#anyways I’ve been waiting 2 years for the reveal to be animated

[turnedinto-themoon]

Baby shoto, fresh from the womb: 👁-👁

Touya: *already on fire* you little shit. I’ll see you in hell bitch

[mci-writing]

Hi I saw that your requests are open. Can I request a senku x female reader where he has a crush on an older tattooed foreigner who was on vacation in Japan when the world was petrified

I've had this sitting for a minute tbh, but mostly bc I didn't want there to be too many spoilers for anime-onlys 😭😭 mostly for how tattoos work,,, Don’t be surprised if there’s a heavy focus on language plot wise, I’ve been working on a lot of linguistics homework 😞

Anyways, hope you enjoy

Science Makes Age Complicated (Ishigami Senku x Reader):

Warnings: technically an age gap but also not (reader was once 2 years older than Senkuu, but now they're the same age due to time shenanigans), fem!reader, some language use (a few swears here and there), reader is American (RIP but it’s plot relevant), reader is implied to know an insane amount of languages (bc this is Dr Stone and it’s relevant to world-building)

"Think you can scrounge something up for her, Yuzuriha?" Senku parts the lush shrubbery for his friend, unresponsive to her obvious surprise at the sight before her. He figured it would go that way, considering how kept away the whole area is, but he'd rather start the spectacle with her big reactions instead of the loud and boisterous version involving the rest of their crew, "I'm more than sure you'll manage to make her something she's 1 billion percent comfortable in."

He'd considered this statue his secret weapon for the next part of their excursion. Well, that would be his explanation as to why he'd waited so long to unveil her and finally free her from her encasement. Really, he could never find the proper time to finally revive her, especially when every time it would feel right to, something else would arise that would require them to use the revival fluid for someone else.

When talks of traveling to the Americas came up, he knew it'd be the perfect time to properly reveal her and, hopefully, ease her into their current predicament. While Gen is a great diplomat, thew mentalist isn't exactly fluent in as many languages as the girl in the statue before them. Even more, if they are to run into more people (which they very likely are), it's better to have at least two representatives to talk things over. That's going to be his reasoning, anyway.

Deep down, he's a little nervous to finally see her again, especially now that he's technically older than her by a few months at least. The last time they'd seen each other had been the day before the petrification light, the two decided to spend time with each other before he went back to school. She was visiting Japan for a bit, a trip she'd planned to make at least once a year since the two had officially met in person while he had been in America. Back then, she'd been 17 to his 15, owning an American driver's license and a tattoo sleeve that left many of the older members of society scandalized.

"I don't think she's going to take being younger than us well," Yuzuriha mentions as she finishes up sewing the outfit she'd made for (Y/n). She worked fast, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead once she finished. She takes a step back once she's finished, watching as Senku steps forward, "Especially when she finds out how long it took for you to bring her back."

"She'll be fine. I'm 1 billion percent sure she's going to be grateful for it," He responds, popping the top off the tiny vial between his fingers. He doesn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he lets the contents of the vial drip from the top of her head. The two watch expectedly as it eases its way down her body, stone cracking and parting in its wake, “She’s going to get to visit home, after all.”

The stone falls from her body, the life slowly coming back into her (e/c) orbs as more of her skin is revealed. Her tattooed sleeve remains, now accompanied by the petrification markings on her face and other parts of her body. A wave of confusion hits her as she takes in the unfamiliar surroundings, but her shoulders relax a little as she takes in the two familiar figures next to her, "Senku...? Yuzuriha...?" "Hey, (Y/n)," He immediately greets in response, an excited light coming to his eyes as ruby meets (e/c), "Looks like we're the same age now."

Yuzuriha flinches at his greeting, sighing with a shake of her head as she takes a small step closer to their friend. A nervous smile forms on her lips as she takes (Y/n) hands into her own, leading her out of the hidden away area into the light of the new world. She feels the grip tighten as (e/c) eyes dart around the surrounding forestry in an attempt to better understand the circumstances and environment, "We have a lot to catch you up on, but I'm sure if we ease you in slowly it won't cause you too much whiplash-"

"We don't have time for that, Yuzuriha. We still have to load the ship back up and travel to America," Senku waves the notion off, walking past the two of them and leading them back into the village. Neither of the girls miss the smirk on his face as he continues, unmoving as they gape at him like fish, "(Y/n) will catch up along the way."

He's bluffing, which they realize a little later when Ryusui recounts the plan to spend the next few days loading the ship and replacing the items they used on their last voyage. (Y/n) is assimilated faster into their new society than she can process, the rest of their group taking the basic information they're fed and working with it. Yuzuriha is eventually forced to leave her to fend for her own after a bit to attend to her own assignments and Taiju only stops to catch up for a bit (which is mostly him speed talking and making assumptions about how much she's been made aware of) before continuing to move along.

Senku doubts he'll ever admit it out loud, but he is grateful that they're the same age, even if he's technically older by a few months now. Standing next to (Y/n), who hadn't aged a day past the last time he'd seen her, was the reassurance he secretly needed about his own development. While his growth spurt, a result of the final pushes of puberty during the Stone Wars and roughing it during the New Stone Age, was the only difference he could notice next to her, (Y/n) had been hit with the whiplash of every other development.

To her, it felt like both a lifetime and a long night since she had seen Senku, yet he looked almost completely different and exactly the same. The remainder of his baby fat had rounded out of his cheeks, his face maturing nicely into that of a young adult, and he'd sprung up quite a bit in height. He was still lithe in comparison to Taiju, till thin and very much not built for too much physical labor, but he'd gotten a bit of meat on his bones to fill his arms out a little more. Despite that, he still looked like him, like the jerky boy she'd met by chance in middle school who would be the first person she'd show her newest tattoos to when she was 16 to get some kind of rise out of him.

Taiju and Yuzuriha were a further reminder of the weird passage of time, the two more developed in their own rights. He was beefier, still ever-muscular in a more defined way. His hands seemed rougher, but she didn't know if that had been due to the rougher circumstances or if they were always meant to get so rough with all the handy work Senku would put him up to. Yuzuriha had filled out a little, a few scars littering her hands from what (Y/n) could only assume was from her thread work she'd seem to consistently be working on since they'd gotten back to their stronghold. Her silky brown hair, which had once reached her waist and made a few of the girls from their school envious of its length, now barely reached past her shoulders in its bobbed shape.

