#the falling in the lake scene and the encounter at flourish & blotts

[chdarling]

I just finished TLE and I’m in love, thank you so much for your beautiful writing! I had a random fun characterization Q, but no worries if you don’t wanna answer! For our 4 Marauders and Lily: what do you hc they’d each be like at an amusement park? Not sure if the wizarding world has those, but in any case, do you think the gang would like extreme roller coasters if they had the chance to ride them? Or would some of them refuse to ride or be secretly nervous on them? 😁

oh my god, anon, you have no idea the wormhole this message sent me down 🙈

See, this reminded me rather forcefully of a plot line from a long, LONG time ago (like, a decade ago, back when TLE was nothing more than a few scribbled scenes I kept in a word doc in a secret folder on my school laptop LOL), in which James came to apologize to Lily over the summer after 5th year but it just so happened to be the week that the Cokeworth Fun Fair came to town and oh no circumstances happened and James has to attend with Lily and then it turns into a slight fake dating situation due to a Muggle boy who has been aggressively pursuing a thoroughly disinterested Lily and so they pretend that James goes to some elite boarding school and studies theoretical physics (“No one will ask questions,” Lily explains), and all in all James has a great time even though he’s tragically bad at bumper cars and also deeply baffled by the goldfish prizes and then eventually they have a Soft Moment™ by the carousel as the fun fair is dying down and Lily asks him why he isn’t nice like this at school? and James is all “because I’m stupid?” and they have a heart to heart and Lily is like oh no why am I feeling things I’m not supposed to do that.

And just in case you think I’m making this up:

They stopped to watch the carousel go around again, though this time there was no one riding it and it looked rather lonesome.

“So what do you think of your first muggle funfair?” asked Lily, leaning against the back of a stall, watching the ornate horses go round and round.

“Fascinating,” said James enthusiastically, and Lily laughed. “Although I’m still confused about the goldfish. And physics.”

Maybe it was the strange quiet of the closing festival or that continuously discomfiting feeling of two distinct parts of her life colliding, but something compelled Lily to turn to James and say, “How come you’re not nice like this at school?” The moment she said it she wished she hadn’t, and she looked hastily at the ground, her cheeks burning.

James was quiet for a moment. “Because I’m an idiot,” he said finally.

None of this is in TLE. Not even a little bit. 😂 But after your message sparked this long-repressed memory I was like “I must find this immediately,” and I went hunting through all my old files to the oldest of the old. I keep literally everything, so there it was, lurking under a folder helpfully titled “old” — but my god let me tell you, reading your own writing from a decade ago is…humbling. 🙈🙈🙈

But while for the most part this reread was a painful endeavor for me, what was really interesting is that some of the dialogue is very clearly an early precursor to bits that made it into the TLE2 draft. Like, so far removed from this very specific, bizarre scenario, but the bones of the conversation are the same. (Not the one above lol). Sometimes I forget how long this silly story has been simmering in my brain!!!

Anyway, this hasn’t answered your question at all, but it evoked such a weirdly specific memory that I had to go on a giant tangent 😂

As far as head canons for the Marauders: Sirius is obviously super into near-death experiences via rollercoaster, James is going to do anything Sirius dares to, even if he’s secretly a little unsure about these wobbly Muggle devices, Peter tags along but ends up getting sick, Remus abjectly refuses (“I feel plenty nauseous on my own without external help, thanks”) and instead explores the wonders of fair food (also leading to nausea, but oh well). Lily likes the fair games best because she beats James handily every time, despite his increasingly desperate attempts to win her a giant teddybear. Sirius accidentally wins a goldfish and is distraught because he is in no way emotionally prepared to be a parent.

And with that I will see myself out. 🤡

[grace-lou-freebush]

Draco and Hermione stopped at the edge of the Black Lake, Draco pulling on the knot of his tie while grumbling under his breath about the heat. He kicked off his shoes and slipped off his socks while Hermione settled with one of her library books. She hadn't had the chance to read in the weeks leading up to NEWTS, but now that exams were over, she was hoping she'd be able to finish at least one of them before she had to turn them in for the last time.

