#no one will ever play Albus like him ever again (no one will be allowed to even try I don't think)

[scorbusdefensesquad]

Scorbus Halloween Master List 🎃

we don't have to pretend by dustyspines

"Hey, no," Albus began, tilting Scorpius' chin up so they were looking at each other again. "It's never too late to talk about her. If the feelings are still as raw as they were that day, which they clearly are, and you still both are grieving, then it isn't too late. It'll never be like that." He finished, leaning inwards towards Scorpius and, before either of them could really register what was going on, pressed their lips together. It was short, sweet and slightly too wet (in Scorpius' eyes anyway), but it happened.

"You just kissed me." Scorpius said, in a comment that was meant to remain internal, but of course it slipped out.

Halloween 2021 by torestoreamends

It’s been a year (or forty years, depending on how you look at it) since the events of Godric’s Hollow. A lot has changed in that time, almost all of it for the better, but it’s still Hallows’ Eve. It’s never been the easiest of days.

The Vigil by torestoreamends

Harry and Albus visit Godric's Hollow on Hallow's Eve, to join the vigil taking place outside the Potter's destroyed house. What Are You Putting In The Pumpkin Today? by Wyrdmazer

What will you choose this evening: head or a head? Or maybe more heads?

And, yes, it is a word-play.

Oh! You Pretty Thing by orphan_account

It’s 2021, Albus and Scorpius are in fifth year, and Headmistress McGonagall has surprised the student body by allowing some school-sanctioned mischief to go down over Halloween. It’s all fun and games until someone takes the idea of Trick Or Treat too far, resulting in both Albus and Scorpius getting the wrong end of the stick about a very important matter. Have they done the unthinkable and ruined their friendship forever, or will they come out of the other side stronger (and closer) than ever?

Featuring bats, Boggarts and more David Bowie than you’d expect from a canon-compliant one-shot!

Around the Bonfire by BookofSpells

Albus and Scorpius are invited to a spooky Halloween Bonfire in the Forbidden Forest. It's scary, but not nearly as terrifying as Albus' feelings for his best friend.

Another Deathday Disaster by Hang_In_There_Baby_Crookshanks

When Rose Weasley is invited to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party, Scorpius Malfoy is desperate to secure his own invitation. As his loving boyfriend, Albus Potter needs a plan to make sure his boyfriend gets to attend. Somehow leading to him joining a club, making friends with a small Ravenclaw, and a disaster in the great hall.

But, it's Nick's deathday, when did anything ever go right?

Memories Of A Night In Time by Augurey_Ray

After two years Albus and Scorpius return to Godric's Hollow. Albus' mind wanders to the memories from his first visit.

Fight for your fairytale by emotionalsupporthufflepuff

Albus decides to push himself out of his comfort zone on Halloween.

A Confusion of Coordinated Costumes by heatherwiththeweather

Albus and Scorpius have their first date to the Hogwarts Halloween dance, which means only one thing-costumes. But of course, nothing can ever run smooth with this pair and on the day of the dance, they realise there has been a costume malfunction which does nothing to help with their increasing first date nerves. It's safe to say that dating isn't as simple as it looks.

Al O'Lantern by Ms_Peppersimp

Albus and Scorpius are carving pumpkins on Halloween and a not-so coincidence occurs when they reveal their designs.

Happy Halloween by CQueen

Five year old Scorpius Malfoy is very sad. Not only is his grandfather being very mean, but against his will Scorpius has been forced to dress up as a kitten for a Halloween party.

The icing on the gross cake of his life is that his magical kitten tail has trapped him outside, and it's up to a very brave little lion to save him.

And not only does the boy in the lion costume save him…but he has a proposal for him. Of marriage.

What?

The Board of Spirits by BookofSpells

“How does it work?” Albus asks, his curiosity piqued. He picks up a small, heart-shaped block of painted wood with a magnifying glass in the centre and taps it against the board. Nothing happens.

“It’s like a game,” Scorpius explains, sitting on the bed and gesturing for Albus to join him. “The kids put their fingers on the planchette and pretend to perform a séance. Supposedly, the spirit communicates with them by moving the planchette over the letters and numbers on the board. There is always one cheeky kid that moves it themselves, to trick the others.”

Albus has been hiding his feelings for Scorpius for as long as he can remember. It takes a bit of luck, a spirit board, and four whimsical spirits to show him what's possible.

The Witches' House by TrueMeg

“I dare you to go to the witches’ house!”

On Halloween night, ten-year-old Albus is brought along with James and his friends to go visit the house at the edge of their village, where a family of witches is said to live. But when Albus ends up stuck at the house, he sees the witches for himself. And learns they’re much more like him in more ways than one.

Untitled by xphineasx

Halloween at Hogwarts by: Sirius Owens Hogwarts has a new Halloween event, costumes. Dressed as a Zombie, Scorpius gains two weird new friends and finally gets a chance to act upon his crush.

[cobaltswriting]

Character Essay: Snape

So, there are some characters that I have feelings about. Like, that I can see what the author was trying to do with them, but I also just... think they failed.

Unsurprisingly, two of these characters have to do with Harry Potter. Severus Snape, and Albus Dumbledore.

Yes, I know, J.K. Rowling is a terrible person and a TERF. But this is still something I wanna write about. And this is my blog. So... yeah. The Albus Dumbledore post might come later.

So, Severus Snape.

I’m gonna break this down into 3 big issues I have with the character. Which does definitely call into question the way Snape was written. And I'll even put it under a read more so any people who are pro-Snape for whatever reason don't have to read any further.

And yeah, this isn't going to be nice to Snape. Like, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Albus Severus Potter should have been named Rubeus Remus. It is actually kind of a crime that he never named a child for Hagrid, considering Hagrid was literally the first person who was nice to him and introduced him to the Wizarding World. But I digress, let's get to the main subject of this essay.

1. Treatment of Students

We know why Snape treats Harry like shit. It doesn't make it ok, but I wanna talk about other students. Disregarding the favouritism towards his own house, we already come across a huge problem, that is also a problem with Dumbledore as well...

Snape's an abusive teacher.

Even if we disregard Snape's treatment of Harry, we have how he treats students like Neville, and insults leveled at students not within his house. Even the best Hermione, who is basically as close to a perfect student as we get, is simply ignored and passed over without a comment, and Neville... Hoo boy.

Like, I don't know the specific guidelines teachers are given that they're not allowed to cross, but Snape breaks almost all of them. Insults and abuse are hurled towards Neville constantly, even when he's in other classes, like him insulting Neville right in front of Lupin. And while I do like Lupin... Lupin just smiles at it. Nothing ever happens. Snape apparently never even gets told off about abusing his students. Hell, he yells at Hermione and Harry in front of the Minister for Magic in the 3rd book, and Fudge, while surprised, does nothing about it other than trying to calm Snape down.

Like, is abuse just... not a thing in the Wizarding World? This comes up in my thoughts about Dumbledore as well, beyond this, but...

If Snape was a teacher anywhere else, he would have been fired. Like, immediately. But he's just allowed to do so. Like, the closest thing to punishment he gets is that he's not allowed to teach Defence of the Dark arts until Harry's 6th year.

And just so we know this isn't the norm, let's look at another teacher... Minerva McGonagall.

She is the head of Gryffindor House (although I still think she should be a Ravenclaw. As should Hermione. BUT ANYWAY) but she does not favour her house. Excluding Quidditch, in which she supports her House's team, but that's a different thing, that's fine. Whereas Snape has probably never taken so much as a single point from Slytherin, she was responsible for the largest amount of points taken from Harry at one time, if I'm right. If not the largest amount, certainly the largest amount of points taken in the first book. She is also strict, but is also shown to be fair, and will compliment a student and praise them if they do well. She praises Hermione in their first class, because while Hermione did not entirely succeed, she did show godd progress for her first try. And while we do not see her compliment a student from another House, it can be assumed that it does happen.

This is how a teacher SHOULD be. They are there to nurture students, teach them, not abuse them and play favourites.

There are other teachers in Hogwarts, but Snape is the main one who abuses them. A case could be made for Barty Crouch (disguised as Mad-Eye Moody) abusing them, by putting them under the Imperius Curse) but considering he was a Death Eater, and was apparently doing it because Dumbledore wanted him to, we'll just... ignore him. I don't think it's too far from what Moody would actually do, although I don't like to think of Moody as abusive.

But yeah, Snape is very abusive of his students, to the point that the most positive thing he can really do towards a student that isn't from Slytherin is ignore them or say nothing. And abuse is a really fucking bad thing, in case you didn't know.

Let's move onto the next topic...

2. His 'love' of Lily Evans

Yeah, I put the love in quotation marks. Mainly because it... doesn't really read that much like love to me. I am aromantic, so that might have SOMETHING to do with it, but...

It just comes off more as a creepy sort of obsession than anything else. An obsession deep enough for him to have a doe as a patronus.

Like... let's start from the beginning. The first time we see Snape and Lily, Snape is spying on her and it's implied that he's been doing so for a little bit. Even though they're just kids, I'm pretty sure that counts as stalking. And then he makes a branch fall on Petunia when she insults them, which could have seriously injured her, depending on the size of the branch and where it hit her. It was enough to make Petunia cry at the least when it hit her shoulder.

Snape also encouraged Lily to steal letters from her sister and read them, when they found out that Petunia had written to Hogwarts. Although I guess that doesn't really come into the subject of his 'love' for Lily.

We also see that Snape is very... racist, I guess? Does the whole blood thing count as racist? Calling Lily a Mudblood, and then when he tries to apologise he can't even deny that if it was anyone but her, he would not apologise for it. So basically having different rules for her, which I guess could come into a love thing but the fact that he calls muggleborns Mudblood and yet 'loves' one comes out as... kinda fetishistic to me, I'm not gonna lie.

In the books we also have him desperate to protect her from Voldemort, crying when she's dead... And yet despite that, he is horribly abusive to her son, just because he looks like his father. And yet he does say that he wants to keep him safe, angry at Dumbledore when he finds out they've basically been raising him like a lamb to the slaughter. So apparently he's fine with possibly mentally scarring Harry, but killing him? Oh, that's just totally unforgivable!

You can point out various things across the books that Snape has done for Harry, but that doesn't change the fact that Snape is INCREDIBLY abusive to Harry, even moreso than he is to other students.

And then we have him taking part of Lily's letter, just because it had her signiture, and part of the photo that showed her in it, which just... always struck me as creepy. Stalker-ish. I dunno how to explain it any better than that.

And then, we have absolutely the creepiest part... him wanting Harry to look at him as he dies. Just so he can pretend that he's looking into Lily's eyes, probably. Which... yeah, that's just super creepy.

Like, I honestly cannot see it as romance at all. It just comes off as Snape having an obsession. It's even worse in the movies where he is shown cradling Lily's dead body against him and crying. Which normally wouldn't be that bad but with everything else on top of that... yeah.

This does bring us onto the last subject...

3. Snape's 'Redemption'

Snape's redemption is supposed to happen after his death. Here's the problem... he's one of the main examples about why J.K. is very poor when it comes to redeeming characters. Like, Draco could have been set up for a redemption, but he wasn't, as were his parents. Snape was set up for a redemption... and J.K. seems to think it was enough?

So, the main thing that is supposed to redeem Snape, that is meant to make us think he's ok... is showing us his past with Lily, and various discussions with Dumbledore. The whole sequence is for exposition and to try and make us think Snape is a good guy because he 'loved' Lily, and that was his motivation for everything good he did. Which, again, comes off as pretty obsessive.

Here's the thing though...

Snape abused Harry for 6 years of his life. He made Draco set a snake on him in his second year. He repeatedly broke into Harry's mind which seemed to end up having the opposite effect that Dumbledore wanted. Dumbledore even basically admits as much, saying that Snape was a poor choice for it, that he had hoped Snape would be able to see past his hatred of Harry's father. He refused to listen to anyone when it came to Sirius, refusing the possibility that Sirius might be innocent (until Dumbledore talked to him about it, probably), outed a colleague as a werewolf, which, considering the allergory J.K. was aiming for, was like outing a gay man, and made him resign from his job because he knew student's parents would be writing in to complain about it, so it essentially cost Lupin a job, which as we know, is already something that werewolves had problems with.

I do have issues with J.K.'s allergory of werewolves as homosexuals... but let's just say that one of the most notable werewolves, after Remus, was known for attacking and 'turning' children and leave it at that. It's not relevant to the topic at hand anyway.

Showing us that Snape did some things right, and that he 'loved' Lily... like, let's pretend that he did love Lily for a moment, and that it wasn't a creepy obsession.

... That still doesn't excuse the shit he did. It doesn't excuse the abuse at all. It doesn't redeem him from being a Death Eater. His only reason for wanting to save the Potter family was Lily.

Saving Harry's life in the first year by countering Quirrell's curse, and then acting as referee in the next match to protect Harry? That doesn't redeem the abuse that he inflicted upon Harry in the first year, let alone the rest of it.

Let's assume he had the best intentions in Prisoner of Azkaban, and he was interested in rescuing Harry, Ron and Hermione from Sirius. Although that is a HUGE assumption, all things considered... still doesn't redeem him.

Checking that Sirius was indeed at headquarters and then alerting them that Harry had gone to the Department of Mysteries to try and save Sirius when Sirius wasn't even there? Still doesn't redeem him.

None of the good things Snape does redeems him for the abuse he inflicted upon his students and especially Harry and Neville, and his love for Lily reads more like a creepy obsession.

J.K. tried to redeem Snape... and absolutely failed. Sometimes when you write a character, you need more than a single chapter to redeem them.

I'm not even sure if Snape was redeemable at all. Abusing children is a pretty fucking terrible thing. And I don't think it's even me being biased for being abused by a teacher, it's just unacceptable.

[gellertalbus]

Hi! What’s your take on Gellert childhood and Durmstrang years?

❗ long post warning ❗

very VERY interesting question, thank you anon! Trying to guess Gellert's childhood is one of my fav hobbies. Let's get on with it!

Family: my headcanon is that he comes from a rich austrian pureblood family. Like his father probably worked for the austrian/german ministry or had a (boring) high position due to his family name. From his mother side, someone must've been a Seer in the past leading that part of the family to be slightly hung up on Divination while his father was more skeptical about it. They lived in Vienna but also had an old half-abandoned castle among the Alps, the future Nurmengard. Gellert absolutely loved to go there. He was an only child. Also my headcanon is that he played the violin. I read a lot of fics where Gellert plays some music instrument and it's mostly the piano, but i think the violin suits him more. I myself am a fan of violin music and the wide range of its sounds (gentle, enigmatic, elegant, epic, rough, romantic, sensual, tragic) is like Gellert's personality put into music. Also, Jamie playing the violin? That is a sight to behold!!

Looks: he has his mother's blonde curls and cherubic aura (she is a Bagshot from her mother's side, hence she's Bathilda's niece) while his chiseled features and overall facial structure come from his father.

Childhood: i imagine he was a very energic and impulsive kid, always moving, always doing something, learning, exploring, daring, spending a LOT of time on books but also outside. He often disobeyed his parents using his precocious powers whenever he wanted and not really caring about the consequences. This unsettled Herr and Frau Grindelwald, like i'm not saying they were scared of their son, but they knew Gellert was different, that he could do things other kids his age couldn't, that he was a prodigy (i just KNOW baby gellert was capable of intentional wandless magic and no one can change my mind). He received a strict education as it usually was in the 19th century, learned different languages such as english, french and russian and could dance a damn fine waltz.

The Sight: he had his first vision when he was about six/seven. They were just brief glimpses like flashes that left him very confused and shaken up. As the visions came more frequently and more unsettling he began to kinda isolate himself, being more silent and less lively. Like if you think about it, having the Sight is a very awful business, i'm not trying to justify his future actions whatsoever, just saying that waking up every day knowing that all kinds of horror and destruction might happen in the future SUCKS and that surely took a toll on his soul and personality.

