#i wanna draw my other wizards but the only problem is that none of them except for one are even out of wizard city

[dumpsterf11re]

more wizzy doodles now that i can draw on my computer again (ft. arc 1 calamity)

[starlitscars]

Sunset

Set after Deathly Hallows

Warning: Nothing, just kissing and flying and lots of fluff with a bit of anxiety.

Words: 2627

Check my wattpad for more (drewstars)

We're flying above the clouds

So beautiful & clear

We're flying above the clouds

I can see happiness from here

This morning, you had found it scribbled over a page in your small diary while you were looking through your old stuff. It belonged to the breathtaking days of second wizarding war.

Those days... Horribly hard ones. Many would tell you there was no place for love in the war, but you weren't the one to really care about what others were saying if it had to limit you and your feelings.

What could you possibly do when Remus was far away in missions and you didn't have him by your side? Making up happy moments and imagining all the things you would do together after war was the only thing that kept you sane.

It didn't really matter if none of your imaginations didn't come true back then. As long as Remus was there too, you were happy with each of those dreams.

And flying with him was one of the options. You wrote it months ago, not knowing it would actually come true one day...

☾☾♡♡☾☾

Sunsets, porch swings, lovely whispers, quiet evenings and... Remus. A perfect fit for a peaceful day with him after so long.

Remus leaned over to cup your cheeks, giving your lips one of those slow and tender kisses that had the flavor of purple cotton candies. With a hue of orange, red and yellow tastes too.

A kiss that tasted like sunset.

Minutes after minutes passed in pure bliss until you had to pull back for air. He left two more kisses on each of your flushed cheeks and guided you to lay your head on his lap.

You hummed delightfully, letting your fingers draw lazy patterns on his thigh as the swing slowly moved back and forth.

The yard was covered with trees from different shapes and heights. Some of them had green leaves and some other were filled with golden and red leaves too, all swaying freely in the wind. You had decided to make it a tradition to never lose the chance of watching sunsets with Remus every weekend.

Just to make up for all the lost times in the past. All the times when you were so careless about this kind of magic that happened in the sky.

There was something about the sunsets that always kept you hooked. There were many many days when life had to keep you and Remus away from each other, whether it was at school when he was a teacher at Hogwarts or at the rough times leading to the war.

When you watched sunset, you felt that everything would be alright. No matter what both of you would go through, this time of the day never failed to give you the warmth you always sought, the colors you missed, the hope you lost and the faith you needed.

It reminded you of each other.

But today there was a problem. Autmn sunsets were barely cloudless.

Now the sun was beginning to dip down and fade behind the puffy grey clouds and all you could see was some colorful rays that managed to cut through the cracks between clouds and shine down on you.

"I have an idea. Wanna try it, love?"

He whispered fondly, catching your attention.

You lifted your head off his lap to look through his eyes. You were confused for a moment, but then realized what he meant when his broom landed next to the swing.

"Fly up the clouds with me?" He asked in a cheerful tone, extending his hands for you.

You nodded excitedly and jumped off the swing to take his hands, letting him lead the way as he made his way inside the cottage first. Strands of light brown hair fell messily over his face when he let go of you and turned to a corner near the fireplace.

You were about to ask him what was going on when he turned towards you just in time and you spotted the pair of sweaters in his hands. One smaller for you and the other one for him.

You felt butterflies in your stomach at how caring and lovely he always was. Everytime you would try to convince yourself that you couldn't love him more, he would do something like this and make you change your mind and love him even more.

He helped you pull on the comfy sweater and put on his too. Not wanting to miss the sunset, you stood on your tiptoes and gave him a quick peck and took his hand to make your way out of the house.

Just in time he pulled you back to him, locking you between his arms.

"Remu-"

He cut you off fleetly, giving you one long kiss. You rested your hand on his chest and let your other hand run through his hair as you kissed him back with the same amount of passion.

After a minute or so, he slowly pulled back and cupped your cheeks, smiling tenderly. "Good god, you're so gorgeous. Had to tell you that first."

"Sun has enough red hues right now. You don't need to make me blush Remus," You paused for a moment to brush the light brown strands away from his face. "Besides, you're very handsome yourself." You finished with a wink before dragging him out of the living room towards the front door where his broomstick was still next to the swing.

Remus then summoned his broom up and leapt onto it, waiting for you to sit behind him. You followed quickly and locked your hands around his stomach, holding him tightly. You let out a surprised squeak when he suddenly took off flying up, higher and higher above the ground.

Air rushed through your hair as you pressed your cheek to his back and looked down as everything -along with your cottage, trees and literally the whole town- got smaller and smaller.

You inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air that mixed with his woodsy cologne and filled your lungs. It never failed to make you dizzy. You had to hold him tighter as he picked up the pace and moved a bit faster.

"You alright back there, y/n?" He asked (literally shouted for you to hear) from over his shoulder.

"Yes yes. Please slow down a bit Remus. You won't want me to fall off, do you?"

Wind was muffling your voice, but you hoped he would hear you.

"Of course not, love," Not so surprising, he didn't reduce his speed and instead, one of his hands was now on yours, caressing softly. "You can always hold me tighter you know... For safety keeping."

You were about to say something when your surroundings caught your attention. You were finally above the blanket of clouds. The scene in front of your eyes was fascinating and unbelievable.

"Oh my- Remus. It's so beautiful up here."

He eventually reduced the speed of his broom and stopped in midair, keeping you floating and watching the sunset. He mumbled something you didn't quite understand. "Still, it doesn't compare to your beauty."

From here, it wasn't just kisses that tasted like cotton candies. Even the clouds looked like massive pieces of cotton candy. You dipped your hand into them, trying vaguely to catch the mists between your fingers.

"Wow. I could literally walk on these. They look so puffy."

"Yes," Remus said and did the same. You couldn't fully see his face from behind, but you recognized the excited smile in his voice. "But you're better off here. I can only imagine what happens if you step foot on a mass of white fog."

"You're right, Professor." You nuzzled into him as he let out a chuckle, muttering something to himself about your remark. You couldn't possibly hear it even if you'd strained your ears.

A while passed in silence. All those orange, yellow, red and pink rays started to gradually fade away.

You ran your hand up and down his chest and watched silently as the sun dropped down and disappeared, taking away all the warm colors with it. Shades of blue appeared in the sky, slowly getting darker and darker as Remus flew around again, both your feet touching the grey clouds as you spotted city lights that glittered from between the empty cracks of them.

It was devine.

He pointed the broom to different directions and set to fly down when he spotted a place down on the ground. It got more clear the closer he got to the spot. It was a hill filled with fresh grass that rippled through the night wind.

"That was amazing Remmy."

As soon your feet touched the ground, you leapt out of Remus' broom and jumped to his lap, wrapping your hands around his neck. You hugged him tightly. Both your cheeks cold from the flight. He slowly spun you around, giving you shivers as you felt his warm breath on your neck.

"Anything for the love of my life."

He then stopped and slowly put you back on your feet. Taking your hand in his, he walked a few steps and dropped down on the hill, leading you to lay down next to him. You intertwined your fingers with his and silently watched the dark sky.

You then noticed how the clouds gradually started to part ways and the starry sky came into view. There were countless stars all over the sky, all twinkling and winking at you from afar.

It was like each of them wanted to remind you something. You felt so lucky that you were here at the moment and your man was next you, full of peace. The rest of the world didn't matter. It was all because of love.

"It's all about love. It lifted us up here."

He nodded, gently caressing your knuckles with his thumb. "Undoubtedly. Right from the start, we knew it would be so hard. If it wasn't for love, we wouldn't have set out on this road together."

He was right, as always.

You rolled on your side and propped yourself up on your elbow, watching the sky's reflection from his eyes as you brushed some blades of grass off his hair.

"I love you, Remmy. I love you so much and I want to tell that to you thousand times a day." You said, thinking about all the distressing moments in the past that had stopped you from telling him how much you loved and adored this man with your whole heart.

You saw how his eyes sparkled at your confession. He brought your hand up to his face, giving it a gentle lingering kiss. "I love you too, my gorgeous, brave, lovely and unique girl."

You blushed and smiled shyly, resting your head back on the grass again.

More minutes passed in silence, and the more you gazed at the stars, the more memories started to play in your mind. From the days you saw Remus in your last year at Hogwarts and the midnight talks at his private chambers to the horrible days in The Order when you didn't have any idea where he was and how he was doing in those though missions.

"I think each of these twinkling starts resembles a part of our life, don't you think so?" You said, catching his attention with a chuckle.

"I was pretty much thinking the same," He pointed at a direction in the sky, causing you to follow his gaze and look up too. "Let's start with that one in the middle. What do you think it's about?"

"Umm," You thought for a few seconds and kept your gaze there before replying. "That star stands for all the pains we've been through."

He nodded thoughtfully, pointing his finger to a different direction and a different star. "That one's to remember all the tears you've cried and I've cried too."

"Truly. Oh look at there," You found a small one on the left side of sky. "That bright star on the left is for the times we came close to giving up."

"Amazingly enough, we didn't." Now it was his turn to roll to his side and look at you. "You know, those days were devastating. But... Each time I looked into your eyes, I could see forever in them. I never found anything to deny that. They held an endless source of energy, telling me everything's gonna be alright, Don't you think of losing faith, Remmy."

He got closer to you, sofly caressing your cheek. "Oh so that's why you would stare at me for so long in some of Order's meetings too until Kingsley or Moody had to practically drag you back to the conversation." You giggled, biting your lip. You could feel his warm breath on your face.

"That, along with many more occasions too. Can you close your eyes for me?"

You did and he leaned down to press delicate kisses on your eyelids, making you feel even more special to him.

Even after pulling back, he kept his stare on you, but he seemed lost in thoughts. It was like he was mesmerized, just looking fondly at you and every inch of your face and never wanting to look at anything else. He was wordlessly admiring and worshipping you, making you melt under his gaze.

If he could see how full of life his ocean eyes were the way you saw them. How each scar of his body screamed strength and bravery...

"I- um, There are many stars left to count." You blurted out, breaking his train of thoughts.

"Ye- yeah, right."

"There are three stars together over there," You mumbled, directing his attention to the chain of lights you'd just found. "One of them is for the holidays that were destroyed. And... the one in the middle can be for all the arguments, fights, scars and..."

"And what?" He asked curiously, squeezing your hand to encourage you to continue.

You tried, but it was hard to let the words out. All the days you'd spent without him were the worst parts of your life. Remus sensed your discomfort and pulled you to his chest, letting you straddle him and snuggle your head into his neck. "All the lonely days, I know. It'll never happen again."

A single tear fell from the corner of your eye.

"I say the last of those three stars goes to all the loved ones we lost." He continued, rubbing your back soothingly.

You lifted your head up at that, locking eyes with him. "They'll never really leave us."

"Never." He said, brushing loose strands of hair away from your face.

You just wanted to stay like that and stare at him forever. By the time he kept his gaze on you and talked again, you were sure that he felt the same.

"That one is the brightest of all. What do you think that is for?" He asked and you didn't need to double check to know which one he meant.

"For a bright future, full of love... With you."

You leaned down and crashed your lips to his, smiling between the kisses when his hand snaked around your neck to keep you there. He kissed you sofly and slowly at first, then with more passion and need. Your tongues danced with each other eagerly.

If air wasn't necessary, you would keep kissing and staying tangled up with each other all night long, right there, until you could see the sunrise too. You felt the happiest you've ever been.

"With you." He whispered breathlessly, pulling you for another kiss that still tasted like purple cotton candies...

We're flying above the clouds

I can see happiness from here...

New smut one shot (Cream) is only in my wattpad if you'd like some Remus Lupin smut :-)

Click here>>> Drewstars

[j-amespotter]

★ august [pt. 1] - s. b.

“you weren’t mine to lose.”

Pairing: Sirius Black x Slytherin!Reader, Regulus Black x Reader (mentioned)

x. x. x.

Summary: As one of the Order of the Phoenix’s freshest recruits, love certainly was not on Sirius Black’s mind the summer after he finished school – especially not with a Slytherin, who just happened to be his brother’s girlfriend.

Genre/Warnings: angst, alcohol, language, mentions of death & war, infidelity, implied smut 

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: august but from the guy’s pov?? i think yes. this was the first one-shot i wrote for this series so let me know what you think! lmk if you wanna be added to my taglist. p.s. i do not condone cheating!!!!!! 

masterlist

Your lips were centimeters apart. It seemed too late to change course, but he had to ask. He had never done something so reckless, which for him, was saying something. “Are you sure?”

He was scared of the answer. One look at you told him you were scared of answering. “We’ve never… I mean, I’ve never done this before,” you whispered. Your noses grazed against each other, tantalizingly close. 

His hand hovered underneath your robes. It felt large against your bare stomach. “We can stop.” 

“I don’t want to stop.” With one hand around his neck and the other on his chest, you tugged him closer. The moment your lips met erased his doubts so fully that if he stopped to think about it, it would have scared him.

Your shoes slipped off as he delicately lifted you off of your feet. Gently, he laid you down on his bed and paused to stare at how small and trusting you looked in the moment. It was only your fifth visit to his flat, yet you already looked like you belonged. He would never have expected someone from his forgotten life to fit into his current one so unquestionably. 

*One Week Earlier*

It was getting easier and easier to slip away from Regulus these days. While you were accustomed to seeing less of each other during the summer holidays, now you were more distant than ever. You knew why, of course. Being a Slytherin, you were privy to an entire host of secrets – Regulus was too. Hogwarts’ rowdiest, most divided class graduated just a month earlier, and many of your friends, if you could even call them that, had chosen a side in this war. His side. 

You knew Regulus agreed with the Dark Lord’s philosophies and marveled at his promises. However, it was not until this school year that you realized exactly how much your boyfriend worshipped the elusive man responsible for the murders of so many innocent people. He would scour the Daily Prophet for news, eager but not uneasy. He trailed after Snape, Avery, and Mulciber, and the whisperings about the three of them were hardly positive. It was rumored that all of them had been "marked." You didn’t know exactly what that meant but worried Regulus was next. 

He sensed your fear but didn’t say much to soothe you. Perhaps he thought he could convince you to join him – or, at least, stand by his side as he signed away his services. You weren’t interested. In fact, you were terrified. Though your family was prominent, prosperous, and pureblood, they never participated in what your father coined to be “blood politics.” Your indifference, which occasionally transformed into blatant disgust, over the growingly common prejudice among your peers ostracized you from your fellow Slytherins. You managed to keep your reservations to yourself for the sake of House unity but could no longer remain silent. Not when your childhood love drifted further and further away from you. 

It was slow, but of course, there was a final straw. In his last letter, Regulus wrote that his cousin Bella was teaching him how to duel “the proper way.” As someone who saw nothing substandard in your Defense Against the Dark Arts education thus far, you could only imagine what Bellatrix Lestrange would consider to be the “proper” way to duel. You had limited experience with the woman, having only caught glimpses of her as a child at Grimmauld Place and as Regulus’s date to her wedding. Nonetheless, the rumors about her were becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

So you sought the one person you thought may listen to you. Of course, there was the issue of finding him. You had no idea where he lived, though you doubted he would be thrilled to meet you, especially at his place of residence. You thought of writing to him but could not risk seeing and sending the words you had not yet uttered aloud. 

Ultimately, you decided that the best course of action was to find him in public, no matter how difficult it would be. You knew if you willed it hard enough, fate would bring him to you – and you understood the power of your love better than anyone. 

It took six days of solitary walks through Diagon Alley for you to finally find him. It wasn’t easy at all. You managed to keep your parents at bay by entrusting your safety with your pureblood Slytherin status. However, what was once the most bustling shopping center in the Wizarding World became drearier by day. More wanted posters appeared on brick walls as the number of disappearances grew. Within days, there were fewer groups of visitors for you to huddle behind without drawing suspicion. 

He was in the Leaky Cauldron with a shorter man, someone you recognized to be Peter Pettigrew. They were huddled together but deep in conversation. Actually, it seemed as though he was doing most of the talking. You found yourself staring at his muscular, tattooed arms as he gestured wildly at Pettigrew, who stared at him with wonder, excitement, and apprehension all at once. Despite the normal-looking exchange, both men gripped their wands tightly and took turns periodically glancing over their shoulders. 

Peter was too far away for you to read his lips, but checked his watch and jumped in surprise. You inched closer, hoping to find an in for your mission. Finally, you were close enough to hear his parting words. “Sorry, Padfoot... Mum’s waiting for me. You know how she gets, especially now.” 

“Alright, mate. Get home safe. I’ll see you… when I see you.” 

You were not stupid. You had no idea what that meant, but judging by Peter’s stiff nod, there was definitely a predetermined meeting time and place that they could not risk anyone overhearing. Given the circumstances, you could hardly blame them. 

Your interaction with Sirius Black was limited, but you had heard enough about him to know that he was reckless, devil-may-care, and according to his brother, inconsiderate of everyone’s feelings. Hearing the sincerity in his goodbye to his friend sounded quite the opposite, or perhaps was just a sign of the times. 

Peter scurried away and out of sight. You saw Sirius reach for a pouch in his pocket, out of which he scooped a handful of Sickles. They clattered onto the table. Before he finished counting his change, you slid into the seat across from him. 

Startled, Sirius stood and pointed his wand at you. His motions were seamless. It was as if he could kill you with a single swish. You hardly had time to wonder if you would be as skilled with your wand as he seemed to be when you finished school. “Listen, I just want to talk. Please sit down.” There weren’t too many other customers in the pub, but there was no doubt your exchange was attracting attention. 

Sirius sneered at you. “Why would I want to talk to you? Did he send you? Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.”

It surprised you that he knew who you were. Regulus was convinced that Sirius abandoned the Black family once and for all and did not care for his extracurricular activities. Granted, much of your scheme relied on the fact that he did. “No, he didn’t send me. I need to talk to you about him, actually. In private.”

He looked apprehensive but curious. You sighed in relief as he lowered his wand and sat down, “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.” 

“Please,” you tried again. “I’m no threat to you.” 

He stared at you, and in his pale eyes you saw something so familiar yet so foreign. “Fine. Follow me.” 

He swiftly led you out of the pub. Although you were eager, you maintained an acceptable distance from him. The air was sticky; you could feel your flushed cheeks. You always hated summer because of the unbearable weather and because it was always the longest you would spend apart from Regulus. However, you found yourself entranced by the way Sirius’s neckline glistened. There was a warm glow radiating off of the little bits of his exposed skin, slightly tanner than his brother’s. You were surprised at how easy it was to distinguish these details. You always considered yourself to be too young for and morally above noticing Regulus’s physique. It was far too shallow to remark on a man's physical beauty and far too desperate when all you could see were his neck and arms. 

“Get your license yet?” 

You shook your head. “No, not yet.” 

“Okay,” said Sirius, extending a hand. “I’ll take you with me.” 

You were used to Side-Along Apparition, so your surprise was more at your surroundings. You landed on a street in front of a very tall building. Craning your neck to observe the one in front of you, you asked, “Where are we?” 

“London,” he answered vaguely. He had not let go of your hand. 

“I figured. But this looks like a Muggle building.” 

“Got a problem with that?” He snapped, and as if he had just realized what he was doing, he let go of your hand as if it was rotting. 

You internally groaned at how sweaty it was. “N-No. I’ve just never been around here, that’s all.” 

You waited for a snarky response, but received none. Instead, he pushed open the door of the building and led your to what you could only assume was his flat. 

“I would say make yourself at home, but don’t.” Sirius did not have guests often, and when he did, they definitely did not include his little brother’s girlfriend. Damn, he thought to himself. Wait until James hears about this. 

You were still in school – although, so was he, just a month earlier. But you were in a rival house. And worst of all, he had seen you in the same position, perched onto a sofa with inquisitive eyes, when you both were children at his parents’ house. It was curious to him that you looked just as out of place then as you did now. 

“I know this is strange, but I have no other choice.” Your voice broke off and for the tiniest millisecond, he felt sorry for you. “I think he’s… I mean I feel that… that R-Regulus is planning on joining the Dark Lord.” “Call him Voldemort, will you?” Sirius interrupted irritably. 

You flinched. “I really shouldn’t.”

Though he was annoyed, he understood and did not probe you further. “Listen, I don’t know what you thought trying to find me, or even how you found me for that matter, but I can’t help you. I know what you’re worried about and you’re probably right to be worried. But I tried talking to him before I ran – I mean, left. He won’t budge. He’s in too deep. Sorry,” he added. 

Your eyes glossed over. “I figured you’d say that.” Tears streamed down your rosy cheeks. “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to load this on you. I just feel so alone sometimes. And so scared for him. He really has no idea what he’s getting himself into, does he?”

Sirius stared at you, contemplating whether he should tell you what his dim-witted brother was really getting himself into. He only started to see it for himself now. “I’m not sure what I should tell you, but I understand. If you want to talk about it…” 

You glanced at him in wonder, cocking your head to the side. “Er, thanks. But I should get home. My parents must be worried. Can I Floo out of here?” 

