#snape and mulciber are so done

[t1oui]

surprise surprise i’m thinking about the rosier twins again

let’s just agree that pandora is consistently breaking into evan’s dorm, right? and because i hc the twins as a year older than the rest of the skittles, he doesn’t share this dorm with regulus and barty but with snape and mulciber.

(mulciber would put up more of a fight if he wasn’t scared of pandora, but he is, so he doesn’t do anything but roll his eyes in her and evan’s general direction every few minutes)

evan and pandora building blanket forts and telling each other secrets (they’re gossiping)

they’ll put a sign with “no boys allowed” on the outside and this actually evan’s dorm mates bc how else are they supposed to get the tea (pandora’s a girl and evan’s bigender and they think this is the funniest thing in the world)

these forts are also where they have their secret meetings (they’re setting their friends up)

they still do it as adults. evan will just show up with a bottle of vodka and a comforter and they climb in pandora’s bed

they still put up the “no boys” sign and depending on who pandora is dating, the reactions range from mild sadness (xeno) to confusion (mary) to annoyance (lily)

(because really, “no boys” means “no non-rosiers”)

(this rule means that, should she show up and want to gossip, narcissa is allowed into the fort)

pandora and evan know everything and the fort is how.

[anti-marauders]

Its funny remembering that in a way Mulciber and Avery are more respectful than The Marauders.

Cause The Marauders bully Lily's ex best friend Severus, despite James being in love with Lily and them claiming to be the good guys. Like bro if you want the girl befriend her best friend, damn.

And Mulciber and Avery, who are friends or acquaintances with Severus which is said by Lily, apparently don't do shit to Lily cause when she tries to get Severus to see how bad they are she only brings up the shit Mulciber did to Mary, someone Severus doesn't even know. Avery & Mulciber are clearly blood purists so they would obviously talk shit and I really think they'd talk shit about Lily wether they were friends with Severus or not cause she's a muggleborn and a gryffindor.

Yet Severus still hangs out with them and has no other issues with them especially cause he'd throw a fit if they talked shit about Lily. And if he did they'd clearly hex him cause they won't take shit from a half blood. Like wether they left Lily alone in an effort to keep Severus on their side to recruit him or not, they seemed smarter then the marauders. Cause while they didn't try to befriend her obviously, they knew if they wanted Severus on their side they didn't target the one person he truly cares about.

Now wether Mulciber and Avery were really close to Severus or not they still didn't target Lily or say shit cause I feel like they would considering how much James goes after her so they'd hear a lot about her. I feel like they'd attack her out of annoyance or berate her incase they thought she believed she was all that but apparently not cause Lily doesn't bring anything up and I know damn well she would have. Severus probably would have left them if they did.

[arkadijxpancakes]

James Potter and the "bare minimum"

Lately, I've seen a couple of discussions centering on Lily and James (and Severus), in which people claimed that joining the Order of Phoenix was the bare minimum James could've and should've done. A very similar argument crops up, when it comes to why Severus joined the Death Eaters. In his case, it often boils down to "What else could he have done?" and "Most people in his situation would have joined the Death Eaters, too."

Personally, I don't think these arguments work. They can't work, because they expect that they had to choose between joining the Order or joining the Death Eaters.

Which is flawed in and of itself, because those aren't the only options. They are not even the normal options - they are the radical ones.

At their cores, both the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix are anti-state terrorist organizations. They operate outside of laws, work in secrecy and are willing to use (lethal) violence to achieve their goals.*

And, on average, most people just don't join organizations like that.

They either keep their heads down, try to stay "apolitical", form civilian groups that operate within the laws, or join governmental organizations.

For James, the bare minimum wasn't to join the Order of the Phoenix. The bare minimum was to do no harm. The bare minimum was to love Lily, to support her and to be by her side and protect her, if needed. Apart from that, the only "bare minimum" that should be required is the bare minimum that is true to all relationships: pull your weight in the relationship and don't be abusive to your partner. (And while James was abusive towards Severus and a jerk towards Lily during SWM, he was also fifteen or sixteen during that time and the books state that he matured at least somewhat after that. So it's completely possible that he did fulfill that requirement.)

Joining a militant organization to fight for the rights of muggleborns exceeds this bare minimum. Most students, who went to school with him, didn't do that. Most people probably kept their heads down. Even if they were anti-Death Eaters, they might voice these views, but they wouldn't fight for them. (And they might not voice them either, because Death Eaters attacked civilians over this!) And if they wanted to oppose the Death Eaters, they probably joined the Ministry instead.

So James joining the Order - whether by joining together with her, inviting her in or following her - is actually a pretty big deal. A lot of people - including completely fine and loving people who were probably far nicer than him - would not have done that.

And a similar thing is true for Severus. When people say "most people in his situation would have joined the Death Eaters, too", that's just not true.

The only way you can come to that conclusion, is when you ignore all the decisions he has made prior to SWM. I mean ... yes. An abused teen who gets bullied at school, who denies the hate crimes committed by his friends, who heavily sympathizes with an anti-state terrorist organization that targets his best friend and people like her, and who just fucked up his relationship with said friend (who was the last person who kept him from joining up) ... will probably go on to join said anti-state terrorist organization that targets his (former) best friend and people like her.

But Snape made decisions before SWM.

Because, let's face it: Most people will never even think of the idea of joining an anti-state terrorist organization, especially if said organization is targeting their friends. And this does include most people who are abused at home and/or bullied at school.

Severus isn't most people. He decided to become friends with Mulciber and Avery. He also decided to excuse their behavior. He decided to listen to propaganda (despite having a friend who was directly affected by that). And he probably decided to join up, long before SWM happened.

So what could Severus have done?

The bare minimum. No, he didn't need to join the Order and fight side by side with his former bullies. But he could've refused to do harm.

* I'm well aware that this isn't particularly well written. Rowling never manages to show fundamental ideological differences between the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic or between the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix and the Overton-window is basically so far to the right, that left-leaning ideologies aren't even within sight. We know that both the Death Eaters and the Order are anti-ministry, but they are ideologically so close together, that it seems like they're fighting about minutiae, like the amount of violence that is acceptable and who can be targeted by this violence. I'm mostly going off of how this was probably intended, with the Ministry of Magic as the status quo and the Death Eaters further right and the Order of the Phoenix further left.

[sevinagreatergood]

I'll be up front with people. Since many may assume I'm a reasonable person. I'm not. I'm not at all. If it's one thing I have learnt in life, it's when people go low, I go lower without shame or a thought.

When I entered the fandom, I tried to be reasonable. I truly did. I even spent a whole month on making an essay explaining Snape's life and breaking down as much as I could at how not horrible he is. People have called me insane and that I needed therapy.

Guess what kind of people? Snaters. Being reasonable made me a Nazi, fascist, racist, and mysoginist. I don't know nor can I talk about other Snape fans, but I am easily fed up.

Now, snaters are not really humans in my eyes. They have family? I don't care? They're a woman? I don't care. They're a man? I don't care. I don't care about you, your troubles, nor your social network.

You cease to exist as a human in my eyes. Why? I hate hypocrites the most. I simply hate them. And snaters are full of them. They hate him as a teacher? Minerva, Remus, hagrid almost killed kids but they find excuses for them.

They hate Snape for pulling Slytherin up front? Albus, the boss of school adores Gryffindors. Minerva adores quidditch Gryffindor. Hagrid hates Slytherins. But they find excuses for them.

They hate Snape for being a DE. Same fuckers either read or write romanticizes version of joining DE that they label as Nazi.

Not to mention that those fuckfaces ride Bellatrix, Evan Rosier, Lestrange, Voldemort, Avery jr, Wilkes, Mulciber, Regulus Black, Narcissa, Lucius and Draco in cowboy style or something. They find excuses for them. I'm not even talking about fanon style. Some fucking bitch on TikTok is telling me Regulus is grey because he helped Albus. That's the fucktard in anti-snape fandom.

They hate bullies, yet the same fucking idiots love Sirius, Remus and James. With their infamous excuses:

- they were boys

- Snape gave it as good as he got

I'm glad your characters died. I'm glad James died feeling that insufferable failure of being so useless and powerless for once, they should've tied him up and made him watch how lily got crucio'd.

Maybe people thought I could be reasoned with. But I am fucking done with snaters. IRONICALLY they hate Peter, why? His face. It all boils down to the pretty face card. Snaters would suck Ted Bundy's dick or something. Snaters would side with the pretty criminals even if their acts were heinous as long as they have a face.

I hate that whole mindset. So fuck them, fuck them all, go fuck yourself, and take your bullshit sarcasm:

- I think you need help

- you know what's funny

Up your ass. I truly, truly, truly despise snaters. I'm done reasoning with them because they give me the most brain rot shit that I begin to start tweaking or something. If you think why? Well thank your anti-snapers that go around calling simple Snape fans Nazi, fascist, mysoginist and racist.

As soon as one of them begin like that, I call them racist too, classists supporter, grapist supporter, pedophile supporter, because apparently, to snaters, it's "who can spew the most bullshit" game.

I seem to have mistaken it for the "who can be reasoned with" debate. My fucking bad. But I'll join the game anyway.

Also, if you love or hate all characters INCLUDING Snape, this post isn't meant for you. This is purely a post for people to read that, snaters love actual racist Death Eaters with a kill count, bullying Classist boys, spineless authoritative responsible boy/girl, horrible friend, teachers with an actual murder attempt but hate Snape.

The least worst of them all. Snape was the least worst death eaters without a kill count. He was so not racist, Bellatrix found him suspicious. He was a strict and snarky teacher at most. The others almost killed kids. Snape was unwillingly surrounded by Slytherins, lily made willingly friends with people that spoke shit about Snape even though they were best friends. People downplay Snape's bullying a whole lot. He remembered James as his worst memory over war. That's how traumatizing that what James did, was.

[sixtsposts]

CW: female!reader, cursing, threatening bullying, Snevillus, Mulciber, harrassment, angry James, reader, physical bullying, kinda bully!James, bully!Severus and bully!Mulciber, mention of Mary's assault, choking, use of pet names (pretty, darling)

~•°•☆•°•~

You were walking down the hallway of Hogwarts, your books in your arms as your steps echos in the empty hallway. You put a strand of your hair behind your ear, internally cursing yourself for being late for class once again. But what can you say? You're not an early bird at all.

You sigh through your nose and start to walk faster, hoping the classroom won't be closed. Maybe you'll be able to sneak in without Professor Slughorn seeing you? At least it's not McGonagall, because she would have change you into a timepiece or an alarm clock-

Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear students chanting something in the hallway opposite to your direction. When your curiosity push you to glance toward the noises you realize there's a crowd assembled around something. You decide without an hesitation that good old Horace could wait a little bit, you wanted to know what was going on.

"Snevillus, Snevillus, Snevillus!" The students chant as you approach and sneak into the crowd of students, it doesn't take long for you to understand the scene in front of your eyes. The Marauders have once again pulled a prank, on no one alse but Severus Snape. The Slytherin boy was glaring deathly at Sirius Black and James Potter, his hair turned completly green.

"What's the matter buddy? Don't like your house color?" Sirius tease his ennemy with a smirk as he rest an arm around Remus Lupin's shoulders. James behind them huffed a laugh, "Yeah, we can see that you're very committed to your house, Snevillus," he snorted with a mocking tone and bump Peter Pettigrew in the shoulder, making him giggle too.

You can't help yourself when you let out a laugh, putting your hand in front of your mouth. You're not at all supporting the four guys' pranks, that's bullying. However, to be fair you need to admit that Snape is an awful person. You think he's loathsome at every point from what you've experienced.

And the Marauders looks, although, nice. They're in the year above yours and have always been nice to you and all the person you know. You know them from Pandora, Alice and Frank, you are not the closest but you hang out a bit. So you would rather not take part in the matter.

Though, it seems like you did the moment you let out a laugh because Severus glared at you, his dark eyes sending dread shiver down your spine. You shake the feeling and push yourself against the nearest wall, trying to make yourself small. You probably imagine him looking at you, he was surely looking at someone behind you. Right?

Few seconds later the four Griffindor friends decided to left the place before getting caught by one of the prefects. They make their way into the crowd of cheering students - mostly Griffindors. As they pass just next to you, James sends a wink at you above his glasses, his bright and confident smile making your heart beat faster. You probably imagined that too, he was surely winking at the... wall behind you. Right?