Durmstrang: this is rather obvious but he was top of the class in pretty much everything, like from a certain point professors didn't know what else to teach him so he just sat at the end of the class bored as fuck. Students either feared him due to his Sight and the common knowledge he delved in Dark Magic more than the usual durmstrang policy allowed or they idolised him because of his charisma and idealism. He had friends but I'm not sure if he ever considered them as such, more like "people i happen to spend the time with". Some of them might've ended up as pawns in his grand scheme of things. Like this is one of the many factors that drew him to Albus. Being both brilliant, outstanding and always way ahead of the people around them, they surely must have felt constantly out of place, isolated, alone.

Possible trauma: Mads actually hinted at the possibility he went through some traumatic experience involving his family and the muggles hence his hate for them and i quite agree with him. Maybe his mother was killed? Both his parents? Again, give us some crumbs...

He saw Albus in his visions: this is a common headcanon and i couldn't not mention it. I think that yes he saw Albus in his visions way before he went to Godric's Hollow but did not necessarily act on it. Like he just kept Seeing him and felt a powerful connection to those blue eyes framed by gorgeous auburn hair ❤

Also, and i think we can all agree on this, Gellert is definitely a cat person right?

Thanks for your question, anon, and apologies for the rant! 🖤

[cursedwithwords]

HP Next Gen Headcanons: James

Full Name: James Sirius "Jamie" Potter

House: Gryffindor

Wand: rowan and ashwinder egg

Patronus: stag wolf

Boggart: Caleb

Profession: potioneer

Sexuality: gay

Image(picrew):

Bonus: has more freckles than Lily and Albus combined. A softhearted agent of chaos. Out of his entire family he has the most upbeat personality (his grandmother always used to say he was what would happen if sunshine was a person). Always the one to crack a joke during uncomfortable situations to lighten the atmosphere. He remembers the birthdays of everyone he's ever met. Played as a Chaser on the house team. Rox calls him "Jamjar". The Golden Child of the family and has all the negative effects you would expect because of it. Number one forehead kisser award. Harbors a silent dislike towards Sirius Black but would never admit that to his father. Older people absolutely love him because he's so chatty. Considers Teddy to be his best friend, but Louis is a very close second. The one in the family all the cousins (plus al and lily) are secretly protective of. His first tattoo was a stick and poke crescent moon on his left wrist given to him by Teddy.

Extras:

Wand Wood — Rowan

"Rowan wood has always been much-favoured for wands because it is reputed to be more protective than any other... it is commonly stated that no dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand... rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure-hearted..."

I think James is a very protective person in general and outrageously pure-hearted, almost to a fault. His wand is extremely powerful in his hands, and while it will work if used by someone else, it's much less powerful, and spells will often sputter or die out. The only spells the wand will properly cast in someone elses hands are shields and defensive charms. In James' hands, however, it can cast incredibly strong magic.

Wand Core — Ashwinder Egg

"The eggs of an Ashwinder are usually found in the wands of those skilled in Potioneering..."

I just love the idea that James would have an innate talent for potions that his wand could sense the moment he stepped into the shop. I also like to headcanon that his great grandfather Fleamont Potter, an accomplished potioneer, shared the same core in his wand. When Olivander tells him that detail the day they bought his wand, he feels immediate pride and a sense of honor and connection to Fleamont.

Patronus — Stag Wolf

"Stags symbolize heroism, bravery, and new life. Owners of a stag Patronus make extraordinary, influential leaders and honestly care about the well-being of others. You are likely confident in yourself and stand up for your beliefs."

"Wolves are powerful protectors who find strength in numbers as they always travel in a pack. If you have this Patronus, then you should trust your instincts as they are usually spot on."

James' patronus changes after he loses the ability to cast a stag following a traumatic incident (see TBOTS fic for details of this headcanon). It takes years for him to be able to cast a corporeal form again, but when he does it takes the form of a wolf to match Teddy's, because in the end it's memories of Teddy that allow him to cast the charm successfully again. He's the only one of the new gen whose patronus changes, and the only one who loses the ability to cast the charm for any amount of time.

[casdeanwin]

Every time I read this passage my heart takes an emotional journey on the bumpiest rollercoaster. 😭

I can only imagine the turmoil Harry is experiencing. Not only is he grieving the loss of his Headmaster/Mentor and handling the trauma which came from witnessing his death, but Harry is having to deal with how little he actually knew about Dumbledore. And the guilt which stems from that, as well as the anger.

Harry regrets never taking the time to ask his Professor personal questions, that all they ever really discussed was Harry himself. More specifically the part he had to play in this war.

Here is a young man, who has never really known the love of a parental figure since the day his Mother and Father were murdered.

And when he does allow himself to attach to such figures, they are cruelly snatched away.

He is never really given the time or the proper circumstances to deepen those relationships. And with Harry being a child for 99% of the series, those relationships are sort of one sided.

As it should be really.

As a child we are much too young to worry about our parental figures, in terms of finding out who they are, beyond what they are. It's only as we grow older, that we begin to appreciate them as people and their back stories.

I feel this is what Harry is muddling through in his grief.

Throughout DH, he is bombarded with information about Albus Dumbledore, which quite frankly knocks him for six. He finds out information which he really wishes Albus had told him. Like the fact that they had both lived in Godric's Hollow, both lost loved ones there. This is mind blowing for Harry. They could have bonded over this shared history. Perhaps even have visited one day together.

But Dumbledore chose not to reveal that part of himself. And Harry is hurt, because he doesn't understand why. He had always believed that Dumbledore cared for him. Even during OotP, Harry at his core, still believed Albus cared, and that is why he was so hurt and angry throughout his fifth year. He thought that they shared a special sort of bond. And each time Harry thinks they are getting somewhere, he feels as though Dumbledore takes a step back.

I always feel that had Albus not died that night, he would have been 'forced' to reveal some information to Harry. They had after all gone through a traumatic experience together, and bonded further due to it. And I genuinely think that Albus would have wanted to reveal what he had seen thanks to that potion. He would have felt he owed Harry some answers given what he asked of him that night. But more than that, again, I think he would have wanted to tell Harry. Because he does care. But Albus being who he is, constantly has to walk a fine line. He can only connect with Harry to a certain point. Because Harry is after all, first and foremost, his student. And it would be inappropriate to share too much. But I do think, the night he died, was that first stepping stone on what could have been should he have survived.

But this is what I mean, Harry only knows what he experienced. Harry couldn't see inside Dumbledore's head. All he knew was that Dumbledore kept him at arms length, even though he claimed to care.

So when Harry finds out that Dumbledore had a shaded past, in which he revealed his secrets to Gellert, as a young man himself, Harry is incensed, and even outright jealous. Here was a dark wizard who Dumbledore is known for having defeated, who Albus had revealed his inmost self to after knowing for a few months maximum. I imagine Harry must feel cheated in some regard.

After all, Harry had known and looked up to his Headmaster for six years. He had trusted him implicitly, no questions asked. And yet he didn't hardly know anything about him personally. But Gellert bloody Grindelwald had somehow managed to gain the Holy Grail in a matter of months! If Dumbledore could share with Grindelwald, who turned out to be a dark wizard, then what was wrong with Harry? Why didn't Dumbledore want to share with him? Harry must have felt he meant nothing to his mentor. Which we know isn't true. But it must have been traumatising for a grieving 17 year old boy.

It's only after Harry has spoken to Albus in person, and Albus has at last revealed parts of himself to Harry which he is ashamed of, is Harry able to let go of his anger.

Once he sees that Albus wasn't withholding information about himself because he didn't trust Harry, but rather because he didn't want Harry to think less of him, Harry understands that Albus did and does love him.

And Harry is also now able to say that he loves Albus. Not for being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, or the Greatest Sorcerer of the age, but for being Albus. Because he now knows everything there is to know about the man. Albus Dumbledore is no longer on that pedestal Harry had seated him on. He was finally accessible and attainable. And loved.

[dufferpuffer]

"Headmaster, I have heard children say things on their first day that would make you pale. Your efforts to coddle them are wasted."

Albus smiled, a jaunty chuckle bouncing through the air. It was not at all the response Severus expected. "My dear boy... you think I am so sheltered!? How insulting..." The old Wizards eyes twinkled, creasing tightly with a broad smile. "It is the way things should be! The children, away from either the comfort or the horror of their guardians, have the power of language on their side - and the freedom of naughtiness." His brows quirked up as he peered over his spectacles at the Potions Master. "I believe you were quite the foul-mouthed youth yourself. You knew words I had never even heard before!" Severus' cheeks almost painted from their regular pallid tone. "Yes, well... that's what a muggle upbringing can cause." He muttered. Albus' expression did not change at the comment - but he did sigh as he stood tall once again. "...and should children today not be allowed the same? Manners are best taught slowly - and defiance is a natural part of learning. After all, some children know naught but how to snatch like they have nothing, to gobble like they've never eaten, to demand and yell..." For the briefest moment his icy blue eyes looked a little distant. "...That is perhaps the greatest lesson we teach here, Severus. It is something I take quite seriously:" Albus spoke again, voice firm now. "We abhor swearing. We fake ignorance to the passages and shortcuts of the castle - even the obvious ones. We turn the other way, occasionally, when we discover children where they shouldn't be - or give up the chase a little earlier then we should." His old hand rose to idly play with one of the many small bells beaded into his beard, jingling pleasantly - a soothing noise. "We put their safety first - but their independence second. For what are friendships without secrets to share? Where is the wonder in life without a little adventure? This is their home, Severus - more than it will ever be ours. We can go anywhere - but they are bound to these grounds, and thus these grounds are bound to them. Peeves sings with the foul language they teach him, they scuttle through the tapestries and tunnels like little mice, they steal cunningly from storerooms to test their skills... and I would have it no other way. So we lock doors that need not be locked, we don't utilize the secrets we used ourselves when we were students - and we do not act uncouth. We save those adventures for them." Albus shot his old friend a look that insisted he understand - and that he not argue. It was a hard rule amongst the staff, one that some liked more than others. One that was difficult for some to follow.

Severus sighed. "...Fiddlesticks."

Dumbledore: Oh, fiddlesticks! This really ruffles my feathers!

Severus: Please, just say fuck!

[torestoreamends]

A Very Albus Recap (London, 2nd and 21st/22nd March)

I just want to throw out a little Joe Idris-Roberts recap, because he’s been on fire the last couple of times I’ve seen him (Saturday 2nd March and Thursday 21st/Friday 22nd March), and his brilliance deserves all the recognition in the world. Here are just a couple of the new things he’s started doing that I’ve been really excited by.

Blanket scene

There are a couple of things in this one. Firstly, at the beginning of the scene Albus lies down on the bed curled up on his side, with his back to the door. It’s clear that he wants to find his own peaceful bit of space, but he still seems happy enough to interact with his family. When James comes in he lifts his head and looks back to make exasperated eye contact with Ginny, and when Lily comes in he looks round at her and shakes his head to tell her that he hasn’t seen her book. 

As loud and chaotic as his family are, and as out of place among them as he feels, it’s nice to see him existing among them and being himself. He doesn’t have a problem with them being in his room at all really, right up until the point when Harry comes in. That’s when Albus stops relaxing, sits up, and shuffles right up to press himself against the end of his bed, making himself as small as he can. 

Secondly, towards the end of the scene, Albus does the unthinkable – he disrespects the blanket. In a lot of portrayals, even Albus acknowledges that the blanket is a sacred object and takes care of it. There was one memorable performance in which Tom Mackley threw the blanket at Jamie Parker so hard that Jamie didn’t manage to catch it and it fell on the floor. The look on Albus’s face was so full of horror that he clearly understood the magnitude of what he’d accidentally done. But with Joe’s Albus, after a point he doesn’t seem to care anymore. It’s just a mouldy blanket after all. 

In the last performance I saw, once Harry got up off the bed and started talking about packing, Albus swung round to take up the whole space, which meant that he stretched his legs out down the length of the bed and right over the top of the blanket. He was essentially sitting on it, and Harry was absolutely livid. If he’d wanted to rile his dad up, he went about it in exactly the right way. 

Hogwarts through the trees

I’ve never seen this before, but in the performance on Thursday night, Albus somehow managed to enter this scene backwards. Normally the boys walk from the back of the stage into position facing forwards, so they see the view open up ahead of them, but in this one it seemed as though Albus was trying to avoid looking. He didn’t see the view until he was right in position beneath the arch, and then he turned round and his reaction was so sudden and so real. It was a burst of every emotion under the sun, hitting him all in that one moment. 

Joe’s expression in this scene is so profoundly beautiful. It’s everything and nothing all at once. Albus is overwhelmed by what he’s seeing, and he understands how stunning it is, and what it means to Scorpius, but his own relationship to the school is so complex that there’s heartbreak in there too. He wishes Hogwarts could be so uncomplicatedly beautiful to him as it is to Scorpius, but it’s not, and that really hurts. There are tears in his eyes, and he looks so small and sad and inadequate, but of course to Scorpius he’s anything but inadequate, even if he doesn’t realise it yet. Joe is a master of saying a thousand different things with one simple, restrained expression. 

Staircase ballet

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do anything that revolutionary character-wise in this scene, so it was actually a surprise to see Joe suddenly do something so different. He’s mentioned before that there are times he’s found the show’s blocking quite restrictive, and I wonder if now the directors’ attention is elsewhere he’s finally getting to show us the things he’s never been allowed to do before. 

He’s always got to the top of the first staircase and acted like he’s found an unexpected dead end, that’s nothing new (although I love how Albus’s path through the school is constantly blocked and thwarted, while the staircases take Scorpius wherever he wants to go – there’s a beautiful metaphor for their relationships with Hogwarts there). What was new was the moment when he ducks through the space beneath where Scorpius is sitting. 

Albus normally moves straight through that space and on up the stairs, but in this one he stayed under there and hid. He peeked out a couple of times to see if Scorpius was gone, clearly trying to avoid him, and when he realised that Scorpius wasn’t moving he sprinted straight up the stairs, like he was running away. 

It was all perfectly timed to the music still, and it was so interesting to see the choreography used to tell a new element of the story. Joe’s Albus’s story has always been that he’s trying to avoid and hide from Scorpius, he won’t even look at him, but this was a new extent. A new layer. 

Library scene 

There are two things to mention in this scene too. The first actually relates heavily to something in another scene. In the Act Four scene in Harry’s office, when Draco says ‘if its takes centuries, we must find our sons’, James has started grabbing the Time-Turner and getting ready to go, finger on the dial, about to search all of time for his son before Harry stops him. And in this scene, that was exactly what Albus tried to do too. 

The second he said ‘you’ve still got the Time-Turner, right?’ and grabbed it out of the bag, he went running across the room with it, finger on the dial, ready to go and get Cedric and Rose back. It changed the wrestling from being about pure ownership of the Time-Turner to being about Scorpius trying to stop Albus from doing something stupid there and then.

The second thing also requires a bit of background explanation. I’ve been furiously trying to figure out Joe’s library and torture scenes for the longest time, and it turns out that once you’ve understood one, you’ve understood them both. He explained to me at stage door that his Albus is a strategist. He doesn’t get scared, he just thinks – he suppresses his emotions in favour of coming up with a plan. So when you see him shutting down and not responding in the moment to Scorpius’s speech or to Delphi’s torture, it’s because Albus is five steps ahead and choosing to delay his emotions for another time. 

More on the torture scene later, but in the library scene he shuts down the second he sees Polly leaving the room. Of course he’s listening to what Scorpius is saying, he’s taking it on board, but he’s aware that McGonagall is going to show up at any second and there’s no time to get emotional. He can’t fix Scorpius’s problems there and then; the top priority is to stop them getting separated again, and that’s exactly what he does. Only when they emerge from under the cloak does Albus finally respond, and what a response. 

