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hollowed-theory-hall · 6 months

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Harry Potter is Probably Gay and Here's Why

So.... a lot of this fandom likes to call one Harry James Potter a Bi disaster. Personally, I think he's gay and I can use book text to prove he isn't actually attracted to women at all.

So here goes:

How Harry Describes Men

Harry describes many men as attractive and handsome in the books, not only that but in general Harry goes into more detail when describing male characters. I'll mention it again in a later section in this post, but when describing men, even those Harry doesn't find attractive, he tends to describe much more details about them than about girls he supposedly does find attractive. Something that to me suggests, he doesn't find these girls attractive at all.

Here are some examples of Harry finding men attractive:

Charlie Weasley:

Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weatherbeaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.

(Goblet of Fire, page 52)

Bill Weasley:

However, Bill was — there was no other word for it — cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill’s clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.

(Goblet of Fire, page 52)

Cedric Diggory:

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen.

(Goblet of Fire, page 71)

Sirius Black:

Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 642)

Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 644)

Firenze:

white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes, the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 598)

Professor McGonagall turned next to Parvati Patil, whose first question was whether Firenze, the handsome centaur, was still teaching Divination

(Half-Blood Prince, page 174)

Blaise Zabini:

He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes

(Half-Blood Prince, page 143)

Draco Malfoy:

It was Draco Malfoy. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat.

(Chamber of Secrets, page 133)

Malfoy, who had a pale, pointed, sneering face

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 79)

A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair

(Goblet of Fire, pages 116-117)

Tom Marvolo Riddle:

There was no trace of the Gaunts in Tom Riddle’s face. Merope had got her dying wish: He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale

(Half-Blood Prince, page 269)

The door creaked open. There on the threshold, holding an oldfashioned lamp, stood a boy Harry recognized at once: tall, pale, dark-haired, and handsome — the teenage Voldemort.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 364)

Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 369)

followed by a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing as Voldemort. He was plainly dressed in a black suit; his hair was a little longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed, but all of this suited him; he looked more handsome than ever.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 434)

I don't think anyone would argue Harry isn't attracted to men... He's kind of obvious. What I want to go more into detail about is him not being attracted to women, as that's what I think I disagree with most of the fandom about.

How Harry Describes Women (for comparison)

So, we saw how Harry describes men, specifically men he finds attractive, so, let's compare to how he describes a girl he thinks is pretty, like Cho Chang:

Harry couldn’t help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn’t think had anything to do with nerves.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 259)

“Good luck, Harry!” called Cho. Harry felt himself blushing.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 304)

She was waiting for him a little to the side of the oak front doors, looking very pretty with her hair tied back in a long ponytail.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 556)

These are all the physical descriptions I managed to find of Cho, the girl Harry supposedly has a crush on from 3rd to 5th year... yeah, I don't see it. Sure, he mentions she's pretty, and he blushes around her, but he doesn't describe anything else about her. Not eye color, not hair color, skin color, eye shape, physique — nothing! Compare this to how he describes Bill Weasley or Blaise Zabini even, with so much more detail in their description.

Now, details in descriptions when writing from a character's POV are very important. Because a character would use more words to describe what's most important or striking to them... and in Harry's case Cho isn't it.

We know she's pretty and Harry's nervous around her, but the descriptions are just so stale and distant compared to: Tom "handsomest face in the room" Riddle, or Sirius "handsome handsomed handsomely" Black.

And I want to talk about Harry's crush on Cho more, but first:

Fleur Delacor:

I want to talk about Fleur for a bit. Because Harry's reaction to Fleur is very interesting, specifically because Fleur is a quarter veela.

Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses. “She’s a veela!” he said hoarsely to Harry.

…

many boys’ heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron.

(Goblet of Fire, page 252)

Veelas are literally magically attractive, if you are attracted to women, you'll find a veela woman attractive and be mesmerized. We see it with Ron and other boys, as Harry notes in the above quote. Ron and many other boys all stare, speechless at Fleur because that's how her magic works.

Harry, on the other hand, isn't affected at all. To the point, he's confused by Ron's drooling over Fleur. He later in GoF wonders why Ron wanted to go with Fleur to the Yule Ball so much, as he didn't see the appeal.

Harry is literally not attracted to a woman who is magically attractive to anyone who's attracted to women.

Looking careworn, she [Fleur] left the room. Ron still seemed slightly punch-drunk; he was shaking his head experimentally like a dog trying to rid its ears of water. “Don’t you get used to her if she’s staying in the same house?” Harry asked. “Well, you do,” said Ron, “but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then . . .”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 93)

It continues in his later interactions with Fleur, like when he arrives at the Burrow in HBP in the above quote. Harry asks Ron if he shouldn't get used to Fleur and stop drooling whenever he sees her, to which Ron responds that you do to a degree. The thing is, Harry isn't used to being around Fleur, he just arrived, after not seeing her for over a year. But still, he isn't affected at all, like in 4th year, he seems to not get what all the fuss is about.

That being said, Harry does react to the full veela in the Quidditch World Cup:

But a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and Harry’s question was answered for him. Veela were women . . . the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen . . . except that they weren’t — they couldn’t be — human. This puzzled Harry for a moment while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind . . . but then the music started, and Harry stopped worrying about them not being human — in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all.

...

And as the veela danced faster and faster, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through Harry’s dazed mind. He wanted to do something very impressive, right now. Jumping from the box into the stadium seemed a good idea . . . but would it be good enough? “Harry, what are you doing?” said Hermione’s voice from a long way off. The music stopped. Harry blinked. He was standing up, and one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he were about to dive from a springboard.

(Goblet of Fire, page 103)

I'm not sure exactly about the full veela's effects. Mostly because Arthur Weasley doesn't seem as affected as Harry and Ron, and Harry describes the crowd in general reacting to them, not just the men. Hermione doesn't seem affected though.

Something I want to note is that Harry only becomes affected once they start dancing, and not just by looking at them the way Ron and some of the boys are described as being with Fluer. Only when the music and dance start Harry becomes mesmerized. Before that, he is wondering how their hair moves behind them without wind... Additionally, after the music stops, Harry snaps out of it quickly, Ron on the other hand doesn't and proceeds to tear his Ireland merch.

So, while full veela, can influence him, it isn't by their appearance alone but by magic beyond their regular magical attractiveness.

Note that even with the veela, Harry barely describes anything about them. his descriptions of them aren't as detailed as his descriptions of men he finds attractive.

So even if he is attracted to women, it's very minor and barely there.

Harry's Disastrous Relationship with Cho

So, Harry and Cho... I don't think it's a pairing that has fans, but I might be wrong about that. Regardless of your opinion about it, I don't think Harry actually liked Cho. Like, at all.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Harry felt a burning desire to run from the room and, at the same time, a complete inability to move his feet. “Mistletoe,” said Cho quietly, pointing at the ceiling over his head. “Yeah,” said Harry. His mouth was very dry. “It’s probably full of nargles, though.” “What are nargles?” “No idea,” said Harry. She had moved closer. His brain seemed to have been Stunned. “You’d have to ask Loony. Luna, I mean.” Cho made a funny noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. She was even nearer him now. He could have counted the freckles on her nose. “I really like you, Harry.” He could not think. A tingling sensation was spreading throughout him, paralyzing his arms, legs, and brain. She was much too close. He could see every tear clinging to her eyelashes. . . .

(Order of the Pheonix, page 456)

Cho, the girl Harry is convinced he's crushing on since he was 13, is about to kiss him under the mistletoe, and he's thinking about nargles and Luna... And how does he feel about kissing Cho?

"a burning desire to run from the room"

He wants to run away from kissing Cho. And, well, it doesn't get any better than that.

“What kept you?” he [Ron] asked, as Harry sank into the armchair next to Hermione’s. Harry did not answer. He was in a state of shock. Half of him wanted to tell Ron and Hermione what had just happened, but the other half wanted to take the secret with him to the grave. “Are you all right, Harry?” Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill. Harry gave a halfhearted shrug. In truth, he didn’t know whether he was all right or not.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 457)

He is not sure he's alright after kissing Cho. Harry thinks about kissing Cho like it's a traumatic experience... He's happier talking about Voldemort's resurrection than about his first kiss. (WTF Harry?)

Harry doesn't like Cho. Not even a bit.

“Did you kiss?” asked Hermione briskly. Ron sat up so fast that he sent his ink bottle flying all over the rug. Disregarding this completely he stared avidly at Harry. “Well?” he demanded. Harry looked from Ron’s expression of mingled curiosity and hilarity to Hermione’s slight frown, and nodded. “HA!” Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several timid-looking second years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Harry’s face as he watched Ron rolling around on the hearthrug. Hermione gave Ron a look of deep disgust and returned to her letter. “Well?” Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. “How was it?” Harry considered for a moment. “Wet,” he said truthfully. Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell.

(Order of the Pheonix, pages 456-458)

I don't need I need to add anything here... Harry speaks for himself.

“You just had to be nice to her,” said Hermione, looking up anxiously. “You were, weren’t you?” “Well,” said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, “I sort of — patted her on the back a bit.” Hermione looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty. “Well, I suppose it could have been worse,” she said. “Are you going to see her again?” “I’ll have to, won’t I?” said Harry. “We’ve got D.A. meetings, haven’t we?” “You know what I mean,” said Hermione impatiently. Harry said nothing. Hermione’s words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities. He tried to imagine going somewhere with Cho — Hogsmeade, perhaps — and being alone with her for hours at a time. Of course, she would have been expecting him to ask her out after what had just happened. . . . The thought made his stomach clench painfully. “Oh well,” said Hermione distantly, buried in her letter once more, “you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask her. . . .” “What if he doesn’t want to ask her?” said Ron, who had been watching Harry with an unusually shrewd expression on his face. “Don’t be silly,” said Hermione vaguely, “Harry’s liked her for ages, haven’t you, Harry?” He did not answer. Yes, he had liked Cho for ages, but whenever he had imagined a scene involving the two of them it had always featured a Cho who was enjoying herself, as opposed to a Cho who was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 460)

Okay, so I have two things to mention about this quote.

The first, Harry realizes he doesn't like Cho and probably never did. He didn't consider dating her until Hermoine mentioned it. He doesn't want to date her. He's terrified and grossed out by the notion.

This isn't a boy with a crush. I'd argue this proves he isn't straight at all. I mean, a guy who is attracted to girls, even if not crushing on Cho specifically, wouldn't be horrified to a painful degree at the thought of going on a date with a pretty girl. Or kissing a pretty girl. His reaction is just too viscerally grossed out.

The second is Ron's response. Not really related to Harry being gay, but I love Harry and Ron's friendship so I want to mention it. Hermione and a good chunk of the fandom dunk on Ron for having "the emotional range of a teaspoon", but he clearly doesn't. Ron is Harry's best friend, he knows Harry better than anyone else, yes, better than Hermione even, and this scene proves it. Hermione is flippant, ignoring Harry's responses to his kiss with Cho, just saying he should ask her out as if it's obvious.

Ron on the other hand, Ron notices Harry's expression and the turmoil thinking of dating Cho causes him. Ron is the one who speaks up that maybe Harry doesn't want to date Cho. He immediately defends Harry and his option to choose not to date Cho. (Ron would be very supportive if Harry ever came out, is what I'm saying)

They sat down at the last remaining table, which was situated in the steamy window. Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, was sitting about a foot and a half away with a pretty blonde girl. They were holding hands. The sight made Harry feel uncomfortable, particularly when, looking around the tea shop, he saw that it was full of nothing but couples, all of them holding hands. Perhaps Cho would expect him to hold her hand.

…

In the time it took for their coffees to arrive, Roger Davies and his girlfriend started kissing over their sugar bowl. Harry wished they wouldn’t; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 559)

The above quotes are from Harry's disaster of a date with Cho. I think no one needs me to explain that the date went badly, but what I want to note is how uncomfortable and grossed out Harry is by the very notion of holding Cho's hands. That he'd have to kiss her again.

Like, again, even if he isn't crushing on her, a guy who's attracted to girls wouldn't be grossed out and pained at the thought of kissing or holding hands with a pretty, attractive girl.

Harry has never been attracted to Cho, and I don't think he's attracted to girls at all.

But What About Ginny?

So this post has gotten quite long already, but I don't think Harry actually likes Ginny. And I have evidence for it in the sequel to this post that is taking a while to write.

No hate for Hinny shippers, but I don't see the pairing, like, at all. I did write some of my thoughts about Hinny here until I finish with the more comprehensive post about them.

But in general, let's just say Harry never uses the word pretty (or good-looking, or nice-looking, or attractive) to describe Ginny. Ever.

And when I looked for his descriptions of her all I found were descriptions of her hair:

He felt a strange twinge of annoyance as she [Ginny] walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her

(Half-Blood Prince, page 136)

she was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair

(Deathly Hollows, page 103)

(There are more descriptions of her hair in the books, but they follow the same lines as these and don't add more information)

Again, contrast these descriptions to the ones of the guys earlier. No eye color, face shape, eye shape, or descriptions of her body or clothes — nothing.

I have more to say about their relationship, but that's for another post.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #harry potter theory #hp theory #hollowedtheory #overthinking #hp #hp thoughts #harry james potter #hp meta #harry potter meta #harry potter analysis #anti hinny #cho chang #ginny weasley

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romione-trope-fest · 7 months

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Love and War

Fic Title: Love and War

Author Name: Be11atrixthestrange

Selected Trope: Cockblocker Harry (+ future fake not dating)

Brief Summary: Ron and Hermione shared their first kiss during the Battle of Hogwarts…. Or at least that’s what everyone else thinks.

Word Count: 4078 (Chapter 1 of 3)

Rating: T (Will likely be upgraded to M for future chapters)

Any Trigger Warnings: Mention of character death

Chapter 1

-The Burrow, Summer 1997-

Most summers at the Burrow were busy, but the summer of 1997 could only be described as chaotic. After a dramatic escape from death eaters and an intense week of mourning Mad-Eye Moody, the Weasley clan set out to bottle up their grief like freshly-brewed butterbeer and transform their homestead into a wedding venue. Normal Weasley things, really.

It was a hot afternoon, and Ron just needed to be alone. Well, maybe not totally alone, but solitude was better than the frantic state of his home. The bustling Burrow provided the perfect opportunity for Ron to lie low. When he was certain Molly Weasley was distracted, he crept up the stairs, tiptoed into his room, and eased the door shut, breathing a sigh of relief for an empty space. He was desperate for a moment of rest, and couldn’t risk his mother spotting him finishing a chore just to assign him a new one.

He plopped into his bed and buried his head into the pillow. Ron couldn’t help but feel his tasks were superfluous. He had only spotted one gnome during an entire morning of de-gnoming the garden, and as soon as he returned to the kitchen for a drink, his mum appeared with another chore — cleaning the downstairs bathroom. That wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t assigned to him for the third time that week. Mrs. Weasley, being the worrier that she was, probably just wanted to keep her children occupied.

Ron jolted at the sound of a knock on the door. “Erm, come in?” He jumped to his feet and grabbed a dirty shirt from the floor. Having something in his hand might make him look busy.

To his relief, it was Hermione who cracked the door open.

“Hello.” Just like Ron, she shuffled across his room and collapsed onto his bed.

He had to admit that he liked the way his bed looked with her on it. “Aren’t you supposed to be putting away laundry?” he asked.

“Already finished,” she said as she fluffed a pillow under her head. “Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning the bathroom?”

“All done.”

“I reckon we should ask for another task then.” She shifted over to the side of his bed, and to Ron, it looked a lot like an invitation.

He laid down next to her and rested his head on the pillow beside hers. “Nah. This is good,” he said, as he motioned to put an arm around her. She responded by sliding closer to him and placing her head on the front of his shoulder.

The faint floral smell of her shampoo sent Ron’s mind into overdrive. It brought him back to the Gryffindor common room fifth year, when she suddenly sat much closer to him than usual and he caught a faceful of her hair, a moment that occupied his brain for weeks. He recalled the end of fifth year when she hugged him goodbye and lingered just a bit longer than she used to. And all those goodbye hugs that became kisses on the cheek.

Something was different. He couldn’t have imagined all that.

“Where’s Harry?” she asked, extracting him from his train of thought.

“Don’t know.” He gently pulled her closer to him. “Don’t care.”

“Nor do I,” she said as she nestled into his shoulder.

Ron’s eyes traveled to her lips. What would it be like to actually kiss her? She had to be expecting it, right? They’ve been dancing around a kiss since the end of fifth year. If it wasn’t for that Lavender hiccup they’d already be together right now. Probably. Maybe.

Friends didn’t snuggle in bed together. When friends kissed each other on the cheek, it was firmly on the cheek, not somewhere questionably close to the lips.

Hermione reached for Ron’s hand and interlaced her fingers with his. He traced the back of her hand with his thumb.

Friends definitely didn’t do that.

The moment had to be right. Was this moment right? You only get one first kiss. He glanced at the door to his bedroom. So many people were here, and in a crowd like this, there was no sense of privacy.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Hermione.

Kissing you, he wanted to say.

“What are you wearing to the wedding?” he asked instead. As if that thought was any more innocent than the real one.

She chuckled. “Dress robes.”

“Like the ones you wore in fourth year?” His voice perked up and he remembered how stunning she looked. Even though she wasn’t with him, and he wasn’t supposed to be ogling her that day.

“Different dress robes.”

“Well, I reckon you’ll look beautiful. As always.”

Hermione squeezed his fingers. “Manage your expectations.”

He glanced down at her and could have sworn she glanced at his lips.

“I reckon I don’t need to—”

Footsteps appeared on the landing of the stairs. Hermione jolted away from him and let go of his hand just as Ron’s bedroom door swung open. Harry stood in the doorway, his face red as though he’d just run up the stairs.

“There you are!” he said, panting. “Your mum’s looking for you. She wants you to help tidy the guest room.”

Of course there were more chores. The break was nice while it lasted. Ron glanced at Hermione, who had already risen to her feet.

“And Hermione,” continued Harry, “Ginny needs help getting the tent set up.”

“Right.” she said.

Harry disappeared back into the hallway while Ron and Hermione lingered behind.

Ron turned to Hermione and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Harry’s voice trailing from the stairs.

“Coming, Ron?”

Ron sighed. “I’ll be right down,” he shouted through the door.

* * *

The tent on the Burrow grounds was much larger on the inside than it would seem. Floating candles and cozy tea lights illuminated the dance floor, which nearly vibrated to the beat of the music. Ginny and Hermione’s decorating efforts paid off. They had managed to create an atmosphere that felt separate from the looming darkness and danger surrounding them. The sounds of chatter and laughter were a welcome distraction to what lay ahead. It was likely a combination of music, lighting, and a few cocktails, but Ron felt a lightness and confidence he’d rarely experienced before.

It was probably that confidence that possessed Ron to ask Hermione to dance. There was no need to ‘manage his expectations’ when he saw her in her dress robes. His knees had nearly buckled out from under him and his breath got caught in his throat. He spluttered his invitation to dance, and thanked Merlin that she agreed.

It turned out he wasn’t too bad a dancer after all. Holding her hand, he guided her to the middle of the room and pulled her into his arms. Any other day, the twinkling lights and the clatter of shoes on the dance floor would have been a distraction, but not today. Hermione was the center of his focus.

Dancing with her in his arms felt surprisingly natural, just like he’d imagined it all those times. His hands found the perfect nook at the small of her lower back, and hers wrapped around his neck like a cozy scarf. She looked him directly in the eye, and he resisted the urge to turn away, as if that would hide the rush of color creeping into his face.

“What inspired this?” she asked.

His response spilled out of him without a thought. “I finally had an opportunity to ask.”

It was true. He had regretted not dancing with her at the Yule Ball years prior, and there had never been an occasion to fix it. No dances, no galas, not until now.

“A long time coming.” She was close enough that he could feel her breath on him.

“Too long,” he confirmed, drawing her closer so that her head rested on his chest. As if they had a mind of their own, his lips found their way to the top of her head and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She melted into him, and he could feel her mouth form a smile against his chest.

There remained a small part of him that wondered if they could still be considered just friends. His gut said they couldn’t be, and hadn’t been for a while.

It wasn’t the perfect moment to kiss her yet. It was too crowded, and their first kiss should be in private. He was sure of it.

The moment was coming, and the thought made his heart beat even faster.

~Grimmauld Place, Summer 1997~

As the trio settled into bed in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place, it was easy to forget that Bill and Fleur’s wedding was earlier that day. It felt like eons ago that Ron was holding Hermione in his arms, swaying to the music, and imagining the perfect moment to initiate their first kiss.

He had made quite a big deal of insisting that Hermione take the couch that first night, and she had made an equally big deal of rejecting his attempts at chivalry. He eventually won out, and Ron found himself on the floor next to the sofa. His eyes traveled to her hand, which dangled from the edge of the couch as if daring him to reach for it. When he glanced up at her face, he was surprised to see her awake and looking back at him.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked him.

He smiled at the memory of her asking him the same exact question not too long ago. By now, she had to know she was always on his mind.

“You,” he quipped, acknowledging how easy it was to say the right thing when he didn’t let himself think too much.

She smiled and reached down for his hand and snaked her fingers through his.

“What about me?” she asked. Her eyes narrowed, but she never broke her smile.

Ron paused before he answered, wanting more than anything to just be honest.

“You know how I feel about you, right?”

Her cheeks flushed and she nodded, sending Ron’s stomach into knots. “I think so. I hope so.”

“Do you feel the same way?”

Instead of answering she pulled his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. His hand lingered at her mouth for what was maybe a moment too long, but she didn’t seem to mind. He brushed his thumb against her lips before reluctantly drawing hands away and re-intertwining their fingers.

“Good,” he whispered, and those were the last words exchanged before falling asleep, hand in hand.

* * *

The following few days at Grimmauld Place became a dance, with both Ron and Hermione hyper-aware of Harry’s presence, the insurmountable task at hand, and the hippogriff in the room — their admission to each other that first night. It didn’t take long to address the growing tension, but only in the form of glances across the room when no one was looking, or hands brushing against one another under the table at dinner time.

It was during a particularly sleepless night when Ron heard Hermione remove her blankets and tiptoe into the hallway. Ron glanced over at Harry, still sleeping soundly, before extracting himself from his blanket and following her.

He found her in the library moments later, snuggled into an armchair with a book in hand.

“What are you reading?” he whispered from the doorway.

Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. “Ron!”

“Hi.”

“What are you doing awake?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same question.”

Hermione placed a finger between the pages and closed her book. “I come here to read when I can’t sleep,” she said, shrugging. “Get my mind off of things.”

Ron peered at the book in her hand, Little Women. “Fiction?”

“One can only take so much Hogwarts, A History.”

Hermione scooted to one side of her armchair, which Ron interpreted as a signal. Following her lead, he made his way over and sat beside her. His arm draped over shoulder, and the depression of the cushion made her press her body to his. It was a tight squeeze, but Ron didn’t mind.

“What’s it about?” pressed Ron.

“You don’t really care,” she said as she dog-eared the page and placed the book on the nearby table.

“Yes, I do!”

“No, you don’t,” insisted Hermione. She shifted so that she was facing him and draped her legs over his lap. Without a second thought, Ron rested his hand on her thigh.

“I do,” he repeated again, prepared to defend himself against Hermione’s accusation when he saw that she was smiling at him.

“Ron, it’s okay,” she said, and he could have sworn she inched her face closer to his.

Suddenly, his hand felt heavy on her thigh, and he realized he’d been trying hard not to move it. Would it feel too forward if he slid it higher? Would she take it as rejection if he slid it lower? Would keeping it planted firmly mid-thigh be the mark of a man who had no idea how to finally bridge the gap from best friends to more? Was he overthinking?

He probably was. How very Hermione of him. Was she overthinking too?

His gaze traveled to her lips, then back to her eyes. She was looking at his hand on her thigh.

“Is this okay?” he asked, nodding toward his hand.

“Yes.”

Ron’s ears burned hot. The whole world seemed to freeze as Ron contemplated how to proceed. Maybe there was no need to proceed, and he could just stay there forever, hand on her thigh, eyes on her lips. That wouldn’t be awkward at all, right?

He slid his hand a pace higher. Hopefully she didn’t mind. The coy smile on her lips told him she didn’t.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, turning her new favorite question back on her.

She was quiet at first, and the silence was deafening. Her cheeks turned pink and she averted her gaze as if avoiding the question.

Ron waited. “You can tell me,” he urged.

Hermione took a full breath as though summoning her confidence and met his eyes. “I’m thinking about kissing you.”

Ron’s face grew even hotter and he once again became conscious of how close she was. Was this the moment? It had to be. He looked at her lips. She was looking at his too. This had to be the moment.

Ron leaned in, and Hermione met him halfway.

Their lips barely brushed before the sudden shuffling in the hallway brought his focus back to the present. Hermione must have heard it too, because she withdrew immediately and jolted off the chair, breaking their contact once and for all.

Fuck.

“Oh, thank Merlin,” said a winded Harry from the doorway. “I woke up and panicked.”

Ron felt a pang of guilt at Harry’s admission. There was something to be said about sticking together at times like this. “Sorry mate. We just couldn’t sleep.”

He glanced over to Hermione, who seemed to be at a loss for what to do with her hands. She resorted to straightening out her shirt, which had gotten twisted while sharing a chair with him. Harry didn’t seem to think much of it, but Ron stifled a smirk.

“Just glad you both are okay,” said Harry, adjusting his glasses. “I’m going to go back to sleep. Are you coming too?”

Ron glanced at Hermione. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Be right there,” echoed Hermione.

With a nod, Harry turned into the hallway and shuffled back to the drawing room.

“So, that was—“, he began.

“We shouldn’t do that,” she interrupted. “It would be irresponsible.”

“What do you mean?” Ron’s stomach clenched into a knot. The last thing he wanted to do was resist this. If not now, then when? “You were the one who said—”

“It was a moment of weakness,” she huffed. “We can’t let ourselves get distracted, Ron.”

Distracted. The most distracting thing for him would be bottling up his feelings for her.

“Hermione—“

“There’s a war, Ron.”

He knew she was right. Or at least, in this moment, she needed to be right. She had a point. In the past, just a slip of his imagination could pull him straight out of reality. But right now, losing focus meant losing everything.

On the other hand, that almost-kiss wasn’t doing his ability to focus any favors. “It’s now or never, don’t you think?”

“No, it’s not,” she said. “We have time.” Her voice trembled over the words, as if she wasn’t convinced herself.

“Do we?”

“I have to believe that,” she said definitively. “I’m sorry.”

With that, Hermione shuffled back to the hallway, offering an apologetic glance on her way out.

Ron groaned and leaned back in the armchair. The book on the side table caught his eye, and he immediately pictured Hermione cuddled up in the corner reading it. In the armchair. Or at the Burrow. Maybe one day, in his bed. The image sent him reeling. He knew those thoughts would persist until he finally kissed her.

We have time, he repeated to himself, desperately hoping it was the truth.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, Grimmauld Place felt smaller than ever. It seemed that he and Hermione couldn’t walk through a hallway without accidentally brushing against one another. Every time she entered the room he was in, he would immediately forget his task at hand. He could have sworn she made prolonged eye contact and stood closer to him than normal. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe she was doing it on purpose.

The trio had been planning to break into the ministry to retrieve the locket, and Ron knew this plan could change the trajectory of the war. It would be dangerous, life threatening even. It also carried the risk of alerting death eaters to their entire horcrux plan. If Voldemort caught wind of that, he would go to even greater lengths to protect himself, and defeating him would become that much more difficult.

And yet, kissing Hermione Granger remained the first item on Ron’s to-do list.

He sat in the kitchen alone, staring into a cup of tea, waiting for Harry or Hermione to join him for their daily brainstorming session. The tea brought back memories of third year divination, when he and Harry would try to determine each other’s fate based on tea leaf shapes. If only he had paid attention in that class, maybe his tea could offer some reassurance about what was to come.

“Morning.”

Hermione’s voice brought him back to reality, or at least as much of reality as he was capable of grasping when she was around.

“Morning.”

She wandered to the kettle on the stove to pour herself a mug of tea. “How are you?”

“I’m alright. A bit tired.”

Their conversations had felt terse as of late, but Ron knew exactly why. She was distracted, just like him.

She wandered over to Ron and took a seat next to him. Then, shifted her chair a smidge closer.

Ron chuckled. He didn’t hate the game they were playing, although Hermione would probably protest him calling it a game.

