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catohphm · 5 months ago

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HPHM Ship Week 2024 - Day 2 - Second Wizarding War

In a New Peace

Good morning everyone! The second Cato x Penny story of mine for @hphm-ship-week is a post-war story set in the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War. Again, special thanks to @autisticarachnid and @eternalchaoschocolaterain! I hope you all enjoy!

Summer 1999, the country is in the process of recovering from Voldemort’s reign of terror. Cato and Penny are staying the weekend at a seaside cottage belonging to one of their friends. The trips there help them process the aftermath of the war.

Cato was relaxing on the front porch of the house when Penny came out with two cups of coffee. “This one's for you, Cato-bear.” She laid the hot beverage on the small table next to him, pecking him on the cheek.

He smiled at her and looked at the crashing waves on the beach in front of the house. “It’s different, maybe refreshing to see the waves dance back and forth along the line in the clear sunny weather, nothing on your shoulders.”

“It almost makes me tearful knowing how many of our friends and allies gave it all so this could happen,” said Penny.

“I know. It’s very solemn but still soothing to watch the wonder of nature at play. This is what our fallen friends wanted.”

She nodded and looked around at the seagulls flying around in the sky, full of life. “All the people who didn’t make it… they’re all in a better place, and I think that all the animals around here are signs that they are happy up there.”

“What do you think they want us to do, Penny?” asked Cato.

“I know it’s hard for many of us, right now, but I think the friends we lost would want us to keep going in honor of their memory.”

Her partner paused for a second. “You’re right. They gave themselves so we would have a safer world to live life in. The hiding, looking over your shoulder, dangerous people looking to hunt you down.”

“Perhaps we should set it aside for a little while, Cato? The war’s over. We need to memorialize our friends though we need time to take care of ourselves. Want to go for a walk by the beach?”

He got up from his chair. “I’d be glad to.”

They were quietly walking along the shoreline when Penny spoke up.

“Cato, I got something I would like to tell you. We’re going to have a son.”

He was shocked, but highly joyed at the surprise of a child on the way. “A child, we’re gonna start a new family? Penny, I love you very much.”

They sat down and shared a kiss with the waters of the sea sparkling beside them.

“It’s something I wanted as well for a while, but we now can.” said Penny.

Cato’s eyes widened. He considered their conversation from an hour ago and asked “New life has a chance to flourish in this peace?”

His love gleefully answered “Absolutely, I hope that we can move somewhere quiet and settle down once this is all past. For now, we must focus on rebuilding after what Voldemort and the Death Eaters tried to do.”

“I’m still going to be a part of the Auror Office for as long as Minister Shacklebolt needs me. There’s a lot of work to do yet in reforming the Ministry to remove the bad influences and have it better protect and represent all magical people in the country.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you there too.” assured Penny. “This is also important to me. We lost Tonks because of Voldemort and people like his supporters played a big part in why life was so difficult for werewolves like Chiara. This is our opportunity to make sure our friends and loved ones have equal protections to live in peace no matter what.”

“Very much.” agreed Cato, “Greyback may have worked with Voldemort and had many followers, but his kind still doesn’t deserve to be shafted because of a bad few.’

They looked up at the sun in the sky dotted by little clouds above the sea. “We work together so that any person, muggle-borns, werewolves, vampires, and even squibs can have the chance to live full lives without having to be hiding in fear, Cato.” Penny said.

“That has gone on for long enough.” her partner finished.

“It takes time of course.” They nodded and looked toward the ocean before Penny spoke again. “Cato, I’ve thought of some names for the baby since I first found out. I’d never pick one without you, though.”

He grinned a bit.

“What about Brian for him?” asked Penny.

“It sounds sweet. I couldn’t think of anything with my mind so occupied with the work we have to do later.”

