#snape is an emotional bean

[ravenshavenn]

Give me unhinged book Snape. Give me Snape with too many feelings. Snape at the end of his tether. A man who's lost everything. Who doesn't understand himself and is going to bloody well make it everyone else's problem.

[sideprince]

For the snape asks, 26 and 28 if you please

26. How do you think Snape’s first day/year/etc of teaching went?

Impostor syndrome head to toe. For context, I think he was disillusioned already with Voldemort and his cause, and the threat to Lily was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. He knew that defecting meant certain death and had no one to protect him, but when Voldemort targeted Lily he cut his losses and went to Dumbledore, because if he was going to die at least it would have a purpose. Instead, he was recruited as a spy and offered protection, making defection possible.

As a result, when he took up the teaching position that was the cover for him being a spy, he knew it was for that purpose and not because he was qualified, or even prepared, to teach. He was a 21 year old string bean of compressed anxieties, teaching students some of whom were third or fourth years when he was in his seventh. I think he felt very out of place and like he was playing the role of teacher, and not like he actually was one. He knew the material better than the book, as we know, but getting students to learn it and understand is another.

However. The way he's written - his ability to silence a room wordlessly, his ability to make everyone listen more the softer he speaks, most aspects of his imposing nature - indicates he took a lot of traits on from Voldemort. I like the idea that McGonagall also mentored him when he first started teaching, and there are traces of her strictness and no-nonsense approach in him. Really, his teaching style and manner indicates a combination of influences from both.

I think his first day teaching was rough. Maybe it was when he got advice from McGonagall that something in his head clicked and he realized that a lot of teaching, like what he saw Voldemort do, was about confidence and attitude. Maybe he realized that of course he's playacting as a teacher, he's playacting his whole life now, as a spy. He had a chance to make himself over. I think he was less twitchy by then than in his school days, partly because he had grown into his body and wasn't an awkward teen anymore, and partly as a result of whatever traumas he experienced as a DE that he reacted to by hiding his emotional responses and feeling an overwhelming need to be in control of himself. He developed his own teaching style by emulating Voldemort in the classroom. It must have been a thrill and a shock when he realized it was effective and made students sit up and pay attention. It may even have been his own little act of quiet rebellion, in a way - proving to himself that Voldemort's persona was a farce, a show put on to capture his audience, and mocking him by imitating him. This would also have shown him how easily people follow anyone exuding confidence and how easily they cower in front of anyone imposing. He would have respected the students who challenged him for not buying into his charade. Tbh if Harry wasn't James' son, Snape would have respected him much more for his consistent pushback, in my opinion.

I also think his habit of writing instructions on the board instead of having students consult their textbooks was something he developed early on and instinctively, because he knew his instructions were better than the books. Maybe this was an inroad to finding his way around the whole teaching thing... when you're able to make something your own, it's easier to have confidence in it.

28. Did you make it through OotP, HBP, and DE not knowing what JKR had in store for Snape’s character? Or had those things been spoiled for you beforehand?

I feel like I'm going to bore people, I've talked about this so much, so I'm sorry if you've seen this before lol! I didn't know about Lily being a motivation but the rest was foreshadowing so overbearingly that I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why people questioned whether he was on Voldemort's side or Harry's. From the moment in PS when we find out Snape wasn't the villain and was, in fact, trying to save Harry, there was no question in my mind that any time he was framed by the narrative as villainous it was a misdirect. I talk about it more in this post but essentially, if you read him in each book without the bias that Harry describes him with, then it's pretty easy to see that his attempts to help and save Harry are consistent and ever present.

The thing that confirmed my suspicions most was the parallel Rowling drew between Harry and Snape in Half-Blood Prince:

“Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet back towards Dumbledore’s mouth and tipped it, so that Dumbledore drank the remainder of the potion inside.”

Half-Blood Prince Ch. 26

“Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. ‘Severus … please …’ Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. ‘Avada Kedavra!”

Half-Blood Prince Ch. 27

I was a stubborn little shit about it when I first read it, and I still am: this, to me, was irrefutable evidence that Snape's actions weren't what they seemed, and that he had some kind of arrangement with Dumbledore. The parallel use of the words "revulsion" and "hatred" to describe both him and Harry, specifically their reactions and facial expressions, also paralleled moments where each of them was harming Dumbledore, at least one of them on Dumbledore's orders. I didn't notice this specific word use immediately, but not long after I finished the book I went back and compared the scenes because I knew that, as much as I think Rowling is lacking in her ability to write prose, I also knew that she was meticulous about language and word choice when setting up important narrative moments. And this isn't even a sophisticated move tbh - she used the same two words, not even synonyms, and just switched the order and used varying conjugations. It felt so obvious to me.

Tbh I still feel that adolescent knee-jerk reaction when I point this out and someone says, "yeah maybe" because to me it's just fact, and always has been. It's not a maybe. This was absolutely deliberate on the author's part, as it should be! This is how you utilize the medium of literature to tell this kind of story. A lot of other people at the time noticed it too, so I felt vindicated, but it made me crazy when I saw people read absurd theories into the text and dismiss this one lol. What can I say, I had a lot of feelings back then.

Anyway, I was excited for Deathly Hallows when it finally came out because I knew that Snape's true motivation would finally be revealed. I read that whole book just to get to chapter 33. I never doubted that Snape was on Harry's side, I just didn't know why.

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

The Other Evans Girl [Part Nine]

Fandom: Harry Potter [Marauder’s Era]

Pairing: Sirius Black x Original Female Character, Sirius Black x Daisy Evans, James Potter x Lily Evans

Characters: Sirius Black, Original Female Character, Daisy Evans, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon, Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, Walburga Black, Orion Black, Jasper Thicknesse, Barty Crouch Jr, Mulciber, Walden McNair

Word Count: 2568

Rating: Teen

Summary: Hogwarts is a safe haven, a home for many, but it’s often a place where heartache, love and complex emotions dwell and none know that better than the Marauders. Lily Evans just wants to make it out as a successful witch though the oncoming war and the ongoing advances of James Potter threaten that. Daisy Evans, her twin, has other goals. Join the Evans sisters as they make their way through Hogwarts, prepare for war and eventually find love.

Tags/ Warnings: Hogwarts, Friends, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Marauder’s Era, Teenage Angst, Babies, Weddings, Dating, Crying, Loss of Virginity, First Wizarding War, Love, Kissing, Teenagers, James Potter is a bit of a dick, Hogsmeade, 1970s, Fighting, Loss of Parents, Grief, Babies, Injuries, Gore, Harm, Christmas,  The Potter’s Mansion // Daisy’s Dress // NYE Lily’s Dress // NYE Daisy’s Dress // Lily’s Ring // Daisy’s Ring

LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST // LINK TO ALL PARTS

Two weeks. Two weeks had passed since Hogsmeade and she hadn’t even had a note from Severus to further their plan. It didn’t help that he spent most of his time with Slytherins or in the library but since the time they did spend together was with Lily it wasn’t an opportune moment to broach the subject. After all, her sister aspired to be head girl and no matter how much she disliked Potter’s rabble she wouldn’t compromise being in trouble by association. Not that it mattered much given that the mission had also been fruitless on her end. Though she now had a better insight into their group, as Marlene and Sirius had been dating for the past two weeks, it had still not sprung any information. She was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast watching as her friend sat a couple of meters away sucking the face off her new beau. Daisy felt her toast churn in her stomach.

Though she knew it would be logical to try and sit with the boys under the pretence of sitting with Marlene she couldn’t bring herself to. And there were two reasons why.

Sirius and Marlene were nauseating. She clung to him like a barnacle and though he participated it seemed his heart wasn’t in it like Marlene’s was which made it difficult to watch.

She was seething with Potter yet again for the stunt he’d pulled after the trip.

After the Hogsmeade trip, when Severus and Daisy planned their scheme, they returned to the castle and spent the evening with Lily. Only when Daisy awoke the next morning she found her twin in a stinking mood.

‘Morning Lil,’ Daisy said as she slid onto the bench opposite her sister the morning after Hogsmeade. Lily watched as her sister took a seat but said nothing, her green eyes watching Daisy icily over the top of her cup of tea. As Daisy took a piece of toast she felt the glare on her face, confirmed as she looked up and found Lily watching her. Daisy sighed internally and though Lily didn’t offer any clues as to why she was in a mood Daisy couldn’t help but feel like she needed to find out and so she braced herself for whatever telling off was coming her way and said, ‘what’s up?. ‘Why don’t you tell me?’ her sister reasoned putting down her cup with a clink. ‘Why don’t you skip to the end where you tell me off just to make it easier?’ Daisy said grabbing a piece of toast as she tried to remain as unbothered as possible though for a moment the worry that Severus had spilt the beans flowed through her. ‘I’m not going to tell you off,’ Lily snapped, ‘I just don’t understand why you spent all last night with me and didn’t tell me.’ ‘Tell you what?’ Daisy grumbled. ‘About you and Sev!’ she said in a harsh whisper. ‘Oh God I knew he’d blab,’ Daisy grumbled. ‘I mean I don’t mind,’ Lily said awkwardly, ‘after all, you’re my sister and he’s my friend. I’m happy that you fancy one another but I just wanted to be kept in the loop. Especially since you tease me about him liking me all the time which he obviously doesn’t because-’ ‘Wait what?’ Daisy said, trying to wrap her head around her sister’s words. She looked behind her sister to the Slytherin table and found the boy was not yet present either having missed breakfast or gotten up some time before her. Lily stopped talking and looked at her twin bashfully. Daisy’s eyes narrowed.

‘What did Sev say?’ Daisy probed confused. ‘Sev didn’t say anything. Neither of you did. Of all people, it was Peter Pettigrew who told me…and Potter backed him up,’ Lily admitted. ‘Backed him up about what?’ Daisy questioned, her jaw tightening at the mention of those two. ‘That you and Sev went into Gladrags Wizardwear to use the changing rooms as…somewhere to snog,’ she said, an embarrassed blush coming to her cheeks. For a moment all Daisy could do was stare but then the ludicrousness of it all dawned on her and she barked a laugh. ‘You think Sev and I are together?’ she gawped though all it did was make Lily’s embarrassment amp up, ‘and more to the point you believe that pillock would tell you the truth?’ ‘Well, why would they make it up? They said they saw you go in,’ Lily protested. ‘They did but not for that reason. What they so keenly left out was that they had just knocked Sev over in the middle of the street. He was flustered and embarrassed so I decided to get him out of the way and out of prying eyes,’ she said. It wasn’t a complete lie. They were trying to get out of view but not to save Severus some embarrassment but that bit Lily didn’t need to know. Daisy watched as the cogs turned in her sister’s mind before she finally nodded and accepted this explanation. 

‘Sorry,’ Lily said, ‘I just wanted you to be honest with me.’ ‘Yeah well if I ever date Sev you’ll be the first to know,’ she chuckled, though as Lily went back to her cup of tea feeling thoroughly reassured Daisy felt guilt wash through her because even if it was ludicrous to think she’d go anywhere near Severus Snape it wasn’t so ludicrous for her sister to want honesty from her. And that was currently something she couldn’t give her. And even if there were reasons to it, it didn’t make it feel any better.

The more Daisy had thought about it over the next two weeks the more conflicted she’d become. Yes, James Potter and his friends were troublesome but did that give her the right to ruin their lives by getting them expelled? If she got them into trouble wasn’t she just as bad? But if they were already being bad and she just got them caught surely it was on them? Questions upon questions swirled inside her and the radio silence from Severus had only added to her confusion as she didn’t have a steering force in her thoughts. She hadn’t told anyone what they planned to do, that was if it was going to go ahead at all. 

‘Earth to Daisy,’ she heard a voice say as a hand waved in front of her face.  ‘Sorry,’ she said, looking at Alice who was watching her carefully. ‘I was saying did you want to do something for Halloween? I heard from Frank that they were thinking of throwing a costume party after the feast,’ Alice said.  ‘Yeah, sounds good,’ Daisy said before looking at her sister, ‘Lil?’  ‘Costumes?’ Lily grumbled.  ‘Oh come on it’ll be a laugh,’ Daisy said.  ‘Fine, but only if we all go together,’ Lily said, glancing at Marlene and Alice.  ‘That’s fine with me,’ Alice shrugged, ‘Frank and I weren’t going as a date anyway. He’s doing some big group costume with his mates.’  ‘Aw that’s nice,’ Lily said.  ‘So the only stop out is Mar,’ Daisy said. The three girls glanced down the table to where their friend was sitting with a bored-looking Sirius, giggling over something.  ‘Who’s going to ask her?’ Alice asked meekly. Daisy instantly felt two sets of eyes boring into her skull and as she turned her head back she found Alice and Lily watching her expectantly.  ‘Fine,’ she grumbled. She then rose from her seat and walked the small gap between the parties, sitting down opposite the pair. Fortunately, it was only Remus she was exposed to as both Peter and James were absent. 

‘Hey Dais,’ Marlene said barely looking up from her boyfriend. Sirius watched Daisy curiously, not seeming to notice the way Marlene was ogling him from his side. ‘Mar,’ she said nodding curtly at Sirius and then throwing Remus a weak smile. The sandy-haired boy looked at her with warmth. Of all the boys, she liked him the most.  ‘Have you got a minute?’ Daisy asked. ‘Sure,’ she said, looking up at her friend but making no effort to move. ‘Right…well,’ Daisy started now feeling embarrassed as if she was asking her friend on a date, ‘Alice was telling us that there’s going to be a big party after the Halloween feast and we wanted to know if you’re coming.’ ‘Of course we’ll come, right babe?’ Marlene said. Sirius looked at Daisy uneasily before his gaze fell on Remus. The two seemed to be in silent conversation and seeing her opportunity Daisy started to explain that she wasn’t inviting them but Sirius jumped in before she could.

‘Actually,’ he said, his eyes now falling on Daisy, ‘we, I mean I can’t come.’  ‘What? Why?’ Marlene said, a disappointed pout coming onto her face.  ‘Erm, I don’t really do…Halloween,’ Sirius shrugged. ‘But you’re coming to the feast right?’ Marlene asked hopefully.  ‘Uh,’ he said looking at Remus who dropped his gaze to the table, ‘maybe I don’t know yet.’  ‘But it’s the feast, everyone goes,’ Daisy said confused. Everyone came to the feast, it wasn’t exactly something you could opt out of well not without good reason and she doubted they had that. ‘Yeah, well it’s just dinner. I’ll get something from the kitchens if I get hungry,’ Sirius said.  ‘You can get in the kitchens?’ Daisy asked feeling slightly impressed by the revelation. She didn’t know why she was getting sucked in, of course Sirius Black would just swing by the kitchens if he needed something when most students didn’t even know where they were located. ‘Isn’t he great?’ Marlene gushed, snapping Daisy back to reality.  ‘It’s not a big deal,’ Sirius said and to her surprise he seemed embarrassed which for some reason only intrigued her more as did the way he glanced at Remus, again the pair of them looking as though they were having a silent conversation no one else was privy to. Daisy watched them for a moment, trying to piece together the puzzle, more importantly what they were discussing that meant Sirius couldn’t come to the party. She didn’t have any ideas but it only cemented the idea that they were up to something. Yet before Daisy could probe any further she felt a tap on her shoulder and found Lily and Alice waiting by the table asking if she was ready to go to class. 

After a quick goodbye to Marlene, who upon the news of her being alone on Halloween seemed determined to spend her afternoon glued to her boyfriend, the three of them headed to the dungeons ready for their potions lesson. They were some of the first there given that Lily liked to be prompt but after some waiting they filed into the dungeons after their potion master alongside their fellow Gryffindors and some Slytherins taking their usual seats. And as they were seated due to their surnames Daisy found herself stuck, once again, next to Alasdair Dumont, a Slytherin boy she disliked.  Fortunately, they sat towards the back of the class so Daisy was able to sink down behind the taller boys in front of her and out of view of Slughorn though he rarely called on her anyway. She listened as Slughorn droned on about a batch of ‘Muffling Draught’ he expected them to make within their double lesson. Knowing that she would have to do most of the leg work due to her desk mate’s lack of enthusiasm she paid attention and jotted down what she needed from the store cupboard. 

‘Okay then, you may begin,’ Slughorn said and with a wave of his wand, he unlocked the store cupboards at the back of the class so the students could start. As the class started pulling their equipment from their bags and decanting ingredients to see what they needed Daisy opted to head towards the cupboard, armed with her list, as she knew she was out of almost every supply. It meant she missed the onslaught of students but as her eyes skimmed the shelves looking for lacewing flies she felt a presence beside her and looked up to find Severus standing beside her. 

‘Hey Sev,’ she said to the boy as he started perusing too. She located her ingredient and decanted a couple of them into a small vial for taking back to the table.  ‘Hey,’ he said. Daisy threw a glance over her shoulder to see if anyone was near before she leaned in and said, ‘so have you been thinking about what we talked about?’  ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I’ve been thinking.’ ‘Me too and I’ve got some intel,’ Daisy said with a smug smile. Severus looked over his shoulder too and then leaned in.  ‘They’re up to something,’ she said.  ‘Well, I could have figured that out,’ Severus said rolling his eyes.  ‘I mean soon,’ she said, ‘and I think it’s going to be Halloween.’ ‘What makes you say that?’ Severus said.  ‘I was talking to Sirius-’ ‘Since when were you two friends,’ Severus said scathingly.  ‘We’re not,’ Daisy said defensively. Severus scowled but let her continue, ‘I was asking Marlene if she was coming to the Gryffindor Halloween party after the feast and he was just sort of there. And she invited him to join us but he said no.’ ‘Well, that doesn’t prove-’ Severu started but Daisy cut him off. ‘He said no and he said he wasn’t going to the feast either,’ she countered raising an eyebrow. ‘Well, that is a bit weird. But just him? I thought we were after Potter,’ he said.  ‘I know but where there’s one the others aren’t far behind. And it looked like he was trying to stop Remus from saying anything to Marlene,’ she said, stopping when she saw the look on her friend’s face. He was trying to work something out, ‘what?’  ‘Nothing, nothing,’ he said though Daisy knew he was hiding something. 

But before she could say anything else the cupboard started filling with people now aware of what they needed to get. The two disbanded, heading back to their retrospective seats and though Daisy tried to keep her focus on the task at hand, acting not unlike Lily as she told her desk mate what he needed to do, she couldn’t help but think about the look on Severus’ face as she’d spoke. She didn’t even pay much attention to Slughorn as Slughorn made his way around the class commenting that Daisy’s potion was ‘a very good attempt’ before moving on to Lily who of course had made an ‘exemplary standard of potion’.

In fact she was only brought out of her thoughts as she felt a piece of paper hit her in the face. It bounced off of her skull and onto the table below where she snapped it up, looking around to see if she had been spotted by her teacher or other pupils. Fortunately it hadn’t and even her desk mate didn’t pay her any attention as she unspooled the parchment. It was a note from Severus. 

You're right, it's halloween. Let's meet in the entrance hall before the feast and follow them.

Sev

Daisy looked over to where the boy was stirring his cauldron cautiously before he looked over at her. The pair shared a nod. It was on.

SIRIUS BLACK/SERIES TAGS

@maeisafangirl @@mysteriouslydelicateface @caitlin1996 @imthebadguyyy

[severussnapesupport]

How Snape Presents Himself to the World:

How Snape Really Is:

[citharaposts]

Holy crap, Mani. I can't actually deal with how talented you are.

Control yourself

I mean she grabbed on to his hair too  1.4.2021, support Mani

[crazybutgood]

Birthday origami rec (teacup-tai)

(Please click on the image for better quality! Thank you to the lovely @curlyy-hair-dont-care for looking this over)

Image description: A deep purple origami tea bag. The tea bag has ‘tai’s chai’ handwritten on it in cursive in gold ink. The tea label has the Cancer zodiac sign drawn on it in gold ink. I chose purple as it is tai’s favourite colour.

Happy birthday @teacup-tai! 🥳💜 tai, you are such a lovely, talented bean and I’m so glad to call you a friend. Thank you for always being so kind, and all your encouragement for fandom and life things. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you and beta for you❣️

Thank you so much for the ko-fi! I wanted to take the opportunity to fold this origami tea bag for my fellow tea lover friend’s birthday. If I were to choose a tea to match the essence of tai’s writing, I would go with Dilmah’s Pure Ceylon Broken Orange Pekoe. As in the tea’s description, tai’s writing is rich and steeped with strong emotions and thrill, in various genres and tropes, that will keep you immersed from start to end. 

Not only does tai pour her heart into her own fics, but also in reccing others’ fics. You can check out her lovingly curated reclists on her masterlist post here. The post also contains three of the fave fics she wrote, and I highly recommend reading them!

Here are some of my own picks of tai’s gorgeous fics. Please leave some love for them and check out more of her fics on her ao3 and tumblr! 

A Home by the Sea (E, 10778) (Drarry)

I press my face against your neck, smelling like home and warmth and peace. This is what being with you feels like nowadays: peaceful, certain, like the waves on the sea in a never-ending dance. An ode to falling in love later in life. To this kind of love that is mature, stable and comforting.

All Rivers Merge into the Sea (T, 3450) (Pansy)

Pansy was dragged by the heavy river tide that moved the Parkinsons into the dark belly of war. But all rivers follow their own path before merging into the sea, vast and unknown, and Pansy would similarly find the opportunity to become her own person, not really knowing who she would turn out to be.

Space Bodies (M, 1494) (Drarry) (TW: mention of suicide ideation, mention of transphobia)

She tastes like a love story.

The Truth Runs Wild (E, 3026) (Blairon)

It’s Harry’s fault and his whole ‘gay awakening’ and all the shit he had to hear Harry talk him through, in the name of friendship and supportive brotherhood. But honestly, if Zabini licking his lips can be this sensual, what could he do with a dick in his mouth? Ron flushes, because he cannot be honestly thinking about Blaise Zabini and blowjobs. Like, he’s straight, right. Right?

