thirdeyecomics

[addictiontohp]

Harry: Hermione right hand red.

Hermione: *ends up on top of Ron*

Ron: okay you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

Harry: I stopped spinning like fifteen turns ago, honestly I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner.

[aiakosm]

I’ve never watched a single movie of Harry Potter nor have I read a single word from the books. So, whatever version of Draco that fanfic writers have collectively agreed to write him as is the version I know. And that version is a sassy, dramatic, funny, and pessimistic person who needs a hug at times.

I’ve only read one fic where it’s Draco’s pov of Tom Riddle and Harry Potter getting together (tomarry if you will) and it was very funny.

Because he’s like ‘this is literally Voldemort, the guy that killed your parents, what are you doing?’ And Harry’s like ‘he might be very manipulative and charming and psychopathic but he isn’t so bad now and he’s very hot so who cares!’

Don’t ask me the name, I don’t know it. But I will be needing more fics of Draco and Harry going back in time and Draco watching Harry get together with the same man that caused a whole big war years later and practically ruined Harry’s life. Throw in a rare-pair Draco ship as a treat.

[romione-masquerade]

Romione Fanfic Masquerade Master List

We got TWENTY-FIVE amazing authors participating in our Romione Masquerade! Check out the fics in our collection and match them to the authors below. Fill out this form with your guesses by 9/21 at noon EST and we'll reveal the authors and our Tumblr winner for "Best Guesser" the following day!

Participating Authors

adenei be11a31 Cmdr_Tom dykevader elsie_ash ErrolsBestie | @potterblog grace_under_pressure0510 honouraryweasley12 Hpfanted | @hpfanted14 Iris_Blanche | @imnotfunnysblog JessicaLuci KateNotEight | @katenoteight misfit_romione | @unhinged-romione mymindisverycomplicated | @mymindisverycomplicated Nena96 | @nena-96 Purple_Damianya | @daehyunsbabyelf reallybeth | @reallybeth9 rennervator RonsGirlFriday | @constitutionalweasleymonarchy sm_jl Squibnation10 suniwrites TheAustralPoltergeist | @lepoltergeist thecouchsofa | @thecouchsofa ViviTheFolle | @vivithefolle

[unhinged-romione]

Hullo there! I've had really bad Romione brainrot for the past six years and as a result, I present to you a bunch of fics!

I mainly write Romione missing moments, but I also have a lotta AUs (Muggle and otherwise), steamy post-war one-shots, and a gen ficlet featuring the incomparable ✨Luna Lovegood ✨

And without further ado... *sweeping hand motions*

Series'

Mine (T): 6-chap 6th year AU where Romione got together and Hinny takes things to the next level. Hermione and Ginny are kinda hoe-y in this and I love it 🤪 WIP - but Romione part is COMPLETE

"What If" Romione Kisses (T): anthology of seven one-shots, one for each year, answering the question, “What if Ron and Hermione had kissed earlier?” COMPLETE

Let's Go (T but prolly will change to M): Muggle AU of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley meeting one magical night at a pub during their final year of uni. WIP

One-Shots

Ocean Eyes (G/T): Hermione demands that Ron explain the meaning behind his Christmas gift in OotP.

moving into me (T): Yule Ball Romione starring transmasculine Ron 🙂🏳️‍⚧️

Before Daybreak (T): flash fic of Romione in a secret relationship during DH

Virgo's Groove (T): the festivities in Shell Cottage when Lupin announces Teddy's birth get a bit out of hand. Also, Ron and Hermione talk about babies…and what it takes to make babies.

Stand Still (G/T): ever wonder what was going through Hermione's mind when she asked Ron to Slughorn's Party? I did a lil take on it!

Say Yes To Heaven (G/T): Romione's dance during Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Hermione Granger & The Baronet's Son (G): A lil Bridgerton-inspired Regency AU I wrote for the 2024 @romione-masquerade!

Shameless Smut

All post war. All rated E (obvi).

Dive: Hermione finds a particular book that Ron hoped she would never know about. But what happens next is more than he could have ever bargained for.

