#don’t ask me why it’s flumpy

[squirrelpatties]

I rlly like jekyll and hyde

[missmarveledsblog]

Flumpy ( jake seresin x reader ) part 14

summary : jake meets the infamous peanut , feels bumpy kicking as the guys and well everyone is so glad he is home ... he happy to be home cause he get to see his baby on the little screen and help prepare for when they come into a world

warning: slight insecurity but not much , pregnancy themes and hormones , just regular fluff and goofy humour we've come to love from these two .

a.n. ok gif wise pretend that the blood isn't there because come on jake would definitely be a mess seeing his little bumpy on the screen .

previous part

Maybe it was cause she was wrapped in the sheet cuddle up with the man she loved , maybe it was fact for first time in three months she wasn't sexually frustrated but the morning after jake returned home she woke with a smile . eyes tracing over his sleeping feature  this was what she loved most  this big beautiful man who could charm the pope and make the devil himself blush . Never did she believe in true love and all that romance shit  that was til  a tall texan made her swoon and fall harder then she ever did . it wasn’t scary  , it didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would no she knew deep in her heart this was that one , the one that was going to be their til the end . her gut told her as much or wait was that ? 

“ OH MY GOD “ She shrieked sending the sleeping blonde wide eyed and up in the bed . 

“ what’s wrong , is it the baby … we need to go hospital?” he was almost out of the bed only for her hand yanking his placing it on her stomach , his brow furrow completely confused and honestly both terrified and sleep ridden . til she look into his eyes and the little thump against his hand  that made his own eyes get a bit .. tiny bit watery . 

“ kicking ,the baby is kicking…. Awh jake your crying  “ her wide smiled , bright eyes looking at him filled with nothing but love shit how did he get this lucky . 

“ you scared shit out of me “ he wiped his eyes although they both knew he wasn’t fooling anyone . “ shit bradshaw is right is dusty out here” he fanned around himself as she rolled her eyes . 

What he didn’t think would happen was the nerves this woman would give him  as she rushed towards  the hard deck as he told her slow her roll as she was carrying precious cargo and yet she of course didn’t listen to a word he said moment she got in  crouch as the bounding ball of fur came charging at them nearly knocking her back . 

“ my baby boy “ she cooed kissing as the dog licked her face .  “sorry our baby boy” she corrected lifting the puppy up . “ peanut look daddy’s home “ she giggled as jake rolled his eyes  but rubbed the dog anyways ok he could see why she loved him as much 

“ i warned you that would happen” she looked up to see her dad and rooster standing at the bar. Roo was looking a little betrayed at sudden disappearance of the little guy he was feeding . 

“ yeah i’ll be his favorite in no time  , hey pretty girl .. pretty baby .. bagman” he smiled . “ hey it’s uncle roo kid i’m the fun one who will get you shit when your folk say no” he croutched at her belly feeling around . “ come on i’ll get you a car now if you kick for me” he nudged her belly . 

“ i cried when i felt y/n kick for first time too “ mav smiled hugging jake . “ also welcome back “ he added. 

“ i cried cause she woke me out the best sleep my life” he groaned wishing he had his ass back in bed . 

“ yeah yeah liar but ok boomer” she rolled her eyes . 

“ when that start” jake asked . 

“ like a week after you left “ mav hummed .  “ she says ok grandpa for me but i don’t think she means it the way i think it does “. 

“ course i do “ she patted his cheek as jake and rooster shook their heads . 

 “ so you excited to be daddy” penny asked softy . 

“ shit he already is …. Sorry dad” she winced . 

“ i just phase you out now kid honestly “ he huffed but look on his face told different story . 

“ yeah i am shit i miss so much but least i get to be there now “  he kissed her head as rooster took peanut . 

“ yeah good luck my friend” mav chuckled as she shot him a glare. 

“ i wasn’t that bad “ she rolled her eyes. 

“ HANG MAN THANK GOD YOUR HOME “ Javy  crashed into the blonde . 

“ I never thought i would so happy see you home “ payback hug him tightly. 

“ you were saying ?” Mav chuckled . 

“ bobby  tell them i was an angel “ she huffed . 

“ good to see you jake really …. Pickles and taco help “ he whispered  . 

“ your lucky your adorable “ she grumbled walking to their usually spot . 

“Hey hangman!  welcome home … good luck “ yale smiled walking by .

“ well that’s not worrying “ rooster looked back to the were she say smiling like butter didn’t melt or she wasn’t a hormonal filled nutjob .

Getting back into routine after being away as well as navigating life with a six and half month pregnant girlfriend well was a little  hard at first but after first week he  had it down or so he thought when she cried because someone ate the last of her chocolate  which was her the night before or when she wanted to take one of the ducks from the good duck park cause he looked a bit off color which stupidly he asked how she could tell.   He met luke  nice kid although he still didn’t understand why she was calling him a kid he was what two years younger than her but wasn’t even questioning her on it he learned his lesson .  now here he was helping her out the car smiling at her wearing his clothes ready to take on the so called dreaded birthing classes with the wanna be housewives of san diego .  the two walked he didn’t the problem everyone seemed friendly even when they walked into the class . 

“ oh y/n  another brother is it “ a woman called . 

“ hey michelle  actually this is .. “ 

“ oh what  handsome man you are ,  is this one single , he would be perfect for my annabeth “ she continued as he could visibly see the smoke coming off her girl . 

“ oh my god michelle your right like a barbie and ken but real life “ another clapped . 

“ well michelle sorry this ken is mine tell annabitch to find another ken for her barbie” she grumbled . 

“I like bratz not barbies “ jake added as they headed towards lila .  she smiling proudly up at her man all the way over. 

“ bratz dolls ?” 

“ i have a lot of sisters” he winked kissing her head. 

“ hi you must be jake heard a lot about you … a lot”lila smiled .

“ you must be kelce same as what she said” she beamed as they two naval officers gave a nod.  

“ we know each other and  know you two “ jake nodded.

“ both heard how bitchy the class is”kelce added. 

“ to be honest i show up to piss em off “ y/n beamed happily .

“ from michelle face looks like you did it earlier today personal best” lila giggled . 

“ yeah well her and annabitch wanna humble themselves quickly” she shrugged as jake snorted. 

“ come trouble this must be the teacher right “ jake and her sat down . 

“ hey annie look jakes home “ she called. 

“Welcome home jake and kelce welcome to our class all though i will miss the eye candy”  she mused. 

“ oh shit yeah i have bobby’s number , the adorable one “ she waved the paper as the teacher walked around greeting  everyone and taking the number with a mouthed “ thank you” . 

After the class well he couldn’t help agree with her and promised never to doubt her again about snobby housewives and their stink eyes but honestly the thought went straight out of his mind when it came time for their next stop which was the one he was looking forward to since he found out being there for her check up and getting to see the baby and this one was even more special when they were finding out what their little bumpy was . she smile and greeted everyone by name asked them little parts of their lives and honestly he loved that about her. How she was able to remember little details about people and  also filled him with pride when she excited told them who he was .   he followed as  she was lead down the hall talking again with the doctor asking how his wife and kids where as he told her.  Now they sat in the room definitely nothing like the ones he sat in before looking at the different pamphlets on birth and childhood disease . watching as the doctor do what he assume was the usually given how it was now so normal for her the pang of guilt know she done all the appointments alone before .  popping her (his) shorts little as the doctor put the tissue paper on the waist band . she turned and held out her hand  for him to take shit why was he so nervous . 