In the last show it was actually the beginning of Albus’s apology that was most fascinating. He separated the thoughts about the cloak into two separate instances, so it became both a commentary on his relationship with James and a guilty admission of his own problems. The first part, from ‘Yes I stole this from James’ to ‘his trunk combination is the date he got his first broom’ was joking, mocking his brother, and it finished with a ‘how thick can you get?’ sort of ‘duh’. Then there was a long pause before the second part: ‘I found the cloak made avoiding bullies easier’, which was said so quietly, reluctantly almost, like he didn’t want to admit that he’d had to hide. Maybe he was embarrassed to talk about his life being rubbish after everything Scorpius just said...

Torture scene

I discovered a couple of weeks ago that there’s one line that unlocks Joe’s delivery of the torture scene: ‘The flaw in the Time-Turner, the five minute rule, we do everything we can to run down the cloak’. In that performance it wasn’t a desperate half-baked suggestion being flung out, it was a strategy that Albus had been thinking through since he realised what Delphi was going to do, and he was counting on it to work. 

Everything that comes before that – Scorpius being tortured, Craig’s death, Delphi’s jeering – is all something that Albus can’t bring himself to engage with, because he’s focusing on the goal, which is for him and Scorpius to survive the preamble, get Delphi into the maze, and then lead her a merry dance for five minutes so they get timed out and she can’t use that task to save Cedric. Once again he’s five steps ahead. He has to be. That’s how he’s going to survive this hell, and more importantly it’s how Scorpius is going to survive it.

It isn’t until the moment when Delphi out-manoeuvres him and smashes the Time-Turner that he’s out of control. That’s when the emotion finally kicks in, when suddenly he has no plan at all, his dad is suddenly in horrible danger, and he and Scorpius are lost. 

I’ve found over the last year that if Joe’s not delivering what you expect emotionally from Albus in a situation, there is always, 100% of the time, a really good reason for that. The tricky thing is finding it, but when you do? It’s the most rewarding and exhilarating thing in the world. 

Harry and Ginny find the blanket message

This may be strange to say, but this has truly become one of my favourite scenes in the show with this cast (this and the hospital wing scene have both been unexpectedly gorgeous this year). 

The reason I adore this scene so much is because it’s such a clear assertion from Albus of how he feels about his dad. It’s the moment when Albus decides that he’s going to reach out and repair their relationship, come hell or high water. 

‘We’re starting with Dad’ is the most stunning line. It would be so easy, as Scorpius suggests, to write Harry’s name on the blanket, but Albus is absolutely determined that it’s going to be Dad. Because Harry is his dad, his dad who he loves and misses and wants so desperately. It’s Albus offering the first hand of peace across time and space, from Godric’s Hollow in 1981 to his own bedroom in 2020. There’s something so powerful about that.

The other powerful little gesture in this scene is in a similar vein. Whenever Joe’s Albus sits on a bed, he flips the pillow up so it rests against the bedstead, every single time, and in the last show I noticed that he did it here too. I couldn’t work out at first why that had such an impact, but then @ohscorbus mentioned that Albus doesn’t go back to his room after he runs away in the blanket scene. In fact no one goes in until Harry and Ginny do on Hallow’s Eve to find the blanket, and when they do, Albus is with them, if not in body then in spirit. 

It’s another little act of ownership, it feels like. The only thing that’s been touched in that room is the blanket, which is still at this point very much Harry’s possession – I doubt Albus feels an ownership over it, especially after how he treated it – so the first person to move anything is Albus, across space and time, and it’s to make the space more comfortable for himself. It’s one of those little things that he’d do to take ownership of the room if he were really there and planning to sit on the bed and do homework or whatever. 

Albus taking up his own space, taking ownership of it, inhabiting it, is so important a step for him. He’s uncomfortable and unhappy everywhere it seems, and little things like that feel like a step on the journey towards feeling better.

The penultimate scene

There’s no convoluted meta here, just a good, old fashioned hug. I absolutely love how when Scorpius hugs Albus in this scene, Joe’s Albus gets entirely lost in it for a second. There’s a moment when he forgets himself and buries his face in Scorpius’s shoulder. It’s a very long, peaceful moment. And of course it ends with him remembering that they don’t hug, but it’s so very clear initially that there’s nothing he wants in the world more than Scorpius’s hugs. There’s a solace between the two of them, and it’s still and pure and beautiful. They feel at home together, and I suppose that in the moment of that hug, before his brain kicks in, Albus has never felt more at home anywhere than with his best friend. 

[pet-genius]

A complex and many-layered thing

But Harry’s anger at Snape continued to pound through his veins like venom. Let go of his anger? He could as easily detach his legs. . . .

This is the first Occlumency lesson. Harry is right, of course. Feelings don’t go away because you want them to. To let go of them when they’ve not been addressed or validated can be as hard as detaching a leg. And yet, it’s what Dumbledore asked Snape to do, and it’s what Snape had to do to survive the first war as Dumbledore’s spy. You have to ask yourself… how?

Trapped animals chew off their own legs to escape. It’s a sacrifice they make to survive.

If there’s one thing in a fic that turns me off it, it’s the idea that Occlumency shields are a thing, that Severus was so gifted at it because he’s got some power like Second Sight or being a metamorphagus. I always preferred to think of Occlumency and Legilimency as skills that can be learned, even if some have more aptitude for it than others.

Severus entered Hogwarts with the kind of life experience that primed him for developing these skills, and left it with even more. Occlumency is magical dissociation, a post-traumatic coping mechanism, and Severus has C/PTSD. More under the cut; tw: just general angst.

To survive, he would have had to develop a knack for telling how explosive and unpredictable people feel. Over his life, he faced at least two egregious examples of what Pete Walker, author of “Complex PTSD” calls “the Charming Bully”.

Especially devolved fight types can become sociopathic. Sociopathy can range along a continuum that stretches from corrupt politician to vicious criminal. A particularly nasty sociopath, who I call the charming bully, probably falls somewhere around the middle of this continuum. The charming bully behaves in a friendly manner some of the time. He can even occasionally listen and be helpful in small amounts, but he still uses his contempt to overpower and control others. This type typically relies on scapegoats for the dumping of his vitriol. These unfortunate scapegoats are typically weaker than him. […] He generally spares his favorites from this behavior, unless they get out of line. If the charming bully is charismatic enough, those close to him will often fail to register the unconscionable meanness of his scapegoating. The bully’s favorites often slip into denial, relieved that they are not the target. Especially charismatic bullies may even be admired and seen as great.

These would be James Potter and Tom Riddle, who are distantly related, I might add. Harry inherited the tendency to default to the fight response, but since he grew up the scapegoat and not the golden child, he never becomes quite as appalling, and after all, a fight response is normal when they are after you. Even so, Harry, who has both James and Voldemort inside him, triggers Severus to no end. It’s not a coincidence that the memories Harry sees when he is with him are largely horrible, and vice versa. There had to be happy or at least neutral or even boring moments, but these two detest each other, and they know they detest each other. Negative emotions and associated memories are so close to the surface they can’t be contained. This is the purpose of the Pensieve in this context - to contain the emotions. Since Severus knew what was in there when he pulled Harry out, my theory is that you don’t suddenly forget the memories you placed there, but rather you make them less fraught with emotions.

“Get up!” said Snape sharply. “Get up! You are not trying, you are making no effort, you are allowing me access to memories you fear, handing me weapons!”

Harry stood up again, his heart thumping wildly as though he had really just seen Cedric dead in the graveyard. Snape looked paler than usual, and angrier, though not nearly as angry as Harry was. “I — am — making — an — effort,” he said through clenched teeth.

“I told you to empty yourself of emotion!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m finding that hard at the moment,” Harry snarled.

“Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord!” said Snape savagely. “Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked this easily — weak people, in other words — they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!”

A lot to unpack here.

“Memories you fear,” “weapons”, “easy prey”.

Fearing your own memories, viewing your own lived experiences as weapons to be used against you, being easy prey… Severus could not be speaking louder of himself here. He is the one whose mind had been penetrated with absurd ease, he is the one who handed weapons to Voldemort, and he is the one who had to do the psychological equivalent of detaching his own leg – again and again – to survive.

I’ll argue that Severus developed a fawn response and a flight response, as fighting had never really worked out for him if it was possible at all. He had at least two more people I’d describe as bullies in his life, Tobias and Lucius.

Again from Pete Walker:

These [fawn] response patterns are so deeply set in the psyche, that as adults, many codependents automatically respond to threat like dogs, symbolically rolling over on their backs, wagging their tails, hoping for a little mercy and an occasional scrap. Webster’s second entry for fawn is: “to show friendliness by licking hands, wagging its tail, etc.: said of a dog.” I find it tragic that some codependents are as loyal as dogs to even the worst “masters”.

Remember what Sirius called him? Lucius’s lapdog. Bellatrix called him Dumbledore’s pet, Dumbledore said he dangles on Voldemort’s arm, the narrative compares Snape to a rabbit in SWM and Harry compares the Half Blood Prince to a beloved pet who had gone feral (yes, this does mean a lot to me on a personal level, yes my username is not a coincidence).

His unconscious fawn response might have been his undoing, drawn as he was to figures like Lucius and Voldemort. As an adult, I think he utilized the skills he had developed to survive in order to stitch these people up, and involuntary dissociation and fawning became Occlumency, which to me, is his signature magic. Harry needed only to banish Voldemort from his mind; Severus could not settle for this. He had to give Voldemort something, and knowing how to fawn meant knowing what to give him and how to draw himself in such a light that Voldemort would believe it. We see how he wanted to be seen by the Death Eaters: a self-serving coward who sought to hide behind Dumbledore’s apron, playing his pet. But that’s Pettigrew, not Snape. Imagine the self-immolation, the self-violation, it must have taken to convince everyone that you’re an ersatz Wormtail! Snape is a man and a prince, and the text recognizes this as Harry calls him, in the end, Dumbledore’s man, the bravest man, and as that chapter is called “The Prince’s Tale”. Voldemort thought Snape was nothing more than a “good and faithful servant,” and that his last words were “My Lord”.

But Severus had an unequaled gift for Occlumency, specifically against Voldemort, because Voldemort could not legilimens what he couldn’t feel; and he couldn’t feel love, grief, guilt, and remorse. This was Severus’s secret weapon, which would not have worked against Harry - who can feel these things, and who is also Lily’s son. I can prove it. The first time Harry gets the hang of Occlumency is after Dobby dies:

His scar burned, but he was master of the pain; he felt it, yet was apart from it. He had learned control at last, learned to shut his mind to Voldemort, the very thing Dumbledore had wanted him to learn from Snape. Just as Voldemort had not been able to possess Harry while Harry was consumed with grief for Sirius, so his thoughts could not penetrate Harry now, while he mourned Dobby. Grief, it seemed, drove Voldemort out . . . though Dumbledore, of course, would have said that it was love. . . .

Harry learned to dissociate, though fortunately in a healthier way than many of us ever get to.

Of course, Snape was a good and faithful servant… to Dumbledore, which brings us to the flight response. The chapter wherein he escapes after killing Dumbledore is called “Flight of the Prince”. He should be fighting, he had just proven that he can cast a killing curse, and yet he flees. He can literally fly, in fact: He, Lily, and Voldemort are the only ones we see pulling this off.

As a child, we see this too: He copes with his home situation by reminding himself “it won’t be long and I’ll be gone.” He is thrilled when he imagines Hogwarts, his escape; he follows Lily out of the carriage instead of confronting James and Sirius head-on (which might have saved them all a lot of pain eventually). But this doesn’t work out, we see that in terrifying detail. The next attempt at an escape is joining the Death Eaters, but this too doesn’t work out.

He can’t flee anymore.

“Severus, you cannot pretend this isn’t happening!” Karkaroff’s voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. “It’s been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can’t deny it —”

“Then flee,” said Snape’s voice curtly. “Flee — I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts.”

Shortly thereafter:

“Severus,” said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, “you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready . . . if you are prepared . . .”

“I am,” said Snape.

He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely.

He was ready, and he was prepared. He didn’t fly; he walked toward what might well have been his end with open eyes, armed only with the strength of his mind. Before Voldemort killed him, he looked pale, again, and terrified.

“I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore.”

And now Snape looked at Voldemort, and Snape’s face was like a death mask. It was marble white and so still that when he spoke, it was a shock to see that anyone lived behind the blank eyes.

I ask myself if this was the moment he realized he had been betrayed, that by giving Dumbledore a painless death he had secured his own. Maybe he wasn’t pale because he was scared; maybe he was pale because he was shocked. He was at his absolute limit, Occluding with all his might when he could have easily saved himself. The dam is about to break. All the memories he feared, all the weapons, the entire content of his heart is about to spill through - literally.

He fawned for Voldemort, the worst of all possible masters, but in the end, he was Voldemort’s undoing. All the ways in which he was weak and powerless against Tobias, James, Lucius, et al., proved to be part of goodness and source of his power. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that Snape is so loved. I’ve never actually seen such love for any other fictional character. He represents a kind of courage that many of us need to get by, lest we simply become evil or give the fuck up (“I wish I was dead”). A kind of courage rarely celebrated. The more time I’ve spent in the fandom in general and in the Snapedom in particular, the more I am convinced of this.

[katmoonz]

Tell Me Your Dirty Secret

Pairing Bill Weasley x Fem!Reader (slight Sirius Black x Fem!Reader)

Word Count: 4.5k

CW: Smut, Jealousy, choking kink, possessive!Bill, Dom!Bill, Sub!Reader, use of pet names, aftercare, slight degradation, oral (male receiving), vaginal sex, slightest bit of violence, unprotected sex. if I’ve missed anything out plz let me know!

It’s midnight and there is not a soul in sight. Spending the holidays with the order in Grimmauld place sure was exciting from Sirius’ drunken shenanigans and Molly's incredible cooking to the twins' pranks, there was never a boring moment within the household.

Currently, you were sitting in the kitchen nursing a cup of hot chocolate thinking about your boyfriend Bill Weasley. You had met Bill through his brother Charlie, whose year you’d been in at school, the crush you had on Bill started from the moment you met him but you waited until you had left school before trying to get closer to him.

At the moment Bill was away on order business he was due back in the morning, this left you unable to sleep out of concern for his safety and with time to collect your thoughts.

Bill is the most handsome man you’ve ever met, his piercing blue eyes and his strong muscular form are all perfect but his kind and charming personality made you even more attracted. Bill is the sweetest boyfriend you could ever ask for, always checking up on you asking about your day, complimenting the meals you make, running a bath when you don’t feel well. His warm embrace makes you feel so safe and secure among other things... The sex is amazing Bill is always so attentive, always taking care of you first before carefully making love to you but it wasn’t enough. For the past few weeks, you had been wanting him to be a little rougher with you but you didn’t know how to tell him what you wanted.

It started one morning when he’d walked into the bedroom to find you struggling to tie your shoes, he’d bent down and tied them for you. You watched as his fingers, which were laden with rings, quickly but efficiently tie your laces before he stood up to kiss you on the cheek.

That was only the start of your fascination with his rings, he would often massage your shoulders for you after a long day at work before retiring to bed. When he kisses you he often holds your face in one of his hands, the cold metal of his rings against your face would cause butterflies in your stomach.

But you also wanted him to choke you. You’d started imagining him choking you after going out to a bar with him, a guy had been harassing you and you’d been trying to ignore it but he grabbed your arm tightly within his hand in a bruising grip trying to talk you into going home with him. You could smell the alcohol on his breath and before you knew it the man was being held up against the nearest wall by Bill, his hand around the pervs throat as he gave him a gruff warning to leave you alone.

