#archer evermonde

[savetheundoneyears]

Prologue: The Press Conference

26th August 1914, Daily Prophet

MINISTRY FORBIDS MAGICAL AID IN THE MUGGLE WAR

In yesterday’s press conference, Minister Evermonde, Head of the British Ministry of Magic, introduced strict legislation against the involvement of wizardkind in the ongoing Muggle war. Any kind of magic use is strictly prohibited in matters of war and will result in severe punishment; the ground of justification is the International Statute of Secrecy.

Full article on page 3.

—

Since July 14th, the Wizarding World has been put into a state of unease. Following the assassination of Muggle Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary, many wizards fear of the war spreading and the Wizarding World getting caught in the crossfire. 

Addressing the precarious situation, the British Ministry of Magic gave an official statement on the 25th of August, 1914, in which Minister Evermonde made clear, that any sort of wizard involvement in Muggle warfare, threatens the International Statute of Secrecy and would not be tolerated unless authorised by Ministry Officials. Upon further questioning, whether the muggles do not deserve help and protection, he explained that ‘the Ministry simply doesn't have the resources to entertain and aid the muggle war as of now’.

‘The Ministry’s focus is to ensure our kind's safety. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we divide our resources wisely. Not only is there a war raging but the Wizarding World is facing issues that, too, need tending. Protecting the Wizarding society is our top priority and we refuse to put it at risk. I can assure you, however, that the Ministry has the situation under control and acts on the matter as much as needed. […] I know this war is a very emotionally charged topic but I must ask that civilians may refrain from joining the fight and do not enlist on their own accord. It might undermine Ministry measures and therefore, any offence against the issued legislations will be punished.’

– Archer Evermonde, Minister of Magic, Press Conference regarding the Muggle war at the British Ministry of Magic, 25th August 1914

Despite Minister Evermonde ensuring that the situation is under control and that the Ministry is in constant exchange with parties of the International Confederation of Wizards, it needs to be clarified which measures exactly will be taken to aid the situation. So far it is only known that Head Auror, Willard Hartford, is planning to launch new operations to undermine and prevent attempts to harm the Wizarding World, primarily in response to the war and the latest Dark wizard activities – regarding the rumoured Azkaban break nothing was mentioned. 

Ministries Unified

‘In these dark times, it is most important that we lay down our conflict and move forward as a union.’

– Archer Evermonde, Minister of Magic, Press Conference regarding the Muggle war at the British Ministry of Magic, 25th August 1914

Regardless of the war raging between the muggles, Evermonde emphasised the importance of international cooperation. He confirmed that all Ministries of Magic are currently working together and flying at full speed to find solutions to keep the distress for the Wizarding world at a minimum. According to Evermonde, there is no bad blood between the magical parties, and the conflict has not stifled constructive exchange between the Ministries.

Whether the Muggle war will be confined to the few countries already involved or what scale it will take can not be said, but the feeling on this point in high official circles is optimistic. Despite this optimism, the Wizarding communities across Europe prepare for war.

Edited by Odessa Avery

tag list: @kathrynalicemc

If you want to be added to the tag list feel free to comment. We’re happy to add you to it!

[livelaughlovetoread]

James Potter knew more about muggles than we give him credit for.

Welcome to my #TedTalk.

When reading fanfiction, I always see James Potter not knowing anything about muggles, or what he has learned about muggles comes from Sirus. While I love reading these things, I have always thought James would know more about muggles.

I thought this long before Pottermore/wizardingworld but never had anything to say one way or the other why I thought this.

And you might be thinking "LLLTR the Weasleys were fine with muggles - Arthur loved them! Ron did not have vast muggle knowledge."

I am not saying James was a muggle expert. However, the Burrow is situated away from people. Godric's Hollow is a town. A town with a pub, a church, and a post office. People know each other in a town. Even if it is from taking a walk outside, they know who their neighbors are, and their kids.

Now, you might be saying "LLLTR the Potters's house was probably hidden from people- like Grimold's place!"

To that, I say that Black family would want nothing to do with their neighbors - especially muggles. But a family who has a long history of sharing magical cures with muggles would be interacting with them. Linfred would give potions to muggles and his son Hardwin married Iolanthe Peverell - who brought the Potter family to Godric's Hollow.

When I first read the Potter Family part on Pottermore I was like yes, James was exposed to muggles throughout his life!

Now what makes me say this, besides the part about Linfred? These lines about Henry Potter, James' Grandfather:

Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War. His outspokenness on behalf of the Muggle community was also a strong contributing factor in the family’s exclusion from the ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’.

Henry Potter was outspoken on behalf of the muggle community. Why would he do this? Was Henry Potter a wizard who thought that WWI was bad and that it needed to end - or did Henry Potter know people personally who were dying in the war. Was it his neighbor's kids who had known his son Fleamont? Was he consoling his neighbor at the local Godric's Hollow Pub the night they held a bodyless funeral for his neighbor's son? Was it seeing his community, that was magical and muggle-struck by loss.

Advocacy comes from a place of empathy.

And how could Henry let his community of Godric's Hollow, where his family had been for generations, suffer without support?

Furthermore, James was not a shy child. If James was secluded away from kids his own age, he would not be the person we saw in Snape's memory on the train. James Potter had interacted with kids his own age and his parents were older. He was not hanging out with his parent's friends' kids. He was hanging out with the local muggles kids. Yes, James Potter learned about magic at home from his parents. But James Potter was a kid who knew how to interact with others his own age.

James Potter interacted with muggles in his hometown. He was not ignorant of the muggle ways, and this is something that connected him and Lily.

Thank you for coming to my #TedTalk

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think the Potters had an ancestral house? I don’t think they’re the kind to have a manor, but I imagine them with a big house. I feel like the Godric’s Hollow cottage is a secondary house that was gifted to James and Lily.

I feel so too, especially becouse the Potters are a pretty old wizarding family who we know are quite rich by the 1990s.

I mean, considering Ignotus Peverell is buried in Godric's Hallow, and that his descendant Iolanthe married Hardwin Potter at Godric's Hallow, and that Jamee and Lily still lived there and died there... it feels like they have an ancestral home there by definition (even if it was just the cottage, though I don't think that's the case). Like, the Potters go way back, they are as old as the Malfoys as a magical family in the UK (the names Potter & Peverell are post Norman conquest):

The wizarding family of Potters descends from the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’. Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services. None of them realised that Linfred’s wonderful cures for pox and ague were magical; they all thought him a harmless and lovable old chap, pottering about in his garden with all his funny plants. His reputation as a well-meaning eccentric served Linfred well, for behind closed doors he was able to continue the series of experiments that laid the foundation of the Potter family’s fortune. Historians credit Linfred as the originator of a number of remedies that evolved into potions still used to this day, including Skele-gro and Pepperup Potion. His sales of such cures to fellow witches and wizards enabled him to leave a significant pile of gold to each of his seven children upon his death.

(From Pottermore)

And also:

 It was Fleamont who took the family gold and quadrupled it, by creating magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion

(From Pottermore)

Implying they were rich before, he just made them insanely rich, like a whole different level of rich.

Also, from the Black family tree, we know Fleamont Potter (James' dad) had either a brother or a cousin named Charlus who married Dorea Black. So, until recently there were many more Potters around and it's unlikely they all lived in that one cottage, especially as I mentioned in the above quotes they had money and a Wizengamot position even before Felamont's potions business. Since the 12th century, the Potters had "a significant pile of gold" to give each of his children (who I bet are almost all of buried at Godric's Hallow).

Henry Potter, whom Harry's named after was a Wizengamot member before Fleamont fortune, again, hinting the Potters were important and at least very well off even before recent history:

Occasionally, a Potter made it all the way to London, and a member of the family has twice sat on the Wizengamot: Ralston Potter, who was a member from 1612-1652, and who was a great supporter of the Statute of Secrecy (as opposed to declaring war on the Muggles, as more militant members wished to do) and Henry Potter (Harry to his intimates), who was a direct descendant of Hardwin and Iolanthe, and served on the Wizengamot from 1913-1921. Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War. His outspokenness on the behalf of the Muggle community was also a strong contributing factor in the family’s exclusion from the ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’.

(From Pottermore)

So, I think they have an ancestral home somewhare around Godric's Hallow. I also think if Harry and Hermione kept walking the village graveyard, they would've found more Potters. Maybe a Potter family mausoleum even that James and Lily weren't buried in because there was no Potter who could open it since Harry was a baby.

I'd like to imagine Harry finds this ancestral home at some point because I'm sure Fleamont, Ephumia, and Henry Potter have portraits lying around there somewhere, you know? Maybe even Iolanthe Peverell has a portrait there. I think it could be fun, and that's why I chose to believe it. It's consistent with canon and makes for fun writing possibilities.

I mean, a considerably important and well-off wizarding family since the 12th century likely, at least at some point, owned more houses than just that cottage. I mean, Linfred would've liked a larger house with his seven kids if he could afford it, and he clearly could.

So, I say, yes, I think the Potters have an ancestral home somewhere around Godric's Hallow and that the Potter cottage was just another, smaller, house the family had.

[tedwardremus]

A Decent Bloke

"Alright, Evans?" A low voice whispered in her ear, causing Lily Evans to jump in her seat and let out a yelp.

"Oh quiet, Evans, this is a library," James Potter smiled down at Lily, his hands in his pockets.

Lily shot him a withering look. "Potter, can't you see I'm trying to work here? What do you want?"

Ignoring her harsh tone, James casually plopped down in the seat beside her. "I heard you muttering about legislative agendas and Ministerial decrees. Figured you could use a hand."

Lily raised an incredulous eyebrow. "And why would you think that?"

James leaned back in the chair, placing his feet on her parchment-covered table. "Oh, just a hunch, all that muttering you know. Plus, I'm a generous bloke, always willing to help a damsel in distress."

Lily rolled her eyes, but curiosity flickered in them. "Fine, enlighten me. What do you know about Wizard and Muggle relations at the turn of the century?"

James grinned. "Easy. There were no relations. The Muggles were being devastated by the First World War, and the Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde I believe, had forbidden the magical community to get involved. A real tragedy in regard to humanitarian aid and you know just plain human decency. Only one member of the Wizengamot condemned the Minister for his position."

Lily flipped rapidly through her textbook scanning for the information. "Really? That's not in here."

James took a triumphant bite of the apple he had surreptitiously pulled from his robe. "Of course not. You'll have to go beyond the ministry-approved texts to get the whole story. They are very careful at what gets put on the History of Magic curriculum. Wouldn't want young students to get disillusioned from our fine government after all."

Lily eyed him curiously. She didn't think this was James playing games with her, she knew enough about him that he wouldn't joke about this subject. Plus he was one of the only students to get an O on the History of Magic OWL. Not that she keeping track his scores or anything. It was common knowledge, everyone knew James Potter and Sirius Black got top marks in all their exams. "And how do you know all this if its not in the books?"

James softly chuckled, "Believe it or not, it's a family story. My Grandpa Harry, Henry Potter, was the Wizengamot member who stood up against Minister Evermonde. Quite a big controversy at the time. His consistent outspoken position regarding the Muggle community is also the reason my family is excluded from that ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’ nonsense." With a pause, James looked down at one of the books on the table. "He was a real decent bloke. More people should remember him."

Then, all too, suddenly, James got up from the table and took another bite of his apple. "Well, see you, Evans. I have matters to attend to. Mischief to manage and all that." And with a wink in her direction, he left.