“ ready to see our baby” she smiled and yet words failed him as his smiled so wide all he could do was nod. 

“ we’re finding out gender right?” the doctor smiled between them . 

“ bet your ass we are him and roo are painting the nursery this weekend “ she giggled excited as  the light dimmed and the two’s eyes locked on the screen . 

First it was black and white blur and fuzz on the screen then he saw it . the sight that made his heart beat and his smile wide and shit was dusty here too as he felt the tears fill his eyes looking at the now baby shape , it wasn’t a blob or  weird shaped potato as rooster called it at start it was a baby full shaped baby  . he could see the little hands , arm . legs and feet moving as doctor was telling them the measurement and that everything was fine in 3D . The little nose and lips he was looking at his baby’s little face god they were beautiful  . then  her hand that was swinging stop  and her head shot up  . 

“ is that another … am i seeing things” she asked as his eye flickered between the two as the doctors brows furrow . 

“ what .. whats wrong “ he asked his heart beating and his stomach twisting what was wrong . 

“ i’ll be dammed you know i never seen something like this  huh guess this one is shy” he chuckled. 

“ this one what you mean this one  “ she asked her voice doing the squeaky nervous thing it did . 

“ seems as though  you got more than you bargained for guys “ he smiled. 

“ is the baby ok “ jake asked . 

“ oh of course seems as both are “ 

“ both as in two … two babies not  just an extra arm and head on the one” she asked almost a little hopeful  . 

“ nope two healthy baby girls here” 

“ i think i’m gonna pass out or throw up … check and make sure  there’s not more in there “ she squeaked looking down at her stomach as jake  didn’t know whether to cheer throw up or pass out himself. 

“ nope just two in there guess this one was shy …monochorionic twins it seems “. 

“ english doc?” he asked finally finding his voice although it was nearly as high pitched as hers .

“ identical twin… congratulations you two let me go get you some copies of these”  . 

“ girls as in plural” like their brains fully catching up to the whole thing . 

“ wow i’m having a litter of kids i blame you “ she snorted  as two burst into laughter til it died down . 

“ oh boy “ he gulped . 

“ oh girls “ she corrected .  

part 15

taglist :@harrysgothicbitch @djs8891 @darksparklesficrecs @sarah-bear706318 @emma8895eb @katiemcrae @eleventhdoctorsangel

[greycappedjester]

Next chapter's going to be a longer one (it 4.5k now, I'm thinking it'll be around 6k after additing th last scene and editing).

First scene for the next chapter. Havne't gotten to editing or much proofreading yet so subject to changes and corrections

Noya stood up on the bench, straining his neck to get a better angle to see the door. 

Surprisingly, for a weekend, there were a lot of people already in the Great Hall. Then again, it was a Quidditch weekend and considering that some of the heads Noya saw were literally wearing giant badger ears or snake tails…maybe it wasn’t so much a surprise the weekend was more crowded today.

“I don’t see him,” Noya announced.

“He’ll be here,” Yamaguchi said.

“You sure he said today?”

“I’m sure he said today.”

“Well, I don’t see him,” Noya announced once again, hands on his hips as the bench wobbled precariously underneath him. 

Daichi yanked him down by the back of his sweater. “Get down before you fall.”

Noya collapsed back on his seat with a huff. “Well, excuse me for being a good friend. It’s been an entire week, for all we know Tsuki already forgot what we look like.”

“Considering he was in the hospital visiting and not for a concussion, I doubt he forgot us,” Daichi said flatly.

“I don’t know,” Ennoshita mused, “if anyone could decide to forget people out of spite, it’s Tsukishima.”

“Exactly. Which is why I’m going to wave him down!” Noya made to get up on the bench again, then paused, twisting around to glare at them. “Wait, why am I the one doing this? I’m the shortest one here. Asahi, get on the bench!”

“Uh, I don’t--”

Asahi was pulled up to stand on the bench, which was definitely creaking now. 

Noya gave him a thumbs up and handed him Flumpy. “Here hold him up! Even if Tsuki forgot us, he could never forget Flumpy!”

“For better or worse,” Ennoshita added.

Noya ignored him, looking up at Asahi. “Do you see him?”

“Oh, um,” Asahi looked over the crowd. His eyes widened. “Actually…”

It turned out that they shouldn’t have worried about knowing Tsukishima had arrived. They would have been able to tell already, based on the room alone.

The crowds in the Great Hall went quiet before whispering started up.

Through it all, a single figure made himself known.

Tsukishima ignored them all, parting through them like parting a wave. The look on his face discouraged heavily anyone approaching him and slowly the whispering died down and the normal excited conversation of a Saturday morning took its place.

Tsukishima joined the table. “I take it they read the news.”

“It was kind of on the front page,” Yamaguchi told him. “”No one gets attacked in the Ministry. Pretty sure everyone’s heard by now.”

“Technically, not an ‘attack,’” Tsukishishima said dryly. “I believe the Ministry’s official stance is that a, what was it, ‘bumbling desk worker must have stumbled on something he shouldn’t in the Department of Mysteries’. Workplace incompetence, you know how it is? No need to even pay severance.”

Tanaka sat up. “That’s some trollshit! Everyone who heard about it should know it was an attack.”

“No one gets attacked in the Ministry,” Tsuksihima parroted Yamaguchi’s words. Then, he shrugged. “And practically, without evidence of an attacker, there’s no clear indication the damage was caused by a curse and not just one of the Department of Mysteries experiments handled wrong.” He waved a hand at the crowd of students. “No one wants to believe there’s any danger. Accidents are a lot easier to believe than an attack where it’s supposed to be safe.”

“The Aurors finished the investigation,” Ennoshita asked.

Tsukishima nodded. “Not that there was much to do. There was no sign of anyone else there by the time the Aurors arrived and Akiteru couldn’t even admit to what he was doing there, much less tell them he might have been attacked for a reason. He didn’t even see who did it, so there’s no one Ghost he could point to as proof.” He sighed. “No, as far as the Ministry is concerned, a young Ministry employee got curious about a place he shouldn’t be going, faked an excuse to get in, and messed around enough to get injured. Fire him and case closed.”

Yamaguchi grimaced. “But, Akiteru’s doing okay?”

Tsukishma’s shoulders relaxed minutely. “Yes, he’s fine.”

“And that’s what’s important,” Daichi reassured.

“Well, that’s one of the things,” Ennoshita said. “Another pretty important detail is we still don’t know how the attack actually happened. And if the Ministry's already closed the investigation, then it’s not like we’re going to get any clues there.”

“Like we were ever counting on the Ministry,” Tanaka said, voice dark. “The Minister’s not going to believe us until we literally shove proof in his face.”

The group went silent, each remembering exactly how their last conversation with the Minister went.

“I hate him,” Noya muttured. “The Minister’s an idiot.”

Asahi elbowed him sharply, hissing out. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.” Noya argued. “If only he’d bloody listened last time--”

“That doesn’t mean you should say it out loud.” Asahi looked quickly around to see if anyone was listening, not relaxing even when he saw they weren’t. “Whatever we think privately, it doesn’t mean his threats weren’t real.”

