#jacob's sibling x penny

[akaryuga]

Sorry, LoL I tried.((

Don't get me wrong I like the official MC, but I just trying to get in (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) with my favourite witch Merula hehehe(?

Happy to see the new art style (?) Merula finally show up on the loading screen༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ💕

I'm looking forward for the funny weird ad now LOL.

The original one:

[domaslut]

LOVE ME LIKE YOU.

Starring: Merula Snyde x f!reader

Warnings: none, just fluff!

Plot: you have to pick a date for the incoming Ball and all of your friends seem to have suddenly picked an interest in you. No one, however, made you feel as alive as Merula did. After a tormented night spent wide awake in your bed, you finally confront and confess your feelings to the lovely brat you have fallen in love with.

REQUESTED BY: @btvdc

VALENTINE’S DAY EVENT: “LOVE ME LIKE YOU”.

Quote: “Last night, I laid in bed so blue 'Cause I realized the truth They can't love me like you I tried to find somebody new Baby, they ain't got a clue Can't love me like you”.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Let me guess… You haven’t picked a date yet, have you?” Tonks quizzically inquired, plopping down on the empty seat next to you.

“Bingo” you shortly replied, fidgeting with the umpteenth note you had received since the beginning of the week. Where did all of these secret admirers come from? Further more, why did they not sign their gushing letters, if they desperately yearned to be your date for the Ball? You were officially done with them and the absurd situation they were putting you through.

Your pink-haired friend chuckled and propped her chin over her hand, her bright eyes scanning the Great Hall in search for a potential candidate to accompany you to the infamous Ball “What about Andre? He has declared countless times that you’re his muse… I wouldn’t be surprised, if one of these notes has been sent by him?” she observed, pursuing her lips at you.

You averted your droopy eyes from the note to your ravenclaw friend, who was currently showing a new, expensive fabric to a rather joyful Penny. Well, maybe Tonks was not wrong about Andre… But the blonde potioneer was probably one of the other anonymous senders. You thought you had recognized her calligraphy earlier and, judging by the languid glances she was directing to you from across the room, there was no doubt about it. Penny had a crush on you.

“You’re probably right, but I’m not interested in him… And, for what can matter, I’m not going to choose Penny either. – you said, folding your arms over your chest – She’s way too sweet and pure to be my perfect match” you clarified, lolling your head back in dispair.

At this point, you had almost given up on going to the Ball. If a romantic experince had to turn into a stressful loop of anxiety and dissatisfaction, you would have rather spent the night locked up in your dorm, cuddling your pets.

Tonks snickered and stood up, shooting a knowing look at you “Ouch, poor Penny... Well, then I guess I should probably let you know that Tulip heard Talbott and Badeea talking about you in the ravenclaw common room yesterday. – she casually informed you, stretching her arms over her head – Actually, they were arguing. I mean, isn’t it weird? They’re both so calm and rational, then again they’ve lost control over you!”.

Your left eye twitched, your hand ripped up the note in your hand at the shocking revelation. When did she think it was the right time to let you know about it? Not that you were going to consider them as an option in the first place, but you would have surely avoided them down the corridors earlier. Any kind of interaction would have been detrimental in your desperate search for the right date.

“Tonks! – you whined, stomping your foot as a sign of irritation – Is there something else you wish to tell me?” you rhetorically asked her, palming your forehead.

She shook her head and turned her back at you “Nah, I’mma go to bed. And you should do the same!” she replied, ambling towards the exit calmly, as if she had not just dropped a bomb.

She was right. Maybe you were just too tired. And, maybe, you had already made up your mind. You knew who your heart desired, who you enjoyed sharing your meals, or butterbeers with. You had a fling with her. Nothing official, yet something important. You had not kissed many times. Actually, you had barely kissed. However, the way your lips brushed over hers, and the fact that the spark igniting your heart that very night was still vividly stuck in your mind were a clear sign that you were in love with her.

Dragging your feet along the floor, you made your way to your dorm and slipped under the covers without even changing into a proper attire. You were too stressed, too nervous and you struggled to fall asleep for hours. You tossed and turned continously, as you tried to make up your mind. You were conscious that, if you decided to pick her as your date for the ball, this time it would have been forever.

“Fuck it, alright?” you cussed, rolling on your back and staring at the ceiling.

Did anyone else make you feel the way she did? No. Was there someone else residing 24/7 in your mind? Of course no…

“Well… Maybe Barnaby? Argh, who am I kidding? He is always so sweet with me. Just stop, Y/N! I love her! There is no going back. I choose her” you said, maybe a little bit too loud, considering it was 2 o’ clock in the morning. One of your roommate groaned out in frustration and threw a pillow in your direction, that you easily dodged.

“Shut the hell up and ask her out. I wanna sleep...” she ranted, slithering back underneath the blankets to try to get some sleep.

The morning after, you met her at breakfast. You had a very hard time to approach her, especially when Ismelda shot daggers in your direction and seemed to be a minute away from jinx you. Your purple-eyed crush, on the other hand, had no troubles in glaring at her and making you the center of her attention.

“So, what’s the matter? Have you slept last night?” she commenced, cocking her head to the side.

You rolled your eyes at her and rubbed the back of your neck in distress “Please, Merula, don’t make things so damn complicated. – you complained, locking eyes with her – Be my date. I … I’d very much like it, if you just said yes” you blurted out, cheeks flushing up as she stared at you dumbfounded.

“Are you serious?” she asked, blinking skeptically at you.

“Yes, I am”.

“Prove it then” she challenged you, folding her arms against her chest.

You chewed on your lower lip in nervousness, fists clenched at your sides as you pondered her request. You were there, opening your heart to her, making the first step, and she had the audacity of teasing you? Was it not clear enough that you were serious about your proposal? Yet, that side of her personality, what most of your friends loathed about her, was exactly what drove you crazy.

“I love you” you simply quipped then, watching her lips parting in disbelief. Yet, you were done playing games. Sticking up to your intent to make your relatioship official, you cupped her heart-shaped visage in your hands and smashed your lips against her ones.

That was the kiss you had dreamt about for years. That was the kiss you craved and the one you could not wait up until midnight to finally steal from her. Merula was completely shocked, as if a lightning had struck her and she was left fuzzy and disoriented right after it.

“No one is quite like you” you breathed out, pressing your forehead against hers.

She blushed, pulling you in for another brief kiss “I get to have the last word, though. Don’t forget it” she joked, winking at you.

You chuckled and took a step back, bowing your head as a sign of resignation to her umpteenth declaration of her supremacy “See you tonight, miss Snyde”.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hi there!

Happy Valentine’s Day, guys! This is the first request I had got from my “Valentine’s Day Event”. I will publish the other ones in the next few days. I hope you have enjoyed this drabble♥️

And, if you cannot find me online on tumblr, just text me on my wattpad account: Domaslut! I hang on that platform quite a bit❤️

x o x o

[rainbowmess823]

I dont know if I actually read it or I've just imagine the entire thing but there's this fic with penny haywood from Hogwarts Mystery and it's set after the game and penny and mc are roommates and they have date nights with documentary but they aren't actually dating but everyone is just "ohmygod they were roommates" i can't find it, pls help.

[hphmseojunglee]

TLSQ: Valentine's Day (year / Seojung finally gets his shit together and asks Penny out.

[livelaughlovewonderwoman]

HPHM YEAR 4 SPOILERS BELOW!!!

i literally just got fucking petrified and i was literally waiting for angsty hurt/comfort trope to happen where all of my friends find out and are like "omg are you okay bitch" but NOTHING.

maybe i'm just an attention whore ( I am )

[endlessly-cursed]

Update on HPHM

[redhairedgryffindor]

Lunch Date

Merula and Ismelda: Eww gross.

Beatrice: Well, at least Penny use her time on Douglas instead of me.

[arielemberbridge]

So, I've been wanting to write hphm tlsq, chapters, quidditch sidequests, and creature sidequests down from my character's point of view. I recently started writing a bit of flying solo (the quest where you become friends with Talbott), and I was wondering if I should continue writing it, and post it on my blog. I'd really appreciate feedback on my writing, and how I could improve. Thanks for reading this long a/n, and now, feel free to read the fanfic if you want.

Word count (so far) : 3,800

Flying Solo

Ever since becoming an animagus, I’ve been wanting to get closer with the mysterious, quiet bloke Talbott. I felt like he was a magnet, pulling me towards him. Speaking about Talbott, I got a letter from Penny, and all it stated was, “We need to talk about Talbott. Let's meet in the Great Hall now. With the urgency of her letter, I was really concerned. I ran from my dormitory straight to the Great Hall.

While walking over to the tables, I heard Rowan comment, “ I’ve seen an eagle flying around the school grounds a lot recently. I hope all the pet rats are safe.” After I heard that, I stopped moving and started wondering, could that be Talbottt?

I also passed Chiara, but she didn’t mention anything about an eagle, she instead mentioned to some Gryffindor kid called Jae, “Sorry, I’m a bit… preoccupied tonight.” Poor thing. She always makes me think about why bad things happen to good people. At least there is some good that comes out of it; a person that cares about making transforming less painful and more affordable.

While still walking over to Penny, I heard Merula yell at Ismelda. She was screaming, “Some bloody bird tried to nest in my hair earlier!” I guess even birds think her hair is messy as heck too. I laughed at the thought. That couldn’t have been Talbott though because he usually keeps to himself, and isn’t the biggest fan of Merula.

I finally finished walking over to where I normally sit with friends in the Great Hall, but when I got there, Penny was nowhere to be found!! I sighed and sat down. I nearly left after waiting for 10 minutes, but finally, Penny decided to show up.

“Ah, you’re here, Isabella! Thanks for coming,” she greeted, looking worried.

“Of course, Penny,” I said, picking up on her fidgety behaviour, “Now, what’s wrong?” I asked, getting straight to the point, “You sounded worried when you asked to meet.”

“It’s Talbott…” she said nervously. I quickly started paying more attention. I don”t know why Talbott has this sort of effect on me, but I really care about him, even though I hardly know him.

Taken by surprise, I blurted out without thinking, “Talbott Winger, the one who helped us brew an Animagus Potion? What’s wrong?! Is he hurt?!”

“No…” Penny said uncertaintly, “at least I hope not.” I raised my eyebrow at this. Based on my reaction, Penny quickly explained, “He’s been spending all of his time alone recently.”

I held back a laugh, “no offence, Penny, but have you met Talbott? He makes Snape look talkative.”

