sillylittlekittykat

[coquelicoq]

yeah sex is great but have you ever unflooded your street by removing leaves from the storm drains using the litter-grabber tool you bought from lowe's two weeks ago for that exact purpose?

[bikorarey]

7, 10 & 21 for the choose violence thingie 👀 whatever fandom you want!

7.) what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

I'll do a second one of these. Varric Tethras. Surprise! Bioware gives you a designated best friend who is a yes man and the woder fandom loves him cuz they love having their ass kissed! Oh man you would think Varric was the maker the way people worship him. But he's a prick to Sebastian AND Blackwall for a bit because they are Noble and good men and only likes Blackwall when he finds out he murdered a family. On top of that he's another of Bioware's "I hate my ethnic/oppressed group" and he's annoying about it. This fucker when you go into a cave that you can see the back of from about 90 meters away from it "you know, not every dwarf loves caves..." oh sorry Varric didn't know we were walking into Kal shirok here in the hinterlands when the sun is out.

But all you ever see is "Varric is the best I would romance him so much cuz no one will ever compare to him. My Hawke and Inquisitor would fight over him cuz he's just so hot and better than every other LI" god it makes me roll my eyes at how people fawn over yes men characters with no backbone and who's main trait is "will agree with you". Sebastians a better archer, Sigrun is a better dwarf, and I'm hoping someone else can get a spotlight in DA:D cuz I'm tired of Varric.

He's fine in combat in DAI and I do like his banter with Vivienne!

10.)worst part of fanon?

Ignoring the facts about a character to recharacterize them. Like Garrus and the "He's Turian Batman!" No he isnt. He was a trigger happy ex cop who wanted to just kill people and call it justice. Also projecting our real world issues onto fictional characters or plot elements. Like when people started saying Mage Lives Matter in the DA fandom because of Black Lives Matter IRL. That shit sucked.

21.) Part of canon you think is overhyped?

Solas has two things. His "I was wrong about you " convo for Adaar and Solas saying he's going to destroy the world.

Everyone says Solas is racist to Qunari/Tal Vashoth butnhe doesn't say anything The Iron Bull or Sten say about them. Bull and Sten say that the Qun keeps their davage nature in check, so why is Solas saying that after being AWAKE for 1 year that from what he heard Qunari are savage creatures? Theur own doctrine says it so why wouldn't he believe them until he meets a wise and noble Adaar that even THE IRON BULL will say is what Tal Vashoth should be if they don't want the Qun?

Also Solas as the main villain. Trespasser PLAINLY stated that Solas had a protagonist arc and his antagonists were the Evanuris, he eve says undoing the veil would release the Evanuris once more but he'll have to deal with them. Solas undoing the veil will most likely not do what he thinks because the world isn't dependent on Magic like it was when he sealed the fade. He won't be the main villain, the Evanuris will be. If anything, Solas could end up as a companion to the next Protagonist as we help him defeat the other Evanuris!

[coccyodynia]

thingies

ok hi again

we're living, we're laughing, we're loving

however

justin and i went to a show in indy the other night, first time we'd hung out in about 2 months

it felt really, really good to be with him, he makes me smile and laugh so much, he can be a bit awkward and acts so tough but is actually so shy and i find it really endearing

which makes me feel a little insane but in a funny way, not a desperate way

we joked a lot a lot a lot about hooking up, he definitely wanted me to suggest it, but i didn't, wasn't 100% comfortable with that happening then so we'll wait it out a bit longer

anyway the show was at the venue peter works at, pete got us in for free, but had to call out so i didn't see him that night so i'll see him at his wedding in a week

the band we were there to see was nothing, nowhere. i listened to n,n. basically every day for a few years when i was in active addiction and very suicidal

it was very triggering to be back in indianapolis, seeing an artist that i heavily associate with the worst years of my life

i got very emotional a few times, started crying a bit during the set

i thought it'd be okay because things are better now, but during a song i had on repeat during that time of my life, he bridged into a cover of "where is my mind" by the pixies

instantly brought me to tears

that song is one that i associate with peter, and peter was the entire reason we went to that show, since he was kind enough to put our names on the list

that song was a mainstay during my obsessive phase in high school, i only think of that song in terms of peter, so it immediately made me upset