[fischerfrey]

WORLD WAR I AND THE WIZARDING WORLD – A MASTERPOST

by @potionboy3, @cursed-herbalist, and myself

A compilation of information and useful links we've utilized for our WW1 verse! This masterpost will include canon material, actual history, and plot points we've come up with ourselves. Non-canon information will be indicated, but please note that it will be considered canon within the WW1 verse!

Will be updated regularly!

Table of Contents:

The Basics

The Wizarding War Effort

Wizarding Politics in the 1910s

1. The Basics:

The Muggle World:

World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting took place throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia.

The Allies, or the Entente Powers, were an international military coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Japan against the Central Powers or Central Empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. [X]

Useful links: Interactive global First World War map World War I, an in-depth video World War I oversimplified, part 1 & part 2 Infantry Battallions Explained (this is actually a look into the use of Vickers machine gun in history but the graph was useful)

The Wizarding World:

During the war, British Minister for Magic Archer Evermonde was responsible for passing emergency legislation forbidding wizards and witches from getting involved, in an attempt to prevent mass breaches of the International Statue of Secrecy. This did not prevent thousands of wizards from discreetly aiding Muggles wherever they could. Minister Evermonde's position drew the public condemnation of Wizengamot member Henry Potter, which caused a minor stir at the time. Henry's outspoken pro-Muggle views were one of the chief reasons for the Potter family's exclusion from the Sacred Twenty-Eight. [X]

Useful links (there really is very little in the HP canon about this period): First World War, Harry Potter Wiki Theseus Scamander, Harry Potter Wiki

2. The Wizarding War Effort:

Most witches and wizards were not directly involved with the war, though their lives were certainly affected by it to varying degrees. While the Ministry passed legislation to forbid wizards from participating in the war, it did not neglect it completely. In addition to the witches and wizards who aided muggles illegally, there were several different programs started by the ministry, such as the Owl Air Force*, Intelligence operations by the Auror Department, and Magizoologist operations (Like Newt Scamander and the Ukrainian Iron Bellies at the Eastern Front).

(*The Owl Air Force might have been an illegal operation but we've chosen to make it part of the Ministry. Canon isn't clear on which it was.)

The Auror Department:

This is part of WW1 verse, and not mentioned in canon.

Volunteer aurors were trained to join muggle armies to make sure there was no illegal usage of magic among the ranks. They were also tasked with gathering intelligence, tracking down dark wizards (and other dissenters), and even infiltrating and spying on the Central Powers.

3. Wizarding Politics in the 1910s

People of Note:

British Minister for Magic: Archer Evermonde, in office 1912-1923

Evermonde took office in 1912, after the mysterious passing of his predecessor Venusia Crickerly. Some certainly suspected foul play, but nevertheless Evermonde enjoyed the trust of the population enough that he managed to push through several legislations, including the ban of wizarding involvement in the First World War.

Archer Evermonde, Harry Potter Wiki FC: Gabriel Byrne

Head of The British Auror Department: Willard Hartford (WW1 verse canon)

The Hartofrd family had established itself as a family of aurors a couple of generations ago, so it was only natural for Willard to pursue the career. He became Head Auror in 1911. He is the boss of Ares Gaunt and Lunas Avery, among others.

FC: Jim Sturgess

The Supreme Mugwump: Gala De Lange (WW1 verse canon)

Gala served as the Dutch Minister for Magic before becoming the Supreme Mugwump. She is known for her neutrality and insistence upon the non-involvement of wizards in the muggle conlifct.

FC: Famke Janssen

The German Minister for Magic: Waldemar Munter (WW1 verse canon)

lore tbd

FC: Sebastian Koch

Head of The German Auror Department: Anton Vogel (WW1 verse canon)

During the war Vogel served as the head of the German auror department. He later became the German Minister for Magic and the Supreme Mugwump. He is the father of Alexej Kavinsky. Vogel's motivations are shrouded in mystery and eventually he becomes involved in the plans of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

FC: Oliver Masucci Harry Potter Wiki Page

The General Political Climate: (WW1 verse canon)

Across Europe, many witches and wizards were not happy with the war and saw that it was the muggles who were to blame for such chaos and violence. There was a rise in blood-purist ideology, as well as isolationism and anti-muggle sentiment.

Minister Evermonde wanted to keep out of the war as much as possible, and this, if anything, was a reflection of many of his other policies too. He did not wish to effect change, instead he was a traditionalist who was comfortable keeping up the status quo. While he was not overtly blood-purist, he did not do anything to speak for muggleborns, squibs, or any of the groups classified as "creatures".

Mistreatment of minorities & Blood-purism:

As we see the Ministry still being a cesspool of bigotry and corruption in Harry's time in the 1990s, it can be safely assumed that things were not better during the beginning of the century. The radical organization TOWER fuelled the vitriol towards muggles and muggleborns, creating a scapegoat for all the frustration and anger.

TOWER

The Transnational Order of Wizards' Exposure Right is an anti-muggle organization dedicated to toppling the British Ministry of Magic but it operates across all of Europe. They use any means necessary to advance their goals and their existance is known only to few. Their power lies within their secrecy.

TOWER Masterpost (link to be added)

[potionboy3]

Ren Godfrey | HP WW1 era

Renfield Godfrey is one of the founding members and later defacto leader of TOWER. His past and true motives are shrouded in mystery. During the Great War he sows discord in the Wizarding world, attempting to overthrow the Statute of Secrecy. He doesn't truly believe in the blood purist ideology of TOWER, but is merely using it to recruit followers and further his rise to power.

A man of many enemies, Ren holds a special grudge against Archer Evermonde, the British Minister for Magic. He has eyes and ears all over the Wizarding world, making him a formidable foe even without his horcruxes and magical prowess.

*I think I made this aesthic around the time I came up with this man but never posted it so here he is*

[deafblindshorty]

1915: Henry Potter pushes for the wizards to help the muggles during World War I and nearly exposes them. He is sacked.

MoM Archer Evermonde: You've been sacked once for nearly exposing us Potter. And you know we despise your garishness. But help the muggles again and we will imprison you in Azkaban. Henry: Spare me your self-righteous threats! I was sacked for not abandoning the muggles unlike the rest of you. Evermonde: We have not abandoned the muggles. They abandoned us. We simply trust our muggle borns and squibs to carry out our purposes without calling undue attention to ourselves. Not like some of us. Henry: That's not enough! They need the might of wizards! Return from the opulence of the wizarding world before you lose this one! Evermonde: For the last time, Potter, the squibs and muggle borns that remain in the muggle world are simply meant to observe. We will decide our best course of action.

[collectionneusedemots]

Archer Evermonde 1912-1923 En poste pendant la première guerre mondiale moldue, Evermonde promulgua une loi d'urgence interdisant aux sorcières et sorciers d'intervenir, de crainte qu'ils enfreignent massivement le Code international du secret magique. Plusieurs milliers d'entre eux l'ont défié pour venir en aide aux Moldus autant que possible.

J.K. Rowling

Nouvelles de Poudlard : pouvoir, politique et esprits frappeurs enquiquinants

[dumbledore-and-grindelwald]

I saw you like Helmut and Helseus. Any heacanons?

I have to thank you for this ask. I just like those glimpses of their dynamic but I'm a meta-person. I do interpretation and usually have trouble with imagining without having a decent amount of information to step on. Being asked was kind of motivating and I really enjoyed the process of answering it.

So sure, you can count on me to give you fluff, flowers and happiness.

Helmut is half-Russian, half-German and he is a half-blood. The laws in Germany, as in the UK, were more lax about marriage between muggles and wizards. His muggle father married his mother and they lived in Germany.

Helmut studied a Durmstrang. He was popular, always appreciated for his abilities and cool demeano, but he wasn’t outgoing. He was the kind of person who would smirk in amusement rather than outright laughing and he had a small circle. He graduated with flying colors and his dueling abilities were soon hired by the German ministry. Because of the job he had been involved with the British ministry and he and Theseus had been introduced.

When WWI broke his father was conscripted.

The European ministries of magic tried to not focus on nationalism and to face the Great War with regard to the Wizarding World. Most European ministries followed similar policies. The German ministry introduced something along the lines of Archer Evermonde's emergency legislation, forbidding members of the wizarding community from getting involved.

Helmut had a younger brother who dropped out during his last year and enlisted in the muggle army to help their father. He did not openly use his magic, fearing that if he was exposed as a wizard and the muggles attacked him in fear hid father might also be targeted without having magic to defend himself.

Helmut and his mother were among the many wizards who were against such legislations and chose to get involved. When Germany moved to bomb the UK, members of the wizarding community from the two countries were involved and tried to contain the situation. Helmut and other German wizards travelled to the UK to help. During a bombing Theseus risked himself to save muggle civilians to the point that he found himself in danger of getting blown up. He was far from the epicenter and just lost his senses. Helmut pulled him out and Theseus woke up to the deep blue of Helmut’s eyes. The two collected life-debts upon life-debts to each-other. At some point Helmut received word that his father had been injured heavily. His brother tried to kill him and was seen. The brother was killed by soldiers he fought next to and his father was left to die slowly. Russia and Germany were on different fronts and relatives on his mother’s side died fighting German forces. Helmut started having nightmares. He didn’t make a sound and did not complain about it. Theseus noticed his sleep deprivation and kept an eye on him. When he realized that he was traumatized to sleeplessness he didn’t know how to approach him about it, so, being a hugger, he did what he does best. Theseus expressed worry about Newt being involved in the dragon-operation of the Easter Front. Helmut, affected by Theseus’ fondness for Newt, eased into opening up about his own brother. When they parted ways, Theseus hugged him firmly and said he was glad to know that their paths were bound to cross again. When he stepped back Helmut tried to speak but couldn’t. He made a step to turn away but changed his mind and kissed Theseus conveying everything for which words failed him. He left without uttering anything.

Back in Germany he had to deal with his trauma and the ministry had a hell of a mess to manage. His mother could not master the will to live after his father and brother’s death and she didn’t last long. Helmut took care of her as he watched her fading away day by day. After her death he became workaholic. He stopped smiling and felt too hollow to pursue meaningful relationships, be it friendly or romantic. He earned respect, rose fast and became a head auror on merit. He was utterly professional and no-nonsense. He was very strict but he cared for his men. He chastised when he was failed, but he also knew to give credit where credit was due.

He and Theseus saw each other rarely and they did not have the time to catch up with each other often. They only managed to grab for three times until 1926. Theseus was happy and he had grown in confidence. He couldn’t help noticing that Helmut was getting more withdrawn but any attempt to make him open up hit a wall. The last time they met outside work, Theseus mentioned that he had started seeing someone whom Helmut would have liked and expected a response. Helmut instinctively reacted with a minor flinch that Theseus missed. Nothing else he did betrayed any personal emotion and he proceeded with making a few typical remarks, internally pleading for a change of subject. Sometime later, news of war-hero Theseus Scamander getting engaged reached Helmut. In 1926 the news about Newt’s signing were published in some German Wizarding papers too, accompanied with the same photo Tina had seen.  When Helmut noticed it he smirked bitterly at the mistake of the caption. He kept it in the back of a drawer. He didn’t take it out to look at it, but he always knew it was there. Later that year, he and several others colleagues at the ministry received by owl formal invitations. At the bottom his read:

Please be there, Theseus.

Helmut never answered. Only after Leta’s death Theseus received a short letter:

I’m sorry. H. 

After settling down a bit Theseus tried contact him but his letters remained unanswered. They never met alone again.

