#james being alice's downfall is always fun

[goldeneyedgirl]

Year of the OTP - January Prompt (Kiss): Never Again

Am I late? Yes, but I have a brand to maintain. Just a little human Alice/vampire Jasper twilight ficlet because it's been a hot minute since I posted more than snippets.

PG, nothing outside what the books showed us.

never again.

It’s over before it begins. 

But she knew that before she started. When she lay awake in bed this morning, before her alarm went off, the knowledge is simply there in her head. That this is the last time she’s going to see her bedroom. No more paper flowers, no more shoes stacked on the old ladder she painted purple, no more bed with too many pillows. 

And the last time she’ll hear her parents argue; she can already hear her father ranting at her mother, and it’s not even nine. There hasn’t been enough morning for her mom to piss him off. 

Maybe she realises this is the last time she’ll see her mom, as her mother lectures her about leaving her stuff around, about a million things that all add up to her not being good enough at being a daughter. She eats and agrees and puts her plate in the dishwasher and leaves her mother to her bad mood. 

Cynthia is still asleep, and she’ll leave her little sister dreaming. Maybe it’s cowardice, maybe it’s a way to convince herself she’ll come home again and she’s just being weird. Maybe she’s just going to have another grand mal seizure and this is the impending doom feeling that the doctors talk about. 

Except she’s not feeling much doom. Just certainty she’s never coming home again. 

Jasper picks her up just after ten, and she steps into her boots. Her and Cynthia bought them together in Biloxi before they moved; hers are purple and Cynthia’s are yellow, and she painted flowers on both of them. And when she puts  on hers, she leaves Cynthia’s sitting there alone; a long splash of colour amongst the brown and black shoes of their parents and suddenly feels inexplicably guilty. 

But she still leaves and she doesn’t look back. 

—

Jasper is… Jasper is kind of someone she knew before she ever met him. It’s weird. She knows how to make him smile and laugh, and she doesn’t even know how. He’s kind of like gravity - she can’t stop herself from getting closer. 

(He never did tell her what he and his family were. Are. It was safer, better, if she didn’t know, he had admitted. Just that they were different and very, very dangerous. She had grinned at him, and told him “not for me” with a certainty she felt. Yes, she knew it as confidently as she knew that grass was green and water was wet. Jasper and his family were no danger to her.)

She feels like the best version of herself with him, she feels like everything is so much easier with him. 

And it feels stupid (her mother tells her that she’s being ridiculous, endlessly talking about some boy she hasn’t even known for a semester. That she’ll get into trouble, and Alice wants to retort that Jasper has only held her hand after he asked permission, and hasn’t even kissed her yet but she also doesn’t really want her parents to know that much about Jasper. That she wants him to be hers, something kept special and secret, and not ruined by the stupid, petty shit.)

It’s been months since she met Jasper, and it’s taken so, so long to break down all his walls. To get answers that were longer than a single sentence, a perfunctory reply. To get him to ask questions back and to tease her, to grin at her, and even take her hand. 

To text her back, and call her after curfew, talking about everything and nothing until she falls asleep with the phone pressed to her cheek. 

Jasper is everything, and if the last person she’s with before it’s all over, she likes that ending.

—

It’s a good day, a daisy chain of simple things that is just them together. She gets a doughnut and a slushie (both of them cherry), and he grins at her as she enjoys her treat and tries to explain her mother’s obsession with staying thin and banning dyes and sugar and processed food and basically anything that anyone actually wants to eat. 

(Jasper frowns at that, his eyes darting to her skinny legs in her leggings, and she pretends she doesn’t notice because yeah, she’s too thin. Like mother, like daughter: Cynthia got their mom’s blonde hair and brown eyes, and Alice inherited her eating disorder. Today’s a good day, though.)

He drives her out of Forks and they go to a little beach along the highway, one that is more gravel than sand; the water is still and grey like a mirror. Then he invites her back to the Cullen place, to that gorgeous house full of light and art. She meets all of Jasper’s family - properly; because she knows his siblings casually from school, but she’s never spoken to them before. Carlisle and Esme (who smile at her and welcome her, before they both vanish deeper into the house), Rosalie and Emmett (Rose is cold to her, so precisely polite that Alice has no doubt where she stands in Rosalie’s view. Emmett smiles and winks at her, but doesn’t break rank with Rosalie), and then Bella and Edward, seated together at the piano - a much warmer welcome, even if Bella is half-hidden behind her hair, and Edward continues to play. 

It’s a fun home, and an interesting home. Lots of art and ornaments; there’s something fun about their graduation cap wall, and she tries to count them all  before Jasper tugs her along to see the rest of the house.

She’s standing on his desk chair inspecting Jasper’s bookshelves - so many in Spanish and she’s impressed by that because she was always hopeless at Spanish in school. And he’s got so many books, but he’s laughing at her because Carlisle’s study is ‘worse’, apparently. 

When Emmett knocks and sticks his head around the door, she doesn’t think twice about accepting his invitation to the baseball game. It sounds fun. 

It’s been a good day, it’s been easy to forget that the end of it is already decided. So she pushes that aside, and claps her hands when Jasper agrees, jumping off the chair right as he reaches to help her down. 

A good day. 

—

The baseball game is thrilling and it makes her laugh. They’re so fast, and everything happens before she has a moment to compute it. They just fly around like it's nothing and she cannot imagine how fun, how good it must feel to be able to move like that. 

It’s easy to forget everything, and then the Cullens freeze. For a moment, she’s confused, wondering if she’s having a seizure or something, because they are so still. No one moves. It’s like the has world frozen and she was the only one left. 

She can barely see the people at the edge of the forest, but they felt familiar in a way she couldn’t explain. Red hair, blond hair, black dreads. Dirty clothes and bare feet. 

She’s never going home again, she remembers. She knew that this morning. She doesn’t know why she remembers that all of a sudden. 

Jasper is beside her in a second, his hoodie around her in a second. She doesn’t understand why but she wraps herself in it. She feels kind of sick and twitchy, but when Jasper pushes her over to Esme, she goes calmly. 

“It’ll be okay.” The words are so quiet, she can barely believe anyone has spoken. But Esme looks at her with sad, worried eyes and she smiles feebly.

The certainty is back, and Edward shoots her a sudden sharp look, but he’s too focused on the newcomers, and she’s overwhelmed by the way the men are crowded to the front; Bella and Rose are on her other side and she feels like telling them it’s all okay. She knew this would happen when she woke up this morning. 

She still came. 

(The conversation around her feels muffled and like it’s in another language. The redheaded woman prowls around, and she feels very young, very childish in the face of her. The guy with the dreads seems half-bored, half-confused. It’s the one with the ponytail that has his eyes on her, wide and dark; the kind of grin that make girls hold their keys tighter and walk a faster in the dark.) 

She doesn’t know what triggers it, not at all. Maybe it’s because she’s disassociating and wondering why she didn’t bring water and a snack. She’s really hungry all of a sudden.

And then the man lunges and there’s yelling, and it’s like… she’s stuck in place and everyone is moving around her, that she is the centre of gravity, pulling everyone closer. 

Esme pushes her out of the grasp of the red-haired woman and she stumbles, and there’s more yelling, and this awful grating noise and everything is just a blur of colour and motion and dirt flying up around her. 

And then she is in somebody’s grip, somebody grabbing and pulling and the look of horror on Edward’s face lets her know whomever is behind her isn’t one of the Cullens. 

(The snap of her collarbone is sharp and her vision sparks white, her shoulder popping out is red and fuzzy. If her own scream joins the cacophony, she doesn’t hear it.)

She stumbles and is torn back upright and then there is a blur of pain and wet and the sour smell of rot and the uncomfortable proximity of the male and… 

And…

(She hopes when Cynthia outgrows those boots, she keeps them. And she buys another pair - pink or bright blue or orange. That she paints flowers on her shoes and hangs dolls and daisies and butterflies from her window, and ignores their mom when she falls in love. She hopes she has a big, beautiful life.)

—

She can smell smoke and it sticks to her, oddly floral and sickly. Her neck burns and she’s so goddamn cold and she can’t seem to move at all because she’s just so tired. 

She never realised that blood smelt like that, but she’s never been around so much of it before. There’s something fascinating that all she is and was and was meant to be is just… going. 

“Alice? Alice?”

Jasper is there and his hands feel so warm on her face and she tries to open her eyes, tries to focus, tries to smile but everything feels soupy. 

“No, no, no.”

His mouth is soft as he presses it against her lips, and maybe it happens quickly or maybe it lasts forever and ever but he comes sharply back into focus for a moment, all dark eyes and golden hair and he really was … hers. Her person. 

“Don’t you dare, Jasper!” The yelling sounds very, very far away and Jasper’s going all fuzzy again.

That was her very first kiss. Her first and last. She’s glad she had one. She’s glad because it was perfect and it with him, and she’s pleased that he offered it. She didn’t want to go without a kiss. 

Her neck feels so hot, it’s almost too much. 

“It’s too late.”

She’s never, ever going home again. 

[15-dogs]

everything and anything |s.b.|

hello hello!! this is for @chudleycanons writing challenge!! everyone go check emmy out, she’s an amazing writer!! congrats again on 600 emmy :)

pairing: young!sirius black x reader

summary: sirius offers to take you to the ball but has other intentions in mind

warnings: the reader describes being insecure about their looks

prompts: fake dating, “Did I mean anything to you?”, “Dance with me”

guide: (Y/N) = your name, (Y/L/N) = your last name

word count: 3797

If anyone ever asked if you liked being the mom friend, you would instantly say yes. There was no doubt in your mind that you absolutely loved the position. You had this knack for taking care of everyone out of the pure goodness of your heart but you certainly weren’t afraid to throw a few punches if someone looked at your friend funny. That’s just who you were and you never wanted to change that.

However, as all things do, the title came with its downfalls. One being that you were always last in line to be picked from the group of eligible bachelorettes that were your friends. It usually would have never bothered you if it weren’t for a large, end of the year ball that Flitwick had decided to throw together. 

Alice had partnered up with Frank, Marlene was going with Dorcas, and Mary was going with Peter. Remus had the full moon the night before and Sirius had decided not to attend so there goes your two other options. Lily had promised that if you and her didn’t get dates by the time the ball rolled around, you two would go together. However, James had his way of working into her heart with very little effort. So there you were, stuck without a date.

It didn’t just make you embarrassed, it made you ashamed. And you shouldn’t have been! A few weeks prior, you thought that a Ravenclaw fancied you but you were quite mistaken, seeing as how they blew you off for dates. It wasn’t until you spotted him making out with the prefect opposite him during rounds did you realize he didn’t like you at all. You choked back the sobs that bubbled up in your chest and ran to your dorm to tell the girls all about it. When you got there, Lily was jumping up and down with excitement, claiming that James and her kissed. Decidedly, you did not tell the girls about what happened between you and that Ravenclaw, feeling like you were clouding Lily’s joy. 

Yet, the thought of you being the “less attractive” option than your friends still kept you up at night. Your friends were beautiful, they always were getting asked out on dates and you were always cheering them on, giving advice, whatnot. It was fun, or at least for a while. Sometimes it became tiring having to hear about how they were dating a new person each week while you sat, wondering what on Earth you did wrong.

You always pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind as you celebrated Marlene’s birthday in the common room. She squealed as she opened your present— a new jean jacket with patches of which you had hand picked and sewn on yourself— and immediately began to thank you. You felt awkward under her praise, opting to get the food ready instead.

You came back a moment later with snacks in your hand and some drinks, leading Dorcas to suggest you all play a drinking game. You teetered with anxieties as you remembered how everyone (and that meant everyone) acted when they were drunk. Maybe you should just stay sober. The group booed you but you merely shook your head, claiming that they’d thank you later when they were stumbling up to their dorms in their drunken stupor.

