#should you need it or a death eater recruitment ad.

[iamnmbr3]

truly this website has sponsored content like no other

what even is this?! tumblr, i know i post a lot about tom riddle but this is a bit much.

[maraudersshit]

Remus & the Pack Meet

-this is a story i add to whenever Im trying to go to sleep and cant. its just a bunch of bits and pieces of a bigger universe. (if you see this also posted by an account called oscarthegrouch, thats also me I just accidentally posted to it and now cant delete it)-

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“By Merlin, this is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. James, tell him he’s an idiot.” Sirius paced the sitting room, arms folded, then flailing, and folded once more. James was looking up and over his glasses from his desk chair, a pile of parchment stacked high in front of him,

“He’s right, Moony. This isn’t a very thought out plan.”

“How can it be!?” Remus threw his arms into the air, “we’ve no clue what Greyback is intending to do at the Pack meet. Who better to find out then,” he gestured to himself wildly, “a bloody werewolf!?”

“He’s right, Pads,” Peter chimed in, “We really should find out more, Greyback has always been a slippery one, and if we’re to chip away at You-Know-Who’s forces, it could help to start with one of his ‘Generals’, as we might put it.”

Remus sighed, “Thank you, Pete, I appreciate your support.”

“It’s still a stupid plan, though.” 

“Pete!” Remus groaned, “Like I said, there can’t be a plan. We don’t know enough, first of all, and second of all, I have to act as natural as possible. I have to play as an open-minded recruit. Easy as pie.”

“That’s not the point!” Sirius interjected, stepping to the center of the room. 

James cleared his throat, “We also don’t know what intel he has on you. They could very well know you're part of the order and have a trap set in place to get to the rest of us.” he added, “our lives have been connected for years now, they most definitely have all of that on us.”

“Yes, but they don’t know that you all know I’m a werewolf.”

“Bingo.” Pete sang,

“Except for Snape, that weasel.” Sirius huffed.

“And whose fault is that?” Remus muttered under his breath. Sirius whipped around, but the other man was looking pointedly away and no one else seemed to hear. Pete added on, “And he’s most definitely a death eater by now.” Quiet noises of agreement filled the stale air,

“We could just play it off as you all being prejudiced towards werewolves and I’d had enough, so I joined the pack.” Remus attempted the resolve, finally looking at Sirius with arms extended towards his biggest objector,

“You will not go about telling people we’re racists!” Sirius placed a hand on his chest in shock.

“You would be the most believed, Padfoot. You know, with your family background and all…” Peter mumbled the last bit, but Sirius had heard all the same. His mouth, agape, closed and opened multiple times with intent to make an argument, but it was no use. He had nothing in response, so he sat angrily on the settee, arms crossed and pouting.

“So, its settled th-“

“It is NOT settled!” Sirius cut Remus off,

“Yes, it is.” James followed with a sigh, “We all know there's no stopping him. He’ll go whether we support the decision or not.”

“Well, he should take into consideration what his best mates suggest, which is staying the fuck away from Greyback!”

“He is standing right here,” Remus interjected loudly, silencing the others before they could argue with him anymore, “and knows that you all are just trying to keep him safe. But I am capable of this mission.”

Sirius chewed at his cheek, arms still crossed. Remus looked to him, but Sirius avoided his gaze, instead choosing a snagged length of string on the rug to analyze.

“I leave tomorrow at dawn, but I'll make sure to write up as much information on my whereabouts before I go, just in case things head south. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to collect my things.” Remus headed towards the large oak door of the sitting room,

“Need any help?” Peter asked, looking up from his book,

“No, thanks. I should be able to handle it.” He turned the knob and exited, closing the door gently behind him. The room was quiet for a moment, the only sound being James shuffling parchment and the now distant steps of Remus upstairs,

“Bloody fucking werewolves. The lot of them.” Sirius spat, “he's going to get himself killed.”

“He’ll be fine, he always is.” Peter sighed.

“Until he isnt,” Sirius mumbled, and them much louder argued, “he's not invincible! I mean, he cried in year three when you told him the seafood chowder was made from the Giant Squid. Remember, James?” James blew air through his nose in humour,

“Merlin, the guilt after almost ate me alive. It was horrendous. But we aren't thirteen anymore, Pads. We all want to do our part in this war, and he feels this is his.” James looked over the parchment in his hand once more before levitating it to where Peter was sat, “look over this for me, will you?” Peter huffed in annoyance, “if this is the menu for next week's dinner again, I swear on Merlins beard-“ the parchment stopped mid-air, then slowly started to float back to James, who was looking down sheepishly.

[smileyvillainarc]

James Dark Mark Part 2

James considered himself a pretty sane person - sure he made impulsive decisions but he always claimed responsibility and tried to sort out problems without doing something rash.

That however was not something he could say about this moment. His very actions were frankly the definition of insanity and he could literally hear Sirius’ voice screaming at him for his stupidity.

Despite all that he continued forwards, towards the edge of the wards of the Hogwarts grounds so that he could take this portkey without anyone noticing. Said portkey was something he had grabbed from Crabbe earlier that day after he had overhead them talking about it taking them to the Dark Lord’s manor - after all it wasn’t as though Crabbe was going to notice, the man was an imbecile.

It wasn’t long until he was dropped in a room of what he assumed was the Slytherin manor. The walls were covered in an ornate green wallpaper and the handles of the drawers were serpent heads. On the bed in front of him, there was a long black robe of concealment and a small mask - not the one of a typical Death Eater - but one he assumed was for new recruits. It was a simple fully white mask that whilst physically only covered half of the face - cast an illusion over the entirety - probably for the Dark Lord to remove during the ceremony.

James quickly changed into the robes, adding them on top of the pureblood attire that he had clothed himself with before leaving Hogwarts. He needed the Dark Lord to take him seriously after all.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door and James saw the Dark Lord. Ordinarily he would probably check the new recruit and properly dressed themselves and led them to the other recruits, but the second the Dark Lord recognised him, the door shut and he was forced to confront him.

With a swift motion, he got down on one knee and said “My Lord, I, Lord James Fleamont Potter , the new head of the Potter Family wish to form an alliance with you.”

James didn’t dare utter a word after that. He knew with the way that the Dark Lord was looking at him, that he didn’t expect him to say that - certainly not after the James having previously rejected the offer and certainly not after hearing that he had broken it off with Barty because of the Dark Mark.

Frankly James was expecting to get killed right there or at least end up a war prisoner although he would prefer the immediate death. Fortunately the Dark Lord was willing to indulge him today.

“My, my, Lord Potter.” he started off slowly as though he were a predator circling its prey, “ It sounds as though we’ve got some talking to do. After all, I was very sure that the last time I proposed you joining me you said that I was a ‘evil megalomaniac that deserved nothing short of endless suffering’.”

He paused once more before circling back around to James front and grabbing his chin and yanking off his mask and plunging into his mind using legilimency. James willed his barriers down as he allowed the Dark Lord to tear through his brain to peruse his memories since his parents death, his loneliness, the lack of trust in Dumbledore and turning down the order. The memories of his falling in love with Barty and working on very questionable spells together, the way that he was in love with Barty enough to do something as stupid as this.

The Dark Lord pulled himself out of James’ mind just as quickly as he entered.

“Whilst that was sufficient in convincing me that you no longer detest me - I still see no reason to let you join me. Alliances with houses as virtually useless and it’s not like you’ll be ceding your house to the Slytherin name once you die- so tell me why I should let you continue and not just kill you right here?”

James lifted his head and looked the Dark Lord in the eyes ready to give him and answer that he had prepared since his argument with Barty in the great hall, “I love Barty Crouch Jr.”

A weight lifted from his chest at the admission but he also knew that it wasn’t a sufficient answer so he continued, “I love Barty Crouch Jr. and you are his master. He would die for you and I would die for him. It’s that simple. You know there’s nothing in the world that would break his allegiance to you - you’re the father he never got because trust me I’ve tried. I didn’t want to see him suffer in a war. But he stands by your ideals and he’s ready to fight for them and i’ll stand right next to him.”

He could tell that it had struck something in the man in front of him - not completely trust but still an acceptance of the truth.

“Well Lord Potter, I suppose you’ve convinced me.” He drawled out.

The Dark Lord placed the mask back upon James’ face and moved back towards the door before calling another figure towards the door.

“If you survive through the trials Lord Potter I’m sure you’ll be a great asset to the Death Eaters. I do hope dear Bella doesn’t put you through too much trouble.”

James startled at that and looked up to see Bellatrix Lestrange removing her concealment mask and hood to face James - relishing in every look of discomfort James held.

“Isn’t this going to be fun Potter?”

Note: This is longer than I had intended to write but I had fun doing it!!! The next part is going to be the actually initiation with a little fighting and I might do a fourth part with Barty confronting James in person but we will see!!!

[j-amespotter]

★ august [pt. 2] - s. b.

“i never needed anything more.”

Pairing: Sirius Black x Slytherin!Reader, Regulus Black x Slytherin!Reader 

x. x. x.

Summary: As one of the Order of the Phoenix’s freshest recruits, love certainly was not on Sirius Black’s mind the summer after he finished school – especially not with a Slytherin, who just happened to be his brother’s girlfriend. 

Genre/Warnings: angst/fluff, infidelity, mentions of torture, war, & sex. 

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: by popular demand... part 2 of august! let me know what you think & if you’d like to be added to my taglist! posts will be slower because i’m back at uni

masterlist

PART 1

It was a cold, snowy day in the village. The streets bustled with young passersby. They huddled together with flushed cheeks and dopey grins, reveling in their distance from stingy professors and half-written essays. The line for butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks wrapped around the street. The scene was all-too-familiar for the raven-haired troublemaker and his bespectacled companion hidden in a dark alleyway behind the Hog’s Head.

“Think we can sneak to Rosmerta’s for a butterbeer?” asked James, nudging his best friend with his elbow. “She’d let us jump the line.” 

Sirius rolled his eyes and snorted. “Yes, that would help the whole ‘lying low’ thing, wouldn’t it?”

James raised a concerned eyebrow at Sirius. “I thought you’d be up for it,” he said with an edge in his voice. 

“We’re on a mission,” snapped Sirius. “Let’s just hope nothing is waiting for us so we can get out of here.” 

“You’re jumpy,” grumbled James in response. “Mate, you didn’t have to come if it was going to bother you.” 

“I’m not bothered,” said Sirius defensively. “Focus, Prongs. Suspected Death Eater activity in Hogsmeade Village. We need to wait it out and hope for the best.” 

James shrugged, though he looked like he wanted to say more. The two men turned the corner and peered through the window of Dervish and Banges on the lookout for hellish masked figures that were quickly becoming the bane of Sirius’s existence. 

It had been four months since the summer Sirius’s life changed. His world lost the little color it had, and unfortunately, his friends were bearing the brunt of his moodiness. Sirius knew it was unfair. It was not James’s fault he was scorned by a cold, conniving snake of a woman, who showed him more love than he knew what to do with and then snatched it away without a second thought. 

It was bad enough they were there on a Hogsmeade weekend. He knew you were most likely somewhere in the village, probably in Regulus’s arms, shielding yourself from the cold. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, one he decidedly ignored as he turned to his partner-in-crime. “We should split up,” said Sirius. “Get under the Cloak and keep an eye on the station. I’ll do a walk-through. I’ll call you from the mirror if I see anything.” He gestured to his jacket pocket. 

After bidding James goodbye and good luck, Sirius made sure to lay low as he sifted through the snow-covered streets. Though he recognized some of his former classmates, he did not stop to greet them. He was not the type to let his personal life tear his eyes away from the prize. What frightened him was how difficult it was proving to be. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius spotted movement across the hill through the shattered glass window of the Shrieking Shack. Frowning, he pulled up his hood and jogged towards the disturbance. 

When he was safely away from the crowd, Sirius crouched behind a bush next to the house, close enough to hear vaguely-familiar voices – at least two. He inhaled a gust of cold air warily, feeling his heartbeat pick up at rapid speed. No one except the four Marauders ever dared to enter the Shrieking Shack. Who could these intruders be if not Death Eaters? Sirius’s fingers grazed the mirror shard tucked away in his pocket. Should he call James for help? 

Suddenly, he heard faint, quiet sobs from inside. On instinct, he jerked his body slightly upward and transformed into Padfoot. Taking soft steps forward on four legs, Sirius expertly stepped over a creaky floorboard. He remained hidden in the shadows, facing the back of a tall, skinny figure, whose scent overwhelmed his canine senses with the soiled flavor of repressed memories. 

When the stranger spoke, Padfoot winced at the tauntingly grim echo in his eardrums. “Stop crying, darling. It’s pathetic,” said Regulus. 

“H-How could you just…” you said nasally, unable to finish. Sirius felt his heart sink as he heard your broken, empty words. It was your voice that haunted his dreams, and there you were, looking cold and miserable, merely ten feet away from him. 

“You’re wasting your tears, (Y/N). She’s filth. She deserved it.” 

You looked indignant, raising an accusatory finger at your boyfriend. “N-No one deserves torture for who they are,” you said shakily.

Regulus sighed. “Honestly, you’re acting as if we killed her. She’ll be fine. Besides, I didn’t do anything to her. If I knew it would have bothered you, I wouldn’t have stayed.” 

“You just watched, Reg! You watched your dreadful friends torture that poor girl! Why? Because she’s Muggleborn? Why didn’t you let me stop them?” 

“They did stop,” answered Regulus heatedly. “They stopped for you. You should be more careful. If it weren’t for me, they would be spreading some nasty rumors about you. If I didn’t know any better, I would call you a blood traitor.” 

You scoffed. Sirius, still in dog form, shuffled to the side and hid under a scratched table. Emotions were high, so his swift movement remained unnoticed. 

Regulus strode toward you and placed his gloved hands on your shoulders. “Forgive me, (Y/N). I know how sensitive you can get.” 

You sniffled. “It’s not about being sensitive, Regulus. It’s about right and wrong! You know they would have killed her, you know it! The worst part is that you would have let them, and it doesn’t even surprise me anymore.” 

“What has gotten into you? I know you prefer to stay away from conflict, but you’ve been skittish for quite a while now,” said Regulus, dropping his hands off of you.

You were quiet. With one glance at your glossy eyes, Sirius knew what was going to happen before it did. “I have to tell you something. I did something bad.” 

The selfish part of Sirius wanted this. He wanted exactly this. But there was a sinking feeling in his chest, seeing it happen right before his eyes. He attempted to telepathically will you to stop talking, but it was too late. Regulus stared at you expectantly. 

“Last summer I… I was with someone else. I cheated on you, Reg,” you cried.

Sirius’s normally-reserved brother could not contain the shock dripping from his voice. “What?” 

“Regulus, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I swear!” 

“How could you?” snapped Regulus. “I let you stand here and scold me over my activities as if you have the moral high ground between us! You had an affair? With whom?” 

You looked pained. “Don’t make me say it, Reg. Just know how sorry–” 

“With whom?” 

“W-With your brother, Regulus. With Sirius.” His name sounded like a melody on your tongue. Sirius held his breath, swallowing the emotion pooling inside of him. 

“What? My brother? You had an affair with my brother?” Regulus looked as though he was about to strike. Sirius bent his front legs, ready to pounce. “Did you sleep with him?” 

You turned away, tears streaming down your cheeks. 

“Did you sleep with him?” 

You nodded slowly. It was as if you were carrying the weight of a thousand bricks. 

Regulus ran his hand through his hair. He paced the length of the room, unable to form a coherent sentence. “Okay,” he said after a tense silence, “we can fix this. I don’t blame you; I know how my brother is. You can be so gullible. He tricked you into sleeping with him. I was away for so long. You were upset. I can forgive you. We can move past this.”

You stared up at him, wild-eyed. “W-We can?” 

“Yes, we can,” said Regulus. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I forgive you.”

“I don’t think I can,” you said slowly, lifting your eyes to gaze directly into his. 

“What do you mean?” 

You wiped away your tears hastily. “I tried so hard, Reg. I tried so hard to forget him, but I can’t. I’m in love with him.” 

Sirius nearly yelped in giddy shock. She’s in love with me. (Y/N) loves me, not him. She loves me, not him, and he knows. 

Regulus had an unreadable expression on his face. “You’re in love with him? So all those years between us, they mean nothing to you?” 

“Not at all,” you argued. “I love you so much, Reg. But you aren’t the same anymore. You’re hurting me.” 

“Don’t you dare blame this on me,” said Regulus angrily. “You did this! You’re the one that slept with my brother!” 

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that! It wasn’t just sex. I went to him for help. I went to him for you,” you said. “It wasn’t on purpose. I never meant to hurt you. But I can’t pretend anymore. I’m in love with him.” 

Regulus was seething in a characteristically quiet way. “My brother,” he spat, “cares for no one but himself. I am sure you two will be perfect for each other. We are done.” With that, he spun around and walked out of the Shrieking Shack, slamming the door behind him. 

You fell on your knees, sobbing into your hands. Your soft whimpers broke Sirius’s heart into pieces. He poked his head out from under the table and pawed his way toward you. You looked up and gasped in fright. Sirius had forgotten about Padfoot’s unnaturally large size. Gently, he nudged your leg with his snout. “Sorry, you had to see all of that.” You buried your face into your knees. “Are you the big, bad wolf in this joint?” 

Before he could combust at your innocence, Sirius jerked upward again and balanced himself on two feet. “Nope, but he’s a friend of mine,” he joked softly. 

Your head snapped up. You jumped in complete surprise. “Sirius! What are you doing here?” You stared at a spot on the ground. “Are you an Animagus?” 

“To answer your second question, yes,” said Sirius hurriedly, wanting more than anything to skip the small talk, “and to answer your first, this is almost like a second home to me. How did you know about the wolf?” 

You looked at him in awe, then shriveled backward in shame. “Severus Snape spread some awful rumors when you all were at school.” You couldn’t meet his eyes. “Sirius…”

Sirius took tentative steps toward you. “No more lies,” he whispered. “Are you really in love with me?”

You stared into his grey eyes. “Yes,” you said in a hushed whisper. “I’m in love with you, Sirius. And I’m so sorry about what I said that day. I was scared. I know it’s no excuse, but it’s the truth.” 

