#and remus never fought for his innocence because he believed it

[m00neroni]

I personally, as a wolfstar shipper, enjoy very much the angst of sirius not thinking about escaping azkaban for nor going to remus after. or remus simply giving up and not trying. like, I know it's a common point thrown against the ship but for me it adds a good flavour. especially if they start dating again after POA/during lie low at lupin's

[heartofspells]

I want Snupin. Post-prank aftermath. Rated E either for hot smut or for graphic gore or preferably for both.

Enjoy!!

You did this on purpose and I no longer like you as much as I did.

BUT. I did it my way, so ha! Enjoy your smut, you wretched woman.

It wasn't meant to be this way. As much as Remus had wanted to trust what Dumbledore said, believe all of James' pretty words about promised silence and kept secrets, he couldn't. He'd had to take matters into his own hands, because no one else could ever know. He'd fought too hard for all he had. He'd only meant to buy Snape's partial loyalty.

It had backfired on him.

Remus hadn't expected the supreme level of understanding that had risen from what had been essentially a business arrangement. Two souls battered beyond comprehension, but they'd both seen as much as they could. It wasn't love, nothing close or ever resembling it. It just was.

And for Remus, it was a way to get the smallest piece of what he'd wanted and would never have now.

Sirius had done this, Remus' friend, the one who had been the first to promise to keep Remus' most important secret held close, the one who'd started them down the path to the Animagus transformations in a bid to help, or so he'd claimed. Sirius, the boy Remus had watched flaunt around the school like a king, head held high always, nearly untouchable. He doesn't understand and he never will, no matter how hard he tries.

Sirius still saunters around the castle, unaffected, brushing the incident that had almost ruined Remus forever away like a meddlesome fly, just a thing, unimportant. And Remus is angry, but he can't show it, can't ever let it into the light. Except like this.

They meet in old classrooms never used for more than storage, sometimes in hidden passageways in the middle of the night. On a few rare occasions, they've even gone to the shack, the other's sallow face mocking as he stares around at the gouged floorboards and shredded walls, but Remus doesn't let it linger, pinning him down, hand around his throat, trailing down, sending robes off his body, fluttering to the obliterated boards below. His teeth claim in a way the wolf's hadn't had the chance, Remus still feeling it even now, after all this time, a feeling that never fades or eases, only becoming worse.

Snape is loud in a way Remus would have never expected, but still patronizing. Remus ignores it, blocks out the sounds and the words, always turning him over, never watching his face, only the line of his spine, the cascade of his dark hair, picturing something else, someone else as his fingers wind into it, tugging with force, bending his body, Remus' hips thrusting forward with hard intent. It's almost cathartic, pounding another into submission, imagining another dark head, a paler throat extending for the taking, and Remus takes, lets the beast inside him rage and turn feral in these hidden moments.

His hands stroke cruelly, ignoring the desperate pleas that fall from a mouth he doesn't want to see but needs all the same. It's a punishment, one that will never be enacted on the person that truly deserves it, so Remus releases his rage on a not entirely innocent bystander instead, molds himself to that back that presses into his chest, fills in words with a different voice and then snarls to silence it.

He returns to the common room, the dorm, the Great Hall every time, looks into that cocky, nearly smug face, and says nothing, only smiling in return as he plots his next round of justice in silence.

[p4gestm]

❝ ｉ’ｍ ｖｅｒｙ ｉｍｐｒｅｓｓｅｄ． ｔｈａｔ ｓｕｇｇｅｓｔｓ ｔｈａｔ ｗｈａｔ ｙｏｕ ｆｅａｒ ｔｈｅ ｍｏｓｔ ｉｓ ｆｅａｒ ｉｔｓｅｌｆ． ｔｈａｔ ｉｓ ｖｅｒｙ ｗｉｓｅ． ❞

ϟ ━━━ ＰＩＮＴＥＲＥＳＴ !

ϟ ━━━ ∗ ＳＴＡＴＩＳＴＩＣＳ !

ＮＡＭＥ . remus john lupin ! ＮＩＣＫＮＡＭＥＳ . moony { affectionately }, ＡＧＥ . forty7 ! ＢＩＲＴＨＤＡＹ . tenth march ! ＰＲＯＮＯＵＮＳ . he / his / him ! ＧＥＮＤＥＲ . cis man ! ＢＬＯＯＤ ＳＴＡＴＵＳ . half-blood ! ＳＰＥＣＩＥＳ . wizard / werewolf ! ＢＯＧＧＡＲＴ . full moon / harry's dead body ! ＷＡＮＤ . 10¼", Cypress, Unicorn hair ! ＰＡＴＲＯＮＵＳ . wolf ! ＬＯＹＡＬＴＹ . the order, formerly harry potter, the marauders ! ＥＴＨＮＩＣＩＴＹ . welsh ! ＳＥＸＵＡＬＩＴＹ . homosexual & homoromantic ! ＳＴＡＴＵＳ . single ! ＯＣＣＵＰＡＴＩＯＮ . professor ; because remus is technically in hiding he can't willingly be in hogwarts but gets paid in secret from the ministry — the defence against dark arts & history due to binns vanishing act since the battle of hogwarts.

ϟ ━━━ ∗ ＰＥＲＳＯＮＡＬＩＴＹ !

ＰＯＳＩＴＩＶＥ . compassionate, intelligent, tolerant, selfless ! ＮＥＧＡＴＩＶＥ . stubborn, sarcastic, lonely, broken ! ＭＢＴＩ . INFJ ! ＺＯＤＩＡＣ . pisces ! ＥＮＮＥＡＧＲＡＭ . the Negotiator ! ＴＥＭＰＥＲＡＭＥＮＴ . phlegmatic ! ＡＬＩＧＮＭＥＮＴ . lawful neutral !

ϟ ━━━ ∗ ＡＰＰＥＡＲＡＮＣＥ !

ＨＥＩＧＨＴ . 6"2' ! ＨＡＩＲ . light brown with salt and pepper strands of hair ! ＥＹＥＳ . brown ! ＳＫＩＮ . pale golden in between scars ! ＦＡＣＥＣＬＡＩＭ . andrew garfield ! ＶＯＩＣＥＣＬＡＩＭ . andrew garfield just with a thick welsh accent ! ＤＩＳＴＩＮＣＴＩＶＥ ＦＥＡＴＵＲＥＳ . scar lines etched over any showing of flesh, his youthful face despite his hair ! ＳＣＡＲＳ . all over his skin due to when he's in wolf form he can only hurt himself, self inflicted wounds. ＴＡＴＴＯＯＳ . on his left bicep he has stick n' poke initials of all the marauders in their own handwritting. after the death of lily he got some lilies of the valley etched on his shoulder blade - of course, on the other blade he got a doe and a stag. since the death of harry he added to the deer family with a baby deer. though he has green eye on his left-handed ( dominant hand ) palm.

ϟ ━━━ ∗ ＳＴＯＲＹ ＳＯ ＦＡＲ !

in a gentle world believed by his lovestruck parents to be a start to their beautiful life together in wales countryside, raising their bundle of joy and for a wonderful four years it was a damn fairytale come true. however, most fairytales have a distorted lesson to be learned and of course, it followed in the grimm's brothers' footnotes, the big bad wolf ruined the days following up to remus' fifth birthday. innocents lost, birth of a monster. happily family dynamics shattered on the floor into a million pieces, his mother was killed in the attack trying to fend off the attacker of her son, she fought with everything she had but it was all in vain. thus the follow through on the grimm's brothers blueprint, lyall lost a great fortune in the expense of a funeral and from travelling all over europe in search of a cure for lycanthropy... remus knew long before his father there was no such cure but his father don't want to believe it as that would mean his son is a monster and that love of his life is truly dead, never to return. healers scammed the lupin family for every penny to their name which wasn't a lot to begin with.

what came as a shock to not only remus but lyall was that on his eleventh birthday he received his hogwarts letter, never did the young wizard think he'd be able to attend the school. he got the letter purposefully on his birthday, not to mention a week later getting an unexpected visit from dumbledore and informed the father and son that he's made special arrangements for remus to be able to attend school... it couldn't come at a perfect time as he had begun to feel beyond cagey with his beloved father who had slowly started to lose his mind, a tad. hogwarts came in a blink of an eye, he was on the train and met a young witch named lily evans, they bonded instantly - despite her weird friend severus, he overlooked the kid because he rather enjoyed lily's company. and when they were sorted into their respective houses, remus was over the moon that he was in the same house as his new friend.

it didn't take long until he had some sort of brotherhood with the other boys in his dorm; james potter, sirius black, and peter pettigrew. though every dusk of the full moon, remus was sneaking out of the castle to had to the shack at the time... though many known it better as the most haunted house in all of britain, the shrieking shack. only did it get it's name from the wails, cries out in pain, and solitude of a little werewolf whom had to rip at his own flesh due to the wolf's frustration at being confined in one room of the shack. at least he didn't harm anyone else just himself. a monstrous thing deserved all the pain it inflicted on itself even though itself was remus himself. then in fifth year, he was accompanied by his friends on the full moon due to them mastering animagus just so remus didn't have to be alone on a full moon or the morning after, it was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for him.

being this young is an art, or it should've been for the marauders and friends but that wasn't the case, it was a bloody war-torn time. all in fear and all fighting for equality, secrets run high as the risk was higher, sadly that risk came to fruition as lily and james where killed in cold blood. remus floo in as quick as he possibly could, began to beg, and begged on his hands and knees to allow him to care for harry. he was denied but thankfully, dumbledore was kind enough to allow remus a few hours to say goodbye to the baby. it broke his heart... what broke his heart more was he had to arrange the funerals and only remus attended as all were in hiding or locked up or dead ( peter ). he was at the time the only marauder to bid true farewell to james, it killed him. he kept the eulogies he had written and read out loud amidst the headstones. shutting himself away, he kept his nose in the books and studied hard to become a professor though sadly wouldn't get his dream job until much later in life.

time ticked on by remus found himself constantly living in the past, memories of oh, i used to do that with prongs, wormtail, pads... he was in a living tormented purgatory. nights were extremely hard on him, he rarely slept and so, he started to become obsessed with the traitor within the marauders and he came to the conclusion it certainly wasn't sirius. and he even expressed to dumbledore his findings but it just wasn't enough evidence though just his word. in the same breath gave remus a job, it was overwhelming for him but he took it if it meant being able to truly meet harry. as fate had it sirius escaped his own hell. and the reunion of the marauders would happen, wormtail, pads, moony.

history repeated itself, the battle of hogwarts claimed the remaining potter bloodline - just like that completely wiped out. and it was a lose that came with a hefty cost. that left remus completely alone yet again. since sirius shut off, remus had to bury harry next to his parents to reunite the family together. once or twice a week remus finds himself sitting on the bench he had made for himself, and talks to the family as if they're still alive informing them of the shitty week he's had and then making a stupid comment for james' sake... he's lost it. he's lost everything he's ever known.

ϟ ━━━ ∗ ＨＥＡＤＣＡＮＯＮＳ !

he's left-handed and has recently got a green eye tattoo on the palm.

what's worse was during the first coming of voldemort's war, greyback returned to the lupin's cottage and killed his father. at the time, his father's mind was fading quickly, believing his mother was still alive to remus himself being that of a four-year-old... he was out during that period getting some food for the pair of them and taking his time while doing so. so, he blames himself quite a bit for his father demise and of course, lily and james... now, harry. if he had gotten out of the tower faster.

his smoking has gotten out of hand, stress cigarettes have turned into a daily occurrence sometimes more, smoking is bad for dogs and therefore should be able to kill the wolf within. or at least himself.

tw suicidal ideations, attempts all brief and not in detail.

since harry's death he's tried to take his own life about three times, not to mention being neglectful on when he goes out, not covering his tracks in hopes some death eater would take him out of his own misery.

end of suicide mention.