Only Fools Fall (WIP) (E, 5310) (Blairon)

Blaise planted a kiss against Ron’s temple and moved away to watch him with big black attentive eyes. “I only wanna make you feel good,” he assured him. And Ron felt himself blush, because Zabini was looking soft and warm and it was making things inside Ron’s chest turn and pull. This was getting way too real. Or: Ron wants more, then he gets pretty confused. So Tai decided to write a Blaise/Ron love story out of it. Sequel to The Truth Runs Wild.

Young Love (WIP) (E, 33876) (Drarry, Wolfstar, Snily)

Adolescence is tough for teens and parents alike. Or: Harry has a thing for older guys, Draco has a homophobic pure-blood family, Lily doesn’t have the patience, Sirius needs another drink, Narcissa asks for help, James is a good dad, Snape wishes he wasn’t involved at all, and Remus just really wanted to have a chill Christmas break for a change.

[funkymbtifiction]

A rant from a very annoyed type 4

I recently watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHqjaF4pBZs it's a skit where the 9 types explain their worst jobs (5 mins long) and she said the worst job for a type 4 would be a 911 operator because 4s are so empathic and feel other people's emotions and it's horrible, all that sadness influences them... no that is a type 9. And I'm exhausted that there is never anyone who gets type 4 right. The people on reddit/forums don't get type 4 either, and 95% of people (not exaggerating) who claim to be 4s and agree with this in the comments or post on forums are never 4s. 

And I'm just very annoyed at people wanting to be 4s because they think it's quirky and unique and empathic or whatever and then go say "yeah but I'm really healthy so I don't relate to the lower health levels/I'm the sunny sp 4!". That's not what a 4 is. And it's affecting people's perception of what a type 4 is because there are more people online mistyped as type 4s than there are actual 4s making 4s look like something else entirely. "I don't relate to the mean descriptions of the type 4 but I'm a 4" Then you're not a 4. Period. Because of this there is this belief on reddit 'cause it gets posted like every 2 days that 4s are drawn to 8s like we find 8s so irresistible "I'm a 4 and I am sooo attracted to 8s they are so magnetic and dreamy". No. You're not a 4. 4s and 8s usually don't get along. Statistically, as a 4, you are going to be drawn to other 4s and 9s. But who is attracted to 8s? 9s, 6s, 2s. All the types most common to mistype as 4s. The 4 and the 8 will tear each other apart and we will not be going with what the 8 wants causing discord and fights for the upper hand in the relationship.

I need people to realize type 4 is selfish. And we don't feel guilty about being selfish. At all. We are not self sacrificial, other people's emotions don't overflow us and "make us sad :(", we are not the shy, empathic babies that get taken advantage of and who are masochistically submissive. We are the selfish melodramatic divas and pain parasites. We can be emotional manipulators, we will manipulate you by weaponing our emotions. Depending on the fixes/instincts, we can be aggressive and and domineering.

{...] We are not looking for our peace or our place in the world, we are looking to get high on emotions and on life. We will never be happy, and that is our life's curse. Because nothing will ever makes us happy because we keep moving the goalpost subconsciously and we can't help it or stop it.

TL;DR: 4s aren't your cute artsy shy and empathic beans. Nor are we just "depressed". We're the melodramatic divas and parasites. If you think you know a shy cutie 4 who is sad :( and feels a lot, you don't know a 4, you know a 9 going through a difficult time. 

Mod: I know it's frustrating to have Nota4's online misrepresenting your type, but most 4s are not as extreme as what you described, so I took out the more offensive sections (I assume you are sx/8 fixed?). But your point remains valid, that 4s are unapologetic in their selfishness, they can be self-destructive, they are not empathetic by nature, and they are perpetually frustrated. Actually, the most empathetic "I feel your feelings" combo is Fe + 9/2. Also, the next time I meet a "sunny" 4w5, I'm gonna ask, "Oh, like Severus Snape?" ;)

[fryingpan1234567]

I got a Hogwarts thing for ya

So Gryffindors, right.

They’ve got poor impulse control, they’re headstrong and good leaders, and they have the mental ability to overcome most/ all challenges if faced by fear (aka courage lol).

The Sorting Hat puts you in your forever-category on your first night at Hogwarts. You then spend all day every single day with those people at different stages of evolving into Level 8 Houses, you as well. You become accustomed to this.

Second Year Gryffs are starting to get the hang of things- they know their way around the castle well enough, and they’ve learned to be loud for attention. But if someone asked them to down an entire box of every flavor-beans, they’ll still hesitate to the challenge.

Fifth Years are pretty much sick of school. They’re zoned into reality in class less than ten percent of the time. They’re willing to either cram for the OWLs less than twelve hours before them or fail, they don’t care by this point. If someone dared them to jump off the tower they’d do it. The only adult they’ll still listen to with zero question is McGonagall.

Seventh Years… oh man. Skipping classes. Literally zero filter or common sense, if they had any before. Underage drinking and/or magic, maybe even around the Muggle friends they trust. Nearly every single one of them has broken their wand at least once and had to get it fixed or replaced. Not a single bone in their body hasn’t been broken, bent, or dislocated at least once as well.

Now our Hufflepuffs. Puff people are kind and considerate, patient as well, and they’re good peacekeepers as well as deescalation MASTERS.

First Years are almost too soft- sometimes the older ones will giggle when one of them tries to carry books for three of their friends as well as their own from class to class, because they haven’t quite gotten the hang on what it actually means to be kind and not bend over backwards for everyone.

Third Years are usually at the stage when Puffs master the ability to chill other people out. Sometimes they even have luck getting Gryffs to sit down and realize it’s not a good plan to steal from Snape’s secret potions closet, although that’s still pretty rare (you can’t really talk a Gryff out of a dare, but everyone’s tried at least once). They can be right alongside teachers pulling fighting students apart, and they tend to be the right-brained class teachers’ favorites (botany, DATDA).

Seventh Years are gods at mediation and have really got a grasp on kindness and sympathy. They’re the only successful ones to get Gryffs to think things through, get Ravenclaws to take care of themselves, and Slytherins to not carry out murders in the middle of potions class. If you need to talk to someone, you go to an older Hufflepuff.

Ravenclaws are wise, have good judgement, and think logically. Sometimes they lack in the emotional intelligence and compassion department, but they make up for it in quick thinking and good grades.

Second Year Ravenclaws are acing all their classes and have been since day 1. They don’t love every class, like botany and magical creatures, but they study during meals and before sleep. All their focus is on having good grades because that’s what they think it means to be smart, and while the older kids pat them on the back, they try to explain that good grades and intelligence aren’t the same thing.

They don’t fully get that until around fifth year. They’ve improved their critical thinking and puzzling skills, they’ve accidentally hurt people’s feelings, and their sleep schedule is somewhat decent. They’re all addicted to coffee, but they know what amount is healthy. They finally understand that they weren’t picked for the house because of their grades, but because they can challenge their minds. They let up on themselves (at least a little) by sixth year.

Seventh Years don’t sleep. Their grades are decent enough but not perfect. They’ll deadass tell the riddle painting to fuck off and it’ll open. They make ungodly concoctions of Red Bull, coffee, extra shots of espresso, and who knows what the fuck else to last 38 hours on like 40 minutes of sleep. GOD tier Minecraft and Animal Crossing builds (that’s how older Ravenclaws are categorized- Minecraft or AC lol). They know spells that have been long forgotten, but most of them are relatively harmless- showers of sparks that don’t really do anything, conjuring pigeons that only live for three hours, things like that. They get together with Slytherins to make up long words that sound like spells, but really are just gibberish and enjoy the way Gryffs squirm uncomfortably.

Slytherins are cunning, ambitious, cutthroat, and really good liars. They are loyal to an absolute fault- they’d kill and die for people they care about. No one can match their sarcasm or insults, and Gryffindors are the only ones who come even close to their humor and meme references.

First Years are too over-the-top with their bigotry and asshole-ness, and the older ones do their best to beat that out of them. Flick in the side of the head for racism, extra ASL homework for homophobia, running fucking laps for sexism and slurs. By second year, they learn not to fuck with other people in a genuinely mean way… at least most of the time.

Third Year Slytherins are fluent in sign language to speak with the mermaids of the lake and fully use that to their advantage- signing at each other in class to cheat on tests, making fun of dumb assignments, things like that. They’ve been fluent in sarcasm since First, but they’ve mastered perfect insults and clapbacks like omg-

Seventh Years are so scary no one but Seventh Year Gryffs are willing to fuck with them. They could kill with a glare, they manage to make school uniform look fire in a way no one else seems to be able to get right, and one sideways look in a friend’s direction and you’ll be hexed for weeks. They protect every little, not just from their own house, from jock Gryffs, emotionless Ravenclaws, lecturing Puff People. But they won’t babysit. Don’t ask us for that.

[jinxedgods]

i just realized that Victor from arcane is just steampunk spender Reid and I’m very excited to share it with you all

Scrawny/skinny. Wear vests and slacks. Have wavy brown hair thats usually pushed back. Carries a cane at one point. Queer coded.

Introverted geniuses

Have trouble expressing their emotions, but still kind.

Have never done anything wrong but still suffer so much

Extroverted and charismatic coworker that works at their foil.

Passionate obsession with their career that they pursue even when they know it’s hurting them.

Living in the shadow of their inevitable decline. (Victor being an inventor corrupted by machinery and Spencer being a criminal psychologist who is constantly aware that Schizophrenia runs in the family).

Drug abuse they have to hide from their coworkers (Victor — Shimmer. Spencer — Opioids)

Spencer was a “smol bean” is 2014 and Victor is a “skrunkly” is 2022. Time is a circle. I will soon follow up this post with a rant about how Silco is the new Snape.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[mavkasilas]

Dominance and Submission

This is just a very scribble draft, I think if in the future I have times, I might rewrite it.

I feel that Percy and Oliver could also have this kind of tension between them. When I was writing this, I was listening to CORPSE's hot demon and Marina's Primadonna.

Percy catches Oliver stares at him, again. This is the 15th time he got caught by Percy just in a morning. He sighs and then lowers his mug and turns toward Oliver.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine.”

Percy noticed Oliver was jumped by his voice. Is he really that scary? They had been roommates for like 2 years, somehow Percy still feels there’s a layer of thick ice between them, although Oliver and him are partners in class.

He lowers his eyes and stabs the scrambled eggs with his fork. Baked toast, baked beans, bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh pumpkin juice and mango pudding. It’s Percy's favourite breakfast combination but today he feels like it’s not as scrumptious as before.

What’s wrong with it? He wondered.

“Uhmm-”

A sudden poke on his shoulder drags Percy out from his thoughts. It’s Oliver. He looks a bit shy and there’s red on the tip of his ear. Percy watches Oliver move his body awkwardly toward him. Don’t know why Percy suddenly feels an urge to run when Oliver is just not more than 1cm apart from his ear. His spine thrills as Oliver’s breath gently blows into his ear.

Percy can’t hear anything from Oliver but just looks at his moving lips. They are in slow motion, like someone casted Arresto Momento on it. With the sunlight, they look like the fresh jello that’s just served to the table from the kitchen by the elves.

Moisturizing, plump and full of temptation.

“Can I eat yours?”

All of the sudden, everyone’s attention was attracted by the loud crash that comes from The Gryffindor’s table. Bill and Charlie too, both of them turn their heads to where their little brother sits and find out his face is totally red as his hair.

What the actual Merlin was he thinking about just now? A total pervert, and to his surprise he wants to taste the lips.

Percy questions himself,

is the potions assignments that Professor Snape gave finally drive him off?

“I’m just asking, if you don’t want that’s fine.”

“You- You want- You want to eat what?”

“The pudding. I saw you just scoop once and never touch it again, so I presume that you’re not a sweet tooth right?”

Oliver rubs his nose. Even though he can’t read minds, he still knows that his words might confuse the boy who sits beside him. Or else, why would he act like a deer who got scared by a hunter?

At first, Oliver thought that Percy was just a very haughty person, like most of the Slytherins. When they met on the train, Percy didn’t even look at him and greeted him. He just reads his book that Oliver doesn’t know that’s actually a proper book for a 11 year old kid.

Nerd, supercilious, indifferent

the first impressions of Oliver to Percy.

Jock, hyperactive, hypocrite are the first impressions of Percy to Oliver.

“Today is sweeter than yesterday.”

“Tadaa! I got it right! You’re not a sweet tooth person, although you add a lot of sugar in your coffee.”

But at this moment, Percy feels that Oliver might be more dangerous than he expected. Looks like an innocent golden retriever but a rottweiler under it. He gulps, he could feel his pulse beating so hard under the skin of his neck.

Percy wonders if Oliver could hear it from a distance like this? Temper to temper, nose to nose, eyes to eyes.

“You observe me?”

Percy slightly scrunches his eyebrows.

“You’re my roommate. If I'm not observing you, then who should I be observing?”

Oliver smirks and leans more toward Percy. He never knew that his roommate is that bad at hiding emotions. A deer who hasn’t grown out the antlers, instead of running away but dares to challenge the hunter.

“Don’t you think it’s very rude to intrude on someone���s private?”

“We live in the same dorm and I’ve seen every inch of skin on your body.”

“You-”

“If you feel unfair, I can let you see mine.”

Crazy.

His intuition told him if he didn’t walk away from this conversation immediately, something bad was about to happen.

“Perce? Oliver? You two good?”

When Percy stands up from his seat, someone calls them. Both of them turn their heads syncly and find out it’s Bill and Charlie.

“Yea, we’re good. Thanks for your concern brother, so may I leave now? I’ve finished my breakfast.”

“Sure.”

Bill and Charlie exchange their glances.

A very pissed off Percy is pretty new for them. They know their brother, he’s kinda mean and arrogant but he always treats everyone in his own gentlemen's ways, even his enemies too. Percy will never allow him to do something that’s rude to somebody.

He’s always the most gentlemen among the Weasleys.

“Hey, the pudding?”

Oliver grabs Percy’s wrist just in time as he tries to run away from him. If glares could kill, then Oliver must have been dead hundred times when his eyes met Percy’s.

“Gluttonous.”

Percy puts the plate heavily in front of Oliver then he stomps out the hall, leaving his brothers with heads full of questions about what’s going on between their little brother and their talented quidditch pre-keeper.

Gryffindor’s common room,

The thin ice between Oliver and him has finally cracked a little bit, even though it didn’t go well with Percy’s expectation. He lies on the sofa and buried his face into the piles of pillows. Listening to the fire cracks from the fire pit, his heart finally calms down.

Humanity and beastiality share similarities. Untamed human is just as dangerous as an untamed beast.

The tension between him and Oliver had somehow reminded him of the story that was written by a French writer, The Little Prince.

Tame, a magic word and action for you to establish ties to someone.

Be friends with someone who is untamed, like Oliver, it just feels like being friends with the monsters books of monsters. You’ll never know when you’ll push on their buttons.

Percy changes his position, facing the ceiling. The lights in the common room are dim but yet can’t cover the sparks from Percy’s eyes. They are as shiny as the flame in the fire pit.

Seems like he should be Oliver’s domesticator first before becoming the prefect of Gryffindor. No doubt, it must be the toughest task that Percy has never met before, but it’s not a problem for him.

Putting a leash on Oliver’s neck will be more funnier than having the prefect’s pin on his robe.

[ravenshavenn]

Ssshhh

Inspired by @zephahhhh so all credit to them :)

NSFW Snape X gender-neutral reader imagine (Snape's pov)

Summary - helping Snape relax after a long day (tw- blowjob, crying, first time, swearing)

The office blurred and Severus heard himself gasp.

"Are you alright?" a soft voice rang out.

Kneeling between his spread legs Y/n looked gorgeous. They had rested a gentle hand on Severus's thigh. Blinking those large doe eyes hypnotically up at him. It was enchanting.

"Yes." was all he could manage. Voice hoarse and shaky.

"Good." They practically whispered back. "Because I was just starting to get comfortable."

Feather light touches of Y/n' s fingers trailed up Severus thigh. And The poor potions master resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut at the sensation. Would this be a good time to tell them he'd never done this before? Or would that be to much?

"Merlin, I've wanted to do this for months." Y/n purred working the buttons of his trousers.

The confession broke Severus train of thought, sending a bolt of pleasure straight to his already hard cock. He whined jolting forwards slightly. Panting heavily. His dark eyes blown wide. Normally pale cheeks flushed slightly. This was incredible. Was this what he'd been missing out on all these years?

Y/n looked up at him again devilishly "So responsive." They praised him "It's incredible."

Severus swallowed thickly, struggling to find the words to respond. All he could focus on was the now rhythmic throbbing of his cock.

However, Y/n seemed to be done studying him. Instead with an oddly, heart-warming, gentle touch they pulled his boxers aside and brought out his member. Severus sucked in another sharp breath.

His cock was already leaking a sticky trail of pre-come. The tip hot to the touch and an angry reddish purple.

Admittedly Severus's useral rampant anxious thoughts were silenced by the way Y/n was looking at him. They seemed almost transfixed. Sending a much needed boost to Severus shrivelled ego.

That was before they moved. Abruptly they lent forward, sticking out their tongue to lick a trail from base to tip. Severus did buck his hips then. Letting out a hiss through clenched teeth, eyes screwed shut. Y/n only smirked.

"You taste incredible." They mumbled leaning in, inhaling his musk. Severus could only moan again. Feeling as soft kitten licks lathered the underside of his head.

"I-I good!" Severus gasped out between pants.

His hips moved at their own pace now, bucking up into the soft licks. Then without warning Y/n took Severus fully into their mouth. The heat engulfed him and he cried out.

Surely nothing could compare to this. His hand would never satisfy the same again.

Every pass was like a shock of electricity straight to his gut. His head swimming and foggy with the feeling.

It must have only taken Y/n once, twice, three passes before Severus almost screamed. A stream of bitter seed ran down Y/n's throat. A desperate hand made its way into Y/n's hair and they moaned.

Panting heavily Severus opened his eyes. They were glass and watering. His breath coming out in ragged gulps.

"sshhhh" Y/n soothed softly still on their knees. "Relax for me."

Severus nodded lazily. The tears begining to stream down his red cheeks, over his parted lips.

It was as though he was floating, the safest he'd felt in years. Then he noticed Y/n's wicked smirk.

"Want to go again?"

[jadedxrealityw]

-Courage- Draco Malfoy x Female Reader

    ♡~🐍~♡

   Request:  hello there 😃 can i request a draco x gryffindor! reader where draco is kind of secretly in love with her and he finally takes the courage to ask her out on a hogsmeade date?? just draco being super cute and a gentleman and maybe he gives her his coat because it's cold??? just something super cute (the kind of rotting teeth lol). an e ways, i love your work and i hope you are doing well ❤❤

   Kody- yeah fluff! 

   Warning: A little bit of cursing, nervous Draco and the fluff overload.

   House: Gryffindor

   ♡~🐍~♡

   the Slytherin boy hushed his fellow housemates as he spots your H/C hair as you turn into the hallway him and his friends were standing in. His eyes study each step you take as you walk. You were casually chatting with Hermione Granger, a conversation that he couldn’t hear.

    as you past by him, you turn your head to face the Slytherin boy. He feels his body freeze as his grey eyes meet your E/C ones. You smile at him and wave politely. His body couldn’t function properly as he saw your beautiful smile. The tall Slytherin Blaise looks at his lovestruck friend and lifts Draco’s arm.

   he moves the pale boys arm side to side, to simulate a wave. You giggle and feel Hermione nudge your shoulder, she gave you a knowing look and you rolled your eyes before the both of you left the hallway. Blaise let go of his arm and sighed “You are pathetic”

   Draco groans in annoyance and crosses his arms “Shove off. I’ve never done the emotions thing okay? It’s-” “Different” Blaise finishes. The young Malfoy nods slowly. It was strange really. A gryffindor girl had stolen the heart of the cold boy who people feared because of his wealth and status.

   but you weren’t intimidated by him in the slightest, you treated him like every other person and chatted with him whenever he was around. When no one was around, you knew him as the soft Draco who talked about how much he liked Alchemy and Quidditch. 

   while others knew him as the bully who picked on anyone who got in his way. God forbid he was in a bad mood and someone accidently bumped into him. It wasn’t a pretty sight to say the least. He tried his hardest to be good around you, the way he would switch up attitudes when you walked by was comical.

   even when your fellow Gryffindors told you about Draco’s bully, you would always say “Well we don’t know what happens in his home life, it could just be the way he was raised or how he deals with his emotions. We have no room to judge”

   it was inevitable the way he fell for you.

      ♡~🐍~♡

   “Okay, now remember what we practiced” Blaise spoke as he patted the pale boys back. Draco was sweating bullets as his hands gripped the white roses in his hand. “How in the hell did you convince me to do this?” Draco sputters out as he runs a hand through his platinum blond locks. 