In an instant, Sirius felt warmth rush up his body. He cupped your face in his hands and kissed you without a second thought. To his utter delight, you kissed him back hungrily. Your arms wrapped around his waist, inhaling his musky scent. “I never stopped thinking about you,” he whispered against your lips. 

You smiled sadly. “Me neither. But how can we possibly be together?”

“Well, you’ll be home for Christmas soon,” said Sirius. 

“That’s only for a few weeks,” you argued. 

Sirius kissed your cheek. “It’s plenty of time. Plus, I can get into the castle whenever I want.” 

You looked skeptical. “How?”

“I have my ways,” said Sirius. “I’m never letting you go again.” 

You felt tears prick at your eyes. “How am I supposed to go back? To face all of them again?” 

“They wouldn’t dare lay a finger on you, not under the teachers’ noses,” said Sirius, mostly to assure himself. “Stay away from Regulus, too.” 

“Easier said than done,” you said. “They dragged some poor Muggleborn third-year here just to torture her. You don’t even know what they get up to at school.” 

Sirius pulled you into a tight embrace. He felt a tingle in his jacket. Pulling out the shard, he met a very familiar pair of hazel eyes. “Is everything okay? Did you find anything?” asked James. 

Sirius pulled away from you. “Yes, everything’s fine. I've searched the whole village. It was just a few Slytherin sixth-years, but they’re gone now. I’ll meet you there.” 

With a nod, James vanished. 

You tugged on his sleeve. “What was that? You have to go?”

Sirius made a motion to pocket the mirror, glancing at it thoughtfully before doing so. After a quick moment, he shoved it in your direction. “Here, keep this. It’s a way for you to call me at school. Whenever you need me, don’t hesitate.”

You paused. “Are you sure? What about James?” 

“He won’t mind,” assured Sirius. “Promise me you’ll use it. Even if you only want to talk.” 

Smiling, you pulled him into another kiss. “Definitely.” 

Sirius feared letting go, though he wasn’t afraid you would walk away again. He wasn’t sure what his brother and his friends would do. “I’ll see you soon, love. Don’t worry too much. You’re Sirius Black’s girl.” 

“That I am, darling. For as long as I can help it.”

Taglist: @iwritesiriusly @mads-bri @she-seeks-magic @sarcasticallywitty15 @lunalovecroft @fific7 @lindatreb @u-no-poo @justmesadgirl 

[medusas-side-snake]

Scarred - Chapter 3

I had to split this chapter and the next up because it was just going to be way too long, but at least that means that I’ll have chapter 4 up for you guys soon

Megan works for the Order, she has been on a mission for them for over a year. A mission that was only supposed to last two weeks. Heritage means that she is on thin ice with the rest of the Order, mix that with some heartbreak by the dragon-loving Weasley boy and a certain Black family member with a vendetta and you have the following story.

The lounge was full, even without me in it. Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were all sat and stood around. All conversation stopped when I walked in and the rest of the Weasley children saw me for the first time since I had arrived back home.

“Megan, sit down.” Alastor was the one to break the silence in his usual abrupt manner. I had spent quite a bit of time with Mad-Eye previously so I didn’t take offense and, instead, did as he asked, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in the middle of the room. Once I was seated, Kingsley took out a small box from his pocket and with a quiet ‘Engorgio!’, it turned into a full-sized cabinet. I recognised it almost immediately as the Pensieve cabinet from Dumbledore’s office.

“What do you want to see?” There was no point in pretending that I didn’t know what was going on.

“As much as you can remember.” Kingsley was always softer when he spoke than Mad-Eye, but he was always just as abrupt.

“Without keeping us here all day and night.” Always straight to the point with Alastor.

“Erm… suppose we should start with when I arrived…?” No-one objected so I assumed that they were all fine with that idea. I pulled the memory from my head with my pointer finger and let it spin in the Pensieve for a couple of seconds before I pushed my head through the surface. I could feel the others all popping in around me as I watched past-me walk through the woods at the side of the encampment.

APPROXIMATELY A YEAR AGO

I was welcomed into the camp at first. I had dinner with the leader every night and I was shown to nice, clean and moderately sized sleeping quarters. I was brought supper every night and when I needed something, I only had to ask someone and it would be in my room a short time after.

It was at one of the dinners with the leader, Osorin, that it all went to pot actually. They had been quizzing me on what was happening over in England and I was answering all of their questions, only what was public knowledge, obviously. Things like what new restrictions are the Ministry enforcing in light of the new unveiling of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? And what is the muggle Prime Minister doing to help?

I had been careful not to ask too many questions until this point but one that I just couldn’t seem to get off my mind was ‘where are the Death Eaters?’. Dumbledore had sent me on this mission with the knowledge that Voldemort was sending his Death Eaters with the same purpose, meaning that I would have to compete to win the community over to the right side. However, I had not seen nor heard mention of a single Death Eater for the few days that I had been here, and that didn’t sit right with me.

I decided that I was going to bring it up in casual conversation, in the hopes that they would tell me and not think too much of it. So when he asked who does Voldemort have the support of?’, I thought that I had found the perfect segue.

“He obviously has his own followers, other than that, it is mainly traditional pure-blood families that he has the support of. Then again, most of those are his followers so…” I chuckled and then tacked on, “Speaking of his followers, I would’ve thought that they would be trying to recruit a strong clan like yourselves, no?”

“You mean like is your purpose here?” The body language of Osorin changed, it became more guarded and that put me on my guard, but in an attempt to avoid any altercations, I laughed slightly again.

“I just hadn’t seen them or heard them mentioned, that was all. Have they not been here?”

“We get many visitors.” Osorin’s tone told me that there would be no further questions and no room for argument. My first thought was that they had already chosen the other side and I was mearly being played with, for entertainment or information, I didn’t know.

Watching from the sidelines, I could already see them slipping into place the minute that I started asking questions and all I wanted to scream at past-me was ‘SHUT UP!’.

I needed to get out of here. Something was going on and I had been naive the past few days and allowed myself to be lulled into security and safety. I was wrong.

What excuse could I use?

I cleared my throat, “Well, this is a subject that I have been avoiding since I arrived here.” I paused and looked up at Osorin, who was leaning forward with interest. “My departure.” He sighed in disappointment and leaned back in his chair and waved his hand in the air, as though to dismiss me.

“We will come to the arrangements for that when it is time.” His tone was clipped, clearly annoyed with my previous questioning and now my need to leave so suddenly.

“Well, actually, I bring it up for a specific reason. We are expecting a baby back home.” I paused and let the sentence hang in the air for a moment, hoping against hope that this might sway him.

“We?” Really, that is the only part of the sentence that he is going to acknowledge.

“Yeah, my family. We’re all really excited.” I waited to see if he would say anything else. “It’ll be my first niece or nephew?” I added when he didn’t say anything else.

I was beginning to panic slightly now. It didn’t look like he had any intention of letting me go and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fight my way out of here, there were too many of them.

I do something stupid.

I stand from the table without Osorin’s permission and then I do something even more stupid, I open my mouth, “You can’t force me to stay here, I am not your prisoner.” And just like that there are four spells from four different wizards flying at me. I put up a shield and shoot some back at them all while Osorin just sits there and sips his wine, as though nothing is going on around him.

It doesn’t take long for me to realise that I’m trapped, once I do though, I go into a completely different mode, one that I didn’t even know I had. My mind is clear, only spells entering for a split second before they are shot at one or more of the wizards that surround me. This goes on for a while and pretty soon, there is only me and one other wizard left, the others having been restrained in some way or knocked out.

While my confidence and adrenaline are heightened, I do the most stupid thing that I have done all night.

I shot a spell at Osorin. I couldn’t even say what spell it was, only that I did it and before anyone could even retaliate, he had pulled a bullwhip from his pocket. A giant on-fire bullwhip that, with one crack, wrapped itself around my right wrist, rendering it useless.

I let out a scream and continued to use my left hand to deflect and send spells at the remaining wizard in front of me. That was until, with one pull from Osorin, I was on the ground, face first in the mud.

I wasn’t out of the fight yet as I continued using my left hand to shoot spells around the room. I was determined to bring this place down, and I had less aim with my left hand.

I only stopped when I felt the cruciatus cruses hit me, one from Osorin and the other from the remaining wizard. The air immediately left my lungs and I felt myself being torn apart, cell by cell.

The memory around us faded as we watched past-me pass out from the pain.

Before I knew it, we were back in the lounge. No-one said anything after what they had just seen, not even Sirius ‘first time he’s been quiet in his life’ I thought to myself, but didn’t dare say anything out loud in case it started another argument.

I quickly pulled the next memory strand from my temple and placed it into the Pensieve.

Once again, I felt the others settle into the memory a few seconds after myself. This time, we were looking at past-me as she woke up shackled to a chair.

My vision was blurry when I came to. And I couldn’t move my arms from behind my back. I craned my head around and could see that they were in some kind of hand glove/cuff type contraction that meant that I couldn’t unclench them from the fist that they were currently in. This was bad news as the only spells that I knew I could do with no hand movements were healing spells. I tried a few on the mark on my wrist, which was dripping blood every few seconds and causing me a tremendous amount of pain. None of the spells, however, seemed to touch it. The pain didn’t let up, the mark didn’t clear in the slightest and I didn’t know what was going on. I had used those spells many times in the past and every time they had worked perfectly.

I thought back to the whip that they had used to inhabit that hand, it had been on fire. None of the spells that I knew of could help dragon fire wounds, I wasn’t even sure if there were any spells that could heal a dragon fire wound.

Once I had accepted that, I tipped my head back in the chair and listened.

I could hear grunts and groans of pain in the next room, they must be interrogating someone. Meaning that I was probably next.

I was assessing the room when they walked in, Osorin and 3 of his corporals behind him.

“What are the Order of the Phoenix planning?” Osorin spoke as he came to a stop a few feet from me.

“I don’t know, I’m not in the Order.” I lied.

“You must take me for a fool. The Order would not send a non-member on a recruitment mission.”

“This was supposed to be my induction into the Order, a nice easy recruitment mission to prove that I am loyal to the cause.” I was just making up stuff that might save my skin while I tried to come up with a plan to get out of here.

“You lie.” He took a step back and a young man with blond hair took his place. He knelt down and pulled my shoes and socks off, despite me trying to kick him away.

He unrolled a long piece of, what looked like, cloth to reveal a selection of knives, each of them on fire. So it wasn’t cloth then.

He took the knife closest to him and pressed the side of the blade on the bottom of my foot and ran it up to my toes. I immediately screamed in agony as the flames touched my skin and burnt it to a crisp. Once he was to finished with that foot, he dropped it and I felt my vision falter when it hit the floor. He then proceeded to pick up my other foot.

“No! No! Please!” I sobbed, “I can tell you what I know, I’m in Order! Please!”

“You should’ve stuck with the original story, it would’ve hurt less.” Osorin nodded at my boy at my feet and he picked up a hooked knife, also on fire. He hooked the knife around my second toe and with one swift pull, it was on the floor, detached from my foot.

I actually did pass out for a second with the pain and when my visions and mind linked back up, Osorin was asking me another question.

“...Potter survive the killing curse?” I hadn’t heard the full question, but it wasn’t hard to guess what it was.

“I don’t know, only Dumbledore knows. He won’t tell anyone else.” I pleaded.

Osorin looked at me for a couple of seconds and then looked back at one of his corporals and gave them a nod.

I began to writhe and scream in pain as I was hit with a cruciatus curse.

“Please, I don’t know! None of us know!” I was begging him. “Stop! Stop!”

As I was looking at past-me writing in the chair, I couldn’t help but think ‘could you not have come up with a lie or something? Something better than ‘I don’t know’?’. I could see Kingsley looking at me from the corner of my eye, I made no move to look back at him or to acknowledge him. I knew why he was looking at me.

My head dropped forward when the cruciatus curse was lifted and I was gasping for every breath.

“In your Ministry, when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named unmasked himself, who was there?” Osorin asked, I guess they believed that I didn’t know how Harry survived.

“Dumbledore, Harry, a couple of Death Eaters.” I took a minute, making it look like I was trying to catch breath insted of thinking up lies I might be able to get away with in the current situation. I wasn’t sure exactly how much they knew about the whole situation as a lot of it hadn’t been released to the public.

“You were there, weren’t you?” He pushed on when he thought that I had taken too long.

“Yeah, yeah, I was there.” I panted.

“And a certain member of the House of Black?”

“Yeah, yeah, Sirius was there.”

Once again, Sirius whipped his head around to face me as we watched past-me being interrogated. And, to be fair to him, it does look like I’m selling him out at the minute.

“Is that everyone?” Osorin questioned.

“Aside from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Bellatrix Lestrange, yeah, that’s everyone.”

“And what happened there?” They didn’t seem surprised by the names that I was mentioning and they weren’t insisting that I add anymore, so I wasn’t going to offer any up to them.

“I don’t know how Harry and Sirius came to be at the Ministry, I swear. I was at the school when Dumbledore was leaving to go and get them and I followed.”There was so much more to the story, I wasn’t sure how to make it all piece together what with me omitting so many key events. But, they seemed to be buying it, the tears on my face probably made it look like I was reluctant to be selling them out, when really the pain in my feet was blinding.

“And what happened?” He stressed again, taking a step forward and touching his belt, where I knew the dragon fire bullwhip resided. I flinched back in my chair, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

“When I got there Sirius was fighting the two Death Eaters and Harry was with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Bellatrix. Dumbledore left me with Sirius and followed Harry. I didn’t see any of that fight.”

“Why are you lying?” He says it like it’s a throw away comment, so calm and like he’s just asking whether anyone has seen his cauldron.

“I’m not, I’m not, I swear.” I pleaded with him to believe me.

One of his corporals moved forward and I began to try to move away from him as he stopped next to my chair.

“One last time. Why are you lying?” I began to shake my head and he nodded at the man beside me and then a splitting pain shot through my temple. The room span and all I could hear was a high pitched ringing. I had been punched in the side of my head.

“You know, if you keep lying to me, it’s only going to get worse.”

“I’m not lying, I’m telling you everything I know.” He gave the man beside me another nod and I was punched again, in the jaw this time. The force from the punch knocked the chair over and it landed heavily on the floor.

It took a couple of seconds before I came back to reality and, when I did, I rested my head on the floor and let the blood and drool spill out of my mouth.

“Let’s ask this Sirius Black. Where is he?” Osorin bent down in front of me to ask this question, his hands on his knees.

“Dead.” I spat the blood away from my mouth, not at Osorin, but just on the floor a few centimetres from my face.

“Think hard, are you sure about that?” He looked at the man who punched me and the world tilted for a second as he righted the chair back on all food legs.

“Yes. He died at the Ministry.”

“How?”

“Killing curse.”

“You’re sure.”

I looked at him, bored, blood still trickling from the side of my mouth. “Yes.”

“Shame, we could’ve gotten him to corroborate your story. Guess we’ll just have to make sure you’re not lying.” He took a step back as the other three men moved forward and began to lay into me.

The memory was flickering as we watched past-me float on the edge of consciousness. The chair landed backwards and past-me’s head hit the floor after one of the men punched her straight in the face and that was when the memory went black and we were all spat out in the lounge once again.

I remembered fixing the broken nose that the punch caused when I woke up and rubbed my nose.

“Any questions?” I asked, I had had a few looks from some of them while we were in the memory and I had to make sure that there was nothing that had gone unanswered.

Once again, and to my surprise, Sirius stayed silent.

Kingsley also stayed silent but did not take his eyes off of me. I turned to face him and raised my eyebrows in question.

“You knew though?” I know exactly what he was referring to. I was one of the only people that Dumbledore trusted with his theory as to why Harry survived the killing curse. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that he trusted me so much that he wanted to tell me, no, he needed someone who knew wand lore, and no-one knew as much as Ollivander. Only problem was, he didn’t trust Ollivander not to spill if it came to it and I, who was working under Ollivander at the time, was the next best port of call. Only a few people knew and even fewer people knew who knew. I knew but I had no idea who else knew, so I didn’t speak about it with anyone. Kingsley must be one of the ones who know everything.

“Why did you tell them Sirius was dead?” Ron piped up, the first time any of the Weasley children had spoken to me since I had come down the stairs.

“The Death Eaters think he is, it was a shot in the dark kind of. I hoped that they had told them that he was dead and from the lack of reaction, they had and I was there to corroborate the story. The less they know about us and what we’re doing and our members, the better.” He nodded as I answered the question.

I did hear Sirius scoff when I gave the answer, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was putting myself as part of the Order when he didn’t trust me and when I was clearly going through all of this so that the others could decide whether to trust me, or if it was because I had told them he was dead.

“Calm down, Sirius, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have saved your life after the Ministry.” He shut up at that and I knew that I had guessed right, it was because I had told someone that he was dead. Drama queen.

“Now, if we’re ready.” I paused and looked around the room, “This next one is about seven months later, they were looking for Harry, but couldn’t find him.”

TAGLIST (if you want to be tagged, send me an ask or comment on the chapter)

@utahjoerdis

[noxtms]

1. WHISPERS OVER A GLASS OF FIREWHISKY, FERVANT CONVERSATION WITH A GROWING GROUP ON COBBLESTONES. it’s the only topic of conversation even among ordinary people who are living their ORDINARY lives. even those that weren’t in attendance of the memorial have seen the photo, front page of the daily prophet every day until the sybill trelawney story breaks and takes over. it doesn’t matter who you are, or how WILLING you’ve been, to engage. chances are, whether it comes from your visiting sister or the shopkeep on diagon alley you only see once weekly, you’ve been asked : what do you think is happening?

2. A DULL ACHE BENEATH YOUR SLEEVE. it’ll be an isolated incident, that first time, and it’ll be easy for some of you to ignore. you’ll chalk it up to nerves or simply the time, and you might scratch at your arm absentmindedly, but it won’t be all too concerning. if any FEARFUL thought pushes it’s way through, you’ll try your best to push that aside, too, and carry on your daily affairs as normal. it’ll be almost a week later, to the day, when you’ll awake at witching hour - your arm PAINFULLY BURNING like a brand has been put to it. you’ll lift it in absract horror, not even bothering with the lamp, and gaze upon the skull & snake that had almost faded in the six odd years since it had last come to life as it writhes in place, once again, as it will forevermore when she calls for you.