You shake all these thoughts out of your head. As the crowd slowly fades around you, the fact that you are late for class hits you again. And now you are, like, really late. You press your books to your chest tightly and start to run as fast as you can to your class. As you enter the classroom, the class has already started and you got lectured by Slughorn. Great.

Thankfully the rest of the day happens without any further incidents. You goes to every class and try to concentrate as much as you can. But it's hard since your mind always go back to what happened this morning, how James had winked at you with his sparkling brown eyes. But also, how Snape had glare at you with this threatening expression. You're still tense when you think of it, you feel bad for laughing too. You shouldn't have done that.

Luckily, you're not in class with any of James or Snape given you're in 6th year and they are in 7th. As the school bells rings, meaning the end of the day, you grab your notebooks and start to head toward the Great Hall. You walk quikly, the hunger being audible in your stomach.

Though, one of your book fall on the floor in your rush. "Shit," you curse silently and crouch down to pick it up. When you stand up again, there's no student left in the hallway. They're all in the Great Hall and you were about to join them when a voice stops you in your track.

"Fucking damn mudbloods," a dark voice spits with venom. You turn around to recognizing Snape with one of his friends Bruce Mulciber. Ew. Severus' hair got back to normal, you notice. Probably thanks to Mulciber. If there is one person you hate more than Severus it is for sure Bruce. You don't quite know why but some creepy aura float around this guy. You tighten your grip on your books instinctively.

"It's always you, huh?" You frown at Snape's words. What was he talking about? "Listen Severus, if you're angry because of this morning, I'm really sorry I laughed-" but he doesn't let you finish as he approach you quikly, this frightening look back in his dark eyes. "You're sorry? Oh, she's sorry," he mock you as he glances at Mulciber behind him, who laughs and stare at you.

"What d'you want Snape?" You ask defensively as you take steps back from him. You don't want to stay close to him, he is slightly scaring you. "Oh look at her Sev, she's shaking like a leaf," you hear Mulciber's deep mocking voice in your back, it makes you jump and releasing all your books, that falls on the floor loudly. How did he moved so fast? you wonder as you look between Severus in front of you and Bruce in your back. They circle you and you feel like a prey around starving lions.

"Mudbloods, always so scared and defenseless," Severus smirks meanly and his wicked words makes you nauseous. You frown at him, wondering if you should stand your ground or shut your mouth. Both are risked right now. Though, you don't have further time to think about it when you feel a cold and strong hand wrapping itself tightly around your throat. Your eyes widen as you realize Snape is trying to actually choke you. "You think you can laugh at me..." his grip is brutal and his eyes show no mercy.

"And get out of it safe?" You struggle in his grip, your hands holding tightly into his forearm as he slightly lift you off the ground. You can feel your face turn red from the lack of air, making it impossible for you to scream. You can hear Bruce's laugh in your back, his tone arrogant and merciless, you can feel them enjoy the show you're putting on.

"You little bitch, you're gonna pay for your four friends," you feel quikly tears prickling into your eyes because of the fear and pain his hold on your throat is causing you. Your hands are gripping at his forearm harshly, your nails scratching his skin. Though he doesn't react, like he didn't even notice your action. His dark eyes are locked on yours and you can see in them all the weight of his hatred, the humiliation of this morning fueling the fire in his heart.

As you almost thought that he was going to kill, now and there, Mulciber's body is suddenly propelled against the nearest wall. This catch Snape's attention, his eyes roaming over the dark hallway in search of the coming threat. Then, as his gaze locked on something behind you, his eyes widen and you can notice fear in them. However, before he can say anything, his own body is quikly projected against the wall next to both of you.

Though, he doesn't let go of you and brings you in his movement, making your head hit harshly the cold stone of Hogwarts' walls. You gasp because of the shoke and fall back on your bottom, wincing slightly at the sound of Severus body falling brutally on the floor at few feet away from you.

Your hand goes immediatly to your head where it hitted the wall, inspecting if everything was fine while your eyes scan the hallway to find who's here with you. You don't take long to recognize the familiar dark messy hair and round glasses when James ran to you, a worried expression on his features. "You okay?" He asks quikly and kneeled down next to you, "I didn't mean to hit you, darling," he explains with a frown on his face as his hands analyse your head.

"James?," you ask confuse but a little breathless. A wave of relief hit you as you realize James just saved you from a very shitty position. "I noticed you weren't in the Great Hall and I- I had a bad feeling," he explains as his hands goes to your cheek and he examine your face for any bruise, "Guess my guts were right.

That makes you chuckle softly, but your laugh quikly turns into a loud and hoarse caught. At this action, James' eyes goes down to your throat. You can see his brown eyes turning dark and you immediately understand that you must have a bruise on your neck. Instinctively, your hand goes to your throat and touch it softly.

"I'm gonna kill them," he mutters slightly, his jaw clearly clenched. You frown, concerned as he gets up, you've never seen him like that. You don't know him that well, but you do know for sure that James is not one to return match. Except on the Quidditch field. "You're not like them James," you try to resonate him with a genuine tone.

James look back down at your frail form on the cold floor, "How could someone want to hurt you?" He mumbles and it seems like he's asking the question to himself. You don't reply anything before Snape shifts on the floor. Yours and James' eyes turns directly to him as he weakly gets up.

"You," without thinking twice you see James throw himself at Severus, grabbing his collar harshly and pinning him against the wall next to you. You don't do any movement to stop what is happening as you stay still on the floor and look up at the scene. "This mugblood bitch mocked me, she deserved it," spit Severus without even looking down at you.

"You're lucky I don't kill you tonight Snevillus, you tacky piss of shit," he mutters lowly, his face close to the other boy like he was spitting venom. Behind his glasses there is fire in James' eyes, a fire you didn't know he had in him. Apprently, Snape didn't knew either since all the color have been drained from his face.

"Of course you'd have helped her," he mumbles, more like a realization then an accusation. "Of course," James hemphasize with a scoff his tone, "If you got a problem, next time come and attack those responsible, coward," he adds, pushing him more against the wall.

"If she crosses our way again, be sure this time we won't miss her," you hear a third voice, it's strained and heavy. It's Mulciber. James immediately let Snape sore body fall on the floor and turn to Bruce. "Levicorpus," and with a quick motion of his wand, Mulciber's body starts to fly above the floor as he gasps in distress.

"Say that again," James' voice is cold but you can hear a smirk in it as he make his way toward Bruce's flying figure. "Say that again to my face," he snaps now with anger and from your spot on the floor your can see James' face close to Mulcibers. Suddenly the tension in this dark and empty hallway feels thicker.

You can hear Mulciber struggling in James' spell, "If this little bitch of yours crosses our way again she'll regret it," he spits then, his voice is full of venom and hatred. James let out what sounds like a low curse under his breath. Quikly, his wand in under Burce's chin in a threatening way. James is a good wizard, not as good as Lily Evans, but good enough that he could hurt Mulciber and Snape really bad if he wanted to.

You just hope he doesn't want to.

Before James have the time to respond anything Mulciber adds something. "By the way, how is your little friend Mary?" Mulciber's voice is amused and teasing and beside you you can hear Snape snarking. And it's the last straw for James. The Griffondor lift his wand and all can you see is a white lightening before you see Mulciber's body on the floor few feet away.

There is no sound for few seconds before you break the silence, "S'he dead?" You ask with a little voice. James turns to you a little with a little frown on his face, "No," he mutters as he shoulders relax slightly, "Even if he'd have deserved it," he adds.

He turns to Snape after that, walking to him and grabbing his collar brutally, "I got a message for you and your little boyfriend: if you or him touches ever again one of my friend you can be sure you'll be hunted by more than just me. Am I clear enough for your shit brain?" He says darkly and all the Slytherin boy can do is nodding. James just let go of his collar, letting him fall back down on the floor.

Then he walks up to you, putting his wand back in his pocket. He gather your books before gently helping you up, one of his arms wrapped around your waist and his other hand holding your stuff.

"You okay?" He mumbles softly worriedly, his face close to yours and all you can do is staring in his blue eyes and nodding like an idiot. There is just too much that has been going on that you don't know what to do or say anymore, except "Thank you James."

The boy chuckles softly at your expression before his lips form a soft and warm smile, "You're welcome, pretty," he replies and your little smile turn a bit shy. That makes James giggle again as he begans to lead you down the hall, "C'mon, we should head back to the Great Hall. You must be hungry, huh?" He says as if nothing had happened and you are grateful to him for that. "A little yeah..."

[what-would-sappho-do]

Pandora wasn’t always friends with her brother’s friends. Evan never purposely excluded her, of course, but they were in different houses and Pandora was alright being on her own anyway. She really didn’t mind being alone. It was nice actually. She was quite content with her own company. Her thoughts were a constant chatter in her mind, she could have a full long debates and conversations with just herself. 

Sometime in her third year, Pandora was walking along in the hallway, occasionally mumbling aloud as she worked out a problem in her head. She just couldn’t get this one spell right that she had been working on. She knew the answer would eventually come to her, it just was taking longer than she expected this time. 

Somebody harshly bumped into her, sending her roughly into a wall. The books she had been carrying flew everywhere and scattered across the ground. 

Pandora looked over to see who had collided with her and saw a group of three Slytherin boys walking away and snickering. 

“Excuse me,” she called after them, “Are you alright?”

The boys stopped in their tracks and turned around slowly. 

Oh, she knew them. Mulciber, Avery, and Snape. She had heard many complaints from her brother about how obnoxious the older Slytherins were. 

“What?” One of them asked, looked genuinely confused. Ah poor boy, perhaps he needs to get his hearing checked as well as his eyes. 

“I asked if you are alright.” Pandora explained slowly so that they understood. 

The boy, Mulciber, she thinks, scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well you crashed into me, despite this being quite a large hallway. So I figured you might be injured in some way since you clearly cannot walk or see properly. Or is it a mental problem? Do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey?”

The boy’s eyes widened in rage. He strode forward and pushed her into the wall again. 

“Why you little-“

“Hey! Get away from her!” 

Pandora calmly raised her wand and said clearly, “Flosfaciem.”

The older boy’s looked confused for a moment. Then, suddenly, a flower began to grow out of his skin, right next to his nose. He didn’t notice it at first. Then a flower grew on his forehead. Then his cheek. His chin. Right above his eye.

Soon he began to scream as his entire face had sprouted little flowers. 

“GET IT OFF! WHAT IS HAPPENING? GET THE BLOODY THINGS OFF!”

The three boys ran away, hopefully toward the hospital wing.

“Oh. So it does work.” Pandora commented to herself happily, putting away her wand. She turned around and saw three other boys staring at her in shock. 

Evan still had his wand raised from when he had been about to curse Mulciber. His two friends, Barty and Regulus, stood next to him looking equally wary and impressed. 

“What the bloody hell just happened?” Barty asked, aghast.

“I figured out that spell I had been working on!” Pandora exclaimed excitedly, “I was pretty sure I had it right but I didn’t have anything to test it on so I couldn’t be sure. But it was definitely right! It worked perfectly!”

“So sorry to interrupt. That is great, fabulous, really. Just checking here, are you saying that you just invented a spell? And used Mulciber as your guinea pig?”

Pandora scowled, “I would never use an animal to experiment. That’s just cruel. They haven’t done anything.”

Evan’s other friend, Regulus, interrupted Barty before he could say anything else.

“That was incredible. Do you think you could teach me that spell?”

Pandora beamed, “Of course!”

Pandora and Regulus began to walk together and discuss different spells Pandora had invented or was working on. Before they rounded the corner, she heard Barty remark to her brother, “Damn Rosier. Why didn’t you tell us your sister is so cool?”

Pandora wasn’t alone after that. And she found that not being alone was nice too. 

also, I thought I should probably tag all the people who said they were interested in this so: @noblehouseofgay @bralnwashed @l1ve-l4ugh-lov3craft @cosyfroggo @obsessedwithstuff @thatoneslytherinnerd

[persephone-writes]

A Diviner's Guide to James Potter

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Black Lake

James Potter x Fem!Gryffindor!Reader

Chapter Twenty-Five - Chapter Twenty-Seven ☆ Series Masterlist

Description: It seems as though months of secrets, omens, and animosity is coming to fruition, swirling in a storm above Hogwarts.

Word Count: 9.7k

You barely slept on Wednesday night. 