Since that moment you’d constantly been fantasising about what it’d be like to have Bills hands around your neck whilst you had sex. The only problem with this being that Bill was ever so gentle whilst having sex with you, he’d never been rough in the bedroom.

You sigh as you finish off your hot chocolate before walking over to the sink with your mug to wash it out. *there must be some way to get him to be rough with me* you think longingly, suddenly the idea strikes you like a lightning bolt *Bill only had his hand around that man's neck because he pissed him off, perhaps if I make him jealous enough and then try to seduce him he will be rougher*

With that thought in mind, you decide to head up to bed not wanting to wear yourself out before tomorrow’s order meeting which would be the perfect opportunity to put your plan into action.

-

The weekly order meeting at Grimmauld Place was due to start in a few minutes, the house bustling with order members. Bill spots you from across the room and starts making his way over to you, “y/n” he shouts over the crowd.

Looking around you, you notice that the seat next to the owner of the house Sirius Black is free so you quickly seat yourself next to him.

“Alright love,” he says arching one brow before taking a sip out of the goblet in front of him.

“Yeah good,” you say looking around the kitchen for Bill, you spot him speaking to his mother who must have accosted him before he could get to you.

“trouble in paradise?” he asks before leaning back in his seat.

“No, no, nothing like that” you hastily reply, “I just um…” you look him up and down before taking a quick glance at Bill across the room.

“Y/n?”

You decide to give in and ask Sirius for help with your plan considering that he seems to be one of the few people in the room who would agree to it. “Would you help me with something?”

“Sure doll, what?” he asks, leaning in closer to listen to you.

“I need to make Bill jealous”

Sirius smirks before looking over your shoulder for Bill, he turns back to you and looks you up and down “what’s in it for me?”

You consider backing out for a second but at the thought of potentially having Bill's hand around your neck, you decide to go for it. “I’ll get you a bottle of firewhiskey”

Sirius smiles before taking your hand in his “deal” he doesn���t release your hand and whispers “don’t turn around he’s watching us, play along.” He raises your hand to his mouth before placing a chaste kiss upon your knuckle, you giggle both out of nervousness and to keep up the act.

You place your hand on the table and continue your conversation with Sirius.

“Why are you trying to make him jealous? If you don’t mind me asking?”

You look into his eyes and contemplate whether you should tell him or not. “I just want to piss him off,” you say, batting your eyelashes innocently.

“Mhmm, so you don’t just want some rough passionate make-up sex” He replies cockily picking up his goblet again.

You look at him sheepishly “how’d you know?”

He places his goblet back on the table before putting his hand on top of yours, “you don’t look like an angry woman trust me I’d know from all of the women- well also men that I’ve angered in my lifetime and every time you look at him you look as if you want to jump his bones.”

“I um-“

Sirius cuts you off, “it’s okay, you don’t need to explain yourself, maybe give me a few details tomorrow if you’re still able to walk, oh and my firewhiskey but I’m glad to be at your service doll”

You hit him on the shoulder before letting out a laugh, a tear falls from your eye as you laugh.

Dumbledore walks into the room getting ready to start the meeting, “Let's hope that Bill sits reasonably close to us” you say getting visibly excited.

Sirius lets out a chuckle, “Have fun I suppose but don’t come crying to me in the morning when you need a pain-relieving potion”

Bill walks over to you and leans over your shoulder to kiss you but you dodge him at the last second so that his kiss lands on your cheek. “Hello love, you look like you’re having fun” instead of turning around to speak to him you continue to look at Sirius, “mhmm,” you say dismissively. Bill gives you a look of confusion before walking away, he sits down at the opposite side of the table to you just as Dumbledore starts the meeting.

The meeting is relatively boring. It mainly consists of Albus talking about the upcoming patrols, you can feel Bill's eyes on you as you try to concentrate on the meeting and decide to shift your chair closer to Sirius’. Your hand is still on the table and after a few seconds of sitting closer to Sirius you can feel him place his hand on top of yours, he starts to stroke your knuckles with his thumb. You look up at him offering him a smile, he smirks back at you and leans into your ear. “We’ve barely done anything and he looks irritated already, follow my lead” he whispers before he leans back into his chair he strokes your cheek lightly with his free hand.

A couple of minutes pass by before Sirius shifts his chair even closer, he takes one arm and wraps it around you, you lean into his side with your head resting on his shoulder. You hear an angry huff from the other side of the table and take a glance up to see Bill with an angry expression upon his face.

Mad-eye starts giving his report on the happenings in Hogsmeade and you can feel yourself start to drift off to sleep as he continuously rambles.

You open your eyes at the feeling of someone lightly shaking you, “y/n love, you fell asleep the meetings finished” you look up to see that you have fallen asleep on Sirius, the rest of the order are starting to get up out of their chairs. Bill walks Molly and Arthur over to the floo giving yourself and Sirius a minute to yourselves.

“I don’t think we’ve pissed him off enough,” you say whilst trying to think of what else you could possibly do.

“You’re staying for drinks with us aren’t you? Perhaps we could flirt a bit more or you touch me up” suggests Sirius and before you can put up even the slightest protest at his suggestion Bill returns to the table with Charlie, Remus, Tonks and drinks in tow.

For a while Bill ignores you but you can see the slight frown upon his face every time he looks down your end of the table.

After a while of sitting back and listening to Charlie's stories about his encounters with dragons, you hear someone’s stomach rumble. Tonks giggles “sorry, I guess I’m still hungry”

Bill stands up “I’ll see if I can find any food, I’m sure Mum left some cookies a couple of days ago”

As Bill walks around the table you reach out to Sirius and put your hand on his thigh. You hear Bill let out a low growl as he notices how close you are to touching Sirius’ crotch. Before making his way over to the pantry he leans down over your shoulder, you can feel his warm breath behind your ear. “What are you doing?” He asks angrily.

You turn around to look at him and notice the red tinge on his face. It almost matches the shade of his hair due to how angry he is. “Nothing babe, I’m just talking to Sirius, am I not allowed to speak to my friend?” You reply innocently.

Bill lets out a huff before wiping a hand across his face trying to calm himself down, he proceeds to walk over to the pantry to find the cookies and upon returning he practically throws the plate onto the table. Everyone bar yourself and Remus takes one. After a couple of minutes you reach out to grab a smaller one but Sirius stops you by grabbing onto your hand. “I’m not sure you’ll want one love, they’re a few days old so they are quite hard.”

“That’s okay, I like it hard” you reply cockily before grabbing one.

There's a stunned silence for a moment before everyone starts laughing, that is everyone except Bill.

Sirius stretches in his seat before standing up, “c’mon let’s go sit in the library it’s much warmer up there” Sirius reaches towards you taking your arm in his before leading the way up to the library.

Upon reaching the library, Sirius backs you into a bookshelf and cages you in with his arms. “I’m sure you’ll get what you want soon, love” he whispers down into your ear. Instead of withdrawing after whispering into your ear, he keeps his face close to yours so that if anyone were to walk into the room it would look as though the two of you were making out.

Sirius has the most breathtaking eyes you’ve ever seen, you can feel your breath hitch as you gaze into his face. Sirius due to his lineage has sharp aristocratic features upon his face, his lips voluptuous and full. If you weren’t already with Bill you definitely would have jumped Sirius’ bones.

A couple of minutes go by, you hear the sound of the floo signalling that someone has left. Another minute flies by and you feel your heart flutter in your chest with anticipation. A stomping noise comes from the staircase before the door is abruptly opened,

Bang!

In a matter of seconds, Sirius has been roughly pulled away from you and pinned into the wall by an angry Bill.

Bill has his hand wrapped around Sirius’ throat and you can feel the anger radiating off of him. “Hands off my girl” he growls. You whimper but Bill ignores you so that he can focus on Sirius who is currently pinned to the wall smirking.

“Trust me I’m not interested in your girl” replies Sirius cockily despite having a muscular hand around his throat.

“Then why were you all over each other?” Asks Bill, his hand on Sirius's neck slightly loosens

“Because she asked for it” Sirius replies cockily. Bill tightens his hand around Sirius’ neck yet again and you whimper even louder than before. Your panties are completely soaked and you’re rubbing your thighs together to try and relieve some of the arousal that you are feeling. Both Bill and Sirius hear your whimper and look over to you watching as you non-discreetly rub your thighs together.

“She planned this Bill, look at her, she’s getting off on it,” Sirius says with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Bill watches you for another second before letting go of Sirius.

“Is that true princess? Did you plan this?” asks Bill, with a strange look on his face. You don’t respond to him so he walks over to you and tilts your head up to look at him.

“Answer me when I talk to you” he growls dangerously, his eyes have darkened slightly, possibly due to his anger or arousal. You whimper again before nodding. “come on love, let’s go to bed” he firmly grasps your arm and marches you over to the door, he stops and turns to speak to Sirius from across the room “we still okay to stay tonight?” He asks gruffly.

“Sure mate” replies Sirius leaning against a bookcase with a smirk on his face. The last thing you see before you are dragged out of the room is Sirius winking at you.

With a tight grip on your arm, Bill marches you up the stairs of Grimmauld Place towards one of the guest rooms. You can feel butterflies in your stomach both excited and nervous at the prospect of getting what you want. Bill drags you into the guest room and closes the door. Bill turns around to watch you for a minute before beckoning you forward with his finger. “Come here love”

Cautiously you walk towards him till you are standing right in front of him.

“Why did you do that?” asks Bill, the strange but intimidating look remains on his face.

“M’sorry” you reply, slightly embarrassed.

“No love, I didn’t ask you to apologise. I said why?” He steps forward so that there is no space between you. You can feel his breath on your face.

“Just wanted to make you jealous” you reply, sheepishly.

Bill puts his hand under your chin and tilts your head to make you look at him. “Why’d you want me jealous princess?” his mouth is right next to your ear and you can feel his warm breath against the side of your face.

“S’hot” you reply putting a hand on his chest

“Mhmm, and what else?” Asks Bill, starting to kiss and suck on your neck.

You let out a quiet moan, “want you to be rough”

“Rough? how’d you want me to be rough?”

You pull back from him slightly to look into his eyes, his pupils are wide with arousal, “Well?” He asks arching a brow

“Want you to fuck me hard,” you say breathlessly, you can feel the tingle in your pussy from just admitting to your desire to be dominated.

“Good girl” he whispers before kissing you, Bill brings up one hand to start massaging your breast as he backs you up to the closest wall. Bill presses you up against the wall and softly bites your lip before backing away from you. You whine, Bill stands in the middle of the room with his arms crossed looking slightly amused at how desperate you are. “strip” he orders. You look up at him and don’t make a move to take off your clothes.

“Are you dumb princess? I said strip” Bill gives you a stern look as he orders you to take your clothes off. After a few seconds more of staring at Bill blankly, you start to remove your clothing. Just as you are about to remove your panties his voice reaches your ears again. “Leave them on”.

You look at him and rub your thighs together, your panties damp with arousal. Bill comes closer to you and puts one hand on your shoulder to push you down “Be a good girl and suck my cock”

You get onto your knees and wait patiently for him to unbuckle his belt, you watch as his ring laden fingers pop open the button on his trousers and push them to the floor alongside his underwear. His cock, long and hard now revealed to you.

The sight of his cock has what one might describe as a Pavlovian effect on you, your pussy throbs with excitement and your mouth suddenly feels as though it has too much saliva. You lean forward and spit on your hand before enclosing his length in your fist, you run your hand up and down it, getting him harder with your hand. You bring your face closer and look up at Bill, his face expectant. “Well?” He asks.

You bring out your tongue and give the head of his cock a lick, Bill shudders and lets out a pleasurable moan, you grin before taking him slightly into your mouth, sucking on the tip like a lollipop. Bill starts to moan a bit louder, you take him deeper into the warm cavern that is your mouth. You bob your head up and down whilst using a hand to work the rest of him off as he has a rather generously sized cock. Bill puts a hand in your hair, his eyes are shut revelling in the pleasure that your mouth is giving him. “Yess, good girl” he hisses, trying not to succumb to the urge to just cum in your mouth.

After a few minutes, Bill pulls on your hair, you release him from your mouth and look up at him before whining in disappointment. “Up,” he says, you stand up slowly trying to adjust to the blood flow getting back to your feet after being on your knees.

Bill reaches down to help you and pulls you into his chest as you rise, “are you gonna be my good girl?” He asks with a smirk on his face, without giving you a second to reply he lifts you off of your feet and carries you to the bed, throwing you down and settling himself over you. Roughly, Bill pulls down your panties before chucking them across the room, he brings himself back up to your face grasping your jaw in one hand. Your pussy throbs as you stare into each other’s eyes.

Bill has the most beautiful blue eyes you’ve ever seen, the blue orbs a stark contrast to his ginger locks which are tied back in a bun at the back of his head. As you distract yourself with your boyfriend's beauty he sneaks a hand down to your pussy. You gasp as a lone finger suddenly fills your aching core, he pumps it in and out a few times before stopping causing you to squirm, “Bill, please” you whine.

Bill smirks and leans down to take a nipple in his mouth, he waits until you let out a little moan before releasing your nipple with a pop. Not wasting another second he pushes his cock into you, letting out a groan at how tightly you are gripping him, he starts with gentle thrusts before steadily speeding up. You can feel the tingle in your pussy and let out little moans every time Bill pushes back in.

As you get closer to your release Bill starts to slow down, he slows till you start to whine having been pulled away from the brink of orgasm. Bill moves one hand to rest next to your neck and continues slowly thrusting, he leans down and takes your ear lobe between his teeth for a second before letting go and pulling back to look into your eyes.

“So princess,” he starts “did you think it was fun to make me jealous?” he punctuates his sentence with a hard thrust causing you to let out a gasp.

“M’sorry” you whisper back at him.

“Sorry? So you don’t want me to be rough with you?” He asks with a smirk on his face, this time he ceases all movement. You whimper and buck up your hips to try and get him to move, he chuckles. “Look at you, acting like such a desperate slut” he starts to move again, this time with slow, hard thrusts.

“Is that good baby?” he asks

“Not enough” you whine back at him

“Not enough?” he asks “maybe my desperate whore would get what she wanted if she asked for it”

He wait to see if you respond before continuing, he looks you dead in the eye, “Tell me” he whispers huskily “tell me your dirty secret”

Without thinking you end up blurting out what you want, “want your hand on my neck”

Bill takes one hand and gently wraps it around the front of your neck, pressing down lightly at the sides. Bills rings feel cool against your skin, the cold metal a stark contrast to the heat of your sweaty body. You moan loudly and your pussy clenches around his cock drenching it even more.

Bill feels himself getting close from the grip you have on him so he starts to thrust harder “good girl” he hisses.

It feels like a dream, how could this delicious demanding man be your Bill, you are in such disbelief at how easy it was to get him to be rougher with you that the next words that fall from his mouth seem almost unreal.

“Touch yourself” he huffs out mid-thrust

You reach a hand down and start frantically rubbing your clit, desperate for release. You feel the tingle in your navel grow and your moans get louder. Bill senses that you are about to cum and presses down slightly against the sides of your neck pushing you over the edge. You see white and feel Bill release your neck as he gives a few more thrusts before releasing inside of you, he manages to stay on his arms long enough to pull out and drop down next to you.

Half asleep from the powerful orgasm you hear someone moving around the room, you let out a groan and shift slightly to get more comfortable.

“Shh baby” Bill whispers, he moves your legs to start cleaning you up and you let out a whine at being moved from your position. Bill gently strokes your cheek, “it’s okay, I’m just cleaning up the mess, good girl” He takes a wet cloth and carefully wipes up the mess between your legs.

The mattress shifts slightly as Bill returns to you, he pulls you into his chest and softly kisses your forehead, “my good girl” he whispers into the top of your head just as you drift off to sleep.

