#potter stinks || asks

[meelusinee]

YOUR SECRET SANTA 𖤐 S.B X READER

in which your sirius’ secret santa for the year (and you also have a hugemungus introvert crush on him)

pairing: sirius black x potter!reader tags: christmas fluff! word count: 3k warnings: just fluff, yet again

author's note: AN UPDATE: I FIXED THE WHOLE COPY ISSUE IM SO SORRY YAWL my tumblr copied it twice and really weirdly for some reason??? anyways, i have very quickly learned that sirius’ energy is very hard to capture at 3-5am in the morning after studying for psych finals BUT oh my gawd i could not not post this. so just imagine that your like the fire to melt sirius’ sugary heart and that he’s super soft and sweet with you okay

SECRET SANTA | S.B X READER

You haven’t had this much fun in a long time.

It had been a long day for you, full of studying and reading up on topics for exams. You had tutoring lessons to get to tomorrow, along with three extra classes to get to.

Studying, however, was apparently not allowed. At least, that’s what Lily must’ve thought as she dragged you to the Gryffindor Common Room with her. Her friends were sitting around the fireplace, Marlene practically laid on Dorcas’ lap like a cat. Mary was sick, currently locked up in her room.

Remus sat closest to the fireplace in a single arm chair, reading a rather large tome. You sighed internally, the sight of the book reminding you of the studies you should be committing yourself to right now. James and Sirius were sitting on the largest sofa near the couch, Peter spread out on the floor with his hands crossed on his stomach.

“Bambi!” James called out, standing up dramatically to pull you in a hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you! You’ve been locked up forever, you know? Your studies have kidnapped you.”

“Oh hush,” you chuckled, a small squeaking sound escaping your throat as he pulled you to sit down between him and Sirius.

“Hi Sirius,” you smiled softly as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, leaning your head on his shoulder. He was always rather warm, no matter what the conditions were.

“Hi there, faon.” he whispered. Lily always liked to point out that he calmed down significantly around you, especially in the recent years.

“So,” Lily said ominously, standing on one of the coffee tables with a wide smirk. She had really been shining recently, through her friends and her studies. “We’re going to do Secret Santa this year!” 

“Secret Santa?” Sirius asked confusedly, tilting his head to the side slightly. “What’s that?”

“You put your names in a bucket, kind of like the TriWizard Tournament,” Remus began to explain to them, closing his book after bookmarking it. “Everyone picks a name, and you have to get a present for the person.” 

“So it’s randomized?” Marlene asked Remus, smiling brightly at that. “If I get James, I’m giving him a stink bomb!”

“No you won’t!” James said dramatically, clutching his chest. “That’s so wrong of you!”

“Hush, everyone.” Lily said, pulling out a metal bucket. “Now put your names in here.”

You chuckled quietly at her directness, watching as everyone else grabbed a small ticket and wrote their names down. Sirius grabbed you a ticket and pen, letting you write your name down before he put it in the bin for you.

Lily hummed softly once everyone put their names in, shaking the bucket before putting it down on the table. “Now, you have to remember,” she said to them, wagging her finger. “You can’t say who you got. That’s what makes it a secret.”

“So no tattle-tailing?” Peter said, a small pout in his voice as he sat up to pick a name. “Aw man.” 

“It’s fine, Pete.” James smiled, ruffling his hair.

You looked around the room as everyone made a small yet somewhat line to get their names. Sirius grabbed you a name along with his, holding his name away from your vision with a small smirk.

“You’re ridiculous.” you chuckled, opening your name. It was a fancy cursive you almost couldn’t read, the S extremely dramatic. Sirius Black.

“Do we have to get something specific?” you asked curiously, closing the small slip before James could look over your shoulder. “Like something comfortable, or something school related?”

“Nothing specific, just whatever would suit them best.” Lily said, closing her flap as she sat down next to James. 

You nodded at that, looking down at the flap. You really needed to brainstorm.

It had been a couple of days since you had gotten Sirius’ name in the Secret Santa bin, your mind running haywire with gift ideas. You had tried to study for your final exams, but you haven’t truly been able to focus on it at all.

So you tried to examine what to get him instead.

Sirius Black, while practically estranged from his family, still had access to a bunch of money. He had steadily built himself a fund of galleons over the years ever since he was in Third Year, opening a small bank account in Gringotts in order to save himself money. Which meant that he didn’t need anything material.

You knew that he loved the color red. He loved messy, though he also loved fancy and neat. Whatever it was that you were going to get him, it was going to be something custom.

Lily had invited you shopping with her, both of you heading to the Hogsmeade shops for present ideas. Snow was falling on the both of you, scarves wrapped around your necks and mouths.

“Who’d you get?” she asked curiously.

You looked at her confusedly, eyebrows furrowing at her question. “I thought you weren’t meant to tell.” you muttered to her.

“Well, if you have me, probably not.” she shrugged, smirking softly. “But I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”

You nodded before looking down at the floor, still not sure what to even get. “I got Sirius.”

Lily gasped, jumping up and down excitedly. “I got James! Maybe we can get them something to match, I bet they’d love that.”

You nodded slowly at that, looking through the closest shop windows.

It was a cute charm shop, currently filled with Christmas themed things. There was different kinds of candies, candy canes and peppermints displayed at the center.

“Do you see that?” you asked, pointing at the window. “Those charms are cute.”

Lily looked over at what you were looking at. The window had a small poster on one of the panels, promoting an animal charm with star charms stamped out of the metal. “We could get a deer and a dog charm!”

You smiled softly at the idea, both of you walking inside of the store. Lily walked around the store excitedly, picking up all sorts of trinkets and small gifts for Secret Santa and regular Christmas presents. You were looking at the charms still, the gears in your mind turning.

The dog charm would be custom made, potentially gold if you were lucky. You could most likely get a roll of wrapping paper to match it. A small present wrapped with a red bow and peppermint, all with a small charm attached to it.

The idea was custom, something that was cute and made just for Sirius. A cute wrapping that fed into his Gryffindor ego, and something one couldn’t exactly buy at a store.

And that thought got you thinking.

You began walking around the store, looking at gift ideas for Sirius. At first, nothing was sticking out. That was until you stumbled on the journal section. 

They were regular journals, though you quickly figured that you could decorate it. You bought a new pen as well, along with small lace rolls and small sheets of paper to decorate it.

You also bought a small box to wrap it in when you were done, meeting up with Lily outside. She had about three big bags, contrasting heavily with your single small bag.

“What’d you get?” she asked excitedly.

You smiled softly, feeling the Christmas spirit absolutely radiating off of her. “You’ll see.”

You were sitting in your dorm room with Mary, who was still sick from a flu that she had gotten. She was sitting a bit away from you, but you decided to let her watch you make your present for Sirius.

“Thanks for letting me watch.” Mary whispered, her voice hoarse from the flu. “Really, Y/N.”

“You’re welcome.” you smiled softly, your pen nib rubbing against the paper as words formed on the pages. You had been obsessively writing in the journal for days at this point, rewriting letters you had secretly written for him down from memory. 

When you first met Sirius, you were in your First Year while he was in his Second Year. You went on the train along with James, sitting down in the corner of the compartment. 

The memory is still vivid in your mind, the way he sat down next to you and asked about the book you were reading. He was probably trying to impress you was what James and Remus had told you, he wanted to make a good impression on someone so close to James after all. But you still enjoyed it. And he stayed quiet and calm with you, even to this day. 

You remember your first birthday with him, how he got you your favorite author’s novels all hand signed. He had said that the present was a casual present for him to get, but you had been moved to tears almost instantly. You remember his first birthday with you as well, his only request being that he was able to hang out with his friends. He didn’t want any presents that year, the only gift he got being a sweater that your mother made for him.

Suffice to say, you had a lot of memories with him. And you liked to journal them all, a mix between day to day entries, memoir-like posts, or poems. Some were embarrassing, sure, but you planned on putting them in anyways.

“Who’s the journal for anyways?” Mary asked curiously, leaning forward.

“It’s for Sirius.” you whispered quietly, somewhat wishing that you didn’t have to say it. God forbid that she say that the journal was a bad idea, especially when you were already halfway through.

“Sirius?” she asked. “You actually got a gift idea?”

“What do you mean?” you asked.

Mary chuckled, but that quickly turned into a coughing fit. “I tried to get him a good present for his birthday last year, but nothing worked.” she explained, taking a sip of water. “I mean, what do you give a man who has everything?”

“Uh,” you mumbled, looking down at your lap. “Something of yours that he wouldn’t have?”

“Like a whole journal’s worth of handwriting samples?” she joked, smiling tiredly.

You chuckled softly at that, gently nudging her with your elbow as you continued to write in the journal. You were somewhat near the end, about one fourth of it left to go.

“It’s time to give out the presents!” Lily said, ringing a small bell in her hands as everyone gathered around the fireplace.

You were standing by Remus in the back, both of you holding cups of hot chocolate in your hands.

“Who’d you get?” he asked curiously.

“I got Sirius.” you mumbled, taking a sip of the hot chocolate before pointing to your present underneath the tree. “The one with the red bow and peppermint. Who did you get?”

“Lily.” he nodded, taking a sip of his own drink. “She’s been wanting to check out this one author, but his books are pricey. So I bought her a small starter set of his books.”

“That’s a good present.” you whispered softly.

Remus nodded, chuckling softly. “I also got her a book on Quidditch I told her to hide, that way she could impress James. Could you imagine the expression on his face when she starts talking about Quidditch?”

“Oh, it’d be priceless.” you chuckled, already imagining the expression on his face. 

“I know.” he chuckled, turning to you with a curious expression. “What’d you get Sirius?”

“Me?” you asked, clearing your throat. “I got him a journal.” you said awkwardly.

He nodded, not pushing any further. The bell rang again, Lily’s voice calling out to you both a bit impatiently. “Get over here you two!”

Remus chuckled softly as he sat by the fireplace, you taking your spot next to Sirius. Your head found its way to his shoulder as the presents magically sorted themselves, yours landing neatly right in front of you.

It was a stack of boxes that had an ornate wrapping with a pure silk ribbon of your favorite color, a small chocolate hanging off the bow.

You could tell immediately that it was Sirius’ gift.

“Sirius.” you chuckled softly, your hands pausing as they moved to unwrap the presents. You didn’t want to mess it up, especially since it looked so expensive. No doubt he spent hours on it. 

“You can open it anytime you want.” he chuckled softly at you, hand resting behind you as he leaned back just a bit. “I don’t mind if you rip it.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, looking over at him confusedly. “It looks so, like, effort-y.”

“Effort-y?” he chuckled, barking out a laugh.

“Like you put in effort!” you said, giggling softly at his teasing as your hands eventually moved to the bow. “This silk is so soft.”

“It is.” he said, a small smile resting on his face.

You opened the box at the top first. It was a vintage necklace wrapped in a heart-shaped box, a small flower detail painted on it.

“This is,” you whispered, looking at him as you held it in his hands. It was pure metal, you already knew, most likely costing hundreds of Galleons. “Sirius, this is so pretty.”

“It reminded me of you.” Sirius whispered, holding out his hands so he could put it on you. “A lot of things do, to be fair.”

You chuckled wetly at that, sniffling as you pulled your hair up so he could clasp it around your neck. You felt like you were the only two people in the room, everything fading out in the background.

“You have two more to open.” he whispered, putting your hair back in place.

“Okay.” you whispered, opening the first one. It was copies of novels you had mentioned over the past year, some of them you mentioned over six months ago. “Sirius,”

“I felt you’d still want to read them.” he smiled softly, hand caressing your back. “I had Mary tell me if you had them in your room, used cough drops as a bribery.”

“Using a woman’s sickness to your advantage in Secret Santa?” you asked him with a small smile.

He winked at you, putting the last box in front of your lap. It was arguably rather large. “Open it.”

Your hands tore into this one, a gasp escaping your mouth as you saw it. It was a sweater, obviously hand-knit. “Sirius, where did you buy this?”

“Made.” he whispered, chuckling at the shock on your face. “I took small classes with your mom, she helped me make it for you. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you, honestly.”

“You,” you whispered, looking at him incredulously as you felt tears come to your eyes. “You are absolutely ridiculous, you know that?”

“Only for you.” he winked dramatically, looking down at the box in front of him. “Now, I assume that this is from you, right?”

“Uh,” you whispered, nodding. “Yeah, it is.”

He smiled brightly, opening the present carefully before gasping. “A journal?”

“It’s something that a man who has everything wouldn’t have.” you whispered anxiously, fidgeting with your nail beds.

Sirius’ eyes darted over the journal, opening it to look at the different pages. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly, small tears coming to his eyes as he read the introduction.

“Do you like it?” you asked anxiously.

“Y/N, this is,” he whispered, a wet laugh escaping his throat. “The best present I’ve ever gotten.”

You sighed softly at that, smiling as he closed the journal and looked up at you. You squeaked softly as he pulled you into a hug, wrapping your arms back around him.

“Godric, I love you.” he whispered.

“Y/N!” 

You turned around to find Sirius walking up to you, the rain outside becoming background noise the closer that he came to you.

“Sirius?” you asked, pulling your jacket further around yourself. It was cold in the library.

“I love you.”

Those words both broke and caused a silence you weren’t sure if you liked or not. He loved you? What did that even mean? Was it platonic or romantic? Who randomly walks up to someone proclaiming their love, in a library near closing? 

Sirius, apparently.

“You what?” you asked confusedly.

“I love you.” he said, walking forward and taking your hands in his. “I mean, like, romantically. I read your journal twice now. And I can’t just not tell you anymore, you mean too much to hide it.”