But that’s exactly what it was. Since their moment in the library a few nights ago, they’d fallen asleep holding hands every night. They’d shared hugs in the hallway. He’d caught her eyeing him when he’d changed his shirt, which he’d purposefully done in the same room as her. She wanted to stay focused, but he was determined to make that particularly difficult.

Ron ran his fingers through his hair to fluff it up a little. She always blushed when he did that. Then, he reached for her hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked, without resisting intertwining their fingers.

“Your hand was distracting me,” he said. “So I’m holding it.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

They sat for a few moments in comfortable silence before Hermione spoke again. “So you were so distracted by your shirt you had to take it off in front of me earlier?”

Ron laughed. “Yes.”

It wasn’t just him. Ron noticed how Hermione wore lipstick the other day, in fact, he watched her put it on. And that time she sat next to him on the sofa and undid her hair tie in his direction so that her curls brushed against his shoulder. She even gave him a fucking back rub after he mentioned he was sore from sleeping on the floor. Harry was sore too, but he didn’t get a back rub.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

“Is it a problem?” he asked her. “Are you having a hard time staying focused?”

Hermione’s face tinged pink, then turned serious. “Honestly? I can’t stop thinking about the other night.

“What other night?”

“In the library.”

Ron didn’t respond, opting to wait for her to clarify exactly what she meant. Did she want to reiterate that it can’t happen? Because frankly, he disagreed.

“Me neither,” he said when she didn’t elaborate. “But, like you said, we need to stay focused. Right?”

“Right,” said Hermione. “But all I focus on is the fact that Harry’s not in here right now.”

An involuntary smile broke across Ron’s face, and he had to admit he loved seeing Hermione flustered.

“What are you saying?” As he spoke, swiveled in his chair to face her.

“I’m saying that I regret not kissing you,” she said boldly.

Ron’s ears burned as he instinctively reached for her waist.

Was this the moment?

“So, no waiting until after the war?”

Hermione looked him in the eye and gently shook her head. “Now or never,” she whispered.

It was impossible to know who initiated but suddenly his lips were on hers. Her body shifted up against his, one of his hands tangled into her hair, the other wrapped around her lower back and pulled her into him. Her lips were soft and inviting, parting just enough to allow him a full taste. She tasted like peppermint tea and Hermione, nothing he could have described, but everything he expected. Her muffled moan sent a vibration down this throat and as a result, his fingers tightened around her hair and he held her closer.

Yes, this was the moment.

Kissing her felt foreign yet familiar, like a dream loaded with deja vu. Maybe because it had happened so many times already in his imagination. In the common room. In his dormitory. In his bedroom. Hermione’s hand traced along the back of his neck and sent pins and needles down his spine. He responded by rising to his feet, pulling her with him and pressing her up against the countertop, not caring that the thin fabric of his joggers left none of his excitement to the imagination.

Based on the faint smile he felt from her lips under the kiss, Hermione didn’t seem to care either.

Time stood still, and Ron had no way of knowing if they had been kissing for a minute or an hour. Nothing could have pulled him out of this. Except…

Footsteps. Fucking Harry.

They began quietly, from somewhere upstairs. They still had time.

One of Ron’s hands slid from Hermione’s hair down the side of her neck, down her waist, and landed on her hip. In response, her fingers dug into the skin on his shoulders.

The footsteps grew louder as Harry descended down the stairs toward the hallway.

Hermione’s arms snaked around Ron’s neck as though she was hanging onto the moment in time. They remained entangled until Harry’s footsteps became dangerously close.

Ron and Hermione broke their kiss the second the door to the kitchen burst open. A flustered Harry entered with a notebook in hand.

“I have a plan,” he announced as he spilled into the room.

Harry glanced from Ron — who had nearly missed the barstool when he sat back down in a hurry, to Hermione — who was straightening out her hair. “Are you two okay?”

“Yes,” said Ron and Hermione in unison.

Hermione cleared her throat. “What’s your plan, Harry?”

Harry slapped his notebook down on the counter between them.

“Alright…first we will need some polyjuice potion…”

As Harry dove into his plan for sneaking into the Ministry, Ron snuck a glance at Hermione. She smiled at him and he felt his cheeks tinge pink.

They were just getting started.

#submission #cockblocker harry #romione

75 notes · View notes

theweasleysredhair · 4 years

Text

Tease [G.W.]

Character: George Weasley

Word Count: 4110

Requested?: Yes/No

Summary: Every time George tries to get you alone, something seems to interrupt you and he can’t seem to catch a break. Maybe he just needs to get a bit more creative, or maybe teasing you under the table is enough to get you as worked up and desperate as he is.

WARNING: this is NSFW, 18+, smutty, sexy times, idk how else to say it. george is being a hot cheeky bastard wanting to shag his girlfriend.

Tags: @gracemayhateyou @harrysweasleys @toranyx @theweirdsideofstuff @ickle-ronniekins @levylovegood @wand3ringr0s3 @diary-of-an-onliner

Disclaimer: Gif isn't mine, credit to whoever made it

A/n: idk, george makes me feel things. enjoy and thanks for requesting nonnie! ❤️

~*~

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST MY WORK! REBLOGS ARE ABSOLUTELY FINE! <3

+ + + + +

George was frustrated. In both senses of the word. He had originally thought that inviting you to the Burrow over Christmas was a wonderful idea, and whilst he loved having you around, he felt as though he’d barely even seen you since you’d arrived. And it was beginning to drive him insane.

He loved that you got along with his family so well, that they constantly wanted to be around you but, in his eyes, he’d invited you there to be with him, and the fact you’d probably had around 10 minutes alone over the last week was starting to get to him.

It didn’t help, and he was certain you were doing this on purpose, that you kept wearing his shirts around the Burrow - something you knew turned him on - or that one day you wore a jumper that fell off one shoulder, exposing the area of skin that George wanted to kiss and bite down on. Or, worse, that one day you wore a skirt and knee high socks - Merlin, George thought he felt his heart stop that day.

He’d tried multiple times to get you alone - pulled you into empty rooms in the Burrow to kiss you, locked Fred out of their bedroom and even tried snogging you outside but it had gotten too cold and started snowing. Unfortunately, each time you were alone in a room together, you’d been interrupted fairly quickly by his family coming to ask you something or other, or in the case of locking his twin out, Fred had grabbed a broom and flew up to the window and knocked on there instead, wiggling his eyebrows and wolf whistling at the both of you as he found you underneath your boyfriend (fully clothed, much to George’s dismay).

So to say he was getting desperate would be an understatement.

And as he watched you from across the living room, sat cross legged on one of the couches as you laughed with Ginny, he began thinking of new ways to spend time with you, without the rest of his family barging in.

He thought about locking Fred out again, but this time closing the curtains and the window. He thought about the shed outside, and as much as he’d like to be in those close quarters with you, he knew it was far too cold. All he wanted was to be with you, without everyone else hanging round.

He finally saw his chance when Ginny decided to go off to talk to Hermione about some work she had for the next coming school term, leaving you in the living room with just the twins.

George seized the moment, standing up and walking over to you. He leant down to your ear, his voice low and warm breath hitting the side of your face, “My room, in two minutes.” You felt a shiver down your spine as you watched him walk off towards the stairs, eyes glued to the way his back muscles were moving in the t shirt he was wearing, but not missing the warning look he shot at Fred, who was sat in front of the fire and smirking at his younger twin.

You stood up after a minute, straightening out your sweater before following in the direction of where George had just left, rolling your eyes but laughing all the same when Fred called after you, “Not on my bed, okay?”

“That was one time!” You joked, laughing harder when you heard him spluttering out a horrified, “What?!”

Reaching the top of the stairs, you made the familiar journey to the twins’ room, where George was waiting. No sooner had you pushed the twins’ door open were you suddenly pressed against it, your boyfriend’s lips on yours, kissing you desperately, as if it were the last thing he’d ever do. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling you closer to him as he pushed his tongue into your mouth, making you moan softly as he deepened the kiss, his hands resting on the skin underneath the hem of your sweater.

His fingers ran up your side to the base of your bra, gently stroking along the lace as his eyes widened, him pulling away very slightly, both to catch his breath and ask, “You’re wearing lace for me?”

You shrugged, grinning at him, “Maybe.”

He groaned, his eyes almost rolling into the back of his head, “You’re killing me, love.”

He ducked his head to press open mouthed kisses across your neck, talking between each one, “Do you have any idea how difficult it’s been not being as close to you as I want to be? I’ve been going insane.”

“You think you’re the only one?”

His hands ran down your body and round to your bum, giving it a squeeze as he pushed you against the wall. As he trailed up towards your mouth to kiss you properly, he tugged gently at the hem of your sweater.

Just as you had pulled it over your head - George mesmerised by the way your lace bra accentuated your breasts - you heard Molly call up the stairs that food was ready, and for everyone to come down.

George shook his head, grabbing your waist, “I can’t wait any longer, just look what you’ve done to me, love.” He pressed himself against you, and you could feel him hard against where you wanted him, making your breath hitch.

“Let’s just not go,” he mumbled, tracing kisses across your collarbone and down to the tops of your breasts.

You let out a breathy sigh as you ran your hand through his messy hair, “We have to, your mum has made food and honestly I’d love to eat it - I’m hungry and she’s an amazing cook.”

George buried his head into your shoulder,

“I’d rather eat something else to be honest.”

“George!” You playfully swatted at his arm, before pulling away and moving around him to grab the sweater you’d dropped, putting it back on.

As you passed him again, he reached out to grab your hip, “Are you sure we have to go?” You nodded, “Yes! Everyone will be waiting for us.”

“Fine...” He agreed, albeit reluctantly, running a hand through his hair to tidy it a little as he sat on his bed. You stood near the doorway for a couple of minutes, waiting for him to stand up, however he continued to sit there, making you raise an eyebrow and turn to walk out, hoping it would prompt him to follow, “Right, come on then.”

“Give me a minute,” he replied, staring at the floor.

You turned back to him with a frown. “Why- oh!” You realised, “Want me to wait or go?”

George licked his lips, his eyes looking you up and down, “Should probably go darlin’, knowing you’re right next to me looking like you do is enough to keep me hard all night.”

Scoffing out a laugh, you looked at him sympathetically, “We’ll finish this later, I promise.”

You left him in his room, heading down the stairs to where the family usually ate meals, finding most of them already there, bar Ron and Harry, who arrived a few minutes after you, pushing and shoving each other as they laughed at something one of them had said.

You were sat at the end of the table, Fred across from you, an empty seat to your left for George. Molly rushed into the room, placing plates of food down with a wave of her wand, fussing over Harry before heading over to you, “Do you know where George is, dear?”

“I think he’s in his room, Molly. Said he’d be down soon,” you replied with a smile. She placed a plate in front of you and nodded as you thanked her, “That boy is never on time for anything I swear - he’ll be late to even your wedding, just you watch dear!”

Her comment made your cheeks warm, and you ducked your head to hide your smile just as she wandered off to grab a plate for Percy, who was sat at the other end of the table beside Arthur, deep in conversation.

“So, where is my dear younger twin?” Fred asked, shooting you a knowing smirk as he began eating the food on his plate.

“Well-“

“I’m right here,” George announced as he entered the room, finally making his appearance as he took the seat beside you.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Fred spoke with a knowing grin shot in his twin’s direction.

“Yeah well, I had something to take care of,” George grumbled, sharing a glance with you and rolling his eyes when Fred let out a mocking laugh.

The beginning of the meal went by as normal, the family laughing and joking, you joining in. You’d just placed some more food in your mouth when you felt George’s hand on your thigh, just above your knee - the place he knew got you worked up. You glanced over at him, but his focus was on the conversation going on about a new muggle artefact Arthur had discovered at work.

Thinking it was just a coincidence, you went back to eating, however you suddenly felt his hand slide up your thigh slowly, fingertips squeezing gently, and dancing across the waistband of your trousers. Noticing the small smirk on George’s face, you shook your head a little at him, gesturing discreetly at the rest of his family, but he didn’t seem to be too concerned.

His hand moved down into your underwear, his fingers finding your clit easily - both from practice and from just knowing your body so well - and he gently began tracing circles, making your hips jolt forward and causing you to almost drop your fork.

He gave you a cheeky grin, “Everything okay there, love?” You grit your teeth as you replied, “Everything is just fine.”

His applied a little more pressure, circling faster and making you bite your lip. You swallowed a content sigh so as to not egg him on, and tried to focus on the main conversation, which had moved onto Hogwarts.

“So Y/n,” Molly began, making everyone turn to you, including George, who shot you a half smirk before picking up his pace, making you swallow harshly, “How are your lessons going?”

“They’re going quite well, Molly!” You replied, though your voice was slightly shaky, “I’m enjoying Care of Magical Creatures this year, there’s some interesting-“ you let out a half gasp as George suddenly pushed a finger into you, earning a few looks of concern.

“Are you okay, dear?” Molly asked, “Do you need me to get you anything?”

“Oh no! I’m fine, thank you! I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened there! But as I was saying, there’s some interesting creatures we’re learning about this year, so I’m really excited,” you smiled, hoping no one would be suspicious (nobody seemed to be, even Fred seemed preoccupied and wasn’t paying much attention, which you were thankful for.)

Hermione began talking about her own lessons, and you shot a warning glare over at George, who smiled innocently at you, as if he wasn’t currently fingering you under the table where his family were eating their evening meal. He added a second finger casually, bringing you closer to the edge.

He moved his fingers in and out, smirking to himself as he continuing eating his meal with one hand. He carried on for a couple of minutes and your hips began thrusting slightly towards his hand.

However, just as you clenched around him, he stopped what he was doing for a moment. You glared up at him, raising an eyebrow but he just shot you a lazy half smile, waiting for you to come back down a little before moving again, purposely teasing you.

Thankfully, the food was eaten quickly, meaning George had to stop. You were both grateful for that, and annoyed as you were now even more frustrated than before, as he hadn’t actually let you finish.

Soon after the plates were cleared, Molly ushered you all into the living room to sit down and wait for her to bring you all some hot chocolate. It was a tradition you adored usually, however since you were sat near your hot boyfriend who had now made you extremely sexually frustrated, you couldn’t wait for everyone to just go to bed.

George shared a couch with you, draping a blanket across both of your legs, and making sure you were comfy. You leant your head against his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

A few minutes later, you were all sat around the roaring fire, chatting together over your mugs of hot chocolate. You brought it up to your nose and revelled in the amazing smell, before taking your first sip. You had to admit, if there was one thing you loved about Christmas at the Weasleys, it was Molly’s hot chocolate.

You rested the mug on your knee, however nearly spilled some of your drink when you felt George’s free hand creep under the blanket and across your thigh. You tensed, still on edge from his antics at the dinner table - something that made him smile to himself, knowing you were getting just as worked up as he had been all week.

Placing a hand over his, you halted his actions, trying to push him away just a little, in order to be more decent. Undeterred, George decided to wait a couple of minutes before trying again. He placed his hand on the inside of your thigh, and then left it there, unmoving and right where you wanted him, making you shift uncomfortably.

You quickly drank your hot chocolate and placed it on the side table next to you, before looking over at George and raising an eyebrow at him. He grinned innocently just as he squeezed your inner thigh, making you press you lips together and it taking everything in you not to buck your hips against his hand.

Luckily, Hermione stood up soon after she’d finished her own drink, placing the mug on the table and stretching, “Thank you for the hot chocolate, Mrs Weasley, but I think I’m going to head up to bed. I’ve got a new book that I can’t wait to start!”

And then after Hermione, one by one, you noticed everyone bidding their goodnights and heading up the stairs and further into the burrow, until you realised it was just Molly and Arthur left. And after a while, even they retreated upstairs too - Molly ensuring you knew there was more food left in the kitchen if you wanted it - meaning you and George were finally alone.

“You tease!” You scolded, “Under the bloody table and then under a blanket when your family were literally less than a metre away from us? What were you thinking?”

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it. It excited you, knowing they were there, didn’t it?” He said in a low tone, his eyes flickering down to your lips. You opened your mouth to reply but no words came out, knowing he wasn’t exactly wrong, and he knew it.

George bit his lip and gave one last glance up the stairs before bringing you into a rough kiss, pulling you onto him so you were straddling him on the couch.

It didn’t take long for you both to be breathing heavily, hot breaths hitting your face as he licked down your jaw.

He shifted under you, rolling his hips up into you, making the both of you groan, before you had to pull away a little.

“You sure you want to do it here?” You asked as you glanced up the stairs at where his family had disappeared to moments before.

“We’ve tried everywhere else, and kept being interrupted. Here, everyone is going to sleep. It’s our best chance,” George reasoned, running a finger along the waistband of your trousers.

“What if someone needs something from down here and catches us?” You asked, though you began leaning towards him to bring him into another kiss. He smirked back at you, “Isn’t that part of the fun?”

And you hated to admit it, but he was right. Something about the risk of being caught whilst being fucked by George was definitely appealing, and you looked up at him, biting your lip as you smiled, “I suppose so.”

That was all George needed to bring you back into a hot kiss, swirling his tongue around your mouth as you ground your hips down onto him, making him groan into your mouth. His hands gripped your waist pulling you against him further as one of yours ran through his hair, the other resting on his chest.

“I’ve waited too long for this,” he murmured against your lips, taking a quick breather to grab the hem of your sweater and helping you to pull it off, throwing it on the floor and leaving you in that lacy bra that George had been picturing the entire time he was sat at the table.

You reached round to unclip it but George stopped you, “Keep the bra on... and your knickers while you’re at it, I’m just gonna pull them to one side and fuck you whilst you’re wearing them.”

You moaned at the thought, grinding down onto his hard cock again, making him let out a shuddering breath. Pulling away for a moment, you stood up to take your trousers off, George doing the same. He then pulled off his underwear, his cock springing out, long and hard as he stroked himself a couple of times before sitting back down on the couch, pulling you down onto him again.

You could feel him against the lace of your underwear, and you circled your hips, making him groan against the skin of your neck, where he was pressing wet, open mouthed kisses, occasionally biting and sucking to elicit breathy moans from you.

“Look at you being all desperate for me,” George commented, watching as you kept bucking your hips against him, needy for the friction between your legs.

He reached down into your soaked underwear for the second time that evening, teasing your clit again before bringing his fingers up to his mouth to clean them off. He felt you grinding yourself down onto him and smirked to himself before deciding to move you a little to the right so you were now straddling his thigh, “Reckon you could come just from fucking my thigh, love?”

He jolted his leg a little, the skin of his muscular thigh moving against the material of your underwear and hitting you in just the right spot, making you cry out in pleasure.

“Merlin, you look so wickedly hot right now,” George breathed out, watching as you circled your hips around his thigh, eyes shut, head falling back as gasps fell from your pretty lips. At the back of his mind, he was aware that you couldn’t be much louder if you didn’t want to be caught, but Godric, did George love the sounds you were making.

“I’m close,” you gasped as he squeezed your hips, lifting his thigh a little to add more pressure. “That’s a good girl, I’m right here,” he murmured in your ear. Just a few minutes later, you felt the familiar feeling of pleasure washing over you, leaning your head onto George’s shoulders as he pressed kisses along the side of your neck.

“You looked so pretty coming for me like that, darlin’. Did you enjoy my thigh?” He murmured, sucking on a patch of skin below your ear. You nodded feebly, still seeing stars, and George smiled against your skin. He gave you a couple of minutes to bring your heart rate back to normal, however as soon as he felt your hips moving again, he leaned back with a smug expression and bit his lip, glancing from your dazed eyes to your swollen lips, “Are you ready for more, princess?”

All you could bring yourself to do was nod, finally satisfied from all the teasing he’d done to you over the course of the evening. He kissed you gently, a difference pace from a few moments previous, before thrusting his hips up to meet yours, enjoying the moan that escaped you as he hit your sensitive clit.

You felt him move your underwear to the side, and he lifted you up a little, allowing you slowly sink down onto him, making you both groan, enjoying the feeling of him being inside you again.

“You feel so bloody good, love,” he praised as you started to move up and down on his cock, circling your hips and falling into a rhythm as you rode him, “Taking me so well. My good girl.”

“George,” you breathed out, clutching his shoulders and he grabbed your hips to guide you. His head fell back, heavy breaths leaving his lips as you continued to ride him, both of you getting close - you from all the stimulation and him from his lack of.

You continued moving on him as he pushed his hips up to meet your thrusts. He sat up a little bit, causing him to go deeper, and you had to bite his shoulder to keep from screaming out.

“You’re so good to me, love. I’m getting close,” he groaned, leaning forward to press kisses to the tops of your breasts, gently biting at one in order to leave a mark.

“Georgie you feel amazing, I’m-“ you finished your sentence with a groan as you felt him twitch inside of you.

“Come for me, darlin’,” he murmured into your neck, and you let your second orgasm of the night hit you, pleasure flowing through your body as your eyes closed and head fell back, clenching around him and moaning again as you felt George finish inside of you just as you began to come down from the high.

You both stayed there for a moment, the only sounds being the both of your heavy breathing as you tried to steady your heart rate.

And that’s when you heard the sound of the steps creaking and you froze, hands gripping onto George’s shoulders as your heart beat fast for a different reason this time, praying whoever it was wouldn’t find you in the position you were in currently - namely, sat on top of your boyfriend on his couch with him still inside you. You waited with bated breath, eyes shutting in anticipated embarrassment as he pulled the blanket around you in case he had to hide you.

“Will you two be a bit quieter? Some of us are trying to sleep!”

You exhaled at the sound of Fred’s voice hissing down from the top of the stairs, thanking Merlin it wasn’t Molly.

“Please just go back to the room, Fred,” George called back to his twin through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know, I kinda want a glass of water now I’m up...” Fred replied, and you heard him step down onto the next stair tauntingly.

“Fred!” George warned. “Fine, I’m going, I’m going!”

You heard him heading back up the creaky stairs and across to where you knew his room was before opening your eyes to look up at George, letting out a small giggle as he leant his forehead against your shoulder for a moment, before pulling you off of him carefully and standing up to grab a cloth for you, unable to keep himself from laughing too.

“You know he’s never going to let us forget this right?” You grinned in the dark, before grabbing the cloth from him.

“Might as well make it a night to remember then, huh?” George grinned cheekily, leaning against the nearby wall and crossing his arms over his chest. Your eyes wandered down the veins in his lower arms before looking up at him, “What do you mean?”

“I’m thinking, round two, you sat on the kitchen counter, with my head between your legs. What do you say?” George smirked, bringing his bottom lip between his teeth as he looked you over.

You stood up quickly, grabbing his hand, “I say let’s go.”

“Well that didn’t take much convincing,” he followed you into the kitchen with a grin.

“Yeah well,” you replied as you reached the kitchen counter, him grabbing your waist and lifting you up onto it, standing between your legs,

“Right now I’d rather you use that tongue for something other than talking.”

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley smut #george weasley imagine #george weasley imagines #weasley twins #weasley twins imagine #weasley twins imagines #harry potter #all queue have to do is follow the spiders

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theclockworkmonk · 3 years

Text

Out of the Mouths of Babes — Chapter 2

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Chapter 1 on Tumblr

Prompt: “Uncle Ron said something about Harry knocking Ginny up, but I don’t know what he means,” Teddy said.

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

"They can't be serious…." Harry muttered in disbelief as he stared down at the very official-looking letter.

"Who's serious about what?" asked Ginny, stepping into their living room.

Harry jumped and quickly tried to hide the letter behind his back. "Nothing!" he squeaked.

He should have known better. Ginny got a mischievous glint in her eye and darted around him, trying to get at the letter. They spent a minute chasing around each other, but eventually Ginny faked him out into tripping over the coffee table, and she quickly snatched the letter out of his hand with a triumphant laugh, making Harry once again wonder if she wouldn't be even better at Seeker.

"Ooooo," Ginny sang dramatically as she saw the emblem at the top of the parchment, "an official statement from the Wizengamot! Have they come up with a new award to bestow on you?"

"No, it's even worse," mumbled Harry.

"Oh, well now I'm very interested," Ginny teased, "am I worthy to take a peek at such official correspondence between such important people?"

"Well, it actually concerns you too, Missy," said Harry, crossing his arms, "so go ahead."

"Hold on, let's see if I can get the right tone." Ginny cleared her throat, pointed her nose in the air, and continued in her haughtiest tone,

"To the esteemed Harry James Potter,

After consideration of your actions to serve and protect the Wizarding World of Great Britain, as well as the recent discovery of your lineage to the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell, previously thought to be lost, it is with great honor and pleasure that we offer to restore your line to its former status by bestowing upon you one of the vacant Lordships!?"

Ginny dropped her character and her mouth gaped open in disbelief. "Along with the accompanying seat on the Wizengamot!" she finished quickly.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, and her face split into a wicked grin and Harry knew he would never hear the end of this.

Harry snatched the parchment back.

"Yeah, so in other words," he began before she could start getting her jokes in, "they're embarrassed by how many of their seats are still empty after half their members were thrown in prison or fled the country for being Death Eater collaborators, so they're once again trying to use me as their poster boy so they can look like they've turned over a new leaf. Except they clearly haven't, since they only deemed me 'worthy' after they found out which dead pure-bloods I'm descended from, so they're still the same navel-gazing, inbred aristocrats they've always been!"

By the time he was finished, he was shouting and he panted to catch his breath.

Ginny, however, still found the whole thing hilarious.

"Oh, it breaks my heart to see Lord Potter so displeased," she bowed low to him with a flourish of her hand. "Let me know if there's anything a lowly peasant like me can do to serve you."

"Yeah, yuck it up, Weasley," said Harry dryly, "Like I said, this affects you too."

She looked back up at him with a sardonic look. "How does your having to sit through long parliamentary bullshit have to do with me?"

"Well," said Harry, stepping toward her, "if I'm a Lord, that means that, if I ever get married one day—"

"Hypothetically speaking," said Ginny.

"Yes, then that hypothetical girl — whoever she might be — would become a Lady."

"Hmmm," hummed Ginny thoughtfully. She wrapped her hands around his neck and he snaked his arms around her waist. "So you think this is relevant to me because you're hoping to make me your Lady? That's mighty presumptive of you, Lord Potter."

"Well, I wouldn't say hoping," lied Harry. "It's just a logical possibility to consider, strictly because you're pure-blood, of course. But I'm still keeping my options open. After all, you know how much of a ladies man I am."

"Yes, of course. But you know…" said Ginny thoughtfully, tracing circles over Harry's chest with her finger, "'Lady Ginevra Potter….does have kind of a nice ring to it."

"Oh, but things would be expected of you, m'Lady," said Harry, "and you would definitely have to stop all that Quidditch nonsense. Such a vulgar and violent activity is beneath a woman of your standing."

"Oh, well, I guess that's settled, we have to break up," Ginny sighed, "We're just a part of two different worlds."

"I'll always remember you," said Harry romantically, "but alas, I must kiss you goodbye."

He bent down and gave her a kiss, then they broke apart as they cracked up into laughter.

"Come on, I'm not going to let anyone call me a Lord," said Harry, rolling his eyes, "and obviously I'm not actually going to sit on the bloody Wizengamot. Those seats are transferable, so I can give it to someone who will actually know what they're doing. My first instinct is your dad, but he probably won't want it either, and they'll do anything to get him off again. Andromeda would probably feel at home there, but could do some good. Or maybe McGonagall."

Ginny groaned. "You can be so boring sometimes, you know that? You have a chance to put Luna in a position of power, that would drive them insane! Oh, or how about Aberforth, that would be hilarious!"

Harry laughed. "We're not all agents of chaos like you, Gin. I swear, sometimes I think you're Eris in disguise."

"Oh, you think I'm a goddess?" Ginny flirted, "then I guess you better worship me."

"Hmmm," Harry kissed her again, but then sighed and pulled back. "Sadly, there's no time for that, we're already running late for dinner at the Burrow."

"Alright, should we go together or do you want to keep up the pretense that we're actually living in different flats?" she asked him pointedly.

He gave a weak, embarrassed smile. "I know it's ridiculous, and I might be a coward, I've just managed to escape your mother's disapproving stare so far in my life, I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible."

Ginny rolled her eyes but led him by the hand out the door of their flat, past the wards they had put up. Harry wrapped an arm around her waist, and turned on the spot, feeling the squeeze of Disapparition.

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

"Come on!" urged Ron, "I'm hungry!"

