#my besty started calling me that because it's easier to explain to little Lily and since I can never actually be an aunt my besty knows tha

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

I'm probably going to get to see my best friend, and my namesake (her daughter), later this week, and I don't want to weird out my besty but I hope I get to give her at least a two minute hug. I told her that I've been depressed lately, though, so hopefully she'd understand. I'll probably cry about it, too, tbh, and she'll gently tease me but it's only because she cries when I cry and vice versa and that can be a vicious cycle which can be kind of funny, lol. I also hope that at least the three of us will get to go window shopping. There's nothing like tired feet walking around the mall and occasionally nerding out with one's best friend - that's the best kind of tired one could possibly be! And since it's been several years since I've seen her kiddo (SHE'S SO BIG NOW and I haven't even seen her IRL again yet), it'll be fun to basically meet her again and get to know her again briefly, too. :') It's been awhile since my best friend mentioned it to me, but apparently she exposed Lily to the likes of The Beatles and Stevie Nicks quite early and that Lily loves them, and I'm curious to find out how else I've inadvertently influenced my namesake. :D (I also know for a fact that Lily loves Totoro, which is another influence of mine as my besty has assured me!)

[bean-system]

1) we call each other brain bitches or just bitches also alter or headmate.

2)usually we’ll think we’re really blendy but can’t find anything that feels like me. Sometimes we’ll think we know who we are till that person actually fronts and we’re like shit so I’m not them???

3) we either look through the parts we have documented or well look at the Pinterest boards we’ve made for ourselves

4) we never know who we are when we dream. We usually know who we are when we go to bed but always wake up blurry unless we wake up to a trigger

5) most of our friends know, and both of our partners know. One of them is a caregiver to a lot of our littles the other is also amazing the littles are just still nervous around him cause we started dating recently

6)we are collectively trans masc and it took a really long time for us to be okay with some parts presenting more fem.

7) defined effects our relationships, we are queer and have had a hell of a time finding a label that fits

8)I wish communication was better with some parts. Most of the communication is Nanome yelling jokes at the worst time

9) we are always scared our OCs will spit, because we split pretty easily.

10)sooo much we’d want to do for each other. Firstly it would be making sure we have a safe stable living situation. The littles would kill for a cozy room(/lh) with shelves along the walls lined with stuffies and bean bags and cushions all covering the floor. As well as a lot of clothes and accessories so we can all be more comfortable when we front.

11)there is a decent amount of organization because of the way our inner world is set up. There are different layers and subsystems. The organization that does exist is fairly set in place.

12)we have a couple groups of fictive from the same sources. Xander and Seb are dating as well as Rosie and Joseph.

13) one of the littles has very complicated feeling about the majority of the system

14) Piper deals with a lot of high stress situations as well as skip and skipper all different kinds of situations

15) our littles do a lot of self soothing. Rosie, Lily, and a couple others.

16) We definitely get sleepy when we switch, sometimes headaches. Not very much tho.

17)my best friend is also a system. Some parts are individually close and tend to +trigger each other forward. We are also collectively close. I like the balance that we have.

18)we are majority nonhuman. We also tend to split fictives in pairs with one being very source attached and the other less so.

19) we are currently seeing a specialist and have been in therapy about a year and 1/2. Both of our therapists have been absolutely amazing! We do tend to dread therapy and have one part who usually fronts for therapy. We try to leave notes for her to talk about in therapy, tho.

20)being very forgetful, being very indecisive, and just zoned out/lost in thought.

21) Nanome is the most light hearted to explain, he is an emotional protector who is unable to feel a lot of more “negative” emotions. Piper likes to talk about her source a lot, so she’s pretty good at explaining things too.

22)we don’t have a host and idk who I am rn… our old host Briar and Emi are very different from each other though.

23) Some of those bitches like string cheese 🤮/ lh

24) we have a very complex inner world that none of us fully have access to.

25)piccrew has been our bestie. It’s easier to look at a feature and see if it looks/feels right.

26)some are more noticeable than others, most of us can mask pretty well tho.

27) not directly, that I can remember

28)It’s been about a year. Sooo much has changed. Our host went mostly internal, many splits have happened, and we’ve worked really hard to unmask in safe places. We even moved out of our mothers house.

29) we have 91 documented. There are definitely more tho

30)I’ll edit this one later… can’t think of anything rn

🐰Nosy Dissociative Parts Ask Game 🌹

I wanted to make an ask meme about things I like asking my OSDDID partsy friends thats a bit on the lighter side ✨ nows your chance to be unabashedly 👀 and to overshare as you like~

1. What do you call a group of parts for you? A flock? A crew? A herd??? Do you call your parts anything different from just Parts?

2. How do you go about figuring out if you’ve split or found another part?

3. How do you figure out who you are in the moment?

4. Do you go to sleep or wake up as different parts? What are dreams like for you?

5. With close(and safe) relationships, is it important to you to disclose about your parts? How much involvement are you comfortable with, if at all?

6. What’s outward gender presentation like for you and your parts? Is it important to you?

7. What’s sexuality like for you? Does having multiple parts effect your relationships?

8. Do you enjoy communicating with your parts? Would you like to share about an interaction you’ve recently had?

9. If you have OCs(original characters), do your parts have any influence on them? Alternatively, if you’re creative in general, do they have any influence?