3. IT MIGHT BEGIN WITH A SMELL OF SMOKE. you’ll crinkle your nose and you’ll search all around, first glancing to your kitchen, as if there lies the obvious source. when it yields no answers you’ll look around and notice the rising grey smoke from a drawer you never really look into, and this’ll strike you as STRANGE, as it should, because there really is no reason for it. you’ll stride forward and pull it open with intent, wand ready to put out whatever fire has begun. and there, in the middle of a neatly charred hole, will lie a galleon. nothing special, really, except that it’s still red at the edges from how it burned red hot like a fire poker, and when you lift it with cautious fingers you’ll find a new message arranged around the edge : 20.05.2020, 21.00, 44° 42' 7.9596". 

4. THE PULSING BLUE LIGHT WILL APPEAR LIKE AN EXPLOSION. you might even jump. it will explode in front of you regardless of where you stand, be it home, or the office, or somewhere in between. it will appear, and before your very eyes what starts as nothing but a shining beacon will morph into the figure of a lynx, of a goat, of a falcon, of a cat, and the messengers will bring you the news that you were dreading. the news you knew would come someday as surely as daybreak, but that you’d crossed your fingers and hoped would not. tomorrow, six pm, the burrow. 

OUT OF CHARACTER :

civilians. the death eaters. dumbledore’s army. the order of the phoenix. they’re WITHOUT a doubt the four main spokes of the wheel that’s turning, following recent in game events : and now, it really begins. this is not a traditional plot drop in the sense that it isn’t kicking off any particular in game event, and acts more as an addition to the previous one - but it’s still IMPORTANT ! 

at your leisure, please send the MAIN an ask or im with your characters and their affiliation. as i receive names, i’ll be adding you to the appropriate channel to be set up on the main discord - if your characters alignment changes as we go, then a quick message to the main will have you moved to the then appropriate one ! 

the affiliations you may choose from ( complete with further explanation ), so far, are as follows:

civilians. if your character does not exactly align with a group, then this would be the section to list. they are JUST as important as all other groupings and will have just as much to do in terms of plot, as we go, but if you choose this grouping at first you are not STUCK to it, in future. if your character becomes swayed by a side, that’s not only a welcomed plot point, but absolutely okay by me and just means you’ll need to be moved to a different channel ! 

death eaters. now the foot soldiers of BELLATRIX LESTRANGE. this group may consist of those who have received the dark mark, previously ( and thus chose to apparate to bellatrix when she called for them ) or more recent recruits. 

baby death eaters / conflicted souls / etc. if your character was previously aligned bad but isn’t vibing with miss bellatrix, then this is absolutely the grouping you should choose, since it’ll put you in with likeminded people for plotting. this group has the most openness in terms of where it goes - i’m happy for you all to work things out plotting wise, yourselves, and if it breaks up into smaller factions, that’s fine ! 

dumbledore’s army. not just those who were canonically a part of it - if you have a character within age range who you have headcanoned was a member, this is the group for you. many might not have kept the coin enchanted to show meetings, but those that did received a message from HERMIONE GRANGER to meet for the first time in years on the 20th of may, 2020 at 9 pm, coordinates leading them to number 12, grimmauld place. 

the order of the phoenix. led by kingsley shacklebolt, minerva mcgonagall, aberforth dumbledore and a whole host of other individuals. your character might feel they have aged out of a previous ( looking at the DA, with this one ) faction, or they might always have been a member, or might only now be joining - whatever the story, if they align most strongly with the order, then this is the place you should put down ! 

the side channels are just a way to make group plotting more EASY, and are a place where characters thoughts and feelings and opinions should be shared. it might be, sometimes, that a question will be posed to you as a group for character developing purposes ( such as opinions on certain events happening around the rp ), or it might be that an upcoming event will involve them and that’ll be the first place you guys hear of it ! a poll will be put into the discord to decide whether there should also be IN CHARACTER versions of those channels for group meetings, but for now, it’s all out of character and for the purpose of discussions ! 

as always, if you have ANY questions or comments or concerns, please let me know ! 

[agentsandbutterflies]

Merlahad, as slytherin merlin and gryffindor harry rivals AU

This went very dark, very fast when I started to think about it (so be warned, there is character death in this one) but then it turned out it took forever to get there… I apologise for the delay.

I think this is the longest one I’ve done…

Harry is in the year above the Marauders

Merlin is in the same year as them and shares dormitory with Severus Snape

(Merlin pretty much hates his parents for naming him Merlin, because really? REALLY?)

They are both Pure-blood

The First Wizarding War starts Harry’s first year at Hogwarts

But he’s a First Year at Hogwarts and doesn’t notice a thing

Merlin is a kid in a Pure-blood family, he doesn’t notice anything either

Harry’s parents join the Order of the Phoenix in 1971

Merlin’s parents stay away from all of it

The older students start to talk and more and more Muggle borns and Half-bloods are getting worried about the state of the world

Harry tries out for the Gryffindor quidditch team but doesn’t get a spot

Merlin falls in love with charms during his first class

The first time they meet is in the Slug Club when Merlin is invited during his fourth year

Harry has been a member for about a year at that point

(Merlin is annoyed that Severus is there as well)

(Harry doesn’t know Lily Evans exists before she comes to her first Slug Club dinner)

(She knows he exists, though. All the girls in the Gryffindor tower know he exists)

Merlin’s not impressed by Harry’s habit of drawing attention to himself by always arriving late

Harry thinks Merlin’s a know-it-all

But they are Gryffindor and Slytherin, they are supposed to dislike each other. They have never questioned why, it’s just how it is and it makes life a bit more interesting to have an entire House to hate

The exception is of course Severus and Lily, but he’s weird and she’s too kind so, yeah…

Harry and Merlin sometimes exchange looks and roll their eyes at them, because at least they can agree that that friendship is odd

The war has been going on for five years when Merlin joins the Slug Club and it starts to creep into Hogwarts as well

Almost everyone worries, even the ones who pretend they don’t

Harry’s parents write less and less

Merlin’s parents write as if there is nothing wrong with the world

Slughorn invites them all to dinner and they talk about literature the entire evening as if people aren’t disappearing outside the walls

Yet lines are drawn, children picking the side their parents are on or breaking with their families

Hogwarts can’t save you from that

If the rivalry between the four Houses was all fun and games before it’s now part of the warfare – or so the students think

Three Houses against one and no one sees or cares about the second year Slytherin student who hasn’t heard from their parents in weeks

Or the fourth year who is too afraid of their classmates to speak their mind

Or the sixth year student whose sister is killed

Because it’s their own fault for wearing green and silver anyway…

Merlin’s grades are perfect and he becomes a prefect in his fifth year

He takes it upon himself to take points off Gryffindor whenever Harry is late for Slug Club

It’s seen as another Slytherin provocation and Harry challenges Merlin to a duel

It loses both of them enough points for them to eat alone at their respective tables for weeks

…but not enough for them to learn a lesson

The third time they are caught duelling they get detention

The fourth, the fifth and the sixth time too

The seventh time it’s Slughorn who catches them and he tells them that if they get caught again he will ban them from the Slug Club

If they get caught... there’s something encouraging in the way Slughorn says that

So the eighth time they meet in the Forbidden forest

The ninth time behind the quidditch field

The tenth in the Room of Requirements

It’s war practice under the guise of House rivalry

“I don’t think he’s right,” says Merlin one evening as they walk back from the lake, sweaty and exhausted. “Just so you know.”

“Me neither,” says Harry

When they are about to part, Harry to go up to the tower and Merlin down to the dungeon, Harry hesitates

“Can I write you over the summer?”  he asks

Merlin smiles. “Yes.”

“Who is she?” Harry’s mum asks when there have been owls coming and going almost daily for a month

“You should invite him to the house in Elie,” Merlin’s dad says. “Your mum and I aren’t going there until 10th of August.”

So Harry goes to Scotland a month before he’s supposed to go back to school

It takes four days on the beach and half a bottle of fire whisky (unknowingly given by Merlin’s dad) one evening for their hands to touch

It takes about two seconds more for their lips to touch

It takes two days for them to leave the house again

Harry’s mum notices some very indiscrete marks on Harry’s neck when he gets home after his little vacation

She gives him her concealer and asks him to cover it up before dad sees it on her way out to do recon for the Order

Harry does and he counts the days until he gets to board the Hogwarts’ Express for the last time

Merlin keeps knocking points off Gryffindor when Harry’s late for Slug Club

Harry keeps challenging him to duels

They keep meeting in strange and secret places

They don’t spend the time duelling

Harry is getting by with his N.E.W.T.

All the teachers think he can do better, and he can, but his head is already on the battlefield

Because first it was Muggle borns, then Half-bloods and certain Magical creatures, then Pure-bloods considered Blood Traitors…

Harry takes muggle studies and knows that the step to round up the Gender Traitors is a small one

That’s what will make him join the Order of the Phoenix when he leaves Hogwarts

(It may be self-serving, but he’s 18 and he chooses to fight. No one would have questioned his motives, had they known them)

Merlin asks him not to

Only once

Because he knows he can’t stop him, but he won’t be able to live with himself if he doesn’t at least ask

Harry goes to Elie for two weeks that summer

Merlin’s last year is a disaster

They have decided that Harry shouldn’t write him, because who knows what his House mates might happen to see

Harry writes Lily, though, the only other Gryffindor Merlin knows

(And quite frankly the only Gryffindor Harry knows who doesn’t judge a person after the colour of their House)

(He had confided in her about Merlin in the beginning of his seventh year because he needed someone to talk to and knew she wouldn’t judge him for the Slythering part of the equation)

Lily gives Merlin the updates at Slug Club and when they pass each other in the door in and out of Transfiguration

They become really good at exchanging folded pieces of paper without even looking at each other 

“Still nothing?” Merlin asks at the Slug Club’s yearly Christmas party

Lily shakes her head. “I can write and ask Marleneif you like?”

Merlin declines, reasoning that it’s easier to worry than to grieve

Two days before the end of the semester, Lily waits for Merlin outside the Great Hall, pressing a note in his hand

“It’s good news,” she says with a smile before she hurries to catch up with her friends

It turns out to only be good news in the sense that Harry isn’t dead

Harry’s mum is, though, and Harry has taken a curse in the face, losing the sight on his left eye

But he’s alive, and because of his injury out of harm’s way for a while

Perhaps that’s what counts as good news in wartime?

Harry is back in the field in January

He’s young, he’s fit, and his practice with Merlin has made him really good at flinging curses

Losing his mum only makes him more sure that he’s in the right place, doing the right thing

Revenge is added to his motives

Dumbledore asks him to help with recruitment of Hogwarts students

Harry has no moral qualms about dragging his old House mates to the front line to fight with him

Most of the Gryffindors he reaches out to respond

The only Slytherin he reaches out to does not

Or he does, but it’s a firm “no”

In spite of that, Merlin still moves into Harry’s tiny one room flat after he graduates because there’s no way he’s going to stay in Scotland when Harry is going around being an idiot all over England

They are not even twenty yet

Merlin gets a job – entry level at the Ministry of Magic

He has the ambition of his House, he has good grades and he’s a Pure-blood, it doesn’t take that long before he gets a proposition from the Death Eaters

He accepts on the spot and goes home to tell Harry

The fear Harry feels when he hears this is worse than anything he has experienced during his now almost two years in the Order

“It’s not the same as with Severus,” says Lily when Harry tells her. “It’s not like he’s really a Death Eater.”

Harry agrees – trying to be a double agent is a completely new level of stupid

The information Merlin manages to pass on to Harry is good, but not worth dying over

(Something Harry points out repeatedly)

It takes 171 days for the Death Eaters to figure it out

Or it probably takes less, but it takes 171 days for them to act

Harry opens the door to a flash of green light one evening

Merlin doesn’t even think to search for his wand as Mulciber, who Merlin had shared his dorm room with for seven years, steps over Harry’s body with his wand raised

“Always knew you were a poof,” says Mulciber, “though I never took you for a Blood Traitor.”

Merlin turns to look at Harry as the Killing Curse hits him in the chest

Harry’s dad is the one who finds them two days later

With the help of Merlin’s parents he makes sure they are buried together in Elie

[hermioneshandbag]

Missions Merged, Part 3

The next morning, you were finishing up the letter you were writing to your parents, updating them with the information that you had received from Sirius and asking if they could come any sooner. You had already sent an owl to your Auntie that you would be over for lunch so that you could tell her what was happening in person.

The knock at the door took you by surprise; you didn't think any of your friends knew you were in town and your Auntie was so consumed with worry that she rarely left her home. You stood up to go and look out the peephole.

Sirius? And two older men. And Sirius looked decidedly uncomfortable. You palmed your wand discreetly and opened the door a crack, magical equivalent of a hotel lock in place in case the men with Sirius were not friendly.

“Hello, Sirius. Didn't expect to see you back so soon?” Translation: What are you doing here?

“I’m sorry. Remember the paranoid sort I warned you about?” he asked, gesturing to one of the men with his head.

“Watch that smart mouth, Black!” Moody said with a good-natured cuff to the back of Sirius’ head.

You took a deep breath and opened the door. The three men came inside, the one who smacked Sirius actually leaning close to you and sniffing you.

“I beg your pardon!” you said indignantly.

“Harrumph,” Moody grunted as he walked away. “No dark magic on her.”

“What in Merlin's saggy --” you started to rant.

“I'm so sorry,” Sirius interrupted quietly as Moody and the other gentleman invited themselves into your home, splitting up and snooping all over. “They’re Aurors I work with, Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt. I told them about you and how we met --”

“You told them that?” you interjected in a furious whisper.

“Not all of that,” he responded in a matching tone. “Just that you helped me get away from Death Eaters so Moody automatically decided you were a spy.”

“But not the…the lap...part?” you asked awkwardly.

“No. Keeping that all for myself,” he said with a naughty smirk that both charmed and infuriated you.

You slapped his shoulder softly. “Stop that.”

The smirk spread to an outright grin. “I won't talk about it to anyone but you, but you can't keep me from,” he looked you up and down here, “remembering it.”

You decided you rather liked this teasing man, and flirting was infinitely more enjoyable than thinking of paranoid wizards looking through your bureau. You smiled back and said, “Now, why would we need to talk about that?”

“Might wanna reminisce when we're old and gray with our grandchildren playing at our feet,” he said in a voice just above a husky whisper.

“What complete rubbish!” you giggled.

“Black!” Moody called. “Get over here. Not paying you to sweet talk the lass.”

“Wasn't aware that you were paying me at all,” Sirius grumbled, frowning at his excellent flirting being interrupted.

“Don't worry, sweetheart, someday we can reminisce about this,” you said with a wink.

“Minx,” he whispered, then went over to where Moody was going through your mother's writing desk.

“Can I get anyone some tea?” you called out, attempting to be polite.

“Love some!” a voice called down the stairs.

“Please,” Sirius said with a smile.

You waited a moment for Moody to respond, but he kept up his snooping. Sirius shrugged and made a 'sorry my boss is a bit of an arse’ face.

You smiled and went to the kitchen to get the tea. There was nothing to find that should interest them so you weren't interested in watching them work.

You returned with a tea tray and some biscuits like a proper hostess. Customs were very important to your world-traveler parents and the most common custom in England was to offer tea to guests. It wasn't automatic from seeing your Mum do it all your life so much as from seeing your Auntie do it every summer of your life.

“What's this?” Moody waved at you when you returned. “Reporting in? Telling our secrets?”

“Ah I believe if you look closely at the salutation on the letter you'll find that it is addressed to 'Mum and Dad,’ which I know can be terribly confusing to those raised by wild animals, or at least to those with manners like they had been, but I generally call my parents by those names,” you said sarcastically.

Sirius looked down in defeat. Moody liked nothing better than to decimate a cocky recruit. For all intents and purposes you had just sassed the bloke doing your hiring interview.

“And how would you address a letter to a Death Eater, then?” he sniped at you.

“I feel like this is a trick question,” you said pertly, “since I don't correspond with evil, racist, murdering dickheads.”

Sirius visibly flinched.

Moody grunted and...turned away. “Got some sand, this lass,” he muttered.

Sirius glared at his back and you snickered at his expression that seemed to say, 'Oh, she has sand but if I mouth off I get smacked in the head.’

You walked over to the stairs and called up, “If you're almost finished looking through my knickers, the tea is done.”

“Thanks, love,” he called back pleasantly.

You shook your head at the pleasant rejoinder that lacked a denial, then returned to sit down and pour tea. “I certainly hope he's not a pervert. I don't have that many changes of clothes, I didn't plan to stay long.”

You proceeded to pour Sirius’ tea, recalling how he took it from the evening previous. Moody moved off into other rooms.

“Thanks, love,” he said as he took the cup, and even though you knew the endearment was commonly used, had in fact just been called that by a complete stranger, somehow coming from his lips it seemed...intimate?

“Welcome,” you whispered back.

Sirius heard a different note in your voice and tilted his head a bit as he sipped his tea. A moment ago you had been bold, brazen, brash; now you were acting timid, demure. “Alright?”

You smiled. “Yeah, fine. Just all caught up with me now I'm sitting.”

Kingsley came down the stairs and Moody appeared from the kitchen. They sat down in chairs across from the sofa where you and Sirius sat.  

“Looks like you are who you say you are,” Moody growled, which seemed to be his normal tone of voice.

“Thanks,” you replied. “Auror Shacklebolt, how do you take your tea?”

“Two sugars, and please call me Kingsley,” he said with a pleasant smile.

You poured for him and offered a biscuit.

“All done playing tea party?” Moody asked sarcastically.

“Nonsense, if we were playing tea party I would have brought fancy hats and gloves for you all to wear,” you responded sweetly.

“Your. Cousin.”

Your smile turned into a frown. “Yes. Rollie.”

“He was working with us,” Kingsley took over. “Same as Sirius. He was assigned to the neighborhood where you met Sirius to patrol.”

“Alone?” you asked, trying to keep the sneer from your voice.

Kingsley hesitated. “We're spread thin. He volunteered to patrol alone because there hadn't been any activity in the area. Course it picked up after he disappeared. Like they're thumbing their noses at us.”

