#his wand works best when she takes off her dress

[damsel-in-mistress]

The sheer amount of fic potential - and from the man himself! 💚🫶🏼 "Half-naked in the library with Hermione" 💚🫶🏼

[justagalwhowrites]

New in Town - Ch. 9: Second New Year

Ringing in the New Year after you and Joel's first year together. The last chapter of New in Town, found in its entirety on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Best Friend's Dad!Joel Miller x Female Reader

CW: Smut :D. No use of Y/N. Age gap (reader is 35 Joel is 47, not a focus of the fic). Minors DNI, 18+ only

Length: 6.3k

AO3 | First Chapter | Previous Chapter

“Sarah, if you don’t stop fucking with that it’s never going to stay,” you said, glaring at her in the mirror as you drew on eyeliner. 

“It’s driving me insane,” she groaned, leaning so close to the hotel bathroom mirror that she was fogging it with her breath, adjusting the false eyelashes for what had to be the millionth time. 

“Yeah, because you keep fucking with them,” you said. “You have to give yourself time to adjust to them. Or just take them off because I’m not spending half the night fixing them for you, drawing the line in the sand now.” 

“You are absolutely no fun,” she said but she smiled all the same. “It’s New Year’s Eve, I want to look extra good. Plus Nick thinks the long lashes are hot and I am ready for hotel room sex.” 

“I didn’t hear that,” Maria called from the bedroom where she was putting on her dress. 

“Hotel room sex, hotel room sex, hotel room sex!” Sarah called back. 

You laughed, picking up your mascara. 

“I don’t think it works like Beetlejuice where you say it enough times it just shows up.”

Sarah laughed back. 

“Fuck I hope not,” she said. “Really don’t want to manifest hotel room sex in front of my aunt and my mom.” 

She said the last word with a drawn out teasing edge and you had to pull the mascara wand away from your face so you didn’t end up with makeup in your eye from laughing so hard. 

“Swear to God if you don’t stop calling me that I will marry your dad just to spite you,” you said once you calmed down again. 

“You’re basically already married anyway,” Sarah said. “For the record, I would be fine with it.” 

You paused for a second, putting more mascara on the wand and looking at her in the mirror. 

“Yeah?” You asked. 

“Yeah,” she smiled at you in her reflection. “But don’t expect Mother’s Day gifts from me if it ever happens.” 

You snorted, returning to your makeup. 

“Better get a bouquet, box of chocolates, the whole nine for holding your hair when you get drunk.” 

You couldn’t believe it was already New Year’s Eve again. The last year had gone by so fast it didn’t seem like it could have contained quite as much as it did. But you’d spent almost the entire time so blissfully happy that it made sense that the time felt so damn short. 

Things with Joel had been going so well before Sarah found out that it was hard to believe it could really get better, but it did. Not feeling like you were hiding from the most important person in both your lives was like losing a weight you didn’t even know you were carrying. Neither of you were dancing around talking about how you were spending your time now, not being careful about what pictures you sent her and not having to just pretend like a huge part of your life didn’t exist when talking with her. 

When she went back to Seattle after Thanksgiving, the three of you started having weekly FaceTime calls, you and Joel sometimes on your couch or at his kitchen table or even in a hotel room in New Orleans once when you decided to get away for your first trip together as a couple. 

That Christmas had been the best you’d ever had. Not that there was much competition but Joel and Sarah both had completely brought you into all their holiday traditions. The driving around to look at Christmas lights with a thermos of hot cocoa, the annual trip to Mi Tierra in San Antonio so you could properly appreciate the Christmas lights that apparently were up year round. When Sarah came back to town a few days before Christmas, she dragged you and Joel to the mall and made the three of you take a picture with Santa. You got some funny looks in line - three full blown adults with nary a kid in sight - but Sarah whispered something to woman getting ready to take the picture and she smiled and nodded, helping the three of you get arranged for the photo. You sat lightly on one of Santa’s knees, Sarah on the other, Joel leaning against the side of the large chair. Joel insisted on getting the actual printed photo and, when you picked it up, they also handed you a candy cane and a small Santa figurine. You frowned at it for a second.

“First Santa visits should be commemorated,” the woman behind the counter smiled. “Merry Christmas!” 

You looked at Sarah for a second, worried you might cry and she smiled. 

“You have a Christmas decoration now,” she said. “But if you really don’t want it at your place, we can add it to the Christmas village at Dad’s!” 

You just hugged her and she laughed, hugging you back. 

That Christmas, the figurine and the picture sat on the book shelf in your living room, right where you could see them from your couch. The perfect image of the kind of life you’d always wanted to have, one that was filled with people who loved you. 

This year, the figurine and picture were at Joel’s because you were, too. 

Your lease was up in the fall and, by that point, the two of you were having a hard time remembering the last time you’d slept apart. You were wondering how to broach the subject with Joel - did you just ask if you could move into his house? Was not quite a year of knowing each other too soon? Did you just find a new apartment and never mention it? - when he brought it up one night over dinner. 

“Your lease is comin’ up soon, right?” He asked and you froze for a second, a bite of enchilada on your fork half way to your mouth. 

“Yeah,” you said when you remembered how to move and respond again. “Six weeks I think? They want me to decide whether or not I’m staying within the next two…” 

“Have you thought about if you might want to move in with me?” He asked, his jaw tense but his eyes soft. “Only if… you know… you thought you were ready for that. Just figure I’m at yours or you’re at mine most nights anyway and…” 

“Joel,” you smiled, setting your fork down and leaning on the table with your arms crossed in front of you. “Are you asking me to move in with you?” 

“Only if you wanted,” he said quickly. “Not tryin’ to… I dunno… put pressure on you or something. Never tried to do this before so…” 

You pressed your lips together, trying not to laugh. More at yourself than at Joel. Because of course he was thinking what you were thinking. Of course you were in the same place on this. Of course you were both nervous about bringing it up to each other. 

“I’d love to move in with you,” you said once you were sure you had yourself together. “As long as you’re offering because that’s what you really want and not because you think you should.” 

“Oh I want it,” he was smiling now and leaning toward you across the table. “Was considering just taking stuff from your place and moving it to mine, get you in the door before you even knew it was happening.” 

“That what happened to my sexy underwear?” You teased. 

“Nah,” he waved you off. “I stole those to jerk off with when you’re not there because you don’t live with me yet. Can have ‘em back when we unpack the moving truck.” 

You moved in a few weeks later. Joel cleared out most of his closet, his jeans and button downs taking up only a small corner of it to begin with, and built you shelving for your purses and shoes. He made space for your things throughout his home, for your favorite pots and pans in the kitchen, for your decorations in the living room. Setting aside the bits and pieces of his life to make sure it could hold yours, too. If he’d asked you to marry him in that moment, you’d have said yes in a heartbeat. 

“Oh shit,” you sighed, rifling through your makeup bag. “I think I left my fucking lipstick in my room…” 

You went to get your room key from your clutch but Sarah plopped a tube of lipstick in front of you first. 

“Use mine,” she said. “I’m almost ready and I don’t want to waste time with you up down three floors and all the way over to your room before we go to the party. I want cocktails, I want music and I want to flirt with my hot boyfriend while I wear a slutty dress.” 

“Maria is still getting dressed, I’ve got five minutes…” 

“No you don’t!” She called from the bedroom before coming to the bathroom door and turning around. “Zip me?” 

You laughed and obeyed, Maria adjusting the dress a bit before turning back around. 

“Hey sexy mama!” You whooped at her. “That looks like it was made for you.” 

“Right?” She flung her long braids over her shoulder before admiring herself in the full length mirror on the bathroom door. “My pregnancy boobs have shown up but the bump is still in hiding. It’s the perfect dress moment, had to take advantage of it.” 

“Hear that little one?” Sarah said, looking toward Maria’s lower stomach. “You’re making your mom look hot!” 

“Hotter,” you corrected. “They’re making their mom look hotter.” 

You settled for Sarah’s lipstick and the three of you headed for the elevator to go meet up with the guys. 

Your first New Year’s Eve with Joel had been far more low key. Sarah was in town and Joel invited Tommy and Maria over to watch the ball drop. You’d ordered pizza and gotten drunk and played charades with your boyfriend’s family and, at midnight, kissed Joel so deeply that you could taste the champagne on his tongue. 

This year, you had plenty to celebrate. It was Maria and Tommy’s last one before they became parents - you highly doubted they’d be up until midnight next year. Sarah had gotten promoted and you’d gotten her a job at the Austin branch in August. She had moved back to town just a few months before you moved in with Joel and the three of you had found a comfortable - if unusual - dynamic as a family. And it felt like you had finally found everything you’d ever truly wanted. 

Instead of staying home this New Year’s Eve, you all decided to go to a party at one of the nice hotels in Houston. You’d all gotten hotel rooms so no one had to drive and the boys had all gone on ahead to the rooftop bar to hold a table while the three of you got ready to go. 

“Crap, one sec,” Sarah said, frowning at her phone as the three of you went for the elevator. “Left something in the room, wait for me, OK? I don’t want to try to find them on my own!” 

You and Maria watched her run back to her room - where the three of you had been getting ready - and you frowned as she tottered on her high heels. 

“Is she acting weird?” You asked as Maria leaned against the wall. 

“Sarah?” Maria laughed. “She’s always weird.” 

She came back a few minutes later, tugging her dress down as she went and a little breathless when she got there. 

“OK,” she smiled and took a deep breath. “Now we’re good!” 

You were almost giddy as you rode the elevator up to the party, feeling the thud of music through the elevator doors before they opened. 

It was hard to say why you were just so excited. It wasn’t like you’d never been to a party before - you and Sarah had rung in the New Year at a party a lot like this one that your office had handled the advertising for in Seattle one year - but it felt like something new. Like you were stepping into the first year of your life where everything had finally fallen into place. 

“Hey!” Tommy yelled, standing and waving his arm over his head as he saw the three of you leave the elevator. You could barely hear him over the thud of the bass. “Over here!” 

“How many beers do you think he’s had?” Maria asked conspiratorially and you laughed. 

“Probably the same number mine has,” you replied, smiling at Joel as he craned his neck to get a better look at you. 

“Holy hell woman,” he said, getting out of the round booth as you got to the table. He pressed a kiss to your cheek and dropped his voice low. “Not sure I’m gonna take that dress off you later, might need to leave it on.” 

You smiled as he gave you a squeeze and you sat down, Joel sliding in beside you, one hand of his going below the table to the inside of your thigh. 

One thing that hadn’t changed in the last year was just how insatiable the two of you were for each other. You kept waiting for it to calm down a bit, to stop looking at him and immediately start thinking of how to get him alone and naked as quickly as possible. But Joel was still the single sexiest man you’d ever seen and was still far and away the best in bed. You couldn’t help but want to fuck him all day every day. You were just thankful he seemed to feel the same way about you. 

One of your favorite things about living with Joel was your after work routine. When you managed to make it so you left the office around the same time Joel left his job site, you’d join him in the shower, your hair in a knot on top of your head to keep from getting too soaked, Joel still a little sweaty and dirty from a hard day’s work. Sometimes, you just enjoyed each other. You loved the quiet intimacy of it, of being in such a private space together in just your skin, helping him wash the day from his body before he pulled you against him under the water. Other times, Joel pressed you against the cool tile and fucked into you, hard and fast and eager, making your back arch as your leg wrapped around him, the heat of his mouth and the steam filling you when you kissed him. 

The new routines had just given you more reasons and opportunities to fuck, it seemed, instead of sex getting lost in the monotony of daily life. Sometimes it was in the middle of late night TV when you were both getting tired on the couch. Sometimes it was when you were putting away laundry. Sometimes it was when you were making dinner. 

It was just that, sometimes, it required… additional boundaries. 

Sarah had a key to Joel’s place, of course, but she quickly learned that she needed to announce herself before just coming in the door when she wasn’t expected, her walking in the house without warning when he was deep inside of you while you were draped over the kitchen counter was a little too close for comfort for all three of you. 

“I have literally never wanted to know less about your sex life,” she shuddered a few hours later when you were sitting in Joel’s back yard, fully clothed with a beer in your hand. 

You laughed. 

“Never wanted you to know less about it so that works just fine for me.” 

You, Joel and Sarah all had dinner together at least once a week, another routine you’d come to love, and you got Sarah all to yourself most days over lunch, happy for the chance to laugh with your best friend.

You weren’t sure life could get much better. 

“Oh sweet!” Sarah said as the waitress came by the table, tray of drinks in hand, passing a cosmopolitan to Sarah. “Who knew this was just what I wanted?” 

“Happy to take credit for that,” Nick smiled, kissing her cheek and you smiled at him. He was a relatively new addition to Sarah’s life but he seemed promising. You’d never seen her quite so giddy over a guy before and you were trying not to mention it so you wouldn’t jinx it. 

When she finally owned up to being hung up on the man, though, you were going to start teasing her as relentlessly as she’d been teasing you. You were getting double wedding jokes lined up and ready, waiting for the perfect moment to hit her with it. 

But it was a holiday. You’d take it easy on her for a little while longer. Assuming she stopped calling you Mom. 

Joel had been paying attention too, it seemed, and the server handed you a mojito. Appropriate, since you’d just been lamenting the fact that you didn’t have fresh mint at home just two nights before. 

“How often are you really gonna muddle mint for a drink?” Joel asked, barely contained smile on his face. 

“At least once in a while!” You laughed. “Come on, we could do a whole herb garden in the yard…” 

“You are not gonna keep a garden alive.” 

“Yes I will!” You protested. He raised his eyebrows at you, incredulous. “If I have the motivation of cocktails I will.” 

“Fine,” he sighed but still smiled, kissing your forehead. “In spring I’ll build you a garden and you can kill as many herbs as you want, Beautiful.”

“Is this supposed to bribe me into you not making me a garden?” You teased, taking a sip of the drink. 

“Baby, I will make you whatever makes you smile,” he kissed your exposed shoulder. “But if I’m saving the lives of some poor, innocent plants by ordering you a cocktail…” 

You laughed and kissed him, the scratch of his facial hair on your skin comforting and familiar. 

The party really picked up not long after you got there and you, Sarah and Maria went to dance while the guys hung back to talk for a bit. 

“You don’t think they’re being too hard on him do you?” Sarah asked, watching the table. 

“Oh I’m sure they’re being super nice,” you said. “Joel and Tommy have never been protective of you, not once.” 

“Oh God,” she groaned but she smiled. 

“Wouldn’t worry too much,” you laughed. “It looks like he’s weathering it well.” 

“Hold on,” Maria smiled and shook her head. “We can get him some help…” 

She started waving to Tommy, who clapped Nick on the shoulder and got out of the booth to join his wife on the dance floor. You looked at Joel, eyebrows raised, until he met your gaze and you saw him sigh and smile before heading your way. 

You put your arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing tightly to him and feeling every line of him through your clothes. His hands went to your waist, pulling you closer. 

“You tryin’ to distract me?” He asked when you pulled away. 

“Trying to get you to play nice,” you teased. 

“Always play nice,” he said as you turned around in his hold, your ass going back against his hardening length. He lowered his lips to your ear, his breath hot on your skin. “Except when you ask me not to.” 

You resisted the urge to drag him back to your hotel room right that second. Instead, you pressed yourself harder against him, moving your body in time to the pulsing, thrumming rhythm. His hands slid to your hips and you couldn’t help but think of how they felt on your bare skin. 

But you managed to keep it together for a few songs, dancing until you were breathless and you really couldn’t take it anymore. You draped yourself around Joel again, pressing your lips to his ear. 

“Order me a water and another mojito,” you said, your hand sliding into his pocket, brushing his half hard cock through his jeans, as you grabbed your phone. “And check your texts.” 

You didn’t give him a chance to respond, just meeting his wide eyes for a moment before slipping into the crowd. You went around to the pool area of the rooftop, far quieter than the bar and the dance floor, the lounge chairs all stacked up next to a storage space that looked like it would provide the perfect cover from the dance floor. You took a selfie with just a glimpse of the thudding party in the background and texted it to him. 

“Come find me.” 

It didn’t take him long, coming around the corner while glancing back over his shoulder, looking nervous. You grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him into you, your back against the storage room. 

“You are up to no good,” he said, pressing you back against the wall, his mouth covering yours, his body warm against the cool night air. “Tryin’ to get us kicked out of the damn hotel?” 

His hand went to your breast, anyway.

“We can keep our clothes on,” you panted against him. “Be very well behaved. Like that time in the bathroom.” 

“Fuck, Beautiful,” he groaned, putting his thigh between your legs, your skirt covering part of his jeans. He rocked his hips against you, his hands going to your waist, the outline of his hard cock against your stomach. “Wanna make me come in my pants like a fucking teenager?” 

“Don’t think we’re making it to midnight any other way,” you were needy, aching as you ground your pussy down on the straining muscle of his leg. 

“Still gonna let me fuck you later?” He kissed down your neck, rutting harder against you, your hands on his shoulders, grip tightening. 

“You think I’m starting a new year without you inside me as soon as possible you’re insane.” 

He laughed a little and nipped at your collarbone before pulling you tighter against his leg, making you moan. You started working yourself harder and faster against him, pulling him tighter to you, your wetness soaking your panties. 

“You’re close, aren’t you, Baby?” He asked, voice dark. Your motions stuttered but you nodded frantically against him. “Gonna come all over my fucking leg aren’t you? Come from just riding my fucking thigh?” 

You were close enough that you’d lost the ability to speak. You just nodded again and he kissed you, hard and messy and deep and you pressed yourself firmly against his leg as you fell apart, the tight coil inside yourself snapping as your clit throbbed against him. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He gasped as he pressed his cock hard against you and you felt him throbbing there, spilling into his jeans before slumping against you. His nose brushed yours for a moment and you smiled, kissing him lightly. 

“You’re going to kill me,” he laughed a little breathlessly. “More than a year into this and you still want me to fuck you so bad you’re dragging me away from a party?” 

“That’s nothing,” you teased. “Wait until we’re really old and we’re finding ways to sneak around the nursing home.” 

He laughed and kissed you again. 

“Love you so fuckin’ much.” 

It was easier to focus on the party after that. Tommy gave Joel a look when you made it back to the table and Joel told him to mind his own business and you laughed and drank your mojito. 

By the time midnight rolled around, you’d been pleasantly tipsy for more than an hour, draping yourself over Joel at every opportunity when you weren’t dancing with Sarah and Maria. As the countdown started, the six of you crowded onto the dance floor with everyone else, champagne in hand, Joel’s arm around you as he held you to his side. 

“Three, two, one!” 

Joel turned you to him and kissed you before you’d even had a chance to yell happy New Year and you sank into him, almost forgetting about the drink in your hand until some of it dribbled down your wrist, making you laugh against his lips. 

“Couldn’t let a second of the year go by before I kissed you for the first time,” he said, his lips still close to yours. The knot of heat and wanting that had eased after your antics earlier was back with full force. 

“Good,” you said quietly, drinking in the hungry look in his eyes. 

“It’s supposed to be a toast, you insatiable weirdos,” Sarah laughed and you laughed back, separating from Joel far enough to raise your glasses and toast with your new found family. 

It wasn’t long before all of you made your way to the elevators, piling into one with a handful of strangers, you happy for the excuse to stay pressed tightly against Joel. 

“Good luck!” Tommy said, a teasing edge to his voice when the doors dinged open on your floor. 

You frowned at him, confused, as the doors closed and you laughed a little as Joel led you back to the room. 

“Why do you need luck? Is Tommy under the impression that you have to work to get sex out of me?” You teased. “Because it’s sweet that you’d protect my honor that way but we both know that’s a damn lie.” 

“Tommy’s just a dumbass,” Joel replied. “Ignore him, that’s what I do.” 

You laughed, the tail end of your buzz waning. 

“Thinking we should take full advantage of that jacuzzi tub,” you said as Joel unlocked the hotel room door. “And use it to research the investment of a hot tub in the back yard…” 

“You’re insatiable,” he teased, opening the door for you. 

You laughed and were so busy looking at him - his thick, dark hair that was flecked with gray; his plush lips; his soft eyes - that it took you a second to realize there were roses and petals all over the room, a bottle of wine chilled in a bucket on the small table. 

“Joel?” You looked back at him and he just shrugged, smiling. 

You went further into the room and realized that it wasn’t just flowers and wine. There were framed pictures of you and Joel from the last year of your lives together. One of the two of you on Bourbon Street, another from when you decided to actually take those wine tasting classes you’d talked about, one from your second Longhorn’s game. There were at least a dozen, each one making it look so, so obvious that you made each other happy. That you gave each other the lives you wanted. 

You picked up the picture by the bedside, the first selfie you’d ever taken together. You were hiking and you’d held your arm out far enough to try to capture some of the view behind you. You were smiling hugely at the camera, hair grimy with sweat, Joel’s arm around your shoulders. But he wasn’t looking at the camera. Instead, he was looking at you. Looking at you like you were the only thing worth looking at. Looking at you like you made him happier than just about anything else on Earth. 

“What…” You trailed off, looking up from the picture to see Joel, on one knee with a box in his hands at the foot of the bed. 

You gasped and jumped, your hands covering your mouth on instinct, eyes wide. Your feet moved before you really realized what was happening and it seemed sudden that you were right in front of him.