About an hour in, the drinking game turned into a group of drunk 7th years playing truth or dare. You decided to hop into the game, considering that you didn’t have to drink but instantly regretted your choice the second everyone started talking about the ball.

“Have you picked out a dress?” Mary asked Lily, leaning forward and biting her thumbnail. Lily nodded excitedly.

“Yes! I’m picking it up this weekend at the tailors from Hogsmeade.”

“You’re joking!” Marlene gasped. She looked between her and Dorcas before looking back at Lily. “We’re picking our dresses up this weekend at the same place! We should all go together! Mary? Alice? (Y/N)?”

You felt your heart sink and forced a smile on your face. Sirius, sitting beside you, nudged your knee with his. You looked up at him and he raised his brows.

“What?” you whispered.

“Are you okay?” Shockingly, his breath smelled the least like alcohol which was a rare occurrence for the party-crazed boy.

“I’m fine,” you shot out quickly. “Totally, perfectly fine.”

The truth was, you were not fine. Sirius knew it, too. Hearing that the girls were going to get their dresses felt like a slap in the face— you shouldn’t go to the dance at all. If you were going to mope around the whole time, what good would you be?

But it wasn’t because you were going alone, not really, anyway. It was because you were scared. To say that you didn’t like the way you looked was an understatement. You loved wearing dresses and skirts just as much as you loved wearing jeans and pants, but something about formalwear had your heart lurching in your chest. You wanted to be pretty, that was it, and you were afraid that people would laugh.

Someone of sound mind would have been able to reassure you that no one would have laughed at you, but no one knew of your insecurities and you didn’t plan on telling them. You constantly scolded yourself about those feelings but they kept resurfacing in every way possible.

When your attention shifted back to the group, you had realized they asked you a question. James let out a stifled giggle at your blank face and Lily swatted his arm.

“Huh?” you mumbled.

“We wanted to know how things are going with that Ravenclaw, Elliott,” Lily explained. “Did he ask you to the ball yet?”

Your lips parted and closed again, feeling that familiar sense of shame form deep in your stomach. “Oh,” you muttered lamely, “well, er, we aren’t...he’s not…”

“Oh, Godric. What did he do?”

“Oh, it’s— believe me— it’s nothing. I just, well, I think I misinterpreted a few signals here and there.”

“And how’s that?” Remus asked.

“I, um, walked in on him...snogging Jennifer, the other Ravenclaw prefect.”

A chorus of disgusted and shocked exclamations sounded around you. You looked away from their penetrating gazes, fiddling with your hands in your lap instead. One gaze struck you as particularly attention grabbing: Sirius’s. You looked up at the boy to the right of you on the couch, his gray eyes softened at your somber expression.

“He was leading you on, (Y/N). He’s a right git, easily. This wasn’t your fault.”

“I…” you trailed off, confused by his words. Yet, they comforted the part of you that was aching most. “Thanks, Sirius. I think I needed to hear that.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Your eyes locked with his and you felt a strange shift in the air. It was like an electrified silence. Although, it wasn’t silent. Marlene had been calling your name for the past minute now.

“Babes, hello!” Your eyes snapped up to Marlene’s at her words. “Who are you going with then?”

“About that, well, I don’t think I’m going to-”

You were cut off but groans and sighs from the girls around you. They immediately shot out protests, seemingly begging you to reconsider. You awkwardly shrugged when Sirius nudged you with his foot.

“Just because some bloke was an arse to you means you aren’t going to the ball? Come on, (Y/N), that’s not the you I know.”

“That’s not it,” you shot.

“Listen, I’ll go with you.”

Your eyes met Sirius’ with shock. You blinked a few times, then rubbed your eyes. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, please, love”— he leaned in towards you so that his breath was hot against your ear— “I’m always Sirius.”

You elbowed him with a smirk, feeling a sense of guilt creep up in your throat. You blushed and shook your head. “It’s fine, Sirius, you don’t have to do that-”

“No, I want to.” His words took you by surprise. “It’s not like I was going with anyone so why not you?”

You shifted awkwardly in your seat, trying not to think about the implications of his words. But you couldn’t help thinking about how he wasn’t even going in the first place. Your heart sped up in your chest but you were convinced it was from gratitude and surprise. So, as you were swept off your feet by your friend of 7 years, you said, “Okay, let’s go to the ball together.”

A decision you’d later come to regret.

—

You sat with your friends at the Gryffindor table, eating your breakfast before you left for Hogsmeade to pick up your dresses. You were rifling through your bag to see if you had some extra money to buy some chocolate for Remus when you heard excited gasps surrounding you. Your eyes snapped up just in time to see a single rose fall in front of your face. The owl that held it hooted and flew away, only for another owl to repeat its actions.

All eyes in the Great Hall were on you as the few roses soon turned into a bouquet. You held a careful hand over your mouth as you searched for the culprit. Fortunately, you didn’t need to look that hard. Unfortunately, it was because the sender— Sirius— had jumped onto the Gryffindor table as he called out your name. He walked towards you, students pulling their plates to their chests with each step. Finally, he stood in front of you, arms crossed and grin smug.

“Sirius!” you hissed. You glanced up at the professors’s table, where McGonagall eyed Sirius warily. “Would you get down from there?”

“Only if you go to the ball with me!”

Murmurs quickly filled the room.

“That’s what this is about? You’re mental! I said yes a few days ago!”

“Is it still a yes, then?” Although Sirius was acting with a confidence like no other person you’d seen, he still seemed nervous to hear your response.

“Yes, you git! Now get down!”

You stood up as you reached out your hands, tugging Sirius back to the ground as he cried, “She said yes!”

Glares from people without dates landed on you but you tried your best to ignore it. You chanced a look over your shoulder to meet the confused eyes of Elliott boring holes into your back.

You felt your cheeks heat up furiously but you couldn’t help but laugh at his behavior. Your laughter was suddenly silenced as Sirius stood inches apart from your face. You tried your best not to inhale his cologne that strangely had you weak in the knees but you simply couldn’t help it with your close proximity.

To make matters worse, Sirius reached up to tuck some hair behind your ear and you were positive that you felt something towards him that you hadn’t felt before. He winked at you and chuckled handsomely before pushing away to meet up with his friends.

Your friends quickly surrounded you as they asked repeated questions about what in the world just happened between you and Sirius. You couldn’t process, though. Not then. All you could do was hold your face in your hands with blank eyes as you feared the tiny, miniscule, barely there crush that you might have on Sirius Black.

—

In Transfiguration a few days later, you sat at your desk near the front, awaiting Lily’s arrival. When you heard a familiar, bubbly laughter, your head whipped around to the back to see James with his arm around Lily as she sat in Sirius’s seat. You were a little saddened that she had left you to sit with her boyfriend, but you didn’t let it show— after all, you were happy that they had finally gotten together.

You felt an arm snake around the back of your chair, causing you to jump. When you looked over, Sirius was in Lily’s seat, his arm wrapped around your shoulders, the dumbest grin on his face.

“Good morning, (Y/L/N).” You hated the way his deep, slightly raspy voice made you shiver.

“Morning, yourself, Black.” 

You studied him out of the corner of your eye as he relaxed into his chair. Merlin, he looked handsome with his sleeves rolled up and hair mussed. You sucked in a sharp breath with horror at your thoughts, butterflies occupying your stomach as his thumb stroked your shoulder. You thought that you might die when his hand slipped down the chair to rest on your waist, only for him to tug you closer.

“I asked Evans to sit with Prongs today; she didn’t seem to mind,” he whispered roughly against your ear.

You hummed. “Hm, I wonder why?”

He stifled a laugh as he tipped forward, looking at the blank piece of parchment on his desk.

“I meant to ask you, what color is your dress?”

You blinked in shock at the change in topic. “It’s blue.”

He rolled his eyes. “Shades of blue, love.”

“I didn’t know that the different shades mattered to you,” you said, pretending to be impressed by his prompt.

“Shockingly, I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“Really?”

He fought back a chuckle and shook his head. “Shade, love, go on.”

“It’s baby blue.”

His eyes roved over your body for a moment too long. You became self-conscious at his stare, angling away from him. His eyes softened at your actions. You felt his slightly calloused hand take yours, raising it to his lips as he kissed your knuckles. Your eyes darted around the room to see if anyone saw what was happening, if it was as out of the ordinary as you imagined. Your eyes landed on Elliott who watched with distaste as Sirius acted like he was much more than just a friend, a sense of satisfaction filling you.

“You’re going to be gorgeous, love. You are gorgeous.”

When you looked into Sirius’ captivating gray eyes, you knew you were done for. You didn’t know what game he was playing, but you were sure you didn’t want it to end.

—

You were rushing back from the library, just having noticed that you were late to meeting your friends. You had all decided to get ready for the ball together, mostly because you were no good at makeup but quite good at hair, Lily was no good at hair but quite good at accessorizing, Marlene was no good at accessorizing but quite good at makeup, and so on.

You made it to the portrait and were about to state the password when someone stopped you. “Hey, (Y/L/N)!”

You turned around to see Elliott bombing towards you. “Hey, what’s going on?”

He slowed to a stop in front of you, his lips twitching into a smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me?”

You scoffed, but felt an immediate sense of guilt at your response. “Sorry, Elliott, but I’m going with Sirius-”

“I know.”

You looked around, seeing if Sirius was hiding somewhere to tell you he set this up, that it was all a joke. You clenched your eyes shut before eyeing the Ravenclaw in front of you.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Elliott.”

“Say yes. Go with me, not Black.” He took a step forward, ducking to meet your gaze. “I fancy you.”

You shook your head hurriedly, whispering the password as you darted away from him, your head swarming with severe thoughts. He called after you but didn’t dare follow as you ran up the stairs to your dorm.

You slammed the door shut behind you, panting as you slid your back down it. Lily nudged your foot with hers, causing you to look up at her.

“What happened to you?”

You jumped to your feet, running your hands through your hair as you muttered, “It’s bad, quite bad.”

“Well, we have the time as long as you get ready.”

So as you got yourself ready for the ball, you explained the direness of the situation. A sinking feeling set into your stomach with each word as you realized that you might fancy Sirius a little more than you let on. Mary blinked with shock, studying you carefully.

“Aren’t you and Sirius going together?” she asked.

“To the ball, yes.”

“No, no.” Mary waved her mascara wand in the air as she shook her head. “I mean going together. Like, dating.”

“What?” you cried, causing Marlene to smack your arm in order for you to stay still while she did your eyeshadow. “What made you think that?”

Dorcas snorted. “What didn’t make us think that?”

You went pale. “All of you thought that?”

You heard grumbled agreements and your stomach flipped. Was it because you were too obvious about your little crush? Or was there something else that had caused them to think that? Either way, you desperately needed to talk to Sirius.

The six of you went downstairs to meet your dates, all waiting in the Gryffindor common room. Seeing Sirius standing there with a tiny, blue morning glory which matched your dress had your heart lurching. You didn’t even realize that he was talking to you until he took your hand in his.

“Are you alright, love?”

You sucked in a sharp breath, nodding at your friends that they should leave without you. Once the common room was empty (and Sirius was thoroughly puzzled) you said, “We need to talk.”

Sirius sighed knowingly, scuffing his food against the ground. “Take it Elliott asked you to the ball, then?”

“I-...y-yes, how did you know?” You fiddled with your hands to avoid meeting his eyes. Everything about this situation made you want to run away and hide forever.

“Because that was the plan, (Y/N). Did you say yes-”

“The plan?” Your eyes snapped up to his, a new feeling ruminating behind them. Sirius cowered under your glare. “What plan?”

