#better yet. bring sirius to camp..

[quillkiller]

thoughts on dolores/regulus crackship? it’s in the same weird ass vein as gilderat and i find myself fucking with it….

i have never ever heard of or considered this before but honestly they could be such prissy little buzzkill rule-following cunts together…

[lulu-recs]

wolfstar

these polar twins by synonomy

“we didn’t really stop to think about it, did we? how big this is. how everything has suddenly changed.”

or : sirius and remus adjust to being prospective parents.

gaymer by ladyamina

prompted by an image on tumblr. sirius gets a job at a video rental store, a decision which may or may not have something to do with the gamer boy who comes in once a week.

let's go out with a bang by orphan_account

when remus is ready to throttle the next customer who is rude to him, he ends up meeting sirius black, and his entire day is turned round for the better. especially when it ends in an after work snog.

the truth in the dare by marie_tomas ♡

remus has no idea why the gryffindors always dare sirius to snog him every time james, peter and sirius play truth or dare. yet for some reason, he can't bring himself to complain about it.

the erotic bourgeois ennui by aryastark_valarmorghulis

sirius comes back to his small provincial town to enjoy his alleged intellectual superiority, finds love instead.

shutterspeed by shaggydogstail

‘you’re perfect,’ said remus. ‘will you marry me?’

sirius blinked. ‘come again?’ ‘shit, did I say that out loud?’ remus backed away, startled. ‘I um… what I meant to say… that is I should have said… er. would you like a cup of tea?’

‘I’ll get back to you,’ said sirius, already pulling out his phone as he walked away. he and lily were going to have serious words. words that involved her vetting procedures, and not the odd compulsion he’d felt to say yes.

almost family by marie_tomas

a couple of years after the marauders complete their seventh year at hogwarts, remus goes to godric's hollow to pay one of his regular visits to james, lily and baby harry.

not long after he arrives, he realises that sirius is also there for a visit, too, looking as handsome as ever. to remus's surprise, sirius decides that in the face of a wizarding war and an uncertain future, it's about time he finally confesses something to remus...

reindeer games by maddy_does (favefangirl)

truth or dare is the perfect opportunity for sirius to see what the strange feelings brewing between he and remus really mean.

a potion of devotion by swisscheeseplant

ignore what moony says, sirius is not in love with snivellus.

seventh-year veritaserum-fueled spin-the-bottle by halictus

veritaserum-fueled spin-the-bottle is a dangerous game. they’re about to graduate, no one can lie, and sirius notices remus’s lips for the first time.

unexpected revelations by killianjones32

seven minutes in heaven with wolfstar but with a slight twist. sirius has had a crush on remus for a while now but when the opportunity presents itself for them to take their friendship to the next level, sirius isn't sure if it's exactly what he wants.

going as planned by torrentialturtles

camping, drinking, awkward kissing.

a dance move too complex by dark_owl_records

“he’s trying to find me a girlfriend,” remus admits.

lily immediately snorts at the prospect, but then, when turning to say something, she sees his face. what he looks like he can’t be sure, but it’s bad enough that she stops herself and says, “no, you're serious? he’s really… wow, boys are stupid.”

“lily.” “right, no, sorry. just. why does he-?” “it’s a long story.”

"I bet you can't go one week without moony" by orphan_account

james has challenged sirius to a bet; can he survive one whole week without his boyfriend?

black family traditions by orphan_account

the black family is weird, and sirius forgets that not everyone's parents are also cousins.

cereal monogamy *oh my god they were quarantined* by girlwithacrown

just some stupid fluff with a hinch of crushing self-doubt and the strangness of being adult. also because covid-19 we are now stuck with this prompt and honestly why not

quarantine by orphan_account

the coronavirus has put the entire world in lockdown, social distancing is the new normal, and remus is restless inside his apartment. however, with some help from his best friend and roommate, sirius, he finds that quarantine isn't so bad afterall.

quarantine partners by pixelated (prettyremus)

they’ve been quarantined in their flat for twelve days now, but with the way things are carrying on outside, it is looking like this could possibly last months. remus, the introvert, is just now beginning to feel the effects of being sequestered away from the world, but sirius started going stir-crazy around day four. but, they’ve managed to keep one another distracted with different activities: baking together, catching up with their ever growing netflix queue, reading out loud to each other, and plenty of frisky romps in the sack followed by sweaty and sticky cuddling.

you burn brighter than the stars by the_wolf_the_rat_the_dog_and_the_stag ♡

remus meets sirius at the university bookstore where he works and falls instantly in love.

to reach the soul by orphan_account

when remus lupin is invited to attend a deaf dance academy for part of his bsl level, he doesn't expect to meet someone like sirius black. but the moment he does, his entire world is turned upside down.

sun in my eyes by orphan_account

remus lupin struggles with a lot of things in life. bipolar disorder, being poor, and working as an artist. he has a strict routine and plans to keep it that way with the help of his best friends lily and james until one day james' best mate from school shows up and turns everything upside down. when art model sirius enters remus' life like a whirlwind, nothing will ever be the same.

reeled by lunchbucket

remus decides to finally spend a summer day with his childhood best friend, sirius, after not seeing him for three years. but when old feelings quickly start to resurface, remus is left feeling like no time has passed at all.

love and magic by lurikko

"it's a bad idea," remus says. "it's a brilliant idea," sirius says.

or : a tiny incident with a potion.

heart and soul by shiftylinguini

the dumbest thing remus ever did was ask sirius what he wanted to do for his 21st birthday. the smartest thing he ever did was agree to do it.

paddfoot & prongs coffee by adavison

a stolen almond milk latte leads remus to trying padfoot & prongs coffee, a new vegan coffee shop not too far from campus. luckily, a perfectly brewed latte isn't the only thing he'll discover there.

drowning in the blue nile by realityshowjunky ♡

remus goes on a date. his estranged husband sirius has strong objections.

or : a not-so-average weekend in the life of remus, teddy, and sirius black.

on behalf of the souls by orphan_account

when remus gets into an unwitting row with a couple of drunk men at the pub, the last thing he expects is for the gorgeous person at the end of the bar to come to his rescue. but the universe seems to be interested in seeing them together, as sirius black finds something he likes very much about remus lupin, and aims to keep him

see the light in others by unlucky_charms ♡

sirius shifted his whole body to face remus and bought his hands to cup his friends face. "you're perfect to me, with or without the scar, remus lupin." he smiled. "you can't see me, sirius!" "and you'd be the most beautiful human I'd ever laid eyes on if I could. considering that will never happen, you'll just have to be the most beautiful human I've ever touched or heard, won't you? it was destiny that I met you, I think, rem. I don't know why."

remus knew he'd ask out the beautiful blind artist at some point, but things just seemed to keep getting in the way (mainly anxiety, sometimes friends, definitely family.) what had sirius called it again? cosmic karma?

signs of affection by kittycargo

“hello, everyone! my name is-” the professor did something quick with his fingers and the interpreter paused for just a moment before continuing, “-remus lupin. I’ll be your teacher for asl I."

when sirius learns that he'll have a deaf student in his class next year, he takes an asl I summer course at his local community college. he didn't expect the professor to be so attractive though.

wolf instincts and primal proclivities by cancerravenclaw

“stop me, sirius. I can’t—I can’t—”

sirius let out a dreamy sigh, tracing light fingers over Remus' cheekbones. looking fucking reverent at whatever he saw. “oh, there’s my moony. my moony eyes. all gold, just for me, hm?” sirius’ pupils bloomed wide, black eclipsing gray, swallowing it up. nearly a new moon looking back at him.

“pads, please—” he whimpered as sirius pressed against him harder, rutting his hips as he stared into remus’ eyes, looking utterly gone. high and blissed the fuck out.

fuck, remus knew that look. moony did, too, and growled impatiently, furious at the restraint he was somehow showing. a knowing smirk lifted the corner of sirius’ lips. “does moony want to come out and play?” take, the wolf howled.

fingertips by cruisinwritealong

he can stop my entire world with just his fingertips. ‘I love you’ they say. I flip my hand, letting my fingertips drag against his before lacing our fingers together. ’so goddamn much’ I say back.

larry stylinson

face your fears by sadaveniren ♡

harry is a single father, pretending to be a beta after his alpha mated him and left him. he’s getting by just fine raising the twins when louis walks into his bakery. too bad him and louis will never be a thing.

to a higher place by crimsontheory

louis arrives home during his break from tour just in time for harry’s rut

there with open arms by cupcakentea

it’s only when he reaches his chest, dabbing at harry’s scratches that he realises. harry still hasn’t moved. “baby, you know I don’t mind but just a head’s up, you’ll have to get up so I can change the sheets.” he’s only met with silence. when he looks up, harry’s eyes look just as dazed as they did. something is wrong.

harry drops, louis brings him back

your memory over me by shimmeringevil ♡

three years have passed since louis last saw him, but all it took was a few minutes in harry’s presence for him to be relegated to the desperate twenty-one year old that was practically begging his boyfriend for an ounce of reassurance that he still cared about him. harry shouldn’t be here. he’s brought too many unresolved feelings with him, that louis thought he’d never have to face.

it’s harry’s apparent apathy that’s the most difficult to come to terms with. anger, he could handle. regret, he would welcome. but harry’s amiability, and carefree demeanor can only be born from indifference. he’s moved on. he doesn’t care. and that is something louis doesn’t think he’ll ever be strong enough to face.

or : the worst heartbreak of louis’ life walks right back into it when his parents invite their family friends on an all-expenses-paid trip for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. facing a past that he tried to bury long ago, louis learns that some people have a way of sticking with you even when they’re gone.

I drove all night (to get to you) by lovelarry10

“sorry mate, but I think you’re my ride?” harry just stared, not blinking at the man in front of him, wondering what he’d done in a past life to deserve this. “you’re louis tomlinson.” “I was last time I checked,” louis chuckled, still leaning in through the passenger window. harry knew he was staring and not in a polite way, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn away in case this was all a dream, and he most definitely didn't want to wake up if that was the case. “can I get in, then? would kind of like to avoid more photos of my arse in the paper if it’s alright with you...”

harry’s job as a chauffeur for the rich and famous was not as flashy as he’d thought. late nights having to listen to the ridiculous demands and whims of these high profile clients leaves him disheartened with the world he thought was all glitz and glamour. one night his boss asks him a favour. to collect one last client before he clocks off. only problem is when that client gets into the car it’s louis tomlinson. as in harry’s all time crush. as in future husband and father of all his children louis tomlinson. he can be cool and professional, right?

[dhr-ao3]

Cinder

Cinder https://ift.tt/lbyU9N8 by GoWithTheFlo20 Rhaenyra Targaryen does not drink the Moon Tea Viserys sends to her chambers that fateful night. Voldemort’s death does not bring to a close the worst war the Wizarding World has ever seen. A colony of refugees makes camp near Winterfell in hopes of building a stable home. On first glance, these happenstances might seem disconnected, crudely stitched together in conjecture and pure, dumb coincidences. Yet each one holds one mutual denominator that will inevitably change Cregan Stark’s life. For better, for worse, perhaps only the Old Gods can see. Cregan merely knows that since the day Hemlock Potter smiled at him, he was done for. Words: 1362, Chapters: 1/28, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, House of the Dragon (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/M Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Criston Cole, Alicent Hightower, Aegon II Targaryen, Helaena Targaryen, Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen, Daeron Targaryen (Son of Viserys I), Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Viserys I Targaryen, Jacaerys Velaryon, Lucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra), Cregan Stark Relationships: Harry Potter/Cregan Stark, Daemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra Targaryen, Criston Cole/Alicent Hightower, Criston Cole/Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower/Viserys I Targaryen, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson/Ron Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin Additional Tags: Female Harry Potter, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, The Greens | Aegon II Targaryen's Faction, The First Men (A Song of Ice and Fire), Daemon Targaryen Bashing, Justice For Rhea Royce, The Targaryens Can Get Out Of Here With Their Valyrian Supremacist Bullshit, Looking At You Daemon, Pro Criston Cole, Pro Alicent Hightower, Pro Greens, Did I Mention This is Green Propaganda?, Because this is Green Propaganda, Canon-Typical Violence, Azor Ahai Prophecy | The Prince That Was Promised, Adopted Harry Potter, Pro Otto Hightower Because Why The Hell Not, Justice For the Smallfolk Rhaenys Massacred For No Reason, VERY Pro Smallfolk in General, Dornish Culture & Customs (A Song of Ice and Fire), Dorne (A Song of Ice and Fire) via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/YG15KfV April 09, 2023 at 07:42PM

[ashes-and-ashes]

could we have a fic where remus leaves? like flat out once he knows James and lily are ok (canon divergence - they survived) he checks on them says goodbye and just straight out leaves, leaving sirius to realise what a little shit he is cause who in their right mind would betray their own soulmate?

Somehow, I’ll always come back to these two :)

~

“You’re leaving,” Sirius says.

Remus freezes. He’s on his knees in the flat - their flat, all peeling walls and splintering floorboards, newspaper on the windows. If he inhales deep enough he can smell smoke and rain and the acrid scent of magic.

Remus swallows, slowly. His knees ache - he had skinned them raw back at the house, knelt in broken glass as he dug through the debris. Blood soaks through the thin fabric of his pants, seeps into the floor.

“Yeah,” he says, because there’s no point in trying to deny it. It’s been two years and yet he still felt as if Sirius was flaying him alive. “Yeah, I’m leaving.”

Silence. His voice sounds broken, shot through with exhaustion. Sirius doesn’t sound much better - Remus closes his eyes, remembers the blown-out house and the crumbling debris and Sirius screaming, tearing his hands to shreds as he pulled James’ limp body from the wreckage.

And it didn’t even matter that it had been two years, that the scars from all the Fulls alone still ached under Remus’ clothing. Sirius had screamed and Remus was there, still coming back after everything. Still helping him hold back rubble, carrying Lily with shaking hands, Harry sobbing into his shoulder.

Remus tilts his head back, stares up at the ceiling. Beside him, Sirius makes a low noise, as if he had been punched. “Remus…”

“Don’t,” Remus says. “Don’t bother.”

He’s doesn’t look at Sirius. He can picture him too clearly, all long lines and exhaustion, stretched out to the point of breaking. Leaning against the doorframe, one leg propped against the wall. In another life Remus would’ve scolded him, you’re leaving marks! and Sirius would toss his head back and laugh.

Memories. A thousand cups of tea at the table, a thousand kisses bracketed against doorways. He used to close his eyes at the werewolf camps and dream about home, falling asleep on the couch with Sirius’ hands in his hair, rooftops and motorcycles and the wisp of a burning cigarette.

Remus pushes himself to his feet - he sways, slightly, and he hears Sirius reach out before he catches himself. “God, Remus, I - “

Remus shakes his head. “No,” he says. He expected it to sound vicious but it sounds flat, hollow and aching. “Don’t lie to me. You’re not sorry.”

He forces himself to look at Sirius, all smudged shadows, a pencil sketch half wiped away. Beautiful, the way that broken glass was beautiful in all its shattered pieces. Sirius meets his gaze - despite everything his eyes were still grey.

A heartbeat. Two. Sirius’ mouth drags up at the edge, a painful rendition of his old smirk. “Yeah. I’m not.”

The words hurt, lodging somewhere deep under his rib cage. “Why?” Remus breathes.

Blood runs from Sirius’ fists, torn up from glass and wood and stone. He brings his hand up to his face, swipes his hair away from his eyes; his hands are impossibly steady. Sirius always shut down before a fight, sharpening into jagged edges. “I was protecting them. You would have done the same.”

Remus inhales sharply. “Protected them? Sure. But I wouldn’t have betrayed my - “

He chokes, biting off the noise viciously. A thousand different words - Sirius had always said there wasn’t anything to describe them.

He had said a lot of things.

Sirius’ fingers go white against the doorframe, fingers digging in so hard that Remus can see the blood welling, skin splitting deeper into his hand. It’ll leave marks, he thinks, absently, then has to clamp down on the twist of pain in his chest. Sirius always loved to martyr himself, spilling blood as if it were penance for his sins. He’s still watching Remus, waiting for him to twist the knife in a little deeper and it’s so Sirius it hurts.

“I wouldn’t have,” Remus repeats, quietly, brokenly. “You know I wouldn’t.”

Sirius closes his eyes. One bleeding, bruised hand drifts up, to his collarbones, to the stars and the moon sunk under his skin.

“I know,” he says, and then he smiles, impossibly, heartbreakingly beautiful. “But you always were a better person than I was.”

[mariacallous]

If a French or German or other “foreign” character appears in the Harry Potter novels, it is always as a cliché: Fleur and Krum both speak as if to be from “the Continent” is a joke in itself. The ban on sexual matters is also observed fairly pedantically, though as time has elapsed Rowling has probably acquired male readers who find themselves having vaguely impure thoughts about Hermione Granger (if not, because the thing seems somehow impossible, about Ginny Weasley). Most interesting of all, perhaps, and as noted by Orwell, “religion is also taboo.” The schoolchildren appear to know nothing of Christianity; in this latest novel Harry and even Hermione are ignorant of two well-known biblical verses encountered in a churchyard. That the main characters nonetheless have a strong moral code and a solid ethical commitment will be a mystery to some — like his holiness the pope and other clerical authorities who have denounced the series — while seeming unexceptionable to many others. As Hermione phrases it, sounding convincingly Kantian or even Russellian about something called the Resurrection Stone:

“How can I possibly prove it doesn’t exist? Do you expect me to get hold of — of all the pebbles in the world and test them? I mean, you could claim that anything’s real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody’s proved it doesn’t exist.”

For all this apparently staunch secularism, it is ontology that ultimately slackens the tension that ought to have kept these tales vivid and alive. Theologians have never been able to answer the challenge that contrasts God’s claims to simultaneous omnipotence and benevolence: whence then cometh evil? The question is the same if inverted in a Manichean form: how can Voldemort and his wicked forces have such power and yet be unable to destroy a mild-mannered and rather disorganized schoolboy? In a short story this discrepancy might be handled and also swiftly resolved in favor of one outcome or another, but over the course of seven full-length books the mystery, at least for this reader, loses its ability to compel, and in this culminating episode the enterprise actually becomes tedious. Is there really no Death Eater or dementor who is able to grasp the simple advantage of surprise?

The repeated tactic of deus ex machina (without a deus) has a deplorable effect on both the plot and the dialogue. The need for Rowling to play catch-up with her many convolutions infects her characters as well. Here is Harry trying to straighten things out with a servile house-elf:

“ ‘I don’t understand you, Kreacher,’ he said finally. ‘Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them ...’ ”

Yes, well, one sees why he is confused. The exchange takes place during an abysmally long period during which the threesome of Harry, Hermione and Ron are flung together, with weeks of time to spend camping invisibly and only a few inexplicable escapes from death to alleviate the narrative. The grand context of Hogwarts School is removed, at least until the closing scenes, and Rowling also keeps forgetting that things are either magical or they are not: Hermione’s family surely can’t be any safer from the Dark Lord by moving to Australia, and Hagrid’s corporeal bulk cannot make any difference to his ability, or otherwise, to mount a broomstick. A boring subtext, about the wisdom or otherwise of actually uttering Voldemort’s name, meanwhile robs the apotropaic device of its force.

For some time now the novels have been attempting a kind of secular dramatization of the battle between good and evil. The Ministry of Magic (one of Rowling’s better inventions) has been seeking to impose a version of the Nuremberg Laws on England, classifying its subjects according to blood and maintaining its own Gestapo as well as its own Azkaban gulag. But again, over time and over many, many pages this scenario fails to chill: most of the “muggle” population goes about its ordinary existence, and every time the secret police close in, our heroes are able to “disapparate” — a term that always makes me think of an attempt at English by George W. Bush. The prejudice against bank-monopoly goblins is modeled more or less on anti-Semitism and the foul treatment of elves is meant to put us in mind of slavery, but the overall effect of this is somewhat thin and derivative, and subject to diminishing returns.