Noya drew up before immediately deflating.

“Sorry, Asahi,” he said quietly.

Asahi gave him a small smile.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about any of this here anyway,” Ennoshita said, looking around. “We never know who’s listening.”

Yamaguchi sighed. “This is definitely making us paranoid.”

“Paranoia or practicality?”

Yamaguchi grimaced. “Both. And to think, most people here just get to worry about the Quidditch game.”

“Right, the game.” Tsukishima stood up. “I need to go tell Atsumu I’m back.”

“Wait, what? You’re still playing?” Asahi stared at him. “You just got back!”

Tsukishima shrugged.

“Yes!” Noya crowed. “See, that’s the spirit! Tsuki’s finally admitting he loves Quidditch!

“Don’t call me Tsuki,” Tsukishima orered flatly.

“Who cares about that? It’s a Quiddditch miracle,” Noya jumped up to fling his arms around him.

Tsukishima, with practice, side stepped out of the way. “It’s not about that at all.”

“Then, what is it about,” Yamaguchi asked. “I’m sure Atsumu would understand.”

“Would he, though?” Ennoshita muttered. “Atsumu’s Quidditch crazy.”

“Doesn’t matter either way,” Tsukishima said. “I’m not doing it for Atsumu.”

“Then, why are you,” Asahi asked.

Tsukishima frowned, answer not immediately forthcoming.

Finally, he just nodded at the crowd in the Great Hall, still mostly talking about Quidditch but eyes still darting to Tsukishima every now and then.

“Well,” Tsukishima said disdainfully, “it doesn’t really matter; but, if they’re going to be gawking anyway, at least it’ll be at a game.”

Aggggh I have a two-day interview this week for a job I really want! Wish me luck! Im so excited/nervous.

Also in other good news, I can say as a define 100% (barring emergency or power outage) the next chapter for Department of Mysteries will be up Friday once I get back from the interview. Thanks for the patience! I'll post a scene later tonight!

This should also mark its return to a regular posting schedule (monthly for now, but if I start getting ahead then I'll bump it up to ever two weeks)

[hillnerd]

Taking a Shallow Breath Ch 3

|Harry Potter | Fanfiction | PG-13 | in-progress | Chapter: 4747words

Ships: Rose/Scorpius, canon and others | Fanfiction.net link

Romance friendship comedy family & drama |

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4

Scorpius Apparated to a secluded alley near his building. He had never much cared for the Apparation spot, as it seemed to be a good place for trash to accumulate, and a favorite spot for the local stray dogs to do a number of unseemly things. He was relieved he didn't land in a pile of something unpleasant, and made his way to the front of his apartment, which resembled the Apparation point's alley as much as a unicorn resembled blast-ended skrewt. Scorpius was excessively fond of the home he had. Rose had helped him pick it out.

"Scorpius, this is the one!" Rose cried as she spun in the middle of the empty living room.

"I don't know… I mean, it's awfully big for just me," he said, running a hand along the stair's banister.

"But, it's beautiful. Think of the history it has," Rose said looking with longing at the closet that had centuries old graffiti. "Plus, it won't always be just you, you know. This would be a perfect place for a family. That little park is just across the street, and the neighbors are lovely."

It was without doubt a charming place, but seeing her look so pleased was all he really needed to decide to take it there and then.

The elderly lady next door was outside with her small bug-eyed dog on a leash. Her hair was piled high on her head, and every piece of jewelry she owned hung off of her, giving her a slightly dotty look.

"Scorpius, how are you doing today?" she asked, jerking the homely dog's leash as it started licking Scorpius' trouser leg.

"I've had better days, but thank you for asking, Mrs McNavis. How are you?"

"Snotgurgle has a cold, I'm afraid," she said, pointing to the dog whose eyes were running, making the ugly creature look even more deranged. Scorpius had long ago decided that not looking directly at the dog made it somewhat less revolting.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to visit the vertrinorian, then?" he asked with a polite smile.

"Veterinarian. You need to work on that dyslexia handbook I gave you if you ever want to get better, dear boy," she said with a pat on his arm. For some time she had thought his lapses in Muggle terms were the result of dyslexia.

He quite liked Mrs McNavis, though she kept trying to diagnose him with different learning and behavioural disorders. From her perspective he never seemed able to pronounce things correctly, was always 'forgetting' things like electricity bills and locking doors, and was unfamiliar with things he should have learned around age twelve in Muggle school. He also would have a fire going in his fireplace year-round, which she thought was a sure sign something was off with him. Though it was annoying for someone to think he was mentally handicapped, he was fairly contented to let her keep thinking it. After all, explaining would break the Constitute of Secrecy.

"Yes. I'm afraid I haven't been working on that dyslexia handbook."

"How was Rose's wedding?"

"Delayed until Friday, I'm afraid."

"You'll have time for lasagna night, though?" she asked, a small frown on her face. For the last two years every Wednesday he would attend a lasagna night at Mrs McNavis's house, along with a few of the other neighbors.

"Of course. I always make time for that, Mrs McNavis."

"Really, Scorpius, the way you always call me that makes me feel so old. Why don't you just call me Barbara already?"

"Very proper upbringing and force of habit. I'll try and work on that," he said, waving her goodbye with one hand, while his other hand surreptitiously waved his wand to open the door.

"You need to lock your door, young man. This may be a nice neighborhood, but you still need to lock the door," he heard her call from behind him. Snotgurgle gave a wet, hacking bark in his direction.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs McNavis," he said with a smile, before going into the house as quickly as he could. He gave a sigh and leant his head back against the closed door.

He could hear Mrs McNavis talking to her dog on the other side:

"Strange boy… Polite, but never seems to have his head in the right place… Come along, Snotty."

He slid down the door until he was sitting on the wooden floorboards, his eyes closed. He heard the padding of small feet, then felt a wet nose on his hand.

"Hi Libi," he murmured as the undersized striped cat purred and rubbed its head against his hand. Her soft fur and blatant affection brought mild comfort to him.

"Scorpius? Darling, are you there?" a voice called from the other room.

Scorpius gave a start and headed towards the living room, cat in tow, but not before checking that his hair was in place and his robes weren't askew.

"There you are!" she said in a relieved tone. Her dark hair was done up in a chic hairstyle and her makeup was impeccable, as usual. People always commented on how lovely she was, and he knew it to be true.

"I was so very worried about you. You need to be careful with that asthma of yours."

"I know. I usually am," he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You look nice in those robes. Turn around. Let me see," she said with eager eyes.

He did as he was told, though he had grown to greatly dislike this tradition between them.

"Very smart! I would have been honoured to be seen at your side," she smirked at him.

Scorpius nodded, though considering that he went to the wedding with the intention to break it up and steal Rose, it would have proven to be an even more awkward affair if she had been his date. He could just imagine her apologetic expression to the crowds of onlookers for Scorpius' undignified behaviour.

"What a handsome young man I have!" she cooed.

"Mum…" he let out, knowing she enjoyed embarrassing him.

"Where's Father?" he inquired, not seeing Father's head alongside Mum's.

"I'm here," he heard a voice say. A pair of polished shoes arrived next to Mum.