You nodded reluctantly. “I can see him doing that,” you whispered.

Sirius reached over and took your hand, giving it a light squeeze. You accepted the comfort from him, and as you smiled at each other, Moody and Kingsley shared a look that said they noticed.

“So, Black, we don't recall assigning you to that neighborhood. In fact,” Moody said archly, “I believe we ordered you to take a night off work.”

Sirius sighed. “My friend is missing. His body,” he said hesitantly, looking at you apologetically, “hasn't turned up as others who've gone missing have. So, yeah, I was snooping on my night off.”

“And this lovely lady saved your arse?” Kingsley asked.

You chimed in here. “I was also snooping because no one at the Ministry would listen to me. I overheard some shady-looking blokes talking about torturing someone called 'Black’ with 'crucies.’ Anyone who talks about using an Unforgivable like they talk about grabbing a pint -- What else could I have done?”

“I was in deep shite,” Sirius added grimly. “If she hadn't given me cover to leave, I know I would be dead -- or maybe just wishing for it.”

“So, young lady,” Kingsley said, “seems we have the same objective. What have you learned?”

“Nothing!” you exclaimed in frustration, slapping your hands down on your legs. “I've been all over the neighborhood, said he owed me money, played drunk, sweet-talked men...I tried a location spell, but that didn't work either.”

The three men all looked at each other and fought to keep smirks from their faces.

“What?” you asked. “What's funny?”

“Ain't no such thing as a location spell, girl,” Moody said bluntly.

You scoffed. “Beg to differ.”

Sirius shook his head. “Look, love, even if it was dark magic, my family would know it. The Blacks are one of the Sacred Twenty-eight, after all,” he said smugly.

You chuckled and shook your head, confusing Sirius. “You English, so quick to colonize and assume you know more. Your head would spin at the amount of knowledge those poor, ignorant Natives have kept from you.”

“Fine, then, why didn't your extremely real spell work, then?” Moody challenged you, blunt as a rock.

“Because he had been gone too long,” you sighed, not interested in getting into a magical pissing contest. “I used some hair from his brush at my Aunt's house, but he had been gone for weeks by then. The Spirit needs to be in contact with the material used more recently.”

“Could it -- could it mean his Spirit has departed?” Kingsley asked quietly.

Sirius and Moody both looked at him like he was crazy. He shook his head at them. “My great-grandmother came here from Africa. She went to Uagadou and would have liked you very much,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you, Kingsley. Yes, it could mean the spirit has departed, but I had very little hope that it would work because it had been so long. So in this case, it really proves nothing.”

Moody harrumphed. “Expect that's what it's always proved.”

“Alistair, is it really so hard to believe that Hogwarts doesn't know all there is to know about magic?” Kingsley asked.

“No, but it seems like a valuable spell like that would have gotten out,” he argued.

“Why is that? Why on Earth would countries and peoples that have been ground under the boot heel of British oppression for centuries share a single iota of magic that they didn't have to?” you asked in disgusted incredulity. “For the love of the oppressor? I hate to break it to you, Auror Moody, but the British are not well-liked around the world. And from your accent, I thought I detected a bit of Scot? Are you really telling me that your great-great-grandmother didn't have any secrets she kept from the dirty English?”

Moody looked back and forth between you and Kingsley and nodded once. “Fair enough.”

Sirius jumped in at this point. “So, should she come to a meeting?”

You snorted. “If a bloody meeting is anything like this great sharing of information, no thank you.”

“I think she should,” Kingsley said loudly and quickly. “The two of them working together makes sense. They look like a couple already. With a bit more practice they could be believable and could be inserted into any situation. Like Potter and Evans.”

“No turnin’ back from this, girl,” Moody warned.

“Will you help me find my cousin?” you asked intently.

“One way or the other, yes,” he replied tersely.

“Then I'm in.”

Moody stood to go, looked at Sirius and said, “Bring her.” He turned and walked to the front door and opened it.

Kingsley stood to follow but turned to you and extended his hand. You stood and accepted it. “It was a pleasure making your acquaintance.”

“And you,” you said warmly.

“Sirius, stay here and tell her what she needs to know before the meeting. Get used to each other. As soon as she's ready, you'll be working together.”

“Yes, sir,” he said seriously.

Kingsley nodded at both of you and took his leave with Moody.

“Little does he know…” Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows.

You laughed. “Shut it, nitwit.”

“Wanna go round the chip shop?” he asked with a smile.

“No, actually, I need to go to see my Auntie. Come with?”

“Yeah, all right,” he said with a smile. “We can hold hands on the walk over and decide how much to tell her.”

“Yeah, I reckon we'd best,” you agreed.

@marauder--harder  / @giggleberts / @joelynnp / @banditthewriter / @iamnotbenbarneswifeyet / @astrangeevent2002 / @iamsherloki-wholocked / @yellowdancingbirds / @cutie-bug / @deloslxgan / @myfriendmademedothisxd / @imlateto2018 / @curlyhairedblueeyedangel / @bocolate-bip-bookies / @sssilverssserpent / @snarledblack /  @geeksareunique / @presstocontinue / @acciophoenx / @justa-cucumber-with-anxiety / @outtherepotterlander / @pigwidgexn / @musicislyf332 / @marauderskeeper / @the-lily-blooms-late / @lalala7772 / @pansyparkinsqn /@thesandbeneathmytoes /  @siriusement / @russosprettydiamondnow/ @verniquelenoir / @heyitslexy / @the-apple-princess /@siriuslyimmoony / @alwaysaharrypotterfan / @squidscottjeans / @80s-addict / @heidimonkey / @sunflowerlady95 / @emas-olo / @fortisfiliae / @realgreglestrade / @moe-10th / @greatwombatblaze / @andypandycorn/ @unlikelycupcakequeen / @smiley-celine /@itsilvermorny /  @ihatenewusernames / @call-me-magpie / @pandainfinitely /@maralisa124 / @whysoseriouspadfoot / @dreamgirl8704 / @the-apple-princess /  @kapolisradomthoughts / @robyn-0790 / @dinopowa / @all-throughthe-night / @som3thingcr3ative / @geeksareunique / @mgc-its-easy-as-123 / @young7711 / @nadinissavage / @alijulia87 / @italyand5soslover283 / @j-finco / @rosa-champagne / @ficklebooty / @ghostgirl1609  /  @sly-vixen-up2nogood / @amelya5567 /  @annino112  /   @asoftslytherin  /  @silverkitten547 / @thesumofmychoices / @sithskywalkers / @suchatinyinfinity / @morriganwarrior / @mysticalreadingnerd / @honeymufins / @silverkitten547 /

Broken Tags: @supremeoverlordletters /  @lovetohopelesslyhope /  @frecklednstars / @thoughtsandthingsandmore / @barbaraqueen77 / @maz-keen / @dorkyhufflepuff7 / @myjallybaby / @movokepwc / @kamapapi / @ellahalls / @jessicaofthemyscira / @jellybean-gg  / @sweetlyshinylady / @vulpecula-minor /

[charity-h-burbage]

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope you’re all having a lovely Christmas season! I’m super super excited to share my Secret Santa gift for this year!!!!!

Since I’m terrible at art and all other things at all times forever, I chose once again to compile a playlist dedicated to and inspired by the character played by my Secret Santa giftee -- our darling Lily, and the bewitching Narcissa Malfoy ( @forever-toujourspur ), who is one of my favorite characters both in the books and here in the RP. I’ll link it right here!

In addition to just the link, I’m also adding below a list of the songs and a short description of why I chose that song, whether it be the vibe, specific lyrics, whether that song makes me think of an event in Narcissa’s life, whatever it was that made me pick it. (I say a short description -- I really tried to make them short and I apologize for them Not Being That lol) I hope you enjoy the songs I picked, and have an amazing Christmas!!

Control - Hasley: “I’m bigger than my body, I’m colder than this home / I’m meaner than my demons, I’m bigger than these bones. . . Who is in control?” This song just has a Narcissa kind of vibe for me, and the lyrics make me think of her being so amazing and in control in spite of the well-documented “Black family madness”

you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish: “You should see me in a crown / Your silence is my favorite sound / Watch me make ‘em bow / One by one” Again, just her being the absolute queen of everything. That’s a recurring theme so get ready lmao

I Don’t Care - Fall Out Boy: “I don’t care what you think as long as it’s about me” That’s it. That’s the whole reason. I always think of her as someone who truly doesn’t care what gossip there is about her, because if she’s being talked about then she’s already won.

The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! At the Disco: “You’re guaranteed to run this town. . . I’d pay to see you frown” This one just has kind of a Narcissa feel to me. And once again, there’s that HBIC theme. She’s the one taking charge and keeping control of everything with a smile on her face, no matter how bad she actually feels.

The Way You Look Tonight - Michael Buble: “You’re lovely, with your smile so warm / And your cheeks so soft / There is nothing but for me to love you / And the way you look tonight” This one makes me think of her relationship with Lucius. I always think of them as being truly in love and this seems like a song that would fit the tone of their relationship to me.

Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Ray: “Dear lord, when I get to heaven / Please let me bring my man / When he comes, tell me that you’ll let him in. . . . Will you still love me / When I’m no longer young and beautiful?. . . I know that you will” Another about their relationship, but how strong it is, how their love will last forever and she wants to be with him even after they’ve died. *cue sigh*

Hold Me Down - Halsey: “I sold my soul to a three-piece / And he told me I was holy. . . Saying that I want more, this is what I live for” This one feels to me like her feelings when Lucius joins Voldemort and gets her involved. She sold her soul to these well-dressed men, and she’s held up as an ideal, but it’s more like she was thrown into the deep end and now she’s trying to figure out how to navigate it while staying the strong woman we know and love.

Believer - Imagine Dragons: “Don’t you tell me what you think that I can be / I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea. . . My life, my love, my drive, it came from pain. . . you made me a believer” This is more HBIC energy for me tbh, taking all the things that have happened to her over the course of her life, all the pain and nonsense, and taking control of it and doing everything she can for the people she loves.

Fake Happy - Paramore: “I been doing a good job of making ‘em think / I’m quite alright / But I hope I don’t blink. . .Please don’t ask me how I’ve been / Don’t make me play pretend. . . I bet everybody here is fake happy too” After Lucius goes to Azkaban, of course way WAY down the road, I imagine she would’ve been devastated, but has to keep her spirits up and pretend everything is okay so she doesn’t break down. So this song feels like that to me, her ability to keep everything she’s actually feeling under that carefully crafted mask and only show what she wants people to see.

Stand By Me - Florence + The Machine: There aren’t any specific lyrics with this one, the whole vibe of this version just makes me think of Narcissa. It’s very pretty and flowy and feminine, but with an undercurrent of strength, and just a little bit of a cool, melancholic sound? It’s possible that I’m crazy but I just think of her when I’m listening to it lol. To me it feels like a song that she personally would like. And then the song itself, of course, could also just be one long testament to her willingness to stand by Lucius through anything.

Cry Baby - American Avenue: “They call you cry baby, cry baby / But you don’t f***ing care / Cry baby, cry baby / So you laugh through your tears” This is another one that I feel like describes her being able to hide her emotions, but more about how she got to that point -- like maybe Bellatrix would be mean to her when she cried as a little kid, so she learned to laugh through the tears. Whatever it was, just learning how to control her emotions. This version also has a really fierce vibe that I just love for her.

If - House of Heroes: “I could be in love if you wore that dress every day / With your hair just so and your eyes of grey” This one feels like just one big love letter from Lucius to Narcissa. It’s got this whole vibe of the woman being beautiful, and a little bit scary, and a little bit unattainable, that just feels very Narcissa to me.

Take Me To Church - Hozier: “Take me to church / I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies / I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife” This one also feels like Lucius just worshipping Narcissa and how much of a goddess she is. She’s dangerous and powerful and so very Slytherin and he’s just head over heels, you know?

Sweet Dreams - Emily Browning: This one also just has a Narcissa vibe for me. This version is slow, it’s pretty but it has an almost scary kind of tone to it, it’s strong but understated and then it gets very fierce and then still has a kind of pretty, classic sound even through the harder part of the song, and the organ that comes in, like I can just see her gliding down a marble staircase in slow motion -- it just feels so, so Narcissa to me.

Wilson - Fall Out Boy: “There’s nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody. . . I always make such expensive mistakes. . . I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color” There are lyrics scattered through this song that make me think of Narcissa. It’s Fall Out Boy so it’s a little chaotic and not all of the song makes me think of her, but enough of it does that I put it on here anyway lol

The Other Side - Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron: “I quite enjoy the life you say I’m trapped in / Now I admire you, and that whole show you do / You’re onto something, really it’s something. . . Don’t you know that I’m okay with this uptown part I get to play / ‘Cause I got what I need. . . I don’t need to see the other side. . . Ain’t in a cage, so I don’t need to take the key. . . Can’t you see I’m doing fine / I don’t need to see the other side” Okay, bear with me. So this song is a conversation, right? One person trying to convince the other to join this thing that’s so great, it’s going to change their life, change their whole world. So to me it feels like a super upbeat Death Eater recruitment speech lmao. And the quoted part above feels like what Narcissa might have said at first -- belief in the cause but reluctance to be directly involved because it’s just beneath her, and the way things are isn’t so bad anyway. It just felt really fitting.

Rise - Katy Perry: “I won’t just survive / You will see me thrive . . . Don’t doubt it / Victory is in my veins / I know it, I know it / And I will not negotiate / I’ll fight it” More Queen of Everything energy. No matter what happens to her, she always gets back up and keeps going. She can’t be defeated. She’s just the best.

A Little Wicked - Valerie Broussard: “Beware the patient woman, ‘cause this much I know / No one calls you honey, when you’re sitting on a throne / One of these days a-comin’, I’m gonna take that boy’s crown / There’s a serpent in these still waters, lying deep down / To that king I will bow, at least for now” VERY Queen of Everything vibes. Like, this just Is Narcissa. Everyone underestimates her but if she’d been given half a chance, I feel very strongly that she could’ve taken over the whole thing and won.

Killer Queen - Queen: “Well versed in etiquette / Extraordinarily nice / She’s a Killer Queen. . . Perfume came naturally from Paris / For cars she couldn’t care less / Fastidious and precise / She’s a Killer Queen” A lot of the lyrics to this song actually feel really Narcissa to me. That woman who’s amazing and gorgeous but you feel like might have poisoned your tea a little bit? Narcissa.

Glory and Gore - Lorde: “Glory and gore go hand in hand / That’s why we’re making headlines. . . Delicate in every way but one / God knows we like archaic kinds of fun” This one might make a little more sense if Narcissa was an active Death Eater herself, but I feel like it’s still pretty Narcissa-y. I think in the very beginning, when Voldemort was gaining power and her husband was gaining power in their ranks, she might’ve enjoyed the whole thing, before it really started to affect her life, you know? And I think she might have a little bit of a dark streak in her -- not nearly so much as Bellatrix, but they are sisters, she could very well have some of that darkness in her. So this one song just feels like her for me, and that one little streak of darkness.

Wicked Ones - Dorothy: “This night ain’t for the faint of heart / ‘Cause the faint of heart gonna fall apart / This night ain’t for the holy man with the holy plan / For the promised land / This night we got the evil hand” This one can also be speaking to her streak of darkness if you want. Because otherwise there’s a little bit of headcanon angst coming lmao. The lyrics of this one just by themselves feel like the night Voldemort went to kill the Potters, and Narcissa trying to convince herself it was a good thing that the baby had to die, so the music behind the lyrics feels like her trying to, like, get pumped and happy and ignore the fact that a child that’s just about the same age as her own son is about to die. She can’t let herself care and be faint of heart or she’ll fall apart and that’s unacceptable, because Dumbledore’s plan is failing and they finally have the upper hand, so she has to be wicked and ignore what’s happening and just be happy, be wicked, play and celebrate and be with Lucius and keep up the mask.

I hope my interpretations of her aren’t too terrible -- I’ve just loved her for so long, like I named one of my dogs Narcissa and she’s lowkey my favorite, and I’ve read SO much fanfiction about her and the Malfoys, I have way too many feelings about Narcissa lmao. I hope you enjoy the playlist either way!!

[batgirl-87]

HPHM Character Profile

Tagged by @unforgivablecurse-breaker in @cynicaljapanophile‘s awesome profile maker for our MC’s - Thank you so much for tagging me and creating this! =D

Okay, think I’m finally finished with it! Really, thank you for tagging me because it helped me figure out some new things about my MC, as well as help me more with creating her parent’s backstory, and even helping me with the godparents as well who I had no real information determined yet! So this was very beneficial for me, thank you! (I also kind of want to do this for my Jacob too...)

General Information -

Name: Nereida Adelyn-Keira Black

Age: 16 (currently)

Gender: Female

Nickname(s): Keira, Adelyn (primarily, doesn’t like her first name much like Tonks) 

Ady (by Jacob and Charlie), 

Reida (by Remus), 

Black (by Merula primarily, sometimes Andre especially if it’s on the Quidditch Pitch, sometimes Talbott when she calls him Winger, sometimes others), 

B (Penny and Jae), 

Lyn (sometimes by Jacob, usually when he needs her attention for something serious), 

Cuz (by Tonks), 

Beater Buddy/Roomie (by Barnaby), 

Canada (by Jae when she agrees to bring him things to sell from the country, by Andre when it’s revealed she’s playing for the country in the World Cup) - (there’s probably more personal ones her friends call her)

Date of Birth: 11 February 1973

Astrological/ Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Ethnicity: Irish, French, English

Nationality: Irish & Canadian

Species: Witch, Undine

Blood Type: AB Rh+

Blood Status: Half-Blood

Family:

Father: Orion Black - 

Husband and second-cousin of Walburga Black

Father of Sirius, Regulus, Jacob, and Keira

Met Vivian-Caer while out in Knockturn Alley one day, became infatuated with her and eventually wooed her into becoming his mistress (post about Orion and Vivian-Caer and their relationship to come)

Attended Hogwarts - Slytherin

While he supported Voldemort and the Death Eaters and believed in blood purity, never became a Death Eater himself

The more powerful and forceful the Death Eaters became ultimately leading to a war led to him placing more and more protection spells on his home (possibly realizing how bad this all was and backing away a bit from the Death Eaters beliefs)

Passes away in 1979

Mother: Vivian-Caer LaFontaine - 

Named after the Lady of the Lake and the Celtic goddess of dreams and transformations known for her beautiful, hypnotic singing voice.