“That’s what this was all about, wasn’t it?” he tested. You crossed your arms and huffed. “It was about getting Elliott to realize he was stupid, it was about me pretending to be your...something until he realized that he shouldn’t have turned you down.”

Your heart shattered. All of Marlene’s hard work on your makeup went completely to waste as traitorous tears slipped down your cheeks, streaks of mascara coating your face. You felt sick.

“That’s what this was about, then? You were my something.” You tried with all your might to control the shaking in your voice but there was nothing you could do; you were a mess.

Sirius, finally aware of how his words affected you, took a step towards you with the intent of taking your hands in his. You jerked your hands away from him with a strangled sob.

“No, listen, that’s not-”

“Did I mean anything to you?”

The words weren’t supposed to come out of your mouth, they weren’t. Yet, they did. And you meant them. That was the worst part.

Sirius was silent.

No, that was the worst part.

Your breaths became labored and you didn’t want to cry in front of Sirius, so you ran up to your dorm room. As you leapt onto the stairs, a strong voice stopped you.

“You mean everything to me!” Sirius shouted after you. You froze midstep. “You’re always going to mean everything to me!”

You slowly turned around on your heel. “I don’t understand-”

“It was supposed to be innocent, good natured fun. I was supposed to be helping you out with Elliott. But then you had to be yourself! You had to be funny, and beautiful, and gentle and I was not supposed to fall for you, but things never go according to plan. So, yes, you mean everything and anything to me.”

The room was silent save for the music that radiated from the Great Hall into the common room. You took a few sobering breaths as Sirius awaited a response.

“I said no, by the way. I couldn’t do it. Not when I knew how I felt about you.”

His eyes lit up and he took a step towards you. “And, er, how do you feel about me?”

You rolled your eyes as you made your way back down the stairs. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

He chuckled as he outstretched an arm to you, helping you walk down the last few steps. He pulled you close to his chest, searching your eyes for something that wasn’t present. He guided you to the portrait hole but your feet bolted to the ground.

“I can’t go out there looking like this!” you explained.

Sirius fought a snicker as he saw your panicked expression. He guided you back to the middle of the room, an intenseness in his gaze that you’d never seen before. He let go of your hand only to hold it out to you again.

“Dance with me.”

You tried to protest but your words died on your tongue. You reluctantly took him up on the offer, gasping when he pulled you flush against his chest.

Suddenly, things began to feel out of place. You didn’t deserve this. You didn’t deserve Sirius. You had never been “chosen” out of your friends because that wasn’t you, you weren’t the girl that people went after. Your heart panged with guilt as you looked away from his piercing stare.

“You’re doing that thing again.” Sirius tucked your head into his chest, his voice vibrating against your ear.

“What thing?”

“You get that little look on your face where your eyebrows knit together and you can’t look anyone in the eye because you’re scared.”

“Scared?” you asked incredulously.

“Scared of getting things that you deserve.”

You lifted your head from his chest to meet his eyes. “And what exactly do I deserve?”

You expected something smart from him, something that would make you roll your eyes and groan. Instead, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as Sirius said, “Happiness, complete happiness.”

In a moment of impulse, your hands wrapped around the back of his head to plant a kiss firmly against his lips. 

In a shocking turn of events, Sirius hesitated. His eyes went wide when you kissed him and it took him a moment to process your actions. However, once he did get hold of himself, he pulled you impossibly closer by the waist, kissing you passionately like there was nowhere else he’d want to be.

And that was true, of course. There was nowhere else he wanted to be besides with you. 

And seeing the way that Sirius looked at you made everything worth the wait.

[sweet-by-and-by]

On the Blue Side of the Mountain- Chapter 5

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summary: After a narrow escape from the downfall of the Van Der Linde gang, you and Arthur have lived comfortably on your mountainside homestead for years. Away from any Pinkertons, Cornwalls, and O’Driscolls, you’re finally safe. All you can do now is try to find peace and hope that the shadows of your past don’t catch up with you.

pairing: Arthur Morgan x f!Reader

a/n: We're back in the present baby! Well...as present as 1912 is I suppose.

Masterlist

AO3

“Alright,” Arthur grunted, hoisting himself into the driver’s seat of the wagon. “Everyone ready?”

The two excited boys nodded their heads in the back seats. They were doing their best to contain themselves, lest they be forced to stay home with their mother and sister.

“This isn’t fair.” Alice, the youngest of the three, protested from where she stood on the grass. She tucked her arms across her chest and a deep pout creased her face. “I wanna go with Daddy too!” She wailed, stomping her feet.

“Alice Beatrice, you stop that nonsense right now.” you scolded, eyebrow quirked at the outburst. She knew better than to behave in such way, but you had to cut her a little slack. Being left behind was never a good feeling, no matter the age.

The stomping ceased, but tears still filled your daughter’s eyes as she stared longingly at her father and brothers perched atop the wagon.

“I’m sorry, Sweet Pea.” Arthur said, taking the reins and shifting in his seat. “It’s not safe for you to come with us yet.”

His heart broke to see her upset, but he knew it was for the best. There was no way he could keep track of all three children in town, and the last thing he needed was one of them getting into trouble on his watch. Or worse, trouble finding them. He was already nervous to be bringing both boys, but James had been begging to join him on a trip to town.

Alice’s bottom lip wobbled, her tears threatening to spill. You lowered to one knee and wrapped your arm around her, squeezing her shoulders in comfort. “Come now, we have a great day ahead of us!” you assured her. “And you’ll get to go into town when you’re a little older, just like your brothers”

Your daughter sniffled, turning to look at you. “Really?” she pleaded as you reached up to wipe her tears.

“Sure!” you chimed. “We’re going to do all kinds of things that the boys don’t get to.” You whispered in her ear, and her eyes lit up in excitement.

“Okay!” she cheered, her spirits risen. “Bye Daddy, bye boys!” She waved rapidly with one hand as you stood and took her other.

Arthur melted at the scene below him, in awe of the way you comforted your daughter. How he ever got to be so lucky, he would never know.

“You girls have fun now!” he smiled, cracking the reins to get the horses moving.

“Be safe,” you yelled, waving as the wagon started rolling, “and you two, be good for your father!”

The two boys waved and Arthur smiled at you, patting his holster at his hip and winking to reassure you. The toothy smiles on your sons’ faces filled your heart, and of course you trusted Arthur to take care of them. But you couldn’t help but worry. Every trip into town was a risk, and you always loathed the days one of you had to venture from your little safe haven. You knew you would never get over the fear of finally being tracked down by a bounty hunter or a Pinkerton agent looking to advance his career and finally take down the notorious right hand of the Van Der Linde gang.

You sighed as you lost sight of the wagon and looked down at your daughter. “Well then,” you exclaimed, trying to push your fear to the back of your mind, “How about we dig into some biscuits I’ve been hiding from your father?”

--

Many hours later, with a much stiffer back, Arthur led the wagon into town and stopped beside the general store. It was a small town, a blip on the map for passer-bys to stop and rest before hitting the road again. Or at least, it used to be. Arthur couldn’t believe how much the town was growing. It had spread from a one road town that you might miss if you blinked too long, to a sprawling set of houses and stores that seemed to multiply every time he would make the trip from their homestead. Hell, one of the residents had even purchased an automobile .

Arthur scowled at the sight of it parked along the street, sure it was going to spook his horses when it fired up. Even their

He turned in his seat to look at the two boys sitting behind him, giddy with anticipation. “Alright James,” Arthur drawled, struggling to keep their attention already, “you remember the rules we talked about yesterday?”

James nodded his head. “Stay with you and Andrew the whole time, don’t talk to no one unless you say it’s okay, don’t touch nothing at the store.” he recited, the lesson already drilled into his head by both parents.

“Good,” Arthur said. “I know it’s your first time into town and it’s all new, but I don’t need you getting excited and running off.”

He hopped down from the driver's seat and walked around the wagon, hushing the horses and stroking their faces as he passed each. “You did real good, girls. Rest up now.” he murmured, giving the horse in front of him a pat on the neck. He rounded the corner of the wagon to find both boys standing by the front wheel diligently.

With one last glance at the horses, he headed towards the general store. His boots thudded on the wooden porch as he walked up the steps, two sets of quick footsteps following the steady sound. The bell chimed as Arthur opened the door, ducking in and holding it open for his sons that followed.

“Afternoon,” the shopkeeper greeted them from his place at the counter. “Oh howdy, Mister! Been a while!”

Arthur nodded in greeting to the store owner, heading straight for the counter to place his order. “Afternoon,” he said, “Lookin’ to stock up on some more supplies.”

“Sure thing,” the shop keeper said, digging the catalogue out of the drawer below him, “you folks have a good winter?”

“Sure.” Arthur replied, reaching into his satchel for the list of groceries. “Plenty of canning to keep us going still, just need a few dry goods.” He handed the list over to the store owner for purchase.

The man hummed, skimming through the list. “Just the usual then? I’ll have the boy load this up, you can take a look around while you wait.” he said, heading to fetch his worker.

Arthur turned to the boys at his heels, gesturing that they were free to roam. He leaned his back against the counter to keep an eye on them as they moved through the store.

Andrew headed straight towards the pile of books in the corner, his usual routine whenever he came with Arthur. James followed behind him, his eyes wide in amazement. He was enamoured with everything, gazing up at the stacks of goods as if they were miracles.

Arthur’s eyes crinkled as he chuckled and shook his head, dipping his eyes below the brim of his hat.

He watched James’ draw drop as he finally spotted the candy counter, tall wooden bins full of sugary treats. The glass windows peering in gave a tantalizing view of what was hidden inside, and chocolates and other delights lined the counter above.

“Pick a couple you like,” Arthur said, his smile still firmly in place as James’ jaw hit the floor. “Just make sure you get some for your sister.”

“Okay!” James cheered, eyes roaming the cupboards as he pursued his choices.

Arthur pushed himself off the counter and browsed the shelves himself. His eyes flitted across the array of trinkets, taking in the display. He grabbed a few cartons of cigarettes and returned to the counter, placing them next to the register.

Andrew came up beside him, holding a book up in questioning. “Can I get this one, Papa?” he asked. Arthur nodded and Andrew placed it alongside the cigarettes.

“Still collecting those cards?” the shopkeeper asked, gesturing to the cartons as he returned from the back.

“Not really,” Arthur shrugged, resting his hands on his gunbelt in an old familiar way. “Just running out of tobacco up in the trees. Doesn’t seem to be popping up as quick this year”

“That’d be the chill.” the owner nodded pensively, “Heard you folks had some more frost up North, must’ve frozen everything out.”

“Seems to get later every year.” Arthur frowned, “Cold definitely seems to settle in longer.”

The shopkeeper laughed while he wrote up Arthur’s bill. “That’s just getting old, son. The mountain sure ain’t changing.” He chuckled, passing Arthur the piece of paper.

Arthur pointed to where James was practically pressed against the candy counter. ”Couple more things.” he said, and the shopkeeper laughed again, heading towards the other end of the display.

The owner packaged up the candies that James had chosen, and the ones for his sister upon a reminder from Arthur, and added it to the bill. Arthur thumbed through the bills in his satchel and pulled out the total, sliding it across the counter to be counted.

“Thank you, Mister,” he said, “rest should be outside. Boy should be done loading up the wagon soon. Travel safe now!"

“Thanks, Partner.” Arthur grabbed the rest of their purchases on the counter and tucked them in his satchel. He tipped his hat and turned towards the door, heading back into the street with the boys trailing close behind him.

Arthur spotted the kid loading up the groceries into the wagon and headed to help. He grabbed a sack of flour and hoisted it into the wagon, giving Andrew a look that suggested he do the same.