Moment: Romione's first time.

lips slightly parted: a collection of probably mostly unrelated horny Romione drabbles and flash fics. Title is a reference to the brief moment in canon when Hermione was stuck in her fight-or-fuck response when Ron came back in DH.

Gen Fics

What in God's name is the Umgubular Slashkilter? (G): missing Hogsmeade 5th year moment post Harry's interview with Rita Skeeter.

[crrrybaby-ao3]

Golden Trio mood boards.

I had a lot of fun making these. The hardest was Harry, it took me awhile to be satisfied with the result.🫠

Ron’s was a breeze and Hermione’s somewhere in the middle.

Let me know if you like them. 🖤

[adenei]

Here it is. It is done. clocking in at just over 146k. The longest fic I've ever written in a universe that is all my own. I'm so proud of this story and of Fidesia. Thank you if you've followed/read it/plan to read it, whichever. I appreciate you more than you know.

Be My Queen

[itsgrangerweasley]

*Hermione and Ron are in Paris.* Ron: I'm...moved. I...I don't know what it is I'm feeling right now. I feel...destiny? Hermione: But... Ron: I don't know what it is. I feel like... I just never thought I'd see it with my own two eyes. And here it is. It's just there. It's right in front of me, and... Hermione: This is what you wanted to see? The bridge from Inception? Ron: Yeah. Hermione: But the Eiffel Tower is behind us, love. Ron: Yeah, but this is the bridge FROM INCEPTION. This was in a muggle film! It’s THE BRIDGE! Hermione: Okay, alright.

[taurusmoonchild]

Warmth of Home

Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley no TW this is just fluff <3

read here or on AO3 ____

Feburary 4th, 2007

Hermione huffed as she stepped into the cosy warmth of her family’s little cottage. It had been a long and exhausting day at the Ministry and she could still feel the weight of paperwork on her shoulders. She brushed the snow off her coat before taking it off and hanging it up. Stepping out of her uncomfortable boots into her comfortable house slippers. It was late and the house was dark. As she walked through the hallway she spotted a dim light coming from their living room. She approached it slowly, careful not to make too much noise and peeked through the slightly ajar door.

Inside, on the sofa, sat Ron, his lanky frame folded up to accommodate their daughter, Rose. She looked so small next to him, her tiny hands clutching Ron’s shirt and her breathing slow and soft. She was fast asleep, but that didn’t stop Ron from reading aloud from a brightly illustrated storybook on his lap. 

Hermione watched and listened as his voice took on different accents and tones for each of the characters in the book. She smiled and her heart swelled with love for her two favourite people in the world. 

Not wanting to disturb the precious scene before her, she quietly approached the sofa. Ron glanced up, a wide grin on his face as he saw her.

“You’re home,” he whispered, careful not to disturb the tiny human that lay against him.

Hermione nodded, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“It’s aight, we are busy reading anyway,” he put the book down, “or well, were busy reading until a certain someone fell asleep.” Ron brushed a lock out of Rose’s face and smiled at her, “How can someone be so perfect?” He asked no one in particular.

Hermione couldn't help but smile even more than before.

Ron turned his attention back to Hermione as she sat down next to him and leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips "How was your day?"

"Long," Hermione sighed, “too long.” She wrapped an arm around Ron and leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling the tension of the day melt away. "But seeing you two like this makes it all worth it."

“I’m glad,” Ron whispered into her hair as he pressed another kiss to her head.

Together, the three of them sat in comfortable silence, the only noise being the soft snores of their daughter. 

December 28th, 2021

Hermione hated working between Christmas and the New Year, but being the Minister of Magic meant she had no choice. The cold air stung her face as she hurried down the street to get home. As she stepped through the front door of their home, the weariness of the day began to weigh heavily upon her shoulders. However, the sight that greeted her in the living room instantly melted away her exhaustion.

There, on the large, comfortable sofa, lay her husband Ron. Their daughter Rose had her head lying on his lap and Hugo was sprawled across the other side of the sofa next to Rose, his feet just inches away from her head. Together they were a tangled heap of limbs and blankets. Hermione couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. It was rare that her two children got along and she knew once Rose woke up Hugo would get hexed for putting his feet too close to her face.

