#there is no joy in teenage Severus' life

[romaevelizz]

Far to Familliar

Severus Snape x Fem!Professor!reader

summary: New year means having to teach sixth years how to brew an Amortentia potion. Personally Severus most disliked potion having to endure the same smell, but this year he smells something different. A familiar smell but different.

warnings: cursing, small age gap(bout 5-6 years), hufflepuff!reader, Maverick is used as a last name(kinda self indulged ofc),

As the end of the first trimester approached, the atmosphere in Hogwarts grew charged with anticipation—and trepidation. For Severus, this marked the dreaded time of year when he had to oversee the brewing of the Amortentia potion. Known for its complexity and emotional fallout, this potion stirred up feelings and reopened wounds he preferred to keep buried. It was a notorious unit for both students and him, as it often led to the revelation of hidden affections and, inevitably, heartbreak.

Severus found himself seated at the long table in the Great Hall, his dark cloak enveloping him like a protective shroud. He mentally prepared himself for the chaotic lessons ahead, bracing for the inevitable array of disastrous attempts at potion-making by the teenagers under his instruction. He could still vividly recall the laughter, tears, and arguments that erupted whenever someone inadvertently exposed their deepest feelings for another through the potion's enchanting aroma.

What troubled him most was the haunting scent of Amortentia itself—an evocative mixture that, over the years, had become inseparable from his own memories of what he could only make out as love. He loathed the bitter reminder of his unrelenting feelings for a woman who had long since departed from his life. The whiff of that potion always transported him back to a time filled with both warmth and sorrow, forcing him to confront the guilt that lingered after her death.

Over time, he had reconciled himself to the inevitable encounters with that familiar trifecta of scents—honey, apple spice, and ginger. Each element was a reminder of both joy and grief, binding him to memories he wished he could forget but could never escape. As he sat there, Severus silently cursed the potion, aware that it would once again peel back the layers of his guarded heart.

The sound of students talking around them echoed through his ears as he rubbed his temples irritably, “Everything alright Professor?” a soft voice asked. Looking up Snape's eyes meet the young Earthology professor's eyes, a concerned look in her eye her brows frowned. He watched her for a moment as she sat down to the right of him, moving her teal dress robs as she did so, once settled she pushed her curls out of her face turning towards him.

“Everything is just fine…” he drawled.

She hummed a small smile had pulled her glossed lips up, “You have to brew the Amortentia, a personal favorite I presume.” she teased.

He scoffed lightly, not in a rude way but humored. “You could say..”

“Well, I hope it goes well. Let me know if you need anything.” she offered.

He expressed his gratitude to her before they both returned to their meals. Severus found himself developing a genuine fondness for the new teacher. Though she had been at Hogwarts for some time, her youthful spirit set her apart among the faculty. The head of Hufflepuff, she was cherished by both her students and peers for her kindness and selflessness. Her capacity for empathy was something he admired deeply.

Severus realized he enjoyed her company more than he often admitted, and he hoped she felt the same. She had a way of gravitating toward him, and it was clear to her that they had formed a friendship. At first, Severus tried to distance himself, convinced that it was best for her. He remembered that day when Dumbledore had asked him to accompany her into the Forbidden Forest to gather a herb she needed for her class. It was during that outing that she had bravely confronted him, wondering if he held a dislike for her since he had been keeping his distance. Those few exchanged words had opened a door to understanding.

In truth, his avoidance had stemmed from a worry that he made her uncomfortable. But after that conversation, everything changed. They began to talk more freely, and soon, he found himself seeking her out for supplies and support, realizing how much her presence brightened his days.

There were moments when they would sit side by side, grading assignments together, and her presence brought a sense of comfort that was hard to describe. Conversations flowed effortlessly, often marked by shared knowing glances that spoke volumes, and a dry, sarcastic humor that only they understood. He cherished how she had a knack for calling him out when he was being unreasonable, as well as how fiercely she defended her students, even when they tested her patience just as much as they did his.

He still vividly recalled the first time she cried in front of him. Concern etched on his face, he gently asked if she was alright, and in an instant, she broke down. With her head resting against his chest, her body trembled with sobs, and he found himself instinctively wrapping his arms around her, holding her steady until she found her breath again. Afterward, he brewed her some tea and patiently listened as she poured out her feelings, offering a supportive shoulder and advice whenever she sought it.

He would always remember how she expressed her gratitude, her words wrapping around him like a warm embrace. Over time, they developed a deep understanding of one another that many would describe as intimate, revealing the strength of their bond in a world that often felt overwhelming.

Manirva would make points to call out their friendship that maybe there was more to it which he’d always brush off. Not because of her, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have feelings for her. But he couldn’t confess when he smelled another woman in a love potion. He wouldn’t hurt her because he was guilty of being in love with another, and simply what if she didn’t feel the same? There he would simply have ruined a perfect friendship, he enjoyed her company too much to ruin their bond. Not to mention she was significantly younger than him, so why would she waste her time on a grumpy man? Manirva always rolled her eyes at the excuse she was an adult capable of seeing something good, somebody perfect and capable of giving her the things she deserved.

He Wished Manirva wouldn’t put ideas like that in his head, that he allowed himself to think like that. Cause in truth Manirva was right, she was perfect for him, she was extroverted and full of love, she pushed Severus in situations he deemed uncomfortable or not his scene. He’d let her to, god if it was anyone else he would never. He’d never teach students how to dance with another professor, he’d never make small jokes to amuse the people around him. He’d never ask for another’s opinion, or value one opinion as he did hers.

He liked that his dry sarcastic remarked could make her giggle, he loved the sound of her laugh. How her voice would get a bit higher and quicken when she was excited. He did admire her, her warm complexion matching her aura, how she always wore a beautiful smile, how her eyes always remained doe like, how she talked with her hands and body, how she was always so considerate of her students. He’d never admit it but she surprised him when she got upset for the first time at some 5th year boys disrespecting her and her class she scolded them, her voice stern but she never raised it. He liked seeing her like that. The first time she scolded him, his heart beat heavily in his chest he couldn’t help but grin which only made her angrier. How she scoffed glaring at him, soon to storm away.

“What are you grining about Severus.” A voice teased.

“Nothing mind yourself professor Maverick.” He spoke quickly turing his head away from her.

“Boo don’t be like that whatcha thinking about..” She asked again leaning on the table in front of them her body closer to his. God she smelt good, she always did. She wasn’t even that close to him but the smell of fresh vanilla, shea butter, and the strong smell of lilies as if she rubbed their pollen onto herself, She smelt sweet yet floral.

Turning to face her he said “Thinking about how many teens are gonna end up bothered and hurt by the potion they're oh so excited to brew.”

Her jaw dropped “Severus!” she pushed at him. he chuckled lowly “It happens every year also meant one last couple I have to separate in the halls.”

“That's terrible..” she spoke a smile still on her face, Severus only shrugged. The great hall soon began to empty, students headed towards classes. Y/n smiled at him before leaving herself, he watched her as she left her curls bouncing behind her, the satin rob gliding behind her.

As classes began student gathers around Severus as he began to brew the example for them. He wanted to walk them through every step to ensure they will do it correctly. He’d take his time answering questions as she walked them through, soon he’d have them start as he continued. Students would quietly talk amounts them selves asking their professor questions just for clarification. As he started to finish up, he smelled something sweet yet floral. It didn’t smell of honey, apple spice and ginger as it once did.

No, it smelled of Lillies, fresh vanilla and shea butter.. The sweet aroma hitting his nose, Severus stoped blinking hard to collect his thoughts for he’d just stop talking in the middle of instruction. He glanced up noticing the sixth years still looking at him, too bad for going unnoticed. Severus quickly wrapped his lesson up, letting the student to work amongst themselves. Severus couldn’t help how fast his heart was beating, he was in love with her. He wanted to feel relieved, he was even but again where did her feelings lye?

The end of the day came pretty quickly, the lay period of the day being a prep for himself. As he walked though the halls he was stoped by Manirva and Albus “Severus would you be interested in observing Professor Mavericks lecture with us?” Dumbledore asked.

“Now why would I do that?” he questioned his brow raised, he was gonna go but didn’t wanna make it painfully obvious to the women that stood next to the headmaster.

“Oh come, Severus, it gives you something to do. Plus we both know you want to anyway.” she smiled at him.

He merely rolled his eyes at her playful comment as she impulsively grabbed his arm, her enthusiasm radiating like the bright autumn sun. When they finally arrived, a rich, earthy aroma enveloped them, a refreshing scent that had the power to soothe even the most troubled minds. Severus couldn't help but admire her classroom; it felt as if it had been tailored specifically for her vibrant spirit.

The structure resembled an intricate glass greenhouse, the walls primarily composed of crystal-clear windows that showcased a breathtaking view of the winding river and the majestic forest beyond. Sunlight filtered through, creating a warm, golden glow that illuminated the space.

Inside, the room was a beautiful tapestry of agriculture, each carefully arranged without a hint of chaos. Vines hung gracefully from above, their tendrils curling playfully, while vibrant flowers in varied hues added splashes of color to the serene environment. The ceiling, open to the sky, invited nature's elements inside, allowing birds to flit about and the gentle breeze to playfully rustle the leaves. It was a sanctuary of growth and life, reflecting her passion for the natural world and inviting all who entered to take a deep breath and appreciate the beauty around them.

Severus watched intently as she moved gracefully around the classroom, engaging her students with animated gestures and an infectious enthusiasm. She cast warm smiles at the professors seated in the back, momentarily breaking the professional atmosphere with a touch of friendliness. Unlike the customary robes she usually donned, she wore a stunning dress made of satin, a delicate shade that shimmered between cream and soft gold.

The dress featured long, fitted sleeves that hugged her arms elegantly, while the bodice clung to her figure with a tailored silhouette. As it cascaded down, the fabric relaxed and flowed, creating a gentle, flattering silhouette that gave the impression of ethereal movement. The neckline of the dress sat high, framing her face beautifully and stopping just at the base of her neck, while the back was artfully designed with a slight opening that ended just above the bottom of her shoulder blades.

This design revealed a glimpse of the tattoo that adorned her back, piquing Severus’s curiosity. He had often wondered about the size and artistry of it, a mystery he never dared to inquire about. He suspected it spanned a considerable portion of her back, possibly trailing down her arm, yet she had always kept it concealed beneath her robes until now. The dress accentuated her figure perfectly, hugging her torso down to her hips before falling away softly, emphasizing the graceful lines of her shape.

Her long curls, usually cascading around her shoulders, were swept back in a playful yet messy arrangement held together by a simple clip, allowing the full view of her radiant face. In this moment, she appeared both elegant and approachable, a striking image that captivated him as she continued her lesson, lost in her passion for teaching.

“You’re staring Severus.” Manirva whispered a smirk on her lips. He could hear Albus chuckle next to her.

“Quit it.” he hissed, causing the older women to giggle quietly.

The lesson soon came to an end student leaving her class as well as the headmaster and Manirva, the class room seemed to be still. Severus soon approaching her hands fidgeting behind his back.

“What keeps you, Severus?” She asked as the tall man walked towards her.

“Thought we would walk after.” he spoke.

Her eyes roamed over him, taking in every subtle shift in his posture as she noticed a tension in his shoulders that suggested he might be feeling nervous. Her head tilted slightly to the side, her curiosity piqued by the unspoken words hanging in the air between them. "That's all? You seem like you have something more to say?" she inquired, her voice laced with both intrigue and a hint of challenge, encouraging him to reveal what was clearly weighing on his mind.

She sensed an underlying tension in the air but chose not to press the issue. Severus, on the other hand, felt a restless urgency bubbling within him. His fingers itched to reach into his pocket, where the small vial lay hidden, and offer it to her. With a heart full of hope, he silently prayed that she would catch the faint, intoxicating scent that lingered around him. He yearned for the moment of recognition, convinced by Minerva's encouraging words that there was a possibility she could truly see him for what he was. Yet, the thought of disappointment loomed over him like a dark cloud; the very prospect of her not feeling the same way sent shivers down his spine, amplifying his anxiety. It was a delicate balance of hope and fear, one he could hardly contain as he awaited her response.

“Sev— You can talk to me, You seem bothered..” she spoke up.

He took a small breath “Smell this for me would you, need another person to see if the student made this right..” He lied holding a small vile out for her.

Seeing the potion seemed to make her nervous. A noticeable swallow came from her, her poster becoming more straight. “How come not ask Manirva? she’s more skilled in potions than I..” She was, she was nervous.

“Perhaps, but i’m here with you… I take your intellect into consideration.” He spoke carefully, his eyes still watching.

She turned her gaze momentarily, her eyes drawn to the delicate vial nestled in his hands, its contents swirling with a soft pink hue. Slowly, she leaned closer, her intent focus unwavering as she inhaled the potion’s fragrant aroma. It was clear to her that this potion had been crafted with meticulous care, each ingredient harmoniously blended. The scent enveloped her senses—a warm blend of rich sandalwood intertwined with the earthy notes of herbs, creating a symphony of fragrance that felt almost ancient.

There was also a deep undertone of musk, an essence that hinted at secrets whispered and stories untold. As she breathed in, she caught a whiff of old parchment, soaked in ink, evoking memories of dusty tomes filled with forgotten knowledge. Her heart raced slightly as she looked at him, peering through her fluttering lashes, and her voice emerged like a gentle breeze, barely audible yet filled with sincerity. “I say the potion is perfect...” she murmured, the words hanging in the air like a delicate promise.

The two professors stood closely together, the warmth radiating from their bodies creating an intimate atmosphere. In the stillness of the moment, Severus could distinctly hear the rhythmic thumping of her heartbeat, a sound that seemed to echo and fill the space between them. He glanced at her, curiosity etched across his features. “What is it that you smell?” he inquired, his voice low and deliberate, as he sought to understand the sensations that intertwined them in this charged silence.

Her mouth opened slightly only to close for a moment. “I smell sandalwood, musk, mixture of herbs, and old parchment.”

Severus breath became still, his eyes never leaving her. He watched as she moved his hand causing the potion to go towards his nose. “Now tell me..” she spoke her face close to his, “What is it you smell Professor?”

“I smell vanilla, not fresh but sweet vanilla. I smell shea butter and cashmere, and lillie’s like the strong pollen that comes off them.” He spoke watching her expression. Her face seemed to stay still but the smallest twitch of her lip and how her brows raised was enough to show that she was just as relieved as he was.