justin knows a bit of the history with peter and i, so when i told him later why it made me cry he was like "oh well i know you guys go way back"

i kept looking up at the dark night sky, seeing a few clouds through the stars, and had some flashbacks to being in middle school, begging to be anywhere but my house, calling a friend on the phone and asking them to look at the stars and moon with me so i could feel more connected to someone, somewhere else

so i responded with "yeah, 2004", and he immediately gasped "Jesus christ" not realizing how much of a history there is there lol

it makes me so sad to remember those times of my life; i'm getting better at handling those moments but it was just very challenging actually being in my hometown having those memories

i even asked justin, "no matter what i say do not let me drive us back to my parent's house." because i knew i could drive the extra 15 min and steal a bottle of benzos to deal with it, but he didn't let me

anyway oct 3rd is rapidly approaching, which will be 2 years since the last time i cut and the last time i went to the psych ward

i really don't want to be alone on that day, i want to ask him to hang out but he's been so busy and really stressed so i dont know if i should ask

i dont know what to do

navigating all of this is getting so hard, i know how to deal with the hard things when the come up, but it just feels like it never ends

i dont think it ever will

[viscerax]

Hey I was just wondering if you could do a finney x fem!reader where he has a huge crush on the reader but he dosnt know how to tell her so he stutters and embarrasses himself so much but somehow [you can chose how] he finds enough confidence to finally ask her out but overall he's just an awkward blushing mess maybe you could tie it all together with a reader being finney first kiss thank you so much!!

Awkward As Hell

Finney had a crush on you for as long as he could remember. You lived just down the street from him, and since the moment he laid eyes on you, he was head over heels. However, Finney swore up and down he didn't have a crush on you. It was obvious to anyone with eyes, and especially his sister, Gwen, who constantly teased him about it.

"Oooh, Finney! Stop making heart eyes at Y/n and come help me carry these groceries in!" Gwen shouted from the front door. You were in your front yard, helping your dad out in the vegetable garden. Finney blushed and gave Gwen a spiteful glare.

"Could you keep it down! What if she heard you?" Finney whisper-shouted and grabbed a few paper bags from the backseat of his dad's car.

After bringing all the groceries in, him and Gwen were unpacking them in the kitchen, while their dad was sat in the living room.

"You know, if you like her so much, why don't you just ask her out?" Gwen whispered in a quiet voice, and Finney immediately froze, dropping the can of corn in his hand onto the floor. He heard a loud sigh from the other room, and winced. "Sorry, daddy!" Gwen called out before facing Finney, rolling her eyes.

"I-I can't ask her out! She's way out of my league! It would be so embarrassing." Finney huffed, stacking the cans of food in the pantry.

"Oh yeah, because stalking and drooling over her isn't embarrassing." Gwen chuckled as she folded the paper bags and stored them in a cupboard.

"I-I'm not stalking! Or drooling! I'm just... admiring from a distance." Finney huffed and Gwen let out a chuckle again.

"Yeah, sure. That totally doesn't sound creepy at all."

The next day at school was relatively normal for Finney, except for the increasing number of posters hung up around the school, letters in all different shades of pink, red, and purple, exclaiming in big letters "Valentine-grams!"

Robin stood next to Finney, stuffing books in his locker, meanwhile Finney was staring at the poster. His school did Valentine-grams every year. He of course, had never received one, except from Robin whom was trying to make Finney feel better about not getting one.

"You should totally get her one, dude. I mean, thats better then just, swooning from a distance, right?" Robin chuckled and slammed his locker shut, making Finney jump a bit and break him out of his trance.

"H-huh? What?"

"A Valentine thingy! Get Y/n one. Trust me, chicks dig stuff like that. You should get her a rose from the supermarket too. Not a whole bouquet. Just one or two. Get her a rose, a valentine-gram, and boom! You'll get your girl." Robin smirked, feeling proud of his advice.

"B-but, I'm not smooth, or cool like you! What am I supposed to say? Just 'oh, here Y/n, I have a huge massive crush on you and have secretly been swooning for you ever since you moved in down the street from me'? H-hell no! She'll totally reject me!" Finneys cheeks were once again a bright shade of pink as he imagined the whole scenario play out.