The voices of the Christmas movie playing on the telly were the only noise filling the room. Hermione tiptoed closer, careful not to disturb the peaceful slumber of her family, and sat down on the edge, her eyes lingering on each of their peaceful faces. Ron stirred slightly at her presence, his eyes fluttering open for a brief moment before he smiled sleepily at Hermione.

"Hey there, love," he murmured, his voice warm with affection.

"Hey," Hermione whispered back, brushing a gentle kiss against his forehead. "How long have you guys been like this?"

Ron shrugged, his gaze drifting fondly to their children. "Not sure. I’m guessing I was the first to doze off"

Hermione chuckled softly, “Nothing new then?”

“Rude,” he grinned.

Hermione shifted closer to her husband and reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Rose’s ear. Her heart swelled with gratitude and pride for the beautiful family she and Ron had created.

“They are growing up too quickly,” she sighs.

Ron chuckles as he leans his head against Hermione, “I think they’re growing up just fine,” he whispers.

Hermione opens her mouth to retort but decides against it as her eyes fall on her husband who already had his eyes closed again. She leans into the back of the sofa and watches as Ron slides down her side, now halfway lying against her side and halfway across her lap. She shakes her head but smiles running her hands through his locks.

As she sat there in silence trying to grasp the plot of the film playing in front of her she could only think about how lucky she was. At that moment, Hermione knew that no matter how hectic life and her job could be, as long as she had Ron and their children by her side, she had everything she needed to find peace and happiness.

[the-melancholy-heart]

WIPs updating schedule

Since I have two ao3 fics I’m working on right now I feel like it’s time to introduce and explain the schedule for my current ones and what’s upcoming 🫶

Sweet intoxication (dramione)

A Dramione fic inspired by the phantom of the opera 🖤 Updates every Monday or Tuesday and possibly more frequently depending on when chapters are done🖤 Currently on chapter 5/19 🖤

Life on Mars (Jily)

A Jily fanfic inspired by the x files 🌙 Updates every Friday 🌙 Currently on the second story arc out of a planned four for the first ‘season’ of which I plan to have around four (it’s going to be longggggg fic) 🌙

💐Untitled Elucien (ACOTAR) Howl’s Moving Castle inspired fic- future WIP to replace ‘sweet intoxication’ once it is finished🦊

[but-make-it-poly]

I have a fic rec for Harry Potter

Warning: This fic is incomplete and posted anonymously.

With that out of the way, this is one of my top 5 favorite fanfics of all time, ever. It’s the only Harry Potter fic there.

The character that changes the most here is Draco (and Pansy), but everyone else is slight enough to be believable. It’s their choices and relations that change the story. (Like most good fanfics)

Now, there are no ships, but if you’re a fan of Dramione or Drarry or even Ronmione, you could definitely read it with those in mind. All the characters have very interesting dynamics with each other.

The houses thing: You won’t be able to unsee it.

Without further ado: Harry Potter and The Year That Four 1st Years Solved The Inter-House Unity Problem

Or Part 1 of A Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin walk into a bar....

(I was on Reddit, someone asked for Harry Potter must reads, so I commented this. Thought I’d share.)

[addictiontohp]

Ron, talking about Hermione: I should warn you, I'm not very good at keeping secrets from her. She has been known for using physical torture.

Harry: you mean she tickles you.

Ron: as I said, physical torture.

[collateralfall]

Female Harry Potter Fanfic Recommendation List

I recently discovered this genre of Harry Potter fan fiction, and while I do not support the author’s views in any way, shape, form, or capacity, I do support awesome authors on the internet doing their best. That being said, this AU is such an interesting one to explore in the emotional and physical sense, as something so little changes the story in a compelling and imaginative way that really lets the author’s personal style and experience shine through brilliantly. While I am a fan of the old-fashioned fics, I feel like this take on it is interesting and growing in popularity steadily. I will be adding to this list as I find new and interesting takes on this AU. Sometimes writing quality is not the only thing that is an indicator of good fan work to me so there will be fics from varying levels in that regard present here if I find that it is unique in some way or a revolutionary idea/start to something that could be great with time. In turn, I will also be accepting any additional recommendations and adding anything that is really interesting on that end. Thank you and I hope you have a lovely day :).