“Joel,” you breathed, trembling hands slowly leaving your face. 

“For a very long time,” he said, his voice assured. “It felt like I’d gotten the only good thing I was going to get out of life. I had Sarah and seemed wrong to ask for more than that so I wasn’t lookin’ for it. Wasn’t lookin’ for you. But then I found you - or you found me, anyway - and I realized just how good life could be as long as I got to live it next to you. 

“You are the single best person I’ve ever met. You’re so smart and funny and creative and kind and the most fun I’ve ever had and I can’t imagine anything better than getting to live the rest of my life with you. Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?” 

***

Joel wasn’t sure his heart had ever beat this fast. Maybe when Sarah was first born and there were the torturous few seconds of silence before she started crying, not sure how anything about pregnancy or babies worked. Definitely never since. 

But the silence between you seemed to drag on for an eternity even though he knew it could have only been a second or two. That didn’t stop his heart from racing. 

“Yes,” you nodded, your voice thick, tears in your eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, yes yes!” 

You damn near tackled him and he laughed, catching you and holding onto you as he lowered the two of you to the ground on a bed of rose petals. 

Joel, Tommy and Nick had been in here getting everything set up while Sarah and Maria kept you busy in Sarah’s room. There was a brief moment of panic when Sarah texted that the three of you were headed to the party and Joel had to ask her to buy at least two minutes because they were walking to the elevator themselves. 

“I’m so happy for you, man,” Tommy said, clapping Joel on the shoulder as they headed up to the party. “You deserve this, you really fuckin’ do.” 

“She ain’t said yes yet,” Joel said, feeling the nerves all sudden and hot under his skin. “Don’t jinx it.” 

“She’ll say yes,” Tommy said, sounding so confident. “Don’t ask me WHY but that woman adores you. She’s gonna love it.” 

He hoped you did. He hoped you loved the idea at all, that you loved the proposal, that you loved the ring. Sarah had helped pick that part out so he was more confident of that, finding a piece that was elegant without looking dated, something that he hoped you’d like wearing for the rest of your life. 

Because that’s what he wanted. He wanted you, wanted to make you happy, for the rest of your life. 

He slid the ring onto your finger, the diamond catching the light as he did. 

“Are you serious?” You asked, looking from the ring to him. 

“Serious about spending the rest of my life with you?” He asked. “Can’t think of anything better.” 

You threw your arms around his neck and kissed him, hard and needy. He leaned into it for a moment before he pulled back from you. 

“Should move to the bed,” he breathed. “Gotta treat my fiancee right.” 

You just nodded quickly and Joel got up before helping you to your feet. 

He tugged your dress up and over your head - as much as he wanted to fuck you in the sexy little thing you’d been tempting him with all night, the need to feel your skin was too great - and eased you down onto the bed. 

You moved to the middle of it and Joel got undressed, his eyes watching you hungrily, the glint of his ring on your finger making him somehow even harder. You removed your bra and cast it aside before you slipped your panties down your legs and tossed them to the side, leaving you exposed and bare. You were everything it seemed like he’d ever wanted and you were his, the proof of it right there on your hand. He fisted his cock, pumping himself once, twice, as he climbed between your legs. 

He wanted to make this last. He wanted to go down on you and swallow your pleasure until you were screaming with it. He wanted to kiss every inch of your skin. He wanted to tease you with his fingers until you were begging for his cock. But he wasn’t sure he could, not that moment. He had a feeling you wouldn’t be leaving the bed for a few days after this.

“Joel,” you panted, watching him, pupils blown and back arched. He smiled. For some reason, you wanted him like he wanted you. 

“Yes, Mrs. Miller?” He breathed, settling between your open legs, the apex of your thighs hot against his skin. You moaned and rocked your hips up against him, your needy little clit pressing into his skin. 

“Fuck,” you moaned, closing your eyes, fingers gripping his bicep tightly. “Love the sound of that…” 

“You have no idea, Beautiful,” he said, kissing you, grinding his cock against your dripping slit. You moaned, the movement of your hips stuttering for a moment before you adjusted the angle so the tip of him was catching on your entrance with ever pass, just enough for the most sensitive part of him to be enveloped in your tight, wet heat. 

“Need you,” you were almost gasping with it, desperate and wanting. “Please, please, need to feel you, I need…” 

“Always going to give you what you need, Baby,” he said, his cock dipping further into you this time before he pulled back and pushed himself against your clit again. “Always gonna take care of you, always.” 

He pushed into you then, firm but not to fast, your breath catching on your throat as he did. Joel kissed you, trying not to think about how damn good you felt, how it seemed like he belonged right there, deep inside you. 

“Fuck,” your nails dug into him but he held on. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good how do you feel this fucking good?” 

He could only moan in response, fucking into you, feeling you open up to him, your walls gripping him tight. He stayed still inside you for a moment, savoring it, the feeling of you around him while he was over you, the way you held onto him. 

But he couldn’t last that way for long. You - his fiancee. His fiancee, no one else’s, you belonged to no one but him - felt too damn good for him to last too long inside of you and he had to move, he had to. 

So he did, starting a little slower but still firm, pressing his hips into you so your hot little clit was against his skin. 

He could feel you starting to tighten around him, like your body was trying to pull him deeper somehow, your lips messy and desperate when they found his, trialing little kisses over his body when they don’t. 

“That’s it, Beautiful,” he panted into you. “Come for me, can feel how close you are, just let go for me, let me feel you. Need to feel you…” 

You gasped his name and pressed your whole body tight against him as you came around him, your pussy fluttering around him, working his cock, all warm and soft trying to pull him as deep as you could take him. He fucked you through it, hardly able to hold off his own orgasm, the aftershocks of yours still rippling through your tight channel when he emptied himself into you until he didn’t even have the strength to hold himself up anymore, collapsing on you, his head over your shoulder so he could smell your skin and your hair. Fuck, he loved that smell. Fuck, he loved you. 

After a minute, he adjusted the two of you so you were draped over his chest, your arms all soft and pliant, close enough that he could feel your heartbeat on his skin, feel your soft, little breaths on him. You held up your left hand, turning the ring back and forth in the light. 

“You’re sure about this?” You asked, glancing up at him as you fidgeted with the ring. 

“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything,” he said. “Would make you Mrs. Miller tomorrow if you’d let me.” 

You laughed a little at that, putting your hand down on his chest and taking a deep breath. 

“Doesn’t seem fair,” you said softly. 

“What doesn’t?” 

“You’ve given me so much,” you said. “You’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted - everything. Feels like I’m not holding up my end.” 

“You kiddin’ me?” He scoffed. “You’re so perfect I have to remind myself that you’re real sometimes, that I’m not just imagining you. You make me the luckiest man on Earth every damn day by just breathing in the same room as me. If anything’s not fair, it’s that I got too greedy asking you to marry me. Should know to quit when I’m this far ahead.” 

You laughed and pressed your lips into his chest, looking at the ring again, twisting it this way and that with your thumb. 

“Make you a deal,” you said, adjusting your head so you were looking at him. 

“What’s your proposal?” He asked, teasing. 

“You take care of me,” you said. “Make sure I’m not getting too overwhelmed or overdoing it at work or just getting too in my own head. I’ll take care of you, make sure you take time for yourself, make sure you relax, make sure you know how great you are. Deal?” 

He smiled a little. 

“Deal, Mrs. Miller.” 

You smiled bigger. 

“Excellent, Mr. Miller.” 

He kissed your forehead. 

“Don’t have to change your last name, you know,” he said, giving you a squeeze. “I can always just call you that for my own damn enjoyment without making it official.” 

You laughed a little. 

“No, I want to change it,” you said. “Sarah was right all along. I think I’m going to make a great Miller.” 

A/N: Ahhh! I hope you all loved reading the story of Joel and Sarah's best friend as much as I loved sharing it! These two are so fun and so sweet, I'm so glad I got to give them the happy ending they deserved.

Thank you so so much for being here, for following along with this little story that started as a one shot based on a request that came in after I wrote another one shot as a request. I so appreciate that you're here, that you've spent your time with this fic and these characters and all of your support. This corner of the internet means everything to me and it's because you're a part of it <3 Love you!

Taglist: @fanficismydrug

[onlymingyus]

Hallmark Moment: Daddy's Day

pairing; kim mingyu x f reader

genre; fluff, slightly suggestive

warnings; dad!mingyu, mom!reader, kids, mention of reader's mom, slightly suggestive conversation at the end, pregnancy

w/c; 1.7k and some change 

requested; no

hallmark moment ONE (fluff) & TWO (fluff/smut)

a/n; this is probably the last of the hallmark moment series. i just needed to write something sweet and happy. i wasn't planning on posting anything or writing anything but i needed it. i hope you enjoy it. the header was clearly the inspiration, but the cake of course has nothing to do with the story so just work with me here.

A small, exaggerated gasp escapes the young girl’s lips as she rolls over the couch with a toy foam sword in hand. Amy laughs as she bounces off the cushion finding it only slightly difficult to get to her feet so she can point her sword in the direction of where she and Mina had deemed the evil wizard was. 

“Back, back I say! You’ll never take our daddy from us.” 

Mingyu grins to himself, reaching up to adjust the plastic crown that Mina had placed there a few minutes before. The ring on his pinky just barely fit on his finger to his first knuckle but it seemed to make both his daughters happy. He had let them put on both earrings and the necklace without any sighs of a fuss.

Days like this were Mingyu’s favorites. It had been just over six months since the adoptions had been finalized making Mina his, and Amy yours. Days like these reminded him how important that had been to you both when you had spoken your wedding vows not only to each other but to each of the girls just over a year ago. 

With a laugh, Mingyu reaches out to catch Mina when she steps back stumbling over the rug in her valiant battle with the unseen wizard. The small girl grins from ear to ear, melting his heart as he helps her back to her feet so she can continue her task. 

Instead of a sword, Mina had chosen to brandish the magic wand that had come in the princess dress-up package that Mingyu was now wearing most of. With a flick of her wrist, Mina points with the silver and blue wand dramatically. 

“Your magic is no match for mine. I’m the best, right Daddy?” 

Soft, beautiful eyes that were the same shade as yours look to Mingyu for validation. There was no way he couldn’t respond properly. 

“Oh, absolutely sweetheart. You are the best I have ever seen with magic.” 

Amy giggles at her dad’s words, her sword slicing through the air with more flex than necessary. The sword was showing its age but she didn’t seem to mind, just simply enjoying her time playing. 

“And what about me?” 

Mingyu smiles brightly matching Amy’s smile. Shaking his head, Mingyu takes in a deep breath extending his arms out towards the girls with the same dramatic acting they had been using the entire afternoon. 

“I’ve never felt safer knowing you and your sword is in front of me Knight Amy of the House of Kim.” 

With seemingly renewed confidence both girls charge at the imaginary evil wizard as Mingyu watches with amusement in his eyes. It’s only when the girls cheer at their own victory does he join in clutching at his chest at how they had saved him and his kingdom. 

“I knew I could count on my brave protectors. Once again my kingdom is safe.” 

Mingyu laughs when both girls run over to him to pounce on him smothering him with hugs. His arms wrap around them letting them curl into his form so they can already begin to gossip amongst themselves about how well they did. Taking the wand from Mina’s hand, Mingyu sits it on the couch behind him only to do the same with the foam sword. 

Moving into the living room as silently as possible, you can’t help but smile at the sight in front of you. Your eyes move with the movement of Mingyu’s fingers pushing through both of the girl’s hair as they babble excitedly about some kingdom, wizards, and a princess. With your hand resting on your lower back you move into the room catching Mingyu’s attention first granting yourself his bright smile. 

“Hey, beautiful.” 

At his words, both of your daughters spring into action clambering from your husband’s side to move to hug you as best they can. Your own smile seems to warm the room making Mingyu take in a deeper breath as if he could inhale the happiness and keep it forever. Neither of you would get tired of his, seeing each other with the girls, seeing them happy like this. 

“Hi, Mommy!” 

“Mommy, oh my gosh. We saved Daddy from a wizard. We saved the entire kingdom!” 

Your sweet laugh causes Mingyu’s smile to move toward his eyes. You were so attentive, he watches as Amy and Mina lead you to the armchair helping you to sit down so they can start to recount the entire story. How Princess Daddy was trapped in his tower by the evil wizard and Knight Amy and Sorcerer Mina found him and took care of the evil. 

Glancing at Mingyu, you simply bite at your lips giving him a good once over with his crown, Mina’s wand now between his fingers as he lets his hand hang over his knee. He was the best father for your children that you could have ever asked for. The thought of him like this was enough to make you feel warm and for your heart to beat faster. 

“I am so glad you saved Princess Daddy. I love him very much and would have been so very sad if something had happened to him, but look how lucky I am that I have you two to keep him safe even when I am away. I love you both.” 

You watch as both girls seem to swell with pride at your words feeling like they are on top of the world at making you happy and keeping the house safe while you had your evening away from the house. Leaning to press a kiss to each of their cheeks you laugh against Mina’s skin when you hear her try to hide a yawn. 

“Being a hero is very hard work. I think it’s time for bed.” 

Mingyu watches you for a moment, your hand moving to the arm of your chair as you start to try to stand only for him to move more quickly.

“Please, let me put my brave heroes to bed tonight. Say goodnight to Mommy.” 

Letting out a relieved breath you smile up at Mingyu who winks at you before you have both girls draped over you. Your arms wrapped around them you give them more kisses whispering how much you love them and for them to sleep well. 

Mingyu glances back at you mouthing that he will be back soon, his hands gently guiding both girls toward their room and finally into their beds. Leaning down over Mina’s bed, Mingyu presses a kiss to her forehead making her smile. 

“Goodnight sweetheart. I love you.” 

Mina wiggles further down into her covers, her small hand reaching up to caress her dad’s cheek making the man lean into the gentle touch. It still amazed Mingyu how much someone so small could make him melt so easily. 

Reaching up, Mingyu removes the crown from his head placing it on top of the girl’s head smiling at the sound of her laugh. Moving his eyes and then his feet towards the other twin bed, Mingyu takes Amy’s hand into his own lifting it to his lips to press a kiss to each small finger before grinning at hearing another sweet laugh. 

“I love you, Daddy. I’m really glad we saved you.” 

And I love you too. You can save me anytime, but you know I’d do the same for you, right?” 

Amy smiles tiredly, her eyes beginning to close as she nods causing Mingyu to laugh softly. Slipping the ring from his pinky he puts it onto her index finger before leaning to press a kiss to his daughter’s cheek. His words whispered against her skin making her smile as she drifts off to sleep. 

“Goodnight, angel.” 

Mingyu only lingers in the room for a moment, his eyes moving from one bed to the other. He wanted to make sure both of his daughters were safe and comfortable. Soft happy sighs and snores told him that they were and that it was okay for him to pull the door shut and return to you. 

Seeing you still sitting in the chair, your left hand moving slowly over the swell of your stomach causes Mingyu to stop in the archway. He wished he had his camera handy. He wanted to capture little moments like this forever. 

Swallowing hard, Mingyu takes a step causing the floorboards the creak drawing your attention and making you smile when you see him reaching up to take off the last of the jewelry the girls had placed on him earlier. He only stops long enough to drop them onto the couch before moving next to you leaning down to press a soft lingering kiss to your soft lips that seem to make you lose your breath. 

“I missed you, but I hope you had a good evening with your mom. You deserved a break, baby.” 

His words were spoken against your lips, making you smile once again. Your fingernails gently scratch over the nightly stubble at his jaw causing Mingyu to grunt as he pulls away to look at you. Moving to stand in front of you, Mingyu lowers himself to sit on his heels so he is more level with your still-growing belly as your eyes move over his face. 

“I missed you too, and the girls. I’m glad you had fun with them, but I did need it.” 

The last of your words come out as a small laugh when you feel Mingyu’s hand run over your stomach, tickling you even slightly. A small whispered apology slips from his lips before your husband leans to kiss your stomach and rest his chin against it lightly to look up at you. 

Your fingers run through his hair gently, you tilt your head to look at him lovingly. You loved moments like this. You loved how much he clearly loved you and your family. How much, Mingyu loved the little boy the two of you had made together now growing inside of you. Shaking your head, you smile running your fingers along the side of Mingyu’s face and feeling him lean into your touch before he speaks. 

“Let me run you bath?” 

Nodding, you bite your bottom lip as Mingyu turns his head to press a kiss to your palm. 

“Only if you join me.” 

Mingyu smiles against your hand before nodding in agreement. 

“I’d love to, beautiful.” 

please note that I am doing my best to tag -- tags are now down in reblogs -- all of you who have filled out the tag list form but tumblr won’t let me tag some of you. I think that is because either you have tags turned off or possibly a blank tumblr page. consider reblogging some of the fics you like from me or other writers. ♥

© onlymingyus - all rights reserved. Reposting/modifying of any fic, or pieces of original writings posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations not allowed. 

[midnightmayhem13]

marvel women headcanons

heyy first writing post! also before u bring up wands and nat they have a bunch of fics already but i'll accept request for them🩵

carol danvers:

GOLDEN RETRIEVER LESBIAN

always gives you her jacket when ur cold

loves having her arm on your shoulder

randomly picking you up bridal style

obviously dom

she brags about how great you are and how beautiful you look all the time

very protective

will death glare anyone that looks at you wrong

goes absolutely crazy if you wear a dress to tony's parties

asks you to dress her if you have good style

loves to gives you neck kisses and hold you from behind the waist

she always gives you love-bites

when you get dangerous missions she tries to take them but fury never lets her

loves cuddling you when she's off of work

big spoon

stares at you all the time

sometimes it's lovingly sometimes it's possessively

other than fury you're the only one on the team she really trusts

always wants to be with you

missions were you guys are separated, that take longer than 3 days are torture for both of you

she loves making you super flustered

matching outfits at tony's parties

asks you to dress her if you have good style

loves to gives you neck kisses and hold you from behind the waist

she always gives you love-bites

when you get dangerous missions she tries to take them but fury never lets her

loves cuddling you when she's off of work

big spoon

stares at you all the time

sometimes it's lovingly sometimes it's possessively

other than fury you're the only one on the team she really trusts

always wants to be with you

missions were you guys are separated, that take longer than 3 days are torture for both of you

she loves making you super flustered

you two give eachother the corniest nicknames

you get really hot at night since carol is basically a heater plus the blankets plus goose who always is next to you, between you or even sometimes on top of you

always as her hand on you thigh while she drives

carol loves coming home to you and is glad to have you

darcy lewis:

she's the type of girl to randomly bite and poke you

having to constantly wipe her lipstick off of you

always bringing her coffee the second she asks for it

she's deff a needy switch

darcy has a big sweet tooth so you guys constantly bake/buy cookies and brownies

she trusts you with her life but she gets super jealous super easily

but she's the most beautiful girl in your eyes

she steals ALL ur clothes

sometimes u find her in ur hoodie, sweatpants, and socks

she looks super cute in it

you guys obsess over cats and send eachother cat memes

you two make a very attractive couple

everyone loves you two

playfully stealing her glasses

but jumping anyone else who does

making sure everyone calls her Dr

loves to sit in ur lap while u work or in general

always cuddling

super fluffy relationship

so many kisses omg

cheek kisses nose kisses forehead kisses

all the kisses

best dates every bc she's super creative

very needy nd demanding, will randomly say "cuddle me" or "kiss me"

clingy in a good way

jaming out to taylor swift (don't deny it she's a swiftie)

slow dancing to lover in the refrigerator light

always ur plus 1 to tonys events

nd ending up drunk then making out in front of everyone

darcys the best gf ever

sharon carter:

•sharon's super protective nd possessive (lil obsessive too)

you always have hickies

very passionate make out sessions

she's a rough and dominant top but can ease up

sugar daddy vibes

will literally kill any man or woman that tries to touch you

has started a bar fight cuz some guy couldn't get his eyes off u

puts her hands under ur shirt to pull you in for a kiss

very touchy

ur her weakness

turn her on by literally doing nothing

she craves ur body close to her

ur way less protective but hate when girls check her out

she finds it hot when u get mad

a lot of pda

after a stressful day she loves to just lay on ur chest while u stroke her head

matching outfits to her clubs/events

if ur on the avengers u keep her identity as the power broker a secret

you two are the biggest feminists

having a very private relationship (from avengers)

her body guards know to keep you safe

massaging her shoulders when she's at her desk pulling her head back to give her a kiss while doing it

being the only one who can calm her down when she's stressed and mad

trying not to lash out on each other when work has u frustrated

still being able to act like partners in crime/best friends

she makes you feel safe and she really trusts you

nebula:

ur the only person she likes

like other than maybe gamora

ur the only one on the team who's seen her smile

u always tell her it's super adorable but she always tells you to shut up

touch deprived baby

after u break her walls and it's not super awkward she loves to cuddle and loves ur touch

a big cuddle bug

she loves to be between ur thighs and laying her head on ur boobies/neck

if u have boobs shes obsessed with them

she also likes a good butt

but she's really just happy to find someone who actually loves her

she's still surprised that u actually love her

she ADORES when u gently rub her head, but won't admit it

holds u by the waist all the time

likes to pull u against her chest and place her chin on ur head

TALL EMO GF

nebula gives the best hugs since she's a giant

u wrap ur arms around her neck and hers around ur waist

she's veryyy protective over you

she hates when quill looks at you too long

she blames herself if you ever get hurt

constant reassurance, u don't mind

loves making out

anytime anywhere

u on her lap, standing, against a wall

she loves to hold you in her lap in general

nebula desires ur praise

doing the marvel forehead touch when you confess ur love for each other

she loves touching you because u are very soft, warm, and squishy to her

for being one of the deadliest assassins in the galaxy she's really soft with you

always so gentle as if you're glass she could break

nebula is really glad to call you her partner/gf

she doesn't like when people look at you to long or touch you at all

you're hers and only hers

maria hill:

•she has a big soft spot for you

very protective of you

like doesn't want anyone too close to you

only her

she doesn't like when other people touch you

she seems tough in front of people but when it's just you and her she's the most affectionate person ever

you admire her a lot during work and people often snap at you to get ur focus

she stares at your ass a lot

sometimes she throws you over her shoulder and slaps your ass

during meetings or in general she teases you by putting her hand on ur thigh and slowly rubbing up and down

if you wear skirts she slowly starts riding her hand up ur skirt

she loves to tease you

holding hands while walking around

maria loves being the small spoon but you can't tell anyone that

wraps her arm around ur waist often

you fix the collar of her uniform

making sure to pay extra attention to you while ur on a dangerous mission

always makes sure u feel comfortable at social events

you guys do a lot of pda in front of the team just to annoy them

slow dancing at home in pajamas way too late at night

maria just always wants you to be safe

kate bishop

she's a nervous reck around you

very whipped for you

yelena makes fun of how she gets around you

kissing in the rain

going to her archery competitions

cuddling with her and lucky

dancing in the snow

having movie nights with lots of pizza

always needing some form of physical contact

head kisses and forehead kisses are ur guys' thing

making out when you guys get bored

clint is very protective of ur relationship

taking lucky out on walks with her

swinging ur joined hands when you walk

comforting her when her mom got arrested

clint's kids love you two together

clint also approves of you being with kate

he knows you'll treat her right

tending to her wounds

tickle and kisses attacks

she loves hugging you and swaying

on your guys' night time walks you have the deepest conversations

you guys have talked about ur future together

if u play an instrument/sing or are involved in a sport she comes to all ur shows/games

she loves telling you all about her and clints" missions

she tell them over and over again but u don't care, she looks so happy

one of ur love languages is taking cute pictures

u both just need eachother and u both know

hey guys hope i did them justice nd hope you enjoyed! i'll be doing stuff like this with alll the ladies on the page or focused on one of them but thank you for reading🩵

[dittanyinbloom]

Fate Aligned

This is a bit strange for me to post here, but it is a second part to this George Weasley x fem!reader fic I made on an old account. Sebastian Sallow heavily influenced me with ideas for a part two. If you want to know why George and reader aren’t going to the Yule Ball with everyone else, read that one first! It’s cute! I promise!

