — the first few movies are obviously children's films, and a whole generation of millennials got to grow up as they gradually changed to Y/A films. But how many children are going to be watching a full season of a HBO miniseries? And how many adults are going to watch that miniseries and then complain it was underwhelming because, again, it's a children's series? It would be better, in my opinion, to start over with the Marauders, whom you can write into adventures that more naturally fit the pacing of a TV show. You can also start with them at like, age 14, which would solve the problem of years 1-3 essentially being about kids in middle school. Unlike HP, nothing happens that we know of in the first 3 years of the Marauders Era that's plot-essential, so strong writing in the pilot and a carefully chosen flashback or two could easily set the stage for a series starting in Year 4.

What I'm nervous about is the contingent of fandom that would expect it to be essentially a TV adaptation of All the Young Dudes, which — while it's an all-time legendary work of fanfiction, like all-time, incredible, wonderful story — does not much resemble what I think HBO writers' room would come up with. ATYD is a slice-of-life bildungsroman about Remus Lupin, and most of its stakes come through emotional tension — you can really easily transplant it outside of a magical setting, and you lose almost nothing. A Marauders show would be an action-adventure series modeled after the Harry Potter books, and it would need an episode-by-episode plot. In ATYD, Remus's development is the engine powering the story. That's not enough in a television series pitching itself as an action-adventure fantasy story, and I don't think the HBO team would be bold enough to depart from genre in this respect. After the failure of Fantastic Beasts, the execs are probably going to clock "Harry Potter show without Harry Potter in it" as a major business risk. Sowhile I'm open-minded and eager to see what the creatives would come up with, I wouldn't envy them the job of having to build out new personalities and arcs for characters that fans have already grown quite attached to their self-designed interpretations of.

It strikes me, too, that Rowling has never gone back to the Marauders as a potential vein for more books, even though she easily could have. She clearly doesn't mind dabbling in the HP universe, and the Fantastic Beasts movies show she's happy to bring the audience back to Hogwarts when she wants to. But for some reason, Harry's parents has always been a little too close to the original series, and I think maybe there's something in her that's afraid of revisiting that period — like if she fucks it up, she's damaging something directly connected to the books that made her famous, cheapening them. Or maybe she just doesn't want to write those stories. Who knows!

I do know that the most important name in that show would be the writing credit, because JKR has demonstrated (1) she isn't great at writing original stories for the screen, and (2) it's really easy to fuck up the pacing of a TV show, and if you don't get the pacing of Harry Potter, then you're not going to adapt it well. The HP books are essentially mystery novels that turn into spy novels. If you don't have that — if you think you're writing a high-fantasy epic from the jump, as the Fantastic Beasts writers seemed to believe, and as the Cursed Child writers seemed to believe — then you're going to write something that doesn't feel like Harry Potter, and most people will notice, even if they don't understand why.

[stop-ugly]

✨HEADCANONS✨

Harry loves his adoptive fathers very much, but he also knows everything about his real parents. There are pictures of Lily and James in every room.

Harry spent his childhood with rock music.

As soon as the next new model of a children's broom appears in stores, Sirius tries to buy it for Harry right away. Remus does not approve of such actions and believes that Sirius spoils his godson.

Quite early, Harry begins to show the character inherited from...... Lily. Sirius pretends to groan that there are two bores in this house now.

Sirius still spends every full moon with Remus, and Harry stays with his aunt Andromeda.

At first, Remus continued to look for work, but he was refused everywhere because of lycanthropy. In the end, Sirius got tired of it, and he forced his husband to stay at home, because, thanks to the inheritance of the Potters and Blacks, they do not need money.

Every Halloween, Remus, Sirius and Harry go to the Potter's grave.

Once wolfstar tried to come to Dursleys. They wanted Harry to meet his cousin. Petunia and Vernon turned out to be homophobic as well as wizard-hating. And Dudley was a spoiled bully. Harry didn't want to go back to that house.

In this universe, Harry does not try to hide his scar, because Sirius diligently teaches his husband and son that you should never be ashamed of yourself.

One day, Harry tells Remus and Sirius that he would like to have a brother or sister. And before Remus can start a Conversation™, Sirius interrupts him: "Harry, you may not have noticed, but we're gay."

Harry is a Gryffindor.

Remus had instilled in Harry a love of reading.

Harry feels comfortable in both the magical and muggle worlds.

In fact, Harry's character remains the same, but, thanks to supportive parents, he does not have that low self-esteem, hero syndrome and a huge sense of duty to the magical world. And he is no longer so easy to manipulate.