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

✨: Complete Work

🌙: Incomplete Work

*: Mature

R: Rating

P: Pairing

WC: Word Count

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

Characters Read The Harry Potter Books:

1.) ✨ righting the wrongs of the past and future by Sleeper102

P: (Fred Weasley/Harry Potter), (Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter), (Hermione Granger/Ronald Weasley)

R: Not rated

WC: 88,352

Chapters: 21

Description: “Harriet Potter finds herself among friends and enemies alike in a room where they must read about her life. This is a basic characters read the books fanfiction I will be following the books pretty closely but because Harry is a female I will be adding or changing some things other than that this is your basic the characters read the books fanfic”.

My Take: I sincerely cannot stress how good this series is. It makes me feel like I am reading the books all over again and re-experiencing the story but with more depth and thought-provoking analysis. It truly does capture the best and worst of the characters in a way that makes it hard to stop reading and leaves me wanting another update immediately after I finish a new chapter. I am not even going to lie, this is most likely my favorite one on this list.

2.) The Complete “The Readings” Series by Sleeper102

Description: 

Books 1-3 are completed, so the reading is up to about chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire currently. The same pairing and rating notes should apply, but they are always listed in case this reclist missed anything. 

3.)🌙 Can Things Change by EsrynRose

P: (Fred Weasley/Harry Potter), (Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter), (Hermione Granger/Ronald Weasley), (Draco Malfoy/Female OC), (Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood), (James Potter/Lily Evans Potter)

R: Not Rated

WC: 136,369

Chapters: 20

Description: “2 days before Halloween 1977 a group of people travel to the past to change things. Can they manage to make a difference, or are certain things destined to stay the same no matter what the past learns”.

My Take: I think this is very well done and the author definitely makes this genre their own in an exciting way. The additions to the book in this are thought-provoking and well-crafted. 

4.) TBD

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

Triwizard Tournament:

1.) ✨ The Videus Charm by OfPensandSwords

P: Mainly Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, but there is a light smattering of one-sided Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter and Dean Thomas/Harry Potter

R: Fiction T

WC: 126,669

Chapters: 26

Description: “Some may consider him useless, but Ludo Bagman has been absolutely inspired by muggle sports channels. As a result, a camera charm has been created. It is ready to catch all the action of the Triwizard Tournament and broadcast it into every home over Wizarding Europe. Now Harriet is on the big screen, and the crowd is going to see a lot more than they bargained for. FEM/Harry”.

My Take: This fanfiction was brilliant, I loved the concept of the Triwizard Tournament being broadcast through magic to everyone in the wizarding world. It was raw, innovative, and very hard to put down.

2.) TBD

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

Time Travel:

1.) ✨ *Naturally by romanticangel92

P: (Newt Scamander/Harry Potter),(Fred Weasley/Harry Potter)

R: T

WC: 80k+

Description: “Time Travel. Fem! Harry. HP/NS. A badly timed wish, a mysterious mirror and Harriet Potter's knack for trouble equal one unexpected trip to the past...naturally. Dropping into the lap of a young Newt Scamander was the last way she had expected her day to end but Harry soon learns that maybe fate intervened for a reason. \\COMPLETE/”.

My Take: This was a fascinating concept, one that I have not quite come across yet. It was well-paced, and I love how the characters were written. It was very hard to stop reading as each new chapter made me compulsively want to know what happened next and how the wild ride would end. It was an innovative piece that jerks the heart strings and keeps the reader on their toes.

2.) TBD

[boldlyshamlessfangirl]

[unhinged-romione]

I started a Romione missing moments series!

[brightreminder]

The incorruptibles

characters=albus severus potter, hermione granger, rose weasley, scorpius malfoy, harry potter, ron weasley, hugo weasley

Description= Cursed Child au

Plot summary(and fic readers notes:)

This fic was unfortunately removed by the author before i could bookmark it, reread it or comment on my official acvount, but as thats no longer possible, im writing here for commemorating the fanfic

This is a hp au which begins just as soon as albus goes to hogwarts.