As Draco joined her on the lush grass, she smiled endearingly over at him. He was such a drama queen. Feigning ignorance to her smirk, he stretched out on his back, content to doze under the afternoon sun in a comfortable silence with Hermione. Her friendship upon their return to Hogwarts had been the most surprising turn of events he'd never expected.

While Hermione immersed herself in a textbook - really, what was wrong with her, they'd just finished revising for eight NEWTS - Draco thought back to their first true encounter post-War.

On the first day of classes, Slytherin and Gryffindor had been paired for Charms. Draco had arrived outside the classroom early, knowing the climate of the class was likely to be hostile towards him and hoping to snag a seat before anyone could box him out; showcasing his punctuality for the professor had also seemed like a good idea. As he waited, Hermione had marched down the corridor, her head buried in her bookbag and not looking where she was walking. She'd emerged just as Draco swerved to avoid her path, but she'd zigged when he zagged and managed to trip over own feet and fall into him anyway. On impulse he'd caught her, hauling her small frame against his torso before she could tumble to the floor in a pile of curls, robes, and books.

Without hesitating, she'd thanked him and profusely apologized for her clumsiness. And, when Professor Flitwick had allowed them entrance to the room, she'd offered him the seat next to hers in the front row nearest the professor's desk. After that interactions with Hermione had been... simple, natural, and tinged with the haze of a feeling he'd hardly dared to name.

Now, Draco rolled to his stomach as Hermione shifted to lay down as well, bringing them side by side. He ached to close the distance as she abandoned her books, so to distract himself, he toyed with a chocolate frog before tossing the wrapper to the side.

Hermione closed her eyes and basked in the summer sun. The waves of the lake lapped at the shore, and laughter in the distance drifted on the breeze. Her curls tickled her neck. She could feel Draco's heat against her side even though they didn't touch, and she tried not to ruin the moment by worrying what would happen to them once they left Hogwarts.

Would they make plans to meet up? Would they remain friends? Would she have to watch him enter the dating scene and take upstanding Pureblood witches out on dates? Would he tell her "thanks for distracting me at school but I don't want to associate with you anymore"? Would he just leave her owls unanswered?

Hermione shook her head. No. She had to trust that the relationship they'd built over the past year would last. It had to. Her heart squeezed painfully at any thought to the contrary.

"Would you..." Draco spoke, breaking the quiet between them. "After we leave, would you like to go out with me? We could browse Flourish and Blotts and get ice cream after. Maybe dinner?"

Hermione's breath caught in her chest. "Only if you're buying. I'm living off my Order of Merlin until I get my NEWTS back and decide where I want to apply."

Her teasing came out breathless, and Draco chuckled an agreement to her terms, relaxing substantially after her easy acceptance. He wouldn't have to navigate his post-Hogwarts life without her after all, and just maybe she would let him kiss her after their date.

Chin resting on her hands, Hermione let the ebb and flow of the lake hypnotize her, a lazy smile gracing her lips. She watched the water as a dark shadow grew before them and gasped Draco's name as a long, thick tentacle broke the surface.

"The giant squid!" she whispered, amazed.

Draco reached out a hand to give the slippery appendage a loving pat. "Goodbye, Fluffy," he said, his voice thick. "Have a good one; it's been an honour to see you."

Hermione raised a brow. "Fluffy?"

Draco let out a laugh. "That's what we call him in the Slytherin dorms. We have an annual count of the number of times he swims by the common room windows."

"Hagrid had a three headed dog named Fluffy, did you know?"

They both dissolved into giggles at the absurdity, content to enjoy their first taste of freedom together, knowing the future lay bright and open before them.

Your art gave me some inspiration, @aneiria-writes I hope you like the little ficlet I wrote you! Congrats on becoming an artist! I look forward to many more arts from you! 😍

Bliss by the Black Lake

I’ve spent so long admiring all of the digital artists in the Dramione community, and I’ve finally decided it’s never too late to learn! So please be gentle with my very first fanart, featuring a post-exam eighth year Dramione, relaxing in the sun besides the Black Lake, with a special guest appearance by a certain giant squid 🦑