She nodded and got up. “C’mon Cato-bear, want to go into town and stop by one of the cafes? I could use something.” He joined her and they went together.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphmshipweek24 #hphm ship week 2024 #hphm mc #harry potter hogwarts mystery #cato reese #cato x penny #penny haywood #hogwarts mystery mc #mc x penny #brian haywood-reese #hpma #hpma mc #hpma oc #magic awakened #magic awakened mc #magic awakened oc

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the-al-chemist · 1 year ago

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On This Wild Night — Part One

Notes: And here it is, the Hinny Wedding WIP. In Part 1 of 5, it’s time to attend the ceremony, but two guests are running a little late. At dinner, the Weasley brothers hatch a fun plan, and Artemis plans on having a little fun herself… A warning for mild language and some sexual references.

Masterlist — Next

Charlie perched on the arm of a sofa, tapping one foot on the ground impatiently. As the door opened, he stood up, but he was disappointed to see that the person entering the room wasn’t a person at all, but a strawberry-blonde cat, whose fur was grey around the face. Charlie sighed.

“What is taking so long?” he asked, his question directed to himself as much as the cat. He looked at his watch, shook his head, and walked into the hallway to call up the stairs, “Artemis! We are going to be late!”

“What’s the time?” a woman’s voice called back to him.

“It’s half past ten!”

“That’s fine! It doesn’t start until eleven and it only takes a second to Apparate.”

Charlie made his way up the stairs. At the top, he leant against the wall opposite the bathroom, from which he could hear the sound of Artemis rummaging through a bag.

“Artie, I don’t want to rush you, but I was meant to be there over ten minutes ago,” he said. “I’m an usher, remember?”

“I know, I know,” Artemis’ voice said on the other side of the door. “Stop nagging me, you sound like your mother.”

It was hard to argue with that, but time was getting on. Charlie glanced at his watch once more.

“Alright, are you nearly done, or should I just go on without—”

He didn’t finish his sentence. The bathroom door swung open to reveal a bare-footed woman with hazel eyes and dark hair that had been pulled back from her face into an artfully messy bun. His eyes swept her five foot tall frame, taking in the way the wine-coloured fabric of her dress skimmed her hips, and clung to her chest. The dress was low-cut, leaving Artemis’ shoulders and collarbone exposed.

“I’m done,” she said, holding her arms out from her sides to demonstrate.

“Hm,” was the only response Charlie was able to give.

“Charlie?”

“Hm?”

“My eyes are up here, you know.”

At Artemis’ words, Charlie quickly looked up at her face. She shook her head at him, before pulling her wand out of the clutch bag she held — until that moment, he hadn’t even noticed that she was holding a bag — and summoned a pair of very high-heeled shoes from the attic.

“Sorry. I like your dress,” he told her.

“Sure, that’s what it was,” she muttered, slipping the shoes onto her feet.

“Have you got the card and present?”

Artemis peered into the clutch bag, before summoning those and putting them in there, too.

“I have now,” she said brightly. “Charlie.”

“What?”

“Will you stop looking at them?”

“Sorry, I just… Well, I physically can’t.” He half-laughed, and tilted his head to one side. “Have they always been that big?”

“No, I’m just wearing a bra.”

“Do you not normally wear a bra?”

“I do,” Artemis nodded, “but this is a proper bra. Does this to them.”

She put her hands in front of her chest, pushed them towards each other, then lifted them up slightly. Charlie nodded sagely.

“I see. Very impressive.”

Artemis frowned at him before looking downwards.

“Is it too much?” she asked. “Is it maybe just a bit too booby?”

“Maybe,” Charlie said, standing up straight and stepping towards her, his face mock-solemn. “You know, I think I might need a closer look in order to tell.”

“Funny.” Artemis pulled a face, but she walked towards him anyway. Charlie placed his hands on her elbows and looked down at her, trying to keep his face straight.

“No,” he said, after a few moments. “I’d say it’s just booby enough. Exactly the right amount of booby.”

“You would say that.”

Artemis didn’t look convinced, and Charlie lifted her elbows so that her arms were on his shoulders. He dropped his hands to hold onto her waist and looked her in the eye.

“Seriously, though. You look beautiful. Really beautiful.”