"He hurt his back a few days ago and refuses to see a Healer about it," Mum said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's nothing that requires a Healer. I'm sure it will be just fine," said Father.

Scorpius didn't need to see his face to perfectly picture the slightly sour expression on Father's face.

"Yes, we both know you have absolutely wonderful judgement when it comes to your physical state," Mum said, giving one of his shoes a pat. "He's fifty and thinks he can simply move a large oak cabinet by brute force. Excellent judgement."

"My wand had rolled behind it, and I had no idea that cabinet was made of oak," Father muttered.

"You had lots of important spells to do at midnight that just couldn't wait, I'm sure," Mum teased.

"I didn't want to wake you to use your wand."

"And I'm sure the House Elves were grateful for the lie in," laughed Scorpius.

"Oh! That hadn't even occurred to me! Yes, why didn't you ask Flumpy or Snoozy to get it for you?" said Mum, giggling a bit behind a well-manicured hand.

"We called to ask about Scorpius, if you remember," said Father.

"I'm sorry. You're quite right. Scorpius, did Rose look pretty in that dress?"

"Oh, honestly!" said Father. There came a great grunt, and after a moment Father's head was next to Mum's.

Mum gave a cry of "Draco! Your back!" which he heartily ignored.

"Never mind all that nonsense. Are you quite well, Scorpius?" asked Father, a look of concern deeply etched into his face.

"I'm really fine. Lily Potter was there and she healed me up quick as one can."

"Hmm," Father said, nodding. Every time Scorpius mentioned the Potters or Weasleys the same unpleasant look crossed his face. The look of bored distaste was present now too, and it hadn't lost any of its vigour in thirteen years.

"Lily's the one who Flooed us to let us know about you. We were both quite worried," Mum reiterated.

"Yes, well, as you can both see, I'm fine," Scorpius said, holding his hands out in an open expression for them to inspect him.

"Did Rose look pretty in that dress?" Mum asked. Father rolled his eyes, but quickly gave Mum a look of tolerant fondness.

"If you had accepted the invitation she sent you both, then perhaps you would have gotten to see her in it," said Scorpius.

"And make that idiot father of hers die of a heart attack on her wedding day? What a loss that would be," said Father in a sardonic tone. "You know, on second thought, I think we should have gone."

"I want to know if that dress worked. After all, I went to the trouble of sending her the catalogue and thought it would suit her best," Mum added, not acknowledging her husband's comments.

"She looked beautiful in it. Quite perfect," said Scorpius, staring despondently at a stray ember in his fireplace. He never thought the image of Rose looking so lovely could be such a source of displeasure, but seeing her looking so beautiful for another man made his blood boil, and his stomach plummet.

"Oh," said Father, interrupting Scorpius' thoughts. A cold look, unfamiliar to Scorpius, was on his face. Mum looked between her son and husband, eyes wide.

"I'm going to go find my will and cross some names off of it," said Father with a roll of his eyes. He struggled a bit to rise from the floor with dignity, before forgoing such measures. He gave an undignified and painful grunt as he shakily rose. Mum rose a bit to make sure he was steady, before quickly returning to the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius. It's just the pain talking, I'm sure."

"Yes, probably," Scorpius lied, putting his hands in his dress robe pockets.

He knew Father's views on the Weasleys very clearly. Though he had always, in his own way, tolerated Scorpius' friendship with that most dreaded of families, Scorpius knew the very notion of him being involved with one of the red haired offspring was as distasteful to Father as Scorpius taking up with a goblin. Mum was a different story altogether.

She was very fond of Rose. Rose met all of Mum's standards when it came to future daughter-in-laws: She came from 'good stock' genetically ('despite that fuzzy hair, she is rather pretty'), she knew how to politely introduce herself to adults, she had at least one long line of purebloods in her background, had made good grades, and would one day be wealthy, if her parent's jobs and copyright placements had any say in it. After meeting those qualifications, any girl Scorpius wanted was OK by her.

"Darling, I'm sure she'll make the right choice in the end," she said very quietly, so as Father couldn't hear.

"She made her choice years ago, Mum," he whispered back.

"We'll see," she said, a knowing look on her face. "According to her horoscope she's due to have a change of heart any day now."

"That would be a great comfort if I put any stock in that Divination rubbish," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"You really should, Darling. After all, I'm right so much of the time."

"I wouldn't brag over a forty-five percent accuracy rate, Mum," he smiled. Libi started playing with dust motes near his feet.

"You're as bad as your father," Mum scolded, though she smiled in turn. "My knees can't take much more of this. They really need to invent a new way to talk to others."

"I heard that Rose's Uncle George has been working on a prototype for a more convenient way, actually. It's based on some Muggle idea from way back. They've been talking on a telephone system for over a hundred years. It used to be connected to a wall, but now they transfer voices through these little portable boxes the size of the palm of your hand, without them being attached to a network you can see. I'm not sure how it all works, but it involves some sort of setilites floating above the earth. He's trying to adapt it to a lighter or something."

Mum rolled her eyes.

"You'd best not mention any of that to your grandparents. They are coming in this week, and I don't want you to say a word about Muggles and their silly contraptions, no matter how interesting you find them. If they knew the things you get up to…" she trailed off.

"I wouldn't mention them to Grandmother or Grandfather."

"You've done it before!"

"I was twelve the last time I did that, Mum," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, I wanted to make sure. Will you be all right with this whole wedding thing?"

"Yes, yes… I'm going to be helping Rose plan the wedding for Friday," he answered, picking up Libi and scratching her head so as not to look Mum in the eye.

"Spending time with her already?" Mum grinned.

"It's of no consequence," he said in a formal tone that reeked of finality.

"Fine then," she said, getting up gingerly. "Be good. I love you."

"Love you too, Mum. Send my regards to Father," he called back.

"I'm here! Don't do anything stupid," Father shouted from across the room.

"I'll try not to," Scorpius dutifully answered, pulling away from the fireplace.

He went to his bedroom and changed into some casual clothes, and went into the bathroom. Scorpius stared at the pale, blonde man, his knuckles white as he gripped the side of the sink. He only had an hour to contemplate on his strategy and bolster his own spirits. The time with his parents had made him no more enthusiastic about his impending task. In fact, he was now more hesitant about it than ever before. He didn't lack determination: no he had that in spades. What he lacked was an idea of how to go about it. He usually prized himself as intelligent, but as he glared at himself in the mirror, he realized not even the most minuscule bit of inspiration was going to hit him.

Al had talked about it like it was something people did every day. Scorpius knew of no precedent for stealing a woman from her fiancé days before they are supposed to get married for a second time. He was just about to bring out a history book for inspiration when there was a knock at his door. He gave a great sigh: at the rate he had visitors coming over he wouldn't ever have a moment of revelation.

Another, more pounding knock thundered in his ears.

"I'm coming," he said, not wanting to reward their impatience with a speedy reaction.

He went at an ambling pace until he heard a shouted swear and the sound of many things being dropped. He hurried and opened the door to see Lily looking venomous, assorted boxes and bags strewn around her ankles.

"Lily?" he asked, quite befuddled. She had never shown up on his doorstep without at least two other people present before.

"I'm not picking that up," she said, indicating the mass of boxes and bags on his doorstep. Walking in with much entitlement, she walked up his stairs and started opening doors.