[i-need-of-a-hobby]

ok wow didn't expect "fuck dumbledore" to be controversial but ok:

first: you argue that dumbledore didn't know sirius was innocent back in '81, and while i suspect he had an inkling that sirius wasn't the traitor in canon, it's not confirmed. my argument is that dumbledore always had a sense of the bigger picture, and in the first chapter of the first book, sirius is named by hagrid, saying sirius lent him his bike to get harry to the dursleys, not exactly the actions of someone plotting to have harry killed. but regardless: let's say you are right, that dumbledore didn't know, but he sure as hell knew at the end of PoA when peter came back. he says as much, telling harry he believes his story, even if he didn't have the power to clear sirius' name after all those years and he wasn't too chummy with the ministry at the time. however, dumbledore has some power, and he has supporters, so i fully believe he could have offered some help to sirius. other than forcing him to stay in his abusive, childhood home for a year during OotP.

second, in regards to harry: i honestly don't care what justification is given, blood protection spell or not, it is never ok to leave a child in an abusive house hold. on this, i won't accept any argument. lily's protection in her blood's household thing only works against voldemort himself, and until GoF, voldemort is virtually dead. dumbledore knew voldemort could come back, but until then, harry is more or less safe. if dumbledore wanted to move harry into the dursley's when voldemort does come back and his supporters are gaining power, that's another story. but in '81, when voldemort is MIA and his supporters are being round up, harry was sent to a household mcgonagal warns dumbledore about on literal page four, and dumbledore responds by writing a letter. and the "cupboard under the stairs" part of this hogwarts letter shows dumbledore was completely aware or harry's situation and did nothing.

how this effects harry's willingness to go along with dumbledore's plan: i agree with you that harry is incredibly brave and would likely still do whatever it took to defeat voldemort, but harry(and basically everyone who knew him) held dumbledore on a pedestal, and part of this is because he's never had an adult respect him the way dumbledore seems to. of course there's the weasleys, who treat harry like a child, which is what he needs, but it also frustrates him, because he's seen and experienced too much to be left in the dark like that. from book one, dumbledore is more straightforward with harry than any other adult in his life, and he gets harry's immediate respect for that. if sirius or remus or, hell, even mcgonagal had raised him, he wouldn't have been so desperate to be seen and heard. harry was vulnerable, and dumbledore exploited that. other people fought for dumbledore's cause, harry, especially in the start, fought for dumbledore.

you are right, my regulus comments are pure fanon, and i won't apologize for that, i'm in this fandom to have fun, if i want to buff out regulus' character, i will.

however: dumbledore is a manipulator, and that's canon.

dumbledore had no use for anyone who didn't hang on every word he said and there's no better proof than sirius black. sirius was a rebel, and dumbledore knew he would question him, so dumbledore leaves him in an abusive household and lets sirius remain guilty for a crime it was proven he didn't commit. if harry had know sirius, he would have been harder to manipulate. if harry hadnt grown up in an abusive household, he wouldn't have accepted his own death so quickly.

[that-was-a-bit-stupid-of-you]

I find it amusing that you hate James when we don’t even know his pov. We only got to see Snapes memories and since he hated James his memories would have been the worst thing James did. What James did was wrong and there’s no excuse for it but we don’t even know all the stuff Snape and his friends did to all the other students. Snape wasn’t innocent and neither was James. James at least grew up but Snape never did and stayed a bitter arsehole that bullied children until the day he died. Yes he did some good but it was all for Lily (his obsession with her was creepy and not romantic at all). Now let’s compare Sirius and Draco. Sirius came from a similar family as Draco with similar beliefs. Yes he was a bully to Snape but he went against his family and their believes and chose good over evil. Draco on the other hand has been put on a pedestal by fandom probably because they haven’t read the book and liked the actor who played him in the movies. He was a coward, blood-ist, narcissistic bully who thought his family status gave him the right to look down upon everyone. The only good thing he did was lie about Harry being Harry Potter. After that though what did he do in Room of Requirement? If Harry hadn’t saved his ass he would have been a fried ferret. Now Remus, the worst thing he did was not stop James and Sirius from bullying Snape but Snape wasn’t always innocent. Are you telling me that once Snape found out about Remus being a werewolf he didn’t shove it in his face? If someone made fun of my friend for disease you better believe I’m going to stand up for them and take this bully down. The Marauders may come off as bullies but they fought for the light until their last breath. You’re forgetting all the good things they did and letting one memory shape their entire lives. Snape was the reason Harry lost his parents so he should have done everything to protect Harry it was the least the slimy git could have done. Lily and James missed out on Harry’s life because of Snape. Hell Snape should have gone and checked on him when he was the Dursley’s since he was the reason Harry had to live with them but no he chose to bully a child instead because he looked like his father and then ripped a picture of Harry and Lily and a letter she wrote for Sirius. Real mature. And really creepy.

Funny how marauder stans can never defend James without bringing the things that Snape did.

See, that might work on a Snape stan, but someone who proudly loathes both of them, it ain't working on me.

(Now I'm gonna go with this point wise cuz I love organizing shit)

We only got to see snape's memories...the worst thing that James did.

In swm, James and Sirius literally tried to choke him on soap, hung him upside down in the air, showed his underwear to the jeering crowd and then sexually assaulted him. If that is the worst thing james can ever do, then why would you support his actions?

James grew up and snape stayed bitter

That's called fucking victim blaming. James grew up from what? Bullying other people? Sexually assaulting others? Ruining someone's life because they exist? That's literally the most basic thing he could have done to not be a fucking jerk. And as for Snape, you cannot expect someone to just "grow up" when they have been traumatized for the most part of their lives??? You cannot go and tell a trauma victim "it's been years, just get over it" because they can't. They fucking can't.

Also, please tell me when exactly did James grow up? He continued to bully snape, even behind lily's back, till 7th year. And then? If James grew up, he should have apologized to snape. Where did he do that? I don't support snape's treatment of students at all, which is why I hate him, but James was a bully till he died, and he never grew up.

Comparison between sirius and draco

If you compare someone with draco, 9/10 cases they come out looking good. Cuz it's fucking draco. He's a typical "high school bully" stereotype. That's it.

Just because sirius was not a bigot when it came to wizard classism and bloodism, doesn't mean he was a good person. That's called being a decent human being. Yall marauders fans always praise them for doing the literal bare minimum. Nothing changes the fact that sirius was a bully and was just as bad as James. So don't come and tell me he's a good person, cuz he doesn't even fall in the category of decent. Also he literally tried to MURDER snape. USING remus. He had no problem sacrificing his friend's life so that he can kill another person who did nothing. In his teens. What the fuck.

Defense of remus shit

"Snape tormented remus about his lycanthropy" show me where. Cuz what I see is that he kept it a secret (bare minimum, shouldn't be appreciated) and also gave potions to him so that the transition is better. If you can find a single place where snape bullied or even insulted remus for his condition. Secondly, nothing snape does can justify him getting hung upside down, choked on soap and getting sexually assaulted in front of a jeering crowd. And remus supporting it is pretty much the same as doing it.

The marauders did good things

The marauders did good things for each other. They fought in a war. So? Does that cancel out their bad, which is much more than the good? No. Snape fought too, even tricking voldemort, does that cancel out the bad he did? You have already said it doesn't for you, so. Just because someone does a few good things doesn't mean that it erases out the millions of bad things they did.

And the rest is you shitting on snape, which idgaf about cuz I hate him.

Now go fuck yourself.

[de-sire-blog]

What bothers me a lot about the Lie Low at Lupin‘s trope is that Sirius just arrives there, happy to see Remus. And Remus is like „I am so sorry, Pads, I had no idea…“ and Sirius is like „Nah, don’t worry about it, I never blamed you“ and then they shag as if nothing happened.

No. Just… no, okay?

Sirius was quite literally betrayed by Remus who instantly believed that Sirius was able to not only sell out his best friend and his family, but also to kill his other best friend and a bunch of innocent muggles while he was at it too. I don’t want to go into semantics on how Remus even ended up like this (I know why, it’s because J*R is a shit author and the whole Marauders plot makes zero sense in any way you look at it). What I do want to point out is that I don’t believe that Sirius didn’t have hard feelings about Remus doing so.

He spent 12 years in Azkaban. And would have died there if he didn’t manage to escape, while Remus didn’t move a finger to do anything about it. Even if he had his doubts about Sirius being innocent, he could have at least fought for a trial to find out for sure - if not instantly, then later down the line. Sirius didn’t have the chance to take care of Harry as he was supposed to, and clearly wanted, and guess who didn’t bother with that either?

This is not Remus slander - anyone who reads my stuff knows that I love him dearly. But Remus fucked up big time, and there must be some way of addressing that. Saying „sorry, my bad“ is not enough, no matter how much they loved each other before shit went down. If you want to write post-Azkaban, fluffy PWPs then by all means, just skip over the Lie Low part of the plot (or don’t, you can write whatever and however you want of course) or just briefly mention how troublesome it was for them to find back together. But please, don’t dismiss the betrayal that Sirius suffered in this whole story like it is inconsequential.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, I guess.

[hollybollybingbong]

Albus Dumbledore is the worst.

Albus Dumbledore was written to be a hero, and that's what makes him such a good villain. Almost everyone in the Wizarding World trusted him and thought he was so incredible and amazing, but in reality, he was playing a brilliant game of chess, using them all as his pawns.

How? Let's start from the beginning with Tom Riddle.

Dumbledore first met Tom when he was eleven, and even then, you could see the warning signs. Dumbledore did too. He saw that Tom was dangerous and unstable, and Dumbledore, being Dumbledore, wanted to give him a chance at Hogwarts.

But, Dumbledore, also, being Dumbledore, was the only one who saw who Tom really was, and only "kept an annoyingly close watch on him." He saw Tom Riddle, at the age of eleven saying "I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want," and did not think to do anything about it.

He said to Harry in Chamber of Secrets that, "help will be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," yet, here we have Tom Riddle, who desperately needed help, and did not get it. Could Dumbledore have prevented Tom Riddle from becoming who he was? I'm not sure. Could he have helped him more while he was at Hogwarts? 100%

Next up, Sirius (and a bit of Remus)

One thing I never understood while reading the books was why Sirius had to spend twelve years in Azkaban when there were literally potions that forced you to tell the truth.

The truth is, unsurprisingly, Dumbledore wanted him there. By keeping Sirius in Azkaban, there was no way he could adopt Harry (who was legally his), and ruin Dumbledore's perfectly thought out plan of manipulating Harry. Dumbledore was a high-ranking member of the Wizengamot, if he managed to get Snape off, he surely could've gotten Sirius free too.

But unlike Snape, and Remus, and Hagrid, and Harry, Dumbledore couldn't use Sirius. Remus was a werewolf with no job prospects in the Wizarding World, and no Muggle qualifications either. He spent twelve years alone, as he watched his friends die or get sent to Azkaban. But then here comes Dumbledore, who gives him a job and a home when no one else would. And suddenly, Remus is loyal to Dumbledore.

Hagrid, a half-giant, was kicked out of Hogwarts in his third year for something he didn't do. But Dumbledore comes along and suddenly Hagrid has a home and job, and owes it to Dumbledore, ensuring his loyalty.

Even Snape, Dumbledore saved him from a lifetime in Azkaban prison, securing his loyalty too.

But Sirius, Sirius was different. He saw right through Dumbledore and his manipulation. He was a rebel and chose his path. A path that didn't involve Dumbledore, which is why he was stuck in Azkaban for twelve years, despite him being innocent. Because him being around would've messed up Dumbledore's plan to raise Harry to die, because there is no way in hell that Sirius would've allowed that to happen.