Following the rally at Per Lashez, the rumors of the coming of a second World War spread. Helmut’s trauma resurfaced and he snapped, consciously choosing Grindelwald’s methods against the muggles over letting them destroy the world again. Vogel’s allegiance to Grindelwald and the German ministry’s compliance was a simple coincidence that allowed him some peace of mind because he didn’t have to betray his people. When Theseus and Newt went to speak to Vogel it was the first time Helmut saw him in almost ten years. He had been already informed that the Scamanders might make an appearance, but he hoped they wouldn’t. When Theseus sees him he instinctively raises his hand and shouts ‘evening’ from afar and as he comes closer he addresses him specifically, by name.

Helmut ‘s own acknowledgment is dry and forbidding enough for Theseus to not miss a bit before getting the gang inside. Helmut nods to his men, bidding them to allow Lally and Jacob inside and as Theseus and the others move forward he stands there, dreading and postponing the moment he’ll have to get inside.

When he knows he has to put Theseus down he takes the coward’s way and stupefies him in the back because he can’t bring himself to look him in the eye.

Sending Theseus to the Erkstag, he knows that he is signing his death sentence, but he is not willing to compromise what he sees as ‘the Greater Good’. His simple solution is denial. He pretends that what he’s doing is not happening. The Erkstag is a prison that ‘consumes its inmates’ and Helmut thinks that he is strong enough that out of sight will mean out of mind. He follows the same approach when he masters resolve and does not acknowledge in the slightest Jacob, Newt and Lally as they are rushing behind him. In the following days he found himself waking to the ringing of Jacob’s voice shouting ‘where is Theseus?’ in his head more and more often.

When he learns of the escape he is half-relieved and half-distraught at the idea of having to deal with Theseus again. When he catches him at Bhutan, he approaches him from behind again, unwilling to see his expression. When he says ‘cases, please’ he’s being quite literal because he hopes that he might resolve the situation without hurting Theseus. When he makes the plea he is speaking to both Theseus and Lally, but he can’t help being slightly turned towards Theseus even though the other man can’t see him.

He knows that Theseus I not one to care for surrendering and his plea is to him. Theseus finds pleasure in the irony of Helmut and his men being attacked by the contents of the cases because Helmut was the only one who was smart enough to want to know if they were destroying the right case or if they had to search more. While everyone is down or seriously struggling, Helmut is barely fazed and he is quickly off the hook the moment he focuses on Theseus. Lally has already moved on but Theseus is standing there, gazing a little longer, before he runs away. Helmut lets out a breath he had been holding as they held eye-contact.

Nothing is chasing him but he is simply standing there, without pursuing, staring at the empty space where Theseus stood.

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Stormy weather

A/N: THE LONGEST FIC I HAVE EVER WRITTEN. As I was writing it, I started to hate the reader lmao so I'm hoping I have redeemed them. I am hoping it flows as you read, that you can see the change in time without having to add ‘time skip’. I hope you enjoy! If you would like to be added to a taglist, let me know, I’ll happily create one! Please like and/or reblog.

Title: Emmy Raver-Lampman - Stormy Weather (originally sung by Etta James)

Pairing: Young!Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: You didn’t realise that a change in seating plan could lead to this.

Requested: Nope

Warnings: some angst, some fluff, some swearing 

Word count: 4.1k

You felt silly – no, you felt stupid.

Two years… two years you had managed to keep your love for Sirius Black quiet. He barely even noticed you on a good day; you hadn’t known where these feelings had come from, yet they were very much present. It had all started when the class had been assigned a seating plan; the teacher had moved you and Black together so there was no choice on his end – he had to talk to you if there was pair work set, and there nearly always was.

There was no reason for you to socialise. You were in the same house, but he had the Marauders, and you had yours. Sirius Black was known amongst the girls of Hogwarts for being ridiculously attractive but also as a notorious flirt – it was your luck that you had a crush on the one boy who would never wholly be yours. There was the occasional overlap when it came to parties in the common room which you rarely attended but for the most part, a word had never been spoke between the two of you until this class.

At the end of the lesson, you were packing away your things, very much glad that you had a free period next so you could try and get ahead on the homework that was beginning to pile up. It looked as if you free periods and your evenings would be spent in the library trying to keep on top of the workload that accompanied an exam year.

A quiet voice next you pulls you out of the routine of packing away, “(Y/N)?”

You turn to Sirius, “Yes?”

He smiles politely at you, “Would you be able to help me with what we’ve covered? I’m struggling slightly in this subject.”

You raise your eyebrows at him in surprise. He may be a prankster, and doesn’t necessarily take everything seriously, but nobody could deny that Sirius Black wasn’t smart. All of the Marauders were.

“Really? You want me to help you?”

He chuckles, “Yes. I’m not completely understanding the context for wizard involvement within the Great Muggle War.”

You nod, “Sure, I’ll help you. When are you next free? We could meet at the library?”

“I’m free now, actually. If you have time, that is?”

“So am I. Let’s head to the library now, I know some good books that can help us.”

Sirius starts to pack his things away while you wait for him. You sigh inwardly, the pile of homework is going to get bigger, but you knew that you wouldn’t be able to deny Sirius. He’s too handsome, and your feelings definitely get in the way.

“Are you ready?” Sirius asks.

“I am. Let’s go read about Muggle wars!” You cheer.

Sirius laughs loudly. You walk together to the library, talking aimlessly to each other. By the time you arrive at the Library, Sirius has you breathless from laughter as he recalls one of the many adventures of the Marauders. From the minute you enter the Library, you know that there is an extremely high chance of you being shushed by Madam Pince.

Steering Sirius towards the right section, you start to whisper about the causes of the First Muggle War. “It had been brewing for a while, there were tensions between the countries surrounding growing militaries and navies, growing empires and such.”

“How does that relate to the wizarding world?”

“The minute war broke out, the Minster for Magic had to be alerted. Archer Evermonde passed a piece of legislation that forbade wizards from fighting in the war. It was a key moment in wizarding history. However, he Minister had to understand that regardless of what he decided, wizards would volunteer, look at Theseus Scamander.”

Sirius opens his mouth to ask another question, but he is interrupted by the rest of the Marauders.

“Padfoot! We wondered where you had gotten to!” James shouts, earning a hush from Madam Pince.

“You’ve found me.”

“Padfoot?” You ask, raising an eyebrow in question.

“My nickname.” Sirius explains.

The rest of the Marauders had joined you at table you shared with Sirius, their eyes looking over the reading material sprawled across it.

“We didn’t know you were struggling with this, Sirius. We could have helped you; you didn’t need to bother poor (Y/N) here.”

“It’s not a bother!” You almost shout, a little too quickly, all attention is now on you and you can feel the tell-tale blush make its way to your cheeks, “I mean,” you start, trying again, “it isn’t a bother at all. I love this topic, wizard involvement within both Muggle world wars interests me, I could talk about it all day. Sirius wasn’t being a bother at all asking me for help.”

Both James and Remus lift an eyebrow each at your explanation. They can completely sense your feelings for Sirius, and you want to slide under the table right about now, your heart going ten to the dozen.

Sirius chuckles, “You see, I’m not being a bother at all. You two are though, bugger off.”

Remus laughs at him, “Okay, okay. James, come on, let’s leave them too it.”

Remus pats James on the shoulder, they both start to depart with a goodbye to both Sirius and you.

Your heart rate has started to settle down, but then Sirius smiles at you and it kicks back into action again.

“Where were we?” He asks.

Checking your watch, you utter, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ve got potions with Slughorn and I really don’t want to be late.”

Sirius nods, understanding. “Of course, can we meet again though? I like studying with you, you’re a really good teacher.”

You blush harder, if that’s even possible. “Thank you, Sirius, that means a lot. How about tomorrow evening in the common room?”

“That sounds great, see you there.”

Gathering your things, you wave a final goodbye to Sirius before heading to Potions. You would be brewing Liquid Luck today and you needed to focus, however your mind kept drifting back to Sirius. You felt like a teenager with her first crush, it seemed like Sirius had taken up your entire mind, the butterflies in your stomach fluttered every time you thought of the study session tomorrow evening. Twice, Slughorn had to pull your attention back to the class, it looked like when Sirius was on your mind, your mind went to goo.

The following day passed by slowly as if it knew that you had something to look forward to. Classes dragged and more than one teacher had to bring your attention back to the class since your mind had wandered off to what could possibly happen that evening.

You had seen Sirius once all day; at lunch where he waved at you from his place further down the table where he sat with the Marauders. “Are we still on for this evening, (Y/N)?”, he had shouted causing multiple heads to turn towards you.

You blushed deeply, “We are! I’ll see you this evening, Sirius.”

He smiled widely at your answer and threw a thumbs up before leaving the Great Hall with the Marauders.

That had been hours ago, and you were finally in your last class of the day. You were never normally eager to leave a lesson, but you had fallen into your feelings for Sirius and well, you wanted to see him even if he didn’t feel the same way as you.

Finally dismissed, you practically sprinted to your common room so you could change into comfortable clothes and grab the books you thought you may need.

You meet Sirius at a table in the corner of the common room; an intimate choice you note with the warmth of the fire wrapping you in a bubble. You also notice the rest of the Marauders not too far away, watching with eager arms – both James and Remus wiggle their eyebrows at Sirius.

“Okay,” You start, sitting down. “Where did we get to yesterday?”

Sirius beams at you, and you begin to study.

Two hours you sat there; studying for the first part of it, talking for the second part. Both of you had sat there and talked about anything and everything – Sirius asking question after question on you and your family; what were they like? Did you have siblings? All sorts was asked, and you didn’t mind opening up to him. You knew better than to ask about his family, it wasn’t a secret that he had run away from home and was living with James. However, you did ask him about his friends – what they did, how did they come to know one another.

Conversation flowed between the two of you until you couldn’t stop yawning. You decided then that it was time to wrap things up.

“I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight, Sirius.”

He quickly agrees, adding “I feel I understand the Great Muggle War a lot better now.”

“Good, I’m glad.” You answer, tidying up your books and notes.

Sirius grabs your hand, squeezes it gently before he brings it up to his lips and presses a small kiss to the back of it. Again, you’ve been reduced speechless and blushing by the teenager in front of you – you needed to do something about that.

“Goodnight, Sirius. I’m sure I’ll see you at some point tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, (Y/N). See you tomorrow.”

You pull your hand from his, and before your judgement can get the better of you, you place a lingering kiss to his cheek.

As you head back to your dormitory, you don’t see Sirius press his hand to his cheek in disbelief. His cheeks aflame with the mere touch of your lips to his skin.

Time with Sirius simply flew by. You didn’t realise how quick time passed when you were with him until you were rushing to class in the hopes of not being late. Sirius seemed to occupy your mind and your time; he could be a distraction, but you always managed to get some work done, and he helped you with topics you weren’t entirely confident on. The both of you had grown closer to the other, you had started spending time with all of the Marauders, but you were with Sirius for the majority of the time. It did nothing to help your feelings for him; they simply grew until you were fairly certain you were in love with him. At least, that what your dorm mates told you, they had pointed out how obvious it was that you both had feelings for each other and whilst you had confirmed yours to them, you believed that Sirius did not feel the same way, that he simply saw you as a good friend and study partner.

It is through one of your study sessions when Sirius interrupts your speech about wizarding society in the inter-war years focusing on the adventures of Newt Scamander and the publication of his book. He didn’t like to interrupt you, because not only did he not understand this aspect of the subject, but you got so animated and passionate that it brought out a side of you he adored, but he really needed to ask you something.

