#more like Godrick the Blasted

[awellboiledicicle]

I'm too invested in my Golden Consort au because I started drafting Dots au and my brain pivoted to ponder Fiona breaking Godricks brain by actually wanting to sleep with him.

Like beyond the whole spouse thing

Because the fact she likes him beyond social capital is already baffling and then she's just like 👀 at his hands and mouth. And then later isnt squicked out by the grafting. At worst she waves him off to avoid stressing the connections between the new limbs because he initially has a habit of winging it once the muscles latch on.

And also actually just.. sleeping beside him when they're at Stormveil. Granted the bed space required is a little ridiculous, but they manage. Aka he doesnt sleep until shes there because she'll blast anyone untoward out the window while he naps off the latest graft.

Basically my brain just keeps returning to them like I'm struggling to find something better to watch on tv at 3am. I'm one good pain day away from trying to sketch the scions using her influence on their designs. Or more Fiona in general.

They're terrible and its delightful to ponder the other demigods mostly ignoring Godrick bc hes him but also because his wife and children are the real threats bc. You know. The whole Expertly Trained Magic User thing.

Ok more realistically Godrick being batshit by game times means it's a self containing problem. The issue is if Margit ever sees her leave the castle with her children. Because that means Godrick has fallen and everything is about to get unbalanced again. Or she decided she would take the rune and go for Lord herself. Which is a whole separate problem.

I'm rotating the family drama in my mind

[goji-pilled]

MK-S: Congratulations on beating Godrick, your first ShardBearer boss! Don’t forget to go and get your Great Rune activated; hint: Back in the castle, past the big kitty with anger issues, there’s a grace and a path. I won’t risk giving you more spoilers.

But now I think you’re ready for…back in the woods of the Runebears…there exists a building. On your map, you may be able to see it, around the depiction of a minor Erdtree. Best of luck Tarnished.

Also, hope you have a blast on your museum trip!

oh yeah the fucking. holy tower guarded by three, respawning golems or whatever. ive been there before i beat godrick lol.

also a building??? i mean i guess ill see what i can find but id like to think ive been there before... i also unfortunatly havent fully explored stormveil castle yet sobbing ughgghgughgh

oh yeah quick question though. where are all the cool armornsets. i wanna wear cool armor. not that the samurai armor isnt cool, but im more into knight looking stuff. (my favourite armor to wear in ds1 was ornsteins... that was so so awesome...)

btw thank you! but my trip isnt happening til may still, by my own request, but i do appreachiate it!

[usernoneexistent]

A/N: I had so much fun writing this of my favourite prankster duo, Sethel. This was an absolute ride to write for 'water' so Al and Kaze I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Also I highly recommend if you play the song to start at when it says 'as the music changed' to really set the mood.

Characters featured: Ethel Hexley @the-al-chemist, Selene Fraser and Alan the ferret @lifeofkaze​.

Warnings: Sethel

It was a quiet evening. Glenn Rosewood had a good day today and had been looking forward to having the bathroom to himself. No student was out of line today, no interruption, no handing out detention and deduction house points. Not even a peep out his junior students, Ethel Hexley and Selene Fraser, arguably the biggest pests of Hogwarts and the main contributor to his chronic headaches. Passing the statue of Boris the Bewildered, Glenn reached the door.

"Pelagus." He whispered.

The door opened, and Glenn immediately went to the bathroom stalls to change into his bathing suit. On the opposite side of the room, he left his washing items by the pool, illuminated by the candle-lit chandelier. The school did supply complimentary bath items for students to wash with. Still, Glenn has always preferred bringing his own supply. He watched the hundred golden taps fill the sunken pool until the foam perfectly touched the pool's edge.

He dipped in slowly, taking his time to unwind. As the only person here, he could play whatever song he liked from his portable gramophone. His annoying little sister couldn't even barge in to complain about how out of date his music taste was. Taking his bar of soap, that looked slightly pink which Glenn doesn't recall it ever being pale pink. Despite his suspicions, he washed his hair before simply relaxing inside the tub. His muscles loosened, and his eyes were slowly shutting from pure bliss. He heard muffled giggles that he assumed came from the mermaid in the stained glass window overlooking the bath. He also hear squeaks followed by tiny footsteps, coming closer to him. Glenn glanced at the marble floor but saw nothing.

However, it only lasted for a few minutes as the water quickly went cold. Glenn's fingertips were wrinkled like a shrivelfig and almost blue. Glenn went to grab for his wand to reheat the water as he accidentally knocked down a soap bar from the supplied bathroom items.

"For Godrick's sake," he muttered as he blindly navigated his hand through the soapy water for the soap bar. Something slipped through his fingers, almost kicking him. Glenn grabbed it again and pulled out the slippery thing, only to be greeted by a loud croak.

"Bloody Merlin!" The frog flew out of his hand. The chorus of croaking frogs started as the music changed to something more upbeat. Exactly what I needed, he thought to himself. Glenn left the pool immediately to search for his wand to try at least to use the freezing charm on the never-ending spawning of frogs. Drenched, water dripped onto the white marble floor.

He lifted his towels and other items that he had brought. "Where are you, wand?"

Glenn raided through every bathroom corner to find his apparently missing wand. The number of frogs grew more and more as they covered more area. Glenn couldn't even hear himself think through the loud croaks and horrific music that seemed to blast through. He sought shelter in the bathroom stalls as that was the least crowded by the amphibians.

"Blasted!" He smacked the sink, "where did my bloody wand go?"

Something looked wrong in the mirror. Glenn looked up and saw his hair but in a bright shade of magnolia pink. Only so many students would prank him this far; Hexley and Fraser. But how did they pull this off, and where were they? No, Glenn had to focus on finding his wand first to stop the frogs, at least the moment he opened that door, it would become a frog plague at Hogwarts. Then he can find the two girls and deal with them accordingly.

A flash of brown and white moved in the mirror. There's only one animal that is nimble and small; a ferret. Glenn turned to look at the bathroom stall behind him. Slowly creeping up before pushing the door open.

"I knew it! It was yous, Fraser and Hexley!"