-

The soft glow of sunlight coming through the dusty old curtains is the first thing to greet you upon awakening. You stretch out your limbs which are sore from last night and try to roll over but find that you can’t due to the strong arm that Bill has wrapped around your torso.

Bill softly snores and you peer up at his face over your shoulder, his features even more beautiful in the glow of the morning sunshine. His skin has a pretty sheen to it, the freckles on his arms and face stand out against his pale skin.

Carefully so as not to awaken him, you slip out from under his arm. As you stand up you almost lose your balance and have to hold on to the edge of the bed to steady yourself. You notice Bill's shirt from the previous day abandoned on the floor so you pick it up and pull it on buttoning it up before shuffling out the door.

You head to the restroom and then start to make your way down to the kitchen, the trip taking almost twice as long as usual due to your aching muscles.

Finally, you get to the kitchen which is empty, you make yourself breakfast before sitting down. After a few minutes, you hear the floorboards creak signalling that someone is approaching the kitchen. The door creaks open and you are greeted by Sirius who is grinning from ear to ear, “morning love, wasn’t expecting to see you today”

You roll your eyes and finish your breakfast. You slowly stand up and make your way to the sink with your dishes, you lean against the counter after ridding yourself of them. “Soooo” begins Sirius, “how was it?” He leans against a nearby wall and takes a sip of his coffee waiting for your answer.

“Good” you respond not giving anything away

Sirius looks you up and down before putting his mug down and crossing the room to stand between your legs, he’s so close that you can feel his breath upon your cheek. You close your eyes as he brushes a strand of hair away from your face, you feel him shift away from you and as you open them again you find him softly smiling at you his eyes have a mischievous twinkle.

Sirius walks back towards the door pausing before turning back towards you. “I have a present for you” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle, he throws it to you, you catch it. It’s a bottle of pain-relieving potion. He winks at you before leaving the room.

Tags: @crystal-dee @fredweasleylittleslut @padf00ts-l0ver @divanca2006

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[fallencrowns]

Whiplash he had called it in their argument. How quick Albus was to retreat from him at the first sign of discomfort. Now it was the same sensation but for the polar opposite reason. He was STAYING and willing to listen albeit hesitantly. There was no quick retreat nor an utter dismissal of the conversation when it started to take a turn. Here he was, putting himself on full display as his raw self. Not the charming professor nor the wizard that many dark wizards FEARED. It was a new sight altogether and one that he enjoyed. A side few would ever see and meant entirely for him just as he had wanted. No games or falsities, as much as he liked them from time to time. Salazar hadn’t expected approaching the subject so BLUNTLY and almost cornering the man to have any favourable results and here they were.

Two very broken men standing before each other and both trying to sort out their feelings. While his exterior showed calmness, there were still the nerves that anyone faced when making a first confession. The racing of a heart, waiting for denial. The thoughts that perhaps all of this was WRONG. Wrong for allowing the other to be led to himself, a dark and most dangerous wizard. Wrong in the fact that perhaps he was betraying his wife even if he did know better as it had been centuries. So much hidden behind a rather stoic expression though his eyes—— both mourning and adoration rested there. 

Mourning for both of them and adoration towards the other. A mixture of both sadness, vulnerability, and a sort of WARMTH rarely displayed. Even when he laughed with the other professors, there was often a coldness to his eyes. Keeping them at a distance himself despite his intermingling for appearances sake. 

There was the apologizing in. He scoffed, as if they hadn’t been over the encounter several times already. It wasn’t as if he were bringing it up to throw it in his face, merely stating that he had already performed acts of CARE already.  ❝  You needn’t keep apologizing about it, Albus. If I were truly upset by it, I would have thrown you out the door by now. We both misunderstood each other and we’ve already discussed my nature to PUSH others.  ❞  Though he had done so this time with rather good intentions though perhaps a bit SELFISH as well. He hadn’t brought up the argument again to shame the man but merely to show he was already ready to assist the man. Even if it did have a potential fallout from both their guarded natures.

It still wouldn’t be an easy relationship and surely both knew that. With both of them coming from grief and not really knowing HOW to let others end, Salazar had no doubts there would be more similar nights. Where albus might try to push him away for his own security and he might push back but he’d already proven that was not enough to deter him. So long as it wasn’t every time, of course, but it was hardly his first difficult relationship. While not romantic, he and Godric had certainly had their fair share of arguments long before the issue of the Muggleborns had come into play. Both houses could be quite STUBBORN, much like their namesakes. And Albus did possess many of the same qualities though perhaps not as much ego as the original had had nor how quick he had been to jump into battle.

Perhaps Albus had been that way in his youth, however, and dealing with Grindelwald had merely shifted his course and personality.

The other wizard was his. Salazar gave a small bow of his head in acknowledgement of how quick he was to claim the battle. Although he found the reasonings foolish.   ❝  There are still others that can assist you. I doubt Grindelwald would have turned out much different without you so you’re not the one to solely take the blame. But I’ll be here up until that day and rest assured that if you have to step away during the school year to prepare yourself, she is still guarded by my hand. Hogwarts is dear to you and I don’t doubt one of his lowly followers would use it to strike against you.  ❞  Both a warning and advise. Plenty would help him if he asked, Salazar did not doubt that for a second. But there were plenty that might move against him and what he held dear just for the sake of gaining FAVOUR with Grindelwald. But Salazar would have no problem standing against such acts.

❝  You’re also welcome to go against me to practice. I’m quite capable of holding myself if you use your full force. And don’t worry—— I’ll go EASY on you.  ❞  There it was again, a subtle tease towards Albus and a brief smirk though it was quick to fade away given the rest of the conversation. Well, he already subdued the might of his power every day, he knew how to control it and HIDE the full extent during battle. But it would make good practice so long as they could find a place where others wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. Certainly not on school grounds. 

And then came the ultimate question and one that had Salazar in silence for some time. Fingers tapping on the desk, eyes on the woodwork as he thought. Of course he did, he wouldn’t bring all of it up and continue to encourage it only to throw away the man at the last possible second. That would be CRUEL, too cruel for even his liking. But that was hardly the problem. Lips pursed, having been giving a last second out. Perhaps a chance to SPARE the other from any potential heartbreak later down the road. While it wasn’t guaranteed, it was almost a certainty that they would not live happily FOREVER. Certainly not Albus who still lived a mortal life and not one that he could fix any longer.

There were many possibilities but Salazar had never been a Seer. That had always been more of Rowena’s gifts and something he often wondered about. Unfortunately, it was a trait most were born with and he had certainly not inherited the gift, but in situations like this, it would be most useful. To know if it would be worth it and how it might END. 

❝  I do, yes,  ❞  he finally answered once the silence had gone on for too long.  ❝  You certainly haven’t frightened me away, I’m quite the hard man to do that to. But—— but you must be aware that it will change quite a lot. I won’t be so quick to back down if you push me away, I won’t be easy to shake. There isn’t going to just be—— RUNNING from me any longer once you begin to feel vulnerable. Because know I will chase you down to comfort you and offer my assistance. You won’t be used to it and it will be a difficult change for you.  ❞  Allow him to fully understand the situation, now leaving the choice ultimately in Albus’ hands. Salazar wasn’t the one in need of CONVINCING, not when he had certain spent some time drawing him in while the other wizard always tried to shy away.

Another pause before he straightened back up though kept one hand on the desk for his own support should it all fall through at the last possible moment.  ❝  Would you like time to sleep on it, Albus? I won’t take it to heart, you’ve had a most unfortunate experience in this area before. But rest assured, whatever direction you want to take this, I’ll follow. If you wish to hide it away. I will keep at least MOSTLY to the dark. Or if you wish others to know, that’s fine as well. Or—— if you wish to wash your hands of this entirely, I’ll act as though it never happened.  ❞  

( @fallencrowns - continued from xoxo )

Albus went quiet, mulling over Ophiucus' words. Try as Albus might to close himself off entirely, sometimes it simply was not possible. How could he possibly ignore feelings of loss when he himself had lost a great deal as well? He hadn't given Ophiucus much information pertaining to his own blood family, but Ariana was dead and Aberforth? Well, their relations were so strained these days that both might as well be dead to the other. It was a blood tie Albus was clinging to by a hair upon his head. He had a feeling that if Aurelius wasn't alive and well ( or so he hoped ), Aberforth probably wouldn't talk to him at all. But they needed each other if they hoped to get the boy back alive. It was just another part of Albus' mess that he didn't want to involve anyone in, least of all a man who seemed to have everything going for him now.

He guessed there was some comfort to be had in the knowledge that Corvinus had difficulties forming deep connections. It should have been obvious due to the way he still wore his rings, but Albus was learning not to make too many assumptions about people. Many of his assumptions about Corvinus had been wrong so the odds of being wrong again had been far too great. At any rate, maybe it was safe to assume at least one thing: that Corvinus didn't take relationships lightly. That much seemed to be clear given his own behavior.

There was a long silence that ensued as Albus remained rooted at the door. His hand kept itching to reach for the knob but this wasn't exactly a conversation that could be dropped. Even if he walked out this door tonight, he would need to give Corvinus an answer sooner or later. The feelings weren't going to magically go away and unlike the other male, Albus was terrible at hiding his own attraction. Add to it the fact that Corvinus didn't care at all what others thought and well, this wasn't going to go well if left up in the air --- at least for Albus. Corvinus didn't like throwing in the towel while Albus had no real excuses for rejecting him. He wanted him to, but was the cost worth it?

Albus was ripped from his own thoughts by the sound of his voice. Sinead. What a lovely name. It wasn't all too shocking to hear he could not recall her face. Albus knew all too well how grief can muddle the mind. Sometimes he couldn't recall his mother's face either. Or his father's for that matter. And Ariana's? In time her face would probably start to fade but for now, he was still haunted by it. Or at least the expression on her face while she 'slept' dead in his arms. Regardless, it was but another thing they had in common: grief. Half of a soul apiece since they both shared grievous losses. But the thing he hadn't really thought of was how two halves could make a whole. This… revelation was enough to make Albus slowly turn and look at him. The irony of this night was blowing his mind right now. How quickly things had changed from one hour to the next. He went from being quite eager to escape to discovering that there was another half in this room waiting for something or someone to complete it. Fate was a fickle, funny tool and he had to wonder if this was yet another example of it. Even so, Corvinus struck a chord within him keeping him rooted in place. He may yet win the night for once.

Or perhaps he already had. God it was so unlike Albus to say such things; reveal his feelings so openly and through words. His love language was gestures --- tiny gifts and actions that alluded he cared. Not… this. Not putting himself out there with words that could haunt him someday. Yet he had bared his soul for the other just now, revealing the things that frightened such a 'great', powerful wizard. He shuddered to think what the world would think if they had heard such things just now. The very idea of anyone hearing this…

But he swallowed the pride. Swallowed it and stood there, owning the moment. He had to because tomorrow? He couldn't promise he would be this brave on the morrow and as Corvinus spoke, he was taken back to all the times they had spoke in private, recalling some of the subtle gestures that were not what they seemed at the time. Indeed Corvinus had offered to assist on more than one occasion although that last time had startled Albus. Already paranoid beyond reason, Albus had lashed out, attempting to push Corvinus away for good.

"I'm… sorry." And he truly was although he had to wonder if he would have allowed Corvinus to help if he knew what he knew now. Maybe… maybe not. Anything involving Gellert was a touchy subject and a burden Albus felt was his own. But it would seem even then, Corvinus had other intentions. Either Albus was too blind to see it or was in denial even then. Maybe a bit of both. Regardless, he knew going forward that this wasn't just an act to get close to him. Corvinus really did want something more. Just not what Albus initially thought.

The offer was extended once again to be of aid and while Albus wasn't going to take him up on it right away, he wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it either. He also made a point to note that regardless of what was decided here tonight, it wouldn't change his offer to help. That made Albus feel good --- simply knowing someone was in his corner --- but… so much had been said already. Did Albus have the heart any longer to reject him, especially after all of this?

Let go. LET GO. Easier said than done. Even now as Albus closed his eyes, he felt his body tremble at the idea of letting himself feel all of it. Oh how nice it would be to just lean in and let it all in. But who would catch him should he fall? Would he? …There was only one way to truly know for certain. He just wondered if he was truly prepared to go against everything his head was telling him right now.

There was a condition here --- one that was more than fair. The pessimist part of him was a little wary that a guy like him could easily sit back and watch the world burn if it came to it. That was another one of those red flags Albus' paranoid mind kept throwing at the forefront. On the other hand, regardless of those 'flags', Albus never had any intention of involving anyone. Newt had been a necessary evil as well as Theseus. He needed those guys for their current posistions, but outside of those two, this war was Albus' own to win or lose. He helped Gellert come to power when he helped him get that wand. Now it was Albus' job to end it whether he wanted to or not.

"Gellert is mine." And perhaps he said it a little too possessively, but it wasn't meant in the manner one might think. For all of Albus' power, there was only one way to test his growth. If he was to truly see who was the more powerful wizard, he had to face Gellert alone. "I need to fight him to know where I stand. If I die, I die, but I have to know. I helped make this mess. As much as I hate the Ministry's meddling, it really is my mess to clean. You have my word that you won't be forced to fight. I'll do it myself. That was always my plan anyhow."

And so now all that was left was to make a decision on where they stood. Albus was still on the fence about everything, but in all likelihood, he always would be. It would take time and plenty of it for him to fully lean into the idea that he could be happy with another man again. So what was Corvinus thinking now? After all that was said and done, did he still want this?

Albus hesitated to speak any further but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest until some of this was resolved. And so the legs that still felt like weights were holding him down, fully turned and slowly walked towards the desk, pulse pounding with every step taken. He stopped just shy a foot from the desk looking down at the man. He licked his lips before pushing himself to bring this talk to a resolution.

"Is this still what you want? After all that's been said tonight. . . Do you still…want this? Want me, Ophiucus? Because if so..." God this was hard, but he spit the words out even if he was trembling as he said them. "I...could be yours." He took a breath. "That is to say... I will be yours."

[ironwoman359]

The familiar stone gargoyle stands before you, and you cannot help the way your mind drifts back to the first time you saw it. You were so different then, a young, bright-eyed thing enraptured by the world around you. You wonder if you’ll ever regain that sense of wonder, after everything that’s happened, but you shake yourself. You did not come here to reminisce, not this time. 

You walk forward and the gargoyle steps aside; you have never needed a password to enter here. You climb the spiraling stone stairs and enter a space so familiar you could navigate it blindfolded. Portraits peer down at you curiously as you walk towards the claw-footed desk in the center of the stone room, and when the man sitting there peers up at you over the rims of half-moon glasses, he is smiling. 

“Ah, you’re back again,” he says, putting down his quill.  

“Hello, Albus,” you say evenly, and his eyes twinkle with a smile. 

“Hello, hello, come in and sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?” 

You shake your head, and he raises an eyebrow. 

“Something stronger, then? I forget sometimes, how much you’ve grown.”

The words are truer than he can possibly know, and they remind you why you’ve come back here again, after all this time. 

“I won’t be staying long,” you say, and he nods. 

“Of course, of course. You’ve better things to be doing than linger here and listen to an old fool ramble, you’ve your adventure to relive.” 

He gestures to the door behind him, but you shake your head. 

“I’m not here to relive anything,” you say, and he frowns. 

“Then what–” 

“You know, I remember the first time we spoke,” you interrupt, and surprise flickers across his face. “You seemed so wise then, almost all-knowing. And I trusted you. That first time, and so many times after, I trusted you. The greater good, that justified everything, didn’t it?”

He opens his mouth, but you continue before he can get a word out.

“I was wrong.” 

He blinks, surprised. 

“Part of me is embarrassed,” you continue. “But then again, I was only a child myself, playing at being wise.” You shake your head. “It took far too long for me to see the truth. But I see it now, and that’s what matters.” 

“The truth?” he asks, cautious, and you fix him with a cold look. 