"The worst she can say is no. Besides, you've been rejected by girls before. You can totally take another blow man, you're strong!" Robin playfully punched Finneys shoulder, causing him to Wince and rub the area where he was punched.

"Wh-whatever. You're right. The worst she can say is no." Finney murmured, giving Robin a nervous smile. "Thanks, Robin."

Finney begged his dad to let him borrow some money, and through enough chores and good grades, he had finally convinced him to give him enough for Valentine-grams on the very last day to purchase them.

The next day, Finney waited excitedly in homeroom, waiting for the grams to get delivered, he kept glancing at the clock, then the door, then the clock then the-

Suddenly the door burst open and one of the office assistants came strolling in with a box of small teddy bears and mini boxes of chocolates. Only a few of the kids in class had gotten one, and he thought all of the grams for his class was passed out when suddenly he heard his name.

"Finney Blake." A small stuffed bear and a box of chocolates was placed on his desk, and for a moment, Finney was sure he was dreaming. Or maybe Robin had pitied him again, or maybe it was a cruel prank. He frantically reached for the note attached to it, but it gave no clues as to who sent it to him. All it read was "To Finn, from Your Secret Admirer" the handwriting was fancy, and all the i's were dotted with little hearts. Finney felt his cheeks warm up, and a smile spread across his face. He glanced over at you, and for a split second, he swore he saw you staring at him, but you quickly looked away so he figured that perhaps it was just his imagination.

School seemed to drag on even longer then usual. When that final bell rang, Finney couldn't have been more relieved. Except now was the hardest part of the day, confessing to you.

Finney rushed to the local supermarket after school, using some of Robins generously provided money to buy one single rose. The cashier seemed to find it funny how nervous Finney seemed.

After the supermarket, he took his sweet time walking over to your house, dragging his feet while aslo trying to give himself a pep talk. "You can do this... you've got this, Finney. Worst she can say is no..." he let out a silent breath.

"Finn?" He heard his name called and quickly looked up to see he was already in front of your house. You were standing on your front lawn, in a flowy white sundress. You smiled at him, and Finney suddenly felt all of his confidence drain out of him.

"Oh- h-hey Y/n! Uhm, funny uh seeing y-you here!" He laughed nervously and you chuckled and walked up, opening the gate of the white picket fence and inviting him in.

Finney smiled and nervously fidgeting with the handles of the plastic bag from the supermarket, which held nothing more then your rose and some of your favorite candies.

"Well, this is my front yard! Its more funny seeing you here! Did you... need something?" You looked slightly nervous and a bit confused as you glanced down into his bag to see the rose.

"A-ah uhm, y-yeah! I actually wanted to talk to you!" Finney hummed and quickly pulled the rose from the bag. "Th-this is for you! A-and I also was the one who got you the Valentine-gram..." Finney felt his entire head turn a bright shade of burning red, probably as red as the rose he handed to you. You chuckled and brought the rose up to your nose, taking a quick smell of the flowers fragrance.

"Wow thank you, Finney. This was really sweet of you!"

"Y-youre welcome! Uhm well actually, I got it for you as more than a f-friend thing. I-i uhm- crap! Sorry, this is awkward as hell! I'm so sorry I really suck at th-"

He was cut off as you quickly leaned forward, pressing your lips onto his. Finney gasped against your mouth, and for a second, he was frozen in shock. After a second or two, he smiled and closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss and dropping the bag in his hand. It was messy and a bit rushed, but it was everything Finney could've asked for. You tasted sweet, like strawberry chapstick and vanilla. Finney felt a shock of electricity pulse through him, making every hair on his neck and arms stand up. Finney had never been kissed before, but this was just about everything he expected and more.

You silently pulled away, giving him a smile and chuckling a bit. "I really like you too, Finney. I was the one who sent you the Valentine-gram. We should go out sometime."

"U-uh, yeah! Welp- you know where I live so, uhm- yeah! I'll see you later." He huffed and very quickly jogged off to his house, silently cheering to himself as soon as he got past his door. You giggled and picked up the bag, finding your favorite sweets.

Sure, he was awkward, and nervous. But he was also kind, and the sweetest boy you've ever met, even if he did kind of suck at kissing.