There was a sense of relief between the two, a quiet relief. The fact the both had held back for so long just to realize they had feeling for each other. No, that they were in love with one another.

“So when were you going to say something..” She asked playing with her fingers.

Snapes brow raised “How could i have been so sure.. I didn’t want to ruin what we had if you didn’t reciprocate the feelings I hold for you.” He said.

She smiled a small snort coming from her “Severus, i fear i was very loud in the way i felt for you… You think all the things the words my actions were casual? just friendly?”

That made his stand up a bit straighter “ Well..” he couldn’t say anything because now that he thought about it she was right. He was just scared.

He covered his face with his hands out of embarrassment, his how could he have been so incompetent. He could hear he soft laugh, the feeling of her fingers peeling his hands off if his face. Greeting him with a warm smile, “Sev no need to be embarrassed, i’m just glad you feel the same.” she spoke out of relief her eyes looking over his face.

Her hands fell from his face to his chest, “May i kiss you?” he asked suddenly.

“Please do.”

His lips met hers carefully, his hands holding her face gently as he kissed her a soft groan leaving her as their lips met. Their lips moved in sync, the kiss anything but quiet he tilted her head back deepening the kiss. Her grip on his robes became tighter pulling him closer to her. Shifting his body he pushed her against her desk. For only a moment they pulled away admiring each other or a seconded. He lifted her a bit so she sat on her desk, his hands readying on the sides of her as she held his face while they kissed. Perhaps it was the heat of the moment, but as soon as her back fell against the wooden desk and things fell off, she really couldn’t care less.

Severus hands felt up her sides as he kissed on her neck, soft moans left her lips the beautiful sounds making Severus forget any self respect he had for himself in the moments. His grip on her dress tighten the sudden sound of buttons poppingcaused him to stop. His eyes met hers only resolving a look of ‘forget it’, so he did pulling her back up in the window behind them he could see her bare back. The tattoo she only seen the top of run down her spin and bleed off into flowers and vines. If he didn’t have any human decency he’d have her right then and there, she slowed her self to be vulnerable with him and that was something he’d never take advantage of.

The sudden knock at the door caused him to drop her leg and pull her up and off the table quickly, a whisper of reparo and her dress was fixed. Straightening them selves up as the door opened the came face to face with Albus and Manirva.

“Hello!— is there anything i could help you with professors?” Y/n choked out clearing her through of a sudden stutter.

The older professors shared a glance to one another a mischievous grin on the two. “Oh nothing Dear just came to see if you and Severus where going to come and join us for dinner.”

God was it already Dinner time, Severus though. They had gotten carried away with themselves. He watched as Manirva walked up to her her hands carefully fixing Y/ns collar and her thumb whipping under her lip.

“Seemes you made a mess of her.”

“Pardon?” the both said to her.

Manirva pointed to her lips “Have to say Severus never thought a dark cherry would look good in you.” she giggled turning on her heels.

The two younger professors looks at one another and needles to say they weren’t gonna get away with it, smeared lipstick, messy hair and rosy cheeks. Not to mention the mess of school work that had fallen from her desk.

shit.

“Well let you clean up, shall we be expecting you for dinner or are you both going to eat in Your Chambers?” Albus hummed and silly grin hidden under his beard.

“uhh- I think we’ll stay in, we’ll see you at breakfast.” Severus spoke up.

“Ahh, alright you two. Remember you both have class in the morning..” Albus said walking towards the door.

The door soon shut, the pair both groaning quietly for how badly they were just caught. The two weren’t ever going to hear the end of it.

[maxdibert]

Now I also wanna complain and I wanna complain about the often mischaracterization of Sirius. In mostly R/S fics they practically make Remus the big bad alpha and Sirius a whiny, feminine man-child. And like…when did they come to the conclusion that a man who did bad things in his life, went to twelve years of prison and was constantly in presence of literal joy-sucking demons, was a small little baby? That twink wouldn’t survive a day in Azkaban lol

And I agree on Sirius/James, they probably fit the stereotype of those two classmates everyone had, that said they weren’t gay but were always all over eachother and togheter everywhere

Sirius Black is described by Rowling almost obsessively as someone extremely handsome, extremely tall, and very masculine. Just as Rowling insists on drilling into the reader's head that Severus is physically hideous, she’s equally insistent that Sirius is essentially a magazine model. Literally, these two characters are the ones she describes the most, and she doubles down the hardest on their physical appearances. But Rowling doesn’t stop there: she shows us that girls swooned over Sirius, paints him as the stereotypical teenager with semi-naked women on posters in his bedroom, and tells us from the very first book that he rode a motorcycle.

I know that none of these things necessarily mean anything from a modern perspective, where gender fluidity is understood and breaking stereotypes is valued. But we’re not talking about a modern author with a modern perspective. We’re talking about J.K. Rowling—someone obsessed with rigid gender binaries, a textbook TERF, and an author who repeatedly condemns traditional femininity above all else. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that when she tells us Sirius had bikini-clad women on his walls and rode a motorcycle, she’s trying to make us imagine him as a manly man. And, in fact, she assigns him traits typically associated with masculinity: being impulsive, sometimes violent, and exuding a rebellious bad-boy attitude.

Rowling was projecting the archetypal high school bad boy, and the stereotypical bad boy isn’t some skinny, short guy trying to challenge masculine hegemony—he’s the opposite. What frustrates me the most about how this image has been corrupted isn’t just that it completely ruins his character—whose personality and psyche are deeply tied to the toxic hypermasculinity Rowling created him with—but also that it robs us of the chance to acknowledge that a guy can fully embody the cis male archetype and still be gay.

The problem isn’t that he’s paired with men; it’s that in order to pair him with men, people feel the need to create an entirely new character that bears no resemblance to him. Because that’s not Sirius Black. In the same way, the “alpha male of the pack” isn’t Remus Lupin. Canonically, Remus Lupin was the third tallest after James, a guy who hid behind his friends, who didn’t want to draw attention to himself, and who was so afraid of being left out that he wouldn’t even stand up to them when they did something he didn’t like. He’s not a self-assured person; he has zero self-esteem, is deeply conflict-avoidant, and hates confrontation.

I don’t understand the need to change the characters. Wolfstar has been around as long as the fandom itself, and 15 years ago, Remus was still Remus, and Sirius was still Sirius. I don’t understand this current trend of completely dismantling their characters.

[myblogmyspacemylittlecorner]

Snily x Grindeldore: A web weave by me.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Ch 12: The Mirror of Erised

Fc: Anya Taylor-Joy as Lily Evans/Potter and Toby Regbo as Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Ch 13: The Very Secret Diary

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Ch 1: The Boy who Lived

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Ch 4: Horace Slughorn

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Ch 4: The Keeper of the Keys

Fanart by @bella-the-proud-fangirl and @bluecrownedbird

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Ch 4: The Keeper of the Keys

Fc: Laura Carmichael as Petunia Evans/Dursley and Ciaràn Hinds as Aberforth Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 28: The Missing Mirror

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Ch 27: Padfoot Returns

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Ch 28: Flight of the Prince

Fc: Aidan Gallagher as Severus Snape and Jamie Campbell Bower as Gellert Grindelwald

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 33: The Prince's Tale

Fanart by @ham-tuitui and @man-luo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 28: The Missing Mirror

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 33: The Prince's Tale

Fanart by @julvett and Lucy--C (Deviantart)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 28: The Missing Mirror

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 33: The Prince's Tale

Ellie Darcey-Alden and Benedict Clarke as Lily Evans and Severus Snape in HPDH (2) and Toby Regbo and Jamie Campbell-Bower as Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald in HPDH(1)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 35: King's Cross

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 17: Bathilda's Secret

Fanart by @ahkaraii

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Ch 26: The Cave

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 33: The Prince's Tale

Fanart by @hiancii and @swallow-the-bird

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 23: Malfoy Manor

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 35: King's Cross

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 10: Kreacher's Tale

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Ch 33: The Prince's Tale

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -Nineteen Years Later

Fc: Timur Simakov as Albus Severus Potter

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Part 2, Act 4, Scene 15

Edit: I put another Snape - Grindelwald parallel in the post (them being dark arts prodigies lol), and also modified the Albus Severus Potter part and the first part as well (I wanted to highlight that both Lily and Albus have distinct eyes and that they were model students and magically powerful).

I also added one more parallel about Snape's and Grindelwald's antagonistic relationships with Petunia and Aberforth including them enacting violence (though it was accidental in Snape's case) on them.I also used Toby Regbo as Dumbledore and Jamie Campbell Bower as Grindelwald and used a different pic for Lily (I thought that since most of the meta covers their youth, might as well use their 'teenage' actors).Also I rearranged the Snape-Grindelwald parallels and the Petunia-Aberforth being antagonised by them parallels and I changed the Albus Severus Potter fancast too (he really gave me the, ✨ vibes, ✨ ,y'know?), and I added more fanart as you can see.

I also changed the Albus Severus Potter bit again.

[sofiadragon]

So I wrote a chapter from Tobias Snape's point of view and I figure we can talk some meta about him. I like to think he wasn't always a horrific person. Evil people aren't born, they are made, though the type of awful a person can become is baked into their personality.

I write that there was an accident at the mill, and Tobias suffered an injury that left him with chronic pain.

Prior to that, he'd sang and danced into Eileen's heart the summer before her final year of school. She snuck off to spend the next spring break with Tobias, and ended up pregnant. He was a hard working man, proud of himself and more than willing to step up to take responsibility for getting his sweetheart pregnant. They married as soon as she graduated and Severus arrived the following January. Life was hard, but good. The mill paid well. Severus was weird, and the first time Eileen used magic on him was side-along apparition and he hated it so much he made her promise never to do it again, but she respected his wishes.

She didn't know much about medicine, and thought she might have hurt him. Daughter of a pure-blood family that she is, she doesn't really know what is or isn't alright to do to a muggle. She'd read that potions kill them, so maybe he vomited after such a normal thing as that because the magic hurt him. Her son was clearly a powerful wizard in the making, with all the accidental magic he performed.

Tobias could dance and sing, he was charismatic with a strong personality, he had a steady job, he got her pregnant and stepped up honorably, and maybe Eileen's family wasn't perfect and she had a reason to carry teenaged rebellion so far. It wasn't all perfect, but it was good. Tobias loved his son and wife, and was proud of what he had.

As the Joker said, it takes just one bad day.

An industrial accident, and someone hit the emergency stop but that much metal doesn't just stop. Everyone ran, but some combination of bad luck and slow feet meant he got hit by something falling down on him. He lived, and he gets monthly payments for his injury, but the problem lies in the fact that if he was in Hogwarts he'd be a Hufflepuff.

Loyalty, in how he twisted around his prejudice to be glad Severus grew out of the worst of his girlishness back when he had enough joy in his life he had the emotional space to make the turn. The high value he put on hard work twisted to become self-hatred for collecting money for doing fuck-all, but now Severus is up before the crack of dawn doing some kind of work and that's something. He's an addict and knows it and has never seen any reason for self-improvement in the last decade. He only did this because he wanted to be sure what was coming for him, which he figures is his due, doesn't hurt his family. He can hurt his family, but some outside force? That has to get through him.

Only our time traveler has already fixed it, not that he cares to tell Tobias that.

If you asked Severus Snape in 1989 what his worst fear for himself was, he'd tell you to fuck off, but he'd think about becoming his father. Yet he did. He was harsh and unyielding, knowing only how to provide tough love. He has the same temper, also made worse by hardship.

[hprecfest]

DAY 12 RECS FROM DREAMWIDTH & ELSEWHERE

Five Nights, 2018 (9,623 words) by LilaDiurne

Harry Potter/Severus Snape ||

When a tragic but sadly predictable event disrupts Fawkes Records' upcoming Five Nights music festival, the organisers must rush to find a replacement act at the last minute. Severus Snape, seasoned rockstar and the famous frontman of Half-Blood Prince, really isn't too keen on changes. Especially when the only available option turns out to be a band of inexperienced teenagers. Their gorgeous, green-eyed singer might just change his mind.

A Vessel Formed (57,383 words) by just_a_useful_writer

Harry Potter/Severus Snape ||

Trapped at Malfoy Manor Severus attempts to navigate discovering the secrets of his past life, Harry's growing magical abilities, the typical stresses of being around the Malfoys, oh — and the fact that Sirius Black is stuck at the manor as well. That's sure to be a joy.

Butterflies, the Amazon and Other World-Altering Catalysts (24,808 words) by DrowningFelix

Harry Potter/Severus Snape ||

A butterfly flutters its wings in the Amazonian jungle, and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe. This phenomenon is known as The Butterfly Effect. Harry makes the decision to ask Snape for help when Voldemort shows him the false vision of Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. This change in course sets the two on a path that leads to a little more understanding on both sides. When they make a shaky truce and Harry doesn't see his potions professor as an enemy, they form a bond no one thought possible.

[hobblesprince]

the thing i love the most about snape is that he is a perfect example of trauma driven grey character, but i also think that's why some people hate him so much. snape is neither a good or a bad person, he's a bitter, resentful man who was shaped by traumatic life events and suffered the consequences of his own stupid actions. he is a man who's known more hurt than joy in his life and never got the chance to heal is inner wounds, resulting in him being mentally stucked in the mind of a traumatized teenager despite being an adult. he's someone who's barely known what love feels like, and clings desperately to the memory of the one person who ever loved him, moved by grief, devotion, self-hatred and anger all together.

that's why i love the books so much, because as much as i adore movie snape, the books really dive into his psyche in a way that makes him even more complex than what we see in the movies. we see his anger, his bitterness, his cruelty more, but we also see his care, his devotion and the way his mind evolves from doing the right thing out of love to doing the right thing because it's right.

snape is one of the most human character in the hp series, and he can't be appreciated with a manichean mindset: making him a saint who did no wrong or the spawn of the antichrist really just dumb down his character, and i find that so disappointing that a lot of people in the fandom are either just 'severus is an innocent baby angel and everyone else is the problem' or either 'snape is an evil asshole and everything happening is his fault and he deserved to be miserable and d!e'. like he's such a well written character and i think a LOT more people would adore him if they bothered to understand that no, people aren't just fully good or fully bad and snape shows exactly that.

on another note, i also think a lot more people would love snape if he was in fact fully evil, like voldemort kind of evil. people would babygirlify that man so hard if he was an actual death eater who would kill people as a hobby 💀

[danpuff-ao3]

The Making of Contempt

Is anyone tired of hearing me talk about this yet?

