#unless they shock me and Harry/Hermione is in there

[avidbeader]

Heh, just saw the new round for that AO3 ships poll, and this one made me stop and wish for a third option to eject them both out of the poll and into hell:

[mybutcheredtongue]

I'll Love You 'til the Grass Around My Gravestone is Deceased

post azkaban sirius black x fem!reader

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (see full series list here)

1994

I've just been attacked by dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.

That's what Harry had written in his note to you and Sirius — and also in notes to Ron and Hermione too.

The pair of you had been livid, of course — "this is what happens when he's left alone with those people!" — and three days later, you stand on the doorstep to Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging with a group of other Order members.

"Alohomora," you say, pushing the door open. You make your way into the hallway, all the lights turned off.

Tonks lets out a whistle at a stack of antique decorative plates on a table beside her. "Wow, look at these plates, they're proper fancy! Just look — "

She immediately drops it with a crash.

"Oops," she says, repairing it with a wave of her wand.

You make your way up the stairs, unlocking the door with your wand while the others wait at the bottom of the stairs. Harry slowly emerges from the room, poking his head out the door, wand clutched tightly in his hand.

"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," Moody growls.

Harry doesn't lower his wand. "Professor Moody?"

"I don't know so much about 'Professor'. Never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."

Harry still doesn't move, clearly wary of your party.

"It's alright, Harry," you say gently. "We've come to take you away."

"P-professor?" he says disbelievingly. "Is that you?"

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" Tonks says. "Lumos."

The tip of Tonks's wand flares, illuminating the hall with light. You beam at the sight of your godson, already looking older than when you last seen him.

You stride forward and wrap him in a tight hug, beaming. "Good to see you, Harry."

"Yeah, you too..."

"Ooh, he looks just like I thought he would," Tonks says excitedly. "Wotcher, Harry!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," Kingsley Shacklebolt says from the back. "He looks exactly like James."

"Except the eyes," Dedalus Diggle wheezes. "Lily's eyes."

Moody squints suspiciously at Harry, his magical eye pointed towards him searchingly. "Are you quite sure it's him? It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater personating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"

"Harry, what form does your patronus take?" Remus asks.

"A stag," Harry answers nervously.

"That's him, Mad-Eye."

Harry descends the stairs, still looking a bit confused, stowing his wand in the back pocket of his jeans as he goes.

"Don't put your wand there, boy!" Moody roars immediately. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost a buttock, you know!"

"Who do you know that's lost a buttock?" Tonks asks curiously

"Never you mind, just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" he barks, hobbling off to the kitchen. "Elementary wand safety, nobody bothers about it anymore..."

Wow, how many times did you hear that during your training?

"And I saw that," Moody adds irritably as you roll your eyes at the ceiling.

Remus holds out his hand and shakes Harry's. "How are you?"

"Fine..." Harry replies, looking as though he's still in shock at what's going on.

"I'm — you're really lucky the Dursleys are out..." he mumbles.

"Lucky, ha!" Tonks exclaims, grinning. "It was me that lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now...or so they think."

She winks at you and you smile back, remembering the side-splitting laughter that had infected you as the two of you cooked up that idea a few nights previous.

"We are leaving, aren't we?" Harry asks. "Soon?"

"Almost at once," Remus says. "We're just waiting for the all-clear."

"Where are we going? The Burrow?" Harry asks hopefully.

You shake your head. "No, not the Burrow." You follow Moody into the kitchen, the group of Order members walking in after you. "Too risky. We're set up headquarters somewhere else, somewhere undetectable."

Moody sits at the kitchen table swigging from a hip flask, taking in the many electrical appliances in the Dursleys' kitchen.

"This is Alastor Moody, Harry," Remus tells, pointing toward him.

"Yeah, I know."

"And this is Nymphadora — "

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," Tonks says with a shudder. "It's Tonks."

" — Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," Remus finishes, glancing at Tonks.

She folds her arms. "So would you if your fool of a mother called you Nymphadora."

"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Remus continues. "Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle — "

"We've met before," squeaks Diggle, dropping his top hat excitedly.

" — Emmeline Vance — Sturgis Podmore — and Hestia Jones."

Harry nods awkwardly at each of them in turn.

"A surprising number of people volunteered to come get you," Remus says, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Yeah, well, the more the better," Moody says darkly. "We're your guard, Potter."

"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," Remus explains, glancing out the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."

"Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" Tonks says as she looks around the kitchen with heat interest. "My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just like with wizards?"

"Uh — yeah," says Harry, turning to you. "What's going on, I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vol — ?"

Several of the witches and wizards make odd hissing noises and Moody growls, "Shut up!"

"What?"

"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," Moody explains, looking around him warily with his magical eye.

"We can talk about it once we're back at headquarters," you say.

"How're we getting there?"

"Brooms," Remus replies. "Only way. You're too young to apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorised Portkey."

"She says you're a good flier," Kingsley says, gesturing to you.

"He's excellent," you reply proudly, smiling at Harry.

Remus glances down at his watch. "You better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."

"I'll come and help you," Tonks says brightly, following Harry upstairs to his bedroom.

Remus pulls an envelope and piece of parchment out of his pocket, bending over the kitchen table to start scribbling something down. You walk around the room, looking at different photos of the Dursleys.

Baby Dudley, with a proud Petunia and Vernon standing over him; Petunia and Vernon on their wedding day; several more photos of Dudley growing up — there's an obvious absence of Harry. If a stranger were to walk into this room without knowing anything about the Dursleys beforehand, they would never know Harry even exists.

"What a strange device!" Podmore exclaims, curiously opening and closing the kitchen microwave while Kingsley stands behind him. He waves you over. "What does it do?"

Because of your Muggle father, you are often questioned on Muggle items and customs — though usually by Arthur Weasley.

"It cooks food," you reply. "It's called a microwave."

"A microwave..." Kingsley repeats thoughtfully, opening the door and peering inside with immense interest.

Nearby, Hestia laughs at a potato peeler that she came across in one of the drawers. You give her a look, confused as to what could possibly be so humourous about a potato peeler, but she just continues to snicker and giggle as she turns it over in her hands.

"Excellent," Remus says when Harry and Tonks return, Harry's trunk bobbing along in the air behind them. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a note telling your aunt and uncle not to worry — "

"They won't," says Harry.

"That you're safe — "

"That'll just depress them."

" — and you'll see them next summer."

"Do I have to?"

Remus smiles but doesn't answer.

"Come here, boy," Moody says gruffly, beckoning Harry towards him with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."

Harry's brows knit nervously. "You need to what?"