10. If you had unlimited money and opportunities, is there anything you’d want to do for your parts?

11. Is there any sort of internal organization or structure for your parts? How set-in-place is it?

12. Do any of your parts have special relationships with eachother? Would you like to share about some?

13. Do you have parts that oppose eachother? (In views, personality, ect)

14. Who’s the part that is most likely to deal with high-stress situations first?

15. Do you have parts who are best for self-soothing and regulating?

16. Is there anything about your disorder that has a physical effect on you? (Like headache/sleepiness with switching, chronic illness as a result of trauma, ect)

17. If you have friends with parts too, are you close on a part-by-part basis or more general whole people? Would you prefer it to be one way or the other?

18. Are there any reoccurring themes or symbolism in your system? Would you like to share about it?

19. How do you honestly feel about therapy? Have you had experience with it? If you have, what is/was your therapeutic relationship like?

20. Did you have a way to explain away the dissociation to yourself or others? (“I feel like I’ve never belonged”, “I’m just super forgetful” ect)

21. When you feel safe sharing about your parts with someone, which part is the “easiest” to introduce/explain about?

22. Do you have any parts that feel almost opposite to you?

23. Do any of your parts have a different sensory experience to you overall?

24. Do you have an inner world? Whether you do or not, what would be a safe space for your parts?

25. Do you know what your parts look like? If so, how do you visualize them?

26. How do your parts present in person? Is it externally noticeable you think?

27. Has anyone ever told you something you did or said without you knowing?

28. How long have you known about your parts? Comparing since then to now, what all’s changed?

29. How many known parts do you have, if you can count?

30. Here’s your prompt to ramble about something parts-related you haven’t had a chance to share!

[khaleesiofalicante]

START OF SOMETHING NEW

“Tavvy, on your left!”

Rafael swivelled off the tree branch, landing gracefully on the floor and quickly wiped off the dust from his coat. They were in the middle of a fight, but his Bapa had taught him that one always had to look their best - especially during a fight.

“Rafe?” his parabatai called out, grabbing another seraph blade from his boot.

Rafael’s fingers pulled on the bowstring by instinct and muscle memory. The arrow slashed through the air and landed on the Shax’s demon’s forehead - or whatever that body part was. It was always so hard to tell with demons.

“Thanks!” Tavvy clasped his shoulder. “Let’s go find the others.”

Rafael nodded and they both ran toward the garden. Mina and his brother had been separated from them during the fight. He hadn’t applied a speed rune, but he didn’t need one when it came to Max.

His dad had taught him everything about what it means to be a good shadowhunter. But the first lesson was simple - always have your family’s back. Always.

They spotted Mina as soon as they made it to the garden. Mina, who was the youngest among them but probably the boldest, was fighting off a Shax all on her own. Rafael noticed another one creeping up behind her. He raised his bow and aimed his shot.

“Not my bestie, you bitch!”

A bolt of blue magic appeared from above and Max landed on the ground, his blue curls falling over his forehead. The Shax turned into goo as Mina skilfully took care of the other one.

“10 points for Ravenclaw for that reference,” Mina high fived Max.

“Nerds,” Tavvy chuckled as the two of them ran up to them.

“Nicely done,” Rafe told the team as he checked Max for any visible wounds.

“Hermano, no!” Max shooed him away. “There is something you both should see.”

Rafe stared at Tavvy, who shrugged and followed the others. They walked into mansion..or what was left of it.

“By the angel. What the hell happened here?” Rafe gasped.

“There were too many Shax demons,” Mina explained. “Max and I had to release a fireball. A big one.”

“Max, Bapa has told you not to do the fireball unless it’s an emergency!” Rafe sighed.

“Excuse me but if battling twenty shax demons doesn’t count as an emergency then I don’t know what does!” Max argued.

“Twenty?” Tavvy echoed. “There were only five!”

“The rest of them turned up after we got separated,” Mina pointed out. “I think they were hiding in the mansion.”

“Do we have any idea who the mansion belongs to?” Rafe asked, already calculating possible damage costs. “Is it a mundane?”

“We don’t know,” Max shrugged. “Can we go now?”

“We can’t!” Rafe said. “You just blew up someone’s mansion. Protocol says we need to do something about it.”

“Protocol is the worst,” Mina and Max mumbled.

“We need back up,” Tavvy looked at him.

“Oh no,” Mina pouted. “Not back up!”

Calling for back up usually meant the mission had gone out of control - and that usually meant no more missions for a while.

“If we call for backup, then they probably won’t let us go on a mission for another three months!” Tavvy grumbled. “Remember what happened in Shanghai?”

“Let’s not,” Max winced. “I think the only reason we got away with it is because of Uncle Jem.”

“Well, we can’t call him here now,” Rafe replied. “He already helped us last time!”

“Then what are we going to do now?” Mina asked. “We need help. But we can’t let the Clave know about this. No offence, guys!”

“None taken,” Max and Rafe said at the same time.

One would think that life would be easier when your dad was the Consul. But that wasn’t the case for Max and Rafe. Their dad was extremely protective of them and would probably take them off field duty for god knows how long.

“Alright, gang!” Max said as they stood in a circle. “We need to find someone who will help us handle this quietly without getting into trouble.”

“We can call Kit,” Mina said. “You know he won’t say a word.”

“But he is in the Moscow institute with Ty,” Tavvy groaned.

“We can call Uncle Jace,” Max beamed. “He is the perfect man for the job.”

“But he is in faerie,” Mina sighed.

“Anyone else borderline concerned that both our options are Herondales?” Rafe inquired.

“We need more Herondales goddamnit!” Max swore. “What are we gonna do now?”

“Well,” Tavvy rubbed his neck. “We are in a helpless situation and need someone to save our asses. Historically, there is only one person we can rely on.”

“Nope,” Rafael said immediately.  

“Already texted him,” Max grinned as he put his phone away.

A blue portal appeared in less than a minute and their Bapa stepped out, striding towards them in a hurry.