The expression of amused annoyance disappeared from Artemis’ face, and a small smile began to play on her lips.

“So do you,” she told him, and he kissed her on the forehead.

He would have stopped there, but Artemis’ hands had made their way into his hair, and before he could stop her — although, he was hardly going to stop her — she had brought his face to hers. The feeling of her lips on his ruined his resolve, and as they kissed his hands moved from her waist to her lower back, down to her bum and back up to just below her shoulder blades, where the fabric of the dress met her skin and he could feel the fastenings between his fingertips…

“Charlie,” Artemis whispered against his lips. He hummed back to her. “Shouldn’t you be ushing at the moment?”

In an instant, Charlie removed his fingers from Artemis’ dress.

“Shit. Yes, yes I am,” he said. “Yeah, we really don’t have time for this right now.”

Artemis laughed. She licked her thumb and used it to wipe her lipstick from his lips.

“Shame. Maybe later,” she said, and raised her eyebrows.

“Definitely later.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Who’s Apparating?”

“You can,” replied Charlie. “It’s your fault that we’re running late, after all.”

Artemis sighed, but she held out her arm anyway. Charlie linked his own with it, intertwining his fingers with hers. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, before taking one final look down the front of her dress. He felt Artemis nudge him with her elbow.

“Eyes up, Weasley.”

Charlie snapped his head up, and the two of them disappeared with a loud crack.

Artemis took a seat on the left side of the church, in the second pew from the front of the chapel. While Charlie greeted various distant relatives and family friends with two of his younger brothers, she took a look around the room, making note of who she did and didn’t recognise.

Milling around the chapel were a few vaguely familiar faces she recognised from other events, and some old acquaintances and members of the staff from her school, several Quidditch players, and her old friend Kingsley, who waved to her from across the chapel. At the altar, the youngest Weasley brother, Ron, was engaged in a whispered conversation with his best friend Harry, who was looking incredibly nervous.

One of the most familiar faces of all approached Artemis and she stood up to greet the newcomer. He was tall and slim, with long hair the same shade of red as Charlie’s pulled back into a ponytail. He had a heavily scarred face, a flower pinned to his lapel, and a baby strapped to his chest.

“Aren’t you meant to be on usher duty, not dad duty?” Artemis asked Bill Weasley, who hugged her with the arm furthest away from the baby.

“Well, I did have to do two people’s worth of work for the first fifteen minutes,” replied Bill, with a pointed look.

“Sorry. We lost track of time.”

Bill almost shuddered at Artemis’ words.

“Spare me the details,” he muttered. “Anyway, Fleur’s gone to make sure Victoire’s ready to be a flower girl, so I’m in charge of Dominique.” Bill paused, both frowning and smirking simultaneously. “Although, it looks like I’m not the only one to have brought my two girls out for the day.”

“What? Oh.”

Artemis covered her chest with her hand and scowled at Bill. In response, he began to laugh wickedly.

“Maybe try and keep your distance from our Aunt Muriel,” he sniggered.

“I always do.”

“I know, but she still isn’t over what you wore to my wedding. The shock of this might finally kill her.”

Artemis rolled her eyes. “Wow, you look good too, Bill.”

“I didn’t say you don’t look good. You look great, it’s just…” Bill determinedly looked away from her and held his hand up to the side of his face. “Holy crap, Artemis.”

“I don’t think you’re meant to say that in a church.”

“I don’t think you’re meant to get your tits out in one either, but here we are.”

“I don’t see why not. Mary Magdalene got hers out all the time,” Artemis retorted.

Bill blinked at her. “She was a prostitute.”

“I thought she was a virgin.”

“I’m sure she was at some point, but you’re thinking of the Virgin Mary.”

“Are they not the same person?”

“Definitely not,” Bill sniggered.

“Don’t laugh at me. I’m Jewish.”

“No, your family is Jewish. Your estranged family. You, however, ate a bacon sandwich at my house last weekend.”

