#sara hexley >:(

[the-al-chemist]

From The Vaults: The Hexley Saga (Not Artemis’s Version)

This list has been growing quite a bit - so here are some working titles! Submissions are still open, so if there’s anything outside what is already here you want to read, hmu.

The Mystery At Hogwarts

Not Alone At Last (Rowan’s Version)

The Secret Staircase

Little One (Bill’s Version)

The Figures In The Shadows

The Forbidden Forest

Tango for Tongues (Diego’s Version)

Fall For You (Penny’s Version)

The Portrait Of The Vault

The Chop (Tonks’s Version)

Discipline (Rakepick’s Version)

She-Bear (Rosmerta’s Version)

Afterbath (Charlie’s Version)

Return to Ithaca (Jacob’s Version)

Crossroads (Bill’s Version)

The Circle Of Khanna

Wrong, Skye (Skye’s Version)

Judas (Jacob’s Version)

Bleak Beauty (Penny’s Version)

Dos Namorados (Alanza’s Version)

Any Happy Little Thought (Ben’s Version)

Before Moonrise (Chiara’s Version)

The Return To The Riddles

She Used To Be Mine (Sara’s Version)

[endlessly-cursed]

fankids appreciation week 23: co-parent appreciation

ottilie enfield, daughter of odessa avery ( @cursed-herbalist ) & kit enfield ( @potionboy3 )

grace of alderly, daughter of cora hastings ( @camillejeaneshphm ) & henry of alderly ( @gaygryffindorgal )

cleo hexley, daughter of jacob hexley ( @the-al-chemist )

emmeline & lucy devlin, daughters of josie edwards ( @slytherindisaster ) & william devlin ( @unfortunate-arrow )

wilhemina stagg, daughter of siobhan llewellyn ( @kc-and-co ) & galen stagg ( @cursebreakerfarrier )

caitlin doherty, daughter of mathilde coventry & lachlann doherty ( @hphmmatthewluther )

reva amari, daughter of lizzie jameson ( @lifeofkaze ) & orion amari

Less: It seems like yesterday when we started talking and you posted Abe & Oscar's profiles and I remember being one of the first to interact with, and ever since you've been such a kind and patient friend and I see you now as some sort of big sister, deal with it 🫶🏻 thank you for deciding to join our little community, because your presence is just what we needed ❤

Annie: It's not a secret that I was at first intimidated when I started following you: you had such compelling characters and cool af videos and here I was, a little guy! But I am so thamkful of having talked to you through Sara and convinced Gryff for you to join our chat, even though you're not there anymore. I treasure our friendship and you and Gryff are now my oldest sisters 🫶🏻 Gryffie wedding when!!!

Gryff: I was intimidated by you too ajhsjssj. You had such cool gifs and content and interesting characters, and I had just started into the OC x OC world, but being your friend during these past years has been a true boon, and I hope to have gained an oldest sister who I can count on and have either a laugh or a very deep conversation. Te quiero, hermana 🫶🏻

Persie: Who would've thought I'd grow to love you so much and become such a close friend? To me, you're the little sister I've always dreamt of having. We can go from making fun of each other, to argue and then proceed to simp for our ocs and blorbos. Thank you for being an awesome friend and being there for me when I needed it ❤ J'et aime, cherie

Al: I've always looked up to you as a writer and a person, and despite being a bit intimidated by you as well, you have turned out to be a great advisor and inspiration for me! Also, you're officially the adventurous wine aunt 🫶🏻 I hope we can do something ourselves in the near future (i'm not exaggerating when I say it'd be a dream come true 🫶🏻)

Lily: Though, because of irl stuff, we haven't interacted much, you were always a great and supportive friend and I constantly feel inspired by you, not to mention that I found a fellow Choicenator here! (even tho chonces is now a dumpster fire but it's ours) and I always remember you fondly 🥺🫶🏻 love uuuu

Arrow: You gave me the impression of someone who was stoic, but once I got to know you through our two ships, getting to know your passionate side, your humour and your wicked wit has been a delight and I look forward to see what you're up to and start writing Aderva's story and get to share it with you 🤎

Kate: We have interacted little (I'm socially awkward and crap at managing friendships :c) I'm constantly in awe with your writing and creativity, and I always learn something new about you and from you, and it is such a privilege 🫶🏻

Sky: You were one of the first people to approach me, and getting to know you through our ships and the chat has been a privilege. You were responsible of me joining the fandom and I'm always in awe with your creativity and how passionate and intelligent you are, and I hope we can get up to more shenanigans together, even if lately we haven't been good at catching up 🫶🏻 you will always have a special place in my heart for showing me the best community ever 🥰

Guzma: You have been the surprise of the year! Getting to know you, talk to you through vc and creating our own verse in the founders era and our 2 am chats have been the highlight of my 2022-2023 and I look forward to getting up to more mischief with you 🫶🏻

Kaze: I think you're the one user I was most intimidated by 😅 you are such a big and respected blog, for a while I didn't have the courage to talk to you, but finding out how sweet, friendly and fun you are has been such a privilege! Like with many others, I'm always learning from you, as well as giving me inspo and motivation to better my writing and as a person 🥰 I look forward sharing something with you! I know I'll have a blast 🥳

Honourable mentions:

@cursedvaultss Alys: You're still new here, but show much promise to our little family! You're so sweet and creative, and I know that soon you'll get far here 🫶🏻 looking forward seeing what you'll do!

@nicos-oc-hell Nico: At first I was unsure of how to proceed with you, but finding out how many things in common we have and your killer sense of humour have been a great surprise! I am always laughing or smiling when I talk to you, and I feel very safe with you 🫶🏻

@mjs-oc-corner Mo: At first I was a bit afraid of talking to you, but you've proven to be funny, badass, super sweet and one of the greatest friends I've got here and, despite having little interactions, I treasure them all just like I treasure you ❤ love uuu hermanita 🥰

@that-scouse-wizard JD: Tbh, I was even more scared of talking to you (I struggle to talk to men in general ksjdjsmaks) but these past months you've been the funniest, sweetest and one of my best surprises this year, and Flossie and Frediette have my entire heart 🫶🏻

@kathrynalicemc Lari: Last but not least, you're probably one of the closest friend here, and talking to you makes my day. You've become very special to me and getting to share stories and shenanigans with you is always a boon to me ❤ thank you for being the absolute best and so you know, te quiero muchisisisisímo, mi mas querida hermana 😘

[hogwartsmysteryho]

More Taylor, always! Going to be a hoebag and send for my own characters… Artemis, Ophelia, and Jim/Héloïse please! 🧡

and i’m finally getting around to this, u hv the patience of a saint my friend!

artemis - “tolerate it” (evermore)

an apology first because you just said pretty recently (well it was recent when i first started on this ask) how much u hate writing artemis in angst, but oop, this is going to be very sad bc i’m doing it ab artemis and her madre 😬 it’s not my fault i wanted to a song from folklore or evermore because i haven’t used many yet and all of those songs are kinda sad and this one fit so well!

“I sit and watch you / I notice everything you do or don't do / You're so much older and wiser, and I” sara does not notice artemis, but artemis sure notices every time she is ignored, neglected and forced to raise herself. sara is much older and supposed to be a more wise, mature person to help artemis through the trauma of missing a brother and losing a father, but instead she brushes artemis aside and shuts down completely.

“Wait by the door like I'm just a kid / Use my best colors for your portrait / Lay the table with the fancy shit / And watch you tolerate it” this is like the eggshells story: young artemis wants nothing more than to impress her mother with a show of love. and her mother is neglectful and unappreciative, and artemis is left feeling tolerated instead of loved.

“If it's all in my head, tell me now / Tell me I've got it wrong somehow / I know my love should be celebrated / But you tolerate it” when artemis is younger, she still asks her mother to do things like walk her to the train, and talk to her. she holds onto that little hope that maybe she’s wrong, and maybe this time sara will act like a mother. as she gets older, she knows she’s right to be angry with her mom.

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky / Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life / Drawing hearts in the byline / Always taking up too much space or time” artemis is desperate for any of the attention she deserves from a parent, but never receives it. sara always comes up with the lamest excuses to avoid taking care of her daughter.

“You assume I'm fine, but what would you do if I / Break free and leave us in ruins / Took this dagger in me and removed it / Gain the weight of you, then lose it / Believe me, I could do it” artemis is tough, but with the help and love of her found family, she can start to heal the wounds left by her mother. some things, however, will stay scars forever, just like ruins.

also, ik that u hv “Shake it Off” on ur artie playlist and just, ugh, 1989 is honestly all such artemis vibes tbh. fantastic choice!

ophelia - “Don’t Blame Me” (reputation)

“Don't blame me, love made me crazy / If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right” the best part ab ophelia is that she’s selfish and materialistic enough to be considered a bit crazy, especially in her pursuits of love. but, love shmove, amirite? if ur marrying for love and not money, ur not doing it right. that’s what ophelia says at least.

“Lord, save me, my drug is my baby / I'll be usin' for the rest of my life” ophelia’s pursuit of a wealthy suitor is almost an addiction. the obsessive craftsmanship of handkerchiefs intended to be dropped in front of potential husbands is so cunning and resourceful (a true slytherin), and we love her for it. she’ll be using those skills for the rest of her life. at least, until she becomes a parent and spends the rest of her life protecting her real baby.

“I've been breakin' hearts a long time” i can only imagine how many men she’s flirted with, only to become immediately uninterested upon learning they aren’t wealthy.

“For you, I would cross the line/ I would waste my time / I would lose my mind / They say, "She's gone too far this time" how far would ophelia really go for a rich husband? pretty far, i’d reckon

“My name is whatever you decide / And I'm just gonna call you mine / I'm insane, but I'm your baby (Your baby)” It doesn’t matter what ophelia is. as long as she’s married to a powerful, wealthy pure-blood, she has everything she wanted, no matter what she had to sacrifice to get there.

“I once was poison ivy, but now I’m your daisy” the website i’ve been using to help me learn more ab taylor’s lyrics suggested that “daisy” here could be referencing Daisy Buchanan from the novel The Great Gatsby. i think that’s a bit of a reach, but taylor has referenced The Great Gatsby in “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”, and actually quoted a famous line Daisy says in her song “happiness”. Anyways, *spoilers if u actually haven’t read gatsby* Daisy Buchanan is a materialistic woman with a rich asshole of a husband who chooses money (old money oc) and status over love. This isn’t exactly like ophelia, but it’s a pretty decent parallel.

jéloïse - “Lover” (Lover)

i feel like i’m betraying my color code with this pink tbh because ravenclaw blue + hufflepuff yellow is green, but green is just not the color of this ship imo, and i just did ophelia green, so i went with pink because it’s the color of “Lover”

“We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January / And this is our place, we make the rule” i’m not sure why, but i really associate this ship with that “honeymoon phase”- young adults, living together, figuring out careers and adulthood and everything else together. it’s their time together, and they now make all the rules of their home together.

“And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear / Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?” héloïse is one of the most mysterious characters out there, no question. also, another thing i associate with these two is that everyday, each one is still learning new things about the other. even after they’ve been married for twenty years, there are still so many quirks of each other to learn about.

“Can I go where you go? / Can we always be this close? / Forever and ever, ah” aww these guys are just such cuties. jim might be a little awkward, but i can totally see him secretly hoping that he can always tag around the brilliant, French new girl. and as it turns out héloïse likes to be in the company of the cute, sweet hufflepuff boy as well.

“We could let our friends crash in the living room” back to them as young adults- to me, they are those steady high school sweethearts that attend reunions together, and keep in touch with friends together. i imagine them as the marshall and lily of hogwarts legacy (cue u telling me that you’ve never seen how i met your mother).

“And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you / I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all” i think the first line would apply to both of them- jim because he’s pretty unsure of himself and i feel like héloïse maybe would get a little jealous of someone flirting with jim, especially before she even realizes her feelings for jim herself. and please the second line there is just so cute, like this pairing!

“My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue / All's well that ends well to end up with you / Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover” the language barrier was a bit of a struggle, but all’s well that ends well to end up together for these two!