"What else is new?" laughed Hermione, as she finished a letter she needed to send and tied it to Pig. After she sent the little owl on his way, she turned around to see her fiance standing by the fireplace, bouncing on his feet like a child on Christmas morning.

"Honestly Ron," said Hermione, shaking her head, "one would think you haven't eaten in a week, and there's no way that your mother even has dinner ready yet."

"Yes, but her pre-dinner scones should be coming out of the oven right now!" said Ron cleverly, "And I might as well have not eaten in a week, don't pretend like I'm the only one who's sick of our sad attempts at cooking."

"Alright, alright!" said Hermione. She joined him by the fireplace, threw some floo powder into the grate, and together they stepped into the green flames.

"THE BURROW!" Ron shouted clearly, and after the spinning sensation and flashes of various fireplaces, they stumbled into the sitting room of Ron's childhood home.

Ron's excited smile faltered when they saw the sitting room completely empty, with no one there to greet them. He recognized the overlapping voices of his family instead coming from the kitchen, and with a rush of horror he feared that his precious scones were already being eaten by an army of Weasleys. He led Hermione by the hand across the room towards the kitchen, and he started to make out individual voices.

"I just don't understand why they haven't told us!" said his mother.

"He probably knows what we're likely to do to him," grumbled Charlie.

"You've been away too long, brother mine," chuckled George, "I guarantee you she's the one keeping it under wraps."

"In any case, we know that pushing the issue will do nothing but make things worse," said Ron's dad gently, "We just have to—"

"Scones ready?" asked Ron loudly as he and Hermione entered the kitchen, and Hermione had to resist the urge to swat him. The conversation he had interrupted seemed interesting, and her suspicions were confirmed (and her curiosity inflamed) when all talk instantly ceased the moment they walked into the room. Six heads snapped towards the arriving couple as Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George widened their eyes in surprise and fear, like they were caught discussing something covert. Hermione also noticed how a few of them (mainly Ron's two oldest brothers) then narrowed their eyes venomously at her and her boyfriend.

While the kitchen of the Burrow was usually one of the warmest, most welcoming rooms in the world to Hermione, she noticed a distinctly cool, tense atmosphere this time. She looked sideways and saw that even Ron had clearly noticed, his eager smile slipping from his face.

There were several seconds of silence as the older family members' eyes all flittered between each other, holding a silent conversation that Ron and Hermione didn't know how to join. Then the loud ding of the kitchen timer made them all jerk suddenly.

"Wow, do I have great timing or what?" said Ron proudly, trying to ease some of the tension in the room, but some of his laughter died in his throat. His stomach didn't let him dwell on it, however, as Molly bent down to take the scones out of the oven, and the sweet, fresh smell filled the kitchen.

After she put the plate of scones on the table, Ron casually flicked a cooling charm over them before grabbing one greedily. The other Weasley men took their own, but they looked more like it was just something to do with their hands. While Ron hummed as he took a big bite, they chewed theirs thoughtfully.

"I should check on the washing," said Molly quietly, without looking at anyone. She grabbed a laundry basket and headed outside towards the clothesline.

"I'll help!" said Hermione cheerfully. She was always happy to help with the chores at the Burrow, but she also wanted to get one of the Weasleys alone to figure out what they had been talking about.

Molly didn't answer and continued outside with Hermione behind her.

"How have you and Arthur been?" asked Hermione pleasantly.

"Well, my days are still dreary, with no children left in the house," Molly sighed. "I knew that children don't stay children forever, but I certainly wasn't expecting my younger ones to hit so many milestones so quickly….and in the wrong order." She finished more quietly

Hermione frowned. Did Molly think she and Ron were getting married too soon? She had never expressed that before, she was overjoyed when they had announced their engagement.

"Er….well, Ron recently got promoted from Junior Auror," said Hermione uncertainly as she began helping Molly take garments off the clothesline and put them in the basket. "He'll be taking more serious cases now." So his career is well on track, if that's what you're worried about.

"I'm touched that you and Ron are willing to indulge that to me!" said Molly sharply

Hermione pursed her lips. Her patience was running out.

She stepped towards her soon-to-be mother-in-law and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Molly…"

For the first time, Molly turned to look at Hermione and the younger woman flinched back at the cold distrust and disapproval she saw in her eyes. Hermione felt a rush of deja vu, and after a short moment she realized where she had seen that look before: it was the same look she had received from Molly her fourth year, when the older witch had believed Rita Skeeter and was under the impression that Hermione was Harry's manipulative girlfriend, breaking his heart by messing around with Viktor.

"Mrs. Weasley...have I done something wrong?" asked Hermione weakly.

Seeing the hurt on Hermione's face, Molly's own harsh expression softened and was replaced with a wave of guilt. Her eyes got watery and her lip trembled, and before Hermione could say anything else she suddenly found herself being hugged tightly.

"No dear, you haven't done anything wrong," said Molly in a choked voice, as Hermione awkwardly patted her back, thoroughly confused. "I'm just being silly. I understand you're not choosing sides, you're just being a good friend."

Molly pulled back, and was smiling weakly at Hermione.

"Er...thank you," said Hermione, more bewildered than ever. "I don't mean to be rude, Molly, but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh no, of course not," Molly winked dramatically, "There's nothing to tell, I'll drop it. Come on, dinner is just about ready."

Before Hermione could insist more strongly that Molly explain what the hell was going on, Molly picked up the now-full laundry basket and returned to the house, leaving Hermione blinking dumbly behind her.

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

As Hermione followed his mother outside, Ron continued to chew into the warm, buttery scone, barely looking at his surrounding family members, the earlier tension all but forgotten to him.

"So….little Ronnie doesn't come around for dinner as much as he used to," Bill pointed out.

"He and Harry have been burning the candle at both ends at the Ministry," said Percy.

"Hmm-hmm," Ron nodded, engrossed in his scone, not looking up to see the stern looks on his brothers' faces. "More than we need to be, honestly. But because of Harry's saving-people-thing, he's always sure that the next case will end in disaster if the dark wizard isn't caught right now, and of course he would be lost without me, so whenever he's working overtime I am too." He shrugged.

"Oh yes, I think we're all well aware how loyal you are to Harry," Charlie said darkly, "Even over other, older loyalties, as a matter of fact."

"Charlie…." began their dad warningly.

Ron looked back up, and grew uncomfortable again when he saw that all of his family members were looking directly at him. Earlier, he had assumed that the awkward tension in the room was because he and Hermione had interrupted an important conversation, but it seemed to go beyond that, like they were pissed directly at him for something he had done.

"What's going—"

He was interrupted by his mother re-entering the house, holding the laundry with one hand and wiping tears from her eyes with the other. Hermione followed in shortly behind her, and Ron looked pointedly at his mother and gave his fiance a quizzical look, but Hermione just returned a confused, helpless shrug.

"The roast should be almost done now," said Molly happily, and waved her want to send a flurry of plates and cutlery flying to settle in front of where each of the Weasley men were sitting.

"And I'm such a terrible mother, I neglected something," chuckled Molly, and bent down to kiss the crown of Ron's head. "We all missed you, dear."

"Mum…" Ron grumbled awkwardly, but he saw his brothers look at each other with slightly guilty expressions, and as they followed their mother's lead, the atmosphere of the room became friendlier.

Charlie drew in a deep breath and sighed. "I need a drink."

"Excellent idea!" pipped George. He waved his wand and summoned a large bottle of firewhiskey from the cabinet along with several glasses, which zoomed right past Molly's face, causing her to jump and shriek.

"For the last time, only the cook can summon in the kitchen!" Molly scolded him, "I won't have this room devolve in complete chaos of flying objects until someone gets a concussion!"

"And I know you don't always act like it, but you are all of age," said Arthur, raising his eyebrows at George pouring several glasses of whiskey, "so I see no reason why you can't bring your own drinking supplies instead of raiding mine."

Molly huffed. "Well maybe it will be best if we stopped keeping that poison in the house—"

She stopped abruptly as they heard a faint pop from outside, coming from down the pathway, and Ron knew that Harry and Ginny must have arrived. Instead of beaming and rushing out into the garden to greet her two favorite children, however, Ron saw his mother gasp and a bit of the color drain from her face. His family members all looked at each other with that same expression he first saw when he came into the room.

Charlie gave a low growl and picked up a glass. "Yup. Definitely need a drink."

#hinny ficfest #hinny fanfiction #hinny fluff #romione #hinny #hinny fanfic #ron x hermione #ron and hermione #harry and ginny #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #romione fanfic #harry x ginny #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 link #ao3 fanfic

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fanfics4all · 3 years

Text

Torture

Request: Yes / No

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Harry Potter x Fem!Lupin!Reader

Word count: 4190 (Probably could have gotten to the torture party quicker, but I just had to add backstory lol)

Warnings: Torture obviously, and Dobby’s death

Y/N: Your Name

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

A/N: Bingo card made by @slyttherins

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

Harry and I have been together since he and Cho broke up. Now we were in our seventh year and everything was going to hell. Professor Snape had killed Dumbledore and was now in charge of Hogwarts. I feared going back to school, but I feared for Harry more. So, when the summer was coming to an end and my older brother Remus said he was going with the Order to Harry’s I immediately demanded to go with him.

“Y/N/N, it’s dangerous.” He said.

“This is my boyfriend’s life in danger. I am coming with you.” I said, standing my ground.

“Y/N/N… if anything happened to you Mum and Dad would kill me.” He sighed.

“If anything happens to you or Harry, you won’t have to worry about Mum and Dad.” I threatened.

“There’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay home with Edward, is there?” He sighed again.

“Not a thing. And if you go without me I’ll just follow you.” I shrugged and he sighed once again.

“Fine, fine. You can join me, but you better not leave my side.” He said and I smiled.

“Thank you!” I said and hugged him.

Before we went off to Harry’s house, The Order met up to discuss what would be happening. You-Know-Who was searching for Harry. He was going to go after him and we needed to act first. We were the only line of defence for Harry and I was going to fight for both our lives till the very end. Once the plan was in order we all got on our brooms and headed for Harry. When we all landed Harry opened the door and I ran up to him, throwing my arms around him and holding him tightly. He hugged me back and I leaned up to kiss him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked shocked.

“Did you honestly think I would just sit around while your life was in danger?” I laughed and walked into the room with the others.

“I tried to get her to stay home, but she’s stubborn.” Remus said and I smiled.

“All righ’ ‘arry? Yeh look fit.” Hagrid said with a smile.

“Yeah, he’s ruddy gorgeous. What say we get undercover before someone murders him.” Mad-Eye said in his usual rough tone.

“I thought you were looking after the Prime Minister, Kingsley?” Harry asked.

“You’re most important.” Kingsley answered. Harry smiled and Bill Weasley walked in, extending his hand to Harry.

“Hello, Harry. Bill Weasley.” He introduced himself.

“Wasn’t alway this handsome.” Fred joked.

“Dead ugly.” George joined in.

“True enough. Owe it all to a werewolf by the name of Greyback. Hope to repay the favor one day.” Bill said. Fleur walked in next to him and kissed his cheek.

“You are still beautiful to me, William.” She said.

“Just remember, Fleur, once you’re married, Bill takes his steaks on the raw side now.” Remus said, finally walking into the room with Tonks.

“My husband, the joker. By the way, wait until you hear the news! Remus and I are-”

“Alright, alright! You’ll all have time for a cozy catch-up later! We’ve got to get the hell out of here and soon!” Mad-Eye cut her off. He dropped a sack by his feet and turned to Harry.

“Potter, you’re underage, which means you’ve still got the Trace on you.” He said.

“The Trace?” Harry asked.

“You sneeze and the Ministry will know who wipes your nose. Point is, we have to use those means of transport the Trace can’t detect, brooms, thestrals, and the like. We’ll go in pairs. That way if anyone’s out there waiting for us- and I reckon there will be- they won’t know which Harry Potter is the real one.” He explained.

“The real one?” Harry asked.

“I believe you’re familiar with this particular brew.” He said, pulling out a flask.

“No! Absolutely not!” Harry exclaimed.

“I told you he’d take it well.” Hermione sighed.

“If you think I’m going to let people risk their lives for me-”

“Never done that before, have we?” Ron joked, cutting him off.

“This is different. Taking that. Becoming me- no.” Harry said.

“Well, none of us really fancy it, mate.” Fred said.

“Yeah, imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as scrawny, specky git forever.” George joked.

“Reckon Y/N would love having more than one Harry.” Fred added and I rolled my eyes.

“Piss off, the both of you.” I said and they laughed.

“Everyone here’s of age, Potter, and they’ve all agreed to take the risk.” Mad-Eye said.

“Technically, I’ve been coerced. Mundungus Fletcher, Mr. Potter. I’ve always been a huge admirer.” Mundungus introduced and just about everyone rolled their eyes.

“Nip it, Mundungus! Alright, Granger, as discussed.” Mad-Eye said. Hermione nodded slightly and grabbed a bit of Harry’s hair and pulled.

“Blimey, Hermione!” Harry groaned.

“Straight in here, if you please.” Mad-Eye said, holding open the flask. Smoke rushed out the top and he handed it to George first.

“For those of you who haven’t taken Polyjuice Potion before, fair warning. It tastes like goblin piss.” Mad-Eye said.

“Have a lot of experience with that, do you, Mad-eye?” Fred joked. Mad-Eye’s eye rotated towards Fred.

“Just trying to defuse the tension.” Fred said. George took the first sip, then Fred, Ron, Hermione, Fleure, Mundungus, and finally it was passed to me.

“Y/N? No! Lupin, you can’t seriously be alright with this!” Harry said, before I could take a sip. Everyone else was already transforming.

“I’m not, but like I said, she’s stubborn.” Remus sighed.

“Who’s she gonna ride with?” He asked and everyone was silent. That was something they haven’t figured out yet.

“I’ll go on my own. They won’t expect it and probably will just leave me be.” I shrugged.

“Absolutely not!” Remus said.

“It would look less specious than two Harrys riding together.” I pointed out.

“Very well.” Mad-Eye nodded.

“What? You can’t be serious! What if she gets hurt? There’s no one with her to protect her!” Remus said.

“She can’t go on her own!” Harry said.

“Y/N, are you willing to take the risk?” Mad-Eye asked and everyone looked my way.

“If it means Harry is safe, then of course.” I answered.

“She agrees, now hurry up and drink so we can get on with this.” He said. Before my brother or boyfriend could stop me I took a gulp of the awful potion and handed the flask back to Mad-Eye. I soon also looked like Harry.

“Wow, we’re identical!” Fred and George said together.

“Not yet you aren’t.” Mad-Eye said. He walked over to the sack he dropped earlier and dumped out eight pairs of identical clothing.

“Don’t you have something a bit more sporty, do you?” George asked.

“Yes, don’t fancy this colour at all.” Fred agreed.

“Fancy this, you’re not you, so shut it and strip.” He said to the twins and turned to Harry.

“You’ll need to change too, Potter.” He said. All of us started stripping, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was a bit awkward.

“Bill, look away… I’m ‘ideous.” Fleur said dramatically and I rolled my eyes.

“I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo!” Ron said with a smirk.

“Harry, your eyesight really is awful.” Hermione said, wobbling a bit.

“Don’t worry Harry, I still love you.” I said and he smiled.

“Blimey. I almost forgot!” Mad-Eye rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a bunch of glasses.

“Right then. We’ll be pairing off. Each Potter will have a protector, except for Y/N, As for you, Harry…” Mad-Eye started.

“Yes?” Everyone but me answered, again I rolled my eyes.

“The real Harry! Where the devil are you, anyway?” He asked.

“Here.” Harry said, walking towards him.

“You’ll ride with Hagrid.” He finished.

“Brought yeh here sixteen years ago when you were barely bigger than a Bowtruckle. Seems only righ’ I should be the one ter take yeh away.” Hagrid said and I smiled at how sentimental he could be.

“Yeah, it’s all very touching. Let’s go.” Mad-Eye said and stormed out of the house. Everyone got on their brooms and thestrals, while Hagrid got on his motorbike. As the real Harry walked out of the house Hagrid tapped the sidecar for him. Instead of going to him he walked over to me.

“Please be careful, love.” He whispered.

“I’ll be fine. And if for some reason I’m not then you and Remus can tell me you told me so.” I smirked.

“Harry, we need ter go!” Hagrid called him.

“Go, I’ll see you soon.” I smiled and he nodded. He got in Hagrid’s sidecar and everyone looked towards Mad-Eye.

“Good luck, everyone. On the count of three. One… two…” Before he could finish Hagrid’s bike came to life and off he went. Everyone flew to the skies and split off. It wasn’t long until an uneasy feeling filled the air. Death Eaters dropped from the clouds and started surrounding us. Green flashes lit up the sky as they tried to hit us. I glanced ahead and saw the real Harry was getting away. Everyone was splitting off more and I found myself alone. I couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind me, no one was around to help me if I needed it. I pushed those thoughts away. This is for Harry. This is so he’s safe. Suddenly three Death Eaters came out of nowhere and shot a spell at my broom. My broom stopped flying and was now pulling me towards the ground. Fear gripped my heart as the wind harshly hit my face. I suddenly stopped falling and was grabbed by one of the Death Eaters.

“Think he’s the real one?” The one holding me asked.

“No, they wouldn’t let the real Potter go off on his own.” Another answered.

“Doesn’t matter if he’s the real one or not, he could have information. Let’s take him with us. Bellatrix will get ‘im to talk.” The last one said. My eyes widened and my throat went dry. Harry and Remus were going to kill me if Bellatrix didn’t first.

I didn’t say a word as we arrived at Malfoy Manor. I knew the potion was going to wear off soon and they would know exactly who I was. Just as we were arriving at the large gate I could feel myself turning back into myself.

“Oi, looks like you was right, this ain’t the real Potter.” The one gripping my arm said.

“She’ll still be of some use.” Another said. We walked up to the gate and standing on the other side was Bellatrix, Lucius, and Narcissa Malfoy. Bellatrix walked forward and the Death Eater holding me pushed me against the metal bars.

“She was a fake Potter, but we thought she might have information.” One said.

“Bring her in.” Bellatrix said with an evil smirk. I was roughly brought into the Manor and pushed down to my knees.

“Call Draco, he might know who she is to Potter.” Bellatrix said. She kneeled down in front of me and roughly pulled my chin up to I was facing her.

“Tell me dearie, why were you left all on your own?” She asked, but I said nothing.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” She asked with a smirk. We heard footsteps enter the room and I saw Draco. His eyes widened slightly and I saw worry swimming in them.

“Draco, I was hoping you would know who our guest is.” Bellatrix said, turning to face him and letting go of my face.

“S-She went to Hogwarts.” He answered. It was obvious he was scared and that he didn’t want to give me up.

“We know that much, but who is she to Potter?” She asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Draco stared at me for a moment and gulped.

“Now Draco, all you need to do is tell us. She could be the key to keeping the Dark Lord from killing all of us.” His Father said. It was now my turn to gulp. Sure Draco was a huge git to my boyfriend and friends, but he oddly never said anything about me. Always just questioning why I was with Harry. Perhaps it was because I was nice to him despite everything he did.

“I’m Y/N Lupin. Harry’s girlfriend.” I answered and everyone looked at me in shock, Draco especially.

“See dear, that wasn’t so hard.” Bellatrix said, her smirk growing and seeming to get more evil.

“If you simply answer all my questions then no harm will come to you.” She said, walking closer to me again.

“I will not betray my friends, family, or boyfriend.” I answered with a hard stare.

“Then this will be a very hard time for you.” She said, her fake kindness dropping.

She wasn’t lying when she said that. At first it was just little cuts with her knife. It was painful, but nothing I couldn’t handle. However, she was just warming up. She then moved on to the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Even when the spell was over the pain still lingered for a little while. That lasted a month or so, I’m not entirely sure, but once she realized that I wouldn’t be talking by that means she moved on. She said she didn’t want to damage me to the point I couldn’t say anything. Nothing she was doing was working and I could tell she was getting frustrated. That’s when she had her brilliant idea. She brought me up from the cellar and standing there was Lucius, Narcissa, and Grayback. I felt my blood run cold and boil at the same time. He was the man that hurt my poor brother at the age of five!

“I’m sure you know Fenrir well.” Bellatrix smirked. She pushed me to the ground and held me down.

“Now, I’m going to let him do the same thing he did to your brother, unless you tell me what I want to know.” She said.

“Where is Harry Potter?” She asked.

“Now that you’ve all taken over the Ministry, he could be anywhere.” I answered. I didn’t know where he would be at this point. I didn’t know what the plan was.

“Liar!” She shouted and started carving something into my arm.

“Tell me where he is!” She shouted at me.

“I don’t know! Please! I don’t know!” I cried out in pain.

“You are a pathetic little liar. Fenrir!” She called and got off me.

“I think it’s time you gave her a little gift.” She said, that evil smirk appearing on her face once again.

“With pleasure.” He smirked. He crawled over to me and sniffed me. He laughed and licked the blood that split from my arm.

“I’m going to enjoy this.” He said and bit into the same arm that Bellatrix carved into. I screamed and cried as his sharp teeth drug into my skin. He was suddenly pulled off me and Narcissa was there placing something on my arm.

“Wormtail! Come lock our new little puppy up. I suspect she’ll become hungry soon.” Bellatrix smirked. I was pulled off the ground and brought back down to the cellar. Wormtail locked a metal collar around my neck and smirked.

“Be a good dog and keep the howling down.” He said and left with a laugh.

It wasn’t long after he left that I started transforming. I thought the Cruciatus Curse was the worst pain I’ve ever felt, but that was wrong. Transforming into a werewolf was way more painful. It felt as though all my bones were breaking and shifting into different places. It felt like my mind was going hazy and I had no control over myself. I felt the hunger hit me and the need to hunt became strong. I tried to run, but the collar around my neck kept me in place. I screamed, growled, and howled trying to get out of the chains and to something to eat. When I realized that I couldn't, I started hurting myself. I clawed at my neck and arms, ripping the skin from my body. That was the longest night of my life. And the next few days I felt incredibly ill and weak. It didn’t help that they were hardly feeding me anymore.

That was how it went from then on. They didn’t bother torturing me for information anymore, I was now torturing myself. They had done the worst to me and now were just leaving me with my own thoughts. Remus would blame himself for this. I know he was going to say how he should have tried harder to make me stay home. Or how he should have made sure he was with me the night we all split up. I knew Harry would blame himself too. He’d say how it was his fault all this happened. All because I was with him.

“Y/N?” Someone asked quietly and I looked up to see Draco. He was standing over me and I pushed myself closer to the wall.

“Please, don’t come any closer…” I whispered.

“What did they do to you?” He asked, kneeling down, but not coming extremely close.

“They made me like my brother…” I answered and his eyes widened.

“Grayback?” He asked and I nodded.

“They’ve kidnapped Luna, they’re bringing her here.” He said.

“They’re keeping her with me? I’ll kill her!” I cried.

“No, you won’t. You’re locked up and can’t get to her, she’s smart enough to not come near you.” He said.

“I’ll bring you something to eat later tonight, I know they’re starving you.” He said.

“Why do you care so much?” I asked.

“You’re one of the only people who was ever nice to me.” He answered with a small smile and stood up.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He said and left.

Just as Draco said, Luna was thrown into the cellar with me. She looked at me with wide eyes and came towards me.

“Y/N?” She asked.

“Luna, stay away.” I said.

“Why? Why are you in chains?” She asked confused.

“I-I’m a werewolf now… So please just stay away.” I begged.

“Oh Y/N, I’m so sorry.” She said and took a few steps my way.

“Please Luna! Just stay back, I don’t want to hurt anyone.” I cried.

“You’re not in your wolf for now Y/N, you won’t hurt me.” She smiled and came to sit next to me.

“I don’t know when the full moon is…” I whispered.

“Then I’ll stay away at night, but you need a friend right now.” She said and hugged me. It was the first kind touch I had since I got here. She was right, I needed that.

A month went by and as promised Luna stayed away from me each night to be safe. When the night was finished and I was back to human Luna came to comfort me. She helped keep me distracted and even helped Draco when he came to check on me. The two of them patched up my wounds that I had given myself. Luna was sitting with me and talking about something her Dad had written about in their paper. I tried to pay attention, but my mind kept drifting off to Harry and my brother.

“What are we gonna do? We can’t leave Hermione alone with her!” A new voice said and Luna and I looked at each other confused.

“Ron?” She asked as she got up and looked around the corner.

“Harry?” She asked and my heart skipped a beat.

“Luna?” Harry asked and a few tears fell down my face.

“Y/N is here too, just this way.” She said. She came back around the corner with Ron and Harry following her.

“Y/N!” Harry said, his face looking a bit odd, but it was definitely him. He ran up and hugged me and I held him back.

“What happened to you? Why are you locked up like this?” He asked, worry clear in his voice

“They tried to get me to tell them where you were…” I answered.

“What did they do to you?” He asked again.

“Grayback…” I whispered and his eyes widened.

“You’re…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I’m just like Remus now…” I whispered.

“I’m so sorry Y/N.” He said and pulled me to him.

“We’ll get you out of here, I promise.

“There’s no way out of here. We’ve tried everything. It’s enchanted.” Ollivander said. He was here before I was, same with Griphook. Harry pulled up his pant leg and pulled out a piece of mirror.

“You’re bleeding, Harry. That’s a curious thing to keep in your sock.” Luna said.

“Help us.” He whispered to it. Then quickly put it away as footsteps grew closer. Ron and Harry ran towards the door as it opened.

“Let her go!” Ron growled.

“Shut up! Get back!” Wormtail growled at them.

“You, goblin, come with me.” He said and then they left.

“Aah!” A new voice said suddenly.

“Dobby? What are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“Dobby has come to rescue Harry Potter, of course.” He answered.

“Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter.” He added.

“You can apparate in and out of this room? Could you take us with you?” Harry asked.

“Of course, sir. I’m an elf.” Dobby answered like it was obvious.

“Works for me.” Ron said.

“Dobby, I want you to take Luna, Y/N, and Mr. Ollivander-”

“Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth.” Ron cut him off.

“Trust me.” He added.

“Whenever you’re ready, sir.” Luna said.

“Sir? I like her very much.” Dobby said and they made their way over to me.

“Meet me at the top of the stairs in ten seconds.” He said and Luna grabbed my hand. We were suddenly out of the cellar and on a beach. There was a little cottage that was quite cute, I wondered who it belonged to. Luna kneeled next to me and smiled.

“Are you alright?” She asked. I felt my neck and the chain was no longer on my neck, but I felt some blood dripping down from where it dug into my skin.

“I should be, but I shouldn’t be around anyone. The next full moon could be soon for all I know.” I said, slightly freaking out at just the thought of hurting my friends.

“Shh Y/N, we’re free and safe now. Just enjoy that.” She smiled. I suppose she was right, but Harry wasn’t with us yet.

It wasn’t that long until the others arrived. Their landing was a little rougher than ours, however.

“You’re alright. We’re safe. We’re all safe.” Ron said to Hermione.

“Harry Potter.” Dobby said and we all looked at him.

“Dobby. Dobby! No, just… hold on.” Harry said and ran to him, holding him in his arms.

“Hold on. Look, just hold on, okay?” Harry begged.

“We’ll fix you. Hermione will have something. In your bag, Hermione? Hermione? What is it? Help me!” Harry begged, but she didn’t move.

“Such a beautiful place… to be with friends. Dobby is happy to be with his friend… Harry Potter.” Dobby said, his last words he’ll ever speak. No one moved except for Luna.

“We should close his eyes, don’t you think?” She said, kneeling next to them. Harry nodded and she gently closed his eyes.

“There. Now he could be sleeping.” She said.

“I want to bury him. Properly, without magic.” He said and everyone nodded. I got up and made my way to him.

“I’ll help you.” I said and he nodded. We all buried him without magic, but in the end it was just Harry and I left at his grave.

“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you. I should have stopped you from taking that stupid potion.” He said and I shook my head.

“Stop it. This isn’t your fault.” I said.

“Yes it is Y/N, it is entirely my fault! You were brought into this mess because of me!” He said and I hushed him with a kiss.

“Stop it. I love you Harry Potter and I would have done this no matter what. You and Remus are going to blame yourselves for the rest of your lives, but I will not ever blame either of you.” I said and he went to say something, but I stopped him with a kiss.

“Whatever it is, don’t say it.” I said and he sighed.

“Remus is going to kill me.” He said and I shook my head.