Penny awkwardly said, “I know he’s a… private person, but I've been his friend for a while. I can tell something’s wrong.” I gave Penny a sceptical look, and she added, “plus he’s been missing class, even Transfiguration, and that’s his favourite.” I subconsciously added that to my mental list of things to remember. Could Talbott be in an organisation like me? Did he join the Keepers of Adeen? No… I would’ve known if there was a new member… Maybe he joined Dark Core? It would make sense why they’d want him of all people because he can spy with his animagus ability… No, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to do that… Penny continued, snapping me out of my thoughts, “I’d ask him myself, but I haven’t been able to find him. I think he’s been avoiding me,” she said, looking like she was about to cry. I immediately became determined to help, I didn't want to see Penny this sad.

“That’s why I asked to meet you, actually. I was hoping you might know where he is,” she explained.

I felt really bad admitting, “sorry, Penny, I haven’t seen him at all recently.” I couldn’t look at Penny’s face with tears threatening to fall, so I quickly looked away. Suddenly, while gazing at my other friends, I got an idea, “but let’s ask around. Surely someone has to have seen Talbott.” Thankfully, Penny cheered up. “Mission accomplished,” I muttered under my breath.

First I went up to Rowan who apologised, “sorry, Isabella, I’ve been too busy with my studies to pay much attention to gossip.”

I asked again, “are you sure you haven’t seen him?”

She looked up from her book sighing, and asked, “if Talbott wants to be alone, shouldn’t you give him his space?”

Getting the hint, I left Rowan reading. Maybe I can get information from Merual, I thought. After asking the question, Merula asked, snorting, “Winger? Are you picking up another odd friend to add to your collection?”

“Talbott’s not odd,” I muttered, wanting to blast that smirk off Merula’s stupid face.

“Sorry, what’s that, Wallace? Standing up for your boyfriend?” she asked, trying to provoke me. I walked away, thinking better than starting a fight.

“Guess I’ll go to Tulip,” I told myself, “she might know since she’s in his house.”

All she could tell me was, “I haven't seen Talbott Winger around the Ravenclaw common room much lately.”

I sighed, leaving her to ask Andre who just asked me, “Talbott Winger’s the bloke that keeps to himself a lot, right?”

Giving up, I reluctantly went over to Merula again, who was no help, and just asked, “you have a hard time keeping track of a lot of people, eh Wallace?”

I looked away from her and spotted Professor Flitwick at the staff table. He might know more, I thought. Apparently, I thought wrong. He had just as much of an idea on the matter as me, saying, “no, I’m afraid Mr. Winger hasn’t told me anything,” and requesting, “if you do see Mr. Winger, please tell him we need to discuss his attendance.”

Tulip beckoned me over to her. I was hopeful for a moment for evidence, but all I got from her was, “Now that I think about it, I didn’t see Talbott Winger at dinner, does that help?’

“Not really, but thanks anyway Tulip,” I replied sadly.

Andre saw me and, I suppose he felt guilty for not giving me any information, because he quickly said, “sorry, I don’t know much about Talbott other than that he looks interesting.”

I sighed, saying, “it’s okay Andre, it’s not like it’s your fault.”

Me and Penny regrouped and I said, “that’s odd. I asked everyone who knows him and it doesn’t seem any of them has seen Talbott,” making sure she at least would feel a bit better, I added, “whatever’s going on, it doesn’t seem like he’s ignoring you specifically, Penny.”

“Though I’m glad he’s not only avoiding me, now I’m even more worried…” She looked away, and became lost in thought. She looked back up, “I want to look for him, but I promised I’d tutor a few first years in potions now…”

Seeing her sad look, I had to tell her, “don’t worry, Penny. I’ll find and talk to him.”

“Really? You’ll check in on Talbott for me? Why?” She asked, seeming suspicious.

I was quick to explain, “Talbott’s my friend, even if he doesn’t like to admit it. I’m worried about him and want to make sure he’s okay too.” I slowly added in, talking to myself more than Penny, “Besides, this might be a good opportunity to try to get to know him better.”

Penny ran up and hugged me, “thanks, Isabella. It’s a relief knowing you’ll be there for him if he does need help.” She pulled away, “Talbott might say he’d rather be alone, but I don’t think he really means it,” she said with a soft expression, “I really appreciate this, Isabella. Let me know how it goes and if you need any help.”

“Of course!,” I said almost immediately, “I’m heading to the Courtyard now, I’ll look for Talbott while I’m there.”

Me and Penny parted ways. I headed back up to my dormitory. After changing from my robes to my casual outfit since school was done for the rest of the day on Friday, I layed down, only for Chocolate to come with a piece of parchment in her beak. I was quick to take and read it. It started:

Dear, Isabella,

Since you won’t give up on looking for me, I’ll meet you in the Courtyard now.

Sincerely,

Talbott

This time, I was too lazy to run all the way to the Courtyard, so I transformed into my animagus form; a Peregrine Falcon, and flew out of my dormitory window, down to the Courtyard. “Shoot, I forgot about the landing process,” I said to myself, since I’ve always ended up landing by crashing into the ground.

As soon as the Courtyard caught my sight, I sighed, found the pear tree, and decided to crash into it. I shut my eyes tight and felt all the branches scrape me. I transformed back to a human and hissed in pain. I stood up, ignoring how bad it actually was. Looking around, the only people I saw in the Courtyard other than me were Jae and Chiara. Do they just spend all their time together? I thought to myself. I slowly walked over to the doors leading to the Courtyard.

I heard a calling whistle and quickly looked around to see Talbott leaning against the fountain as he stated, “over here.”

“Talbott! When I told Penny I’d look for you, I wasn’t expecting you to reach out and agree to meet me here first,” I said, surprised.

“So it’s true that you and Penny have been looking for me,” he said with an eyebrow raised and a sceptical look.

“Where did you hear that?” I asked, “everyone I talked to hasn’t seen or talked to you in days.”

“I little birdie told me,” he said smirking. I broke my composure and giggled.

After controlling myself again, I said, rolling my eyes, smiling, “nice try, but bird puns won’t distract me from asking about what’s going on with you for that long.”

He sighed, “It was worth a shot.”

I glared at him, “Talbott, I’m being serious. You’ve even been missing classes,” I sighed before continuing, “When Penny told me how concerned she was about you, I couldn’t help but be worried too.”

“I appreciate the concern, but as you can see, I’m fine,” he said, trying to convince me. I guess it was too bad for him that I’m able to tell when people are faking their emotions because I do it too.

“Are you actually fine?” I asked, then said accusingly, “Or are you just lying and telling me you’re fine so I’ll leave you alone?”

Surprisingly, unlike most people who get nervous or surprised when I accuse them of things, Talbott kept his composure and asked, “If I tell you I’m lying, will you keep pressuring me to find out what’s wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’m actually fine,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Talbott!” I yelled, getting annoyed.

He actually did lose his composure for a bit but then continued, “So I’ve spent a lot of time alone lately. That’s not exactly newsworthy,” he paused and added quieter than before, “Why do you care if there’s anything bothering me anyways?”

I felt my face slowly heat up as I was under his piercing gaze, “I consider you my friend, Talbott, and I care about you. If something’s bothering you, I want to know so I can help,” I swallowed before continuing, “I thought you opened up to me back then because you thought of me as your friend, too,” I looked back into his eyes, “was I wrong?”

He looked around awkwardly, and, trying to come up with an excuse, he said, “I know I called you my friend earlier, but it’s just because I got caught up in the moment.” Apparently I’m good at making people feel bad, because, after seeing my face, he said, “It’s not that I don’t like you or anything. I’m just not ready to call you my friend yet. You barely know me.”

I muttered to myself, “Part of me was hoping this was my opportunity to change that.”

Noticing the awkward silence, I said, “Fine, we don’t have to talk about what’s wrong,” I felt around in my mokeskin pouch, and found what I was looking for. Smiling, I said, “We can play a game of Gobstones instead…” suddenly I got an idea, and added, “But if I win, you have to at least consider telling me why you’ve been extra distant lately,” I finished, smirking.

“And if I win?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll tell Penny you’re actually fine and never bring any of this up again,” I said, trying to convince him.

“Alright, Isabella. If you can beat me at Gobstones, I promise to hear you out,” he said, looking determined.

After I set up the game, Talbott must have gotten a flashback, because he stated, “Your distractions won’t work this time, Isabella. I don’t intend to lose,” and to add some uncertainty for me he said, “I’ve been practising Gobstones.”

The distraction rolled off my tongue like water causing me to say, smirking, “and I’ve been spying on the ministry.”

“You’ve been what?!” He said surprised, not realising he completely missed the stones until it was my turn and he was sprayed, “ugh, honestly, you should be a Slytherin,” he said annoyed, “anyway, why’s Penny worried about me?”

“She fancies you,” I said sarcastically. Unfortunately, I was too distracted saying that, and only came back to my senses to see Talbott smirking, and myself smelling horrible.

“Nice try, but I know Penny likes someone else,” he said proudly.

“If I couldn’t say it any better, I’d say you actually like hanging out with me,” I stated.

“Well, I’d prefer to keep to myself,” he said, flustered.

“Well, I’d prefer to report you to the ministry,” I said, distracting him enough to spray him.

He sighed, “I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming,” and under his breath he stated, “maybe if you didn’t keep distracting me.”

I smirked, “Distractions? What distractions? I’m just making small talk,” I finished casually.

Observing the game with his “eagle eyes” he replied, “You might be close to winning, but you can’t possibly have any distractions left…”

“We’ll see about that,” I glared while smiling.

“I’m setting up my special move…” he muttered.

“Is that a ministry official I see?” I asked, distracting him long enough for him to miss yet again, and for me to knock the rest of the Gobstones out of the circle.

Talbott groaned, “I know when I’ve lost. I suppose I can at least hear you out.”

After we stood up, he admitted, “Alright, Isabella, you won. Just like I promised, I’ll hear you out.”

“Talbott, I know you don’t like talking about yourself, but you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me what’s bothering you. You trusted me with your secret that you’re an unregistered Animagus… And as an unregistered Animagus too, I understand how much trust that requires…” I said, trying to convince him to tell me, “I guess what I’m saying is… I hope you know you can tell me anything,” I can’t say I wasn’t surprised by his response.

Talbott stopped to listen intently and suddenly said looking horrified, “shh!”

“What?” Then I stopped to listen too. I heard footsteps close by us. My eyes widened, “oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no,” I muttered under my breath. As quickly as those words came out of my mouth, I whipped out my wand, just to see Talbott doing the same thing after looking around. I softly yelled, “Homenum revelio!” Pointing my wand at where I heard the footsteps. I noticed Talbott did the same thing.

I wasn’t surprised on who I revealed, “Merula?! You were spying on us?!”

Talbott rolled his eyes, “She must have been under the Disillusionment Charm. That would explain why we didn’t notice her until she moved,” he moved his attention over to her, “How much did you hear?”