You looked even more upset than before, and Sirius felt guilty for leaving everything so unresolved. Although, should he really care about your feelings? Anyone who willingly chose to spend time with a tosser like Regulus probably deserved whatever hell he would put them through… although… 

“Yeah, I installed one,” he said, gesturing to the fireplace. 

Wiping your eyes nimbly, you stood and smoothed the front of your robes. “Thank you. Sorry if it was a bother.”

“No problem. I know… I know that you aren’t like them. And I know what you’re going through. Probably better than anyone.”

You smiled at him, and without warning, his stomach flipped. It couldn’t have been the first time he’d seen you smile, but it was definitely the first time you smiled at him. Maybe you had once before when you were children. For now, all Sirius seemed to hone in on was the soft dimple on your right cheek and the way your eyes lit up almost automatically. 

“If you ever need to talk about it, you can always come around here.” He knew it was strange for him to offer you that, but you had known each other for so long. You both had the same doubts… perhaps you lacked the bravery to act on them as he did, though he could hardly fault you for that. 

“Thank you, Sirius,” you said softly. 

☆

It was more than sex. You would spend hours talking, entangled in his bedsheets, watching the sunrise together for several mornings in a row. Sirius glanced warily at the clock on his bedside table. “Where do your parents think you are?”

You were drawing circles on his bare chest. “I told them I was with him.” 

Despite being the reason you sought him out, it became an unspoken rule between the two of you to not mention his name. The subject of Regulus and, by extension, the war became as taboo as saying Lord Voldemort. 

He hated it. He tried to convince himself that he was acting on lust, that he just needed to relieve his stress of the war and Order training, but he couldn’t. Not when every time you arrived unannounced, he scribbled excuses to get out of dinner with the Potters, or drinks with the boys, or hell, even Order meetings. 

Sirius wished he could explain it to James. Surely, his best friend would convince him of the stupidity of engaging in an affair with his brother’s girlfriend. But then he would watch you wearing his shirt, sipping wine, and dancing barefoot in his kitchen. He would imagine you wrapping your arms around his waist on his new motorcycle and his insides would implode. Then, he would decide that he did not want to be dissuaded. He was falling for you. One look at you told him you were falling for him too. 

“Where have you been, mate? The parents are driving me up a wall about you. Lily’s convinced you’ve got a girlfriend or something,” joked James. 

They were sitting in the pub on a night Sirius knew you had a family function to attend. He swallowed bitterly as he wondered whether or not Regulus would be there. Were you together right now? Did you confess? Was he angry? Were you crying?

Noticing his best friend’s silence, James raised an eyebrow. “Do you? Have a girlfriend or something?”

Sirius knew he could not lie to James, but he debated exactly how much he wanted to delve into the subject. “Or something.” Before he could he stop himself, the secrets were spilling off of his tongue. 

When he finished, Sirius wasn’t sure if he felt better or worse. He tried to focus on James’s hazel eyes as they widened at every turn in the story. “Mate… you’re fucked.”

He tried not to ponder at these words too hard in the hopes that he wouldn’t splinch himself Apparating back to his flat. It didn’t shock him to see you there – he had allowed you too much access to everything and he had no intention of taking it back.

Emerald green dress robes were slipping off of your shoulders. With pearls draped around your neck and pieces of hair straying out of your topknot, Sirius could not help but swoon at how beautiful you looked. He wondered briefly what it would have been like if you had chosen him over Regulus. What if there was no foul play? Would you be happy? Or would you run away, as you had with his brother?

He was still tipsy. James’s warnings ran scattered in his brain, ringing like a siren. But they mattered little now that you were in front of him. “How was–” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you interrupted. Then you stepped forward and tugged at his half-unbuttoned shirt, pressing your lips against his. “Make me forget.” 

“Consider it done.” 

Your bare limbs tangled together as you shared wine-drunk, open-mouthed, sporadic kisses, giggling and whispering words of sensual encouragement. How did you become so in sync in a matter of weeks? Sirius had never fallen this hard. “I’m yours, (Y/N).” 

You hummed in satisfaction, fingers wound up in his hair. 

“I mean it,” he urged. “I love you.” 

You didn’t respond. Strange, he thought to himself. You never hesitated in reciprocating, ever. When he jumped, you jumped with him, no questions asked. He glanced at the clock from over your shoulder and watched it strike midnight. It was the first of September. “You’re due at King’s Cross today, aren’t you?”

You nodded, not meeting his eyes. 

He chuckled darkly. All of a sudden, he felt cold and strangled. He wanted to push you far away and yet, pull you close to him so you had no hope of escaping. “Will you write to me?” 

“Sirius…” 

“Don’t,” he snapped. “Don’t say my name like that. I should have known… fucking snake.” 

He hadn’t let go of you. “I’m sorry darling,” you whispered, “but I can’t give up on him yet.” 

It was all he had to hear. He couldn’t think of how he was going to recover from this, not when you were lying right in front of him. “I think you should go.” 

“M-Maybe someday we can–” “Forget it.” He should have seen this coming from the second you walked up to him in the pub. You had come to him for Regulus and now you were leaving him for Regulus. Yet another bit of happiness his brother snatched away from him. But even so... he was your first and Regulus would never know. He would never know that you lost yourself in him. His no-good elder brother. But none of that mattered now, not when you were going back to him. After all, at the end of the day, you were his. 

I should have known. Sirius silently cursed at himself, watching the retreating figure of the girl he had fallen in love with. He should have known that you were always on borrowed time. You were gone quicker than the seasons change, and left with him your sweaty, sun-kissed memories. 

PART 2

Taglist: @iwritesiriusly @mads-bri @she-seeks-magic @sarcasticallywitty15 @lunalovecroft @fific7 @u-no-poo​

[the-marauders-enthusiast]

The Cute Barista

Draco Malfoy X Harry Potter - Coffee Shop Au

(not my gifs)

Summary: Harry and Draco meet again after the war, when harry steps into a coffee shop and seeing the cute barista working there.

Word count: 1.8k

Harry found himself in Muggle London, looking for a coffee shop. Ever since the war, he decided to live in the muggle world.  As a kid, being the boy who lived caused him to gain a lot of popularity and attention by the wizarding world, which only grew more after the war. Never being one for all the attention, he moved to the muggle world to get away from it all. Although he'd been living in muggle London, he'd barely left his flat. He could still rely on the money his parents left him to get by, and he didn't have any muggle friends so he never had a good enough reason to leave his flat (other than getting groceries and the occasional clothes shopping trip). So, he thought It'd be nice to get out more, maybe make new friends. He soon grew thirsty, which left him here, in search of a coffee shop.

After asking around, he found a coffee shop named CottageVillage Cafe. He opened the door and instantly felt a wave of calm wash over him. The shop looked and felt extremely cozy, and the delicious smell of coffee was all around him. Harry walked up to the counter, waiting for an employee to take his order. What he wasn't expecting, though, was to run into a certain blonde.

"CottageVillage Cafe, how can i hel- oh my god" The blonde stared at the other boy with wide eyes, his skin visibly paling.  

Harry also paled a few shades lighter, his own eyes matching the horrified look of the boy's in front of him.

"Malfoy?" he sputtered.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, "Of course, of bloody course this has to happen to me." he covered his face with his hands, then preceding to brush through his hair with his hands nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, surprise still evident on his face.

"Well it's not that easy to make a living in the wizarding world when everyone hates you" he scoffed.

"So now you're working in a muggle coffee shop?" The boy asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Well this is the only place that actually considered giving me a job, and it pays well, so I'm not complaining."

Harry took a moment to examine the boy in front of him. He hasn't seen Malfoy since the trials when he spoke up for him in court. At the trials he looked thin, his face gaunt, hair short and dirty, his eyes a dull gray. He looked utterly miserable. The man in front of him now looked more fit, face fuller and more angular, hair longer than before (about the length it was in 3rd year, he noted), eyes bright, and he looked much happier. He somehow looked like he belonged in the shop, like he was a part of it's very foundation. Harry also noticed that he somehow got more handsome in the time they hadn't seen each other. His eyes wandered down to Draco's arm, his sleeves rolled up, exposing the mark on his left arm. The last time he saw it, it was dark and ugly, the tattoo contrasting starkly against his pale skin. Now, the mark was still there, but it was riddled with flower designs around it, seemingly removing all the negative meanings of the original design.

He only removed his eyes from it when he heard someone behind him say, "Do you mind hurrying up? You're holding up the line."

Malfoy rolled his eyes quickly, "Right, so what is it you want?" He said in a monotone voice.

"Well this is my first time shopping here so I'd rather just get something you recommend."

"If I were you, I'd get a Vanilla Chai Latte, It's my personal favorite drink."

"I'll take your word for it" Harry smiled at Malfoy. He wrote down his order and looked up, meeting Harry's eyes again.

"You can go sit on one of the couches until your order is ready, golden boy."

Harry chucked, "Thanks Malfoy." He then turned around and sat on a couch, waiting for his drink. He found himself staring at the barista taking orders. He greeted each customer with a bright smile, which harry thought looked brilliant on him. He would swiftly take their orders and move on the next person, all of his movements looked graceful and practiced, as if they've been done million times over. In about 5 minutes, he heard his name being called,

"Potter! Vanilla Chai Latte for Harry Potter" Draco said, and Harry could see his painfully handsome smirk from the couch. He stood up and walked to the counter, smile on his face. Malfoy slid his drink across the counter while Harry pulled out his wallet to pay for it. Once he gave Malfoy the bill, he swiped up the drink, taking a sip quickly. Now Malfoy was staring at harry, unable to draw his eyes away form him. He noticed how attractive he'd gotten since he'd last seen him. Sure, he was attractive before, but it seemed that as he matured he only got more handsome. Harry's lips parted from the cup, causing Malfoy to dart his eyes away from him.

"Wow, you were right, that is good. I'll have to come more often."

"Well I'd be happy to take your order."

-

The next day harry was standing in front of CottageVillage Cafe again. which he tried to convince himself was because the coffee was good, but was actually because he felt drawn to the white haired barista. He swung the door open, bells chiming as he did so.  Draco looked up immediately, unconsciously smiling as he saw the raven haired boy walk in and step in the line.

"Good Morning, Malfoy" Draco looked up, instantly enchanted by Harry's smile.

"Morning, boy wonder, same as yesterday?" Harry nodded.

"Well you know the drill, Potter." He tilted his head towards the couches, silently telling Harry to sit down.

Harry did exactly that, finding himself thinking of the other boy yet again.

-

"Vanilla Chai Latte for The Chosen One, i repeat, Vanilla Chai Latte for The Chosen One."

Harry instantly looked up, smirk evident on his face, standing up and walking to the counter. He grabbed his drink, "Thanks Draco."

Draco froze due to the unexpected use of his first name, which he thought sounded so incredible coming from his lips. His eyes landed on Harry's and he was sure his cheeks had gone a few shades darker.

"You're welcome Harry, It's part of the job" He grinned brightly, causing Harry to have a familiar feeling in his stomach.

"When do you get off work?" Harry asked hopefully.

"At 4:00, why do you ask?" Draco leaned on the counter with an eyebrow raised.

"I was hoping we could catch up, It's been a while."

Draco pretended to think it over before nodding, "Okay golden boy, you can wait here if you want. I'll get off soon." Harry nodded before returning to the couch.

Suddenly it was 4:00 pm, and Draco was clocking out of work. He grabbed his things and walked to the couches, where a certain wizard was expecting him. It felt weird to see him again after everything that's happened, but he seemed to feel glad he walked back into Draco's life. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and sat next to Harry, who smiled at the platinum haired boy.

"So, why did you move to the muggle world?" He started the conversation.

"I just wanted to get away from everything, all the attention."

"I definitely get that, It felt awful. Always being in the public eye meant constant invasion of personal privacy."

"Exactly! It was just so much easier to leave."

"By the way, are you still talking to Granger and Weasley?" Draco asked curiously.

"We talk every now and then, and I have the floo network connected to my flat in case they want to visit."

They talked for what felt like hours when Draco rolled up both his sleeves, causing Harry to instantly take another look at the mark on his arm with flowers surrounding it.

It looks so beautiful on you

Draco's eyes widened and he looked at Harry, and saw that he was staring at his mark. "What?"

Harry's eyes snapped up to meet Draco's, his mouth gaped, opening and closing before he found words. "Did i say that out loud?"

The other boy nodded and smiled softly.

"Well, it's true, I love what you did with it, it looks beautiful on you."

Draco's cheeks dusted a rosy color, "Thank you Harry, I appreciate it." He gave him a soft smile before smirking, "So, are you still going out with the weaslette?"

Harry chuckled, "Her name is Ginny, and no, we're not dating anymore. We both realized that we just weren't meant for each other. I had a few short relationships after we broke up, but none of them ever went anywhere. What about you, how's the dating life going?"

"I had a few flings but they didn't last long, so I'm pretty single right now. For some reason most blokes don't want to date a cute barista that can get them 30% off any cup of coffee." He laughed.

Harry's eyes flashed, "You like blokes?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" He asked cautiously.

"No, not at all! I'm actually Bisexual!" He said confidently, and Draco suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach, suddenly shifting to curiousity.

"Did you date any guys at Hogwarts?" Harry laughed before putting on a sly smirk, "I had a thing with Cedric Diggory in 4th year." Draco's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're kidding!" Harry shook his head no, and Draco found himself talking again, "Merlin, how did i not notice?" He questioned.

"I think you were too busy trying to get my attention, you know with the whole 'climbing a tree just to insult me' thing" He snorted. Draco softly punched his shoulder, "Shut up!" He said lightheartedly, then spoke again.

"Speaking of the insults, I'm really sorry about that. You guys didn't deserve the torture i put you through." He said softly.

"It's okay. It's forgiven and forgotten. I'm just glad we're here now, starting again." he replied just as soft.

"Thank you Harry. We should do this more often." Harry studies the blonde for a few moments before asking, "Do you wanna go out sometime?"

Draco looked up with wide eyes, "What, like a date?" He said, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"If you want it to be" He said with a smirk.

Draco's smile seemed to reach his eyes, and Harry couldn't help but think he looked positively gorgeous

"I might just take you up on that offer, golden boy."

-

part 2 ?

also pls pls send me requests !!

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about every episode of The Owl House Season 1 (Part 1/2)

Salutations random people on the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Hey, do you miss Gravity Falls?

...

Yeah, I know, dumb question. Which is why I have good news! Not only is there a new series that is just as good as Gravity Falls, but in some ways, it's even better. That new series would be none other than Disney Channel's latest hit: The Owl House.

The Owl House, slowly but surely, became my new obsession since Eda reacted to decapitation with an unconcerned, "I hate when that happens." I wrote fan-fiction, made fan-art, and even began to separately review new episodes. Unfortunately, I got in a little late in the reviewing game and only managed to analyze the last four episodes of season one. And like an idiot, I promised that I'll review the rest when they came out on Disney+. Seeing that all of the first season has finally come on a legal streaming service (which means WATCH IT RIGHT NOW!), it's time I finally saw through to that promise. However, I'm not going to over-analyze each episode because that would be insane. So instead, we're going to lightning round these suckers. Because it's my Tumblr, and I get to decide what I review and how the hell I review it...hooah.

Which means this is your last chance to avoid spoilers if you haven't seen The Owl House yet. Seriously, it's a great show, and you can catch up right now on Disney+. A week-long trial is more than enough time to watch the series, so DO IT! With that out of the way, let's get started with:

“A Lying Witch and a Warden”: This episode gets a lot of flack for having poor pacing and being too preachy with its message. And to that, I say...you're not wrong. Yeah, I wish I could be that person who can defend this episode against criticism like that, but these are understandable problems that just left this icky feeling in my tum-tum when watching. But that's only when looking at it as a regular old episode when in reality, people need to see it as a first episode. The first episode in any show needs to get viewers interested enough to continue watching by answering these five essential questions: What's the plot of the show? What's the tone? Who are the main characters? What's the world they live in? And what are the rules of the same world? "A Lying Witch and a Warden" does a great job of answering all of these questions. And if you stuck around until the season finale, then that means it did a great job of keeping you interested in sticking around as well. So seeing how it got its job done, albeit, with mixed results, I give this episode a B-.

“Witches Before Wizards”: Don't mind me. Just reveling in the fact that Luz escaped to a fantasy world to avoid Reality Check Camp, only to get a reality check anyway. Because that's what this episode is in a nutshell. Through the "quest" that Luz goes on, she learns two important lessons: One, don't trust strangers who offer you something nice and shiny (bonus points for Eda warning Luz to avoid men with sandals and then have Ategast wear sandals). And two, there is no such thing as having a predetermined destiny. I love the idea that Luz coming to the Isles was just a twist of fate, and everything that happens afterward is pure dumb luck. And that moment when Eda gave a speech about making your own path instead of waiting to become something special? That was the moment when I went from thinking this was going to be a fun show to thinking it's going to be a great show. So consider this episode a solid A in my book.

“I Was a Teenage Abomination”: How is it possible for an episode to get better and worse with time? Because here's the thing: This episode does a great job of showing how perfect Amity's development is. After one single season, it already feels jarring, seeing the way she acts in certain scenes. However, in that same respect, it's the same reason why this episode got worse. I didn't mind that Willow practically got away with cheating and vandalizing the school with her magic because she and Luz were basically trying to show up a two-dimensional bully. But knowing what we know in the future, it does seem unfair that Amity gets punished for their bad behavior and Willow got little consequences for it. Sure, Luz got banned and had to work at gaining Amity's trust, but what about Willow? Although, despite this complaint, I don't really hate this episode. It builds a believable connection between Luz and her friends, and the B-plot King and Eda show off their budding friendship. So while this episode is a C-, it's a somewhat enjoyable C-.

“The Intruder”: Is it weird for anyone else that King gets most of the blame in this episode? Yes, he took the potion, but Luz was the one who kept pushing him. This is why it never sat right with me seeing how everyone, including himself, blames King for this episode's incident. That being said, "The Intruder" is fantastic. Eda, as the Owl Beast, is legitimately threatening, and the way the episode treats Eda's curse like a chronic illness is actually kind of sweet. It teaches kids how this is something that just happens to people, and they're not any weaker because of it, as long as they take the right steps. Which is cool, and it's why this is another solid A episode for me. Sure King getting the blame bothers me, but it pales in comparison to everything else “The Intruder” does right.

“Covention”: If you want my personal opinion (obviously, seeing how you're reading this), "Covention" is the perfect episode to show a friend to get them into watching the The Owl House. Everything there is to love about the show is seen in just these twenty-two minutes. Eda being a chaotic good, Luz being a sweet and understanding character, some incredible/natural world-building, an actually decent B-plot, an epic fight scene, great comedy, and, my personal favorite, the building of Luz and Amity's relationship. In fact, this episode has the most quintessential moment between these two, that Dana Terrace herself took charge of making the animatic for it. A scene that is so perfect that you can do an analysis of these few minutes alone...which is what I did. Click here to read it! "Covention" gets an A+ in my book and might possibly be the best episode of the season. Maybe even the series!

“Hooty’s Moving Hassle”: There's not really a lot I can say about this episode. I don't hate it, but I'm not exactly in love with it. The interactions between Luz and her friends are adorable, and there are a few good jokes that kept me laughing. But the story is kind of bland, and I just find Eda's sudden obsession with Hexes Hold'em kind of odd. Especially since a card game is what nearly defeated the "undefeatable" Owl Lady. If it wasn't for the nice reveal of Willow's and Amity's friendship (which comes into play in a far better episode), I'd say that you could skip this one on future rewatches. Because this is a C grade episode that just doesn't grab me as well as others.

“Lost in Language”: Ah, yes. The episode that made dozens of fans jump aboard the Lumity ship...unless you're like me, and you've been shipping these two since the show's theme song (And I don't know why, either. It's just the second I saw Amity my first thought was, "Oh, honey. You're gonna fall in love with the main character, aren't you?" AND I WAS F**KING RIGHT!). But jokes about shipping aside, "Lost in Language" is a fantastic episode. It has a great lesson about how people are more complex than their first impressions (Or to not judge a book by its cover, if you wanna stay on theme). Edric and Emira seem like a chaotic duo who cause mischief all for good fun. But Luz, as well as the audience, learns that Ed and Em are kinda the worst (they get better in future episodes, but still). Then there's Amity, who hasn't had the best first impressions in the last few episodes. We got glimpses of a good person here and there, but for the most part, that's all they were. Glimpses. Then there's this episode, which gives us more than a small look, but some actual insight into who Amity really is. Better yet, who she wants to be. It's something that I appreciate about The Owl House in that it wastes no time in developing Amity's character. So much so that I can forgive this episode for shoehorning a "Two idiots and a baby" plotline that does nothing but add maybe two minutes of padding. So yeah, it's an A+ for sure.