"What are you doing here?" he hesitated to ask.

"Trying to find your bedroom," said Lily, opening the door to one of his quest rooms. "How many bleeding rooms does a bachelor need?"

He reached for a box when he saw a pair of feminine green shoes standing in front of him, a striped skirt waving in the crisp breeze. Looking up he saw Magnolia Longbottom, holding a large amount of boxes similar too Lily's collection.

"Where do you want these, Lily?"

She walked into the house with the same amount of authority Lily had.

"Found it! In here, Mags! Third door to the right!"

Scorpius gathered the rest of the fallen bags and ushered them into his bedroom, feeling thoroughly bemused. Libi was quite taken with the paper sacks and started playing with one.

"So, what are all these boxes for?"

"Take off your shirt," Lily replied.

"I– What?"

"He should take his trousers off too, that way we know what we have to work with," Mags added.

"What? No!" he declared with as much dignity as he could, taking a step back from the two perilously indecorous women. He would be hesitant no matter who they were, but given that they were two years younger than himself, and he didn't know either intimately, he couldn't help but recoil from this effrontery.

Lily gave him a knowing look and smiled.

"Honestly, it's not as if I didn't see you naked earlier today when I put you in that hospital gown, Scorpius. We're not asking you to remove your boxers."

Scorpius stood agog and his cheeks flushed. Lily rolled her eyes and put out a demanding hand.

"Now are you going to take your clothes off or am I going to have to spell them off of you?"

"Why are you asking me to take my clothes off?" he asked in an embarrassingly wobbly voice.

"To figure out what you should dress in, of course," Mags added with a cheerful beam.

"I told you you'd need my help, and so I'm here with backup. We only have fifty-eight minutes until lunch with Rose, and we want you to look your best," Lily explained, giving him a fond smile that somewhat calmed him.

"Now strip!" she ordered, and this time he complied.

His ears started to burn as they studied him with the same cold precision a potions master would an ingredient he was about to slice into pieces.

"His shoulders are wider than I thought. We'll need to up it a size, I think."

"And take in the waist, for sure. He certainly is thin."

"I think we should go with green. It brings out an intensity in his eyes."

Mags pulled out a mauve colored measuring tape that started to magically whir around him. They had to place the cat outside the room, as Libi seemed to find it the most entertaining toy she'd seen in ages.

"Hands out at the side, please," Mags said as she and Lily started up-ending the contents of the boxes and bags onto his bed.

"Where did you get all these clothes from?" he asked, looking over at the ever growing pile of expensive looking garments.

"Giordano's."

Mags started holding different tops up to his chest. Upon seeing his questioning look she elaborated, "He's the fashion designer I work for. He lets me have a go at last season's clothes, though I've never needed to go after his Wizard's collection before."

Scorpius felt a bit guilty for not keeping up with Mags after he graduated. She had always been rather polite to him, and one of Lily's best friends, and he had no idea what she was doing working for a fashion designer.

After a few more moments of holding things up, the girls decided on an outfit and had him dress in it. Mags set to work pinning it so she could resize it.

"They look Muggle… Not that there's anything wrong with that," he added after receiving a glare from both of the girls.

"Scorpius, these are the latest fashions from one of the top Wizarding designers in Europe," Lily admonished, her arms akimbo, making her very much resemble her mother.

"I thought you said they were last season?" he quipped.

"Only on a runway," Mags added. "Now stop moving and complaining. If I stick a pin in your side it will nearly be unintentional."

After much pinning, scolding, and waiting, the outfit was finished and on him. Looking in the mirror he felt he looked a bit too well polished and trendy for his liking, but knew he should show deference to their opinions.

"Scorpius, you look so posh!" Lily cried.

"Much more modern than those other clothes you were wearing," Mags said. She said it in such an earnest, kindly way he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at her.

They had about ten minutes to spare, but Lily decided he should get there early, as it would give Al adequate time to make fun of Scorpius before Rose arrived.

Scorpius Apparated outside of Al's door, and Al answered the door presently with a large bark of laughter.

"Please don't laugh," Scorpius let out before stepping inside the dark apartment that looked like a disagreeing committee had put it together. The walls were bottle green, the furniture an assortment of orange, black and white worn furniture. There was a collection of odd-colored lamps, posters and rugs scattered haphazardly around the tiny apartment.

He sat down at the table and gave the sniggering Al a frown.

"I'm sorry, but you just look like such a wanker," Al laughed, setting up a variety of serving dishes for when everyone arrived.

"This looks quite good, Al," Scorpius said eyeing the Indian feast Al had whipped up.

"Oh it's nothing, really," Al said with humility. In almost anything else, Al would be boasting, but when it came to his cooking, it was a Fwooper of a different color. "I'm still learning."

Al started to munch at some of the naan bread when he let out a strangled noise.

"Oh my God… Scorpius, they dressed you like Brian!" Al spluttered. Scorpius never corrected Al when he used the wrong name for Rose's fiancé, Brad. It gave him a hearty sense of satisfaction each and every time.

"No… No, they didn't dress me like him," Scorpius said, more to comfort himself than because he actually believed it. He now knew why the clothes had felt odd. They looked exactly like the kind of fashion forward trendy clothes he'd seen Brad wearing.

"They did! That looks exactly like something that arse would wear!" said Al, aghast.

Scorpius looked to the clock. With only minutes left before Rose got there, he wouldn't have time to go back and change. Lily and Mags would still be in his apartment, and the last thing he wanted to do was insult them after everything they had just tried to do.

"Well, don't just stand there! Do something!" demanded Al.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Wear something of mine?"

"You don't have anything clean."

"True," Al acquiesced. He tended to only clean things as he needed them, which usually meant a large accumulation of dirty clothes at the bottom of his closet, and only his dress robes hanging from a few lonesome hangers.

"It doesn't matter," said Scorpius, looking glum. "At least I'll look as… as fashion forward as her fiancé."

"Augh!" Al said with a shake of his messy hair. "Never say anything remotely resembling that phrase in any way ever again!"

Scorpius laughed.

They heard a knock at the door, and Al languidly answered it with a wave of his wand. Rose came in, looking flushed and lovely. Scorpius fidgeted with his robes.

"Hey mates," she said with a quick wave, removing her blue cloak. Without a second glance at Scorpius' new attire, she made a beeline for the dining room table. "I'm famished! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"Why?" asked Al. The thought of not eating food for extended periods of time was clearly a disturbing thought, according to his look of horror.

"I didn't want to be burping up essence of breakfast at the ceremony," said Rose, serving some chicken tikka masala to herself, and promptly eating a large amount of it that made her freckled cheeks bulge out in what should be a repugnant manner. After years of eating around Rose, both Scorpius and Al had grown quite immune to her inability to eat daintily without a concerted effort.

"Dish ish delishush, Aw," she said through a full mouth.

"You just think that because you're hungry," said Al, serving himself.

Both Rose and Scorpius rolled their eyes.

"Al, if you weren't any good, you wouldn't have become a sous chef to such a prestigious restaurant," said Scorpius.

"You'd be serving slop at some rotten food stand," Rose said bracingly. "You're the best cook I know!"

"And she knows the likes of Hagrid, so you know what high praise that is," smirked Scorpius.