[hiimsociallyawkward]

aithusia

hi bestie @lady-ofmagic-andstars it's been a while. i said i would do this episode last week but i had to wait for the destiny and chicken podcast to come out so here we are. basically, all of my thoughts while watching aithusia.

ugh the opening scene. i actually love it

ok ngl i remember that this guy is the bad guy but he's like 🥵🥵🥵 jeez

ik it's not just on tiktok but that tiktok where it goes 'but momma i'm in love with a criminal'

wow nice key bud

ok him running in the forest is just like you cannot outrun your demons and i thought that was so funny

smh he's so violent but he's so pretty :,)

ok but how old is this guy?? he say it's taken 20 years of his life. why 20? is that because that's when the 'last' dragon died out?? and at what age was he socially concious enough to recognize the implication of what it means to have a dragon? his is so dumb but probably like 15? so this guy is 35ish? idk man thoughts?

ok if he just feel off the cliff instead of being able to pull himself up we would've saved ourselves a lot of trouble i'm just saying druids.

ok this is so pretty. my thoughts are like 25% me singing show tunes, 25% thinking of actual merlin things, 50% thinking about how pretty everything is

merlin is such a light sleeper. idk why that's important but he wakes up ALL the time

✨gaius is the worst ✨

ok colin's eye looked so good in this scene

aLASFLJDFA MERLIN AND HIS SOCKS

stop i literally dress like this

i love his sleep clothes. it's such a vibe

aw merlin saying 'save the dragons is so cute' omg it reminds me of the vsco girls and saving the turtles HAHA

i love how equal merlin and kilgharrah feel here

asjflsjdasjdfl like ik this is the point but i love that merlin's inherited his father gift and he's always going to remember him. not that merlin would forget his father but idek

aw kilgharrah is like 'i beg you' ok now that i think abt it maybe it's slightly manipulative but it's also really not

ok actually i don't know how many time merlin uses this scene but i guess i'm keeping track now. but look how pretty

wow the rising sun 🤪

OH HAHA THIS IS WHERE MERLIN CARTWHEELS??

literally merlin just breaks in everywhere

merlin seems so earnest about wanting to see the dragons. i want to see the dragons too please

omg HAHA the woodworm is this episode??

WHY IS MERLIN STILL SEARCHING AFTER ARTHUR TURNS AROUND WHAT?

this is a side note but i love arthur's key holder thingy it's actually pretty.

stop right now why is merlin using his magic to PANTS arthur

ok i'm pretty sure that agravaine is only in this episode this one time, and yk it's the little victories

i'm actually embarassed for arthur and merlin here. i don't like it at all

HOW DOES MERLIN DO THE HANDSTAND?? that's the one part i like

ok my question is how is he supposed to know where the last piece of the triskeleton is??

SECOND QUESTION WHY IS HE JUST STANDING IN THE VAULT WHEN HE SHOULD BE RUNNING

lasflkajsdljsad omg the betrayal. ouch my heart

these scene are just like. it's actually art

ok how did merlin stay there all night and no one saw him?? literally camelot guards need to step up

omg no not merlin zooming

sklfja;lsdkjfasdlfs amerlin and the cup

i love how long merlin and arthur look at each other before arthur reacts

lsjfa;lksdsl woodworm omg and the fact that arthur believes that merlin is this chaotic is so funny

HAHA THIS SCENE GAIUS LITERALLY YELLING AT MERLIN

i think this is the funniest thing because gaius is like 'don't people about your magic' while YELLING ABOUT MERLIN'S MAGIC

ok that's a good point gaius we don't know what borden's intentions are

alsdjfalsd stop why didn't they wait for merlin :,(. this reminds me of when you're in highschool and you're finishing lunch and as you pack up everyone is leaving you??????

ok but i love that merlin rides in front with arthur. like- of course he does

merlin being observant 😍😍

i want to go horse riding now

STOP I DON'T LIKE THIS

THIS KNIGHT/DINNER GAG IS NOT FUNNY TO ME. NOT IN THE SLIGHTLEST. THERE'S THIS FIC by @a-small-batch-of-dragons. i literally spent like 10 minutes looking for it because i had to include it here

this scene just.. i don't like it. i never have and i never will

like- who decided that putting this scene in here would be good. no thanks

the knights sleeping in a circle and merlin sleeping on the outside. idk bro that made me a little sad

but also. i want a cloak please. i think i'm just going to say i want a cloak every episode

ok i chuckled at the interaction of 'ever herd of the word sorry?' and 'no is it a word you made up?'

