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whinlatter · 1 year ago

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sirius and ginny: a meta (part 1)

“Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!” said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking.’

are you a very brave, very reckless, very hot self-destructive rebel with a treacherous sibling and a flair for christmas decoration, harbouring complex feelings about your mother, close ties to crookshanks the cat and spend your days plagued by the memory of your worst mistakes and dark past? do you find yourself constantly being begged to stay in a state of protective confinement to save your life by a young man with a lightning scar, bad hair and crippling abandonment issues? if so, congratulations! you might be one of harry potter's chosen family members, sirius black and ginevra molly weasley!

basically - i want to talk about sirius and ginny. these are two characters who don’t share a lot of scenes in canon but who, i think, have some clear (if overlooked) parallels: stubborn, fiercely protective of harry, self-sacrificing, admired, principled, haunted (in different ways) by traumatic pasts and betrayals, with complicated relationships with their families and entirely uncomplicated devoted relationships with someone else’s cat. their narrative arcs are successive, with ginny ascending in significance in the series during sirius’ period of decline and ultimate death. and ultimately, they’re also the two people who become, over the course of the canon series, family to a protagonist desperately seeking to build one. sirius and ginny are the two people harry in canon most worries about, wants to protect, and thinks of as someone who embodies the promise of family and home.

sirius and ginny aren’t mirror images of each other. ofc, ginny also has parallels with the only other family members harry claims in the series, lily and james (i mean, especially james - she’s literally a cocky funny flirtatious chaser with a years-long debilitating mega crush who can also catch a snitch like a champ. come on now). it’s also clear in canon that sirius means more to ginny as a hero/role model/ally against her mother than ginny ever means to sirius. nevertheless, the text puts in work to let the reader know we should think about these characters together as somehow aligned. from the beginning of ootp, there are clues and signals in the text that foreshadow ginny’s emergence as someone important to harry, and that subtly let the reader know that the baton of being harry’s ‘person’ is about to be passed from sirius to ginny, two kindred spirits, after sirius’ death. so that's what this meta is about! (consider this my 700th attempt to show that, as the popular fandom complaint/all of reddit still insist, ginny as a character, and especially the harry/ginny romance, did not ‘come out of nowhere’.)

the following meta is part one of two (and yet it's still too long! sorry about it). o in this part, i look at the period from the end of goblet of fire thru the start of half blood prince, exploring how the text sets up the sirius and ginny parallels as a way of foreshadowing ginny’s emergence as harry’s main love interest and place as a family substitute. the second part (tbc) will be what the memory of sirius does for harry’s view of his relationship with ginny, and the kind of positive - and negative - ways this shapes harry’s ideas about love and what family do for each other. i wrote this meta as a way of thinking through some characterisation choices for my current WIP, beasts. if you're following along with that fic, this meta can be seen as a companion piece especially to my thinking behind chapters ten and eleven, so hope proves helpful for some of my thinking behind the sirius and ginny friendship that appears in that project. it's also dedicated to @ashesandhackles, queen of metas, who has reminded me to post this meta precisely 9 million times because she is a long-suffering saint.

ok - sirius and ginny. let’s goooooo!

sirius and ginny before ootp

before OotP, ginny is absent from any plot connected to sirius. ginny doesn’t know the truth about sirius’ innocence, nor does she know that harry, her brother and her friend are in regular contact with sirius and that harry now as a surrogate father/big brother figure to confide in and seek comfort in. in fact, in one of ginny’s few appearances in GoF, the narration is unusually insistent that the reader knows how little ginny knows about sirius:

“And have you heard from — ?” Ron began, but at a look from Hermione he fell silent. Harry knew Ron had been about to ask about Sirius. Ron and Hermione had been so deeply involved in helping Sirius escape from the Ministry of Magic that they were almost as concerned about Harry’s godfather as he was. However, discussing him in front of Ginny was a bad idea. Nobody but themselves and Professor Dumbledore knew about how Sirius had escaped, or believed in his innocence. “I think they’ve stopped arguing,” said Hermione, to cover the awkward moment, because Ginny was looking curiously from Ron to Harry. “Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?”

the only other tiny crumb of sirius and ginny we get is the news that the owl sirius bought in PoA and gifted to ron as a replacement pet for scabbers has been embraced and named by ginny. sirius gifting a tiny little spitfire of an owl that annoys ron? it's giving foreshadowing, your honour.

the reader, though, knows who sirius is to harry by GoF. throughout this book, for the first time in the series, harry has a person he can claim as something like a family: someone to worry about, someone who cares about him,who can advise, guide and mentor him, as well as offer him support and consolation in difficult times (‘someone like a parent…’) although sirius has not been able to offer harry a stable alternative home to the dursleys due to his status as a wanted man, he’s still filling a role that previously had been vacant in the series: he’s harry’s person, the surrogate parent chosen for him by james and lily. he’s close by, either by the floo or eventually living (at great personal cost) as padfoot in hogsmeade, and he’s present emotionally for harry in ways that prove incredibly meaningful to his young godson. in times of great of distress, sirius is there for harry to meet emotional needs that ron and hermione (understandably, no shade to them) can’t always meet. the floo scene early on in GoF, during harry’s row with ron, is a particularly good example of this:

“Never mind me, how are you?” said Sirius seriously. “I’m —” For a second, Harry tried to say “fine” — but he couldn’t do it. …Before he could stop himself, he was talking more than he’d talked in days — about how no one believed he hadn’t entered the tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the Daily Prophet, how he couldn’t walk down a corridor without being sneered at — and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron’s jealousy . . . Sirius looked at him, eyes full of concern… He had let Harry talk himself into silence without interruption’.

harry derives enormous comfort from sirius’ presence in his life during GoF. he writes to sirius, he repeatedly turns to him for advice, he worries for him more than he does any other person. sirius fulfils harry’s desire to be kept abreast of important information about voldemort and death eaters, doesn’t sugarcoat news for harry, and makes him feel important, cared for and understood. (harry even shows off to sirius telling him about how much of a slay the first task was. ugh). by the time of the third task, sirius is sending harry daily owls, a constant flow of reassurance and concern (‘He reminded Harry in every letter that whatever might be going on outside the walls of Hogwarts was not Harry’s responsibility, nor was it within his power to influence it. If Voldemort is really getting stronger again, he wrote, my priority is to ensure your safety.’) when harry returns from the graveyard at the novel’s end, it’s sirius who races to his side to advocate for him and offer him both words of comfort and physical affection as he processes the traumatic series of events that constitute the climax of the book’s plot. (my personal favourite part is where harry says ‘wormtail cut me with a knife’ and the text says sirius made a ‘vehement exclamation’, which i can only assume is children’s book speak for ‘fucking hell’.) harry goes to bed: sirius stays with him, a literal guard dog as he recuperates. after the most traumatic events of the series to date, the reader is at least consoled that harry potter has a person now, someone he loves for him to worry about and to worry for him, who catches him on the other side of traumatic events and makes them that bit much more bearable.

sirius and ginny during ootp

with sirius' role in harry's life established in GoF, OotP begins with harry, cooped up and restless at privet drive, angry with ron, hermione, sirius, and dumbledore for abandoning him at privet drive and keeping him in the dark. harry arrives at grimmauld place to find an anxious ron and hermione, with whom harry is angry and frustrated for having left him out of their summer hangs and having neglected him, by his assessment, in surrey. it’s the most conflict we’ve seen in the trio in terms of harry vs ron and hermione, and sets up one of the important themes of the book, which is harry no longer being solely emotionally fulfilled by the people he is closest to, including his two surrogate parents best mates but also his godfather. when he encounters sirius for the first time after the order meeting, he finds him surly, bitter, and depressed, furious that he is confined to his childhood home, and (understandably) much less able or willing to offer harry much in the way of comfort, apology or cheering words (‘Harry, who had expected a better welcome, noted how hard and bitter Sirius’s voice sounded.’) in this sense, the book opens with harry disappointed and/or more distant from all the people on whom he most depends and is usually closest to, and that there therefore is already an absence of a certain kind of emotional support in harry’s life that the plot demands be filled.

fresh off the back of harry’s row with ron and hermione is ginny’s reintroduction to the reader. after years of being so shy in harry’s presence she was often nearly mute, the reader finds that ginny is not only now speaking, but that her presence turns out to be remarkably refreshing. from her opening scene where ginny enters harry’s bedroom at grimmauld place, the reader discovers the new ginny is confident, up to no good, in cahoots with her most troublemaking brothers trying to intercept the order meeting, enterprising in her mischief (and very happy to lie to her mother’s face about it). she’s thoroughly unfazed by harry’s great display of rage that has just startled and upset ron and hermione. (side note: in both ootp and hbp, ginny’s opening scene is her entering harry’s bedroom, which is the kind of foreshadowing i personally find delicious). everyone else is behaving pretty much as they have been up to this point, but it’s ginny who is showcasing behaviours new to the reader, a signal that she might be about to play a different role in the series than she has done up to this point.

cut to the dinner scene. sirius and ginny are in the room together for the first time. sirius is moody: though he’s still able to laugh, enjoying displays of mischief and humour (the twins and the knife), he’s more bitter than harry and the reader have seen him since PoA. it’s an important scene for lots of reasons (not least the sirius v molly beef), but it’s also one where sirius and ginny are repeatedly drawn into mental association in the reader’s mind. it’s also a great scene because the behaviour of crookshanks the cat literally serves to foreshadow the behaviour of harry james potter in ways that are frankly extremely fun.

so! the sirius and ginny hints start small. from the start of the scene, ginny is amused by mundungus the crook (a man, we will learn, so disdained by her mother):

“Some’n say m’ name?” Mundungus mumbled sleepily. “I ’gree with Sirius. . . .” He raised a very grubby hand in the air as though voting, his droopy, bloodshot eyes unfocused. Ginny giggled. “The meeting’s over, Dung,” said Sirius, as they all sat down around him at the table. “Harry’s arrived.”

sirius and harry, sat at the end of the table, are both greeted by crookshanks, sirius’ old accomplice from PoA:

'Harry felt something brush against his knees and started, but it was only Crookshanks, Hermione’s bandy-legged ginger cat, who wound himself once around Harry’s legs, purring, then jumped onto Sirius’s lap and curled up. Sirius scratched him absentmindedly behind the ears as he turned, still grim-faced, to Harry…

when fred and george’s levitation goes awry, flinging a knife at sirius (now that’s how you foreshadow a death), crookshanks bolts:

‘Harry and Sirius were both laughing… Crookshanks had given an angry hiss and shot off under the dresser, from whence his large yellow eyes glowed in the darkness…’

during the meal, ginny’s with hermione, having a laugh with tonks, a character harry has just met but whom he has already decided to both admire and like. after the meal, when harry’s cheered up a bit and had his crumble (the man loves dessert), crookshanks finally emerges from his hiding place, having been coaxed out from his sulk by - you guessed it - one g. m. weasley:

‘…Ginny, who had lured Crookshanks out from under the dresser, was sitting cross-legged on the floor, rolling butterbeer corks for him to chase.’

a grouchy character, initially drawn to sirius, but prone to lashing out and locking himself away, only to be lured back out into comfort and safety by ginny weasley? wow………. radical

after dinner, the argument between sirius and molly kicks off. sirius is arguing hard for harry’s right to know, though he makes no attempt to advocate for any of the other weasleys or for hermione. ginny’s noticeably singled out in her reaction to this scene, the text highlighting that she is particularly struck by this conflict as if it is of particular personal resonance, including someone standing up to her famously overprotective mother for once:

‘Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George’s heads turned from Sirius to Mrs. Weasley as though following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin’s eyes were fixed on Sirius.’

of course, molly loses the argument: harry gets to stay for juicy order deets (‘Sirius was right, he was not a child.’) after the row, ginny is the only person forbidden from hearing information about the order’s activities. suddenly, the roles are switched: it’s ginny who’s now furious and bitter to be kept out of the action:

‘“Fine!” shouted Mrs. Weasley. “Fine! Ginny — BED!” Ginny did not go quietly. They could hear her raging and storming at her mother all the way up the stairs, and when she reached the hall Mrs. Black’s earsplitting shrieks were added to the din. Lupin hurried off to the portrait to restore calm. It was only after he had returned, closing the kitchen door behind him and taking his seat at the table again, that Sirius spoke. “Okay, Harry . . . what do you want to know?”’

it’s not just the parallels of confinement between harry, sirius and ginny that are so revealing, it’s also the dual maternal conflicts. ginny loud raging at her own mother sets off the howling relic of sirius’, serving to underline two characters who continue to grapple with maternal relationships that are complex and full of conflict, though by no means solely negative (sirius i see you sleeping in your mother’s bedroom babe. don’t think i think your relationship with walburga is just one of straight hate ok). when ginny later gets knocked down the stairs by fred and george, there’s more direct mrs weasley/walburga parallels, with the two of them literally shouting over each other during the ordeal lol. as such, the readers see that the conflicts being set up for sirius’ character in this book - frustration at confinement, conflict with a mother figure, drawn to more reckless and arguably irresponsible characters (mundungus, the twins) and courses of action - are also conflicts subtly playing out with the new ginny we’re meeting, too.

as the rest of the summer at grimmauld wears on, there are more examples of sirius and ginny foreshadowing. the scenes where the two characters interact serve to place ginny and sirius firmly in the same camp of people harry admires and has fun with, the troublemakers and the rebels. over the prefects issue, ginny not only is sat chatting with the troublemaking adults harry likes most, but actively draws sirius into conversation on the issue, likely knowing the answer will comfort harry, but also showing a curiosity and interest in sirius that suggests she admires him:

“I was never a prefect myself,” said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato-red and waist length today; she looked like Ginny’s older sister. “My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities.” “Like what?” said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato. “Like the ability to behave myself,” said Tonks. Ginny laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of butterbeer and choking on it. “What about you, Sirius?” Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back. Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual barklike laugh…’

ginny’s choice to try and draw sirius into the conversation bears fruit: sirius confirms james was never a prefect, and harry’s sour mood is suddenly lifted. (‘All at once the party seemed much more enjoyable; he loaded up his plate, feeling unusually fond of everyone in the room.’) ginny is thus beginning to provide harry with subtle comfort and reassurance, especially as sirius, struggling with his own confinement, is taking a less active role in trying to cheer harry up. what i also like is that we have evidence of how ginny views sirius - she’s curious about him and his past, she clearly thinks he and the other new rebellious adults are cool as shit, and she’s drawn increasingly away from her mother’s cautious overprotective approach towards these resistance fighters who prioritise the fight over safety. (it is noticeable to me that ginny does not become a prefect in HBP, suggesting sirius' example proved instructive).

we see more small parallels between sirius and ginny during the cleaning scenes. the battle against grimmauld place is an important symbol of one of the important themes of OotP as a book: a battle over past traumas and their persistent and unwieldy symptoms that are seemingly never-ending. while it’s harry’s experiences that, of course, take centre stage, sirius’, too, loom omnipresent throughout the text. it’s significant, then, that ginny’s own past gets brought up for the first time in three books here, albeit briefly:

'They found an unpleasant-looking silver instrument, something like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Harry’s arm like a spider when he picked it up, and attempted to puncture his skin; Sirius seized it and smashed it with a heavy book entitled Nature’s Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. There was a musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound, and they all found themselves becoming curiously weak and sleepy until Ginny had the sense to slam the lid shut…'

in this moment, we see sirius and ginny singled in the larger group as quick-thinking, shrewd characters, with a good instincts and common sense (if a bit of a tendency to get scrappy). their respective dark pasts are subtly alluded to. sirius whacks a spider trying to attack harry with a book that might as well be entitled my big book of family trauma. ginny, meanwhile, steps in when everybody present starts to be enchanted by a mysterious object luring them into danger by whacking it shut (gee i wonder why!) given this is the book that will see ginny mention the events of CoS for the first time in errrrr three years, it’s significant that the text is careful to draw ginny into this broader theme that unites sirius and harry, the constant reminders of traumatic pasts at every turn. we also see here the revelation that regulus black was a death eater. coming after news of percy weasley’s betrayal, sirius’ bitter dismissal of his younger brother deliberately mirrors ginny and the other weasleys’ attitude towards percy, this sense of pureblood families split over wizarding politics, often fatally.