She feels so out of place...

~~~~

The rush of information coming to people’s senses is always amusing to watch, but (Y/n) is taking a little more time to process than usual. Even now, a few days into her now being free from the stone prison, she still has more questions. They aren’t particularly scientific, more so just random observations that she really wants the answers to. She’s also hyper-analyzed the villagers' speech patterns, having them repeat their newer slang and pronounce random words in Japanese, English, and German (something they did not realize they were fluent in until she came around). In return, they ask her questions about the past (mostly Senku, Yuzuriha, and Taiju), the sleeve on her arm, and why the hell she knows so many languages already.

Senku can’t really be mad about it slowly down progress, he’s sure he’d slack off a little too if they didn’t have so little time to prepare for their trip across the sea. Neither of them miss the way their eyes longingly stare at one another, meeting a few times before either is dragged away by the others they’re surrounded by. It’s even worse that (Y/n) feels she hasn’t been able to get any time alone with him since they made it to the village. She’d been made aware of their plans once her confusion died down a little, even taking the time to freshen up on the main languages she’d be focused on for their trip and doing what she can to pitch in. Unfortunately, their different preparations would barely, if ever, cross over. Lowkey, it had been killing both of them inside, but they kept up appearances for the sake of getting things done.

She’d learned from Gen, who gave her brain a break by speaking in English with her, that Senku had kept her relatively well hidden. He’d visit her often, but no one had put together that’s what he’d been doing until now. Yuzuriha made it clear she’d only learned of (Y/n)’s whereabouts a little before they’d revived her. However, the brown-haired girl did mention that a few passing statements he’d made in the past were starting to make sense.

It took the last night before the Kingdom of Science would set sail again for (Y/n) to find time away from the others. Despite the various discussions scratching her brain in the best way possible in a new world, the dark blue of the night accompanied by the low noises of crickets and crashing waves gives her the solace she needs. While everything has mostly settled, or settled as much as it can, it's still moving so fast. To her, everything was normal yesterday and then dark for longer than she thinks possible to comprehend, "Maybe this is how Sleeping Beauty felt..."

"I doubt that," A familiar voice speaks up from behind her, the heels of his shoes clopping along the ground as he approaches. The gravel scrunches as he shifts to sit next to her, deep zircon-colored eyes staring out towards the ocean's expanse. He scoots a little closer to her, his head tilting as his pinky reflexively reaches to dig out of his ear, "Considering she typically is depicted to have been a young preteen when she first fell asleep and an older teenager when she wakes, I doubt there were many technological changes to throw her for such a loop, especially if the story takes place in a fictional version of the middle ages."

His eyes shift to peak at her instead, his typical grin filing onto his face. Somehow, they're one of his few features to remain the same despite his growing age. He's one of the reasons she's out here tonight, gathering her thoughts privately one last time so she can tuck them away to focus her attention more on to returning civilization.

Of course, she always thought he was good-looking, most people did. However, where they were turned off by his passion for science and technical engineering, she found it to be all the more endearing for his character. He had his pesty moments, but so did everyone else in some way. It added to his charm, "Didn't see you as the fables type, Senku."

"Had a friend who was super into literature. She read it in different languages to challenge herself," He teases in response, his gaze turning back to the sight before them, "Wonder where she is now..."

(Y/n) tugs her knees up to her chest, the irony of the comparison not lost on her, though made completely on accident. She pulls them closer, resting her cheek on them as she takes in the boy next to her, "Maybe she's trapped somewhere in a stone prison back in the woods."

She watches his chest rumble with his chuckle, a soft breeze picking up and spreading the smell of salt water. He's closer now, the smaller changes staring her in the face and taunting her. She'd wanted him this close to her again, just for the reassurance, but now... She kind of regrets it.

"I would've found her by now," He mumbles, the sound just barely reaching her ears. A fond smile slowly eases across his mouth as he returns his gaze to her, "Would've taken me a while to finally see her like this again, but I think it'd finally be worth seeing her again. Even with the circumstances."

"I'm sure she'd be grateful to see you again too, even with the circumstances."

[deadbythemorning]

Project Eve (Harry Potter x reader) part 2

Synopsis: When accidentally sent back in time fifty years, Y/n turns to the most famous wizards for help

Or

Y/n must attend her final years of school fighting for her life at Hogwarts while trying not to fall in love with one of the most famous wizards in the world

Authors note: omg thank you guys so much for actually enjoying the story like I just expected this to just float around. And I’m so sorry😭 like I can give a ton of excuses but I genuinely appreciate you guys reading it and patiently waiting

@prettylittlelavvy @nshrkilvbt @stvrlavs @xamel1a @thestrals-and-firewiskey @

“Lionel!” Y/n whisper shouted while catching the creature “You can’t do that” she tells him while pulling him close to her chest “They might send you back home if they catch you” but the small animal didn’t care, he still tried to wiggle out of her arms “What are you trying to get?” Y/n cautiously looked around the empty compartment “Lionel am I going to die?” She whispered while taking a small step forward. Wait… Y/n put the animal away in her pouch and knelt down to the ground no… I must be going crazy. She stood upright with a sigh, she’d miss the carriage ride to Hogwarts for her crazy pet for absolutely no reason. Well that was until she took another step and nearly tripped. Y/n knelt back down to feel the ground to see if her eyes truly deceived her, not daring to make a sound. Is this… Y/n grabbed a fistful of the invisible fabric and tugged on it to reveal a frozen Harry “We haven’t even arrived at Hogwarts and you’re already in trouble”

The two walked back to together Hogwarts in a comfortable silence, well not for Harry, he was embarrassed that Y/n found him in such a state

“Sorry you missed the carriage ride” he awkwardly spat out but she shrugged her shoulders

“I would’ve missed it anyway” she tells him while crossing her arms “At least now I have someone to walk with”

A smile forms on Harry’s lips but then a question begged to be answered “How did you find me?”

She then began to fidget “Well…my pet…must’ve smelt you” she looks over at him with a smile “Besides, I can recognize your smell anywhere”

Smell? Once Y/n turned back, Harry quickly sniffed his armpits “So…you have a pet?”

Y/n nodded “Lionel is a pain in the arse” she then turns back to him with a cheeky smile“But he’s my pain”

Harry smiles with her “I would love to meet him one day”

“Oh, about time” professor Flitwick sighs “I’ve been looking all over for you two” he opens his scrolls “Right, names?”

Harry frowns “Professor Flitwick, you’ve known me for five years”

The man shook his head “No exceptions Potter”

Y/n looked towards the group of unfamiliar people “Who are all of those people?”

“Aurors” Flitwick answered “For security”

The reality of the situation soon began to settle in Y/n’s stomach. This was real and they were going to war, this was truly life or death.

“Nice face Potter” Draco snarled but frowned once he looked over at you. Professor Snape hit the back of Draco’s head and urged him to continue his walk back to the castle.

“May I ask how you ended up with a broken nose?” She questioned while turning back to Harry

“Malfoy”

She nodded “I would’ve thought that after last year you would’ve left that family alone” as soon as the words left her lips, she regretted it. The painful thoughts of Sirius dying flooded both of their minds “Here” she pulls out her wand “Let me fix it for you”

Harry gives a greatful smile but was still lost in thought about Sirius, but not completely lost in thought to stop her from walking away “What? No kiss to make it better?”

Y/n gave the boy a surprised look “I thought you grew past this”

Harry shakes his head with a pout “It still really hurts”

With a playful roll of her eyes, she walks over to the boy did he grow a few inches? She holds onto his shoulders to jump onto her tip toes, and plants a gentle kiss onto his nose “All better now?” She barely whispers, afraid to move or breathe

“I think one more might help” Y/n’s face grew hot with embarrassment when did he become so…

“I think you need to learn to stay out of harms way” she moved away from him to continue their walk, trying to get her emotions in control “Well this is your stop” she tells him while stopping in front of the great hall

“You’re not coming to dinner?” He asked and she shook her head

“I’ve got to let Lionel out before he runs rampant again, but I’ll see you later” she turns to leave but Harry was eager to ask one last question

“Do I smell?”

☾

“Attention to detail is the prerequisite of all planning” Y/n did think she’d be learning a lot more spells in defense against the dark arts with Snape as professor, but her passion was in potions. There was absolutely nothing she had against Professor Slughorn, hell he seemed like a fun ditzy teacher, but Snape was the person who made her so passionate on potions “Ah” Slughorn whirls around “Harry my boy I was beginning to worry” Y/n’s eyes dart up to see Harry and Ron stumble into the room

I truly can’t escape him

“We don’t have any books” Harry tells the man

“Take what you need from the cupboard” Slughorn then turns back to the class “Now as I was saying, I prepared some concoctions this morning. Any ideas what they might be?” Hermione’s hand shot up “Miss L/n” all eyes fall on her “I hear from professor Snape that you’re a brilliant witch and incredibly talented in potions”

“Snape think highly of anyone?” Pansy snorts “She must be screwing him” a couple of students giggle but Y/n rolls her eyes and steps forward anyways

“That’s Veritaserum” she tells him “The truth telling serum” she looks over at the second pot “This is a polyjuice potion, tricky to make and disgusting to drink” Y/n paused as she watched as the two boys fought over the last book

What a dork

“And the last one is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world”

“Ahh, and you must be miss Granger” Y/n quickly looks away once the boys finally turned around

“Yes sir, may I continue?”

Might as well

Y/n fell back in line with the others with a irritated huff

If Snape were here, we’d probably be making these potions

She then scoffs

Who needs a love potion anyway….

Y/n’s lips form into a tight line

A love potion is quite literally the reason I’m stuck here

“Sir, you haven’t told us what was in that one” Katie points out and Slughorn grabs it with a smile

“What you see before you ladies and gentlemen is a curious little potion known as Felix Felicis”

“Or your modern day liquid luck” Y/n muttered

“Yes miss L/n, liquid luck” he holds it up to show the class “Desperately tricky to make, disastrous if made wrong” now this caught her attention, a challenge, something worth her time. Who needs a small vial when you can craft the potion yourself? This could be her ticket home, maybe she just needed luck to be on her side to figure out what she was doing wrong.

Drought of living death?

Y/n scoffs

I could do that with my eyes closed

After all, it was a potion that hit close to home for her, almost like the domino effect. Y/n opened up the tattered book and tilted her head in confusion.

Property of the Half blood prince?

Y/n looked around to see if anyone was missing a book, she thought about taking it to the lost and found but quickly dismissed the idea once she seen that it was covered in notes. It was a curious thing, notes scribbled everywhere along the book, on every page explaining in great detail how to craft each potion.

Y/n looked around the room and watched as everyone struggled to cut their sopophorus bean “How did you do that?” Hermione demanded to know while the others looked over at her

“Try crushing it” she suggested while looking back down at the book

“No, it specifically says to cut it”

Y/n slowly looked back up “As long as you extract the juice, it shouldn’t matter how you get it” Hermione frowns but does as she says. However, Harry on the other hand struggled to read off of Ron’s book he’ll need liquid luck more than I will “Harry” the boy quickly looks up and she slides him her book

“Then how will you craft the potion?” She waved her hand in dismissal

“It’s easy enough to-”

“Easy?” Hermione then scoffs at her words

Y/n turns back to the boy “Trust me, you’ll want to read this book” the boy looks down at the desk with a curious gaze.

It took no time at all for Harry to quickly brew his potion but he wasn’t the only one who had eyes lingering on him “Well if it’s so easy, why aren’t you brewing it?”

Y/n looked up at the girl “Because I already know how to brew it” she tells her nonchalantly while crossing her arms “I don’t want the vial of liquid luck, I want to be able to craft it”

“Quite the ambition miss L/n” Slughorn chuckled while walking over to them

She shrugs her shoulders “Well I love a challenge” she then looks over “If I can brew some of the hardest potions in the world, what would I need luck for?” Slughorn loved that, a student that wanted to know more and had a passion for the subject he loved so dearly.

“How about you meet me after class Miss L/n” he tells her “Perhaps I could offer a potion that would be worth your while”

“So she’s got a thing for potion professors?” Pansy joked, causing half the class to laugh

“And you’ve got a thing for Draco even though he doesn’t even know your first name” the class ooo’ed “I mean I’d be so miserable all the time if the cute nickname he gave me was pug face Parkinson”

That was certainly enough to anger the girl enough to jump out of her seat “Settle down miss Parkinson” Slughorn tells her while hurrying over to her desk “We wouldn’t want you to do anything that could lead you into detention now would we?”

Once class was over, Slughorn congratulated Harry on creating the potion correctly, but Harry wasn’t satisfied “Here” Y/n looks up to see Harry handing her the vial “I wouldn’t have made it without your help”

She shakes her head “You made it, so you’ve earned it”

The boy frowns “You would’ve made the potion first if you made it”

“Allegedly” the two turn to Hermione who awkwardly looks down “She would’ve allegedly made it correctly”

“Why don’t you just play rock paper scissors?” Ron suggested and Hermione scoffs

“This is ridiculous, why don’t you just-”

“Seems fair to me” Harry tells her and Y/n puts her bag down with a sigh

“You’re going to win Harold, this is just a waste of time” Y/n held out her fist and waited for Ron to count them off

“Rock…paper…scissors………..SHOOT!”

Harry held out scissors while Y/n held out paper

“Right then” Hermione nods “It’s settled”

But Harry stubbornly shook his head “I want a rematch”

“Mate” Ron leans into his ear “You won”

“She knew what I was going to pick”

Y/n rolled her eyes “Of course I did, I have good intuition”

“Shoot!” Y/n quickly held out rock while Harry threw paper. This went on for another thirty seconds until Hermione groaned in annoyance

“Harry she’s clearly going to let you win no matter what so just keep it!”

☾

“Well if you’re so curious to know, why don’t you ask Y/n?” Ron asked and Hermione frowned

“And why exactly would I do that?” She huffed

“Because she was the one to give Harry the book” Hermione stubbornly crossed her arms and stomped towards the girl who was currently making a snowman

“Where did you find the book Y/n?”

“Mione!”

Y/n slowly looked up to see the golden trio approach her “Oh hey guys”

“The book” she demanded “Where did you get it from?”

Y/n slowly stands up in confusion “What book?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know!”

“Hermione it’s not that serious!” Ron tells her and Harry turns to the girl covered in snow

“I’m sorry about Hermione” he apologized “She’s just a bit annoyed that I have the potions book you gave me”

“It’s practically cheating!”

Harry turned back to Y/n “We just wanted to know who the half blood prince was”

But Y/n just shrugged her shoulders “I haven’t got a clue in the world” she tells them honestly “I just found it in the cupboard” Within a blink of an eye, Katie Bell was strung up into the air as if she were possessed “HOLY SHIT!” The trio quickly whip around while her friend starts screaming.

I thought this only happened in horror movies

I might as well be living in a horror movie

“Everyone get back” Hagrid tells the bunch as he gently picks up the girl “And don’t you dare touch that” they all turn to Harry who was about to touch the necklace “Only pick it up with the cloth”

The five of them explained the entire situation to Mcgonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore while their hearts anxiously beat out their chest

“Why is it when something happens, it’s always you four?” Hermione gave Y/n a quick side eye, which she took as her memo to leave

“I actually have nothing to do with this, just came to give my statement” Y/n awkwardly held up finger guns as she slowly backed away “I’m…gonna take my leave now”

☾

“Again” Y/n let out a frustrated sigh

“It’s never going to happen!” She yells but the man in front of her felt no sympathy

“Again”

She throws her head back “Professor, we’ve been at this for HOURS”

“And yet you still can’t preform the simple spell” Snape tells her “Again”

She tries to preform the spell but inevitably fails “I’m good at potions! Why can’t you teach me potions? Why am I the only one who has to learn this?”

“Because this is war miss L/n” he tells her “What good is brewing potions when you’re in a battle?”

With yet another failed attempt, Y/n shut the book in frustration “This is stupid!”

That earned her a smack upside the head “You have the ability to preform the spell but you refuse to rid your mind of any intruding thoughts” she rubs the back of her head with a frown “Focus miss L/n”

“Well I don’t want to kill anyone” she mumbled which earned another smack

“It’s either your life or theirs” he tells her “Again”With one last breath, she cleared her mind and aimed her wand at the dummy “Any day now” he drawls and the spell successfully hits the dummy

Y/n quickly whips around in excitement “I DID IT!” She practically jumps onto the man to hug him “We did it professor!” Snape visibly tensed under her touch, wanting to reject the embrace but also wanting to enjoy the slight happiness her excitement brought him

“Get…off of me” Y/n peels herself off of him and lets out a nervous chuckle

“Forgive my excitement professor” she quickly bows in respect “Sometimes I get too excited for my own good” she then puts her wand away “If you don’t mind me asking though, why do you keep teaching me these overly advanced spells?”

Snape takes this opportunity to distance himself from the clingy girl “I’m afraid you’ll need them more than you think”

She tilts her head in confusion “Do you plan on teaching everyone these complicated yet very dangerous spells?”

“No”

“Then why me?” He stops and turns to her

“Because you keep deciding to follow Potter and all of his expeditions despite my constant warnings”

A pout makes its way onto her face “Then you ought to be training Harry as well”

“Mr Potter doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with me the way you do”

“Then make him professor!” She begged “Show him that you’re not the bad guy he claims you to be!”

Snape then goes back over to his book “Believe it or not miss L/n, I simply do not care what Potter may think of me. You are my main priority”

“Why?” She questioned “I’m not the chosen one”

“Yes, however, you may be in just as much danger as him, if not more”

“If not more?” She slowly turns around and looks at the clock

“The next defensive spell you’re going to learn is-”

“IM LATE” Snape’s eyes snap up from his book “I’m late to Slughorn’s dinner” she quickly gathers her things

“You can not honestly believe some dinner with that bafoon is more important than this”

“Sorry professor!” She calls out while running out the door “Same time tomorrow?”

She was comical in his eyes, it was almost endearing how much he cared for her but refused to show it “You fool” but even his insults to her didn’t sound genuine

Shitshitshitshit

Y/n bursts through the doors and quickly bows “im so sorry for my tardiness” she made her way to the empty seat “I’m usually never late but it seems time got the best of me”

The pale yellow chiffon dress was ruffled yet somehow made the disastrous girl look elegant “It’s alright my dear” Slughorn tells her once she sits down but Harry quickly stands up, catching everyone’s attention “We we’re just talking about the occupations of everyone’s parents” once their eyes met, Harry took his seat but his gaze never fully left her

“Grangers parents clean teeth” Blaise Zabini chuckled which made everyone else laugh, everyone except Hermione

“What does your parents do Y/n? Since you’re such a mystery”

Y/n’s eyes faltered “Professor, why don’t you tell us about how you invented the cure for dragon pox?”

Slug horns eyes lit up “Yes! Of course, well it was 1967-”

“I’m sorry professor” Hermione interrupts “I’m just really curious about Y/n’s parents”

Y/n looked down at the huge bowl of ice cream in front of her and let out a soft sigh “Before they died, my father was a professor to some preppy wizard academy and my mother pursed her passion in inventing potions” that instantly killed the mood “She’s the reason I love brewing potions” she shrugged her shoulders “I plan on becoming the most successful potion brewer in the world” she then uses her spoon to play in her food “I know it sounds childish but I’m going to finish her work and have both of our names on shelves, in books, everywhere”

Slughorn claps his hands together “If only we had wizards that were just as ambitious as you!” Y/n sheepishly shrugged her shoulders “What’s the name we should be looking for my dear?”

“Eve” Y/n looks up at the man “My mums name was Eve”

☾

Harry searched the great hall for a familiar face, causing Hermione to scoff “Do I even need to ask who you’re looking for?”

Harry turns to the others “I haven’t seen Y/n all day”

“She always turns up eventually” she tells him before pointing to the door “Look, there she is now”

Y/n hauled herself into the hall with a picket sign dragging behind her, obviously exhausted from her previous endeavors “Y/n!” She looks over towards the Gryfindor table and gives a tired smile before making her way over.

“Hey guys” she greets as she plops down next to Ron

“We haven’t seen you all day” Harry speaks up “Where have you been?”

“Protesting” she casually replied while loading her plate with food

“Free house elves you lazy pigs” Ron reads off her sign and she nods

“Pretty cool huh?” She holds up the sign to show the others “The words change into a picture of Fudge as a pig, isn’t that wicked?”

“How mature” Hermione mumbles into her cup

“Absolutely brilliant”

“I’m sure Fudge wouldn’t be too happy to see that” Ron adds on and Y/n nods

“He wasn’t” she starts “Tried having the lot of us arrested, if I wasn’t taught how to apperate, I probably would’ve been sleeping in a cell”

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows “Who taught you how to apperate?” Dumbledore in attempts to get her back home safely but ultimately failed “Do you even have a license?”

Y/n gave a plain face but a hand landed on her shoulder before she could answer “L/n” they all turned to see Blaise Zabini “Malfoy would like to talk to you” they all turned to Y/n with curiosity

“Draco can wait, I’m trying to explain why house elves are essentially slaves and how we need to free them” she then turns to Ron “Do you guys have a house elf?” He shakes his head “See! Even with as many people living in one house, they still have no need to own a house elf”

Blaise snorts “Probably can’t afford one”

“Well at least I know how to wipe my own arse”

Blaise moves to attack the ginger and Y/n jumps up to get in between them “Hey!” She puts her hands on Blaise’s chest “Draco wanted to see me right?”

The intimidating glare he gave Ron lasted a while before he finally looked back up at the girl “Right…”

“Then let’s have a chat shall we?”

Blaise led Y/n to the Slytherin dungeons and up to his and Draco’s shared room. Blaise was a handsome young man, probably scarier than Draco in her eyes, but attractive nonetheless. Which is exactly why she kept the small talk to a minimal on the walk there “We’re here”

She opens the door but he doesn’t move from his spot “You’re not coming?” He shook his head

“Malfoy said you had private matters to discuss” that made Y/n’s heart sink. Something so private that you can’t tell your best friend?

Her stress level began to rise as the boy closed the door behind her and Draco finally turns to face her “Hello Draco” she cooly greets while observing the room, making sure to avoid eye contact “You wanted to speak with me?”

The blonde nods “You have something that I need”

“Oh?” She grabs a family picture on Blaise’s nightstand “And that is?”

“Information” she then quirks a brow “So tell me, do I kill him?” Y/n quickly whips around

“Kill who?” She shakes her head “Draco, what are you talking about?”

“Cut the shit L/n, I know you’re from the future” her heart instantly stops “I over heard McGonagall talking about it so don’t try to play stupid”

But all she can do is play dumb “Draco I-”

“I mean it L/n” Draco was frantic, acting as if this were his only option

“Draco…” she slowly walked towards him “Even if what you’re saying is true, why would I help you?” But the look in his eyes said it all, he was scared “Why would you want my help? How do you know I won’t just run off and tell Harry?”

Draco roughly grabbed her arm “Do you understand what’s at stake here?!” He yelled “My life is on the line!”

“So I’m supposed to trade your life for countless others?” She yanked her arm away from him “Draco it’s never too late to do the right thing”

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND” y/n flinched at his harsh voice “I don’t have a choice, I HAVE to do this”

She slowly backs away from him while shaking her head “Draco I hope when the time comes, you’re on the right side of the battle” she then takes this opportunity to run out of the room and out the dungeon.

☾

“A niffler?” Y/n quickly whipped around to see Harry standing in the doorway of her room

“Shut that!” She whisper shouted while jumping up

Harry smiled with curiosity “I thought they were going extinct?”

“They are” she huffed while grabbing the blue feathered demon “Poachers like their feathers and bills” Lionel gave an innocent smile “I rescued Lionel and his family from a group of them over the summer” she explained while sitting back down on the bed “Lionel decided to follow me back, I tried bringing him back to his family, I even left all my valuable items” she looked down at the stubborn animal “But he refused to leave my side, didn’t matter what I did, he saw me as his mother” Lionel wiggled out of her arms and ran to Harry “He’s great company though, I’d just hate if a teacher caught him and sent him back to the wild, he wouldn’t stand a chance against those poachers”

Harry stared fondly at the girl “You rescued him from poachers?”

“Hey!” Harry looked down to see Lionel reaching for his watch “I’ve been rescuing animals all summer, I get some sort of rush from it” she explained “Protecting these poor animals from monsters that they don’t stand a chance against, giving them a fighting chance” she needed something to do other than find a way back home

“That’s incredibly dangerous, yet so incredibly brave of you” Y/n sheepishly shrugged her shoulders

“Might as well get used to using these spells and charms right?”

Harry’s smile slowly fades “What did Malfoy want with you? If you don’t mind me asking”

A tired sigh emits from the girl “He wanted my help”

Harry eagerly looks up at her “With what?”

“With…homework” she tells him and he relaxes a bit “He basically wanted me to do all of the work for him and I told him no”

Harry scoffs “Lazy git”

Y/n tilts her head in confusion “What did you think he wanted?”

“Nothing I-” but one look at those big soft orbs and he knew he couldn’t lie to her “I think he’s cursed Katie and I think he’s trying to kill Dumbledore”

She then began to get nervous “Strong accusations”

“Please don’t think I’m crazy” he begged while grabbing her hands “Not you of all people” she looked down at their intertwined hands “I was worried that he might’ve cursed you as well” the words were sweet and genuine, everything to make the girl want to spill her heart to the boy

“Well here I am” she tells him “Unharmed and not cursed” her eyes almost met his but slight movement caused her to yank her hands away “LIONEL!” She jump’s across the bed and chased the creature around the room “GIVE ME THAT WATCH BACK!”

☾

Sudden knocks shook Y/n from her thoughts “Yes?” The knocks became more eager as if they had the intentions of breaking down the door “Alright alright” she jumps out of bed and yanks the door open. She was met with a familiar set of green eyes, causing her to let out a small huff “Should’ve known it was you”

Harry gently pushes past her and looks around “You’re studying?” She shrugs her shoulders “What could you be studying today of all days?”

Y/n rests her hand on her hip “Today of all days….”

Harry lets out an exasperated sigh “The quidditch championship game”

Well that explains the uniform… “oh”

“Oh?” He shakes his head “Y/n this is probably the most important game Hogwarts has had in the past fifty years”

“Well in that case, good luck” she turns back to the book on her nightstand but Harry wasn’t satisfied

“You’re not coming?”

She shakes her head “I haven’t gone to a game all season, no reason to start”

Harry grabs the book from her “How about a personal invite from the captain of the Gryfindor team?”

Y/n lets out a loud sigh “Harryyy” she whined “I don’t know anything about quidditch, and I won’t even know anyone there”

The boy deadpans “The entire school will be there, besides, Hermione can explain it to you” she’d probably prefer I call her a mudblood

“Harry I-”

“Well if you don’t go, I’m not going” Harry stubbornly sits on her bed “Clearly it’s not that big of a deal”

All she could do was roll her eyes “You can’t miss your own game Harold, you’re captain”

He shrugs his shoulders “They’ll be fine without me”

“Just like you will be fine without me there”

Harry opens the book he previously confiscated from her “How to properly time travel, the do’s and don’t’s on how to manipulate time” Her eyes widened, terrified of what conversations this book would bring, she lunged after the boy but he was faster “Must truly be fascinating for you to act like this” it was a tiresome battle for dominance that Y/n inevitably lost “Perhaps it’s enchanted and you don’t want me to read what it truly says” he thinks aloud while straddling her waist “Or maybe you want to time travel for a very specific reason”

“Harry give it back” she grunts but is met with a cheeky grin

“I’ll give it back if you come to the game” y/n yells in frustration but an idea pops into his head “You know what? You’re right” Harry drops the book, causing Y/n to quirk a brow at his sudden mood change “I shouldn’t hold your book hostage” he dismounts the girl and she sits up with confusion

“I’m…glad we’re on the same page” but this was Harry that they were talking about, he was equally as stubborn as her so there was no way he would give up without a fight

“Exactly, why keep a book hostage when you can just get another” and within an instant, Harry scoops her off the bed and throws her over his shoulder

“HARRY!”

“I’ll just take you hostage” Harry proceeds to exit the Hufflepuff common room with her beating against his back “We ought to be quick though, call time is in thirty”

“Harry I don’t think you understand how immature you’re being”

Harry tilts his head in confusion “oh I’m being immature?” He then spins her around, earning a loud scream in response “I thought I was being reasonable asking you to be in attendance of just one of my games”

“Harry…”

“Don’t you want to support your best friend at the biggest event of their life?”

“Best friend?”

Harry was greatful she couldn’t see how flustered he got, but that didn’t stop his stuttering “well- best mate-best-best Gryfindor”

“Best Gryfindor?” She questioned which only made him blush even more “I feel like this can’t be the biggest event of your life”

“The biggest non life threatening event, how about that?”

Once they made it to the locker room, Harry gently puts her back onto her feet. There was a brief moment where he couldn’t take his eyes off of her; the way the snow stuck to her messy hair, the way her face was dusted with a light rosy blush from the cold weather, the way her dark bushy eyebrows furrowed in frustration, if he had it his way, he would stare at her for hours.

“What?” She huffed while crossing her bare arms “I don’t get a private escort to my seat?”

A twinge of guilt hit Harry “ ‘m sorry darling” that comment easily made her flustered “I’ll be crucified if I’m late again, being team captain and all” that’s when he noticed her looking away and covered in goosebumps “Here” Harry strips himself of his coat and placed it over her shoulders “This oughta keep you warm”

A small smile formed on Y/n’s face “What about you?” She asked while pulling her arms through the holes “You’ll be even colder with the wind whipping by”

He simply shrugs his shoulders “We have uniforms, I promise I’ll be fine”

But with every bashful smile that was formed, a jealous scowl followed

“Harry” Ginny called out “Call time remember?” The entire interaction itself made her upset, but Harry giving her his coat was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back

Harry whipped his head back to look at Y/n with a cheesy grin “A kiss for good luck?”

Y/n rolls her eyes “As if you’ll need it”

“I know” he shrugs his shoulders “But it’s a big game, I’ll need all the luck I can get”

Y/n shakes her head in disbelief “How about you win the game, and I’ll THINK about it”

“You’ll think about it?”

“I’ll THINK about it Potter”

Harry’s eyes twinkled “I’ll just make sure we win then”

“Good” she zips up the coat with another smile “I would hate if you dragged me out here for no reason”

Once Y/n made her way to her seat it was only a matter of time before the game started and Harry began to show off.

Harry would often fly towards the hufflepuff stands to get Y/n’s attention which obviously worked. He would also do dangerous tricks in which she would shout ‘show off’

Between Harry’s cockiness and Ron’s new confidence, the game was easily won by Gryfindor, which didn’t surprise her in the least.

The victory meant she had a party to attend to, but that also meant she got to kiss Harry. A bashful smile formed across her face as she thought about how much she wanted to kiss him.

Y/n carefully maneuvered through the crowd of drunk teenagers that cheered for the team. It’s not like she was friends with many Gryfindors, but she figured after Harry’s win she should make a short appearance, maybe even give him a kiss or two.

For just a moment, Y/n was able to forget about the Great War, time traveling, and special assignments from other teachers. For once she felt like a normal teenager attending a party just to see their crush, heart beating out of her chest from the nerves. Well…that was until she noticed Ginny grab the green eyed boy and kiss him.

Her smile dropped and her heart shattered. For the first time in her time traveling experience, time had seemed to stop.

I mean they end up married with kids, what did you expect?

Y/n quickly turned on her heel and left the party before she was seen

Why would you even think you had a chance?

I don’t belong here, I can’t possibly date him

Why would you even believe he liked you like that? Harry’s nice to everyone

Y/n quickly shoved her way through the crowd and practically ran once she made it out of the common room

I’m so stupid

She ran into the empty classroom and slammed the door shut

Stupid stupid stupid

Tears clouded her eyes as she summoned her cauldron

You fell in love with a married man you IDIOT

But she couldn’t help the fact that it hurt. She never meant to fall in love with Harry, she never meant to travel back in time.

She could barely measure the ingredients she was grabbing as her mind clouded with anger. It wasn’t until she broke the jar of unicorn hair that she broke into gut wrenching sobs.

Y/n never expected to feel a pain like this, in fact, she couldn’t understand why it felt like this. She’d experience heartbreak before, hell, she watched everyone close to her die and yet…nothing hurt more than this.

“Wasting ingredients are we?”

Y/n jumps at the voice, nearly knocking over her potion “I’m sorry professor” she sniffled “ I can restock the ingredients I used”

Snape peers into the cauldron “Amortentia?”

“It’s one of the hardest potions to brew” she explains while adding the final ingredient “When I want to get my mind off of things, I try crafting incredibly difficult potions”

Snape wasn’t an idiot, but he definitely wasn’t the person to go to for comfort “What does it smell like?”

Y/n blinked in confusion “what do you mean?”

“If the potion is brewed correctly, you’ll be able to smell what attracts you” he drawls “Now what do you smell?”

It was stupid. The real reason for brewing the potion was to confirm what she had already knew “something dark…and citrusy…” She took another deep breath “a warm buttery…maple-y pie…” it didn’t matter how hard she tried to distinguish other smells, all she could smell was him

“It pains me to see such talent come from a student from the future” he finally speaks up in his monotonous voice “You would’ve been the smartest witch in your era”

Y/n looked down with sad eyes and a sheepish smile “Thank you professor” it was rare that Snape would play nice, let alone give a compliment. He must truly pity me

“I suppose you deserve a bottle of amortentia since you correctly brewed it” he hands her the small vial that he just ladled out “I would hope you weren’t dumb enough to use it”

She quickly shook her head “of course not professor” y/n was about to thank him and bid her farewell but a simple yet difficult question stopped her

“How do I die?”

Y/n looked up at the man in confusion “What do you-”

“I double cross the dark lord” he tells her “He’d be a fool not to kill me” he turns his back to her while she stared fondly at him

“Harry named his son after you” she tells him, not caring about the future in this moment “Albus Severus”

Snape seemed content enough with her answer that she was almost able to slip away “Fifty points from hufflepuff for brewing a dangerous potion unsupervised” a frown made its way to her face but it was to be expected

“Sorry professor” she goes to make her escape but was stopped yet again

“You’re aware that I double cross the dark lord…” he drawls “And yet you treat me as if I were a hero”

Y/n shook her head “Because you are and it’s been an absolute dream being able to mentor under you” this confused the man “My mum used to go on and on about how important your role was in the final battle and how no one could’ve executed it the way that you did” she then scoffed “I often thought she fancied you from the way she went on and on about you” she then gave a half smile “When she passed…I wanted to do anything I could to feel closer to her, which happened to be potion making. I figured if she loved you, you couldn’t be that bad”

Snape didn’t know what to say or how to feel, there was no way in hell he would give her a hug “Leave”

Y/n looks down and nods “Yes sir”

☾

Harry looked around the great hall in disappointment “Has anyone seen Y/n?”

Ginny let out a scoff “Probably in detention”Hermione watched in disgust as Ron fed Lavender “Some of us would like to eat”

Ron shrugged his shoulders “No one’s stopping you”

Unbeknownst to the group, Romilda poured a love potion into Harry’s drink while they were distracted

“Well we don’t want to vomit” Ginny argued

Ron looked between the two girls and over at Harry who quickly hid his face by taking a drink of his pumpkin juice.

The girl anxiously watched as he chugged the drink “Hey Harry” the boy quickly puts the cup down and wipes his mouth

“Good morning Romilda”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmead with me today” she looked down with a shy smile, completely expecting him to agree to her proposal but there was one thing she didn’t calculate

“Oh there’s Y/n” Hermione interrupted and Harry’s head quickly swiveled to the door

Y/n strolled into the great hall with her hands in her pockets of her sweatpants, her curly untamable hair looked wilder than usual, the last three buttons of her white dress shirt were unbuttoned, while her Hufflepuff tie hung loosely tied around her neck.

Ginny snorted “How classy” but in Harry’s eyes she looked gorgeous

“She looks like a missing angel from heaven” the group turned to the boy “I can’t believe Hogwarts would let someone so perfect attend”

Romilda however shook her head in disbelief “Harry!” She snapped her fingers in his face “Harry look at me” but the boy just watched as the girl made her way to the Hufflepuff table

“Excuse me” the boy stands up and they all give him a weird look

“Where are you going?” Hermione questioned

“I’m going to go speak with the most beautiful person in the room” both Ginny and Romilda frowned as the boy made his way to Y/n

“About time he’s gained a bit of confidence to ask her out” Ron piped in while the girls scolded him

“Good morning beautiful” Y/n looked around in confusion

“Hey Harry” she yawned

“Another sleepless night without me?” Everyone around them grew silent to eavesdrop “I hope it’s me running through your mind and not another”

Y/n tilted her head in confusion “Are you alright Harry?”

“Much better now that you’re here” she placed the back of her hand on his forehead and he closes his eyes with a dreamy smile

“Harry, you’re getting hotter and hotter by the second” she pulls her hand away and he pouts

“Must be the side effects from touching an ethereal beauty” it wasn’t very noticeable, but she did catch it

“Harry look at me” the boy happily complies to her order

“Anything for you darling” Y/n gently removed his glasses to hopefully get a better look at what she thought she saw, Heart shaped pupils,That made Y/n’s heart ache a little more “Where are you going love?” The boy pouted as she put his glasses back on and stood up

“I’m going to brew you a cure for this” Harry jumps up as well

“Sweetheart, there’s no cure for true love”

Y/n shook her head with disappointment “You don’t love me Harry”

“I do!” He yelled “I do love you Y/n! I’ll scream it at the top of my lungs if it’ll make you believe me!”

Y/n grabbed a daily prophet off the table and hit him on top of the head with it “Stop it Harry, you’re making a fool of yourself!” She whisper shouted as everyone in the hall watched

Harry took her hands in his own “If I’m a fool for being in love with the prettiest, the sweetest, the brightest witch Hogwarts has ever had then so be it”

Y/n yanked her hand away and wacked him again “Get a grip Harold” she looked over to the gryfindor table “I’m going to fix…whatever this is”

“You can’t make these feelings I have for you go away darling” she hated that she loved that he was saying these sweet things to her, she hated that she wished he meant these things and that it wasn’t a love potion.

Y/n just had to roll her eyes to act like the things he said didn’t affect her and yanked his arm to drag him out of the great hall.

“Why can’t you just accept that I’m in love with you?” Harry argued as they finally made their way to Y/n’s room

“Because you’re not Harry”

The boy frowned “you know I’m tired of people telling me what I can and can’t do, who I can and can’t be in love with, but you know what? I’m the chosen one” y/n rolls her eyes and continued to search her book but Harry gently lifts her chin up to look at her “Darling, you’re everything I wanted love to be”

Y/n’s eyes flicker back down “But this isn’t love Harry, just a cruel manipulative way to mess with someone’s view of love”

Harry shook his head “Just kiss me” her eyes quickly snapped to his “Let me prove to you how much I love you, let me show you that this isn’t some love potion, let me show you that it’s you and it’ll always be you”

For just a minute she wanted to believe his words, to think that he pretended to drink the juice with the potion and this is how he truly felt. That he would confess his love in front of everyone, no matter how embarrassing and call her such sweet names that would always make her heart flutter, but he wasn’t hers to love “I can’t kiss you in good sense like this Harry”

“But Y/n-”

“If you drink this potion and still want me to kiss you, I’ll suffocate you with endless kisses…but until then…” she sadly looks at the boy, knowing he wouldn’t “I’ve found a cure for this”

She quickly got off the bed to craft said cure Harry watched her like she was the only thing that mattered. He absolutely adored her, he loved the way her eyebrows furrowed when she concentrated, or how she would nibble on her fingers when lost in thought. He couldn’t possibly understand why she wouldn’t believe he loved her.

As Y/n finished brewing the potion, she noticed a small note towards the bottom of the page

For this multipurpose love spell cure to successfully work, the drinker must kiss the person they’re infatuated with

With wide eyes and now shaky hands, Y/n slowly put her spoon down to reread the sentence to make sure she read it correctly.

“Y/n my love, are you alright?” It’s no big deal, we’re friends, friends can kiss platonically…even if one of them fancies the other

Y/n slapped her hands over her face and let out a loud groan that only worried Harry more “Yeah…” she slides her hands down her face and shook her head “You win chosen one” the green eyes boy cutely tilts his head in confusion, making Y/n bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming in frustration. If it weren’t morally wrong, I’d use a love potion on him too.

Y/n ladles a cup out for him and gently sits next to him on the bed “You’re going to drink this potion and-”

