#severus being a father figure makes me happy

[dapper-suitor]

snape: I hate harry potter

also snape: *adopts harry potter*

[oneluckygoose]

Guys I’m actually so close to breaking and writing a full fledged Marauders era fic. Like I’m talking 1st year to 1981

I have so many ideas about it, I’ll put a list of things under the cut but it’ll be your classic Wolfstar, Dorlene, and Rosekiller, while also being weird and doing a HEALTHY Jegulus with endgame Jily. There’s just a lot of things about the Marauders era that is so inconsistent that I feel like I physically need to write it down COHERENTLY in a way that makes a modicum of sense to me.

Things it’ll probably include

Scottish and Desi James; Welsh Lily, Remus, and Severus; French/English Blacks; IRISH Peter; SCOTTISH Marlene; Dutch Dorcas; French Mary; British Rosiers; and British Barty (ive missed some but those’ll be my main characters I focus on)

Jegulus, personally I think Jegulus is a very important thing for James’ growth and for Regulus’ to distance himself from his family’s ideals but I also don’t think it could ever last. Probably would be a 6th year arc and they break up after Regulus gets the Mark beginning of 7th

Endgame Jily, because their story is one of my favorites and if I do make it a canon compliment then I would need to write it with natural progression, also I just love Jily

I’m on the fence about making it a canon compliment because I choose to be HAPPY, but I don’t need to make that decision now and so I won’t (also I like the idea that Peter is good, screw me)

Aroace Peter, my little boy loves his friends and doesn’t understand why he doesn’t love like they do. A dating spree probably in 5th year but he just cannot figure out how to do the romance thing

No sex, sorry guys we’re keeping this M rated. I’m asexual and do not feel comfortable writing that in the slightest, it would all be fade to black

Asexual Lily, to whoever HCed that, can I marry you? I love ace Lily and I think it just adds an arc to her story that is normally extremely sexualized. My girl will punch you in the face if you look even a tiny bit lower than her eyes.

How much character growth can I fit into James Potter? ALL OF IT. He was a DICK, that is non negotiable, he was not a dick eventually (ahem he had to grow up after the prank)

The Prank will be essential to everyone’s character.

Sirius is at his lowest in 5th year because his parents are trying to get him to marry Pandora and he is rebelling so hard and they are punishing him like a madman and he’s hurt and in pain and lashes out and it’s a mess and it breaks that summer and he runs away. (Then things get better)

Remus’s arc will probably be very similar to what it normally is, I think he’ll have Hope and Lyall, at least for a while and his home life won’t be the worst. If that’ll change I’m not quite sure.

Remus is SMALL and then he gets REALLY BIG, I’m talking 5’1- 5’10 over one summer (3rd year to 4th year) then he keeps growing. 6’3 by the end of it.

James isn’t short, he has a normal growth though, lands steady at 6’

Sirius and Peter are short kings: Sirius-5’8, Peter-5’6

Marlene is probably the most Gryfindor person on the planet, and Dorcas is a Slytherin who HATES her peers

Dorcas is a halfblood with a single Muggle father (her mother left when she was 5) They both have the best dreads on the earth and you can’t tell me otherwise

Marylily is kinda a thing?? In the early years but it fades and they agree they’re better friends.

Pandora and Evan are twins, their family are pureblood fucks

Pandora and Regulus are best friends, they would both destroy the world for each other

Remus starts to like Sirius in 3rd year, he dates someone (probably Marlene because her and Sirius and just gender swapped copies of one another but they both hate it and Marlene is the first person who knows about Remus’ crush, Remus is the first person to know about Marlene's when that becomes a thing 5th year)

Sirius starts to like Remus in 4th year but doesn’t realize it at first and when he does dates around in complete denial until he runs tf away from his family. Peter, the king he is, is surprisingly the first one to figure it out in 5th year.

James is the most hardcore Wolfstar shipper when he finds out about both of them, and he has to be painfully silent about it until they get their shit together

They fully get together at the end of 6th year. How? I'll figure it out.

The Skittles are less present the first half, but they would probably be more and more there, especially as Reg and Sirius' relationship strains

Regulus' relationship with Orion and Walburga is that of a child who has watched their older sibling be abused for rebellion and is fucking terrified of that happening to him. He hates them, but he has to please them to save his own skin.

Also, all the Skittles are in slytherin for being ambitious, cunning, and calculating. Not because they are evil.

Not all slytherins are pure blood fucks who toss around slurs and unforgivable curses while chanting "praise the dark lord", some of them are good/some of them don't deserve treatment as if they were. Understanding this is essential to James' character development.

Not Snape though, he is exactly what it says on the surface. Sure he loves a muggle born but he also is obsessed with her, manipulated her, called her slurs, and hurt the people she loved. He has no such qualms with being as horrible as possible to anyone else. Not saying James and Sirius were good, but Snape wasn't a fuckin' hero either. "Always." BITCH THAT"S CREEPY NOT ROMANTIC.

How long does it take Lily to realize Snape is the worst person on the planet earth? TOO LONG. He calls her mudblood and that is the last straw.

Also fuck JKR's timeline, I don't even understand how the prank could happen before Snape's Worst Memory or after 5th year so the cannon fuckery is going to happen mainly in 5th year

Marlene is extremely important to me. She has the thickest Scottish accent and she thrives off of it. She does not take SHIT. She listens to rock exclusively once she figures out electric guitar makes brain go happy. She and Sirius have a very interesting relationship I would be so excited to explore.

Nothing will be glossed over. I see a lot of vagueness about the Cruciatus curse, and just, no. People need to see in detail what shapes the characters and why they are the way they are, especially Regulus and Sirius. I'll do CWs before every chapter, but I'm not holding back. It'll be graphic, it'll be skin crawling, but maybe that's the point. Remus goes through torture every month, that needs to be known. Sirius and Regulus are broken by their parents, that needs to be known. Mary was assaulted by blood purists, that needs to be known. Things won't be pretty, they never have been with the Marauders. But maybe that's the most beautiful thing about them. Things aren't pretty, but they find a way to love despite that. (James Potter tends to have a large hand in that, too)

This was my shpeal. I have so many ideas and so many ways I could go with this that I'm actually so stressed over it. Um... if anyone has advice on how to get actually started because that's the part tripping me up I would love it. I don't know if I can bring anything particularly special about their story to the table but I would love to see where my story goes. My biggest fear about this is starting it and never being able to finish it. I've been told I'm a pretty good writer, I might post more of my unfinished stuff just to gauge if people actually want to read it, but I hope I can do them justice.

The name though? I have a few Ideas and all of them would lead to a different way that I wrote the story.

Chronicles of Messrs; A song title from either queen or aerosmith; House of the Rising Suns; Dear Minerva; The Graceless

[sitp-recs]

Liv!! Idk if your age gap anon got back to you but I’ll take any age gap fics you have 👀

Hi Danni! I haven’t heard back from them but your wish is my command 😌💜 since I already did rec lists for some age gap ships like Dralbus and Scarry, I’ve decided to make this one about the age difference element itself (Daddy kink, loss of virginity, teacher/student dynamic etc etc) if that makes sense? Happy Friday everyone!

Drarry:

Draco at Nineteen by birdsofshore (E, 5k)

It's the middle of the night and Harry Potter is sitting on my bed looking distinctly weird. I've had some fucked-up dreams in my time, but this one... this one is something new.

Not Nineteen Forever by @sorrybutblog (E, 6k)

A rogue charm hits on a mission and suddenly, Draco is nineteen again. Harry is still thirty-five and doing his best to look after his de-aged Auror partner (and forget about his long unrequited crush) until St. Mungo’s can brew the antidote.

The Eighth Tale by lettered (E, 12k)

Draco Malfoy tries to fix the past, but instead mucks it up some more. For Harry, it all becomes quite clear.

Just a Matter of Time by @gracerene (E, 23k)

Draco's in a bit of a rut. He's nearing forty, divorced, and he still can't figure out how to make his Time Turner reconstruction work. He's bored, he can admit it, so he's not nearly as concerned as he should be when his pet project malfunctions and sends him twenty years into the past.

Fast Forward, Two Steps Back by emmagrant01 (E, 36k)

Everyone knows that Draco Malfoy died in the Room of Requirement ten years ago. So when he suddenly reappears at Hogwarts ten years later, still seventeen years old, Professor Harry Potter's life gets very complicated.

Rare pair:

Rise and Shine by tamlane (E, 2.5k) - Hermione/Teddy

It’s too early to fight off Teddy Lupin’s wandering hands. Not that Hermione tries very hard any other time of the day.

Beneath a Foreign Moon by @lqtraintracks (E, 2.7k) - Harry/Teddy

Harry visits Teddy in the middle of the night.

Getting Hard by Snegurochka (E, 3.3k) - Harry/Scorpius

Scorpius always preferred to do it now, now, and then maybe again in twenty minutes, but Harry took forever. Slowly, though, Scorpius is beginning to see the appeal of being patient.

Slip Free of My Grasp by @lqtraintracks (E, 3.4k) - Harry/Sirius

I don't want to be bad for him. I want to do bad things and still be, somehow, inexplicably, good.

Simple As It Is, Complicated As You Need by @lqtraintracks (E, 3.4k) - Harry/Teddy

It's not something they do often, this whole 'Daddy' thing. But to be fair, they don't even have regular sex as often as Teddy would like either. It's not as though they've even admitted they're doing anything.

A Carnival Mirror by secretsalex (E, 3.4k) - Draco/Albus

Albus Severus is nothing like his father. It’s all those differences that Draco can’t stop thinking about.

Mothering Sunday by pauraque (T, 3.6k) - Astoria/Narcissa

Narcissa always wanted a little girl of her own, and Astoria never really had a proper Mum. Together they build something that neither of them ever knew was possible.

Home for the Holidays by @gracerene (E, 4k) - Charlie/James

Charlie was expecting a normal holiday season at home, surrounded by food, laughter, and the warm embrace of family. He didn't count on James taking that last bit quite so literally.

A Bigger Splash by @wolfpants (E, 7k) - Draco/Albus

It's his dad's 45th birthday in rural Sicily, and all Albus wants is to be seen by Draco Malfoy.

The Moral Dilemma of Sharing by carpemermaid (E, 7.7k) - Draco/Harry/Scorpius

After a handful of coincidental run-ins and a half-joking suggestion Draco and Scorpius had formed the habit of cruising together for wizards to pull on the weekends.

To Me You Are the Sea by marguerite_26 (E, 8.5k) - Harry/Scorpius

Scorpius dreaded attending Harry Potter's fiftieth birthday party for more reasons than he cared to admit.

Take Him to the Stars (Cut to the Feeling) by @writcraft (E, 10k) - Harry/Scorpius

Scorpius has a thing for older men. For one older man, in particular.

Unguarded by birdsofshore (E, 15k) - Draco/Albus

Staying with Scorpius for the first time proves to be more eventful than Albus expected, right from the moment when he walks in on Mr Malfoy shaving.

Team Players by @shiftylinguini (E, 15k) - Teddy/James, Oliver/James

Everyone has that one celebrity they’d move heaven and earth to get between their legs, and James Potter is no exception. He just never anticipated that number one on his Freebie List would end up in the same room as him, let alone would make the first move. But lucky for James, Teddy is a team player―well, he probably is, especially with what James is suggesting.

Possibly, Maybe by Curlee_Cue (E, 72k) - Harry/Scorpius

“A hand carefully brushed Scorpius’ hair out of his eyes and turned his head to face his rescuer. And of course, who else would it be, but Harry Potter? Once just an abstract legend, now his very own personal saviour.”

[elysianymph]

going insane pls tell me anything about the unexplored sibling dynamics

i'm... literally so sorry anon. you probably didn't expect this monstrosity of text when you so innocently sent this ask but i wrote this late at night and i guess i had more feelings about these mfs than i thought i did... huh

the evans sisters?? stop and consider for a moment. they grew up in a lower middle class family, father was always out for work, mother stayed at home and took care of them and the house. lily and petunia were all for each other, sisters, best friends. and then lily's magic started showing. one year their mom's flowers hadn't bloomed like they usually do and their mom was understandably upset. petunia tried everything she knew about gardening in hopes of fixing the flowers and lily just willed them to open with the wave of a hand. she jumped up in excitement and ran to her mom to tell her what had just happened while petunia stared at the flowers in shock, trying to figure out what lily had just done so she could too. but it never worked for her like it did for lily.

their parents thought it was strange at first, a coincidence or dumb luck whenever lily pulled some trick, but petunia knew and she tried so hard to replicate it, to no avail. eventually the jealousy turned into resentment, curios questions turned into insults every time lily would do something. lily was so confused because she hadn't done anything? she tried to not do it anymore, even if she herself didn't know how she was doing it, but her magic only grew stronger and petunia's insults became more intense. when lily received her hogwarts letter, she was so excited to finally be surrounded by people like her. her parents congratulated her, her mother kissed her temple and her father promised they would take her shopping to get everything she needed. petunia only glared at her, muttering how she would finally be together with the freaks where she belonged.

petunia never sent any letters to lily while she was at hogwarts, at least not on her own accord. lily would send her birthday gifts every year, something she had made herself. a happy birthday card that was charmed to sing when it opened, a sparkling bouquet of flowers charmed to never close. every year without fail petunia would send the birthday gift back, either untouched or ripped to shreds. lily never gave up trying.

i genuinely believe lily's relationship with petunia fundamentally shaped her understanding of the world. the closest person to you, the one meant to protect you and love you, shunning you and leaving you to fend for yourself? it's no wonder lily clung to the first bit of kinship she sensed in severus and refused to let go of him even when everyone told her to. because he was always there for her and she wouldn't dare leave him behind (not like petunia had). also just a personal hc for lily, but i think she trouble making female friends specifically because of how her relationship with petunia had deteriorated. like in my head she had severus and no one else until like... fourth year maybe when she finally started coming out of her shell and became friends with mary and marlene

lily never stopped loving petunia, she knew harry would go to her and she still trusted petunia enough to protect her son. yet petunia did the exact opposite. i wanna put her under a microscope because how does it get that bad??? how do you let your childish jealousy take over your life to the point where you neglect and abuse an innocent child - your own nephew??? you don't stop being a sister just because the other half is dead, but i think petunia had stopped seeing herself as lily's sister long before lily died.

everyone talks about the black brothers but the black SISTERS??? arguably even more interesting bc you have more dynamics to explore bc they're all so different but in the end they're one in the same.

they were all raised to be obedient and quiet, their last name meaning nothing but an easy way to marry them off because continuing the bloodline was all they were good for. bellatrix was always loud, even as a child, because she was taught her family was superior and she couldn't understand why she wasn't treated the way she deserved to be. did her family name mean nothing just because she wasn't a male heir? did her extensive knowledge in magic mean nothing because the only way she could make her parents proud was by becoming a wife and a mother? why was she punished for the same behaviors her male counterparts were rewarded for? bella never thought to question blood purity as it was ingrained in her since birth, but the roles that she was forced to play didn't seem noble to her.