while harry fears his expulsion from hogwarts prior his hearing, he continues to fantasise about coming to live with sirius at grimmauld, and about being with a family member and finding an alternative home to hogwarts. sirius, as hermione astutely observes, tries to manage harry’s expectations and not to get his own hopes up: still, when harry is exonerated, sirius is visibly depressed, showing the beginnings of an emotional dependency on harry that harry feels great guilt over.when leaving grimmauld for the start of the school year, sirius, as padfoot, accompanies harry to king’s cross: unlike in GoF, though, he is spotted, and harry begins to worry much more actively about sirius’ vulnerability to capture, about his recklessness and about his judgement. concerned for sirius, and absent ron and hermione, who are in the prefects carriage, the person who stays with harry and offers him company is ginny. she sacrifices her own train journey (presumably with her own boyfriend) to find a carriage with harry and make sure he’s not lonely, bringing him to neville and luna and sorting him out after his embarassing cho run-in. it’s not a coincidence that once again we see ginny here taking care of harry crookshanks:

'“Where’s Crookshanks?” “Ginny’s got him,” said Harry. “There she is. . . .” Ginny had just emerged from the crowd, clutching a squirming Crookshanks. “Thanks,” said Hermione, relieving Ginny of the cat. “Come on, let’s get a carriage together before they all fill up. . . '

once harry’s back at school, having left sirius behind to languish miserably in london, we see he's more isolated and alone than ever. he’s tormented by umbridge, endlessly (though often unfairly) frustrated with ron and hermione, ghosted by dumbledore, yet absent the more stable, reassuring sirius he came to know in GoF, unable to write candidly to him and faced with a much less well sirius in the opportunities they do have to speak face-to-face. as sirius’ mental health declines as he is shut up at grimmauld, his ability to support harry and comfort him starts to falter, and he becomes a much more uneven source of advice and support, particularly during his car crash floo appearance, where he’s much ruder than he has previously been (cutting off, ignoring their pleas for him to be more cautious, the infamous ‘the risk would have made it fun for james’ moment). this new sirius, clearly struggling, is much more happy to do up guilt trip to his godson than we have seen him to up this point (‘I’ll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?’ - you petty little shit, padfoot). all of this serves to increase harry’s anxiety about sirius’ wellbeing and reinforce harry’s sense of emotional isolation. even sirius’ encouragement on the DA is, as hermione points out, partly bound up in more selfish motivations (‘I think he’s really frustrated at how little he can do where he is… so I think he’s keen to kind of… egg us on.’)

ginny’s largely absent in this section of the novel. in the brief moments she does appear, it’s to inject humour (eg. her impressions at the DA meeting) and in little reminders that she now has a boyfriend, no longer harbours romantic feelings for harry, making sure the reader continues to hold her mentally apart from harry. harry, meanwhile, misguidedly tries to seek out a relationship with cho chang, who is showing clear signs of her own emotional distress and inability to meet harry’s emotional needs given her own grief. still, among this, there’s still room for some small subtle sirius/ginny parallels. once the DA plot picks up, we have another little sign that ginny weasley and sirius black think somewhat alike:

“Yeah, the D.A.’s good,” said Ginny. “Only let’s make it stand for Dumbledore’s Army because that’s the Ministry’s worst fear, isn’t it?”

“Trained in combat?” repeated Harry incredulously. “What does he think we’re doing here, forming some sort of wizard army? “That’s exactly what he thinks you’re doing,” said Sirius, “or rather, that’s exactly what he’s afraid Dumbledore’s doing — forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic.”

with harry's isolation and need for more emotional support established in this first term, christmas at grimmauld offers more opportunity to subtly develop the sirius and ginny parallels, as well as to highlight ginny’s ability to fill the gaps left by sirius’ decline. after the attack on arthur weasley, the group arrive back at grimmauld:

‘Sirius was hurrying toward them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him. “What’s going on?” he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. “Phineas Nigellus said Arthur’s been badly injured —”

could this be sirius literally lifting ginny up into plot significance? why yes it could

ofc the weasleys then argue with sirius about their right to go see their father. despite his own frustrations at being trapped at grimmauld, sirius proves the voice of reason and rational decision making against both ginny and the twins’ hotheadedness (ginny asks to borrow cloaks to go to the hospital: sirius: ‘Hang on, you can’t go tearing off to St. Mungo’s!’) crucially, though, when sirius points out that there are bigger things at stake - the work of the order and the resistance movement - it’s ginny who listens:

“Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won’t thank you for messing things up for the Order!” said Sirius angrily in his turn. “This is how it is — this is why you’re not in the Order — you don’t understand — there are things worth dying for!” “Easy for you to say, stuck here!” bellowed Fred. “I don’t see you risking your neck!” The little colour remaining in Sirius’s face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm. “I know it’s hard, but we’ve all got to act as though we don’t know anything yet. We’ve got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?” Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Harry looked at Ron, who made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and shrug, and they sat down too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats on either side of Ginny. “That’s right,” said Sirius encouragingly, “come on, let’s all . . . let’s all have a drink while we’re waiting…’

there’s a lot going on here: ginny’s willingness to follow sirius’ orders, but also her willingness to accept an argument based on some idea of the greater good before any of her brothers. she and sirius are aligned here, and it’s her decision to accept sirius’ reasoning that proves the catalyst for her brothers to follow. we see here how ginny has come to see sirius: someone she looks up to and admires, an adult whose judgement she trusts and whose worldview she subscribes to. (as a character prone to hero worship - see her view of her big brother bill - i think this is noteworthy, and is behind a lot of my characterisation choices for ginny towards sirius in beasts). but we also see that ginny agrees with sirius' worldview. there are some things worth dying for, and self-sacrifice is part of that.

when harry goes to sirius for reassurance about witnessing arthur’s attack, he finds sirius unable to properly console him and convince him that he was not to blame for arthur’s attack. the reader gets the impression of sirius withholding information from harry (‘He could only see a sliver of Sirius’s face; the rest was in darkness’), and the scene ends with sirius clapping harry on the shoulder and leaving him ‘standing alone in the dark’. while sirius throws himself into christmas preparations, obviously delighted to have company, harry shrinks from the cheer and isolates himself. in the end, ofc, the only person that manages to pull harry out of his dark, brooding thoughts is ginny. the text is careful to note she’s sitting beside him on the tube back from st mungo’s, when he looks very unwell. then, in the ‘lucky you’ scene, she showcases some of the same skills harry first came to appreciate in sirius in GoF. she tells it to him straight: she’s sympathetic, but not overly gushing, and she reminds him of her own intensely frightening experience which she endured alone, something harry can relate to, even if the experience of possession is not. it’s an important scene for lots of reasons, but it’s also, crucially, the intervention that causes harry’s mood to lift, and he gets to enjoy a christmas with his godfather, the thing he had most wanted in the run-up to christmas, and which becomes the only holiday period harry and sirius ever spend together:

‘I’m not the weapon after all, thought Harry. His heart swelled with happiness and relief, and he felt like joining in as they heard Sirius tramping past their door toward Buckbeak’s room, singing “God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs” at the top of his voice.’

of course, once christmas is over, sirius slips back into a depressed, gloomy state. harry wants a better goodbye than he gives him, merely giving him a quick one armed hug (there’s a real theme throughout harry and sirius’ relationship of very sparing physical contact on sirius’ part, which is obviously a hole in harry's life ginny will fill in - er - a big way). back at school, harry returns to umbridge’s increasingly draconian rule, maks a disastrous attempt at forging a relationship with cho, and continues to feel lonely, paranoid, and angry. unable to speak to sirius properly via letter or floo - and unwilling to open the present sirius has given him to communicate directly with him, the two-way mirror - harry is increasingly sullen, a mood that only worsens after seeing snape's worst memory.

the easter egg scene is obviously important for hinny for lots of different reasons. but here i just want to highlight how the scene serves to show ginny as both the conduit to sirius for harry, and someone whose behaviour echoes that of sirius in GoF when harry first began to open up to and seek comfort in him. harry is distressed by his now complicated feelings both towards the father he previously revered and towards sirius, who seemed to encourage james’ bullying behaviour. ginny hands harry a chocolate easter egg covered in snitches: chocolate, a canonical source of comfort against dark thoughts, and an egg that reminds him of the love of parent. the act makes him suddenly emotional, though he at first denies he’s upset. ginny presses carefully and sensitively, asking the right questions to get him to confess the source of his worry, waiting for harry to take his time to speak - all behaviours that echo sirius’ own effective listening techniques. ginny’s acquaintance with sirius, and knowledge of how significant he is to harry, is important here, too, and a subtle sign to the reader that he trusts ginny with knowledge about sirius after a long time of having her in the dark about his godfather. the reader leaves the scene having seen ginny breakthrough to harry emotionally in a way for the second time in the novel, in a way no other character has done (‘he felt a bit more hopeful…’)

of course, the course of action ginny has set in motion is itself risky and reckless (‘anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve’ is very marauders as a philosophy). the decision to go ahead with the plan the twins come up with is one harry sees as a decision on whether to be more like james and sirius - a risk taker - or to abandon the hero worship for the marauders he has lived with for so long. in the end, of course, it’s a win for the reckless troublemakers: he chooses to go ahead with the plan the twins have crafted and that ginny has set in motion, and to speak to sirius.

and yet. sirius is still alive - there is not need for ginny yet. for the remainder of the book, ginny has to beg to be included in the trio's plans and to be allowed to be a part of the plot to rescue sirius. she’s is often in conflict with harry, showing a lot of sirius’ bitterness at attempts at containment and to keep her out of the fighting. she grates against harry’s insistence that she is too young and inexperienced, and having to remind the trio that she, too, has come to care about sirius and wants to see him safe:

“I’ve got a broom!” said Ginny. “Yeah, but you’re not coming,” said Ron angrily. “Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!” said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking.

of course, it all ends in tragedy: sirius, desperate to go to harry’s aid and absolutely gunning for a fight after months of confinement, is killed, leaving harry alone. there a subtle clues that something has shifted in ginny’s relationship to harry and the trio in the scenes after sirius’ death, including ginny positioned as the mirror image to harry in the hospital:

‘Harry was sitting on the end of Ron’s bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione’s bed…’

despite this, in the immediate aftermath of sirius’ death, harry is extremely alone. he is unable to work out what he needs (‘Whenever he was in company he wanted to get away, and whenever he was alone he wanted company.’) he tries to go to hagrid’s, but regrets it (‘He was starting to wish he was alone again’), leaving after hagrid reminds him of sirius’ core traits, an inability to stay out of the fight when he believes in the cause:

“But still, Harry . . . he was never one ter sit around at home an’ let other people do the fightin’. He couldn’ have lived with himself if he hadn’ gone ter help —”

unlike at the end of GoF, harry is isolated by his grief and the revelation of the prophecy's contents by the end of this book. he goes alone to a secluded corner of the lakeshore, ‘sheltered from the gaze of passersby behind a tangle of shrubs’, and ‘[stares] out over the gleaming water’, and cries alone. there is no sirius or other person to catch him and console him in his grief. his person has died, and there’s a gap in his life again, just waiting to be filled:

‘Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him. So much of what he had wanted before Sirius’s death felt that way these days. . . . The week that had elapsed since he had last seen Sirius seemed to have lasted much, much longer: It stretched across two universes, the one with Sirius in it, and the one without.’

ginny and sirius parallels in HBP and DH

after sirius’ death, the parallels between sirius and ginny become more important as ginny moves into the centre frame as a character. at the start of HBP, harry arrives at the burrow and discusses his grief over sirius’ death with dumbledore in the burrow broom shed, acknowledging how profoundly the loss of a family member who cares singularly about him is affecting him. ('He felt stupid for admitting it, but the fact that he had had someone outside Hogwarts who cared what happened to him, almost like a parent, had been one of the best things about discovering his godfather . . . and now the post owls would never bring him that comfort again. . . .' beasts readers: there's a reason harry clings to letters!) of course, having reminded the reader of the gap in harry’s life that now needs to be filled, harry goes to sleep, the active reflection on his grief for sirius put to one side so the novel's plot can get underway. he'll go to bed mourning sirius and wake up in a sunlit bedroom. of course, ginny will walk into this bedroom too, only now things will be different: harry potter is back to the search for a loved one, for a family, and he's about to realise ginny is the one he wants to fill it. thus the start of the plot of ginny stepping into the role vacated by sirius beginneth.

so much of who ginny is in HBP is reminiscent of sirius. she frequently leaps into battle as harry’s protector (‘You’re taking orders from something someone wrote in a book?’, ‘Give it a rest, Hermione’), she’s scrappy (RIP zacharias smith), she’s funny and laughs easily in a way that less recalls sirius in the time harry knew him than sirius as harry sees him as a young man, in photographs or memories. she's the one who commits to the insane christmas decorations, determined to cheer everyone up over the festive period as sirius did the year before. she even enjoys the widespread admiration and lust of her peers, a trait that directly recalls sirius being eyed up by his peers in snape's memory. by the novel’s end, after dumbledore’s death, it will be ginny who goes to harry’s side after the climax of the plot and catch him in his grief just as sirius did in GoF, this time over dumbledore’s death:

‘He did not want to leave Dumbledore’s side, he did not want to move anywhere. Hagrid’s hand on his shoulder was trembling. Then another voice said, “Harry, come on.’ A much smaller and warmer hand had enclosed his and was pulling him upward. He obeyed its pressure without really thinking about it.’

their breakup has sirius all over it. taking place at the lakeshore, the place where harry wept alone over sirius a year prior, harry draws on the circumstances of sirius’ demise as a reason he must break up with ginny (‘Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to.’) the breakup does little to shift what ginny has become in harry’s mind, though, and he spends all of DH thinking of her as he once thought of sirius: the person whose safety he most craves, the person he misses, someone he claims as his, and whom he associates with (now banished) hopes of a home and a family:

“It’s not a problem,” said Harry, sickened by the pain in his head. “It’s your family, ’course you’re worried. I’d feel the same way.” He thought of Ginny. “I do feel the same way.”

of course, echoes of sirius will also come into play during open war. it’s now ginny, not sirius, who is the one left behind for her own protection: in the run-up to the battle, harry finds himself once again faced with the prospect of confining his loved one for their safety, despite their desperation to fight and do the right thing. but these are thoughts for part 2…….

#meta #sirius black #ginny weasley #it's not NOT an aged up sinevra ship agenda #hp meta #hp analysis #hinny #marauders #black family #beasts

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yallthemwitches · 1 month ago

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“Is that why you're here then? To make something of yourself?” She would hit him if he hadn’t sounded so sincere. It was a genuine question, the look on his face truly curious. “Aren’t you?” “Nah, I’m here for the free food and chance at some alcohol.” And like that, the boy from first year reappears, reaching up to rumble his hair into an untidy nest.

Second Year is up! I hope to have Third year come quicker... Read on AO3 or under the cut!

Even after a year she still doesn’t get him.

He got taller over break and his personality grew with it. His hair becomes wilder as the ends start to grow windswept—only emphasising his newfound place on the quidditch team. If in first year he was considered cheeky, second year makes him downright cocky. He walks the halls with his head held high, letting his laugh bounce from one corridor to the next, filling up all the empty silence with his banter.