"Hi Glenn, I love the new hairstyle," Ethel grinned mischievously.

"I agree with Ethel. The colour pink suits you, Glenn," Selene matched Ethel's grin. Her pet ferret, Alan, was on her shoulder.

Glenn stood there, not amused by their compliments, cross-armed while frogs hopped at his feet and that annoying music still blasting. "Detention for both of you."

"Not if you can't catch us first." Ethel taunted, undeterred by Glenn's punishment. "Here, catch."

"Wait, what?" Glenn saw a stick fly out of her before grabbing it. It was his wand. Selene threw something to the ground while Glenn was distracted. The bath stalls were covered in smoke; he barely managed to hear their footsteps passing by him.

"So long Glenn!"

"And good luck!"

Glenn ran after as best as he could with the frog-filled floor and was careful to not slip and fall down. The door was open as the frogs jumped at the opportunity outside. The girls and their ferret seemed to have disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

"Hexley! Fraser! I'll get you for this!" Glenn stood at the prefect bathroom door, soaking in his new bright pink hair and an army of frogs escaping behind him.

Next story: Your Secret Admirer

[kurozu501]

I finally beat elden ring!! i said before that switching to a magic build had sort of made the game feel a little easy, but the difficulty of the endgame balanced that out by the end. Everything with the haligtree and malenia felt like i really needed all that powerful magic just to stand on equal footing with it. 

With the elden beast in particular i had zero reservations about it bc that boss was extremely unfun. The game should not be allowed to make me fight a giant boss that can fly halfway across the battlefield in two seconds if im banned from using my horse. like 90% of that fight is just wasting stamina chasing after the fucking thing as it spams endless endgame spells. I laser beamed it to death with zero regrets. 

the big spoiler with marika/radagon is still blowing my mind, and the way it was just casually confirmed by maleina’s remembrance saying that she and her brother were born from one god and then the cutscene in the erdtree with marika’s hair turning red. chills. the absolute gender of it all. PLEASE tell me someone has done a fanart of Rennala, Marika, and Radagon in the 12th night anne hathaway poster meme, i need it to exist. 

Still musing over my feelings about the game and its story (and i need to get the other non ranni endings as well) but i had a blast with it. It definitely feels like it has the juiciest, most detailed story of all the fromsoft games so far. With a lot of these games you get a vague sense of what things were like before the apocalypse and details on a few important key events but with Elden Ring you really get so much more detail. It’s great. Specific incidents and character interactions, like Radagon and Rennala’s messy divorce, Malenia and Radahn’s clash, Godrick being remembered for fleeing the capital, the murder of Godwyn, etc. GRRM definitely did a good job with all the pre shattering lore, its a really fun messy political family drama with eldritch gods. fun for the whole family. 

also shoutout to roderika and hewg bc fuck everybody else in this roundtable i respect YOU. 

[tarnished-doll]

girl godrick is afab but still genderfluid and i feel like that angle is interesting, because a lot of canon godrick's character oozes late-stage toxic masculinity poisoning. he's absolutely fucked up over not meeting godfrey standards of cis-masculinity even if he does use grafting as an atypical source of gender euphoria (and, lest we forget, cis ppl experience and desire gender euphoria and feel dysphoria too). from what breadcrumbs we get about him in-game its all tied to how he doesnt measure up to his family's gold standard of manliness to the point of crossdressing rumors floating around so i think its safe to say that there's sort of an effeminate streak there.

his circumstances are a perfect storm for the Worst Environment Ever to come out as transmasc tbh, but also like. masculinity is a performance, but so is femininity. which is why i designed fem godrick (godiva? would the names godiva+godrick be reversed in this situation? i like to think so because that just makes the parental issue headcanons extra messy >:)!) to be extremely feminine, and that means her gender-nonconforming vice is exactly the same toxic masculinity she would have been spared by virtue of not being the male heir.

masc!godrick has a certain softness he tries to hide, but fem!godrick has a certain hardness to her that she was made to repress. the timeline of failures is more or less the same, from both making the same stupid mistakes coming from the same places of wanting to Win and be the cool sexy successful hero that measures up tp godfrey. but while masc!godrick does it out of this kind of grim sense of obligation to his gender and his role in the family line (and its making him fucking Miserable), its much more of a source of liberation and gender euphoria for fem!godrick (and its Fucking Awesome and she's having a blast and she only cries about it Sometimes. she's built different)

[the-ink-bottle]

Harry Potter and a Critical Review of Film Aesthetic

I originally intended this to be a glowing review of the various film sets, due to my history of and passion for set-making. Unfortunately, copyright and other evils make it hard to find pictures of the sets alone. So instead I’ll be talking about the colors and aesthetics of the films, with my own tidbits about the sets along the way. I apologize for the photo quality, as most of these are just screenshots taken by my phone, and none of them (of course) belong to me. Credit to W. Bros and Jo, etc. 

1) The Sorcerer’s Stone: The first movie is the happiest, as it is mostly an introductory piece wherein we learn all about the magical world of Hogwarts. In this film we see lots of primary colors - the greens of Slytherin and the countryside; the blues of Ravenclaw and the castle; the yellows of Hufflepuff and warm candlelight; and the reds of Gryffindor and the Sorcerer’s Stone. A certain lack of film technology (I shouldn’t say lack, everything looks beautiful, but there certainly is a different tone to the CGI than what we’ll see later) makes everything in this movie have an air of nostalgia. Anybody born before the 2000s (with the exceptions of those blasted 1995-2001 kids like my generation) should recognize the fuzzy warm quality of films from this time. Produced in 2001, T.S.S. is the most cheerful of the films regarding its bustling and colorful set designs.

2) The Chamber of Secrets: Released just a year after the first, the sequel film of the Harry Potter series still features our warm colors mentioned above. In this film we get a lot less of the blues and yellows, instead seeing a lot of green, red, and orange. Green is heavily featured in regards to all the snakey stuff happening in this film, but we also see quite a lot of red: red in blood, red on Fawkes the Phoenix. We also see orange, in both the Weasley’s home and hair. Speaking of which: the Weasley house is one of my favorite places in the HP world, with all of its knick-knacks and moving objects. The inclusion of simple details, such as the self-knitting sweater, really tied that part of the set together.