In this final volume there is a good deal of loose-end gathering to be done. Which side was Snape really on? Can Neville Longbottom rise above himself? Are the Malfoys as black as they have been painted? Unfortunately — and with the solid exception of Neville, whose gallantry is well evoked — these resolutions prove to possess all the excitement of an old-style Perry Mason-type summing-up, prompted by a stock character who says, “There’s just one thing I don’t understand. ...” Most of all this is true of Voldemort himself, who becomes more tiresome than an Ian Fleming villain, or the vicious but verbose Nicolae Carpathia in the Left Behind series, as he offers boastful explanations that are at once grandiose and vacuous. This bad and pedantic habit persists until the final duel, which at least sees us back in the old school precincts once again. “We must not let in daylight upon magic,” as Walter Bagehot remarked in another connection, and the wish to have everything clarified is eventually self-defeating in its own terms. In her correct determination to bring down the curtain decisively, Rowling has gone further than she should, and given us not so much a happy ending as an ending which suggests that evil has actually been defeated (you should forgive the expression) for good.

Greater authors — Arthur Conan Doyle most notably — have been in the same dilemma when seeking closure. And, like Conan Doyle, Rowling has won imperishable renown for giving us an identifiable hero and a fine caricature of a villain, and for making a fictional bit of King’s Cross station as luminous as a certain address on nearby Baker Street. It is given to few authors to create a world apart, and to populate it as well as illustrate it in the mind. As one who actually did once go to boarding school by steam train, at 8, I enjoyed reading aloud to children and coming across Diagon Alley and Grimmauld Place, and also shuddering at the memory of the sarcastic schoolmasters (and Privet Drives) I have known.

The distinctly slushy close of the story may seem to hold out the faint promise of a sequel, but I honestly think and sincerely hope that this will not occur. The toys have been put firmly back in the box, the wand has been folded up, and the conjuror is discreetly accepting payment while the children clamor for fresh entertainments. (I recommend that they graduate to Philip Pullman, whose daemon scheme is finer than any patronus.) It’s achievement enough that “19 years later,” as the last chapter-heading has it, and quite probably for many decades after that, there will still be millions of adults who recall their initiation to literature as a little touch of Harry in the night.

[missfiggy]

The Tablet

For dear @clare-with-no-i on her birthday!

I'm always vaguely working on some massively long marauder series for the last three years at Hogwarts but have never come close to finishing it.

Sharing a chapter from the never to be published work that takes place in the summer before Fifth Year. It features some of the architecture and floral and fauna of the beloved Potter House head canon we share, and it's about friendship, so I thought it appropriate for your bday!

Enjoy and happy happy day!

Rating: Probably PG-13 for language and subject matter

The Tablet

“James Potter, you are a bloody idiot,” muttered the boy to himself as he nervously ran his fingers through his unruly mop of black hair.

Standing in a dense oak woodland, James Potter clambered over a few jagged rocks and felled trees to reach his abandoned broomstick that lay near the riverbed of a spluttering stream. He gingerly picked up the gleaming broom handle and gently turned it over in his hands, examining it for any signs of damage. It was his brand new Nimbus 1500, a congratulatory gift from his father for being named captain of his house quidditch team. His brand new broomstick that he just ploughed into the thick old tree trunk.

The accident wasn’t his fault really. James thought back to all the times he whizzed through the forest without incident. His family’s house was situated on the edge of an ancient forest. Since he was a boy, James would run time trials through the trees. First, he’d set the course by hanging scarves over various branches on a winding path. Then, he’d slalom through the trees, retrieving the scarves as quickly as he could manage, each run through an opportunity to shave seconds off his best times.

If I hadn’t been distracted, he thought grimly. James knew that was neither fair nor accurate. He’d flown distracted dozens of times. In fact, he often flew specifically because he was distracted or upset. He knew the speed and the wind and the sky would chip away at his burdened mind until there was nothing left. Just him and pure flight. Still, a niggling memory bounced at the back of his mind, commandeering his thoughts and frustrating him endlessly.

The morning before, James awoke to a dry, high pitch scratching noise: the sound of a writing on a chalkboard. He knew immediately where the sound was coming from. He popped out of bed and stumbled over to his desk. He grabbed a small black slate rectangle upon which white words were appearing in a familiar script. The tablets had been his friend Peter’s idea. A way for James and his four best friends to communicate instantaneously, even when not together. The boys took four pieces of slate and charmed them so that what was written on one would appear on them all. The boys made a pact not to erase til all four of them had initialed the message, indicating it was received (exceptions, of course, were to be made when a slate was at risk of falling into the hands of a parent or a teacher).

Good sirs! Better bring that bottle of Ogden’s next week. I. Am. Now. A. Man. - SB

James knew immediately what his best mate, Sirius Black, meant by that. In their third year, when girls stopped being just slightly better smelling classmates and started becoming the most alluring, terrifying, and confounding creatures imaginable, James and his mates made a pact. If one of the boys ever plucked up the courage to talk to one of the girls, and in talking so persuaded said creature to snog, and in snogging so persuaded said creature to shag, then the other three boys were obliged to chip in and buy a bottle of Ogden’s Old Firewhiskey for the conquering hero.

Well then, James thought numbly, laying the slate back on his desk, there’s that.

As he thought back to that moment, James couldn’t account for why he hadn’t whooped with joy for his friend. Nor could he account for the sickening twisting feeling that had been growing in his chest over the last day.

James kicked a small rock, sending it careening into the stream where it landed with a satisfying plonk.

Of course Sirius would be the first. He was the oldest, even if only by five months. He also always seemed to be the one breaking new territory in their little group. Sirius was the first to get told off by McGonagall. He was also the first to discover how to get into the Hogwarts kitchens.

Now that James’s mind was on the topic of kitchens, he thought of the pasties Figgy was baking when he’d left that morning. They’d be golden and flaky now. Perhaps it was just hunger twisting his guts. With his broom over his shoulder, he turned to climb back towards home.

But Sirius isn’t always the first in everything, a bitter voice piped in from the back of James’s mind, ploughing over his theory that he was just hungry and not actually upset.

I’m not upset.

Still, James couldn’t help but search through his memory to recall times that he’d been the first to achieve a milestone. There was the first time he got detention...only Sirius had been there as well. James had been the first to be asked to Hogsmeade by a girl. Though even then, James wasn’t clear on whether that point would go to him or Sirius. It had been a very confusing affair. Elspeth Fitzgerald, one of the most popular girls in their year, asked James out, and then asked if Sirius would take out her friend Tamsin, too. Or maybe Elspeth was asking James to ask Sirius to ask Tamsin out, and James came along as the bonus date. He couldn’t be sure. Girls were confusing like that. Either way, James was definitely the first one to properly snog a girl. He remembers that clearly, because as Elspeth was shoving her tongue down his throat, Sirius was trying to get Tamsin to stop crying her bloody head off.

Of course, James conceded, his one time snogging session was not exactly the model of success. Sirius at least had a few follow up dates with Tamsin, and there were rumors all last year that they’d still occasionally snog. Elspeth and James produced about as much heat as a Chinese Fireball with a sore throat.

You were the first to make a house quidditch team, a defiant voice added.

That was right. James was the first, not just his friends, but of his whole bloody year to make a house Quidditch team. He made reserves for Gryffindor his second year and was a proper Chaser in his third. This year was supposed to be his biggest triumph yet. When his school list arrived earlier in the summer, James was honestly surprised to see the gold captain’s badge tumble out of the envelope. Quidditch captain! James could not think of a time when a fifth year had made captain. Even his father had never heard of it. And the Gryffindor team was an older team. There were several sixth and seventh year players who would have been just as deserving, maybe even more, but McGongall chose James.

He hadn’t even mentioned it to his friends yet. He reasoned that, surely, his good friend Moony would also be named prefect that summer. Moony never really got his fair amount of time in the spotlight, given how brilliant he was, so James was happy to sit on his own news until closer to school. He was planning on telling his friends this next week, when the three of them joined James and his father for their annual end-of-summer camping trip on the moors. Sirius’s latest news totally derailed that plan. With topics like shagging on offer, no one would want to talk about silly old Quidditch.

Is that why it bothers me? Because Sirius is going to be the center of attention? James asked himself, feeling a bit unsettled. He finally reached the edge of the woods, pausing to look out onto the grassy clearing that led up to his home. James stood there and tried to probe his own mind, his own feelings. Yes, he liked attention, but what fifteen year old boy didn’t? Did he like it enough to begrudge his friends their own turns in the sun?

Absolutely not, rebutted a vehement voice inside his head.

He was just thinking about how he’d given Moony the whole summer to enjoy the attention of being a newly minted prefect. And Sirius? James and Sirius were even better friends, brothers even. James didn’t resent Sirius because he’d gotten laid. That was ridiculous.

So why does it bother you?

James thought that over as he looked out on vista stretching out from his family’s land. In the distance, exposed rocks jutted out from the valley’s cresting hillside. A great pile of boulders on the farthest tor gleamed rosy pink as the sun sat low on the horizon. He really was fine with the fact that Sirius had been the first to lose his virginity. It was better really, James argued, that way Sirius could tell James what he had learned, and then James would have a better shot of not mucking things up his own first time. Though James supposed for that to happen, he would actually have to sit down with Sirius and talk about it. It wasn’t the sort of thing that could be explained in a letter.

Or on a slate, a nasty voice snorted.

As James turned as made his was towards the house, he was suddenly furious with that stupid little slate. As if all his friends needed all the same information at the exact same time. It was a ridiculous thought to have made them. Probably just Peter’s attempt to feel more included…

Stop that right now, James Potter, he chided himself.

This wasn’t about Peter (and his Gemino charm really was inspired). It wasn’t Pete’s fault James was feeling this way. It wasn’t even Sirius’s fault, James reasoned. Neither of them were responsible for his feelings. It was his own stupid feelings. They were just being unreasonable and running amok and making James feel ridiculous and hurt because Sirius didn’t tell James first.

There it is, James thought, as a bit of tension slowly eased in his chest. He was upset because Sirius didn’t write to him specifically. James and Sirius were not better than their friends, but they were better friends. For all their bravado and performed nonchalance, there was a level of honesty that James and Sirius shared, a closeness. And Sirius let James find out this really big news alongside everyone else, like he was just anyone else. That action did not feel particularly brotherly.

That still left the matter of James feeling ridiculous. He knew, logically, that Sirius progressing did not mean that James was regressing, but it still felt that way. As if Sirius’s new maturity made James by comparison more juvenile. James tried to reassure himself that Peter and Remus would be in the same boat, but even as that thought crossed his mind he questioned its veracity. Though, at the end of last term, Peter had developed a rather determined fixation on breasts. Size, shape, who had them, who didn’t, whose were the best in their year, whose were the best in Britain: Peter had an opinion about all of it. James thought he was taking things a little far, but maybe he’d just reached a maturity point that James had not. And while Remus did not talk about girls or snogging the same way the other lads in their year did but maybe that was a sign also a sign of maturity -- a sign he was even more mature than Peter’s mature. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a seventh year Gryffindor James thought was a cert for the captain’s badge, never prattled on about all the girls he dated. And he’d dated a lot. James worried that he might have been the only boy at school who spent more of the summer thinking about Quidditch than sex.

When James reached the house, he pushed the heavy wood front door open and walked through. The great hall of Hartscombe Hall featured dark wood-paneling that stretched three-quarters of the way up the grey stone walls studded with mullioned windows. There was a fireplace large enough that James could still stand comfortable inside it that stood facing a long wood table.

James stopped short. What his family's great hall did not usually feature was another attractive and black-haired teenage boy sitting at the end of said table. The very same black-haired teenage boy whose actions had sent James’s mind on a discontented tailspin.

“Sirius?” James inquired, as though there was a possibility his eyes were making a fool of him, too.

Sirius smiled warmly, jumping up from the table and throwing his arms around James.. He brushed the long fringe of his sleek black hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. Sirius wore torn up denim trousers with silver pins running through the sides and a stiff leather jacket. James did not doubt that this was some new and absurd muggle fashion fad.

“Sorry for the surprise. I know you weren’t expecting me until tomorrow.”

“Mum and dad will be thrilled to see you, of course.” James said, as he released his friend from the warm embrace, feeling even sillier than he had before. “I’m chuffed too, of course, I mean obviously, but why are you here early?”

Sirius’s mood immediately darkened. “Too much Black family bonding.”

Sirius pulled out his wand and flicked it towards the massive steamer trunk he had brought. Evidently, he was all set to leave for Hogwarts directly from their camping trip. James took the cue, slinging his broom over his shoulder and motioning for Sirius to follow him up the front stairs.

“Was it worse than at Easter?” James asked, referring to the epic row Sirius had with his parents over his choice of friends earlier that year.

“Much,” Sirius said as he clomped up the stairs in his great black boots. “One of my idiot cousins is getting married, and Walburga let their whole family use Grimmauld Place as their London pied-a-terre. Apparently you can’t buy dresses in the country or some such nonsense! Parties and teas and a hen-do. It was a nightmare.”

After dropping off Sirius luggage in his designated guest room on the first floor, the boys continued on to James’s room with Sirius. Before Hogwarts, James’s room was on the first floor as well. A sprawling nursery that had its own playroom and connected to his nanny’s accommodations. Being older now, he’d moved himself up to the spacious second floor which had never been used by the main tenants. James loved the unpolished look of it. His bedroom, a converter storeroom, stretched along the end of the west wing. Old raw wood planks jutted out of the white plaster walls and arched up to meet along a central beam in the middle. James thought of it as the house’s ribcage, it’s structure laid bare.

The design scheme, if it could be so generously called, of James’s room was mercurial. The walls were covered, predictably, with banners in the bright Gryffindor colors and drab Puddlemere brown, as well as a moving poster of all the Quidditch players of the last quarter century that James admired. He pilfered his favorite things from other guest rooms in the house to create a chaotic melange of furniture. He had a massive mahogany four poster bed that required a shrinking charm to get through the doorway. To this he added long bookshelves, a heavy armoire, mismatched couches, a dart board, and even a muggle table-football table. Of all these things, James was proudest of his desk. He assembled it himself by plopping an old barn door on top of empty whiskey casks. They still filled his room with the comforting smell of peat.

Sirius walked towards said desk still nattering on about the absurdity of wedding textiles. “Honestly,” he whinged, “I didn’t even know there were different kinds of lace. Since when do fabrics have sub-fabrics.”

“It’s completely ludicrous,” James agreed. “Hopefully, this week will make up for it. Just the lads, walking all day and sitting by a fire all night, I can almost guarantee no one will be talking about textiles.”

“You saw it,” Sirius said flatly.

“What?” James started, confused by the non sequitur. He turned to see Sirius looking down at the desk. Not at the desk, at what was on the desk. James had left his slate tablet out.

“Er-- yeah,” James said in a hearty voice not wholly his own, “Congratulations, or you know, good on you!”

Sirius laughed just once. It was a hollow, quiet sound. Time droned on and the distance between the two boys stretched with it. Sirius traced his hands across the edge of the tablet as he stared out the window over the desk. In addition to Sirius’s initial pronouncement, the tablet now included a loopy scrawl from Peter asking for more details, and in his untidy scratch Moony inscrutably asked, on behalf of a Mr. Kipling, whether Sirius had indeed run a full sixty seconds worth of distance. James felt unsettled. He knew he needed to say something to end this quiet but conjuring any actual words felt beyond his current abilities.

“D’ya mind?” Sirius asked without turning to look at James. He just held a gold pack of rolled muggle cigarettes above his shoulder.

“Go for it.”

Sirius leaned forward to open the window. James heard the familiar clack and swoosh of a lighter. As Sirius exhaled, James watched his shoulders slump forward, as if the expelled smoke had taken all of Sirius’s swagger with it.

“So, who was the girl?” James asked, breaking the silence. “You didn’t mention dating anyone in your last letter.”

“Well,” Sirius said as he turned, softening his stance and leaning back on the desk. “That could be because I don’t know if we were dating, not really…”

“How’d you meet? Is she a friend of your cousins?”

“Merlin, no!” Sirius sneered. “Though I suppose, I have them to thank for meeting her. Like I said, summer was a misery. Bella and Narcissa practically moved in. And Bella’s completely lost the plot. She’s marrying a Lestrange, but you’d never know it. All she talks about is Voldemort and how he’s bringing pride back to Britain. It’s fucking disgusting. I spent as much time as I could out of the house.”

“You said you were riding alone most days on the Get-A-Round…” James said, quoting from one of Sirius’s early letters.

“The Underground,” Sirius corrected.

James shrugged. He wasn’t taking Muggle Studies, so he’d really never need to know the name of the mad contraption that transports people underneath the streets. Merlin knows he'd never ride on it.

“Anyway,” Sirius continued, “I was riding around a lot at the start, but there’s only so many times you can go around the Circle line. Tried hanging around Diagon Alley for a bit, but it was just more of the same. I ended up just exploring. Few weeks ago, I was wandering around Chelsea. I stumbled into this clothing store on the King’s Road and that’s where I met Cyan--”

“Cyan?!” James interrupted.

“Well, it’s Sarah, really. But she dyed the ends of her hair blue, and she was trying to get everyone to call her Cyan.”

“Fair enough,” James said, “I guess, wizards aren’t really in a position to judge someone’s name. We have some pretty weird ones...”

“Hengeist,” Sirius

“Adalbert.”

“Sawbridge.”

“Wilburforce.” James looked at Sirius to discover they were both, finally, smiling at the same time.

“Well, anyway, I just started going to King’s Road on the days she worked. We’d chat and then meet up after her shift ended. Usually just for coffee, but then, well a couple days ago she invited me over to hers to listen to a new record… and well. You already know how that went.”

James did know, and he nodded sagely at the tablet. For all of James’s mental griping over that stupid note and the frustration it caused, he couldn’t help but be intensely curious about the whole affair. Did she just proposition him out of the blue? Or, were there steps leading up to it? Did he bring wine and candles? James heard a rumor that girls liked for there to be candles.

“You know, I don’t really know why I did this.” Sirius said, tapping the slate tablet quickly with the cherry tip of his cigarette. “I guess... the whole affair just felt like it needed a cap off, you know? A full stop. An exclamation point. Some sort of definite conclusion.”

“Hmm,” James mused, not entirely sure of Sirius’s meaning. “I mean. Did it not… did you not… erm… conclude?”

“That’s not….” Sirius started. He held the cigarette gently between his teeth as he stretched both his arms, clasping them behind his back and puffing out his chest. “It’s like yes. You have sex. And sex on one hand is just sex. Just a physical thing, mechanical even. And I know that. Logically, unemotionally, I know that’s true. I guess I just thought, with the way people go on about it… I guess I just thought there’d be something… more.”

“More than sex?”

“More than just the physical bits...yeah,” Sirius leaned over James’s desk and stretched his arm out the window, tapping the ash off the cigarette. “I just expected to feel something more afterwards. But I was just tired… and slightly sticky.”

James shifted awkwardly from one foot to another. He did not know how to answer Sirius as he had no analogous experiences to share. He supposed that, he too, approached the idea of sex at different levels. There was the fantastical element that he would often indulge in before falling asleep at night. In that realm, there was nothing to fear. Then there was the practicality of it. The fact that he didn’t actually know what to do or how to make it okay for the girl. That was terrifying. When he thought of a hypothetical first time it was just as something to get done.

“You could say something,” Sirius muttered.

“I guess, I just don’t know what to say,” James said honestly.

Sirius turned away to stare out the window again.