Finally, Harry Potter, himself.

Harry escaped death at the age of one and then was essentially kidnapped by Hagrid on Dumbledore's orders. While there's no proof, surely James and Lily would've written a will, especially considering they were living through a war with their son being the target for the greatest dark wizard of all time. I believe that Dumbledore pulled some strings (because remember, he was a member of the Wizengamot, and despite not holding the title of Minister for Magic, he was as good as, especially considering how incompetent they were), so he could be in charge of Harry's living arrangements and manipulate him further. Sirius Black was his legal guardian, being godfather and all, and yet Hagrid had "orders from Dumbledore," so he got stuck with the Dursleys.

Harry grew up in this abusive home where he was unwanted, neglected, and bullied, so when he eventually finds out about the Wizarding World, he sees it as a home, a safe haven, away from the Dursleys. He feels grateful to the Wizarding World for saving him from them. And when he has to go back at the beginning of summer, it's a reminder that it can all be taken away, so when Harry has to sacrifice himself to save the world he's come to love so much, of course, he does! Because why wouldn't he? It's his home.

Dumbledore could've left Harry with Remus, or the Weasley's, or the Longbottom's, or literally any other family, but the Dursley's made Harry easiest to manipulate.

And before anyone mentions Lily's blood wards, Dumbledore says in Order of the Phoenix: "You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you."

There was no reason for Harry to grow up in an abusive household, isolated from the Wizarding World, but it made Harry an easier pawn to manipulate in Dumbledore's game.

Similarly, when Harry is in school, he rewards Harry's saviour complex through house points. In Philosopher's Stone, the trio very clearly go against McGonagall's orders and put themselves in dangerous situations to 'save the day.' But instead of facing any punishment, they are rewarded via the House Cup, and Dumbledore is buying Harry's loyalty.

It's always Harry being the one to put himself into dangerous situations, never Dumbledore. Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ginny both nearly die, but oh, thanks to Dumbledore's phoenix the day is saved! But wait, wasn't Dumbledore there the first time the Chamber was opened? Was there nobody else in the entire Wizarding World who could fix this mess, without having to rely on a twelve-year-old???

Prisoner of Azkaban. Why were Harry and Hermione the ones to rescue Sirius? Why couldn't Dumbledore do it himself? Goblet of Fire. You're telling me the 'most powerful wizard in the world' couldn't break the magical contract? In all honesty, he probably could, but he said it himself, he wanted to see what would happen. He was using Harry as bait. McGonagall seems to be the only person who cares about this poor boy's life. And then we have Order of the Phoenix. Where Dumbledore isolates himself from Harry, gets Snape to teach him Occlumency instead of doing it himself, which leads to Sirius's death, which I believe was planned (to an extent).

And at the end of Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore comes 'clean,' saying that the reason he ghosted Harry for the entire year, was because 'he cared for him too much.' That he cared more about Harry's happiness than the safety of others, that he put Harry's life above the life of innocent people. He was telling Harry, who watched his godfather die in front of him, and blamed himself for it, that him being happy would lead to the deaths of others. Dumbledore's exact quote was, "What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy." And of course, Dumbledore said this, because he knows Harry has a tendency to sacrifice himself for others, and as a result, he'll choose to die when the time comes.

Dumbledore kept Harry's inevitable death from him for sixteen years, five while he was at Hogwarts. And guess what? By this point, Harry was wrapped so tightly around Dumbledore's little finger, and wouldn't say no even if he could.

Harry Potter was raised like a pig for slaughter, by a man he trusted. And this makes me so angry. Harry Potter was seventeen when he walked into the forest alone, more than willing to die. He was seventeen when he and his friends fought in a war against people twice their age. He was seventeen when he saw some of those friends for the last time, watched them die fighting a war that none of them had seen the start of.

He was fifteen when he watched his godfather die before him, and blamed himself for it. He was fourteen when he watched Cedric Diggory die at the hand of Voldemort. He was twelve when he had to fight a basilisk and Tom Riddle single-handedly while trying to save himself and eleven-year-old Ginny Weasley. He was eleven and having to find and protect the Philosopher's Stone, the first 'test' of many. He was a child battling an adult's war, with no choice in the matter.

Dumbledore manipulated them all, so he could get children to fight his battles for him.

[startanewdream]

Padfoot & Minnie

Summary: Minerva meets Sirius for the first time after finding out he was innocent all along. (Companion piece for Afternoon tea)

Notes: I may take a time out of writing oneshots for a while because I want to dedicate to another project (I didn't forget any pending ask, I promise! - I'm just really excited with this new idea). But before that, please enjoy this moment that definitely happened between Sirius and Minerva.

It took two Order meetings until Minerva found herself face to face with Sirius Black alone at Grimmauld Place.

She was late for the meeting, having been almost followed by one Ministry employer (they had the right idea that she would stand with Dumbledore, but also the wrong idea that they could follow her), and she ought to enter the meeting room immediately, but she stopped at the sight of Sirius Black standing alone in another room, his arms crossed and looking rather thoughtful.

She took out her raincoat and stood still watching his figure.

Minerva had met other versions of Sirius Black in the past. First, that eleven-year-old boy who was too energetic and couldn't spend a day without plotting something with his best friend - then with his group of friends. Then that teenager who was trying desperately to stand aside from his family and made many mistakes in the process. Then an idealist soldier in a war that he was too young to be fighting.

Then he had been a traitor for years. Then an escaped convict.

And now he was a wrongly convicted innocent that seemed haunted by ghosts past.

The youthful Sirius Black that Minerva once knew was gone, replaced by that taciturn man who would only show a gleam when he was in the company of Remus Lupin or when he would speak of Harry Potter. And even then the light was dimmed in comparison to how bright Minerva had seen that boy in the past.

He turned to her and when their eyes met Minerva knew she couldn't delay this moment anymore. There were things she needed to tell him.

But he talked before she could when Minerva entered the dining room - or what resembled one in a very distant past.

'You got old, Professor'.

Minerva lifted her eyebrow.

'You got thinner'.

'Well, they don't keep a balanced diet in Azkaban. And last year it was mostly rats… did you ever eat one?'

'I beg your pardon?’

'Rats', he repeated, winking at her with so much mischief that for a moment she hoped to hear James' laugh echoing in the room. James always laughed at Sirius' jokes. 'They are actually tasty. Have you ever had one?'

'I most certainly have not'.

'Didn't even chase a little innocent mouse?'

'I know how to control my impulses, Mr. Black'.

'So there are impulses', he said, chuckling. 'I once chased a cat. Lily wasn't happy, but I told her I couldn't help myself'.

Minerva blinked.

'So the rumours were true after all?', she asked, trying not to sound very curious. 'You, Potter and…'

'Yeah, we managed that'. He gave her a lopsided smile. 'How many points would you give us for becoming animagus?'

'You mean awarding minors who took the risk of forever damaging their bodies to turn into unregistered animagi while breaking a few hundred school and wizarding rules?'

'I expected two hundred points at least', Sirius said, unabashed by her comment. 'It was impressive that we did it - and no one ever found out'.

'Turning into animals to hang out with a werewolf. You were out of your minds'.

'We were', Sirius agreed proudly. Minerva fought back a smile; Black and Potter had more talent than sense, and they knew it. They would thrive with the idea of becoming animagus.

'How old were you?'

'We started in Second Year. Accomplished just before the beginning of your Fifth Year'.

'Fifteen', she whispered. 'And it only took you two years?'

'We had a lot of free time', Sirius joked.

Minerva remembered the amount of mischief they caused and the equal amount of detention they got into. It didn't seem they had time - but they certainly had the drive to.

'How did you prepare the potion?'

'Bathroom of our dormitory. James knew a lot of house-elves because of the time he spent in the kitchens and we made them sworn secrecy'.

'And the mandrake?'

'We did it in the summer. A whole month silent. James wrote that his parents thought he was fulfilling a very weird promise. My parents didn't notice'.

Sirius looked around the room and then to the ceiling above with disdain. Minerva remembered talking to a young teenager, so full of anger and confusion; he hated his family so much that he had ran away. He'd promised he would never be like them - and then Minerva had thought Sirius had broken that promise when she saw the news he had betrayed the Potters.

Except they had all been wrong.

'Sirius - I am truly -'

'Don't be, Professor', Sirius said hurriedly. 'I understand why people believed I was the traitor. It was my idea to change the secret keeper without telling anyone after all - it's all my fault'.

He sounded so bitter that her heart broke a little.

'I do not believe it's your fault'.

'James and Lily are dead. If I had kept their secret -'

'You did. There is only one real traitor in this story and it's not you'.

Minerva thought of little Peter Pettigrew, so anxious to be like his friends. For years she thought she had been too hard with him - and now she wasn't sure of anything more.

'Thank you, Professor'.

Minerva hesitated for a few seconds.

'I am not your professor anymore, Sirius'.

'So I get to call you Minnie officially?', he asked, more joyful now.

She fought back a laugh.

'Only if you want to turn into a cactus. But I will allow you to call me Minerva'.

Sirius smiled and for a moment Minerva saw the ghost of the boy he once was.

_______

Remus yawned lazily. The best thing he could say about that meeting was that it was over quickly. Any meeting with the presence of Severus Snape felt heavier; no wonder Sirius had exploded in the first minutes of the meeting and left the room.

Remus knew he should go after him now, calm him down and explain what had been discussed. He hoped Sirius was feeling better, but he doubted it - that house brought too many memories for him.

Before he could go upstairs, he heard noises coming from the dining room opposite the kitchen.

He walked quietly to not wake up that infernal portrait of Sirius' mother and stopped at the door.

'Well', Sirius was saying, a note of joy in his voice that was rare these days. 'I can show you mine if you show me yours'.

'Mr. Black…'

'What happened with Sirius?'

'Maybe you are pushing your limits, Sirius'.

'It's just for a few seconds. I give you my word I won't even try to sniff… anything'.

'You can't be seri… well, you probably are anyway’.

‘Oh, I’m always serious. Think of it as a sort of welcoming gift after years with nothing more than dementors for company’.

There was a short silence, then a sigh. ‘Very well. I will grant your wish, this one time only'.

Remus heard a soft sound, then another heavy one, and then silence.

Curious, Remus pushed the door quietly. He did not know what he expected, but it wasn't this.

There was a familiar black dog lying lazily on the floor of the dusty room, but what surprised him really was the tabby cat above the dog, calmly pressing each of its front paws in the fur in the dog's back, in and out, almost distractedly, as if massaging the dog. Then the cat sat, the body covering its paws and ressembling a bread loaf, and caught sight of Remus; the cat threw him the most stern look he had even seen on a cat, looking almost as if daring him to say anything. Remus would recognize the glass marks around the cat's eyes anywhere even without that severe expression on its face.

On the ground, the dog winked at him.

Remus blinked in answer and closed the door quietly. No one would believe him if he told and in any case, this seemed like a moment between Sirius and Minerva anyway.

He just hoped James was watching this from wherever he was.

________

For reference:

Fonte: Pinterest

[ala-baguette]

Hello ala baguette! For starters, can I just say how much I LOVE your work. I started with Left Behind and then just gave Knowing Where to Look a try. I was a little unsure at first cause I wasn't sure I was going to like POV. But I'm so glad I gave it a shot, because I was completely in love with Gawain within just a few chapters and DEVOURED the whole book in a weekend :)

I'm always impressed by how you turn a tiny side character into someone who is realistic and likable. Your Florian Fortescue is now canon to me, and Gawain Robards/ Mary McDonalds is the rare-pair I never knew I needed. They're so real and flawed and perfect together some how! I write fic a bit and want to write an original novel, but I am intimidated by the idea of creating my own characters. HOW DO YOU DO IT? Where do you get your ideas for character? How do you make them believable and avoid the "Mary-Sue"/ "Gary-Stu"? I come to learn at your feet!