andromeda was quieter in comparison, but never far too behind bellatrix, always nodding along and eager to make her older sister proud. the seeds of doubt in her mind were planted later at hogwarts and she foolishly asks questions, only getting punished in response. when she's pushed away by her mother, she turns to the one person who would never hurt her for her curiosity but even her sister can give her no further answer than "father said so". frustrated and disappointed, andromeda closes in on herself and seeks her own answers, coming to conclusions that make the entire foundation of her family fall apart.

narcissa was the "perfect daughter", the one that would only speak when spoken to, the one that could walk into a room unnoticed and leave without anyone saying a single word to her. she was a slytherin, engaged to the malfoy heir at 16, she had practically completed all of her duties by then and proved to be useful. but she was also bella and andy's little sister, the one hiding behind them so no one could see her, the one tugging on their sleeves when she felt anxious, the one braiding flowers into their hair when she was bored, the one watching silently as both of her sisters drifted away and she was left alone.

andromeda leaving is such a heartbreaking moment to me because i think both bellatrix and narcissa knew it would happen, they had seen the signs but had never known the cause. i think bellatrix tried to to stop her from going through with it, tried to convince her to stay, to explain what was troubling her because bellatrix was her older sister, she could help, that was her job. and andromeda pushes her away because she knows bellatrix would never look at her again if she told her what was troubling her. when the truth is finally revealed, the only question bella can muster is: "do you trulu love him more than your own family?" and andromeda's silence is enough of an answer. she refuses to be like her mother, like bellatrix is soon to become, like narcissa will be forced to, a wife stuck in a loveless marriage with children she didn't want. ted loves her and she loves ted, that love means more than the conditional affections she was given in her family.

that action, the betrayal of choosing someone of dirty blood over her own sisters had surely left a mark on both bellatrix and narcissa. narcissa attempted to get closer to bellatrix again, tried to provide some comfort and familiarity but bellatrix was inconsolable. she fled england completely, choosing instead to focus on her magic as her mind slowly closed in on itself. and narcissa was left alone again, her only solace a marriage she forced herself to pretend would make her happy, would fill the void of what her sisters had destroyed.

and so many years later, you can tell the wound never closed. narcissa, who watched as everything unfolded without daring to interfere, looking the dark lord in the eyes and lying to protect her family because she understands andromeda now, nothing is worth losing the ones you love and the ones who love you. her son looks toward her for protection and she will provide it in any way she can, because her son's life means more than anything the dark lord could ever offer.

bellatrix, who has never dared to go against voldemort's orders, bending the rules and allowing narcissa to protect her son because somewhere in the back of her mind a voice whispered "what if she leaves like andromeda did? what if she chooses her new family over you too?" and narcissa did, she turned her back in the last battle and left without sparring a single glance.

i know people only made evan and pandora siblings out of convenience so they could give pandora a last name but YOU COWARDS! if you're gonna make them siblings then make them siblings!! i have an entire background on their family but that's too complicated to explain here but GIVE ME SOMETHING INTERESTING WITH THEM??? wartime rosier twins who never see each other but evan insists on writing letters bc he misses his sister so much?? pandora missing him too but she doesn't know what to do because the same hands that are writing these letters are holding innocent people at wand point and using unforgivable curses?? PANDORA'S REACTION TO EVAN'S DEATH??? helllooooo???

+ i know that the black brothers have been explored plenty but i still think their relationship has been softened?? ig. like we've stripped these characters down to their bare bones trying to make them good people when they don't need to be?? give me black brothers who love each other but hate each other all in the same breath. black brothers who strive to prove themselves better than the other. black brothers who see the other as a personification of their worst traits (sirius sees regulus as a coward (literally canon) and regulus sees sirius as a traitor). give me sibling resentment because i wholeheartedly believe they were pit against each other by walburga and orion.

sirius was smarter, better, more powerful, more charismatic than regulus. he was raised to he the perfect heir, the one to continue the bloodline of the most noble house, he was raised to think himself better than the rest. regulus was the spare, the 'worst case scenario' child, the one that struggled to live up to the fraction of his brother's natural talent and skill. give me sirius knowing he's better and throwing it in regulus' face. give me regulus manipulating sirius into leaving so he can be the true heir. give me regulus grieving for sirius only after he realizes what he has lost, but never reaching out, even when he finds the locket. regulus, who has spent his whole life trying to outshine sirius knowing it was a pointless battle, taking this one action into his own hands and doing the brave thing alone. give me sirius, almost two decades later, still bitter and disappointed as he passes by his dead brother's door refusing to even glance inside, because the resentment (and the grief of what could've been) never truly wears away.

anyone who read this far deserves a medal bc i would've taken one look at this post and said "i ain't reading all that" so thank you <3

[saintsenara]

back with more for @hprecfest - although i'll be skipping day three because i have the concentration span of a kitten and therefore no chance of making it through a podfic...

day two: favourite comfort fics

two boys kissing by writcraft sirius black/severus snape mature | 6.8k words

why i recommend it:

because I'm a sucker for both sirius and snape getting a happy ending, and this fic delivers this within a beautiful, gentle examination of the horrors of sirius' young adult life and the way that hope and desire are things he clings to during the lonely misery of his confinement in azkaban. the repeated motif of the sky always gets to me:

when he showers, he whistles a song. he’s not sure he knows it’s name, but he can remember strobe lights and the way snape looked when he was as young as sirius can remember him being. that was back in the days when severus tried so hard not to be queer and sirius thought he had everything to live for.

sirius spits out toothpaste into the sink and contemplates himself in the mirror. it looks like there’ll be a thunderstorm tonight. he puts his toothbrush into the glass and moves into the room, poking his head out of the window. the wind has gathered momentum but the sky is clear.

he breathes in the air and watches the stars.

so bracing by @kellychambliss minerva mcgonagall/severus snape teen | 9.2k words

why i recommend it:

because i love to see older woman/younger man relationships in fandom - there's still far too few of them - and because i love to see fics from the perspective of minor characters, and this, which is as much a careful and generous character study of tom the barman (and the town of skegness) as it is of its central couple never fails to make me smile:

tom took the chance of sitting down again, and when he didn't get tossed out on his arse, he felt a little emboldened. "and you thought you wanted this? life in a muggle pub in skegness?"

snape loaded a glass into a dishpan, and then another. and another.

"my family," he said, just when tom had decided that he probably wasn't going to say anything at all. "my family wasn't one for holidays. it was all my father could do to keep food on the table, once the mills failed. and once the drinking started. but before all that, there was one summer -- spring, actually. may. we couldn't afford high summer season. da somehow saw his way clear to taking my mother and me to the seaside. i was about six. we came here. skegness. we froze our arses off."

"skegness is. . . so bracing," tom murmured, and snape snorted.

"in a word. three days in a grotty little caravan. cheap, greasy food. saw a sad muggle magic show." he loaded more glasses with a crash. "i loved it. fucking loved the lot of it. "

never gonna give you up by @laeveteinn harry potter/lord voldemort teen | 15k words

why i recommend it:

because it makes me shriek. i'm not usually a fan of either professor harry or professor voldemort fics, but it turns out that my exception is when they're forced to work together as a team because harry's newly-divorced and adrift in a world which no longer makes sense and voldemort's a ghost who's obsessed with memes:

“what are you thinking so intently about?” voldemort murmurs. “you mustn’t overtax your brain, it wasn’t meant for hard activity.”

harry snorts. “honestly, i’m just trying to figure out where albus got his bad taste in men. it’s not ginny; lars isn’t actually that terrible.”

and for some reason, voldemort lets out a lengthy sigh.

clay by @titconao3 harry potter & severus snape general | 46k words

why i recommend it:

because i have an unstoppable fondness for the concept of redemption, which is hugely and unfairly maligned in this fandom, and this story is an astonishingly beautiful meditation on the theme, not only in how it approaches both snape and harry as they come to terms with the war and what it has taken from them, but in how it portrays tobias snape and his own reckoning with his past and quest to make amends with his son:

tobias was on a roll. “you lot, always talking about your magic, waving your bloody sticks around like it makes you better than us normal people…” he slammed his hands on the table and severus shuddered, his fists opening and closing around nothing. he’d left his wand in the room; it wasn’t like he could use it, and he had to trust potter could deal with tobias snape. the man was nothing, to a boy who’d faced the dark lord and come out the victor. “you’re not. you’re not! your goddamn magic… we’d have been better off without it, i’m telling you.” severus looked again through the crack and saw tobias with his back turned on potter, his shoulders shaking. he was angry, but not yet taking it out on potter. maybe he was scared of potter’s wand; maybe now that he was sober he was better at keeping his violence in check. either way, severus didn’t trust it would last forever. it never had, before.

to forgive divine by jellybeany neville longbottom/draco malfoy teen | 7.4k words

why i recommend it:

because there are days when you need eighth-year fluff, and this sort of fluff is so rarely given to neville as a central character, but it should be:

he’d wondered if it was something like that, to be honest. 

because, because. malfoy was always so interested. he’d read in a fortune cookie once that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it's indifference.

which was a rubbish fortune at the time, but it’s relevant now.

[rubusart]

lte me spam a little for character ask 😂

2, 8, 27, 32, 49 for sirius and severus 👀

Let's go! (I apologize in advance for possible mistakes.) 2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on Sirius: He is smart. Like, very smart. I don't like it when in fics or headcanons Sirius is portrayed as just a goofy handsome man, when in canon everyone literally admires his talents, like McGonagall and Slughorn, for example. I won't be surprised at all if I find out that both the motorcycle and the mirror are his own inventions. Severus: The reason he joined the Death Eaters was partly because Voldemort was able to come across as a father figure to him. When Severus first showed him the spells he had invented, Voldemort said "Very impressive, son!" And after that, Snape was ready to do anything for him. Later, as the head of Slytherin, Snape tried to become a father figure for the children himself, so that they would not look for someone else and would not repeat his mistakes. 8. Unpopular opinion about them Sirius: He didn't really care about Regulus. Otherwise, I cannot understand why, being locked up on Grimmauld, Sirius never went into his brother's room to at least understand how he lived in recent years. Or did not try to find out what really happened to him. It's pretty clear from the books that Sirius will go to any lengths for the people he cares about. But Regulus doesn't seem to be one of them. Severus: I really believe that in the scene from the third book in the teachers' restroom, Snape was trying to be friendly with Lupin. And his phrase about Neville was a kind of "peace pipe". A friendly tip for a new colleague. He's like a cat who brings you a dead mouse, fully convinced that it will make you happy. Unfortunately, Lupin didn't get it. 27. Their guilty pleasure Sirius: Severus He drinks juice or milk straight from the bottle.

Severus: Muggle sci-fi books 32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh Sirius: Puppies, kittens and children. Yes, he is one of those guys. Severus: Good pun. 49. Favorite toy as a child Sirius: His broom. He loved to fly, he loved the feel of the wind on his face and the speed, but he had always found the broomstick to be not very convenient. As we know, when he grew up, he found the perfect vehicle for himself. Severus: When he was a child, his mother made him a Potion Master's set out of old utensil and garden herbs. Instead of a magic wand, there was a thin willow branch. Of course, when his father found all this, he broke these toys.

[pascaloverx]

To Begin Again

EIGHT

Summary: You're a new teacher at a large and influential school. It's a risky step for you, as you've been running from your ex for almost two years. But when Dumbledore asks you to take on a class at the renowned Hogwarts, you can't refuse. However, your life as a newly arrived teacher won't be easy. Especially when the other teachers don't seem eager to make friends. Or rather, two teachers in particular: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

Author's Note: Welcome, dear readers. Please leave your comments if you enjoy fanfiction. This fanfic takes place almost in the real world (with the addition of werewolves) and is not a wizarding fanfic. There will be some differences and changes in things from the Harry Potter story or other fanfics in the HP universe, but I promise to do my best writing this fanfic. There will be a love triangle coming in this fanfic. So, dear readers, just as in this fanfic it's meant to imagine Remus Lupin as being Andrew Garfield and Sirius Black as being Ben Barnes, now I present to you the fancast of Severus Snape as being actor Enzo Vogrincic. Imagine him as Snape if you can. I dedicate this chapter to my friend @dipyouuinhoney , who had a birthday this week. Happy belated birthday ❤

SEVEN NINE

The days until the grand ball hosted by Hogwarts passed too quickly. At least it seemed that way to you. Between helping with the school's organization and teaching your students, you've been more than busy. So busy that you can say you haven't seen Sirius since the last time you were together. Which would be a great step towards forgetting everything about him, but it's a terrible step considering that the two of you will have to spend tonight, at the Hogwarts ball, monitoring the students together. You tried to convince McGonagall that you could handle the ball on your own, but she insisted that you would need Black's help. Fortunately, she has been so busy with suppliers and organizing the event that she hasn't noticed that you and Black barely look at each other. With just over an hour left before the party starts, you hear a knock at the door. Upon opening it, you find Harry and Ron all dressed up, holding their little ties in their hands.

"Would either of you like to tell me why you're at my door almost ready an hour before the ball?" You say, giving space for your two students to enter. Obviously, they want help with their ties, but it doesn't seem to make sense to you why they would come looking for you.

"Harry said you like to help. We knocked on Professor Black's door, but he didn't answer. We thought we could ask for your help." Ron says, lightly tapping Potter's arm. Harry adjusts his glasses as if he's nervous.

"I'm your assistant today, so could you help us? I promise to be the best assistant in the world." Potter says, smiling, while Ron seems to be trying to figure out how to put a tie around his neck. You smile at the boys and then kneel down to help Ron. It doesn't take long for you to tie both Weasley's and Potter's ties.

"Know that I'm honored to be the second teacher you come to for help with a problem. Fortunately for you two, I learned how to tie a tie when I was younger because of my father. If you want, I can teach you, but if you ever need help again, you can come to me anytime." You say while helping the boys, and they look at you in amazement.

"Professor, you've treated us well, so can I tell you something?" Harry says as you finish tying his tie and Ron is looking at himself in the mirror.

"If it's a problem, tell me tomorrow, Potter. I mean, if it's something urgent, maybe you should tell me now." You say, looking at Potter and waiting for him to quickly say what he wanted to say.

"I just thought you should know that my godfather has been asking about you. Even though you two don't seem to be talking." You feel a bit embarrassed. A teenager telling you this. It's almost funny how you didn't expect it.

"Thank you for the advice, Mr. Potter. But how about we just focus on the ball and dancing on this beautiful night?" you say, regaining your composure and trying to be as professional as possible. However, the fact that Potter wants to talk about Sirius with you alerts you that the two of you are becoming too obvious.