Born in Nice, France

Attended Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons

Moved to Ireland (home of her mother and maternal side of the family) where she eventually met Orion

Passes away in November 1978

(A post about Orion and Vivian-Caer and their relationship to come)

Godfather: Owen Pearce - 

Welsh/English heritage

From Prince Edward Island 

Played Professional Quidditch in Vancouver where he met his wife

Met Vivian when she travelled over to work with his wife. Developed a brother-sister type relationship with her.

Godmother: Alona Pearce -

First Nations from British Columbia

Practices her culture’s alchemy which is more focused on the elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) than metals 

Met her husband when he searched for a Healer outside his team for his persistent shoulder pain (he didn’t want to just keep drinking potions to manage it)

Met and worked with Vivian when she travelled over for her job. Became fast friends, almost like sisters.

Other: 

Remus Lupin - Guardian while she’s in the UK/Ireland and going to school. Calls him “Uncle Remus” (post on their relationship to come)

Nymphadora Tonks - They were very surprised to find out they were related to each other when Tonks confided in Keira her aunt was Bellatrix LeStrange which Keira recognized from the family tree in 12 Grimmauld Place she just recently moved into after Walburga’s passing. Andromeda had been burnt off the tree and her husband and Tonks were never added so Keira had no idea! Call each other cuz/cousins (even though Keira would technically be her aunt but since they’re the same age they feel more like cousins. Keira would call/consider Bellatrix her aunt)

Sirius and Regulus Black - Older half-brothers. Awkward introductions by Orion after Vivian demanded that her kids meet their siblings after having Keira. Neither Keira or Jacob really remember Regulus much after their one time meeting. Sirius however was taken by Vivian’s kindness and warm welcoming, much different than living with his mum, and would sometimes stop by to ‘hang out’ with his little siblings in a much more comfortable environment than at his home. While living with the Potters gave him loving parents he lacked, visiting Vivian, Jacob, and Keira gave him the sibling bonding without feeling like he was competing with them or was lesser than them. (Probably wished he was raised with them like he wished he was raised by the Potters his whole life instead). Continued to write to them when they moved to Canada. Told the Marauders about them.

Alpharden Jacob-Taylor Black - Her big brother, best friend, and partner in crime. It’s them against the world. 

Affiliation(s)/ Organization(s): 

The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black

Orion - Affiliated with the Death Eaters although never joined himself and possibly began to disagree with them while the threat of war was imminent. 

Vivian-Caer - Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Team Canada

Occupation(s):

Vivian-Caer LaFontaine - Magical Historian, Archeologist, and Author specializing in Native cultural beliefs, practices, and artefacts

Owen Pearce - Quidditch Scout/Recruiter, Former Professional Quidditch Keeper

Alona Pearce - Healer and Alchemist

Jacob-Taylor Black - Professional Quidditch Keeper

Adelyn-Keira Black - Student (currently); Curse-Breaker

Magical Characteristics -

Form of Boggart: 

Being manipulated and betrayed by her friends/those she cares about, who never truly were her friends/cared about her and only used her 

Leaves her feeling humiliated, ashamed, and completely alone praying on her insecurities, trust issues, and pride

Being open and vulnerable and trusting others is hard for her so to do so and then find out it was a lie would be incredibly hard on her and make her feel violated

Realizing and admitting she had been manipulated would be a huge blow to her pride and intelligence. She doesn’t like feeling stupid or being blindsided, prefers to be prepared and have the upperhand.

Form of Patronus: Arctic Fox (might change)

Form of Riddikulus: 

(This is such a great question, I’ve never really thought about it and have no real idea what would make this funny)

Maybe her friends laughing, dancing, and messing around together, probably reminiscent of past happy moments.

What do they see in the Mirror of Erised?: 

Jacob and her reunited together again

Their mom, godparents, Remus, and some other shadowy silhouettes representing their family 

She’s no longer alone and lost and feels supported 

Wand(s)

First Wand -Length: Eleven and a half inches -Flexibility: Solid -Wood: Hazel -Core: Undine Hair Description:  

Hazel often reflects its owner’s emotional state, and works best for a master who understands and can manage their own feelings. Others should be very careful handling a hazel wand if its owner has recently lost their temper, or suffered a serious disappointment, because the wand will absorb such energy and discharge it unpredictably. The positive aspect of a hazel wand more than makes up for such minor discomforts, however, for it is capable of outstanding magic in the hands of the skillful, and is so devoted to its owner that it often ‘wilts’ at the end of its master’s life (if the core is unicorn hair, however, there is no hope; the wand will almost certainly have ‘died’). Hazel wands also have the unique ability to detect water underground, and will emit silvery, tear-shaped puffs of smoke if passing over concealed springs and wells. 

Undine Hair Core - (Swear I wrote something about this but I can’t find it!) From grandmother (possibly her mom’s old wand); Elegant spell casting; Temperamental but loyal; Skilled in Transfigurations and Charms.

Solid - Extremely loyal. Owners of this wand are generally known for their reliability, their friendliness, and their character. They may find it difficult to understand views that differ from their own but are usually able to politely disagree. (Not exactly sold on all the flexibilities but nbd)

Stained grey with detailed carvings

Second Wand:

-Length: Eleven and a quarter inches -Flexibility: Hard -Wood: Ebony -Core: Dragon Heartstring. Description: 

This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider. In my experience the ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose.

Dragon Heartstring Core - Produces wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.Tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. Somewhat temperamental.

Hard - Loyalty is not easily won. Great for complex and advanced levels of magic. This type of wand is best suited for wizards and witches who are gifted, stubborn, and never give up. Some people may find them intimidating or difficult to approach. (Not exactly sold on all the flexibilities but nbd)

Black with a slight sheen, carved out handle

Third Wand (What?! Yes =p):

-Length: Eleven inches -Flexibility: Surprisingly Swishy -Wood: Blue Spruce -Core: Undine Hair Description:

First Nations have used Blue Spruce for medicinal and ceremonial purposes, twigs given as gifts for good fortune - therefore, this type of wand is more commonly passed down as a gift rather than bought, typically done in families; this may mean this wand chooses those who have strong ties to their families. Also like other spruces, the Blue Spruce does not do well in nervous, cautious hands but will bond to its chosen partner, typically a bold spell-caster with a good sense of humour, be intensely loyal, and capable of producing dramatic effects. However, while other spruce variations may be hardier, the Blue Spruce is more flexible and adaptable. It has also been shown to do well with non-verbal magic.

Undine Hair -  Elegant spell casting; Temperamental but loyal; Skilled in Transfigurations and Charms.

Surprisingly Swishy -  Either is surprisingly loyal or surprisingly unloyal and is most often known for doing the unexpected. Great for charm work. Owners that are matched with wands of this flexibility are usually the type of people who have a hard time coming out of their shell or opening up, but once they do, others will find themselves drawn to their charming, fun-loving personalities. The owner usually adapts well to unexpected changes but may find it difficult to make hard decisions. (Not exactly sold on all the flexibilities but nbd)

Gift passed down from her mom (given by her godmother since her birth mother is dead); Her mom (with help of her godmother) chose and had this wand made for her to be given to her (as well as one for Jacob as well).

Silvery-Blue with intricate symbolic carvings and carved out handle

(Post about Keira’s different wands and her personal growth to come)

Animagus: Arctic Fox

Amortentia: 

Rain/Petrichor (reminds her of the Quidditch Pitch which she associates with Jacob; rain has always been very calming and peaceful for her) 

Salty Sea Air (reminds her of her mom and Jacob) 

Honeysuckle (reminds her of Charlie and the burrow/Weasley family)

Chocolate (reminds her of Remus)

Maple (reminds of her Canada and her ‘adopted’ parents)

Appearance -

Height: 5′6″ / 169 cm

Weight: ~135-145 lbs 

(Currently probably around 135, but when she starts training and competing in the World Cup over the summer and for Year 6 will gain more muscle)

Complexion(skin tone/ conditions): 

Pale

Cold to the touch, particularly hands and feet (ice cold =p)

Somewhat sensitive skin, becomes red easily

Commonly has some bruises from Quidditch and Cursed-Vaults adventures. 

Earns some scars as well from Quidditch and Cursed-Vaults adventures. 

Watermark - her skin will begin to grow scales if she doesn’t regularly consume water or submerges herself in it; quite painful.

Hair Color/ Style: 

Black with hint of red, primarily visible in the sunlight. 

Has a natural wave to it. 

Length is either to bottom of shoulder blades or just above the tops of the shoulders - When she started Hogwarts her hair was longer but cut it shorter for Fifth year and will probably keep that length for a while. 

Normally wears it down or up in a ponytail. Sometimes will put it up in a messy bun mainly to get it up out of her face and off her neck. 

She can wake up with it looking perfect/”perfectly messy” - Classic House of Black Hair =p 

Eye Color: Grey-Blue

Hogwarts Information -

Worst Class(es): 

Herbology - No green thumb and she doesn’t really like digging around in the soil/fertilizer and getting her hands literally dirty.

Potions - She just hates this class because Snape can be such an arse to her because of Jacob (and Sirius) and while sometimes it can be fun for her to exchange quips with him other times it is very distracting and he’s not at all helpful when she’s trying to learn how to brew potions. (He was much worse towards Jacob though).

Elective: Arithmancy - Just no. She’ll let Bill handle that =p

Best Class(es): 

Charms - She loves Professor Flitwick and truly does love this subject and has shown a natural talent for it. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts - She has a protective nature and fighting spirit, enjoys fighting/duelling and the rush of adrenaline 

History of Magic - Actually likes history, although she may not exactly enjoy the boring lectures by Professor Binns, she does love reading and learning about the subject on her own. Also likes getting to have a sort of free period with her friends.

Elective: Alchemy - Her ‘adopted’ mom piqued her interest in the subject and she is eager to learn all aspects of it even if she has to demand to be taught this course as a lone student interested in it.

Least Favourite Teacher(s):

Professor Snape - While they have a more complex relationship than he has with Jacob (or Sirius) and he treated Jacob way worse than her, Keira struggles a lot in Potions because of the lack of help from Snape and his constant hatred towards members of her family. Although they are able to get along sometimes, normally when it benefits them both, or when it’s a sort of Slytherin vs. others type of situation. Even though he can give her a hard time Keira still teases him that he truly likes her deep, deep...deep down. (If he hasn’t yet,) I headcanon that he does teach her Sectumsempra. (But she will never forgive him for what he does to Remus)

Professor Trelawney - Seriously?! How is she supposed to take this class and this Professor seriously? She can’t. This class is riddikulus. 

Favourite Teacher(s): 

Professor Flitwick - He has always been on of her favourite teachers - great teacher, passion for his job, kind and helpful to his students, overall and understanding and warm person. But what really does it for her is Flitwick’s views on Werewolves. She hates ever having to lie to him and honestly tries not to. 

Quidditch:

Beater (Joins team in Year Four)

Captain (Year Five-Year Seven)

World Cup Champion - Team Canada (1990 - summer before Year Seven)

Favourite Spell(s): 

Any water/ice or fire related spells (e.g. Aguamenti, Aqua Erecto, Glacius, Freeze, Incendio, Firestorm, Flagrante Curse, Fumos) 

Any spells that can knock back an opponent or cause an explosion (e.g. Bombarda, Confringo, Depulso, Everte Statum)

Snowflake-creating spell

Protego

Carpe Retractum

Sectumsempra 

Arania Exumai (she hates spiders!)

Cantis (yes she will make people burst into song =p)

Trivia -

(Random facts about them, future job, face claim, theme song, etc.)

Random Facts: 

Speaks English and French, and knows a little Russian, ISL/Irish, and Carrier

Plays piano

Jacob was supposed to teach her to play guitar

Hat stall between Slytherin and Ravenclaw

Slytherin Prefect

Has a Siamese Cat

INFJ-A

Probably a True Neutral (or somewhere on the Neutral spectrum)

Uncomfortably with physical affection and needs plenty of time to feel comfortable with someone before engaging. (Honestly probably took until Year 5 for her to comfortably hug her friends, although some she felt more comfortable with sooner than others like Tonks)

Beautiful singing voice, used to be shy about it but grows to be more confident with it (and in general) since she does love to sing - also didn’t like singing without Jacob though

Normally good at hiding her negative emotions

Can become overwhelmed and anxious which causes her to submerge herself in the nearest body of water to calm herself down (e.g. Black Lake, Prefect’s Bath, Courtyard Fountain) Might be because of her Undine genes but being underwater quiets everything down and helps her calm down and brings a sense of peace

Wants to be able to create her own spells like Badeea - teach her the ways!

Fiercely protective of those she cares about, primarily Remus

Receives and sends out a care package once a month from and to “Uncle Remus” - normally filled with chocolate (and wolfsbane which she takes to making after learning how)

A female Sirius =p 

Can be quite flirtatious as long as there are no real feelings behind it (she doesn’t believe anyone would actually be interested in her romantically, surprised she even has friends who like her for her, but if someone convinced her they did have feelings for her she might not know how to function =p)

Moves into 12 Grimmauld Place after Walburga passes (and no one else is doing anything with it!)

Moves Barnaby in with her officially summer before Year Six (even though summer before Year Five her basically spent all his time there and stayed with Keira either there or at Hogwarts during the holidays)

Her interest in History most likely stems from her mom

Her mom spending time in Egypt as a Historian/Archeologist before she was born probably influences Keira to become a Curse-Breaker there to feel a sort of connection to her mom - like maybe she explored this tomb too or shopped at this market. Maybe someone here worked with her and remembers her. (Not just about Bill =p)

Sentimental Items - Celtic Warrior Ring (given by her mom to her and Jacob); a quilt made by her mom (on for her and one for Jacob); an old Golden Snitch from Jacob; a House of Black crest cameo necklace

Has no interest or plans to get married or have children

Gifted Bill his leather jacket (that becomes a signature look for him =p)

Future Job: Curse-Breaker (with her partner Bill Weasley)

Face-claim: 

Megan Fox 

Or Alexandra Daddario

Bonus: Jacob & Keira (although she’d probably never wear pink =p)

Tagging (if you haven’t done it already and want to): @bluerosesburnblue @arnyan @gryffinpuffthunderbird @jadeowl19 @cptaincarswell @changeling-fae

[colubrina]

omg the fact that you offered to write me a congratulatory drabble has me SOBBING, thank you so much!!! i’d love to see your take on a James somehow coming back and falling for Hermione, (IF AND ONLY IF you actually have inspiration for it and it doesn’t take away from anything else though!!) i’ve been so obsessed w the whole James/Hermione thing lately! 💜💜💜💜💜 i purple you

i also want to clarify, i purple you is a BTS thing, where one of the members said “Purple is the last color of the rainbow which means I will love and cherish you for a long time” and like the best phrase to describe how much you mean to me! 💜💜💜💜

This might not fit the bill.  It’s maybe implied James/Hermione.  It’s a set-up for James Hermione, and, of course, you can imagine the rest :)

It was black at first.

James thought he was waking up to begin with, then he had a flash of fear that he couldn’t open his eyes, that everything was dark.  Injured, he thought, but no matter how he tried he couldn’t feel anything, which meant he was either very injured indeed or –

But that didn’t bear thinking about, and, besides, you couldn’t think if you were dead.  James hadn’t spent much of his life thinking about death other than as a thing to be devoutly avoided, but he was reasonably sure of that.  A dead man didn’t waste time wondering whether he was or not.  Which meant he was alive.

Being alive became much less theoretical when his head began to pound, and he could feel his limbs, one at a time, and every one of them hurt.   Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to reject the idea of death when the other choice seemed to mean pain that shifted from dull to sharp, and pulled itself into a burning point in his chest that exploded out of him in fire and pain and –

“Hey, you’re waking up.”

It was a girl’s voice.  Young woman’s?  Feminine, however old she was, filled with relief.  She hadn’t quite expected that, James could tell, and when he forced his eyes open into a world so bright he already missed the dark, the look on her face confirmed it.  She’d thought he would die.
Well, that made two of them.

“Lily,” he tried to croak out.  

The girl looked down, and when there was no immediate reassurance something in James curdled.  “Harry?” he asked in a voice that wanted to crawl back down his throat.  If he didn’t ask the question, he would never hear the answer, and if he never heard the answer, maybe it wouldn’t be real.

“I don’t know a Lily,” the girl said carefully.  “I found you.  I shouldn’t have been in here, I know.  I was exploring.” The words had the feel of a story she’d already rehearsed.  James knew that cadence. We weren’t doing anything wrong, we were just there.  It just happened.  “You,” she stumbled on the word and stopped.

James tried to sit up, and when he did the world spun and twisted and he regretted it at once.  This was his house.  His house.  That was the mantle where he and Lily had set Harry’s baby pictures.  That was the chair where she’d nursed him.  That was the door where –

“Where’s Voldemort?” he demanded. His hand reached for his wand and found it.  It was at the girl’s throat before she could blink.  “Where’s Sirius?”

She swallowed, and he could feel the bob of her throat through the wand.  “Voldemort died decades ago,” she said.  

James studied her.  He knew liars, and this girl could be one of them.  She didn’t seem like it.  She seemed like an ordinary witch, early 20s, attractive in a can’t-be-bothered sort of way.  That didn’t mean anything.  He wouldn’t put it past that sadistic bastard to recruit pretty little brunettes and teach them to lie and cheat to find his enemies and, God knew, he was one of Voldemort’s enemies.  “Let me see your arm.”

“What?”  Her fear was alchemizing to confusion and under that was a little anger.  More than a little.

“Show.  Me.  Your.  Forearm.”

She took a slow and careful step back, then peeled her sleeves up.  Unmarked skin stared back at him, and James lowered his wand.

“Tell me what happened.”

She was getting angry now, and he couldn’t blame her.  Accusing someone of being a Death Eater was… it was something you didn’t do.  Something he’d never done, not to anyone.  “I don’t know,” she said, or rather snapped.  Her words had the brisk, chopped feel of someone feeling more and more put upon the more she considered the situation. “I came into this house, you were lying there, half-dead. I tried to revive you. I did.  Some thanks I got too.”