He also wants to become an animagus, but Remus insists that Sirius can only begin training Harry when he is at least 14 years old.

Harry is still great at Quidditch, but now he doesn't end up in the hospital wing after every match.

Harry has detentions much more often than in the canon, thanks to the love of pranks and adventures inherited from Sirius.

And yeah, in this universe, he's much more in touch with the Weasley twins. Although his best friends are still Hermione and Ron.

Harry is VERY cheeky.

Severus hates Harry even more than in the canon because of the character traits of Remus and Sirius. It's mutual.

Do you know what Hogwarts lacks? THE PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES.

I can see Severus scolding Harry in front of all the other parents, and Sirius is instantly furious and expresses doubt about the potion master, who can't make himself a shampoo.

Sirius thinks there's no point in coming up with new jokes when the old is still gold. AND HE'S SERIOUS.

One day after a parent-teacher conference Lucius is very rude about Sirius and Remus ' relationship. Narcissa leads her husband away, giving Wolfstar an apologetic look. Sirius is not offended, but he comes to the next conference in a rainbow-colored robe.

Remus was wearing a bisexual badge.

Dumbledore liked it.

Lucius sat red-faced throughout the conference, and as soon as it was over, he apparated away. Narcissa just laughed and suggested that her brother should have dinner together sometime.

When Hermione's passion for protecting the rights of magical creatures wakes up, Harry suddenly becomes interested too and inundates her with questions about possible solutions to the problems of werewolves.

Hermione puts two and two together, and the next time she sees Remus, she notifies him of her guess, and also expresses her full support. Remus was embarrassed but pleased.

When Harry came out to his adoptive parents as a bisexual, Sirius exclaimed happily, raising his hands in the air: "WE'RE GOING TO THE PRIDE!!"

Sirius presents himself as Casanova and the king of flirting, but when Harry needs love advice, he ALWAYS goes to Remus.

When Harry has a crush on Draco, Sirius wonders who exactly he inherited his love for the nasty Slytherins: Lily or James?

There's no way Harry's been cleaning up school shit all these years on his own. No, Harry has fathers, and they won't leave him. Never ever.

[moonllightt91]

ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤

Text translated by Google translator, it's my first story, please be patient and forgive spelling mistak

Remus Lupin x reader

(Use of y/n, no warnings)

Content: y/n and Remus meet in the Hogwarts kitchen on a sleepless night and share their views of the world and a cup of hot chocolate

𝕋ℍ𝔼 buttery sunlight brought an ethereal glow to her face, everything about her seemed so; they said that things like true love were nothing more than fairy tales, made more to deceive than comfort the heartbroken foolish, Remus Lupin tended to agree with such statements, at least until he met her...

It was another first of September, being a second year, this day had become a little less mystical after all, having gone through the experience of being sorted into a house and a year of seemingly endless homework and tests, the first time at Hogwarts no longer seemed so magical; not that he found the castle and everyday life in general to be in any way boring, the boy knew that even if he lived a thousand years he would not know every one of the enchanting and mysterious surprises and adventures that the ancient school had to offer, he just thought that the sorting ceremony was no longer that interesting after having already been through it.

That was when she entered the doors of the great hall along with the other first-year students, looking so adorably dazzled by everything around her, the girl eagerly drank in every detail of the place, with so much enchantment in her eyes that Lupin couldn't help but want to see the world through her eyes, in some inexplicable way, despite his young age he knew that now his life would be divided between before and after that day, every other major event in his life, no matter how important it was, would never surpass the day he saw s/n for the first time...

Back to the present, Remus Lupin was sitting in the library, in theory he should be doing his potions homework, but anyway Sirius and James wouldn't stop talking about tactics for the next match against Slytherin, so there wasn't much he could do other than observe y/n, who was sitting with Lily at one of the tables near the window, the two had become friends, and even with the age difference they seemed attached at the hip.

—My dear Moony, although we know how interesting it is to observe our dear y/n, it would really be good if you helped me and Prongs here to think—said Sirius trying to get his friend's attention.

—It's not like I'm part of the team, my dear friend Pads, my support is limited to cheering for you two from the stands.

—Actually, even at that you're kind of bad, Moony, no offense, but Peter doesn't look like he's come face to face with a Basilic in every match—interjected James wanting to make fun of his friend-I bet you get irritated thinking that you could be spending that time chasing y/n in the library, you spend so much time in this place that I honestly think you'll end up getting married right here, for Merlin's sake!