She has known people like him before: larger than life personalities that command a room even at such a young age. It would be easier to understand if he was just some sort of class clown but he is smart too, mastering almost every transfiguration lesson with remarkable ease, gaining a chagrined smile from McGonagall when he inevitably spends the rest of his time faffing off. Like most things in life, it’s harder to punish someone when they are succeeding.

It drives her utterly insane.

If it wasn’t enough, he is surprising too. The boys that he sidled up to in first year create a ragtag sort of group that confuses the rest of the student body. Sirius Black makes sense with his same haughty and intelligent air but quiet, sickly Remus Lupin and ever anxious Peter Pettigrew do not fit the mold of what she or anyone expects a person like Potter to gravitate to. It would seem nice, actually–if they weren't all so bloody infuriating.

“Bloody arseholes is what they are,” Severus says, just by the mere mention of them. He quickens pace and she rushes beside him trying to keep up.

“They are only popular because their mummies and daddies flash a lot of gold around.They have no idea how to work for something even if they tried.” He is referring solely to Potter and Black, both boys' families gracing the social section of The Daily Prophet on a semi-regular basis.

“Perhaps,” Lily murmurs, becoming short of breath, “But that doesn’t account for how they are top of the class. It’s not like their parents could just buy—”

Severus stops short, scowling when a first year tailing them accidentally bumps into his back.

“Why do you care?”

But that’s the thing, she doesn’t know.

At first she thought it was jealousy. By the end of first year she went back to her decrepit home in Cokeworth, clasping her textbooks to her chest as the only memory that she could even do magic in an otherwise dreary, magic-less world. On the platform, she watched an elated Potter run into the arms of a beautiful, whimsical woman. A woman who was all smiles like her son–like someone who didn’t know a day without magic.

Mum died after breakfast on a sunny day in June, the paramedics taking her body with all of the tubes and medications along with it. Dad was drunk at the funeral and Petunia didn’t even look at her. The rest of the summer was spent dreaming about anything else. It felt like being a little girl again, playing make believe while the world spun, leaving her behind in the dust.

She imagined another life where her parents were wizards– where instead of tubes, her mum would have had a cushy bed at St. Mungos and they would have cured her with a flick of a wand. She fantasized that they had a big house in the country where the laundry did itself and her dad wouldn’t need to work odd jobs just to keep the house running. She yearned for a quidditch pitch, kettles that always kept the tea warm, and a sister who still loved her.

In her mind, it was a gift to be born a witch, but it was an honor to live like one. She wanted that life so badly, it hurt.

That’s why, when she is invited to Professor Slughorn’s after school dinner, she jumps at the chance. “It’s all about who you know,” her dad had said, drunk and depressed at the kitchen table late Summer, trying to understand for the fourth time that year why he had been sacked. “Being successful is just a matter of getting a seat at the table.”

She shuffles around the open space, potions tables pushed to the far corners of the room to make way for a largely decorated banquet table. She doesn’t have dress robes, had no idea the concept existed until she read the words written on the invitation. “Seems silly to just wear a big ugly poncho to a dinner party,” she had said to her new friend Mary when returning back to the common room. Instead, she wore the simple muggle dress her mum had gotten her but would never see her wear. Even with its dark emerald green, it stands out in a sea of black.

When they are called to sit for dinner, she is thankful for it. She had expected to know at least someone, but the attendees had skewed older and mostly from other houses. A large group of seventh year Slytherins jeer in her direction when she takes her seat. Maybe she is imagining it, but the room circles away from her, people taking places on other sides of the table but never by her side. The muggleborn girl in the muggle dress.

The door creaks open and a mop of black hair sticks in. He hasn’t even attempted to brush his hair, his tie loose and hanging off the side of his left shoulder. Figures.

“Er, Sorry. I’m late—I mean, clearly.” James enters. Unlike the others, he doesn’t hesitate, plopping himself into an open seat next to her, giving his eyebrows a quick raise.

“No problem my boy! Please get yourself comfortable!”

He immediately slumps in his seat, clearly unhappy to be in attendance. Lily wonders if the real reason he was late was because he didn’t want to come at all.

“Where’s Mr. Black? Doesn’t he run in your cohort? I gave him an invitation…” Slughorn croons, giving a pout.

“He’s indisposed at the moment,” James quips, a piece of bread roll already halfway to his mouth. “Tried to get him to come but he simply could not clear up his schedule.”

Lily snorts. What schedule? Does he have a timetable for blowing up the toilets?

A man who had otherwise looked half asleep next to Slughorn perks up, straightening his hunched back. “You have the Black heir in class this year eh’? A mighty fine stock of students, Horace, no wonder you are so pleased.”

Next to her, James coughs, covering up a smile by shoveling more food into his mouth.

“What’s so funny?” She whispers, leaning towards him.

“Oh, nothing..” James gives her a wink which makes her scowl. Git.

“Oh! How could I forget! May I introduce you to Miss Evans, one of my finest students this year—careful though, she’s quite a cheeky one!”

Lily’s head snaps back, finding all the adult sets of eyes poised on her. It makes her feel like a show dog on a pedestal.

“Evans, is it?” A man with a pointy goatee hums. “Don’t think I’ve heard that surname before—what part of the country are you from, dear?”

Lily gives a warm smile, the kind she last used for the guests at Mum’s funeral.

“The muggle part, sir. Cokeworth to be exact. I’m new to the wizarding world so to speak.”

It’s bold, but Slughorn had said she was cheeky didn’t he? A mixture of emotion passes through the group and even the students start to shift, uneasy. It’s a learned reaction at this point: mention your blood status, make them squirm.

The man’s features darken, eyes lowering. “Well, if that’s the case you should feel very honored to be here, Miss Evans. Not many of your kind are as lucky to fall under Slughorn's wing.”

Lily picks up her drink, holding it to her mouth. She can feel her face burning with anger, the heat rising from her ears.

“Not lucky enough to miss your ugly face,” she murmurs to herself under her breath. Beside her a peal of laughter cuts through the room, bouncing off the grimy dungeon walls like a loose pixie. In his fit of laughter James’ glasses have gone askew, sinking down into his chair like a king on a throne holding his stomach.

“Something funny, Mr. Potter?”

But he doesn’t let up, giving the impression that he would be kicking his feet if he had the space to do so. It makes a smile crack onto her face, a real one.

“Ah, nothing. It’s fine,” James finally retorts as he settles down. “Just…enjoying the company.”

She smiles a little bit wider and he flicks his eyes over to her, an impish grin playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Mr. Potter? As in Fleamont Potter’s son?” the man with the goatee says, locking on to him with more warmth than she’s seen all evening.

“Well, my dad says I’m my mum’s son from the hours of ten to eight actually,” James retorts with a smirk but his joke is lost, the man with the goatee sitting up straighter with keen interest.

“A very brilliant man, your father. I was very interested to get a share of the Sleekeazy brand when he was selling.”

James slumps back in his seat, an air of boredom setting in.

“Yeah, sure.”

If the man senses James’ lack of interest, he doesn’t let on, leaning on his hand with earnest.

“You know, I’ve been looking for an apprentice in my current endeavors—I know you are still quite young in your studies but if you were interested I would be open to—”

“Not interested, sorry,” James cuts him off, stabbing a boiled potato with his fork. The man looks aghast, reeling back a little as though burned.

“Are you sure? I’d think your father—”

“Well, that’s the thing isn’t it,” James retorts. “I’m not my dad, just as much as Miss Evans here isn’t a muggle like her parents.”

Lily can’t help herself. She turns to look at him, a mixture of admiration and shock flowering on her cheeks. The man’s brow furrows, mouth twisting into a hard grimace but James doesn’t take note, finishing his pumpkin juice before continuing.

“Crazy how that works—it’s like it doesn’t even matter what stupid family you're born into."

He gives a big smile, almost wicked, then goes back to eating as though he didn’t just figuratively set the room on fire.

Slughorn intercepts and the waters calm, the goateed man only shooting James a pitiful look every so often. If James notices he doesn’t let on, focusing on piling as much food as possible onto his plate with each course.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she murmurs during the fish course. She keeps her eyes low, not wanting to call anymore attention to their collective disruption.

“Do what?” James blinks, taking in a mouth full of smoked salmon.

“Stick up for me. I can handle myself.”

He shifts his weight in his seat, pushing his food around the plate with his fork. He hasn’t fixed his glasses since they went askew and it makes him look like he’s up to no good.

“I know Evans, don’t worry.”

She tries to go back to eating, but she can’t stop watching him. She should just drop it, move on with the evening and pretend like nothing ever happened. That would be the wise thing to do, right?

“You should have taken it,” she says, not looking up from her plate. James stalls his fork, eyes bright with confusion.

“Pardon?”

“The apprenticeship. You should have accepted. That’s the whole point of coming to these things right?”

He continues to stare, eyes searching around her face. She tries not to watch his analysis of her, feeling a flush rise on her cheeks.

“Why would I want to work for a bellend like that?” He says finally, voice even. It should make her laugh, how flippantly he is willing to dismiss this powerful stranger practically salivating to have a Potter working for him. Instead, a bitter heat rises in her stomach. “Not many of your kind are as lucky…”

“Because that bellend could actually get you somewhere in life,” she bites out. “Because, unlike other people in this room, you have a chance at being something and should take advantage of that.”

He blinks at her. All last year he was just a silly little boy doing practical jokes but right now that version of him is nowhere to be seen.

“Is that why you're here then? To make something of yourself?”

She would hit him if he hadn’t sounded so sincere. It was a genuine question, the look on his face truly curious.

“Aren’t you?”

“Nah, I’m here for the free food and chance at some alcohol.” And like that, the boy from first year reappears, him reaching up to rumble his hair into an untidy nest.

It’s her turn to burst out laughing. She dips her head back, choking for air and grasping her stomach. Sometime in her outburst, James starts laughing too and the rest of the room stares back at them in awe.

“I like your dress by the way,” James says when they finally calm down. He pulls off his glasses and wipes a tear tear from his eye. Without the barrier of the lenses, his irises look more gold than brown. “It’s muggle isn’t it. Those buggers have always dressed better than our lot.”

It makes her beam. All night she has felt like an outsider, wishing she too could have stuffy dress robes of her own. Now, she is glad she turned down Mary’s offer to borrow some.

“Thanks, you look—” her eyes trail over him. If anything he looks more disheveled than when he entered.

“Carelessly handsome? boyishly charming? Like the next Minister of Magic?”

“---like utter shite.”

Again, the knobby kneed boy from first year reappears, all smiles.

“Well Evans,” he says wiggling his eyebrows, “We can’t all be as lucky to be born into muggle style.”

#jily #james potter #lily evans #jily fanfiction #jily through the years #second year #my writing

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startanewdream · 2 years ago

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I need to rant because well this needs to be said:

I’m going to go as far as saying I don’t trust people who like Snape and hate James. Yes, he was arrogant and bullyish towards Snape, but let’s not forget James main target was the blood supremacists, and guess who was one? Snape. His best mate was a neglected boy who didn’t feel like he fit in with his own family and their views. What did he do? He opened his home as a safe space for him. His other best mate was a werewolf, and instead of being afraid of him or degrading him, he became an animugus so he wouldn’t be alone on the worst days of the month. His other friend was a reject and probably wouldn’t have been popular in any other house (including Slytherin), but James took him under his wing and looked out for him. Everyone does stupid shit when they’re young, but they learn from it and MOVE ON. You know who didn’t move on? Snape! He was bitter because the woman he loved chose the man he loathed, then he joined a group that targets/tortures/kills people like the woman he loves, then, trying to be the ultimate kiss arse to his dark lord, tells him about a prophecy of a child who will be his downfall, then begs the dark lord to spare the woman he loves when he find out the prophecy is for her child, not giving a crap about her son or husband, then, when she dies, he’s like, okay I’ll become a professor and bully little children because it’s all in the name of "love", then when the son of the woman he loves has his first lesson with him, what does he do? Bully him, then he bullies a child that had his parents tortured by his stupid friends and that child his so afraid of him that his boggart takes shape of Snape, then he promotes spoilt blood purist narcissist ferret when he bullies the child of the women he loves, then he throws a temper tantrum when a dementors kiss isn’t given to the of the men he thinks is responsible for the death of the women he loves but it was actually all Snape’s fault because he wanted to kiss his dark lords arse and become his favourite by telling him about the bloody prophecy, then he "accidentally" lets it slip that Remus is a werewolf isolating the child of the women he loves from anyone who cares for him, then he continues to bully of the child of the women he loves even though he realizes he’s different, AND then the audacity of the man to rip a photo of a happy family and take part of a letter just so he can get himself off with his right hand in secluded broom cupboard… That photo belonged to Harry and Harry only. How the fuck is that poor cabbage (in @seriouslysam8 word) supposed to touch or look at that picture again knowing what his ex professor/man obsessed with his mom did to that picture. He didn’t come to the good side or join the death eaters again because he cared for Harry. He was looking for redemption, hoping that the guilt he felt for get it the women he loved killed would lessen. Again, for purely selfish reasons. If he cared for Harry, he would have checked in knowing what Petunia was like, Snape was abused as a child, so he should have noticed the signs of an abused child when he saw Harry, he shouldn't have bullied innocent children that lost loved ones because of his and his friends' actions. We saw one memory of James bullying Snape, how many times did Snape and his friends bully the Marauders? How many times did they bully Muggle borns? What did Snape do as a death eater to innocent people before the Potters died? How many people did he torture, hurt, and kill? You can't say none, because he would have had to prove himself to be just as evil as the rest of the DE, and I'm sure there was some type of initiation to become a death eater. The main question is: if it wasn't the Potters and it was the Longbottoms who were targeted instead, would he have confessed to Dumbledore? The answer is no. which is why Snape isn't a good person.

Okay I think I’m done for now, sorry just needed to vent! 😅

#tell me you hate Snape without telling me you hate him

If you ever wanted to accuse me of sending an anon ask to myself, this was the most probable of them all.

100% agree with you, anon.

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saltyfishdream · 2 years ago

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Baizhu x Reader Hogwarts AU

Genshin Impact but Hogwarts AU (pls don't kill me I just somehow thought of the AU one day and threw Genshin characters inside, fuck JKR) headcanon where Baizhu gets sorted into Slytherin because of his Parseltounge powers (and him having Changsheng as a pet) but gets bullied because he's "too nice to be in Slytherin", he's an outcast in his house. To make things worse, people in the other houses fear him-- he's a Parseltounge when others expected none after Harry Potter and Voldemort, how can they not fear him? Rumors spread about him, about how he's secretly the new "heir of Slytherin" or the "Dark Lord Reincarnated". That would definitely gain him respect and popularity before the Great War, but it's been over 25 years since the war had ended and it't not the case now. Nobody wants another war.

Then he meets you. You, as a popular, bold daredevil Gryffindor, goes into the Forbidden Forest alone at midnight because your rival Scaramouche dared you to. Your friend Diluc, a descendant of the Dumbledore family, and his stepbrother Kaeya had warned you about the possible dangers of the Forest, especially to a first-year girl. Alone. At midnight. But you insist. You want to show Scara that he's the chicken, not you.