[ellie-e-marcovitz]

Profile: Eleanor Northrup née Parkmoore

Name: Eleanor Artena Parkmoore (married: Northrup)

Nickname: Ele, Art (family)

Gender: Female

She/Her

Age: [currently unknown]

Birthday: 21 March 1875

Born: Keswick, Cambria, UK

Zodiac: Aries

Ethnicity/Nationality: Anglo-Irish-Scottish / British

Blood Status: Pureblood, blood traitor

Straight

Appearance

Face/Voice claim: Hayley Atwell

Height: 5'61/2" / 5′7″

Hair colour: dark brown

Eye colour: brown

Build: slim, mesomorph/ectomorph

Species: Human

Material Items:

Clothing: late Victorian

Accessories: Hair pins, a gold necklace

In her schoolbag:

A copy of Shakespeare

Notes from Cyrus, her siblings, and other friends

Textbooks

Red liquorice; some cauldron cakes, wrapped

Hat pins

Personality

MBTI: ENTJ

Alignment: neutral good/chaotic neutral

Positive (+) traits: Confident, fierce, warm

Neutral (+/-) traits: stubborn, outgoing, a touch defiant

Negative (-) traits: strong-willed, temperamental, a bit too trusting (at times)

Hogwarts

House: Gryffindor

Core classes:

Astronomy - 8 (O)

Charms - 7 (EE/O)

Defence - 7 (EE)

Flying - 5 (A)

Herbology - 7 (EE)

History of Magic - 7 (O)

Potions - 7 (A)

Transfiguration - 5 (EE)

Electives

Muggle Studies - 7 (EE)

Divination - 8 (O)

NEWT level

History of Magic - 8 (O)

Divination - 9 (O)

Muggle Studies - 7 (EE)

Best classes

History of Magic [good head for dates and names]

Astronomy [Spent half her childhood looking up at the stars]

Worst classes

Flying [just did not like being on a broom, fear of heights (some)]

Transfiguration [isn’t always able to make heads or tails of the alphabet required]

Extracurriculars

Prefect, 7th year

Clubs: Astronomy club

Magic

1st wand: 11.5″ Cherry wood, with dual core of phoenix feather and dragon heartstring (very rare), moderate flexibility

Special abilities: Legimancy/Occlumency; rumoured to be a proficient seer; eventual Animagus 

Animagus form: unknown

Boggart

Form - Cyrus dead, family indifferent or showing distain

Riddikulus - the group gathered together, happy

Amortenia

What they smell - fresh lake water, old books, hint of parchment and ink, mint

What they smell like - Raspberries, almonds, books, favourite perfume

Patronus? Yes

Form - a galloping mare, changes first to a mute swan (Cyrus’ form), then to a snidget late in life

Memory - the kiss she and Cyrus shared after a quidditch match

FAMILY

The Parkmoore family

3rd of seven children

Friends

Cyrus Northrup

Tadhg Lynch - @unfortunate-arrow

Anika - @hogwarts9

Seraphina ‘Sara’ Hopper - @thatravenpuffwitch​

Io Gordon @drinkyoursoupbitch​

​Danny Gibson @catohphm​

Enemies

Cillian Lynch (?) - @unfortunate-arrow

Pets - Puffskein named Rose, a cat named Cicero

Dorm-mates/ year mates

Sara Hopper @thatravenpuffwitch

Ethel Hexley  @the-al-chemist 

Victoria Summer @whatwouldvalerydo 

Unni Arcano @kathrynalicemc 

Lottie Gallagher @slytherindisaster 

Selene Fraiser @lifeofkaze 

Beatrice Brown @endlessly-cursed 

Io Gordon @drinkyoursoupbitch​ 

Agnes Matilda @gaygryffindorgal 

Georgie Parsons @unfortunate-arrow

Story

Childhood - 

Hogwarts - 

Adult - Joined the Ministry of Magic, archivist office, after graduating.

Married Cyrus Northrup on 25 March, 1900. At least one son, Aiden Allison Northrup.

Hobbies: Needlepoint, drawing, stargazing, book collecting (mysteries, romance, sci-fi and fantasy)

[the-al-chemist]

Sara Hexley - Waitress

She's imperfect but she tries

She is good but she lies

She is hard on herself

She is broken and won't ask for help

She is messy but she's kind

She is lonely most of the time.

She is all of this mixed up

And baked in a beautiful pie.

She is gone but she used to be mine.

- She Used To Be Mine -

I wanted to focus on less fashionable musicals for @magicallymalted’s Theatre AU, but this is Sara’s theme song, so I broke with my plan a little!

[the-al-chemist]

The Modern Hexley Family Playlist

SARA HEXLEY

Sara - Fleetwood Mac

Free Falling - Tom Petty

Here With Me - Dido

Don’t Look Back In Anger - Oasis

Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA

Zombie - The Cranberries

She Used To Be Mine - Sara Bareilles

JACOB HEXLEY

Without Me - Eminem

Only Living Boy In New York - Simon and Garfunkel

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

Bury a Friend - Billie Eilish

Big Love - Fleetwood Mac

How to Save a Life - The Fray

My Shot - Lin Manuel Miranda

CLEO HEXLEY

Good As Hell - Lizzo

Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South

Fancy - Iggy Azalea

London Boy - Taylor Swift

Vogue - Madonna

Pompeii - Bastille

Beautiful - Carole King

If you’re wondering why the other member of the modern era Hexley lineage isn’t included, that’s because Artemis already has her own playlist, which is here.

For Day 3 of @kathrynalicemc’s lineage challenge!

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 2: Homegoing

A/N: Artemis returns home and makes a decision that will affect her future. Warnings: child neglect and mentions of violence.

August passed in a muggy haze of trips to the beach, of four-a-side Quidditch matches, and of Mrs Weasley’s home-made cooking. All too soon, it was time to start packing up ready to leave for the start of the next year at Hogwarts. 

Artemis had left her school trunk at her mother’s house in London at the beginning of the summer, so after dinner on the last night of the holidays, she and Fergus travelled back via the fireplace in the Weasleys’ living room. The Floo network took her to the fire in her mother’s kitchen, and as she clambered out of the hearth, brushing the soot from her clothes, she heard voices in the sitting room. That was strange. Her mother never had visitors.

She decided to take a look and see for herself what was going on, and so she pushed the door ajar and looked through the gap between the door and the frame to see who her mother was talking to. As soon as she recognised the dark-haired newcomer, her heart skipped a beat.

“Jacob?” she said out loud, before she could stop herself.

She hadn’t expected to see Jacob at all, definitely not here, and possibly not ever again. The two of them had hardly parted on good terms after he left her in the Buried Vault at the end of her fifth year. 

“Missy. Artemis,” Jacob quickly corrected himself, with a strained smile. “Where’ve you been?”

“At my friends’ house. Bill and Charlie, you met them, remember?”

“I remember,” Jacob nodded, curtly. “Look, about what happened in the Cursed Vault. I’m sorry for taking off like that. I just had to find Rakepick.”

“You said,” Artemis muttered. “You didn’t say why, though.”

“No. There wasn’t time. Why don’t you sit-”

“I’m fine standing, thanks.”

Artemis raised her eyebrows as she stared defiantly at her older brother. She wanted to forgive him, but she couldn’t give in, not until he had explained himself.

“I had to go and find Rakepick,” Jacob said, one hand shaking slightly. “She and I worked together before, and I thought maybe if I talked to her, I could make her see sense.”

“See sense? Jacob, she’s evil. She tried to kill me.”

“I know she did, but she never was evil when I knew her. I thought that if I found her, I could bring her back to our side. I know it felt like I was leaving you, Miss- Artemis, but I really was trying to keep you safe. I promise.”

The look in Jacob’s eyes was completely sincere. He wasn’t lying, Artemis could tell.

“Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “I believe you.”

“Did you find her? Rakepick?” Sara Hexley’s sharp voice echoed across the room. Artemis turned around. She had almost forgotten that her mother was there. 

“No,’ Jacob shook his head and moved closer to his mother, looking at her earnestly. “I’m sorry, Ma. I tried, I really tried.”

“I’m sure you did,” said Sara, reaching out to place a hand gently on her son’s arm. Jacob placed his free hand onto hers and knelt down next to her.

“I’m not done, Ma. I’ll keep trying, and I won’t stop until I find her. I’m going to make sure that Artemis is safe.”

Sara Hexley said nothing, just pressed her forehead to Jacob’s, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Artemis watched them, a peculiar feeling growing in her chest as she did: part envy, part longing, part loneliness, part hope. Perhaps now that Jacob was home, their mother would start to feel better. Maybe now she would be more like how a mother should be, like Aunt Tina, or Mrs Weasley, or even Madam Rosmerta.

“I’m sorry,” Jacob whispered, and his mother half-smiled before whispering something back to him that Artemis couldn’t hear, but wished that she could. Jacob kissed his mother on the forehead before straightening up.

“Wait,” Artemis frowned. “You’re not going to stay?”

“I can’t. You heard me, Rakepick is still out there, and she’s dangerous. I need to find her. Until I do, you need to be careful, okay?”

“But-”

“Please, Artemis. For once, just do as you’re told,” Jacob said. Artemis opened her mouth to argue, but the strain in his voice made her stop. Somewhat grudgingly, she shrugged, as Jacob sighed. “Good. That’s good. I’ll let you know as soon as I find her and talk to her, yeah?”

“What if you find her and she hurts you?” Artemis asked him.

“She won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

Jacob shared a look with his mother before replying: “Yes, I do.”

Artemis looked between them, feeling hurt and left out, as if she were watching people enjoying a party that she hadn’t been invited to. There was something that they weren’t telling her, she could tell. But before she could ask them what it was, Jacob had planted a kiss on her cheek, and picked up a bag from the floor beside him.

“Stay safe, both of you. I love you.”

With that, Jacob left, and Artemis watched her brother walk away from her. Again.

“He will be back, won’t he, Ma?” she asked. “Ma?”

But now that Jacob was gone, her mother had returned to staring straight ahead. Artemis sighed. She shouldn’t have got her hopes up. 

“Come on, Fergus. Let’s go upstairs and pack.”

As she climbed the stairs to her attic bedroom, Artemis’ sadness turned into resentment, and then into anger. What had she ever done wrong? Or, what had Jacob done right that she hadn’t? Why couldn’t she be the one who was whispered words of encouragement, who got to have a hand placed on her arm and a forehead pressed to her own? 

By the time she had reached the top of the dark, narrow house, her mind was made up. This time, she wasn’t just going to pack the things she needed for school. She was going to pack everything that she owned.

The previous two years, Artemis hadn’t bothered to wake her mother to say goodbye before leaving for the school year. After a night of fitful and intermittent sleep, she debated whether or not she should this year, too. On the one hand, Sara probably wouldn’t care that she was leaving, even if it was indefinitely, but on the other, it seemed rude not to at least try to say goodbye properly to the woman who had raised her, albeit grudgingly.

In the end, the choice was made for her. Artemis arrived downstairs in the morning to find her mother sitting at the kitchen table, two suitcases at her feet.

“Oh,” Artemis frowned. “You’re leaving.”

“Yes,” replied her mother, looking at the back of the chair on the opposite side of the table.

“Right. Well, so am I.”

“I know you are.”

“Yeah, but this time I’m not coming back.”

If Sara Hexley was upset by the prospect of her daughter leaving home for good, she didn’t show it. If anything, she seemed almost amused, letting out a soft, hollow laugh that made Artemis’ blood boil.

“I mean it,” she said, angrily. “I won’t be coming back here ever again.”

“No, I suppose not,” replied Sara, closing her eyes and taking in a deep, shaky breath. “I might not be, either.”

“Why not? Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“America?” Artemis asked, and her mother nodded. “You’re leaving the country for good?”

“Possibly.”

“So that’s that, is it? You’re just going to go?”

“You’ll be seventeen this year. An adult. You don’t need me anymore.”

Artemis had heard enough.

“Need you?” she said, her voice shaking with rage. “As if you care whether I need you or not! You’ve never been there when I’ve needed you, not even once. All you do is sit here in this house, pretending that I don’t even exist. Well, I do exist! And I’m sorry that my existence is such an inconvenience to you. I’m sorry that I’m not Jacob, and I’m sorry that I could never make you love me like you love him. I’m sorry that dad died, and that Jacob left, and that you got stuck with me. I’m sorry that I was born and that you had to be my mother. Not that you’ve been a very good one.”

Sara said nothing, just rested her forehead on the tips of her fingers, her eyes screwed shut.

“Great,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Of course you’re not going to say anything. You never do, do you? Not even the last time you left the country. Well, don’t worry, Sally. Now you’ll never have to say anything to me ever again. Good for you.”

With that, she turned on her heel, leaving her mother at the table.

“Wait,” said Sara, and Artemis turned back. Her mother’s eyes seemed almost tear-filled, and her mouth was parted slightly, as if she were about to say something. 

But the second she made eye contact with her daughter, Sara Hexley shook her head, closing her mouth and her eyes once more. Artemis sighed, and left her alone. For good, this time.

Artemis’ bad mood persisted as she walked through Camden Town to Kings Cross Station, and even the sight of the Hogwarts Express waiting to depart from Platform Nine and Three Quarters did little to lift her spirits. She could have used a few hours of sitting in a carriage with her friends, eating Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and playing Exploding Snap, but being a prefect, there would be little time for that.

Having stored her luggage, she and Fergus went to the carriage at the front of the train to meet with the other prefects and the new Head Boy and Girl, ready to spend the day patrolling the train. One of the last to arrive, she took the seat that Charlie had saved next to him, and scowled at Diego Caplan, her fellow Hufflepuff prefect, who winked at her in way of greeting.

“What is his problem?” she hissed at Charlie, who peeled his eyes away from the window and shrugged in response. 

“I really don’t know,” he replied, quietly. “I think that’s just him. Don’t take it personally.”

“I’m not taking it personally, I just don’t like it, that’s all.”

“Can’t blame you for that.”

“Do you want to patrol together?”

“Yeah. Course,” Charlie smiled, but he didn’t look as carefree as usual. He looked tired, Artemis thought. “I need to talk to you about something, anyway.”

“What’s that?”