Merula looked annoyed, “Nothing… I was just passing through.”

Talbott scoffed, “Like I’d believe that. People who are “just passing through” don’t use Concealment Charms.”

“Even if I had heard you, what makes you interested in your little gossip? I have better things to do with my time…”

Talbott turned back to me, looking horrified, “Even though she denies it, Merula had heard we’re unregistered Animagi,” he looked more angry by the moment, “If that’s not bad enough, everyone in school knows her parents are in Azkaban for supporting You-Know-Who! The child of two Death Eaters knows we’re unregistered Animagi!”

I immediately backtracked, “I’m so sorry, Talbott. I had no idea Merula was listening in on us.” I’m gonna have to give myself several more scars for this later.

Talbott took a deep breath, “it’s fine…”

Trying to make things better I added, “Let me talk to Merula. Maybe I can-”

“No offence, Isabella, but you’ve done enough,” Talbott said angrily.

“But I know Merual! I can at least try to convince her to keep our secret!” With Talbott looking like he was about to say no, I said, “In fact, I’ll go find Merula and talk to her right now.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need anymore of your help. I’ll handle Merula on my own,” and with that, he walked away from me.

After going to the bathroom, adding several more cuts on my arm, cleaning them, and going back to my dormitory, I sent Merula a letter;

Dear Merula,

I know this sounds crazy, but I need to talk with you.

Sincerely,

Isabella

I sent Chocolate away. I sketched for about thirty minutes, waiting for her to come back. When she returned, she had a letter in her beak;

Dear Isabella,

If you must talk to me, you might as well come now. I’m in the Potions Classroom.

Sincerely,

Merula

I walked down to the dungeons, to see Merula getting blasted in the face with a potion she was attempting to make. I laughed and walked over to her. Although her face was now covered in a black-ish colour, she tried to act like nothing happened by quickly wiping it off. She went back to her potion, clearly ignoring me, so I cleared my throat.

Groaning, she asked, “What do you want, Wallace? I’m studying.”

“You read my letter, didn’t you? We need to talk.”

“If this is about you and Winger, I already told you that I didn’t hear anything”

I sighed, “Do you really think I’m daft enough to believe that lie?”

She smirked, “Are you sure you want me to answer that question?”

“Why were you spying on us, Merula?”

Rolling her eyes for the hundredth time, while making her cauldron stir on its own, she countered, “Why are you so incredibly annoying?”

“Look, Merula, you can keep avoiding the subject all you want, but I'm not leaving until you agree to talk, so you might as well cooperate,” I said, trying to not let my anger get the best of me.

“Ugh, you’re really not going to go away until I do, are you?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said with a prideful smile.

Losing the argument, Merula gave in and said, “Fine, but I’m going to finish this potion first, so you might as well grab a beaker and make yourself useful.”

While grabbing the beaker she pointed at, I mentioned, “I didn’t know you were so studious, Merula.”

Just having to be rude, Merula said, “Studying must be a foreign concept for you, eh Wallace?”

After handing the beaker over to her, I sighed, crossing my arms, “Just because you don’t usually see me studying doesn’t mean I don’t. I just try to avoid you throughout the day.”

“Since you’re just standing there, you might as well hand me that bottle.”

Leaning over to give it to her, I noticed Merula’s book was filled with notes in the margins that aren’t in her handwriting. “What potion is Merula even brewing?” I muttered, studying her book. Apparently she heard me because she replied, “How are you passing potions? This is just a simple Wideye Potion. Honestly, Barnaby has more brain cells than you.”

“Well, I feel like Barnaby is very smart, so I’ll consider that a compliment,” I said, sticking up for him. Changing the subject, I asked, “Would you really report Talbott to the Ministry, Merula?”

“I couldn’t care less about Winger. I just followed you thinking you were sneaking off to go Cursed Vault hunting, so I really don’t care.”

“I’d say I can’t believe you’d spy on me, Merula, but that’d be a lie.”

“Wow, you finally understand my personality, Wallace,” she said sarcastically, “Fine, I admit it, I was listening in on you and Winger, but only because I thought you had more info on the Cursed Vault of Fear.”

“Aha! So you were lying!”

“Yes, alright, I lied about not hearing anything. So what?”

“I don’t blame you for spying on me and lying about it. I would’ve done the same if I were in your position, but I would’ve gotten away with it,” I muttered in the last part.

She put an over-exaggerating expression on her face, “I wasn’t spying, I was keeping an eye on my competition,” she thought for a moment, and suddenly said, “And what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Ignoring her last comment, I continued on, “So just to be clear, you weren’t spying on Talbott and me to try to learn our secrets?”

Without confirming or denying what I asked, Merula replied, “Like I said, I wasn’t spying, I was keeping an eye on my competition, and why else would I be interested in you and your odd friends?”

“Like I said, Talbott’s not odd, and I’m not sure if I should feel relieved or insulted.”

“If that’s all-”

“-Wait, Merula, the real reason I came was to convince you to not tell anyone about Talbott’s and my secret,” I said quickly.

“Why shouldn’t I tell anyone you and Winger are unregistered Animagi?” Merula said challengingly.

“Because I’ll force you to keep it a secret if necessary.”

“Are you seriously threatening someone who could get you and your friend sent to Azkaban?” Then she said something I wasn’t expecting, “You might be more interesting than I thought, Wallace.”

“So will you keep Talbott’s secret?” I said.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” She asked, trying to scare me.

“Merula, this is serious,” I said, unfazed.

“I am being serious,” she smirked, making me worry. Not for myself, but for Talbott. I don’t want to be the reason he’d get sent to Azkaban.

“I better find Talbott now and warn him about Merula…” I said to myself after Merula left with the biggest smug look on her face.

[ariwilder]

It’s not over until the Fat Lady sings | Part VII

Pairing: Penny Haywood x Jacob’s Sibling

Summary: It’s over. It’s your final day at Hogwarts. It’s time to say farewell to your friends and soon enough the start of new adventures.

AN: Yes, the hiatus is over after SO LONG. If only you are curious as to what could have taken me so long, just go ahead and read. All I can say for now, however, is this gif.

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Part I  |  Part II  |  Part III  |  Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII

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Not today. 

You land clumsily on the floor and fall face first. You heave a deep breath and feel the cool breeze over your bruised forehead.  The floor is wooden you take notice. 

“We live.” You sound more excited than relieved.

The tall man of very dark skin gives you a disapproving look as he offers you his big, callous hand, “you may not believe us, but we are not kidnapping you.” He says dimly. 

“You are not doing a very believable job at it,” you mutter under your breath as you stand up and divert your eyes in search of your friend. 

If Nicolau heard you or not, you do not care. 

Feeling a tap behind your shoulder, you turn to find Penny unscratched for the exception of a few stray golden hairs out of place. It kind of takes your breath away, you are not sure if it’s the intense sense of relief or not. 

“You okay?" You feel her cradle your face with one of her hands,“I think I heard you hit yourself when we landed.” 

You open your mouth to answer, while you feel a hot liquid make its way down your nose. Now that she mentions it a throbbing headache is starting to thunder your scalp. 

“Episkey.”

A hot-cold sensation goes over your forehead in that instant, interrupting the nearing headache altogether. You blink at Penny, and smile at her in gratefulness, only to realise the voice you heard had been a baritone.  

*Wait….that couldn’t have been Penny. 

A sudden cough makes Penny shriek away from you. 

“I hopee you are doing goodje , crianças , Nico,” it is Maria's soft voice smiling over you. From the corner of your eye you witness Nicolau withdraw a rather stout wand into his pocket. 

If Maria took notice of your awkward situation, she does not verbalize it. You go over your face with your hand quickly, confirming that all of your features remain unscratched in their right place. On your hand, a smear of red blood.  Marvelous. 

"Where are we?" It is Penny who asks. You both have been asking this question a lot more than you'd like. 

From the looks of it, after a brief inspection of the place since your landing, you notice you are inside an old library. Or at least that's what it looks like to you. Row over row of tall, dusty dark bookshelves  cover every wall of the two story tall ceiling room. All filled by equally old and dusty books of all sizes, colors and lengths.  In the middle is a rectangle reading table, also made of dark wood, six chairs with red tattered cushions and on the roof, suspended on mid-air, an old wooden enchanted chandelier,  which oddly enough, didn't offer much for illumination. 

"This is my família biblioteca , heirloom of the familia Oliveira  for centuries. We are stayim in minha casa for now, is probably more safe." She says this in a grave tone. It does not suit you well. 

“What is going on here and where is Rakepick?” you see Nicolau to your left roll his eyes. 

Once again, much to your distress, despite being the creator of the portkey, Patricia Rakepick is nowhere to be found in the near vicinity. 

Maria grimaces, "Paty is probably getting o’ Ministério off our backs, they almost got us down there , talvez," she  adds the last as after thought before avoiding your eyes with a sigh. Yet, you are not ready to let things go.

“What does that even mean? Are we some sort of fugitives? Why were we in the Amazonas? What is this ministerio and why are we running from them?” 

You try your best not to holler at them in anger, but being left out of the loop is making you really anxious. You are clenching your fists so tight they are starting to pale. Nicolau steps between you and Patricia instinctively, Penny puts a hand on your arm. 

The more time passes the harder it is becoming for you to trust the whole expedition, and the more you think this is a bad idea. You just can't help but to know.

“ Relaxa Nico , it is time dei know.” Maria pats Nicolaus broad shoulders softly, motherly. He untenses instantly. 

“Sit, por favor , it is long,” she signals to the chairs over the table. They look as if they haven’t been dusted for centuries, and perhaps they haven’t. 

You make your way to a chair, with Penny behind you, begrudgingly.  Over the table, you notice, several pictures both magical and inanimate reside in piles, a map of Brazil and another one of the city (you read the words Rio de Janeiro) with different floating signals. One of the maps even had several floating names over it making their way around the city. You try to gulp but you fail, finding your mouth unusually dry. 

In front of you, you watch a clearly shaken Maria Aparecida put two bony hands over the research table, her expression distraught, “Eu nem sei por onde começar, how to explain.” She opens her mouth and closes it again, a visible quiver on her bottom lip. 

You wish you could feel sympathetic with her, but you don’t. Not when you have been kept in the dark for so long. 

“Let me,” it is Nicolau this time, his face as stoic as every moment you have spent with him, “what you see over here is a map of Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro ." 

You raise one of your eyebrows at him with a sober stare. Your cheeky ‘don’t you say’ remains hot on your lips because Penny nudges your ribs with the point of her elbow. You owww at her, she purses her lips at you. You hiss a ‘ fine ’ under your breath while Nico pretends not to notice your banter. 