TOO BAD.

Ahem.

To talk of my pride and joy, I must first speak of Shame and Denial.

No. Really. They're 2 fics called Shame and Denial.

Shame has been one of my favorite fanfics for many, many years. Rarely, if ever, have I seen its like. A torrid teacher/student affair of which Harry is deeply ashamed. He's embarrassed by Severus. He is humiliated thinking of what his peers will think and say.

To me, this is quite human, and so real considering Harry's age in the story (a teenager), Severus' reputation (not good), and their history (really not good.)

In many stories, Harry is the Boy Wonder. He is the paragon of all that is good and righteous. His moral compass never fails. Not Harry Potter's! (And y'all are really expecting too much from a deeply traumatized child, let me tell you.)

No shame, btw (ba-dum-tsst.) I understand why people see the appeal in a model hero. I just don't myself. I deeply craved more of this messed up Harry. The one who doesn't always think and feel and do the right thing. The one who is selfish, sometimes. And cruel, sometimes. One who can really hurt someone he cares about, even if he doesn't mean to.

And the angst potential, c'mon!!

Then we get to Denial. Here, Harry is desperate. Here, Harry wants to love Ginny, and make his life work the way it should. Here, Harry is confused. In denial, even. (I am hilarious, aren't I?) (Oh so clever, Self, excellent work.) Harry doesn't really understand himself. He makes mistakes. Life is a bit of a jumbled mess, and so is he. Again, Harry hurts people he cares about. And he goes to Severus not with the purest or most selfless of intentions. Here Harry is again focused on himself, and his own wants and needs. Severus isn't his first choice, not at first.

And Severus, well...in both of these stories, Severus takes what he can get.

The pattern you may see is my undying devotion to deeply flawed, tragically human characters. I've seen enough characters at their best; to really know someone, you have to see their worst alongside it. I don't often see odes to the darkest, dirtiest parts of human nature. But to me, to love something, you must love all of it.

For better, or worse.

I love these characters (Harry and Severus) so much, and their relationship so much (my beloved OTP, my precious Snarry); I have explored them in many scenarios. And what I always feel like I never have enough of is digging into the depths of them. Digging into the gutters of their hearts and minds. Digging up blood and bones as much as heart and soul.

And thus....Contempt.

The first inklings of this story came to me long ago. Maybe the day I read Shame for the first time. That was so long ago, I can't quite recall. But that fic planted within me a burning need for more. I longed for more stories like it; more of the characterizations and the dynamic it provided me.

It was quite vague at first. Harry is ashamed of Severus; Harry hurts Severus; Harry, imperfect in heart and mind; Severus is mean and ugly, and I must be unforgiving with it. Then, the details came. Student/teacher affair. Severus' appearance. The scene in Severus' quarters. The stripping. The desperate kiss. Harry trying so hard to keep in mind all of Severus' faults, and the full catalogue of them only reinforces to Harry how madly in love he is.

There is more to the story. I've been dreaming of it for quite a long time. I know how the whole story plays out, really; beginning to end. Their end, mind you, not the story's end.

The past couple of years I've felt more called to this story, but I kept putting it off. I always had other projects, and this project...This project was the project. I was a bit scared of it, I think. Intimidated by the depth of it, and intimidated by my love of it. It would have to be perfect. And I didn't know what I would do with myself if I couldn't pull it off.

Then...Snarry-a-Thon 2022. I decided to self-prompt. And my self-prompt would be the story of my soul, at last. I figured I would need an external source to really give me the push I needed. Besides, I always wanted to participate in Snarry-a-Thon at least once.

To put it mildly, writing for Thon was hell. H e l l. My poor, dear friends had to listen to me whine near daily.

Oddly, the end came to me first. I was in the shower when it happened. The very last paragraph fully formed. I had figured out where, exactly, to end the story. The perfect open ending that I'm oh so fond of. Let me tell you, I leapt from the shower and ran out into the living room, naked and dripping wet, to grab my phone and type it up immediately. I was not losing that train of thought for anything on Planet Earth.

(Yes, my partner was Most Pleased by the view.) (Also: yes, I was very embarrassed once the madness loosened its grip on me and I realized what a scene I'd caused.) (And: yeah I did go back to finish my shower.)

The beginning was a little harder, but not by much. I got myself swept up in Harry's rage and humiliation and thus was born: One day, he’s going to hex Snape’s giant nose off of his stupid face. He’ll rip the nasty, greasy hair right out of his head.

Maybe it's not the nicest mental image, but it's interesting, no?

I found that Harry's awareness of his feelings spooked him; amped everything up to 110%. That boy is a total mess. Confused, guilty, ashamed, angry, relieved, overjoyed; torn between hate and love and terrible longing. Love doesn't cure him, doesn't fix him, doesn't uplift him. Love is terrifying. And awful. And much too much.

Perhaps you can see what gave me such trouble. Harry, my POV character, is a mess. How am I, the writer, meant to easily navigate said mess?? His heart in shambles, his mind in knots; what on earth was I meant to do? But I felt like such a failure for not unwinding it all so quickly and easily; a failure for all the trouble it gave me. This story had been heavy on my heart and mind for years and years. Shouldn't I have it all figured out?

It wasn't only that, of course. The intensity of the emotion was overwhelming. I'm quite an emotional person, easily swept up by passions and terrors. Many times I sat, paralyzed by the depth of feeling. When your heart is full to bursting or breaking, how are you meant to think of words at all, let alone put them down?

Every word was hard won, and ripped from flesh and bone. I pried it from my soul with teeth and nails. It was an agonizing process.

This feels quite dramatic and embarrassing to say out loud, but I really was quite distraught. Caught up, and seemingly useless for it.

Then: the word count.

Oh boy, the word count.

My friends can tell you about my word count and I. Foolish me thinking I could manage this whole story in a few thousand words. (Spoiler: I did not. It's 20,400 words.)

I specialize in ficlets, okay? I've written many a short fic in my time! I know how to pack a punch in very few words. But this? This story was not content with a few thousand words. It demanded more and more from me.

And, really...how was I meant to do Harry's mindset any justice in fewer words?

The story needed to be longer, yet it overwhelmed me. And I feared it was too many words. That the story was dragging. That readers would be bored. That it rambled too long. But I couldn't hack off more words and maintain the integrity of this story. Contempt needed to be what it ended up being, regardless of all my fretting.

I battled my own perfectionism. My own messy emotions. The mess that was Harry. The bitterness that was Severus. The twisted, misshapen shackles of their love. The deadline. The word count. The immense pressure and vulnerability in telling this story. The fear that it would appeal to no one; that all the messy, flawed characterizations would turn people off. That people would actively hate the story that I loved so much.

Writing is so deeply personal. Sharing it is more so. And I've never felt such horror sharing a work as I did in sharing Contempt.

That story is my pride and joy. I don't know that I've written anything better. And I feel so incredibly accomplished that I successfully told that story. It really is so very special to me.

And every bit of kindness left on that fic means the world to me, truly. To everyone who's read it and left me kudos and comments, from the bottom of my heart I thank you. I know I've replied to every comment, but let me say it again: thank you. It really means more than you know.

This fic was a great labor of love. I could not be more pleased with the outcome. It was worth all of the hair pulling and banging my head into walls. The fact that so many people have seen my vision and it spoke to them is just...truly, truly indescribably wonderful.

Thus: why I can't shut up about this fic. How am I meant to shut up about something I love so much????

[spectral-kitkat]

the "severus versus james" debate kills my joy. why can't both ""sides"" just admit they were all morally questionable as teenagers/(very) young adults? but nooooooo, they're still discussing AD NAUSEAM who was worse and who was better. yeah, it's fun to analyze and discuss characters and their morality and all that, but it has been literally years! surely all that had to be said has been said already! not to mention that both ""sides"" are equally annoying and often wrong: equally willing to disregard "canon" for their own benefit and utterly incapable of being unbiased. there is NOT an true/real/truly objective answer to that question within the books, no matter how much people seems to think there is! if anything, the authorial intent was for us to like (or at the very least understand/empathize with) BOTH. just like harry, who is the narrative's focus and (arguably) its moral compass, at the end of the books. after all, he names his children after both (and wouldn't it have been hilarious if the child's name had been james severus? ((i'd cry) i wonder if people would have then fought that it should have been severus james instead). a lot/most of our opinions about these two characters are entirely dependent on how we have PERSONALLY interpreted what we've read through the lens of our personal preferences/morals/values.

tldr; there is no objectivity in the severus versus james debate and i'm tired of (some many) people pretending there is!

it was so good to take all of that out of my chest! 😬😬😬

anyways: what are some of your marauders hcs?? and, what are your thoughts on regulus?

Sometimes ranting helps 😂😂 even if it is about fictional characters

The whole thing between the Marauders and Snape has been so blown out of proportion by the fandom that so much canon lore/story has been overlooked cause they want it to boil down to “1 side good, 1 side bad”. They forget that characters aren’t just 1 dimensional and can actually have complex story arcs…

Some of my marauders headcanons?

• Lately the big one I have is that some time in the summer before 5th year Remus has a particular bad moon and he comes back to Hogwarts with his cane. He uses one as an adult so it isn’t far fetched to think he might’ve had one in school. I feel like he probably didn’t like using it all that much as a teenager since he thought it was just yet another thing that singled him out.

• I also hc that in 6th year James tells Lily he’s giving up. He can see that he’s made her uncomfortable and that the whole thing with Snape (the ‘mudblood’ incident in SWM) has made him realise he would much rather have her in his life as a friend then not at all. This gives Lily an entire year to get to know him properly before SHE asks HIM out in 7th year

• Peter being the Wizard Chess God of the friend group is another one. I feel like it adds the aspect that he has always been really clever at predicting moves and shows that he is quite the schemer. The marauders (and Gryffindor tower) have a rule that when playing ‘winner-stays-on’ chess, Peter is only allowed 3 back to back games.

My thoughts on Regulus:

I love him! He is my second favourite character in HP behind Remus. The perfect son who eventually turns traitor to his family. He risks everything for his friendship with his house-elf and I can honestly see him joining S.P.E.W if he was still alive during Harry’s years at Hogwarts 😂. For a guy who only got like what maybe a 5 minute mention in the book he managed to stand out in such an amazing way!

I actually based my ipad case off him:

The latin stands for: ‘the stars incline us, they do not bind us’

Which i think just perfectly sums up Regulus in 1 phrase! His whole life the stars (his family - all named after stars) have constantly drilled into his head what it means to be a pureblood and what side he should be on in the upcoming war but when it comes down to it none of those lessons or his upbringing mattered as long as he did what was right!

He is such an interesting character even though he was only a minor one

[writing-red]

The Daughter of the Dog | 1

Fred Weasley x SirusBlacksDaughter!Reader

Summary: That fateful night that would wrongfully land him in Azkaban Sirius Black left his three-year-old daughter at the door of her godfather, Remus Lupin. Now as she enters her fifth year at Hogwarts she is a-fronted by her peers and their outward fear of her presence.

Warnings: bullying, cussing, slow burn relationship, bullying, asshole teachers (Snape.)

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: If y’all like this I’ll continue on with this :)

chapter one, chapter two

“Remus you can’t make me go to school this year. Everyone there already hates me, and now that dad is all over the Daily Prophet, it’ll all just be worse,” you made your case to your godfather for the hundredth time this summer since your father had broken out of Azkaban.

“Y/n, you have friends who will have your back,” Remus said, he felt terrible, and he knew you were right, but he also knew how important it was for you to be at Hogwarts. “I’ll be there, and Dumbledore and McGonagall will make sure nothing happens.”

“Gryffindor’s aren’t as nice as you think they are,” you retorted. “And I do not have friends, that’s a joke. Everyone despises me, even some of my bloody professors hate me,” you were particularly referencing Snape who’d had it out for you since your name had been called for sorting your first year.

“That’s impossible, of course, you have friends, what about the twins?” he asked, and you ignored him. It was true that you were close with Fred and George, but you felt that virtually everyone other than those two Weasley’s hated you.

“I’m glad you, dad, and Uncle James were just so popular when you went to school, and everyone just bloody loved you, but it isn’t the same for me,” you said, finally deciding you were done with the argument and storming upstairs, you knew that Remus wasn’t going to budge about his decision, but you’d put up as much of a stink as you could, and being that September 1st was only a week away you figured your case had failed.

Remus let you storm out, you were fifteen, and he understood that you were going through a lot. Not only were you a teenager and dealing with all of the joys of puberty, but you were the daughter of an assumed murderer, which couldn’t make school much fun. He could only imagine the ways your peers used that to torment you. He couldn’t forget the minuscule things James and Sirius would agonize Severus Snape over when they had been in school. On top of all that, twelve years ago, your father had left you on Remus’ doorstep with a note on your forehead that read:

‘Peter rated out James and Lily, I’m going to Godrics Hollow, if anything happens, take care of Y/n, she doesn’t have anyone else.’

He was right, your mother had died at the hands of Lucius Malfoy before your first birthday, and her parents had died long ago, Sirius didn’t want you anywhere near his parents, neither Sirius nor your mother had living siblings, and Remus was your only named Godparent. You grew up with both of your parents, and all of your family ripped away from you. You had been left only with good memories of the man the world was trying to tell you was evil and a note you had used as evidence of his innocence.

Despite everything, Remus didn’t mind having you around in the least, you were a carbon copy of your parents, just an absolute firecracker, and he loved you just as much as your parents had. While he anticipated his situation to be a problem it wasn’t, as whenever necessary, Molly Weasley would take you in for however long Remus needed. However, your third year, you took a page out of your father’s book, and while at school, you learned how to become an animagus on your own, so that when you returned home that summer, you were able to stay with your godfather though all of his sessions, and help. Remus found as you grew up that you took care of him as much as he took care of you, he was eternally grateful to have you in his life. Now, with everything going on in your life and all the trauma you had ensued, he couldn’t blame you for lashing out. He just wished he could be of more help.