dude don't ask why but i love it when people walk through waterfalls

i don't know why arthur looked so stupid when he was doing it though

i love the nature of it all

yes merlin, you start walking toward the castle first

aw i love the knights working together. like, i know they work together- they're knights, but we love to see it

merlin and his sharp eyes again :,))

why are they making camp it's literally not even dark yet 😭😭

oh great another dinner gag. please stop. i dislike this immensely

wow i love that merlin can heal them. i also think it's surprising because merlin sucks at healing things but yk.. ✨plot✨

this looks like the type of building teens would either be convinced is haunted and try to stay the night there or the type of building that all teens would go to to take pics for the #gram

ok is borden dead here or..

yes i'm putting both of these picture here. who's going to stop me

just kidding it's three

ok so not dead

ok this is not meant to be creepy but colin has nice hands

borden is a creep please go away now

merlin use your ✨magic ✨ please

YES. tell him you're the last dragonlord. i stan. YES HIM AND HIS MAGIC

you better run boy

ok how he manages to get out of the castle is astounding

HAHA there was some CGI that fell and i laughed so hard because it looked so fake

LITERALLY. THE PRETTY CASTLE SCENE IS HERE AGAIN. PRETTY CASTLE SCENE COUNTER; 3

omg merlin getting excited about the egg is actually so precious

both of their faces here are SO precious.

oasfasldfjasl idk why but whenever merlin walks across with the eggs i have this feeling he's going to faceplant and drop it for the comedic effect but i'm glad that never happens

bruh 'back where it belongs' like yes that makes sense but also that doesn't make sense

dude

it's been a full moon for like 4 days now..??????

omg i actually love aithusa

tbh, i DO NOT know how to pronounce her name

why is she actually the cutest thing ever.

AW MERLIN CRYING

i love it when merlin cries, but not in a sadistic way yk? it's more the fact that he's allowed to cry

ok i have a few dragon fics that i love but the only one i can think of right now is Returning the Favor by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle it's actually perfect

there are so many more that i love but i can't think of them but also- PLEASE REC YOUR FAVE DRAGON FAMILY DOMESTIC FICS PLEASE AND THANK YOU

anyways. i'll be back tomorrow to rant more about the darkest hr pt 2 so i'll see you then! also let me know if you want me to stop tagging you @lady-ofmagic-andstars because otherwise i will literally tag you in everything :,)

[devdevlin]

!!!!!! Chem and Bio Finals DONE!!! Summer term DONE!! I hope you're doing well (and your bunny too)! I'm sending a prompt-ish thingy, but I don't know if you want any right now. If not, seriously please ignore me (whether too busy or it's uninspiring - etc). Either way I wish happiness upon you! Tom or Volmione + cat(s) + sweets + creepy Tom or Voldemort (not that he isn't usually creepy). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Don't take or do or change. Love your writing, friendlycelery xoxo

I'M SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO! But please know that when you sent this, it absolutely made my day, you're the absolute sweetest!! I am always happy to take prompts even though I am slow! Also please accept my sincerest congratulations on finishing the Chem and Bio, those are two huge ones!! I really wanted to do a good job of this for you, so I hope it meets expectations!

For context, to fill your prompt, I've chosen to write a canon-divergent lil drabble that squeezes between OOTP and HBP

The summer holidays before Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts were the worst ones she'd experienced yet.

She'd returned home from King's Cross with her parents long enough for them to collect their things and leave. From there, they'd headed to the Leaky Cauldron to spend the time first few weeks of the break, reasoning it was safer than out in the muggle suburbs of outer London.

But even with the safety of numbers in Diagon Alley, it didn't stop Hermione from purchasing a foe-glass and checking that they weren't being watched or followed by Death Eaters everywhere they visited.

Yet, even still, her own safety wasn't weighing as heavily on her mind as Harry was. The weight of knowing of the prophecy and losing whatever it may have said was bad enough, but losing Sirius, too...

It had only been a week since they'd parted at end of term, yet she longed to go and visit Harry. She yearned to fetch Ron and Fred and George and together whisk Harry away from his awful aunt and uncle, but knew full well that Dumbledore had his reasons, and it was best not to interfere.