“Look, we’re throwing a party in the common room this Friday night. Will you come?”

“You’re inviting me to a party?”

“I am. Will you come?”

“I think I will.”

Sirius smiles at you, knocking you slightly breathless. Then he kisses you the cheek and you’re pretty certain that you’ve died now because his lips made contact with your skin and your heartrate hit the sky.

“Good, I’ll see you there.”

“You’ll see me beforehand, but yes you’ll see me there.” You whisper, too breathless to try to speak normally.

Friday came too quickly for your liking; you hadn’t even picked out an outfit which had led to your latest predicament - your entire wardrobe spread across the whole dormitory. It didn’t matter what your dorm mates said, you couldn’t find anything to wear and you were starting to feel like a stereotype in a bad film.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m calling it – I’m going to pick what you’re wearing and you’re going to deal with it.” Your dorm mate, Jenny states as she places her hand on the small of your back and guides you to your bed.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve known you for what? Five/six years? I’m sure, now hush and let me work.”

You’re silent as Jenny goes through your wardrobe, placing item against item seeing what goes together.

“You must really like him.” Jenny murmurs.

“I really do. It honestly started as a little crush because he was pleasing to the eyes, and now that I’ve gotten to know him… well I’m worried that this could be it for me. That one great love all your books go on about.”

Jenny throws a blouse in your face, “You love those books, don’t hate on them.”

You laugh at her, feeling more at ease now than you had felt all day.

“Here you go, wear these and if he doesn’t kiss you by the end of the night, then I’ll hurl my romance books out of the astronomy tower.”

“I’ll hold you to that, I hope you know.”

She presses a kiss to your cheek, “I know, now get changed, I’m going to sort out my makeup.”

You change into the clothes that Jenny had chosen for you; figure hugging maroon flares that you didn’t realise you owned, with an airy white blouse that when tied at the front, showed enough of your stomach to not make you entirely self-conscious.  

When Jenny returns from the bathroom, she wolf-whistles and you contemplate throwing a show at her. She links her arms with yours and you head down to the common room, where you can hear music start to play.

You didn’t know parties would be so warm; it explained why so many got drunk at these things. Not just for pleasure, but to also cool down. Sirius had met you not long after you entered the common room, he kissed your cheek and complimented your outfit. You had thanked him, blushing all the while. You had wondered when you were going to get a grip in such things.

Music was playing, drinks were flowing, and you were enjoying yourself. You found yourself dancing with Jenny more often than not. You had danced with Sirius a couple of times, but he kept getting pulled away somewhere else. You had to admit it annoyed you, but he was the one throwing the party.

Deciding that you had had enough of dancing, you head back to the drinks table and grab yourself a drink that was definitely more alcohol than mixer. Jenny sidles up next to you, shouting over the music, “I think you’ve caught his attention.”

You grin widely, the alcohol taking over “Do you think?”

She nods, “He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you all night.”

You feel giddy, elated. “I really like him.”

Jenny nods, “I know you do. He’s coming this way though, so maybe tell him, and not me.”

Jenny takes you by the shoulders and turns you around to face Sirius from where he’s walking across the common room to you. Jenny is still holding your shoulders when Sirius’ attention is pulled away from you and onto another girl. Jenny is also there when Sirius and the mystery girl start to kiss.

The breath is knocked out of you, Jenny’s hands slip from your shoulders, and you make your escape. Only just managing to get to your dorm room before starting to sob mercilessly.

Sirius pulls away from the girl immediately. His eyes search the room for you, but he can’t place you. He does find you friend Jenny watching him from the drinks table.

“Where is (Y/N)?”

“She left, Sirius.”

“Why? What happened? Is she okay?”

“I don’t think she is; she saw you kiss that girl.”

“Shit.”

“Shit indeed, Mr Black.”

“I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me.”

Jenny places a hand on Sirius’ arm, “It isn’t me you need to tell that to. She really likes you; I have never seen her this way about a boy before. Please be kind.”

“I will. I really like her as well, I’ve never felt this way about a girl, the last thing I want to do is screw this up.”

“I’m going to go check on her, I’ll see you later Sirius.”

Jenny leaves, while Sirius stands at the drinks table, planning out what he needs to do.

The rest of the night passes in a blur of tears; Jenny is there holding you through it, offering tissues and dramatic retellings of her romance books. Sirius tries to talk to you, but Jenny goes to the door, telling him it would be best to let the alcohol wear off and speak with sober minds. He understands, and he leaves.

The week after the party is emotional hell. All you want to do is fall back into your routine from before and sit with Sirius, but you simply couldn’t. he had cornered you in the common room one evening, “I need to talk to you, (Y/N).”

You whisper, “I know.”

“Please let me talk to you,” Sirius whisper, his voice breaking, a hand partly raised as if he wants nothing more than to grab your hand and keep you there.

You draw back, “Not yet, I need a little more time.”

He nods, the hope that had been flickering in his eyes dimmed slightly. He moves to one side, letting you pass. His heart breaking that little bit more with each step you took away from him.

You were dreading class; it would be an awful class; not the subject matter but the tension between you and Sirius. It had been more than a week since you had a proper conversation, since you had properly enjoyed his company without a worry. He had tried to catch your attention on several occasions, but you just weren’t ready – Jenny had fought for him, stating the plain fact that you would have to face him sooner instead of later.

Conversation in class is attempted on his end, but all you can see as you look at him is him kissing that girl. The class passes by slowly, your need to speak to your Professor increasing. You almost shout in glee when she dismisses the class. You do not miss how quickly Sirius gathers his things and leaves.  

“Professor?”

“Yes (Y/N)? What can I help you with?”

“Why did you sit me next to Sirius?”

“What do you mean? Are you not happy with your assigned seat?”

“Yes, and no.”

Your Professor nods, “I see what’s going on here. Sirius asked me to change the seating plan a few weeks ago.”

Your mouth drops open in shock, “He asked you to do what?”

“He asked me change the seating plan – he asked to be sat next to you. He argued that it was because you would be a good influence on him, and I agreed, but you could also tell that he harbours some feelings for you.”

You stay silent at your Professor’s words. She nods, “I understand now, his feelings are returned, I see. This is interesting.”

“Thank you Professor for letting me know.” You gather your books and bag, ready to go. You needed to have a conversation with Sirius, and you needed to have it now.

“No problem, (Y/N). Hope everything works out.”

“Thank you,” You rush, “I hope so too.”

You run back to the common room; hoping to catch Sirius there. As luck would have it, upon your entering the common room, you catch sight of the messy-haired teenager, sitting on his own by the fire. He looks up as you enter, as if he knew that it would be you to enter through the portrait. He averts his eyes quickly though, and it hurts. It hurts you because you feel utterly to blame for the breakdown in relations between Sirius and yourself; he had started to open up to you, become comfortable with you and you drew away, and left him hanging. It seems you hadn’t just broken your own heart.

“Sirius?” You murmur, walking over to the boy who has had your heart for two years.

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t leave either. There’s a million things running around in his head – you hurt him by pulling away, by avoiding him. You never gave him a chance to explain what happened at the party; that he didn’t kiss that girl, that the minute she had kissed him, he pushed her off and started to look for you. Only to find out from your friend that you had left, that you had seen what had happened.

“Sirius, I came to apologise. I’ve been a bit of a bitch if I’m honest.”

His head whips around to you, his grey eyes now focused solely on you. “What?”

Fiddling with your fingers, you say “I came to apologise. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, I shouldn’t have pulled away. You have these walls and when you’re with the Marauders, they’re down and they had started to come down with me and you were beginning to open up and then everything happened. At the party, when I saw you kissing that girl, I just lost it. Sirius, you have to understand, I have had feelings for you for a long while now and seeing you kissing that girl when we had grown so close, I got jealous and I got upset. You have a reputation, Sirius, and I thought that you would only ever see me as a friend, as someone to help you with schoolwork. I didn’t even let you explain your side of the story. I spoke to Professor just now to ask why she had sat us next to each other, and she had told me you asked to be moved to be next to me, and everything clicked into place. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you the way I did though, and I am so sorry.”  

Sirius is silent for a few minutes; taking in everything that you’ve just thrown at him. You sit down next to him on the couch and watch the fire.

His voice is hoarse when he starts to speak, “I do have a reputation, but since spending time with you, I have only wanted to be with you. I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me, that’s what happened. I was on my way to find you, to speak to you when she pulled me to her and kissed me. I pulled away immediately, I didn’t want her, I wanted you, I wanted to kiss you. Once I had gotten over to you, your friend Jenny had told me you left and that you had seen what happened. When I got to your dormitory and you wouldn’t answer me, I thought I’d talk to you in class, but you ignored me. When you did talk to me, it was so formal, I thought we had moved past that. It hurt, I feel silly for confessing it, but it hurt. I’ve got feelings for you too, and to see you revert to what we were like before, I was crushed.”

“I am so sorry, Sirius.” Your voice breaks on his name, your eyes shining with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry too. I feel like we could have avoided everything if we simply spoke to each other.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. However, that girl who kissed you without permission has a well-fashioned hex coming her way.” You frown, not happy with the idea of someone forcing themselves onto Sirius.

“Now that is something I would pay to see.”

“Can you forgive me, Sirius?”

He looks at you startled, “What?”

“I’ve been a fool, a complete fool.”

“As long as you’re my fool.”

You laugh through the tears that are now falling freely. Sirius pulls you to him, places his hands on either side of your face, his thumbs brushing away the tears. You place your hand on top of his, keeping it pressed to your cheek.

“Sirius, I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m about 99% sure I’m in love with you.”

He smiles down at you, a blinding smile. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I feel the same.”

“What do you say? Shall we try doing this the right way?”

“I really like the sound of that.”

“I do too.”

Sirius dips his head, and his lips are pressed to yours. You fit together seamlessly. If you could bear the stormy weather, you could bear it all.

[techmomma]

Okay, that’s neat. “Canonically,” the Minister of Magic, Archer Evermonde, forbade the wizarding community from joining WWI. But a lot of witches and wizards joined anyway. Because fuck you.

[pottermoon]

✦ La famiglia Potter ✦ -potter-daily trad from Rowling’s Archive

La famiglia dei Potter ha origini davvero antiche, nonostante prima della nascita di Harry James Potter, non è mai stata nelle prime file della storia della magia, preferendo restare ai margini.

Il cognome “Potter” non è raro come cognome babbano, per questo motivo non ha fatto parte delle “Sacre Ventotto” ovvero le famiglie magiche purosangue, chiunque abbia stilato questa lista ha sospettato che dato il cognome comune, ci potessero essere babbani.

I Potter hanno avuto origini illustri, come si può intuire dal film dei Doni della Morte.

Nel mondo babbano, “Potter” è un nome associato al mondo del lavoro, precisamente usato da chiunque crei decorazioni in ceramica, o vasi.

La famiglia magica dei Potter discende dal mago del dodicesimo secolo Linfred di Stinchcombe, un uomo localmente ben amato ed eccentrico, il cui soprannome, ‘il Potterer’, divenne corrotto nel tempo in ‘Potter’. Linfred era un compagno vago e distratto i cui vicini di Muggle spesso facevano appello ai suoi servizi medici. Nessuno di loro capì che le meravigliose cure di Linfred per la peste e l'ague erano magiche; tutti pensavano che fosse un vecchio innocuo e amabile, che se ne andava in giro nel suo giardino con tutte le sue strane piante. La sua reputazione di eccentrico ben intenzionato servì bene a Linfred, perché a porte chiuse fu in grado di continuare la serie di esperimenti che gettarono le basi della fortuna della famiglia Potter. Gli storici attribuiscono a Linfred il merito di aver originato una serie di rimedi che si sono evoluti in pozioni ancora utilizzate fino ad oggi, tra cui Skele-Gro e Pepperup Potion. Le sue vendite di tali cure ad altre streghe e maghi gli permisero di lasciare un significativo mucchio d'oro a ciascuno dei suoi sette figli dopo la sua morte.