“I don’t need some cure Y/n” he stubbornly pushed the cup away from her “I love you” he insisted “I may never find words beautiful enough to describe all that you mean to me, but I will spend the rest of my life searching for them if you just please…just listen to me” Y/n looked up at him with teary eyes, ultimately defeated knowing that no matter how hard she tried to hide her feelings for Harry, she was no Ginny Weasley. Harry on the other hand retreated once he saw the look on her face“Darling I’m sorry” but she just shakes her head and blinks away her tears “I didn’t mean to make you cry I-” he takes the cup from her hands and downs the potion to make her happy

“You know, maybe in another universe we end up happy together” she then pulls the boy into a long but needed kiss. Harry, desperate to show her just how much he loved her while Y/n knew this would be the first and only kiss she’d get from the boy so she had to savor the moment. Once she finally pulls away, she anxiously looked at the boy to see if it worked “How do you feel?”

“I told you I feel-” his heart shaped pupils reverted back to normal, his heartbeat was now at a normal rhythm, and his body temperature quickly lowered “I feel-” Harry then regurgitates all over her rug

“Harry!”

“I’m sorry” the boy apologized while she grabbed her wand to clean the now pink stained carpet “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why that happened” he then pulls out his wand “Here, let me”

“No” she huffed “You need to rest”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion “Rest? No I’m fine, just me-”

“Harry James Potter” the boy froze in his spot “Go to your room and get some rest….please” he could feel the irritation radiating off of her, but that didn’t stop him from giving her one last puppy dog pout. Once the vomit was gone, she threw her arms to her sides “I’ll see you later Harold”

Harry looks down with sad eyes and retreats to the door “I’m sorry about-”

“It’s okay, it’s nothing you could help” she offers a small smile “Now rest up”

☾

Y/n made it her mission to avoid Harry at all costs. Well….that was her mission all along, but now that she acknowledged her growing feelings for the boy, she knew she couldn’t jeopardize his future.

It worked for a couple of weeks; not idling around at the beginning of class, practically running through the halls to avoid the trio, studying in places no one would ever think to look. It was tiring, but it worked.

That was until one weekend she decided was the perfect time to save baby animals.

Y/n slid into the gryfindor common room, heart thudding as she eagerly looked around for Harry. She told herself that avoiding him altogether was the best way to get rid of her feelings for him, but time and time again she made an excuse to see him.

I shouldn’t even ask him, just use the potion

As soon as she turned on her heel “Y/n?”

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck “Heyyyy Harry” the boy greeted her with a warm smile that tugged on her heart

“What are you doing here?”

Y/n twiddled her thumbs as she tried to avoid eye contact “Well…I wanted to ask you a question…but then I thought it was stupid and- I was actually just leaving” you’re fidgeting, stop fidgeting

“What did you want to ask?” To Y/n, Harry seemed like the perfect golden retriever boy. Always happy to help, everyone loves being around him, and overall had good intentions.

“I just wanted to know if I could borrow your invisibility cloak” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed “It was a dumb thought, I know, I just thought it wouldn’t kill me to ask but now it seems so silly to ask for a personal item without any given explanation”

Harry needed a minute to process her rambling, but was soon met with questions “What exactly did you need it for?”

Y/n looked around the room to make sure no one was listening “I’m going to rescue another creature from poachers. I could just use a charm or potion but potions wear off too quickly and charms are sometimes a hit or miss” she explained but Harry already made up his mind

“I’m coming with you” Y/n quickly shook her head “It’s my cloak Y/n, besides, someone needs to be there so you don’t bite off more than you can chew”

“Harry I can’t ask you to come with me” she scoffs “I’d be asking you to put your life at risk for me”

Harry offers a small smile “I guess I owe you one from last summer”

But Y/n still wasn’t convinced “Would we both fit underneath the cloak?”

Harry shrugs his shoulders “It’s not like we can’t squeeze together” the thought alone was enough to warm her cheeks “Besides, I’m not that big” Y/n playfully rolls her eyes “When do we leave?”

Y/n’s breathing began to settle once her feet landed on the ground, blinking in the new scenery they’d arrived at “This should be far enough” she tells him while dismounting the broom “Any closer and we may be spotted”

“You’re still afraid of heights?” Y/n frowned as Harry tried to hide the smirk on his face

“Nearly falling to my death didn’t help that at all” leading the way to the camp, Y/n was determined to have her plan fall into place play by play

“So you’re afraid of heights but not poachers, dark wizards, or-”

“Why are you so sassy today Harry?” She asked while whirling around “I can’t go a minute without you giving me some smart ass comment”

Harry shoved his hands in his pockets “I just wanted to know why your mind thinks being tortured isn’t as terrifying as flying”

“Would you come off it already?” Y/n exasperatedly asked and Harry shrugs his shoulders

“Make me” his eyes darted from her lips and back to her eyes. She considered it, Merlin she hated that she considered kissing the boy to shut him up. There was no love potion, no other influence, just the two of them in the heat of the moment. It’s just playful banter, you’re reading too much into it

“You’re infuriating, you know that right?” She shook the thought out of her head before turning back to the poacher camp

“So I’ve been told” she can’t help but smirk “Hey, what are we rescuing anyway?”

Y/n’s eyebrows slightly raise “Oh you know, your typical endangered species that can’t fend for themselves” she carefully looks around “The cloak”

Harry then unraveled said cloak and wrapped it across the both of them “See, a snug fit” she almost grew dizzy from being so close to him, inhaling his comforting scent made her light headed enough to almost forget about their mission.

“Follow me” she whispered as the two snuck into the tent which turned into a large battling arena. Many people cheered as two Dragons fought each other to death, taking bets to see which one would win.

“Dragons?” Harry questioned with bewilderment “We’re rescuing dragons??”

“Oh come on Harry” Y/n turned to the boy “Dragons need protecting too, especially against dark wizards” the two watched as the dragon below was hit with the imperious curse “They’re forcing them to fight for their entertainment, stealing their children and breeding them into some sort of battle monster” she then looked back over to the boy “This is cruel, they deserve to be free Harry”

Oh but Harry couldn’t say no to those eyes “Right then, what’s your plan?”

Y/n jerked her head to the left “They keep more dragons in the chamber below us, we go in and free them and everything else should be self explanatory”

It did but of course her plan had a bit of gray area, however there was no good plan for this mission. The two crept over down the stairs, carefully avoiding any lingering bodies.

“What are you wearing?” Harry suddenly asked

“Why?” Y/n stops in her tracks and attempts to smell her armpits “Do I smell bad?” She looked up with a quirked brow

“Quite the opposite actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to you to realize how nice you smell”

A smile dared to crawl onto her lips “Let’s focus before we get caught”

“You’re the one who stopped us in the middle of the hallway”

She gave Harry a quick but nasty side eye before continuing her way down the stairs “Alhomora” she whispered and slowly pushed the door open

“Rumor has it, it’s just a kid” a voice says and another scoffs

“You mean to tell me that we need to take extra precaution because someone doesn’t know how to fight against some kid?”

The other nods “They took down five camps, there’s no way it could be some kid”

“I don’t know, them kids at Hogwarts have balls”

He shook his head “They’ve got their hands full with he who shall not be named, there’s no way they’d willingly go out of their way to find trouble” Harry tilted his head and gave Y/n a look that she chose to ignore

“Petrificus totalus!” With both guards petrified, Y/n removed the cloak and looked around the room with awe. The room was filled with dragons, adult and babies strapped into cages, she felt sick to her stomach “Harry…there’s so many” the boy came up from behind and rubbed her shoulder in comfort

“I know”

Many were injured, some barely breathing from previous battles, this changed everything. Harry watched the sadness from her eyes change to anger which worried him

“We’re going to free them all” she tells him while running over to the cages

“Y/n maybe we should think about this” Harry tried talking sense into her but it was futile “Call for backup”

The dragons ran away as she neared the cages, causing her heart to ache even more “I’m not here to hurt you” she whispers while slowly putting her hand into the cage. The dragon, using its primal instincts, bit her which caused her to jump in pain

“Y/n!”

She calmed herself down, knowing it was just acting out of fear and tried again “I’m going to free you little buddy, I just need you to trust me” the tiny green dragon waddles towards her hand again and even opens its mouth as if it were going to bite her again, but rubs itself against her slightly bloodied hand. Y/n smiles with success and unlocks the cage for the baby dragon “I’m going to help all of you, but I need you to tell your buddies that I’m a good guy”

For the most part, it worked. Letting the baby dragons bite her and mending the wounds of the bigger ones, the beasts soon realized she wasn’t their enemy.

“Get the next batch” a voice from the hall called out and Y/n anxiously looked around

“Harry lead the dragons outside, the babies are more likely to get caught if they don’t have one of us there to protect them”

Harry quickly shook his head “I’m not leaving you” she looks over to the full size dragon on the other side of the room

“I can’t leave her”

“What the bloody hell?!”

Harry looks back over at her “We just might have to”

“No” he knew she was stubborn, which is exactly why it didn’t surprise him when she ran over to the red dragon “Look, I know you’ve been hurt by humans, but I need you to trust me” Y/n began unlocking the locks while Harry defended them

“Any day now” he calls out and she shakes her head

“Im going to get you and the others out of here” but by the time she earned the dragons trust, it was too late

“Y/nnnn” they were surrounded at all ends, at this rate the only way out was through them

“I need your help” she tells the dragon “Help me help you get out of here”

Using what strength it had left, the dragon stood up, now free from its chains, and lets out a threatening roar.

“She’s freed the beast!” One yells “Kill it!”

“NO!” Y/n did her best to deflect any spells hurdled at them but it became tiring and very evident that they might not make it

“We have to go!” Harry urged while tugging on her arm but again she resisted and turned to the dragon

“DO SOMETHING!” The dragon looked down at her and she could see the fire bubbling up her neck “Harry watch my back”

“That’s what I’ve been doing” he sasses but she lets the comment slide and focuses on the fire the dragon was about to conjure.

Once the fire was released, Y/n caught the fire and circled it around her to form a giant fire tornado, attacking everyone around them.

Poachers were being burnt alive left and right, yet it still wasn’t enough to cover their escape. They needed a clear way out, a way to make sure none of the dragons would be captured in the process.

“Crucio!”

Y/n falls to the ground and screams in excruciating pain. The tornado disappears and Harry’s heart seems to stop, absolutely nothing mattered in that moment other than her. It was agonizing to listen to, to watch her suffer, it made a switch flip inside of Harry.

The dragon then burned the roof of the tent down, causing it to slowly collapse on everyone and everything but it made sure to trap the remaining survivors inside.

The giant red dragon grabbed Y/n with its talons and began to fly towards an exit “Wait!” Harry calls out “Where are you taking her?” A blue dragon that Y/n allowed to bite her picks Harry up and flaps its giant wings towards the others

☾

When Y/n awoke, she loudly groaned when trying to sit up which signaled Harry to run over

“Y/n!” He pulls her into a tight hug

“What you did tonight was…unbelievably stupid” Snape drawls “I expected you of all people to have a bit more sense than Potter” Harry frowns at the comment but focused his attention to you

“How did I get here?” She questioned “Why is Snape here?”

“I figured Snape could whip up a potion for you, since that’s what you do for me”

Snape then turns to Harry “Leave” his hands linger on you for a bit but he does obey the command

“Professor-” Snape hits her with a folded daily prophet

“Can’t believe you’d be dumb enough to pull something like that” he hissed

“They needed help!” She defended while jumping off the table “I can’t sit and pray someone else will save these creatures! If you want something done right, you do it yourself”

“That only applies when your brain is fully developed” he drawls “This constant reckless behavior won’t do anything but get you killed. Whether it’s for Potters attention or for the fame and glory, I suggest you stop before you get hit with something worse than the cruciatis curse”

Y/n rolls her eyes “Oh come OFF it already” she shakes her head “Not everything I do revolves around Harry you know”

“Then stop acting like him”

“I’m not!” She yells in frustration “Why won’t you just listen to me?! I’m doing this for me! Not for attention, not for a boy, but because I want to! And I honestly don’t understand why you’re making a big deal out of this when my death doesn’t matter OR affect anyone” but that’s when it dawned upon her “You care about me”

Her eyes softened and Snape was almost at a loss for words “Please, you might actually make me laugh” for once he was caught off guard

“You were worried about me”

Snape gives her a side eye “Dare I say I might smile in amusement”

“Say what you want professor, but you can’t deny the truth”

But there was no fighting her, she was stubborn and he knew that “Three hundred and fifty points from Hufflepuff for reckless behavior and detention for the rest of the school year”

“Professor” she started as she walked towards him “The school year ends next week, and you and I both know I won’t be attending those detentions” she holds they eye contact with him, long enough for his glare to turn into a nasty scowl

Y/n was first to break the staring contest and pulled him into another hug “Unhand me” this time she clung to him tighter

“You’re everything I wanted and more professor” she relaxed against him and surprisingly enough, his body slowly eased up

“Remove yourself or I’ll tell professor McGonagall a thorough explanation on what you did this evening” Y/n instantly let go of him “You’re dismissed”

☾

It was Friday night, finals were over, end of the year parties were being thrown left and right and what did Y/n have planned that evening? A date with her bed.

She was beyond exhausted and finally happy that the day was over so she could finally go to bed. Well that was until eager knocks pounded on her door.

There was only one person that would bother her, especially this late at night. Y/n tiredly opened the door to see Harry practically vibrating with excitement “Yes Harold?”

Harry looks behind her “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

She shakes her head “I’m finally about to go to bed” she then yawns “I’m exhausted”

The boy deflates “Oh” but his smile was quick to recover “Then I wont take up much time, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to Hogsmead with me tomorrow”

Y/n just shrugs her shoulders “Sure”

“Hermione’s busy studying and Ron is occupied with Lavender” Harry would never lie to Y/n with no good reason, so he saw no harm in lying about the whereabouts of his best friends to be with her

“To be expected”

“If you’re busy, it’s okay, I just didn’t want to go alone, and I figured you didn’t want to be alone cooped up in the castle”

Y/n tilts her head in confusion “Are you okay Harry?” She questioned as Harry awaited her answer “Did you drink another love potion?”

He quickly shakes his head “I just wanted to shop around and thought you’d might like to join”

“Well, I already said yes before you began rambling”

His green eyes dart to hers “You did?” She slowly nods “Brilliant” he could see how drained she was and decided to push his luck “I’m feeling a bit tired myself” he faked a yawn and stretched “And it’s such a long way back to the Gryfindor tower, lots of stairs to climb”

Y/n watched as the boy rubbed his eyes, almost finding it amusing how fast his mood changed “Would you like to crash here for the night?” His eyes dart up to hers again

“I mean I would hate to be a bother”

She let go of the door and yanked him inside her cozy room. It smelled of Lemon, vanilla, and pumpkin, the curtains blocked the windows and covered the bright moonlight and replacing it with a soft orange light, she truly had every intention of sleeping “You’re not a bother if I’m inviting you in” she tells him while closing the door

Oh but Harry had every intention to bother her. He loved the way her eyebrows scrunched together when he irritated her, or the playful roll of her eyes when they would go back and forth with banter.

Y/n sits on the edge of the bed and plays with Lionel who also seemed to be sleepy “Is he okay?” Harry takes off his watch and dangles it around but received no reaction. The small animal let out a tired huff and pattered over to the boy, weakly grabbing for the watch.

“I was up until five am chasing him around the castle” she tells him “I didn’t realize he knew how to open the door” she pushes a stray hair out of her face “The things I do for that rodent” well that explains why she’s so tired

“If you’d like, I could watch him for you, maybe like a couple days out of the week”

She grabs Lionel by the nape of his neck and finally lays down “I don’t know how he would do with co parenting” Harry follows her lead and lays down next to her “Besides, it’s too many shiny things there, he’d never want to come back”

Harry shrugs his shoulder “I’m sure that’s not true”

“It’s his instinct”

“But he knows where home is” he gently breathes “It’s wherever you are”

Lionel then begins to stretch as if he took up the most room on the bed “Lionel” she grumbles as the animal kicks her “Ow! That hurts you little” another kick to her rib cage and she stubbornly scoots back to avoid his tiny feet. But it wasn’t enough, after maybe thirty seconds, he got restless again and rolled over to slap her face “Lionel” Y/n let out another huff while scooting back some more. As soon as Y/n closed her eyes, the niffler took this as a sign to roll over and kick her once more. Y/n let’s out a frustrated huff before scooting back again, this time bumping into Harry “I’m sorry” she apologized while turning to face him “I hope you don’t mind”

He actually couldn’t thank Lionel enough “You’ve spoiled him” Harry smiles and she covers her eyes

“Noooo” she groans “He usually likes to cuddle with me”

“Maybe he’s just waiting for you to fall asleep again to make his escape”

“You make it sound like I torture the poor thing”

Harry shrugs his shoulders “Maybe it’s just fun to annoy you”

Y/n sucks her teeth “Maybe that’s why you two get along so well”

“That’s probably why you love us so much” Harry tells her with a cheeky smile

Love

She scoffs “Love?” She the gently plucks the glasses off his face “Maybe you need new glasses because you clearly can’t tell the difference between love and disgust” with that, she received another swift kick from Lionel, sending her into Harry’s chest

“I think you’re absolutely right Lionel” Y/n rolls her eyes and gently placed his glasses onto her nightstand

“He doesn’t even need all of that room” she grumbled while trying to make herself comfortable

“What?” Harry questions “I promise I don’t have cooties” Y/n rolls her eyes again “Afraid of being too close to me?”

“No” she cranes her neck to look up at him “Just go to bed Potter”

“Oh, now we’re back on a last name basis”

Y/n frowns at his comment “I thought you were just as tired as I was” she mumbled “I’ll never be able to sleep with your constant sass” she goes to flip over but Harry was quick to wrap his arms around her and keep her trapped against his chest “Harry!” Her cheeks began to heat up and her heart rate fastened

“You know what? I think I’m finally comfortable”

“Harry let go!”

He stops to think for a moment “Mmmh….i don’t think I will”

There was no use fighting him, he had an iron grip on her, which took her by surprise because she never expected him to be so strong. This was probably the first time she’s noticed how toned Harry was, she never realized how strong he was until this very moment. So this is what you’ve been doing at quidditch practice. Y/n leaned her head against his chest in defeat, all she could do now was pray he couldn’t feel her heart beat through her chest.

It was around 2:30 when Y/n’s eyes fluttered opened. Legs intertwined with the boy lying next to her, her arms wrapped around him while his still wrapped around her as if he were afraid to lose her. How did I even end up in this situation?

She tries to pry herself away from Harry, but like before, it deemed useless “Harry” she whispered “Harry wake up” then the thought of what people might say began to scare her. It wasn’t so much the hufflepuffs, but the Gryfindors would definitely let the entire school know by six am tomorrow “Harry you need to wake up!” She let go of his rib cage and lightly tapped his face “Harold…” soon enough, she was greeted with sleepy eyes

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes” he finally answered in a groggy voice while she searched his eyes for any worry or concern but inevitably found nothing “That’s the best rest I’ve gotten in the past two years” I guess he did say he was having trouble sleeping. He loosened his grip on her to rub his eye and she took this opportunity to finally leave his side

“I didn’t think about it before but if we wake up tomorrow people will ask questions” she hands him his glasses, which he kindly accepts “The last thing I need is rumors spreading around that I slept with the chosen one”

“You make it sound like it’s such a bad thing” Harry looks over at the clock and lets out a tired sigh “You should’ve just let me sleep for the rest of the night”

She rolls her eyes “So the entire school can think we were sleeping together?”

He shrugs his shoulders “Well, we did”

Embarrassment spread across her face, causing her to hit him with a pillow “You need to leave”

But as she knew already, Harry was stubborn “Why can’t I just spend the rest of the night here?” He propped his head up on the pillow “It’s late and I’m already in bed. Besides, if Filtch catches me out, he’ll give me detention and we won’t be able to go to Hogsmead” as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Harry made grabby hands at her which made her look away while trying not to smile, but ultimately ended up climbing back into bed with him.

“You’re infuriating” she grumbled while taking his glasses and setting them back down onto the table, Harry however took this opportunity to pull her back into his chest “What are you-”

“Saving you from a couple of kicks” although her back was against his chest, she could practically see the cheeky look on his face

“Yeah well you don’t need an iron grip on me” she huffed while trying to make herself comfortable “It’s like you’re trying to suffocate me”

Harry quickly let’s go of her “I’m not hurting you am I?”

She frowned when she realized his dramatics worried the boy “No, you just-” truth be told, she wanted to be wrapped in his strong arms, she wanted to be cuddled, she was being selfish for once and wanted one night without the constant reminder that he isn’t hers to have. Her fingers found his hands and gently pulled them back around her waist “Sleep, I’ll figure out a plan on how to sneak you out later” her hands lingered on his, it’s not that she didn’t want to let go, it felt like she couldn’t

Merlin what have I gotten myself into?

☾

“I can’t believe you spent that much on a broom” she scolded as they left quality quidditch supply’s “Isn’t quidditch season over?”

“Yes, but I’ll need a new one for next season” he insisted “Just wear and tear, but it’s definitely a notable difference in speed and how fast I’m able to stop”

“Your old broom seemed fine to me” she muttered under her breath as they continued walking

“Would you like to go for a trial run?” A smirk crawled its way onto his face and she rolls her eyes

“I’d rather die Potter”

The smirk then changed into a small genuine smile “I’ve missed the banter between us, I’ve missed you”

No, stop it

But she couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach or her breath being caught in her throat “Well…I’ve just been so busy with…” trying to avoid you “Learning difficult potions and stopping poachers while you have been busy with….whatever you’ve been doing”

“I’ve been trying to convince professor Slughorn to give me his untampered memory of the conversation between him and Voldemort”

Y/n nods “And?”

“Apparently he explained to him about horocruxes”

“Which makes sense why he tried to hide it from everyone” Harry quirks a brow “I mean being responsible for making one of the most powerful wizards almost unstoppable would make me die from guilt”

“Unstoppable huh?”

She gives him a side eye “Almost unstoppable” she clarified “If anyone’s going to stop him, it’ll be the chosen one of course” she playfully nudged him with her elbow

“Speaking of which, I’m going with Dumbledore tonight to search for another horocrux”

A frown made its way to her face “Please be careful Harry, I know how reckless you tend to be”

“Are you worried about me? Worried that you’ll never see my handsome face ever again?” She rolled her eyes at his comment

“Yes Harry, I’m sure everyone would be disappointed to find out and miss you and your handsome face”

He then stops right in front of her “Would you miss me?” Her heart began thumping out of her chest “I mean would you miss me if I died?”

Those piercing green eyes made her want to crawl into a hole and scream, there was no way she could avoid this “Of course I would Harold” she was quick to break eye contact but Harry was faster. He slid over to the right to block her from continuing their walk back to Hogwarts

“Then may I have a kiss for good luck?” ohmygod “Since you’re so worried about me” he shrugs his shoulders while looking everywhere behind her except for her “Besides, I never got a good luck kiss for the quidditch game”

It was inevitable

There was absolutely no excuse to be made, just her and him in this moment “And you’ll promise not to be reckless on this mission?” She was so undeniably attracted to him that it almost physically hurt to stay away from him

Harry quickly nods “I’ll come right back to you once we’re finished”

Y/n takes a step closer “Wow, don’t you think you should tell your best friends first?”

Harry shakes his head while also taking a step towards her “I want to come back to you” he stops right in front of her and tilts her head up with his finger “I’ll always come back to you” he barely whispers while pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear “It’ll always be you first” his hand slid down to cup the side of her face. It felt like sparks were flying, both of their hearts beating out of their chest as they slowly leaned in to a kiss that both of them desired. She was drunk on his scent, ignorant to any observers or what consequences this might have on the future. Hell, she couldn’t even think about anything other than the boy in front of her and what his lips might feel like.

Their lips mere inches apart from each other’s with only a simply phrase to stop them “Harry my boy” Y/n quickly pulled away and gave a polite bow to their headmaster “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything”

Y/n was quick to shake her head “No sir” her face grew hot in embarrassment “Of course not”

Dumbledore smiles and turns to the boy “It is time” Harry nods, immediately understanding what he was talking about “Miss L/n” he turns back to the girl “Would you mind taking Mr Potters belongings back to his room?”

Y/n shakes her head while grabbing the items from Harry “I best be off then” she gives a tight lipped smile and scurried off

“What impeccable timing sir” Harry commented with a clenched jaw

“Please forgive me, but miss L/n will have to wait just a bit longer”

☾

Y/n would’ve never imagined that that would’ve been the last time she’d ever see professor Dumbledore. This is it, the start of the end

Y/n pushed through the crowd to see Harry kneeling beside his mentor, completely devastated at the sight. She took this as sign to comfort him, he needed her now more than ever right now, the future didn’t matter in this moment. She knelt beside the boy and hugged him to ground him, to give him the reassurance that he needed. Harry gladly leaned into her embrace, crying into her shoulder to finally release all pent up sadness he had.

Once everyone was sent back to their houses, no one dared to tell Harry he couldn’t spend the night in the Hufflepuff dormitories, nor did Y/n care of what others would say.

The green eyed boy spent the entire night attached to Y/n’s hip; head glued to her chest and arms latched around her waist while she lovingly caressed his hair to soothe his muffled sobs. Y/n wanted nothing more in the world than to be there for him, to be his rock, his forever, his absolute everything. It was completely worth all of the scolding she’d get from McGonagall later if it meant she could stay with the boy in this moment.

“Harry” she gently grabs his hand, trying to persuade him not to leave “You don’t have to face this by yourself” the next morning Harry was too eager to jump right back into the horrors of reality for Y/n’s liking

He looks down at their hands “I just need some time to be alone” when he looked up and saw the disappointment on her face, he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on it “I promise I’ll come back” his eyes never left hers “I’ll always come back to you, remember?”

Y/n smiles at the sweet words and let’s go of his hand “I’ll see you later Potter” she gives him a playful smile which he gladly returns.

Once Harry was out of eye distance, Y/n closed her door with a huff “Awww, how sweet” a familiar voice startled her as she let go of the door knob. Y/n slowly turned around, eyes widening in horror to see none other than Bellatrix Lestrange “Boo!”

[ddlcbrainrot]

ok so i was feeling nostalgic today and started thinking about how my first time going through ddlc was so i’m making a post about it lol

buckle up this is going to be a long one

so i first heard of the game when it first came out in 2017, which means i was like… 12 years old?? so definitely should not have been watching it but what can ya do. anyway i’ve seen the title in a bunch of yt videos which described it as a horror game, and i was intrigued bc… 4 cute anime girls? how is that a horror game. i was too much of a scaredy cat to actually download it on our family computer so i watched some ddlc playthrough in yt. and i was so bored throughout the first half of act one lmao. i think i mentioned it before but when i first encountered the game i wanted to go the monika route, and i was so disappointed it wasn’t an option (until later on when i realised why it wasn’t an option). also the yt video i watched went down the yuri route and look, i didnt necessarily have a problem with the shy girl character type, what i did have a problem with (and still do to some extent) was how the shy girl is always portrayed in anime. i was definitely a shy person growing up, so seeing the traits that had caused me so many problems be considered adorable and desirable kinda irked me the wrong way. so yeah, first half of the game i was pretty unimpressed. i didn’t dislike it, i just thought “i’ve seen these character archetypes before, i know how this is going to play out, i’ll just wait until the other shoe drops”. and oh boy it did.

i remember that scene in sayori’s bedroom to this day dude. this is probably embarrassing to admit, but i honestly believe that scene changed the trajectory of my life. i live in a very uneducated country on the subject of mental health, so i had no idea on anything surrounding it. i’ve heard the term “depression” before, but it was only brought up either in a joking way or in a way of saying someone is too far gone. which is obviously not the case, but that’s how it was usually used back then in my environment. so to see a character that (even if i wasn’t as emotionally invested in bc of how tropey they were at that point) i liked talk about how they struggle with it was a very eye opening experience to say the least. it’s kind of funny thinking back, but i really was like “huh. depression is actually a real thing people can go through. and it could also be something people i care about have to go through. and something i could go through.”. it sounds dumb when i write it down but that was srsly how it was.

then act 2 happened, i don’t really have much to say about act 2 bc throughout the whole thing i was just uncomfortable and unsettled, which is definitely what act 2 is supposed to make you feel. natsuki was now somehow the most normal one, i didn’t like yuri even more now bc she was now also weirdly obsessive, i knew monika was up to something i just couldn’t wrap my head around what. a moment that stuck with me a lot during act 2 was the whole “can you hear me?” thing in monika’s second writing tip, bc wow this girl knows something and is also very clearly trapped by something and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?? i literally had no idea where the story was going so the reveal hit me like a truck.

act 3… what to say about act 3… i was so mind blown you don’t even know. remember that i was like 12 at the time, this was my first ever experience with the media breaking the fourth wall. and from what i remember i had an… interesting viewpoint on it. i think there are two ways to interpret monika’s self awareness. first up is taking it under the context of the story, basically knowing that she isn’t actually self aware but for the sake of the story following along with the idea that she is. second one is taking it under the context of the behind the scenes, so you understand that she isn’t actually self aware but you can’t ignore it and just immerse yourself back in the story. it’s a risk the creator takes with breaking the fourth wall, bc the second interpretation usually ruins the idea behind the media. i had the second reaction to the awareness reveal. and i think it gives the game an entire new meaning, one that probably wasn’t the original one but i’d like to talk about it. the only thing i was able to think throughout monika’s monologues was : “oh crap. she thinks she’s self aware but in actuality she is programmed to kill her friends. she isn’t free from the script, she’s still following it. the creator just made her think she is aware but actually, she is just as much of a puppet as the other girls and she doesn’t even realise. she’s trapped in an even worse way than the other girls. bc she thinks she is free”. which, is definitely not what dan was going for, but i gotta say it is ten times scarier.

and then sayori goes through the epiphany too and then monika deletes the game and the credits roll but i was so flabbergasted by everything before that i couldn’t even form thoughts through act 4.

so yeah 12yo me was not only struck with the realisation that feelings are real things (thanks to sayori) but now also the thought that just because you experience something that could be 100% real to you doesn’t mean it actually is (thanks to monika). needless to say this game changed me as a person.

damn this was a long one, i apologise if you read through all of this lmao

[tamamatango]

My Project Revealed: The Fabled Fanfiction Come to Fruition

Crossing an item off the bucket list before the dopamine gods give out on me. (Yes that’s the story link in case you want to just go there and skip the whole me not shutting up part)

Back in my most active period in the Keroro fandom, I tried and failed multiple times to write a fanfic; might’ve even talked about it here at some point. But for one reason or another, it just never panned out, and I ultimately fell out of it for a few years before I managed to publish anything. However, I got back into the practice with my next hyperfixation, so now that I’ve returned to frog hell again, I knew I had to do what teenage me could not.

I can’t say this is “the fanfic I always wanted to write,” because I ended up scrapping whatever I had started all those years ago. When this started to come together in my head, it initially seemed way too ambitious given the limited time I have and where my strengths and weaknesses lie as a writer…but I got possessed by the artsy demon or something and started to write it anyway. Whoops.

To Chase a Butterfly asks one simple question: What if Kururu actually failed to save Saburo at the end of episode 229? Okay that’s not really a simple question, considering it leads to a whole emotional and physical journey about grief and companionship and space-timey shenanigans. But basically, Kururu goes “bet” and attempts to bring him back to life. Naturally, the deuteragonist of such a story is…Dororo? Yes, at the central conflict of the story is Kururu’s friendship with Saburo, but it’s Dororo who serves as his confidant/partner in crime over the course of the story, and so I consider this to double as a KuruDoro fic as well—though I will make it clear now that it’s not conclusively romantic, so you can decide if that’s the direction they go in or if it stays platonic, and it works either way.

As of the latest update from. Uh. 15 minutes ago at the time of writing, the fic currently sits at about 60-65% completion and is divided into two parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–6) is the angst/drama-heavy half, which I uploaded in full as a batch drop. Part 2 (7+) is more action/adventure, sort of in the vein of what you’d expect from one of the Keroro movies, and I am updating it chapter-by-chapter, since it was getting too unsustainable to try to dump it all at once. AO3 has the most robust features, so that’s where it’s hosted for now, but I know people have very understandable problems with that site, so I’ll consider porting it elsewhere if that’s something anyone is interested in.

Well, that’s enough yammering from me. If you like the idea, please do check it out. Things are starting to heat up as the climax approaches, especially with the introduction of a surprise third major character who very longtime Kirb fans miiiight faintly recall. And if you’re already following it—it’s been up for a while now, just waited to discuss it here to temporarily save myself from potential embarrassment—thanks for your support, and I hope you look forward to the rest! Part 2 is very research/planning heavy and has been pretty challenging to write so far, but I intend to see this all the way through damn it. And yeah, this is what’s been pulling my focus away from the blog, but there will still be posts here whenever I feel like putting energy into an essay and/or next real info drop about the new anime (BNP gimme something soon please I’m parched).

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 42 Pt 1: It’s All In Your Head

Every week with long covid is like a new batch of symptoms. Last month’s symptom, among other things, was “words no work no good,” and so we just uh...didn’t do an update. I probably needed to chill and nap anyway. Not that I’m fully better yet, today I did laundry and pulled out a blue shirt that I clearly own and bought with my own money--but I have no memory of it. Zilch.

The brain is amazing, that with this brain fog, I can’t remember my blue t-shirt, but I can remember Yugioh. Weird, right? So anyway, thanks for your patience in this weird time of my life, glad to have a blog to write about anime in that is so chill with our very long breaks.

Also, I finally went through my old caps to toss old pictures so that way I can make new stuff, and guess what I just realized?

Kisara is not a dragon!

Seto’s girlfriend isn’t a dragon! She’s just on top of the dragon, I can’t...I just can’t believe this.

Truly a crime that this season, the final ultimate season of Yugioh, is what I’m doing while on Long Covid fruitloops, so I can miss every damn point that this show fires at me. But, at least, I hope it’s funny to read. It is like every single update where I realize I was wrong about the obvious, and don’t worry, it’s gonna happen again in like 4 seconds. My borked brain.

Anyway, Yugi and Co have walked all the way to the palace. Because we’re still on S4 time and space conventions where Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, and San Fransisco are all next to each other. Like Yami fell in the Nile in a fight that was just outside of the city--but I assumed he got pulled way out there. Either way, it’s a kid’s show, never think about geography.

(read more under the cut)

Yugi can conveniently walk through doors now, and after a quick shoutout to his homie Yami, they phase through.

Including Tristan who is...

Well,

APPARENTLY TRISTAN WAS POSSESSED.

Freakin, my brain is a bunch of salad dressing, lmaoooo even last episode I was like “wow Tristan is drawn kinda evil and I don’t really get why” and it was RIGHT THERE. He’s been possessed probably since Bakura grabbed him by the neck right in front of me. I somehow missed this!

And like, I figure, if I try and wait out long covid it may take a whole other year, so like this is just me now. I started this blog as like a competent analysis (ish), and now I get to the end of S5 giving you just an incoherent rorschach. It’s kind of fitting for this show really, everyone has to end up at least a little bit of a mess. Keeps you humble. Even me. I also have to become the mess.

Anyway, speaking of becoming a babbling incoherent mess, we go back to Bakura, who has fully lost his game in Battle Basement of a 7 vs 1 game.

Only in Yugioh would they make a 7 vs 1 game feel evenly sided.

And as I wonder if I’ve already made that joke four months back and have forgotten, they all watch Bakura do a mad dash to screw them over one last time.

And while they stood there and just allowed Bakura to fumble around with the doom rocks made of human souls, from no where, Aknadin stumbles through the door all day drunk like freakin Kramer.

And no, in the show he did not reveal here that he was Seto’s dad, but he does in like 2 minutes so I didn’t really care about where I put it. The big thing is that Aknadin’s gone full-tilt cray and not even he can fully explain his motive anymore.

That’s when they realize Aknadin’s babysitter, Shada, has been punk’d on the bottom of skull tablet basement. Which like, Imagine the day that Shada’s been having. I guess Aknadin just left him at the base of like 10000 human skulls then, hahaha.

I have checked my notes and I decided that 2000 people died in Kul Elna a few months back but eh I don’t feel like changing this cap. Overall, I have no freakin idea how many people lived in this freakin town and they can’t tell us because 4Kids would never allow it.

Which is when Bakura decided to teleport his bean into another bean because this bean is broke.

Which is when we met this guy, a guy we’ve only met for like 4 seconds of the show so far. Hello there, Original Bakura.

Straight up, he wasn’t on screen long enough for me to over-analyze his accent before he was a small mound of dust on the floor.

Ah the death count! Oh damn it, I write these notes on the caps sometimes, expecting I’ll put an actual number there later but lets be real, I just need to publish this episode, so let me open the Google doc...

7,805,847,572

Yeah that’s how many people have died in this kids show so far. We’re right on track. Thanks Bakura, for another death, but no you have not caught up with Dartz. Although I will hand it to him, Dartz didn’t end up killing himself nearly as many times as Bakura has.

Speaking of dying and being dead on a kid’s show, in enters Shada.

So lets go see what Yugi’s up to hm? The four have decided to separate in this Egyptian palace to each find Yami’s name. Mind you...there’s some flaws with this plan.

The flaw being that none of them have graduated high school or know freakin anything about Egypt, other than they hang out with an Ex patriot Egyptian. (2 ex-patriots if you count Yugi’s Grandfather. Although honestly, are you an ex-pat if you are reborn in a kid’s body on the other side of the world? You are, right? You are). But, whether or not Yami can or can’t read Egyptian in Canonical Yugioh, we know that Yugi apparently super can’t when Yami isn’t in his bean.

And Joey just can’t focus for the life of him, which, damn, relatable. But, he did find a room full of women.

He also went to the only room with like lots of water. Real pissed focused mind here, and no the piss plotline will not be resolved.

Tea, still GOAT.

This castle, man. I love the complete disregard for interiors that this animation team has. Like...what even is the purpose of this weird maze room with masssssive stone tiles, Yugioh? Like...what is this even supposed to be? Why are the tiles so SHINY?

Anyway, lets go back to Shada and hear his excuse for what the hell happened last episode.

Which is when Aknadin decided to just start cursing everyone, which he would have done earlier if he wasn’t constantly in a sick bed this season.

This very well might be a yugioh card effect that turns you into a rainbow filter, but it also looks like a complete mess of artistic directions on the screen.

Which like, after that cutesy filter, lets pull our eyes out.

Which is when Yami makes the biggest logical leap known to man.

That’s right! Yami has figured out that this entire time, this entire arc, he’s been sleeping at this RPG table that Bakura’s built in his mom’s basement Yami’s Puzzle Necklace.

In fact, when Yami wakes up to all of this, wearing his normal ass school clothes, and Bakura sitting across from him in his popped collar duster jacket, Bakura says something on the line of “bout time you woke up.”

the fic shippers must have had a FIELD DAY with one.

Anyway, everything is a lie, Bakura is controlling people like puzzle pieces, which not only explains why Aknadin’s motives went a 180, but can lead us to believe that Yami also COULD control everyone else, but just chooses not to. Just like he does in real life.

I think, overall, you just have to go with it. We’re playing D+D, except it’s about your embarrassing past. Like if you made D+D about your middle school experience and you can’t remember your first name.

What a way to die, really. What a weird ass way for Yami to almost die.

