#though she did also have the likes of andre egwu crushing on her before they started dating

[carewyncromwell]

Adding Carewyn and Jacob to the mix! 😘

Connection is still kind of out so have a bunch of meme charts with Veruca, Carson and Coby!

Feel free to tag your OCs!

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Portrait of the Vault

Chapter 4: Neither Love Nor Money

A/N: After being humiliated by Emily Tyler, Ismelda Murk makes a plan to win the heart of her crush, and Artemis sets up a new alliance between two of her closest friends. Warnings: drink-spiking and Emily Tyler.

By the start of October, fifth year was looking up. Artemis and Rowan were back to being as close as ever, little Elora Dunn had made friends with Penny’s sister Beatrice, Artemis was officially a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and the date of the first Hogsmeade trip had been announced.

Artemis, Rowan, and Penny had decided to meet Ben Copper and the Weasley brothers at the Three Broomsticks inn, whilst Tonks scuttled away to Zonkos joke shop with Tulip Karasu.

“Aren’t you even going to stop for a Butterbeer first?” Artemis called out after them.

“No time, they’ve got an offer on frogspawn soap!” Tonks shouted back, and she and Tulip disappeared into the crowd.

Madam Rosmerta, the landlady at the Three Broomsticks, brought over six large flagons of Butterbeer to the table where Artemis sat between Charlie and Rowan, the latter discussing Arithmancy theories with Bill, whose arm was draped around Penny’s shoulders. Penny was helping Ben with his Potions homework, and Charlie was completely engrossed in the classifieds of the ‘Hogsmeade Morning Herald’ that lay open on the table in front of him. Artemis offered twelve silver Sickles to Madam Rosmerta, but she shook her head, and gently pushed her hands back.

“Don’t be silly, love,” she said, smiling warmly. “I’ve not seen you in months, I’m not going to take money from you.”

Artemis caught Madam Rosmerta up on the events of the term so far, and as she did, she became aware of a commotion going on in the far corner of the inn. A group of students were laughing raucously as a pretty brunette read aloud from a black notebook. Artemis’ face stiffened as she recognised the girl at the centre of the small crowd.

“What’s Emily Tyler up to this  time?” Rowan muttered, also watching the scene unfold, along with the majority the punters.

“I don’t know,” replied Artemis, “but let’s find out.”

Rowan and Artemis walked across the inn to where Emily Tyler was still reading, her sneering voice carrying out over the laughter of the students around her. Among them was Artemis’ friend Andre Egwu, from Ravenclaw house, who was watching from a nearby table with a girl in a blue headscarf.

“What’s going on?” Artemis hissed to him.

“Oh,” Andre giggled, “Ismelda Murk left her diary on the table when she went to go to the loo, and Emily’s been reading it out.”

“That’s not funny, Andre, that’s horrible!”

“So is Ismelda. And you didn’t hear it when she read out Ismelda’s secret love letters. It was hilarious, wasn’t it, Badeea?”

Badeea Ali hesitated before she nodded her head, a guilty look in her wide dark eyes.

“It was a bit funny, yes. I do feel bad for her though.”

“Why? Ismelda’s the meanest witch at Hogwarts.”

“No, she isn’t,” Artemis muttered, looking at Emily Tyler with her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. She exhaled, and turned away from Andre and Badeea. “Oi, Emily!”

Emily Tyler lifted her eyes from Ismelda’s diary, and stared daggers at Artemis.

“Can I help you?” she asked, with an insincere smile.

“Yeah, you can, actually,” said Artemis. “You can give me that book.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m telling you to. Give me that book.”

“But the thing is, Ariadne,” Emily said, in an airy voice, “I’d give this book to you, but I’m quite enjoying reading it. We all are. Ismelda really is a very talented writer.”

In the very corner of the room, Ismelda’s usually sallow face was flushed, her nostrils were flaring, and she looked almost nauseated. Even though Artemis didn’t like Ismelda in the slightest, she couldn’t help but pity her.

“The thing is, Emily, I’m a prefect. So, if you don’t give me the book, I’ll have you put in detention,” she said. “I don’t think you’d like scrubbing pots and pans in the kitchen. It might ruin your nails.”

Emily stared at Artemis, who glowered back at her unwaveringly. After almost a whole minute, Emily sighed and dropped the book on the table next to her.

“Fine. Have the book. We’ve all had a good laugh anyway.”

“And apologise to Ismelda.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“Apologise to Ismelda,” Artemis repeated, raising her eyebrows. Emily rolled her eyes, and turned to Ismelda with a wide smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ismelda,” she said, fake-sweetly. “I’m sorry that I read your diary, and I’m so sorry that there’s no way that Barnaby Lee will ever like you back. I mean, why would he? Just look at you.”

Emily flicked her hair over her shoulders and flounced away, her posse of seventh year girls trotting at her heels. Artemis scowled at them as they walked away, and handed Ismelda’s diary back to her.

“Thanks,” Ismelda muttered, grudgingly.

“That’s alright. You okay?”

“No. Leave me alone.”

Artemis shrugged, and walked back to her own table with Rowan, who squeezed her arm gently.

“Well done,” she whispered, and Artemis grinned at her.

“What was all that about?” Bill asked, raising his head to look out over the bar. Artemis suspected that he had been trying to keep a low profile while Emily was still around.

“Emily was reading passages from Ismelda’s diary out loud to everyone. Secret love letters, that sort of thing.”

“Ismelda has been writing love letters?” Penny’s attention snapped away from Ben’s Potions essay at the slightest hint of gossip. “Who to?”

“Barnaby Lee, by the sounds of things. Very strange.”

“Well, hardly. You can see why she might fancy him,” said Penny. “He’s tall, and handsome, and he has nice hair and eyes, and very good cheekbones.”

Bill had tilted his head to one side as he listened to Penny, watching her with a sardonic smile.

“You do realise who you’re sitting next to, don’t you?” he asked her.

“Of course I do, silly.”

Penny giggled, and the two of them shared a kiss. Artemis wrinkled her nose and recoiled slightly.

“Will you two get a room?” she asked. “No one wants to see that.”

“Just you wait until you get a boyfriend, Artemis,” Bill grinned, pulling away from Penny. “We’ll all be telling you to get a room.”

“You will not. I’d like to think that I’d be able to keep my hands to myself when my friends were around.”

“I’ll remember that comment.”

Artemis pulled a face at him and Penny giggled again.

“Well, even if I did want to leave Bill for Barnaby, there wouldn’t be much point,” she said, a twinkle in her eye as she looked pointedly at Artemis. “He’s only got eyes for one person.”

“Not this again, Penny. Barnaby is just my friend, that’s all.”

“If you say so, Artemis. You could do a lot worse, you know.”

“Like Diego, you mean?” Artemis asked, with a shudder.

“Actually, I think Diego has given up on you. He was being very flirty with Gloria in History of Magic on Monday and I saw them headed for Madam Puddifoot’s earlier. Everyone knows that Madam Puddifoot’s is the best place to go for a date in Hogsmeade.”

“Surely if everyone goes there it must be busy and awkward. That’s hardly very romantic.”

“Oh, but it is. It’s just lovely,” Penny beamed. “And you know what else is lovely?”

“You’re about to say Barnaby, aren’t you?”

“Yes, actually. And he has a crush on you.”

Artemis rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder for an escape, finding it in the form of Charlie Weasley, who had left the table without anyone even noticing, and was now stood looking at a large corkboard near the entrance of the inn. Bill and Penny were still giggling to one another, so she got up and joined him.

“Don’t tell me,” he muttered, as she stood next to him, not taking his eyes off the board. “You’ve had enough of the Bill and Penny show.”

“It’s nauseating, isn’t it?” Artemis replied, with a shudder. “What are you doing over here, anyway.”

“Looking at the adverts.”

Charlie nodded his head at the cork board, to which several adverts had been pinned. Artemis frowned as she scanned the adverts, reading aloud.

“Lost Kneazle, second-hand child’s broomstick for sale, the Witches’ Institute are having meetings on Wednesday evenings,” Artemis looked across at Charlie and smirked. “You know, Charlie, I don’t think you’ll be very welcome at those.”

“Maybe not,” Charlie shrugged, continuing to frown, still reading the adverts. Artemis tilted her head, watching him with narrowed eyes.

“What are you looking for?”

A moment passed before Charlie pulled his eyes away from the noticeboard to look at Artemis. He sighed and shook his head before answering her.

“I’m looking for a job,” he told her.

“A job?”

“Yeah, one of those things where you do stuff and get money for it.”

“I know what a job is,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Why are you looking for one?”

“Because I have no money.”

Charlie looked away again, and Artemis felt distinctly sorry for him. In the years she had been friends with the Weasley brothers - first Bill, and now Charlie, too - she had become aware that their family was not well off. The year before, neither of them had been able to afford dress robes for the Celestial Ball, and she knew for a fact that it had bothered Charlie more than he had let on.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing the sleeve of Charlie’s woolly jumper, and tugging at it gently, “I’ll find you a job.”

She dragged Charlie across the room to the bar, where Rosmerta was taking money from a group of goblins, whilst using her wand to wash dishes in the sink. Artemis hopped up onto a bar stool, and leant with both of her forearms on the bar to talk to the landlady.

“It gets really busy in here sometimes, doesn’t it, Rosmerta?” she asked, trying to sound casual. “You must get so tired working in here all day, every day. Do you ever take any time off?”

“Sometimes, love,” said Rosmerta, having finished serving the goblins. “It’s quieter in the summer, when the school is closed.”

“But what about in the term time? Do you ever get to relax?”

“That would be lovely, but then who would watch the bar?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Artemis smiled brightly, took her arms off the bar, and turned in her chair, “my friend Charlie could watch the bar for you. If you pay him, obviously.”

Rosmerta turned to Charlie, who was slowly shaking his head at Artemis, as if he couldn’t believe her audacity. Rosmerta sighed, and Artemis continued.

