#going to my office and disinheriting you core

[eleonorebirk]

Little Blessing

Harry stepped out of the door of the little cottage he’d bought, planning to enjoy the early morning sun before he had to go get ready for Auror training. He stopped short, staring at the step. There was a baby. A baby in a basket. He hesitated a moment, then pulled his wand, checking baby and basket for any traps or other spells.

Nothing. Just a baby in a basket. Left on his doorstep.

That was not suspicious in the least. He looked the basket over for any hint who might have left it there. The only thing he found was a piece of parchment.

‘Please keep her safe.’ Nothing else. The writing was smudged and untidy, as if whoever wrote it had been in a hurry.

“Harry?” Ginny had noticed him still standing in the open door. She’d been spending the night again, to start figuring out how she would make the cottage their home, as she liked to say. “What’s the matter?” She came closer. “Oh.”

“What am I supposed to do with her?”

Ginny shrugged. “Take it to the Ministry. They can deal with it.”

He nodded. “You’re right.” Hopefully they would be able to find the little girl’s family and figure out why she had been left on his doorstep.

 “Harry! Oh, who’s this little darling?” Hermione greeted him when he arrived at the Ministry. It seemed she had also just arrived. It was not unusually for them to encounter one another in the atrium in the morning. His training as auror and Hermione’s in the different departments started around the same time in the morning.

“I have no idea. I found her on my doorstep this morning.” He showed her the short note. “I’m taking her down to the Auror Department, see if they can figure out where she’s come from and who left her there.”

Hermione frowned. “On your doorstep?”

He recognized the tone of her voice. “I figured they’re trying to manipulate me, yes.” Thanks to Rita Skeeter, everyone knew now how he had been left on a doorstep after his parents died and they could imagine that he would not abandon a child left on his doorstep. He looked down at the little baby. “I figured I’d take her down with me and let the other Aurors figure out who she is and who left her with me.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Harry ignored everyone’s eyes on him. He was unfortunately familiar with the sensation. He kept walking until he reached the middle of the Auror Department, then he carefully placed the basket down on one of the desks.

“Potter?” Gawain Robards, the Head Auror, came out of his office when he noticed the commotion as everyone tried to catch a glimpse of the child. “What’s going on?”

“She was left on my doorstep. And I have no idea where she’s come from.”

“There is no chance she might be yours?” Robards asked.

Harry flushed. “No, impossible. I haven’t... I’ve been careful.” In fact he had not had sex with anyone in a while. Ginny had offered repeatedly but the few times he had taken her up on it, he’d used a condom and a contraceptive spell to make sure.

“Is there a way to find out who her parents are?” Hermione asked. “A DNA test or an ancestry test, perhaps?”

“What is a DNA test?” Robards asked but then changed his mind. “Never mind. Jones, take it to Gringotts and have them make an ancestry test.”

Harry stepped back, letting Kerry Jones take the child. His fingers twitched, wanting to reach for the basket again. It was silly, he knew Jones would not hurt a child or allow it to be harmed but, after everything he’d gone through at Hogwarts, he had a hard time trusting people.

 “Any news?” Hermione asked as they met up for lunch. Neville and Ron were there as well. Ron was training with him to become an Auror while Neville was in an apprenticeship with Pomona Sprout. That meant he was normally at Hogwarts but he tried to join them regularly.

Harry quickly filled the other two men in on what had happened this morning, then answered Hermione. “It’s strange. The ancestry test showed nothing but she has magic.”

“A Muggleborn?” Hermione asked.

“Then how could she get to my home? There are spells on the property to keep Muggles away,” Harry pointed out.

“There is another possibility,” Neville said. “It might be that the ancestry test showed nothing because she has been magically disinherited. It would fit with the new patient at the Janus Thickey Ward.” He looked around, noting the confusion on Harry’s and Hermione’s face and the way Ron avoided looking at them. He sighed. “There is a... practice among some very old-fashioned purebloods – light and dark, mind you – to not directly disinherit a girl with too much magic to be considered a squib but too little magic to be trained at Hogwarts.”

“Like Merope Gaunt.”

Neville nodded. “The families hope that the girls will ‘breed true’, as they call it, and have magical sons with a powerful wizard.”