Can't wait for the next chapter of Knowing or whichever new little Left Behind pearls you might have in store for us in the future! No pressure, but...okay maybe a little pressure?

Excuse me for a minute. It's really hard to type when I'm blushing this hard. ... ... ... Okay, I'm better. First off. Thank you so much for reading and for saying such lovely things. You're too sweet! I can probably talk too much about characterisation. Character work is my jam! World-building? So hard. Developing a plot? Terrifying. Character work? BRING IT! But believe me when I say I am very much still learning and not at all an expert! So if you come to learn at my feet, stand yourself up and lets just chat face-to-face, because I'm figuring this stuff out as I go! Besides... my feet probably have chipped toenail polish and might be dirty from running outside barefoot to yell at the dog who was barking at the neighbour again.

None the less, here goes:

A Poorly Organised and Questionably Helpful Collection of My Not-at-All-Pro Tips about Characterisation

Tip 1: Pay attention to the people around you. Your friends, your family, your coworkers, the random dude on the bus. People-watch, eavesdrop. Be a creep but for innocent reasons. I think the key to my character work is that people fascinate me. I find myself studying them in real life. I love how you can put different people in the same situation and they will all react a little differently. What makes that person's reaction separate from another person's? Tip 2: Ask questions. Most of my characters, at least in fanfiction, started as a question. Some small little nugget in canon that made me wonder about who they were. And then that lead to another question. Then another.

Why would Voldemort/the DEs target an ice cream shop owner? What threat could he possibly pose?

Why do we only ever hear about James's friends and not Lily's? People love to complain about Remus's absence from Harry's childhood, but surely he wasn't their only surviving friend? So where did they all go?

We know Susan Bones's aunt and uncle both were murdered by DEs. But she must have a father. Why do we never hear about this third sibling in what was clearly a family who repeatedly fought on the side of the good guys?

What the hell were all the Aurors doing throughout DH? I mean, surely they couldn't have been oblivious to the DE take-over of the Ministry. They can't be that dumb. And to have become Aurors, they must have, at one point, been idealistic and wanted to fight against the people who later became their employers. So what changed?

Tip 3: Assume the best in people. Yes, the proverbial 'walk a mile in his shoes' thing. Even people we don't like probably have a reason they are the way they are. They were not born bad people. Most of the time, in a conflict, people aren't trying to be jerks. They probably have a reason to act the way they do. It still may not be right, but what inspired them to think or act the way they did?

As a fun exercise, try telling yourself a story from the perspective of the antagonist. Cinderella becomes a very different story when you think about it from the point of view of a woman with two daughters whose husband has died. She's struggling to support herself and her daughters in a time when women had minimal rights, minimal skills. And so she marries again only to have her second husband die as well. But now, he's also left his daughter behind for her to have yet another mouth to feed. She wants to maintain the life-style that she and her daughters have grown accustomed to and provide for her daughters' futures, and she is focused on that far more than this new girl she barely knows. Of course she does terrible things, but I think we can find her situation pitiable as well.

Everyone loves to hate Edward Bones in KwtL, but I find him incredibly pitiable. He saw his brother fight the good fight and it got him murdered along with his whole family in the First War. Then he saw his sister do the same thing in the start of the Second War, and guess what she got murdered too. So he decides he wants nothing to do with any of it, only to have Harry come in and (from Bones's perspective) drag his daughter into the fray. His irrational anger as a response to fear and grief is inspired by real people I would see professionally. A client's beloved pet dies from something unavoidable and they often look for absolutely anyone to blame-- the veterinarian who prescribed a medication to try to save them, the front desk staff who couldn't get them an appointment soon enough, the pet food company or flea prevention they've insisted caused the problem in the first place even though it clearly didn't. Normal, deep-down goodhearted people have come into my clinic screaming over these things. And while I do not condone this behaviour, it's real and I can sympathise with it. Mostly. Sort of.

Tip 4: But don't forget that people are flawed. You mentioned 'Mary Sues', and we hear people talk about this all the time. I would define a Mary Sue as a wish-fulfillment character. One who never does or says anything wrong, who is good at everything. And of course this is a reminder that character flaws are so so important. People are not perfect, and you should rejoice in that. That's what makes them interesting. Know your character's flaws and be consistent with them through out the work. They can have growth and improve in them, but they should have a natural progression that helps them on that goal.

I would also, however, caution against being too up-front about your character's flaws. Remember that we, as humans, are not always aware of our flaws. In building Gawain as the POV character, I've been having a lot of fun exploring something rather new for me. I've been looking at his flaws in terms of different levels of consciousness:

He has flaws that he is aware of. For example, Gawain is socially awkward and struggles to find the right thing to say. He is so aware of this flaw that, when put to the test, he spends more time berating himself for it than he does actually trying to think of what to say. (Gawain is me, me is Gawain).

He has flaws that he is aware of but maybe doesn't see as flaws and excuses himself for. Yes, he knows he is a workaholic and he should put more effort into spending time with his family. But why doesn't his wife understand that what he does for a living is important? Surely catching a Death Eater and ensuring the world is safer is more important that being home in time to read his daughter a bedtime story?

And finally, he has flaws he is totally unaware of. This one has been so fun to write. It's like my own little secret as I put them out there, wondering if my readers are catching them. Gawain doesn't know they're there and, as Gawain is the narrator, they will never told to the reader flat out. But they add so much more believably and depth to the character just by existing in my head. I'm genuinely curious if anyone has caught one in particular of Gawain's secret flaws. I've actually been waiting for someone to point it out, but no one ever does, possibly because it is not obvious or possibly because my readers fear upsetting me. But honestly it makes me want to smack the boy upside the head even as I've been writing him this way. Has anyone out there realised that Gawain is actually rather sexist? (To his credit, Gawain doesn't know this about himself and indeed, I think he would be horrified if anyone pointed it out and genuinely try to change).

Tip 5: Be willing to put yourself on the page, and no not just the good parts. There is no one on the planet you know and understand as well as you know and understand yourself. Use your own character as inspiration. People talk about "self-inserts" like they're a bad thing, but every character you write is going to have a bit of yourself in them, and that's a GOOD THING! Adding yourself can bring a lot of realism. But it is incredibly intimate and baring, and it does take courage to put your bad sides out there.

In KwtL, Mary Macdonald's character is definitely quite inspired by myself. Especially her flaws. When I wrote her introduction to the story, it was... hard. She isn't presented in a good light at first. We meet her after she's had a rough day, and one of Mary's great flaws is that she's snippy and unpleasant when she's stressed. (Guess who does that in real life?) Even though I wrote her, knowing that she was not going to seem immediately likable when shown from the perspective of a somewhat estranged husband, it still hurt when I immediately got comments from readers springing to Gawain's defence in their arguments. I had to constantly remind myself that the reader doesn't understand Mary yet (because Gawain really doesn't understand his own wife, lets be real). That they can't see that her negative traits stem from insecurity. That when they get to know her better and when her relationship with the POV character gets better, they will grow to love her (I hope). Her arguments with Gawain are often inspired by real squabbles with my husband. And perhaps my own version of an apology and a way of acknowledging that I am not always in the right in them.

In short, do not fear, the self-insert. The self-insert can be your friend. But be prepared to be honest with yourself. And be prepared for a little side of soul-baring pain to come with it.

Okay, I think I have proved that I can definitely talk too much about characterisation. I have no idea if any of this is helpful to you or to anyone else. I clearly spend too much time thinking about these things, so I hope you enjoy the fruits of my over-active brain. I'm excited for you to see how Gawain's character grows. The character we see at the end of KwtL is very different from the one we met at the beginning! And the next character I'm going to convince you to sympathise with (possibly against your will) in Left Behind is Viktor Krum. Get ready.

[lupinpettigrewblackpotter]

God the world did Sirius Black so fucking dirty. 

To think he was once this young, handsome, endlessly talented, intelligent boy with the world at his feet before it was taken away. He had such a horrible start in life, raised in a world consisting only of darkness and cruelty, and still emerged from it such a brave and wonderful person. He was once so so loved, by so many people, and it was taken away from him. He had so much potential, he could’ve done anything he set his mind to if the war hadn’t got in the way. He lost his brother, his best friend, imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, left to rot alone, knowing the world thought he had done the one thing he would never do; betray his friends. He had to sit for twelve years knowing that Remus would have to come to terms with the idea that his best friend had betrayed him and taken everything from him, knowing that Harry was alone in the world with no family or anyone to tell him they loved him. 

And to think that when he escaped he still didn’t get justice. He was imprisoned in the house he had tried so hard as a child to escape, having to stay in hiding, with no one able to fight for him and prove his innocence. He escaped fucking Azkaban and still he wasn’t free. He had to exist in this broken, confusing version of the world he once knew, where half the people who had cared for him were either dead or believed him to be a murderer. After 12 years he saw Remus, the only person who knew and loved him for who he was, and learned that he had suffered alone the whole time they’d been apart, had to see him lose a job he so loved and deserved because of a world that didn’t understand his condition. Sirius had to look at Remus, a broken shell of such an intelligent, kind-hearted man, and know that there was nothing he could do to fix him.

 And then, after everything, Sirius was murdered by a member of the family he had fought his whole life to oppose, someone who worked for the man who stole everything he loved. He died with the world thinking he was a monster, a traitor, everything that he wasn’t. The last thing he saw as he was killed was Remus and Harry, and in that split second he was forced to acknowledge that his whole life had meant nothing to anyone now, except to Harry and Remus, the two people standing there as they watched him die. He died not knowing what would happen to either of them, not knowing if Voldemort would get them, too, not knowing if they would ever be safe or happy again. Sirius gave everything he had for what was right - his reputation, his freedom, everything he loved. He gave his life fighting alongside a boy he never knew, but still loved dearly with all his heart, because Harry would always be James’ son, and that was enough for Sirius. 

Sirius Black didn’t see Harry as he fell through the curtain. He saw James. He saw everything that had once been, everything that had been so cruelly stolen form him. He saw four young boys who had once loved each other unconditionally, who were ready to face the world together, who thought they had their whole lives ahead of them. 

Sirius Black, this brave, brilliant, beautiful man, was taken from the world in a split second, and forgotten about. He never received justice, or closure. He never found out his all his sacrifices had been in vain. The world never truly knew Sirius Black; they never saw this young boy who had once been so bright, so full of life, and so, so, loved. The world didn’t deserve Sirius Black. 

[theclockworkmonk]

Out of the Mouths of Babes - Chapter 1

Read on AO3 here

Prompt:  “Uncle Ron said something about Harry knocking Ginny up, but I don’t know what he means,” Teddy said.

Ron was still huffing grumpily as he stepped forward and pushed the door of their flat open for Hermione, so she wouldn’t have to adjust Teddy in her arms. His gracious show of chivalry clashed hilariously with the sour look on his face.

“Honestly, Ron,” Hermione laughed, shaking her head at him, “One would really assume you’d be used to it by now.”

“I have gotten used to it!” he said defensively. “I keep getting used to it, over and over, but then they just keep getting worse! If you want to snog your girlfriend, snog your girlfriend, if you want to talk with your best mate, talk with your best mate, but it’s downright rude to try to do both at the same time. But was there a single moment today where they weren’t draped all over each other? No! I don’t even want to think about what their hands might have been doing under the table. I mean, shit… ”

“Ron!” Hermioned hissed harshly, quickly covering Teddy’s ears.

But it was too late. “What’s shit?” the three-year-old asked innocently. Hermione shot Ron a murderous glare.