“Are you all okay?” He started checking them for wounds, even Tavvy and Mina.

“We are fine, Bapa,” Rafe smiled. “But we can’t say the same for the mansion though.”

“Yikes,” his father said eloquently as he took in their surrounding. “Well, it looks like it was badly in need for a renovation anyway.”

“Uncle Magnus,” Tavvy gulped. “Why is the portal still open?”

Rafe turned around immediately to see the portal shimmering behind them.

“Um, about that,” his Bapa fiddled with his rings. “I might have bought some backup.”

“Dios mio!” Rafael gulped.

“It’s not my fault!” Bapa put up his hands. “Max texted 911! I freaked out! Besides, he was right there when you texted me! What was I supposed to do?”

Before any of them could answer, their dad, and the mother effing Consul, stepped out of the portal.

He immediately ran towards them and scanned them with frantic eyes.

“Is everything okay?” He asked. “I was on a call with the Alliance and they can get here-”

“Bapa, we are fine!” Max reassured him. “It’s just…well.”

“Just some collateral damage, darling,” Bapa chuckled.

The Consul looked around at that and gasped. The mansion was still slowly falling apart slowly.

“Paperwork,” their dad whispered, mostly to himself. “So much paperwork.”

“Darling, it’s just a little mess.”

“Little?”

“Alec, it isn’t like we didn’t blow things up and cause a mess back then,” Bapa said - ever the support of mischief. 

“I have never blown up anything in my life,” his father said indignantly. 

“True,” Bapa shrugged. “But I do recall you making questionable decisions. Remember how you almost ripped apart that vampire because he insulted me?”

“Wasn’t that last week?” Mina chuckled. 

“Exactly,” Bapa grinned at her. “They are still learning.”

“Magnus, I get that. But they ca-”

“Dad, I’m sorry,” Max bit his lip.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Mina said quickly. “We were outnumbered. We had to do a fireball.”

“Blueberry, I know fireballs are a cool aesthetic. But I’ve told you that strong magic must be preserved for serious situ-”

“There were twenty Shax demons, Bapa!” Max pointed out. “Mins and I got separated from the others. We couldn’t fight them all off on our own. We didn’t do it for the aesthetic. We needed to do the fireball to survive.”

The Consul, who was listening them intently, rubbed his beard. Rafe had told him to shave it off multiple times, but their Bapa apparently liked it and thus the beard stayed on.

“Twenty Shax demons isn’t normal!” He pointed out. “We need to launch an investigation.”

“Can we do it?” Max asked, already excited at the prospect.

“Max, all of you are too young-”

“We are almost the same age as you were when you battled Valentine,” Rafael pointed out defiantly.

He saw Bapa smile fondly but dad didn’t falter.

“We’ll be careful, sir,” Tavvy said in a way and that reminded Rafe so much of Julian. “We’ve been tracking the demons since last month. We can handle it.”

Alec looked at Magnus - they were clearly communicating in a way only married people could. Rafe looked at Max who just shrugged. Either of them had been able to break their parent’s secret communication code.

“Alright,” their dad finally said. “Octavian, you will lead the team. You must report to me directly. But I will be nominating one nephilim and downworlder adult to assist you in the mission. If something goes wrong next time, you must directly contact them.”

“Thanks, dad!” Max threw himself at their father. “I knew you are the best Consul.”

Their father only grinned and ruffled Max’s curls. Rafael slowly made his way to him and hugged him from the side.

“Sorry about the mess, dad,” he mumbled. “I promise I will watch out for Max next time.”

“You need to watch out for yourself too,” their dad whispered softly.

“Mr. Consul,” their Bapa said in a formal voice and their dad rolled his eyes. “I would like to volunteer as the downworlder representative for this Taskforce.”

“Hells yeah!” Max pumped his fist in the year.

“Not gonna happen,” their dad shook his dead.

“What? Why?” Their bapa pouted.

“You’re gonna sit this one out,” his father said sternly. “You have a pathological need to get involved in shadowhunter business.”

“No, I don’t!” their bapa gasped. “You’re the weirdo!”

“You will be working with Drusilla Blackthorn and Lily Chen,” their dad said. “Rafe, I need a report on today’s mission by the end of this week. Octavian, arrange a meeting with Drusilla and Lily immediately. And Max and Mina, try not to blow anything up in the meantime.”

“We have one more request,” Max raised his hand.

“We do?” Rafael questioned.

“This is clearly a serious mission,” Max said in a serious voice. “We need more manpower.”

“Maia and the others are busy with the Allia-”

“Actually, we were thinking of someone younger,” Mina pointed out.

“Someone whose last name might be Herondale,” Max grinned.

“No,” their dad whispered softly. “Not the twins.”

“It’s a dangerous mission that involves fighting demons and blowing things up. If we leave Alex and Charlotte out, we will never hear the end of it,” Rafe pointed out with a smile.

“Fine,” his father relented. “Only because they are excellent fighters and would actually be helpful.”

“In blowing things up,” their bapa chuckled softly.

“Oh oh!” Max put up his hand up excitedly again. “Can we ask George to join us too? And Becca?”

“Max, this is not a birthday party!” His father sighed. “You can’t just invite all your friends.”

Max looked Rafe with a sad face. Rafael had never really been able to say no to that.

“We get it, dad,” Rafael nodded. “So if aunt Izzy asks why we didn’t include her kids in our mission, we’ll just say you said no. Is that correct?”

Their bapa covered his mouth from laughing out loud. “They do have a valid point, Alexander.”

The Consul looked at all their faces and sighed tiredly. “Fine. But if one more person is added to this list…Magnus and I will handle the mansion. The rest of you are dismissed!”