“‘Breed true’?” Hermione repeated. “You mean...?”

“They’re not asked if they want to have a child with them, yes. They’re pressured or potioned usually. It’s possible that she ran when she gave birth to a girl instead of a male heir and the parents then disinherited her and the baby.” Neville took a sip from his water. “When I was visiting my parents today, healers were talking about a young girl who had been disinherited.”

“I’ll tell Jones, she can interview her.”

Neville shook his head. “She won’t be able to. She was so weak magically that the disinheritance damaged her core. She’s unconscious and unlikely to wake up again.”

“That can happen?” Hermione demanded to know.

“It’s very rare today. Few families do it anymore and those that do would never admit to it, the practice is not considered acceptable.” He snorted. “Of course it’s not because of the poor girls but because of the shame of having to resort to that.”

They all grimaced.

“If we have a potential mother, they can do a DNA test,” Hermione said. To Ron and Neville, she explained: “It would prove that she is her daughter.”

“You can suggest it,” Neville said. He doubted however that the Aurors would care overly much.

 “Have you found out anything?” Harry asked Jones as he prepared to go home that evening.

“No and we won’t. I talked to an Unspeakable about that DNA test. We can prove that the patient at St Mungos is the mother but not who they are. The disinheritance changes their genes so a DNA test would not work.”

“What will happen to the baby then?” Harry asked.

Jones shrugged. “We’ll drop her off at an orphanage.”

“There are magical orphanages?” Harry had not heard about that before.

“Oh no, we don’t have any of those. We’ll drop her off at a Muggle orphanage.”

“I thought she has magic.”

“So?”

Harry frowned. No, he was not abandoning her to the Muggle system.

 “What were you thinking?” Ginny shrieked. She had never reminded him more of her mother than in this moment.

“I thought that a Muggle orphanage is not equipped to deal with a magical child,” Harry said. “So I volunteered to take her.” And didn’t it say a lot about the ‘care’ the magical society showed for children, that no one had asked if he was able take care of her properly?

“What about us?” Ginny asked.

“I realize that we’re young. And I should have asked you before offering to adopt her –”

“You want to adopt her?” Ginny interrupted. “That would give her the same rights as any child you and I have.”

“Well, of course.” Harry didn’t understand why she was so worked up about that.

“I’m not going to raise some other woman’s child,” Ginny said. “She’ll take up space, time and money that should be for our family.”

“Ginny, you know I inherited quite a bit from my parents and from Sirius. Even with another girl, we won’t have to worry about money.” In fact even if he decided not to work, they would still have enough to live comfortably.

“And that money should be for us and our children, not some freeloading freak.”

Harry froze at her words. “Get out.”

“What?”

“I said get out! Now!” He watched her toss her hair and apparate away, then dropped heavily into an armchair. He could not believe what Ginny had said. Didn’t she understand that he could not abandon a child? Didn’t she understand why her calling that innocent little baby a freak was unacceptable to him? He had told her about the Dursleys.

“Harry?”

He looked up at Hermione’s voice. “‘mione?”

“I was at the Burrow when Ginny came home,” she explained.

“What did...?” Harry trailed off, uncertain how to continue.

“Ron agrees with her, says you should concentrate on building a family with Ginny. Molly thinks you’re too young to make such a decision and should give her away. Arthur’s on your side, at least.”

“Now what?”

“Now we gather information,” Hermione said. “I can ask my parents. But we should also ask a wix, someone who knows how to deal with a magical baby.”

“How about we talk to Neville? He might know something or be able to point us to someone.” The only witches they knew better, aside from Ginny and Molly, were Luna and Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda was still grieving and raising Teddy and Luna, well...

Neville readily agreed to step through the floo when Harry called him. “Veeny!” he called after listening to their story. A female house elf popped into the room, looking at him expectantly. “Please get everything needed to take care of an infant.” When she was gone, he turned back to Harry and Hermione. “Veeny is a nanny elf. She bonded with my family when my mother fell ill soon after my birth. She’ll know what this little darling needs.”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I’m not sure yet. I know I want to adopt her.” Harry paused. “I’ll have to change my career, right? I can’t work as Auror as single parent.” He smiled at Neville. “Perhaps you can take my place in training.”