“Are you not allowed to eat bacon if you’re Jewish?” Artemis frowned. Bill stared at her in disbelief.

Almost everyone was in their seats now, and the three red-headed ushers were returning to the front of the church. Bill moved out of the pew to allow Charlie to sit down between him and Artemis. Charlie was accompanied by his mother, and both of them paused to stroke the tiny fingers of the sleeping baby in Bill’s arms.

“Artemis, dear. Lovely to see you.” Mrs Weasley pulled herself away from her new grandchild to place her hands on Artemis’ shoulders and pull her into a hug.

“You look lovely, Molly,” Artemis told her as she returned the hug.

“Not as lovely as you, dear,” replied Mrs Weasley. She held Artemis at arms length and looked her up and down. Like both her sons, she paused a little at the level of Artemis’ chest. Quickly returning her gaze to Artemis’ face, she raised her eyebrows and drew her lips into a tight smile. “Well, I’d better sit down, it’s going to start any minute now.”

Mrs Weasley turned away from Artemis and sat in the very front pew, in front of Bill, and Artemis sat down beside Charlie.

“Did your mum just check me out?” Artemis hissed, and Charlie shrugged by way of response.

A stunningly pretty woman with silver-blonde hair brisked down the aisle towards them, and they shuffled sideways to make room for her to sit next to Bill.

“Hello, Fleur. How’s Victoire?”

“She is very excited,” Fleur leaned across her husband to kiss Charlie and Artemis on the cheeks. “I just ‘ope zat she doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

The sound of organ music filled the air, and the congregation rose to their feet. Fleur leaned across the two eldest Weasley brothers once more.

“Artemis,” she whispered, reaching across to touch Artemis’ wrist, “where did you get zat bra? Your breasts look fantastic.”

“Yeah, everyone’s a fan today,” muttered Artemis, hearing Bill sigh and Charlie let out a noise halfway between a snort and a cough.

At the back of the church, the doors opened to reveal a tall, balding man with glasses, holding the arm of a beautiful young woman with a broad and slightly nervous-looking smile. She was wearing a white dress with long lace sleeves and a cascading skirt, and a crown of flowers was balanced on the top of her head, from which thick red curls cascaded down to the middle of her back.

The two of them started to walk through the middle of the chapel, and in the corner of Artemis’ eye she saw Charlie’s Adam’s apple move up and down. She smiled sympathetically, and placed a hand on his forearm, rubbing small circles with her thumb. Today was going to be hard for both of them, what with all the memories of the people they had lost in the war five years previously. However, while Artemis had lost friends, Charlie had lost a brother as well. Fred Weasley’s absence was going to be more profoundly felt than ever on the day his sister got married. Charlie might have been putting on a brave face and trying to stay strong, but Artemis knew that really, she was going to have to be the strong one today.

Ginny Weasley and her father continued to walk down the aisle, followed by two bridesmaids, one with bushy brown hair and the other with large pale blue eyes. Behind them walked a small boy with hair that changed colour from purple to blue halfway down the length of the church, and Artemis’ goddaughter Victoire, scattering confetti as she toddled at his side.

At the front of the church, Fleur picked up Victoire and the two older bridesmaids joined a now tearful Mrs Weasley in the front pew. Mr Weasley shook hands with the groom, Harry, and kissed his beaming daughter on the cheek.

A Muggle in robes that made him look more like a wizard than most of the guests greeted the bride, before addressing the room.

“We are gathered here today…”

After leaving the church and having some photos on the front steps, the wedding guests had Apparated away from Godric’s Hollow back to the Burrow, the Weasleys’ family home. In the back garden, a large marquee had been erected, inside which round tables had been decked with white cloths and cutlery sets, and tiny lights were hanging from the canvas walls of the tent.

Once everyone was seated at their allocated tables, plates of food appeared in front of them. Charlie sat very straight in his seat as he ate his meal, all the while making small-talk with the guest who had been seated beside him: Kingsley Shacklebolt, a family friend and now Minister for Magic. The conversation was cordial, but not entirely comfortable, at least for Charlie. As always, he couldn’t tell what Kingsley really thought of him.