Arthur leaned down to grab another bag, but the kid stopped him before he could.

“Don’t worry about it, Mister,” he said, brushing off Arthur’s attempt to help, “Pa’ gets real ornery if I make the old men do it themselves.”

Arthur’s face turned beet red and he shot upright, his hands curling into fists at his side. Flustered, he started to launch into the lecture of the kid’s life until his son intervened.

“Hey Papa,” Andrew stepped in front of his father. “You said you needed to stop by the stables and talk to Mr. Jacobson about some horses?”

“Sure.” Arthur fumed. He turned on his heel and stormed towards the stables before he gave himself the chance to do anything stupid. “Old man,” he muttered to himself, spitting in the dirt. “Still young enough to put your ass in the ground.”

Arthur walked down the street and up the hill to the Jacobson Stables. A few times a year, Arthur would make the trip to sell a few horses to the Jacobsons. Some were wild horses that wandered through their property, others were foals birthed by the horses they already owned. Arthur had a few that were going to be ready to separate later this summer, and wanted to stop by the stables while they were in town.

That, and the Blackwater money helped.

Arthur forced himself to calm as he entered the stables, the smell of the barn helping soothe him. His sons followed suit, hovering at Arthur’s side as he greeted Mr. Jacobson.

“Clyde,” he nodded, reaching to shake his hand. The man clapped Arthur on the shoulder and took his hand, shaking it with enthusiasm. “These are my sons, Andrew and James. Boys, this is Mr. Jacobson.” Arthur introduced. Both boys greeted the man politely, their attention already wandering to the horses stabled behind him.

Jacobson laughed, taking note of the boys’ wandering eyes. “Just like their father, I see. Much more interest in horses than people,” he joked. Arthur rolled his eyes, playing up his annoyance. “Go on now,” Jacobson shooed the boys towards the row of stables. “Go say hello! Let the grown ups talk boring ol’ business.”

The boys looked to their father, who nodded his permission. They took off towards the horses and rounded the corner, amazed at how far the row of stables stretched. Neither of them had ever seen a barn so big.

Andrew’s eyes locked on a massive black Shire at the end of the row, towards the back of the stable that led into a paddock out back. Mesmerized by the massive creature, he walked up to the beast with his hands extended in surrender. Just like his father had taught him, he moved slowly up to the horse and let it sniff his hand, disappointed by the lack of treats he offered. He placed his hand on the creature’s face and rested it there.

He chuckled as the horse huffed happily, snorting hot breath across Andrew’s face.

Caught up in the moment, Andrew lost sight of James. He looked around, his younger brother nowhere to be found.

“James?” He called out quietly, not wanting to alert his father to his mistake. He called out again as he rounded another corner, checking down rows of stalls feeling he was stuck in a maze.

Suddenly he bumped into something hard, falling to the ground and catching himself with his hands. He looked up, staring at a wall of muscle that did not look very happy with him. “S-Sorry Mister-” he stammered, tripping over his tongue.

“Watch it, kid.” The man spat, furious. He loomed over Andrew, his hands dropping to the gleaming belt buckle that drew attention to his gunbelt. Andrew swallowed hard, eyeing the pistols.

“I’m sorry, Mister.” He repeated. “I didn’t mean to-”

The man grabbed Andrew by the collar of his shirt, dragging him up to his feet and pulling him in close. Andrew could feel the man’s hot breath puffing across his face, the stench of whiskey overwhelming his senses.

The man opened his mouth, but before any threats could be made, a booming voice cut through.

“You best think about what you’re doing, partner.” Arthur warned, eerily calm as he came around the corner. Andrew felt his shoulders slump in relief. “The boy said he was sorry.”

The man eyed Arthur, taking in his size and stature. Arthur quirked an eyebrow and the man dropped Andrew, deciding he was outgunned.

“You better watch where you’re going, kid.” He grunted, needing to have the last word. Glaring at Arthur one last time, the man finally turned and left the stable. Arthur walked over to his son and helped him to his feet, dusting off his back and shaking his head.

“Those boys have been nothing but trouble since they rolled into town.” Johnson commented, alerting Andrew to his presence. James was tucked closely behind him, eyes wide. Andrew’s cheeks tinged pink as he realized that they had witnessed the whole affair. “I heard one of them even pissed in ol’ Mrs. Lowes’ garden, while she was right there pulling weeds! Pardon my language, boys.”

Arthur hummed noncommittally, still checking over Andrew. “They been here long?” He asked.

“Couple a’ weeks.” Johnson said, scratching his chin. “Rolled in from out East, seems they’ve been lookin’ for someone. Been asking all kinds of questions.”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed at that, but he only hummed again. “We best get goin’.” He said, motioning to his sons. “Long journey home. I’ll be back down in a couple of months with those colts I was talking about, they should be ready before summer hits.”

The boys said their goodbyes to Mr. Johnson, who made sure they both had a carrot to feed the horses. Arthur thanked him, and they all headed back to the wagon to start their trip home.

--

“Are we there yet?” James asked, desperately trying to keep the whine out of his voice. He knew he was irritating his father, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“James,” Arthur warned. “I told you it would be a day’s trip when you said you wanted to come, I won’t hear no whining.”

James pouted and looked to his brother, who rested against the side of the wagon reading his new book. “Asking every five minutes won’t get us home faster.” Andrew told him.

Their attention was drawn to a rider pulling in beside them, slowing his horse to match the speed of the wagon. “Hi folks,” He said, overly friendly for his appearance. He rode a mean looking horse, tall and built. The long black shotgun coat he wore spilled onto the horse’s rump, the leather glinting in the sun. The bandolier that crossed his chest and the repeater slung over his shoulder told Arthur all he needed to know. He’d been on the other side enough to realize when he was about to get robbed.

“Afternoon,” Arthur nodded, not slowing the wagon. “Looks like you missed the turn, friend. Trail splits off about a mile back.” He said, trying to buy himself time to take in his surroundings.

“I don’t think so, friend .” The man mocked, eyeing the two boys in the back of the wagon. Out of the corner of his eye Arthur saw riders coming in from the trees, moving to surround the wagon. He was forced to slow, coming to a stop as the riders neared. He locked eyes with one of the riders; the man from the stables.

A wicked grin split the man's face as he reached for his holster. In a flash, a gunshot ripped through the air and a body thudded as it hit the ground.

Arthur jumped down from the driver’s seat, holding his still smoking revolver. He grabbed the shotgun stored under the seat and dove for cover, yelling for his boys to get their heads down.

Bullets flew through the air as Arthur took in the situation. He glanced towards the wagon, grateful to see that he was taking all of the fire. He gripped his revolver tightly and steeled himself, taking a breath before peeking around the rock he was hidden behind.

He counted the men he could see, took aim, and emptied the chamber. His five remaining shots ripped into the riders that had come in from the trees. Quickly reloading, he fired off the last of his bullets to finish off the men still standing.

He dropped back down and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Andrew leading James to take cover in a treeline. Arthur  holstered his revolver, useless without ammo, and slung his shotgun into his hands. He loaded his rounds, the familiar racking sound settling his nerves.

He took out the gunman to his right, then swung to his left and aimed for the rider who had pulled them to a stop. The buckshot tore through the man, close enough that Arthur could see the ripping of flesh and the spray of blood in the dirt.

He expelled the used shell and took aim at the final gunman, who was hastily retreating towards his horse. Arthur breathed in, keeping his focus as he exhaled and pulled the trigger. A hollow click sounded and Arthur cursed, his rounds empty. He fumbled with his pockets, looking for another shell as the gunman clambered atop his horse and fled.

It was a stupid mistake, but Arthur knew he was out of practice.

Arthur rose to his feet, chest heaving as he took in the scene before him. Bodies littered the road, their dutiful horses dotted the surrounding fields and treelines. He listened carefully, and scanned the surrounding area for any stragglers. Once he determined that the coast was clear, he turned to the treeline behind him, yelling for his sons.

“You can come out now,” He shouted, stepping over corpses to get back to the wagon, “it’s safe.”

He watched as the boys exited the treeline, and winced as they took in the gruesome scene. They had grown up caring for animals, they had paid witness to blood and death before. But never with people. You both had tried so hard to shield them from this, from seeing the violence of man firsthand.

Both boys were quiet as they headed towards the wagon, neither wanting to be the one to break the silence. The usual sounds of nature were absent, any birds or animals that would linger having been scared off by the gunfight. They caught up with Arthur as he was calming the horses. He was grateful they hadn’t fled, having never trained them on the sound of gunfire.

Arthur looked away, not wanting to see his children still surveying the scene. He reloaded his guns and climbed into the driver’s seat, eyes locked onto the road. He waited for the sound of the boys settling in the back of the wagon before he cracked the reins, taking off again and heading towards their home. The silence hung heavy. Arthur remained diligent to make sure they were not followed.

--

The rest of the ride had been quiet, James no longer pestering about when they would be home. They rolled into the homestead, the sound of the horses and the rattling of the wagon alerting you to their arrival.

Your daughter burst through the front door and you followed behind her, shaking your head and chuckling to yourself. You smiled and waved from the front porch as the wagon came to a stop. Your smile fell as you took in the morose faces that greeted you, your brows furrowed in confusion.

Your eyes met Arthur's as he pulled the wagon to a stop. He climbed down and you turned your attention to the boys behind him, wiping the concern from your face.

"Welcome back!" You smiled, coming around the back of the wagon to help the boys down. "It looks like you had quite the day, did you load all of this yourself?"

"No." Andrew deadpanned, his gaze fixed on the ground. "We went to the stables while they did it for us."

You rested your hand on your son's shoulder, rubbing soothing circles with your thumb. "Well that sounds like quite the excitement! Did you see any horses you liked?" You tried again.

"I guess." Andrew shrugged. You looked at James, who wore the same sullen face.

"Why don't you boys get started on throwing these down?" Arthur interrupted, coming around the side of the wagon with your daughter on his hip. He kissed her temple before putting her down and instructing her to stay with her brothers.

He took you gently by the elbow and gestured towards the cabin as the boys started unloading the wagon. Your confusion returned, and your worry grew with it as you followed Arthur inside.

"Arthur," You said as he closed the door behind you, the worry bleeding into your tone. "What the hell happened, those boys look petrified!"

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and ran his hand down his face, stroking his beard at his chin. He looked tired in a way you hadn't seen in years. "Got jumped by some crew on the road after the boys got into trouble at the stables." He admitted. You gasped and your hand flew to your mouth, covering your mouth in horror. "I wasn't keeping close enough watch on Andrew and he ran into some thug. Mean bastard, looked like he'd been itching for a fight and just needed an excuse."

"Arthur," You whispered, terrified of your next question. "Did you…"

Arthur cupped your face with both hands, stroking this thumb across your cheek. "I did what I had to do." He said, his eyes searching yours desperately. "I took care of our boys."

You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch. Your breath shaky, you nodded in understanding. You softly turned your head and kissed his palm.

“We’re alright,” he said, pressing his lips to your forehead in a solemn kiss. “We’re gonna be okay.”

As you stood there with your husband, holding each other tightly, you wondered if it was really you he was trying to assure.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 149: A Very Frosty Christmas

It looked like a paper chain explosion in here, there was a garden gnome painted solid gold with a tu-tu on top of the tree, and a very annoying song was blasting from a radio, but they all fought back a sob of relief to find themselves in the Burrow's living room. Nothing had nearly tried to kill Harry here!

Most of them landed on the many available couches and chairs, Regulus had smacked against the frost covered window, Remus had nearly landed in the lit fire. Lily was misfortunate enough to nearly have said tree wobble dangerously and nearly crash down on her until Potter was there, supporting its massive weight and getting many decorations in his face as she fell the rest of the way to the floor in exhaustion.