“Not if he knows what’s good for him.” I said. That was when everything turned around. I was safe and with Harry and my friends. I’d allow myself these few moments of peace before the full moon came to ruin it again. But for now, I need to focus on the good. I needed to be happy that I was reunited with Harry and my friends.

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs-blog1 @schisbro87 @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches2 @genius2050 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @in-slytherin-we-trust @accio-rogers @sambucky8 @bruisedfists-and-splitlips @answer-the-sirens @andreasworlsboring101 @vanessa-kom-skaikru @impulse-anchor @vamora

#Harry Potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter and the deathly hallows part 1 #harry potter x reader #harry potter x fem!reader #harry x reader #Harry x fem!Reader #harry x lupin!reader #harry potter x lupin!reader #Remus Lupin #remus x siser!reader #remus lupin x sister!reader #fanfic #torture #harry potter bingo

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cheryblossomdreams · 4 years

Text

A Discussion About Dramione

This is a very difficult ship in the HP fandom, alongside others like Drarry etc.

However, I think there is something to be said for it regardless, since I’ve seen a lot of anti-Dramione content with some valid points and a lot of non valid ones too, so I suppose I’d like a try my hand at rebuking some of them.

1. Dramione shippers romanticize abuse and bullying.

At first glance, it certainly looks that way. Draco Malfoy was a racist, petty, spoiled bully that jumped on every opportunity to bully Hermione Granger and her friends. He is not a good character. In the Dramione fandom, no one claims he is a good character either. Instead, the Dramione fandom recognized the canon potential for change in Draco and uses that to shape their fanfics. The largest majority of the fandom (There do exist those really young fans that don’t quite yet understand everything that will blindly defend him or create extremely problematic fanart, but they are truly a minority) acknowledges entirely all the wrongs Draco has committed, and they are many. Actually, in most Dramione fics, the writers go to great lengths to process the part of DHr’s past that was filled with hatred and insults. You can find examples of this in the fic Measure of a Man by @inadaze22. Also to the point, most of Dramione fanfiction is written and set in a time many years after the War, after their school years, where they’ve both grown, matured and become adults, changed by time and what they went through, so it is a null point to say Dramione shippers romanticize bullying when their content is almost always set in a time where Draco is no longer a bully and Hermione is no longer a victim.

What the Dramione shippers like to emphasize is the fact that even though Draco used to be a horrible person, he had changed and grown past that, owned up to his mistakes and is now a different man. That’s what the stories they write are about. He had the potential to change already established in canon that he used later through his life to become someone better Hermione could eventually forgive and love.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a Dramione shipper that would say that while they were still in school they should’ve gotten together. Absolutely not. The content most of the Dramione fandom creates is always set post-canon, at a time where Draco’s changed and grown up from who he used to be, and Hermione recognizes his change and forgives him.

She certainly doesn’t have to forgive him, she doesn’t owe him anything, but part of Hermione’s bravery and overall character is that she would have been able to forgive him when she realized he’d changed. Plus, he saved her best friend’s life at a critical point in the war and, even though he did nothing to help her because he literally couldn’t have, which is something I’m pretty sure Hermione would have been grateful for, even a little bit.

The Malfoy family saved Harry’s life TWICE in HP, in both extremely critical moments in the war (Draco lying at the manor, Narcissa lying to Voldemort), which is something Hermione wouldn’t have been able to just ignore and pretend like it never happened, because that’s not who she is.

There probably is a very small percent of the Dramione fandom who create problematic content, but every fandom and every ship has toxic shippers, besides they are simply not the majority.

2. Dramione shippers use Hermione to redeem Draco.

The redemption arc Draco got in HP is extremely flimsy at best, especially considering the amount of damage he’d done prior. He saved Harry’s life, yes, but he did nothing to protect either Ron or Hermione, so personally I wouldn’t harp on about that being much of a redemption arc at all. However, I don’t think any Dramione shippers use Hermione to redeem him. In the Dramione content the things he did wrong and the hurt he inflicted is something Hermione recognizes and then, through the story, eventually chooses to leave behind. Besides, she doesn’t have to redeem him, since we know from canon he’d grown out of his beliefs eventually, privately at least if not publicly (more on this later).

3. Draco had a choice in how to act, if he really didn’t believe in blood supremacy.

No, he didn’t. Let me break it down why.

When he was 11 years old and first coming to Hogwarts, he was too young to understand the beliefs his parents ingrained into him were wrong and harmful, he simply didn’t have the mental capacity to comprehend that. He was a child that hung to every word their mom and dad said and he acted accordingly.

As he grew up though, started going through puberty and maturing, he would’ve realized that blood supremacy is wrong. Let’s say this realization came when he was 14. Lucius and Narcissa weren’t with him at Hogwarts, so if he changed his behavior to reflect his new realizations, they wouldn’t have known, right?

WRONG.

Do you really mean to tell me that if Draco Malfoy, only son and sole heir to the Malfoy family, an extremely wealthy, influential family in the Wizarding World and its politics, part of the sacred 28, well respected and with a high status in society, suddenly started being kinder and friendlier to Muggleborns and Halfbloods, people wouldn’t talk? People wouldn’t wonder, get suspicious? That such news wouldn’t reach his father, who’s got eyes and ears everywhere (evident by the fact he was able to bribe someone in Hogwarts to buy his son a position on the Quidditch team). And how do you think Lucius Malfoy, a devout Death Eater, would have reacted to receiving such news? What do you think would have happened to Draco when he came home that summer?

Draco was never abused and I doubt Lucius would start then, but I am positive he would’ve been disowned, for betraying the values his family had upheld for centuries. Lucius is a staunch blood purist and he absolutely would cut all contact with his son (disown him) when news reached him Draco was making nice with Muggleborns and Halfbloods.

And Draco knew this, he knew how strict his father was, he knew how deeply he believed in blood supremacy and he knew the consequences for stepping out of line and being anything less than the perfect son.

What would a 14-year old kid do being disowned? Homeless essentially?

So, even if he had realized the wrongs of his beliefs and renounced them, he couldn’t have done that publicly, and certainly not with Hermione Granger or Harry Potter much less, seeing as Harry Potter is the nemesis of the man his father believes in.

By the time he reaches 15 and 16, Voldemort is already at full power again and living in Draco’s house. Now things get even worse. After Lucius fails to get the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort decides he has to punish him for his failure by having Draco take the Dark Mark. By this point, Draco had abandoned ideas of blood supremacy, but at this point, what the fuck is he going to do? Refuse The Dark Lord? The Darkest Wizard in all of Wizarding History? The guy who is living in his house AND holds the lives of him AND his entire family hostage? Who could and would murder Draco’s mother and father and Draco himself if Draco disobeyed? The man who murdered a person right on Draco’s kitchen table and had Nagini swallow them whole?

Even if all of that wasn’t true, and it is, how’s a 16 year old kid going to fight off a house full of seasoned Death Eaters, proficient at the Dark Arts who will use Unforgivables on him, plus Voldemort himself, plus a giant terrifying snake?

At that point, Draco is left with literally zero choice but to take the Mark and obey his mission to murder Dumbledore.

He hatches several plots to kill Dumbledore, all of which fail. When they stand at the Astronomy tower, even Dumbledore himself calls all of his plots halfhearted and weak. Dumbledore offers him help, but Draco is very clear in his regret of the things he’d done and the fact there’s no going back now.

‘I have to do this, I have to kill you, or he’s gonna kill me.’

AND

‘What do you know about me? I’ve done things that would shock you.’

(I’m paraphrasing here, these aren’t the exact quotes).

At which point Snape shows up and kills Dumbledore in Draco’s place because of the Vow he made to Narcissa.

Any way you look at it, he really didn’t have any choice, even if he did at some point during school renounce his beliefs and grow past them.

4. He tried to kill Ron.

I’ve seen antis blame Draco for this one, which is a bit ridiculous. He did not. He had madam Rosmerta poison a bottle of wine, which he sent to Horace Slughorn, hoping Slughorn would pass it onto Dumbledore. Filch hadn’t noticed any traces of poison in it, because he is a Squib, he also didn’t doubt a shipment from Rosmerta, and so he just gave it to Slughorn. Slughorn kept it around and then later he was the one to offer Ron a glass of that wine. In Draco’s plan, Ron wasn’t ever even mentioned nor included in any way. It had been an unlucky coincidence for Ron, and Draco couldn’t have possibly known that Slughorn would hold onto the wine, that Ron would ever be around Slughorn OR that Slughorn would offer Ron that same wine. Sufficed to say, Draco never attempted to murder Ronald Weasley.

5. He did nothing while Bellatrix tortured Hermione.

We’ve been over this, what could he have done? He had saved Harry’s life earlier, but that one lie couldn’t of spared Ron or Hermione, their faces were too recognizable, even if Harry’s wasn’t.

A room full of Death Eaters, some of the cruelest, most dangerous ones mind you (Bellatrix Lestrange) and he’d be 17, if I remember correctly, still not even an adult, plus at this point in the war even more powerless (considering the fact the Malfoys had fallen out of favor with Voldemort, evident by the fact Lucius tells Draco that if they deliver Harry Potter to Voldemort, all would be forgiven).

What did you expect him to do? Leap into battle and try to fend off dozens of Death Eaters, effectively betraying the Dark Lord in the process and single-handedly getting his entire family killed, if not even himself?

Would you have done that? No, of course not.

6. Draco Malfoy is not redeemable.

Now Draco’s “redemption arc”, if it can be called that, is a powerful moment but it’s flimsy. JK didn’t really ever intend for him to be redeemed or liked either, but let’s take a look at it anyways.

It is canon that Draco stopped believing in blood supremacy at some point during their school years, though we can’t know exactly when.

How can I say this, when his behavior never indicated that?

Well, I’ve already been over why he couldn’t have suddenly changed his behavior, now let’s go through how I can claim it is canon.

The scene where Draco lies to everyone about Harry’s identity.

That moment could only exist IF Draco didn’t believe in blood supremacy anymore.

Think about it, if Draco was devout to Voldemort and his beliefs like his father, he would have had no problem or conscience to tell everyone ‘Yes, this is Harry Potter, hand him over.’ It would have been favorable to him if Harry died.

And let’s be clear, if Draco had said the truth in that moment, Harry would have died. He was captured, wandless (his is broken, when they escape the Manor he steals Draco’s), Ron and Hermione captured as well, he was entirely helpless and surrounded by powerful Dark Arts wizards and witches who would lead him directly to Voldemort the moment they got confirmation it was indeed him and that would have been it. Voldemort would have killed him. Voldemort would have won.

But that isn’t what happened.

Draco looked at Harry, recognized it was him (evident by a later scene where Harry straight up says that. “Why didn’t you tell her? Bellatrix? You knew it was me, you didn’t say anything.”) and at first, still unsure what to do, asked why Harry’s face was like that, and he’s told Harry just came in like that.

Draco says “I’m not sure.”

At that point Lucius grips him and tells him that if they gave up Harry Potter to Voldemort all would be forgiven, Bellatrix brings him closer to get a second look.

Draco knows all the consequences of what he’s doing at this point, he knows what he’s risking, the literal lives of everyone he loves, and what does he do?

He still lies.

‘I can’t be sure.’

It’s a powerful moment for his character, BUT it’s not enough for redemption. The amount of pain and hatred he’d spewed for 6 years (I say 6 years because The Golden Trio wasn’t attending Hogwarts for year 7) is not redeemed by this one instance. His actions, letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts, likely torturing people on command of the Carrows in 7th year, are not redeemed by this moment, even if he did save Harry’s life.

However, though this instance doesn’t constitute redemption, it is telling of the fact Draco has changed, and changed significantly from the hateful, angry, spoiled, racist brat he used to be, which gives him potential to grow up into a different, better man.

Whether JK intended it or not, the way that was written makes Draco Malfoy more than redeemable, if not for the duration of the books, then later through his life.

Being a horrible person at one point in your life does not make you forever evil, does not mean you can not ever change. To prove this, I’d like to humbly request you to watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSH5EY-W5oM

Voldemort’s regime is very similar to Hitler’s Nazi movement, so this video is very fitting to my point and HP in general.

Here’s another three:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw0vS0qvYo0&list=TLPQMTcxMjIwMjBZfqJdkbbQJw&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4gly9n9RBo&list=TLPQMTcxMjIwMjBZfqJdkbbQJw&index=3

If you don’t have time to watch, let me sum it up for you.

The first video chronicles the story of a man who’d been part of the Neo-Nazi movement, managed to leave it behind and become an activist and overall an amazing guy now.

The other three links chronicle the story of Daryl Davis, a black man who’d attended KKK rallies and even met with the Imperial Wizard of the KKK Roger Kelly, somehow despite all odds became friends with him and eventually managed to get through to Roger Kelly to the point where this man (The leader of the KKK on a national scale) stepped down from his position and left the Ku Klux Klan.

That’s real life, something like that happened, truly happened, but Draco Malfoy is irredeemable?

PLUS, Draco is hardly the first case like this.

Take James Potter as an example. James was also a rich, racist, privileged white boy, and a bully. He’d bullied Snape severely, even set up a “prank” with his friends that would lead to Snape getting attacked by a WEREWOLF, putting him in mortal peril, with great potential of killing him, that required then a rescue operation.

James attempted murder, or if you don’t want to go that far, he set up a situation that quite possibly could have gotten someone killed, and he got to mature and grow past his behaviors and redeem himself, fall in love with Lily and have a wonderful son.

Why couldn’t Draco change when James had?

In conclusion, I think there’s a big diifference between what the Dramione fandom actually is and what antis think it is.

The heart of the Dramione fandom is about growing and changing and maturing and forgiving and falling in love despite the differences of the past.

It’s not about romanticizing bullying or toxic relationships, life is not black and white people, people can change and grow from their past actions and people can also forgive and move on.

There’s plenty of examples in the books of Harry and Ron mistreating Hermione and they all move past those instances (obviously that can’t be compared to what Draco did, I’m just making a point here).

I do acknowledge that the Dramione shippers have some bad apples among them, some problematic people that take it all too far, but honestly, every fandom and every ship has bad, toxic people so you can’t really use that against them.

All in all, things aren’t the way antis always present them, there’s a lot more gray there, and I hope this entirely too long post helped some of y’all see that.

#dramione #dramione discourse #pro dramione #a defence of dramione #anti dramione discussions

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dewitty1 · 3 years

Link

Muggle Technology and Heroism

TommyLane

Chapters: 16/16 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Characters: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Pansy Parkinson Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Roommates, Pining, Squirt Gun Fights, James Bond Fanboy!Draco Malfoy, Sharing a Bed, Explicit Sexual Content, Drinking and Dancing, A Five Step Plan of Seduction, A Mysterious Absence Of Plot Outside Of Their Relationship, Dialogue Heavy, Angst and Humor Summary:

Draco Malfoy wasn’t exactly the best roommate Harry’s ever had. The man tended to watch way too much James Bond and his obsession with muggle technology not only rivaled Arthur Weasley’s but more often than not ended with Harry trying to assure him that the appliances weren’t out to get him. Then there was the little fact that Harry was hopelessly in love with him while Draco remained completely unaware, bringing nameless men home night after night.

But Harry loved his life and was somewhat (as long as he doesn’t actually think about it) content enough in the way things were going. That is until Draco’s old boyfriend comes sweeping back into town – making Draco breakfast and fixing the remote control before Harry can and forcing him to realize that if he doesn’t do something soon, that he might lose the man he loves before he even gets a chance to ever actually have him.

Excerpt:

It was odd to think that maybe he had learned the most about the other man by watching him watch James Bond. Learned the most by the things he purchased and how he used them to relate to Harry… “Draco, the thing is…you’re a bit difficult to understand, you know. You always have been, you were always good at keeping me guessing. Even when we were young, but I think it’s worse now. Harder…to really know what you’re thinking.” Draco frowned at his drink, a deep line carved into his forehead. “It’s called having decorum Potter.” Harry shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe you just don’t know how to say what you’re thinking…what your feeling.” The blonde shifted before pulling his bottom lip between his teeth for a second, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Is this about me fucking around again? Your odd roundabout way of telling me I’m a slut with some sort of emotional complex?” “No.” “Good. I don’t much care for that word.” “Slut?” “Complex, makes me think of fucking shrinks and their idiot views on the way my mind turns.” Draco flicked the cap he had been rolling absentmindedly between his fingers into the grass, a sneer on his lips that hinted that maybe there had been psychiatrists in his past - making him lay on leather couches and trying to analyze him as he glared and told them to fuck off in a number of different languages. The mental image lurched both painful and humorous in his stomach, a small smile contending on his lips as he pictured a younger Draco with his snarky mouth and petulant air. He never would have put himself in therapy, it had to have been a part of his parole after the war. God, Harry almost felt sorry for the men and women who had been assigned to his case. But he was getting sidetracked with his hands sweating against his leg, his heart pounding in his chest, and he needed to stop mentally stalling and gather his courage and do what he should have done days ago. Weeks ago. Months ago. Years ago… He fidgeted as he fingered the bottle and cleared his throat. “Well in any case I’m not talking about all the men. Or about Ethan. I’m talking about you and…and me.” Draco silently shifted his gaze to meet Harry’s, his lips wet from the beer and his eyes heavy, his jaw sliding forward like he was physically blocking his mouth from forming any audible words. He looked determined and lost, confused and uncertain all at the same time. Harry smiled softly, his fingers reaching to lightly touch Draco’s jaw, his courage pumping stronger, pulling him deeper when the other man didn’t pull away - didn’t even look away, not for a second, his gray eyes darkening and drowning out the sound of nature around them. “Harry -” His voice quivered with uncertainly, his eyes darting down as Harry brushed his thumb along the outer swell of the other man’s bottom lip. “I still remember where we were when things changed for me. We were at Pansy’s, I think it was her birthday and you were wearing those navy robes -” “I don’t wear navy.” Draco interjected and Harry grinned as he felt his body tip nearer, his blood pumping hot through his veins and in his ears and he wondered if Draco could hear it. If he could hear the beat of his heart, the thrum in his blood. He wondered if Draco felt it rushing through his own body in a matching rush of nerves and excited anticipation. They were a match in so many things, opposites in everything else, aligning perfectly, complementing wonderfully. Where Harry lacked Draco stood strong and the same was true for the other way around….and in this, Merlin, Harry could only pray they matched. “You did. They were new, you kept tugging at the sleeve when you thought no one was looking and you unbuttoned the top collar as we were talking. You were complaining about the increased price of Chinese chomping cabbage.” The sun had been shining hot, Draco’s face had been flushed a lovely pink, his tone an exasperated huff as he batted at invisible insects and tried to not pull on the collar of his robes that Harry was pretty sure had been a gift from someone. The back garden had been crowded with few people he knew and dozens that Draco did but still the blonde sequestered himself against a tree and chose to lament his potion sells because of the damn fucking cabbage to Harry. They had ended up drinking too much and Draco had smiled sloppily over at him as they snuck round the house and into the wine cellar - where Draco preceded to unburden Pansy’s family of various bottles of prestigious vintage. It was the night Draco vowed to turn Harry into a wine aficionado (or at least not such of an uncultured plebeian who thought wine from a box was quite good). The night Harry had tasted his first Merlot that he actually liked and the night he had shown Draco his first film (Dr. No…which in hindsight probably wasn’t the wisest move). The night he finally admitted to himself as he listened to Draco huff and rant and swat at flies that he had fallen for the other man. “Chomping cabbage?” Draco murmured and Harry could have sworn that the other man’s breath was a little shallower, his cheeks just a little pinker. “That…that was years ago.” Harry nodded and lifted his gaze from Draco’s lips to his eyes. “Yes.” Draco sucked in a breath and blinked quickly, the sun sinking beneath the horizon in one last splash of dying color around them. “You’re being rather enigmatic, Potter. It’s highly unnerving.” He whispered. “No, it’s simply really.” Harry leaned closer as he repeated his words from earlier at the tailors, his thumb brushing along the blondes jaw before slipping his hand down to curve possessively around the back of the man’s neck. He tipped his head, bringing them close enough that their breath mingled and warmed the space between them as he visually traced the sharp angles of his cheeks, the slightly parted fullness of his lips, his impossible gray eyes - the flecks of blue and gold bright up close. “Don’t be with Ethan. Because things have changed. For a long time…I’ve wanted…” He trailed off and swallowed, his courage faltering even though there was no turning back - not with his hand holding his face, his gaze full of the words that weren’t coming off his tongue but with the half confession ringing loud and clear between them anyway. Not with their lips nearly brushing and Draco’s eyelashes fluttering like he couldn’t decide if he should close them or stare wide eyed at him until he inevitably went crossed eyed. “What do you want?” Draco breathed and there was nothing hard or needled about his tone - his voice flayed open and making Harry’s heart constrict as something fluttered in his stomach. “You know. You have to know already…” He murmured in a breathy gush that pushed out of him and before he could ruin it with his own fumbling stutters, Harry breathed deep and did what he’d been dying to do for years now - he leaned in and kissed him, slanting his lips over Draco’s whose parted in a breath of surprise that got muffled and lost inside him. He distantly heard and felt Draco’s drink clatter to the ground as his grip slipped and spilled beer over the ground, his pale hand pressing flat against Harry’s chest like he was going to push him away for all but a moment before his fingers curled tight into his shirt - scratching his skin and heightening his senses further. Using his free hand, Harry’s fingers found their way into Draco’s hair, twisting in the silky locks and pulling gently, his mouth opening wider as Draco’s nails sank deeper, his heart soaring with the feel and taste and reality that he wasn’t being shoved away. He pressed closer, savored Draco’s quiet gasp, his tongue sneaking out to press against his as he kissed him harder, deeper, closer - his hands trying to tug him ever nearer as Draco let out a strangled broken sound. “Harry…” He whispered in a dizzy sort of manner, his hand that wasn’t squished between them coming up to rest tentatively against Harry’s cheek - first one finger, then two, the third tapping in an offbeat rhythm. Trembling. “Don’t be with him. Or anyone else.” Harry muttered between kisses with Draco’s eyes squeezed tightly closed, his lashes dusting his cheeks. “Be with me.” There were more words on his tongue, things that needed to be said, that needed to be made clear, but the man’s lips were like a drug and he was instantly addicted - every nerve in his body catching fire as the other man tensed, let out another soft sound that cracked in the middle, and pressed closer on his own accord. Kissing him. Draco Malfoy was kissing him and for once Harry wasn’t dreaming.

♡*(ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡⋆*ೃ:.✧

#Muggle Technology and Heroism #TommyLane #drarry fic rec #fic rec #Drarry fanfiction #hp fanfiction #hp fic rec #Draco Malfoy #Harry potter #OMG Thery were roommates #pininig #angst #fluff #drarry fluff #Carey's bookmark fic recs #carey's personal bookmarks #Drarry #Drarry squad

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

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THE KNIGHT BUS

A/N: Wow, I hardly had any author's notes in the last two, and so far I've had really stinking long one's in every chapter of this. I love it! I'm enjoying commenting back as much as you guys seem to be reading, so here we go Guest: (sucks in deep breath even though I'm typing.)

I'm glad you like the way I do Lily. I always pictured her more fun-loving than a lot of people seem to, she married James Potter for crying out loud, she has to have some sense of humour, but she's also fiercely overreacting in protecting people. Lots of you have noted that she does seem a little too forgiving of Snape in this series, and I promise that will start wearing off real soon in this book. She was big on it in the first book, mostly due to her instinct and flashbacks of how they treated him through their school years. He didn't have much to do in the second book, so there wasn't much time to show that she really was getting sick of how he treats Harry. Mostly when she berates the Marauders, it's more of a trying to rein them in type thing, rather than outright disapproving of them.

They don't know that the person who broke out was from Azkaban. It appeared on the Muggle news, and so their first instinct really was to think it was just a muggle who shared the name.

Sirius doesn't keep track of his family; I think he states in the fifth book that he didn't even find out Regulus died until he got out of Azkaban. I certainly don't see him keeping up with him to know now. If you want other candidates, Bellatrix before she got married (and who doesn't go to prison until after the downfall of Voldemort), maybe his Dad since we know so little about him, etc. but again they were mostly joking and fixing a random name to someone they knew.

I am just as bad at math as JK, so my idiocy for not double checking dates was my fault. I will go back and fix it saying that this takes place during '80 the year Harry was actually born. The part about the Fidelius charm only lasting a week, is something I genuinely forgot but did go back and check and Fudge himself saying that the charm barely lasted a week, thank you for pointing that out, but it doesn't change my timeline of events that they go into hiding just before Harry's first birthday, but I suppose they didn't actually use the Fidelius Charm itself until the week before Halloween, why it wasn't used at once and that subsequent thing won't be touched in this particular story, or any of these books, because I've no idea honestly and the character's wouldn't either. I like Guest's idea though that Dumbledore was researching stuff about the Charm in the meantime while they were lying low.

I know in canon it says that all four past people who are present were full-time members of the Order, but I cannot see Remus or Lily just 'living' off of James and Sirius. So, since I can't decide yet what kind of 'work' any of them are doing for the Order, the only thing we really see them do in the book is guard the Prophecy, they're kind of on hold for the reading, and I might touch as I go on what they do more specifically if I come up with any good ideas. I know Remus specifically 'spies' on the werewolves on Voldemort's side, but I really can't see James and Sirius letting him do this too much, they'd throw a fit. James and Sirius together could kick up enough of a fuss he couldn't do it too often, while an after Azkaban Sirius probably isn't in any kind of good position and couldn't do as much to stop anyone from doing anything.

I'm afraid I'm still refusing to answer any and all actual question like the one Guest asked, that's as the story goes, and in the chapter below coincidentally. HAHA dang this is probably the longest A/N ever, and I'm sorry if it seemed a little rambly. It's probably a bad reflection on my writing that I couldn't just sit down and explain this in story...but oh well.

HPHPHPHP

"Honestly Harry," Lily began, shaking her head from side to side, "I'm afraid to ask, but how come you've never ran away before then?"

Harry just sighed miserably as he answered, "the Dursleys ignored me more than anything else growing up. They never sat around insulting me like she was, that's why I lost my temper. I guess I'd just never been driven that far before."

"Best thing to happen, honestly," James nodded in total agreement, "mind you, I hate what led to that, but if you never go back, that will be the happiest part of this."

"Where's he going to go though?" Remus asked in concern, stating the one thing that really could make this an awful situation very quickly. "Ron and Hermione are out of the country, and even if they weren't, would they really just let him move in like that?"

"I'm positive they'd let him live there," James scoffed, "the Weasleys let him stay most of last summer, right?"

"He could stay in the Leaky Cauldron," Sirius offered, "I ran away from home a few times and stayed there, always went back eventually but it was a good place to cool off for the weekend, especially when James did go out like this."

"But does Harry think to do that?" Remus prompted.

"Well let's find out," Lily shrugged, turning to her chapter.

It took Harry several blocks before a new emotion made him stop, panic.

"Completely understandable," James nodded.

His mind couldn't seem to find a way out of this mess. He was alone in the Muggle world, and he'd just done some of the most obvious of magic, which probably meant he was going to be kicked out of school as well.

Remus cut in, saying, "Harry, you do know now you really shouldn't be expelled for that. It was uncontrolled magic."

"Do they actually know the difference though?" Sirius asked, more puzzled than actually concerned. This crime really wasn't that bad, it certainly wasn't the worst he'd heard of. "Between wandless magic and, ah, wand magic."

"No," Lily frowned, "but once they come upon the situation, and hear Harry's side of it, there shouldn't be punishment. In fact, I'd like to think the Ministry will actually do something to get Harry out of there."

Harry remained quiet, ignoring that pull in his gut that said his Mom's words weren't ringing true. Out loud he responded to Remus' original question, "yeah, now. Back then, not so much."

Harry had just broken the law, and really wasn't sure why the Ministry hadn't yet appeared to take his wand away.

"Actually kind of hoping for that here soon," James sighed, "now that Lily's said it, it seems obvious that the Ministry's going to come and see what happened and then take Harry somewhere else."

Sirius frowned, biting at his lip and trying not to argue. He personally had little to no faith in the Ministry, and he had a really bad feeling they might just try to brush this whole thing over and simply leave Harry there again once they'd fixed this situation. The after effects of which would plague him no matter what really did happen.

Harry shivered in the cold weather as he glanced around himself, mind spinning in all directions. All he could think about now was that he was a criminal, and would be cut off from the magical world. He knew Ron and Hermione would help him out given the chance, but they were both out of the country, and he had no way to get a hold of them.