On his left hand side, he could hear Artemis having an even more strained discussion with Percy’s girlfriend Audrey. He wasn’t really listening to what was being said, but he could hear the boredom in Artemis’ voice as she made her short responses. He flicked his eyes towards her and briefly made eye contact, before turning back to Kingsley on his right.

“She looks like she’s enjoying herself,” Kingsley muttered with a wry smile, and Charlie nodded, not sure if he should laugh or not. There was a short pause, and Kingsley’s dark eyes scanned the marquee around them. “Did you two help set this all up?”

“Artemis did. I would have done, but what with work, I only got back last night,” Charlie told him.

“Are you both staying at your parents’ this weekend?”

“No, we’ll Apparate back to Artie’s house. The benefit of her still having a base back here.”

“How do you like Camden?”

“It’s… well, it’s got character,” Charlie said diplomatically. Kingsley nodded, almost knowingly, and Charlie felt the need to explain himself. “I’m more of a countryside person, really.”

Artemis, either beyond tired of her conversation with Audrey or just wanting to get his attention, placed her hand on Charlie’s knee.

“You alright?” he asked her, frowning.

“I’m fine,” said Artemis. “Just remembered something you said before we left this morning, that’s all.”

There was no trace of insincerity on her face, and her nose didn’t twitch. She was telling the truth. Charlie nodded, not sure what she was talking about.

“Okay. That’s good. What was it that I said?” His question went unanswered, as Artemis flashed him a small but bright smile before turning back to Audrey once more. She kept her hand on his leg, however. Charlie shook his head and turned back to Kingsley. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, Mr Shacklebolt, how much of a difference your international Floo Network has made. It’s been great, thank you.”

“Please, Charlie, you really need to start calling me Kingsley.”

Kingsley said this almost every time he and Charlie spoke, which wasn’t often, yet Charlie had yet to bring himself to call the Minister for Magic by his first name. But it wasn’t Kingsley’s political status that made Charlie so uncharacteristically nervous around him; Kingsley Shacklebolt was probably the closest thing Artemis had to a father.

Of course, his sister knew all this, just as she knew that Artemis found Percy’s girlfriend unbearingly dull. Charlie had a sneaking suspicion that Ginny had seated them like this deliberately, possibly as punishment for them being late. He wouldn’t have put it past his little sister. Still, it could have been worse. They could have been put on a table with Aunt Muriel.

The thought improved Charlie’s mood slightly, and as Kingsley started to ask him about his work, he answered his questions with less forced politeness. Charlie was pretty happy talking about dragonology, generally speaking.

His newfound comfort in the conversation rapidly diminished, however, as he found himself struggling to concentrate on what he was saying. It wasn’t his fault. It was Artemis’ fault. More specifically, the fault of Artemis’ right hand, which was currently wandering up and down and around his left thigh.

Oh, he realised, that was the thing he’d said before they left the house. But why had she chosen now of all times to… Was Percy’s girlfriend really that boring? Or was she really trying to… For Godric’s sake, he was trying to talk to Kingsley about… What was he trying to talk about?

As Artemis’ hand cupped his crotch, Charlie cleared his throat and used his elbow to push her arm away from him. Artemis stopped her conversation with Audrey and her smirk slipped from her face as she turned to look at him. Charlie shot her a very brief warning glance, and she pursed her lips, eyebrows furrowed. Charlie ignored her sulking, and continued to talk to Kingsley, once more able to concentrate on what he was saying.

At least, he was able to concentrate at first. It didn’t take long until Artemis had started to distract him in a different way. She was no longer touching him, but rummaging in her bag under the table. He tried his hardest to ignore her, but eventually he felt something suspiciously wand-like brush against the outside of his left thigh. That was alarming. Why on earth was Artemis casting spells at the dinner table?

“Will you behave yourself?” he whispered to her, hardly even joking, as she dropped her wand back into her bag and snapped it shut.