“I think that’s why I wrote to you all. There was this big thing that happened, and then I just went home and everything was still as it was. So banal. I sat next to Reg at the dinner table and ate mushy peas. It was like it didn’t even happen.” Sirius got very quiet and looked away from James. In a small voice he said, “Does that make me sound like a nancy?”

“What?” James asked. Until that moment, it really had not occurred to him that Sirius would be feeling anything other than elated and slightly smug. Looking at his best friend now, shoulders slumped, hair falling in his face, and staring determinedly at the tip of the cigarette as if making eye contact with anything else would physically hurt, it was clear Sirius was feeling anything but.

“Mate, no!,” James assured him. “Not at all. It’s supposed to be a very big deal. If it weren’t, we all wouldn’t go around talking about it all the time. And, like, look at what Pete and Remus wrote… okay not so much Remus, but he never makes sense anyway. You know Pete lost his mind over it. You know he won't rest until you give him a moment by moment account and draw him a topographical map of her tits.”

Sirius chuckled, and finally brought his eyes up to meet James’s. “‘S’pose we will all have to deal with that. Pete may be the first student to pursue ‘History of Breasts’ at the NEWT level.”

“He’s a trailblazer.”

“Icon.”

“Legend, really.” James laughed and sidled over next to Sirius, perching up on the text beside him. “Feeling better, then?”

“A bit, thanks. Just wish you’d been there--”

James’s eyebrows jumped halfway up his forehead.

“No! Not, there there,” Sirius explained with a chuckle. “Just afterwards, back at the house. I just never thought I’d go out, shag someone for the first time, then come home at three in the afternoon to see my cousins playing dress-up in the living room. It was too bizarre.”

“I ‘spect all the really big events in life are like that. Stranger and way more awkward than you imagined. We’re all just stumbling our way through life.”

Sirius pulled a face of mock shock and clutched at his chest. “What? No! Not even the great James Potter!?”

“Especially the great James Potter,” James insisted, throwing an elbow at Sirius’s ribs for good measure. “You missed a spectacular faceplant this morning after I ran into a hoar oak on my new racing broom. KAPOW- and the SPLAT! Broom went one way, I went the other…”

“Yeah, well, you’re too pretty anyway. Would do your face some good to bang it up. Let’s see this new broom!”

Sirius tossed the remnants of his cigarette out the window and walked towards the broom lying on James’s bed. He picked it up by its glistening handle, flipping it on end to observe the finely trimmed twigs in the tail.

“Pheeeeew,” Sirius whistled low. “That! Is a damn fine broom, my good man. What’d you do? Manage to intercept all of Minnie’s letters home last year or did you catch Monty snogging Figgy.”

“Gross, Sirius!” James laughed, “Neither. Actually--”

James scurried over to the nightstand next to his best and retrieved his captain’s badge from the uppermost drawer. He was so excited to finally show it to someone other than Figgy and his parents, he could not even find the words. Rather, he simply thrust the golden badge engraved with a large “C” into his best friend's hands.

It took Sirius a moment, though no more than a moment to realize what he was looking at. Joy overtook his whole expression, as his eyes shone and he smiled brightly.

“YES!” Sirius roared, raising a fist in the arm. “WE’VE DONE IT! Sweet Merlin! YES!”

He grabbed James and pulled him into another hug, patting him on the back for good measure. James’s heart leapt in his chest at seeing his friend's joy.

Sirius was laughing as he stood back and examined the badge closely.

“It’s not a fake,” James said, “Letter had my name on it and everything.”

“That’s not what I’m-- do you see this? What does that says?” Sirius asked, holding the badge up to James face.

James squinted through his glasses. He did not see anything in the area Sirius was indicated. Only a brightly polished, immaculate gold surface.

“It doesn’t say anything there, mate.”

“Yes it does,” Sirius insisted. “Right there. It says ‘I’m better than Shacklebolt”

James shoved Sirius playfully, but Sirius just held the badge higher as he insisted that his best friend would be the best Quidditch Captain Hogwarts had ever seen. From James’s heart burst forth a wellspring of gratitude and joy. Being an idiot wasn’t so bad, he thought, as long as your friends were idiots, too.

[theofficersacademy]

                               Sirius   Randal   Kurthnaga   Lyon                           Leo   Forsyth   Cecilia   Deirdre  Sylvain                              Valter   Maria   Chrom   Ares   Micaiah

TEAM TAG: #KEruins2023 BASE CAMP PROGRESS: 7%

WEEK TWO: Conflict.

Although better than being outside in the smog, your lodgings remain somewhat shabby - but you’ve managed to gather enough resources from the abandoned storage outside of the city to mount an earnest effort at least.

The trouble now comes from the Aukes, who are of the opinion you did not acquire but instead stole those resources. They had already staked their claim, they clamour. This means blood!

Your recent skirmishes with them have been brief, but they now begin to increase in frequency. They are armed with strange weapons and magic both, and better yet, they’ve begun to wear faces you that you find are growing unnervingly more familiar with every passing day.

Places of Interest

your apartments - Not snazzy yet but getting there! One step at a time, y’know?

the crater - Where did the metal monsters go? They’re still in town but the site of the crater itself is dead quiet. Hm.

the crane -  Umm guys where did the crane go? Following the tracks reveals it has been placed suspiciously close to your new home, albeit in a spot that’s more difficult to keep an eye out for it. Hm.

abandoned storage - A fair way’s walk out of town, but still brimming with materials and dangers alike. The Aukes have set up a perimeter around it now, however... Perhaps it even serves as their new base.

NPCs of Note

the Aukes - They’re pissed, and their numbers have increased. This band of survivors never learned how to share, it would seem. They come for you wearing mockeries of your friends’, family’s, enemies’ faces.

the Mechanic - He’s got something for you! Or so he’d said before up and disappearing overnight. You suspect the Aukes got to him, likely for sticking too close to your group.

Tasks

Setting up base camp (continued) - every 1 post = up to 5% of progress, capping at 60% - requires an equivalent 5 planks of wood, plates of metal, dormant/live cores, or a mix of the above per post

Determine how you might like to fortify your lodgings - you get the impression you are soon likely to be under attack. . .

Conversely, you can wait for the Aukes to attack, ooor you can instead opt to bring the fight to them. You can try to parley or negotiate if you like, but you’d best be prepared in case things run afoul.

Or perhaps you don’t care to address them at all? But what of the Mechanic - maybe you’d like to track him down and, if necessary, free him. Maybe it’s because you’re altruistic! Or maybe it’s because you want to know about the cool thing he promised to show you.

Roughly a quarter of your cans have gone missing in a short period of time, leading one to wonder if you’ve a rat problem needing dealt with. No - it turns out, it’s a kid making off with your hard earned goods! If you want to catch them, you’re going to have to work on your parkour game.

Scavenging / Dismantling / Hunting / Foraging - see week one tasks

[fleetingpieces]

My One in a Million CH 6

Here we go! Thanks for the patience and support everyone❤️

Thank you to my amazing betas @knittingdreams and @inloveoknutzy I love you both so much❤️

And thank you so much lovely @heyitssmiller for your amazing vet knowledge and kind help, I hope what I wrote makes sense!😅

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added! <3 )

@justdyingontheinside @donttouchmycarrots @heyoitslysso @whataboutmyfries @sunflowerfox87 @hereforwolfstarr @potterlocked24-7 @cheekeebabe

CW: dog getting sick

Here’s the Masterlist, and the story in Ao3 if you prefer to read there :)

Chapter 6 - Water tides

Remus let the water wrap around him lazily as he swam down the middle of Gryffindor Tower’s indoor pool at a serene pace. He was glad to have the place all to himself that late afternoon, as he was exhausted after a pretty intense workout.

His day had been fully booked; he’d been out since morning, only stopping home long enough to grab his gym bag and head to the building’s top floor. He was trying to clear his head and organize his thoughts, but just like in the past three days, his mind drifted to the gift that was still sitting face-down in his guestroom, waiting for him to figure out what the hell to do with it.

As he reached the other end of the pool, he stood there with his hands caressing the surface of the water, feeling the slight resistance it made against his palms.

Sirius had seemed so genuinely sorry and like he was really putting in the effort, and Remus didn’t know what to make of it. It was still hard to believe how fast things had changed; this was the man that had been driving him crazy for weeks... but he was also the one that was making Remus open up about his past, even if it was just a little bit. Even Cocoa liked him. It’d been really hard for Remus not to turn into a fucking pile of goo when he saw them together, and fuck if Sirius’ starstruck face didn’t do things to him. People were usually afraid of Cocoa, but Sirius had opened his arms to him straight away.

What an adorable bastard.

Remus groaned and dived underwater. He stayed in place, floating with his eyes closed. Doing this always gave him a sense of peace that very few other things could. With the exception of yoga, maybe.

It was terribly ironic how sometimes he felt like he couldn’t bring air into his lungs when he remembered that time, but being underwater felt so soothing, even if he was obviously not breathing. There was something about the stillness of it and how weightless it made him feel, as if nothing could bring him down; and having his eyes closed, he could imagine having infinite space all around him, like maybe he’d blink and he’d be floating with the stars.

A splash of bubbles that could only mean another person had jumped into the pool reached his ears.

Remus held on for a few seconds more before he stood up, breaking the surface as he passed a hand through his face and hair to get the water out of his eyes.

“Merde.”

The whispered word echoed in the big room, though Remus was probably not supposed to hear it. He froze with a hand still in his curls and turned towards the voice.

“Sorry, I thought it was empty,” Sirius said from a few feet away. He lifted a muscular arm to rub at the back of his head and frowned with a small smile. “Just how long can you hold your breath?”

Remus just stared at him. At the way the droplets of water dripped from his dark locks and ran down his chest and the planes of his stomach. He swallowed, lifting his gaze before it could travel down further and focused on the piercing grey eyes that were already staring back at him. It felt as though Sirius could see into his soul, and it shocked Remus to realise that the thought wasn’t as scary as it should be.

Remus wasn’t sure how long they stood there, it could have been a second or maybe hours, but the smile slowly faded from Sirius’ face.

“I can go?” he asked unsurely.

“No!” Remus said hastily, before clearing his throat. “No, it’s fine.”

“Ok...” Sirius seemed surprised. They stared at each other a few moments more, Remus wracking his brain for something to say but coming up short. Sirius shifted on his feet. “Well, I don’t want to get in your way, so…”

He started turning around to go to the other side of the pool. Remus took a deep breath.

“Wait.”

Stopping mid-movement, Sirius turned around, arching a perfect eyebrow.

“I…” Remus started, but closed his mouth. Sirius’ eyes softened, and Remus started again, more firmly. “I never thanked you.”

That made Sirius frown. “Why would you need to thank me?”

“For the painting,” Remus said simply, though he figured it should be obvious. He couldn’t help but add with a small crooked smile, “and for the cookies too. Even though they were awful.”

Sirius barked a laugh, covering his face with a hand, and Remus found himself wishing he didn’t. He wanted to see the way his eyes crinkled. “Yeah, well. I should have asked first before I did anything, sorry I assumed-”

“No,” Remus interrupted, shaking his head. “No, you had no way of knowing.” He stopped to take another deep breath. “I'm sorry, I overreacted.”

Sirius raised both eyebrows at that, he clearly hadn't expected an apology. He regarded Remus steadily before he shrugged. “It's important to you. I think it's perfectly reasonable to react the way you did.”

Such a simple phrase, and yet something tugged fiercely in Remus’ chest. He tried to ignore it and sank until the water covered up to his shoulders. There was something about this man that made raw emotions come to the surface, and he tried his best to control them.

“Still, you were only trying to do something nice. So thank you.”

Sirius nodded as he stared at him, a small smile on his face again.

“Maybe we can start over?” He swam closer and Remus resisted the urge to sink lower. Instead, he got up when the other man extended a hand towards him. "Hi. I'm Sirius Black, and I live in apartment 12. Nice to meet you," he grinned.

The resolution on Sirius' face made Remus smile too, before he glanced down at the outstretched hand and reached to shake it. Despite the coldness of the water, Sirius’ palm was so warm that Remus felt it in his core, and he looked back up quickly to find Sirius giving him an odd look.

“Remus Lupin. I’m in apartment 10, right next to yours. Funny that we didn’t bump into each other sooner,” he said playfully, earning himself another wholehearted laugh from the other man, his chest rising and falling with it.

“Ouais, funny that,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. He let go of Remus’ hand and promptly plunged underwater, emerging only one second later while shaking his hair like a dog and sending a wall of droplets in Remus’ face. 

“You mutt,” said Remus as he raised an arm to cover himself, making Sirius smile widely. 

God, does he ever stop grinning? 

“So, what brought you to Gryffindor?”

The casual way he asked it made Remus relax some more. He sagged back down and moved from the shallow part of the pool, treading water as he thought of everything that had led him here.

“It’s kind of a long story, but the main reason is that I wanted to expand my brand, and I thought living in a bigger city would be better for that purpose.”

Sirius nodded as though he knew exactly what Remus was talking about. “Yeah, that makes sense. Where did you live before?”

A wistful smile tugged at Remus’ mouth, and he noticed Sirius tilting his head in curiosity. “In the countryside, just outside of Gryffindor. I was born there and lived in that town my whole life until I decided to move here.”

“Do you miss it?” Sirius asked softly.

The water lapping around them was the only sound in the air as Remus looked down at his hands, weaving them just beneath the surface.

“Yeah...I miss my mum and Leo mostly. I know it’s not too far, but it’s not easy to see them either. I guess it’s hard for me not seeing them everyday.” Remus didn’t add that it made him feel lonely, or like he was back in room 308, but Sirius seemed to sense that it was making him feel sad, cause he didn’t ask more about that and moved to another question.

“What’s your hometown like?”

Remus smiled thankfully at him. “It’s really small, nothing compared to this,” he made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “But it’s beautiful. There’s this beach that Leo and I used to go to all the time when we were kids, and later on we would always find the time to go there on small camping trips, just the two of us in bedrolls, sleeping under the stars. It became a tradition. And then, there’s a forest on the other side, with these huge trees that go on for miles, and there’s a-” Remus stopped himself when he realised he’d been going on and on without a pause, blushing a bit. He looked at Sirius sheepishly. “Sorry, I got a bit carried away.”

But Sirius was just looking at him with a dopey smile. “That’s ok. I like listening to you speak.”

Remus didn’t know what to do with that, so he cleared his throat. “What about you?”

“Hm?” Sirius asked distractedly.

“Did you always live here?”

That seemed to snap him out of whatever he’d been lost in. He ran a hand through his hair, which stayed pushed back, sleeked by the water. Remus liked it. He could see more of his face like this.

“Uh, no. I grew up in Slytherin, actually. But I went to boarding school when I got older, so I spent a lot of my teenage years there. It’s where I met James and most of the guys.”

There it was again, that fond smile, and Remus found himself asking, wanting to know more, “what was it like, going to a boarding school?”

Sirius laughed at that, and walked to lean his back against the side of the pool, his forearms resting over the edge. He tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling with a faraway look. “Oh, it was great. Not so much at the beginning though. I lived a pretty sheltered life up to that point, so you can imagine I was a bit of a snobbish dick.”

“A bit?” Remus raised a teasing eyebrow, making Sirius laugh again and focus his gaze on him.

“Trust me, whatever you think of me now, I was ten times worse.”

“I don’t really think you’re like that,” Remus replied, and was surprised to realise he meant it. Sirius’ smile faltered, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Remus beat him to it quickly, “so what made you change?”

There were a few seconds in which Sirius just stared at him with an unreadable expression. “James,” he said plainly in the end.

“James?”

“James,” Sirius agreed. “Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if we hadn’t met. He made me see I was behaving like an idiot, and everything I was missing out on.” He turned his head and gave Remus a sad smile before he continued, “I didn’t have any real friends before James.”

There was a deep pain rooted there that Remus couldn’t completely grasp, but he felt that it wasn’t his place to ask. “So you guys were friends from the start?”

“Pretty much,” he said, and then a laugh escaped him. “I tried to shove him aside at first, but he clung to me like a koala. I don’t even know why he wanted to be friends with me then.”

Remus thought about the way Sirius’ face lit up when he was close to James or when he talked about him. It was obvious to anyone that they were close, and how much it meant to Sirius.

“Well, I’m glad you found him.”

“Yeah,” Sirius said softly, “me too.”

“So how did you end up in Gryffindor?”

Sirius chuckled, “that would be James’ fault again. He grew up here, and I used to spend months at his house during the summer hols. It’s where I went when I finally ran from home; his parents took me in.”

He’d spoken casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world, but still Remus felt his heart stutter. “You...you ran away?”

Sirius’ eyes widened a bit, clearly he hadn’t realised how much he’d said. He glanced at Remus a bit wearily, who hastened to add, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it.”

Some of the tightness seemed to leave Sirius’ shoulders as he exhaled sharply. “No, it’s ok. I...fuck. My family and I had different views about...things. They own this big company and run in some upper circles of society that I never had any interest in.”

It was Remus’ turn to have his eyes widen like ping pong balls as the realisation hit him like a bag of wet sand. “Wait...you’re that Black? From Black Enterprises?”

The tension in Sirius’ jaw was so sudden and intense, Remus regretted his words instantly.

“No. I mean, yes. I should be. But I left that behind years ago.”

There was a crease between his brows, and Remus’ hand started stretching towards it to smooth it, but he caught himself in time and pretended to scratch at his cheek instead.

“Ah, sorry, my bad. I thought for a second that you were. But you must be the Sirius Black from Gryffindor, huh? I’ve heard great things about him,” Remus said in a light tone. At first, Sirius frowned at him as if he’d gone crazy and Remus shifted awkwardly. But slowly, it started melting away until he started laughing at Remus’ antics, one hand clutching his stomach.

“God, you’re so weird.” There was that sweet smile again, directed fully at him, and Remus’ heart stuttered for an entirely different reason.

After that, Remus lost track of time as they talked and splashed about. He felt surprisingly light. Laughter was not in short amounts, an easy banter settling between them, and sometimes he’d catch Black staring at him with an indecipherable smile on his face. It felt like they’d been friends for years and not just a few hours, which was something Remus’ brain couldn’t completely wrap around.

Their topics went from the most trivial things to some that bordered in way-too-intimate for how long they’d known each other, but it didn’t feel weird or forced.

Remus mentioned how much he enjoyed a cup of tea in the afternoon. Sirius told him that he’d started smoking at 16, and had quit three times so far but started again when he felt overwhelmed. Remus talked a bit about his mum and how hard she worked to bring money in, and how Remus had to practically beg her to let him help once his business had taken off. Sirius confessed to being afraid of spiders to which Remus couldn’t keep in a laugh.

“Really? Spiders?”

“Oh, shut up, you,” Sirius had said with no real venom as he splashed him with water, making Remus laugh harder. Remus didn’t miss how Sirius' eyes hadn’t left his face when he’d looked back up at him.

They had started drifting closer to each other, and right then Sirius was swimming backwards around Remus as he told a story about a school prank. Remus was turning around slowly on his feet to keep him in sight, entirely too conscious of the way that the movement with each backstroke made Sirius’ back look even bigger. And how the waves Sirius was making kept lapping at Remus’ lower belly.

What the fuck am I thinking?

He shook his head just in time to catch Sirius’ next question.

“Did you always know you wanted to teach yoga?”

“Oh. Well, not really. I always thought I wanted to be a writer,” Remus chuckled. “But then after...Um, a couple years ago I decided to start a healthier lifestyle, and discovered I really liked it.” He gave a small shrug. “I decided to focus on that, and I don’t regret my decision.”

Sirius hummed as he kept swimming with his eyes closed. Feeling a bit weird just staring at him, Remus pushed his legs up and started floating on his back, focusing on the ceiling instead.

“So, what do you do for a living?” he asked.

He heard more than saw Sirius stop and stand up at once.