Il figlio maggiore di Linfred, Hardwin, sposò una bellissima giovane strega di nome Iolanthe Peverell, che veniva dal villaggio di Godric’s Hollow. Era la nipote di Ignotus Peverell. In assenza di eredi maschi, lei, la maggiore della sua generazione, aveva ereditato il mantello dell'invisibilità di suo nonno. Iolanthe spiegò ad Hardwin, una tradizione della sua famiglia, che il possesso di questo mantello rimase un segreto, e il suo nuovo marito rispettò i suoi desideri. Da questo momento in poi, il mantello è stato tramandato ai più anziani in ogni nuova generazione.

I Potter continuarono a sposare i loro vicini, occasionalmente babbani, e a vivere nell'Ovest dell'Inghilterra, per diverse generazioni, ognuna delle quali aggiungeva alle casse della famiglia con il suo duro lavoro e, va detto, con la tranquilla marca di ingegno che aveva caratterizzato il loro antenato, Linfred.

Occasionalmente, un vasaio ha fatto tutto il senso a Londra ed un membro della famiglia si è seduto due volte sul Wizengamot: Ralston Potter, che era un membro dal 1612-1652 e che era un sostenitore grande dello statuto di segretezza (al contrario di dichiarare guerra ai Babbani, come volevano fare i membri più militanti) e Henry Potter (Harry per i suoi intimi), che era un discendente diretto di Hardwin e Iolanthe, e servì sul Wizengamot dal 1913 al 1921. Henry causò un piccolo scalpore quando condannò pubblicamente l'allora ministro della Magia, Archer Evermonde, che aveva proibito alla comunità magica di aiutare i Babbani a condurre la prima guerra mondiale. La sua schiettezza a nome della comunità di Muggle fu anche un forte fattore che contribuì all'esclusione della famiglia dalle Sacre Ventotto.

Il figlio di Henry si chiamava Fleamont Potter. Fleamont era così chiamato perché era il desiderio morente della madre di Enrico che perpetuasse il suo nome da nubile, che altrimenti sarebbe morto. Egli portava il peso notevolmente bene; infatti, ha sempre attribuito la sua destrezza a duello per il numero di volte che ha dovuto combattere le persone a Hogwarts dopo aver preso in giro il suo nome. E 'stato Fleamont che ha preso l'oro di famiglia e quadruplicato, creando magico Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion (2 gocce doma anche il più fastidioso Barnet’ ). Ha venduto l'azienda con un grande profitto quando si ritirò, ma nessuna ricchezza poteva compensare lui o sua moglie Eufemia per la loro mancanza di figli. Avevano rinunciato alla speranza di un figlio o di una figlia quando, con loro grande sorpresa, Eufemia scoprì che era incinta e che il loro amato ragazzo, James, era nato.

Fleamont ed Eufemia vissero abbastanza a lungo per vedere James sposare una ragazza di nome Lily Evans, ma non per incontrare il loro nipote, Harry. Il vaiolo del drago li portò via a pochi giorni l'uno dall'altro, a causa della loro età avanzata, e James Potter ereditò il mantello dell'invisibilità di Ignotus Peverell.

[aurorskills]

THE  LIFE  OF  THESEUS  SCAMANDER,  1889-1927:

early  1889:  theseus  apollo  cedric  scamander  is  born  as  the  first  child  to  mr.  and  mrs.  scamander  on  a  rainy  night  in  st.  mungo’s  hospital.  the  baby  is  calm  and  healthy,  showing  no  signs  of  health  problems.

1897:  newton  artemis  fido  scamander  is  born,  a  younger  brother  to  theseus,  who  is  now  8  years  old.  there  are  thick  frames  on  his  nose  (  his  vision  got  worse  within  the  first  years  of  his  life  )  as  he  stares  down  at  the  little  baby  with  wide  eyes  and  a  soft  smile.  he’s  so  proud  to  be  an  older  brother,  excited  to  teach  and  take  care  of  the  little  one.  soon,  he  will  leave  their  home  to  attend  hogwarts  but  for  now  he  holds  his  brother  tight.

1900-1907:  theseus  attends  hogwarts,  which  becomes  his  home  for  the  most  of  the  seven  years.  he  gets  sorted  into  SLYTHERIN,  unusual  for  a  scamander  but  soon  proves  correct.  the  young  boy  is  one  of  the  most  ambitious,  driven  students  to  attend  hogwarts  in  year.  he  excells  in  nearly  every  subject.  during  his  years  at  hogwarts  he  played  as  a  chaser  for  three  years,  became  a  prefect  and  later  slytherin’s  head  boy.  theseus  completed  his  education  earning  at  least  five  N.E.W.T.s,  with  top  grades  of  either  ‘outstanding'  or  'exceeds  expectations’.

1908-1911:  after  finishing  his  education  at  hogwarts  school  of  witchcraft  and  wizardry,  theseus  enters  AUROR  TRAINING.  at  the  same  time  his  brother  newt  begins  hogwarts.  theseus  often  writes  letters  to  him,  desperate  to  stay  present  in  his  brother’s  life  despite  the  fast  pace  of  his  current  life.  sometime  during  these  three  years  theseus  begins  showing  great  leadership  skills,  often  leading  his  collegues  in  training.  he’s  describes  as  one  of  the  most  promising  ones  of  his  age.  his  mentors  often  say  he’s  going  to  achieve  great  things.

1911-1914:  as  the  situation  in  europe  grows  tense,  theseus  officially  joins  the  british  ministry  of  auror  as  an  auror.  now  up  close  and  personal  with  the  government,  the  young  man  begins  to  notice  things.  mostly  how  corrupt  and  conservative  it  is.  closed  to  what  the  young  generation  has  to  say.  despite  his  frustration,  he  respects  the  authority  for  he  believes  that  joining  the  ministry  was  the  way  to  fight  the  good  fight.  

1914-1918:  during  the  war,  british  minister  of  magic  was  responsible  for  forbidding  the  wizarding  community  to  engage  in  order  to  prevent  mass  breaches  of  the  international  statue  of  secrecy.  however,  wizards  still  engaged  in  secret,  providing  help  to  muggles  whenever  they  could.  theseus  scamander,  later  to  be  considered  a  WAR  HERO,  was  one  of  the  thousands  to  defy  archer  evermonde’s  emergency  legislation.  theseus  scamander  was  the  first  to  lead  his  auror  collegues  into  combat.  he  showed  great  leadership  skills,  as  he  fought  and  defeated  many  enemies,  lead  his  people  to  victory  with  his  main  focus  being  preventing  additional  loss  of  life.  theseus  scamander’s  efforts  were  noted  by  the  wizarding  community  when  the  war  came  to  its  end.  he  proved  himself  to  be  an  exceptional  strategist  and  soldier.  however,  war  left  theseus  tired  and  would  not  leave  him  for  the  years  to  come.

1918-1920:  theseus  scamander  comes  home  after  the  war  exhausted  and  broken  and  the  first  thing  he  does  is  buy  an  owl  which  he  names  florence.  he’s  now  considered  A  WAR  HERO  by  many,  despite  being  only  twenty-nine.  shortly  after  the  war  ends,  gellert  grindelwald  begins  to  raise  in  power.  his  view  of  the  world  is  being  whispered  in  the  corners,  no  one  dares  to  be  loud  about  it  yet.  theseus  works  as  an  auror,  still  not  at  peace  in  his  own  head  and  yet  he  is  ONE  OF  THE  BEST.  the  young  scamander  respects  muggles  after  having  seen  them  fight  and  die  for  the  highest  of  values.  freedom.  country.  family.  those  are  values  he  cherishes  most  as  well.  soon,  it  is  not  hard  to  notice  that  the  job  has  swallowed  theseus  whole.  still,  he  never  stops  writing  to  his  brother.

1920-1925:  gellert  grindelwald  grows  in  power  and  theseus  is  scared.  he’s  angry.  he  buys  a  cat  and  names  it  jefferson.  there  is  something  in  the  back  of  his  head  telling  him  that  THE  PEACE  IS  COMING  TO  AN  END.  so,  theseus  forces  himself  to  be  better.  he  chases  dark  wizards  with  even  more  dedication,  like  there  is  fire  at  his  feet.  does  everything  in  his  power  to  make  sure  everyone  and  everything  he  loves  is  safe.  when  the  ministry  promotes  him  to  HEAD  AUROR  and  gives  him  the  task  of  hunting  down  grindelwald,  he  only  pushes  himself  harder.  there  are  still  scars  that  need  healing  but  there  is  no  time.  the  world  doesn’t  stop  when  he  need  it  to.  the  world  moves  forward  at  a  terryfing  pace.  despite  his  own  FEAR,  driven  by  it,  theseus  chases  and  chases...

1926-1927:  grindelwald  simply  slips  through  their  fingers.  theseus  corresponds  with  percival  graves,  writes  to  his  brother  and  he  RUNS,  CHASES,  like  he’s  running  out  of  time.  he’s  desperate  to  prevent  another  war  from  starting  but  it  might  be  too  late.  and  then.  his  little  brother  ends  up  right  in  the  middle  of  it  all.  how  he  breaks.  how  he  seeths  with  rage  at  grindelwald,  at  himself  for  being  helpless.  grindelwald  is  capture  and  then  he  escapes  and  suddenly  the  world  spins  even  faster.  theseus  scamander  is  a  powerful  wizard.  he  has  grown  through  years,  from  an  overly  ambitious  young  boy  to  a  man  willing  to  sacrifice  everything  for  trying  to  make  the  world  a  better  place.  all  he  ever  does,  the  only  thing  he  wants  is  to  protect  his  little  brother.

[essilt]

Fic: Mnemosyne’s gift (WIP)

Autors: @katerina150 , @essilt Theseus Scamander / Leta Lestrange, Canon Het Relationship, Het, Alternate Universe, Epistolary, Drama, Romance, Family Feels Notes: BC THEY ARE OUR BBS AND JFC WE JUST CAN’T! Notes2: We’re sorry for mistakes, english isn’t our native language. Sum: Fantastic Letters and what are they hiding.

ao3 link

Chapter 4: The Corvus IV Lestrange's cunning plan

It was oddly, but they met again at the ball. Mr. Scamander and Miss Lestrange were invited to the annual Christmas Ball at the Ministry of Magic and, of course, separately.

Theseus led the Auror Department in 1925: the war hero, who was one of the first to go against the emergency legislation of Minister Archer Evermond. He returned from the mainland at the end of 1918, started from scratch under the guidance of Torquill Trevers and literally took off on the career ladder. The position and aura of heroism made his Irish appearance much more attractive in the eyes of the majority of free girls for betrothal, but Theseus was equally formally amiable with all of them. It was rumored that his heart was broken.