“Dad, quick question,” Max raised his hand - again. “If we add Elyaas to the gang, does that count? Cause he is technically not a person-”

“MAX MICHAEL!!!”

A holiday gift for @crying-is-your-latest-fashion​ - for being pretty fucking amazing 💚

[with-love-anu]

Desiderata: The Reveal

PART: 5

WORD COUNT: 2K

PAIRING: Sirius Black x Reader

SUMMARY:  You had been best friends with James, Remus, Sirius and Peter. Read your journey of love, friendship and jealousy through your wonderful years at Hogwarts. Enjoy!

SERIES MASTERLIST

As you moved through the train looking for the compartment and your friends, you couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. You had always worn simple T-Shirts and jeans at school. Now, as you walked wearing a coral pink off-shoulder top and some high-waist denims, you could suddenly feel people noticing you. It made you smile, the new found attention. You finally saw your besties sitting in the second last compartment.

“Fangs!”

James hugged you as you entered. He held you at arm’s length, his hands on the either side of your shoulders as he took a good look at you. “Wow! You look so pretty!”

“Well, I take it you like my new look.” You smiled smugly cocking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know about him, but I freaking love it” Remus piped in as he came forward and practically engulfed you.

“Remus…can’t…breathe…” you choked out as Remus chuckled releasing you.

You turned to find peter as red as a tomato and Sirius beside him. He stared at you with a somewhat surprised expression on his face, his mouth slightly ajar. It took him a second before he came forward and pulled you into a tight hug and whispered, “I missed you” his breath tickling your ear. You blushed and slowly pulled away from him.

After you all settled down, you told them about your trip to India. Sirius had spent most of the summer at James’s house and the way their eyes sparkled mischievously, you knew they had done much more than have some “fun”. Remus had spent his summer engrossed in the books you’d lent him. Having read through your collection more than 3 times and knowing Remus would take good care of them, you had given them all to him for the summer. Peter had travelled to the country side with his family.

When you’d finally reached the great hall, you couldn’t wait for the sorting to get over and to dig into the feast prepared by the school elves. You were sitting beside Lily who had pulled your ear on seeing you. (“Y/n Y/l/n! You had no time to see me!”)

James who sat in front of you was continually giving you looks, pestering you to make Lily talk to him. After a while, you started ignoring him all together because you knew how infuriated lily would get if you did that just now. Lily and you talked about your vacations. You told her how your sister wanted to give you this big makeover and you just took the opportunity. Lily listened to you a small frown occurring in her eyes. You asked her about it.

“Nothing, it’s just that my own sister Petunia hates me. I wish I had same relationship you have with your sister.” Lily told you. “But anyways, I love your new look and I could already see the boy’s heads turning in you direction” she said wriggling her eyebrows.

“Lily!” you said smacking her arm.

Lily giggled and you couldn’t help but wonder about her. You two always had been close friends but you couldn’t spend that much time with each other as you had the marauders and she, Snape. Now, when she just told you about her sister, you couldn’t help but worry a little. It was the same way Sirius had first mentioned Regulus. You saw how she just mentioned her with a sad glint in her eyes before brushing it away. You doubted that Lily had someone she could talk to about this. Although she was friends with the other dorm-mates you knew that the two of you were the closest. You decided in that moment that you would at least try to strengthen your friendship with her.

When you were both ready to sleep in your respective dorm rooms, you took her into the bathroom with you so that others wouldn’t hear. You pestered her to sneak out. She glared at you but you could be persuasive when you wanted to. She put up a good fight before finally giving in.

“Y/n, if I get caught you would be responsible”

“What would teachers say?”

“I am a prefect; I am supposed to stop these things”

“Y/n you are a bad influence on me”

“Y/n are you even listening to me?”

You huffed. You could very well see beneath the annoyed façade that Lily was enjoying herself. She couldn’t even keep the small smile off her face. You wouldn’t lie if you said that she had a mischievous side to her. You smirked.

“You need to stay quiet. I know that this is your first time sneaking out, but trust me I won’t let you get caught.” You told her.

“Okay”

As you reached the fruit bowl painting you couldn’t help but put in a bit of drama.

“Lily Evans, my closest dorm mate, (Lily face palmed) I present to you my secret of bringing snacks to our dorm. Now, I am only letting you know this because you, yes you NEED to loosen up a bit and also you’ve proved yourself to be worthy to me”

You made wide hand gestures as you entered the kitchens. After Lily decided she had looked around enough, you both sat down drinking some hot chocolate. The two of you laughed and joked around talking about everything from the teachers to the portraits at Hogwarts. You were mildly surprised to find Lily having this wild side to her. She was fierce and bold and definitely not the girl who followed every single school rule. You could see how perfect she was for James, but you didn’t raise your opinions just yet.

“Tell me, why hadn’t we done this before?” Lily asked, her face as red as her hair, from laughing all the way up to the common room.

“You insisted on following the rules so much, that’s why.” You told her smiling. You both went up to your dorm plopping down on the mattress, soon falling into deep slumber.

Next morning, when you went down the breakfast table you couldn’t help but feel a little sleepy due to the last night’s endeavours. You poured yourself a large cup of coffee and piled on some toast and fruit. You saw Sirius come in flirting with some Ravenclaw girl. You huffed and felt that familiar pinch yet again. You were tired, tired of pinning after the boy who would never reciprocate your feelings. When you were going through the makeover, you thought that maybe, maybe Sirius would notice you. But he clearly never did or ever will. You mentally cursed James and Remus for putting the little hope in your head.