"We have been following the trail of a number of unusual disappearances, all of which have been escalating in the recent months since their start more than a year ago." Nico pauses as you see a trace of struggle surface through his impassive face. 

You dart your attention between Nico and Maria intrigued. The brief info dump had felt like a joke with a punchline that never quite arrived. You can understand why it would be important to follow the trace of several disappearances but you fail to understand how this could be related to curse breaking or why Rakepick had decided to involve herself in it. 

"Do the authorities know any of this? Don't you have a Ministry that attends to these matters?" Penny asks matter-of-factly, she probably feels as bewildered as you. 

What would a trio of British wizards be doing in Brazil to help solve an arbitrary disappearing mystery? Sounds pretty random, if they asked you. What could you do that the Brazilian ministry couldn't?

Maria Aparecida interrupts your train of thought with a banshee-like chuckle. You would've laughed after her had you not been feeling as annoyed as you currently feel. 

"Ja! O’ministério?” she points one bony finger at Penny while she looks at Nicolau, "O’ministério, menina! Ja-ja-ja-jaaaaaaa!" She hollers in fake laughter only to stop suddenly. 

"Dei have known for months, dei were the first notify of the disappearances of dise…of dise…" she heaves for a second breath, perhaps to gather herself, "....crianças!" She motions wildly in the air with her hands, “...childs!”

She had spoken so fast it was hard for you to understand.

"Dei are corrupt! The worst, porcaria ! Dei do not care. Not about childs, not about safety, not about Macumba!" She hits the wooden table with both her hands in feverish anger before muttering unintelligible words under her breath, that might have been portoguese with a swear word or two by the sound of it. 

Wait. 

"Wait, did you say they are disappearing children?" 

A powerful feeling between nausea and bemusement punches your stomach. As a persecuted child yourself, you can't help but feel sympathy–anger. It hadn't occurred to you before, not really, that outside of Britain all other kinds of terrors persecuted other children daily. 

"They are disappearing sem-magica children from poor regions of Rio de Janeiro-No maj?” He adds as an afterthought after seeing our confused stares. 

“You mean muggleborn? Magical children born from no magical parents?” It is Penny who interjects, you hadn’t heard of the term No-maj before. 

“Yes, muggleborn. We have tracked seven so far." Nico’s face is in a deep frown, an expression you hadn’t seen in his face before, and emanated a menacing aura around him.

"But that would be hard to hide, right? How can school age magical children disappear out of thin air and have no one notice? Or–" 

You can hear a clear distraught in Penny’s voice, heartbreak even. She is probably having a harder time believing something like that could happen just like that, even on the other side of the world. The thought that something like this could happen to her still school-aged sister probably bothers her more than she would be willing to admit. 

“Who say dei were school agee?” Maria’s words impale us into an ominous silence. 

The implications give you immediate goosebumps, while bile hits the back of your throat. 

"Dei are disappearing childs yet to be register in Castelobruxo . O’ministério does not care because dei are not registered ainda the Brazilian magical census,” You see Maria change her palms into firsts over the table.

“Brazilian muggles do not care because the disappearing children are poor and this is ‘normal’ in Brazilian favelas.” Nico quotes in the air with his fingers. 

“We also believe there is enough evidence to suggest this might not only be happening in Rio de Janeiro, but all over Brazil.” 

Nico’s words are so grave, neither you or Penny dare to utter a word. Not of disbelief, nor support. The matter at hand is far more horrifying than any worst case scenarios you would’ve come up with. 

Maria Aparecida hits the wooden table with fury, “And all O’ministério care about is plan the next International Warlock Convention !” She fumes.

“No cause troubawl Maria,” she hits the table with each of her sentences,” No conspiracy theorie Maria,” pum! , “ noting is wrong , noting is happening in Brazil.” pum! , “ Stop or we fire you! Pffft!” pum! , “Macumba no exist anymore!” Her hair turns wilder with every new pummeling of the table, her eyes set up in a flaring glare. Almond eyes so tight and slant you could barely recognize her irises. 

Penny reaches for your robe instinctively. You didn’t know Maria Aparecida, if at all, and she looked ready to cast an unforgivable curse at the minor provocation. 

“What is Macumba?” The question slips through your lips unconsciously. The word had shimmered at you since its first mention, for some reason resonated in your recent memory. 

“Macumba is a very old kind of ritualistic magic that developed in the early magical communities of the 16th century,” Nico pauses and moistens his lips, “you are foreigners, so you do not know but around that time a massive wave of immigration populated Brazil and sem magica, muggleborn, children were not trained in Castelobruxo. That is no longer the case, but  Brazil has a long history of misuse and practice of illegal magic, so we think the disappearances could be related.”

Maria stands up suddenly at this, “No, Nico, we no ‘tink’,” she quotes in the aire, “dei are related, we know.” 

The loud pop of an apparition interrupts your conversation, before the heavy front doors of the library open with a screech. The bloodied figure of a woman collapses before you, the first to run to her side being Maria in a rush. 

“Paty, querida, what happen?” she puts Rakepick’s head over her lap and uncovers her face from a veil, revealing Patricia Rakepick’s signature red head, blood pouring grotesquely down her eyes.  

“They have him, Maria, they have him.” She anguishes, if you didn’t know better you could swear you could hear her sob. 

Maria remains silent, her face unusually petrous. Beside her Nico kneels. 

“Who do they have?” He grabs her robes quite forcefully with intention to shake her. Such a strong reaction takes you aback. Beside you, you notice Penny rummaging through her bag. 

“Who do they have, woman?!” He shakes her for real this time, breaking Maria from the quiet reverie she had immersed into. 

“She is hurt, stop it,” you grab Nicolau’s forearm menacingly. He glares at you with a snarl, you make a quiet dash to your wand. You might not be fond of Rakepick right now, but you would not allow a stranger to hurt her. 

Rakepick brushes Nicolau’s hands from her robes taciturn but placating before speaking to Maria again, “Santos, I think they have Santos, he… he saved me, we have to go back, you have to go back, check your watch.” she orders Maria.

 “Help.” Patricia adds as an afterthought before closing her bloodshot eyes. You grip your wand beside you tightly. These last words, however, are meant for you, that much you know.

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

ah: I have no excuses, or way too many for the reason why I had been on hiatus for so long. But I have decided, I will finally give it a try and finish something for a change. The outline is done. I delayed a bit because of the world cup, but I hope to keep going forward. Looking forward for the ride, and you'd like, your company!

xoxo, everyone,

Lycopene.

You can find me in ao3 too.

[jacobscursebreakerlilsis]

💛🖤💚🤍

[callsigndragon]

Hold my hand | One

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x OFC / Jake Seresin x Red

Wordcount: 2.3k

Warnings: mentions of cancer, death, more death, someone's mom is a whore, the seresins had a shitty childhood... and then all fluffy and lovey dovey stuff!

Masterlist

If you want to get tagged, comment down below!

Eighteen. Jake was eighteen. Jenn was sixteen. It wasn’t the best idea. Heck, it wasn’t even an idea. It was just a choice. A choice made in a moment of need: Jake protecting Jenn while she ran upstairs to pack her things. 

Jake had been waiting for that moment since he was 10. Since the day their father died. Cancer was a bitch, and the Seresins had a taste of it. Tom, the human shield that kept the siblings safe from their mother, was gone. And for the next 8 years, Jake counted the days left until they could run away from that house. 

The day had come. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Jacob? You are not enough. You don’t know how to do anything!” Janine spat, tumbling around the living room and spilling the contents of her black mug—the one that was supposed to be used for coffee but that she filled with any alcoholic liquid she could find. “Nobody will love you. Nor you or your sister. That fucking whore. She’s a needy bitch, going around begging for some attention, and will end up pregnant like a cow before she turns twenty!”

Jake could hear Jenn running downstairs with tears in her eyes. How could her own mother talk about her like that? “If you hated the idea of becoming a mother so much, you shouldn’t have gotten pregnant in the first place!” 

“We are not the same, mother. Just because you don’t know how to do anything, it doesn’t mean I can’t learn.” Jake replied, taking a few steps back. She was the only person he was afraid of. 

“You don’t have money. You don’t know how to do anything! What are two little pieces of shit like you gonna do out of this house? You might as well give up. Kill yourselves and end my suffering.” The woman threw the mug over Jake’s head, missing Jenn by a hair. 

“I will wait until Jenn turns 17, and then we’ll join the Naval Academy. Like dad did.” Jake clenched his jaw, stopping the feelings flooding his mind at the thought of his late father. 

“You don’t have the guts!” 

“You’re just afraid of ending up alone. But we’re gonna walk out that door, and we won’t have to see your face again.” Jenn cried, choking up on her tears, feeling a mixture of anxiousness and impatience. 

And they did. They walked out. They never looked back. 

They took the reins. 

Jake parks his truck outside the Hard Deck, a bar that used to be the center of his world when he was a student at Top Gun. It’s been a while since those days. 

“Hey, isn’t that Javy’s car?” 

Jenn raises her head and looks at the black Chevrolet Impala parked next to them. “Holy shit, it is his car. Look, the little duck I bought him for Christmas.” 

Jake turns off the engine and gets off the truck, slamming the door behind him. “He came here and didn’t tell us?” 

Jake raises an eyebrow, pointing a finger at him. “Jay, you came here and didn’t tell him either.” 

“Because it’s a secret detachment” 

“And there you have your answer.” Jenn rolls her eyes, getting inside the bar and marveling at the ambience, the smell, and the homely, inviting atmosphere that reigns over the place. She never had called a place ‘home’, but she knows that this could be the closest thing to it. 

“Well, well, look at that! Javy Machado in the flesh.” 

“Valkyrie! Oh my goodness, we’re working together again?” Javy says, leaving his beer at the bartop and hugging the female. “Where’s the ugly Seresin?” 

“Right behind you.” Jake reveals, patting Coyote’s back and chuckling. “Please don’t flirt with my sister, it would be awkward.” 

“I’m not flirting!” Javy fusses, sitting down and gesturing to Penny, the owner, to bring two more beers. “This has to be a hell of a mission if we are here.” 

“Only the best of the best, Coyote.” Jenn raises her beer, the two men do the same, toasting for them and the future mission. 

“Do you think someone else might be joining us?” Jake asks, occupying the seat next to Javy’s. 

“We’re only three, and we don’t have a wizzo… We need another pilot with a back-seater.” Jenn adds, turning to the pool table and preparing the table so they can play. “Maybe Phoenix?” 

Jake thinks about it for a second. “Yeah… You can’t have a special secret mission only for the elite and not call her.” He looks at the flabbergasted expressions of the other two pilots and points at them with his index finger. “Don’t tell her I said that.” 

“She wouldn’t believe us even if we tried.” Javy jokes, grabs a pool cue, and gets ready to play. 