Madam Pomfrey would normally have them all on half a dozen potions to revitalize their energy and doing hourly check ups to make sure there were no ill side effects as well as feeding three square meals a day and making absolutely sure they were getting their rest with zero strenuous activity; getting flung around the universe was the opposite of what all of them needed right now.

Alice rushed over and helped Lily back to her feet as James finished straightening up the tree, trying to guide her towards the kitchen and up the stairs for the rooms, but Lily stubbornly dug in her heels and looked up. The book was resting near the top, it hadn't fallen out of the branches.

"We need to take a break hun," Alice pleaded just as much for her own sanity as her friends.

"I know," she promised, "I don't want to finish, I do not want to leave here yet. Just down to the last few paragraphs...just in case." She visibly exhaled, breathing really was a luxury she didn't indulge in enough.

"Ah," James nodded in understanding, and no one was going to deny her paranoia right now. He jumped without further ado, snatching the silver spine where the little green six was almost invisible amongst the fir needles, but wobbled as he landed and leaned against the tree for support now.

She watched with a heavy heart, had she not managed to heal the rest of his leg?

Shaking it off like nothing had happened, he flipped over the couch and landed next to Sirius, who was still sprawled from his original landing half off as he watched his little brother shake his hair back into place like looking at a photo of himself doing it, one mum and dad would never dream of taking after what he'd just done...Merlin he'd never respected that kid more than right now.

"A Very Frosty Christmas!" Prongs said with all the cheerfulness in the world for the dreary title.

Alice whispered for anyone, "would someone at least like something to eat then? Helps not to sleep on an empty stomach."

"Darling come sit down," Frank pleaded, especially when Lily visibly grimaced and rubbed at her stomach. She still waited until Lily curled up in the warmest chair by the fire and watched maternally as Regulus stumbled to the nearest couch, barely sitting on the edge before going to Frank's arms and listening as Harry recanted to Ron what he'd heard.

At least nothing too memorable in the following bit happened, just some normal Christmas cheer, the Marauders were even too exhausted to react to the fun idea of throwing knives at each other! Even Lupin making another friendly appearance felt like a pleasant thing, at first.

It didn't remain that way when Remus began defending Snape!

James looked up wearily from the book to his Moony sitting on the hearth, his somber look as he gazed into the flickering embers and twiddling with his wand to lower the music from moments ago replaced with one of pure loathing at all Snivilus had done to Harry and Sirius in this future, even Remus himself to some degree. The explanation, that all it had taken was Dumbledore's word and some potion would have sounded pathetic to him if it came from anyone else in the world but one of his best friends, who no longer had anyone in this future.

"Was that all it took to win you over?" Sirius asked, trying very hard not to frown at Moony but instead put in another joke. "All those Animagus years for nothing, just had to get you a bloody potion!"

"Don't say that Padfoot," was all Remus had in him to whisper, clamping his hands so tight in front of him he looked as if he were trying to stop from strangling something, like himself. Sirius and James had always been there for him when it mattered, he must have gone barmy without them!

Sirius finally sat up proper from his wonky position on the couch and kept watching in greater concern as Harry changed the subject by asking what he'd been out doing this whole time.

The answer made said werewolf jump to his feet and watch the book like his pants had been set on fire. "I'm what!" He'd never even met another of his kind, and he was out there living with them! He'd infiltrated and been living with other werewolves?! For how long!? This entire time, away from Sirius and Harry and everyone, all because Dumbledore had told him to?!

Sirius got up uneasily and went to his side, but Remus' angry words from before stopped him from doing anything. 'Privacy' he reminded himself, but it killed him to just stand here and do nothing as Moony watched Prongs read like it was his eulogy in the following deadly silence.

The story proceeded like he was being drowned and set on fire all at once, there was no air in here. He felt more immensely hot and uncomfortable in his skin than any transformation he'd yet suffered. His father had offended the worst of them all and Remus had paid the price. Now he was working under Greyback to try and convince others they had a chance at a decent life when he clearly wasn't even living that.

James couldn't take it anymore, he'd apologize to Evans later. He slammed the book shut and threw it with deadly accuracy, watching it sail out the window into the snow beyond like that would somehow dispel what he was watching his friend go through once more.

"You didn't know?" Alice easily deduced, watching the child in that photo scream as a monster made its minion in real life on his face.

He shook his head slowly in answer and then went outside into the cold December night, slamming the door behind him, the rest of the loose glass fell from the window.

Sirius bolted after him before the first snowflake had even fluttered in, dogging his path and assuring himself when Remus didn't turn around and yell at him to leave he'd done alright this time, he hadn't said or done anything in front of the others so this should be okay, even if it had been just as awful to see Moony like that as it had been Evans. He knew exactly how useless Prongs felt now. It didn't feel right to have done so though, not when Remus had so clearly needed...

He'd barely rounded the low garden wall before he finally whirled around and watched Sirius approach him. The weary look on Padfoot's face peaked his anger at himself, he really was destined to screw up every part of his life from the moment he'd been bitten. He just wanted the noise in his head to stop!

Remus' fingers were already like ice as he reached out and cupped his face, tears of anger or fear Sirius didn't know were frozen in place as he leaned in. He kissed him back with all the warmth in him even as he was pressed into a frozen branch and felt the icicles in his hair.

Moony pulled back still breathing in his face, the wild look only just abated as he spat, "Greyback! I have spent half my life pitying sodding Fenrir Greyback! I'm, what, supposed to be some sort of- no wonder my dad never lets me around anyone! Dumbledore's always kept an eye on me, it's a miracle that mutt hasn't come for me yet! Merlin Sirius, I don't know what to do, I don't want to- I can't-"

It wasn't just a nameless, faceless other like him to feel sorrow for on some accident. He was a pawn in a game he didn't even know was being played!

"You're not going anywhere Remus," Sirius stated, holding his hands in place, despite the fact they still seemed to be getting colder. He was trembling so hard it wouldn't surprise Sirius if he did transform.

"It was bad enough before!" His hot breath on his face was the only alive part of him, the rest of him was still glacially reacting, even he didn't seem to know if he was more afraid of this sudden development or angry at it. "I don't even want to go back anymore Sirius! I know we keep almost dying and shit, but I don't okay! Back there it'll, it'll be-" and he leaned in and kissed him again like he thought it would be his last.

His hands were in that long dark hair he loved so much, if he was hurting Sirius with as feverishly as he pressed into him Padfoot never tried to stop him, only pulled him in closer.

He'd stormed out here with a mad idea of being able to get far enough away he'd travel back in time enough to transform, wishing for it for the first time in his life just to get out of the screams of his youth that echoed in his head. The curse Greyback had set upon him would be the downfall of that monstrosity, he'd never change back until he returned the favor in kind and ripped his throat out!

Not with Sirius along though, he'd never risk having Padfoot in that fight, he would get himself killed. It was a simple fact in his mind then, to keep him pinned like this instead.

Nothing lasts forever.

When the anger was spent and the two watched each other to see what would happen next, Remus begged of him the only thing he could ask in this mess. "Sirius, please- please don't tell James about this," his voice was stuttering, but not from cold. If Padfoot told James, then the dream would be shattered, he couldn't just go back to pretending this would all be okay anymore. If James knew, if anyone else knew, Remus would have to wake up to the reality of this horrible future pressing him from all sides. A secret only worked so long as you didn't have to look at what was being hidden.

Sirius watched him for a long time with such sorrow in his eyes, for him he knew. He just wanted to help. He reached up and touched his neck, but Remus took it in both of his hands.

"I don't understand. Privacy, I know, I really am trying to get it, but- " Sirius sighed, watching Remus crush his hand in both of his and still not pulling away even as miserable as it was clearly making him when he agreed. "I won't tell, but I wish you would Remus, I really do."

The fright stayed at bay, only frozen for now, but he had no delusions that would last this time. Winter came and went like everything, and he'd melt into a puddle without them. He didn't know what to do though, he felt trapped. He never should have indulged this, but it was too late for that! He probably would have exploded long ago if he hadn't had this now.

If he tried pulling back, Sirius noticed and only started asking questions. If he admitted his crush now and Sirius didn't reciprocate in any meaningful way, who knew how awkward and distant he'd get. They'd still be friends, he knew they'd never abandon him for full moons at the very minimum, but like Sirius was only half-heartedly trying with Peter now, and he couldn't live with that!

It might even be better when they got back to school, Sirius would get distracted and maybe Remus could just go back to pretending like this never happened...if he was very, very non observant about where Sirius went with others ever again, and maybe tried seeing other people a bit more...or even kept himself busy hunting down Greyback...the distance would just become natural then. Like all unreciprocated feelings...

Instead he said nothing and just nodded, like he was conveying as much as he could right now he'd get there. He just didn't know where 'there' was. He released Sirius' hand, but Sirius just pulled him back into a hug, not saying a word as Remus buried his face in his neck like he could hide in his hair forever.

Eventually though Moony's shaking got so bad Sirius pleaded in his ear for them to go back inside, which Remus mercifully nodded to. The book had not resumed thankfully, and as Sirius peeked out first he even still saw it sitting right there in the snow. Holding his breath in hope, they crossed back over the threshold in relief to see the others asleep.

There were only three in front of the warm fire. Alice and Frank had gone off to Arthur and Molly's room, Lily to sleep in Percy's, and the other boys to pile around on the many available couches and chairs in here.

James watched Peter and Regulus curl up with many available throw blankets on the couches, but watched Sirius' little brother flip his hair around as he got comfortable and pat down the fluffy arm into a comfortable sort of pillow in mild fascination. It was the opposite of Sirius, who could fall asleep in any position on any surface. James whispered something he knew he'd owed the kid back in the other room. "Thanks, for Evans."

Regulus watched him for a few moments before actually shrugging, like he hadn't started this whole thing wishing them all dead. James couldn't even make the joke he'd done it for his own survival of getting out of here, that had been no self preservation, there had been no mistaking the look on his face. "It's what anyone would have done," he said simply enough as he laid out, like he was pretending he wouldn't be booted from his home for saying such a thing. Was he really that far in denial of how the rest of his lineage was? He was asleep before Peter's soft, self deprecating little noise even registered.

"I know Wormtail," James promised. "I hate myself for not reacting better that time too. What would we have done if we all thought of that though, huh? Started wrestling over the bezoar, maybe accidentally swallowed it ourselves?"

Peter gave a soft little laugh just like he always did, but James could hear how forced it was.

"You ever tell anyone it was you who saved us from the basilisk?" James asked curiously, which was a fat lot more good than he'd ever done.

"Like that's some great thing, being bait," Peter shot back quietly. "About as useful as keeping Moony distracted while you get him off. No, Prongs, I don't think anyone's wanted to remember that giant snake long enough to know or care that detail."

"Don't sell yourself so short mate," he scolded as he kept his eyes on the door but stayed in his own chair upright. "We all need to stay on our toes, and you can get us out of a few scrums the rest of us can't."

Peter didn't entirely agree, getting out wasn't the same as being useful, why Regulus was asking him instead of Sirius about that animagus stuff still boggled his mind. Even as on the outs with his brother as he was, it was unbearably obvious who was still the better at magic, even James had unconsciously known the same even if he was nicer about it. He whispered his thanks to Prongs anyways and fell asleep too.

James removed his glasses but only fought off his itching eyes long enough to see them heading back through the repaired window and slip inside. Sirius grabbed the last few available blankets and whispered something in Remus' ear.