You enter the forest in the dead of night, with your wand and the only two spells you knew (Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa). Yes. That would be enough to fight off anything that's unlucky enough to get hurled in your way-- you've heard the tale of Ronald Weasley knocking out a grown troll too many times. But things don't work that way. An hour in and you find yourself attacked by centaurs, just because your Lumos spell went wrong and sent an explosion at the creatures. You try to cast a Wingardium Leviosa, but you forget-- is it swish and flick, or flick and swish? Does it go LeviOsa or LeviosA? You regret not listening to Diluc and Kaeya, and you make a mental note to roast the smirk off Scara's face if you get out of this alive ("I survived a centaur attack, what about you?" You imagine yourself saying to the arrogant Slytherin). Then you forget that you're still in combat. And you still have no idea how to cast a Wingardium Leviosa strong enough to lift up something lethal for combat.

A centaur charges at you when you're still forcing yourself to remember how to properly pronounce the spell. You decide to forget about magic and find a way to run away-- hey, at least you still have bragging rights about how you got attacked by a bunch of centaurs and lived to tell the story. However you look around to see the centaurs have formed a circle around you, leaving you no choice but to stay. And get shot by arrows until you become a human hedgehog or die, either comes first.

As you dread about which is worse-- getting killed or facing Scara's jeers and Diluc and Kaeya's "I told you so"s after this when the centaurs nock their arrows, a flash of green flies out from the bushes, hitting a centaur. The others scatter and run away, but you panic more. The only spell you've heard of that has a green flash was the Killing Curse. Was that a remainant of the the Death Eaters? Or worse, another Dark Lord in training? You get down, hide yourself in your robe and hold your breath, hoping that any person attacking the centaur won't notice you.

You hear footsteps. From under your robe, you can see the tail of a Slytherin scarf. Was that Scara? Did he plan this all along, just to see you miserable and defeated? You shake your head at the thought. He's just like you-- a first-year. There's no way he can master such a complex spell like that. And he might be annoying as heck, but not pure evil. At least not now.

"Chillax, Firenze..." You hear someone say in a soothing voice, "She's just a student, not a Death Eater..."

"But she just hurled an explosion at us!" Firenze the centaur bellowed. He's still alive.

"Nobody was hurt. I'd ask her about her motives later."

You hear more rustling and tugging sounds. "Get these damned vines off me first!"

Another flash of green. The clip-clopping of hooves off into the distance. Firenze is gone. Now you're alone with this mysterious person who saved you.

You push your torso up to see a student in his school robes. Nothing special, just the typical green Slytherin robes with the green scarf coiled around his arm. He had long green hair, with golden-rimmed glasses, and was much taller than you were, and you've never saw him before. Or maybe you simply forgot about him.

Then you notice the white, long thing coiled around his neck. You first thought that it was a vine, given that this person is most likely the same guy who tied Firenze up with vines. But you see two red rubies sticking out of the vine.

It's not a vine. It's a snake.

You have heard from Diluc and Kaeya about a third-year Slytherin with his pet snake around his neck, about how dangerous he is as a Parseltounge. But hey, he's still the person who saved your life. You at least have to thank him for that.

You gulp before asking, "Thanks, but... who are you? And... why are you here?"

"The name's Baizhu. I guess you've heard of me before. It's normal to be scared," he replies, golden eyes closing as a smile. The snake spits out its tounge, which doesn't help much with relieving your fear. "And come on, Changsheng! Don't scare her!" Baizhu turns towards the snake.

It's him they're talking about. The one you have to avoid. But your curiosity about the reason why he ended up here still overcomes your fear. "What brings you here?" You ask, holding up your wand even though you probably can't even cast a Lumos.

"-I came for the herbs. I need them for making a new healing potion-" He coughs, but his smile doesn't falter.

"Herbs? For a healing potion?" You crook a brow and blurt, "That seems too pathetic for an excuse."

Baizhu doesn't seem affected by your remark. "Yes. The materials used to make healing potions taught in our textbooks are way too ineffective when it comes to sprains. So I'm thinking about using Amakumo Fruit instead of small lamp grass..." He explains.

You nod as you notice the sky becoming slightly purple. It's beautiful, with the fireflies in the woods. You've always loved the sunrise. But that means breakfast is going to start soon, and you know the trouble you'd be in if the whole Hogwarts population find you rushing towards the Great Hall from the Forest, covered in grass and mud.

"It's almost morning. I have to go back." You say, trying to climb up and leave. Then a sharp pain hits you in your right leg, and you fall back down onto the ground.

"You ok?" Baizhu asks, expression concerned. You look at your right leg. A long stripe of blood seeps through your sock, dying the fabric crimson. "Oh dear. Your leg."

"No shit, Sherlock," You say through gritted teeth as Baizhu fumbles for something in a pouch he carries around on his waist.

He finally hands you a glass bottle with blue liquid inside. "Here's a healing potion I made just in case. I guess I'd be using it on you." He chuckles.

You look at the blue liquid. What if it's not safe? But the pain in your leg stops you from thinking more so you unstopper the bottle and drink from it like a man dying of thirst-- then you feel an urge to spit it out.

"Why is this so bitter?!" You say after forcing yourself to swallow the poison potion, "Is this poison?" Even Changsheng looked like it were smirking. But your leg does feel better.

Baizhu tries to hold back laughter. "Good potions are always bitter," He says, leading you back on your feet.

As the sun continues to rise, you and Baizhu walk out of the Forest. Maybe he wasn't that scary anyways.

#fanfiction #fanfic #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin fanfic #baizhu #hogwarts au #baizhu genshin impact #baizhu x reader #baizhu x you #rarepair

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22degreehalo · 6 months ago

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Pulling my hair out........

Whyyyyyyy are people SO DESPERATE to find ways to justify harry potter being an awful book that nobody ever liked. Why is is SO GODDAMN HARD for people to just admit that a bad person could make a good thing!!!! Even a pretty decent thing!!!!! As if millions of people around the world didn't sit down to read over a MILLION WORDS for fucking nothing!!!!!!!!!!

Because I work in a library!!!!!! Harry potter is still so goddamn relevant guys!!!!!!!! We still have harry potter signs up!!!!!! There are still so many kids reading them for the first time!!!!!! Still soooooooooOOOOO many spin-offs and 'wizarding world crochet' and 'the science of Harry Potter' and 'essays on Hogwarts' and literally anything you can think of!!!!!!!! I wore a cheap-ass witch hat and two separate people asked me if it was a 'Hermione hat!'!!!!!!!! And my coworker dressed up as Professor McGonagall!!!!!!! Another coworker has an 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' lanyard!!!!!! Hell, my aunt in goddamn America moved in to a new apartment and do you know what event they put on to bring the tenants together? A Harry Potter crafts day!!!!!!!!!!!

Christ all fucking mighty, regardless of how you personally feel about it now (or back then, if you were ~oh so smart~ enough to uhm Acktchually have hated it from day 1), it was a global phenomenon that got millions of kids into reading. Was it in the right place at the right time? Yeah!!!!!! Just like literally anything that becomes a phenomenon!!!!!!! But IT HAPPENED, and *to this day* Harry Potter is a global symbol of reading and wonder and childhood and it's been fucking decades and you simply cannot change that now!!!!!!! You know what people still to this day recommend to people learning new languages? Reading Harry Potter, because it's immediately assumed of everyone that you'll not just be familiar with the story but know all the beats well enough to follow along with the story even when you can't fully understand what you're reading!!!!!!!!!!

Just oh my fucking GOD, I know this is an unhinged rant but I still keep *hoping* that *this time* if I take a peek behind those filtered tags, I might see a post with some vague tangential reference to reality as it pertains to the most popular modern book series of all time, but as always: nope!!!!! God for fucking bid we acknowledge even for a microsecond that Goodness and Beauty are not inextricably intertwined!!! Absolutely anything to justify ourselves as True Of Heart because we, The Good Ones, would never commit such thought crimery as having positive emotions about a work of art whose author later became a transphobe!!! And of course we can't possibly ever praise the work's anticlassism messages oe statements of tolerance or diversity, because that means Saying She's Right About Everything Ever, so we have no choice but to continue this vicious cycle wherein people only ever hear bad things in this goddamn stupid echo chamber and that just becomes the 'objective truth'!!!!!!

God I'm just fucking waiting for when somebody posts some old letters of Tolkein's and suddenly everyone remembers that he was an old white Catholic man who started a lot of the goddamn racial charicatures HP is blamed for and wrote a whole goddamn race of Always Chaotic Evil sentient beings. Where's all that ~hopepunk~ ~ohhh it's about community gathering together (unlike Harry Potter which idk I guess the MC just did everything huh)~~ bullshit going to go then? Not that I think LotR is actually objectively bad, even though I tried to read it and didn't like it and never cared for the movies at all (they're just action movies. They're literally just action movies in a fantasy setting yall I'm glad you guys enjoy them but to me they're pretty goddamn boring 90% of their runtime) because I am a person capable of nuanced thought and acknowledgement of the concept that sometimes other people can find meaning and enjoyment in things that I myself do not without being objectively wrong!!!!!!!!

#i dont like pratchett either. kill me.#ive tried numerous times but its not creative and uplifting it's just. weirdly judgemental and full of itself.#kill me.#sorry im going crazy here but ive been sane on this blog for a while so ive earned it.#like shooting warning shots to keep rents down.#i dont think fictional lolicon or whatever is bad atually either. piss off.#just to clarify the goddamn situation here.#harry potter tw #hp tw #jkr tw #gods I fucking. hate jkr so much I want to bash my head against a wall.

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boofindoopin · 9 months ago

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Hope you guys want another PJO rant, because that’s what you get.

Please remember with these posts, I read all of these books, and ADORED them for about 2 years of my life. They hold a special place in my heart because of that, and I still have some admiration for them, hell, I still read the books when they come out. So, I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them.

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Why do the characters in PJO/HOO follow such annoying tropes? I can already hear the “bUt ANnAbEth Is LiTeRalLy ThE pOlaR oPoSiTe Of ThE dUmB bLoNdE tRoPe!” That’s it’s own fucking trope. It’s the “I don’t look cool, but I’ll blow you away with my super smarts!” Tropes always have polar opposite tropes because writers try to NOT follow popular tropes.

Also, if your writing with tropes, that’s fine! Tropes are helpful tools in writing to make writing a bit easier on you. Tropes also help readers find things they enjoy reading easier. But, you have to remember to throw in some original stuff, sprinkle it in they’re like shredded cheddar cheese. You can’t write/make characters only with tropes. It leads to poor writing and poor characters most of the time.

I can *also* hear people saying “But the PJO character are so well written, they have tragic pasts!” Those people mostly mean Annabeth , Nico, Hazel, and Jason.

So, let’s look at that. Annabeth is the the “I look dumb, but I’m really smart!” trope. A lot of times when writing tropes, authors will attempt to add some of that shredded cheddar of originality by making the character have a tragic past. But, when enough writers do that so much, it becomes it’s own trope. That’s really what happened with Annabeth!

Hazel is the “innocent character from a different place/time” So think of all the weird Wattpad stories and OCs that were like aliens and shit from long ago in the dark days. That’s Hazel. She also had the attempt of the originality with the sad past, but that really just formed it’s own trope as well.

Jason, same thing as the last two. Expect he’s dead, RIP Jason, you were boring af/j.

Nico is, weird to say the least. He has a Hazel thing going on for like, 3/4 of Titans curse, but quickly goes to edgy traumatized teen the moment Percy shows up, sister less. Then, he gets some more trauma in Mark of Athena when he steals the jar thing from Ares. House of hades rolls around, he’s the gay traumatized emo cousin of the demigods.

Nico is really a test tube character, he got all the potentially ‘scary’ things thrown at him. He is definitely my favorite, but is still not very original.

I can also hear people saying “But Percy, but Percy!” And probably some yelling about characters that I don’t feel like talking about (It’s Luke, Frank, Will, and a couple others).

Percy for awhile was Harry Potter. He was “But, I’m just a kid, I’m not cool!” Then he morphed and became just his own thing. Rick did pretty good with Percy, at least I think so.

So in short, all the characters in PJO/HOO follow a trope, or did follow a trope. They aren’t very original characters.

Ok, that’s it. Bye byes.

#pjo hoo toa #it’s a rant!#pjo rant #greek myth adaptations #tropes #writing trope #tropes can get fucking annoying #character tropes #character complaints

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niniane17 · 2 years ago

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So apparently a HP series has been confirmed.

No, I'm not planning to watch it, and I realize that this is the least of Rowling's issues, but I really need to rant. I'm angry at myself that I even have feelings about it, but there is nothing I can do so I might as well scream into the void here.

I thought I didn't care this time, I really did. I thought I had it easy, since I already don't like any of the HP content post 2007, including some really embarrassing content in the interviews and on Pottermore.

But...a new series is something I had wanted for years. I've been angry at the movies since at least the Prisoner of Azkaban came out* Even as a child I could tell there had been a shift after that, that the movies had become something different, not quite like the books I so loved, and it only became worse from there. If you watch all of them in a row, you can tell they grew more and more preoccupied with keeping up with the popular trends, and fitting in with the Hollywood conventions of the time. We all know the famous example, and any (ex) fan can tell you their least favorite (mine is Hermione's perfect hair). It got to the point that Radcliffe acted more like Harry Potter when he was joking around on the set than when he was delivering his lines.

Works like A Very Potter Musical had shown that it was absolutely possible to represent a more flawed version of the characters and people would like them (Hermione especially!).

Up until a few years ago, I was hoping that somebody, perhaps somebody who grew up with the books, would remake them in the next decades, but after the fandom crashed in 2020 I realized that it was better to just enjoy the characters as I pictured them in my head.

But now it's finally happening, and I know it's only happening because Rowling has a grudge and wants to take revenge on Warner Bros, the movies' leading actors and generally all the people who told her or implied that Harry Potter can exist without her. And I also know this will inevitably lead to the "re-evaluation" of the movies and the cast as the DEFINITIVE version of the characters, or even more woke (a take that unfortunately already exists about movie!Hermione, for example), unlike the new cast that will be labeled as "pandering".

(Except Snape. In his case, there will be countless digital ink spilled about how he's not problematic enough, how some scenes in which he was rude abusive to the cast were missing, and wouldn't it be better if he just beat up his students? It was clearly implied in the books, right????) (I also DO NOT WANT to see a new Lily discourse unfold in real time on Twitter. That alone should be a good reason not to do this)

On a purely artistic level, I just don't trust this series to be good, since this is coming from an extremely petty place and Rowling isn't the type of writer that performs well when she's in that mood. Her latest book is an obvious example, but a lot of faults in the later Harry Potter books can be traced back to this. If it goes well, it will be tainted by all the bad things happening around Rowling. If it doesn't, it will be another nail in the coffin of the Harry Potter fandom, which truly doesn't deserve it.

And...well, I'm sad. This is truly something I had wished for, and, if circumstances were different, I'd jump around with joy. But then again, if circumstances were indeed different, there would be no new series at all, since Rowling wouldn't have anything to prove. Still, for somebody who once claimed not to care in the least about her own legacy, this is quite a decision to make. I only wish she truly didn't care, and let the fandom tries to piece it all together, and it's done since 2007.

*which I still condider a bad movie even as "its own thing", I don't care how many homages it pays to German expressionism. Also Peter Lorre didn't need some gross makeup to show he was the bad guy, did he? So why did poor Timothy Spall? It undermines the whole point of evil being undetectable at first and also the great lengths Voldemort went through in his search for power and...ok, sorry, I just don't like this movie very much.

#harry potter #anti jk rowling #that woman has the power to turn me into a furious teenager #warning: unpopular opinion about the prisoner of azkaban movie on the inside #not that anyone will care about this but still

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shakespearean-snape · 2 years ago

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Thanks for answering!

I'm in the same page club when it comes to Snily and Jily. In truth, I struggle with shipping Snape with many of the canon Harry Potter characters for various reasons so it's one of those cases where I try to go looking for good Snape/OC fics when I really want to read a pairing featuring him and hope for the best (not quite as big a fan of the Canon/Reader phenomena because I don't like inserting myself or imagining myself as the OC, I prefer fully fleshed out and developed original characters who are not me to read about paired with my favorite canon characters but I've read a few reader fics I actually did enjoy in this fandom).