A few minutes pass, the three pilots absorbed by their game, until four more pilots join them, Phoenix at the head of the group. “What do we have here! If it ain’t Phoenix!” 

Jenn smiles when she sees Nat and looks with curiosity at the other three of them. She reads their names on the badges. Fitch, Garcia, and Jenkins. Jenkins kind of rings a bell, but she doesn’t remember why. 

“And here I thought we were special, guys. Turns out the invite went to anyone.” Jake teases, sitting in the pool, watching the newcomers' faces. He goes from Phoenix to the two men, but his eyes stop when they notice Jenkins’ eyes. They have to be the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen. Dark blue irises look at him, but he gets lost in the hazel ring around her pupils. Her eyes look like galaxies, and he fears that he might get lost in them if he stares too long. 

“Fellas,” Phoenix says, making Jake stop staring at the female pilot. “this here’s Bagman.” 

Jenn snorts, and Jake glares at him. “Hangman.” 

“Whatever.” Phoenix turns a bit, looking at the other three aviators. “You’re looking at the only other Naval Aviator on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill.” 

Jake smirks, faking modesty. “Stop. You’re gonna make me blush.” 

“Mind you, the other guy was in a museum piece from the Korean War.” Phoenix adds, looking at Hangman with her head tilted. How much she loves to tease him. 

“Cold war.” Jenn and Javy correct her at the same time. It might be an old plane, but it’s still a kill. 

“Same century,” Fitch says, crossing his arms over his chest. He is not impressed by the man’s achievements. 

“Not this one.” Garcia remarks, and Jenn looks at Javy, wondering what to do. “Red Queen has a confirmed air-to-air kill with a fifth gen aircraft. That’s impressive.”

“You know, I’ve heard a lot about this Red Queen, and yet, I have never seen her. I’m starting to believe she’s not even real, just a product of someone’s imagination to make my work look less impressive. I think someone’s jealous and goes around inventing rumors, guys.” Jake says, turning to grab his beer. 

“I’m Red Queen.” Jenkins announces, moving a step closer to him and smirking. “Want me to show you the report?” 

Jake clears his throat and gets up from his sitting position, as if he were really worried about looking like an idiot. More than he was already. “I am… I’m sorry. I really thought you were a myth. Everyone says you were the perfect student at the Naval Academy and, well, I am… I didn’t picture you like that.” 

“I know I’m short, but that has its benefits, Lieutenant Bagman.” She says, looking at the other two pilots. “My name is Rowan Jenkins. Red Queen. Everyone calls me Red.” 

Jenn, who had been looking at the exchange in front of her, blinks a few times and snaps out of her thoughts. “Oh shit. I’m Jenn Seresin. Valkyrie. This is Javy Machado. Call sign Coyote. And the… Bagman here is Jake Seresin.” 

“Wait, you’re siblings?” Rowan says, looking between the two Seresins, trying to spot some similarities. Yeah, she can see some of them. 

“Unfortunately.” Jenn mutters, earning a smack in the back of her head from Javy. “Who’re your friends, Phoenix?” 

“I’m Mickey Garcia. Fanboy.” 

“Reuben Fitch. Payback.” He says, smiling. “Revenge was already taken.” 

Jenn smiles, and smiles at Phoenix. “Glad to see you here.” 

“This mission can’t work without me, what can I say.” She gestures in the direction of the bar, and speaks again. “Who’s he?”

The friend trio frowns, not understanding her words. “Who’s who?” 

Phoenix motions in the direction of a guy, seated down, eating, and cleaning his lap. He doesn’t seem to realize that he’s the center of attention. Suddenly, he raises his head, and he’s a bit startled by the number of eyes staring at him. 

“When did you come in?” Jenn asks, moving so she can see the aviator. 

“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time.” 

There’s a moment of silence, Jenn and Jake share a look. Jenn knows that look. He’s about to make a joke that can be either the most unfunny thing ever, or really offensive. “The man’s a stealth pilot. Literally.” 

Well, it wasn’t that bad. 

“Weapons Systems Officer, actually.” The wizzo replies, looking at all the faces that are staring at him. 

“With no sense of humor.” Jake’s sister is about to smack him, but he gets up and walks toward the bar. 

“What do they call you?” Natasha asks, interested in knowing the wizzo better. 

“Bob.” 

“No, your call sign.” Payback chuckles, knowing that it’s something that happens regularly. Aviators are more often called by their call sign than by their name, so sometimes you don’t know where the call sign ends and your name starts. 

“...Bob.” He insists, and they all look at each other. 

“Wait, you’re Bob Floyd? From Lemoore? You’re my new back-seater.” Phoenix says, walking closer to her wizzo. Other than herself, the person on whom she will rely the most.

“Looks like it.” Bob answers, smiling a bit. 

Jenn turns to look at Javy. “Dude, have you seen Jake?” 

“Val, you have to be a bit more specific here. I see him a lot. He’s not as good looking as he thinks.” Javy remarks, earning a slap from Jenn. “Auch!” 

“Idiot. How he was looking at Red before he knew who she was? Did you see that?” Jenn reiterates, looking over to the bar to make sure that her brother doesn’t come back. “I’ve never seen him look at a girl like that.” 

Javy thinks about it for a minute, noticing how his best friend keeps looking over his shoulder to look at her. “He’s smitten.” 

Jake’s sister almost has a fangirl moment because, for the first time in years, Jake Seresin might be interested in someone for more than just sex. “I never thought I’d see this day.” 

“Can we emphasize the fact that he has fallen for the only girl that is better than him at his job?” Javy says biting his bottom lip to not laugh. 

“...Holy shit, you’re right!” 

Jake comes back from the bar, having changed the song on the jukebox. “Bradshaw! As I live and breathe.” Jake says, walking over to Jenn and Javy to give them some beers. He gives one to Red and the other to Phoenix. 

Javy’s eyes widen when he realizes that Bradshaw is, in fact, standing right next to Phoenix. “Oh my god.” 

“What the fuck is he doing here? He’s not fast enough for a special mission,” Jenn says, as if that were the only reason she doesn’t want him there. 

“You look good, Hangman.” Rooster says, watching Hangman’s every movement. It’s only then, when he stops right next to his sister, that he realizes that Jenn Seresin is also in the building. Brilliant. 

“I am good, Rooster. I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.” Hangman says, making Phoenix and Rooster share a glance. 

Jenn looks at Rooster, the man who once was everything she ever wanted, and turns to keep talking with Javy. Family comes first, she reminds herself. Hangman might be a pain in the ass, but Rooster is not a saint, either. He talked as much shit as Hangman did back in the academy days. 

“What I wanna know is who’s team leader? And which of y’all have what it takes to follow me?” Jake states, looking at the others. 

“Of course, I’ll be team leader.” Valkyrie says, winking at Javy, who shakes his head. 

“Nah, Jenn. You’re wrong. It’s gonna be me.” Hangman insists, giving the pool cue to Javy. 

“Hangman, the only place you’ll ever lead anyone is an early grave.” Bradley raises his voice, wanting to be heard by all of the present aviators, even those who are having private conversations. Jenn glares at him, body already moving in his direction, but she’s stopped by Javy and Jake before she can say anything that she might regret later. 

Instead, the other Seresin walks to Rooster, slowly but with a smirk on his face. “And anyone who follows you is just gonna run outta fuel. But then that’s you all over, ain’t it Rooster? Snug on your perch, waitin’ for juuuuust the right moment. That never comes.” Jake smirks, tilting his head. “And I’m not talking about your performance as a pilot, only.” 

“Jake.” Valkyrie warns him, not wanting this to become too personal. 

Slow rider sounds in the back, and Jake laughs. “I love this song!” 

He leaves, and Phoenix and Rooster exchange a few words, but Jenn can’t hear him. She’s more focused on Bradshaw and that stupid Hawaiian shirt he’s wearing. One that she knows too well. 

She bought it for him when they were dating. 

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

Taglist:

@shrimping-for-all

@purplevortexx

@emorychase

@xoxabs88xox

[akaryuga]

Hiya! I got to ask, you friends with Chiara? I have a crush on both her and Merula, but since you are in love with her was wondering if you could help me be braver? Sometimes i wish i could have the Gryffindor bravery over one of or attached to my Hufflepuff traits. Anyways, keep up the art and winning over Merula! Also, be wary of puffskins, i speak from experience, they will try to eat any food you have.

Thank you for your Askᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ!

Sorry, I haven't been clearing my ASK box all this time. Please forgive me orz.

I will gradually clear it by drawing pictures or creating short comic strips. ((Like this one

I hope you'll still be on Tumblr by then. (I'm really sorry, I'm super slow.)_(┐「ε:)_hiya

Aside from the usual busyness, I might be experiencing some social fatigue, which is why I haven't been updating social media much, haha. But don't worry! I still really like Merula! I'm still taking Merula around and enjoying life happily!♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Btw All the English translations are done by chatGPT! If they're not accurate, blame it on the AI ٩(๑òωó๑)۶(#

I have to say, it's saving me a lot of time in translating and proofreading. Haha, who knows, I might actually be able to create a fan comic of Macarula(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

[domaslut]

MC spilling tea.

[katherinewilliams221b]

A Date Before Christmas

This work belongs to the Secret Santa event by @hphmsecretsanta2020​​ and its my gift to @cursebreaker-lilith​​ ! Happy Holidays and thank you so much for making this possible!

I hope you like it despite being out of character lol. I felt very insecure writing about her so I kept it simple and with just a few details so I didnt  mess up the character.

Summary: Lili and Penny spend and afternoon before Christmas having fun in Hogsmeade. Pairing: MC x Penny

A/N: Consider this piece an AU of your timeline lmao

--

The door to the Slytherin common room was closed behind her. The place was deserted, everyone was either in the great hall or on their way to Hogsmeade for the beginning of Christmas.

Perfect.

Lili sat in one of the armchairs in front of the fire and watched through the window the different water creatures that passed in front of her.

She looked down at her fingernails, thinking about the note she had received that morning and how she had reacted without thinking about the consequences.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the scroll in question to read it again for the umpteenth time that day, as if every time she laid eyes on it she would find a way to calm the nerves that were eating her alive.

"What do you have there?"

Rowan's voice startled her, and she hurriedly crumpled up the letter and put it back in her pocket. However, Rowan had already seen it.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in the Great Hall..."

"I've been reading for a while and I wanted to write a letter to my parents before Christmas... what's that?"

"What?" Lilith put her legs up on the couch and shrank to fit in it. She kept looking at the lake water through the window.

"Come on, I'm not stupid. You can tell me anything..."

With a slight roll of the eyes, she took out the crumpled ball of paper from her pocket and handed it to Rowan without making eye contact.