Instead, your half-lidded eyes followed the patterns in the woodgrains on the beam above your bed, looking for flowers or waves, anything to lull you to sleep. Dorcas had remembered her silencing charm, leaving the room eerily quiet in your paranoid state. Some relief came when the birds began chirping as the sun cast its rays over the horizon, brilliantly yellow against the cotton clouds. The mountains, now covered in the deep greens of fir-trees and chartreuse grasses, stood imposing and spectacular in the distance. You peeked out your curtain at the sight, splendid as any pastoral scene could be, though you found little happiness in it. The day would seem dreary no matter what the weather was. 

Marlene met your eye as you sat on the edge of your bed, knotting your tie as Dorcas and Lily readied themselves in the lavatory. She didn’t need to say a thing, her subtle, supportive smile enough to make you feel just a tad better. You had informed her of your plan a few days ago, asking that she vacate the dormitory at the end of classes so that you could have your talk with Lily. Dorcas would be off at quidditch practice during that time, meaning that nothing could prevent you from getting Lily alone, nor would it allow you the excuse of, as Sirius had put it, chickening out. 

“Gracing us with your presence?” 

Mary crossed her arms on the table, looking sideways at Dorcas. “Good morning to you, too.”

Mavors Thorne, her boyfriend, was beside her, sticking out like a sore thumb in his yellow and black uniform at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. He had on a polite smile, some of his confidence seemingly practiced just for the occasion. You thought it was sweet, and something Mary would also do if presented with the challenge of meeting a few of the most popular and boisterous people in Hogwarts. From what you could gather from the few times you’ve spoken, and from what Marlene had been able to squeeze out of Mary, he was rather shy.

Mary leaned over the table to look at the guys, who could not easily see her from their places. It was work convincing James not to sit by you, though with Mulciber on the prowl, it needed to be done. Despite your tougher attitude, Mulciber, Wilkes, and Zephyr were worse than before, snickering and casting taunting looks towards you from across the classroom, all with enough prudence to never get caught. Snape, however, remained as impassive as he had been since his conversation with you in April. 

Because of their renewed gall, it was imperative that Mulciber have no proof of yours and James’s romance, leaving his suspicions completely unfounded. Peeves was taken care of on Saturday night, thank Godric, meaning that Mulciber would have to tail you or James all day long without getting caught in order to catch even a whiff of the truth. So, James was in his normal spot across the table, which to each of you felt miles apart. 

“Hey guys, this is Mavors,” Mary said, falling back to allow Mavors to throw up a hand in greeting. “This is Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James,” she continued, going down the line. 

“Hey, kid,” Sirius said through a mouthful of food. Dorcas elbowed him in the side, his fork clattering onto his plate. “What?” he asked, swallowing. 

“They’re a year below us.” 

“It’s more than that,” he said, his voice rising in pitch. “I’m born in November.”

Lily sighed, looking just about ready to roll her eyes when she glanced at you. “Not this again.”

“Just eat your food, grandpa,” Remus said, nodding towards Sirius’s plate. 

You laughed because everyone else did (other than Sirius, who was quite grumpy), trying to ignore the knot twisting and turning in the center of your chest. You attempted to swallow down the awful choking feeling in your throat with a sip of your tea, reminding yourself that you still had over seven hours until the big event. You had rehearsed for every possible scenario, even the improbable circumstance of Lily being totally and completely fine with everything. When you placed your mug back down onto the table, carefully between the jug of pumpkin juice and jar of strawberry jam, James gave you the briefest of smiles, hidden within a laugh at something else you had missed in your ruminations. It was enough to get you through breakfast without collapsing onto the floor of the Hall, which would have most definitely put a damper on your plans.

You were going to the library with Lily and Marlene third period before lunch, with Lily leaving breakfast to visit Professor Bainbridge for some extra Alchemy practice. Marlene seemed more than happy to have you alone, gnawing at her lip all the way back up to the common room. 

“How’re you feeling?” she asked once you were in your dormitory. 

You shrugged, sitting down at your desk. “I could be worse, I guess. I haven’t fainted yet, which is a good sign.”

“And you’re joking,” she said happily. 

“I wasn’t.”

Her mouth pulled to the side as she strolled over to Lily’s bed, perfectly made, letting herself fall into it. With her arm behind her head, she looked up at you in what you assumed to be an encouraging manner. “Why don’t you and James ever hang out with me? I mean, you wouldn’t have to hide or anything.”

She didn’t sound offended, even if her question suggested that she was. You also weren’t sure how this was meant to make you feel better, though you humored her anyway. 

“I don’t know. I think it’s just easier to hide from everyone all at once, that way there's a better chance that we won’t slip up. It’s not personal,” you answered, still staring down at your DADA textbook. 

“Yeah, that makes sense,” she said, her gaze flickering up towards the ceiling. “You’ve always had your own world, though, inside your head. It’s not entirely surprising you kept it to you and him. I’ve got nothing hiding up here but song lyrics and that time I got chocolate sauce all over me at my cousin's wedding.” She cringed at the memory, laughing soon after. “But I guess it’s not so secret if you all know about it.”

“I don’t know how true that is,” you mumbled into your palm. You didn’t like to think of your head as anything but perfectly normal. 

Marlene sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. You glanced over at her, reminded of how she always seemed like spring personified: spirited, vivacious, girlish in a way that did not make her seem weak, but rather, quite powerful. 

She bent forward, her eyes bright as she looked at you. “Are you questioning my judgement?” 

You didn’t answer, chuckling despite yourself. She always had been good at making you laugh. Still, that didn’t stop you from folding your arms on your desk, your head dropping into them with a noise of discontent. 

“Since it’ll all be out in the open in about, oh, six and a half hours,” she began, her eagerness growing like the building momentum of a train leaving the station, “give me some details. You barely talk about him, and when you do you’re so buttoned-up. I want the love song stuff.”

You picked your head back up, your shoulders slumping forward. For a long moment you mulled over her suggestion, your initial reaction of an astounding “no” seemingly slightly less reasonable as you considered it fully. Never once had you allowed yourself to gush about James, likely for the same subconscious reason that you both never fully allowed yourself to act like a couple around Marlene and Sirius. However, Marlene’s astute observation that this reasoning would be null and void in six hours threatened to open the floodgates of your more immature attributes. You would have to get over the embarrassment sooner rather than later, so why not just rip off the bandaid?

Marlene’s grin slowly returned as she saw your expression change, her lip resting between her teeth. 

“Don’t make me regret this,” you said, though your harsh tone did nothing to rid her giddiness. 

She laughed in disbelief, crossing her legs as if to settle into a long conversation. “I can’t believe that worked. Am I rubbing off on you?” 

You snorted. “Merlin, I hope not.” 

When you didn’t speak further her eyes widened, boring into yours expectantly. “Well…” she urged. 

“What do you want to know?” you asked, your outward show of annoyance masking the embarrassment festering in the back of your mind. 

Her face lit up, thrilled at the chance to steer you in the direction of her choosing. “Is he a good kisser?”

You were scorching hot as if you were standing on the surface of the sun itself, engulfed in its infinite supply of flames. You could feel the heat flooding your face, enough to make the back of your neck sweat. 

“Really?” you groaned, wishing you had the invisibility cloak so you could disappear forever. 

“Yes, really,” she said with a zippy sort of laugh, bouncing and exuberant. “Fine, I can go first. Okay, lets see…remember I kissed Maxwell in third year playing catch the comet? He was just all right. Eddy was good, a little too overzealous, but I can forgive him for that. Zephyr was okay. And Sirius—”

“I’m begging you to stop.” You put your face into your hands, wondering how you were going to get through this alive. You could hear Marlene laughing, though you didn’t dare look. 

“Okay, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Ugh, fine. He’s great. Are you happy?” You dropped your hands, trying your best to glare at her. It was difficult when she was so overjoyed. 

“Great-great or just really good?” she asked, so overcome with surprise that you had revealed much of anything that your frown did nothing to damper her enthusiasm. 

Her expression slowly broke you down, accessing some foreign recess of your mind. Without warning or intention you began to giggle, confused by your own capriciousness. 

“Great-great,” you said, the tightness in your chest beginning to loosen.  

She forced you to tell her about the night after the party, though you were able to keep the vast majority of details to yourself. Disappointed by your lack of willingness to share, she moved on to rhapsodizing about the times she’d seen him dance with you. As you listened to her speak you were practically running a temperature. 

“He is a good dancer, but he looks even better with you. Dorcas said something to me about it after you two left the common room—”

“She did?” you all but shrieked. 

“She didn’t say anything to Lily,” Marlene assured. “It was just one of those stupid things she says. I think she was joking, anyway.”

You were more irritated than anxious, deflating as you asked the dreaded question, “What did she say?”

“That Steven was shooting daggers at James,” she snickered, “and that he looked positively devastated when you left together. But it’s Steven, so I’d hardly worry about it.”

Steven Byrne was the least of your worries, though it did remind you of something James had said on Saturday to which you’d given only fleeting thoughts: you should’ve heard my thoughts before we kissed. Instead of wanting to hex every guy who looks at you, now I just wanna gloat. 

“I don’t care about Steven,” you began. “Though none of this will really matter by dinner, will it?”

Marlene's eyes softened, staring at you for a long, almost tranquil moment. She was looking at you the way a parent looks at their eleven year old at platform 9 ¾ , just before they get on the train. 

You furrowed your brows, now laughing in confusion. “Do I even want to know what you’re thinking?”

“You’re really in love, aren’t you? Like death-do-us-part, let's buy fancy china and not worry about who really owns it love.” 

She spoke with such fervency, such pleasant astonishment that it was nearly enough to knock you off your chair.

You nodded, almost as shocked as she was. “Yeah,” you sighed. “I mean, we’re not engaged, but yeah.”

“I knew you were, but I guess I just didn’t,” she stopped, still looking at you in a warm kind of amazement. “Godric, if I were you I’d never shut up about it.”

“Believe me, I know,” you said, shaking your head at her, sending you both into another fit of laughter. 

⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓⌓

From across the table, you watched Lily and Remus scribble down symbols onto their parchment, some of which you vaguely knew the meanings of. Ancient Runes always seemed to be incredibly archaic, impossible to fully grasp. How could you ever interpret a language so old and complex, never truly knowing if you were right or wrong? You supposed it wasn’t unlike Divination in that sense, constantly subject to reinterpretation. Still, Divination seemed more forgiving. If your prediction didn’t come to fruition, all you needed to argue was that the future is fluid, never set in stone. In Ancient Runes you had no such crutch. You were either correct or incorrect, though it was quite possible to go all your life believing you were right, when really, you are wrong. For reasons even unknown to yourself, that fate, that type of failure, seemed like an insurmountable burden. 

Every once in a while they’d compare something to each other’s work or whisper a question, though for the most part, they were silent. You were trying to do your own work, though Defense Against the Dark Arts was the furthest thing from your mind. You had passed overwhelming anxiety and moved into reminiscing about simpler times, long before Lily even considered going out with James. Then, he was just some overly energetic boy you knew who’d sometimes pester your friend enough to get her livid. A few memories were tainted with Severus, always quiet and meek, though never unkind…then, at least. He’d even help you with potions if you asked. 

What you remembered most out of everything else was never being alone. You had come to Hogwarts expecting one thing, to be sorted in the house of your father, where everyone thought you’d belong, only to receive another. Even when the Gryffindor’s cheered for you as you approached their table, you’d anticipated a certain degree of exclusion. Lily had changed your mind. Even as you grew more independent of each other your bond never weakened or became obsolete. It only changed shape, adapting and shifting, entirely unrigid. 

Your lips quirked up when you remembered something silly you and Lily had done when you were younger, something so innocent yet entirely based on love. When you left the library to go to lunch you mentioned it to her. “Do you remember when we used to say we were fifteenth cousins?”

Lily laughed, her gaze drifting off as she recalled the memory. “Of course, I do. We spent half the summer trying to figure out who the squib was in my family.”

The logic your twelve year old minds were running on was not entirely unsound. There must be a squib somewhere in Lily’s ancestry, for all muggle borns are descendents of one. You each gave your best attempts at formulating a comprehensive family tree in an attempt to find such squib, though after a certain point most people, muggle or wizard alike, didn’t keep very good records, leading to dead end after dead end. You were each hoping to find that your family trees both led to the same squib, thus making you distantly related. The disappointment over your failure to find any wizard connection between you was great, though it didn’t stop you from believing that perhaps, however unlikely, you were still sort of like sisters. 

“I think I still have one of your letters,” you chuckled. “I’m pretty sure it's when we thought it might’ve been your great-great-great uncle Leland.”

“Godric, yes! I forgot about uncle Leland. He was just a bit strange, though.”

Remus, who had been trailing close behind, let out a snort. “Unsurprising.”