"You're starting to depress me," Lily sighed, an old now familiar pang back in place as she realized no one was really there for her boy in this moment when he needed them most.

He didn't have any Muggle money either.

"So, no one ever did tell you about the Gringotts exchange then," Remus pointed out something he'd noted back in the first book.

"Nope, no one had told me then, and even if they had I might not have anyway. Didn't want the Dursleys questioning why I suddenly had money on me." Harry reminded, frowning and suddenly wondering why he was getting a mounting feeling of apprehension. Alone on Magnolia Crescent, the night that he had been most desperate to leave the Dursleys...why did this feel so important to him. The longer he sat here, wondering if he was going to have to go on the run...did that remind him of someone.

Lily cut off his train of thought by reading.

Harry did have some wizard money in his vault, but he could never drag his stuff all the way there, unless...

"Oh please tell me you grabbed your broom," James frowned in concern.

"Yes, it was inside my trunk," Harry nodded. Remembering vividly back during the summer of his first year when he had been packing away all of his stuff and worried about how to carry his cauldron, when he realized that the trunk would magically expand to hold quite a bit of stuff, even if it was so heavy he could hardly lift it.

He glanced at his wand, and came to the conclusion that if he was already expelled,

"Please stop saying that," Sirius huffed, "you're starting to depress me now."

"Can't help it," Lily pointed out as she continued with a bit of curiosity now, wondering what cockamamie plan Harry would consider doing before the Ministry got a hold of him.

he could just continue to do more magic to get himself out of this. He'd enchant his trunk to be light enough he could rope it to his broom, throw on his invisibility cloak and fly to London to empty out of his vault, and then what? Go on the run the rest of his life?

"While it's not an awful plan," James snorted, "you're either ignorant or forgetting a very important detail."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"The trace," Remus pointed out, "that allows the Ministry to find you until you turn seventeen. Plus, and no offense Harry, you really don't know enough magic that you could make it on your own anyways."

Harry nodded in understanding, not exactly up to arguing the point. While his thirteen-year-old self might have argued the matter, he also hadn't known about the trace back then and hadn't realized just how easy it would be for him to be found.

He did not enjoy this future, but he could hardly sit here forever lest a Muggle policeman come by and ask why Harry had luggage full of spell books and a broom.

"That would be a story," Sirius agreed light-heartedly, "though personally we never exactly stuck around long enough for them to ask any questions."

"When did any of you get a run in with Muggle police?" Lily demanded suspiciously.

Sirius went a little shifty eyed and declined answering, while James laughed with far too much unease and said, "don't be silly Lily, he was joking."

Lily snorted, they weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were kidding, but she was too curious about the book to really interrogate them now. She'd wait until later.

Plan decided, he went rummaging through his stuff to find his cloak, when he felt a tingling go up his spine. He stood up straight and glanced around himself, the lone streetlight showing no one else around.

"Well this can't be good," they all muttered at once. Harry already had an impressive track record when it came to getting into bad situations. And now, here he was, alone and feeling off again. One glance at Harry now showed they weren't wrong about being worried either; he had a frown already in place as he remembered exactly how he had been feeling at that time.

He went back to his stuff, only to stop again at once, wand now in hand as he glanced more suspiciously at the dark surroundings. He thought he caught sight of something moving between the gaps of the houses.

Lily already wanted to stop and bite at her lip in worry. Way too many horrible things could be lurking behind her boy. The boys were all thinking of their joking comments about a convict being around, and violently berating themselves as they realized their joking may have come true.

He strained his eyes in the shadows, trying to make out if it was just an animal, or something worse. He lit the tip of his wand with the spell Lumos, which shone so brightly that Harry was momentarily blinded as it shone off of the garage door, but he just had time to make out the shape of something very large, with watchful eyes.

Lily's voice was heading into outright fear now, even if it was just a stray animal she didn't like that it was scaring her son.

Harry though, was frowning in remembrance. Wasn't he supposed to have a good feeling about this? That was his first reaction, but he knew his thirteen-year-old self had acted in fear at this startling sight. He wasn't even for sure what he had seen then...

He took an automatic step back, fell over his luggage, and ended in the gutter with his wand arm thrown out to catch his fall. There was a very loud BANG from just to his right, and Harry barely had time to roll back onto the sidewalk before wheels landed where his head had just been.

The whole time Lily had been reading that, her voice had continued to edge higher in fear. She was almost quaking in terror; the book almost slipped from her grasp. She still wasn't quite back to normal after that horrid dinner scene, and Harry coming so close to death right after that caused her to want to fling her arms around her son and hold him as close as she could.

For a moment Harry was sure he'd been knocked silly as he looked up at a triple deckered bus, which was bright purple,

"Thank Merlin," Sirius breathed, his eyes lighting up at once as he recognized the description, and then he released a bark of laughter and said, "you just called that by accident."

Harry was rubbing at his head and looking marginally embarrassed as they really did give a light chuckle at that, but his mind was still on the thing he'd seen. It was a dog, but massive. Why was this so important to him? It must just be a stray, so why should he care?

Lily was the only one who still looked on edge about the matter, Harry had never said what he'd seen in the dark, but now that the Knight Bus had appeared, surely everything was going to be okay now.

with the label The Knight Bus on the side. Before he had time to process this fully, a young man was stepping off in uniform and announcing himself as Stan Shunpike, a conductor for the bus, then he saw Harry still on the ground and asked why he was down there.

"Nice of him to notice," James said lightly.

Harry got to his feet and said that he'd fallen over, and Stan asked why he did that.

"Just seemed like a fun thing to do obviously," Remus snorted.

Harry snapped back he hadn't done it on purpose.

"Wow, getting a bit snippy there Pup," Sirius laughed.

Harry suddenly jerked; he looked like he was on the verge of something really important. Back when they had told him about their decision to be Animagi, and the subsequent animals, he hadn't thought much on the matter. It did explain the random nicknames, and beyond that he'd never questioned it. Now...

Lily hadn't seemed to notice Harry wasn't paying much attention to them, she was still stuck on the fact it had yet to say what Harry had seen to startle him so badly. So for once she didn't take note of her son in the room now eyeing Sirius curiously, but instead read.

Harry then turned to look behind him, but there was nothing there where the headlights clearly shown. Stan asked what he was watching, and Harry explained that he'd seen a humongous black dog.

Now that finally struck a chord with everyone in the room. Sirius looked like he'd just been clubbed over the head. Harry was still eyeing him like he'd never seen him before, no that wasn't right. He was staring right at him like he was trying desperately to remember something...

"So, err," James began, looking from Harry to Sirius and back warily, "who wants to count the odds of this?" A guy named Black had been heard from on the news, and a giant black dog which happened to be Sirius' animagus form, had been seen around Harry.

They still didn't believe in coincidences, but none of them really knew what to make of this. Because if that was Sirius, then that meant that first of all he was still alive! That alone made their heads spin, because what force on Earth would keep him away from Harry for all of these years. Which brought up the most confusing part, had it really been him on the news? Was it Sirius who had escaped from a prison, meaning Azkaban itself? How would anyone even go about doing that? They had been kidding earlier in even suggesting it was a relative of his, since it was impossible to escape from that place. Was it simply two unrelated instances and they were just trying to over-read it?

Sirius looked likely to pass out, not finding this remotely funny anymore. The possibilities were endless and far too horrible. Lily and James were eyeing each other, unsure what to make of all this. The past few times they jumped to a conclusion, they weren't always right. Remus was beside himself; lost in questions he wasn't sure he wanted an answer to anymore.

Harry wasn't helping anyone, he hadn't spoken a word through all of this, simply sitting there watching Sirius. His mind and gut were at war with each other the longer this continued. He knew him, he had been so sure of that, and simply from the small amount of time he had interacted with him now he was convinced Sirius was as close to him as his own parents. He should be happy at the very thought of Sirius being alive, his gut told him that. So why was something very dark and bad building up inside of his mind even as he sat there? A pounding headache was forming again, not knowing what to think or even what instinct to trust.

Finally after a very long, drawn out silence where no one offered anything, Lily finally convinced herself to just read on. Coincidence or not, she had a very nasty feeling they would find out sooner rather than later.

Stan didn't seem all that impressed, he was still watching Harry and asked what was on Harry's forehead. Harry reacted by brushing his hair in the way and saying nothing while trying to cover his scar.

"Can't blame you for that," James muttered, not even slightly distracted from his best friend's odd mentioning, if it was even that at all.

Harry knew that if the Ministry was after him, he didn't want to help them along.

Sirius finally came out of his torpor to release a surprised snort, shaking himself firmly like a wet dog. He was being paranoid, they all were. So why didn't he believe that? Well Harry eyeing him every other second now wasn't helping the matter. Out loud he said, "credit for trying anyways."

Stan then asked for Harry's name, and he gave the first one that came to mind, Neville Longbottom.

"At least it wasn't Ron's, you don't exactly resemble him," Lily agreed, trying in vain for some normal mood again, though none of the boys looked remotely up to it.

Then Harry changed the subject to asking about the bus, and where it led? Stan promptly explained it would take him anywhere except underwater.

"Where would I even go underwater?" Harry asked loudly, not having meant to pitch his volume like that, but hoping to distract himself from the way his head seemed to be developing its own pulse.

"Err, guess you could go visit mermaids or something," Remus blurted, finally pulling him away from his thoughts.

He told Harry, in a very thick accent, the different prices for the ride, and extras such as hot chocolate, or a little more for a toothbrush.

James finally made a brave stab at humour again, saying, "Lily Flower, please never try and mimic that accent again. You're doing a horrible job."

Lily took a small moment to stick her tongue out at him, but didn't bother defending herself. It's not like she could skip what Stan was saying.

Harry paid his dues and loaded his stuff onto the bus, and instead of seats inside he found beds. Stan set him up right behind the driver's seat, a man named Ernie Prang at the wheel.

"Is he still driving that then?" Sirius asked, dully, and the others were slightly concerned to see that he hadn't really bounced back yet. Sirius was pretty well known for not letting things get to him for too long, so the fact that he was clearly still upset and distracted by all of these horrible implications about him wasn't boding well.

No one answered him, mostly because it was a rhetorical question anyways.

Then Stan took a seat behind the driver, and told Ernie they were good to go. There was an equally loud BANG as the one that had arrived, and Harry was tossed onto his bed with the speed of force.

That finally earned a half-hearted chuckle from them, knowing all too well the sensations of riding that bus for the first time.

Stan was still eyeing Harry curiously, but Harry asked first where they were. Stan said somewhere in Wales, and Harry asked how come the Muggles couldn't hear the bus.

Harry closed his mouth sheepishly, finally distracted from his impending thoughts and was fixing to ask that himself. Lily smiled indulgently at him before reading.

Stan just laughed, saying those Muggles never saw anything proper, while Ernie told him to go and wake a woman whose stop was coming up.

"Well that didn't really explain it," Remus said lightly.

"It's okay," Harry said quickly, "magic makes it hard to see and hear, got it."

Well Harry hadn't stayed distracted long. He was already over his curiosity at this new magical object, and the brief feeling of wanting to object why this was okay but Mr. Weasley's car was illegal, and back to wondering why he felt like this should be the most important night of his life. He still had no answers though, and so he didn't want to delay the reading much.

Harry began watching out the window as Ernie spun crazily through the streets, while cars, mailboxes, and street lights all jumped out of the way only to go right back when they'd passed.

Harry raised his brows in surprise, he did find that pretty amusing, but not enough to interrupt again.

Stan came back down the stairs with an elder woman, and the bus screeched to a stop. While Madam Marsh tottered out, slightly green from the trip, Stan tossed her luggage out after her,

"Well he's a polite one," Lily snorted.

and then they were off again. Harry spent the next while sitting on his bed, but knowing he could never sleep. He was too busy thinking about if Marge had stopped floating around the Dursleys house yet.

That gained a weak laugh from the group, happy to have something to distract them and that delightful mental image worked fine.

Then he caught sight of Stan holding a copy of the Daily Prophet, and the large image on the front was of the same man Harry had seen on the Muggle news.

"Wow, wait!" Remus said in surprise. "So the person who did escape, was a wizard?"

"But, how is that even possible?" James demanded. "No one should be able to escape from Azkaban, no one!"

Sirius looked almost mildly amused as he said, "well, props to them for being the first one to do it."

"Knock it off Sirius," Lily snapped, getting a little huffy at once at such a prospect, "it's not funny, this could be a problem."

"Quit fretting Lily," Sirius scoffed right back, "so it's weird, kind of freaky, and I'm going to insist still cool, but it's probably nothing to do with Harry."

Lily wasn't the only one who disagreed with that, Remus also had a bad feeling that trouble seemed to go out of its way to find Harry, and an escaped prisoner who shared a name with Sirius seemed almost likely by this point. Remus had met Sirius' family only once, and it had been far from a pleasant experience, one he would never wish on Harry.

James dearly wanted to side with Sirius, but he still didn't like the uneasy way his son was acting now, it didn't bode well.

Stan looked back at the front page,

Lily froze dead in her tracks as she looked down at the name, the first name, of this convict. Harry didn't even need to ask this time, one furtive look from his mom to his godfather and he knew his answer. James wasn't having it though, he tore the book away and glared down at that name like it was the worst trick in the world.

"Someone's dead," he snarled, his hands beginning to shake so hard the book was in danger of being broken all over again. "Whoever the hell framed you for whatever the bloody hell you ended up in there for, they are beyond dead!" He got to his feet and began pacing the length of the couch, continuing his violent mutterings about how his best friend had been set up for something.

Sirius said nothing, he looked almost mummified, and for a horrible moment Remus thought he'd stopped breathing. "Ah, Padfoot," Remus said gently, since James was still yelling at the top of his lungs and Lily and Harry were watching him wearily. Sirius was still losing colour, and were his lips tinged blue? Remus poked him, hard, in the ribs which only elicited the smallest of reactions that he sucked in air through his nose finally. He still wasn't reacting though, just gazing straight forward with a look of utmost horror on his face.

His friends had seen him in quite a few ways, so excited he couldn't hold still, so angry he couldn't spit out the words, and one single moment before this where he had been terrified. Then though, Sirius had done the opposite and had sat around talking almost nonstop in an effort to show how 'not afraid' he'd been. This shell-shocked display was something none of them had seen before, and it was beginning to scare them all.

"Sirius," James said loudly, finally having noticed he was the only one shouting. He waltzed over and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

The man jumped like he'd just been electrocuted; suddenly his eyes went flying around the room like he had no idea where he was. Blinking so fast there was no way he could really be clearing his vision, he stammered "s-sorry. Zoned out there, what was that?"

"You kind of went mental there for a moment," Remus told him kindly, trying to put some warmth into his voice that Sirius didn't even register.

"Di-did I?" he muttered, and then he shook himself like a wet dog with a rabid cat on its back. When he was done doing that, he looked around again with far more sense, and his eyes landed on Harry. Sirius swallowed hard, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. What exactly he was trying to say, apologize for being absent, ask him if he knew what had happened, or anything else for that matter just wasn't getting past his lips.

Harry took pity on him and addressed both of those questions, "I'm not mad at you Sirius. I've only known you for a few days and I know you'd never do anything to get sent there." Harry very carefully avoided using the word of said prison; Sirius still looked likely to faint at any moment. "I still don't know what happened either, I just knew I remembered you. I'm not afraid of you though, and don't you think I'd be afraid of someone who I knew was a mass murderer?"

"Murderer?" Remus repeated eagerly, as Harry immediately dissolved into grimacing and rubbing at his temple as words slipped out that he had no knowledge of. Just this small little dig and he was already back to that horrid pain that sent white hot flashes through him.

Remus retracted at once, very much wanting to find out exactly what Sirius had been accused of, but unwilling to persist Harry in the matter. It was ridiculous after all, Sirius was a hot headed idiot on a good day, but he would never do something like murder. Or, well, maybe he would...

Harry cut in with another question instead, "but how did you know where I was? I didn't really think you'd ever been to the Dursleys?"

Sirius didn't really answer, he still looked like he was in a daze, and Lily answered, "the Order knows where Petunia lives, her address anyways. I've it listed under people who should be contacted if I die, which I need to fix," she added to herself with a mutter, ignoring the flinch that caused James for the suddenly very real threat. "It's how Dumbledore and McGonagall even knew where Petunia was living back in the first book. It was dangerous though," she finished with a sharp look at Sirius, "for him to still go there. Any fool who knew you would know you'd go and seek out Harry."

Still this gained no reaction from Sirius.

James was still grumbling mutinously as Lily finally convinced him to take his seat, the parents still eyeing Harry with some concern. Experience had already told them if he continued in this way, his body would rebel and he would end up crumpling to the ground in pain, so Lily was now very eager to keep going and read. James only shut himself up for now so that he could see what exactly was going on here.

where the name Sirius Black plastered across the headline.

Sirius convulsed slightly, hearing his name like that. He had been, well not content per say, but had accepted that he must have died shortly after James to have been absent so long. Now that he found out where he had been, he pondered whether he'd just as soon be dead. Then he grit his teeth and began mentally pummeling himself for that thought. He was alive, which meant that he really could get out and find Harry. It all came together very clearly in his mind now. Whatever he had been accused of doing didn't matter, how he had even gotten out didn't matter. That black dog Harry had seen, it must have been him! Which meant he would finally be able to do what he'd always swore he would, look after his godson. The why's and how's didn't even matter, so long as he could just do one simple thing and keep an eye out for him.

Stan laughed, saying he'd been all over the news, yes even the Muggle's and Harry should keep up more. He handed Harry that section of the paper, and Harry began to read,

Lily released a very shaky breath, mixed feelings twisting inside of her as she realized she very well might just find out what had happened, and almost not wanting to find out. Whatever it was, this wasn't going to be pretty, but she pressed on anyway.

about this man who had been held in Azkaban was still on the loose. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was trying to stop the public from panicking, and denied any knowledge of how the escape had even happened. Everyone had been warned to keep an eye out for this deranged man, who'd been locked away twelve years ago for killing thirteen people with one spell.

Some kind of life finally reappeared on Sirius again, but it wasn't the kind anyone wanted to see. He laughed, and it wasn't his usual jovial cheer, this already had an edge of madness tinging it as he leaned as far away from everyone as he possibly could.

Remus punched him on the shoulder, hard.

"Ouch," Sirius whined, and Remus sighed in relief to finally have gotten a normal response out of him. "What was that for?"

"Shut it," Remus snapped, "and quit acting like an idiot or I'll do it again."

"How does someone so scrawny hit so hard," Sirius muttered, slumping back down, and wondering if he could get away with listening to this on another continent.

Remus hadn't really meant to hit him that hard; he had actually been projecting his own annoyance at himself in that throw. How could he have thought something like that of his friend, even for a second? Yes, Sirius had made quite a few threats against members of his family, even Snape from time to time, but he'd never meant them! That accident when they were kids was just that, an accident. He'd forgiven Sirius for that a long time ago, so to even consider him to do something like that now felt like a betrayal.

"This is foul," James snarled, looking far more likely to rip someone's head off than Sirius himself in that moment, "how could anyone think you'd done this!"

They were all stumped. They of course knew Sirius quite well, but to the general populace he was simply a name attached to one of the pure-blood households. It really wasn't much of a stretch at all to think a Black would pull this off.

Lily wanted very much to sit around questioning how all of this had gone in trial, what kind of evidence had been used against Sirius in the matter, but since no one here actually knew the answer she didn't even touch on the question. She gave all of the boys a pitying look, but with James' almost comforting words still in mind she read out the full charge.

Harry looked at the picture again, of the man with such sunken features it was a wonder he was even breathing.

Sirius then balked and shuttered all over again, remembering Harry saying how non-human he had looked. He'd heard stories about how that place sucked the life out of you, but it was more unpleasant to picture yourself like that.

Harry had only ever seen pictures of Vampires before, but he would have put money this man looked just like one.

Remus jerked away from Sirius in surprise as he made a pitiful noise deep in his throat, and then bent towards him in concern all over again. "Sirius, I think you stopped breathing again."

"Sorry," he muttered, "just trying to picture it, and it's not much fun."

James was bouncing in place in his seat, still with that manic energy that he needed to go curse someone into oblivion for this slandering, and also dearly wanting to go sit next to Sirius now and hug the life back into him. They could hardly blame him for reacting like this, but it was still creeping them out how he had yet to regain any of his normal coloring and actually seemed to be getting paler the longer this went on.

Harry handed back the paper, Stan not even fully looking at the picture as he commented on what a creepy looking man he was. Harry was stunned as he asked that Black had really killed thirteen people at once, and Stan was nodding along, adding details that he'd been caught doing it in broad daylight, with witnesses all around.

"Bollocks," James hissed, "a big, rotten pile of steaming-"

"James," Lily sighed, "we're all mad at this, but I want to hear it anyways."

James' upper lip curled in a sneer, he didn't look like he was going to back down one bit, until Sirius finally gave an intelligible sentence again and said, "let it go James. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you find this so ridiculous, but I want to hear this too."

"Might help us figure out who really did do it," Remus added on quickly.

James huffed and crossed his arms, while Harry simply sat there nodding along with his Mom. He knew the answer to this. He had never been so sure of anything since he'd woken up here, and he dearly wanted to find out now because it felt majorly important to him. Like something bad had happened, simply because he hadn't known this information...

Ernie added on that Black had been a well-known backer of You-Know Who,

Lily couldn't read that sentence without snorting in disbelief, while the other four boys made choking noises of disgust at such a ridiculous accusation. "Where is he even getting that from? He didn't know you," Lily demanded of the book.

Sirius gave her a wan smile, pleased she seemed to find this as outrageous as anyone else. Sometimes he wondered how much she really did like him, considering how often she threatened, yelled and berated him. And now her snarky little joke from before actually seemed to have come true. Watching her now though, he no longer had a doubt in his mind.

Harry corrected Voldemort without thinking about it.

"Well this should be fun," Remus noted absently, noticing Harry still didn't seem to realize he shouldn't be spouting that name without thinking about it.

Ernie jerked the wheel of the bus so hard in shock, a whole building had to jump to the side.

"Still love that you do that so casually," Sirius said a little too loudly, obviously trying to force a devil may care attitude. The others didn't buy it, but it was a nice attempt.

Stan looked likely to faint from shock, demanding to know why Harry would say that name! Harry apologized, saying he'd forgotten people didn't like that.

"You forgot?" James laughed lightly, not anywhere near over his shock and anger that his best friend had survived, but enjoying Harry's unintentional humour all the same.

Stan wasn't buying it, still rubbing at his chest from shock, and Harry tried to change the subject by repeating that Black had been a supporter of You-Know-Who.

Sirius went so bug-eyed all of a sudden, Remus had to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing hold of him to make sure he really didn't fall over this time as Sirius nearly shouted, "oh bloody hell!"

"What?" James yelped in concern, Sirius was more than scaring him now with these awful freak out moments he kept having.

"This!" he snarled, and it finally looked like he was edging back to his normal self, except now he was truly pissed at something as he continued to nearly shout. "This is the first thing Harry hears about me! He's grown up not even knowing my name, and the first thing he ever hears about me is that I, I'm a-"

"Oh Sirius-" Lily muttered, while Remus really did look like he was fixing to hug him. Sirius was in no mood, he had built up enough steam that he was going to keep going until someone forcibly muted him.

"Don't any of you apologize! I've dealt with a lot of crap so far, but this!" He continued in this way for so long, he actually started to go hoarse, but none of them stopped him. They felt he more than deserved it.

When he finally did subside, now absentmindedly rubbing at his throat and looking far calmer and more himself, Harry was quick to cut in, "if it helps at all, I know you now."

Sirius grunted, though maybe he didn't verbally reply because his vocal cords were still coming back, but, after a quick look from James, Lily decided to keep reading now before Sirius got his voice back.

Stan agreed, telling Harry about how some of You-Know-Who's other followers had been caught right after his downfall, and had come in without much of a fight, but not Black. Others said he was his second in command, and was even going to take over for You-Know-Who.

"The fact that anyone believes that is sad," Remus sighed. "I've heard of some pretty nasty Death Eaters, and even they don't have the gall to go around saying that, they'd be killed by Voldemort himself."

"Most likely this is all rumours that happened after Sirius was framed," Lily pointed out, "details were exaggerated; the worst of it always comes after the act itself."

"Glad you two think this is so interesting," James huffed, since Sirius' indignant look clearly said he was thinking that, but he was still rubbing his throat and couldn't say it.

Remus looked slightly offended for a moment that James thought he meant it, but then he backed down when he realized it was more of a really dark joke.

Lily didn't deign them with a comment at all; she just kept going and hoped for more actual evidence than slander.

Then he told how Black had been found in a Muggle neighborhood, and that he blew up the street rather than go in, killing twelve Muggles and one wizard.

"Ah, how would someone go about making that look like me?" Sirius said in mild concern, finally getting his voice back and seeming to lose it all at once.

"There are several ways," Lily frowned, "but my main issue is then what happened to you?"

Remus snapped his fingers and said, "what if the person who did this simply made themselves look like Sirius, then the Ministry came and got him after the fact."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone blamed him for something he didn't do, because of his name." James agreed, hardly looking pleased that they might have figured this out, since he still wanted to murder the fool who had thought they could frame his best friend and get away with it.

Harry was pondering how he felt about this. For some reason, it didn't feel right. There were huge chunks missing, and the set up his family had offered wasn't quite right, but as always he just wasn't sure how to best put those pieces together.

Then he told of what Black did after the fact, he sat there and laughed. Just sitting in the streets laughing when the Ministry showed up and properly arrested him, probably because he was mad.

"Mad in the emotional sense," Sirius sniffed. "I like to think I'm a little saner than just standing around after something like that ouch-" he cried again, giving Remus the stank eye. "Why do you keep hitting me? You're supposed to be the nice one."

"You don't get to joke about this," Remus told him with one of the sternest looks anyone had ever seen. "Not this Sirius."

Sirius opened his mouth, a nasty little retort already in place, when he shut his mouth just as quickly and nodded his ascent. The joke had slipped out before he thought about it, same as most of his jokes really. Now though, looking at his friends, he recognized it was only going to make this worse.

Then to everyone's surprise, Lily spoke up, "don't be too hard on him, Remus. You know he plays off things to show how aloof he thinks he is. If making stupid jokes helps him to cope, don't beat him for it."

"My jokes aren't stupid," Sirius snapped at once, then he went bright-eyed and cooed, "aw, Lily, that's the first time you've ever defended me."

"Don't get used to it," she smirked at him.

James and Remus didn't really look happy, feeling they'd rather strangle someone who made light of this situation regarding their friend, but so long as Sirius was the one doing it they couldn't really say too much.

He'd spent the rest of his life in Azkaban, though Ernie reflected that if he wasn't mad before he went in there he most certainly was now, of course he did deserve it.

"Someone certainly deserves that place," James agreed, "but it's too good for what I owe them."

There was a big cover up from the magical community, telling how the big explosion had been some sort of gas leak, but now Black was out again, and he was the first to ever have done it, and nobody knew how.

"That is still a very good question," Sirius nodded to himself, cocking his head to the side and actually considering the matter. "Or why I didn't do it earlier, like as soon as I got there. Why now?"

"I got nothing," Remus shrugged.

"Can we not think about this," James moaned, "I really don't want to think about this anymore than I have to."

Harry frowned, he had honestly wanted to hear if his family had any theories on the matter, but his Dad now looked as ghastly as Sirius had before. His anger seemed to be subsiding, and James was starting to push past his outrage at Sirius being there, to Sirius being there. Alone in that dark, creepy place where no one would normally survive more than a few years, and Sirius had been there for twelve!

The others recognized this as well, and Lily was quick to move on.

The two elders were still talking about how terrifying that prison was, and Harry couldn't help but reflect how this conversation would go in a few weeks when word got around that Harry Potter had broken wizarding law. Would he end up in Azkaban to? Were Ernie and Stan going to be sitting around laughing then about how he'd blown up his aunt and made a run for it?

That released a startled laugh from Remus. They had just found out something major, life altering even. Nothing this bad or emotionally horrifying had come up since the first chapter of the first book, and here Harry was. Thirteen and caring nothing for his would be Uncle's state, but simply still worried about something as petty as accidental magic. It wasn't really funny, but it made him laugh anyways.

Sirius was dearly tempted to punch him then, more for payback than actually wanting him to stop, but he was already trailing off and Lily was still eager to keep going.

Harry had broken the law, just like Black.