But Charlie just shook his head. Artemis turned to look at the other inhabitants of the carriage. Aside from Diego, there were several faces she recognised, but only a few she could put a name to. Still, she smiled at Badeea Ali, the Ravenclaw prefect, who she was friendly with, and nodded in recognition at Merula Snyde.

Merula, with whom Artemis had previously had a somewhat strained relationship, raised her eyebrows. Artemis smirked. That was about as friendly a greeting as she could have hoped for. As soon as the Head Boy had finished his speech and released them, Artemis made a beeline for her.

“What do you want, Hexley?” drawled Merula.

“Just thought I’d see how your summer was, that’s all,” Artemis said, and Merula looked at her scathingly. “Well, you didn’t come to our party, so I thought-”

“No, because we aren’t friends.” 

“But we are…” Artemis’ voice tailed off. No, she and Merula weren’t exactly friends, but they weren’t colleagues anymore, either, not now that Rakepick wasn’t around.

“Exactly, Hexley,” Merula muttered. “We aren’t anything to one another, so stop pretending that you care about whether or not I came to your stupid party. I don’t even see how you can think about having a party when Rakepick’s still out there, anyway.”

“What else am I supposed to be doing, Merula?”

“The same thing that I’m doing.”

“Which is?”

“Becoming as powerful as I can be,” Merula said, shortly.

“Really, Merula? This again? I thought you were over the whole ‘most powerful witch at Hogwarts thing’ now.”

“I don’t want to be the most powerful witch at Hogwarts anymore, Hexley. I want to be more powerful than Rakepick. I want to find her, and show her that she can’t beat me.”

“Right,” Artemis frowned, and Merula walked away without another word. Artemis blinked and returned to Charlie, ready to patrol. “Shall we go? Quickly, before I end up getting stuck with Diego again.”

“Don’t worry, he went off with one of the fifth year girls,” Charlie told her, and he nodded his head in the direction of Merula. “Was she alright?”

“Not really. She’s plotting revenge on Rakepick, apparently.”

“Well, that’s one way of dealing with things.”

“She’ll have a job finding her. Jacob said he’s tried everywhere.”

“Jacob?” Charlie’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Your brother Jacob?”

“No, my Grandpa Jacob,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Of course my brother Jacob. He was at my mum’s house when I got back last night.”

“Oh. What else did he say?”

“Not much. He was mainly speaking to our mum, but he did say sorry for leaving me in the Vault.”

“That was nice of him,” Charlie said, his eyes fixed straight ahead. “How did your mum take-”

“The usual. Well, with me, it was the usual. With Jacob she was like a proper mum.”

“Right. Well, I’m sorry.”

“Why? It’s not your fault,” Artemis wrinkled her nose. “Anyway, it’s fine, because I’ve moved out now, anyway, and my mum is going back to America, so-”

“What?” Charlie stopped walking and stared at her, his eyebrows knitted together. “What do you mean, you’ve moved out? Where are you going to live?”

“Hogwarts, I guess. And I’m going to Rowan’s for Christmas, and probably a week in the summer. Maybe a week at yours, too, if your family doesn’t mind, and I guess I’ll just pay for Fergus and me to stay at the Three Broomsticks for the rest of the holidays. That’ll be nice, because there’ll be loads of Butterbeer.”

“Artemis…”

“It’s fine, Charlie,” said Artemis, rolling her eyes. “What did you want to talk to me about, anyway?”

Charlie sighed, and shook his head.

“Er, nothing. It’s nothing, really,” he said, before faltering under Artemis’ quizzical stare. “Alright, I just thought… I thought you might need to look out for Penny a bit. What with Bill not being here and everything.”

“Was that it?”

“I told you it was nothing,” he shrugged. “It sounds like you’ve got enough to deal with as it is. I can talk to Tonks about it instead.”

“Oh, no. I don’t mind,” Artemis told him. “Penny’s my friend. And to be honest, I’d rather look after her than think about… Yeah, I’ll make sure she’s okay. Don’t worry.”

Charlie nodded, but he definitely still looked worried.

Artemis and Charlie patrolled the train together for the rest of the journey back to Hogwarts, having had to stop no less than five times to curtail the activities of Charlie’s younger brothers, Fred and George. At Hogsmeade station, they made sure that the unruly twins were safely in the care of Hagrid the groundskeeper, along with the rest of the first years, before setting off to find their other friends.

The carriages that took the students from the station to the castle were gathered and ready to leave. Artemis saw the unmistakable bright pink hair of her friend Tonks climbing into one of them, and so she ran to join her.

“Where’s Penny?” Artemis asked, climbing into the carriage alongside Tonks and Rowan. 

“She wanted to go with Beatrice,” Rowan said, eyebrows raised sceptically over the top of her glasses. 

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Beatrice sat with us the whole journey here,” Tonks muttered. “At one point Penny followed her to the toilet to make sure she got there safely.”

She and Rowan shared a knowing look, and the carriage jolted into motion, bouncing down the path to Hogwarts castle as if it were being pulled by an invisible trotting horse, which in fairness, it was; only those who had witnessed a death could see Thestrals, the winged horses that pulled the carriages. 

In the Great Hall, Artemis spotted Penny sitting amongst a group of second years, including her sister Beatrice, whose short blonde hair was much less tidy than it had been the last time Artemis saw her. 

“Is she not going to come and sit with us at all?” Artemis asked, frowning as Penny reached across the table and poured her sister a glass of pumpkin juice. “We’re her best friends!”

Penny’s three best friends took seats further along the Hufflepuff table, and were soon joined by Chiara Lobosca, a girl in their year who slept in a dormitory opposite them due to having a bleeding condition that left her in poor health. Judging by the colour in Chiara’s cheeks, the school holidays had given her plenty of chances to rest and recuperate. 

Artemis didn’t have the chance to tell Chiara how well she looked or to ask her about her summer before Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall with the first years ready for the Sorting Ceremony. Artemis ducked just in time as Fred and George Weasley walked past her, and a second later the table in front of her was covered in something wet and sticky.  Tonks leant forward and sniffed.

“Melted acid pops,” she whispered, nodding proudly at the backs of the twins’ heads. “A classic.”

As much as Artemis enjoyed the company of the Weasley twins at the Burrow, she found herself feeling relieved when both were sorted into Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, the little bronze-haired first year boy who had taken a seat on the other side of Rowan, seemed much politer than Fred and George Weasley. 

Not that Artemis was going to be too involved with the first years this year. The fifth year prefects were in charge of rounding up the new students, and she and Diego merely had to make sure that the second years were settling back in well enough. Seeing her opportunity to disentangle Penny from her younger sister at last, Artemis made a point of escorting Beatrice and her friends to their dormitory, as Tonks and Rowan frogmarched Penny to their own. 

By the time Artemis had seen that the second year girls were sensibly getting ready for bed and no longer running up and down the corridors, there was no noise at all coming from her own room. She was surprised to find that when she opened the door, all three of her roommates and Chiara Lobosca were all sitting in their pyjamas in the middle of the room playing a noisy game of Exploding Snap, each of them halfway through a bottle of Butterbeer, with music playing from a small gramophone in the corner.

“Silencing charm,” Rowan said, seeing the confused look on Artemis’ face. 

Artemis grinned, pulled her own pyjamas out from underneath Fergus the cat, and changed into them ready to join in the fun. She changed the song on the gramophone and sat cross-legged on the floor between Rowan and Penny, where Tonks handed her a Butterbeer and Chiara dealt her a handful of cards. 

Finally, thought Artemis. She was home at last.

The sixth years may have returned to the castle for another year of school, but they couldn’t start their lessons until they had chosen which subjects they would continue to study now that they had finished their O.W.L.s and were progressing to their N.E.W.T.s. The morning after the start-of-term feast, the sixth year Hufflepuffs awoke to a note from their Head of House Professor Sprout, inviting them to have breakfast with her in the greenhouses instead of in the Great Hall, so that they could discuss their options together.

Artemis and her friends took seats on a bench under branches of Professor Sprout’s Wiggentree, and when their teacher had finished pouring each of them a fresh cup of tea, she conjured a plushy armchair out of thin air and sat on it to talk with them.

“I was very pleased to see your results,” she told them, beaming from ear to ear. “Well done, girls. I hope you’re all as proud of yourselves as I am.”

Artemis, Rowan, Penny, Tonks, and Chiara all murmured their assent. Professor Sprout took a sip of tea and a bite of pain au chocolat before continuing to talk to them. 

“Now, have all of you had a chance to think about what subjects you’d like to take through to N.E.W.T. Level?

Naturally, Rowan and Penny were the first to have made up their minds. Penny only really cared about Potions and Alchemy, but she had also decided that Charms and Herbology would be useful, and that Muggle Studies would be an easy option, given her Muggle heritage. Rowan was planning on continuing with almost everything, and Professor Sprout had to point out that only had room for so many subjects on her timetable before she narrowed down her options to History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions, Astronomy and Herbology. 

Artemis frowned. She too had already decided which subjects she wanted to take for her N.E.W.T.s, and they weren’t at all the same as the ones Rowan was taking. She hadn’t thought about that until now; the two of them had always had the same timetable before, and she had assumed that they would continue to attend all their lessons together. They had always made a good team: Rowan was more academic, Artemis more practical. It was going to be strange, not having Rowan with her at all times, like she was going to have a part of her missing. She didn’t like the idea of it one bit.

“Which subjects will you be continuing with, Artemis?”  Professor Sprout asked her. 

“Well,” said Artemis, quickly rethinking, “Charms and Runes, definitely, and Potions as well…”

“I’m afraid that Professor Snape only accepts students with Outstanding in their Potions O.W.L. on his N.E.W.T. Course, so-”

“Wait, what?” Tonks interrupted Professor Sprout, looking horrified. “But I only got Exceeds Expectations! Does that mean that I can’t take Potions this year?”

“Unfortunately so,” the professor nodded sympathetically, and Tonks scowled. Artemis shared confused looks with Rowan. Tonks had never shown any interest in Potions before.

“But that’s so unfair! None of the other teachers have that rule.”

“No, most of us are happy to take students provided that they have Exceeds Expectations or above, although Professor Flitwick and I do make some exceptions if students show a real dedication to the subject or they need it for their selected career paths,” Professor Sprout turned her attention back to Artemis and gave her a pointed look. “I don’t believe that Herbology is a prerequisite for Curse-Breaking, is it?”

“No, but-”

“You did particularly well in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, Artemis. Outstanding in both subjects. I’d suggest that you continue with them. This is your future, and no one else’s, after all.”

Artemis sighed. Professor Sprout had figured her out. 

“Yeah,” she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “I guess that makes sense.”

“And you’ve always liked your Creatures, if my memory serves me correctly,” Professor Sprout continued. “I think Professor Kettleburn would be most upset to not have you back in his classroom this year.”

There was a note of finality in Sprout’s voice that made it clear that there was no point in arguing. Artemis would just have to get used to not spending every moment of every day with Rowan. At least they would still have Ancient Runes and Charms classes together. Besides, she could hardly see Charlie giving up Care of Magical Creatures, and Tonks was fully intent on continuing with both Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, so she wouldn’t be alone in any of her lessons.

“What about you, Chiara?” Sprout asked. “Have you had any thoughts about what you’d like to do?”

“I’ve been thinking that I might like to be a Healer,” Chiara said. She didn’t look particularly happy about the idea, however. If anything, she looked apprehensive. “I just don’t know if I’d be able to be a Healer, what with me being sick. They might not want me to be one.”

Professor Sprout put down her cup of tea and looked Chiara in the eye earnestly. Artemis tilted her head as she recognised another emotion in her teacher’s eyes: a strange, pitying sadness.

“I understand your worry, Chiara, but someone with your intelligence and your good heart shouldn’t be put off from trying. You would make an excellent Healer, I’m sure,” Professor Sprout smiled and leant across to gently squeeze Chiara’s hand. “We will sort something out for you. Let me talk to Madam Pomfrey, see if she would like to take you on in the Hospital Wing as a volunteer.”

Chiara’s eerily pale eyes were a little dewy as she nodded her head and she talked through her subject options with Professor Sprout. By the time the bell rang to mark the end of breakfast, all of the sixth year Hufflepuffs were full of pastries and had their new timetables completed, ready to start the new year. The girls turned to leave, but before she could follow her friends out of the greenhouse, Professor Sprout called to Artemis once more.

“Artemis, I’m sorry that I didn’t think to ask before,” she said, frowning deeply. “I just assumed that you still wanted to be a Curse-Breaker, but after last term, I suppose that you might have changed your mind.”

“Why?”

“Well, because of Patricia Rakepick.”

Artemis thought about it. She hadn’t really considered whether or not she still wanted to be a Curse-Breaker. She never had actually really considered whether she wanted to be a Curse-Breaker at all, it was just what she did. And she was good at it, too. It was a part of who she was. Rakepick couldn’t change that, could she?

“No,” she said, vehemently shaking her head. “I still want to be a Curse-Breaker.”

“Very well,” replied Professor Sprout, though she looked doubtful. “I just thought-”

“I’m a Curse-Breaker, professor. That’s just what I am.”