—James is right about that, and I'll say more, you should stop being a coward and ask the girl out to dinner before someone gets in front of you. I heard that Amos Diggory has a crush on her, and even invited her to the next weekend in Hogsmeade.

—You can't be serious,” Moony snorted.

—And I'm not, but that's what's going to happen if you don't get the courage to ask a girl out soon. Besides, if someone finds out that you don't have the courage to ask a girl out, you might as well be expelled from Gryffindor, the courage thing and all that...,” Sirius teased.

—That's true, and it wouldn't be nice not to have your lessons to copy, a change of house would mess up the scheme of things,” James added in a tone of feigned concern.

—I definitely hate you two, now let's go because we still have to put our books away before dinner, since the two dolls always take a long time to fix their hair and we're always late and end up with the worst seats.

Despite knowing that what Sirius had said was nothing more than provocation, Remus found himself lost in thought throughout dinner. If any of his friends had noticed anything, they had miraculously not commented on it. Knowing him very well, they knew when Lupin really shouldn't be disturbed.

Having been consumed by the internal battle between his insecurity and the growing feelings he had for y/n for the rest of the night, Remus decided to go in search of a cup of hot chocolate after everyone went to sleep. He knew that the silence of the night and the comforting warmth of the drink would help him get his head together, or at least make his incessant thoughts a little more manageable. Armed with the Marauder's Map and the cloak he had stolen from Prongs, he made his way to the castle's kitchen, taking advantage of the moment of calm that only the night could bring to the chaotic building.

The walk was uneventful, the boy was finishing closing the door he had passed through when he noticed her, she was wearing a pink, fluffy robe that matched the purple slippers she had on her feet covered by blue socks, Remus had never seen anything so adorable in his entire life and he couldn't help but stare at her for five long, awkward seconds; if she was surprised or even annoyed by the interruption, the girl didn't show it, she simply gave an amused smile and said:

—Can't sleep either, Lupin?Before she could add anything else, the Gryffindor couldn't help but interrupt her:

—Do you know my name?!-she asked in a tone divided between a little scream and an embarrassed whisper.

— I don't think there's anyone in this castle who doesn't know the infamous Marauders, you're quite famous - the girl commented in a friendly teasing tone - besides, I'm friends with Lily, because of Potter you're a fairly common topic, but you can rest assured that you're definitely her favorite Marauder, and mine too if you want to know, although I think Black is cute.

— We both know it's only a matter of time before those two get together - the boy replied and then walked over to the table where y/n was sitting - Can I?

— Of course, we insomniacs need to help each other - he said, patting her gently, indicating the seat next to her I'll make you some hot chocolate.

While Remus settled into the bench, y/n stood up, and while preparing the drink she asked calmly, with the teasing tone already gone from her voice:

— So, what made you come to the Hogwarts kitchen at a time like this?

—Internal conflicts, they suck if you ask me - says the boy, using his mischievous side to disguise how vulnerable he felt when sharing a lost moment at two in the morning in a dimly lit kitchen with the girl he was foolishly in love with.

—Cinnamon?- the girl asks, finishing the drinks after a positive nod from the boy.

—Thank you very much for the drink - says Lupin as y/n slides the hot chocolate towards him - I'm sure it's delicious.

—I really hope so, it's the only thing I know how to do in the kitchen - she answers with a weak laugh and a shrug, and sits next to Remus.

Both teenagers drank in comfortable silence, the only sound being the rustling of the embers in the fireplace. Despite the lack of words, the feeling of contentment and peace took over the young people. It was a welcome break from the extremely chaotic routine that reigned at Hogwarts.If Remus Lupin were asked, he would deny it to his death, but the reality is that he was blatantly staring at y/n while she looked at the fire with that enchantment that never left her gaze. The light danced in the girl's eyes, throwing the boy into a state that bordered on hypnosis.

—Is there something on my face?— the girl asked, running her hand over it, trying to remove a nonexistent dirt.

The question seemed to shake Lupin out of his stupor. With a shy smile, but moved by sudden courage, he answered:

—Actually, there's nothing wrong with that. I just... I keep thinking about the way you look at the world around you. Ever since I first saw you, I couldn't help but notice how everything seems dazzling in your eyes. There's something about them that I can't understand, much less explain.