“I just thought, this kills two vampires with one stake, doesn’t it? It means Charlie gets money, and you get a new barman.”

“But, Artemis, I’m not looking for a new barman.”

“Yes, but you know, Madam Rosmerta, sometimes the very best things come along when you aren’t even looking for them,” Artemis told her, earnestly. “It’s epididymis.”

Rosmerta tilted her head and frowned.

“It’s what, love?”

“She means serendipitous,” muttered Charlie.

“Oh, right,” Rosmerta nodded, and though the corners of her mouth twitched, she didn’t soften. “Well, as serendipitous as it is, I’m perfectly capable of running the bar by myself.”

“But you don’t have to do it all by yourself, Rosmerta. Just think, if Charlie watched your bar a couple of times a week, you’d have loads of extra time for all your hobbies.”

“I don’t have any hobbies.”

“You could if you had time for them. You could join the Witches’ Institute. They have meetings every Wednesday,” Artemis nodded her head sagely, and Rosmerta chuckled, and turned away to use her wand to direct a sponge that was cleaning pint glasses behind the bar. Artemis sighed. “Rosmerta, please. You hired my brother, remember?”

“I did, and look how that turned out. Besides, you brother was almost of age when he worked here, and you…” Rosmerta turned to Charlie, “How old are you, love?”

“I’ll be sixteen in December,” replied Charlie.

“I cannot hire a fifteen-year-old to work in a bar. I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright. Thanks anyway,” Charlie shrugged. “Come on, Artemis. Let’s go.”

But Artemis refused to budge.

“No. Madam Rosmerta, why does it matter how old anyone is? Charlie will work hard, and he won’t let anyone have any fights, and he’s a prefect, and good at Quidditch, and he knows a lot about dragons.”

“As… impressive as that is, none of those things are relevant for bar work.”

“And Charlie’s brilliant at healing spells,” Artemis carried on, undeterred, “last summer when I got bitten by an Acromantula and he sorted out the wound, and that saved my life.”

Rosmerta frowned, and glanced at Charlie again.

“Is that true?” she asked him. Charlie nodded.

“Sort of.”

“Don’t be modest, Charlie, it’s completely true. I mean, I still nearly died, but I didn’t actually die, and that’s the main thing.”

Rosmerta held up one hand to Artemis, indicating that she had heard enough, and Artemis fell quiet.

“You turn sixteen in December, you say?” Rosmerta said, softly. Charlie nodded again, and Rosmerta sighed. “It gets busy in the lead up to Christmas. I suppose an extra pair of hands wouldn’t go amiss. I’ll take a look at my calendar and let you know when I might need you to work a few shifts, once you’ve had your birthday, of course.”

Charlie’s red eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Like I said, it gets busy around Christmas. Depending how it goes, maybe you can have some evening shifts in January as well. I won’t be able to pay you much, mind. How does four Sickles an hour sound?”

“That sounds… yeah. Great,” Charlie’s smile was so wide that his dimples showed. “Thank you.”

Rosmerta smiled, and Charlie extended his hand over the bar, as if to shake the landlady’s own, but Rosmerta pulled him into a hug. Charlie emerged from her embrace with a face the same colour as his hair, and Artemis giggled as she too hugged the landlady.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Madam Rosmerta,” she said, and she hopped off the bar stool and dragged Charlie back over to their table by the window.

Artemis was surprised to see Ismelda in the kitchens when she next had detention. Ismelda looked surlier than ever, her head hanging low, her lank black hair falling over half her pale face.

“What are you doing here?” Artemis asked her. “Have you been put in detention, too?”

“No,” Ismelda snapped back. “I’m here to see Jae.”

“Why?”

“Artemis,” said Jae, “stop interrogating the punters. It’s bad for business.”

He and Ismelda talked in hushed tones over the top of an oven, as Artemis scrubbed dishes, trying to listen in to their conversation. She was sure she heard the words ‘attraction’, ‘potion’, and ‘down-payment’.

“What was all that about?” she asked Jae, after Ismelda left, having handed Jae three silver Sickles. Jae shook his head and tapped his nose with his forefinger.

“Haven’t you heard of client confidentiality?” he smirked. “Now, what do you think of this gravy?”

Artemis sighed, but she took the spoon Jae held out to her. Jae refused to answer any more of her questions for the rest of detention.

The next morning, in Potions class, Ismelda seemed surprisingly chipper.

“What’s made her so happy?” Rowan asked, as Ismelda walked past their workbench to her own, smirking to herself.

“I dunno,” said Artemis. “Last I saw she was doing dodgy deals with Jae. Merula, you’re friends with Ismelda, do you know what she’s up to?”

Merula gave Artemis a deeply scathing look over the top of her cauldron, before she sighed and spoke.

“Ismelda is still moping around after that idiot loser Lee,” she muttered. “Apparently Kim is making her something that will help her get him to like her back. I don’t know why she’s so bothered, he’s a moron.”

“Barnaby is not a moron,” Artemis said, glaring at Merula. “He’s just... a different kind of clever, that’s all.”

“Whatever, Hexley.”

“I wonder what Jae’s making for Ismelda,” Rowan mused. “Maybe a beautification potion? Didn’t he make some of those last year?”

“He did, but I don’t think they were very reliable,” Artemis frowned. “Jae does tend to improvise.”

“No wonder you two get on so well,” said Rowan, under her breath. Artemis nudged her, and the two girls muffled their laughter as Professor Snape stalked past them.

After the lesson finished for lunch and the students made their way to the Great Hall, Artemis noticed Ismelda hanging back. She grabbed the sleeve of Rowan’s robes, and pulled her into a side corridor so they could follow Ismelda.

Rather than walking to the staircase that lead from the dungeons to the ground floor of the castle, Ismelda walked in the direction of the kitchens, Rowan and Artemis following behind. When they reached the portrait of the fruit owl that formed the entrance to the kitchen, Ismelda tickled the pear, and the doorway to the kitchen appeared.

“Come on,” Artemis hissed, and dragged Rowan into the kitchen after her. Rowan, who had never set foot in the kitchens before, was amazed. She walked between the tables mouth agape as she stared at the house elves, all hard at work. By the ovens, Jae was standing next to a small covered bowl, deep in conversation with Ismelda.

“Jae!” Artemis yelled, running over to them. “What are you doing?”

“Go away, Artemis,” said Jae. “I’m making a sale. I spent hours slaving away over this potion, and I intend to make good money on it.”

“Ismelda doesn’t need your potion, Jae,” Artemis said, and she turned to Ismelda. “You look fine as it is, don’t you pay any attention to Emily Tyler. Besides, looks aren’t everything, just see how pretty she is and how horrible. You don’t need a Beautification Potion to-”

“What?” Ismelda shook her head. “This isn’t a Beautification Potion. It’s something much better. It’s Amortentia.”

“What’s Amortentia?” asked Artemis.

“A love potion,” Rowan told her. Her eyes were wide behind her silver rimmed glasses. “The most powerful love potion in the world. I’ve read about it before, it’s meant to smell differently to each individual person. But it’s infamously difficult to make, Jae, are you sure you’ve managed to do it right?”

“Of course,” Jae nodded. “I am pretty good at Potions, if I do say so myself. Take a sniff, if you don’t believe me.”

He lifted the lid of the container to reveal the potion, and silver fumes rose from it, spiralling into the air. Instinctively, Artemis stepped closer. She could smell  the love potion, her head, her body, her entire being filled with the scent of a sea breeze, of the Firewhiskey she had tried at the Celestial Ball, of old leather, and of something else, something entirely unfamiliar. She took another step towards the potion and inhaled deeply through her nose, but she still couldn’t work out what the unknown aroma was. It was pleasant, incredibly sweet and very smokey, almost charred...

She sniffed again.

“Jae,” she said, frowning, “did you burn this potion?”

“What? No,” Jae shook his head, affronted. “This has been made exactly according to the instructions.”

“Are you sure you didn’t just make it up as you went along?” Artemis asked, and Jae shook his head again. Artemis pursed her lips. “Well, it definitely smells burnt to me.”

“No, it doesn’t,” said Rowan. She too was stepping towards the potion, her long nose twitching. “It smells exquisite. Like tree bark, and old books, and cat hair, and...”

Rowan was leaning in towards the potion, so close the tip of her nose was almost touching the liquid’s surface. Artemis grabbed her and pulled her back.

“Rowan, no!”

“See, it’s a powerful potion,” Jae said. “Alright, Ismelda, give me your  money, and you can have some of it to give to Barnaby.”

Artemis watched in horror as Ismelda counted out and handed over six silver Sickles and four bronze Knuts. Jae used a teaspoon to measure out a small volume, and poured it into an open bottle of Butterbeer. He replaced the bottle’s lid, put down the potion, and shook Ismelda’s hand after handing her a vial of Amortentia.

“You can’t do this,” said Rowan, more composed now that the potion was safely decantered. “This is unethical. You can’t give someone a love potion!”

“Especially not a burnt love potion!”

“I told you, Artemis, this potion is not burnt, it is of the highest quality.”

“Shut up, Jae. Ismelda, you can’t do this!”

“Yes, I can,” Ismelda snapped at Artemis. “It’s alright for you, Hexley. Everyone knows you don’t need a love potion to get Barnaby’s attention.”

“Barnaby and I are just friends, Ismelda. And I can’t let you do this to my friend.”

Ismelda scowled at Artemis.

“Just watch me,” she said, and she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchens, where none other than Barnaby Lee himself was waiting outside.

“What are you doing here, Barnaby?” Artemis asked him.

“I saw all of you going this way,” said Barnaby, smiling guilelessly at her. “I thought maybe you were starting a club or something, and I wanted to know if I could join.”

“You can join our club,” said Ismelda, holding out the vial of potion. “But first you have to drink this.”

“No, don’t drink that, Barnaby!”

“Why not?” Barnaby asked. The vial of potion was already in his hand. “It’s not poison, is it? It doesn’t smell like poison, it smells vanilla-ish.”