“Once Upon a Swap”: "Ugh! It's the body swap episode! How cliche and-" SHUT UP! Shut your mouth, and listen: Something being cliche does not always make it bad. Only when the cliche fails to tell an entertaining story does it have the right to work as a complaint. "Once Upon a Swap" may have a cliche premise, but it's still an enjoyable story (or stories) with great laughs and even some ok lessons. I can understand if you hate the episode because its premise is something you've seen a dozen times to the point where your sick of it. My most hated story idea is the "Character A saves Character B, and Character B becomes a life slave." If you have seen this story once, you've seen it a thousand times, and it's the same case with a "body swap" episode. But guess what: The Owl House is a kids' show. Kids'. Show. You can complain all you want about predictability, but kids are the type of viewers who will be new to this experience, despite if it's one that is done to death. Which is why this is solid B of an episode if you ask me.

“Something Ventured, Someone Framed”: Can people please stop shipping Gus with Mattholomule? Because that slimy, greasy, weaselly little son of A BASTARD BITCH WEASEL DOES NOT DESERVE LOVE IN WAY POSSIBLE!

...

But enough about how Mattholomule is the worst character ever, because "Something Ventured, Someone Framed" is a B+ in my opinion. Sure it shows the worst side of Gus and lets Satan's little herpe win in the end, but there is still quality to be had. We get insight into who Gus is as a character, on top of Eda swallowing her pride and cleaning the school so Luz can get into Hexide. Also, Eda's permanent record was the first time this show brought me to tears due to laughing so hard. So while I have to take points off for the inclusion of Mattholomule (I don't make the rules. I just live by them), this is still an episode I wouldn't mind revisiting.

“Escape of the Palisman”: I subscribe to this theory that Luz will one day have Eda's staff as her own. And episodes like this that strengthen the bond between Luz and Owlbert help confirm that theory. Luz's dedication to trying to make things right could just be part of her kind nature, but I like to believe that this is Dana and the crew trying to set up this possible outcome. As for what I think about the episode itself...it's ok. Again, Luz's dedication is nice to see, and King's adventure with Owl Beast Eda is somehow insanely adorable, but there's not really much to say other than that. So it's another B episode for me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s the end of part one! Part two has probably already been posted by the time you finish this, so you can go ahead and find that if you’re interested.

[save-the-spiral]

Wiztober Day Nineteen: Transformation

Welcome to Day Nineteen of wiztober2020. Content warning for arguing, implied bullying, death mentions.

(link to prompt list)

Castian moved her fingers nervously, the slight rasp of her scales against one another a soft, soothing sound. She balled her hands into loose fists, thumbs slowly feeling the sides of her index fingers, her claws carefully out of the way.

She had been very, very excited at first. One of her best friends had a mysterious, long lost sister, so how could she not be ecstatic for her friend, as well as for the opportunity to watch something so dramatic.

But it hadn’t been fun, not really.

Castian had known of Mari Jade, but had never met the girl. Castian knew almost every student at Ravenwood, so to have not met Mari meant that she was a recluse to the highest degree. All the information Castian had about Mari was through the grapevine of school gossip that Castian played no small part in facilitating, and even that was sparse and, apparently, wrong.

Mari was supposedly intelligent, though not as skilled in practicals, and had a habit of barely even passing classes that relied purely on casting magic. She was a quiet doormat, easily pushed around by the more bullheaded or mean of the life school. She was also a teacher’s pet, on very friendly terms with Professor Wu, sometimes slipping up and calling her Moolinda in class, to her own embarrassment.

It was a pitiful amount of information, and Castian quickly learned that most of it was completely wrong.

The Mari that wreaked havoc through the ice school, barging in and demanding to see Emrys Pyre and not taking ‘no’ for an answer was not the meek theurgist that Ravenwood Academy knew her as. The ambient magic around her was sharp, thorny, and enraged, a dark green aura around her instead of the usual vibrant lime of average life wizards.

When she had found Emrys with the help of a very mischievous Genevieve (usually going by Eve, or Evie), a vital, if not very young member to their friend group, Mari had tackled the stoic and typically rude boy in a hug, and began violently sobbing into his shoulder.

And Emrys, instead of pushing her away or looking uncomfortable at the display of emotions, had simply soothed her, arms reaching around her thin shoulders and mouth moving fast. Castian, Eve, and Jen couldn’t understand the language, but it was fast and in a soft undertone, a constant stream of bouncing syllables as Emrys let this random girl cry all over him. Jen, the only one of them who knew any Earth languages, guessed that he had likely been speaking Vietnamese, though how a half Korean, half Japanese boy who was raised in Mooshu knew the language, none of them could know. Well, they could just ask, but doing so would likely anger Emrys, who was a deeply private person. Private enough to hide a whole sister from his best friends.

Emrys never faltered in his kind, if not protective hold on Mari. He guided her to the ice wizard dorms, and into Jen and Castian’s room instead of his own. There, he had sat down with her on the floor, not even noticing his three friends trailing along.

Finally, when Mari had calmed enough, anger flooding back in over any fear or sadness, the line of her jaw tight enough that Castian worried it might just snap like a rubber band, though she didn’t know much about human wizard physiology. Mari stared at Emrys with a deep anger, not at him, but simply too ingrained in her state of being so she could not stop sounding as if she were going to strike the next person who drew near.

“We need to go to Dragonspyre, and rescue my-” Mari stopped, seething, nostrils flaring. “And rescue someone. The old death professor, Malistaire, kidnapped her. He’s going to kill her, after using her to help destroy the Spiral.”

“Woah.” Eve whispered from the doorway, standing alongside Castian and Jen. She was just thirteen, due to turn fourteen in a month’s time, though she refused to act her age. Considering she was a prodigy, she usually got away with it.

Emrys shook his head, leaning back a bit, putting his weigh on his hand. “Right now? You wanna go storm an entire world right now?”

Mari’s face twisted with her anger. “If you’re not going to help me-!”

“No- no! I’ll help, Mari. Whatever you need.” Emrys’ voice was vulnerable, raw in a tone that usually meant a bad flashback, though not this time. “Just- we can’t run off with no plan, no preparation. I can’t-” His voice cracked. “I really can’t do this without at least a day to prepare, Mari. After that, we’ll do whatever we need to save this person and even save the Spiral if we must.”

Mari huffed out a breath. “A day? She could be dead! The Spiral could be gone, wiped out!”

“It will be anyway if you run off right now, Mari. Look at yourself. You’re running on fumes already- when is the last time you ate, or slept, or even drank some god damned water?” Emrys demanded harshly.

“I-” Mari’s voice cracked. “I don’t...” She seemed to almost sway from where she was sitting.

“A day, Mari.” Emrys murmured. “Just one day and then we can go save another world together, okay?”

“‘Kay.” Mari slurred tiredly.

“Cas, Jen, please take care of Mari while I get the supplies we’ll need? Genevieve, come with me.” Emrys kissed Mari’s forehead as she leaned against the side of Jen’s bed, and then he left, Eve excitedly following him.

Castian and Jen exchanged one look, and that was all they needed. Castian grabbed some of their many mugs, filling two with tap water, and then preparing to make hot cocoa. It would be a long night, and hot cocoa solved most problems, even if it wouldn’t solve this one.

Jen lifted the now sleeping Mari onto their own bed, covering her with a quilt. They hadn’t expected this, but they adapted easily, and this would turn out okay. It had to.

After Mari woke from her impromptu nap, she drank water, she ate, she even drank a bit of cocoa. She was silent, though sometimes if she stared off into space she would let out a dry, hoarse sob. This person who was kidnapped was very, very important to her.

Castian knew the best thing would be to distract her, fill her mind with other thoughts so she could rest, and then she could think as much as she wanted about whoever she wanted then. But not tonight.

It started with a haircut. Jen had suggested it, considering Mari’s hair was a mess, cut quickly and uneven. Mari told them that her braid had gotten caught on a fence, and she had no time. Jen began suggesting hairstyles, pulling out one of their magazines. Mari saw a picture of a beautiful girl in a leather jacket and ripped jeans, with half of her head shaved, staring moodily at the camera.

“That one.” Was all she said.

Jen had gone all out, and they turned it into a spa night, complete with nail (and claw) painting, and a bit of hair dye. Jen had even shaved a little complex design on the side of Mari’s head, vines curling and dyed green, a bit of magic involved to keep it in.

Mari finally smiled when looking in the mirror, though the bags under her eyes spoke of far deeper turmoil that a bit of pampering could not fix in a million years. Castian and Jen knew this, but still. It was fun, and Mari deserved fun before she went on a mission to likely kill a man.

They began picking out clothes, and that was when the real fun began. Mari was introduced to Jen’s rather broad taste in music, though she quickly honed in on the punk side, eyes wide and mouth almost twisting into a smile when she heard loud, almost chaotic sounds, and knew it was called music. After that, Mari spoke more. As usual with Castian, it turned to gossip.

And it was amazing. Castian hadn’t known how deep the life school really went with its sometimes harsh interpersonal relationships, but Mari was in it, and not at all phased by sharing these supposed life wizard only secrets. It was a whole new side to almost every life wizard, and Castian couldn’t get enough, almost overwhelming Mari with questions, both of them drawing out their anecdotes, dramatic pauses and all.

Mari was changing, and she’d need to be more and more prepared to change, because Castian knew that people who went on quests never came back quite the same. It reminded Castian of her cousins who were in the process of shedding their skins, draconian scales dulling, almost dead looking.

Then on the other side they were shining and radiant.

Maybe it reminded Castian of herself, a bit. Though she had never felt the loss and fear Mari had, not since she was very, very young.

Castian would always be willing to help out a friend in need though.

[ccsthemovie2]

Character-Clow Reed

(avril lavingne voice) WHYD YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE THINGS SO CLOWMPLICATEEEED I SEE THE WAY YOURE ACTING LIKE YOURE SOMEBODY ELSE GETS ME FRUSTRATED- ok jokes aside LETS GOOOOO 

Why I like them:

for all my angry yelling and kicking and complaining you may be surprised to learn that clow(riol) is one of my favorite parts of ccs! 

i think that having the Mystery and Legend of a long-dead wizard that hangs over sakura’s head at the start get light shed on it more and more so that we can see he’s just a person makes the world of ccs feel small and personal. it really stabilizes the heart of the series, what i love most about ccs- that it’s a story about individuals and the choices they make. the magic itself all traces back to one man and the way he felt it was right to act and to treat other people. i think he’s a fascinating character and a very very good choice of central figure.

Why I don’t:

THAT SAID, AAAAAGHHHHH HE IS HORRIBLE HE IS JUST A TERRIBLE LITTLE MAN I HATE HIM I HATE HIM SOOOO MUCH. even putting aside everything he* pulls as eriol, just the things he does as clow reed make me SO upset....LYING ABOUT HIS DEATH??? ELABORATE SETUP TO PRETEND KERO AND YUE HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER OF CHOOSING THE NEW CARD MASTER BUT ACTUALLY KNOWING ALL ALONG AND HAVING A SPECIAL MAGIC ITEM MADE TO SEE THAT IT GETS DONE??? BREEZING INTO A TOWN TO STEAL A FORTUNE TELLER’S BUSINESS, GETTING HER NICE AND KATE BEATON NEMESIS.PNG’D, AND THEN IGNORING HER FOREVER??? it’s bad!! *(it’s complicated,) ive said this jokingly before but i think he just doesnt even think about other people having agency, that he’s not trampling but Guiding and Helping. i think part of his controlfreakiness is also a deep fear that he’s not enough, that he can’t keep a friend on his own merits so he’s gotta get his claws sunk in as much as possible, whether by emotionally living rent free in people’s heads or magical dependance. and that’s not a uniquely horrible belief, yknow, i think it’s very human and normal, but the problem is no one can criticize him. not with the amount of control he has over the people he surrounds himself with, the fact that he can physically shut down kero and yue any time he likes, etc. it’s not that power inherently Makes You Evil, it’s that power made it harder for people to say “hey stop that”, and if no ones telling him to stop then he must be doing fine!

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

GENUINE TIE BETWEEN THE BACK TO THE PAST EP OF THE ANIME AND THE SAKURA SEES THE TRUTH SCENE IN MANGA. i think both of them are great- the tightly controlled dreamy guided tour where she sees just what he wants her to see, AND sakura outpowering him and seeing the reality of his lies. in the manga when sakura sees him gives gentle headkisses to kero and yue before putting them to bed and eriol+fujitaka-ing i go AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ....... THEY LOVE SOMEONE WHO IS TERRIBLE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUU MY HEART. i headcanon that’s when he mind-messed with them, too, i think he had to touch them to do it and that was how.

Favorite season/movie:

bold answer but im going to say the implications left behind in the clow card arc of Why Do Cards Act Like That/Have Those Specialties. what about clow made him want to make a voice-stealing card, a small-object-moving-card, a body-swap card, etc? it’s good questions.

Favorite line:

in the mokona book when they say he said dogs dont have owners they have housemates, bc that explains SOOOOO much abt him and how he treated kero and yue lololol. if you think being a pet owner and a roomate are the same you’re gonna treat your roomates, uhhhm, bad.

also if eriol counts its him in the wonderland ep like YOU DONT KNOW IF IM NOT THE KINDA PERSON TO PRETEND TO BE A CAT and I THINK YOU AND LI ARE SO DUMB I HAVE TO BITE MY TONGUE CONSTANTLY TO NOT INSULT YOU and BUT I CANT ACT LIKE THIS OR KERO AND YUE WILL KNOW IM CLOW. so like. was clow just like that then.

Favorite outfit:

uh his regular clothes are cool. theres an illustration on him in this cool coat with like a sun pin on it too. whenever i draw him in something frilly i have a huge brain. cant deny the guy has style and aesthetics. sakura’s first staff, look at it!! the style it has!!! 

OTP: 

im neutral-positive on clowyuuko cuz i havent holic’d since high school. you can refer to the answer i gave abt yue for clowyue thoughts (tl;dr: [touches ground] “something terrible happened here” ). madoushi is just kate beaton nemesis comic. 

i think it would be funny if albus dumbledore was his ex.

Brotp 

yuuko again i guess? and him and all his creations. headcanon territory even though that’s actually the next question but you asked for my thoughts so here they are: i think of him as trying to be a sort of fun camp counselor or teacher type for kero+yue and the cards- specifically a role with an authority behind it, but without the same sort of responsibility that a parent would have. or, i guess, lacking an unconditional love, always an undertone of you having to prove yourself. someone who you go to to learn from, but if he likes can also go “no no im just like you, now let’s have fun!”. it’s hard to explain, but there’s a difference. 

what i’m trying to get at here is i think it’s significant that the only creations he has that we see him truly ‘raise’, (going by the info+lack of it we have, anyway, i fill in the blank for myself that kero and yue and the cards all showed up full of knowledge, fully formed, CLAMP DO NOT INTERACT!!!!!), were the mokonas, with yuuko. it was another person’s influence that brought a parental attitude in, it’s not something he ever wanted to be. there’s also a healthy dose of “yue textually had a crush on clow and i will not, no way, let you make that any more unfortunate than that already is”, i’ll admit, but i think that’s just a puzzle piece of the whole theory here. i think it would also be funny if he knew people like tolkein (eriol’s a tolkeinverse name if i remember correctly) and c.s. lewis (side note, i find the fact that clow is an actively practicing christian really funny), but i dont want to think too deeply about that sort of realworld mix, yknow.

Head Canon: 

i think pranks were highly encouraged in his house and none of the clow cards are being intentionally destructive, just acting in ways that were totally normal at home, and are genuinely shocked to learn that people will get seriously injured without clow there to cushion their damage.

Unpopular opinion: 

evil

A wish: 

i wanna know what his pre-story days were like, his life with the cards, his life BEFORE the cards,

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: 

^ same the above but i find it out from clamp

5 words to best describe them:

did you know? clow sucks

My nickname for them: 

clown, :kingboo: (discord emoji of him with a 🚫 over it), “the bastard jester himself” (which is, or at least was, in comedian-podcaster stephen buckleys twitter bio and i think it abt clow frequently, sorry stephen buckley), king of living rent free in people’s heads

[elareine]

Adamare (1/7)

Read here on ao3.  Tags: Harry Potter AU, Friends to Lovers, Bruce Wayne is a good parent, Friendship, Teenagers, Christmas, First Love, Bullying, blood supremacy 

Summary: Jason starts magic school two years late and with a terrible reputation. To say that his time there isn’t easy would be an understatement. Some people, however, make everything worth it. 

Year One 

“Todd, Jason!” 

Feeling the stares on him as he walked to the front, Jason reminded himself that his clothing was just as new and shiny as everyone else’s here. Of course, that thought then just made him feel ashamed of himself. He’d been Bruce Wayne’s ward for less than five months; he wouldn’t start taking this money for granted, not now, not ever. 

Jason shifted his gait so his sneakers dragged along the ground a bit and his cloak fell open slightly, revealing his favorite hoodie underneath. There. Better. 

The room was silent as he sat down on the chair in the front and lifted the hat onto his head as he had seen other students do. It would sort them into houses, which was weird to Jason but supposedly normal for an English boarding school. Apparently, this school was modeled on a major one in Great Britain. The white upper-class wizards that had been among the first to ‘settle’ the East Coast had sniffed their noses at the school founded by an Irishwoman, of all people, and created one that reminded them of home barely two hundred miles away. 

It was called Schola Artis Magicae, for God’s sake. These people had not been imaginative. 

No. No, I suppose they weren’t. 

Oh, great, the hat was talking to him. How did that even work? Was it telepathy or just a shallow whisper into his ears? 

A curious mind, huh? Brave, too, though. Hm… Do you have a preference? 

Jason had read up on the houses in ‘A History of Magic’ before he came here, but even Alfred hadn’t been able to satisfactorily explain to him what the point was. Dividing children up by allegedly defining characteristics seemed premature to him, not to mention leading to potentially dangerous stereotyping. Why not just go and go by favorite color or something? What was the problem with drawing lots? It was just stupid—

I see. “Ravenclaw!”

Right. That was the blue and bronze table. Jason headed towards under applause that was lukewarm at best. A few students smiled at him, but mostly everyone was occupied with watching the rest of the sorting hat ceremony. 

When it was over, the food appeared. At least Jason had read about this, so he was prepared for this. Still, this was… a lot of food. Even Alfred would disapprove of the waste. Who even made all this? Hopefully, it was just a feast for a special occasion… 

As he ate, Jason looked around. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables were behind him, so he focused on the Slytherin one (green and silver). He tried to remember what this house’s supposed defining trait was—cunning? Ambition? Something like that? Honestly, most of them just looked like kids to him. One of them was even tinier than all of the other first years. With a pang of pity, he thought: He’s gonna get eaten. 

Then, another one of the Slytherins said something, and Jason watched as the tiny first year drew himself up and fixed him with a glare so cold Jason was a bit surprised it wasn’t magical and turned the older student into stone. Jesus, where had the kid learned to do that? Jason clearly didn’t need to worry about him. 

Maybe he should worry about himself. None of his fellow first-years had spoken a word to him so far. 

After dinner, their prefect took them up to the tower. The riddle system for the portrait seemed easy to crack to Jason, but maybe that was the point? This was a school, for God’s sake. They were shown their rooms, but when Jason made to follow the other boys inside, the prefect took him aside. “Look, we’re aware you’re in a somewhat… unique situation.” 

Jason just stared at him, saying nothing. 

“And I thought… It just happens that two years ago, only one boy got selected for Ravenclaw. I’ve never been happy about having anyone living alone, so… maybe you’d be more comfortable rooming with someone your own age?” 

Great. Another thing that would make him stand out. Jason wanted to decline, saying he’d be just fine rooming with the eleven-year-olds.

However… looking at the group that was supposed to be his, he counted six people. Jason knew himself well enough to know that living with this many kids would drive him up the wall within a week. Rooming with a single person who hopefully had matured a bit might be more manageable. 

“Okay.” 

The prefect looked relieved. “Great. I already talked to him, he loved the idea. Your dorm is this one, then.” 

The staircase shifted enough to let Jason knock on the small, wooden door. 

“Come in!” a cheerful voice called. 

Jason did. The room was airy and spacious with two four-poster beds and roomy closets, as well as huge floor-to-ceiling windows. A lanky redhead sat on the ground between the beds, a multitude of random items spread around him. The first thing Jason noticed about him was his smile; the second was his hands, incongruously large and calloused for someone who looked like a breeze could topple him over. 

“Uh, hi? I’m supposed to be staying here.” 

The boy got up in a hurry. “Jason, right? Nice to meet you, dude, I’m Roy.” 

“Hey.” Jason gave an awkward little wave. 

“You can put your stuff in there. I’ve been sleeping by the wall, is that alright with you?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Better than, actually. Closed spaces still made Jason antsy. 

While Jason unpacked his things (all the equipment Bruce had bought, some clothes, his favorite books), Roy sat back down on the ground and watched him. “So you’re my age, right?” 

“I guess? I’m thirteen.” 

“How come you’re only starting now?” 

Jason, to his own surprise, appreciated the frank questions. Might as well get it out now. “I was only adopted into a Wizarding family last year.”

“Oh yeah, by the Waynes, right? I know your brother.” 

Well, that made one of them. Dick had been very distant when he’d been home during the summer; Jason had gotten the distinct impression that he’d disapproved of Bruce adopting Jason. The fighting had been hard to miss. 