“You love me?” you asked incredulously.

Sirius nodded softly, squeezing your hand anxiously as he looked up at you. “Do you?”

“Do I?” you asked him.

“Love me back?” he asked. 

You looked at him incredulously, as if the idea was almost impossible. In a sense, it really was. How could you not love him?

“I do.” you whispered. You giggled quietly at his sigh of relief, a sound of surprise coming out of your throat as his lips met yours. They molded together perfectly, like two magnets made just to connect to one another.

You smiled softly, watching him run off with an excited smile before coming back. But then he did it again, running joyful laps around the library to get his excitement out. 

“Does this mean you’ll be my wife?” he asked.

“Maybe not yet,” you chuckled at his dramatics. “But maybe we can start with dating.”

He smiled even brighter at that, continuing his laps before coming back for a kiss. You kissed him like you breathed, it came so easily to you. 

You two eventually broke apart, a large laugh escaping your mouth as he squeezed you into a hug that got tighter by the minute. You weren’t sure anything could hold tighter.

That was until you two got interrupted.

“Pads, what the fuck?” James asked, both of you turning around with small smiles and an embarrassed flush.

“I’ll see you later.” he whispered, giving you a soft peck before running out the opposite direction.

“You won’t be seeing shit tomorrow morning!” James yelled, running after him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

PHEW this was a LONG ONE let me tell you BUT!!!!!!!! i got it out of my system, i can finally rest and go to bed and sleep and slumber, all of those glory dory things that people do

it's probably not the most realistic sirius depiction out there but i really like the idea of soft sirius okay guys >:( u can pry my boy out of my cold and dead hands when i DECEASE okay, i love soft sirius.

AS ALWAYS, please like, comment, and reblog! it means the absolute world to me yawl dont understand unless u do then u do but anyways HAVE A GOOD DAY LOVELIESSS

[g1rld1ary]

I feel like you’d eat up this idea so much but Camp Counselor James Potter!!

Where its semi frenemies to lovers after James unexpectedly becomes head camp counselor alongside reader, thus forcing them closer as they have to work together. I’d imagine James as a sports/swim instructor who the campers adore and reader as an arts and crafts teacher who James has liked for years since they met at camp (even before they became counselors.)

summer friends - camp counselor!james potter x camp counselor!reader

wc: 2816

cw: swearing, implied fem!r but i don't think any pronouns, alcohol, throwing up (once)

part TWO

first of all thank u so much for the compliment anon i hope i am doing it justice!! i actually love this idea and so there's gonna be more parts because i have so many fun lil camp ideas already HOWEVER we don't rlly have summer camps where I'm from so if u wanna see anything specific (activity/trope etc) please request!!! love u xoxo

It was stinking hot already. The clock in your car was broken so you weren't sure exactly what time it was, but you were sure it was too early to have sweat dripping from your brow. Nine, maybe. Still, nothing could bring down your present mood, not the sweat, not the early morning on a weekend, not even that your Fleetwood Mac CD kept skipping during The Chain. No, you were in the best mood you'd been in in a while and nothing could ruin it.

You were headed back to camp. Your camp. It was your first year as head counselor at the camp you'd grown up in and you were filled to the brim with excitement and drive to make this summer as magical as the ones you had growing up. Pulling into the dirt parking space you sighed contently, glad to be back where you belonged.

It was weird to see the camp almost empty. You'd been a general counselor before so you'd seen the camp without kids, but being one of the first there in the morning was peaceful. You waved cheerfully at one of the cooks who'd been working since you were a kid, laughing as he tried to return the gesture over the boxes he was hustling into the kitchen.

You broke into a jog to catch up with the camp director who you needed to meet with, smiling widely when he greeted you. You made small talk as he led you around the camp, giving directions to some of the staff setting up in between his extended spiel explaining your duties. You really were trying to listen but you couldn't help your eyes darting to each movement in the corner of your vision. The other head counselor should have been here already, and it wasn't like him to be late. Michael was one of the many kids you'd grown up with through summers, and he was just as devoted to camp as you were, so it wasn't surprising he also made head counselor, but it was surprising that he was now late.

"Where's Michael?" You asked when the director took a breath. He turned to look at you, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"Didn't we tell you? Michael had a health scare, he can't work this summer." You could feel your mouth hanging open. The two of you had been talking about this for years, dreaming of becoming the head counselors.

"So who's—"

"Nothing like the fresh air, is there?" Your shoulders tensed just by the timbre of it, you could recognise that voice anywhere.

"Potter," You turned to greet him, ponytail swinging behind you.

"No need for last names, love, I saw your braces phase," James retorts and you huff, rolling your eyes dramatically.

"Yeah, yeah, and I've got pictures of your acne. So you're really my partner this summer?" James didn't bother replying, his cocky grin saying it all. You felt the director's eyes on both of you and refrained from another snip in fear of it undermining your leadership, but still shot James a dead-eyed smile to let him know you weren't done.

You were dismissed to settle in until the other counselors arrived for briefing after a few other business matters (for which both you and James stayed civil and responsible) and all but ran to your car, eager to get the moving in part over with as quick as possible.

After so many years of making camp your home away from home, you'd pretty much nailed the routine of packing and unpacking, and your part of the four-girl cabin was taking shape very nicely if you did say so yourself. You even had time to stick up the photos you'd printed out, which usually took at least a week to happen. You were just wiping the sweat off your face with the hem of your t-shirt when someone cleared their throat. You didn't need to guess who it was.

James was leaning against the doorframe, looking unfairly unperturbed by the heat.

"Sorry your dream boy couldn't be here," He said and you couldn't quite tell if he was joking.

"Michael and I—"

"Relax, I was talking about your real boyfriend, remember?" You paused at his statement, studying your painted fingers intently.

"We broke up," You said quietly, not daring to look at James in fear of him teasing you about it. You consequently missed the flash of curiosity (and maybe relief) that passed across his features.

"Sorry," He said awkwardly, still under the doorframe.

"It's fine. He's a dickhead."

"I could have told you that last summer!" He laughed, then slapped a hand over his mouth as he realised it might have been too far. You managed a small laugh yourself, if only to make him feel better about his misstep.

"Yeah, yeah. Last summer you also thought swallowing gum would fuse your insides together."

"And I stand by that! You should just learn to listen to me," He crowed, eyes sparkling with mischief. You rolled your eyes again, pushing yourself off the bed to reapply your deodorant.

"If I ever start listening to you, take it as a sign I'm losing my marbles," You said, ducking under the arm James had stretched across the doorframe, "Now come on, everyone'll be arriving." You don't stop to see if he's following, marching out of your cabin and toward the dining hall where the counselors would convene. James watched you go for a moment with a soft grin before jogging to catch up and bother you some more.

The dining hall was already buzzing with energy and noise and the campers hadn’t even arrived yet. You smiled as you watched the counselors meet and mingle, some of them being kids you’d grown up with almost your whole life.

“Everything the light touches is our kingdom,” James’ whisper appeared from behind you.

“You are so lame.” You don’t bother looking at him, convinced you knew exactly what face he’d be pulling. “Now make yourself useful and greet everyone.” You might have been a little rude, but it was clear to you that this job wasn’t nearly as important to James as it was to you. Head counselor was something you’d been working towards since you’d started at camp, and you would like to keep the gig through college if James didn’t ruin it for you.

A booming noise silenced the room, and you were surprised to know it came from James. He started off the address for you outlining all the boring housekeeping notices you could recite in your sleep. They were almost exactly the same every year, except for James’ insistence on being the funniest in the room and making jokes after every other statement.

“As you know if you find any contraband in the camper’s belongings report it to the camp director, especially if it’s an illicit substance, as there may be serious discipline. However, if it’s alcohol, slip into into my cabin ‘coz god knows I’ll need a drink after dealing with the kids and this one.” He gestured over to you, receiving a ripple of laughter throughout the room. You grit your teeth, trying not to react and be the bad cop of camp.

“Just so we’re all clear,” You faked a laugh, “None of the campers or counselors will be ingesting or posessing alcohol while at camp. Right guys?” You locked eyes with the camp director, trying to bring him down from the conniption he was on the verge of. It worked, mostly, and you took over from James, shooting him a warning glare as you rushed to finish listing off the timetable for the coming evening and next day as campers arrived.

In his defence though, James wasn’t exactly wrong. Although the camp director could never ever find out for the sake of all your jobs, there was definitely a stash of alcohol that all the counselors contributed to and had access to, though strictly when there was no risk of campers or higher ups finding out. Like tonight. Every year before the campers arrived the counselors held a campfire right out in the forest; far enough away that there was almost no risk of the adult-adults finding them, but close enough that drunk walks back to the cabin weren’t quite impossible.

That brought you to the campfire. You’d been stuck in meetings and doing last minute admin all night and you really needed the break. You could only look at schedules and spreadsheets for so long anyway, add James to the mix and you were going absolutely crazy.

You’d snagged a spot next to Lily, hugging her tight as you reunited.

“I can’t believe you’re stuck with Potter,” She said, taking a sip from some ungodly drink one of the counselors had mixed. You laughed as you pulled away and greeted Remus quickly, taking the can of cider he offered.

“I’m just thanking my lucky stars it wasn’t him three years ago.” You shook your head resolutely, “At least now I’m sure he’s human. I just hate that he’s gonna make me bad cop all summer.” Remus cocked his head in confusion and Lily asked for clarification so you continued.

“You know, James is always the funny one, James is always the chill one. I’m the one who’s gonna have to spoil the fun and enforce the rules.”

“That’s not true though, you might be the one sticking to the rules but you’ve been here just as long. Everyone knows and loves you, and you’ll have just as much fun even if you aren’t quite as go-with-the-flow,” Lily said, a comforting hand resting on your arm.

“Prongs might surprise you,” Remus said, clearly taking a different approach, “I think when it matters he’ll step up to the plate.” You looked at him for a moment, considering his philosophy. You chanced a glance over at James to see him halfway through a game of beer pong — losing badly in fact, and sighed. If he, the head sport and swim counselor, was losing at a game consisting of throwing then he must’ve already been smashed.

He caught your eye at just the wrong (or right) moment and waved you over with such excitement that you excused yourself from the conversation to see what he wanted.

“Sirius needs a teammate,” He said simply, gesturing for you to go over and play. You shook you head furiously.

“So you’re asking the arts and crafts leader? I have zero coordination.”

“Yeah, and? You’re competitive and that’s all that matters. Consider it our head counselor bonding time.” You looked at James for a moment, weighing out the pros and cons in your head. You figured it couldn’t be that bad even if you embarrassed yourself, and you really didn’t want the other counselors to think you had a stick up your arse after getting the position. So, you reciprocated the high five Sirius had offered and got in position.

The game went shit, as could have been assumed. You really didn’t have an ounce of coordination, your throws missing most of the cups. Sirius was better, making your team at least not totally hopeless, but the two of you were no match for the machines that were James and Marlene — though both significantly worsened by their inebriated states. You were providing the trash talk though, which seemed to keep everyone entertained

“Ok new game!” James clapped after you’d downed the last drink, “Sirius, switch with me.”

“What! But I like my partner!” You high-fived Sirius again at his declaration, now sufficiently buzzed from the shitty beer you’d been using.

“Yeah, we’re doing just fine, Potter. Worry about yourself.” It came out a bit louder and more aggressive than you intended, but James didn’t seem to mind — none of you were sober enough to be picking up on the intricacies of human communication. James mimed a stab to his heart dramatically.

“You kill me,” He groaned, leaning on the folding table in despair. You laughed loudly, holding up your hand in the shape of an L to rub it in. After rubbing it in for a moment you conceded, stomping your way to his side of the table, patting Marlene on the shoulder as you swapped places.

“Alright, Potter, let’s get this round over with so I can kick your arse again.” James’ grin was practically blinding as he brightened up, getting ready to play another match. You might’ve been getting a little too competitive, but it was camp and you were drunk, so everyone around the table was matching your energy tenfold.

“Are you actually capable of getting a ball in a cup? You’re genuinely so terrible at this,” James laughed as he said it but you took it personally, shoving him aside.

“Piss off, dickhead. Just because you’re a big shot athlete or whatever.” You must have finally struck a nerve in James as he was quiet for the rest of the game, still much more skilled than you but his energy significantly dampened. Even when you won, he only offered you a weak smile and a pathetic high five. You felt bad for a moment and opened your mouth to apologise, but your inebriated brain was distracted by music playing, running over to Lily to ask her to dance.

You were at the stage of being drunk where everything was perfect. The day’s heat had mellowed out into a dreamy summer night, a soft breeze rustling the leaves above you all as you danced and drank, reuniting after a long year apart.

You might’ve overdone it slightly though, which found you a little ways away from the rest of the party, emptying your stomach into a bush where hopefully none of the campers would stumble across it. Looking past your unfortunate accident you caught a glimpse of a dark shape on the bank of the river. Narrowing your eyes you tried to make out who it was, but settled on getting closer instead. You hesitated when you made it out to be James.

“Hey, Potter. You alright?” You called awkwardly, a little unwilling to get too close.

“Hm?” He looked back at you, voice uncharacteristically quiet. “Yeah, fine.” You sighed. He was clearly upset about something and you couldn’t just end the conversation there, no matter how much you didn’t want to have a DnM with James Potter on night one of camp.

Reluctantly you got closer, taking a seat next to him. You watched the lake for a few minutes, black except for the silver from the moon. It was peaceful when there weren’t so many people around, it was one of your favourite things about camp, just being outside and disconnected from the rest of your life.

James broke the silence first.