“It’s not poison, Barnaby, it’s-”

“Oh, well then.”

To Artemis’ horror, Barnaby put the vial of potion to his lips, and swallowed the entirety of its contents.

“Barnaby, no!”

At the sound of Artemis’ voice, Barnaby turned his head towards her. As his gaze fell on her face, his entire demeanour softened, and a longing look crept into his green eyes.

“Artemis,” he said, reaching his hand out towards her face. “Beautiful, beautiful Artemis.”

“Are you okay, Barnaby?” Artemis asked, slowly backing away from him.

“I’m more than okay, I’m perfectly happy,” said Barnaby. “How could I not be when I’m with you?”

As Barnaby stepped towards Artemis and wrapped his arms around her, Rowan and Jae emerged from the kitchen.

“What’s going on here?” Jae asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? Hexley did something to the potion,” Ismelda said, glaring at Artemis, who was trying to squirm out of Barnaby’s arms.

“What? No! Why would-”

“Because you just wanted Barnaby for yourself.”

“No, Ismelda, Barnaby and I are-”

“Soulmates,” Barnaby said, matter-of-factly, interrupting Artemis, and stroking down the length of her nose with his forefinger. “Aren’t we, my little Bowtruckle?”

“Um, that’s not exactly what I was… Hang on, Bowtruckle?”

By this point, Jae was bent double, cackling quietly, Rowan was trying her hardest not to laugh, and Barnaby was leaning down to kiss the crown of Artemis’ head. Ismelda was growing angrier by the second.

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you, Hexley?” she hissed. “You didn’t even want him for yourself, but you still couldn’t let anyone else have him.”

“Ismelda, that’s not what it is, I swear.”

But Ismelda had already stormed off, leaving Artemis, still restrained in Barnaby’s arms, unable to go after her. With Barnaby now stroking her hair, Artemis turned on the person who had started this whole mess.

“Jae!”

“What? Why are you looking at me?”

“Because you’re the one who sold Ismelda a bloody burnt potion!”

“It wasn’t…” Jae’s voice tailed off as he faltered under Artemis’ furious glare. “I mean, okay, maybe I let the potion simmer a bit longer than it was meant to…”

“How much longer?”

“I dunno. Three quarters of an hour, maybe.”

“Three quarters of an hour?”

“But the bottom of my cauldron was only a little bit black after! And that couldn’t have affected the potion that much.”

“Yes, it could,” Rowan said. “Amortentia is a really specific form of love potion. Changing something like the time you allow it to simmer, or burning the bottom of your cauldron could change the way it works entirely. Like making you fall in love with the first person you see,” Rowan cast a look at Barnaby, who had taken Artemis’ left hand in his right, placed his left hand on the small of her back, and was leading her in a waltz through the corridor, humming to himself, “or just enhance whatever feelings you already have for someone.”

“I’m telling you, Barnaby doesn’t have a crush on me,” Artemis called back to Rowan, as Barnaby lifted her in the air and span her around. Once her feet were on the ground, she looked up at him. “You don’t, do you, Barnaby? Fancy me, I mean.”

“No,” said Barnaby, gazing at Artemis adoringly, “I don’t fancy you-”

“See?”

“- I am completely and utterly in love with you.”

He leant in to kiss Artemis on the lips, and she quickly ducked away from him.

“Maybe we ought to take Barnaby to the Hospital Wing,” said Rowan, and she linked her arm with Barnaby, who was looking bereft. “Come on, Barnaby. If you come to see Madam Pomfrey with me, I’ll put in a good word for you with Artemis.”

“Oh, would you?” said Barnaby, happily trotting off with Rowan as she lead him away. Before they turned the corner, he blew a kiss to Artemis over his shoulder.

Artemis turned to Jae and shook her head at him angrily. He looked at the floor, suddenly sheepish.

“I messed up a bit there, didn’t I?”

“Jae, you messed up more than a bit.”

Barnaby Lee was discharged from the Hospital Wing just in time for the annual Halloween feast. He didn’t stay long, however. As soon as he walked past the Hufflepuff girls on his way to the Slytherin table, and Artemis gave him a slightly awkward smile, his face flushed a vivid shade of crimson, and he quickly turned around and walked back out of the hall.

“Poor Barnaby,” Penny sighed. “He must feel so embarrassed. Artemis, you should go and talk to him.”

“Why?”

“Because it will only be more awkward if you don’t.”

Artemis sighed. She knew that Penny was right.

“Save me some food, will you? And come and find me if it looks like I’m going to miss the after dinner entertainment.”

Artemis walked out of the Great Hall, but Barnaby Lee was nowhere to be seen. She sighed, wondering which way he might have gone. Above her head, she heard a cackling noise, and she looked up to see the chandelier directly above her head shaking and twisting ominously. She jumped backwards, and the chandelier groaned.

“Spoilsport!” said the chandelier, and suddenly, a translucent figure in a jester’s hat appeared on one of its arms.

“Peeves!” Artemis said. She had never interacted much with the school poltergeist before, but she had heard many stories of his mischief, and witnessed the aftermath of his pranks. Peeves was probably the only thing Filch the caretaker hated more than students. “Why aren’t you at the Halloween Feast? The ghosts are about to do their synchronised flying display!”

“Peevesy wasn’t allowed to do the ghosty flying,” Peeves said, with a sigh.

“Why not?”

“The Bloody Baron said that I am too much of a loose cannon,” as if to prove a point, Peeves rolled himself up into a ball and catapulted himself across the entrance hall, stopping with his face merely inches away from Artemis’ face. He pouted. “You didn’t jump. I was hoping you would jump.”

“Why would I? You can’t hurt me, Peeves.”

“That sounds like a dare.”

“It’s not. How long have you been there for? Did you see my friend Barnaby come by here?”

“Peevesy might have,” Peeves said, nodding sagely. “Why do you want to know? Lovers’ tiff?”

“Um, not exactly. Look, if you could just-”

“Hexy and Lee, up a tree-”

“Peeves!” Artemis shouted, interrupting the poltergeist mid-song. “I’m looking for my friend. Will you help me?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Artemis muttered under her breath, and stormed away. If she were Barnaby, she wondered, where would she go? Of course, she realised. Barnaby loved going to the outdoor Care of Magical Creatures classrooms whenever he felt upset. Artemis turned on her heel and ran full pelt through the castle to the Clock Tower, through the courtyard and over the wooden bridge towards the holding pens, catching up with him as he walked past Hagrid’s hut.

“Artemis,” said Barnaby, looking very surprised to see her. “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

“You did?” Barnaby asked, tilting his head to one side. Artemis nodded her own in response. “Oh. I thought you probably wouldn’t ever want to talk to me again.”

He spoke matter-of-factly, as if he were neither disappointed by nor glad about the prospect of Artemis never talking to him again. Artemis frowned.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because I made a fool of myself, and of you.”

“Right. Well, I don’t mind that, and it wasn’t like it was your fault,” Artemis shrugged. “You drank a Love Potion, Barnaby. It’s not like you meant to say or do any of that.”

“So you didn’t mind me telling you that I like you?” Barnaby frowned.

“Of course not,” said Artemis, shaking her head emphatically. “I know you don’t really like me.”

“Yes, I do,” said Barnaby, completely straight-faced as always.

“Yeah, but only as a friend.”

“No,” now it was Barnaby’s turn to shake his head. “As more than a friend.”

Artemis felt her cheeks turn pink. Barnaby appeared not to notice. He looked completely non-plussed. Artemis wasn’t sure what to say.

“Um…”

“It’s okay, Artemis,” said Barnaby. “I know you only like me as a friend. I don’t mind.”

He looked like he really didn’t mind at all. Artemis swallowed, hard.

“Well, I guess… It’s not…” she sighed. “I just never thought about it before, that’s all.”

“That’s because you only like me as a friend. If you didn’t, you’d have thought about it, wouldn’t you?”

“I suppose so. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. You can’t help it,” Barnaby smiled at her guilelessly, a hopeful expression on his face. “Does that mean we’re still friends? I don’t mind just being your friend, not really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

Artemis narrowed her eyes and looked at Barnaby sceptically. But, he seemed to genuinely not be upset. In fact, his green eyes - they really were very green indeed, Artemis had never noticed that before - were filled with relief. Artemis smiled at him.

“Come on,” she said, linking her arm with his. She immediately paused, wondering whether or not that was the right thing to do, but it was too late; she had done it now.  “Let’s go back to the Great Hall. I’ve missed enough Halloween Feasts already. I don’t want to miss this one, too.”

The two of them walked back to the castle arm-in-arm, Artemis unsure when was the right moment for her to remove her hand from where it was placed against the muscles of Barnaby’s upper arm. She decided that just before they entered the Great Hall was probably a good time for it - she didn’t want to give anyone, especially not Penny, the wrong idea - and so, in the entrance hall, she slipped her arm away to point at the chandelier.

“Don’t walk directly underneath that,” she said. “I saw Peeves trying to unscrew it earlier.”

Free once more, Artemis left Barnaby at the doorway, and returned to the Hufflepuff table. She had barely began to eat her pumpkin pie when a small hand tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around to see little Elora Dunn’s round face, pale with anxiety.

“Elora, what’s the matter?”

“Artemis,” said Elora, her voice trembling. “Something’s happened. Something bad. I need your help.”

[carewyncromwell]

“Now I'm seeing clearly how I still need you near me -- I still love you so... There's something between us that won't ever leave us -- There's no letting go... We had a ‘once in a lifetime,’ But I just didn't know it 'til my life fell apart...”

~“If Ever You’re In My Arms Again,” by Peabo Bryson

x~x~x~x

His entire school career and beyond, Orion Amari had always been the wise counselor to his friends and teammates when it came to finding balance with their emotions and lives. Even though he had his own struggles thanks to his less-than-balanced childhood in an orphanage and suffered from anxiety attacks every-so-often, he’d still been able to live a healthy life regardless and find proper coping mechanisms for his trauma. When Orion found himself falling in love, however, it was a struggle he hadn’t known quite how to handle, or even how best to ask for help with.