Remus couldn't have protested the offer, not now, as Padfoot cocooned the blanket around them both, while Sirius sat against the warm hearth. His head rested on the inside of Sirius' thigh as he shivered and didn't fight back a sob anymore. Sirius just ran his hand gently up and down his back all night while the snow piled into the repaired windows.

He'd kept telling daddy all week there was a monster looking down through his window, but Lyall would just sleepily give his son a kiss and turn another light on for him as he went back to bed. There were three now plus the one in the hall, but there were still shadowy corners in his room. The darkness moved and crept slowly into a shape. Not quite human, and not quite animal, naked in the bare light of the full moon, skin twitching in anticipation and pleasure as the monster licked his lips, the sores and blood caked into every crease of his hairy face. Remus screamed but the cracking bones drowned him out-

He groaned softly as the arms held him and whispered in his ear before easing off. He didn't know what was said, but he believed it.

The bite did not come, two distinct shapes fought the animal off, back away from him... but there was something wet, dripping on him, blood?

Drip. Drip.

Cracking one blurry eye open, he found himself hugging a pillow on the floor in a cocoon of blankets that still felt warm, but James' smug expression was hovering over him, and his heart thudded in confusion as another warm plop fell on his nose.

"Up and attem Moony! You know I'll sit on you if you don't."

"Why do I put up with you?" He groaned, rolling over and burying his face into the pillow. The next drip hit the back of his neck and he moaned, moving one hand sluggishly to brush at the slightly sticky feeling.

"You mean besides my charms, good looks, and masterful Quidditch skills?" He asked, before continuing said threat and sitting on his back.

Remus groaned louder and muffled a cry for help that went ignored, there was only a slight lull in voices not too far off in the background and a barking laugh. "You're awful at Charms, your hair is a laughing stock, and your humbleness could topple mountains!" He shot back as he tried to wiggle out.

"At least you know not to diss the important details," James nodded in approval as he got up, now offering him a hand.

Remus took it with still scrunched up eyes, finally seeing in his other hand a warm glass of eggnog he was no longer trying to torture him with. His eyes blinked fuzzily for a moment in confusion though as he saw what he had on.

"Got you a present!" James crowed, throwing a partially wrapped gift his face caught.

"Stealing Weasley sweaters now? Have you no shame?" He asked warmly as he unwrapped the maroon one and shrugged it on, it even fit rather well.

"None whatsoever. I told Sirius that would fit," James grinned, "bean pool you two are."

"Unlike yours," he chuckled. The bright pink material was stretched tightly over his shoulders, his arms looked like he'd tapped bits of wood on they were so stiff and wouldn't bend right, the edge would not quite reach his waist as it should. The golden G was stretched comically into something closer to a Q.

"Evans won't be able to keep her eyes off of me!" He said grandly, before wincing a bit and finally dropping some of the enthusiasm. He'd done this as planned, Moony was smiling at the sight of the absurdity. Sirius had certainly been all for it when he'd woken up and seen him still hovering over Remus like he hadn't slept at all. What had come out of his mouth had been pure autopilot and hadn't even occurred to him until now.

"She's alright Prongs," Remus said at once. "I know she'd never hold it against you, nobody saw that coming."

"Yeah," he muttered, watching the door to the noisy kitchen still for several moments before swallowing and making a very painful smile, "first time that woman's ever flirted with me and I get her poisoned. Think that's the cosmic universe telling me to drop it?"

"You did no such thing," Remus said firmly now, sighing in relief when James dragged his eyes back to him. "If Sirius and I had drank that in Slughorn's room, we'd have been dead before anyone even knew what happened. You probably saved all of our lives by being a nosy git Prongs."

He'd winced for the blunt statement, but gave himself a firm shake and a real smile again. "Stop distracting me Moony!" He scolded with a fond clap on the shoulder that made a tear appear under his armpit and steering him towards the others now. "Alice is making a feast in there, and she's threatened if we don't all help, we starve."

"That woman wouldn't let Snape go hungry," he scoffed.

"I wouldn't test her," James chuckled, "she's already at her limit trying to convince Sirius to lift a wand."

"Poor thing has no idea what she's getting herself into," Remus said in genuine pity. Padfoot would eat a meal of grubs before he admitted he had no idea how to do any house-hold spells.

They entered to see she'd found a compromise though. He looked exhausted, but he was utterly delighted to be smashing parsnips the Muggle way and trying not to get any on his blue sweater, also with a golden G imprinted on it that was far too large around the shoulders and bagged under his arms, leaving him having to concentrate with effort. He was doing a remarkably poor job of that and making a great mess.

Peter and Regulus were sitting across from him casually enough with no clear tension in the air as Regulus guided his wand carefully to knead some dough and Peter was cutting up vegetables the Muggle way, stopping occasionally to use a silver sweater as a dishrag, the glint of the golden P on it flashing in and out of focus. Remus' heart twinged why Molly had still bothered for the prat before eagerly jumping in to help, offering to make dessert.

They ate in alternating comfortable quiet and soft mutters. The shock of 'yesterday' still felt heavy in the room, and Sirius cleaned his third plate in record time and could not take any more silence right now. He looked up with every intention of making a joke at Prongs, only for his eyes to land on Evans.

She was running her finger over the rim of her still full drink, a mountain of uneaten food on her plate with barely a bite touched. Alice kept shooting her worried looks and even reached over past Frank at one point to teasingly steal a bit of turkey. Lily had laughed and tried to keep eating, but it was clear her stomach nor heart was really in it.

Sirius slugged back the rest of his own drink, refilled it, and then set it in front of her with a very teasing, "don't worry, I didn't spike it."

She grimaced and felt herself turn a little green around the edges, but sighed when she saw him wince. She knew he'd been trying to make her laugh, but she still felt tender on the inside even looking at the food, let alone anything liquid again.

Frank glowered at him and opened his mouth to say something at her side, even taking his arm off the back of Alice's chair to straighten up, but his girlfriend brushed her nails along his spine in a silent urge to wait. Sirius was trying to help, in his way, and she really hoped it worked as their patient silence hadn't.

Sirius reached over and plucked it away again with a cheerful, "oh I know! You're the Queen of the Slug Club, so you need a royal tester first! How could I forget?" He took a noisy slurp, making sure to let some run down his chin so there's no way he could fake it before setting down the now half empty glass in front of her, and smiled. It softened his features so much it was remarkable.

"As if I want to drink your backwash," she half-heartedly scolded, but Sirius smiled wider to see she'd lost the nauseous look at least as she stared back.

He tipped his feet up on the table and rocked for a few moments as he kept eyeing her, before grinning with that mischievous look she used to loath so much. He let himself fall back to all fours then and leaned in conspiratorially now, "bet you a shot of it I can make Peter laugh with just one word."

Evans pursed up her lips, but he'd guessed right. She could not resist a challenge. Guess she was a bit like Prongs. "Alright," she finally agreed.

Sirius was grinning in triumph already as he turned with maddening timing, Wormtail had just started taking a sip of his own drink as Sirius shouted, "Spoons!"

The poor guy coughed and spluttered half his drink out his nose and down his front, the rest of the glass ruined the sweater. Even as Regulus thumped him on the back and offered him napkins with a disgruntled look, it was clear to all Peter was laughing mirthlessly.

"Padfoot!" He moaned while rubbing at his face. "You swore you'd stop doing that!"

"Eggnog was not in the terms of our agreement!" He happily barked back.

"Add it to the list you arse!" He snickered.

Lily cursed softly, she should have known better, but turned back to him very curiously, "you swear that's not some old hex on him?"

"On my wand," he said at once, crossing his heart. "Marauders swear!"

"Then what's the joke?" She finally asked with a bit of a giggle.

"Uh uh, pay up first," he tapped the drink. "The story's worth another shot."

She sighed, swallowed her sense of disgust for the feeling of anything going down her throat again, and picked up the glass while meeting his eyes. Fighting back a gag, she threw it in her mouth, forced the rich flavor to sit on her tongue for a visible moment, and down the hatch it went. She exhaled and tried not to look at anybody as the tension began easing out of the room, she really hadn't thought the others noticed.

"Atta girl," he beamed. "Round two?"

"Yes, alright," she agreed at once this time.

Sirius threw his shoulders back with pride as he took off, "okay, so Christmas time last year right? We were still working on our Animagus bits, and Prongs here got his antlers stuck on his head, happened all the time, but we had Quidditch practice and he was trying really hard to get them back away. Wormtail though got the bright idea to dare challenge me to try decorating them in the meantime! I couldn't let that stand!"

"He's being literal," James nodded with a resigned sigh. "I think he'd explode otherwise." He paused with an odd look on his face, but Sirius grinned at him as always for the add in, nothing like extra details to make a story!

"So we start running around the room grabbing everything we could to put on him, socks and shit, Pete starts jabbing old homework assignments on him like mock papier-mâché while James is cursing us blue in the face, but I grabbed up," he paused for dramatic effect. They were all smiling in anticipation now. "A spoon! So, couldn't just chuck it, that wouldn't be any fun-"

"Oh the horrors," James interrupted lightly, crossing his arms and making a visible tear line on both sleeves which he didn't even seem to notice.

"And I couldn't magic it on, that would be cheating!"

"Something he's never done on his life," James smirked.

"So I licked it, and it actually stuck to the fuzzy bits!"

He preened in delight as the seven of them all got a laugh at that mental image. Lily obligingly sipped her drink once more, but Sirius wasn't quite done. "Peter laughed hysterically, I can't even describe it right, he pissed himself and it was glorious!"

"Did you have to add that bit," he protested back. "Two shots says I can get them all to laugh at the time you got fleas!"

Sirius spluttered in protest, but Lily shushed him and watched with delight. The game escalated, they started piling the last of the food into one bowl to make a huge mess of turkey and pudding and daring others to eat it if they laughed at the next story. James was so enthusiastic while telling about Moony meeting a centaur he ripped Ginny's sweater entirely and had to shrug on Fred's before they'd let him finish. It fit him even worse than Sirius and seemed to swallow him whole and he did not care. They all failed miserably and ate the concoction, which wasn't arguably that bad.

All full and laughing now, Remus finally gave Sirius a soft kick to get him to stop that and volunteered to go back to the book with only the barest hint of unease still in his voice. Sirius still didn't get up until after he and James did and fought the urge to put his hand on Moony's back as he went after them.

They lounged semi-comfortably once more under blankets in front of the fire, and Remus still made no real protest as he sat under the same blanket with him, backs on the wall right next to the fire while James went outside to fetch the book. Sirius had resisted the urge to throw his arm over the back of the chair half the meal as they got comfortable and been discreet with his hand on his knee, petting gently with only his finger tips. James had noticed no such thing on his other side, eyes still on Evans even as he tried to actively pretend otherwise now.

He let his hand creep gently, the thick blanket made it non-obvious he was sure, aware of every movement, but nobody was purposely looking at them. It was a miracle none of them had asked any further questions, and whether it was lingering awkwardness or pity neither of them were going to ask as Sirius put his hand gently back on his leg.

Remus made a huffy little noise, but it was that indulgent sigh he always used right before he added into their prank as he grabbed Sirius' hand, but held it this time so Sirius couldn't start up again. It had been soothing at first, but then putting ungentlemanly thoughts in his head the longer it went on, and he didn't really buy the others would let them just casually go snog out in the snow again.

Sirius gave a remorseless grin and happily interwove their fingers. Then he saw Alice and Frank doing the same thing and pulled his hand back with a quick apology, earning a bizarre look. Shit, he still had no idea what boundaries Remus was after, and he'd never spent this much time around someone after so much repeated physical intimacy. Remus bunched up the blanket around them and stretched uncomfortably, they only had moments left as Prongs came back in dusting snow off the book and himself as he leaned in and whispered, "alright?" Touching his hand to be clear, though he'd crossed his arms with an aggrieved look so he was probably an idiot for asking. It was the only comfort he could still think to offer him though.