“I’ve told you Ron, for once in your life, watch what comes out of your mouth! Teddy is at a stage in his development where he’s very observant and curious.”

“What’s curious?” asked Teddy.

“That just means you’re growing up to be the most clever boy in the world!” Hermione told the toddler sweetly. She lifted up his shirt and blew him a raspberry, causing him to erupt into giggles. She put him down and he ran off to sit on the sitting room rug and start playing with the toys they had brought out before taking him today.

Ron was still grumpy as he plopped down on the sofa and watched Teddy absentmindedly. In hindsight, Hermione saw that she should have given him some time to cool off between ending their double lunch date with Harry and Ginny and picking Teddy up from Andromeda, to give her a night off to spend with other adults unencumbered. But if they had delayed at all, Harry would have jumped at the chance and taken Teddy himself. He was always using his role of godfather to indulge his martyr complex, but Hermione had steadfastly reminded him that Ginny was off for the first time in weeks after the intense conclusion to the Quidditch season, and she deserved to have her boyfriend all to herself.

Hermione sighed as she sat next to her fiancé on the sofa, leaning her head against his shoulder. “You have to remember, Ron, that Harry is still learning how physical affection works. He grew up without anyone ever touching him except to control him or hurt him. It’s called being touch-starved, it’s a real phenomenon in psychology. It’s understandable if he over-corrects in the other direction and doesn’t understand that public displays of affection come with boundaries.

She turned her head to look at him kindly, but found him giving her a deadpan frown.

“Seriously, Hermione? Not everything is related to something you read in a book once but somehow remember years later. This has nothing to do with Harry’s Tragic Backstory, they get more and more handsy because they know that it drives me up the wall, they’re just fucking with me.”

“What’s fucking?” asked Teddy.

“Sorr— Ow!” Ron helped as Hermione elbowed him hard in the side.

“Behave yourself,” she told him. “And don’t sell Harry short, that is not why he does it.”

She settled back into leaning against him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“....That is absolutely why Ginny does it, though,” she added, making Ron snort with laughter.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, content to just watch Teddy play with small smiles on their faces.

“Thanks for volunteering us to take him,” Ron said softly into Hermione’s ear. “Having him around, this time of the year….it helps.”

Hermione nodded somberly. “I know what you mean.” The next day was May 2nd. Three years to the day since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Hermione sniffed as she felt all-too familiar tears threatening to break free again. “Being around someone so young, someone who won’t ever remember how bad things had gotten, who would only know the new world we fought for. It reminds us that none of them died in vain.”

“Yeah,” Ron agreed quietly. “I think the rest of the family feels the same way, they always get super clingy with Vic this time of the year. Me too, I’ll admit.”

“Oh yes, I’ve definitely noticed that,” Hermione nodded. “Even more so than with Teddy, since she’s a Weasley. She represents your family’s survival and healing, I suppose.”

Hermione chuckled at something she remembered. “The worst of them all is your mother. She’s really been cranking the doting up for Victoire, and between you and me, it’s driving Fleur absolutely mad.”

Ron sat up a bit to face her, smiling mischievously at the gossip. “Oh yeah?”

Hermione nodded and smiled back. “She won’t say anything until she figures out a way to phrase it passive-aggressively instead of bluntly, but Fleur is clearly feeling smothered by the pressure of being the mother of the only grandchild.”

Ron’s smile faltered a bit, and the same grumpy mood he had when they returned home seemed to return.

“Well, she probably shouldn’t worry,” he grumbled. “If my best mate and my sister keep being as insufferable as they are, it’s only a matter of time before Harry’s knocking Ginny up—”

“Ron!” Hermione growled angrily, shooting Teddy a sideways glance, but fortunately he seemed too busy playing with his toy dragons. She breathed a sigh of relief, then started giggling.

“What on Earth makes you assume that?” she asked him incredulously.

“Hermione, if they can’t control themselves in the middle of a sodding café, what makes you think they can when alone in their flat?”

Hermione snuggled back up to him, pouting her lip playfully. “Well if that’s the case, why them and not us? I’d like to think that we’re similarly…. out of control at times…” she slowly brought a hand to rub up his thigh. Then, suddenly, her eyes narrowed dangerously, she stood up, and put her hands on her hips.

“Unless you’re saying that you’re just not as attracted to me as Harry is to Ginny?”

Ron just raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “You’re trying to trap me because you think I’m adorable when I’m nervous, but you have to be less transparent than that, love.”

“Shoot, it was worth a try,” laughed Hermione, sitting back down.

“You know that I meant that you would never allow that to happen,” pulling her close again. “You can’t even make noncommittal plans for drinks in a pub without triple-checking your schedule and giving it a color-coded entry in your planner, there’s no way you’d ever let something as important as…. that just slip your mind. But you know how reckless those two are, is it really hard to believe they would neglect the Contraception Charm once?”

Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully. “No, I really don’t think so. There are some things that Harry and Ginny do take seriously, one of them is family, they wouldn’t be blasé about it. And don’t be so disgustingly modest,” she said, lightly swatting his leg. “I am not always meticulous, you know damn well you’re capable of turning me into a scatterbrained piece of goo.”

She wasn’t looking at him, but she could feel Ron grinning proudly at that.

“Oh yeah?” he murmured in her ear, and Hermione felt goosebumps erupt on her neck. He pulled her closer and Hermione felt herself blush scarlet as he whispered all sorts of things he planned to do to her to prove her right.

“What’s knickers?” asked Teddy, who apparently had very good hearing. Hermione blushed harder than ever as she elbowed her fiancé again.

It was after dark when Ron and Hermione finally stepped through the fireplace of the Burrow. They could hear the large, loud gathering in the kitchen before they saw it. They found Andromeda talking and laughing happily in the kitchen with Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, George, and Charlie, all drinking either tea, firewhiskey, or some combination of both. But as pleasant as the evening had been, she still beamed when she saw her grandson running towards her.

“He wasn’t too much trouble, was he?” she asked apologetically as she scooped the toddler into her lap.

“He was a delight!” said Hermione cheerfully.

“Yeah, this kid stuff is easy!” said Ron dismissively. “And yes, that’s a git thing to say, feel free to saddle us with him until I regret it.”

Andromeda laughed and thanked them again. After Ron and Hermione returned home through the fireplace, Teddy rested his head on Andromeda’s shoulder. He was clearly very tired and was starting to get fussy.

“Well,” Andromeda sighed, “I guess I should get this one home. Thank you so much for having me, all of you.”

But then, Teddy spoke up in a sleepy voice.

“Grammy, what’s knocking up?”

There was a loud crash as Molly dropped the teapot onto the kitchen floor. Fleur gasped dramatically, Bill coughed and sputtered on his firewhiskey, while George just erupted into laughter.

Andromeda pulled the boy off her shoulder and looked at him sternly. “Edward Remus Lupin, where did you hear that?” she asked.

“Oh, I believe we know where” Molly growled as she flicked her wand to levitate the shrapnel on the floor and started to reassemble it into a teapot, “I honestly don’t know where these sons of mine got such foul mouths. I have half a mind to go after Ronald and remind him that he’s not too old for me to wash his mouth out with soap. I am so sorry, Andi.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said Andromeda. “Harry can swear just as well as any Weasley.”

She addressed Teddy again, more gently this time. “Go on, Teddy, where did you hear those words?”

“Uncle Ron said something about Harry knocking Ginny up, but I don’t know what he means,” Teddy said.

The kitchen of the Burrow had never before fallen so quickly, completely silent. The only sound was another crash as Molly dropped the teapot again.

[fedonciadale]

Hello, could you give your opinions about the Marauders, specifically about Sirius and Remus as characters? I am one of the very few people who doesn’t ship Wolfstar and doesn’t see Remus as the stereotypical nice, fluffy, shy gay man with no flaws or nuances, nor Sirius as the flamboyant and extremely eccentric guy. It actually baffles me how Wolfstar is so widely accepted as canon, even when canon establishes that those two distrusted each other (Sirius believed Remus to be the spy, and Remus started to doubt Sirius’ innocence only when he saw Peter’s name on the Map), not to mention the Prank and the fact that Sirius explicitly says that he doesn’t regret it (“...you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —”Black made a derisive noise. “It served him right,” he sneered. “Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to...hoping he could get us expelled...”. Remus could have become a murderer thanks to him) and Sirius’ insensitivity towards Remus’ problem (“I’m bored,” said Sirius. “Wish it was full moon.” “You might,” said Lupin darkly from behind his book.). I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t scream romance to me. If anything, I believe Sirius could have had a crush on James, not Remus. How is it that the vast majority of the fandom ships them, going as far as believing it to be indisputably canon, and accuses everyone who doesn’t of homophobia? Sometimes, I think that Rowling’s black-and-white view applies to almost every fan. Not everyone of course, but so many are either Romione or anti Ron, either pro Marauders and vehemently anti Snape or vice versa, and the grey areas are never recognized. It’s frustrating! Sorry for the rant, hahah.

Hi there!

I certainly agree about the tendency of the fandom to overlook the grey areas or if you point them out you are accused of either whitewashing the villains or blemishing the heroes. It can be somewhat exhausting....

Anyway. The marauders. I realize that your question probably means that I walk on thin ice given how popular the marauders are.

A part of me gets it. When I first read the books and just gobbled up Harry’s PoV I really liked Sirius. What a cool godfather! Handsome, a motor bike, the opposite of the stuffy Dursleys, etc. And by book 3 we only learn that Severus Snape almost walked in on a newly changed WolfRemus and that James saved him in the very last minute. I really changed my opinion on Sirius later.

In contrast to Sirius, I still like Remus Lupin. I think he was the responsible one and should have detained his friends far more often, but I think in general he has matured well. I like the scene where he tells Harry that he should be careful with his life because his parents died for him. Also you can see, that he actually reaches out to Harry and he seems to be a good teacher and is one of the few adults in HP that is actually helpful. Remus is by far my most fav marauder.

We only learn more about the marauders with time. And the more I thought about the marauders the more I realized that I would absolutely have hated them if I had been at school with them. Irresponsible, bullying  (four against one), pranking, arrogant, probably never doing their homeworks and still getting good grades, carrying their ‘being gifted and rich’ on their sleeves, never adhering to rules, never getting into trouble because of it etc.

And in regard to how the marauders behave to Harry, I tend to side-eye them as well. I think Hermione is right when she accuses Sirius of mistaking Harry for James and I think Harry is right when he chastises Remus for trying to join the Horcrcux hunt when his wife is pregnant.

So, that being said, the one thing we know about the marauders which is good is that they joined the Order and fought against Voldemort. And they are ready to do quite a lot. Remus infiltrates the werewolves (can’t be that nice to hang around with Greyback) and Sirius is ready to fight for the order, he even swallows the fact that Snape is part of the order. He is not the best at hiding his contempt but neither is Snape. And in this situation they are both grown men and it’s one against one. So I don’t dislike their fights in TOotP as much as I dislike the bullying in school. And with their history it is almost impossible that they get along.

While I can’t see anything nice about the marauders as students Sirius and Remus do have redeeming qualities in the books and unlike James whose turn for the better we never get to see, we see both actually caring for people. And I wouldn’t even blame them for not caring about everyone, because we humans usually don’t manage that. Sirius is horrible to Kreacher but he is nice to Harry and I think that he actually has layers far beyond the ‘cool godfather’.