"Disillusionment Charm," Moody replies, raising his wand. "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go — "

He raps Harry hard on the top of his head and Harry's body takes on the exact colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind him, like some sort of human chameleon.

"Nice one, Mad-Eye," Tonks says appreciatively, and Harry looks down in surprise, spinning in place as he surveys his new look.

"Come on," Moody says, moving towards the back door and unlocking it with his wand.

You all step out onto the Dursleys' impeccably well-kept lawn. It looks practically untouched — a contender for the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition indeed.

"Clear night," Moody grumbles, peering up into the dark sky above. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," he barks at Harry, pointing his finger at him, "we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed — "

"Is that likely?" Harry asks apprehensively, but Moody ignores him. When he turns his worried eyes to yours you shake your head, resisting the urge to roll your eyes at Moody's grimness.

" — the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."

"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he'll think we're not taking this seriously," says Tonks as she straps Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage into a harness hanging from her broom.

"I'm just telling the boy the plan," Moody growls. "Our job's to deliver him safely to headquarters and if we die in the attempt — "

"No one's going to die," you say calmly, receiving a doubtful grumble from Moody in the process.

"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Remus says sharply, pointing into the sky at the shower of bright red sparks flaring high above you.

You swing your leg over your broom — your dusty old Cleansweep Seven that you've had since you were fifteen and that has seen more of the inside of your garden shed than the open air — and wrap your hands around the flaking handle. You're a pretty average flier — nothing compared to James, of course...but who could ever compare to him?

"Second signal, let's go!" Remus says loudly, as this time green sparks explode into the air far above you.

You kick off hard from the ground. The cool night air rushes into you as you rise higher into the air, the houses and buildings of Little Whinging becoming smaller and smaller as your group ascends. Looking up, the sky is vast and clear, revealing the billions of gleaming stars twinkling above. You can't help the small rush of giddiness that sparks in you at the sight of it.

"Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" Moody shouts over the wind, and your circling group follows Tonks as she swerves, Harry close behind. "We need more height...give it another quarter of a mile!"

"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" calls Moody.

"We're not going through clouds!" Tonks shouts angrily. "We'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"

You're glad to hear this, your fingers turning numb around the handle of your broom in the chill.

You alter your course every now and then according to Moody's instructions, you and the rest of the guard circling Harry and Tonks as you move.

"We ought to double back for a bit, to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouts.

"Don't be mad! We're nearly there now!" You yell, recognising the streets hurtling past below. "If we keep going off course, we won't have to worry about being followed because Harry'll have died from hypothermia by then!"

"Time to start the descent!" Remus orders. "Follow Tonks, Harry!"

You dive, flying lower and lower until you touch down on a quiet street with several less-than-welcoming houses lining it.

"Where are we?" Harry asks.

"In a minute," Remus says quietly, looking at Moody expectantly as he rummages around in his cloak.

"Got it," he mutters, pulling out Dumbledore's trusty Deluminator and clicking it. The nearest streetlamp goes out with a pop. Moody clicks the Deluminator again and one by one each lamp on the street distinguishes, leaving the faint glow of lit rooms behind curtains the only source of light on the street.

"Borrowed it from Dumbledore," Moody explains to Harry, pocketing the Deluminator once more. "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out the window, see? Now, come on, quick."

Together, your group makes it towards houses Number 11 and Number 13. Even though he's been Disillusioned, you can still see Harry's form shivering with the cold, and you make a slow sweeping motion down the length of his body with your wand, muttering a quiet warming spell under your breath. You hear him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks."

Remus tuts quietly under his breath. "No spell for the rest of us, then?"

You smile. "You're not my godson."

Even in the dark, you can see him rolling his eyes at you.

"Here," Moody says, thrusting a piece of paper towards Harry. "Read quickly and memorise."

"What's the Order of the — ?"

"Not here, boy!" Moody snarls immediately, his eyes wide. "Wait 'til we're inside!"

He snatches the parchment out of Harry's hand and lights it on fire, dropping it to the ground, the edges curling in the flame.

"But where's — ?"

"Think about what you've just memorised," Remus says quietly.

After a moment, the run-down door of the Black house emerges in the space between 11 and 13, followed soon by grimy walls and windows.

"Come on, hurry," Moody growls, prodding Harry in the back.

You tap the door with your wand. Loud metallic clicks and squeaks sound behind the door before it creaks open, revealing the darkened hallway beyond. "Get in quick, Harry. But don't go far inside and don't touch anything."

You shuffle into the hallway behind Harry, casting a wary eye to the curtained portrait at the end of the hall, waiting for Moody to finish returning the light to the streetlamps before closing the door behind him.

"Here." Moody raps Harry hard over the head with his wand, lifting the Disillusionment Charm and returning Harry to his usual, visible state. Probably could've been a bit more gentle with it, but whatever.

"Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light around here," Moody says quietly. With a soft hissing noise, the old-fashioned gas lamps flicker to life, illuminating the depressingly drab hallway you're standing in.

Hurried footsteps alert you to Mrs Weasley's entrance, emerging from the basement door with a smile on her face as she makes her way toward you.

"Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" she whispers, pulling Harry into a tight hug before holding him at arm's length and examining him critically. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid..."

She turns to you and the rest of the Order members and whispers urgently, "He's just arrived, the meeting's started..."

Everyone starts to make their way through the door, and Harry moves to follow Remus when you gently hold him back, a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Harry. Order members only. We'll talk later, yeah?"

"Ron and Hermione are waiting upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting's over, and then we'll all have dinner," Mrs Weasley whispers to him. "And keep your voice down in the hall."

"Why?"

"I don't want to wake anything up."

"What d'you — ?"

"I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting — I'll just show you where you're sleeping."

You give Harry and Mrs Weasley a wave before heading down into the basement, opening the door as quietly as possible and slipping into your usual spot beside Sirius at the table while Dumbledore speaks to Remus and Moody about Harry. You listen as Dumbledore outlines plans and guard duty: looks like you're on tomorrow night. Brilliant.

Snape sits across from you, and when your eyes meet he gives you a near-imperceptible head shake. Nothing on Wormtail yet. Then his eyes shift to hatred as he wrinkles his nose at Sirius beside you, and you notice that your husband is currently pretending to scratch his nose with just his middle finger extended, directly in Snape's eyeline.

Of course.

When the meeting is finally over, most of the Order members file out of the kitchen and upstairs, speaking in hushed voices as they enter the hall. You pull one of the scrolls of parchment from the middle of the table into your hands, skimming your eyes over a plan of the Department of Mysteries, exits and entrances marked in red.

Just then, you hear a clatter and a great, thankfully muffled, screeching starts from the hall. You sigh, rubbing your temples, and move to stand up and deal with your darling mother-in-law when Sirius gently pushes you back into your chair, standing up.