Her friend moved her eyes quickly across the paper and raised her eyebrows before smiling.

"Penny asked you out?"

"She says it doesn't have to be a date..."

"And what did you say?"

Lili looked at Rowan and then at the flames in the fireplace.

"I said yes."

Rowan stared at her. "You don't seem very happy...you've been wanting something like this to happen for months.”

"Rowan, I don't know... what are we going to do?"

"With what?"

"With Penny! If it's a date, then... what am I going to do with her?

"It says here that she's inviting you to some Butterbeers at Hogsmeade. Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Yeah, but it's not the same as having butterbeers as a friend as it is a date. It's different, there are expectations... I don't know, Rowan, I shouldn't have said yes."

"Lili, we're talking about Penny. You've been to Hogsmeade many times and you always have a good time. It's no different now..."

"Yes! Yes it is!"

She got up from her chair and marched towards the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Rowan ran after her and found her lying face down on her bed.

"You're exaggerating, which is counterproductive since you have to meet someone in an hour."

Lili grunted against the pillow and turned around to face the ceiling.

"What should I wear?" She murmured.

"Maybe you should ask Andre, I'm not the best person to..."

"No. Because if I ask Andre, I'll have to tell him I have a a date and he'll ask me with whom and I don't want him to know.”

Rowan sat down on her own bed in front of Lili and sighed. "This is not like you. You have to think more clearly..."

She tapped her fingers to her thigh and despite she knew that Rowan was still talking, she couldn't concentrate on her friend's words. Her gaze shifted to her trunk. She got up with a jump and started throwing Alfred's toys to the floor to be able to open the trunk.

"...so maybe should...what are you doing?"

"I know what to wear." she simply stated.

Rowan caught some pieces of clothing that Lili was throwing, and watched with resignation as she tidied up her room.

"The green scarf and... the black boots should do. Don't look at me like that, I'll tidy up later.

"Yeah...right... Rowan muttered as she watched her friend leave the room armed with a pile of clothes.

Twenty minutes later, Lili emerged from the bathroom enfolded in a black jacket, a green hat that matched her scarf and black boots to complete the look.

"Hoop or stars?” She extended her arms to show two pairs of earrings to Rowan, who lowered her book to look at them.

"Those." Rowan pointed at the hoop earrings and Lili walked to a mirror to put them on.

"Alright, I'm ready."

 The feelings of confidence were gradually dissipated as they passed through the corridors of the castle. The lights that decorated the walls and ceiling created an aura of tranquillity and familiarity that she tried to hold on to.

Right at the doors of the lGreat Hall, there was Penny, clad in a pale pink coat and a matching hat. She smiled at the sight of Lili and rose to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm too late?”

"Just in time. Let's go! Madam Pudifoots is waiting for us."

"Have you booked a table?"

"Yes, I thought some hot tea would do us good. Then we can walk around Hogsmeade, it's all beautifully decorated.”

 The trip to the village was quiet: Penny and Lili walked side by side, casually brushing up against each other from time to time. By the time they arrived, a few snowflakes had begun to fall.

"So you're going home this Christmas?

"Yes, Beatrice decided that she wanted to spend Christmas with the family, so I'm not going to miss that opportunity. What are you going to do?"

"I still don't know." They passed a man selling chestnuts but politely declined his offer.

"I don't recommend them," said Lili, "unless you want sparks to fly off your tongue!" They laughed together to the door of the tearoom and entered, immediately feeling the warmth of the place.

"Hello, my dears! What can I do for you? Table for two?"

"Good afternoon, I've reserved a table."

"Oh! Sure, right this way! I've put you somewhere a bit more private, you know, people don't usually book here so I figured it would be something important.”

The woman took them to the end of the shop, leading them to a table behind the curtain that separated the main hall. They made themselves comfortable and asked each other for their tea, trying to avoid each other's gaze. As a courtesy, Madam Pudifoots brought them a small plate of biscuits.

"Since I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I thought I'd give you this," said Penny, rummaging through her coat.

"You bought me a present?"

"Yes! I hope you like it..." She took a small package from her coat and slid it across the table. She waited impatiently for Lili to unwrap it, but she just stared at it. After a few seconds she looked up and smiled.

"I brought you something too." Penny grinned and accepted the small wooden box.

Lili opened her package to find three different coloured scrunchies and some pairs of matching socks. Excited, she chose the green one and tied part of her hair back. "I love them!"

Penny's reaction was much more exaggerated. It seemed that she had got it right with the hair clips... She put several butterflies in her braids.

"They are beautiful, Lili, they match my jumper."

"And there's more..." Penny raised her eyebrows but before I could ask what she meant; several butterflies started flying around her head. Lili looked on with a smile as Penny tried to catch them, laughing all the time.

"They are bewitched, they take a while to become clips again."

"They are brilliant! Thank you, Lili."

 The tea was well received, and they spent an hour chatting about the classes, potions, and the new collection of Gladrags Wizardwear.

 For once, Lili felt comfortable and not guilty about not thinking about the vaults.

They paid on their way out and willingly accepted the Christmas treat that Madam Pudifoot gave them.

"Do you want to go to Gladrags?"

"Yes! Last week I saw a skirt that I liked."

They walked for a while but nature had other plans; the temperature dropped abruptly and a strong blizzard rose, making it difficult for visitors to walk through the village.

"We can make a strategic stop at Zonko's..." proposed Lili.

"Maybe we will meet Tonks."

The sound of the door bells warning of the arrival of a new buyer was not heard amidst the laughter and commotion of the children visiting the shop. Several lights exploded on the roof and Penny and Lili had to dodge several flying objects. They approached a special Christmas section.

"This is fun, there is a present inside and two people have to pull on both sides," said Penny holding a green package.

"Look! Zonko has put up a Christmas tree! Lili approached it, it was decorated with floating candles, lights and colourful ornaments.

"It will be one of the few things here that are harmless." Penny laughed.

She ate her words as one of the Christmas ornaments doubled in size when Lili touched it and a green liquid exploded in her face.

Both girls broke into laughter as Lili tried to get what appeared to be drool of some creature.

"Ah, I see you have discovered my surprise decorations..." said the owner offering Lili a napkin. She looked at him suspiciously and Zonko laughed. "It's only paper.”

 After several scares and jokes later, Lili grabbed Penny's hand and dragged her into the street.

"The blizzard has stopped, let's go before it closes! They walked together hand in hand, none of them wanted to let go. When they arrived at the clothing shop, they examined the shop window for anything that caught their attention.

"Is that the skirt you wanted?"

Penny nodded enthusiastically and pointed to a mannequin. "And that shirt would look great!" They laughed as several eyes fell on them. They noticed it and tried to turn off their laughter, but when they looked at each other, they couldn't resist and the giggles started again.

 Lili was sitting in front of the dressing room where Penny was changing her clothes. When she came out, the blonde turned around and waited for the verdict.

"It looks great on you but... better with the yellow top."

"Isn't it too flashy?"

"That's the idea..." Penny went back into the fitting room with a little smile.

"Well, I won't buy it today anyway. I'll wait for the sales. What do you want to do now?"

Lili got up from her seat and started walking around the shop. A red jacket caught her attention and she went straight to touch it.

"I don't know... some sweets? We can stop by Honeydukes to see how it is decorated."

"Sounds good!"

 The place was packed but they still managed to make their way through the crowd. They looked around in amazement. As many times as they had gone to that shop, each year they outdid themselves in creating the most fun and colourful atmosphere in all of Hogsmeade. Penny went straight to the cotton candy, while Lili kept her eye on some little heart-shaped candies.

She turned to see Penny paying and rushed to grab a handful of the candy. She waited impatiently for the change after paying, and hid the bag in her jacket.

"Here you are" announced Penny from behind a giant pink cotton candy. "If you behave yourself, maybe I'll give you some.” Lili rolled her eyes before giggling and stole some cotton candy from the cone.

They spent the next few hours wandering around the place, trying out some chocolate samples and listening to the Christmas music playing over the speakers.

As they left, the memory of the noisy shop made the street seem quieter than usual.

It was dark, but the lights on the facades were bright enough to walk around in peace.

"Do you want to go get a Butterbeer?" Penny asked.

 "Let's sit down for a while." Lili pointed to a stone bench in front of them and they cleared the snow so they could sit down. She took the bag out of her pocket and gave her date the candies she had saved. "I bought you this..."

Penny accepted the bag in surprise but finally a smile appeared in her mouth.

"I bought you something too..." Penny reached into her pockets and pulled out a small green package. "Shall we open it?"

They pulled the ends to break the package, which exploded in the air with lights of various colours. They laughed as several things fell on their heads.

"A beaded bracelet..."

"And some lemon drops!"

"Penny..."

The atmosphere suddenly became serious, the blonde waited with concern for Lili to say what she was thinking.

"It was a great date."

Penny smiled before nodding, agreeing with her friend's opinion. Leaning forward, she put her hand on Lili's.

"I agree.”

Lili approached as well and placed her lips on Penny's in a sweet, short peck. They both smiled before getting up.

"To the three broomsticks?”

"To the three broomsticks."

--

[hphmseojunglee]

‘deed i do [1/4]

read on ao3

wc: 4576

more info about this fic in this tumblr post

———

It hits you, out of nowhere, one Tuesday afternoon in the Hufflepuff Common Room.

You’re minding your own business, reading about how to turn the tiny owl hooting quietly in front of you into a pair of opera glasses, when you catch a rustle of fabric to your right.

Looking up from your secondhand textbook, you bite back a fond grin.

Sitting next to you is your study partner and best friend of five years, Penny Haywood. Your futures were forever intertwined when your paths crossed as tiny little first-years in the main Courtyard. She appreciated your lack of ass-kissing and down-to-earth introvertedness. You were grateful that she didn’t hold Jacob’s actions against you. You two had a lot in common and became fast friends.

You remember the sense of warmth and safety emanating from Penny. Your immediate thought was, “Yep, I’ve just met my best friend.” You could not put your finger on what made you so sure. You still can’t. But if there is one thing you are sure about, it is that Penny Haywood will always be in your life.

At the moment, Penny has a cute little frown on her face. It’s the face she makes when she hits a wall. As a perfectionist and someone with extremely high standards for herself, when she doesn’t grasp a concept right away, it frustrates her.

You know you should be a good friend and console her, but she is so adorable, you find yourself blanking on words for some reason. Your throat feels dry and raspy, so you say nothing and wait for her to speak first.

“I’m taking a break. This is doing my head in.” A sour scowl sits on her lips as she crosses her arms and glares daggers at the textbook in front of her.