Orion realized something was off-balance when Carewyn Cromwell -- a Slytherin one year younger than him who he’d finally managed to convince to rejoin his Quidditch team after three years to help their team win the Quidditch Cup Final -- got badly injured by a Bludger and ended up in the Hospital Wing with a bruised lung. Carewyn’s condition had paralyzed Orion in a severe anxiety attack the likes of which his teammates had rarely seen before, and although he managed to get his emotions under control once Carewyn was conscious, even he was unsettled by how bad the attack was. Admittedly, though, Orion had always been quite fond of Carewyn, given how well they saw eye to eye and how much they both respected each other, and Orion had felt responsible for her having gotten injured. He probably would’ve simply passed his feelings off as just guilt and worry were it not for what he saw the morning of the Quidditch Cup Award Ceremony.

While training before dawn as he always did in good weather, Orion caught sight of a gleaming white Patronus in the form of a Winged Horse. His breath stilled, disbelieving -- it was the same as the Patronus he himself had only just learned to conjure earlier that year in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And when he flew down after the Patronus and saw who had cast it, he found Carewyn waiting for him in McNully’s commentator box. Orion would look back on that day and wonder how in the world he reacted as calmly as he did, while knowing the superstition surrounding people sharing Patronuses -- but at the time, the sight had only made him want to be with her, to talk with her, to...look at her...look upon her with more clarity than he ever had before. And when he did, he realized that Carewyn Cromwell truly was a beautiful person: a selfless, kind, resourceful person with more fire than a Fire Crab and all the courage of a Chinese Fireball. It was little wonder that her classmates regarded her with such admiration, whether because of her Cursebreaking or not. Anyone could fall in love with the likes of Carewyn Cromwell. Even he...could see himself falling in love with such a woman.

And yet, when another person might have tried to make a move...Orion hesitated. He only had one week remaining at Hogwarts, before he graduated and joined the Montrose Magpies as their newest Chaser. The dream he’d worked so hard for -- his “gold,” if one recalls Orion valuing the “tenacity of a niffler” -- was finally within his grasp. Could he really put all of that at risk, by trying to alter course now? And Carewyn had her own “gold” as well -- her quest to protect Hogwarts from the Cursed Vaults. She would never choose a romance over helping her brother and protecting her own found family. Orion didn’t even know if what Carewyn and he had could even be considered a romance. Would he even have looked at Carewyn as anything romantic if he hadn’t seen her Patronus? He wasn’t sure...but now that he had, wouldn’t he then be assuming that there was more between them than there really was? Was he only projecting the “soulmates” superstition onto them, just because he fancied her? A crush was not love, after all. As much as he himself believed in fate as well, Orion knew that Carewyn did not. More importantly, he knew she’d both want and deserve someone who loved her for who she was, not due to some old magical wives’ tale. As much as he admired her, Orion couldn’t say definitively that he was in love with Carewyn, and the thought of putting all of his dreams on hold just to try to grab at a chance -- as a Slytherin, Orion just couldn’t see the sense in it. He couldn’t make that choice, not after he’d worked so hard! A Chaser can’t get distracted by the Golden Snitch, when their job is to score goals. And perhaps, in the deepest, darkest part of himself...Orion worried that he could never be what Carewyn needed. He knew how much she loved her brother and how much she wanted her family to be as it once was -- he remembered the pain in her eyes, when he’d first told her he was an orphan. Carewyn needed a family -- a home -- something stable and warm to return to...all things Orion knew absolutely nothing about. He didn’t want a conventional family life -- he had no interest in getting married or having lots of kids or buying a house with a white-picket fence. He wanted to play Quidditch and be free to live his own life, the way he wanted. And as much as he thought it was possible he could fall in love with Carewyn some day, he dreaded the thought of sacrificing everything he’d ever wanted to pursue her -- of giving up the “gold” he’d been chasing for so long.

And so, after a lot of thought, Orion made the decision to keep his feelings to himself. If they were truly meant to be, maybe their paths would realign again someday, he told himself. It was a decision that tormented Orion for the next six years he played for the Montrose Magpies. Not that he talked to much of anyone about his inner conflict -- even Orion’s best friends Skye Parkin and Murphy McNully and “star twin” KC @kc-needs-coffee​​ could only really read between the lines, noticing that he seemed oddly avoidant whenever any mention of Carewyn was brought up. Orion even entered into a few relationships, but none of them lasted long, often because Orion’s partner wanted “more” than Orion was willing to give. The Star Chaser didn’t want to sacrifice his freedom, his dreams, or his independence. It was the main reason he hadn’t chased Carewyn in the first place...even though she’d seemed to understand him so much more than any partner he’d ever had. Carewyn would still send him letters sometimes -- Orion didn’t answer as much as he probably should have, but he always had a lot of difficulty answering her letters whenever he was in a relationship. It made him feel like he was being unfaithful, somehow. And as the years went on and Orion lived his own life and heard about Carewyn’s successful trials at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he tried to tell himself all the more that he’d made the right choice not to pursue Carewyn. If you love someone, you have to be willing to set them free, right? Not that he knew for sure that he’d been in love with her, but...they could’ve been something, maybe...if he hadn’t been so cowardly...

Orion’s longest relationship was with a young woman named Delilah Flint, who had taken a desk job with the Magpies’ PR department. The distinction probably wouldn’t have had much weight (given that they’d still only been together for about a year), were it not for Delilah ending up pregnant. Neither Orion nor Delilah had ever been interested in marriage, Orion because he didn’t see much reason and Delilah because she came from a family who would’ve never approved of her marrying an orphan of mixed magical ancestry -- but after the birth of their daughter Eos in summer 1996, the two reacted in completely opposite ways. Orion, who had never really had much interest in having a family, nonetheless felt a wonderful new paternal feeling swelling up in his breast toward his daughter and promised himself and Eos that she wouldn’t grow up alone, unsafe, and scared like he had. Delilah, on the other hand, suffered from severe post-partum depression after giving birth, thanks in no small part to when Eos was born (right after the return of Voldemort was revealed to the Wizarding World), and she was also in such severe financial straits that she’d have to go to her pureblood family for help, who would never agree to help her knowing she’d had a child out of wedlock. Delilah tried to give Eos up to an orphanage -- Orion, understandably horrified, tried to pacify Delilah however he could, even going so far as to suggest marriage if it meant keeping her and his infant daughter in his life...but in the end, that December, Delilah dropped Eos in Orion’s lap and left, never to be seen again.

The following year, the Ministry fell, and Orion had to go on the run, just barely escaping the Death Eaters with Eos thanks to the help of his Quidditch League associates McNully, Skye, Erika Rath, Oliver Wood, and Andre Egwu. Going on the run with a one-year-old was a difficult proposition, and after several months, a group of Snatchers cornered Orion trying to covertly purchase a new wand from a private vendor after his had gotten broken, and they took him into custody. Orion, who was bundled up in a cloak and looked to be holding his arm as if it was broken under it, went quietly with the Snatchers to the Ministry, his face oddly pale as he forcibly tried to calm his intense anxiety. He was rounded up with several other prisoners and put in a room in the Department of Mysteries until they could be “processed through the court” (read: wrongly convicted of “stealing magic”) and transported to Azkaban.

Fortunately for Orion, Aurors Angelo Lancaster @angellazull​ and Talbott Winger had caught wind that a new round of prisoners had been brought in, and they reached out to their main contact in Magical Law for help in busting them out. The contact -- an old school friend of theirs who was an up-and-coming lawyer -- arranged the trial hearings’ schedule so that there was a noticeable window of time before they started. In that short time, Angelo, Talbott, and their contact were able to break into the room and rescue the prisoners...and yes, the contact in question did indeed turn out to be a pretty young woman with emotional, almond-shaped blue eyes and a short ginger bob wearing flowing dress robes and bright red lipstick.

When Carewyn and Orion got over the shock of seeing each other face-to-face again for the first time in six years, one of their very first exchanges was --

“You cut your hair.”

“So did you.”

Another involved Carewyn offering to mend the “arm” Orion was holding under his cloak.

“You’re hurt...let me -- ”

“No! No, I’m...not hurt...I...”

When Orion tentatively raised his cloak to show Carewyn his tiny daughter bundled up in a wrap around his chest and cradled in his arms, part of him had wondered how she would react. He hadn’t mentioned Delilah or any of his other relationships to her in those short responses he’d sent her -- it’d been uncomfortable for him, to try to talk about his love life in his letters to her. But regardless of the surprise that rippled over her face, when Carewyn looked from the little baby to up into Orion’s dark eyes, her pale face nonetheless betrayed a weak smile.

“Is...is it a she?”

“Yes. ...Her name is Eos.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened visibly, welling up with a beautiful warmth, like the kind Orion had sometimes seen her show toward her friend Barnaby or younger students like Cedric Diggory. A maternal warmth...

“She’s beautiful.”

Carewyn’s whisper made Orion’s heart swell up in his chest, slamming against his ribs as if it wished to push itself through a set of prison bars. Even after so many years, her soul was truly more like his than anyone else Orion had ever known before.

Together Carewyn, Talbott,and Angelo worked to shrink all of the prisoners down to a size that they could smuggle them out of the Ministry and then help them go into hiding. After the War was over, Carewyn helped Orion with the paperwork needed for him to claim sole custody of Eos, since Orion and Delilah not being legal partners meant that Delilah and her family would have first priority if they ever sued for custody. Orion wasn’t sure if the Flints ever would try to take Eos, but Carewyn was determined not to give them any legal opening.

“You fought for her, Orion, not them. And now I plan to fight for you.”

“Carewyn...”

“No. I don’t want them to ever feel like they can just waltz in and take her, not after leaving her to the wolves. I’ll do whatever I have to, to make sure Eos stays with the man who put his life on the line to keep her in his life and safe. She deserves that.”