"I'm just saying that sometimes when we avoid someone, it means something else." What Harry says affects you, but you just smile, finishing adjusting Harry's suit and noticing how cute he looks.

"Allow me to say that I believe spending a lot of time chasing after someone also means something. Something bigger than disdain or anger." Harry looks a bit uncertain about what you're trying to say but nods as if he accepts what you mean.

"Professor, do you think Hermione will like seeing Ron dressed like this?" Harry asks, obviously trying to change the subject and focus on Weasley, who was so engrossed in his own reflection that he only seemed to realize there was a world beyond the mirror when he heard Harry's comment. Ron playfully hits Potter's arm with some force, and the two start giving each other light slaps.

"Ron, don't worry. Hermione will like seeing both of her friends well-dressed. And stop wasting energy on nonsense. Use that excitement on the dance floor. Boys, do you need anything else from me?" you ask, standing up from the floor and looking at yourself in the mirror. The boys quickly get ready to leave your room.

"Malfoy is outside. I think he needs your help, but his great pride wouldn't let him come here. Thank you very much, Professor Y/L/N, for helping us," Harry says as Ron leaves your room. It seems like he's sharing ultra-secret information by the way he speaks, but deep down, you know his intentions are good.

"Mr. Potter, it's a pleasure to be a good teacher for you all. I count on you to keep an eye on everything at the ball until I can get there. Remember that Sirius and I are available to solve any complications tonight. But don't forget to have fun. You deserve it." Harry seems pleased to hear your words and finally leaves your room. You wait for him to leave so you can go look for Malfoy. It's funny how Potter wanted to alert you about Malfoy, even though they are declared enemies. If their relationship can even be considered enmity.

"I heard someone needed a teacher's assistance, so I came to see if I could be of help," you say, catching Malfoy by surprise under the same staircase where he was grumbling days ago. He looks at you with a hint of fear, perhaps afraid of being seen in a vulnerable moment. You sit next to him on the stairs, adjusting your dress to avoid wrinkling it. Malfoy's suit looks very different from the ones Potter and Weasley were wearing. His suit has beautiful silver and green details, and it looks like it was made by the finest haute couture.

"Who wears this rubbish nowadays?" Draco says, throwing his tie away, and you can feel how frustrated he is with the whole situation.

"Malfoy, it's normal to feel frustrated by things you don't know how to do, but acting like this isn't appropriate. I'll help you with what you call rubbish, and if you want, I can teach you how to tie your tie another time." You say, going to where Malfoy threw the tie and picking it up from the ground. Seconds later, you're tying the tie knot, which is already around Malfoy's neck. He seems a bit shy, as if feeling foolish for his behavior.

"You look beautiful, Professor. I confess I didn't think a teacher would be capable of dressing so well. Maybe you're dressed too well for a teacher," Draco says as you finish adjusting the tie around his neck.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" You ask as you look at him, assessing. This boy seems to not know how to compliment someone. Maybe you should teach him someday.

"Did you dress like that to try to get the attention of Professor Black or Professor Lupin? Forget it, I already know the answer. Professor Lupin said he wouldn't be attending the ball tonight. He's kind of odd, maybe even a bit suspicious. It always seems like he's hiding something. On the other hand, Professor Black is quite annoying. He's always on my case because of Potter. And to think Professor Black is my relative. But he seems to favor his little godson more," Draco says, as if analyzing your possible love interests. You smile, listening to his opinion about the two.

"You throw these pieces of information at me as if it's nothing. Since when are you and Sirius relatives? And not that it's any of your business, but I dressed like this for my own reasons. I don't want to draw anyone's attention," you say as you watch Draco stand up and adjust his suit delicately.

"The fact that you only picked up on that information shows that you agree with the idea that Professor Lupin is suspicious. And Professor Black and I have been relatives since my mother is his cousin. And no offense, Professor, but you definitely dressed like this to get someone's attention," Draco says, finishing getting ready and leaving, leaving you confused and pensive. Your students took the day to make it clear that they can see what's going on in your personal life. What a mess.

An hour later, you were already in Hogwarts' ballroom, and the party was in full swing. Harry was watching people dance and chat next to Sirius. Draco was dancing with Pansy Parkinson. But they were exchanging glances as if each were waiting for the other to do something wrong. Ron and Hermione were dancing while following Luna Lovegood as if the three of them were dancing together. You could bet it was because neither of the two friends wanted to ruin their friendship.

"In thinking that you used to dress like this for me, of course, not so dazzling, but always attentive to details. Easily the most beautiful woman in this hall is in front of me," you don't move, you could recognize whose voice is speaking almost in your ear from thousands of kilometers away. The expensive imported perfume he always wore. Bought with the dirty money from the fraud Severus Snape became.

"What are you doing here, Snape?" Your tone of voice conveyed the anger you felt at seeing the man you once loved in front of you; while he seemed to relish seeing you angry. Snape's fingers tracing through your hair and then across your face as if he were trying to recognize you by touch. You close your eyes as you feel your whole body shiver.

"Did you really think you could hide from me? Run away from someone who loved you so much? Who trusted you even though you were a treacherous little rat?" He speaks, holding your face with his hand. Clearly, he wants to intimidate you. You have however learned to defend yourself splendidly. You approach him as if you were going to kiss him, getting so close to him that even you would doubt his true intentions.However, you sink the high heels you're wearing into his fancy shoes. He holds your arm tightly as he writhes slightly in pain.

"This treacherous little rat has some news for you. Do you want to threaten me? You'll get revenge. I'm not afraid of you, my love. In fact, now seeing you here, I feel sorry for you." Your contempt for your ex seems to shine through your words. However, he seems to have enjoyed it. He gives you a malicious smile as if he relished the pain you caused him.

"Is there something wrong here?" You hear Sirius ask from behind you. Great, Sirius is about to meet Snape, and you'll have to prevent Snape from harming him. One thing your ex was, besides being fraudulent and a terrible example of a professor, was jealous.

"Sorry, I was asking Professor Y/L/N about donations to Hogwarts. How rude of me. My name is Severus Snape. Y/N and I used to work together at the old school where we both worked." Snape says, extending his hand toward Sirius, who shakes it firmly as they lock eyes.

"That kind of matter is better handled with Professor McGonagall. If you want, I can take you to her." Sirius Black says to Snape, seeming uncomfortable with his presence. It's strange because you didn't tell Black about your ex.

"That won't be necessary. Unfortunately, I don't have time today to enjoy the party or have much chat. Please tell Professor McGonagall that this ball is stunning. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Black. I hope to keep in touch, Miss Y/L/N." Severus Snape says, kissing your hand and leaving the hall as if he's being scolded for misbehaving and walks away repentant.

"You shouldn't have interrupted." You say as you head towards the dance floor, feeling a bit confused about what to do. Sirius must have noticed because he takes your hand and guides you to dance. He holds you firmly as he puts his arms around your waist, bringing you closer. You look at him, grateful for his help but reluctant to let it show. In fact, you're afraid it might backfire on him.

"You're welcome, dear. Lupin told me about you and this guy. I would never let anyone do anything to you in my presence," Sirius speaks near your ear, as if wanting to keep the conversation private between you two.

"Your heart is in the right place, but Lupin had no right to open up this story to you. And you took too much risk just now. He will notice that you and I…" There's something crazy about how this dance has made you less inhibited. You look at Sirius as if you can feel that he knows what you're going to say. There's a big tension between you two.

"Me and you, we like each other. We desire each other. We want to be with each other even though we can’t because we’re both so stubborn." Sirius says, looking into your eyes. You don't know what to do after hearing what he said. The music stops, and you both step away from each other.

"You don't want me." You say, amidst the people dancing around you and Sirius. He looks at you with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Now, you both are just a few steps away from each other, away from the dancing crowd.

"Don't confuse things. My wanting you is only outweighed by my desire to protect my relationship with Lupin. But I do want you. I want you close to me more than I want to push you away to avoid complicating our lives." Sirius says, stepping closer to you, both of you locking eyes, and you're unsure of what to do next.

"When you say our lives, you mean yours and Lupin's. I think that says more about our relationship than you realize. For now, I think it's more appropriate that we focus on the ball rather than our private lives." You say, stepping away from Sirius and heading to the other side of the hall where the ball is taking place. You try to focus on your students, watching what they are doing and trying not to think about anything else.

To be continued...

[hogwartswitch1997]

'It cannot be a phase, Mr. Potter. What you went through is now a part of you. It makes you be... you. No matter how traumatic or happy the memories are. It's time for you to think about this. Talk about your feelings. Open up to those who love you.'

Those words had been wandering in the deepest part of Harry's mind, making him feel anxious. It was May 2nd, 2002, and he was no closer to moving forward with the PTSD that the battle of Hogwarts left him, as to being lucky enough for his scar to fully disappear from his forehead.

Harry Potter knew that loss and pain were not a phase, although he sometimes wished they could be so. A phase you could move on from, and not just carry it forward with it heavily on your shoulders. The pain of losing those whom he loved, condemned to live without his mentors. His father, his mother, Sirius, Remus, and even to some extent, Dumbledore.

He had visited the castle to talk to Minerva a few days back, and to no surprise, he had met Albus' portrait once more. The figure of Albus Dumbledore was wide awake, not even trying to pretend he wasn't aware of what the headmistress and the Chosen One were talking about. His blue eyes pierced right through his green ones, inviting him for a conversation he did not wish to have at the time.

Severus' portrait was there, too. Snape, however, chose to pretend Harry wasn't there at all. His black eyes were looking instead at a book he was holding with his right hand, while the left one was holding his wand.

Harry left as fast as he could without alarming the new headmistress of hogwarts. She didn't need to know how much going to his former school triggered something in him that didn't let him think about nothing else but the traumatic childhood he had had. It wasn't fair, but he couldn't change it.

'Harry! Are you alright? Dinner's ready' said Ginny, standing by the door frame of Harry's office.

Harry lost his train of thought but was not disappointed by the interruption. Not at all. He was happy to have something else to think about. He was happy to have a woman who loved him and helped him put his tired feet on the ground when he needed it the most. He had the Weasley family, whom even if he had decided not to marry Ginny, would have loved him all the same.

Harry Potter was a kid who, before becoming an orphan, had had two wonderful parents and a godfather. Those were the pieces he was missing with every breath he took. No matter how long he lived or how many children he had, no one would bring them back to him.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'm finishing some paperwork for tomorrow. I'll join you in a minute, Gin', he replied with a fake smile, wishing he could talk to her about how he truly felt about surviving the war. If he did so, would he find his words or cry and look stupid in front of his wife? Those exact words that he needed to come out in order for him to start healing his mind and soul were confusing. When they aligned, they didn't make any sense put together. they sounded pathetic, if he could say something about them.

She had lost brother Fred, and Harry wasn't about to put more pressure onto her by talking about things none of them were ready to say aloud yet. Could he hang on to the safety bar and wait, or would he lose his composure when they were having a delightful time together?

Harry wished he could forget about all of it. All the trauma, the pain, and the fear of losing yet more people he considered family.

All the tears he had not shed hurt his soul. They tended to show up again and again when he needed to be focused, making easy tasks such as paperwork, a hard thing to get through.

Then I'd make it be just a phase. Then, the pain of losing them would not kill me to the point where I don't feel anything at all.

Standing up, Harry shuddered and felt even more guilty than he did before. Even if he could, he would never choose to forget about them all. They had died, so he and the rest of the Wizarding World could live.

It was only fair (to honour their memory) to keep walking with a bad drawn smile on their faces rather than letting their sacrifices be lost because he couldn't figure out how to move forward.

It wasn't just a bloody phase. It would never be. A cheerful thought, although not entirely connected to his original train of thought, managed to bring hope to the lost look showing on his face. The new generation of children who grew older in the Wizarding World would have to ask about the events of the battle of Hogwarts, and none of them would remember a thing about the Dark Lord or his loyal death eaters.

And when it was his time to go, Harry would peacefully leave this world, knowing he left it in a better condition than the one he found it in.

[danpuff-ao3]

The Making of: Boxes & Baubles

Normally, I have a clear idea of where I'm going before I begin any story. But for Boxes & Baubles, things played out a bit differently.

In 2021, the holiday spirit had its hold on me, but I was feeling rather aimless. I knew I wanted to write more Christmas fics. I had flashes of images and scenes in my head, but nothing clear, nothing cohesive. I turned to De-Stress December and 25 Days of Kinkmas for clues. I jotted down which prompts stuck out most. I made notes expanding on what I could do with the prompts, but still, not much stuck.

I think I was in a haze of too much excitement to actually focus.

But I'm nothing if not stubborn, so I sat with my Scrivener file open. I moved between prompts, adding what notes I could. I mulled over the idea of combining prompts. So on, and so on.

Prompt 9 for De-stress December was "Christmas Tree." I had a vision in my head of Harry and Severus decorating a tree together. It could be a drabble. I wasn't sure how to make it much of anything.

Here's where we get a bit personal. I love Christmas trees. There's so much tied to them, for me. They're a nice decoration, for one. They add character wherever they are, and they're like big neon signs proclaiming it Christmastime. They can be so individual. You can have simple, aesthetic trees. You can have chaotic, colorful trees.

There's the bonding time of decorating with friends and family. Choosing new ornaments each year. Standing around and figuring out where each piece will go. It can be a family-wide art project. That's how it was in my house, anyway. You can put candycanes on them, and rush over for your daily dose of sugar. You wrap up your presents and surround the tree with them. That's where we gathered around on Christmas morning to open presents.

When I was very young, we bought real trees. My parents were still married, and I only had one sibling. We'd bundle up in my dad's pickup truck and drive to the tree lot. My brother and I would ride back home in the bed of the truck with the tree. I won't say it was comfortable, being stuck by branches or the burn of cold wind on our faces. But it was tradition. And it was fun all the same. My brother and I would giggle. And it was such a treat, riding in the bed of the truck!

And the smell! God, the smell of a tree. That's half the magic right there.

Nowadays, I live with my partner. We have a small, fake tree and a handful of ornaments. My partner isn't big on holidays. He's no Grinch, but he doesn't have the same zest for celebrations I do. And the holidays are peak season at his job. Little time or energy to spare for projects he's not as keen on. He joins in what traditions mean most to me, but it's not quite the same, is it?

My childhood wasn't happy, really. And I'm not super close to my family. Life now with my partner is much better, even without the holiday spirit. But maybe it's the fact that Christmastime hold what happy memories I have. A not so happy life felt like pure magic around Christmas. Everyone was happy, and together. There was love. There was fun. It was so, so special.

Family matters make the holidays a complicated time for many people. For me, I clung to my joy, both because of, and in spite of, my family.

So I mulled over Christmas trees and my own connection to them. And I thought of Severus, and his not-so-happy childhood. I kept that image of "Snarry tree decorating" in my head while considering Severus' POV. With his background, how must he feel about the holidays? Not so Grinch-like with Harry, I imagined. But the holidays were probably sad affairs.