It is revealed that hermione is acting evil and believing in pureblood supremacy, even comes to school for propaganda(shes the Minister)

Harry and ginny are very supportive of albus getting into slytherin

Albus makes a lot of friends, closest friend is scorpius

They try to steal a time turner

They form/join a group that is anti granger(most events occur in 4th yr)

It is revealed later in the fic that hermione was under the imperius and voldemort was still able to possess granger and harry kills voldy

Hermione resigns as minister and spends more time with family

I liked it because of the mystery, the hilarious bits that i no longer remember, and cuz of tge fact that its A LOT better than canon cursed child

Draco appeals to harry and they form a sort of truce to save their kids

[adenei]

Welcome to My Life

New fic! New fic! New fic!

Well, it's not really new. It's been sitting in my drive for about a month and I honestly just forgot to post it.

Summary:

Being in a relationship is not all it's cracked up to be—especially when it's not with the right person. But what can Ron do? He's stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing how to let Lavender down easy OR how to find a way back into Hermione's good graces. So, he does the next best thing: ignores the problem. Which is fine until he and Harry run into a bit of a sticky switchuation.

6th year AU a la Freaky Friday with an Advanced Switching Spell gone terribly wrong—or perhaps right, depending on how you look at it.

Chapter 1 on AO3 or read below

Likes, comments, reblogs appreciated!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Trouble in paradise?” 

Ron flips off a sniggering Harry, but keeps his pace as he ignores the calls of his girlfriend. “Won-Won! Wait! Where are you going? I thought you were going to walk me to Divination.” 

Fuck that.

He can practically hear the pout in her voice, but there’s no way he’s turning around or walking all the way across the castle just to double back to the common room. It’s his free period for fuck’s sake. And he’s never been more excited for one.

Ron is desperate for the break—both from the constant, never-ending rigor his teachers keep pressing upon him and from her. It seems like every time he turns around she’s right there waiting for him. After class, during meals, in the common room after a long day of classes. Can’t a bloke just have some time to himself? Why does she feel the need to be attached to his hip all the damn time?

It’s not that he doesn’t like Lavender. She’s his girlfriend for crying out loud. But Merlin, has she always been this annoying? And clingy? It definitely wasn’t like this before Christmas. At least he doesn’t think so. But ever since they returned from the holidays, it's been ten times worse. All she wants to do is snog and he…doesn’t. 

Maybe it’s because everything about her lost its appeal when he opened that horrific gift on Christmas morning. A gaudy, fake necklace? In what reality could she ever believe he’d want something like that? It was a simultaneous slap in the face while having a bucket of ice water dumped on his head. A stark reality of how well she didn’t know him—how well they didn’t know each other—and it was something he couldn’t overlook anymore. 

Of course, it was all made worse when his first thought upon receiving the gift (after a hearty what the fuck?) was ‘Hermione would have never given me something like this.’ And while it was true, it was also the catalyst that spurred the downward spiral contributing to the very obvious, very slow demise of his current relationship. Which would go faster if Lav could cotton on to the fact that Ron’s lost interest. But he is losing hope that she’s going to get the hint, even in the midst of him blowing her off for the sixth time this week.

Once he and Harry round the corner and are well on their way up the grand staircase toward the common room, his best mate speaks again. “I still don’t understand why you can’t just chuck her.”

“Have you ever chucked a girl?” Ron sighs, tightening his grip on the bag slung over his shoulder. 

“No, but—”

“Exactly. I don’t want to, like, hurt her or anything. Or blindside her.”

Harry snorts. “Well, if she’s blindsided at this point, then that’s entirely her fault.”

“She has to start getting the hints eventually. Maybe I just need to be more obvious,” he mutters.

“I don’t think you can be, mate.”

Harry’s probably right. Lav has to be ignoring the signs on purpose. Because in addition to bolting out of the room following any shared classes, Ron’s also taken up extra Prefect duties, rearranged his meal schedules, taken to studying in empty classrooms in the evenings (but never the same one so she doesn’t find him), and encouraged Harry to go out to the pitch for extra practices to avoid her over the last four weeks.