This left Hermione with the task of distracting herself, one which she easily decided to answer with the bookshop. Her favourite thing about Flourish and Blott's was that it never disappointed her. On every visit, she managed to find something she hadn't seen before, to the point where she wondered if there was an intricate charm cast over the shop to assist the customers in finding what they were after.

She ventured there every day, and on that Wednesday evening, Hermione was cradling her latest loot against her chest, humming to herself as she wandered back along the cobbled main street of Diagon Alley toward the Leaky Cauldron, Crookshanks trotting happily alongside her. But as she passed the same alleyway she passed each day, an odd, rainbow-coloured sign caught her eye.

Rab and Rod's Sweet Shoppe

She blinked. She didn't remember ever having seen that sign before. She'd walked the main street of Diagon Alley too many times with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys to have missed a sign to a sweet shop.

Then again, it was pointed toward the entrance to Knockturn Alley, so she supposed Mrs Weasley wouldn't have let any of her children down there regardless. But still... one of the Weasleys would've commented on it, so she surmised the shop must've been a new one.

After a quick snort, Hermione carried on her way, not tempted in the slightest by the prospect of rotting her teeth.

She didn't see the woman tucked behind the corner, watching under a heavy, black cloak as she passed.

*

The next day, satisfied after hours worth of reading about the history of the use of unicorn hairs in potionmaking, Hermione again passed the alleyway.

It was an evening like any other. It could've almost been described as a boring one, but then, almost as if he'd decided she'd been having it too easy, Crookshanks ran. If it hadn't have been for his bell, she wouldn't have noticed when he darted off down the alley without notice, his puff of tail disappearing behind the stone corner.

"C-Crookshanks!" she yelled, breaking out into a run after him.

She dashed down the thin alley without consideration for where it led and followed his bushy tail down another one on the right. She lost sight of him then, and gambled that upon reaching the fork in the paths, he'd taken the better-lit alley to the left.

"Crook—" she started, but upon the sight of a small puddle of dark liquid on the stone, Hermione froze. "...Crookshanks?"

Her heart sped up, and with it, she broke into a sprint. She raced to the end of the alley and rounded the corner, and–  

"Ahh!" Her heart fell out of her chest as she skidded to a halt to avoid running into the darkly cloaked boy.

After a few blinks, she had to correct herself. The boy she'd almost run into wasn't a boy at all, but a young man. He was an attractive one, too, not that her panic allowed her to register that fact right away.

"I'm sorry," the man said with a hand reaching out to stabilise her and a voice like music. "Did I scare you?"

After a deep, calming breath, Hermione shook herself. "No. No that's quite all right, I was just—have you seen a cat? He's quite big and ginger, and he's got this flat sort of face. He ran off this way and he can be really quick when he wants to be, and I just... lost him..."

She trailed off seeing him watching her, an odd sort of glint in his eye.

"Actually," he said after a moment. "I think I did see one, just a few moments ago. With a big brushy tail?"

"Yes! Yes, that's—"

"It ran off this way," the man said, stepping in the direction he gestured in. "Come, I'll help you."

She hurriedly followed him. "Thank you. Thank you so much. He doesn't normally carry on like this, but something must've spooked him, I think, or he might've spotted a rat—he quite likes rats..."

The man's long legs allowed him to cross the same distance as her in far less steps, and when they reached the next fork in the alleyways, he made it there first.

"I think I saw him dart around this corner," the man said, leading her on down a wider alley to the right. It curved around a bend, and as it went on, the pathway grew narrower.

It went on and on until it took a sudden left turn, and then—

It was a dead end.

"A-are you sure about this?" she asked, suddenly as wary of the stranger she'd run off with as she should have been from the start.

He didn't look at her. Instead he pointed down the alley, toward a pile of boxes at what must've been the back entrance to a shop, with couple of old looking brooms propped up against the wall next to it.

"Is that your cat?" asked the man.

Hermione followed the direction of his pointed arm up to the very top of the pile of boxes, taller than he himself, and there, in one piece and sitting atop the highest box with his chest fluffed out like royalty, was Crookshanks.

"Crookshanks!" she shrieked at once, and at the sound, Crookshanks craned his neck.