“I don’t need to play by your rules. I never have. And I fully intend to never do so again.”

He rises from his desk, a frown on his face. 

“I know that the steps we must take can seem daunting at times,” he says. “To fight against suffering with what appears to be more cruelty, it hardly makes sense. But sometimes a sacrifice–” 

“Your speeches don’t work on me anymore,” you interrupt again, taking a step forward. “Once they did, when I was yet another child who looked at you and thought you could hang the moon in the sky. But I am no longer a child, and the stars left my eyes a long time ago.” 

You take another step forward and he steps back, giving you a surge of confidence. 

“Things are going to be different this time,” you say. “This time, a boy will grow up with his godfather, loved and cared for and cherished. This time, frightened children and broken adults won’t be pieces in a game that they don’t even know they’re playing. This time, a child will not be raised to be cannon fodder in a war he did not ask for, and this time, if it does come time to make a sacrifice, it will be his choice and nobody else’s.” 

Dumbledore stares at you, dumbfounded, and you know the sight of him so surprised should not make you as happy as it does, but you decide that you are allowed this small moment of triumph. 

“You are not in control here,” you tell him plainly. “This time, a muggle born who casts spells better than anyone else their age will be a boy’s first clue that perhaps not everything his father says is true. This time, Slytherins will fight alongside their brethren, because Hogwarts is their home too. This time, a half-giant will be allowed to continue to learn and a werewolf will be allowed to continue to teach. This time a little girl with magic in her fingertips will help a man see that his father, too, was wrong for all those years, and he’ll ring up his cousin and ask if he wants to go for a pint. This time, it’s going to be different.” 

You turn to leave, but glance back one last time before you go. 

"This is my world now,” you say plainly. “In fact, it always has been. I have the power to create something more rich and meaningful than anything that your way could ever have hoped to achieve, and I can do it all on my own.” You look him straight in the eye, and utter the last words that you’ll ever speak to him. 

“I don’t need you anymore.”

There’s a pang in your chest as the world falls away...some small part of you that wishes things could have stayed the same forever. But Dumbledore himself had been the one to tell you that it did not do to dwell on dreams. You took a step forward, and a smile spread across your face. 

Now. It was time to live. 

[ilikefandom]

A Death at the Shack

Request: An Anon requested: Can I request a sev x wife reader? But it’s okay if u don’t want <33.

Genre: Angst!!!!!!

Synopsis: (Y/n) needs to save her husband’s life during the battle of Hogwarts

Pairing: Severus Snape x Fem reader

Warnings: Voldemort, Death, Threats of Violence, Possible Death of a Canon Character.

Author’s Note: Not all requests will get answered this quickly! I just have the day off and the time to write this. Please send in requests! I work better when I have people to please!

The sounds of battle echoed through the hallways as (Y/n) ran. Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts and the Arithmancy professor was scared, not just for her students, but for the headmaster as well. 

After hiding her relationship and then her marriage from the majority of Hogwarts staff and students, (Y/n) was terrified. While she had to hide from people she liked and respected, she was never in any real danger for her life. Severus, however, had to keep his relationship from the friendly people at work and from one of the darkest wizards of all time, Lord Voldemort. 

She made her way through the Great Hall, dodging spells from both friend and foe, shoving her shoulder into a death eater before dashing outside of the castle. She saw a dark figure make its way across the grass with a familiar flowing set of robes. Robes she had purchased for Severus’ birthday.

Down the stairs she went, glad for the dark robes that blended her into the shadow of the castle. She jogged lightly, tired from the journey from the castle, but still full of adrenaline. (Y/n) saw three more figures appear from the corner of her eye, the trio of Gryfindors that her husband liked to give trouble to. 

Suddenly frightened for the minors she turned the other way and ran to intercept them, catching hold of Hermione’s shoulder as she reached them. 

Hermione yelped and all of them drew their wands pointing them at the woman in front of them.

“Professor (Y/L/N)?” Hermione asked.

(Y/n) nodded, but motioned for all of them to be quiet. “Yes, Hermione. Do you three realize where you’re going? You’ll walk right into his trap!”

Harry shook his head, “His name is Voldemort, no need to say it any differently.”

(Y/n) shook her head, “I do Mr. Potter, I do. If only for the sole reason of keeping my family safe I do.”

Ron gave her a sideways glance. “Your family? But why would you need to protect them now when Voldemort is going to be defeated soon?”

(Y/n) gave a half-hearted smile. She stared at the Shrieking Shack for a few seconds before commenting, “My husband plays both sides of the line children. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice your beliefs to keep those you love safe.”

She turned back to the group of teenagers in front of her and looked into Harry’s eyes. They really were just like Lily’s. (Y/n) gave a small smile as she thought back to her Hogwarts years, three years younger than Potter’s gang; they never paid her much mind. That was until she started telling them off for picking on Snape. When she was twelve she remembered distinctly giving James and Sirius a shrill tongue lashing for using leveracorpus on Severus. Fun times yelling at the two of them with Lily that would never occur again.

(Y/n) took a deep breath before picking up her pace toward Hogsmeade. Turning around only slightly to look back at her students. “Well,” she asked, tilting her head to the side a bit, “aren’t you coming?”

Harry hurried to keep stride with the professor as all of them raced down the path. (Y/n) listened for death eaters in the bushes, behind them and in between the trees. Making sure that they wouldn’t get caught before getting to their desired destination. 

As soon as they reached the shack, (Y/n) gestured for the group of teens to stay outside as she ventured in. The creaking of the stairs quieted by a quick spell from her wand. 

She gathered all of her nerve and made her way to the closed door that led to her partner and his previous master. Frightened about what she might hear from the latter man.

“You have performed extraordinary magic with this wand, My Lord,” Severus was saying, “in the last few hours alone.” As always, (Y/n) lover had to play devil’s advocate, keeping Voldemort at bay and protecting all that stood behind him.

“No,” the dark warlock replied, trailing his gaze away from the spy and out one of the unboarded windows, “no, I am extraordinary, but the wand resists me.” 

He quickly rounded on Severus causing (Y/n) to almost jump. She put the pieces together quickly, the evil man meant to kill her husband.

“There is no wand more powerful.” Severus stated, calm as ever in the face of danger. “Olivander himself has said it.”

The potions master caught a glimpse of movement behind Voldemort. He caught a brief shine from the hem of his wife’s signature gold and silver trimmed robes through the crack of the door and the breath hitched in his throat. Quickly, he commented, “Tonight when the boy comes it will not fail you, I am sure of it.”

After a pause, Severus, desperate to keep Voldemort’s attention away from the door behind him, looked the Dark Lord in the eye, “It answers to you, and you only.”

“Does it?” Voldemort asked, looking back into the black velvet of Severus’ eyes. 

Another pause, the tension building in  and thickening as if it was smoke over a growing fire. “My Lord,” Severus said, his voice wavering a bit as the door swung open, silently, fear crashing over him like a tsunami, after catching his wife’s gaze. 

 “The wand, does it truly answer to me? You’re a clever man Severus.” Voldemort said as he made his way around Snape, (Y/n) ducked behind the door, back against the wall outside. She spotted the golden trio crouching down the hall and she clutched at her chest in fright.

“Surely you must know. Where does its true loyalty lie?”

“With you.” Severus replied, his voice strong again, but his mind jittery with fright, as his back was to the door behind where his precious one hid. “Of course, my Lord.”

“The elder wand,” the Dark Lord stated, “cannot serve me properly because I am not its true master. The elder wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner.” Voldemort turned his back again to (Y/n) and she opened the door again, this time slipping into the room behind Voldemort. 

“You killed Dumbledore, Severus.” The evil wizard spoke, and (Y/n) readied her wand. “While you live, the elder wand cannot truly be mine. You’ve been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but, only I can live…”

He was cut off by (Y/n)’s silent stunning spell. Voldemort rounded on the younger witch who dove out of his line of fire, rolling to the ground. “Death is not the only manner of defeat, sir.” She said as soon as she was on her feet again.

Voldemort’s interest was piqued at this comment. “You speak of defeat, girl.” He said giving (Y/n) one of the creepiest smiles she had ever seen. 

“All I am trying to say,” (Y/n) stated, “Is that Severus didn’t make the first move, he wasn’t the one who subdued Albus Dumbledore.”

Voldemort chuckled, a high frightening laugh that echoed through the shack. “The Malfoy boy? You cannot possibly be telling me that he is the master of the elder wand! Severus killed Dumbledore, so...” 

(Y/n) smiled, “Then how come Dumbledore managed to master the elder wand without killing Grindelwald? Isn’t he still imprisoned in Nurmengard?”

“You have spirit, girl,” Voldemort spat, “I can accept that. Giving up a student to save Severus, if I didn’t know better, I’d…” Voldemort froze. “Ah Severus, you didn’t tell me you snagged yourself a bride. How, disappointing.”

“My Lord,” Severus spoke up, “My Lord please I…”

“Betrayal and disloyalty,” Voldemort scoffed, I’ll teach you to defy me! Avada Kedavra.”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard the spell, a body slump to the floor, and then the signature crack of disaperation. Hermione bolted to the door and thrust it open. Severus Snape was sitting on the floor, large tears spilling down his face cradling Professor (Y/l/n)’s head in his lap.

As the tears fell, he looked at the trio, “Take it,” he said gesturing at the tears, “take them.”

Hermione pressed a glass vial into Harry’s hands and he took the memories from Snape’s cheeks. “You really do have your mother’s eyes.” He said, allowing himself a small smile before clutching once again at his love’s body. 

Ron tugged on Harry and Hermione’s sleeves, “Let’s go, before Malfoy suffers the same!”

They all turned back to the door and vacated the Shack. Allowing their professor to grieve, once again, over the body of a woman he loved, a woman killed by Lord Voldemort.

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

Because, it's you and me

Prompt- dancing with each other | ANGST | HURT COMFORT ( mostly hurt ) | TW- death | "When the time comes, you have to let go and when you let go, know you're not alone, because it's you and me" | lyrics used- nothing by Bruno Mars

I've written plenty marriage related danced and recently wrote a masquerade dance. I promise this will be the last dance prompt I write for a while. Here's something entirely different. I am slightly proud of this.

" hey love, I've picked up the groceries like you said, let me know if there's something you need. Love you" beep beep....

" uncle harry ?"

Harry aligned on the chair better as he saw teddy walk in with a little bag.

" how are you doing Today ?" He asked cheerfully as he sat down in front of harry on the chair preserves for him

"you ask this everyday and I'm doing fine teddy " harry chuckled huskily

" well as your very beloved godson, I have the right to ask" teddy smiled as he adjusted the radio set and put on the new tape.

" you're more than just my godson teddy and you know that " harry groaned as he picked up his legs and with much effort put them over the little stool

" I know, uncle harry " teddy smiled and he finally pulled out the paperworks

" you know we can do this anyday- I mean there's no rush " teddy awkwardly said as he strange fear settled into his heart

" I know dear. But it's about time I did this " harry smiled. Sadly yet willingly teddy took out his pens and the papers, reading out to harry, taking suggestions and making harry sign the same.

" you'll visit right ?" Harry gauntingly asked

" uncle harry- don't say that " teddy sadly frowned

" will you ?" Harry persisted

Teddy sighed, leaning down to press a kiss on Harry's forehead " of course. And I know Albus and scorpius will too" teddy assured cupping his face

" you remind me a lot of your father teddy. I miss him, even after all this time" harry sighed

" you are like my dad uncle harry, I might've never known my dad but you've been my dad and I wouldn't switch it for the world- well I mean I would've liked to know him but you know what I mean. You were the closest thing to a family for me and I don't regret it "

Harry smiled " we've raised you right"

" without a doubt "

" shall I leave the song on then ?" Teddy finally asked as his time' came to leave

" leave it on " harry rested his head against the arm chair closing his eyes and falling into little world of his memories.

" harry- come on- hey- look at me- look in my eyes and Just let your body flow " draco chuckled

" but if I look at you, then my legs wouldn't work fine. Coordination would be absurd draco. What kind of shit advice is that " harry rolled his eyes, still staring at his feets

" trust me harry. Just look at me and you'll be fine. Everything will be fine harry. It's you and me " draco smiled fondly. Harry sighed as he looked into draco's eyes and let his body flow to the music as they danced away.

" see, it's that easy. It's always easy-"

" because it's you and me " harry completed his sentence. Draco smiled at him, pressing a small kiss over his lips.

" because it's you and me " draco repeated, and he twirled harry around, breaking into little laughter in their own little paradise.

________________________________

" the blood sugar is considerably better, other reports also seem fine of course. Its mostly a fit report. Any problems and you know you have to report me immediately " the doctor smiled

" that's good then " harry struggled shifting backwards into the chair

" how long do you say ?"harry asked

" I- we can't predict that. But if this is how things are going to be, another 6 months maybe " she smiled sadly

Harry nodded, finally standing up, getting hold of his walking stick and letting himself out after bidding goodbye.

Like every other day, harry picked up some fruits from the market, visited Ron and Hermione, laughing at some old memories, going back home, reading the newspaper, cooking for himself, taking a shower, reading for another hour, sleeping for longer duration and finally would arrive evening that he'd spend away listening to old songs, checking his health, watching TV, making dinner for himself, and then go to bed.

Like every night, harry laid on the bed, wide eyed, picking up his phone and scrolling through until he Landed upon just the ones.

" honey, can you bring the monstera plant from the nursery, ours unfortunately died. love you" beep

" hey, love, I've told Albus and scorpius you're running a bit late, but try to reach here faster, if you can, we don't wanna upset them. Love you "

" hey love, I've picked up the groceries like you said, let me know if you need something. Love you "

" is- is this Working- oh it is. Hey, Darling, where the hell even are you ? It's our fucking anniversary and I maybe old but I'd still chop your penis off if- oh never mind, there you are. Wow you look still not a day old, still elegant as ever. Anyways- who you're talking to draco- love you, harry " beep

Beep... Beep..

Harry allowed a little tear to trickle down his face, playing with the ring on his finger as he remembered old days of his life passing away . He wouldn't change it for the world. He'd had everything he needed, and now he was done. He'd lived to see another day everyday, but now he just waited for another day where he won't be.

" Track suits and red wine " harry Sang lowly to himself just like they used to before

"Movies for two"

" We'll take off our phones "

" And we'll turn off our shoes "

He breathed heavily as he wiped off a single tear, still humming

" We're not making out"

"On a boat in the rain"

" Or in a house I've painted blue "

And slowly and slowly it faded until his eyes closed.

" hi harry " he whispered as he appeared in White

" d- draco- what- what are you doing here ?" Harry frowned

" it's time, babe, it has come. I'll be waiting " and he faded into the whites again with his own preserved little smile only for harry and that little dream came to an end, just like a breath.

________________________________

" yo- I can't believe you bought his radio" victoria sobbed as she leaned over his husband's shoulder, teddy.

" I know he'll need it " teddy sobbed lightly, placing it over the little engraved stones.

Scorpius broke into sobs as he hugged Albus, violently" I can't- "

" it's going to be alright " Albus replied heavily

" shall I ?" Teddy asked everyone as he sniffled wiping away his own tears with a handkerchief, getting hold of his wife's hand.

" Who needs stars?

We've got a roof

But there's nothing

Like doing nothing

With you "

The radio faded, the voice slightly branching into little audio of harry and draco of them talking and giggling from the day of their children's weddings.

" I can't believe he bought this " harry whispered, holding draco's hands.

" I can't believe you didn't know he'll bring it " Draco chuckled as they watched their kids, holding hands with each other's and placing flowers.

" we've raised them right, haven't we ?" Harry smiled fondly at draco

" we have " draco smiled

" do you think they'll be alright ?" Harry asked , slightly worried for their kids.

" I think they'll be fine " draco smiled.