George Weasley x fem! reader. Rated T for a brief make-out session and a few curse words here and there.

summary: You and George manage to lose a total of eighty house points on the night of the Yule Ball which you were not planning on attending because George gave all his money for dress robes to Fred so that at least one of them could go.

(also, the lockets mentioned in this are a little Easter egg for a SebastianxMCxOminis OT3 fic I may or may not be working on called Lover’s Lockets. It’ll probably come out in early summer, but the inspiration to write this first hit me like the Hogwarts Express)

.🍬✨🍬

The younger students that were not able to attend the ball had long since traveled home for the holidays. With everyone else draped in their best and headed for the Great Hall, you and George had the castle to yourselves. The possibilities were endless. Should you sneak into the faculty tower and see what the professors’ rooms looked like? Perhaps you would break into the Headmaster’s office and search for priceless Hogwarts artifacts. Maybe the librarian left the key for the Restricted Section at her desk while she was whisked away to the ball.

Of all the places they could go, George had chosen not only the most boring, most dangerous, but also the most unromantic of them all. Filch’s office was just off the Entrance Hall, which happened to also lead to the Great Hall. Only a couple sets of doors separated the two from being caught.

“Must this be done tonight?” You whispered from behind a giant Christmas tree that decorated the center of the Entrance Hall in front of the doors that lead outside. The Grey Lady was weeping at a statue perched on the upper tier, just a few feet from the door to the Reception Hall where you would find Filch’s office as well as a few stragglers taking a breather outside the Ball.

“They’re candies. We need to get them back and sell them before they go bad. This might be our only opportunity. When else is he going to be this distracted? He bought Ms. Norris a new collar. They’ll both be at the ball.”

“And we’ll both be in detention if your plan goes wrong, which they often do.”

“No, those are always Fred’s plans. Mine work like a charm,” and as he said the last words, he waved his wand and disappeared. The disillusionment charm was something you were becoming to be quite familiar with as of recently. Two boisterous redheads may or may not be the cause of it. You followed in suit, tugging your school robe over your hair and using the charm effortlessly. George smiles at how easily you complied before throwing on his own hood to cover his fiery hair and whispering, his voice low and thick as honey, “Good thinking.”

As soon as the Grey Lady wandered off, the two of you crept up the stairs and peeked through the giant set of wooden doors. The Reception Hall was startlingly empty. The faint sounds of orchestral music looked from beyond the Great Hall’s doors. The display of House Points seemed to have eyes on your back, judging you for your unapproved adventure. You tried not to dwell on the guilt, knowing Gryffindor’s house points would suffer greatly if you get caught.

“Look at that, not a soul in sight. Come on, then. Let’s not waste our luck.”

With the help of Alohomora, the two of you found yourselves in the tiny, dusty space Filch called his office. The walls were lined with cupboards. Knowing the twins had found the Maurader’s map in here their first year, you were sure more extravagant enchantments were stuck inside those drawers, collecting dust and begging to be used. Feeling safe now, you took off your charm and let George see your excitement. He matched your smile and immediately joined you at your side to start sifting through anything and everything.

“Ack!” You let out a squeak and jumped back from the second drawer.

George leaned over you and then laughed at the sight. “Dead rat? Probably lots of those. Ms. Norris does live here too, ya know.”

“Lovely.”

After a few more drawers, you found the familiar, warm brown briefcase the twins had been keeping their experimental treats in. “George, I’ve got them, now we can get the hell out of here.”

“Hold on, look at these!”

“George, really. We should take our winnings and go before someone-“ but the words die on your lips when George pulled the twisted chains of two lockers out of the drawer.

“Lumos,” he whispered to better show off the intricate floral pattern imprinted in the metal. “Think we should have a little reward for our venture, don’t you?”

“I agreed to help you find your treats, but stealing things that aren’t yours, Weasley-“

“Hush. You sound like a Ravenclaw. Always doing things by the book. Pft. Live a little, love.”

Completely derailed and flustered by his nickname for you, you didn’t have the mind to protest him further. Though looking back, you really wish you had. He untangled the lockets and bestowed one upon himself before inching closer to you.

“Be careful!” You whisper yelled. “What if it’s enchanted? Filch must have confiscated them for a reason!”

“Like he stole our taffies for no good reason?”

“He had reason. First years with ten-ton tongues were enough to justify them being taken.”

George flicked open the locket to study it. “Just a compass. Nothing evil about it.”

“Hmph. Well. Fine. I guess. . It would be nice to have a little souvenir.”

“See?“ He gently put the chain around your neck and took a step back, finally letting you breathe only to steal the air right back out of your lungs with his words, “So beautiful.”

The tiny office now felt unbearable. Earlier, you had confessed your feelings for him in not so many words. Whether or not he reciprocated, you weren’t sure. George hadn’t really had much time to respond or even take in your confession before your friends had come back. Since then, you had easily fallen into your usual pattern of playful pranking and chatter. It was easy to forget about your confession until his alluring compliment. The word had fallen off his lips almost breathlessly, a sultry whisper that had your mind alight and playing the moment over in your head.

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful…

It was all you could think about. Your heart ticked nervously and your skin went warm. Did he really think you were beautiful, or was this just the typical Weasley charm the boys often used on girls, and even professors to get people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. You wouldn’t call the twins manipulative, they just... Okay, they could be quite manipulative, but never with malicious intent. Flirting as a way of buttering people up wasn’t exactly a bad thing. You surely didn’t complain when they used their charm on you.

But that was before you had confessed your feelings to George. If Fred had been the one to say it, the word would have rolled off your back like water without a second thought. George, however, was now in the know of the feelings you had been harboring. You almost felt betrayed in a way that he would whisper a sweet nothing like that so carelessly after knowing where your heart lies. Did he just not care? Had he forgotten in the moment? Or was it somehow possible that he returned your feelings and this flirting was now more meaningful than his usual antics?

“We should go,” you said rather stiffly, immediately hating how rude it came off. In your rush out of the office, you forgot how careful you two had to be going in and found yourself bursting into the Reception Hall without even trying to be quiet. “We should get this to safe keeping and then we can do something that’s actually fun.”

“And what might you have in mind?” Professor McGonagall called out from across the hall. She was standing with her husband who had traveled to the castle for the night to accompany her to the ball. His eyes were soft and kind, but he also had an all-knowing smile that was thrown your way. He patted Minerva on top of her hand that he had been holding and then excused himself back to the festivities, letting his wife deal with her troublesome students.

“I-uh.” The briefcase of candies in your hands suddenly felt hot and heavy.

George’s hand landed on your shoulders as he dipped down to whisper right by your ear. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Piss off-,” you uttered back, elbowing him in the stomach rather ungraciously.

“I will take that.” And with the wave of her wand, McGonagall had the case of candies in her hands. “I would send the two of you back to the common room, but it sounds as though I shouldn’t trust you to stay there until the Yule Ball is over.”

“Professor, we-“

“Ten points from each of you for rummaging around Mr. Filch’s office. And since I think it best I keep an eye on you for the rest of the evening... “ She pointed her wand at you with a curt wave. The fabric of your clothes began to wiggle and tickle your skin, swishing all around and changing color until you ended up in a long ivory gown with golden embroidery. George’s clothes were next to change into an ivory button down with a deep red vest decorated in gold buttons, the same gold as your dress. One final silent wave of her wand, this stroke alarmingly familiar… it was Expelliarmus. Both of your wands floated into her open palm.

That night, George had been wearing his only school robe that was still long enough after his recent growth spurt. He couldn’t afford to lose it, in the most literal sense since the price of new robes had gone up greatly over the holiday season and all of his money had gone toward Fred's dress robes for the ball. The loss of that set was detrimental, even in exchange for these fancy clothes. “But, our robes. .”

“If you should wish to have your school robes and wands back before classes, I suggest you find me after the ball. Now, don’t dawdle. In you go.”

Jokingly matching your professor’s air of elegance, George spoke in as proper of a tone he could muster, “If you insist, Professor, but I must have a word with my partner first.”

“Do not make me come looking for you, Mr. Weasley.”

As soon as McGonagall exited into the Great Hall, George’s serious face turned into a bright and mischievous grin, as if you hadn’t just been caught by your Head of House. He dipped into a regal bow and held out a hand to you

Voice still posh and dropping even lower, George kissed your hand and spoke, “It seems as though fate has aligned-“

“Why are you still talking like that?” You giggled.

“Because it’s fun. You must know what fun is, shall I remind you?” Then he was pulling you in close and twirling you in circles, humming along to the faint music coming from behind the grand doors.

“I think,” you managed out between laughs, “-this is exactly what McGonagall meant when she said not to dawdle.” With all you might, you dragged the boy to the doors where he planted his feet and refused to move another inch. “George, what are you doing now?”

“We can’t go in there, silly. I haven’t even asked you yet.”

Those pesky nerves were bubbling back. You tried to swallow them down. “You’re ridiculous. We’re here. McGonagall’s forced us into these clothes. You don’t have to ask at this point. We aren’t- it’s not like we’re going by choice, I mean-“

Ignoring your endearing mumbling, George gently took your chin to make your eyes meet his as he asked, “Will you do me the honors of being the only bloke you dance with at the Yule Ball?”

“As long as you promise to crash us into all the Slytherin couples with your atrocious leading.”

“That’s a given.” He held out his arm for you to hold onto before walking you into the Great Hall where you were very fashionably late.

Decorated from enchanted ceilings all the way down to sparkling floors, the Great Hall was completely transformed into a winter wonderland. The ceiling was cloudy with snowflakes trickling down, sadly designed to never fall. It was always astonishing how the magic encapsulated the exact look of the weather, but never the temperature. Perhaps the frigid cold of the snow would have been welcome tonight because the hall was surprisingly warm from all the bodies dancing about.

The four center tables had vanished in favor of a large dance floor. The platform professors sat at was being used as a stage for a live band that was currently playing a jovial waltz. The corners of the hall were filled with refreshment tables and smaller, more personal round tables for groups to have a break from the excitement.

You scanned the room for your friends but immediately regretted doing so when your eyes landed on Lee Jordan and Alicia Spinnet. It seemed you had witnessed a rather intimate moment of Lee kissing Alicia’s knuckles, and then the back of her hand, and then her inner wrist, and then. . You quickly looked away, clearing your throat.

“You’ve got to be joking,” George muttered to himself. He was patting down his vest and dress pants. Turning his pockets inside out, he was presented with piles of sand. “It seems McGonagall transfigured away the dungbombs and fireworks as well.”

“Oh no,” you replied sarcastically, “How ever will we survive?”

“I suppose we will have to dance to pass the time,” George played along as he dragged you to the center of the hall. Once there, he adjusted the hold on your hand to one where your fingers were interlocking. While many other dance partners were doing the same, it still felt strikingly intimate, even more so when his other hand landed on your hip to draw you in close. You lightly placed your free one on his shoulder, mimicking a very cordial and proper stance.

You weren’t able to maintain your posture long, because George whizzed across the dance floor at an alarming speed. Your hand had slipped from the feather of a touch in his shoulder down to his bicep where you clung on for dear life. His hand was meant to stay on your hip had snaked to the small of your back, making it much easier to swing you to and fro. How he had managed to step on other couples’ toes but not your own was a mystery.

Actually, it was probably deliberate considering two of George’s victims had been a Slytherin boy from your year and a boy from Beauxbatons that had both previously asked you to accompany them. The true mystery was how George managed to find out who exactly you had turned down so that he could target them.

Then you were being pulled to him to avoid your backside slamming to the Durmstrang Headmaster. There had been no warning, so you stubbled into George ungracefully with your cheek pressing into his chest as you let out a string of bubbly, nervous laughter. The hand on the small of your back had drifted all the way to your opposite hip now, holding you up, but also holding you so tightly against him that you had nowhere to go. Not that you could step back even if you wanted to with your faulty feet.

“S’cuse us,” George slyly offered to the terrifying man as he brisked you off in another direction.

“Sorry!” You had to call to the man over your shoulder since George had you gone in a flash.

George mumbled only for you to hear, “No need to apologize to him. You never actually ran into him. I know what I’m doing.”

“Maybe so, but we did give him a heart attack. And if you’re so aware of your actions, then why did you nearly just have me expelled?”

“All a ploy to get you closer to me.” His hand squeezed your hip for emphasis. “See? I can be quite romantic.”

“Falling into you is hardly romantic.”

“Oh, so you’re falling for me?”

“Did I not already make that obvious?” You had planned to play the words off as a joke, but George’s stiff reaction made it difficult. The tension only worsened when you found yourself at a standstill in the middle of the dance floor. George let go of your hip. You tried to escape your interlocked hands, but George tightened his grip, not letting you step too far away.

“We should talk about that,” George rarely sounded as serious as he did now, and the times when he had were never for good reason.

You winced at his tone. It was clear to you now that George didn’t feel the same. All the dancing and touching, it was all just in good fun. Nothing he ever did was meant to be analyzed. There was no reading between the lines. You were foolish to even try.

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry to bring it up. I was only joking.” But the tightening feeling in your throat set in. It broke your heart to lie.

“You responded too quick to be joking, and besides, I-“

“Please, forget it. And forget what I said earlier,” Your voice diminished to nearly a whisper and you looked down at your feet lamely. “-I didn’t mean it, okay? Let’s just go back to having fun.”

George finally released your hand so that he could cup your face on both sides, forcing you to look back up at him. His brows softly pulled together. There was even a hint of a frown across his lips, a very foreign look on the prankster. “You’re an awful liar.”

“I’m not-“ you choked on your words, trying to hold back the sobs bubbling in your throat. “Just dance with me, George.”

“Ridiculous,” he huffed in disbelief. His hand wrapped around your upper arm to guide you toward the courtyard adjacent to the hall. You were still fighting the tears, refusing to let anyone see how much of a mess you truly were.

“You’re here! Brilliant!” Fred popped up just before the two of you made it out, placing both his hands on George’s shoulders to shake him in excitement. This in turn caused George to let you go, so you were thankful for Fred's intrusion. “Let me guess, you saw him run out to the courtyard too? Thinks he’s sneaky, that one. Well, he can’t escape all of us, eh?”

Fred and George did not disagree often, but this was one of those rare times George was putting his foot down. “This isn’t the time, mate.”

“This is the perfect time! What’s he gonna do to us with all these people as witnesses? Bagman doesn’t have the balls to pull something here.”

The name seemed to change George’s demeanor. He glanced at you to gauge your reaction. You knew of the antics Ludo Bagman pulled on the twins at the World Cup. This would be the perfect time to approach him, Fred wasn’t wrong. He just had absolute shite timing.

“Let’s go get his arse,” you proclaimed, jumping at the opportunity to avoid the awkward ‘I’m just not that into you’ conversation that George was no doubt planning to have with you out in that courtyard.

Fred’s grin spread across his face wildly. “Oh, how lucky Georgie is to have you. Angelina is livid I’m doing this. Knew I should have asked you as my date instead. And you clean up nicely too, I mean, look at you two.” And Fred did take a moment to give your dress a proper once over. His eyes landed on the locket around your neck and then flickered to the matching one his brother was sporting. “Now where in Merlin did you two nick those?”

Normally, George would jump at the opportunity to brag, but he was being oddly quiet. You spoke up in his place, “Filch’s office. McGonagall caught us stealing back your candies. She took those, but I don’t think she knew about these. . .”

Fred whistled lowly, clearly impressed, “You two have been busy. And I’ve just been here trying to dance like a babbling, bumbling, baboon!” His McGonagall impression was getting quite good.

You promptly followed Fred toward the courtyard. George seemed to drag his feet behind you. Eventually, you made it to the array of carriages the guests had arrived in that evening. A few groups of people were scattered about, chatting in the fresh air. Goosebumps instantly littered your arms and shoulders, but you welcomed the sensation. It was like jumping in a cold shower after that heated moment between you and George.

Fred wasted no time approaching his enemy with his arms raised in a faux welcoming stance. “I don’t believe my eyes! If it isn’t Ludo Bagman, old friend. How have you been?”

Bagman had been talking to an older, gruff-looking wizard you did not know. They both examined Fred quizzically, intrigued that a student would approach them in such a way. You moved to stand beside Fred, but George had stepped in first, crossing his arms and smiling at the two older wizards as if that alone was a threat. And it seemed to come across that way with how painfully obvious it was that his smile was forced.

George was quick to join in on Fred’s jovial greetings as well, “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. When was our last chat? Remind me, Fred.”

“Oh, George, I do believe the last time we saw Ludo was during the Quidditch World Cup. You remember, don’t you?”

“Ah! Yes! I remember that night quite well. We won a pretty hefty bet, didn’t we, Fred?”

“That we did, George. That we did. Say, George, we still haven’t gotten the money from that, have we?”

“You would have been paid if you didn’t cheat,” Ludo sneered.

“We didn’t cheat,” George said through his teeth, immediately offended that he would even need to defend their honor against such a statement.

“You just want to keep the money for yourself,” Fred threw in offense.

Bagman’s eyes narrowed. “If the Weasley clan was known for their integrity, perhaps I would take you at your word. Now, quit wasting my time with this.” He looked to his companion and then nodded for the doors. They both turned to leave. Fred reached into his pocket for his wand, but you caught his wrist.

“Snape,” you whispered as the professor sauntered out into the courtyard.

“Bastard,” Fred murmured. You dropped his wrist, assuming he would put away his wand so as to not draw suspicion. Instead, Fred lifted his wrist and cast the disillusionment charm on himself. The motion was automatic at the mention of Snape. All you could hear was his hushed whisper. “What are you two doing? Let’s go before he questions us.”

George met your terrified eyes, looking rather pale himself. McGonagall had taken your wands. It seemed as though you were going to have to face Snape head-on.

“Fuck it,” George whispered as he grabbed you yet again, heaving you into the nearest carriage. You scrambled in with George following so close behind that he was nearly on top of you. The skirt of your dress had twisted and risen from all the movement. George planted himself on the bench next to you, mumbling apologies for nearly squashing you.

“How the hell are we-“

“Whisper!” George uttered. No wand, no ability to cast muffalo. The two of you would have to wait this out in silence. He pressed his ear to the side of the carriage and then looked very alarmed as he whispered, “Can hear him talking with Bagman and that other piece of muck.”