[the-al-chemist]

Playlist: The Hexley Saga Years 6-7

Track listing:

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks

Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel

Changes - David Bowie

Hammer to Fall - Queen

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Brothers in Arms - Dire Straights

Cry Little Sister - Gerard McMann

Yesterday - The Beatles

Who Wants to Live Forever? - Queen

River - Joni Mitchell

Let It Be - The Beatles

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O’Connor

Rio - Duran Duran

Heartache Tonight - The Eagles

How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door - Bob Dylan

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

Smile - Nat King Cole

Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

Sisters of the Moon - Fleetwood Mac

With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

Children of the Revolution - Marc Bolan and T. Rex

Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac

Song to the Siren - Mortal Coil

The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

You’ll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Every Breath You Take - The Police

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Cloudbusting - Kate Bush

Sara - Fleetwood Mac

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

Black Velvet - Alannah Myles

Merry Christmas Darling - The Carpenters

Candle in the Wind - Elton John

Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Oh Daddy - Fleetwood Mac

Ça Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand

We Didn’t Start the Fire - Billy Joel

Hold the Line - Toto

Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac

Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones

In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

You’ve Got The Love - The Source

Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

Heroes - David Bowie

Freedom! ‘90 - George Michael

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann

[the-al-chemist]

Lineage Challenge Day 6 - Ask Game!

Thank you @kathrynalicemc for creating this challenge, it’s been so interesting and great for development! Long answers and pretty pictures ahead, so I’ve put in a cut.

1) Canon or Fiction? What drew you to that specific family? Did you make any changes to Canon, and if so, why?

This isn’t a canon family, I created the name Hexley for Artemis after writing a list of surnames and giving them a magical twist. The lore has gone back from Artemis through to my HPHL OCs. I have strict rules about not altering established canon in my writing (which is why Sara Kowalski was born after the events of the Fantastic Beasts films finish) but working around it to create stories that can exist in the magical world adjacent to canon.

I have, however, changed my own canon. Mavis Morland was originally supposed to be a Muggle, not a Squib with a secret history, and the Hexley family were not going to be distantly related to some of the other families I mention below. I also intended the line to end with Artemis, however I have grown to cherish this family lineage to the point that I couldn’t do that. So, Cleo came into being, and now the Hexleys have a future as well as a history.

2) Family Ties - What other families are related/connected to this one? Are they Canon families or creator-made families? (Tag them!)

The Hexleys are connected through marriage to several other wizarding families.

To the Anders and Cleary families, due to the marriage of Theodore Hexley to Florence Mudge. Florence’s nieces gave the Hexley family a distant connection to the McNully and Hopper families. @kc-and-co @thatravenpuffwitch

To the french Fortinbras dynasty, thanks to the marriage of Jim Hexley and Héloïse Perrault.

To the Mercury family, after Ethel’s marriage to Lysander Mercury and the birth of their three daughters: Beatrice, Flora, and Ottilie. Eventually, this branch of the family leads to Flora’s granddaughter Iris and her son Zephyr, and to Ottilie’s grandson Orlando Taylor, and his daughters, Phoebe and Zadie Taylor-Allen. @slytherindisaster

To the Nott and Burke families through Marius Hexley’s marriage to Mavis Morland, who was born Marguerite Nott. This connects them through the marriage of Marguerite’s sister Dahlia to the Pendleton lineage, however this is not a fact that is known by anyone but Mavis Marius themselves and Mavis’ mother Eliza, who was born Ophelia Burke. @kc-and-co @lifeofkaze

To the Goldstein/Kowalski family, through Leander’s marriage to Sara Kowalski. Sally’s maternal aunt Tina Goldstein married Magizoologist Newt Scamander, thus linking another family to the tree.

To the Cole family, thanks to the birth of Jacob Hexley and Angelica Cole’s daughter Cleo. However, as the couple never married and were separated whilst Cleo was still young, the connection between the two lineages is not strong.

3) Foundations: What year and which OC was the founder of the family line?

I have traced the Hexley lineage back as far as Humphrey, Jim and Ethel’s paternal grandfather, however the name Hexley has existed in Wizarding records since the late medieval era. The name sprung up as if from nowhere, and it is unknown whether this is because the family originally was an offshoot of the Yaxley family who cut ties with their less liberal-minded clansmen, or was descended from Muggle stock. Either way, the Hexley family is old enough to have garnered some respect for itself over the years, but not fanatic enough about maintaining the purity of its bloodline to have kept its prestige high.

4) Fun Facts: Do you have any misc lore that you haven’t had a chance to post about? Talk about anything you like!

I’m going to talk about property and homes. There are several old properties that have been owned by the Hexley family over the generations, some of which are still in the possession of their descendents.

Cathedral Close, Exeter, Devon

Muggles are not able to see the door with the hedgehog-shaped knocker among the buildings of the ancient part of Exeter which marks the entrance to the ancestral home of the Hexley family. Humphrey Hexley and his wife Jemima took over this home from Humphrey’s parents in the 19th century, and this is where they raised their son Theodore. Next door, there is a house whose door bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Hogwarts castle’s Room of Requirement. It is unknown if this is a coincidence or not. The property was inherited by Ethel Hexley-Mercury and her family.

Dunsworthy-in-the-Moor, Devon

Florence Mudge’s Muggle parents were not extremely wealthy, but they had enough money to purchase a set of three terraced cottages in Dartmoor, one to be given to each of their three daughters upon marriage. Theodore and Florence raised their children Jim and Ethel in the cottage, with the property later passing to Jim. Both Jim’s children were also raised here, as was his grandson Leander, but the property was sold after the death of Marius Hexley during the first Wizarding War.

Château de Miel, Sarlac, Dordogne

Jim Hexley’s marriage to Héloïse Perrault greatly raised the family’s status financially. Héloïse grew up in the Château de Sarlac, the property bestowed upon her parents after their marriage by her maternal grandparents, but only returned to live there as an adult after her own children had grown. The château was then renamed and went on to have an interesting life of its own, housing both cryptanalysts during the Global Wizarding War and refugees during the Second British Wizarding War, and running a working honey farm throughout the latter two thirds of the 20th Century. Currently it is in the possession of Lucienne Hexley.

Lovelace Terrace, Camden, London

After graduating from Hogwarts and getting a job at the British Ministry of Magic, Héloïse’s grandmother ‘gifted’ her a London townhouse. Unfortunately, Héloïse despised London wholeheartedly, so the building was instead used by other members of the family until passing onto her grandson Leander, who used the money from the sale of the Dunsworthy cottage to purchase the Camden house from his grandparents and use it as a home in which to raise his own family. After Leander’s death, the property was inherited by his two surviving offspring, Jacob and Artemis. After years of attempts, Artemis managed to successfully sell her share of the property in the early 2000s to a surprising buyer, but that is definitely a story for another day.

5) Free Space: Feel free to ask any creator a question not listed here, and maybe you will get one in return!

Y’all know that I’m always open to asks!

[the-al-chemist]

Jacob Odysseus Hexley

Jacob Hexley, the mysterious older brother of Artemis Hexley, is infamous for his expulsion from Hogwarts, his obsession with the school’s legendary Cursed Vaults, and his eight year disappearance in the 1980s. In his adulthood, Jacob became a scholar, a spy for Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix, and a single father to his daughter, Cleo.

As I have not yet finished publishing the Hexley Saga, some of Jacob’s profile has been left incomplete to avoid spoilers. Anything marked * will be updated as Artemis and Jacob’s story is revealed.

Profile

Born: 27th October 1963 (Scorpio)

Hometown: Camden Town, London, U.K.

Nationality/Ethnicity: White British, with American, Polish, and French ancestry

Blood status: Half-Blood

Gender identity: wizard (he/him)

Sexuality: bisexual

Personality

Myers-Briggs Type: ENTJ (Commander)

Strengths: intelligent, logical, charming, determined, tenacious, academic, caring, remorseful

Weaknesses: obsessive, calculating, deceitful, manipulative

Interests/hobbies: academia, chess, cryptic crosswords, reading, music, history, runology

Appearance

Height: as an adult, 5’9”

Weight: as an adult, 75kg

Hair: dark brown, thick, messy. Usually worn short.

Eyes: hazel, green around pupil

Skin: light olive, tans easily

Defects: none

Style: preppy as a teenager, growing increasingly grungey as got older. Little bit of dark academia thrown in there for good measure.

Faceclaim: Dominic Cooper

Wizardry

1st Wand: Maple and Dragon Heartstring - broken in order to gain access to the Vault of Fear

(I have often found that those chosen by maple wands are by nature travellers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands, and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard, otherwise their magic grows heavy and lacklustre. Fresh challenges and regular changes of scene cause this wand to literally shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. This is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. Possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.)

2nd Wand: Hornbeam and Dragon Heartstring - previously belonged to Duncan Ashe

(Hornbeam selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single, pure passion, which some might call obsession (though I prefer the term ‘vision’), which will almost always be realised. Hornbeam wands adapt more quickly than almost any other to their owner’s style of magic, and will become so personalised, so quickly, that other people will find them extremely difficult to use even for the most simple of spells. Hornbeam wands likewise absorb their owner’s code of honour, whatever that might be, and will refuse to perform acts – whether for good or ill – that do not tally with their master’s principles. A particularly fine-tuned and sentient wand.)

Animagus form: none

Patronus: Non-Corporeal

Boggart: the dead body of his younger sister Artemis

Riddikulus: Artemis gets up and pulls a face at him

Amortentia (what does he smell?): allspice, gunpowder, ink

Amortentia (what does he smell like?): old books, butterbeer, steel

Magical abilities: Legilimency, Occlumency

At Hogwarts

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Best subjects: charms, arithmancy, ancient runes

Worst subjects: divination

Third year options: divination, ancient runes, arithmancy

N.E.W.T.s: none - expelled at the start of his seventh year

Quidditch position: none.

After Hogwarts

September 1981-November 1981: Expelled, unemployed. Home tutor to his younger sister

November 1981-May 1982: in hiding at the Three Broomsticks pub, simultaneously trying to solve the riddle of the Cursed Vaults

June 1982-June 1989: trapped inside a portrait within a Cursed Vault

June 1989 onwards: TBA *

Relationships

Family:

Sara Hexley (mother) - Jacob and his mother were close before his disappearance, especially following the death of Leander, when Jacob found himself having to support Sara emotionally.

Leander Hexley (father - deceased) - Jacob and his father were close until the two of them argued shortly before Jacob left for Hogwarts. Their relationship never recovered before Leander’s death.

Artemis Hexley (sister) - there is no one and nothing in the world that Jacob adores more than his younger sister. He would do anything for her, but this doesn’t mean that he always does what is right by her.

Tina and Newt Scamander (Great-Aunt and Uncle) - with his maternal grandparents living in America, Tina and Newt took on this role in Jacob’s childhood. Jacob, Sara, and Artemis all lived with Newt and Tina in the wake of Leander’s death.

Jacob and Queenie Kowalski (maternal grandparents) - being almost ten years her senior, Jacob has a better relationship with his grandparents than Artemis, who has met them less times, and not seen them since she was six. Jacob last saw them when he was sixteen, but met them most years, and even went to visit them twice in his childhood, which Artemis did not.

Friends:

Duncan Ashe - Duncan and Jacob were good friends at Hogwarts, and grew closer as they investigated the Cursed Vaults.

Olivia Green - Olivia was Jacob’s first friend at Hogwarts, but they drifted apart as Jacob’s obsession with the Vaults grew.

Madam Rosmerta - Jacob worked as a barman at the Three Broomsticks and grew close with Madam Rosmerta, eventually trusting her so much that he hid himself in her basement for six months following his disappearance.

Patricia Rakepick - Jacob enlisted the help of Curse-Breaker Patricia Rakepick in breaking the curses of the Vaults.

Love interests:

Duncan Ashe - Jacob and Duncan’s relationship became romantic during his final year at Hogwarts.

Pets: Athena (long-eared owl)

Rivals:

Torvus - Jacob “befriended” Torvus in order to get access to a sacred arrow required to open the Forest Vault. When Torvus did not allow this, Jacob stole the arrow.

Duncan Ashe - Duncan believes that Jacob betrayed him in order to keep his sister safe from ‘R’. Duncan blames Jacob for his death.

Bill Weasley - Jacob and Bill do not like each other. Jacob resents Bill for taking his place as far as Artemis is concerned, and Bill thinks that Jacob is shady and untrustworthy. Both of them make compelling arguments.

Ancestry:

Marius and Mavis Hexley (paternal grandparents)

Jeremiah and Héloïse Hexley (great-grandparents)

Eliza Morland/Ophelia Burke (great-grandmother)

Distantly a descendant via French lineage from Morgan Le Fay.

[the-al-chemist]

🌓 + Artemis please? Q-Q

Of course! Thank you for asking! 🧡

Leander Hexley was working as an Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries when he travelled to the USA to undertake some research at Ilvermorny School of Magic. There, he met Sara “Sally” Kowalski, a student at the time. She introduced herself to him whilst he was studying in the library, and after laughing at the way he pronounced the word “Quodpot” in his British accent, invited him to watch a game. They got married less than a year later in England, and Jacob was born a few months after that.