Your thoughts were interrupted by someone calling your name. You turned around and saw Sebastian, Ruuhaan, Alex, Charlotte and Grace smirking at you. Over the years you all had become great friends. They were all from different houses. Sebastian and Charlotte from Ravenclaw, Alex and Grace from Hufflepuff and Ruuhaan from Slytherin.

“How come we are last to know about your new look?” Alex asked smirking at you.

“What? You don’t like it?” you said twirling around so they could see your striped culotte jumpsuit.

“Oh everyone loves it” Ruuhaan said winking at you. You smiled as the group fell into an easy conversation.

“So, Sunday 2pm we start this year’s study session” Grace said as she started to leave.

“I really can’t wait to go back and study” You said in a high pitched tone, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Sebastian sniggered as Grace smacked you.

“That hurt!!” you pouted.

“We just don’t study and you know it! Anyways, remind Remus too.” Grace said.

You looked back seeing Lily sitting alone eating her breakfast. You glanced at the Slytherin table to see Snape sitting with Malfoy, Avery and Mulciber.

“Can I bring Lily too? She’s real nice outside the prefect duties and being the perfect student” You asked.

“Of course why not?” Charlotte said. “Besides Ruuhaan is bringing his crush, Candice too.” she added winking.

Ruuhaan blushed. He had a crush on Candice for years and had gathered the courage to talk to her after huge amount of pestering from you all.

“So, it’s settled then!” Sebastian cut in saving Ruuhaan from any teasing. As they slowly went their ways you plopped down next to Lily and saw James and Peter had already taken seats opposite to you and were eating. Remus always came in the last moment at breakfast being the sleepy head he was.

“Lily, are you free this Sunday 2pm?” you asked Lily.

“Yes. Why?”  

“Okay so I have this study group I go to where we usually do our homework but time to time we also have fun. There are people from all the houses and honestly speaking; we get our work done earlier than most people. I mean with different views, loads of notes and research work from 7 different people does make things easier.” You explained.

“So, this is the actual reason you score at least an “E” in every class? I’m impressed. I didn’t know there were people who take their homework seriously.” Lily said an amused look on her face.

“Am I hearing a yes?” you said delighted.

“I’ll be there.”

The first day was exhausting. You had gone through double potions and herbology. Teachers were all on about how you needed to work hard for the upcoming owls and you had already got 3 essays to write by the next week. So, as you moved towards the last class, defense against the dark arts, you were hoping to get over with it as soon as possible.

You sat beside James and Sirius who were in the same predicament as you were. Professor Vane was new defense against the dark arts’ teacher. He was an old man who looked like a walking corpse.

“Settle down please.” He drowned in a monotonous voice and you knew he wouldn’t be able to handle your wild classmates. He went and sat on a high chair facing the class and remained there for the entirety of the lesson. He went on about how although you all would be practicing certain spells the main focus would be on the theory. You groaned internally. Great, just great. With Voldermort on the rise, the increasing tension in the wizarding world, you wouldn’t even be taught about how to handle yourself in a battle. You were passionate about the things you believed in and stopping this pureblood mania was one of them. So, as he droned on and on about different spells and their usage you couldn’t help but be disappointed.

While the class went on, James mindlessly writing lily on the corners of the page filling it with small hearts, Sirius winking and passing notes with Marlene (you were glaring at him, but apparently he never noticed) ; an idea struck you. When the class finished you beckoned the marauders to a small corner.

“Listen, I have an idea. I don’t think Vane is ever going to teach us anything useful and I want to be able to defend myself and be strong enough to go on missions against the death eaters.” You looked to see the boys faces darkened with a grim expression.

“What I am trying to propose is a club. Not like the duelling club where people go to have some fun. I want to learn things that would help me keep myself and others safe. I have seen the procedure for making the club and I am sure we would be allowed if we followed the rules. People can teach each other what we are best at. Remus can help us with attacking spells; Lily can with the defensive ones and I could help teach others basic healing procedures- spells and potions. That’s what it is about in the end, isn’t it? Helping each other? Staying strong together?” you spoke out.

The boys took a moment thinking about what you just said. You knew they were as eager to learn as you were. Remus spoke up first.

“I’m in” Remus said with an expression that told you he was determined to make this work.

“Me too.”

“I’m in”

“Sure. Why not?”

You were positively delighted to see them agreeing.

“But, who else would be there?” James asked.

“Oh, you’ll see. Leave that to me” You added smirking knowing exactly who you were going to call and were sure that they’ll agree.

SERIES MASTERLIST

[sarahjane0886]

Begin Again 7

Chapter 7

"Lottie, sugar, it's time to wake up baby." Sharna said as she rubbed her favorite nieces back trying to wake the little one up. She had gotten in the previous evening super late and had asked if she could surprise her niece.

"No." Lottie grumbled as she turned away from her aunt and snuggled into her pillow while pulling Lily in tighter.

"So Aunt Sharna is going to have to play all by herself." Sharna said with a tiny giggle as she kept rubbing Lottie's back. This caught the little one's attention and she flipped over quickly.

"An Na?!" She said with wide eyes before shrieking happily.

"Hi sugar." Sharna said scooping her up and kissing her cheeks up and down making her giggle relentlessly.

"Someone excited to see her aunt I see." Peta said from the doorway as she watched the two. The site made her heart swell and calm at the same time. Having her best friend around for the next three weeks was definitely going to make life easier.

"Momma! An Na is here!" Lottie said with so much excitement that it was contagious.

"I see that baby. She's going to be with us for a bunch of days." Peta said as she scooped her daughter to give her some good morning snuggles and loves. Lottie accepted them happily before holding her arms back out to Sharna.

"Go pay An Na?"

"How about we get you some breakfast first sugar."