Or were they?

So I thought more on Severus' background. I had existing headcanons about Tobias and Eileen. And I've always been a fervid lover of flawed characters and imperfect relationships. How Tobias was a bad father and a bad husband, but he wasn't pure evil. And if all Severus associates with his father are bad memories, doesn't mean there were never good ones.

Doesn't that make it worse? The virtues in the people who hurt us. The good times we shared with them. It's easier to hate people when they don't feel human at all. When we are blissfully unaware of any redeeming qualities. We can hate them in peace.

And I do so love to torment my boys, don't I?

Keeping Severus' history in mind was important, but I never meant to actually write it. I opened a word document, meaning to type up a brief summary. But instead, I began my story.

Severus is five.

The tree they get is small and scraggly. Severus is small and scraggly, too.

Dad is in festive spirits. He kisses Mum while she cooks breakfast and he ruffles Severus’ hair. They load up into the car after and drive to the tree lot.

I'm a monster, really.

Once I had the opening down, I paused, and set about outlining the rest. It would begin with Young Severus, and end with Snarry, but I'd need to fill in the blanks. Lily, as an obvious choice. And I love when Severus has a romantic history with Regulus, so I made room for him, as well.

Then I went back, and continued writing.

I couldn't ignore the horrors of Severus' life, but I didn't want to linger on them, either. It really was meant to be a happy story, though looking back I guess bits of it were sad. Ah well, pure fluff rarely works for me, anyway.

Funnily enough, at the end, I squeezed in an extra scene. That's a bit unusual for me to do. I go in with a plan. And if scenes are added, I add them as I go. I always write chronologically. But while editing, I noticed a timeline error. And then...well, I was still missing something. So on a whim during edits, I added the scene with Dumbledore.

There. That was much better!

(Except, apparently, I forgot to fix a detail after adding said scene, but my friend Shera was quick to read and point it out. Oops.)

This story happened so unexpectedly. There was little purpose, little planned, just silly ole me rummaging around for something, anything to write. All I wanted were more Christmas stories. I was content to write fluffy drabbles! And in my search, I found a story that I quite loved.

Of course, there's one more bit to this story. I posted it on December 9th. People were so kind to it! And I was so very glad. And I had no idea that anyone would love it so much as to record it.

And on Christmas Day that year, my dear friend Nina posted the podfic. I cried! It was such a surprising gift, and I was so touched. And best of all, it returned to me all of the love and magic I've always associated with Christmas.

[sofoulandfairaday]

The ultimate How I Met Your Mother Finale rant

I know this has been done before, and I know I'm several years late to the party, but I don't care, so IN THIS ESSAY I WILL tell you about why this finale takes the spot as the second-worst finale in TV show history (because Game of Thrones is still, to this day, unbeatable, and it will probably stay like that forever). 

But first, a little context: I've just finished binge-watching HIMYM. This binge has been going on for three days straight (my final exam of the semester is in a week and I should be studying, so the fact that the last few days were a partial waste of time makes me so mad). Second thing: I already knew how it would end, and yes, kids, it does ruin the show for you. It ruins the show so much it makes your blood boil when you rewatch certain scenes, but I will get to that. 

You might want to make yourself a drink because this is a complete list of all the reasons why HIMYM's finale sucks - I'm warning you, it's gonna be looong.

It completely invalidates the entirety of season 9

This is one of the complaints people most often have with this series, and I have to agree. It would have been so much better if the last two episodes never existed, and they just showed Barney and Robin dancing at the reception after walking out of the chapel, Ted noticing Tracy and then the platform scene. "And that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother". Cut scene. Honestly, I don't get the hate people give to season 9, barring the last 2/3 episodes, especially since season 8 was so much worse (except for a few honourable mentions, like The Robin). S8 was slower, less funny, and less deep, and while the authors took a risk by making s9 happen in the span of a weekend it paid off: they took their time introducing the character of the Mother to the gang and fleshing her out. They make sure to highlight all the little ways in which Ted and Tracy are perfect for each other, and even tie up loose ends, like with the Slapsgiving episode, that was a filler but it wasn't boring to watch (although it may be problematic for different reasons, I'm not Chinese, so I can't say for sure if it's cultural appropriation or just the authors making fun of a particular movie genre). 

Some episodes were arguably great: "Daisy" was amazing, and that whole fight between Marshall and Lily was so realistic and well thought out, "Sunrise" was extremely important for Ted's character development, same goes for Tracy and "How Your Mother Met Me", "Bedtime stories" was impressive, "Rally" was incredibly funny and proved once again what a beautiful character Barney Stinson is, so much so that even Robin never has doubts that he (the guy with the biggest commitment issues on the planet) will bail on her before the wedding, and says to Ted that "he always comes back". Daphne's character is super funny and the right amount of annoying, the shenanigans of the gang are well thought out and all of the characters (not just Barney) complete their arc in this season. The last two/three episodes butcher that.

Marshall and Lily

Marshall and Lily, arguably the world's most solid couple, are the only thing this God-awful finale gets right, especially Marshall, who is my second-favourite character, that finally gets everything he deserves. But what about Lily? They never mention her career after Italy, and I refuse to believe she goes back to being a kindergarten teacher as if her year in Rome meant nothing. I also refuse to think she becomes nothing but a political wife, the equivalent of Zoey, but without saving the world. We know she has three kids, but her postpartum depression is never really talked about much and they definitely had the screentime to delve into it. 

Barney

 Where do I even begin? Barney Stinson is, without a doubt, the best character in this series, the glue of the whole gang. I think the message they were trying to give is that, since his trauma stemmed from the absence of a father figure in his life, he could only truly heal by becoming a father as well. People also say that n°31 had to stay just a number, because who could match up with Barney Stinson? First of all, I call BULSHIT on that last point, because Robin wasn't the only girl Barney could have ended up marrying. I used to think that too, but it's just not true: that is the equivalent of saying that Barney was incapable to truly love a woman and commit to her, even after all the development he got, and that he only got one shot at love in life, and that's it. This goes against the point the showrunners try to make by having Ted and Robin end up together AND by having Tracy get with Ted in the first place: "it's never too late, you always have another chance at love, etc." And, let's face it, Barney and Robin are legendary, but Barney and Nora (hell, even Barney and Quinn!) were pretty good together too. 

Second of all, if they wanted to give Barney a kid, they could have easily done that, before Barney married Robin. Barney's "redemption" starts when he gets with Robin the first time, hell maybe even when we meet James for the first time: Nora, Quinn, finding out who his father is, the episode dedicated to the lies his mum told him/finding James' father, him getting to know his own dad, etc... those are all steps along the way. The s9 episode where Barney accepts the relationship between Loretta and the reverend proves how far he's come. So why not give him a daughter BEFORE he proposes to Robin? Have him cheat on Nora/Quinn with n°31, giving him a relapse, and having him get closer to Robin while struggling to be a dad to Ellie. That would have been great. 

Or, you know, don't give him children. What's the point of burning the Playbook if you're going to have him write the second edition? What's the point of having him do a complete 180 in the last few scenes and acting like having a kid is the only thing that makes him change? What's the point of doing that when the show spends entire episodes berating Marshall and Lily for "changing too much" when they have a kid?

Also, Barney is the "challenge accepted" guy. He loves his wife so much, he spent years wanting her, and then he gives up because there is no WiFi in his hotel. How does that make any sense at all? This is Barney Stinson, the "I will fly out to San Francisco and buy Lily a plane ticket", the "I will steal every girl from my best friend just to save him for Lily", the guy that wrote the Playbook (it takes effort to pull those plays off), the guy that planned for weeks his proposal, the guy that waited years to get back at the man who stole his first girlfriend, the guy that makes every night legendary... are you telling me that that guy becomes the equivalent of a bored housewife instead of living his best life while travelling the world? Come on. They don't even try to make it believable.

Ted

While watching seasons 7 and 8, I felt that Ted was becoming the worst character on the show: he was boring, depressed, basically had no good storylines, the whole thing with Victoria was pointless and inconclusive (and the whole "stop being in love with Robin" was completely out of character for her), but whatever, we could have accepted that because it passed the message that two people could be good together, without being soulmates - which, by the way, renders the TedxRobin ship pointless, because they were right for each other, but Ted and Tracy were soulmates. Him being hung up on Robin in the latter seasons is almost pathetic, and the thing he does with the locket is insane, not romantic - BUT I will say this: it can be seen in two ways, depending on who's watching. I personally like the two as friends, so I see the whole thing as a "Dahmer" situation, but I get the people who see it as a "Dobler" one and see what he did as a grand romantic gesture. 

The problem, though, is that the whole TedxRobin ship gets pretty old, pretty fast: it's an annoying on-and-off thing, that should have ended with the locket. Because, yes, Ted was in a dark moment, yes, he was probably depressed, yes, he thought Robin was his only shot at happiness, but he changes during season nine! He spends entire episodes letting go of Robin, including the one where she transforms into a balloon and flies away. Ted is the good guy, ultimately. He is the guy that is genuinely happy for his best friends. In one of the deleted scenes from the finale, he meets Robin years later and says that he's so happy with Tracy he never thought about Robin in that way anymore. All of that gets thrown in the trash. Why do that? To use a Harry Potter metaphor, Ted is Severus Snape, while Barney is James Potter: the former loved the girl of his dreams with all his heart, even to the point of creepiness, but they weren't meant to be together. 

Robin

This, along with the next point, is the worst of all: Robin is the worst character of the entire finale. Her relationship with Ted in season 2 is wonderful, and I say that as a full-on Barney/Robin shipper. There was never a problem in their relationship, apparently, but they then break up because they have an "expiration date" and ultimately want different things in life. Except that Ted is not her soulmate. The only times when Robin wants Ted are the times where (1) she can't have him because he's either trying to move on or (2) the times where it's convenient, for example when they become roommates again and they solve their disputes again. Around that time, we see perfectly that Ted had moved on and that the person getting hurt was Barney. It's one thing to see Ted and Robin in the finale as two people picking up where they had left off after they dated. But this is not the case. 

In season 7, we have the exchange that should have put an end to any and all TedxRobin drama, and that completely invalidates whatever the writers wrote after that about the two of them: Ted declares his love - "I think you know how you feel about me now. I don't think time's gonna change that. Just tell me: do you love me?" To which she answers "No". And Ted also says later to Marshall, that he's "happy because he can finally move on". 

What a load of crap. 

Getting over someone is hard, believe me, I would know. And, oftentimes, it doesn't happen until we find someone else to love (and from the moment he meets Tracy, there is no one else for Ted). But by giving Ted feelings for Robin after this moment, it takes away from the beauty of it- because it's one of the most heartbreaking feelings in the world when you declare your love to someone and they don't love you back. Ted and Robin were both honest at that moment, and it was the last genuinely good exchange between them. After that, during season 8 they try to show us Ted trying to get over her (and failing) and in season 9 Ted getting over her completely. This is also weirdly paced because at the beginning of s8 both are in happy relationships with other people and there's no jealousy (which is good, because at least they weren't toxic) and they seem just friends (when Robin leaves Nick to go see him in the middle of the night, she implies that she would do it for any of her friends), but after Ted breaks up with Veronica because of Robin everything is weirdly coated in this sort of tension between the two: first Ted loves her, but she doesn't, so when he helps her by taking her to Barney's proposal ("which means my best bro in the world has given me his blessing"). 

And, by the way, every time they try to paint Ted as the guy that comes through for Robin after this moment, they dumb down Barney's character. And still fail to make Ted a better guy than him (see: the carousel in Central Park). 

Yes, Robin and Ted have some chemistry, but it is nothing compared to what Robin and Barney have. Every time Robin is jealous of Barney, it doesn't seem like a stupid whim, just because some other child is playing with her toys (except, perhaps, during The Robin). Robin and Barney's relationship would need a whole other post, and the next time I rewatch the series I will write down all the things that make them perfect for each other, but, to me, the biggest difference between the two relationships is this: in season 6, when she's not dating either one of them, Ted accuses Robin of never making him feel needed while they were together, whereas Barney praises her for it. Those are elective affinities: that's what Barney and Robin have, and what Tracy and Ted have. 

Barney and Robin have more or less the same arc: they both get over their fear of commitment and they do that with each other. Time and time again, we are told that if they're ever going to settle down, it would only be with the other. The first time they break up is honestly so stupid, and even when they are broken up, they are the best of friends, which also makes Robin's behaviour in the finale look so stupid. The way the two of them fit together is unparalleled, both in a romantic and a platonic way. 

Think about it: Robin makes Barney a better man, while she makes Ted a worse one. 

Also, the whole point that there are different seasons in life for everything gets thrown out the window: apparently, Ted and Robin (that were a couple that ultimately worked in their young twenties) are the same people in their forties.

But that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that the two final episodes butcher Robin's arc as well: episode 23 starts with Lily saying "I want this girl to be in our lives" and we know Robin never made other friends outside of the gang, because she didn't need to, and now she walks away from everything because of fucking Ted?? This is saying "hey, Robin was only in the group for Ted, who brought her in, and now she leaves because he's not her puppy anymore". Robin was the one that was eternally indecisive between Ted and Barney and you're telling me that three years and many many life experiences later, she's still not sure? 

The point of her story is learning how to get over her fear of commitment, learning how to be there for her friends (there's an entire episode dedicated to that, and it's the one where Lily's pregnant and we meet Robin's ex-best friend in Canada), and how to balance her job and her life. Also, the way her character is treated is un-feminist and un-progressive: she becomes Ted's consolation prize. She is passive throughout s9. She cannot, ultimately, win the modern-day struggle most women have and balance out career and love life, so her true life, her "happy chapter" begins after she has already accomplished everything she wanted to and she's free for Ted. She doesn't even go back to him, she just the prize the main character wanted for all his life and only got in the end because his wife died (ONE SCENE, people, ONE SCENE!). Also, this makes Tracy the "broodmare" that gives him the kids he wanted, and his "happy family" experience before he goes to be with his one true love. 

The mother

This. This makes me so mad. One whole season spent on building up Tracy's character, just for it to go to waste. It would have been so easy to screw her up, but she is hands down the best thing about s9. She's the perfect woman for Ted and the episode shot through her perspective is the sweetest. By the end, I liked her more than Robin and Lily. She was the perfect addition to their group, she fit together with them in a perfect way, and they show us the biggest moment of her and Ted's life... for what? To have her die in a few sentences? And I don't care if they shot a funeral scene, I don't care if the finale was supposed to be 40 minutes long, because, in the end, it wasn't. The scene where Ted meets her is the second most beautiful one (after Barney's proposal to Robin) and the climax of the whole show, but they ruin her... and for what? The chemistry Ted has with her, he has with no one. The joy she brings him, the way she understands him, is unlike any other. I am sure that one of the reasons they killed her off was the shock value and I hate it. 