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Portrait of the Vault

Chapter 1: Badges

A/N: Here we are again! Artemis prepares to start her fifth year at Hogwarts, and there’s been a surprise in the post. Warnings: child neglect and angst.

It was early morning, and the sun had finally risen over Charcombe Regis. A little way out of the town, in the garden of a house perched on top of the cliffs overlooking the beach, a cat-eyed teenager stood barefoot on the dewy morning grass watching the waves crash against the shore, the sunlight reflecting off the water, her mane of dark hair being lifted by the sea breeze. Around her shoulders was draped the purring body of a marmalade-coloured cat, and at her feet a pair of terrier-like dogs were growling playfully at one another and wagging their forked tails.

This was one of Artemis Hexley’s favourite places: the beach and the cliffs that formed the backdrop to her great-aunt and uncle’s house. In the summer, the place was usually packed, however, this early in the morning, she was the only person around. Or, at least, she would be for now.

From the sky, a shadow descended, making its way down towards where Artemis was standing. She raised her gaze to the sky, and a grin spread across her face as the shadow quickly took the shape of a boy her own age, diving towards her on a broomstick, the August sun threading golden strands through his flaming red hair.

“Only you today?” Artemis asked Charlie Weasley, as he dismounted his broom and bent down to pat the two Crups that were bounding up to meet him.

Artemis and Charlie were in the same year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and now that they were friends, Charlie had become a regular visitor to Charcombe Regis over the past month. This was the first time he had visited alone, however, as he was usually accompanied by his older brother and Artemis’ friend, Bill.

“Only me,” Charlie shrugged, smiling up at Artemis. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m not disappointed, just surprised,” Artemis frowned. “I thought you were still banned from flying by yourself.”

Earlier that summer, before the end of the school year, Artemis and Charlie had landed themselves in quite a lot of trouble after they flew into the Forbidden Forest to break into a Cursed Vault. Artemis had landed herself in detention indefinitely, and the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, had written to both their parents. Sara Hexley, as indifferent to her daughter’s exploits as ever, hadn’t even opened the letter, as Artemis had found it still sealed in the kitchen when she returned home at the start of the holidays. Charlie’s mother, however, had been livid.

“Well, Mum’s finally forgiven me,” Charlie stood back up and walked over to Artemis, pulling something out of his pocket as he did. “Think it might have had something to do with this.”

He held his left hand out to her, palm up, revealing both an old Crup-bite scar and a red-and-gold badge. Artemis laughed, and reached into her own pocket, pulling out a similar badge of her own, though hers was yellow and black.

“Snap!” she said loudly, making Fergus the cat jump. She put the badge back into her pocket, and tilted her head. “Funny, I wouldn’t have thought they’d have made either of us prefects, not after the trouble we caused. Do you think they’ve forgotten?”

“No, they definitely haven’t,” Charlie shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Didn’t you read the last part of the equipment list? ‘First years aren’t allowed to bring their own broomsticks’... I think that’s definitely our fault.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Artemis sighed. “I thought for moment there I’d maybe gotten out of detention.”

“Doubtful.”

“I know, it was too good to be true. Your mum must be well chuffed, though, two prefects in the family.”

“Actually, it’s one prefect and a Head Boy,” Charlie told her.

“Bill’s Head Boy?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s hardly a surprise, he got twelve O.W.L.s, and five of them were Os.”

“I guess that is pretty impressive,” Artemis frowned. “So where is Bill, if he’s not here?”

“Cornwall.”

“Cornwall? What’s he doing in Cornwall?”

“Visiting Penny,” Charlie said, and he tilted his head at the confused look on Artemis’ face. “Artemis, you knew about this already, remember?”

“But I thought...” Artemis tried her hardest to make sense of what Charlie was telling her. “I thought you and Penny -”

“What?” Charlie’s face turned pink and his eyes widened. “No, that’s... why would you even think that?”

Thinking about it now, Artemis couldn’t think why she had thought that. It made much more sense this way.

“You know, I’m not really sure. I just did.”

Charlie laughed, his eyes on the ground.

“Well, I’m flattered that you even thought that might be a possibility,” he said, shaking his head. “But, no. Just... no.”

The more Artemis thought about it, the more she realised how wrong she had been, and she also started to laugh.

“Was it not a boring flight over here without company?” she asked, once she had gotten a hold of herself.

“Not really. I had this,” Charlie raised his eyebrows, and from his satchel produced a blue rectangular box, with what looked like a piece of string coming out of one corner. Further down the string, it bifurcated, and the two ends connected to either prong of a semi-circular object.

“What is that?”

“It’s called a Walking Man. Ben gave it to me, apparently loads of Muggles have them. Here, put this bit on your head.”

He held out the semi-circular piece and placed it on Artemis’ head like an Alice band. At the points of the semi-circle, squishy pads covered her ears. She frowned, and then Charlie pressed a button on the blue box, and music began to play. A smile spread across Artemis’ face. She loved music, especially Muggle music.

“I love this song!” she told Charlie, who flinched slightly, as if she had shouted at him. “What?”

Charlie smirked, and lifted one of the pads away from Artemis’ ear, making the music grow quieter.

“You’re shouting,” Charlie said. Artemis realised now that the music was softer that he was right, she had been talking much louder than she’d thought.

“How does that work without magic?”

“No idea. I’d ask my dad, but he’d take it apart to try and figure it out, and he’s not always good at putting Muggle things back together again.”

“You don’t want that,” said Artemis, and she placed both pads over her ears to listen to the song again, nodding along to the familiar melody. After a couple of lines, she removed the musical Muggle headband. “Charlie, what does ‘havering’ mean?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Charlie shrugged. “Maybe you could ask Skye Parkin, now that you’re joining the Quidditch team.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“Yeah, but we both know that was a lie. You made up your mind the second she asked you.”

Artemis opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Charlie was right. Skye Parkin had been teaching Artemis to fly, and had invited her to be on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team at the end of the last school year. Artemis had been pleasantly surprised by how much she had enjoyed flying, and was sorely tempted by the prospect of playing on the team, even though she was going to not have much spare time to do so between her prefect duties, detention, revision for the O.W.L. exams, and searching for the remaining Cursed Vaults.

“I’m not criticising,” Charlie continued, clearly having seen the look on Artemis’ face. “I think it’s a great idea. Do you know what position you’ll be playing?”

“Skye didn’t say,” Artemis replied. “But I’ve been reading the copy of Quidditch Through the Ages that Rowan gave me for Christmas, and I like the sound of Chaser.”

“You don’t fancy Seeker, then?”

“Not really, they don’t do that much, do they?”

“Thank you for that, Artemis,” Charlie muttered. He played Seeker for the Gryffindor team.

“I just mean there’s a lot of waiting around for the Snitch.”

“I don’t just ‘wait around’, I’m actively looking for the Snitch.”

“Yeah, well,” Artemis said, giving up trying to dig herself out of the hole she had made for herself. “I still think I’d be better off as a Chaser.”

“Alright. Just don’t get too upset when we win the Quidditch Cup.”

“You might not get the chance to do that,” Artemis grinned. “Right, shall we walk these Crups before the beach gets busy or do you want to get breakfast first?”

“I don’t mind. I’ve already had breakfast, anyway.”

“Me too. Let’s walk first, then. Keep out of Aunt Tina’s way.”

“Why? What’s your uncle done this time?”

“Nothing, she’s just stressed out about packing,” Artemis replied to Charlie’s question, as they started to walk down the cliff path towards the pebbled beach below. “Not long to go now.”

“I guess not,” Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “You alright about it?”

“Yeah. They go away all the time, it’s just this time there’s no break in between trips.”

Artemis’ great-uncle was a reknowned Magizoologist, and he and her great-aunt often travelled overseas in search of creatures. This autumn they would be going on the biggest trip they had ever undertaken since Artemis could remember: a journey through the Americas, lasting over two years in total.

Charlie looked at Artemis in a questioning way as she answered him. She gave him a brief smile before looking away and speeding up as she made her way down the cliff path, walking in front of him so he wouldn’t be able to see her face. At the bottom of the cliff, where the path opened up into the shale of the beach, she picked up a piece of driftwood, and threw it towards the sea, both Crups chasing it into the waves.

“What’s going to happen to the animals while they’re away?” Charlie asked, standing by Artemis’ side once more.

“My uncle’s apprentice is staying at the house to keep an eye on the Kneazles,” Artemis told him. “I’ve written to Hagrid to ask if he’d be happy to take care of Scully and Dragon. They know Hagrid, and that way we can see them all the time.”

“Good idea. I just hope Hagrid isn’t too attached to his furniture.”

Artemis wheeled around to face Charlie, who was looking out towards the sea, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

“I’ll have you know that Scully is a reformed character,” she said, her hands on her hips.

Charlie said nothing, but his eyebrows raised fractionally. Artemis used the force of her whole body to push against his left side.

“Oi!” Charlie said, turning around to where Artemis hand been stood on his left, but she was already gone, sprinting towards the waves, both Crups following behind her. In the water, she turned back to face him, grinning and giggling mischeivously, kicking the white flecked water with her bare feet. Charlie shook his head, before kicking off his own shoes and joining her in the shallows.

It wasn’t long before Artemis next saw both of the Weasley brothers. After learning about her new appointment as Hufflepuff prefect, Charlie’s brother Bill invited Artemis out for lunch in Diagon Alley with him, Charlie, and a few former Hogwarts prefects.

Artemis travelled to the Three Broomsticks from her great-aunt’s house via the Floo Network, and she tumbled out of the fireplace at the inn with Fergus the cat and all her luggage in tow.

“Don’t you think you’ve overpacked?” Bill asked her, seeing her arrive in a flash of green flames, and starting to help her with her suitcase.

“Very funny, Bill,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “I’m going back to my mum’s after this.”

Bill nodded, and led Artemis and Fergus to a table in the corner, where Charlie was sitting, alongside two wizards and two witches, all aged around twenty. On one side of Charlie sat the former Slytherin prefect and president of the Creatures Club, Felix Rosier, and on the other, the curly-haired ex-Gryffindor, Angelica Cole, who at one time had been both prefect and Quidditch Captain for her house. Across the table, next to an empty chair which Artemis took, was Chester Davies, one-time Ravenclaw prefect and pianist, who had helped Artemis audition for the Frog Choir in her third year.

As she took her seat, Chester extended his hand to her formally to shake, which she did, her small hands dwarfed by his long, pianist’s fingers. Having greeted Chester, Artemis turned to the second witch, seated on her other side. The young woman seemed older than the other former prefects, she was shorter in stature, and had fine hair that was dirty blonde in colour, and dark circles under her eyes. Artemis didn’t recognise her, not exactly, but she thought that she looked strangely familiar. Dhe reminded her of someone, but she wasn’t sure who...

“So they made you a prefect after all, Hexley,” said the witch, and Artemis’ eyes widened as she recognised her voice.

“Jane?”

The witch that didn’t quite look like Jane Court anymore gave Artemis a strained, terse smile. Artemis tried not to let her face show her surprise. Jane had been her prefect when she first arrived at Hogwarts, and after a rocky start, the two of them had developed a relationship that almost resembled friendship. But when Artemis had known Jane, her prefect had been stout, authoritative, and formal. Now, Jane looked waifish, the bones in her face jutted out, and the circles under her eyes made her look like she was exhausted.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t recognise me, Hexley,” Jane said, quietly. Her voice had harsh quality to it that had never been there during her time at Hogwarts. Artemis opened her mouth to protest, but Jane laughed shortly. “Just my little joke, Artemis. I know I look different from when you last saw me.”

“Only a little,” Artemis lied, and Jane laughed again.

“I’m fully aware of how terrible I look, don’t worry,” she said. “Unfortunately, six months in Azkaban prison doesn’t exactly do wonders for your looks.”

“You’ve been working in Azkaban?”

“Not working, no.”

Artemis frowned, before she realised what Jane meant. She wanted to ask Jane what she had done to earn a six month sentence in Azkaban, but before she got the chance to do so, Felix Rosier stood up and offered to buy everyone a drink.

“I’ll come and help you, Felix,” said Charlie, rising from his seat and following Felix to the bar.

“What’s up with him?” Artemis asked Bill, jerking her head towards the other Weasley.

“Felix is a Dragonologist now,” Bill said, simply.

Artemis sighed. Dragons were probably Charlie’s favourite thing in the whole world, even more than Quidditch. No wonder he was so keen to talk to Rosier.

“Do you think we’ll ever get him back?” Artemis grinned, flicking her eyes between Bill and Charlie, who was at the bar with Felix talking more animatedly than she’d ever seen him before. Bill threw his hands up in the air, and started to talk to Angelica, who, from the sounds of things was now doing some sort of work with security trolls.

“Did you ever join the Frog Choir in the end?” Chester asked, turning in his seat to face Artemis, who shook her head in response. “That’s a shame. Your friend, that Snyde girl, she did have a good voice as well, though.”

“Are you still playing piano?”

“A little, in my spare time. Helps me switch off from work.”

“What do you do for work?” asked Artemis.

“I work in the Ministry. Improper Use of Magic Office.”

“That sounds...” Artemis struggled to find the right word, eventually settling for: “interesting.”