—Well, a wise man once said that we should find everything we can beautiful. Most people never see enough beauty. I know there's a war lurking behind the walls of this castle, a darkness that unfortunately won't go away on its own. And don't even talk to me about the injustice that plagues this world that God has forgotten. It drives me crazy... but if we can't find a little light in the midst of all this vastness of despair, what will become of us? I believe that since everything is lost, since greed has taken over everything, there's no point in looking for even the slightest comfort, looking for something that brings hope? We are a lost generation Remus, cursed I would say, but I truly believe in a future where children are free and where prejudice and hatred do not dominate us, but until then what we can do is seek in hope the strength necessary to build that future, if not for ourselves, for those who come after.

—It's a very beautiful way of seeing things, believe me, but I think that unfortunately the world found a way to break me enough to no longer have hope, hope in the end is for people like you, not for a monster like me, at the end of the day I am everything they say I am.

—I don't see any reason for you to be a monster, Remus, even though I know you're human, and like everyone of our kind, you make mistakes, but when I look at you, all I see is someone loyal to the bone, with amazing kindness and intelligence, if you want to know my opinion, and if you don't, you'll listen anyway! — y/n answers seriously, looking at the boy next to her with such fervor in her eyes that it made the older man feel as if he were going to be consumed by her gaze, which during that moment never looked away from his.

Even though he was reluctant, Remus couldn't help but believe in her, even if just a little; in the end, he was sure of one thing, he would never let this woman go again, no matter how long it took, he would gather the courage to ask her out, but for now he would set

—Would you like to have hot chocolate with me tomorrow? It's on me.

—It would be an honor, Mr. Lupin.

[sofoulandfairaday]

Lupin hc I’m begging!

Okay, so.

I hate Fanon Moony with a passion. So before I even say anything here are some Remus Lupin posts so we're on the same level with his characterization: 1) the best marauder characterization post, 2) canon Remus, 3) CANON Remus p.2

Good? Great.

Loving parents. Was absolutely the apple of both his parents' eyes; they loved him immensely and would have given him the world. The guilt Lyall felt over Greyback's attack was unspeakable and he did everything in his power to make Remus' life as comfortable as possible. Overprotective. Overbearing even, but always for his own good. They tried to protect him and comfort him with all that they had.

There were definitely incidents when Remus was a kid. Not only were his transformations extremely painful when he was a child but they were also hard to manage. Lyall and Hope did try their best but it broke their hearts to see him hurt & it was very difficult for them to deal with young Remus' injuries. They couldn't take him to a Muggle doctor after all and

The stigma towards werewolves in the Wizarding World is huge. There aren't enough stories that deal with what it's like to be one. If you're looking for a good read that integrates (not so) small details of the thousand small obstacles that being a werewolf poses while integrating them in an overarching (marvellous) plot, read Moonlit Marriage by @celestemagnoliathewriter (Remadora).

Constantly worrying about money.

He didn't even grow up poor, that's the thing. He grew up fairly decently (his parents weren't rich by any means but they had enough to stay afloat). However, they had almost no savings and when they died (First Wizarding War period) he was left with nothing. Being a werewolf also meant that he couldn't hold down a job.

So many insecurities. So many. About his appearance, his magical talent, his place in the wizarding world, himself.

Speaking of. Not a Greek god. Not a smooth-talking seven-foot-tall Casanova type. He was shorter than both Sirius and James, thin, covered in scars. Kind face.

Awkward. Might have even had a little stutter as a child.

Kind. Helpful. Grateful. Glad and still a little incredulous, after years, that James (& SIrius) might have picked him to be their friend.

The day James&Co announced they had become Animagi so that they could be with him was the best day of his life. Running with his friends under the moonlight is still the memory that first comes to mind when he's trying to cast a Patronus.

Disliked Sirius and James' mistreatment of Snape to a certain degree, but never enough to say anything, never enough to try and stop them (I doubt they would have, even for him).

Like the other Marauders, he adored James.

Sorry to break it to you, but Sirius and Remus were friends through James. They became extremely close only after Azkaban when they were all the other had left from the happiest time of their lives.

Could not grow a whole beard for the life of him.

The ultimate people-pleaser.

Polite.

The definition of passive-aggressive. (Y'all make him plain aggressive.)

An introvert.

A sub if I ever saw one.

Kind. Did I say kind? Maybe he didn't do enough for the victims of the Marauders' bullying because he definitely didn't have the balls to stand up to James & Sirius (and we clearly see this in SWM), but he would be helpful to any and all younger students who needed him.