"You make me toast?"

"I can do that, is Momma allowed to come with us?" Sharna asked laughing.

"Yes, come Momma, peas." Lottie said waving for her mother.

"I'm coming sweetheart, oh wait, momma's phone is ringing, Shar you okay while I take this?" Peta said looking at her phone and realizing it was Maks. He never called so she was alarmed at first but figured she better answer.

"Yeah, go babe, we're good, right munchkin?" Sharna said tickling Lottie again as they headed into the kitchen leaving Peta in the living room.

"Hey, what's up?" Peta said into the phone.

"Hey, a couple things but I wanted to make sure Sharna got in last night and there were no incidents with the key." Maks's voice came across the line.

"Yes, dad, we're all safe. Key is back in the house and Sharna made it here safely." Sharna's flight had got in at 1 am and she refused to let Peta bring Lottie out at that hour. She was going to take an Uber and everything was going to be good. This however meant Peta had to leave a key outside for Sharna which Maks was not thrilled about. He argued with Peta for hours about how unsafe it was. He relented only when Peta said he could hide it and that it wouldn't happen again. He then made her go and get 3 copies made. One for Sharna to keep, one for his house just in case, and one spare to keep at her house.

"Not nice, I don't want anything to happen to you two." He huffed.

"I'm sorry, I won't tease anymore. But we're all good, I promise. Now what's up?"

"Well, you can say no."

"Oh boy, conversations that start out like that are always fun."

"No, this is a good one. So Noah always takes a few days off work here and there and takes Mav to the aquarium and to the zoo and that. They call them animal days. He usually tells me when he's going but he apparently forgot. He called this morning and asked me to invite you guys. Now I know Sharna just got in so she's probably exhausted so you guys don't have to go. I let him know Sharna was here and he said the more the merrier."

"That actually sounds fun. I had kinda nothing planned today for Sharna so she could catch up on life but I can ask her and leave it up to her. What time does he want us to be there?"

"He gets there for opening which is 9. So I'd say we'd have to leave here around 8:30 which is in 45 minutes."

"Wait, you're going?"

"Well, I'm tempted to say no now but yes, I am. I always go."

"That's not what I meant, I'm sorry. I just meant that it sounded like it was a Noah/Maverick thing." Peta explained feeling sheepish.

"It's okay, I should have said it. It's just usually implied that whenever these two do something, I'm involved. But I was going to offer to drive if that's not awkward for Sharna if you wanna go. Less cars will be easier."

"I'll talk to her. Can I text you?"

"Of course. Oh and usually we do dinner out after. There's a handful of kid friendly places down there a few with jungle gym stuff for the kids. And we take snacks and maybe grab popcorn at the aquarium."

"Alright, let me talk to Sharna and I'll text you. I'll try to let you know in the next 5." Peta said waiting for Maks to agree before ending the call. She headed into the kitchen where she found her daughter and best friend basically covered in the toast crumbs.

"Everything okay?" Sharna asked as she moved to dust herself off while Lottie finished her toast.

"Yeah, Maks wanted to make sure no one snuck into the house last night and to invite us to the aquarium with him and Noah & Maverick."

"Aks! See him momma? And Ewis?" Lottie asked nearly abandoning her toast eating.

"Maybe baby, we gotta see yet."

"Awww. I wanna see him." Lottie pouted. Peta sighed and shook her head letting her daughter be.

"So Shar, I'm kind of leaving this up to you. By no means do we have to go especially because you were traveling all night long. I actually had a quiet movie day sort of planned. So we can totally do that. I don't want to drag you out there with them just because they invited us. And if it's something you want to see we can always go at a different time."

"P, Babe, relax. We can go. It's silly to not. I'm here for 3 weeks, 2 of which you aren't working, we have lots of time for quiet days."

"Are you positive?"

"Positive, plus I want to meet these people who are taking care of my girls. Gotta make sure Aunt & Bestie approve."

"Sharna, behave."

"What? I'm allowed to interrogate your new friends." She said with a huff.

"Whatever, just don't imply anything that isn't there. There's nothing there." Peta said making her best friend's eyebrows go up. Peta moved forward to scoop up Lottie and changed the subject. "Hey baby, how would you like to go see fishies with Mr. Maks, Mr. Noah, and Maverick?"

"Fishies! And An Na? And Aks? And Momma? And eveeyone?" She said with huge eyes and such excitement that she couldn't contain herself.

"Yup, everyone." Peta said laughing as she tickled the little one.

"Yes, yes! Peas! An Na, help me get dressed?"

"I can do that sugar. Here, come here."

"Ok, I'm gonna text Maks and let him know we're good. Shar, are you okay riding with him?" Peta asked realizing she forgot to ask Sharna that important question.

"Yup, not a problem. Less cars are easier. And he seems nice. We'll be good." Sharna said easily before heading into Lottie's room to help her get dress. The three spent the next 30 minutes getting ready and packing a supply bag before heading to the porch to wait for Maks.

"Who is ready to see some fishies?" Maks asked as he appeared on his porch turning back to lock the door.

"Aks! Down peas?!" Lottie squirmed in her aunt's arms. Sharna put her down and left her scurry over to the dark haired man crossing the yards.

"You weren't kidding when you said she was enthralled." Sharna muttered. Peta had brought her up to date on Lottie's obsession with Maks so that her friend was prepared. She had also told her about her meltdown and their agreement. While Sharna hadn't been in the presence of the two yet, she agreed with what Peta had come up with. She figured it was a good way to play it safe and keep a support system. And it sounded like Maks was a good support system in any sense.