I cannot stress this enough: Tracy makes Ted a better person. When he's with Robin, Ted is "the nice guy" in the most selfish and narcissistic version of the trope. When he's with Tracy, love comes easy to Ted. Also, the scenes between the two of them are arguably the best Ted scenes of the show.

The kids' reactions (ugh)

It's not really what they say- it's the way they say it. The end of HIMYM was not supposed to be funny, even though the show is a sitcom. It was supposed to be bittersweet and beautiful, because it's the end of an era, and the writers must have known that. So, Ted finishes telling his story, reveals to the audience that their now-beloved Tracy is dead, and the reaction is: "No, ahah, you totally have the hots for Aunt Robin" (their words, not mine). Like, what the actual fuck? I cringed when Penny said that. It's tasteless and not fun at all. Even if it has been six years... It's still your fucking mum, show a little bit of sadness at the thought of her. 

The reason the show ended this way

What makes me especially mad is that I know for a fact that the reason they went with this ending is that it was the original one, always intended for the show, from season 2 onwards. And, if you watch it right after s2, it makes sense. But if you consider the eight years that passed and the massive character development, then no, it's not the best possible one. So many things hadn't been decided yet back in s2, especially about Barney, Ted, and Robin, and I hate that they didn't dare to scrap their work. This ending probably had sentimental meaning to the writers, but authors have to do what's best for their characters, not themselves. It's like with GoT, in a way: I think that the authors were all too aware of the impact of HIMYM and didn't believe that their finale would live up to the expectations... which compelled them to make the worst decision possible?? Every single character is OOC during the episode. Oh, and Marshall and Lily moving in the last episode is a ripoff from Friends (or maybe a tribute? Idk). Anyway, I believe that the authors were too attached to their sentimental version of "what should have been" and didn't give the characters the endings they truly deserved.

"Life works this way" // "Life only moves forward"

Some people say that the show is realistic because that's how life works. But I call super-BS on that. That might be true, and yes, people do get sick and die (Max, Marshall's dad...) and life does go on. But then, you don't frame it the way they did. It's just bad storytelling if you do it like that. And the problem is not the structure of season 9, because the characters develop in that season. The problem isn't even the mother's death. The problem is Ted ending up with Robin because that's not life moving forward for him, that's him, doing the same thing he did in 2005, 25 (twenty-fucking-five) years before! 

In conclusion, this finale is incoherent and inconclusive, and not satisfying at all. The only character that gets a good ending is Marshall: why is that? What makes his ending great? It's the fact that his character arc is respected and he finally gets what he's been working towards for more than ten years.

[mrssnivellussnape]

Wattpad (book incoming 📝)

(🥰 = fluff, 🌶 = smut, 💔 = angst, ⚠️ = very serious trigger warnings/topics)

(Forgive my horrible story summaries, I promise the stories are better than they sound :,))

LMK! :)

SNAPETOBER 21’ 🎃 I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI

Sev

{headcannons}

Getting Trapped in a Room with Severus and Gilderoy

Writing on Severus’ Face with Your Children (🥰)

Getting a Valentine’s Day card from a certain, young! Severus Snape (🥰)

SFW Alphabet for Sev (🥰)

NSFW Alphabet for Sev (🌶)

Drink Me Under (🌶)

Table Manners

Drunken Bliss

Get A Laugh Out of You

Property Of

Severus Snape Dressing Up with His Daughter

{stories}

Ornaments and Surprises (🥰)

Reader plans a fun way to surprise Severus while also cheering her students up.

Picnics and Pranks (🥰)

Reader and Severus don’t have a babysitter for their daughter, forcing them to bring her to Hogwarts. When your daughter decides to sneak away, making Severus think he’d lost her, you see her in the halls. You decide to get back at him for not following the one request you had. But he gets you back just the same.

Three’s A Crowd (🌶)

After repeatedly begging Severus to invite Lucius to your bedroom, he finally allows it. Being the man he is, he can’t help but make it about him and just how well he knows your body.

The Switcheroo (🥰)

Your twin boys get tired of their father continuously mixing them up, so they decide to prank him. Of course, there’s always a twist.

Maybe in Another Lifetime (💔)

You and Severus no longer feel connected to one another and you finally decide that your love has regrettably run out. In this life at least.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Severus (🌶)

Having felt more than flirty at dinner, you decide to give Severus his final gift of the night. When he doesn’t abide by your wish, you take it upon yourself to tease him by putting on a certain show...

No Need to be Jealous (💔 + 🌶)

Severus’ gets jealous when he sees Lucius all over you, and runs out to the gardens. You catch up with him and prove to him just how much he means to you.

Betrothed (💔)

You and Severus are set in an arranged marriage despite your protests (royalty au).

A Quick Dip (🥰)

Reader gives Severus a chance at relaxation and goes swimming in a secret area they discovered.

Take Care of Me (🥰)

Severus takes care of a sick reader.

Thanks for Your Help, Professor (🥰)

Professor Snape catches you teaching yourself DADA spells after curfew and he helps you learn a spell you are struggling with, more than proud of you when you get it right.

Helping Him Forget (💔+🌶)

You leave a note for Severus telling him to meet you at the Shrieking Shack, and despite his hesitance, he goes, more than happy when he see what you’re wearing for him.

Let’s Make A Baby (🌶)

You and Severus decide it’s time to have a child, and both are more than willing to start the process of baby-making.

A Lesson in Jealousy (🌶)

Lucius subtly flirts with you when you offer your help to him, Severus gets upset and reminds you who you belong to

Neon Lights and Ferris Wheel Nights (🥰)

You take Severus away from the school to enjoy a new experience with him. Despite not being familiar with any of it, he proved to have one of his best times out and the fun you had would forever stay with him.

In the Hot Seat (🌶)

Thanks to a certain trip in the muggle world that involves hot springs, exchanged hotel rooms, and a decent amount of Firewhisky; you and Severus get warmer than you’d planned.

You Matter (⚠️)

Fearing the worst about your best friend, Severus, you worry to know what’s wrong with him. Life gets darker when you catch him lying on the restroom floor, bleeding, and seemingly not breathing.

Addicted (🌶)

Severus can’t figure out why he’s so attracted to you and your scent, and can’t fathom why no one else is able to smell it.

Bundle of Joy (🥰)

Starry Night (🥰)

Severus surprises you with a not-so-much-a-date date, that includes the night sky, twinkling stars, and unexpected confessions.

When I Knew I Loved You (🥰)

A shy reader and an angry Severus can’t seem to stop bumping into each other

Good Morning (🌶)

Reader wake Severus up in one of the best ways.

Do You Still Love Me? (🌶)

When Severus starts to no longer have sex with you, you decide to find out exactly why, and the reason isn’t exactly what you expected.

Scared, Severus?

You and Severus brew a batch of Amortentia that results in hidden feelings and hope for possible beginnings.

December’s Kiss (🥰)

When two red-headed twins decide to try out a new spell, something new comes to fruition.

Narcissa

All Hers (🌶)

You and Narcissa get more than comfy together

Lucius

{Headcannons}

Lucius’ Infatuation (🥰)

{all character headcannons}

She-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named

{Random Posts}

2020 HP Valentine’s Day cards

[vivithefolle]

what do you think of snape and draco

Vivi's Opinion on Snape

Very much NOT a character for me. I can love a bitter sarcastic asshole, but not when said bitter sarcastic assholery is directed to little kids that literally never asked for any of this.

He contributed to winning the war. Immensely. No, he's not an incel or a stalker. No, he's not "the Stalin to Voldemort's Hitler", what the actual fuck, people who use that comparison seriously please stop and reevaluate all your life choices thank you.

I do actually enjoy writing Snape because... thanks to him I get to absolutely tear a new one to Harry and Hermione right there in my fanfiction and you can't even say I'm doing bashing because it's not bashing, it's Snape. Thank you Severus for providing me with the opportunity to vent my bitterness about those characters in a totally inconspicuous way.

5/10. Not my cup of tea, might be yours. Helped protect the Hogwarts kids a lot, but what good is it to protect someone if you're gonna keep on bullying them afterwards? (If that reminds you of how James Potter saved Severus from the Whomping Willow only to have Snape's Worst Memory afterward, yes, yes I was making a parallel to that. Congrats Snape. You've successfully become what you most hated.)

Vivi's Opinion on Draco

Kill it.

I'm not kidding. I despise this thing from the deepest, darkest fathoms of my soul. To the point that I can't see it as a "human" character like I can conceivably do with Ron, or Hermione when she's not being Plot-Powered, or Harry sometimes occasionally.

You see, there's something I hate more than a bully... it's a bully that gets away with it. But not just get away, oh no. A bully that gets worshipped in spite of it. Because I saw it happen up close. I was down there in the mud and the bully was someone I thought my friend. That's probably why I feel an amount of sympathy for Barty Crouch Jr. I know the feel, dude. In a slightly less insane-obsessive-murdery-zealous way.

I will feel sympathy for Barty Crouch Jr who had a father that sucked so hard Voldemort managed to be a better one.

But Draco Malfoy? He had everything. Good parents who also happened to be fascist, eugenists assholes but were still good parents. A life of privilege, of never wanting for anything, of throwing tantrums and always getting his way.

Life then becomes kinda hard for him for a bit. Because Voldemort sucks. Voldemort sucks and still he was a better parental figure than Barty Crouch Sr can you believe, how the fuck. Anyway Draco Malfoy's life becomes kinda hard for a while. But he's still happy to try and give Harry&Co to Voldemort because hey he still wants to get cookie points in case Voldy wins.

... and the fandom then thinks that "he was a child" constitutes a reasonable excuse for all this shit.

Okay. Okay.

Fine, he was a child. Children can be horrid, hideous little bullies, yes, absolutely. He was a child, he didn't know better, so he threw slurs around like they're candy, yes, fine, that is true. He was a child... that gives him a pass for year 1 to 5, yeah, I can get that.

... I've yet to meet a child that smuggled a group of wanted terrorists inside his own school so they could have themselves a little murder party though. I've yet to meet a child who tried to murder someone multiple times and almost got multiple people killed as a result, though.

And most of all... most important of all... I've yet to seen a child who effectively does all that, and is immediately covered with sympathy and fanarts and woobie AMVs for it.

I despise Draco Malfoy. I loathe him, and everything he represents, and everytime I come accross someone who tries to justify his actions I feel this ulcer burn in my stomach. I've had to read with my own two eyes "bullying is never a choice" in regards to Draco Malfoy's behaviour. Oh really. Oh, really. My bullies never really made the choice to use their little bully legs and go out of their little bully way to plant their little bully ass in front of glasses-wearing, non-threatening, could-get-carried-off-by-a-mild-breeze-looking little Vivi... Every single day. Every single day, at every single recess, for five fucking years.

No. Absolutely not, of course. Of course they didn't have a choice. They absolutely never meant it when they called me names or threw stones at me. Nah, sometimes you see a good opportunity to be a bitch to someone and you just gotta use it, man, it's not like you were making a choice, your entire body spontaneously decided without your input that it was gonna harass someone and you couldn't stop it because, well, it's not like you had a choice right?

-1000000000/1. Revolting. Disgusting. Repulsive. Another reason why I don't like Harry is that he didn't let the bastard burn in the Fiendfyre. But then we'd get thousands upon thousands of """fix-it fics :)""" where Hermoanie Granger time-travels back to the Battle of Hogwarts to save her one twu wuv Dwako Malfucked from his fiery demise and I admit that this AU is not one I'd want to live in, blargh. Meh. Maybe I could've written a parody where Hermione, while saving Dwakkie-poo, catches fire and burns to a crisp along with him. I mean, Dramione is already the tale of a girl setting herself on fire to keep a bastard warm, so I'd just be speed-running it to its logical conclusion.

[pet-genius]

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 3

Follow up to this and this. Trigger warning: Cult abuse.

Draco is vulnerable to being recruited simply because he’s Draco - his father is a Death Eater, and he's eager to prove himself to the master he grew up believing in. I’m not usually sympathetic to Draco, but this line makes me feel for him:

“everyone thinks he’s so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick —”

“You have told me this at least a dozen times already,” said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. “And I would remind you that it is not — prudent — to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear.”

This makes it clear that he’s been indoctrinated from a young age into a fringe belief (his belief in the Dark Lord, not in blood supremacy - that’s mainstream), and into hiding it, even after the cult disbanded. This contributed to a sense of isolation from mainstream society, and for someone like Draco, exacerbated his existing condescension and entitlement. The same must be true for Crabbe and Goyle, who on top of being children, are stupid and lacking in critical thinking skills, which means an escape was nearly impossible for them, and indeed, Crabbe died, and who knows if Goyle was clever enough to stay out of Azkaban.

Throughout HBP, Draco goes from boastful to scared for his life.

From DLA:

“What say you, Draco?” asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly through the catcalls and jeers. “Will you babysit the cubs?”

The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother’s eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall.

Once on top, now the Malfoys are too scared to make eye contact with anyone and protest at their humiliation. Draco is looking to his parents for protection, but they know they can’t provide it, even though Narcissa is trying.

Regulus was in a similar situation to Draco - I think he felt pressured to prove himself after the bitter disappointment Sirius had been. He and Draco were marked before they were of age, whatever being of age means in the wizarding world - meaning Voldemort was not above using minors. He also used children: the Daily Prophet writes that the Ministry has captured a nine year old child who had been Imperiused into murdering his family.

Snape’s vulnerability is glaring. In a nutshell, his extreme poverty and the neglect and abuse played a part in his decision to join the Death Eaters, and there’s a reason why Lucius is seen patting him on the back as soon as he is sorted. Perhaps the policy was to groom all newcomers. Like Barty, he might have looked for a father figure. Harry notices the many similarities between Snape and Voldemort (and himself), and these are all things Voldemort must have used on young Snape as well.

Snape is an example of how disposable Voldemort’s followers were, to him - he sent him to Hogwarts to get the cursed DADA job, meaning he was willing to let a potentially horrible fate befall Snape within the year. Even after Snape ascended to #2 by killing Dumbledore (on Voldemort’s order, no less), Voldemort killed him to gain mastery of the wand Snape became master of by doing Voldemort’s bidding.

Snape also explains the Dark Mark

“There,” said Snape harshly. “There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side.”

A famous cult in my country did this: The leader made his followers tattoo pictures of him and his name on their body. It’s this association that originally made me think of the Death Eaters as a cult. Voldemort branded his followers like cattle, and he expected them to drop everything they’re doing to run to him whenever he wants.

Snape was constantly tested, too. He was assigned a servant he despised, for one, and tasked with killing Dumbledore. Even after he had accomplished that, Voldemort did not fully trust him:

“Yaxley. Snape,” said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. “You are very nearly late.”