Lily's study buddy, especially the last years. Remus was like her: good in school, but not as naturally gifted as Sirius and James. He wouldn't be the type to do well even without studying and he definitely had much better grades in his written tests than in practical classes.

This, combined with the fact that he was a massive bookworm meant he had a Hermione-like encyclopaedic knowledge of various subjects.

Unlike Lily, not the best at Potions (he says so himself in PoA)

Loved Care of Magical Creatures, they were always his area of interest as we see in PoA. Also (unrelated), something I've always asked myself: is there any curriculum at all for Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts? Every teacher just seems to teach whatever they like/enjoy more or their particular area of interest. I would have really liked to know what Lupin taught sixth and seventh years for example.

Tea over coffee for Remus (he's a bit of a tea snob, and drinks industrial quantities of the thing)

Not a big alcohol drinker - he doesn't like how it makes him lose control, and has never drunk alone without the Marauders in his youth. However, when times were tough after October 1981 he did indulge too much in it.

I can see him smoking a little bit of weed, not even for the feeling itself but because it helps him with some of his chronic pain.

Sweater vests and old comfy jumpers

If the Marauders had a Feminist king TM (WHICH THEY DIDN'T) it would have been him.

The Prank soured his relationship with Sirius exponentially. It was one of the reasons he thought Sirius was the spy. Everyone was paranoid at the time, questioning friends and allies left and right, but after spending seven years sleeping, eating, living alongside meek, shy, snivelling Peter Pettigrew, he could not picture him as a Death Eater.

The truth is that Sirius, for reasons we've already said, would have made Remus into a murderer. He would have killed Snape. One of their classmates, and when Remus was at his lowest too. It was such a huge betrayal of trust that their relationship fundamentally shifted forever.

He did not love his lycanthropy, would not wear it proudly. He was scared of himself in those moments, and extremely full of self-loathing. If they discovered a Cure tomorrow, he would take it without thinking twice.

[ashesandhackles]

HP re-read: Goblet of Fire (Part 3)

Chapter 31,32, 33, 35,36,37

Harry hearing the trial is important because it deepens the seed in him for wanting to finish the war. He thinks about how it was Voldemort who had ripped Neville's parents away, and why BCJ went to Azkaban with his mother fainting and his father asking him to rot. His world has expanded.

Ron being a bb and being like how the extra jinxes they learnt is good training for them being Aurors. I love how childlike his assumption is that this is what the three of them will end up doing. Always the three of them against the world. <3

ooh Harry's initial shield charm is weak. Set up for when it gets stronger later in the series - it's one of the spells he uses in the final battle, one that protects Molly from Voldemort's wrath.

Sirius sending daily owls and then giving Harry a muddy paw print as a good luck card. I LOVE HIM.

Fudge apparently looking stern next to Maxime, and her eyes being "rather red" while Hagrid kept glancing at her from along the table. What a subtle way of telling us what happened here.

Cedric raising his wand to shower red sparks for Krum after being tortured by him. This is a good moment, because Cedric doesn't know Krum is under the Imperius, and he could have just let Harry do it. But he also raises his wand along with Harry, right after saying Krum would deserve being eaten by a passing Skrewt. Nice character work.

Harry politely asking the sphinx to move <3

the chapter really sets up its imagery: a dark overgrown graveyard, a church, a yew tree, an outline of an old house on the hillside. The yew, in particular, because its associated with Voldemort. (we also see baby! Voldemort being carried into this setting by Peter)

there is also something about Voldemort's father's house overlooking the rebirth at the graveyard - the above/below positioning of it all. Such a strong image.

"blank and expressionless as windows of a deserted house": as we note earlier, Avada Kedavra is a spell that releases the soul from its container. So this specific imagery of a deserted house - a body that no longer houses its soul is very eerie, very effective.

every image in this chapter is horrifying: Harry tied to Tom Snr's headstone, baby!Voldemort at his feet, Nagini circling the headstone.

Interesting what was Voldemort's understanding of why his father left his mother: "He didn't like magic, my father", "the fool who gave me his name - Tom Riddle". We know from HBP that he pieces together a story from Morfin's account of what happened - and he thinks it's his father who gave him the "ordinary" name. Even with Voldemort's hatred for his father, it is him Voldemort assumes an active role for, and not his mother. His negative feelings are directed against his father.

"may your loyalty never waver again Wormtail": Voldemort does gift giving and rewards with implied threats. XD

"one who I believe has left me forever, he will be killed of course" : Snape. I would kill for a conversation between Snape and Voldemort, when Snape comes in two hours late.