They sat their for Long hours watching their kids, sitting their ideally crying In their memories, sometimes even cracking little jokes, sharing memories until the night came in and they all slowly reluctantly started leaving.

" but there's nothing" draco hummed as he danced away on top of stones with harry

" like doing nothing " harry hummed doing the same

" with you "they hummed collectively as the song finally ended and teddy packed the radio up.

" we'll miss you. You're finally with draco. Rest in peace uncle harry. To the moon and back.. " teddy whispered and with a single large tear, he walked away.

" it's finally you and me " draco whispered when everything finally went silent.

" it'll be fine " draco reassured

" because it's you and me "

" because it's you and me " and they cherished in a little kiss.

I really hope you liked this. Thank you for the incredible support In the last few days..

Requests open

Day 47- stupid Teenage crush | Day 49- 5 times Harry was a pain in the ass until he wasn't

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Grand Gestures

Request: A request for my love, George Weasley! Post-war (Fred is alive obvs) and all is good and well, and they've been ignoring their feelings for one another for so long and now, because George almost lost Fred and he's tired of ignoring how he feels so he shows up where she works, and just says he's in love with her and is fed up with waiting for them to pull their heads out of their asses! Extra fluff please?? You're the best Millie 💛💛💛 - @dreamer821

A/N: JJ! Thank you so much for requesting, and for trusting me with your idea! I truly hope I’ve done it justice! This is a load of fluff - just some good old fluff, because why shouldn't George get that? I’m also 12 followers away from 1000 followers!!!!! which is insane!!! I have a big celebration planned so let's get there! As always, I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Warnings: mentions of war and some swearing BUT THE FLUFF IS SO CUTE.

Word count: 2.2k

The Daily Prophet had a reputation within the wizarding world; it was known globally for its hard-hitting expos on the highest wizards in power across the globe. It had been particularly damning towards Albus Dumbledore upon his fall from grace with the rise of the Dark Lord yet backtracked on their view of the Headmaster upon his death.

You had started work at the publication six months after completing your eighth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Second Wizarding War had disturbed your final year of education. But the defeat of the Dark Lord allowed you to go back to Hogwarts to receive your NEWTs.

The war had taken so much from you; you had lost friends and family members through the Battle of Hogwarts. Memories of the events were burned into your brain; they couldn’t be avoided in the late hours of the night when your tears would fall silently down your face.

However, whilst the war had taken so much from you, it had brought you closer to your oldest friend George Weasley.

Growing up in the next village from Ottery St. Catchpole, the Weasley family were the closest wizarding family to yours other than the Diggory’s. You spent most weekends at The Burrow being spoiled rotten by Molly Weasley. Your parents worked so often; they felt awful for leaving you so much but as you grew older, you reassured them that you really didn’t mind spending time with the Weasley family.

The more time you spent at The Burrow; the more attached you grew to the twins. Being the same age as them, you fell into an easy friendship with them – playing pranks on their elder brothers, practicing Quidditch in the meadow behind their home. The friendship with the twins was something you treasured, and it followed you to Hogwarts where you were sorted into the same house.

Fred and George shouted the loudest when the Sorting Hat cried out Gryffindor after being placed on your head. Your grin matched theirs when you sat down across from them at the table. Charlie patting your shoulder in celebration as you sat next to him.

Your time at Hogwarts was defined by three things; your academic skills, the rising tension about the rebirth of the Dark Lord, and your love for George Weasley.

You consistently came at the top of your class in every subject; spending hours in the library, working on essays and revising topics you could recite like the back of your hand. George lost count how many times he had dragged you out of the library after curfew; after you had promised him just one more hour of studying.

Falling in love with George Weasley was the next natural step in your relationship. Your heart started to race every time he smiled in your direction; feeling your face heat slightly at any attention he gave you. Your skin felt overheated each time he would grab your hand out of the blue; knocking the breath out of you when he did.

Every day you told yourself you’d tell him; you’d confess what you had felt for so long.

Then the war came.

----------

Upon seeing him alive, standing in the Great Hall, covered in dust but his eyes still the brown you had come to love, you had thrown yourself into his arms.

He met you halfway; his arms wrapping tightly around you as he kept you pressed against.

“I thought…” You trail off, tears falling down your face.

George hushes you, “Not in a million years, love.”

You sniffle, your hands patting him down, checking for injuries. “Love, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

You nod rapidly, “I’m okay, not hurt, I just have some cuts and bruises.”

Something in George’s chest relaxes at that; relief flows through his body when your confirm that you’re okay. Through the entire battle, his mind was occupied with you – panicking over where you were and what was happening. Dread pooled in his stomach at the thought of you hurt.

He didn’t want the day to end without him having the chance to tell you how he feels about you.

But when he saw you running through the Great Hall to get to him; he wanted to tell you – wanted to tell you everything, but his mouth couldn’t find the words. So he settles for burying his face in your hair, inhaling the scent he had come to associate with love.

--------

It had been a year since the war ended, since Voldemort’s defeat and yet you hadn’t taken the chance that had been offered so many times.

When you joined him on his walks; the sun shining, his eyes brighter than the week before. There was a chance then to tell him.

When you found him in the kitchen in the Burrow at midnight, making enough hot chocolate for two because he knew you’d join him. In the silence, there was a chance then.

The war had brought you closer together; you started staying at the Burrow more. Molly only too happy to let you stay if it meant that George was starting to sleep through the night without waking from the nightmares of Fred’s near death experience. It had truly scarred George; the moment when he found him unconscious had been the darkest minutes of his life – he felt he had no direction; as if the very reason for his being on earth had been taken away. It had taken time for George to feel like he could let Fred out of his sight.

Chance after chance had presented itself to you, but you wanted to be in a place where you worried about your own mental health as well as his.

The war had been devastating, and whilst it had brought the two of you closer together, it had destroyed part of you that needed time to heal.

You were happy to be his shoulder to cry on when his thoughts got to be too much. For now, you were content with the walks and the midnight hot chocolates.

----------

George had had enough. He couldn’t keep his feelings from you any longer; he was close to combusting from what he felt for you.

Groaning, he lets his head fall onto the kitchen table. Fred laughs at the sight, “Still pining are we, Georgie?”

“I just don’t know how to say it, Freddie.”

“How about something grand?”

“What do you mean?”

“Put on a show, George! We’re the Weasley twins, we’ve never done anything that wasn’t a spectacle.”

George lifts his head from the table, “You’re right but what should I do?”

A smirk breaks out across his twin’s face. Fred has had this planned since he realised the romantic feelings between the two of you and the absolute obliviousness of the both of you.

--------

George fixes his patterned tie in a shop window across the road from the offices. He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead but it soon flops back over. He let it grow out after the war and hadn’t had the time to get it cut since. He takes a deep breath, smiling at himself in the window. He can do this, he tells himself.

The doors to the Daily Prophet are never closed; instead, running on revolving doors that journalists and photographers constantly run in and out of. George wonders mindlessly whether any of them get dizzy from running in and out all day, chasing leads and capturing photos.

He shrugs to himself, stepping into the road. His heart is in his mouth with every step he takes towards the doors. His hands shake slightly as he enters the seemingly plain office building, but his breath is always taken away by the ornateness of it once entered. It’s disguised as a simple red brick building for muggles, to keep them off the scent of witches and wizards, but entering the foyer to the building, George wonders if he’ll ever enter a place as grandly decorated.

As he stands in the lift, giving the number of your floor to the lift operator, his voice breaks. He blushes at the sound of it before repeating himself, clearing his throat first.

The lift goes too fast for his liking; the butterflies in his stomach turning into a full blown riot when the doors open to the familiar floor. He had brought you lunch here a thousand times, if not more. Eating at your desk as you worked on another story and George occupied himself by watching you work.

Thinking back on it, George wonders if you’ve realised that he’s in love with you and you haven’t said anything as to not let him down.

He shakes his head clear of that thought, getting off the elevator. He won’t talk himself out of this; not now, not when he has come this close and listened to Fred’s every word.

Your desk is situated to the back of the room; next to the large window that covers the expanse of the wall. It provides a beautiful view of muggle London, but George would argue that the most beautiful view in all of London is you. You’ve pushed your hair back from your face as you shuffle papers on your desk; you huff as a piece of hair falls into your eyes. You’ve rolled the sleeves of your blouse up, exposing the tattoo on your right forearm that you got in memoriam for the family you had lost in the war. It was one of George’s favourite things about you; you were happy to move on, to start living your life again, but you would not forget.

A large smile breaks over your face at the sight of George in your office. He visited so often but you were never bothered by the man you had fallen in love with as a teenager.

“George,” You call, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

He waves his hand in a nonchalant manner, “Oh… nothing, I was just in the neighbourhood.”

You glare playfully at the red-headed man, “I don’t believe you for one second, Weasley.”

George gasps, placing a hand on his heart, “You hurt me, (Y/N).”

“Oh hush,” You grin, “How can I help you today, George?”

George takes a deep breath, preparing himself, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I’m all ears. Anything for you, Georgie.”

He smiles at you softly; overcome with what he feels for you. He’s never loved anyone like this; he’s had crushes in the past but that’s all they were – simple, childish crushes. But this; this is it for him. You’re it for him; if he could propose marriage to you here and now, he would because he knows with every single fibre of his being that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

George swings himself up onto the desk in front of yours; he pauses for a second to see if the desk will take his weight. He smiles satisfied when the desk doesn’t collapse under him – that would definitely ruin his plans for what he has to say.

“What are you doing?” You shout, your hands reaching to pull him down.

George bends at the knee, lowering himself to be closer to your level, “I’m making a grand gesture, love.”

You frown up at him, taking a step closer in case he falls, “You’re what?”

“I’m making a grand gesture, are you ready?”

You look at him with a puzzled expression on your face, but curiosity burns through you. “As I’ll ever be. Show me your grand gesture, George.”

George stands to his full height, his eyes never leaving yours as he takes a deep breath.

Now or never.

“I love you!” George shouts, arms spread as wide as his smiles as he balances precariously on your neighbour’s desk.

You hold a piece of paper to your face to hide the large grin growing across your face at the sight of the man you had loved since you were a teenager declare his feelings for you in such a grand gesture.

Your shoulders shake from the effort of keeping your laughter repressed. This had Fred written all over it, but you knew that George would happily go along with it. It had the Weasley twins written all over it even if it wasn’t one of them declaring their love for you.

“What do you say, love? Do you love me back?” He asks, eyebrows raised, waiting for your answer.

You stay silent for a minute; making him wait. Eileen at the desk to the left of yours throws a ball of paper at your head, “Honey, if you don’t tell him you love him, I will.”

You start to laugh, “Yes, Georgie. I love you too.”

Relief washes over him; making his legs feel like jelly as he jumps down from the desk. The smile doesn’t leave his face once – not as he pulls you in, not as he tilts your face, and not as he finally, after so so long, presses his lips to yours.

“I’ve waited so long to tell you and so long to kiss you,” George whispers when he pulls away.

“I think I’ve waited just as long as you have,” You quip.

“Grand gestures, aye?”

You laugh, kissing him again. It’s a while before you reply, but when you do you’re whispering, “Thank Merlin for grand gestures.”

********

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George Weasley taglist: @susceptible-but-siriusexual

[britishboystm]

On the Quidditch Pitch | The Day We Met: A Fred Weasley Mini Series

Inspired by:

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, injuries, nasty falls, swearing, physical fighting, bullying

WC: 1.6k

Chapter Summary: Y/N joins the Gryffindor quidditch team in her second year at Hogwarts. As a result, a series of unfortunate events unfold at her first official match.

Series Masterlist

***

September 6th 1990

Madam Hooch had seen a great deal of potential in Y/N the second she stepped onto the Quidditch pitch in her first year. In fear of other teams preying on the small girl, Madam Hooch felt it necessary to keep her after class to train.

By second year Y/N was ready to be the best Gryffindor chaser Hogwarts had seen in decades. The moment the other Gryffindor players saw her walk towards them in sporting robes one afternoon practice, they all laughed, including the twins. This sparked something within her and it became Y/N’s mission to prove them all wrong.

Once everyone had taken position in the air, Y/N had gotten into her game headspace. By the end of practice, she had gotten ten quaffles through the tall hoops.

“Did you know about this?” George asked in bewilderment as he flew up beside his twin. Fred couldn’t keep his eyes off of the tiny chaser passing the keeper again and again. He was gobsmacked.

“No idea.” He responded in astonishment.

It was a week later that Y/N found herself standing alongside the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team at her very first official match. The small open space between the closed canvas curtains gave a tinge of brightness as the team waited in anticipation. Muffled screams and shouts of the hundreds of students in the crowd echoed throughout the pitch.

“You ready L/N?” Asked keeper and captain to be Oliver Wood.

The young girl looked up at the older brunette and smiled widely.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The drapes opened, allowing the sunlight from the outside world to fill the inclosed space. Y/N jerked back a bit and winced, attempting to adjust her eyes to the brightness.

She had almost missed the moment in which the rest of the team mounted their brooms, zipping on to the pitch.

She quickly caught up and followed as the team did a lap around the pitch. Nothing but grass, sky and the blurred collection of the Hogwarts student body were in sight.

Y/N let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding in and all of a sudden she felt as though she were on top of the world.

It was almost immediately that the Slytherin team brought into play their game plan; pick on Y/N. Being the newest, youngest and physically the smallest member of the Gryffindor team, she instantly became the easiest target. It was what Madam Hooch feared when she began training the young girl, but Y/N knew she couldn’t let a few green hooded bullies get to her.

She pushed and pushed and scored and scored. The cheers and chants of her names coming from the stands every time she advanced Gryffindor to victory was her fuel. Much to the Slytherin team’s chagrin.

“Get the little twerp!” Marcus Flint yelled. The three chasers of Slytherin all collectively nodded to the commands given and nosedived to where Y/N was. She didn’t initially notice them until one of them pulled up beside her and aggressively body checked her with his shoulder. She looked at the older boy in disgust, trying to lose him amongst the other players.

But she was too late.

A second chaser came up on her other side and did the exact same thing as the first. Y/N soon realized that she was being ambushed as she looked over her shoulder to see the third chaser right on her tail.

The three Slytherin’s forced Y/N down towards the grass below. She tried to shimmy her way out of the pack of bodies, but when she finally looked down to where she was going, a flash of white hit her, her stomach lurching forward in the process.

The tip of her broomstick had caught onto one of the sand patches, sending her flying forward off of her broom and skidding face first into the rough grains of sand.

The impact was enough to knock her out cold.

A collective gasp filled the pitch and the game stopped completely. Everything went silent.

Fred couldn’t help but worry as he witnessed his friend take the nasty tumble. When the cloud of dust around her finally settled and he saw her not moving, his worry grew exponentially. That was when Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey and a student assistant rushed onto the scene.

“Out of my way!” Madam Pomfrey yelled as she ran past the now grounded players towards Y/N’s motionless body.

Everyone watched as the three person medical team examined her injuries. A group of Gryffindor professors came trickling in with Madam Hooch, hoping for a positive report. Sure it was slightly biased since she was one of their own, but who could blame them?

From closer inspection it became evident that her face had been badly bruised and scratched, especially around the cheek area. Her left wrist laid awkwardly beneath her, clearly broken. And from a couple quick tests, it seemed that she also suffered a bad concussion.

“She needs to be taken to the hospital wing.” Madam Pomfrey said with concern.

Hagrid nodded and along with the student medical assistant, rushed away into the shadows of the pitch to then re-emerge with a cloth stretcher.

They gently placed her on it and with very little struggle brought it off the ground, walking off the pitch towards the hospital wing.

Fred didn’t really think before he dropped his broom and ran after the group of adults, slowing down when he finally found himself beside the moving stretcher.

“Y/N.” Was all he said before taking her small hand in his. She looked so peaceful for someone who had just gotten the life knocked out of them.

