#get a wand and act like the real world is harry potter

[seriousbrat]

some thoughts on Snape and James

Dumbledore explains this to Harry after we've just found out how exactly James saved Severus, and I think that's important. As we know, his prediction about Wormtail came true in DH. Severus believed that James had just done it to save his friends from expulsion, but I don't think this is true, I think it's a product of his (understandable) bias towards James. Dumbledore (whatever his faults) is generally a very good judge of character in his later life:

He accepts Sirius's story in PoA without proof because it simply makes more sense to him given what he knows about the characters involved. He accepts Sev's claim that he wants to protect Lily when it could be a trick, as Sev is very good at Occlumency. He knows Draco won't be capable of murdering him. He knows exactly the ways that each member of the trio will act in their search for the Hallows.

So I think it's fair to say that Dumbledore knew that James was NOT just risking his life out of selfish reasons. I think this is a big reason Dumbledore holds James in such high esteem. Even at his worst, James wasn't willing to let his enemy die. Therefore the same bond that exists between Pettigrew and Harry also exists between Sev and James. They'd probably be as happy about that as Harry is about Pettigrew, but, to paraphrase Dumbledore, too bad lol. Anyway:

So where does this bond come in for Snape and James? Imo, it's in Severus dedicating his life to protect James Potter's son. Yes, he did it for Lily. But I also think the bond had something to do with it. Possibly if he had just been in love with Lily that wouldn't have been strong enough, he could have just retreated into the shadows to mourn her. Maybe he wouldn't have, but imo it's a factor as well, whether he's aware of it or not. (probably not) And also somewhat a factor in why he agrees pretty quickly to hiding all the Potters, not just Lily.

This is my hc but I think Snape, despite his hatred for James, despite what James put him through, almost kind of ... trusted him to keep Lily safe when they went their separate ways after school. He knows firsthand that James is a capable duellist, and there's almost this sort of... seething respect there going both ways idk. I absolutely think Severus blamed James for not living up to this, first by knocking her up lol and then by failing to protect her the night of her death. ALTHOUGH I think he would have, in his own way, grudgingly respected the bravery of James facing Voldemort without his wand so Lily could escape, had he known about it, because imo Severus would have done the same, both men would knowingly lay down their life for Lily.

With the war and the end of school, things are shifting between them. Both have chosen opposite sides of the conflict. They've grown up, and Sev is now able to give as good as he gets. (none of this is excusing James's bullying btw I don't believe in that) but I think they leave school on more equal footing than they've ever had. Out in the real world, popularity and being a quidditch star and whatever don't matter. It's gone, and there's just the war.

I think Sev's relationship with James is very different than it is with Sirius. With Sirius they never really grow out of that schoolboy hatred, and both of them would happily see each other drop dead without blinking an eye. With James I think it's much more complex. His hatred for James is deeply uniquely personal and completely colours the way he treats Harry. Like the real rivalry is between James and Snape, Sirius is just sort of an add-on to this. Snape brings up James constantly, like bro is a little obsessed but whatever. The bond, to Sev's eternal frustration, is always there.

I've said this before but my personal opinion is that James would have forgiven Sev had he known about everything he did to protect Harry. I don't think they'd ever have been friends lol but unlike Sirius (and Remus imo) I think James would have respected him for it, for his bravery. For doing exactly as he would have if their places had been reversed (that would be an interesting fic tbh I'm sure someone's done that)

I'll sort of bring this up in my own fic in one of my fave scenes I've written between them:

“Just—” Sev stops, unable to force the words out, so sickened is he by the thought of what he has to say. “Just what?” Potter says coldly. “Just— keep her safe.” A flicker of surprise passes over Potter’s face, but it quickly pulls back into a frown. He nods, tightly. “And you. You stay away from her. You know what they are. You know what they’ll do to her.” It costs him everything he has, but, finally, Severus jerks his head.

Anyway I find their dynamic super interesting, as they are both two of my favourite characters. Obviously James bullying Sev is totally unjustified, as is Sev bullying his son years later (clearly as revenge, now that he finally finds himself with the upper hand). They're compared to Draco and Harry a few times I think, and I think Harry doesn't see this because he wrongly identifies as his father when actually his role was much more like Snape's in this dynamic, which is what he sees in SWM. A lot of jealousy going both ways, but one of them (at first) clearly has more privilege and is much more vindictive and cruel to the other. Draco and Harry nodding at each other on the platform is on some level representative of the "moving on" that Severus and James never achieved.

[3lle-l-black]

Season of love event @george-weasleys-girl

"— I can't imagine a world where I don't have you two with me..."

Girassol (Part 1)

Fred Weasley x reader

Warnings: More than one pronoun for R , long fic, twins call reader their Girassol 🌻, George x reader platonic, fluff and a little angst, Grumpy and Sunshine, English isn't my first language

Versão Português Inspired by Girassol - IVYSON

— Ginny, can you please stop talking about this for a second? – I stop in the middle of the burrow stairs, turning to Hermione and Ginny who are behind me.

— I'm just saying..

— Okay, an idea: stop saying

For those of you who have arrived now, I will explain the situation. I had the brilliant idea of dating one of Ginny's older brothers, Fred Weasley, after being friends with the twins for my first four years at Hogwarts. Don't get me wrong, was amazing, but after they left school and opened WWW, war became a real possibility and Hermione, Ron and I were worried about helping Harry.

In short, things got more complicated, we became distant and broke up. I didn't want but I didn't have the courage to insist. Anyway, we became 'friends' again.

Last night, while talking to Hermione I mentioned that I missed him and our conversations. The problem was that Ginny overheard, what brought us to this situation.

— I don't wanna talk about it, Ginny. I'll ask just one more time. Please. – I go down the stairs and head towards the living room with the girls right behind me.

— Ginny, drop it. Stop before you hear something you don't want. – Hermione says, noticing my irritation. They sit together on a couch, and I sit across from them.

— Everyone can see that my brother made an idiotic choice. I just think she could go talk to him, try to resolve the situation," Gina says, head down.

The night after the Seven Potters event.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were already asleep, I've been looking at the sky through the bedroom window for some time now, the stress of fighting the death eaters and the worry haven't let me sleep. I get up and go downstairs, maybe I can clear my mind by changing the environment and checking if the twins are okay.

George had fallen asleep on the couch and Fred would never leave his brother alone, so they slept in the living room. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that one of the boys was awake.

— Hey – I called him in a low tone so as not to wake the others

— Hey, can't sleep? – is George. He made to sit down, but I stopped him first.

— You don't need to get up, you have to rest and no, I couldn't. – I take out my wand and clean the bandages around his head. — Still hurts?

George looks at me with a teasing smile. — Have you forgotten who I am, woman? A scratch like that can't knock me down.

I roll my eyes and perform a healing spell to help with the injury. I sit next to George on the floor after placing my wand on the table. We talked like that for a while, maybe more than an hour, a sleepy George making jokes even in a bad moment, me leaning on the sofa and we trying to keep the laughter down so as not to wake anyone else up.

...

— Hey... I'm sorry our friendship got weird, it's just... I don't know, I didn't know how to act after your breakup.

— That's okay, I didn't know how to act either. I missed our conversations. – In the last few weeks, whenever the twins and I were in the same room, an uncomfortable silence would settle in, so it was good to talk to George, even in those conditions.

— I missed you too idiot, and you know... – I see him nod to the other redhead — I wasn't the only one

— Yes? Did he tell you that? – I ask skeptically, looking down at the floor. George got up and sat next to me with a playful smile.

— Yes, just don't tell him I told you that.

— Oh shut up, I think the spell affected your brain and made you more of an idiot than you already were. – My heart races at the thought of Fred admitting to missing me, but it doesn't change anything if he hasn't admitted it to me.

George was stifling a laugh when he curled up and let out a groan of pain.

— Are you ok Georgie? – I take out my wand and whisper a "Lumos" to brighten the room.

— Yeah, just a bit of pain, don't worry – Some noises can be heard behind us. George looks over my head and breaks into a smile. I follow his gaze to find a confused, recently awakened Fred. — Did we wake you, sleeping beauty? – George teases as Fred sits on the couch, letting the blanket fall to the floor and mumbles a confused "What time is it?"

— Are you the ones making the noise? Why are you awake at this time? – He blinks a few times, getting used to the light in the room. Suddenly, Fred's eyes widen, and I can tell that any trace of sleep he had is gone. — Did something happen? George is ok?

— Yes, don't worry, I couldn't sleep so we were talking. Sorry for the noise – Fred visibly relaxes, if I was worried about George, imagine him.

— It's okay, I got plenty of sleep – He stoops to pick up the blanket from the floor and covers himself again. Sleep... I didn't realize how sleepy I was until now.

— It will be dawn soon... What were you doing? I mean, were you here together a long time?

The look on Fred's face amuses George and we can see a gleam of mischief in his eyes. — The little girassol here was taking care of me, they're a great doctor, you know?!

I can't really follow the conversation, apparently Fred frowned at George's comment. Now they are teasing each other and laughing louder than they should. I always loved how chaotic they were together; I also always loved being in that chaos.

Fred's POV

A mischievous glint flashed across George's eyes — Ah, the little girassol here was looking after me! She's a great doctor.

I unintentionally frown, 'taking care of me'?

— You're a grown man, can't you look after yourself? – His laughter echoed around the room.

— Don't be like that, I let you play nurse too.

I let out a 'hole', starting to laugh too. George gets up and lies back on the couch. My eyes wander around the room, and I see the 'little girassol' is unusually quiet. A smile lights up my face when I realize she's sleeping, leaning on the couch in an uncomfortable position.

I stand up and put one arm around her back and the other under her legs, trying not to disturb her peaceful sleep. I carefully lift her into my arms, and she snuggles up against me, her face resting in the crook of my neck. Her soft breathing stopped my own for a moment. I freeze, realizing how close we are now.

I turn around and put her on the couch. Once I'm sure she's in a comfortable position, I sit down in front of the couch. Can't help but keep my eyes on her. She shifts a bit, and without thinking twice, my hand reaches out to sweep away a couple of strands of hair falling over their face. She's just so darn lovely.

— I can't imagine a world where I don't have you two with me – Before I can finish my train of thought, a scream echoed behind us. George and I quickly stood up, frantically searching for the source of the sound...

Remembering that English is not my first language. please read with your heart

[sitp-recs]

Hi (waves excitedly!!!!) do you have any recs where draco's characterisation is basically just "my life's mission to harass harry potter is back on track." Like he is just living his life being chaotic and also embraces muggle things yk

Hi there! Such good food, love me me a chaotic Draco driving Harry up the wall Harry haha peak dynamics! I hope you enjoy these:

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This is what happens when you stick your wand in places where it really shouldn't go.

The Antique Bed Frame by lazywonderland (E, 5.4k)

Draco “needs his bed fixed.” Harry offers to help.

Let Me Have You and I'll Let You Save Me by Frayach (M, 6k)

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Per my last letter (I hope you choke on it) by fluxweeed and lastontheboat

Or: the one where Harry has writer’s block and Malfoy isn’t helping.

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Former Death Eaters are being targeted with a Veritaserum curse – it’s permanent, and makes victims speak aloud their every thought. Luckily, it’s easier to control when writing – and Hermione is trying to introduce Muggle technology to the wizarding world.

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As Draco leaned on the wall to wait for them to get dressed, he could not help feeling like he had done a very kind thing by disrupting them. Someone should give Potter a better rogering than that sorry sod had. The man had saved the bloody world—okay, mostly Europe—the least someone could do was give him a proper shag.

Stupid Love by The_Sinking_Ship (E, 17k)

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Reparatio by astolat (E, 17k)

Draco snorted. “I’m not reduced to penury. I want something considerably beyond money, and I rather think you’re the only one can give it to me.”

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Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SquadOfCats (E, 104k)

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What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 17

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (Please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕴 𝖘𝖆𝖙 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓 at the Hufflepuff table the next day and unfolded the newspaper, skimming for the important things.

Mundungus had been arrested and placed in Azkaban. Reading the rest of the article, it seemed as though he had impersonated an Inferius while attempting to rob someone. I snorted before taking a bite into my muffin. Just lovely.

There were multiple disappearances though none of the names rang a bell.

A nine-year old had been arrested for trying to kill his grandparents. They'd put him in a ward in St. Mungo's with top security. Of course, it looked as though he was under the Imperius Curse so they couldn't blame him. Especially at nine! I mean, full adults had a hard time throwing off the Imperius Curse. I wished I was on the jury that was going to try him. I'd find him not guilty.