Neville shook his head. “I’m not interested in becoming an Auror. I’ve come to accept that I’m not my father. He was an Auror, yes, but I know now that I have to find my own path and live my life, not theirs.” He noticed Harry flinch slightly. It confirmed a suspicion he had had when he’d learned that Harry was dating Ginny and planned to become an Auror. “Harry, have you ever considered what else you can see yourself doing?”

“No, not really. Umbridge sat in on my career advice meeting and McGonagall supported my becoming an Auror.”

“Which subjects did you enjoy the most?” Neville asked. He had an idea but he did not want to influence him.

“Charms, Transfiguration. DADA when we could get a competent teacher.”

“Broom making companies will be eager to hire you, I expect. You’d have to start out as test flyer since being broom maker requires at least basic arithmancy knowledge, but you’d hardly be the first wix to learn arithmancy after graduation. You could apply for a Charms apprenticeship, work for one of the companies or shops selling charmed objects. Not jewellery, mind you, the goblins are far better at working with metals and it requires advanced knowledge of runes and arithmancy. You could join Hermione in getting to know the other branches of the Ministry, if you can stand working for them. Or you can come with me to Hogwarts. Either to have the other professors give you proper career advice – they know more about the requirements and options than I do – or to get trained to teach DADA.” Seeing Harry staring at him, eyes wide, he smiled slightly and added gently: “Or you can just wait a bit. You’re not dependant on a job, so you can take your time before deciding.”

“I need to give it some thought.”

“Of course. I’ll check with my grandmother if there is anything to consider with the adoption, but it should be as simple as intentionally accepting her and naming her family.” Given how Harry was refusing to put her down, Neville suspected that he was already well on the way to accepting him into his family.

 Harry sank back in his armchair with a sigh, gratefully accepting a bottle for Mara and a cup of tea for himself from Neville. He smiled briefly at him and took a sip, then concentrated on his daughter. Amaranth Liliana Potter was doing well. Nothing remained to remind either of them of how she had come into his life.

“Long day?” Neville asked.

Harry sighed. “They had me hold the lesson for 7th year Gryffindor and Slytherin on my own today.”

“I understand.”

Harry knew he actually did, they shared that experience after all. He had gone with him to Hogwarts to talk to the professors. Headmistress McGonagall had finally offered him the necessary training for him to become professor for DADA and he had accepted. The other professors had also offered their help in watching Mara while he had lessons. Veeny was also a great help. Harry was happy that Neville had insisted on her serving as Mara’s nanny. She really was a great help.

Contrary to what Ron and Ginny had thought, he did not regret the different path his life had taken now. In fact he found himself happier than he had been in Auror training. He had been trying to life his father’s life, the life that had been cut short because of a prophecy about him, he knew that now after some conversations with Neville. And that was another thing. In the year he was back at Hogwarts, he had talked more to Neville than in the six years they had been in Gryffindor together. They spent a few hours every day in either of their apartments, correcting essays or just talking. Mara liked Neville as well. When he and Pomona had been away for a week-end to get new plants from the continent, Mara had been rather grumpy.

“Have you written to Hermione already about the week-end?” Neville asked.

“I talked to her briefly in my free period this morning. She wants to meet up in Hogsmead.”

Neville nodded in understanding. “Less chance of running into Ginny or Ron.” Ron and Hermione had broken up soon after Harry and Ginny. Harry knew that his decision to adopt Mara and change careers had been one of things they had fought about but Hermione had told him clearly that their relationship had been getting worse before that.

“She’s been to that event with the other European Ministries, right? Do you think she met someone?” Harry asked.

“Hannah and Susan hinted at it.” Hannah occasionally helped out in the infirmary as part of her practical training. Her fiancée Susan worked at the Ministry as well and had gone with Hermione.

“It would be nice for her to have found someone. I know she gets lonely sometimes.”

“What about you? Are you ready for a new relationship?”

Harry looked down at Mara. “I guess. I’m just not ready to go out and look for someone. Not that I have time, between my apprenticeship here and Mara.”

“Do you want to? Go out and look for someone, I mean?”