3) The Prisoner of Azkaban: Most people love this movie the best. While I have a special place in my heart for the first book/movie, i will say that POA has fantastic set design and high aesthetic value. This film is where we see a darker theme setting in, with cold blues and foggy greens making their appearance. This is symbolic of that dreadful dementor feeling we’re getting, as the happiness is leeched out of everything. The exception to this is Trelawney’s room, which actually inspired this post. I loved the attention to detail in her room, where there are not only the famous silk hangings and crowded cushions, but also artfully-created stacks of teacups that have been made into all sorts of shapes. If you look closely while watching the film, you can see that the cups have been arranged into quirky sculptures that give us a taste of Trelawney’s strange personality.

4) The Goblet of Fire: From POA onwards, we won’t be getting many warm colors. The Goblet of Fire is mostly blue: blue flames, blue and white winter scenes, blue water, and blue-gray statues. This movie always scared me when I was younger because of the morbid opening scene, where we see Nagini exiting the statued mouth of a skull. While the competition scenes have plenty of boisterous music, even those have a sort of gray and misty feel about them. Offsetting this are glimpses of Gryffindor red, which remind us that Hogwarts is still doing alright for itself and hasn’t quite fallen into a depression just yet. 

5) The Order of the Phoenix: If I were to talk about OotP in terms of plot, we would be here for a long time. Instead I’ll stick to the aesthetic portion. This is another blue movie, with excellent design detail involved in the Ministry of Magic. The endless aisles of shelves filled with ghostly memories make the perfect setting for a cold and creepy face-off between Harry’s group and the Death Eaters. We can truly see an age progression in this film, even without paying attention to the plot, as Harry is no longer enjoying the warm and fuzzy scenery of the first film, not surrounded by the splashes of warmth from 2-4. In fact, the only real change of color we get is from Dolores Umbridge. In this instance, J.K. Rowling (as well as the film designers) played an interesting trick. She took pink, known as the sweetest and most feminine color, and turned it into a sign of evil. When we see pink in OotP, we associate it with torture and injustice. By filling Umbridge’s office with fuzzy pinkness, the designers have created a somewhat subconscious association that pink=bad, blue=depression, and red=gone from this movie, because no happiness is allowed.

6) The Half-Blood Prince: THBP is somehow even more depressing than OotP, which is hard to do given the death of certain characters in the previous film...ahem. Aesthetically speaking, we aren’t given much respite from the grays and dark greens of this movie. Fog around the castle, crashing ocean waves, and stark shadows in the Room of Requirement let the audience know that some Bad Shit is about to go down. I’ll take a moment to talk about the Room of Requirement, actually, as it’s another of my favorites. I recall watching an interview wherein the cast of HP bemoaned this set, as they were forced to climb up mountains of furniture over and over again. The fascinating part of this is that little CGI was used for the room. Those stacks of chairs, statues, books, baubles, and absolute clutter are all made up of real objects. This, much like Trelawney’s room, shows how authenticity can really add to the spirit of a scene. 

7) The Deathly Hallows: Alright, I’ll admit I got a bit lazy here, as I’ve combined the two films. Though I will argue that their aesthetics are the same, just about, so you can’t yell at me too much. While these two films utilize CGI to the fullest, making lots of swirly shadows and evil snake puppets, we also have a lot more scenes that are placed outside of Hogwarts. This is the first time we see a forest other than the forbidden one. We also get to visit Godrick’s Hollow, which appears in a quaint village. Bits of color appear in these places, such as in the dance scene between Harry and Hermione, as a bit of relief from all the despair. The mood changes most at the end of the novel, when at last sunshine breaks from the clouds and tells us that all is well.

[the-jade-cross]

Fairy of Hogwarts - Chapter 4

(FOURTH YEAR) (DURING THE GOBLET OF FIRE)

Arya was returning to Hogwarts! She had spent the summer back home with her family and had even invited Harry, Ron and Hermione over for a week or two to have some fun. It was a lovely summer and Arya had grown. She had gotten a little taller, her hair had gotten longer and she had resorted to straightening her hair sometimes for a change.

She was seated at the Ravenclaw table between Cho and Luna. The two were complimenting Arya on how good she looked in long hair and out it really brought out the blue in her eyes. Just then, Arya noticed Seamus, Harry and Ron tense at the Gryffindor table. Turning, she looked and saw that Draco Malfoy, Pansy, Crabb and Goyle had just entered the hall.

Arya rolled her eyes and looked away, noting that Luna was giving her a surprised look, "Since when did you hate Malfoy?"

"Since when did I like him?" Arya inquired.

Luna shrugged, "it seemed like you two were on okay terms the past two years. What happened?"

"Plenty," Arya hissed.

"You know Buckbeak is alive now because Harry and Hermione went back in time," Luna pointed out.

"But Draco still ratted out to his dad about it and he wasn't the least bit sorry," Arya snapped quietly. "It will take a miracle for me to forgive him.'

"Well then don't look now," Cho whispered, "Cuz he's looking this way."

Arya glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, his piercing gray eyes were watching her intently from beneath his eyebrows. Arya turned around and glared.

"I've had just about enough of this."

With that, she got up and headed over to the Gryffindor Table. She plopped down beside Hermione and instantly Seamus sat on the other side of her, Ron and Harry across from them.

"What's going on?" Fred and George asked as they approached the girl from behind. "Luna talking your ear off?"

Arya shook her head, "Malfoy boring a hole in the back of my head."

At once, Seamus, Harry and Ron glared at the Slytherin table and inched closer to Arya.

"I just want to wring his neck so badly sometimes," Ron whispered.

Arya chuckled just before Hermione spoke up, "So, I wonder what we're going to be learning with Professor Mcgonagal today. She wont tell a soul about what it is all about."

TIME SKIP

Arya was on her way to classes when she almost collided with Hermione and Ron who looked like they were in a hurry.

"What happened?"

"During the quidditch game," Ron explained. "Harry got his arm badly hurt. We have to hurry."