Leta Lestrange was a Hogwarts graduate, as well as Theseus. She once was friend to his younger brother Newt - and even for a couple of years she imagined she was in love, or maybe Newt imagined that for himself and for herself. Once she spent the whole summer at the Scamanders: communicated with the whole family and enthusiastically watched the hippogriffs. Theseus had often heard about her before: Leta Lestrange was at the tip of the tongue of a non-talkative Newt. Although the circumstances of the very first meeting could hardly have passed for auspicious, when Newt was expelled from Hogwarts, and his older brother had to push thresholds in the pose of the petitioner. Theseus never thought that he would communicate with this girl seriously. He was almost ten years older, she was from a different social circle. He went to war early, she continued her studies, learning how to do magical sciences as Muggle ones, and this was what later allowed her to work in the ministry, and not her father’s money, as many thought. Of course, they happened to cross at Trevers' department, but hardly all of these meetings could have passed for the renewal of acquaintance.

Theseus went to the reception without much inspiration: on the Christmas eve, Mrs. Scamander (Ma, as her sons called her among themselves) depressed by the blatant celibacy of both, in turn brought down her bad mood for a hopeless future, a lonely old age and other mischief from the day they were born. Newt crawled into himself, as if in a sink, and silently suffered, Theseus languidly dissuaded as just as languidly threatened not to come next Christmas, if these conversations did not stop. But Ma, having read the gossip in the Daily Prophet, where were only notes about beautiful lonely young women, went to storm with the determination of a soldier who had no other maneuvers left and who ignored the threat - especially since they never were performed.

"Do not roll your eyes, Theseus Scamander!" She always called children only by their full name being in anger. “You're worse than brother. You're almost forty. Almost forty, Theseus! Soon you will have no chance! You can expect only a twice-divorced woman or a widow with children from previous marriages!"

"Mom, are you sure that this is a suitable conversation before the ball?"

"This is always a suitable conversation!" She pursed her lips. "Theseus, I can not live forever, who will take care of you twenty years later? You think it'd be your brother who can't even take care of himself?"

Theseus thoughtfully considered a tuxedo.

“Mom, in the name of Merlin, I and Newt live our own lives a long time ago, and if I need a nurse one day — although I hope I won't get to such misery — I will just hire her. Marriage, as far as I know, is not for this."

“Of course not,” she snapped back, catching a subtle subtext. She paused and called on the other side: "Soon I will be too old to raise my grandchildren..."

"Grandchildren are for joy, mom. For everything else, you can hire a nanny."

"What can you know about this!" She let a little tragedy into her voice, and then got angry: "You measure everything with money, Theseus. Gathered all this of Muggles."

“Mom, money is convenient, after all, why not use it,” Theseus shrugged his shoulders, took the fresh issue of the Prophet from the table. "Well, and who do you offer me as a bride? Let's go through the list. The first in it turned eighteen last spring, and I, as you kindly and fairly reminded me, am almost forty..."

Mother snatched the newspaper out of his hands and threw into a corner.

"Don't clown around! You might think that there are no brides outside of this list!" Now the drowning man’s prayer sounded in her tone distinctly: “You had that girl in France... Why not marry her!"

"I am sure there is, but my work does not allow to communicate with them. With that girl, as you call her, there was a relationship that did not include the concept of marriage." He didn’t lift an eyebrow when his mother portrayed something between indignation and embarrassment, and ruthlessly added: “In the name of Merlin, mother, that time there wasn’t any relationship to marriage."

"So, you must work less!"

“And a woman who has worked all her life tells me this,” Theseus could not refrain from an ironic smile.

"It did not stop me from having two children!"

Theseus took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. Poor Newt is probably listening to all this.

"I do not argue." He tried to go on another truce, letting a little sincerity into the conversation: "I just didn’t meet a woman I don’t want to let go. And who'd endure me. No one likes redheads."

“Well, that is, we are to blame with your father, it was us who gave birth to you the redheads,” said Mrs. Scamander’s voice with a harsh note hinting at humility, and Theseus embraced her.

"Do not worry. If Newt and I are lucky, you will have daughters-in-law and grandchildren. You will grumble when they will overrun the house and climb where they don’t ask..."

"I will not live till that moment with such sons!"

Mrs. Scamander said this loudly enough for Newt to hear every word too.

***

Leta Lestrange was preparing to the ball alone. She received strict instructions from her father. Everything about her rebelled at the thought of what these instructions were about, but her tongue did not turn around to say "no". Corvus IV Lestrange had enough of a glance so that all the Leta's rebellious nature, who did not let anyone in Hogwarts descend, would wilt and freeze. The secret, shameful fault, about which it was impossible to make and sound, immobilized her and the overwilling glance smeared Leta at the feet of the father with a thin layer. You want to earn my trust, said this glance, you need my forgiveness, you should try and be a good girl, then I will approve of you - and Leta mentally replied: "Yes, Dad." Her father's authority was still indisputable for her.

She gathered her hair in a neat strict knot and stabbed her with sharp raven feathers. A black silk dress with a train and straps crossed at the back, studded with glass beads and sequins, was put on right on a naked body. Black velvet shoes on a tall thin heels, walking on will be almost an art. Her favorite silver snake with emerald eyes wrapped around her arm, from shoulder to wrist. The jewelry belonged to her mother - in fact, it was the only thing which Leta inherited by her mother.

***

She was late for the official start of the celebration and appeared in the ballroom when the performance had began and the frail ballerina, making the pas in her flying white robe, let go of the shawl into the air - but the performance did not interest Leta, she only looked ahead.

And it was Theseus Scamander ahead. Her Aim. Of course, they were familiar and although they didn’t really communicate for many years, moreover, Theseus was the first after precious animals that Newt could talk about incessantly: he found a thousand and one more reason to be angry with his older brother and to condemn him - and desperately admired him. So Leta, unwittingly, knew about Theseus Scamander much more than it was decently to know a young girl about a man almost ten years older; and since Newt Scamander was her the very best, the most intimate — and the only — friend, she involuntarily took from him an explosive mixture of condemnation and admiration for Theseus. They were even lucky enough to spend the whole pre-war summer together, when Mrs. Scamander invited her younger son's girlfriend to stay with them on holidays. Theseus was tall, scrawny, red-haired, freckled, just like Newt, wore a canvas shirt with rolled up sleeves and pants with suspenders, preferred to tinker with the rod and fishing line without the aid of spells, and he had an unusually ordinary girl. Nothing foreshadowed the hero of Arras, Messina, and Amiens.

Theseus was at the other end of the ballroom and noticed immediately the excitement among the guests and his reason. Silk dress to the floor, flowing gait, dark skin with an olive tinge. Densely dilated eyes with languishing and barely touched lipstick lips. At first it seemed to him that she was looking for someone, then - that it was him with Leta Lestrange met her eyes. Not for long: just a moment or two. He was amazed how lonely she seemed. Theseus did not follow her life intentionally, but he read the issues of the Daily Prophet, where were often published articles about her and all the enviable brides of the wizarding world, including Leta Lestrange, who, even crossing her twenty-five year line, did not lose ground in the top ten. He was even interested, because Leta occupied a considerable place in Newt's life - until the number of her supposed suitors reached ten. Then Theseus just stopped looking through the column about the secular life of the magical community.

She seemed relieved to see an old acquaintance.

They met with their eyes every now and then, until the performance was over, then the crowd separated them. Theseus was distracted by the conversation Minister of Magic Fowley, Leta was pulled aside by familiar witches from pureblood families. It took a good quarter of an hour and a lot of tricks and tiny steps in the direction of the Aim, before Theseus and Leta finally found themselves face to face.

“Oh, Miss Lestrange!” greeted Fowley. "How are you tonight? Do you enjoy the show?"

“This is a wonderful evening, Minister,” Leta gave Fowley a hand for the duty of the kiss and turned her gaze to his companion, nodding in recognition. Theseus tilted his head in response.

“Miss Lestrange, I regret that your father could not attend our Christmas party, but I am glad that you decorated it with your presence. Of course, you are familiar with our heroic Head Auror, Theseus Scamander, but it will not be superfluous to introduce you to each other again. Theseus, this is Leta Lestrange, the daughter of a respected friend of the Ministry."

Leta smiled radiantly.

"My father was very sorry that he could not attend, and asked me to convey to you wishes of well-being and remind you of the return visit, which was previously promised. Mr. Scamander, glad to meet you again," she gave a hand to Theseus.

How tall is he! She forgot. Or maybe in childhood it is natural that everything around is much higher. Leta had to throw her head back to look at Theseus' eyes, but he easily relieved her of the inconvenience, leaned in the old-fashioned way to kiss his hand, and did not raise it to his lips, as almost all men now did, trying to get rid of conventions.

"Mutually, Miss Lestrange."

She was so busy thinking about his height that she didn’t have time to think about his voice. Theseus detained her hand in his not longer than decency required, but Fowley did not allow the conversation to develop.

"Yes, yes, Miss Lestrange, I will definitely return the visit, would you like to accompany me and see our program?"

Leta had no choice but to agree. She wouldn't to refuse the Minister with whom her father was friends, although at that moment she wanted to stay and speak with a completely different person. Theseus was forced to accompany the wife of the Minister, a strict fair-haired lady who set off her bright charismatic husband.

The program of the evening included several more dances and a magician's nice performance, combined with drinks and light snacks. Leta was next to the Minister, realizing that Theseus Scamander was standing behind her. Directly behind. Touch me, she mentally repeated, touch me - until she realized that it was not an order, but a request. She really wanted to know how Theseus Scamander touches a woman, appreciate what is waiting for her, check with her skin whether all this chatter about a broken heart is true - although she already senses: not true... She even shifted her shoulder blades, almost feeling his fingers glide on her back. When white snow, so similar to the real one, began to fall from above and began to turn into flowers right in the air, she turned around and saw an asphodel flower in Theseus’s hands. Strong hint! Guessing how far the Head Auror could be suspected of indecency, Leta turned away as soon as she caught his return glance, and spoke to the Minister about something unimportant.

During the reception, her friends surrounded her again, without giving a minute of peace. Conversations, on-duty smiles, fake wishes of well-being, gossip, invitations to spend the weekend at someone’s estate or in the mountains, or at the springs. “And let's flight to Bulgaria!”, “Yes, yes, it’s very good there now, snow, they say, piled up, you can ski. I like to descend from the springboard "and so on and so forth. Her head ached so much that, after apologizing, Leta moved away, pretending to have a snack. She would not be reproached: the appetizers were excellent, to match the champagne. In the absence of a good cook, the current minister could not be blamed.

“Persephone plucked the asphodel flower, and the firmament of the earth opened up before her, from which the four dark as the night of horses escaped, and the underworld king Hades ruled it..."

She shuddered, turned around - and came under the spell of Theseus Scamander's smile. And, oh Merlin and the Holy God, this growth...

"Sorry, seems to me I've scared you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Scamander, I'm just surprised. Do you like ancient myths and legends? Or do you want to put my vigilance down?" hinting at the most innocuous name, Leta pointed at the flower.

Theseus laughed, and the asphodel disappeared.

“My job is, these myths not to become a reality, Miss Lestrange.”

“I hope that today you are not here to work, Mr. Scamander,” Leta smiled and took a sip of champagne. Her head was spinning slightly.

"No, today I intend to rest. Do you like ancient myths and legends?"

“Some ...” She paused, trying to get at least one suitable memory out of her: “I remembered, in my youth, I was amused by the legend that one hero went down to Hades and unsuccessfully sat down on the wrong chair. We often laughed at this with Newt."

Theseus grinned, apparently realizing what kind of legend it was. Newt once said that his brother in school was also teased by the misadventures of the great Greek hero, not always successfully, which, of course, was reflected in the number of points of his faculty.

Taking a sip of whiskey, Theseus leaned toward Leta a little closer.