After a momentary glance in her direction, he meowed once and came bounding down from the pile of boxes toward her.

Hermione swept him up the instant he made it to the ground and hugged him tightly against her chest. "Oh! Never, ever do that again!" she said, pressing her lips to the cat's forehead. "What was that about?! You know better, Crookshanks, never run away in a public pla—"

Hermione broke off seeing her companion watching her with a rather amused expression. "Sorry," she said quickly, laughing nervously as she felt her cheeks heat up. "I don't— I was just really worried. He never does this, honestly. Thank you again for your help."

"That's quite all right, Hermione," he said. "But we've made it quite far from Diagon Alley... would you like me to walk you back?"

Hermione didn't immediately answer having frozen solid.

"I... how do you know my name?"

The man blinked at her. "You introduced yourself. Don't you remember?"

"No..." she said, stepping backwards. "No, actually, I don't remember introducing myself because I didn't introduce myself," she said resolutely. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Tom."

"Tom," she repeated aloud, testing the name for a taste of familiarity. The only Tom she knew was Tom the barkeep, and she was positive that this was not him. "How do you know who I am?"

Tom's brow twitched, a perfect sign of confusion. "Everyone knows who you are. You're Harry Potter's best friend. You've been in all the papers."

It was more than perfect, but Hermione didn't buy it. "Who are you?"

Tom laughed. "You don't need to be quite so defensive. I told you." He shrugged. "I'm Tom."

Her eyes grew narrower. "All right... Tom. Crookshanks and I will just be going then, if you don't mind."

Tom looked quite amused and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, but he didn't say anything. Not wishing to remain anywhere near him any longer, Hermione turned on her heel the way she'd come and hurried off.

But when she turned the corner from where they'd come, two men cut her off.

They stopped directly in her path, preventing her from passing, and unlike Tom, they looked familiar. So familiar, that it only took her a moment to decide that she knew exactly who they were.

Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange.

Rab and Rod.

Several things all suddenly made a lot more sense to Hermione.

The sign out in Diagon Alley had been theirs. They must have been attempting to lure someone—likely a young person such as herself judging by the 'sweet shoppe'. It had been there for weeks, yet she hadn't fallen for it, and so they must've tried another route.

Which meant—

Crookshanks running hadn't been an accident.

No, they'd made him run, and she, Harry Potter's best friend, had been baited, and now, she'd been trapped.

Hermione spun back around, finding Tom behind her, and tightened her hold around Crookshanks.

Tom was grinning.

"You'll find that I in fact do mind, Miss Granger. I mind very much."

With her arms around Crookshanks, she couldn't reach her wand—not subtly, at least. She would have to let him go. But, fortunately, she knew very well that Crookshanks didn't like to be touched on his belly. She knew even better, that if she were to pull on that fur, she'd get a violent response.

She just needed a little bit of time to adjust her grip.

"Who are you?" she repeated firmly, bringing her hand under Crookshanks' stomach.

Tom's teeth became visible in the corner of his mouth. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I heard you were a bright one. Brightest of your age, even."

As he spoke, her fingers caught onto a thick lock of Crookshanks' hair.

And then she tugged.

Crookshanks hissed and bolted faster than she'd anticipated, the action taking the men behind her off guard. Her arm burned as Crookshanks' claws ripped into her skin as he won his freedom, but Hermione didn't let herself feel it. As the sound of one of the brothers yelling rang from behind her, she whipped her wand out of her back pocket and directed it rapidly. She went to cast—

Her wand was out of her hand faster than she'd managed to snatch it up to begin with, and she hadn't even seen anyone move.

Stunned, she glanced at her empty hand as if by staring at it, she'd make it reappear. But then, she was swept up. From behind her, each of her arms was taken up tightly, pulling at her joints painfully.

She thrashed and kicked against the brothers, but was unable to free herself.

Tongue behind his teeth, Tom clicked in disapproval. "Now, Miss Granger," he said, stepping closer and bending to pick up her wand. "Is that any way to greet your betters?"

Hermione tugged to free her arm and managed to land a kick on a solid shin, but Rabastan didn't let go. "If I happen to see any of my betters, I'll be sure to act accordingly," she snapped.

From the shadows, came an intake of breath that resembled a hiss.