The stubborn fire in Carewyn’s blue eyes and the sincerity of her convictions was all it took. Orion had been on the edge for so long, feeling faintly off-kilter with every step for seven years, but had always just barely managed to feign composure and balance...but now, in a single moment, it was all for naught. He had fallen -- despite his best efforts, despite all of his avoidance and his flagrant cowardice -- into the wonderful, swirling abyss of ethereal, warm chaos that men called “love.” In that moment, and in many moments after, Orion cursed himself for not chasing after Carewyn Cromwell from the very start...for wasting so much time and being so passive, so short-sighted...so consumed by “what-if’s” that he’d completely discarded the “what-could-be’s.”

Fortunately there was a chance, now, to make up for lost time. A rose is no less beautiful just because it blooms slowly.

[lins-fandom-hub]

HPHM Profile: Em Wen-Hui Lin

Template by @hogwartsmystory​

Profile subject to change.

IDENTITY

Name: Emily “Em” Wen-Hui Lin

Gender: Female

Age: 12 as of May 31, 1990

Birth Date: February 19, 1978

Species: Human

Blood Status: Half-blood (both parents are Muggle-born attending wizarding institutions)

Sexuality: Undetermined

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Ethnicity: Chinese

Nationality: Um...British, I think?

Residence: Oxford, England

Myer Briggs Personality Type: ISFP

THE MAGE

Wand: Rowan and Phoenix feather, 11 inches, quite flexible

Animagus: N/A. Of the three siblings, only Clara has become an Animagus.

Misc Magical Abilities: Like her siblings, Em is a Legilimens--although she did not recognize the power until late in her 6th year.

Boggart Form: Her inner demons are her downfall. Her Riddikulus form makes the entire room dark, leaving her in the spotlight, standing in front of the glowing column of a Cursed Vault, while shadows of her past begin to echo her worst thoughts. Most of them pertained Jacob’s permanent disappearance, or her older sister abandoning her for good. She just cannot stand the thought of standing there, helpless while her family suffered.

Riddikulus Form: Her Riddikulus form is of the demons popping like soap bubbles all around her, the voices warbled with every bubble that rose. The prevailing darkness will fade as well. The Cursed Vault will become a giant teddy bear. 

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?) Freshly ground mint, cinnamon, freshly baked fudge, and tomato juice.

Amortentia: (What do they smell?) She smells fresh linens, nutmeg, smoke from a fire, and...wait, is that honey lemon tea?

Patronus: If she can produce a Patronus, it would be of a black swan. A little strange when compared to Jacob’s falcon and Clara’s unicorn, but her grace and poise is not to be underestimated.

Patronus Memory: the day the tension from the Cursed Vaults finally subsided and she saw the light return to her siblings’ eyes.

Mirror of Erised: She sees herself with her older siblings, both of them genuinely smiling in happiness. Her family has completely reconciled, and she feels at peace.

Specialized/Favourite Spells: Before Em goes to Hogwarts, she knew already of the Herbivicus Charm, which her father taught her to speed up the growth of flowers. This was very useful for her whenever people requested her to make flower crowns at the arts and crafts club she heads along with her friend Dawn. Em can cast a really good Expelliarmus as well--a powerful one that could send the wand flying far away from the owner. In later years, one should watch out for her Tarantallegra and Obscuro. Unbeknownst to several of her classmates, she could also perform a good shield charm thanks to training with her siblings in her first year.

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim: TBD

Voiceclaim: TBD

Game Appearance: (may subject to change every once in a while)

Height: 4’10 at 11, but grows a bit before reaching adulthood

Weight: She is on the slightly light side, lighter than average.

Physique: Relatively frail, but her glare can make up for her strength and power behind her spells.

Eye Colour: Dark brown

Hair Colour: Black

Skin Tone: Pale

Body Modifications: N/A

Scarring: N/A

Inventory: Em carries two silk bookmarks, a beaded bracelet, her wand, a few flower clips, several quills and bottles of ink, and some parchment.

Fashion: Most of the time in school, Em wears her school robes. Yes, even when she’s not in class, she wears her school robes. She would always have a flower in her hair.

ALLEGIANCES 

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Ilvermorny House: Pukwudgie/Wampus?

Affiliations/Organizations: Hufflepuff House (Hogwarts); Circle of Khanna (Hogwarts); Order of the Phoenix (1996-); St. Mungo’s Hospital

Professions: Healer at St. Mungo’s

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: A

Charms: E

DADA: O

Flying: A

Herbology: O

History of Magic: A

Potions: E

Transfiguration: E

Electives: Care of Magical Creatures (E), Ancient Runes (A), Muggle Studies (E)

Quidditch: Em does not join the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, but she is a great supporter of the team in the spectator stands.

Extra Curricular: Arts and Crafts Club (leader), Duelling Club

Favourite Professors: Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall

Least Favourite Professors: Professor Binns

RELATIONSHIPS

Brother: Jacob Pan-Hui Lin

Although she and Jacob never really were that close, she still admires him for what he does and never held a grudge against him for his mistakes. She longs for them to reunite when she learned he went missing, and always wanted to know him and get along with him.

Older sister: Clara Xing-Hui Lin

Em didn’t really get a chance to connect with Clara until the summer before her first year at Hogwarts. Still, she was firm on helping Clara through her trying times and helped her in any way she could to break the final curse and stop R once and for all.

Father: Sueh-Yen Lin

Mother: Renee Lin (nee Tao)

Love Interest: currently N/A

Best Friends: Dawn Everett, Hillary Redstone, 

Rival: Travis Poulter, Eunice Ahn

Enemy: R, Voldemort and Death Eaters

Dormmates: Dawn Everett, three other Hufflepuff girls

Pets: Cheddar (rat), some others TBD

Closest Canon Friends: Penny Haywood, Chiara Lobosca, Nymphadora Tonks, Diego Caplan, Andre Egwu, Charlie Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Cedric Diggory, Badeea Ali, Barnaby Lee, Liz Tuttle, Tulip Karasu

Closest MC/OC Friends: 

Sarahi Silvers (@dat-silvers-girl )

Nora Magnus (@dat-silvers-girl )

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

Pre Hogwarts: 

Em was around 5 or 6 when Jacob disappeared. Since then, all she had known was broken bonds and tears.

Her sister drifted away from her as well in her first 5 years at Hogwarts. She had to learn in this time to stand alone in the worst of the storm. 

1st Year: 

Em was Sorted into Hufflepuff on the first day at school

The statue curse prevailed during little Em’s first year at Hogwarts

Following the Halloween Feast, Em created the Arts and Crafts club at her friend Dawn’s suggestion--where members create many wonderful things out of everyday items

She and Clara take up Bill’s offer to go to the Burrow for Christmas.

After Rowan Khanna’s death, Em was roped into the Circle of Khanna by Diego Caplan who insisted the group needed her duelling skills

While Clara was preparing the Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate R, Em got to see all the Vaults firsthand that have been broken

Prior to Clara’s trip to the Black Lake with Ben, Merula, and Jacob, Em comes around and gives Clara a flower crown to present to the merqueen

After the curse was lifted, just as Clara threw a party at the Three Broomsticks, Em threw a party in the courtyard with the people who were unable to go to Hogsmeade

2nd Year: 

Em returns to Hogwarts for her second year prepared to help her siblings take down the rest of R

3rd Year: 

Em returns to Hogwarts without her siblings for the first time. However, it was then when she met the Boy Who Lived--Harry Potter.

The year passed pretty normally for her

4th Year: 

When the Chamber of Secrets was opened, little Em was one of the first to ensure that all the younger Hufflepuff students remained calm in this time

She already knew firsthand that Gilderoy Lockhart was suspicious, and so she wrote her mother when he was outed (and his memory was permanently wiped)

5th Year: 

Em becomes a Hufflepuff Prefect for her fifth year along with Cedric Diggory

The year that Sirius Black escaped has been a tough one for her. Imagine Percy constantly on high alert, especially since he’s Head Boy--she’s adapted his high alertness once more, fearing for the entire student body once more

Despite all this, little Em came out successful in her OWLs, obtaining an impressive eight OWLs while only failing History of Magic (she dropped Muggle Studies after her 4th year)

6th Year: 

Enter: The Goblet of Fire, and the Triwizard Tournament!

Em was too young to participate, so she ended up sitting by the sidelines cheering both her friend Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter on

She did not develop a crush on any of the boys in her year (mostly because she can’t be bothered right now with romance, maybe), but she did go to the ball with another Ravenclaw boy in her year

The loss of Cedric Diggory at the end of her 6th year had put her in another mute grief. First, she sat through Rowan Khanna’s memorial--she didn’t expect to sit through another one five years later, and one for one of her closest friends too.

7th Year:

Prior to starting her 7th year, her older sister Clara left for China

Em becomes one of the Head Girls in her 7th year, but the arrival of Dolores Umbridge and the way she instilled all these regulations made her secretly pissed off

She wholeheartedly supported Fred and George in testing their joke products so that they could make a profit out of their talents

When they left Hogwarts on their broomsticks after a while, she too was one of the few who wished she could leave the school but could not

Order of the Phoenix / 2nd Wizarding War:

Em was roped into the Order of the Phoenix along with her brother, Jacob, by none other than Professor Dumbledore immediately following graduation

While her sister was in China holding back the Japanese forces, the times they had to talk were far and few in between--however, they were able to talk when they could, and Em relayed everything that happened to her through encrypted letters sent to her grandmother

Em was the one who alerted Clara of the upcoming Battle of Hogwarts--while the siege went underway, she stuck close to Diego

Em survives the battle--she mourned for Fred and the many lives that were lost

Post-War:

Em ends up becoming a Healer at St Mungo’s, helping those who have undergone traumatic experiences during Voldemort’s rise

Future relationship TBD.