Penny was a whiz at Potions and Herbology, but Transfiguration did not come as easily to her. She often joked, “That’s why I keep you around, so I get perfect grades.”

You both knew it wasn’t true. But what was love without a little banter?

Underlining a section in your textbook, you put down your pen, moving closer to Penny and gesturing for her to pick up her wand. “I’ve got you, Pens. Alright, so first we’re going to practice the wand movement. Is it okay if I grab your hand?”

She nodded.

Gently putting your hand over hers, you slowly move her arm and wand. “It’s like a violin bow. You keep your wrist flexible and make small circular movements from the wrist, not the elbow. Two loops, okay?”

If you weren’t so focused on teaching, you might have noticed the dusting of pink on her high cheekbones. But, you don’t catch it. Instead, you steamroll on.

“Next, the spell itself. Operaspecula. O-per-a-spec-u-la. Make sure to accentuate the first and fourth syllables, not the second and fifth. Common mistake.”

You take a moment to demonstrate, mentally crossing your fingers that you get it right. It would be awkward if the teacher flubbed up the demo.

The owl gracefully turns into a handsome pair of opera glasses, then back into an owl. She gives an indignant hoot and flaps her wings to display her discomfort at the situation. You quickly apologize to her and then turn to Penny. “Your turn.”

“Okay. I got this.” Squaring her shoulders, she exhales slowly, then raises her wand. “Operaspecula.”

Nothing happens. Penny’s shoulders slump.

“Try again.”

“But—”

“No, I have faith in you, Pens. Really mean it this time. You got this.”

A brief staredown happens. Both you and Penny are stubborn as hell, so it’s a common occurrence. Thankfully, this time, you win.

“Operaspecula.”

This time, the owl changes into a pair of opera glasses with feet sprouting from the bottom. It’s not a complete Transfiguration, but it’s certainly progress. That’s enough reason to celebrate for the both of you.

Penny nearly knocks you out of your chair with an enthusiastic hug. The warm scents of musk and amber hit your nose. You relax into the embrace and whisper quiet congratulations to your best friend. She tightens her arms around your neck, despite the awkward side position you’re both in.

One thing you learned quickly about Penny Haywood: she is touchy. Hands thrown around necks, hugs, pats on shoulders and heads, and if she’s feeling particularly in high spirits, hip checks. These are all things to expect from the epitome of Hufflepuff. Especially if you choose to be in her inner circle.

It’s not a huge problem, except for the fact that you’re horribly touch-starved from a less-than-stellar family life back home. The steady, non-judgemental contact makes your chest feel warm, every single time. Even after five years of it.

In the beginning, you shied away from the hugs, believing you were undeserving. But after a lengthy conversation about your family history, Penny fiercely set the record straight and made sure to give you as much physical contact as she could. And that is how you find yourself the constant recipient of hugs, back rubs, linked arms, and shoulder squeezes in passing. You’ve never been happier about anything.

When Penny pulls back, she looks back to her usual self. Her frustrated pout is gone, replaced with her usual sunny smile. You’re sad to see it gone, but also happy that she’s not beating herself up anymore.

“I’ve got to go to Runes, but we should pick this up after that. Will you still be here?” Her hands play with the hem of her school robes, adjusting her Prefect badge.

“Should be. I’ve got a DADA essay that I need to start and I’m done with classes for today.” Sighing, you pick up your pen again, closing your Transfiguration textbook and opening up your Defense Against the Dark Arts one instead.

Penny’s face brightens at the news. Her shoulders relax and her hands stop fiddling with the lapels of her robe. “Great! In that case, I’ll see you later. Thanks, Jung. You’re a lifesaver.” She stands from the table, slings her bag on her shoulder, and hugs you from behind. A hug, you expected. What you didn’t expect was a quick kiss on the cheek.

By the time you realize what transpired, Penny is gone in a swish of robes and blonde pigtails. All that’s left in her place is the lingering scent of her rose and sandalwood perfume.

Where did that come from? Sure, Penny’s always used physical contact as a way to show her affection, but she’s never kissed you before.

Your hand reaches up slowly to your cheek. Damn.

Before you can dissect this move, you feel a nip on the middle knuckle of your pointer finger.

Dropping your pen, you swear under your breath and cradle your left hand. Throwing a dirty look at the owl, who is innocently preening her feathers, you smart at the pain. “Okay, okay, I’m taking you back to the Owlery. Yeesh.”

—

Penny finds you a couple hours later, still in the same spot where she left you. You are surrounded by balled-up sheets of parchment and your hands are covered in ink. As it turns out, describing how hex-deflection works is harder than you thought it would be.

“Oh, what am I going to do with you?”

Her soft voice jerks you out of concentration, causing an ink blot in the middle of your sentence.

“Oh, sorry.”

“S’okay.” You sigh and wave your wand, whispering an undoing spell you learned pretty early on. The insistence to use antiquated technology for writing was laughable. And of course, no pencils; ink is a must. It took a lot of persuasion to convince your professors that a fountain pen would be acceptable. You were hoping for a ballpoint pen, but anything was better than a quill, so you took the win and didn’t push. Suffice it to say, you’re very good at removing ink blots and misspelled words from parchment. “How was class?”

“Interesting, as usual.” Penny’s voice was rife with sarcasm. “More grammar today.”

“That bad, huh?” You reach for her hands, but then think twice as you remember the stains. “Why’re you taking it, then?”

“It’s useful for reading old books, which is where all the interesting Potions recipes are.” She groans, plopping into the chair next to you and laying her head on your shoulder.

“Ah, yes. I should have known.” You want to wrap an arm around her shoulders, but your inky hands stop you again. You stand, jostling her head, and hold up your hands. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to wash my hands.”

Penny, who pouted at the loss of contact, breaks into laughter, wiping away tears. “Come sit back down, you idiot. Tergeo.”

You blink down at your now-spotless hands. “Oh, right. There’s a spell for that.”

The blonde rolls her eyes and pulls you back down into your seat, putting her head back on your shoulder and pulling your arm around her. “What kind of witch are you?”

“One that doesn’t like to depend on magic.”

“Hipster.”

“Lazy-ass.”

You both share a chuckle, looking at all the things strewn on the table in front of you. For the life of you, organization does not seem to be in your vocabulary. No matter how hard you try, chaos always finds its way.

“I know you said you wanted to work on Transfiguration stuff again…but what if we found our friends and went to supper instead?”

“That sounds like a grand idea.” With a wave of her wand, Penny organizes your books and parchment into neat stacks. Happy with her work, she tucks her wand away and loops her arm through yours. “I’m hungry and in no mood to study.”

You find Chiara and Skye in the dorms, Rowan in the Library, and send an owl for Tonks. There is no telling where Tonks is at any given moment. As a matter of fact, you would rather not know. Plausible deniability and all that. They don’t tell, you don’t ask.

The six of you meet up in front of the Great Hall before entering as a group. All six girls take your unofficial designated seats at the Hufflepuff table. Rowan on your left, Penny on your right. Tonks sits across from Penny. Skye’s seat is on Tonks’ left and Chiara sits next to her.

Today’s meal options feature different kinds of sandwiches, steaks, and soups. You have a hankering for soups, so you’re thankful that something is your way for once.

As you dip your roast beef & Pepper Jack sandwich into your chicken noodle soup, you listen to Skye, Tonks, and Penny excitedly catch up about a recent Quidditch match. You share a glance with Rowan and Chiara as they begin to use words and names that even you don’t know. Sure, you might be on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, but you don’t follow any actual games that happen outside of Hogwarts.

“How were your classes, Row?”

“I almost got trampled by an Abraxan in Magical Creatures. But other than that, it was largely uneventful.” Rowan dryly remarks, then takes a bite from her chicken sandwich.”How about you?”

“The classes are fine, but the homework is really testing my will to live. Especially the DADA assignments. I’ve never been more reluctant to write an essay!”

Rowan knocks her shoulder into yours. “I understand completely. The classes are getting real now… We’re covering topics even I have never heard of in History of Magic.”

“Speaking of which, have you started on that essay due next week?”

“Not yet. I was thinking of working on it tomorrow after Potions in the library.”

“I might just join you.” You sigh darkly, not looking forward to working on yet another essay. Words are hard.

As dinner begins to wind down, Professor Dumbledore stands and makes his way to the center of the raised platform. Amplifying his voice with his wand, he begins to speak.

“Greetings, students and staff. We are rapidly approaching the time of year when we shift our attention to happy matters of the heart.”

A buzz begins among the student body. The Headmaster clears his throat and continues.

“As such, it is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting a special Valentine’s Day Ball this year.”

The Great Hall explodes with chatter. All around, students are asking each other about outfits and food and dates.

Penny sighs dreamily. You can feel her warmth down the entire right side of your body as the blonde leans into you. “A Valentine’s Ball! What could be better? I bet it will be full of blooming flowers, colorful lights, and candy…”

Tonks, on the other hand, has a different idea in mind entirely. “And a killer band we can rock out to, with great music. No way this isn’t the best night of the year!”

“Maybe we’ll even get to bring a date! Ooh, I can’t wait.” Penny clasps her hands to her chest and giggles. For as long as you’ve known her, Penny has had a soft spot for romance and love stories. It’s one of her endearing qualities that you love about her. You resist the urge to kiss her forehead.

Professor Dumbledore wisely waits for the hubbub to die down before he continues. “For more details on the event, let’s hear from the teacher who will be in charge of every detail… Madam Pince.”

The six of you exchange confused looks. Wait, what?

Madam Pince does the same as Professor Dumbledore to amplify her voice. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I promise I’ll approach planning this ball as I do all things at the Library—with the utmost seriousness!”

You don’t remember what she says after that, but with each sentence she says the mood in the room sinks ever lower. Finally, she nods curtly and returns to her seat.

The excited buzz that filled the room quickly turns sour. There is much turbulence among the students. Madam Pince is not known for having fun.

Tonks puts their head in their hands. “Blimey, this ball just went from being a potential blast to a crushing bore!”

“Let’s hope that’s not the case. It’s possible Madam Pince has something fun planned after all.” Always the optimist, Penny is trying very hard to look on the bright side. It’s a valiant effort.

Both Rowan and Chiara are quiet, introverted girls, but even they know that a party should be the opposite of everything Madam Pince stands for. They silently nod in agreement with the more vocal members of the group.

You look for your friends in other houses around the room. Jae is glaring daggers at Madam Pince, Talbott has a very disappointed blank face, Tulip is face-palming, Andre looks like he’s going to cry, and you can almost hear Badeea’s wince. You find Merula at the Slytherin table, her fist shaking as she holds a knife.

Suffice it to say, no one is happy about this new development.

You sigh, picking up your mug of ginger tea. “At least it sounds like Madam Pince is taking this assignment very seriously.”