“Didn’t you get your letter before that, though?” Roy asked curiously. 

Jason shrugged. “Sure. But I had no way to follow up on it.” A kid trying to fend for himself on the streets didn’t have the kind of resource that got him to a magical train station. Not to mention, he wouldn’t have been able to afford a wand, back then. 

Trying to lighten the mood, he added: “I also thought it was a prank. Like, if you’re a muggle, giant owls following you to draft you into a magic school means that you’ve either gone mad, your friends are having a laugh, or someone is trying to kidnap you.” 

Roy snorted. “Fair. Well, you’re here now. Wanna help me build a glitter bomb?” 

Jason took in the equipment surrounding his new roommate. “That’s a lot of stuff for a simple glitter bomb.” 

“The plan might just be to have it follow around the DADA teacher. Have it spell out stuff, maybe.”

“Why the DADA teacher?” 

“She likes making the first-years cry on their first day.” 

Jason thought of the prim blonde sitting at the teacher’s table and plopped down next to Roy. “Can you add sound? I’m thinking ‘Barbie Girl.’” 

Roy held out a hand. “Jason, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” 

Jason shook it gravely. Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad. 

[millennial-star-gazer]

Tantric Flames: (reupload from previous accounts): Chapter: 4

Tantric Flames

Originally for Nalu Week/Fluff Week/Lovefest 2017 (on previous accounts)

Genres: Romance, Humor, New Adult Fanfiction

Nalu Lovefest 2017 Prompts: Lust, Stockings/Lingerie, Sweets (Implied) Dreams(Implied) Games and Roleplay (Kind of Implied in Form of Teasing )

Vera's March 2018 Prompt Challenge: Fantasy/Creatures (which fits since Fairytail is a fantasy series and Natsu' species is dragonslayer/ Demon hybrid in this fic that's slight AU. Though this might technically still be true for the overall series since he's an etherious demon/wizard capable of using both fire dragon slayer magic and of his curse power)(was on previous accounts)

Upcoming Nalu Love Fest 2018 prompts: Kiss/Makeup (kind of) Playful, Desperate, Unbearable, Estatic ,(Implied) and Teasing 

Pairing:Nalu (Natsu x Lucy)

Rating: M for language, steamy and mature adult sexual content (all consensual) in these and future chapters. Reader Direction is advised.(You've been warned!)

Summary:One look, one smouldering hooded gaze, one word, one fiery kiss, one magnetizing touch was all he needed for her to completely unravel at his mercy alone, succumbing to the sinful temptation of her inhibitions, his love, his feral passion, his raw, insatiable desires, his "Tantric Flames". Originally an Submission (slight Au) for Nalulovefest 2017 (on previous accounts) in which Natsu gives his mate a tantric massage-after much persuasion- she won't soon forget when it turns into so much more. Also previously featured in Nalu Week , and Fluff Week with first two chapters on celestialgeekmage accounts.

Chapter 4: Kiss From A Dragon's Flame: Part 1

A/N: Hey everyone, it's me again Anyway, there isn't too more much for me to say in the beginning A/N: this particular time of around since I've reserved any particular notes on housekeeping for the A/N: at the bottom after the main chapter. That being said, just wanted give everyone a quick headups that the particular scene that I've mentioned a few times which the lovely @soprana-snap/soprana and @wildrhov were kind enough to help me with which will now be in Chapter 6 due the length of these chapters. (soprana-snap and wildrhov if you're reading this, it's me the former cosmicdragonwizard/dragon-shield-maiden/star-crossed- dragon) Still plenty of sexy good times and fluff between our OTP (Nalu) to go around though! Now, without further ado here's chapter 4— enjoy and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairytail which belongs to the one and only Hiro-sensei instead!

Read More Here:

1.Tantric Flames

A. Tumblr

Chapter: 1 (Click Here:)  (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179863946153/tantric-flames-reupload-from-cosmicdragonwizard/amp?)

Chapter: 2  (Click Here:)   (Or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179863946153/tantric-flames-reupload-from-cosmicdragonwizard/amp?)

Chapter: 3  (Click Here:)  (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179864756428/tantric-flames-reupload-from-previous-accounts/amp?) 

Chapter: 4  

Chapter: 5  (Click Here:) (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179872139218/tantric-flamesreupload-from-previous-accounts)

Chapter: 6(Click Here:) (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/183149105838/tantric-flames-chapter-6-despojado-stripped)

Chapter: 7 (Click Here:) ( or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/185033161848/tantric-flames-chapter-7-what-belongs-to-a-fire)

Chapter:8 (Click Here): (or here:https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/188352271948/tantric-flames-chapter-8-tantric-art-of)

Chapter:9 (Click Here:)   (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/624402662880854016/tantric-flames-chapter-9)

B. Fanfiction (Click Here:) (or here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13114990/1/Tantric-Flames-reupload-from-cosmicdragonwizardaccounts)

C. A03 (Click Here:) (or here:https://archiveofourown.org/works/17063882/chapters/40123739) 

2. The Draconic  Demon Within

A. Tumblr:

Prologue and Chapter: 1 (Click Here:) (or here:https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179816192273/the-draconic-demon-within-reupload-from/amp?)

Chapter: 2 (Click Here:)  (or here:https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179816192273/the-draconic-demon-within-reupload-from/amp?)

B. Fanfiction (Click Here:) (or here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13113898/1/The-Draconic-Demon-Within-Reupload-from-cosmicdragonwizardaccounts)

3. Grey Days

A. Tumblr  (Click Here:) (or here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179767381833/grey-days-reuploadfrom-dragon-shield-maiden/amp?)

B. Fanfiction  (Click Here:) (or here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13112482/1/Grey-Days-Reupload-from-dragon-shield-maiden)

4. The Rest of My Writing

A. Master Fic Rec Post (Click Here): (or  here: https://millennial-star-gazer.tumblr.com/post/179665258923/master-fic-rec-post

Legend:

Italic: Song Lyrics

Bold: First Person Thoughts

Bolded Italics: Empathized Word

Bolded Italics (Within and Outside Bracket) including for author's side notes also known as (A/N:) within brackets (though none for side-notes in this chapter ).

"O, Wanderess, Wanderess,

when did you feel your most euphoric kiss?

Was I the source of your greatest bliss?"

(Roman Payne: The Wanderess)

"Uh Lucy... not ... that... I'm ... not lovin' ... how much of a little spitfire ... you're... being ... right... now... sweetheart, but... do... ya... think ... you could ease up just a little?"

Lips were peppering scorching, wet open-mouthed kisses from along the corner of Lucy's mouth to her jaw spurring her on enough to continue .

"Why? Don't you want to?" She questioned, breathy voice muddled with the searing desire more hotter than the blistering heat of a thousand suns.— Not to mention mystification. The astral mage couldn't fathom for the life of her as to where this sudden change of heart about the change in pace came from seeing it was clear that these misgiving weren't out of doubt or lack of desire.

I honestly don't get it... He didn't seem to have an issue with us getting hot and heavy a moment ago... So where is this sudden reluctance out of the blue coming from ?

"Of course I do-fuck that feels good," came Natsu's reply, words coming out as a strained hiss between gritted teeth; all this from the force of his hips bucking into a feminine hand pumping his tumescent member ."God...do I ever want to."

"So what's the problem?" Was all Lucy had to inquire in response, drunk on the power of the effect she had on him— especially after managing to draw another low, guttural, moan out of the dragonslayer from giving the tip a few light taps for good measure. The celestial mage desperately wished to see whatever other noises she could pull from him, the same buzz of intoxicating power singing in her veins ." Like tell me why."

God... all of this is getting me really hot and bothered !

"Okay-fuck-you're really making this difficult aren't you? Now how do I put this? Let's just say your little  handiwork here is getting me all fired up" The dragonslayers rumbled, gravelly words almost a growl . They were rough, low and wild, dripping with the sinful promise of dark intent enough to send a electrifying thrill down her spin— not to mention make her toes curl; all from the power of his hips riding the hand still working his now mostly likely now- throbbing length where she could feel the beads of pre-climax much like the aching heat between her thighs. "enough to the point of drivin' me over the edge and it's all I can do to rein my more primal dragon-demon instincts just screamin' to bend ya over the massage bed for the fuckin' of your life-not without your of course."

" Okay, but I still don't exactly see how that's a problem." Lucy challenged, a wily gleam twinkling in her coco eyes. The astral zodiac wielder couldn't but help but long to see her dragon unravel for what she couldn't give to catch a glimpse of the feral gleam in his emerald depths when he lost control; picturing herself spread over the massage bed as his hips pistoned into her with wild abandon again and for the sake of both of their pleasure. The visual image of which sent a tingly jolt down south enough to make her toes curl . Plus if any one of them had a sudden change of heart he would stop immediately , she knew which made the all the more appealing.

And besides It's not like Natsu would ever even think of harming or even laying a hand on me like that without my consent. Not to mention pull out if needed out of respect for me - so it's all good.

"It's not that big of an issue really. "

"For you, maybe— but for me it's a different story. As in just cuz one part of my instincts are demandin' that I jump you right here and now, doesn't that the other part doesn't also wanna try and take things slow."

"Okay, so what you're saying is?"

"That what I want to do right now, is what I've been dyin' to to with you all day before we get into the other stuff. So basically massage first then sex ."

" I see what you're saying Natsu , but it's not like it has to be one way or another. In fact, why not change the order up, shake things up ? Give me another taste of your inner primal dragon-demon instincts by fucking me first , then help your girl unwind with a massage ".

"And normally I'd be pretty much down for getting down and dirty like the way we usually do when things get all hot and heavy between us - I really do Luce, believe me. I love our wild romps as much as I do making love to you on top of all the other sexual, intimate, and romantic stuff along with everything else being with you brings. But l also wanna try thing things a little differently today . You know take our time , start off a bit more slow with the massage and the rest of the foreplay that leads up to sex as part of the build up for both our sakes. You know instead of me just cavin' into my instincts to pounce on ya right away as fun as that may be. I mean there's definitely gonna be foreplay either way— but you get the picture."

"I do."

"Then you get the gist of what I'm saying! . Not to mention think about the extra time we'll for some great conversation! Trust me when I say the reward is the well worth the wait."

"And I appreciate that, I really do . All of which greatly appeals to me seeing how how I value everything that was just mentioned as much as you. Still, you should know I'm down either way."

"I'm glad to hear it but I wanna do things a bit differently."

"Hey, no sweat. It's all—"

"Lucy, no".

Natsu's patient yet firm, assertive voice was effective enough to cut Lucy off, when robust fingers were wrapping around her wrist to pry her hand away in favour of resting it on a more neutral place around his neck; all this before she could even work any more of her magic which nearly drew a small noise of protest from the stellar mage.

"Hey—what gives? . I thought— " whined the stellar mage , unable to stop disappointment from bleeding) into her already sulky tenor as if she were a child whose toy had been snatched; only for the words to die in throat when he silenced her with a withering glare — the kind that brokered no argument.

"What gives? Are you freakin' kidding me right now Luce?! I just had to pry your own hand away cuz you were being away too handsy for your own good... or mine for that matter cuz damn did that feel good— but that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say, missy, is that I had to make sure we stopped before you pushed me too far over the edge... which now that I think may about probably wouldn't have been so.. urgh! Goddammit-you have me doing it again! Goin' off on a tangent! "

"Anyway the point is that I went to a put in a whole lotta effort in making this impromptu date romantic for the both of us— which I'm more than happy to do since I love and want you to feel special cuz you are. But you're making this a lot harder than it needs to be."

"You're right—I'm sorry," Lucy apologized with a heavy sigh , feeling a twinge of guilt thread through her from at her boyfriend's light rebuke. Here he was trying his damnedest to put together a romantic date for the of two of them and then she had to go and nearly ruin it all by undermining his efforts!

All because I'm an impulsive moron who couldn't keep my impulsive hands to myself! The zodiac wielder admonished herself. Jeez... could I be any more hopeless?!

To Be Continued

Fic Tag Squad: @writer-appreciation​  @fuck-yeah-nalu @soprana-snap  @phoenix-before-the-flame     @nunnatheinsanegerbil @mautrino @rougescribe @goddesofimortality @phoenix-before-the-flame  @nalufever  @petri808 @thecelestialchick @nalu-natic  @superdomo360 @pyroandtheprincess  @rayhneatess  @nothingbutwordsstuff  @petri808  @thecelestialchick  @chiire  @nalufever @shootingstarssel  @chamilsanya  @rougescribe  @lover-of-the-light117  @rougescribe @narutoyaoifan

A/N: See you in chapter 5!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #154

“the wind is screaming, it’s screaming your name; it sounds like fear.”

What is your opinion on sex without emotional commitment?  nononononoNONONONO. Last time you puked from drinking?  Never. What books, if any, have made you cry?  Johnny Got His Gun, Old Yeller, The Outsiders (I think; I know the movie did), The Notebook, uhhh others, I'm sure. Does it get annoying when somebody says they’ll call you, but doesn’t?  It depends on the person, but honestly, almost never.  I hate talking on the phone. What is your favorite simple ice-cream flavor?  Usually vanilla, but sometimes I'm all about chocolate, especially if I can't put chocolate syrup on it. When was the last time you slept on the floor?  Jeez, probably when me and Jason did at my house.  I've slept on an inflatable mattress since, but I'm guessing you mean literally on the floor with blankets and such. If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?  I dunno.  I doubt it really, but don't potatoes have all the nutrients you actually need to survive?  If so, then probably that, but otherwise, uh.  I dunno, I'd get tired of things or die 'cuz I'm not getting what I need. I could say shakes, but I consider those drinks. Have you ever given someone oral sex?  Yeah, fucking hated it.  I'm bi, yes, but visually, penises are disgusting to me.  I don't want it in my mouth.  I only ever really did it to make him happy.  I'm open to trying it with a girl, but who knows if I'd like it. What's your favorite lyric from the last song you listened to?  "Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids did you kill today?" ("Shelter In Place" by Otep) Are you friends with someone that has a baby?  My best friend does. How many different towns/cities have you lived in?  Three. Have you ever had a kinky dream about a celebrity?  No. How many pets do you have? Would you like any more?  Six, and I kinda want another snake to breed with Venus when she's big enough.  I want to keep at least one of the babies to help with Sara's snake breeding passion. Is there a song you can’t stop listening to atm?  Oh yeesh, yeah.  I've fallen in love with Powerwolf recently and thus play a number of their songs repeatedly. How many bedrooms does your home have?  Two. How many times do you use a bath towel before washing it?  Once.  Annoys the hell out of Mom but like, I feel like there may be leftover germs I'm getting off + maybe dead skin 'cuz my skin in dry as fuck??? What time do you usually eat dinner?  This can vary from 6:00 to like almost 9:00.  I can't cook and Mom works late, so.  I'll make my own microwavable things if I can't wait for her to make something. Do you know any narcissists?  Jason????? Dillon????? dat u???????? Have you ever been falsely accused of something serious?  I don't believe so? In which were you happiest: elementary, middle, or high school?  Elementary. What was your favorite thing to do as a little kid?  Video games. You can bring back one dead pet to life. Which one?  Cali, for Mom.  She misses her so much. Rock, paper, or scissors?  I think I usually do scissors. Who was the last person to ask you out? Girt. What are your favorite pajamas you have? My purple, black, and white Jack Skellington ones ahhh What’s your least favorite ice-cream flavor?  Strawberry is disgusting. Do you prefer it when it gets darker earlier?  NOOOOO.  This is totally inverted from how it used to be, but I'm more likely to feel down when it's dark. Are there a lot of cookbooks in your house, or just a few? Or maybe none at all?  Mom has tons she never uses. Who are your godparents?  I don't think I have any. Can you touch​ your nose with your tongue?​​  No. What brand is your toothpaste?  Crest. Are you currently broken out?  No. What was the last hotel you stayed at? I dunno. Do you have a favorite NASCAR driver?  No. Eyeliner. Yes or no?  If I wear makeup, that's the bare minimum. What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make?  Let Jason go or continue to let what we had ruin my life. Where is the last beach you went to?  Myrtle Beach, NC. Have you ever been rock climbing?  Nah, not interested. Have you ever played Gamecube?  No. What has been the biggest event for you to overcome?  Recovery.  It changed me for the better so much. Do you have a favorite pet?  No one can beat Teddy.  I doubt any pet ever will. When someone drops something do you immediately go and pick it up for them?  If I’m close, unless they're already reaching for it, yes. Could you call your best friend right now and tell them your biggest secret, and trust them to keep it?  HAHAHAHA NO tbh.  I love her, but she tells people everything. Have you ever played Wii Fit?  Yup.  Everyday one summer, lost 40 pounds, got in great shape. Have you ever touched a caterpillar?  Yeah, loved picking up the ordinary ones as a kid. Is there a YouTube channel whose videos you always watch?  I will watch literally any video Mark makes. How often do you feel lonely?  This is like.  Almost a daily struggle. Do you struggle with depression?  I'm diagnosed with it, but it's well-controlled now! While in a relationship, do you ever think about its possible end?  I worry about it BADLY.  Even in my current one where I feel completely secure, I have some spans of "what if" anxiety. What is the worst treatment you’ve had to put up with from someone else?  Ummmm.  I dunno. What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating?  24 hours, probs. Do you like watching music videos?  No.  I just care about the music. Which, if any, drug have you ever abused?  None. Do you know your mail (wo)man?  No. Honestly, are you often high-maintenance/hard to please?  No. Are there any flags flying outside at your home?  No. Will you vote in the next presidential election?  If the remaining candidates don't fucking suck, yes. Tell me about someone that you know dislikes you. What do you think is about you they don’t like?  The one person I know doesn't is my best friend's mom, but I can't tell you exactly why.  There's no telling what Colleen told her after our fight, but.  Colleen has told me her mom thinks I could "hurt" her son somehow.  I was fucking livid.  I adore that boy and would do anything to protect him.  Oh yeah, know she mentioned I was a bad influence, too.  But hey, the hate is mutual, I've never been able to stand her. Tell me about something you’re afraid of. Why does it frighten you?  Getting heartbroken again.  Last time tore me the fuck apart, I seriously don't know if I could do it again.  Worst pain I have ever experienced. Is there someone you could hang out with all the time, without ever getting bored of them?  Sara <3 Have you ever liked someone else when you already had a boyfriend/girlfriend? What happened?  Yup, first high school crush Sebastian.  And nothing really happened; he was taken (though I'm pretty sure he had at least mild feelings for me too), though it was at a complicated point.  Then I met Jason. What mountain ranges have you seen?  The Appalachians. Where would you most like to go in your state, etc that you haven’t been?  THERE'S AN ABANDONED WIZARD OF OZ-THEMED PARK IN THE WEST AND I WANNA VISIT. Have you ever seen or touched an iceberg?  No. Where was the most remote location you’ve ever been to? I dunno. What is your most unhealthy habit? Not exercising? Has your house ever been damaged in a storm? A tree fell on our old house during a hurricane.  It didn't cause severe damage or anything, though. What’s the least amount you’ve weighed since reaching your full height? ~118.  Hilarious. Do you think it’s cruel to keep an animal in a cage while you’re away?  Depends on the size of the cage and how long they're staying in there. Are you scared of reptiles?  Not at all. Does death scare you?  Not that much. Do you use a comb or brush?  Comb now that my hair's short. When you were younger, did you ever do that exclamation point that looked like an upside down triangle and had a really big dot?  No. What kind of relationship do you have with the last person you kissed?  She's my girlfriend. Are there things in your life that you’ll never be able to get over?  If I could get over my breakup, I can get over anything. Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem?  New Years of 2017 I actually did try to get drunk for that purpose. Would you mind dating someone significantly shorter than you?  No. What’s on your bedside table? Yeesh, a lot.  A fan, a basket with all my meds in it, sketchbook, notebook, my folder full of things from Holly Hill as well as my therapy homework folder.  There's other miscellaneous stuff too. How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year?  This is pathetic, but probably like... no amount.  My life sadly revolves around it, just about. What are some things on your holiday wishlist?  Always tattoo money lmao.  But I'd really love a drawing tablet, but a decent quality one.  Can't have both. Who accompanied you to your first concert?  Jason, Mom, and Nicole. What’s the temperature outside?  Phone says 79.  Gonna get to 90, though. Have you ever been in detention?  Yes, too many tardies getting to school. Do you wear black to look skinnier?  Not for that reason, but it's a plus lol. Do you have scars on your wrists?  You can barely see them, but they're there. How about anywhere else?  Yeah, quite a few. Do you post things on Facebook that are personal?  No. Has the last person you kissed ever taken their shirt off in front of you?  Just to change it. Would you ever get in the passenger seat of a car with someone who’s been drinking?  Fuck that. What is a topic you definitely don’t want to talk about with anyone?  How I'm 99% sure I lost my virginity. What is the craziest hairstyle and color you’ve had?  Style, probably what I had before this where I had short hair on most of my left side and it faded to long.  Color, purple. What was your first gaming console?  Original PlayStation. Which fictional villain is your favorite?  Um obviously Darkiplier???????? What’s the last thing you’ve made with your hands?  Hm.  Dunno. Which hair color would you never want to have?  Yellow. Who’s the last person you talked to about sex?  Sara. What is the wallpaper on your phone?  My lock screen is a heavy reminder that I am still straight as fuck for Mark, home screen is my favorite pic of me and Sara. What was the last thing you wrote down?  Stuff at the tattoo/piercing parlor to get my tongue done. What is your least favorite color?  Puke green or olive. What’s the most boring sport to watch?  Golf.  Sara, don't tell your dad I said that.