“Do you… Are you mad that I’m co-head counselor?” You chanced a glance at him, surprised at the vulnerability in his voice. James wasn’t usually one to get sappy or personal like that, especially not with you.

“No?” You replied, “It wasn’t what I imagined, obviously, but it’s not like I hate you. You’re just mildly infuriating like 80% of the time.” James snorted, and you got the feeling he’d intended to wallow a bit longer. But James was James and he couldn’t stay moody for too long, it wasn’t in his nature.

“I can work with that.” He smiled his blinding grin, and you could have sworn you could see it reflecting off the water.

“We have to be a team though,” You affirmed; now was as good a time as any for you to address it. “I know that your whole bright and lively class clown thing is effortless for you, but I don’t wanna be the bad cop all the time, okay?” James was deep in thought for a second, then a cheeky grin crept onto his features.

“You think I’m bright and lively?”

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes, but you weren’t sure you weren’t returning his smile. “Come on, let’s get to bed. Neither of us can afford to be hungover when the kids get here.”

You and James wandered back towards the cabins, both hazy and giggly from the lasting drunkenness and the (at least temporary) smoothing over of your tenuous relationship.

PART TWO

[frost-queen]

The sirens task (Reader x Theodore Nott)

Requested by: anon ,Forever tag:@missmelodramatic, @merlin-dahlia, @alex--awesome--22 @elllie-does-the-posts, @floatlosers, @merlieve, @queen-of-books, @glimmering-darling-dolly@denkisclown, @wildieflower, @meyocoko, @bubblybrianna, @justanothercoco@subjecta13-thefangirl, @m-rae23, @harleyquinnswifeyfrfr, @swampthing07, @melsunshine, @panhoeofmanyfandoms, @venomsvl, @the-uncoordinated-house-cat, @rosecentury,  @imagines-by-her,  @evilcr0ne, @vviolynn

Rain tapped gently against the glass. Staining it as drops slowly dripped down. The room silent. Mattheo stood by the window watching his own blurred reflection in the glass. When focusing on the outsides, he saw the black lake. Lorenzo sitting on his bed fidgeting with his fingers. On the bed across from Lorenzo’s laid Theodore down.

Staring mindlessly at the ceiling. Lorenzo glanced at the golden egg positioned on Theodore’s nightstand. The egg that contained the sirens song. A song from deep below the surface. It’s warning clear as day. Theodore would have to venture into the darkest depts of the black lake. To retrieve something stolen from him.

Normally Lorenzo would be the one boost up his confident. To strike his ego with overconfidence that Theodore would win the second trial with his eyes closed. Yet it wasn’t the case. He had no words of confidence. No smugness inside of him to gloat. Nothing. Not even a silly comment to make the boys laugh.

The Triwizard tournament was no joke. It all became clear after the first trial. Theodore barely made it out alive. His dragon vicious and out of control. Burning and scorching the place. It’s fiery breath brewing a warmness in the arena.

The second task awaiting at his door. He felt like going up an endless stairway. Where each step felt like taking him back. Each step a plunge in the darkness, hoping their would be another step. Hoping the stairs would go on before he’d miss a step and fall into nothingness. The sirens song clear in his head. Echoing warningly. He barely made it out alive the first task.

He took a deep breath with a heavy weight on his chest. Mattheo wiped his hand hard across the glass. Spreading out the dew that had formed from the coldness outside trying to creep in their room. His action made Lorenzo look concerned up to him. Mattheo looked daringly at him, daring him to say something about his behavior. Theodore exhaled loud rolling over to his side.

Mattheo and Lorenzo catching it. – “It’s…it’s just another task…” – Lorenzo spoke trying to sooth it. – “In the bloody black lake!” – Mattheo cursed at him. – “Whatever the task is Theo will succeed!” – Lorenzo called out moving his posture up. – “He’ll curse any creature trying to come his way.” – Mattheo laughed mockingly.

Lorenzo’s cheeks bloated with anger, ready to spew his words out. – “Enough.” – Theodore sighed out. The two of them stared, keeping their tongue still. Mattheo moved to his bed, getting under the covers. With one final blow, he blew the candle out, darkening the room.

━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Theodore looked over his shoulder while going up the hill. – “What’s the matter?” – Lorenzo asked curious. – “Nothing…” – Theodore responded looking back forwards. – “I… I just thought to see Y/n… I haven’t seen her all morning.” – he spoke with a deep sigh. – “I’m sure she is already up ahead.” – Mattheo spoke walking at his left. – “You’ll see.” – Mattheo grabbed Theodore by his shoulders, pushing him slightly faster up the hill. – “Good luck Theodore.” – a girl expressed while running past him.

Theodore only provided her with a half hearted smile. The boys in front of them turned around hissing like a snake to show their support. It made Mattheo roll his eyes. Up ahead were Durmstrang boys cheering loudly for Victor. Behind them he could hear girls chatter in French, the beauxbattons. – “Potter stinks!” – a boy shouted as he came running past Lorenzo. Lorenzo laughed loud.

Theodore sighed deep at how ridiculous that was. Up the hill he noticed Professor McGonagall stand by some boats. – “Oh mister Nott.” – she called out, hurrying him over. Theodore broke free from his friends, walking over to her. Harry was already sitting in the boat with Victor and Fleur. – “We’ll see you in a bit.” – Mattheo spoke with a warm hand on his shoulder. – “Knock ‘em dead.” – Lorenzo whispered encouragingly before leaving with Mattheo.

Professor McGonagall gestured at the boat as Theodore got in. He sat himself beside Victor, rubbing his sweaty palms over his knees. – “Nervous?” – Victor chuckled out. – “No.” – Theodore responded hiding his hands. The boat set off on it’s own. Professor McGonagall standing at the shore with a pained expression. As if she knew something. Theodore lifted his head up to try and look over Victor.

Slowly the passing students on shore grew smaller and harder for him to recognize. Yet he still wanted to make sure if he saw you. It was unlike you to not wish him well on his second task. Perhaps Mattheo was right, and you would be waiting at the platform for him. Cheering by their side waiting for him to dive into the water.

The boat came to a slow stop at a platform in the midst of the water. Fleur got taken out first, then Harry, Victor and last him. He immediately noticed Mattheo and Lorenzo amongst the crowd of watchers. Mattheo locked eyes with Theodore shaking his head. Still no sign of you. Theodore sighed lowering his head a bit. Something felt wrong or out of place, but he couldn’t place his finger on it.

Somehow he felt unlucky without getting a ‘do well’ from you. It was the only thing he was anticipating. Desiring to have. Some good words from you and a kiss against the cheek. That was all he wanted to feel invincible. Now he felt vulnerable and already at defeat. He took his place waiting for the mark to jump in the water. Bang! The shot was fired as Victor and Fleur dived into the water.

“Theo jump!” – Lorenzo shouted seeing how his friend hadn’t moved. Theodore shot awake, diving into the water right before Harry got pushed in. The water clasped around him like a cold shock before settling to warmth. Limbs floating he looked around. Nothing but seaweed and his vision clouded from the water. Theodore started swimming going deeper than he ever thought he would go.

He avoided the seaweed knowing it could strap him. Keep him in place to fail this task. The eerie silence of the lake made him feel tiny. Nothing but endless waters around him. Letting his hand ripple through the water, he could feel the gentle current. Diving deeper between cliffs filled with coral. Looking behind him he saw a school of fish swim with him. Surpassing him with the current’s flow. The water darkening the deeper he got.

He reached an area filled with seaweed he couldn’t go round. The last of the school of fish separating behind him. As if scared to go through. Theodore had no choice but to go through the seaweed. Gently he moved the plants aside feeling the roughness of them. At this point it wasn’t clear which way he needed to go. Furrowing his brows he heard the soft sirens song.

Guiding him like a beacon through the darkness. He swam further through the seaweed keeping a mindful eye behind him. From the corner of his eye he saw something. Causing him to stop briefly and see. Another person swimming through the sea of seaweed with him. Narrowing his eyes he saw that it was Fleur. She looked frantically behind her. Almost as if she was being chased.

She stopped and slowly turned. Then back again as he noticed something among the seaweed. Bubbles escaped Theodore’s mouth when he had opened it in shock. Fleur suddenly being dragged under as a stream of bubbles marked her absence. Hearing sudden noises made him look behind him. Only to be surpassed and knocked over by a siren. She swam so quickly by him it made him roll under water. Her voice screeching loud.

Theodore saw the last of her disappear between the garden of seaweed before the water stilled again. Knowing he was losing time, he started to swim again. Making his way out of the garden of seaweed. Before him in the darkened water emerging a gateway. Unknowingly he saw over to it, not knowing what to expect. He swam through the gateway coming at the ruins of a once lost palace. Sirens left and right watching him carefully.

Theodore’s eyes widened seeing four bodies float in the midst of the ruins. It made him hurry over wondering who they were. The closer he got, the more he recognized. His heart was already feeling it while his brain couldn’t follow yet. Till it finally caught up with him. His eyes wide in horror at the floating people. Amidst them you. Theodore screamed loud, air bubbles leaving his mouth. Moving his hands to the side of his face, he shuddered.

The sirens watched him as he screamed again in agony. His heart bleeding. He quickly swam over to you, holding his hands against your cold cheeks. – “No…no… please…” – he called out feeling an urge of anger. He turned around expression hardened. He pulled out his wand blasting at the ruins out of hatred. – “I’ll kill you!” – he shouted blasting at another ruin that crumbled into pieces. The sirens screeched loud as one came swimming over to him.

Pointing her trident against his throat. – “Stick to the task.” – she called out with a screech. Theodore turned his head seeing Victor swim over to Cho, taking her with him back to the surface. Theodore pushed her trident away swimming back to you. He fired a spell at the seaweed around your ankles, freeing you. Wiping his tears underwater he took a hold of your arm, pulling you up with him.

A small sea creature swam his way. Before it could reach him, had he cast a spell at it. With determination and anger he swam up to the surface. The second his head shot up from out of the water, he gasped loud. You gasped as well awakening from your slumber. Mattheo grabbed the bar with wide eyes. – “Is that Y/n?” – he called out.

Lorenzo joining his side to see for himself. – “Y/n!” – Theodore called out, wrapping his arms around you. You coughed loud wondering why you were in the water. Mattheo and Lorenzo had run down to the lower platform to assist Theodore and you out of the water. You swam with Theodore to the platform.

Mattheo hoisted you up as Lorenzo threw a blanket around you. Theodore got passed a blanket as well. Professor McGonagall approached him as he was more concerned with you. – “Congratulations on second place, Mr. Nott.” – she spoke as Theodore moved his arm around you.

“Piss off!” – he shouted at her, pulling you along with him. Mattheo and Lorenzo shooting her a glare. – “Theo… is the task already over?” – you asked getting led into a corner by him. – “I’m sorry I have missed it.” – you continued. – “Missed it?” – Theodore freaked out. – “Y/n you were the bloody task!” – he outed startling you. You instantly started to cry connecting the dots.

Professor McGonagall asking you over. The boat ride all alone with her, Ron, Hermione, and Cho. Then your mind was blank till you resurfaced with Theodore. He came closer wiping your tears away. – “I want to curse them all for doing this to you. For doing this to me. Y/n when I saw you down there… I lost it. I wanted to kill everyone.” – he confessed.

You jumped at him, pressing your lips against his. Theodore kissed your lips tenderly relieved to have you with him again. – “I’m right here.” – you whispered. – “Now never leave.” – he whispered back before kissing you once more.

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

Read more of my fics on my Masterlists!  

[nyxshadowhawk]

A Retrospective on Harry Potter

Why did I like it in the first place? What about it worked? Where do I go from here?

I have decided to give up Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling’s reputation now stinks to high heaven. At this point, she is quite indefensible. And even if that weren’t the case, she is not someone that I would want to associate with anyway. Meanwhile, the internet has not only turned against her, but against Harry Potter itself. An innocent question on Reddit, about which Hogwarts Houses the ATLA characters would be in, got downvoted to oblivion. Innumerable Tumblr threads insist that fantasy fans should get into literally anything else (suggestions include Discworld, Earthsea, The Wheel of Time, and Percy Jackson). And now that Harry Potter is no longer a sacred cow, there has been a recent slew of video essays that rip it to shreds, attacking it for its poor worldbuilding, unoriginality, and the problematic ideas baked into the original books (like the whole SPEW thing), etc. Those criticisms always existed, but now they’re getting thrown into the limelight.

It pains me to see such an ignoble downfall of Harry Potter’s reputation. If Rowling had just kept her damn mouth shut, Harry Potter would have aged gracefully, becoming a beloved children’s classic. I'd still plan to introduce it to my own kids one day (after Rowling dies and the dust settles). It’s not surprising that not all aspects of it have aged well, since it’s been more than twenty years since its original publishing date, and everything starts to show its age after that long. I acknowledge that most of the criticisms of the series that I’ve seen lately are valid, and I’ve read plenty of better books. And yet, when I return to the books themselves, even with the knowledge of who JKR really is inside my head, I still really enjoy reading them! There’s still a lot about them that I think works!

None of the other things I’ve read have had as collossal of an impact upon my identity, my values, and my own writing as Harry Potter. It’s hard to move on from it, not just because it’s something I enjoy, but because I have to literally extract my identity from it. I don’t know who I’d be without Harry Potter. I don’t know what my work would look like without Harry Potter. I don’t know how to carry it with me as just another piece of media that I like, as opposed to a filter for who I am as a person. So, with all that in mind, I have to ask myself why I liked Harry Potter so much in the first place. If I’m going to move on from it, then I have to be able to define and isolate the things about it that I want to keep with me. Something about it obviously worked, on a massive scale. So what was it?