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally he said: “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you would like to go a date with me?”

Neville smiled. “Friday night? My rooms? That way you’re not far from Mara.”

“It’s a date.”

[camorrsthorn]

Hi, I'm kinda new here, and so I mostly have just seen the art of your OCs? (Which is awesome, btw.) But I was wondering if you could give, like, a basic outline of who they are and maybe their universe? (Bc worldbuilding is ALWAYS cool.) Thanks! (And again, love your art

aaa thank you!! i have. a lot bear with me lmao but. i’m gonna put this under a cut because Oh Dang That’s Too Many

video game ocs: holy moley that’s a lot

tarris, relic, kharza gra-durza, serindil, riandil, vhesryn, saaji and zhakka are all from elder scrolls!! 

tarris is a bosmer thief/assassin who’s actually real bad at fighting and is probably half magpie, don’t wear jewelery near her she will Have It

relic is a bosmer vampire who is an asshole. he’s awful. he knows magic but mostly likes to Stab. he exists in the same world-state as tarris and kharza and probably a few others 

kharza is an orc warrior who’s like the only lawful good character i have, whoops. she sometimes turns into a werewolf and mauls people but that’s a minor character flaw. she’s a big gay

serindil is an altmer mage!! very very much a glass cannon. they were with the thalmor embassy in skyrim until they... sort of defected?? they’re still an ass tho

riandil is a bosmer scout!! he’s from eso so i’m not sure exactly how he fits into the world state, but he’s a big ball of sunshine. he likes very very bad puns and responding to altmer supremacy by acting real stupid until THEY look stupid. he’s great

vhesryn is a dunmer assassin but he’s also a big ol’ dick. he’s a vampire too but mostly a dick. his hobbies include being an asshole and stabbing people, also dancing

saaji is a khajiit thief and very pure good person. she;s good. she’ll steal your things but she’s good she’ll prolly give em back. really just wants a warm spot in the sun, very very tired of almer

zhakka is a redguard warrior and former pirate!! i love her. she scowls a lot and looks grumpy but she’s grinning inside just all the time. you know those people who say the most ridiculous funny shit with a totally stoic face?? that’s zhakka

spring and bishop are from fallout

spring washington is Soft. she’s a soft soft person. she likes plants and photography, but also she was her school’s boxing champion pre-war and won trophies for shooting, and likes to keep a switchblade on her at all times. met her husband when he had to drag her off some creep. she just wants to make the world a bit brighter!!

bishop is. bishop. he’s my courier and he’s??? the worst. he’s obnoxiously lucky and knows it, and very charming despite the amount of times he puts his foot directly in his mouth. he’s good at heart but also does what seems good/fun/cool at the time??? “hey bishop when is the last time you washed” “i dunno when did it last rain” “i don’t want to travel with you any more”

i have a whole lot of dragon age ocs bear with me

rasha tabris is Angry. i once described her as a wildfire in a very pretentious thing i didn’t post but it’s apt!! she stayed with the wardens because duncan was the reason she could kill vaughn, and the reason she wasn’t killed for it. she died fighting the archdemon because there was no way she was trusting some human, and died spitting and cursing

katia brosca’s main personality trait is Spite. people told her she could only be this this and this because casteless, so she did absolutely everything she could to prove them wrong. a lot of her loudness and bravado is a front to protect herself, but not all of it

hildr aeuducan’s middle name is duty. she does the job she’s got to do, and does it well. she doesn’t really Do sentiment?? and she’s never once but her own opinions over what’s best. she left behlen on the throne despite. everything

cian mahariel is Ridiculous. they spend half their time in trees despite having broken at least one bone on every part of their body falling out of them, and are Always Smiling

niketas surana lives on his nerves. his skills include flinching, stammering, going beet red if anybody looks at him for too long, and falling a little bit in love with anybody who’s nice to him. he’ll very very gladly swallow all his fear to protect people though, and repeatedly put himself between templars and scared younger mages while still in the tower. would die for jowan, frankly

vinnora lavellan is a sweetheart!! she just wants to be nice to everyone, and frankly deserves better than she got. she never wanted to be inquisitor, but figured she could at least use the position to help people who needed it, and tried to