PERSONALITY

Though she comes off as a shy soul, little Em is not completely fragile. Behind her kind eyes laid years of suffering from her family’s arguments and broken bonds--yet she pushes forward, and her persistence does not go unnoticed

Em is always willing to offer a helping hand, even though she’s the one who needs it most.

She cares deeply for those who she ends up befriending and trusting. This also includes most of Clara’s friends at Hogwarts.

Though soft-spoken and easy to knock over, her spells could pack a serious punch.

MISC

Em’s love of Herbology came from her father, whom she loved helping in the family gardens long before Jacob’s disappearance.

She doesn’t play many instruments like her sister, but she has a decent singing voice good enough to join the Frog Choir. However, the thought of that made Em shake her head--she really only sings for fun, after all.

Em’s love for crafts came from the time Jacob gifted her a Hippogriff ornament at her first Christmas that he made himself.

[missjosie27]

MC Info

Character Profile: David Grant

Name: David John Grant

DOB: January 16th, 1973

Parents: John and Elizabeth Grant

Siblings: Jacob (Elias) Grant

Nationality: British

Ancestry: Pure Blood

House: Gryffindor

Height: starts at 4’10 and ends up 6’1

Eyes: Hazel blue

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Likes: hanging out with friends, Quidditch matches, chocolate frogs, dueling, having a pint, Merula Snyde

Dislikes: also Merula Snyde, anything associated with Slytherin, negative chatter about his brother, being nagged by his mother, betrayal

Friends: Rowan Khanna, Ben Copper, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Penny Haywood (Later friends include Tulip Karasu, Barnaby Lee, Nymphadora Tonks, Andre Egwu, Jae Kim, Diego Caplan, Liz Tuttle, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Cedric Diggory)

Enemies: Professor Snape, Merula Snyde, Ismelda Murk (formerly: Barnaby Lee), Patricia Rakepick, ‘R’, Argus Filch

Love Interest: Merula Snyde (develops a strong crush on her during Year 4), minor flirtations with Penny and Tulip

MC’s Strengths/Weaknesses/Hobbies

Positive traits: honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused  | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly |empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty |funny

Negative Traits: moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power - hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | masochistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive | rebellious

What’s their personal philosophy?  Do they even have one?

A: David’s philosophy on life can be more or less be summed up in a single word: humor. Though deridingly sarcastic to those he doesn’t like, David is very witty, clever, and easy going. However, as becomes a pattern for him, often times he uses this natural humor and socialization to deflect from his own problems and hide away the fact that he feels a great deal of pain and guilt over his missing brother.

How do they feel about their status and reputation as the curse-breaker in the school?

A: David did not go to Hogwarts with a mission to find the vaults, which was just rumor at the time. He ached to find Jacob, but tried to adhere to his parents request that he not cause trouble. This, of course, did not happen, and as time goes on David more or less embraces the role of ‘curse-breaker’ and the responsibility that comes along with it. He does not seek attention, but does enjoy the fact that girls find him attractive. 

Did they get sorted into the Hogwarts House they expected to?  Did the Sorting Hat have any problems sorting them?  Or did it not even have to touch their head?

A: David was relatively indifferent about which House he was sorted into and made that known in his private discussion with the Sorting Hat. The only house he dislikes is Slytherin and being a pure blood who saw the first war, knows of its dark reputation. It took the hat two minutes to sort David, but found his fearlessness was his most defining quality and decided to put him into Gyrffindor.

What are their coping strategies for dealing with everything (the Vaults, Jacob, etc.), if they have any?

A: David is somewhat contradictory. When it comes to finding the vaults, protecting his friends, and doing the right thing, he is largely decisive and endears himself as a leader. When it comes to his own emotions and dealing with familial issues, he’s deflective and silent. When pressed on his own troubles, he clams up and will either give a joke or change the subject. He has never been very good at expressing negative emotion and therefore when he fails to hold it back, it often explodes in the form of raw anger or tears

What electives do they take throughout their time at Hogwarts?

A: He takes Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. He is not a fan of creatures, however, and only takes the class in order to talk Quidditch with Charlie. He later drops it and takes Divination instead in order to get an easy grade.

Are they in any clubs or extracurricular activities?  What about Quidditch?

A: Penny has invited him before to be in the Potions club, and though he will attend on occasion, does not officially join. Due to his curse breaking adventures, David has little time for anything extra curricular until 6th year, when Charlie invites him to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a beater, a position he largely excels at. Along with Charlie, Oliver Wood, and Sky Parkin, the Lions win the cup.

How studious are they?  What kind of studying strategies do they use?  Do they have any study groups with their friends?

A: David is quite enthusiastic about the subjects he excels in, though he is not a ‘bookworm’ like Rowan or some of his Ravenclaw friends. Often study groups are formed with the pretext of talking about something else, namely the vaults. However, he will join Rowan, Tulip, and even Merula on occasion to legitimately go over the books. 

How willing are they when it comes to breaking school rules?

A: Unlike Tulip and Tonks, David does not go out of his way to break rules and doesn’t see himself as a rebel against authority figures. That being said, he has no issue bending/breaking them if he a) feels it’s to his advantage b) believes there is something greater at stake such as the safety of his friends or finding the vaults. Upon becoming a prefect, David finds this method much more difficult to follow as he has to navigate upholding his charges while also finding a new way to get around things so as to not lose his position.

Do they hang out with any of their friends over breaks?  If so, which one(s) and what do they do?

A: David does not get to hang out with any of his friends over Christmas or Summer break until his fourth year when his parents take a trip to the United States during the month of December. His mom can be quite restrictive and prefers to keep an eye on her son out of fear of losing him as she did with Jacob. After his sixth year, David spent a week with the Weasley family, immensely enjoying their company. Though he was curious, Merula refused to allow him to visit her lonely manor. This was somewhat out of safety concerns, but also because she was embarrassed and did not want David meeting her aunt. 

After they graduate, do they fall off the map and keep a low profile?  Or do they continue to exist in the public eye?

A: Following graduation, David trains for three years to become an Auror and succeeds. He’s not necessarily in the public eye, but he’s never out of it either. Though not an attention seeker by nature, he also doesn’t shy away from it. 

How does their career path differ from what they thought they’d be doing?  Or does it differ at all?

A: ‘Curse-Breaker’ was a designation that David accepted but never truly embraced over his time at Hogwarts. It was Tonks who convinced him that his talents and interests were better served in Law Enforcement as the Auror office only takes the best of the best.

Do they have any hobbies?  What about any talents or aptitudes?

A: David loves a pint at a pub, Quidditch matches, and going to concerts with his girlfriend and later wife, Merula. He is also quite fond of cooking various steaks and pork chops, a skill Jae later taught him when he began to live on his own. Believe it or not, he is also a talented singer, though he prefers to give way to Merula on that score, allowing her his spot on the Frog Choir. Though not enthralled at academics, David is talented in Transfiguration, Herbology, Potion Making, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Most notably, he is one of the best duelers during his time at Hogwarts.

Do they have any favorite spells?

A: David is partial to ‘Reducto’ as he can reduce most objects to ash with it. He’ll often do this in private for fun or to vent off steam. Another, more light hearted spell he likes is the ‘Melofors Jinx’ which he uses on Merula and Ismelda more than once over the years (the spell causes the victim’s head to be encased inside of a pumpkin).

What’s one thing they did or thought as a child that they later look back and cringe about?

A: David has extremely mixed feelings about how often he used to idolize his brother. He still does to some extent, but by the time he enters his first year, it’s rather hollow and can’t help but feel a tremendous amount of guilt about Jacob and the fact that he was the only hero he ever had growing up.

If they could travel anywhere at all in the world—money, time, and language not being an issue—where would they go and who would they take with them?

A: Before Jacob’s disappearance, the Grant family took several holidays, one of which was in Normandy, France. David dreams of buying a small cottage there and take trips with his one and only love, Merula. David has also been to America and was quite fond of New York, finding the relative anonymity a perfect place to hide out if one were a wizard looking to avoid attention.  

If they’re an Animagus, how easy was becoming one for them?  Were they happy with their Animagus form?  Or did they want it to be something different?

A: David never becomes an Animagus in my story.

Do they like what they see in the mirror?

A: David carries a cocky streak laced with vanity and knows he’s handsome to many young witches at Hogwarts. He knows and appreciates his own talent. But in terms of his own self, there is a great deal of doubt: his life, career, the vaults, family, finding his brother. Due to Jacob’s disappearance, David still feels like it was his fault that something went wrong and that his parents’ marriage became strained to the point of near divorce. He avoids these issues for the most part, never acknowledging them unless seriously prompted or pushed.

How good are they at taking compliments?

A: Very normal for the most part.

How much do they trust their friends?

A: David gets along with his friends, but due to his own inability to let go of the guilt and pain he felt when Jacob left, he does not like revealing his innermost secrets to people. He avoids talking about his somewhat unstable family life, which has become strained, stifling, and gray. He would trust his best friends in almost any other category, however, including battle or information about the vaults.

Are they pretty self-reliant?  Or do they like to go to their friends for help?

A: It’s a mix. David is not one to be a martyr but he does have an obsessive streak which has a tendency to push people out when not careful. All in all, he’s very thankful for the assistance he receives from his friends 

Who is their favorite Weasley?  Or can they not choose?

A: David likes the Weasleys equally and enjoys Bill and Charlie in their own way, the former for being a surrogate older brother, the second for his down to earth nature and general friendliess. Fred and George are something of a nuisance with their pranks which make his job as Prefect twice as hard, however, he does hold a soft spot for them after they help him find a few secret passage ways as an apology. He does have a least favorite Weasley by the end though: Percy, whom he regards as a whiner and a tattletale. 

What’s the thing they like least about themselves?

A: Despite contrasting himself frequently with Jacob, David also knows he shares a similar impulsive streak that has threatened to get him into serious trouble more than once. He’s also a sucker for women and though he never cheats on Merula, he does seek out other girls when the two break up or when they aren’t together. He also has a hidden guilt complex: everything that goes wrong in his family and relationship life he blames himself.