Lily rolled her eyes, looking up at him with a blank face. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t insult my relatives, no matter how long they’ve been dead.”

Remus smirked, sticking his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “I apologize.”

“You’re forgiven.”

It was sixth period. James, Sirius, and Dorcas went off to quidditch practice, Remus and Peter to do who-knows-what, and Marlene to “meet with Professor Sprout”. You were already in your dormitory, pacing back and forth in front of the stove taking deep breaths, though it was of little use. You were a jittery mess, your hands moving from place to place, never comfortable in one spot. When the door finally opened you took them from your pockets, your arms at your side for a brief moment before they came to rest on your hips. Lily noticed your odd disposition, giving you a look of puzzlement as she shut the door. 

“Is something the matter?” she asked, moving to toss her bag on her bed. 

You swallowed, your eyes darting away. “I need to talk to you.” It was a great effort just to get yourself to speak, though a good sign you’d been able to do it at all. 

Lily stopped, standing by the foot of her bed as she stared at you. “What’s wrong?”

Your throat began to burn, though you pushed the feeling down, your eyes lifting to look at her through your lashes. “I want you to know you’re my best friend in the whole world, okay?” your voice trembled slightly, weak with every word. “And I love you to death.”

She said your name, coming to stand in front of you, clearly concerned. 

“Of course, I know that,” she said, trying to calm you. It only made the guilt rise up again, for in a moment you knew she might regret every moment of kindness she ever spent on you. “What’s this all about?”

Three loud bangs sounded on the door, both your heads whipping in its direction. It nearly knocked the wind out of you, sending your mind spinning out as the pounding continued. Lily went to open it, revealing Agnes Waters with her fist raised for another knock. 

“It’s Peeves!” Agnes said, her eyes like saucers. “He’s in the ground floor corridor near the Entrance Hall with fizzybombs—”

“Merlin’s beard,” Lily gritted, glancing back at you as she moved past Agnes. “I’m sorry, Y/N—”

“No, go,” you said, following behind. If you weren’t in the middle of a mild panic attack, you may have found the irony of the situation hilarious. 

You ran through the corridors and down the grand staircase, the sound of surprised yelps and cackling laughter echoing off the marble as you moved into the Hall. Smoke was billowing out of the adjacent corridor, a few students scurrying out and across the room. The pitter patter of their steps melted into a cacophony of chaos, sending Lily bounding forward. 

When you turned into the corridor you saw Peeves floating above a crowd of students, his grin wicked as he held a pile of fizzybombs in his arms. A student tried to knock him down from the air with a spell, though Peeves only lifted away, whizzing through the air as he tossed another bomb down onto the floor. It exploded with a pop, sending an array of sparks shooting into the air followed by a plume of smoke. 

“Peeves!” Lily shouted, pushing through the scuffle.

Peeves only snickered, blowing a raspberry at Lily before swooping down to ruffle her hair. 

She craned her head to glare up at him, looking back at you in complete exasperation. “This’ll be a while. It’s best just to go back to the room so you won’t be tortured.” 

You nodded, coughing as Peeves tossed another fizzybomb right by your feet, the smoke choking your lungs. Another set of shouts ensued from the students, mostly first-years, Lily telling them all to head to class with no shortage of annoyance. 

You took her advice, leaving the corridor to go back up to the room and wait. Your plan of keeping her in a good mood was utterly failing, the universe practically mocking your efforts. As you agonized over the unfortunate turn of events, you hardly noticed a pair of steely eyes staring at you from the wide marble staircase. The moment your gaze found his a chill like death ran down your spine, setting your body rigid and your heart racing. His hand gripped the railing, his hair hanging into his forehead as he continued to lour. Whatever you had seen within Mulciber before was not darkness, for you never saw the true meaning of that phrase until now. It erased all reasonable thought from your mind, replacing it only with the impulse to flee. 

You spun, bolting across the Entrance Hall and out the door, flying down the front steps in a frenzy. You took your wand from your pocket, looking back when you heard his growling voice calling out your name. You stopped along the main path between the two hillocks, each covered in little, delicate flowers, spinning around to take a defensive position, the one you had practiced with James. 

“You’re a sneaky thing, aren’t you?” he spat, his face contorted into a haughty grimace.  

His voice dripped with a loathing that seemed as though it had been brewing over much time, leaking from the walls of his cool exterior. He took a step towards you, though you did not move. His sneer turned into a smirk, his eyes roaming over your figure, entirely motionless. 

“How’d you find out about our plan? Was it Peeves, or your little boyfriend?” He taunted you now, his shoulders rising as he took another small step. “For a while I thought you two had broken up, but you must’ve worked things out, by the looks of it,” he paused, laughing to himself. “Does your friend know, the mudblood? Doesn’t seem as though she does.”

Blood rushed to your ears and face, though you only hardened your expression, your hand clenching around your wand. You saw something in his eyes so horrid, so unspeakably venomous that you knew at once what he wanted to do. It petrified you, though you could not allow him to see it. 

“We’re on Hogwarts grounds,” you began, forcing your voice not to waver, “you won’t get away with killing me here. You’ll be sent to Azkaban to rot.”

He laughed again, a horrible sound. “We’ll see— Expelliarmus!”

You blocked his spell, stumbling back for a moment before regaining your footing. “Impedimenta!”

“Protego!” His eyes narrowed as you dashed to your right towards the lake in the hopes of finding some shelter behind a line of trees. “Confringo!” 

A blast of fire burst towards you, nipping at your heels. 

You turned fast enough to block most of it, the flames bouncing off your shield and ricocheting over your head. As it faded you ran further, hugging the bushes growing along the shore. You looked back again, seeing Mulciber raising his wand. 

“Expulso!”

A blue light streamed towards him, exploding out into the space before you. When it reached Mulciber he flew back, landing hard against the ground. Despite his fall he gave you little time to think, sitting up and flicking his wand with a biting scowl. 

You were knocked down, your hand catching you on the grass. Your heartbeat had become loud in your ears, your breath uneven as you scrambled to stand. “Expulso!” 

Another wave of blue light surged from your wand, though he was able to block it. You knew he would, only needing enough time to pluck a small wildflower from the grass and transfigure it into the first thing you thought of. From the thin stem and white petals grew an eagle, its yellow eyes dazzling against the brown of its feathers. “Oppugno!”

The massive bird screeched as it took flight into the air, shooting towards Mulciber. You saw his eyes widen as he began hurtling spells towards it, though it danced around him, evading his attacks. Its beak snapped as it continued to squawk, its talons reaching down to slash at him. 

You didn’t pay close attention to their battle, bolting away across the field. You thought of nothing, only getting as far away from him as you could, keeping your legs moving and your eyes sharp. You were able to make it near the edge of the lake before you heard his voice again, your body sent into a state of shock soon after. 

“Flipendo!”

You hurtled through the air, spinning a few times before you slammed into the rocks on the shore of the lake. Your hands were cut by the jagged stones, your head hitting hard on the ground. You felt like a bell, your ears ringing a single, shrill note, your eyes unfocused and blurry. You tried to blink it away, flipping yourself over and grappling for your wand. 

Mulciber was running towards you, so close you could hear his ragged breath. His left arm was limp at his side, his sleeve red with blood and nearly torn to shreds. It dripped down his fingers and onto the ground, the metallic scent mixing with the fresh perfume of the grass.  

Above your heads, you heard the call of a single crow, its black mass swooping down as it gave out another cry. Mulciber briefly glanced up, watching as it circled just as the eagle had, inky against the blue sky. With the distraction you were able to grab your wand, your hand shaking as you pointed it at him, only to find he had done the same. 

You challenged one another, each of arms outstretched and ready to strike. Never had you seen an expression so filled with rage, blinded by complete and utter repugnance. Under it you started to cower, the noise of the waves and your breath fading, leaving nothing but his hatred and the sudden reality of your impending death. 

You have to have confidence, even if it’s fake. You can’t be scared of your wand. You just have to tell it what to do, even if you aren’t sure you got the stuff to do it. It doesn’t know the difference.

“Crucio!”

“Expelliarmus,” your voice came out weak, though it was enough to sustain your spell, clashing with his. You could feel the magic running through your body and down your arm, directed through your wand in a single, powerful force. You had felt something similar before, though it was different now. Your wand was not an extension of yourself, bending to your uncompromising authority. Rather, it was more like a friend, loyal out of choice and not necessity, extracting every ounce of force you had into your spell. 

You each seemed to cancel the other out, both of your spells entirely ineffectual against the other, though it was enough to stop the unimaginable pain from wracking your body. Despite your success, dread swept through you like never before as you took in Mulciber’s face, the face of someone who wanted you to suffer. 

You flicked your wand again, feeling the same alliance as before, Mulciber’s twirling in the air until it landed by the shrubs nearly fifty feet away. For a brief moment he seemed confounded, though fear soon took over as he bolted towards where his wand had fallen. Behind him, you caught a glimpse of a lingering figure behind a cluster of birch trees near the water's edge. You saw that it was Severus, sticking out like a black smudge within the pale white of the bark. He seemed to notice you looking, turning to run further into the thin treeline that curved around the shore. You nearly called out to him, forgetting your opponent who was growing closer to obtaining his wand. 

You stood, your desire to escape growing and your options quickly dwindling as Mulciber picked it up. You glanced behind you at the lake, its waters dark and uninviting. Mulciber’s lips began to move, time slowing as your feet took long strides, throwing yourself into the abyss. 

You swam furiously, thrashing as you dove under to move farther from the shore. Already your clothes were dragging you down, your hand holding your wand slowing you even more. Bright, yellow light flashed upon the surface, illuminating the depths below. You looked up, seeing fire dance across the water before it fizzled out. You swam deeper to escape the heat, a second flash coming soon after. 

Your lungs began to burn, though you continued farther, hoping to get a few more yards between you and Mulciber before you were forced to come back up. Your head was light when you eventually breached the surface, the lake a blur around you and the field just a stroke of greens and browns. In only a short second after you came up you felt a sharp sting on your calf, jolting you enough that you nearly let your hold of your wand slip. Still treading water, you spun around, spotting Mulciber on the other side of the lake. You ducked back under, your leg pulsing with pain. 

You were growing tired from all your effort, kicking off your shoes with another shock of pain in your leg, worse than before. It felt as though your mind was screaming, the sentences overlapping, jumbling together until you could understand none of it. Out of the corner of your eye you caught a subtle movement, bright within the murk. It passed you again, and while its shape was blurry, you recognized the red and purple color instantly.  

You rose up in horror, your arms waving wildly until your head was above the surface once again. You gasped, panting as you performed the bubble-head charm, relief washing over you when it formed around your head. You fell below the water as fast as you had risen, seemingly quick enough to elude Mulciber’s probing sight. 

With crystal clear vision and the ability to breathe, you looked down at your leg, seeing an angry gash across your calf. You recognized the spell well, the Severing Charm, knowing you were more than lucky Mulciber had been so inaccurate in his casting. If it had been more skillfully directed, you weren’t confident even the best doctors at St. Mungo’s could’ve saved you. 

You didn’t have time to think much of this, for flashes of fire still rippled across the surface in a haphazard pattern, sending fish fleeing from the heat. Soon after came a booming splash as if a boulder had been flung into the lake, erupting a few times before the fire returned. In a craze you searched for the fish, though there was no sign of your omen amongst the school of others rushing past. Abandoning your fruitless hunt, you swam farther, though you soon realized that the flashes and rumbles of Mulciber’s attacks had ceased entirely. You waited, your heart pounding so quickly that you could hear the blood rushing past your ears, thrumming like a line of drums. It banged against your ribcage with such force you were beginning to worry your bones may break under the hammering. 

For a split second you contemplated waiting until someone came to retrieve you, pondering the possibility this may be a ploy to get you to reveal yourself again, though you didn’t consider this for long. Perhaps it was foolishly risky, something a Ravenclaw would shake their head at, though you were not a Ravenclaw. 

You emerged, spinning around to search the shoreline for every possible place he could be hiding. You saw a yellow burst of light out of the corner of your eye, the chill of the lake doubling, almost freezing against your skin when you spotted its source. Whatever you had been expecting to find paled in comparison to the terror that gripped you like a hand around your throat. Someone with a mop of curly dark hair was sprinting towards Mulciber from the quidditch pitch, followed closely by another with longer, black hair, each wearing their scarlet uniforms. They were shouting, though you could hardly make out what they were saying. Their exchange of spells collided with one another like fireworks, bursting in blinding explosions. Mulciber was casting spell after spell, his onslaught unforgiving and messy as he dodged those thrown towards himself. A ways away, Sirius was putting up defensive spells, James’s lightning fast flicks of his wand able to permeate Mulciber’s constant barrage. 