“I um...I work as a freelancer from home.”

“That’s nice. What kind of jobs do you do?”

“Oh, all sorts of things. Y’know, I never learned to float like that,” he said in a rush, which struck Remus as a bit weird. He let his feet angle down and touch the floor, and he pulled himself upright to eye Sirius curiously. He was fidgeting, but smiled at Remus hopefully, so Remus smiled too.

“Would you like me to teach you?”

Sirius’ face lit up. “Would you?”

“If you want,” Remus shrugged.

Sirius nodded enthusiastically and took a couple steps closer.

“Ok, try to align yourself with the water, and I’ll help by holding you until you can adjust your body on your own. It’s easier to float if you take a deep breath and hold it, so let’s start with that.”

“Ok, I can do that.”

“You need to be perfectly relaxed, ok? Save that puppy energy for something else.”

“D’accord, d’accord,” Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus tried to ignore how nicely the words rolled out of his tongue.

He watched as Sirius breathed in and pulled himself into a horizontal position. He held it for barely one second before he started sinking, so Remus took a deep breath too and moved over to place one hand in the middle of his back, and the other under his head.

Soft.

It was all Remus could think as the dark strands of hair fell between his fingers.

“Tip your head back and lift your chin. There should be no tension on your neck.” Remus’ voice was mellow, automatically slipping into the tone he used for his classes. “Put your arms just like this.” He removed his hand from Sirius’ head and used it to bring the arm closest to him slightly up, Sirius’ fingers brushing against Remus’ thigh, and then placed it back in the inky hair.

“My hips keep going down,” Sirius chuckled, making the water ripple in small waves. His eyes were closed, his chin tilted up just like Remus had told him to, exposing the long lines of his neck. Remus looked away, trying to keep a blush at bay.

“Ok, I’m going to move my hand to support you better, is that ok?”

A breathy “oui” was all he got for an answer.

Remus’ hand trailed down, his fingers brushing against Sirius’ spine until he could place it more firmly against the small of his back. He could’ve sworn he felt Sirius shiver, but that could be because of the water.

Looking down at Sirius’ toes, he told him to try and relax more. His eyes went up his legs as he gave small advices on how he should place his body, passing by the blue swim trunks that clung to his thighs, then kept going up his hip bones, toned stomach and chest, telling him to try and push up. He glanced up at that long, elegant neck, until he finally stopped when he found silver eyes staring intently at him.

In that moment, with those eyes locked with his and feeling overly conscious of the skin he was touching, Remus felt a bolt go through his fingers and removed his hands instantly as if he’d been burned, and Sirius flailed his arms and sank.

He stood up spluttering, water dripping everywhere.

“Remus what the fuck-” he started complaining, but stopped short when he realised just how close they were standing.

Remus felt his breath hitch in his throat as he was engulfed in the grey once more. Wet hair fell over his eyes, and this close, he could make out all the shades, every spot in those irises. He felt like he was staring at a tempest sea, the calmness around them making him feel like he was in the eye of the hurricane, and he was about to be swept up in the storm.

Sirius’ breath fanned against Remus’ face, slipping between his parted lips. His eyes darted down to stare at Sirius’ mouth, those pink lips that looked so incredibly soft that Remus wanted to reach up and touch them with his fingers. The tip of his tongue moved to wet his lips, and when he glanced up again he caught Sirius following the movement. The other man inched his face closer, torturously slow, until Remus tilted his head up slightly.

Everything around them seemed to be suspended in time, waiting, waiting… And then that same memory was flashing through his mind and Remus pulled away.

“Remus?” Sirius asked, confused, and Remus’ heart gave another painful tug.

“I...I...” Remus backed against the wall so much he wished he could just become one with it. Sirius took a step back and watched him with worried eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...Are you ok?”

“I just- I...I gotta go.”

Not waiting for any answer, Remus turned around and lifted himself out of the water, and basically bolted back to the changing rooms.

He didn’t even stop to take a shower, just changed his clothes as fast as he could, grateful that Sirius didn’t come looking for him.

Once inside his flat, he unceremoniously dropped his bag and keys on the floor, and let his head fall back against the door.

What the fuck was that?

It was so not like him to do something like this. He knew better than to get tangled in... in whatever happened at the pool was. Focus on your career, that was the goal. No time to meet anyone just to get into a relationship, get attached, and then be left broken.

But Sirius just...it felt so natural to be around him. Remus was still surprised at how comfortable he felt around the other man, given the way they’d started things off. If the image he’d had of Sirius was so far off the mark, then maybe Sirius was not like-

No.

He was done with relationships and that was that.

“Ugh, fuck,” Remus groaned, then finally glanced around his flat. “Cocoa?” he called, surprised that he hadn’t been tackled in a bear hug yet. “Cocoa, c’mon boy. Let’s go for a walk. Fuck knows I certainly need some fresh air.”

It was dark outside already, but Remus’ heart was still beating wildly, and he didn’t think he could stand to just stay inside. He needed to calm down and get his mind off dark hair, stormy eyes and wet lips.

When he still got no response, Remus frowned. It was very unlike Cocoa not to rush to greet him or come to him when called. Even if he’d been sleeping, he’d always wake up to the sound of Remus coming back home.

Remus stepped into the living room, walking around the couch to where Cocoa usually laid in his dog bed. And there he was, with his head between his paws, looking up at Remus with big, yellow eyes. He whined when Remus got close.

“Hey boy, there you ar-” Remus stopped himself with the immediate knowledge that something was wrong. Cocoa was trying to get up, but his legs were trembling and he fell over. Remus rushed forward and knelt at his side, noting how fast Cocoa’s heart was beating, and the spasms still going through his body. “What’s going on? Cocoa, what’s wrong?”

Remus was frantically trying to figure out what was happening when his eyes landed on a crumpled piece of paper. He snatched it up and his heart stopped. It was the wrapper for one of his favourite dark chocolates, and there were only a couple of bitten pieces left in it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, how did you get this? When did you-? Oh my God, when did you eat it?” Remus wracked his brain, trying to remember if the wrapper was there when he’d stop by his flat a few hours earlier, but he had no idea. He remembered thinking Cocoa seemed a bit more energetic than usual, but he hadn’t thought too much of it.

Shaking out of the whirlpool that were his thoughts, Remus carefully picked Cocoa up and rushed to the door.

“Please hang on, boy. Please, please, please hang on.”

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Paths, Avenues, and Secret Tunnels // S.B. (celebration fic)

Request: 6 & 13 from the fluff section with sirius black at hogwarts (location). 💛 - anon

Fluff 6: “Are you... Are you flirting with me?”

Fluff 13: “Compared to you: stars pale, and the moon dulls.”

A/N: Here’s your request! I hope you like! This one got away from me if I'm honest but I struggled with it so much in the beginning that I'm happy I found my flow. I don’t think I’ll be posting a fic tomorrow, I’m not sure yet, I have a ridiculously busy day so who knows! However, as always, I hope you all enjoy!

Pairing: Sirius Black x Fem!Reader

Warnings: mentions of an attempted harassment, swearing, self-defence, shitty parents, BUT THIS IS FLUFF, I PROMISE (there’s even a make out scene for you all)

Word count: 3.3k

Most weekends at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry could usually be spent in the neighbouring, picturesque village of Hogsmeade. Students, in their droves, descended upon the wizarding village – all ready to spent their knuts, sickles and galleons on whatever took their fancy in the array of shops that neatly lined the small high street.

For many of the students in Third Year and above, they relished the chance to spend a whole day outside of Hogwarts. You would have liked to have gone with them, but in a fit of anger your mother and father flat out refused to sign the yearly permission slip meaning that your visits to the small, sleepy village had been put to a stop.

You maintained fiercely that their punishment was unjustified. Your use of magic outside of school was perfectly reasonable considering that the man they had tried to set their daughter up with for an arranged marriage was nothing short of a creep that had to be put in his place.

Your reaction to the unsolicited attention of the repulsive man caused nothing smaller than a war between your parents and yourself. They felt humiliated that you should act such a way in front of a respectable, eligible gentleman who had taken the time out of his busy schedule to come to dinner and meet with you. You felt nothing short of fury at your parents for thinking you would ever go along with archaic traditions that should have died long ago.

It led to your parents taking the one thing that you looked forward to every school year away from you. In front of you, they tore apart the permission slip and threw it onto the fire where you watched as it turned to grey ash.

Your weekends were now spent either in the common room or the library; working on your homework, studying for an exam or simply reading to pass the time. By the fourth Hogsmeade weekend of the year, you had explored the castle enough to attract Filch’s unwanted attention, so you decided to reign in your exploits to the parts of the castle you knew were safest.

The common room had quickly become your safe haven after the third time you were questioned by Filch. Both the morning and afternoon of any Hogsmeade weekend spent reading over any work and napping periodically by the fire.

Stretching out on the couch, you finish reading over your notes from Potions, making a mental note to ask Slughorn whether you could borrow his classroom next weekend to test a theory that had come to you only a few moments ago. Another Hogsmeade weekend and you had made doubly sure to keep yourself occupied through it all – happy to see your friends off; already sick of their pitying looks.

“(Y/L/N)!” Sirius shouts; jumping the back of the couch and settling next to you.

“Sirius, how can I help?” You ask with a smile; turning to face the teenager you’ve known since the two of you were in nappies.

“I can’t help but notice that you haven’t been seen in Hogsmeade for a while now. One can’t help but wonder…”

You laugh, “I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to ask me considering our parents are like this,” You cross your fingers together; indicating just how close the two families were – Sirius’ mother visiting yours for tea at least three times a week.

“What happened?”

You sigh, clutching your book to your chest, “My parents cruel and unusual form of punishment.”

“What?”

You smile at the memory, “I jinxed the guy they were trying to marry me off to, so they tore up the permission slip in front of me and threw it onto the fire in a fit of dramatics.”

“Why did you jinx him?”

“I don’t want to say.”

“What did he do?” Sirius asks; voice low and lethal.

You sigh, “His hands tried to wander under the dining table. They didn’t get very bloody far before he was met with the finger removing jinx,” You huff proudly, “See how far he gets without the counter-jinx, the prat.”

“But you’re okay? You weren’t hurt?”

You shake your head; smiling at the care in Sirius’ voice. “I’m fine, I promise,” You reassure, “However, my parents thought it fitting to tear up my permission slip to Hogsmeade hence why I stay in the castle every weekend.”

Something in Sirius’ chest loosens at your words; happy to know that you’re okay and that you gave the creep what he deserved but he frowns at your parents response. “Did you explain to your parents what he tried to do?”

You fix him with a look that tells him of course you did, “They refused to listen; not someone like him,” Your voice takes on a higher pitch as you mimic your mother, “He’s such a responsible man from a wonderful family – I don’t know how you could do this to him.”

Sirius snorts at your impression; noting how accurate it is. “I’m sorry,” He murmurs.

You wave his apology with a swift movement of your hand, “I’ve gotten used to it now. You wouldn’t believe how on top of homework I am.”

He laughs, “Still, all the same.”

“I know,” You whisper.

Sirius pats your knee; he gestures towards the door with his head where his friends had walked through only a moment ago, “I better…”

You nod, “Of course. Go! Go – have a nice time.”

Sirius throws a small smile your way before he leaves the common room.  

For the first time in the five weekends you had been unable to visit the humble village; you had never hated your parents more.

-------

Sirius Black continues to play on your mind in a way he hasn’t done since your crush on him in Second Year when you were smaller and more naïve. The friendship between you was a lifelong one; families being so close that there was no other option but to get along as your mothers would drink tea and gossip and your fathers would conduct business in offices away from prying eyes and ears.

Your feelings for the elder Black sibling became news to you when you were turning ten years old. You found yourself wondering what it would be like to hold his hand longer and to hug him whenever instead of in greeting or in farewell – innocent daydreams of a child.

Nothing like the daydreams you now found yourself occupied with whenever you happened to find yourself staring at his mouth that little bit too long or when you zoned in on how his hands would run through his long hair and thought about what it would feel like between your fingers.

Your feelings for Sirius Black came surging back; knocking you breathless and leaving you feeling half way mad. He seemed to take over your mind; thinking of him constantly and not all the thoughts completely innocent. From a  simple smile in your direction, he had you feeling like a fool in love. From the smallest piece of attention he could give you, he had your heart in your throat.

Soon enough, you were admitting to yourself that your crush from Second Year had returned stronger than before and that there was no doubt about it. You were arse over tea kettle in love with Sirius Black.

He starts to spend his Hogsmeade weekends with you. Starting slowly; leaving the Marauders every now and then before eventually stopping joining them altogether. They all share a similar look one Saturday when instead of joining them at the door to the common room, Sirius joins you in your familiar spot on the couch.

Sirius waves to James, Remus and Peter as they depart for Hogsmeade; each of them shouting promises of bringing back sweets from Honeyduke’s as well as a surprise from Zonko’s. Sirius shakes his head at his friends before turning his full attention to you.

You smile softly at the disowned heir to the Black family fortune; repressing the growing urge to run your fingers through his hair, to kiss him senseless – to do anything with him really.

“What are the plans for today then?”

You roll your eyes, “You don’t have to do this Sirius, you can go be with your friends.”

Sirius waves his hand in a dismissive fashion, tutting, “I see them all the time. I live with them remember?” He shakes his head, “I like spending time with you.”

You chew on the inside of your cheek to keep your smile at bay, “I was thinking of finishing the book I’ve been reading.”

Sirius throws his head back with an overdramatic groan, “We did that last time!”

“And I’ve started a new book since then!” You sigh, “Like I said, Sirius, you don’t need to stay with me.”

“I want to spend time with you, but we don’t need to spend all our time here,” He says, gesturing to the dark red walls of the common room.

“I’m not bothered here. Every time I left the common room, Filch would always bother me.”

Sirius frowns, “Well we’re going out today,” He pats your leg, standing up, “Come on. Up you get, we’re off on a walk.”

“A walk?”

“A walk. An amble. A dawdle. That thing you do with your legs. Whatever you prefer to call it.”

You snort, “I know what a walk is, Sirius.”

“Then why ask?”

“Don’t make me regret coming with you.”

He grins at you, “Never, my dear.”

Sirius holds an arm out to you which you take; hooking your elbow through his. He sets off at a slow pace; holding the door to the common room open for you like the gentleman he was raised to be before leading you down the corridors.

With most students in Hogsmeade and the First and Second years occupied with a Quidditch training camp being run by the Holyhead Harpies, the corridors of the school are relatively quiet as you and Sirius continue your walk through the school that’s more of a second home rather than a place of education.

“Are your parents still angry?” Sirius asks out of the blue.

“I couldn’t care less though; it was self-defence and I’m happier for it. but you know them; there never was a couple who could hold a grudge like dear old mum and dad.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I reckon I could beat you.”

“How have you been since that night?”

Sirius looks off into the distance; mind immediately returning to the night he had walked out on his family, on Regulus. He had told you about when the school year had restarted after the Easter break.

“Good,” He eventually says, “I’m living with James’ family now. I’ve always been welcome at the Potters.”

You nod; happiness washing over you, “I’m glad you’ve found somewhere, I was worried when you sent me the one letter.”

“I wanted to send more,” He says, voice pained, “But I didn’t know if your parents would be nosy.”

“You were right not to,” You sigh, “Since they heard about our friendship rekindling, they keep looking at me as if I’m going to run any moment.”

“Would you?”

“Would I run away?”

He nods; pausing in his steps. You stop alongside him; thinking over your answer, “It depends. If I have to sit through another arranged dinner and possible marriage, then happily. If my parents suddenly see reason, then perhaps our relationship could improve.”

“How long have they been trying to marry you off?”

“Since I turned seventeen so just over a year since my birthday is one of the first of the year.”

Sirius chuckles humourlessly, “I’m glad I got out when I could.”

You nudge his shoulder, “All it means is that your life has taken a different path, Sirius. But I know whatever you decide to do, it will be the right path. It’s you walking it after all; it can’t be bad if you’re the one walking it.”

Sirius doesn’t reply to your words. He’s too overcome by your words to even think of replying. Out of the fallout from his family, the one thing he was concerned about was how it would affect your relationship with you but when he saw you after Easter and all you did was pull him into a tight hug, he knew that everything would be okay and that you would be going nowhere.

He doesn’t need to say the words out loud to accept them; he knows that he has fallen in love with you. Sirius realises with a jolt that he has most likely always loved you; only coming to the realisation since spending more and more time with you over your parental imposed school grounding.

Sirius doesn’t know what path his life is going to take; he has the Marauders and he knows he has them for life – very little coming between them to split them permanently. But through it all; through all of his late night worrying and upset, Sirius hopes and hopes that your life starts to wander down the same path as his.

By this time, you’ve circled the courtyard, ready to make your way to Hagrid’s Hut and beyond. Both happy enough to now spend the rest of your day dawdling around the castle; talking everything and nothing – simply spending the time with each other. The feelings that are harboured by the both of you simmer in the small space between your bodies; spoken yet unspoken.

The conversation from earlier, and the tension, has dissipated leaving behind a light, fun atmosphere that lets you see the best of Sirius. As a result, he has your heart thumping in your throat to the point where your pulse sounds in your ears.

It’s when he makes one comment about your closeness as children that has a particularly flirty tone and meaning that has your back straightening in realisation, “Are you… Are you flirting with me?”

“I might be…” Sirius comments with a smile.

“Not even you could be so cruel, Sirius, to bring up a childhood crush like that and play with my emotions.”

“What childhood crush?”

“Tell me you knew?”

At the blank expression on his face and the curiosity alive in his eyes, you let out a laugh, “I had the biggest crush on you when we were kids… even when we started Hogwarts I had a crush on you! You had to know, surely?”

He shakes his head vigorously, “I had no idea about it.”

“Oh…” You trail off.

“It was reciprocated if you were wondering.”

You sit up straighter, “It was?”

Sirius blushes; pushing his hair back from his face, “It was.”

Silence falls between the two of you. You’ve both stopped walking; steps paused in the middle of the corridor – hardly any sound around you other than the occasional hoot of an owl and a laugh from a young student. For what feels like forever, you simply stare at each other.

Your stomach turns with anticipation; readying yourself for the question you’re about to ask. Taking a deep breath, you break the silence with a single question, “And what about now?”

“Now?”

You nod, “Are those feelings reciprocated now?”

“They might be…”

“They might be, or they are?” You ask breathlessly; his words setting aflame the hope in your heart.

“They are. They really are.”

“Thank Merlin,” you gasp before pulling Sirius into a kiss by the hem of his t-shirt.

He responds immediately; taking control of the kiss as his lips glide against yours seamlessly. There could no arranged marriage, no relationship you could ever have that could compare to this one moment. In this one instant, all is defined, and you know that at almost eighteen, Sirius Black was to be the one for you.

A hand runs through his hair as the other anchors itself in his t-shirt; finally getting to feel his hair after so long craving it. With a slight tug of his dark locks, you smile against his mouth at the groan you elicit from the back of his throat. You file that piece of information away for later when it can be explored thoroughly. Entirely wrapped up in him, you give yourself over to him, letting his familiar scent of cloves and sweet orange wash over you.

Breaking the kiss, Sirius rests his forehead on yours for a moment, catching his breath and letting the contentment wash over him. He places kisses over your face – your nose, your cheeks, your forehead before finally pecking your lips in an open mouthed kiss.

You beam up at him; happy to have this moment with him in a quiet school where you won’t be interrupted by students, teachers, or ghosts alike.

With a wide grin, Sirius drops his hold of your waist to take hold of your hand and begins to lead you back through the corridors and to the moving staircases. Laughing, you match his pace as you run up the stairs, taking extra care for those that start to shift.

“Where are you taking me?” You ask with a loud giggle.