Sirius made to open his mouth again, but this time it was Lily who cut him off and said, "don't. I do not want to hear some stupid joke about that one."

Sirius huffed, she had just defended him and now was the one stopping him from saying 'he takes after me' but on retrospect, that really was a little too dark of humor even for him.

Was inflating Marge bad enough to land him in Azkaban?

"Not even close," James shuddered in disgust, wanting to vomit all over again at Harry going anywhere near that place.

He'd never been there himself, but he'd heard nothing but terrible rumours about the place, even Hagrid, the strongest man Harry knew, had all but begged not to be sent there.

While it did keep things in perspective for Harry, Lily dearly hoped this was the last time that horrid prison would be mentioned, because now every time it was all three of her boys winced at the very thought of the place.

The trip wore on, and the scenery outside continued to change around as passengers got off. At one point Stan went to go get Harry his hot chocolate, but managed to spill it all over him at the next take off.

"What, it didn't have a lid?" Sirius asked absently.

"Not the best time to drink that anyway," James shrugged. Their light commentary still seemed to be lacking, and they were now beginning to wonder how long it would take before they could actually sit around and absorb this new information.

When Harry was the last one aboard, the Knight Bus set off for the Leaky Cauldron, daybreak beginning on the horizon.

"Wow, you were on that thing all night," Lily said in surprise.

"You said the ministry would be tracking me," Harry frowned, "how come they wouldn't have caught up by then?"

"You would have been moving around too fast," Lily shrugged when it looked like none of the boys were, "so by the time you were pinpointed, the bus would have been off again. I'm sure they'll catch up to you before you leave Diagon Alley though."

Harry frowned, not looking remotely comforted by that. The horrid news of Sirius had distracted him now, but his thirteen-year-old self was still firmly upset by the matter with Marge, and even more so if he was going to be forced back to the Dursleys for the rest of the summer. He might have been the only one thinking about this though; the others were clearly still out of it.

Harry's plan was still in place, now deciding what he would do after he got his money.

"Could go see the country," Remus joked, "might be fun for a while anyways."

Lily just ignored him, knowing full well Harry wouldn't be able to get that far.

The bus came to a stop, and Harry was getting help from Stan unloading his stuff when a voice behind called out a greeting to Harry.

"Who do you think that is?" James asked, finally an actual distraction from the fate of his best friend.

"He knew Harry by name," Lily puzzled, noting just the first name and not his full name like some awestruck person might have, "you think they sent someone who knew Harry personally?"

"Well you tell us," Remus pointed out.

Harry nearly dropped his stuff in shock as he saw the Minister of Magic.

"Say what!" The ones without the book yelped.

"Surely the Minister himself wouldn't have come after you?" James said in surprise.

"Well why not?" Remus acknowledged once the shock had worn off. "He is the famous Harry Potter after all. He might have gotten some special attention for his bit of acting out."

"I keep wanting to forget that honestly," Lily sighed, "but I guess it does make sense."

He came forward and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, while Stan was caught off guard, saying how he'd thought this was Neville. Fudge looked at him curiously as he corrected that this was Harry Potter, and Stan shouted that he'd known that all along.

"Sure he did," James scoffed, now frowning as he realized Sirius seemed to have gone quiet again. He was still obviously paying attention, but normally that would have been his line.

Fudge turned back to Harry then, inviting him inside and then asking the bartender, Tom, for a pot of tea in one of the rooms, hand still firmly holding onto Harry's shoulder.

"That's starting to annoy me," Lily frowned, "where does he get the right to hold onto you like that. He doesn't think you're going to make a run from him does he?"

Harry just shrugged; he had no idea about the Minister's motives.

Stan and Ernie were coming in from behind, carrying Harry's stuff, and Stan asked why Harry had lied, still calling him Neville.

"Is he going to keep calling you that?" Remus asked, slightly amused.

"I'm okay with this," Harry smiled weakly, "it's better than being treated like famous Harry Potter."

The Minister dismissed the pair, and Harry was led away into a private office where he was seated, and then Fudge introduced himself and his title.

"Glad you already knew that, or this would have been even more awkward," James nodded.

Harry had already known this, having once seen him in person, but as he'd been hiding under his cloak at the time, he didn't think Fudge needed to know that.

"It might have been a spot funny if you had though," Remus pointed out.

"Still glad he didn't," Lily frowned at him, "it's too odd to explain."

"Could have seen him in the papers or something couldn't he," James shrugged, still keeping an eye on Sirius who was still being far too quiet for his liking.

Then Fudge turned to telling Harry that he'd been quite worried when Harry had run away from his family's house, something terrible could have happened, he had been starting to think...but then changed the subject.

"Started to think what?" Harry asked with interest.

"I've no idea," Lily frowned, "perhaps that you were going to head out somewhere else and it would be harder for them to find you."

No one offered anything else, but they did wonder if Harry's name really was the only reason Fudge was there. What else could it be though?

Telling that they had deflated Marjorie Dursley,

"Still one of the best sentences I've heard all day," Remus muttered to Sirius, and then frowned when he only gave a weak grin back.

and that her memory had been changed so that she didn't remember a thing,

"Almost a pity," Lily sighed, "might teach her not to go spouting such crap to a child."

"I love you," James grinned at his wife, adoring that she had only beaten him by a second on saying that.

concluding that no harm had been done. He then looked over Harry with a warm smile, like an uncle watching his favourite nephew.

Which caused Remus to sniff in disdain. He, much like Lily and James, seemed to find it personally offensive when anyone compared themselves to Harry's family, only a few exceptions came to mind. It bothered him all the more when Sirius didn't even flinch at the sentence.

When Harry said nothing, Fudge did say that Harry was probably worried about the Dursleys reactions, and while they had been angry, they were willing to let Harry come back next summer,

"No," James moaned, putting his face in his hands now.

"My sentiments exactly," Harry sighed, unable to think of anything else to say to that.

"Here I thought you'd finally gotten away from those..." Lily trailed off into a few foul mutterings before clearing her throat and reading.

but Harry protested he never wanted to go back there again! Fudge was shocked, saying that he was sure Harry still loved them, erm, deep down.

"Like the pits of hell deep," Remus huffed, "where fondness equates to hatred."

"Poetic," Lily noted.

"And true," Harry agreed.

Harry in no way agreed, but didn't argue the point. Fudge then spoke about what Harry would do in the meantime, and suggested he just stay here at the Leaky Cauldron for the remainder of his vacation. Harry interrupted by pointing out, what about his punishment?

James made a funny choking noise like someone had just elbowed him in the throat. "Did you really just ask that? Harry, why on earth would you?"

"It didn't make sense," Harry shrugged, still finding this odd now as he explained, "every other time I'd done magic, I'd at least gotten a warning. Now, here I had done something really serious, and nothing."

Harry had used that word on purpose, he had been trying to elicit a reaction from Sirius like everyone else, but the man still seemed so out of it he wasn't going to bite. James and Remus exchanged very worried looks, wondering what had made him bounce back so hard when he'd been trying for a moment to come out of it, while Lily offered an explanation. "Perhaps because they went there themselves and saw what happened? No one could possibly blame you for your actions, the way they were treating you."

Harry didn't really agree, but he wasn't going to argue the point either.

Fudge gave an uneasy laugh, saying why would he do anything like that? Harry insisted that he'd been told off last summer for a house-elf doing magic in his house, and the Ministry had warned him he'd be in real trouble if it happened again.

"Are you trying to get yourself kicked out," Lily demanded of her son.

"I just wanted an explanation," Harry reminded.

"Well, they didn't know a house-elf had done that last summer," Lily reminded him, "and they say expelled as a severe warning. You still haven't done anything bad enough for that to be a real threat."

Harry nodded in acceptance.

Fudge brushed him off though, trying to say that things were a little different now, given the fact that, well- then he blurted that Harry shouldn't want to be expelled?

While most of them simply put this down to Fudge being really bad at explaining the system to Harry, none of them noticed Sirius finally reacting again, by his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Harry agreed he didn't, then Fudge declared there was no more need to talk about it. He got up and left, but Harry still couldn't believe this. Then he reflected it was odd enough that the Minister of Magic himself had even shown up here.

"I think you're reading too much into it," Lily told him lightly, "it's really not that unusual for someone to have come after you. Maybe not the Minister himself, but still."

Harry still wanted to disagree with her on that, there was something he wasn't quite remembering that would prompt said Minister's motives, but he had no clue as to what.

It really didn't add up that the Minister would come after wayward school children to deal with this. Fudge came back then, saying that Tom had a room for Harry, but then Fudge requested that while he stayed there, he shouldn't go into the Muggle world.

"Who's he to tell you that?" James scoffed, finally dragging his eyes away from Sirius to look at the book in annoyance. "It's none of his business where you go."

"I don't really blame him for this," Lily shrugged, "he is underage by all accounts, so it's not that weird for wanting to keep him in a smaller, magical community."

Harry agreed, but did ask why.

"Glad at least Harry questions it," James huffed, still rather annoyed by that.

Fudge just said that he didn't want Harry to get lost again, it was better for now, then he trailed off again.

Sirius narrowed his eyes further, taking note of that as much as Remus and James noticed him doing it. Was this really what was bothering Sirius so much, the Minister appearing? Sirius hated the Ministry, which had only increased, they were sure, because of what they had just found out, but this seemed a little odd for him to have such a dislike of someone who really hadn't done anything wrong yet.

Sirius declined telling them what was really on his mind. Which was that, like Harry, he was wondering if there wasn't something more going on right there, something to do with a supposed supporter of Voldemort suddenly breaking out.

Harry then randomly asked if there was any news on Black, and Fudge flinched in surprise.

Far from looking pleased, Sirius slumped back in his seat and grumbled something under his breath Remus didn't catch. He noted the act though, and he and James shared another look, hardly wanting to wait until the chapter was over anymore to get him to talk.

Fudge tried for a laugh that didn't work, saying that they had nothing yet and the Azkaban guards were quite angry about it all,

"Can Dementors be angry?" Lily asked, never having considered this. "I've never known them to hold an emotion really."

"They can certainly express themselves if they wish, just not the way you're thinking," Remus offered, realizing in that stretch of quiet he was expected to answer. He didn't look up to elaborating, which was odd enough for him, so Harry didn't ask what a Dementor was.

Fudge made to leave then, but Harry jumped in with one last question, reminding that as a third year he could go to Hogsmeade,

James smirked then, happy his son still had a way of distracting him from something like his best friend acting weirder as time went on. "You would ask something like this after the night you've had."

"I had to put up with all of that crap, and I still didn't get it signed," Harry shrugged, "it was worth a shot."

but no one had signed it for him. Fudge tried to stall by saying he wasn't Harry's parent or guardian of any sort.

"He's got a point," Lily frowned, hating the way this was turning out for him. "I hate to admit it, but it really doesn't look like you're not going to get to this year. You'll have to try something else with those Muggles next summer." The taste those words left in her mouth made her wish she could bite her tongue off so she'd never have to hear that again.

Harry tried to protest, pointing out his position, and that if he gave him permission,

"Too bad it doesn't work like that," James agreed absently.

but Fudge declined, saying this may be all for the best for now. Then he did leave.

Since they were watching for it this time, James and Remus noticed Sirius give an imperceptible nod at yet another action from the Minister. Remus, growing sick of trying to guess what Sirius normally would have said himself anyways, asked, "how much is there left Lily?"

She checked and told him, making them all feel a bit relieved, more than ready to take a break after this monster of emotional baggage had been dumped on them.

Harry was lead to his room, to find Hedwig inside.

"How did she know to go there?" Lily asked in surprise. "I thought she went to Ron in Egypt?"

"I've no idea," Harry beamed, more than pleased anyways.

Harry was as surprised as anyone while Tom explained that she'd just arrived a few moments after Harry, then he left. Harry sank onto his bed, staring around this room and the perspective freedom, without any Dursleys, for the next two weeks.

"No," Remus corrected himself from earlier, "that's the best sentence I've heard yet."

They all nodded in agreement with that.

He was tired though, so he slumped down onto the bed and fell asleep without even taking his glasses off.

"That's the end of the chapter," Lily declared, closing the book with a sharp snap of disgust.

Harry, who had noticed Sirius acting odd just as much as his Dad, decided he'd like to try and get a happier subject going.

"Err, so, about that police thing?" Harry asked hesitantly, since Sirius still looked a little vacant and Remus looked like he might not speak again for some time. James was shifting his weight around in so much unease he was practically bouncing in place, but decided to answer anyway. Yes Lily might get mad, but it was better than sitting around thinking about...

"Sirius and I were out doing some business for the Order when we realized we were being followed. We were on his bike, and so we hit the concrete since we were a lot bulkier in the air on it, and not ten seconds later we got the Muggles chasing after us, lights flashing. Still we gave them a chase around, hoping to lose both pursuers, when Sirius shouted back that he was going to pull over and for me to get ready. Of course I had no idea what that meant, but since he was steering I couldn't argue when he lead us into a dead end."

He glanced back over at his best friend, and while it was clear Sirius was listening, he still didn't look up to interrupting and stating his side of the story. More than concern was beginning to tighten up in James, that expression was really starting to scare him, but he finished off the story anyways. "So we were kind of cornered and being chased by two parties. The three Death Eaters who were chasing us above kept circling lower and lower, so we chatted up the cops until the Death Eaters finally lined themselves up and tried charging at us. We used the cop's cruiser as a wall, they crashed into it, and we bolted out of there before anyone recovered. Got the Ministry out there later to deal with the Memory charms and such. We didn't even get in trouble for the whole thing." He ended, sounding quite pleased with himself.*

He then turned to Lily, expecting a barrage of questions. It was clear from her expression she was annoyed she'd never heard of that before, and was going to demand to know exactly how old they had been, what they had been doing for the Order, etc. but she didn't. She remained just as quiet as everyone else. The silence dragged on into near uncomfortable levels until James finally took the book from Lily, checked his chapter, and then closed it and put it down, wondering what he could say.

HPHPHPHP

Finally! The Big Reveal! Hope I did it justice guys.

*I recognize in reading that fun little thing you can find at ( headsup. freeshell drumsticks/) that it states the boys are in their late teens, maybe just seventeen, but that means Sirius got his bike well before I said, so I went back and changed that. Hope you enjoyed the short, and started crying when you realized there's really not going to be a prequel.

More A/N, I know you guys are all sick of my words by now, but this is also something I need to address, a few people have pointed out that Snape heard the Prophecy and started this whole mess and Dumbledore immediately went to the Potter's and put them into hiding, but to that I say you really think his first thought was the Potter's? Dumbledore was running a war, and when this came to him, I like to think he had to actually look around even outside the Order to establish that only two current families fell under this threat, the Potters and the Longbottom's. Even after this, no due date is literally exact so he probably still would have waited until he was sure these two families were the ones. Even then, I still insist they wouldn't have immediately gone into hiding. If the Potter's had gone into hiding while they were still pregnant, then how on Earth did the rest of the world know Harry (and Neville) even existed if they were in hiding literally so much of the first year of their life. I don't think I'm making any sense...and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter you've been dying for so I'll stop talking/typing now.

#The LIfe that Never LIved #Harry Potter #fanfiction #James Potter #Lily Potter #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #reading the books

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innocent-malfoy-slut · 4 years

Text

The Aftermath

Masterlist Requests are OPEN

Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

Word Count: 2,4k

Type: fluff

Summary: After the Battle Harry has to put together all the pieces of his life, finally free from Voldemort. His priority is Ginny.

Characters: Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Mrs. Tonks

Warning(s): no one

Harry found himself climbing what remained of the stairs and heading straight to the Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady wasn’t in her portrait; actually, there wasn’t a single portrait attached at the wall anymore. He went through the hole in the wall and he entered the common room.

Fortunately, it was one of the three tallest towers of Hogwarts and, just like the other two, the damages weren’t too many. It could have been rebuilt quickly and without a big effort -unlike the lowest floors of the castle. He gave a quick look around in the circular room and took some time to impress in his mind every inch of the room.

Harry almost immediately looked over the fireplace, which his godfather used more than once to communicate with him while the Ministry of Magic was looking for him. He sat down on the floor, in front of it, and cupped his own face. How much he needed Sirius’ face showing up all of a sudden in the fire, telling him that everything was going to be okay, telling him everything had ended, and he was then free to have less troubles in life -Harry would have even kept listening to his godfather complaining about Kreacher not doing his job and insulting him, instead.

Kreacher. Where was he now? What would have happened to him?

Then he turned around and saw a scene from the last year, a fresh memory that he could have never forgot: him entering the Common Room only to discover Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, thanks to Ginny. He clearly remembered her hugging him and a moment after he was pressing his lips against hers, and, surprising for him, she returned the kiss. Harry had blurred memories of that night.

Him remembering his happiest moment in the Gryffindor Tower was brutally interrupted when he heard murmurings getting closer and closer to where he was standing. Seconds after the Common Room of the tower was full of students, exhausted, yet still excited at the ending of the Battle. Harry saw some of his friends looking around, proven at the sight of the tower almost demolished.

“Harry!” Neville called him from the other end of the room and when he turned around he saw his friend walking towards him, “The Weasley’s were looking for you in the Great Room, I didn’t know you were her-“ he stopped talking when Harry ran away.

In the corridor of the seventh floor and all the others the characters of the portraits were finally going back to where they belonged and also the ghosts were back flying, without scaring people around. Harry was greeted by all the students -Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and even some Slytherin who had fought side by side with him earlier that morning. He noticed how the entire school was to be rebuilt, from the basement to the highest towers -probably McGonagall was already thinking of the perfect spell to use. He was confident that they would have brought the castle to its old splendor, and he would have certainly helped.

When he arrived in front of the gaping doors of the Great Hall, he immediately saw the Weasley’s still al gathered around Fred’s corpse. Next to him there were Lupin and Tonk’s corpses and kneeled next to them there was a lady with long, straight, light-brown hair. Andromeda Tonks. And he noticed she was failing with holding in her arms a pumpkin of joy. Edward Tonks, his godson.

The words he exchanged with Remus kept echoing in his head and he didn’t know way he walked up to them and kneeled in front of the woman.

“Mrs. Tonks”, Harry protracted his arms towards the baby boy and restrained smile showed up when, finally, Teddy was between her arms. He wanted to say something to cheer her up, or, at least, to state how brave they had been to fight side by side -knowing they were risking their lives.

As Mrs. Tonks raised her head, she immediately recognized the guy who was standing in front of her. “Harry”, she tried to put up a smile, but what she did seemed more like a crumple, “I-I…”

He adjusted Teddy between his arms and said: “Take your time. He’ll stay with me”. he quickly got up and approached the Weasley’s, leaving Andromeda crying her daughter and son-in-law.

Ginny saw Harry, she slipped away his brother’s hug and ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck -always being careful not to hurt the child between their bodies. “Tell me you’re not going to leave me ever again”, she hid her face between his neck and shoulder.

“Never again.”

The process of rebuilding the castle took more time that Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had previously estimated. Members of the Order of the Phenix stayed at Hogwarts to help too. By the end of the next day, it was like nothing had ever happened and all the students got back inside their houses’ common rooms, though most of them had to go back home.

McGonagall -now the Headmaster of Hogwarts- stayed all day in her office to write to the families of those who decided to take the train during the third week of June, assuring them that their children were now in a safe place.

Same thing decided Ron, Hermione and Harry. Although they had no exams to take, they remained there for the end of their seventh year at Hogwarts -at the same time the best and the worst they experienced. Hermione decided to properly end her education and so, according to the Headmaster, she would have gone back the next year; instead, Ron and Harry wanted to become Aurors and the Minister of Magic in person had interceded for them, allowing them to start the training as an Auror.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Andromeda Tonks and little Teddy, and all those who came to fight and protect the Wizarding World had now went back to their usual lives -obviously before the war burst out.

Harry, Hermione and Ron were in the rebuilt Gryffindor common room, sat in complete silence around a table next to a window. The couple was busy outlining their Granger’s-family rescue trip to Australia with maps and compasses, debating if it was more safe travelling in the muggle world as wizards.

“Harry, what do you think about it?” the red-haired guy suddenly broke the invisible ball him and Hermione had closed themselves in asking for their best friend’s option, but they hadn’t noticed the Boy-Who-Lived wasn’t paying attention to them at all; he rather preferred staring at the trees outside the window. “Mate? Is everything okay?”

Ron moved towards him, curious about the reason why he was mind absent and quickly he got his answer.

In the garden below them, a red-haired girl and a blonde one were sitting beneath a tree and, although from the Gryffindor Tower it was visible only their backs, it didn’t take much to understand who they were and why Harry wasn’t paying attention to the people in the room with him.

“Man”, Ron recalled his friend, who got out of the trace he was in before, and sat down next to him, “Have you talked to her?”

There was a moment of silence during which both Hermione and the red-haired guy stared at their best friend, waiting for an answer from him.

“What am I supposed to tell her, Ron? I…I acted like a fool trying to move her away from me, even though I should have known better than anyone else that she would have fought side by side with us during the battle”, Harry got up and started walking up and down the common room, unconcerned of the worried gazes he was drawing. His friends stayed quiet as they knew he needed to pour out the stress he had accumulated in the last days, “I-I…she could have died, and I would have never forgiven myself that”.

“Then go tell her!” this time was Hermione who spoke up, “Tell her how you feel, how you felt during our mission. Tell Ginny you thought of her every day and you checked on her with the map every night. Do you think I haven’t noticed it? Harry, go tell Ginny that you bloody love her!”

All around them there was only silence. Now everybody stopped what they’d been doing and focused their attention on the trio in front of the window. Neville, Dean and Seamus smiled as Harry slowly turned his head towards them. Everybody was silently pushing him to go find Ginny and talk to her, though nobody took the liberty to say more than Hermione had just said.

She summarized well how Gryffindors had been feeling about Harry and Ginny.

Having no other choices, Harry crossed the room and got out of the common room, quickly went down the stairs and ran out of the building. He knew Ginny and Luna were on the opposite spot of the garden, so he had to make his best effort to reach them before they could leave their place under the tree.

Ginny seemed very interested about what Luna was saying. She was talking about her father’s latest discovery about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack and that wasn’t a topic Luna could easily stop adding news. The red-haired girl was nodding at her friend’s direction, but her mind was totally in another place.

She just couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and how they still hadn’t found time to talk to each other, to tell each other how they were feeling. Ginny seemed always to show up in places he had left just instants before she’d walked in. She definitely gave up when, the day before, Neville had told her Harry was in his dorm and once she had made her way up to the Tower, she’d found Dean and Seamus sleeping and no sign of the boy she was looking for.

That’s why she hushed Luna by getting up when she saw Harry running towards them. The smile on her face was visible from miles away and, for the first time in her life maybe, she couldn’t limit herself to see him walking towards her, but she ran to him.

Harry wrapped his arms around her tiny, soft body and put his nose among her hair. The Borrow-typical scent invaded both his nostrils. He closed his eyes and tightened the grip around his girl’s body, “God, I missed you so much”.

“We’ve missed you, too, Harry”, Luna said closing her number of The Quibble, “Guess you arrived just on time to beat Voldemort”, she got up too and approached them, standing up right next to Harry and Ginny -still tight in a hug. Considering no one of them was actually pay attention to her, Luna wisely decided to leave them alone.

“Let’s have a walk, shall we?” Harry intertwined Ginny’s fingers with his and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

“Sure.”

Hand in hand, they walked up to the farther tree in the Hogwarts’ Castle. The same three under which they exchanged their first kiss exactly one year before. They stopped walking and sat down; Harry had his back rested against the wood and Ginny’s head was gently placed on his torso, right upon his heart.

He kept his eyes on her, trying to impress in his mind all the little details of the girl’s face, the way she moved her hands, the way she slowly breathed in and out. It was like he was living his best dream, in which he wasn’t The-Boy-Who-Lived, he was just a wizard whose life hadn’t been linked with his worst enemy’s. And if that was only the calm before the storm? Another time?

“For Merlin’s sake, there were a lot of things I wanted to tell you…and now…now I forget them all!” he chunked and shook his head, giving a quick look down to Ginny, “Hermione gave me a couple of good prompts from where to start, but again, I forgot them. I’m so terrible with these things”.

“I’ll start, then”, Ginny sat up straight in front of Harry and spoke up: “These months here without you had been worse than hell. I-I know maybe this isn’t like you think I would act, but- okay, then, I’ll just say that: I love you, Harry”, she smiled and, as she noticed he was too shocked to say anything else, she kept going: “I love you and I realized it when we broke up last year, and…and the time we spent apart this year, it just made my sentiments grew. You know what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

She couldn’t have said that in a better way.

“I-I have done a thing…a stupid thing…while I was away”, he wasn’t good with words and he knew that, just like Ginny knew it, “I had the Marauder’s Map with me and, some nights, I just opened it and followed your dot around the school. I thought that maybe you would sense that…and maybe understand I was thinking of you”, Harry’s eyes were stuck on Ginny, following carefully each movement of hers, “I know that’s stupid, but-“

“That’s not stupid. That’s sweet, actually”, she pointed out raising her hand to lay it on his arm, “Harry, I-“, but she were cut short by Harry’s lips against hers.

It was like their first kiss; surprisingly Harry had taken the initiative and Ginny was following his lead, getting in a better position and cupping his head with both her hands, meanwhile he was holding her by her waist. The only noise around them were made by the nature, no Gryffindors cheering for them, no Ron Weasley murmuring and Hermione Granger reassuring him, no need to stop the kiss.

As they shared their special, lovely moment, the owls went back flying around the are of the castle and not only, finally the Wizarding World was free from the fear of the Dark Magic and everybody -around the world- was conscious of that. While life was changing for thousands of wizards in the U. K., Harry’s was going through a radical mutation.

He was the Boy-Who-Lived, but -hopefully- he wouldn’t have to fight another mortal battle.

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#harry potter #harry #ginny weasley #harry potter x ginny weasley #ginny and harry #post wizarding war #ron weasley #hermione granger #hogwarts #battle of hogwarts

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noxtms · 4 years

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IN CHARACTER DATE : december 25th, 2020. TRIGGER WARNINGS : n / a.

the department of mysteries hadn’t changed much in the past decade, aside from the new security in place to deter the likes of them from breaking into its depths once again. no windows, one door, black tiles that reflected their pallid faces back at them, albeit fuzzily featureless. it was almost like stepping back in time.

after they had gotten the entirety of their group into that first long corridor ( and for good measure, double checked to make sure that the door at the end was not likewise blocked off to them under some new security measure ), RON stupified THEODORE and left him slumped over outside of it. they considered bringing him further, debating it for a long minute after someone put forward the notion that he may be needed along the way - but it wasn’t fair to HERMIONE. however willing she was to take the necessary steps, it was one thing to use him and gain access to the now forbidden level and another entirely to choose bringing him along for the rest of the night, a puppet to their whims.

they had one chance to turn back, and it was in that moment before the heavy black door was pushed open. all of them seemed to realize this in the same instant, and there was a tense sort of pause while they each steeled themselves, broken only when AURA finally twisted the ornate doorknob and pushed her way inside. those that had been there before let out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding - much like the hallway, it was unchanged. a circular room also tiled darkly and lit only by blue flamed candles greeted them, with a number of handleless doors surrounding them. CASSIA, the last one to step inside, went to close the entrance door out of what must have been a remnant of politeness - she was stopped by GINNY, who shook her head and explained to the group, loudly ( even while pulling out her wand to put a glowing red ‘x’ over the wood ), “the room spins whenever a door is closed. to...- make exactly what we’re here to do even harder.”

as promised, there was a rumble when it was finally allowed to fall closed with a muted thump, and the wall began to spin - the doors blurring ( red ‘x’ becoming a line that they could track in the confusion ) and making everyone feel a little queasy before it finally came to a shuddering stop, entrance now solidly across from them. a shiver ran through the group, and NELLIE was the first to ask the obvious, “how do we know where to find the wand?”

“we’ll have to try every room. some we know we don’t need to dwell in - they’re not going to keep the elder wand in the hall of prophecy, and i doubt the brain room-”

“brain room?”

“you don’t want to know,” RON muttered, darkly.