Practicing with him was one thing, though seeing James in action was another. His feet were firmly planted, though they still seemed feather light on the ground, taking steps to the side, moving backward and forward with sharp precision. His hand never had to move much, doing only what was totally necessary. There was no flare to it, no dramatics or theatrical displays of his talent. It was efficient, tight, and perfectly clean. It stood in stark contrast to Mulciber, who seemed to move in uncoordinated, unplanned hops and jumps, making it seem as though at any moment he could trip, leaving him vulnerable to James’s quick reflexes. Sirius had his own peculiarities, for he always took a half step back before casting a spell, thrusting forward as he waved his wand. It slowed him down slightly, though like James, he was far less sporadic than his opponent.

You were frozen for a moment, unable to get yourself to do anything but tread water and hold your wand despite your immense desire to help. Your eyes darted between James and Mulciber, James’s mouth thrashing as he continued to shout. 

Swim, you idiot!

You swam without any degree of elegance towards the shore, your feet slipping on the mossy rocks as you clambered onto the bank, your bubble-head charm already reversed. You were panting, watching as they continued to duel, entirely unaware of your presence. 

“Where is she?”

James’s voice was loud and seething, ringing clear now that you were far closer. His face twisted in rage, though his eyes never left Mulciber’s figure, piercing and hard. You realized now that they were going easy on him, allowing him to stay conscious out of fear they would be unable to find you unless he told them. 

You scurried forward, nearly falling to your knees as you ran towards the duel. Still, no one noticed you, James bellowing again. 

“Tell me!”

A roar erupted, booming like the screech of a dozen dragons calling out all at once. It seemed to roll over itself, moving outwards in waves, though it only lasted a few seconds. James and Sirius stumbled back as a burst of amazing, billowing flames erupted from Mulciber’s wand, swirling into the air in a gigantic puff. You felt the heat reach you, nearly forcing you to close your eyes and shield yourself against it. Still, you were unable to look away, mesmerized in utter horror as the inferno continued to grow in size, scorching the grass as it neared James and Sirius. It danced in the air, unruly and quaking with power. Mulciber almost seemed pushed back by his own wand, both of his hands gripping it as it whipped around, jerking him back and forth. 

Suddenly, from within the flames rose a burning serpent, twisting upwards with no clear direction. You had never seen anything like it in your entire life, the dashing, licking flames something out of only your darkest nightmares. The serpent's head aimed itself at James and Sirius, who each were on their feet again, furiously shielding themselves from the blaze. In a moment of panic you screamed, blood curdling and with all the pain you had ever felt. 

“No!”

The serpent's head twisted again, its orange eyes finding yours. Its mouth opened to reveal fiery fangs, making a single, abrupt move to strike. You held up your wand, prepared to fight off the unknown enemy, though there was no need. As quickly as it came, the fire was gone, entirely taken from the world as if it had never existed. Beyond the blackened grass of the lawn like a shining pillar of bright, white light, Professor Dumbledore stood with his wand raised. Behind him, Professor McGonagall and Taurisus lingered with the same look of fright you likely wore. 

Mulciber, whose eyes had been glaring at you when the serpent made its target, were ripped away as he turned to the Headmaster. His whole body shook as he lurched towards him, the breath ripping from your lungs. 

“Avad—”

“Stupefy!”

Mulciber instantly fell to the ground in a heap as the beam of red light hit him, his wand rolling from his hand. All eyes fell onto you, gasping as your arm dropped down, your gaze still trained on Mulciber’s motionless body as if you expected him to wake. 

You barely noticed James flying towards you until his arms pulled you into his chest, your name falling from his lips over and over, broken and wretched. You curled into him, dazed and in disbelief. The cut on your leg throbbed, though it was easy to ignore as James’s hands came to the side of your face, pulling away to meet your eyes. He was looking at you as if you were a ghost, the color all but drained from his face. 

“Are you all right?” he asked, the words rushing from him so fast he was nearly indistinguishable. “What happened? What did he do? Are you hurt?”

You were shivering now, your clothes still soaked and your feet covered in mud. You opened your mouth to speak, though your words caught in your throat, only a small noise escaping. James ran a hand along your head, stopping at the top of your forehead. 

“You’re bleeding,” he gasped, tender as he touched you. 

“It doesn’t hurt,” you said, your mind still fuzzy. 

He glanced down at your leg, another wave of worry washing over his expression. 

“I barely feel it,” you said, your jaw quivering as you grabbed at his arms in an effort to get him to look at you again. All you wanted to see was his face, to know that he was really here, that he was safe, that he was yours. Your hands scrambled further up towards his shoulders when he finally obeyed, his glasses slightly askew where they had fallen on the bridge of his nose. You let out a delirious laugh, straightening them. “There,” you whispered.

“Mister Potter.” 

The voice was even and of a low register; serious, though not unnerving. You each knew it quite well, James turning to see Dumbledore looking at you both. He stood beside Mulciber, his pale grey robes brushing the charred ground. Your classmate was still unconscious, his face smoothed of all its rageful lines, peaceful as if he were asleep. Binding his wrists were a pair of handcuffs, his wand nowhere in sight. Still in the place where you had last seen him, Sirius was standing, his eyes flickering up from the grass towards the pair of you, then to Dumbledore. He seemed as stunned as you were, his mouth ajar. He had a speckling of burn marks on the shoulder of his robe, exposing his jersey beneath. The same could be said for James, whose uniform looked worse for wear.  

James put his arm around you, letting you put your weight on him as he kept you on your feet. 

“Take Miss L/N to Madam Pomfrey’s at once,” said Dumbledore. “Mister Black, if you’d come with me.”

McGonagall scurried around him towards Mulciber, motioning for a silent, unmoving Taurisus to follow. 

James turned to look at you, his eyes warm and worried. “Can you walk?”

You nodded, though you made no move to step out of his arms. His lips were pressed as his eyes darted back down to the cut on your leg, though he didn’t argue, leading you back across the lawn towards the castle. It was only then you noticed what seemed to be half of the Hogwarts student body gathered about two-hundred yards away by the main path, looking like a dark sea of bobbing heads. They did not speak in murmurs but at full volume, doing nothing to conceal their raging curiosity. You shrunk further into James, your legs like jelly beneath you. 

Ahead, Dumbledore was taking long strides towards the masses, his arms stretched out like great wings. 

“Return to your common rooms, everyone,” he bellowed, his tone so strict that no one dared defy his order. 

In a renewed wave of chatter, the massive group rushed down the path towards the castle, save for five students shouting as they burst through the crowd. They looked like madmen, sprinting across the lawn towards Dumbledore as they continued to call out, though the Headmaster did nothing but drop his arms. Soon enough you recognized Remus’s wiry run and Lily’s copper hair, Dorcas still wearing her quidditch gear. 

As they neared you made out what they were saying, mostly yours, James’s and Sirius’s names, with a few choice expletives from Dorcas when she got close enough to see the blackened earth and Mulciber, who to anyone else may have seemed dead. Remus got to you first, taken aback either by the sight of drying blood on your face or James’s total dishevelment, or maybe both. 

“Bloody hell,” Peter said, coming to a stop not far in front of you. He stared at the ground, caught in the sight of it for a moment before looking at you and James. 

“He’s not dead,” you croaked, your throat suddenly dry. Dorcas made a grunt as if this news was not ideal. 

Lily was almost in tears as she rushed towards you, her hand coming up to touch your face, but stopping inches short. “Godric, what happened?”

“I’m all right, I’m all right,” you said to her, trying your best to calm her down, though it seemed impossible.

Marlene stared at you a moment before looking to Mulciber, her face contorted in loathing as she took a few hard steps towards him. Sirius caught her arm, not allowing her to shake him off. 

“He’s in cuffs,” Sirius said under his breath, looking straight into her eyes. They stared at one another a moment, Marlene in a ruthless challenge and Sirius in a solemn warning. Eventually, Marlene took a deep breath, still glowering as she gave up the fight.

“Miss Meadowes,” Dumbledore said, his tone entirely calm. 

Slowly, Dorcas looked to the Headmaster, swallowing nervously. He was an imposing figure on the lawn, devoid of his usual aura of gaiety.

“Did I not give you explicit instruction to stay inside the castle?” he asked, not seeming angry, but rather disappointed. Even though she wasn’t faced with the full force of his anger, it was still unsettling to be on the receiving end of Dumbledore’s displeasure, no matter how mild.  

Dorcas’s shoulders dropped, her head dipping just a bit lower. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Dumbledore turned, his eyes piercing behind his half-moon glasses. “Mister Lupin, please ensure that all Gryffindor’s find their way back to the common room. Miss Evans, if you’d aid the prefects in the other houses do the same, it would be much appreciated.”

Lily, whose hand now rested upon your shoulder, turned to look at him, her mouth opening and closing a few times, though she never spoke. She gave you a pained, apologetic look, her hand falling from you in a sad, lazy motion. 

“Mister Potter, to the Hospital Wing,” Dumbledore finished, his eyes meeting yours rather than James’s.

James brushed the side of your head, careful to not hurt you. “C’mon,” he muttered, his voice ginger and low. 

Before Lily ran off with Remus she flicked her wand towards you, drying you off completely. Her smile was small and glum before she went to catch up with him, telling you all you needed to know. I’ll be back, I promise. 

The rest of you walked at your hobbling pace towards the castle, even Dumbledore and Sirius, most of you still in a state of complete bewilderment. You found your eyes drifting to the Headmaster every so often, trying to search his expression for some recognition that you weren’t having some grand delusion, that you had not made the entire thing up in your head, though he revealed nothing. 

The Entrance Hall was empty when you entered, save for a handful of professors who were not head of house. Sinistra appeared dumbfounded as she took in the sight of your group, her dark eyes widening as they fell onto your bloodied leg. Quattlebaum stood beside her, his countenance quite different from all the rest. His hands were clasped in front of him, his mouth straight, though not pressed. At first glance he appeared unconcerned, though under further scrutiny he seemed as though he was fully aware of every detail of the current situation at hand, knowing quite well that Mulciber had been detained and that your injuries were minor. How he could have been made aware, you did not know, though you hadn’t much time to think it over. Dumbledore told them to scour the castle for wayward students and to return them to their common rooms, then motioned for Sirius to follow him to his office. 

“Do not worry, Mister Black,” Dumbeldore said, the faintest smile making its way beneath his greying beard. “You will see your friends quite soon.”

With a final look back, obviously wanting to do nothing more than stay with the rest of you, Sirius went with the Headmaster.

“Goodness, get inside— right this instant,” Madam Pomfrey said in a rushed, fussing voice as she met you in the corridor outside the Hospital Wing. She scrambled to your other side, though you held up your hand, refusing her help. Your right leg only had a slight limp, your head aching, though you were perfectly capable of making it inside, especially with James’s support. You told her as much, though she still placed her hand on your upper back as she led you through the heavy oak door.

“Just sit here, dear,” she said, bringing you to the nearest bed.

James stood by your side as you slowly moved to sit, the large windows behind you casting an outpouring of light into the room. Marlene, Dorcas, and Peter lingered around you as Pomfrey inspected the gash on your calf. She frowned, moving up to your face to do the same with the cut just above your forehead. Huffing, she turned to send a stony look at the others by the foot of your bed. 

“I will permit you to stay for the time being, but only if you are not a hindrance,” she said, her voice strict. 

You hissed, your face scrunching as you laid down fully onto the elevated mattress, your head beginning to pound harder. James nearly flew forward, his hand coming to hold yours, though he pulled away before you could touch when Pomfrey shot him a stern look. Your eyes closed, the sunlight becoming blinding. 

“I’ll get something for your head once I get these wounds healed,” she said, pressing the tip of her wand to your forehead. You could feel the small cut closing, the sensation always strange no matter how many times it had been performed on you. 

She did the same to the cut on your calf and scrapes on your palms, wordlessly using the wiping spell to rid you of all the dark burgundy blood and mud caked onto your skin and clothes. Already it felt better to be clean, though you could still use a long bath and a change of clothes, the smell of the lake still present despite the water having been leached. 

“What happened to your shoes?” she asked. 

“They’re in the lake.”