Anyway, here’s a link for those new here to read these from the beginning. I have the 2nd part already drafted up, should be up in a few days and not an entire month, haha. Hope your 2023 is looking up!

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[amongusjaeger]

Hi guyssss I don’t really post but I wanted to post SOMETHING so that blogs i follow can see that i’m not a bot or anything, but here’s a small intro of who I am !!!!!

SO I won’t be revealing my actual name for safety and privacy, but you guys can call me B!! i’m about to turn 20 in september and I am a music major in college so that’s pretty cool !

I’m a kpop stan and a skz/Felix ult, he’s such a cutie pie I love him so much!! I also really love anime and Attack On Titan, but i’ve been kinda straying away from it as I wait for the next part of the anime to come out (I’ve finished the manga tho).

To any authors reading this, I want to let you know that I appreciate your hard work so much; you all work so hard and are incredibly talented writers. I am pretty shy, so I don’t know if i’ll start to actually use this blog? I’ve had it for like 2 years now so maybe I should start to post and make some friends!!!

Anyways, MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL <333 Thanks for reading babies ! :)

[beatnikbedlam]

Best New Anime of 2022

(reposted from cohost)

so i had cancer this year! which apparently means i actually watched enough new anime last year to do a top ten list? so i guess this is my first anime top ten! pretty neat! i’m only gonna cover shows that premiered this year because it would be hard not to put stuff like Mob Psycho and JoJo on here and there was so much great new stuff that i wanna focus on. here goes!

10: Love Flops: this show… this fuckin’ show y’all. the first few episodes are…. A Lot. some of the horniest anime bullshit i’ve seen. it takes over half the season to really show its hand. and look, i really don’t want to spoil anything, because it has some truly great reveals, but goddamn is it an incredible fucking hand. a show that is both absolutely demented and very touching

9: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai: translates to Aharen is Incomprehensible. just a really cute, chill little romcom about a couple of goofballs and their even goofier friends. was a very nice thing to look forward to during a pretty hard summer!

8: Urusei Yatsura: i originally had Spy x Family here, but y’know what? fuck that. Lum’s Back Bay Beeee and she looks better than ever. David Productions outdid themselves here

7: Bocchi the Rock: the most i've related to a character in ages. great music, great animation, great pals

6: Chainsaw Man: not typically my vibe, but it's so good i can't help but appreciate it anyway. i have trouble with “misery parade” stuff but Chainsaw Man takes it so far that it becomes hilarious. i really love its exploration of intimacy and control, very nuanced and looks at a lot of different aspects of it. Power and Denji’s friendship is super refreshing, Makima is scary as hell, and Himeno is… unfortunately very hot. don’t @ me

5: Ya Boi Kongming: time travel is always my jam, and this is one of the best. it subverts the whole "the character is dumb bc they're from the past" thing by making the MC a master strategist from the Three Kingdoms period. there's initial confusion, but he picks up quick, and it's more about him using his stratagems to help a girl become a famous singer. it also has one of the best OPs of the year too

4: Birdie Wing: it's the Lesbian Mafia Golf anime, what do you want from me

3: Akiba Maid War: legit one of the most buckwild first episodes ever put to film. absolutely has to be seen to be believed. all i'll say is that the title is literal, and it’s majestic. #1 fuckup gang of 2022

2: My Dress-Up Darling: immaculately crafted romcom, incredible characters. more or less a perfect show, would have been my top spot if the next one hadn't come to eat its lunch a few months later. the scene on the train after the con is one of my favorite scenes in anime period

1: Call of the Night: feels like a show made specifically for me. it's a romcom, but it's moody and there's philosophical shit and vampire fights? sign me the fuck up. then there’s Anko Uguisu, who is a fucking Problem 🥵 and to top it all off, it's the most gorgeous show i’ve seen in a long time. something like Demon Slayer has really fluid action sequences with amazing effects, but it looks pretty standard otherwise. but the composition and color and detail of every shot is so carefully considered in Call of the Night, it’s really something special. truly, absolutely cannot wait for season 2. i picked up the manga and am around chapter 100 now, it’s going in some really fascinating directions

and that’s my list! i was going to make this an honorable mentions section but ended up just mentioning basically everything else new i watched lol. so here’s that:

Ranking of Kings is a show i really loved but it just didn’t quite make the cut. the ending felt a little rushed and it started getting a bit predictable, but still great if you need a good cry

Shikimori Isn’t Just a Cutie was sweet and fun but felt a little thin

Spy x Family is really well-made and totally adorable but i have to take it in small doses for some reason

Reincarnated as a Sword i had no real issues with and i’m looking forward to season 2, but it just wasn’t a top 10

Eminence in Shadow: love the farce, fuckin’ hate the MC. still not sure where i come down on it tbh

Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting: liked it, didn’t watch enough of it

Do It Yourself! is really cute but it never quite hits the highs of something like Laid Back Camp. still worthwhile if you like that kind of thing tho

Lycoris Recoil: i really enjoyed it while i was watching it, but i keep forgetting it exists tbh

and as far as returning stuff goes Mob had such a great ending, i’ve really enjoyed the Stone Ocean adaptation, i just got into Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun this year and i’m having a great time with it, reminds me so much of that 00’s Soul Eater/HxH/toonami-type shonen but much less fight focused. and of course, Uzaki-chan was fucking incredible, as expected

it’s kind of crazy how much good anime there was this year and how many i haven’t even gotten around to yet! this winter 2023 season is seeming… a bit dry so far but at least Queen Nagatoro has returned to grace us with her presence. gonna wrap it up, but if someone found this and read all the way to the end… hey, thanks! you’re great!

[halt-kun]

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 160 - Face-off (3)

I’ve bought the volumes up to volume 20 and I’ll try to finish volume 16 today

We were left off at Hisoka tricking Killua on meeting the PT in the game

Off to Tsezguerra !

Nice to bargain for a part of the prize money of Tsezguerra ever wins the game. He has a nice headstart. It’s too bad it wasn’t in the anime

Patch of Forest seems like another group event lead by a game master. I wonder how this event can be triggered. Imagine waiting for ten years for someone to challenge you and in the end nobody does and they manage to reach the end of the game anyway.

Let’s go ! ! ! 

Just some nice panels

Tsezguerra is on board because he isn’t dumb

They have good odds, you can try again and choose a sport that advantages you, your skills and your nen

I love Killua power moves !

JUMP

I like how they notice they can do that just now when the troupe used this back in Yorknew. When Nobunaga reached the third floor, Killua was shocked. Gyo is useful. It’s definitely not Tsezguerra ability but just to showcase his leg strength and aura control. 

BOOM SHOCK

to be honest this Tsezguerra is rusty he hasn’t trained in a while and his cautious nature didn’t allow for improvement in a while.

Killua still overall better than Gon at skills that involve enhancement, mostly because he’s also very strong but his aura control is also better since he was better at ryu than Gon.

His proximity to enhancement that was revealed lately is also likely to be involved in there. We know that like Machi he’s a transmuter in the middle of enhancement and transmutation. 

Tsezguerra is a liar 

Gon is such a kid

Tsezguerra did beach volley, NICE

Goreinu did wrestling, my gaydar is triggered

Killua wants to destroy Bobopo

Barry will do Boxing (i think Barry is cute)

Rodriot must be a manipulator or aware that’s what his opponent will use.

Hisoka soccer juggling is a cheat, like it helps juggling and it’s not like the ball can be pushed by nen too.

Tse and Gon team ! nice

FUCK

Biscuit looks good, did Killua and Gon grow past her height in this arc ? I remember them being all three about the same height

I think Kess is going to do Baseball

2011 Animators were cowards not putting chest hair on this character

Yep he’s fast my dude too bad for you

What will you do ? Teleport a few centimeters to the right ?

Divine script hasn’t been used in a while too, it’s most likely similar to Wing’s script and what’s used on GI ring and inside the game. 

Barry is HOT

sorry I need to go the horny jail

Nice for Rodriot and Kess !

Razor knows how to find strong people, he wants a piece of them

Threatening to kill Killua is a bad move

Burns hurt as hell though, understandable but you burnt someone else Bobopo

Killua is a brat and I love it

OOF Breach of contract in GI isn’t fun

OUCH OUCH OUCH 

way less damage than in the anime but more gory. At least I can better envision the strength of the ball this way.

Everyone is on edge now 

And the fodders are terrified now

1 & 2 - I wonder if the first two are nen spaces if you use gain ? 

3- Third could solve water shortages in a small village

4- Fourth is really useful for skin caring, I’d love to try it

5 - Spirited away is just when you want to be alone and at peace, nice too

6 - Liquor spring is for alcoholic

7 - Pregnancy STONE or Gon’s mother, to be honest the theory is perfect Gon was 2 when GI was created so it could have been used during the beta test phase. Only Ging would try it for the fun of it anyway. Does it mean it makes a kid through parthogenesis, Gon isn’t a clone so that seems logical or does it use random genes for the second part or from someone you like ? or at random around you ?

Also since we will never have info on Gon’s mom, it’s the best thing we’ll ever have

8 - Mystery pond could save species, too bad it only works on fish, I wonder how it defines fish, technically terrestrial vertebrates are fish so you could duplicate humans in there too.

9 - Tree of Plenty could also deal with food shortages in one place

I’ll continue later tonight. I know with the latest chapters I haven’t continued the GI arc in a while but in two weeks with the return of hiatus x hiatus, I’ll be back to a more consistent liveblog

[free-pool-trash]

x of swords - george weasley

part one of three

Summary: Growing up as Harry’s neighbor, you always believed that you were completely regular. In an attempt to feel closer to Harry (your best friend) you begin to dabble in the art of divination and, in the process, you uncover magic that you didn’t know you had. (i hate doing summaries this does not sum it up but you get the jist)

Relationships: George Weasley x Reader, platonic!Harry Potter x Reader, platonic!OC x Reader, platonic!Sirius Black x Reader, platonic!Remus Lupin x Reader, platonic!Fred Weasley x Reader, platonic!Nymphadora Tonks x Reader, platonic!Molly Weasley x Reader, platonic!Hermoine Granger x Reader, Sirius Black x Remus Lupin

Warnings: Swearing, anxiety, fluff, angst, mentions of torture, mentions of death (let me know if I missed anything!)

Word count: 22.9k 

so here it is 😏 i was going to wait until i was completely finished with this to post it but i didn’t wanna rush it and oh my god it’s already so long  😫 I’m moving to Edinburgh in 2 weeks so i won’t be able to write as i have so much to pack so i hope this keeps some of you happy for a while <3 obviously i put a lot of effort into this and spent a lot of time on it so i really hope yall like it and i will personally kiss everyone who comments. likes or reblogs <3

mastelist

Life on Privet Drive was definitely something- something being incredibly boring. Nothing even remotely exciting happened on the street and the company was, to put it simply, miserable.

You’d lived in 5 Privet Drive since birth which, unfortunately for you, meant that your family are extremely close with the Dursleys who live next door. The Dursleys are a family of bigoted, pig-headed bullies. Made up of Petunia, Vernon, Dudley and, in your opinion the only tolerable one, Harry.

From the age of five, Harry had been your only friend on the street and vice versa. Initially, the both of you had bonded over your dislike of Dudley but as the years rolled on Harry and yourself had become virtually inseparable.

It was certainly strange- how close your parents were with Petunia and Vernon. Your mother and father are actually quite lovely, they are the complete opposite of the Dursleys, they’re open minded, kind and extremely friendly. But, you supposed, their friendliness didn’t discriminate from person to person, even if said person forced their orphaned nephew to sleep in the cupboard underneath the stairs.

There was no denying that Harry had been miserable with the Dursleys, who were unfortunately his only remaining family and you supposed you should’ve been happy when your best friend finally got away from them after his 11th birthday.

You’d missed him for the entire school year and you only got a chance to ask where he’d actually gone off to when he’d arrived home for the summer. (You didn’t believe the story Vernon had spun about Harry attending a boarding school for juvenile trouble makers).

“It’s incredible, (Y/n), honestly! I wish you could be there too.” He’d told you when you finally saw him again, after he’d finished his first year in his mysterious boarding school.

“That’s great, Haz, but where exactly is it?” You wondered and Harry only gave you his signature grin.

“Scotland.”

With a heavy sigh you let the subject go, he was clearly happy wherever he was going to school so it didn’t matter where or what it was. As long as he was happy.

By the time his 12th birthday rolled around you’d found the perfect gift for him. You’d made your parents buy you a polaroid camera for him to take away to school, he’d told you so many amazing stories about his school, you wanted to see some of it for yourself so you figured a camera would be the best course of action.

The morning of his birthday, Harry was woken up by the sound of pebbles tapping against his barred up window. The boy looked out to see you waving at him, an excited smile on your face and a neatly wrapped present in your other hand. Harry couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face as you beckoned him down with your hand. It was barely dawn but you knew better than to give a present for Harry to either his aunt or uncle because they’d only give it to Dudley, so it was best to get it to him before the rest of his supposed family woke up.

Hogwarts was amazing and Harry was over the moon to have discovered he was a wizard and make so many new friends, but he had missed you- his only friend in the muggle world. Your birthday was only a few weeks after his and he hoped that maybe you’d get a hogwarts letter of your own, obviously that hadn’t happened. Nonetheless he was happy to see you in the summer, he couldn’t shake the thought that Ron and Hermione would have loved to meet you though.

Slowly and quietly, Harry snook down the stairs and out the front door to meet you.

“Happy birthday, Haz!” You whisper-shouted excitedly, pulling the green-eyed boy into your house so he wouldn’t get caught outside when he wasn’t even allowed out of his bedroom.

Harry rolled his eyes at the nickname, “I hope you know that you’re still the only person who calls me that.”

“Good,” you said happily, closing the front door behind you. “Anyway, I got you something that you can bring away to school with you!” He rose an eyebrow at you as you pushed the carefully wrapped box into his hands, “Open it,” you instructed. And so he did.

It was very possibly the most expensive gift he’d ever gotten, you (or your parents) usually got Harry presents that couldn’t be stolen by Dudley. For example, your mother had taken to buying Harry his own clothes, seeing as your best friend was a lot taller and thinner than his horrid cousin.

You, on the other hand, would usually make him gifts with sentimental value, something Dudley had absolutely zero interest in. The camera though, you knew would be safe as Harry would be leaving for school again soon enough.

Harry stared dumbfounded at the cardboard box that held the rather large polaroid camera, judging by the image on the box it was a good quality thing, probably expensive. “This is… really nice, (Y/n).”

A bright smile found your lips as you rushed into an animated explanation about why you’d picked a camera as his birthday present this year.

“So you can take lots of pictures of you and your new friends in your new fancy private school and when you come back here you can show them to me!” Harry chuckled and nodded his head, hoping he’d be able to find time to take pictures like you wanted.

“I’ll take pictures of everything. Promise.” He told you, holding out his pinky with a cheeky grin. You linked your pinky with his and nodded gratefully.

“We should christen it,” Harry announced, tearing into the box and he quickly set the camera up before he pointed it at you expectantly. “Well, come on then. I’ve told my school friends all about you, they’re going to want to see what you look like too. So, smile-“ with a disbelieving laugh, you crossed your legs underneath yourself from where you were sitting on the floor across from Harry, and tucked your hair behind your ears before you looked directly at the lense of the camera and gave it the brightest smile you could muster. The camera flashed and the picture slowly revealed itself, it seemed to be good enough to satisfy Harry’s twelve year old self.

He’d shown the polaroid to Hermione first, the bushy haired girl had smiled softly as she held the polaroid gently, “She seems lovely, Harry.”

Harry had nodded his head in agreement, you were lovely. He just hoped Dudley wasn’t terrorising you too much while he was away. His cousin always had somewhat of a crush on you, which Harry knew was ridiculous considering you all but loathed Dudley.

True to his word, Harry had taken plenty of pictures, many were of (non-magic) areas of the Hogwarts campus, many were of his friends; Ron, Hermione, Fred and George Weasley (who had an absolute field day with the muggle contraption), one or two of Hagrid and he even managed to capture a nice one of the owlery. Although you were one of his best friends, sometimes thinking about you while he was in Hogwarts brought his mood down. It reminded him of how much he wished you could’ve shared in his adventures and not to mention how much he missed you, you could hardly send him an owl, what with being a muggle and all, so he only got to spend time with you during the summer months.

Things had changed during his third year, though. When he received a rather shocking, albeit very welcome, letter.

Dear Harry,

I’d like to start by saying: hi, how are you? How’s school? Good? Great. Now that that’s out of the way… when you come home I’m going to KILL you!!! I cannot believe you didn’t tell me you are a wizard! Well, I understand why you didn’t but anyway.

You’re probably wondering how I found all of this out. Long story short, I saw Vernon’s sister floating around your sitting room and then I saw you running out swinging a wand around. I put two and two together. You would not believe how long it took me to figure out how to get in contact with you. I practically had to beg Dudley to tell me how to get this package to you, he eventually told me how in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. It was as horrifying as it sounds, the things I do for you, Haz, honestly. Don’t worry though, you can make it up to me over the summer.

I bought an owl by the way. I’m guessing she found you okay? Look after her for a little while before sending her back will you? She’s just a baby so she can’t do too much long distance travel just yet.The lady I got her from is a witch, she was very kind and knew exactly what I was looking to use an owl for. Her name is Astra (the owl’s not the lady’s)! Isn’t she lovely?

Moving on from that, I felt bad forcing you to send me pictures and getting nothing in return so I have decided to very kindly grace you with my exhilaratingly normal life. You will also find I sent you some of those sweets you like.

Tell Ron and Hermione that I said hi! Oh and Fred and George too! Get into lots of trouble for me ;) I suppose I better stop rambling now, sorry about that I’m just excited (and i might be missing you… just a tiny bit!)

Write back to me soon, if you can! Tell Astra I’m proud of her for making her first delivery! (give her plenty of treats for me yeah?)

I’ll let you get back to your wizardy stuff now, Haz.

Lots of love,

(Y/n) xoxo

P.s. your magical secret is safe with me. promise.

Harry looked up from your letter with a dazed smile, your new little owl was looking at him expectantly, no doubt awaiting her treat, “Good job, Astra. Your owner says she’s very proud of you,” he informed her, handing her a piece of bacon from his breakfast plate and laughed when she hooted happily.

Astra is a gorgeous little tawny, she has brown and white feathers that were fluffy to the touch. Harry could already tell she was well suited to you though, she was friendly as anything with the most curious eyes he’d ever seen.

“Whose it from?” Ron grunted from beside him, munching happily on his huge breakfast.

Harry let out a short laugh, digging into the envelope to pull out the photos and sweets you’d sent, “(Y/n).”

“I thought she didn’t know about you?” Hermione asked from beside Ron, Harry only shrugged.

“She figured it out. She’s quite clever, I think you’d like her Hermione. She says hi by the way.” He answered somewhat distantly, distracted by the pictures you’d sent, all of which had writing on the backs. He paused on one photo, he guessed one of your parents had taken it, you were stood in the woods, surrounded by trees with a huge smile on your face, your eyes were closed and your nose was scrunched up as a very tiny Astra seemed to be nibbling at your ear affectionately.

“I’m sure we’d get along, I admire her determination, really. And she even bought an owl?” The girl questioned, reaching over and petting Astra gently.

Harry’s smile was gentle as Astra hopped onto his shoulder, “Yeah, suppose she did.”

“Alright! I’m gonna say it!” George Weasley exclaimed, plucking the photo of you from Harry’s grasp, he held it between himself and Fred, the older twin had somehow swiped the letter you’d written. “Harry’s girlfriend back home is quite cute, don’t you think, Freddie?” Fred nodded resolutely, pushing the letter into George’s face as he pointed towards a specific line.

“I have to agree and look, Georgie, she told Harry to tell us that she says hi! Ugh, such a darling,” Fred fake swooned and Harry felt his face heat up while George made kissy faces.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Yeah, you had opened Harry up to a whole new world of teasing yet somehow he didn’t mind.

“Oi, do you think she’d like some of our Weasley products?” George asked genuinely, wiggling his eyebrows. Harry shuddered at the thought of you getting a hold of anything that Fred and George had created, because yes, you would like some magical pranking products. You had quite a talent for mischief, only in Harry’s worst nightmares would the Weasley twins ever get their hands on you.

Harry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “Dunno.”

“She single?” Fred asked jokingly and Harry scrunched his face up. He supposed you were single, though, he’d never really pictured you with anyone. He felt quite protective over you, but he supposed he'd like to see you happy with someone he approved of- or alternatively; anyone but Dudley.

“Think so,” Harry told him with another shrug before a cheeky grin spread across his lips, as he focused his attention on the twins who were nudging each other in mock victory, “Why? Should I write home and tell her the esteemed Weasley twins have a crush on her?”

George was the first the speak, he nodded, completely serious and Harry found himself worrying that perhaps one of the Weasley twins would get his hands on you.

“Yes. Absolutely,” Fred snorted and said no more, allowing his younger twin to continue the girl based antics seeing as Fred’s actual crush, Angelina, had started to glare. “In fact, give her my name. Tell her to write to me next time, eh?”

Harry’s eyes widened, oh Merlin, George was serious.

“Oh sod off, would you? The poor girl is a muggle, she’d throw herself off the astronomy tower if she got stuck with either of you prats.” Ron said through a laugh, none of them could deny it was quite funny, even Hermione had to bite back a smile at the chaos your simple letter had caused.

Around two weeks had passed until Astra returned to you, two letters attached to her leg this time.

You greeted her with a warm smile as she landed on the inside of you window, “Welcome home, pretty lady! Did you have a nice trip?” You cooed, patting her feathers and giggling when she nuzzled her head against your fingers. Having a magical owl as a pet was weird, but still, you seemed to be managing her okay.

Astra hooted happily, as if informing you that she did, in fact, have a nice trip. “That’s good! Let me take these letters off and you can have a well deserved rest, I’ve made a nice nest up for you,” you rambled softly as you untied the string that was holding the letters to her leg.

Astra hooted, hopping onto your arm and allowing you to place her on the plush pile of pillows and blankets which she immediately made herself comfortable upon, once again hooting in content when you placed a handful of treats in front of her.

You assumed that both letters were from Harry until you noticed the messy handwriting that covered one of the envelopes, handwriting that definitely didn’t belong to Harry. Besides, never, even in the furthest reaches of your imagination, would your best friend ever refer to you as; “Harry’s Pretty Neighbour”. You set that one to the side for the time being and focused on the letter you knew to actually be from Harry.

Dear (Y/n),

Hi. Sorry I didn’t tell you I was a wizard. If it makes you feel better I was actually planning on telling you this summer, but thank you for saving me from that conversation. I miss you too (only a tad). I hope you’re having a good school year so far, it’s been pretty chaotic here but I promise I’ll tell you every single tiny detail when we see each other at the end of May!

Did Astra get home okay? She’s a really lovely owl, she took quite a liking to George who (terrifyingly) has taken quite a liking to you. He’s been badgering me all week for “permission” to write to you, in his words, “just to say hello.” I think you’d actually get along but he and the rest of his family are very magic oriented, I’d be surprised if he didn’t scare you away… the pair of you together would be my worst nightmare. Don’t even get me started on how I’d feel if Fred was in the mix too. I’m tired just thinking about it.

Thank you for the sweets they were lovely, I put a chocolate frog in the envelope for you, it’s a really popular sweet in the wizarding world- don’t freak out when it hops, it’s just a charm the frog isn’t really alive.

I enjoyed the pictures too, I put a few in this letter for you too, the polaroid is running out of film but it should be enough to keep me going until the end of term.

Write to me again soon, I like hearing from you.

Take care,

Harry.

P.S. I’m really sorry you had to kiss Dudley, I’ll do something to make it up to you. Promise.

P.P.S. If George OR Fred manage to write to you PLEASE don’t eat anything they give you.

With a laugh you set the letter down beside you. Curiously, you reached a hand into the ivory envelope and pulled out the peculiarly shaped chocolate box as well as the polaroids. You viewed the photos with a fond smile, Harry always looked so happy, even with whatever chaos was happening around him. Wizard school definitely made your best friend the happiest he’d ever been.

Opening the next letter, which you now guessed judging by Harry’s letter, came from George Weasley, Harry’s friend Ron’s older brother. That was all you knew about him. You let out a gasp once you opened the seal, a small show of tiny fireworks shot out, exploding in balls of reds and oranges across your bedroom before they disappeared as if they’d never been there in the first place.

Slightly frazzled, yet amazed, you cautiously plucked the letter from the envelope and began reading.

Hello, Harry’s Pretty Neighbour.

I hope you enjoyed the show, hopefully it didn’t startle you too much… I’m not exactly sure what muggles are used to… if it did scare you I’m sorry.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi. Promised Harry I wouldn’t spook you, he’s quite protective of you, you know. It’s very sweet.

I don’t blame him, though. If I had a friend as pretty as you I’d be protective too ;)

Don’t break my heart, write back?

Yours truly,

George Weasley x

And that had been the start of it. Two years had passed since you’d discovered the wizarding world and it seemed as though things had simultaneously gotten worse and better. As it turns out, your lifelong best friend was some sort of prophetic hero in the wizard community and on top of that it seemed that there was a war brewing that he would be expected to lead.

Of course, you were completely useless as you don’t possess the ability to perform magic which also means you're at risk of being hate crimed by some classist, wizard, blood supremacists? You weren’t sure. But Harry was worried.

You’d been writing back and forth to a few of Harry’s Hogwarts friends (your friends now too) for a long while now, you’d even gotten a chance to finally meet them when you’d gone with the Dursleys to collect Harry from King’s Cross Station.

You got along best with Hermione seeing as she was raised similarly to yourself and Harry. However, of all of Harry’s school mates, you liked George the most. Everyone could have predicted it really, you’d been writing to each other constantly and the second you’d clapped eyes on each other in the flesh he’d broken out in a run to crush you in a hug. Harry had groaned at the sight of the pair of you, smiling widely at each other, seeming to slot together perfectly. He had to laugh about it now though, if things went well with Ginny he supposed you’d probably end up being his sister-in-law, assuming his predictions of George falling completely in love with you were correct (they were, he knew).

All air of laughter or wizard/muggle romances was gone at the moment however. You and Harry sat alongside each other, your hand holding his loosely between the swings you were sat on, he’d be going into his 5th year at Hogwarts soon, he’d yet to recover from the last. He’d made a friend only for that friend to be killed right in front of him. He’d almost been murdered himself for God’s sake.

“If you don’t feel safe, Haz… maybe, I don’t know? Don’t go back?” You suggested weakly, knowing he’d never do such a thing. As you expected, Harry shook his head and looked at you solemnly.

“Can’t. Not now that he’s back.” With a sigh you squeezed his hand.

“They should be paying you for this, you know,” Harry chuckled then, squeezing your hand in return.

“I’m doing this for you too. To keep you safe.” He admitted and you sighed miserably.

“I wish I could be of more help.” Harry scoffed, his green eyes shining with pure disbelief as he stared at you.

“More help? (Y/n) you must be joking…” he trailed off as you shook your head, you weren’t joking, you hated that you couldn’t help Harry through this, for once you knew there was nothing you could do to improve the situation in any way that would make an impact, “Oi. Look at me,” Harry demanded, no trace of the usual awkward sarcasm to be heard when he spoke.

You let your eyes meet his again and watched how they seemed to soften when he took in how utterly defenceless you looked, “If it hadn’t been for you, the first ten years of my life would’ve been an even worse hell than they already were. You were the only good thing and you’re still the only good thing about being back in this place.”

He watched sadly as your eyes fell to the floor again, “Besides, the sooner we get this mess with Voldemort sorted out, the sooner you and George Weasley can navigate the whole muggle/wizard romance thing.”

At his statement you barked out a laugh and Harry let himself smile too, “Shut up, Potter. S’not like that.”

Harry laughed then too, “Oh it is so like that, (N/n).”

“It so isn’t.” You grumbled, but your little smile confirmed to Harry that it absolutely was like that.

“Okay. Fine, please then do tell, what is going on between you and the infamous George Weasley?” Harry challenged, revelling in the way your cheeks burned with embarrassment. He let out a low chuckle when you shrugged shyly and kicked the stones beneath your feet.

“I don’t know… We write to each other a lot, and I think he’s really interesting and funny and sweet and of course I think he’s fit. But, I don’t know,” you bit your lip as Harry listened to you, he found it quite endearing. “I just don’t see how it would work. I like him, yeah, but…” Harry scoffed again as you trailed off. He hated seeing you feeling so insecure, Harry was clueless about a lot of things, but he knew exactly how much his best friend was worth- more than all the gold in Gringott’s.

“Ok as your best mate, and as someone who is very close with the Weasley family, I’m telling you that he’s mad about you. All he ever does is ask me about you, Fred is completely sick of him. He’s even told Molly about you, which is truly a commitment believe me,” Harry started, growing more content with the more bashful you became, “And didn’t he write to you just before the Yule Ball to tell you that he was going with Katie Bell as a friend but he wanted to tell you just incase you heard it from someone else and he didn’t want you to get the wrong idea?” Finally, you were back to fighting a smile.

“Yeah he did.”

“Well there you go. But seriously he hasn’t dated or even so much as looked at anyone else since he met you. Which I’ll be honest is super annoying for me but you deserve someone who thinks you hung the stars in the sky.”

A mock gasp left your lips and you released his hand to place it over your chest in faux hurt, “You mean to tell me you don’t think I hung the stars in the sky? I’m hurt, Harry. I think I’ll have to rat you out to Mrs. Weasley.”

Harry laughed but the lighthearted atmosphere didn’t last long before Dudley had shown up with his little gang of bullies, all of whom made fun of Harry’s nightmares.

It was then things had taken a turn for the worst, the sky turned black and storm clouds completely blocked out the previously scorching sun. You looked to Harry for answers but he seemed to be seeing something that you couldn’t, all you knew was that it had become unbearably cold, a feeling of misery making a home in your bones as Harry rushed to pull you to your feet.

“Run! Come on!” He shouted, clutching your hand tightly in his and sprinting through the neighbourhood until you, Harry and Dudley found yourselves struggling to catch a breath in a graffiti covered tunnel.

A terrified yelp left your throat as what you’d been running from revealed itself to you.

Several floating, cloaked shadowy figures swooped into the tunnel on both sides, their hands decaying and boney, their presence leaving you with the feeling that you’d never know positively ever again.

Harry had effectively used his body to cage you against the wall of the tunnel, his back pressed firmly against your chest, your own back pressed to the cold concrete wall, his wand was at the ready as the creatures approached rapidly.

“Don’t look at them.” Harry instructed, protecting you first as you watched in horror as one of the creatures seemed to be ripping Dudley’s essence straight out of his body.

It only took Harry a few painfully long seconds to take care of the creature in front of the pair of you, you’d wished you’d taken his advice and buried your head in his shoulder so you wouldn’t see the monstrous creatures before you, yet, you couldn’t seem to tear your eyes away from Dudley.

The rest happened in a blur, Harry had yet to let go of your hand as it (and your entire body) shook violently. Demontors broke even the strongest of wizards, Harry knew that as a muggle who’d never seen a magical creature, other than an owl, you’d react negatively.

“If it makes you feel any better, I used to faint every time I saw a dementor.” You nodded numbly, giving Dudley a side glance of concern while he mumbled incoherently to himself.

“Is he alright?” You questioned meekly, voice shaking. You were still freezing and the all too familiar feeling of uselessness didn’t do anything to help you regain your inner warmth.

Harry nodded, “He will be.”

“The ministry will be after my head for using magic outside of school,” he told you after a few minutes, squeezing your hand lightly for the umpteenth time, “So I’m gonna have to go away for a while. Probably tonight. Eat some chocolate, it should stop the shaking.” He told you, you hadn’t even noticed you’d reached Privet Drive.

“And they won’t-“ your breath got caught in your throat and your eyes filled with fear, “The dementors. They won’t come back, will they?”

Harry shook his head, “No. But come on, we should get you inside before the ministry shows up and tries to obliviate you.” His final words came out as more of a mumble than an actual sentence as he passed a bumbling Dudley over to Petunia and Vernon before steering you down your own driveway.

“You better not have broken her too, boy!” You vaguely registered Vernon’s voice shouting in your and Harry’s direction.

Your parents were away on holiday at the moment, in Spain. They’d wanted you to come but you hadn’t wanted to miss Harry’s visit, so when you shakily managed to open the door the house was completely dark, you weren’t sure at what point night had fallen.

Harry closed the door behind himself and made his way into your kitchen, the boy rifled through your sweet press before his hand finally settled on what he was looking for. A triumphant sort of yell left his lips as he pulled a bar of chocolate out of the cupboard.

While Harry tossed the bar onto the counter and busied himself with boiling the kettle, you stood in the hallway still, completely rigid.

“Come on, (Y/n). Sit down.” He urged gently, not turning around. Wordlessly, you fully entered the kitchen and slid into a chair facing Harry.

“Don’t you have better things to be doing than making me tea?” You wondered, setting your hands on the table and fidgeting with your icy fingers. Obviously, you appreciated Harry’s fussing but with the way he was talking about the ministry earlier you were sure he had more important things to worry about.

Harry only faced you once he was finished making your tea. He carried the hot cup and the previously discarded bar of chocolate over to you, he placed them both on the table before giving you a hard look, “I’m looking after you first. I’ll deal with everything else later.”

“I used to be the one who took care of you.” You said through a sigh, taking a sip of the hot tea and slumping against your seat as you began to heat up on the inside again.

Harry let out a low chuckle, “Oh how the tables have turned.”

“I liked it better the other way.” You complained, munching on a square of chocolate.

“Trust me, so did I,” Harry groaned, standing up and placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, “Don’t worry though, (N/n). Have a sneaking feeling that you’ll be looking after me again soon enough.”

You patted the hand he had clamped on your shoulder in appreciation, “Thank you, though, for looking after me.”

“Course. I better go. I don’t want you getting roped into anything else tonight,” he said with a sad smile and you nodded in understanding, “We probably won’t see each other for a while but I’ll write. Is Astra back from Cecilia's yet?” Celillia is the witch you’d gotten Astra from in the first place, the pair of you had kept in touch and she’d recently offered to try and teach you some basic divination skills, she claimed that, “Being a wizard isn’t exactly a requirement” and you desperately needed something, anything, to make you feel more connected to your friends in the wizarding world. You supposed you’d need to plan a trip to her cottage soon, after tonight you definitely needed some of her wisdom.

“No, not yet. She flew straight there from the burrow so I suppose she’s probably resting,” you informed him distantly, still clutching his hand, “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”

Harry squeezed your shoulder and let out a deep breath, “I’ll try my best. Promise,” with that he lifted his hand from your shoulder and extended his pinky to you, you gladly linked it with your own. Harry noted, very gratefully, that the warmth had now returned to your hands and you’d stopped shaking so violently.

“Send me a letter once Astra gets back, alright? I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on over on my side.” You agreed before walking Harry to the door, hugging him tightly and watching as he approached the Dursley’s front door.

As predicted, Harry, George, Hermione and Cecillia had let you know that the wizarding world was crumbling fast. Admittedly you were worried about your wizard friends, but Cecillia had done a great job of keeping you distracted by keeping you buried under heaps of divination books, tarot cards and crystal guidebooks. As it turns out, though, you had quite the talent for making accurate detailed predictions.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were descended from a powerful seer,” she’d written to you in awe after you’d managed to predict exactly how a date of hers would go without missing a single detail.

Reading tarot cards quickly became one of your favourite hobbies to indulge in when you weren’t in school. You’d made the mistake of telling George about it in a recent letter, Harry already knew and he also knew that there was no point telling you that he didn’t have a heap of faith in divination. George however was having a field day with the new information.

The older boy teased you at every chance he got, but it was all in good fun as in every letter he sent, you’d find a page that he’d ripped out of his own divination book, the pages would be crinkled and have messy notes scribbled along the margins, with explanations over words that he knew you wouldn’t understand as a muggle. They were actually really helpful. Aside from all the teasing he found it quite endearing that you were trying to get familiar with some form of magic. Even if it was a form of magic wizards tended to ridicule.

He’d been quite worried about you, Harry told him about the dementors and how you’d been quite shaken up after your encounter with them. He’d written to you on a weekly basis, constantly checking in on you, making absolutely sure that no more dementors paid you a visit. He and Harry both kept you up to date with the constant and seemingly never ending rules being imposed upon them by their new headmaster, or headmistress; Delores Umbridge. George also disclosed to you all about his and Fred’s plan to leave Hogwarts and pursue their lifelong dream of opening a joke shop. You had nothing but faith in the twins, really. Your complete faith in them hadn’t stopped you from sending George a handful of crystals that you believed would help his and his shop’s success. He’d teased you relentlessly in each letter since he’d received your package containing citrine, tiger’s eye, amazonite, aventurine and smokey quartz. What he hadn’t mentioned since receiving your little gifts, is that he’d been carrying the five crystals around in their little orange mesh drawstring bag in his pocket everywhere he went. He had to give credit where credit is due and, to be fair to you and your holistic ways, he hadn’t run into any serious obstacles since he started carrying the gems around.

November through June had brought forth a plethora of unfortunate events. You were practically swimming in school work which left you with no time to write to Harry, or even practice tarot. As well as that, you’d been having nightmares, although Cecillia had warned that these dreams could hold some sort of prophesies within them, you highly doubted that though, you weren’t a wizard, only a muggle. Whether prophetic or not, the nightmares plagued you, keeping you up at night or waking you at all hours of the morning.

On one particular morning, you’d awoken with a gasp. Sweat coated your face, soaked your pillow cases and caused your legs to stick to your blankets in a way not even the June heat could've caused. Your heart pounded against your ribcage, tears welled in your eyes, and your body shook as violently as it had the night you’d come face to face with the dementors of Azkaban. The unadulterated fear coursing through your bloodstream suggested that perhaps this bad dream had been something more than simply that.

As fast as you could manage in your panicked state, you dragged your body out of bed and stumbled towards your light switch, flicking it on before haphazardly ripping a sheet out of the refill pad on your desk, grabbing a pen and beginning to scribble down the dream that you could only describe as a warning.

Your laboured breaths stirred Astra from her slumber, the tawny hooted tiredly, hopping out of her cage and fluttering over to your shoulder, settling there as you wrote.

Harry,

I hope this letter reaches you in time. I might sound completely mad but something terrible may be about to happen. I’ve been having these horrific dreams over the last few months, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry but Cecillia suspects they’re premonitions and I’m terrified she may be right. I’ve just woken up, it’s around 2am and if I’m lucky, Astra should get this letter to you before 6am…

Onto the dream, you were there and you were asleep, I was standing by your bed, it was a four-poster sort of thing, the room was decorated in mostly red and gold. You woke up panicked, you looked completely overwhelmed and you began shouting about your Godfather Sirius, about how he was in trouble… From then on I watched the day play out. You, Hermoine, Ron, Ginny, a boy with brown hair I’ve never met, I think you called him Neville in my dream, and a blonde girl- Luna I think you called her, you all went to the ministry to rescue Sirius and find some kind of prophecy. Harry you have to listen to me, you mustn’t go, it’s a trick, Voldemort planted it in your head and if you go you’ll only put Sirius in harm’s way. But, knowing you, you’re gonna go anyway… so here’s my advice: keep your eyes open for the witch Bellatrix. Keep Sirius away from the veil and please please please, be careful.

I’m heading to Cecillia’s cottage for the day and maybe even the next couple of days, send Astra there when you find time to write back.