I never really saw Snily happening and I got the very strong sense that Lily had been emotionally distancing herself from the friendship even before SWM and that was part of the reason she was so ready to be done with it all. She'd likely been looking for an out because her continued association to Snape was becoming a source of inconvenience and a point of contention for her among some of her other friends within her own house (especially as her popularity grew and Snape became more unpopular and with the war going on outside the school only heightening the Slytherin-Gryffindor house divisions).

I don't think harshly of Lily, there were a lot of factors at work and she was ultimately a teenage girl who was probably more conscious of social pressures on top of everything else. However, I also doubt Snape was casually or frequently espousing anti-Muggleborn views around her as some of his detractors like to claim based off her accusation outside the Gryffindor dorm. It paints her in a very unflattering light if he was, because it means she didn't draw the line with him referring to Muggleborns as Mudblood until it was her on the receiving end.

I genuinely got the sense she had wanted to end the friendship (and had already emotionally checked out) but because it was an old friendship there was a lot of internal conflict and guilt and when Snape said what he said it was justification to finally end it without feeling too badly (also why she did NOT want to give him any chance to apologize and the reason for the hyperbole because if she let him apologize and accepted it as sincere then she'd be back to square one wanting out of a friendship only he was still very emotionally invested in by then).

I've also been in Lily's position somewhat; not entirely exact to it but close enough. Don't get me wrong, I don't end friendships lightly but I can understand being in a spot where you feel badly because the other person still clearly wants to be your friend but emotionally you're in a different place and can't connect in the same way and you're trying to find a way to step back without hurting them. I am generally someone who tries to be kind and I dislike hurting people so I always have struggled with break-ups, be it romantic or with a friend.

I also think she was already attracted to James (even her telling him off was basically her exposing how observant she is of his mannerisms and why he does what he does) because JKR just loves the problematic trope of "girls deny attraction and play hard-to-get" and she was likely also talking to him when Snape wasn't around to know about it. She made James work for an actual relationship with her but, in the end, I think she had been wanting to date him for a bit before SWM (in the very least the signs were there of interest and a likely attraction) and being friends with Snape made that very complicated for her. The sad truth, I think, is that Snape had become an inconvenient friend until he wasn't and he gave her a convenient reason to end the friendship other than just peer pressure from her friends and a private interest in dating one of the boys who bullied him.

More than anything, I ship Lily with being single a little while after graduating from Hogwarts. With being able to realize her own full potential and have her magical skills shine, especially as part of the war efforts. Not spending her days in the shadow of James Potter, isolated in a house with a baby (while James seems to have made more use of his cloak to come and go) all of twenty-something and unable to have any adult contact or conservations aside from with her husband's friends, an elderly neighbor and the few people from school she writes to in the Order that she didn't seem to lose touch with entirely when once she was so popular.

As far as Snily, I can't get past how even glimpses into their friendship showed how frequently they argued and misunderstood each other. There was dysfunction there. Granted I saw dysfunction for Jily too (which is why I ship Lily with her own single life and chance to grow into herself a bit more post Hogwarts) but I also don't object to people finding something to enjoy in either of those ships. If there's one thing fandom has taught me it's that in the hands of truly dedicated writers and fans even the oddest pairings (the crackiest of the crack even) and the not-so-well-written ship magic can still happen. More power to the people who put their efforts into creating something enchanting for these ships, no hate at all from me there!

From the ship ask, since it looked like fun to me.

"What is the most overrated ship, in your opinion?"

Hi! Ty for the ask!

it's hard to say, since i tend to like almost all ships. I guess if I really had to say, it would be snily? like I know it isn't that popular right now, and there are a few great fics, but- idk. I honestly am not the biggest fan of Jily or Snily- would rather Lily be gay ngl - its just, it seems like such a lazy ship. Its the sort of thing I would expect in shitty ya novels- nerdy kid gets his childhood crush- i just, idk how to explain it, but i genuinely feel like both Lily and Snape would be better off without each other, and a romance between them is not something that's appealing to me. I never saw Snape's love for Lily as romantic and Lily obviously didn't feel anything. No hate whatsoever to those who ship it- it could be cute i guess, but it's not something I'd ever seek out.

#anti snily #anti jily #ships

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pappydaddy · 3 years ago

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the woes of the highly overdramatic (o.w.)

a/n: first business of re-opening requests, getting to the ones that have been waiting patiently! starting off strong, we have a oliver wood x fem!shy!gryffindor!reader requested by a lovely anon! this was very fun to write and enjoyed writing a character who was shy since i suffer from chronic shyness as well. this was largely written from oliver's perspective as i felt like it would make the fic better.

anywho! i hope you lovelies enjoy this and i hope you are happy with this fic lovely anon💛!

tv show/movie: harry potter

pairing: oliver wood x fem!shy!gryffindor!reader

requested part two - requested

description: oliver wood has a crush on the intriguing but shy y/n and he cannot seem to figure out how to interact with her. when he hears that she has a crush of her own, he is devastated until he learns that its on him. now, he must figure out a way to approach her.

warnings: reader is shy but shyness isn't bad and not described as bad in this fic. negative thoughts. slight, very slight angst. fluff mostly really. roughly proof-read, will be proof-read better later.

note: reader wears the female hogwarts uniform.

taglist: @just-here-to-escape-reality | @rottenstyx | @boxofsilentwords | @badass-yn | @onyourgoddamnleft

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

Oliver Wood, the stubborn and slightly obsessed Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, never was one to be reluctant, awkward, or scared. He normally oozed self-confidence and he never did anything half-asked. It was all or nothing with him, but when it came to the captivating Gryffindor in his year, he found himself teetering on the edge of making a move and pining silently. He had been stuck in this limbo since their Fifth Year at Hogwarts when they shared their first actual conversation. Of course, they had known of each other before then, but they ran in two completely different social circles.

Oliver hung around the rambunctious and loud Quidditch players when he wasn’t chumming it with his roommates. Oliver had no shortage of people to talk to, he was popular due to his standings in Hogwarts Quidditch. Y/N, on the other hand, much preferred to avoid that much attention and noise. She was quite shy so it was out of her comfort zone to be in fast-paced social environments. Oftentimes, she was lounging in the quiet areas of Hogwarts with her close group of friends. Sometimes, Oliver would see her conversing with her fellow Prefects in a nice, easy-flowing conversation. This never stopped Oliver from becoming infatuated with her even though they probably only conversed a handful of times.

At first, he had been intrigued in their second year when his roommate Percy kept talking of this girl in their year. He had talked of her with a blush adorning his freckled cheeks and a sparkle in his eyes. Originally, Oliver wanted to figure it out simply so he could bug Percy about his crush. When he had finally figured out who was occupying the mind of his roommate and unlikely friend, he immediately realised why Percy was so hung up on her. Just looking at her seemed to calm the world, letting Oliver take a deep breath, ridding his body of tension.

Even now, that they were in their last year of Hogwarts, that feeling never went away. Whenever he looked over at her, he would find himself relaxing as he slowed down. Today was one of those days. Anxiety was swirling within Oliver like a brewing storm and that meant nothing good for him or the Gryffindor Quidditch team for their practice later that night. On days like this, everyone knew to give Oliver his space. His head was always clouded, his temper short, his body rigid. It was like a volcano waiting for the one trigger to explode.

It wasn’t enough for Oliver to be filled with anxiety, but he was also not in a good mood in general - waking up on the wrong side of the bed as the saying goes. His anger only grew more when nothing seemed to be going his way. First-years were occupying the Common Room on the blustery fall Saturday, making the usually quiet environment sound like the Great Hall. Normally, Oliver preferred to sit in the Common Room on Saturdays to work on Quidditch plays, but with the noise, he hadn’t been able to come up with one single play for their upcoming game.

Grumpily, the Scottish Quidditch Keeper was storming through the castle. The library, the second place he would retreat to in order to work on plays, was full with fifth-years fretting over their O.W.Ls, meaning all the possible seats in the library were filled by sleep-deprived sixteen-year-olds. “ ‘Ollo, Oliver,” Fred’s sing-song voice rang in his ears, making the older boy grunt in response, not wanting to deal with the Twin’s antic’s at the moment.

“Lookin’ like a man on a mission, Cap!” George noted as Oliver breezed right by them.

“Alrighty then, see you at practice tonight, Cap!” Fred brushed off Oliver’s lack of interaction, the pair continuing to saunter down the hall, whistling some sort of off-tune song, their whistles syncing perfectly. Making the final turn, Oliver saw why everyone was retreating to the warmest areas of the castle. Instantly, the cold attacked him, the open archways of the windowless corridor letting him feel the hint of winter mixing with the late autumn air. However, he had planned for that. Pulling the wool hat farther down onto his head, his already red ears were protected from the bitter wind. Zipping his puffy jacket up to the top, he snuggled his face into it, only leaving his eyes visible as he made his way along the stone, heading closer to the Greenhouses.

The only people who hung around the Greenhouses in this bitter cold are either insanely mad, Hufflepuffs, searching for a quiet place, or Neville Longbottom. As long as they didn’t bother him, Oliver did not mind their presence. Plopping himself down on a stone bench, he was thankful he decided to layer up his pants. As quickly as he could with gloved hands, Oliver unpacked the parchment, inkpot, and quill from the bag he was carrying, wanting to get to work on his plays.

The sudden sound of a Greenhouse door opening and the bustling conversation flowing from it as the group of Hufflepuffs left made him groan, his eyes fluttering closed in defeat, hoping to Merlin that they would just bustle on by in search of warmth. As if answering his hopes, the group scurried right by as if Oliver wasn’t even there until one of them stopped a few steps after they had passed the ill-tempered seventh-year.

“Hello, Percy, Y/N,” The sound of Y/N’s name made Oliver snap his head in the direction, seeing Percy walking alongside the most magnificent sight Oliver had ever seen. Y/N walked along, bundled up in a red wool coat, buttoned up as far as the two large buttons would allow. A red plaid scarf was wrapped around her neck, covering her mouth and the tip of her nose. A blush pink knitted hat covered the top of her head. One thing Oliver knew about Y/N was that she loved hats with pom-poms on the top (liking how the pom-pom felt when it moved), but she could never bring herself to wear one in public. He had overheard her talking to Neville about it one day when she was helping him with Potions. “Picking Neville up for his Potions tutoring?”

“Kind of, Neville wants to work in the Greenhouse today, apparently he’s trying to nurse a plant back to health.” Percy responded in a somewhat judgemental tone, not understanding how or why Neville planned to nurse a plant back to health.

“Oh, yeah, he mentioned that Y/N was going to help with it,” Another Hufflepuff remembered, her teeth chattering as her body trembled from her lack of winter apparel. “How do you think you guys will nurse it back? Neville was just showing it to me, it doesn’t appear to be doing too well.” Oliver watched, his feelings of gloom, anger, frustration, and anxiety melting away as he looked at her. He could see her shrink back slightly, the large crowd of Hufflepuff’s intimidating her slightly. Her wide eyes flicked from face to face for a moment as they all waited patiently for her to reply. The bit of her wind-bitten cheeks tinged farther, looking like she put on too much blush.

“Uh-” She paused, her voice muffled by her scarf. “Potion. Percy is helping me brainstorm how to create or modify a potion to heal it. We’re using it as an exercise for Neville’s tutoring, hoping if we incorporate Potions with Herbology, he might get the hang of it.” She rushed out, fidgeting as she blinked, questioning if she overshared or didn’t share enough. Oliver thought it was adorable how she always constantly questioned how to gauge and navigate social interaction.

“Oh! That sounds cool,” The original Hufflepuff girl lit up as the cold started to get to her, her teeth also chattering. “Well, we won’t keep you guys out in the cold much longer. Let us know how it goes, will you?” Those words and waves (an awkwardly quick wave on Y/N’s part) were the partings of the group, leaving Percy and Y/N fully exposed to Oliver.

“Hello, Oliver, freezing yourself over Quidditch I see.” Percy remarked, spotting hit awestruck Roommate. Oliver made no attempt to talk back, simply managing a wave as Y/N wagged her fingers shyly towards him, the kind smile she gave him being shown in her eyes.

“Have fun, Oliver.” Her beautiful, muffled voice spoke before she visibly cringed, not knowing why she would tell him to have fun when he was sitting out in the bitter cold, but those few words warmed Oliver enough that he felt like he was in the Common Room sitting in front of the roaring fire.

____

That night, after a particularly horrible Quidditch practice, Oliver was tense and anxious once again. The spell Y/N seems to place upon him was long warn off. This was his last chance to win the Quidditch cup. Storming into the Gryffindor Common Room, he didn’t even take a second to see who occupied the space as he stomped towards the couch, collapsing onto it. “Do you mind?” Percy grumbled when Oliver nearly knocked the book out of his lap.

“No, not really,” Oliver shrugged, sighing as he leaned his head back against the back of the couch. Percy grunted in response, looking back to his book, jotting some notes in the margin. “The team is just a mess,” Oliver ranted, knowing that Percy would just ignore him and let him vent. “Our chasers seem to be out of rhythm with each other, they keep dropping the quaffle, Then a rogue bludger hit George’s broom so he’s on a school-issued one which is just cruddy. But, worst of all, Harry seems to have his head in the clouds! He’s too distracted over something.” Oliver deflated, nearly being sucked into the scarlet couch cushions.

“Percy,” The soft melodious voice of Y/N floated from the stairs, no longer muffled behind her scarf. Oliver perked up, pushing himself up just enough to look at the stairs, seeing her still hidden as her footfalls echoed off the spiral stone. “I was thinking about what you said after we got into the Greenhouse.” She announced, her shadow growing on the stone in contrast to the flickering flames lining the dark and damp stairs of the tower. Even just the outline of her showed the essence of beauty, art, and peace. Percy never looked up from his book, simply waiting for her to hit the bottom of the stairs. She obviously did not notice Oliver sitting there as she blinked at the redhead, pausing for a second to know he heard her.

“About what?” Percy pursed his lips, eyes still scanning the page of his textbook before his fingers flicked to the next page, eyes never once stopping. Oliver settled back into his spot, trying to go unnoticed by the girl. He knew the second she knew he was there, she would clam up and he wanted to know what went on in that beautiful mind of hers, just to get a glimpse. He lived vicariously through the moments he overhead.

“About my predicament.” She clarified but that only made Oliver more confused.

“Having a crush is not a predicament,. Percy noted absentmindedly, flicking to the next page of his textbook already. Oliver’s heart lurched before it plummeted to his feet. She had a crush on someone. Of course, she would have a crush on someone, her heart was big and pure. It would be impossible to think that she wouldn’t be charmed by someone.

“It is in this case, Percy,” She cried, throwing herself down on the other side of Percy, making the two boys bounce, disclosing Oliver’s presence to her. She had been on the verge of pouring her heart out about her crush to Percy for the sixth time this week, and he could tell she was embarrassed she had almost revealed it all to Oliver by accident. “Oh, my Merlin! I had no idea you were here, Oliver! I am so sorry,” A rush of blood hit her face, tinging the colour of her cheeks. He could see her shaking from the sudden realisation that she had just probably made a fool of herself in front of someone outside of her close circle of friends. “I’ll leave you two to whatever you guys were doing, I am so sorry. I’ll talk to you later, Percy.” She shot up, her anxiety-riddled frame racing to the stairs and disappearing as quickly as she came, tripping over her feet just like she had been tripping over her words seconds before.