Rose harrumphed. Al just stared into his dish.

"No, no, Al," said Scorpius. "I'd wager you are a bit more proficient in the kitchen than Hagrid."

"Much! Though you can never outshine his rockcakes—"

"I think you might be able to cook soup even better than his."

"Your tea might even have less dust in it than Hagrid's."

They both started laughing. Al gave a mutinous glare into his masala, but finally gave into a smile when Rose elbowed him in the side.

The rest of the meal was spent eating, laughing, and scheduling a bevy of tasks for the upcoming nuptials. Everything from picking out new flower arrangements (and discerning which were the cause of Scorpius' asthma attack) to getting new Portkeys arranged were put into Rose's planner with a flourish of her blue quill.

"That should do it, then," said Rose, giving a relieved sigh. She laid her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes, as Al gathered the dishes and started cleaning them meticulously buy hand.

"No more asthma attacks," Rose moaned to the room.

"I'll try not to interrupt your wedding with one again," Scorpius said quietly.

Rose opened up an eye before sitting up and looking suddenly cross.

"It's not that you interrupted my wedding, you berk. I was really worried about you!" she said, pointing a finger into his chest.

"You were so pale, and weren't breathing. All I could do was panic and cry. At first I couldn't even get my bloody wand out of my stupid dress, and then I couldn't remember the spell to help you. I just sat there useless as Lily saved you, and I couldn't remember a single spell to help."

Rose's eyes unexpectedly began to look glossy.

"I never want to see you looking like that again. You can interrupt a thousand weddings, just never let that happen again, Scorpius," she said with a vigorous shake of her head, holding her arms around her stomach as if the very thought made her ill.

"I'm sorry I worried you," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder and took a deep breath. Her hand snuck up to his chest and patted it.

"I'd be lost without my best friend," she said in a small voice. Scorpius inhaled deeply, smelling that earthy scent that always followed Rose wherever she went. His arms snaked their way around her, while her red curls were splayed across them both, and Rose released the breath she had taken. One of her hands was making circles on his chest, while the other seemed pleased to just hold him. He could stay there, holding her forever, and be perfectly contented.

A self-consequential knock disturbed them both out of their reverie.

"Who in the world is that?" Al harrumphed, making his way over from the kitchen. He opened the door with a wave of his wand.

Looking over Scorpius saw, to his horror—

"Brad!" cried Rose.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[libraryofrewrita]

Chapter 12: The Guardian of Flower Road

The next morning, after waking up and getting dressed, Katie hopped downstairs with Whisper and Jibanyan by her side as she wondered how the day would go.

I want to head to Blossom Heights first and get the Rank C upgrade, get the requirements for the next Rank, then head to Settle In Bookstore to see if that comic came in. Then we’ll go find more stuff to do. It’s definitely going to be a productive day today.

Katie grabbed a Custard Bread for her breakfast and ate it as her mother said to her,

“Morning, Katie. Your dad said he wanted to give you something before he went to work. He’s right outside.”

Katie nodded as she went to see what her dad wanted and she was surprised when she opened the door.

“Whoa!”

She walked over to her dad and the bicycle next to him.

This is the Sakura bicycle I’ve been saving for!

“What’s this for?”

“Think of this as a thank you for returning those papers to us yesterday. This is the one you’ve been wanting, right?”

“Yeah, it is!”

She sat on the bicycle to see if it was the right size for her.

“Okay, it’s the right size. I remember when I got my first bike. I rode it around town until it was dark. Man, my dad was annoyed at me for doing that.”

“I’ll ride it to Flower Road to get the hang of it.”

“That’s a good distance for a bike ride. Just go through Blossom Heights instead of Downtown. It’s too busy right about now.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later, dad.”

Katie took off on her new bike, leaving Whisper and Jibanyan behind.

“Whisper, she forgot us.”

“Relax, I’ll get us to her. Hold on to me.”

Jibanyan got onto Whisper’s back and Whisper flew after Katie. Thankfully, Katie had stopped a few feet ahead when she realized that Whisper and Jibanyan weren’t with her. When they caught up with her, she gave them a sheepish smile.

“Sorry about that, guys.”

“Nyeh, it’s okay. It would’ve been awkward to put me in the basket in front of your dad, anyway.”

“Oh, did you want to ride in the basket, Jibanyan?”

“I did at first, but I like being carried by Whisper.”

Whisper blushed a faint pink as he plopped Jibanyan into the basket, making him annoyed.

“Hey!”

“Oh, quiet, you lazy nekomata.”

Katie just rolled her eyes as she continued pedaling, making sure that Whisper was with her this time.

“Hey, guys!”

Nate cycled up to Katie and they pedaled side-by-side.

“Nice day today, uh?”

“Oh, you got a bike too?”

“Yep! Dad got me the Breeze bike I’ve been saving up for as a thank you for yesterday. Heading to Blossom Heights?”

“Yeah, only for the Watch upgrade. I was also going to Settle In Bookstore on Flower Road.”

“Okay, first to Blossom Heights, then to Flower Road, and we’ll see how the day goes.”

*****

They parked their bikes at Timer’s and More and went inside.

“Hi! We’re here for the Rank C upgrade.”

They placed their Watches on the counter and Mr. Goodsight went to his work table and started fiddling with them a little before handing them back to Nate and Katie.

“Here’s your new Rank C Yo-kai Watches and here’s a list of Yo-kai to battle for Rank B.”

Whisper took the paper out of Mr. Goodsight’s hands and the group looked it over.

“Let’s see here…Tengloom at Construction Site, Flumpy at Shopping Street Narrows, and Mad Mountain at Abandoned Tunnel? These are a bit random, aren’t they?”

“Okay, Shopping Street Narrows we can do, kinda iffy about the Abandoned Tunnel, but the Construstion Site? Why would we ever go over there?”

Mr. Goodsight shrugged.

“Don’t ask me. I’m just a shopkeeper. Besides, I’m sure your Yo-kai friends will keep you safe from any real danger.”

They thanked Mr. Goodsight for his help, left Timer’s and More, and continued onward to Flower Road.

*****

When they got to Flower Road, they got off their bikes and walked with them down to Settle In Bookstore. They bumped into Eddie as he was walking out of Settle In Bookstore with a bag of books in his hand. He waved at them and said,

“Hi, guys.”

“Hey, Eddie. Whatcha got there?”

“Stuff for a new project I’m working on. Oh, I got a new video game the other day and I wanted to know if you two would be interested in playing it with me?”

“Sorry, Eddie. We’re kinda busy today. Maybe tomorrow?”

Eddie seemed to think it over and said,

“Sounds good. I’ll use the time to read these books I got. I’ll see you tommorow then.”

Eddie went on his way, Nate and Katie locked their bikes to the bike rack just outside of Settle In Bookstore, and went inside. The kids walked over to the comics and Jibanyan and Whisper were hanging around the magazines. Jibanyan picked one up and as he leafed through it, he asked,

“Whisper, this might sound like a weird question, but do you think that we could stuff their bikes into the bottomless bag?”

Whisper shrugged as he watched the two kids look over the comics.

“I don’t see why not. We’ll try it when the four of us are alone.”