This is a threat, since they’re not actually late; I think it’s meant as a “hey, remember when I tortured you once for being late?” It is followed by:

“Saturday... at nightfall,” repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape’s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort’s face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort’s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.

Voldemort is using Legilimency - he still does not trust Snape, he still needs to interrogate him so carefully that the others are afraid to look.

Next, there is this:

“Do you recognize our guest, Severus?” asked Voldemort. Snape raised his eyes to the upside-down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as though they had been given permission to show curiosity.

That the Death Eaters all knew not to look up at the gruesome sight without permission, goes to show, again, how fun it must have been to be a Death Eater. In general, I think the best way to read “Dark Lord Ascending” is to pay attention to where people are looking, and how - it’s important in general, but especially in this chapter.

Lucius is an anomaly. It’s very hard to picture him kneeling, and there is no obvious reason why he should forfeit his dignity. Cults don’t typically target the elite, and in this, the Death Eaters are a bit strange, unless Lucius was also recruited at a young, impressionable age. This can be resolved if you consider that Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin, and unlike cult leaders, he really is super-powerful, and the person with the most potential to achieve political goals the Malfoy family is interested in.

Privileged as he was, even Lucius had vulnerabilities, and Voldemort was a Legilimens, meaning it was very easy for him to tell what they were.

This is how he treats Lucius in DLA:

“As I was saying,” continued Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, “I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter.”

The faces around him displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms.

“No volunteers?” said Voldemort. “Let’s see... Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore.”

How… emasculating.

Lucius Malfoy looked up [so he was looking down until then]. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

“My Lord?”

Lucius looks like he’s been through a lot. Also, since this scene takes place in the middle of July, why is there a fire? I’m theorizing that it’s for Nagini, or perhaps Voldemort is cold-blooded now, but in any case, he doesn’t care about the others’ comfort level. Maybe he even wants them to sweat.

“Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand.”

“I...”

Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, [...] At her touch, Malfoy put his hand into his robes, withdrew a wand, and passed it along to Voldemort.

Voldemort is making Lucius give him the wand himself, to reinforce his submission - he could have used magic.

“Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?”

Some of the throng sniggered.

“I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you?”

Indeed, Voldemort has given Lucius his (questionable) liberty, but again, he is expecting gratitude for something Lucius would have had in the first place, were it not for him: Lucius was imprisoned because he was caught at the Department of Mysteries fighting for Voldemort.

“But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late.... What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?”

“Nothing — nothing, my Lord!”

“Such lies, Lucius...”

The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had stopped moving.

[...]

“Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?”

“Of course, my Lord,” said Lucius Malfoy. His hand shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. “We did desire it — we do.”

Remember the fire? Do you notice Lucius sweating? His hand shaking? See how terrified he is, and how awful it must be to be forced to state how much he loves being treated like that?

To Malfoy’s left, his wife made an odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort and away again, terrified to make eye contact.

This is what has become of the once mighty Malfoy family.

Legilimency is important - because it means Voldemort typically could spot the mere thought of defection, and manipulate it out of the offender or outright kill them. The DEs know he can read minds, and so averting your eyes could be seen as admitting to a lie, unless you avert your eyes regularly. Breaking eye contact is a gesture of submission, and if one’s body is forced into it enough, it becomes ingrained. Every mention of eye contact in Dark Lord Ascending reinforces that. Their body language in that chapter also shows how controlled they are. I believe Death Eaters are learning to occlude involuntarily, to deceive themselves into only having permissible thoughts and feelings, to ensure their own survival. This makes it impossible to escape.

Finally, there’s JKR’s statement that Snape was the only DE who could produce a Patronus. This can't be because he's not evil (Umbridge can produce a Patronus), and it can't be because he's the only DE who is more powerful than 13 year old Harry. I think it’s because they were not allowed to - I think a spell that requires you to think genuinely happy thoughts would have reminded Death Eaters that their happiness does not come from Voldemort. The rigid mind control screams "cult" to me, and I think it's a much more interesting take on them than "bunch of plot-stupid people who had somehow managed to terrorize the wizarding world despite being incompetent".

Hope you now feel the same and thanks for reading this thesis <3

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Lily Evans and Severus Snape: Headcanons

So, I was asked in the ask about Sirius and Regulus what I thought about Snape and Lily. At this point people are probably going, “Oh that Carnivorous Muffin is just clearly a Snape stan who thinks he could never do anything wrong and anyone who was slightly mean to him is evil.” Shockingly, I’m actually not, I just happen to think sexual harassment and attempted murder are bad and probably worse than JKR intended (I do think she was trying to go the “boys will be boys” route versus “oh my god, they just dumped pigs blood on Carrie at the prom and then threw her at a starving vampire”)

So let’s start on Snape.

First, Snape did live an incredibly shitty life, with circumstances beyond his control, that did lead to many of his poorer choices. In no way am I saying that it was alright for Snape to have grown up in an impoverished, abusive, household and endured years of humiliation and torment at school. 

That said, I believe that we all, in some respects, are responsible for our actions and our decisions. Yes, even when we come from non-privileged backgrounds. Life is hard, some people will have it much easier than you, that doesn’t excuse you becoming a domestic terrorist or tormenting and terrifying your students, young children, so much so that an entire generation comes out with a loathing and incompetence in your subject.

I guess let’s start back on his friendship with Lily Evans. We get... a really weird perspective from Snape on that friendship. Time and her tragic death have warped it into this strange worship where I’m not sure the Lily Evans that exists in his mind and memory is the one that really was there. She’s this shining Madonna idol who he failed, actively betrayed, is very very hung up about it years later.

I suspect they weren’t as good of friends as either of them thought they were and it comes down to Snape’s resentment of his own upbringing and muggles. I believe Snape was very racist towards muggles, specifically, due to his father. It was his way of grappling with his home life and only fueled by being in Slytherin. Lily was probably, in his mind, always a golden exception to the rule (Lily is the token, gold standard, muggleborn where she’s pretty, brilliant, charming, etc.) That Severus himself was a halfblood clearly caused him some angst. What I’m getting at is that I believe throughout their entire friendship, especially when they got to Hogwarts, there was an unacknowledged undercurrent of intense racism that eventually boiled up with that one incident in Snape’s fifth year.

Calling her that, while he views it as a slip of the tongue that damned him for all time, I see it more as a Freudian Slip. That sort of thing doesn’t just slip out from nowhere, not at that age when they both knew exactly what that word meant, it simmers beneath the surface, and was ultimately what he thought of her. Later, she became the Madonna figure that he views her as today (ironically perhaps even less of a person than he viewed her as at the time).

That said I think a number of factors played into the young Snape becoming a Death Eater. One, becoming friends with Lucius/that crowd who were all being sucked into Tom’s influence. Two, having his terrible home life and all the implications of Snape resenting his own blood status as well as muggles and muggle borns at large. Three, the loss of friendship with Lily (now there’s nothing to hold him back anymore, he has no reason to preserve muggleborn life). Fourth, Dumbledore’s letting Sirius, James, and Remus entirely off the hook in the werewolf incident.

That last one, especially, I imagine cemented Snape’s utter hatred of ‘the light’ (don’t get me started on the stupidity of light/dark in Harry Potter but I guess I’ll use the term) and those that cater to muggleborns. They’re hypocrites of the highest order, Dumbledore claiming to defend the poor and non-nobility, when he goes and does the exact opposite (James is the next lord Potter, Sirius is still pureblooded even if disowned, Severus Snape is a dirt poor halfblood). 

So what I’m saying is I understand why Snape did become a Death Eater, I do not condone this action. Especially as, unlike Regulus, Snape never gets cold feet. He loves being a Death Eater at first, he’s living the dream, getting all the revenge he ever wanted and burning the stupid wizarding world to the ground as he scrambles for ways to climb in Tom Riddle’s graces. We don’t see any hint that he was wavering, thinking of the fact that beloved Lily might die in battle, perhaps at his hand, until the prophecy. 

Now, I’m a little kinder than some about the prophecy. We know Snape overhears the first portion of the prophecy in early 1980. He eagerly rushes to the dark lord, regales him with the prophecy in both a) aid to the cause and b) in the hopes of climbing in the ranks and gaining the dark lord’s notice. At this point, Lily Evans is pregnant, perhaps knows the gender, but has not given birth. Months later, when both Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter are born at the end of July, Snape realizes he has signed Lily Evans’ death warrant (because despite Dumbledore talking, I imagine Tom always planned to kill off both children, Pettigrew just happened to make things convenient for Tom to go to the Potters first).

With Lily’s death now so inevitable, and her blood on his own hands, Snape has his existential crisis, goes to Dumbledore who puts the Potters in hiding and becomes a double agent. Snape also pleads for Lily’s life with Tom and he puts in a minimal amount of effort to spare the woman. 

Then Lily dies anyway and now Snape lives in the bitter cynicism most commonly seen in characters from Game of Thrones. He’s Dumbledore’s agent and sort of a Dirty Harry character, getting to see all the nasty things that many of the other order members never have to deal with. He’s one of the more intelligent characters in the series, able to see the truth of the world he lives in, but he also doesn’t care enough to actually do anything about it. He’s a bitter, resentful, and angry protector of Harry Potter, choosing to hate a naive child for all the reminders of his own terrible life (both in Lily, for failing and betraying her, and in James his most hated rival and tormentor). He gleefully enables the favoritism of Slytherin (my god how he panders to Draco Malfoy) while tormenting poor Neville into terror (that Neville’s greatest 13 year old fear is Snape is very telling).

Basically by the time we get to him in canon Snape not only isn’t happy but I think he doesn’t want to be happy. He’s accustomed to his bitterness, his cynicism, his quiet rage and moves forward out of both resignation, guilt, and a sense of obligation to a woman’s ghost. The actions he takes in canon aren’t so much for Harry as they are for the memory of Lily Evans.

Even if Snape could be happy at that point, change his life or his purpose, I do not think he would. He’s a man who has given up on life.

Now, onto Lily Evans.

You probably think I’m going to rail on her to for the sheer hypocrisy and nerve of marrying James Potter. I’m actually not. Lily Evans is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series and probably the one I’d label as the most moral (though that’s a very low bar in Harry Potter, the characters are almost all assholes, but even so Lily would still be very high on the list).

You know what, I’m just going to damn myself and sound like a crazy person. Lily Evans always reads to me as a more moral young female Tom Riddle.

What the hell? You undoubtedly ask but I’ll explain.

Lily, while having a far more stable homelife than Tom Riddle, also comes from a muggleborn background. She’s exceptionally brilliant, very good looking, and very charming with a lot of people who would call her friends but no one close. Lily, aside from Snape (and that’s debatable), has no friends.

If Lily had not been a Gryffindor, and were Dumbledore not a raging misogynist, his Tom Riddle bells likely would have been ringing with her.

“But wait, that can’t be right!”

Oh, yes it can. First, as I went into above with Snape and Lily, there was something deeply wrong with that friendship. I believe they both considered themselves best friends, didn’t see many of the warning flags, but ultimately we see the giant fissure when Snape lets loose the m-word. Given all of that, I would not label them having been true friends in the first place. Just the appearance of friends.

Otherwise, while it’s very easily to canonically point out James’ friends it’s incredibly difficult to do so with Lily. First, people hardly remember Lily. We get Dumbledore talking about her like she’s the Virgin Mary, saving her son with the power of her love. We get Snape’s weird Virgin Mary impressions of her. Otherwise, it’s pretty much just Slughorn. Everyone else remembers that she married James and that was great because JAMES WAS SO COOL and that she had very striking eyes and was “nice”. Lily is less than a ghost in Harry Potter canon (sadly Harry never really realizing it).

Also, unlike James who has Sirius, Remus, and Peter to point towards (that are very important characters in canon). Lily has no one. The godmother was Alice Longbottom, a woman many years older than Lily and James who probably liked Lily well enough but I can’t imagine was a close friend. In canon there’s an offhand mention of two girls named Mary and Marlene but we don’t see much of them/Severus was always cited as Lily’s closest friend. As for Lily’s sister, well we know they’re estranged. I think it’s very telling that Lily writes a letter to Sirius, James’ best friend and certainly not hers, telling him that James is pouting over his invisibilty cloak. It’s because there was no one else to write.

So Lily Evans is a brilliant girl, who everyone likes and is very charming, but has no friends and led a very lonely and short life.

Here’s where my slack towards Lily comes in.

When she dumps Snape I completely understand why she did so. Snape dropping that word wasn’t simply a mistake, a moment of infinite regret, but something that revealed what he truly thought of her and where she came from. Lily was absolutely right in walking away.

However, without Snape, her closest friend is suddenly gone and the world is cold. As graduation approaches I imagine Lily’s career options become clearer and clearer. While very talented and smart, Lily is a muggleborn, what job she does manage to get (thanks to the sheer nepotism of the wizarding world/lack of jobs) will likely be through Slughorn if she manages to get a job at all. The world is cold and it is cruel and no one seems to even notice.

Cue James Potter. I do believe, probably until seventh year, Lily loathed James, not simply because of the horrifying things he did to Severus (and I’m sure she knew very little of it, Snape hiding most of it from her out of pride and shame), but because he’s just a giant dick. He’d make flirting with her a kind of game and joke to be shared with Sirius, something to hold over Snape’s head, like she’s a prize to be one.

However, by seventh year the werewolf incident has happened, Snape’s retreated further and further into Death Eater recruit land and she’s cut him off, and for all my “James is a dick” I do imagine he calmed down a little. Now that Snape is no longer friends with Lily/after the whole almost murder incident I imagine they didn’t bully him nearly as much as they used to. Though yes, they probably still bullied him, but Lily probably doesn’t know that now that she’s lost contact with Snape. 

James is charming and very good looking. He seems a bit more mature than he used to be. Lily is desperately lonely, living in a world that rejects everything she is, and James seems like one of the few who does support her (that James is more of a ‘pretty fly for a white guy’ kind of support for muggleborns doesn’t hit until later). So Lily is charmed and makes the largest mistake of her life, she and James start dating.

Now, given their extreme youth as well as Lily’s pedigree (say what you like, I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Potter were thrilled that their son was dating a muggleborn) I imagine the wedding was a shot gun wedding and Lily got unintentionally pregnant. Yes, go ahead and throw fruit at me or call foul, I just can’t imagine they’d want a child that young while in the middle of a war while they’re part of an active resistance movement and only just out of Hogwarts.

Then things start snowballing downhill. Lily and James have just joined the resistance movement, Lily’s son is prophesied to defeat Voldemort, they strongly suspect one of James’ close friends is a spy, and they’re forced into hiding.