You didn’t argue with Remus about going to school again, and on August 31st, you begrudgingly packed up your trunk in anticipation of your journey to Hogwarts. You and Remus lived in a house you had inherited from your mother in Burford, West Oxfordshire, it was far enough outside town to be safe for Remus, and it was protected with old magic as it had been in your family for centuries. Being that it’s only over an hour-long drive to London, Remus usually drove you to King’s Cross, but since he was going with you to Hogwarts this year, you both took an early train to London, arriving in perfect time to catch the Hogwarts Express.

When you boarded the train, you split ways with Remus as you were due in the prefect compartment so that you could do your rounds. Prefect duty was another thing you were dreading this year, you were sure that no one would be willing to listen to you considering your situation, and you genuinely had no clue why Professor McGonagall wanted you as a prefect anyways.

During your round, you found that your assumptions were correct, no one would listen to you, and you only found yourself getting angry every time you noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet with your father’s mugshot on the cover. He hadn’t aided in the murder of your Uncle James and Aunt Lily, he hadn’t a reason to, James had been his best friend. Not only that, but nobody knew half the story you and Remus knew, but of course, no one wanted to listen to you, and the only evidence you had was the note he had left on your forehead, which was, of course, deemed unreliable. You were sure Peter was out there somewhere, and you were optimistic that if you could find him, you would be able to clear your father’s name, but you had no clue where you could start.

You past by the compartment Harry, Ron, and Hermione frequented to find your godfather sleeping in the corner, that man did love his naps, although you were curious why they had chosen to sit in a compartment with a sleeping professor in it, but you brushed it off. The three had a knack for making odd decisions that never failed to land them into trouble of some sort.

You continued walking down the corridor, keeping to yourself, not finding anyone to be breaking any severe rules. You had decided that as a prefect, your policy would be that if it wasn’t happening in front of you, you wouldn’t report it. After experiencing Percy Weasley’s tyrannical rain, the last thing you wanted was to subject other students to such tyranny. You remained in your thoughts till you passed by Draco Malfoy’s compartment, where the door was wide open.

“Oi! Black!” You heard Malfoy yell as you approached his compartment. “Surprised, they let you come this year considering your murderer father is loose.”

You elected to ignore him and continue walking, biting back the insults you wanted so badly to throw back.

“Or I guess you’re nothing like your father, more the chicken type like your pathetic moth-”

You swung around, resisting the urge the pull your wand out and land a nasty jinx on the prick, “You’re one to speak Malfoy, considering your father is a cowardly murderer who hides behind money and lies. Now, if you want to lose another twenty points from Slytherin before we even arrive at Hogwarts, I suggest you keep running your mouth,” you said without breaking a sweat, silence from Malfoy and his posse following. “I thought so,” you said before continuing on your round.

You made it to the end of the train and turned around to do your final walkthrough you intended to stop into the section Remus was in and see if he had awoken. As you walked down the corridor, you noted the cold fog that rolled alongside the train, the ride to Hogwarts was rarely this cold. As you approached the compartment door, the train came to a screeching halt, and you were thrown up against the door, startling its occupants. You hurried to your feet and entered as Harry Potter opened the door.

“What’s going on?” Ron Weasley asked. You stood back against the door as the lights in the train flickered out.

“I know just as much as you do,” you said, trying your best to push aside any fear.

From his seat, Harry was giving you a weird look. Meanwhile, Ron pressed himself against the window that had begun frosting.

“Ouch, Ron, that was my foot,” Hermione complained.

Ron ignored his clumsiness, concerned with whatever he saw outside the train, “There’s something moving out there.”

With that, the lights turned on and then off again, the train rocking and ice encapsulating the carriage. No longer trusting your own legs, you rushed to take a seat on the bench Harry and Remus were on, though you kept your distance, still grimly aware of the rumours that had been flying around the train regarding your father. Although, your thoughts were stopped as the train halted again, and your breath turned to ice.

“Bloody hell! What’s happening?” Ron cried.

All of your heads turned to the carriage’s door as a lanky robed creature with a hand like that of a skeleton’s slowly eased opened the door. As it approached, you could feel nothing but true sadness echo through your body and mind. It was a coldness you felt would never leave you. The thing you recognized as a dementor entered, looming off of the ground and ignoring everything but you and Harry. The dementor paused as if unsure of which one of you was worth its time. Discerning what was happening and uncertain of what else to do, you rose to your feet to act as a barrier between Harry and the dementor. As a result of your action, and your misery now clear to the creature, it started to feed off of you. At some point, you saw a blast of bright light, but the second it and the dementor disappeared, your fainted, falling to the floor.

“Y/n, Harry?” you heard Hermione’s voice as your eyes flickered open. “Professor are they going to be alright?”

You rose to a seated position to find yourself lying on the floor, Harry on the bench above you, Ron crunched in his corner, a very concerned Hermione Granger hovering over you, and Remus ready with a bit of chocolate as always.

“Here, eat this, it’ll help,” he said as he offered you and Harry the chocolate which you graciously took.

“What was that thing that came?” Harry asked.

“It was a dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban,” He explained to Harry before looking at you, ���It’s gone now,” he assured before turning back to Harry to finish answering his question. “It was searching the train for Sirius Black.”

You swallowed your bite of the chocolate quite loudly, uncomfortable with the information at hand.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to have a little word with the driver,” Remus rose, leaving the chocolate bar with you. “Eat, you’ll feel better.” Remus assured Harry before leaving and heading to the front of the train.

You broke the chocolate bar in half and gave it to Harry, “It does help.”

“Harry fainted just after you did,” Hermione explained. You had quickly noticed before fainting that the dementor didn’t affect Ron or Hermione half as much as it had you and Harry.

“What exactly happened?” Harry asked as he took a bite of the chocolate.

“Well, after Y/n fainted, you went rigid, we thought you were having- well a fit or something,” Ron explained.

“Dementors feed on feelings of depression and despair,” you explained.

“Is that why-”

“You felt like you could never be happy again?” you finished Ron’s thought and nodded. “Exactly.”

“But someone was screaming,” Harry said, the memory alive in his eyes. “A woman.”

“No one was screaming, Harry,” said Hermione.

“I heard screaming too,” you said, looking over at him. A silence settled over the carriage once more, causing the reality of your parentage to come crashing over you yet again. You shakily rose to your feet, not exactly well just yet. “I should be going- prefect, duty- let me know if you need anything else.” And before anyone could protest, you were out of the compartment and walking back down the train corridor.

Before you could very much think about it, you entered Fred and George’s compartment, quite unsure of where else you might have been welcome.

“Y/n!” The twins chimed when you entered.

“Sit,” Fred started

“Yeah,” George said.

“We’ve got a question for you,” they finished together.

“A question, for me? Now, what would that be?” You asked as you squeezed onto the bench in between the two despite the empty one just across from you. Although, you assumed Lee Jordan had been sitting there and was just off to use the loo as his bag was up above that spot.

“We’ll show you, but you’ve got to promise us you won’t show anybody,” George said as he pulled something out of his pocket.

“Anybody,” Fred echoed.

“I won’t show anybody, promise,” You spoke in the same playfully serious tone as the twins while George placed a blank piece of folded parchment onto your lap.

Fred placed the tip of his wand onto the map but caught your eye and held eye contact with you as he said, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” winking at you as he finished.

Before you maroon lines and lettering unfurled, curling onto the parchment.

‘The Marauders Map’

A smile found its way onto your face as you realized what was before you. Your eyes lighting up as they followed the script that started to write out names you recognized instantly.

‘Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are proud to present,’

Your smile widened, you knew exactly what this was. Remus had told you plenty of stories of his and your fathers’ school antics, and the Marauders Map was often mentioned.

“Now, Black,” said George.

“That smile seems to say something,” said Fred.

“We’ve got a feeling,” they continued in unison. “That you know who created this masterpiece.”

You looked up at the two of them, your smile not at all lost. “What’s it to you?” you asked. Of course, you knew, but you loved messing around with them.

“Pure curiosity,” Fred smirked.

“Even if I do know who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are, why should I tell you two?” You asked.

“Because you looove Fred,” George said, and you shot him a glare that easily could have killed him right where he sat. “Because we’re your favorite people at Hogwarts?” He said, quick to edit his sentence.

“Alright, but I want you to let me in on all of your pranks this year. Think about the benefits of having a prefect on your side,” you said, then smoothly leaning forward to allow the twins to deliberate in peace. They caught on in a matter of seconds.

“She’s not wrong,” started Fred, and he rested back against the seat.

“And she’s quite smart,” continued George, following his twin.

“And she has information we want.”

“And you do love her,” George teased his twin.

“And we can trust her,” Fred added in an attempt to ignore George’s jab at his long-standing crush.

“Alright then,” the twins said in harmony, and you all resumed your previous positions. “Who is it?” They asked you.

“Peter Pettigrew,” you started. “Remus Lupin, James Potter,” they breathed in, obviously not having expected to hear the name of Harry’s dad. “And Sirius Black.” You said, your chest swelling with pride.

“Your dad!” started Fred excitedly

“Was a marauder?” They asked at once, and you nodded.

“Well, that makes you pranking royalty,” George said and mocked a bow.

“I would say it does, now I am excited to be working with you two gentlemen this year.”

“We are honored to be in your presence, oh Queen of the Pranks,” Fred got off of his seat and turned to give you a proper bow, prompting another giggle from you, which you didn’t notice Fred blush bright red.

“Boys we have some work to do,” you said, offering your hand as you had seen Queens do before to Fred. He took your hand and gently placed a kiss on it, this time causing a soft blush to rise to your cheeks.

Your train ride continued to be full of playful banter between the four of you, the boys full of questions about your dad’s time at Hogwarts, and you were excited to answer them as best you could. Although in the end, you couldn’t help but be entirely grateful that Fred and George hadn’t written you off along with the rest of the school, even more thankful that they hadn’t also written off your dad. When you arrived at the school, you shared a carriage with the twins, Lee Jordan, and Angelina Johnson, none of whom seemed bothered by your presence. It appeared for the moment that this year wouldn’t be too bad. You expected to resume your spot on the quidditch team as a chaser along with those before you, and the pranks you had already begun planning with the twins occupied your mind.

“Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!” Dumbledore caught the school’s attention as he assumed his place at the post at the top of the hall. “I have a few things to say before we become befuddled by our excellent feast. First, I’m pleased to welcome Professor R. J. Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Good luck, you, Professor.”

At this, the twins turned their eyes from Dumbledore to you, clearly asking if that was the Lupin you had said to be Moony of the Marauders, to which you confirmed with one nod.

“Wicked,” they said in unison, and you winked at them.

“As some of you may know, Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher for many years, has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I’m delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid!”

You, along with few others who knew and appreciated Hagrid, applauded at this news as Hagrid rose from his seat and jovially waved at the school, although he nearly toppled the staff table, sending goblets over the side of the table.

“Finally, on a more disquieting note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban. Now, whilst I’ve been assured until such a time as Sirius Black is captured.”

Whispers filled the Great Hall as you swallowed the nerves that rose in your throat as best you could

“Well we’ve got his daughter right over there. Why don’t we just give ’em her! She’s probably a murderer herself!” You heard a boy from the Slytherin table yell quite violently. His idea was supported by a few cheers from those around him and a girl who was sitting next to him following up.

“Yeah, how are we supposed to know she isn’t scheming to sneak in her murderous father to kill us all!” The girl yelled, and you could only feel yourself sinking into the bench as every Hogwarts student’s eyes were now on you.

“Oi! Pucey, watch it, or I’ll hex your ear off!” George quickly stood and yelled in your defense.

“That! Is quite enough!” Dumbledore boomed. “I will not have Miss Black questioned or judged for her being here. Anyone who wishes to contest this may bring it up directly with me.”

With that, Dumbledore continued on with his speech in particular regard to the presence of the dementors, but his words respecting you did nothing to ease the anxiety boiling in the pit of your stomach. At this point, you were wondering why you hadn’t followed in your mum’s steps and gone to Beauxbatons.

“Are you alright?” Fred asked, noting the color that had drained from your face.

“I’m fine,” you muttered.

Fred could tell you weren’t fine, and why should you be? He could feel the hostile looks coming from every corner of the room, some even coming from the professor’s table. He wanted to help in any way he could, and he knew that the most he could do is have your back for the time being.

When Dumbledore finally called this year’s feast to an end, you rose to your feet as Percy had asked you and Robert Greene, the other fifth year Gryffindor prefect, to walk the first years back to the common room.

You rose to your feet, “Your darling brother has decided I’ll be escorting the first years back to the common room, so I’ll see you back there after?” You honestly did not want to be left alone tonight and was hoping to spend more time with the twins.

“We’ll find a good spot by the fire,” George said, and you smiled at him, grateful.

You left and rounded up the first years, some of whom had no clue who you were and some who were clearly afraid of you and clung to the front of the line where Percy and Robert were. But you brushed it off. It wasn’t half as bad as Pucey calling you a murderer in front of the entire school. The walk didn’t last long, and Percy capitalized the whole thing to flaunt his power over the eleven-year-olds allowing you to remain silent and with your thoughts. You split when you made it to the common room, sure that Percy was so wrapped up in his spiel that he wouldn’t miss you.

“Black!” George wailed. “We’ve missed you dearly.”

“How could you dare to leave us for so long?” Fred cried, and you giggled at their antics, sitting on the couch next to Fred.

“I’m very, incredibly, sorry for the time I have spent away but do know that you were each on my heart and in my thoughts the entire time we were apart,” you joined in, causing Fred to laugh, which brought a shade of pink to your cheeks, recently you found how his laugh made the butterflies in your stomach ruffle their wings.

“Anyone else wanna know why Dumbledore’s let a murderer’s daughter live in our dorm?” you heard Seamus Finnigan say loudly enough for the entire common room to hear. “It makes me feel unsafe I don’t know about you.”

“Yeah if he comes to Hogwarts, this’ll be the first place he comes.”

You sharply rose to your feet and turned to face Finnigan, “Actually you’re right Finnigan, I’ve been in contact with my dad, who has been in Azkaban my entire life, planning to come to a school and kill a bunch of children. I am so so bummed you’ve found out my plan. So everyone keeps an eye open while you’re sleeping. I might just appear over your bed in the middle of the night, ready to murder you.”

As you were speaking, Fred and George stood to defend you. Meanwhile, Seamus’s face fell white with fear at your words.