“It’s a secret,” Sirius says; turning quickly to face you. He places a finger to his lips in a hush. Then and there, you have to resist pulling him into another kiss from the look on his face; the utter delight spread over it combined with the intense mischief and elation alight in his eyes has your heart beating even faster.

Saying no more, you continue on your journey, letting Sirius guide you every step of the way. Arriving on the Third Floor, Sirius turns left, pulling you towards the statue at the end of the corridor. The statue of the One-Eyed Witch had always left you feeling uneasy; as if she was watching you with her one remaining eye – it seemed to follow you wherever you stepped.

Sirius stops in front of the statue; staring up at her for a moment before fixing his gaze on you. His hand comes up to brush your cheek, “Compared to you: stars pale, and the moon dulls. However, I know that your reaction to what I’m about to show you will even pale the brightest galaxy.”

You duck your head; uncertain of what to reply, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer emotion in his voice. Sirius tips your chin back up with a single finger, “Fancy going to Hogsmeade?”

You shake your head, “Sirius, I can’t. My parents, remember?”

“I remember just fine. Still, fancy going to Hogsmeade?”

“How?”

Sirius points to the statue of the one-eyed witch, “Through there.”

“Sirius, I love you but that’s a statue.”

He smirks, “It’s good to know you love me, but I need you to say the magic word.”

“And what’s that?”

Leaning close to your ear; so close that his breath is warm across your face, he whispers a single word. You find it hard to concentrate with him so close; his front pressed to your side. His lips brush against your ear and you let yourself arch into his touch as you try to focus on the word being whispered.

“Got it?”

Nodding your head, you step towards the statue. Your hand still wrapped in Sirius’, you whisper, “Dissendium,�� Your voice barely louder than a breath.

You take a hasty step back when the hump to the witch opens, revealing a small slide leading into nothing but darkness. You turn to Sirius in awe; a large smile on your face, “How did you?”

Sirius simply shrugs, “I have my way, love. Now, Hogsmeade?”

Tightening your grip on his hand; tugging him into a long kiss, you can barely contain your elation with the teenager now pressing against you. Breaking the kiss but remaining close enough that your lips brush his as you whisper, “I’d go with you anywhere.”

*********

General (HP) taglist: @chaotic-fae-queen @obsessedwithrandomthings @harrypotter289 @kalimagik @heloisedaphnebrightmore @nebulablakemurphy @the-hufflefluffwriter @figlia--della--luna @bforbroadway @idont-knowrn @summer-writes @big-galaxy-chaos @black-lake-confessions @annasofiaearlobe @imboredandneedalife @levylovegood @mytreec @haphazardhufflepuff @teheharrypotter @chaoticgirl04 @accio-rogers @msmimimerton @izzytheninja @slytherinprincess03 @acciotwinz @kashishwrites

Sirius Black taglist: @approved-by-dentists @fific7 @susceptible-but-siriusexual

[weasleydream]

dreams are my reality - part 1

Here is the first part! I’m so glad it’s finally out and i really really hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing it!

As usual, feel free to like, comment, reblog and enjoy!

Masterlist 

~ as if it’s meant to be ~

Summer had always been my favourite period of the year. When I was a child, it was because my parents would always bring me to this lake they had discovered when they were teenagers, and we would spend the day swimming and fishing. During my Hogwarts years, the traditional camping night with the Marauders and later Lily became another reason for my impatience. But I had to admit that Sirius agreeing to spend the afternoon with me on this beautiful beach of the south of France was a whole other level of pleasure associated with summer. His messy hair, his tan skin, his muscles shining with the water, and the-

“Sirius, what the hell is that?”

He was playing with a shapeless pile of jelly, touching it with the tip of a stick I had thought was his wand. He looked up to me, a shade of surprise underneath his goofy grin. 

“Never seen a jellyfish before?”

“A jellyfish? And you’re playing with it?”

“I wasn’t playing! Just trying to see if it was still alive.” Sirius’ eyes fell once more on the animal, and I realized how obvious it was that it wasn’t just a pile of jelly. 

“And?” I asked, leaning forward to see it better. 

I looked up when Sirius didn’t answer and found him pointing at the sun. 

“Time of death: approximately 4 p.m, give or take an hour.”

I was going to reply that it wasn’t very precise when a wave stronger than what we had anticipated crashed on the sand, sending the jellyfish right on my feet. I jumped backwards, a high-pitched scream I couldn’t contain escaping my mouth. In an instant, Sirius was next to me and in another split second, he had dragged me on the dry sand, fussing over me like a soccer mum. 

“Did it touch you? Y/N, do your feet hurt?”

“I- I don’t think so…” 

Sirius seemed as surprised as I was, and after looking at me like he didn’t know if he should drop it or betray the whole wizarding world by apparating away from a beach full of muggles, he sighed. 

“Then why the hell did you scream so loud?”

“Because I was scared!” I tried to defend myself, even though I knew I had a bit overreacted - just a bit. 

Sirius rolled his eyes and slipped an arm around my waist as we began to head back to where we had let our stuff. 

“You’ll be the death of me one day, that I can tell you.” he eventually murmured in my ear. “I mean, you’ve almost bee already but-”

“Sirius.” Any trace of joy had left my voice, it was all replaced by shame and this visceral fear I never wanted to experience again. “You know I don’t want to talk about it. Sirius, you almost died because of me, I just- I don’t want to think about it ever again.”

“We shouldn’t try to forget it,” said Sirius, who put his hands on my hips and rested his forehead against mine. “Love, dying to save you would have been an honour, the best way to leave this world. I would do it again if I had to.”

“Then it’s a good thing that it won’t happen, right?”

This need of reassurance had never left me, it was still here, not so well hidden since the end of the war. The mess that had been our lives for so long had left scars, deep and dirty wounds I was ready to keep hidden until the end of my life. But how could I leave that part of my life behind if I didn’t know for sure it was over? Everything had been so strange, so sudden, that I was fearing the day Voldemort would come back, stronger and angrier than ever, the day we would have to fight again, the day Sirius would risk his life for me again… The possibility that my life at the moment was a dream, an illusion, it was too much to bear. 

“A very good thing, actually!” Sirius was back to his joyous self, and had this goofy grin that had become his signature over the years. “Or else I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

He was going through our bag, throwing away everything that was going in his way, my clothes included. I watched silently as my top joined my short in the sand, knowing better than trying to stop Sirius. I would have ended up in the sand too, or maybe just ignored, it was a fifty-fifty. I eventually decided to say something though, because there was no way I would let him waste my cookies like that. Chocolate cookies, dispersed on the sand, can you believe it? 

“Sirius, love, what are you-”

I stopped suddenly, because Sirius had obviously found what he was looking for. My completely unready mind tried to find a reason for why he had gotten down on one knee, but I couldn’t come up with anything and just looked at him speechless as he opened the box. 

“Y/N, love, life hasn’t exactly always been a piece of cake, but you always made it easier and I want to share the rest of mine with you. The past three years with you have been just perfect, and every second I’m not with you, touching you, hearing the sound of your voice, it’s just a big waste of time.” He stopped a second, inhaling deeply. “I- I could keep rambling about how perfect you are because right now I’m fucking nervous but if you say yes, I’ll have a lifetime to tell you how I adore you. So, Y/N, will you marry me?”

I didn’t trust my throat enough to produce anything else than a strangled sound, so instead I blinked the tears away and fell on my knees in front of him. My shaky hands reached for his cheeks. The second he realized what it meant, Sirius' little smile widened in an overjoyed grin, and his lips crashed on mine. If at some point we rolled on the floor, if our hair ended up matted with sand while we were in the middle of a crowded beach, none of that ever mattered. I was in Sirius’ arms, I was going to marry him, things couldn’t have been better for me, and the little boy who said it was dirty or the guy that called loudly for someone called like me couldn’t have done anything to disturb that. 

_ _ _ 

We had spent a wonderful day and an even more wonderful evening, yet my nightmares had never been more vivid. The dark alley of this cursed muggle village, the screams, the light, the blood… I was living it again, this night I almost lost Sirius. It all felt too real, from the pain in my muscles to my heartbeat still frenetic, and even his arms wrapping strongly around me couldn’t get me out of the hell of this night. 

“Y/N! Y/N, can you hear me?”

The voice was far from me, my mind wouldn’t even acknowledge it. 

“We’re going to get killed!”

This voice, though, would stay forever engraved in my brain. 

 _

I had known since the beginning the idea was fucking bad. James had insisted, “It will be fun!”, he had said, and Sirius had smiled like an idiot. It was safe to say that they were the only two ready to venture in this bloody village, bloody in the literal sense of the word. Something was here, something the muggles used to call a monster, but we knew better and this something had inherited the sweet nickname of “a son of a bitch of Death Eater”, found by Sirius, obviously. 

Nothing had been decided yet, but James and Sirius already acted like they had clocked the man and come back heroes. Peter was completely opposed to this idea, and it was one more example of me completely agreeing with him. Both Remus and Lily were torn between the two options they had, and I suspected them to think that it was worth the risk. The number of victims in this village had risen up to seventeen the previous day, and even though there were members of the Order closer to the location than us, Dumbledore had asked us to go and take a look. 

“A mission for the best,” he had added, which had seemed to decide James and Sirius. 

They wanted to take that mission. 

And it was definitely a very bad idea.

_ _ _ 

“Wow, Y/N you look like a zombie. You sure you’re okay?” asked James in disbelief when he opened the door. 

“Zombie! Zombie!”

Something pushed James unceremoniously and jumped on me. It was Harry of course. The little black haired tornado was now tugging at my hair, giggling with every roll of my eyes. Or maybe it was because Sirius was making faces behind my back; I wasn’t totally sure. Anyways, that gave me the perfect excuse to avoid James’ question because I certainly didn’t want to tell him I couldn’t sleep, that what should have been one of the best days of my life had brought back the worst of my nightmares and that it seemed like I was going insane. 

“You little devil, you’re getting taller and taller every time I see you!” exclaimed Sirius cheerfully, and Harry extended his arms toward him. 

“You know the last time you saw him was a week ago, right?” James mocked, diverting his attention from me in the process. 

He was watching proudly as Harry and Sirius were having a very serious conversation about the banana the boy had eaten an hour ago, and he missed the wink my fiancé shot me. I smiled, grateful for his help, and at the moment I could have sworn I was feeling his comforting touch on my cheek. 

Remus arrived half an hour later, and we had to wait another hour before Peter’s entrance, his arms full of candies as every single time he was at the Potter’s. “Half for Harry, half for me, the rest for you!”, he always said, but it usually ended in Remus stealing all the chocolate only to give it piece by piece to Harry while Peter and James were arguing on what was the best between cauldron cakes and jelly slugs. Not today though, and Sirius had made sure of that in his own way. 

“I’m glad you’re all here, no Peter, cauldron cakes do not taste better than jelly slugs and Remus, share the chocolate with Harry.” he suddenly declared, making Peter jump on the couch, to Harry’s great amusement. “We have an announcement.”

Without moving the rest of his body, Sirius grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. All eyes were on us, and if Sirius’ nervousness was only betrayed by his stillness, mine was definitely visible with my dark red face. 

“But before I say anything, I warn you: no blubbering. Right, James?”

Lily suppressed a chuckle as James nodded in a very serious way, his hands folded underneath his chin and his eyes squinting. The others were less dramatic but as curious, and I looked up to Sirius only to see him biting his bottom lip. If this view was incredibly sexy, I didn’t have even a second to think more about it before he dropped the news. 

“Y/N and I are going to get married.”

I was pretty sure my voice wasn’t as high-pitched as Lily’s now when she had told me she would marry James. Between Oh my god!’s and I knew it!’s, she managed to put Harry down and to hug me, and we began to hobble like two children. We only stopped when Lily pushed me back, asking desperately to see the engagement ring, and I caught a glance of James wiping a tear away - “That’s why we said no blubbering, Prongs!” I shouted with a smirk, to which James answered with a playful and tearful glare - and Remus and Sirius sharing a strong embrace while Peter was trying to explain to Harry what this mess meant. 

“How did it happen? When? By Merlin Y/N, why didn’t you tell me before?”

Lily was so excited I couldn’t help but giggle at her bright eyes, and Remus snuck next to us to hear the story. Before diving straight into my monologue, I threw a look at Sirius and found him grinning from ear to ear, with James’ hand on his shoulder and Peter wondering out loud what they could do for his bachelor party. 

“Come on Y/N, we want to know!” whined Remus. 

I rolled my eyes playfully, installed a more and more tired Harry on my knees and began the story. 

“This dumbass was playing with a jellyfish - a jellyfish, seriously, is there a single mentally stable person that can have the idea to play with a dead jellyfish? Anyways, I asked him what he was doing and-” 

I finally shut up almost fifteen minutes later. By the time I was done, Harry had fallen asleep and seemed to be quite comfy, all snuggled he was against me. Lily was beaming, and if her eyes hadn’t actually taken the shape of two hearts, I could perfectly see the image. Remus and James, who had joined us with Sirius and Peter five minutes ago, were still making fun of my fiancé. 

“Come on Pads, admitting that you’re nervous is a rookie move!” 

Peter was the first to decide we should toast to our future wedding. He grabbed seven glasses, filled them all with orange juice as Lily had forbidden alcohol in Harry’s presence and we all held our glasses high. 

“To the wedding!” exclaimed cheerfully Remus.

“It was about time,” added Peter. “It’s been years since you’ve begun to like each other, I was beginning to fear it would never happen!” 

“Amen, brother. Wait a minute!” Suddenly, James’ eyes lit up and the smirk he was arbouring when he looked at me was quite worrying. “That’s why you’re looking like a zombie, Y/N, you celebrated the news quite well!” 

He winked at me and I snorted, too embarrassed to find anything to say.

To be continued...

[twdmusicboxmystery]

10x18: Find Me: Bethyl Template - Part 2

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1 FIRST

***As always, spoilers for 10x18 abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!***

Then one year later, when he met Dog as an adult and then Leah, he didn't have the eye scar yet, and he does still have the wing. At this point, six months later, this is where the eye scar shows up. So, third flashback. Then we see it. It's very red and swollen, so it's obviously fresh. It hasn't actually scarred yet.

I honestly couldn't tell if he had the wing here because he was wearing a poncho. I watched the whole thing and it never shows a shot of his vest. So, I don't know whether the wing was there or not.

But during this flashback, we see him sitting alone at his camp and he's setting out his knife. The fact that it shows the knife is probably important, but all we see him do is set it on a stump in front of him. He hears rustling behind him, and it startles him. He picks up the knife to defend himself, but it's just Dog coming to see him.

As soon as he sees Dog, he kind of smiles and gets happy. He says, "hey. Where have you been?" Guys. I honestly think this represents him reuniting with Beth. He hasn't seen dog in a long time, and he's pleased to see him. The camera pans outward when he starts playing with Dog and we get this massive shot of the sun. It's almost washing everything out. I think it’s super-significant that the eye scar shows up during this representation of him being reunited with Beth. Because a scar over the eye is a Sirius symbol. Return. Reunion. Resurrection.

So, I’ve seen people complaining that they didn’t show us how he got the scar. I hear ya. I want to know, too. And maybe they’ll still show us at some point. I kinda think they will. But what’s important here is WHEN it shows up. In conjunction with his and Beth’s reunion.

Then he takes Dog back to Leah. This is kind of where the romance part starts and I also think it's where the symbolism gets really, really complicated. Daryl and Leah have this back-and-forth banter that's kinda cute. And we definitely see Daryl looking happier. So, she says thanks for bringing them back and she says, "he likes you.” Daryl smiles and says, "he's just a dog. He doesn’t know any better," which is both self-deprecating and endearing. And Leah says, "yeah, well." Which I take to mean that she likes him too. This is where he asks her what the dog's name is and she tells him that it's Dog. He razzes her about it, and she says, "you got anything better?" He says no, but then he says, "at least you won't forget what he is." I feel like that’s a really on-the-nose way of pointing to Dog and telling us to notice the symbol.

Now, the reason I say it's complicated here is because I feel like the symbols start to mesh and it's really hard to disentangle them from here on out. Because I still think the Dog = Beth, but to some extent, Leah also = Beth. I mean, obviously this doesn’t point to Daryl having a romantic relationship with Leah while Beth (Dog) sits in the corner slobbering, right?

So, I think both of them represent Beth, but in different ways. I think at this point, the Leah and Daryl stuff become both a foreshadow of what’s to come, in terms of the CRM and the spinoff, but also a foreshadow of Daryl’s eventual relationship with Beth. And it’s also retelling some of Beth and Daryl’s arc from S4/S5. So yeah, it’s complicated.

But let’s look at the sequence so far. Daryl meets baby Dog. Daryl loses Beth, storm like Them. Then Daryl meets Dog again and he’s much older. Dog lead him to Leah, who also symbolically represents Beth. Then we see a second representation of him reuniting with Beth/Dog, and then this romance blossoms. So Leah is just a stand in for Beth and Daryl’s romance with Beth.

Much of the time, Leah represents Daryl and Daryl represents Beth, at least in the retellings. In the foreshadows, Leah more often represents Beth.

So, we get another eight-month time jump. This is when Daryl is surrounded by walkers and Leah helps save him. They both hide in the copse of trees. Okay, this is a replay of Beth and Daryl being in the trunk in Still. I get that this is gonna freak people out a little bit because they’ll think it's taking the symbolism from Beth and giving it to Leah. But that's looking at it backwards. It's not that Still was pointing to Leah. It's that this is a replay of Beth. It’s a template for Daryl’s arc. 

So on TTD, they described this scene with Leah in a way that you could also describe Beth and Daryl being in the trunk in Still. They say it's sort of this forced intimacy where they’re thrown together to hide from the walkers, much like in Still. And because they are pressed up against a bunch of trees, we get actual tree trunks instead of the trunk of the car. Interestingly, Daryl actually rejects Leah at this point.

You can tell Daryl felt the sexual tension between them and it freaked him out, so he basically told her to go away and leave him alone. This is a defense mechanism for Daryl. 

Originally, I told my fellow theorists that obviously Daryl wasn’t that harsh with Beth when they got out of the trunk in Still, but he was still emotionally unavailable. They disagreed with me, saying, “The thing about that scene with the trunk and they made note of this on TTD, that they never spoke to one another, not a sentence was said between them, there were nods and indications but no dialogue. And when the next day when they're ready to leave Daryl looks at Beth as if not seeing her, "you looked at me like I'm a dead girl." He walked away as if she wasn't even there there's a long pause and then she follows at a distance. I always thought that was about him leaving her behind at Grady, thinking she was dead. So I think you could compare that to him walking away from Beth just like he walked away from Leah. Another comparison with Beth from the episodes Still and Leah.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I agree. I think they’re spot on about that.

So yeah. Callback to Still.

We have another three-month time jump. And this time, we clearly see that the wing is gone from his vest. He goes back to Leah and throws the fish at her door. The joke on TTD that this is his idea of a first date. To throw a dead fish at the girl’s door.

It took me a while to pin this one down, and actually it was my fellow theorists who did it, remembering details I didn’t. Daryl doesn’t throw a fish at Beth, but he does throw a bottle of water when she says she wants a drink. He’s very flippant about it. She gets mad and throws it back at him, saying “not that. I mean a real drink.”

Here, he throws a fish at Leah’s door. She gets salty and comes to his camp and throws it back at him, saying she doesn’t need him to fish for her. That parallels to Beth’s, “I can take care of myself,” and “get my own damn drink.”

Are we seeing the replay?

In the scene, Daryl is warming his fingers by the fire and Leah recognizes that he has frost nip. This a “frosty cola” sort of symbol. Leah takes him back to her cabin where it's warmer. We might see it as her healing him or sort of giving him medical treatment. Not really treatment so much as just a building where it's warm, but it did sort of cure his frost nip.