Tonks throw up their hands. “Too seriously. She said it would be chaste, uncomfortable, and we’d have to follow the rules!”

Penny wacks them lightly on the shoulder, reprimanding gently. “Let’s focus on the positive. There are so many great things about a holiday ball!” She turns to you, laying a hand on your upper arm. “Jung, what are you looking forward to most about the ball?”

You stumble on your words as you feel warmth emanating from Penny’s hand, through your whole body. What was happening with your brain? “Hm? I wasn’t planning on going.”

“Oh, come on, please?” The blonde pleads with her puppy eyes. She knows that you cannot say no to her pitiful blues. You wait a few seconds, but in the end you know you’re a goner.

“Fiiine.”

“Yay!” Penny leans forward and wraps her arms around your middle. “Thank you, thank you! I promise we’ll have a good time. We could all use a really fun night together.”

Skye is much in the same boat as Tonks. It doesn't help that she isn’t the biggest fan of the Librarian. “With Pince in charge, this night could end up being torture for all of us!”

Rowan nudges your arm. “You should do something about this. You’ve beaten much harder opponents in the past.”

“Yes, yes! Pretty, pretty please, Hero? You’re the exact right person for this job!” Penny’s face is back to her pleading pout. The use of her special nickname for you is certainly deliberate. She knows how to slip past your defenses and hit you in the heart with her persuasion.

You won’t lie; you were thinking up ways to trick Pince into relinquishing control. Now, with a very compelling reason sitting to your right, you find yourself speaking before your brain can fully catch up.

“Okay. I’m going to save the Valentine’s Ball from Madam Pince.”

Tonks and Skye raise their goblets and cheer loudly. “Alright, Jung! Three cheers for the Hero of Hogwarts!”

Chiara clinks her mug of tea with yours calmly. “I’m rooting for you, Seojung. You can do this.”

Suddenly, a Gryffindor sixth-year comes up to them. “Penny Haywood… would you go to the dance with me?”

“Oh hell, here we go.” Penny mutters this under her breath so quietly only you hear. She straightens up and smiles her best socialite smile. “Thank you for the offer, but I will have to decline. I hope you can find someone.”

The Gryffindor boy nods. “Cheers.”

You are aware of a burning sensation in the pit of your stomach. It’s hot and strong and totally alien. What is it? Anger? Fear?

Shit.

It’s jealousy.

But wait. Why are you jealous? If anything, you understand why people are so keen to ask Penny out. She is kind, friendly, warm, funny, smart, pretty—

Ah.

Because you want to ask Penny out.

Really, for someone so smart, you can be so dense sometimes. Falling for the popular straight girl? Of course you had to have the quintessential lesbian student experience. It could never happen. But now that you know, you can’t stop thinking about it.

All of the feelings you didn’t quite understand, the strange things you did, they all make sense now. You don’t know when your feelings turned from friendship to something more, but you’re certainly aware of it now.

You tamp down the fire in your gut and return to your sandwich and soup. You have no chance.

Another boy, this time a Ravenclaw, comes up to Penny and asks to be her date to the dance. Again, the offer is rebuffed. By dessert, five other boys have shot their shot. All five walk away without a “yes” from Penny.

You’re relieved. A dark part of you is happy that Penny hasn’t accepted an offer. If you can’t have her, no one can have her. Immediately, you lecture yourself for having such possessive thoughts. Penny is not an object for you to claim, she is your friend. Your best friend, in fact.

“Penne, are you going to accept an offer? What’s the hold up?” Tonks unleashes a disgusting belch. “People are practically lining up to ask you out!”

“I’m not interested in any of them! I don’t even know half of them. If I’m going to take a date to the ball, at the very least I should know who they are.”

Skye pipes up. “They’re just going to keep asking, then, unless you accept or something.”

As Penny opens her mouth to say something else, another Gryffindor comes up to her. “Penny, would you—”

“No. I’m already going with someone else.” This time, Penny snaps in an uncharacteristically curt tone. The Gryffindor nods quickly and practically runs away.

Tonks raises an eyebrow. “Why’d you say that?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well, now you need to say yes to someone.”

“Oh, Merlin…” The blonde starts unbraiding and re-braiding her hair. You put your hand on the small of her back. Her coping mechanism for stress is playing with hair. Usually it’s hers, but sometimes it’s yours.

Penny smiles at you, silently thanking you for the silent support. You smile back. You’re a sucker for Penny Haywood.

A throat clearing to your left makes you look up. It’s another boy, this time a Hufflepuff in your year. You sigh and roll your eyes internally, readying yourself for another suitor throwing himself at Penny.

“Erm, Seojung…” Wait, what? He’s asking you? “Will you go to the Ball with me?”

You’re not as nice as Penny. Laughing, you respond, “Dude, I’m a lesbian. But even if I wasn’t, I still wouldn’t. Fuck off.”

“Right. Sorry. Seeya.” The boy scrampers off.

The six of you sit in silence. Did that really just happen? Then, you all burst into raucous laughter.

“Did he just— No fucking way!” Tonks is pounding the table lightly with their fist in between fits of laughter.

“I could not possibly be more gay. There are very clear signs! What the hell!” This time, you really do roll your eyes.

Even Penny cracks a smile, despite her stress. And frankly, that makes it all worth it.

“Mates, I got it.” Tonks breaks you out of your haze. Immediately, Rowan, Chiara, and Penny cast wary glances at each other. They know much too well how most of Tonks’ ideas turn out.

“Yes?” Rowan takes one for the team and asks the question you’re all scared to ask.

“You two—” The pink-haired witch wags their fingers between you and Penny, “—should pretend to date each other, so people will stop asking you guys to the ball.”

The table falls silent. You scoff at the very notion, but shut up once you look at the other three girls. They aren’t objecting. You can’t believe that Rowan of all people is actually considering this.

“I think it’s an elegant solution.” Chiara pipes up quietly.

Rowan shrugs. “It does make sense. Benefits both parties.”

Skye grins manically. “You two do act like an old married couple anyway. Might as well play it up and use it to your advantage.”

You roll your eyes and turn to Penny, about to say, “Can you believe this nonsense?”, but you find her staring off into space.

“Pens?”

“Would you be okay with it?” She looks at you with imploring eyes. Classic Penny, always looking out for others. “It would be nice to stop having people come up to me, but only if you’re okay with the arrangement. I don’t want to force you.”

“The question is, would you be okay with it? I mean, you’re straight and all.”

Penny snorts. “No I’m not! Jung, how do you not know this?”

“You’re… not?”

“Jung, I’m bi. I told everyone last year!”

You blink. “Was I there?”

This time, all of the other girls respond. “Yes!”

“Oh. Huh. Alright then, I stand corrected. But, still, my other points still stand. Do you really think it’s a good idea?”

The blonde takes both of your hands gently in both of hers. “I am so tired of all the unwanted advances. I’ll make it worth your while. Think about it?” Her bright blue eyes drill into yours.

You sigh and squeeze her hands. “Let me sleep on it.” You glance down at your wristwatch. “Right. Off to Quidditch practice. Come on, Skye.”

—

Thankfully, the drills keep your mind off of Penny, Penny, Penny. By the end of practice, your limbs are sore and your robes are soaked with sweat. You hit the showers, and only then does the fake-dating scheme come to the forefront of your mind again.

Pretending to date Penny Haywood. Could you compartmentalize your feelings? Could your heart survive this?

You can’t keep this secret to yourself. You need to tell someone.

Thankfully, when you return to the Hufflepuff Common Room, you find just the person you’re looking for.

“Row! Can we take a walk?”

Over the years, you and the bookworm have come up with a set of code phrases. Her eyes instantly snap up from the book she’s reading. She closes the tome with a quiet thud. “Of course.”

Once you’re bundled up in appropriate coats and out walking the border of the grounds, Rowan speaks up. “What’s up, Jung?”

“So you know the fake-dating thing? There’s a problem with the plan.”

“What is it?”

“I may or may not… have actual feelings for Penny.”

Rowan halts in her tracks. “Oh, dear. That is a complication. How long?”

“I just found out at dinner. I realized I was jealous of all the guys asking her out. I wanted to be one of them. And then it all kinda hit me, and all the dots connected.”

The other girl nods. “Honestly, that makes a lot of sense. I did wonder sometimes. So… are you okay with fake-dating Penny with your real feelings?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I think so. I mean, I know I have no chance. She’s in a different league.”

The bespectacled girl frowns. “No, she’s not. You’re just as popular as she is, you know.”

“What?”

“Oh, yeah. Everyone wants to rub elbows with the great Curse-Breaker and sibling of Jacob Lee. You really don’t know?”

“Guess not. Explains a lot.” You roll your eyes and move on to your other pressing question. “Hey, when did Penny tell us she was bi?”

“Oh, she mentioned that sometime last year during breakfast one day. You probably weren’t awake enough yet.”

You nod. That makes sense. Everyone in your inner circle knows that you are not a morning person in the slightest. They’ve learned not to strike up conversation during breakfast, because you don’t talk.

“Well, that doesn’t change anything. There’s no way she likes me back. She sees me as her best friend, and I would hate to betray that.”

“O…kay. If you say so.” Rowan pushes her glasses by the bridge up her nose. “So, will you do it?”

“Do you think I should?” You fidget with the zipper to your jacket.

“Well, I was less sure than I was earlier, due to this new information, but I do think it would be nice. Like a trial period. Do you really want to be Penny’s girlfriend, and all that. She doesn’t have to know.”

You grin. Rowan has a knack for looking at problems analytically. “Thanks, Row.”

“Anytime, Seojung. Now, let’s get back inside. I’m freezing.”

As you troop back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, you notice your shoulders feel lighter. A good talk with your best friend always helps.

That night, as you turn in for bed, you stare up at the ceiling of your canopy. Tomorrow, you’re going to agree to the fake-dating scheme, for Penny’s sake. You might not be totally sold on the idea, but you have a bad habit of putting other people’s needs before your own.

If it makes Penny happy, then it will all be worth it. Fake-dating Penny Haywood and saving the Ball? Honestly, compared to the Cursed Vaults, it seems like a breeze.

Suddenly, the curtains to your bed open. On the other side stands Rowan in her pajamas, sans glasses. “Scoot over.”

“What?”

“I could hear you thinking from my bed. Scootch.”

You make room for the other girl, who slides in and shuts the curtains again. “Now, goodnight.”

“Night, Row.”

———

[third-generation-female-warrior]

My monkey brain wanted to draw these two because it had been too long and they both had new outfits, but this was the only thing that came out.

But, if Penny is a confirmed jean jacket lesbian, and Alexus is a confirmed leather jacket bisexual, who’s the confirmed hoodie gay?