   Blaise shrugged “Simple actually, i called you a pussy” Draco narrowed his eyes “Right” he grumbles and feels Blaise nudge his shoulder. He points to a group of two Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw. You, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. 

   as soon as Draco saw you, his little to no confidence drained from his body completely “I can’t do it” he goes to turn around, but Blaise grabs his by the hood of his robe “Not going to happen. Now man up and go ask her out. Who are you? I thought you were Draco Malfoy? Not some wuss”

   Draco rolled his eyes “i am not a wuss” he snaps. “Oh really? Then go ask her out” Blaise grins and gestures to your little group. Draco takes a deep breath and shakes his hands a bit ‘Don’t screw this up’ he thought and began to make his way over to you.

   when he was a couple feet away, you looked up from Luna’s book and see your other platinum blond friend and feel your heart skip a couple beats. “Hey Draco” you say with a polite smile. You could tell he was anxious by his demeanour, you just didn’t know why he was. ‘was he holding something behind him

   he smiles nervously and points in the direction behind you. “Can i talk to you in private?” he asked. You didn’t mull over your answer much and nodded, breaking away from your group of friends. The Slytherin boy leads you to the other end of the courtyard.

   when he stops, he turns and face you, holding a single white rose. Your eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion “Um- So the Hogsmeade trip is this saturday and i- well. I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me?” he sputters out. It was quite amusing to see how much he spiraled.

   your lips turn up in a amused grin “Are you asking me out, Draco Malfoy?” he seems to study for your face for any signs of disgust or resentment before answering “Yes. Yes i am” he says a bit more confidently. Your heart rate picks up a bit and you nod slowly “I’d love to” you spoke.

   his grey eyes lit up a bit at the world love and he coughed a bit, trying to keep up that confidence. “I’ll see you Saturday, in front of The Three Broomsticks” he speaks, his signature smirk gracing his pale features. You nod once and take a step forward, closer to him.

   he seemed a bit shocked and his body tensed up again. Holding in your laughter, you grab the rose from his hands and smell it, the sweet fragrance filling your nose. A calm feeling spread through you and you look up at him, giving him a smile. “Thank you, Draco” 

   you lean up and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. You could very easily see the dark blush against his pale skin and pull away “Goodbye” you spoke and turn away, holding the rose between your thumb and index finger, leaving Draco stunned in your wake. He let out a deep sigh and crouched down

   “Merlin i am pathetic” he mumbles.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   “I can not believe your going on a date with Draco Malfoy. I can’t believe he asked out a Gryffindor half-blood as well.” Hermione exclaimed from beside you. You laugh as you continue walking along the path of Hogsmeade adjusting your outfit hear and there. “You’ve said that three time now since we left the train ‘Mione. Now i have to get going”

   you point to The Three Broomsticks and give her a polite smile before walking into the establishment. You gaze around until your eyes land on the familiar Slytherin sitting down at a table. You walk over, saying excuse me to people who were in your way. When you got to the table, you sat down abruptly.

   Draco looks up at you and gives you a nervous smile “Hey” he breathes out. Immediately regretting his choice of introduction. “Hi” you reply back with a small chuckle. “Um i ordered two butterbeers for us, they should be here any minute” he says and you nod slowly.

   ‘This is so awkward’ you both thought.

   soon enough, like Draco said the butterbeers came and the waiter place both glasses on the table. You both reach for the same glass, your fingertips graze against each other and Draco pulls back instantly and goes for the other glass. You chuckle lightly and pick up the butterbeer, bringing it up to your mouth.

   he does the same and takes a sip before placing it back down at the table “You are so tense” you say, making his grey eyes widened to the size of saucers. “I am aren’t i?” he says, a nervous smile playing at his lips. You nod “You are never this nervous when we talk before. Is it because it’s a date?”

   he didn’t like how well you read him, but at the same time he loved it. He was conflicted at the moment actually. “Yeah” he spoke. You smile kindly “Then don’t think of it as a date and think of it as us casually hanging out like we always do." Draco smiles and nods his head “Okay”

   “Now if you see me with hair dye on Monday, you didn’t. Me and the twins are turning Snape’s hair pink” You grin and watch as the boys face turns into one of astonishment “Your such a troublemaker” he laughs and you raise a brow “Would you expect any less?”

   ♡~🐍~♡

   with your advice. Draco became less tense around you, just enjoying your presence. After ‘The Three Broomsticks’ you both went to a couple other places. Now it was late in the evening and the both of you missed the train back to school and were walking along the path.

   “I can’t believe we missed the train” you laugh before taking another lick of your sugar quill. He laughs along with you, popping another flavor bean into his mouth. “Good thing were almost there” he spoke and you nodded. The wind started to pick up and a harsh breeze blew against you.

   goosebumps dotted all over the exposed skin on your arms and a bit of your stomach. You shivered and wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to sheild yourself from the wind. Draco turns his head and looks at you, noticing your shivering body.

   without hesitation he starts to take off his black jacket. He goes over and drapes it over your shoulders. You look at him and go to take it off “I don’t want you to be cold-” “-nonsense. I have a sweater on anyway.” he shrugs, gesturing to his emerald green Quidditch sweater.

   you smile lightly and put your arms through the sleeves and zip it up. It was definitely too big for you, but was indeed warm. Draco looked at you and felt his heart race. In his eyes you looked absolutely adorable in his jacket and his heart melted at the sight.

   you catch his gaze and tilt you head “Is there something on my face?” you ask and he shakes his head rapidly “No. Of course not, you just look good in my jacket” he says, regretting his words a bit. A cheeky grin decorated your face ‘did he just compliment me?’ “Thanks” you nod and both go back to walking.

   ♡~🐍~♡

   you both had just walked into Hogwarts and were walking down the halls. Your hands were at your side as you made your way through the halls and during your stroll you felt a hand graze yours. Draco wanted to hold your hand, but was too much of a wuss to ask. 

   after doing that a couple more times with no response, he went to pull his hand away and was shocked to feel your fingers interlocking with his. A stupid grin was plastered on his face as you both now walked hand in hand. Soon enough you made it to the Gryffindor common room.

   “Well thank you for the lovely day Draco. I had a lot of fun” you spoke and he nods in reply “I did too” he says and feels you let go off his hand and open your arms out for a hug. Draco wraps his arms around your waist and embraces you. The smell of green apples fills your nose as you dig your head into his neck.

   his scent calms you in a way and you smile. He smiles as well, trying to ignore his increasing heart rate. After a minute or two, you pull away slightly and observe as Draco’s grey eyes flicker to your lips and back to your eyes. You could tell that he wanted to kiss you. Hell, you wanted to kiss him.

   you could see the conflict flicker in his eyes. Weighing his options you presume. You felt his grip on your waist loosen “Draco Malfoy, if you don’t kiss me right now” you narrow your eyes a bit. Draco sighs in relief and smashes his lips onto yours.

   you respond by kissing him back and smile into the kiss. He does as well, using one hand to cup to your face while the other traveled to the small of your back to pull you flush against his chest. A kiss did get a little sloppy towards the end, but you both couldn’t control yourselfs. 

   something called oxygen interrupted your kiss and you both pulled away. Heavy breathing was heard between the both of you. “I- wow” Draco breathed out, a laugh following. “yeah wow” You repeat and the both of you let go of each other. “I’m really glad you said yes to the date”

   “Me too. Considering your hopelessly in love with me right?” you say, quoting a conversation you heard earlier in the day. His eyes widened before he looks down in shame “Oh merlin, you heard that” he sighs and you chuckle. “Good thing i’m also in love with you too right?”

   he looked up quickly when he heard that, hope filling his eyes again “yeah. It’s great actually” he spoke a little loudly and you laugh, hushing him “Sorry” he mutters with a sheepish smile and you give him a reassuring smile. “Well it’s late. I’ll see you tomorrow right?” 

   he nods and you turn to whisper the password to the fat lady “You still have my jacket” you heard him say as the portrait opens. You take a step in and turn around giving him a cheeky smile “Oh i’ll give it back. On our second date of course.”

   before he could say anything the portrait closed and he smiled “I’m going to marry her”

   ♡~🐍~♡

   Kody- This is hella fluff. Just a shit ton of fluff dude. Anyways, peace.

[official-weasley]

Love, William (Bill Weasley x OC) - Chapter 1

Theodora Cork has everything she could wish for in the summer before her seventh year. She has Fred and George – her two best friends. She has a brother that supports her with whatever she wants to do with her life. She is an amazing Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and she is going to spend the summer at the Burrow.

She also has the biggest crush on the twins' brother Bill but the only thing she has with him is an 8 year age difference. Something that doesn't stop Fred, George, and Charlie from getting endless ideas to bring them together.

A/N: I started this blog to write down all my story ideas for our freckled dragon boy but after two stories I decided to give Bill some love too! I wanted to try a different POV this time, so tell me what you think? I like the first-person POV more but this was fun and a bit challenging to write as well!

Also, this is the first time I didn't really stick with the time frame of events (when it comes to Quidditch and them being at the Burrow during summer). I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to time and events and I wanted to get out of my comfort bubble a bit and see if I can endure changing things! Also, I felt like writing a really positive story full of fluff so I tried removing as many negative things from that timeline as possible.

I know I tormented our Charlie bean in the last two stories even if he got the happy and alternative ending so the next one about him will be nothing but pure fluff! 💙

I just wanted to see if I can write something about our dear eldest Weasley and because I had a rather emotional month it's sweet and might get you diabetes, so beware and I hope you enjoy it! 💙

WARNINGS: none other than Fred & George shenanigans and some Quidditch

Chapter 1 - George's Sacrifice

“She’s going to do it,” Fred whispered to his brother, lurking behind a corner.

“I told you, she’s perfect for the job,” George whispered back.

“Yeah, but she was protesting for 3 days.” Fred tried to defend himself.

“It’s a new product and we didn’t tell her what exactly it does. Of course, she was protesting.”

“We don’t even know what it does, George.” Fred tried rolling his eyes to keep the chuckle in his throat. They couldn’t risk getting caught.

“You know that she’ll murder us both if this goes wrong.” George didn’t dare to look at his twin. He knew that if they lock eyes they will start laughing.

“What are you two good-for-nothing rats sneaking around my office for?” The twins turned around to follow the voice. Their faces were pale and if they thought the whole situation was funny before, they definitely didn’t think so now.

“Theo, he’s on to us! Run!” They said in unison, trying to avoid eye contact with Filch, whose face was getting redder by the second.

“Done! What are you two shou...” The girl that joined them didn’t finish her sentence. She might’ve needed a second to realize there was one person too many standing in the circle.

“As we said...” Fred mumbled.

“Run!” George shouted, desperately trying to find something in his pocket.

Fred grabbed the girl’s hand before she could properly look at Filch who was now grinding his teeth together in anger. There was a loud crackling noise and when the trio turned around to see if Filch was following them the hallway was getting stuffed with dark grey smoke.

“Do you have the map, Fred?” George panted, his hands on his knees.

Fred, who was trying to see if Filch ran after them, shook his head. “Theodora has it.”

They both looked at her while she searched the inner pockets of her robes.

“Here it is!” She exclaimed.

They stuck their heads together, George sneaking a look around them just to be sure no one was watching. They took out their wands and tapped on the map while saying ‘we solemnly swear we are up to no good’.

The empty piece of parchment revealed the map seconds later.

“Right, where’s the nearest escape passage?” Theodora ran her finger through the map, the twins scanning it with their eyes.

“Around the corner,” Fred whispered.

“But Filch can already be there,” Theodora said, concerned. She pointed her finger at Filch’s name on the map. The footprints were getting closer to them. “Do you still have any smoke pastilles?”

“Just one more.” George’s hand already in his pocket as he was trying to find it, his tongue stuck out in concentration. “Got it!”

“Let’s go.” Fred waved his hand at his two friends after checking if the coast is clear.

The trio tip-toed around the corner, George ready to throw the pastille if needed. Theodora was clutching the map, following Filch’s every move. He was getting closer and it looked like they will meet right where they are supposed to enter the passage.

“He’s going to see us,” Theodora said through her teeth, trying to stop her jaw from shaking.

They did shenanigans like this all the time but Filch rarely got so close to catching them. He only did so 3 times since the twins invited her to tag along to one of their adventures as they called it. Fred and George took the blame each time but the last time they were caught, Snape got in their way and they couldn’t lie to McGonagall that Theodora had nothing to do with it.

She received a Howler from her mother every day for a week after that detention. Mrs. Weasley might be frightening with her screams but nothing compared to the promises what Theodora’s mother will make her do when she returns at the end of the school year.

Never-ending chores, no going out, no using magic even though she’s 17, and no avoiding visiting her grandma who always pinches her cheeks so hard that they hurt for days. And most importantly, no writing or receiving a single letter from her two best friends.

Right when they thought they got away and George was the last one to squeeze through the passage he heard Mrs. Norris meow and when he turned around to see if she was close, he saw Filch’s victorious grin.

“No matter what you do, just run straight to the Gryffindor Tower!” George shouted as another cracking sound filled their ears.

Fred and Theodora had no time to question what George was doing, as they heard Filch’s evil laugh and they started running through the tunnel as fast as their legs allowed them.

They didn’t stop nor turned around until they reached the Fat Lady Portrait, mumbled the password, and jumped through the hole. They ran up the stairs of the boy’s dormitories, ignoring the fact that the whole common room was staring at them. They burst through the door of Fred and George’s room and hid under the covers of Fred’s bed.

They didn’t move for solid five minutes. They barely even breathed, not daring to move a muscle. Once they were sure the coast was clear they came from under the covers and saw Lee Jordan staring at them with an amused look on his face.

Theodora and Fred were so busy making sure that Filch didn’t follow them that they failed to acknowledge Lee’s presence. The latter was sitting on his bed, a piece of parchment in his hands, his eyebrows now raised. The duo knew he was practicing his introduction speech for the Quidditch game tomorrow.

“What’s chasing you two?” He giggled.

“Prank gone wrong,” Fred explained. “Filch came back to his office while Theodora was still inside and he chased us.”

“George sacrificed himself for us so we could get away.” Theodora finished.

“Why didn’t you check the map to see if he was coming?” Lee asked puzzled.

“We forgot that Harry gave it to Theo and when we remembered she was already in his office,” Fred answered.

Fred and George gave the map to Harry Potter in his third year since they had it memorized. However, whenever Theodora was anxious about their plan, they asked Harry for the map back because they knew it made her feel better.

“Do you reckon George got caught?” Theodora was biting the inner side of her cheek.

“Didn’t you hear Filch laughing? Of course, he got caught.” Fred frowned.

This didn’t go according to his plan at all. Ever since he, his brother, and Theodora started to invent their own products together, they deemed Filch to be the perfect test subject. Usually, it was easy to get away but lately, Filch has been guarding his office more and they had less time to execute their plan.

Because they were caught, they won’t be able to see if their little experiment worked. George has learned a few years ago that Filch loves candy and what better gift than U-No-Poo in a box with a nice bow and a card that says You deserve it.

Fred and Theodora were getting more nervous by the minute. What was taking George so long? What was Filch doing to him?

One look at her friend and Theodora wanted to get up and investigate the situation when the door opened and George walked in.

“What happened?” The trio in the room asked in unison.

“I think it’s safe to say I am getting a Howler from mum tomorrow.” George sighed.

“We were hoping you got away,” Theodora said sadly.

“I was too slow with the smoke pastille and he grabbed my hand.” George started to explain. “He dragged me all the way to his office and threatened me to hang me by my feet. Luckily McGonagall saw us and demanded to know what was going on at once. Filch, of course, ratted us all out but because you two weren’t there,” George nodded to Theodora and his twin, “she only gave detention to me. One week in the kitchen.”

“That’s not bad at all!” Theodora clapped.

Detention in the kitchen was a piece of cake. They had to obey the elves and usually wash dishes or scrub the floors. It was better than cleaning toilets, something Fred and George had to do last month for releasing a Dungbomb in front of the Great Hall and it beat polishing trophies with Filch any day. Theodora knew a lot about that because of her cauldron disaster in Snape’s class at the beginning of the year.

In a few minutes, they forgot all about George’s detention and were already making a plan to get revenge on Filch. It was getting late and as usual, Theodora fell asleep, kneeling beside Fred’s bed, her head on the mattress.

Because of how often that happened, as the twins and the girl were mostly in the boys’ dormitory, they made a blanket fortress years ago and whenever she fell asleep in their dorm, they simply let her sleep there. They didn’t get in detention for that yet and they didn’t know what else to do, since the boys weren’t allowed into girl’s dormitories to take her back.

—

Theodora woke up before everyone else the next morning. She was a bit disoriented – not knowing where she was. When she heard loud snoring she knew she was in the boys’ dorm. She uncovered herself, with a smile on her face, thankful for how good the twins were to her, and sneaked out.

With all the running and still smelling like smoke, she took a shower and changed her clothes before going down for early breakfast.

The twins were her best friends and she wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world but sometimes, not having any girl friends, took its toll on her. That’s why she snuck to the Great Hall alone to have some peace and quiet whenever she got the chance.

“Are you nervous, Theo?” George sat down next to her, half an hour later.

“It’s Slytherins, I only have adrenaline in my veins.” She grinned.

“We better beat them today, I am craving a party.” Fred sat on her other side.

“Just direct all the bludgers into their direction so us Chasers can score as many goals as possible before Harry gets the Snitch.” Theodora’s grin turned into a mischievous smirk.

“Oh, you can bet we...”

George gulped, unable to finish his sentence as owls started to fly down to the tables, dropping letters and packages on plates and in student’s hands.

“I told you I’ll get a Howler.” George sighed, staring at the red envelope that started to shake the second it turned to him.

“Open it, George. You know it’s only going to get worse.” Fred said.

“She can’t say anything you didn’t hear before.” Theodora bit her lip, putting her hand on George’s back to comfort him.

Nobody can’t deny that the twins were famous for getting Howlers. By now, everybody knew the high-pitched furious voice that belonged to Molly Weasley. However, no matter how many of these they got, they were still nervous every time.

Both knew that their mum wouldn’t come up with a new punishment. It would be a miracle if she did because they were in detention so much that the most creative Ravenclaw would struggle to find a new way of getting them punished.

Mrs. Weasley tried and hoped through the years that her two sons would grow up and that one day before they finish school, she wouldn’t get a letter from their head of house at least for one week. So far, she was only so lucky once in their fourth year and it was only because they came down with the flu.

George grabbed the Howler and quickly opened it. It was like ripping off a bandage— it was better to do it quicker rather than slower.

“GEORGE WEASLEY, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU GOT YOURSELF IN DETENTION AGAIN! YOU JUST FINISHED WITH ONE AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED!

I CANNOT BELIEVE PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL ONLY GAVE YOU ONE WEEK WORTH OF DETENTION. THIS IS NOT PUNISHMENT ENOUGH FOR THROWING SOME SMOKE THINGS AT MR. FILCH!

YOU WILL APOLOGIZE TO THAT MAN AND SINCE NOTHING SEEMS TO SUFFICE WITH YOU, I AM TAKING YOUR QUIDDITCH PRIVILEGES AWAY FROM YOU!!!”

Half of the Gryffindor table gasped. They were wrong. She has never done that before.

“She can’t.” Fred banged the table with his fist.

“She probably means for the rest of the year.” Theodora tried staying optimistic.

“This is the last game of the year, Theo.” George buried his face in his hands.

“Indeed.” They all turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing behind them, her face full of disappointment.

“But the game’s today, professor,” Fred whined.

“How are we going to beat Slytherins with one Beater?” George followed his lead.

“There has to be something you can do, professor.” Theodora tried making puppy eyes. “We know how much you want us to win the cup against them.”

“As much as that is true, Miss Cork, I cannot stand between a student and their parent.” The professor furrowed her eyebrows before turning to Fred. “You will have to work for the two of you, Mr. Weasley.”

Before Fred could say anything back she walked away toward the teacher’s table.

“I can’t believe she would do this. Doesn’t she know how important Quidditch is!” George’s face was beginning to match his hair. He got red in the face every time he was mad.

“Well,” Theodora cleared her throat, “you have to give it to her. She finally found a punishment that you didn’t laugh off.”

George glared at his best friend but he knew she was right. There was nothing he could do except to hope that by some miracle Harry gets the Snitch as fast as he possibly can.

—

The second they got into the Quidditch tent their captain Oliver Wood started shouting at George almost as loudly as Mrs. Weasley’s Howler did.

“This is an outrage! Preposterous! How could you! Why do you always have to do this! Can’t you...just for once...stop pranking that old rat and focus on Quidditch!” George’s eyes were closed for most of the time Oliver was shouting at him – he didn’t want his saliva in his eyes.

He knew he was going to yell. It wasn’t the first time the twins missed practice or didn’t attend the game because of detention. He was disappointed to make Oliver so mad as he didn’t intend this to happen.

“I am sorry, Wood. I didn’t know this will...”

“Get...out...of...my...tent!” Oliver said through his teeth before George could say another word.

George stood up and did as he was told. He didn’t want to stand in the crowd full of Gryffindors who were angry at him so he decided to join his friend Lee at the commentator stand.

The second he came up, he heard his head of house sigh. He knew she was disappointed in him and he can’t recall when was the last time he was so upset about something he did wrong if he was ever this upset.

His team was counting on him, this was the last game of the year — the most important game. The game that could win them the house cup. Now it would be a miracle if they would win.

Madam Hooch’s whistle, the roar from other stands, and the voice coming from the microphone right next to his ear made him shake in his seat.

“And another goal for Gryffindor. Gryffindor’s Chaser Theodora Cork is on fire today!” Lee shouted into the microphone.

George looked at the scoring board. 30 – 20 for Gryffindor. It wasn’t a bad start. Theodora scored 2 out of 3 goals and George was proud. She was the best Chaser on their team.

“Due to an unfortunate event, George Weasley cannot be on the pitch today, leaving the Gryffindor team with only one Beater,” Lee commented as McGonagall, who was sitting right behind George, sighed again.

Theodora snatched the Quaffle from one of the Slytherin’s Chasers, flying as fast as her broom allowed her toward the Slytherin hoops.

“That’s another ten points for Gryffindor! I bet Slytherins are getting mad. This was the second time Cork took the Quaffle right before they scored!” Lee tried being biased but sometimes he needed a bit of a nudge from his head of house as he got too excited when Gryffindors scored a goal.

Despite the result being 70 – 30 for Gryffindor, George didn’t dare to get his hopes up.

“Slytherins’ two beaters started playing dirty. Potter spotted the Snitch and they are determined to knock him off his broom!”

All eyes were on Harry now. He was battling with the Slytherin’s Seeker for the Snitch and the Bludger that the two Beaters of the opposite team kept directing toward him was fast approaching.