“Anyways aren’t you meant to be a Gryffindor, Finnigan, aren’t you meant to be brave? Because speaking behind people’s backs is about the most cowardly thing someone can do,” you said, anger rising in you. Although, you did not notice Professor McGonagall enter as you were talking.

“She deserves to be here just as much as the rest of you,” Fred boomed to the now silent common room.

“Good evening, everyone,” McGonagall cut in. “I was planning to come up tonight to ensure that Miss Black was being respected as a peer and as a prefect although that clearly hasn’t happened,” she said, shooting a look at Seamus Finnigan. “As she just said, it is expected that you as Gryffindors conduct yourselves with bravery and with understanding for your peers. Should any of you feel that you do not have to listen to or that you are above Y/n because of her parentage, you can come to me for a detention. I will not permit any intolerance of her presence. Is that understood?”

A few people started slowly nodding, causing the rest of your housemates to nod in understanding of what Professor McGonagall had to say.

“Good, now I will be taking ten points from our house for Mr. Finnigan’s comments,” a groan fell over the room, “You shall also be meeting me for detention in my office tomorrow night at seven. However, ten points to Miss Black and ten points to Mr. Weasley for standing up for oneself and for one’s friends.” With that, Professor McGonagall left, leaving the Gryffindors in silence.

“Go about your nights,” Percy called to the house, and everyone dispersed, although you heard the drama start to circulate, no matter what McGonagall said, you knew that you would never escape the judgement of your peers.

“Merlin, and classes haven’t even started yet,” you huffed as you collapsed back onto the couch next to Fred.

“We’ve got your back, Y/n,” Fred said as he put a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“Promise,” you implored.

“Promise,” he assured.

chapter two

[regretthatsme]

The Doe - Harry Potter x fem!reader

A/n: Harry's second child is named Arthur Remus in this. Albus Severus is a god awful name about two god awful people.

Harry was quickly running to the seventh floor. He was running late for class.

You see, Harry was a teacher. An illegal one, maybe. But, a teacher nonetheless. He was certainly a better teacher than toad-face.

Today, Harry was going to teach a very important lesson. Today was the day where the students would learn expecto-patronum.

He was watching the students file into the Room of Requirements. The excited chatter of teenagers filled the empty room.

"Alright. Alright!" Said Harry, immediately silencing any conversation. "Today, we will be learning the patronus charm. It is one of the most difficult spells to learn, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it on your first try."

Harry did the demonstration of the spell, a bright white stag erupting from the end of his wand.

"Think of your happiest memory. Allow it to fill you up." He said while circling around the room. "A full body patronus is the most difficult to produce."

He was getting lost in the magic and pure joy that echoed across the room, and that's when he saw it.

A glittering silver doe standing right in front of him. Some students stopped to stare at the marvel aswell. Harry's patronus seemed to notice, and it began to walk towards the doe. The stag bowed his head. The doe reciprocated, only to scamper off seconds later with the stag following suit.

Harry stood in awe for a few moments. He tried to think back to his teachings, but his mind kept going back to that damn doe.

And that one class became two. Then three. Then the week.

One month.

It's been one month. And that's when he told Ron.

"I don't know, Ron. I can't stop thinking about it. It keeps coming back. And I tried to ignore it, but then it comes back stronger than ever before." Harry expressed to his friend.

"I don't know what to tell you mate." Said Ron as he bit into a chocolate frog.

"I know... it's just... I feel... something."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know! Just.... will I ever find her?"

Ron looked at his friend. Harry was hunched over with sullen eyes. He was deep in thought. He's serious, Ron thought.

"Cheer up, mate. I'm sure you will find her again."

Harry got up from his bed and started pacing. "What if I don't? I saw something incredible. Indescribable even... I found my soulmate, Ron!" Harry was almost shouting in frustration.

"Relax! It's not my fault. Stop screaming at me!" Ron told Harry. Harry began to take deep breaths and sat back on his mattress.

"I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never had someone to love, you know? I don't want them to slip away like everyone else."

"Hey, not everyone has slipped away. You still have me and Hermione!"

Harry chuckled. "Thank you for listening. I know it's weird to talk about sappy stuff with me."

"Hey. If you can't talk to your friend about your soulmate, what good are they?"

-*-*-*-

Harry prepared for the next lesson, this week focusing on protego. The library was quite empty, only a few second years and one other fifth year.

That fifth year in question is a certain Y/N L/N. She was.... wow. She was one of the most beautiful people in her year. Her H/C hair was so lush and thick and shined in the sun. It shined almost as much as her eyes, which captivated whoever looked into them.

But it's not just her looks that captured the hearts of many, it was also her mind. Her brilliant mind. She could answer any question in the blink of an eye. She could pass any test with flying colors. But, she was creative and oh so kind. More kind than anybody Harry had ever met. Just being in her presence was enough to brighten anyone's day.

Certainly enough to lighten mine, thought Harry.

"Hello, Harry." Y/N said. She had moved to sit across from him.

"U-um. Hello, Y/N." Harry studdard.

"Did you need me? You were looking at me so I thought you might need help."

"Oh. Um-no. It's nothing. Don't worry."

"Well, alright. Just out of curiosity, what are you researching."

Harry looked down to his roll of parchment. "Protego. I'm going to teach it next class."

"That good. It's important to be able to protect yourself. Be sure to discuss protego maxima. It protects against even stronger spells. Seems quite important for an 'army'."

"Of course. Thank you for the recommendation"

Y/N leaned closer to Harry till her lips brushed against his ear. "I'm very excited about our next class." She pulled away, winked, and walked away.

Harry's heart couldn't stop beating. He was panting, yet felt like he couldn't breath. No. No. No. No. I have a soulmate. I can't fall in love with someone else, thought Harry.

-*-*-*-

Harry wondered aimlessly down the corridors under his invisibility cloak. The night was peaceful. Just him and his thoughts, no interruptions. Until he heard a choked sob. It sounded like it came from a first year. What did the toad do the poor first year.

He rounded the corner to see Y/N comforting a young Slytherin girl. "I know. I know, Amelia." The Slytherin was still sobbing hard as ever, no matter how much consolidation she recieved. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"No. Just be here. Just hug me." Said Amelia. Harry could see a tear trickle down Y/N's face.

"You want to see something cool?" Amelia nodded, though it seemed a bit reluctant. "I'm going to cast a spell. Are you ready?" Amelia nodded again, much more vigorously.

"Expecto Patronum."

And there it was.

That damn doe.

That damn doe that haunted him since the day he saw it.

That damn doe that made him rethink so many choices.

That goddamn doe... the love of his life.

He knew that he probably shouldn't do it. He knew that he could be caught if he were to. But, he couldn't help himself. He couldn't fucking help himself.

"Expecto Patronum." Harry whispered.

A stag erupted out of the top of the wand. It immediately ran towards the doe, almost as if he missed her. The stag pranced around both Y/N and doe before bowing down. Just like in the Room of Requirements.

"Can I touch it?" asked Amelia.

"I don't see why not."

She reached up to touch the deer. As soon as she did, Amelia started giggling. Y/N did as well. It felt like pure happiness.

They backed away, and the doe took their place. She bowed down as well. They raised their heads and look into each other's eyes. They kept eye contact as they stepped closer together. Until they came together.

Before long, the deers disappeared.

"I can go back, now." Said Amelia.

"Do you want me to bring you back?" Asked Y/N.

"No thank you." Amelia made her way down the hall. Y/N waited until she couldn't hear the patter of feet.

"Harry. I know you're there. Harry! Where are you?"

Harry took off his cloak before spewing out apologies, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or if I messed up. I couldn't help myself. I should have stopped myself. I knew this was - mmmph!" His rant was cut off by a pair of lips on his.

"Harry, there is nothing to apologize for!" Y/N giggled. Merlin, it sound like music. Harry couldn't help but laugh with her.

"So...."

"So...."

"You're my soulmate then, Y/N?"

"If you would like to call me that, I suppose."

"I would if that's alright with you." Harry places his face in the crook of her neck. Y/N could feel the shit-eating grin on his face. "Would you like to go to Hogsmead on Sunday?"

"Sounds lovely."

-*-*-*-

"James! Wake up!" Y/N tried waking up her son. "Come on. It's your first day of school."

"No. Bed."

"James, if you don't get up, I'm confiscating your broom." Said the boy's mother. It's safe to say that he got ready alarmingly quickly.

Lovely, thought Y/N. She walked downstairs to her two other children eating breakfast. "Good morning, Lily. Good morning, Arthur." She finished each greeting with a kiss on the forehead.

"Good morning, mum!" Said Lily. She was bouncing up and down with excitement, even if she wasn't going to Hogwarts just yet. Arthur stayed silent, however.

"Arthur? You okay? It's your first day at Hogwarts! You should be excited." Said his mother.

"I know. I'm just... nervous." He said, a frown made it's way onto his lips.

"Darling!" Y/N's husband clambered into the room and placed a quick peck to her cheek. He turned to face Arthur. "How are doing? Are you excited?"

"Yes." Arthur faked a smile for the sake of his father.

"Oh gosh! Look at the time! We have to get going or we'll be late!" Said Y/N as she frantically collected her family's belongings.

-*-*-*-

"Dad, what if I am put into Slytherin?" Asked Arthur, about to board the train.

"Arthur Remus Potter. Slytherin isn't a bad house. In fact, it is quite extraordinary. Your mother was almost put in Slytherin for how determined and cunning she was! It would be an honor to have you be in Slytherin. Just as much of an honor as if you would be in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. We will love you no matter what."

Arthur hugged his father so tightly as tears leaked from his eyes. "I-I don't w-want to l-leave you, Dad. I don't want to leave Mum, either. Or Lily."

Harry pulled back and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I know. But, before you know it, you'll be back home and you'll be sick of us all over again." Harry laughed. He had to laugh. If he didn't, he would cry too.

Satisfied with that response, Arthur left his father's embrace and walked over to his mother, who was watching the whole time.

"I love you so much. I love you to the moon and back." She said, giving one last hug to her children before they boarded the train. They grow up too fast.

"I'll write every day." Said Arthur, waving from his compartment on the train.

"Write us when you get settled in! And be sure to tell what house you are in!" Shouted Harry. The train started to ride away. Harry looked at his children then to his wife. He was and will be forever grateful for the woman standing beside him, who gave him a family, who gave him so much.

And to think it all happened because of a damn doe.

[maxdibert]

Hiii is your day going okay? I hope it does. For me it's night so I better be sleeping soon haha.

My question is do you think the Weasley twins were the same as James and Sirius? As if did they have similar personalities, did they do the same pranks, jokes...cuz I feel lots of people do compare them for these reasons, it is even kind of hinted at in canon (with the marauders map, Harry naming the jokester in the family James Sirius) and that's why some people view James and Sirius as mainly these silly popular jokesters everyone liked and therefore they justify their treatment of Severus because 'obviously they must have had a reason'. I liked the Weasley twins in the books, they were a good comedy relief for me, silly and unserious humor is my thing but I can awknowledge some of their pranks and deeds were nasty and bordeline sadistic like killing Ron's pet when using it for a game or scaring him for life with the spider. A lot of Weasleys' pranks seem thoughtless and reckless without any serious malice behind it, unintentional in their harm, but intention never negate the harm so it is not okay to justify it.

Do you think there is some merit in comparing these four and thinking they are similar?

I don’t see them the same way as James and Sirius because, honestly, I think James and Sirius acted with malice and spite, whereas the Weasley twins are just idiots. I mean, I’m not a fan of the twins, sorry, but not because I think they’re bad people—it’s just that I don’t like that type of person. It’s purely personal. Back in my school days, I was part of the typical group of teenagers who felt very much like The Subterraneans by Jack Kerouac. Kids who thought we were the coolest thing ever for having read Hermann Hesse’s entire bibliography, paraphrasing Steppenwolf or lines from Siddhartha, reading the Beat Generation, listening to The Smiths and Joy Division, and watching Godard films. That kind of insufferable intellectual hipsters who talk all day about Slavoj Žižek and his neo-Marxist theories and are deeply into political debates. Basically, we were pretentious intellectual snobs, and I’m not ashamed to admit it—we were pretty unbearable overall.

But if there’s one thing that characterizes the kind of teenager I was, it’s that the funny characters who are always joking and goofing around, like the Weasley twins, were basically our antithesis. I would’ve hated, from the depths of my soul, to have a couple of idiots constantly bothering everyone with their pranks. They would’ve driven me nuts, even if they weren’t doing anything directly to me. That kind of loud, attention-seeking person just got on my nerves. And to this day, it still happens—I can’t stand people who constantly need to be the center of attention.

So yeah, I can’t stand the twins, but despite that, I don’t think they had the malice or spite of James and Sirius. I mean, Fred and George were idiots, and some of their pranks were terrible—I would’ve happily smashed a brick over their heads—but they didn’t have a specific target they tormented all the time. They didn’t strip people naked in the middle of the courtyard out of boredom, they didn’t try to kill anyone. They were goofing around, and sometimes those antics got out of hand, but there wasn’t a dark intent behind them. They were obnoxious and insufferable, but they weren’t sadistic. They also didn’t do their pranks to show that they were in charge or to assert control—they did them because they were a couple of dumbasses, which is very different. I don’t know. I get why people compare them, because they were always getting into trouble and being stupid, but James and Sirius were more than that. James and Sirius actively bullied and abused the same person constantly. Fred and George were quite different in that regard.

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 6.4}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 4.7k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

The moment they were back in Snape's office, Robin got started on making them coffee. It was early afternoon by now, and she was well aware that there still was plenty of work to be done before they could move on over to the lab. Once again she offered her help with his work, but his (admittedly very much justified) objection remained that he couldn't let her grade other students' essays, and Robin had to accept that. Thus she merely sat down at the smaller table with her own coffee after handing him his, and henceforth listened to him complaining about the many stupid mistakes the second years had made in their essays. Eventually it became a real game between them, to keep a list of the most ridiculous things people had written in their essays, and to rank them by their level of idiocy. Robin, void of anything else to do for once, actually wrote it all down on a piece of parchment, both the most ridiculous statements and the ranking points they had given them.

In the end, they successfully managed to miss dinner entirely, as their game was more entertaining than either of them had anticipated. But the work was done, and Robin was proud to say that she had made it less dreadful for him after all. Even if not entirely on purpose, but still very much willingly.