"Yeah, you just wait til she wants to nap on him." Peta said with a half grin as she led her friend across the yard. "Maks, this is Sharna. Sharna, this is Maks."

"It's nice to meet you Sharna. How was your flight?"

"Good, long, I was glad to be here. It's nice to met you as well."

"Na see fishes, Aks." Lottie explained as she looked between her aunt and new favorite person.

"Sharna's going to see the fishes! Are you excited? I love your outfit." Maks said tickling her slightly making her giggle. Sharna had helped her find a very appropriate aquarium outfit. Her top was a white tank top that said "Mermaids wish upon a starfish." She had on bright baby blue colored shorts with pink starfish all over them.

"Yes, yes."

"What do you say love?" Peta prompted her.

"Tank you." She blushed and got shy as she buried into his neck. He pressed a kiss to her head like it was normal. Peta caught it and it threw her off. It was the first time he had done that. Normally he just cuddled her and rubbed her back. Not that it wasn't okay but it was just new.

"Do you think we need her stroller?" Peta asked.

"I don't think so. Since it's a weekday, it shouldn't be too crowded Most of the exhibits are going to be ones where even though she could just look, she may want to explore."

"I'm more worried about her getting tired and wanting carried."

"I think there's enough of us that can handle her. Noah usually kinda sets a rest time aside and Mav has fallen asleep a time or two but then we just wait out him waking up."

"Alright, if you say so." Peta said with a smirk. Maks shook his head and they all headed to his car. The ride to the aquarium was filled with easy chatter. Sharna sat in the back at Lottie's request while Maks and Peta sat up front. Maks explained some of the perks and things they could do while they were there. Once they parked they went on a mission to find Noah & Maverick.

"Hey guys, I already got the tickets so we're good to go in. You must be Sharna. Hi, I'm Noah and this here is Maverick. He's pretty shy, so don't be upset if you get the brush off at first."  

"Nice to meet you Noah. And hi Maverick. Aren't you handsome?" Sharna said as everyone watched in slight shock as Maverick looked at the lady and then smiled softly.

"Hi, thank you." He whispered.

"You're so welcome. Are you ready to see the fishies? I know Lottie is excited about the otters. What's your favorite?"

"Rays. I touch em." He said with a bigger grin.

"No way! That's scary! You touch the sting rays?" Sharna said in shock making the little boy giggle.

"No scary, they splash. Daddy get wet." Maverick said continuing to giggle.

"He got wet?"

"Yeah, the little bugger decided that he liked Maverick so much that he was going to put on a show. Needless to say, I was in the soak zone when I wasn't even aware there was a soak zone." Noah said dryly.

"Oh it was hilarious. I think I have pictures on my facebook. And a video. Oh yes, i do. I was videoing because Mav was so excited and the sting ray was having a blast. Noah's face is priceless." Maks inserted.

"You're holding him this time." Noah said with a grin.

"Sharna, you touch sting rays?" Maverick asked Sharna curiously.

"What if I'm afraid?" She asked getting another grin from him.

"I hold yous hand. You be brave." Maverick said proudly.

"Okay, as long as you hold my hand I'll do it." Sharna said holding her hand out to shake on it. The two made their deal and then the group decided where they wanted to go first. They figured they'd start with the river side of things and then move towards the ocean, stopping somewhere in between for a snack/rest break.

"Alright, Mav, you want to stay up or you want to walk?" Noah asked when they got inside.

"Walk." He requested.

"Okay, remember the rules, you have to hold a big person's hand.

"Sharna?" He asked curiously looking between his dad and the red head.

"You want to hold Sharna's hand?" Noah repeated thrown off for a second. He was usually a straight up daddy's boy with the exception of Uncle Maks. Maverick nodded at his dad's question. "You can, but you have to ask her if that's okay?"

"Sharna?" Maverick said as he pressed into Noah's neck. This time the question was directed at the red head.

"I can hold your hand buddy." Sharna said holding out her arms and helping him stand. Then she took his hand and his grin got even bigger.

"Okay Miss Lottie, same rules. If you want to walk, you have to hold a big person's hand, okay?" Peta said looking at her daughter from her perch on Maks's shoulders.

"I tay." She said with a giggle as Maks tipped her backwards. Peta nodded and the group set off. They worked their way through the river portion looking at all the wildlife and animals before they were almost through the entire exhibit. They were just finishing up in the butterfly garden when Noah suggested it be snack time. Peta readily agreed seeing the look on Lottie's face, a break and some fuel would do the kids good. Maverick however did not agree in the least.

"No stop! See rays!" He said as he threw himself down and sat at Sharna's feet. All four adults as well as Lottie looked at him in shock. The kids had been standing with Sharna who managed to catch a butterfly so they were investigating. Lottie watched for a second before moving over to Maks.

"Up peas?" She said holding her arms up to the man. He nodded and scooped her up as she buried into his neck. Peta could see the sleepiness wearing on her.

"You okay if I walk her?" Maks asked knowing at this point Lottie's sleepy face. She squirmed around on his chest finding her way to where she liked to be.

"As long as you don't mind. I have Lily and blankie in here." Ever since her meltdown, Peta hadn't fought too hard whenever Lottie wanted Maks or when Maks offered to help. It took some of her anxiety with the situation away. It seemed the less she fought, the better it was.

"I don't. Here miss, here's Lily and Blankie, let's go get some air and walk a bit. I'll meet you back at the tables where we usually snack." Maks said more towards Peta. She nodded and pressed a kiss to Lottie's cheek before turning her attention to Maverick's current meltdown on the floor. He was currently clinging to Sharna's leg while Noah tried to talk to him. He looked like a little monkey attached to her best friend. If it wasn't for the situation of the meltdown she'd have probably laughed.