"I'll handle it."

Bill and Mr Weasley sit close by, heads pressed together as they mull over parchment and documents. After a minute or two, the screaming stops and Sirius reopens the door, Harry following close behind with Remus and the rest of the kids.

Mrs Weasley clears her throat and Mr Weasley jumps to his feet, hurrying over to give Harry's hand a shake. "Harry! Good to see you!"

Bill starts to try and roll up the scrolls and you move to help him, handing him the plan of the Department of Mysteries.

"Journey all right, Harry?" he asks. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, did he?"

"He tried," Tonks says, striding over to help you and immediately knocking over a candle, sending the wax spilling onto the parchment. "Oh, no — sorry — "

"Here," you say, waving your wand and muttering a spell to repair the parchment. In the light your wand casts, you spy Harry trying to catch a glimpse of what's written on the parchment.

Mrs Weasley sees him too, and clicks her tongue disapprovingly, snatching up the scrolls and shoving them into Bill's arms. "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings."

She sweeps off towards a dresser to start unloading dinner plates and you grab a cloth and wipe down the table for dinner.

"Sit down, Harry," Sirius says, retaking his usual spot at the table. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

Mundungus, who has been snoring away at the end of the table, stirs and jolts awake. "Someone say m' name? I agree with Sirius..."

He raises his hand in the air as though voting, and you snort.

"Meeting's over, Dung," you say with a smile, giving his back a poke as you pass by with more plates. "Harry's arrived."

"Eh?" He peers at Harry before his face lights in recognition. "Blimey, so 'e 'as! Yeah...you all right, Harry?"

"Yeah."

Mundungus fumbles in his pockets and produces his trusty black pipe, lighting the tip with his wand and taking a long pull from it. A cloud of green smoke thickens the air around him instantly.

"Owe you an apology," he grunts.

"For the last time, Mundungus," calls Mrs Weasley in frustration, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"

"Ah. Right, sorry, Molly."

He stuffs the pipe back into his pocket, with slight reluctance.

Soon, a series of heavy knives are chopping meat and vegetables on their own, supervised by Mr Weasley, while Mrs Weasley stirs a cauldron dangling over the fire. Mundungus, Sirius, and Harry are talking at the table, and from the few snippets you overhear you can tell Sirius is complaining about being stuck inside with nothing to do — which you don't blame him for.

"At least you've known what's been going on," Harry says bracingly.

"Oh, yeah," Sirius says sarcastically. "Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time...asking me how the cleaning's going — "

"What cleaning?" Harry asks.

"Trying to make this place fit for human habitation," Sirius replies, waving a hand around the dismal kitchen. "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in years — "

"Sirius?" Mundungus pipes up, eyes focused on a silver goblet in his hands, examining it with immense interest. "This solid silver, mate?"

"Yes," he answers, surveying the goblet with obvious distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."

"That'd come off, though," Mundungus mutters thoughtfully, scrubbing the crest with his cuff.

"Fred — George — NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs Weasley shrieks.

Fred and George have bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, to hurtle through the air towards the table. Harry, Sirius, and Mundungus leap away, just in time to avoid the pot of stew that skids the length of the table before stopping at the end, the flagon of butterbeer that falls with a crash and spills over the surface, dripping onto the floor, and the sharp knife that slips from the breadboard and sticks in the table where Sirius' hand had been moments before.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Mrs Weasley screams, face red with fury. "THERE WAS NO NEED — I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS — JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" Fred says, hurrying forward and wrenching the knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate — didn't mean to — "

Harry and Sirius are laughing, and you turn your face away to hide your laughter from the furious Mrs Weasley. Mundungus struggles to his feet, swearing and muttering under his breath.

"Boys," Mr Weasley steps in, lifting the stew pot back into the middle of the table. "Your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now that you've come of age — "

"None of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs Weasley snaps at the twins, slamming a fresh flagon of butterbeer onto the table while you clean away the mess from the previous with your wand. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy — "

She stops dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband. Mentions of Percy are not particularly welcomed in the house at the moment, after Percy and Mr Weasley had an especially heated argument and Percy chose his job at the Ministry over his own family.

"Let's eat," Bill says quickly.

For a few minutes, there is silence in the room but for the scraping of plates and cutlery and the creak of chairs as everyone settles down for the meal. You sit beside Sirius, who smiles and pulls your chair closer to his as you eat.

He tugs on the sleeve of your jumper, rolling the fabric between his thumb and forefinger. "I like this, it suits you. You look very pretty."

You scoff, giving him a smile. "Of course you like it, Sirius, it's yours. Anyways, I'm thinking of going back home soon just to collect a few things," you say. "Is there anything you want? I am seriously missing my telescope here — "

A loud burst of laughter drowns out the rest of your words, as Fred, George, Ron, and Mundungus roll around in their chairs.

"...and then," chokes Mundungus, tears running down his face, "and then, if you'll believe it, 'e says to me, 'Dung, where did ya get all them toads from? 'Cause some son of a Bludger's gone and nicked all mine!' And I says, 'Nicked all your toads, Will, what next? So you'll be wanting some more, then?' And if you'll believe me, lads, the gormless gargoyle buys all 'is own toads back off me for twice what 'e paid in the first place — "

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings thank you very much, Mundungus," Mrs Weasley says sharply.

"Beg pardon, Molly," he answers at once, wiping his face and winking at Harry. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em of Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing anything wrong — "

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seemed to have missed a few crucial lessons," Mrs Weasley says coldly, before shooting a particularly nasty look at Sirius and standing up to fetch a large rhubarb crumble for dessert.

You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. Mundungus is certainly not the most law-abiding man, but he has his uses.

"Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus," Sirius says quietly to Harry.

"How come he's in the Order?"

"He's useful," Sirius mutters. "Knows all the crooks — "

"Well, he would, seeing as he is one himself," you add, taking a sip from your wine.

Sirius nods. "He's also very loyal to Dumbledore, who helped him out a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."

Several helpings of crumble later, the air in the room moves to a relaxed laziness as you finish telling the story of Remus's first time getting drunk at Hogwarts to Tonks, who giggles and laughs while Remus shakes his head and becomes increasingly interested in his goblet. Sirius's hand rests on your hip, idly drawing circles with his finger.

"I don't — uh — I don't remember that," Remus says, cheeks crimson as he glances at Tonks to see her reaction.

You hum, smiling at him. "Well, I certainly do. "

Tonks smiles appreciatively at Remus, yawning loudly.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," Mrs Weasley says, yawning too.