It’s not the worldbuilding. The worldbuilding is objectively quite terrible, especially in comparison to that of other fantasy writers who knew what they were doing. At best, it’s inconsistent and poorly thought-out, and at worst it’s insensitive or even racist. Is it the characters? The characters are, in my opinion, one of the stronger parts of the story. But I felt very called-out by one of the many online commentators, who said that anyone who identifies with Harry is too cowardly to write self-insert fic. (I do not remember who said it or even which site it was on, but I distinctly remember the phrase, “Reject Harry Potter, embrace Y/N.”) The reason why people get so invested in Harry Potter’s characters is because they’re easy to project upon, and it’s possible that my love of Harry comes more from over a decade’s worth of projection than anything else. The incessant arguments over characters like Snape, Dumbledore, and James Potter ultimately stem from the fact that these characters do not always come across the way Rowling wanted them to. As for the writing itself, it’s decent, but not spectacular. Harry Potter is something of a sandbox world, with less substance than it appears to have and a crapton of missed opportunities, making it ripe for fanfic. For more than ten years, I’ve been doing precisely that — using Harry Potter as a jumping-off point to fill in the gaps and develop my own ideas, some of which became my original projects.

So what does Harry Potter actually have that sets it apart? Why are people so desperate to be part of Harry Potter’s world if the worldbuilding is bad? What, specifically, is so compelling about it? I think that there’s one answer, one thing that is at the center of Potter-mania, and that has been the underlying drive of my love of it for the past decade and a half: the vibe.

Harry Potter’s vibe is immaculate.

You know what I mean, right? It’s not actually a product of any specific trope, but rather a series of aesthetic elements: The wizarding school in a grand castle, with its pointed windows and torches and suits of armor, ghosts and talking portraits and moving staircases, its Great Hall with floating candles and a ceiling that looks like the night sky, its hundreds of magically-concealed secret doorways. Dumbledore’s Office, behind the gryphon statue, with armillary spheres in every single shot. Deliberate archaisms that evoke the Middle Ages without going as far as a Ren Faire: characters wearing heavy robes, writing with quills and ink on parchment instead of paper, drinking from goblets, decorating with tapestries. Owls, cats, toads. Cauldrons simmering in a dungeon laboratory. Shelves piled with dusty tomes, scrolls, glass vials, crystal balls, hourglasses. Magical candy shaped like insects and amphibians. A library with a restricted section. A forbidden forest full of unicorns and werewolves. That is the Vibe.

There are five armillary spheres just in this shot. They are unequivocally the most Wizard of tabletop decor.

There’s more to it than just the aesthetic, though. The vibe is present in something that writers call soft worldbuilding.

There’s a phrase that writers use to describe magic systems, coined by Brandon Sanderson: hard magic and soft magic. Sanderson’s first law of magic is, “An author’s ability to solve problems with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.” A hard magic system has clearly-defined rules — you know where magic comes from, how it works and under which conditions, how the characters can use it, and what its limitations are. Examples of really good hard magic systems include Avatar: The Last Airbender and Fullmetal Alchemist. If the audience doesn’t understand the conditions under which magic can work, then using magic to get out of any kind of scrape risks feeling like the writer pulled something out of their ass. It begs the question, “Well, if they could do that, then why didn’t they do that before?”

You may come away from that thinking that having clearly-defined rules is always better worldbuilding than not having them, but this isn’t the case. Soft magic isn’t fully explained to the audience, but that doesn’t matter, because it isn’t trying to solve problems — its purpose is to be evocative. Soft magic enhances the atmosphere of a world by creating a sense of wonder. If your everyman protagonist is constantly running into cool magical shit that they don’t understand, then the world feels like it teems with magic, magic that is greater and more powerful than they know, leaving lots of secrets to uncover. Harry Potter, at least in the early books, excels at this. The soft magic in Harry Potter is what got me hooked, and I think it’s what a lot of other people liked about it, too.

The essence of soft magic is best summed up by this scene in the fourth film, in which Harry enters the Weasleys’ tiny tent at the Quidditch World Cup, only to find that it’s much bigger on the inside. His reaction is to smile and say, “I love magic.”

That’s it. That’s the essence of it. You don’t need to know the exact spell that makes the tent bigger on the inside. You don’t need to know how Dumbledore can make the food appear on the table with a flick of a wand, or how he can make a bunch of poofy sleeping bags appear with another flick. You don’t need to know how and why the portraits or wizard cards move. You don’t need to know how wizards can appear and disappear on a whim, or what the Deluminator is, or where the Sword of Gryffindor came from. You don’t need to know how the Room of Requirement works. Knowing these things defeats the purpose. It kills the vibe, that vibe being that there is a large and wondrous magical world around you that will always have more to discover.

One of the best “soft magic” moments in the books comes early in Philosopher’s Stone, when Harry is trying to navigate Hogwarts for the first time:

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 8

Many of these details don’t come back later in the series, which is a shame, because this one paragraph is super evocative! It establishes Hogwarts as an inherently magical place, in which the very architecture doesn’t conform to normal rules. Hogwarts seems like it would be exciting to explore (assuming you weren’t late for class), and it gets even better when you learn about all the secret rooms and passages. The games capitalized on this by building all the secret rooms behind bookcases, mirrors, illusory walls, etc. into the game world, and rewarding you for finding them. The utter fascination that produces is hard to overstate.

Another one of the most evocative moments in the first book is when Harry sees Diagon Alley for the first time, after passing through the magically sealed brick wall (the mechanics of which, again, are never explained). This is your first proper glimpse at the wizarding world and what it has to offer:

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, “Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad....” A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon.... —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 5

What works so well here is the magical weirdness of wizardishness juxtaposed against normalcy. Eeylops Owl Emporium is just a pet shop to wizards. A woman makes a very mundane complaint about the price of goods, but the goods happen to be dragon liver. Broomsticks are treated like cars. All of these small moments contribute to the feeling of the wizarding world being alive, inhabited, and also magical. It gets you to ask the question of what your life would be like if you were a wizard. What do wizards wear? What do they eat? What do they haggle over and complain about? What do they do for fun?

In Book 3, Harry enjoys Diagon Alley for a few weeks when he suddenly has free time, and we get to experience the wizarding world in a state of “normalcy,” when he isn’t trying to save the world. He gets free ice creams from Florean Fortescue, gazes longingly at the Firebolt, and engages with delightfully weird people. He’s a wizard, living a (briefly) normal wizard life among other wizards in wizard-land. And that is fun. It’s so fun, that people want that experience for themselves, enough for there to be several theme parks and other immersive experiences dedicated to recreating the world of Harry Potter.

One of the greatest things about Universal was its phenomenal attention to detail. You can hear Moaning Myrtle’s voice in the women’s bathroom, and only the women’s bathroom. The walls of the Three Broomsticks have shadows of a broom sweeping by itself and an owl flying projected against the wall, so convincingly that you’ll do a double take when you see it. Knockturn Alley is down a little secret tunnel off of the main street, and that’s where you have to go to buy Dark Arts-themed stuff. It’s really well done.

Another thing that contributes to the vibe, in my opinion, is that the wizarding world is slightly macabre. They eat candy shaped like frogs, flies, mice, and so forth, and they have gross-tasting jellybeans. In the film’s version of the Diagon Alley sequence above, there’s a random shot of a pet bat available for purchase. In the third film, when Harry is practicing the Patronus Charm with Lupin, the candles are shaped like human spines. In the first book, this is Petunia’s description of Lily’s behavior after she became a witch:

Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school, and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! —Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 4

I remember reading this for the first time, and it just kind of made intuitive sense to me. I suppose it fits into the “eye of newt and toe of frog” association between magical people and gross things, but somehow it works. Unfortunately, this is retconned later with the knowledge that wizards can’t use magic outside school, but before that limitation gets imposed, the idea of Lily amusing herself by turning teacups into rats seems like an inherently witchy thing to do.

That association between magic and the macabre shows up elsewhere, as well. In The Owl House, Luz’s interest in gross things is one of the things that marks her as a “weirdo” in the real world. When she goes to the magical world of the Boiling Isles, weird and gross stuff is absolutely everywhere. That world’s vibe leans more towards the macabre than the whimsical, but it works because you sort of expect the gross stuff to exist alongside the concept of witches, and that they would be an intrinsic part of the world they inhabit. You don’t question it, because it’s part of the vibe.

(The Owl House is one of the few things I’ve encountered that has a similar vibe to Harry Potter, but it’s still not the same vibe. In fact, The Owl House outright mocks the expectation that magical worlds be whimsical, and directly mocks Harry Potter more than once. The overall vibe is much closer to Gravity Falls.)

The Harry Potter films utilize a lot of similar soft worldbuilding with the background details, especially in the early films that were still brightly-colored and whimsical. For example, the scene in Flourish and Blotts in the second film has impossibly-stacked piles of books and old-timey looking signs describing their subjects, which include things like “Celestial Studies” and “Unicorns.” When Harry arrives in the Burrow in the same film, one of the first things he sees is dishes washing themselves and knitting needles working by themselves, taking completely mundane things and instantly establishing them as magical. In that Patronus scene with Harry and Lupin, the spine-candles and a bunch of random orbs (and the obligatory giant armillary sphere) float around in the background. One small detail that I personally appreciate is the designs on the walls above the teacher’s table in the Great Hall, which are from an alchemical manuscript called the Ripley Scroll:

It’s all these little things that add up to produce The Vibe.

Obviously, much of the vibe is expressed very well in John Williams’ score for the first three Harry Potter films. The mystical minor key of the main theme, the tinkly glockenspiel, the strings, the rising and falling notes that mimic the fluttering of an owl, the flight of a broomstick, or the waving of a wand. That initial shot of the castle across the lake as the orchestra swells, as the children arrive at their wizarding school:

If you grew up with Harry Potter, just looking at this image gives you The Vibe. The nostalgia hit is definitely part of it, but The Vibe was already there, back when you were a child and you didn’t have nostalgia yet.

In my opinion, only Williams’ score captures this vibe — the later films, though their scores are very good, do not. But the soundtrack of the first two video games, by Jeremy Soule (the same person who did Skyrim) absolutely nails it. This, right here, is Harry Potter’s vibe, condensed and distilled:

This is why I feel invalidated by the common advice “just read another book.” I have read other books. I’ve read plenty of other books, many of which are wonderfully written and have left an impact on me. But there’s still only one Harry Potter. To date, there’s only other book that has filled me with a similarly intense longing for a fictional place, and that is The Night Circus��by Erin Morgenstern. That book deliberately prioritized atmosphere over everything else in the story, and actually lampshades this in-universe. The Night Circus has a plot and it has characters, but it’s not about its plot or characters. It’s about the setting and its atmosphere. It swallows you up and transports you to a fictional place that is so evocative and so magical that you just have to be part of it or you’ll die. And even then, The Night Circus has a different kind of vibe from Harry Potter. In this particular capacity, there’s nothing else like Harry Potter.

The thing is, I don’t think Rowling was being as deliberate as Erin Morgenstern. (In fact, given many of Rowling’s recent statements, I question how many of her creative choices were deliberated at all.) She was throwing random magical stuff into the background without thinking too hard about it, which works when you’re writing a kids’ story, but stops working when you try to age it up. Actually, scratch that — soft worldbuilding is definitely not just for kids! The Lord of the Rings has a soft magic system, for crying out loud, and Tolkien is the original archmage of worldbuilding. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that prioritizing atmosphere over meticulousness is bad worldbuilding. That is a valid way to worldbuild! Not everything needs to be clearly explained, not everything needs to make sense. The problem is that Harry Potter doesn’t balance it well. Certain things do have to be explained in order for the magic to play an active role in the story (and the setting of a magic school lends itself to that kind of explanation), but no rules are ever established for the kinds of magic that need rules. When you begin thinking about the rules, you’re no longer just enjoying the magic for what it is. At worst, you begin running up against the Willing Suspension of Disbelief.

It wasn’t actually the “aging up” of the story that did it in, per se, but rather, the introduction of realism. The early books were heavily stylized, and the later books were less so. A heavily stylized story can more easily maintain the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. That’s why, for example, you don’t ask why the characters are singing in a musical — you just sort of accept the story’s outlandish internal logic, and the inherent melodrama of it doesn’t take you out of the story. Stylized stories are more concerned with being emotionally consistent over being logically consistent. The later Harry Potter books changed their emotional tone, but without changing the worldbuilding style to compensate.

In addition to the more mature themes and darker tone, Harry Potter introduced more realism as it went, but Rowling did not have the worldbuilding chops to pull this off. There’s the basic magic system stuff: When you begin thinking about it too hard, something like a Time-Turner stops being a fun magical device, and starts threatening to break the entire story. Then there’s the characters: Dumbledore leaving Harry on the Dursleys’ doorstep in the first book is an age-old fairy tale trope that goes unquestioned, but with the introduction of realism in the later books, it suddenly becomes abandonment of a child to an abusive family. The exaggerated stereotypes of characters like the Dursleys become tone-deaf. The fun school rivalry of the House system is suddenly lacking in nuance. And then there’s the shift in tone: The wizarding world that we were introduced to as a marvellous place is revealed to be dystopian. You start thinking about how impractical things like owl messengers are, you start wondering if Slytherin is being unjustly punished, the bad history appears glaringly obvious, the quaint archaisms become dangerously regressive. Oh, and the grand feasts are made through slave labor! The wizarding world suddenly feels small and backward instead of grand and marvellous. J.K. Rowling’s bigotry throws it all into an even harsher light.