Oliver, stunned, sat there with his mouth hanging open. He regretted not making himself known to her. He wouldn’t have been so affected by the additional person to the conversation, but Y/N wasn’t like him. She was skittish and delicate like a butterfly. Loudness and crowds scared her. A nice calm environment with a handful of people was more her speed. “Nice going, Wood,” Percy commented, flicking the page of his book. “At this rate, you’ll continuously scare her off before you can tell her you like her,” He continued, the Weasley wit coming through in him making Oliver glare up at him. “For someone who basically stalks her, you don’t know much about how to interact with her.”

That was Percy’s last comment before Oliver sat up, angrily pushing on one side of Percy’s book, flicking it closed aggressively before storming off to his dorm. He had just found out that Y/N had a crush and he managed to scare her off. Percy was right, he didn’t know how to interact with her which meant that it was extremely unlikely that her crush was on him. Frustrated, he kicked his dorm room door closed, tackling his bed, wishing to punch the daylights out of his mattress - which he did.

____

Sluggish and down-trodden, Oliver’s recent behaviour sparked the circulation of gossip. The Gryffindor Quidditch team were practically shaking in their boots - not knowing what was going through their Captain’s mind. Even Fred and George were slightly scared - not that they let that show. They had seen Oliver pissed off, seen him trying to drown himself in the locker room showers, they’ve seen him an anxious mess, but they have never seen him completely give up. Many people assumed that the Gryffindor team was falling apart at the seams. Now that their main competition was experiencing turbulence, the Slytherin team was already celebrating their suspected House Cup win, assuming that they had a clear path to another victory.

Oliver wasn’t unaware of any of this, but for once, he found himself not caring about anything. Surrounded in his cloud of heartbreak and self-pity, he was on the brink of spending two months in a solemn state. This had Percy (arguably Oliver’s best friend oddly) both annoyed and concerned - but mostly annoyed. Now, instead of being on the Quidditch pitch, the Great Hall, or working on Quidditch plays, Oliver was bothering him. Constantly around Percy. In the library, in the Common Room, in the dorm. Wherever Percy was, Oliver was also. If Oliver had been brooding silently, Percy wouldn’t have a problem with his company, but nearly every second, a loud and depressed sigh would leave the dejected Captain’s lips. “Oh for Merlin’s sake, Wood!” Percy stood from his bed, throwing the textbook he had placed on his lap to his bed - the pieces of parchment wrinkling under its weight.

Storming over to Oliver’s bed, he loomed over it, his thin freckled face glowing red with anger. Oliver simply blinked up at him slowly, unable to do anything else, as he let the book fall carelessly off the side of his bed. Oliver having a book was not an odd sight, against popular belief, Oliver did read. He just read mostly Quidditch things. With his face reddening more, Percy yanked the blankets Oliver had rolled around in, cocooning everything below the waist into them. He ripped them from Oliver, hoping the sudden invasion of cold air would jolt the headstrong Quidditch Captain back into a living state. However, he faced no such lunch. “Get up.” Percy spat out the order with the tip of his nose curling slightly into a sneer.

“What’s the point, Percy,” Oliver sighed, rolling onto his side, his back facing the angry Percy. “What is the point of loving something when you constantly end up getting hurt by the very thing you love,” He heaved out another grand sigh, earning an unseen eye roll from the annoyed redhead. “This is my last chance at winning the house cup and the team is in the worst state ever. My first love, betraying me. Slaying me through the heart. Not to mention my second love, tossing my love for her out the window before I could even utter a word of it-”

“Why are you talking like that? Where did you learn to talk like that?” Percy questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. Oliver was not one to use such descriptive words let alone such heartbreakingly romantic words.

“I’ve been reading.” Oliver stated simply, pointing down to the book that had fallen from his grasp when Percy intruded his reading time.

“What in Merlin’s name have you been reading, Shakespeare? Jane Austin?” Percy sputtered out in shock. Percy was aware he was reading, they have been spending nearly every waking hour beside each other. Percy had just assumed he was reading about Quidditch or using the time for school work.

“Who are they?” Oliver questioned, his words sluggish and slow. Almost like he was using every ounce of power left in his body to speak to them. Percy, ignoring for a second, walked to the other side of the bed, intent on finding out what Oliver had gotten his hands on.

“Muggle writers, Dad has some of their works,” Percy mumbled, bending down to pick up the book. Flipping it over, Percy dispelled a sigh through his nose. “Emily Brontë,” He set the book down on Oliver’s nightside table, instantly moving to pick up Oliver’s bag. Percy knew exactly what he should find within the bag. Quidditch plays scribbled on loose parchment, crumpled assignments, and Quidditch books mixed with textbooks. Pulling the bag open, he saw the parchment stuffed to the bottom carelessly with a multitude of books from the Muggle Section of the library. “Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Brontë, William Shakespeare, and Jane Austin. How did you even hear about these? You detested the idea of Muggle Studies and here you are, reading Muggle books.” Percy questioned, tossing each book onto the bed.

Oliver flopped back onto his back, blinking up at the scarlet canopy over his bed. “Y/N reads them. Maybe if she found love through reading these, perhaps I can too,” Oliver spoke agonizingly. “Besides, it makes me feel better to read about doomed loves.” Percy rolled his eyes at this, plopping Oliver’s bag back to the floor, pushing the books to the foot of his bed, his hands digging into his hips next.

“Alright, Wood, sit up,” Percy demanded in a tone Oliver had never heard before making him bolt upright in his bed, a bit perplexed as to why he was fearful of Percy. “I am tired of hearing the woes of the highly overdramatic.”

“What-”

“You’ve been wallowing in self-pity all over the place since you found out Y/N has a crush and we’re all tired of it,” Percy ignored him, continuing on his rant. “Now,” Percy pointed to the books. “Now, I am concerned,” He admitted, moving his finger to point to Oliver. The Scottsman watched him with knitted brows. “I honestly have no idea how you haven’t realised who she has a crush on. But then again, I honestly have no idea why you��ve sat on this crush for years when you pride yourself with being so courageous and brave,” Percy started to pace, rolling his wrist as he went on. “But, I’ve decided to stop waiting for you to get a clue through that thick, Quidditch injured skull of yours and just finally show you some clarity,” He stopped his pacing, standing at the foot of Oliver’s bed. Oliver, horribly confused, watched Percy with a hanging jaw and a screwed-up face. “She has a crush on you.”

“That’s rubbish,” Oliver waved him off. “She probably likes some bookish Ravenclaw guy who can show her every constellation in the sky at any given night.”

“One would think that, yes, but to everyone’s surprise, she seems to like concussed Quidditch players with anger issues.” Percy blinked, waiting for Oliver to finally think of the idea that Y/N could have feelings for him as well.

Oliver seemed at war with himself, caught between wanting to believe Percy, Y/N’s best friend and confidant, and continuing to believe that Y/N was in love with another. “It has to be true, it’s coming from you! You can’t tell a lie and you would get nothing from lying to me about this.” Oliver reasoned, his tongue licking his bottom lip back and forth.

“That is true. I would get literally nothing from lying to you,” Percy agreed. “I would much prefer to be right as opposed to being victorious in a lie.”

“I have to go find her,” Oliver scrambled from his bed in newfound energy and hope. “I have a chance!”

“You might have a better chance after a shower and, possibly, after putting actual pants on.” Percy pointed to the Quidditch boxers Oliver was currently wearing making the sports fanatic blush a deep red.

“Yeah, that is a good idea.” He muttered, shuffling back towards his bed where his pants were discarded.

____

Frantically running through the corridors, everyone stopped and stared at the sudden sight of Oliver acting alive again. Percy had told him that on Monday mornings for the past few weeks, Y/N had been in Greenhouse One with Neville, eating breakfast and monitoring their plant to see how the potion is working. The clusters of people started to thin out the closer he got to the outside of the castle, nobody wanting to expose themselves to the bitter cold that still hung around this late in winter.

His nerves and drive carried him to stand out in front of Greenhouse One. Butterflies swirled around in his stomach, giving him the same feeling he gets before a Quidditch game - just more intense. Breathless, both from running and from the idea of finally being able to share his feelings with Y/N, he pushed the door to the Greenhouse open, instantly spotting her perched on the stool. Her elbows were pressed into the table, her fists pushing her cheeks up as she watched the plant. Standing there, he observed her for a moment, letting her beauty wash over him.

The winter sun broke through the dirty windows on the Greenhouse in mini spotlights, dust swirling and dancing in them. The golden rays hit her, illuminating her as if she were a work of art. She had shed her winter robes, scarf, hats, and mitts due to the humidity trapped within the Greenhouse, leaving her in her sweater vest, skirt, wool tights, and button-down. She reached out, touching the plant with the softest, most caring touch. Humming, she let the leaf of the plant go, jotting down something in the open notebook in front of her.

“It suddenly got really cold in here,” She spoke to the plant with a hint of confusion lacing her voice. “Perhaps the wind blew open the door again. I thought Hagrid was going to fix that,” She tisked, sliding off her stool. Grabbing her mittens, she turned to face Oliver, her body stilling when she realised the door hadn’t blown open and it was actually being held open. “O-Oliver,” She sputtered, shifting her weight. “How long have you been there?” She asked quietly, desperately wanting to fan herself as heat consumed her face.

“Not long, I was actually coming here to talk to you,” He stepped fully into the Greenhouse, letting the door close behind him. “Percy told me you would be here with Neville monitoring the plant.” He pointed to the plant behind her, hoping that would ease her nerves slightly.

“Talk to me? About what?” Her voice was so high, Oliver feared that her voice box would be squeezed right out of her throat.

“Um, about something I’ve wanted to ask you for a few years now,” Oliver swallowed the nerves that were bubbling up. Y/N stayed silent, but Oliver wasn’t sure if it was because she was scared or if she was too nervous about speaking over him in case he wasn’t done talking. He found it hard to get into her head, to understand the signs she was showing. Eyes flicking down, he saw the awkward twitch of the corner of her lips, assuming she wanted to say something but was unsure if she should. “It’s nothing bad, Y/N.” He eased her nerves.

She let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders slumping as the tension and nerves left her body. Silence surrounded the pair as Y/N shifted her weight, her eyes flicking from the stool she was sitting on to Oliver - waiting for some sort of cue to tell her what to do now. Oliver cleared his throat, suddenly consumed with the thought of her not actually liking her back. “Um, Oliver,” Her quiet, shaking and unsure voice broke him from his thoughts. “You wanted to tell me something?” She sputtered out, looking like she really didn’t want to remind him of that, but she also wanted to shift from the uncomfortable area of not knowing where this social situation was taking them.

Oliver’s mind clicked. His silence was probably causing her some anxiety. He knew she liked navigable situations and with his silence, she had no idea what to expect. “I, uh,” He cleared his throat again, his hand flying up to the back of his neck, cupping the area out of nerves, his head dipping, eyes flicking to the dirt and soil-littered floor of the Greenhouse. He felt sweat forming on his body, a mix of his nerves and the heat trapped within the Greenhouse thanks to the thermal spell placed in them for the winter months. “I wanted to ask you to Hogsmeade this weekend. There is this new bookshop there, it’s got a cafe right in it. Perhaps, it could be a date?” He finished, regaining the fleeting courage.

Looking up at her, he saw her eyes wide in shock, her mouth hanging open in shock. Blinking rapidly, she never took her eyes off of him. Oliver stood there, understanding that her mind was probably reeling, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Oliver knew she had been asked out before, but those were always bookish Ravenclaws or introverted Hufflepuffs - both groups not being extroverted Quidditch players who were overly popular like Oliver. “Is this a prank?” She questioned after a minute of silence.

“Of course not! I wouldn’t do that, that’s horrible!” Oliver denied instantly, shocked that she would assume he would ask her on a date as a prank.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” She apologised, head dipping low as she looked at her feet, her school shoes kicking a pile of soil as a distraction. “I’ve just never been asked out by someone like you, but my friend was then she found out it was all a prank when she was stood up-”

“What kind of monster would do that,” Oliver questioned, not even thinking that he cut her off. The sight of her head shooting up, shocked that he had cut her off made him realise what he had done. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt you, I was just shocked someone would find that humorous.”

“Well, apparently Cormac McLaggen finds it hysterical,” She spoke with a roll of her eyes. “But, if you’re not asking me out as a prank, then why are you asking me out-” She trailed off before her eyes widened in realisation. “Percy told you about my crush on you and you felt sorry for me. This is a pity date! Oh, my Merlin. This is so embarrassing!” She groaned, her hands slapping over her face as she tried to hide herself away.

“No, no,” Oliver strode over to her, his long legs carrying himself across the space within seconds. His hands gently wrapped around her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. She didn’t put up a fight, allowing her hands to be pulled from her mortified face. He could see the embarrassment saddening her soft eyes before it was taken over by curiosity, her breath hitching when she took in the softness of Oliver’s captivating eyes. “Percy did tell me you like me, but only because he felt sorry for me. I’ve been so taken by you for years, when I heard you liked someone, I automatically assumed it wouldn’t be me. Percy was tired of me sulking so he told me you really liked me, not someone else.”

“I was the reason you’ve been acting so odd,” She whispered, her brows furrowing. Oliver nodded, eyes still locked with Y/N’s, silence encompassing them once again. Standing there, among the variety of beautifully growing plants, the smell of fresh soil and the fragrant tropical plants in the back corner of the Greenhouse - absorbed each other’s energies like the leaves of a plant absorbing sunlight; warm and energising. “I think I’ll go on that date with you.” She whispered, almost forgetting that there were other people that existed. At that moment, it was just Oliver and her. The warmth of his hands barely touching her wrists, the sparks exploding in her stomach as their eyes whispered heartwarming love between each other.

“I’ve got the ruler! I was in Greenhouse three for some reason-” Neville walked in through the supply room in the back of the Greenhouse, having used the back entrance. “Oh! I-I’m sorry,” Neville stopped in his tracks when he spotted the two locked in such an intimate moment, red filling his plump cheeks instantly. “I didn’t think anyone else was in here with Y/N, I’ll-” He swallowed thickly, thrown off by the presence of Oliver. Pointing back at the supply closet, he started to turn towards it. “I’ll just head back in here and get my stuff then leave you guys alone-”

“That’s not necessary, Neville.” Oliver shook his head, stepping back from Y/N, letting her wrists go. A moment of panic crossed over Y/N features, scared he was ashamed to be seen with someone so low on the social scale, but the beaming smile and the border-line cocky wink he sent her eased her nerves, leaving her a bashful schoolgirl.

“You know my name?” Neville questioned skeptically.

“Of course I know your name, Neville, you’re a very avid Quidditch fan and I appreciate you. Plus, you're a Gryffindor, why wouldn’t I know your name,” Oliver questioned, confused as to why Neville thought he wouldn’t know him. “Anyway, you stay. You guys are working on an amazing breakthrough, I just popped in to ask Y/N a quick question - I’ll leave you guys alone,” With that, he turned on his heels, his robes floating around his feet. Pausing for a moment, he looked back at Y/N. “See you Saturday morning?”

“See you Saturday morning, Oliver.” She confirmed as she tried to stifle the smile that was fighting to grow on her face. One smile from Oliver and the smile grew out of control, making his heart flutter against his chest. All it took to finally give Oliver the final push to ask her out was Percy growing tired of listening to Oliver’s overdramatic woes and Greenhouse One.

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snarry-fest-adopt-a-prompt · 2 years ago

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SNARRY ADOPT A PROMPT REVEALS!!

Here we are, with the REVEALS for the 2022 edition of Snarry Adopt a Prompt!!

Thank you for following and/or participating in our fest!

We hope to see you on our next edition too! To always be updated on our fest, follow us here on Tumblr.