On top of all the bad news, it was Monday which meant using the time turner to get to Care of Magical Creatures class and Ancient Runes before Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Hagrid talked about Nundus in class and all I could say was that I was glad that he hadn't found a real one to bring into class. They were terrifying creatures and the only thing I was glad about learning was that I should most definitely stay away from one if I ever came across one, which I wouldn't because I was never going to East Africa.

I hurried to Defense Against the Dark Arts after that, arriving on time, and sitting in my seat, quickly pulling out the dementor essay and my book. Harry entered the room, the last to come in and Severus said, "Late again, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor."

I glared at Severus but he would not look at me. He probably knew the look I was giving him.

Severus waved his wand so that our essay floated from our desks to his in a neat pile and said, "Before we start, I want your dementor essays. And I hope for your sakes they are better than the tripe I had to endure on resisting the Imperius Curse. Now, if you will all open your books to page- what is it, Mr. Finnigan?"

Seamus had his hand in the air and he lowered it as he said, "Sir, I've been wondering, how do you tell the difference between an Inferius and a ghost? Because there was something in the paper about an Inferius-"

"No, there wasn't." Severus said in a bored voice.

"But sir," Seamus protested, "I heard people talking-"

"If you had actually read the article in question, Mr. Finnigan, you would have known that the so-called Inferius was nothing but a smelly sneak thief by the name of Mundungus Fletcher."

I rolled my eyes. Mundungus and Severus were on the same team and he certainly should act like it.

"But Potter seems to have a lot to say on the subject." Severus said, pointing towards the back of the room and I instinctively turned to see Harry's bright red cheeks. I faced forward again, glaring at Severus who was still not meeting my eyes. "Let us ask Potter how we would tell the difference between an Inferius and a ghost."

"Er- well- ghosts are transparent." Harry said awkwardly.

"Oh, very good. Yes it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent'."

I sighed, leaning on my left hand while I drew absentmindedly with my right hand.

There was laughter, a shrill shriek from Pansy and the rest were scattered through the others.

"Yeah, ghosts are transparent, but Inferi are dead bodies, aren't they? So they'd be solid-" Harry said, sounding very much like he'd like to curse Professor Snape to oblivion.

"A five-year-old could have told us as much. The Inferius is a corpse that has been reanimated by a Dark Wizard's spells. It is not alive, it is merely used like a puppet do to the wizard's bidding. A ghost, as I trust that you are all aware by now, is the imprint of a departed soul left upon the earth. . . and of course, as Potter so wisely tells us, transparent." Professor Snape sneered.

"Well, what Harry said is most useful if we're trying to tell them apart!" Ron exclaimed, "When we come face-to-face with one down a dark alley, we're going to have a shufti to see if it's solid, aren't we, we're not going to be asking, 'Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?'"

I nearly laughed and quickly lowered my head so that I could laugh without Severus knowing that I was laughing.

"Another ten points from Gryffindor. I would expect nothing more sophisticated from you, Ronald Weasley, the boy so solid he cannot Apparate half an inch across a room." Severus snapped.

I looked up at him, exasperated.

"Now open your books to page two hundred and thirteen and read the first two paragraphs on the Cruciatus Curse." Severus said, his lip curling. His eyes met mine briefly and he went back up to his desk.

I sped-read the chapter on the Cruciatus Curse before pulling out an artpad and started to draw again. I was very carefully trying not act as though I wasn't doing my work, because people tend to notice when Professors favor students. If Severus simply walked past me drawing and not working, people would notice. After all, I wasn't a Slytherin.

But today, Severus didn't seem keen to walk through the class and I had a very nice outline done for my next painting. It was a farm scene, a place I'd like to live one day. Own horses and cows and sheep and chickens and rabbits. No pigs.

I also wondered about the apparition lessons that were going to be held in Hogsmeade. I was upset, mostly because they weren't open to those who weren't seventeen by the date in April. Of course, this had surprised Mr. Twycross because of my superb ability to apparate. He was talking to the Ministry about bending the rules for me. I'd told him good luck with that, but it wasn't going to happen. He was quite confident I was wrong.

There was no way that Scrimgeour was going to bend rules for me. Though of course, I would've liked to have seen Umbridge's face when told I apparated on the first try of the first day without any prior tries. It was probably carefully concealed fury. Kingsley would've been proud though.

I hadn't seen Kingsley in a long time and I missed him. I could always contact him on my two-way mirror though. . . maybe I would soon.

The bell rang and I slowly packed my things away, making sure that I was the last student in the classroom.

"You'll be late for your next class if you don't hurry along Miss Kane." Severus said indifferently, not looking up at me as he continued to write on the parchment.

"Really?" I snapped, "I told you to lay off Harry just a little bit." I swung my bag off the table and stomped out of the room.

He was a right pain in the ass, he was. My husband and yet the person who hated my brother, one of the people I loved most after him. Or maybe before him, I wasn't sure. Did siblings take preference over mates?

The rest of the day passed in a blur and I went to the art studio before dinner. I had all the teachers drawings in a manila folder, labelled and ready to be set out this weekend. I also had duplicates in a folder in my bag and the other duplicates for the message board were spread on the table. I planned on writing the names of the Professor's underneath in calligraphy or maybe a broad font inside a banner.

I took out the two-way mirror, propping it up on an art easel, completely uncertain if this was going to work.

"Er- Kingsley?"

I waited a few seconds and then there was some movement in the mirror and he pulled it out. I smiled, looking at his handsome, kind, intelligent face. A weight was lifted off my chest.

"Elizabeth!" He said in that slow, deep voice of his. It was quite a handsome voice. Sexy, almost. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes." I said, remembering that the last time I had seen him I'd been fighting four Death Eaters by myself. "I just. . .I wanted to see you for a bit. . . talk to you. . . I haven't seen you in a long time. This isn't a bad time, is it?"

"Not at all." Kingsley said. "I'm just working on a simple case. We're trying to track down Bellatrix Lestrange. The Ministry's furious that her and Greyback got into the Burrow. They don't know how they did it yet. The security at the Burrow's been upped triple."

I shivered, blushing a little. "That doesn't sound simple at all."

Kingsley smiled. "How's school?"

Ah, a subject change. Very well then. "It's alright." I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "Boring, actually."

He chuckled. "Where are you? I don't recognize that room."

I held the mirror up a little higher, showing him around the art studio, showing him most of my drawings (including the funny Professor ones) and also the drawings up on the walls and everything in between. I'd finished one of the windows (a middle one) for the stained glass project.

"Quite splendid." Kingsley said. "I think Tonks mentioned something about your art skills sometime after Christmas."

"Yes." I said. "She was at the Burrow. She said I should sell my artwork." I rolled my eyes. "But everyone knows that art doesn't sell until after the artist is dead."

Kingsley chuckled again. "Is that an unwritten rule?"

I grinned. "I can name a dozen artists who were penniless when they lived and rich after they died. Picasso, Van Gogh, Modigliani, Paul Cezanne-"

"Alright, alright, I take your point." Kingsley said. There was a sound behind him and another face popped into the mirror.

"Hello Elizabeth." Uncle Moody growled, his magical eye rolling, his normal eye focused in the mirror.

"Hi Uncle Moody, how's work?" I said genially.

"Better when not interrupted." He said, but he sounded amused rather than disapproving.

I grinned. "Blame Kingsley. Not me."

Kingsley chuckled again and shooed Uncle Moody away.

"Tell Tonks I said hi, alright?" I asked. "I'll let you get to work, I just really wanted to see someone."

"No problem." Kingsley said, picking up a quill now that the conversation was almost over. "You can call whenever you want."

I smiled, but said nothing else, and put the mirror upside down. It was like hanging up a phone call.

I went back to the Professor drawings, throwing myself into my work.

The door opened and I looked up in surprise. My friends were more accustomed to letting me know before they came and when I realized that it wasn't anyone I was expecting, I turned the folder with the Professors over and swept the papers that were laid out on the table into my arms.

"Sev." I said, shock lacing my voice. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer for a moment. He looked quite out of place, wearing all black and magical robes and all. He looked around at my paintings on the walls and the rest of the art studio. "Looking for you." He answered, tapping his knuckles against one of the desks, looking uncomfortable. Good.

I became aware that my bun was being held in place by a paintbrush and I quickly reached up, taking it out. My hair tumbled down my shoulders, reaching my knees in waves. "Oh." I left the papers on a chair, pushing it under the table and made my way to an art easel that was far away from the table.

I picked up a paint palette, moving my hair out of the way to work on the farm scene.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked quietly.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he made his way towards me and I kicked a stool at him for him to sit on which he did.

"Not really." I said, slightly untruthfully.

"You know that I know that you're lying, right?" Severus asked.

I gritted my teeth, holding the paintbrush inches away from the canvas and then pulled away. I'd spent a lot of time replicating the drawing onto the canvas and I didn't want to have to start over because I painted something wrong.

I put the palette and brush aside and sat down on a stool across from him. "Look, I lost my temper, alright? It's really not that big of a deal."

"When you storm out of my classroom in anger, it's a big deal to me." Severus said, high voice rising an octave.

"Well when you insult my brother, I tend to get slightly defensive." I snapped.

We stared at each other for a moment and I put my face in my hands before running my fingers through my hair and looking away.

Part of me wanted to apologize, say I was sorry, that I didn't mean what I had said. At the same time, I figured it was time to set it straight with Severus. Couples had fights and still made it through. I shouldn't live in fear that I was going to lose Severus if I lost my temper with him occasionally or told him exactly what I thought.

"Sometimes I forget." Severus finally said softly.

I could've left it at that but I didn't. "You avoided my eyes the entire class! You knew exactly what you were doing!"

Severus stood up angrily. "Why can't you just let this go?"

"Why can't you just be nice to him?" I said and then said, "Forget nice, how about just plain decent? You target him on purpose and it's stupid."

"Fine!" He snapped, swinging his cloak behind me, moving to leave the art room and my heart screamed at me to say something, to stop him. I opened my mouth but he was sweeping from the room and I closed it. I sat back down on the stool, staring at the canvas on my easel.

"Hey!" A voice said some minutes later and I snapped my head up and saw Hermione and Ginny had entered the room.

"Oh, hey." I said rather unenthusiastically. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We wanted to see how the portraits were coming along." Ginny said, peering curiously at me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I muttered, standing up and striding over to the table, picking the portraits up again off the chair and spreading them out on the table. "I'm almost done with them."

"What happened Elizabeth?" Hermione asked kindly.

"It doesn't matter." I muttered. "Just forget it."

She dropped the topic, though I'm sure she wouldn't forget any time soon. "They are finished, aren't they?"

"Yes." I said, a bit more enthusiastically. "I was thinking either Sunday night or Monday morning."

"Sunday night." Hermione said. "We can use the cloak."

"I can pin them up on the board." Ginny said.

"And I'll put them in each Professors place." I said. "Just let me work on the ones that your going to put up on the board for a moment."

I placed them all out and started working on the banners and putting the names in calligraphy inside. It was a win-win situation. Now, we just needed it to be Sunday night.

"We can leave them in the room." I said. "That's what I've been doing."

"We'll just have to make sure that Malfoy won't be in here when we need to get the drawings." Hermione pointed out.

"Right." I said. I put the drawings in another sheaf and labelled them 'board' and then put them right next to the other package.

"What are you working on currently?" Ginny asked, looking around.

I motioned for them to follow me over to the art easel and showed them the farm scene I was working on.

"You're painting it?" Hermione asked, bending down and peering at the details.

"Yes." I said simply. I was still quite unhappy.

"Well, we'll leave you to your work." Hermione said, grabbing Ginny's arm.

I shrugged, "It's not just my studio you know. You guys are welcome to stay and do whatever you want, even study if you guys want."

"Sure!" Ginny said. "That sounds great."

"We'll have to go get our schoolbags." Hermione fretted.

"I'll be here." I said.

I briefly wondered if spending all my time in here was going to screw things up for Malfoy. I supposed it didn't matter. Perhaps I should really only be in here on weekends.

They left and I started to paint the canvas in small, light strokes. The night moved on. Ginny and Hermione came with their homework and left and still I painted. When I was done, it was one of the most beautiful things I had painted. I left it to dry.

I headed over to the desk and pulled out my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework and started writing an essay for the Cruciatus curse. Sometime in the middle of it, I fell asleep.

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"𝕰𝖑𝖎𝖟𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖙𝖍 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊." 𝕬 soft voice whispered in my ear.

I rustled uncomfortably.

"Elizabeth, come on, you have to wake up." the voice whispered, still soft and beautiful almost.

I tried opening my heavy lids but I didn't really want to surface. My dream had been nice. Severus and I had been spending a nice afternoon together. I think there was an amusement park even though I knew Severus had never set foot in such a place.