In hiding is where I imagine stress runs high and their marriage begins to fall apart. We know from Lily’s letter that James was routinely leaving hiding, using the cloak, so he could meet up with Sirius and Peter (I imagine Lupin’s on the out as they suspected he was the spy). While James might not realize what a big deal that was, I imagine Lily always did, and she begins to realize just what she’s gotten herself into but there’s no way out while in hiding.

Now we go really off the rails into headcanon territory in: what the hell is up with Harry Potter?

In my stories, I often choose the unwitting god route. Harry can’t die because he is a god, he becomes the master of death and always was the master of death. This is an answer, but it’s one that makes canon Harry a god and... I would not want canon Harry as a god. JKR and Dumbledore push the “Lily loved her child so much that it deflected death... multiple times” but this always felt... unsatisfying. Many parents love their children (fathers too, JKR, let’s not make this weird Virgin Mary thing) and yet Harry Potter alone in the history of mankind survives multiple times. 

Most likely, Lily pulled off some insane bullshit with absolutely no resources and minimal education AND EVERYONE IGNORES IT. We do know that Lily crafted the blood wards, wards stronger than anything Dumbledore himself can come up with/than Voldemort can break. Ones that protect Harry not only at home but away from it as it melts Voldemort for simply touching his skin. Lily pulled off the impossible in only a few months and did it right under everyone’s nose.

This makes her easily one of the most intelligent characters in Harry Potter. Probably beating out Dumbledore and maybe tying with Tom Riddle. And Dumbledore tells us, “Your Virgin Mary mother loved you so much, Harry, that it courses through your veins and lights those that would want to harm you on fire.”

So, that’s Lily for you.

Now, that said, I’m probably a bit biased and clearly very lenient with her marrying James. To be honest it took me years to figure out why the hell Lily would ever marry James after what happened with Severus and was always one of those weird canon things I never quite understood. He’s that good looking and charming, I guess, was my response.

The answer I now land on with some confidence was that the world is that cruel and bleak and Lily was utterly alone for two years.

By the way, a side note/plug, of all my stories while head canons do pop up here and there I think “October” is one where they tend to crop up more. It’s a vast AU of canon, but it gives an idea of what I think x character would do in y situation. 

[breannacasey]

my five favourite fics i've written (for writer appreciation day)

Tagged by @ravens-words

Unleashed, M, 53 452 words (Prodigal Son)

Malcolm. If there was anyone Martin would go after, it was him. Jessica just knew it. And she wasn't the only one. Gil agreed. And that was why she could spend so much time worrying about Ainsley. Because Malcolm was in good hands. Gil wouldn't let him out of his sight, he would protect him no matter what. She knew he loved him like a son, he wouldn't let anything happen to him. Martin couldn't possibly enter a police precinct and walk out of there still free and with Malcolm, no matter how charming and manipulative he was.

In Cicatrices Amor, T, 26 497 words (911)

“Woah, what does your soulmate do?” Buck’s co-worker asked that night when he showed her the round scars on his shoulder and wrist.

“I don’t know, Bea, but I’m not crazy, right? That does look like a gunshot wound, right?”

He shook the drink he was making, poured it in a glass and handed it to the customer. He grabbed the tip and slipped it in their tip jar for them to split later. Then he started on the next drink.

“What kind of person gets shot three times like that? And no kill shot? Did they avoid them? Are they trained for it, or used to it?” She stopped, setting both her hands down on the side of the bar and staring straight into his eyes. “What if your soulmate is a spy?”

“With my luck they’re probably a criminal or something.”

“Oh, come on, Buck, you’re ruining all the fun. Maybe they’re in the army. See, that’s more realistic.”

“Sweet, an army person, who could die any minute, lucky me.” He said, louder to cover the sound of the mixer Beatriz was using.

“An army person who’s loyal, in shape and sexy as hell.” She corrected him as she passed him in their small booth to hand over that piña colada.

The Potion Master's Daughter, T, 67 001 words (Harry Potter)

When Snape told Dumbledore about his daughter, the headmaster said he’d watch over her during potion classes. He never even hesitated to accept a baby into the castle. He was happy to accommodate his new teacher and, to be honest, he’d always wanted a child and this was the closest he’d ever be to actually have one. Until Harry Potter came to Hogwarts a decade later. Severus would always remember the time he arrived in Dumbledore’s office after his last class of the day and the headmaster was losing his mind trying to make three-year-old Adriana stop crying after she’d witnessed Fawkes catching into flames for the first time. She calmed down as soon as her father picked her up.

Curve Ball Field, T, 7 196 words (Limitless)

Brian felt dizzy. His head was throbbing from the hit they’d given him to knock him out. He’d been passed out since they drove away from the loft, which was more than inconvenient. If he’d been conscious, he would’ve paid attention to the movements of the van, he could’ve mapped their trajectory, he could’ve figured out where he was now. But he had nothing to go on. Not even the tiniest hint at where he’d been brought, or what kind of place it was even. Was it an apartment, a house, a warehouse? There was no way to know.

What Grows Within the Stacks, G, 2442 words (Roswell New Mexico)

Alex stood and Michael shifted his position. He’d been sitting on the other side of a stack of books, watching unseen, and he had no intention of being spotted. He’d stumbled upon one of Alex’s story times a few months ago, by accident, and had been mesmerised by his voice, by his ability to keep the attention of an entire group of children, by his talent to impersonate every character of the story. He’d kept coming back to listen in secret ever since.

Tagging @marjansmarwani @oneawkwardcookie @lire-casander @djdangerlove @bibright @detective-giggles @morganaspendragonss @noxsoulmate @sneetchestoo @terramous

[lomlmarvel]

Only You Pt. III

Cedric Diggory x Reader Series 

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Word Count: 5.2k

Summary: Y/N Potter deals with Harry as he is chosen as a Tri-Wizard Contestant. Things get heated between her and Cedric when all of Hogwarts hates Harry for cheating. 

As if the night could not get any worse, Harry was forced to join the rest of the Tri-Wizard contestants in Professor Dumbledore's office. Y/N wasn't allowed to follow after him or even try to fight to get him out of competing. After everyone was excused, the chatters began about Harry cheating and asking an older student to add his name into the goblet. Y/N couldn't stand the ridiculousness of that rumor. Harry wouldn't do such a thing; he already didn't like being recognized for his scar, so he wouldn't want to go looking for fame.  

"But Professor, he isn't even of age to be competing," Y/N argued to Dumbledore as she stood in his office. He sat along with Professor Snape, McGonagall, and Mad-Eye Moody. The rest of the headmasters, teachers, and Minister of Magic had been excused for the night. But before they had a chance to leave the room, the older Potter stormed in the room and demanded an audience with Dumbledore. Snape recognized her father's stubbornness, knowing she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted. He wasn't very fond of her father, but Snape seemed to admire her determination and protectiveness over her brother. It had first appeared to the professors when Harry made his appearance at Hogwarts, and it only seemed to grow as the boy advanced in his wizardly skills. 

"I'm very sorry, Ms. Potter, but we have come to a clear conclusion together. Mr. Potter will compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Dumbledore answered her. She huffed in disbelief as she placed a hand on her hip. 

"But he will have someone watching after him," Snape added. The three professors turned to stare at the Slytherin as he revealed information that he wasn't supposed to.

"Severus," McGonagall whispered, looking between him and Dumbledore.

"She deserves to know. She is his only family, after all," Snape replied. This seemed to calm Y/N down a bit. She was still very anxious and terrified about Harry competing, but if there was no way for him to get out of it, having someone look after him eased her mind. Dumbledore nodded in agreement towards her, and she sighed.

"Alright, so which one of you will watch over him?" She asked. Three heads turned to look at Mad-Eye, and Y/N gulped. If everything Ron had said about Mad-Eye was true, she wasn't sure if she should be thankful or scared. 

"Very well. Thank you, professors, for your time, and goodnight," She stated before excusing herself. As she neared the common room, she heard two voices fighting coming from the boys' dormitory. Two redheads ascended from the stairs, and she made her way to the sofas. 

"So, Ron and Harry are up there at each other's throats," George informed her. 

"He thinks he cheated, doesn't he? Just like everyone else," She asked. The twins simultaneously turned to look at each other before sitting down on each side of her. 

"They're best friends, Y/N/N. Ron will get over it once he realizes how much of a git he's being," George replied, sending her a consoling smile. 

"Yeah, just like you and me in third year, remember? Now, look at us! Best of friends," Fred nudged her shoulder, causing her to laugh. In third year, Y/N had stopped talking to Fred for a few weeks after he had put purple dye in her shampoo. She hadn't noticed until she had ran into her first class of the day, having woken up late and rushed to get ready for class. She heard people whisper whenever she passed them in the halls, but she ignored them, trying to get to class in time. The first person to point it out was George, who couldn't keep a straight face. Apparently, Fred hadn't told his twin about the prank he had decided to play on their best friend, causing him to be as surprised as the rest of their classmates. 

"Yeah, well, you learned your lesson, didn't you? You haven't played a prank on me in years," She replied to him. 

"Only play pranks with you, not on you. I've got it," Fred winked, wrapping his arm around her. 

"Neville said one of them ought to leave their room soon enough. They've been fighting since Harry returned. You'll have a chance to talk to him," George stated. 

As Y/N waited for her brother to come down, the Weasley twins kept her company. Making her laugh by telling jokes to keep her mind from worrying. They knew how stressed out she was; before, it was just for Cedric, but now she had to include Harry in the mix. 

"You know, Mum said you and Harry could come over for summer break, if you'd like," Fred said randomly.

"Are you sure? I feel like I'm basically living with you all. I don't want to intrude," Y/N replied. George and Fred shook their heads quickly. 

"She loves you both. If it were up to her, you would've moved in by now," George answered. Before their conversation could continue, a sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Harry appeared in his pajamas and paused when he saw his sister on the sofa. Fred and George quickly excused themselves and left for their rooms. 

"I didn't do it. I don't know how my name got put in there, I swear," Harry stated before his sister could say a word. 

"I know you didn't, Harry," The older Potter replied. Harry finished walking down the stairs and took a seat next to her on the sofa.

"I'm sorry. I don't want you worrying about me," Harry whispered, staring at the fireplace to avoid looking at her. 

"I'll always worry about you, Harry; you're my little brother," She answered, wrapping an arm around him. Harry smiled and leaned into her embrace. The two spent hours in the common room, bringing comfort to one another until the very early hours of the morning.

The next day, Y/N was rushing to get to class, having woken up late because of her late-night with Harry. She had just shoved a student against the wall as they mentioned something about Harry being a cheater when Cedric got her attention by grabbing her arm. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Cedric pulled her towards him as she made an aggressive step towards another student. If Cedric hadn't had grabbed her, she would've thrown hands with another student. 

"It's not true!" She yelled, Cedric stepping in front of her to capture her attention. 

"Hey, it's alright. They're doing it just to rile you up, love," Cedric stated. Y/N huffed in annoyance and looked up at Cedric. 

"You better not participate in their stupid antics," Y/N said. Cedric smiled and nodded.

"I would never," He replied, leaning down to plant a kiss on her cheek. Y/N smiled before remembering where she was headed before.

"Did you need something? I'm kind of running late for class," She asked him. Cedric shook his head and smiled.

"Just wanted to see my girlfriend and tell her that she looks beautiful today," Y/N blushed. "And to tell you that I can't meet you later, Rita Skeeter from The Daily Prophet is coming by to do some interviews." Y/N nodded. She understood that he now had other responsibilities because of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It's not like the news had ruined her entire year at Hogwarts. She was happy for Cedric, and he seemed super excited. 

"Well, I've got to go to class, but have fun!" Y/N replied, reaching up to plant a kiss on his lips, before saying goodbye and running towards class. 

Later that night, Cedric sat down at the Gryffindor table next to his girlfriend during dinner, causing all the ginger heads, including some other heads, to turn to look at Cedric. Other couples used to sit at their partner's house tables all the time, but this was Cedric's first time, and well, the famous Hufflepuff had all eyes on him. 

"A little lost, aren't ya, Cedric?" Seamus teased him, causing the blush on his cheeks to spread to his neck.

"Shove it, Finnigan," Y/N replied as all the nearby Gryffindors chuckled.

"It's alright, mate, we don't bite," George stated, digging into his food right away.

"At least not all of us, right, Potter?" Fred winked at her, shaking her head at their teasing. 

"Just ignore them; they're twats," Y/N said to Cedric, who shyly nodded. As dinner progressed, Cedric got more comfortable sitting at the Gryffindor table. It certainly wasn't like the Hufflepuff table, mostly since many of the Gryffindors were very close friends. 

George and Fred were in the middle of telling Cedric about a prank they pulled over the summer on their mother before a loud clank was heard from down the Gryffindor table. They turned their heads to see Ron huff and angrily stand up before stomping out of the great hall. Harry sat across from him, gazed down at his plate, jaw clenched and fists tightened on the table. A few moments later, Harry excused himself and walked out too, leaving Hermione to sit alone. 

"I thought you said they would make up by now," The older Potter said to George and Fred. The twins looked at each other, shrugging, and turned back to their food. 

"Y/N/N, you know how Ron takes after Mum; he loves being dramatic," George sheepishly replied.

"Yeah, let them figure it out. It's their problem, not yours," Fred added. Y/N huffed and aggressively set her fork on her plate.

"Actually, it is my problem. I will not stand by and watch as my brother is bullied and ignored by the entire bloody school, let alone watch as the people who are supposed to care about him call him a cheat and a liar," She gritted through her teeth. Her hands had turned into fists and were repeatedly slamming on the wooden table. Her eyebrows were scrunched as the lines on the forehead showed her anger. 

"And as if the whole bloody school AND Ron being complete dung brains wasn't enough, now you two...UGH!" Y/N stood up and walked out in anger. Cedric turned to look at the twins, never having experienced his girlfriend being this upset about something serious. 

Cedric knew that Y/N was wildly more upset about Harry's situation than he was. He just didn't know that Ron and Harry weren't on speaking terms because of the whole tournament. George and Fred quietly caught him up on the drama, leading Cedric to understand where she was coming from. 

"She can actually hold a grudge against us, so do you happen to have any chocolate frogs?" Fred asked, pointing towards Y/N's vacant seat. 

"No, Y/N ate them all a couple of nights ago. Why?" Cedric responded. 

"Unlike Ron, we're man enough to talk about our problems and apologize to our best friend. So, excuse us, Diggory, as we have to mend our relationship," Fred replied to Cedric.

"See ya later, Cedric," George waved to the Hufflepuff before the pair of gingers walked out of the room. 

Cedric looked around the Gryffindor table, noticing the tension that had settled since the Weasleys and the Potters had left. Not knowing what to do, he stood up and walked over to sit with his friends at the Hufflepuff table. 

Just as the weekend arrived, Cedric frantically searched for his girlfriend almost everywhere. Waiting outside of the Gryffindor common room to catch her before class or waiting for her after her studies, but he always seemed to miss her. During meals, he searched the Gryffindor table to see her light brown hair, but it was never there. 