I hope I’m wrong but if I’m not; good luck, Harry. I love you and if you don’t look after yourself the dark lord will be the least of your worries.

Lots of love,

Y/n.

Folding up the letter and placing it in a stray envelope, you addressed it and gently tied it to your loyal owl’s leg. “I’m gonna need you to go as fast as you can to get this to Harry, okay Astra?” She hooted with what you guessed to be determination before she set off, out into the night. Thankfully for you, now that your owl was occupied, you knew Cecillia owned a telephone so you’d have no problems contacting her. While writing to Harry, you’d left out a few details about the dream. You conveniently forget to mention that you’d watched his only remaining family member killed at the hand’s of Bellatrix, it had looked so terrifyingly real that your mind couldn’t have possibly conjured it up all by itself. You also failed to mention hearing Harry’s agonising scream as Sirius fell, the noise was nearly deafening. Seeing Sirius, a man you’d only seen in pictures, die and watching your best friend mourn for him was, well, traumatising. There was no way you’d get a wink of sleep for the remainder of the night, so, you quietly tiptoed downstairs and made a call.

The line rang three times before Cecillia’s voice sounded, chirpy as ever despite the late hour, “Hello?”

“Sorry to call so late,” was all you managed, your voice although shaky was immediately identified by the much older witch.

You could nearly see the soft smile on her youthful face as she spoke, “Ah, Y/n my darling, no worries at all! How is my favourite student doing at half two in the morning?”

“Not well, I’ve had another vision. I think you might’ve been right about the dreams being prophetic,” you told her, willing your voice not to crack as the image of your bad dreams crept into your mind once again.

Cecillia let out a gentle hum, “Shall I apparate over? You don’t sound in the highest of spirits, darling.”

“Yes please,” you answered simply and within seconds Cecillia was standing before you, a worried furrow in her brow and her ashy brown hair disheveled from apparating to you in such a hurry. How could she not? You were, after all, her protégé.

“Oh, darling. You look terribly shaken up, come, come, let’s get you some water,” she fretted, guiding you to your kitchen, magically flicking on the light with her wand and filling up a glass of water, with a few flicks of her wrist the glass had floated over to your usual seat at the table, meanwhile Cecillia had stirred you into the wooden chair adjacent the glass.

Wordlessly, the witch peeled your damp hair away from your face and secured it back with a crocodile clip shaped like a huge golden bumble bee, it’s wings adorned with glittering gems. The bee sat comfortably in your hair as Cecillia finally sat down beside you, she made herself comfortable on the kitchen chair, crossing one leg over the other, resting her elbow on the table and using it to prop her cheek up. Her wide green eyes stared at you sympathetically, watching intently as you sipped your water.

“I’m assuming your loyal familiar is sleeping soundly?” She wondered, referring to Astra. You shook your head, simultaneously swallowing a gulp of water before responding verbally.

“I sent her with a letter to Harry, it was more of a warning really,” Cecillia nodded her head, signalling you to go on, “I dreamt of Harry and his friends going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius Black, but it was a trap. When they got there they were ambushed by dark wizards and Sirius well he…” you trailed off, eyes growing distant and unfocused when the sight of the man being murdered reentered your mind’s eye. A gentle hand on your shoulder pulled you back to the present.

“This one was far worse than the others then?”

You nodded, “It didn’t feel like a dream, cecillia. It was like I was actually standing there but I couldn’t do anything to help though… as per usual,” you muttered bitterly, receiving a harsh squeeze to your shoulder in response.

Cecillia fixed you with a maternal glare, “None of that! You potentially saved a life tonight. And, as I effortlessly predicted since the moment I met you, you’ve got the magical gift of sight,” her hard look melted into something more forgiving as she spoke, “You’re much more than just a muggle. You may have been an extremely late bloomer, but, you’re a witch and a seer at that. A peculiar case indeed, although in the wizarding world stranger things have happened,” the old witch told you proudly, eyes shining with glee as your own filled with confusion.

“How do we know the dream will even come true?” You questioned.

Cecillia simply shrugged and offered you a cheeky grin, “I trust your feelings, darling.”

True to your initial feeling, you hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, you knew you wouldn’t be able to rest until you found out whether or not your dream had come to fruition. Cecillia remained by your side throughout the night, eventually the sun had risen and your parents descended down the stairs, neither of them were surprised to see Cecillia sitting at the kitchen table. They saw her as an odd woman, very kind and perfectly lovely, but odd. You’d told them that she owned an animal sanctuary and that you’d been volunteering with her, it wasn’t too far fetched really, she had given you an owl after all, not to mention the amount of cats that hung around her cottage.

She explained to your parents that she needed your help at ‘the sanctuary’ for the next few days and that she’d drop you home once the work was finished. It hadn’t been a problem, so you traveled to Cecillia’s cottage after getting dressed and packing an overnight bag (full to the brim with tarot decks and only some clothes).

It was nearly 8 in the evening when Cecillia sauntered into her living room, where you were sitting, sporting a knowing grin, she held a piece of parchment in one hand and an unopened envelope in the other.

Jovially, she plopped herself down beside you, obviously doing her very best to contain a huge grin from forming on her face. Wordlessly, she placed the envelope on your lap with a mere, “For you.”

On the envelope you could tell by the handwriting that it had come from Harry. This was definitely a make or break moment for you. The contents of this letter would either confirm that you did in fact have magic, or, they would be responsible for causing you to experience a seismic amount of embarrassment. Swallowing the lump in your throat you tore the envelope open, freeing the letter and daring to read what was inside.

Dear Y/n,

Your dream was right. And that advice you gave about keeping an eye on Sirius? It saved his life. I suppose I’m mostly writing to say thank you. I’ve got some updates for you too: firstly, it’s finally been confirmed that Voldemort is back so my name is cleared. Secondly, it turns out that Remus and Cecillia are old friends, she contacted him earlier today about your vision and he and Sirius haven’t shut up about how impressive it is. I have a feeling you might be hearing from them soon, The Order now more than ever is in need of a secret weapon and genuine seers are hard to come by. I hate to involve you in this, it’ll probably be dangerous and you know I don’t want to see you hurt, or worse. But having said that, I’m glad we’re in this together now.

Astra got here in good time, by the way, she landed on my window just after I woke up from my vision of Sirius, it was actually quite freaky. I’m taking good care of her so don’t worry, she should be back to you at some point tomorrow.

Hermoine and Ron say hi too. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from George soon, seeing as he and Fred are in the Order… On that note I better get going.

Thank you again for the warning.

See you soon,

Love, Harry.

A bemused smile spread across your lips as you scanned the page, thankful to have finally made a significant difference in Harry’s life. Cecillia was grinning like a cheshire cat beside you, pride shimmering in her emerald eyes. She bumped her arm against yours playfully when you let the letter fall to your lap, “An old friend of mine will be stopping by in a short while. It seems he’d like to get you trained up in some defence against the dark arts.” She told you, still grinning.

“Defence against the dark arts?” You wondered out loud, you were sure you’d heard Harry mention those words to you before, however, the memories were fuzzy.

“Magic to keep you safe from darker magic, the likes of which the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters rely,” she explained darkly. Just then, a loud bang erupted from her open stone fireplace, a bubble of green dissipated as two men stepped less than gracefully onto Cecillia’s faux-fur rug. You recognised them both from your vision. They were Sirius Black and, if you were to take an educated guess, Remus Lupin.

Cecillia wasted no time before she was giddily jumping from her seat to greet the pair who had just appeared in her sitting room.

“Remus! Oh, how wonderful to see you!” She all but squealed, pulling the tall man into a hug and ruffling his already messy hair.

He reciprocated the hug with a gentle chuckle, “It’s nice to see you again, Cece. It’s been far too long,” he pulled away and the pair of them shared a fond smile before simultaneously looking to Sirius. “I trust you remember Sirius?” Lupin asked, almost rhetorically.

Sirius let out a booming laugh at that, “She could never forget me, now could you, Cece?” Cecillia rolled her eyes, and with a look of endearment nearly tackled Sirius into an embrace.

Seeing the woman who was essentially your magical mentor so overjoyed was lovely, Cecillia was jolly at the best of times but you’d never seen her quite like this. Her happiness added to your sense of helpfulness, Sirius Black was obviously important to more than just Harry, if the smile on the free-spirited witches face was anything to go by. Although you were ecstatic for the three witches and wizards before you, you couldn’t help but feel like you were imposing on an intimate reunion.

Awkwardly you cleared your throat, successfully bringing the trio’s attention onto you as you stood by the sofa, smiling unsurely. If it was even possible, all three of their smiles broadened when their gazes landed on you.

“Am I right in assuming that this is my guardian angel?” Sirius asked, separating from Cecillia.

Cecillia nodded, filled with pride, “And isn’t she just the loveliest guardian angel you’ve ever seen?” She gushed, half seriously.

You offered Sirius a bashful smile, along with a nod of greeting, “I’m glad to see you’re alright,” you told him.

His grin stayed fixed in place but he raised a single eyebrow in confusion, “Glad? And yet you’ve never met me before now…” his tone was laced with inquisition, as if he wanted to figure out what ulterior motive you could possibly have for caring about a stranger you’d only ever seen in a dream.

It didn’t take a seer or a psychic to see what Sirius was after, so you simply answered him truthfully, “No, we’ve never met, but you’re still a person, I watched that woman kill you, it was horrible, nobody deserves that. As well as that; I know how much you mean to Harry and what sort of best friend would I be if I didn’t try to help him keep his last family member safe?” Sirius nodded approvingly at your reply, looking between Remus and Cecillia.

“She remind you of anyone?” The black haired man asked in a low chuckle, Remus snickered and Cecillia bit back a grin.

The witch made her way back to your side and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, jostling you ever so slightly when she noticed your vaguely worried expression, “Don’t worry, darling, you just remind us of one of our most treasured school friends, I promise I will tell you all about it later. But for now, I believe Sirius was about to thank you for saving his life?” She prompted, waiting expectantly.

Sirius cleared his throat and straightened his posture before outstretching his arm, offering you his hand which you took firmly in your own. His voice was steady, strong and genuine when he spoke, “I am truly thankful for what you did for not only me but Harry today. I’m extremely proud of my godson for aligning himself with such a strong, powerful and wonderfully loyal young lady.”

“How sweet,” Cecillia cooed, before guiding you to the kitchen, “Come now, boys, kettles on- we have a lot to discuss!” She called over her shoulder.

There certainly had been a lot to discuss. The Order of the Phoenix thought having a seer at their disposal would be extremely beneficial in the upcoming war, the issue was; you are not yet of age and some members of the group didn’t wish to involve a child in their battle. Sirius, Remus and Cecillia made it abundantly clear that if you desired to join the Order, you were more than welcome but you would be welcomed under certain conditions. Those conditions being that your membership be kept under wraps and not disclosed to any muggles, meaning your parents.

“To keep them safe and to give you an escape route if things get too messy, even with the level of magic you’ll have gained by the time the war is in full swing, as a muggle born you’ll most likely need to flee quickly,” Remus explained, though it didn’t make much sense.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to run if my parents knew what we were running from? They’re open minded people, I’m sure they’d understand,” you attempted to reason, the trio but exchanged yet another loaded look with each other.

Cecillia placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, “We have a contingency plan in place, darling. Nothing you need to worry about for right now,” she reassured, easing your nerves a tad. “You trust me don’t you?” She followed up, her tone slightly stonier, more serious. You nodded your head certainly in response, there was no doubt about it; you trusted the witch with your life. “Then,” she began again, a somewhat chastising look on her face, “Trust that I will not allow a single hair on your head to be harmed.” This rule also extended to wizards not in the Order, which meant that when in the magical world, you were to air on the side of extreme caution.

Relating to that, another condition was that, at all times in the magical world, you were to be accompanied by an of age member of the Order. According to Sirius, who your were growing to like more by the second, he was going to arrange for a member of the Order to bring you to Diagon Alley in the morning to get you a wand. The prospect of having a wand of your own was terribly exciting, once again though, you found yourself wondering if you had it in you to properly wield one, or wield one at all for that matter. You were too exhausted to fret for too long, so the thoughts about magic levels and your own capabilities were only fleeting. Once all of the serious chat dissipated into friendly chatter, you managed to slip away from the table at which you were all sat. Making your way back to the sitting room, you tucked yourself into the corner seat of Cecillia’s old and very comfortable sofa, pulled your knees against your chest, wrapped your arms around them and rested your cheek against your knee. Slowly and deeply, you began to breathe in and out, fiddling with the amazonite bracelet that adorned your wrist in order to quell your ever growing anxiety. For a few sweet minutes you indulged in the calm silence, meditating peacefully in your comfy seat until a soft knock sounded from the doorway. When your eyes fluttered open they were met with the image of Sirius Black, leaning casually against the frame of the door, a hand plunged deep into his trouser pocket and another flipping a stray tarot card between his fingers. His eyes were focused on yours as he spoke, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

You shook your head and patted the seat beside you, “‘Course not, come sit.”

The man chuckled but obliged, settling in the spot beside you and offering you the card he’d previously been fiddling with.

“The ten of swords,” you identified easily, “I assume you’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed if this card found its way to you.”

Sirius hummed, “CeCe tells me that you’ve a penchant for card reading. I was rubbish at divination back at Hogwarts, only took it because I thought it’d be easy but I could never get my head around it,” he reminisced, an airy laugh slipping from his lips.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who were you all talking about earlier when you asked if I reminded Cecilia and Remus of anyone?” He let out a deep sigh before fixing you with a soft smile.

“An old school friend of ours, she was more than a friend to me, but that’s a story for another time,” he started, staring out into the empty space before him a melancholy grin on his lips, “She was fiercely loyal to her friends, if she wanted to help there was absolutely nothing that would stop her from doing so. I know I don’t know you very well, but from what I heard today and the way in which you’ve been described to me by Harry; I can see her in you,” he finished, bumping his shoulder with yours and forcing a happy smile onto your lips which mirrored Sirius’.

“What’s her name?” You asked.

“Her name was Marlene,” Sirius answered.

Your heart dropped with his use of past tense, “Was?”

Sirius bowed his head slightly and began to twist the rings that adorned his slender fingers, “She was killed during the first war,” he told you, making eye contact once again, a grave expression on his face as he continued, “I saw your apprehension earlier when we brought up the topic of secrecy, but you must understand that during the first war we lost so many who were dear to us, keeping you in our back pocket will ensure that you aren’t harmed in the face of this war, if any dark wizards hear so much of a whisper of a muggleborn seer they will stop at nothing to eliminate you,” he paused for a brief second, never breaking eye contact, the gravity of the situation heavy on your chest your fingers absentmindedly found your amazonite bracelet once again. Your movements were halted when Sirius placed his large hand over yours, squeezing it warmly while staring at you determinedly, “You saved my life today, Y/n. So believe me when I tell you that I will stop at nothing to keep you safe,” he promised and you squeezed his hand in return.

“I know,” he smiled as he watched your eyes return to the ten of swords and your grin broadened with the sort of mischief he’d only ever seen in four people; James Potter, Marlene McKinnon and Fred and George Weasley. “I have a prediction for you.”

Sirius entertained you fondly, a mischievous air that reminded him of when he was your age surrounding the pair of you, “By all means, do tell.”

“I predict,” you paused for emphasis, “that we are going to be very good friends.”

Sirius let out a booming laugh of which the volume he couldn’t control, “That is a prediction I truly hope will come to fruition.”

“Oh no, this is a duo that spells trouble,” Cecillia giggled to Remus as they entered the sitting room.

Remus looked between you and Sirius with a grin, “With a mentor like you, Cece, I’m not surprised Y/n has a taste for mischief,” the ruffled wizard teased, receiving a gentle elbow to the ribs from your mentor.

“Oi, if you’re going to blame my beloved girl’s mischief on anyone you better blame it on a certain Weasley twin,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows and causing the boys to smile giddily like teenagers.

Sirius bumped your shoulder again, this time with a faux-scandalised smile, “A Weasley twin, eh? Come on then, which one?” You blushed heavily and cleared your throat in an attempt to alleviate the embarrassment filling your being.

“He’s just a friend!”

“Mhm. A friend that sends her annotated pages from his divination text book,” Cecillia sang and Sirius snickered.

“Whichever one it is must be quite taken with you if you made him actually crack open a textbook.”

“Annotations are quite intimate,” Remus half teased although you could see he believed what he’d just said, “I bet it’s George,” he directed the bet at Sirius who carefully observed the way you bit your lip and bashfully looked towards the wooden floor.

“I think you’re right, moony. Now!” He stood suddenly and pointed a finger at Remus expectantly, “We best get going and arrange Y/n’s accomplice for tomorrow’s field trip,” he wiggled his eyebrows before turning his head to face you again, he shot you a wink and you couldn’t stop the airy laugh that left your mouth at his lighthearted antics.

Remus gave Cecillia a one armed hug, “we’ll be seeing you both tomorrow then, it was lovely to meet you, Y/n, perhaps next time Sirius will allow me to get a word in,” he chuckled and Sirius responded by throwing his arm around your shoulder.

“I better get off, this husband of mine is growing jealous,” he told you in a teasingly hushed whisper.

Your eyes widened and you looked between the two men, “You two are married?”

A love struck smile took over both of their faces which immediately gave you your answer. “We’re engaged,” Sirius clarified before pulling you into a proper hug, “Get a good night's sleep, we’ll be sending an order member to collect you early tomorrow morning so you can be in and out of Olivander’s before a crowd can build,” he told you while giving you an affectionate squeeze, you could’ve laughed when you realised that it felt like you’d known Sirius forever but you also could’ve cried when you relived the image of him losing his life and realised that just because it was over and prevented didn't mean it hadn’t still transpired in your mind’s eye, you didn’t let that show on your face though.

“I’ll make sure I’m well rested,” you promised.

With that, Sirius bid Cecillia goodbye, and he and Remus left the way they’d came.

The rest of the night had been spent with Cecillia telling you story after story about her school days and the trouble she’d caused with Sirius, Remus, James and Lily Potter, Harry’s parents, and another boy who she only referred to as “the rat”. Though the tone of the stories were completely lighthearted, they weighed on your chest with a sense of such tragedy. A huge majority of their friends were killed young because of the war, a war that was now waging once again. It led you to wonder who’d be lost to this one, if perhaps you’d be on the list of names that Harry or Cecillia or George would speak about fondly with a dense undertone of sorrow in the years after the second war had long since been won. It was a risk you were willing to take though, the notion of fighting for a deserving cause filled you with a sense of purpose, a purpose you’d been searching for for years. More than that, you felt important. You were needed. An asset. You would actually be of some help.

True to your word, you’d been getting a good night’s rest. The bed in Cecillia’s spare room was the comfiest thing you’d ever come across, though, as you began to stir from your deep slumber you couldn’t recall the empty side of the double bed being quite so dipped.

Slowly and begrudgingly, you cracked your eyes open to see Cecillia smiling tiredly at you in the light of dawn, “Morning, darling. Sorry about the early start, I’ve made you some tea,” she greeted quietly so as to not disturb the peace of the early morning. She held two ceramic mugs, one in each hand and passed you the steaming cup that was hand painted green, keeping the brown one for herself. Tiredly, you patted the spot beside you and pulled the quilt to the side, inviting the witch into the warm bed. She happily slid in, pulling the quilt over her and chuckling quietly when you dropped your head onto her robed shoulder and began to sip the tea she’d made. Cecillia rested her head against yours and sipped on her own tea.

“Are you excited for today?” She asked and you hummed.

“I’m having mixed emotions,” you stated, “I’m excited to see everything, but I’m sort of nervous that I won’t have enough magic to even get a wand,” Comfort spread through your chest when Cecillia pressed her lips to the crown of your head.

“The wonderful thing about wands, lovely, is that the wand picks the wizard,” she began, “so whatever wand you end up with will accentuate the level of magic inside you. Its power will grow as yours does and you’ll soon come to realise that you couldn’t imagine wielding anything else,” her voice was wistful and her eyes shined with wonder as she recalled how it felt to bond to a wand.

“What do you think mine will be like?” You wondered, excitement awakening in you thanks to Cecillia’s encouraging words.

The witch took an exaggerated slurp of her tea before answering, “Something curious,” was all she said.

“Insightful,” you murmured and she shrugged unapologetically, her chaotic energy exuding now that she’d started to wake up fully. “What time is it anyway?”

“Half six, your chaperone should be arriving at seven and Olivander’s opens at eight,” she told you before shimmying out of bed, you whined in the absence of your head rest. “You better get dressed. Wear something nice, rumour has it that your tag along is quite the eligible bachelor,” she wiggled her eyebrows and all but floated out of the spare room. It was practically your room by now though, over the years since you’d gotten Astra and met Cecillia you’d stayed in the room on countless occasions. Cecillia embodied something that was something between a second mother, a spiritual mentor, a teasing older sister and a slightly kooky aunt.

“Oh? So do you reckon I should brush my hair then?” You jokingly called out after her only to receive a harsh scoff.

“Absolutely not! Don’t be desperate!” You barked out a laugh at her response, shaking your head and getting ready for the day ahead.

You were just about finished getting ready when a familiar bang sounded from the sitting room. Taking a deep breath, you gave yourself one last look over in the mirror, happy with the outfit you’d chosen, you made your way towards the sitting room to come face to face with your surprise chaperone for the day.

When you shuffled into the sitting room, a smile immediately stretched across your lips upon seeing who had been appointed to stick by your side for the day, “George!” His name left your mouth in a squeal that would’ve been embarrassing had you not been so excited to see him. It’d been upwards of a year since the last time you’d seen George in the flesh and although you’d seen each other in photos and written to each other at a rate that was almost excessive, the prospect of spending time together in person was, for lack of a better word; magical.

George drew his attention away from the framed pictures that lined Cecillia’s fireplace to see you standing in the doorway, looking as bright as the newly risen sun and sporting a smile that he couldn’t quite put into words how it made him feel. It only took a second before his own cheek splitting smile grew on his face, and with it left his hopes of impressing you with his cool and collected attitude. You hadn’t given him too much time to dwell on his ruined cool guy facade as you all but threw yourself into his arms. The red head let out an endearing laugh, catching you in his toned arms, wrapping them tightly around your torso. A scarlet blush rising on his ears when he felt your smile against his neck. “Hello to you too,” he chuckled against your ear and you pulled back enough to look at him, your arms still secure around his shoulders.

“Sorry,” you started, the smile that still adorned your lips telling him that you weren’t all that sorry at all, “Hi,” you greeted, bashfully pulling your arms away from him.

The sitting room was quiet for a moment as the pair of you only stared at each other, would it be too much to tell him that you’ve missed him? You didn’t want to come on too strong after such a long time apart, you’d already tackled him into a hug within the first five seconds, but with that came your next internal question of; did you really want to keep this boy on his toes?

George, having already discarded his notion of acting nonchalant with you, bet you to the punch. He rubbed the back of his neck and flicked his gaze to the floor before bringing it back to you, “I’ve missed you.”

A giggle left your lips before you could think about choking it down, you nodded your head, bouncing slightly on the balls of your feet, “Yeah, I’ve missed you too. Sorry I haven’t written, Astra is still with Harry.”

George gave you a grin, “No worries, darling. Heard you’ve been a very busy little psychic lately.”

Darling, you mused internally, the nickname echoing through your head and causing your heart to somersault in a way you’d never really felt before.

“Oh how sweet,” Cecillia sang from the doorway, a wicked grin on her face as she took in the two hopeless blushing messes, staring doe-eyed at each other in the middle of her living room. “I hate to break up the reunion, my dears, but the pair of you really should get going,” she instructed, strutting up to you and holding a cloth pouch in your direction, “Sirius left you some spending money, it’s different than the money you usually use but I’m sure George will have no problem helping you out,” Cecillia shot the boy a wink and he nodded, once again growing bashful.

“Now,” she grew serious, directing her words at George and making him slightly intimidated with her strong eye contact, “You are to be extremely careful. You are not to mention that Y/n is a seer and you are not to draw any attention to the fact that she is a muggleborn, if Mr. Olivander asks, she’s a half-blood who's been living in the states and that’s why she doesn’t have a wand,” you wore a confused expression, George nodded in complete understanding, “Did Sirius give you the list?”

George nodded once again, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of the back pocket of his slightly baggy denim jeans, “May I take a look?” Cecillia asked, already snatching the parchment from George’s long fingers and unfolding the sheet and reading it aloud, “Alright! A wand… seriously? He used a whole page of parchment just to write one thing?” She grumbled, stomping over to the nearest side table, leaning down and began to scribble on the parchment. You looked to George as she wrote, “Why do you have to say I’m from the States?” You asked quietly and George leaned down slightly to be closer to your ear.

“Witches and wizards in America don’t get wands until they’re of age, we get them here when we’re eleven,” just as he was finished offering his explanation, Cecillia walked back over, a hard look on her face that you weren’t used to seeing, though it seemed that the look was reserved for George.

Silently she handed him the parchment before looking to you, hard look dissolving back into her usual playful expression, “Have fun, lovely.” She then turned to George again, apparently having had enough of trying to intimidate the poor boy, she shot him a smile, “You’ll be taking the floo to Diagon Alley, my fireplace is big enough to take the both of you at once,” she handed George a pouch of what looked like green powder, “George knows what to do, now, not to sound like a broken record but do stay safe and have fun,” she finished, ushering the pair of you into her fireplace. You couldn’t lie, it was quite strange, you supposed you should get used to things coming across as strange, you were about to be exposed to the magical wizarding world for the first time after all. In the fireplace, you stood shoulder to shoulder with George, noticing the nervous look on your face, he slid his hand into yours gently. When you looked at him, he kept his face focused on his feet, “Ready, Y/n?” Taking a deep breath you nodded shakily.

“Ready, George.”

At your words, George slammed the green powder onto the ground and shouted, “Diagon Alley!”

You were sure you were going to be sick. Whatever the powder was, it had you spinning at a pace you didn’t know was possible, you had screwed your eyes shut and you were almost certain that you could feel yourself physically moving. It was only when George tugged on your hand that you opened your eyes to see that your surroundings had actually changed. “It’s horrible the first time, but you get used to it,” George said, pulling you by your still intertwined hands onto the cobbled street. The dizziness died down after only a few seconds out in the fresh air, the added sensation of George’s thumb rubbing soothing circles against your hand seemed to do the trick in settling you completely as you took in the street ahead of you. It was dazzling, really. A long cobbled street, lined with shops that looked like they were plucked straight out of a fairytale. As planned, the streets were fairly empty in the early morning as George led you down the path towards the shop where you’d hopefully get your wand. The name “Olivanders” was written above both windows of the dark shop, the words “makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.” were to be seen just above the door. Excitement had completely overridden your nerves and you practically skipped towards the door, George followed casually behind you, his hands tucked into his pockets and a fond smile on his lips.

“I suppose you’re excited then?” He asked teasingly and you didn’t bother trying to hide your obvious childlike wonder as you waited for him to catch up with you.

“It probably seems silly to you, but this morning Cecillia told me all about when she got her wand and it sounded so wonderful,” you told him, smiling when he bumped his shoulder against yours.

“I don’t think it’s silly, I still get giddy thinking about the time Fred and I got wands of our own,” he pushed the door open and motioned for you to step inside, slowly you walked into the empty shop. It was dark and somewhat dingy but there was something very mystically inclining about it, you could feel the energy and it was utterly exhilarating.

“Wow,” you breathed out, spinning where you stood, gazing at the boxes upon boxes that lined the shelves.

Only a minute passed before an old man stumbled to the front of the shop, smiling at the pair of you from behind the counter, “Ah, Mr. Weasley, it’s good to see you, it’s been some time. What can I do for you this morning? I see you’ve brought a friend,” the older wizard greeted and you smiled in response.

“I’m looking for a wand. I’ve been living in the states for the past few years but I just moved home,” you lied easily, George couldn’t help but smirk, what he’d give to have had you around for some of his and Fred’s pranks at Hogwarts.

The old man nodded in understanding, his eyes scanned you, his eyes were scrutinising and you fought the urge to squirm under his gaze, “Interesting. One moment please,” he said, murmuring to himself as he searched the isles for what he was looking for. A small “aha” sounded from within the isles, he was back in front of you within seconds, an open rectangular box in his hand. It was absolutely gorgeous, it resembled a raw tree branch, wood spiralling up its expanse until it stopped at the top, cutting off in a jagged, dull edge. He must’ve noticed how your jaw dropped, how could he not? He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off you since you’d wandered into his shop. He was an old wizard, but he wasn’t naive, he was well aware you weren’t returning from America, he could sense an energy in you that he hadn’t come in contact with in a long time. “Curious, isn’t it?” He prompted you, causing you to let out an airy laugh. Cecillia was going to tease you big time when you got back to her cabin.

“It’s lovely, what is it?” He offered you the box expectantly and you hesitantly picked up the wand with as much care as you possibly could. It was cool against your skin and was heavier than you’d imagined it would be.

“Thirteen inch, oak; cut from the base of a tree, which at the time, was almost six hundred years old,” he explained, watching happily as you ran your fingers along the wands several ridges,”With a phoenix feather core, quite a rare piece indeed. Unfortunately, this particular wand has been extremely difficult to match to a witch. But something tells me that you might be just the witch for the job,” he held your gaze and you once again got the feeling that he knew something he shouldn’t, “Go on, then. Give it a wave,” he prompted and you looked to George for further encouragement. George laughed at your lost expression, pulling his own wand out and pointing it towards the now empty box on the counter, “Like this, love,” he demonstrated, moving his wrist in a semi-circle motion, making the box levitate off the counter.

Another pet name. You ignored the butterflies in your stomach in favour of clearing your throat, squaring your shoulders and pointing your wand at the same box George had just made float, which was now settled back against the counter. Imitating the boy beside you, you moved your wrist in a swift semi-circle. Suddenly, a golden light poured from the tip of the wand and warm air surrounded you, gently blowing your hair back and forcing a laugh of disbelief to leave your lips. George stood wide eyed beside you, his lips parted slightly. He was amazed really, he went through five wands before he found the one that fit him, yet you’d found yours on the first try, and he had to admit; you looked glorious doing it.

After paying for your wand, you exited the shop, looking around George’s side at the list he was holding. From what you could make out, Cecillia had added a number of items to the originally very short list; 1) a wand, 2) a pendulum (crystal of the ladies choice), 3) crystals: labradorite, lapis lazuli & azurite, 4) mugwort, 5) new tarot deck (again, whatever she wants Sirius can afford it ;)).

“Suppose our next stop is the divination shop,” George said, mostly to himself but gave you a mischievous smile, “If we hurry up and get our shopping done fast we could probably get a butterbeer in before we rejoin the rest of the Order,” he sang, grazing his hand against yours as you walked side by side.

“Beer? You seriously want to drink beer at half eight in the morning?” You asked him, your eyebrow raised and he replied with an exaggerated roll of his eyes and draped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close against his side and once again leaning his head down so his lips were level with your eye.

“No, you git,” he began with a laugh, “It’s not really beer, it’s pretty sweet; most wizards love it.”

You hummed in acknowledgment, “Sounds nice,” you told him absently, preoccupied with all the intriguing shops that surrounded you. George’s arm remained wrapped around your shoulder as you strolled further into Diagon Alley, seemingly uninterested in his offer for a butterbeer. The pair of you got what you needed from the shop and, since it hadn’t taken long, you decided to take George up on his drinks offer. You noticed that he seemed a little bit crestfallen since your noncommittal answer earlier.

“Hey,” you said, bumping your arm against his.

“Hello,” he replied, returning the gesture.

“So… d’you wanna go get one of those beer things that you were talking about earlier?” You asked nervously, your lip between your teeth. For all you knew, asking someone to grab a butterbeer in the wizarding world was the muggle equivalent to proposing.

George flashed you a grin that was almost childlike, it was mesmerising, so sweet and pure and you almost wished you’d brought your camera to take a picture of it. “I thought you’d never ask.”

With a giggle you let him grab your hand and lead you excitedly towards a building that had “The Leaky Cauldron” written above the door. When you got inside, George led you to a small round table with two chairs and you both sat down opposite each other. As casually as you could, you rested your elbow against the table and let your cheek rest against your fist, for a solid few minutes, while George ordered, you curiously looked around the pub until your gaze finally rested on George who was already looking at you with a soft smile, “Having fun?” He asked, genuinely curious.

You nodded your head, “Mhm, are you? I’m sure getting up at the crack of dawn to take me shopping isn’t something someone like you would usually like to do for fun,” you said, becoming slightly self conscious when you realised that he probably wasn’t enjoying the morning as much as you were. This was all normal for him, you’d nearly forgotten.

George gave you a perplexed look, “Course I’m having fun, love. But, what do you mean someone like me?”

You shrugged, once again pushing down the butterflies that arose in your stomach from the pet name, “I dunno, you’re just- you’re mischievous and fun and… I don’t know, shopping for stuff with me doesn’t seem like it’s something you’d want to do. I just hope Sirius didn’t force you into it,” you admitted shyly, smiling gratefully at the waiter when he placed the mugs of golden liquid on the table.

George chewed on his bottom lip for a second before he shook his head, “He didn’t force me. I sort of, well, I sort of forced him to let me take you. He wanted Professor Lupin to do it but I…” he let out an exaggerated sigh before giving you a smile, “I wanted to spend time with you,” he confessed sweetly, watching happily as a smile formed on your lips and you tried to hide it in the rim of your butterbeer. He laughed when your face lit up once the liquid hit your lips, “Like it?”

“This stuff is amazing,” you almost shouted, taking another large sip from the drink, “No wonder you all love it so much.”

George snickered, “Just in case it wasn’t clear; I’m having a lot of fun with you,” he said all too casually, taking a sip of his drink.

“Where to now?” You wondered, after you’d finished your drinks and set off back towards the floo network.

George shot you a cheeky look and wiggled his eyebrows, “I’m taking you back to headquarters.”

“Sounds ominous,” you commented, following him into the fireplace, nervously.

“D’you want a tip?” George asked out of the blue and you looked up at him expectantly, nodding. “The dizziness isn’t as bad if you keep your eyes open,” he whispered, taking your hand once again and throwing down the same green powder from earlier and shouting a new location that you hadn’t heard before. You cringed as the world began to spin, listening to George’s advice hadn’t helped much as the transportation was just as awful as it had been the first time. Unbeknownst to you, you were squeezing George’s hand like your life depended on it, George’s thumb had resumed brushing circles around your hand in response, the harsh squeezing didn’t bother him at all, not when it was you doing the squeezing. Just like earlier, George led you out of the fireplace and into the unfamiliar sitting room. Though the room was completely unfamiliar it was full of faces you immediately recognised, one face in particular standing out above all the rest.

In a second you’d dropped not only George’s hand, but all of your shopping bags to the floor carelessly and hurled yourself towards the boy who had already begun rushing towards you the second he caught sight of you appearing in the fireplace. Your bodies collided with so much force that you nearly sent each other tumbling to the ground, laughter sounded from both of you as you swayed the other, almost roughly, the way you always did when reuniting after an extended period of time.

“Glad to see you in one piece, Harry,” you told him with a cheeky smile on your lips, opting not to call him Haz in front of all of his wizard friends lest they tease him, not to mention you’d become quite possessive of the nickname, you wouldn’t be too pleased if anyone else started adopting it. Not that you’d ever admit that out loud.

“Yeah, you too,” his smile was as wide as could be when he shook his head, “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

“Do you want me to pinch you?” You teased, jokingly taking his cheek between your thumb and your pointer, giving the skin between them a gentle squeeze. Harry swatted your hand away with a low chuckle and unraveled his arms from around you.

“Alright, you two, if you’re ready we have some matters we need to discuss with our newest member,” Sirius’ voice sounded from behind you, a knowing look on his face as he watched Harry sneakily pinch your arm in retaliation. He had to fight the urge he felt to reminisce on his old school days; when he’d purposely annoy James, Remus or Peter and receive the exact same mockingly vengeful look that you’d just given Harry.

“I’ll bring your things to the kitchen,” George announced, reminding you of his presence before he walked rather quickly out of the room, bags clutched in his hands.

Harry snorted out a laugh when Sirius followed George out of the room, leaving the both of you alone. Harry wiggled his eyebrows and did his best to make his voice take on a sultry tone, “he’s bringing your things to the kitchen.”

“Shut your mouth, Potter,” you replied, pinching his cheek for the second time and tossing your arm around his shoulder, him doing the same as he led you to what you assumed was the kitchen.

“Do I have your permission to open my mouth to tell you something,” Harry asked lightly, stopping so you were both standing outside a closed wooden door.

“I’ll allow it,” you answered, smiling softly at your best friend.

Harry grinned, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Haz,” the boy groaned at the name but made no further comment, he pushed the wooden door open and walked inside.

The room held a long table where many adults were sat, chatting in hushed whispers when you entered the room, some of whom you recognised and some you didn’t. Mrs. Weasley was fluttering about the table, filling people’s tea cups before she spotted you. The woman, who you’d only ever met briefly at King’s Cross station one year, rushed over to you and greeted you warmly, “Hello, dear! Come, come sit down!” She ushered you to a vacant chair beside George and across from Fred, Harry took the seat on your other side. “I trust you got everything you needed from Diagon Alley? I hope that son of mine didn’t cause any trouble for you,” you gave her a friendly smile and shook your head.

“Yes, we were able to find what we needed and George was very helpful,” Mrs. Weasley, seemingly satisfied with your answer, offered a gentle smile to you and George. She then pushed a cup of tea towards you before sitting down herself.

Beneath the table George bumped his knee lightly against yours, but didn’t break from his conversation with his twin as he left his knee pressed against yours. You didn’t draw attention to it either, simply letting your knee relax against his as the witches and wizards at the long table grew quiet in favour of staring at you wordlessly.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard the news of the seer we’ve acquired,” Sirius’ commanding voice broke the silence as he stood up from his chair, and placed his palms against the table, “I’ve brought her here today so that we may discuss proceedings to ensure her safety.”

“Yes,” a toneless drawl, drawn out nasally from the end of the table drew your attention to a black haired man at the opposite end of the table, “and what of Mr. Potter’s presence?” He asked, almost menacingly. Right off the bat, you didn’t like the greasy haired man. He was rigid and his face sported a permanent snarl and from across the table you could already tell; he wasn’t on your side.