He received a spectacular snort for his efforts and Remus actually smiling as James flipped to the chapter while he said, "yes Padfoot," perfectly normally, turning his palm to meet him with his own curious amusement.

"Just checking," he muttered as Remus shifted again, the blanket barely moving with him as he dropped his arms and held his hand under it again with a delighted smile.

He hadn't protested when Sirius did this at Hermione's place, but he'd been so annoyed back in the apothecary when he'd casually touched him then, and he was starting to get a headache keeping track of when this was and wasn't allowed. Did a door have to be closed? That's when he was most comfortable. He had not liked the way Moony had talked out in that garden, a distance he kept trying to intermittently instill between them or something else altogether, but he couldn't ask now.

Sirius burned to ask if Remus was ashamed to be with him in that way, but feared asking would only make Remus fluently deny it and pull away further, something that felt intolerable to him now.

James had reacted right before his son had spoken up, so the very first thing he read was Harry unintentionally and almost repeating one of their very many werewolf jokes, his son practically saying Moony's furry little problem, and then Professor Lupin getting a good laugh out of it. The Marauders got a particularly cheerfully snicker for that one at least.

"And nobody really questions that?" Frank finally asked in amusement. He admittedly hadn't before everything as well, but they'd been dealing with a lot.

"I know I never thought about them long enough to do so," Lily shrugged. "Far as I know, nobody in the common room thinks twice about it."

"You're not exactly the social butterfly though Evans," Sirius cheerfully reminded. She flipped him the bird, and he laughed so hard the blanket started to fall from his shoulders and he didn't even twitch to put it back up.

"Peter keeps an ear out if anyone does look twice," Remus half heartedly explained the rest.

It still wasn't comfortable to any of the four of them to be explaining this, it had been their secret for too long to feel natural, but sharing so many of their stories had helped ease that away, and nobody asked for more. Thankfully the subject was changed to a horrible dream being the last of the real unpleasantness. Then Harry woke up to presents, with Ron getting a remarkable necklace from Lavender, and what should have been a nice meal before Percy and the Minister showed up.

That did not go well, and they all shifted and grumbled unpleasantly for the Ministry still trying to use Harry as some sort of poster boy after all he'd been through last year. James finished with an ugly twist of his lips even as he cheered for his son getting the final word in.

[iftherebethornsrp]

EVENT 13 - AU WEEK!

23 December 2017 - 03 January 2018

Beginning on 12:00am CST on Saturday, our roleplay will be taking a pause moving forward. This is both so that the roleplay as a whole can enjoy an alternative universe and so pressure is off during the holidays and we can all have a bunch of fun into the new year! 

For those of you new to this idea, an alternative universe week is when you are able to break away from what your character might normally do and assume a different story for your character. Read below for more information! At the end of reading all of this, if there are any questions, please ask! What I think makes sense might not be what actually makes sense.

There will be a post at midnight on Saturday letting you know starters are free to be posted!

Also, to give everyone the same information, I’d love for people to write in and give a brief 1-2 sentence explanation of where their character is in the two open AUs. For example, “Tilden Toots has survived the war as a neutral observer, but his marriage to Daisy Hookum did not last the stress of the war and he now is a Radio Talk Show host living alone in the outskirts of London.”

OOC INFORMATION!

There are three different ways to be involved in this AU week and a half. As a whole roleplay, there will be two scenarios you can post open starters to (this is your time for Happy Everyone Survives Time!) Then, you have the choice to post closed starters that you have planned with someone else. You can be involved in all three, two, or just one! The choice is yours. Read more below!

1. One group AU is starting in September of 1991. Harry Potter and the gang will be starting their first year of Hogwarts. Voldemort has been defeated as far as anyone knows. The night he went to murder the Potters, Lily and James’s intent to sacrifice themselves for Harry backfired on Voldemort same as it did in canon. After that moment, many of his followers were captured and sentenced to Azkaban. Where has your character been since that night? Was your character found at fault for following the Dark Lord? Did they manage to claim Imperius curse? Have they been living it up in some swanky job at the Ministry, or did the war ruin them? Is Hogwarts their new place of employment or do they have children attending? Endless possibilities! Come actually have happy future for once! (TL;DR: Everything is the same except Lily and James didn’t die, and yes, characters who may have died may still live, of course!) Please tag all starters with Thorns91. 

2. The second group AU is starting in September 1980, only a month after the downfall of Voldemort. In this AU, a large fight broke out between the Death Eaters and the Order. Heavy losses were taken on both sides. The group sacrifice had a chain reaction and as Voldemort attacked, a bright light appeared and he was no longer there. The suddenness of it all meant the Oder was able to defeat the Death Eaters swiftly, shocking everyone. The world, both magical and muggle, is still rebuilding. Names of Voldemort’s followers are still coming to lights. Those who fought in the Order and on the Order’s side have received Order of Merlin awards, but not everyone feels like they deserved it. Heavy losses were taken on both sides and everyone still needs to heal. Both in the fright of the height of the war as well as the joy of Voldemort’s downfall, engagements and weddings have been popping up left and right as well as news of pregnancies and other exciting events. How will you celebrate the downfall of the Dark Lord? (Once again, characters who died may live, etc) Please tag all starters with Thorns80.

3. This is not a group AU. This is your opportunity to do whatever AU you want. The main rule is that all of these starters have to be closed. So, anything you do here needs to be discussed with another player and just between you and that player (or you and a couple of players if you want a three/four/five way thread.) In other words, should you want to play out Antonin Dolohov and Dolores Umbridge as leaders of the free world, the Antonin and Dolores players would have to decide this on their own and make a closed starter for it that only the two of them can write. With these, there are no limits to what you can make the AU. Mermaids, werewolves, high school, childhood, New York City, Broadway, drug lords, military, and anything else you can think of. All I ask is that starters are pre-planned and closed since you can post open starters for the two group AUs that still stick to the main verse. Feel free to do this plotting via IM, OOC, inbox, whatever you find easiest. I don’t mind the OOC flooding with “Does anyone want to do a Star Wars AU?” post and letting multiple people reply! 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - 1991:

Alice Longbottom -  After the war, Alice went to St. Mungo’s to train as a healer, which had always been her personal goal. She and Frank welcomed two more children to the family and spend their free time together at their family home.

Augustus Rookwood -  He’s finally settled down, and Mr Skeeter-Rookwood couldn’t be any happier. After spending years watching from afar as Rita took the backseat in her own life, he was more than willing to let her chase her dreams (and her scoops) when she made her way back to him. Now, Rita works, and Augustus stays home with Astor while Gabriel is off at school after having retired young from his post in the Dept. of Ministries.

Andromeda Tonks -  Now that Nymphadora is older, Andromeda has gone back to St Mungo’s and resumed her career as a healer.  The years have been rough at times, but nothing has ever been more important to Andromeda than family, and family dinners have never been dull- not with the Blackinnon, Jily, and sometimes Skeetwood, families around.

Caradoc Dearborn -  Caradoc found happiness. He works as a muggle vet and also lives in the forest in a cabin he built himself. He lives off the land and still protests for world peace. He’s also running a successful home company of brewing Rum. Gladys is back to be his long-term room mate now she has returned from her travels, as opposed to going back and forth as she had for the last several years.

Charity Burbage -  After spending the past few years avoiding her parents and living a quiet life in a small muggle town, Charity seems to have finally found her place in the world. She is back at Hogwarts, the one place she truly felt at home, and is the brand new Professor of Muggle Studies. She couldn’t imagine anything better than getting to ramble on and on about her favorite topic: muggles. She seems to think that she brings a fresh take on them, especially after living among them for so long. Although, Charity does have issues with some of the children.

Gladys Gudgeon - Barely a year after the war was over, Gladys returned to Egypt. While there, she lived out her dream of being a curse breaker. She had her flings and fun, but nothing ever stuck. After a while, she began to feel unfulfilled. When her team returned from Egypt, she came back with them. She’s hoping to potentially apply as a teachers assistant at Hogwarts, but is currently back to being Caradoc’s full time roommate (whereas she was going back and forth between his place and Egypt) while she figures out her next step.

Glenda Chittock - Glenda is currently in a relationship with another woman and she is now a broadcast producer, still working for the WWN and hosts her own 1 hour programme every evening called The Witching Hour. Her siblings are now older, grown up, her younger sister Stella still lives with her- although now they live in a nicer area and larger house. She has also adopted two children from the magical orphanage as she discovered that she couldn’t have children after a curse in 1979.

Gwenog Jones -  Although she remains unmarried, Gwen has two children by different fathers and the eldest is going off to Hogwarts. She is a renowned Quidditch star and is the front-runner to become the Harpies’ new Captain.

James Potter -  It simply did not seem possible that Harry was old enough to go to Hogwarts this year, but James couldn’t be more excited.  He’s been instilling the idea in all four of his children that they’re going to be Gryffindors when they go away to school, and he has dreams of them all playing quidditch someday, just like him.  It’s gotten harder, being on the road and playing quidditch professionally with his children growing up, and Lily and James have begun to discuss his retirement from the sport within the next year.

Lily Potter -  Still happily married to James, and the mother of four, Lily is still a whiz at Potions and keeping her skills from growing rusty, as she plans to take over for Slughorn in the next year or so. Life is never boring at the Potters’, though, and as she chases her children (aged 11, 9, 6, and 4) and Sirius, Ruby, and Scarlett around the house, there’s always joy and laughter. With Harry going off to Hogwarts this year to join Gabriel and Nymphadora, Lily is ready to tackle new adventures with James (as soon as he’s done being the Quidditch god she’s so proud of) and their ever growing brood.

Lucius Malfoy -  The Malfoys got busy and now have five children. Lucius spends his time raising them with Narcissa but still makes sure he is caught up on politics with visits to the Ministry every other week.

Lucy Karoonda -  Lucy and Benjy managed to get along well enough to a point where the two were able to give living under one roof a chance for the sake of their son. With Quidditch no longer in the picture, she has taken a position as editor of the Sports section of the Daily Prophet.

Marlene McKinnon - In a place where she never thought she’d be, Marlene is amazingly married to Sirius with their daughters, Scarlett and Ruby. While she never fulfilled her original dream of running the auror department, she works part time as an assistant to the Minister for Magic. Her knowledge of the muggle and magical world as well as the pureblooded world served the minister well. Once Ruby is in school, Marlene intends to take on the position full time and keep rising.

Narcissa Malfoy -  After they managed to make it through the fall of the Dark Lord in one piece, Narcissa focused on rearing her children and supporting her husband. She enjoys a place in the upper echelons of pureblood society and frequently hosts balls and parties at Malfoy Manor.

Remus Lupin  -  Regardless of how hard he tries, Remus has been unable to get a job at the Ministry. Countless failures have left him feeling as though he is wasting his potential, sticking to the occasional odd job instead of fully applying himself to anything in the magical community.

Rita Skeeter -  Rita is happily married to Augustus. She now runs The Daily Prophet and writes for a few muggle tabloids. She’s a working mum, leaving the now two boys at home. She’s also about to see her son off for his 3rd year.

Severus Snape -  Ironically, Severus does end up at Hogwarts again. Now the Healer in charge of the Hospital wing channeling his own personal "saving people thing" into something much less stressful than war. With a long white apron and hair kept neatly back in a braid, he is a happier and more mellowed out version of his former self. Still, the children are all doxy egg-eating dunderheads and he is quick to tell them so.

Sirius Black -  Marlene and Sirius are now married and living together with their daughters Scarlett and Ruby. She’s about to head off to Hogwarts. Sirius now works for the Auror office but also fixes motorcycles and cars in his spare time for his neighbours and town. He lives next door to Jily and their kids, he and James never being able to separate.