You could hear her sigh, though she did not comment. As soon as she walked away, James leaned towards you, both his hands enveloping yours. Your eyes fluttered open, unthinking of how his closeness may seem to Dorcas and Peter.

“Are you okay?” you whispered. 

“Fine,” he said, one of his hands coming to rub up your arm. 

You turned to look at the others, all edgy and rather stunned. “Are you all—”

“Of course we are,” Dorcas said. “You’re the one who dueled him.”

A jolt of pain ran across your forehead when you looked back at James, squeezing your eyes shut with a wince. His thumb ran over your knuckles, holding you just a bit tighter. 

“Moony says that Poppy’s headache draughts are top-notch.”

You could hear the small smile in his voice, making the corner of your tips twitch up. It fell soon after, the grave nature of the situation coming back to you. “Is Sirius all right?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” James answered softly. 

The sound of Pomfrey’s office door opening sent James’s hand slipping from yours. She came around the corner carrying two small vials, handing one to you. 

“Here, love, take this for your head.”

You sat up, take the vial and throwing it back like a shot of firewhiskey. It tasted faintly of foxglove, though it was otherwise unremarkable. You flopped back down after she took it back, hoping it would take effect sooner rather than later. 

Pomfrey then applied dittany to the wound on your leg, giving you a pitying sort of frown when she was finished. “Would you like something to sleep?”

“No,” you said, rubbing your temple. “I’m all right. Thank you, though.”

She looked between the small audience crowding around your bed, surveying them intently. “It’s best you all return to your common room and come back later. I doubt Professor Dumbeldore wants any students running around the castle at a time like this.”

James’s face instantly morphed into a look of pure desperation, protests already coming from Dorcas. 

“He saw us go with her. I’m sure he would have said something if he wasn’t okay with it!”

Pomfrey clicked her tongue, not taking any arguments. “Please, Miss Meadowes, return before I have to call Professor McGonagall to escort you.”

James moved to stand right beside your bed, his eyes flashing down to yours before returning to Pomfrey. “But—”

“No ifs, ands, or buts,” Pomfrey interrupted, more severe than before. 

James all but crumpled in anguish, his countenance so distraught that he suddenly seemed more like a boy than a man. You tried to speak, though James rambled on before you could get a word in. 

“But I’m her boyfriend,” he begged, his brows pinched as he stared at her, unwavering. 

You glared up at James, but it appeared as though he hadn’t realized he’d even revealed your secret to two parties otherwise in the dark, too intensely focused on the immediate goal of staying with you. 

Pomfrey looked as though she’d eaten a lemon, unspeaking for a few seconds as she examined his pleading expression with close scrutiny as if to see if he was lying. You couldn’t exactly blame her if she thought he was, for he hadn’t let the entire school forget when he was dating Lily. 

“Just you, Mister Potter,” she said eventually, looking to the others. “The rest, back to your common room.”

Peter could do little to conceal his surprise, nearly gawking at the two of you before Marlene rolled her eyes, tugging on his arm. Dorcas appeared less astonished, her mouth opening as if something suddenly made sense to her. You supposed Marlene wasn’t exaggerating, Dorcas was onto you. 

“We’ll see you later,” Marlene said kindly, nodding at your worried look. You knew she’d force the others not to tell, not until you could speak with Lily yourself. Dorcas you weren’t too worried about, Peter on the other hand…

Pomfrey followed them to the door, seeing them out. When you heard it shut your attention was placed solely on James. You were not particularly upset with him, for it was becoming excruciatingly exhausting to keep the burden to yourself. In a way it felt good to have two more people know, though you hated the idea of nearly everyone finding out before Lily, who by all rights should’ve been the first. 

“Dear,” said Promfrey, peeking around the corner. “I’ve sent for some fresh clothes, since I’d like to keep you for the night. After they arrive you can wash up, if you’d like.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” 

In an act of kindness, Pomfrey then left you and James alone, slipping into her office.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, pulling up the chair to sit beside you. He grabbed your hand again, studying its shape as he played with your fingers.

“I don’t even care anymore,” you said with a humorless laugh, your head aching as you did. “But wouldn’t it have just been easier to come back later under the cloak?” you continued, speaking at a whisper.

“That's hours from now,” he said, as if he were speaking about months, or even years. 

You smiled, though it was laced with fatigue and a small, though not inconsequential, dose of melancholy. “I was just about to tell her when Agnes came pounding on our door, hysterical, telling her that Peeves was throwing fizzybombs in the corridor. I was this close. This fucking close.”

“She can’t be angry with you now,” he murmured, bringing your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles. “You can tell her tomorrow.”

Your jaw trembled, tears welling in your eyes. “I don’t want to tell her tomorrow. I want to tell her today, like I promised.”

You stared into your lap, the overwhelming nature of the day hitting you all at once. You weren’t simply crying over Lily, though that surely didn’t help your crumbling resolve. More things had happened within such a short span of time than should be possible. You weren’t even sure what time it was or how long your duel had lasted. You glanced down at your watch, seeing that it was just before the end of sixth period, not even an hour since you ran out of the castle. 

“How long do you think they’ll keep everyone locked in their common rooms?” you asked, sniffling away all signs of your weeping. You hadn’t even let a tear fall, fearing that once you started, you may never stop. 

You could tell James was racking his mind for ways to make things better, though he could come up with nothing. “I’m not sure. Probably just until dinner. Someone will be here to collect Mulciber soon, I’d imagine. He was alone, right?” he stopped, catching himself. “Don’t think about it now. We can talk about it all later.”

You shook your head. “No, I’m all right to. Mulciber was alone, though I did see Snape by the lake.” You continued quickly when you saw a flash of rage run through James’s eyes, “He didn’t do anything. He was by the trees, watching us, but then he ran away. He seemed frightened more than anything.”

James’s jaw was still clenched, the tendons in his neck tight and straining. “I should tell Poppy,” he said, rising from his chair. “Dumbledore would want to know.”

You let your hand slip out of his grasp, watching as he walked to Pomfrey’s office, knocking on the doorframe before he entered. You couldn’t make out the majority of their exchange, only catching the soft, “Oh, yes. Stay here, Mister Potter,” from Pomfrey before you heard the small puff from the floo. James returned, sitting back down with a lagging, weary walk. 

“Are you sure you don’t want something to sleep?” he asked, clearly hoping you’d say yes. 

“No,” you said, blinking away the blurriness in your eyes. “My heads a bit better now, anyway. I want you to tell me what happened. How did you and Sirius know what was going on? And Dorcas—”

“Saw it from the pitch,” he answered, the reminder of the incident sinking him back into misery. “You didn’t see us?”

You furrowed your brows. “No. Did you fly down?”

He nodded. “I sent Dorcas to get help and made the rest of the team stay in the locker rooms. Merlin— they might still be there for all I know.”

“I’m sure they came out once they heard Dumbledore. The whole school probably heard him,” you paused, going over the events again. “Why didn’t you see me jump into the lake?”

“You must’ve done it right when I was bossing everyone around,” he said with a morose smile. “I was— Godric— it was just instinct. I was fucking mad. I thought, I nearly thought,” he faltered, clearing his throat as he stared down at your hands again, now entwined. 

“James,” you breathed, the crushing weight of your affection falling down upon you, colliding with the lingering dread of Mulciber’s blazing eyes as they stared at you from above. You felt too full, bursting with contradictory emotions that did not compliment the other. You were swelling with pride over James’s skill and your own miraculous final defeat of your classmate, tormented over the way he and Sirius had been so close to death, all for your own safety, still scared to the very core of your being— and most of all, consumed by love. 

You reached up, weaving your hands into his hair to bring his face to yours, your other touching his cheek as you leaned forward to crash your lips against his. At first he was taken off guard by your plea, slower than you to drift into your ardent rhythm. He sank into it soon enough, letting you lead him to whatever you felt, riding your unruly current. Thank you, thank you, I love you, you said, your hands keeping his face as near to yours as possible, his nose pressing against your cheek. Never say thank you, you are all I want, he answered, over and over. 

He ripped away suddenly with a shaking breath, his head whipping around to look at the entrance. You followed his gaze, your face running hot with horror when you met a pair of green eyes staring at you from the doorway, wide and fixed on your embrace.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Notes: ahhhhh can't believe we're here! thank you all for reading and sticking with me, I'll see you in the next chapter <3 xoxo

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Tag List: @floverisland @ilovejamespottersomuch @googie-jeon @tvnile @eli-com @lovelyteenagebeard @letssee2468 @abhootghiihii

[the-most-faithful]

New day, new discussion with a Snater who twists the canon to justify bullying Snape

The other day I commented on a Tiktok video listing James' good deeds (with fanon additions, as usual) to say that James was a good person and didn't deserve to die, I wrote this comment

Obviously I expected someone to reply, but some real gems came out xD

So follow the reasoning, because it's funny.

First let's discuss whether James has matured or not, that's fine, it's a matter of interpretation from the little we know from the canon but then we get to the point, Snape was a special case, he responded to James' attacks after seven years of bullying.

So according to this person if a victim of bullying responds then he is no longer a victim. Clear, right? If someone attacks you you just have to suffer and maybe even in silence. Realizing that the thing doesn't hold up he goes to the classic "But it wasn't bullying, they were rivals" But when I say that 2 vs 1 is not equal and cannot be rivalry then he changes again by putting in the field guess what?

ASSUMPTIONS

Death Eaters SA Mary. False, we don't know what Mulciber TRIED to do to Mary. In the fandom this Headcanon is very popular but it is indeed a Headcanon. But then what does what Mulciber tried to do have to do with the fact that Snape was bullied? Was James responding to something Mulciber tried to do by taking it out on Snape who had done nothing? This doesn't make any sense at all

And then of course we only see Snape's point of view so it could be different, maybe he wasn't the victim. Really? The Snaters don't know the canon. Memories are OBJECTIVE, we see the facts as they happened, the thoughts and feelings are Harry's watching.

Then strangely he didn't bring up the point "Snape cursed Muggle-borns" I hope this person has come to his senses and realized he said something non-canonical

Ma preparati perchè ora ridiamo:

"It wasn't always 2 vs 1" most of the time Snape was with Death Eaters gang.

WHERE? But when? This is another assumption, if Snape had been with others who defended him then James and Sirius would not have attacked him (because they are cowards)

But at least he admitted that Snape was the victim in this episode. So why continue, he admitted it, stop, and instead in order to blame the victim he puts forward other ASSUMPTIONS, Snape created the Sectumpsempra, so what? To curse James? We don't know why he created it (which I then wrote to him) But hey Sirius admitted that they were idiots BUT they bullied Snape (Another admission, they BULLIED SNAPE) because he was a racist. But this is also false

So it's never said that James never attacked Mulciber and others, so it could have happened? But of course, it's never said that Hermione isn't actually The Rock with a wig so she could be. But do they really do that?? Plus they wouldn't have attacked Malfoy because he was older? So they only picked on the weakest, just like real bullies

James and Sirius as the twins? Well on this point I have a lot to say, I know I've been saying it for months but I'll soon publish a chapter dedicated to this. Let's say that if the Twins had been Slytherins everyone would have called them bullies, so this similarity does not go in favor of the Snaters. But here comes a pearl

"Snape was attacking muggleborns"

Snape attacked muggle-borns? Dude, have you ever read the books? When, for Morgana's sake, would this have happened?

Let's see what he'll answer.

(and then he also brought up the fact that Snape was to blame for the attack on the Potters and that he only asked for mercy for Lily, but now this point is so stupid that I have an automatic answer)

[hogwartsstudentconfidential]

Welcome back to your favorite paper ever ;)

First off I wanted to wish everyone a very happy holidays seeing as they are coming up very fast.

Second of all I wanted to issue a warning because this party last weekend seemed to have stirred up a lotttt of drama.

And third of all, can someone tell me how Professor Binns is still teaching here? It's absolutely ridiculous. Not a single student can stay awake in that mans class.

Anywho as always here are our updates and informative section for the week.

Professor McGonagall has assigned a major project due before the holidays so pair up or swear up because if it's not done you're probably failing the year and nobody wants that. So pick your partners wisely and submit your mood boards that you think suit yourselves by the end of next week.

Here are some things that your mood boards should include: What you want to be after school, your favorite class, your family, your favorite things and in the center a picture of yourself ofc.

This Friday there will be another quidditch game. I know surprise surprise am I right? No. If you don't suspect a party or a quidditch game with every update where have you been? This weekend is Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor. Probably another party this weekend depending on if y'all are ready after this past weekend's mess.