"Elizabeth!" The voice was more anxious now and I finally blinked my eyelids open.

I was on the floor, looking up at the ceiling of the art studio. Severus was leaning over me, his hands on either side of my face, his anxious face relaxed when he saw my eyes were open.

I looked around as I sat up quickly. Ink had spilled down off the table and I wondered if my Cruciatus Curse essay was ruined. I quickly stood up and looked down at the table. Much to my relief, the ink had missed the essay by a few inches.

I quickly picked the essay up, rolling it up and stuffing it into my bag. For the first time, I didn't have my homework done for tomorrow. Panic started to set in.

"I didn't do my homework." I muttered, pulling the bag onto my shoulder. With a wave of his wand, the ink was gone.

"It doesn't matter." Severus said, putting an arm around me, "Come on, let's go."

"Where?" I asked, feeling slightly dazed.

"Our room, of course." Severus said, sounding worried.

"Oh, right." I said, blushing though I was still dazed. So we were fine?

We didn't meet anyone on the way to his office and once we were inside, I checked the time. It was only eleven o'clock. I supposed that the amount of time I'd spent in the art room really had mixed up my sleep cycle.

I sat down on the bed, pulling out homework that Severus grabbed from my hands, "Go to sleep. I don't care if you have the essay done."

"You wouldn't let Harry get away with it." I said, clumsily grabbing for my homework. Severus moved it away from me.

"Yes, but I don't love him and wish his best health either." Severus said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into the bed. Once the covers were around me, I nestled into him, feeling quite warm and fuzzy. I fell asleep quickly.

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𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕 in a dark room, tied to a chair in a circle of light. There were people standing in the shadows, wearing black and I could not see their faces.

"Hello Elizabeth Kane." A cold, shiver inducing voice said and from the shadows stepped Voldemort.

I kept my mouth shut, trying to figure out how I had gotten here.

Voldemort seemed to almost glide towards me, my heart pounding by my brain acting rationally. Surely, I couldn't actually be here, could I? After all, I had been at Hogwarts, I had been at school.

"Mr. Malfoy brought you to us." Voldemort continued, walking around the chair, one pale hand moved along the back of it. "He found you sleeping in the Room of Requirement when he went to work on what he was supposed to be doing. He could not get in. He had heard rumors of what you had turned the room into and he found you. Careless of you, really. . ."

Had I fallen asleep in the room? I could've sworn I'd woken up though. I could've sworn I'd left the room. . . with. . . with Severus, hadn't I? Unless that had been a dream while Draco was transporting me out of the castle. And if this was real. . . I couldn't think about Severus.

"Draco made up for part of his father's mistakes, enough to get Lucius out of Azkaban. You've met Lucius, haven't you, Elizabeth?" Voldemort said in the same, cold voice.

Lucius moved in the shadows, his pale blond hair should have been a dead giveaway from the beginning. His steel gray eyes met mine, but he did not smile the way I would have expected him to.

A snake hissed nearby and I felt something coil around my feet. I would not flinch. I would not say anything.

"I've wanted to meet you for a long time, Elizabeth Kane." Voldemort said softly. "The rumors that surround you. Harry Potter's long lost sister, the future-see-er, the brilliant one."

He circled me again. My fight or flight response was trying to kick in but I could not move. Voldemort took a step back, making a motion to Lucius. A small light appeared, revealing Severus laying on the ground. He was alive, barely, blood seeping from his stomach. His eyes were half open, meeting mine and he mouthed 'I'm sorry'. My heart started to beat double-time, throwing a panicked look at Voldemort.

"What do you want?" I choked out. Voldemort started to laugh. I started to cry.

"Elizabeth. . ."

That voice was different, that voice was far away, more like a voice on the breeze than anything else. And that meant that I wasn't actually here. That meant that I could make this my own.

I willed the ropes to fall off of me and they did and I stood, drawing my wand. Voldemort's eyes widened in shock but his wand was already in his hand.

I willed myself to find a way out of the room and I was outside, by the sea, somewhere I'd wanted to be in a long time.

"Elizabeth..."

I willed myself to wake up and I did so, sitting upright in bed with Severus, gasping, shivering, sweating, shaking. My face was wet with salt water. My voice was hoarse, it was possible I had been screaming.

"Elizabeth!" He said, trying to face me. "What happened? You were crying and screaming in your sleep. I couldn't get you to lay still. You were thrashing around."

"Voldemort." I choked out, wiping my face.

He bit back his usual retort and said, "What?"

I explained what had happened and Severus listened intently and then said, "It was just a dream."

"I know." I muttered, "I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were." Severus said patiently. "I was trying to reassure you."

"Right." I muttered, flopping back down on the bed, "Sorry."

"No." Severus said, laying back down next to me, "I'm sorry."

He didn't elaborate and he didn't have to. He held me in his arms as I sobbed into his chest, shaking, trying to get rid of the image of him bleeding on the ground. The story had been so real, but my imagination was horribly active, and many of my dreams were quite vivid. I was shaking, but he hugged me close and I managed to calm down, falling asleep with no more nightmares.

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𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖉𝖆𝖞, 𝕳𝖊𝖗𝖒𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖊 and Ron went with other students to Hogsmeade to do apparition lessons while Harry and I stayed behind. Twycross hadn't gotten back to me yet about whether or not I was going to be able to apparate before the designated time.

Harry had gone off to the room of requirement, hoping to catch Malfoy in the act. Meanwhile, I went over the plan for tomorrow in my head.

About half an hour later, I headed up to the Room of Requirement and knew Harry was under his invisibility cloak.

I heard a loud "OUCH!" and watched as Harry appeared, the invisibility cloak having slipped off of him.

"Harry?" A different, unexpected voice came and I hurried to see that Tonks was coming up the corridor. Harry had spun around and toppled over onto his ass and quickly scrambled to his feet, his cheeks flushing.

"What're you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I came to see Dumbledore." Tonks said.

She looked absolutely horrible and I closed my eyes as though I could block out the unhappy image. I preferred her with her bubblegum pink hair and cheery appearance. Now, she was thin, even thinner than dad. Her hair was hanging lank and loose.

"His office isn't here, it's round the other side of the castle, behind the gargoyle-" Harry said as though Tonks was stupid.

"I know. He's not here. Apparently he's gone away again."

"Has he? Hey- you don't know where he goes, I suppose?" Harry asked curiously. I snorted.

"No." Tonks said.

"What did you want to see him about?"

"Nothing in particular, I just thought he might know what's going on. . . I've heard rumors. . . people getting hurt. . ." she sent another look my way. I shook my head slightly.

"Yeah, I know, it's all been in the papers. That little kid trying to kill his-"

"The Prophet's often behind the times. You haven't had any letters from anyone in the Order recently?" Tonks asked, sound slightly desperate.

"No one from the Order writes to me anymore, not since Sirius-" Harry started and stopped when he saw Tonks eyes were filling up with tears, "I'm sorry. . . I mean. . . I miss him, as well. . ." He glanced at me like I was going to help him.

"What?" Tonks asked blankly. "Well. . . I'll see you around, Harry. Elizabeth. . ."

She turned around and went back the way she had come. Harry stared at me, "What was that about?"

I shook my head, "It's not really my place to say. She's worried about someone, though. She was hoping you'd have a letter from that person, that's all. I wouldn't know if I didn't have my powers so I don't feel comfortable intruding into her personal life without her permission, make sense?"

"Yes." Harry said. "But doesn't she work with Mad-eye and Kingsley?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Neither of them have written me either. Dad can't write either, he's underground. See ya around Harry."

I headed away from the Room of Requirement and made my way down to the Great Hall and found that Ron and Hermione were already sitting down to lunch. Halfway through it, Harry came down and sat with us.

"I did it- well, kind of! I was supposed to be Apparating to outside Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and I overshot it a bit, ended up near Scrivenshatft's, but at least I moved!" Ron said enthusiastically before Harry even sat down.

"Good one, How'd you do, Hermione?"

"Oh, she was perfect, obviously." Ron interrupted before Hermione could speak for herself, "Perfect deliberation, divination, and desperation or whatever the hell it is- we all went for a quick drink in the Three Broomsticks after and you should've heard Twycross going on about her- I'll be surprised if he doesn't pop the question soon- if he doesn't ask Eliza first that is and-"

"And what about you? Have you been up at the Room of Requirement all this time?" Hermione asked though I wasn't sure if she was asking me or Harry.

"Yep and guess who I ran into up there?" Harry asked, ladling his bowl with soup. "Tonks!"

"Tonks?" Ron and Hermione repeated together.

Harry explained what had been said and included my thoughts at the end of it before Ron said, "If you ask me, she's cracking up a bit. Losing her nerve after what happened at the Ministry."

I glared at him angrily.

"It's a bit odd. She's supposed to be guarding the school, why's she suddenly abandoning her post to come and see Dumbledore when he's not even here?" Hermione asked.

"She didn't know that he was gone." I suggested.

"I had a thought." Harry said. His voice sounded strange, almost hesitant, "You don't think she can have been. . . you know. . . in love with Sirius?"

I nearly spit out my soup while Hermione stared at him and asked, "What on earth makes you say that?"

"I dunno but she was nearly crying when I mentioned his name. . . and her Patronus is a big four-legged thing now. . . I wondered whether it hadn't become. . . you know. . . him. . ." Harry said awkwardly.

"She wasn't crying from you saying his name, she was crying because you haven't received any information that can help her." I said. "And neither have I and that's what worries her even more."

"But who is she worried about?" Ron asked.

"It's not my place to say." I said quickly. "I try not to intrude into other people's personal lives unless I don't like them, if I'm allowed to, or if you guys find out eventually anyways."

"It's a thought, the love thing." Hermione said to Harry. "But I still don't know why she'd be bursting into the castle to see Dumbledore, if that's really why she was here. . . it was more likely what Elizabeth was saying. After all, Dumbledore would be the one who would know everything."

"Goes back to what I said, doesn't it?" Ron asked, shoveling mashed potatoes messily into his mouth and I was so glad that I was having a girl and not a boy. Boys were so messy. "She's gone a bit funny. Lost her nerve. Women, they're easily upset." Ron finished to Harry.

I rolled my eyes and Hermione said, "And yet, I doubt you'd find a woman who sulked for half an hour because Madam Rosmerta didn't laugh at their joke about the hag, the Healer, and the Mimbulus mimbletonia."

Ron scowled.

The rest of us laughed.

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𝕴 𝖕𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖔𝖚𝖙 the mirror again in the art room and called Kingsley's name. He appeared much quicker than he had previously.

"Everything alright?" He asked, his voice much deeper than before. He looked tired. He must be working a lot of hours.

I paused, wanting to be careful with how I was going to word my question, "Is. . .have you seen Tonks recently?"

"No. . .not too recently." He said carefully. "Why?"

"I'm- I'm worried about her. She came to the school a few days ago and she. . .well she seemed really upset. I think she wants to hear from someone and she hasn't heard from them. . .I think she wants to hear from Dad. Is he okay? Do you know?"

Kingsley looked slightly uncomfortable and he said, "Well. . .no, I don't know. Your father hasn't made contact with us in some time, though it is possible that he is contacting Dumbledore directly rather than through us. And I haven't seen Tonks since around Christmas. She's been staying on guard in Hogsmeade and I'm here at the Ministry."

I sighed, downcast.

"I'm sure your father is fine." Kingsley said in a reassuring voice.

"Oh, I am too." I said lightly. "I just wish I could help Tonks, that's all." I sighed again and then said, "Well, I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted to know if you'd heard anything. I'm just worried about her."

"I'll ask Mad-Eye for you." Kingsley said. "And I'll see if I can contact Tonks and help her out, alright?"

"Thanks Kingsley, you're the best." I said with a tired smile.

He smiled back and then I put the mirror upside down in my pocket, 'hanging up' on him. Then I made my way back out of the art studio and to the Gryffindor Common room.

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"𝕬𝖑𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙, 𝖜𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖉 to be careful." I whispered to Ginny as we made our way down the marble steps towards the Great Hall under the invisibility cloak.

"I know Eliza." Ginny said, sounding exasperated.

"You-"

"Stay under the cloak while you slip into the hall." Ginny said. "Elizabeth, I know."

"Right." I said, nervous. I wanted everything to go as planned, I wanted everything to be perfect. This surprise had to be just perfect.

We paused on the tenth stair as peeves glided by and then continued after he had passed. Ginny stopped near the doors to the Great Hall so that I could slip through the doors. Crouching down, I saw that no one was there and I hurried up to the teachers table and started laying out the portraits.