"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius says, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The change in the atmosphere is rapid: Mrs Weasley sits bolt upright, her fists clenched; Remus lowers his goblet warily, eyes meeting yours.

"I did!" Harry says indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so — "

"And they're quite right," Mrs Weasley says firmly. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Sirius asks, raising his eyebrows. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen — "

"Hang on!" George interrupts loudly.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" says Fred angrily.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!"

"You're too young, you're not in the Order," Fred says in a high-pitched imitation of his mother. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's been doing," Sirius says calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand — "

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs Weasley says sharply, a dangerous look on her face. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" His tone is polite, but you spot the familiar tense in his jaw and know that this calmness won't last long.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," Mrs Weasley replies stonily.

Everyone else in the room is dead silent, their eyes flitting between Sirius and Mrs Weasley as though watching a tennis match. You meet Remus's eyes across the table, subtly shaking your head.

"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly," says Sirius. "But he was the one who saw Voldemort come back. He has more right than most to — "

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs Weasley snaps. "He's only fifteen — "

"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order, and more than some — "

"No one's denying what he's done!" Mrs Weasley's voice rises, her fists trembling with anger. "But he's still — "

"He's not a child!" Sirius says impatiently.

"He's not an adult either! He's not James, Sirius!"

Sirius stares back at Mrs Weasley, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. His voice is ice. "I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."

"I'm not sure you are!" Mrs Weasley says hotly. "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"

"What's wrong with that?" says Harry.

"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him! You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius demands, his voice rising.

"Meaning you've been known to act rashly — "

"Enough," you say loudly, stopping the two. You inhale deeply. "Harry deserves to know a certain amount. He has been left in the dark for a month, and I have no doubt that he's used this time to come up with a few interesting theories of what's been going on. Don't you think he deserves to know what is true, from us, rather than a muddled version from...others?"

You don't doubt that a few of Fred and George's Extendable Ears have survived Mrs Weasley's purge.

Mrs Weasley looks back at you, breathing deeply. "Well..." she looks around the table for support, but receives none. "Well...I can see that I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart — "

"He's not your son," Sirius says quietly.

"He's as good as!" Mrs Weasley snaps back fiercely. Great, just when you thought the argument had come to an end. "Who else has he got?"

You pause, hoping you misheard her.

"He's got us!" Sirius snaps back, gesturing between you and him.

"Yes. The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

Immediately, you feel your anger flare and you glare daggers back at her. "It's not like he had a choice, Molly!" You snap defensively. "How could you say something like that — "

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," Remus says sharply. "Sirius, sit down."

Sirius, who had begun to rise from his chair, sinks slowly back into his seat, face white.

"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," Remus continues calmly. "He's old enough to decide for himself."

"I want to know what's been going on," Harry says at once.

Mrs Weasley looks at him for a moment, swallowing harshly. "Very well. Ginny — Hermione — Ron — Fred — George — I want you out of this kitchen, now."

Instant uproar.

"We're of age!" Fred and George cry together.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Ron shouts.

"Mum, I want to!" Ginny wails.

"NO!" shouts Mrs Weasley, her chest heaving as she stands. "I absolutely forbid — "

"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," Mr Weasley says wearily. "They are of age."

"They're still at school — "

"But they're legally adults now."

"I — alright, fine, Fred and George can stay, but Ron — "

"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!" Ron says heatedly. "Won't — won't you?" He adds uncertainly, meeting Harry's eyes.

"'Course I will."

Ron and Hermione beam.

"Fine!" Mrs Weasley shouts. "Fine! Ginny — BED!"

You hear Ginny stomping and raging at her mother all the way up the stairs, awakening Walburga's portrait when she reaches the hall. You sigh, hurrying off to force the curtains shut over the crazy woman with immense effort. You return, shutting the door to the stairs behind you, and fall back into your seat with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, Harry...what do you want to know?" Sirius speaks.

"Where's Voldemort? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news," Harry asks immediately, "and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything — "

"That's because there haven't been any suspicious deaths yet," says Sirius. "Not as far as we know, anyway...and we do know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," Remus adds.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asks.

"He doesn't want to draw attention to himself at the moment," you answer. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't quite come off the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or rather, you messed it up for him," Remus says with a satisfied smile.

"How?" Harry questions, perplexed.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" Sirius says. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters were supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," says Remus. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?"

"Are you kidding?" Bill says incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of!"

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix the day Voldemort returned," says Sirius.

"So what's the Order been doing?" asks Harry, looking around the table at everyone.

"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans," Sirius answers.

"How do you know what his plans are?"

"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," says Remus, "and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."

"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"

"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," says Sirius. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command; witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one group he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."

"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?"

"We're doing our best," you say.

"How?"

"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," Bill tells. "It's proving tricky, though."

"Why?"

"Because the Ministry is still in denial," you say with a sigh. "You saw Fudge after Voldemort came back, Harry — he hasn't changed his mind at all. He's completely refusing to believe it."

"But why?" Harry asks desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore — "

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," says Mr Weasley with a wry smile. "Dumbledore."

"Fudge is frightened of him," you say.

"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Harry says incredulously.

"Frightened of what he's up to," says Mr Weasley. "You see, Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."

"But Dumbledore doesn't want — "

"Of course he doesn't," Mr Weasley speaks, adjusting his spectacles. "He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."

Remus clears his throat. "Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice. But it seems that he's become fond of power now, and much more confident. He loves being Minister of Magic, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."

"How can he think that?" Harry says angrily. "How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up — that I'd make it up?"

"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," Sirius says bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilize him."

"Ignorance is bliss," you say sardonically.

"You see the problem," Remus says. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they don't really want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's 'rumourmongering', so most of the Wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."

"But you're telling people, aren't you?" says Harry, looking around the table. "You're letting people know he's back?"

You smile humourlessly.

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius says grimly.

"And people don't exactly find the wife of said criminal the most trustworthy either," you say bleakly, shrugging.

"I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," Remus tells. "Occupational hazard of being a werewolf."

"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off," Sirius explains, "and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."

"We've managed to convince a few people though," Mr Weasley says optimistically. "Tonks here, for one — she's too young to have been in the Order last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage — Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset too. He's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."

"But if none of you is putting the news out that Voldemort is back — " Harry begins, but Sirius stops him.

"Who said none of us was putting the news out? Why d'you think Dumbledore is in so much trouble?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asks.

"They're trying to discredit him," Remus explains. "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot — that's the Wizard High Court — and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."

"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," Bill chimes in, grinning.

"It's no laughing matter," Mr Weasley says shortly. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Dumbledore's out of the way — well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."

"What's he after apart from followers?" Harry asks quickly.