Only once has he been dragged out of the common room for an underwhelming snogging session where he succumbed to it for about twenty minutes—and only because he was thinking of someone else—before he made up some excuse about not feeling great and disappeared back to the boys’ dormitory. It’s amazing how much clearer his mind can be when it’s not distracted by a constant assault of sticky lip gloss and a tongue being shoved down his throat. And how much more he can accomplish. Ron’s pretty sure he’s further ahead on his coursework than Hermione is at this point. Not that he understood all of it. He still missed Hermione’s help with that.

Fuck. Hermione.

As if reading his thoughts, Harry contributes more to their stilted conversation. “Yeah, well, if she doesn’t, I’m sure you could just make nice with Hermione again. I bet that’d help her get the hint.”

Ron rolls his eyes. He knows why Harry’s suggesting it. His best mate is sick of splitting his time between the two because they can’t seem to get their shit together. And yeah, Ron would like everything to go back to the way it was, with the three of them being friends again, but he has no fucking clue how to fix things. And it’s not like breaking up with Lavender is going to magically solve anything.

According to Ginny, Hermione still snogged Viktor. Which is why Ron let Lavender snog him. Then Hermione set those fucking birds on him, they didn’t go to Slughorn’s fucking party together, and now they haven’t spoken in two fucking months. Ron wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and rectify the shit show that is their friendship—if there’s anything left to salvage at all.

Ignoring Harry’s suggestion, he changes the subject, desperate to talk about anything other than Lavender or Hermione. “Want to get that advanced switching spell practice out of the way when we get back to the common room?”

“You actually want to do work? Thought you were planning on taking a kip by the fire.”

Ron shrugs. “Yeah, but it seems dead useful. Might be a good skill to have for the Aurors.”

“True. Alright, yeah, we can give it a go. McGonagall might give us extra house points if we can pull one off too.”

For whatever reason, Professor McGonagall had revisited switching spells today. At first, Ron thought it was laughable, given they were first-year spells. But then he’d actually paid attention to her lecture. Like really paid attention. More than usual. It was during her explanation of the types of objects and animals you could use that Ron realized there was more the professor was saying if you read between the lines. Especially with the war against You-Know-Who looming outside the castle walls.

Who knew when something like this could be beneficial to them? Like switching owls to gain intel through intercepted letters or even switching places with someone else if Polyjuice wasn’t a ready-made option. Not that McGonagall had expressed any of that in the lesson, but Ron could extrapolate. It wasn’t that difficult.

And if they could pull this off, it’d be beneficial to have in the future, which Ron plans to tell Harry once they’re alone. A fleeting thought to include Hermione passes through his mind, but now isn’t the time. Maybe when they’re on better terms. If that ever happens.

“What are we going to use though?” Harry must have been rambling because he stops and stares at Ron after giving the Fat Lady the password.

Oops. 

Ron must have tuned him out. “Oh, er, hadn’t thought that far ahead.” 

They climb through the portrait hole as Ron considers their options. Sure, they could play it safe and stick to switching similar objects, but that wouldn’t be enough to impress their Transfiguration professor. They had to challenge themselves. But with what?

And then, it hits him clear as day. Owls. Sure, they’re still the same, but also different.

“Is Hedwig in the dorms? Pig was there this morning. I bet we could use them!”

Harry looks warily at Ron. “Er, are you sure? We’ve never attempted the spell.”

“We’ve done it hundreds of times on animals that were similar in size. Hedgehogs, rabbits, tortoises. Pig’s small, yeah, but Hedwig isn’t a giant, so that shouldn’t cause an issue. Plus, they’re so different, we’ll know right away if the spell worked and then switch them back.”

Harry eyes him a moment more before giving in. “If you say so.”

“Brilliant. I’ll go grab them.”

It doesn’t take long to retrieve the owls, and by the time he returns back to the common room, he sets their cages on the table in the center of the room. Hedwig stares curiously at Harry while Pig flits to every corner of the cage, eager for whatever is about to happen. Harry puts his hand against the metal, stroking the snowy owl’s feathers from between the bars. 

“It’ll be alright, just a quick practice for Transfiguration.” Then he turns to Ron. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

“Right. What’s the spell again?” Ron asks.