And now for you the complete list of our submissions, no longer anonymous!

☆ The Box [Teen & Up Audience - 6,273 w] by titC

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40227426

Summary: Years after she last saw Harry, Petunia and Vernon move back North. During the move, Petunia finds a mysterious box that she’s all but forgotten… it stirs too many memories and emotions back to life.

☆ Hypothermia [Mature - 19,583 w] by inarticulateimbecile

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42296031

Summary: Prompt #4: Sirius isn’t quite right when Harry goes to live with him. No one believes Harry, since Sirius acts fine when other people are around. No one, except for Snape.

☆ From Git in a Snit to Loosed and Seduced [Teen & Up Audience - 7,480 w] by titC

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42492951

Summary: The DADA teacher had to leave her post mid-year, and Minerva McGonagall has managed to convince Severus and Harry to cover the classes for the rest of the year. If only they talked to each other…

☆ Starling [Explicit - 43,620 w] by what_alchemy

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42456291

Summary: Harry Potter disappeared when he was five years old. Twenty-five years later, Severus Snape gets the same assignment from different masters: find and deliver the Boy Who Lived.

☆ Predetermined [Explicit - 9,379 w] by brightened

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42658827

Summary: Harry becomes obsessed with a popular romance novel. He jumps at the chance to meet the mysterious author of his favourite series, though he’s less than thrilled when he finds out the author is Severus Snape. Once he realises the novels are thinly-veiled fantasies about him, he decides to offer Snape some feedback.

☆ Fern Flower [General Audience - 12,117 w] by Im_just_visiting

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43010562

Summary: Many years have passed since the war. As headmaster of the school, Severus hires Harry as a DADA professor. One day Severus sees the tip of a tattoo on Harry’s back. The thought of discovering what it is consumes him.

☆ Pray Tell, My Love [Explicit - 4,391 w] by HuntersTryst

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43405704

Summary: Severus is working late, and absolutely not obsessing over Harry.

So when Harry turns up embarrassingly aroused when he’s supposed to be out with Draco, Severus is determined to find out what happened. No matter what it takes.

☆ For Those Who Sing in the Dead of Night [General Audience - 14,561 w + music] by Klari (fic) and SerenaEW (music)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43646115

Summary: Harry rescues Severus for a change.

☆ Delve [Teen & Up Audience - 3,815 w] by lucio

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43667788

Summary: “The price has been paid,” said Voldemort, turning his head in rather the same way Nagini did. “It is magic I would not expect you to understand, Severus…and yet I have need of your particular skills tonight. There is no one else I would trust with the inner workings of my mind. You must enter my mind and see what damage has been done. If you stray too far…” Voldemort’s eyes flashed. “You will have cause to regret it.”

“Of course, my lord.” Absolutely the last thing Severus wanted to do was venture into a mind so splintered and strange. But what choice did he have? He thought of the way Harry laughed, a reluctant noise of amusement that jolted out of him like thunder, and that was what gave Severus the strength to stand.

☆ Meeting the Family [Explicit - 9,368 w] by Gia_Sesshoumaru

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43657141

Summary: Harry had been surprised to find out that Severus had muggle relatives stemming from his womanizing muggle father. He was even more surprised when accompanying Severus for the first time to one of their monthly “family meetings,” just how much family his lover had exactly.

☆ Knight’s Gambit [Teen & Up Audience - 3,110 w] by namara_ashina

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43737934/chapters/109985797

Summary: Ronald Weasley has the bright idea to offer up his best mate, Harry Potter, as a prize to whomever can defeat him in a chess match. Because everyone knows Harry Potter is single, right?

☆ Possession [Explicit - 4,687 w] by HuntersTryst

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43715118

Summary: Regulus Black in Potter’s body? No, no, absolutely not. Severus needs a drink… and to not come too quickly.

A Snarry exorcism fuck or die.

Please read the tags for content warnings.

☆ Draco Malfoy’s Guide to Not Getting Accidentally Married [Teen & Up Audience - 56,521 w] by deliciousblizzardshark

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43697841

Summary: When the Courting Laws are enacted during Harry’s eighth year, Severus and Draco do everything they can to keep Harry from finding himself married to an unpleasant stranger, including Severus fake-courting Harry.

Following graduation, Harry and Draco go to the States to go to university (where no one will judge Draco for his Dark Mark and no one will try to trick Harry into marriage), but Harry still finds himself thinking about his dates with his old headmaster.

☆ lost in time (and place) [Teen and Up Audiences - 7,775 w] by Cherrydragon26

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43184791

Summary: Harry is bored and sees “despicable plots” and “wicked machinations” even in the most mundane of the post-war wizarding world. When he tries to drag Snape – his erstwhile protector and fellow vanquisher of the dark – into his attempts to thwart them, Snape himself finds a new lease of life.

☆ Dementor’s Kiss [Explicit - 14,787 w + Digital art] by NecromanticNoir

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43512886

Summary: Harry wants to be kissed.

Snape can’t kiss him. A story about scent.

☆ In the Margins of What We Know [Explicit - 27,073 w] by Malora

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43957401

Summary: At the beginning of Harry’s sixth year, the Dursleys abandon Harry, and within hours the blood protection that kept him safe from Voldemort is gone. Secreted away to Grimmauld Place, he’s dealt another blow: Voldemort attacks with a curse that will destroy the identity of anyone who speaks or writes their name. Harry receives letters from friends and others in the Order using aliases. But one mysterious contact fills his thoughts and later, his dreams. Told entirely through letters, journal entries, book excerpts, and marginalia.

☆ Fix-It Fuck-Up [Mature - 24,393 w] by Bronz_DaddySaikiK

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43833565/chapters/110216569

Summary: Severus and Harry accidentally travel back in time to Grindelwald's era and find themselves in the middle of the war.

☆ Minds Asunder [Mature - 28,179 w] by titC

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44042616

Summary: Something strange happened when Harry found Snape's body, barely alive, in the Shack.

It takes a while for them both to understand they shared more than the memories that helped Harry defeat Voldemort...

☆ Wash this blood clean from my hands [Teen&Up audience - 30,268 w] by DanzaNelFuoco

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44138388

Summary: It starts with Severus Snape and then it continues with him. On and on it goes - from a half-prophecy heard by him when Harry was just a newborn, through years of mistrust and hate, his dark shadow looming over him, protecting him and saving him and sending him to his death but not quite.

It starts with him and it continues with him.

It’s only fair that it should end with him too.

“So you are here to stop me.”

☆ Fallen [Explicit - 50,743 w] by Somn

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44415163

Summary: Prompt: 46. Post DH, not epilogue compliant. After the war, the Trio returns to Hogwarts for their seventh year. With Harry's knack of attracting trouble, they stumble upon an ancient curse which Harry accidentally sets off. (Oops!) The curse will bring the whole castle of Hogwarts down (the castle will lose its magic with no hope of reviving it again). The curse was put in place by one Salazar Slytherin as revenge against Godric Gryffindor for breaking his heart. The only solution: the current head of the house of Slytherin must fall in love with the one who set the curse off within one school term meaning ten months and it must be reciprocated. Severus is not pleased.

#snarry #severus snape #Harry Potter #hp #hp fest #HP events #harry/snape #snape/harry #snarry fest #Harry Potter fest #adopt a prompt fest

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seeminglyseph · 2 years ago

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I just realized I first read the HP series as a child specifically because I was really really into the Worst Witch TV show and the idea of a school of magic seemed cool to read more about, and then the escapist fantasy of Hogwarts was basically just... ‘what if I didn’t go to *this* school or live in *this* house and the things that I was and did were something to be proud of instead of embarrassed or ashamed’

it really is wild how much a person can be and become exactly the kind of awful and twisted reality they once offered an escape from. JKR is the person I daydreamed about going to Hogwarts to avoid, to be free from or learn the inner strength to overcome. And yeah, a lot of that was there the first time I read it, but some of the blessing of having a child’s comprehension skills or self centred perception of the world is that sometimes the shallow selfish part of the lesson isn’t terrible.

And I remember..... a series is always different before it finishes. Because being a teenager just after goblet of fire came out, it meant you could have a million fantasies and daydreams about what *could* happen, what might exist, and the maybes and questions were fun and the experience of a community interest was delightful.

I genuinely never finished the seventh book. by the time the series ended I was in a place where I was disillusioned by the source material. Often it felt like a malicious jab every time a new book came out, because it was a new surprise about how someone you’d grown to love was actually secretly a manipulative or selfish or abusive dickswab the whole time, there wasn’t a payoff to the house elves it just sat there, there wasn’t gonna be more depth to Draco Malfoy, there wasn’t going to be depth to slytherin, the Marauders weren’t the close found family we all wrote about, there was never going to be the deep bond between any secondary characters explored, and the character arcs you thought were being setup just... weren’t there to begin with. The way an end can re-contextualize a whole series is if it turns out that there is no payoff. There’s no reason, there’s no justice, no catharsis. Everything stays the way it is, and the things you care about are killed, and destroyed and cast aside and your hopes just kind of fall into a dull memory of a better story you made up in your head.

Loving Harry Potter when you were too young to know the deeper implications, or because it was before the internet was popular and you didn’t know what other places were like, or because the story wasn’t finished and maybe if the weird bigotry pays off as a storyline then there’s a reason for it... It’s okay if you made a different, better story in your head. That’s honestly great. I wish you would follow through and make more different, better stories for people to read.

The author’s movement to advocacy against what should be basic human rights and dignities afforded to all people makes it a linchpin of a political statement, and her power makes it that what should be harmless nostalgia causes real harm. It is because of the power and the hatred that JKR holds and enforces that the lessons of inner worth are tainted by worth at the expense of others. And honestly I think that, like Lovecraft, a lot of the stories people have made inspired by her work greatly surpass the work itself. So honestly, don’t give her credit for a strength you built. You built social connection, you built skills, you learned how to create characters and you fleshed out the puppets she put out before you. The characters and stories you made that made Harry Potter what it was are more important than the actual mockery of a story we received. You breathed life into it with what you made. Take that, and know that you’re the hero not her, and you don’t owe her any loyalty or reverence for giving you a bit of inspiration to do all of the things you did yourself. The end of Harry Potter just proved that we all had better ideas than the creator, and I hope a lot of you realize you don’t owe her anything for that. You’re the better creator.

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xnarlie-starlightx · 2 years ago

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Hedric (Harry Potter x Cedric Diggory) from Harry Potter

I’m unsure as for Potterheads’s first same gender ship their self but this already was/is my first fave slash, almost canon, OTP and tragic love story before and after how many ships I’ve got that has some similarity just like this tragically ship itself.

Harry’s terrible timing but unfortunately founds Cedric as his soulmate while they don’t know how it’ll turned out, this ship definitely gives me “I personal don’t care if it’s either canon, almost canon or non canon because I’m allowed view those two fiction characters together all because they deserve better” vibes and how much it foreshadows for me being a sucker for tragic love story ships and how different it could’ve turned out instead actual canon ending itself. Otherwise, I really honestly don’t care much when some most fans mention or comment their preference for notice canon or popular non canon ships because it’s still neutrally fine by me from their own liking; I’m mainly focus finding ships that’s either tried to understand/enjoy paring itself except it’s not for me or made for me afar reacting each parings instead sink into toxicity level.

Speaking of toxicity fan/shipper from this fandom: don’t let Drarry Vs Dramione and Snily Vs Jily or other red flag solution drag you down no matter how afar worst it still goes; it’s better to find rare positive fans while you shall keep them as new friends and avoiding drama as possible. Even myself as a non toxic shipper of two ships, Drarry and Snily, I still don’t comment Severus’s ‘better’ than James unlike how some most Team Snape does because he’s not while myself over here still loves viewing Harry and likable Draco together as a realistic LGBT couple instead love and hate relationship.

Besides how afar this post’s involve, reasons why Hedric’s involve because nothing still can’t change how much I despite her-name-shall-not-be-name from all the damage she cause between Harry and Cedric were almost endgame their self and how many fans she hurt before and after her transphobic comment came along. Some Potterheads mentioned their childhood’s ruined because of her transphobic comment, well.. according as for mine, already’s half ruined because disturbances why Harry and Cedric never got together instead transphobic, homophobic and racism ‘Queen’’s comment. Am I forevermore bitter towards Jo*nne all for preventing Cedric and Harry becoming boyfriends?

Yes, but, Potterheads can’t separate HP book series from her cause she’s still a creator of World Of Harry Potter and all characters she has created. She can make entire excuses all she wants to especially dodging Hedric and other Potterheads’s fave ships, at least HP fandom their self can still make this fandom a better place for all fans while it’s half of something she couldn’t do along doesn’t has to be either mentioned or involve. Yet, Radcliffe and Watson aren’t suppose to respond her transphobic tweet but they did and make Potterheads relief and better instead no longer continuing support her-name-shall-not-be-named.

My apologies this went unfortunately longer between rant and discuss all in one post about her and Hedric, it’s part of reasons why I make this another HP post. If there’s another ship that’s been accurately ruined for you by R*wl*ng after take your time reading this, take care and feel free to leave a comment anytime if I shall make another post.

Almost ending of 2022, let’s hope 2023 could’ve been a better year for all of us

#two lovely fan arts I thought afar involving in this post ✨😊❤️💛🌈🏳️‍🌈#Cedric and Harry could’ve been an adorable couple if only Cedric wasn’t killed off #sorry for this #long rant #carry on rn #harry potter x cedric diggory #cedric diggory x harry potter #cedric x harry #harry x cedric #hedric #harric #cedric diggory #harry potter #harry potter/hp confession #hp fandom #harry potter fandom

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garetthawke · 3 years ago

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not that i disagree with shunning harry potter, but i do think tumblr is a little out of touch if they think blogs on this half dead site are offering "publicity" to one of the most popular children's book series in the world.

social credit for harry potter really is never going to die down because frankly, those of us that care are VASTLY outnumbered by those that don't, which is why there are fucking theme parks and merch everywhere and movies and shit still coming out. from a capitalistic perspective it'll never die because its a goddamn cash cow, and tumblr users not spreading gifsets is not going to affect that in the slightest, I'm sorry its just not.

harry potter reached a point of social impact and relevancy comparable to a lot of other famous and hugely problematic works, only it suffers from the fact that the author is still alive. its not about debating how the work is mediocre, its not about debating whether people can consume problematic content, the problem with harry potter is that the author herself is a huge cunt still doing cunty things, and unlike the dead authors of other famous problematic things, and she gains the revenue from her series and the popularity and platform from that.

the people who care are already doing what they can to boycott and speak out, and its literally not made a difference. jkr is just getting bolder and more cunty and making just as much money. so no, i don't think some random tumblr user who draws harry potter (probably brown, probably queer anyway) is going to have the social influence to affect jkr in any way.

at best public opinions on hp can be used as a signal for your allyship with trans people, but you're absolutely deluding yourself if you think anti terf people are going to make a noticeable dent in the social influence of jkr and that series.

reasonably i think most remaining fans who aren't assholes are just waiting on the bitch to die so the characters can be reclaimed by the public (like the already have been, lets be honest,) and i don't think that's the part that's giving jkr her popularity, especially when her most vocal defenders by now aren't even harry potter fans.

jkr has become a monster of her own that's gaining a following based on her tweets and her new book, and harry potter only really serves to give her money, if you're buying her merch. otherwise its literally impossible to give her or harry potter any more social credit than they already have, and frankly i think the whole situation has futher associated her with her own book series than fans did before, just due to the discourse.

and I'm not saying that harry potter blogs aren't immediate red flags or that you shouldn't avoid hp content if you want to, I'm just saying someone running a hp blog realistically isn't contributing to the problem surrounding jkr and hp from that alone, and they're still fully capable of being allies or even trans people themselves.

the absolute dsconnect from reality people have by thinking that if they shut down tumblr hp posting that jkr will be dealt with somehow, when anyone i meet irl will talk about and reference harry potter on the regular bc its a household name cemented in childhoods, and most people are not online enough or care enough about lgbt issues or "politics" to give a shit about jkr and her opinions. to the majority of the world, harry potter exists independent of that women, and frankly it seems better to encourage that than have long drawn out discussions with people who do not care why you think they should stop liking harry potter.

i see on a daily basis an incredible amount of people who will never care about trans issues or me as a trans person, which means i see the same amount of people who like harry potter and do not care why they shouldn't. the best i can hope for out of them is that they don't look up jkr and become influenced by her opinions, in which case i don't want to be the one to bring it up in the first place. when something gets as popular as harry potter did in the first place, genuinely i think "seperate art from the artist" is the most realistic and productive goal; not for the purpose of easing guilt of people who still want to enjoy it, but specifically so she as a person doesn't gain the platform and popularity that her series is going to continue to have anyway.

there is a reason we block terfs instead of engaging them in debate, and the jkr/hp debacle seems to have ignored that in favor of constantly demanding the issue stay on subject, which in its own way perpetuates jkr's platform more than if we had moved on from the fact that yes, harry potter is still incredibly popular, and yes the author is a piece of shit. instead every new tweet every month causes the discussion to circulate, pushing itself as a hot topic so people can brag about hating it now and arguing to death why you should too, and I'm seeing people turn terf ally BECAUSE of that discourse, who never would have noticed the topics or thought to have an opinion on them before.

remember, terfism isn't one side of an inherent opinion that all people have on gender, its a violent rhetoric that people get indoctrinated into that's more dangerous than passive transphobia. i would 100% rather accept that most people are going to generally like the harry potter series and move on, rather than turn a widely beloved thing into a hot button issue that pushes the idea of terfism into the view of people who otherwise wouldn't have encountered it.