You tried smoothing down your skirt, but it was tangled horribly underneath you. Instead of offering to help or apologizing for the inconvenience, George merely followed the frantic movement of your hands. His eyes lingered over your exposed knee.

The sheer stupidity of your night was hitting you hard. Your jaw clenched in annoyance. If you hadn’t followed Fred to the courtyard, if you hadn’t made that stupid comment while dancing, if you hadn’t gone with George to Filch’s office, if you had never admitted you wanted to go to the bloody ball with him in the first place. .

“Lift yourself up,” he whispered, elbowing your arm.

You pouted in confusion, but gently lifted yourself up with both palms pressed into the bench of the carriage. George swiftly smoothed the fabric under you, meaning his hands had to skim over your backside and underneath you. Your breath caught in your throat at how nonchalant he acted. Once the underneath was straightened out, he pulled down the top to finally hid your exposed knee.

“Better?"

“You should warn a girl before grabbing her arse, Weasley.”

“I only did it so you’d stop fidgeting. Snape will know someone is in here if the cart is shaking.”

Any response you might have had died on your lips. Images of what sort of actions would make the carriage shake flashed across your mind. Your face felt uncomfortably hot, embarrassed that you couldn’t control the thoughts you were having about your best friend whilst sitting right next to him.

“Y/N,” his voice was soft and sincere, only making you feel more guilty for your own track mind. “I really should tell you-“

“Save it,” you begged. Merlin, you couldn’t hear the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech while you were shamefully thinking of making the carriage rock. You would die of embarrassment if he turned you down at this very moment.

“I don’t want to save it,” he seethed. “Don’t know where you got the bloody impression that I’m going to turn you down but damn it, I said I would have been the first to ask you if I had the money for robes. I didn’t mean that in a platonic way. Thought that much was obvious.”

He sounded cross with you, but his words were a confession of sorts. You studied his features. His hands were opening and closing. He was biting the inside of his cheeks. His eyes couldn’t meet yours for more than half a second before darting to the floor of the carriage.

“You like me,” you whispered in awe.

George didn’t seem to notice you shift closer, too lost in his own demise. “Look, I know I’m a fucking idiot. You said you wanted a night of fun and dancing, the ball gets dropped into our lap perfectly, and I go and ruin it by getting you stuck in a carriage. I’ve been told my whole life I don’t know when to quit. It didn’t mean shite to me until now that it’s affecting you. I got us into this. I should have told Fred to bugger off, but he and I just feed off each other’s insanity and-“

Your hands guided his face toward you so your lips could feverishly crash into him. From the shock of your hold, George’s hands wrapped around your wrists almost like he might pull you off. His entire body shivered from the feeling of your lips over his. It was heated and messy right from the start because his mouth had been open from talking.

George melted into you, matching your fever and even raising the stakes by taking your bottom lip between his teeth. He was being gentle, playful even, but it still had your arse lifting off the bench and rolling onto your knee so you could lean in further to his pull. His hands moved in quick now that the opportunity arose. They trailed down your back, smoothing the dress over your backside much slower this time, deliberately stroking to get their fill before reaching the underneath of your thighs where his fingers shamelessly pressed into your soft flesh to pull you closer until you were dragged onto his lap.

You broke away to gasp with your hands landing on his shoulders to steady yourself. His mouth went for your exposed collarbone, kissing from one shoulder to the next and swiping the chain of your new locket out of the way to thoroughly get every inch of skin. You thought he would go for your neck next, but instead, his lips traveled down toward the exposing, sweetheart neckline of your dress.

The door to the carriage swung open on your right. Professor Snape glared at the two of you. George had not removed his hands from your waist, so you just smiled sheepishly at your potions professor from George’s lap.

“What on earth do you think you two are doing? Out. Now.”

Rather reluctantly despite the ridicule, George helped you off of him so the two of you could crawl out of the carriage. As soon as your feet were on solid ground, Snape was firing off punishments.

“Thirty points from each of you. A week’s detention with Hagrid tending to the Forbidden Forest should be enough to make you regret this awful choice you’ve made. Back to the Great Hall, now.”

You had to bite the inside of your cheek to stop the laughter threatening to burst out and double your detentions. Snape keenly watched the two of you drag your feet back to the ball. “Hands to yourself, Weasley,” he drones when George had tried to put his hand on the small of your back to guide you. Once the two of you were heading inside, Snape moved to the next carriage to end a different couple’s impromptu snog session.

“That was horrifying,” you grimaced at the thought of facing Snape in your next class.

“Was my kissing that bad?” George mused.

You playfully slapped his chest, “Sod off. You know what I meant. I’ll never be able to look Snape in the eye again.”

“I’m sure he’s witnessed worse. Hell, he probably is witnessing worse as we speak. The others were in their carriages far longer than we were.”

And yet George still managed to look like a complete mess. His lips were bright red, matching the flush he still wore on his cheeks. His hair was staticky and wild, not at all fitting for the ball you were walking back into. You waved him over, insisting, “Come ‘ere. You can’t go back there looking like this.”

A lazy smile plastered across George’s rosy cheeks. His eyes shamelessly studied your serious look of concentration as you tried to smooth down his wild locks. “Think people are gonna know what we did no matter how long you play with my hair.”

His fingers swiped over your collarbone, pressing harder on the red, sensitive spots that were definitely going to bruise later. A shiver ran down your back. You would have to remember to down a healing potion tonight that way you didn’t wake up and go about your day tomorrow, forgetting how scandalous you looked.

“Quit making them worse.” You smacked his hand away. “I can’t believe you did that while I’m stuck in this stupid dress with no robes to hide it. You’re devious.”

“You’re the one who started it,” George challenged.

“Must all your comebacks be childish?”

“You find them endearing,” he teased. “Merlin, can’t believe we could have been doing that ages ago. Do you think McGonagall would notice if we slipped back to the common room to make up for lost time?”

“I’m not taking any chances while she still has my wand. Besides, we hardly got to dance!” You took his hand and pulled him into the hall. “There are more Slytherins that need to be run into.”

[elliebyrrdwrites]

16.2

PANSY

The room Draco had opened up for training was perfect. There were rows of mats on the floor, ideal for sparring on, slamming opponents onto without breaking bones. There was a strike and sparring manakin in the corner and a row of mirrors that would allow her to keep eye contact with Granger as she worked her through moves.

Of course, she would also have to take advantage of all of the other training equipment because from the looks of what she saw last night, Granger was weak and out of shape.

Pansy scoffed as she rolled her shoulders. Granger probably spent all of her time at a desk. Pansy had her work cut out for her. She is going to have to have her do strength training and cardio after she went through moves with her every day.

Draco stepped into the room then, a cup of coffee in his hand. He was dressed in his usual set of black pants with a pressed black shirt with his wand holster strapped over his toros.

“What do you think?” He asked as he lifted the mug to his lips.

She shrugged. “It’ll work.” She watched as Draco’s eyes moved over the room. They were guarded, and the dark circles remained underneath them. “So, what’s the deal with you and Granger?”

He looked at her from the side of his eye as he lower the mug. “I don’t know how to answer that question.” He frowned and glanced down into his cup.

“Well, does she know that you’re in love with her?”

“People keep saying that,” His brows pinched together and then he sighed. “She knows that I have...feelings.”

Pansy laughed, shaking her head. “How did she manage to figure that out?”

Draco sniffed and squinted his eyes at the coffee still in his cup. “I kissed her.”

Pansy turned to face him and lifted a brow. “Oh? When?”

“Just after testifying against my father.”

Her eyebrows pushed together, a bewildered little laugh erupting from her. “But, that was seven years ago.”

He shrugged. “I kind of disappeared from her life after that.”

Ah. So, it wasn’t just a Theo thing. It was an all wizard kind of thing. She rolled her eyes at him. “And now?”

“I have told her, very plainly, how I feel.”

“And does she reciprocate?”

He tilted his head as if considering. “I think she fancies me, some of the time.”

At that, Pansy laughed so hard, she had to lean against one of the mirrors on the wall. “You’re so terrible at this. You’ve always been terrible at this.”

“So I’ve been told.” He took another drink but when he lowered his mug, he refocused his attention on her. “Wanna tell me why you body slammed Theo last night?”

Pansy scoffed and shook her head. “He’s as bad as you are.”

“You two had a night.” He stated it, not asking.

“We did. And then he took a page out of the Draco Malfoy playbook and disappeared.” She scowled. “Wizards are idiots.”

Draco chuckled. “That, I have also been told.”

Pansy leaned her head against the mirror and frowned at him. “There’s nothing happening with him and Granger, then?”

“If there was, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation?”

“Why not?”

“Because I’d be dead or in jail for getting into a fight with my best friend.”

“Dead?” Pansy shook her head. “Theo isn’t that dangerous.”

His eyebrows lifted high into his forehead. “Theo is...” He pursed his lips. “Well, let’s just say that you two are perfect for each other.”

“And you and Granger?” She smirked. “The little kitty cat who refuses to learn how to punch?”

But Draco smirked in return. “She’s incredibly dangerous with a wand, Pans. And she’s very cunning when she needs to be. Plus, she’s surprisingly ver short tempered.”

“Oh, so you are perfect for each other. I bet you get off when she gers mad at you.”

Draco huffed out a laugh, but his eyes grew bright. Like he were recalling just how much he got off with Granger.

Pansy tilted her head, observing him. “You shagged her, didn’t you?” He didn’t reply. Draco didn’t kiss and tell. “But you said you kissed her seven years ago.”

“Our little disagreement might have progressed, last night, after you left.”

She stared at him, fighting a smile, and waiting for him to elaborate.

“She wound up throwing dishes at me.” He sniffed. “Nearly took my head off with a plate.”

Pansy unraveled into laughter. The kind that caused her belly to ache and tears to bloom in her eyes. “Oh, gods.” She gasped. “Who knew Granger was actually the most perfect girl for you. I always thought you were just going through some fucked up rebellion. But she’s actually as crazy as you are.”

Draco frowned, and his brows furrowed as looked back into his cup, considering what she said.

“What’s so funny?”

Both Theo and Pansy turned to find Theo leading Granger into the room. Theo was just as infuriatingly beautiful as she remembered. That stupidly, wild and sexy hair of his was so carelessly shoved out of his face that it caused her stomach to twist. She considered throwing a dumbbell at him, but then he shot her a look. A heated look from beneath a singular lifted brow as his mouth lifted lazily at one side in a easy grin.

He was, as always, dressed like the dashing hitman that he was, the holster that carried his wand hidden beneath his black blazer. She would bet two hundred galleons that he had other weapons hiding somewhere in that suit of his.

Granger had her own wild curls pulled up in a ponytail and was dressed in a pair of black leggings and an old t-shirt with bold print stating The Revolution Of The Common People.

Pansy snorted at it before jerking her chin in greeting. “Ready to get your ass kicked, Granger?”

To her surprise, Granger was too busy staring at Draco, who was actively avoiding her gaze as he sipped at his coffee.

“So, how’s it going, boss?” Theo asked as he settled onto a weight bench.

Draco shrugged, frowning.

Granger was now staring daggers into Draco, which Pansy enjoyed because it would most likely give the witch some motivation to put some real work in.

Theo shook his head at Draco, a look of disappointment flitting across his face before he smiled at Granger, as if trying to make up for Draco’s failure to confront the situation that was clearly going on.

Pansy should have liked the sight of Granger’s face falling. She should have enjoyed watching her get ghosted by Draco right in front of her face.

But now that Pansy was certain that Theo and her were very much not a thing, she only felt empathy. Because Theo had, essentially, done the same thing to her.

“Come on, Granger.” Pansy moved and pulled on her hand, guiding her to the center of the mat. “We’ll start by stretching out before we go over a few moves.” She smirked into the mirror, eyes locking on Theo. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get to test one of them out on some idiot wizard.”

Theo shifted on the bench, clearing his throat.

Draco’s eyes lifted from his mug and latched onto Granger as she sat onto the mat, facing away from him. He stared at her with an intensity she felt spoke volumes. No, layers, of emotions.

When Pansy worked Granger through several stretches and lunges to loosen up her muscles, she felt Theo’s gaze on her, watching her work. And she thought perhaps weight of his eyes were just as heavy against her skin.

Between instructing Granger and the press of Theo's eyes on her, she barely noticed when Draco drifted from the room as silent as a ghost.

[faustinio27]

FAUSTINE DAEMON – Character profile (HL MC)

(Spoiler for Hogwarts Legacy game)

GENERAL

Age : 15 (5th year)

Gender : Female

House : Ravenclaw

MBTI : INFJ

Blood status : Unknow

Social status : Orphan so working class ?

Wand : Pear wood with a phoenix core, 12 ½’’ and slightly springy flexibility

Patronus : Stag

Boggart : Her loved ones turned into Inferni, accusing her of not saving them

Amortentia : Lavander, hot chocolate, old book

Favorite class : Dark arts defense, Beast, Charms

Favorite spells : Diffinfo, Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa, Ancient magic

Favorite teacher: Professor Fig, Professor Hecat

Least favourite teacher: Professor Binns

APPAREANCE

« Looks likes a cinnamon roll but could kill you » energy

Hair colour : Blond

Eye colour : Blue

Skin tone : Beige/rose-coloured

Height: 1m67 (5’6)

Distinguishing features : Scar on her face. Her eyes glow an intense blue when she accumulates enough ancient magic.

Clothing style : Always clean and well dressed, she wears school uniform most of the time, and alternates between skirt and pants. She can have a feminine as well as masculine style. She never takes off her black gloves. She likes to have moon and stars pattern/accessories when she chooses other ouftits.

She doesn’t have a lot of clothes because she is not rich enough to buy them.

(In game : traditional school robe with tattersall vest school uniform OR velvet school robe with elegant vest uniform)

Additional info : She never or rarely wears makeup. Her cheeks are very squishable. She wears Fig’s scarf after his death.

PERSONALITY

At first glance, Faustine is seen as distant, mysterious, even unapproachable. Many students talk behind her back to describe her this way. In reality, she is easy to approach and become friends with. She is happy to help others, although her kindness is not to be abused: if you ask her to risk her life for trivialities, she will refuse outright, or not hesitate to ask for something in return. But if you tell her about secret passages and other hidden treasures, she will accept to embark on any adventure, driven by her curiosity. This curiosity often leads her to get involved in things that are none of her business.

She has grown up in an environment that has consistently seen her as a nobody, which causes her to suffer from the savior complex. She constantly fears being seen as useless and not up to par, and feels compelled to prove to others her true worth. She is then easily stressed or burned out. If she manages to remain one of the top students in her class while hunting dark wizards and poachers, her friends must be careful that she doesn't overdo it. She despises laziness and hate when people attribute her success to luck, rather than hard work. She is afraid that lack of knowledge will prevent her from getting ahead in life. Being locked up in a Muggle orphanage for 15 years has also given her an extreme need for freedom. Introverted and solitary, she takes refuge in her imagination or flies on the back of a hypogriff on a whim when she needs to be alone.

Although calm and serious, once she feels comfortable with someone, she is much more relaxed, sarcastic and cynical. She likes to tease her friends, and can become really silly. Empathetic and always with good advice, she is the person you go to when you need to confide. She cherishes her best friends as family (Sebastian, Ominis, Poppy, Natsai and Amit). Once her trust is earned, her loyalty is unwavering. She will do anything for her closest friends, and will protect them at any cost. The only way to make her lose her temper is to take it out on them.

She then wants to learn the most dangerous and forbidden spells such as dark magic. If she knows that this type of magic is illegal, no matter what it is called, it can be useful if it allows her to save people. She believes that any type of magic can be used according to its purpose, but it only concerns her (she doesn't trust others who might misuse it…). Nevertheless, she tries not abuse these spells and prefers to use ancient magic, which is also effective and not illegal.

She can easily roasts you in a verbal argument. She prefers to use words to fight, but will not hesitate to use her wand or her fists when things go too far (even if she isn’t very good in close combat). When her friends are personally attacked, she can become very violent and ruthless. Better to have her as an ally than as an enemy. She is not very forgiving and believes that revenge justifies the means. She fights for her own conception of justice.

Traits : sarcastic, dreamy, hard-worker, loyal, curious, introvert, idealist, solitary

Likes : books, milk chocolate, nightsky, animals, art, discover hidden places, pretty things in general, money

Dislikes : dumb people, bullies, children, spiders, candies, loud noise, Gobstones, failing

Good at : winning a debat, literature, listening

Bad at : maths, having a good night schedule, avoiding stress, Quidditch

Hobbies : reading, taking care of her animals, exploring, flying with her hyppogriff, coffee date with friends

Fears : Not being up to the task, being a failure, losing her found family

RELATIONSHIP

Best friend :

Sebastian Sallow. He and Faustine have a real sibling relationship. They tease and make fun of each other, bicker, and make up. Faustine is the most cynical and sarcastic when she’s with him. She doesn't hesitate to tell him about her adventures outside Hogwarts and about ancient magic. She appreciates his optimism, his humor and his outspokenness, and quickly became attached to him at the beginning of the year, when he took her under his wing. They have a mutual trust, where both of them have each other's backs. If Faustine remains the more reasonable of the two, she is easily drawn into his adventures by curiosity and friendship. Knowing that he is stubborn in his decisions, when he wants to go on dangerous expeditions, she prefers to accompany and help him, to make sure nothing happens to him. Faustine is sympathetic in his quest to help his sister despite the dangers, because she knows she would do the same for him (even if Sebastian doesn't always realize it). Nevertheless, since Sebastian is stubborn and Faustine's patience has its limits, when their disagreements go too far, she doesn't hesitate to tell him what she thinks about his attitude then leave, expecting a sincere apology. Which he always ends up doing, and she always ends up accepting it. She knows he is flawed, but so is she; and while she doesn't know why or how she became so attached to this student, she's still willing to do anything for him.

Friends :

Ominis Gaunt : Ominis didn't like Faustine much at the beginning of the year, seeing her as a threat who might get Sebastian into trouble, and being afraid that she would replace him in their friendship. But he quickly realized that Sebastian didn't need her to get himself into bad situations, and that Faustine was there to get him out. Faustine, despite their rather cold start, immediately wanted to be his friend. Because if she’s friend with Sebastian, and he is too, why can’t them be friends too ? She quickly gained his trust by defending him on several occasions when he was arguing with Sebastian. Faustine appreciates Ominis' calm, sarcasm, sensitivity and intelligence, which balances Sebastian's personality. They are partners in some classes and enjoy spending time together.

Poppy Sweeting : Sometimes you don't need a lot of reasons to get along with someone. With Poppy, Faustine simply has a good connection. She likes her for her kindness and dedication to helping magical creatures. Faustine feels this need to help her and protect her from harm, especially when she finds herself in situations where she doesn't seem to realize the dangers that face her. Poppy's enthusiasm is contagious, and her presence always cheers Faustine up when she feels stressed.

Natsai Onai : If there is anyone Faustine trusts the most, it is her. Faustine knows her loyalty and courage are unwavering. Natty’s quest to destroy the dark wizards to protect her new home resonates strongly with Faustine, who desires the same thing. She appreciates Natty's trust in her, confiding in her about her feelings and her father's death. Even though Natty complains about her mother being overprotecting, Faustine can't help but be jealous that she has a mother who loves and cares about her.

Amit Thakkar : Amit is a fellow Ravenclaw whom she got to know better during astronomy classes. She appreciates his kindness and his passion for the stars, and willingly listens to him talk about them, even if she doesn't necessarily understand everything. They share a passion for reading adventure novels, and can discuss about it for hours without interruption. He frequently lends her books, and they look like two passionate nerds when they are in their common room. She sympathizes with his desire for adventure that she felt in the Muggle world, and doesn't mind his fearful temperament. Even though he is always worried when she takes him on more or less dangerous adventures, he is still loyal to her and wants to help her (which is good for Faustine, because she often finds herself in the opposite situation where she has to help people). As with Poppy, Faustine also feels a strong sense of protection towards him.

Caligo : Faustine rescued the black hypogriff from poachers. Much like Poppy with Highwing, Faustine and Caligo became really close, and they love to fly together under the starry sky. He is a proud hypogriff who won't let anyone but Faustine (and eventually Poppy) get near to him. He will stay with her even after Hogwarts.

Mentor :

Professor Fig : Professor Fig is the first to have a fatherly attitude towards her. He took her under his wing, educating her about this new world she knew nothing about, while teaching her magic with patience and kindness. They are both stubborn and misunderstood by their peers, and they both despise idiots. If Fig appreciated Faustine long before her discovery of ancient magic, their secret has bound them together. He may not admit it, but Faustine is his favorite student, and he does favors for her that he wouldn't do with other students. They are on the same wavelength, so much so that we could really think they are part of the same family.

She never forgives herself for his death.

Other :

She doesn’t like Garreth Weasley and Leander Prewett. She also didn’t likes Imelda Reyes at first, but at the end of the year, they both gained mutual respect for each other. Samantha Dale is one of her roommate, with whom she gets along well.