“You don’t remember?”

“Uh...”

Harry groans. It’s not Ron’s fault Lavender chose the exact moment McGonagall was going over the incantation to slide a note under the desk to him, her fingertips grazing his inner thigh in the process. Parts of him hadn’t gotten the memo that he really wasn’t interested in her like that, so he’d had to crumple the paper in his fist to get a grip. 

All he can offer Harry is a weak look in response, and he’s pretty sure his best friend puts the pieces together. Holding up his hand, he shakes his head. “Nevermind. I don’t want to know. It’s either Inter se Mutatio or Altera Mutatio. But I don’t remember which.”

“Is it in the text?” Ron reaches for his bag, but stops when Harry’s eyes bug out of his head.

“Okay, you and Hermione seriously need to get sorted because I don’t need two of you.”

“Fuck off.” Ron snorts. “You know I wouldn’t care about looking it up, but since we’re about to perform a switching spell on our owls, I’d rather be accurate. Unless you want something to go wrong.”

“Yeah…right,” Harry begrudgingly agrees, but doesn’t seem convinced. “Well, it’s not in there. At least I don’t think it is. McGonagall usually tells us what page to open to if we’re working on something out of the book. This…wasn’t.”

“Ah, right. Well, do you remember the difference between the two?”

“No. Just that one should rarely be used, unless it’s a dire circumstance. Whatever she meant by that.”

Ron resists the urge to smack his forehead. He has a distinct feeling that McGonagall is teaching them this on purpose, yet Harry can’t be bothered to pay—fuck, maybe he is starting to sound a bit too much like his other—former—best friend. He seriously needs to lay off the studying. And he will. After they practice this.

“Okay, well, think. Which one did she discuss first?”

Usually, McGonagall will tell them the spell first, and then end the lecture by reiterating it before giving them time to practice. So, chances are, whatever she said in the middle was the one they shouldn’t use.

“Er…” Harry squeezes his eyes shut to think. “‘Inter se’. She definitely said ‘inter se’ first.”

Ron nods. He seems to have some recollection of this. But then he remembers the end of the explanation. Just before the bell rang. “Didn’t she end with ‘altera’ though?”

“Yeah, but that was right after she explained what not to do.”

“Right. Yeah. Alright, let’s go with ‘inter se’ then.” 

They each practice the wand movement a couple of times before Harry gestures for Ron to try. “Want to go?”

“Y-yeah. Sure. It’s not gonna be, like, painful for them, is it?” All of a sudden, hesitation swept over him. 

“She never said. But when we did it with animals and stationary objects, they always seemed fine. Besides, McGonagall wouldn’t have taught it to us if it was dangerous. Right?”

“Y-yeah. That makes sense. Didn’t Sirius always used to say Animagi transformations weren’t painful too? Just uncomfortable until he got used to it.”

“Exactly. So, they’ll be fine. Just don’t fuck up the incantation.”

“If I fuck it up, it’ll be because you told me to use the wrong one.”

Harry waves him off. “Just do it so we can enjoy the rest of our free period, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ron raises his wand, pointing it at Hedwig. Always start with the bigger object and move to the smaller one. Harry stands behind his owl, and it appears as if he’s holding his breath.

Bloody tosser doesn’t have faith. Well, I’ll show him.

Without delaying the attempt any longer, Ron begins the spiral motion with his wand while stating the incantation confidently. “Inter se Mutatio.”

As he finishes the flourish of the spell, his wand jerks off course, seemingly of its own accord. The tip is pointed at himself by the time it settles. For a moment, nothing happens.

“What the fu—”

“Uh, Ron, what did you—”

Then, a weird rippling feeling comes over his entire body. His wand clatters to the floor and Pig and Hedwig begin hooting frantically in their cages. Ron tries to look for Harry, uncertain of what is happening, but before he can lay eyes on his best friend, another peculiar sight distracts him. The spitting image of his body appears before him in ghost form.

Oh shit. This isn’t good.

He’s not sure what he’s just done, but he doesn’t have a chance to make sense of anything more. Unconsciousness threatens to take over, and the next thing he knows, his lifeless frame crumples to the ground.