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dracowars · 4 years ago

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could i request a slytherin x draco imagine where the reader and draco have been dating for a long time and she’s kind of a bitch like draco but she also doesn’t believe in blood supremacy so people are just scared of her they don’t not like her but anyways she and draco do share same feelings towards potter and stuff like that so what if draco crossed the line with potter or the trio and ron and harry get super upset but the reader feels bad and goes up to hermoine after class and apologizes because she know draco didn’t mean it to go that far but he’s stubborn and she feels better about the situation but the next morning ron confesses that he had the twins help of putting something in draco’s glass for breakfast but in actuality it was the readers cup and they see the reader drink it and they freak out because ron said that it was a smaller dose of draught of the living death where they could get sick and fall asleep for a long time and hermoine freaks out because she says that the reader apologizes and throughout the day the reader feels super ill and draco is tries taking care of her until that night where she goes to sleep and pansy her roommate and bff (we love pansy) can’t wake her up and she runs to the great hall and tells draco and the trio feels guilty until the twins get an antidote and it ends in fluff? i’m sorry it’s so long idk how else to explain it 😥

unforgivable | draco malfoy

pairing: draco x slytherin!reader

word count: 2,7k

summary: where y/n gets poisoned due to draco's behavior

a/n: finally, i'm back!!! my hand still hurts, but i managed to write this on my laptop so it did not hurt that much while writing. hope you enjoy <3

warnings: angst, use of unforgivable spell, cursing, mentions of death

universe: harry potter

„Only those who really want to inflict torture on their victim and have sadistic pleasure in seeing them suffer, can create the right magical energy for a successful torture curse”, Professor Snape, your teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, repeats to the entire class, strutting around in front of the blackboard that is only filled with three words. Slowly getting bored, you lean back in your chair and look at the ceiling, which seems far more interesting than the repetition of the three unforgivable curses right now.

Your gaze wanders over the numerous cracks in the ceiling above you until you completely block out Professor Snape’s voice. As soon as you direct your eyes a little further to the left, you stare at your beautiful boyfriend, whose side profile is illuminated by the shining sun. Smiling to yourself, you move closer to him to gently place your hand on top of his, hoping to draw his attention to you.

But without success.

Draco does not move an inch, his gaze intently focused on the front of the classroom while he is listening to the lesson, not even stopping when you finally lay your head on his shoulder and sigh softly.

Since your beloved boyfriend obviously does not want to give you the attention you deserve, you look for something else to do to cure your boredom. Annoying Harry Potter and Ron Weasley seems like a good decision for you. It does not take you long to toss small, rolled up balls of paper against the back of their heads, careful to only throw it across the room when Snape turns his back to the class. Rolling their eyes, they turn to you in annoyance, but you just give them a malicious smile before they try to focus again.

Just like Draco, you despise Harry Potter profoundly. There has never been a real reason for your hatred, but sometimes you meet people in your life that you just can’t get along with. This similarity of Draco and you only bonded you together even more.

You were never very popular at Hogwarts anyway, neither with your classmates nor with the teachers. But you do not care. In fact, you even enjoy it when you walk through the corridors and the first years move aside in fear immediately. If Draco is with you, they even turn around and take a different path. And because the few people you actually do get along with are always by your side, you do not mind having a certain reputation at this school.

“You will write a twenty-page essay about the unforgivable curses until next week”, Professor Snape finishes the lesson and you excitedly jump out of your seat right away, collecting your stuff. Since your hand was still connected to Draco’s, you pulled him along.

“Someone seems to have a strong interest in these curses”, you giggle when you see his almost annoyed expression due to the ending of the lesson.

“And what if it does?”, he rolls his eyes at you and you wait until he has stowed all his things in his bag before you go out into the hallway together. Almost like a reflex, you intertwine your hands as you walk down the corridors of Hogwarts.

On your way to the Great Hall to get something to eat, you walk across the courtyard when you suddenly notice the Golden Trio, as they are called, sitting on one of the benches out of the corner of your eye. Before you can react, they are already standing in front of you.

“Sorry, but you are covering the sun”, you mention snippily and raise an eyebrow, waiting for them to clear the way.

“What was that about earlier, Y/N?”, Ron angrily asks you and you just shrug your shoulders ignorantly.

“Do not make a scene now, Weaselbee”, Draco interferes, obviously annoyed.

“Oh, it is you, Malfoy! I did not recognize you anymore, now that you have suddenly become so meek since your father is in Azkaban”, Harry mocks and you feel the situation slowly escalating. “How does he like his new home?”

If looks could kill, you are sure all three of them would be dead on the spot.

“At least I still have parents, Scarhead”, Draco fires back through gritted teeth and his grip on your hand becomes tighter.

“Depulso!”

As soon as these words come out of Harry’s mouth, Draco is pushed back through the air, his back hitting the brick wall. In shock, you look after him, your legs unable to move. The arguments between you and them happened countless times, but no one has ever raised their wand.

“Harry!”, you hear Hermione scold him, but too late. The anger is clearly written upon Draco’s face as he slowly straightens his posture. Reaching for his wand in a flash, the next few seconds pass in slow motion.

“Cruci-“

“Expelliarmus!”, you quickly interrupt when you realize what Draco was about to say, and his wand flies through the air, landing right in front of your feet. An uncomfortable silence spreads and even Draco does not seem to understand what he was about to do.

“You have totally gone crazy!”, Ron is the first so speak up and angrily stomps towards your still stunned boyfriend, but you quickly stand between them, protecting Draco.

“Ron, stop it”, Hermione talks him out of doing anything stupid until he finally gives in and lets her pull him away. With an disparaging look, the three of them disappear into the next corridor.

“Are you actually crazy!?”, you turn to Draco, who immediately lowers his head, obviously understanding that his actions were wrong. “These curses are called unforgivable for a reason, Draco! I thought you listened to Snape today, damn it!”

“I-I am sorry”, he manages to say, lifting his head to look at you, trying to show you that he is serious. “But you hate them too!”

“And yet I would never harm them physically!”, you reply irritably and shove his wand back into his hand. You then turn away, shaking your head.

“I apologized! Wait, babe-“

“No, Draco. You went too far this time”, you interrupt him and pull your wrist out of his grip. With these words you leave him alone and make your way into the filled Great Hall. Once you arrive inside, you feel the burning and piercing looks of the whole Gryffindor table on you, but you choose to ignore them and walk straight up to their table. Contrary to what you expected, their conversations suddenly fall silent when you walk up to Hermione.

“Can we talk for a moment?”, you ask her with no emotion in your voice or face, but your eyes are almost begging her, and your heart is leaping. After exchanging a few glances with the Weasley twins and their little sister, Hermione nods in agreement and follows you out of the Great Hall into the silence of the corridors.

“What is it?”, she sighs and puts her hands on her hips.

“I wanted to apologize for Draco’s behavior. He really did not mean it, you have to believe me. Draco can be so incredibly stubborn sometimes, but he would never want to harm any of you”, you rant to her while she listens closely.

“First of all, I am not the one you should apologize to, and most importantly, you should not be the one to apologize”, Hermione replies, rubbing her fingers against her temple. “We both know what happens to wizards who cast one of these curse-“

“Shh!” you interrupt her and quickly cover her mouth, suppressing her words. “I know. But- Well I-“

“I accept your apology, Y/N. After all, Harry and Ron were not entirely innocent either”, she explains to you and for a brief moment you see a small smile cross her lips. Right now, you would love to hug her.

“Thank you”, you say from the bottom of your heart. Sometimes it can actually be helpful to approach things with a little kindness.

“I am also sorry about what happened. Let us just forget about it”, she suggests, and you agree without hesitation.

And Hermione really is just as sorry as you are. Especially when Ron tells her about his nasty plan at breakfast the next morning. Hermione did not get around to tell them about your apology yet, which is why Ron still wants revenge. With the help of Fred and George, he prepared a small potion of Draught of the Living Death and gave it into Draco’s glass. But when Hermione finds out about it, it is already too late.

She can only helplessly watch as you suddenly ingest the toxic mixture instead of Draco.

You, on the other hand, did not even notice that there is something strange about your drink and continue to talk with Pansy, while still giving Draco the cold shoulder. Of course, he has apologized a thousand times, but if you do not punish him in some way, he will never learn from it.

Nevertheless, you are quite glad that he does not leave your side for the whole day, because when you feel lightheaded all of a sudden and shortly afterwards pass out, he is by your side immediately, catching you.

“Babe, can you hear me?!”, Draco basically yells in your face before gently patting your cheek, causing you to open your eyes again. Confused and disoriented, you look around, not remembering what happened.

“What- What happened?”, you ask limp, almost not able to get your teeth apart to speak while your eyes keep feeling extremely heavy.

“You passed out”, he explains as he is already heaving you into his strong arms. “I will take you to your room, you have to rest.”

Carefully, he lays you down on the soft mattress of your bed and covers your body with the blanket, completely wrapping you up before he sits on the edge of the bed and closely watches you. You weakly reach for his hand and run your thumb over the back of his hand before a quiet ‘thank you’ leaves your lips, drifting into a deep sleep.

After Draco lingers by your side for several hours silently, inwardly dying of worry, Pansy finally compels him to go to the Great Hall for dinner and then catch up on some sleep himself while she takes care of you. Only when she promises, does he consent and leave your room.

It is already late in the evening when Pansy goes to bed after finishing her homework while keeping an eye on you the whole time. Just as she is about to make herself comfortable, she notices that your chest is no longer moving up and down regularly as it was a few minutes ago.

You do not breathe anymore.

“Y/N!”, Pansy yells and runs to your side, placing her hands on your shoulders to shake you awake. “Wake up, wake up! Damn it!”

No matter how long she shakes your body, you will not wake up even when she slaps you lightly. You do not move an inch and your face looks as pale as that of a corpse. As if you were already lingering among the dead. As if you were in a deathlike slumber. If you had not suddenly started breathing again, Pansy would really have believed that you were gone.

Thereupon, she loses no more time and sprints out of the room, almost falling down the stairs on the way to the Great Hall. Because it is already so late in the evening, there are only a few students sitting at the tables, looking at her in shock when she rushes inside.

“Draco! It is Y/N! You- She just won’t wake up”, Pansy calls out across the hall and hurries over to the Slytherin table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watch what is happening with a sense of guilt from the other side.

Before Draco can follow Pansy to the common room, Hermione blocks his way, along with Harry and Ron, briefly stopping him, causing Draco to get angry right away.

“Get out of the way! I do not have time for-“

“Listen, Malfoy! She drank Draught of the Living Death, that is why she does not wake up”, Harry interrupts him and Draco’s eyes widen in an instant.

“What?!”

“Originally, it was meant for you! As revenge”, Ron admits, hiding himself behind Hermione, just in case.

“Are you stupid?!”, Draco hisses and takes a dangerous step towards Ron, but before the situation can escalate again, Hermione intervenes.

“Now is not the time! Fred and George created the potion so they will be able to make the antidote as well. We just need a little more time”, Hermione negotiates and Draco reluctantly agrees before they part ways again and he takes the quickest way back to you.

Staying by your side all night, the tension in his body does not fade and even though his eyes start to slowly feel heavy, he stays awake. He will not let you out of his sight and pays particular attention to your breathing, which initially remains regular. When Hermione joins them in your room, a vessel in her hand, he is finally relieved from his suffering.

“This is Wiggenweld Potion. It reverses the effects of Sleeping Draughts”, she explains and hands Draco the potion. "It is not exactly described how to give it to the victim though I once heard that a prince used it to heal a princess. With a kiss.”

Hermione did not even finish her sentence as you can already feel Draco’s soft lips on yours and within a few seconds, your eyes flutter open. Whatever is just flowing down your throat tastes bitter and you look around confused, looking into blurred faces that seem relieved.

“For Merlin’s sake, you are alive”, Draco breathes out, hugging you tightly, so tight that he almost chokes you. Inhaling his pleasant scent, your exhausted body relaxes, but you still can’t remember anything. After you passed out in the hallway, you felt like you were floating on clouds. You could not hear anymore, could not move and for a brief moment you saw a bright white light in front of you, coming closer and closer.

“What happened?”, your voice comes out muffled as you talk against Draco’s shoulder. He loosens his arms around you and takes both of your hands in his, running his fingers over your delicate palms.

“You were under the influence of the Draught of the Living Death. Ron apparently mixed it into your drink by accident. It was meant for me and- I am so terribly sorry. If I had not been so stupid, then-“

“Then I would still be sleeping now”, you finish his sentence and give him a gentle smile, the tension in his face and body disappearing. Slowly leaning forward, you connect your lips again, this time for a proper kiss. “I am not mad at neither you nor Ron.”

In the corner of your eye, you also see Hermione relax at your words, breathing out deeply.

“Did you at least learn from it?”, you lift an eyebrow and look at Draco expectantly.

“I swear that I will never ever in my life even think about uttering one of those curses again”, he explains honestly and raises his hands in defense. “I was stupid and I will apologize to them.”

“Already done”, Hermione smiles and opens the door, causing Harry and Ron to stumble into the room, Ron looking at you anxiously and with uncertainty.

“Do not worry, Ron. I am fine”, you reassure him, but his gaze still wanders between Draco and you, not sure how to judge the scene.

“How about we agree that we still do not like each other, but that we at least do no more physical harm?”, Draco suggests and after everyone agreed and said goodbye, he is the only one who stays by your side.

“You look tired, babe. You should get some sleep”, you mention and take his face between your hands, softly caressing his cheeks.

“You do not seriously think that I will let you sleep alone after all of this, do you?”, he states as he is already making himself comfortable on the bed next to you, pulling you closer to him, protecting you from all the evil in the world. In fact, he does, and keeps his word. After this incident there has never been another one.

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