BACKSTORY

(Fic of her backstory)

Faustine has always lived in a muggle orphanage. She was found as a baby outside the doors of the orphanage and has no clue as to the identity of her biological parents. She grew up hoping to find a family, but after a certain age, she accepted the idea that she would never be adopted. The director and the other children kept telling her that no one would ever want her. Knowing that she was doomed to be homeless as soon as she came of age, Faustine decided to study. She hoped to find a job that would allow her to avoid poverty. She learned to be independent and to rely only on herself.

Reading brought her comfort in her gloomy life. All the fantasy stories took her on a journey, allowing her to escape her fate. She was often criticized for not living enough in the real world, but it was the only way she could make life bearable. At 14, Faustine was one of the eldest children in the orphanage. The director took advantage of this to give her thankless tasks, justifying that she was preparing her for real life.

One day, while Faustine was out shopping for the orphanage, she overheard two men talking about magic. Curious, she decided to follow them discreetly into the bad streets. While spying on them, she realized that they were wizards. Unfortunately, they were dark wizards who were smuggling illegal goods into the muggle world. Faustine was discovered, and the two men went after her to kill her. After attacking her with various offensive spells, Faustine was caught in a dead end. One of the wizards cast the death spell on her. At the same time, the ancient magic within her awoke. A magical blue bubble formed around her and blocked the spell. And in a fraction of a second, this magic retaliated by reducing the two wizards to dust. Faustine, unconscious, will only have a scar on her face as a souvenir of this confrontation. When she woke up at the hospital, she didn't remember what had happened. During her recovery, Faustine witnessed strange events. Objects began to move and levitate around her. The next day, an owl flew in through her window and handed her a strange letter. It said that she was admitted to Hogwarts, the school for apprentice wizards. Faustine didn't know how to react. She wanted to believe it. All her life she had dreamed of an escape. She felt like she was living in one of those fantasy books she loved so much. Her blackout, the levitating objects, the letter... The magic seemed real. But she kept it a secret until she had more information. She was afraid she would be given false hope.

Until Professor Fig arrived. He told her about the letter, and confirmed that she was a witch. Her powers seemed to have awakened only a few days ago, justifying the fact that she had not been located by the school before. He offered to mentor her, explaining that he had arranged with the director of the orphanage to keep it a secret. Faustine was overjoyed. She asked the professor to bring her as many books about the wizarding world as possible. She wanted to learn as much as she could about it. She felt - she knew - that she belonged there, and that a new and better life awaited her. And why not a family?

FUTURE

After Hogwarts, Faustine studied to become an Auror. Thanks to her seriousness, her experience with dark wizards, and her ever-growing ancient magic, she quickly became one of the best. She is known in the domain for being pitiless. But after a few years of service, she realized that she didn't want to give up her passion -books-, and that she wanted to make people dream with them, just like her. She then owned a magical library, which she maintained with former house elf Penny. She remained a part-time Auror, accepting only the most important and dangerous assignments from the Ministry. Over the years, she studied literature, philosophy and sociology. She took part in many political debates in the wizarding world, notably to defend equality between wizards and Goblins. And just like when she’s Auror, she’s just as ruthless to defend justice. She became an important and influential figure in the wizarding world. Her professions allowed her to live a comfortable life. If she didn't have time to build a family life, it doesn't bother her at all. Faustine is seen as the rich and eccentric single aunt in her found family, and continues to help them whenever they need it. As people said, "she is married to freedom".

AUTHOR NOTE

Faustine Daemon is based on my experience and decisions in the game. She is a mix between the general personality given to the MC, and a self insert. But working on her backstory and pushing her personality makes her a sort of OC I guess. I tried to make her backstory and personality justified and consistent with what the game tell us about (so not so much).

Don't hesitate to ask me questions about her, or to suggest interactions with your MCs, I'd love to read them! (and why not draw them?)

Sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language.

(Thank you for reading this far, have a cookie)

[gurugirl]

Okay queen G, where's our balancing act spoiler? You promised it today!! I'm waiting patiently like a good girl 😇

I was gonna share it later on but you've convinced me. Since you say you're being a good girl I'll give you the sneak peek early.

A Balancing Act Masterlist | Feedback & Comments

sneak peek from chapter 3 (coming this thursday)

Harry’s hand smoothed down her hip to her thigh and stopped at the hem of her dress before he began pushing the material upward, “Is this okay?” He whispered against her skin.

Y/n nodded and put her hand over his, assisting him in pushing her dress up, “Yes.”

That was all he needed to have them both return to the state they’d been in before he saw the framed photo of her on her wedding day.

“Good. Then let’s turn this terrible movie off and get you naked.”

She remembered him telling her he’d brought some things. But what his small suitcase revealed was not expected, a vibrating wand, black bondage tape, 2 sets of cuffs, and various sizes of clamps. And a bottle of lube.

Harry explained everything to her as he kissed her gently and removed her clothes, “We don’t have to use any of this. But I thought it would be fun to try. I think you’ll like some of these. Have you ever been tied up?”

Y/n shook her head as she ran her fingers over the smooth tape, “No. How does this work?”

He plucked the roll from her hand and began to unwind the tape as he spoke, “This won’t stick to your skin, it only sticks to itself. But it’ll work nicely to bind you. It’s not as harsh as rope and it’s easy to come off.”

When he pulled the wand out of the little cloth bag it was in he handed it to her, “Lie flat and put this over yourself. Place it where it feels the best and whatever setting you like the most.”

Harry was slowly getting into his dom mode and Y/n could see it. He started off gently and slowly. Lots of kissing, touching, talking… he had her feeling comfortable and she trusted him. The way he slowly kissed her arms and her tits, lowering his wet lips to the heavy underside of her breasts and squeezing her nipples as he dipped over her tummy and praised her, “Fucking gorgeous. Hard to believe I got so lucky.”

But when he told her to lie flat on the bed something had shifted into a different gear. It was a minute transition but it was noticeable. He unwound the tape as he watched her do as she was told.

She was completely naked while he was still dressed, which made her feel very vulnerable, exposed. She clicked the wand on to its low setting and placed the head in a spot she knew she’d like. It did feel good. She was already a bit wet from the kissing and the gentle touches but it didn’t take long for her to begin seeping and coating the vibrating silicone bulb that was pressed against her.

Harry kneed up to the bed and pushed her thighs further apart so he could see her better, “Because you’re new to this you probably don’t have any kind of safe word in mind yet. So if you don’t like anything, just tell me. Say stop and I will. If you like all this we can think of something to use in lieu of just stop. But for now, we’re not going to get too much into that kind of roleplay so no or stop will work.”

He wanted to show her the things he liked. These were all easy introductions into the way he liked to play and if they were going to be seeing one another more he felt it was good to start her out like this. Give her a slow, soft launch so she could explore the things she liked too. He’d move it up a notch later on. For now, the debut into dom and sub-dynamics would be very delicate. Eventually, they’d both learn what she liked together, that is if she wanted to stick around.

She nodded her head and Harry leaned over her and took the wand from her hand, “Arms over your head,” she quickly moved her arms upward as he positioned the wand against her clit and used the bondage tape to secure it in place, wrapping the tape around the handle to the top of her thigh and keeping the vibrating bulb at her pussy to give her just enough stimulation.

He climbed up and pushed her over to her tummy, the wand still working its magic, and pulled her hands behind her back, “I’m going to bind your wrists together like this,” he showed her the position and paused to make sure she didn’t have any objections, “and then,” he pushed her legs up by their shins, her ankles and feet up, thighs down, “use the tape to bind your ankles too. Is this okay with you?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

“Ah ah ah… Yes who?” He chided.

She bit her lip and smiled, “Yes, Daddy.”

Harry gave her a swat to her bottom, “There you go. I’ll give you one pass. If you forget to address me properly again we’ll take a break while I spank your bottom red.”

A Balancing Act Tags: @daphnesutton @indierockgirrl @stylesfever @harrys-jumper @ameerakane20 @harryssky1 @tobesolovelysstuff @jerseygirlinca

[justabackroundcharacter]

Thoughts while watching Wish:

- base princess personality trope

- Never getting over the face that the goat is named Valentino

- 7 dwarfs vibes with the friends

- Hans type character

- Weird ass love song to wishes

- Evil Chris Pratt went from 1-100 really fast

- The wife was 1000000% the kings wish and he used magic to get it

- Angry guy is played by GIZMO MY BELOVED

- 100 year old man move like a 60 year old fr

- Asha also goes from 50-100 real fast

- My favorite song was a little disappointing:(

- What she’s singing and what the animation gives dosent match

- Wifey is CLUELESS

- We could’ve had A STAR BOY INSTEAD WE GET THIS THING

- Star is still cute

- When you are a Star and accidentally make a devils trap in the tree lol

- IM A STAR ⭐️

- thanks for not eating me John

- Throwing books like your cramming for a test

- King is bipolar like actually tho

- EVERYTHING IS FINE

- What are you five ?

- DANCING CHICKENS

- Best friends help each other commit crimes against the kingdom

- King really is evil he made everyone go to an assembly and they aren’t even in school

- WAIT WAS KING SUPPOSED TO BE AN ALIEN

- how old is the king ? Do we know at all ?

- Casually dooms yourself to an eternity of pain because you got insecure

- HE HAS A SECRET LAIR LIKE HAWKMOTH

- ok how do wishes work again ? Was gramps not free to still inspire people

- Not the mom pleading for her daughter to only get her wish trampled on (definitely don’t need to look at how accurate that is)

- Star said SQUARE TF UP

- He’s literally just your king hit him with your bookshelf

- Returns to your stable if anyone asks pLaY dUmB

- when you have to speed run the 5 stages of grief bc you are the main character damnit

- I know what your thinking- WELL I DONT girl that star doesn’t have an expression on his face

- I can not swim *proceeds to jump into the water with reckless abandon *

- You’ve been hit by, you’ve been stuck by LOSS OF YOUR WISH

- ‘AMYIA darling your just in time come meet my new TOY’ why would you WRITE IT LIKE THAT

- Hot take anyone who calls their partner darling is on THIN FUCKING ICE

- King man went insane that is fun

- HANS KNOCK OFF BETRAYED THEM I FUCKING KNEW IT

- Dont worry im a talking mouse but very clean

- When you only want to be a loyal knight but you end up betraying your friends- happens to the best of us dude

- Good find Valentino - my butt found it

- introverts deserve sanctuary— louder for the people in the back

- STRIKE, STRIKE newsies vibes

- YES fulfill your Sabos wish

- doc and dopey slayed

- They all did

- They are like any queer friend group fr

- the chase scene is cool

- YAZ QUEEN GET YOUR HUSBAND

- I was fooled by the love I felt- Its ok queen you were definitely manipulated not your fault

- Don’t destroy never land you bastard

- A stick ? What am I supposed to do with this ?

- The MUSHROOMS 🍄

- Poor gizmo can’t catch a break no matter what universe he’s in

- a dress on a tree more likely than you think

- Dude bro dear got into the mushrooms fr

- Sometimes a plan is just you and your six friends jumping from a high place

- FUCKING HANS GOT ME AGAIN

- thanks John

- Your so right bunnies are terrifying

- Nope nope nope nope nope

- StAr GeT aWaY fRoM tHeRe

- WAIT IS HE MAGIC MIRRIR GUY

- Yay singing again

- THE power of collective singing will always save the day

- GREEN SMOKE

- MyWiShEs dude get a grip

- Simon and queen should be besties now

- LONG LIVE THE QUEEN

- Peter Pan origin story 👀👀

- ZOOTOPIA ?!?

- bippty boppty boo the magic wand is fixed

- Give GIZMO THE WAND 😭he deserves it

- Fireworks yay

- 5/10 movie

[training4theapocalypse]

Finders Keepers Ch 5. (Cormac McLaggen x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit 18+

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: SMUT!!!!!!!!! Kissing, Dry humping, Sucking on my titties like you wanted me calling me all the time like Blondie check out my Chrissy behind it's fine all of the time.

Summary: It's the night of Slughorn's party and you're ready to make McLaggen jealous.

A/N: I said I wasn't gonna post til Sunday but I am too impulsive!!! Here is some recommended listening: Escapism by RAYE and Daylight by David Kushner (thank you anon for the latter recommendation). P.S. You can tell I'm not actually a Ravenclaw because my door riddle was SHIT lmao.

Masterlist

Tag list: @countlambula

Chapter 5: Firewhisky

Two weeks later, you sit on the same spot on the edge of Marietta’s bed, this time lacing up your strappy stilettos. You point your wand at your feet. ‘Molliare’ you think, silently casting a cushioning charm so you can walk with ease in your heels.

Cho and Marietta join you as you walk over to the mirror, they stand behind you like proud parents.

“Stunning,” says Cho looking at you in the mirror.

“Yes, well, enough about the dress,” says Marietta, admiring her alterations. “Zacharias is going to feel like he’s won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Draw when he sees you.”

Ugh, you almost forgot about Smith. 

You admire yourself in the mirror and you have to admit- this is probably the best you’ve ever looked. Thanks to Marietta, your form-fitting cobalt blue dress seems to glow ethereally in the candlelight. She’s given you a high leg split and its generously low-cut bodice accentuates every curve of your body.

“Okay, toss your head forward and mess up your hair a wee bit,” says Cho. You flip your head down and back up and push your tousled hair behind your ear. “Perfect - it looks like you’ve just finished a very steamy snogging session.”

“Fuck, I’m nervous.” You reach out and hold both of their hands. “I wish you were coming.”

“Okay, Captain,” says Cho, imitating your most authoritative dressing-room voice. “What’s the game plan? Let’s go over positions.” Strangely, it helps your nerves.

“Meet Smith downstairs and arrive late. Don’t even look at McLaggen. Impress Gwenog. Still don’t look at McLaggen. Have a few drinks and hit the buffet-”

“Have one drink. No bread or you’ll burst out of that dress,” warns Marietta.

“One drink to stay reasonably sober,” you repeat, ignoring the last part. “Wait for McLaggen to approach me. Brush him off casually. Leave conspicuously and in an extra giggly fashion with Zacharias Smith then report back to you two in the common room.”

“Well remembered.”

“Shouldn’t I just snog Smith in front of him?”

“No!” says Marietta. 

“It’ll be way worse in his head if he doesn’t see you. Leave it to his imagination,” nods Cho knowledgeably.

God, dealing with boys was such hard work. You look at your two friends sincerely- they’re extremely skilled in this particular art of war. 

“Thank you- both of you. This was insanely hard work, I mean, this dress, Marietta…” You check yourself out in the mirror again. “It’s beautiful, really. I’m sorry if I’ve ever been sort of disparaging towards this stuff before. As if it’s any less worthwhile than Quidditch or school. It’s just… I’m not used to being bad at things.”

They understand. You don’t need to say any more as the three of you embrace in the middle of the dorm room.

“Right,” says Cho, wiping her eyes. “You’d better go before Zacharias thinks you’ve stood him up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slughorn’s office looks like a beautifully decadent circus tent. The walls are draped with emerald, crimson and gold hangings, contrasting with the striking blue of your dress.

You walk in, arm-in-arm with Smith who looks incredibly pleased with himself. When you met him earlier on the marble staircase he actually did a double take before saying your name questioningly, as if he didn’t believe it was you.

“Fuck off, Smith, I don’t look that different.”

“Ladylike as ever, I suppose,” he scoffed and you rolled your eyes.

But now as you walk in, you keep your head high and smile at other students you recognise, as if you’re delighted to be here with Smith. Murmurs ripple through the crowd, as the two of you pass through- you hope it’s your dress that’s causing a commotion but you resign yourself to the fact that your classmates are probably just surprised to see you here with a boy.

Tactics, remember tactics. 

“Let’s get a drink,” you whisper, marching him towards a tower of champagne flutes. You grab one and drain it quickly, using the opportunity to discreetly scan the room for McLaggen. 

He’s across the room, determinedly talking to Hermione. You have a satisfied feeling that he’s trying not to look at you.

You dump your empty glass, grab another for courage, and link Smith’s arm again, steering him to try and find Slughorn but you don’t need to go far before you hear a booming voice calling your name.

“Professor Slughorn! Thank you for inviting me,” you respond graciously, pretending you aren’t starstruck by his companion, Gwenog Jones. “This is Zacharias, he’s captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team.”

“Oh! I thought- ” says Slughorn looking from you to Smith and then off into the room behind you. “Ah, never mind. I’m an old man, who knows less and less about young love these days.” Slughorn chuckles and Smith gives you a questioning look which you ignore. “Anyway, allow me to introduce Miss Gwenog Jones, Captain of the Holyhead Harpies. Gwenog, this is the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, I mentioned earlier.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” you say, shoving your drink into Smith’s hand and clasping hers when she reaches out to give you a handshake. “I’m a huge fan.”

“Old Sluggy’s been telling me all about you,” she says. 

“All good things, I hope?” You ask playfully of Slughorn who guffaws.

“Of course, of course!”

“I don’t suppose he mentioned our recent landslide victory against Slytherin?” You give her a winning smile, desperate to make a positive impression.

“He did… But I’m more interested in what he told me about your training.”

“My- my training?” you stumble - slightly surprised that Professor Slughorn knows anything about your training.

“I’ve told Miss Jones here all about you spending every evening on the pitch. I can see it from that window, you know.” He gestures to the window in the corner, obscured by the curtains. “You and McLaggen, practising for hours and hours and right in the middle of your N.E.W.Ts too… Oh, look, there he is!” Slughorn looks over your shoulder again and calls his name. “Not that you’d be interested in McLaggen for your all-female team, Gwen,” he chuckles. Slughorn spills a little champagne when he spots Harry Potter and practically runs over to join him, abandoning your group.

You bristle as McLaggen replaces Slughorn’s vacant space beside you. He shakes hands with Gwenog who, you remind yourself, he’s acquainted with already.

“As I was saying, Slughorn told me all about your win against Slytherin and while it piqued my interest, it was your work ethic that really got my attention. And he says you’re a keeper too?”

“A world-class one,” says McLaggen. “I’m surprised she hasn’t been snapped up by a professional team already.”

You blink at him in surprise. It’s very considerate of him to compliment you like that in front of Gwenog, even though you’re not speaking.

“And it’s you two who’ve been practising together every night?” she asks, noticing the look you give to McLaggen. “I mean, you’ve actually been training? Slughorn hasn’t been seeing you head off to the Quidditch pitch so you can snog privately or anything, has he?” She lets out a laugh like a bark.

“No! God, no,” you say quickly, and go to squeeze Smith’s arm but he’s already disappeared without you even noticing. 

“Absolutely not,” confirms McLaggen.

“Good,” she smiles. “Well, you’re not the usual build for a keeper, I must say. They usually look more like him - ha!” She nods at McLaggen. “But if you’re as good as he and Slughorn say you are, it sounds like I’d be stupid not to let you try out during the transfer window this summer.”

“That… that would be incredible. Thank you.” 

She bids you and McLaggen farewell and goes to mingle with the other guests. If you hadn’t fallen out with McLaggen, you’d grab him and jump up and down screaming for joy. Instead, you stand awkwardly, trying not to look at him.

Game plan, a small voice in your head reminds you but the champagne has loosened your sharp tongue.

“Well, you better not keep your girlfriend waiting,” you say, looking for Smith.

“Who told you that Hermione’s my girlfriend?”

“Hermione told Lavender who told Parvati who told Padma who told Cho who told me,” you rhyme off, trying to sound casual. 

“I thought you didn’t like gossip.” 

You shrug. “I just hear things.”

“Look, I know you don’t like her after what she did to Marietta-”

“Oh, is that what she said?”

“No, it’s what I know. I was in the D.A. with them too. You’re not the only one who hears things.”

Finally bringing yourself to look at him properly, you’re extremely annoyed to see that he looks incredibly handsome in his black shirt and dress robes. 

“So, have you snogged her?” You blurt before you can stop yourself.

“What?!”

“Have you snogged her?” you repeat slowly and clearly, knowing full well he heard you the first time.

“I’ll go and snog her right now if you’re so concerned.”

“Go ahead. It should be easy, right? If she’s your girlfriend and not just here to make Ron Weasley jealous. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my date.”

He watches dumbfounded as you walk across the room to grab Smith aggressively and lead him by the hand out of the room. When you reach the corridor, you turn around and see that Smith looks like he can’t believe his luck.

“Oh,” you say, trying to think of a lie when you realise you really, definitely don’t want to snog him. “Sorry- I just wanted a bit of air. It’s so hot in there and my armpits are like, really sweaty.” You make up wildly.

Smith pulls a disgusted face and turns to go back in. “Wait!” you grab his arm and spin him back around. “Let me fix your hair.” You run your hand through it, messing it up slightly. “There, much better.”

He stares at you, stunned. “You are so weird.” He returns to the party and you groan, leaning against the indented archway in the wall and knocking your head back against it a few times in frustration. When you hear the click of high-heeled footsteps coming towards you, you flatten yourself inside the little cove so you’re not spotted alone. 

Hermione Granger whips past you without so much as a backwards look. You watch her as she walks as fast as she can in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. She’s ditched McLaggen, you realise. You thought you’d feel ready to gloat but instead you just feel… empty. Until recently he was your friend after all.

Returning to the party, you’re not sure what to do with yourself. The game plan has gone out the window.