This is why I’ve always preferred the early books and films to the later ones. There’s a lot of things I like about the later ones, but they’re not as stylized — they don’t have The Vibe. Thinking about things too hard is just a necessary condition of adulthood, but it’s still possible to tell a dark, mature story that is highly stylized. I really think JKR could have better pulled off that shift if she was a more competent worldbuilder. But it is painfully obvious that she did not think things through, and probably didn’t understand why she had to. In her defense, she did not know that her story would end up being one of the most scrutinized of all time. As it stands, her strength in worldbuilding was in the softer, smaller, deliberately unexplained moments of magic that were there just to provide atmosphere. And there were less and less of those as the books went along.

Pretty much all the Harry Potter-related content released since the last film — including Cursed Child, Fantastic Beasts, Hogwarts Mystery, Hogwarts Legacy, Magic Awakened, and that short-lived Pokemon Go thing — have been unsuccessful attempts at recreating The Vibe. In fact, the only piece of supplemental Potter content that I think had that Vibe down pat was the original Pottermore, back when it was more of an interactive game. And of course that got axed. That was right around the time things started going downhill.

Some of the art from Pottermore’s original Sorting quiz.

So what now? Well, that’s the question.

I think I can safely say that The Vibe was the reason I liked Harry Potter. It’s the thing I still like the most about it. I’ve spent years chasing it, like an elusive Patronus through a dark wood. If I can capture and distill that Vibe, and use drops of it in my own work, then perhaps I won’t need Harry Potter anymore.

I'm gonna write the story that I wish Harry Potter was, and when I'm a famous author, I won't become a bigot. I'll see you on the other side.

[onehundredflamingos]

Graduation / 113 words

@drarrymicrofic

Harry could hardly believe he had survived all those grueling months of auror training, that he had actually made it to graduation day.

“I should have made everyone badges in your honor,” Draco said, plucking a bit of lint off of Harry’s dress robes.

“Potter stinks?” Harry asked with a laugh.

“Auror Potter stinks,” Draco amended, but he sounded proud, like he couldn’t wait to use his boyfriend’s full title: Auror Potter.

Harry grinned back at him, and found he was also proud of himself; it was the first thing that Harry had ever completed for himself.

There was no martyrdom, no world-saving — just him and the future he was creating.

[veryinnovative]

@jegulus-microfic | january 2, prompt: fire | word count: 1.575 featuring older ceo regulus black and younger intern james potter

“A truffle wagyu burger with hand-cut fries? What does that even fucking mean?!” James shouts into the receiver as he winds through the busy masses of bodies crossing the roads, the traffic light across blinking for him to hurry. “Can’t I pick up something for him from Burger King or something? You know, like a normal human being?” 

On the other end of the line, Barty snorts a derisive sound. “Yeah, you try feeding him cheap chain franchise slob and see how that plays out for you. The fucker thinks Versace is a low-class brand, James. He probably doesn’t even know what the inside of a Burger King looks like. Besides, that place is fire. They have good shit.”

Groaning, James picks up the speed and sets out for a sprint, having missed the bus to Howick and resorted to the most reliable way of transport—his two sets of healthy, always moderately trained legs. 

“Are you running? You better not be fucking running, Potter. You’re going to come back all sweaty and with creases in your cheap-ass button-up and then I’m going to be the one getting shit for not driving you and ruining the image of Regulus Black’s executive assistant—”

“Suck a dick, Barty,” James bites back after barely evading a car, its tires screeching at him in warning. He throws the driver an apologetic smile.

“I’m serious. You meal-prepped, Potter! Asked where the fucking office microwave is, are you out of your mind? Lunch is on company credit, for fuck’s sake. You’ve got an image to uphold now you’re working for Black Enterprises!”

“The cafeteria is too rich for my taste. Besides, I like meal-prepping. It’s calming.”

“Your fucking tuna stinks up the place.”

“Maybe that’s just your big bullshitting mouth.”

“Listen here, you piece of—”

“Oops, entering a tunnel, hear that?” James cups a hand over the receiver and makes a low, grating sound—mimicking the static rasp of a bad cellular connection. “See you!”

He tucks away the phone before entering Beauxbatons, the restaurant Barty had told him to go to because Regulus was craving his guilty snack, which, to James, sounded like an item right off a witch’s menu. Then again, he was a poor twenty-three-year-old who had just had a gap year fresh out of university, lived in a run-down apartment tucked in Southern London, and knew nothing of the expensive tastes a man like Regulus Black possessed. Thirty-something years old and not a single skin blemish. Must be all the fucking truffle and caviar and whatever Boiron guava puree he eats.

“Welcome,” one of the employees asks. Of course, all of the staff are also wearing pristine clothes and have perfectly sleeked-back hair.

“Hi,” James answers, now all too conscious of the developing sweat marks below his armpits and the dampness cooling on his back. “I’m, uh, here to pick up lunch? Sorry, I forgot my order so let me have a peek at my messages…”

The employee blinks like James has grown a second head. “Take-away? Sir, this is a dine-in restaurant.”

Good thing James has come prepared. He shuffles through the contents of his bag, phone in the other hand and tip of his tongue peeking out in full concentration. “Oh, that’s alright. I brought something to carry it with me. I also got some Tupperware if you don’t mind rinsing it beforehand.”

“No, sir, it’s not a matter of containers,” the employee starts, her lips pursed into a tight line. “We don’t do takeaways.”

James stops and frowns, bag half slung over his shoulder. “Isn’t this Beauxbatons?”

“It is.”

“My boss sometimes has people pick up his lunch here.”

“You must be mistaken… We do not lend any type of service like that.”

James sighs. Great. Amazing. Just what he needed. “Right. Do you mind if I make a call? I’m sorry, there must have been a mistake then.”

The employee, undoubtedly taking pity on him and his disorderly state that suggests he’s been running the past ten minutes, nods. “Of course.”

Heaving a sigh, James scrolls through his contact list and taps on ‘Regulus’, never mind that he has been firmly instructed to only call him during emergencies. But considering the sort of day he’s been having, he considers this one.

Regulus picks up after the third ring. “Potter?”

It’s been two weeks and he still won’t fucking call him by his name, going off on tangents about formal office conduct and etiquette. Potter this, Potter that, bridling when he’s called by his first name for a change in an environment that would kiss the soles of his feet if he’d ask. “Hi, I’m at the place you sent me the address of but they don’t do takeaways so I wanted to know what you want to eat. You cool with Wagamama?”

There’s a pregnant pause—all too telling of how Regulus is probably taking a deep breath and doing the thing where he either pinches the bridge of his nose or rubs his eyebrows. “Have you mentioned the takeaway is for me?”

“No, I haven’t.” What difference would it make, James wants to ask. But in a world where Regulus Black is pretty much revered, he is confident it would make a little difference at least.

“Do that, Potter.”

James rolls his eyes before returning his attention to the employee. “He wants you to know his name is Regulus, by the way.”

Her eyes widen. “Reg—Do you mean Mr. Black?”

James clicks his tongue. “That the one.” The employee doesn’t look convinced and James holds up his hand just above his chest. “About this tall? Curly black hair? Probably in one of today’s morning tabloids, not hard to miss. I could put him on speaker if you’d like?”

There’s the frantic wave of her hands, head shaking vigorously. “Oh! You should have told me from the start, Sir. Please, what would Mr. Black like to eat for lunch? I—I’m sorry. We are very exclusive in our service and are most honored Mr. Black has once again chosen our humble establishment—”

“Just,” James sighs, skimming over the menu laminated standing on an easel by the entrance, not possessing the energy to listen to someone go off on tangents about his boss again. Not like he does so internally at night, anyway. Absolutely not. “A truffle wagyu burger with hand-cut fries.”

“Not fries, a salad—” Regulus reminds him over the phone, but James has decided that he will just about eat whatever James decides on.

“Potter—” Regulus tries again and James flat-out hushes him. To his surprise, Regulus actually shuts up.

The employee nods, over-excited. “Oh, of course, an excellent choice. How would Mr. Black like it to be cooked?”

James shrugs. “I don’t know, on a grill?”

There’s a faint garbled noise coming from Regulus that James will definitely tuck away in his memory.

But the employee is too thrilled to be serving someone as pompous as Regulus to notice the lack of culinary terminology James possesses. “Oh, I meant the cook of the meat!”

“The cook of the meat?” James repeats. “I don’t know, whoever is on shift? Regulus, who do you want to cook your burger?”

The employee makes a high-pitched sound at the same Regulus sighs in a very exaggerated, exhausted manner. “Just tell them medium rare.”

“Medium? What is this, a video game difficulty?”

“Medium rare!” the employee chirps, her smile wry. Strands of hair stick out of the previously perfectly pulled-back bun like the situation has created plenty of static to dishevel her updo. “One medium rare wagyu—”

“Don’t forget the fries,” James adds, unable to fight off the grin cleaving his face. This, he loves most—fucking with rich people. ‘Who do you want to cook your meat?’ he’s a genius for that one, an absolute innovative mastermind. Make him head of corporate next at this rate.

“You had to call me for this?” Regulus asks him as James watches the poor girl scurry off to the back, undoubtedly to ring in the order and gush about the perfect, rich, hot-looking Regulus Black on the phone by the restaurant’s hallway.

“It was an emergency. I get you the wrong order and you, I dunno, bite off my head like Miranda Priestly.”

“I don’t know a Miranda Priestly.”

“No? Shame. Would’ve loved her, a real feisty woman that one. She works in the fashion industry, though.”

“Potter.”

James tries not to bark out a laugh. He can’t help it, Regulus is just too easy. “Yeah, I’ll get you your overtly expensive A3-grade cut of meat that could pay for my weekly rent. Didn’t take you for the type of man to get burgers, by the way.”

“That’s why I’m asking employees of a lower tax bracket to pick them up for me.”

Okay, that’s kind of funny. Regulus Black can be fucking funny if he wants to, he just rarely chooses to. James barely masks his snort at it. “Got me there, boss.”

“Get a cab back to the office. And stop calling me boss.”

“My bad, Sir,” James drawls, knowing that Regulus reacts particularly well to this specific formality. 

A second of silence that stretches on for a little too long. James clears his throat, wondering if the line cut off. “Regu—”

“See you soon, Potter,” Regulus speaks, faster than usual, almost like he’s flustered, and with a strange pitch to his words before he hangs up.

[panlight]

I.e. Bella not suffering any consequences: what I find even more annoying is that Meyer makes such a big stink about the books being about choice but only BELLA gets any big choices. Every other member of the Cullens was forcefully turned, either entirely against their will (Carlisle, Jasper) or to save their life (Alice, Edward, Emmett, Esme, Rose). Every shifter is forcefully turned due to the vampires; not even Jacob chose it in the end and actively fought against it. Imprinting is forced. Don't get me started on Leah. And even if Nessie wants Jacob in her life, the book heavily implies that she wouldn't have a choice either way. Also, she has to stay with her family because she'll never look old enough, isn't as invulnerable, etc. Literally only Bella has any choice over life-changing decisions (even Edward claims that he never had a choice in loving Bella). Bella chooses Edward (actively endangering herself and others), chooses to be a vampire (supposedly an evil, immoral life endangering others), chooses to give birth to Nessie (possibly an inhuman killing machine while endangering herself and others), and so on. And instead of ANY consequences AT ALL for what appear to be TERRIBLE choices (based on every single book except the back half of BD), she's ALSO the only one who gets pretty much everything she ever wanted while everyone else has to live with whatever crumbs of happiness they can eke out. It's infuriating if you care about anyone AT ALL other than Bella.

Totally agree! It's always been amusing to me that SM says the books are about choice. The apple being offered on the cover presents a choice: do you take it or not? Do you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Do you take the apple from the old woman who might be a witch or evil queen in disguise? And the original name of the book was "Forks;" obviously for the setting but also for the idea of forks in the road: which path you will choose?

But Bella's the only one with any real choices here. She actually has a lot more agency than a lot of people give her credit for. SHE chose to move to Forks. SHE chose to pursue a relationship with Edward. SHE chose the reckless actions in New Moon. SHE chose to ask Edward to sit out the fight. SHE chose to become a vampire. SHE chose to keep the pregnancy. She certainly suffers hardships, but they almost all come from choices SHE made for herself.

And the negative effects of those choices are temporary or unimportant to her specifically. Her scars from James are healed in the transformation; Emily's face is still scarred. The toll her pregnancy took on her body is erased in the transformation, but Esme is still 'rounded and soft' from her pregnancy, and Alice is 'thin in the extreme' from her malnourishment. Bella doesn't even burn for the full three days, only two! There's even a line where Edward literally says something like, "Renesmee's eyes are exactly your color, so that wasn't lost after all." She gets to keep Jacob literally forever (he has no choice) and she gets to keep Charlie when no one else got to keep their human families in their lives. Irina dies, but Bella doesn't know her so it doesn't matter.

I fully understand the main character is the main character for a reason; because they're special, because their journey is unique, etc. But this is also the reason I tend to find main characters annoying. This is not a Bella problem or an SM problem but a me problem. I feel similarly about Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen as I do about Bella Swan. I like ensembles; I like when there are lots of narrators, or when there's no obvious 'main' character. And if there is a main character, dollars to donuts they aren't my favorite; I will 100% always sympathize more with the secondary characters and find them more interesting.

Bella gets to choose what she wants for her life and it all works out for her. Good for her! Genuinely! But it's a glaring contrast to the stories of virtually all the supporting characters and, to me at least, less interesting. Forever disappointed Bella being a newborn was such a non-event. I was looking forward to it for three and a half books and she just basically carries on her life like nothing has changed. Meh. The supporting characters not having many choices and making the best of things is personally more interesting to me.