“- i doubt that’s where it would be kept, either. we can split up and get this over with as quickly as possible.”

everyone seemed rather agreeable to this, but there was once again another glaring hole in the plan : “how will we know when someone’s found it, then?”

they didn’t all have their da coins on them, as it turned out - and they couldn’t guarantee that their amplified voices could be heard through what may very well have been soundproofed doors. they cycled through a number of suggestions, all swiftly shot down, before LUNA piped up. “string. like ariadne.” there was a spark of recognition in some of the gazes that were turned towards her, though the weasley’s ( notably ) didn’t seem to grasp the reference. “it’s a muggle myth. ariadne provided theseus with a string that he used to trace his steps through the minotaur’s maze. i’m sure there’s a spell we can use that would mimic it, and when we find the wand, we can tug the string to let the rest know.

it was a rather good idea. HERMIONE obliged quickly, a dark blue thread - that snaked off in various directions - erupting from the tip of her wand after some brief consideration. she explained it would lengthen as they walked while she conjured it, and the larger group broke into smaller numbers with little issue. friends partnered with friends, family with family, all with the distinct air of just not wanting to let the other out of their sight. given the events of the evening, this was understandable. prepped now for their excursion ( and reminded to mark the door of the rooms they exited with a different colored ‘x’, though no group really needed this reminder ), a deep breath was collectively inhaled and a look shared amongst them all before they set off in different directions.

the FIRST group managed right off the bat to choose the hall of prophecy. you never would have known that almost a decade before, the shelves inside had been destroyed by six reducto’s - the chaos they had imagined was waiting had probably been cleaned up in no time at all, and the endless shelves of lightly glowing blue prophecy spheres were just as uniform and dusty as they had been on that first break in. no one expressed any interest in going much further than the threshold, and no one objected when the string bearer turned back around and abandoned the room - marking the door when everyone had exited again.

the first door tried by the SECOND group was locked until someone cast a powerful unlocking charm on it - alohamora, way back when, had been the only such spell in their arsenal, though the same could not be said now they were older and far wiser. a sickly sweet smell any potioneers in the group would have been able to recognize as amortentia assaulted them all, though it quickly shifted ( as amortentia had the tendency to do ) into a different scent for all of them. this room - misty in a way that evaded description, something bubbling up ahead - was clearly not it, but there was a small amount of difficulty in extracting every member. the string bearer, taking up the rear, took a gulp of stagnant ( but clear ) air from the circular entrance room and urged everyone to follow, but the others footsteps were slow and one of their number attempted to move forward, zombie like, until grabbed at the elbow and forced to leave. for good measure, they didn’t just mark this door - they also locked it once again.

the THIRD and final group stumbled into the brain room that ron had insisted no one wanted to experience, and anyone who may have doubted him very quickly understood why. the rectangular space, filled with tanks of green, viscous liquid in which a number of brains ( or brain like creatures ) swam was eerily offputting, and the glimpse of a tentacle was the only thing they needed to see to hurry their way along - they stayed close to the wall as they crossed to one of the doors further inside, and abandoned the room without a glance back.

so they continued, for a while : unlocking doors and searching the rooms that they found, venturing inside and past further doors only when needed. no one touched anything - a warning uttered by more than one of the individuals who had previously been present in the department was heeded by their charges - and the desire wasn’t really there to. they crepy quietly through the department, one door at a time, half expecting to run into an unspeakable or several, and were whittled down to a final five doors in the main entrance way when the string was tugged.

they had tried four unlocking charms before they found one that forced the door open, they whispered. that alone had caused their hearts to quicken and the thought that this would be the one to cross their minds, but they had made their way into the pitch black room to make sure before they had sent word. a lumos maxima lit up the space, and at the end of a long room that seemed almost to be carved from the very bedrock that presumably surrounded the underground itself, a glass case sat. inside on a velvet cushion lay the object of their late night search : a wand that in all honesty was unfamiliar to them all... but so important to their cause.

“it isn’t very...”

a breath.

“impressive?”

and it wasn’t, really. aside from the fact that the wood itself seemed aged in some indescribable way, the wand wasn’t much to look at. smooth & undamaged & hilted unremarkably with two connecting spheres for design choice, it looked like just about any wand that could be purchased at ollivanders ( or any shop that sold much the same ), and none of them quite knew what to make of that. there was a certain reverence to the way they all crowded around the case, something in each of their eager faces that betrayed they had all been expecting something more - but an undeniable DISAPPOINTMENT as each of them realized that it really wasn’t anything special.

perhaps there was something to be said about the power a name held. maybe a myth was all the wand had ever been, and that was there all of its strength had come from - they were all thinking much the same, but it didn’t really matter. even if it was unexceptional in all ways but legend, they couldn’t leave it here. words were exchanged quickly, the best strategy surmised, and then RON used his elbow to break the top of the case.

they braced themselves, half expecting a security siren to begin frantically beeping like it would have in a muggle movie.

this, too, was silly.

the department of mysteries didn’t need such things to be perfectly protected, or at least, no one who worked in its depths imagined that it did - several of them stood there testament to the fact that they needed more than just a woman in the elevator accepting access codes to keep the secrets of their life’s work safe.

ALICIA lifted the wand from its cushion, carefully, on the urging of the others.

the group turned as one to the door - their exit - the only door they knew would lead them back to the one that they had come through - and froze.

their blood ran cold.

“i believe the muggles have a word for a situation, such as this -”

a woman with wild, dark hair stood in the doorway, framed on both sides by masked figures who blocked what little remaining space existed. the smile that curled her lips at both edges was not friendly, or warm - it did not extend to her eyes, black as coal.

“- deja vu.”

#nox.event009 #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

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inkdrinkershadowsinger · 4 years

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Thoughts/ Background The Deathly Hallows Part One

We get this first look at the new regime. If something were ever done like a fanfiction where Muggles did find out, you could copy this speech word for word, and it would have the same effect.

We see the Muggle family murdered, and then you see

Harry looked out that window countless times to see his “family” leaving on trips or outings without him, but this is one that he can’t take with him, no matter what.

To be fair, Voldemort would torture the Dursleys for fun merely because of what they are.

This just seemed out of character for Petunia. She hasn’t talked about Lily in anything but derogatory terms for years, and then suddenly she’s “my sister”. Please. Then again, the shock of being forced out of her home, with her family, but without Harry, the special one, like Lily was might have triggered some old memories. We never really learned what the whole relationship between these women were especially when they were older. I just don’t care for Petunia overly much. Dudley, on the other hand, exhibits some potential.

This is also a nod to the books, Mr. Weasley here isn’t merely tinkering with his workshop, but fashioning a way for his family to communicate with one another, and for others to communicate with the Order when things get bad. He is planning ahead.

Hermione had to do something here that most people, one, wouldn’t have had the skill to do properly, and two, would have been incredibly hard on them. She vanished all thoughts of her from her parents minds. She took a very logical step and executed it for the safety of her parents. She did what was necessary, and her logical brain made that possible.

Snape just blows through the wards around the Dark Lords home because he is a bad ass. Then the look on his face when he sees Charity Burbage is just heart wrenching. You can think of any number of backstory for these two that you want. But she specifically refers to Severus as her friend. Not her co-worker.

The Malfoy’s are not amused. This is the stiff upper lip of the aristocracy, and also, the fact that they are both extremely uncomfortable and frightened.

The only thing Pius is thinking is, “Don’t let the snake eat me. Don’t let the snake eat me.”

A wizard or witches wand is one of the most important things to them. It is an extension of their body. They have it since they turn eleven. It is always beside them, and to use another person’s wand is both extremely intimate and vile when you consider taking this extension of someone away.

How Snape looks at her….. He shows his emotions on his face as much as Draco in this scene for me. He might have perfected that frightening teacher gambit because his emotions are so full and available on his face. He perfected that scary act because he couldn’t have people looking at him for too long or else they would see everything.

Harry packs up nothing from this room. He has Hedwig and his trunk, presumably.

He looks in his cupboard one more time. The place where he spent so many years. The toy soldiers are still there. The sword here in the toy’s hand looks like a wand.

Love Mad-Eye

I’m sorry, but you can’t even see the scarring on Bill’s face. That always pissed me off. He is shown for four minutes maybe in this movie, they could have made him look like he did in the books, truly ravaged.

Tonk’s pregnancy. Another nod to book readers.

Hermione is sneaking up on him while Mad-Eye talks to Harry. She is eyeing him as Harry is preparing to monologue.

Mr. Weasley is guarding the doorway just in case behind Fred and George.

Harry knows this is serious, but still can’t hide his fascination here.

Tonks is calming Remus in the background because he knows that they all are about to undertake something that could be very dangerous.

“I know Ginny was lying about that tattoo.” Another nod to the books. I love these. I live for them in this movie and in the next one.

Harry lets Hedwig out to fly one more time. He probably thought that she would go off without him, and meet him at the Burrow, but animals are so receptive that she stuck by her friend because she knew that something was off.

Sirius, in a very real way, brought Harry to Pivet Drive, rescuing him from people still loyal to the Dark Lord, and then Sirius’ bike takes him away, and rescues him from the Dark Lord.

Hagrid takes the bike to a Muggle road where they could in theory hide in plain sight, just like Harry did at the Dursleys.

That must have been one powerful stunner to knock Hagrid, the half giant out.

Do we ever really get this phenomenon explained fully? Why Harry’s wand acted of its own accord, and defended himself against Voldemort? Is that because of the twin cores? Because Voldemort was using someone else’s wand.

Mrs. Weasley is such a strong character. To have to stay home, and take up the position of watcher and waiter and potential triage if help is needed. It took almost more courage to stay behind then it took to go.

Why did Mundungus flip? What offer was made for him to be swayed to the other side. He is old enough to have lived during the first war he would have known what it was like back then.

Mr. Weasley must be having some serious flashbacks right now about losing someone. He was married to Molly who lost both of her brothers in the first war. They were twins, and now his twin son has just been injured. I wonder how close the four of them were? Odd purebloods who wanted to fight against the oncoming horde. Did they house them or the Marauders at one point in time? Did Arthur provide cover for them? This is why we need the thing, and so, I did THE THING if you would like me to send you some of the thing, message me.

Harry is presenting some very valid points here. They need to get going, but Ron is showing some rationality here that is uncommon for Gryffindors. He is saying, “Let’s take a second, and try to think this through.” A vast contrast from what happens later on.

The Burrow looks more modern and less cluttered in this movie compared to the second. Then again, this is after the fire in the sixth film, and thus, in theory, they have lost a lot of their possessions. Things would look differently.

Ginny is a minx, and I love it. “You ain’t gonna pay attention to me? You really think so?”

Harry is changing his tune about weddings after he sees Ginny in that dress.

George winks at them!!!! That always kills me. Before he gives Harry the “Older brother” look.

George two seconds later, “I’m going to get a commendation.”

The deluminator finally making another appearance.

As a bookworm, I can think of no better gift then someone who loves books giving me an annotated copy of their favorite book.

I like that the fact that the sword of Godric Gryffindor can come out of the sorting hat seems to be common knowledge.

They have guards outside of the tent.

Hagrid and Madam Maxime.

Is that Fleur and Bill’s cake behind Hermione? Or something else?

Nice close up of the symbol.

If that is the cake, I feel like it probably does something spectacular to make it more grand.

You can see Mrs. Weasley behind Aunt Muriel being the fantastic mother of the groom making her rounds.

Death Eaters AK first, as questions never.

The waitress is me at work…. Lol if only we could wear air pods and block everything else out.

Harry, you know your girl Hermione has got your back.

Harry is very practical here. I don’t think he cares one way or another about whether these death eaters live or die.

Hermione is the best at spells is the same as saying she is the best at everything.

You can see Hermione having a flashback to her parents here.

Who created these wizarding laws? It would have Voldemort if they could have kept the trace on Harry. How do they enact these laws? Enforce them? What magic is used in their creation?

This is the first time that Harry has been back in Grimmauld Place since Sirius died. He goes to Sirius’ room first. I wonder why Mrs. Black did rid everything of Sirius’ presence from her house after he defected. Did she have some sort of hope that he would come back?

The nameplates on their doors are so different. Sirius’ is plain and boldfaced. Regulus’ is curvy and fluid, full name present.

Look at Grimmauld Place in Ootp and then look at it now. Mundungus robed the house blind. I wonder how he managed to make out with so much when Kreacher was there. Unless Kreacher was under some sort of enchantment to not harm any wizard in the household unless directed otherwise. It seems like something that house elves would be forced to comply with.

He calls him little master Regulus,,,,,,, I will never forgive the filmmakers for not letting the creatures have their final stand at Hogwarts in the movies like they did in the books.

Neville is just fed up with this bullshit. He’s a pureblood. He knows that he is too valuable to the new regime to incapacitate. But this still takes some guts.

The statue in the atrium has been replaced with wizards crushing the muggles and creatures.

The way that a corrupt regime tries to take over is by not only changing the narrative in the media, but by also changing the culture. They change the art and the books, the burn whatever they don’t like. They make you think that something has always been there even when it has just been replaced. Think 1984 by Orwell.

Umbridge is just so pleased with herself. She needs another vacay with the centaurs.

The way that Ron looks Hermione makes me want to sob. It is so beautiful.

Okay, how long in advance did Jk Rowling plan this series? It is not a surprise to me at all that she went ahead and is now writing the Cormoran Strike detective novels. Her mind works in deep layers of plot and intricasies of detail that I can barely fathom. She must have been planning this for years. To have the resurrection stone open not at touch, but when Harry puts it to his mouth because that is how he caught his first snitch in the first novel. This woman is a bloody genius, which is why I reading The Cormoan Strike novels and taking notes son, I’m not sleeping on this woman anymore.

Mundungus is sneaky, but Hermione is smart as shit. None of them are fooled by his idiot act.

I love Dobby. And Kreacher. Without these characters, the story of Harry Potter wouldn’t have been as good as it is.

When I watched this movie, I was like, dang!!! Of course, it is Umbridge.

These high ranking ministry officials are the definition of getting too comfortable. You really about to let yourself get abducted in broad daylight.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking out the trash.

What happens if a Muggle wanders into this bathroom? Or a Muggleborn who hasn’t got their Hogwarts letter yet? Do they think they are just taking a wee, and then get spat out at the Ministry of Magic? That would be quite the story.

I love that Harry and Ron don’t even question if this method of getting to the ministry is going to work or not. They just automatically stand in the toilet.

Also, the statue makes it seem like the Muggles are fighting one another. That would be something that Voldemort’s regime would want. They would want it to seem like the Muggles are low, petty creatures who would rather save their own skin then another of their kind. It would inspire a sense of community even subconsciously among those that saw it.

Poor Ron. Didn’t they research these people? They got two high ranking people, and then poor Reg Cattermole.

Where Ron gets out of the elevator. These office doors? Look almost like entrances to banks or crypt vaults. Very secure looking.

I know this is another actor acting like Harry, but that was a pure Harry Potter face when they saw Umbridge.

That pamphlet reads: Mudbloods and the dangers they pose. Perfect Pureblood Society./ They are mass producing propaganda.

I wish some mention of this being a WWW product could have been put out there.

Umbridge would be OCD. She is the type that needs to be in control of everything, and that would translate into her surroundings.

These books in Umbridge’s drawer look old. They don’t look freshly printed. And why would such a neat freak have old books in her desk? These might have been from the first war with Grindlewald. When Muggles attack. Mudbloods: How to spot them. These could easily be reworked into new propaganda. Umbridge is a racist who relies on “research” to assert her ideals.

Umbridged marked out Mad-Eye’s, Sirius’, and Dumbeldore’s faces in red ink like she was crossing something off of her grocery list.

Ron is this close to his dad, and yet, he can’t say anything to him. It might have led somewhat to him feeling like he does later on, and eventually heading out.

Ron and Arthur have the same sense of humor and I love it.

Arthur was ready to throw down with Runcore as Harry. Mr. Weasley gets a lot of flack for being soft, sweet Arthur, but he definitely has a side of steel when he thinks that he or someone in his family is being hurt.

The death eater trials seen back in Goblet of Fire were full of paperwork, trying truly to determine guilt or innocence. This trial, there are no witnesses, hardly any paper work, and no proper jury. Clearly a farce. Umbridge is judge and jury. She is absolutely horrid and I hate her.

Umbridge must get a serious tick anytime anyone says the word, “Lie”.

Ron is trying his best to get this lady understand that they are facing tough, unfair times. I hope that they took the advice and got the heck out of dodge.

Copies of Harry’s face hiding Harry’s face from view is amazing.

They land in such a calm looking place, but the reality is that everything has just got a heck of a lot harder. They have been forcibly evicted from Grimmauld Place, and now, one of their number seriously injured. Everything just went from bad to worse soon to be deplorable.

I like that Harry refers to Voldemort as Tom here. Saying, “You Know Who” makes it seem like he is far removed from the rest of humanity, but saying, “This belonged to Tom’s grandfather. This belonged to Tom himself.” That humanizes this monster like figure, both in that it makes it seem like he can be defeated, but also that, it makes it seem possible that he can be redeemed which seems to be what Harry at least attempts in the eighth film.

Harry just looks at Ron, like, “Yes, fucker, it does bother me.” It takes very little time for people to start turning.

Like, why didn’t they just tell Ron that they had a run in with snatchers. Shouldn’t he have been alerted to any new threats?

Are there really just miles of abandoned trailers somewhere like that?

Hermione is keeping the peace the best that she can, but she has a lot against her, the two fragile, male egos not the biggest concern.

I never liked this scene of them fighting each other in the woods. But it sort of turns that feeling of fighting for pretend or something to do to really trying to harm each other, and letting the resentment that the two men feel towards each other and towards other people come to the surface.

They cut the scene of Ron and Hermione skipping rocks out of the final version of the DVD, and I have always hated that because it is so cute.

When Ron leaves, Harry is truly terrified that he is going to hear two snaps of apparition, and that Hermione will leave him too.

She ties her scarf around the tree because she hopes that Ron will come back and see it. It reminds me of that, “Tie a yellow ribbon round an old oak tree…”

The contrast in the tent here between this tent in all its beige glory and the tent that was used in Goblet of Fire at the Quidditch World Cup is stark. One is clearly bright and fun, and this one, like their circumstances is just bleak.

I know that JK Rowling loves this scene, but I don’t. I always thought that it was out of place in this film. Hermione is just torn up because Ron, someone who she has deep, deep feelings for of friendship and something more has just left them, her, and Harry decides that now is a great time for a dance. And the way that Harry looks at her is just a little too personal for me. It feels like the end of the world. The only justificiation for that look that I can think of, is Harry is feeling so hurt by Ron that he intends to wreck what is left of their friendship before Ron can, and what faster way than ruining what Harry knows Ron feels for Hermione. That is a really dirty interpretation though, so, Idk. It’s better to think it is just an odd scene and odd acting on DR’s part.

I feel like Harry and Hermione had a renewed sense of determination to start getting stuff done since Ron left. They wanted to try and make progress, subconsciously thinking that somehow that might get them all back together. Work so you don’t think, maybe.

You can see the snow start to fall at the end of this scene, and then they apparate into a snow covered Godric’s Hollow.

I love Harry’s insistence that he is not going to polyjuice himself or anything like that because he wants this visit to Godric’s Hollow to be authentic.

The Peverell tombstone, a nod to the books that I don’t think gets fully explained in the films.

So, Nagini is a horcrux. Nagini was once a person. Nagini is a snake and Voldemort’s familiar. Now, we know that animals can be transformed into goblets and plates or whatever, but animals can be transfigured into a person? That’s what happened here with Bagshot, right?

Bathilda Bagshot straight up had a blue steel picture of young Grindlewald in her house. And I don’t blame her. This version of Grindlewald is far superior.

Skeeter’s book, another nod to the book.

She is speaking parseltongue , but Harry only hears English. This is where, us, the viewers, promptly start freaking out.

Harry gets thrown into a baby boy’s nursery then proceeds to fight against a piece of Voldemort’s soul. Irony.

THE DOE!!!!

Some people deal with tension using humor. Ron is one of those people. I am another.

Some people deal with tension with conflict. Harry is one of those people.

It looks like the piece of Voldemort’s soul in the locket literally tries to beat down on Harry, but it is rebuffed by the piece of soul that he already has inside of him.

Locket Hermione’s voice here is so different then her actual speaking voice.

This scene where locket Hermione and locket Harry are making out makes me want to vomit. It is so cringey that this was even included in the movie tbh.

“HEy,,,1,/ehdzjh,samdlas”

Ron’s like, “Mate, when we walk up I need to hold the destroyed horcrux and the sword, you know, for maximum effect.”

I like that they said that Ron was at a pub instead of home with the Weasleys like he was in the books.

“Just my name.” The way Ron says this makes my heart melt. It says so much in so few words.

I like that there is magic in this universe, and then there is magic. There is that little ball of light that floated from Sirius’ lips when they were being attacked by dementors in Prisoner of Azkaban, there is the veil in the department of mysteries, and the ball of light that Ron talks about here. Explanations are provided for so much in this series, but there are still magical things that even the characters don’t know the whole of.

Hermione is like, “Heifer, please, you ain’t getting any of my time yet.”

I have a feeling that Hermione is right for the next ten years after the behavior you have exhibited Ronald Weasley.

Luna. My baby. My girl.

The fruit on the plants are floating. If I grew up in house like this, in a place like this, I would believe in a lot of things that other people may not. It seems like a place where imagination is really allowed to flourish.

The animation used for the “Tale of the Three Brothers” is absolutely stunning. It is why people have it tattooed on their skin. It’s breathtaking.

He says, “The most powerful wand ever made.” He doesn’t say created. There is the theory that it did come from death, but then that the brothers were merely fantastic inventors. I don’t know which the truth is, maybe some of both. It would make a wonderful fanfiction.

At the wedding at the beginning, both the Lovegood’s are wearing yellow and they’re bright and happy, and then you have this scene where everything is dark and gloomy. Some beautiful non-verbal storytelling.

You can see just how wrecked Xenophilius is. He is desperate to get Luna back he is wandering into an attack zone.

People who are desperate don’t have the reason available to think, “Oh, what if these people don’t actually care about my concerns.” They have a single track mind in getting what they want.

Grindlewald is still a cocky bastard even after decades in prison. This old man looks more the badass than Depp.

Fenrir Greyback is just standing there, second fiddle to this random, purple scarf wearing snatcher. What the heck?

This scene always baffles me. Lucius has seen Ronald Weasley and his family for years. Lucius taunts Arthus on a regular basis. Lucius has heard repeatedly that Hermione and Ron are Harrys friends from Draco for at least six years. They KNOW FOR A FACT that this is Ron and Hermione, who do they think the third person is going to be?????????? It should have been a high enough possibility based on their presence alone to call the Dark Lord, but none of them do it because they have to make sure????

Draco has stared at this face for SIX years. I mean, Draco is just prepping himself to lie this whole time if he can get away with it.

Bellatrix ain’t no fool though. She figures out about the stinging jinx. The only thing that saves them is her seeing the sword.

Snape is the best potions master around. All of them probably have heard of veriterserum, and none of them thought to have it on tap?

It pisses me off to no end that we didn’t get to see Pettigrew strangle himself.

Dobby is a king!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I saw this, I died.

Dobby is like, “Harry Potter, sir, duh.”

WE MISSED OUT ON A LUNA AND DOBBY BROMANCE AND I AM FUCKING FURIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like having Pettigrew just pass out or whatever was such a cop out, but I understand what it would have done to the tone that had already been established in this sequence.

Even then, Draco isn’t ready to fall into line with Bellatrix’s plans.

Dobby is a king, and I love him.

DOBBY HAS NO MASTER. DOBBY IS A FREE ELF. DOBBY HAS COME TO SAVE HARRY POTTER AND HIS FRIENDS.

I love Dobby. I want to cry no matter how many times I watch this scene because he is so small and vulnerable and honest, and he just loves Harry so much. And he did so good. And he saved them, and Harry wants so badly to save him back, but he can’t.

Harry has just lost so many people. In the next film, when he is speaking to everyone in the house Harry seems almost militaristic in his approach and demeanor, but when you think about what has just happened, Dobby’s death, that harshness and straight to the point approach seems more realistic and warranted definitely.

This scene where Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore’s grave: I read something that commented on Voldemort like hovering over Dumbledore’s body to get to the wand. Then it was like, well, he could be straddling him. I have honestly never been the same since. I laughed so hard.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part one #Harry Potter thoughts #Harry Potter anaysis #Harry Potter background

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mysweetestcreature · 4 years

Note

hope this doesn’t come across as rude but why do you think ginnys casting was bad

i should start by saying that i have nothing against bonnie wright, i’m sure she’s lovely in real life. so what i’m about to say is not necessarily her fault. the first issue is that the casting directors had hired her when she was only maybe nine/ten years old, and filming had started in 2000 when jk rowling had just released goblet of fire. i’m not saying that they should have recasted, that would totally have ruined what made this franchise so magical to grow up with. i’m saying that warner bros should have invested in an acting coach or two for not just bonnie, but for all the young cast members that would be working on the set for ten years.

now the main problem i have with her casting is that she is nothing like the ginny we’ve read about. it worked for philosopher’s stone to maybe goblet of fire, where ginny was more shy––perfectly aligned with how bonnie played her. starting from order of the phoenix and on, she remains such a one-dimensional, simply flat character. book ginny is supposed to turn into this fiery spirit because well, she’s grown up since her days of being harry potter’s fangirl in chamber of secrets. what i’m trying to get at here is that there’s no trace of character growth, and that’s primarily the fault of the scriptwriters as well as time constraints that withhold every element of the books to be incorporated into the films.

but then we can’t use that as an excuse because there are actors like the james and oliver phelps (the weasley twins) and devon murray (seamus finnigan) who didn’t have nearly as much screen time, but they are exactly/very similar to how i had imagined their characters to be when i read the books. it just makes you wonder, why did they downplay ginny so much, but make these secondary/tertiary characters so much like their book counterparts when she obviously held the larger significance? it’ll sound mean, but i think this is just an issue of acting capacity.

finally, and probably the most obvious reason, she and dan had ZERO chemistry. every romantic scene of theirs was just painful to watch, and if i hadn’t read the books, i’d have wanted harry and hermione to end up together because dan and emma had such a strong chemistry (but film harry-hermione-ron is a different rant for a different day). say they had to reduce ginny’s character to strictly be harry’s love interest for the reasons i say above, it still didn’t work because they’re just super awkward. the writers tried so hard to create a spark that just wasn’t there between the actors. the scene in half-blood prince where ginny bends down to tie his shoe? book ginny would never, and quite frankly it just doesn’t make any sense. again, it’s neither dan nor bonnie’s fault, just sloppy writing. no one could have foreseen that they wouldn’t be compatible in front of the camera back in 2000.

#i can talk about harry potter all day long my lads #send me stuff and i'll rant hehe

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hufflly-puffs · 5 years

Text

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 17: A Sluggish Memory

“Late in the afternoon, a few days after New Year, Harry, Ron and Ginny lined up beside the kitchen fire to return to Hogwarts. The Ministry had arranged this one-off connection to the Floo Network to return students quickly and safely to the school.” – But what about those students who don’t have access to the Floo Network, like Hermione and other Muggleborns? And it also doesn’t seem like they all arrive at the same time, so McGonagall has students dropping in her office all day.

So Apparation lessons cost no less than 12 Galleons? And the fact that Ron not mentioned this once, just like he didn’t talk about his new potions book costing 9 Galleons, really must mean the Weasleys have more money now. Though I think it is interesting that Apparation is something you don’t learn at school but through a Ministry approved course. Bit like driving lessons then. And just like them perhaps not every student can afford them.

“‘I forgot you’d already done it �� I’d better pass my test first time,’ said Ron, looking anxious. ‘Fred and George did.’ ‘Charlie failed, though, didn’t he?’ ‘Yeah, but Charlie’s bigger than me,’ Ron held his arms out from his body as though he were a gorilla, ‘so Fred and George didn’t go on about it much … not to his face, anyway …’” – Despite the fact that the twins are no longer at school Ron still thinks about their reaction and compares himself with them. But I guess lifelong unhealthy habits are hard to get rid of.

“Lost in visions of this happy prospect, he flicked his wand a little too enthusiastically, so that instead of producing the fountain of pure water that was the object of that day’s Charms lesson, he let out a hoselike jet that ricocheted off the ceiling and knocked Professor Flitwick flat on his face. ‘Harry’s already Apparated,’ Ron told a slightly abashed Seamus, after Professor Flitwick had dried himself off with a wave of his wand and set Seamus lines (‘I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick’).” – You know I don’t think we appreciate Flitwick as a character enough.