You want to do everything you can to avoid Zacharias Smith, and you really don’t want to be paraded in front of a vampire by Slughorn like Potter is right now. The only person you actually want to talk to is Cormac McLaggen but lately, all you’ve been able to do is argue, that is when you’re not sitting in sullen silence during Potions. 

You decide you’d better mix with some other students. You spend some time chatting with Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley who you recognise from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They congratulate you on your win against Slytherin, and you return the compliment but only out of obligation as both victories make your teams the closest rivals on the table, competing for the top spot. You excuse yourself and cross the room to get another drink but Professor Snape halts you in your tracks. 

“Detention,” he says simply. 

“Sir, I-”

“The first Saturday after the holidays. And I expect you to be more suitably dressed for the occasion.”

You open your mouth to argue but think better of it. Any argument with Snape is likely to extend your detention to a week or even a month. More murmuring cascades around the room as he gestures to the door. It’s probably for the best, you think, that you leave before you drink any more. You got what you came for - an invite to the Holyhead Harpies tryouts. But you wish you’d just…

What do you wish?

That you’d made McLaggen jealous in the process? Or even just made up with him? Gone back to being friends. But could you ever swallow your pride and settle for being just friends? Surely that had to be better than whatever this feeling was right now.

Out of the hot room, the cool air hits you dizzyingly as you walk quickly along the corridor to the entrance hall. You see McLaggen ahead of you, near the front doors, in almost the exact same spot where you had your argument two weeks ago. 

Maybe being friends would be enough.

When he hears your footsteps he turns and groans “Oh, no. Not you.”

You catch up with him. “Always so disappointed to see me, McLaggen.”

“I’ve been chucked out. Snape gave me detention.”

“Me too,” you shrug. It’s not much of an olive branch but your instinct is to try and make him feel better. Misery loves company after all.

“You have?” He brightens up considerably. 

“He thought I wasn’t ‘suitably dressed’,” you say and his eyes follow your hands as you smooth the front of your satin dress. “What did you get chucked out for?”

“He caught me hiding behind the bar trying to drown my sorrows.” He pulls an entire bottle of Firewhisky from his cloak.

“Your sorrows?” 

He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter.”

“And he didn’t confiscate the bottle?”

“I pretended that I was about to vomit on his shoes and he just threw me out without noticing I still had it.” 

Without warning you both burst out laughing. Your stomach hurts from laughing at the idea of Snape dragging McLaggen out at arm’s length, trying to avoid being vomited on.

“Well, no wonder he was in such a foul mood when he saw me. I mean detention, for wearing a dress?”

“Personally, I agree with Snape,” His gaze lingers on you again. “It’s very distracting.”

“Oh, shut up.” 

“Just don’t ask me what colour it is. I haven’t noticed.”

You hit his arm. This is nice - the playful banter, both of you not sulking for the first time in weeks. It feels almost… normal. Until, with a small jolt, you remember it’s not.

“Don’t be a pig, McLaggen. You have a girlfriend.”

“She isn’t my girlfriend,” he says, leaning his head back against the wall. “We can’t stand each other.”

And there it is. The news you’d been secretly hoping for all night. The pit in your stomach feels much lighter.

“Where’s Smith anyway? He was looking pretty dishevelled when he came back from the corridor.”

You feel a pang of guilt. He’d noticed. And it doesn’t make you feel victorious in the way you’d thought it would. “I honestly couldn’t give a shit where he is.” He says nothing. You wonder if he’s been hoping for similar news too.

“Do you want some?” He asks eventually, shaking the bottle of Firewhisky and breaking the prolonged silence. You go to accept it but he says. “Not here - Snape and Filch will be prowling the corridors in a minute.”

“Quidditch stands?”

He nods and you exit the castle, walking side-by-side in the dark, down the path towards the pitch. It’s a frosty night and you feel your teeth chatter.

“Wait a sec.” He removes his heavy cloak and wraps it around your shoulders. It smells good. Like him. “Better?” You nod and take the bottle from him, so you can have a nip of Firewhisky. It burns your chest, spreading heat through your body.

The path ends when you get to the pitch and you feel your high heels sink into the grass. “Shit,” you hiss, freeing one of your stilettos.

“Right, up you get.” He stands in front of you and stoops slightly, so he can give you a piggyback. 

“You must be drunk if you think I’m letting you carry me.”

“Don’t argue for once in your life. Hurry up.”

You give him the bottle back before jumping up so he can carry you across the grass and underneath the stands. The familiar smell of amber and jasmine, this time mixed with Firewhisky and mud from the Quidditch pitch, reaches your nostrils. You resist the strong urge you have to lean into the crook of his neck and inhale.

He lets you off when you get to the wooden stairs. “Ladies first.”

“Remembered I’m not a bloke, have you?” you ask, walking up the stairs. Cho was right- he does always let you walk in front of him.

“If I thought you were a bloke, I wouldn’t constantly be staring at your arse.” He gives you a cocky grin. 

“Oh, well, by all means, carry on objectifying me then,” you say sarcastically and snatch the bottle from his hands before turning around quickly so he can’t see you smile. 

He follows you to the top of the stand where the pair of you sit, looking out onto the pitch and the snowy hills in the distance. 

“I’ve never noticed how beautiful it is up here,” you sigh. 

“Always been too busy watching the game?” 

You nod. 

“Same.” 

There’s still an awkward dark cloud hanging over your heads. You take another drink of Firewhisky and pass it back to him. 

“Right, out with it then.”

“What?” he asks.

“We can’t just act like the past couple of weeks haven’t happened.” Being brave, being vulnerable like this is something you’ve always found difficult and the bottle of liquid courage you and McLaggen are sharing doesn’t seem to be helping. 

You try to think of how to get the words out - if there’s one thing you’ve learned from spending more time with Cho and Marietta this year, it’s that it’s better to get this sort of thing out in the open. You take a deep breath, preparing for rejection but he beats you to the punch. 

“I’m an idiot.” He groans. “I just - I got it into my head that we’d go to the party together and you’d end up getting off with Gwenog Jones. So when Hermione asked me to go I jumped at the chance.”

“I don’t fancy Gwenog Jones-”

“-Then you turned up with Smith and that was even worse than what I imagined with Gwen.”

You draw his cloak around you and look at your shoes. “Well, I didn’t realise you had asked me to go to Slughorn’s party as friends.”

“I- I didn’t want to ask you as friends. Believe me. I thought I was kidding myself that you might be into me… everyone said I was stupid to even ask you.”

“Who’s everyone?”

“Belby-“

“Belby?!” You scowl. That moron. “Who else?” You demand.

“Well I’m not gonna say now, am I?” McLaggen laughs. “I can tell Belby’s about to regret it.”

Your face cracks into a smile. The aggression bubbling up in your chest evaporates into the frosty night air. His laugh gives you a new perspective - it’s as if you can step back from the scene and can see how daft it is to get so bothered by someone like Marcus Belby.

You look up at his face in the cold moonlight. Butterflies squirm in your stomach. He’s so distractingly good-looking - you can’t think properly when it’s just you and him like this. No quaffle or cauldron to divert your attention or give you a reason not to look at him for too long. 

“To be honest, I sort of thought Belby was right after all because you didn’t seem that keen when I asked you.”

“I hesitated because you make me nervous, Cormac,” you say softly, determined not to look away. It’s like looking into the sun.

“Yeah?” He’s still looking into your eyes but he feels closer now. 

“Don’t pretend you haven’t figured out by now that I like boys too.” You look from his eyes to his lips. “Well, not boys. Just… just one.”

His mouth is inches from yours. You can feel his breath on your lips. “If you say Smith, I’ll kill him.”

And there it is. You’re not sure whether it’s his possessiveness or the fact you’d really like to watch him hit Smith but something about that sentence makes you feral for him. You press your mouth against his, the burning taste of Firewhisky on both your lips. 

He kisses you back fiercely. It’s harder and rougher than the soft kisses you’ve experienced before but you like it. It means you can kiss him back the way you want to - you know he can handle it. You bite hard on his bottom lip in silent admonishment for what he’s put you through. And Cormac returns the favour, his hand roughly gripping the part of your thigh exposed by your dress. You wonder if he knows it’s for him. The absence of fabric - created for the sole purpose of seeking his attention.

You bring your arms behind his neck, pressing your body as close to him as you can and the Firewhisky falls from the bench and rolls on the floor, forgotten. He moves his hand under your thigh and drags you onto his lap so that you’re straddling him. Your lips meet again, crashing into each other and his tongue intrudes into your mouth, rolling over yours. You want to feel his mouth everywhere.

As if reading your mind, his lips leave yours to kiss along your jaw and down your neck. You lean back so he can draw his tongue along your collarbone and bury his face in your chest. Cormac’s strong hands grip your hips tightly, his thumbs pressing bruises into your hipbones without any indication of slowing down or showing restraint. 

From this position, you can feel his erection pressing into you. It’s the first time you’ve kissed a man like this but your body responds almost automatically, sending your hips grinding into him. The night air is below freezing but your skin feels burning hot between the weight of his cloak and the warmth of his body.

The difference in size and strength between you sends wild thoughts flashing through your mind of him pinning you down against the bench and savagely taking you there.

You run your fingers through his dark blonde hair, pushing his face into your cleavage in encouragement, feeling his hot tongue and rough chin against your chest as you grind yourself against him harder. The now hot and damp fabric of your underwear rubs against the hard bulge between your bodies, creating friction more electric than the one that’s been between you the past few weeks.

“Fuck…” he moans into your chest softly.

All evidence so far has pointed to Cormac being an ass man but you’re not so sure any more as he continues his vocal appreciation, licking and sucking your tits right here on the deserted stands.

Cormac’s hands move up from your hips to push your breasts together and he whines when one of your nipples peeks out over the top of your dress. He latches onto the small nub of skin and sucks, swirling his tongue around your nipple. 

“Cormac, fuck, that’s-”

But just what it is, is interrupted by the anguished moan of pleasure that leaves your lips when his teeth graze your sensitive skin. It echoes across the deserted pitch into the night. A noise that would be indiscernible in the usually busy stadium. Unable to take it anymore you push his chest back and stare into his eyes, breathing heavily. 

“We shouldn’t… we should go back to the castle,” you pant.

“Shouldn’t what?” He raises his eyebrows with a smirk, his slightly wet chin glistening in the dim moonlight. “I haven’t suggested anything.”

“I was talking to myself.”

He grins and helps you off of him so you can fix your dress. “Well, that was easily the best thing that’s happened to me in this stadium,” he says, adjusting himself too.

“Ah, maybe you’ll get a game one day,” you tease and cup his face, just so you can feel his stubbly chin against your palm again.  

He kisses your palm before taking your hand in his so you can walk back down the steps to the pitch together. When you get to the grass he insists on carrying you again but this time refuses to put you back down until you reach the castle steps. 

From a tower high above, Horace Slughorn looks out of the window of his now-empty office. The party has long finished. He chuckles to himself when he sees the silhouette of McLaggen emerging from the darkness, carrying you on his back towards the entrance hall, illuminated by the castle torches.

When you climb off him and make it to the top of the marble staircase, you kiss him goodbye one final time. This is the last time you’ll see him before you go home for the Christmas holidays tomorrow. You turn and leave for Ravenclaw Tower, while he goes off in the opposite direction to Gryffindor. 

“I can skip, I can be broken, I can burst, I can sing. What am I?” asks the bronze eagle knocker on the door. “A heart,” you say, ripping off your heels impatiently, waiting for the door to swing open. You need to wake up Cho and Marietta - you promised you’d tell them everything.

Chapter 6: First Name Basis

[hypocriticaltypwriter]

MORE MARY UPONE YE! (I swear I'll make a headcanon list and tag you eventually-)

A reason Mary is a lot more timid/quiet when compared to Ace, is due to the simple fact of: He wants to pass as Mary. Sure he pokes at women and girls, who doesn't in that town? But he happily observes and looks at them with a sort of secret admiration. Mary, is trying so hard to be lady like and sweet, she worries about passing and how she comes off, so she'd so much softer and quiet.

While yes, Ace is forever grateful to the fact Richard loves and supports him, and the fact he dresses as Mary, and helps her be her....he wants to kill him anytime the teasing starts. The teasing ranges from playful and harmless, to outright antsy inducing for him. Doesn't matter if he's Ace or Mary, the teasing happens.

Examples: "Aweee, your little princess wand getting worked up from the girl magic Ace~" "Aweee gonna pitch a tent in your skirt gorgous?" "Somone on their period?" "*cat sounds* Rawr rawr kitty kitty!!" "You could be my girlfriend for the night~ it wouldn't be gay since your dressed as a dame~"

"Richard shut up....Richard, i- Richard, RICHARD!!!" Mary hits him on the back of his head a LOT with her hand or slaps on on ocassion if it gets bad, otherwise it's just her getting her hand bad after him.

Mary offering Nancy things in her purse. "...I got cigarettes, a bottle of pain Killers, a flask, and then some candy....oh and cash, coins, oh that's where that went-" Her bags small but it's full of stufd, she can't fit SO much in there, damn things a void, the magic hats of purses, she can pull so much out of it.

Always offering cigarettes or other things to, "Wind down" and if asked for femine products she gets nurvous and says she forgets to pack them.

I bet once she was with Nancy and got all antsy, all shifting in her spot and it was asumed she needed the "Powder room" so Nancy offer her help, and it turned into the most awkard ting of, now she just has...a thing in her purse and the reason she was antsy was becuse her mind was wandering and she got excited and had to duck off to take a breather.

The amount of times Nancy probably thought Mary and Richard were a couple, especially wirg how she clings to him or holds his hand made her wonder if they wernt secretly dating, especially with how he's always ready to best somone up over her and she just gets so shy..

"Mary Mary, quite contrary~ how does your garden grow!!"

"(Laughing) Oh Nancy, I just tend to theses it's technically Ace's, or it was here when he got the house...whatever, yard garden remained.."

"Well jts beautiful and smells like paradise!!"

"...thank you💖💗💖"

Mary taking Nancy out for a "Girl's night" becuse I imagine Nancy's family likes Mary even if she's related to a Merrill, she's way better than Ace, so they allow it. The sheer awkwardness thst would be Mary being invited over however and hearing how much her brother snd dad HATE Ace and her brother saying how he'd beat him up, and Mary is just there like: "Oh god I'm gonna fucking die-"

FERAL CRAZY WACKY INSANE MAD EVEN OVER THIS

[the-al-chemist]

The Lights That Never Go Out

Chapter 6: Come And Get It

A/N: I am unabashedly a massive fan of Phlegm Fleur, and I was so happy to have a reason to include her in this story. That being said, I was not prepared for how much fun it would be to write dialogue between her and Charlie. This (admittedly loosely) follows the prompt ‘Blue Christmas’ for @thethreebroomsticksfic’s Yule Bash.

17th December, 1998

It was morning. Outside, the sky was the palest shade of blue imaginable, so pale it was almost white, and the sunlight was bright and cool as it flooded through the windows of Charlie’s brother’s marital home.

In the kitchen, Bill and Fleur Weasley were the picture of matrimonial happiness, sharing quiet jokes and chaste kisses as they prepared breakfast together. Charlie would normally have offered to help out, but he felt as if in doing so, he would be getting in their way. Instead, he had taken a seat at the table and tried to make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible.

“Will you two get a room?”

Charlie turned in his chair at the sound of Artemis’ voice. She walked into the kitchen with her eyes on Bill and Fleur, scowling slightly. Bill removed his hands from his wife’s waist and leaned on the countertop.

“It’s our house, this is our room,” he told Artemis with a smirk. “The question is, will you ever pay us rent?”

Artemis pulled a face at Bill and went to take a seat. Clearly, Charlie had been doing a better job of being inconspicuous than he realised, because it was only then that Artemis appeared to notice him. She visibly stiffened, and her lips tightened to a thin line.

“Good morning,” she said. There was a forced breeziness to her voice. Charlie inclined his head.

“Morning.”

He reached up to the window behind him and pushed it open, earning himself a quizzical look from Bill. Charlie nodded his head in Artemis’ direction and shrugged, and his brother pulled the sleeves of his jumper down his forearms. Fleur said nothing, but she tightened her dressing robe around herself as she made her way to the table, four plates of eggs benedict floating through the air in her wake. When Artemis looked from Charlie to the open window and back again, he offered her a small smile. She did not return it.

Charlie couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He’d hoped that their argument would have been forgotten about after they’d both had a day to calm down, but apparently that had been wishful thinking on his part. With the way Artemis had flown off the handle the night before last, he shouldn’t have been surprised that she still needed to cool off, that she would still be cool towards him.

He could barely remember the last time they’d fallen out, it was so long ago. Nine years ago, give or take. Their sixth year at Hogwarts, the year that everything changed, the year that Rowan died. Charlie felt a pang of guilt. He should not have mentioned the idea of losing a best friend to Artemis, as real as the possibility was, as much as that possibility terrified him. If it weren’t for that fear, he would have been content in that moment to have said nothing at all, to have allowed her to kiss him and to kiss her back, and to follow her wherever she led him. A part of him wished he had done just that, but he knew that putting a stop to it was the right thing to do. He couldn’t risk losing her, and even more than that, he couldn’t risk her losing him. After Rowan and Tonks, she wouldn’t be able to cope without him and his family as well. It was better this way. No, they weren’t talking right now, but they would. Everything would be alright again, once Artemis had gotten over it. He only wished he knew when that would be.

“I won’t need to pay you any rent for much longer,” Artemis told Bill as she tucked into her breakfast. “Once I start work I’ll be moving out.”

“Good riddance.” Bill laughed. He used his wand to pour himself a glass of orange juice as Artemis rolled her eyes. “Dare I ask where you’re going? Please don’t tell me you’re moving to Cardiff with some bloke you broke up with six months ago. I don't think any of us can cope with that drama again.”

As surreptitiously as he could, Charlie reached over to pick up the jug of juice that had been floating in the air beside Bill. This was a conversation he did not want to get involved in.

“No, I was thinking of going back to the Three Broomsticks for a bit. I’ll have to check with Rosmerta first, but I can ask her while I’m there for Christmas.”

Charlie’s glass was still half-empty, but he stopped pouring.

“I thought you were coming with us to Mum and Dad’s for Christmas,” he said, before he could stop himself.

In twelve years, he had spent one Christmas without Artemis, the one just gone. It had been the worst Christmas of his life, even worse than the one immediately following Rowan’s death, or the one he had spent in the knowledge that his father was lying in a hospital bed hundreds of miles away from him. This coming Christmas was going to present its own challenges, but he had assumed that he’d be facing them with Artemis at his side. He wasn’t certain that he could get through it without her. And what about her? If she wasn’t coming…

“Well, you thought wrong, didn’t you?” Artemis’ voice was sharp, but when Bill and Fleur looked at her, she became breezy again. “I just think it’s better if I’m not there this year. Y’know, because of Fred.”

She was lying. Charlie would have been able to tell that she was lying, even if he hadn’t known the real reason for her sudden change of heart. He lowered his head so that Bill and Fleur wouldn’t see the look on his face. This was exactly the sort of thing he had wanted to avoid.

“You’re still more than welcome to come to our family’s for Christmas,” said Bill. “If anything, Mum might be glad to have more company. It’ll be less quiet that way.”

Artemis made a non-committal noise and put a forkful of egg into her mouth.

“Ros needs someone capable to help her behind the bar,” she said through her food. Bill frowned at her.

“You have egg on your face.”

At Bill’s comment, Artemis swallowed and used her hand to wipe a spot of yolk from her chin. She looked at her palm for a moment, then licked it.

“Really?” Bill blinked at her. His eyes flicked towards Charlie momentarily, so he wasn’t sure who his brother was addressing when he asked: “What is wrong with you?”

“What?” Artemis asked. She pushed herself away from the table. “Whatever, I’m finished. Thanks for making me breakfast.”

“Thanks for putting me off mine.”

In response, Artemis narrowed her eyes at Bill, picked up her empty plate, and licked it, before placing it back down on the table and leaving the kitchen entirely. Bill shook his head as he watched her leave.

“Over two billion women in this world, Charlie, and that is what does it for you,” he muttered, once she was out of earshot. He sighed and rose from his chair. “I’d better get to work. Love you.”

Bill kissed Fleur on the cheek before he left her alone with Charlie. Charlie cleared his throat.

“I guess there’s probably no way that you didn’t hear him say that, is there?” he asked. “Because it’s not… That’s not what it is. And whatever Bill has told you—”

“‘Ow do you know zat Bill ‘as told me anything?”

Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed. “Has he not told you anything?”

“No, ‘e ‘as.” Fleur’s sea-blue eyes glittered over the top of her cup as she took a sip of coffee. “‘E told me everything, in fact.”

“Great. That’s just great.”

Charlie exhaled loudly, but he struggled to feel annoyed. Fleur looked so amused that he struggled not to smile. He placed his head into his hands and laughed at his own expense.

“I mean it, though. The way Bill will have said it, it won’t be right. He doesn’t get it.”

“No, I suppose ‘e wouldn’t.”

“It’s not about anything ‘doing it’ for me, it’s not anything to do with… She’s my best friend, y’know? That’s what it is. He doesn’t understand that.” Charlie shrugged. “I’m not sure if anyone does. The more I hear people speak about this sort of thing, the more I feel like I am a bit different when it comes to this.”