After that was done, I slipped back down the stairs and out of the Great Hall, leaving the doors closed behind me and hurried over to the notice board. Ginny had nearly posted all of the drawings. I helped her pin up the last couple of ones and then we headed back up the marble steps, retracing our path.

We split off, her under the invisibility cloak, and I as a cat. She went back to the Gryffindor Tower and I went back to Severus' room.

Severus was asleep when I arrived and I quickly climbed into bed, making sure I could be up early enough so that I could get to the Great Hall early.

The alarm went off and I quickly shut it off, rolling out of bed while Severus groaned. "Why are you up so early?" he muttered.

"Early day, lots of homework." I said cheerfully, grabbing new robes and my bag. "See you in class this afternoon." I kissed his cheek.

I ran out of the room and down the stairs before he could stop me, my heart pounding, and hurried into the Great Hall. No teachers were in there yet- breakfast didn't start for another seven minutes. I hurried up the stairs, double checking to make sure the portraits were still there. I also doubled checked to make sure that the portraits were the same one's I'd drawn and I hurried down to the Hufflepuff table, satisfied.

Ernie, Hannah, Susan, Justin, Zacharias, Rose and a few other Hufflepuff students were there. Trang sat at the Ravenclaw table and many Gryffindors were already sitting down.

Dumbledore entered first, striding to his spot. We all watched him as he stopped in front of his place. I quickly ducked my head, peeking up to see him pick up the drawing and laugh joyfully, his laugh filling the room.

His eyes flashed over to the Hufflepuff table and I flushed.

"This is great." Susan said, bouncing up and down on the bench.

Food appeared on the table and more students started to file in slowly. Some where chattering about the art, laughing, having spotted the notice board already. Others were confused, darting back out of the hall to take a look.

Other teachers came in and we watched as they picked the portraits up, either covering their faces in embarrassment or laughing. Severus stalked into the room and we all bent low over our breakfast, wondering how he'd react.

He held the portrait up to the light and then pulled out his wand and set the drawing on fire. Our table broke out laughing. Professor McGonagall started to scold Professor Snape.

"Think this was enough to throw them off for a bit?" I asked with a smile.

"Definitely." Susan said. "I can't wait for the real thing."

"I wonder which one they'll like better." Zacharias said.

"I think Professor Snape will like the other one better." Ernie said with a smirk. The entire Great Hall smelled like burnt parchment.

"Good thing we have extra copies." I said with a smile. "Hopefully he doesn't burn the one on the notice board too."

Professor Dumbledore was leaning over, showing Professor McGonagall his drawing. I was quite pleased with my doings.

"I should um go to Care of Magical Creatures Class." I said with a smile. I got up and quickly left the Great Hall. People started to clap as I dashed out the door. I blushed. There was a crowd of people standing outside the notice board, laughing and looking at the drawings.

I passed by quietly and quickly and felt liberated as I entered the fresh air. Hagrid joined me soon on the grounds. He had a piece of parchment in his hands and looked quite pleased.

"Yeh draw wonderfully Elizabeth." He complimented, opening his cabin door and putting the drawing on his table before exiting and coming over to where I was standing, "My favorite was Professor Dumbledore's."

I grinned. "That one did come out good, didn't it?"

Throughout the rest of the day, there were compliments from students and teachers alike. Professor McGonagall had put hers up on the wall. Of course, there were complaints that the drawings didn't move, but the complaints didn't bother me. They didn't seem to bother the Professors either.

The ones that drew the most laughs were Professor Flitwick's and Professor Dumbledore's because they were the most unusual.

What surprised me the most was when Filch came up to me and actually shook my hand before moving past. Any student that saw that thought they were dreaming, and the story spread around quickly, though never talked about in Filch's presence.

However, the most talked about drawing was Professor Snape's. Unbeknownst to him, there was a duplicate drawing on the notice board that he hadn't burned yet, and it was the drawing that people were secretly duplicating and stuffing into binders.

"The thing is," Luna chirped at lunch, sitting with us along with a few Gryffindors and Trang at the Hufflepuff table. "No one has ever seen Professor Snape smile but you make it look so natural."

"Yet!" Zacharias interjected, "It's disturbing at the same time because he never smiles."

"Did you all duplicate that drawing?" I asked, amused.

"Yes." Came about seven different voices.

I snorted.

I seemed to earn quite a few points for Hufflepuff that day too, just random things.

It was one of the best days of my life. 

⬅️➡️

[thesoftboiledegg]

One of my friends recommended The Consumerist Dystopia of Harry Potter on YouTube. I thought it was fascinating and really enjoyed watching it. The video ties into this blog because I kept thinking "Well, Harry Potter is a capitalist's dream, but I guess I can't say much because I'm a Rick and Morty fan."

I mean, you can look at my merchandise roundups to see all the bizarre products for sale, most of them having nothing to do with the series. Whoever markets this show just slaps a label on anything. Snow globes, hot sauce challenges, potted plants, lapel pins...anything that people might buy.

The video points out that, unlike other series, Harry Potter is inherently capitalist. Shopping, buying and indulging are huge parts of the story, like Harry Potter buying school supplies for the first time. The series has countless descriptions of magic stores and all the cute products.

And that easily translates to real-world shopping. The Harry Potter theme park is crowded with stores. WB sells products sourced directly from the books, such as chocolate frogs, wands and snitches. Many people buy the same product four times because they want to get all four house colors.

Conversely, Rick and Morty doesn't have the same marketability. The only items from the series that people want to buy are Rick's portal gun and the plumbus. Other than that, your product options are limited. I guess that's why WB slaps the characters on anything that they can find.

Also, Rick and Morty merchandise inherently has that "cringe" factor because people think that the worst fans represent the show. Everyone thinks you're douchey if you walk around with a Rick and Morty T-shirt and snapback.

People are starting to turn on Harry Potter, but they're never going to make up the majority of the population. Most people still see Harry Potter as the cute wizard school series. People act like stores are pulling HP merchandise from the shelves, but man, I still see HP junk everywhere. Stores have entire sections dedicated to merchandise.

Anyway, whether it's Harry Potter or Rick and Morty, I think that all mass merchandising is cringy. It's partially because I grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes. The creator, Bill Watterson, was vehemently against licensing the series because it would cheapen the story.

I've thought about that with Rick and Morty, too. The series mocks capitalism a few times, but the marketing team is still cashing in. Some of the merchandise is even a little tasteless. Why do people want to buy shot glasses and alcoholic drinks with a raging alcoholic on them?

Anyway, it's not going to make me stop watching the show, and I'm already done with Harry Potter for other reasons, but I do think that the mass marketing world is fascinating--and a little fucked up, too.

[confused-robot-cat]

The Acceptance of Violence in the Wizarding World

I haven't played Hogwarts Legacy, but I've heard a lot of people talk about how nonchalantly the player character murders people in increasingly fucked up ways, and nobody in-universe seems to give much of a crap. I'd like to explain why that might be perfectly in line with the way the wizarding world works.

So! From an early age, witches and wizards are likely exposed to a something that may negatively affect their sense of empathy. Paintings. Paintings are like some Who Framed Roger Rabbit shit, animated characters complete with personalities able to interact with the real world. If Walt Disney had been a wizard, they'd have cinemas by now.  Paintings and even photographs in the wizarding world move around within their frame, and some can even travel beyond. They can speak, they can react emotionally, and can even be trained to mimic the person depicted like training an AI to pretend to be a dead celebrity. The magical community learns early on that no matter how convincing a depiction of a person is, they're not alive. So things that look like humans aren't necessarily sentient or sapient.

But pictures are just one thing, right? That's not much of a connection to real living things. Well, let me introduce you to a lovely book written by Newt Scamander. That's right, it's Fantastic Beasts time! The movie series that would have been much improved if David Yates hadn't cut all those important scenes because when you read the screenplay they're ten times better than the Harry Potter movies ever were and the decision not to continue the five part saga is grounds for a terror attack on WB studios. Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yeah. Animals.

  The wizarding world is full of creatures that look like humans to some degree! And I don't just mean vampires and centaurs. Gnomes are pests in the wizarding world. Imagine walking out into your back garden and there's a bunch of tiny naked fat men running around shitting on your lawn and gnawing on your house's foundations. They're a serious pest in the wizarding world, and while they appear humanoid and can even speak, they're non-sapient and it's perfectly legal to get rid of them by setting loose a magic talking weasel on them. Then you can take a photo of the weasel devouring your tiny man-pests and hang it on the wall to replay the event for all eternity. The weasel is, of course, also non-sapient despite its power of speech.

  There are also Doxies, tiny naked people with extra limbs and wings that hide in your curtains and bite you with venomous fangs. They and fairies both have developed languages, and both can be killed with insecticide if you want to get rid of them because they're considered non-sapient and have no rights either. Pogrebins, ogres, trolls, erklings... So then, why is it so strange for wizards to just accept House Elf slaves? Their bigotry against goblins, centaurs, and mermaids definitely doesn't seem all that strange for the world in which they live.

Finally, I'd like to talk about Conjuration. Wizards and witches can wave their wands around and poof an animal into existence. A whole fucking animal. Now, if one reads Miranda Goshawk's Book of Spells, they'll find that conjured animals aren't real and will fade away after a while. This amount of time is indeterminate. Some can last until the caster them self passes away. But they look so real!

Ultimately, wizards and witches are surrounded by things that look like them, sound like them, and act like them but aren't even sapient. They're also surrounded by things that appear alive but that life is a matter of illusion. Indeed, even otherwise inanimate objects can appear to develop personalities over time (see: Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia). But they're not alive. In a world like this, the magical community can easily become detached and lose a sense of value for life, because so often life turns out to be nothing more than an illusion. So when 20th century wizards are happily throwing around buzz-saw flying discs that can take people's fingers off, it's not too surprising that 18th century wizards might turn each other into barrels of gunpowder and yeet them into a crowd.

[billconrad]

    Authors constantly push the boundaries of what is possible in fiction. For example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein completely opened up horror, science fiction, and intense drama, forcing significant changes in literature and society. In my opinion this was the first radical fiction book.

    I define radical fiction as a story that takes a gigantic leap from reality. Readers are required to accept concepts like impossible physics, alien values, crazy morals, and inhuman rules. Authors like Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke all published in this area. As a result, readers now believe in distant worlds, faster than light travel, aliens, magic, time travel, and ray guns.

    For example, Spiderman’s world has radical biology. A young man uses a silk gland to leap from building to building. To accept this impossibility, readers must overcome tricky hurdles. At the very least, the silk gland would shoot ten feet and be near his butt. How far can a man pee? It is the same biological mechanism.

    I approached radical fiction with caution. For example, in my first book, I explored the impossible concept of immortality. To do so, I carefully led my readers through waves of pseudo-science so they would ignore proven medical facts. My immortality process involved “harvested” human organs which were placed into a host body. This addition provided the host’s immune system with the ability to destroy the “parasites responsible for old age.”

    Is my immortality concept plausible? Sort of. Using harvested organs to achieve eternal life is pure fantasy. Having the immune system indefinitely repair the body is almost plausible. Wink, wink.

    My second book has aliens. In the real world, there is anecdotal evidence to support the existence of aliens. However, aliens certainly have not been on 60 minutes to discuss their political views.

    My approach was basic. The aliens were invisible at the beginning of the story and they briefly interacted at the end. Their visual appearance was “human-like” and they had no special abilities. I was careful to keep their exact details vague by dressing them in invisible suits.

    I feel a gradual introduction led the readers into accepting alien characters. This also avoided many questions. What do aliens like to eat? How does the alien ship work?

    In Star Wars, there were many characters from different backgrounds. Wow, that would be difficult to organize. Star Wars gets away with radical fiction by immediately leaping in. The movie begins on a distant planet where Luke Skywalker presses a button on his light sabre and slices away. Never mind the concept of a “light sabre” is utterly impossible by every known law of physics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics.

    I treat radical fiction like a gun with one bullet. You wave it around and act tough, but you only get one shot. So, aim carefully. Bolder authors approach radical fiction like it is raining bullets, but this requires a particular reader who instantly gets the altered reality.

    Harry Potter uses his wand to freeze water, a writing bridge I cannot cross. My plots must make total sense or nearly total sense. In all the technical books I read, the experiments I have performed, and technical shows I watched, there has never been a “magic wand” that freezes water. First law of thermodynamics! I struggle to imagine a world where a magic wand could exist. That is a significant writing blind spot that limits what I can create.

    I respect radical fiction authors. They are bold people who push us forward into places I cannot imagine. Someday I might take this leap but for now, I have a lot of ground to cover here on plain old dull earth.