He sleeping and wakes up because he hears glass breaking (broken glass theme). She accidentally dropped the picture of her son in the glass frame broke. This is where she opens up to him and tells him about her son and her past.

Here, we have more Beth-related details. She’s thinking about her son, Matthew (biblical name) because today is his birthday. Birthday mentions are a Beth/Still thing. Leah talks about how she found the family after the apocalypse first happened. They fought together and gave her hope. This could very easily be Daryl talking about finding Rick's group.

Here’s the thing: The story Leah told tells Daryl is a major head cannon I've had for Beth. I've often thought that because of the child and baby symbolism we see around her, Beth will have either a child or children with her when she returns. I've always kind of wondered if it would be a matter of her taking on the children of other people who have died. So, I can see her having had a best friend, a surrogate sister (just as Maggie and Kelly are surrogate sisters now, Beth finds one as well) and she's taking care of that woman's baby. (The whole Jocelyn/Scars template plays into this as well.)

But that's exactly what Leah says here. But her best friend or sister had a baby and she started taking care of him because the sister died. I 100% think this is a foreshadow of Beth when she reappears. She’ll tell Daryl a very similar story. More evidence? Leah says, "this doesn't matter. He's gone."

She then said that she got separated from her family and ran. And eventually ended up at the cabin where she realized her son had been bitten.

Okay this is going to sound really weird, but I do think it’s a thing. @frangipanilove​ picked up on the fact that Leah says Dog was born on the same day her son Matthew died. That’s a major resurrection symbol, guys.

I had to sit and think about how this all fit together. I'm kind of thinking that in this scenario, Leah represents Daryl and both Matthew and Dog represent Beth. It's a little weird is because it suggests that Beth is Daryl’s daughter, which we obviously don’t believe. Just in terms of the sequence, we had that the group scattered and Daryl ran from the prison with Beth, just like Leah ran with her son. The boy was bitten. A lot of us believe Beth was bitten on her way to Grady. And then, the boy died just as the Dog/Sirius character was born. So we have a representation of the young, weak character dying and the stronger one being reborn. Meanwhile, Matthew was very young when he died. And we’re back to Emily’s “I’m a baby” post.

It also put me in mind of the song Beth sings to baby Judith at the prison in 4a. It has lines like, "I don't want to grow up," and, "I wish that I could be a dog."

Leah says she’s been alone ever since then, until Daryl showed up. Well, Daryl’s been alone ever since leaving Beth, until he met Leah. (Who symbolically, is Beth.)

Then we see Leah fishing just as Carol did, and she's good at it and we see them smiling at each other. This is where they’re actually kind of happy and where the romance happens. Again, I feel like this is just indicative of Beth and Daryl. Her being good at fishing is a whole lot like Beth being good at the crossbow. Daryl kind of teaches Leah to fish as he taught Beth to use the crossbow. And he’s impressed at her immediate skill.

We also see him walking away from her with the map and with Dog, presumably to look for Rick. So, the suggestion is there that he continued to look for Rick while he was with her. We also get the sex implication here. Again, a foreshadow of Beth and Daryl. And I honestly think the reason we didn’t see more of a sex scene is specifically because this isn’t his major, true love relationship. They didn’t want to put that much importance or emphasis on it. We’ll probably see a lot more when it’s really him and Beth. More on that in tomorrow’s post, because the writers actually do (kind of) confirm this on TTD.

During this part, we also see them lying on the refrigerator watching the eclipse. I’m not going to go into tons of detail about this right now, but just know that it’s an important Beth symbol for two reasons. 

1) Gimple once used the word “penumbra” to talk about Beth and Coda. Check out the post about it HERE. The penumbra is literally one part of the shadow cast by an eclipse. That’s a very simplified definition, but just know that we have it from Gimple’s own lips back in S5 that eclipse = Beth. It also ties to Maggie in Them saying, “this is just the dark part.” I always knew that line had more meaning.

2) There are a lot of symbols from Alone going on here. They’re lying on a fridge. In Alone, Beth peers into an empty fridge in the kitchen. The eclipse represents a cosmic/solar event. The one-eyed dog in Alone represents Sirius, the returning Dog Star. Here we have Daryl and Leah cuddling. In Alone, we have the “Oh” moment. See what I mean?

Then it says 10 months later. The two of them are sitting at the table eating. Lots of details here. This parallels the Alone dinner scene. One major difference is that Daryl and Leah sit across the table from each other rather than side by side. Why is that important. Because side by side they assume the positioning of the Holy Grail. This is really complex symbolism, but think The Da Vinci Code. The angle between Beth and Daryl here is the same angle between Christ and Mary Madeline in the famous Last Supper painting. (Remember how Daryl looked at that in Gabe’s church in 5x02?). This represents true love or soulmates. And since Leah and Daryl sit across from each other, on a macro level, it simply shows she’s not his true love.

By now, I hope you’ve accepted that. But @frangipanilove​ found way more detail on this scene. In Alone, Daryl suggests they stay at the funeral home and make a life together. So, it’s equal but opposite here. Leah wants him to stay with her full time, and he doesn’t want to. In Alone, there’s no question of where he belongs. He belongs with Beth. Here, when Leah asks him where he belongs, he gets teary-eyed and says he doesn’t know.

But think about that answer as well. She asks him a question, and the answer is, “I don’t know.” In Alone, Beth: “What changed your mind.” Daryl: “I don’t know.” (Indistinctly mumbled).

Are we seeing the parallels and anti-parallels? In all the important ways (Daryl doesn’t love Leah like he did Beth) they’re anti-parallels. But they’re also a complete replay of Beth and Daryl’s arc. And we constantly see Daryl trudging along the river. Along the pathway that will eventually lead him toward peace.

That’s another big theme here. Carol wants him to find peace. He says he’s glad she found peace. Guess what’s at the end of Daryl’s river, folks? Beth. All roads lead to Beth.

So let’s repeat, because it bears repeating, that when Leah gives him an ultimatum, he very obviously doesn’t choose her. Then we see Daryl back at his camp by the river. When Carol shows up to talk to him, he doesn't seem at all upset or lonely or teary-eyed. It's like he's made a decision and he's at peace with it. Is he in love with Leah? Not so much.

So, we really thought that Carol telling him she wouldn’t be back for a while would be what spurs him to go back to Leah and leave the note. Because he’d feel lonely and abandoned, but that’s clearly not the case. He leaves Carol with calm resolve and determination. Not despair or loneliness.

And the next part makes no sense at all. At least, within the episode, it doesn’t. He’s walking through the woods and, for no apparent reason, he suddenly stops and his face changes. It’s like he had some sudden epiphany and realization. And that sends him running back to Leah’s cabin.

So, of course people are going to interpret that as Daryl suddenly “realizing” he’s in love with Leah. But I promise that’s not what this is about. 

Okay, I’m about to get super abstract on you. Deep breath. Here goes.

Because the first thing I thought of here was 6x03. Anyone who’s followed me very long has heard me harp on The Weirdness of Daryl in 6x03. You can read my (super old) original post HERE. In that episode, he’s with Sasha and Abe, leading the walkers away, and he hears Rick get attacked by the wolves. He freaks out and leaves them to go look for Rick and help him. So we literally have him on his motorcycle, feverishly searching for Rick.

At one point, he stops the bike and puts his head down, looking super-conflicted. Then, at the end, we see him calmly return to Sasha and Abraham, with no explanation for why he stopped looking for Rick or what his thought process was.

Yeah, that’s weird. Almost out of character for Daryl.

 But I always thought that, whatever that represented, would lead to Beth, because the next episode we see about Daryl is 6x06, which we all know is chalk full of Beth symbolism. And CRM symbolism. And is a representation of him finding Beth.

Well, we have the exact same foreshadow here. Think about it. Daryl is looking for Rick, along the river. Some mysterious epiphany pulls him away from that search, and he goes to Leah’s cabin. When he gets there, he finds Dog (Beth).

So, here’s what I’m almost certain this is telling us. 

1) When Daryl and Carol hop on his bike at the end of S11 to kick us into the spinoff, they’ll be looking for Rick. I don’t know how/why. They’ll hear some rumor or possibility of him being alive. I even think it may just be a rumor, and Daryl won’t know if it’s true. But that won’t matter to Daryl. If there’s any chance at all, he’s gone. Looking for Rick. And Carol will be like, “Scoot. I’m coming.”

(Side note: Every time they say the spinoff is going to be a road-trip, monster-of-the-week Daryl and Carol romp, that’s absolute bullshit. That’s not what it’s going to be. It’s going to continue the story from the main show, and they’ll be searching for Rick. They’re just describing it the other way right now because they don’t want to give spoilers.)

2) Daryl and Carol will part ways at some point. Daryl will want to continue looking for Rick, and Carol will want him to come with her, probably to go find Ezekiel. (So Daryl and Carol’s arguments in the flashbacks are also foreshadows. She wants him to stop looking for Rick and find some peace. She’ll probably say something similar to that to him in the spinoff, but like he does in 10x18, he’ll tell her to go find her peace (Zeke) but he’s going to keep searching for Rick.

3) For the whole epiphany part, I was thinking that whatever Leah represents (let’s say the CRM, just as an example) that will pull him away from his search for Rick. And the reason we don’t get his thought process, the reason it doesn’t make sense here, is because it foreshadows what’s happening in the spinoff, and they aren’t going to give us too many clues about that. But whatever it is that pulls him away from his search for Rick (i.e. going to Leah’s cabin), he’ll meet Dog (Beth) along the way.

But then, while I was writing this, another powerful parallel leapt to mind. While thinking about this, I started phrasing it in my head as Daryl changing his mind. Something will change Daryl’s mind about looking for Rick.

And then it clicked.

Where have we heard that before? At the Alone dinner.

 Beth: What changed your mind?

Daryl: I don't know.

Beth: Don't mm-mmm. What changed your mind?

So, this is going to be a HUGE moment in the arc. For the spinoff, Daryl and Carol will be looking for Rick on his bike. (Incidentally-but-not-so-much, he's looking for Rick on his bike in 6x03.) He’s going to have to change his mind about looking for Rick before he can find Beth. And we have the answer laid out for us during the Alone dinner. Gimple is seriously a freaking genius.

It made me realize I was overcomplicating what I thought would happen in the spinoff. I said Daryl would be searching for Rick, but something would pull him away from that search and when he left it, he'd run into Beth. (My logic was that he went to see Leah, and met Dog. So whatever Leah represents, it will pull him away from his search for Rick, and THEN he'll find Beth.) 

But again, that was overcomplicating it. Because symbolically, Leah IS Beth. And think about his answer to Beth's question. "What changed your mind?" And he just STARES at her. Because the answer is Beth. It's always Beth. She is literally the only thing that would pull him away from his search for Rick. The ONLY thing. So, it all amounts to the same thing. And that's why it doesn't make sense in 10x18 or 6x03. Because they can't tell us it's Beth and they can't come up with anything compelling enough to pull him away from searching for Rick that wouldn't be completely contradictory to Daryl's character. It's just...Beth. It always is.

So we pretty much have the entire dinner scene from Alone replayed. The dinner, the questions, What made you change your mind? I don’t know. Beth wanted to leave a note in case they came back. Daryl left Leah a note in case she came back....

But to come back to 10x18, it’s also important that Dog stayed behind when Leah disappeared. Because Dog = Beth, and Beth said, “I’m not gonna leave you.”

Here are some rapid fire details I forgot to include:

There’s a small game trap hanging on Leah’s cabin, like the one Beth stepped on in Alone.

Leah’s cabin is built to look like the moonshine shack. Look at the windows and the porch. At first, I thought they’d used the same structure. But then my peeps reminded me that they actually burnt down the moonshine shack while filming Still. So this isn’t the same one. It’s just meant to look like it.

He speaks to Leah of his brother (Rick) in this episode. In Still, he spoke to Beth about his brother Merle.

At the end, Carol says losing Leah “is not on you.” Which is exactly what Rick said to Daryl in 4x16, when they talked about the Claimers and then Beth.

Leah says, “beautiful, isn’t it?” of the eclipse, which equates to Beth saying, “Don’t you think that’s beautiful?” in Alone.

At the end, after leaving the note, Daryl says to Dog, “we’re gonna get her back.” Which he doesn’t. Daryl said that same thing to Carol in Consumed about Beth. So that’s a bit of replay of Consumed. And he didn’t get Beth back like he wanted, either.

Other random but relevant things AK said: She said this episode is very much about incompleteness and longing, about memory and things left unresolved. Obviously that applies to Leah, but it also very much applies to Beth.

She also says flat out that Dog is an important tie between Daryl and Leah. She's hinting at the symbolism there. She Daryl wanted to find peace with Leah and he goes back but it's already too late and she's gone. If nothing else, Leah is definitely a proxy for Beth in that way. Because we believe that when he went back, Beth’s body was gone and he probably searched for her. Same thing happened with Leah, but it doesn't look like his search was nearly as expansive for her.

AK also says that Daryl’s time on the mountain with Leah is over. He has turned his back on it. So I think if Leah showed up again in the present, he would be drawn to her little bit just because there's a history there, but he wouldn't want to go off somewhere and live with her either. Angela said he's accepted that he needs now to be at home. He has people he cares about and they’re his responsibility now. She said that's one of the reasons he gets so angry with Carol. He wants her to choose that as well. To choose to be at home helping take care of people. But she keeps trying to run away. So, he's calling her out on that.

Do you see? Do you see why I’m perfectly okay with this episode? Do you see why, even though I don’t like Leah or her relationship to Daryl, I actually feel better about TD after watching this episode than I ever have?

 Once again, this episode shows us Daryl’s entire arc toward Beth, from when they left the prison together in S4 to how they’ll reunite. It shows his path and how it’s always moved him slowly but consistently toward his peace, which is with Beth. It replays their arc together with these beautiful aerial shots. All while Daryl trudges with his bow along the river.

[twoidiotwriters1]

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

Words: 3,994

Series’ Masterlist

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Chapter Four: Family.

Mel was definitely not a fan of having Harry around. 

This was the first morning with him in the house and she'd decided to adopt a diplomatic attitude towards him, a respectable host with a guest that had to be looked after. Harry wasn't happy about this but he wasn't fighting it, part of him felt he deserved it.

"Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxies bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it. When I say the word, start spraying immediately. They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyze them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket. All right — squirt!"

Mel loathed the chores, but she was helping the twins to snuggle a few doxies, their mother wasn't going to be watching her.

"Fred, what are you doing? Spray that at once and throw it away!"

"Right-o!" Fred happily obeyed. As soon as his mother turned around he gave it to Mel, who pocketed it.

They were doing a new type of sweets called Skiving Snack boxes that were meant to make you temporarily ill. Mel thought it was brilliant, she wanted to help as much as she could. The boys were explaining this to Harry in hurried whispers while Mrs Weasley was across the room next to Hermione.

"We take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies — we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat —"

"Mum thought we'd been duelling," said George.

"That was a fun night," Mel grinned.

"Joke shop still on, then?" Harry asked.

"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet, so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. Flint's grandad helped us with that, knew some people that could help. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week."

"All thanks to you, mate," said George happily. "But don't worry... Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily Prophet anymore, 'cause of it telling lies about you and the Dumbledores."

"It was a kind of you to give away the money... they're doing their best with what they got," Mel said casually, avoiding his gaze. Although she could see Harry smiling out of the corner of her eye.

"Stay here," Mrs Weasley said firmly when the doorbell rang. "I'll bring up some sandwiches."

"Mundungus!" said Hermione, peering through the window. "What's he brought all those cauldrons for?"

"Probably looking for a safe place to keep them," said Harry. "Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up dodgy cauldrons?"

"Yeah, you're right!" said Fred. "Blimey, Mum won't like that..."

"Bet mine won't either," Mel mumbled. "Dung's a funny idiot, but an idiot nonetheless..."

Fred, Mel and George crossed to the room and stood next to the door, discretely peering through it.

"Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley... Can't hear properly... d'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?"

"Might be worth it," said George. "I could sneak upstairs and get a pair —"

"WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!"

"Don't think you need 'em," Mel cringed.

"I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else," Fred smiled. "It makes such a nice change."

"— COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE —"

"The idiots are letting her get into her stride," said George. "You've got to head her off early, otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry — and there goes Sirius's mum again —"

Mel felt something push past her and she jumped away from it, crashing against Fred. Kreacher didn't even look up, mumbling nasty stuff rather loudly.

"...Smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my Mistress's house, oh my poor Mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let in her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do..."

"Hello, Kreacher!" Fred slammed the door to get his attention.

"Kreacher did not see Young Master," The elf immediately started, but he whispered again, "nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is."

"Sorry? Didn't catch that last bit," George taunted.

"Kreacher said nothing... and there's its twin, unnatural little beasts they are."

Mel snorted, already used to his insults she turned around and stayed near the door.

"...and there's the Mudblood, standing there bold as brass, oh if my Mistress knew, oh how she'd cry, and there's a new boy, Kreacher doesn't know his name, what is he doing here, Kreacher doesn't know..."

"This is Harry, Kreacher," said Hermione. "Harry Potter."

"The Mudblood is talking to Kreacher as though she is my friend! if Kreacher's Mistress saw him in such company, oh what would she say —"

"Don't call her a Mudblood!" said Ron and Ginny at once.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione replied, "he's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's —"

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying," said Fred.

"Sirius said his family taught him that," Mel glanced at Harry briefly over her shoulder before turning back to the door. "He's been this lovely since day one..."

"Is it true? Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's that boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it —"

"Don't we all, Kreacher?" said Fred, then he supported one hand on the wall and leaned towards Mel, whispering, "By the way, you still haven't explained why You-Know-Who's trying to kill you..."

"Jolly topic you picked there, don't you think?" Mel scoffed. "It's complex..."

"I'm smart enough," He leaned further, nudging her side.

"Stop!" She said a bit louder, gaining the group's attention. She cleared her throat and looked at Kreacher. "Stop mumbling under your breath, Kreacher, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, what do you want anyway?" George nodded.

"Kreacher is cleaning," he said evasively.

"A likely story," Sirius walked into the room, startling her. "Stand up straight– Now, what are you up to?"

"Kreacher is cleaning. Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black —"

"— and it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy," Sirius scoffed.

"Master always liked his little joke," Kreacher bowed again, "Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart —"

"My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher. She kept herself alive out of pure spite."

"Whatever Master says... Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother's boots, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was —"

"I asked you what you were up to. Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out."

"Kreacher would never move anything from its proper place in Master's house... Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it —"

"I thought it might be that," said Sirius, casting a disdainful look at the opposite wall. "She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it I certainly will. Now go away, Kreacher."

"— comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too —"

"Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!" Sirius yelled, slamming the door shut after the elf left.

"Sirius, he's not right in the head," said Hermione, "I don't think he realizes we can hear him..."

"He's been alone too long," Sirius admitted, "taking mad orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little —"

"I admit he doesn't have all the blame," Mel interrupted. "Perhaps you should try and be kinder? I know he's a pain but maybe he'll calm down?"

"He's got my mother's morals way too engrained, little Em," Sirius shook his head, patting her shoulder softly. "I doubt I could do much."

"If you just set him free," Hermione pleaded, "maybe —"

"We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order. And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it."

"Well, that's another thing we could try," Mel joked, earning a grin from the man.

Sirius walked towards the tapestry to take a quick look. Everyone followed.

"You're not on here!" Harry exclaimed.

"I used to be there," Sirius pointed to a hole. "My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home — Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."

"You ran away from home?"

"When I was about sixteen," said Sirius. "I'd had enough."

"Where did you go?" asked Harry, staring at him.

"Your dad's place," said Sirius. "Your grandparents were really good about it; they sort of adopted me as a second son. Yeah, I camped out at your dad's during the school holidays, and then when I was seventeen I got a place of my own, my Uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold — he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why — anyway, after that I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr and Mrs Potter's for Sunday lunch, though."