"You know, you could probably fill an entire lesson just with reading out the dumbest quotes on this list and have the students figure out why it's so wrong." Robin sighed with a smirk as she stretched in her chair. The piece of parchment in front of her looked almost like a piece of art at this point, littered not only with the most desperately wrong quotes from the essays, but also Robin's corrections of them, as well as some extended elaborations on the matter and little drawings of ingredients. Yes, she had been that bored between judging ridiculous quotes.

"I could. Should I, however?" He raised an eyebrow at Robin with a not-smirk while he got up from behind his desk at last, only to sit down again across from her at the small table. Without taking his eyes off hers, he snatched the piece of parchment out from under her fingertips and only then lowered his gaze to inspect it. A few seconds passed before he frowned, and Robin smiled.

"I think you should." She remarked innocently, replying to his earlier question while leaning back in her chair. "Have them correct the mistakes, that is, not mock the person who made them."

"I am surprised that you bothered to correct them."

"Didn't have much else to do between judging students' idiocracy. Besides, at this point I really should know the second year topics, shouldn't I? Did them twice, after all."

"Twice because…?"

"Once in my own second year and then again last year when tutoring Jorien and Cas. So technically I only did them once, and then tried to teach them a second time."

"You still tutor your roommates regularly?"

"Yeah." Robin shrugged with a smile. "Not just them though, and by far not only in potions. Just this morning I actually had sixteen students, can you imagine?! Sixteen thirteen-year-olds! And they actually listened to what I said!!!"

Now Snape's eyebrows rose in surprise, but the not-smirk turned into a real one; small, but definitely visible. "I had no idea that was even a possibility."

"Me neither!" Robin laughed, then kept on grinning. "So, just in case you get a suspicious amount of high quality essays from your third years next week, you know who to blame. Or who to thank."

"We will see about that." He replied with the same smirk, but then continued on a more serious note as he took another look at the parchment in his hands. "May I keep this?"

"Sure." Robin shrugged easily, and for whatever reason her heart skipped a beat. "I hope you can decipher all of it… I didn't specifically try for readability."

"I have been reading your handwriting for years, Robin. Not only in tests or essays written specifically to be handed in, but in scribbles and working notes as well. I would even say I know it quite as well as my own."

"Good." Robin couldn't help grinning at him with enough excitement to make him frown a little in suspicion. Before he could ask however, she had already summoned her handbook out of her backpack and dropped it on the table in front of him with a dull thud. "Because there's something else I have been dying to show you."

_______________

A quiet rustling of sheets, soft breathing, hushed whispers. "Robin…" The mattress dipped gently at her side. She smiled, curling a little closer around the new source of warmth. "ROBIN!!!"

She jumped at the loud voice, sitting up with a start, and her head bumped against something hard in an instant.

"Ow…" She grumbled with a deep frown, rubbing her now aching forehead in an instant, while her eyes finally went into focus enough to see Cas sitting in front of her on her bed, rubbing her forehead just the same. Jorien sat on the other side, laughing at both their misery without a hint of guilt or pity.

"Very funny, you guys…" Robin groaned tiredly as she crossed her legs underneath her to make room for the two girls. "The last time you woke me up like this was-..."

"Happy birthday, Robin!" Both girls cheered before she could finish her sentence, and Robin had to smile despite the small mishap.

"Thank you! Is it really the twentieth already? Again?" She sighed, but by now she knew that resistance to Cas was hard, and resistance to Jorien was entirely futile.

"Twentieth of October, six o'clock in the morning!" Cas grinned, and crossed her legs as well while Jorien followed suit a few seconds later.

"Six?! Good gods…" Robin groaned exaggeratedly and frowned at them with a desperate smile. "Why on earth would you wake me up this early?"

"Because it's Thursday and our present for you requires some time before breakfast." Jorien replied factually, and Cas nodded in her usual giddy eagerness.

"Do I need to be scared?" Robin inquired with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. She knew that look on their faces, and she knew that they were up to something. A second later, a small box very much like the one she had received last year was placed in her lap and Robin opened it with a curious smile. When her eyes fell onto the contents however, her brows furrowed, and she looked up at Cas and Jorien with a big question mark on her face.

"We're not doing anything you don't want to, of course… But you liked those onyx earrings so much when we went to Hogsmeade, so we decided to get them for you." Cas shrugged with an excited smile, and Jorien merely nodded in no less amusement.

"That is very sweet of you, but you realize that I don't actually have any holes in my ears but the ones nature demands, yes?"

"Yet. That is part of the present." Cas replied mischievously, and both girls smiled at Robin in a way that made her realize that they were absolutely serious in what they were planning to do. It humored her more than it probably should have.

"Alright." Robin said with an easy smile. "Thank you for the lovely present. If you take joy in stabbing holes into my skin, feel free to. I don't mind."

"Wait… really?!" Cas frowned incredulously. "I thought you were going to protest! I prepared an entire speech to convince you that it was for the best!"

"I told you she would be all for it." Jorien shrugged at her friend, with a humored smile similar to the one Robin wore herself. "And you didn't write a speech, you practiced saying 'please' in as many ways as possible."

"Don't tell her that!" Cas protested with a roll of her eyes, and Robin merely had to chuckle at the two of them. They were like an old married couple sometimes, and it was hilarious and adorable at once to observe. Cas turned to Robin once again. "Anyway, we asked McGonagall for a spell to pierce your ears that wouldn't blow your head off along the way, so you don't have to worry about a thing. It's all approved and safe for use."

"I'm not worried." Robin replied easily, and really she thought the idea was rather sweet. It was such a typical teenager thing to do… something of the kind she had never spent a second thinking about before now. But to Cas and Jorien it actually seemed to be of immense importance to do this themselves, and Robin felt touched that they included her in their spark of youthful rebellion. And she wouldn't mind getting her ears pierced after all. "So… You actually asked McGonagall for a spell?"

"Who did you expect us to ask?! What Professor Snape is for you, McGonagall is for Jorien. I'm just swimming on her wave." Cas explained, then motioned for Jorien to go ahead and do the actual work. A typical Cas move, giving the speech and leaving the work for someone else. "This is probably going to hurt, so you might want to grab something."

"Don't worry, it takes a lot to hurt me these days." Robin sighed and for once, she would just have to trust them; there wasn't much that could go wrong anyway. "But try to keep my head intact, alright?"

Ten minutes later, and luckily without any accidents, Robin had two neat holes in her ears and could at last make use of the gift she'd received. Two studs of black onyx, small but just as gorgeous as she remembered them to be from the two times they had looked at them through the shopwindow in Hogsmeade. She smiled when she looked at herself in the mirror, admiring the subtle new detail about her appearance. The deep black really was a sharp contrast to her ashen skin, but so was her dark hair anyway. The new piece of jewelry probably wouldn't be all too noticeable in comparison to that.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, birthday girl…" Cas declared dramatically, still lounging on Robin's bed even while Robin herself had gotten up. "Now we just need to get a little colour onto your face and you're ready to seize this day!"

Robin spun around to face them in an instant, glaring at the two girls in both horror and defense. There was a lot she would let them do to her, but that most definitely did not include turning her into a canary! "Cas no! Absolutely not!"

"Cas yes!"

"Jorien?" Robin pleaded with both her tone and her eyes while moving back over to her bed and to the girls. "I already let you make holes into my ears!"

"Sorry, but it's all part of our present." Jorien shrugged with a sympathetic half smile before she moved off the bed to get ready. "Just let it happen."

"What is your present if it includes piercing my ears and painting my face?!"

"We're making you pretty, dumbass! Like they do in the movies!" Cas groaned loudly and rolled off the bed as well to pad back towards her own. "You're bloody 17 now! And you still don't have any dates! We're trying to get you one."

"Not that again…" Robin sighed in return, hiding her head in her hands for a moment to regain some composure before she started getting dressed for the day of classes. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than meddling in my affairs?"

"No." Both Jorien and Cas replied at the same time, then giggled at their synchrony, and Robin finally had to realize that resistance was futile indeed. Sometimes living with thirteen-year-olds demanded a sacrifice; sometimes Robin just had to make concessions to their youth. And honestly, she couldn't deny them a thing, being as excited as they were about this now.

"Fine…" She sighed at last, mindlessly buttoning up her blouse with long practiced moments, then tugged it into her trousers. "You may paint my face if it means so much to you. But I'll get the bathroom first, now and all to myself. And I forbid you to use anything actually colourful."

"But colour is the best part! It's ALL colour!!!" Cas cried as she struggled into her tights. "Some charcoal would do wonders on your eyes!"

"Black isn't actually a colour but a value." Jorien corrected with a roll of her eyes. "So technically you can use all the black, white and grey you want."

"Precisely! Thank you, Jorien, your thought-out input is always very much appreciated." Robin smiled proudly at the girl, who in return grinned to herself upon the praise. "Now, do we have an agreement? I get the bathroom first and you will use no colours, but you may otherwise do with my hair and face as you please. Deal?"

"Deal!"

… … …

In the end, Robin had to make another compromise: in exchange for not getting any brown paste and powder onto her face, which Cas seemed to be very fond of unfortunately, she had to agree to let them use colours, dark colours, on her eyes. Thus Robin ended up sitting on her bed, sighing repeatedly, while Cas painted her face and Jorien braided her hair. Honestly, she still didn't know how or why exactly she (the older one!) had become their dress up doll, but under the pretext of 'making her look pretty for her birthday', Robin still found herself unable to deny them. Even if, on the inside, she very much felt like running.

When all three of them made their way towards the great hall for breakfast at last, Robin still felt mildly uncomfortable. The braid Jorien had forced her hair into was rather charming actually, and also very much useful to keep the wavy, bushy mess out of her face, but she wasn't so sure about the 'smokey' black, brown and green Cas had layered around her eyes. Robin felt more like a raccoon than herself… but in comparison to what some (few) of her classmates wore on a daily basis, or those women in the magazines Cas read instead of books, it still was subtle enough to tolerate for a day. Makeup may be fun for some other people, which was fine, but it most definitely wasn't for Robin and she had a rather strong interest in not repeating this masquerade. Oh well… she still would be racoon-Robin for a day now. Besides, it would break the girls' hearts if she didn't suffer through it with a smile on her face, so that's what she did as they hurried to breakfast.

"And where would we be coming from?" A taunting voice stopped all three of them just outside the great hall, and Robin had to smile while the other two looked rather panicked upon the unexpected appearance of their potions teacher. "Miss Miller, Miss Blakeley… Punctuality is a virtue, not an option. Breakfast started fifteen minutes ago. You are late."

"So are you, professor..." Robin replied with an innocent smile, which however turned into more of a smirk as soon as her eyes met his. "Isn't that a funny coincidence?"

Snape approached them with long strides and his usual public facade, and the closer he came, the more Cas and Jorien hid behind Robin. She still didn't understand how they could miss the humor in his face that even now was obvious as day! All they saw was the menacing scowl he wanted them to see. That they probably wanted to see as well; expectation and prejudice were the masters of deceit in one's own mind.

"Funny." He said to Robin in a particularly flat tone that made her bite her lip to keep from laughing, then he turned to look at Jorien and Cas instead. "You two would do well to be on time from now on, even if for a mere meal. I tolerate no slacking. Now find your seats before your classmates leave nothing but their empty plates for you." With that, he motioned for them to get going, clasping his hands behind his back with that indifferent look that made Robin smile even more.

"Robin…? Are you coming?" Jorien asked carefully while Cas straight out started walking off already, gaining as much distance to Snape as possible until she disappeared out of sight. Jorien still stood between Robin and the doors, looking at her insecurely.

"You should be fine without your precious Robin for five minutes, or is that too much to ask?" Snape drawled in feigned annoyance, and Robin gave him a look before turning to Jorien.

"I'll be there in five minutes, just save me a seat and some toast, will you?" She smiled at the girl as positively as possible, who only nodded with a weak smile in return before quickly following behind Cas, out of sight.

"Did you have to scold them for something so minor?" Robin finally asked as she turned back to Snape with a small frown. "They were only late because of me, or rather because of what they did for me. Today, at least…" Really, they were usually late for all meals. No matter what day it was, and no matter if they were with Robin or without her.

"Had they been any later, all they would have found left is scrapings. It might have slipped your notice, but their classmates are more animals than civilised beings when it comes to meals." He pointed out calmly, and Robin had to sigh. He was right. "Unless you wish to show them how to use the kitchens or leave them to fend for themselves in the future, I would prefer to teach them punctuality."

"Yeah, alright, I see your point." She said with another sigh. "Nevermind. I usually prefer being early anyway."

"I am aware." He replied with a not-smirk, upon which Robin had to smile again as well. "Is that colour in your face the reason for your mutual lateness?"

"Ah, well, yes." Robin chuckled awkwardly, and before she knew her fingers nervously brushed over the rough spot of skin on her neck again. "It is, uh… it's part of their birthday present to me, I guess. They insisted on it."

For a moment Snape observed her closely, with a curious frown that made Robin feel both nervous and tingly. He leaned a little closer for a second, then back again. "Something else about you is different than it was yesterday evening, but I cannot tell what it is."

"Well, uh, I also let them pierce my ears, because they really wanted to, so it's probably that." Robin shrugged with an almost apologetic frown. Did he observe everyone that closely? Probably.

His eyebrows rose in surprise, torn between incredulity, humor and irritation. "Why would you let them do all that to you? I was under the impression that people did nice things for others on their birthdays…"

"They gave me earrings, so they also had to make sure I could wear them. And as for the colour on my face… you better don't ask what made them do that to me." She shrugged again, deeming the way he said 'nice' highly amusing. "I let them do it because it quite obviously made them happy."

"It is your birthday. People are supposed to ensure you are happy."

"Oh, I'm quite happy as it is." Robin replied with a small smirk, and a soaring heart once more. "I can manage looking like a raccoon for the day. Perhaps it'll scare Morgan off at least."

A quiet snort escaped him before he could make an effort to remain stoic, and even then he seemed to struggle not to smirk. "Raccoon certainly is not what I think of when I look at you, Robin. But you make me curious about their reason to obviously try for exactly that visual."

Now Robin had to snort as well, shaking her head to herself. Damn, she didn't want to tell him… but she also knew that she could deny him even less than the two girls. What was it about the people she cared about?! The only weak spot she knew of, and they all were entirely oblivious to it.