    You’re the best -Bill

    January 13, 2024

    Hey book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:

    Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.

    Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.

    Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.

    Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.

    These books are available in soft-cover on Amazon and eBook format everywhere.

[sitp-recs]

Hello friend! I saw this and thought I’d share a few of my favorite Draco POVs with you. I hope you enjoy 💜

Teeth by Amelior8or (E, 6k)

Potter’s been practically begging for it, for months, constantly staring until the air crackles with the intensity of it. Draco always stares back, until all it takes is a brush, a spark, before they go up like flash paper. The crash into each other is inevitable.

An Emerald In The Sky by @corvuscrowned (M, 6.6k)

The hardest part about shagging an Unspeakable is that they’re not allowed to speak of anything. All Draco knows is that Harry works in Time. Harry works in Time, and while he’s out there in all of that time, it is as unforgiving to him as it is to anyone.

And Save Me From Bloody Men by @blamebrampton (T, 10k)

Draco Malfoy once watched others fighting to stop the world falling apart. This time, he's not just watching.

Rebuilding Draco Malfoy by khasael (E, 11k)

Draco wants to do something to get his life back on track, but no-one seems to be taking him seriously – until he finds himself in an Auror training session led by Harry Potter.

Evolution by @potteresque-ire (E, 13k)

Draco Malfoy was condemned to live a Muggle’s life for his three-year probation. His wand was locked away, and he was forbidden to set foot in Wizarding Britain until Hermione Granger secured a job for him in the Aurors’ stock room.

All Roads Lead Home by @dracogotgame (G, 15k)

Draco is strong-armed into spending the first Christmas after the War with the Weasleys. And Harry Potter.

An Act of Kindness for One Harry Potter by a Sympathetic Draco Malfoy by 0idontknow0 (E, 15k)

As Draco leaned on the wall to wait for them to get dressed, he could not help feeling like he had done a very kind thing by disrupting them. Someone should give Potter a better rogering than that sorry sod had.

Between Myth and Man by @slytherco (E, 16k)

Draco, lost and a little broken, navigates post-war reality convinced that people like him should not be allowed to make their own choices. To solve the problem of his self-sabotaging tendencies, he starts taking a few drops of Veritaserum every morning.

Meddling, Menswear, and Magic by @writcraft (M, 18k)

Draco Malfoy is working in a job he hates and avoiding the magical world entirely, but he really is fine. When a bequest from Severus Snape brings Draco back to a much-changed magical world, he must find his place within it and navigate his growing attraction to Harry Potter in the process.

The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by Cibee (T, 19k)

Draco could grab Potter and shove him into a stall before proceeding to suck his soul out of his dick, but secretly, deep down, in the part of Draco that he will never admit to anyone, he is (everyone pauses to shudder) a romantic. Potter is not someone Draco wants a one-off with. Potter is — Draco’s beloved!

Unfinished Business by cupiscent (E, 20k)

Ten years after the War ends, Harry and Draco still haven't got their act together. But maybe it's not too late.

Vortex by @xanthippe74 (T, 20k)

Who would want a soulmate who was a schoolyard bully, a Death Eater, and a convicted felon? Certainly not Harry Potter. And Draco is determined to take this secret to the grave.

Slithering by astolat (E, 27k)

Draco found the nest down in the Manor’s cellars, while he was clearing them out.

Waiting By An Open Door by Femme and noeon (E, 29k)

Draco starts following Potterwatch secretly during the War. He wishes Potter would come save him too. But that sort of thing only happens in fairy tales, and Malfoys don't get fairy tale endings, do they?

Moon-Eyed by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (E, 29k)

Draco Malfoy, Head of Veela Affairs at the Department of Magical Beings, does not do people favours. Harry Potter, recently turned werewolf, is not “people” – not to Draco anyway.

On One's Knees by pir8fancier (E, 34k)

The war is over and to the victors go the spoils. If you are triggered by infidelity, this is not the fic for you.

Fool Me Twice by @sorrybutblog (E, 38k)

The case seemed simple: follow the corruption, bring down the source. Draco just didn’t anticipate Harry Potter crashing in, taking a break from red carpets and nudey-rudey photoshoots to make a giant mess.

He Who Must Not Be Normal by lettered (E, 41k)

Potter has fame and fortune and posh clothes and all he wants is a simple life. Draco has a flat and a cat and a steady job and all he wants is a complicated life. Which makes you think this story has something exciting like body-swapping, but it doesn’t.

Heal Thyself by astolat (T, 47k)

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.” “What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous.”

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (E, 70k)

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always.

Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)

Draco Malfoy has become disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of the scandalous lives of the Post-Second Wizarding War Pureblood Elite. Enter: one existential crisis, one group of thieving cynical friends, and several terrible, terrible decisions.

I Am Not Who I Became by mab_di (E, 93k)

Draco left England after the trials and has travelled the world meeting wizards and Muggles from different cultures and with vastly different relationships to magic, each other, and the natural world. Now he's a fisherman in Finland on commercial vessels.

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki (M, 104k)

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

Changing Tides by carpemermaid (E, 109k)

Draco has spent half of his life spouting the things his father has taught him without much thought about how he feels about what he says. When he unexpectedly comes face to face with the Dark Lord, he grapples with the harsh realities of the world and struggles with his changing views on life.

Nor All That Glisters by @sweet-s0rr0w (E, 110k)

Lonely and frustrated on house arrest, with no prospects for the future, Draco begins brewing Felix Felicis in an attempt to improve his lot. Just in the short term, of course. He isn’t a total idiot.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl (M, 114k)

Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

A Sword Laid Aside by @korlaena (E, 128k)

When Draco’s cover is blown during a deep undercover operation and the Ministry is compromised, Ron takes Draco to the only safe place he can think of—Potter. Hiding out with a taciturn Harry Potter, who has been missing from the Wizarding World for almost two decades after a shocking fall from grace, is nothing like Draco thought it would be.

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion (E, 131k)

Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

There Is Always the Moon by @firethesound (T, 159k)

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before.

A Secondary Education by Thunderbird587 (E, 234k)

Fleeing the aftermath of his recent divorce, Draco Malfoy takes up a post as the new Potions Master at Hogwarts. At first he believes his hopes for a fresh start are dashed when he sees that a certain boyhood rival is on staff there as well. But Harry Potter is being weirdly nice to him, leaving Draco no choice but to play along.

I love Harry but someones plzzzz recomend me a Draco centric fic. I can't live any longer in Harry's head, I miss my boy Draco

[njmphadora]

Have you ever been so caught up in the world of Harry Potter that you've actually said a spell out loud and expected it to work? (For example, wake up from a good dream or take a break from reading and try to accio something form across the room?)

no

send me “have you evers” and I can only reply with “yes” or “no”

[dramiodantes]

• dramione post war au

Hearing a strange noise, immediately Draco opens his eyes and reaches the wand under the pillow, ready to fight.

He points it towards an unknown danger and target before understanding the truth: there isn't no one but the witch beside him. 

Draco takes a deep breath, putting the wand on the mattress: the Battle of Hogwarts changed the course of their existence a few days ago and now they're finally living in a world without Voldemort and Death Esters for the first time in ages. He's a /free/ man, free from any duty towards his family and the Order.

Then he looks at /her/ and he can't help but smile. Hermione Granger is still sleeping in his bed. Finally she has decided to stop ignoring that /thing/ between them, accepting his invitation to join him in his room after the celebrations, a stupid way to exorcise pain and grievance with too alcohol.

She keeps repeating how much she hates him but her eyes said something different last night.

Draco puts an arm around her abdomen, dragging her towards him and flushing their bodies together.

"Draco Malfoy! Let me go", she huffs in annoyance as he starts to kiss her nape, her shoulder, the column of her neck.

Oh, that's out of the question.

"Never", he rasps in her ear. She's still naked and he can't deny how much he wants her again. And again and again. The two rounds of the previous night? Not enough.

"What time is it?".

"Ten o'clock".

"Blimey, Harry is waiting for me".

"No fucking way, Granger". She tries to get up but he doesn't let her go. "Potter can wait for once".

"Malfoy!".

It's time to act, so with a quick movement, he flips her, staying between her legs and pinning her wrist to the mattress. 

"Stop denying the truth: you like me", he smirked.

"No!", she screams.

"Say it, Granger, and I'll let you go".

"Never!".

He pulled her lip between his, starting to rock against her body. She's still so warm, so soft, so ready for him.

"Say. It. Aloud. Or you won't leave this bed, I swear".

"Why? You hate me too. I'm a Mudblood".

His eyes widen. "Don't you dare! Don't address yourself with that hideous slur in front of me".

"Oh, poor Draco, a long time ago you loved to call me like that", she mocked him.

Draco rests his forehead on hers, sighing softly. "Forgive me, Hermione, please. I know I'm a disaster but I want to be better, for you. My feelings for you are real".

They stay in that position for what seems hours until a sob breaks the moment. "I'm sorry—I don't know what we're doing, what our feelings are and it's overwhelming. I—I want you too".

"So stop fighting what your heart says and give me a chance", he whispered so close to her lips. And when she nods slowly, finally he kisses her, sealing the deal between them.

FIN.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

How do you think the wizarding economy works ? From what we've seen, most wizards work for the government or own a shop, so do you think they work as a collective ? How is Malfoy so rich ? Do they buy their food/alcohol/ from muggles ? Do they pay taxes to the MoM or to the state ?

Finally, who do you think is more corrupt ? The wizarding world or the USSR ?

Nobody even knows, man, but I'm sure it's wild.

Well, we do know a few things.

What Do We Know About Wizards and Money?

One is that they're on the gold standard by using literal gold as well as copper and silver for the minting of their coins. Based on Bill's entire job (curse breaking ancient tombs) they cannot create these metals from nothing nor transfigure them permanently from a different substance (probably why these are used to prevent counterfeiting). It also allows goblins to control the currency, which is a very very very good thing for them and one of the few means of leverage they have.

However, given that, I have a distinct feeling that inflation/monetary controls are poorly understood. The goblins search for gold, in part, by grave robbing and introduce it into the economy. Whenever this happens, there's going to be inflation and your wizards will be very confused on why a galleon suddenly seems to buy them less than it did not so long ago. Though, goblins controlling distribution, they may have controls in place for inflation/deflation like any central bank.

We also know they don't use credit. We have no hint of credit being used throughout the books. Harry has to carry a sack which carries his money. People always have to visit the bank before shopping.

We know there are some substances that a wizard cannot point blank create from nothing. They can summon water out of thin air: they cannot create nor reproduce food. Food is always going to be an issue even for a competent wizards.

And also, wizards are humans and specialize in fields. Everyone gets their basic Hogwarts education (some... uh... better at it than others) but just as in real life people specialize into certain fields based on their ability. Most wizards are not self-sufficient or else could find someone better at a task than themselves.

I mean that, fundamentally, wizards and witches trade goods and services, the underpinning of any economic system.

Which is why, tellingly, Arthur Weasley seems to take home a paycheck and we see people with jobs where they are presumably paid some amount of money. Fred and George also needing money to purchase the building, materials, etc. for their shop in Diagon Alley.

So, What is It?

I think we can safely say that Gringotts acts as the central bank. Now, we don't know if they give out loans or not, but what they do is hold the money hostage, mint the coins, and presumably control distribution of gold into the market.

They perform the vast majority of the functions of a central bank and control much of the wizard economy (without the wizards realizing it).

It's also unclear if wizards actually accrue any interest on the gold in Gringotts or if it just... sits there... and devalues over time as more gold enters the market... guarded by dragons so they can't access it directly when they wish. (If another goblin war breaks out--guess who has all the money? Literally guarded by dragons?)

There seems to be a clear lack of a centralized economy, so we can rule that out, and socialism doesn't seem to be the name of the game in that we see no orphanages, no financial aid to those like Ron whose family can't afford a wand, no economic systems of any kind. You're kind of on your own as a wizard.

Beyond that though, it's hard to say.

How is Malfoy so Rich?

His ancestors probably beat up other wizard families/muggles ages ago, stole all their money, and have been sitting on it passing it down to a single child for generations. They then marry into other wealth to keep the fortune alive.

The Potters, through Pottermore at least, made their fortune by Harry's grandfather making miracle hair gel. Some families seem to specialize in fields and publish the standardized textbooks used in Hogwarts. You can get rich with people paying for a good or service from you.

Do They Buy from Muggles?

All signs point to the house elves working in farming collectives. We even canonically have "elf wine". Gee. I wonder how that got made. Basic farming materials may be bought from Muggles but based on the food we hear about they're produced in wizard kitchens/factories. Wizards love magic in their food... perhaps to prove it's not muggle.