“It’s not that interesting,” Chester smirked. “Mainly it’s just paperwork.”

Artemis nodded, pretending to not think Chester’s job boring. In truth, she thought that the idea of filling in paperwork for a job sounded incredibly dull, especially in comparison with some of the exploits of famous Curse-Breakers she had read about. It didn’t take long for the discussion to turn to Artemis’ own curse-breaking experiences.

“Chester,” she said, a thought popping into her head. “You were at school before my brother was expelled, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, he got expelled at the start of my second year.”

“Was he your prefect?”

“No,” Chester shook his head. “His friend was, though. Olivia, Olivia Green. Duncan Ashe, his friend that died, he was a prefect, too, but he was Slytherin, so I didn’t have much to do with him. Felix probably would have done, though, so you could ask him.”

“If I can get a word in edgeways,” Artemis muttered, casting a look at Felix and Charlie, still animatedly discussing dragons.

“That’s true. Well, if you ask me, Dumbledore made Olivia and Duncan prefects so they would be good influences on Jacob. He’d already made himself a reputation for being a troublemaker by the time I got to school.”

“No offence, Hexley,” said Angelica, who at some point had stopped talking to Bill and started listening to their conversation, “but I’d have thought that after all the rules you’ve broken over the years you’d be out of the running for prefect entirely.”

“Yeah, well,” Artemis replied. “I’m as surprised as you are. I was sure it would have been Rowan.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Artemis felt a distinct pang of guilt. Her best friend in the whole world, Rowan Khanna, had high ambitions for her future: one day being headmistress of Hogwarts, becoming the school’s youngest ever professor, getting to be the Head Girl in her final year, and prefect in her fifth. The idea that Rowan wouldn’t be able to achieve the first of her goals, and that she herself was the reason why, filled Artemis with a number of emotions, none of them pleasant.

“Have you written to Rowan?” Bill asked, after he, Artemis and Charlie had bid farewell to the others, and started to make their way through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley to purchase their equipment for school.

“Not yet,” Artemis admitted.

“My goodness,” Bill grinned at her. “You’re scared to tell her, aren’t you?”

“I’m not scared, I just... I know how sad she’s going to be. And I don’t want to upset her, that’s all.”

“She won’t be that upset.”

“You don’t know Rowan like I do. She’s wanted to be prefect since our first day at Hogwarts, and now I’ve taken it from her, and I’m meant to be her best-”

“You are her best friend, and I’m sure that she will be happy for you,” said Bill. He started laughing. “You know, Penny was just as worried about telling you about us, and you were fine about it.”

“Yeah, I guess. How did you two even happen, anyway?”

“Just did, I guess. One of those serendipitous things,” Artemis frowned, and Bill grinned. “As in, you find something that you weren’t necessarily looking for.”

“I know what it means,” Artemis lied. “I just can’t believe you two were going out for months and just let me figure it out by myself.”

“I mean, you hardly figured-”

“I was wrong about one minor detail, that’s all.”

“A minor detail? You put two and two together and got five.”

“Well, in my defence, I have always been bad at Arithmancy,” Artemis shrugged. “You know, I’m not even that worried about the O.W.L. exams this year. I can’t wait for them to be over so I can just give up Arithmancy altogether.”

“You’ll change your tune once the teachers start nagging you. Trust me, everyone gets worried about the O.W.L.s at some point.”

But the only owl Artemis was worried about was the one she knew she had to send Rowan.

Artemis returned to her mother’s house in London later that day for the last week of the school holidays. Sara Hexley was in her study with the door open when Artemis arrived, and seemed not to notice her daughter clattering into the house and up the several flights of stairs to her attic bedroom with all her luggage.

“Ma?” Artemis asked, standing in the doorway of the study. Her mother didn’t seem to have heard her, so raised her voice. “Ma?” Still, nothing. Artemis let out a frustrated sigh, and tried a different tack. “Sally!”

Artemis’ mother flinched, and raised her head from her desk.

“Yes?” she asked, tersely, before lowering her gaze once more.

“Can I borrow Athena? Ma. Can I borrow Athena?

“Hm? Oh, of course.”

“Thanks,” Artemis took a deep breath, and, as optimistic as ever, attempted to engage her in conversation. “I’ve just got back from meeting my friends in Diagon Alley. Bill’s the new Head Boy, and Charlie’s been made a prefect. I don’t know if you got my letter, but I’m a prefect, too.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it is. It means I get to use a special bathroom and wear a badge and everything. My badge is in my room, actually. Would you like to see it?” As expected, Sara Hexley did not respond to Artemis’ question. She sighed, and continued, “Well, you don’t have to see it, it is just a badge with a big ‘P’ on it. But it’s quite a big deal, so Bill invited some of the old school prefects to meet us for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Were you a prefect when you were at school? Did they have prefects at your school?” Artemis’ mother didn’t reply to this, either. Artemis stared at her, hard, and raised her voice. “Anyway, we went for lunch, and then we broke into a Gringotts. And after that, we burnt a goat alive to appease the old gods, and danced naked on its ashes to the sound of mermaid song.”

Sara Hexley remained unmoved. Well, thought Artemis, if that didn’t get her attention, nothing would. She rolled her eyes, and left to go and write her letter to Rowan. After multiple failed attempts, she managed to write a letter that she was half happy with, and sent Athena away with it.

As she watched Athena fly away, letter in her beak, Artemis scratched the ears of her beloved ginger cat, Fergus.

“I hope she doesn’t hate me. I don’t think I could cope without Rowan on my side,” she told him. Fergus looked at her with his bottle green eyes, and miaowed at her. “I know, you’ll always be on my side. Just as well, really. It was pretty lonely around this place before you came along.”

It was still rather lonely with Fergus. Artemis’ mother made no effort to speak to her for the rest of the week, and by the final evening of August, the night before Artemis was due to get the train home, she had yet to receive word from Rowan. As she was getting into bed, she heard a tapping on the sloped ceiling, where a window opened into the roof.

“Athena!”

Artemis jumped out of bed, pulled her bedside table out, and stood on it to open the window, both hoping and dreading the contents of the reply from Rowan. But, there wasn’t one. Athena had returned empty-beaked.

With no response from her best friend in the whole world, Artemis was at a complete loss. She buried both hands in her hair and breathed deeply. She wished her friends were here with her. Bill would know what she should do. Penny would be able to talk to Rowan for her. Tonks would be able to make jokes until she felt like smiling again. Charlie probably wouldn’t say much, but he’d at least listen to her. Rowan would... Well, if Rowan were here there wouldn’t be a problem, she thought, bitterly.

But none of them were here. It was just her and Fergus, and as much as she loved her loyal feline friend, she didn’t think that he would be able to offer much in the way of advice. There was only one other person she could turn to, and as doubtful as she felt, she was even more desperate.

“Ma,” she said, entering her mother’s bedroom. Sara Hexley was reading in bed, propped up on her pillows. Artemis climbed up onto the bed and sat on top of the covers by her mother’s feet, her knees pulled into her chest. “I have a problem.”

Artemis’ mother said nothing, but slowly, she closed her book. Perhaps there was hope after all.

“It’s my friend. My best friend, she really wanted to be prefect, and she isn’t and I am,” Artemis told her. Now that she had started speaking, the words kept coming. She couldn’t stop them. “I wrote to tell her, and she didn’t reply to my letter, and now I think she might hate me. I don’t want her to hate me, but she does, and now I don’t know what to do. What do you think I should do?”

“I don’t know,” said Sara, and she opened her book again. Artemis let go of her shins, and stared at her, her anxiety giving way to rising anger.

“Is that all you have to say?” she demanded. Her mother didn’t reply, didn’t look at her, even.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“Anything!” Artemis leapt to her feet, and almost shouted. “Tell me how to fix it. Tell me that I don’t need to fix it, that everything’s going to be okay. Tell me that Rowan doesn’t hate me, for Godric’s sake, tell me that you don’t hate me!”

Her daughter’s words appeared to wound Sara Hexley. She closed her eyes tight, and took a shaky breath. But she said nothing. Artemis couldn’t tell if she wanted to get up in her mother’s face and shake her, or run away from her as fast as her legs would carry her. In the end, she did neither.

“You can’t do it, can you?” she said, her voice low, her whole body trembling. “You can’t tell me that you don’t hate me.”

Sara breathed again, deeper this time, and pressed the tips of her forefingers to the inside of her eyebrows, her head making a tiny, fast movement from side to side. It was as if she were trying to not speak out, to not think at all. Artemis could look at her no longer. She lifted her own head, face raised to the ceiling, and exhaled, before she left her mother’s room and returned to her own in the attic.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, she turned toward it, pressed both hands to it, and banged her forehead against the wood three times, before staying motionless, her face and palms pressed to the door. Fergus let out a doleful miaow, and brushed up against her left shin.

“I know, I should have just stayed up here and talked to you about it,” Artemis muttered, peeling herself away from the door. She scooped Fergus up in her arms, and carried him over to the bed. “There’s no need to speak to me like that.”

Fergus rubbed his cheek against her own, and eventually, Artemis fell asleep with him lying across her neck

[the-al-chemist]

It’s been a long time since the last FFWF ask, bestie 💛

My question for today is:

I call you the faceclaim goddess for a reason because no one has an eye for believable family resemblance than you. I’d like to know your process behind choosing faceclaims, especially when it comes to family relations? Maybe even illustrated on the most superior of all families aka the Hexleys? 🥰

Thank you for this compliment and this ask! 🧡

So, I almost always come up with a character and an idea for a story before choosing that character’s faceclaim. I generally don’t pick their faceclaim off an image alone, either - I can only really get a grasp on whether they “fit” the idea I have in my head if I see them move/speak. I don’t just pick faces, I pick mannerisms and gestures and facial expressions that suit the character. Sometimes this is by searching, but usually I have an idea of someone I’ve seen in a programme or show that might work.

As for picking faceclaims for related characters, I’ve always had the sort of brain that picks up on similarities between faces (the number of times I’ve thought that an actor was someone else entirely because I’ve seen a resemblance and thought that they had the same face), so making a family tree isn’t too hard. Basically, I use a lot of google image searches where I search two names at once so I get several examples of both faces appearing next to each other so I can compare them.

You want illustrations? I’ll give you illustrations, and then some. It’s all under the cut BC it’s so long.

Artemis Hexley - Dafne Keen/Mila Kunis: I never had to seek out a faceclaim for little Artemis; I started rewatching His Dark Materials whilst writing one of the earlier parts of the Saga and realised that Dafne Keen was the child I was imagining whilst writing. It’s not really surprising, given how much HDM has influenced me as a writer and as a person, and how much Lyra was an inspiration for Artemis as a character.

I did and didn’t have to actively seek out a faceclaim for Artemis as an adult. Mila Kunis was the first face that popped into my head, because I had seen photos of Dafne Keen in which I thought she looked very like her, however, I didn’t really like the idea of her for Artemis as I thought her too conventionally beautiful. However, I struggled to find anyone else who fitted what I imagined or believably based on the face I already had in mind, and after seeing her in this video, I was sold. She’s perhaps a prettier, more polished version of Artemis than I’d envisioned, but she just is Artemis nevertheless.

Jacob Hexley - Dominic Cooper: Jacob was always Dominic Cooper. He’s got the similar look around the eyes to Artemis and his character in The History Boys is exactly how I imagined Jacob as a teenager - cocky, charming, calculating.

Sara Kowalski-Hexley - Rachel Weisz: Sara is the daughter of Queenie Goldstein, so to find her faceclaim, I google searched “actress who looks like Alison Sudol”. Rachel Weisz was the first hit. I did consider options for Sara who might be more like Artemis in appearance, but I love that if you were to look at pictures of Queenie, Sara and Artemis in succession, you’d get the believable family connection.

Leander Hexley - Andrew Scott: there are two reasons why I picked Andrew Scott for a faceclaim for Leander. Firstly, I just love him. He’s one of my favourite actors. Secondly, he’s a very versatile actor, who has a lot of different famous roles. We don’t know much about Leander other than he was clever, butted heads with Jacob at times, and died in tragic and suspicious circumstances. Was he a sweet and funny man like the hot priest? Was he a total psychopath like Moriarty? Was he a clever and brave but absent father like John Parry? He could be any one of those things, and you wouldn’t guess at a single one based on his face alone.

Héloïse Perrault - Audrey Tautou: Audrey Tautou was one of the faces I considered briefly for Sara. I disregarded her because Sara is American with Jewish/Polish ancestry and Audrey Tautou is just… SO FRENCH. Still, it was an important part of my lore and backstory for Artemis that she had french ancestry, so Héloïse’s face claim was the first I picked for my HPHL characters.

Ethel Hexley - Maya Hawke: Ethel’s character concept came first, as soon as I wanted a face for her, my mind went straight to a BBC adaptation of Little Women I watched at Christmas a few years ago. Maya Hawke played Jo March in this (and she did an amazing job), and she was just the first idea I had for Ethel, who is very Jo-like in personality.

Jim Hexley - Josh O’Connor: I loved Josh O’Connor in the Durrells and The Crown. Neither of these characters are at all like Jim, however, once Ethel’s face was set, his came to mind as her twin. They have the same freckled complexion, prominent ears, and something similar in the bone structure. He also has a very approachable and slightly awkward look to him, which I liked for Jim.