Arya didn't even wait another second and grabbing their hands, dragged them to the medical bay. When they burst in, Madam Pomfrey was bringing Harry different articles to help with the pain. Draco was surrounded by Slytherin's while he moaned over a small sprained wrist.

"Oh you can go Mr. Malfoy," Pomfrey groaned. "Oh that bludger seriously broke some bones Mr. Potter."

"Madam Pomfrey," Arya cried, bursting into the room with Ron and Hermione, "What happened?"

"Just a bludger to the arm Ar," Harry replied. "it's nothing."

Arya brushed it off, "It's not nothing. here let me."

She ran her fingers over his arm and cringed. "We'll need to reset it. You'll be in a sling for class with Mcgonagal later."

Harry shrugged, "No way I can avoid it."

Arya backed out of the way as Pomfrey began to wrap Harry's arm and splinting it.

"Can you check on Mr. Malfoy Arya dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "he wont stop groaning and he refuses to leave."

Arya rolled her eyes and looked at Ron, Seamus and Harry who were all glaring at the Slytherin. No way she could avoid it. Stomping over to the bed, she crossed her arms and considered the sight.

Draco was lying on the bed, nursing his arm. Crabb, Goyle and Blaise were standing around the bed and Pansy was sitting next to him, fawning over him and petting his hair.

"Doesn't seem like you're in any pain," Arya remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Blaise tried to not smirk. While Draco found it virtually impossible to even talk to Arya without one of the boys shooing him away, Blaise was one of the few Slytherins that the Gryffindors allowed Arya to talk to. When Arya began to ignore Draco since last year, Blaise had spent more time especially during break with Arya and had found her quite interesting to talk to.

"You kidding me?" Draco whined. "I think it's broken."

Arya rolled her eyes and walked over. She gripped his arm and ignored the whimper he let out. Just by looking at it she knew it was just dislocated. Rubbing his shoulder, she ignored the annoyed look on Pansy's face.

"Just dislocated," she remarked before snapping it back into place.

Draco let out a yelp at the pop but felt immediately annoyed at Arya's keen sense of healing because now she was walking off back to Harry. That blasted Potter got everything!

"You can leave now Malfoy!" Arya called over her. "I would also wash your hair if I were you. I don't think Pansy washed her hands after breakfast."

There was a snicker that ran up from the other end of the room where Arya and the Gryffindors were standing around Harry. Pansy at once tangled her fingers in Draco's hair but he brushed her off. Why would she never leave him alone? didn't she see that he liked Arya?

As Arya was cleaning up the room before class with Mcgonagal, Dumbledore stepped into the Medical Bay.

"Hello Arya, I was hoping I would find you here."

"Hello professor," Arya greeted. "How may I help you?"

"How is Tinkerbell?" Dumbledore asked.

Arya looked down at her cat who now lived in the Medical bay, "Alright. The kittens will arrive any day now."

Dumbledore smiled, "Babies are always a joy to the heart. Anyway, I came here because I was wondering if you would be interested in doing a dance routine with your brothers."

"What kind?" Arya inquired. "And what for?"

"Well I was going to let you find out at class tomorrow but I should tell you anyway. The Yule Christmas ball is coming up and I wanted it to be special this year what with Harry being here and all."

Arya nodded, "I think we can figure something out."

Dumbledore smiled, "Thank you dear. Now hurry to class."

Filch was messing with the speaker again and it was making Arya chuckle whenever Mcgonagal got interrupted by a blaring squeak.

"The Yule ball has been a tradition of..." she glared at Filch and raised her voice so that he stopped. "the twiwizard tournament since its inception. On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather in the great hall for a  night of well mannered frivolity."

Arya looked over at Fred and George who were sitting across the room from her with the other boys and found them both smirking. it wasn't going to be like that if they had anything to say about it.

"As representatives of the host school," Mcgonagal continued, "I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward and I mean this literally because the Yule Ball is first and foremost.... a dance."

AT once, the girls began to whisper together and the boys began to groan. Arya just sat there, not surprised because of the warning she had gotten from Dumbledore.

"SILENCE!" Mcgonagal called. "The house of Godrick Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the Wizard world for nearly 10 centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling bumbling band of baboons."

Arya hid a smirk when she saw Fred and George whisper something which she could only guess was something to do with Mcgonagal's tongue twister.

"Now to dance," she continued, "Is to let the body breathe inside every girl a secret swoon slumbers longing to burst forth and tight flight."

Ron was whispering something with Seamus when Mcgonagal turned on him, "Inside every boy a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr. Weasley."

"Yes?" the boy muttered with fear.

"Will you join me please?" Mcgonagal asked, pulling the boy up without getting an ascent from him.

Harry gave Ron a shove and smirked, grinning across the room at Arya who was trying to not laugh at Ron's horrified face.

"Now," Mcgonagal said once she got Ron in the middle of the room, "Place you right hand on my waist."

"What?" Ron whispered, earning a snort from Arya which made Harry and Seamus grin bigger.

"On my waist," Mcgonagal replied.

Fred and George let out a wolf whistle when Ron obeyed and Arya hid her eyes, trying to not laugh.

Filch turned on the music and Mcgonagal began to lead Ron through the dance. Fred and George were mocking Ron, humming and swaying to the music.

Arya grinned and George winked at her, smirking. He knew she found it just as amusing as they did.

"Everyone come together!" Mcgonagal called.

The girls got up but the boys, except Neville, refused to rise. Arya trotted over to the boys and grabbed Austen and Aiden by the hands, shoving the two in Luna and Hermione's direction. They knew she would have their heads if they didn't dance so they pulled the two girls into the dance. Soon, almost all the boys and girls were dancing.

Arya spied Draco who was slowly making his way towards her, Pansy practically hanging on him. She wasn't going to dance with him so she approached Harry who was still dancing.

"Come on Harry," she invited.

"I'm horrible at dancing," Harry pointed out.

Arya smiled and pulled him up by his good hand, "Well then it wont hurt to practice."