She huffed and stomped her way back toward the wreckage of his front door.  

“Wait.”  James sank down, what energy he’d had gone.  When she hesitated but didn’t turn around, he added, “please” and that did the trick.  

“I shouldn’t be cross,” she said in what was clearly meant to be an apology.  “You’re hurt.”

“I should be dead,” he said.   He put his hand out wanly.  “James Potter, at your service.”

She smiled and gingerly sat down next to him on the dirty floor.  “Hermione Granger.”

“Would you mind,” he felt crazy asking this but she’d said decades earlier.  Decades.  “What year is it?”

“2003,” she said cautiously.  He could see her hand steal to her wand in a movement she probably thought was stealthy.  Probably would be, too, if he hadn’t lived through a war.

Died in a war?

“You said Voldemort died?  How?”

“I mean, it was a long time ago,” she said, her hand still on her wand. “I don’t remember the history that well, but he attacked some family, and they all died but the father cursed him again and again and again.  Seven unforgivable curses, they say, and they found the bodies all in a heap. The war went on a bit after that, but – ”

“The baby?” he asked, his voice not shaking because he wasn’t going to shake. He wasn’t.

She nodded, and the sorrow in her face broke him.

James buried his face in his arms.  He wanted to cry.  He should cry.  Crying was the right response when you found your world had ended.  The tears wouldn’t come, though.  He wanted to scream.  He wanted to throw himself at the floor and force his way back through whatever veil had dumped him here, out of his own time, his Lily dead.  His Harry gone.  The tears wouldn’t come.  They wouldn’t come.  They wouldn’t come.    “Nothing,” he whispered. “It was all for nothing.”

She put an arm around his shoulders, gingerly at first, then, when he leaned into her, with more force.  And then he could cry.  James Potter buried his face in this stranger’s lap and wept until the sky outside went dark, until his body was stiff in the growing cold, until he was empty and bereft.  And she never left.  She started to stroke his hair after a while and, when he had quieted down, she asked simply, “Do you need a place to stay. I have a spare room in my flat.”

James wanted to laugh.  He was wealthy.  He was the heir to a bloody fortune. He had nothing that mattered at all.  “Yeah,” he said, pulling himself upright. “That would be great.  Thank you.”

[whizzbeeweasley-blog]

Journey on the Hogwarts Express

When he lifted his head, Carmella tried to discern through the bruises and cuts masking his face, desperate to recognize just one of her father’s features. His usually jovial brown eyes were now slits, his eyelids swollen to size of golf balls, red bleeding into the chocolate of his irises. His sharp nose was crooked, twisted into a 45 degree angle, blood gushing from his nostrils. His welcoming smile, which Carmella had inherited, now featured chapped black lips and chipped front teeth, smeared with blood.

Yet, seeing her father in such physical pain was not what shattered her heart; it was the shame tainting the warmth of his eyes, as if he were somehow to blame for the rearrangement of his face into a black and blue mess. But he couldn’t be.

Her father was not the type to be intertwined with trouble, violence, and crime. He was not the type to come home, staining the pristine carpet with blood, hurriedly packing her clothes into a suitcase, whispering nonsensical phrases like “must escape” and “have to hurry.” He was a quiet and focused, but loving and devoted man, working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Departement de la Cooperation Magique Internationale. He would make crepes every Sunday morning, buy raspberry gelato when she was missing her mother just a bit too much, drive her to the local pool for her swimming lessons, and travel to the beach at the end of term. He was her everything, her idol, her best friend, especially now that her mother was gone. He couldn’t possibly be to blame.

“Pardonnes moi,” he uttered, when he had finished ransacking up her room. He approached her and kissed her forehead, tears cascading down his cheeks.

“Pourquoi? What’s going on?”

“Ma cherie, you need to leave France. It’s not safe for you here, anymore,” he replied, shooting a furtive glance over his shoulder, scrutinizing the dark street below.

“Papa, s’il-te-plait! Tell me why you’re so terrified!” Carmella pleaded.

“A few months ago, when You-Know-Who began recruiting international wizards, to expand his influence I suppose, I was approached by la Republique to go undercover as a Death Eater and obtain information on his possible plans,” he began, running a shaky hand through his jet black hair.

“You… what?” Carmella tried to process his sudden revelation. And yet, it seemed to make sense. Recently, her father had been coming home from work in the middle of the night, with deep blue bags under his eyes, showing less enthusiasm and interest in his job than usual. She had just attributed this change of schedule to him and the rest of his department fighting against Lord Voldemort, not pretending to join him.

“Carmella, we don’t have much time,” he exclaimed, grabbing her suitcase and heading for her bedroom door.

“Wait, Papa! What’s changed? Why do we have to leave?”

“No, Carmella, you have to leave,” he sighed, turning to face her. “You-Know-Who’s plan worked. He has gained international support with many dark wizards, to the point that he has infiltrated la République de la Magie and unfortunately…”

“Uncovered that you double-crossed him,” Carmella finished, finally grasping the reality that her family was teetering on the verge of implosion, tears welling up in her eyes. “Well, okay, so we’ll disappear! We’ll go to South Africa or Thailand, you know, somewhere where You-Know-Who will never find us!”

Her father shook his head.

“No, Carmella! You have to disappear! Don’t you understand? Now that You-Know-Who has discovered that I have betrayed him, you have a massive target on your back. He knows that you are the most important person in my life, so he won’t retaliate by torturing me, but by capturing and killing you.”

“Haven’t they already attacked you? Isn’t that punishment enough?”

“This?” he asked, motioning his face. “This is for not going quietly. Once they find me, and they will, not matter how many times I Disapparated and Apparated to keep them off my scent, this will look like kindergarten’s play compared to what they have in store for me. Trust me Carmella, every moment that I’m with you, I am putting your life in danger.”

“But, where am I supposed to go? You’re my only family!” she weeped. “How am I supposed to leave you?”

“I have already made arrangements for you to stay at Hogwarts this year. I am close with the Headmaster, and he’s agreed to admit you to the school and help you find a family to stay with over the summers.”

“If you’re just shipping me off to school, then why can’t I stay at Beauxbatons?”

“Because Albus Dumbledore is not at Beauxbatons, and he is the only man You-Know-Who has ever been afraid of. I trust him and I trust that as long as you are in his care, you will be safe. I’ve put a lot of thought into this, ma cherie, and it’s the only way to keep You-Know-Who from finding you and hurting you. I’m sure of it,” he added, observing Carmella’s skeptical expression.

“I still don’t understand why you can’t come with me. I don’t understand why Dumbledore can’t protect the both of us!” 

“Because going underground, hiding from You-Know-Who, constantly looking over your shoulder, that’s no life for a girl like you, who has so much potential ahead of her,” her father replied gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Besides, your mother would never forgive me if I put you in harm’s way. Once You-Know-Who is caught, I promise I will find my way back to you. But for now, my life will just be too unpredictable,” he added, wiping her tears and pulling her into a tight embrace. 

A pop resounded in the empty street outside. Carmella and her father froze, fearing the worst. Slowly, she moved towards the window and slightly pushed the curtains aside. Looking up at her was a man with a long silver beard and flowing hair. He sported brilliant robes of midnight blue, embroidered with golden stars, matching the night sky, and half-moon spectacles were perched upon his crooked nose.

“Dumbledore,” she breathed, bittersweet relief washing over her. She looked back towards her father and forced a smile, a new wave of tears blurring her vision. It was time.

__________________________________________

“You’re new,” a voice interrupted Carmella’s reverie.

She looked away from the point on the window she had been fixing for the last hour, reliving her farewell to her father. Sitting in front of her was a teenage boy with shoulder-length black hair, a shadow of facial hair, and a mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes.

“You’re observant,” she replied, her gaze returning to the train window, watching the pastures and farm animals zoom past her.

“Anything from the trolley, dears?” a kind-faced woman asked from the hallway, pushing a cart filled with sweets and pastries. Carmella was about to refuse, wishing to be left alone so as to lose herself in her thoughts once again, when her stomach thundered loudly. She had gotten so caught up in the whirlwind of leaving her father and the country behind that she had forgotten to eat.

“Yeah, I’ll take Bertie Botts’ Every Flavour Beans and some Chocolate Frogs,” the boy answered, pulling out a velvet money bag and counting some gold coins.

Carmella walked over to the trolley, absorbed all of the options, and ordered some Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Juice. She thanked the woman, handed her some Galleons and returned to her seat, hurriedly opening the packaging of her sweets.

“I’m Sirius, by the way,” the boy said, between mouthfuls of chocolate.

“I’m Carmella,” she replied, after taking a deep swig from her juice.

“So, how come I’ve never seen you before? You’re clearly older than 11, so you’re not a first year.”

“Maybe I got held back a few years,” Carmella smiled, surprisingly grateful for the distraction from her solemn thoughts.

“I don’t think that’s how Hogwarts works,” Sirius laughed. “C’mon, what’s the real reason?”

“I’m a transfer student.”

“You must be the first of your kind. Where from?”

“Beauxbatons Institute.”

“Ahh, a French girl! I knew there was something I liked about you.”

Carmella blushed. She didn’t usually fall for troublemakers, but something about Sirius’s carefree attitude eased her nerves about leaving her whole life behind and starting a new school in a foreign country.

“Well then, welcome to Hogwarts! If you want, I can give you a comprehensive tour when we get to the castle, teach you the ropes, let you know who you should befriend,” Sirius said, motioning himself, “and who you should avoid. Wait, you haven’t been sorted yet, have you?”

“Sorted?”

“Yeah, you know, into houses. They don’t have those at Beauxbatons?” Carmella shook her head in response. “Ok, well, there are four of them: Gryffindor, the best house, for the brave and the mighty, and then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin,” he elaborated.

“You seem a bit biased. I’m assuming you’re in Gryffindor?” Carmella grinned.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Hey, Padfoot, where'd you get off to?” a voice called from the hallway. A curly-haired boy with round glasses peaked his head through the door of the compartment, a smirk slowly appearing on his freckled face.

“Nevermind, I get it now,” he added, winking at Sirius. He plopped down next to him, grabbing one of his Chocolate Frogs and surveying Carmella with a puzzled expression.

“You’re new.”

“Yeah, James, we’ve already established that,” Sirius said, rolling his eyes playfully. “This is Carmella. She’s from Beauxbatons, as in France.”

“You know, I have more appealing qualities than just my nationality,” she replied.

“And I would be happy to get to know them.”

“Oh, I’m sure you would,” James chuckled. “I’ve never heard of Hogwarts accepting transfer students. Must be some pretty special circumstances for Dumbledore to let you in so late.”

“Yeah, must be. So, what year are you both going into?” Carmella hurriedly changed the subject, not interested in rehashing the mayhem of the past few days to two strangers.

“Fourth,” James and Sirius answered together, not pressing the matter any further.

“You do that a lot?”

“Yeah, we’re often confused as twins,” James answered knowingly. Carmella attributed this to some sort of inside joke, due to their completely dichotomous appearance, although their personality traits did seem to align quite perfectly.

“I’m a fourth year too. Maybe you can help me catch up on the coursework?”

“Well, who are we to refuse a fellow student in need? Although, I have to warn you, I don’t know how much help we’re going to be. I don’t think we’ve done homework since March,” Sirius said.

“Of this year?”

“Of our first year,” James replied, causing an uproar of laughter from the three.

“What’s so funny?” Two more faces appeared at the door: a tall boy, with shaggy brown hair and a scar on his eyebrow, and a small, mousy boy, already changed into his school robes.

As the boys sat down in the compartment and introduced themselves to Carmella, she smiled, genuinely, for the first time in what seemed like years. She mentally pinched herself, so as to not be foolishly and naively optimistic that she may be able to return to some sort of normalcy at Hogwarts, but she couldn’t help herself. She looked around at the four joyful faces staring back at her, stuffing another Cauldron Cake into her mouth, and she couldn’t help but feel a wave of hope wash over her. Maybe, just maybe, she could make Hogwarts her home.

[illuminating-dragons]

Fading Scars (4/?): Close Call

Time: 2019

Summary:  After a dangerous mission, Harry's left badly injured. Still, he can go back to work...but does he have to?

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions".--Stephen Covey

           Waking up was confusing.

           It took longer than usual—it was bright behind his eyelids the first time he heard someone say his name, darker when he could feel his body again, and darker still when he finally managed to open them.  

           Harry opened his eyes a crack. He didn’t have his glasses on, and the room was a blur, but it was a familiar blur, from years and years ago.

           He could hear now, a bit. There were other people in the room, but no one was talking. It sounded like one of them was crying.

           Could he talk? Harry tried to clear his throat. “H’lo?” he rasped.

           There were a few crashes and several running feet. A blur rushed at him, threw its arms around him in a hold that nearly strangled him. “Daddy, Daddy…”

           It was James, but—it couldn’t be James, could it? Not his sixteen year old skyscraper of a son? Not shaking like this? What on Earth had happened?

           Two other blurs, shaped like Albus and Lily, hit him too. “Someone get Mummy!” Lily screamed. “Daddy, are you okay?”

           “I’m fine, Li-Lu,” Harry whispered, though he wasn’t quite sure he was.

           Someone put his glasses on for him, and he looked up at Hermione. She was ghost white, dark circles under her eyes. Harry looked around at his shaking, weeping children, and his heart sank. Something had clearly gone terribly wrong.

           “Mr. Potter!” It was Madam Pomfrey, striding across the Hospital Wing so quickly she nearly tripped. “Thank Heavens! Does Mrs. Potter—”

           “Ron’s gone to fetch her and the rest,” Hermione answered. She tried to tug at James, but James didn’t let go. “Jamie dear, your Dad’s got to sit up.”

           It took a moment, but Harry was raised into a seated position with Madam Pomfrey’s help. The minute he was, James pointed his wand at the bed. “Engorgio!”

           The bed became huge, bigger than his and Ginny’s bed at home, and James immediately lay down next to him on one side, Albus and Lily on the other. They’d mostly stopped crying, but they were clinging to him desperately. Harry touched their faces. “What’s happened, kids?”

           “You were hurt,” James whispered. “It was bad.”

           The door to the Hospital Wing burst open, and Ginny rushed in. “Harry! Harry, love…” she choked on a sob.

           “Ginny…” Harry reached out to her and Ginny kissed him hard, nearly hurting him.

           “Are you okay?” she asked. Ron stood behind her, face blotchy and red.

           “I feel okay,” Harry said carefully, “but I don’t quite remember how I came to be here.”

           Ginny looked up at Madam Pomfrey, who was mixing potions on a tray. “That’s normal, Ginny. Your husband’s been in a coma for three days, some mild amnesia’s only to be expected.”

           Three days…

           Ron must have understood his horrified look. “You were on a mission, mate. With Sindle and Davy.”

           Trevor Sindle was a new recruit, Ian Davy had worked for Harry nearly eight years. “We were…” Harry screwed up his face. “We were looking for vampires, weren’t we?”    

           Ron’s face was grim. “You were, on Davy’s information. But there weren’t vampires there. It was a group of Death Eater wannabes. You know, those horrid kids who go around in cloaks on the anniversary?”

           Bile rose in Harry’s throat. He couldn’t stand them. Acting like the war was lost that day, not won, because Voldemort had made sense…

           “Turns out they weren’t all kids. Some of them were Death Eater sympathizers from the last war. They were training these kids.”

           “And we just walked into that?”

           Ron shook his head.

           Harry’s stomach sank. “It was a trap, wasn’t it?”

           Ginny gently took his hand. “Darling, it was Davy. He turned and sold you out.”

           Harry shook his head. “No.”

           “He’s already confessed,” Hermione said.

           Harry closed his eyes.

           “This is too much for my patient,” Madam Pomfrey said. “Children, you need to let your father rest more.”

           “He’s been asleep three days!” Albus argued.

           “He’s been unconscious from curses, there’s a difference.” Madam Pomfrey handed Harry a goblet, steaming with Dreamless sleep potion. “Drink that.”

           “Can’t they stay?” Harry asked. “They’ve been through quite a lot. And maybe Ginny too?”

           Madam Pomfrey sighed. “Very well.”

           James rolled over and let Ginny slide in next to Harry, but he kept the same grip on Harry’s hand.

           Harry drank the potion and closed his eyes, letting his arm fall around Albus and Lily. He meant to ask where Hermione and Ron would be, how injured he had been, but the potion killed any questions before he could speak.

           The next morning he got more details.

           Davy had lured Harry and Sindle to a house not far from Hogsmeade where vampires were said to roam. In reality, it was a group of the New Death Eaters, and they were ready and waiting, along with their teachers.

           Davy had cursed Harry before they even got inside, but Harry had kept fighting, trying to subdue the black robed strangers without killing them. The older ones were experienced, however, and the young ones were merciless. Six of them hit Harry at once with the same purple flame Dolohov once used, and he went down. Sindle managed to signal for back up. Teddy Lupin had led that charge, and apparently had to be held back from killing Davy.

           Sindle was injured badly but was recovering well. Davy was under lock and key in an unknown location. Unknown, at least, to anyone who loved Harry Potter.

           Hermione considered this lucky for Davy.

           Teddy led the investigation in his place, and Harry’s heart ached. His brilliant godson had taken all of them down, and when the New Death Eaters were unmasked, one of them proved to be Alex McCall, Teddy’s first boyfriend.

           Teddy came in himself when Hermione was finished explaining. He didn’t look as tired as the rest, but that didn’t fool Harry. Teddy had figured out how to erase dark circles from his face the same year that he started having nightmares about zombies.

           He’s too much like me, Harry thought. Too keen to hide his pain.

           Teddy stood at attention, like he usually did when they were at work. It was a joke, a play on the fact that Harry was technically his boss, but Harry ignored it. He held out his arms, which still felt quite heavy. “Come here.”

           Teddy fell against him weeping, his hair turning black as Harry stroked it. “I thought you were gone, Bear,” he choked out. “Gone like—like—”  

           Because of course, Remus had been killed by the purple fire. Teddy had dug up the death reports, just as Harry had.

           “I’m here,” he whispered. “I’m right here, and I’m going to be alright.”