"But... why did you..?"

"Leave? Because I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pureblood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal... my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them... that's him." He pointed to the 'Regulus Black' on the base of the tree. "He was younger than me, and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."

"But he died," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Sirius, his eyes darkening. "Stupid idiot... he joined the Death Eaters."

"You're kidding!"

"Come on, Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?"

"But he must've been so young!" Mel added.

"Were — were your parents Death Eaters as well?" Harry asked.

"No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colours, who thought he had the right idea about things... They got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."

"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked.

"Oh no... No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death."

"D'you think he would've chosen differently if he'd had more time?" Mel wondered, more to herself than to Sirius. "That he would've followed you if he knew what Voldemort was truly planning to do..?"

"...I don't know."

She looked up at the man, there was a hint of something she couldn't quite place. Not anger or sadness... if she had to put a name to it, she'd say it was guilt.

"Lunch," Mrs Weasley walked in holding a tray with sandwiches and cake. Emily followed, holding a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

Harry and Mel stayed with Sirius, who was still examining the tapestry.

"I haven't looked at this for years. There's Phineas Nigellus... my great-great-grandfather, see? Least popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had... and Araminta Meliflua... cousin of my mother's... tried to force through a Ministry Bill to make Muggle-hunting legal... and dear Aunt Elladora... she started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays... of course, anytime the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned. I see Tonks isn't on here. Maybe that's why Kreacher won't take orders from her — he's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks him..."

"You and Tonks are related?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah, her mother, Andromeda, was my favourite cousin," said Sirius. "No, Andromeda's not on here either, look — Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so —"

"You're related to the Malfoys!"

"The pure-blood families are all interrelated. If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited, there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed. But there's no point looking for them on here — if ever a family was a bunch of blood traitors it's the Weasleys."

"Which curiously enough, is a thousand times better than any of the ones on that tapestry," Emily offered a glass to Sirius, which he took without looking.

"Lestrange..." Harry said distractedly.

"They're in Azkaban," said Sirius, taking a large sip of pumpkin juice.

"They were there in Barty Crouch's trial," Mel mentioned, noticing Harry's face of concentration. "That's how you know them, Gla– Harry."

"Rodolphus's brother, Rabastan, was with them too." Sirius nodded.

"You never said she was your —"

"Does it matter if she's my cousin? As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. She's certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming in to Azkaban. D'you think I'm proud of having relatives like her?"

"Sorry– I didn't mean — I was just surprised, that's all —"

"It doesn't matter, don't apologize... I don't like being back here. I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again. It's ideal for headquarters, of course. My father put every security measure known to Wizard-kind on it when he lived here. It's Unplottable, so Muggles could never come and call — as if they'd have wanted to — and now Dumbledore's added his protection, you'd be hard put to find a safer house anywhere. Dumbledore's Secret-Keeper for the Order, you know — nobody can find headquarters unless he tells them personally where it is — that note Moody showed you last night, that was from Dumbledore... If my parents could see the use it was being put to now... well, my mother's portrait should give you some idea..."

"You know, Padfoot," Emily said. "As far as I'm concerned. Your family is standing right beside you..."

Sirius smiled at her, and it was the first genuine smile he'd shared in the day. Emily put a hand on his shoulder and pushed the hair out of his face with the other.

"You are in desperate need of a haircut," She laughed. "You as well, Mel."

"I don't want one..." Mel held onto her hair with a pout. "I like how it looks!"

"And why should I?" Sirius said defiantly. "I don't leave the house anyway."

"Not leaving the house doesn't mean you can look like a madman," Emily turned to Harry and rolled her eyes. "The longer he stays here the more he acts like a fifteen-year-old..."

"There are two fifteen-year-olds standing in front of you," Mel reminded her.

"I wouldn't mind if I could just get out occasionally and do something useful," Sirius grumbled. "I've asked Dumbledore whether I can escort you to your hearing — as Snuffles, obviously — so I can give you a bit of moral support, what d'you think?" They all stared at Harry, watching as his smile faded a little. "Don't worry. I'm sure they're going to clear you, there's definitely something in the International Statute of Secrecy about being allowed to use magic to save your own life."

"But if they do expel me... can I come back here and live with you?"

Sirius shared a sad smile with Emily before replying.

"We'll see."

"I'd feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn't have to go back to the Dursleys," Harry insisted, Mel had to bit her lip so she wouldn't smile.

"They must be bad if you prefer this place," said Sirius.

"Oh, he'd chose you anytime," Mel admitted. "I would too, even though you keep saying how much I bore you to death."

"Ah, quiet, you!" Sirius ruffled her hair.

"Hurry up, you four, or there won't be any food left," Mrs Weasley called.

"...And then Tonks stabbed the ghoul with her wand, but mum reckons that wasn't the best idea," Mel narrated to her uncle as he fixed the grandfather clock, which was extremely keen to shoot bolts at whoever passed by.

"I reckon so as well," Lupin replied. "Can you pass me the tweezers?"

Mel lifted the tool and continued. "You won't stay with us for the rest of the summer, then?"

"Haven't you grown tired of me?" He asked in amusement.

"This is the longest I've seen you since my third year at Hogwarts!" She pouted. "I'm delighted to have you around! Especially since my mum and Sirius insist on flirting when they're left alone..."

Lupin's wand slipped from his grip, he cursed under his breath.

"How come?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," Mel rolled her eyes. "This isn't me making up some stupid tale, I'm certain they're up to something..."

"I don't think you should be talking about this with me, Mel. You should ask your mother..."

"I did!" She frowned.

"Did you?" Lupin cocked his head to the side.

"I tried!" Mel corrected. "I just... I know Sirius is having an awful time and my mum's not happy either but when they're left alone... dunno, they look happier."

Lupin stopped what he was doing and crouched to be at eye level with her.

"I want you to listen carefully, Mel. Sirius and Emily know how important their roles are for everything to work. They'd do it again if it meant you and Harry would be safe permanently. I'd do it too... whatever they have going on– yes, I've noticed– I'm sure they're old enough to figure it out themselves. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried, just curious," Mel shrugged. "Is the clock ready?"

Lupin stood up and examined it one last time.

"Good as new– Let's go have lunch with the rest."

Mel woke up early the morning of Harry's hearing. She walked into the kitchen to find her mother, Lupin and Sirius talking quietly.

"Little Em," Sirius raised a brow. "Had a nightmare?"

"No," She walked up to the table. "Can't sleep, but it's not because of the nightmares..."

"Harry?" Her mother put a cup of tea in front of her.

"Yeah," Mel frowned. "Why does everything always happen to him?"

The adults chuckled.

"Bet he could ask the same thing about you," Emily smiled.

Mr and Mrs Weasley walked in, both with tired smiles. After a few minutes, Tonks arrived as well, looking sleepy. She was talking about some Ministry business that Mel couldn't bring herself to care. Harry arrived not long after.

"Breakfast," Mrs Weasley stood up hurriedly.

"M-m-morning, Harry," yawned Tonks. "Sleep all right?"

"Yeah."

"I've b-b-been up all night... Come and sit down..."

Mel gave a start when Tonks accidentally knocked down a chair.

"Bloody hell," The girl hissed, hot tea had spilt on her hand.

Harry jumped too, holding onto his own hand with a scowl. Once again it was the same hand Mel had burned. No one but her seemed to notice.

"What do you want, Harry? Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"

"Just — just toast, thanks," said Harry, giving Mel a look before taking the seat next to her.

Mel groaned louder, but only he seemed to notice.

"What were you saying about Scrimgeour?" Lupin asked Tonks, trying to continue their talk.

"Oh... yeah... well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions..."

Every time Harry reached for something on the table and accidentally touched her, felt like pure hell. She was there because she cared, but it didn't mean she wanted him to be close.

"Molly, leave the boy's shirt, you're making me nervous," Emily said sharply, bringing Mel back from her sulking.

"...and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just t-t-too tired," Tonks finished.

"I'll cover for you," said Mr Weasley. "I'm okay, I've got a report to finish anyway... How are you feeling?"  He asked Harry, the boy was oddly quiet that day. "It'll all be over soon. In a few hours' time you'll be cleared. The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones' office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."

"Amelia Bones is okay, Harry," said Tonks. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."

"Don't lose your temper," Sirius warned him. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

"The law's on your side," Lupin agreed. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

Mel gave a start for the second time that morning and touched the back of her neck. She turned to see if there was a leak on the ceiling before realizing Mrs Weasley was brushing Harry's hair with a wet comb, and cold water was falling on his neck. He must've been feeling really nervous and scared if she was able to feel that. Or maybe, after the incident of last June, they were more sensitive to these kinds of things.

"Doesn't it ever lie flat?" Mrs Weasley said grumpily.

Harry shook his head. Mel spoke for him.

"His hair's always like that."

"I think we'll go now," Mr Weasley said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off there than hanging around here."

"Okay," Harry stood up numbly.

"You'll be all right, Harry," said Tonks.  

"Good luck," said Lupin. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And if it's not," said Sirius. "I'll see to Amelia Bones for you..."

"Well, you'd scare her to death for certain with that crazy hair of yours," Emily said under her breath, Sirius smiled.

Mrs Weasley and Emily both hugged Harry.

"We've all got our fingers crossed," Mrs Weasley said.

Emily was too anxious to say anything, she cupped Harry's face lovingly and gave him a tense smile, nodding in agreement.

"Harry," Mel stood up abruptly when he was about to go, startling everyone.

He stopped, turned around and looked at her with a less absent expression than how he'd seen the others.

"I... er, I hope everything goes well," She said. "Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you."

She mentally cursed herself for being soft, and five long seconds passed before Harry finally replied.

"Right," He said, sounding a bit hoarse. "Well... see you later."

Once he left, Emily got closer, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha​ @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere​ @t-rexs-world

[halothenthehorns]

First Time in the Shrieking Shack

Excerpt from my Marauders prequal; We Were-  Chapter 3: Brothers

"You know, I'm starting to think Remus was right," James sighed as he shuffled through his own stack of notes that were the size of the book he finally declared he'd finished.

"I do that from time to time, you lot always seem so surprised," Remus agreed, not looking up from his chess game with Peter.

James ignored the ingrate and resisted chucking the book at him. "I've read this thing cover to cover, I've looked up everything I can think of, but the only passing mention is that a werewolf bite wouldn't affect animals. How is that helpful, we already know werewolf bites don't ruddy hurt werewolves! You can't be a were-werewolf."

"Might be kind of cool though," Sirius said as he continued trying to stack a deck of exploding snap cards on his head, despite the fact the last two had nearly blown his face off. "Think you would change even more frequently, or be like some giant sized werewolf!"

James couldn't fight the impulse that time and actually threw it at him, causing a miniature explosion as he fell off the bed and nearly set his sheets on fire. Considering it had taken until just this month for him to stop avoiding the common room, James considered it a successful rehabilitation he flipped him off while doing it rather than looking likely to pass out.

"I'm glad you lot think this is so funny, really I do," Remus was biting his lip to stop himself laughing.

Peter was doing no such thing and fell off Remus' bed doing so.

"Guess we will have to try something else though, I'll just return it Monday," James grumbled, flopping down in bed and ignoring Sirius' cussing as he stamped out the fire. "Found anything in all those potions books Pete?"

"A gruesome thing here and there about body transformation," Peter agreed as he finally made his next move. "Nothing Remus would want to go through that even resembles a cure. There was this one kind of promising one that would give him a brand new body."

"Sounds kind of cool," Sirius grinned. "Make yourself look like someone other James' ugly mug."

"Sure," Peter's face crinkled in disgust as he recalled, "all you had to do was submerge yourself in this diamond encrusted cauldron on the 24th of June, but the ingredients are insane. Blood of the enemy, bone of the father, and you don't want to know the last one."

"Yeah, no, I'm good," Remus chuckled.

"Well at least we have Hogsmeade tomorrow!" Sirius reminded eagerly. "It's the weekend before Halloween, and nobody's going to be miserable about it if I have to curse you all!"

"We're so scared," James snorted. He'd been as good as his word, Sirius had shown him a copy from the only letter he had from his dad, a very cold and impartial statement to a Quidditch Little League coach from a long ago summer camp about the ineptitude of the man not putting his son in the Seeker position.

"The only time he's tried to vouch for me, and I don't even like that spot," he'd rolled his eyes as he showed it to James, but he'd still seen red as he mocked the jagged letters. McGonagall at least didn't bat an eye as she took it along with the rest of third years the previous class.

Sirius had been doing a very good job of not acknowledging Regulus since the start of term feast, and nobody had brought him up since then thankfully. It was easier than ever to keep him from his mind without glimpsing him around every corner as they passed Filch, and finally walked right past Hogsmeade station into the village proper.

The four were still arguing about which place to visit first as they passed the little sign declaring it was founded by Hengist of Woodcroft in 1714 right before the first few houses, they'd all heard so many mentions from older students it seemed impossible they'd see everything by seventh year, let alone in just one day!

Wide streets, worn dirt road, and shops all had a different, homey feel than Diagon Alley, and they were still bickering which to enter first when they'd finally traversed far enough to scent the air of the best place in the village regardless, and not another protest was heard when the door to Honeydukes was nudged open.

It had to be, rather than slammed by the enthusiastic boys, because the place was crowded wall to wall with not just students but people from all over traveling here for some of the unique sweets.

Mrs. Flume stood at the counter, all fingers as she constantly dealt out transactions from the never ending line, while her husband Ambrosius Flume was practically running a marathon dipping below for more boxes and resupplying the shelves, his thin brown hair plastered to his scalp with sweat. The four were shuffled this way and that, drooling a bit as they couldn't stop eyeing one thing for long.

James and Sirius finally forced their way through, and by the time they left practically had their own year's supply of everything, their bags literally overflowing with zero regrets.

"Merlin I could die happy in there," Sirius moaned as he tried to shove yet another everlasting gobstopper into his mouth, he was going for a dozen and had only gotten to eight.

"I'd give anything to transform in there once a month," Remus agreed as he chose carefully before selecting a different part of his chocolate skeleton. He was devouring it from the toe-phalanges up, and every new bone was a different flavor. He hadn't even known caramel chocolate was a thing, but he was salivating at the chance to get to the femur and find out and pacing himself. The skull promised to be a mixture of the entire thing!

"I can imagine," James said delicately, "but I'll bet anything's better than a hole under a tree. I still want to ask Madam Pomfrey about that, it sounds cruel."

Remus coughed and nearly dropped his sweet in surprise, Peter only just catching it before the skull cracked open.

"Wha, wha id e 'ay," Sirius disjointedly demanded, he was up to ten.

"Well, erm, it's not a hole in the ground," he said distractedly, eyes now on the horizon. "It's, you know, a building. I have a little room to stretch, I even went in there my first night here to see it," he stopped, but sucked in a breath and forced himself to say, "but I kind of regret knowing what it really looks like, keep having nightmares of the place and you lot."

"Ah, Remus," Peter rubbed at his back with a sorrowful face mirrored in the others, and Remus' twisted stomach eased slightly at finally admitting that aloud.

"I ant elev rs a ol ildin r aree?" Sirius slurred, but he was forced to stop his attempt as he lost a gobstopper in his efforts to speak and it landed in the dirt, the drool leaking out of his mouth was taking more effort to wipe away constantly than enjoying himself anyways and he began swallowing them.

"Care to repeat that?" Remus smiled.

"He said what kind of building, or where's this building, one of those," Peter rolled his eyes.

"I said," Sirius huffed, still smacking his lips, "I can't believe there's a whole building under that tree! That's kind of cool, like a reverse Hogwarts!"

"Oh no," Remus corrected, "it's a tunnel, and the building's at the end. Above ground, I imagine, but it was too dark to see outside the window, and it's all boarded up anyways. Magically too, of course, so I can't get out from there. I supposed it's somewhere in the Forbidden Forest and we just haven't found it yet, or maybe it's invisible."

"Maybe you could show us sometime," James grinned at the new idea.

Remus shivered, and it had nothing to do with the chilly breeze. It was over a year since they'd figured out his secret, and he still couldn't believe how casually they all were chatting about this.

"Not during a full moon, obviously," James corrected with an eye roll. "But like, tonight. I'll bet if we bring some of these snacks and spend the night even, it would start feeling like the dorm, maybe get rid of those stupid nightmares." He finished with complete confidence, like Remus would ever hurt them no matter what body he was in.

Sirius and Peter at once agreed enthusiastically. Remus didn't exactly agree, but he couldn't think up a reason to talk them out of it either, and the subject was changed anyways as they came across yet another brilliant shop, Zonko's. James and Sirius' money bags seemed to have no limit, and they came away with yet another treasure trove of things, still laughing hysterically the rest of the day as they finally followed a popular throng to a place called The Three Broomsticks, and were all treated to a Halloween tale by a local man who regaled them with stories of the Shrieking Shack. Ever since its resurrection a few years back strange noises had been echoing from the place, people were already calling it haunted and nobody seemed quite sure why it had been built at all, or even who had, seemingly popping up one night with the screams of its victims echoing in the village ever since.

Nobody exactly led the way confidently that night, even as they all ducked low under the cloak without protest. Every time one of them hesitated too long the others just kept moving, and the four continued this odd shuffling pace until they stood just out of reach of the tree once more. James and Sirius' heritage was starting to rear up despite themselves as they eyed the hole they'd seen Madam Pomfrey once emerge from with an almost dead looking body, and Peter was instinctively shying away as well, but right into Remus without even thinking about it.

Remus did not want to be the one to raise his wand and still the tree, berating himself with mutters under his breath for encouraging them even this far, but it was this familiar habit of his talking to himself that finally kicked Sirius into squaring his shoulders and proving him wrong that they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into that had him mimicking what the school nurse once had, "Wingardium Leviosa," and watching carefully as the little branch rose a few feet, and at the flick of his wand, flew too fast for any of its alive brethren to stop it.

James easily crawled in first, Peter right behind him. "Get on then, my arm's getting tired," Sirius flashed him a smile, barely visible in the thick cloudy night and absent moonlight, so Remus forced himself to swallow and go through once more.

His nose dilated upon the familiar puff of dirt as Sirius plopped in behind him. His eyes adjusted the quickest and traced easily the uneven floor. His body ached oddly, as if it was already trying to tense up for a transformation to come, his fingers even twitched as if he should be removing his clothes from habit.

"Well, this isn't getting any less fun," James still had the gall to say cheerfully as he went off, his hair barely scraped the low ceiling. Sirius had to prod him in the back to get him moving.

After a few moments James began humming to himself out of boredom, and Sirius quickly caught on with the tune and sang some nonsense words off the top of his head, a game they'd been doing since their very first night. The familiarity of it caused Remus and Peter to start chuckling in surprise and even applauding the two, the trek that usually felt like hours were gone by the time they'd wrapped up and James stopped with a curse as his head smacked against something.

The hatch swung up easily, he nearly kicked Peter in the face as he hauled himself up before offering a hand down, but Remus still hesitated taking the now two offerings. Them being in there would only give the nightmares validity surely...

He made a squealing noise of surprise when Sirius grabbed him from behind, actually holding his waist and trying to force him up while saying, "get on then, I don't want to stare at your ass all night!"

Remus had no choice but to grab ahold of James and Peter and look around once more.

It was even worse than he could have imagined. His face quickly flushed with shame, he usually didn't give himself time to really see it, keeping his eyes closed as long as possible until the pain became unbearable and he knew no more. Now he was forced to see years of his handiwork, the torn furniture, gouges and straight chunks missing from the walls, the pitiful shack looked exactly like a wild animal had attacked it, because he did. Only the lack of excrement held him back from bursting into tears, and he vowed he'd have to go up and thank Madam Pomfrey, or Dumbledore, or somebody for clearly having a foresight he'd always lacked in at least semi cleaning this place up.