Peter convinces Bertha for a night time stroll. Where is Peter's adventures in Albania before he returns to Voldemort story? He has been quite busy.

Voldemort Villain monologues the entire chapter. He is so overt with his immortality hints that I am surprised baby Reg is one who catches on. Speaks to his and Sirius' upbringing a bit.

"and now, you face me like a man, straightbacked and proud" : the crumbs we get of James Potter's characterisation and how Harry uses this taunt later to empower himself to fight. ("he was going to die upright like his father")

James arms Harry with knowledge of what he must do, whereas Lily's role is more to offer him comfort (its the nature of the books. Lily gains a more stronger role in last 2 books, whereas the first 5, James is central to Harry's development)

Harry leaps over the cup (his means of escape) to get to Cedric's body first - all this with a broken leg. What a pure boy. It is not only the fact that Cedric asked him to, but because he has also witnessed the desecration of a dead body in the ritual. He recognises it as a violation.

BCJ's father wound pouring out of his monologue, and the need Voldemort fulfills or one BCJ hopes he would fulfill is that he will be closer than a son, that he will be singular, noteworthy and special among Death Eaters in a way he wasn't to his own father.

@dragonlordette talked about how BCJ! Moody was in tune with people's feelings and she is right: the careful way he manipulated Cedric, Dobby, and planted a book with Neville well in advance shows someone who watches, catalogues people's behaviour, so he knows which buttons to push.

Rowling planting Snape's loyalties here: she emphasises Snape's face in BCJ's Foe Glass both when three of them burst the door open and once again when he enters to survey the room.

Crouch's mother's love as a destructive force that enabled the rise of Voldemort when she broke her son out and took his place in Azkaban. (love as destructive force is a theme that series plays with both in good way and bad way - and more overtly in HBP)

I love how seamlessly Dumbles, McGonagall and Snape work together. When McGonagall is losing it over the Dementor's Kiss, Snape sarcastically explains what Fudge has done (" he seems to feel his personal safety was in question" Imao)

Sirius spends all year obsessing over a plot in the tournament and that someone is out to get Harry, and he sees Harry in this state, his suspicions are confirmed in worst possible way. His hand shakes when he helps Harry into a chair .

Harry drawing comfort from Fawkes. <3

Sirius, noticing how Harry was avoiding Dumbles eyes, harshly tells Dumbledore that Harry needs sleep <3

the "gleam of triumph" in Dumbles eyes that set off so many fan forums when GOF first came out.

Sirius gets so upset when Harry mentions how James asked him to escape, so for the first time in the whole meeting, his face is in his hands. (instead of Harry's shoulder) In Sirius' eyes, he failed to protect Harry and James' ghost saves Harry instead. It is a reminder of his failure.

also hilarious that no one besides Madam Pomfrey questions the presence of an emotional support dog. (also like the best emotional support dog in question, Sirius growls at Fudge for insinuating Harry's liar. I would love to hear the cussing out Sirius is giving him)

Snape makes a "sudden movement" when Lucius' name is mentioned. Snape's feelings for the Malfoy family, despite actively working against them, is complicated.

also how throughout the altercation between Dumbles and Fudge, Mrs Weasley had to keep a hand on Harry's shoulder to prevent him from rising.

Another person who has had enough of Fudge in the scene is Snape. Snape showing his Dark Mark to the Minister of Magic is legitimately one of my favourite moments of him in the series. It's a stand he is making - and in rereads, his loyalty and commitment is clear as day.

Harry wants Sirius to stay. I love that Harry actually asks for what he needs when it comes to Sirius. BB :heart:

"He had no memory of being hugged like this, as though by a mother" AHHHHHHH.

ah Cho crying when they raise a toast to Cedric upsets Harry. He looks down in response :(

Impassive face Hermione = Hermione who has just been kissed goodbye by Krum. (also that Harry isn't surprised when Ginny later reveals that they did indeed kiss)

Ron asking for Krum's autograph makes Hermione smile, and him assuring Fleur her english is good enough already makes her scowl The range of emotions she experiences in this scene.

Harry asks the twins to buy a different set of dress robes for Ron and say they are from them. Harry learns how to be careful and sensitive with Ron's feelings. What a sweetheart.