So, when I had finished the books, I saw Sirius as a grey character. And thinking about the whole betrayal of the Potters I had come to the following conclusion: Sirius was gay and in love with James (and unlike other things I did not blame JKR for not writing that openly, because at the time HP was written, children’s books couldn’t have homosexual relationships). While James might have been oblivious to the depth of Sirius’ feelings, Remus was not and neither was Dumbledore. Remus sort of knew that for Sirius, James would always come first, and Dumbledore had been in that place, so to say. When the Potters died and nobody but Sirius, James, Lily and Peter had been in the know about the switch of the secret keeper, everybody jumped to the conclusion that Sirius was indeed the traitor. Why? Well, Sirius had been the member of a family connected to Voldemort, but he had left this family behind and it made no sense that he suddenly would embrace his family’s legacy. I think Remus believed that Sirius had been the traitor because he finally snapped because of his unrequited love, and that is why he only believed that Sirius might be innocent when he saw Peter Pettigrew. Before that, he was extremely frightened for Harry and actually thought Sirius would kill Harry if given the chance.

So, that is obviously not in the text but has been my interpretation for quite some time. So, I agree that Sirius loved James.

That leads me to your question about WolfStar. Since I’m not a Remadora shipper, I’m sort of neutral towards the ship. The only basis in canon I see is their emotional reunion after it becomes clear that Peter was the traitor and not Sirius. And I sort of get why people take this and run from there.

I would argue though that canon hands us rather a few arguments why the ship doesn’t make sense. That Remus gets with Tonks in canon is not really an argument, because he could always have been with Sirius before that. Canon evidence against this is rather that for Sirius it was always James who was the most important member of the marauders. And while I can sort of buy that Remus as a teenager did not see how extremely dangerous the ‘prank’ Sirius played on Snape was, I think that the mature person we see in PoA would really, really hate that ‘prank’. Sirius basically tried to trick Remus into killing Snape or transforming him into a werewolf, when Remus himself was probably deeply traumatized by his own experience. It is quite clear that Remus hates being a werewolf - you could argue even up to a point where he forgets to take the drug that will make him harmless.

So, I don’t really vibe with the ship, like not at all, and I don’t think they make sense, not to me, not with how the characters are by the time of canon, but that is obviously irrelevant for fanon. People can twist canon, run with it, invent deleted scenes and that is all no problem for me.

There are so many things in canon HP that are a problem that I actually think we should be careful with using the argument ‘it is not canon’, because it is also canon that the elves are happy to be slaves, that squibs are discriminated against, that werewolves do not get the medicine they need, and that everyone is o.k. with it.

TLDR: I dislike the marauders and I don’t really vibe with WolfStar. I think Sirius was in love with James and didn’t actually care that much for Remus. But this is my interpretation. As for fanon Wolfstar: I just ignore it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for the ask!

[aregrettablechoiceofwords]

If you use the word "abused" to describe Snape's behavior, then it's only fair to use the harshest vocabulary for Remus Lupin's behavior too. We don't get the last words of a bystander bully who grew into a coward adult who walked out on his wife and unborn baby. No one cares he gave some kids chocolate since he let a believed mass-murderer run around the school. #soloving

*sits up* *cracks knuckles* ok let’s do this

No, Lupin isnt perfect, obviously no one is. Abandoning his family in the deathly hallows made me realize that, and I lost a lot of respect for him then. But is he a coward?

After Harry yelled at him for abandoning tonks and teddy, something he shouldn’t have to had done as a 17 year old, he came back to them.

And the thing is, he wasn’t a deadbeat afraid of failing as a father or something like that, he was afraid his being a werewolf would bring serious harm to his wife and baby, and they might be hunted down for it. He genuinely—and wrongly—believed they would be better off without him.

Coming back DOESNT erases the fact that you left at all, and let’s admit that was a fault. But is lupin. A coward.????

I think not. He fought in the battle of hogwarts and was a hero that died that night. (Along with tonks Rest In Peace u two) he died on the battle field fighting for his family, friends, freedom and rights. He was never afraid for himself, but for his friends.(Unlike Snape who died in The Whomping Willow with his last wish to see Harry’s eyes because even though he treated Harry like scum because he looked like his father who he hated, he was obsessed with Lily Evans and that makes up for it.)

And before that, Lupin went underground working with werewolf connections including ones who must have worked with Fenir Greyback, the monster who turned him as a child. Because Dumbledore told him to. He was hurt, worn, and tired, but he didn’t complain. He wanted to do good in the world.

So if Lupin isn’t a coward, you must think, why did he never tell anyone vital information about Sirius Black being able to turn into a dog while everyone believed he was a mass murderer?

I think we both know considering he resigned himself and everything he did for the Order, it wasn’t so he could keep his job. It was because he loved Sirius, his closest friend. James and Peter (to his knowledge) were both dead, and Sirius, traitor and all, was all he had left. He didn’t want Sirius to get his soul destroyed by a Dementor’s kiss. He thought, oh, turning into a dog isn’t that much of a threat, I’m protecting Harry anyway…

And yes it was so shitty of him to do, to basically choose the safety of his dead best friend’s innocent 13 year old son over the safety of…well, a murderer. The guy responsible for his dead best friend’s death. And that’s why Lupin resigned.

He felt like the worst kind of monster because of that, and I won’t call him one, but it was a horrible thing that happened because of his choice.

(If this was a hate essay on Snape, I would point out that Snape, a death eater who had worked with Peter Pettigrew, knew Peter was the traitor and not Sirius and yet he never told dumbledore this information...and let Sirius go to Azkaban…because of a school grudge... But this is not a hate essay on snape so let’s get back to lupin)

Do you think Lupin is a bad person? I’m genuinely curious, and i would love to know your opinion on snape too.

Look—there IS NO ADULT IN HARRY POTTER THAT HAS NOT COMPLETELY LET US DOWN AT SOME POINT. name any adult, any, and I will explain how horribly they failed the kids.

But flawed doesn’t equal bad person.

Hagrid, McGonagall, Sirius—they were some of the best hp adults, flaws considered.

How many flaws does it take to become a bad person? I don’t know. But I do know snape has so many more flaws than virtues.

I dont think being a death eater necessarily means being a bad person, becuase many people who “fought with Voldemort” were there becuase their fate had already been decided. They had to stick with their families. Look at Draco Malfoy. In the chapter malfoy manor, you can really see how dark and terrifying living with the death eaters are. So much pressure to give everything you can to being a bigot and serving Voldemort. If draco didn’t, his parents and him would be killed by Voldemort, already on the end of his tether. (And yet he still helped Harry but that’s another essay)

Being a good person means how you treat people, and how you fix your mistakes when you fk up. And look how snape treated people.

Admittedly when I was comparing lupin and snape in the original post, I wasn’t talking about the deeper parts of if they were good people or not, though I know it’s not white and black.

I was comparing their professor ways. How they treated children, from a 13 year old’s perspective. I was thinking, hey, I’m as old as Harry was in the prisoner of Azkaban, and if I had to face snape on a regular basis, I would break down.

But yes, they are so much more deeper than who they were as professors. And giving out chocolate doesn’t make you a good person x

But I really do think flaws included, despite his flaws Lupin was a good person. And yes, I should have pointed out his flaws in the op post, so I’m pointing them out now. He is one of my favorite characters, so I hope you understand. I admit he isn’t perfect though, he’s flawed and messed up, but still to me, a good man on more or less.

oh ps— I’m not an anti. When I used to love Snape I was attacked by many people in a comment section for “defending snape” and now I am called an anti. There will always be criticism so let me make something clear.

No, I don’t like snape. But I’m not blocking others from liking him.

I will never let the fact that I don’t like snape make me drag you if you love him. I respect that. I hope you can respect me too!

Anyway thanks for sending this I never get asks, and hope you have a good day!! ♥️ 😆

[wolfstarflowerpottstarchaser]

An Introduction to the Marauders Tragedy For New Fans Part 1: Remus Lupin

In 1965, Remus Lupin’s father (Lyall) angered the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. In retaliation, Fenrir broke into Lupin’s home and bit Remus

Thus, at the age of four, Remus became a werewolf. In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, being a werewolf is incredibly difficult

Firstly, transforming is meant to be IMMENSELY painful as you can feel your bones grow and contort inside of you - and Remus went through this every month in a locked room since the age of four while his parents were helpless

Secondly, werewolves were seen as outcasts in society and treated very poorly. As such, Lyall knew his son would have a very difficult life and blamed himself for baiting Fenrir

Remus started at Hogwarts in 1971 and was thrilled because he believed he could not attend due to his infliction of lycanthropy

Special accommodations were made and Remus was locked in a room for his transformations. His screams of pain were so loud that locals thought there were ghosts in the building and named it ‘The Shrieking Shack’

QUOTE FROM REMUS LUPIN ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD: “My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits.”

He made friends with fellow Gryffindors, James, Sirius and Peter, but kept his infliction a secret as he feared they would desert him if they found out his secret due to the hate for werewolves

However, they were smart, and they figured it out for themselves. To help him, they decided to become animagi so that they could be with him during the full moon

He never believed anyone would want to be his friend if they knew, but they did. Not only did they stay with him, they also went incredibly out of their way to help him (becoming an animagus takes years and is extremely difficult)

In 1978, Remus finished Hogwarts and joined the Order of the Phoenix. During this period, James supported him financially

His mother, Hope, died of canonly unknown causes, but there are theories that she was ill

At some point, a spy was revealed to be inside the Order and, unbeknownst to Remus, his best friend Sirius suspected him

This suspicion resulted in a series of tragedies (see Sirius Black for details) and meant that Remus was left alone as the last Marauder

Remus struggled to get a job after the war due to his lycanthropy, so he spent the following twelve years working odd low-paying jobs despite being a brilliant wizard. He lived in poverty

In 1993, Remus caught a break and was hired to teach DADA at Hogwarts. This was particularly exciting for him as he knew he would get to see Harry Potter, the son of his two dead friends, whom he had not seen since before their deaths

He had almost declined as he was concerned for the student’s safety, but agreed when he was promised Wolfsbane, a potion that allows werewolves to stay in control

He fell asleep on the Hogwarts Express and woke up to see Harry Potter, the spitting image of his dead friend James

When he spoke to Harry, however, he acted calm and casual, not wanting to overwhelm him, but likely experiencing an array of emotions himself

Sirius (who he still believed to have killed Peter, and helped in the killing of James and Lily) escaped Azkaban

Over the school year, Lupin eventually told Harry the truth of his past and they bonded. Lupin was somewhat content for the first time in over a decade, and enjoyed teaching

During the year, Lupin discovered the truth that Peter had faked his own death and quickly pieced together that Sirius was framed

Remus felt extremely guilty for not figuring this out sooner as Sirius had spent twelve years in a horrific prison

After proving Sirius’s innocence to Harry and confronting Peter, Remus realised that he forgot to take his Wolfsbane potion and transformed

This mistake led to Peter escaping once again and delayed Sirius’s chance of freedom. Also, he almost attacked the Golden Trio

Unable to forgive himself, he resigned from his position at Hogwarts in shame

At the same time, Snape revealed his lycanthropy secret to the world as revenge for not liking him, and thus Remus was shunned from society

Following Voldemort’s return in 1995, Remus rejoined the Order

During this time, he lived at 12 Grimmauld Place with Sirius (🐺⭐️) but was away often on missions

In 1996, Remus fought Death Eaters alongside the Order and watched his best “friend” (🐺⭐️) die, and had to hold Harry back in case he followed through

This left his as the final Marauder for real this time (James and Sirius dead, Peter a traitor)

Some time later, he married Nymphadora Tonks. They kept their marriage quiet due to the prejudice again werewolves

Shortly after their marriage, Tonks fell pregnant and Remus very nearly abandoned her as he felt extremely guilty about bringing a child into the world, knowing the child would face scrutiny due to his father’s condition and may even have passed his lycanthropy onto his child (werewolves don’t usually have children, so this was his own hypothesis)

After Harry, whose parents had died for him, told Remus to get himself together, he went back to Tonks and they welcomed a healthy (non-werewolf) son, Teddy Remus Lupin

Despite his reservations, when Remus announces the birth, he is thrilled to bits and quickly makes Harry Godfather. Teddy evidently brings light to his life

Not long after Teddy’s born, Remus and Tonks leave him with Tonks’s mother so they can fight in the Battle of Hogwarts

In the first half of the battle, Remus was murdered by Dolohov, and placed alongside his wife in death, leaving his newborn son an orphan

When Harry used the Resurrection Stone before sacrificing himself, Remus tells him this in regards to his son: “I am sorry too... Sorry I will never know him... but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand.”