What’s the thing they like most about themselves?

A: David enjoys his ability to be quick with a joke and get along with most people. He’s naturally good at most things (with a few exceptions) and prides himself on being attractive to girls who see him as something of a sexy bachelor. He also comes to realize he’s a natural leader and that people tend to gravitate towards him when a dangerous or difficult situation comes around.

How bad is their temper?  Do they tend to lash out at others or themselves?

A: David is not temperamental and not easily angered due to his good nature and sense of humor. However, if pushed too far, a quiet rage and tenacity overtakes his mind, blocking out all else until the episode is over. His anger is usually in response to something else- bullying, bigotry, or attacks against his family. During Year 6, David lashes out far more frequently than he usually does, alienating himself somewhat from his longtime friends. He mends the relationships later on, after discovering he was often his own worst enemy and critic.

What’s their biggest regret in life, if they have any?

A: Two in particular. He wishes he could have been there to prevent Jacob from leaving. The second is the way he handled his first break up with Merula. He felt it was his fault for letting her get tortured by Rakepick, but his own inability to solve the problem and Merula’s own stubbornness led to their parting of ways. 

What kind of first impression do they tend to leave on others?

A: Carefree, funny, and witty with a zest for life.

What is the achievement they’re most proud of?

A: Even throughout his curse breaking adventures, David is most proud of his becoming an Auror and somehow convincing Merula to become his wife.

Do they like having photos taken of themselves?

A: David has a knack for taking goofy photos.

What’s one big way that your MC differs from the in-game canon?

A: I feel David Grant definitely has a more sarcastic streak and is not quite as much of a stickler. But all in all, he’s got personality. Most people’s MC’s are pretty much brand generic hero character. David, while a hero, is also a deeply flawed, wise cracking, cocky, baggage ladden teen. That reaches its peak during Years 5 and 6 and it’s only during Year 6 he manages to let go of much of the anguish he was holding onto in order to become a more complete person

What does their name mean and why did you choose it?

A: David is a common Anglo/American name that derives of course from the Hebrew King David in the Torah/Bible. I chose it for two reasons 1) it seemed to fit well with the last name I had in mind 2) it’s also my father’s name, and I modeled the character partially after him

If they’re an Animagus, why did you choose the form for them that you did?

A: David did not choose to become an animagus

How has your MC changed since you first created them?

A: Though I am still in the process of writing the story, David will go through many ups and downs before completing his arc. As an eleven year old first year, he is a curious, funny, talented, but guarded person and those traits become more intense/exaggerated as he gets older. His arc doesn’t come full circle until Year 6.

How well do you think you and your MC would get on?

A: At times really well and other times not. He is modeled after myself in many ways, but David has a higher degree of confidence, leadership, and withholds his feelings as opposed to me, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. I’m sensitive by nature, he’s not. But we do share a few talents- singing music, being generally good at sports and watching it, bar trivia, cooking, etc. The thing that we share above all is passion about a topic we enjoy that can become a full blown obsession. I have that feature to my person and so does David. All in all, as adults I would like David a lot and I think he would like me too.

[hufflepunk-asfrick]

Artistic Appreciation

(So I just wanted to write about my MC crushing on one of our new potential friends, Badeea Ali. Because I can't help myself. Because Badeea is just too cute. And Andre is 100% the ultimate wing man other than maybe Rowan or Penny, so he's here too. Hope you enjoy!)

Penelope has had crushes before, but she can't remember one this intense. She can't stop thinking about that girl. She hopes to learn about her by going to Andre Egwu, but a certain cat incident complicates things.

I'd seen the back of her head plenty of times in the Great Hall since the beginning of 1st Year. I could always tell it was her, because of the lovely blue scarves she's worn since being sorted into Ravenclaw. Although, I think I remember the one she wore during the sorting was yellow with little golden daisies.

I never shared any classes with her during our first four years. After sitting next to her in Defence Against the Dark Arts and being able to actually see her face, I'm grateful I didn't. I would've failed any and all classes I shared with her. Truthfully, it's a good thing I'm particularly interested in Dark Arts in general, otherwise I would spend all my class time staring looking at her... As opposed to only half the time.

I needed to know more about her. Really, I needed to know if she'd even consider dating a girl. I knew exactly who to ask: Andre Egwu, a mutual friend of ours. I've seen them sit together during meals more often than not. They seem close.

No one found a cat lounging outside the Ravenclaw Common Room to be suspicious. No one seemed to even consider that it might have been me. It's no longer a secret that I'm an Animagus, as word travels fast in Hogwarts. Although, few people have seen me as a black and white cat. For the hour or so that I waited that morning, quite a few students stopped to pet me or scratch behind my ears before heading to breakfast. Those pets and scratches were definitely an added perk of waiting for Andre, and so was seeing sleepy-eyed Badeea.

She looked as though she was still waking up, but she had already flawlessly applied her smoky eye shadow and winged eyeliner. She was working on putting on a nude-pink lip gloss as she walked out the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, like so many other students' eyes had in the past hour, but I felt blessed to have her look at me like that.

Merlin, I have it bad for this girl.

She finished applying her lip gloss with an effortless swipe, and tucked it away before crouching down onto her knees to pet my head. My animal tendencies took over and I raised my head to meet her hand. My body vibrated with my purring which I couldn't stop for the life of me. Why are cats so darn expressive? I heard her giggle sweetly before we both heard the door open behind her. She quickly stood up, clearly embarrassed, and she turned to greet the student who had just exited the Common Room.

Out from behind her comes Andre. He momentarily looked surprised to see me there, but he hid his surprise just as quickly. He smiled at Badeea and said, "Go on ahead and grab us a couple seats. I need to doublecheck I have everything."

"Alright, see you in a bit," she said to Andre before looking down at me to say in a sing song voice, "Bye bye beauty." She walks down the hall and turns out of sight. Now I'm left to face Andre about what just happened.

"Hello, Penelope." He crossed his arms and looked down on me, still laying there in my cat form. He had his eyebrows raised and an amused smile on his face. He was waiting for an explanation.

I was to embarrassed to give one.

I stood up and hoped to get away with casually strolling out of the situation. Andre wasn't about to let me get off that easy though. With just two long strides, he was standing in front of me and trying not to laugh at me. I admitted defeat and changed back into a human.

"So...?" He prompted.

"Hmm?" I looked anywhere but at him. I couldn't look him in the eyes. He's too easy to be honest with if I let my guard down.

"Penelope. Is there a reason you were here?"

I glanced at his expectant face and looked down at the ground before answering, "I wanted to ask you about Badeea Ali."

I heard the prat chuckle and I glared at him. He smiled at me despite my frown and said, "Yeah, I could tell you had a thing for her. I see how you look at her in DADA."

"I don't have a quote unquote thing for her," I argued. "I have.... An artistic appreciation." I felt my face heat up. I had only talked to Rowan, who I'd ended things with over the summer, about liking Badeea. She was supportive as always. Of course, she also teases me saying 'there's your girlfriend' everyday when we walk into Professor Rakepick's class. My objections only succeed in egging her on, just like when I liked Penny in 1st Year. I was afraid Andre would pick on me as well.

"Mhm right, that's believable." He said it sarcastically, but he didn't push me on it. He had his hands on his hips and asked me, "Well what did you want to know about her?"

I laughed nervously and scratched the shaved part of my head. "Well..." I let out a defeated sigh. It's usually better to just be upfront with Andre. So I muster up the guts to inquire, "Do you- uh- know if she likes girls? Because she actually is really cute?" I felt the deep blush on my face, but I grinned at him and posed like I was saying 'Tada!'

He made a good effort to keep a straight face. He sucked in his lips, stuck out his chin, and nodded as he looked at the hall around us. He knew he was going to laugh at the ridiculous manner in which I confessed to liking Badeea, but he tried not to so he wouldn't make me feel more anxious about it.

What a good friend.

"Andreeeee..." I drew out.

He glanced at me, and I proceeded to announce with the appropriate jazz hands and a big smile, "I need the your help because I'm a disaster who can't talk to a cute girl!"

He couldn't contain his loud barking laughter after seeing that. He took a good minute to calm himself down, and I laughed along with him.

"Penelope, girl, you are so bad at this."

"Tell me about it. We can't all be as cool as you, you know."

"I suppose you're right about that. Luckily for you, I'm also a fantastic wing man." He threw his left arm around my shoulders and started us walking down to breakfast.

"You're the best, Andre Egwu."

"I know," he said with a smug grin, swirling around the end of his purple scarf.

[carewyncromwell]

OTP ask game 💕 14 and 15 for Carewyn/Orion and Ru/Estrid

Sorry if I wrote their names wrong 🙈

Are there any love rivals?

Carion -- not exactly, but there were exes.