[itsybitsybatsyspider]

If You Give a Troll a Taco

Part 1/?

Summary: Jamie Bennett knew that a lot can happen during the night. He just never thought that he could make friends with a half-troll and aspiring wizard with tacos. 

Notes: takes place 4 months after the Battle of Arcadia and 6 years after the encounter with Pitch Black. Jamie is 15 years old and still believes in the Guardians. Jamie has been taught by the Guardians how to defend himself and he sometimes helps them with problems that they have or just as a helping hand. And Claire is learning magic from Merlin. She has a new staff now, and i’ll reveal the powers of that one in later chapters. Switching perspectives.  

warnings: minor swearing

word count: no clue. I’m just writing this as i go. 

ENJOY!!

               All Jamie wanted to do that night was sleep. But no, he had to study for his damn science test in the morning. Why did he have to have science as his very first class of the day? Why did the school have to give tests so early? Why did he have to be so bad at it in the first place? Why didn’t he listen to Jack about skipping science till sophomore year? He banged his head on the table and let out a groan. A loud thud resonated through his room and Jamie winced at how loud it was. He didn’t want to accidentally wake up his mom, or worse... Sophie. He was thankful when he heard no sound come out of their rooms. Heaving one last sigh he sat back up in his chair and spun around. Overlooking his room as he twirled around. 

Over the years, it had changed drastically but a few things still remained the same. Like the positioning of his bed, the drawing he made when he was nine with him flying on his sled, the desk stayed in the same spot and so did his bookshelves. But other than, everything was different. A lot was different these days. It was kind of hard to remember the way things were in the times when Jamie had still been a kid. Oh, how he missed those days. Spending hours outside with his friends, playing with Abby, his greyhound, and watching cartoons with Sophie. Sometimes he wished he could go back to those days. But alas, Father Time said no when he had asked, and what Father Time says goes. The encounter had left him a little disappointed. But what could Jamie do about it? Now, he barely had much time to go outside, with his job, chores, homework, and school getting in the way. He still hung out with his friends, but it just wasn’t the same anymore. Abby died a few years ago when he was in seventh grade, and it had really hurt him. He had loved that dog and he knew that there’d never be another one like her. But he was bitterly happy for her. She was getting old and it was her time to go, but that didn’t make the ordeal any less sad. And as for watching cartoons with Sophie, well, let’s just say that Sophie got a lot more annoying than she had been six years ago. So hanging out with her frustrated him a bit. Jack had mentioned that once he got older, he would connect with Sophie more and care for her more than he did then; but that time still hadn’t come yet. So yes, his life was different. And sometimes he wished to have a bit of excitement one more time. Just for old times’ sake. But his wish hasn’t been answered yet. 

Jamie shook his head, trying to clear his mind and gather his thoughts as he kept indirectly procrastinating. He glanced at the clock next to his textbook, his shoulders sinking in defeat. It was 1 in the morning. He was going to fail his test for sure. And on that note, he closed his book shut, gathered his papers and notes and proceeded to put it all into his backpack. But while he was doing so, a clash rang through his room. Jamie jolted in surprised and almost yelped. Heart beating loudly in his chest, he tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. Then he heard talking, or more like scolding. 

“C’mon, Zulg! Don’t do that! You know we can’t do that! What do i keep telling you?” Someone, a boy, scolded. He sounded to be about Jamie’s age, but Jamie couldn’t tell exactly. There was something off about his voice that just didn’t seem right.

“To not dig through the metal cans.” another voice said. This one sounded gruff, as if the person who owned it was gargling rocks. 

“Because?” the boy said. 

“Because it can risk someone seeing us.” The rocky voice replied, sounding meek, obviously ashamed that he got caught. 

Curious, Jamie crept towards his window, careful to not make any noise. Even though it was unlikely that they could even hear his footsteps, he still thought it better to be as quiet as possible. He thought of different scenarios as to how this would be a normal conversation, to anyone, but he couldn’t come up with a single one. Why would someone be going through his trash anyways? Or not want to “risk” someone seeing them? It was probably just a couple of hobos right? But none of that was even close to what it truly was. He wouldn’t have expected in a million years, to see talking, living stone walking through his back alley. Jamie’s jaw hit the floor. He had never seen anything like them in the six years he had been around magic! What were they? They were all different colors, and had what looked like fur on top of their bodies in differing locations. Strange grooves were carved into their “skin” that somewhat resembled tattoos and some of them had pointed ears or horns curving out of their heads. Jamie was stunned to say the least. None of the Guardians had ever mentioned such a thing like them!

Two of them in particular, caught Jamie’s attention. One was a normal looking girl, about his age, with raven hair and a white streak going through it; she wore a casual purple t-shirt, some cargo capris, hiking boots, and a black backpack. She would’ve passed for a regular high schooler if it wasn’t for the glowing purple bracers and greaves she was wearing on her arms and legs.

 But compared to the person she was walking beside, she looked ordinary. He was tall. That Jamie knew for sure. He looked like one of the stone-beings, but also looked too much like the girl to be one of them. He had blue “skin” and long ears that peaked out from his nest of hair. But the horns were the most distinctive part of him, that clearly said he wasn’t human. Jamie could already tell, by the way he held himself, that he didn’t wanna mess with him. He stood and walked the exact same way Bunny or North did. Like he knew how to handle himself or fight at a moment’s notice. The “boy” wore a large sweater and those baggy pants that were elastic at the bottom. What were they called again? Oh, right! Joggers. He was wearing joggers. But they seemed to be just a bit small on him, as if he was in a rush while he was getting them. He wasn’t wearing small bits of armor like the girl was, which confused Jamie a little bit. But he still seemed just as ready for an attack. He watched as they slowly began to make their way past his house. 

Jarring out of his stupor, Jamie realized that they weren’t gonna be there for long, if they kept walking at their pace. So as quickly and quietly as he could, he walked to his bed stand and unplugged his phone that was charging; he went to the window and quickly opened the camera app, taking a swift picture of the stone-beings as they walked away. But he forgot to turn his flash off.

Oh, shit! 

Jamie ducked down underneath his window right when he heard a girl’s voice say. “What was that!?” 

shit shit shit shit shit shit please think it was nothing, please think it was nothing, please think it was nothing!

“Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t good. We have to keep moving. Let’s find somewhere to set camp.” the boy from before said. Nobody said anything after that. It was quiet, and for a few minutes Jamie was too anxious to peak over the windowsill again in case they were still there. But after about twenty minutes of sitting on the cold wooden floor, he gathered enough to courage to check outside. There was nothing. Jamie breathed a sigh of relief and got up off of the floor. 

Shuffling to his bed, he laid down beneath the cool crisp sheets and thought about what he saw. He’d have to tell Jack about this the next time he visited Burgess, and of course he’d tell his friends at school tomorrow. This was more exciting and important than some silly old science test. He could tell that it was the start of something, he just didn’t know what. But one thing was for sure. He wouldn’t be getting a lot of sleep tonight.

“Guys, i’m telling you! There were like stone creatures behind my house last night!” Jamie said to his friends while they were sitting together at lunch the next day. 

“Jamie come on. When was the last time something like this happened? It’s been years since we’ve seen that many myths in one place, and you’re telling us that you’re the only to see them?” Claude whispered skeptically to Jamie. They were all a bit wary when Jamie told them what he saw last night. To them, it just sounded like a dream from a conspiracy theorist freshman who stayed up too late and had one too many Redbulls. So of course they were gonna be a bit cynical to Jamie’s claim of seeing stone-beings in his backyard. 

“The only reason i saw them was because they were going through my trash cans and the noise startled me while i was studying for today’s science test!”

“You don’t think it could’ve been just a few hobos that were going through your trash?” Pippa suggested. She trusted Jamie when it came to these kind of things, but based on how late it was and how much studying he did, she knew it was enough to make anyone hallucinate. 

“No, Pippa, there weren’t any hobos! They were creatures made of stone! Simple as that!” 

Cupcake grunted in annoyance. “Pictures or it didn’t happen.” Jamie went to grab his phone. “And by ‘pictures’ i don’t mean that blur of a screen you call proof.” Jamie’s hand fell. And so did his confidence. 

“Why won’t you guys believe me? Has the last six years really changed you that much?” Jamie asked. His friends didn’t answer him, which only made him feel even better about the situation. 

“Like Cupcake said,” Monty began, “Pictures, or it didn’t happen.” 

Jamie’s face scrunched up in mild disgust. He couldn’t believe what his friends were saying right now. Why were they doubting him all of a sudden? Is this gonna be a repeat of what happened six years ago? Cause Jamie really wished that it wasn’t. “You know what? Fine! I’ll get pictures. And I’ll have ‘em by tomorrow. See you guys later.” He said as he packed up his stuff, threw away his lunch garbage, and walked out of the cafeteria. 

He was determined to get those pictures, and he didn’t really care if he had to pull another all nighter to get them. And besides, it probably wasn’t going to be any more dangerous than taking on Pitch Black, or sparring with North or being the target of one of Jack’s pranks. Right?    

Boy, this was a bad idea. Jamie thought as he walked through the streets of Burgess. What was i thinking? He began his search right after school, and it was 9 o’clock at night right now. He had been walking around Burgess for six hours, and nothing. Nothing to show for his hard work and nothing to show his friends for tomorrow. Jamie grunted in frustration and kicked a rock. 

“Ugh, this is hopeless!” he exclaimed to no one in particular. “How can i not find a group of walking rocks the size of cars that shuffle through garbage cans in the middle of the night! Honestly.” He kicked another rock. “Might as well go home.” he mumbled to himself. Shoulders sinking in defeat, Jamie turned around and began his trek home. He was on the other side of Burgess, and the only thing separating him from his house, was Lionel Park. Usually, the park was closed at this hour, but on more than one occasion Jamie would walk through it during a rough night or when Jack was visiting. The park was a good place to have a conversation no one could hear, and it made it easier than talking in his room. Jack could get claustrophobic easily and sometimes his mom would hear them talking when she walked past Jamie’s door. Or more like, he’d hear Jamie talking to “himself”.  So they both thought it better to just chat in the park. It also helped Jack get more believers. 

The park was quiet, as it always was at night, and the only sound that could be heard were the crunch of Jamie’s footsteps, crickets chirping by the pond, and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. It was dark, as September nights always were, and the shadows of trees adorned the ground, creating mesmerizing patterns making the shadows look dark and deep enough that if you made one misstep, they’d swallow you whole. The cold September wind bit into his nose and ears, making him shiver as he walked. You’d think that hanging around a winter spirit most of the time would make you used to the cold. Apparently not. The sky was clear that night, and Jamie looked up at the stars as he kept going along his usual path, mentally pointing out the constellations he recognized. Another wind blew, and his nose and ears were nipped at again. The leaves rustled, his feet crunched the dead leaves beneath his feet. It was quiet. 

Hold on.... Quiet?

Jaime froze. His eyes wide, body stiff and tense, but not from the cold. Ready for something to happen. A year after the events with Pitch, North took it upon himself to teach Jaime a few things, just in case Pitch showed up again wanting revenge on him. Soon, Jack joined in, and then Bunny too. Eventually. The only problem, was that they taught him how to use swords or boomerangs, or staffs. Barely any hand to hand. So Jaime was worried. He kept his ears open, and listened for any small noise that gave away his supposed attacker. When he heard nothing, Jamie began to walk again, slower, this time. Eyes and ears still open. A twig snapped and Jamie froze once more. 

shink!  

Standing barely a foot away from Jamie, was a gleaming silver sword, buried halfway to it’s hilt and glowing menacingly in it’s silver light. His heart pounded inside his chest and his blood roared in his ears. Every instinct he had was telling him to Run Away! but he couldn’t move! His mind went blank and he couldn’t think... all he could hear was the roar of a beast he had never heard of before, and the flash of silver light before he squeezed his eyes shut, and waited for.....................

[pottergerms]

Ouch, my heart: an analysis of the Sectumsempra

Well, well well…. look who’s back from the dead (me, if you couldn’t guess).

First of all, I want to apologise for not doing these for so long. Things got a little insane in my life. I haven’t had time to blink these days, but here I am, because I love you all.

First of all: thank you and sorry it took me over a year to do this. And second of all: of course I can! 

I think this is the post everyone was waiting for and I have no idea if I'm ready for it. Wait. I know I'm not.

But since I'm either a masochist or already too numb from all the pain this ship causes me, I'll try anyway. Fuck the police.

I'll open this discussion with Harry's last thought about Draco before the horrible tragedy that we call Sectumsempra:

Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that greyish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, or excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort … there could be only one conclusion, in Harry’s opinion: the mission, whatever it was, was going badly.

Ok, let's start by the fact Harry says Draco has a "swagger". Not my words!

And also: Yer a stupid wizard, Harry.

The boy is falling behind in classes, he's sad and lonely, he looks sick, you know he's terrified he's not pleasing Voldemort. So instead of trying to help him, you go and use a spell for enemies on him. A boy genius.

I don't even know why I'll point this out again, but it's not normal to keep noticing those things about people you don't care about, ok? It's just not done. You're fooling yourself!

Meanwhile, Harry is getting desperate here. If it's because Draco looks sick or because he couldn't find out what his mission was, we'll never know. But he knows he's running out of time, and he has other personal problems to deal with, like the horcruxes and his huge crush *sarcasm* on Ginny.

And coincidentally his crush on her seems to grow, suddenly. Almost like it's a distraction... hm. She's exactly like the opposite of his true crush, I mean, obsession, I mean... Malfoy. She makes him forget, instead of making him feel like everything is falling apart; she doesn't have any problems besides boys and Quidditch, while Draco's buried in shit.

But still, he thinks about her far less than he thinks about *someone else*. Because a constant in this book is that nothing is more pressing than Draco Malfoy. Not the Prince himself, not the horcruxes, not girls or Quidditch. Nothing.

In the midst of all his preoccupations Harry had not forgotten his other ambition: finding out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. He was still checking the Marauder’s Map and, as he was often unable to locate Malfoy on it, deduced that Malfoy was still spending plenty of time within the Room.

Oh yeah, in the midst of his problems, one being he didn't know if Ginny was worth upsetting Ron (and if that's not an indicative that she's not your one true love, Harry, I don't know what is), he still has plenty of time to obsess over Draco Malfoy.

Just healthy, really.

And now, because I didn't forget the real issue here, let's read what brilliant thoughts Harry Potter has about the Sectumsempra:

...he saw the Sectumsempra spell, captioned ‘For Enemies’, that he had marked a few weeks previously. He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Hermione, but he was considering trying it out on McLaggen next time he came up behind him unawares.

Oh yeah! He was considering trying the Sectumsempra on Cormac! That's how much of a genius he is. Harry, go study some latin before you use a fucking spell, will ya?

I mean, you would think that a boy who lost both parents to a curse and studied Charms for 6 years would think to at least check the etymology of a spell before using it on another human being. Or not, if you're stupid as fuck!

Ok, so are you ready for the heartbreak? *takes deep breath*

Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder’s Map as he went. For a moment he could not find Malfoy anywhere, and assumed he must indeed be inside the Room of Requirement again, but then he saw Malfoy’s tiny, labelled dot standing in a boys’ bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe or Goyle, but by Moaning Myrtle.

First of all, Harry, why??? What kind of dodgy business could he be planning with the ghost of a muggleborn girl murdered by Voldemort? If anything, that shows he's really not who you think he is.

It took me years after reading this book to realise Draco was confessing to a mudblood, and a victim of Voldemort. To me, that's a symbol of how his views were changing and how, in the end, he was a victim, not a villain. He was like her in a way. 

Also, how fucking lonely he was. *sobbing*

God, that makes me so mad! This is the only time Harry really disappointed me and I think he fucking knows it. He disappointed himself too.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

‘Don’t,’ crooned Moaning Myrtle’s voice from one of the cubicles. ‘Don’t … tell me what’s wrong… I can help you …’

‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’

And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin.

To be honest, I can't choose what's worse about this whole thing. Draco confessing to a ghost, because he has no one (and not just any ghost, but the one everyone can't stand)? The fact he is crying because he's so scared?

Or maybe the fact that Harry is just so stupid he can't use simple logic and understand that, whatever this is, Draco doesn't have a choice???

Ouch, my heart just broke real quick.

Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Malfoy wheeled round, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another –

(...)

There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’

I can't imagine how humiliated he feels, and how terrified he is, because not only was he crying because of Voldemort, but now Harry Potter knows too much. And Harry won't help him, he's sure of that.

You know what breaks me? They start do duel with childish hexes and curses, and it escalates so quickly, before any of them can take a moment to realise the seriousness of it.

And I wish Draco was going to say "Crucifix nail nipples!", but we know he was not. But do you wanna know what I believe? If he had time to finish saying the word, nothing would happen, and Harry would be able to see he's not evil. He obviously didn't mean the Crucio. 

But before he has that chance, Harry goes and fucks up royally:

‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.

Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backwards and collapsed on to the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.

‘No –’ gasped Harry.

Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged towards Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.

‘No – I didn’t –’

Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood.

To be honest, Harry never in a million years thought that would be a lethal curse. Never. He wanted to test it on McLaggen!

I can't stand this moment, I can't. I makes me tear up every time.

Because there is Draco's physical pain, which was probably horrible, then there's his emotional pain, because he's at his most vulnerable moment and it's such a betrayal! Harry is one of the good guys. He was afraid Voldemort would do something like that to him, not Harry. And that is so so so sad.

And there's Harry's pain as well, because he's fucking terrified. He knows Draco is dying, he knows he did something unthinkable, he knows he fucked up. Sometimes I can't believe Draco actually saved Harry after that, because this probably haunted him for a long time.

Just imagine seeing someone surrounded by their own blood, with deep cuts and shaking in pain. I don't think you can forget it that easily. Especially if you were responsible for it.

And you know what makes me angry? That Harry compartmentalises what he's feeling so well that it's like two different people: one when he's alone, looking at what he did, and one once he finds his friends. It's maddening.

But there's a reason for that, and we'll get into it soon.

“Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wailing overhead. When Snape had performed his counter-curse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.

‘You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that … come …’

He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turning at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, ‘And you, Potter … you wait here for me.’

It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstains floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.”

I love the way JKR describes how Harry sees it, how vivid are the consequences of what happened. And I obviously love how Snape tells Draco it might scar, possibly more for Harry to hear than for him. Snape knows him well, he knows the guilt trip he could go into and is trying to push him into it. And Harry deserves it.

It doesn't happen, though, because immediately after, he goes to find his friends (and Ginny), who make him forget about his feelings.

But before we get into that, I'd like to talk about the symbolism of Harry finding the room of hidden things when he's trying to hide the book. It's the room he's been trying to get in all year, and it's almost like a physical representation of Draco at this point.

It's very interesting how he can suddenly get in, almost like the barriers are all down, almost like Draco stopped caring about hiding it from him. Almost like he's so sad and hopeless he stops trying. Thinking about the wave of disappointment he must be feeling, it's very possible that Draco's feelings were an influence in the door showing up for Harry.

Anyway, then Harry tells his friends about what just happened and they respond exactly like you would expect them too, almost to a stereotypical extreme.

“I won’t say “I told you so”,’ said Hermione, an hour later in the common room. ‘Leave it, Hermione,’ said Ron angrily.”

Isn't it interesting how none of them we just horrified by the whole thing? How Hermione just focuses on the book, not on the teenager almost bleeding to death?

“(...) Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide...”

I just love this sentence. First of all, with all her flaws, I love Pansy. She's just the best friend Draco could have in that moment, because she takes no bullshit. And to be fair, Harry deserved to be vilified. And you can sense his opinions on what he's done are changing because his friends just excuse what he did, especially Ginny:

“Give it a rest, Hermione!’ said Ginny, and Harry was so amazed, so grateful, he looked up. ‘By the sound of it Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!”

I hated her so much in that moment. What Harry did it's inexcusable, and he knows it. So it hurts my eyes to see her say something so dismissive. Draco would not be able to actually Crucio him and, deep down, Harry knows it. He doesn't even try to convince himself he's faultless, that it was self-defense.

Ok, so let's expand on Ginny's rare presence being right in this chapter.

It's no coincidence this is the same chapter where Harry kisses Ginny for the first time. Remember what I mentioned in the beginning of this post? The whole of Half-Blood Prince is built using a parallel between Harry's relationship with Draco and his relationship with Ginny to move the plot in the right direction.

“Hermione and Ginny, who had always got on together very well, were now sitting with their arms folded, glaring in opposite directions. Ron looked nervously at Harry, then snatched up a book at random and hid behind it. Harry, however, though he knew he little deserved it, felt unbelievably cheerful all of a sudden, even though none of them spoke again for the rest of the evening.”