You exchange a glance with Sirius before he says, "Stuff he can only get by stealth."

Harry stays looking confused, and Sirius continues, "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?"

"Yes."

"Like what kind of weapon?" Harry asks. "Something worse than the Avada Kedavra — ? "

"That's enough."

From the shadows beside the door, Mrs Weasley stands, her expression furious. "I want you in bed, now. All of you."

"You can't boss us — " Fred begins.

"Watch me," she snarls, before turning her unapproving gaze on Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straight away."

"Why not?" Harry says. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight — "

"No."

This time, it's not Mrs Weasley who speaks, it's Remus.

"The Order is comprised of overage wizards," he says.

"Wizards who have left school," you add quickly, seeing the twins open their mouths. You sigh, pushing your chair away from the table, patting Sirius's arm softly. "Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough. I think it's time everyone got some rest."

He gives a half-shrug but doesn't argue, waiting as Mrs Weasley leads her children and Harry upstairs to their bedrooms.

Later, you yawn around your toothbrush, facing the mirror in the dimly-lit ensuite off Sirius's bedroom.

"She can't seriously think leaving Harry in the dark about all this is the better option," Sirius muses testily, idly fiddling with your jewellery on the nightstand as he talks. "He's not a child. He's deserves to know what's going on."

"I agree."

"And the way she brought up James — as if I can't tell the difference between my best friend and my godson," he continues in frustration. "I know he's not James, of course I know that — "

You spit into the sink, pulling the tap to rinse it out. "She didn't know James. She doesn't know how difficult it is to stop yourself from looking at Harry and seeing him. How hard it is to not look for him and Lily in everything."

"No," Sirius says after a moment. "She doesn't."

You run your hands down your face, sighing. "I can't believe she said that thing about you in Azkaban. I can't believe she would stoop that low, as if you had any fucking choice to be in there."

"She hates me," he says. "Do you see the looks she gives me?"

"She doesn't hate you," you tell him wearily, flicking off the light and closing the bathroom door behind you. You lean against the doorframe, folding your arms. "She's scared and worried about Harry, that's all. She's stressed."

"She's not the only one."

"No, she's not," you say softly, making your way over to where he sits on the bed, gently taking his face in your hands. "Look, forget about it now. What's done is done, there's no use dwelling on it now."

He sighs, leaning into your touch with a small sigh. "You really are the most amazing woman I've ever met."

"I try."

He kisses your knuckles one by one, then presses a kiss to the inside of your wrist. "And clever."

You hum, watching as his lips slowly travel up your arm, arriving at your neck, where he lingers for several moments to kiss every inch of exposed skin he can reach. "And beautiful."

He pulls you toward him so you're straddling his legs, and he grins. "So very beautiful indeed."

✧⁠*⁠。✧⁠*⁠。

->-> read chapter twenty-seven here!

→ all kinds of interaction appreciated

absolutely massive thank you to my taglist lovelies <3 :

@mothraantics @wholelottalove05 @izuoyarmin @devoid-swanky @carpe000diem @mooonyxoxo @hyperspeedo @idkman5335 @elanna-elrondiel @murielisacertifieddilf @penelopied @imgondeletedis @jennifer0305

[kinzis-writing]

Better Than Revenge | M.R [1]

Y/N Nettleby thought that her relationship was going perfect. They were planning their future together and making arrangements for their lives to fall in line. So when Theodore ruined the image by breaking up with her, Y/N was heartbroken. There was only one thing on her mind, revenge.

Pairing: Mattheo Riddle x Y/N Nettleby, Ex! Theodore Nott x Y/N Nettleby.

{This is the first time I have written something like this so I apologize if it is bad. My friend got me hooked on the idea of Riddle character and I wanted to try to write for him. Also, you may notice a pattern with the chapter names, it was my cousins suggestion that I use taylor swift lyrics so if you do not like her, I apologize. Also, I imagine the characters older, so the ages in the harry potter movies will NOT correspond to my writings.}

Warning(s): slight cussing, cheating, heartbreak.

i. "There is nothing I do better than Revenge"

Prologue: Introduction

*Not edited*

Y/N Nettleby looked at her work with a satisfied grin, it had taken her hours to set up for the special date with her boyfriend, Theodore. They had officially been dating for a year and the girl had decided that she was ready to take the next step with her boyfriend, and she was hoping tonight would be the night. She had her friend, Hermione, stay with their mutual friend Ginny tonight and the other roommates had already had plans for a party in Ravenclaw.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asked as she grabbed her pajamas to get ready and head to Ginny's room. "It's not my business but boys like him..." she trailed grabbing a few books as well.

"It's what I want, Mione." Y/N promised giving her best friend a small smile. Hermione gave the girl a small smile before heading out and heading to the youngest Weasley's room.

The girl sat on her bed and patiently waited for her boyfriend to come up to the dormitory, he happened to know Gryffindor's password and he knew his way to Y/N's room. They had agreed on having a quiet night in and he would come over around 7 o'clock. It had now hit seven and she was patiently waiting for his arrival.

A knock on the door sounded at 7:13, causing Y/n to fix herself quickly and rush to open the door. The girl had a bright smile on her face when opening the door, but the smile was quickly dropped once she seen the state of her boyfriend.

Theodore's hair was slightly disheveled, he seemed nervous and anxious, and he looked ready to run. "We need to talk." were the words that left his mouth when he locked eyes with his girlfriend.

"Well, happy anniversary to you too." Y/N spoke sarcastically as she moved out of the way to let him come into the dorm. It was not their exact anniversary date, but it was only a couple days past. School had kept Y/N busy to where they did not get to spend time on the actual day together. "What's going on?" She asked noticing how he was acting. It was unlike Theo to act like this unless he was out in the hallways. He was not a very affectionate person outside of the dorms, simply because he believed in keeping up his reputation. He is very intelligent, and quiet, but will always obey his parents and keep their legacy alive.

"It's over." He simply stated with a shrug, unsure of how else to go about this. He knew she would take it hard either way, but he had to get it out in the open so he could leave. "I'm breaking up with you."

Y/N felt as if she had gone into shock, her emotions fluctuated. She felt numb a bit at first, until she felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. "What? Why?"

Theo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "you want the truth?" he asked softly. He knew that she would hate the truth, but she deserved it regardless. "I slept with someone else." He spoke truthfully. The pain in the girl's heart only stinging more. "I tried to wait; I really did. It's who I am, and I am sorry." without another word he had gotten up and left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind the Slytherin boy, Y/N sunk down to the floor and let the sadness overtake her. The tears freely came out and she wasn't trying to stop them. She had the dorm to herself tonight and she made the exception to wallow in self-pity for the night. She would pick herself back up tomorrow and act like nothing had ever happened.