“‘It was Fudge’s idea originally, you know. During his last days in office, when he was trying desperately to cling to his post, he sought a meeting with you, hoping that you would give him your support –’ ‘After everything Fudge did last year?’ said Harry angrily. ‘After Umbridge?’” – You know, now that I think about it, Fudge never actually apologized, which was the very least he could do. He would have if he had ever had the chance to meet Harry, but only to get him on his side. I’m not sure Fudge actually felt remorse for the way he treated Harry. He created his own version of the truth, where he justified all of his actions.

“‘So, sir,’ said Harry, in what he hoped was a polite, calm voice, ‘you definitely still trust –?’ ‘I have been tolerant enough to answer that question already,’ said Dumbledore, but he did not sound very tolerant any more. ‘My answer has not changed.’” – I think this is the only time Dumbledore is strict with Harry. But it is a question of trust. Just as Lupin told Harry over Christmas: the question is not whether to trust Snape but if you trust Dumbledore’s judgement of Snape’s character. And obviously Dumbledore can’t tell Harry why he trusts Snape; in the end only Snape could make the choice to share this information with Harry. But Dumbledore asks Harry to trust him and Harry can’t, not entirely, not when it comes to Snape, and this causes a small rift between them.

“‘No, I did not. Though he had shown no hint of remorse, it was possible that he felt sorry for how he had behaved before and was resolved to turn over a fresh leaf. I chose to give him that chance.’ Dumbledore paused and looked enquiringly at Harry, who had opened his mouth to speak. Here, again, was Dumbledore’s tendency to trust people in spite of overwhelming evidence that they did not deserve it! But then Harry remembered something … ‘But you didn’t really trust him, sir, did you? He told me … the Riddle who came out of that diary said “Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did”.’ ‘Let us say that I did not take it for granted that he was trustworthy,’ said Dumbledore. ‘I had, as I have already indicated, resolved to keep a close eye upon him, and so I did. […]” – There is a clear parallel to Snape here. Same as he did with young Tom Dumbledore decided to give Snape a second chance, because everyone deserves one. And yet, it is possible Dumbledore never trusted Snape a hundred percent either; at least he kept a close eye on him as well. His refusal to give him the position for the DADA teacher for so long indicates this, because Dumbledore wanted to keep Snape away from the Dark Arts as much as possible. Unlike Tom Riddle though Dumbledore knows that Snape feels remorse for his actions, and he knows the very reason why, and in the end this is why he puts the ultimate trust in Snape, telling him about the Horcruxes, asking Snape to kill him, trusting Snape to play his role in Dumbledore’s big plan even after Dumbledore’s death.

“‘I have not been able to find many memories of Riddle at Hogwarts,’ said Dumbledore, placing his withered hand on the Pensieve. ‘Few who knew him then are prepared to talk about him; they are too terrified.” – This indicates that those people do know that Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort. However I always had the impression that Hagrid never knew that Tom Riddle and Voldemort are the same person, and that Voldemort himself did the best to leave his past behind him, in changing both his name and face, creating a completely new identity. Perhaps those people who knew him back then, knew him as Tom Riddle, are right to be terrified, because the secret to defeat Voldemort is in his past, in those very few unguarded moments, before the man became a monster.

“Finally he was forced to accept that his father had never set foot in Hogwarts. I believe that it was then that he dropped the name for ever, assumed the identity of Lord Voldemort, and began his investigations into his previously despised mother’s family – the woman whom, you will remember, he had thought could not be a witch if she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death.” – I think human life in itself is defined by the fact that it will end. And knowing that our time is limited gives it value in the end. But I think Voldemort perhaps did define himself to be above humans. Being a wizard already made him special, and even among other wizards he was special, with his heritage, with his abilities. But even wizards die, even magic can’t prevent death, not until you are ready to sacrifice your soul. (And what’s a human without a soul?) And so Voldemort created himself and shaped himself into something barely recognizable as a human being, because if you are no longer human you can longer die. But when he does die in the end the question is as what.

I do wonder if Morfin put one and one together and realized that Merope gave birth to a son who turned out to be a wizard, or if he was simply too drunk (and dumb) to realize the truth.

We do learn two very importing things about memories in this chapter: you can implant a false memory into the mind of someone else and you can alter your own memory. Therefore not even memories can be a reliable source. They can be changed, erased or overwritten, and this again is another case of abusing consent. We are made of our memories and to take them away, to change them or to implant us false memories changes fundamentally who we are.

Also Dumbledore says he gained Morfin’s real memory through Legilimency, so Morfin did not give Dumbledore his memory freely. It is possible he agreed that Dumbledore could use Legilimency on him, otherwise the whole thing is quite problematic, no matter Dumbledore’s intentions.

“‘You are quite right – they can detect magic, but not the perpetrator: you will remember that you were blamed by the Ministry for the Hover Charm that was, in fact, cast by –’ ‘Dobby,’ growled Harry; this injustice still rankled. ‘So if you’re under age and you do magic inside an adult witch or wizard’s house, the Ministry won’t know?’” – Remember in book 4 when Hermione used a spell (I think it was ‘Lumos’) during the Quidditch World Cup, after the mass panic had broken out, and nothing had happened to her? Now we know why. There were so many wizards and witches there, all of them using magic, that it was impossible to trace that spell back to her (and Hermione probably knew that because she had read it somewhere). But considering this, the rule that forbids underage wizards and witches to use magic, is stupid. Basically every child in a magical household could get away with it, though I wonder how many of them know about it. Earlier Ron did complain over Christmas that he could not use magic to help him peeling sprouts for Christmas dinner. And if you, like Harry, are the only wizard within your neighbourhood every bit of magic will be traced back to you, even if you are sometimes not responsible.

“Harry noticed that the contents proved difficult to empty into the Pensieve, as though they had congealed slightly; did memories go off?” – Imagine it though, all those memories with little ‘best before’ labels.

“His right hand lay negligently upon the arm of his chair; with a jolt, Harry saw that he was wearing Marvolo’s gold and black ring; he had already killed his father.” – Not sure if the opening of the Chamber of Secrets happened before or after the murder of his remaining family, but Riddle leaves school and has already committed four murders. What is interesting is that he only learns now about Horcruxes, after he had killed his father and grandparents. So is it possible to create a Horcrux even some time after the murder, not just in the process of it?

“It is, as you will have noticed, very crudely done, and that is all to the good, for it shows that the true memory is still there beneath the alterations.” – I wonder if you can erase a memory for good. Dumbledore was able to find Morfin’s real memory underneath a false one, and it is the same with Slughorn: the real memory is still there. Despite both Riddle and Slughorn being very talented wizards they could not fully erase/change a memory. I wonder however what it does to you and your mind if the real memory is still there, but hidden, what kind of trauma that can cause.

“‘He [Slughorn] is much more accomplished at Occlumency than poor Morfin Gaunt, […].” – This does make it sound like Dumbledore took Morfin’s memory against his will.

“‘No, I think it would be foolish to attempt to wrest the truth from Professor Slughorn by force, and might do much more harm than good; I do not wish him to leave Hogwarts.” – So Dumbledore does not want to use force on Slughorn because it is morally wrong but because he is afraid Slughorn might leave (though it is possible he is simply afraid Slughorn will become a target again outside Hogwarts). But clearly Dumbledore thinks the end does justify the means.

Also, Dumbledore does the very same as Scrimgeour, he uses Harry for his own means. He might be more open about it his intentions; he told Harry he needed him to get Slughorn back to Hogwarts in the first place and now he needs him to get the real memory from Slughorn. And perhaps it is the fact that he acknowledges that he needs Harry, that he uses him, that makes Harry agree to do what he is told. Harry trusts Dumbledore and his trust is repaid with honesty (as honest as Dumbledore can be with Harry at this point).

#Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince #A Sluggish Memory #chapter notes #hbp

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nerdcc-1701 · 6 years

Text

Love Through Time

Pairing: Young Albus Dumbledore x Reader

Warnings: Time travel and mentions of death.

Word Count: 1,334

Summary: Age is but a number, but what happens when Y/N meets her soulmate and he is old enough to be her great grandfather? Not everything happens in order and love is no different.

Authors Note: There will not be a romantic relationship between the older version of Dumbledore and the main character. There is a reason time travel is involved. Also I am using the Fantastic Beasts version of the young Albus mostly because I prefer they way he looks over the way he was described in the books.

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Everyone was born with a tattoo of the name of their soulmate on their wrist. The person who you would love with all your heart, who you would do anything for and vice versa. It was the most magical thing in a world of magic, and for Y/N it was no different. She knew her soulmates name as if it was engraved on the backs of her eyelids. It was a part of her now, more than anything else. Her parents weren't quite as sure though and even though they never mentioned why to the young girl, they always tried to come up with reasons why late at night when they discussed her mark. It wasn't until Y/N turned 11 that she realized why.

She had recieved her Hogwarts letter earlier in the summer and had been extremely excited to attend the school of magic ever since. Her parents had taken her to Diagon Alley and bought all her school supplies. As a gift they even bought her an owl. And on September 1st the young girl made her way to Platform 9 ¾ and began the journey to the rest of her life. She was also excited to see if her soulmate would be there.

When they arrived the young girl could hardly contain her excitement. She, along with the other first years, stood in a group and waited to be sorted. When it was her turn, Y/N made her way up to the stool missing the knowing look from the wise old wizard at the table behind her and allowed the sorting hat to fall onto her head. Moments later the hat let out a shout of “Y/H” and she made her way to the table that was currently cheering for her. It was only after all the students had been sorted that Y/N spotted the wizard with a long white beard stepping up to a podium.

“Good evening students, both new and old. For those of you who don't know, I am Professor Dumbledore.” Though the man kept talking, Y/N couldn't seem to hear him through the fog that had overtaken her mind. With a glance down at her robe covered wrist, Y/N couldn't help but be confused. She turned to her right where an older student sat listening intently to what the headmaster was saying.

“Pardon me, but do you know what Professor Dumbledore's first name is?” The boy gave her an odd look before replying.

“Albus. His name is Albus Dumbledore.” She couldn't think straight after he spoke. Lifting her Sleeve just enough to see her soulmates name tattooed on her wrist, Y/N let the fingers of her opposite hand trace the dark letters there. ‘Albus Dumbledore’ was written in neat cursive lettering standing out against her skin. This couldn't be right.

Five years later found the young witch growing up fast. With a war on the horizon and her friends and family in immediate danger, Y/N had almost completely given up on figuring out her confusing tattoo. She hadn't spoken to the headmaster for more than a few moments since she first started at Hogwarts. She was almost positive that he had to have known something was up as he would have her name tattooed on his wrist as well. Her friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all knew about her tattoo, but they were just as confused as she was. It was the summer before her fifth year that she finally got a few answers. The Order of the Phoenix had been reinstated with the rise of Voldemort during the Triwizard Tournament last year and she had been living in the Headquarters for the last few weeks after Arthur Weasley brought her there from her parents house. She hadn't been allowed to sit in on any of the meetings until Harry arrived.

The first time she sat through the meeting, Professor Dumbledore was there. She absentmindedly traced her tattoo through the whole meeting, catching the wise old wizards attention. When the meeting was adjourned, Albus called out for the young witch to stay behind. Her friends gave her knowing looks before leaving the room. “Yes professor?” Y/N asked, chewing on her bottom lip with nerves.

“I've been avoiding you since your first year and I believe it is time you learned why.” The tired old man explained that he knew what her soulmate tattoo would say and that he too had one of her name, but it was more complicated than the age gap between them that she had originally thought of. “You see, I've already bonded with my soulmate. You and I have met many years before you first came to Hogwarts as a first year.” At Y/N confused look he chuckled. “In two years time you are going to be forced backwards in time to my past. I met you merely a few years after I became a Professor at Hogwarts. You helped me through the grief of my younger years and taught me that love transcends everything, including time. For you, this is a journey not yet begun, but for me, well, I have all the memories I need as well as the promise of seeing you again when it is my time to rest in peace.” They spoke for a long while, going over what was to come even though the older professor refused to give away what their relationship had in store for the young witch.

A year later saw Y/N watching as her soulmate was murdered in front of her. She had known it was going to happen though he had sworn her to secrecy when he told her, but it didn't make it any easier. For the next year she felt as if she was just going through the motions. Helping Harry and the gang find the horcruxes was the least she could do. When the final battle came she fought valiantly. Firing spells left and right. It seemed as though she would either win or die trying, but as she spun to face her next opponent two spells hit her chest at the same time. Perhaps it was the mix of the two spells or perhaps it was just magic, but Y/N found herself falling through a dense fog. It seemed like she was falling for days though she had no way of keeping track of the time when she finally landed. Her body hit the ground hard and her sight seemed to fail her for many moments before she was able to see a pair of shoes in front of her face. Looking up slowly she saw the face of a young man in his early twenties kneeling next to her. He had brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard to match, but what stunned her the most were his piercing blue eyes.

“Are you alright?” The man asked, his gaze filled with concern as she struggled to find an answer.

“Yes, I think so.” Y/N pushed herself up into a seated position, wincing as she did so. “Where am I?”

The man chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he gazed upon the young woman. “You must have hit your head harder than I thought. You are at Hogwarts. What is your name?” He asked. Y/N held out her hand in greeting, blushing slightly as she realized she was still on the ground and probably looked a mess.

“My name is Y/N Y/L/N. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir.” The man smiled widely, his eyes glowing bright with an emotion Y/N wasn't familiar with.

“Y/N. A beautiful name for a stunning woman. I am Albus Dumbledore.”

For a moment all the air seemed to rush out of Y/N's lungs and she couldn't breathe. Her mind couldn't comprehend the information just spoken even though she had been prepared for it many years in advance. A soft “oh” is all she could manage while Albus smiled at her.

“‘Oh’ indeed.”

#albus dumbledore #albus percival wulfric brian dumbledore #young dumbledore #albus x reader #dumbledore x reader #hogwarts #harry potter #albus dumbledore imagine #dumbledore imagine #harry potter imagine #fbawtft #fantastic beats and where to find them

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raywritesthings · 4 years

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Weasley & Black: Dark Object Removal

My Writing Fandom: Harry Potter Characters: Ginny Weasley, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Molly Weasley Summary: Ginny can't explain why she gets the same feeling around that old locket that she did around the diary, but one night she enlists Sirius' help in figuring it out. *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN, links are in bio*

Ginny didn’t know why the drawing room tended to give her more shivers than the rest of Grimmauld Place. It wasn’t as if any other part of the house looked more welcoming than in here. Maybe it was the curtains drawn over every window, the drawers containing who knew how many objects of varying danger or toxicity, the writing desk that rattled any time someone drew near.

She had to wonder what it would be like growing up in a house with a bunch of objects with dark magic lying about where anyone could find them. The twins would’ve gotten into everything and probably tried to use some on Percy, she thought. Her amusement faded when she thought about herself growing up and finding a dark object lying about in her cauldron for her to find. No, this wasn’t a funny house at all. She didn’t mind her mum’s fanatical drive to remove the whole lot of it so much once that thought entered her mind.

After they cleared the drawing room of everything that was old, broken or dangerous, it was as if a weighted blanket lifted off her, one she’d been unknowingly wearing every time she stepped into the room. Ginny told herself it was one of the objects, probably that music box that had nearly sent them all to sleep. It was normal to feel that way around stuff like that.

But why was she the only one who had seemed to? Why did it feel so similar to the creeping dread she had felt more and more with every time she’d opened that damned diary?

It was hard, sometimes, pretending that year had had no effect on her. She’d thought she’d gotten pretty good at maintaining the ruse, even with herself. But this house with its snake motifs everywhere and the dark mutterings of the House Elf who dwelled in it was just getting to her.

She tried to pass the time on other things. Playing with Crookshanks or bothering the twins. Her brothers had charmed their door shut for the afternoon, probably working on something they didn’t want their mum happening across, and Crookshanks was curled up on Hermione’s lap while she forced Harry and Ron to finish their homework. She likely thought it would help take Harry’s mind off his upcoming hearing, though Ginny doubted that very much.

Ginny was already done with her own summer work, having less than the incoming fifth years, so she’d wandered down into the kitchen for a snack, finding Sirius there spinning a bottle cap on the table like it was a top.

“Any left?” She asked upon noticing the Butterbeer label on the cap.

He nodded to the cold cupboard. “You’ve earned it. Reckon that was pretty smart slamming the lid on that music box.”

She shrugged. “You saved Harry from those creepy tweezers or whatever they were.“

“That’s my job,” he said simply, though he sat up a little straighter with pride. He liked being complimented for things regarding Harry, Ginny had noticed. A part of her wished she didn’t relate to that so strongly.

“Then we ought to go into business. Fred and George are already starting young, so I’ve got to keep up.” Ginny popped the cap off her bottle and took a swig.

“Weasley and Black, Dark Object Removal,” Sirius said with a grin. “Best to keep my name off it, of course.”

“You’ll be my silent partner.”

Before Sirius could reply, her mother bustled into the room with a number of bags floating ahead of her. “Ginny, can you take these down to the pantry? I won’t need them until tomorrow,” she said, passing her some of the shopping.

“Sure, mum.” Ginny set her Butterbeer down and went into the pantry. And as she passed by a dingy-looking door, it happened again. That sense of dread was back.

Ginny froze. She’d been in the pantry countless times before this since they’d arrived at Grimmauld Place. Why was this happening now?

“You get lost in here or something?”

Ginny jumped and spun around to face Sirius, who had apparently been tasked with bags of his own to deliver. “Oh, no. Just thought… never mind.” She hurried out of the pantry and took another gulp of her drink sitting on the kitchen table, letting the warmth of the Butterbeer chase the chill that seemed to cling to her.

Ginny did her best to push it out of her mind. She was just being paranoid. Surely there wasn’t anything dangerous about the pantry; the Blacks would have had to have been mad to put potentially deadly things in there. Then again, as she passed by Mrs. Black’s sleeping portrait, maybe they were that mad.

She successfully forgot about it until after Harry’s hearing. While she would have been quite happy to continue celebrating with the twins, her mother sent her to fetch sauce from the pantry for dinner.

The feeling returned. “Hell,” Ginny muttered. What was wrong with her? She knew the diary was gone, and the idea that there could be anything else out there like it was too terrible to consider. What were the chances that she of all people would come across it again?

Maybe it was something wrong with her. Maybe she was drawn to this sort of thing.

Or maybe, Ginny told herself, there’s something evil here because this is the Black family home and Lucius Malfoy married directly into it.

That seemed far more likely to her.

“Ginny!” Her mum shouted from the kitchen, startling her.

“Coming,” she called back, tearing her eyes away from the door on the far side of the pantry and grabbing up the sauce.

She didn’t get the chance to go back to the pantry that evening; Kingsley had stopped by for dinner, and that apparently meant an impromptu meeting with the Order members present. Ginny was sent sulking up to her room along with the rest of the students. Hermione stayed up for another hour reading, but long after she had blown out the candle and Ginny’s parents’ footsteps had been heard going up the stairs, Ginny found herself unable to sleep.

She needed to know what was causing this sense within her. She couldn’t live in this house a minute longer with goose flesh crawling up her arms and chills running down her spine. And the best thing to do was confront it before it moved location again.

Decided, Ginny rolled out of bed and found her slippers with her feet in the dark. She crept downstairs into the dimly-lit kitchen.

Only a single occupant remained. Sirius, seated at the table and reading what Ginny recognized as a copy of The Quibbler. Luna would be chuffed, probably.

“Stubby Boardman,” she heard him mutter with a chuckle.

“Er, hey.” She knew she couldn’t exactly get past to the pantry without his notice, so Ginny thought it best not to startle him. Sirius looked round, seeming surprised by her presence. “I just needed something.”

When she went past the cupboards and to the pantry door, however, he got up and followed her. “Needed what, exactly?”

Ginny hesitated. “What’s behind that door?”

“Kreacher’s quarters. Why?”

She blinked. Why would she suddenly have a bad feeling about Kreacher — worse than what she’d already had, at any rate. “I dunno. I just… this is going to sound a bit mad.”

“Well, they say Azkaban turns you mad, so I’ve probably heard them all. Go on.”

“Right.” It felt strange having to explain this to somebody. She was used to the people in her life knowing and simply ignoring or skirting around it. “Well, in my first year, Lucius Malfoy slipped a cursed diary into my school things, and it… it was evil. Really evil. I didn’t realize until it was too late, until it had a hold on me, and I’ll always remember the sort of danger it gave off.”

“You’re attuned to it.”

“I guess. It’s probably in my head.”

He shook his head. “The real trouble with Dark Magic is that it leaves traces. It never quite goes away.”

Ginny stared into his shadowed eyes and faint face and gulped. He really would know better than most, wouldn’t he?

“Right. Well, I noticed I was getting that same feeling here, in the drawing room until we cleaned it out. But now, it’s more coming from over there.”

He followed her pointed finger to the door, scowling. “Kreacher must have salvaged whatever was up there causin it. We’ll see if we can figure out which it is and give it to Mad Eye to have him deal with.”

Ginny approached as he yanked open the door.

The tiny room was mostly taken up by a large boiler, but in the corner there was what she supposed could be called a den. Kreacher lay in a ball on a pile of fabric scraps, curled around a golden locket Ginny recognized. They’d cleared it out of the drawing room, one of the easiest items to move. It always was the most innocuous looking things, wasn’t it?

“Kreacher will keep it safe, Master Regulus,” the House Elf murmured reverently. “Safe until Kreacher can follow Master’s commands.”

“Follow this command,” Sirius snarled. “Let go of that locket, Kreacher.”

Kreacher’s eyes bulged as he was compelled to, and the Elf gave a pitiable wail when Sirius snatched it up by the fine gold chain. “But Master Regulus—”

“Isn’t here anymore. Now stay in your room for the rest of the night.”

He slammed the door on Kreacher’s face and led her back into the kitchen where they wouldn’t have to listen to the cries and curses coming from the den.

“If this was Regulus’ then it’s definitely cursed. He was a Death Eater, died during the last war.”

“So he could’ve gotten it from, er, his leader?” Ginny looked down, slightly ashamed of herself. She knew Sirius proudly said the name, but it had just been such an ingrained part of her life growing up.

“He could have. Why do you think that in particular?”

“Because the diary Lucius Malfoy slipped in my things belonged to, to Tom Riddle. That was his real name when he attended school.”

“Voldemort’s?”

She nodded. “He was still in the diary. Or a ghost of him or part of him or something. I don’t know what it was exactly. He was using my life force to try and resurrect himself, and if Harry hadn’t stopped him,” Ginny said all in a great rush. She still felt so stupid and silly just thinking about it.

“Ginny, hang on,” Sirius said gently. “You’re saying that this locket might be Voldemort’s, and it might possess someone like the diary did to you?”

“I don’t know if it will. But it’s got his symbol, doesn’t it?” She pointed at the S inlaid on the lid, the design clearly meant to invoke a snake. “The Heir of Slytherin.”

Sirius regarded it darkly. “Then we can’t wait for Mad Eye.” He set the locket on the stone floor, and together they backed up a few feet. “Reducto!”

Nothing happened. Sirius frowned and tried again, then with a series of spells more and more complicated and powerful. Some Ginny had heard of, some she had not. The locket remained unchanged.

“It must have protections against spell damage,” he decided.

“When I had the diary, it couldn’t be damaged either, by spells or trying to rip it. I flushed it down a toilet one time, and it still came back up.” Even though Sirius’ lips twitched at the imagery, he didn’t laugh at her, which she was grateful for. “Harry was able to destroy it with a Basilisk fang.”

“That would probably be the venom more than the fang. Basilisk venom is supposed to be very potent, and rare. But hang on a minute.” His eyes seemed to cloud over as he grew lost in thought. Then his limbs were seized in animation. “Come with me.”

“Where?”

But Sirius was already running out of the pantry and to the stairs, taking them two at a time. He surprised her with the energy he had even at this time of night.

It was all Ginny could do to keep up, staggering into his back when he suddenly stopped in the middle of a hall.

“A warning might have been nice.”

“Sorry,” he said in an offhand way, not really meaning it. That might have rankled, but it had been a minor offense. She watched him run his hands over the ceiling, fingertips just able to reach.

He found the catch he’d apparently been looking for and pulled down a section of the ceiling to reveal a step ladder that had seen better days.

“Will it hold?”

Sirius took out his wand and performed a couple different charms. “Now it should. Up we go. Or just me, if you like.”

Ginny shook her head. “I have to see this through.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sirius grinned at her. “Good.”

He led the way up to an attic dustier than the rest of the house had already been. It took them a few minutes to find a lamp they could light to see by. Ginny ducked under cobwebs to get over to a chest of drawers Sirius seemed particularly interested in.

“What are we looking for?”

“A jewelry box. A specific one, mind. My Aunt Lucretia’s.” He began pulling out drawers and looking at the jewelry boxes stored inside. Some were embossed with initials, others had different symbols. “Before she married, her father gifted her a ring that supposedly held a bit of basilisk venom.”

Ginny looked up at his face in shock. “What in Merlin’s twisted undershirt would he do that for?”

“To protect her, supposedly, by warding off any particularly pushy suitors who weren’t her betrothed. She never used it, of course.”

“She’d have gone to Azkaban for murder if she had,” Ginny said.

He nodded. “Right. And she would’ve fit right in. The point being, if the ring is here and still works, all we have to do is open it up and get the venom on the locket.” He seized a box done in a very dark wood. “Here!”

Ginny watched as he sorted through the bits and pieces of jewelry inside, at last producing a ring with what looked to be a green stone overtop. She supposed it was really just a sort of cap. Ginny thought she could see the liquid inside; it made the colors in the stone seem to shift around.

He held the ring out to her. “You’ll have to put this on.”

“Why me?”

“Because it won’t work unless it’s worn, and my fingers are too big.” Sirius reached out and clasped her shoulder. “You’ll be alright, you’re pureblood. And you’ve got Black on both sides.”

Ginny stared at the ring, then looked back up at him. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. I remember Aunt Lucretia bragging about this old thing as if it were yesterday, she did it so often.”

Ginny took a breath. “Okay.” She took the ring and slid it onto her finger, relieved when nothing happened. Sirius set the locket on a cedar chest and she held her hand over it palm up so that the stone was pointing down towards it.

“How does it open?”

“You’ll have to speak the family motto.”

“What is it again?”

Sirius’ mouth twisted in a frown as he recited, “Toujours Pur.”

“Toujours Pur,” Ginny repeated. The hatch on the ring popped open, and as the stone lifted away a deep green liquid poured out, hitting the locket.

Immediately, it became clear it had had some effect. Where the venom made contact it began to bubble and hiss, the metal of the locket seeming to melt away under it to reveal the inside. Ginny thought they caught sight of a single red eye with black slits instead of pupils before there was a terrible, unearthly shriek and a cloud of black mist rose from it before dissipating.

Ginny wrenched the ring off her finger and dropped it on the chest as she backed away, meeting Sirius’ wide eyes.

“That was him,” she said in a whisper. She was sure of it.

“You were right,” Sirius breathed. He moved around the chest to grip her shoulders, and Ginny didn’t realize until then that she had been shaking. “You were right, Ginny. And you did something about it. You beat him.”

“I did.” A smile rose tentatively to her face, one echoed by Sirius. “I finally did.”

Shouts from down below and footsteps registered. Apparently they’d woken the whole house.

“Harry, careful!” Her mum called out over the creaking of the ladder.

Harry’s head cleared the entrance to the attic, his glasses slightly askew as though he’d jammed them on and run headlong into danger. “Sirius! Ginny?” He clambered the rest of the way up. “What’s going on?”

“Er…” She didn’t even know how to start explaining. Would he think it strange that she’d happened upon two of Voldemort’s cursed possessions? Wasn’t it strange that Voldemort had two cursed possessions holding some impression of his very self? What even were they?

Sirius squeezed her shoulder. “Just Weasley and Black, Dark Object Removal. Afraid the business hours are a bit unusual.” He threw a wink her way, then conjured up a glove to safely pluck the ring off the cedar chest. Then he headed to the ladder. “All fine up here. Sorry to wake you.”

“Is that that locket none of us could open?” Harry asked her quietly, frowning down at it.

“It is. But don’t worry, Harry,” Ginny told him. “It’s only a memory now.”

He looked up sharply, seeming to catch her meaning, but Ginny went to the step ladder. She’d be happy to explain and to wonder about just what the diary and the locket had been later; right now, she just wanted her bed.

She thought she might finally have a truly restful sleep.

#ginny weasley #sirius black #harry potter #molly weasley #hp #my writing

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