[seriousbrat]

Your anon doubting whether Snape ever protected Lily from anti-muggleborn taunting at school has me wishing we saw a lot more of that friendship in The Prince’s Tale. Because Snape was *openly* calling her his best friend as late as fifth year when the first war was in full swing, they’re not sneaking around meeting in abandoned classrooms, which must’ve caused them both a huge amount of grief. We get a hint of the peer pressure Lily faced - ‘none of my friends understand why I talk to you’ - but I can’t imagine the Slytherin common room was a remotely nice place for a poor half blood who refuses to deny or abandon his association with a muggleborn Gryffindor. But we don’t see enough of that relationship to really understand why Lily likes him enough to keep swimming against the tide (Severus obviously clings because he tragically has nobody else).

me too!!! my fave dysfunctional friendship of all time 🥺 I wish we could've seen more of them but it just means I've got to write it myself!

Also, yes absolutely. I might talk a lot about the problems in their friendship because that's so interesting to me but they wouldn't be nearly as interesting if there wasn't also good aspects to it. And honestly despite everything I think it's admirable that they both defied peer pressure in order to openly remain friends for so long, especially at that age. Personally I think it would go against Lily's morals to abandon her friend because he wasn't popular or cool, which is why she stuck by him. Before Sev was scouted by Mulciber I imagine he was shunned by Slytherins as well as the rest of the school, so I don't think Lily would have abandoned him just because her housemates thought he was a weirdo.

You're right that on the face of it, it seems strange that Lily would like him, and as we know her Gryffindor friends didn't understand it; but I think the bonds of childhood friendship can be very strong. As kids they had a lot in common, being the only magical children in Cokeworth. Sev was clever, he was Lily's introduction to the Wizarding World, and they were the only two people who had one foot in Cokeworth and one foot in Hogwarts, so nobody else could really understand them the way they did each other. Nobody else had that wealth of unique shared experience. Also, I really do believe that she liked him as a person haha, and that Sev has likeable qualities if you get to know him-- but only Lily ever really did. So she saw a side of him that nobody else did. If you have a bond like that with someone, years of history and inside jokes, it's easy to overlook the negative and make excuses for it.

[sitp-recs]

Do you have any fics that really took you by surprise? I mean, the ending was something you didn't see coming at all. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear :)

Hi anon! Yes, absolutely - some fics took me by surprise throughout the narrative as well (and not only with a surprising ending). I’m listing a few here, hope you enjoy!

Through His Teeth by @dictacontrion (M, 2.8k)

"C’mon then, Potter. Don’t tell me there’s nothing you’ve ever wanted to do to this body.”

Not Waving by @sweet-s0rr0w (M, 3k)

Draco and Harry have been together for a few weeks now, and everything's going swimmingly. Or is it?

The Other Cottage by @corvuscrowned (T, 6.5k)

If Pansy wasn’t shagging Ginny Weasley, Draco would never have been dragged to Luna’s ridiculous Halloween party in the first place - meaning he wouldn't be sitting in the corner of the room with Harry Potter all night.

Our Little Life by @tackytigerfic (M, 7k)

Sometimes Harry dreams. Only they're not really dreams at all, and Malfoy is always in them. It's time travel, but not as we know it, and Harry just needs a good night's sleep.

Saltwater Stain by @the-starryknight (M, 9k)

Seven days stuck on a boat investigating a rogue ghost wouldn't be so bad if Harry didn't want Draco so much. Draco has his rules and Harry's content to follow them, but the air feels different away from the shore. Is it possible that the sea could offer Harry something impossible on land?

And Save Me From Bloody Men by @blamebrampton (T, 10k)

Draco Malfoy once watched others fighting to stop the world falling apart. This time, he's not just watching.

The Good Guys by Frayach (E, 26k)

The Second Voldemort War is limping into its fourth year, and the Forces of Shining Light are slowly turning into the Forces of Expedient Grey. When Draco Malfoy is captured red-handed trying to sell an illegal potion to a clerk at Borgin & Burkes, he is handed over to the Department of Essential and Necessary Truth’s newest interrogator.

In Our Blood by @secretsalex-blog (E, 38k)

Draco is an accomplished pure-blood curse breaker, and Harry is tasked with accompanying him on his latest job—cleaning up the Van Boer mansion, which has been under a devastating fertility curse for seven generations.

If an Injury Is to Be Inflicted by @shealwaysreads (E, 45k)

Harry Potter disappeared a year after the Battle of Hogwarts, and with him went all hope for true change in magical Britain.

REVOLVEVLOVER by @firethesound and @lol-zeitgeistic (E, 46k)

The work Harry does is justifiable. It’s justice. He works for his country, and his country is a republic—the magical side, anyway. It’s not laudable work, it’s not work he’s proud of, but it’s necessary work. Harry has always taken the necessary jobs that no one else has the stomach for.