Do They Pay Taxes?

Actually unclear. One would think so, especially as the Ministry has employees who have to get paid somehow. However, I don't remember mention of taxation in the books. Could be I've totally forgotten.

I imagine it'd be to the ministry, though, which effectively is the state for wizarding britain as it doesn't seem divided up into regions or any other kind of government.

Which is More Corrupt?

What is this, the Corruption Olympics. I mean... I can't say I'd put any government necessarily as more corrupt than the USSR. There are contenders, certainly. But more?

I will say that the Wizarding World is really really really bad though to the point where the 'good' characters are shocked and appalled when other characters refuse to spy on the ministry for them.

[crazyaboutto]

I, as a fantasy nerd, said fantasy club and things escalated from there. Here are some crack headcanons and incorrect quotes about the fantasy club. 

MC is a fantasy nerd and is devastated when they learn there is no fantasy club in the NRC so they found one themselves.

What are the interests of the fantasy club?

Game of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Narnia, Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, medieval stuff

What they do in the club?

Talk about the fantasy world of the books/games, discuss lore and do RP

Here is what happens in the club:

MC introduces Harry Potter to NRC

MC: There are 4 dorms, each have their own colours and their own traits. They get sorted via Sorting Hat. The witches and wizards have wands but they can do wandless magic if they are strong enough. Each magic has distinct wand movement and phrase. There is also

Entire NRC: HAHA Wands?? They are ancient history

MC: Shut up, you Harry Potter knockoffs!

MC: You don’t even have a patronus!

NRC: No one cares

MC: Avada kedavra!

----

MC when the fantasy is brought up:

---

In the fantasy club, they do live action role playing, the clothes, the set and the ambiance are all medieval. Malleus sees this

Malleus @ fantasy club: Why do you act like you’re in Valley of Thorns?

MC: No mate, this is medieval RP

Malleus: That did not answer my question

--

MC and the gang recites Monty Python's Black Knight

Malleus thinks it's real and MC is really hurt so he meddles with the RP

MC: Will you shut up about it if we invite you to the club?

Malleus, internally: Oh no they used the ultimate move

In the new RP, MC is the monarch

In the new RP, MC is the monarch

MC: Ace, Deuce, you are the court jesters

Ace: You can't do that!

Deuce: Can I be something else next time?

MC: Ace, no. Deuce, yes. Here is your outfit

(this part is added by a member)

MC: I'm bored. Amuse me, jester!

Deuce pokes Ace: It’s your turn! I danced last time

----

MC: Malleus, you'll be a peasant

Malleus: What? No

MC: Then you won't be included.

Malleus: Fine

MC: Now, since this is a fantasy setting, we need to add a dragon into it.

---

MC: Hmmmmm......... You know what this story needs? A dragon!

Other club members: Yeah, but where are we gonna find one?

Malleus (In the distance): I'm right here you know!

Everyone in the Fantasy Club: Hmmmmm......... We've got nothing.

MC: Malleus, you have to start working now. Go do your harvest Hey random NPC, you get to be a dragon

NPC: I wasn’t in the club but sure

Malleus:

---

Malleus nearly overblots from this & Lilia barely stops him in time. He'd then have to forbid the Fantasy Club members from roleplaying as a dragon UNLESS Malleus himself gets to be the dragon

MC: As the reigning monarch, Lilia, I'm sending you to jail for coup attempt

MC, sends Lilia to the jail like this:

Lilia: Very funny, I haven’t used this for the last few centuries

Sebek tries to get that off of Lilia, but he just laughs it off.

Sebek is jailed too now since he tried to break out a criminal. Soon Silver joins the jail. Meanwhile MC loses the key and forget where they put Lilia, Sebek and Silver's pens and lock keys. And all of Diasomnia are jailed for helping the coup

---

MC on why they made him Malleus a peasant

MC: Malleus can learn humility by being a peasant and doing their job. By the time he becomes king of the Valley of Thorns, he'll understand what it's like to live at the bottom of the social ladder.

Lilia: Don't worry, Malleus. It's all part of the... *trying to stifle his laughter*... the experience *now on the ground from laughing so hard*

Malleus: :/

MC: Someone, give him a hoe and let him work in the field

Lilia gives Malleus some gardening tools & a uniform that peasants wear when they work in the field

Malleus: I don't know what to say after seeing that you've already prepared a uniform of this nature for me. Were you plotting with Child of Man behind the scenes? :/

Lilia: :3 No~

[sitp-recs]

hi :) i simply adore your blog and your fic recs are so spot on, you’ve made me fall back in love with drarry and hp. I rly love reading a fic before I go to sleep but I end up picking a 70k word one and end up staying up much longer than I wanted to so could you possibly recommend me any fics max 15k words, with a happy ending pls i need the cuteness to help me sleep 🥰 Thanku so so much xx

Hi anon! Thanks so much, I’m thrilled to know I had a small part in making you fall back in love with Drarry, that’s amazing! And what a mood lol I used to pick long fics before bed too, it’s a mighty trap 😂 I’ve read many short fics in the last year so I decided to go for these delightful and not-as-popular shorts, with excellent build up and happy endings. Perfect bedtime reads in my opinion! I got a bit too excited with this list so I’ll call it 31 Bedtime Reads! One for each day of the month ;) enjoy!

The Long Fall by @tackytigerfic (2021, M, 3.6k)

It's supposed to be a simple house renovation, and maybe it's just the paint fumes, but Harry is feeling dizzy around Draco Malfoy. And what's the real meaning of family, anyway?

oxygen by @maesterchill (2020, T, 4k)

Draco doesn’t smoke. Except when he needs to breathe.

A Charitable Christmas by Alisanne (2017, E, 5.6k)

Hermione’s plans to raise money for war orphans do not meet with Harry’s approval. Fortunately, Draco steps in to help him come up with a much more enjoyable strategy.

Harmony (Left-Handed Melody Remix) by mindabbles (2010, M, 5.8k)

He is the last person Draco was expecting, but then again, this is not a place Draco ever expected to be.

Vintage by momatu (2017, T, 7k)

Of all of the vineyards, in all of the regions, in all of France, Draco's blasted editor sends him to Potter's...

Our Ordinary Days by Lomonaaeren (2012, M, 8k)

Two men, both fathers of sons, meet in a bookshop. And the rest is the kind of history that doesn't make history.

Ice Snakes, Glow-worms and Wolverine Stew by khalulu (2015, M, 8.4k)

Harry Potter apparently wants to talk to Draco about something, but odd events keep getting in the way of that conversation – and bringing them closer together.

The Page Eleven Wars by fireflavored (2010, E, 8.5k)

In a gossip-hungry post-war Wizarding World, Rita Skeeter has a wildly successful column in the Daily Prophet known as Page Eleven. Naturally, her favourite targets are the poster boys of the two sides of the war: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.

Blind Date by JosephineStone (2016, T, 8.6k)

Draco’s been working with Harry for years when another one of his relationships goes stale. He has to be married within a year, and though the WizNet has burned him in the past, Draco finds a new possibility in man as desperate to marry as he is.

Stories in E Minor by @huldrejenta (2014, E, 8.7k)

Draco has found his place in the Muggle world. He's got his music, he's got his neighbours and he is content. Until a certain someone from the past enters his life again.

Life goes not backward by @shealwaysreads (2020, T, 8.8k)

Harry still isn’t used to gifts, but this one is different. A story of coming home, finding safe ground, and the wild courage of putting down roots.

Til Our Compass Stands Still by china_nightingale (2018, M, 9k)

Harry and Draco eventually realise that things don't always go to plan, even if it's a plan they've been carefully crafting to keep themselves safe from each other.

The Interest Here by disapparater (2015, T, 9k)

Draco has his own morning show on the wireless, which he loves; an ambitious assistant, whom he needs; and days in The Tea Shop, where he relaxes. He also has a new caller on the show, whom he finds bloody annoying.

Tidings of Comfort series by @blamebrampton (2012, G, 10k)

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, London has places where the tired can rest and recover.

Sweet Indulgence by @the-sinking-ship (2020, E, 10k)

It doesn't matter that Marcy from Accounting is dancing on the tables, Shacklebolt is wearing antlers, and Elliot from Transportation is on his third round of Mariah Carey on karaoke because all the free champagne in the world won't salvage the Ministry Christmas party for Draco if Potter doesn't show up soon.

Settle in in my slow-burning heart by orphan_account (2015, NR, 10k)

Five years after the war Draco is working a tech developer job in the Auror Office, and it's all great except this one thing: Harry Potter works there, too.

Adventures in Truth and Texting by @fluxweeed (2020, E, 11k)

Former Death Eaters are being targeted with a Veritaserum curse – it’s permanent, and makes victims speak aloud their every thought. Luckily, it’s easier to control when writing.

fine i'll hold my breath / til i forget it's complicated by teatrolley (2015, NR, 11k)

Harry and Draco become friends with benefits, and Harry thinks it's more complicated than it actually is.

Rebuilding Draco Malfoy by khasael (2011, E, 11k)

Draco wants to do something to get his life back on track, but no-one seems to be taking him seriously – until he finds himself in an Auror training session led by Harry Potter.

Cold Like Fire by QueenofThyme (2012, M, 12k)

Head Auror Harry Potter had no problem with mandatory consent training for his team. He’d actually been looking forward to it, that is, until he discovered who the teacher was.

What’s My Age Again? by @lazywonderlvnd (2018, E, 12k)

Harry Potter has had enough of pleasing the public, and his reckless tendencies are finally getting out of hand.

Title of Their Sex Tape by @cibeewastaken (2020, T, 12k)

What are the Wizarding world's most elite law enforcers doing when they aren't catching criminals? It seems Auror Malfoy is often caught throwing food into Auror Potter's mouth when he's mid-yawn.

Kill, Fuck, Marry by @lettersbyelise (2018, E, 12.6k)

Harry and Draco unexpectedly meet again on Draco’s birthday, years after their last encounter.

The Year of Non-Magical Thinking by whiskyandwildflowers (2018, E, 13k)

“I don't know what I'm going to do, Potter. I'll think of something. So will you. But this is my journey to self-actualization," Draco managed to smirk. "You can fuck off and get your own."

Evolution by @potteresque-ire Pie (2013, M, 13k)

Draco Malfoy was condemned to live a Muggle’s life for his three-year probation. His wand was locked away, and he was forbidden to set foot in Wizarding Britain until Hermione Granger secured a job for him in the Aurors’ stock room.

Plan Alphabet by @xx-thedarklord-xx (2019, T, 14k)

After realizing that his feelings for Harry were unfortunately real, Draco embarks on a foolproof—yes, Longbottom, foolproof—plan to woo Potter.

Countdown by dysonrules (2013, M, 14k)

When the Wizarding world is plagued by random outbreaks of Dark Magic, the Ministry assigns Curse-Breakers to assist Auror teams on their missions.

All Roads Lead Home by @dracogotgame (2015, G, 15k)

Draco is strong-armed into spending the first Christmas after the War with the Weasleys. And Harry Potter.

Espresso Patronum by @tasteofshapes (2020, T, 15k)

When Draco reappears five years after the war and opens a wildly popular coffee shop, Harry’s pretty sure that Draco’s Up to Something. He just has to prove it.

An Act of Kindness for One Harry Potter by a Sympathetic Draco Malfoy by 0idontknow0 (2014, E, 15k)

Someone should give Potter a better rogering than that sorry sod had. The man had saved the bloody world—okay, mostly Europe—the least someone could do was give him a proper shag.

Turn and Face the Strange (time may change me) by @punk-rock-yuppie (2019, T, 16k)

Draco and Harry and how their relationship—and themselves—change over the course of eleven years.

[thebluespirit83]

debunking pro-snape/anti-james arguments and putting it on the internet because clearly i hate myself. buckle up. this is gonna be a VERY long post. im ready for the amount of hate i will get; im willing to take one for the team. 

1. james forced lily into dating/marrying/etc him 

this literally never happened? because its almost as if lily is her own person who is able to stand up for herself-

“I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” said Lily.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

She turned on her heel and hurried away [from james]. 

-and so she would not allow someone to walk all over her. its almost as if james (canonically) matured as a person, and she appreciated this, realised he was a good person and got feelings for him? because james’ only negative traits were that he was conceited and a show off. people are able to mature and grow from these things! james did this! he did not ‘force’ lily to go out with him!