James whistled as he turned slowly on the spot and took it all in, while Sirius peered around in the gloom with a very curious look in place.

"Damn Remus," Peter said in close to awe, "how big do you get?" He had to crane his neck up to see the ceiling where the chandelier was twisted and torn, all candles long absent, only hanging on by one lone, rusted bracket. Who had even put that in here?!

"I, err," Remus couldn't answer, his chest swelling painfully, he just wanted to crawl back in that hole and die now.

Sirius suddenly took off, and the other two followed, Remus still dragging his feet as he spotted the staircase and slumped up it. There were three doors, James found the one on the left to be a bathroom, Peter's was a broom closet completely bare and empty, and the one directly in front of them on the tiny landing Sirius shoved open looked like a palace in comparison to the rest of the place.

Remus had only been in here the one time, that first time, but he couldn't help but appreciate all over again the forethought Dumbledore seemed to have put into this as a king size four poster bed sat proudly intact against one wall, but it was dusty with disuse, and the lone window was indeed still boarded up and ruined the kind décor.

"You've been plaguing us with your snores when you had a whole house to yourself!" Sirius accused as he made a running jump before bouncing on it, causing even himself to cough and sneeze as much as them but refusing to stop.

"Couldn't say why, can't be the company," Remus finally said, his chest starting to hurt just a little less.

"Flatterer," James scolded as he went to peek out of what little space was available, but still coming up empty. It was just too dark to get a proper sight of anything beyond.

"Didn't Flitwick say something about Undetectable Extension Charms in our seventh year last class?" Sirius suddenly said as he did a belly flop onto the bed. "Maybe we could give this place a little more room."

"This place is weirdly small," Peter agreed, waving his hand in front of his nose still. "Better than the hollow I was picturing before, but no offense Remus, I've seen animals at zoos get more space than this."

"None taken," Remus shrugged, it's not like he was going to disagree. "I don't think it would make a difference though if they'd made it the size of Hogwarts, I'd still take it out on myself all night."

"I've never been to a zoo," James suddenly pouted, "but I'd come see you Remus," he quickly added on. The two started laughing in surprise, and that was all it took. They just hung around talking endlessly about anything that came to mind the rest of the night, tromping up and down the stairs at their pleasure without having other students poke their head out and yelling at the restless bunch to get to bed. This was their place now, and nobody was going to bother them here.

[oingo233]

I am loving how much thought you're putting into these ship requests ❤ so I thought I'd ask too!

I'm a heterosexual Ravenclaw female. I like to read and write. I used to peer tutor. I like to laugh. My sense of humor is pretty sarcastic. I like to play board games and watch movies and TV. I like being outside but just to relax and enjoy the weather. No camping or serious hiking for me lol. I have green eyes and dark blonde hair. Think you could do a ship for both ears? If not whichever you want is fine. 😊

You sound so awesome!  (Total side note: but yall or too cool for me wtf I just adore you) I kinda went off with the marauders ship, and since I wrote so much for it I decided not to do the Lightning Era ship, which I hope you don’t mind, but if you really want one just let me know and I’ll get to it.  Also sorry this took me forever, I’m the worst at posting/writing.  But I hope you enjoy it! <3 

Anyways, based off of everything here is what I think....

Marauders Era

I ship you with James Potter...

- He saw you were giving peer tutoring lessons so he lied and said he needed “loads of help.  Please, you’d be doing me a huge favor.  I’ll pay ya back?” he’d say with a wink, you’d roll your eyes and fight your smile because truth be told him and his friends always made you laugh with their pranks and you were always a little curious about this charming and handsome boy.

- You agree, in the name of education and graciousness of course.  No other reason... none at all.  Definitely not because he smelled good, and you knew he was passing that class with flying colors and so he had to be into you too, right?

- He was, oh god he was so into you.  He spent more time staring at you than the books you used to study.  It was often you’d look up to see if he was “registering” the information and he’d just be gazing up at you through his glasses, mouth slightly agape in a smile.  You’d blush and ask him an on-topic question, he’d answer correctly and you’d only blush more.

- He always made you laugh till your stomach was in knots and the two of you were kicked out of the library.  It was one of those time when he asked you out on your guy’s first “date”.

- The two of you were standing outside the library doors, cheeks flushed and eyes alight with humor.  He told the worlds best story about his first time on a broom, and how he thought he could fly into outer-space and bring back a star for his mom. (he was very little and didn’t know any better, his dad of course was right next to him and raced after him, but James was so fast.  Afterwards at dinner they scowled him, but knew he would be just great at quidditch.)

- “But it’s all true, all of it,” he says, laughing as you shake your head in disbelief.  He is walking beside you as you two wander the halls, not sure where to go but not wanting to part from one another. “But I’ll tell you, nothing has ever made me feel so free.  Just flying like that, nothing can hold you back.” he says, a large smile on his face.  You smile up at him and his heart nearly drops.

- “Sounds nice,” You mutter, only half paying attention to your own words because James looked so kissable then.  He smiled wider and walked closer to you, blushing as his nerves took over.  “I could teach ya?  If ya want, of course.” He asks you.  Without hesitation you say yes.

- That weekend you spend the whole Saturday together, learning, it seems as though he was the tutor now.  You nearly fell off the broom from laughing so hard, and James’s face would genuinely twist with worry when you would try new moves, he wouldn’t want you getting hurt.  The weather was just wonderful and the brisk breeze caressed your skin, yet the sun kept you warm.

- It was on that beautiful day, that you two laid back on the field of grass to rest and enjoy the weather, he leaned over and kissed you.  You were in shock and he almost pulled away, ready to apologies and die from embarrassment but then you started kissing him back and he found something he for sure liked more than flying...you.

- You two fell in love and have been dating ever since.  His sense of humor is both terrible amazing puns, and sarcasm so you two are always laughing your hearts out with the rest of the Marauders or even just alone.

- You two play board games a lot because he actually started to like them around the same time he found out you did (coincidence...I think not). When you two played together he’d get so into it, he’d just stare down at the board and figure out his next move, giving you perfect time to admire him in silence.  He truly was beautiful.  You’d see his glasses inch down his nose, and he’d slowly push them back up, still focused.

- Whenever you let him win (rarely) he’d would boast about it all day, but it made him so happy you learned to sit there and take it, you knowing the truth about your mad skills was enough.  Sirius and Remus knew it too.

- He’d always watch movies and TV with you, but only if you two were cuddled up.  It’s the only thing that helped him stay still long enough to really get lost in and take in the film.  His fav cuddle positions were when you’d lay in-between his legs, ontop of him, and cuddle your head on his chest, you were so warm and he’d play with your hair and give you forehead kisses .  

- Or, his all time fav cuddle was when it was switched, and he was laying atop your chest.  He loved how he could hear your heartbeat, and feel when you laugh.  You also just run your hands through his hair and if he isn’t careful he could just fall asleep like that, zenned out and warm.

- Since you like being outside so much, but no hard activities (gurl, same!) he would always set up a picnic for the two of you.  Outside on nice days, he’d cover your eyes and lead you across campus to this spot beneath a nice, shady tree.  Lying underneath it would be a blanket, your favorite book and foods, and some pillows.  He’s let you lay your head in his lap and he’d read aloud to you.  He’d put on voices for the characters and make sarcastic commentary that always made you laugh.

- During quidditch matches he gave you his spare jersey to wear and begged you to “Just for one day, be a Gryffindor.  I’ll give ya me jersey, splash some face paint on ya, and no one will tell the difference.” because he’d want for you to sit with Remus, and Sirius and Peter and cheer him on, because then he wouldn’t have to look all over the stands for his favorite group of cheerleaders.  You always kissed him before a match for good luck, he swears by it.

- But he also loved that you were a Ravenclaw.  He admired your intelligence, wit and creativity the most and it wasn’t like you were lacking the Gryffindor traits that he took so much pride in.  He also liked the different perspective you could give him on situations considering your different houses really shaped you both individually and he spent a lot of time with fellow Gryffindors.

- He’d pull the best puppy eyes to convince you to let him read whatever you are writing.  He adores every word you put on paper and even asks to keep his favorite story of yours that you’ve written so he can read it over summer.

- Overall, you both love and support one another so much!  And it was a match made by cupid himself aka me

I hope you liked this!

[breanime]

Hi Bre! Thank you for doing more drabbles and I hope you get all the recognition you deserve! Can you please do Billy Russo and “Person A has a few friends over at their house to hang out. One friend (Person B) says that they’re not feeling very well so Person A lets them take a nap in their bed”? ❤️

Billy Russo, the least friendly of all your friends, was having a get together at his house. He’d just finished remodeling his penthouse (an endeavor that you decided was for rich people), and he wanted to show it off to his friends. So he asked you all to come over for drinks, and even though you were feeling a little sick, there was no way you were going to miss out on hanging out with your crush—

—your friend…. Just a friend…

You spent a lot of time at Billy’s place, and while the remodeling was going on, he spent a lot of time at yours. But now that you were seeing the results of the remodeling—you were impressed.

“A man of wealth and taste,” Curtis said, laughing as he clinked glasses with Billy.

“I didn’t think this place could get any swankier,” Karen said, “and yet…”

Billy grinned; you hadn’t seen him this happy in a long while. You were proud of him. Billy, you knew, was his own hardest critic. No matter how much money he earned, or how many penthouses he owned, Billy would always see himself as that unclaimed, unloved orphan boy who was thrown from group home to group home. “You know, Y/N helped me pick some of this shit out,” he said, turning to you. His smile fell. “You alright?”

You blinked over at him. You had been leaning on one of the counters, and your head was starting to pound. “I don’t feel so good…”

Billy was in front of you in a second, the back of his hand pressed down on your forehead. “I thought I told you to see a doctor,” he said.

You scoffed, leaning into his touch. “And I thought I told you that I just needed to rest.”

“But did you?” He asked, hand moving to cup your cheek.

“You know damn well she didn’t,” Frank said, instigating with a grin on his face, “she’s the female version of you: won’t stop till she drops.”

“Well,” Billy’s hand was on the small of your back now, “you’re stopping now, c’mon.”

“Noo!” You whined. “I’m not going to the doctor—it’s just a cold—”

“I’m not taking you to the doctor,” he explained as he led you out of the kitchen and through the living room, “I’m taking you to bed.”

Your cheeks heated up as Frank, Curtis, and Karen all cheered and “ooh”ed in the background. “Wha—why—”

“You’re taking a nap,” he said, leading you to his room, “and if you’re still not feeling better, than we’re going to the doctor.”

You had no response to that, and even if you did, how could you articulate it when Billy was pulling the comforter back and laying you in his bed? How could you do anything but stare as he was covering you with the blanket and tucking you in.

“You need anything?” He asked you, his voice low. “Water? Somethin’ to eat? I got medicine…”

You shook your head. “No, I’m good… Thanks, Billy.”

He nodded, standing up straight. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he just licked his lips. “Hey,” he said, eyes looking anywhere but at you, “I just…. You are…” He cleared his throat. “You mean a lot to me.” He leaned down and dropped a kiss to your warm forehead. “Get some rest.”

And with that, he left you to nap. You stared at the door once he’d left, eyes wide and heart pounding until finally you forced yourself to close your eyes, thinking of Billy. You were already feeling better as you laid on his cool sheets with his kiss still warm on your skin, and your eyelids were getting heavy as you thought of Billy’s dark eyes. You could hear the soft sounds of conversation and laughter in the distance, and you fell asleep to the sounds of happiness.

Later, when you woke up, the first thing you noticed was that you were feeling better. You didn’t have a headache and you felt well rested. The second thing you noticed was arms around your waist.

You turned slightly, eyes wide, to see Billy lying behind you, his eyes closed as he slept. A quick glance at the nightstand told you that it was late, and you guessed that everyone had gone home. You shifted, unsure of what to do, and Billy’s grip on you tightened.

“You feelin’ any better?” He asked, nuzzling his face into the back of your neck.

“Mm hmm…”

“Good.” His hands were on top of yours, resting on your stomach. “Cause tomorrow we’re going on a date,” he informed you, “And after that…” you could hear the grin in his voice. “…we’re gonna sleep together for real.”

You laughed, and Billy reached over and kissed your ear. You went back to sleep, dozing off easily in Billy’s arm, looking forward to what the next day would bring.

*******************************************************************************************

I ain’t even gonna lie, I was way too distracted by this movie “Carriers” (starring Chris Pine and Emily Van Camp!) while I was writing this. Thanks for reading!

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Benny B Taglist (minus Sirius): @banditthewriter @something-tofightfor

[ashes-and-ashes]

Across Generations

Sirius cracks the door open, wincing at the loud squealing of the hinges. He pauses, hand on the doorknob, a strange sense of nerves overtaking him. He hadn’t been in Dumbledore’s office in over 2 years and yet he felt that gut-wrenching spark of panic that used to accompany him every time he was called up. He swallows, hard, reminds himself that he wasn’t a student anymore, that he could officially tell Dumbledore to kiss his ass if he wanted to.

With a sigh, Sirius pushes the door open, pokes his head through the opening. The office looks exactly the same as it had 2 years ago; floor to ceiling windows, cabinets crammed with all sorts of things lining the walls. Sirus looks at the huge oak desk and fights to keep a smirk off his face, the wood bringing back memories of him and Remus and the day before Winter Break in 7th year. He scowls, flinging the door further open - it hits the opposite wall with a sharp crack. “Professor? You wanted to see me?”

Dumbldore inclines his head. He’s seated in that massive chair - again Sirius has to physically bite his lip to stop himself from losing it - and he gestures for Sirius to join him at the desk. “No need to call me Professor, Sirius. We are well beyond that now.”

Sirius shrugs. He slides into the chair, propping his knees up on the edge of the desk. “Force of habit. You calling me back to school and all. Makes me feel like I’m a student again.”

Dumbledore concedes the point with a polite smile. He knots his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table, regarding Sirius over the top of his half-moon glasses. “How are you, Sirus?”

“Fine,” Sirius says. “If you wanted a report you could have just asked Peter to pass one on. No need to call me all the way here.”

“I understand your feelings - “

“No,” Sirius interrupts. “No you don’t.”

Waking up in the bed, the sheets cold where Remus’ body used to be. The note, the ink smudged where Remus had scrawled over the ragged paper: D sent me to the Werewolf Camps. Don’t know when I’ll be back. Love you.

He couldn’t remember much after that; shredding the note into hundreds of soft white shards, feeding them into the flames one by one. Putting himself back together slowly, the raw edges that Remus left behind, each memory like salt in the already destroyed wound.

It had been 3 months and Remus hadn’t replied, hadn’t answered any of Sirius’ letters.

Dumbledore’ gaze is steady, calm, and Sirius wants to claw that serene smile off his face. He clenches his fists under the table, grits his teeth and scowls. “Seriously Albus. What do you want?”

“Has Remus sent you any post?” Dumbledore asks.

The words are like a blow to the stomach. Sirus glares at him, the world staring to turn red. “Are you trying to make sure he doesn’t fucking write to me now?”

Dumbledore’s stare doesn’t change.

“No,” Sirius says shortly. “He hasn’t answered a single one of my fucking letters. He hasn’t had any contact with me after you ripped him from our bed and stuck him in those hellholes. Does that make you feel better?”

Dumbledore seems to tense. He slowly stands, walking over to one of the windows, staring out at the grounds. “No. Because he hasn’t answered any of my correspondence with him either.”

“I wouldn’t. Especially not with a man who sent me off to a Werewolf Camp.”

Dumbledore slowly shakes his head. “No it’s much worse then that. You see, we have a leak.”

Sirius stares at him. “Oh you’re fucking kidding me.”

“Sirius - “

“No.” Sirius slams his chair back; it skids across the floor with a horrible shrieking noise and crashes into one of the cabinets. “So first you imprison him in a camp with the monster who Turned him in the first place. Then you suspect he’s a spy after he doesn’t answer your fucking postcards? This is a joke right? Tell me this is a fucking joke Professor!”

“I was just asking,” Dumbledore says, low and slow, “If you had any idea that could help us - “

“Unfortunately I don’t have anything, due to the fact that Remus is on our fucking side.”

Dumbledore studies him. Sirius swallows; he feels like he’s under a sheet of glass, pressing against his nose, feels like he’s being pinned down by the weight of Dumbeldore’s glare. He stares back, trying not to let his discomfort show, the utter ease at which Dumbledore stripped him bare.

Finally, Dumbledore tilts his head. “You know,” he says, “I was around your age when I fell in love for the first time.”

“Oh congratulations,” Sirius replies, rolling his eyes. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

“His name,” Dumbledore says, and Sirius jolts, “Was Gellert.”

“Oh.” Sirius says. Then: “Oh.”

“I - “

“I don’t suppose,” Sirius interrupts, cutting Dumbledore off mid-sentence, “That you mean Gellert Jinglehopper, the cute boy who worked at your local quill shop?”

Dumbledore gives him a small smile. “Unfortunately not.”

“Of course.” Sirius waves his hand. “So yeah. My ex-headmaster was in love with one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time. Alright then, carry on.”

Dumbledore sighs, and Sirius allows himself to feel the small spark of victory that coursed theogh his veins. “You see, we were alike in so many different ways. We were - “

“Stifled geniuses?”

Dumbledore shakes his head. “Arrogant. Too caught up with our own problems to understand anyone else’s. And yes - he was brilliant. I suppose you’d know the feeling better then anyone else, Sirius, the utter brightness that some people can shine with.”

Sirius thinks of Remus, the way the room lit up whenever he smiled. The golden streaks in his hair, the soft edges of scar tissue, the hazel eyes that hid his razor-sharp mind. Yes, he knew damn well how bright some people shone. “Your point?”

“He was extraordinary,” Dumbledore says. “And I was blind. Because I was so caught up with him that I didn’t see what was going on. I didn’t see the cracks in the facade and it destroyed me afterwards.”

“If this is meant to be some sort of wanting to me about Remus then you can shove it.” Sirius crosses his hands over his chest. “He isn’t a spy. He’d never become one.”

Dumbledore shurgs. “We spent one summer together. I was convinced that I’d spend the rest of my life with him. But then - “

Dumbledore breaks off. His gaze was distant - Sirus got the sense that he was relieving an old memory, something painful and deep. “Things happened. Things that were out of my control. And so he left. The next time I saw him was when we dueled.”

Sirius swallows, trying to imagine what it would be like to fight Remus, slinging spells meant to hurt and wound and kill. He can almost picture it - the rain, the lightning. Remus’ face, heartbroken and determined and furious, the way his hands would be shaking on the handle of his wand even as he lifted up, prepared to fight -

“So the message is that my love for Remus is blinding me.” Sirius’ voice is flat - he knows he should be more respectful but he honestly couldn’t bring himself to give a shit. “Basically Remus is a spy and I’m a fool for staying with him and if I wanted to save myself I’d leave now and not come back.”

Dumbledore adjusts his glasses, polishing them on the hem of his sleeve. “I put Gellert in Numengard. It was an interesting punishment, specially tailored to ruin him. I put my lover inside of hell and I live with it every day.”

“I get it.” Sirius can’t keep the anger from his voice. “You want me to make shit up. Lock Remus in Azkaban.”

“Incorrect.” Dumbledore gestures towards Sirius with his hand. “I want you to prepare for the worst. I want you to know that love blinds us - love for our family and love for our friends. Don’t let yourself be fooled.”

Sirius rolls his eyes. He turns towards the door, anger burning in his chest. “So you want me to stop loving Remus like you stopped loving Gellert?”

Dumbledore just smiles sadly. “No Sirius,” he says and waves his wand; the door flies open with a crash. “It’s not possible to stop loving a person like that.”