Ophelia Burke - Mia Wasikowska: Ophelia is the exception to my rule; she is the first (and one of just two) of my characters where the face came first. And this is your fault, as you know.

Mavis Morland/Marguerite Nott - Carey Mulligan: I once met Carey Mulligan in Wagamamas. Also, she was one of the faceclaims I considered for adult Artemis. The fact that she has a passable resemblance to Mia Wasikowska sealed Ophelia’s fate and the faceclaim lineage of this branch of the family tree.

Malvolio Nott - Will Keen: I struggled for ages to find a faceclaim for Ophelia’s horrible husband. Then I realised the solution was simple - who better to have a family resemblance to Artemis than her faceclaim’s actual dad?! He seems lovely in real life, but plays a lot of evil men in suits, which works perfectly for Malvolio.

Zadie Taylor-Allen - Antonia Gentry: it’s easy to forget with the several generations between them and the different surname, but Zadie is actually a Hexley - her father is the descendant of Ethel and @slytherindisaster’s Lysander. Which means that in @kc-and-co’s canon, she is also very distantly related to Murphy McNully. I didn’t pick this faceclaim because of a family resemblance, I picked Antonia Gentry because when I created a ballerina OC, I knew I wanted her to be a P.O.C., as women of colour are underrepresented in ballet. Antonia Gentry has a really beautiful and soulful face, and she’s got Ethel’s freckles.

Cleo Hexley - Simone Ashley: the latest of the Hexley brood is my second OC for whom the face came first. More than anything, it was Simone Ashley’s mannerisms and facial expressions that made the connection between her and the Hexley family dynasty. She’s Jacob’s daughter, but she is under development at the moment, because I am still considering Jacob’s story, and because I always feel the need to research my OC’s who are members of a minority group more stringently so as to represent those groups accurately and respectfully.

[the-al-chemist]

How do you chose character names and their appearance? Do they come to you? Do you use sites to generate names etc? Enlighten us on your wonderful brain process

Happy FFWF! Thank you for the ask! 🧡

So, I’m basically a slut for etymology, so I do end up putting a lot of thought into my names.

The majority of my OCs’ names have meanings or connotations that reflect an aspect of their personality or backstory.

So, Ophelia means ‘Serpentine’, Artemis is the goddess of wild things/the hunt, Héloïse is the name of a French philosopher (her middle name Aliène is a play on the word alien to reflect the fact that she is a foreigner and interested in space), Saffron and Gaia mean yellow and Mother Earth respectively, Rory means red-headed (his surname has a very important meaning but I can’t disclose that here bc spoilers), Zadie’s middle name Grace is self-explanatory, Jacob’s middle name is Odysseus - in mythology, the “master of tricks and riddles” who went off to war and didn’t return home for many years (sound familiar?) - and the Hexley twins have the middle names Viola and Castor, which are the names of one half of a set of twins from Shakespeare and Greco-Roman mythology (Jim would have had the corresponding middle name to Viola from the twelfth night, but it happens to be the name of my ex-boyfriend, so I didn’t go for that).

I also think a lot about the era or history of my characters when choosing a name. Jeremiah and Ethel were popular names in the era they were born, Ophelia’s surname Burke is one of the Sacred 28 as it was important for her story that she has a good “pedigree”, Rory has possibly the most Scottish name ever, Artemis’ middle name (Sheba) is that of a Jewish queen, because of her mother’s Jewish heritage (fun fact: Sara also means ‘Princess’ in Hebrew, chosen deliberately because she is the daughter of Queenie), and my new boy Dante’s middle name is Salazar because his father was a Death Eater at the time of his birth.

I also choose names because I like or admire someone with that name. Zadie Smith is one of my favourite authors, Artemis is my favourite Greek goddess, Jamie McTavish is an alias of my favourite hottie Jamie Fraser, Buffy Summers is one of my favourite tv characters.

Most of all, though, it has to suit the character. With Artemis, Rory, Ethel, Ophelia, Saffron and Héloïse, their names just clicked almost immediately. That was THEIR names, the way that Zadie just wasn’t really a Phoebe, Dante just wasn’t a Leon, and Jim wasn’t quite a Sidney (or - shudders - a Sebastian), or any of the other names I really did consider for them.

That’s actually a super long answer. I’m sorry. What can I say, inside my brain there’s a lot of waffle…

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Figures in the Shadows

Chapter 10: Amato Animo Animato Animagus

A/N: So, I have a small confession: I might have taken a small artistic liberty when it comes to Talbott. Looking at pictures of various types of birds of prey, his animagus form in-game looks most similar to a Golden Eagle. These are pretty rare in the U.K. and would be very conspicuous. For a boy who likes to use his Animagus form to avoid detection, it doesn’t quite make sense to me. Therefore, in my adaptation, he’s now a buzzard - a fairly common species of bird of prey, and quite similar in looks. If anything, I think a buzzard is prettier, and actually the colouring looks more Talbott-esque. Don’t @ me, there’s method in my madness. Most of the time, anyway. Warnings: aforementioned lapse in canon-compliance.

The Easter holidays were only two weeks long, but for Artemis, they felt a lot longer. She had spent the fortnight at her mother’s tall, dark terraced house on Lovelace Crescent, and the silence had been even more marked than normal, thanks to the mandrake leaf Artemis was holding under her tongue. She couldn’t tell if her mother had noticed that she wasn’t talking, or if she just didn’t care. Either way, Sara Hexley made no effort to engage her daughter in conversation.

The night the students finally arrived back at Hogwarts for the summer term was clear and bright.

“This is wonderful,” Penny whispered to Artemis over dinner. “The full moon will be perfectly visible for us to make the potion. Talbott is going to meet us at sundown near Hagrid’s hut.”

Artemis gave her a tight-lipped smile and nodded her head, chewing and swallowing a tiny mouthful of cottage pie with extreme care so as not to swallow the mandrake leaf. She had gotten quite used to eating around the leaf, but with only hours to go until she would be using it to make the Animagus potion she was being extra cautious. If she swallowed it now, she’d have to start all over again.

At sundown, Penny and Artemis waited near Hagrid’s hut for Talbott.

“He should be here any moment,” Penny squinted at the path from the castle. “Do you see him?”

Artemis shook her head, and a large brown buzzard flew over the girls’ heads. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

“I’m here,” Artemis and Penny turned around to see Talbott Winger standing behind them. “I’ve got the dew.”

“Talbott! It’s lovely that you’re here,” Penny said. Artemis, still holding the mandrake leaf under her tongue, smiled at the boy. “How did you get here without us seeing you?”

Talbott did not answer Penny’s question, but he lifted his gaze to the sky.

“The moon is coming out, we should start soon,” he said. “It’s quite clear here, but we should move a little further from the trees to get the most moonlight as possible,”

Talbott walked silently away from the edge of the forest, the girls following behind.

“When the moonlight is bright enough, Penny, you get out the vial, and Artemis will spit out the mandrake leaf.”

They waited silently under the light of the full moon. Artemis could feel Penny becoming anxious, her eyes darting towards the trees that marked the start of the forbidden forest. She knew exactly what was on her friend’s mind, and wished she could say something to make her feel less afraid. She used her forehead to gently nudge Penny’s shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile, which Penny returned.

At last, Talbott gave a swift nod of his head, and Penny pulled a small crystal phial from her leather potions belt.

“In here, Artemis,” she said, holding the open phial under Artemis’ chin. Artemis pulled the mandrake leaf out of her mouth and, feeling distinctly aware of the way her tongue moved in her mouth, placed the leaf into the phial. Penny held the phial up to the moonlight using her thumb and forefinger, rotating it gently. “I want it to take in as much moonlight as possible. You must be glad to not have that in your mouth any more!”

“Very,” Artemis’ voice sounded strange in her ears. Had she always sounded that way? “But I don’t have an excuse not to answer any questions in Arithmancy now. How long does the phial need to be in the moonlight for?”

“I’m not sure, but I’d rather too long than not long enough.”

“Whilst Penny is preparing the potion,” Talbott said, so softly Artemis could barely hear him, “I need to teach you the incantation for the spell.”

He took out his wand and placed the tip over the left side of his chest, where his heart sat beneath his rib cage.

“Amato Animo Animato Animagus!”

“Bless you,” Artemis grinned. Talbott did not smile back. “Um, could you maybe repeat all that, but slower? Or write it down?”

Talbott did both.

“It’s important you can cast this correctly,” he said, his face grim. “From tomorrow morning onwards you will be casting this spell every single day at sunrise and sunset.”

“How long for?”

“Until the next electrical storm.”

“I think that should be enough moonlight, now. Artemis, I need one of your hairs next,” Penny instructed. Artemis plucked a single strand of her untamable dark hair and handed it to Penny. Penny put the hair into the phial. “Talbott, did you collect the dew with the silver spoon I gave you?”

Talbott handed Penny a small pot and spoon, his eyes still fixed firmly on Artemis. His stare was inscrutable. Penny measured out the dew carefully, before producing an insect from a pouch on her belt, and placing both into the phial.

“And, finally, the Hawkshead moth,” she looked up, closing the phial carefully and slipping it back into her belt. “We’re done. We should head back. Before we get into trouble.”

“You go,” Talbott said. “I’ll find my own way back to Ravenclaw tower.”

“Thank you, Talbott,” Artemis said as she and Penny turned to walk back to the castle. As they walked back up the winding path, she looked back in the direction of the forest to see whether Talbott was following them, but he had disappeared. Twenty feet or so in the air above them, the buzzard she had seen earlier soared over their heads. “Thank you, too, Penny.”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all, Artemis. I’m actually quite excited by it all.”

Artemis chose not to mention to Penny the white flash of fur she had seen amongst the trees at the edge of the forest. It would only upset her, she thought, and, besides, it didn’t really look that much like a wolf, anyway.

*

For the remainder of April, Artemis awoke early each morning to cast the Animagus incantation, and made sure that she was in her dormitory at sundown each evening to cast it again.

“How long do you need to keep reciting this gibberish for?” asked Tonks. She was lying on her back on her bed, holding a mirror in her hand, trying out different hair colours.

“Until the next electrical storm,” Artemis replied, putting away her wand and sitting cross-legged on her own bed. Fergus came and rubbed his ginger cheeks against her upper arm, and she tickled him under his chin. “Hopefullly it won’t be too long. I’m itching to get into the Restricted Section and find that Vault.”

“About that,” Tonks rolled onto her elbows, and looked at Artemis. “When you and Tulip go to the Vault, can I come? It’s just that Penny and Rowan got to go with you last year, and I didn’t mind or anything, but I kind of feel like I’m your only friend you haven’t taken on a proper adventure yet.”

“I’d love for you to come with us,” Artemis said, absent-mindedly twirling Fergus’ whiskers. “I mean, as well as being my friend you’re the best in our year at Defence Against the Dark Arts. I could definitely do with your help.”

“Cracking,” Tonks grinned. “What do you make of the green hair?”

“It’s a bit Slytherin, don’t you think?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Tonks screwed up her face, and her hair turned back to her favourite shade of bubblegum pink. “You, me, and Tulip. The dream team.”

Unfortunately, Tulip wasn’t convinced that the three of them would make an adequate curse-breaking team.

“Merula is adamant about thwarting our plans, Artemis,” she muttered to her as they found their seats in Transfiguration two days later. “I’m rubbish at duelling, and Tonks has her heart set on getting into the Vault if possible. We need a bodyguard.”

“Easy,” Artemis shrugged. “I know an excellent duellist.”

That night at dinner, she sauntered over to the Gryffindor table, where Bill Weasley was eating his meal opposite his brother, Charlie, and Artemis’ friend Ben Copper. Artemis plonked herself down into the empty seat next to Bill, who turned to her with an impish look on his face.

“Don’t tell me, you’ve been hit with a dodgy colour-blindness spell,” he said, and he pointed on finger in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. “You know, the yellow table is over there.”

“Hilarious,” Artemis stuck out her tongue at him. “You know, I’ve actually come over to proposition you.”

“Ooh er,” Charlie Weasley muttered into his cauliflower cheese, and Ben inhaled his pumpkin juice. Artemis gave them both a dangerous look that made Ben’s cheeks grow two shades paler.

“And what exactly might this proposition involve?” Bill asked her, his eyebrows raised.

“I wanted to know if you’d be interested in another curse-breaking escapade,” Artemis lowered her voice slightly. “I think the next Vault is in the Restricted Section of the library. I’m working on a plan to sneak in with Tonks and Tulip, but we really need a guard. Someone who can duel.”

“So you want me for my brawn rather than my brains,” Bill laughed. “Look, as much as I want to help you, I can’t go breaking into Cursed Vaults right now.”

“Why not?”

“Artemis, my O.W.L. exams are in less than two months. I really need to do well if I’m ever going to be a real Curse-Breaker,” Bill shook his head. “Obviously, I do want to come along to the Vault with you, but it will just have to wait until the end of the exams in June.”

“No,” said Artemis. “I’ve waited long enough already.”

“Then you’ll have to get someone else to help you.”