[sweet-s0rr0w]

day 18 of @hprecfest - a fic that makes you laugh

Little Red Courgette, by @blamebrampton - T, 31k, 2009

Summary: When this season's purple courgettes are woefully thin, Draco Malfoy thinks it amounts to small beans. Next thing he knows, the Department of Standards is over-run with leeks, Brussels sprouts all sorts of legislative difficulties, and somebody appears to have put a roquette under Harry Potter. Can Draco seize a marrow victory? Or will his plans for peas be squashed?

All along, Kingsley Shacklebolt finds himself pining for the good old days, when, instead of governing, all you had to worry about were Dark Lords and imminent death.

Excerpt:

They each made it through a bowl of chocolate with sundry other flavours garnishing it. And three large glasses of wine. This was the only excuse Draco could find for the fact that he found himself asking Potter: 'So what's your game?'

'Quidditch,' Potter replied instantly. 'Or Exploding Snap.'

'Here. What's your game here.'

'I'm not with you.'

A part of Draco's brain screamed at him to stop, but the alcohol-soaked part, in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Smythe's, encouraged him to go on. 'Are you working with Kingsley to enlist me as your pawn in a clean out of the Ministry? You were very quick to agree when I asked you to warn The Quibbler off, was it all a ruse?'

'I thought you were engaged in your own hands-on grass-roots Ministry reform, making the one department work well, with an eye to expanding in the future,' Potter rebutted.

'Well I am, so you needn't try making use of me in your nefarious scheme.'

'I don't have a nefarious scheme.'

'So is it all a complicated plan to take some highly personal and embarrassing revenge for the Potter Stinks badges? Because that was years ago. And although I feel a little badly about it now, they were excellent work for a wizard that age.'

'They were, I was impressed. I still have one at home, you know.'

'Really?'

'Yup. I thought you were a wanker at the time, but I have to say, that was a quality Charm.'

'Thanks. So what's left? You're in the hire of someone keen to assassinate the last of the Malfoys; it's all an elaborate if somewhat clumsy plan at seduction; or you're desperate for someone to talk to now that all your friends are getting married and having children.'

'Those are my options? I'll take two, clumsy seduction.'

'Really?'

Back in 2019 when I rediscovered the joys of fanfic after over a decade out, I started off the way any (less tech-savvy) millennial would, by googling 'Drarry fanfiction'. blamebrampton's works were some of the first that I found, and I was immediately entranced. They're such an incredible variety, from the Muggle World-set Doing the Lambeth Walk, to travel fic Beneath Boundless Skies, to wartime epic (and longtime @tackytigerfic obsession) And Save Me From Bloody Men. No matter what the topic, though, blamebrampton's sense of humour always shines through in her sharp observations and witty dialogue, and in Little Red Courgette she's able to showcase this to the fullest extent. It's a hilarious examination of government bureaucracy from the world-weary point of view of one Draco Malfoy, an employee of the Office for the Volumetric Standardisation of Edible Wizarding Greengrocery Produce. The veg related puns are numerous, and excellent, and both Draco and Harry are incredibly endearing. Big rec, for all her works!

If you read it, and especially if you love it, please do let me know! And as always, please do take the time to leave the author a kudos/comment <3

day 1 - first fic you remember reading

day 2 - a fic rated G

day 3 - a fic not on ao3

day 4 - a comfort fic

day 5 - a romantic fic

day 6 - a fic for a ship you don’t normally read

day 7 - the best of your OTP

day 8 - a fic that was recced to you

day 9 - a WIP

day 10 - a fest/event fic

day 11 - an underrated fic

day 12 - a fic from your favourite author

day 13 - a rare pair

day 14 - a fic rated T

day 15 - a fic over 50k

day 16 - a podfic

day 17 - a fic that makes you cry

[shiftermia]

— Sweet Nothings

James potter x gn!reader

Where you were just hanging out in your boyfriend’s room and you get one on one time with him.

a/n: it’s been months since I’ve last posted… oops! Here’s a James blurb to make up for it ( if I didn’t A would’ve killed me )

The Smiths latest vinyl played softly in the background as you lay on your stomach in your boyfriend, James’s bed, feet swinging gently in the air to the soft tune.

You were currently working on your Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, having to write about dark objects and their origins when the door opened.

Turning your head back, you were greeted with the sight of James tiredly dropping his bag onto the floor.

“Hey, Jamie,” you quipped, turning back to your paper and missing the sight of his soft smile and adoring eyes watching you.

“Hey, Poppet,” he said, crawling onto the bed and dropping his body weight onto you with a loud sigh.

You let out a groan, his weight knocking the breath out of you. “Ew, you’re all sweaty, James, bugger off!”

He chuckled as you moved underneath him, trying to push him off to no avail. “You can blame the bloody amount of stairs to the dorms for that.”

“You should go change,” you suggested, giving up on moving him and going back to your writing. “Or at least have a bath, you stink.”

“Ouch,” he playfully clutched his chest.

You let out a chuckle, “it’s true though, isn’t?”

James nodded and rested his head on your shoulder, watching your hand move rapidly. “That Slughorn’s work?” He asked, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

“No, defense,” you corrected. He hummed in return and pressed kisses trailing up your shoulder to your neck, stopping after a moment with a content sigh.

“Missed you today, love,” he muttered, closing his eyes, nestling his face further into your neck. His glasses pressed into his nose painfully, but he ignored it.

You dropped your quill and brought a hand up to his messy curls, turning your head slightly, chin resting on his head lightly. “I missed you too, Jamie.”

It was quiet for a moment, the both of you simply listening to the Smiths song playing before you rolled over. James lifted himself so he hovered over you, admiring your pretty features before leaning down and pressing a tender, though firm kiss to your lips.

“Hi,” you murmured with a dopey grin.

James chuckled, lovingly pushing some baby hairs off your forehead. “Hi, my darling.” He pressed a few more short kisses to your lips before resting on top of you, hugging you tightly.

“What song is this by the way?” He asked with furrowed brows as you took off his glasses for him.

You stretched your arm out and dropped his glasses onto his bedside table as you answered, “It’s by The Smiths, that muggle band?”

It took a moment before pressing a chaste kiss to your collarbone. “Oh, yeah, you’ve got a crush on them, right?”

You chuckled, lightly swatting his head as he laughed tiredly. “Shut up, but it’s new, think it’s called Let me get what I want or something, I dunno.”

“Hmm, it’s nice.” James sleepily told you.

You let out a noise of agreement, gently scratching his head, fingers disappearing underneath the messy curls. It wasn’t often that James was so calm and sleepy as he was usually energetic, but you loved when he got like this. Clingy and muttering sweet nothings.

[crackishincorrecthp]

Draco, to Pansy, 4th year: Harry Potter just thanked me and I couldn’t decide between “No problem!” and “No worries!” so I yelled “No worms!” to him as he walked away... Pansy, holding back a laugh: What did you do that he thanked you for? Draco: unbelievably he liked the "Potter stinks" badges I made...So he thanked me for them and even asked for a few! Pansy, laughing: Okay, but I think you should tell him you have a crush on him, 'cause the "no worms!" thing was very telling... Draco, blushing: It wasn't! Pansy: Yes, it was.

[the-oblivious-writer]

Wanna Be Yours |1|

Hermione Granger x Fem!Reader

Chapter One: Pranks & Fifth Year

Notes: Modern AU, Fem!SlytherinReader, any characters you don't recall from the Harry Potter universe are my OC's

Warning(s): None that I'm aware of

Prologue|Next Part

Y/n entered the train when a hand waved her over to a compartment. She entered the compartment where she saw familiar faces. Amelia and Leo were sitting across from each other, Y/n gave a quick 'hello' but then gave a confused expression.

"Where's Raine and Link?" she asked, Amelia rolled her eyes at the mention of the two. "Pranking the first years with Fred and George. Same as always."

Leo scooted closer to the window and left more room for Y/n to sit down. "Judging by the sudden silence, I'm assuming their plan is already in place." Y/n tilted her head back and sighed. "Merlins, do I even want to know what they have planned this time around?"

Leo chuckled slightly as he shook his head,"Why spoil it?" Just as those words left his mouth Lorraine, Fred and George came running in the compartment abruptly. They had their hands on their knees and were out of breath. "I'm assuming something went wrong" Y/n remarked.

Fred was peeking his head around every now and until finally shutting the door.

"Yeah..about that we uh kind of got the wrong compartment" Lorraine said as she took a seat, bunched up next to Y/n as Fred and George stood and avoided the window to the compartment door. 

"Wait-" Amelia started looking around, "Where's Link?" Fred, George and Lorraine suddenly looked at each other and back at the girl.

"He kind of decided to take his own road but he's fi-" before George could finish his sentence the compartment door opened. The three pranksters jumped but soon relaxed when they saw that it was only Link. "Merlin's beard, you scared us," Fred said.

"Sorry bout' that mate just had to wait for the coast to be clear before showing my face" Link responded, still taking heavy breaths. "Whose compartment did you get instead?" Amelia asked curiously.

"Draco's who was with Blaise and Theo. We ran before they could even leave their seats" Fred said, slightly laughing as he recalled the memory. "You should have seen their faces when the stink bombs went off" the four started to laugh.

"I swear one of these days, you're gonna get yourselves killed" Leo said as he shook his head.

—

They arrive at Hogwarts and separate when getting to the Great Hall to go to their house tables. Amelia and Y/n sat together at the Slytherin table, Link sat with the Hufflepuffs and Lorraine and Leo sat at the Ravenclaw table. Dumbledore made the same speech he made every year. It was their fifth year, they had gotten used to the same boring words he fed them at the beginning of every year.

Eventually it was time to eat and the Great Hall grew with noise. Y/n sat and ate silently as Amelia spoke with another Slytherin. Y/n wasn't one for making conversation, half the time it felt forced. She kept a small friend group and that was it. Y/n was an anti-social butterfly as her friend called her. 

Y/n poked around at her food but couldn't help but feel eyes on her. She looked up to see a Gryffindor girl staring at her, only for the girl to instantly avert her stare. Y/n felt heat rush to her cheeks from being stared at. The Slytherin stared back at her food as her mind kept trailing back to the girl.

Suddenly, Y/n felt a gentle nudge. "You alright?" Amelia asked the girl. Y/n only nodded and turned her head back at her food. Amelia looked at the girl skeptically but didn't want to push and left it at that.

—

Amelia and Y/n made their way to the dungeons when Amelia spoke. "I know you're always spaced out and stuff but you seemed a bit more than usual. Everything okay?" 

Y/n thought for a moment. "Yeah it's just..there was this girl who I caught staring and it just caught me off guard I guess." Amelia gave a little smirk which confused Y/n. "What?"

"I think I might know who you're talking about," Amelia replied. "And how is that?" Y/n asked curiously. "Just have a feeling it's the same girl who I've caught staring at you before" Amelia answered as she still held a small smirk.

"And who might that be?" Y/n asked, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Just some girl whom you’ve never spoken to but I have a feeling this year will be different. Considering this is the first time your clueless ass has noticed" Amelia remarked.   

Y/n rolled her eyes at the girl's last comment, "Enough playing blue's clues, I'm exhausted." The two girls entered the Slytherin common room and made their way to the dorms.

-----

A/n: Hope you enjoyed that first chapter! Exams are still going on but I'll try to work on a chapter whenever I can

Remember to stay hydrated folks, happy pride and good luck to anybody else who still has exams going on!

[veritas-scribblings]

doctor - @jegulus-microfic - words: 1,060

[in-universe: pride and then puddles | occurs before pride]

There are times when James wonders how his life got to this point. Where he’s at St. Mungos in the waiting room while another man is in the emergency ward with his partner and child. To be fair, if James is going to be rational about this (and he really doesn’t think he wants to be rational about it), Barty had been with Regulus and baby Elio when baby Elio had spiked a fever and started vomiting, and had immediately rushed the three of them to the emergency department.

Where James’s rationality stops is when Barty had apparently informed the healers that he is ‘definitely’ baby Elio’s other father. Because Barty is an absolute freak without any concept of boundaries and has decided that if Elio is Regulus’s child, he’s obviously Barty’s child too. It’s like Barty doesn’t comprehend that you can’t just lay claim to another human being. It doesn’t work that way. For fucks sake. If Barty wants a child so badly, he can go and get his own fucking child.

But now, James is stuck in the waiting room being refused entry because, he was curtly informed by the nurses, a child cannot have three parents. Not even a wizarding child.

The nurse at the desk glares at James as he scratches away at a sheet of parchment with a plain white hospital-standard quill. The nurse is a robust man, a little bit squat, the appropriate build for a strong beater, James thinks. James would have tried to strike up a conversation about quidditch, ask the man if he plays, had the man not solidified his role as James ultimate mortal enemy.

For the better part of an hour, he’s been watching James closely, having apparently deemed James a ‘nuisance’ after James had kicked up the world’s biggest stink in the middle of the waiting room.

James had argued and then screamed and insulted the man. He had even sent the man to go and speak with Barty and Regulus and rectify the situation, only for the man to return and inform James that Barty has rectified the situation and both parents are already with baby Elio. James is to patiently sit his arse on the chairs and wait for news.

And then, when the man had decided James wasn’t worth his time and had attempted to attend to another person, James had taken the opportunity to try and quickly make a break for it. Bolt through the doors. Search for his partner and child, and maybe murder Barty.

The man had not at all appreciated this.