Fleur put down her mug. She nodded, slowly and thoughtfully.

“Yes, I zink so,” she said.

“You’re really good at making people feel better, has anyone ever told you that?”

“I am not trying to make you feel better, I am just saying ‘ow it is,” Fleur told him. “Because of my grandmuzzer, most people react when zey first get to know me. Either zey are drawn towards me, or it is like zey are angered by me. You ‘ave noticed zat, no?”

Of course Charlie had noticed the effect Fleur had on people. How could he not have? He nodded his head.

“But you do not understand zis,” said Fleur. It was a statement, not a question. “Some people don’t react. I can always tell when zey don’t.”

“Why don’t they?”

“I suppose because zey are just a bit different. Did you meet my parents at our wedding?”

“Yeah.”

“In zat case, you must ‘ave seen that my muzzer is much better looking zan Papa,” Fleur said. Charlie wasn’t sure how to respond. “It is true. When I was young, people used to say it all the time. Zey used to make jokes about it.”

Charlie could imagine the jokes. He didn’t need to imagine them, his brothers had made them at the wedding.

“Once, I asked ‘er why she loved ‘im, when zere were so many more ‘andsome wizards she could ‘ave loved. And she said zat she ‘ad never noticed zem. She said zat for some people, love comes in by the eyes, but it never ‘ad for ‘er. For ‘er, it was because of everything else zat she fell in love, and it was only zen zat it got to ‘er eyes.”

“That makes sense.”

Fleur smiled. “I was zinking it might. It never made sense to me until Bill got attacked, but now I understand it, too. I’d like to zink zat if it ‘ad been me, zat Bill would ‘ave understood it, but…”

“He would,” Charlie tried to assure her, but she did not appear to need any reassurance at all.

“Per’aps. Per’aps not. It does not matter now, does it?” She waved a dismissive hand. “What I am saying is, I zink zat you are like my muzzer.”

“Only not quite as good looking.”

“Well, no. Obviously not.”

Charlie was too tickled by the bluntness of her response to even be remotely offended by it. He chuckled, before raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“I should go and talk to her. Artemis, I mean, not your mum.”

He found Artemis in her room, the door to which she had left open. He knocked on it anyway.

“Is it alright if I come in?” he asked. Artemis glowered at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. Charlie took that as an affirmative response. “Thanks.”

He hesitated by the door. Fleur was still around, and he would have preferred to have this conversation in private, but he knew that no good would come from him closing it completely. He left it slightly ajar and joined Artemis on the bed.

“What do you want?” she said.

There were many things that Charlie wanted. He started with the simplest thing.

“I want you to come to Mum’s for Christmas. Please. It’ll be rubbish without you. You should come.”

“Really?” Artemis muttered. “Because I wouldn’t have thought you’d want me there, seeing as I don’t really care that much.”

Charlie just about managed to stop himself from sighing.

“Yeah, alright. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you care. I’m sorry. For that and for the whole ‘losing a friend’ thing. I honestly wasn’t talking about Rowan. I wasn’t even thinking about Rowan, if I had thought about it, then I’d never…” He paused. “But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“Well, I didn’t think about what I was saying and what that meant, and so I ended up hurting you. You see?”

Artemis said nothing, just stared at Charlie with her lips pursed.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want anyone to hurt you, honestly, but I definitely don’t want to be the one who hurts you,” Charlie explained. “And I know you don’t want to be the one who hurts me, either. I mean, do you?”

It felt like an age before Artemis answered, “No.”

“That’s a relief.” Charlie was only half-joking, but Artemis’ lips twitched anyway. “So, you get it, right? Why I was asking you to think before—”

“Did you think before you kissed me?” asked Artemis. “About what might happen after?”

“I thought one of us or both of us might die after. I didn’t really have the time to think much past that, I’m afraid.”

It was true, in a way. Over the years, Charlie had spent a lot of time thinking about what might happen after, but that night at the battle, he hadn’t thought at all.

“It’s different now, though,” he said. “There’s all the time in the world. That’s why it’s better to take some time to think about this, isn’t it?”

Artemis was silent. Her front teeth grazed her bottom lip, her eyes stared at her hands in her lap. When she finally lifted her gaze to look at Charlie, he could see that they were filled with such deep apprehension that it bordered on fear.

“No,” she said, with a little shake of her head. “I don’t want to do that.”

Charlie shrugged his shoulders. “Alright.”

“It’s not…”

“No, I know. I get it,” Charlie told her. “Really, it’s alright.” He meant it. He understood that fear. He had felt it himself. “Still friends?”

“Of course.” Artemis gave him the smallest hint of a smile. “Still friends.”

For a moment, Charlie considered hugging her, but it felt almost inappropriate to do so now. Instead, he held out his hand for her to shake, a decision he immediately regretted. As Artemis’ sceptical eyes travelled slowly from his face to his hand, his insides curdled with embarrassment.

After an excruciating few seconds, she shook his hand. Once she had let go, he rubbed his fingertips against his own palm. It felt distinctly empty without hers pressed against it. And, maybe it was the open bedroom window, but the air between them felt distinctly colder than he could remember it ever being.

Neither of them spoke. For the first time in years, Charlie wasn’t sure what he should say to Artemis. They were still friends, but the stillness between them had never been this stiff before, their companionable silence so uncomfortable.

Something had changed, somehow. It didn’t matter that Charlie had been trying to do the right thing, something had gone wrong, or had just gone. He didn’t know where it had gone, or how, it just had.

Worst of all, he didn’t even know if he’d ever get it back again.

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Moodboard by @softhecreator

Don’t Blame My English Blood For This American Heartache

Chapter Five: Don’t Stop Me Now

AO3 info prologue one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve

All my work is 18+.

I feel I’m watered down whenever he’s around. I put on the crown of clowns and melt slowly to the ground.- MARINA, Hermit the Frog

Mid August, 1984

Diagon Alley

London, England

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Sera admitted, looking at the wand a very old man named Ollivander was offering her in his wand store.

“Nonsense, Miss Malfoy,” the old man assured her. “The wand chooses the witch.”

“I’ve never used a wand before,” she explained. “I learned magic without one.”

“You can’t go to Hogwarts without a wand,” Yarrow told her, fanning herself with a painted fan that looked like it had been made for Queen Victoria herself.

“Indeed, Miss Rosier,” Mr. Ollivander confirmed.

Hesitantly, Sera took the wand in hand.

“Now then,” Mr. Ollivander said pleasantly, “just give it a wave, if you please. Or, if you’d like, perform a simple spell.”

Sera waved the wand, imagining a small ball of harmless light emerging from the tip.

A ball of light did emerge from the tip. But it was not small, nor was it harmless.

It caused a moderately-sized explosion.

With a wave of his own wand, Mr. Ollivander cleaned up his store and offered Sera a second wand to try.

She did the same thing with the same results six times. It seemed that every wand Mr. Ollivander had made disliked Sera a great deal. It took awhile, but eventually, one of the wands she tried didn’t produce an explosion, but rather a large ball of light that closely resembled the sun. She had instinctively waved her free hand and put the light out, of course, but the three of them were momentarily blinded anyway.

“Well,” Yarrow said, mildly amused, “I suspect that’s as good as it’s going to get.”

“Perhaps we should try—“

“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander,” Sera cut him off with a polite smile. “I’ll take this one, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes, of course.” He seemed reluctant, but he did as she’d asked.

Sera figured she wouldn’t be using the wand, anyway.

What she was excited for was the cat she was allowed to bring to school with her, were she to be accepted. She’d found a tiny black kitten by the side of the road. She figured that since he was an orphan she found in Europe, she’d name him Beowulf, Beo for short.

“What on earth do you mean you don’t need a trunk?” Aunt Ursa asked, astonished.

“Well,” Sera said slowly, idly petting Beo, was perched on her shoulder at the moment, “we don’t have the money to buy one, and my suitcase will do just fine.”

“But everyone has a trunk.”

Sera shrugged, jostling Beo, who let out a small meow of protest. “Everyone enrolled as a first year, too. I’m enrolling as a seventh year.”

Aunt Ursa pursed her lips. “Very well, dear. As you please.”

Sera smiled. Her aunt had been very kind and accommodating. “I’m very grateful to you for all you’ve done for me, Aunt Ursa. Truly.”

Her aunt smiled back at her. “Of course, dear girl. Now come, we must get you to Hogwarts for the placement examinations.”

The tests were beyond exhausting.

It certainly didn’t help that Sera hadn’t bothered to attend in the Hogwarts uniform everyone else was wearing. That was probably why people were staring so much, actually: she wore a black and red plaid skirt with suspenders that went over the black Lick It Up sleeveless shirt she’d bought at a KISS concert when she was fifteen and the beat-up combat boots she’d had since she stopped growing at thirteen.

She didn’t always dress like a punk, but she had a few friends who were in college back at UCSC who were really into that kinda thing. Okay, so Doug was more the sort to wear jeans and plain t-shirts, but his girlfriend liked to drop acid at the Boardwalk, and his best friends consisted of a dude majoring in astrophysics and another dude who’d founded UCSC’s gay and lesbian organization, which Ta attended the meetings of despite not even being enrolled yet. In any case, some of her friends back home dressed the way she did, and she kept forgetting that nobody in the Wizarding World did.

Mid August, 1984

Hogwarts

Scotland

“I really think I should try it without a wand, ma’am,” Sera attempted to tell the transfiguration professor, whose name was McGonagall. Transfiguration was her first test with a practical section, and Sera knew it was essential she display her abilities there because Aunt Ursa’s explanations of English-style magic may not have been entirely adequate to get her a passing grade on their own, comprehensive though they were.

The older woman—who Sera thought she might like, actually; she was terribly excited to get to know other witches, especially teachers—pursed her lips. “We will try with a wand first, and then without a wand.”

Sera nodded, and was then presented with some sort of ball.

“Turn this into a balloon, if you please,” Ms. McGonagall said politely. “With your wand.”

Sera nodded, and, picturing the ball turning into a balloon, she flicked her wand at it. 

The ball transformed into a balloon, which promptly exploded.

Ms. McGonagall blinked at the scorch marks on the stone floor, then looked up at Sera. “Let’s try without your wand, then.”

Sera put her wand down on the table carefully, as if it might bite her, which she half-thought was a possibility.

“Should I make a new ball?” she asked. 

Ms. McGonagall raised her eyebrows. “Can you do it without making it explode?”

Sera grimaced, but nodded. “Yes.”

“Very well, then.” With that, the teacher stood back, presumably to avoid potential injury if another explosion were to occur. 

Sera flicked her hand, and a ball identical to the one before popped into being.

Ms. McGonagall stared at her. “Wandless and nonverbal,” she observed quietly, taking notes on a pad of some sort. “The balloon, if you would.”

Sera nodded and flicked her hand again, and the ball became a balloon.

Ms. McGonagall pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Are you capable of human transfiguration?”

Sera nodded, sitting down at a desk chair. “I used to do this at the beach with a friend of mine,” she admitted a bit bashfully. The teacher raised her eyebrows expectantly, and then Sera gestured to her legs. Her pale skin became opalescent scales, and her legs merged into a tail.

“You can transform yourself into a mermaid,” the teacher observed dryly.

“Yes,” Sera confirmed, tapping her tail idly to turn it back into legs. “I can’t breathe underwater or anything, though.”

Ms. McGonagall’s lips twitched, and Sera thought she might’ve been trying not to smile. “Miss Malfoy, what happened when you used your wand, does that always happen?”

Sera shrugged. “I never used one before I came to Europe. I learned without one.”

“You learned magic without a wand?”

Sera nodded. “The people who taught me don’t use them, either. I didn’t know witches used wands until recently.”

Ms. McGonagall nodded once, scribbling down something on her notepad.

She had to do several other transfigurations before the practical was over, and the teacher was a very stoic woman, but Sera hoped she was at least a little bit impressed.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Sera addressed her, a bit nervous. Ms. McGonagall looked down at her, as expressionless as always. “Do you think… that is to say, do I have a chance? At— at getting in, I mean.”

The older woman looked at Sera consideringly. “I think, Miss Malfoy,” she said slowly, “that if you show the skill in your other examinations as you did in this one, I will be very pleased to have you in my class.”

Mid August, 1984

Malfoy Manor

Wiltshire, England

Upon her return to Malfoy Manor, she was most displeased to discover none other than Regulus Black waiting there for her.

“Eugh,” she said by way of greeting, curling her lip at him. “Go away. I am so not in the mood.” It was true; she was exhausted. Hours of testing made one very tired, and she was very interested in going to bed, despite the fact that it was barely past six and she hadn’t even had dinner.

Regulus smiled in a way that made him look deceptively good-natured. “I know you had your placement examinations today, and I thought you’d fancy could use a bit of a breather afterwards.”

“Yes, I would could,” she agreed immediately. “Which is why you should leave. I’m not in one of your fancy hundred-year-old dresses, anyway.”

He looked down at her outfit, his eyes widening as if he hadn’t noticed it before. “What on earth are you wearing?”

“Clothes,” she informed him flatly.

“Is… is that how Muggles dress?”

She put a hand on her hip. “People who can’t use magic, you mean? Yes, they sometimes dress like me.”

He licked his lips, his eyes fixed on her bare legs. “You… you wear this kind of thing oftena lot?”

“Sometimes.” She wanted to smack him until he actually left. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

His gaze flicked back up to her face. “I’d like it to be.”

Sera fixed him with a glare. “What I wear is never going to be any of your business.” 

With that, she moved around him to the main hallway and made a right in the direction of the spiral staircase that led to the third floor she occupied.

“Where are you going?” Regulus asked, sounding like he was hurrying after her.

“My room. Not that that’s any of your business, either.” She turned into the tiny room with the staircase, hoping very much he would take the hint and leave her be.

“I thought we could have a cup of tea,” he told her.

“I’m American,” she snapped impatiently. “I don’t drink tea to wind down. I watch things, listen to music, and take naps.”

“Oh.” She rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness and didn’t respond, but he followed after her anyway.

“I might decide to turn the stairs into a slide,” she warned as she began to go up them.

“No, you won’t,” he deduced easily. “I remember those exams, and they’re an absolute nightmare. You won’t want to do magic like that for another few hours at least.”

She pursed her lips, annoyed. Especially about the fact that he was right.

“Why won’t you go away and leave me alone?” she demanded in exasperation as they reached the top of the stairs on the third floor.

“Because if I leave you alone, you’ll never fancy me, and that won’t do.”

“That won’t do,” she mimicked, dropping her voice down low in and faking a British accent in what she considered to be a spot-on impression of the dickhead. “I’ll never ‘fancy’ you either way, fancy boy.”

She strolled into her TV room, plopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote off the coffee table. “I’m confident you will, but— what’s that?” He pointed at the TV.

“It’s a TV,” she said flatly, clicking the power button. She had MASH queued up in the VCR already, so Hawkeye’s dreamy face immediately appeared onscreen.

Regulus flinched. “What on earth—“

“It plays videos,” she explained impatiently. “Recordings. Like a play you can watch. See?” She pressed play, and Hawkeye resumed badgering Frank Burns, the way he’d been doing when she’d turned it off last.

Regulus stepped closer to the TV as if it would bite him.

“Ugh,” she groaned when he stepped in front of the screen. “If you’re not gonna leave, at least get out of the way. Sit down or something.”

He did so wordlessly, watching the screen with wide, fascinated eyes. “This really happened?”

Sera grimaced. “Well… yes and no.” He looked at her in askance, and she paused it with a sigh. “The people, they’re actors. The characters aren’t real. But the place they’re in, Korea, is obviously real.” He nodded his understanding, and she continued, “And Americans really did send troops over there.”

“They’re not fighting anyone,” Regulus pointed out.

“That’s because they’re a MASH unit,” she said. At his blank face, she added, “Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. They’re doctors—healers, whatever—and they treat people who were wounded in the war.”

“Why would anyone choose to do that?” he asked, bewildered.

She snorted. “Oh, they didn’t choose it, most of them. They got drafted.” He looked confused again, so she elaborated, “You know, conscription? Picking random citizens to go fight?”

“That’s barbaric!” Regulus declared, horrified.

“No shit,” she said dryly. “Now shut up; Hawk takes his shirt off in this one and I don’t want you distracting me from his hotness.”

“You— you find this man attractive?” he demanded, looking astonished.

Sera rolled her eyes. “Duh, look at him.”

“He’s got dark hair and light eyes,” Regulus observed. “He’s tall and rather thin— I am your type, then.” He settled back against the couch cushions, satisfied. “Lovely.”

“You are so not my type,” she said, like a liar.

After that, Regulus spent a great deal of time at Malfoy Manor bothering Sera.

She could admit to herself, however begrudgingly, that he was occasionally interesting to be around. He was intelligent and well-spoken, and he seemed to genuinely want to hear her thoughts on things.

Not that she’d ever tell him that, of course.

“We should go out to dinner,” he decided one afternoon.

Sera scowled at him from her place on the couch as she pet Beo, who was asleep in her lap. “Absolutely not.”

He frowned. “It’s a grand idea.”

“It most certainly is not a grand idea,” she said, mimicking his stupid fancy boy accent.

“Very well, then,” he acquiesced, plopping down next to her on the couch, far too close for her liking. “We can stay here.”

She scowled again. “Or, fun alternative,” she said slowly, “you could leave.”

“No,” he hummed thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think I will. Your family likes me.”

“They like you because you’re rich.”

Regulus shrugged. “The end result remains the same.”

“Whatever,” she scoffed.

It wasn’t until several hours later, when she fell asleep on his shoulder, that he carried her to bed; Beo trotting after them. 

Very softly, he said something to her, and whatever it was made her smile and nuzzle into her pillow, but she drifted off before his words could register.

September, 1984

Hogwarts

Scotland

Before Sera knew it, she got her acceptance letter and was off to Hogwarts.

Everything happened so fast that it felt like a whirlwind; she was sorted into Ravenclaw with Yarrow, and they were to share a dorm room. Yarrow didn’t even mind that Sera had a kitten and wanted to put up a mezuzah on their door frame.

She was honestly very excited for almost all of her classes: Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, and—tragically—Potions. She was also taking two elective courses in Ancient Studies and Magical Theory, both of which sounded fascinating.

“Really, Miss Malfoy,” her Head of House, Mr. Flitwick, was saying, “Llumos Solem solem is not a terribly complex spell for a witch of your level. I trust that you will be able to perfect it with ease, based on your examination scores.”

“I can, yeah,” Sera agreed immediately. “The issue isn’t the spell or how difficult it is, sir, it’s the fact that me using a wand doesn’t go well.”

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” the teacher assured her.

Sera winced, glancing back at Yarrow, who was looking on with raised eyebrows and pursed lips.

“Remember, Miss Malfoy,” her teacher said, watching the way she held her wand closely, “lumos solem.”

Sera nodded, furrowing her brow in concentration and trying her damnedest to not put too much power behind the spell. Very softly, her voice almost a murmur, she said, “Lumos solem.”

A ball of light emerged from her wand, and it rather closely resembled the sun. It was hot, as if she were in an inferno, and the force of it knocked her onto her ass before she could put it out, but Mr. Flitwick quickly waved his own wand to disperse the bright, burning light.

“I think, Miss Malfoy,” Mr. Flitwick said after a tense moment of silence, “perhaps it would be best if you didn’t use a wand.”

She didn’t notice when several weeks had passed.

She did notice when an unfamiliar owl dropped a letter in her lap at breakfast one morning.

She looked at the front; the envelope was sealed in green wax, a weird, morbid-looking crest on the front. If she looked very closely, she could see that it had three ravens on it, a hand holding a dagger, what appeared to be a skull, and some French written on a weird scroll at the bottom. Bizarre.

She frowned, opened it curiously, and began to read.

Miss Malfoy,

I hope you’re settling in well. Your aunt tells me that you were Sorted into Ravenclaw. I must admit I’m disappointed you weren’t put in my own House, though I don’t doubt that you deserve a spot in the House of wit.

I would very much like to see you, perhaps during a Hogsmeade weekend. I assure you I am privy to all the best places to go and things to do in the village, so your time will be well-spent, even if you do not particularly enjoy my company just yet. Please let me know when would be best.

Yours,

R. A. Black

“Who’s that from?” Yarrow wanted to know, looking up from her vegetarian omelet.

“Lord Black,” Sera said mockingly. “He ‘would very much like to see me’, as he put it.” She made air quotes and rolled her eyes.

Yarrow’s eyes widened. “He really fancies you, doesn’t he?”

Sera scowled. “I hope not. He’s a jackass.”

Yarrow bit back a smile. “Is he now?”

“Don’t look at me like that!” Sera groaned miserably. “Just ‘cause he’s hot doesn’t mean I—“

“Oh, so he’s hot now, is he?” her friend tittered. “I thought he was a jackarse.”

“He is,” Sera insisted. “He’s just a very sexy jackass.”

Yarrow grinned. “You must write him back.”

Sera recoiled so much she damn near fell off the bench. “I’ll do no such thing!”

“Oh, honestly.” Her friend rolled her eyes. “He’s the most eligible bachelor in the country. I find him repulsive physically and even I’d marry him!”