Whisper floated over to the bookshelves and found a couple of books that were known to help Yo-kai. He waved Nate and Katie over just so that they knew where they were if they ever considered getting them for their Yo-kai companions. Jibanyan had finished his magazine and walked over to the group as Nate and Katie were about to head over to the counter to pay for the new comic.

“Look, if I told you once, I told you a hundred times! I’m not selling my store, no one else is selling their store, and we’re not leaving Flower Road!”

The cashier was arguing with a man in a business suit. Nate and Katie started to wonder what that was about as the businessman left grumbling to himself. The cashier sighed and mumbled to himself,

“Finally. I thought that jerk would never leave.”

He glanced up at Nate and Katie when they walked up to the counter and laid the comics on the counter.

“Oh, did you two just see that? I’m so sorry for that. Five bucks for both comics.”

Nate laid five bucks on the counter and asked,

“Hey, Sam? What was that about?”

“Oh, that jerk was trying to convince me to sell the store again. They want to build a mall or something here. Stupid jerk doesn’t realize that there’s a reason no one on Flower Road is selling their stores to them. We’re not making the guardian of Flower Road homeless for the sake of some kiosks that sell snacks that anyone can buy at any Everymart or grocery store.”

The group was now curious. They hadn’t heard of a guardian protecting Flower Road before.

“You know, your science teacher was just here discussing the stituation we’re going through right now. He knows more about the guardian than I do.”

“Well, thank you for the information, Sam. We’ll see you later.”

They took their comics, got their bikes and Whisper poked them.

“According to my Yo-kai Pad, he Shooping Street Narrows are just a few feet away. We can go fight Flumpy and get it over with.”

“Okay.”

The group walked over to the alley known as the Shopping Street Narrows and walked in. They saw a Yo-kai that looked like Buhu, but was green and yellow with a bit of orange.

“This Yo-kai can make you feel very unfashionable and awkward. Let’s just ask for a battle.”

*****

“My defeat was so awkward! Don’t look at me!”

The entire battle felt awkward. We just wanted to get it done and over with.

Flumpy disappeared and they picked up what they could find.

“I’m hungry. Can we pick up some food?”

“Yeah, there’s plenty of places to eat here, so it’s just a matter of picking what we want.”

They walked out of the Shopping Street Narrows and walked by a few places and Whisper pointed towards Sun Pavillion.

“What does that place serve?”

“Chinese food, if I’m remembering right.”

Whisper flew up to look at the menu in the window and glanced at it.

“Oh, they have Liver and Chives!”

“Wait here, Whisper.”

Nate walked into Sun Pavillion for a few minutes and walked out with some Chinese food in a bag.

“There’s Yo-kai that like Chinese food, right?”

Whisper nodded and said,

“Yeah, there is. It’s not my favorite food, but I do enjoy eating it.”

Nate handed Whisper a Liver and Chives and Whisper had to wipe away the drool coming from his mouth before taking it out of Nate’s hand.

“Whisper…your drool is green?”

Whisper had stuffed the Liver and Chives into his mouth and had to chew and swallow it before he answered,

“Don’t question it, Nate. But thanks for getting this for me.”

Nate smiled and patted Whisper’s head as he put the rest of the Chinese food into the bottomless bag.

“Might as well pick up some other food while we’re here.”

Before they went to the other shops, they saw their science teacher, Mr. Barton.

“Hi, Mr. Barton!”

He turned to see the two kids and smiled.

“Oh, hello, Nate and Katie. How has your summer been?”

“It’s been going great, Mr. Barton. We actually wanted to ask you something.”

“If it’s a science question, you have to wait until school is in session or look up the answer yourself.”

“It’s not that, Mr. Barton. We heard that you know something about the guardian of Flower Road.”

“Ah, yes. Ever since talk of demolishing Flower Road started up, people have been saying that the guardian has placed a curse on Shopper’s Row due to some strange incidents. In fact, your classmate Lucas Yenamo reported seeing a fire recently in the area. Last I saw him, he was near Everymart. He can probably tell you more about it than I can.”

Mr. Barton left them to attend to some business elsewhere and the kids started walking to Everymart. They saw Lucas fiddling with his necklace and he stopped when he saw Nate and Katie. To their surprise, he looked relieved when he saw them.

“Hey, guys.”

He looked off to the side, almost like he was staring at Whisper and Jibanyan.

“Lucas?”

Lucas snapped back to Nate and Katie and said,

“Sorry, I was dazing off again. What did you two need?”

“We heard you saw a fire?”

“Yeah…I saw a fire start near Nocturne Hospital. I went to get an adult before it got any worse. I didn’t tell anyone this, but it looked like the fire started by itself. I didn’t think anyone would believe me if I said that, but it feels like I can trust you two for some reason.”

“Thanks for the tip, Lucas. Be careful on your way home, okay?”

Lucas smiled as he walked off and waved goodbye to the group, humming the same strange tune and fiddling with his necklace.

“Whisper, did you nyotice Lucas was staring at us?”

“It certainly looked like it, didn’t it? Well, let’s get to Nocturne Hospital and see what’s up.”

*****

After buying a few food items and making sure they still had some money left, they went down to Nocturne Hospital. It was an abandoned hospital that was the subject of many urban legends and it certainly showed. There was a small burned area that told them that this was where the fire started and a yellow and purple Watch Lock door with an A.

“Thank goodness for the Watch Lock, I’m getting a creepy vibe from this place.”

“Yeah, it is pretty creepy, Whisper. Don’t worry, we’re not actually going in.”

Whisper sighed with relief as Jibanyan held his hand.

“Guys, can we go nyow? I’m starting to get creeped out by this place.”

Before the group could leave, they saw a Yo-kai suddenly appear into the area, their back turned to the group.

“Oh, I’ll show them. They’re going to regret messing around my territory.”

“Is that the guardian of Flower Road?”

The Yo-kai turned to the group and snapped,

“I can hear you, you know! But, yes. I am Kyubi, guardian of Flower Road.”

“Why did you curse Shopper’s Row?!”

He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself,

“I really envy my brother. He doesn’t have to deal with this.”

He held his hands behind his back and said,

“Tell you what. I’ll explain everything if you’ll meet me at the Construction Site tonight.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Reasons. I’ll be seeing you there if you want the explaination.”

He bowed and disappeared into a puff.

“Wow…totally not suspicious at all.”

The sarcasm dripped from Nate’s words as the group had to think over what had happened.

“Would it be worth it to risk our lives in a dangerous construction site just to see why Kyubi is acting like this?”

“Well…Tengloom is there…and we kinda need the upgrade.”

“Okay, we’ll go for Tengloom, but I’m still not sure about Kyubi.”

“Well, let’s go kill some time until nightfall, then.”

Previous Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/162221276499/chapter-11-what-dad-forgot Next Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/163577845314/chapter-13-preparing-for-the-confrontation

[greycappedjester]

Update

I am sooooooo close to finishing this chapter; but currently don’t trust my sleep deprived brain. Expect next chapter of Triwizard Tournament tomorrow; but, because I feel bad about being late again, here’s a scene:

Oh, also, it’s looking like it’s going to be about 3-4 thousand words over my expected chapter length--so, at least it’s a long chapter to make up for the wait!

-------

(Please excuse any typos for now, like I said sleep deprived so putting it trough the full editing tomorrow)

“Something’s wrong.”