So James sits. And he waits. And he makes angry faces at the man at the desk, because his fucking child, his own flesh and blood, is sick. James does not know what is going on. He can’t get any information. He can’t see him and he can’t hold him. He can’t even be with him. And he thinks he might be going out of his mind.

With a huff, James strides over to the man and slams his hands on the desk. Before he can speak, the man says firmly and tiredly, without looking up, ‘No news yet, they’ll let you know.’

‘Potter,’ James says. ‘His surname is Potter. My surname is Potter. He’s my child. For fucks sake, how stupid can you be?!’

‘James?’

James whirls around at the sound of Regulus’s voice. Regulus looks tired and stressed; there are dark patches under his eyes. James wants to rush forwards and sweep Regulus into his arms, but Regulus has turned away to speak quietly to a healer as he approaches. Two steps behind them is Barty. No sign of Elio.

James looks around frantically for baby Elio before finally noticing that Barty is cradling the baby to his chest. ‘Crouch,’ he growls, storming forwards. ‘Give me my—’

‘Sh.’ Barty glances up with a menacing smile. ‘Quiet or you’ll wake him. We just got him to sleep.’ He raises baby Elio a little bit higher to snuggle him. He’s definitely doing this to be a dick, because he knows that James will not punch him in the face if he’s holding James’s child hostage.

‘Give me my fucking baby, Crouch,’ James hisses. When he goes to pluck baby Elio from Barty’s arms, Barty quickly dodges his hands and scurries over to stand next to Regulus.

Sometimes it feels like Barty is an unwelcome squatter in James and Regulus’s relationship.

Look, James gets it. He really does. He’d brought Sirius into the relationship with him, and Regulus had brought Barty into the relationship. And between the two of them, there’s now four of them and that’s a lot of people in a single two-person relationship. The only difference is that while Sirius, for the most part, understands the concept of boundaries and can be reasoned with, Barty has not listened to another human being (besides Regulus and Evan) since he gained an inch of freedom and ran a mile with it.

James drapes his arm around Regulus and pulls him close, trying to keep his attention both on baby Elio and the healer, who is speaking.

‘I’m happy to send him home,’ the healer says, handing Regulus a slip of parchment. ‘Just give him children’s pepper-up potion; the infant range. Two millilitres every 4 hours. Keep his fluids up and monitor his temperature, and if his temperature rises too much again, definitely bring him back in.’ She leans over to peer at Elio, who is still slumbering in Barty’s arms. ‘He’s just being a little dramatic. Aren’t you, little one?’

The healer gives them a smile and a nod before departing.

James immediately tugs Regulus into his arms. ‘What happened? Is everything okay?’

‘Infection,’ Regulus says, relaxing slightly in James’s arms. ‘He was vomiting. A lot. He’s fine now. …I think. When did you get here? You should have come in.’

James blinks at Regulus, because…what? ‘Well, I tried, but…’ he trails off, noting Barty’s smug as fuck expression. Sighing, James doesn’t continue and instead just slowly runs his hand up and down Regulus’s back. He’s tired and stressed. Regulus is tired and stressed. James doesn’t have the energy for a round of verbal sparring with Barty.

And at least he knows that Barty will tear the world apart to protect his child. That’s some sort of consolation, right?

[fandomnerd9602]

Can you do a Harry potter X Female Hufflepuff Reader were he notices Y/n’s knuckles are bruised and when he asks why she tells him it happened punching one of her housemates after they tried forcing her to wear a potter stinks badge.

Y/N rubs her knuckles…

Harry: what happened?

Y/N: jerks wanted me to wear a Potter Stinks badge. I wouldn’t.

Harry: oh…thank you

Y/N: I don’t think you stink at all

Y/N hugs Harry, who hugs right back…

[quantumelepant]

It's been a week since I last posted a snippet from the band!au, let's make it a-thing since it actually worked and I wrote a whole other chapter in the mean time!!

We could say this is a soft launch for James' crush but he's too oblivious to make the connection because I have needs and my needs are: slow burn

Soft notes diffused in the darkening sky, with the city down below glinting so furiously in the remnants of the day, James forgot it stinked. It looked precious, fragile. Anything could come down and wipe it away, make it burn. No matter how fiercely the skyscrapers tried, they didn’t scrape anything. What an arrogant species, they dared and they dared and they dared and then they cried. James was no better, and he was proud. What was the point of it all if you didn’t laugh in the face of danger? What was the point of being able to comprehend just how fleeting it was and then find it dooming? Such impossible creatures, they could die of everything and yet they sat down and built fucking skyscrapers just to play God. Yet they loved. It was ridiculous, that was the whole point. You wouldn’t know what the explosive core was, sometimes it was so small it was invisible, sometimes it was eighty light years from Earth, sometimes it was both at the same time and it was a boy with a plant and a storm and no way to balance it out. If curiosity killed the cat, it pulverised the human. And James Potter was only human. He turned around and Regulus was already looking at him, a frown between his eyebrows, his eyes darker. “What?” James asked.

[dracoxsworld]

hey I was wondering If you could do a harry x reader oneshot (takes place in ootp or hbp) where harry and reader are dating for a few months and reader is still not completely comfortable around harry because she isn’t used to physical contact and one day when harry wants to cuddle with her she just stiffens or flinches which causes harry to worry about her cause he doesn’t know if she has some trauma or something and you can make up the rest but make it extremely fluffy? only if you want to do it tho I just thought it’d be cute <3

A/N: Holy cow this is a really good idea. I feel like Harry is so clingy and like, cuddly, so this prompt is so perfect for him! I edited the timeline a bit to tie in GOF just for storyline purposes buuut I hope you still enjoy!

WARNINGS: Mentions of past trauma/abuse, but only briefly. The rest is fluff. <3 I’ll put a *** as a warning if you want to skip past it, and a *** at the end so you know it’s over.

“There they are! That’s who’s dating Harry Potter!” Hushed voices whispered throughout the castle walls as you walked to class.

You were used to hearing people talk. Both in a positive light– and in a negative one.

You and Harry began your relationship at the beginning of 4th year. Unknowingly, (and unintentionally) Harry became even more famous by being thrown into the Triwizard tournament against his will. With you already being relatively shy, and soft spoken; you and Harry decided it may be best to keep your relationship secret.

Harry knew people would bother you and pick at you to reveal if he purposely got himself into the tournament somehow–; even though you both knew that he didn’t.

After 4th year, you both finally announced your relationship. It was the first day of 5th year, you and Harry just celebrated your one year anniversary, and were both happy. However, given the secrecy of your relationship, and Rita Skeeter being an unregistered Animagus sneaking around Hogwarts, you and Harry weren’t able to behave like normal couples do.

Sure, there was sneaky hand holding, smiles and resting your head on his shoulder, etc. But no kisses, no cuddles, nothing that you would see other couples at Hogwarts would do.

You of course craved the intimacy, longed for the closeness of your boyfriend, but you hadn’t had affection in a long time anyway. You weren’t to used to a gentle, loving touch. Harry didn’t know much about your past, you’d never talked about it with anyone. Until one day.

You heard the hushed voices surround you in the hallway. It’s been two weeks since you and Harry announced your relationship, you had expected people to drop the subject and get h!bored of it, but you underestimated the obsession with the Harry Potter. Ginny Weasley have you the stink eye as you passed her in the hall. She very obviously had developed a huge crush on Harry since she had seen him for the first time. You gave her an apologetic look, even though it wasn’t your fault.

You turned around the corner and ran into someone.

“Shit, I’m so sorry I was in a rush and,” you began to say, before looking up to a familiar boy with messy raven hair. He smiled down at you, crouching down to your level.

“I haven’t seen you all day, my love, are your classes over?” Harry asked. You nodded, your face turning scarlet as he helped you up. “Are you?” you asked quietly. Harry nodded, taking your books out of your hands carrying them for you. “Shall we go to the common room? Everyone is going to Hogsmade but, I’m not really in the mood today.” Harry suggested, beginning to walk down the hall with you. “Sounds lovely, todays been really draining my social battery.” You chuckled, awkwardly clasping your hands together since Harry was carrying your books for you.

-

You and Harry sat in the common room, studying for your upcoming potions test. You always did better with potions than Harry did, so you tried your best to help.

“I just don’t understand,” Harry sighed, closing the potions book. You chuckled softly “Harry, you can’t give up! It just takes time.” You insisted, taking his hand in yours. His green eyes looked up from the closed book to your E/C eyes. A gentle smile formed on his face. “Thank you for trying to help, I promise I’ll keep working at it.” He replied. You nodded “As long as you keep trying.” You said gratefully.

“So, has anyone asked you questions about our relationship?” You asked Harry, fiddling with your quill. Harry took a sip of pumpkin juice from a mug Mrs. Weasley made for him with the letter “H” hand painted on it.

“Normal stuff, Hermione and Ron were kind of mad at first for not telling them, but they understood once I explained.” Harry said.

“Luna said we’re a match made in the stars.” You said, recalling what your friend had told you. Luna was the most supportive of your relationship, her eyes lit up when you told her.

Harry smiled, red forming in his cheeks. He shuffled closer to you on the couch you both were lounging on.

You watched Harry scoot closer to you, and you took a shaky breath he didn’t seem to notice. You and Harry had never cuddled, or kissed very much since you revealed your relationship. Quick pecks here and there, but nothing personal or very romantic.

Harry's hand slowly went towards your face to caress it. but before it could reach you, you flinched. Harry's calm expression quickly changed to concern. His eyebrows furrowed at you. "Love?" He said softly, but you couldn't look at him in the eye. You hated that your body still reacted the way it did.

"Did you think I was going to hurt you?" The boy asked.

"I would never think you would hurt me, I-" You began, beginning to choke. "I just, I'm sorry." your voice broke. Harry just watched you, his arm slowly and cautiously wrapped around you, you leaned into him. For the first time, and after a year of dating, you were in Harry's arms. It felt right, you felt complete.

"What's wrong, did I upset you?" Harry whispered, planting a kiss on your head.

You shook your head. "It's just me, I'm broken" You explained. "I've never opened up to you about it." You added about a moment of thinking.

"About what?" He asked, his thumb rubbing your back.

"My past relationship was extremely unhealthy." You murmured. "He watched every move, criticized every move, too."

Harry didn't interrupt. “I could tell when I’d piss him off, he would get really angry.” You explained.

***

Harry sat up and faced you, and you faced him. “Y/N, what would he do when he was angry?” Harry asked simply. You looked at him and you felt your ears go hot, and your eyes filled with tears. “He’d hit me, you know. Put his hands on me.”

Harry’s eyes now mirrored yours, filling with tears. He also looked angry, his fists were balled up. He was looking down at his fists, he was quiet, not saying a word. But you knew what he was thinking. You weren’t sure what to do, but you grabbed his hands and held them in yours and looked at him.

***

“I am never going to hurt you, Y/N.” Harry said quietly, and very softly. “I’m going to promise you a lot of things, one is that I will never hurt you.”

You smiled, and slowly snuggled into his arms. Your body was tense, but his fingers delicately rubbed up and down your back. He planted a soft kiss on your forehead. You both sat there for a moment, in silence. Just enjoying each others company.

“My other promise is that I’ll always love you.” Harry added.

“I’ll always love you too, Harry.”

[heavyhitterheaux]

Tonight, I'm Going to Dance For You (NSFW 18+)

A Ballerina's Tale Fic

AN: They're always going to show up for each other in their time of need

Synopsis: Jack isn't being honest about how he's feeling lately, so you take it upon yourself to do something special for him

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader

Requested by: my baby @nattinatalia 😘💕

Do not engage if you are not 18+

A Ballerina's Tale Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

You could tell that something was bothering your boyfriend but you couldn't quite put your finger onto what it was.

He was on tour while you were taking a few days off from the theater and you would be reunited with him in the next two weeks but it seemed like time was creeping by slowly.

The short conversations were attributed to him being on the go non stop and you knew that he was exhausted so you didn't think anything of it, you worried about him more than he liked and you flat out told him that you worrying was never going to change no matter how much he threw a fit about it.

It all came to a head on a Thursday night on a routine facetime call while Jack was in Poland and you were in New York.

"Babe, why are you so quiet?" You curiously asked while taking your popcorn out of the microwave.

"Because I obviously don't have a lot to say." Jack replied to you while shrugging and it took all the strength in you not to roll your eyes.

"But you always do when we talk so that's unusual. Did something happen?"

"No."

All you did was sigh.

"Will you please tell me what’s wrong so I can at least try to help you fix it? Even if I am miles away from you. I can tell that you aren’t okay."

"There isn't anything wrong and nothing happened so can you drop it?"

"No, because there is something wrong with you so why don't you just tell me?"

"Y/N, I already said I'm fine."

"And I say that you're lying. Don't you think I know you like the back of my hand by now?"

"You just don't know when to fucking quit, do you?"

Your breath hitched when you heard the tone of voice that he used and simply stayed quiet.

"Oh, so now you don't have anything to say?" Jack asked while eyeing you and you simply didn't respond.

"I was just being a good girlfriend and checking on my boyfriend since I love him so much so there is no need for you to act like an asshole towards me because you've been doing this shit for WEEKS. But I'll leave you alone then, bye."

You quickly hung up the facetime call and proceeded to go sit in the living room and flip on the TV while Jack was blowing up your phone left and right.

It was simply next to you on the couch and you let it ring.

Jack- Babe, seriously? So you just hang up on me now?

Jack- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.

Jack- Babyyyyyy

Jack- Pleaseeee answer me 🥺

Jack- Not you sending me to voicemail 😭

You- Goodnight 

Jack- Babe!