“Fine,” Artemis sighed. “You know, you were a lot more fun before you became a prefect.”

“And you were a lot less annoying when you couldn’t speak.” Bill laughed, and Artemis elbowed him firmly in the ribs.

“If it’s brawn rather than brains you’re after,” said Charlie, “why don’t you ask Barnaby? He’s a really good duellist.”

“You can’t mean Barnaby Lee?” Artemis was incredulous, but Charlie merely nodded his head, nonplussed.

“But Barnaby is in Merula’s gang,” said Ben, with a shudder.

“He’s actually a pretty decent bloke,” Charlie shrugged. “He’s just easily led astray.”

“He sounds just your type, Artemis,” Bill winked at her, and she elbowed him again.

“Do you think he’d even want to help me?”

“He might, if you ask him. From what I gather, you can be pretty persuasive,” Charlie raised his eyebrows. “And he is quite drawn to people with power -”

“Slytherins,” muttered Bill, rolling his eyes.

“- so if you show him how good you are at spellwork, he’ll be more likely to want to help you,” the other Weasley continued, ignoring his brother’s interruption. “And I mean, really show him.”

“What about when he finds someone better at duelling than me?”

“Artemis, we all know that’s not going to happen any time soon. Besides, Merula’s keeping Barnaby on her side with intimidation, not loyalty. If you make friends with him, actually make friends, he won’t betray you.”

*

Barnaby Lee spent most of his spare time in the Care of Magical Creatures paddocks. Artemis went there at the end of the day’s lessons, and found him feeding lettuce to the Flobberworms.

“Barnaby,” she called to him from outside the enclosure. “I want to talk to you.”

“Merula told me not to talk to you.”

“You don’t have to do what she tells you,” Artemis leant on the fence, watching as Barnaby shredded a lettuce leaf. “She’s not the boss of you.”

“She says she is.”

“What? That’s ridiculous,” said Artemis. Barnaby said nothing in response. She sighed. “Barnaby, why are you even friends with Merula? She treats you horribly.”

“It’s better than not having any friends at all,” Barnaby turned to face Artemis. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s easy for you to make friends, because you’re so good at everything. I’m useless.”

“I don’t think you’re useless,” Artemis climbed up and over the fence, landing on her feet in the Flobberworm enclosure. “And neither does Charlie Weasley. He said I should talk to you, to see if you’d help me with something.”

“What’s that?”

“Something quite dangerous, actually. I need someone who is a powerful wizard, and he suggested you,” Artemis stared at him, pointedly. “I want to get into a Cursed Vault. But Merula is trying to stop me, and I need someone who is able to take her down if needed.”

“I can’t,” Barnaby Lee shook his head. “I’m supposed to be helping her, not getting in her way. And I’ll never beat Merula in a duel, she’s the most powerful witch in the school.”

“She told you that herself, didn’t she?” Artemis asked, and Barnaby nodded his head. “Well, if Merula is so powerful, how come I’ve duelled her twice and beat her both times?”

Barnaby looked confused. He put down the lettuce and walked over to her. He was easily head and shoulders taller than Artemis, but she looked up and stared at him unwaveringly, like she would a Hippogriff.

“You beat Merula twice?”

“If you doubt it, I’ll duel you, too.”

“I don’t know,” Barnaby looked Artemis up and down. “You’re very small. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I can deal with it,” Artemis laughed. “Tell you what, do your worst. If you beat me I’ll give up trying to convince you that Merula Snyde isn’t worth your time.”

“And if you beat me?”

“Then you’ll have some thinking to do, won’t you?” she smiled at him. “Come on. Let’s see you duel.”

Charlie was right, Barnaby was a very skilled duellist. But although his hexes were cast incredibly forcefully, Artemis found him easy to predict. Perhaps it was his body language, or the way he cast each spell so deliberately, but Artemis found that with each move he made she was one step ahead of him. It didn’t take long for him to accept defeat.

“Fine, you win,” Barnaby said. “You’re too quick for me.”

“Does that mean you’ll think about helping me?”

“What’s there to think about?” Barnaby frowned. “Merula’s wrong. You’re more powerful than she is. And much nicer, too. I’ll help you.”

“That’s brilliant!” Artemis grinned. “You won’t regret this, Barnaby. I promise.”

As she left Barnaby to his flobberworms, she noticed a familiar looking buzzard flying from a tree to a stone halfway up the path back to the castle. As it landed on the stone, it vanished, and a boy in Ravenclaw robes stood in its place.

“Talbott!” Artemis walked faster to meet him. “What are you doing here?”

“What were you doing with Barnaby Lee?” Talbott asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Trying to get him away from Merula. You didn’t answer my question.”

“I came to find you. How are you getting along with the Animagus spell?”

“Tediously. Been doing it every morning and evening without fail. I think it’s starting to drive the other girls half mad.”

“Well, you won’t need to keep it up for much longer. There’s a storm coming,” Talbott must have seen the questioning look in Artemis’ eyes, because he added, “Birds can sense these things.”

“Right,” she replied. “So what do I need to do?”

“When the storm comes, get Penny to give you the potion, and meet me on the Quidditch pitch. I’ll help you with the transformation.”

*

Artemis was awoken on the morning of the first of May by the collective weight of three fourteen-year-old girls simultaneously jumping on her bed.

“Happy birthday, Artemis!” Rowan, Penny, and Tonks chorused, thrusting presents under her nose.

“Hold on,” Artemis reached to her nightstand, grabbed her wand, and pointed it to her heart. “Amato Animo Animato Animagus!”

“Now you’ve done that, will you open a present?” Rowan asked, and Artemis took the parcel she was handing to her. It felt suspiciously like a book.

At breakfast, a handful of owls arrived, one from her great-aunt and uncle, one from her mother, and one from Madam Rosmerta. Another owl, one that looked a little worse for wear, brought a box of fudge from a sender who hadn’t revealed their identity.

Her friends visited the Hufflepuff table with hugs and gifts: some chocolate frogs from Ben, a Zonko’s dungbomb from Tulip (“and Dennis!”), and a plate of rock cakes from Hagrid. Barnaby Lee didn’t bring a gift, but gave her a quick smile and gruffly wished her a happy birthday.

“Looks like mum beat us to it,” Bill said, as the Weasley brothers handed her a parcel. “I’d know her treacle fudge anywhere. Just be careful it doesn’t glue your teeth together. I don’t think you’ll get away with another month of not talking.”

Bill ruffled Artemis’ hair and she pushed him away gently. As he did, Talbott Winger appeared at the Hufflepuff table.

“Talbott, how wonderful to see you,” Penny beamed at him. “Have you come to join the celebration?”

“No,” he said. He looked sceptically at the Gryffindor boys, and handed Artemis a folded scrap of parchment. “I just wanted to give you this.”

Bill gave her a suspicious look as Talbott slipped silently away. Artemis opened the parchment. On it there was a rudimentary drawing of a cloud and bolt of lightning, along with a single word: Tonight.

“What in Merlin’s name are you up to this time, Hexley?”

“Ask me no questions, Bill, and I’ll tell you no lies.”

*

After spending her birthday trying and failing to concentrate on her classes, Artemis heard the first rumble of thunder as she toyed with her dinner in the Great Hall. Looking up from her barely eaten beef stew at the enchanted ceiling, she saw that the ominous clouds had gathered.

“Penny,” she said, pointing at the ceiling. “It’s starting.”

The two girls ran full pelt to their dormitory, where Penny collected the potion from the bottom drawer of her nightstand.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, handing Artemis the phial.

“It was your idea!”

“I know it was,” Penny sighed. “But it all feels so real now!”

Talbott was already stood under the Quidditch stands when Artemis arrived at the pitch, soaking wet from the rain.

“You made it.”

“I’m a fast runner.”

Talbott walked wordlessly out from the stands onto the grass of the Quidditch pitch.

“When the lightning starts, the potion will turn red,” he instructed once he was in the centre of the pitch. “You need to drink it, and then cast the incantation one last time.”

“And hopefully not horrendously misfigure myself.”

“Hopefully not.”

“At least I can trust the potion, seeing as Penny’s made it,” she said. A question had niggling her from the day she had been introduced to Talbott. Now seemed as good a time as any to ask it. “Talbott, how did you and Penny become friends, anyway?”

“You don’t understand why anyone as popular as Penny Haywood would want to be friends with someone like me?”

“I didn’t say that,” Artemis frowned. “You’re just so secretive, that’s all.”

“Penny has secrets. You know what I mean.”

“She told you about her cousin Scarlett?”

“She saw me feeding the Thestrals that pull the carriages from Hogsmeade station.”

“I didn’t realise anything pulled the carriages,” Artemis said, before realisation dawned on her. Thestrals were winged horses that could only be seen by those who had witnessed a death. “Oh! That’s why she was so spooked when we got into the carriages at the start of the year.”

“Exactly, she’d never seen them before. So she asked me about them,” Talbott looked at the sky. “We talked. I’ve never really talked to anyone before, but for whatever reason, I talked to her.”

“Penny is very good at getting people to open up to her,” said Artemis. She didn’t want to pry, but found herself curious about Talbott’s past. “Who... who did you see die? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine,” Talbott pulled his gaze down from the sky and looked directly at Artemis. “My mum. She was killed by Death Eaters.”

“I’m sorry,” she said to Talbott, who said nothing. “She was an Animagus, too, wasn’t she?”

“A swan. She was beautiful,” Talbott said. “Her teaching me to become an Animagus saved my life. She made me transform and hide in a tree until the Death Eaters left. She couldn’t do the same, because legally you have to register as an Animagus, so they knew about her.”

“But you aren’t registered.”

“No. It’s illegal, obviously, but it’s safer this way.”

“But You-Know-Who is dead. It’s safe now.”

“You really believe that?” Talbott asked. “A wizard that powerful, killed by a baby? No, he can’t be dead. Not completely, anyway. And he still has plenty of followers out there, probably all waiting for him to return.”

Artemis was silent. She was struck by the memory of the Boggart in Jacob’s room. Overhead, there was another rumble from the sky, and a flash of light.

“It’s time.”

Artemis pulled out the potion. The mixture was changing colour, deepening to a bright blood red. She pulled out the stopper.

“Bottoms up,” she said, raising the phial in a mock-toast, and she swallowed the scarlet mixture as another lightning flash streaked through the sky. She pulled out her wand and pressed the tip over her heart. “Amato Animo Animato Animagus!”

A strange sensation passed over her as the sky growled again. She felt a hot pain radiating through her, and a palpitation in her chest, as if she had two beating hearts instead of one. The lightning suddenly appeared bright, too bright for her to look at. She closed her eyes, but the bright light remained. A shadow of a four-legged creature burst through the light that blazed on the insides of her closed eyelids. When the light faded, she opened her eyes again.

“It’s done,” said Talbott. “What animal did you see? In the light?”

“A... a cat,” Artemis stammered, her heart still beating faster than it ever beat before. “Does that mean...”

“Only one way to find out,” he said. He didn’t smile. “Think about what Professor McGonagall says in Transfiguration. Envision the transfiguration in your mind, then make yourself do it.”

Artemis nodded, her front teeth pressed against her lower lip. She thought about the cat that she had seen leaping in the back of eyelids. She closed her eyes, and willed herself to transform.

When she opened them, the world was different. She was looking up at Talbott from maybe a foot off the ground, and everything in her vision had a greenish-yellow tint. She had never noticed so many different sounds and smells before, and even the air felt different as it brushed her cheeks. No, she thought, my whiskers. She thought about being Artemis again, and returned to her usual, girl-shaped body.

“It worked! It really worked,” she gasped. “Thank you for helping me, Talbott.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, looking concerned. “Would you mind not telling anyone that I helped you? Or about my mum?”

“Of course not. I won’t tell a soul, I promise,” Artemis said, and she raised her eyebrows at Talbot. “Now, do you reckon a cat or a bird would get back to the castle quicker?”

For the first time since she had met him, Talbott actually smiled.

“I suppose there’s only one way to find that out, too.”

In his hut, Hagrid the gameskeeper looked out of his window at the storm. A buzzard was soaring through the thunderous sky. It looked like it was flying in the direction of the castle, and twenty feet below it, a very small and very fast tortoiseshell cat was bounding through the wet grass in its wake.

[the-al-chemist]

Phoenix Resistance Safehouse

5 Lovelace Crescent, Camden Town, London

“one tall, narrow house, nestled within a terrace of others which were identical to it”

“The back gardens of Lovelace Crescent backed onto the canal, and in the back corner of the Hexleys’ garden, a large tree had branches that overhung the path beside the water.”

The former family home of Sara Hexley and her late husband Leander and sometime home of their youngest child Artemis has been left vacant since the fall of the Ministry of Magic, and is now used as a safehouse for the Order of the Phoenix. It’s dark and quiet, but according to its secret keeper Kingsley Shacklebolt, its kitchen is well-stocked with Butterbeer and Firewhiskey and there’s a stellar record collection in the living room. The attic bedroom is kept locked, for unknown reasons, using a padlock that requires two keys to open it.

The @phoenixresistance is recruiting new members! Hit up @kathrynalicemc if you want to join.