“I argue that it was Newt who told you this Athenian gossip, it will be from him. And I'm not at all surprised, considering how my brother likes to laugh."

"How is he?" Leta did not retreat, only elegantly intercepted canapés from a passing by tray.

"He returns from his long journey soon. I think it will linger for a while in our area."

Damn well with his height sits a tuxedo, that's what, Leta thought - or champagne helped her think so. Newt wouldn't ever be dressed like this - noone would ever have a chance to rake him out of his beloved coat.

“Does Newt still love his outlandish animals?” Leta smiled, recalling the scary care of Scamander Jr. about his strange, but in her own way beautiful pets. “Does your mother still breed hippogriffs?”

“Yes, to both questions,” Theseus finally smiled sincerely, making his face completely transformed. Leta did not expect that his smile would make such a strong impression on her. "Newt is collecting material for his book, which he has been writing for many years, and mother is waiting for him to show another brood. And to persuade to find a more rewarding occupation..."

Talking about Newt awakened a cat named Feeling of Guilt from a lethargic sleep, and before she began to sharpen her claws about her soul, Leta changed the subject.

"Mr. Scamander, I spent a wonderful summer in your house, I still remember with tenderness."

In the eyes of Theseus it was clear that these memories are shared.

“You had lovely curls, Miss Lestrange.”

“I hated them,” Leta portrayed disgust, “and with pleasure got rid of them!”

"It does not matter. They were all the same cute."

"You are really pushing me to return them!"

“I never thought that my opinion is so important,” he smiled again, and Leta had to take a sip of champagne, because he had his throat tight.

The snake on her hand raised her head sometimes or took a more comfortable position, so as not to interfere with the freedom of the hostess's gestures. A catchy, massive jewelry, which, perhaps, would have gone as clothes. Not the most decent thought, but war wiped out the tinsel of propriety in the first place.

"Will I survive the bite of your beast, Miss Lestrange?”

She was surprised - hard to say, feigned or sincere - and opened her dark eyes.

"What beast, Mr. Scamander?"

“This one,” Theseus stroked one of the metal rings with which the serpent wrapped Leta’s shoulder with his index finger.

The snake did not move. Leta traced the movement with her gaze.

"Oh!" She slightly raised her hand. “She doesn't bite... unless I ask.”

“Warned is armed,” said Theseus in a philosophical tone. "I will try not to give you a reason."

Between her beautiful full lips flashed dazzling teeth.

“I don’t think I’d let her harm you.”

“You still haven't say whether her bite is deadly, Miss Lestrange.”

"Let the answer remain secret."

“Well,” Theseus spread his hands, “I hope that in the extreme case I won't have time to understand anything!”

"We'll see, Mr. Scamander." - Leta brought the glass of champagne to her lips again, and Theseus felt a sudden — and as clear as day — temptation to kiss her. Snake lifted her head from the hostess's wrist and winked.

Damn French women, Theseus swore to himself, no one else can so cleverly put all these women's tricks into which it is so nice to get caught.

"Is your beast trying to tell me something?"

Leta frowned severely, noticing snake's maneuvers, and she peacefully settled down, becoming just an jewelry again.

“She likes you, Mr. Scamander.”

He thought that this could be a family joke of the year: the snake-bride. Why not, in the end, the Muggle fairy tale about the Frog Prince wanders around.

"Does she have a name?"

Leta drank some more champagne, and Theseus remembered of his whiskey.

"I suggest you come up with it."

“I’m not as good at handling animals as my brother, Miss Lestrange.” He grinned. "I can not guess."

"It's just a name, Mr. Scamander." For a moment, she opened her eyes wide. Then the dark eyelashes sank again, Leta moved to him at a small step and stood up on her toes to quietly add: “You will not do anything terrible if you give it.”

Her smell was so close: an unobtrusive smell, reminiscent of languor, which comes during the summer heat, with a slightly bitter cocoa mixture. There was an eternity between the girl with pretty curls, who was visiting Scamanders' house, and an exquisite young woman at the ministerial Christmas celebration.

Some excitement passed behind their backs; the official part must have come to an end. Leta retreated to a small step. The thought that he wanted her was as clear as the thought of a kiss, but not at all sudden.

Theseus reached out to stroke the snake again.

"I'm lost. Ago? Aminta?"

"Ago," Leta thoughtfully held out “o”. - "I like it."

"And your beast?"

The snake lifted her head, shook her, and winked again, twisting around Leta's wrist.

"She flirts with me, Miss Lestrange?"

“I don’t see anything wrong, Mr. Scamander,” Letha laughed. The official tone has finally turned into a playful one. "I think many women in this ballroom would like to flirt with you."

Theseus spread his hands.

"Today they have no chance against your beast."

"It flatters her..."

Damn French women, Theseus thought again, damn French women, eternal punishment to the British for the Hundred Years War.

"And you?"

They met looks. Leta bit her lower lip - rather instinctively.

“I am a simple woman, Mr. Scamander, of flesh and blood.”

Theseus paused, looking for an answer.

"Is your beast jealous?"

“I didn't notice.”

The conversation became extremely ambiguous, the available reserve of the ability to flirt was exhausted, and in the large ballroom the invisible musicians played the fashionable Muggle Quictime Foxtrot and Charleston, and Theseus leaned old-fashioned to kiss Leta's hand again.

“Then she won't mind if I invite you to dance.”

That was a statement.

"Of course, Mr. Scamander."

"But I warn you that I am not very strong in this."

"Do not worry, I will teach you."

He tried to focus on something less provocative than, damned all the French women, she has no underwear, not even the thinnest bottom shirt, it was enough to put an arm around her waist to realize it. On how small she was: even on heels, Leta barely reached out to the top of his shoulder. On how gentle her fingers, decorated with elegant rings, are golden-brown, soft. On an unusually chiselled jaw line, especially noticeable when Leta slightly tilts her head to the side. On how softly she slips in the dance and imperceptibly guides not the most skilled partner.

On the fact that he did not want to let her go.

His smile made her heart beat faster, and Leta tried not to think about it. As for “not very strong”, Theseus Scamander, perhaps, lied: he did not stepped on her legs, he caught all her unobtrusive clues, and they had never encountered neighboring pairs.

“I've heard you were at the war, Mr. Scamander,” Leta spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, although she had almost been shaking with emotion. "What was it like?"

"I would not like to talk about it now, Miss Lestrange, I do not want to spoil the evening. Let's just say war is not an easy walk."

Someday he will tell her everything. For some reason, Leta had no doubt that this time would come. Or the champagne did not doubt - it does not matter.

“And you have scars?” Typical female curiosity pushed her to such an intimate question.

“Yes, Miss Lestrange, I have scars.”

"Will you show me them?"

Theseus did not answer, squeezed her fingers harder and put it on his shoulder, pressed with his palm. Then pulled her closer. The flashes of the wizarding photographers flickered around, and Leta thought that their pictures would be in all the columns of secular news in the morning, but she didn’t care.

By the end of the first dance, Leta understood that her father’s plan went to dust, as her own. They spoke with Theseus less and less often and over the last quarter of an hour they exchanged well if a dozen phrases. It is strange that after all the talk this evening it was so pleasant to just be silent. The third and fifth dances followed the second dance, the score lost its meaning. One of them will certainly end with the fact that they just cling to each other and will be just stay so close. Is that so easy?

"Can I take you home?" Theseus asked when the evening was almost over.

“Of course, Mr. Scamander,” she smiled, letting him put a mantle on her shoulders. Theseus himself ignored the rules and wore a coat of Muggle cut. They left together and, after passing a sufficient distance to the required point, transgressing near the pompous London house of the Lestrange family, where they always moved into the season.

Her father went away on business to the estate, leaving Leta alone to carry out his plan, which had already become her own.

“Do you want to come in, Mr. Scamander, drink some more whiskey? Father has a Muggle collection." Leta turned to Theseus, who was ready to say goodbye.

“With pleasure, Miss Lestrange.”

In the hall, Theseus helped her to take off her mantle, and left his coat and hat on a hanger. The house was quiet, dark and almost empty. The maids, probably, had already gone to bed, the house elves hid — not surprisingly, it was already past midnight, she noted. There was no dream in one eye. She lit a fire in the fireplace, a gleam played on Theseus' brown hair. He waited. Remembering the excuse that lured him here, Leta gestured to his father's study, opened a cupboard lined with pot-bellied bottles, and glanced absently at them.

"What kind of whiskey do you prefer, Mr. Scamander?"

“Miss Lestrange, I prefer not a whiskey.”

The next question literally hung in the air. Leta froze for a second and walked slowly toward Theseus. He waited, but Leta could not escape from his gaze. She raised her hands, buried her fingers in Theseus' hair, crumpled, ruffled, smeared with briolin's hands.

“I wanted to do this all evening,” she whispered, smiling at his bewilderment, “I dreamed of seeing them free.”

"And I wanted this all the evening," Theseus pulled her to him and kissed her.

Then everything happened instantly. In a split second. They kissed, as long as the air was enough, fumbled with their palms on their clothes impatiently, kissed again. Not here, she whispered, and he nodded automatically, of course, not here, though whom to peep; the thin straps of her dress, studded with glass beads, were the most important threat, because hell-take-it-easier-tear. Leta laughed silently, bared long and even teeth, whispered that the dress was worth a fortune; Theseus, close to despair, was looking for a secret "lightning", loops, buttons, and finally, gritting his teeth, he said - no more than the salary of the Head Auror. Leta laughed again and finally relented, sent his fingers to some intricate clasps, disguised by the same glass and sequins; one movement - and the dress was gone. And under it, indeed, there was only naked Leta, as smooth and soft as silk, which rolled from her as a black wave onto the carpet, and she remained standing - the continuation of this wave, dark, olive, golden, with a neat chest, a clear-cut waist and tough hips. She took her feet out of her shoes, and gracefully descended onto the carpet, as she came down from the platform, and turned out to be unexpectedly even smaller than Theseus thought. The snake flowed down from her hand, curled over the dress peacefully and covered her emerald eyes, Leta stood up on her socks for a new kiss. Her palms stained with bryoline had already spoiled the tuxedo, bow tie, vest and ruthlessly took hold of the shirt; not here, for the sake of Merlin, she repeated, there is bedroom, and Theseus hoarsely demanded: show. The dress and the tuxedo were left lying on the carpet, woven like lovers, Leta found herself in Theseus' hands, prompted the way into his ear: up, to the right, straight, the door, the next door... not the door in that sense... The handle clicked, they burst into the bedroom, dropped something on the way, Leta gasped, and they began to undress again. The shirt went to the floor, Leta took up the satin belt, then the buttons on the pants, brisk experienced fingers fluttered from one to the other...

“By all the rules, Mr. Scamander,” she purred fiercely, and Theseus sealed her mouth with a kiss, interrupting conversations and spurring on actions.

They stumbled in the dark, collapsed on the bed awkwardly, Leta gasped again; pulled Theseus to herself, let out a low, hungry moan when he thrusted into her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, eagerly moved her hips to meet, felt his back from the loins to the shoulder blades, every vertebra and every rib... Her tongue touched his cheek. The rhythm of the movements - towards, away and towards again - became more harmonious and stronger. The groans became a bit less hungry - it seemed so.