🪄

The next day, it was harder for the girl to get out of bed. She had slept through breakfast and was almost late to her first class of the day. It was not like her to be late and to skip breakfast, but she was hoping to avoid any conversation until after classes.

Y/N honestly thought that she could contain her anger, that was until she seen her brother at the end of the hall talking with his girlfriend and Mattheo. The Nettleby siblings did not really have much to do with each other, they were close until they were sorted into separate houses. After that, Y/N became the disappointment of the Nettleby family as she was in Gryffindor when the family was a group of pureblood Slytherins.

Storming up to her brother and his two other guests before letting her mind think rationally, "You're a shit brother, you know that?" Y/N snapped when she got in front of her older twin brother. They were fraternal, so they did not look anything alike. "I know that we don't talk much, but you could have at least given me a warning about your little blood brother." she spat with a harsh glare.

"Excuse you?" Sean muttered not knowing what his sister was going on about.

"You could've warned me about Theodore cheating on me." She spoke clearly for her brother to understand. "I get that you pieces of shit are all "big and bad" but that is pretty bad for you to do your own sister like that." She finished before turning away and storming off to get to her next class on time.

'I'll get my revenge, Theo, you just wait." She mumbled to herself before walking into class.

Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm in the US so some terms may not be correct and I apologize. I love harry potter and I wanted to try to write for Mattheo, this series will probably only have about 8 parts to it. No more than 10 for sure. I'll see how far my plot will go (I have a whole rough draft I have been changing). This is just the introduction and will involve more content in the coming chapters!

[saintsenara]

Not from the ask list but the characters in ur fics as Irish counties and why?

anon, this has absolutely sent me. i have genuinely never seen something more up my alley.

let's start with characters we can pull from the series for ireland's six superior counties, shall we...

antrim = oliver wood

a county full of lads who've never met a spivvy tracksuit they don't think is the height of fashion, and who have a vastly inflated sense of their success at sports.

armagh = tom riddle

armagh has a [deservedly] bloody reputation. he could settle down in the murder triangle. he'd like that.

down = draco malfoy

people who live in co. down really like thinking they're better than the rest of us just because it's easy for them to get to belfast [lads, how's that something to boast about?], so they have to be the series' whiniest flop.

fermanagh = rubeus hagrid

fermanagh is full of docile lads who build things, in my experience.

londonderry = ron weasley

canonically gorgeous, gorgeous girlies live in this fine county - by which i mean, of course, that i do. we deserve to be represented by the series' most gorgeous girly. and a ginger sweetheart with six siblings [so you know which side of the sectarian divide his parents are on...] would go down a storm with our mams.

tyrone = harry potter

my brother once had his nose broken in a pub in strabane, which doesn't sound particularly interesting until you realise that my brother is a priest. by which i mean - a county filled with people who are reckless, quick-tempered, and always ready to throw hands? it can only be represented by one man...

---

and then the rest...

carlow = quirinus quirrell

the most interesting thing there is a big rock.

cavan = percy weasley

everyone i've ever met from cavan has been really boring and really tight. so there's that.

clare = ginny weasley

because it's gorgeous, in a not like other girls way.

cork = albus dumbledore

look at this canon line and tell me dumbledore's not a cork man... "In fact, being — forgive me — rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.” 

donegal = sybill trelawney

always away with the fairies up there... and always drunk too.

dublin = walburga black

everyone you've ever met who lives in dublin is genuinely shocked to discover that the rest of the world exists beyond the m50. it's not not giving "has never set foot in muggle london and would die before she did".

galway = arthur and molly weasley

galway is the home of the nation's sophisticated [and, apparently, sexually adventurous] culchies - which fits two people from clearly quite distinguished backgrounds who nonetheless live the way they do...

kerry = gilderoy lockhart

you will never see american tourists get scammed more glamorously than in kerry.

kildare = regulus black

considerably less interesting than - and devoid of identity in comparison to - its neighbour, dublin.

kilkenny = charlie weasley

all they do is have red hair and hurl.

laois = daphne greengrass

on account of her irrelevance.

leitrim = sally-ann perks

on account of her irrelevance.

limerick = bellatrix lestrange

limerick used to be known as "stab city". she'd fit right in.

longford = mungundus fletcher

gombeen men abound.

louth = myrtle warren

because they [by which i mean the two people i know who were born there...] are always fucking moaning.

mayo = remus lupin

perpetually mopey, unless they reckon they're great at something.

meath = cormac mclaggen

they wish they were as class as the lads in dublin.

monaghan = cuthbert binns

genuinely couldn't locate it on a map.

offaly = grawp

i mean, who fucking knows? the entire place is a bog.

roscommon = aberforth dumbledore

you can guess why...

sligo = fred and george weasley

wheeler dealers, the lot of them.

tipperary = fleur delacour

the home of gorgeous, gorgeous girlies with striking accents.

waterford = dobby

they love a good strike.

westmeath = hermione granger

not somewhere you'd expect you'd choose to live if you were a bit of a know-it-all. and yet.

wexford = neville longbottom

they love to bang on about the soil.

wicklow = marge dursley

she drives a range rover and looks down on anyone who farms, change my mind.

[other answers from this ask game]

[cantdothis-nomore]

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Luna, Dating a Muggle Reader

LOVE HARRY POTTER <3333

I do imagine this as mostly a female reader to me but I don't really liem including pronouns in my work unless it is specifically requested so think of the reader in any gender you like!

Hermione

-I imagine she'd be quite chill about it, being a muggle born and all and would it would be a very normal relationship apart from her going to hogwarts and you going to a muggle school

-She'd probably try and hide her other life and stuff like that from you at first but the pressure would be too much for her and she'd break the first or second time you asked her about it

-She'd really need someone to rely on who wasn't harry or Ron or a total nut job *cough*(Fred and George) *cough*

-After telling you and you somehow managing to get over the initial shock she'd probably take you to the burrow to meet the weasleys and Harry

-I imagine you'd already know her parents if you grew up in the same village so you'd already be familiar with all her habits and how she reacts when something is wrong

-Even though you don't understand most of what she's saying you try and be there for her and get her to teach you more about the wizarding world and if she was in a good mood you'd probably be able to convince her to take you to diagon ally (which definitely did not result you passing out in excitement)

-What she loves about you is that you wouldn't judge her for how she knows so much and how much she studies and likes to be prepared because she is how she is and there's really nothing you can do to change that and why bother really🤷‍♀️

- Once the war came around she'd try and distance herself from you in an attempt to keep you safe which is something you'd shut down immediately and letting her know you could hold your own despite being a muggle