2. james and the other marauders bullied snape

you know what, i cant even disagree with this one. you’re right - they did bully him. but lets look a little bit at the context. 

sirius and james were both upper class, naive white rich boys. they are idiots. they were both stupid smart teenagers!! they were popular! and while this does not excuse the gross bullying snape was subject to-

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape’s mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him

Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular ... Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

-it (unfortunately) makes sense with context. james and sirius also stopped bullying people, and even expressed discomfort/regret with the way they acted-

“I’m not proud of it,” said Sirius quickly.

“Of course he was a bit of an idiot!” said Sirius bracingly, “we were all idiots!

[sirius talking to remus] you made us feel ashamed of ourselves sometimes

A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it.

-when they were younger! i’d also like to point out these little lines i noticed when i was finding quotes for my argument which snape stans like to ignore:

James and Snape hated each other from the moment they set eyes on each other

I mean, he [snape] never lost an opportunity to curse James

there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James’s face, spattering his robes with blood

wow, look at that. the hate they felt for each other was mutual! snape also jinxed james! but oh wait - james was the one who matured! snape was the one who bullied his son twenty years later because he looked like james! 

3. snape didnt abuse the kids at hogwarts 

here’s a real argument i saw when looking through some pro-snape posts: ‘snape wasn’t an abuser, because abusers don’t let their victims retaliate, but snape did let the kids talk back to him’

what. the. fuck?! 

this is the dictionary.com definition of abuse: ‘to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way’ or ‘to speak insultingly, harshly, and unjustly to or about’. i’m pretty sure snape did both of these things-

“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!”

“So,” said Snape, gripping Harry’s arm so tightly Harry’s hand was starting to feel numb.

Snape threw Harry from him with all his might.

[hermione’s teeth]  "I see no difference."

‘Idiot boy!’ snarled Snape [at neville]

-on multiple occasions. i’d also like to remind you guys that neville’s worst fear is SNAPE?! his TEACHER, a figure that is supposed to be there for emotional and educational support is his worst fear in this entire world?! above the woman who drove his parents to insanity? over failure, over his abusive grandmother, over everything? his teacher? and for the pro-snaper that used this quote-

Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically.

-to claim that it was a joke, it isn’t a joke. because when snape came out of that cupboard, he was terrified. yes, it’s an embarrassing thing to have as your boggart, but the point is is that it is. he is terrified of that man. 

4. james only joined the order because his wife was a muggleborn and he ‘had to’

this is just factually incorrect. james had been sticking up for muggleborn rights since he was in school, far before he started dating or even became friends with lily: 

“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

“I’d NEVER call you a - you-know-what!”

so this is literally not true!! plus, at least he did join the order, whatever his reasons where (which were canonically good). snape didnt join the order. snape was friends with someone who suffered discrimination in society, and instead of using his privilege to help her and support her, he joined a group that was set on murdering people like her. when james had a friend who underwent oppression (remus/lycanthropy) you know what he did? he illegally became an animagus. 

5. snape had to be a death eater to survive at hogwarts as he roomed with blood supremacists

this is the shittiest excuse i have ever seen in my entire life. as a poc, this comment really reminds me of the argument ‘i was raised in a racist white household! i cant control my beliefs!’

you can always control your beliefs. i understand not going on big rants about blood inequality in front of a bunch of supremacists, and i understand wanting to blend and fit in (especially because he was unpopular and needed the support the slytherin boys provided), but i will never understand then becoming an active member of the group yourself. he got the dark mark. he helped voldemort. he was a death eater, and a proud one at that! no-one forced him to join. this argument literally makes my blood boil. 

6. snape had a lot of trauma from being raised in an abusive household

okay? so did sirius. so did neville. luna was bullied at school, just like snape. harry lived in an abusive household. did any of those people bully children? did any of those people join a blood supremacist group? and dont get me wrong, im not calling any of these people perfect - they all had a lot of flaws - but none of them hurt another people to the extreme that snape did. 

7. snape saved the trio’s lives many times

this is the absolute bare minimum. ‘oh wow, he didnt let harry die!! what a king! he should be respected and praised! we should excuse all of his other actions because he didnt let people die <3′ 

8. snape is not a perfect person, he also did good that many people overlook

you’re right, snape did do some good things in his life. but unfortunately, for me and many others, doing a couple of good things doesnt excuse all of the shitty, abusive things he did too. we’re not ignoring them - we just dont think they’re good enough reasons to forgive him. 

‘but james and sirius hurt others! you ignore all the bad things they did in favour of the good!’ you do the same thing with snape, first of all. second, they did a lot of good stuff. james’ and sirius’ only crimes were being annoying. for being a bit of a dick, conceited, knew they were hot and were a bit entitled. while these things are annoying as fuck, they were also stupid teens that eventually grew out of their behaviour and became better people. not perfect! better. while snape just stayed bitter at the marauders, long after their deaths, and even took his anger out on an innocent child. 

9. people only hate snape because he was poc and queer coded

as a poc and queer person, please stop. this is a very bad excuse. being poc and queer (which im pretty sure he isnt, but anyway) doesnt excuse you from your actions. plus, a huge amount of harry potter readers are poc and lgbtq. why would they hate snape for those reasons?! 

so thats all i got for today. im not gonna go into a deep snily/jily thing because i literally cannot be bothered. anyway im done. i need to go revise, i’ve already spent long enough on this. 

[dracowars]

LOVED YOUR TOM RIDDLE. Can I please request a arranged marriage au where yn is in love with him but he hates her so when she decides to let him go or someone else wants to marry her, Tom finally realises he’s in love with her. happ ending :))))

my heart belongs to you | tom riddle

pairing: tom x black!reader

word count: 3,3k

summary: where tom and y/n are in an arranged marriage

a/n: i'm so sorry for being so inactive recently, uni is taking its toll on me.. i had to do a bit of research for this one and also tom is a pureblood here!

warnings: toxic relationship, violence

universe: harry potter

“Get out of my sight, will you?”, he angrily snaps at you out of nowhere, for the third time already on this still very early day. Furiously, he stomps past you, pushing you to the side harshly, the filled glasses on your tray swaying dangerously. Knowing that you should just leave him alone, you stand there completely frozen at the door, still feeling the breeze on your skin after he stormed past you.

The glasses clink on the serving tray as you try to keep your trembling hands under control, but you terribly fail while tears shoot into your eyes. A lump forms in your throat and you gasp in desperation, losing your composure after hearing the front door slam shut.

Slowly, you slump down and therefore with a loud rattle let happen what could have been foreseen already: a thousand shattered pieces of glass scattered across the floor around you while you cower against the wall, your elegant dress pulled over your knees, your forehead leaning against it. Heavy sobs rock through your body and tears find their way down your cheeks, dripping from your chin onto the expensive fabric of your dress.

You just wanted to spend some time with him. Together, in the house of your parents, who went on a daily trip with their close friends early in the morning, all part of the most notorious popular pureblood families in the wizarding world – the Nott’s, the Macmillan’s, the Malfoy’s, the Lestrange’s. And if his parents were still alive, probably with the Riddle’s as well.

This is primarily the reason why you even are in this position right now; crying and huddled in the living room because your fiancé hates you profoundly.

After graduating from Hogwarts last year, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you, descendant of the pureblood Black family, got engaged to Tom Marvolo Riddle, the last living heir of the Riddle’s. He would offer you a good future, they said, and you would never have to worry about anything again.

But nobody knows that in reality, your own beloved fiancé really does not want to have anything to do with you. He does not even want to stay in the same room as you.

You can’t explain why he acts like this towards you. You do not know why he harbors such an abysmal hatred for you and any clear-headed, rational person would have done something about it long ago. Unfortunately for you, you feel the exact opposite for him.

Your heart belongs to him and only to him.

You have liked him since you first met him at Hogwarts, back in 1938, when the two of you were sorted into the Slytherin house. This initial friendly liking has quickly evolved into something more than that over the years and lead you to where you are now, at a point where you would have never seen yourself back then.

You have already tried everything to convince him that you are not as bad as he seems to think. Every morning you bring him his breakfast, you give him everything he needs. Even when you were still at Hogwarts, you always looked after him, finished his homework for him when he was too busy to do it by himself, and helped him pass all of his exams.

And not once did you hear a thank you. Not then and not now either.

Slowly gathering your thoughts together again, you rub the long sleeves of your velvet dress over your damp face, wiping away all of your tears before you get up on shaky legs and begin to clean up the mess that you have created. After you went back to the kitchen with the broken pieces and some injuries on your hands, your gaze longingly slides out the window.

Outside, the sun stands high over the magnificent garden of the mansion, making the clear water in the fountain shimmer in its bright light. A gentle breeze blows through the air and rustles through the perfectly cut trees that line a small path through the garden.

The loud, excited voices that suddenly roar through the house snap you out of your daydream and you quickly wipe the blood from your fingers before you step into the huge marble entrance hall. You arrive at the front door just in time to open it for your parents, who, to your surprise, did not come back alone. You are amazed to find not too familiar faces in front of you as they climb up the stairs to the door where you are still standing.

“And that has to be Y/N. Oh, how you have grown!”, an older man smiles friendly at you and you return his smile with a certain uncertainty in your face.

“Darling, we brought guests over for dinner today. You surely remember the Lestranges?”, your father announces happily and only now do the faces that you have seen at numerous balls and celebrations seem familiar again. Especially one.

“Reinhard?”, you ask in amazement when you spot him standing behind his parents, a big smile on his face when he sees you.

“Y/N, how nice to see you again”, he grins, carefully pushing his way past your parents in order to slightly bow venerably to you, taking your hand in his to place a kiss on the back of it. “It has been some time.”

“I am sure you have a lot to tell each other”, your mother mentions in a sweet voice, but before she can continue, she watches how your facial expression changes from one second to the other as you look past them, out into the yard.

Next to the carriage with which they have returned, Tom is standing now, petting one of the splendid noble white horses before he joins all of you.

“Tom! There you are, I was already wondering where you went”, your father says, visibly pleased when he too spotted his future son-in-law, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Reinhard?”

“Tom?”

Within a few seconds, the two former best friends lay in each other’s arms, obviously happy to finally see the other again.

“Let us go inside. We want to show you our newest masterpiece of art in our wonderful collection, come on”, your mother announces happily and leads the Lestranges inside, but not without turning around to you once more. “The children can catch up on what they have missed.”

“I can’t believe it! You are really here, Tom. Man, you look even better than at Hogwarts”, Reinhard laughs, playfully pushing Tom to the side while you watch them in silence. “What are you doing here with the Blacks?”

“They kindly took me in”, Tom lies to him and for a moment you think he threw you a glance out of the corner of his eyes after uttering these words. His statement makes Reinhard realize that you were still there with them, who had apparently completely forgotten that you were even there.

“I am so happy to see you again, Y/N!”, he grins and takes a step closer to you, probably to be able to take a closer look at you. “Still just as beautiful as I imagined. And just as smart, I guess?”

Reinhard’s sudden compliments make you blush and your cheeks glow, which is why you nervously avert your gaze from him, directly falling on Tom, who looks at the scene in front of him with incredible resentment.

Unlike Tom, Reinhard was always there for you. You spent a lot of time together in your school days and if your parents had known about your close friendship, you are sure that he would have been your fiancé by now. Which, to be honest, does not sound bad anymore right now.

And yet your heart still belongs to Tom.

When you all sit together at dinner later in the evening, where your parents are talking about irrelevant things like Ministry of Magic, you keep making eye contact with Reinhard, who seems to be staring at you.

“Is there something on my face?”, you ask uncertainly and put your glass back on the table when you can no longer bear his piercing gaze.

“No, no, not at all. I was just wondering how a beautiful witch like you could have become so much more stunning”, Reinhard winks at you, causing you to swallow hard. You are not used to getting compliments, especially not from a handsome young man like him. Before you can answer to him, however, there is a loud clink and you startle, your eyes immediately fixed on the cause of the noise.

The glass, which you have certainly placed far away from the edge, is now lying in your lap, the little liquid that was still inside now spread over your elegant evening gown. You move your chair back in shock when, in the corner of your eye, you see how Tom puts away his wand. And not only did you notice Tom just now, but the rest of them follow your gaze.

“Tom, darling, how about you tell our guests how you and our daughter got to know each other”, your mother suddenly prompts him, not even realizing that he has just deliberately spilled your drink on you. But why did he in the first place?

„I would love to“, Tom puts on a really believable smile that no one but you questions and starts telling them how you met and fell in love with each other. He tells one lie after another, explaining the web of lies that you have spun around you over time to make your relationship as credible as possible, at least in front of other people. And suddenly nobody cares about you or your still soaking wet dress anymore.