I mean, come on. He literally buries his guilt in giddiness because Ginny is defending him. Defending him against something he knows is his fault. She's helping him forget Malfoy. Again.

And this chapter is so cleverly written it splits his feelings with the places and situations he's in: when he's with Snape, in the dungeons, he can feel the guilt as a physical presence. Snape makes sure he understands that the detention is about making him feel guilty:

“Mr Filch has been looking for someone to clear out these old files,’ said Snape softly. ‘They are the records of other Hogwarts wrongdoers and their punishments. Where the ink has grown faint, or the cards have suffered damage from mice, we would like you to copy out the crimes and punishments afresh and, making sure that they are in alphabetical order, replace them in the boxes. You will not use magic.”

When he thinks about Gryffindor and Ginny, he forgets about any negative thing happening with him: 

“And while he copied out all their various offences and punishments, he wondered what was going on outside, where the match would have just started … Ginny playing Seeker against Cho …”

To be honest, that is one of the things that always bothered me with this ship being canon. Ginny never sees the Harry we see, she always sees someone who's always right, someone who's the hero. And Harry only sees Ginny as a ladder to a life he wants so desperately. A life with no complications, with a family, with giddiness and lightness. He holds onto her because she makes him forget all the horrible things he has gone through, and that's one reason why he never tells her anything: he wants her in a bell jar, untouched by his traumas.

And we all know that's not who he really is. The final proof is how this chapter ends:

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

(...)

The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.”

This moment is like a completely different book. It's a fantasy. Something Harry knew couldn't last. It was escapism.

This chapter is also the last before Malfoy finally figures out how to fix the cabinet and Harry goes with Dumbledore to retrieve the horcrux. It's almost like a tragic farewell to the relationship the two of them had prior to thing getting fucking serious. It all changes after that.

The Sectumsempra in itself changes everything. Harry, someone who we know as heroic and honourable, commits an act that shifts what we know about him, and at the same time Draco, who up until then we see as a bidimensional character, comes alive and gets layers on top of layers. It's the only possible introduction to what happens in Deathly Hallows. Tragic and horrible, but beautiful to watch.

I mean, I could go on and on. If I had the time, I would probably debate every single sentence in this book that, to me, is the most symbolic and crucial of them all.

But I do have a job, so this will do. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

[aboysbestfriendishismum]

Chapter 44 - The date, the non-date and the no date

In the previous chapter: Melanie gets mad at Mike in front of all his friends because he didn’t tell her Meg was his ex girlfriend, Meg gets mad too and the two girls end up joining forces against him. Violet tries to have her way with Eddie once again and he finally tells her that the girl who stole his heart is Angie. Violet’s reaction is pretty weird: she leaves the club laughing histerically. In the meantime, the Alice in Chains guys, later joined by Mike McCready too, are trying to console and cheer up Jerry, who’s still shaken for his poor figure with Angie’s dad. His friends try to convince him Ray has no idea who he really is anyway and Angie’ll never tell her dad about him, and he apparently calms down, at least until he remembers telling Ray about intimate details of his sexual life with his ex girlfriend. Later that night, the gang plus Ray go to a bonfire party on the beach. Ray smokes weed with his daughter. We find out Ray’s wife is not Angie’s biological mother. Eddie’s with Angie the whole time and looks kinda jealous when she, pretty drunk, has a funny exchange with Mark Arm. 

***

“Have you heard anything from Mike by any chance?” my roomie asks distractedly after she kindly said goodbye to a customer at the minimart. 

“No, thank god” I grumble, my mouth full of chocolate rolls, my breakfast, I’ve just bought here. Since Angie came up with the idea of excercising, dieting and living a healthy life, sweet food never entered our house again. As if my life couldn’t be worse.

“Well, you’ll have to talk to him sooner or later. I mean, I think you should”

“What? Really? I had no idea this was your opinion. Oh wait, maybe I should have known, since it’s just the 80th time you share it with me”

She’s been going on with this for days, since the night when shit happened between Mike, Mel and I. Of course, she does it her way, trying not to get noticed too much, a little question here, a remark there… after all, I am the one who noses around other people’s life, not her!

“If I share my opinion, it means that I think it’s good”

“It may be good for you, but not for me. And nobody asked you anyway” I add with a smile, before eating what’s left of the second chocolate roll in one single bite.

“Are you not exactly subtly trying to tell me I’m being intrusive?”

“Noooo, not at all! And you’d never be, how could you? I mean, you’re the one who hates when other people pry into her life… nah!”

“My situation is completely different”

“Really? And why?” I’m really curious to hear her excuse.

“Because I’m not telling you to forgive Mike or get back with him”

“Also because if you did, you should be hospitalized in a mental institution or something”

“I’m just suggesting you two meet and do some straight talk once and for all, then you’ll decide” she shrugs as she explains and keeps drawing her little squares on the notepad placed on the counter right in front of her.

“Decide what? How to kill him? Ok, I might accept some advice about the weapon choice if you insist”

“Meg”

“Listen, Angie, I’ve got nothing to tell him and don’t wanna listen to what he has to say, the situation is clear to me”

“Well, good for you that you’ve got your mind made up already, I think I haven’t fully understood Mike yet, maybe just a little”

“I have and I’ll gladly explain Mike to you. At the beginning I was confused too, I thought he was just some guy who didn’t really know what he wanted from his life, someone who creates trouble by simply moving, but basically not a bad person; just someone who hurts you by mistake, unwillingly, only because he does’t know how to avoid it. Like a kitty who hasn’t learnt how to retract its claws yet and scratches you when actually all he wants to do is play with you” I explain and Angie puts her pen down, folds her arms over the counter and starts smiling at me like I think I’ve never seen her before since I met her. She’s almost scary.

“Oh really?”

“Yes. And why the fuck are you smiling like that?”

“You’ve just compared Mike to a kitten”

“A kitten who claws the living hell out of your face”

“A cute and tender kitty cat”

“A fucking scruffy cat carelessly bleeding you dry”

“Still a cute kitten”

“No, I thought he was… a puppy… now I realized he does it on purpose. He really does have fun playing and messing with other people’s feelings, as a sadistic asshole”

“Hahaha who?? Mike?”

“Sure. And there’s nothing to laugh about. Don’t let that sweet and innocent look fool you, his soul is pitch black as the night”

“Sweet uh?” she asks wiggling her eyebrows.

“Fuck you, Angie”

“Meg, I think you’re overreacting”

“Overreacting? Next time you have problems with a guy, I’m gonna laugh at your face as you’re doing with me and tell you not to overreact” I grumpily retort, balling up the wrapper of the chocolate roll and throwing it towards Angie’s face. But she catches it. These trainings with Fitness Wizard Henry Rollins must have improved her reflexes too.

“I’m not laughing at you, it’s just that Mike doesn’t really seem this heartless evil mastermind, that’s all. I’m more for the unwilling confused kitten hypothesis” she answers and throws the wrapping into the bin behind her back.

“At any rate, the kitten’s almost 25 years old, it’s about time to wake up a little”

“I think there were some awakening signals… it’s just about being able to understand them” she remarks, clearly implying something I’m surely about to find out.

“And I didn’t understand them?”

“It’s more that you interpreted them the wrong way”

“Can you elaborate, please?”

“Do you really think Mike didn’t tell Melanie about you because you’re not important to him?”

“If not for that, why then?”

“Well, maybe just because you are important to him, because deep inside he still has feelings for you and didn’t want his girlfriend to mess up your friendship, which in the end was all he had left of you”

“What you say doesn’t make sense from the beginning: he has feelings for me, but he has another girlfriend? Shouldn’t he be with me then? Why isn’t he with me?”

“Ehm… maybe because you told him to fuck off the infamous night of the show at the Off Ramp?”

“Technically yes. But he wasn’t with me even before that, he didn’t want to commit, so the reason is something else”

“Probably he doesn’t want to commit because is insecure, he’s afraid of making a mess of it and, given what happened lately, I’d say it’s a rather well-founded fear. And then… haven’t you ever thought that maybe he feels you’re out of his league?”

“Out of… what the fuck are you talking about?” McCready with a complex?! That’s new!

“Well, you know, you’re beautiful, funny, smart and strong, you know lots of people and basically every guy has a crush on you and would sell one of their kidneys to go out with you”

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Hahaha no, I just wanted to say that, you know, sometimes men can suffer from inferiority complex, with or without a reason. And not just men. It’s a little like me and Jerry… ok, that was a different story, but I’m not talking about the sad ending, I refer to the beginning, before all the shit: when I first met him I thought he was as beautiful as a Greek god and I’d have never remotely dreamt about me and him being together because, I mean, look at me”

“And you were stupid and I always told you”

There she is, talking nonsense as usual! I don’t mind the conversation to focus a little more on her and Jerry uh, I’m kind of tired of talking about Mike after all. But I can’t stand her when she puts herself down like this, I can’t help it. Apart from the fact that she’s so cute and could be with any guy, I can’t believe such a smart girl really gives so much importance to appearance.

“And even when he started to, you know, hit on me, I’ve always kinda avoided him because are you kidding me? Just forget it! And well, maybe that’d have been the wisest choice in that specific case… but ehm that’s not the point. Jerry probably never loved me, but during the months we spent sort of together he must have been vaguely attracted to me at least for a minute, right? Well, I still can’t figure it out, I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. Then, well, the fact he cheated on me didn’t help to convince me he really liked me”

“Angie you’re completely out of your mind, if Jerry was a dick is not because he wasn’t attracted to you, that’s got nothing to do with that” I retort dumbfounded. Ok, Jerry wasn’t the perfect boyfriend, but how can she still doubt he even liked her? There are two possibilities: either her self esteem is lower than I thought or she’s dumb.

“I know but… well, I can’t help thinking that if I looked nicer, none of that would have happened. It’s something I always think about, the answer I give to myself for everything, not just when somebody dumps me. If I were beautiful nobody would have left me…” her voice becomes a little louder but also shakier, as she lists her stupid assumptions “if I were beautiful, Drake the quarterback wouldn’t have dated me only in secret, if I were beautiful I wouldn’t have got the part of the bush in the third grade’s Christmas school play, if I were beautiful I would have got the job as a receptionist in that luxury hotel near the Space Needle, if I were beautiful someone would spontaneously help me get the items from the highest shelves whenever I shop at the supermarket and I wouldn’t be forced to climb them up risking my life every time”

“But you do know there’s absolutely no connection between these things you mentioned and beauty, right?” as if only good looking people were the only ones to go on in life. And then, what does good looking mean? Who sets the standards?

“Rationally I do, but… but no, because I’ve got the deeply-rooted awareness that my life’d be different if I looked better, but my life is imperfect because I don’t and it’s something that’s always with me. It’s not like I’m always thinking about it, I don’t need to, it’s like breathing or hearing, it’s not like you’re always focusing on inhaling and exhaling or on the fact of having ears, but at the same time you breathe and you hear sounds and you don’t need to give too much thought about it to figure out that after four flights of stairs you’re gonna be out of breath if you already know that you’re out of training, you already know it from the first step but you just don’t think about it in the moment because sooner or later your own limits will show up themselves. I don’t need to keep on reminding myself that I’m not beautiful enough because sooner or later I’ll run into something that’ll do that for me.

“Do you think a beautiful person’s life is perfect?”

“No, just easier in certain contexts”

“Well, then your life is very easy, Angie, because you’re a total babe”

“Are you hitting on me?” she uses my previous joke against me.

“Haha no, but I would if we werent’ both extremely heterosexual”

“And it would be pointless anyway because I’d feel so out of your league, like Mike. Maybe” Angie’s so good at changing subject and bringing back Mike again.

“Mike doesn’t have issues about his looks, at least I don’t think so”

“It’s not necessarily about looks, maybe he thinks he’s not cool or strong enough, not loyal enough, funny enough, tall enough, it can be any fucking thing, I don’t know, he might think he’s not left handed enough because he plays guitar right handed” Angie grabs the pen once again and starts drawing a series of thick dots in line, one for each point she mentions.

“Ok, but what can I do about it? It’s his problem, I never did anything to make him insecure”

“Exactly, it’s his problem and he tried to solve it his way, only that way was wrong. For example, how he always told people alternative versions of your relationship, new guys included, like he did with Eddie at the Off Ramp. Kind of the same thing a certain girl did, you know, trying to keep it quiet about her dating a blond-haired guitarist until the end…” she draws a line that goes from the first dot towards the left, ending with an arrow, then she draws an identical one going to the right.

“Uhm”

“Or trying to forget you with Melanie, a girl who’s always adored him and made him feel cool. Kind of the same thing the same unnamed girl we both know did when she let herself go with an old summer fling and thoughtlessly kissed the hell out of him” two more arrows extend from the last dot in the line.

“But I was a bitch to Mike because he deserved that, the long-haired guitarist was an asshole because he is an asshole”

“I’m not saying the two stories are the same, they’re completely different. But there are things about Mike that I can relate to and, in the end, as I already told you, although for different reasons, we both think we got what we deserved, as twisted as it looks to you” the left arrows are now pointing at a small triangle, the right ones at a rectangle.

“Are you on his side then?”

“No, I’m on your side, his and yours. I believe he cares for you and loves you, but the most important thing is what you feel for him. Because you may have spent the latest nights drinking and talking shit about Mike with Mel, but deep inside I think you’re still in love with him, I think you never stopped loving him or  you’d have already set him aside as old paperwork and you wouldn’t have got so mad when you felt he had cancelled you from his life since he hadn’t told Melanie about you” she goes on as she’s focused on filling the two shapes at the sides of the paper with her pen.

I hate it when she’s right, I hate her very often then. Basically always.

“Maybe I got mad because I just hate him”

“Hate is not the opposite of love, this is commonly known also among those who select the love messages they put in chocolate wrappers, which by the way is the job that you end up doing if you’re not hot enough to get a normal job”

“The opposite of love is indifference”

“There you go! Your semester of Psychology turned useful in the end!” she puts down the pen and stretches her right hand towards me for a sarcastic handshake.

“Don’t push your luck, darling”

“Anyway, what I meant is, yeah, finding out what’s going through Mike’s head would be nice, but your feelings are what really matters”

“And you know my feeling better than me I guess”

“You know them too, but you do anything to hide them. And, I must add, in vain”

“So? What should I do now?”

“Well I… I don’t want to influence your choices, you gotta do what you think it’s right for-”

“Just cut the crap and tell me what to do, come on” I’m honest, when I want to pry into other people’s privacy I just do that, without beating around the bush.

“Well, literally quoting the words a dear friend of mine told me some time ago, I’d say that… Mike owes you an explanation anyway, don’t you think? You should ask him to meet you, tonight maybe, and put him under pressure and have him talk to you and if you don’t like what he says… you can always start a fight” Angie’s suggesting to me the same thing I told her when the story about Jerry in New York came out and he went to Roxy’s to take her home. That was some good advice, and not just because it came from me, even though in retrospect I should have told her to castrate him and throw his dick in the frying French fries oil.

“I never back up from a fight”

“What a coincidence, it’s the same thing my dear friend once told me”

“I could invite him over at our place… what do you think? Would it be better in a neutral place?” I can’t help giving up, after all I can’t reject my advice.

“Nah, it’d be better in a place when you’re slightly advantaged. And where he can’t easily run away from. So our apartment is perfect”

“Right”

“And don’t worry, I’ll try and stay away, maybe I could go to the library and study a little. Or at worst, I could ring Chris and Matt’s doorbell with an excuse”

“Oh right, I forgot! You’re not working tonight! I can ask Mike tomorrow or-” I completely forgot she changed her shift.

“Don’t dare using me as an excuse, just do it tonight, talk to him”

“Ok… but… there’s a but”

“And what is it?”

“Melanie. We’re friends now”

“A very honest and strong friendship, built on the hate for Mike McCready”

“Exactly. If she knew I’m seeing Mike she’d hatefully kick my ass”

“Come on, she… she doesn’t need to know right now after all”

“Wait wait, the good girl is telling me to lie?”

“Sure, I lie all the time. But this wouldn’t even be an actual lie, it’s just leaving out a little piece of information, which is still incomplete by the way, since you don’t know how things are gonna evolve yet. When you have the whole picture of the situation, you’ll think about what to tell her. That is just my two cents anyway, then it’s up to you…”

“I see, it’s just-”

“And who told you she wouldn’t be doing the same thing in your place? I mean, honestly I think she’ll likely do the same. She could have done it already in my opinion”

She’s smart, I must admit it.

“Ok, you convinced me”

******************************************************************************************************************************

As soon as I get out of the gallery I instinctively pull my hoodie over my head, as I foresee the usual 16:30 Seattle drizzle. I’m extremely surprise when I notice, not only the total absence of rain drops, both in the air and on the streets, but even more than a few ray of lights pointing right at my face, right now that they’re almost going down. Just like a couple of rare gems for die hard fans only at the end of a pretty traditional setlist. I pull back the hoodie as I mentally forgive myself for the forced music metaphor, blaming the upcoming tour and the making of the album for that. Actually the amount of songs we’ve got would be easily enough for three albums… well, not that much maybe, just a couple of albums and an ep. Anyway, since our creative streak’s still flowing and far from consuming I can’t see why we should stop. Half of our work may end up in the gutter, or most likely in my parents’ garage, but who knows anyway, maybe the best song of our album is yet to be written, maybe we’ll write it right today.

After I went off like a shot, I decide to slow down the pace, partly to enjoy a little more this almost unknown solar experience, partly because after you spent an hour and a half in a basement, yet doing what you love the most, you need to breathe some fresh air at some point, also to clear your mind. I enjoy Seattle in its best light and although the panorama of the stores and offices on the alley between Belltown and Blanchard is not exactly postcard-like, it’s got a charm of its own. Even the red and green on the sign of the 7-Eleven where I go buy cigarettes seem brighter. As I walk back to the gallery I pick up the pace a little, because at the beginning of the practice session Jeff said something about a riff going through his head since last night and I don’t want him to play it to the others first while I’m not there. When I’ve almost got to the graffiti covered building, the female figure sitting on the sidewalk makes me slow down until I completely stop in front of her.

“Oh I’m sorry little girl scout,  I already bought like ten boxes of your cookies, I can’t give myself the munchies every time only to help your cause” I joke as I notice the green dress under Grace’s white jacket and her small braids Laura Ingalls-style.

“Hello to you too, Stone! How are you doing?” she doesn’t stand up, she just rolls her eyes before saying hi.

“Pretty well, thanks! Well apart from my blood sugar level, it’s all those fucking cookies’ fault…”

“Well, you know, us little explorers walk a lot, burn sugar fast, unlike stoned musicians”

“Given your sense of direction, if you’re an explorer I’m a black belt in karate”

“Do you have nice things to tell me too or you’re planning to focus only on making fun of me today?”

“Actually I didn’t prepare anything to tell you, since I had no psychic premonitions telling me I’d have casually met you in the streets this afternooon, so consider I’m improvising with the first things that come to my mind when I think of you”

“Thank you, I’m happy to see you too. But… I’d not call it a completely casual meeting”

“Because you think fate wanted us to meet and so gave you foot pain just outside my practice space so you’d have took a break right here?”

“Hehe you’re not that wrong, you know? Anyway, more simply, I came here specifically to see you”

“Really? Well, thank you for your visit. Are cookies a present then?”

“What’s up with the record and all the rest?” she asks ignoring my bullshit as I sit down beside her.

“It’s alright, we finally managed to get free from our old record company and deal, I don’t know if I already told you. Anyway, we keep on recording new demos. It’s gonna be a problem when it’s time to pick up what’s actually going and not going onto the album”

“A problem you’re gonna solve by choosing yourself on behalf of everyone else, right?”

“Exactly! You may not be a great explorer, but your insightfulness is remarkable. What about you? How’s it going?”

“I’m fine, thanks”

“Great! Are there… any news?”

“What news?”

“News, I don’t know, new things happening to you that you consider somehow interesting or worth telling, events you usually mention in an average conversation between two people”

“Mmm no, nothing new”

“Ok…” and she came here specifically to tell me nothing?

“I don’t live the hectic life of artists like you, you know”

“Did we already get to that point in the conversation when you insult me as well to balance my cruelty?”

“And I’m not as lucky as some of my friends, who work in retail and can tell funny stories about ehm particular customers”

“Customers? Particular? Who are you talking about?” I know well who’s she talking about, now I know why she came here.

“Oh I was thinking about a friend of mine, his name is Pete, I don’t know if I ever mentioned him to you”

“No, I’m afraid not, never heard of him. Unless his surname is Townshend. Or Sampras. But I don’t remember discussing about them with you”

“He’s a clerk in that huge shoe store in downtown Seattle, do you know that? Right in front of the vegan restaurant”

“Mmm yeah, maybe” it only took me a mini-round of phone calls to find out where the jerk she’s going out with works, ten minutes tops and I had the address.