Even though Harry only had one hand, Arya shifted so that she could hold his free hand and put her other on his shoulder. She smiled up at him and they began laughing and chuckling together about Ron and Mcgonagal. Soon Fred and George.... who for some reason were dancing together instead of with girls, came over and whispered something.

"We're so never going to let Ron live this one down."

Arya smirked and just then, the music stopped and all the students froze.

"Everyone, please take your seats," Mcgonagal called. "I would like to announce something."

Everyone sat back down but Arya knew what was going to happen. She looked across the way at Aiden, Austen, Asher and Axel who were looking back at her. She had warned them about the dance they had to perform together in front of everyone at the ball.

"Dumbledore has decided that we will be having a slight change to the ball. it has never happened that we have had a dance performance but it came to our attention that in our midst we had five incredibly talented dancers. In that case, The Gerasimov Family will be performing a dance performance in front of the whole school and our guests nearing the end of the ball."

At once, all eyes fell on the Gerasimov kids, most of them on Arya.

"Aiden, Austen, Asher and Axel. Please come forward. Arya."

Arya stood up and approached Filch. The man smiled at her and stepped back as she changed the song. She and her brothers hadnt gotten a chance to practice but there was a dance that they had performed together: Rewrite the Stars. It was originally only for two people but they had managed to make some really cool, intense dance moves for Aiden, Austen, Asher and Axel since Arya and Austen always did the main roles together.

She got it ready but paused it. She then approached her brothers who were all talking together.

"Ready guys?" she whispered.

The five siblings wrapped their arms around each other, bending their heads to talk.

"Just like Christmas three years ago," Arya whispered.

They all nodded and split up. Axel, Asher and Aiden all went to different parts of the center of the room, making a sort of triangle shape around Arya and Austen. Arya was Standing in the center of the triangle while Austen was outside. The dance consisted of Austen trying to get into the circle but Axel, Asher and Aiden constantly did complicated, fast dance moves, blocking his entrance until halfway through the song.

You know I want you It's not a secret I try to hide I know you want me

When Austen paused to let the music sink in, Arya glanced at the girls to see that practically all of them were practically swooning from Austen. He was an incredibly talented singer and one of the cutest guys in school. Arya pretended to be upset and torn, refusing to look at Austen. Whenever he began to walk around the circle, she kept moving so that her back stayed facing him.

So don't keep saying our hands are tied You claim it's not in the cards Fate is pulling you miles away And out of reach from me But you're here in my heart So who can stop me if I decide That you're my destiny?

Arya had walked towards the opposite side of the circle but she stopped. She looked up at Aiden who was right in front of her. He winked, telling her that she was doing great. Just then, Austen got inside the circle but Aiden took both of Arya's hands and tossed her through the air. She did a clean spin and landed lightly on her feet, outside the circle.

What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine Nothing could keep us apart

Austen rushed towards her but Aiden blocked him by doing a dance move, keeping Austen trapped inside the circle while Arya began to walk around the circle on the outside, watching Austen. Suddenly she ran forward straight at Asher's back but her brother opened his legs so she could slide under. As she slid under, he reached down and grabbed her hands, pulling her through and pulling her to her feet.

Arya landed perfectly right in front of Austen who looked at her, smiling.

You'd be the one I was meant to find It's up to you, and it's up to me No one can say what we get to be So why don't we rewrite the stars? Maybe the world could be ours Tonight

Arya had pretended to act like she was relenting but out of nowhere she did a clean backflip and landed on Aiden's shoulders before doing another backflip and landing on the high ledge right behind the girls. All the students gasped at how well she did it and didn't even fall.

You think it's easy

You think I don't want to run to you

But there are mountains And there are doors that we can't walk through  

All the students, especially the boys had their mouths dangling open at Arya's amazingly strong, mature singing voice. Just as the next part continued, she jumped clean into the air and grabbed onto the chandelier, dangling there by one hand while she looked down at Austen who was looking at her, pretending to be upset.

I know you're wondering why

Because we're able to be Just you and me Within these walls  

She spun around, still keeping a grip on the chandelier till she did a clean cartwheel and landed on the outside of the circle.

But when we go outside

You're going to wake up and see that it was hopeless after all

Arya took a running start and jumped straight at Aiden who turned, grabbed her hand and her waist and spun her around his body like a swing dancing style.

No one can rewrite the stars

How can you say you'll be mine? Everything keeps us apart

Arya let go of Aiden and landed right in front of Austen. She reached up and stroked his face before spinning away.

And I'm not the one you were meant to find  

Aiden caught her again but this time threw her far up. Arya did a clean jump and landed on the bench between Harry and Ron who were seated on the highest bench, startling both of them.

It's not up to you

It's not up to me When everyone tells us what we can be How can we rewrite the stars? Say that the world can be ours Tonight

As they began to sing the next part, Austen did a clean summersault and landed on the bench by the girls, gaining squeals of joy from the girls as the two began to sing together.

All I want is to fly with you

All I want is to fall with you So just give me all of youIt feels impossible (it's not impossible) Is it impossible?

Right then they both jumped and both caught hold of the chandelier, wrapping an arm around each other and swinging around till their heads were almost swimming with dizziness.

Say that it's possible

How do we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine? Nothing can keep us apart 'Cause you are the one I was meant to find  

Arya let go of the chandelier and held onto Austen's hand till he let go and she went flying. Aiden caught her easily and swung her around so she was on the ground. Austen let go and landed firmly on the ground.

It's up to you

And it's up to me No one can say what we get to be And why don't we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours

The two had begun to dance a rather fast, complicated dance routine together in the center of the circle.... till the music died down and they stood about five feet from each other, Austen holding out his hand. Arya's haunting voice came out in soft whispers.

You know I want you

It's not a secret I try to hide But I can't have you We're bound to break and my hands are tied

Arya's hand had been extended, about to take Austen's hand but she pulled it back and turning, walked out of the circle. The moment they stopped, the girls began to wail at how beautiful it was and the five siblings all went around and gave each other high fives.

"That is just a glimpse of what we will be seeing at the Yule Ball," Mcgonagal explained. "I expect most of you to give the Gerasimov family ideas and inspirations about the origin and style of the dance. That way it will suit everyone's imaginations."