“Slytherin scored!” Lee shouted less enthusiastically into the microphone. “70 – 40 for Gryffindor. Come on, Harry! You got this!”

George turned to Lee when he heard McGonagall clear her throat. He giggled when he saw her pursed lips, warning Lee to stay neutral by poking him with her opera glasses.

George turned his attention to his brother to see how he was doing. He was trying to catch up with the Slytherin Beaters and redirect the Bludger to their Seeker. He felt so helpless. If he wasn’t caught by Filch, he would be there next to Fred right now and they would free Harry of the stupid ball.

“And Cork stole the ball from the Slytherins again. They sure do have to grow a pair of eyes! She passed the ball to Angelina Johnson and...and...she scored!” Lee was now so excited that he stood up, almost throwing his microphone in the air.

George couldn’t deny that sitting next to Lee was rather amusing. He always listened to his commentary while on the pitch but seeing all of his reactions up close was something else.

“90 – 60 for Gryffindor now. We are still waiting to see who will win the battle for the Snitch!” Lee gripped the microphone tighter, getting nervous. They have been playing for an hour and a half.

“Potter dodged the Bludger twice now but will he be so lucky the third time?”

George couldn’t take his eyes off Harry. His hands in a fist, rooting for the boy to make them win the game.

“In the name of our house’s founder, this is unbelievable!” Lee roared, now standing up. “Fred Weasley managed to catch up to the Bludger and send it straight to the Slytherin Chaser who was just about to score. Angelina Johnson now has the Quaffle! Will she pass it to Cork or will she go to the hoops on her own?”

Lee was jumping in his seat while George didn’t know in which direction to look. He was watching Angelina flying towards the hoops, Theodora watching her back. He wanted to see how Fred was doing but also find Harry to see how close he was to catching the golden ball.

“And Johnson scores again! 100 to... Wait! Wait!” Lee was jumping up and down, trying to gather the words to express his excitement. “We won! We won! Potter caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!!!”

The crowd roared and as Lee let go of the microphone, George hugged him and they started jumping and cheering.

George turned around to see McGonagall trying hard to stay professional, clapping like mad at the surprise victory. Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, didn’t care if everyone saw he was cheering for Gryffindor as he was dancing in his seat, cupping his mouth, shouting Go, Gryffindor!

His brother has done some memorable things but George couldn’t recall ever being prouder of him than he was at that moment.

—

“Come on, Theo, just one date.” The boy smirked at Theodora who was half laying in one of the armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, trying to study for one of her final exams – Herbology.

“For a millionth time, no, John!” Theodora rolled her eyes. “And stop calling me Theo. Only my friends can call me that.”

“You mean the Weasleys.” John mocked and leaned closer to Theodora.

“Get away from me!” She tried pushing him but he didn’t move.

“Don’t you have someplace other to be, Connorey?” Fred grabbed John’s shoulders and pulled him away from his friend. “Didn’t she reject you like 5 times this week?”

“That has to be a new record!” George appeared next to his brother, smirking.

“And what’s your number?” John looked unamused.

“What? Getting rejected by Theodora?” Fred laughed and sat on one side of the armchair Theodora was sitting in.

“Zero,” George answered and sat on the other side.

They both leaned toward her and gently kissed her cheeks. She giggled, winking at John which only made him madder.

“You should know by now that Theo likes older guys.” George laughed.

Theodora punched him in the shoulder, making him fall off the armchair.

“I’ll wait years for you if needed be,” John said proudly and walked away.

“Thank Godric this is his last year at Hogwarts,” Theodora said with a disgusted expression.

“He just can’t get enough of you rejecting him.” Fred winked at her.

“We have a proposal for you.” George poked his head from the side of the armchair, finally getting up. He leaned on his arms.

“We only have 14 days to go and then we are free for the summer.” Fred copied his movement on the other side.

They were both looking up at Theodora with smug expressions on their faces.

“What are you up to?” She narrowed her eyes at the twins. She knew them well enough to know they were keeping a secret from her.

“We have been friends for how long now, Theo?” George asked.

“Since our second year when you accidentally threw the wrong ingredient into my cauldron instead of that Slytherin’s what his name was...” She rubbed her chin thinking.

“Allevry.” The twins said at the same time.

“Right,” Theodora said slowly. “I got detention in the kitchen and you two felt bad for getting me in trouble so you sneaked inside and helped me clean the dishes.” She giggled.

“And we haven’t looked back since.” Fred sighed dramatically.

“Oh, I have looked back plenty of times to see if Filch or Snape were after us.” Theodora teased.

“Our point being...” George tickled Theodora.

“You haven’t been at the Burrow since that year.” Fred finished his sentence.

“Are you inviting me to visit?” She gasped.

“We are inviting you to spend the summer at our home.” The twins said in unison.

“We have to develop at least 5 products this summer and we can’t do it without you.” George grinned.

“And Bill will be there.” Fred sang, winking at Theodora.

This time, he got pushed off the armchair.

Bill was Theodora’s first crush. After their second year, the twins invited her to spend a weekend at the Burrow. Their eldest brother came to visit as he got a few days off from work. The second Theodora saw him she was intrigued.

Back then, she was determined to be a Curse Breaker when finishing school and she loved the fact that Bill answered her every question. He spent most of that weekend talking about his job with her and by the looks of it he didn’t mind at all.

Of course, with the 8-year gap between them, she knew he was only being friendly and she was too young back then to even think twice about it but that didn’t stop her from daydreaming about him. As long as it stays in her head, she is doing nobody any harm.

It wasn’t even a day and the twins were on to her. They saw her blush around him and asking Bill questions he already gave her an answer to. They were teasing her up until her fourth year when she went out with a Hufflepuff boy two years above her.

“So?” Theodora tried acting unphased about what they have just told her, desperately hoping they couldn’t see her blush.

She hasn’t seen Bill since that summer but she couldn’t deny that he still popped into her mind here and there, wondering what he is doing and how is he.

“Oh, William will be crushed when he finds out you forgot all about him!”

If Fred wasn’t her friend, she would hex him on the spot for teasing her. Perhaps she should’ve said yes to going out with John, then they would have left her alone.

“It was a silly crush!” She frowned at them. “Forget about it or I will obliviate it out of you!”

“Right...” George giggled.

“Just a silly crush.” Fred followed.

“How come he’s going to be home?” Theodora cleared her throat, trying to act as casual as possible.

“The Weasley Quidditch Tournament is this summer and he’s taking a longer vacation to attend it,” Fred answered.

“Charlie’s coming too!” George said excitedly.

“Charlie’s coming?!” Theodora jumped in her seat.

She hasn’t seen the dragon lover ever since he left school. If it wasn’t for the twins, Charlie would be her favorite Weasley. He was an amazing Quidditch captain — way more chill than Oliver — and even though he was a Prefect he never deducted points from them when they got into trouble.

“Yeah, yeah. We know, he’s your favorite.” George playfully rolled his eyes.

The twins knew Charlie reminded Theodora of her older brother Eric who was an Auror in America. He was just as passionate about his job and they had a similar personality. When the twins introduced her to Charlie, she couldn’t stay away from him because she missed her brother so much that being around Charlie made it bearable.

“If Charlie’s coming, then count me in!”

“Honestly, George, do you feel a bit offended right now?” Fred looked at his twin.

“She will visit because of Charlie and not us.” George scoffed.

Theodora couldn’t stop chuckling. Them being dramatic was her favorite trait of theirs.

“Bill will be heartbroken.”

She stopped the second Fred said that and punched him in the shoulder again. She was ready to defend herself again when her brows came together.

“What did you remember?” George knew that look all too well.

“I can’t come.” Theodora sunk in her chair.

“What?”

“Why?” Fred followed his brother.

“Do you remember the Howlers I got from my mother, about me doing chores all summer?”

“Oh, that!” George swung his hand and nodded to Fred.

Theodora turned her head to Fred who pulled a letter from his back pocket. He gave it to her and she opened it at once.

Dear Fred and George,

I can’t deny that you made some good points in your letter. I appreciate that you took the responsibility for Theodora getting in trouble, however, she won’t get out of this so easily. Whether it was her fault or not, she simply can’t get away with how she was behaving.

I understand that this tournament of yours is very important so I will allow her to stay with you under the condition that she helps your mother around the house whenever needed.

I took the liberty to write to Molly and she assured me that there is plenty of work that is waiting for all three of you once the school is finished.

Keep yourself and my daughter out of trouble, will you?

Miranda Cork

“What in the bloody hell did you write to my mother that she is allowing me to spend the summer with you?” Theodora was staring at the letter with her mouth open.

Molly might be known for shouting at her sons but she was not nearly as strict as her mother. There was nothing in the world that could convince Mrs. Cork to change her mind. Theodora would know, she tried on many occasions over the years.

“It’s the Weasley charm.” Fred winked at her.

She wanted to punch him again but she was too excited to join them at the Burrow to do so. She couldn’t believe it! She didn’t care that she would have to help around the house. She would have her two best friends there to keep her company.

And she will be able to play Quidditch with the other Weasleys and bond with Charlie again. It suddenly seemed that the end of the school year couldn’t come fast enough.

Right, when she deemed the summer to come the best one in years, she felt her heart skipping a beat as Fred’s words came to mind again.

And Bill will be there.

[emptysatellite]

fool for love

Ao3

James never thought he’d be rendered speechless. He’d always been able to talk back to his professors, jest with his friends in between classes, and confide to his parents about his greatest hopes and dreams without any problems.

But Lily Evans―that beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted, loyal witch―could do it to him every time she opened her pretty lips.

Before sixth year, she’d usually say something like, “did you shit your nappy, Potter?” or, “get your head out of your arse, Potter,” or, “Potter, bugger off,” and James would let his jaw drop for a split second before responding with something like, “nah, did you shit yours, Evans?” or, “not until you get your head out of your arse, Evans,” or, “Evans, you know you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

It was always a competition, those first five years, of who could annoy each other more (although, James always thought it was the peak of flirtation, while Lily, well, she was just retaliating from his immature behavior).

James would also attempt to ask out the girl with flaming red curls, but she always shook her head and faked gag, or went on a spiel about why he was such an idiot, or simply rolled her eyes and stalked away.

Everything changed in sixth year, when Lily became less hostile and more friendly towards James. He assumed it was because of the Snape shit that had occurred the year previously, but James didn’t care because he got to see Lily smile more often and that alone made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

He would still pause momentarily after she spoke to him, saying stuff like, “nice match today, Potter,” or, “do you want a sugar quill, Potter,” or, “Potter, truth or dare?” and be able to formulate an adequate response like, “cheers, Evans,” or, “I think you already know the answer to that question, Evans, yes,” or, “Evans, I’m not a coward so obviously dare.”

They had become friends. They sat close to each other in class, traded desserts at dinner, did a handshake before Quidditch matches, amongst other platonic pleasantries.

Due to this newfound relationship, James stopped asking Lily out on dates, not wanting to make her uncomfortable or ruin the friendship that was growing stronger every day.

Sixth year came and went much faster than James would have wished and, before he knew it, he was parting from Lily. He gave her a long hug, promising to write to her; she promised the same and Lily never broke a promise, ever.

Lily was the first person James told when he was appointed Head Boy and James was the first person Lily told that she received a letter from Dumbledore stating she was Head Girl. Lily was the first person James told that Sirius had officially broken away from his horrible family and James was the first person Lily told that her older sister was getting married to Vermin Dursley. Lily taught him about the Muggle traditions he’d never learn in Muggle Studies and James taught her all about the Ministry she’d never learn in Professor Binns’ History of Magic class.

“I miss you, Potter,” she had declared in one letter. “Your jokes could always brighten my day.”

They were writing non-stop and, by the time school finally rolled around, James had a feeling everything would be different.

Why did he get that feeling? Well… James didn’t really know why he got that feeling, he just knew that he felt it and it was true.

He explained the whole situation to Sirius at breakfast, the morning they left for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

“Uh-huh, that sounds nice, mate,” Sirius barely looked up from his Vogue magazine, popping a chilled grape into his mouth.

“Did you even listen to me?” demanded James, raising an eyebrow.

“Eh, a little,” he shrugged. “All I really heard was the beginning… about how you had a dream about the future. I stopped listening there, because, in all honesty, you were never really good at Divination.”

“It’s not Divination, because I wasn’t foreseeing the future.”

“You said that everything would be ‘different’ this year,” Sirius finally looked up. “First, it sounds so spooky and ominous, for no reason at all. And second, that’s basically seeing the future.”

“I didn’t say that everything would be different, I said that I feel like everything will be different this year.”

“That’s the same thing, is it not?”

“No, it’s not,” James shook his head, “one is confirmed, one is up in the air.”

“Okay…” Sirius’ voice trailed off as he glanced back down at his magazine.

James just stared at his best friend for a few seconds and, once he realized Sirius was too enamored with the horoscope section to pay attention to him, finished eating his syrup soaked pancakes.

At Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, James and Sirius bid adieu to Mia and Monty, who both had tears in their eyes for their grown up boys, and stepped onto the train with unmatched confidence.

“Want to sit in our normal compartment?” Sirius asked.

“Of course,” James nodded, following his friend to the fateful compartment where they’d met for the first time in seven years previous. They’d entered through the sliding glass doors to see Remus and Peter already settled in, an arrangement of sweets spread along the table.

The gaggle of boys greeted each other and had already fallen into a quick conversation regarding their annual back-to-school prank when the compartment door slid open and four girls walked in.

“Hey, boys,” Lily said at once, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary following closely behind.

“Ah, there’s our stunning Head Girl,” Sirius motioned to the pin on her jumper, which read in red ‘Head Girl’.

She grinned and looked at James, “and there’s the Head Boy!”

James smirked, doing a dramatic ballerina twirl. “Do I look like a brand-new person? More mature? More dashing?”

“No,” Mary replied, bluntly.

“Sorry to say, but you look like the same prat you’ve always been,” Remus slapped a hand on James’ shoulder.

“My friends have wounded me,” he fanned the back of his hand over his forehead, dramatically, as though he were in a Muggle theater production. “I don’t think I’ll ever recover.”

“Oh, come off it, James,” laughed Lily.

That simple sentence caused James to drop his hands to his side, hazel eyes locked on her green ones. “Huh?” he questioned, thinking that he must have misheard the girl he had loved since he was eleven.

“I only said to come off it,” she repeated, tilting her head in confusion.

“No, that wasn’t it,” he whispered, voice soft around his loud friends who had moved to another conversation, “you called me James.”

“That’s your name.”

“You’ve never called me James before, though.”

“I just thought it was time to change that. We’ve been friends for a while now and friends call each other by their given names, right?” replied Lily.

James broke eye contact and turned his head away. “Yeah,” he said at last. “You’re right.”

Lily’s eyes scanned his face, searching for something James didn’t know. She eventually tore her gaze away, drawing her attention to Remus, who had offered her a Bertie Bott’s jelly bean.

He didn’t talk to her the rest of the train ride, remaining unusually silent. Even when he and Lily had to leave their friends’ compartment to inform the Prefects of their duties that year, James was still quiet, allowing Lily to do all the speaking.

After Lily’s brief introduction speech, she tried to talk to James, but he ignored her. His mind was flooding with thoughts.

Was she mad at him or something? Was she trying to taunt him by calling him James instead of the usual ‘Potter’? He was sure that she still knew of his feelings for her, so was she attempting to play with his emotions?

The Hogwarts Express finally arrived at the infamous school of witchcraft and wizardry and, before they knew it, the group of Gryffindors were entering the Great Hall.

James sat down next to Sirius, as per tradition. Lily sat down next to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked, voice lowered to a whisper .

“Yes, Evans, I’m fine,” he snapped a response, turning towards the front of the Great Hall, where all the professors were congregating.

“James,” Lily said simply, taking his hands into hers.

Her hands were soft and flawless, unlike his own, that were rough and calloused, and it took everything in him to not give into her hardened glare that was directed at him.

“What, Evans?” demanded James.

“Come with me.”

“Professor Dumbledore will be up soon to speak. We should stay and listen; it may be important this year.”

“We won’t be long,” she insisted. “I’m sure we’ll even be back in enough time to hear him talk. Just please come with me, I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone all day.”

That got to James and he let himself be pulled out of the Great Hall by her. She led him out of the room and down the wide corridor, avoiding underclassmen, who were practically buzzing in anticipation for the new school year and the grand feast that awaited them in mere minutes.

“Here,” Lily stopped suddenly, twisting open a bronze doorknob to reveal an empty classroom that looked as if it hadn’t been used in years, desks and chairs covered with linen. She closed the wooden door behind them, letting go of James’ hands. “What’s wrong with you?” Lily crossed her arms.

James raked a hand through his hair. “That’s awfully rude of you, Evans, to assume that something’s wrong with me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m your friend, James, I know when something’s not okay with you.”

He froze. “Can you stop saying that, please?” he asked.

“What am I saying wrong?” asked Lily.

“My name,” said James.

“Are we not friends or something and I just didn’t get that memo?”

“No, we are friends.”

“Then why, James, why am I not allowed to say your name like the rest of your friends?”

“Because you’re different.”

“How so?”

“I don’t love my other friends like I love you,” he said at last. “You’re… special.”

Lily blinked, her expression unreadable. She just stared at James before taking a deep breath, stepping towards him.

Her lips grazed his and sparks flew. James immediately responded to their brief touch and he grabbed her waist, tugging her forward, pressing her chest to his own. They interlocked their lips like they’d been snogging for ages, like their passion had been rooted for ions and not mere school terms. They kissed like it’d be their last time seeing one another, like they were to go off to battle the next day.

Lily pulled away first, leaving them both gasping for air. “James,” she said, “I don’t love my other friends like I love you, either. My feelings are so beyond just loving you as a friend. I love you, James Potter. You’ve captured my heart and I don’t want you to let go.”

“Lily, you’ve had my heart since first year,” he replied. “Merlin, I love you like no one else in this world.”

She looked downwards. “I thought your feelings for me were gone. That they’d been gone since fifth year and I was loving you in vain.”

“No, that could never be true. My feelings for you will never fade,” James placed a hand under her chin, lifting it high enough for their lips to touch again.

This time the kiss was soft, less desperate. It was still emotional, yes, but not as hungry; they knew this wouldn’t be their last kiss, that they weren’t losing time.

They broke away from one another. Neither spoke, instead just smiling.

James was speechless again and realized that if he never spoke again at least he’d have Lily by side.

[writesowhatnext]

aren’t you full of surprises // charlie weasley

Summary: Charlie Weasley cannot possibly be your soulmate: he’s got nothing to do with dragons

Request: Hiya love, can I request a soulmate au with Charlie weasley?? Something about a little symbol on their body which represents their soulmate and Charlie’s soulmates is a little dragon which he sees after a quidditch match or something?! Thank you!!

A/N: I really love Charlie oml – this is mostly based on the books and stuff &&&& I included tonks bc I love her and she’s in the same year so made it easy +++ s/o to anon who told me Sam Heughan was a good fan cast bc you were right and he’s perfect :))))

Reader: unspecified

Warnings: swearing I suppose, making out ;)

You had decided that you were completely over having a soulmate. They were supposed to be perfect for you, sure, but they were ever so messy. What if you liked someone that wasn’t your soulmate? What if you never met your soulmate and you spiralled into a deep, dark, endless depression and ended up alone? What if your soulmate was cruel to animals? Or smelt bad? What if they supported the Falmouth Falcons? There were just too many things out of your control and so, after another recurring debate with your friend, Tonks, you had sworn off the idea completely.

“Y/N! Soulmates complete you!” Crumbs from the toast in her mouth tumbled back onto her plate as you rolled your eyes. “I know that I’m counting down the days ‘til I find whoever this is.”

As she pointed at the little wolf symbol on her wrist, her hair turned the softest, lightest shade of pink. It always did when she thought about her soulmate. You shot her a deadpan look.

“I just don’t think it’s very fair. Some people never find their soulmates – the whole thing is very unpredictable.”

“You’re missing the point,” Tonks insisted, her hair turning a light brown. “Soulmates are the only thing in this world that are actually reliable! They’re sweet and you’re supposed to share them with people!”

“Not this again-“

“I don’t understand why you won’t show me yours.”

“Sorry, Tonks, I think I hear McGonagall calling me.” You lied very obviously, standing up from the Hufflepuff table, and walking towards the door - the opposite way to where McGonagall was sat at the Teacher’s table.

“I’ll find out one day!” Tonks shouted after you, mouth once again full of toast.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Tonks; she was actually the only person you did trust, sometimes. It was just that whenever you looked at the dragon curled up on your shoulder, all you felt was annoyed at the universe. Besides, you had your eyes set on someone anyway.

Charlie Weasley had surprised you every time you learnt something new about him. He was handsome and well built, with ridiculously unruly hair and skin entirely covered with freckles. The first time you’d really heard of him was at the end of second year when he was made Seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team. Not long after, he was made Quidditch Captain and so, you’d written him, perhaps prematurely, as a classic Quidditch jock: he’d probably join a regional team straight out of Hogwarts and that would be that. You had to admit though, after seeing him play once against Hufflepuff (a match Tonks had dragged you to), he was probably good enough to play for the nationals.

It surprised you more than anything to know that he’d been made a prefect, too. Granted, you didn’t know a lot about him, but you were pleasantly intrigued to hear that he was not only athletic but also quite smart. If anyone asked, he was definitely not the reason you tried out for the team that year. No one was as shocked as you when you were made chaser. Not even Charlie.

After a particularly intense match involving six fouls, a runaway snitch and a near-death experience, you were quite grateful to be back on two feet. The ground had never felt so good. What made it better, actually, was who stood to greet you by the entrance to the pitch. Even in his robes with a red and gold Gryffindor scarf draped around his neck, he’d never looked so good.