-Honestly she'd really really love having something normal to focus on and somebody to talk to who wouldn't judge her and help her escape life when she was sad or anxious and just plain out be there for her whenever something came up

-But yeah you would literally be her fav person ever, cuz ur special <3

Harry

-You would probably meet harry through the Dursleys and seeing how they mistreated him and offering him to come and hang out with you whenever he was about

-After harry started hogwarts would probably be the trigger of him knowing/realising he liked you after being away from you for so long

-He'd write you tons and tons of letters after you two got together, him keeping up to date with you and you keeping up to date with him

-He'd absolutely adore having something normal in his life to come back to after the school term and probably use his time with you as an escape from the Dursleys

-After being taken to the weasleys he'd probably write to you to ask if you wanted to meet his friends (after monthssss of internal debate) but still unsure about it because of obviously him being a wizard

-Speaking of being a wizard harry would probably try and ease you into the fact of him being a wizard as not to scare you away

-You weren't particularly bothered it was just weird knowing the person you grew up with wasn't really him after all but you got over it quickly

-Meeting hermione and Ron wasn't really that big of a deal, ron would probably be pretty weirded out that the chosen one was dating a muggle but warmed up to you pretty soon after realising you weren't a threat or weird. Hermione was most likely just overjoyed to have another girl around let alone a muggle who she could finally talk to about normal things instead of nobody knowing what she was talking about when she said something.

-When the war rolled around harry broke up with you claiming it would keep you safer, which was a massive lie, and only upsetting you further

-you would be the only thing on his mind 24/7, repeatedly wondering what you were doing at that moment as a form of comfort

-when the war was over you'd be the first person he would go and find.

-There would be alot of crying from both of you after explaining and being away from each other for longer then you ever had been before

-After that he would be by your side everywhere you went not wanting to go through what he went through twice after realising that you were literally the best thing that ever happened to him

-This man adores you istg, someone brings up a conversation about you? He would talk their ear off for hours on end if he could about how absolutely perfect you are and how much he loves you <3

Ron

-You'd probably have to be one of hermiones muggle friends or one of Harry's childhood friends to be able to meet ron but most likely one of hermiones friends

-Hermione would probably mention him in one of your letters and spark your interest as she never mentioned one of her friends before

-After that you guys would probably owl each other back and forth everytime you could about how your day went, what you'd been doing and all that

-Hermione would most likely make you meet up with him at some point after you accidently may or may not of spilled the fact you liked him which obviously got spilled immediately to ron

-After meeting each other at some weird spot because of hermione, and him spilling the fact he's a wizard you guys were closer then ever before and giving daily updates and checking in to make sure the other was ok

-You'd be scared about meeting his parents but honestly it seems like mrs weasley would love you more then her own son and Mr weasley would probably be talking your ears off about different muggle items to which you would happily explain them to him

-His family would love you and so would he, harry and hermione would love having you around as a normal aspect in their lives and treat you like a sister because of how close you all were

-Overall he would love you so much and so would his family, you leave him and he would be depressed for years because of how important you are to him. He loves you through everything and anything despite all insecuritys and scars he loves you for who you are <33

Luna

- Luna would probs creep you out a bit upon first greeting

-Her dad would probably be friends with yours and so you two would be quite close

-Don't get me wrong, to you she was hella confusing but that's just another thing you loved her for

-When her mum died you tried your best to be there for her whenever she needed it and just be a safe place for her to talk about how she feels and really whatever she wants

-When she goes off to hogwarts it does make you sad but you are already aware of its existence because you grew up with luna despite being a muggle.

-You guys would owl back and forth and she'd talk to you about when people were mean to her or about the little creatures she sees floating around peoples heads

-She tells you about people calling her loony lovegood which upsets you, just because luna likes to daydream and is a little different does not mean that she's loony

-Whenever she comes home for the holidays you two are around each other as much as possible

-Her love language is gift giving so when she comes back you two tend to swap gifts and little trinkets you found/bought for the other person

-She'd love you more then anyone else in the world, apart from her dad, and you'd be one if the most important people in her life and if you ever broke up with her she would never get over it because you are literally the light of her life and the thing that keeps her going <3

I HOPE YOY LIKED IT <333 TYSM FOR REQUESTING <3

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

i know that Ron fic is going to annihilate the lot of us

I am glad that people are getting excited about it <3 also remember, it's not just a Ron fic, it's a whole Poly Golden Trio x Reader fic <3

the full fic is now POSTED!!

and because I can't help myself, a mini preview (this is about 500 words, and I think the only warnings are possessive!Ron, and rough kissing. and hair pulling - toward the reader.) (also, if you're wondering where Hermione is in this preview, you will be very interested to see how she comes in during the fic)

King For A Day (Preview) - Ron Weasley x Fem!Reader x Harry Potter x Hermione Granger

Ron’s glare fixed on Harry’s hand on your shoulder. It seemed that those words from Harry’s mouth, so casually calling him an idiot, along with Harry touching you - even though it was the most casual, platonic touch he could have performed - this brought Ron’s anger to a boiling rage, and under the influence of the Locket - he snapped. 

“Don’t touch her!” Ron growled, reaching around you and shoving Harry squarely in the chest in order to get him away from you. 

Harry let out a sharp gasp at this, and stumbled backwards a few steps - partially because of how hard Ron had pushed him, and partially numb from shock, because his fights with Ron had never turned physical before. 

You looked between the two of them, tingling with shock yourself, unsure what to say or do. You were tempted to call for Hermione, but then Ron began speaking again and shocked you even further. 

“This may come as a surprise to you, Harry, but you don’t own everything in the goddamn world.” Ron said, spitting Harry’s name through his lips like it was a vile poison. 

Was he seriously insinuating that Harry put a hand on your shoulder because he thought that he owned you? 

Was Ron getting possessive over you? 

“Excuse me?” Harry squeaked out, clearly having as much difficulty processing the words as you were. 

“You heard me.” Ron growled, his voice dark. 

It was something that made your stomach jump, a mixture of shock and lust flowing through you, making you numb and limp and turning you into a perfect ragdoll, entirely receptive to Ron’s next chaotic, unpredictable movements. 

Ron threaded a hand into the back of your hair, a grip so strong and commanding, a touch that immediately said ‘I own you’ - you released a small gasp as shockwaves of pleasure pittered through you from this point, from feeling his large, strong hand gripping you there, and in a moment he ripped on your hair, forcing your head backwards so he could have a good angle to shove his mouth onto yours. Dizzy with the combination of pain and pleasure, your mouth so easily fell open to him, having nothing but ripe, burning moans for him as his rough, unshaven face scratched against yours and his demanding tongue shoved past your teeth, almost forcing you to choke on his presence as your needy lust came back with a vengeance, thumping hard between your thighs. 