"If you have to know, they wanted to make me look pretty for the day." She sighed, but as soon as he even made an attempt to reply, she added, "Don't. Please. No scorn or mocking on my birthday. I know I look stupid, but I have to make concessions if I want to keep my sanity when living with them, and this was such an instance. I could have looked far worse."

"I was merely going to say that they obviously have a strange concept of beauty if they are blind enough to try to cover it up with paint." He said as if it wasn't enough to make Robin's entire body feel too hot all of a sudden. Actually, he didn't even seem to realize what exactly he had just said in the first place as he went on. "I do very well understand your need to make concessions, and your diplomacy is certainly appropriate. However you don't have to tolerate everything they do to you merely because I told you to watch over them."

"I know. That's not why I do it, not at all." She sighed, regaining control over her heartbeat by simply ignoring what he hadn't even said on purpose. "They care about me, they really do, and they only want the best for me in their own kind of way. A thirteen-year-old way, which unfortunately entails trying to draw more positive attention to me."

He frowned at that, with a lingering hint of amusement. "They paint your eyes black to draw positive attention to you? How… curious."

"I know, right?" She huffed in both humor and dread. "I for my part like black better than anything else they could've put on my fave, but it's probably the wrong colour to make other people think 'pretty' and not 'scary'. I forbid them to use bright colours though, so perhaps it is my fault that I'll scare people off all day, which I do almost every day anyway, so-..."

"Robin." He quirked an eyebrow at her, and Robin took a deep breath to untangle the mess in her head that caused her to ramble.

"Yes. Sorry. Nevermind, just forget about it."

"Give me your hand." He ordered calmly an instant later, holding his own out to her with his palm facing up. Robin's heart skipped a beat, but she did as he said without question, placing her hand in his only to feel the familiar surge of electricity running up her arm and through her body.

To her surprise, he turned her hand around to rest in his with the inside facing up as well. Then, without a word, a small spark of light flickered to life inside her palm. It glowed softly in different colours that came and went so quickly it left the light white, an addition of all colours, and yet black at once in its subtraction. Robin couldn't have described it even if she'd wanted to, for her eyes and mind were too drawn to their hands to even try such a thing. The spark grew, not into a bigger light, but into a shape, a web of atoms that made up matter one by one. It grew, blossomed and rooted until at last it took on the unmistakable shape of a flower. A flower Robin had never seen before, one that was entirely black in its impossible existence, but yet consisted of all the colours in existence indeed. She couldn't take her eyes of it as it rested in her palm, all light gone but the impossible colours remained. His hand was still curled around hers, long fingers brushing against the delicate skin of her wrist beneath the cuff of her blouse… Robin didn't know which of the two fascinated, enchanted her more. Perhaps both did, in a different way.

"Now, would you expect someone to deem this flower scary?" He asked after a few seconds, dropping his hand from hers at last.

"No…" Robin replied quietly, holding the blossom in her palm like the greatest treasure. "It's beautiful, breathtaking even. I've never seen anything like it."

"Because it stems from your mind alone, which makes it entirely unique in its existence."

"But, how… I mean…" She didn't even know what to say, leave alone what to think, neither in a positive nor in a negative way. Why had he shown this beautiful piece of magic to her? Why hadn't she known that he could do something like this in the first place?! The overwhelming urge to be closer to him overcame her when she looked up at him, and it couldn't even be lessened by his perfect neutral facade. Gods, why did he always hide when she wanted to see him the most?! "Why?"

"It is nothing but a reminder that darkness does not scare everyone." He replied neutrally, neither bothering to feign indifference nor to let his honest expression shine through. A few seconds passed in silence, and they merely looked at each other as they did so often.

"Thank you." Robin finally said, giving him the most sincere smile that had graced her lips all day. "It's a lovely gift."

"It isn't a gift." He was quick to respond though, frowning first, then looking almost humored again. "But it might counteract the racoon visual nonetheless."

Robin chuckled, closing her eyes for a second to dwell in the happiness of the moment. The overwhelming bunch of emotions tied to the impossible flower in her hand. "Well, thank you either way. I appreciate your help with my facial issues."

Finally the not-smirk was back on his face, and if Robin wasn't mistaken, so was the humor in his eyes. "What kind of… person would I be if I didn't help you even with the most obscure problems?" Again he raised his eyebrows at her, and she smiled brightly enough to light up the entire hallway, until he spoke on. "That, among other things, is why I want you to be prepared at two o'clock this afternoon."

"Huh?" Robin's brows furrowed into a deep frown in an instant. "Prepared for what?"

"To play along." He smirked for real this time, quite obviously basking in her confusion. "You will see."

Then, without another word, Snape turned on his spot and disappeared down the hallway towards the dungeons before Robin could say another thing. Two seconds later, the doors to the great hall were opened by the first students already leaving breakfast, and they stormed the hallway with enough noise and chattering to break Robin free of her frozen state. Did Snape actually enjoy being that cryptic?! He probably did; insufferable idiot.

Robin sighed to herself, looking at the flower in her hand in careful consideration, then moved to tie it into her hair with a smile. Having this little piece of magic with her, his magic, would certainly make her day a lot better, even if it was prone to cause her constant tingles. Who cares… it was her birthday, she could allow herself to enjoy one single day of dwelling in her feelings. And besides, nobody had to know who had given her such an impossible flower; it wasn't a gift after all, just a point proven.

As Robin made her way into the great hall at last, hoping that at least some kind of food was left for her, she wondered what would be happening at two o'clock. She really couldn't wait to know. Then again, the anticipation and excitement of not knowing was also quite delightful. Two o'clock… that was a third into her defense against the dark arts class. And that meant whatever was going to happen, it could only be an improvement.

______________________________

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[priorireverte]

Congratulations Nat!

Your application for Lucius Malfoy has been accepted. So excited to be getting more former/ex/reformed(?) Death Eaters around. Be careful, too—Death isn’t resting so easy these days and how’d you’d feel about the people who tried to ‘Eat’ you?

Please look to the checklist for the next steps and reach out if you have any questions!

OUT OF CHARACTER

NAME & PRONOUNS: Nat | She/her/hers

TIMEZONE: EST

ACTIVITY LEVEL: Better than initially expected?? Available 3/7 days a week most days. Working full-time M-F and taking two classes so that may change but I should be able to maintain that 3/7 days for the time being.

ANYTHING ELSE: N/A besides me going hi, I would (happy) CRY at the setup of Lucius and Narcissa needing to like… rebuild trusting each other and that sort of stuff after nearly losing their son. I freaking adore that ship but am under the impression some sort of fallout had to happen between Lucius coming back from Azkaban, Voldemort living in their home, passing, and realizing they were on the wrong side of things.

CHARACTER DETAILS

NAME: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy

BIRTHDATE: September 18, 1954

DEATHDATE: N/A

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Male, he/him/his, demisexual - where that was not a term that was used while growing up, Lucius would say he is straight. He simply didn’t find people attractive in the traditional sense of being able to check someone out and be like “damn I’d tap that.” It was a little more difficult for him since he needed to get to know someone on an emotional level before allowing things to get physical or sexual.

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Slytherin

OCCUPATION: Owner - Malfoy Apothecary When overly stressed, Lucius can be found working at the Malfoy Apothecary. Either stocking shelves or working on organizing the storeroom. He tries to avoid working the register since he isn’t looking for confrontation at the moment.

FACECLAIM: Alexander Skarsgård

CHARACTER BACKGROUND

POSTBELLUM

Lucius is a shadow of himself. Still proud and sticking to the few friends and family members he has left, but less confident when it comes to letting his voice be heard. His dark mark serves as a mark of shame — his father encouraged him to take it and his supporting the Dark Lord’s ideals turned into his own son taking on the mark. His biggest regret thus far was his stint in Azkaban. Draco took the mark during that time and he got out of prison and was hit with the news that his father passed away, his son was marked because of his actions, and the Dark Lord was using his manor as headquarters.

The war served as a reminder that family was the most important thing in his life. There were several times leading up to (and during) the second war where he truly feared he would lose his wife, his son, or both of them. Having made it out without losing either of them was a blessing. He considers himself truly lucky to have had his small family come out without loss. The trauma and impact of a year spent fearing for his life and the wellbeing of his wife and son left him rather shaken. His ideals were challenged and he was forced to give up his wand, stuck at the Dark Lord’s side with no way out.

Although a few years have passed since the war, Lucius still has nightmares. He is riddled with guilt after what his son and wife were put through and fears what will happen if his father, Bellatrix, or the Dark Lord comes out of the veil. Defecting was unthinkable during the first war and the second resulted in his sucking up his pride and shifting his focus on getting his son and wife out alive.

The war may be over but he knows there is a target on his back. One wrong step, and it could be a reason for people to believe they made a mistake in not making him return to Azkaban.

PERSONALITY

What are they good at? What do they struggle with? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Lucius is good at lying his way out of trouble. A keen mind and a sharp tongue left him with several friends in the Ministry. It gave him the ability to be in the know about everything without needing to actively hold a job there. He is incredibly family-oriented. One look from his wife is all it takes to get him to rethink speaking out of turn or behaving foolishly. Lucius can speak French, Italian and Latin. He is a skilled piano player and occasionally sings but that is usually only done in his wife’s presence.

Traits:

— Arrogant: This trait is a struggle for Lucius since his opinion of believing he was better than everyone got him into more trouble than it was worth. He is working on downplaying his arrogance but still has the habit of turning up his nose at certain people (Arthur Weasley). He prides in his appearance and has dropped a lot of money on clothes, hair supplies, and making sure he has a decent skincare routine.

— Wily: Lucius has a sharp tongue. His arrogance and money allowed him to wiggle his way into a high ranking position at the Ministry before he married. He is a skilled liar and will do whatever it takes to get his thoughts across.

— Family oriented: At this point, family is all Lucius has left. There is a lot of guilt surrounding that trait since he nearly got everyone killed but he is using it as an excuse to grow and learn from his mistakes.

— Cowardly: Lucius dislikes getting his hands dirty. It is easier to play as puppet master and have others take the fall for his actions or ideas. Although a death eater, he seldom got his hands dirty. Torturing was his specialty but anything that came with the risk of getting another person’s blood on him left him talking someone else into doing the dirty work for him.

— Well-spoken: Lucius’s parents wanted the Malfoy heir to be a positive reflection on the family. They hired a tutor to come in and work with Lucius from a young age. Any sort of stammering and stuttering were quickly discouraged. He was taught simple coping mechanisms for his feelings since bottling them up left him prone to exploding and not being able to watch his tongue when everything became too much. He prides in being articulate and has an eloquent way of writing.

— Ex-Elitist: Abraxas Malfoy made sure his son knew purebloods were on top. Lucius was taught that at a young age and only recently realized that way of thinking was wrong. Although able to keep his thoughts to himself, he is struggling to come to terms with unlearning the beliefs he was raised with and carried for the majority of his life.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY

Lucius is the only son of Abraxas Malfoy and Katerina Malfoy née Selwyn. His mother passed away when he was five years old. Things were just him, his father, and the occasional woman Abraxas kept for company. Having never remarried and having blamed the birth of his son on weakening his wife’s health caused Abraxas to keep Lucius at a distance. The boy spent more time with house-elves and nannies than with him. They were only ever seen together forcing the image of a happy family at pureblood gatherings.

Abraxas had strict expectations of his son. Lucius was required to learn several languages (French and Italian among his favorites), instruments, and show he understood his father’s values from a young age. He wasn’t given much of a chance to be with other children so Hogwarts came as a bit of a shock. One letter home from a professor about his behavior and a howler back in response was all it took to ensure Lucius didn’t do anything to bring shame to the family.

He took the dark mark as a teenager and thought little of it outside of knowing it was something that would make his father proud. Although proud, Abraxas only ever showed contempt for his son. He feared the young man would get cocky and do something to get himself killed before he got the chance to prove himself.

Draco is Lucius’s pride and joy. He is of the belief he and Narcissa couldn’t have created a more perfect child. While he would have appreciated having a sibling for Draco it wasn’t in their cards. Narcissa is currently the only person Lucius would trust with his life. (Severus Snape would have been a close second if he hadn’t gotten killed.) He loves his wife and son dearly and regrets the situation the family was put into. If given a chance he would have never taken the mark in the first place. There’s no way of changing that though so treading carefully to avoid risking conflict has been his best approach at mending the uneasiness he gets when thinking about what he put his wife and son through.

HISTORY

Family proved to be the most important part of Lucius’s life. His marriage to Narcissa made it clear he is absolutely smitten with his wife. He trusts her with his life and she has seen him at his weakest points. The stint in Azkaban left him fearing she would leave him but she stayed at his side. Whether this was to save face for Draco or her assuming he would eventually do the right thing is beyond him. He hasn’t had it in him to ask why. At his lowest points, he can be found questioning why she stayed with him and doing small actions to make it known he is indebted to her for putting up with the ridiculousness that nearly got the whole family killed.

Pre-war of ‘98 involved Lucius planning moves for the death eaters once Voldemort returned. Before that, his focus was on his wife and his son, appreciating the little life they made for themselves. Lucius was close to Lord Voldemort and considered himself one of the most trusted of the death eaters until he lost the prophecy. To add insult to injury, he was arrested and spent several months in Azkaban for his blunder. Returning from jail came with the shock of learning his son took the mark and Lord Voldemort claimed his manor as headquarters. A lot of unspeakable things happened and his life spiraled to a point where he felt as though he was no longer in control. It left him paranoid and extra jumpy, turning into a submissive shell of the man that once oozed confidence and a better-than-everyone sense of self-esteem.

OOC EXPLORATION

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

I’ll be honest — I’m trash for Lucissa. There is something about the two that makes that ship one of my favorites. On a non-ship related note: I want to see Lucius face his demons — people challenging his ideals and/or using his past against him, him feeling guilty over Severus having died, etc.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Headcanon wise, I’m going to be working with Lucius having chopped his hair off shortly after the war ended. He’ll be claiming losing his locks was his turning a new leaf but it was definitely because it reminded him of past decisions and had thinned out from the amount of stress he was under. He currently has no plans of growing it back to its old length.