“Y/N, right?” he asked, a tentative smile playing on his lips.

“Yeah,” you couldn’t help but match his grin. “And you’re Charlie Weasley.”

“I didn’t realise I had such a reputation.”

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t.” you said, teasing him, walking past before turning around. “Your brothers are making a name for themselves. Their pranks are already pretty notorious.”

“Ah.”

“I may have heard of their older brother, world-class quidditch legend and prefect before, though.”

“Well,” he started almost bashfully. “I’m not much of a prefect.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, biting the inside of your cheek.

“You played really well out there today,”

“Coming from you, that’s quite the compliment.”

“You’re quite the player.”

You didn’t say anything, enjoying the moment far too much.

“I’ll see you around, Y/N.”

You nodded, kissing your teeth and turning to get out of your sweaty Quidditch uniform. “See you around, Weasley.”

As you walked back to the changing rooms, you officially made your mind up. Sod your soulmate, you wanted Charlie Weasley.

He made it quite easy for you to achieve your goal. That next day, you sat at the Hufflepuff table, as you often did. Tonks was already launching into a story about a Ravenclaw she had seen Charlie’s brothers prank yesterday when she stopped abruptly midsentence. You frowned at her before following her eyes to look behind you. With a plate of pancakes in his hand and an optimistic smile on his face, there stood Charlie Weasley.

“Can I join you?”

Slightly speechless, you looked to Tonks, mildly irritated to see her staring at you with a smug eyebrow raise.

“Sure.”

Quickly getting to grips with the fact that Charlie wanted to eat with you, you began to lighten up to the idea, glad that he enjoyed your company even a little bit as much as you enjoyed his.

“Tonks, this is Charlie-“

“We’ve met.” She said, an amused smile on her lips as she stabbed some bacon with her fork. You turned to Charlie to see that he’d gone slightly red, a lovely expression on his freckled face.

“You called her Nymphadora, didn’t you?”

He nodded, letting out a nervous laugh. “For the first and last time, that’s for certain.”

“Rightly so.” Tonks nodded, seemingly very pleased with herself.

“You’re a menace.” You pointed at her with your fork.

“Little old me?” Her face was the picture of innocence as she flung her hand backwards, the bacon on her fork flying into the back of a Ravenclaw at the next table. Her hair, along with her face, turned a deep pink shade.

“A menace.” You repeated, crossing your arms before turning to Charlie, who had been staring at you rather intently with an unreadable expression.

“Tonks was just telling me about a prank your brothers pulled yesterday. Given she can’t behave herself at all, she’s quite impressed with them.”

“At least someone is.” He said with a grin. “My mum might actually kill them when we get home.”

“That would be a shame,” Tonks frowned, chewing. “Someone needs to cause a little mayhem when I leave.”

“You think they could replace your legacy just like that?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not, but they have to try.”

“Don’t think they could ever beat the time you put that Venomous Tentacula plant in Snape’s classroom,” Charlie’s smile was infectious as he remembered one of Tonks most infamous pranks.

Tonks’ face soured slightly. “I’m still doing detention for that one.”

You, Charlie and Tonks fell into easy conversation and more often than not, you found yourself staring at his attractive face and enjoying the sound of his deep voice.

“So, what d’you have today, Charles?” Tonks asked, a teasing smile on her lips.

“You’re playing with fire.” You warned her, knowing how much she hated her full name. She made a face. Ever the gentleman, Charlie just smirked at her teasing.

“Care of Magical Creatures, first-“

“You took that?” you asked, unable to hide the incredulous tone of your voice. He laughed.

“Yes? What’s wrong with that?”

“Well,” you frowned. “Nothing’s wrong with it, per se. I just didn’t expect you to take it.”

“And, why’s that?”

He turned to face you expectantly, his elbow resting on the table.

“Because you’re a total jock.”

“Oh, really?”

“Quidditch legend, remember?”

He shook his head, smiling. “So, jocks can’t like taking care of magical creatures?”

“They can.” You bit your lip. “They just usually don’t.”

“Are you saying I’m not like other boys?”

Lost for a witty response, you just stared at him. You felt, though cliché, that this was the first time you were actually seeing Charlie Weasley. The amused twinkle in his eye and the soft curve of his lips and the fact that there was a much softer side to him than you’d ever imagined caught you off guard. It seemed like all he ever did was surprise.

“Oh,” Tonks said, drawing both you and Charlie’s attention away from each other. “Bugger,” Her tone was stretched and full of imitated emotion. “I have to get to-“ Her pause was ridiculously long as she stood up from the table, nearly wearing the soupy sauce left from her baked beans as she did. “A class?”

Before you could say anything, she sent you a very conspicuous wink and legged it out of the hall. You would’ve been embarrassed at her obvious attempt to leave you two alone had Charlie not turned to you, amusement written all over his face.

“Blimey, she shot off quick – I bet that class is important.”

The next few weeks, you and Charlie were practically joined at the hip. Every single meal was spent with Tonks at the Hufflepuff table and weekends you spent walking through the grounds talking about everything and nothing all at the same time. He told you everything he could about his family and you told him about how you ended up on the Quidditch team and how strange it was to not be around your own family at Hogwarts. You never talked about the future – it was an unspoken rule. You knew Charlie must’ve had a soulmate and you knew he probably didn’t feel the same as you about the whole deal and so you kept quiet about it. It felt obvious that regardless of what you two were now, as soon as his soulmate came along, he would probably ditch you for them and the idea, as much as you tried to avoid it, pained you a little bit. You’d never felt as happy as you were when you were with him.

You’d been excited for your last Quidditch game of the year, especially as you knew that Charlie would be cheering you on the whole time. You wanted to impress him, as well, despite yourself and so you tried your hardest to play your best. It was going well, all and all, until you were hit by a rogue bludger. You should’ve been paying more attention and so you cursed yourself when you’d been knocked from your broom. To say you were quite relieved that you caught the broom before you fell would be an understatement. And with the cheers of the crowd around you to spur you on, you managed to climb back on and continue playing. You’d completely forgotten about it with the excitement of the rest of the match – and winning, to your surprise. Charlie hadn’t though.

Alone in the changing rooms whilst everyone else was celebrating, you moved your shoulder back and forth, wincing as you realised that the bludger would definitely leave a bruise. You’d only been there a moment before Charlie barged in with a worried look in his dark eyes.

“Are you okay?”

You blinked at him as he came closer, mouth opening and closing slowly.

“Yeah, Charlie, I’m fine. It was-“

“Thank god.” He said, pulling you into a tight hug. You went rigid for a moment in his bulky arms before you relaxed into the unexpected embrace. “Are you hurt?”

He pulled back, hands resting on your upper arms. The concern in his voice and the warmth of his hands left you slightly breathless. Your heartbeat was loud in your ears.

“I’m fine.” You said softly, smiling. “Might have a nasty bruise, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Show me.”

You rolled your eyes at his insistence, though you were touched at his concern. So much so, you absentmindedly pulled down your Quidditch uniform to reveal your shoulder, something you’d never done before. You shivered as his fingers skimmed your skin before a breathless whisper left his lips.

“No way.”

“What?” you asked, blinking away the feeling of Charlie that had so consumed you. Almost instantly, you realised your mistake. “Oh!”

Trying to undo what had already been done, you yanked your robes back over your shoulder, hiding the symbol from view.

“It’s a dragon,” He said ever so softly, seemingly stunned.

“Charlie, I-“

“Y/N, I love dragons.”

Still attempting to preserve whatever was left of you and Charlie’s relationship, your mind raced at a mile a minute thinking about how he would react to your soulmate, a topic you’d never spoken about together. You were so distracted you almost missed what he said.

“What?”

“I’m surprised I didn’t mention it,” he looked from your covered shoulder to your equally shocked expression. “My family says I never bloody shut up about them. That’s what I want to do after Hogwarts, actually, working with dragons in Romania.”

Unable to form a coherent thought, your lips reacted before your brain had the chance.

“Are you taking the piss?”

Charlie barked a laugh, stepping closer to you.

“I knew I always felt something different around you.” He said with a decidedly gleeful look on his face as he shrugged. “Makes sense, really.”

��Soulmates.” You brushed your hair out of your face with both hands. “Tonks is gonna have an absolute field day with this.” His lips twitched. “I’ve spent years telling her that I was gonna choose who I wanted to love and soulmates were a bunch of rubbish-“

“Should I be offended?” he asked, stepping closer again. Your chest tightened slightly at the proximity.

“Well, no. I decided about a month ago that my soulmate could piss off and you were all I wanted.”

He didn’t say anything; an amused smile lifting his cheeks at your rambling.

“It was a bit of an up yours to the universe, actually.”

You inhaled sharply as his hands gently held your waist.

“Turns out the joke is on me-“ His fond expression cut you off.

“Soulmates, eh?” you asked, looking into his eyes. Before you could utter another nervous syllable, he moved forward and captured your lips in a kiss. You leant backwards; his hands pulling your waist into him as your hands disappeared into his unruly red curls. Pulling at them slightly, he moaned into your mouth and you couldn’t help but smile in response. You pulled away, deciding that breathing would be a fun activity for your both to enjoy. You panted, your breaths mingling together as an ear-splitting grin grew on his face.

“I think, love,” he said, pressed a chaste peck to your lips. “That it’s time I told you a bit more about dragons.”

[bellshells]

Nobody Can Know Part Four

It’s here! The finale of Nobody Can Know! This was actually really emotional for me, 52, 540 words later and this fic has come to an end. I have had the absolute best time writing this and I must send a massive shout out to @hinagiku0 for requesting this in the first place. I do have a bonus chapter in the works set in between parts two and three, but no time frame as to when that will be finished. Thank you to everyone who has come on this journey with me, and thank you to everybody who has liked, reblogged and taken the time to send me your kind words. You’ve made this aspiring writer very happy indeed. Thank you. 

Pairing: George Weasley x Fem!Slytherin Reader Warnings: Language, Angst, Blood, Smoking, Alcohol, Smut Summary: Christmas has come faster than anyone could have anticipated, but with everything so up in the air; it’s impossible to celebrate. The promise of a break away may give everyone the clarity they need.  Word Count: 17.4k+

“No, you can’t. That’s- no. I won’t let you.”

  George looked at you with a look of utter desperation, it made you ache. You bit the inside of your cheek to distract from the pain in your heart, it didn’t work. He shook his head and wiped at his face as a tear rolled down his cheek.

  “I’m sorry, George. I just need to think.” You whispered, you longed to reach for him, to comfort him; but your mind was made up. “I need some time away.”

  “Why? Love listen, please just talk to me. Tell me what to do.” George begged, he grasped your hand across the table and squeezed tightly. “I’ll do anything.”

You smiled sadly; you knew he would; he would do anything in that moment to keep you there. But was that enough?

  “I know George, I just feel…honestly I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. I just need to get away from everything so I can sort myself out.”   “From me?”   “From you, from the shop, everything!” You answered tersely, you didn’t mean to be blunt with him, you were uncomfortable seeing George distressed. But he needed to understand that you wouldn’t be swayed.   “Do you still love me?” He asked, his face twisted in agony as you pulled your hand away and placed it in your lap.   “That’s never in question.” You stood and walked around the table to where George sat, he looked at you expectantly as you bent down. You pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll send you an owl when I’m settled, so you know how to reach me if anything happens.”   “Where will you go?”   “A friends.”

************

  Cokeworth was probably the most depressing place you had ever set foot in. The industrial town was still dirty from the smoke that the chimney of the old mill had puffed out. While in recent years it had ceased in its emission, the last century’s worth of grime had remained strong. It was a bleak, often sad reminder of the proletariat forefathers of the current upper working-class families who had purchased the many two-bed terraced houses for good rail links to Birmingham and Wolverhampton. You could never have imagined that Professor Snape lived somewhere like that, but really, you couldn’t imagine Professor Snape living anywhere other than Hogwarts. You had seen his office on many occasions, it was to be expected really; full of dusty books and rolled up pieces of parchment. It always smelled distinctly of cedarwood and myrrh, a scent you had almost absolutely convinced yourself that it was Professor Snape himself who smelled of such. You had promised yourself you wouldn’t dwell much on the last few days, instead you would take this time for yourself. You wanted to be kind to yourself for once, to just be you. You weren’t looking forward to the quiet though, your life had never been quiet.

  You walked for what felt like miles, all the streets looked the same, each house identical. It was disorientating, the numbers screwed on to each door seemed to ascend and descend in whichever way they liked. You were about to give up and go back the way you came until a little white sign on the side of a house on the corner of the street caught your eye; it had an arrow pointing in the opposite direction with SPINNERS END  written across it. You breathed a sigh of relief and started off in the direction dictated by the sign. 69, 67, 65- it was 65 wasn’t it? You pulled the crumpled bit of paper Professor Snape left you from your pocket and looked from the words there, to the grey wooden door in front of you.

If you are in need, you need only knock

  You knocked once on the door, you heard a click of a lock from the inside and it swung open slowly. There it was again, that smell. It was almost overpowering as you took a hesitant step into the house. From what you could see, it was immaculately clean. You dropped your suitcase at the bottom of the stairs and removed your heavy cloak from around your shoulders, hanging it over the bannister. The walls of the hallway were a dark green, but this didn’t surprise you. You would have been incredibly shocked it you had entered Professor Snape’s house and the walls had been painted magenta and mustard. You smirked at the idea and followed the hallway round to a room on the right, it looked like it should be a lounge. The walls were lined with books, every surface was littered with them too. There was a well-worn leather armchair in one corner with a drink’s cabinet close by. A table sat in the middle of the room and on the opposite side, a two-seat sofa. The leather of the sofa looked intact, like not a soul had ever sat on it. Whilst you knew that was near impossible, your heart ached for the lonely man who owned this house. Nobody should lead as solitary a life as this.

  You looked for a moment, long the lines and lines of books. Some looked to be incredibly old indeed, some without a dent in the hard spines. There were books in languages you didn’t know and some you recognised as classics in the muggle world. You ran your finger across the spines and sighed, you could imagine clearly that Professor Snape had read each and every one of them. You could see him in his chair, one leg crossed over the other- book in one hand and cigarette in the other. You smiled at the image you had created, you hoped he was happy here. You made your way out of the sitting room and back into the dark hallway, the stairs had a cupboard underneath them, the door painted the same green as the walls. You noticed a glimpse of the kitchen through a door which sat ajar, you pushed it open and stepped through. There were more books, many sat on the small dining table that sat in the corner. It was old, it reminded you pews at Hogwarts in its shape. The kitchen itself was cramped, although it had all the amenities one might expect, the claustrophobic closeness of the cupboards did nothing but remind you of the tiny kitchen in your flat. You walked over to the cupboards and opened them one by one, mugs and glasses, plates and bowls (four of each) and then one full of non-perishables. You laughed slightly at the tins of baked beans and scotch broth, a tin of rice pudding sat further forward on the shelf, as if picked out and then placed back.  

  You opened up a low cupboard next to the fridge and exhaled in relief at the sight of instant coffee, you pulled it out and unscrewed the lid. Giving the coffee a big sniff, you decided it was good enough to drink and sought to put the kettle on. After you had found the sugar and cutlery, you poured the contents of a tin of tomato soup into a pan and lit the cooker. Satisfied with your level of domesticity achieved, you placed your coffee and soup onto a tray and levitated it behind you into the sitting room. You scoured the books for something to read, and finally settled on a dusty black jacketed book called Dracula. The image of the author; a gentleman named Bram Stoker was still and aged, you could but assume this was a muggle book and you secretly relished in the simplicity of it. You settled into Professor Snape’s well-loved armchair and ate your soup quickly, quietly cursing when you burnt your tongue. You devoured the novel, your coffee forgotten until you squealed at the un-dead return of Lucy Westenra. You heart raced and you laughed, having fully immersed yourself in this novel. It was exhilarating. Your coffee was now cold as you brought it to your lips, and you yawned. It was dark outside now, but, in the deep December that could mean it was about five o’clock. Looking over your shoulders as if someone could catch you at any moment, you reached for the handle of the drink’s cabinet and marvelled at the assortment of alcohol stored within. You reached greedily for a bottle of port and padded into the kitchen for a glass, it was then you noticed a scrap of parchment next to the sink.

  (Y/N), it read in Professor Snape’s neat script,

Welcome, if you have decided to stay. I have left some muggle money on my desk in the second bedroom upstairs, along with an almanac of the values of it. There is some food in the cupboards, please feel free to help yourself to it. I am not expecting anybody to arrive, so please do not let anybody inside the house. I would be very much appreciative of that. You may write to me if you wish, I would like to know if you are there. Have a Merry Christmas.

Best,

Severus

  You raced up the narrow stairs of Professor Snape’s house, port and glass forgotten. The landing was small and had three doors that lead from there. One you assumed was the bathroom, you hoped it was as clean as the rest of the house. You continued to the next door along and opened it, Professor Snape’s personal study before you. You walked into the body of the room, absolutely in awe. He had enchanted the ceiling to reflect the night sky, the moon high above and stars twinkled through the heavy clouds. You stood for a moment and appreciated the craftmanship of this, it was silent in this room and the serenity of the night sky filled you with a sense of calm you hadn’t felt for the longest while. By the only window in the room sat his desk, it was surprisingly non-cluttered with minimal books. True to his note, there was an envelope marked Money. It was a curious thing, you peeked inside and found coins but also paper money too. What would muggles do if the paper money floated away? From the cursory glance you gave Professor Snape’s deconstruction of the value of each piece it seemed the paper money, or ‘notes’ as he called them were of greater value than the coins. But the coins together equalled the sum of notes. It was all very confusing, so you popped the envelope back on the desk and opened up the small drawer on top, thankful to find some parchment.

  The feel of Professor Snape’s quill in your hand was foreign and took some getting used to. You wrote two letters in total, one to Professor Snape to let him know you had arrived and to thank him again for his hospitality. He really had gone over and above what you had dared hope, and you sunk further into his debt. The other letter, was to George. Could it really only be a few hours since you had last seen him? You ignored the glassy state of your eyes as you sealed the letter and opened the window. A small silver whistle hung on a chain attached the inside of the sill, it had an owl in flight intricately engraved on the side. It was really quite beautiful, it glistened in the moonlight of the room and felt heavy in your hand. You brought the cold metal to your lips and blew once, but no sound came from the whistle. You looked desperately into the blackness of the street, the only light was the flickering streetlamp; only one was working and that one looked ready to be condemned. You noticed a speck in the distance, it grew bigger as it flew toward you. Your heart leapt at the sight of the black owl that fluttered its wings as it settled on the windowsill.   “This one first.” You instructed the owl as you offered the letter addressed to Professor Snape to it, it presented its leg and you fumbled in the drawers of Professor Snape’s desk for some string. “Fucking fuck fuck, where’s the fucking string?” You cursed, the owl gave an indignant hoot, and you made a face to it. Upon finding the string, you attached both letters to the owl’s legs and watched as it flew into the night.

  You trapsed back down the stairs and collected you dirty dishes and washed them in the sink. You yawned, fuck, you didn’t realise how tired you were until you caught your eyes closing of their own accord as you stood aimlessly in the kitchen. You collected your bag and made your way back up the stairs to the bathroom. You hadn’t expected a bachelor to take such good care of his home; the bathroom smelled strongly of bleach and the toilet was so clean you could’ve eaten your dinner off of it. No shower, you thought. Not a bit of wonder really, especially when you considered how old these houses were. You were thankful though, that Professor Snape must have charmed the brick somehow to keep the heat in, you wouldn’t even know where to start switching a radiator on. You decided against having a bath, it was far too late, and you didn’t fancy accidentally drowning to death as you inevitably fell asleep. You changed and popped your dirty clothes into the empty washing basket in the bathroom, making a mental note to write to Professor Snape and ask for instructions on how to use the washing machine. You felt a pang of loneliness as you walked across the empty landing, you and George never went to bed alone and you had missed his usual night-time burst of energy as you would get under the covers. It usually resulted in you making love for a few hours until you both passed out from exhaustion. No- you wouldn’t think about that.

  You pondered what to do. There was one bed. You hadn’t spared a second thought to the idea that Professor Snape had turned his second bedroom into a study, you cursed yourself as you stood in your knickers and stared at his wide bed. The bedding was black, of course and looked inviting in your sleepy state. You chewed on the inside of your cheek. It wasn’t appropriate for you to sleep in his bed, certainly not. You imagined how enraged he would be if he found out you had slept in his bed. But, he had let you stay here. Surely, he knew you would need to sleep? Maybe he thought you would have a sleeping bag, or even a blanket and you could sleep on the sofa that looked like it had never been sat on. You shook your head and chuckled, what a nightmare. Resigned, you pulled back the covers of Severus Snape’s bed and climbed in. You decided you would find your way to the town centre tomorrow and buy a pillow and a blanket and sleep on the sofa. But tonight, well one night wouldn’t hurt. You had imagined Professor Snape would sleep in a coffin, or perhaps a bed of nails in your youth. You hadn’t considered a large spongy bed, with brushed cotton sheets and pillows so soft your head could sink through them. The sheets smelled of freshly washed linen and you wondered if he had cleaned his house for you coming, you were grateful if he had and impressed if he hadn’t. Your eyes were heavy and closed almost instantly, you pulled the covers tight to your chest and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

********

  You were awoken by the sound of scratching. You opened your eyes and were confused for a moment why there wasn’t a sleeping redhead next to you. It had been three days since you had arrived in Spinner’s End and you felt almost at home now. You had a routine, you would wake up and have a bath, have some breakfast and read. You had managed to find the muggle supermarket and filled the cupboards full to burst. You often found yourself falling asleep in Professor Snape’s armchair. The evening would breach the windows of the living room, and you would drift away. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t particularly exciting either. You felt the same pang of loneliness you’d felt the night before as you sat slowly and sighed. The black owl tapped its beak impatiently on the bedroom window, you rose unsteadily and pulled a t-shirt out of your open bag. The owl didn’t wait for you to let it in as you opened the window, it swooped into the room and landed on the bed, kicking it’s legs, like you hadn’t already noticed the letters tied to it.   “I haven’t got any treats for you, sorry.” You said as you attempted to untie the letters, at least, if the owl stayed still for a second. You finally prised the letters away and the owl flew out the way it had come. The morning air was freezing, more snow had fallen in the night and the whole street was bathed in an eerily white blanket. There were a few children already out in the street, their parents scraping ice from the windows of their cars. People still need to work, you supposed, regardless of how close it was to Christmas. You closed the window and climbed back into bed, it was still warm under the covers and you settled in to read your letters.