Daichi looked at the rest of them seriously. “You know there is. There’s no point avoiding it or denying it anymore. You all know it. Something is seriously dangerous about Flumpy.”

The rest of the group nodded, looking various levels of resigned to panicked.

“There is absolutely no way that Noya and Tanaka would be interested in a flobberlump for this long unless he’s trying to kill us,” Daichi finished.

This was also just a fact so the group nodded.

“He’s….I think Flumpy’s stalking me,” Asahi whispered hysterically. “He was biting my fingers that one time and--some creatures stalk their prey, you know? It’s fun for them. They hunt them down and then they….they….” 

Asahi swallowed audibly.

Daichi sighed. “Well, we can’t really disprove that. At the very least, it’s a possibility.”

Asahi whimpered.

“Oh, for Merlin--he does not want to eat you,” Ennoshita said.

“Exactly,” Tsukishima agreed readily. “Out of all of us, why would he want to eat you?”

“Tsuki, that’s rude.” Yamaguchi elbowed him.

“A lot of creatures want to eat werewolves,” Asahi hissed, tugging at his sleeves with wide eyes.

“Not as many as the ones that want to eat ordinary humans,” Ennoshita said in exasperation as the sole voice of reason.

Yamaguchi sucked in a breath. “Flumpy wants to eat all of us!”

“See, that’s much more likely,” Ennoshita agreed. The “voice of reason” died ignobly.

Asahi nodded. “Merlin, that’s probably why! That’s why Noya and Tanaka love him! He wants to eat people!”

“That….,” Tsukishima suddenly frowned heavily, “does sound like something they’d do.”

The entire group fell silent.

Nao ambled up to them, broom in hand and gave them a weird look. “Hey, why are you even at the Quidditch field if you aren’t going to play?”

“This is a very serious discussion, Nao,” Ennoshita said dryly. “You don’t want to be dragged into it.”

Nao rolled his eyes. “Fine, but did you guys at least bring Flumpy?”

Ennoshita’s head shot up. “Why!?”

Nao shrugged with all the ease of a twelve year old boy. “Because he’s weird and gross looking and Akane didn’t believe me, so I wanted to shove him in her face to see if she’d barf.”

“Stay away from Flumpy,” Ennoshita ordered, holding a hand to stall Nao’s forthcoming protest. “I’m serious, Nao, don’t go around him. If he’s there, run! Flumpy’s dangerous!”

Nao blinked slowly. And, then, he stared again.

“Um….Chikara…..we’re still talking about Flumpy, right?” Nao emphasized the words. “The flobberlump? That Flumpy?”

Ennoshita nodded adamantly. “Yes, that Flumpy. Stay away, Nao.”

Nao looked at his cousin like he’d lost his mind.

“We didn’t see it at first either.” Daichi stepped in. “It’s hard because Flumpy’s not like their usual creatures. He doesn’t look dangerous. At first. But, some creatures are like that. They appear harmless until it’s their time to strike.” He gestured at his friends. “But, I think we’ve all noticed there’s something different about Flumpy, right?”

They nodded.

“Noya and Tanaka have never been successfully distracted this long and this thoroughly,” Ennoshita finished to Nao. “Not unless something’s trying to kill us.”

Nao opened his mouth, tired to speak, gave up, and finally started again.

“Don’t you think you guys are being a bit paranoid?”

“That’s what Suga said, too,” Daichi shook his head. “You just haven’t been around them enough. You're not prepared yet--no one can be. You’ll just have to trust us for now.”

Nao still looked very uncertain.

Ennoshita leaned forward, grabbing Nao’s shoulder. “You see, Nao, let me tell you a little story called ‘The Boy Who Decided Never to Worry’.” 

Nao hiked an eyebrow up as Ennoshita cleared his throat. 

“Once upon a time,” he began, “there was a boy who worried all the time. Every day and every night, big things and small things, just worry, worry, worry…..until one day, the boy decided that enough was enough so the boy decided he would never worry about anything ever again.” Ennoshita smiled, spreading out his hands. “And, you know what the boy was pretty happy about that and, eventually, he started thinking that maybe there was nothing to worry about after all.”

“What happened next,” Nao asked, curious despite himself.

“Then, the boy died horribly,” Ennoshita answered bluntly, “because he was friends with Noya and Tanaka and, therefore, couldn’t have nice things.”

Nao stared. 

“You’re the worst cousin ever,” he accused.

“I’m a genius ahead of my time.” Ennoshita sniffed, pointing up his nose.

“He’s got a point, though,” Daichi said. “Third year, I thought I was being too paranoid and they’re really wasn’t anything going on. And, then, I found out they smuggled in a dragon and were raising her in the dorm.”

Nao perked up. “But, that was the cool part!”

“Only, after,” Yamaguchi complained.

“The point is stay safe, stay away from Flumpy,” Ennoshita said. “And, most of all, I’m right about everything so you should listen to me always. Got it?”

Nao huffed. “Fine, whatever, I’m going to go play Quidditch, then. You guys are so weird!”

They watched him leave.

Ennoshita shook his head. “He doesn’t even know how luck he is to be that innocent.”

“So, what are we going to do now that we know,” Yamaguchi asked.

“The only thing we can do,” Daichi said. “We get proof. If we try to confront Noya and Tanaka with nothing, they’ll just brush it off again. No, we need a list. Concrete, indisputable evidence so they’ll finally admit that something's really, really off about Flumpy and we’ll know how to plan for what comes next.”

Tsukishima didn’t like the sound of that. “But, how do we get more proof?”

Daichi sighed.

“No,” Asahi’s eyes widened in terror, “oh, no!”

“We’ll need to volunteer to watch Flumpy more,” Daichi said. “It’s the only way.”

The entire group groaned.

“We can still split it up among all of us,” Daichi continued. “There’s five of us so if we each take a week take and go together for the weekends. This weekend’s the Second Task so it should be easy; but, then, the weekend after we can--”

“Crap, I can’t that weekend,” Ennoshita interrupted. “It’s Hogsmeade weekend; I’m taking Amanai to Honeydukes.”

“When did that happen,” Tsukishima asked.

Ennoshita just grinned, looking smug.

“Um,” Yamaguchi spoke up, “I actually can’t that weekend either. I’ve also got a date.”

The rest of them looked at him.

Yamaguchi blushed a bit, smiling while shrugging. “Me and Runa had a lot of fun at the Yule Ball so I asked if maybe she wanted to and she said yes so…,” he grinned, “I don’t know, we figured it would be fun.”

Tsukishima looked up.

“That’s good. For both of you,” Daichi told them. “Okay, that’s fine--we can still work it out that weekend with just the three of us. We can handle this.”

A parchment was pulled out, a schedule quickly being drawn up around them until eventually a plan was formed. 

Tsukishima hardly said a word. Staying quiet even for him, as the rest of them slowly started heading off--to study, to their evening classes, to their new girlfriends, apparently.

Tsukishima didn’t bother until it was just him, sitting by himself at the side of the Quidditch field and watching everyone else play like there was something about this that mattered.

Something about it made Tsukishima feel unbelievably frustrated. And, under that was the weirdest sensation that he’d been hollowed out.

….and he didn’t know why.

He didn’t know what had been there to start with.