Carewyn's first and only school relationship was with Andre Egwu, her friend from Ravenclaw who also served as substitute Seeker and eventually Keeper on the Ravenclaw team. They dated in fourth year and most of fifth year before breaking up after the All-Wizard Tournament. Carewyn and Andre at first glance looked to be a perfect power couple, as they are both fashionable, creative, confident people who love Quidditch, but as much as they enjoy each other's company, unfortunately they couldn't quite give the other what they ultimately needed. In Carewyn's case, she really needed someone who could show proper emotional support, and unfortunately Andre wasn't the most attuned at picking up Carewyn's feelings under the mask she wore to obfuscate them. As for Andre, he really needed someone who was both more sociable and more into physical affection than Carewyn -- Carewyn, unknown to her at the time, is asexual, and she had a lot of difficulty putting that into words, and combined with her tendency to put on a brave face and pretend nothing's wrong, it made it difficult for her to open up to Andre and admit how she felt. And given that she didn't understand asexuality was a thing, she felt like it was some sort of shortcoming in herself, that she "couldn't be what he wanted," rather than just a difference in sexual preference. Fortunately the two were able to stay friends despite breaking up, and that break-up ultimately ended up making them closer, since as friends they understand each other in a way no one else does. There were other people who had a crush on Carewyn at school and at the Ministry -- one Hogwarts student I see as having nurtured a tiny crush on Carewyn was Cedric, though he grew out of it before long -- but none of those went anywhere. Carewyn's friends -- especially Tulip, oddly enough -- were actually rather protective of Carewyn when it came to dealing with unreciprocated crushes around Valentine's Day, heading people off before they could send her Secret Admirer notes or ask her out, since they knew she hated hurting people's feelings by turning them down, but would have absolutely no interest in going out with a complete stranger. If Carewyn and Orion were in an AU where the Vaults didn't exist and Carewyn could've remained on the Slytherin team longer, I could very easily see a scenario where the entire Slytherin team not-so-secretly ships their Captain with his "second-in-command" Carewyn, calling them "Dad" and "Mum" and citing their irritation that their "Mum" is seeing somebody else (namely, Andre) and that their "Dad" is so lost in his own head that he won't even try to do anything about it. 😂

As for Orion, he had several relationships post-Hogwarts before reconnecting with Carewyn, most of which didn't last long. The one that lasted the longest was with Delilah Flint, who ultimately gave birth to Orion's daughter Eos. Orion and Delilah started dating largely because they were on the same page in one essential way -- they didn't want to get married. They liked having their own lives and only wanted the freedom to get together when they needed some stable, engaging company. Most of Orion's previous partners kept trying to coax him to "take the next step" with them -- i.e. getting married, having children, and settling down -- and seemed to assume that eventually he'd come around to it, but Orion truly never wanted a traditional family life. He loves playing Quidditch more than anything and, at the start, he didn't want a wife, 2.5 kids, and a house with a white-picket fence. It was only when Delilah got pregnant and gave birth in 1996 that their priorities changed. Orion jumped into fatherhood two feet first and never looked back, taking Eos into his heart and vowing to never let her grow up alone and unloved like he did -- Delilah, thanks to a terrible combination of post-partum depression, financial instability, and a fear of the Wizarding War to come, was ready to give Eos up to an orphanage. Needless to say, Orion was unable to accept that, and after a strained back-and-forth where Orion was even willing to propose marriage to Delilah to keep his daughter in his life, Delilah ultimately decided to just drop Eos in Orion's lap and leave. They have never spoken again. Orion has also had his fair share of people who had crushes on him both at school and especially after becoming the Magpies' Star Chaser. I actually headcanon that one student tried to give Orion a Love Potion, only for Orion to somehow be able to "sense" that his drink had been compromised because "its aura was off" or something, and for him to gently confront them and counsel them about finding love in the right place, rather than manufacturing it. Because Orion is precious sunshine man and his heart is big enough to hold the world. 🥰

For Ru and Estrid @thatravenpuffwitch, Ru had plenty of competition when it came to courting Estrid, at least in theory. Estrid is part-Veela, so she's always had her fair share of admirers for her beauty, but Estrid -- being both on the asexual spectrum and secretly having social anxiety -- has never particularly enjoyed the attention. There were actually times Estrid used Ru like a shield even before they got together, pressuring them to dance with her at social gatherings just to get away from a group of Victorian "bros" seeking her favor. And admittedly, since Estrid was Ru's "keeper" and thus they ended up being in the same space a lot, there were plenty who presumed they were a couple, or at least interested in each other. Once Ru became fond of Estrid themselves, Ru became her shield willingly, and once they got together, Ru was Estrid's own personal bodyguard and wouldn't let anyone within three feet of her if she wasn't okay with it.

Describe your favorite moment of that ship!

I admit, even after all this time, I will always nurture a soft spot for the very first scene I wrote for Carion where I could really see them becoming romantic someday -- the Quest for the Quidditch Cup finale scene where they sit up in the commentator box together, watching the sunrise.

For Ru/Estrid, I have a headcanon of how Ru confessed their feelings to Estrid, and I actually really love it because it's rather romantic, in its own weird way.

Ru had some trouble accepting it when they developed feelings for Estrid. Most of the school had seen them as a couple back before they even liked each other as individuals simply because they were in the same space, so both of them had spent years denying that they felt "that way" about each other. Fortunately BFF Galen @cursebreakerfarrier was able to give Ru a nice dose of reality and Papa-Bearing, which woke Ru up enough to acknowledge that their denials weren't fooling anyone anymore. When the kelpie finally came to grips with their feelings, Ru, true to form, disdained the courting process and ended up declaring their intentions bluntly to Estrid.

"Look -- I'm attracted to you, okay? I know it's stupid, but I like you. I don't need you to act any differently, and I'm not going to prance about like a show horse trying to make you like me too. If you don't like me as I am, I'm not going to change myself so you do. The only reason I'm telling you is...well, for once, everyone else isn’t being stupid when they talk about me being interested in you -- and I just thought you aughta know. Now you do."

Estrid, once she recovered from the surprise, actually found the upfront honesty of Ru's confession very endearing.

OTP Asks!

[carewyncromwell]

This is going to sound weird, but I think I'm an ace?? I don't really know though. I've looked it up before and it's kinda confusing all the labels and such, but also makes sense to me??? Since the description says carey is an ace, could you please explain it? Like what's it about, and how did carey find out she was one? How does she know that she's not Pan? Does she come out to others? Sorry if this is a bad ask :(

Hi, Anon! Well, like Carewyn, I identify with the asexual spectrum, though I’m still romantic...so hopefully going into my experiences (which colored Carey’s) might help? Naturally everyone’s experience is a little different, even if they’re the same or a similar sexuality, but sometimes one can find common ground. all the same.

First things first, one must split asexuality up into some categories, for it is a spectrum:

Asexuality (Ace) is feeling little to no sexual attraction. One can feel romantic or even aesthetic attraction even if they don’t have much interest in or are actively disinterested in sex. Some ace people are also sex-repulsed, meaning they are actively turned-off by sex, but a lot of ace people aren’t. People who are asexual can still have sex or masturbate and even enjoy it, but generally don’t have as much interest in it as straight/gay/bi/lesbian/pan/etc. (A.K.A. allosexual, meaning “feeling any kind of sexual attraction”) people do. Some people on the asexual spectrum like to use this word rather than any of the following terms as it’s the most all-encompassing and recognizable, even though asexuality in general still isn’t very well-understood in mainstream society.

Demisexuality (Demi-Ace) is only feeling sexual attraction after creating a close emotional bond with someone.

Graysexuality (Gray-A) is only feeling sexual attraction very sparingly or in limited amounts.

Asexuality can also be refined further depending on what if any kind of romantic attraction one feels.

Some asexuals don’t feel any romantic attraction at all. These people are asexual/aromantic, or aro-ace. These sorts of people are perfectly happy just experiencing platonic love. They also sometimes enter into what are called queerplatonic relationships, which are individualized and customizable relationships that sort of play with the conventions of what’s generally classified as “romantic” and what’s classified as “friendship” (for instance, some queerplatonic relationships involve hand-holding, others don’t; some involve sex, others don’t; some involve two partners living together, others don’t; some involve exclusivity with one partner, others don’t).

Some asexuals, however, do feel romantic attraction, at which point they can be split in a similar way as sexualities are, except romantically. This is how you get people who are asexual/homoromantic (being romantically attracted to the same gender), asexual/heteroromantic (being romantically attracted to the opposite gender), asexual/biromantic or panromantic (being romantically attracted to multiple genders), and so on.

For me, I only first suspected I might be asexual as an adult, as when I was a teenager I hadn’t even known it was a thing. Before then, I’d been romantically attracted to and dated both a woman and a man, and looking back on my experiences, I was very aware of how much less interest I had in intimacy compared to my partners. I just always found myself getting bored whenever we’d share long, deep kisses or restless whenever we were cuddling too long, even if I really enjoyed being with my partner. Whenever sex would come up, I was just never really that interested -- especially in comparison to how interested I’d be in going out and doing things with my partner, like going to the movies or watching a show or even just having a spirited debate about something. When I was younger as well, I always felt very out-of-the-loop whenever anyone my age gushed about how “hot” a celebrity was or made sexual innuendos. It’s not that I didn’t know what the innuendos meant or that I was a prude, either -- there were plenty of times I’d use those terms myself or write “lemon” fanfictions for my fandoms, to fit in -- but I always felt like the things that drew me to people were different than what drew other people to them. My crushes were almost never about how “sexy” someone was -- if anything, I most frequently ended up getting crushes on people for their singing voices. (Yes, I’m serious. XDDD) I’d also have trouble relating to people talking about a certain woman having a great ass or a certain guy’s muscles because my brain really just doesn’t split people up into pieces like that. I’m much more likely to find someone beautiful because of their sparkling eyes or their bright smile than because of their body -- it’s not that I can’t see someone as beautiful all the way around, but it’s much more of an aesthetic attraction, like one might feel toward a piece of art, than anything that gets you hot and bothered. And it took me a long time before I really could figure out the difference and therefore why I had such difficulty relating to the allosexual people around me. At times it made me feel stupid or, worse, like there was something wrong with me. I felt like maybe I’d just been born missing something, and it made me that much more afraid to even open myself up, because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to be what anyone I might fall in love with would need me to be. Fortunately I learned otherwise, and now I feel a lot better, now that I understand this aspect of myself. It also makes it a lot easier for me to talk about LGBT+ issues and about romantic relationships with other people, now that I can better explain where I fit on the spectrum!

I see Carewyn, like me, only really learning about what asexuality is as an adult, and once she did and did the proper amount of soul-searching, she came out to her friends about her identity. I personally HC her “unofficial twin” and fellow Fireball Charlie Weasley being aro-ace and her future love interest Orion being gray-A, so that definitely helps a bit...and I also HC several of Carewyn’s other friends as LGBT+ too, including her ex-boyfriend Andre Egwu, so they’re all pretty accepting. ^.^