(Y/N), the first one read.

Glad to hear you have settled in. Yes, you may help yourself to some of the drinks in the cabinet, but if you touch my Lagavulin with your grubby little hands, I shall know.

You snorted as you read that. You inched deeper into the bed, craving more warmth.

I’ll be in London for New Year, believe me, it’s as much an inconvenience to you as it is to me. So, whilst you are more than welcome to stay in my house, be prepared for my arrival on 31st December. If you wish to stay until then, I will require you to buy food. Please let me know what you decide to do well ahead of time.

Best,

Severus

That was the third time he had signed off by using Severus and not Professor Snape or Professor S. Snape, Head of Slytherin House Hogwarts, Potions Master, Surprisingly Nice Person as you had almost expected him to. So, he was coming back for New Year? Blanket and pillows were definitely on your agenda for the day. You picked up the other letter. You knew it was from George and you felt a sinking feeling in your gut as you fingered the envelope. You weren’t really expecting a reply, you told him you had arrived safe and you’d write him again soon. You weren’t sure what in the letter you sent actually required a response.

My darling, George wrote.

I’m chuffed to hear you’ve settled in wherever you are. I’d like to think you’re being looked after, but I know you don’t need anyone to look after you. I really miss you, gorgeous. I know there’s not much I can say that I didn’t already say yesterday, but I would have felt like an absolute git if I didn’t tell you again. I’m not going to ask you to come home if you’re not ready, but I wanted to let you know that me and Fred are heading to mum’s for Christmas. Couldn’t quite face it in the flat without you. So, if you decide you want to come home for Christmas, you know where we are. I love you, (Y/N). I’ll do anything to show you that.

All my love forever, George xxx

P.S. I noticed you didn’t take any of your tampons with you, just say the word and I’ll send them to you. Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, love x

  You shot out of bed like a rocket. Your tampons? Oh fuck. You raced across the landing to the loo and as you sat down, you saw the same sight that had been staring you in the face for weeks.

Nothing. Nothing in your knickers.

You were late. More than late, it had been far more than a week ago since you were due on and yet, with all the stress of the last few days you had forgotten all about it. You sank onto the bathroom floor and cried. Big, mournful tears and sobs that wracked your whole chest. This couldn’t be, this wasn’t to be your life. With a sniff of resolution, you stood from the floor and looked at yourself in the mirror. You hadn’t realised how haggard you looked. There were dark circled under your eyes and your face was pale and gaunt. You ran a finger across your cheek and felt the hardness of your cheekbone that jutted out further than it ever had before. Merlin, you were far too young for any of this. In the year that you had spent being George’s girlfriend you had had more strife than you could have possibly imagined. Quite frankly, you thought, you had taken it like a champ. But this just seemed one ordeal too far. You were alone, alone and hiding in Severus fucking Snape’s house from your boyfriend. No family, no friends, nothing.  No, no more.

******

  You hadn’t been to this part of London before. You were quite shocked when she suggested meeting you here, you hadn’t anticipated she was one for the theatre. As you stared up at Her Majesty’s Theatre, the bright still photographs of the show stared back at you. A woman, with long curly hair in a pink dress seemed frightened as a masked man with dark hair loomed behind her. What utter drivel you thought, who would pay money to see this? You rubbed your hands together, now significantly warmer with your new gloves you had bought on your way into London; and scoured the busy street for her. You were starting to think she wasn’t coming when you saw an emerald green cape swish in your periphery.   “There you are! Merlin, I was beginning it think you were taking the piss out of me.” You said as you wrapped her into a warm hug.   “Never,” Pansy smirked, she pulled away from you and gazed intently at your face. “You look terrible mate.”   “Thank you dear, you are nothing if not horrendously honest.” You looked at Pansy with a sly smirk. It felt so wonderful to see her again, her arm entwined easily with yours as you started back toward Leicester Square. “Why did you want to meet in front of that theatre?” You asked.   “Oh, I saw the show last week with my parents and it’s an easy location, tucked out the way a bit yet still in central London.” Pansy seemed to have blossomed in the time since you had last seen her. her hair had grown long and glossy, and she was pretty, very pretty.   “You? You saw a musical?” You couldn’t help the laugh that left your lips. Pansy rolled her eyes and pushed you playfully.   “Don’t judge unless you’ve seen one yourself. The music is to die for.” She smirked and lead you up a busy street. “Do you want to look at the Christmas Markets?” Pansy asked as she picked up a bauble from a nearby stall and inspected it. You wondered if it was a mistake to meet in such a crowded place so close to Christmas but, as she had reminded you, less chance of bumping into somebody you know.   “Actually Pans, I need to talk to you.” You replied, she nodded and lead you across the square to a café, all of the tables were either taken or dirty. You both looked over your shoulders as you pointed your wand at a table in the corner and the dirty mugs and plates stacked and ended up on the next table over. “What do you want? I have muggle money.” You said as you reached into your purse and pulled out one of the paper notes; you remembered they were worth more than the coins. Pansy looked from the paper note in your hand and to your face and burst out laughing. “What?!” You demanded. Onlookers from other tables began to stare in your direction as Pansy doubled over laughing.   “Oh, fucking hell, (Y/N). You are so clueless.” She managed through her giggles. “You’re going to pay for two coffees with a fifty-pound note?”   “Is that wrong?” You asked bewildered, surely it was right to take the biggest one?   “Merlin, just put that back in your purse before someone steals it out of your hand and I’ll get the coffees.” Pansy replied, you could see her shoulders still bobbing up and down with laughter even as she queued for your drinks. You couldn’t help but smile too, it had been so long since you had seen her last, too long.

  Pansy ended up taking longer than you anticipated ordering drinks. Your stomach began to rumble, and you felt sick. You ran a hand through your hair and sighed, you needed to speak to Pansy about the situation. You had nobody else to turn to. You stared aimlessly out of the window at the last- minute Christmas shoppers frantically move from shop to shop. You wondered if George would have taken the things you had bought for his family back to the shops, or if he would have wrapped them terribly and dished them out. You cringed at the idea of Molly seeing George’s wrapping and thinking it was yours. Out of the corner of your eye you saw a flash of gold and a suitcase whizz pass the window. Your heart raced as you made eye contact with him, Mundungus Fletcher. Behind him he pulled a trolley you saw old ladies carry their shopping in full of tat. He raised a ringed hand up and waved at you through the glass, a sneer fixed on his stupid face. You reached for your wand, but he was too fast, he weaved through the crowd and was gone. You searched for him wildly with your eyes, you craned your neck to try and see further, but it was no use. He had disappeared as quickly as he appeared. You tried to quell the hatred that bubbled under your skin and took a deep breath.   “Who was that?” Pansy asked as she set a tray on the table. She passed you your coffee and a slice of cake and put the tray on the floor.   “Nobody.” You muttered. You thanked her and took a sip, you grimaced as you swallowed it. Muggle coffee was terrible, watery and bland. It made you long for home, the kitchen staff at your parent’s house were always at the top of their game. It had spoiled you really, you had made such an effort to learn how to do everything yourself. You wouldn’t be one of them. You refused.   “What did you want to talk about?” Pansy said as she shovelled a forkful of cake into her mouth. You bit your lip; you didn’t know how to say it. “Oi, you haven’t dragged me all the way to London just for a coffee so talk.”   “I’m late.”   “What do you mean?”   “My period’s late.”

  Pansy’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth; her eyes wide with shock. You tapped on the table nervously and glanced over your shoulder. You would be mortified if you found yourself in another situation like the one of the last few days.   “How long?”   “Nearly two weeks now that I think about it.”   “Shit.”   “What do I do, Pansy?” Your eyes brimmed with tears as you watched your friends face flit between emotions. Pansy’s usually stern face softened, she ran a hand over her beautifully quaffed hair and sighed.   “Have you been to St. Mungo’s?” She asked, you shook your head.   “I didn’t know I had to. I only realised this morning and that’s when I wrote you straight away.”    “Right, okay. So, first thing you need to do is go to St. Mungo’s, you’ll see a mediwitch and they’ll make you drink a potion to see if you’re…pregnant or not.” She whispered, you nodded tearfully.   “Is that it? I just need to go to St. Mungo’s?”   “Well, you need to make an appointment first. Only-” She stopped short, she frowned, and her brow furrowed.   “Only?” You prompted.   “Only, it’s the day before Christmas Eve (Y/N). They’ll be no appointments until after the New Year, I’m sure.”   “Is it the 23rd already?” You asked, “Fuck me, I didn’t realise.” You paused. “So I have to wait?” Pansy nodded and swallowed another mouthful of cake. She pondered for a second before she sat up straight in her chair.   “Unless…”   “Unless?” You asked, you were growing impatient.   “There is the old-fashioned way of finding out. The muggle way, it’s just as effective. My sister had to do it before she was of age and she had it off with one of the Black cousins.”   “Which is?”

******

  You shifted your weight uneasily from foot to foot. You were in Piccadilly Circus waiting outside of a, you think Pansy called it a chemist? She didn’t trust you to not have a breakdown in the middle of a muggle pharmacy so left you to wait outside. It was bitterly cold and the snow had begun to fall harder than before. You watched as muggle pedestrians tried to weather their way through the flurry. How had it gotten to be the 23rd of December without you noticing? How had you let yourself not notice that your period was late? Very, very late, you cursed. You couldn’t help but be slightly angry at Fred and George, you had worked your fingers to the bone over the last few weeks to make sure the sop was stocked to the brim ready for Christmas. You had been exhausted, and still found time to cook and clean for the boys too. No, stop that, you thought. You were just irritable and nervous. You weren’t angry at the boys; you loved the boys; and were so proud of everything they had achieved in such a small space of time. Its natural to have bumps in the road, you just hoped there wouldn’t be a bump of another kind making an appearance.

  You shook your head to try and rid yourself of these thoughts. It was no use to anyone to berate yourself, you placed a hesitant hand on your stomach. You prayed silently to Merlin, to anybody that could possibly hear you. You whispered the words over and over again in your mind, please don’t let me be pregnant please don’t let me be pregnant please don’t let me be-   “Got it!” Pansy thrust a plastic bag in your direction, followed by a handful of coins. You cocked your head to the side in confusion. “Your change,” she announced and placed the money in your hand. “Merlin, you know absolutely nothing do you.” You offered her a tight-lipped smile as she linked her arm with yours and you hurried away from the pulsing crowd.   “Right, let’s go to your flat and get this over with.” Pansy stated, she pointed to the designated apparation point and looked at you expectantly. The thought of going into an empty flat filled you with a dread that quickly turned to sickness, a bile that rose in your throat. You shook your head and slumped against the wall behind you.   “I can’t Pans, I can’t go back there now. Not today, I’m not ready.” You muttered, your hair fell into your face and shielded it from Pansy’s view. You felt Pansy put an arm around her shoulders. She pulled you close to her and enveloped you in a hug. The tears you had been holding in since you left Severus’ (could you even call him that now?) house fell from your heavy eyes as you clutched to your friend for dear life. She rubbed your back and swayed you from side to side.   “That’s okay, we don’t have to go there. Let’s just go to where you’re staying.”   “I can’t take you there either!” You laughed through your tears, Pansy laughed too and brushed her thumb across your cheek.   “Fucking hell, you truly are off grid, aren’t you? Don’t do break-ups by half.”   “We haven’t broken up, Pansy. I just needed some time away. I haven’t been on my own since…since-”   “Shh. I know, I know. I was just winding you up.” She pushed you back gently and held you at arm’s length. “Now stop crying please, you’re making me uncomfortable.” You laughed again and smiled weakly at her. You exhaled deeply and nodded. You needed to pull up your big girl pants and be an adult.   “I’ll owl you as soon as I know.” You said, Pansy’s face fell into a look of concern as you took a step back from her.   “Have I not shown you, you can trust me, (Y/N)?” She replied, she looked hurt and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.   “Yes, of course you have, Pansy. I just- I need to do this alone.” Pansy sniffed in indifference and crossed her arms over her chest. You felt instantly guilty, you loathed to upset your friend, especially when she had gone above and beyond for you; but you needed to do this by yourself.   “Fine. But you should let George know, it’s as much his concern as it is yours.” Pansy said stiffly before she turned away from you and disapparated with a small pop!

  You were still for a moment. The snow had turned to sleet and it seemed to soak you through to your very bones as you stood. How had everything turned into such a mess in such a small space of time? Of course, Pansy was right, you needed to tell George. He had a right to know what was going on as anybody else and another feeling of guilt flooded over your already aching chest.

******

  Desdemona was waiting patiently on a streetlamp as you approached Severus’ house. She let out an almighty hoot as you spotted her in the encroaching darkness, she flew quicky from her porch and nearly into your face.   “Bloody stupid bird,” You muttered as you extended an arm. Desdemona landed roughly; her talons pinched your skin under your winter coat as she offered the letter in her beak. Your heart sank as you took it, it could only be from your parents. “I don’t have anything for you. Go home.” You ordered her, if you didn’t know any better you could have sworn she rolled her eyes before she took off into the sky. You watched her fly for as far as you could see her, her tawny features hard to make out after a while. With a groan, you let yourself in to the house.

  You settled in Severus’ armchair and kicked your shoes off. The letter from your parents held tightly in your hand, it felt heavy and you were anxious yet reluctant to find out what it said. You sank lower into the comfortable leather and brought your knees to your chest and teased open the envelope. It wasn’t a howler, that was for certain. A smaller envelope dropped out of the initial one, and a folded piece of parchment landed on your lap. Ignoring the small envelope, you picked up the note and noticed immediately it was written in your father’s hand.

Daughter,

I understand you have moved to Diagon Alley with your partner; congratulations, I’m pleased you have found happiness. I must admit, this is to be a strange Christmas without you here with us. I will leave your stocking above the fireplace like always. I wish for you to understand that you are always welcome here, this is your home. I am your father. You will always be my little girl. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.

Enclosed you will find your Christmas present; your mother gave her blessing for me to send it to you.

Merry Christmas, my darling.

You clutched the letter to your chest as you sobbed. You traced your finger over your father’s words, as if you could touch him through the parchment. You missed him more than words could say, you hadn’t anticipated how much so. In the time that had elapsed since you had last seen him, it was easy to forget the good things, the best things about your father; instead remembering him as the distant man who told you to run instead of protecting you. But he had, from the coldness of your mother, from the sneering remarks of the other noble families as a child and finally from your torment as you sat alone at Christmas.

  You padded solemnly into the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of port and the glass tumbler you had set out the night before. You poured yourself a healthy measure and as you brought the glass to your lips, you stopped. You remembered the white plastic bag you had flung on the floor at the bottom of the stairs when you arrived back, your stomach gurgled, and you bit your lip. What were you to do? Well, you knew exactly what you should do. You should write to George immediately, or better yet, go straight to The Burrow and you could do this together but- there was a part of you that felt that if you were to go to him now, you would be conceding. You would be letting yourself down. You hadn’t run straight into George’s arms the minute Mundungus’ plot was uncovered, if you were to go back now after two nights away from him would make you look weak. You demanded space, you demanded time to think and get away; you deserved it! George had to understand that he had hurt you immeasurably and not everything could be solved by a kiss and a cuddle.

  Regardless, if it turned out you weren’t pregnant then what would have been the need? You would have gone back to him at the first sign of trouble like always, and you weren’t prepared to it this time. If you were pregnant then yes, you would go to him. You would sit down and have an adult conversation over what to do next; but if you weren’t? You could perhaps enjoy this time to yourself before you returned to him. Before you decided what it was exactly you were to say to him. The layers of guilt that had so far weighed heavy on your chest eased slightly, your affirmations to yourself that this was the right thing to do, seemed to have assuaged you some. It was time, you knew it was. It was now or never, and it was most certainly, now.

  You read and re-read the instructions on the side of the box as you sat on the toilet. Your hand trembled as it held the little white stick, you parted your legs and pushed your hand between them; no idea if the stick was in the right position. When you were satisfied that you had done what you needed to, you pulled the stick away and popped the little blue cap on the used end. The box said it would take two minutes to give you a result, so with that, after thoroughly washing your hands, you returned to the living room. You placed the ‘test’ (it was most unlike any test you had ever taken in your life thus far) on the table face down, so you couldn’t see the little window and picked Dracula up from its perch on the nearby shelf. It was then that you noticed the small envelope your father had sent on the arm of the chair. You opened it gently, unsure of what it could be. Onto your lap fell an incredibly delicate silver choker encrusted with brilliant emeralds and littered with small diamonds, given to your mother when your grandmother died. You lifted it to the light and watched how the jewels caught the light. This piece of jewellery had been in your family for generations, You had admired it since you were a little girl, it had sat pride of place around your mother’s neck for special occasions, and you had tried it on- once or twice. Your mother would have been furious if she had found out. Your heart swelled with pride as you traced your fingers lovingly across it, that your mother wanted you to have it. Progress perhaps?

  A thunderous banging on the front door caused you to yelp in fear. You reached into the pocket of your jeans and produced your wand, you waved it frantically across the room and with a puff, all the candles were extinguished. You were plunged into darkness. Your heart pounded in your chest as you inched slowly out of the living room; wand raised- you weren’t sure what use it would be in the dark, but you refused to cast a Lumos. Severus had said he wasn’t expecting anyone at the house, and to not let anybody inside. You swallowed your fear and allowed yourself a second to think. The only people who would know what this house was, would either be one of two kinds. Muggles, probably drunk, banging on the wrong door or the darker alternative. The one you hoped to Merlin it wasn’t. The banging recommenced as you entered the hallway, you flinched at the sound but continued in your progress toward the front door. The early evening had well given way to night, and the only thing you could make out through the panes of glass in the door, was the shadowy figure that once again brought its hand up to bang against the wood. You crept silently along the hallway, with each step your pulse quickened as with trembling hand, you slowly reached for the catch. You felt a trickle of sweat run down your neck as you clasped the metal knob and turned it ever so slightly, you aimed to open the catch and fling the door open to the surprise of the intruder. You hoped to catch them off guard. As soon as you heard the click of the door, you flung it open.   “Stupefy!” You exclaimed, but he was faster.   “Expelliarmus.” Your wand flew from your hand and landed in his, bloodied and shaking. You blinked, unmoving as he reached for you. His other hand grasped onto your shirt as he tried to stand up straight. You recoiled backwards; it was instinctual. You noticed the hand which held fast onto the front of your shirt was also drenched in blood.   “Don’t scream.” He breathed, “Don’t scream, just…help…me inside.” You managed to nod and grasp him under his arm, as with the other he left bloody handprints along the wall. He kicked the door closed behind him as you helped him into the lounge, and with a big heave, assisted him to the sofa. “Why…is it so…dark?”

  In a second, every candle was lit, and you were able to get a good look at his face.   “What happened to you, Severus?” You asked horrified, he had a large gash on his cheek that bled freely. He clutched his side, and you noticed a flash of skin underneath his hands, he was wounded, badly. Bleeding profusely, what the fuck do you do? “Tell me what to do.”   “Dittany.” Severus whispered, “Cupboard in…bathroom.” You raced from the lounge up the stairs as fast as your feet could carry you, you wrenched open the bathroom cupboard and frantically searched for Essence of Dittany. You noticed that your hands were also covered in blood, his blood as you twisted and turned every bottle until you clasped your hand around the brown bottle.   “Give it to me.” Severus said weakly, he reached for the bottle, but you shook your head.   “No, you can’t-”   “I didn’t ask for…your opinion witch, give…me the…bottle.” He wheezed through gritted teeth, his face was a mass of blood now, like he had somehow tried to quell the bleeding but had somehow made it worse. You hesitated for a moment before you handed the bottle to him. He reached forward with a surprisingly steady hand and applied three drops to his cheek, his face contorted in pain as a small puff of green smoke rose around him. He winced as he tried to sit up, “Help me,” was all he said. Again, you supported his arm and helped right him. “My coat, I can’t reach-” You reached for his buttons and swiftly tried to undo them, he writhed beneath you, obviously in a copious amount of pain.   “Sorry!” You breathed as you reached his midsection, you could see clearly now the wound on his side. It looked as if he had been sliced, the blood was thick and dark as it oozed out of him. Tears stung your eyes as you panicked, you felt so very overwhelmed and with no idea how to help him. You tried to gently manoeuvre his arms through his sleeves, his jaw clenched and with two tugs, you managed it. He pulled his shirt up to his chest and granted you a look at how thin he was. You almost cringed at the sight of every rib in the poor man’s body, his stomach and what you could see of his chest were absolutely littered with scars; some old, some new.   “You will have to help…with this one.” Severus said, he looked better, if that was possible. The wound on his cheek shone purple, as if it had been there all along. The only tell-tale sign was the blood beginning to dry there. You rolled him onto his side and took the bottle from his hands, opening it quickly. You placed a gentle hand above his wound, just to the side of where his ribs jutted out. Severus flinched one and then relaxed as you tenderly brushed your fingers against his skin.   “Ready?” You asked, he gave a curt nod and you applied four drops of the Dittany across his wound. Severus, to his credit, let out a groan of pain whilst his whole body shook under the strain of new skin closing the wound. The puff of smoke was larger this time, you held your breath as it passed over your face. You held him in place until his breathing slowed, he looked at you askance and motioned to be helped up. “Do you want some water?” You asked as you pulled his shirt back down, covering him up. Severus shook his head.   “Whisky.” You rolled your eyes but knew better than to argue with him. You stood and brushed your hands against your jeans, you were sticky with his blood and felt uncomfortable. You hurried over to the drinks cabinet and pulled out a bottle of the amber liquid. Severus held his hand open and you passed him the bottle, he pulled the cork out with his teeth and brought it to his lips.  