"Maverick. We can go home." Noah finally threatened only making the little boy cry harder. Sharna closed her eyes and counted to three before saying a silent prayer that she wasn't overstepping.

"Can I try?" Sharna asked softly looking at Noah. He looked up at her with a defeated look and shook his head.

"Hey Mav, buddy. Can you look at me for a second?" Sharna said bending down as best as she could while he griped her leg. He shook his head hard for a second and she ran her fingers through his hair. She felt him calm down slightly and decided to just keep up with the motion. After a few minutes, he stopped sobbing.

"Forget the ray. Mav no see them."

"Oh buddy. Come here." Sharna said slipping her hands under his arms. She scooped him up and left him wrap around her body. "We're not going to forget your sting rays. Daddy just wanted you to get some snacks in you so you're ready to be big and strong when you help me be brave. Remember? You're still going to help me be brave right?"

"No forget?" He whispered still clinging to her neck.

"No, we won't forget them. I promise."

"Pinky?" He asked, relaxing his one arm's grip from her body.

"Pinky." She said locking pinky's with him. He let go of her finger and just curled into her neck as his fingers laced into her ponytail.

"Uh, umm, thank you." Noah said nervously. It was clear that he wasn't really sure how to go about dealing with that situation.

"No problem. We went through alot with Lottie and Ollie. Sometimes she just needed someone different to hear her out. It's no big deal really." Sharna said giving Peta the come help me eye.

"She's right. I feel like these two are at that age right now where it's just needing to know that they are being heard. And they know we are hearing them but they are learning that sometimes we still don't allow them to get away with things. I don't know...they are 2. And trust me, there were many times when I thought my only option was to sit on the floor next to Lottie and have the same temper tantrum. And then Sharna would step in and suddenly she was calm. The first few times I was convinced I was a bad mom but then I just realized that sometimes they need to know others are there too."

"Ha, I just told that to Maks the other day. Guess I should listen to my own words. Speaking of where is he?"

"And Lottie?" Sharna added.

"She had the sleepy look and she curled into him so he took her to walk. He said to tell you he'd meet us at the tables. My bet is that when he comes back, she's out. She probably won't nap long but she needed it. She tried to stay up last night waiting for Sharna. Exhaustion won at about 10."

"She loves him." Noah said matter of factly.

"She does." Peta nodded as she looked back into the butterfly garden.

"Alright, let's go to these tables before Maks and Lottie beat us there." Sharna said breaking the awkwardness.

"Here Mav, can you come with me now?" Noah said holding this arms out to his son.

"No, stay with Sharna." He said as his grip tightened on her.

"Mav..."

"He's okay Noah. We're just going outside, he can stay with me." Sharna said gently. Noah nodded and sighed before turning to lead the group out.

"He's falling asleep." Peta whispered.

"Now I know how Maks feels." Sharna returned as she shifted Maverick slightly and tucked him into her better. She moved her one hand to rub his back. Peta gave her a look but didn't say anything. They found the tables and Maks and Lottie. Peta was right and her daughter was out on her current favorite sleeping place.

"You want me to take her?" Peta said, feeling required to offer. Maks gave her a look that clearly said I don't even know why you ask before he settled into a seat and adjusted the little girl against him.

"Noah, I think he's out." Sharna said feeling Maverick's dead weight sink into her.

"And that would be a yes. Thank you again. I can take him now if you want."

"I'm okay keeping him actually. I've kinda missed holding that one and we can see just how that's going right now." Sharna said tossing her head towards Maks and Lottie.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm new." He said in surrender making the group chuckle. They turned their conversation to some easier topics before Peta remembered she wanted to talk to Noah about Maverick's daycare. It had been something that she and Sharna were going to accomplish while she was there however, now that they knew Noah and Maverick, she figured she may try to get them in there. Lottie may do better having a buddy she knew. Surprisingly the group got along well. At one point Sharna and Noah were involved in a conversation when Maks leaned over and whispered in Peta's ear.

"He likes her. He's awkward as all get out but he likes her." Maks whispered. Peta had noticed it too. The longer they sat and the more comfortable the conversation was, the more Noah loosened up. And actually Peta noticed the same in Sharna. She leaned in closer to him instinctively, and she smiled more towards him.

"She likes him too." Peta agreed nodding her head toward Sharna's current giggle.

"This oughtta be interesting. He hasn't dated anyone since. But I think it's past time."

"He'd be safe with her. MInus the distance, I know my best friend, she wouldn't hurt him unless it was warranted. And it would take a lot for it to be warranted in her book."

"He'd be good to her too if it matters."

"He better be. I'll have ass kicking to do. Maybe we can get my bestie out here." Peta said with a wink.

"Guess we have three weeks to play matchmaker. Sound like fun?" Maks said holding his hand out for Peta to shake.

"What are you two conspiring over there?" Noah asked seeing Peta shake hands with Maks.

"Just a bet on which kid was waking up first." Peta said blowing off the question before starting another subject of things to do with Sharna while she was there. The group returned to talking easily while they waited for the little ones to wake up while Maks and Peta both starting their matchmaking plans in their head.

**Okay folks, so I this is going to shift into kind of a Chmergs/Shway deal. It'll be mainly Chmergs with hints of Shway. I want to explore both sides of new relationships and dealing with that. Hope you enjoyed this one. I'm hoping to have the next Chmergess (Fix A Heart) chapter up in a few days. Summer is busy peeps, super busy. And then Wattpad eating my updates do not help. Don't forget to like this up and let me know what you thought in the comments. Love you allll! Thanks for dealing with my droughts all the time. It means the world. :)