“Ok, well, anyway he told me a really weird story”

“Wow, I can’t wait to hear it” I say distractedly, with a clearly fake enthusiasm, while I open the pack of cigarettes I’ve just bought and light one up.

“Yeah, about a guy who went there yesterday morning and basically drove him insane”

“Uh really? Everybody knows that after all, that’s how it is when you work in retail” I snicker and I’m not that good at hiding it.

“Like he had him take almost every pair of shoes he had in the shop and not a single one was good. And he kept coming up with more and more absurd technical reasons, like the sole was too thick or too narrow, the color was too colorful, the tip was too pointy, but only after giving Pete the illusion he had found the right one each time. And this was the most evil thing in my opinion!”

“Well, shoes are important, uncomfortable shoes can turn your day into a nightmare, think about it”

“Yeah. And the customer left an hour later without buying anything. Pete wanted to kill him”

“Poor Pete” actually it was an hour and fifteen minutes.

“After he tried on a hundred shoes, he asked if that was all they had”

“Really?”

“And the final nail in the coffin was put as he was leaving the store, when he pointed out that anyway he had just entered to have a look because he had no money with him”

“Come on, is Pete sticking his nose in customers’ financial affairs now?”

“And you… I bet you don’t know anything about it? I mean, about this story…”

“In fact, I know a lot about it!”

“You admit it then?!” she turns around to face me with wide open eyes, thinking she caught me.

“Sure I know about it, you’ve just told me everything!”

So naive.

“Ha-ha, really funny…”

“That wasn’t a joke”

“So have you got anything to do with it? Wasn’t it you, the annoying customer?”

“Not at all, who told you?”

“Nobody, it’s just that Pete’s description of the man reminded me of someone, you know: slender, long hair, big doe eyes, smart ass smile, nice teeth, leopard vest. Does that ring any bells with you?” she turns back around, looking right in front of her.

“If that’s the exact description Pete gave to you, I’d seriously start questioning your boyfriend’s sexuality if I were you, Grace”

“I may have reworked the description a little. Anyway, who told you Pete’s my boyfriend?” she asks me with a side look.

“I tried to guess. Isn’t he?”

“No, he’s not”

“No?”

“I went out with him a couple of times, but I soon realized he’s not really my type and it was the same for him. So we’re just friends”

“Uhm I see. Anyway I didn’t drive your new friend nuts” I retort trying to look totally indifferent at the news.

“That’s too bad though”

“Is it?”

“Well, for a moment I thought it could be you, that you might have been jealous, or simply annoyed, and that you went there with the evil intent of irritating him”

“What?! Hahahah jealous? And wha-” I stand up bursting out in a pretty exaggerated laughter, but what comes next is so unexpected that makes me fall completely silent in a second.

“Do you have any plans for after your rehearsal, Stone?”

“After? Well, I don’t know, after practice I’ll probably go get something to eat and then it depends”

“And what if you go out for dinner with me and then we take a walk?”

“With you?”

“Yeah. Would you like that?”

“And where?”

“Uhm I don’t know, I’d be curious to try that vegan restaurant, what do you think?”

“It’s a trap! You want to take me to Pete for an identification!”

“Hahaha no, Pete won’t be there. And by the way, you’d have got nothing to be afraid of since it wasn’t you…”

“Will you pay for dinner?” I ask her after pretending to ponder about it for a while, in the meantime it seems like she wants to stand up as well.

“If I pay for dinner, you’ll pay for the cinema” she answers and holds out her hand for me to help her up.

“Cinema? Is there cinema too? Isn’t the walk enough?”

“Dinner+walk+movies”

“In this order?”

“We have dinner first, then we can digest our meal by walking and then we can rest at the movie theater, everything has a logic”

“Are you sure you can make it to the movies? You’re tired already, you can’t even stand up”

“Ok well, I’ll be there in front of the vegan restaurant at 7:00 waiting, it’s up to you then. Bye Stone!” she shakes her head, waves her hand bye at me and is about to leave.

“I’ve got practice with the band until seven, make it half past seven” I finally cut the crap and give her a serious answer, so that Grace stops in her tracks and slowly turns around.

“I’ll be there at half past six then” she winks at me, then disappears before I can even say anything, not because she’s fast, she walks away slowly, but rather because she left me totally speechless. And it’s not something that happens to me very often, quite the contrary. And me being left speechless leaves me even more speechless, in an amazed and amazing muteness.

At some point I wake up from my state and come back to reality, so to speak, not completely since I walk up to the main entrance of the art gallery, temporarily forgetting that it’s closed today and that I need to get in from the backdoor. I call myself an idiot before walking around the building and when I’m about to knock on the big door I almost get it right in my face.

“Hey Stone, this is perfect timing. You got any change?” Eddie comes out looking at the sky above him, probably as surprised as I was for the lack of rain, and waves a banknote under my nose.

“Yes, wait, I got some spare change after buying cigarettes”

And apparently, I’ve also got a date.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

The change I just got from Stone’s jingling in my pocket as I quickly leave the alley to go feed the parking meter for Jeff. I came here by bus, public transportation works great here in Seattle. The number of cars in this city is impressive though, basically everybody here has got a car, everyone I know has one and use it to go anywhere, even just round the corner. They sometimes take the bus or train or the monorail too, go to work by bike or skate, but still they’ve got a car anyway. I rarely come here by truck, most of all because of the lack of parking places. The only parking area round here that’s quite large, and free, is Roxy’s one and it was already packed when I came here. As I think about this, I take a quick look at the car park outside the diner, then start putting quarters into the parking meter to add a couple of hours. As I turn the handle to push the umpteenth quarter down, I realize there’s something I didn’t notice in the moment: I look back up towards the diner and focus on the sparkling blue Mini Cooper parked on the left. What the hell is she doing here at this time? She never works this shift. I put the rest of the coins in the machine so that Jeff won’t get a ticket and then quickly cross the road. I don’t need to get that close to spot her through the glass, from behind, as she’s writing down the order of a middle aged couple sitting right next to the window. A few steps closer allow me to better appreciate the sweet curve of her neck, exposed thanks to her protocol pony tail, from which few shorter hair stick out just above her nape and that is the exact spot where all my attention goes, while she nods, smiles and writes down on her little notepad and has got no idea that I’m here, looking at her and wanting to bury my nose right there and give her goosebumps with a trail of soft kisses. I wake up from my cheap romance novel daydreaming when Angie leaves the table and goes behind the counter, probably to pass the order to the kitchen. I sigh, resigned to my pathetic condition, and enter the diner.

When I’m inside, Angie’s already on the other side of the main room, busy removing some empty cups of previous customers from another table. She turns around at the sound of the door bell and welcomes me with one of her usual smiles I’ll never totally get used to, I think.

“Hey Angie” I say hi when we meet halfway, both heading to the counter.

“Hi Eddie, where are you coming from?” she asks and gives me a strange look, stopping in front of the counter with me and placing the tray with the dirty cups on it.

“From the gallery, we’re rehearsing, as usual”

“And you argued with your band mates maybe?” she goes on as she rubs her hands on her apron as if to clean them.

“No, why?” I ask preplexed.

“Did they turn blind then? Because they clearly didn’t even take a single look at you”

“What do you mean?” I insists and I don’t understand and I still don’t understand even when Angie slowly pulls my jacket open and starts unbottoning my shirt. I’m probably giving her an allucinated look because the moment we make eye contact she bursts out laughing.

“Hehehe can’t you see you skipped a button? They’re all messed up”

“Uh… I didn’t notice… I got dressed quickly” I answer embarrassed, as her fingertips unintentionally trace a delicate line going from my chest to my belly, lightly touching me at every button.

“I see. Here, now you’re presentable” she states as she finishes her work adjusting my shirt collar.

“Thank you, mom”

“Wasn’t I a princess? Was I downgraded to mother? Am I that old already?” she inquires, still grasping at my shirt collar with both hands.

“I’d say you’ve been upgraded, to queen, queen mother”

“Haha ok, anyway you’re welcome.” she’s about to let go of me and go back to work, but something gets in the way. And I’m not sorry at all “Oops! Fuck, I must have pulled a thread!”

Angie tries to unstuck the strand that got caught into her watch and still keeps her attached to me and I look at her and smile, doing absolutely nothing to help her.

“Will I still be presentable?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, not a big deal,” Angie manages to pull out the thread from the watchband and then wraps it a little around her finger before cutting it with a quick movement “you won’t remain naked”

“It was like you had me on a leash” I remark, still in the clouds.

“Haha like a dog?”

“Yes. Or like a surf board”

“Do surf boards have leashes?”

“Some do actually. There’s this sort of security cord, you attach the thread to the board and on the other hand there’s a ring you have to tie around your ankle”

“So you won’t loose it when you fall into the water… that’s pure genius” Angie stops examining my shirt when she’s sure that she really didn’t damage it, she goes behind the counter, takes the tray with the dirty cups and spoons and walks away into the kitchen.

“That could be useful for us too, so I won’t loose you when you work alternative shifts” I say as she shows up again on the other side of the counter.

“I’d be the surf board of the two? I thought it was the opposite”

“I am the surfer, so…” I remind her as I sit on one of the stools.

“But I had the ring at my wrist” she retorts showing the wrist where she has the watch.

“Anyway, why are you here now? You usually never work this shift”

“And how do you know?”

“Do I really have to tell you once again I’m a good observer? I feel disappointed”

“I changed shift with Steffy, another colleague of mine, I don’t know if you ever met her. Blond hair, bangs and glasses. Very cute”

“Mmm no, or maybe yes, I don’t remember really”

“She always works the afternoon shift, she was busy today and asked me to swap shifts. She’s also very single, you know? I can introduce her to you if you want” she adds and definitely ruins the moment.

“No, thank you”

“But she’s really nice and funny”

“Sorry if I don’t trust your judgement, since you thought Violet was nice and funny too” I retort as the door bell rings again.

“No, she is for real, really down to earth and… not crazy. At least, she doesn’t look like. Anyway, why don’t you try to find out?”

“Honestly I’m not in the mood for finding out things right now, I’m focused on something else” in fact, in this exact moment all my attention is focused on the two winged lines she drew on her eyelids with the eye pencil. They look identical, but one, the one on the left, is slightly lower than the right one, which must be also a tad thicker than the other one, but it’s a matter of millimeters.

“Yeah, I know, work I guess, with the tour and everything, I can understand” yeah, you really understood everything.

“Right. So what’s your shift then? What time do you end?”

“Oh I’ll be free in an hour more or less” she replies as she walks towards the table where the customers who got here last are sitting, after she gave them some time to look through the menu.

“So your shift ends at six” I tell her as she walks past me, handing the new order and taking the food from the kitchen.

“Exactly” she confirms before walking away.

“What a coincidence, our practice ends at that time too” I lie when she’s right back next to me.

“Really? So early?”

“Yeah, the gallery’s technically closed today, they gave the keys to us and scheduled this rehearsing time”

“I see” she’s apparently lost in her thoughts as she fills the coffee pot.

“Maybe we can do something… together… if you want to”

“Like what?” Angie looks up and her arched eyebrow’s already a sign of suspect.

“I don’t know, like eating something somewhere and then, I don’t know, hang around” I try again, despite the previous failure, for the umpteenth time, and as I do I look at her and see the way she looks at me and I already think about the jokes she’s gonna make, like maybe she’ll suggest to call Stephanie or what the hell is her fucking colleague called, she’ll ask me if there’s something wrong with me, if I’ve got problems, if I’m sad or feeling alone, if I’m right in the middle of a creativity crisis or writer’s block or some other bullshit, whereas I just wanna take her out because I like her so much and I don’t even know how to make her understand.

“Ok, I’m in” she answers, then goes back working on the coffee machine and it takes me a while to elaborate her reply because at the beginning I think I got it wrong and maybe didn’t understand, but I know better than ask her again, most of all because I’m afraid that if I ask her once again I could get a different answer or one of Angie’s typical remarks I referred to before. At some point though I figure out we need some sort of confirmation, someone must make the thing official, because I can’t just drop it without any kind of certainty.

“So is it a yes?”

“Sure, why not? Did you already think of a place to eat?” she says yes and her voice has the same effect of someone pinching you to tell you that no, you’re not dreaming.

“Well, yeah, there’s a couple places that I wanted to try but… we’ll decide together of course. If you want to go somewhere…”

“I have an hour to come up with something, then we’ll decide together, ok?” someone calls Angie from the kitchen, then she comes out with two trays full of plates and heads straight to the tables.

“That’s great! So, ehm, see you here at six then, I’ll come here and get you, I mean, get you out” I try and look not too excited when she comes back, swaying on the stool and placing my elbows on the counter, almost climbing over it.

“Ok, no need to hurry though, take your time, you know, I must get changed and everything”

“Oh ok. So we won’t need to go to your place first, we can go straight away, right?”

“Yeah yeah, I’ve got my civilian clothes with me, don’t worry”

“Fine”

“Isn’t it about time to cut this hair?” Angie tilts her head slightly to the left and looks at me with a wide smile, soon censored by the usual quick movement of the lip to cover up the outward pointing tooth.

“Do you think it’s too long?” I ask as I examine a lock of my messy hair, trying to disentangle it with my fingers.

“No, I was talking about this here” Angie moves her hand at my head and then gently strokes the shaved side, which I clearly had exposed without noticing, throwing all my hair to the other side while I was getting all worked up because of her yes, trying to look calm and cool.

“Ah”

“It grew up a lot” she goes on, keeping her hand firm on my head and only brushing her thumb through my hair, both the direction of the growth and against it, up and down, and I think that if she doesn’t stop soon I’ll be screwed because her touch is so delicious that it gives immediate addiction and I gotta go back to the gallery and find an excuse to ditch the guys one hour earlier. And then that one hour will have to pass and I can’t really spend it dreaming of the next time Angie’ll touch me. Also because it’s not sure she’ll do it again and it’d be pathetic to spend our first date trying to come up with tricks to have her touch me.

“Yes, but I decided to let them grow anyway, I won’t shave them anymore”

“No?”

“Nah, I’m tired of that cut, I’ll let them all grow the same and fuck it” I explain as I brush my hand through my hair and lightly touch her fingertips with mine.

“Well, a change is good from time to time. I never did anything to my hair, there are times when I think of having a drastic cut or dying them, I’ll do it sooner or later” Angie pulls away from me and I already miss her.

“A nice side cut for you too?”

“Haha why not? Why not a nice mohawk?” she giggles and I’d want to tell her that she’d be beautiful even if she was bald and had hair drawn in permanent marker, but I decide I’d better spare my best compliments for later.

“Whatever you’re gonna do with your hair, I’m with you”

“Thanks for supporting me! Meg threatens to kill me every time I ask her for advice about changing my hairstyle”

“Well, maybe you should start with something easier, less drastic, then she’ll get used to that. Now… well, I really have to go now, the guys are waiting for me” I stand up from the stool, but I seriously wouldn’t leave this place. Or I’d go but I’d take her with me to the gallery, possibly attached to me or at least as close as possible, maybe carrying her on my shoulders as we did on our way back from the beach party. I’d walk that path back and forth ten times just to feel her all over me that way.

“And you just leave like this?” she asks puzzled and I don’t understand.

“Uh?”

“Don’t you want anything? Didn’t you come here for your usual coffee?”

“Oh! No, actually no”

“Why then?” right, why? To see you, adorable dickhead.

“Well for… for this!” I take my wallet and pull out a dollar “I almost forgot, I need quarters for the parking meter”

Angie gives me the change and we say bye, setting a date for an hour from now.

The door of the diner seems like an inter-dimensional portal, the way back to reality, and when I’m out I need to turn around and look inside the restaurant again to make sure Angie’s really there and that we really talked then and I didn’t dream anything. Only when I cross the road I realize it’s started to rain, the usual afternoon drizzle, a phenomenon that emphasizes even more the contrast between the moment with Angie at Roxy’s and the outside world. As I reach the other side of the road I remain for a while next to the parking meter, pretending to work on it, just in case Angie’s watching and I think I never felt so stupid in my whole life. I still feel stupid, but a little less, when I find the backdoor of the gallery is closed and nobody answer when I knock, although insistently. They’re playing inside and can’t hear me and the drizzle is turning into heavy rain. I try to knock once again, harder, on the metal door, then hold still and listen, not really to hear what they’re playing, but simply to take advantage of the moment they’re not playing to try and knock again and have them come open the door. Anyway time goes by and nobody gives a fuck about me and I end up paying attention to the song, something I can’t recognize. A few more minutes into it and I figure out I really don’t know this song, it must be new, maybe it started from that bass line Jeff was talking about earlier. And the funny thing is the only thing I can hear from the outside is the bass and the more I listen to it, the more it sounds magic to me, but at the same time solid, almost touchable. It sounds like an actual melody rather than a simple bass line. As I lean against the building wall as much as I can, looking for a non existing shelter from the rain, I stick my hands into my pockets and in one pocket I feel the change Angie gave to me, in the other one I find a piece of paper. I pull it out and I immediately remember my little theft: it’s the page of the notepad with the small triangles and squares drawn by Angie at the mini mart. Since I’m locked out I might as well try and come up with something. Luckily I always have a pen in my pocket, I may forget wallets, cigarettes, put on two different socks, button down my shirt all fucking wrong, but I never forget to grab a pen before I leave home. I fold the scrap of paper into four and place it against the wall, I hold my pen and I’m ready to get inspired: and all I can think about right now is Angie, her tender way of looking at me and taking care of me, her hands, my longing for her touch that I can’t wait to feel again, the thread that connected us physically for a moment and the one that figurately keeps us together and helps us finding and not losing each other through the waves, of the ocean. Like my favorite one, the one that’s got her name.

[parttimespellbinder]

Spellbound: The Wizard in the Tower

Jun floated in the air with his legs crossed, deeply absorbed in the several books that floated around him. He often read up on several different subjects simultaneously, often hoping it would help him piece together whatever mystery he needed solved or question he wanted answered. But just as often, he simply wanted to lose himself in several different stories, sometimes belonging to the same series. Today, he was feeling a little all over the place. Two books on magical history, three on philosophy, a mystery novel and volumes 5 through 9 of his favorite comic series. His mustard colored eyes darted from page to page as they turned themselves and circled around him like small sharks. His skin was so pale he sometimes had wonder if he was looking down at his own hands or the pages of another book. His long indigo colored hair had been tied back into a messy bun and hidden away under the wide brimmed hat he always wore. Today, being Monday, the hat and the robe he wore to match it were both a silvery moonlight color.

So absorbed was he in his reading, Jun hardly noticed as Haley Sanderson approached him from behind. Haley had a triumphant look on her face and an eager gleam in her brown eyes. Her black hair had been pulled up on her head in two large curly puffs. She made her way past the circle of books surrounding Jun and placed her hands over his eyes.

“Guess who?”

“Whoever it is will very soon find out what it’s like to not have hands,” Jun said flatly.

“EHH! Wrong! Try again!”

“Haley…”

“There you go!”

She released him and he turned to see her smiling gleefully at him. The look on her face spoke for her. “What do you want?” he asked. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my reading. I need to find out if Travis Wheeler ever finds the Philosopher's Stone.

Haley continued to beam at him proudly. “I can do it now.”

Jun raised his eyebrows. “Do what? Annoy me six ways to Sunday? You’ve been able to do that. Or did your parents finally rent out that studio for your art?”

“Oh, you remember that but not the more important thing that I’ve been working on?”

“I try to keep invested in the important aspects of your life,” Jun said. “Now, what are you bothering me for? Tell me already.”

“Why tell you when it’s obvious that I should just show you!”

Haley reached into her paint splattered overalls and pulled out a small plastic looking wand, topped with a star. “Feast your eyes on this! Ignis!”

She jabbed the wand outwards as a flame the size of her thumb suddenly manifested at it’s tip. “Tres impressive, no?”

Jun’s face remained neutral. “Congratulations, you’re barely more useful than a regular lighter. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Oh no! Jun you promised!”

Jun sighed. Here we go. Just when I thought it was going to be a nice quiet day. He snapped his fingers and his books all shut themselves and arranged themselves neatly on the floor  in front of him. “First of all, Haley, may I remind you of where we are?”

He gestured around the room, showing off the desks, bookcases and scattered people, indicating that they were in a library, though by no means a normal one. For one thing, while most libraries were decently sized, none could think of another that resided in a tower that rose so high in the air, it often appeared to poke right through the clouds. Second, the books often didn’t fly around the room, much less from one floor to another. The lighting was often adequate in other libraries, unlike this one which utilized torches and old lanterns that also occasionally floated around the room. But the most striking feature of it’s interior was the thick purple haze that hung in the air. It penetrated the whole building from the entry level all the way down to it’s darkest depths and back up to its highest heights.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We’re in your stupid magic library,” Haley said rolling her eyes.

“Oh, now my library is stupid?” Jun asked, planting his feet firmly on the ground. He pointed at a stack of books on the desk near him which rose into the air and followed him as he marched forward. “It’s funny, that you should say something like that,” he continued, as he motioned towards each book to return to its proper place. “I only say that, since without access to my library and my outlining of your curriculum, you wouldn’t even be able to produce that baby flame.”