“Dunno how you can find him repulsive,” Sera grumbled into her oatmeal. “Either way, he’s trying to ‘court’ me or whatever, and I’m not having it. No thank you to that.”

Yarrow dropped her fork, and it clattered onto her plate. “He wants to what?”

“Court me,” Sera said dully, taking a bite of her food. “Or so he says.”

“And you said no?”

“Doesn’t seem to have deterred him.” She shrugged. “Maybe my lack of response will do the trick.”

Her lack of response did not, in fact, deter Regulus. He sent her letters fairly regularly, and she always said she wouldn’t read them, but she ended up caving every time.

The letters usually contained things like him bemoaning the fact that she wouldn’t respond to him, stories about his life and schooling, things he wanted to know about her, and—more than a few times—how ‘utterly enchanting’ he found her. His words.

She would be nineteen at the end of October, on the 29th, which was a Monday. However, the following Wednesday was Halloween, and they were permitted to visit a nearby village called Hogsmeade starting after classes let out.

The morning of her birthday, yet another letter arrived from Regulus, except this one was… heavier than normal. She opened it and pulled the paper out, beginning to read.

Miss Malfoy,

I hope your birthday is as lovely as you are. Please accept this small token of my admiration. Your aunt has accepted an invitation to my family’s annual Christmas ball on your behalf, and I ask that you wear this gift for it.

I hope to see you soon.

Yours,

R. A. Black

Yarrow, who had snatched the envelope, pulled a necklace out. Sera’s mouth fell open when she saw it.

The necklace was a woven platinum snake with tiny emeralds amongst the diamonds covering the entire thing, and, astonishingly, a large emerald hanging from the mouth of the snake, as well as three more on either side of it, all the size of her thumb.

Sera could do nothing but stare.

Yarrow, however, laughed outright as she pulled out the pair of matching earrings. “Oh, this is just—“ She cut herself off, collapsing into giggles.

Sera took the necklace from her friend to inspect it, turning it over in her hands.

The emeralds had to be fake, right? They just had to be.

Apparently, she’d said that out loud, because Yarrow fought down more giggles and said, “Oh, no. Those aren’t fake. Emeralds and diamonds. Check the back of the center gemstone.”

Sera blinked in confusion but did as she’d been told.

To her absolute horror, the Black family crest was engraved into the setting.

“Their crest is there, then?” When Sera could only nod, speechless, Yarrow snorted in a rare moment of minor inelegance. “I thought as much. It’s called the Ophiuchus. He gave you a family heirloom, darling. Bloke must be hard as a rock for you.”

“What am I gonna do?” Sera breathed, dejected and at a loss.

Yarrow shrugged. “Marry him, of course.”

“I can’t do that!”

“You could do a hell of a lot worse.”

Sera wasn’t sure that that was true. Hopefully, she’d never have to find out. 

Regulus is so fun to write lol

Big thanks, as always, to the lovely @lilmaymayy for betaing this for me 💗 and of course Sof’s fucking phenomenal moodboard, as per usual

Tag list:

@ellamaianderson @shika1200 @blackqueenstarseed1 @gatoenlaciudad @esmaada @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @softhecreator @timolaurence @timmymyluv @oddlyenoughiamweird @leecrunchybones @s-we-e-t-t-ea @almostg @leespparker @bubblebuttwade @glizzymcguirex @starberry-cake @camille-1019 @lixzey @shycreationdreamland

To be added, please ask 💗

[braveclementine]

Part 10

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However 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. Also, all of Severus and Elizabeths' childrens names are mine and mine alone.I also do not condone any copying of this.

SNAPE HOUSEHOLD- PRINCE ESTATE

🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶

Severus walked into his bedroom to find Elizabeth inside, sitting on the bed, fixing her hair in the mirror. There was a brown bottle of what looked like beer on the dresser table and he hesitated from commenting. They still weren't on perfect ground, though they had definitely been doing better than the year where they hadn't spoken at all to each other. 

He took note that she was dressed for Auror work, though she hadn't done on the ground work in a few years. Her combat boots she insisted on wearing were shined, having been freshly taken from the box. Her wand was on the dresser in front of her. 

"What's happening?" 

"We're raiding Nott." She said lightly. "Harry is gathering the force." 

Severus couldn't help the fear that had gripped him. Nott was one of the Death Eaters that had managed to get fewer years in Azkaban compared to the others. After getting out, he'd laid low, very low. 

Despite their uncertainties, he couldn't keep his opinions to himself. "You shouldn't go. He still lusts after you, after all of these years. If he got his hands on you-" 

"Severus, there will be other Aurors there, including Harry, not to mention I am completely capable of handling myself. It's just him and his son." Elizabeth said, standing. She finished off the last dregs of the beer and he hesitated again. 

"Should you be drinking before going in for a fight?" 

She laughed, "It's not alcohol Severus. It's a muggle drink. It's called Rootbeer. It's pop, soda pop? Like Cola and Dr. Pepper. Here." She handed him the bottle, which did indeed have the word 'Rootbeer' on the other side of it. 

"My apologies. I was just worried." Severus said quietly. 

She kissed him sweetly on the lips. "I know. I love you. I'll see you when I get home from work." 

"I love you too. Stay safe." He said softly, watching her leave the bedroom, hearing her footsteps head down the stairs and then nothing more. He sighed, standing in the empty house. The kids had gone out, although Mari could've stayed home without him knowing. 

He treaded down the stairs slowly to go and make dinner, praying his wife would make it home safely. 

🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶

OUTSIDE OF NOTTS HOUSE

Elizabeth moved slowly around the premise, keeping in contact with the rest of the Aurors that were here for the house raid. The occupants of the house were well aware of the attackers outside, the house silent and dark. 

She could hear Harry at the front of the house, knocking on the door, announcing himself. She wondered if he felt as strange as she did, approaching an ex- Death Eaters house that they had once run from. Now, willingly approaching him to raid and possibly make arrests. 

She rounded the back of the house with a fellow Auror by the name of Courtney. Her flaming red hair was bright as she caught Elizabeth's eye across the lawn. Elizabeth nodded once, moving to the back door, looking out for potential traps, murmuring spells with every step for detection and protection. 

"MR NOTT IF YOU DO NOT LET US IN WE HAVE AUTHORIZATION TO BREAK DOWN YOUR DOOR!" Harry's voice was magnified, echoing through the silent yard. A bird chirped in a tree nearby, before taking off, wings fluttering as it flew away. Elizabeth half wondered if it had been an Animagus. 

"YOU HAVE TILL THE COUNT OF THREE!" Harry announced. Elizabeth and Courtney met at the back door at the same time as Harry started the count down. Elizabeth glanced up and saw the curtain twitch. 

"MOVE!" She shoved Courtney out of the way, the witch rolling on the grass as Elizabeth dodged with her, narrowly avoiding the spell that had been thrown at her. "Propulso!" She rocketed upwards, landing on the edge of the window, swinging herself into the room, her feet kicking into the elder Nott's chest. 

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The younger Nott shouted. Elizabeth rolled behind the bed, the green jet taking a piece of the footboard with it. 

"STUPEFY!" She shouted back, feeling stupid that in a life and death situation, she was not allowed to defend herself permanently. The younger Nott dodged the spell as the elder made it to his feet, holding a hand out to his son. 

"Wait." He croaked, grinning. Unlike Lucius, his form had changed drastically in his years. He was missing teeth, his hair graying and thin. "We take 'er with us." 

"Fat chance." Elizabeth huffed. Her spell work became far more precise and with vicious speed, her and the younger Nott in a terrific duel. She sent the younger Nott flying with a well placed spell, but the elder one managed to catch her off guard. She grunted as she went flying through the air, hitting the wall with terrific force. 

Paintings and the candles in the brackets fell with her, cluttering to the floor. Glass broke in the frames, the occupants running off the glossy pages to escape. The flames went out in the candles thankfully as she threw herself to the side once more, dodging another spell. 

She fought from behind the loveseat she had been thrown behind, ducking as another spell flew over her head. The clock above her head was smashed to splinters, raining down on her, the cuckoo bird bouncing off her head comedically, falling to the floor and rolling under the sofa. She winced, almost rubbing the area it hit her, before remembering she had more pressing issues to worry about. 

Harry burst in through the other door as she ducked again, stunning both of the Notts out, both of them completely collapsing to the ground. 

"You all right?" He asked, his wand still pointed at the two men as Elizabeth moved out from behind the couch, rubbing the top of her head with a wince. 

"I'm fine. Let's find what we came here for." She sighed, waving her wand so that the two Notts were bound back to back, placed by the stairs. Three of the other Aurors brought them back around, dragging them out of the house. 

"Here." Harry said, pulling out the time turner that was hidden in the floorboards, in a safe. "We found it." 

Elizabeth peered at it, noting the differences between this one and the others. "It's certainly different." 

"Shall we bring it to the Minister then?" Harry asked with a grin. 

Elizabeth grinned back, "We shall." 

[moonflower-rose]

The three things thing!

I am so behind that people are going to start calling me Dr Cheeks. I was tagged by three lovely humans of fandom, thank you all!

@shealwaysreads things here  @kbrick things here  @writcraft things here 

I can unhesitatingly recommend any of these writers works, not just the ones they've mentioned above, but I'm sure I don't need to tell anybody here that.

So, on to ME! The thing we're doing is 'Recommend us 3 of YOUR fics: 1 that is “most popular” and 2 that are “hidden gems.'

Most popular first.

I think whatever way you measure it, Watch the Castles Burn is my most popular fic. Every metric on AO3 has it on top, with the exception of subscriptions (its beaten only by my one fucking WIP that I stg I will finish one day soon).

I feel amused every time I see this fic. I wrote it for Wireless 2021 and not far off completion I had a complete emotional breakdown and went to bed for like 3 weeks and cried (not over the fic!). And then on the day that the fest started posting I pulled myself together and reached out to the mods to ask if it was too late to submit, and they were extremely kind and understanding and said yes, so I finished the last little lingering bit and had a non-fandom pal do the most last minute beta you can conceive of because I didn't really have any fandom connections that I felt I could impose on at that time, and we tried to take care of the worst of the comma crimes etc, and then at the end of the fest there she was! I was incredibly emotional, on a rollercoaster (grief is a bastard), and I felt like I had submitted an absolute steaming turd. I thought nobody would read it and nobody would like it. @shiftylinguini had only recently become a new friend and I spewed anxiety at her non-stop for days which she was very patient about and still kept answering my DMs, and has not yet abandoned me which speaks to her very good character and kindness lol. And somehow, this possibly-a-turd became the most popular thing I've written in eighteen years in the fandom. It's not what I consider my best work, but people like it!

Have a bit:

Potter found him in the shower block later that afternoon. Draco had one hand braced against the tile beside the shower head, letting the hot water pummel him. His left shoulder was bruised to hell, in fact he could feel the muscle along his ribs beginning to ache as well, the adrenaline slowly waning.

“I was looking for you,” Potter’s boots echoed off the tiles. “I went up to your office, but they told me you were probably down here.”

Draco turned his head just enough to look over his shoulder, and winced when his whole left side cramped in objection. “How’s Ron?”

Potter, to his credit, looked him in the eye. “Good. Very pleased to be alive, thanks to you. I think you’ll be getting Christmas shortbread and Easter buns from Molly for a couple of years or so, after this.”

Draco would have laughed, but that would have required using muscles which were currently strained to buggery, so he just made a noise instead and hoped it wasn’t too pathetic.

“That looks pretty sore. Do you need a hand with a Healing charm?”

He did, actually, not that he would admit it. Still a stubborn, proud arsehole, despite his best efforts. He turned slowly, flexing in the water. That fucking hurt, but the look on Potter’s face was worth it. “If you wanted an excuse to see me in my altogether, Potter, you need only have asked.”

Potter let his eyes drift down Draco’s body like fingertips. His drew his wand from his thigh holster, and gestured with it. “Turn around, you lush. Healing first, flirting later.” Draco turned the water off and braced himself again against the tile, and Potter’s magic collided with his back a moment later. He made a noise, it was punched out of him rather than anything voluntary, and the pain coalesced before fading to a low thrum.

“Thanks.” Draco’s voice was rough.

“Get dressed, and come home with me. I’ll give you a back massage, sort out the last of that stiffness.”

“It’s barely four.” Draco had a feeling there would be other kinds of stiffness afflicting him if he let Potter give him a massage.

Potter just looked at him with dark eyes. “Come home with me.”

Draco went home with Potter.

Next, two hidden gems.

I really like Relief from this years Sudsfest. I had 60K of thoughts about this fic but I only had about 4K of time and brainpower, so I sliced out the right bit for Suds and plan to come back to this very soon.

  Watersports is a challenging kink for many, its a broad label so it makes sense that people might be unsure of it, lol. But it gives me such a kick when people trust me and have a go anyway, and then say so in the comments. Love that!

Some Relief:

The afternoon management briefing had essentially been a write-off. The scar on his hip prickled and itched, and he kept zoning out, head full of warm sheets, velvet skin, stubble, sweat. Vivid flashbacks to things they’d done in bed together threaded through with things they hadn’t tried yet. Budget updates and governance and risk assessments and compliance reports. It was like the mumbling of a meeting happening in a different room.

Receipts! This was so much fun to write, I don't know what came over me one afternoon but I was full of beans and asked @shealwaysreads for a random prompt, and Receipts was born a couple of hours later in between meetings.  I also have thoughts about this, which I'd like to revisit one day (god knows when, the to do list is painfully long as it is).

A bit of Receipts:

“Parkinson, you look surprisingly well fed.” Weasley was all but bouncing in her trainers. “Care to show me your receipts?”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, Weasley,” Pansy said smoothly, and Draco didn’t miss the flash in the red-headed menace’s eyes. He looked desperately at Potter, who was attempting to enter the flat behind her. Eventually he had to shove her forward to get past her.

“Malfoy,” Potter’s eyes were sparkling, which was very annoying and not sexy whatsoever. “Alright?”

“I’ve been better, if I’m being honest,” Draco muttered, and Potter shook with suppressed laughter. “Let me get you a water.”

The girls barely noticed their departure, and in the kitchen Draco got down a pair of glasses and took the Brita out of the fridge.

“I hope you’re going to tell me your week has been as miserable as mine?”

Potter took a big sip of water, and his eyes crinkled. “Sorry to disappoint. This is going to be a piece of cake for Gin. She’s as stubborn as fuck, but she’s also already on a pretty strict diet because of training, so it didn’t take much to cut out luxuries. She made me go to the farmers market with her to get even cheaper veg—actually, I could have lived without the run on the way there, if I’m honest.”

“Well, Pans is basically made of refined sugar and nicotine, so I spent our last shop slapping Percy Pigs out of her hands like I was playing Goal Defense for England.”

Potter snorted and nearly spit out his water. Draco felt his belly swoop, and looked away to hide his smile.

“How long do you reckon this will go on?”

Draco cocked his head. “I mean, let’s not kid ourselves, this is foreplay. So I predict whichever one of them gets overcome with the need to hump first.”

Potter shook his head in amazement. “Somehow when you say vulgar things, I’m never expecting it.”

“I’m vulgarity personified,” Draco said, his nose in the air. “I also have a bar of Dairy Milk hidden in Pansy’s top shelf, and if you’re a very good boy I may share it with you.”

“I can be good for you, Draco,” Potter said in a low voice, and Draco stuck his head in the pantry to hide his reddened cheeks.

Tagging is the bit I'm really shit at, obviously never hesitate to just do this if you see it but the rules require tagging so if you haven't done this already and you want to, you are hereby tagged: @gracerene and @thehoneybeet and @candybarrnerd and @nv-md and @academicdisasterfic and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm and @oknowkiss!

[sunnyie-eve]

8 | Not the Way

Series: No Prince Charming

Paring: Harry Hook x Original female character Princess!

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

"Hold up. Mmm. Too easy. Why don't you give it a test drive? We want to see it work." Uma tells Mal as she makes the trade.

"You always were quite the drama queen." Mal tells her.

"Oh, and nothing too big, or else Ben is fish bait." Uma adds.

"Okay. Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word." Mal points the wand at Dude. "Talk dog."

"Does this vest make me look fat?" Dude says shocking Bella because clearly she missed something earlier since that was a fake wand. "Does anyone have some bacon? Cookies?"

"Give me the wand!" Uma shouts.

"Give me Ben!" Mal shouts back.

"Harry, bring him over." Uma tells him so Bella follows them.

"And, before you guys go, uh, tell your mama Gaston says hi. And also tell your dad that my dad wishes he finished off your dad when he had the chance." Gil tells the two.

"Will do, Gil." Bella smiles before joining the others.

"Cut him loose, Harry." Uma tells Harry.

"I never get to have any fun." He does what he's told.

"What about our chases? That was fun to me." Bella jokes with him as the girls trade and Mal tells them they have to go.

They don't get away in time before Uma realizes it was a fake so Evie tosses out the swords as everyone fights. "Have a fun swim, Harry!" Bella laughs as Jay drops his hook in the water.

While Jay and Lonnie go get the car, Bella helps the others still. "Hey, can I still call you Bebe for short?" Gil asks as him and Bella fight each other.

"Sure, why not." She takes the lead.

"You aren't a bad fighter."

"Thank you." She laughs before the smoke bomb goes off and they make a run for it. Mal kicks the bridge into the water smiling at Uma, "Bye bye." Bella waves before leaving with Mal.

"So you can apparently take care of yourself. Just chillin around the Isle and on Uma's ship." Mal looks at Bella.

"Yeah." She smiles.

"I'm really sorry that things didn't go the way you wanted them to." Ben speak up towards Mal.

"I mean... As long as you're safe, that's..." Mal tells him.

"I mean, at least I got to see the Isle. They're my people, too. Uma helped me see that." He tells her.

"Ben, Uma captured you."

"She's an angry girl with a bad plan. That's not so different from you when you came to Auradon, Mal." Ben says making the rest of the ride awkward.

Back home Bella cleans up and Evie drops off her Cotillion dress and before she leaves with Doug she stops to ask Bella a question, "Why was it so easy for you on Uma's ship?"

"Just talked to them. Uma had her walls up but still talked to me some about the Isle. I just kept messing with Harry, and Gil is surprisingly nice to talk to. He's the odd one out of the three. Plus I said I would be neutral until the trade happen so there was no tying me up." Bella explains to her, " Excuse me, I have to go tell my mother Gaston said hello. I want to see her reaction since we had our fight."

When Bella gets to her parents room they both were in there getting things ready for tonight, "There you are! Where have you been? You had us worried." Belle walks over to her daughter.

"I was on the Isle... Met Ursula's daughter Uma, Hook's son Harry, and Gaston's youngest son Gil. Umm, Gil said; Gaston says hi to you. And also he wishes he finished you off dad when he had the chance." She delivers the message, "Gil is surprise super nice compared to Gaston."

"Why did you go to the Isle?" Her dad asks.

"Because I wanted to get away. I don't want what you have planned for me. And you're my parents, you should want what I want. And you should let want what I want." She tells them, "Why can't you do that for me?"

"We want what's just best for you, but when you were gone... I thought it over and you were right. I didn't want those things and I'm just being like people were to me to you. Do what makes you happy." Belle hugs her daughter.

"We just want you to be happy." Adam goes to hug her as well, "But you are in trouble for spending a whole day at the Isle, without telling anyone." He adds.

"That's fine." She tells them.

"Do you always have to wear yellow?" Louis asks Bella as they watch people dance.

"Do you always have to wear green?" She tilts her head looking at him before walking off some.

When Mal comes out Bella goes over to join her with Evie but when Ben comes out he surprises everyone with Uma.

As Ben and Uma dance Bella had a feeling something was up with Ben, "Jane, the gift." Bella tells her so she runs off.

"Cover that back up!" Uma gets mad as. En stares at it. "Umm. Why don't you tell everyone the present you have for me, Ben?"

"I have an announcement. Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady." Ben tells everyone.

"Son..."

"Not now, Dad!" Ben shouts. "So as my gift to her, I'm bringing down the barrier once and for all." He makes everyone gasp.

"That wouldn't be so bad is he was spelled..." Bella says looking at Mal.

"Ben. Ben. Look at me." Mal walks over ti him.

"No, look at me. You love me." Uma tells him.

"No, you don't. Ben, look at me. Ben. I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn't good enough. And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realize that yourself. But, Ben, that's me. I'm part Isle and part Auradon. And, Ben, you've always known who we were and who we can be. Ben. I know what love feels like now. Ben. Of course I love you. Ben, I've always loved you." Mal kisses him and it breaks the spell Uma put him under.

"Ugh! Give it to me!" Uma goes for the wand.

"Uma, stop! This isn't the way!" Bella steps in front of her so she runs off.

"Umm, I know you. You are so much more than just a villain. And you have to believe me because I've been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want." Mal stops her.

Uma jumps into the water turning into half a big octopus so Mal turns into a dragon to stop her. Ben jumps in to stop the two saying the fighting has to stop. Uma just goes down into the water disappearing.

Evie tells Ben about a few kids from the Isle who would love to come over so she's make him a list. Bella walks off away from everyone looking out at the ocean wondering where Uma went. She looks at everyone dancing then over at the dark cloudy Isle hating how unfair it was.