Austen grinned and pulled his sister in for a hug, "That was awesome AR!"

"Thanks," Arya whispered, "You've still got it in you."

Hermione and Luna charged over and drew the girl in for bone breaking hugs while Ron, Seamus, the twins and Harry approached.

"That was brilliant," Ron pointed out.

"We have a problem though," Seamus whispered.

At once, the siblings and friends were listening.

"Draco wouldn't stop staring."

They all peered over Seamus's shoulder to see that indeed, Draco was still sitting between Goyle and Crabb.... his eyes fixed on Arya.

Draco was working hard on making the Potter Stinks stickers. His eyebrows were down, he was gnawing his lip and frowning.

"What's your problem?" Blaise inquired.

"nothing," Draco replied.

Blaise chuckled. "You've been acting funny ever since dance practice yesterday. What's the deal?"

"Arya's the deal," Draco replied. "I cannot get her out of my head."

"Why don't you ask her to the ball then?" Blaise inquired.

"YOu're kidding right?" Draco asked, looking up, "She practically hates me! Besides, there are a dozen boys asking her to go with them every class!"

"So that's what's on your mind," Blaise teased, "Afraid someone will get to her before you?"

Draco didn't answer and went back to work.

"Well you'll never know unless you ask her," Blaise said. "And with the deal of her hating you. Why don't you just apologize?"

Draco sighed, "I guess I should... I just don't know how to talk to her without one of those Gryffindors getting in the way."

"Well I'll help you," Blaise offered. "The others are going to hogsmeade before the tournament starts and I'm sure Potter is going with Granger and Seamus. Weasley has been avoiding him. I'll distract Ron, you get to Arya."

Draco nodded, "Okay... when I'm done."

"No, now," Blaise ordered. "The early bird gets the worm!"

"I hate you sometimes," Draco muttered.

TIME SKIP

True to Blaise's word, Draco found Arya alone outside. Potter and Granger were nowhere to be found and Weasley was also scarce. there were a bunch of other students but so far, no one that posed a problem.

Arya was sitting on a stone bench reading when Draco approached and sat down next to her.

"Hey," he greeted.

Arya didn't reply but kept reading, purposely ignoring him.

"Look Arya.... I wanted to apologize," Draco said, too quiet for anyone but Arya to hear.

Arya snorted. "That's a new one."

"It was unfair of me to rat to my dad about Buckbeak," Draco continued. "I didn't know he meant so much to you... and I know I was a jerk in liking the idea but... I'm really sorry I hurt you."

Arya shrugged and continued to read, "What possessed you to apologize after almost a full year?"

Draco swallowed his saliva and found his mouth going dry, "I know I'm rotten to some people... I'm not exactly upset about being rotten to Potter but I cannot bear seeing you upset and... I miss talking to you... and being your friend."

"We were never really friends," Arya pointed out, "For that very reason, because you make it very difficult to like you even as a friend."

Draco ducked his head, knowing she was right. Arya closed her book and looked at him, "But not impossible. Apology accepted."

Draco looked up, his face lighting up and he smiled, "Thanks AR."

The girl smiled, liking how her nickname sounded coming from him.

"I was uh... wondering..." Draco continued. "If you would like to go to the ball with me?"

Arya's smile at once disappeared but to one of disappointment, "oh I'm sorry Draco... I already have a date."

"Oh... you... do?" Draco stuttered. "Oh right.... I probably should have seen that coming..."

Arya smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Draco shook his head, "No it's fine... I understand...Uh...see you later."

With that he got up. he really didn't want to leave for he was liking being on good terms with Arya again but his face was going red from embarrassment and rage at himself for being too late. He collided with Blaise halfway to the dungeons.

"Well?" Blaise asked.

"She accepted my apology," Draco replied. "We're on good terms.... but she already has a date."

"Oof," Blaise remarked. "Too bad. Well that's a good start mate. Baby steps."

Draco nodded, "baby steps."

TIME SKIP

When Arya came back outside later after lunch, she saw that almost all the students were outside. Harry looked really annoyed as he stormed in Draco's direction... not good!

Arya held her books and backpack in her arms as she watched Harry approach Draco and begin to yell at him about something.

"hey Arya," Crabb called. "Want one?"

He held out a sticker that said: Support Cedric Diggory. Oh it was a badge supporting Diggory. She was about to nod when she saw that the badge changed to: Potter Stinks.

Feeling the fury rise in her cheeks, Arya stormed away from a puzzled Crabb. She had just approached the scene, knowing full well what it was about when she saw Professor Moody change Draco into a ferret!

Many of the students began to laugh or gasp in shock as Professor Moody made Draco the Ferret float in the air.

"Professor!" Mcgonagal cried, "is that a student!?"

"Actually it's a ferret," Moody replied.

"Change him back at once!" MCgonagal ordered.

Moody obeyed and changed Draco back.... but Draco then changed back into a ferret.

"Oh dear," Mcgonagal remarked. "The spell must have backfired. We need to take him to the hospital wing."

the professor looked around till she caught sight of Arya, "Arya dear! I need your help!"

Arya walked over and considered the white ferret who was looking up at her mournfully.

"I need you to get Mr. Malfoy to the medical bay and hopefully get this spell off of him," Mcgonagal explained.

Arya nodded before flashing Harry a grin. Harry returned it and smiled. Arya put her books in her back, slinging it on her back and knelt down in front of the ferret.

"Really?" she asked the ferret, putting her hands on her hips, "Will you ever learn when it's enough?"

Draco gave her big brown puppy eyes and Arya rolled her eyes, "Don't give me puppy eyes because you're a ferret. You're lucky that I don't leave you here to deal with it yourself."

With that, she reached down and picked the ferret up and held him in one arm. As she walked towards the medical bay, she realized that she was carrying Draco... in the form of a ferret. It didn't register till Draco sat up in her arm and looked at her.

"Oh stop it," she remarked sternly. "Don't think that I'm carrying you that we're good. We're just on speaking terms right now."

Draco tried his best to look hurt but it failed miserably. When they got to the medical bay, Madam Pomfrey was busy behind a curtain with another injured student so Arya took the other curtained off area and set the ferret on the bed.