“No, that would be less fun,” replied Artemis, her smile more mischievous than ever. She reached out with her hand to take hold of his and bring it down onto her lap, where she pressed something that felt like a piece of soft fabric into his palm. With that, she rose to her feet.

“Excuse me,” she said, her hip brushing Charlie’s arm as she pushed her chair back. “Just off to powder my nose.”

Said nose twitched a little, and there was a look of triumph in Artemis’ eyes as she turned away to walk out of the tent. Below the table, Charlie ran the fabric through his fingers, and felt his face flush as he realised exactly what she had just handed to him. He pocketed the item, and considered his next move.

She’d be expecting him to follow her, of course, and he did want to do so. Merlin, he really wanted to do so. The problem was when, and how to not draw attention to himself. He couldn’t do it immediately, that would be too obvious, and besides, he really couldn’t stand up right now.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, a distraction came in the form of his three other brothers arriving at the table, hovering behind Audrey and Artemis’ empty chair. Charlie quickly dropped a napkin onto his lap, just in case.

“I’ve had an idea,” George said, placing his hands on Audrey’s shoulders. Percy’s girlfriend immediately stiffened and sat up even straighter. “We’ve all got girls with us tonight. How about a little betting game?”

“What are we betting on?” Percy asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Which one catches the bouquet at the end of the night.”

Ron frowned. “How much?”

“Two Galleons each, winner takes all,” George suggested. He took his hands back and clapped them together. “Who’s in?”

There was a general murmur of assent, and each of them placed a gold coin into a velvet drawstring bag that George had conjured from thin air.

“What are you all plotting?”

A woman’s voice came from behind them, interrupting them. All five Weasley brothers whipped around to face their mother, trying to look as innocent as possible.

“We’re not plotting anything, Mum. We’re just chatting,” Bill said, kissing Molly Weasley on the cheek. Behind him, George hastily stuffed the bag of Galleons in the pocket of waistcoat. “Out of interest, who do you think will catch Ginny’s bouquet?”

Molly softened slightly as she considered Bill’s question.

“I’m not sure. There’s a lot of Quidditch players here today, and Fleur was a Triwizard champion. It really could be any of them.”

“No,” Kingsley interjected with a deep chuckle, “Tiny will get it, for sure. If we were placing bets, that’s where I’d be putting my money.”

Charlie looked across at the Minister for Magic, who winked at him conspiratorially before returning to his conversation with Andromeda.

“Where is Artemis?” his mother asked him, as the others returned to their own tables.

“She went to the loo,” Charlie answered, seeing his escape route. “She’s been gone a little while, actually. I should probably check that she’s okay.”

“Well, if she’s gone to the ladies’, I can—”

“No, Mum. You don’t have to do that.”

“But—”

“Honestly, it’s better if I go. She wasn’t feeling well earlier,” Charlie lied smoothly, rising from his seat. His mother frowned.

“Wasn’t she?”

“No, she was pretty sick before we left this morning. I should go. How long until the speeches? I know she won’t want to miss them.”

“Quarter of an hour or so, I expect.” Molly still looked concerned. “Charlie, is everything okay?”

“Of course it is, Mum. Won’t be long.”

Before his mother could protest further, Charlie briskly walked out of the marquee and into the garden, in search of Artemis, who was nowhere to be seen. He walked across the grass, towards the house, and as he did, he noticed a tortoiseshell cat lying on the patio, basking in the September afternoon sun. He smiled and shook his head at her.

“Enjoying the weather, are we?”

Hearing Charlie’s voice, the cat rose to her feet. A second later, Artemis stood in its place, her weight on one leg, the other crossed in front of her, her head tilted to one side.

“You took your time,” she said, with a coy smile. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to follow me.”

“Of course I was. I couldn’t exactly just get up and go.”

“I think you probably could.” Artemis held her hand out to him. “Shall we find out?”

Charlie lowered his head and laughed, before putting his hand into hers. Someday, he thought, she was going to be his downfall. Perhaps she already was.

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