After his death, Remus was awarded Order of Merlin, First Class - he was the first werewolf to receive this

[maraudersbutmuggle]

Sirius is Disowned, Part 2. Check out Part 1.

London, July 26th of July, 2012. Content Warning: Toxic Masculinity, Homophobia, Violence, Physical Abuse. Sirius had been wearing the ring that Alphard gave him with pride. Actually, it looked pretty cool on him. Sirius saw his Uncle in a family dinner the day before he left for Rome. He had told everyone that he had business there. He didn't explain any further. Nobody questioned Alphard. Well except one person: Orion. Sirius couldn't pinpoint why his father hated Alphard so much. "I don't blame him, Sirius" Alphard had once answered, "We were horrible to him, me and Cygnus, when we were children. We never liked him" And Orion always repeated that Alphard was a bad influence on Sirius. That made Sirius like Alphard even more. But after his departure, Orion still didn't shut up about it. Sirius had been counting the days for the summer to be over and go back to Hogwarts. Regulus had recommended staying low, and trying to be nice. Sirius was following his brother's advice. But only because he wanted to ask permission to spend the rest of the summer at The Potters'. Perhaps if his parents were in a good mood, he might have a chance. So he was silent at dinner. Sirius was trying to ignore what his parents said. "I'm am so proud of you Reggie, darling" Walburga was saying "Being prefect is an honor" Of course Regulus, the good and perfect son, had gotten the perfect badge a few days ago. Sirius' exams results weren't bad. But nobody noticed that. "Thank you, mother" Regulus answered embarrassed. "Were you prefect, mother?" Sirius asked without thinking. He indeed needed magic to shut his mouth. Walburga's smile disappeared. Orion dropped his fork on the table, making Sirius' jump. Orion had the ability of losing patience easily. "I was just simply asking" Sirius said looking down. "No" Walburga answered, taking a sip of her wine "I wasn't a prefect. Neither do you, so..." Sometimes Walburga acted like a child. Sirius felt like she was constantly provoking him. Making him explode. They fought, Sirius said something stupid. And that's when Orion intervene. One punch or slap made Sirius finally shut up. Always the same. "I was..." Orion interrupted "I used to follow you everywhere, just to make sure you didn't get into trouble" he took a bite of his food "Remember that, darling?" Walburga seemed uncomfortable. She gave her husband a little smile. Sirius tried so hard not to roll his eyes. "Well, today we are talking about Regulus" She said "Samantha more wine" she raised her glass. As Samantha brought the bottle quickly, Sirius noticed Orion was getting furious. He detested it when Walburga drank. Sometimes Walburga liked contradicting her husband. Sometimes Walburga liked contradicting everyone. "Amm... Actually is not a big deal" Regulus said "I don't know what the fuzz is about..." Reggie was shy and nervous when Orion was around. He was afraid of him. Sirius feared him too, but unlike Regulus, he couldn't control what he said. "Of course is a big deal, darling" Walburga stroked Reggie's hair. She'd never done that with Sirius. Sirius tried to ignore that. Everything was fine. Perhaps they would let him go to The Potters' if he was nice. He was cutting his meat, when Orion spoke again, and he jumped. "What is that?" Sirius took a while to learn, Orion was talking to him. His father pointed to his new ring. "Oh... am just a ring..." Sirius murmured, putting the hand under the table. "What was that?" Orion spoke louder. One time, Orion had told Sirius that men never spoke between teeth. Always loud and clear. "A ring, sir" Sirius spoke up, wondering why the hell Orion never bothered Regulus. Just him. Orion laughed "Why does it look familiar?" Sirius saw Walburga's expressionless face, and Regulus' concerned one. Looking at him. Sirius swolled. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. "It was my Uncle Alphard's" Sirius expected some yelling. But Orion simply snorted. He didn't say anything to Sirius. Which was a relief. But Orion turned to Walburga. "Speaking of Alphard, Wally. What do you think he is

doing in Rome? Suspicious isn't it?" Orion continued the conversation as if they were two old ladies, gossiping. Walburga smiled "How the hell should I know, darling" she spat "I don't control what my brother does" "Well you know my theory, darling..." "What theory?" Fuck, Sirius didn't learn, did he? But what else could he do if they were talking about Alphard. When Orion turned to look at him, he added "Sir?" "It's stupid..." Walburga began. But Orion raised his hand and she was interrupted. "It's okay, Wally" Orion said "I think it is rightful to tell our children what their uncle is really like..." "You have no proof, Orion" Walburga clenched her teeth. "Anyway, I think Sirius deserves to know Alphard is not the person he thinks" Orion smiled evilly "What are you talking about?" At this point, Sirius couldn't shut his mouth. "Orion..." "Alphard uses drugs, parties, drinks and has sex with random people and hookers" Walburga rolled her eyes as if she didn't believe it. "With men" Orion added. Regulus almost choked with his food. A million thoughts ran through Sirius' mind. Especially all that Alphard said the day he said goodbye. How he regretted his choices. How he tried to convince Sirius to be himself no matter who he felt attracted to. Did this mean that Orion was right? "That's not true!" Sirius spatted angrily. Sirius had been raised following strictly what The Bible said. Sirius still remembered what his nanny Mrs. Syre used to said about gay people. "Those bloody homosexuals. We need to pray that they end up in hell, where they belong". But it was 2012. Sirius had learned to be respectful. Albus Dumbledore the headmaster of Hogwarts was gay. Edgar Bones, his classmate was gay. Sirius knew what gays were like. Feminine and all. Alphard wasn't like that. "It is, son" "You have no proof" Orion laughed "Why the hell do you think Alphard hasn't married?" "He is a free spirit!" "Is that what he told you?" Orion laughed "How innocent..." "Mother say something!" Sirius protested Walburga continued to drink her wine. Sirius sighed. "Reggie?" Regulus blinked. "You like Uncle Alphard, don't you?" "Uncle Alphard is nice" Regulus muttered "Your bloody uncle is corrupting your minds...." Orion pointed at them with his fork, angrily "He is a fucking faggot, And if you spend a lot of time with him, he will turn you into that..." "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! THAT'S HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!" Sirius was losing his bloody temper. He stood up. "SIRIUS SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN" Walburga warned. Eyes full of hate. "How can you be so calm, Walburga?" Sirius pointed to his father "He is insulting your brother" "THAT'S IT EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Walburga yelled, she turned to Sirius "And you have no right to treat me like that, young man" "Apologize to your mother!" Orion yelled "Apologize for what you said about my Uncle!" Sirius yelled back. Orion stared at Sirius with eyes full of venom. "All you have to do is behave like a proper man. Like a proper Black" "Maybe I don't want to!" "ORION, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Walburga roared "You just hate that your ego is hurt" "This is what I been telling you, Wally!" Orion protested "Sirius had spent too much time with Alphard. He had changed. He is becoming rebel and responding... Look at that hair, is too long..." "What the hell does that mean?" "Maybe he's turning you into a puff..." Sirius was trembling with rage. Orion was saying lies about Alphard. And now about himself. Sirius thought about what Alphard told him. How he shouldn't let them mold him the way they want. How Alphard admired him for speaking up for the things he didn't like. Sirius thought about Remus. How he was different. He was special. And there was nothing wrong with him. Perhaps Alphard was different as well. Perhaps he was different too. "Maybe I am a puff" At that moment, he mostly said it to provoke Orion. And he reacted, because he threw his glass against the wall, breaking it into a million pieces. Everyone jumped. Walburga yelled. "What did you say?" Everyone

in their right mind would say sorry, and not speak again. Regulus was asking him exactly that with his pleading eyes. But Sirius was out of his mind. Or he just didn't care anymore. Or he was an idiot. "I said that maybe I am a puff" he repeated more clearly "Sir..." Sirius felt Orion's fist on his face before anything. He was on the floor. Nose and lip bleeding. He wanted to cry so badly but the tears didn't come out. Orion grabbed him by his shirt. His face was red with fury. "You were supposed to come out right!" Orion said desperately "You were supposed to be the heir!! You cannot be a faggot. Tell me you are not one!!" Sirius was definitely an idiot. "I am a faggot" his voice was hoarse and he coughed blood. But Orion was hitting him again. All that Sirius could see between punches, was Regulus crying and begging. "PLEASE FATHER STOP! PLEASE STOP!" And Walburga. Walburga was next to Regulus. Her face didn't flick or show emotion. She just stood there supporting Regulus and watching all. I give up. Sirius thought. Now I know there's no sign of love. They don't love me. Never did.

[prongsies]

Lights Up • Sirius Black

PAIRING: Sirius Black x Reader SUMMARY: Sirius finally gets the freedom he deserves as he reunites with an old “friend” WARNINGS: Mild language, a bit sexually suggestive but not that much, shitty writing A/N: I found it a bit hard to write for this song idk why :( Fine Line Master list

"Do you want to stay?” Your voice echoed in the silence of your living room, eyes watching Sirius, trying to memorize every detail about him before you’re all forced into hiding a week later. As friends of Lily and James Potter, whose first and only son is being haunted down by a power-crazed wizard otherwise known as Voldemort, you’re part of the few he considers a hindrance from him “unleashing his full potential” - meaning, he’s got his eyes on killing you too.

Because of this, Dumbledore had asked all of you to go into hiding, and for Lily and James to assign their Secret Keeper. Which led to the dinner you had all shared just moments ago, prepared solely by you, in the small cottage you shared with Remus, skillfully concealed with Charms you had learned and relearned for the sole purpose of this meal.

It started off smoothly, all of you sharing your memories at Hogwarts and teasing James for how love-struck he was over Lily, until you got to the primary matter at hand: deciding who their Secret Keeper was. They were a hundred percent sure they wanted it to be Sirius, and no one questioned it knowing how much he meant to James and vice versa.

But it seemed Sirius didn’t like the idea, pointing his finger towards you or anyone for that matter, just not him. Knowing that as James’ best friend, they will come for him first. But everyone else insisted, Remus backing up the Potters’ statements which resulted in a verbal argument between him and Sirius, Remus eventually leaving to “go get some air”.

The rest of the meal continued in silence though, tensed after that little spat that ensued between your two friends. When it (finally) concluded, you walked your friends out your flat, James and Lily lingering longer to exchange sentiments and expressions of love before you cut off communication indefinitely. Then, with a kiss on Harry’s forehead - and a knowing look from James who gestured towards Sirius - they left, disappearing into the night.

“Sirius,” You tried once again, eyes studying the boy who wouldn’t so much as spare you a glance, “Do you want to stay?”

“I could,” He seemed to consider it for a moment, before his face morphed into a sour expression, “but I wouldn’t”

“What do you mean?” You approached him, taking careful steps towards him trying to avoid any kind of negative reaction, “Is it Remus? You know he won’t mind. He- he just needs some time to think, you know? But he’ll understand when you talk it out-”

“It’s not that, (y/n)!” Sirius exclaimed in obvious frustration, running his fingers through his hair, “It’s just.. I don’t think we should keep doing this anymore”

“What, being friends?” You asked humorlessly, bitterness seeping down your throat.