“She’s my best friend, I’m here to make sure she’s not going to be put in any unnecessary danger,” Harry told the man shortly, in a tone that he’d more than likely perfected after having spoken to the man previously.

“As touching as that may be,” the older man snarled, “you are not a member of the Order.”

“Oh, enough, Serverus,” Sirius scoffed, pulling his hand down his face in exasperation before he let his eyes settle on Harry, “Perhaps you should wait upstairs for now. We’ll let you know of any significant updates.”

“I’ll tell you everything later, promise,” you whispered quietly, linking his pinky with yours beneath the table before he stropily took his leave.

“As I was saying,” Sirius spared Severus a glare and continued, “As we know, Yn is an unregistered wizard with an unregistered wand, meaning she won’t be on the radar of The Ministry of Magic. On the downside of this, seeing as her power manifested late, she is also untrained.”

All gazes fell to you once more, only Remus’ eyes were staring softly, crinkled at the edges from the smile on his lips, “I’ll be tutoring her in Defence Against the Dark Arts over the summer. She’ll catch up quickly, no doubt,” you smiled gratefully at him from your spot, relaxing a bit knowing that you’d actually be learning how to defend yourself the wizard way.

“I suppose I will be tasked with teaching the art of Occlumency? A seer with an easily accessible mind is hardly an asset,” Severus drawled. You didn’t have a clue what occlumency was, in all honesty, but you kept your mouth shut in favour of asking Remus when the meeting was over.

The meeting soon drew to a close, the older Order members slinking to one end of the table to arrange the schedule for your glorified summer school while you, Fred and George snuck away to find Harry. You found him sitting against the headboard of a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms, “How’d it go?”

“Take a guess, mate, Snape had a right sour look on his face the whole time,” Fred answered, sitting on the bed across from Harry’s. George sat beside him and you made your way to sit with Harry.

“Ah, so that was the infamous professor Snape?” All three boys nodded, looks of exhaustion on their faces, “I don’t trust him. Something is very off about him,” you spoke thoughtfully and the boys nodded in agreement once again.

“I don’t like the idea of you being alone with him,” George said, his brows furrowed.

Fred snorted and clapped his twin roughly on the shoulder, “Getting a bit jealous are you, Georgie?” Harry laughed along with Fred while you blushed lightly and George felt heat rising up the nape of his neck.

“Sod off,” he muttered, but made no attempt to deny that he was slightly jealous of all the alone time his old evil potions professor would be getting with the girl he was harbouring feelings for.

The afternoon quickly turned into the evening and before long you were gathering your things and preparing to return to Cecillia’s. Harry would be heading back to the Dursley’s later that night, much to his dismay. You told him you’d be back on Privet Drive at some point the next morning since Cecillia would be dropping you home, as she promised your parents, so he wouldn’t have to suffer alone for too long.

That summer came and went in a bit of a blur. Two days in each week were spent learning how to protect yourself against the dark arts with Remus. He’s an amazing teacher, that couldn’t be disputed. In the space of only two months he had you duelling like you’d been doing it since the day you were born. Of course, you were thrilled to be bonding with your wand and developing (according to Remus) a very impressive skill for Defence Against the Dark Arts. But, on top of that, the shared conversations and exchanging of stories over hefty mugs of hot chocolate with the werewolf had been a huge highlight of your summer, and had caused the two of you to grow exponentially closer.

September was nearing and with it came a stiff breeze that prompted the hair on your arms to stand alert as you waited by the bus stop, the one just down the road from your house. Today was to be an important lesson with Remus, he hadn’t told you what the lesson would entail, but he had said that it was a charm that was “of the utmost importance”.

Although June, July and August were technically your summer holidays, you’d barely had a second to rest. You were, at this point, running on fumes and sheer will power. Extensively using magic was bound to wear you out, however, getting a good night’s rest after a gruelling training session had become something of a luxury for you. Visions of the future and retellings of past torments plagued your dreams and allowed you no time to rest. One vision in particular had been reoccurring, it arrived every night for the past two weeks, taunting you. The autumn chill that dripped down your spine reminded you of the premonition, having your hairs standing due to fright, rather than cold. It was always the same, no details ever shifted or warped and, unfortunately, the experience never grew any less harrowing. The warning that the vision brought about weighed on you heavily and followed you around like a stray cat. Images of a cold, desolate, blue-hued cellar lived behind your eyes, the phantom feeling of freezing metal shackles weighed on your wrists painfully and the undiluted terror combined with the indescribable agony brought about by the unfamiliar wand shoved against your throat had you forcing yourself to stay awake until you physically couldn’t anymore, each and every night. Nobody knew about the vision, you didn’t want to worry them, though, you knew that your distress was beginning to become visible; dark bags were prominent beneath your eyes, Harry had watched you fall asleep in the middle of the day, often on his shoulder, almost everyday that week and Remus could tell by the sluggish movements of your wand that your mind was elsewhere.

A few minutes passed before your bus arrived, the journey to Grimmauld Place was quite long but you couldn’t seem to warm up to floo travel, so going on a regular bus was the better option. When the red double decker pulled up, you greeted the driver with a smile and paid for your ticket. You made your way up to the second story and sat right at the front. The bus, as it normally tended to be, was empty. Resting your head against the window, you let your eyes slip shut, the noises of tree branches brushing against the speeding windows lulling you into a, hopefully, peaceful sleep.

Thankfully when you woke up, no visions lingered. You woke up just in time too as the bus was rounding up to your stop. As usual, Remus waited for you at the bus stop, his hands shoved deep in his tattered jacket pockets and a gentle smile on his lips.

Still groggy from your nap, when you exited the bus you greeted Remus with a tired wave.

“Dare I say you haven’t been sleeping well, dear?” He said gently, walking alongside you towards the house.

You thought about it for a second, perhaps telling someone wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. “I’ve just, well, I’ve been having this nightmare,” you started, growing nervous just thinking about it.

“Nightmare or vision?” He pressed as you walked into the house.

Guilt creeped into your chest upon seeing the clear worry on his face, “I think it’s a vision.”

Remus nodded quietly, placing his hand on the small of your back and pushing you in the direction of the living room. He gave you a warm smile, when you sat down on the sofa. He grabbed a blanket that hung over the back of the sofa and draped it over your lap. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate and we can discuss this,” he suggested.

“I thought you had an important lesson for today?” He only shook his head, smiling lightly.

He made his way to the door wordlessly and returned within two minutes with two big, steaming mugs in his hands. Remus handed you a mug and sat down beside you on the sofa, accepting your invitation to pull the blanket over his lap too.

“Now tell me; what has been going on in that wonderful mind of yours?”

You took in a deep breath, staring into the hot chocolate and avoiding his understanding gaze, “It happened for the first time around two weeks ago. I thought that it was just a dream, it didn’t feel like a dream but I thought that if I kept telling myself it was I would start to believe it,” you started, taking a sip of your drink before going back to staring at it, “But it kept coming back. Every night for the last two weeks. I haven’t been able to sleep, I’ve been too scared to,” your voice was small as you made the confession. You hated that the feeling of helplessness was beginning to wash over you yet again.

“What happens in this vision?” At his question, you placed your cup on the floor and turned to face him fully, turning on the sofa and pulling your knees up to your chest.

“It’s always the same. I wake up and the first thing I know is that I’m absolutely freezing. I’m in this cellar-like thing. I’m chained up by my wrists and my feet are barely touching the ground… I can’t see anyone but I can feel-“ your breath hitched and you rushed the swipe the tears that were falling away from your cheeks, “I can feel a wand against my throat, it’s pressing hard. There’s a whisper, it’s quiet and ghostly and I can barely make it out but I hear them say; crucio.”

Remus’ eyes widened in horror.

“Then I feel nothing but agonising pain and then I wake up,” Remus’ eyebrows furrowed.

“You’ve had this same vision every night?” You nodded.

“I know I should have said something but I didn’t want anyone to worry,” it was then that Remus grabbed your hands and looked at you with a sense of urgency you didn’t know he could possess.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully,” his eyes were wild and his hands shook lightly as they held yours, “You-Know-Who is back. There are already reports of certain Wizards going missing and none of us have any doubt that it’s his doing. And although I- we- care for you a great deal, it would serve us all well to remember that you’re a detrimental piece in this war. If he catches wind of you, he’ll stop at nothing to take you from us,” your heart was now running at the speed of a hummingbird. “We have a plan in place to keep you safe, I fear we may have to implement it sooner than planned.”

Before you knew it, you were surrounded by the entire Order of the Phoenix, all of whom looked grave. Cecillia sat to your right while Nymphadora Tonks occupied the seat to your left. You had the pink haired auror to thank for your duelling capabilities, as well as Remus of course. Her presence was comforting, she made it a point to shoot you a wink every time she caught your eyes looking more fearful than usual.

“Our original plan will need to be tweaked, I ran into Narcissa Malfoy in Diagon Alley and she very plainly insinuated that I was a person of interest in the death eating community,” Cecillia informed the table, a, for lack of a better word, bitchy tone laced in her voice. She’d told you many of her Hogwarts stories, you could recall her telling you that she and the woman she’d mentioned, Narcissa, had once been good friends until around their fourth year. She hadn’t told you what exactly had happened, only that it had been messy.

“What was the original plan?” You asked, growing frustrated with the Order’s lack of communication skills.

Thankfully, being one of the younger members of the group, Tonks understood your frustrations and spoke up on behalf of the group, regardless of whether they were ready for you to know or not; she understood that it was your life they were coordinating.

“We talked about relocating you to CeCe’s. We also, and far more pressingly, planned on erasing all traces of you from both the muggle and wizard world. Which would mean using a memory charm on your family and friends in the muggle world,” Tonks explained, eyes locked on yours while everyone else in the room glared daggers at the purple haired girl.

“Yes. Though we also planned on telling you this information with a far more delicate approach,” Snapped Molly Weasley from the end of the table, causing Fred, who sat to her left, to roll his eyes.

“She’s been riddled with visions of being ruthlessly tortured with an unforgivable curse for the past two weeks. I think the time for delicacy is long passed,” the older of the two twins practically scoffed. George nodded in agreement.

“Besides,” he set his gaze on you, eyes genuine and unwavering as he spoke, “she’s strong enough to handle the truth. It’s time you all stopped acting like she isn’t.”

The table fell silent. His words hung in the air as many of the adults hung their heads.

“By memory charm I’m assuming you mean obliviate?” You broke the silence, if you could you hoped to start an open conversation with the experienced witches and wizards that surrounded you.

“Yes. They’re completely reversible and once the war is over I’ll restore all of the memories.” Cecillia said.

“We know it’s a huge ask, dear, but it’s our best chance at keeping you out of that wretched creature’s hands,” Molly attempted to soothe both you and herself when she pictured what it would like to be in your shoes, how she’d feel if she had no other choice but to be forgotten by the thing she valued the most; her family. Molly Weasley had never been very good at hiding her maternal instincts, over the summer that fact had become glaringly obvious to you. You and Harry had laughed about how the children of Privet Drive had a special place in her heart.

“I understand,” you told her sadly, chewing on the inside of your lip, “I’m guessing by the atmosphere in the room that I won’t be home to say goodbye before you wipe their memories,” you shifted yours eyes from person to person, stopping when Cecillia took your hand firmly in hers.

Her lips were downturned and her eyes filled with guilt, she shook her head mournfully, “I’m afraid we can’t risk it, my darling. Even being here places you in danger at the moment.”

“Where will she go then? If CeCe’s place isn’t an option we’ll have to find a safe house,” Sirius sounded and, simultaneously, both Fred and George stood up, shoulder to shoulder with very professional expressions on their faces.

“We may be able to help with that, actually. George, if you would,” Fred started, nodding to his twin who straightened his shoulders and puffed his chest out over so slightly.

“Thank you, Fred. As you know, we have a property for Weasley Wizard Wheezes secured and we’ll be living in the flat above where the shop will be,” everyone at the table, including yourself, stared at the twins in confusion, not quite sure where they were going with their little pitch until Fred took over again.

“And that flat has three bedrooms,” he said, a smirk growing on his thin lips.

George spoke again, “Which means there’s one for me and one for Fred.”

“Which means there’s one spare,” Fred grinned wickedly.

Tonks let out an impressed laugh once the penny finally dropped, “We apparate her in and nobody would ever know a thing. Nobody other than those of us in the room know that Y/n is a friend of the Weasley’s, plus us visiting the joke shop wouldn’t raise any suspicion. I have to give it to them, it’s a great idea,”

“And one of the two of us will always be within shouting distance if anything happens,” George added, somewhat pleadingly.

Sirius looked across the table at you, “Y/n, it’s up to you. Whatever you decide will be final, we won’t interfere,” he promised sincerely. It was an easy decision, but still, it weighed heavily on your chest. In all honesty, you weren’t worried about your location, staying with the twins would surely be a light and fun time amidst all the doom and gloom. Your worry was that you would, once again, be handing over your control. Sirius dressed it up as though it was your choice, but you knew that this was probably their best option and in reality you really had no other choice than to move in with Fred and George.

“Sounds good to me,” you whispered halfheartedly, eyes dropping to stare at your lap as your teeth pulled anxiously at the skin of your lips.

“So it’s settled then,” Remus said, “Y/n will go with Fred and George tonight.”

Abruptly, you pushed your chair away from the table and stood up. Sparing nobody a glance, you left the room as quickly as you possibly could, before the lump in your throat could choke you or the tears that pooled in your eyes spilled like water through a broken dam. George made a move to rise from his seat only for Remus to stop him by placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Give her a moment.”

You found yourself locked in the second story bathroom, sitting in the bath. Your legs hung out over the side of the tub while your head was tilted back against the black tiled wall. As hard as you tried to prevent them, tears were streaming down the expense of your cheeks, neck and beneath the neckline of your shirt. The minutes ticked by yet your chest continued to rise and fall rapidly due to the sobs that shook it, your breath uneven. Visions of brutal torture were bad enough when you were in your own home, in your own warm bed, with your parents just a room away and ready to make you a hot cup of tea after you woke up screaming. Now, the visions would without a doubt continue to plague you, unlike before though, you wouldn’t be waking up in a familiar setting, nor would you fall asleep in the comfort of your own mattress, when you woke up screaming so loud that your throat grew raw, your comfort would rely on two seventeen year old boys who seldom took things seriously. It’s not that you didn’t trust them, no, you trusted them with your life- you are trusting them with your life, it’s just that there was already a lot going on in your mind at the moment, moving in with your crush and his identical twin brother isn’t exactly your idea of a nerve killer.

A knock against the bathroom door pulled you from your thoughts. You rushed to wipe your tears with your sleeves, sniffling, “Come in,” you choked out. Cursing your voice for breaking when you spoke.

Remus’ head poked through the door, his body following soon after. Even in an atmosphere as dense as this one, a sense of gentle calm always followed Remus wherever he went. Clumsily, the werewolf slid into the bath beside you with a low “oof” sound, mimicking your position with his much longer legs dangling closer to the wooden floor than your own.

“CeCe has gone to collect your things for you and get Harry, then, I believe, perform the spell,” he eyed you cautiously, hyper aware of your glassy eyes and puffy face. When your eyes widened and you whipped your face towards him, his stomach twisted into knots, he hated seeing you like this. He could sympathise with your feelings. When James and Lily were killed, and Sirius went to Azkaban and even when Peter was presumed dead, Remus had been left with a vicious frustration fuelled by his belief that he was utterly powerless in his own life. He could see in your eyes that that same notion was starting to creep up on you too.

“Already?” You gasped out, pulse rising again, a slight panic setting in. “It won’t hurt them will it? The spell?” You fretted, looking pleadingly to the man beside you.

He shook his head, tenderly taking your hand and placing it against his clothed chest, his beating heart present against the palm of your shaking hand. “I promise you that they won’t feel a thing. They will go on living an exciting life, travelling, seeing the world safely while you’re away. When this is all over we’ll place their memories of you back in their minds and it will be as though you were never gone.” Your teeth found the inside of your cheek again, gnawing relentlessly at the skin as you failed miserably to hold back a fresh set of tears. Remus squeezed the hand he held against his chest. “Let it out, Y/n. It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” he whispered, heart sinking lower when your bottom lip quivered and you let a rasped sob leave your body. With a deep sigh, Remus used the hand he was already holding as leverage to pull you into him, wasting no time he enveloped you in his arms, holding you securely as you cried against his chest. Admittedly, it felt good to let it out, Remus’ hand rubbed soothing circles against your heaving back and eventually, you didn’t know how long it had been, you calmed down, your tear ducts all dried out.

Remus held you in his arms for a while longer, even though you’d stopped crying, he could feel your body as it continued to shake. “I can’t promise you it will all be okay, but I can assure you that myself and Sirius, and everyone else for that matter, will be there for you at the drop of a hat; whatever you need,” he spoke against your hair.

“Whatever I need?” You echoed, the pit in your stomach ever growing.

“Of course,” he confirmed.

Remus startled slightly when you suddenly tore yourself away from him. As best you could in your awkward position, you turned to face him and grabbed his hands with as much urgency as he had done with yours. “I need you to do something for me,” Remus furrowed his brows in confusion, but nodded his head anyway.

“If anything happens to me… Don’t make them remember,” you instructed, maybe the request would’ve seemed radical if you had said it to anyone else, but you knew that Remus had experienced losses like no one else you knew, perhaps Harry came close but even his shortcomings couldn’t compare to Remus’. “It’d only cause them pain. If I die and they’re happily living none the wiser, leave them be, please,” the man let out a heavy sigh and took a moment to take you in. Your eyes were hard yet pleading, they left him no room to negotiate and he understood perfectly where you were coming from.

“Alright,” he agreed before raising his eyebrow and readjusting himself to get a better look at you, “However you should know; no matter what may come of this war, none of us will forget about you. In such a short time you’ve given us so much… you gave Harry his first friendship, a friendship that he cherishes more than anything in the world, I might add. You saved Sirius from death, my fiancé and Harry’s godfather. Mentoring you has given Cecillia a new lease of life and Molly Weasley one more child to knit jumpers for at Christmas,” he took a brief pause then went on, “For the sake of saving time I won’t even begin to tell you what you mean to the twins. My point is;” there was a melancholic type of smile on his face when he paused again, as if he was imagining what it would be like to remember you fondly if you did in fact die for the cause, “What you’re asking is incredibly selfless. And while your mother and father may not remember how wonderful you are, we all will.” Remus chuckled lowly when you shuffled your way back into his arms, squeezing his middle tightly. He slung his arm around your shoulders and delicately pressed his lips to the top of your head. You held so much love in your heart for the man who was currently cradling you in his arms. You debated telling him, you weren’t sure if it was entirely appropriate but after the speech he’d just given you couldn’t have cared less, “Remus?”

“Hm?”

“I love you,” you murmured, looking up at him innocently.

He offered you a toothy smile and breathed out a soft laugh, “I love you too.” With a content nod, you rested your head back against his chest, enjoying his soothing heartbeats against your ear. A melodic hum rumbled against your cheek, a quiet giggle left your mouth when you recognised the melody to the song he was humming. The tune of “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac floated through the bathroom bringing a genuine smile to your lips. The werewolf’s humming was interrupted by another knock against the bathroom door, whoever was knocking didn’t wait for a response before entering the room. Sirius stepped in and quietly shut the door behind him. He didn’t question you and Remus' position in the bath but simply slid into the tub on the other side of you, sandwiching you between himself and Remus. The black haired man let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head back against the tiles.

“The mother hens downstairs are worrying up a storm,” he said in exasperation, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tonks so riled up about someone’s safety. I tasked Molly with making you some hot chocolate to keep her occupied”

“Maybe I should go back down…” you muttered halfheartedly, begrudgingly peeling yourself away from Remus’ warm body.

Sirius gave you an apologetic look, “I held them off for as long as I could.”

“Thanks,” you whispered, bumping your shoulder to his, making him chuckle. After pulling yourself out of the bath, rather clumsily, you took a second to check yourself over in the mirror.

“You’re glowing, darling,” Sirius all but sang from behind you and you couldn’t stop the slight snort that escaped you.

“That’s one way to put it.”

“If you don’t believe me go on downstairs and ask George what he thinks,” Sirius teased, wiggling his eyebrows and receiving a light shove from his fiancé who couldn’t hide his grin.

“Leave her alone, love,” he chastised weakly, “You look perfectly fine, Y/n. Go downstairs and get something to drink, you need to rehydrate.” A bittersweet smile broke out on your lips, his fatherly tone simultaneously soothed you and left you yearning for what you were in the process of losing. Trying not to dwell on the sad fact, you left the bathroom and slowly descended the stairs.

As you assumed, the second you stepped back into the kitchen, Molly began to fret over you as if her life depended on it. Sipping on the hot chocolate she’d given you, you were reminded of how desperately tired you were. All the crying hadn’t helped ease the heaviness in your eyes either. Every bone in your body felt heavy for that matter, you were struggling to even hold your head up.

“You can lean against my shoulder if you’d like,” George’s voice broke you from your hazed state, you’d completely forgotten he was sitting beside you despite his leg that was pressed against yours beneath the table. You gave him a sleepy but grateful smile, as subtly as you could you scooched closer to the ginger and slotted yourself against his side, letting your head fall onto his shoulder. “Will you keep me awake until Harry and Cecillia get here?” You requested in a slurred murmur, your eyes fluttering between open and shut.

“Of course,” was all he said, he looked down at you adoringly, smiling like an idiot when you nuzzled into his shoulder, your nose rubbing against his neck. Try as he might, George couldn’t pull his eyes away from your drowsy face. “What do you propose we do?”

You shrugged your shoulders lightly, “Just talk.”

“How would you like your new room decorated?” He asked quietly, his head tilted down while he spoke to you, so you could hear him and so he wouldn’t ruin the lulled bubble you’d managed to obtain between you by talking too loudly. A sweet smile grew on your face, a smile that all but knocked all the breath out of George’s lungs when you angled your head to make eye contact.

“Can I have a double bed?” George snorted at your question and shook his head no.

“Nothing smaller than a king. What else?”

You pretended to ponder for a moment, “Can we paint it?” The ginger nodded, taking his bottom lip between his teeth.

“If you want to,” he started, almost sounding nervous, “We could paint it together?” Even in your sleep deprived state you hadn’t missed the vulnerability in his voice, it was the same vulnerability that you’d noticed when he’d asked you to go get a butterbeer with him a couple of months ago.

“I’d love that,” you told him, your answer causing his lips to twist into a pleased smile, “How do you feel about the colour green?”

Immediately, his smile dropped and he let out a disgusted scoff, “Green is a Slytherin colour.”

“You keep forgetting that I don’t get the whole house sorty thing,” you reminded him, not happy with his reasoning for hating your favourite colour. “Besides, I love green, it’s my favourite colour.” You told him truthfully. Not content with his disgruntled facial expression you began to defend your preference, “A lot of beautiful things are green; you’ve got grass, trees, emeralds- did you know that emeralds are really useful for enhancing psychic abilities? It also evokes clarity of thought,” you rambled, willing yourself to be quiet when you registered George’s fond expression.

The look of endearment aimed at you brought butterflies to life in your stomach, effectively waking you up somewhat.

“Do you have any emerald?” He asked, you assumed he was only feigning interest, you didn’t know that he could’ve listened to you go on and on about anything and everything for the rest of his life.

“No, not yet. I should probably get some though.” You said through a yawn. Your breath against his neck made him giggle, it was pure and unsuspecting but you took note of it. Everything about George Weasley felt like sunshine to you, his laugh filled your chest with warmth whenever you heard it, his eyes found yours like a lighthouse, guiding your lost mind back to the present each time your gazes connected. His voice, like his laugh, warmed you up when you were cold, giving you a reason to stay awake when you’d rather just slip away. In conjunction with the sun, even if you couldn’t physically see him, you never doubted that he was always there. As well as all of that, like your favourite tarot card; The Sun, he signified good things, hope that hard times will end with you on top, contentment and happiness. While your thoughts consisted of George’s similarities to the sun, his were consumed with the, in his mind, overwhelmingly cheesily romantic notion that you were the moon and the stars, he would’ve cringed if he didn’t wholeheartedly believe it. Everything that made the night sky magnificent was reflected in you. Like the stars, you were mysterious and captivating. Nothing seemed to compare to your glow or beauty, if you were to ask him what he preferred; you or the night sky on a clear night, he’d happily ignore a blank, starless sky in favour of simply staring at you as you went on tangent after tangent about crystals or tarot cards.

The pair of you were pulled from your musings when Harry rushed through the kitchen door looking unmistakably heartbroken, ever the empath when it came to his best friend, Harry’s heart sank the moment he laid eyes on your form, limp against George’s side. The second you saw him you all but ripped yourself from George’s side and the older redhead felt a surge of irrational jealousy begin to build in his chest at how fast you left his hold in favour of the chosen one. He knew it was ridiculous, he’d heard the way each of you respectively talked about each other, at this point you were practically siblings. But he supposed it was rational to be jealous when you liked someone the way he liked you.

Quickly, you crossed the room to Harry who had his arms already outstretched. He knew you were emotionally exhausted when you didn’t bear hug him. You meekly slid your arms beneath his open zip-up hoodie, tucked your head beneath his chin and didn’t say a word. “I shouldn’t bother asking if you’re okay then,” Harry muttered to himself, leaning his cheek against the top of your head and wrapping his lanky arms around your frame.

“Did Cecillia remember to bring Astra?” You asked, it was all you wanted to know about the night’s events.

“She’s in her cage in the living room, darling,” Cecilia said, walking into the room looking guilty.

“C’mon, let’s go have a chat,” Harry suggested, leading you out of the kitchen and upstairs to his unofficial room. Once inside the room you sat down on the edge of the bed, the blue duvet softly creasing beneath you. Harry plopped himself down beside you and offered you a gesture that was always saved for when either of you felt the other was on the edge of something dangerous. Your hands rested against your lap and he deftly slid his pinky over yours, intertwining your two littlest fingers. It was such a familiar experience; he’d done it when your grandparents died, when you’d cried over failed exams that you worked hard for, and in turn, you did it for him when he’d felt as though he had no place in the world, when he’d open up about his parents and when Cedric died and the ministry dragged his name through the mud you’d find your pinky tangled with his almost every night after he’d sneak over to your place after another nightmare or panic attack. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You shook your head, “Not tonight. I don’t want to cry anymore,” you croaked out, looking straight ahead of you at the grey painted wall.

“I understand,” he said, sighing and dropping his head onto your shoulder, “Let’s talk about something else then.”

“Like what, Haz?”

Harry snorted out a chuckle, “Like the way George looked like he wanted to hex me when you left him to come to me,” he teased, a smug lilt to his voice.

“He wasn’t teasing me, perhaps I’ll go back to him,” you grumbled, ignoring Harry’s childish giggles.

“Yeah you’d like that wouldn’t you?” You smacked his arm lightly with your free hand, doing a bad job of containing giggles of your own. “Don’t worry, since he’s going to be your new roommate there will be plenty of time for “oh George I’m so sleepy, please hold me until I fall asleep”,” you let out a cackle at Harry’s terrible impression of your voice, laying your cheek against his wild hair.

“That is so not what was going on, Haz,” you defended with a tiny smile.

Harry let out an airy, disbelieving chuckle, “Then what was going on?”

“He just said I could lean on him until you and Cecillia arrived and we just started chatting about how I wanna decorate my room,” you explained truthfully and Harry nodded.

“Riveting,” he mumbled sarcastically. Despite his snarky comment, the boy removed his head from your shoulder and pulled you against his chest. “Jokes aside, I’m glad you’re staying with him, I know he’ll look after you for me,” you rolled your eyes at the sentiment.

“I don’t need to be looked after,” you reminded him, looking up at him with a chastising smile.

He rolled his eyes right back at you, jostling you slightly in his arms, “No. But you like to be.”

You threw your head back in laughter, “Yeah, I suppose I do.” You did. You quite like both doting on people and being doted on, you’d grown up in an affectionate family so it was no wonder really.

“It’s getting late. We should get you settled into your new home,” Harry announced, pulling himself and you up from the bed, “I wasn’t going to say anything but you look terrible. You need sleep.”

“Thank you, Harry. Just what every girl wants to hear before moving in with her crush,” you joked, gently hitting your hip against his.

The kitchen was quiet when you returned, it seemed everyone had grown tired from the dramatic events of the evening.

“Ready to go then?” Fred asked, his coat already on and a handful of your bags in his hands.

“As I’ll ever be I suppose.”

After saying goodbye to everyone you, Fred and George traveled to their apartment by floo, to your dismay. The apartment was bare as they’d only just moved in but you could see it had lots of potential for becoming a cozy home for the twins.

As your first night in your new residence began, your aching eyes and tired mind didn’t leave you with any time to dwell on current events, the second your head made contact with the pillow you were out like a light. A dreamless slumber welcomed you for a while until your peace was broken by the all too familiar nightmare.

The first thing you recognised was the burn coming from your wrists. Shackles adorned them and effectively held your hands high above your head, stretching them uncomfortably. Goosebumps painted the expanse of your arms and legs, due to the freezing temperature in the nondescript cellar. A feeling of hopelessness planted firmly in your chest, the feeling only hightening when the familiar echo of footsteps, heavy and loud, drifted from the corridor outside of your field of vision. You knew who was approaching, you’ve lived this before, and so, you held your lip between your teeth and squeezed your eyes shut. The face of the dark wizard who always brought about your intense suffering was, for the most part, completely fuzzy, unrecognisable, featureless and bone-chillingly terrifying. You’d learned over the last two weeks of having this vision that it was less harrowing if you closed your eyes.

“I’ll ask you once more,” The voice was distorted, like it was being heard through a weedy radio, ominously unplaceable, “Where is he?”

You held no control over your voice, as was the norm during visions, as you felt and heard yourself reply, “I’ll tell you once more; I’d sooner die then sell him to you.” You felt your teeth gritting and your jaw clenching while you spoke. Jaw only tightening when the pointed tip of the wizard’s wand stabbed unforgivingly against the column of your neck.

“And die you will, my dear. But not yet-“ your eyes sealed themselves shut and you did your best to shake yourself out of the vision before what you knew was coming took place, as usual, your attempts were fruitless, “-Crucio.” Just like that your body was consumed by pain, the likes of which you’d never imagined possible, until you couldn’t even register yourself screaming anymore.

You bolted upright, clutching at the sheets of your new bed. Laboured breaths left your mouth and you aimlessly gripped at your neck, where the wand had been pressed, and let the tears spill freely. Momentarily disoriented, you’d forgotten where you were. Deep, heavy bursts of air left your mouth as you hastily scurried out of bed and towards the door. Somewhat aimlessly, you gravitated to the door across the hall. A yellow hue seeped from under the frame into the otherwise dark hallway. Light flooded the hall once you managed to fumble the handle down and pull the door ajar, a discombobulated ginger greeting you with half lidded eyes, obviously having been dozing off before you disturbed his peace.

“Sorry,” you rasped once your peace of mind returned to you and you realised where you were. Despite knowing that you shouldn’t have been standing numbly in his doorway, your feet seemed to be rooted in place, you couldn’t have walked away if you wanted to.

“S’alright,” George called out to you softly, sitting up in his bed, his back against the headboard. “You can come in, you know.”

Shutting the door behind you, you nervously shuffled into the room, stopping when you reached the side of his bed. George’s eyes roamed your face and he took notice of your still somewhat panicked expression, he drew his covers to the side and patted the empty space by his side. Something that always intrigued you was people’s preferred side of the bed, some people gravitated towards the left while others were more biased towards the right, but George Weasley? He slept right in the middle. The twin slept with a huge number of pillows, to the point where it was almost laughable, many of which you could only guess he’d smuggled from the Burrow.

Far too wound up to save face, you slid into his bed and didn’t shy away when he guided you into his side and tucked you tenderly beneath his lean arm. His embrace offered a greatly appreciated warmth as the chill of the dank dungeon always lingered long after the vision itself was over.

“What’re you doing up so late?” You asked, your voice gravelly. As you spoke, George effortlessly shuffled your body and his down so that your backs were resting on the mattress and not the headboard. Your head found it’s home against George’s shoulder and your hair was being tentatively twirled between his fingers.

“It’s our first night actually sleeping here. I couldn’t get to sleep,” he explained, his voice low and laced with fatigue. “I’m not really used to having my own room. It’s strange not hearing Freddie snoring or breathing.”

“I get that,” you whispered, “it’s quite comforting knowing for certain that someone is there with you.”

George nodded then. His eyes were glued to your face and he hadn’t even registered his own thought process before his lips were pressing delicately against your forehead. Today had appeared to be the day for laying all your cards out on the table, yourself and George hadn’t danced around your feelings for each other half as much as you usually did when you’d be in each other’s presence. Neither of you had the energy anymore, besides, if today’s events proved anything it was that; things were getting seriously messy as the war built momentum and it was clear that time was something that could very well be running out.

“Yeah,” he regarded you carefully, a little grin growing on his lips, “It is.”

A comfortable silence overtook the room. George’s twirling of your hair never ceased, every now and then his fingers would ghost over your shoulder and you’d catch yourself smiling against the cotton of his shirt as your eyes grew tired enough that they were close to falling shut.

Just as you were working up the motivation to lift yourself up and trudge back to your own bed, George spoke, “You can sleep here if you want, with me,” there was that innocent vulnerability again. There was never an ulterior motive when it came to him, he did things purely for the sake of making others happy, if he felt he could make a difference he simply needed to. Especially when it came to you, he realised.

“You don’t mind?” You asked, daring to peek up at him.

“Course not. I could use some company anyway.” He reassured you, his lips returning to your forehead, only this time the action held far more intention. “You don’t snore do you, love?”

You snorted out a giggle, looking up at the ginger cheekily, mischief dripping from your little grin that forced George’s heart to stutter rather violently and he hoped you hadn’t noticed. “No. But I drool.”

George’s face contorted, his nose scrunching up adorably in disgust, “Do you really?”

“Suppose you’ll have to find out, won’t you?” You teased and he sighed deeply, his disgruntled expression melting into a soft, adoring smile.

“I should’ve expected this, I knew you couldn’t have been completely perfect,” he said, mockingly sorrowful.

You scoffed, pushing his chest lightly, “You’re doing a lot of sweet talking tonight, Mr. Weasley,” you told him and he shrugged innocently.

“Just wanted to see you smiling again, darling.”

“Yeah, well, you’re doing a good job,” you assured him, the bashful yet tired smile that stretched your lips as you gazed up at him proved that you meant what you’d just said. “I like it by the way, the sweet talking.”

At your words, a huge, shit eating smirk grew on the boy’s freckled face. He managed to rearrange your bodies so that you were still tucked under his arm but you were now facing each other at eye level. “I knew it,” he proclaimed cockily.

You raised a challenging eyebrow, biting back a smirk, “Oh did you?”

George nodded pridefully, “‘Course I did. You see, I’m a little bit psychic,” his words forced a booming laugh from your lips, your cheeks hurting from the smile he’d orchestrated.

You shook your head, smile never dulling as you let out a chastising whisper, “oh sod off.”

“I love your smile,” he said suddenly, his eyes widened in horror when he realised he’d uttered the words out loud. The world could’ve stopped in that moment and you wouldn’t have noticed, all you could take in was George’s face, his eyes searching yours for something.

Carefully, you slid from hand from his chest to his red, blushing face. You cupped his cheek gently, moving your thumb against his cheek bone, almost swooning where you lay when he nuzzled against your touch. Working up some Gryffindor courage, George mimicked your movement, removing his arm from around your shoulder and bringing his palm to rest against the curve of your jaw.

As you stared at each other, you weighed up the pros and cons of telling him that you were completely head over heels for him. Your decision, apparently taking far too long, was made for you when George tugged you impossibly closer to him.

“I wasn’t going to tell you… you’ve had so much going on I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” he said, brown eyes boring into your soul.

“Tell me what?”

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for every possible outcome that may spring once the words on the tip of his tongue are spoken aloud, “That I love you.”

[capesandshapes]

All You Had to Do Was Stay (Post Reveal/ Pre Relationship) (1/4)

Thanks to LNC for the title!

Summary:

Three years ago, Marinette revealed her identity to him. Three years ago, he promised to wait in a hotel room for her. Three years ago, she opened the door to find it empty.

Now she's expected to play nice with him, since she's the maid of honor and he's unfortunately the best man. But old habits die hard, and old feelings die harder.

"This is a wedding, not a death march, Marinette."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things that need to be done before Alya Cesaire could marry Nino Lahiffe:

1. Designs combining both Martinique culture and Réunion style needed to be made for the whole wedding party. Everyone should get to have a say in what they wear.

2. The video of Alya dancing overenthusiastically to the cupid shuffle needed to be removed from Lila Rossi’s Instagram, lest Nino’s nana see and wonder what type of woman he’s marrying.

3. The cake tasting needed to be had. Marinette needed to make sure that her parents didn’t go overboard and keep the couple for the whole night. Even if Alya was practically their daughter. Even if they begged. Even if papa cried.

4. A totally unique and unreplicable combination Bachelor and Bachelorette party needed to be planned.

And, lastly… The most difficult of all:

5. Marinette somehow needed to be able to stand in a room with Nino’s best man, Adrien, and hold a conversation for more than five minutes. Even if, three years ago, he found out her identity, left Paris, and broke her heart.

“Easy,” Marinette groaned, sinking further into her barstool as she closed her notes app, her head touching the counter of the bar. She’d already crossed off the top two of the list items, and yet…

“I’m not asking for a miracle,” Alya began, obviously knowing what she was thinking about. She was the one to ask Marinette out that night, wanting to find out her progress… and also to check in on her wellbeing. It was obvious that she felt bad, she knew how things went between the two and how Marinette originally thought they would go. But she couldn’t just ask Nino not to have Adrien be his best man. “Five minutes, that’s all I’m asking. Just five minutes in a room together. You quickly plan the bachelorette party, since we know that you’re far too organized not to, give him the run down, and then leave. Back to your life, back to doing whatever it is you do now.”

“Sit at home. Alone,” Marinette supplied.

Alya grimaced. “It’s for the best that Luka got married, Marinette. You couldn’t keep playing that game. All that kiss and tell was gonna kill you some day.”

Marinette groaned, somehow sinking further into the wood of the bar. Anymore and she’d become part of the grain.