“What a wonderful story”, Mrs. Lestrange applauds and everyone else seems to be completely enthusiastic about Tom’s fairytale. To top it off, he then reaches across the table to take your hand in his, just like a real affectionate couple would do.

You lower your gaze as he gently strokes the back of your hand with his thumb, trying your best to not show how uncomfortable you are. Oh, how much you wish that this were real, that Tom would actually treat you like this when you are alone, the same way as he does in front of your parents.

But he does not and deep down you know that he will never do.

“So, you are engaged?”, Reinhard scrutinizes the statement of his former best friend, his eyes focused on you suspiciously, as if he is expecting an answer from you and not from Tom. A slight pressure on your hand makes you flinch and look up.

“Y-Yes”, you force a smile onto your lips, whereupon Tom seems satisfied with your answer, letting go of your hand again with a - what seemed to you like a – disgusted expression on his face.

An uncomfortable silence spreads between the three of you, which is drowned out by the loud conversation of the adults on the other side of the table. Finally, making up your mind, you clear your throat loudly and get up from your chair, gaining everyone’s attention in a matter of seconds.

“Excuse me, I have to go freshen up for a moment”, you explain with a slight polite bow before turning away to leave the dining room.

“Reinhard, would you be so kind and help Y/N”, Mr. Lestrange asks his son, who stands up with furrowed brows, apparently just as surprised about this sudden request as you, but then follows you out into the hallway with no further objection.

“I really do not need any help, thank you”, you try to get rid of him as you walk up the large staircase leading to the first floor together, only wanting to be alone.

“Dinner like these are totally boring anyway”, he chuckles softly and shows no intentions of leaving your side any time soon, which is why you do not even try to search for further arguments. He follows you to your room where you are able to tear yourself away from him to put on a new dress while he waits outside in front of the door.

With an equally elegant burgundy red dress you step out of your room after a few minutes, Reinhard’s eyes greeting you with a sparkle.

“Wow”, he breathes out barely audible and takes you hand without asking to swirl you around, causing your dress to fly around gorgeously. Unintentionally, warmth rises in your face again and your hearts makes a barely noticeable jump inside your chest when he looks deep into your eyes after catching you back in his arms.

The loud clearing of a throat behind you makes you turn around in shock, only to see that Tom himself is now standing at the end of the corridor, not seeming very enthusiastic.

“We did not see you there, Tom”, Reinhard disguises his obvious nervousness with a laugh, acting like Tom had just caught you in doing something he should not have seen. Tom, however, does not even react to his words, but looks past Reinhard at you, his eyebrows raised meaningfully.

But when you do not move under his piercing gaze, his facial expression changes and he quickly approaches you, Reinhard instinctively pushing you behind him so that you can only see Tom approaching further over his shoulder. Before neither you nor Reinhard can say or do anything, Tom has already pulled out his wand and aims it directly at Reinhard, who flies back through the air only a few seconds later, hitting the hard marble floor at the end of the corridor with a thud.

“What the-?!”

“Come with me”, Tom orders, now standing directly in front of you. When you stubbornly refuse, he suddenly grabs your wrist to pull you away from there. No matter how much you fight against his firm grip, you cannot tear yourself away from him as he pulls you into the closest room, which turns out to be the library.

Once there, you can finally free yourself from his tight grip, but before you can reach for the doorknob to leave immediately, he locks the door with a spell. Angrily, you turn to him, despair written all over your stunning face.

“What is this supposed to be, Tom? Let me out of here, now!”, you command him in a loud voice, not caring if anybody can hear.

“What did he want from you?”, he asks you urgently and steps closer to you. Since the door is in your back, every possible escape route is blocked, and you are caught.

“We just talked to each other, you know. Like normal people do”, you answer irritably and cross your arms in front of your chest, not in the mood to justify yourself, especially not in front of someone who does not care about you at all and not after what he has done.

“But that did not look like it.”

“Tom, stop it.”

“You belong to me and nobody else!”

These words coming out of his mouth echo loudly through the dark library, his face wrapped in an eerie candlelight. Before you can even control yourself and fully process what he said, you severely slap him.

Frightened by your own horrible deed, you immediately pull your hand away, your gaze filled with fear, but the anger that keeps building up inside of you winning the upper hand after all.

“How dare you call me your property?!”, you scream in rage and tears form in your eyes because of your uncontrollable anger. However, Tom needs a moment to collect his thoughts after your heavy smack before he can answer you.

“You are my fiancé”, he spits out coldly, a touch of shock in his voice, apparently not expecting you to react like this.

“And that does not make me nowhere near your property! You never treat me like your fiancé anyway, so why now all of a sudden?!”, you bicker at him, your voice loud and constant, even though you would like to flee from this situation right away if you were able to.

But Tom does not have an answer.

“Fine, okay. If you have nothing to say to me, like you never have, then I will go back now and ask my parents to end this damn failed engagement and engage me with someone else who truly cares for me!”

Suddenly, without letting you time to catch your breath after your outburst, he presses you with your back against the door completely, his hands tightly grabbing your wrists, a little too tight for your personal liking.

“You mustn’t do that”, he softly whispers, his head lowered as if he does not dare to look you in the eyes.

“What is stopping me?”, you hiss, still full of anger and – probably for the very first time – hatred towards him.

But when you feel his lips on yours all of a sudden, all of these emotions evaporate and all that remains is your racing heartbeat, which is being repaired at this very moment. You never would have thought that at some point in your life the moment would come when Tom Marvolo Riddle, who absolutely loathes his fiancé, kisses you.

After kissing you, he looks straight into your eyes, and the Tom you met in 1938 is standing in front of you again. The Tom you fell so deeply in love with.

“I can’t explain it to you”, he finally breaks the silence, his gaze directed to the floor as he moves away from you, giving you enough space to breathe regularly again. You, however, do not say anything but just stare at him.

“I was not aware that I am capable of feeling such feelings for someone. I am unfamiliar with this feeling and I did not know how to deal with it, Y/N. I treated you badly because I did not want it to be true, I did not want to accept it. I could not imagine having feelings for the little nuisance that has always been running after me”, Tom explains, choosing each and every single word very carefully, trying to put his emotions into words which does not really work the way he would like it to. But that is how you know him. You know that this confession must be extremely difficult for him, but you can’t help but feel a sense of relief inside of you.

“When?”, you ask and manage, with this tiny little word, to make him look up at you. “When did you know?”

“Since I have been here. You served me every day and took care of me, even though I wanted to push you away from me with all of my might. You have already helped me so many times in the past without me even asking, you have always accepted me for who I am”, he desperately tries to but his feelings into words, asking himself what he is even doing right now.

“Tom..”

“No, I have to sincerely apologize to you. I had no right to treat you the way I did. And also today.. when I saw you with him and how well you got along, it finally became clear to me. Reinhard has felt something for you since our school days, I know that even though I could never understand, but now I do. I understand why he fell in love with you”, Tom continues without breathing, pouring out all of his feelings that he has hidden for so long.

“I understand if you want to dissolve this engagement and I will not stop you if that is what you want”, he quickly adds, looking at you with desperation in his eyes. He already prepares himself for the worst when you are the one getting closer to him this time.

“Idiot”, you smile slightly and place a gentle kiss on his lips while he looks at you puzzled. “I love you, I thought you knew that.”

“I know, but-“

“But nothing”, you interrupt him and take his hand to lead it to your fast pounding heart. “It always belonged to you.”

[helle-bored]

got a new world in his view

For the @drarrymicrofic prompt: fresh, ~1100 words. I was absolutely inspired by this picture by @upthehillart. Thank you @softlystarstruck for the beta!

--

Harry knows, intellectually, that Draco is Teddy's cousin. Harry has even seen the two of them in the same room together, last Christmas at the Burrow, when Molly had invited quite literally everyone and their mother; even Narcissa, somehow, who had gracefully and perhaps wisely declined the invitation, but nevertheless delivered an enchanted apple pie via Draco that managed to generate five pies' worth of pie. ("Enough to poison us all," George had said dourly, ignoring the serving knife Narcissa had sent in favor of plucking his second piece out of the dish with his fingers.)

This knowledge that Draco and Teddy are related and might actually have cause to spend time together does nothing— not a damned thing — to prepare Harry for wandering into Andromeda's living room and finding it occupied by Draco, pacing sedately by the large windows overlooking the backyard, with a curly blue head resting against his slender shoulder and a small arm slung over his back.

"Er, hey," Harry says eloquently. By some miracle it comes out fairly quiet, which means his ability to operate on instinct must not be affected by the white noise building in his brain over the way his boyfriend’s biceps fill out their sleeves while he cradles Harry's godson. "Is Andromeda..."

"Shopping," Draco mouths, with a pointed glance down at Teddy, and then he leaves Harry and returns to pacing by the windows, humming softly as he goes.

Wordlessly, Harry retreats into the fresh green-walled kitchen and starts the mechanical act of making tea, waving his wand at the kettle and absentmindedly taking out two mugs from the golden-paneled cabinet. Something warm and yearning has taken up precious real estate in Harry's chest that otherwise might have been used by his lungs, and maybe that's why he feels vaguely light-headed.

When the tea's ready, Harry heads into the living room. He casts a stasis charm on one cup, leaving it on the end table where Draco will see it, and then settles on the sofa and waits for Draco to make his way back across the room.

As Draco gets closer, Harry can see that his shoulders have started to round inwards. He must be growing tired; Teddy might be small for his age, but he's still over two years old and getting heavier all the time, and Harry wonders how long Draco has been carrying him.

Draco stops in front of the sofa. Leaning backwards with one forearm still supporting Teddy's bottom, he lifts his other hand from Teddy's back and mutters along to a complicated gesture that looks like it should be familiar but isn't, and then Harry is hit with the actually familiar sensation of being dropped in a sound-proofing bubble.

"There. Now it's just us," Draco announces in an aloof, casual voice, as if he hasn't just cast the most intricate version of muffliato that Harry's ever seen, somehow bending the contours of a proximity-based spell to exclude Teddy like water flowing around a rock.

"We both know you only show off like that when you want in my pants," Harry says. He levels his gaze at Draco over the rim of his mug as he pretends to sip his tea.

A pleased smirk crosses Draco's face. "Potter, I would never. Not in front of the baby," he says archly, and Harry finds it oddly comforting to discover he's not the only one struggling to accept the fact that Teddy hasn't been a baby in at least a year.

"Right," Harry says in a dry voice. Setting his mug down on the hardwood floor, he leans back and sinks into the sofa, stretching his arms overhead until they touch the wall behind him. A faint current of air brushes against the hairs where his jumper's ridden up below his bellybutton: Draco's eyes drop to the exposed strip of skin, and then his tongue wets his lips, like he's fucking thirsty, and Harry nearly chokes on a laugh. He stretches one last time — mostly out of spite — and stands, ambling the few steps over to Draco.

"Why don't I take over before you hurt yourself," he says. The words come out even better than he'd intended, low and warm, bringing a flush to Draco's fair cheeks.

"He might wake up," Draco warns, but Harry only sidles beside Draco and slips his right arm between Teddy and Draco's chest, gently hooking the boy toward him, his other arm replacing Draco's to support Teddy from beneath. Teddy makes a small noise and then settles against Harry, as if all he's done is roll over in his sleep, and Harry grins wryly.

"I honestly didn't expect that to work," he comments, as Draco carefully extricates Teddy's pinned arm and rearranges it to drape loosely around Harry's neck.

Draco gives an airy snort. "And I would have left you to it. I've put in my time. You think he's sweet now, but he did bite me earlier, the wanker."

"You can't just call a fucking baby a wanker, Draco," Harry says, amused.

"You can't just fucking swear in front of a baby, Harry."

"He can't fucking hear me, can he."

"Then it doesn't fucking matter," Draco hisses.

Harry knows he shouldn't be laughing — his chest is moving too much — but he can't help it, and Draco is clutching his shoulder and ordering him to stop and threatening him with violence if he wakes Teddy, and Teddy is stalwartly sleeping on, and Draco is turning red, and there are tears in Harry's eyes, and this. This is what he wants.

Teddy brings out the best in both of them. Teddy is new and the world is new to Teddy; he'll see it with fresh eyes, a world where Harry is just Uncle Harry and Draco is just Uncle Draco. A world where the lightning on Harry's forehead and Draco's chest are just lines for little fingers to trace, and the hard things from the past are only stories. A world without all the weight they're both forced to carry while they navigate the curse-pocked minefield of trying to love and forgive each other, fraught and frustrating and brilliant as it is, with moments like this.

It's alright if they can't let go of all of it, Harry realizes. They'll get as far as they can, and Teddy will let go of the rest for them.

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