"Let's see," Arya remarked, pouring some ingredients into a cup, "This should do it."

With that she held the cup low and Draco drank it, Ferret style. When he finished Arya set the cup down and considered the ferret a moment. She saw Draco try to scratch the back of his head but failed so she did it for him.

"You're cute," she remarked before realizing what she had said.

The ferret almost smirked and Arya rolled her eyes, "As a ferret. You should just stay a ferret permanently. I might like you better for it."

Draco pretended to pout and Arya smirked before a soft mewing sound caught her attention. Turning, she saw that Tinkerbell was lying in the corner on her mat... and with her were four brand new kittens!

"Oh Tink!" the girl remarked softly, coming to kneel down beside the cat, "They're so cute!"

With that, she gathered up the kittens and held them gently in her arms.

She was just trying to think of names when she felt a presence behind her. Turning, she saw that Draco was back to his normal, self sitting on the edge of the bed. He was only wearing his shirt, pants, shoes and sweater vest, not his long robe. His hair was slightly messed up and Arya had to admit, he was pretty good looking like that.

"So I'm cute huh?" he asked smirking.

Arya rolled her eyes, "As a ferret yes."

"Admit it though, I'm cute as a man too."

Arya chuckled, "In your dreams Malfoy."

"So what are their names?" he inquired, kneeling down beside her.

"I haven't decided yet," Arya replied.

"Well there's four of them. Why not name them after the seasons?" he inquired.

"Winter, Summer, Spring and Autumn," Arya said, considering each kitten, "I like it!"

Draco smiled, something Arya hadn't seen before and she felt her cheeks go pink, thinking how cute he looked when he smiled.

The two just looked at each other a moment before Draco reached out and slowly placed one hand on her hand, tracing her knuckles with his thumb.

"Arya i..." he said softly. "I... I really like you."

Arya smiled, "I like you too."

Draco felt his heart jump but he could tell by how she said it that she didn't understand, "No I mean i.... like you.... I mean really like you...."

When he looked at Arya, her face had gone slightly pale, then slightly red but not from a blush but from anger. She pulled her hand away from Draco and set the kittens down.

"you should have thought of that before you ruined our friendship."

"I apologized for Buckbeak," Draco pointed out.

"THIS HAS NOTHNG TO DO WITH BUCKBEAK!" Arya shouted. "This has to do with how horribly you have treated everyone and everything! Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, the professors... everyone!"

"But Arya that's not you," Draco pointed out.

"ARGH!" Arya shouted, "Are you seriously that thick? What makes you think I'll ever like you back if you treat everyone else with contempt! You don't get what you want Draco if you treat only the things you care about with care and kindness! Until you learn how to treat others like you want to be treated, this... between us will never happen."

With that the girl got to her feet and stormed out of the room while shouting over her head, "AND THOSE STICKERS YOU MADE ARE RIDICULOUS! IF YOU HADNT MADE THEM, YOU WOULDNT HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO A FERRET!"

As she slammed the door behind her, Draco cringed and looked at the cats to see TInkerbel glaring at him.

"What have I done?"

They were dance rehearsing again. Draco was practically in limbo for Pansy wouldn't let him go. She was basically hanging on his arm with all her might, squealing whenever he looked at her and glaring at all the girls who swooned at the sight of Draco.

However, Draco's mind was at the other side of the dance room where Arya was dancing calmly with Seamus. Draco had grown to not mind Harry or Seamus mostly because he knew they were just protective of Arya but Ron was just downright aggravating.

Seamus spun the girl around and Arya giggled, her face brightening up when she smiled.

"Draco," Pansy whined, "What is wrong with you?"

Pansy wasn't the only one who noticed Draco's lack of concentration for Mcgonagal stepped over to him and summoned Blaise over.

"Mr. Zabini, would you mind dancing with Miss Parkinson today?"

Blaise was about to complain but he got the feeling that there was a good reason so he obliged. Draco was left alone with the professor who nudged him in the direction of Arya who had gone to sit down to have a break while Seamus danced with Ginny.

Draco expertly made his way through the crowd till he was approaching Arya. when he came to stand in front of her, Arya refused to look up at him.

"Arya," he whispered.

"What?" she asked in a whisper, looking up at him.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked.

They just stood there, looking at each other, neither speaking till almost every student had left. Soon, the room was absolutely empty. Draco held out his hand and Arya hesitantly took it.

His soft, pale hand slipped around hers and Arya felt electricity shoot through their hands when warm met cold. Draco gently drew her into the center of the room, his eyes never leaving hers and slipped his arm around her waist.

Arya felt all the air slip out of her at the feeling of his hand around her waist. Draco slowly led her around the room. there was no music but neither seemed to notice or care.

Every few steps, Draco seemed to either draw Arya closer to him, or Arya didn't notice that his face was slowly nearing hers. She suddenly realized how much shorter she was compared to him, barely reaching his chin. His head was bowed, his eyes looking straight into hers and his eyes never wavering even when she glanced down.

"So who are you going to the ball with?" he asked in a whisper.

When he spoke in a whisper, his voice sounded so soft and gentle and Arya felt her cheeks go pink, "G....George..."

"George Weasley?" Draco inquired, his voice still in a whisper but slightly louder. "Why him?"

"Because he asked me," Arya replied. "I didn't want to wait and decline anyone because if I kept declining, there wouldn't be anyone else I could go with.... so I decided to go with him."

"Who else asked you?" Draco asked, trying to not let his voice drip with jealousy.

He knew that Fred and George were like big brothers to Arya so George had probably only asked her out of kindness and had offered to go with a friend which was basically what had happened.

"No one that I knew," Arya replied. "Which was why I turned them down..."

Draco quietly cleared his throat, not lifting his eyes to look at her, "Would you have gone with me if George hadn't asked you first?"

Arya lifted her beautiful eyes and looked up at the Slytherin. Honestly, she had been shocked he had asked her especially since over the course of just a day he had also admitted his feelings so she had been overwhelmed.... but now that she thought about it, She wouldn't have minded.