           And it appeared he would be. Their entire family—even Draco Malfoy, who’d apparently spent a good bit of the three days soothing Albus—gathered that evening to hear that Harry would recover in time.

           “I want you here for another week, Mr. Potter,” Madam Pomfrey told him sternly. “But you should be back to normal within three weeks, provided you don’t push yourself.”

           “He won’t be,” Ginny said, looking at Harry pointedly.

           “Don’t worry about the NDE, Harry,” Teddy added. “They’ve been dealt with. The idiots actually had most of their information in that house. Sindle and I are going to track down the rest, but I think we’ve already sent a pretty solid message.”

           “I’ll see what else has to be done when I get back,” Harry replied. “I’m sure you’ll have it well in hand, but—”

           “Wait, you’re not going back, are you?” James was on his feet, staring in bewilderment.

           “Not to the house,” Harry said hurriedly. “I mean back to work, lad.”

           “But—but you can’t!”

           “I have to, Jamie,” Harry said as gently as he could. “There are people counting on me; I have responsibilities. You know I’ve been hurt before.” He had—a house collapsed years before, and when James was five, there had been a hostage situation that ended with a broken leg and a new scar on his left shoulder.

           “Not like this!” James threw his hands up. “You nearly died, Dad! Why the hell would you keep doing this?!”

           “It’s my job,” Harry said, trying to keep his voice from rising. “I knew it was dangerous when I signed up, James.”

           “You weren’t a dad then! Or a husband!” James looked at Ginny. “Mum, you can’t let him do this!”

           “James, your Dad’s right. This is part of the job.”

           “You’re supposed to be a part of our family, too! But I guess that part isn’t as important!”

           Harry flinched.

           “James!”

           James stared at him for one long, desperate minute, then turned and ran. Lily jumped up and ran after him.

           Harry closed his eyes tightly.

           “He didn’t mean it, love,” Ginny whispered, touching his face. “He didn’t.”

           “Oh, he did,” Harry managed, clenching his jaw. “Ginny…I think you’d better go. I think you all better go. I need to rest. I need to think.”

           “Are you sure, mate?” Ron asked.

           “Positive.” Harry turned his face away, squeezing his eyes tightly together. He felt Ginny brush a kiss on his forehead, then walk away with the rest.

           A hand touched his forehead. “Harry?” It was Madam Pomfrey. Had she ever called him Harry before?

           “I don’t want anything to help me sleep,” he said as firmly as he could manage. “I need to think first.”

           He heard her set down a tray. “It’s there if you need it later,” she said, then walked away.

           He was alone.

           His son’s words rang in his head. You weren’t a dad then!

           And he hadn’t been. He’d been eighteen, young and nervous with Ron, desperate to finish the job they’d started. If they hunted down the last Death Eaters, drove back the creatures that Voldemort had summoned…maybe their lives would be safe.

           And even after Ron left to help bring George out of his agony, after Ginny said yes, after the last of the Dark creatures were under control…Harry had stayed. Oh, he took every chance to be at home with Ginny and later their children. Hell, he’d passed up promotion time and time again, because it meant longer hours, longer missions, and he had family to see.

           But then James had gone to school, then Albus, and now Lily. With each child in school, there were less demands on his time. He could take on more work. This last month, with Lily in school, the promotion had come up again, and he and Ginny had been talking about it.

           And he loved his job (other than paperwork of course). He loved the fight, the knowing that he was part of the solution every time he stepped out of the office. He always slept better after a mission, relieved that he hadn’t wasted his experience in the war.

           Wasted…

           Harry let his tears fall. Well, he used to love his job. Lately it was more pain than anything—frustration with politics, exhaustion from simple raids, longing to stay home some nights rather than go on yet another stakeout.

           Maybe he didn’t want to do this anymore. But he had to…

           Wait.

           Harry actually sat bolt upright. He didn’t have to.

           He could stop.

Could he?

           Could he live with that?

           But that wasn’t the right question, Harry realized. The right question was why did he think he had to stay at all?

           It had always seemed a natural progression. The boy who’d fought Voldemort so many times, who’d learned so much about the darkness of magic—what better than to be an Auror? He remembered thinking that at fourteen, desperate to get training, to learn everything he could. And even when Voldemort was defeated, that was all he could think of. What else did he have to offer, after all?

           Harry choked on a sob. How had he gotten used to thinking that over so many years? After all the grief, all the healing and working through pain and being in love and having a proper family and a house and children, his beautiful, wonderful children, and loving them and being loved by them and building this life…surely, he was worth more than just a fighter.

           He was worth something as a husband, as a friend, as a brother, as a son. As a dad and godfather and neighbour…and as himself. He was worth something to himself, Harry Potter.

           Harry hadn’t believed that at fifteen. No one had ever told him he could. His destiny was laid out whether he knew it or not, and the path he walked was a dark one.

           But there were no fences on that road, and there were others now, ones he’d looked longingly towards and never taken. He never thought he could take them, but they were there, right now, and all he had to do was take a step.

           For the first time in years, Harry cried himself to sleep.

           The next morning, Harry asked if Ginny and the kids could come back. James’ face was blotchy, and he started babbling an apology the moment he saw Harry.

           Harry held up a hand. “I’m leaving the Aurors.”

           “Really?” Ginny was clearly shocked, but there was something hopeful in her eyes. “Why?”

           Harry smiled. “Because I want to.”

           He didn’t really have the words to explain his revelation just then. He just held his family tight and promised that the moment he was well, they were going on vacation together for a whole month.

           And that’s precisely what he did.

           Harry’s resignation was on Kingsley Shacklebolt’s desk the next morning, and there was a letter in the Daily Prophet. Ginny had coached him through writing for a newspaper, and made sure it was on the front page.

           To Who It Might Concern,

           I have decided to leave the Aurors. This is not because of my injuries; I will heal, and be well, as has happened before thanks to the brilliant Healers we have. But this will be my last fight.

           I have been fighting since I was eleven years old, fighting battles I always thought might end the war. But they never did; there was always another fight. I thought it was my responsibility to keep fighting, and I have lost my perspective on when I am allowed to say that it is someone else’s turn to take up the battle.

           The truth is, somewhere along the way I got the idea that my life only meant something when it was on the line for someone else. Even now, with the wonderful family I have, I still have trouble believing that any idle moment is not a waste, a betrayal of who I am meant to be: a soldier in the cause.

           No one should be a soldier forever.

           I retire now knowing that the Auror department is in good hands. I have always wanted to help people, and that will not change, but for now I need to help myself believe that I am more than a soldier. I am going to take a break and work on that. I have faith that I will find that answer. I have a very smart family.

Harry James Potter

P.S. If you have any questions, please address them to me, Ginny Weasley Potter. Just be warned, I’m famous for my Bat-Bogey Hexes, especially when it comes to my family and stupid questions.

           It didn’t take much persuasion to pull the kids out of school, and they spent the entire month of October at a Wizarding resort in the Bahamas. James got very burnt, Ginny got very tan, and Harry gained ten pounds. The rest of their extended family spent the last week with them, and Harry took as many pictures as he could. There was a brilliant one with Teddy and Lily dumping water on Draco Malfoy.

           Then the kids went back to school, and Harry and Ginny took another trip together, this time to New Zealand. Ginny had fallen in love with the Lord of the Rings films, and they flew over the country together, sleeping under the stars each night. The last few days they spent in a remote cottage. Harry would blush for years when reminded of that cabin, but Ginny would just grin, remarking that it was quite good that it was so remote.

           Then back to Grimmauld Place and preparing for Christmas. Harry did all the shopping that year, delighting in being at home every night and preparing for the return of their children. And they came home, and Harry didn’t receive any urgent owls, or even read the newspaper some mornings. Instead, he read with Jamie and played chess with Albus and helped Lily choose colours for outfits and convinced Teddy to take a break too.

           Harry had worried that his retirement would impact Teddy, but Teddy had reassured him. “I don’t feel about it the way you did,” he promised. “You did it because you thought you had to, Bear. I want to. And maybe I won’t stay forever either—but I was never planning to.”

           “No?”

           Teddy shook his head, hair turning black. “I thought about maybe working with Uncle George and Uncle Ron. Or maybe helping Victoire with her music.”

           Harry kissed the top of his head. “Good lad,” he whispered.

           When the kids went back to school, Harry had lots more time on his hands. But that was okay; he soon found new hobbies. He learned to knit after an arduous process (Hermione nearly stabbed him to death with her needles), started doing puzzles, and he and Ginny joined a Muggle bowling team. They got quite good.

           Harry knew he didn’t have to work; they had plenty of savings, the Ministry was paying him a great pension, and Ginny was still writing for the Prophet. But as the months went by, as fun as it was, he started to wonder if there was something else he could do. Work that he could choose, that would be meaningful.

           He found it in a letter from Neville.

           By the way, Professor Tinworth’s stepping down; she’s getting tired of teaching. Suppose she broke the curse, so anyone could have the job.

           Professor Amy Tinworth was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

           Harry closed his eyes and remembered the Room of Requirement. Remembered Dumbledore’s Army, teaching the others, helping everyone feel stronger, braver…

           He went to talk to Ginny.

           That September, Harry got on the train with his children, and waved to Ginny. “I’ll be home after the Feast, love!” he called.

           He wouldn’t live at Hogwarts; he would Floo home each night, especially on Sundays. They still had their bowling games. But he would teach, at least for this year, and see his children and his nieces and nephews. He would teach, and help the darkness not look so scary.

           Maybe some of his students would be soldiers, but most would just learn how to defend themselves if they ever needed it, have confidence that they could fight if they needed to. They wouldn’t be afraid.

           And when he stood in the classroom the next day, facing a bunch of first years, Lily beaming in the front row, in the classroom that held so many memories, Harry felt a surge of peace come over him.

           “Alright everyone. Please put away your books. You won’t need them just yet.”  

[driveaugust1-blog]

Commentary: Here's what the government's dietary guidelines should really say - Press Herald

I have a confession. When the call went out to recruit members of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee, I thought about throwing my hat in the ring. I’ve got a few things to say, and I figured maybe there was room on the committee for a journalist.

But then I took a cold, hard look at my lack of advanced degrees, as well as all those elementary school report cards that said I didn’t play well with others, and I thought better of it. Besides, who needs all those tedious meetings when you can just use your column to tell everyone what you think they should eat?

So here goes. If I were writing the dietary guidelines, I would give them a radical overhaul. I’d go as far as to radically overhaul the way we evaluate diet. Here’s why and how.

The reason we know so little about what to eat despite decades of research is that our tools are woefully inadequate. Lately, as scientists try, and fail, to reproduce results, all of science is taking a hard look at funding biases, statistical shenanigans and groupthink. All that criticism, and then some, applies to nutrition.

Prominent in the charge to change the way we do science is John Ioannidis, professor of health research and policy at Stanford University. In 2005, he published “Why Most Research Findings Are False” in the journal PLOS Medicine, and he has been making science headlines (although not always friends) ever since. He came down hard on nutrition in a pull-no-punches 2013 British Medical Journal editorial titled, “Implausible results in human nutrition research,” in which he noted, “Almost every single nutrient imaginable has peer reviewed publications associating it with almost any outcome.”

Ioannidis told me that sussing out the connection between diet and health – nutritional epidemiology – is enormously challenging, and “the tools that we’re throwing at the problem are not commensurate with the complexity and difficulty of the problem.” The biggest of those tools is observational research, in which we collect data on what people eat, and track what happens to them.

The trouble begins with that “collect data” part. There are a few ways to do this, none of them particularly good. You can use a 24-hour recall, which gives respondents a fighting chance of remembering what they actually ate but doesn’t give you a representative sample of overall diet. Food diaries over a long period do that better but people tend to eat differently when they’re tracking their diet for researchers. Most large population studies use food frequency questionnaires (FFQs, in industry lingo), where they ask people to count up the servings they’ve eaten of a wide range of foods, often over the course of a year.

BIASES ABOUND

There’s no better way to understand the shortcomings of an FFQ than to fill one out (search “NHANES FFQ,” and you’ll find one). Maybe you know how often you ate pie last year, but do you know how often you ate “foods with oils added or with oils used in cooking (do not include baked goods or salads)”? A host of studies of self-reported data have found that up to two-thirds of respondents report eating a diet so inconsistent with their caloric needs as to be implausible.

Give tens of thousands of people that FFQ, and you end up with a ginormous repository of possible correlations. You can zero in on a vitamin, macronutrient or food and go to town. But not only are you starting with flawed data, you’ve got a zillion possible confounding variables – dietary, demographic, socioeconomic. I’ve heard statisticians call it “noise mining,” and Ioannidis is equally skeptical. “With this type of data, you can get any result you want,” he said. “You can align it to your beliefs.”

Ah, beliefs. Just about every week there’s a new study of a food funded by the people who profit by it. (New York University’s Marion Nestle has been tracking this for years; her 2018 book, “Unsavory Truth,” details her findings.) But funding bias isn’t the only kind. “Fanatical opinions abound in nutrition,” Ioannidis wrote in 2013, and those have bias power too.

So what do we do about this? “Definitive solutions won’t come from another million observational papers or small randomized trials,” reads the subtitle of Ioannidis’ paper. His is a burn-down-the-house ethos.

Frank Hu lives in the house and is understandably less enthusiastic about the incendiary approach. He chairs the department of nutrition at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, arguably ground zero of nutritional epidemiology. While he acknowledges shortcomings of the research in his field, and is respectful of Ioannidis’ criticism, he says nutrition researchers have brought much to our understanding of a healthful diet and can address the problems.

He pointed out that data collection is improving, with new tools to better assess diet and reality checks with measurable biomarkers (testing the urine of respondents in a salt study for sodium, for example). And he doesn’t believe biases undermine the credibility of the field. Often, they cancel each other out, he says, and the most authoritative recommendations, such as the dietary guidelines (he was on the 2015 committee), are the consensus of large groups looking at the preponderance of evidence. Still, he acknowledges that there’s work to be done. “If we don’t have challenges, our life will be very boring.”

MUCH ADVICE UNSUPPORTED

When it comes to actual dietary recommendations, the disagreement is stark. “Ioannidis and others say we have no clue, the science is so bad that we don’t know anything,” Hu told me. “I think that’s completely bogus. We know a lot about the basic elements of a healthy diet.” He lists plant-based foods – fruit, veg, whole grains, legumes – but acknowledges that we don’t understand enough to prescribe specific combinations or numbers of servings. The ongoing controversy, he says, has generated “a lot of heat but not much light,” and he’s afraid Ioannidis’ dismissal of the entire field undermines nutritional advice.

But if nutritional advice is unsupported, a little undermining is in order. Ioannidis is in favor of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but “the evidence behind them is pretty soft,” he wrote in an email. Older observational studies showed big reductions in cancer risk but newer studies show small benefits, if any. “When the benefit in published studies in the literature shrinks 10-fold or 100-fold over time,” he continued, “you have every reason to worry about whether this type of research effort can give you any reliable answers.” Heart disease risk reduction has remained sizable, Ioannidis noted, but it’s still observational data, and confounding and data reporting issues mean we can’t definitively link diet to health, a point Hu makes in his own research.

Big differences in what people eat track with other differences. Heavy plant-eaters are different from, say, heavy meat-eaters in all kinds of ways (income, education, physical activity, BMI). Red meat consumption correlates with increased risk of dying in an accident as much as dying from heart disease. The amount of faith we put in observational studies is a judgment call.

In the two decades I’ve been writing about nutrition, my confidence in what we know about food and health has eroded, and I find myself in Ioannidis’s camp. What have we learned, unequivocally enough to build a consensus in the nutrition community, about how diet affects health? Well, trans fats are bad. Anything else, and you get pushback from one camp or another.

And then there’s eggs, poster food for we-don’t-know-jack-about-diet. We used to think they were bad, because their cholesterol content contributed to heart disease. Then they were exonerated. Eggs are OK! And just recently, a new study came out saying not so fast, they might be bad after all. Let the eye-rolling begin.

SO WHAT DO WE KNOW?

Over and over, large population studies get sliced and diced, and it’s all but impossible to figure out what’s signal and what’s noise. Researchers try to do that with controlled trials to test the connections, but those have issues too. They’re expensive, so they’re usually small and short-term. People have trouble sticking to the diet being studied. And scientists are generally looking for what they call “surrogate endpoints,” like increased cholesterol rather than death from heart disease, since it’s impractical to keep a trial going until people die. While I hold out hope that we’ll get better at all this, it’s going to take a while.

Meantime, what do we do? Hu and Ioannidis actually have similar suggestions. For starters, they both think we should be looking at dietary patterns rather than single foods or nutrients. They also both want to look across the data sets. Ioannidis emphasizes transparency. He wants to open data to the world and analyze all the data sets in the same way to see if “any signals survive.” Hu is more cautious (partly to safeguard confidentiality) but does believe wider access to data and checking results against multiple data sets will help identify genuine effects.

I don’t think anyone would be against this – I’m certainly not – but remember those FFQs? You’re still working with flawed data, and I am not optimistic that we’ll get much actionable advice out of the effort. Neither is Ioannidis. When I asked him whether that approach would be more likely to solve the dietary advice problem or tell us how little we know, he said “probably the latter.”

The important question – what are we supposed to eat already?! – is still on the table, and I have a suggestion. Let’s give up on evidence-based eating. It’s given us nothing but trouble and strife. Our tools can’t find any but the most obvious links between food and health, and we’ve found those already. Instead, let’s acknowledge the uncertainty and eat to hedge against what we don’t know. We’ve got two excellent hedges: variety and foods with nutrients intact (which describes such diets as the Mediterranean, touted by researchers). If you severely limit your foods (vegan, keto), you might miss out on something. Ditto if you eat foods with little nutritional value (sugar, refined grains). Oh, and pay attention to the two things we can say with certainty: Keep your weight down, and exercise.

When I first started writing about nutrition, I used to say I could tell you everything important about diet in 60 seconds. Over the years, my spiel got shorter and shorter as truisms fell by the wayside, and my confidence waned in a field where we know less, rather than more, over time. I’m down to five seconds now: Eat a wide variety of foods with their nutrients intact, keep your weight down and get some exercise.

Oh, and playing well with others is highly overrated.