“Are you going somewhere with this, Jun?” Haley asked.

Jun raised an eyebrow and turned away from her, making his way towards the stairs leading down to the lower level. “What do you think, Haley? Obviously I’m going somewhere with this. Are you too dumb to figure it out?”

“Now we’re name calling? So elementary,” she said shaking her head at him. “And no, obviously I’m not dumb, but I shouldn’t have to remind you of things, Jun!”

“To what are you referring, Haley?”

Haley grinded her teeth and curled her hands tightly into fists. “You know what I’m referring to, Jun. I wanna be one of your magical helpers!”

Jun rolled his eyes and kept walking, refusing to slow down or stop for her. “Oh, so that’s what you were talking about? I had no idea.”

“And now you’re just being a sarcastic dick,” Haley said, sighing. “Nothing new for you though. You’ve always been the biggest dick, ever since we all met back in grade school.”

“If I’m so horrible then why haven’t you left yet?” Jun asked. “I’m certainly not keeping you here against your will.”

“Believe it or not, Violet and I are actually capable of looking past your shit personality to see that you’re...well, you’re still a piece of shit but we’ve been friends all this time so there’s no point in going anywhere now. Actually, we’re more likely to go places with you than without you.”

Great so they see me as a stepping stone? “That’s very nice to hear Haley, but I still don’t really see much point in making you my Attendant.”

He made a sudden right and emerged on a level completely shrouded in darkness. Haley pulled out her phone and turned on her flashlight app, illuminating the dark room before them. Jun just rolled his eyes. “Afraid of the dark now, are we?”

“Don’t be stupid, Jun. We both know that I love the dark. It’s where all the fun things hide. But we also know that my eyes are already bad enough as they are.”

“Aren’t you wearing your contacts?”

“Yeah, we both know that’s not a solution to this particular problem,” Haley said.

Jun sighed. “Put your phone away. I’ll light our path.”

He snapped his fingers and a wooden staff materialized in his hand. The tip of the staff was engulfed in a basketball sized sphere of silver light, casting away the darkness far more effectively than Haley’s phone light. “Better?”

“Well, now I feel like I should've just worn my glasses today,” Haley said, covering her eyes. “My contacts don’t transition to block out magically made sunlight!”

Jun rolled his eyes. “Always a compliant with you.”

The light on his staff dimmed a little bit and he nudged Haley, indicating that she could open her eyes. “It’s still a bit bright but, whatevs. Now, why won’t you make me your Attendant? You did it with Violet!”

“That was different,” Jun said. “I thought long and hard about the decision and I needed someone with skills in physical combat. What in the world would you do? Paint my opponents to death? Perhaps write them a story?”

Haley glared at him. “Junpei Asakura, you know perfectly well that I’d get some cool dream item that could turn my paintings or stories into reality or something like that! Of course Violet got a combat related weapon! She brought you some stupid spear head to enchant! Why wouldn’t she get something like that?”

“I mean, you say that, but even still, a Mage really only needs one Attendant,” Jun said. “Preferably one with skills in physical combat. No one needs support types nowadays.”

“Wow, I’m just a support type now? Sorry for not being all combat capable like Violet is.”

“Sadly there are some things in life that we simply cannot help,” Jun said, making his way to one shelf in particular. He started touching books, seemingly at random, which then vanished from their spots on the shelves. “And more importantly, what’s in it for me if I were to bestow upon you magical powers?”

Haley didn’t skip a beat. “It’d be a total fucking blast! Think about it Jun! You’d be helping me make real my life’s ambitions of never being bored another day in my life! Imagine the possibilities! What if i could bring my drawings to life? I’d be creating life itself!”

“Yeah, that’s not super impressive,” Jun said.

“OR what if I could make the things I write become reality? Wouldn’t that be fabulous? It’s every writer's dream to see their creations spring forth from the page and into the physical world! Better yet, I’d be a super awesome reality warper!”

Though Jun didn’t let it show, a shiver ran down his spine at the thought of being made responsible for any stupid idea Haley ever had coming to life. And her being able to manipulate or influence reality...to any degree...horrifying. Humans like Haley weren’t made to have magic. All they’d end up doing with it is abusing it. Guess that brings up the question of why I agreed to help her learn it but I do so love to watch mortals struggle to learn something that comes so naturally to us mages.

“So...even though you make a very convincing and compelling argument, I’m gonna have to shoot you down,” Jun said, casually.

“Why do I feel like you’re lying about the compelling argument part?”

Jun just looked at her. “Either way, is that really the only thing you came here for?”

“Well, yeah! I want a super magic item! I want insane magical powers! And I’d prefer they come from you rather than me seeking the same kind of help elsewhere.”

Jun rolled his eyes. “Then go and seek it,” he said. “Ten seconds with you and any sane mage would tell you the same thing as me. Never gonna happen.”

Haley ground her teeth in frustration and tugged at her hair. “Here I am trying to do you a favor and you just...turn me down like nothing?”

“Does it really count if it’s something you actually really want?” Jun asked. He snapped his fingers and the two of them reappeared on the entry level of the library.

“If you could do that, why’d we waste time walking down the stairs?”

“I was trying to walk away from you,” Jun said. “Sadly you decided to follow me. I didn’t see the point in walking away from you while down there.”

“Why not?” “I can hardly imagine what kind of mayhem you’d unleash upon the world if I were to leave you down there.”

Haley raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What makes you say that?”

Jun narrowed his eyes. “Haley Sanderson, you know perfectly well that the lower and upper levels are only for books on magic and the supernatural. Well, and all priceless magical items that my family has collected over the centuries.”

Haley let out a gasp. “Really? I never knew any of that. Learn something new everyday, huh?”

“Uh-huh, whatever,” Jun said. “Look, if that’s it, then I’d like to get back to my reading, if you’d be so kind.”

“Yo! Asakura!”

Jun’s eyes narrowed dangerously, not at the use of his last name, but at the sound of the voice calling it. “As if I didn’t have enough nonsense to deal with.”

He turned to see Ryoga Kogami walking towards him, hand in hand with another boy he had never seen before. The boy was wide eyed and dumbstruck with awe at the sight of the library, which Jun thought was only natural. This is the most amazing and comprehensive magical library for several dimensions. Must be quite a sight if it’s your first time. But...that kid’s a wizard too. Why’s he with a lowly creature like Kogami?

“Hey, Ryoga!” Haley cried running up to Koga and the other boy. “OMG is this guy your boyfriend?”

Ryoga’s face turned the darkest shade of red possible. “W-wha-What the hell are you talking about? Cole’s not my boyfriend! He’s my best friend!”

Haley smiled mischievously. “Then why are you clutching his hand?”

Ryoga immediately dropped Cole’s hand but Cole just laughed. “Ryoga had to drag me across the street cause I was staring at the library so much. I’m Cole by the way.”

He stuck out his hand towards Haley who wasted no time grabbing it and shaking vigorously. “Haley Sanderson, nice to meet you. Welcome to the library! I’ve never seen you before, Cole. Do you go to a different school or something? You don’t really look like you’re from around here. Hey! You know Ryoga so does that mean that you’re some kind of half human like he is? Or maybe you’re a wizard like Jun? OMG if you’re a wizard can I be your Attendant? Please? You must be a wizard! I can see the wand in your left pocket! That’s great! What kind of magic are you studying? Do you have a familiar? Jun has a familiar. Do you have an Attendant yet? If you don’t I can do it! Please! Do you fly a broom or a carpet?”

Jun shook his head. Already trying to force herself on the first unsuspecting victim she comes across? How shameless. I better step in.

“Haley! That’s enough!”

“Jun! I’m not done yet! He hasn’t even answered any of my questions, and I still have waaaay more things to ask him!”

“Yeah, like I said, that’s enough out of you,” Jun said waving casually in her direction. Haley turned back to Cole to resume her questioning but found no sound coming from her mouth. She looked over at Jun who smirked at her and offered his hand to Cole. “Hello there, I’m Junpei Asakura, the wizard in charge of this magnificent library.”

“It...certainly...is that,” Cole said, looking at the outstretched hand with apprehension. “Cole Dryden...umm...are you gonna...fix her?”

“Who? Oh, you mean Haley? She’s fine.”

Haley waved her arms and continued to move her lips, indicating that she was far from ‘fine’, but Jun paid little attention. “Now, how can I help you? Wait, don’t tell me, let me guess. You’re...a wizard in training? Fresh out of some backwater little village to the south?”

“Umm...to the north, actually,” Cole said, still looking awkwardly between Jun and Haley.

Why does he keep looking over at Haley? I muted her specifically so that I could command his undivided attention. “Whatever. Either way, I’m guessing you recently graduated from your local...academy or something, and you’re out here in the big city and trying to get your start right?”

“Y-yeah,” Cole said. “Only I...okay, hold on one moment.”

He pulled out his wand and walked past Jun towards Haley. Jun raised an eyebrow in confusion as he watched Cole fumble his few attempts but finally manage to cancel out the silencing spell on Haley. So...he’s sweet on mortals, huh? Guess that makes sense if he’s palling around with animals.

“Sorry about that,” Cole said walking back up to him. “I...I don’t like seeing people struggle like that. And, anyway, don’t you think that was kinda mean?”

“All I was trying to do was give you one less distraction,” Jun said. “It’s called ‘being nice’ as I understand it.”

“If that’s what ‘nice’ looks like to you, I’d hate to see you being mean,” Cole said.

Jun shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure your familiar can tell you. Haley can too, she’s known me for years.”

“W-wait a minute,” Cole said with a confused look on his face. “My...my what?”

“Your familiar,” Jun said. Is he hard of hearing or just stupid?

Cole stared at Jun quizzically for a few moments, still trying to fit the mental puzzle pieces together. Jun rolled his eyes. Must I spell everything out for people? He directed a contemptuous gaze towards Ryoga who rolled his own eyes and just looked away. From there, the puzzle in Cole’s mind came together in seconds. Jun watched as the boy’s face started to flush and twist in anger. His eyes lit up with rage, literally starting to glow. What’s he getting upset for? Is the werewolf mutt not his familiar or something? What other relationship could they possibly have?

The words that came out of Cole’s mouth echoed throughout the entirety of the library like an explosion. “Ryoga’s NOT my familiar! What the hell is wrong with you? How in the...What the...What’s wrong with you? Are you insane?”

Jun was taken aback, and not just by the scream and it’s magically amplified volume. Cole’s outburst conjured a blast of air that blew Jun clear across the room and nearly over the banister, right into its seemingly bottomless lower levels.

“My, my, that’s a surprise,” he said, a smile creeping over his face. “So the little country bumpkin’s an Air mage, huh?”

He rose into the air, staff in hand and a large book appearing in front of him. “I didn’t think that you’d take that comment so seriously though. Is it really not your familiar?”

“Don’t call him ‘it’,” Cole shouted, running towards the banister and glaring daggers at Jun.

Jun couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that...I don’t see why you’re so angry about it? The mongrel certainly doesn’t seem to be making as big a stink about it.”

“Don’t call him that either! He’s got a name! His name is Ryoga and he’s my best friend,” Cole cried, pointing his wand at Jun, who just began laughing again.

“Oh, please try it,” Jun said. “I highly doubt anything you can throw at me will do much. But I’m always up for a challenge.”

At this point, Ryoga stepped in. In the blink of an eye he was at Cole’s side, holding him back as he tried to throw himself at Jun. “Hey! C-Cole! Knock it off!”

Cole struggled in Ryoga’s arms, desperately trying to get into the air and attack Jun. “Ryoga! Let go of me! I’m not gonna let him make fun of you like that!”

As he struggled, Cole began to swing his wand violently, summoning gusts of wind, flashes of light and conjuring small items that vanished the moment they hit the floor. Ryoga shook his head, swung Cole around and pinned him to a table.

“You need to calm the fuck down,” Ryoga said, quietly. “Jun Asakura isn’t the first person to shit talk me and he certainly won’t be the last. But I can tell you this. Fighting him will be the last thing you ever do.”

“I’m not just gonna let him talk to you like that,” Cole said. “We dealt with that way too much while I was in my village!”

“Yeah,” Ryoga said. “We did. And then, I’d go back to my pack or come back to the city, and deal with it all over again, all by myself. Cole, you’re gonna be living with me, and going to school with me so...you’re gonna get to see a whole lot more of this. And if you can’t even handle it when that piece of shit opens his mouth, I don’t wanna know what you’ll do in a hallway full of people who aren’t as up to defending themselves or who’ll make an even bigger deal out of it. Now, we came here to get some insight, so get your insight and let’s go back home.”

He let go of Cole, who still looked ready to fire off his most powerful spell, but he stuck his wand back into his pocket and crossed his arms. Jun was still floating in midair, looking and waiting for an attack that no longer seemed to be coming. God, he calmed down that quickly? Just when I was really getting ready to cut loose, too. Oh well, might as well give the brat what he wants so he and his pet can be on their way.

He made his way back down to the floor, a look of boredom now plastered on his pale face. “So I guess you’ll be wanting some advice on what to do and where to start, huh?”

Cole refused to look Jun in the eye, but Jun was too dissatisfied to really care if the other wizard was still angry with him. “I guess.”

“Well, you might as well think about Combative Sorcery,” Jun said. He snapped his fingers and several books of varying sizes appeared on the desk next to Cole. “With a hair trigger temper like yours, it might be a good outlet and a good way for you to establish some discipline. Given your...attachment, I’d also recommend Summoning and Binding. When you do eventually get in the mindset for calling forth a familiar or even just working with an Attendant or summoning monsters and demons for...whatever, it’ll be a good set of skills to have.”

Another finger snap and another stack of books appeared. “You also showed a small flair for Conjuring, which I strongly encourage and I’d also recommend this,” he added materializing another book in his hand and giving it to Cole. “This one will help you with flying. It’s applicable to brooms, carpets, dragons and anything else you can ride through the air and there’s a section on warping as well.”

“Gee, thanks,” Cole said, looking at the large pile of books on the table. “You’re so helpful.”

“Just doing my part to help a fellow wizard,” Jun said. “You’ll have to fill out this form so you can check out those books.”

A piece of paper manifested in front of Cole’s face and he took it to the table to fill out. The whole time, Jun watched the boy shoot dirty looks at him. “My, you so graciously accept help from others. Why’d you even bother coming here?”

“I wasn’t warned that you’d be this horrible,” Cole said. “Next time Ryoga decides not to bring something up, I’ll follow his instincts.”

“Really? The animal warned you against coming here? Then who advised you to seek me out?”

“Why do you care?”

“Call it, morbid curiosity,” Jun said.

“My brother was the one who suggested it,” Ryoga said, placing one of his hands over Cole’s mouth.

“Oh? Hmm. Then allow me to ask you another question.”

“I’m getting really tired of your and your mouth,” Cole said, standing up from the table.

“Cole, sit down! He can ask a stupid question if he wants to. As long as he’s civil, I don’t care about what he says anymore. What do you want to know?”

Jun raised his eyebrow. “Heh, are you sure that you’re the animal here? He seems a better fit for the fangs and claws than you do.”

“That can’t be what you wanted to ask,” Ryoga said. “Get to the point so we can go.”

“Fair enough,” Jun said. “What exactly is your relationship to one another? While I’m not one for Mage/Monster relations, especially when it comes to you animals, I know that there are more than a few who seem to think along the same lines as you two. I just want to know what exactly you are to each other. You both seem to care for each other a great deal, yet you’re not his familiar. Are you his Attendant?”

Ryoga looked confused but Jun cut him off before he could answer. “Okay, so clearly not. So if you’re not his familiar, and you’re not his Attendant, what possible use could you provide him? Maybe you’re his pet?”

Ryoga couldn’t stop his eyes from flashing dangerously, not that Jun cared. “Cole...Cole’s my best friend,” he said, struggling to keep his composure.

“Huh, is that all?” Jun asked. “I thought it’d be something far more interesting. A Wizard and a Werewolf half breed? Guess stranger things have happened.”

Cole turned away from Jun, contorting his face further to express the revulsion he felt. “And I suppose if you feel this way about Beasts and Half Breeds, you’re one of those stuck up mages that thinks poorly about humans, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” Haley said. “Big time. Jun hates humans. He’s always talking a bunch of shit about us, and Beasts and Half Breeds...and Hybrids...and Demons and...well just about everyone that’s not him or a Mage or some divine being or something. Jun kinda just hates everyone.”

“Wow,” Cole said. “Guy like you must have lots of friends.”

Jun chuckled. “What in the world would I do with friends?”

“Oh, don’t say it like that, Jun,” Haley said, hugging on to him, pressing her cheek against his. “Jun’s a total prick, but even he’s got...well he’s...he’s not a total piece of shit.”

Jun narrowed his eyes at Haley. “Please don’ t speak about me like that,” he said. “You’ll make me sound like total trash.”

“I mean...aren’t you?” Cole asked.

“Oh! That’s quite a mouth on you,” Jun said with a smirk. “Most people know to treat me with respect when they speak to me. Those who don’t learn it. One way or another.”

Cole glared at him and gripped his wand tighter. “Is that a threat.”

“It’s a promise.”

“Oh, Jun,” Haley said, flicking his forehead. “Don’t be like that. Don’t mind him, Cole. And besides, if Cole and Ryoga got serious, I’m sure they could take you. Even if Violet was here, she’s no match for Ryoga.”

Jun considered this. Hmm, despite my power, she does raise a good point. I know nothing about this brat so he might just pull out some major spells and get my by surprise. The animal presents another problem, if it decides to really get serious and protect it’s master. I hear Werewolves have recently become more resistant to sorcery, though it’d present me with a good chance to see how resistant a mutt like this actually is. That’d still be two against one though. Not really sure how much I care for those odds.

“Who’s Violet?” Cole asked, looking at Ryoga.

“Just a bookworm,” Ryoga said. “Never really talked to her. Keeps to herself if she’s not with these two.”

“She’s not just a bookworm,” Haley said. “She’s Jun’s Attendant and our best friend!”

Cole laughed.

“Oh? Is something funny to you?” Jun asked.

“I just can’t believe that anyone would want to be your Attendant,” Cole said.

“I do!” Haley said. “Being a Wizard’s Attendant sounds like a hoot and a half! Magical powers and battles and all that stuff! Ahh, what a wildly whimsical dream come true! I’d kill to be Jun’s Attendant! Or anyone’s for that matter, I’m not picky.”

“Haley, no self respecting mage would bother wasting their time with someone as utterly useless as you. What’s more, any power you received would ultimately be used to satisfy your own worthless desires. Do us all a favor and just shut up!”

Jun watched with an mixture of satisfaction and boredom as the light seemed to fade from Haley’s eyes. How her excited and energetic smile shrank to nothing and her body began to shake. Her mouth started to open and close as if she were preparing to say something but could not settle on anything. In the end she ended up turning and running from him, disappearing further into the room.

He sighed. “Honestly, sometimes she can be such a pain. Whining on and on about being an Attendant. No one’s gonna want her if she comes off so desperate.”

“Wow,” Cole said. “You’re....you’re really something aren’t you?”

“Don’t tell me you fell for that,” Jun said. “Haley can cry on command. She was just faking it. All Haley wants is to be constantly entertained by magic and she doesn’t care how much trouble she causes for others to make sure that her every whim is satisfied. Even if she wasn’t, Haley lives to incessantly annoy people. I simply did us a favor by asking her to be quiet.”

He watched the little wizard glare at him like he wanted to punch him. Cole’s hand squeezed itself into a tight fist, shaking with naught but the utmost desire to find a home in Jun’s face. Aww, how cute. The country bumpkin thinks he can attack me with mortal brutality. Now I know he’s been raised by animals.

In the end Cole refrained from lashing out. He took in a deep breath and just finished filling out the library card form so he and Ryoga could leave. He signed his name at the bottom and in a flash, it transformed into a small plastic library card. Cole give Jun another look of revulsion.

“Can we go now?” Cole asked, looking from Jun to Ryoga.

Jun nodded. “Once you finish all of those, bring them back and I’ll set you up with the next set for whatever you decide to pursue.”

Cole nodded. He pointed his wand at the books and again, stumbled his way through several attempts before half the books shrank to the size of tic-tacs. It took him much less effort to shrink the rest of them and once he did he packed them up in a small bag and grabbed Ryoga’s hand. “C’mon, Ryoga, let’s get out of here.”

“Hey! Watch it with the hand holding in public!”

“Let’s just..go! I can’t stand to be in this library another minute,” Cole said.

Jun watched them as they went, wondering if the little wizard would have anything else to say to him. Turned out the answer was no as they walked out the door without taking another look back.

“Is it odd that I’m somewhat interested in seeing where that little fool is going to do from this point on?”

He shrugged his shoulders and decided that with nothing else pressing to do, he might as well continue his reading. In the back of his mind he felt as though he was forgetting something but as he hated to linger on such notions, he pushed it aside. Pointing at the stack of books on the main desk, Jun resumed his seat in midair as the books began flying around him again. Time to find out of Travis Wheeler will find the Philosopher’s Stone before Draco Fernan and his army of Merrows.