On another note Mary MacDonald is hosting a cookie gathering a couple of days into Christmas break so I'd like to remind everyone all are welcome except Riddle, Avery, and ESPECIALLY NOT MULCIBER.

And our final reminder is James Potters Christmas ball that will be held December 24th to the morning of the 26th. Please dress appropriately for such an important event.

NOW ONTO EVERYONES FAVORITE PART (I know that's why you're here) ✨THE GOSSSIPPPPP✨

Boy do we have a lot of gossip this week y'all plus some photographic evidence ;)

Let's start with our favorite dramatic couple, Pandora Rosier and Lucius malfoy. It seems the two broke up, this we all of course know but immediately the girl went on a date with another man, Fabian Prewett. Isn't that crazy? Moving on after being in a relationship for such a long time. Although no one seems to blame the girl after finding out Lucius is the one who ended things. The same boy tried making up with his ex-girlfriend only to find her coddled up with the red headed Gryffindor at the party this past weekend. Lucius dropped his make-up gift for his ex and ended up starting a fist fight with the Gryffindor instead. Who then ended up calling Pandora a whore. Ouch that one's gotta hurt.

Severus Snape and a few others ended up breaking the fight up after Pandora was pushed harshly onto the ground by Fabian, with no apology and then it seems the intoxicated blonde girl ran off in tears after the fight, leaving Lucius to pack up his smashed flowers and fix his own bruised knuckles without anyone's help.

And then (ikr it just keeps going) the girl ended up posting a sad love song dedicated to missing the boy. Is there a possibility Pandora is ready to take the boy back?

Now onto Anastasia Selwyn everyone's favorite Slytherin Princess. The girl who seems to have everyone but one wrapped around her finger seems to have had a little fun this past weekend. Miss Selwyn was seen running off with none other than Gryffindor rival, Phoenix Harvey. The same boy posted lipstick stains all over his neck that seemed to match the shade of Anastasia’s own lipstick. Could this be an enemies to lovers story in the making?

Speaking of making out it's been noted that Edmund Avery and Elias Smith were off getting high and drinking together at the party and even caught making out? Are these two friends hiding a different relationship than what they've been telling everyone?

Our proof that was sent in. I mean at this point just ask each other out, Godric.

I've been told to note Remus Lupin and Sirius were hogging a couch and snogging the whole time all of this drama was going on. Hogwarts it couple for real.

Now speaking of couples it seems Andromeda Black has found herself a new boyfriend. The young daughter of Black seems to have gone on a date with none other than Ravenclaw quidditch captain Alexander Kemet-Ali. The two were spotted at a little restaurant in Hogsmeade, seemingly close to one another and even being rumored to have shared a kiss. May this be a new Hogwarts it couple joining the ranks?

(Andromeda and Alexander)HAHAAHAHAHA I HAD PROOF.

Another area of interest is our very own Veronica Davis has posted an interesting question on her blog.

This is her blog from yesterday. It seems we may have a new one for the girls ;)

And onto our last but most interesting gossip for the night. Has anyone seemed to have noticed Mary MacDonald was nowhere to be found during the party? Her ‘good friend’ Emmeline was looking for her during the whole party but the girl was rumored to have gotten lost in the confusing corridors of the school. Only for her to show up a day later with a small bruise and the news that Mulciber was in very bad condition and needed to be brought to Madame Pomfrey, which she refused to do herself. If anyone wants to sign up to whoop Mulcibers ass after he heals the sign up sheet will be posted in the great hall.

Oh and Marlene, honey I'mma need you to act up or something cause I miss writing about you, darlin'.

Anywho that's all for now. Don't forget to send in your gossip for next time.

Have a nice night and remember I'm always watching.

Tah Tah 💋

@james-the-amazing-potter @thebr1ghteststar @looneymoonyy @wormy-loves-ch33se @mystical-magical-me @king-ofthe-crop @xeno-graphical @malfoy-lu @rodolphus-le-strange @averykissableguy @fire-allayer @poison-penmanship @lifeofthe-barty @whokilledevanrosier @pandoras-nox @little-king-official @cas-not-the-band @marls-mckinn0n @hjonesworld @mary-mcdeal @emmelineandhervans @sybill-patricia-trelawney @lilyevansoffical @alicethekindone @flowers-of-narcissus @andromedashoax @the-queen-bellatrix @severusprince-snape @fabian-with-an-f @mollberryshortcake @fawningamos @k1ndest-keeper @aelius-with-a-quill @annajohn-silvae @adam-lukas-morningstar @imogenmorningstar @oxxen--free @camille-laurier @luciagraham @daughter-of-spring @magandang-kaluluwa

Ooc: If I missed tagging anyone I'm sorry.

[stxrrnightjxr]

Day + night 1 of Marauder’s hunger games sim. ‼️‼️

The first day and night of my marauder’s hunger games simulator…. Hope this goes good‼️‼️ (it probably won’t, but oh well)

Okay, first off: the bloodbath. Mulciber already has killed Dorcas😔 and Marlene???? Thought you were better than this 😭

Poor Ted, at least he’ll be with Andromeda I guess 😭😭 but YES REGGIE‼️‼️scare that guy‼️‼️ and Sirius and Pandora… odd alliance but I’ll take it. (His brother’s best friend 🙄 who would ever do that)

Severus runs away without getting anything (I mean what more can you expect from a coward like him) (certified Snape-hater can you tell)

Evan, Remus, Mary, James, Bellatrix, Lily, Narcissa, and Peter get what they can and run.

Barty, like the risk-taker he is, stays at the cornucopia.

YES MARLENE‼️you get those death eaters‼️‼️ Maybe you’ve redeemed yourself from killing andromeda 🤗 Remus being everyone’s favourite, and the Blacks teaming up!!!

Rosekillerchaser confirmed 🫵🤨 (Reggie’s just off in his own world 😭) and Bellatrix.. thanks…? I’ve got the feeling she’s gonna come back to haunt me for that

The nargles must’ve surprised her 😔

Isn’t he always?? Smh

Good job Peter I suppose 😭

Night #1‼️‼️

Marlene… what are you doing 😭😭😭 bro just killed their friend/brother and now she’s singing songs with them what the freak‼️

We love a self sufficient queen u go Narcissa

Peter what r u gonna do with that iPad … watch ‘how to survive the arena no glue no borax’ on YT kids??

Bro is so dramatic and for what 🙄 smh (to be honest I woulda done that to, were I in his position)

Good job I guess, Snivellus 🙄🙄🙄

Yayyy!!!! Peace‼️‼️

Lily girl I mean nice but what have u been doin

Bellatrix 💪

Reg is so me‼️‼️‼️

[severussnapemylove]

what do u think abt the similarities between snape / lupin and their treatment by the fanbase.....

I think there are similarities between Remus and Severus. They both were both isolated and felt othered internally. They both overlooked or justified the harmful actions of their social groups because that was really all they had. Remus felt accepted and supported by the Marauders. And it's understandable why Remus failed to act against them, even when he was in a position of responsibility to do so. Remus justifying what his friends did as "just pranks" is exactly the same as Severus justifying what Mulciber and Avery did. When someone, a child especially, has such a small social group, when they're vulnerable and that is their only support structure, you will justify the bad things to yourself because you can't face being alone again.

I think Remus gets a pass from the fandom a lot because he's on the surface, acceptable. He's got the air of a lost puppy, he's close to Harry, he's the "fun teacher". His fans will say that he "grew up" but as a teacher, he continued to mock and humiliate Severus, he hid vital information about Sirius Black, even after Sirius broke into a dorm full of children with a knife. And he failed to take his existential medication and almost killed three children. But Severus is the one making Remus's wolfsbane potion, he keeps their working relationship relatively civil. He doesn't trust Remus and honestly he has no reason too, which is why he makes sure the students are prepared on how to handle a werewolf. And he only outs Remus after Remus showed himself to be an unreliable danger. Nothing in Severus's personal experience has shown him that Remus is reliable or that he had changed in personality.

I like Remus as a character, he's complex and interesting. But like with Sirius and James, a lot of people in the fandom like to see him as someone who has never done anything wrong ever.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 26 - Burn

@wolfstarmicrofic June 26, word count 721

Previous part First part

The three from Slytherin cabin threw their arms up and cheered. 

“Wait, what?!” Snape spat. “That’s our stool!” James pushed his way to the front of the crowd. 

“Mr Dumbledore, that isn’t their stool. It’s ours,” He gestured to the rest of them. Albus peered down at both stools. 

“They do look very similar, but I’m afraid I’ve lost track of whose is whose,” Albus said apologetically. 

To everyone’s surprise, Peter piped up.

“Flip it over,” He shouted over the excited crowd. Albus picked up the stool and looked at the bottom of it. 

“Peter woz ere!” He read aloud. 

“Ha, see it’s ours!” Peter squeaked triumphantly. 

Remus had to quickly wrap his arms around Sirius to stop his storming over to Mulciber and the others. 

“Sirius, don’t, it’s not worth it.” He struggled to keep hold of Sirius, he wasn’t as strong as Sirius was. 

Something flashed past him and on instinct he tightened his right arm around Sirius and shot his left out to catch what was rushing by. His hand wrapped around the back of Snape’s jumper. He dragged him back, away from his cabin mates. 

He was beginning to sweat with the force it took to keep them there. His body shook and Sirius stopped fighting. All his anger seemed to have left him and, instead of trying to get away, he started trying to calm Snape down. 

“Sev, stop, you’re hurting Remus.” Snape stopped fighting him.

“Maybe they got confused about which one was theirs like Albus did,” Remus suggested, glad they’d settled down as he was exhausted. Sirius brushed Remus’s damp hair off his forehead and took his hand. 

“Sorry, sweetheart. We can go hang out in the cabin after this, okay?” Sirius said sweetly, rubbing his thumb across Remus’s knuckles. Remus sighed, glad that Sirius could read him so well. 

“Well, it seems that Gryffindor cabin and Mr Snape have won this competition. Congratulations boys.” Dumbledore announced. A round of booing went around the hall. 

“Why do they always win?”

“I swear they must cheat! Nobody can win this much every year!”

“They only won because of Snape!”

“Enough!” McGonagall’s voice rang out over the protesting. “They win because they work together and utilise each person’s strengths. You could all do to learn from them and actually give them some competition for once,” 

“Yes, yes.” Dumbledore cut across her. “Well done boys. Now as for your prize,” McGonagall leant over and whispered in his ear. His fluffy eyebrows shot up.

“As all of you are on chores your prize will be,” He paused for dramatic effect. “NO MORE CHORES!!!” He cheered loudly, raising his arms above his head. “You may join in with all daily activities for the rest of your stay.”

“Woohoo!” Sirius and James cried together. 

“Yes, yes, well done, well done. Right, everybody, you can get back to your fun. The sun is out, the lake is cool. Go enjoy yourselves!” Dumbledore waved them out of the main hall. “But you don’t want to burn so make sure you apply lots of sunscreen,” He called after them all.  

They waited for James and Peter to come over to them and followed the crowd outside.

“Remus and I are going to lie down for a bit. What are you guys going to do?” Sirius asked the others. 

“I might join you,” James yawned. “All that washing, mopping and wiping has wiped me out,” He snickered at his own joke. 

“Me too,” Peter said, stretching out his sore muscles.

They walked back to their cabin and realised Snape wasn’t with them. 

“Hey, Sev, where you going?” James shouted at Snape, who was slumping off towards the forest. He looked up, scowling at them. 

“You’re all going into your cabin.” 

“Yeah, come on then,” Sirius waved his hand towards the cabin. 

“I want to lie down and I’m pretty sure there are only four beds in there,” Snape replied glumly. 

“Sirius and I are sharing,” Remus smiled mischievously. “You can have Sirius’s bed. Now come on and get over here and stop sulking, you look like a right git.” Remus dragged Sirius inside, having used up the last of his energy and needing to lie down badly.  

Snape rolled his eyes but followed them all in and made himself at home on Sirius’s bed.

Next part

[maxdibert]

The thing that gets me about James fans who try to justify his bullying by pointing out that *many years down the line* Severus became a Death Eater is that it begs the question of why James never went after all the other boys in Slytherin who also went on to become DEs. It's never stated that James hexed Mulciber, Avery or Rosier, all boys of similar age. But of course James didn't go after them! They were purebloods, with parents who would have probably interfered on their behalf! They were probably well off! They weren't isolated, weird children! And of course, they weren't best friends with the desire of James' affection. Truth is, Snape was easy pickings - he may have done terrible things throughout his life, but his torment began much earlier than any of his sins and there's no justifying that.