Timecode by Rasborealis (M, 73k)

Harry Potter has been dead for two years, and Draco would laugh in the face of anyone claiming differently. Well, anyone but Hermione Granger.

Dwelling by aideomai (T, 83k)

Curses, James and Lily Potter ride again, several Ministry balls, a teenage Summer of Love, a grim young adult dystopian winter, a few different Draco Malfoys, secrets and the problems re: not having any, alternate lives, impossible lives, real lives, allusions to Dirty Dancing, and just because it's not called the Mirror of Erised doesn't mean you shouldn't know better.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

Forgive Those Who Trespass by Lomonaaeren (E, 135k)

Harry Potter was convinced he had an ordinary, if inconvenient, life. Then Ron and Hermione vanished in the Department of Mysteries. And the only person who may know where they are is a mute Draco Malfoy.

[regheart]

What are your headcanons or thoughts on Remus and Lily’s friendship?

thank you for the ask!

remus and lily are in my top 5 favorite characters, i loved them and i love to put them together, but i also think they were never truly close to each other, or at least that's what canon points to

now, the reason why we even ask ourselves this questions is to read and write fanfiction. and i tend to see prequels, sequels and missing moments as fitting into somewhere in the range of "the most likely thing to happen under this circumstances" and "barely possible", the latter being often the more interesting choice, and if we have to read or write about it, we better make it interesting

so, a list of headcanons for remus and lily, not the most likely but the most fun:

lily got along with remus better than with any of the other boys during the first five years of school

they were very weird kids. before hogwarts, remus had no friends and lily's only friend was severus, making it that he had a very weak sense of normality and she had disproportional interest for the abnormal

muggle culture was shared common ground even if neither of them was too versed in it. they liked the beatles and western movies and christmas songs because that's what they had a home whenever they came back

i also suspect they'd both watch the odd episode of doctor who but i don't have any strong opinions because i've never seen a single episode

they did enjoy monty python's flying circus though

big readers, both of them. fairy tales, children's classics and as they grew up they would swap books and recommendations

later on, when the order had remus out for months and the potters went into hiding, they'd swap annotated books and leave their own commentary in the margins for the other one to read. they made through quite a list like that, james read only one book but it was don quixote

she was glad he was pointed out as prefect, even if it was just on the account of not giving james and sirius any institutional power

they argued together for the days they wanted to be free of prefect duties and never asked for the other's reason

they were very clever! steady, organized and hardworking, not necessarily like hermione, but they took value in studying magic because neither of them took it for granted and they felt genuine pleasure in learning

james&sirius and severus were obsessive creative forces and remus and lily balanced that out in a way, remus by directing focus to one task at a time and making sure it was recorded somewhere, lily by bringing out possible issues that sev overlooked when he went tunnel vision about anything

(severus was a good, practical potioneer, but lily had more whim. she recommended adding things that would correct the taste or the smell)

lily helped remus with his potions homework sometimes. not during class, because she and sev were in another world entirely and then remus didn't take newt level potions

in exchange he'd let her copy from his defense and history of magic notes when she didn't have the time to do it herself, the two subjects he did slightly better on

they sat next to each other, but in separate groups for herbology and would often gossip during class

lily had a grandmother in wales and remus' parents lived permanently there after he started school so they'd sometimes make small talk about beautiful or interesting places they'd seen

i like to think that at least once they took the same train home for whatever reason it was

the reason why lily was so dismissive of severus' theory of remus being a werewolf was because, having most of her views of wizarding world formed by him and then never facing that specific issue since the mainstream opinion was against werewolves, she thought remus didn't match the profile. when the time came that she had sufficient evidence, she questioned her views of werewolves and not her views of remus

once she and james were head girl and head boy they'd patrol the corridors with remus sometimes and the two of them would show her some of the secret passages they had found

the two of them and sirius read the newspaper cover to cover every morning and discussed it religiously (james only read the main story and the sports section, but he was somehow very aware of everything. he also trusted their opinions)

lily made sure remus ate well when he came back from the werewolf camps

she was his fiercest advocate in the order, even after he and sirius suspected each other

the first ones to laugh at peter's jokes

lily got a lot closer to sirius after she and james started to date, but she always that ease with being around remus. if he were asked, he'd list her as his best friend after the marauders, at any point in life

something they recognized about each other was fighting to choose kindness whenever they could