“Is she going to be okay?” He asked with concerned eyes as he looked to Madam Pomfrey.

“Yes but what she needs is rest.”

“I’m going with her.” He stated confidently.

“Sorry sunny, she won’t be allowed visitors for another few hours. Only after I’ve fully mended her wounds.” And with that they quickened their pace, leaving Fred behind.

“Sad to see your little girlfriend go Weasley?” Called out Pucey in a nasty joking tone.

Fred’s fists and jaw clenched and his temperature rose exponentially. The Slytherin’s had clearly planned this. To injure his friend who was just playing a good and fair game of Quidditch.

He finally turned around at the sound of the opposing team laughing.

“You greasy little git!” He yelled as he stormed towards Pucey, shoving him in the chest once he got close enough.

“Ooohh.” The team mocked, not really taking Fred Weasley seriously.

“So she is your little girlfriend. Maybe next time you see her you can tell her to leave the game to the big boys. Pipsqueak didn’t stand a cha-“

Fred punched him square in the jaw causing the Slytherin to fall to the ground in pain. The crowd erupted in cheers and hollers when Fred dove forward and pinned Pucey down, tackling him.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Filled the arena.

“Get him off!” Pucey yelped as Fred laid hit after hit. No one talked about Y/N that way, never. He didn’t understand why he had gotten so heated over the situation, but at that point he was in way too deep to even care.

Finally, George came in and pried his older twin off of the bloodied up Slytherin who was whimpering in agony. He had to before the collection of angered professors approaching them did.

“Fred stop!” George yelled as Fred thrashed, trying to push his brother away from going back in for another round.

“Stupid wanker! I’ll show him!” George finally moved in front of him.

“Fred, relax. Y/N wouldn’t want to see you like this. Pull yourself together mate.” Fred was still seeing red. George attempted to make eye contact but it was no use. Fred was too busy sending death glares to Pucey, his chest rising and falling rapidly and nostrils flared.

“Mr Weasley!” Professor McGonagall screeched. She ran up to him with Snape and Flitwick close behind her.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Professor he-“

“Apologies for interrupting you Mr Weasley but I believe I asked your brother the question.” George slinked back away from Fred, no longer able to protect him from the wrath of McGonagall.

“I hope you understand the severity of the situation. You will attend detention every day for an hour until Winter Break, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes professor.” He couldn’t make eye contact with her.

She looked at him with disappointed eyes.

“Fifty points from Gryffindor.” She said with a sigh before walking away.

“All students back to the castle!” She called out, causing everyone to disperse from the stands in disappointment.

Later that evening, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore stood in the doorway of the now darkened hospital wing. Hours had passed since the incident.

“He’s been here for hours Albus. Should I send him back to his dorm?” She whispered.

Dumbledore smiled lightly, a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Fred Weasley, still in his dirty quidditch robes, sat in a chair beside the hospital bed Y/N was sleeping in. He hadn’t gone back to his dorm to change or had eaten dinner in the great hall. He instead, paced in front of the hospital wing entrance until Madam Pomfrey finally let him in to see Y/N.

Fred was now hunched over and drifting in and out of sleep. His hand held Y/N’s, his thumb caressing the soft skin on top of them.

The two adults listened intently as Fred sleepily recounted his fight with Pucey to Y/N. He didn’t care if it fell on deaf ears. At least she was there.

“No Minerva. Leave him be.”

[professorsnape394]

The Potions Master’s Apprentice

Chapter Seven: Potions Lessons

A/N: This is the seventh part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-16 can be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below if you wish to be added to my tag list.

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)

Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Word Count: 2831

Warnings: n/a

Credits to Gif Creator

The orange glow emitting from the floating candles lit the room as the dark star lit sky twinkled above. A distant rumble of thunder filled the Great Hall as the row of Professors sat awaiting the students arrival. Professor Dumbledore sat positioned in the middle of the top table, hands clasped in front of him, a subtle smile resting on his ageing face. On either side of the Headmaster sat the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Slytherin House, while his granddaughter nervously clicking her heel under the table next to the former.

"Don't worry, my dear, you'll be a great professor." Minerva whispered to her colleague, clutching onto her hand.

With a simple double clap from the Headmaster the grand entrance to the hall slowly opened to reveal a clamorous horde of students; from all years and houses. Just as quick as he had summoned them, Dumbledore silenced the crowd immediately after everyone had found a seat. Moments later a small cluster of first year students rushed into the hall, their faces a sea of shock and amazement, almost all of them turning their heads to view the exposed sky above them.

Teachers sat patiently while the children were sorted into their respective houses, the rest of the students however quickly became rowdy, cheering for the students that became part of their house and jeering against those who weren't; particularly the young Slytherins. Aria shook her head disapproving at the clear separation of the student body, wondering why the professors allowed for the other houses to discriminate against the Slytherins.

"I wanted to apologise for last night." Minerva spoke in soft tones. "I was a little merry from all that wine and the excitement of being back at Hogwarts. I was out of line, I should know better than to provoke Severus."

"Don't worry about it Minerva" Aria whispered, reaching out to clasp her hand again, reassuringly. "It was kind of funny when you think back on it. Besides you never done anything wrong, Snape completely overreacted to the whole thing, I mean It was obvious it was meant to be a joke ."

The two witches exchanged a comforting smile and squeeze of the hand, before turning to enjoy the feast.

When everyone seemed full enough from the feast Albus rose to his feet, stepping out to a podium at the front of the hall. He started with the same old reminder to the first years that the dark forest was off limits as was the village of Hogsmeade to all students below their third year. Aria had almost begun to zone out when she was brought back to reality by a loud groan from the students as Dumbledore announced the Quidditch inter-house cup would be cancelled this year. Straight away Aria's attention was pulled to the red headed Weasley twins sitting off to the left of the hall, heckling the headmaster, devastated they would be missing out on playing there favourite sport. Aria chuckled to herself, glad to see the boys again.

The objections from the hall soon came to a halt, not by Dumbledore's upcoming announcement, but by a deep rumble of thunder filling the room, followed by the screams of students as a bolt of lightning pulsed through the sky. Another fork of lightening shot through the sky, illuminating the wounded disfigured face of a suspicious man who had just hobbled into the room. Aria could not take her eyes off the dark silhouette of the man, the only part of his body visible in the shadows was the large unnerving electric blue glass eye which shot about in his head aimlessly, the stark contrast of the fake eye only emphasised when his small black beady one was revealed in the candlelight. The man limped towards the Headmaster, every eye in the room on him.

"Perfect timing." Dumbledore grinned. "May I introduce to you, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody. And on that note I would like to also present, My granddaughter and your new Potions Assistant, Professor Aria Dumbledore." Aria stood for a second, smiling to the crowd and gave a small curtsy before once again taking her seat. Less than enthused by his introduction, Moody immediately took his seat at the end of the top table, allowing Professor Dumbledore to continue with his speech.

"As I was saying, the Quidditch inter-house cup will not be taking place this year due to Hogwarts having the honour of hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Dumbledore proceeded to explain the details and rules of the tournament before introducing the competing schools; Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The excitement among the students only picked up as the opposing schools joined the great feast, each conducting a small show for everyone to enjoy. Aria's nervousness had long passed and she was now thoroughly enjoying the meal with her newfound friends and coworkers. However the silence between Aria and Severus remained as a thick air of tension settled over the Professor's table.

*

First period the next morning Aria was set to assist Snape in teaching first year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's. She stood at the front of the Potion's classroom, her presence commanding but not intimidating. Aria couldn't help but grin as she watched the new students excitedly chatting away in hushed tones, enthusiastically awaiting their first ever class at Hogwarts. She felt sorry for them knowing their expectations were soon to be let down. Rocking slightly back and forth on her heels, Aria took one last look over the days schedule. She was determined not to give Severus a reason to criticise her today. Speaking of which she was shocked to find the man late for his own lesson.

Just as the thought entered her mind, the loud crashing of the door opening caught the attention of the entire room. The billowing cape of Severus Snape dramatically wafted behind him as he rounded his way around the children's desks and towards the front of the class.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class." He commanded, the velvety monotone of his voice silencing the class. Aria took a step back, not wanting to risk getting in his way as he begun to scribble on the chalkboard behind his desk. "For the select few of you who possess the appreciation for the subtle art that is potion making I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." Snape enunciated.

Aria continued to stay out of the professors way, waiting for her cue to participate in the lesson. A cue which never came. She stood off to the side, her feet burning from standing so long in the one position, a feigned smile painstakingly plastered on her face, trying her best to keep up appearances for the sake of the students.

It was clear from the look on their faces they were enjoying today's lessons just as much as she was, her heart ached for them, their dreams of having a magical Hogwarts experience was crushed in their first hour of lessons.

Snape continued to teach for the rest of the day pretending like Aria wasn't even there at all. Aria chose to stay silent. Snape's rude demeanour giving her the perfect excuse to report him to Dumbledore for not carrying out his duties as her mentor; allowing her to participate in the teaching of his classes. Not giving him the satisfaction of her arguing she simply walked away at the end of the teaching day, leaving him alone in the class wondering why she simply gave in to him.

This was made clear to him when he was called to Dumbledore's office that evening to discuss the days lessons. Both Dumbledore's sat looking smugly as the Potions Master entered the Headmasters office refusing to take his seat next to the young woman when it was offered.

"I thought I made it abundantly clear Severus that Aria is to assist in all of your lessons." Dumbledore begun, not entertaining the man's supercilious act.

"I thought I made it clear, Headmaster, that I will not work with this woman. I respect she is your granddaughter and you felt the need to give her a job but I will not compromise my teaching for her childish demands."

"Severus, this is your job." Dumbledore said, his tone sharper than usual. "If you will not abide my commands then I shall have to take action into my own hands. Until you chose to cooperate, Aria will teach all potions lessons alone. You will have no interference or participation in any class until you agree to work in partnership with her. That is all I have to say on the matter." He finalised.

"Thank you, grandfather." Aria shot Severus a self-satisfied look, and rose from her seat, pleased with the outcome of her enquiry. Severus seen no point in objecting in fear of making the situation worse. The glare on his face simply intensified. He made to leave, just as did Aria. The two as stubborn as each other refused to stay behind and so they left side by side, the ever growing tension between them more apparent than ever.

"So that's how it shall be, will it?" Severus seethed through gritted teeth. "I do something you don't like and you go running to Granddaddy?"

"It worked didn't it." She chirped with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, there wouldn't be a problem had you not chose to ignore me all day. I do not want to step on your toes Severus, but if you refuse to work with me, I will do everything in my power to change that. I'm here to assist you, to help you. Utilise me! Stop thinking of me as your biggest enemy and start thinking of me as an asset. We could accomplish so much together." The witch pleaded. Severus shot her a look of confusion and slight disgust. "Professionally speaking." She finished, clearing her throat, making it clearer what she meant.

Snape huffed, in response, continuing to walk on, though they both kept a steady pace, remaining side by side all the way to the Dungeons. Showing no sign of stopping for the final word as he reached his private quarters, Severus huffed to himself in a rage of malcontent. "See you tomorrow." Aria called to him, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

And with that Severus slammed the door to his chambers putting a final end to the conversation.

*

For eight days Aria was left to her own devices, happily teaching potions her own way to the students. Depending on his mood Severus would either sit at his desk, muttering irritably to himself in disapproval. Other days he would be feeling more confident and he would consistently make snarky comments regarding her teaching style. And sometimes he wouldn't even show up to class at all. It didn't take Aria long to suspect what he might be doing during those long days he sat alone.

On the ninth day Severus had had enough. He couldn't take it any more. He hated feeling idle. He hated not feeling needed. He hated that students loved the way she taught. And he hated that one day Dumbledore might come to his senses and realise she was just as capable of teaching as he was and he would no longer be needed at Hogwarts.

That night after the Great Feast Severus went to the Headmaster's office and quietly gave in, agreeing to work in partnership with Miss Dumbledore. Aria was impressed by Severus' decision and could not wait to gloat victoriously when she saw him at breakfast the next day.

However when it actually came time for Aria to proudly shove her successful accomplishment in Severus' face, she didn't have the heart to humiliate him. It had been a good few days since she had saw him last and it was clear the time alone had not done him any good. Though he usually had a look of exhaustion about him the dark bags under his eyes were worse then ever, the lines across his face deeper and his general aura was less dangerous and intimidating dungeon bat and more exhausted sleep deprived man. He almost seemed more human to Aria now he was more reserved and timid than his previously obnoxiously arrogant self.

She let him lead the lesson and done as she was asked when she was asked. Snape was happy to use her skills to his advantage and was glad he had an extra pair of hands to take on the physical aspect of the lesson when he became too tired to move from behind his desk. The pair managed to maintain a professional dialogue for the whole day, with little to no arguments as Aria kept her mouth shut and Severus respected her position as his assistant.

By the end of the teaching day Severus was practically falling asleep behind his desk as he made his way through the stack of paperwork he had collected throughout the day. Struggling to keep his eyes open Severus ran a hand through his hair, resting his head in his hands and let out an painful groan of exhaustion. As Miss Dumbledore finished collecting in the small pewter cauldrons she took the opportunity to have a real conversation with the man in front of her.

Letting out a sympathetic huff, Aria couldn't help but give him a sad sort of smile. She pulled a seat over to the desk and waited for Snape to notice her. Although she hadn't known him long, and of course it was clear to everyone he was not the most well balanced human in terms of sleep and work, she could confidently say he looked to be at his worst. A small scruff of a beard threatening to form had appeared from the past days of forgetting to shave and the man could barely keep his heavy eyelids open.

"Can I help you, Miss Dumbledore." Severus grumbled, slowly moving his hands from his head to look at the young woman. "What is it you want?"

"Are you okay, Severus?" She spoke softly, genuinely concerned for the man.

"I'm perfectly fine, Miss Dumbledore." His slightly slurred words saying differently. "Not that it is any of your concern." He mumbled, once again turning to his stack of paperwork.

"What happened to you." Aria muttered more to herself than Snape. The professor looked up at the woman, who had now become preoccupied with straightening out her skirt. Snape let out a final sigh and sat his quill to the side, ready to fully invest in the conversation with the woman.

"What are you mumbling about, woman." He asked, though his tone was not as harsh as it could have been.

"I am truly, truly sorry, Professor." She confessed. "I knew you were unhappy about my being here but I hadn't realised how much it would have took a toll on you. I mean sure I wanted to mess with you for a bit just to give you a taste of your own medicine, but look at you."

"Despite what you may think, you are not the sole reason for my lack of sleep, Miss Dumbledore." He spoke softly, his captivating gaze catching her own. He seemed to be reassuring her more than doing it for the thrill of proving her wrong.

"I'm not?"

"You are not even half the reason. Though you can take full credit for the sudden peak in my blood pressure." Aria couldn't help but chuckle at the comment, and she could have sworn a brief smile flashed across Severus' face too.

"Do you want to talk about what's got you in such a state." The woman pried.

"Not even slightly." He droned, breaking eye contact, once again picking up his quill.

"Clearly its bothering you, I don't imaging keeping it bottled up will do much good."

"I said I don't want to talk about it." He replied curtly. "Now if you could please take your leave, your assistance is no longer required."

Aria thought it best not to aggravate the man more given his current state and chose to obey his command, giving a small nod before heading for the door.

"Miss Dumbledore." Snape called out, just as she made to leave, forcing to spin on her heel to face him. "I'll be okay." He assured, giving her a comforting nod before immediately turning back to his work.

Speechless Aria could only smile in return. Not only had they both had a successful day of teaching and a perfectly civil conversation but Snape had even gone as far as to reassure her, knowing if he hadn't she would have blamed herself for his deteriorating condition.

The soft click of the door closing felt as if it had been amplified a thousand times as the feeling of loneliness engulfed Severus.

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