noah shepard is my only real mass effect character worth talking about!! she’s a Delight and i love her. she’s paragon to her core, and goes out of her way to help people or offer a shoulder, but she’s absolutely not afraid to speak her mind or tell assholes to get fucked. she’s very very tired and full of guilt and regret. please let her sleep

d&d ocs!! are they ocs technically. i’m counting them i love them

dáithí lathlaeril is a half elven wild magic sorcerer and the only one i have actually played!! they’re half of a set of twins born to a high elven noblewoman and her human husband. they accidentally burned down their family library after overhearing their mother agree to essentially disinherit them, and have been an adventurer ever since. they have Lots of emotions always, and swing between “i’m inherently superior to all of you and also have cool magic” and “oh god i’m the worst i’m pathetic is my magic even good” and it’s terrible. please give them a hug. their name is pronounced DAH-hee

dáimhín lathlaeril is the other twin!! she left home to go be a bard but attracted an archfey with her singing, and wound up a warlock. still pretends to be a bard tho. she’s obnoxiously charming and knows it, and is WAY more relaxed and happy go lucky than their twin. she’s still pretty prissy tho. her name is pronounced like DAH-veen. also she’s not a girl, she’s nb!! like her twin. “finch that wouldn’t happen” haha what i can’t hear you

zeerith is a drow rogue!! he had just the worst life but is So Good at pretending he didn’t. what do you mean he’s almost certainly traumatised and emotionally messed up, he’s smiling, see?? trust him. he really really hates killing and would much rather talk his way out of trouble, but isn’t at all above hurting people to defend people?? also he’s very handsome and charming, focus on that. no don’t ask him if he’s ok. very very prone to talking someone to death if given half a chance

most of my actually original characters are from the same world!! it’s tag is “untitled a” because i don’t have a name for it yet lmao. there’s also a bunch of gods to go with these guys but i don’t even have names for them yet so lmao

fionn is prolly currently my most developed character from it. he’s an elf, which is fairly rare, and a magic user, which is rarer. he doesn’t care tho. he’s an ex-soldier who deserted after some very bad stuff happened, and he’s just trying to keep his head down. the god of luck and fate took a shine to him tho, so that’s not going too well. he uses his magic to make people think he’s much better at playing music than he is, but he could do Very cool things. he won’t tho

sabre is also an elf, but she’s a thief and very happy about it. she’s tiny and literally always ready to fight. she’ll fight anyone. she’ll Win against anyone. don’t fight sabre she jut doesn’t stop. she’s got a pretty strict Code tho, and won’t steal from anyone who can’t afford it, or fight anyone who can’t fight back. technically steals to give to the poor but also keeps a lot. she worked for that ill gotten gold!! she’s one of the two people who got “chosen” by the twin gods of the hunt, which she’s pretty stoked about. she’s got a tattoo honoring one of the twins

zarifa is the captain of an as-yet unnamed ship, and a totally legitimate merchant sailor. no pirates here absolutely not haha what’s that officer nope no illegitimate goods either, trust her. she’s got a good heart but also she’s pretty practical, and ensuring her own survival and the survival of her crew trumps morals every time. she’s the “chosen” of the god of the sea, which is an incredibly mixed bag

sylvie pike is zarifa’s first mate, but not nearly as professional. she likes to have fun, and insists on dragging zarifa with her. she’s got a much thicker accent than any other member of the crew, and makes it impenetrably thicker when she wants to be difficult. she’s not as good at overcoming her conscience as zarifa is

billie shaw is possibly my oldest current oc, holy shit. they’re kind of the odd job person aboard the ship, and also sing shanties and (badly) play the accordion. has a big big soft spot for kids. also hates shoes. what the fuck billie. put some boots on you ridiculous human being

sara tillman is possibly the only ordinary person on board the ship. she’s the ship’s doctor, despite being easily the youngest person aboard, and despite having only ever operated on her family’s farm prior to being hired. she’s got like ten siblings and loves all of them very very much

there’s also a handful of others from this universe who aren’t nearly as fleshed out yet, other than the gods, but they aren’t fleshed out!! “finch neither are any of the people you’ve talked about” [sweats]