Ted Tonks -  Ted landed a position on the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee and is quite proud of it. He hopes to save up enough for him and Andie to take a brief vacation while Nymphadora is at school.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - 1980:

Alice Longbottom -  Alice and Frank somehow escaped the war - not completely unscathed or unharmed, but together and alive. Now that the Dark Lord is gone, they’re focusing on rebuilding their lives and pouring all their love into little Neville.

Andromeda Tonks -  She’s a Healer at St Mungo’s, but lately, she’s been considering that it might be time to take a sabbatical and focus on raising her daughter, Nymphadora. Andromeda never wanted her child to feel unloved, and with everything that’s happened to their family, Andromeda wants Dora to know how cared for she is. 

Augustus Rookwood -  He’s been hard at work in the Dept of Mysteries practically since the moment he graduated, though he did take a little time out of his busy schedule to father a secret lovechild with Rita. She’s married, though, and he knows the story, so this is a fact that he’s kept to himself. Still, knowing that Rita, and his son Gabriel, are out there on the otherside of the world, the guilt of what he had done ate at him until he came clean. About 6 months earlier, Augustus went to Dumbledore to trade amnesty for information; he cleared his conscience, and along the way, gave the Order plenty of information on the Death Eaters. SInce he never took the mark, it was easier for Dumbledore to vouch for him, and now he’s in the clear.

Caradoc Dearborn -  Caradoc was affected by the war. He found himself drawn in, fighting for his loved ones. Now, he’s lost and troubled, unsure on just what he was supposed to do. He currently has no job. His plans being put on hold since the war. He currently has no partner.

Charity Burbage -  Charity had been working in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office for the past 6 months, which is a job she hoped she would have loved. As it turns out, she dislikes it more and more each day and has seriously been contemplating quitting. This would most likely mean moving back in with her parents, which is something she would like to avoid at all costs.

Gladys Gudgeon - During the war, Gladys was in Egypt working as a cursebreaker. Although she knew someone was taking the information she learned back to the height of the war and using it against Voldemort, she was not in the loop and was not an integral part of the war. With the war over, she has returned home for a little while to check on her family.

Glenda Chittock -  With the war freshly over, Glenda is working for the WWN. She had been a news correspondent, reporting from the front line, keeping the wizarding world informed on what was happening- especially with The Prophet being afraid to speak up. She also helped the Order, despite her siblings protests. With her gained independence, she won the rights of custody for her two younger siblings Stella and Matthew. She now lives with them in Battersea in a small flat.

Gwenog Jones -  Gwen avoided getting embroiled in the war effort and instead joined the Holyhead Harpies as a Beater. With the defeat of Voldemort, she is looking forward to putting together a new life in a time of peace.

James Potter -  Fathering a newborn is definitely not an easy job, but James is definitely glad to now be the only job that he has going on now.  While the end of the war definitely came as a bit of a surprise, he can’t deny that it wasn’t a welcome one.  Now, James is just excited to be able to raise his son in a world where he doesn’t have to worry about dark wizards, and spend time with his wife.  Though, he can’t deny that Quidditch is starting to call his name once more.

Lily Potter -  Mother to a newborn Harry, relieved is not a strong enough word to describe Lily’s feelings about the war’s end. She is happily married to James, and with their best friends next door, she finally feels like she can breathe again. If only she could get some sleep. Who would have known that babies were such hard work?

Lucius Malfoy -  Having a newborn son left Lucius doing as was expected of him for the cause and nothing else to avoid getting his hands dirty since his family is more important. He retreated just before things got rough and nearly broke down when the Ministry took an interest in his involvement. Having been forced into it by his father left Luius able to give a convincing lie about having been acting under the imperious curse. With a son already in the picture it was made clear that he regretted anything he may have done under the curse.

Lucy Karoonda -  A one night stand after a Quidditch victory against England left Lucy with an unexpected pregnancy that forced her into giving up her career. She has a gut feeling the baby's father is Benjy but has yet to get the nerve to mention the pregnancy.

Marlene McKinnon - For the next two years after graduation, she struggled with the war and her family. For the first time, she was able to be proud of her family when her father refused to financially support the war. The pride was short lived when they also refused to support the Order, claiming the entire war was foolish. During the final battle, Marlene admitted her feelings to Sirius after being separated since graduation. The excitement of surviving left them in a night together and, in the most cliche result Marlene could think of, left them pregnant. As she is just now finding out, Marlene has to decide what she wants the rest of her life to look like with no job and no promise of how Sirius will want to move forward.

Narcissa Malfoy -  Narcissa Malfoy came through the war unscathed, with one baby and a second on the way. Her main priorities now are to keep her family safe and out of trouble.

Remus Lupin -  Feelings of guilt have left Remus silent. He rarely speaks and has been trying to hand back his Order of Merlin award due to feeling unworthy of it. The damage done by the Order has left him realizing the monster inside him appeared without the full moon being present.

Rita Skeeter -  Rita has come home for the first time since the birth of her son Gabriel in 1978 She previously moved to NY. Married into a wealthy publishing family. At the height of the war, being called back to see her family safe the pressure of her high profile marriage and the rules being thrust upon her drove her into Augustus’s arms- as a result Gabriel was conceived. She’s a trophy wife, her career on hold to supply children. She’s not happy.

Severus Snape -  Severus Snape spied for the order for a few short but harrowing months. Now without the crushing guilt of Lily Potter's death, he does not feel beholden to Dumbledore and resists being forced into a teaching position at Hogwarts. Free to pursue his own interests, Severus has taken a Healing apprenticeship. He still makes a hobby of supplying his friends (the ones not in Azakaban) with potions he brews in his grotty London flat. 

Sirius Black -  With the war over, Sirius is currently in a predicament with Marlene. After splitting up after graduation and spending the past couple years fighting for survival- he now finds himself facing a brand new challenge. Admitting his feelings to Marlene which ended up with them sleeping together. They know have a baby on the way but he’s still trying to find his place in a world he truly thought was over for him. He doesn’t have a job, but the Ministry have offered to fast track him into the Auror programme.

Ted Tonks -  An explosion the Death Eaters took credit for in muggle London took his brother Nolan's life and left his mother and Eli severely injured. Ted has closed off to everyone but his family and a select few, spending most of his time visiting his family in the hospital and doting on Nymphadora.

Questions asked and Answered:

Q. In the open AUs, is everything else the same? A. Yes, up until now, everything that has happened in the roleplay has still happened! Amycus still secretly stole everyone’s art work, the star gazing event happened, the Christmas parties... all of it. This is your chance to change the future - to live out that happily ever after your character might not’ve gotten! Perhaps they proposed during the war, afraid it was their last time to speak to their loved one? Maybe they ran and now are coming back a coward? It’s basically “canon” with a happier ending, if that makes sense. Not to say that your character can’t have suffered losses! They did just fight a war.

[depulsorpg]

WHATS IN YOUR FILE.

NAME: James Potter. GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cismale, he/him. HOUSE & YEAR: Gryffindor, 7th. BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood. AFFILIATION: Order of the Phoenix.

WHAT DO THE RUMORS SAY.

POSITIVES: Charismatic, honest, quick-thinking. NEGATIVES: Hotheaded, stubborn, dependent. LOOKS LIKE: Bob Morley.

WHAT IS THE TRUE STORY.

According to him, others have only ever been right or wrong; with him or against him.

Unafraid to speak his mind, he’s always considered his opinion correct.

Has an incredible passion for Quidditch, the thrill it brings.

Unafraid to stand up for what he considers is right; even if it comes to battling others.

Aspires to follow in the steps of Aurors, to be one himself.

James grew up quite isolated. Being an only child of an elderly couple had it's downfalls, especially when it came to their neighbourhood. In other words, there were hardly any kids his age living nearby, except for those few that popped in a few times a year to visit their grandparents. But James had never been lonely per se. He always had a huge imagination and could come up with ways to deal with his boredom and besides, his parents tried to be heavily involved in his life. It was perhaps because of that that they had raised him to be a little spoiled and used to receiving attention. Who could blame them, though? Euphemia and Fleamont had tried for years to have a child, someone to pass on their family name, someone to cherish and love beyond imagination. And when the day finally came and James was born they couldn’t help themselves. They simply had to make sure he had everything he could ever want and more importantly they made sure that he was happy.  

Nevertheless going to Hogwarts had always been a dream of his. For as long as he could remember he’d imagine himself starting his education in a castle filled with other kids, making friends and having adventures that could never happen back home. Nothing, not even the times when his father would take him to a pub could beat the charm of an ancient castle and it’s wonders. Thanks to meeting Sirius on the very first train ride those dreams never stayed unfulfilled for long. The first years had been unforgettable. Despite the amount of knowledge he had to gain, he still had more than enough time to plot small, sometimes not really funny pranks and try not to get caught. It became easier once the group grew to a four with every person contributing something to the mixture. At a certain point, however, still rather early in school, he realised that not everything was fun and easy. He started noticing things that he hadn’t really been aware of before as the town his parents lived in was tiny and close-knotted. First, he had noticed how Sirius’ smile disappeared at the mention of going back home for holidays, then he took notice of how ragged Remus’ favourite sweater was and the way Peter’s smiles sometimes felt way too forced to be real. He’s good with people enough to notice things like that, but not necessarily as good with interpreting them. After all, which thirteen-year-old would be? Still, he made it clear that he was always there to help in any way he could.

His third year became the one when the pranks started being targeted almost only at the Slytherins. While it’s hard to admit, he had a lot of prejudice against the house simply because he felt threatened by them. They weren’t like-minded so they were a threat that should be dealt with and as a scrawny fifteen-year-old there wasn’t much he could do except dye some heads pink and throw a bunch of dungbombs. But that year he had also been scouted into the Gryffindor’s Quidditch team as a chaser. Having training sessions taught him the responsibility that his parents never really ingrained in him. It didn’t stop him from being a troublemaker, but it surely helped him understand how the world worked a bit better.

After earning his third detention that had stopped him from going to the training and getting threatened with expulsion from the team, he decided that no amount of pranking could ever be worth losing a spot on the team. In other words – he started to plan better and made sure that he always had an alibi for the time of a prank. He became a master of playing the role of the innocent bystander even if his eyes sparkled with mirth and his cheeks were reddened with excitation.

The war had always been present in his life, only once he actually got to school it turned out to be gaining strength and yet it still took James quite a while to understand what a war meant. He had been raised believing that no person was better than the other one solely based on their background. Their actions – yes, but nothing else. The Potters had a history of being tolerant beyond their times, which was incidentally, the  same thing that had cost them their spot on the Sacred list – not that they had ever complained about it.

One summer Sirius knocked on his door in the middle of the night. It was something he had absolutely not seen coming, even though he was well aware that the Blacks weren’t the most loving family and Sirius had enough episodes of getting fed up with them enough to leave for a few days, but he had never before announced that he was running away for god. That summer had awakened some maternal instinct in James. He had to take care of his best friends as best as he could or die trying.

Once he started noticing the influence of the war and how it was growing in strength he realised that it was his duty to take an active part in it. He wants to become an Auror and for once in his life started to amend his ways. It earned him the position of a Head Boy and it helps him feel that he’s actually doing something instead of being idle.

WHAT ARE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.

THE MARAUDERS: His absolute best friends, the people he practically considers family. LILY EVANS: Has a crush on, unsure how to act upon it. BERTRAM AUBREY: Used to bully, regrets actions. SEVERUS SNAPE: Absolutely despises, used to be jealous of his relationship with Lily. ALICE FORTESCUE: Study partner, friend.