Of course, I have a meta on the classism underlying the abuse directed at Severus, where I specifically point out how interesting it is that, out of all the Slytherins they supposedly hated, they just so happened to constantly bully the one who lacked social and economic resources and had no familial support. They didn’t go after kids from powerful families or those with financial safety nets and connections who could have gotten them expelled with a few complaints from their parents to the Ministry.

No, they targeted the boy who couldn’t even afford new clothes, who came from a completely dysfunctional and broken home, and who was a social outcast through and through. How brave of the Gryffindors, fighting the enemy—so long as the enemy couldn’t fight back. Truly a shining example of heroism and social justice.

[sevsbestfriend]

A Severus Snape x MaryMacdonald story idea

"--This is a new chance at life for you Severus, you can go back and fix all your mistakes and truly get a happy future for yourself"

"I...don't think I know how to live anymore Albus, there will not be any point in going back, Lily would be a 10 year old innocent child and I would be.."

Severus exaggeratedly gestures at himself.

"However, we can come to a...compromise" Severus said after some hesitation.

"And that would be?" Albus looked at his friend curiously"

"I would be amenable to.. giving my younger self my memories if that is possible. Devoid of my own emotions of course, then he can make the choice himself and what he wants to do, without me stealing his life from him. However miserable that life might have been"

Albus frowned, while he believed it could be done by the higher powers that be, he had wished his friend would just take this chance to build a happy life for himself. After a few moments of deliberation Albus agreed to Severus's idea.

The process to send Severus Snape's unbiased memories to his past self began.

But it looks like something went wrong...

In Cokeworth, 8 year old Severus Snape woke up just like he would any other day going about his life normally

In Little Whining, Mcdonald Orphanage

an 8 year old girl named Mary woke up with a mild headache. The girl had come to 3 conclusions.

1 she see could see or saw the future of someone name Severus Snape.

2 She wanted to find Severus Snape and be his best friend.

3 She hates Lily Evans.

Edit: Just to let ya'll know, this is Mary Macdonald. A character in the marauders era, that one girl who gets harrased by Mulciber. I changed her background a bit just so her situation is more relatable to Severus.

[atlasdoe]

Genuine question, since most of Snape's group became Death Eaters how were they even friends with Charity in the first place and did they remain friends throughout the war and after? Because genuinely that doesn't make sense to me because Charity was not only Muggleborn, she was also the Muggle Studies professor.

HI!

So here's how it goes in terms of my headcanons

To me the first people to become friends in Snapes Gang is Edmund Avery and Aurora Sinistra who met each other while they were kids. I hc Aurora to be two years older then the rest of the group so she goes to Hogwarts first and by the time Edmund joins she already has her own friends in Bertha Jorkins, Florence Greengrass, Emma Vanity and Septima Vector.

Edmund joins Hogwarts and meets Bruce Mulciber and Juliette Wilkes and the three of them become friends.

During their first year Severus is friends mostly with Lily Evans and Charity's main friends are Amos Diggory and Olivia Gleaves who are both in Hufflepuff with her

During their first Christmas Holidays Severus and Charity both stay at Hogwarts and that's when they meet and become fast friends. When everyone else gets back is when Severus is introduced to Bruce, Edmund and Juliette though Lucius Malfoy.

That summer the Avery family threw a birthday party for Edmunds older sister. Bruce, Juliette and Severus attended along with Aurora and her family.

Aurora met Severus at the party and become friends with him. She then back at school met Charity through Bertha and Aurora, Sev, and Charity became friends.

That year for Severus' birthday Aurora threw him a party and invited everyone, bringing them all together and forming what we know as Snapes Gang

So by Charity, Severus, Edmund, Bruce and Juliettes second year and Auroras fourth theyre all friends, mostly through being introduced to each other through other people.

In terms of why Edmund, Bruce and Juliette would want to be friends with a muggleborn I don't think they knew to begin with. I think they assumed that she would at least be a halfblood because Severus was and although they didn't particularly like halfbloods they couldn't complain. When they found out she was a muggleborn they became a little more distance but still remained friends.

For Charity I see her mindset of them mostly being "well they've never done anything to me" I think Charity was more nieve about the war then she would've liked to admit. I think she heard their arguments and kinda agreed to a sense. Mugggles did used to kill wizards so it only makes sense for them to not like them back, right?

I also don't think she knew until their seventh year that Bruce, Edmund, Juliette and Severus were planning on joining Voldemort. A lot of people in the wizarding world thought that Voldemort had a right to feel the way he did but just disagreed with what he did and I think Charity was part of that crowd. After all she was new to this world and didn't know it's entire history.

When it was becoming more obvious in their sixth and seventh year she pulled back a bit and hung out more with her friends from her house. By the time they had left Hogwarts she wasn't in contact with any of them.

I hc that after the war is when Charity started to see how horrible her old friends were and as a way to right her wrongs started doing a lot of charity work to try to house kids who lost their parents during the first war. Then in 1992 she became the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts

Aurora and Severus were already working at Hogwarts and had remained in touch. Juliette had been killed during the war and Bruce was sent to Azkaban. Edmund managed to avoid Azkaban but moved away and wasn't in contact with anyone from school.

Charity began to rekindle her friendship with Aurora and Severus as they all taught. At this point Severus had been out of the Death Eaters for over a decade and Charity took Severus' word and Dumbledores trust as enough to become friends with him again.

When the war picked up again I think Charity's trust in Severus never faltered.

Meanwhile (and this is more so just an add on) Edmund and Bruce hateddd Charity, especially Edmund.

I hc that Edmund and Juliette fell in love and when Juliette died Edmund wasn't just devastated but furious. He spends the majority of the second war targeting certain people who they went to school with because why should they get to live when Juliette doesn't? (two of these people were Olivia Gleaves and Iola Hillicker who were in their year at Hogwarts)

Idk how this works timeline wise but i saw a headcanon a while ago that Severus was responsible in part for Juliette and Evan Rosiers death by giving Dumbledore information that led to the Aurors knowing where they were.

Somehow Edmund finds this out and immediately knows how to get revenge and he is the one who abducts Charity and hands her to Voldemort as a way to get back at Severus

Bruce was disturbed by Charity's brutal death but ultimately had no issue with it.

So yeah, i don't know how that very very very long explanation on headcanons answered your question but just to go overall I think the main thing that kept them as friends was ignorance. Bruce, Edmund and Juliette decided to ignore Chairtys blood status and Charity ignored their views, each groups deciding to just go along with it so much as the others don't give them a reason to dislike each other.

Then when the war started to include them they were left with no choice but to go all out guns a blazing.

I hope this all makes sense and i'm so so so sorry if it doesn't feel free to ask any follow ups or get me to elaborate.

thank you so much for the ask <3

[mountainrusing]

Snape was lurking at the entrance of the common room in a vain bid to see Lily, his now ex-friend. Mary grimaced internally. Of course, she didn’t blame him for pining over Lily, in fact, any human attracted to females was expected to be enamoured with her, she was drop-dead gorgeous—

So, Mary did not blame Snape for hopelessly yearning. He definitely could’ve gone about it better, though. Besides, there was no point in trying anymore, it was better to move on. (He should’ve moved on years ago.) When Lily had her mind fixed against something, there was no use attempting to change it. Any change in Lily’s opinion was all up to herself now, simmering in the thoughts of her own brain. And, he had said, “Mudblood.” In Lily’s eyes, that was unforgivable. In Mary’s eyes, it was the fault of society. She’d seen his fragile masculinity crack like glass, fracturing with the high-pitched laughs of the gathering audience, she’d seen the word slip from his lips as naturally as the tide rolled onto the shore, day and night and night and day, that was how society lived. Mudbloods, Muggles, all woven into their brains, tied to the definition of offensive, whereas if a baby were to babble the word, it would be meaningless.

What people did was take their sounds and weaponise them. What people did was take the words to heart, take it like a knife to the chest, knife to the back, twisting it out and vowing revenge.

Mary didn’t want to fight anymore. She didn’t want to keep throwing the knives around, because it was all meaningless, it was the people who made it mean something. Why did the word Mudblood offend so much? It was just a sound made by the closing of lips around vowels and consonants. It was all in the tone of voice, where the offence came. If Mary were to say ‘Mudblood’ like ‘sweetheart,’ wouldn’t you feel loved?

She hated it, she didn’t care about it, she wanted everyone to stop and sit down and pull their shit together, sew the seams which had fallen apart back into one, tug them into place and hold them there, stop, think, be a smart person. If you were smart, you’d know that being a good person was logical.

No one was smart. Nothing was logical. Everyone was fucked up and they were fucking up and it was too much for Mary when she thought about it all. She had found what was enough for her. She’d always had it. Her family.

Looking at Snape, Mary sighed internally. “Snape,” she addressed blandly. “Lily ain’t gonna come out.”

He glowered at her, before retreating back beneath his curtain of hair, eyes downcast onto the ground. “Can you… get her… please?” he mumbled, tearing awkwardly out of his throat, strung together and jagged, cutting against Mary’s ears.

She pursed her lips. She could get Lily. She knew what to say to get Lily, to get to Lily, into Lily’s mind. “Why should I?” she offered, giving him the chance. Pretending to give him the chance?

“I…” he looked up at her, right in the eyes, piercing her with a determined expression. “I’m sorry.”

Mary blinked, stepped back in surprise. “Are you proving you can apologise? You’ve already done that, Lily won’t—”

Snape shook his head stiffly, curtain wafting around his head. “No, I’m… I’m sorry to you,” he emphasised, staring at her again.

“I don’t…”

He rocked on his heels, leaned closer and whispered, “I’m sorry for what Mulciber did to you.”

Mary recoiled away from him, “What—”

“And I’m sorry that I called it nothing, I’m sorry I called it a laugh,” he admitted, almost desperate as he continued to mutter furiously, “I’m sorry, because it shouldn’t happen to anyone, and I’m sorry, because I know what it feels like to be…” he trailed off, flicked his eyes to the windows along the corridor, “My father… he used to… touch me too. And I’m sorry, because I shouldn’t use that as an excuse, and I should’ve said something, I should’ve stopped it happening, and I’m sorry, because I know it’ll happen again and I’ll still do nothing—”

“Snape,” Mary awkwardly patted his shoulder, and he shut up immediately, mouth snapping closed as he looked to her for approval. “Severus,” she decided. “I’m sorry for what your father does to you, too.” She let go of him, looked him up and down. Everyone was so complex. More complex than she could imagine, more complex than what she could manage. Was she wrong for patting his shoulder? Maybe that had set off triggers, alarm bells. That never really happened to her, but everyone was different. Mary still craved touch, comforting touch, and Snape shied away from all of it. Cocooned within himself until he was suffocating without it. “Do you… want anything from me?”

“Lily.”

“No, do you need…?”

“Lily,” he repeated firmly, blank mask reset over his face.

“But, maybe I could help…”

He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth as he spat out, “No.”

Mary gave up. “Okay. I’ll try.”

She turned into the common room.

Had she given up too easily? She didn’t even know Snape. Should she tell someone? Was that a betrayal of trust? Would anyone even listen? She knew Sirius’s family was abusive, evil, and he’d had to get himself out, even after James had told Dumbledore.

It was like people in power had no power, not really. It was prejudice that had power, that controlled everyone who was in power, bent their spines until they were shaking on their knees, pleading for mercy, justice, I will do your will, will that make the world better? Discrimination that shaped people’s minds, killed everyone alike, destroyed them on the inside, took away their life, made them empty vessels carrying prejudice’s decree, or made them broken victims bruised by prejudice’s assault. A cycle of bitter pain. Mary struggled to see how it could change. She should do what mattered, mattered to her, instead of flowing in prejudice’s currents, fighting against it, because humans were humans and something like this always cropped up amongst humans, there was racism, misogyny, blood purity, bigotry of every kind, sailing high, in every year that humans had ever been alive. Mary wanted to live, love, laugh, and she’d do that in comfort, she’d do that without the hatred, without the bigotry, in the arms of her family. Her life was for her to enjoy, and she’d spend her time alive with those she loved, those who mattered. Everyone deserved to find people they loved and live with them. Forget about the rest of the world who disagreed, stop trying to convert others’ opinions into their own: find the people who shared their beliefs and stay with them, never harm anyone, never let their opinions cause harm. Mary would do that. She hoped that everyone would do that.

They wouldn’t. But she could.

— extract from

she’s Black, she’s Broken, she’s Beautiful