"Miss Muddy-Mudblood, missing her manners," the voice chimed, and out of the shadows, Bellatrix swept.

The shrillness of her voice had a line of thin hairs rising down Hermione's spine. Tom, however, didn't show any sign that he'd heard nor seen Bellatrix. He continued to stare, eyes only for Hermione and she had the distinct sensation of her stomach sinking.

Bellatrix circled around where Hermione was held. "Maybe you can help her find those, too, My Lord," Bellatrix said, tipping her head back as she laughed.

At her shrill cackle, Tom didn't so much as flinch and Hermione's stomach was well and truly free falling now.

"Have you gotten there yet, Miss Granger?" asked Tom after a pause. "Or would you like me to show you?"

The next breath Hermione took in was shaky, and then Tom's features began to morph and shift, his hair shooting back in his skull, the skin of his face paling, stretching and becoming gaunt.

His features contorted as if the process was painful, and when he eventually opened his eyes, they were red. Piercing. Snakelike.

And before her was Lord Voldemort, in the flesh.

"I've heard many fascinating tales of you, Miss Granger." His voice had changed too; higher, calmer. It was almost pleasant and sounded as if in the right circumstances, it would've been soothing. "How I've so been looking forward to meeting you."

Beside him, Bellatrix rounded to circle him, running her claws along the line of his shoulder. "Do you really think Potter will come, My Lord, so soon after Black?"

"Oh." Still, Voldemort's eyes didn't leave Hermione's. "For this one, I know he will. It will only be a matter of when."

Hermione fought against Rodolphus and Rabastan, the action drawing Voldemort to step closer. She ceased her struggling as he advanced, and when he reached out for her, she shrinked back against the Lestranges.

"Fear not, Miss Granger," he said, almost a whisper, raising her chin with a cold, slim finger. "Potter is nothing if not predictable. I don't expect you'll be with us for very long."

His nail dug sharply into her skin, and though she tried her best to smother it, an odd sort of squeak left her throat.

And this time when Voldemort grinned, it was monstrous.

[gucci-depressione]

A rant

The worst possible thing happened to me today. I lost my notebook. But not just any notebook, the notebook filled with all my stroy ideas [and the occasional personal thoughts]. I've spent countless hours writing, making notes and developing those stories and now it's ALL GONE!!!

It happened like this;

I was on the bus on my way to school, on Tumblr like usual when I suddenly remembered that I had an important Maths Unit Assessment second period. And I'd forgotten all about it so I searched my back for the booklet thingy, to refresh my memory about it because I needed to pass this if I wanted to get my Nat 4 for Maths [there are 3 assessments and 1 AVU]. So I took things out of my bag until I found it.

I only had a minute to look over it until I realised that I had missed my stop, so I frantically put everything back into my bag and rushed off the bus.

It wasn't until I arrived to my Art class [which I had first period] and opened my bag to look for a pencil when I realised that my notebook wasn't in my bag. And I literally emptied my bag right there on the table. Thankfully the teacher left just a moment before.

Anyways I checked and double checked everything and I had to admit that my notebook was gone. My friend asked what was wrong since I said fuck not so quietly. And I told him what happened. He felt sorry about it and there was nothing I could do about it since someone probably already snatched it up since I know I left it on the bus because I definitely remember taking it out then.

I just can't fucking believe it. This is why I don't really take notebooks or sketchbooks to school, but I had a free period after lunch today so I thought I could work on my current story [even though I have so many WIPs]. Guess I can't now. Ha.

It's safe to say I was in a bad mood all day.

Anyways, the lesson is kiddos, don't bring important stuff you love out in public. And if you do, don't take ANYTHING out of your bag until you've reached your destination. Cause you might lose it like me. I'm such a fucking idiot. My mama always said "Don't take things out of your bag until you're at school" This is why you should listen to your parents.

I'm probably never gonna get over this. At least not for a long time. Though this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. Last year, I lost my Star Wars wallet on the bus [my mum literally bought it for me a few days before] and it was also on the way to school. There was only a couple of pounds in it and my bus pass. Which was a bad thing. I sometimes still feel guilty about it.

Oh well, you live and you learn. But in my case, I never learn. I make the same mistakes every goddamn time. No wonder I'm such a disappointment.