“Plus, Juleka’s in a better mood with you now,” Alya said, obviously looking at the other young woman as she undoubtedly danced on the floor with Rose. Marinette’s habit of coming back to Paris and making out with her brother had obviously put a strain on their relationship, even if Luka insisted that things weren’t committal and he was totally fine with only seeing her twice a year. “Who knows, maybe Nino will have a handsome cousin and you’ll fall madly in love.”

Marinette raised the side of her head to cast Alya a glare from one eye.

Alya didn’t falter. “So, he’s back. After spending three years in New York, Milan, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. I get it, it’s life changing, it’s world ending, it’s all the things you don’t want and more—especially after how things ended,” Marinette groaned, Alya carried on, “but, you know who else is back? Max, Rose, unfortunately Lila, and Kim. Good old Kim. All your friends, everyone who you’ve known for years, everyone who has missed you as you flitted in and out of Paris! Sure, you found out that Adrien was Chat Noir, went to his hotel room, thought you were finally going to get together, and then opened the door to find it empty—but you know, life happens! And when you least expect it, it keeps going on and on and on and on!”

Marinette turned her face back to the wood.

“I really did try to get Nino to change his mind,” Alya said flatly. “I begged.” Marinette doubted it, but…

“Why couldn’t he just stay in New York?” Marinette mumbled.

“Because Nino is his best friend.”

“Why couldn’t Nino go to New York,” Marinette said, “or Adrien done a zoom call for the wedding.”

Alya snorted. “Okay, that’s it,” she said, grabbing Marinette’s arm. “Adrien’s landing today, nothing’s going to stop it, you just have to clear your head and power on.” She leaned into Marinette’s view as her friend finally turned her head, insistently stating, “you were Ladybug for god’s sake. Even if no one else knows it, you do. I do. You gotta suit up, lovebug, and face the day, lest another evil butterfly come flying by.” Never mind the fact that there hadn’t been an Akuma in years.

Not since Gabriel Agreste was arrested.

Marinette rolled her eyes, finally lifting herself off the bar.

“There’s my girl,” Alya said. “Now, finish your dirty shirley, order another drink, and come do karaoke with me. I’m a hundred percent certain that I saw Say You’ll Be There on the song list, and you know that I’ve been singing Spice Girls since I was in diapers.”

--------------------------

Marinette stumbled into her apartment at one am. Not drunk, she didn’t get drunk, not out in public at bars. In friends’ apartments, maybe. She was still a bit tipsy which was, in its own way, dangerous. But she could fight through it, maybe.

Kicking off her heels, she looked at it, the studio she called home and had once been so proud of a few years back, the same studio she’d lived in ever since she was a fashion design student. The same one in which she’d left Chat knocking on her balcony door when she struggled to stay asleep, and eventually relented to let him in time and time again before he knew who she was.

“Someday, I’m going to move,” she grumbled, beginning to pull the bobby pins from her hair. She wouldn’t, of course, not for a long time. Rent-controlled apartments were rare, and while she pretended that the history that practically stained her hardwood floors was something she would rather forget, she was a nostalgic young woman. She’d be there for at least another five years, or until she was finally well and truly over Chat.

Five years would probably come first.

She passed by the photos washi taped to her walls, the ones where fourteen-year-old kids gave toothy smiles and eighteen-year-old young women gave winks while leaning into blond young men. If she was so concerned about history, she’d have to get rid of those first.

She sighed, finally removing the last bobby pin from her hair and letting it fall down her back, placing the black pin in one of the many bowls around her apartment placed for that very reason. Adrien would be in Paris by then, she was sure. He was probably sound asleep in the Agreste mansion.

“Welcome home, kitty,” she said sarcastically, beginning to climb the steps to her lofted bedroom, a space that was not unlike her childhood room.

This wasn’t how she expected things to be.

Of course, this wasn’t how anyone expected things to be. If you asked anyone, they told you how the story ended. Ladybug and Chat Noir finally got together, they were hiding in Paris somewhere, they were in love. They probably had kids, a dog, a hamster—normal jobs and normal lives. That was what the people of Paris wanted. She thought that that was the ending they would get.

She thought that when she went to the hotel room that night, he would be there. She thought that he was happy to know who she was. She thought that he loved her.

She thought wrong.

Marinette always thought wrong.

She thought she could get over him. She thought making out with Luka was a solution, one that she could keep trying every time she went to Paris. She thought that she would miss Adrien more than Chat, the promise of love more than sitting in her bed and watching subtitled anime while he mouthed the English translations.

By now, she thought she’d be waking up to someone else. That maybe she’d have a steady life, someone to wrap their arms around her in the morning.

Adulthood hits hard.

“Adrien Agreste,” she said, flopping back in her bed and pulling open her phone. She wasn’t above social media stalking.

There he was. Gold hair, tanned skin, too many muscles to know what to do with. Landed in Paris four hours ago, his Instagram posted a picture of him with his arm around Nino. His eyes were still kind, his smile still flawless. Her heart still pounded.

“Jerk,” she muttered, letting her phone fall down beside her. “I didn’t need you anyway,” except for all those times she did. Like when she put the earrings back in the box and said goodbye to one of her closest friends. She could have used him then.

She could have used him a lot of times.

Her eyes stayed glued to the ceiling, her chest rising and falling with every breath. There was no sound, no doting kwami, no laughter from her parents, and no Alya playing with her hair. Just her.

“Now I’m going to see you and fall in love with you all over again,” she said, wishing she could steel herself against the inevitable.

[magireco]

Would love to hear more thoughts on how these girls have understandable teenage motivations (A+ tag analysis by the way)

1. Thank you!!!!!!

2. ALRIGHT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS (shuffles my papers). i’ve gone off about homura’s motivations in depth before but i think it was only in dms/groupchats? anyways i’ll go in order with All the girls bc i think about this all the time as a teenager who grew up mentally ill and had their perceptions skewed because of it, and also i don’t think it’s talked about nearly enough for the others, at least on my blog... so, buckle up!!! this is REALLY LONG!!!! 

3. i tried writing like, an individual thing for every member of the quintet all together in this one ask, but i ended up talking a little too much about homura and now i’m going to split up all the different analysis stuff for each character into the reblogs and work on it every so often! you’re free to kinda skim of course because i really did write a whole novel but here we go!! read under the cut. :3 this is literally essay length btw. i did NOT expect it to get this long but if you want to read it all i’d recommend it but i don’t expect most people to

First: Homura Akemi

okay so i’m going to kind of summarize everything but from the perspective of empathizing with her so if you don’t want to reread a whole recap you can skip to the ending few paragraphs

Summary

first of all, in episode 10, homura’s past is explained for the viewer. she was a shy, unsure girl who had been bedridden for a long time. she was clearly unsocialized, not to mention she went to a catholic school and those can be brutal, esp in japan... that’s all we know about her in that episode, but it’s revealed in one of the drama cds that she was bullied as a child(& further at mitakihara middle), her parents never were mentioned ever (i assume them to either be dead or neglectful, considering she lives alone and unchecked), and in magia record, homura says to natsuki that she’s never had friends before, she hasn’t been on vacation before until the beachside bonds event, hasn’t ever celebrated valentine’s day, has never celebrated new years, etc... 

clearly, she’s missed out on a lot not only because of her sickness and hospitalization, but because of her isolation as a child at school. judging by her demeanor and the way she reacts when madoka comes up to her without being asked to, something like that had never happened to her before. it’s clear to me that madoka was many of homura’s “first’s”, her first friend, the first person who reached out to her, the first person to compliment her name honestly(validating her, disproving her dislike of her name), the first person to regard her so kindly rather than judging her based off of her appearance and demeanor (like other students had apparently done, this is also shown when the other students at mitakihara middle make fun of her for being tired after only being able to run one lap). AND, madoka (and mami, but homura knew madoka better at that time) saved her life, even though homura was so willing to die, just in that moment... i’d assume it made homura feel like someone believed in her even when she was at her worst. it’s really clear by the glimmer in her eyes that these are nice people that made her feel happy and welcome... and then walpurgisnacht came. she didn’t know much about magical girls and just believed in madoka and mami to be able to defeat the witch because she saw them as strong and saw the witch as defeatable, despite its size. and then mami died, right in front of her and madoka... 

this kinda seems headcanon-y when i phrase it this way but it’s practically proven in her actions but i really think homura is scared to be abandoned, especially by someone who was as overtly kind and nonjudgemental to her as madoka... it’s in the way she cries her name and says “don’t go” before madoka runs away to fight walpurgisnacht. OH ALSO, i need to address this one thing really quick because people like to assume that homura didn’t care about mami from the beginning and only liked madoka. it’s not that she wasn’t sad when mami died, she was clearly terrified and didn’t want the same to happen to madoka, also mami LITERALLY WASN’T IN HER CLASS OR HER GRADE so i assume she spent most of her time with madoka considering they were in the same grade and class and probably shared most of their periods with each other... but also, once again, mami is older than both of them and homura probably saw her as more of a mentor/teacher that she needed to impress rather than madoka who was more on her level, i guess?

anyways, moving on... homura had to see madoka die (& experience the crushing guilt she felt for “letting madoka go” even though there was nothing she could’ve done) and literally says “i’d rather you had lived than saved someone like me” ... her self worth is below zero. she makes her wish to be strong enough to protect madoka(because she sees madoka, her first friend, who saved her life which she felt had no worth, as so strong and noble) which causes her to go back in time, etc. etc., you know the deal. okay before i move on to talk a little more abt the timelines and the personality change i’m going to address why it’s reasonable that she’d be attached to madoka.

i mentioned before that homura said herself that she had never had a friend before. just like, put yourself into her shoes for a second. this girl has no idea how to make friends; it was never taught to her. it’s literally rational that she’d get attached to her first ever friendship. it’s not “normal” the way she views madoka, but how could it be? this is her first time having a friend, she’s afraid of being abandoned by her, but she’s had to see her die over and over again anyway. she doesn’t want to lose madoka. even if she doesn’t go about it in the right way, there’s no way she would’ve actually known how to Do relationships. no one taught her. i think that needs to be empathized with more...

i kinda feel like i need to summarize all this just bc if i word it right it kinda reminds you & puts into perspective just how terrible and scary all of this was.

anyway Again, i would skip straight to the end of timeline 3 (where a New Flavor of trauma is given to homura) but i need to first address timeline 2 for a second. it was homura’s first time repeating the timeline, she trained with madoka and mami again, she was still hopeful despite what happened, etc. kinda just bonding further with madoka Again... and then it’s at the end of this timeline that she watches madoka turn into a witch, just in front of her very eyes... and realizes the true fate of magical girls. when she resets the timeline again, it’s up to her to start anew and break the truth to the group when she sees them again. when she tries telling the truth, sayaka immediately shoves this aside, claiming homura was just trying to split everyone up. it’s clear that that hurts homura. (also the little shinies in her eyes were wavering which is anime-code for sad) her feelings were immediately disregarded by sayaka and she couldn’t defend herself, but madoka did for her, and mami tried to diffuse the situation. 

after they all find out homura was right when sayaka turns into a witch, mami kills kyoko and ties up homura in her ribbons and aims a gun at her, and this, rightfully, ignited a fear within homura... madoka is forced to kill mami in order to save homura, leaving only the two of them to fight together. then, when walpurgisnacht comes that time, The Promise is made... madoka tells homura to go back in time and save her from becoming a witch (because she doesn’t want to curse the world that way, she still sees beauty in it) and homura agrees, saying she’ll never stop until she saves madoka, and then... homura has to mercy kill madoka before she becomes a witch. she cries loudly and shoots madoka’s soul gem... it’s literally so heartwrenching and (usually) brings the viewer to tears, or puts something into perspective for them...

then we assume the personality change happens in the timeline right after. this personality change causes a lot of discourse because sometimes it’s seen as kind of irrational, but personally, i think even moemura had at least SOME resent for the world around her considering what she’d been through. it’s madoka’s repeated deaths that finally push her over that edge. i could get further into the coolmura arc but that’d take a WHILE, so i’ll just kind of explain something briefly though -- why homura ended up becoming even MORE focused on madoka. and i’m also going to debunk the claim that homura doesn’t care about her other friends as fast as i can before moving on.

also, ONE LAST side tangent, for those that think homura really did do a 360 degree personality turn are wrong. it’s shown explicitly in homulilly’s labyrinth that there’s this... “core” homura, a shadowy purple silhouette with braids. every time the series depicts homura’s internal self, it’s always glasses+braids, symbolizing her “child” self, who she truly is. she never stopped being that person. she doesn’t want to kill. ...but i can get into that in a rebellion analysis later! this is also shown in wraith arc bc the person inside her soul gem has glasses+braids. anyway let’s get to the next part i’m going to rant about

Homura’s Love for Madoka, but Otherwise Apathy

homura has seen many different, yet all similar, versions of her friends. the first claim i’m going to talk about which i saw brought up quite a few times before is in regards to homura and mami. first of all, homura absolutely still cares for mami, and not just in the “i only care about your life if it affects madoka’s” way. one part that always gets me is when mami ties her up in the series timeline after homura frantically warns her that this witch isn’t normal, to which mami IMMEDIATELY brushes this off, without even giving homura a chance. then, when mami’s ribbons fade away, homura looks horrified and just goes “oh no...” and it’s kind of obvious to me that it was in response to mami’s death rather than madoka’s reaction. this is arguably up for debate i guess because i’ve seen different takes on that reaction and it’s ambiguous, i guess? but i’m about to get into something extremely similar and that’s the sayaka situation, where madoka throws sayaka’s soul gem onto a moving car. homura gasps and immediately pauses time and disappears, running in literal open traffic and climbing on top of a moving car to retrieve sayaka’s soul gem. one could argue that this is ALSO only just because homura wants to save madoka (and kyoko) the fear, but don’t you think her expression would be different? if homura truly didn’t care for sayaka’s wellbeing, wouldn’t she be making an expression more similar to like, “oh, this shit again...” instead of the frantic one she was making in the scene? this kind of thing Also happens when kyoko asks homura to leave while kyoko’s about to sacrifice herself in oktavia’s labyrinth, and homura looks up sadly at kyoko and then back down at madoka, and once she knew kyoko was dead, she just quietly said “kyoko...” to herself. she usually refers to them as [last name, first name], but she dropped that during that moment... it otherwise sounds like a bare minimum thing to do, but keep in mind the timeline we’re shown in the series is implied to be like, the 110th timeline, i think? like, this is the last timeline, she’s worn down, but she still does have empathy -- or at least sympathy -- for the others. she still loves them. 

homura promised to be madoka’s protector, she dedicated her life to her, and also she doesn’t have a choice not to dedicate her life to her anymore, even though that’s not fair to her... homura is in a really hopeless situation and madoka is her hope, and madoka is the one that judges her the least out of the quintet (like saying “i’m sure homura is good” to herself) upon first impression. also okay i mentioned this already in my last post (which you saw) but i’m going to bring it up one more time, homura is not mentally 26!!!!!! she is still 14 mentally!! in order to be 26, you have to have experienced 26 years of new life experience. maybe you acquire that through school, maybe you aquire that through friends, whatever it takes. but homura just repeated the same month over and over, and it’s not like her body (canonically) ages ever. she just kind of gets transported back into her body in the hospital again considering she’s back wearing her braids and pajamas... so, yeah. no mental development there. i also mentioned this here but i’m gonna say it again, that just makes it even harder for her to actually age correctly... it stunts her to 14. imagine being 14 for 10-11 years...

In Defense Of My Own Claims

btw before you think i’m just going full-on radical homura apologist, i’m not explaining all of this to be like “homura made ALL THE RIGHT DECISIONS because her trauma gave her an excuse!!” because like, Obviously, she did a lot of bad things, she killed people, did a lot of callous things, a lot of thoughtless things, a lot of things that make her seem emotionless, etc. but i just have trouble blaming her considering how things ended up, and it’s not like she enjoys killing people. she’s not sadistic... she ends up becoming short with all the others not only because of her (extremely) weakened trust in them, but also because the amount of times she repeated the timeline. i’d imagine it makes her feel like the others can’t truly die because she can just go back and see them again. (this is also why wraith arc/post-tv series must’ve been hard for her because she can no longer turn back time, things are permanent now, deaths are forever) she’s become so worn down that she’ll do anything to escape the loops... also considering she has no choice but to continue? although it shouldn’t be, it’s technically her job as a magical girl to defeat all witches and walpurgisnacht counts. it kills magical girls and tears up the whole city and she’s usually the only magical girl left... her choices, when defeated, are either to give up and die or to go back and try again, and she made a promise to her first ever friend to do just the latter... i just don’t understand how this isn’t easier for people to comprehend, that all of this trauma and stress and responsibility on top of an already traumatized 14 year old does not mix well. ever. she had to figure out all of this by herself.

TL;DR:

homura was a previously traumatized, unsocialized 14 year old with (very)low self esteem & self worth whose first friend (and first love, really, let’s be honest) died in front of her in horrific ways and she watched as she (and the other friends she came to make) drifted slowly apart from her in her endless and futile attempt in saving her from what proved to be an inescapable fate. also she’s 14 and also she’s (canonically) mentally ill and a lesbian. not a monster, not evil, not “psycho”. and that’s that!

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Higurashi Sotsu Ep15 [FINALE]

For better or worse I think Ryukishi achieved exactly what he set out to do with this series, and I guess everyone’s just gonna be forced to reckon with how they feel about his own perspective on this franchise versus how they feel about it, lol.

Anyway, thoughts under the cut, plus Umineko spoilers.

I’m not entirely sure where to even start with this, but I guess the TL;DR is that I honestly think Gou/Sotsu was ultimately just fine despite it’s issues, and part me of can’t help but be like ‘I told you so, lol’ about how this really did end with this episode, and also committed pretty hard to the Umineko prequel elements.

It’s not like all of my theories were correct in the end, but I at least think I was pretty spot on in my prediction last week that this would end with the miracle of them side-stepping the sword issue entirely and choosing the third option of forgiveness and reconciliation. And also them ending it with an epilogue where we go back to the Matsuribayashi timeline and get a happy ending for Rika and Satoko that provides a ‘non-magical interpretation’ for the story while also giving us an idea of how Bern and Lambda formally split off into their own entities and start the relationship we see in Umineko.

I didn’t quite expect them to go down the route of having them agree to just spend a few years apart and accept that they don’t need to literally always be together, but I think that was a really good way to wrap things up between them. It’s pretty much the healthiest compromise to their conflict that doesn’t come across like it completely invalidates one of their dreams. I get why it feels too anti-climactic and convenient for people, but when you pull at that thread you get into wider topics of what the entire story is about, since this was always going to end with Satoko being redeemed and forgiven. People might not have taken him seriously, but Ryukishi was 100% genuine about his regrets about Matsuribayashi’s ending, and how part of why he came up with this new story was to create a better ending, while also doing more with Satoko as a character.

Basically I think a lot of the fandom negativity towards this boils down to people fundamentally disagreeing with the idea that Matsuribayashi was even ‘flawed’ in this sort of way to begin with, or that Satoko was badly written. It’s valid to disagree on this stuff, but at the very least we all have to grapple with how Ryukishi has his own specific relationship with this series.

People like to focus on how he’s a troll who likes to mess with people, but I feel like this is a bit of a wake-up call for people about how he’s actually extremely sincere, almost to a fault, and he likes to use his stories as a vehicle for expressing his personal philosophies and ideals. 

This whole story is also a good example of how he just sees this as ultimately being a fictional story about fictional characters, and not literally a matter of real people who need to be sentenced for their crimes or whatever. As early as the original VN he was almost being outright preachy about the message that nobody is irredeemable, and that philosophy carries through to this. But to be more specific, nobody *in this story* is irredeemable. He’s pretty open about the fact that in practice you can’t apply this sort of ideal to real life, but fictional stories are their own separate matter.

I think this whole issue of how he views this as a story first and foremost is also the central reason why this ended in a way that comes across as Satoko being let off too easy for her crimes. One way or another, Ryukishi’s made it clear that he sees this as being no different to how other characters had arcs where they committed crimes but still got forgiven, or how Takano is basically a straight up war criminal who also got forgiven for her crimes.

Anyway, this episode at least committed to the Umineko stuff, so that was satisfying. Sure there’s people that still want to deny it, but at this point I think a lot of people are just being stubborn, so it’s not like anything would have really convinced them, lol. I’m also genuinely not sure what people even would have expected them to do beyond what we saw her, aside from having the two of them literally put on their gothic lolita outfits and turn to the camera and go ‘we are literally Bernkastel and Lambdadelta from the video game series Umineko When They Cry’. I almost feel like there’s some kind of misunderstanding from people who aren’t familiar with Umineko when it comes to the idea of what it even means for this to be ‘an Umineko prequel’, or ‘a Bern/Lambda origin story’. I mean, this is quite literally exactly what I expected and hoped for in that regard. It’s not like I was expecting them to incorporate anything related to, like, Beatrice or the Ushiromiya family.

I think this is also one of those things where you just have to decide for yourself whether or not you want to earnestly engage with the story that’s being told, or if you want to assume that there’s some level of malice or trickery going on.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting them to literally have Rika and Satoko recite part of Bern and Lambda’s final conversation with each other word for word, lmao. Combined with the scene at the end where ‘Witch Satoko’ talks to herself about how she’s going to give her body back to Satoko while she goes chasing after Rika, it was literally just the exact origin story of their relationship as it’s depicted in Umineko.

I still feel like this would all only really be ‘worth it’ if we actually get something like a full on anime remake for Umineko, but at this point I can’t help but feel satisfied with this part of it all.

It’s not like I think Gou/Sotsu as a whole is perfect or anything, though. I don’t hate it as much as basically everyone else does, but I think Ryukishi’s the sort of VN writer who really struggles with the shift to writing for an anime. I think a big part of the frustration people have is just from how this is formatted as a weekly anime series spread across basically an entire year, instead of being something like a stand-alone VN chapter that you can read at whatever pace you want, even if it ultimately takes the same amount of time to read as it would to watch all of Gou/Sotsu.

There’s also the whole issue of this being a sort-of-remake, which snowballed into a whole list of structural problems. They absolutely tried too hard to have their cake and eat it too, and they should have just committed to it being made for old fans only, instead of trying to sincerely incorporate elements from the VN that old fans don’t care about anymore because they’ve gone over it already.

And as I’ve said several times before, it was a major issue for them to decide to put Nekodamashi in the middle of Gou and then spend like 20 episodes on flashback answer arcs until finally getting back to that cliffhanger. I’ve been waiting until this all ended to decide exactly how I feel about that, and now that it’s all over I still think it was a really bad idea. I don’t think it was an issue for them to reveal that Satoko’s the culprit that early, but having the gun cliffhanger specifically happen that early just gave people misguided expectations and tainted the answer arcs because people were just impatient to get back to the cliffhanger. And then the cliffhanger itself ended up being somewhat anti-climactic, which is what I’d been fearing would happen. It would have worked fine if they shuffled it around so that the cliffhanger happened right before Kagurashi and was followed up in the very next episode, or if this was a VN where you could binge your way through the flashback stuff, but spending like half of an entire real-life year to get back to that point only to have the resolution be ‘Satoko just shoots Rika and the death loops keep going’ just didn’t really work properly.

I’m a lot more generous towards the Akashi arcs than most people are, since I think they really over-estimate how much re-used content there is there, but they still suffer from the central issue of the show trying to be accessible for new fans. It could have been heavily condensed otherwise, without losing anything in terms of Satoko’s whole character arc.

On the other hand I think the first half of Kagurashi was awful specifically because it highlighted how bad of an idea it was to put Nekodamashi so early in the story. They still ended up having to go back to that arc and repeat it anyway, in the most 1:1 recap-y way in the whole show, but that wouldn’t have even been an issue in the first place if that was instead the first time that arc happened in the show.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I would rearrange the story to make it flow better while still following Ryukishi’s intentions, and I think they could have condensed it into a 2-cour season with this sort of structure if they did something like this:

-First arc where Rika gets thrown back into the loop and quickly figures out that somebody intentionally caused this to happen, and it’s not Takano because at least in this idea of mine she’d try and investigate her only to find out that this version of Takano regrets everything and is planning to flee the village with Tomitake.

Basically I think this could tie into the idea of Satoko initially wanting to just concoct an idea world for Rika so that she won’t want to leave this time, but sort of like what I think happens in Saikoroshi, Rika would still reject it, and this time around there’d be the additional layer of her knowing that somebody did this to her for an unknown reason. Maybe they could even initially market it as a new adaptation or a remake of Saikoroshi, and then reveal that it’s a sequel, to keep that whole element to the series. Either way I think this would end with everything going to shit when Rika rejects that fragment and wants to go back to St. Lucia’s, and Satoko basically snaps and kills her, and that way the audience can find out about her being the culprit without Rika finding out about it yet.

Maybe there could even be some dramatic irony where Rika’s attempts to meddle with certain ‘trigger events’, and her displaying her looper side, inadvertently triggers people around her to get paranoid, and the whole fragment would start to spiral into tragedy from there. I think they could at least use the whole conflict in Tatariakashi about Teppei actually being good this time as a starting point for that sorta thing.

-Second arc, rounding out the first cour, which is basically just Satokowashi. I don’t think there’s much that you’d need to change here, but like I said above I like the idea of her initially trying to just invent a perfect world for Rika and her to live in, instead of jumping straight to murder. But maybe instead of her literally just watching Rika’s loops, she could instead just be stuck using her looping powers to try and figure out how to create that ‘perfect world’ in the first place, by personally investigating all of the different tragedies and how to prevent them.

-Staring the second cour, a third arc where we basically just get to see those loops Satoko goes through, and her whole process of solving the tragedies and ‘purifying’ characters like Teppei and Takano, until we eventually see her perspective on the first arc, and how she reacts to Rika ultimately rejecting the world she tried to make for her.

-A fourth and final arc which is basically just Nekodamashi + Kagurashi, where she just totally snaps and tries to just torture Rika into never wanting to leave the village again, and eventually Satoko gets exposed and they have their direct confrontation with each other.

With that sorta story structure, you’d keep all the relevant bits of Gou/Sotsu as it is now, while being more focused on Rika and Satoko instead of doing kinda half-assed reruns of the Rena and Shion arcs. It’d also push the big cliffhanger between them until near the end of the show, while still revealing to the audience relatively early on that Satoko’s the culprit.

I’d also like them to do more with Satoshi and Shion, so maybe like with how Teppei gets redeemed and Satoko almost gets to have a happy life with him in Tatariakashi, the central question arc of this hypothetical story could also involve Satoko making sure that Satoshi wakes up from his coma, and Shion also gets to have a good relationship with all of them. You could probably do something interesting with the idea of Satoshi and Shion being in the camp of not trusting Teppei and his whole redemption arc.

Honestly I could spend a long time talking about how I would have done things differently, lol. For one thing, I think the Akashi arcs would have been much better if they just changed it so that Satoko used psychological tactics to make people paranoid, and we completely cut out the whole syringe plot device. I get how it fits with Satoko’s whole certainty gimmick, but it made those arcs way too predictable. Even if we knew the outcome, it’d at least be entertaining to see exactly how Satoko might go out of her way to set up the different tragedies. We kinda got glimpses of that sorta plot point in Wataakashi when things seemed to go outside of her control, but they didn’t really do much with it.

Anyway, this is a whole lot of words to say that I think that in spite of the serious structural issues going on, I think Gou/Sotsu as a whole is fine, and was at least working with a lot of perfectly good ideas that could have been executed much better.

Also, on a side note, that one scene during their fist-fight at the start where the art-style changes a bit was kinda weird, but I really liked how it looked, and part of me almost wishes the whole show looked like that, lol. I like Akio Watanabe’s character designs, but I feel like that sort of stylized, almost TWEWY-ish art style would have been really fitting for this series, especially in the horror/action parts.

Oh, and the new rendition of You was so good it almost felt emotionally manipulative, lol.

[cryingcow]

Character Story - Nishikiyama (Junior High Student) [RGGO]

Wow, 3 stories in 1 week, I’m on a roll! But I’m slowing down now, cuz the Daigo one’s pretty long, and I need to get back to studying to make up for the oral revalida I bombed XD

Anyway now it’s time for Baby Koi Boi, the partner card to Baby Dragon! I’ve always loved Nishiki, but I think I love him even more now because of this, he’s just so much more emotional and passionate than anyone else in the series <3

Also! According to this, Junior High spans from 13 to 16 years of age (cuz its 1984). Sooo it’s slightly less weird to imagine 16-year-old-pornstached Kazama buying a porn mag in Kiryu’s story XD

Story: Yuko, who STILL doesn’t get a character sprite even in RGGO, tells her big brother that she has a boyfriend. Nishiki freaks out.

Nishiki, beating up a poor civilian: “That’s for dating my sister!!!!”

Innocent civilian, getting beaten up by an angry teen: “I don’t even know who you are!!!!”

Note: In Chapter 3, the term “jealous of jealousy” or ヤキモチを妬く is used. Based on this article that took me ages to search, it means something along the lines of “gaining a crush on someone you’re jealous of” (kinda like tsunderes in anime I think) or “having a crush on someone who has a crush on someone else” or “wanting someone all to yourself”, with a hint of “love is blind”. But all of those are phrases MUCH too loaded for me to be including in here on the shaky basis of one google-translated article, so I’m leaving it as is. (But if someone who knows Japanese can confirm or deny it, please tell me so I can edit and put in the right term!)

.

CHAPTER 1

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|One day in 1984. When Nishikiyama Akira and Kiryu Kazuma were still in junior high school . . . |

[Theater Square]

Junior high school girl A: “Ah, Nishikiyama-kun! Yoo-hoo!”

Nishikiyama: “Hey.”

Junior high school girl B: “We’re all heading to the arcade. Come join us, Nishikiyama-kun!”

Nishikiyama: “No, I can’t. I have somewhere to go today.”

Junior high school girl B: “Ehh~! . . . Oh, that’s right. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Nishikiyama: “I’m sorry, please invite me again some other time.”

Junior high school girl A: “Yeah, see you next time!”

{Nishiki leaves.}

Junior high school girl B: “. . . That’s right, Nishikiyama-kun is visiting his younger sister today.”

Junior high school girl A: “Nishikiyama-kun really cares about his sister. I’m a little jealous~.”

----

[Hospital]

Nishikiyama: “Yo.”

Yuko: “Onii-chan.”

Nishikiyama: “How are you doing?”

Yuko: “Same as usual. Onii-chan, won’t you be in trouble with Kazama-san?”

Nishikiyama: “That’s nothing to concern yourself about.”

Yuko: “Is that so. Good luck-”

Nishikiyama: “Easy, easy. Just lie down.”

Yuko: “But . . .”

Nishikiyama: “I just dropped by to see you. I’ll go home soon.”

Yuko: “. . . I really worry for my Onii-chan.”

Nishikiyama: “Shut up, it’s not like that.  . . . Hm? Yuko, what’s with those live flowers?”

Yuko: “Oh, these? They’re called Phalaenopsis orchids. Aren’t they beautiful?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah, they look really extravagant.”

Yuko: “Yup.  . . . Y-You know what?”

Nishikiyama: “Hm?”

Yuko: “Th-This is . . . a gift from my lover.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Yuko: “A-Ahaha. What do you think, Onii-chan-”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Yuko: “. . . Onii-chan? You’re suddenly quiet, is everything okay?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Ha! Y-Yeah. I was spacing out a little. Okay, okay. I’m perfectly fine. 100 percent. Perfect. Yup. Everything’s fine. There’s no problem at all. Onii-chan’s not going home yet, I just remembered a little errand I have to do.”

{Nishiki runs out.}

Yuko: “Eh?! A little- Onii-chan!”

----

[Pink Street]

Nishikiyama: (A lover? To Yuko? Yuko and a lover? A lover and Yuko? Lover? Lover? Lover? She has a lover???? She’s still a kid? But she has a lover? A lover? I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it . . .)

High school girl: “Kyaa! Please stop!”

Hooligan A: “You want me to do something good to you, don’t you?”

Hooligan B: “Yeah yeah, come feel good with us!”

High school girl: “I hate you! Let go!”

Nishikiyama: “A lover . . . to Yuko . . . mumble.”

{Nishiki distractedly walks into the hooligans.}

Hooligan A: “Hey! Watch where you’re going!!”

Nishikiyama: “mumble . . . mumble . . .”

Hooligan B: “Hey, bro. You can’t just bump into someone and then ignore them-“

{Nishiki swings around to throw his fist into the guy’s face.}

Hooligan B: “Hgugh?!“

Nishikiyama: “Shut up!!!! I’m dealing with something right now!!!!”

Hooligan A: “Huh?! Th-Th-This bastard . . . don’t think you’ll scare us off by yelling!!”

Hooligan B: “Punching me out of nowhere . . . I’ll kill you!!”

{Nishiki beats the crap out of the hooligans and sends them running.}

High school girl: “U-Um, thank you very much!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . mumble.”

High school girl: “U-um . . . ?”

Nishikiyama: “No but, Yuko with a lover . . . she never said anything about it and then suddenly . . .”

{Nishiki wanders off, still mumbling to himself.}

High school girl: “I-I wonder what’s up with that person . . .”

----

Nishikiyama: “. . . Damn it. I can’t get my head straight. Calm down. I need to calm down . . . ! Inhale~. Exhale~. Inhale~. Exhale~. Okay, taking a deep breath to calm down. I’m perfectly calm now. Now that I’m thinking with a calm head, I can clearly see what I must do. Yuko’s lover . . .”

Nishikiyama: “I’m going to find that guy and kick his ass!!!!”

.

-END-

.

CHAPTER 2

.

Nishikiyama: (Yuko’s lover . . . what an arrogant bastard with a bouquet . . . Well, it was Phalaenopsis orchids. The flowers look expensive. Maybe he’s a criminal whose modus is a bouquet of flowers! Wait, I can use the bouquet as a clue-)

Drunk A: “So? What happened to the woman in question?”

Drunk B: “It’s perfect! Women are simple after all . . . it was easy!”

Drunk A: “Seriously? But I feel sorry for the woman though. Doesn’t she know you have a second?”

Drunk B: “Idiot, it’s not just two, I have five! It’s my technique so I can drop a woman anytime!”

Drunk A: “Five?! You’re the worst! Gyahahaha!”

Drunk B: “Hehe, I even gave one of the women a bouquet! That’s right-“

{Nishiki suddenly punches the five-timing drunk.}

Drunk B: “Bgyagh?!“

Nishikiyama: “You gave the bouquet . . . ? So you’re the culprit!!!!”

Drunk A: “Eh? Eh . . . ?”

Nishikiyama: “Playing with Yuko’s heart is a sin . . . I’ll make you regret it!!!!”

{Nishiki beats up the drunks.}

Drunk A: “O-Oi! Of your five women, are any of them this guy’s little sister?”

Drunk B: “No way! All five of them are older than me . . . !!”

Nishikiyama: “Oi . . .”

Drunks: “Yes?!”

Nishikiyama: “Didn’t you deliver that bouquet to Yuko’s hospital room?”

Drunk B: “W-W-W-W-Wrong! I gave that bouquet to Machiko, a cabaret girl!!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . I see. Don’t be so misleading next time. Jeez.”

Drunks: “We’re sorry!!!!”

Nishikiyama: (Damn it. If I don’t do anything, the culprit won’t be revealed. How do I figure out the criminal . . . )

Nishikiyama: “No, wait a minute. There IS a clue . . . !”

Drunks: “Yes?”

Nishikiyama: “You bought a luxurious bouquet to give to a woman, where did you buy it?”

----

[West Shichifuku Street]

Nishikiyama: “It should be in this area. Here . . .”

Nishikiyama: (According to the drunkard, there’s a flower shop in this place. I have no idea who Yuko’s lover is, but maybe if I find out where he bought the bouquet that he gave her . . .)

Nishikiyama: “What was the flower again . . . a Phalaenopsis orchid? I suppose I should ask who bought them.”

Flower Seller: “Welcome! Oh? . . . I have a lot of cute customers today.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Do you mean me?”

Flower Seller: “Ah, sorry for saying that out of nowhere. Earlier today a boy in a school uniform around your age came to the store.”

Nishikiyama: “Hey . . . is that unusual? A customer of my age . . .”

Flower Seller: “Yeah. Unless it’s Mother’s Day, a child your age has no reason to come to a flower shop, isn’t that right?”

Nishikiyama: “Definitely . . . if you ask me, then yeah. I wanted to know, did anyone come by today to buy Phalaenopsis orchids?”

Flower Seller: “Phalaenopsis orchids? I think that boy I mentioned just now bought some?”

Nishikiyama: “! I-Is that true?! What kind of guy is he?! Do you remember his name or what he looked like?!”

Flower Seller: “He’s just like you, a strong-looking kid who seems like he gets into fights. His name was . . . ah, right.”

Flower Seller: “It was Kiryu-san.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . ha?”

.

-END-

.

CHAPTER 3

.

[Champion District - Empty Lot]

Nishikiyama: “Yo, Kiryu. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Kiryu: “Nishiki . . . why did you call me out here all of a sudden?”

Nishikiyama: “Kiryu . . . do you have something to tell me?”

Kiryu: “Something to tell you . . . ? No, nothing in particular . . .”

Nishikiyama: “Is that right . . .”

Kiryu: “What are you angry about? Does it have something to do with what you want me to say?”

Nishikiyama: “Kiryu . . . earlier today, did you deliver a bouquet to Yuko?”

Kiryu: “!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . the look on your face tells me I’m right. Since when did you start sneaking around?”

Kiryu: “I wasn’t sneaking around . . . it started the day before yesterday.”

Nishikiyama: “What, that’s quite recent.”

Kiryu: “Yeah.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Was it your idea?”

Kiryu: “No, it was originally Oyassan’s idea.”

Nishikiyama: “O-Oyassan?!”

Kiryu: “Yeah. He said he was sure it’ll make you and Yuko happy.”

Nishikiyama: “Why . . . did you keep quiet about this?”

Kiryu: “I was . . . going to surprise you.”

Nishikiyama: “I see . . . certainly, I was surprised to death . . .”

Kiryu: “Then what are you angry about? Did Yuko not like the bouquet?”

Nishikiyama: “No, she was very happy with it. Did you choose those flowers yourself?”

Kiryu: “That was also Oyassan’s idea. Phalaenopsis orchids mean ‘happiness soars’, apparently.”

Nishikiyama: “Tch! You keep saying Oyassan this, Oyassan that . . . Kiryu, what are YOUR feelings on this matter? You aren’t saying that’s ‘Oyassan’s idea’ too, are you?”

Kiryu: “It’s not like that. I followed Oyassan’s suggestion because it aligned with my feelings.”

Nishikiyama: “Is that right . . . so it really was you . . . to think I thought you were a good guy . . . damn you . . .”

Kiryu: “Nishiki, what on earth are you so angry about?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Don’t you know?”

Kiryu: “I don’t know, I’m drawing a blank.  . . . Could it be? Are you jealous of your jealousy for me?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah, that’s right. I’m jealous. I’m burning you with my jealousy, Kiryu!”

Kiryu: “So you’re jealous . . . because the other party is your sister?”

Nishikiyama: “Yes because she’s my sister! And my sister is important to me, so that’s why I’m angry with you!”

Kiryu: “I see . . . I get it now. Yuko is your dear sister, so I should have consulted you properly about this. My bad . . . the line is different in matters like this, and I crossed it. How can I make it up to you?”

Nishikiyama: “Duel with me, Kiryu . . . !! A no-holds-barred, one-on-one battle!! I’ll use my fists to make you pay for this . . . !!”

Kiryu: “Okay, I understand. If this will make you feel better, then I’ll accept your challenge with my whole power!!”

Nishikiyama: “Let’s go! Kiryu!!!!”

{Nishiki and Kiryu duke it out in the lot.}

Nishikiyama: “Jeez, as usual you’re still stupidly strong . . . Oww . . .”

Kiryu: “Haa . . . haa . . . So, are you done . . . Nishiki?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah . . . thanks. It’s regrettable, but I have to admit . . . you being Yuko’s guy, she really does have a discerning eye for people!! To be her lover . . . no one would be more suitable than you!”