***

The snow outside the window poured more, caught the light of the lanterns outside the window, threw a small scattering of reflected light into the windows. Leta threw off the blanket when Theseus tried to cover her. She was not cold at all: burning maternal blood, even diluted by the British aristocratic, glacial, remained hot enough to warm the naked body inside. Darkness hid her, transformed her dark skin into ebony-black; Theseus did not trust his eyes - tactile memory covered many times more. And was more receptive. More precisely. All this time, there were a thin stockings on Leta; by touch they did not differ at all from her skin, it is not surprising that they went unnoticed. One garter dissolved, stocking moved to the middle of the leg. Theseus pulled him down, lay down at the foot of the bed, untied the satin ribbon, and pulled off the second, held his bare foot in his palm, stroked his ankle.

Leta giggled, wiggled her fingers.

“Ticklish,” she explained in a whisper when Theseus looked at her. "Accio wand..."

“No, that doesn't work like that,” he grinned.

"It works!" She made an angry growl. "You hinder me to concentrate!"

"On what?"

Leta did not answer. Her hairstyle was hopelessly ruined, and Theseus idly pulled the rest of the feathers out of the hair. He spread the strands on the pillows, buried his face in it. At the roots, her hair was slightly damp from sweat and smelled of not expensive perfumes or rubbing, they smelled... just as Leta, as she smells, probably after a bath. Or now, in bed.

Her wand swam into the room: a little uncertain, as if it was also blind in the dark. Then it became clear that they did not even bother to close the door when they burst into the bedroom.

“Lumos,” Leta said.

The light was faint, a little golden, warm; everything that Leta touched became warm.

“You agreed to show me your scars, Mr. Scamander.”

He grunted and fell on his back, spread his arms. Leta’s wand absentmindedly levitated in the air, while Leta herself, sitting on her heels and biting her lip with zeal, examined his body.

"Where does this one come from?" She poked at the round scar under the collarbone.

"From Amiens." Theseus stroked her knee, raised his palm higher. This was the best of all in appearance and in touch: an exciting, carved transition from hip to waist, steep, like that of an amphora, a drop from wide to narrow. "This latest bullet went diagonally, pierced a lung ... I was lucky to be right through. I stayed in the hospital for about two months or so, and then I was commissioned."

"Right through? Is the same on the back?"

Theseus nodded. Letha opened her eyes wide. Her initial playfulness diminished.

"And this one?" Her fingers held across a wide long scar, which crossed the right side and stretched under the shoulder blade.

"I do not remember. One of the first operations. She was so-so prepared. We ran out of bullets, and the bayonets and sabers went into action."

“Why didn't you ask the healers to remove?”

"It's not face." Theseus stretched and yawned.

He simplified intentionally the behavior and tone of the terrible thing he was talking about.

Leta bit her lip again. The next scar was under the ribs on the left side: uneven, ugly, as if a hook were being pulled under the skin, which fish were caught. She vaguely guessed that she left such traces.

"And this one?" Her fingers flinch when touched.

“And this one I got during the Hundred-Day Offensive. I ran into a wizard... I had to fight in a more familiar way."

“Did you carry a wand with you in battle?”

"Yeah. Behind the boot, instead of a knife. I even used it once... instead of a knife."

They met looks.

"You killed him?" Leta's voice has changed.

"Yes. Straight in the eye."

Her lips parted, but Leta changed her mind to speak. Looked away.

“Now I understand why you are the Head Auror,” she said slowly.

“Because I can kill with a wand without magic?”

Leta shook her head.

"Because you do not fluctuate."

Instead of answering, he intercepted her neck, pulled her to him. The sharp face of the pagan goddess approached the face of Theseus.

“Nox,” Leta whispered. The light turned off.

Lips, on which there was no trace of lipstick, pressed to his lips, and Theseus realized that it was equally and absolutely not enough for both of them.

***

They fell asleep in the morning and woke up, barely beginning to get light, to make love again in tacit consent. Silent, like a backwater, Leta listened to his ragged breathe, his moans and tried to keep in mind how they sounded, how the muscles tensed, when he rested on his arms, lifting himself, pushing deeper into her; she tried to memorize the relief of his lean, sinewy, bony and heavy body, the location of the scars on his back, dug her nails in it, wanting to leave her marks on him, even if short-lived, and she vowed to herself that she would never have anyone, never, and then the orgasm cleaned all the efforts, all the oaths and all the hooks to which the memories clung.

It became quite light. He had to get dressed, thank her and leave. So do all random lovers, whose names and faces aren't remembered.

Why does she think about random lovers? She should not think about them. For their sake, she never wanted to throw a bathrobe, to go downstairs, to make coffee and to fry toast without any wands...

Is it also random for Theseus? Maybe that's why everything turned out so easily?

Something must have changed in her face, because Theseus smiled, touched her lips with his fingers. The movements were relaxed, as if he didn’t care about the morning and he wasn’t going anywhere.

"I thought you like my brother."

"No, I always liked you."

He laughed, and Leta laughed hastily with him: it can always be said that tears came out of laughter.

"You are a shameless little liar!"

“Okay, okay...” She dried her eyes. “Newt and I kissed once, when we were fifteen, and after that I decided that he was too good to allow him to plunge.”

Theseus raised his eyebrows.

“So I’m not good enough?”

“No, but I thought you were smart enough not to plunge.”

"Double shameless little liar!"

Letha felt that her lips were trembling, and turned away, pulled the blanket to herself. Yes, a liar, the liar, covering all life the most terrible deception. Even her birth was just a result of deception.

Theseus' fingers slid along her back, circling the vertebrae...

"Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, but did not dare to turn to face him.

“I have to repent of something, Mr. Scamander.”

In his silence, bewilderment was most clearly felt.

“I’m not a Muggle the confessor, Miss Lestrange, and I don’t give absolution.” He also changed the tone.

"Anyway, I have to repent." She exhaled. "Everything that happened... there, at the celebration... and here, in this bed... it happened, because my father wanted it so."

She did not turn around, and Theseus was silent. It was silent for a long time. Life passed, then another, the universe ended, and the silence all lasted and lasted.

Finally it stopped with the simplest:

"I do not understand."

She needed to hurry to explain everything, because too much time had already been lost. Otherwise, others will explain.

"He wanted to have influence on the new Head Auror. And this way, this way... this is proven. And now I repent."

At last, she had the courage to look back.

Theseus looked at her without condemnation or contempt - and, as far as she could judge, he was still not going anywhere. Her heart failed.

"I was so bad?"

It was such an unexpected question that Leta’s tears dried out.

"No!"

They exchanged a tense smiles.

"Well, you seduced me. What was the future plan?"

Leta opened her eyes, unable to believe that he took her revelations so calmly, that he simply dropped its as irrelevant. Maybe Theseus did not understand what she just confessed? No, he understood. Almighty Merlin, he interests in her and nothing else? Nothing at all?

"To get into your trust."

“Congratulations,” Theseus said seriously. He sat down, gently took Letu by the shoulders, and peace enveloped her. "You got."

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

What theories do you have about Theseus? Do you think he is a loving brother, an ass, what would drive him to be engaged to Leta? Will he be Tina’s boss in the future if he survives the second film? Will he survive? I’m just intrigued by him and I’m curious about the impact he will have in Newt and Tina’s lives.

Hmm…now that’s a good question indeed! I’m not sure how I view him right now, though I have multiple theories/ideas…

Also, I’ve been reading his page on the Potter wikia, which has all the sources and stuff for what I’m about to talk about! (Theseus’ page)

Part of me thinks he might be a loving brother to some degree, or at least loyal to his brother, because we can see him and Newt fighting side-by-side against something in the teaser for CoG. 

Also, in the beginning of the LEGO Dimensions game/FB expansion pack, there’s a letter Theseus wrote to Newt and they seem to be on good terms. That letter seems to be canon as I saw it’s to be a part of some exhibition or something? Like there’s some event or whatever (maybe it was a book/sneak-peek of a book) and I saw a picture with a part of that letter, signed by Theseus.

The letter can be glimpsed in this photo:

He’s also described as being a war-hero, and “a powerful wizard”; according to the wikia, “Theseus was one of the “thousands” who defied Minister for Magic Archer Evermonde’s emergency legislation forbidding the British wizarding community of war-time involvement.”

However, we know from JKR that the rest of Newt’s family is “very Ministry” and that they don’t really understand him or his fascination with magical creatures, and Theseus is now engaged to Leta, who is Newt’s old flame, which makes me think Theseus could be kind of a dick? 

Theseus could, of course, just not understand but still love and support his brother which is what I think the case might be. 

Theseus (with Leta) is also present with the Aurors/team who go to see Dumbledore about Newt, which is intriguing! Does he not know where his brother is or…? The letter I mentioned above seems to confirm that he has no idea where Newt is.

Obviously Callum Turner is a lot younger than Eddie Redmayne, despite Theseus being the older one; I’ve got a strong feeling that the reason for this might be because Eddie is obviously going to play Newt from ages 29-48 (Newt will be 48 in the final film/1945!), and maybe they cast Theseus as being younger because he’s going to be killed while he’s young? I don’t know if that makes sense, but if Newt does end up out-living Theseus during the franchise, then Newt will of course eventually end up being older than Theseus’ age of death by the end of the series.

Does that make sense? XD 

I would be interested in what kind of boss he’d be to Tina, to be honest…

The Theseus/Leta thing intrigues me; I can’t help but wonder if arranged marriages are a thing in the Wizarding World. However, perhaps he didn’t know that Newt and Leta were a thing? I mean, we don’t know how much older than Newt he’s supposed to be, but perhaps he didn’t go to school at the same time? Perhaps he had graduated by the time Newt was friends with Leta/expelled?

I feel like we really don’t know enough about Theseus yet, so I hope we get more information on him in the months to come!

[secrethorcruxes]

Minister: Dugald McPhail
Term of Office: 1858 - 1865
A safe pair of hands. While the Muggle parliament underwent a period of marked upheaval, the Ministry of Magic knew a period of welcome calm. Minister: Faris “Spout-hole” Spavin
Term of Office: 1865 - 1903
Longest-ever serving Minister for Magic, and also the most long-winded, he survived an ‘assassination attempt’ (kicking) from a centaur who resented the punchline of Spavin’s infamous 'a centaur, a ghost and a dwarf walk into a bar’ joke. Attended Queen Victoria’s funeral in an admiral’s hat and spats, at which point the Wizengamot suggested gently that it was time he move aside (Spavin was 147 when he left office). Minister: Venusia Crickerly
Term of Office: 1903 - 1912
Second ex-Auror to take office and considered both competent and likeable, Crickerly died in a freak gardening accident (mandrake related). Minister: Archer Evermonde
Term of Office: 1912 - 1923
In post during the Muggle First World War, Evermonde passed emergency legislation forbidding witches and wizards to get involved, lest they risk mass infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy. Thousands defied him, aiding Muggles where they could. Minister: Lorcan McLaird
Term of Office: 1923 - 1925
A gifted wizard, but an unlikely politician, McLaird was an exceptionally taciturn man who preferred to communicate in monosyllables and expressive puffs of smoke that he produced through the end of his wand. Forced from office out of sheer irritation at his eccentricities. Minister: Hector Fawley
Term of Office: 1925 - 1939
Undoubtedly voted in because of his marked difference to McLaird, the ebullient and flamboyant Fawley did not take sufficiently seriously the threat presented to the world wizarding community by Gellert Grindelwald. He paid with his job. Minister: Leonard Spencer-Moon
Term of Office: 1939 - 1948
A sound Minister who rose through the ranks from being tea-boy in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Oversaw a great period of international wizarding and Muggle conflict. Enjoyed a good working relationship with Winston Churchill. https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/ministers-for-magic