Source: https://www.pressherald.com/2019/03/31/commentary-what-the-governments-dietary-guidelines-should-really-say/

[equalmeasurefiction]

Cooking Head Canons: Republic City and the Krew

Korra, Mako, Bolin, Asami, Amon, Tarrlok... etc... All the other people. The Gaang The Gaang’s Kids

The Lieutenant Is A Gourmet Having grown up in Republic City in a mixed family, the lieutenant has a diverse culinary palate.   There’s a bit of Water Tribe, a bit of Fire Nation, and a bit of Earth Kingdom in every dish.  And the dishes are usually well-balanced and delicious. Since he has a limited budget, he usually goes for ingredients that are cheap, long-lasting, and easy to store.  This means that anything that he makes isn’t just good, it’s economical.  But sometimes he has to improvise since he doesn’t have all the tools he needs for a particular dish... Talent: Cheap, but delicious meals made with diverse ingredients and unusual techniques.   Weakness: Can be a little too experimental at times.  Not everyone wants to try Water Tribe Ice Cream with a Fire Nation flare... Pro: He can make fabulous dinners easily and with anything you put in front of him. He’s a masterful chef and understands the subtleties of food and flavor Con: He will try and convert you to equalism, and you might just do it because the food is just that good.  Also, stay away from the ice cream... it’s 100% pure blubber with berries and inferno fire flakes. Advice: Sit down, enjoy a rousing conversation, listen to him talk about the proletariat, engage in debate... Be prepared for when he comes over next week for dinner, because you’re supposed to return the favor (all things being equal and all).

Korra Is A Great Cook Korra was trained in the arts of cooking by Katara to ensure that the next Avatar wasn’t completely useless around the fire-pit/only prepared vegetables.  Korra learned all of Katara’s tricks and was trained to make a delicious and wholesome meals with whatever was placed in front of her.  She can prepare a delicious, wholesome snack out of three nuts and rock or even the best frog soup you’ve ever tasted.  And you would not believe how delicious her pickled jelly swamp-vine is. Talent: Like Katara she can make anything taste good, but unlike Katara she actually likes cooking.  Her favorite part, however, is putting things together so they look nice on the plate. Weakness: Sometimes making things look nice means that she occasionally puts things together on a plate that might be unpleasant to consume in the same meal...  This tendency to focus on appearance rather than edibility has hurt many a poor, unfortunate stomach in the past... Pro: She creates beautiful, delicious meals and often assists Pema in the kitchen (Pema makes sure she keeps things that don’t go together off the same plate). Con: Militant in her opinions about cooking (she was taught by Katara and Katara instilled certain values), particularly about respecting others styles and eating whatever is put in front of you without complaint (unless it’s poisoned).  So while she can cook, she will never actively volunteer. Advice: Ask her to cook.  Tell her to keep things simple.  Make sure she doesn’t coat the sugary, arctic yak-milk flan with the lemon-spice-grass mustard.  Yes it looks beautiful and the mustard makes the flan glisten like honeyed sunshine, but you will suffer horribly for hours after.

Tahno Could Rival Katara (If He Wanted To) Like the Lieutenant he grew up in Republic City and has a diverse palate.  But his interests are further diversified by his home environment- his family came from the swamps, so he grew up with an even broader culinary palate than most.  His mother’s cooking fused traditional water tribe recipes with swamp-tribe recipes and added a unique Republic City Spice flare... and he used to help her in the kitchen. Of course, as soon as he started hanging out with the tough-guys and pro-bending he stopped assisting.  He didn’t want his tough buddies to know he had such a feminine talent or that he was a “mama’s boy.” Talent: Exotic fusion cuisine. Weakness: Focused on athletics and has absorbed the ‘men don’t cook’ tradition from his water tribe neighbors and friends.  (His mother hates his friends, because she never gets to talk/spend time with her baby anymore!) Pro: If you can get him in the kitchen, he will make something delicious. Con: He will not set foot in the kitchen unless he’s desperate. Advice: Don’t even bother trying to get him to cook for you.  He won’t set foot in the kitchen unless he’s desperately hungry.

Bolin Is A Skilled Cook So, this one time, when Bolin and Mako were very desperate, they did a stint at a local restaurant.  They started off as dishwashers, but Mako got promoted to busboy and then waiter.  Meanwhile, Bolin cozied up to the chef and managed to become a helper.  He learned some great skills. Unfortunately, things went south when the Terra Triads got into a fight with the Triple Threats over disputed territory.  Since the restaurant was in that disputed territory, it was destroyed.  However, Bolin hasn’t forgotten how to make delicious foods... He’s just “too busy” to bother. Talent: Several delicious dishes of high-quality restaurant foods. Weakness: He’s lazy and thinks cooking is boring.  He’d much rather play with Pabu, or practice pro-bending, or go on a date, or... (you get the picture) Pro: He’ll cook if he’s not alone, will get praise for his talents from a pretty lady, and is in the ‘right mood.’ Con: He will always try to weasel out of kitchen/cooking/dinner duty if he can manage, because there’s always something way more fun to do... or someone more interesting to pay attention to... Also, Mako will steal kitchen duty from Bolin if he’s there and Bolin is only too happy to stand aside. Advice: Come over.  Bring the ingredients.  Convince him that you’re hungry and that you don’t know how to prepare a dish... Ask him to show you.  Talk to him and ask questions throughout the process.  Make sure Mako’s not there to take over half-way through.

Mako Is An Above Average Cook Mako can cook.  He’s been cooking and feeding his brother for years.  And while he knows his brother can cook, he is reluctant to let Bolin manage an open flame (seeing his brother near fire makes him nervous).  So he always takes over the cooking process half-way through if Bolin is at the stove. Despite his experience, not the best cook in the world.  He has a few specialties, but on the whole his cooking tends to be a little less than palatable.  This is mostly due to the fact that he typically doesn’t care what a meal tastes like, he just wants to put it on the table before it’s too late.  The work-day starts early and food is necessary for survival, so it’s important to choke something down before the day starts and at the end of the day... that’s his philosophy... Also: fire is energy, so meals should be hot.  Bolin is a bit of a picky eater (comparatively), so he made Mako up his game a bit Talent: He’s amazing as long as it involves fire and a pan.  His stir fries and fried noodle dishes are to die for. Weakness: Anything more complex is going to involve more peppers.  In fact, amount of peppers is directly proportional to the amount of complexity the dish calls for.  The fancier it is, the more your insides will burn. Pro: If you want a quick, fried meal that can be bolted down and still tastes pretty darn good, Mako is your man. Con: DO NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING FANCY.  HE WILL PUT A POUND OF BURNING DEATH FIRE PEPPERS IN IT.  EVERYTHING WILL HURT. Advice: Mako is your man for a quick, simple meal.  Avoid the Burning Death Fire Peppers.

Tarrlok Is Able To Cook A woman’s place is in the kitchen, but when there are no women around men must make do.  And when you’re in the Northern army, there are no women around ever. If you’re old enough to marry in the North, you’re old enough to serve in the army.  And if there’s a conflict, the Northern throne will draft young men to join the army.  When Tarrlok turned sixteen, the Northern Tribe got into a conflict with some Nomad Warrior Clans and he was drafted. New recruits always get stuck with mess-duty for the first few weeks.  This ensures that every individual in every squadron knows how to prepare quick, simple, utilitarian meals made from easy to locate ingredients.  Yessir, starvation was a thing of the past in the Northern Army! So, Tarrlok learned to cook simple, bland meals to keep them going in the often harsh environment.  And he hated it. The bland, flavorless food, the feeling of emptiness, the sense of existing on the edge of starvation, and eating meals that barely meeting nutritional requirements... it was awful. The politician has his own private chef and eats out whenever possible.  He abhors military food... but if he needs to eat, he will cook. Talent: Basic, utilitarian dishes that do not taste good, but will keep you alive (barely) Weakness: He always overcooks vegetables, and everything tends to be bland because he’s not comfortable with cooking spices (what does he do with this fancy crap?). Pro: You won’t starve. Con: It might be kind of boring.  In a soul-crushing kind of way. Advice: Maybe come over when his personal chef doesn’t have the day off.  Cooking his own food makes him very crabby.

Asami Can Cook... Maybe...? Asami is capable of cooking... in theory.  She once almost successfully completed a meal (it was a baked item.  It burned because she forgot it was in the oven)... In fact, home economics was the only class she nearly flunked out of in finishing school (the teacher passed her because her father was Mr. Sato and Asami completed every single Shop assignment and project even though she wasn’t in the class). Yes, for all her picky eating, Asami has never once successful prepared a single meal in her life.  She always gets bored half way through the process and starts looking at the kitchen appliances... and not in a ‘what do I do with this’ kind of way... Talent: Following clear and explicit directions.  She can do that.  She knows she can do that. Weakness: She gets bored and inevitably takes the stove apart before the meal is finished.  But don’t worry, she’ll rebuild it!  Bigger!  Faster!  More efficient!  Durable! Pro: She fixed/optimized your stove and added several useful extra-features, which will make your cooking experiences in the future amazing. Con: She forgot where she was in the cooking process and you’re stuck with half-prepared food... which has been sitting out on the counter too long and is now inedible. Advice: Invite Asami over to fix the stove before asking her to cook.  When she does cook, sit with her throughout the entire process, because if you don’t she will wander off to invent the refrigerator or the microwave.  Expect to have to finish the cooking process for her when she inevitably wanders off to examine your electrical board.

Amon Turns Everything He Cooks Into Coal And Ash (Even Water) In the north pole, men don’t cook.  That’s what women are for.  But you’d think that being on his own would have pushed him to learn some cooking skills, but that’s just the thing, he’s never been on his own.  From the moment he left the north pole, Amon has always sought to be surrounded by people. So wherever he is he’s always near someone who can do the cooking for him... That’s not to say that he hasn’t been asked to cook dinner.  It’s just that most people never ask twice. Talent: Raw food.  As long as it’s never been near a fire, it might be edible/palatable. Weakness: Burns everything.  Even a pot of water can become a conflagration.  He also doesn’t cut things up or do much prep-work before tossing it on/in the fire (except meat, he knows what to do with meat before cooking it, so it’s always artfully prepared before being reduced to coal), so he tosses everything together and charbroils it.   Pro: He makes the best charcoal.  Sometimes you can almost taste what it used to be. Con: He expects you to eat it.  He always expects you to eat it without complaint.  And if you do complain the look he gives you is so devastated and heartbroken that you feel like a monster... so eat the charcoal and smile weakly. Advice: Just eat the charcoal and pretend it’s good.  It’s better than putting up with his hurt feelings. If you complain, he’ll be passive aggressive about it for weeks.

BONUS ROUND

Saikhan Prepares The Food Of The Gods Secret Best Chef.  His father prepared meals for the Earth King in Ba Sing Se.  After the Earth King died and Hou-Ting took over, things went downhill for the family.  Hou-Ting had some strange and ridiculous demands, which offended and insulted Saikhan’s father’s sentiments about the fine and respected art of cooking. Saikhan’s father resigned and they decided to immigrate/flee to the United Republic.  There, the family set up shop and founded several well-respected an very popular restaurants in Republic City.  They enjoyed great fame and popularity and became accustomed to serving the broad and cultured tastes of Republic City’s elites. Everyone expected Saikhan to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he wanted to be a cop and a metal bender.  So he left home, went to the academy and never looked back.  His siblings, however, stayed in the Restaurant Business and are doing quite well.  His sister even married a gentleman named Kwan and set up a lovely little high-end establishment uptown. Saikhan can cook.  He was raised to be an artisan chef and master of the culinary arts... but he will never admit that to any of his buddies on the force.  Oh no, he hides his secret talent and prepares one fine dinner every week for himself to keep his skills sharp... in case he wants to impress a significant lady-friend. Talent: Cuisine suited for the Earth King’s tender and delicate palate. Weakness: Fear of being picked on for his talents.  He will not cook for you if he doesn’t believe you can keep his shameful and not-policeman-worthy secret. Pro: Whoever he ends up with will never go hungry or have a bad meal for as long as they live... once he trusts them enough to cook for him. Con: They can never tell anyone about it.  Not even their closest friends.  They must take the secret of his talents to the grave or he will never forgive them. Advice: As long as you’re okay with keeping secrets it’s a good bet.

ANYONE ELSE?

[waynekelton]

The Best GPS & Location-based Games on Mobile

Pokemon Go was a sensation when it first launched, and for many people it may have been their first brush with the idea that the GPS locator in your phone could be used for gaming. But Pokemon Go is not the only location-based augmented reality game out there - Niantic have been operating in this space well before they got the license, and other similar games have cropped up as well that offer differing and deeper experiences.

Here are several other strategy, puzzle and RPG games that will challenge your mind and the soles of your shoes.

Upcoming Games of Note

Minecraft Earth

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

Developer: Niantic Platforms: iOS & Android

Niantic is continuing to try and dominate the AR/GPS space with a new Pokemon GO style game themed on the Harry Potter universe. The basic gameplay loop is the same, albeit the presentation is a bit more awkward and the story is a bit thin. Some kind of 'calamity' has caused iconic people, creatures and items from across the Harry Potter world to appear in the 'present', and it you're job to hunt down this 'foundable' fragments and attempt to 'catch' them to complete a registry. There are some added bells and whistles - you can brew potions, and there's Gym-like locations where you go and battle creatures and death eaters.

So far, it doesn't look like Wizard's Unite has taken off in the same way Pokemon GO did, but it's still proven a popular game amongst fans. If we're being honest, the premise has not been adapted as well for the style of game Niantic makes as it could have been, but other than some minutia that could do with tweaking if you've been waiting for a half-decent Harry Potter game then this is definitely the best one to come a long in a while. If you need help getting started we've got a great beginner's guide, a general tips guide, as well as an in-depth analysis to the various locations in the game and what they do. 

Ingress Prime

Developer: Niantic Platforms:  iOS Universal, Android

If you like Pokemon Go, you should try Niantic's first GPS game Ingress, which has recently been rebooted as Ingress Prime. In what is a common theme for augmented reality games, there is a secret world hidden behind our everyday lives, with Exotic Matter spewing into our reality at various hotspots. In a clever bit of post hoc justification, these hotspots show up at cultural markers in major population centres because humans are naturally attracted to them.

Also attracted are two rivals conspiracies that will recruit you to use your phone as a scanner to control fields of influence. The old guard is not happy with the new changes to Ingress, but for a brand new player, they may be welcome. The interface is smoother and a bit flashier (at the cost of data usage). Plus, it's about to be an anime on Netflix!

Maguss

Developer: Mawa Platforms: iOS Universal, Android

Another recent GPS MMO is Maguss, which is definitely not trying to make the player feel like they are in the world of Harry Potter. This is a very polished RPG with unique combat and potion-brewing systems. You pick spells like cards and have a limited number of slots for each round, which happen in a timed-turn-based fashion. Then, you use your finger to draw the spells you want to cast.

The devs are apparently working on a magic wand peripheral for when you want to stop just playing games and really go LARPing. Maguss is also unique in having real PvP combat. However, it is definitely not a Harry Potter game. We cannot stress this enough. Maguss may be about a secret world of magic, and have four rival schools, and magic wands, but it is not a way to live out your Hogwarts fantasies in the real world ... at least until Niantic's third game comes out.

Orna

Developer: Cutless Platform:  Android

A new kid on the block is Orna, which basically takes your classic SNES JRPG gameplay and plops it into a map of your actual neighborhood. It's Dragon Warrior, but instead of wearing out your thumbs stomping around looking for random encounters you'll wear out your actual feet. There's also some multiplayer aspects where characters can grow strong enough to become Duke of their area and be challenged by other players, and the ability to form parties to cooperate.

This one is only available on Android for now, but hopefully it will gain enough attention to make the jump to iOS. IAPs get you class specializations for more options but aren't necessary to play the game.

CodeRunner

Developer: Robot Chicken Interactive Platform: iPhone Price: $1.99

A much stronger story is found in this AR game, which puts you in the shoes of a secret agent tasked with hacking suspicious citizens for the state by solving puzzles around town, some left by other players. CodeRunner really goes all-in on the augmented reality through its awesome audio, asking you to plug in headphones to play and giving you immersive spy 'dialogue' like instructions to keep your head down and don't look behind you.

The game demands that you move around a lot as well, which is great if you're trying to exercise more. It hasn't updated in a while, and you won't find many other players, but it’s a lot of fun while it lasts. Best of all, CodeRunner is a premium app, with no questionable IAP nonsense.

Resources

Developer: UN3X Platform: Android

This Android game puts you in the middle of a war of tycoons. The real-world map gives you various resources to exploit, but after that advancing in the game is mostly up to you. After building mines, you can refine the raw materials with factories and sell them on a standard or black market. Plus lots of other economic trickery, including attacking the facilities of nearby players.

That said, you don't need too many people playing in your area thanks to the global trading layer that keeps things interesting. If you're interested in tycooning and walking, give Resources a shot. It's free to play, and the IAP are more for early boosts or developer tips than for late-game domination.

DominAnt

Developer: Erik Melkersson Platform: Android

Speaking of domination, this is another one-man-developed location-based game on Android. Here, you've got a great ant-based theme with three teams to ally yourself with. Build up your anthills anywhere you like, and they'll expand on their own, gradually overrunning your whole town. Not only this, but the game is truly free-to-play, with IAP only for donations to the developer!

Geocaching

Platforms: iOS & Android

First of all, why not go back in time to the very first GPS game? Geocaching goes back to the age when GPS units were expensive contraptions primarily of use to forest rangers, not something we forget is built into our phones and constantly monitoring us like SKYNET. It's a straightforward game of going to a specific GPS location and finding a hidden package ... at first.

Each geocache is hidden by another player, and some of them like to set up puzzles first. Unlike most GPS games, geocaching is a curated tour of your surroundings. The standard app is Geocaching, based on geocaching.com. The game has a freemium model where a lot of caches are free to find, but some you'll need a subscription for. More so than other games on this list, though, Geocaching is the way to really explore your surroundings. It must be noted that there are plenty of different apps that plug into the geocache database, however

Reader Reccomendations

Hacker World War (Android-only)

Do you have a favourite GPS/Location-based game or experience? Let us know in the comments!

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