As a note, I don’t view the Malfoy family as having gone out of their way to abuse/mistreat their son. Perhaps indirectly from Lucius’s end since his own upbringing wasn’t ideal, but my version of him doesn’t involve him going “let me do what my dad did to me to you.” I also do not support Cursed Child’s erasure of Lucius and Narcissa running around wandless in search of their son in Deathly Hallows and Lucius coming out of that not wanting to change his ways/hating on his child’s spouse. While I know the epilogue/cursed child isn’t considered canon for this group it’s still me just wanting my opinion of nah we’re having a Lucius that’s trying to learn from his mistakes out in the open.

https://lusciousviper.tumblr.com is the original Lucius I played. It’ll be interesting taking him on about fifteen years older than the age I am used to playing him at but I’m happy to take that challenge.

https://iheardaboutit.tumblr.com/ mock blog

EXTRA FOR NON-BIO CHARACTERS

CHARACTER CONTRIBUTION

He’s fallen from grace. Lucius nearly lost everything to the second war. He is attempting to learn from his mistakes and that unlearning is taking more patience than he was aware he had. The second war left him well aware that his wife and son were the most important parts of his life. Losing them was practically unthinkable to a point where he would have given his own life up for the sake of ensuring Draco and Narcissa survived.

Where Lucius was very active with officials in the ministry and had a high societal standing, this leaves him open to having countless friends and enemies. I assume there are several people that may be skeptical of his having avoided jail time and all too eager to prove their suspicions right.

PRESENT

Having taken in a ward has left Lucius a little concerned about the returned. Thankfully, it happens to be his wife’s youngest cousin but that has done little in easing his nerves. He knows little about Regulus outside of the rumors that spread when the young death eater went missing and never returned. It isn’t necessarily a problem but he doesn’t know what he’ll do if Bellatrix, his father, or someone worse comes out of the veil. He’s taken to working at the family’s apothecary as a way of keeping busy but there is only so much work that can be done before he runs out of things to do.

—————

“I’m sorry, did you say Regulus?” Lucius quirked a brow at his wife, the look of disbelief planted firmly across his face. There had only been rumors about the returned — the stray whisper from the few trusted acquaintances he had back at the ministry. Nothing about anyone of relation to him or his wife coming through. “And they are expecting us to…” He trailed off when his wife fixed him with a look. The nonverbal eyebrow raise was enough to make it clear her cousin would be staying with them. His opinion on the matter was useless since there was no room for him to have a say— wasn’t his cousin and attempting to stay in his wife’s good graces. “Whatever you say, love,” He sighed. “We have space. I just wish we knew what accepting him into the home would entail. You know, he tried leaving and the rumors were the dark lord went—” He trailed off after another look from his wife. “Right, right. I won’t be mentioning that to him in person.”

[snapeaddict]

Hi, have you ever thought that Sev's pantron was always be doe? He always looks more careful than others, he also seems more alert like a doe who is always a prey? But in the other hand his patron really did changed to Lily's because of his love but he never knew that because his always be doe until Albus told him (because that old man always has the wisest thoughts besides his manipulation).

Sorry, I am not the native so please understand the shortcomings. Thanks.

So let me get this straight, his patronus was always a doe but the fact it was a doe when he was an adult also reflects a change in his person due to Lily's influence? Personally, I have always thought his patronus was always a doe because I understand and relate to the deep, deep need for friendship and the change it can create in a person. To a child like Severus, it must have meant so much more? Possibly the one and only person in his whole world caring for him, being interested in him, willing to spend time with him, introducing him to the wonders of platonic love, friendship, empathy, childhood joys? I just think everyone needs someone's else positive influence in their life to thrive, no matter who it is and where you find it, and I understand so well the impact Lily had on his life. So I really think there was a deep connexion to her from the start and his patronus was always a doe for this reason, in his teenage years as he met her so young. I also think that even if the shape of his patronus did not change in adulthood, the meaning it had like you are implying, was different. It changed. Not only did this friendship gave him a purpose to survive and certainly saved his life in his first years at school, but it gave him the strength to turn his back on awful beliefs and possibly live a life consistent with his values and what he witnessed. If you meant that his patronus would have been a doe without Lily's influence, well I don't know, why not? In the end the concept of patronus is quite... Wobbly and takes its roots in a simplistic way of viewing animals (ie not individuals but a species apparently showing some human personality traits) or a traditional, symbolic way of interacting with nature that really leaves us with many, many possibilities. Interesting theory anyway!

Also I don't know what is your first language but if it's German or Italian or French don't bother translating in English if you have difficulties I don't mind at all! But I had no problem understanding, never apologise for writing in another language.

[theacerbicprince]

Drabble about Severus time in purgatory before Lily comes to lead him home.

@tmvoldemort

The pain had been unreal, more than ever he could have expected. He could practically feel the poison working it's way through his body. More discomforting than that though was the sensation of losing blood, of feeling his vitality fading. He tried desperately to hold onto his wretched life for what it was worth, only so long as he needed to in order to give his memories to Potter. He could not die until then. That was his final job, his final role. There would be nothing more for him beyond that. 

The memories slipped from him and as he felt the chill of death creeping over his body from his feet upwards, he grabbed hold of Potter and gargled his final words even as he heard her voice singing to him. 

"Look at me." 

The last thing he saw before he surrendered to the darkness were her eyes, that deep, beautiful green swimming before him. 

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Severus felt as though he were lying in a pool of water, floating on the surface, the aching pain in his limbs seeping out of him. He could feel, that was unexpected. He could hear, birds chirping and he cracked open his eyes, the world around him filled with the light of the sun but it was far more than just the sun. He was looking up into those eyes, after all the years of staring at them in photographs.

"Lily." He gasped, finding his voice had returned to it's normal, silky baritone. He tried to sit up and she shook her head, hushing him. It was then that he realised he was not floating in a pool of water. He was lying on the grass and his head was in her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

"Oh Severus. It's been so long." He could see her eyes growing glassy with unshed tears, her lip wobbling slightly. There was both joy and tragedy in her expression and Severus wanted to sit up, to wrap her in his arms and hold her till the world ended. In a way, he supposed it had ended for him at least. He was dead, that much was evident and yet he was in no Hell. There could be only heaven where she was. 

He shifted, rolling onto his side so he could slowly sit up. He could hardly believe after so many years that he had finally found his way home to her because there was no home without Lily. He came up onto his knees and reached out for her, his hand shaking slightly as he touched her shoulder to check that she was real and solid. She smiled at him and he pulled her into his embrace roughly, tears in his own eyes as he tried not to cry. This was the best that he could ever have hoped for. 

"Thank you for looking out for my son." Her voice was barely above a whisper but he could hear it and it was almost everything that he had ever wanted. 

"I'm sorry Lily, I am so sorry for everything I ever did. Please, please can you forgive me?" There was passion within his voice and he felt like a young teenager again because that was the last time he had seen her alive and animated. The image of her lying dead on the floor at Godric's Hollow crept to the forefront of his mind but he pushed it aside. It didn't matter anymore. His greatest wish from that night had been fulfilled, he had been reunited with her. 

She pulled back out of his embrace and he was confused and hurt for a moment before she stroked the back of her hand against his cheek. He leaned into her touch as she spoke, his eyes drinking in the beautiful features of her face. 

"There is nothing left to forgive, not anymore. Harry is going to make it Severus, he's going to do it and our sacrifices won't have been in vain." Severus opened his mouth to speak, to ask her how she knew but he was stopped by her finger pressing against his lips. 

"There is someone else here for you." She told him, watching as his confusion unfurled across his face. Her gaze was fixed on him but shifted after she finished speaking to a spot behind him. Severus jumped a little as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, not sure exactly what or who he was expecting. 

His jaw dropped. 

She smiled at him, a smile that reached her dark eyes. 

"Severus." She breathed his name and that was when he started crying, unable to stop the tears escaping from him. His body shook with the force of his sobs as he threw himself forward, falling into the arms of his mother. 

"It's okay my little genius, it's all going to be okay. You are home now." His mother's words were softly spoken as she held him, rubbing his back, her chin resting on the crown of his head as Severus pressed his cheek against her chest. He had missed her, the pain of her loss, of his role in her death had torn at him with more pain than a hundred cruciatius curses and now, finally, at the end of it all, he was reunited with her once again and she was as he remembered she had been when he had been 5 years old before it had all gone so terribly wrong.

This was heaven, there was no other word for it and even as he cried, he cried tears of joy and his heart felt lighter than it had in years. At last, after so much pain and torment; Severus Tobias Snape was at peace. 

[upset-hufflepuff]

Remus felt his eyes sting from crying. It was embarassing, he thought, for a grown 13 year old boy to cry over missing a simple school trip.

Still, he felt the situation was nothing less than absolutely unfair. This was supposed to be his first trip at Hogsmeade, and yet there he was, at a hospital wing bed, where he had stayed all day. Because out of all days, the trip had to take place a day after the Full Moon.

All the plans he and his friends had made about going to Zonko's first, and then straight to Honeydukes to stock up on sweets. Now they were all there, having a wonderful day, while he was forced to stay in bed and look at the otherwise empty hospital wing of the castle.

His tears were finally starting to dry, as he got too exhausted to keep shedding them. He thought about lying when Madam Pomfrey asked him why he was crying, telling her he was still in pain. That would have been less embarassing. But he was too tired to lie, and he didn't want her to fuss over him and his injuries any more.

He glanced at the bandages on his arms, fighting the urge to start tearing them apart out of frustration. Damn this curse. Why couldn't he be a normal boy, going out with his friends and having fun? Why did this have to keep happening again, and again, and again?

He sniffled and wiped his face with his thin fingers. The silence and overall emptiness of the room was overwhelming. The only other person there was Madam Pomfrey, sorting healing potions near the only door. He could hear faint voices on the other side, of students running back and forth on their way to class or to their common rooms. He wondered if his friends had come back from their trip to Hogsmeade when he heard louder voices approaching the door. Soon, it burst open, three young teenage boys in winter coats and red-gold scarves running inside, holding various colourful bags.

Madam Pomfrey jumped, and immediately stopped them. She started scolding them for running in like that for no reason, and that they could "bother her patient". Of course, she knew that's exactly what they were there for.

She looked back at Remus and must have noticed his sudden bright smile, his first one for the day, because she let the boys approach him (after one last warning about being careful, of course).

James arrived at his bedside first, his messy black hair still speckled with snowflakes. He dropped his bags on the floor and hugged him. He smelled like cinnamon and freshly fallen snow, but he felt warm. His hugs were always so nice, but Remus felt the need to announce, "ow".

James let go of him with an apologetic, but still gleeful, look. Next to him was Sirius, with his long black hair showing under his red wool beanie, and his eyes gleaming with joy. Then there was Peter, coming in last, his nose flushed from the cold and his scarf covering his mouth. He pulled it away with his hand and smiled. "Hi Remus!"

"Looking good, Moony" Sirius claimed, which was ironic considering he was covered in bruises and bandages.

"Right back at you, the close-to-hypothermia look quite suits you if I say so myself" he replied.

They laughed at his comment, still in their scarves and coats.

"So...how was Hogsmeade?" Remus asked with a smile, trying to hide the bitterness of his jealousy.

"Oh, you know...just Hogsmeade" Peter answered, but it was evident he was just trying to make him feel better. Sweet Peter.

"What, you think we'd leave you like that, without bringing you anything?" James said, as he picked up one of the bags he'd dropped.

"First package for Remus Lupin!" he announced, handing it over to him. It smelled like chocolate and sugar, but Sirius handed him another bag before he could check.

"No fair, Sirius, wait for your turn!"

"It's my turn! Moony, open this one!"

Remus opened the bag Sirius had given him, to find a big, woollen scarf. The green colour didn't seem like something Remus would have ever worn before, but Sirius looked to happy for him to say anything.

"Straight from Gladrag's Wizardwear just for our Moony!"

"Why thank you, Sirius" Remus laughed as he wrapped the scarf around his scratched, bandaged neck. It was soft and comfortable, so warm he thought one of the cold boys might need it more at that moment.

"Hey, don't just leave mine! I got all your favourite candy, and there's a lot of it! I'm not saying you could share some..."

As James spoke, Remus opened his bag. It was filled with chocolate frogs, fizzing whizzbees, acid pops and more. Those were definitely far too many for him, but had a hunch that was intentional.

Finally, Peter handed him a small package.

"From Scrivenshaft's quill shop. It's a new quill. It looks nice, and you use quills a lot. Uh, I don't know if you'll like it."

Remus smiled at his friend and assured him that, ofcourse he'll like it, and thanked him sincerely.

"We bought a bunch of Zonko's goods too, but we decided that they're going to be shared. Property of the Marauders as a group! So they don't count as a present to you personally, and all" Sirius informed him.

Neither do the sweets, Remus thought, but he didn't say anything.

"So when will you be out of here so we- I mean you can eat your goods and we can look through our new Zonko's stash?" James asked.

"The boy will not be leaving the hospital wing anytime soon, I'm afraid" Madam Pomfrey said, suddenly by Remus' side, changing the potion bottles on the bedside table.

"Oh...then, I guess we could stay here and keep him company?" Peter asked hopefully.

"I'm sure a growing boy can eat some candy? With his growing boy best pals helping out?" Sirius added.

Perhaps the pleading stares of 4 boys, one all bandaged up and 3 still red-nosed from the Scottish winter cold, made it hard for Madam Pomfrey to refuse.

"Alright, alright. But you're going to need to be rather careful, if I catch you causing mischief you will be out of my hospital wing at once" she warned, before walking off with the empty potion bottles.

Soon, the boys were sitting on Remus' hospital bed, sharing his candy and talking about their new Zonko's prank equipment, which they decided was best not to show, in fear Madam Pomfrey confiscated it and kicked them all out.

And as he saw his friends warm up and flinch at the taste of Acid Pops, occasionally laughing at each other's lame jokes and comments, Remus forgot all about his morning tears. Maybe he hadn't been able to see Hogsmeade for himself with the other students, but his friends hadn't forgotten him, and kept him company as long as they could.

He had nothing to complain about at that moment. Despite his bandaged body parts and aching limbs, he felt happy and content. He munched on his captured chocolate frog, as he giggled at Sirius' mention of Severus Snape tripping and falling on his face in the snow in Hogsmeade. And he felt that, with these three, life might be worth living, even like this. If they'd always be waiting for him, he could handle some time in a hospital bed once a month. Because they would always be by his side until he gets back up.