The next day, he bumped into the Weasley twins, who let him know that she was stuck in detention with Snape for a few days. Someone had stupidly decided to say something about Harry, causing the older Potter to cast a spell on them. Snape had caught her and gave her detention for the misuse of magic and using it against another student. It was a harmless spell, not anything permanent, but she had to be punished. 

Cedric wanted to take her out to Hogsmeade, but after finding out about her detention, he decided to go with his friends. He had a surprise planned for her, but he knew that it could wait.

As most students were at Hogsmeade, Y/N made her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Snape had made her clean almost every cauldron in his possession, and she was exhausted. Her tired feet quietly carried her through the doorway, but she immediately stopped when she heard a familiar voice. She sneakily peaked her head to see Harry standing in front of the fireplace and talking to it. As she took a closer look, she recognized Sirius' face in the fire.

"Now, tell me about this dream of yours. You mentioned Wormtail and Voldemort, but who was the third man in the room?" Sirius asked his godson. 

"I dunno," Harry answered honestly. 

"You didn't hear a name?" 

"No. Umm... Voldemort was giving him a job to do. Something important," Harry replied. Since when had Harry been dreaming about Voldemort? Well, recently. 

"What was that?" 

"He wanted... me. I dunno why, but he was gonna use this man to get to me. I mean, it was only a dream, right?" Harry asked his godfather. So, Harry had a dream he was worried about and didn't come to his sister? She was mildly upset because she thought they had gotten closer since that late night in the common room. 

"Yes. It's just a dream. Look, Harry, the death eaters at the world cup, your name rising from that goblet; these are not just coincidences. Hogwarts isn't safe anymore," Sirius stated. 

"What are you saying?" Harry asked.

"I'm saying the devils are inside the walls. Igor Karkaroff, he was a death eater. And no one, no one stops being a death eater. Then there's Barty Crouch, the heart of stone, sent his OWN son to Azkaban," Sirius continued. Y/N had not thought about this having any link to Voldemort. She just figured some older kid decided that it would be funny to put Harry's name into the tournament. 

"Do you think one of them put my name in the goblet?"

"I haven't a clue who put your name in that goblet, Harry, but whoever did it is no friend to you. People die in this tournament," Sirius stated. Then, Harry spoke, and it made Y/N's heartbreak, and her eyes start to water. 

"I'm not ready for this, Sirius," Harry said in a shaky voice. Y/N wanted to just run and wrap Harry in her arms. She yearned to take him away from Hogwarts, away from the wizarding world, away from the Dursley's, and take him to a place where he felt loved and safe. He didn't deserve any of this; he was just a kid.

"You don't have a choice," Sirius replied. Before Y/N could make herself known, the door opened, and footsteps could be heard making their way in their direction. 

"Keep your friends close, Harry," Sirius said before disappearing. Y/N quickly entered the room a few seconds before Ron did. 

"Were you talking to someone?" Y/N lied. Harry shook his head.           

"I heard voices, too," Ron added. 

"Maybe you're imagining things, wouldn't be the first time," Harry fired at Ron. Ron took a defensive step forward, making Y/N stand in between them.

"You're probably just practicing for your next interview, I expect," Ron stated before turning on his heel and walking up to his dormitory.

"You okay?" Y/N asked her younger brother. Harry cleared his throat and nodded. "You can always talk to me about anything. You know that, right?" Harry looked at his sister in the eyes, seeing the sincerity and worry hidden in them. She had been protecting him since he could ever remember. He didn't need to bother her with something else. 

"Yeah, I know," Harry sent her a small smile before walking out of the room. 

Y/N couldn't help but feel betrayed by Harry. He trusted Sirius with his problems but couldn't even tell his own sister. He wasn't always like this. There was a time where Harry would tell his older sister everything, from how Dudley looked at him during dinner to the first time he encountered Draco, and how Snape kept a longing glare on him at all times. Literally everything, but as Harry grew older and as the golden trio began taking adventures on their own since their first year, he had decided to keep things from her.

She felt guilty. When she was 10 and received her Hogwarts letter, she had to leave Harry behind with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. It was the hardest thing she had done in her entire life. Her life before had been all about Harry. She was there for him whenever he needed her. When she was introduced to the world of magic, everything changed for her, and she was upset that Harry couldn't join her yet. She had promised Dumbledore that she would keep Hogwarts a secret from Harry until his time came. That was her first lie to him.

She met Fred and George a few days into her first year at Hogwarts, starting a strong relationship with the twins. Her first Christmas at Hogwarts, they had invited her to spend it with them at the Burrow, leaving Harry to spend the Holidays alone with the Dursleys. Y/N hadn't realized how selfish she had been until Harry came to Hogwarts and had his mind opened by this entirely new world that his sister had kept from him. He promised that he didn't hold it against her, but it always mellowed in the back of her mind that he held a subconscious grudge over her. 

After dinner, she walked alongside Fred and George back to the Gryffindor room, then Cedric called for her. She told the twins to go on ahead of her before meeting Cedric by the nearest hall. 

"Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere. The Weasley's told me you got detention with Snape?" Cedric's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It wasn't very much like her to get detention for anything other than pranks. She was a grade-A student, just a bit mischievous. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. It was just some stupid Ravenclaw who made a comment about Harry, and I got so mad I just waved my wand, and next thing I knew, he was on the ground," Y/N shyly replied. Cedric nodded and smirked. 

"Harry can handle himself, you know that, right? You don't always have to be there to protect him," As Cedric said this, Y/N felt her blood start to boil. She knew Cedric was right, but the stress of it all blinded her. Harry was the only family she had. As an older sister, she had always felt protective of him. It was in her nature, and Cedric stating this like no big deal made her angry. 

She opened her mouth, and the words that came out were ancient to her. It wasn't like her to speak or think like this. The stress of Sirius and Harry exchanging letters during a dangerous time, the death eaters at the World Quidditch Cup, Harry being chosen as a Tri-Wizard contestant, Harry's dream, Harry being bullied at school, and getting detention with Snape, all bundled up together in one big firing ball of anger that just exploded inside of her. 

"Look, Cedric, I can't do this anymore. I can't be your girlfriend," As soon as Cedric heard these words, his heart fell. He didn't mean to upset her; he just wanted her to be easier on herself. 

"Y/N, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that--" He tried to apologize, but she cut him off. Her eyes widening at the realization of what she was saying.

"--I mean, not right now," Cedric stared at her with a confused expression. "I do want to be your girlfriend. I like you a lot, but it's just--all of this," She said, waving in a circular motion, "It's too much. I just found out Harry's been keeping things from me, and he won't talk to me about the things that are bothering him." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried batting her eyelashes to make them go away, but all it did was cause them to fall down rapidly. "The first challenge is in a few days, and I just need to focus on Harry. Please, just give me time," She finally made eye contact with Cedric. She searched his eyes for a response, but he remained emotionless. Cedric reached his hand up and wiped the tears off her cheeks softly as his hand lingered on her jaw. 

"I understand, Y/N/N. You don't have to apologize for putting your family first, alright?" Cedric's reply calmed her down immediately, knowing that he wasn't angry at her. "Just let me know when you're feeling better, okay, love?" She nodded in return as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. He turned to walk away, but she gripped his arm.

"Thank you, Ced," She leaned up and pressed a soft and longing kiss to his lips before pulling away. She gave him a small and tight smile and watched as he walked off. 

Y/N hadn't expected herself to be so emotional over it. She was the one who asked him for some time. That night on her way up the stairs to her dormitory, Fred called out her name. He had been lying down on the floor, with books surrounding him and rolls of parchment scattered all around. The second he saw her glossy and puffy eyes, his expression changed immediately.

"Hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Fred quickly pushed away his studying materials and walked over to his best friend. She stared at him, silently hoping that he would drop it and let her go to her room and cry all night long. 

Fred Weasley wasn't like George. Well, they were identical twins, but particular characteristics pulled them apart. Fred was more emotional with Y/N, always trying to get her to talk about her feelings and consoling her. George would do this too, sometimes, but he tried to get her to laugh more. If she had a bad day, he was there as stress relief, ready to make her cackle until she almost peed her pants.

Fred had decided to study in the common room, so when Y/N came, he could ask her to help him study. She was so much better at charms than him, and he wanted her help, knowing that she wouldn't turn him down. However, his plan had changed the moment he noticed her tear-stained cheeks and red, puffy eyes. Something had happened with Cedric, and he could tell right away. 

Fred met her at the stairs, staying on the ground floor as he looked up at her. Her hazel colored orbs were glazed with a light coat of shine, tears threatening to fall. It had been a while since he had last seen her cry, not too long ago, but long enough to make him remember how much he hated seeing her like this. She wasn't afraid of being vulnerable, not to him, but she created a firm barrier for everyone else. She felt like she needed to be strong for Harry. 

He sent her a weak, side smile and reached up to cup her cheek. He stroked her cheek twice with his thumb before she collapsed in his embrace. He instinctively caught her in his arms and let her deposit her feelings in his arms. 

It had been hours after, and George had come down the stairs to check on his brother. He didn't expect to see the sight in front of him. Fred and Y/N were laid on the sofa, Y/N on top of Fred, with her hand resting on his chest. The older twin slept peacefully as his chest rose and fell with the small snores escaping his parted lips. If it was up to George, he would've left them there for everyone to see the cute scene, but he knew Y/N would hex him into oblivion if he let everyone see her with drool stains on her chin. He quietly called out to them and waited as they slowly regained consciousness. 

After a few witty comments from George, the trio helped Fred clean up his mess before returning to their rooms. Before walking the stairs to his shared dormitory, Fred turned around to look at the brunette Gryffindor, a deep blush appearing on his cheeks. 

-

It had been a week and a half since Y/N and Cedric had "broken up," their relationship status reaching every corner of Hogwarts a few hours later. Y/N didn't let it affect her; however, she took this time to focus more on her studies and gain more of Harry's trust. 

George, Fred, and Y/N made their way across the courtyard after pulling a masterfully planned prank on Filch. Y/N giggled at another one of George's jokes, not paying attention to anyone else around her. Hogwarts was a big school, but it could also feel small.

"Potter stinks!" At the sound of her last name, her head whipped in the direction it had come from. George and Fred quickly flashed their heads to see almost everyone wearing large pins on their cloaks. 

"Cedric rules!" Another person yelled, catching her full attention. George quickly stretched to grab her arm, but she was too swift. She charged to that person, but another one cut in front of her before she reached them. She was forced to confront the pins on their cloaks. Cedric's handsome, smiling face was displayed with a bright yellow and black background, but as he spun out of the frame, a green background replaced it with a picture of Harry being smushed by the words "Potter Stinks." 

"Why, you blimey little shit!" She pushed through her pressed lips, her hand reaching to grab her wand. Many students gathered around to watch in entertainment as the older Potter was about to cast a spell. Fred and George were pushed to the back, only seeing Y/N's wand raise to the air. They all had heard about what happened to the Ravenclaw student, but that didn't frighten them. Their grinning faces formed a circle as the chatter and shouts began to grow.

"Hex him, Potter!" She heard one of her Gryffindor housemates shout. Numerous Gryffindors didn't believe Harry when he said he didn't put his name in the goblet, but some did. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that Y/N Potter was one of the best students when it came to charms and DADA. Even Professors Flitwick has advised her to be careful with her emotions, knowing how talented and influential she was and how it could get her expelled. 

Before Y/N had the chance to chant a spell, the wand in her hand was stolen, and a loud shout of "boos" came from all directions. She expected to see Snape or McGonagall, but as she turned around, she was met with the handsome face she had been trying so hard to avoid. 

"Get out of here! Shows over!" Cedric shouted, making the students disperse around him. He handed Y/N her wand back, watching as she took it from his hand and slid it down her black leather boots. 

"Don't let them rile you up; they're doing it just to upset you," Cedric spoke. He gazed down at her with a soft look, making her turn away before she got the impulse to kiss him. 

"I don't need you to rescue me," She fired back. Cedric shifted so that she was looking at him again.

"I wasn't saving you. I was saving them," Y/N's face heated up with a blush. Cedric wasn't trying to be charming; he was charming. His comments always made her feel as if she was the only girl in the world.  She felt like a million butterflies had taken her stomach hostage and were swirling a storm inside of her. Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N saw Cedric's friends hanging out by a tree in the courtyard, and she rolled her eyes at the green pins on their cloaks. 

"Well, maybe get your friends to take off those stupid pins before you have to rescue them from me," She took one more look at him and turned around to go to the library. 

A few hours later, she talked with Angelina as the two made their way to the great hall to have dinner. Fred and George had come ahead of them, protesting that they took forever to get ready for dinner. Cedric rested against the wall by the door, waiting for Y/N to finally come down to eat. He quickly pushed himself off and smiled at her when he noticed her coming.

"I'll save your seat," Angelina smiled at Y/N, leaving her alone with Cedric.

"Hey, can I talk with you?" Cedric asked. Y/N nodded, and he led them down the hall to a nearby bench. 

"I just wanted to let you know that Jack, Noah, and the rest of them aren't gonna be wearing those pins anymore. I've convinced them to get everyone else to stop wearing them too. Apparently, some of the Slytherins were distributing them to everyone," Cedric moved his hands back and forth, "so as a prefect, I got Flitwick to take off some of their house points." Y/N nodded and looked from her hands to Cedric. 

"Thanks. I know you had nothing to do with it," Cedric looked at her with so much awe and thoughtfulness, letting her know to keep going, "It just gets hard, you know? Harry's never had an easy year; I just wanted him to have at least one." 

"You're his sister, and you'll always worry for him, I get it. Everyone gets it; that's why some people like to upset you," Cedric explained. His hand inched closer to hers, and she felt the familiar butterflies swirl in her stomach, "Harry told me about the first challenge earlier."

She looked at him in confusion, and he quickly avoided her gaze. He just figured that he would've told Y/N before he told him. 

"I'm sure he just forgot to tell you," Cedric quickly stated. He started to notice as the engines in her head began to spin out of control, and he grabbed her attention by intertwining their hands. Her face quickly turned to look at her ex-boyfriend as he smiled softly. "Look, if Harry let me know about the first challenge, I'm positive he already has a plan on how to win. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to visit me before the challenge starts. They'll have a tent set up, and I put your name on the guestlist," Cedric explained. His ex-girlfriend smiled back at him and nodded.

"I'll be there," Y/N affirmed. Cedric reached over and brushed his hand through her hair. 

"Thank you, Y/N/N, you're my good luck charm," Y/N rolled her eyes at his cheesiness, and she stood up from the bench.

"Don't start, Ced," She joked, walking away from him, which caused the Hufflepuff to get up and chase after her.

"What? It's true, love!" He called out, following her into the great hall. 

*

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