  You watched him as he took sip after sip of the whisky, the colour eventually returned to his cheeks and you felt satisfied to leave him for a moment. You wandered into the kitchen and doused your hands with soap, scrubbing them hard to remove the blood. You fought back tears as the image of Severus writhing in pain engrained itself into your mind. You had never seen so much blood in your life and shuddered as you remembered the smell of the smoke as his skin knit together. You found him asleep on the sofa as you entered, bottle tipped to the side and his face peaceful. Carefully, you slipped his shoes from his feet and propped his legs up onto the sofa. Your wands lay together on the floor, you retrieved yours and Accio’d his duvet and a pillow, laying the latter under his head as you covered him in the blanket.

  You retrieved your cloak and settled into the armchair, you pulled it up to your chin and hooked your legs over one of the arms. It wasn’t comfortable, not in the slightest, but you couldn’t justify leaving him in his state. Your hand closed around your wand and pressed it against your chest, ready, just in case. For what- you didn’t know.

******

  “Sleep well?”

  You awoke with a start. Severus sat across the room from you, he was upright on the sofa. He still looked weak, but his eyes sparkled with humour.   “Like the dead.” You offered feebly; you arched your back; oh, fuck it was agony. You winced and Severus chuckled, your neck was stiff as you craned it to look at him.   “Nice choice of words.” You grimaced as you swung your legs onto the floor and ran your hands through your hair. You were surprised to feel the ends were dried red. Oh, of course. You shuddered as a fleeting image of the previous night’s bloody work crossed your thoughts. Brushing it off, you stood. “Coffee?”   “Please.” He answered, he looked more tired than you had ever seen as he watched you lazily. You returned a few moments later with two mugs of coffee, his black obviously, Severus nodded in thanks. You drank in silence, neither of you looking at the other. After a while, you stood without speaking. You felt disgusting, you were covered almost head to toe in Severus’ blood, although you had scrubbed at your hands- you hadn’t realised how messy it had been.

  You allowed yourself to cry in the bath. The water was hot and as you sank beneath the surface, you felt pathetic. You sobbed, more than you had in days. Your throat hurt and your eyes were swollen. Your heart hurt, why? Were you scared? Scared that someone might come after Severus and you would be caught in the crossfire? Or guilty that the man who had shown you so much kindness had been so dreadfully hurt and you hesitated in answering the door.

  He was sat in the same position that he had been in when you left him. He didn’t look like he had moved a muscle.   “Are you in pain?” You asked quietly, you felt stupid asking him stood in your Christmas pyjamas, but you were quickly running out of clean clothes.   “Immensely,” Severus answered wryly, he pointed at the coffee table. “What’s that?” Your gaze followed the direction of his pointed finger and your stomach fell.   “Nothing. Don’t worry.” You replied quickly, you snatched the pregnancy test and thrust it into the pocket of your pyjama bottoms. How the fuck had you forgotten about that? Your heart raced; you could know. You could know now, all you had to was look at the little window and it would tell you all you needed to know.  “Is that a pregnancy test?” Severus asked, the whisper of a smile tugged at his lips as you blushed.   “No.” You lied, why would he know what a pregnancy test looked like anyway? Especially a muggle one. Severus shook his head.   “If you say so.” He paused and watched you, your hair dripped big, wet droplets onto your shoulders. “Bring me some parchment and a quill, I need to write a letter.”   “Do you not think you should rest?” His face was aghast as you questioned him, you squared your shoulders and met his gaze.   “I promise not to exert myself too much moving my wrist.” You gave him a look of annoyance as he made a gesture as if he were writing. You rolled your eyes again, he chuckled once and then grasped his side in pain. Good, that serves him right for being a dick. You smirked to yourself as you retrieved parchment and a quill along with the silver whistle and thrust them into his hands.   “Would you like something to eat?” You watched him as, even with the sheer amount of pain he was in, his hand was steady as he wrote fluidly across the page. Severus ignored you as he continued to write. You sat in the armchair and watched him for several minutes, you noticed he brought the feathery tip of his quill to his lips every once in a while, in thought. It was almost hypnotic, watching his hand glide across the parchment, the only sound the scratching of his quill.

  The test in your pocket burned with anticipation. You reached for it deftly, careful not to make any sudden movements so as not to disturb Severus. Your fingers grasped it and pulled it out slowly, you shot a glance in his direction, satisfied that his attention was firmly placed upon his writing. You turned it over and…nothing. You panicked and turned it over, upside down and back to front. The little window that displayed the result was empty- no lines.   “Did you not read the instructions?” Severus called from the other side of the room. You gave him an uneasy look. “It quite clearly states that results disappear after twelve hours.” He hadn’t even looked up from his parchment, or so it seemed. You raced from the living room to the bathroom and plunged your hands into the wastebin in search for the box. He was right, of course he was right. Why wouldn’t he be right? You felt the blood drain from your cheeks as you slowly made your way back down the stairs.   “Idiot.” Severus mumbled, just loud enough for you to hear as you paced the length of the room. What were you to do now? It was Christmas Eve; you couldn’t face going back into the crowds. “I need you to take this to The Leaky Cauldron.” Severus’ deep baritone distracted you from your thoughts as he passed the parchment he had been writing on in your direction. You rose from your chair to take it from him, he had closed it in on itself over and over again until it appeared miniscule in your hand. Some kind of enchantment to dissuade the prying eyes of those unintended to read it, you supposed.     “What is it?” You enquired, turning it over in your fingers. Severus motioned you forward and held his arms out to you.   “You don’t need to know. Help me up.” Severus muttered and as you placed your arms around his back, your chests flush together; you blushed at the close proximity. He placed his hands onto your shoulders and supported himself to a standing position. “I need to go to the toilet.” He took two steps and swayed, he grasped hold of your arm to steady yourself.   “I can apparate us upstairs, Severus.” You stated, he grimaced and placed your arm under his.   “No, I’ll be sick. Help me and I might be able to help you with your problem.” He gave you a strained smirk and you nodded. You wondered what he could mean as you slowly supported him up the narrow staircase. You waited awkwardly outside of the door for a moment while he relieved himself, you accio’d his duvet and pillow and returned them to his bedroom, taking care to clear up the clothes you had scattered around the floor. When he emerged from the bathroom, you noticed his face was wet. He had attempted to wash his face rather unsuccessfully and you suppressed a laugh. You helped him into bed and pulled the covers over him, he seemed to relax under your care; letting you wipe a warm flannel across his face to remove the stains of his blood and hummed contentedly.   “You can do the rest yourself,” you announced. He opened his eyes and regarded you, “You can piss off if you think I’m going to give you a bath.” He laughed at this, a real smile appeared on his face and you smiled back, it was nice to see.   “Agreed. I can manage for now.” He sighed, “How late are your courses?”   “My courses?” You looked at him quizzically, Severus grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose.   “Your period, (Y/N). How late?” You blushed again and fiddled with the hem of your shirt, he looked at you expectantly as if he had asked you a question about the ingredients of a potion.   “Two weeks.” You answered, Severus nodded slowly and looked to the ceiling as if in thought.   “Yes, I think I shall be able to help you. Let me sleep for a while, deliver that letter for me and when you come back, we can eat, and we shall get to the bottom of this.” You sighed; you really didn’t want to go back to The Leaky Cauldron.  “Who shall I give it to?”   “Give it to Tom, he’ll see it gets where it needs to go.” Severus replied, his eyes closed again.   “Am I to say who it’s from?” Severus opened one eye and gave you a dark look, he wet his lips and frowned.   “Obviously.”

*******

  You hesitated before pushing open the door to The Leaky Cauldron, it was midday, and the pub was filled yet again with people making merry. You fought your way to the bar and waited to catch the attention of the young witch behind it, your neck craned in each direction to catch a glimpse of her. She appeared finally, two large trays of glasses hovering behind her as she began to rearrange the glassware behind the bar.   “Excuse me!” You said as you waved your hand, she noticed you and gave you a smile.   “Oh, hiya!” She said warmly, “Can I get you a drink?”   “No thank you,” You replied, “Is Tom available?”   “He certainly is,” A voice behind you said, you whirled round to be met with Tom’s smiling face. “Can I help you, miss?”   “Yes actually, I was told to give you this.” You showed him the tiny piece of folded parchment, Tom’s eyes flashed from it to yours and gave you a concerned look.   “Is this from…”   “Severus Snape, yes. He told me you’d know what to do with it.” You levelled, he took it from your hand and placed it into the pocket of his shirt.   “I assume there must be a reason why he sent you and not delivered it himself.” Tom replied with a raised eyebrow, you refused to let your mind wander to the events from the night before.   “Yes, but it’s not for me to say so- can I leave it with you?”   “Of course, I’ll see to it that everything is in order, tell him.” Tom replied, “Merry Christmas, miss.”   “Merry Christmas, Tom.” You watched as he withdrew into the crowd, you turned to the witch behind the bar. “Merry Christmas.” You smiled, she offered you a grin in return and waved her hand.   “Merry Christmas.” She replied cheerfully.

  You didn’t want to go into Diagon Alley, but your feet carried you over the cobbled stones to the dismay of your heart. Despite the growing tensions in the wizarding world, the wonky street was abuzz with people; not unlike the shoppers you had seen in Piccadilly Circus with Pansy. There was a long queue outside of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and you smiled sadly as you approached the window. The display you had spent so long working on looked magnificent, snow fell from behind the glass and tiny enchanted swans swam in a small lake, surrounded by miniature fur trees and families of deer.     “Penny for your thoughts?” You noticed Fred’s reflection in the glass appear next to you. You wrapped your arms around him and squeezed tightly.   “I thought you’d still be at The Burrow!” You exclaimed, he laughed and hugged you back. You pulled away and looked into his face, he looked well and cheerful. You had learned the differences between him and George over time, subtle though they were.   “Well somebody’s got to be here to run the shop,” Fred said as he gestured to the busy building, “I’m going back tonight.” You nodded in understanding and he placed your hand in the crook of his arm. “Fancy a walk?”

  Fred led you passed the bustle of the shops and back towards the apparation point.   “You okay, Freddie?”   “Yeah yeah,” He answered quietly, it must be difficult for him to see you- to know what had transpired between you and George. “Look, I don’t want to bombard you with questions or anything, (Y/N). But I need to know; is that you and George done? You left things so up in the air with him, and he’s putting on a brave face don’t get me wrong but…he’s my brother, and I can tell he’s hurting.” You bit your bottom lip, you hated to think about George in pain; but you just weren’t ready to talk about things.   “No, Fred. We’re not done…but he really hurt me, he said some awful things to me; accused me of terrible things and it’s going to take some time for me to be ready to have a conversation about it. Let alone forgive him.” You paused and wiped away a tear that fell onto your cheek. “I suppose I just never expected he could be like that. It surprised me.”   “Bloody surprised us all mate. When George came flying down to the shop floor after you left, ranting and raving- I’d never seen that side of him before. And Merlin, when Snape arrived at mum’s with Mundungus Fletcher, I thought he would wind up with a wand suspension the way he was trying to hex Mundungus.” Fred exhaled with a small laugh, you matched it with a smile. “He’s a good bloke, (Y/N). You mean everything to him. Believe me, I’ve had to share a room with him for the best part of two decades. If you’re not ready to talk about anything, can I at least tell him I saw you today and what you said? I’m sure it’ll make him feel loads better if he knew you hadn’t, you know, broken up with him without him realising.” You considered it for a moment, if Fred told George he had seen you today; it might make him want to find you. He had really respected your space so far and you were grateful for it, but the thought of making Fred keep something like this from his brother was too big of an ask. Plus, you were also keeping a huge secret from him, but you couldn’t tell Fred before you told George- it wasn’t right.   “Yeah, of course, Freddie. Tell him, you can also tell him Merry Christmas and that…I love him.” Fred made a gagging noise and you smacked him on the arm. “I need to go.” You pulled Fred in for one last hug and squeezed enough for him and George. He chuckled as you walked to the apparation point and gave him a big wave goodbye.

*******

  Severus stayed upstairs all afternoon and well into the evening. You couldn’t blame him though, it looked as though he had been through a massive ordeal and he needed time to recover, you couldn’t begrudge him that. You found a magical cooking book in one of the cupboards and coupled with some of the food you had bought at the supermarket, you managed to cook a reasonably tasty meal. Severus made comments about the quality of the steak, but you expected nothing less. You suspected it was only to save face though, as twice when he thought you weren’t looking, you saw him close his eyes and savour the taste of the food. You had served him in his meal in bed, he had managed to prop himself up on the pillows and you sat at the foot of the bed. It seemed quite personal really, but you found yourself savouring the intimate moments you shared with him. It made you feel like he did actually care for you, as more than an ex pupil, as a friend. He asked you about The Leaky Cauldron, who you spoke to, how you got home. After a moment, you felt brave.   “Who did this to you, Severus?” Severus sighed and passed his empty plate over to you.   “Nobody.”   “I find that extremely hard to believe. I need to know if I’m in danger.” You asked him earnestly, he met your gaze with a softness you seldom saw from the man.   “You’re in no more danger now than you have been in the last three days. Please don’t concern yourself with my welfare.” He answered, you suspected he intended to seem sterner than he came across. You wondered if he couldn’t muster the energy to chastise you.   “It’s a bit difficult to do that when I have to take you to the loo every time you want a piss.”   “You’re vile.”     “Pot, kettle, black. I found your blood in my ear this morning. That’s vile.” You laughed and he managed a laugh too. “I’m just glad I was here when you arrived last night.”   “Whether you were here or not, I would have gotten inside one way or another.” He levelled nonchalantly.   “Would it really be so horrendous to just say ‘thank you’?” You let out an exasperated sigh and flopped backwards on the bed. He eyed you with annoyance, but you could tell it was fleeting.   “Yes, actually. For me anyway.”     “Well I’m not surprised. You’re just annoyed I’m working off my debt to you.” You winked and rolled from the bed, you picked up your used plates and took them downstairs.

    You returned when he called for you. You held two glasses of port in your hands and found him in his study.   “When did you get in here?” You asked with a smile, pleased to see him on his feet, if not slightly unsteady.   “I am an enigma of a man, (Y/N). I wouldn’t expect your tiny brain to even begin to comprehend me.” Severus answered with a smirk, you passed him the glass and he raised it to his lips and drank deeply. “Delicious.” It was then you noticed the cauldron bubbling contentedly on his desk. You wandered over to it and inspected the shimmering, iridescent silver liquid, it smelled foul; like rotten eggs and you recoiled.   “What the fuck is that?” You demanded as you covered your nose. Severus had his back to you; he ran a finger along one of the shelves which held bottles of all shapes and sizes and plucked a large green bottle with a jade lid. You watched as he carefully unscrewed the top and dropped a tiny drop of the liquid onto a sprig of lavender. The flowers wilted instantly, and he dropped the whole thing into the cauldron. A great lilac cloud erupted from the cauldron and dissipated as Severus waved his hand.   “This, (Y/N) is a pregnancy test.” Severus replied with a satisfied smile. He beckoned you over to the desk and you sighed as the smell had gotten progressively worse with the addition of the lavender. The liquid had changed from its silver to a dark burgundy, it still held its iridescence as it bubbled.   “Is this what they use in St. Mungo’s?”   “Merlin no, they use a potion so convoluted there you could have had the baby by the time you receive an answer.” Severus sniffed, “This is Enfantin Inventim, it’s old. Really, very old. They stopped using this in everyday practise about three hundred years ago. It’s notoriously difficult to prepare and can often lead to an incorrect result.”   “Should we use it then? If it can give an incorrect result?” You asked anxiously, the last thing you needed was to wait another day. You needed to get on with your life, one way or the other.   “Do you think I would prepare something that would achieve anything other than one-hundred-percent accuracy?” Severus snapped. He had a point; he was a potions master for a reason.   “Okay, what do I do?”   “It isn’t pleasant, (Y/N). Do you trust me?” You considered it for a moment and then nodded, he offered his hand to you, you took it and he pulled you towards him forcefully. Severus winced with the effort and forced your hand open. He quickly drew a pearl-encrusted dagger across the length of your palm, easily opening the flesh. You howled in pain and tried to pull your hand back, Severus clasped it into a fist and squeezed tightly. Blood began to fall from you hand and he brought it over the cauldron, the potion drank your blood hungrily and after you parted with ten drops, the potion began to cloud over.  

  “Stand back.” He commanded, he gave you a scrap of cloth and you pressed it hard into the palm of your hand. “If the liquid turns white, you’re pregnant. If it turns black, you’re in the clear.”   “How long do we have to wait?” You whispered and closed your eyes.   “Not long.” In that moment, you wished George were by your side. He would know exactly what to say, and even if he didn’t, he would make you laugh. You imagined his hand around your waist and his lips pressed to your head in a gentle kiss.   “Severus. If I am…you know. What do I do?”   “I imagine what women have done for a millennia-”   “No, what I mean is-” You paused, unsure of how he would react. “Do I have a- do I have a choice?”   “Of course you have a choice. I can put you in contact with some discreet mediwitches. They’re friendly and would have you sorted in no time.” “Okay.”

  You waited for what seemed an age. You tended to your wounded hand and shot a scowl in Severus’ direction when he likened it to a scratch compared to his. The cauldron continued to bubble, it produced green smoke and spat out occasionally. You couldn’t take it anymore. Severus stirred it dutifully and you told him you’d be back in a moment, trapsing your way to the bathroom. You paced back and forth frantically. You couldn’t stand the waiting idly by, you had fashioned a bandage for your hand out of the cloth and some rolled up toilet paper when you caught your reflection in the mirror. You moved towards it and placed your hands gently on the sink underneath it.   “You need to sort your fucking life out, (Y/N).” You said to your reflection, you stared deeply into your own face. Hardly even recognising the person reflected back to you.   “(Y/N)!” You heard Severus shout from the study. “It’s done.” You supressed the bile that rose in your throat and took a deep breath. You stepped uneasily back into the room to see Severus’ neutral face waiting for you. He stood with his hands behind his back.   “Have you looked?”   “Yes.”   “What is it?”   “For fucks sake, have a look.” He snapped; he shook his head with a scowl as you inched toward the cauldron. Your hands trembled as you peered down into the now still liquid. It was black. The liquid was black.   “It’s-”   “Black.” He answered with a smile.   “I’m-”   “Not. Pregnant.”

  You cried out a tremendous cry of relief. Big tears rolled down your cheeks as you moved to Severus in two swift movements and threw your arms around his shoulders. He swayed with surprise.   “Ow. Careful.” He murmured before he patted you awkwardly on the back. When you pulled away, you beamed triumphantly up at him and he returned your smile. “You can thank me by releasing me.” You complied with a laugh, a genuine laugh. You felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest, you breathed easier than you had done in weeks.   “Thank you, Severus. I suggest you stop being nice to me or I’ll forever feel indebted to you.” You laughed, you noticed Severus’ expression alter slightly. “What? What did I say?”   “I feel like I haven’t been quite honest with you.” Severus said quietly, “Don’t interrupt me, just let me finish, yes?” You nodded and took a step back. You waited patiently for Severus to speak, he seemed to mull the words over before he was satisfied.   “You asked me a while ago whether I’m this involved with all of my old student’s lives, and I think we both know the answer to that. When I returned to Malfoy Manor after I took you to The Burrow, your father took me to one side.” You eyed him suspiciously as he wet his lips before continuing, “He knew what I had done and asked for a favour.”   “Of course he did.”   “Shut up, I’m not finished. He asked me if would be able to keep an eye on you, he knew I had connections almost everywhere, and he wanted reports of your whereabouts. And I agreed.” You stared unblinking at Severus. “He offered monthly payments if I could tell him where you were going, what you were doing, who you were seeing etcetera.” Severus squared his shoulders and took a sip of his port. “He just wanted to know you were safe.”   “So he paid you to spy on me?”   “In essence, yes. I never accepted the money though.” Severus levelled, you covered your eyes with your good hand and sighed.   “That’s why you let me stay in your house.” Severus nodded grimly and gestured for you to sit. You did so and chewed on your lip. You felt a multitude of emotions, not one of them good.   “There is one more thing, (Y/N). That night in The Leaky Cauldron where Mundungus saw you and I for the first time. He was there on my orders.” Your mouth fell agape. No, no absolutely not, that couldn’t be. Severus couldn’t possibly have ordered the hurt that Mundungus inflicted. You stared at him again, stony faced as tears began to trickle down your cheek.   “I heard you though, I followed you into the alleyway when you confronted him.” You said feebly, your lip quivered.   “I know, I made sure you would hear so not to suspect me. I was annoyed at him though, that was never part of the plan. He went rogue, so to speak.”