Nishikiyama: “I’ll accept it!! You and Yuko . . . dating!! . . . I’ll have to ask Yuko about this matter . . . kyoudai? From now on, call me Onii-san.”

Kiryu: “. . . Nishiki. What are you talking about?”

Nishikiyama: “Huh? Oi, oi. Yuko’s bouquet of flowers in the hospital room, that was given by you. Isn’t that true?”

Kiryu: “Yeah, that’s right.”

Nishikiyama: “So that means you’re Yuko’s boyfriend.  . . . Am I wrong?”

Kiryu: “Why would that make it so?”

Nishikiyama: “Aren’t you Yuko’s lover?”

Kiryu: “L-Lover . . . ?! Oi, what are you saying?!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . I’m sorry, could you give me a minute, Kiryu? I’m going to make a phone call.”

Kiryu: “Y-Yeah. Go ahead.”

----

[Phone Booth]

Yuko: “Hello, Onii-chan?”

Nishikiyama: “Hey, Yuko. About that lover you mentioned earlier-“

Yuko: “. . . I’m sorry. Onii-chan, that was all a lie.”

Nishikiyama: “! S-So that’s all it was . . . But- But why did you . . .”

Yuko: “I’m really sorry.  . . . I was reading a book.”

Nishikiyama: “A book . . . ?”

Yuko: “Yup. A story of a sick girl like me getting a bouquet from a dreamy boy and falling in love with them . . . When I read that, I got jealous . . . I’m a fool. There’s no way something like that will happen to me. I lied so that even for a brief moment, I could be like that girl in the book. You were so shocked. I’m really sorry . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . So it was all a lie?”

Yuko: “Um-hm . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “Haaaaaaa~~~!! I’m so relieved~~~~~~~~!!!!”

Yuko: “Eh?!”

Nishikiyama: “My hair was turning white already . . . No, what you did was bad and it’s good that you told me, but . . . Anyway, can you make things clearer next time? And if you do meet a really good guy . . . tell me first, okay?”

Yuko: “Okay . . . Onii-chan, thank you.”

Nishikiyama: “Oh! I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Yuko: “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Nishikiyama: (Haa~. I got absolutely played by my sister’s cute lie . . . )

Kiryu: “Nishiki, you’ve been gone for a long time. Are you alright?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . K-Kiryu.”

Kiryu: “Hm?”

Nishikiyama: “Kill me~~~~!!!! I’m sooo embarrassed~~!!!!”

Kiryu: “???? What is it, Nishiki . . . ? Ah, no, I mean Onii-san . . .”

.

-END-

 Masterlist

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

And now I’ve watched episode 3 of Walker because of reasons. (You guys asked, that’s reasons.) #2

If you guys haven’t seen part 1, go see it immediately. Because of reasons. This time, reasons is Slutty Glitter Cowboy Stripper. No, it’s not a joke.

Yeah, I’m not sure what’s happening either.

I can’t believe they’re airing cowboy strippers in Supernatural’s air slot and Dean Winchester isn’t there. I think this is why they had to kill Dean, because otherwise he would have ripped through the CW’s show layout and appeared in Walker sponteneously, instantly adopting Walker’s entire family and friends as his own and single-handedly implementing the depolicement of the state of Texas, with Castiel rolling his eyes at him in the background while he murders ICE agents at the US-Mexican border.

*slides the CW a twenty euro bill* so I have an idea for season 2 of Walker

Anyway, there’s this lady Walker and Ramirez are doing a stakeout on, a woman called Torreto who is presumably part of some criminal organization since they’re doing a stakeout on her, and who’s bisexual given she was being entertained by a lady and a guy at a strip club. Which is like, fine, not problematic at all, alright.

So the stripper straddles her and is like ~wanna come with me in the back, and she’s like ~maybe another time, and he’s like ~torreto i saw cops outside you probably wanna come to the back with me, and she’s like ~mmm yeah that sounds like a good idea. We were rooting for you, slutty glitter cowboy stripper! We were all rooting for you! Or not.

Meanwhile, Walker has horrible car manners.

Also, he asks her how her parents were to her growing up, which is a question you normally ask to people you’re not close to when you want to do some small talk. For some reason she brings up a friend she had some ~crazy teen years~ with, called Garrison, which doesn’t make me think of angels in Supernatural, no, I am a normal person.

But then people start coming out of the strip club, but not Torreto. So they go in.

Torreto is not there, so Walker just stops the first person he sees and he’s literally like ~excuse me, do you know if there’s someone in the back. The visual is hilarious

“Excuse me, sir, have you seen my brother from another show, I suspect he might be here”

Give me a spinoff about this strip club.

Anyway, the guys answers, “No, why, you two interested?” to which they immediately answer “no!” at the same time, and share a look which makes me think we’re supposed to be like ~~ooh, talking in unison moment! or something...?

Meanwhile their truck gets stolen, and Walker yells that his bobblehead is in there. Cue disgruntled Jared face.

Oh man. We are at the title card. It’s less than 6 minutes. This will never end.

It was night, now it’s day, and Stella and August are walking around Austin. He’s mimicking David Attenborough, describing the teenagers around them as though he was doing a documentary about animals.

Two girls approach them, bringing up a party that’s taking place tomorrow. She says it’s not the best idea with her court date approaching. The girls are like, your dad can figure something out, he’s an elite ranger or something and also owes you for disappearing for a year. She’s like, he’s being kind of cool, I don’t want to ruin this, and the girls “call BS” because this is like “the best party of the year”.

Ruby, the girl August has been hanging out with, appears and August goes from “nah the party is not my thing” to “I’ll totally be there” in like 0.02 seconds.

I cannot overstate how much I am not interested in high schooler drama.

Meanwhile, at the Walker Seniors’ place, Walker’s parents are preparing the table for a family dinner. From their banter we can infer someone’s who ~is like family although he isn’t “blood”~ is coming for dinner and Grandpa Walker doesn’t like him at all and actually expects the guy to steal their china and bourbon. “It’s been years, could you please give him a chance?” Grandma Walker says, and he accepts, although she grabs the fancy bourbon from behind his back.

Meanwhile, at the police station, all the cops are having a briefing about Torreto, the woman at the strip club. She apparently steals weapons all over Texas and sells them over the border at triple the cost. Remember that Torreto escaped from Walker and Ramirez because she stole their truck while they were inside the strip club. Ramirez is worried she’ll already become the laughingstock of the precinct.

Uh. James plays security camera footage from outside the strip club. Walker and Ramirez’ truck was stolen by Torreto and the cowboy stripper himself.

Obviously the other cops laugh when Ramirez admits it was her truck.

James tells them to find Torreto, find the truck, and find out who the naked cowboy is.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Then Walker drives home, and as soon as he gets out of his car, you know how in the Supernatural pilot Dean gets into Sam’s apartment and wrestles him before revealing it’s him to ~test if his fighting skills are rusty and laughs when Sam realizes it’s him? Alright, now think intensely and guess how Walker’s like-a-brother best friend is introduced. Think intensely! It’s really difficult to guess!

Something something about violence and male intimacy except this is too ridiculous to, you know, write something serious about it.

“Oh, man!” the guy laughs, lying on the ground where Walker threw him. “The look on your face!”

“You son of a-”

“Oh, c’mon man, don’t talk bad of a mother I never knew.”

I’m facepalming soooo hard. This is the first thing we learn about him (well, after the fact that he definitely stole something from the Walkers’ house in the past), that he never knew his mother!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

GUYS

I AM SO SORRY

I am faceblind I didn’t realize

THE GUY IS THE STRIPPER

I REPEAT

THE “DEAN BUT IN JARED PADALECKI’S MIND” CHARACTER IS THE SLUTTY GLITTER COWBOY STRIPPER

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I SWEAR MY HANDS ARE COLD AND CLAMMY

I AM EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS NO WORDS EXIST IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE

Oh my god guys. I am so sorry.

“You did your touchdown victory dance before you stole my partner’s truck!” Walker exclaims. “I should arrest you right here and right now!”

The guy acts like he has no idea what Walker is talking about, and says he’s in town to see his best pal.

Walker keeps accusing him, but then his mother appears, super thrilled to see him, and Walker lets is go.

They’re at dinner (NotDean brought wagyu steaks, which obviously means he does crime for a living) and Walker’s mother tells him to say grace, which he does in a semi-serious, semi-mocking way. Obviously NotDean does not believe in god, but he’s grateful for the people around him.

Stella calls him uncle, in case you missed that this is supposed to be a friend whom Walker loves likeabrother.

He talks about jobs he did here and there, and Walker and his brother tease him asking if he’s been to some prisons around the country. Stella doesn’t get the joke and NotDean explains it to her, adding, “now, from what I hear, I’m not the only outlaw in this family”. Grandpa Walker leaves the room.

NotDean asks Stella if she’s going to the bonfire (the party they were talking about earlier) and tells her that her mother started the thing when they were young. She didn’t know that. This is supposed to be a Meaningful moment.

Meanwhile the stolen truck is found... at Walker’s ranch. Gasp! What a shocking turn of events.

NotDean gives Stella advice on how to act in court to get on the judge’s good graces, “which means acting”. “Please don’t get legal advice from a criminal” walker’s brother Liam says. Is the gay brother also a NotDean of sorts, to be fair? Well, CriminalNotDean tells her to dress her best and cry. ActualbrotherNotDean tells her to use the correct legal arguments. Walker just stops them, quoting something Ramirez said earlier in the episode, “nobody benefits from the easy route”. Stella is like, what does that mean, which, mood, but Grandma Walker interrupts bringing in a plate of different hot chilis. Apparently they have a tradition of a competition. Which we don’t even see. Boo.

Ramirez finds the truck... right outside the Walkers’ house. Grandpa Walker, who’d gone outside, points a rifle to her and she explains what she’s doing there. They introduce themselves and she is like, sir why is the man who stole my truck inside your house? “Wife invited him to dinner.”

She’s like, I need to arrest him. But he’s like, I bet there’s not enough evidence to arrest him, or my son would have done it. Join me for steak and burbon in the bunkhouse! As one does. So they have wagyu and bourbon together, and she asks him what’s the guy’s story.

So NotDean and Walker grew up together, NotDean had a rough life, “my wife has a soft spot for strays, she can’t give up on him”. But Grandpa Walker doesn’t feel the same. He tells her that she cannot arrest him tonight, but it’s only a matter of time before the guy gives her enough rope. He adds that Walker has a blind spot for faces from the past, and needs someone to fix that.

Meanwhile dinner’s over and NotDean calls a uber. He and Walker arrange to meet the next day and hang out like old times. Eventually, Walker tells him that if he is involved in this case, he will have to take him down. “Theoretically, if you catch me.” They do a manly hug with manly pats, and the guy leaves. “Theoretically, go to hell,” Walker says after he’s left.

The next day, NotDean brings Walker to a storage in the middle of nowhere... full of cursed objects, no wait, wrong show. What’s inside the storage is the red Mustang. Walker is shocked that he hasn’t lost it in some bet - which apparently is how he got the car from Walker in the first place. Now NotDean says that, after everything Walker’s been through, he deserves a chance to win it back.

Glowy flashback of Walker and his wife in the car, right after the scene in the beginning of the episode. They bet it during poker night, decision of Emily, because Walker is “starting to get attached to her”. Emily teases him for calling the car a she, and Walker decides to call the car Stella.

They gave their daughter the name of a car they lost at poker.

Oh. She tells him she’s pregnant.

So, apparently, they had their first daughter when they were broke, to the point they had to try and get money at poker for a bigger place and baby things. That’s... kind of irresponsible.

Meamwhile, Ramirez goes to James to tell him about the thing, but James already figured NotDean was involved, because apparently stealing things and returning them is just something he does. “Why are you so calm about this?” she asks. He says because they cannot pin anything on him. Questioning him could scare the big crime lady. So he tells her to just keep an eye on him. “Walker, Torreto or Hoyt [NotDean]” she asks. “Yes” he answers.

Blah blah. I apologize, I’m being too detailed. I’m just bored by this. Ah, a butcher’s truck was stolen right after the strip club thing, guess where NotDean got the wagyu steaks.

Walker and NotDean go to the bar with the bartender who’s their friend, and NotDean flirts with her. They start playing poker, when Ramirez arrives, and has some banter with NotDean and spills some glitter on him that she found in the truck. He buys her a drink and she arrests him for trying to bribe a police officer. Walker is shocked.

At the precinct, he says they cannot prove he’s working with big crime lady. But she brings up he stole the wagyu steaks.

She calls him out for trying to be everyone’s friend even if they do something wrong, also with Stella.

She says she can hold NotDean for 24 hours, long enough to figure out the big crime lady’s plans. Common trope in cop shows. Arrest someone without proof, you have to release them after 24 hours, but the cop finds proof and bam, forgiven for arresting someone without proof.

I know you’re bored, I’m bored too.

Actually, nope, it goes differently and kind of worse. In the interrogation room, Ramirez offers NotDean a deal: he tells her where the big crime lady’s weapon deal is happening, and walks free. He points the location on a map and he compliments her. Walker is watching from the cameras and is shook.

Meanwhile the bonfire is happening, and Stella is there with her girl friends. So is August, breakdancing to impress girls. We don’t care.

Meanwhile, a lot of cops in serious cop gear surround the location NotDean pointed at. Nobody’s there, though.

What is there, is the red Mustang with the creepy bobblehead in it and a letter from NotDean that says he gives him the car back because it was always his wife’s.

Walker figures out where the deal is actually happening - the storage where the red Mustang was before.

Meanwhile, at the bonfire, August is drunk on booze he stole from Grandpa Walker and brought to the party. He asks Stella if she’s trying to drive their father away, breaking the law and all, he asks if she wants him to leave again. Then he throws up. She calls Walker but he obviously doesn’t answer. So she calls her uncle, who’s doing shopping with his partner or something. They’re buying cake? Doing cake testing for their wedding? Maybe.

Meanwhile, NotDean calls Grandma Walker to tell her he cannot go mushroom hunting with her tomorrow but needs to leave town, and he’s sorry to let her down again. She tells him that just because his family’s bad, doesn’t mean he is too. “You saved my boy, and I’ll never forget that” she says. Oooh, that’s so intriguing!, nobody says. They share a cute moment and then he hangs up, while the weapon deal goes down around him.

Uncle Liam and his partner pick up the kids, and Stella asks him if he’ll be in court with her tomorrow. He says he can’t, because it’s her father’s decision to make.

August turns up music and they all sing in the car. It’s funny how everyone’s got better chemistry with everyone else except with Walker. I know it’s, like, on purpose for plot reasons, but still, Walker’s interactions with everyone feel so stilted compared to anyone else. And it’s not the other characters are that compelling.

The police arrives at the location of the weapon deal, and NotDean gets arrested trying to steal the truck again. Ramirez gives a speech how that’s hard but it’s the right thing to do. Walker makes a comment about tough love, implying Stella needs to get that too.

The next day, they leave for Stella’s court thing on the red Mustang. It took Walker three episodes, but now they also have a cool classic car to show off! Yay! *eyeroll*

Meanwhile, Grandma Walker and Grandpa Walker have a conversation about their failing marriage or something.

Ramirez goes to the bar to apologize to the bartender for arresting NotDean. They have a drink together and if lesbians were watching this they’d start shipping them, but no lesbians are watching this. They’re wiser than me.

Stella got like a gazillion hours of community service and her license suspended. She’s upset, but since she has her license for one more day he teaches her how to drive the Mustang.

Wait. Americans don’t learn to drive normal cars when they get their license?? They only learn to drive cars with automatic gear?? What the hell??

They drive while August runs after the car to get over his hangover or something.

Would be a cute moment if the entire thing wasn’t so cheesy and weird.

Well. We know NotDean is a recurring role so we’ll see more of him. (Well, I’m not sure I will be there to watch, because this is boring af.)

This episode used all its interest coins in the strip club scene and then became dreadfully boring. I don’t even have some witty line to close this post.

This was a rollercoaster that went my brain go through a blender in the first six minutes or so and then killed the remaining braincells through boredom.

That’s it guys. What can I say. This is the CW’s Walker. Yee.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Queen of Masks ~ Alfie Solomons

Life as a woman, in any country really, isn’t the best, unless you score a jackpot with the most gentle, sweetest man and you become his housewife and agree to be some kind of baby factory and a maid, should he not have enough to provide for one, and a chef, nonetheless.

However, there are enough ambitious women who have enough spite in their veins to trample over anyone standing in their path of success, and would spit on graves and crush cadavers under their heeled boots that they wear with much pride and conviction.

That is exactly the case of Y/N, a gorgeous woman who won against all odds and became a Veterinary Physician in London, Camden, to be precise, and had to work under an older man who had a clinic - But it was fine, she got to learn loads, and interacting with animals on a daily basis was enough to keep her going and not to answer to any provocation from her male colleague who was far inferior to her, intellectually and intuitively speaking.

And one day, after tending to a gorgeous black race stallion, a tall and broad man walked in with a Bullmastiff boy who, upon seeing her, managed to snatch away his chain leash and jumped on her, trampling her to the ground and licking her all over her face.

The man jumped in shock, trying to pry away his pet from the poor woman, only to notice she was laughing and that he face was bright like the sun, as she tried to wipe away all the slobber from her face.

“I’m so sorry, aye, he’s never done somethin’ like this before. Here, let me help you up, right.” the man extended his hand for her to take, helping raise her up, then reprimanded his dog. “Don’t worry, mister, it’s quite alright. I kinda like when animals act so affectionate, it makes it feel as if I’m doing something right. What’s your name, darling? Let’s get you up on the table...Arghh...What a heavy baby...You’re gonna break every bone in my body...” the woman sweet talked the dog, struggling to hold him in her arms like a baby so she could put in on the table to examine. “He’s name’s Cyril, I got him last year. ‘S just a routine check up, but I think there’s a bump on his neck, yeah, right here.” the man explained, letting the girl palpate his dog and continuing to sweet talk him to calm him down. “Thyroid Carcinoma.” the male doctor spoke, which made the girl whip her head to him with a disturbed look. “Thyroid Cancer? Surely, you must be joking. Have you even been to Vet school?!” Y/N protested, shaking her head in protest at his sudden diagnosis. “What else could a bump in the thyroid area mean? Don’t play smart, just be humble and accept when you’re wrong.” the man rolled his eyes, not lifting his head from his papers. “First of all, even if it IS a tumour, it doesn’t HAVE to be cancer, it can still be completely harmless, thus, benign. Secondly, out of all tumours a dog can have, thyroid cancer is the least common one, the percentage going to maximum 2%. Therefore, NOT cancer! Besides, it could be hyperthyroidism, if you want to go over the top, but again, it could just be something the owner felt because something got stuck in his neck and-....Oh.” the girl then carefully touched the neck area, and smiled widely, looking down, nodding to herself. “What? You shut up ‘cause you finally realised I was right, despite your useless statistics?” the doctor grumbled in annoyance, not caring, obviously. “Wanna bet 100 pounds that it’s not cancer?” she asked, kissing Cyril’s head and playing with his floppy ears, action which made the dog bark playfully. “Ah, sorry, mister, I didn’t ask for your name and whether you find it insensitive or not for us to bet on a diagnosis.” she smiled awkwardly, extending her hand towards the bearded man who was watching the interaction carefully. “Alfie Solomons, lass, but call me just Alfie, right? So, yeah, ‘s fine, bet all you want, just make my boy better, eh?” Alfie shook the girl’s hand, seeing her cunningly going to the other doctor and spitting in her hand to shake and make the bet go through.  “Okay, Alfie, you might want to step to the side a bit...If you value your shoes, that it. They look pretty new.” she chuckled softly, signing him with her head to move to the side, and so he did, as she made the dog vomit, and thus, revealing a small ball. “Oi, I can’t believe it! You stupid dog, Cyril, aye, how could you manage to swallow your own toy, yeah?!” Alfie gasped, his brows furrowing from shock. “Weirdly enough, dogs, especially big ones, are prone to swallowing little things, just like human babies are. It was small enough to just make him cough, but it’s a good thing you got him here in time.” the girl started quickly cleaning up the floor as she explained everything, as the Jew was still staring in shock at the idiocy of some animals. “Well, lass, thank you for solving the mystery, yeah, of whatever the hell this was, right. So, then, tell me how much I have to pay you for this consult, aye.” Alfie asked, which made her snap her head upwards, looking up at him, her eyes wide in shock. “No, God, no, nothing, it’s on me! I mean, if it weren’t for you...” Y/N smirked, reminding Alfie of a vixen, as she twirled around and went to snatch away the hundred pounds banknotes from her employer’s hand, who was looking at her with anger and bitterness. “I wouldn’t have been paid more than I’m paid in 3 months in just one day! It’s the least I can do to thank you...And to also see Cyril again, because I think it’s a connection. Right, Cyril? You’re such a sweet baby boy-....ARGH, GODS, NO-...!” but before the girl could compose herself, Cyril jumped on her torso, knocking her down again, coating her face in yet another sleek coat of drool from the lickings. “Damn it, Cyril, you’re impossible! Let the poor lass live, eh? I know, I know, she’s pretty, but leave her alone, alright?” after he finally managed to pry away the canine, he helped the girl up, who, once again, was laughing. “Let me make it up to you, yeah, for all the trouble this prankster’s been giving you, right. I’ve this bakery, y’know, the one nearby, so, anything you want, yeah, anything, you ask for it, you say my name, right, you say Alfie owes you a favour, and it’s all on the house, eh. How’s that.” he spoke, and he could see that her overly confident and extra demeanour shattered in an instant, making her look down, her beautiful, long hair hiding her features, as she was most likely blushing and smiling. “O-Oh, then, if that’s your bakery, means I’ve heard of you, you’re THE Alfie Solomons. Yeah, I’d love that, if you’d have me, but I told you, you don’t have to. I used you to get money worth of about 3 months, or more, so really, I should be thanking you somehow, but I don’t really have anything else to offer, other than to pay for the consult myself.” her serious, boastful voice turned very soft and shy, as fast as the flick of her fingers, as she walked him out of the clinic, so only he would hear. “Your boss there...He seemed kinda...Angry, eh. Are you gonna be fine dealing with him, lass?” he asked, bending down a bit, speaking to her tone level. “I guess. What’s the worst he can do, anyway. Besides, I care more about this conversation right now, and...About this.” she smirked softly, showing off the rolled pounds from her coat’s chest pocket. “So, Mr. Gangster, is there any specific time you’d be okay with me coming by the bakery? Maybe...Under the pretext of yet another regular check up on Cyril? Or...The smell of freshly baked cookies just captured me enough to find myself senselessly walking into the place?” she asked, diving her hands into her pockets, waiting for an answer, too timid to look him in the eye. “Ahhh, I see you’ve heard of me. Well, lass, I guess I can’t pretend to be some ordinary man, right, but maybe we can still enjoy a nice chat once in a while, eh, it would be nice, right?” the corner of Alfie’s mouth turned upwards, extending his hand for her to shake. “Y/N L/N, it’s great meeting you, Alfie. And yeah, it would be great. I’ll be seeing you around, alright? Hope I’ll see you soon and maybe we can have a nice cup of tea and anything that you’ve baked. I’m looking forward to that.” she shook his hand, smiling brightly at him, gesture which he turned. “And I’ll be seeing you as well, sweetheart.” with that, she kissed Cyril’s head once again, before waving Alfie goodbye and walking back into the clinic. “And I’ll be seeing you too...Y/N.” the gangster muttered, grinning at his dog and praising him with a few pats on his head. “Cyril, my boy, you’re my lucky charm.”

A week passed, and Y/N walked into the bakery - However, it wasn’t the front up, the bakery shop that smelled heavenly - It meant the gangster warehouse where Alfie would usually conduct his business meetings. And, of course, it was shocking to him when heard the click of heels and saw a beautiful, slender woman, dressed in high-waisted pants, with a black turtleneck tucked in her pants, beautiful brown leather boots with heels and a black trench coat that elegantly, yet imposingly hung from her shoulders, as if she was some kind of mafia Queen - Elegant, but deadly.

“Hello, Alfie. I heard you have a job around this place. Not sure what it is...Medic? Secretary? Dog-walker? Maybe you could fill me in.” she asked, her hands in her pants, fidgeting in her spot. “Where’ve you heard about this...Supposed job, eh, lass? And why’d you quit your job from the clinic, eh?” he asked, his fingers intertwining as he leaned forward, elbows rested on his desk. “Ah, well...Y’know...I got my medical license pulled, so I need a way to make money, and you’re the only one that I trusted not to treat me like garbage, so here I am. I know there’s no job, but I had to try my luck and be comedic in a way. It’s probably about the only thing I’m good at, sort of. It’s fine if you don’t want to give me a job, I mean, you can’t trust me with your business info after just speaking to me once, I can imagine, and - “ she kept on ranting, until Alfie raised both his hands in the air to calm her down and stop her speaking, before he raised to his feet, getting in front of the desk and leaning back on it. “Well, I did owe you a favour, right, so, sure, you’re hired, right, I’ll find you something. While we’re at it, can you, yeah, can you fire a gun?” he asked, with a mix of seriousness and playfulness in his voice. “Is it...In the job requirements?” she asked, looking around the place with a fake kind of curiosity. “There’s no job seeking, yeah, so, therefore, no job requirements. I was just being curious, alright, y’know, I have to know what everyone around is capable of, okay.” he explained, which made her smirk and turn on her heel to look at him. “That’s only fair. After all, now that you know that I’m particularly incapable of defending myself against people in general, you’ll just have to be extra careful to keep me safe, right, Alfie? We wouldn’t want Cyril to grieve over me, would we?” she chuckled, extending her arms to her side in a dramatic manner. “Haha, yes, lass, I s’ppose you’re right. Can you handle more than one job, eh? I can hire you as a physician, right, but we don’t always have wounded men, yeah, so, you’re a smart woman, alright, I’m sure you are very capable of reading, writing, doing calculus and other stuff that involves using your head, right, so, I don’t know what name will this job have, but, maybe an assistant of sort, eh? Ollie here helps me out a lot, yeah, but he can’t do everything, he ain’t some God, y’know.” Alfie gesticulated, pointing towards Ollie, then tried to explain to her that things are serious, and not to be taken lightly. “Guess this is gonna be the thrill of my life, huh? I’m in, Alfie. At least I can get along with you without fearing having my license pulled-...Oh, wait, I have nothing to fear about anymore.” she chuckled in a self-deprecating way, making Alfie cross his arms to his chest. “You never told me what happened. Go on, tell me. I’m sure you didn’t kill a dog, or somethin’, you’re too smart a doctor to fuck up.” his curiosity got the better of him, as he saw her turning to look at him, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape, and he could almost see her brain gears moving, trying to think of a witty answer. “Didn’t you say something about freshly baked goodies and tea? I bet that’s gonna be a much more...Hospitable way of chatting with your new employee, wouldn’t it? Or better said, friendlier? I mean, this place is so...Ugly and humid...Only good for gangster business. The echo here, if you shout, can intimidate anyone, I’m sure. Come on, show me the actual bakery...And you better have a gramophone. I like music.” she smiled up at him, hooking her arm to his, pulling him in a random direction to urge him to guide her to the bakery, where the beautiful smell of bread and cookies mesmerised her, and she playfully swooned in her chair. “I see you’re enjoying this place very much, eh. Well, can’t say I expected you coming today, so I didn’t bake them myself, yeah, but I’ll make it up to you. Sure you want tea and not rum or somethin’?” Alfie asked, a bit awkward staying at the cute little table, with a cute, little cup of tea in his bear-like hands. “Yes, I’m quite sure, Alfie. But it’s fine, you don’t have to drink what I’m drinking, I won’t think of you any differently. In your home, you do as you please.” she chuckled at him, watching as he nodded solemnly, only to down that tea in one go, small droplets of liquid embedding themselves in his beard. “Right, right, I understand, y’er a people pleaser, you want everyone to like you, unless it goes against whatever scheme you have. You’re smart, alright. Very smart, and you’ve sharp eyes, and are cunning. I need someone like you around, yeah. But tell me, how’d you manage to lose your dream job in a week?” Alfie asked, extending his hand to gently grab her chin, pulling it so he could peer right into her gorgeous, vixen-like eyes. “Remember the bet I did when you came around with Cyril? Well, apparently that jerk got mad at me for, to quote, steal his money, so he filed a malpractice lawsuit to get his money back, 5 times more, and pulled away my license, to get revenge on me for humiliating him in front of a customer...Allegedly. Very petty, I know, but, as they say...C’est la vie. Not much to do about it, really. Now I’m seen as a con-artist thief who kills animals, so I have no way of getting a job anywhere anymore, hence why I’m here. Lovely, innit?” she snorted as she took a bit of the cookie, closing her eyes to savour it’s flavour. “And now, I think I died and went to heaven, ‘cause this is the best thing I’ve eaten in my life.” “You’re so hired, lass. Did ya pay the 500 pounds?” he asked, propping his jaw on his hand. “Yeah, thankfully. And by that, I mean I to sell my apartment so now I’m using my saving to stay at a cheap hotel, but, y’know, life’s life. At least I know I won and I was right. Maybe if I had the right connections, I could have won 10 times what I lost...But what do I know. I don’t really know how non-legal things go by.” she chuckled softly, scratching the back of her head in a playfully guilty manner. “Y’know, Y/N...I think we can solve that fairly quick, yeah. Tell me the name, and I’ll make sure things are sold. In the meantime, I’ve a nice, warm room where you can stay, right, and surely, Cyril’s gonna love your company.” Alfie smiled at her, signaling for her to follow him.

At that time, she had no idea this was actually his home, but when she did find out, she was more than grateful, if not, a bit awkward, for  having to rely so much on his kindness. However, just as he promised, Alfie managed to get that jerk of a doctor to pay her 10 times the money she paid him, and thus, she would have been able to get a very modern and luxurious place, only for herself, and even buy a dog, a cat, or hell, more of them.

But she refused, and asked to continue staying with him, if she wasn’t too much of a burden, since she really enjoyed spending time with him, and she had no idea, other than working 200% of her capabilities for her job, whatever that was, at the moment, and, of course, she would have missed Cyril too much.

It didn’t take long for Alfie’s people to realise the obvious chemistry between the two, and Ollie kept trying to convince him to ask her out, but things are always so difficult, aren’t they? Business and logics are much easier than subjective emotions.

It became sort of a routine for everyone around to see their boss writing and reading documents at his desk, while Y/N would sit on the desk, her legs resting on his chair’s back rest, as she would write on her clipboard whatever relevant things she thought were worth noting down, and would occasionally express her opinions regarding ideas that Alfie had, or some businesses that he was dealing with at the moment - All that, with, of course, the frequent witty comments they would exchange - And it was never anything hurtful, or reproachful jabs, only playful and domestic comments that always made her laugh.

“You never told me why you always look down when you interact with people, y’know, and by that, I don’t mean when you’re being some dramatic Queen, but when you’re being yourself. I mean, I haven’t seen women who let their hair so long these days, right, so I was curious about you. You do things much differently than most people, y’know that, don’t you?” Alfie asked, raising his head to look up at her, only to see, once again, trying to think of how to explain things that don’t rely on rational and objective behaviours. “Ah...Well...Uh...Y’know...I’m...My face is very expressive, y’know. So, like...I get embarrassed easily, or...Uhm...When I lie, or something, I tend to grin or laugh. I’m a messy failure who can’t do a pokerface, like, ever, so, since most people are taller than me, if I let my hair cover my face, they won’t see the truth. Or, well, y’know, at least that’s what I hope. I can’t look at them while hiding, so I’ve no way of telling whether it works or not. Contrary to me being flashy and dramatic, I’m kinda shy and terrible around people.” she chuckled awkwardly, looking away from him, bringing up her clipboard to cover half of her face. “Ahhh, I see, I see, so you go to real great lengths, yeah, to get what you want, and so far, you’ve done really well, eh. Is there anything you can’t do, lass? You’ve been doing this job for over a year, and business has improved with...Uh...Lemme see, how much did you say...Ah, yes, here, it says 23%.” he had his glasses on as his eyes scanned the documents on his desk. “I...Can’t socialise, I guess. And I can’t relax. I don’t know how to have fun. Uhm...I can’t human, I guess? I don’t know what to call it, but I think you get what I’m saying. Anyway, we have business work now, so read this paragraph here, I think we have to talk threaten Sabini a bit, he’s over his head now with power, someone has to humble him, give us a better percentage of his business, and -” Y/N tried to quickly redirect the conversation, hating when she had to talk about herself, but obviously, she couldn’t say no to the man who was always so kind and sweet with her, could she? “Nahhh, it’s fine, Y/N, let’s take a little break, right? We’ve been working since early morning, it’s evening now. Ollie, go make tea and bring those treats made today, eh. Now, lass, why don’t you tell me how did you get around to practicing medicine? I’ve always been curious by that, you know, you don’t see many women unafraid of stuff like that, yeah.” he pointed out, letting himself fall down on his chair’s seat, looking up at her. “Y’know, Y/N, you say you can hide your emotions when you hide your face from people taller than you, yeah? But what happens when they look at you from below? Gotta say, Y/N, sometimes, your worried face is rather pretty...Better now, let me look at you when you speak, yeah, we’re equals, when you go all meek on me, you make me feel like some kind o’ merciless boss or somethin’.” he chuckled, raising a bit to put her hair behind her ears, revealing a soft blush coating her cheeks, and god damn, he could feel his heart beating a bit faster. “Uhm...Okay, fine, sure, I owe you that much. Uhm...My dad was a medic too, so it became a family business for a while. And, uhm...Dad was recruited as a war medic, and went with my brother, while I and mum continued to take care of the people and animals from our city. When it was all over, I decided to get to London to practice properly, get more money and provide for my family better. They’re getting old and they need someone to take care of them, somehow.” she explained, but her eyes were darting around, and he could feel she was still hiding something because of her hesitance, but he wasn’t sure what exactly was it that she was trying to hide.

But before either of them could say anything about it anymore, a loud bang echoed through the warehouse, somewhere from the entrance, which made the girl jump in her place with a mouse-like squeak, slapping her hands over her ears.

It’s true, any person would get frightened by a gunshot that resounded so loudly through that place - And yet, this one looked like a panicked, scared fawn in the headlights - And Alfie, of course, noticed that and came to a few conclusions for himself.

However, before he could say anything, a man entered their field of vision, and he could feel Y/N tensing up, her face showing shock and disgust at the person who she clearly recognise. She turned her head to look at Alfie, and with pleading eyes, mouthing a few simple words that may or may not have shocked him.

“Let me kill him” she tried to say, but this mystery man spoke out faster than expected, and it was clear she was getting more and more angry and embarrassed by the moment. “Y/N, darling, what are you doing here? Whoring around with other men, getting into illicit business, thinking you’re superior to men just because you have some over the top ambitions that are completely unreachable, and now you think you can get rich by staying around wealthy old men, huh?” the man kept speaking, igniting an infernal fire into her eyes. “Alfie, I pride myself with my never ending patience, but I swear to God, if you don’t let me kill him...I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” Y/N muttered between her gritted teeth, shocking Alfie since he never saw her as the violent type. “I’m not doing any business with him, alright, do what you feel like doing, Y/N, he’s all yours.” Alfie sat back in his chair, his fingers intertwined over his stomach, watching with interest whatever she was going to do.

Y/N jumped off the desk and slowly prowled around it, her head hanging low, before she snapped it up, glaring lightnings at the man.

“Fuck off. Now. Or you’re dead. Do you understand this simple language, or do I need to put it in words that even a monkey would understand?” she crossed her arms, spitting poison at him. “What, can’t I be angry at my own girlfriend for being a bitch and leaving me alone? I mean, you really fucked up, y’know? You left me when I needed you the most, how tragic is that?!” he yelled at her, but she only rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Yeah, I left you ‘cause you were abusing me. The way I see it, you’re the one who sucks, not me. Now get the hell out of here. Before I do something you will regret.” her voice went an octave lower, threatening him the same way she learnt from Alfie over the time of business making. “Woaw, Y/N, woaw, that’s pathetic, even for you. You’ve never been able to even raise your voice at anyone. You were nothing more than a crybaby who couldn’t step up to anyone, and then you went to war, and what, you think you changed? You didn’t! Underneath this dumb, tough facade that you’re trying to pull in front of everyone else, you’re nothing more than the frightened little girl who needed to have everything in control and grasp a bit of power to feel superior to others after you got beaten up and had a gun pointed at your head by the Germa-” but he couldn’t continue speaking for, in the blink of an eye, she pulled out a gun for her trench coat and shot him in the head, his blood and brains shooting everywhere, all over her, on the walls and floor. “Well...Ask me anything and I will provide you with an answer that is completely honest this time. But, uhm...Take of your shirt, will you?” she had a solemn, pissed off expression as she threw off her coat before hurriedly taking off her shirt, nonchalantly cleaning up her face, then pulling it into a ball, throwing it on the cadaver, then stepped in front of a very shocked, yet impressed Alfie. “Go on, take off your shirt, will you? It’s clean. You promised I’ll never have to shoot a gun, and yet, I did, therefore I need a clean top, right? So, while I tell you the truth, don’t let me stay like this in front of you, okay?” extending her hand in front of her, while her other arm was over her chest, trying to cover her pretty white laced bra, it took a mirthful laugh out of the Jew for him to finally take off his shirt and put it around her, not caring that he was the topless one now. “Will you ever stop impressing and surprising me, lass?” Alfie asked, petting her head as a way to say she did well. “Once I stop shocking myself, sure. Until then...I believe you want to say something, don’t you?” she asked, slowly stepping in front of him, looking up at him as she properly put on his shirt that looked like a dress on her. “Yeah, lass, I think I did.”

With a gentle smile, he cupped her face, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her lips, one hand stroking his fingers through her beautiful long hair, while the other caressed her soft visage. The tender look in his blue-green eyes felt like the safest, warmest haven she ever felt, and with an impulse decision that her heart made, she leaned forward, her arms slowly snaking around his torso, her head resting on his shoulder, and closing her eyes, she could finally feel her heart calming, for the first time in her life.

“It was you who went to war, wasn’t it?” Alfie muttered in her hair, holding her tightly. “Yeah. I don’t have a brother. It was me who went with my father to war, but he died, so I had to be the backbone of the troops. When I got home, my mum was devastated and she died of grief. I left that place to get rid of memories...And get rid of that fuckass. War left me with traumas, but it also made me strong enough to face up to who I am and stop taking everyone’s shit just because they think I’m lesser than them. Sometimes...When you talk about your time as a captain...I remember my time there...And...I realise how much I respect you...And also, how different you are from all the people I had contact with there.” she explained, her grip tightening around him, her heart quivering from the deep emotions she was feeling. “You’ve been through quite a lot in your life, haven’t you, lass? And you managed to make a life all for yourself, from the scratch, right, so, I think you’ve been doing great. France?” he asked, guiding her to a more private room, much warmer and cozier, while Ollie was to find him another shirt. “Yeah, France. Thing is...You went through all that, and it was worse for you, since you were a Captain, and you must have felt responsible for every death from your troops...And yet...Ever since we met, you’ve been sweeter than anyone has ever been, and that includes my own family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them, but maybe...Maybe I’m just a bit softer than I let others think. And you managed to hit the right spot, in the good way, I mean. War changes everyone, and yet, you’re...I have no fitting word to describe how much I appreciate you, Alfie, but here...This thing here feels it, and I think you can feel what I’m feeling too.” she explained, resting her head on his shoulder once they sat down on the sofa, as he pulled her closer to his side, kissing her temple lovingly. “You know, Y/N...You’re not wrong. I tried not to think about my time there and the horrors I’ve seen, yeah, so, maybe it doesn’t come off as anything fantastic, and I still don’t think that being a decent person, right, to people who are close to me, is a big deal. But maybe sometimes we take things for granted, don’t we, so, maybe, you’re right. But that guy has no excuse for being a bastard. You’re safe now, Y/N, and when some day, when we’re done with this gangster mess...We can go to Margate and live a normal life there, eh. You, me and Cyril, and the sandy beach and the waves, right, and maybe, if we get bored, we can shoot those damned seagulls, yeah? They’re so annoying, I’m telling ya!” Alfie chuckled, which, in turn, made her grin at him lovingly. “I’d love to go to Margate with you, Alfie, and have seagull shooting contests together, and run barefoot on the shore, and if it’s enough light from the moon, we can swim a bit. Sounds like the perfect life if you ask me.” Y/N kissed his cheek, lovingly caressing his face before hugging his side. “That’s what I like to hear, lass. I’m sure Cyril would bark like a mad dog from happiness if he was hear, right. S’gonna be fun when we get home, eh.”