“Friends don’t fuck around while ignoring their feelings for each other, (y/n)! you know that!” He practically growled at you, eyes softening at your scared expression, yet the rest of his face remained cold, “and I can’t face Remus, especially after practically shoving his illness to his face”

“You just need to talk it out” You reasoned with him, trying to hide the hurt you felt when he backed away from you, “We’re all each other has, Sirius, especially now with James, Lily, and Harry in danger! We can’t- we can’t turn against each other now”

“I’m sorry, (y/n)” 

With that, he rushed out the door, leaving you behind with words paragraphs left unsaid. 

A month later, you and Remus find out about James and Lily’s deaths, then a day after that, the murder of Peter and 12 other muggles at the hands of the person you used to call you friend.

A shiver ran down Sirius’ spine at the sudden cold breeze that brushed his shoulders. Shutting his book and placing it atop the coffee table, he stood to get the fireplace ready, igniting his with his wand, before settling back on the armchair he had occupied.

Sighing at the warmth, he allowed his eyes to trail over the interior of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, where he had been residing in hiding after his escape from Azkaban five years ago. The war had finished, concluding in the so-called Battle of Hogwarts where he fought alongside his best friend, Remus, and godson, Harry. It ended victoriously, Voldemort finally descending into the pits of hell where he belongs.

With his contribution to the war and the countless proof pointing towards his innocence, the Ministry decided to open his case after almost two decades, allowing him the opportunity to walk the earth as a free man once and for all. The thought brought a smile onto Sirius’ lips, which didn’t go unnoticed by his godson who was descending the stairs from his room in the second floor.

“You nervous?” Harry asked as he neared, propping himself onto the armchair across Sirius with an envelope in hand.

“Very” Sirius nodded with a grin, “Although, I’m more excited than nervous”

“That’s alright” Harry shrugged as he pulled out the documents, spreading the papers onto the coffee table so he could sort through them, “Besides, the woman who had taken over your case is supposedly the best one out there. In fact, she was the one who insisted to handle it, apparently she’s been sending appeals to the Wizengamot the moment you’ve been locked up”

“I didn’t know it’d be a woman, do I know her?” 

"Too well, I believe” Harry replied simply, looking up at Sirius with a smirk playing in the corner of his lips as he busied himself. As if on cue a knock sounded from the front door, followed by Remus’ footsteps as he rushed from the kitchen to the entrance hall.

“Remus!” A woman’s voice echoed through the quiet home, followed by the sound of shuffling and the gentle shut of the door. “Is Teddy with you?”

“‘fraid not. He’s with his mum and grandma for a few days, with the full moon last night”

Sirius’ eyes furrowed as he eavesdropped on the conversation. Who could this woman be for Remus to mention his lycanthropy so nonchalantly? 

His question was answered as she stepped into the room, body going rigid at the sight of Sirius on the sofa. The latter was unaware he had rose to his feet as he saw her as well, his breath caught in his throat as he took the sight of her in. (y/n), the same girl he had loved for years, whose thoughts plagued his mind with regret the day he left her standing in her own living room after she reached out to him. 

(y/n), whose skin he used to caress almost every night as they lay in bed after  hours of intimacy and passion, whose lips he swears he could still taste up until this day. (y/n), the name he’d moan in her ear or against her neck, as pleasure overtook his body, he knows he could never be silent around her. (y/n) whose years of stress had aged her features significantly yet, much to Sirius’ jealously, remained youthful and beautiful after all this years.

“(y/n)” He found himself breathing out, his cheeks heating up at the small crack in his voice - a failed attempt of keeping his emotions at bay.

“Sirius” She seemed breath-taken as well. But she was quick to compose himself, hiding the admiration from her features and replacing it with something Sirius assumed to be her professional face. She cleared her throat, shaking her head slightly, before reaching a hand out towards him, “It’s great to see you again. I hope you don’t mind me coming at such a short notice, I just really need to prep you for your trial tomorrow”

“Drop the formalities, (y/n)! We all know your heart still beats for Sirius!” Remus commented from behind her, watching the scene in amusement. He reached over to share a high-five with Harry, who immediately settled after a playful glare sent towards him by Sirius

“Shut it, Moony” (y/n) rolled her eyes.

Hesitantly, Sirius took her hand in his, biting back his smile as his cheeks managed to heat up even more. It all ended far too quickly though, since just after she pulled her hand away, she ushered everyone into the dining room, ordering Remus to shut the door behind him as she charmed the small area to mimic a courtroom - which looked far too realistic that the sight of it brought chills to Harry as he recalled the way he felt in his own trial years ago.

(y/n) motioned towards a chair in the middle of the now-circular room, waiting for Sirius to take his seat. “Now, I managed to collect some of the many questions to be directed your way. Don’t worry though, we’ve also collected some memories to put into the pensieve to back up your statement”

“The pensieve?” Harry asked. He didn’t know they were allowed to do that.

“It’s a special privilege” (y/n) answered his unvoiced question, not tearing her eyes away from the mountains of paperwork she was pulling out from her bag, scanning each one as she placed them gently onto the table, “Help me with this, Moony, will you?”

Remus was quick to her side, helping her look through the documents. It was funny seeing them now, as Sirius had always thought they’d end up together eventually, which had been one of the reasons why Sirius refused to stay when she asked him to - he thought they had feelings for each other, (y/n) just taking it out on Sirius, but he was very wrong.

“Here we go!” She exclaimed triumphantly, grabbing a stack of paper from the pile, circling the table to stand in front of him, “Are you ready, Sirius?”

“Let’s have at it”

___

“This is undeniably one of the worst days of my life” Sirius grunted as he collapsed onto the dining room chair in exhaustion, dropping his forehead rather harshly onto the table in front of him. 

The room had been reverted to its original state when they had concluded the prepping session, something Sirius didn’t enjoy even just one bit.

“Remus, I was overcame by my emotions back then” Sirius deadpanned, earning a grin from Remus. It’s nice they could talk about the past so lightly now, no matter how dark it had been, “My vision literally went dark when I went after Peter. As soon as I calmed, I was already sitting in my cell in Azkaban”

“It wasn’t that bad” Remus tried to make light of the situation, yet upon recalling how it actually went, a cringe made its way onto his face. He could still hear Sirius' loud voice echoing the room just hours ago, trying to defend himself from the accusations thrown by (y/n).

He had thrown harsh words towards her, settling down whenever she would correct his wordings or point out the slight raise in his tone which the council wouldn't like. Sirius tried to keep up with all her suggestions, but doing so would mean he would need to keep his frustrations to himself - which was rather difficult since he had done just that when he was locked up.

He settled mugs of coffee in front of Sirius and (y/n). They had only taken a short few minutes for dinner before continuing their session again, and Sirius didn’t think it’d be that difficult to recall what happened in an event that occurred long ago. By the time they finished, it was near midnight.

“We can request to submit a memory to the council though” (y/n)’s voice was rough as she spoke, an effect of her consistent interrogation towards Sirius, teaching him how to respond in a way that would work in his favor. “Besides, we need you as calm as we can. Merlin knows you can be dramatic sometimes”

“Dramatic!” Sirius exclaimed in mock offense, “Love, you of all people should now how false your accusation is”

“Pads, you literally first appeared to me as a large black dog in the middle of the night” Harry reminded from beside (y/n). Sirius could see the familiarity in (y/n)’s eyes upon hearing Harry call Sirius by his Marauder name, knowing deep down she heard James’ voice as well. 

“Imagine being a thirteen year old finding out your godfather was “on the way to kill you” while seeing a literal death omen all the time. I was literally so afraid I thought I might shit my pants” Harry continued, earning a laugh from Remus.

“And what is it you told me when I transformed that night?” Remus quipped humorously, “You know the man you truly are, Remus!”

“Sod off, Lupin! Bloody hell” but Sirius couldn’t help the smile forming on his face as his eyes found (y/n), watching the way her eyes crinkled at the sides in laughter. Remus noticed this, sharing a look with Harry before nodding him out the room, disappearing up the stairs in hushed whispers.

When (y/n) calmed, she was left alone with Sirius, nursing her mug of coffee in her palms, the way she used to do when her hands started feeling cold. Sirius didn’t want the awkward silence to take over, so he initiated a conversation, “So... how’ve you been over the years?”

(y/n) gave him a look, and Sirius could just hear her teenage self utter a sarcastic ‘really?’, but she answered anyway, “It was rather peachy. I mean, losing James, Lily, and you in two days? It was really hard”

“I’m surprised you and Remus didn’t end up together. I was assuming that after living together for all those years, you’d develop something” Sirius jumped right into it, regretting the years he had spent not even trying to ask.

“Really?” And there it was, the face. She sighed, standing up from her seat to claim the chair beside Sirius, smiling up at him, “We were only friends then, Siri. We both couldn’t afford a place of our own so we figured we could live together. I mean, if you weren’t staying with Lily and James then, I would’ve offered you to live with me”

“Did you see someone else while I was gone?” 

“You’re actually being so blunt right now” (y/n) laughed. “If you had been this straight-forward then we would’ve been together by now. But yes, I had been in many relationships. Remus and I even tried going out once - too awkward so we reverted back to being friends. There was also this one guy who actually proposed to me 6 months into the relationship, but I declined”

“Why? You could’ve had a family by now”

“Let’s just say I was waiting for the Ministry to finally accept my petition to reopen your case. It’s the main reason why I joined the Wizengamot council really, so I can set you free” She said softly, “I’ve always known you wouldn’t betray your friends like that, especially James”

“Yeah” Sirius couldn’t keep his eyes off (y/n)’s lips as she spoke, swallowing audibly at the thought of how easy it is to connect their lips in the small distance between them. “Can I kiss you?”

“I could say yes, but I wouldn’t” She replied cheekily, reminisce of one of the few words Sirius had told her before he left.

“I’m sorry, by the way... I was young then - scared of the war, of being given that much responsibility which I ended up chickening out of. I- I didn’t know who I was then”

“Do you know who you are now?”

“No, but I’m certain I am hopelessly in love with you - have been all these years” His face neared hers, lips mere centimetres away, “And I know I’ll go mad if I don’t get to feel your lips again”

“I can’t” She pulled back, surprising Sirius. She was staring at his lips though, while biting her own, an indication of how much she wanted to do it, “I want to but I can’t. As of now, you’re still a client”

“Oh”

“But if you do a good job tomorrow, maybe I can reward you with one? and maybe something more?”

The grin on both their faces confirmed an agreement, and although Sirius’ nerves had settled once again in his stomach, at least he had something to look forward to.

___

“Are you ready, darling?” (y/n) asked as she stood beside Sirius near the front door of 12 Grimmauld place, her hand on the knob ready to turn it at any second. Harry and Remus had gone ahead of them, bringing Sirius’ belongings to (y/n)’s home somewhere in London, and mainly to give the two some privacy.

“Ready as ever, love” Sirius grinned. 

With a grin, she swung open the front door, allowing the sunlight to enter the house while the cold afternoon breeze nipped at their skin. 

Finally, after twelve years in Azkaban, and five years hiding in the Hellhole House of Black, he was finally able to take his first steps outside as a free man. Pulling (y/n) towards him in a tight embrace as they stood on the porch, he couldn’t help but let a few tears escaped. 

He had thought this moment would remain a dream, something so impossible to happen that he hated himself for even considering it. But here he was, not needing to transform into a dog just so he could roam the streets. 

He’s a free man now.

With a grin he turned back towards his old home, glaring at it as he raised both his hands, flashing the front door with his middle fingers, before shouting, “Fuck you, Number 12 Grimmauld Place! Fuck you, Azkaban! I’M NOT EVER GOING BACK!”

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