  A heavy silence descended between the pair of you. Severus, his usual staidness reduced to slumped shoulders and a guilty expression. There was a plethora of things you wanted to say, questions you wanted to ask him, but you couldn’t find the words. He finished his port and hobbled out of the room, your heard him enter the bathroom. You sat still, positively unable to process everything he had told you. Was there anything in your life that you held control over? When he appeared in the doorway, his face was ashen with pain and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his brow.   “Do you have any cigarettes?” You asked him slowly. He nodded and pointed downstairs, you pushed passed him and retrieved them from his discarded coat. You carried the remainder of the bottle of port back with you and sat on the floor. Severus moved slowly passed you and collapsed into the chair, the evidence of his exertion etched into his face. You filled his glass with the ruby liquid and then pressed the bottle to your lips and took three deep swigs. He raised an eyebrow as if to complain but thought better of it.   “Did you ever care about me, Severus? Because if it isn’t already clear, I care about you.” You pulled a cigarette out of the packet and lit it, you threw the packet into Severus’ lap, a little harder than you intended. He winced and lit his own cigarette.   “Of course I care.” You scoffed and took another swig from the bottle.   “And are you going to tell him about this? My father?” You pointed to the cauldron full of Enfantin Inventim. Severus shook his head and took a sip.   “No, I did this for you.”   “Why should I believe you?”   “You don’t have to, I suppose. I can’t force you.”

  You were silent again after that, you took long drags of your cigarette until the heat became too much as it reached the filter and burned your lip. You finished off the port and dropped the stub into the now empty bottle. Severus didn’t remove his eyes from your face, as if he were waiting for you to explode. You had every right to, you could go and punch walls and kick holes in doors, but what would that achieve?   “I’m trying really hard to be angry at you.” You whispered. Severus’ look of surprise almost took you off guard.   “And?”   “I can’t.” Severus sighed and slipped further into the chair, he finished his cigarette and beckoned for the empty bottle. He dropped the stub in slowly, his face contorted with pain as he stretched. You watched as he did his usual action of wetting his lips, his tell-tale sign that he was about to speak.   “I do care about you, (Y/N). There’s a goodness in you that one doesn’t always see when they’re brought up in the circles we frequent. I’m satisfied knowing I played my part in ensuring you got out of it all. You remind me very much of somebody I knew a long time ago, someone I wished I could have done more to help, but it wasn’t within my power. This, on the other hand, was very much within my capabilities. I’m not sorry.” His face settled into a frown and you sighed with exasperation.   “Fucks sake.” You muttered, you rose from your spot on the floor and made your way to Severus. You dipped your head and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. “You’re an arsehole.”   “Believe me, (Y/N). That is one of the tamer names I have been called in my time.” He smiled ruefully and found your hand and gave it a squeeze.   “If I ask you a question, will you promise to answer it honestly?” You asked, you saw the faintest hint of humour flash across his eyes.   “I shall try.”   “Was it the Dark Lord who hurt you last night?” He looked at you thoughtfully, a smile tugged at his lips. Severus lifted his chin and placed a finger on it and brushed it over his lips.   “Yes.” You didn’t quite know what to do with the information, you weren’t quite sure why you asked the question. You simply nodded and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Please don’t worry about me, (Y/N). I know what I’m doing.”   “Still.” Severus shrugged, he looked to the clock on the wall and then out of the window into the night.   “If you leave now, you could make it to The Burrow by midnight. Bring in Christmas with your loved ones.” He said quietly, you wondered if you saw the slightest twinge of remorse on his face. You cocked your head to the side.   “You want me to go?”   “I think we both know it’s time for you to, what’s the expression, ‘get your shit together.’” You snorted and threw your head back as you laughed.   “You could come with me, if you like; to The Burrow?” Severus shook his head, his hands outstretched in front of him.   “No thank you, I prefer my own company.”   “What will you do? Will you be okay if I go?”   “I have weathered much more serious casualties than this one by myself. I shall be fine. I will travel back to Hogwarts in the morning ready for my Christmas Dinner.”   “Are you sure?”   “Go,” Severus stated with a small smile, “Get out of my house.”

******

  It was five to midnight when you knocked on the door to The Burrow. You didn’t want to just burst in, just in case they were asleep or busy with family time. Your fingers flew to your neck where the intricate choker your father had sent you sat at the base of your throat; it was a special occasion after all. You knocked again and stood back to take a look at the house. There were a few lights still on even at this late hour, you strained to hear any noises on the other side of the wood and were about to knock for a third time when the door flew open. Ginny stood in fluffy red pyjamas, wand raised and a look of shock on her face. You launched yourself at her and she you, you engulfed each other in a vice like hug.   “I knew you’d come.” She whispered, “George is going to wet himself.” She led you through the house where only Molly, Ginny and Ron sat by the fireplace in the living room. Molly clasped her hands to her mouth as she struggled to get out of her chair quickly.   “Oh! My dear!” She said as she tottered toward you, she pulled you close to her chest and rocked you back and forth. “I am so happy you’re here; we can finally celebrate now.”   “Please don’t, you’re going to make me cry.” You said as Molly pulled away and placed a warm hand to your cheek.   “Welcome home.” She whispered. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

  The sound of feet thundering down the rickety staircase made you jump, Ginny arrived breathlessly at the bottom and George immediately behind her dressed in his pyjamas. Your eyes met across the expanse and you opened your arms to him. He crossed to you in a flash and placed two hands on your face and pressed his lips hungrily to yours. You tossed your arms around his neck, and his arms moved down your body and hugged your waist. You pressed your forehead to his and sighed.   “Merry Christmas.” You breathed; a whisper of a smile played at George’s lips.   “Merry Christmas.” He replied, he laced his fingers with yours and beamed at you. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

  Most of the snow had melted in the fields surrounding The Burrow, and you were grateful for it as George almost dragged you along a beaten path to a wooden bench under a tree, a good quarter of a mile away from the house. He pressed a hand to the seat and shrugged;   “It’s not wet, just cold.”   “I can handle cold.” You sat close to him on the bench, his arm around your shoulders as you both gazed up into the crisp night sky. There was something about the way the stars looked from here, like you could reach out and touch them. Lonely clouds like tiny whisps of smoke littered the sky occasionally, and you took turns in those moments where the stars weren’t visible in giving the other a kiss.   “Merlin, I missed you.” George said into your hair, he stroked the side of your face with a gloved finger and you melted into his touch. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N).”   “There’ll be plenty of time to talk about it, George, but I need to tell you something.” You replied, his gaze softened as he placed another tender kiss to your lips. You sighed contentedly at the feeling of warmth that spread through you, you were home. He squared his shoulders and shifted slightly on the bench, so to face you more.

  He listened intently whilst you told him of everything since you had last seen him. He nodded and occasionally asked the odd question like; “Was the inside of Snape’s house full of bodies?” and “God, I can’t believe you slept in his bed. Was it a coffin?” The only thing you neglected to tell him was of Severus’ attack, you didn’t know how deep the waters were that surrounded his area of his life and you didn’t feel like it was your place to share that information. When you told him of your pregnancy scare, his eyes widened, and his jaw clenched.   “(Y/N),” He said sternly, “You should have told me straight away. That’s not fair.”   “I know love, I feel awful about it. That’s one thing I’m truly sorry for, George. I promise not do anything like it again.” He nodded, seemingly content with that and kissed the tip of your nose. You began to tell him of the plot your father had embroiled Severus in, and George’s hands clenched into fists.   “That fucking snake.” George muttered, “How are you not furious?”   “Believe me, I tried to be,” You answered, “We talked about it and I decided there’s more important things to be worried about. I don’t blame him for what he did and neither should you, okay?”   “Fine. But I’m not happy about it.”   “I’ll take it.”

  When you climbed into bed that night, it was nearly two in the morning. The rest of the house was sound asleep as you and George became reacquainted. His hands found themselves tangled in your hair and you moaned quietly as he pulled softly, his mouth lathering your neck in kisses.   “Fuck, I’ve missed the sounds you make.” George breathed into your ear, you tipped your head back and found his mouth with yours. His hands travelled from your hair down to your hips, he pulled you close, and you felt his already hard member as it pushed against his boxers. You brought a hand down and cupped it, he hissed at the contact and bucked his hips forward. “Please let me fuck you, (Y/N). It’s been too long.”   “Yes, oh, fuck yes. Do it, George.”

  He wasted no time in pushing your knickers over your bum, and you wiggled frantically in an attempt to free yourself from them. He pulled his boxers down and climbed between your legs, he rubbed his cock against your folds and spat into his hand, rubbing it along his shaft for extra lubrication. When he pushed into you, you moaned together. It was like for one split second, the earth stopped. Everything stopped. You could hear your heartbeat in your eyes as you pulled George’s head down to kiss his lips. You ran your tongue along his bottom lip, and he shuddered. He rolled his hips against yours, and you grasped onto his shoulders tightly. George pulled out almost completely, before he pushed into you again; fully sheathed inside you. He did this three more times before you cried out;   “Please! I can’t take it anymore!” With a growl, George thrusted hard. His hips snapped backwards and forwards at intense pace, he lifted your legs above his shoulders, allowing him to bury himself deeper within you. You gasped at the sensation of being utterly filled by him, your brow furrowed as you struggled to keep your moans quiet. He continued this pace, his cock now slick with your juices as you bit down hard on the back of your hand. He pushed back slightly and reached a hand in between your legs, parting them slightly as he began to furiously rub your clit. Your eyes rolled back into your head as overwhelming pulses of pleasure coursed through your veins, you moved your hips with his, suddenly desperate for release. George let your legs fall from his shoulders as he grasped your hips, moving you with ease along his throbbing cock. You groaned, as George pressed harder against your mound, drawing from you a string of curses as you trundled towards your orgasm.   “Fuck, I’m going to come, George.” The surprise in your voice was palpable, the swiftness in which George was going to make you come was incredible. You panted hard against his shoulder as with a grunt, his nimble fingers rubbed you to completion, his cock hitting the delicious spot inside you. As you reached the peak of your high, George followed. He groaned as your walls tightened around him and he spilled his seed deep into your quim.   “Sorry,” George breathed, “I couldn’t hold on any longer.” You smiled and kissed him, it was tender and held every ounce of love you had for him. He deepened the kiss, rolling his tongue around with yours as his hand cupped your breast. “I’m going to fuck you so hard as soon as we get to the flat, you won’t be able to walk for a week.”   “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Georgie.” You smirked, he tweaked your nipple between his fingers and brought his mouth close to your ear, his voice deathly low.   “I’m going to make you come, over and over again. You’re going to beg me to stop. Then I’ll fuck you, I’ll fuck you the way you ought to be fucked. Rough and hard because naughty girls don’t get fucked nicely.”

  Your skin flushed with heat as he nibbled at your earlobe, desire already building between your legs. You cast a look to George, who looked about two seconds away from falling asleep and giggled.   “Do you want to be the little spoon?” You asked, he didn’t answer, instead he rolled his body away from you and faced the wall. He pushed his bum out and you gave it a playful slap.   “Don’t get any ideas.” He muttered and you grinned as you wrapped your arm around his middle. He laced his fingers with yours and hummed contentedly as the room gave way to the quiet of the house.   “I’m so happy you came back.” George whispered; his voice heavy with tiredness.   “Me too. I love you.” You replied with a yawn.   “Love you too.”

  George complained the entire way back to the flat. He had insisted on carrying your bags plus gifts you had received over Christmas, including but limited to; a lovely scarf Molly had painstakingly kitted for you and a hilariously ruffled gilet for George. You couldn’t help but grin consistently as you walked ahead of him up the back stairs to the entrance of the flat, his hat had slipped over his eyes and he lost his footing. Your suitcase lurched backwards, it manged to bump comically every step before it lay still at the bottom of the stairs.   “Right!” George announced, he dropped the rest of the bags and grabbed hold of your hips. You yelped in surprise as George hoisted you over his shoulder, fireman style and proceeded up the rest of the stairs. He near enough kicked the front door open and moved swiftly through the flat and into your shared bedroom, he ignored your giggled protestations and flung you down onto the bed. He was on top of you in an instant, his knee pushed your legs apart and his mouth descended onto your throat. He sucked and nibbled at the sensitive skin and began undoing the buttons of your coat.     “Off.” He ordered as he opened your coat and tugged at the bottom of your jumper. Dutifully, you sat up and removed the offending items of clothing. His gaze was ravenous as he watched as you tucked your hair behind your ears and waited for further instructions. George’s gaze flashed down to your breasts. “Off.” He repeated. You felt your breath hitch in your throat as George removed his own coat and shirt, his hands moved to his belt and he slipped both his jeans and boxers from his body, his already hard cock sprung against his stomach as you followed suit. You threw your jeans across the room and your knickers next.

 “So beautiful,” George commented as he ran a featherlight touch across your cheek. “Such a good girl.” You melted into George’s ghost like touch and shuddered. You kept your eyes on him as he brought a hand down to his cock and rubbed along the length slowly. “Touch yourself, (Y/N) I want to see you make yourself come.” Your eyes widened with shock for a moment before a smile crept across your mouth and you brought your hands to your breasts. Was it a show he was after? Then a show he would get. You placed your fingers on each of your hardened nipples and tugged slightly, your lips parted slightly at the sensation. You heard George as he took a sharp intake of breath as he gripped the head of his cock. You trailed one hand slowly down your body and shuffled down the bed as you lay your shoulders back onto the covers. You reached your throbbing cunt and spread your legs wide for George to see, he moaned as you brought your fingers over your clit and rubbed a sweeping circle of it.   “That’s it,” George moaned, “Let me see you- oh! Good girl.” You watched as George began to pump himself faster, your name fell from his lips as you plunged two fingers between your slick folds. You matched George’s pace as you fucked yourself with your fingers, you closed your eyes and fisted the sheets with your free hand. Pleasure built within you as with each pulse of your fingers, you found your sweet spot. “Come quickly, (Y/N). I want to see how fast you can come.”

  You took your fingers out of your entrance and brought them now coated in your juices and recommenced the rubbing of your clit. You moaned as you rubbed tantalisingly quick circles on the electrified pearl between your legs. Your toes curled as you felt your orgasm build in the pit of your stomach, you moaned, and George answered it with a moan of his own. Your hips bucked from the bed as you pressed harder with each swipe of your fingers until you came, it was fantastically intense and your voice, thick with desire called out for George.   “Come here.” He demanded once you had recovered. His cock was impossibly hard and almost screamed for attention as you crawled slowly over to where he sat. George placed a hand on your head as you took him in your mouth, you placed a tender kiss to the tip and licked the little drops of precum that had gathered there. He sighed as you pushed your lips down the length of hi and relaxed your throat, allowing him a small thrust. His gentle hand became a fist in your hair as he pulled you back, almost pulling you away from his cock; but your hand reached around the base of him and began to pump him. Your tongue swirled around his tip and George’s head rolled back as you wrapped your lips around him and swallowed. You found a rhythm and George’s hand on your head helped you keep time; you could see the muscles in his thighs tense as you hummed around him.   “Fuck. That feels good. Such a good girl.”

  At George’s praise, you sucked him faster, hollowing your cheeks and your grip around his shaft tightened. George’s hips began to lift off the bed as he thrust into your mouth. There was nothing you loved more in this world than to feel this man come undone under your hand, you moaned against him and he slid further into your throat. That was enough for George, who parted with four thick spurts with a cry of pleasure. You swallowed it up and wiped your mouth, you pulled away and gently massaged your aching jaw. You watched the rise and fall of George’s chest as he recovered from his orgasm, arm slung over his eyes.   “I love you.” You whispered, you felt tears sting your eyes and you sniffed. George sat up and looked at you, his face etched with concern.   “I love you too, what’s the matter?” He asked, he pulled you close and bundled you into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, and you nuzzled your face against his neck.   “Nothing, nothing. I’m just so happy.” George chuckled and hugged you tighter, you popped a leg over his and hummed as happy tears fell from your eyes.   “Me too.”

**********

  “No, those need to go to the stockroom, Fred. I’m not having them cluttering up the flat. There’s already zero room in here as it is.” You gestured around you to the boxes of stock that stood tall in your tiny living room.   “Right, and I’m telling you there’s nowhere to put them. We need more space.” Fred sighed and placed the box full of love potions on the floor. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Angelina appeared from behind a tower of boxes, her face aghast as Fred opened his arms to her. He placed a kiss on her shoulder.   “We’re drowning in all this.” She said, you shook her head at you; a silent communication that the boys had finally lost the plot.   “What do we need to do?” George called from the doorway, he levitated three coffee’s behind him as he held a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand, a bottle of champagne in the other. You grinned as he rushed to you, he presented the flowers to you and you sniffed them gratefully. Roses, lily’s and daisies. Your favourite.   “They’re beautiful, George! Thank you!” You placed a loving kiss to his cheek and traced a lily petal delicately with your finger as George put the champagne in the fridge.   “Congratulations my love! And happy second anniversary.” He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you in for a hug.   “This mine?” Angelina asked, she pointed at one of the three coffees suspended behind George’s shoulder.  “Oh yeah sorry, Ange. This one’s yours love.” George smiled and dished the coffees out; Angelina gave George a warm smile of thanks as you sipped happily.   “Where’s mine?” Fred demanded; George patted his pockets sarcastically.    “You weren’t here, mate.” He shrugged, Fred huffed and turned his attention to you.   “Congratulations I suppose, (Y/N). Still think you’re wasting your time being a Healer.” Fred said, Angelina wasted no time smacking his stomach.   “You think I’m wasting my time being a Healer…as we’re about to go into war?” You said, despite the seriousness of your words, a smile tugged at your lips as you knew Fred was just sorry to lose you from the shop. You had spent the last year and a half revising your arse off to be fast-tracked through the training programme. It was the only way you could think of to give back an inch of the kindness you had received. You had received your lime green robes this morning, an immensely proud moment indeed.   “All I’m saying is, you could have been junior assistant manager. I had the badge made for you and everything.”   “Ignore him, (Y/N).” Angelina said as she rolled her eyes, “We’re all really proud of you. Well done, babe.” You handed George the flowers and tossed your arms around Angelina’s neck for a hug.   “Thank you, Ange. What did I ever do without you to help reign dear Freddie in?” You laughed and she laughed with you.   “Think there’s anyway we can back out, Georgie?” Fred whispered dramatically to George who just grinned ruefully.   “Not a chance.”   “Too fucking right. You’re stuck with us now.” Angelina replied, an arm slung round your shoulders. “We still need to work out what to do with these boxes.”   “There’s no room for them in here.” George offered, he waved his wand over your flowers and they arranged themselves beautifully in a vase.   “No,” Angelina agreed, “I think we all know this flat isn’t big enough for four people, couples or not.” You nodded and made your way back to George, he hoisted himself up onto the kitchen counter and you settled between his legs.   “What are you thinking?” Fred asked his girlfriend; Angelina shrugged and sipped her coffee.   “We were thinking,” You replied, “Turning this upstairs flat into a staff room and overflow stockroom. You’re selling so much, so obviously have to have the stock to sell. There just isn’t room for us in here anymore. Plus, I’m pretty sure the staff would love to be able to come up here and have an actual cup of tea on their breaks.”   “We think we should move.” Angelia said, “Separately.” She added softly. George’s hand stiffened around your waist. You wished that Angelina had waited a day or two before dropping the bombshell, but the pair you had spent the last month speaking of little else. You and George needed your own space, and Fred and Angelina needed theirs as much.   “You want us to move away from each other?” Fred asked incredulously, you offered him a small smile.   “Not exactly.”

**********

  The portkey dropped you in the middle of a field. You were on your lunch break and only had half an hour before you needed to be back at St. Mungo’s. George looked stressed as he straightened his tie, you could tell he was nervous. You took his clammy hand in yours and gave it a squeeze.   “You okay?”   “Yeah,” He replied in a strained voice. “It’s just a lot of money to part with.” You sighed and dragged him in the direction of Fred and Angelina who stood waving at you. You approached them with hello’s and hugs and waited.   “What time’s he meant to be coming?” Fred asked as he checked his watch, you followed suit and checked the upturned watch pinned to your robes. Only twenty minutes left.   “Any minute now.” Angelina asked. You all looked in opposite directions, scouring the grassy horizons for any sight of the man in question. What you didn’t expect, was for him to surprise you from behind.   “You can never expect a group of Gryffindor’s to be on time.” You felt a grin widen across your face as you saw Severus fold his arms across his chest.   “Excuse me, I’m one of yours.” You replied, he shook your hand rather formally but gave you a brief wink as he dropped two sets of keys into George’s hand.   “Is it all sorted?” George asked the potions master, Severus nodded.   “Yes, I watched them as they signed the paperwork this morning. All in your names now, though I don’t see why you had to have me do it. I’m very busy.”   “Because I don’t trust anybody else.” You countered, “I needed to be one-hundred-percent sure my parents wouldn’t try any funny business.”   “They were quite happy to get rid of these cottages if you ask me. They have no need for them anymore, especially given that they’ve sold the house in Rouen.” Severus said, he looked up at the old stone walls of the two cottages.   “The price of war, I suppose.” Fred quipped; Severus cocked an eyebrow but ultimately smirked in agreement. You broke away from George and the others and placed your arm through Severus’, wandering a few steps.   “Thank you again, I really appreciate that.” You whispered; your heads close together. Severus placed a hand on top of yours and patted it softly. “Are you still coming for lunch on Sunday? It’s my only day off this week.”   “Are you cooking?”   “No, George is.”   “Yes, I shall arrive at twelve.”

  You waved as Severus made off into the distance, when there was no longer any sight of him. Angelina turned to you, and then back out to the cottages. A pair of great stone cottages with an adjoining garden stood before you. That had been built hundreds of years ago by twin farmers who tended the surrounding fields. They were acquired by your parents in the sixties; and now were to make new homes for you and George, Fred and Angelina. It was fitting really that another pair of twins would live in them all those years later, making new memories.   “How long have you got before you need to be back at the hospital?” George whispered into your ear. You glanced down at your watch.   “Fifteen minutes.”   “Plenty of time.” He breathed, George grabbed your hand and dragged you laughing towards the front door of your cottage. The door slammed behind you as he placed a hungry kiss to your lips. His hands where everywhere at once, slipping your robes over your head and grunting in your ear.   “This is our house, (Y/N). I want to hear how loud you can be.”

Of course, you complied; you wanted everybody to know that you were his, forever.