"I don't know...."

Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and he felt his heart sink, "Can i.... have a dance with you at the ball then?"

Arya seemed to think about it before a smile appeared on her face and she released herself from Draco's strong but gentle grip, "You've got to sing for it."

Draco was about to object but then he saw the excited, interested look on the girl's face. She wanted to see if he could sing.... well nothing bad happened from trying.

Arya went to the boom box and quickly turned on a new track which was a rather fast, upbeat cello song. There was a moment while the music played while Draco just tried to remember the words.... then looking at Arya across the room from him... it all just came out perfectly.

(SONG: Smooth Criminal)(START AT 0.56 and stop it at 2.54:)) I have no rights to the song. It's from the movie GLEE)

When they stopped, both were slightly out of breath and were about three inches away from each other. There was a smirk on Draco's face and Arya was smiling.

"Alright. One dance," the girl promised. "How come you didn't tell me you could dance?"

Draco shrugged, "Never thought I was any good."

Arya smiled and shook her head, "we always think we're really bad at something when we're actually good at it. Never let your mind get the best of you Draco."

With that, she was gone, leaving a stunned and overjoyed Draco behind.

The Yule ball had arrived and Arya was freaking out. She was excited to go with George but she was so excited for all the dancing, the performance she had to with the boys and she couldn't wait to see what the great hall looked like!

As she stood before the mirror, dabbing a minimal amount of makeup on, Luna burst in with Cho behind her. both were already dressed, having dressed ahead of time for a reason unknown.

"Come on! We need to try on your dress before we do your hair!" Luna cried, grabbing her hand.

As the two girls dragged her back into their room, Arya stuttered. "I didn't know you two were put in charge of preparing me.... I can Dress myself."

"Nonsense," Both remarked, "You are going to be performing in front of everyone with your brothers! You need to look perfect! Besides, after your little showdown with Draco the other day, boys have been preparing to ask you for a dance."

Arya's eyebrows shot up, "Who knows about the showdown?"

"Almost the whole school," Cho replied. "Seamus, Ron and Harry went looking for you after practice and when they saw you still in there with Draco, they held back. Ron was seething but Seamus and Harry seemed rather surprised. they made Ron promise to not get onto you about it because he was almost prepared to lock you in your room so you wouldn't go to the ball and run into Draco."

"Does he hate me that much?" Arya asked.

"Oh he doesn't hate you, he hates Malfoy," Hermione said as she entered, wearing a stunning pink dress.

"Mione you look gorgeous!" the three squealed.

Hermione smiled, "Thanks! Now let's make you look better!"

With that, the girl was pulled down into a chair and Hermione busied about doing her hair. Cho got onto her makeup and Arya was glad it wasn't Luna because even though Luna never used makeup, whenever she did someone's makeup, she put too much on but Cho put just the right amount and she knew how to make it match your outfit and your eyes.

Luna got about bringing out Arya's dress which was a rich dark blue.

"So how did the whole school find out about the dance with Draco?" Arya inquired.

"Well Ron couldn't keep his voice down in class today. Luckily, it was just us Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs," Hermione replied.

"Yeah and then word spread after that," Luna added. "Don't know if Draco knows that everyone knows."

"Well considering that I didn't know yet, chances are he doesn't," Arya remarked, feeling her cheeks go red. "Oh this is so embarrassing!"

"No it's not!" the three girls cried.

"Arya, you were absolutely spectacular during that dance war!" Cho remarked. "Harry and Seamus said they never saw anything like it and they had to admit, Draco was rather talented too and they even said you two sound perfect together! Ron was ticked when he heard them say that but he admitted that it was really cool. Now, all the boys within reasonable age are dying to dance with you!"

"But I have to sing!" Arya groaned. "And now everyone has their hopes high."

"And well they should!" Ginny said as she stepped in, wearing a lovely green dress that brought out her red hair. "Arya, if you were able to sing that well at the last minute with Malfoy, you will do amazing tonight!"

Arya shook her head, "but I'll be in front of the whole school and the guests!"

"You sang in front of Malfoy." Ginny pointed out.

At once Arya went quiet and the four girls stopped their prepping to look at her. her cheeks had gone slightly red.

"But... I don't know... I was really nervous when we started singing but then.... Draco....I don't..."

The four girls knew why she was stammering. she knew that Draco was practically their enemy but Ginny jumped at the opportunity. Kneeling in front of her, she took Arya's hands.

"Ar. Listen to me. Malfoy may not be our best friend, but if he makes you happy, we're happy. He might be a brute and all, but not everyone is bad clear through unless their you know who. Listen. None of us thought the day would come when Draco showed a good, kind side but he did the moment he met you. The more he gets to know you, the more his good side comes out and that's not only a welcome to us, but it shows that everyone is good deep down."

"Right," Hermione added. "Don't feel guilty or embarrassed if you have feelings for Draco or if he makes you feel comfortable when you're performing. If that's the case, just think of him while you're performing."

Arya lifted her eyes and looked at Hermione and Ginny. She could talk to Luna and Cho about Draco occasionally because he knew they didn't have experience with him bullying but Ginny and Hermione were veterans of Draco's past bullying.

"You sure?"

the two girls smiled and nodded.

"Now let's get you dressed!"

When Arya emerged from the bathroom with Hermione who had gone in to help her zip up, the others gasped.

Her dress was floor length and got darker as it went up, turning black near the top with some silver. It had one strap sleeve, showing her fair skin that set off the blue perfectly. Her red hair matched the outfit perfectly and looked deep auburn. Her heels of course were hidden but kept her skirts off the ground. The pendent around her neck matched her dress (ignore the ring) and the earrings brought out the color of her eyes. Cho had done perfectly with her makeup and Hermione's hairdo for her was similar to her own put was perfect.

"You look perfect!" Luna squealed, rushing over to hug her.

"How do you dance in that?" Cho asked. "Didn't you say the dance with your brothers is kind of fast beat?"

Arya smiled, "Silly, I'm going to chance into my fast dancing dress halfway through. The performance isn't till the end."

Ginny walked over and drew the girl into a hug, "You're so beautiful Arya."