You- I said goodnight Jackman

Jack- Damn full government though? Baby, I'm sorry 😞 

Jack- And it's only like 6 pm over there right now, you aren't going to sleep already 😭

You tossed your phone to the side after looking at it and focused on eating your popcorn and making yourself comfortable with a Harry Potter marathon.

You would answer him eventually 

Just not for the rest of the night 

You woke up to there being a knock on your door and you quickly pulled the comforter away from your body in order to see who it was.

Once you got there, you opened it to see multiple bouquets of your favorite flowers waiting for you and you just rolled your eyes. 

And of course there was a note attached to it from your boyfriend who you were currently mad at.

I love you and I'm sorry stink 💖

You immediately went to the kitchen to put them in water when you heard your phone going off from your bedroom.

You already knew that it was Jack and you were still a little irritated with him so you took your slow sweet time getting it.

Once you answered, you saw a head full of curls and your favorite pair of blue eyes.

"Did you like your flowers?"

“No, they’re in the trash.” You said while shrugging and laying back down in your bed.

“BABY!”

“No. Do not baby me. What you did was not necessary and I didn’t do anything to you.”

“But you are my baby.”

“Oh? So today I’m your baby? What was I last night when you snapped at me?”

“A caring and loving girlfriend that I should have never said that too. But, wait, did you really throw them in the trash? They’re your favorite.”

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“Babyyyyyy I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”

“On one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You tell me what’s bothering you.”

All Jack did was sigh before running a hand through his curls and looking back at you.

“I miss you and I’m frustrated that we have to go these long stretches of time without seeing each other.”

You were quiet for a few seconds taking everything in that Jack had just told you.

“Jackman….”

“Yes, my little prima?”

“You couldn’t have just said that yesterday?”

“I could’ve and I don’t know why I didn’t.”

“In this relationship, we communicate so you know better than that.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“We don’t have too much longer and I can come and see you soon.”

“I can’t wait that long.”

“Baby, you’re going to have to. It’ll be worth it.”

“Can’t you just come today?” Jack asked and you could tell he was frustrated.

“I wish I could, but I have a few things to finish up first.”

“So, tomorrow then?”

“JACKMAN THOMAS!”

“Not the full government again.”

“Let me do what I need to do and I promise to see you in a week or so.”

“Not soon enough, but I’ll take what I can get. I love you.”

“I’m ignoring that first part, but I love you too.”

As soon as you hung up with Jack on facetime, you had seen where you had gotten a text from Neelam.

Neelam- Please come and get your boyfriend, he is getting on my LAST nerve

You- Oh good lord, what is going on?

Neelam- Him being an ass because he misses you so if you can come tonight, I will buy your plane ticket because something has to give because he is giving us the blues

You- Looks like it was worse than I thought. Okay, send it to me. I’ll be there. 

Neelam- Sending it now and thank you omg I don’t know how much longer I can take

You immediately started packing your things in your leopard suitcase at a rapid speed so that way when you got back in the house later, everything would be good to go and the only thing you had to worry about was getting to the airport on time.

Bottom line is Jack better be thankful that you loved him as much as you did.

Once you had landed, you let Neelam know and she sent you the information for the hotel and that she left a room key for you at the front desk. It was cold in the airport so you were thankful that you were wearing one of Jack’s New Balance hoodies that you had stolen from him months ago. Luckily the hotel wasn’t far from the airport and you got there in less than ten minutes. After getting the room key, you made your way to the twelfth floor in order to see your boyfriend. 

You had opened the door to see that he was typing away rapidly on his phone and didn’t even acknowledge your presence until you called out to him.

“Uh?? Didn’t you beg me to get on a plane to come and see you sooner? Your girlfriend is here?”

Jack then looked startled at your presence, but immediately smiled and got up to properly greet you.

“Baby… you’re squeezing me.” You were able to barely squeak out and you could’ve swore that he hugged you tighter.

“I missed you so much.” Jack said while planting a kiss on the top of your head.

“I missed you too, but I also miss breathing properly.”

“Oh, my bad. I thought you said that you would see me in a week?” Jack said while finally letting you go. 

“Neelam said it was an emergency.”

“Huh?”

“She said that you were getting on her nerves.”

“Seriously?!?”

“So, now that I am here, your phone is going on DND and you are going to get some proper rest and spend time with me before I have to go back to New York.”

“Babe, I still have a job to do.”

“And I get that, however, you need to take care of yourself too and spend time with your girlfriend.”

“I can’t let up just because you come to visit me, I have an entire career and I’ve worked my ass off for this.”

“Babe, I never said that, but you need a break. You haven’t been sleeping the best, you’re irritable, and ready to snap at the drop of a hat. I’m trying to help as best as I can but if you don’t let me, how can I? And weren’t you the one who literally begged me to come early? And this is how you act towards me?”

“You have a career don’t you? So I know you get it. I have too much riding on this.”

“You can take one afternoon off, that isn’t going to end your career.”

Just then Jack’s phone went off again and he looked down to see who it was and respond to them.

“Are you serious right now?”

“Baby, you’re making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be.” Jack said while quickly typing away on his phone.

“I could have stayed home for all this.” You said while crossing your arms and looking at Jack in absolute disbelief.

Jack sighed before looking back over at you.

“Prima, I don’t want to argue with you.”

“Then listen to me.”

“I am listening to you.”

“Yet, you still have your phone in your hand. What is so hard about handing it to me and putting it on DND?”

“I told you already, so you weren’t listening the first time?”

Oh, he had you fucked up.

“Jackman Thomas. I have had it up to here with you and how you’ve been acting these past few weeks. Because one thing that I will not tolerate is being ignored by my boyfriend especially when I’m trying to help him. Fix your fucking attitude because I will turn my ass around and go home.”

Without another word, Jack handed you his phone and you quickly put it on DND and hid it.

“You are going to sleep until your show tonight. I’ll make sure that you get up on time.”

Jack simply nodded before making his way over to the bed and laying down, you then went over to your suitcase to take out a pair of leggings and a t-shirt to put on for when you got out of the shower.

“Babe?”

“Go to sleep.”

“But why are you so far away?! It’s easier when you’re close to me.”

“I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll lay down with you.”

“Can we do something else too?”

“No.”

“But it’s been weeks!”

“Go.to.sleep.NOW.”

All you heard was Jack sigh and bury himself deeper into the comforter as you made your way into the bathroom. 

You didn’t take a long shower, but once you had gotten out and gone back to where your boyfriend was, he was staring at you and pouting.

“Fix your face, I’ll be over there in a minute.” You said while grabbing your lavender lotion and lathering yourself up.

“Don’t you need help with that?” Jack asked and you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t even try it, because you are on very thin ice right now. Need to make sure your ass doesn’t start to ice skate and then fall through to some freezing ass water.”

“But..”

“I will call Maggie.”

You didn’t hear another word out of him and he patiently waited for you to come over to the bed. Once you laid down next to him, he immediately laid his head on your chest and you began playing in his curls.

“I’ve been such an ass to you and I’m sorry. I know that you only want the best for me.”

“And that will never change. I just wish you would learn how to take a step back sometimes because you are going to burn yourself out. And once you do that then what?”

“You’re right. How long are you staying?”

“Long enough to make sure that you aren’t getting on Neelam’s nerves.”

“Oh, so the rest of the tour then?”

“Don’t push it, Jackman.”

“It was worth a try.”

Within another twenty minutes, Jack was knocked out on your chest as you set an alarm on your phone to make sure he woke up on time and you sent a text to Neelam letting her know that you had taken care of everything.

You had left the show early in order to get back to the hotel to set up your surprise for Jack even if he had been acting like an entire ass, you knew it was because he was tired and that he wasn’t getting the proper rest that he needed. 

You had slipped on one of your favorite lingerie sets that Jack had gotten you in Paris and put your hair in loose curls. You had the perfect plan in order to get Jack to relax and relieve some stress. It was the least you could do and besides, you were getting something out of it too.

It was then that your phone went off and you knew it was Jack asking where you were.

Jack- Babyyyyyy, are you okay? Urban said you left early

You- I’m fine, but I have something for you so hurry up and get here

Jack- SAY LESS 👀

You had put your black silk robe on because you had gotten cold and laid down on the bed while patiently waiting for your boyfriend.

Another thirty minutes went by before you heard the key in the door and he walked in to see you smiling at him.

“Babe, you sure you’re okay?” Jack asked while making his way over to you and leaning down to kiss you.

“I promise I’m fine.”

“Didn’t you say you had something for me?” He curiously asked and you simply nodded.

“I do, and I’m going to need you to sit right here.”

“Okay. Does it involve me taking off that silk robe you’re wearing?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“You already got me bricked up and you didn’t even do anything.”

“Hmm, I have that effect on people.”

“WHAT?!”

“Just kidding my baby. But I wanted to do something for you. I haven’t done this in a while. Like the last time I did this was before we started dating.” 

“Oh?”

You then straddled Jack catching him off guard and his hands immediately went to grab your hips and pull you closer to him if that was even possible.

“Do you remember the first private dance I did for you?” You asked him while whispering in his ear.

“Fuck, how could I forget?”

“Do you remember what song it was?”

“If I get this wrong are there any consequences?”

You simply shook your head no before starting to undo your robe and letting it fall to the floor. 

“Damn, I forgot how much I missed seeing you in that.” Jack then reached up to bring his lips to your neck and you quickly titled your head to give him better access.

“Wasn’t it Beyonce? Dance for you?” Jack answered, but he wasn’t totally sure since all he remembers was being absolutely mesmerized by how your body moved to the song. 

“And I think we have a winner.”

“Not my baby using my own lines on me.”

Just then Jack heard Beyonce’s voice come through your portable speaker that was in the corner of the room and you slowly began to grind on him.

You could feel how hard he was through his jeans so there was only a matter of time before he would want to rip this lingerie set off of you and bury himself in you.

“Shiiiiiit, babe. Stop teasing me.”

“Teasing? What’s that?”

“Prima, don’t play with me.”

“Who’s playing, baby?”

“Come on mamas.”

Just then you undid the snaps of your bra since it snapped in the front and threw it off to the side and you could physically see how Jack was trying to restrain himself from throwing you on the bed and trying to let you finish dancing to the song because he was enjoying it a little too much.

“Baby, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Wait, what?” You curiously asked not understanding what was wrong.

Next thing you knew, Jack had flipped the two of you over so that he was hovering above you and quickly started planting kisses between the valley of your breasts and kept going all the way down until he was face to face with your black thong that he proceeded to slide down your legs before coming back up to plant his face directly between your thighs.

Once he did, he didn’t show you any mercy.

As he lapped at your folds, your hands immediately found their way into his curly hair in order to be able to pull him even closer.

“Oh, fuckkkkkkk. Babe….”

Jack then inserted two of his fingers and was moving them in and out of you at a painfully slow pace and you were starting to get antsy.

“Baby, stop teasing me.” You whined and bucked your hips forward closer to where he was to get some type of relief. 

“Teasing? What’s that?”

“Babyyyyyyyy.”

“Isn’t that what you said to me earlier, prima?”

“I don’t recall.”

“Oh, you don’t? I will edge you all night if you don’t stop lying to me.”

“But….”

“Choose your words carefully.” Jack said as he put his mouth back on you and you couldn’t help but to moan out in pleasure.

“Shiiiit, shit, shit.”

You felt that you were close, but as soon as you were about to reach your peak, Jack pulled away from you.

“BABY!”

“You didn’t answer my question, prima.”

“Fine, I said it, now let me fucking cum.”

“As you wish.”

Jack then placed his fingers back inside of you and less than a minute later, you were coming undone in front of him.

“So pretty, every time.” Jack said before sliding into you.

You had no idea when he had lost the rest of his clothes, but you weren’t complaining one bit.

“Fuckkkk, you feel amazing. Shit.”

Jack was going at a slow even pace and trying to make this last as long as possible seeing that the two of you hadn’t had sex in about a month and he wanted to take his slow sweet time and made sure that you got all of his attention. 

You placed your arms around Jack’s neck to bring him down closer to you and he planted several kisses on your lips and over the rest of your face before you caught him off guard by flipping the two of you over without him slipping out and you began to ride him as he hands immediately went back to your hips.

“Shit, baby.”

You were going at the same even pace as Jack was before when you were underneath him and you could tell that he was close and it wouldn’t be too much longer before he came. So that’s when you sped up your pace. You could tell that this would be one round of many for the night knowing him. 

“Baby……”

“You’re close, I know. I am too.”

Less than a minute later, Jack had lightly pushed you off of him and released all over your chest and you gave him no time to recover as you immediately reached down to place him in your mouth.

“Wait! Baby, hold on!”

You didn’t even bother to listen to his pleas and was on a mission to give him the most pleasure that you possibly could. Jack’s right hand immediately went to your hair to pull you closer to him and you could tell that he was doing his best to not release for a second time just yet.

“Damn, I love that pretty little mouth of yours. You take me so well every time.”

Jack’s grip got a little tighter on you and so did yours on him as you increased your pace of moving him in and out of you.

You then felt him twitch inside your mouth and knew it was only a matter of time and sure enough he released in your mouth.

“Fuckkkkk, baby.”

You then let out a soft giggle as Jack rode out his high and he looked at you confused.

“What?”

“Are you okay now and done being an asshole?” You curiously asked as Jack made his way to stand up and pick you up to take you to the bathroom so that the two of you could get in the shower.

“Yes.”

“Pussy seriously does run the world.” You said and Jack immediately rolled his eyes.

“Oh, and babe?” He asked as the two of you were now in the shower letting the water run over both of you.

“What’s wrong?”

“You are going to finish giving me that dance right?”

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