Harry found himself confused. 

He was still so bitterly angry, but he found his cock quickly swelling to hardness at the sight of Ron taking you so savagely, treating you to roughly, doing things to you that Harry had definitely never done. Harry was always soft with you. He didn’t know anything but softness when it came to his intimate time with you. Witnessing this was so absolutely hot, and Harry couldn’t deny that. He should have been more upset by this revelation - by the familiarity, by the natural way you just let Ron kiss you. 

Harry should have been jealous. He should have stormed away to brood at the fact that you had clearly been fucking Ron behind his back for as long as you had been fucking him. But he couldn’t find himself angry about that. He only found it to be a turn-on. 

He was still bitterly mad at Ron. And he watched to watch. And he was confused as to why that was - but he certainly wasn’t going to move unless you or Ron yelled at him to bugger off. 

[obsidianpen]

Inspired a bit from this post (https://www.tumblr.com/saintsenara/750034410744709120/do-you-think-the-wizarding-world-even-has-a?source=share) but do you think the Wizarding World has a clearly defined understanding of consent/rape? The prevalence of love potions in-universe is probably the most egregious offender here, but it occurred to me that the people who probably understand consent best would be those who've had greater interaction with the muggle world (meaning muggleborns like Hermione or half-bloods like Harry).

(Depending on the answer, this obviously has implications for NG, but it would be kind of horrifying if one of the few good things to come out of the new regime were more equitable laws regarding sex crimes because at some point V realizes that what he did to Harry in Ruination wouldn't technically be prosecutable if he hadn't nearly died.)

such an interesting question; it really doesn’t seem like it, does it? The fact that there are love potions that can be bought as easily as candy by people of any age is fucking bananas ain’t it? Fred and George had them available in their joke shop. Like making someone an unwitting and unconsenting “love” slave is a joke. Like assault, abuse, and the high likelihood of rape is a joke. (And a really horrific kind of assaults and rape at that! Imagine how traumatizing it would be to wake up from your drugged state and have those memories of acting like a willing, lovesick participant!!!! Ah!!!!!!!!!)

That’s especially interesting because then we have the mush more straightforward Imperius Curse, which is seen as so heinous its labeled as an Unforgivable and earns you a one way ticket to Azkaban for life (just like the good ol Crucio, unless you’re Harry Potter and you’ve been right about the dark lord retuning this whole time, of course, and then you get like, three passes). Makes no sense to me… I think this says more about JK’s writing/world building than anything else, tbh. Which is kind of shocking when you really think about it.

[mommastanberry-blog]

“I still don’t understand,” she said. “What was it from that memory that caused you to stop using mud…” The fire in his eyes made her cut herself off.

He sighed. “That night, when I realized what my father had meant by celebration, I felt this tug in my chest. You saw it, I was just about to touch the portkey when it happened. I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew my feet needed to take me somewhere. It wasn’t until I saw you that the tugging stopped. I was so confused. I was about to grab you and take you with me and the portkey, but Arthur Weasley showed up and got you out. I was so relieved, not that I knew at the time that that was what the feeling was, it took weeks of sulking in my room trying to figure out why I had done that to come to that conclusion.”

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. He had been scared for her safety. He risked himself to ensure that she had made it out. She tried to find the words to speak, but she didn’t know where to start.

“Say something, Granger.” Draco looked nervous. She forced out a smile, but it did nothing to comfort him.

“I usually know exactly what to say.” She said finally, “I am the girl everyone goes to when they need all sorts of words, but right now, I can’t even find one.”

“Sum it up then.” He said, but he could tell that made it worse, “One word. Think of one word to describe it all”

“Have you lost your mind Malfoy? How could I possibly sum anything up in one word?”

“Try,” he said as he smiled.

Draco resumed their dancing. He carried them across the floor with grace, clearly learned from a private teacher growing up. She had so much to say, how could she possibly begin to wrap it all up into one word for him?

She thought back to earlier. All the pretty words he dropped on her; how she deserved more than what her two friends could ever offer her. She was upset at what he said, but she couldn’t deny that he was right. They never cared about her unless it benefited them, she had just complained about that herself before the ball.

He was waiting for her response, but she still didn’t understand his angle. She hadn’t really spoken to Draco since he thanked her for testifying on his behalf at his trial. He wasn’t mean to her or anything, they just didn’t really interact with each other. The 8th years all shared a dorm together, and there were many nights where it would be just the 2 of them up studying side by side on a couch. But they didn’t speak, it was just a companionable silence, the old animosity gone.

She looked into his eyes again, searching for something. She felt that pluck in her chest once again.

What is that? Is it Draco trying to enter my mind? Draco? Draco?? When did he become Draco?

“Why don’t you give me a word then, if you’re so clever?” she blurted out.

“I have a word; I’m just waiting on yours.” He smirked. He was enjoying this.

She rolled her eyes. She dug deep, thinking of all the words she could.

Fun, nice, different, shocking, happy….

Hermione looked around and noticed the entire room watching them. They weren’t staring, they were likely too worried about being noticed, but she could see their eyes darting to them whenever they could.

She brought her gaze back to Draco, felt the tug, and instantly knew there was only one word that she could say to him. One word that would encompass her confusion, her enjoyment of the night, and her gratefulness for him noticing the real her.

“I have run through every word I can think of, and no word in the dictionary can possibly describe my feelings.” She said, smiling up at him.

“You couldn’t possibly have gone through all the words in the world in that small amount of time, even with your big brain.”

“I’m not finished.” She said cutting him off. “And for the record, I did run through all those words. That’s how I realized that it isn’t a word at all. Not really.”

“What is it then?” he asked with a pleading look in his eyes.

She let go of his hand and lifted her arms around his neck. She could feel his pulse pounding against her wrists. He placed his hands on her hips and slowed their dancing down to a gentle rocking. She steeled herself and locked her eyes with his. The plucking sensation was vibrating intensely like it wanted to burst from her chest.

With a smile, she leaned forward and whispered it in his ear, “Draco.”

Before Hermione could register his reaction, his lips were on hers.

The pulse exploded from her chest, and the world fell away. She ran her fingers through his hair while Draco’s arms tightened around her waist and lifted her up till she was just barely on her toes.

The world around her felt warm. Like lying out by the lake in the summer sun. She opened her eyes and swore she saw a flash in Draco’s eye.

He leaned down, and just as she had done to him, he whispered into her ear.

“Hermione”

They said no other words. They just rocked back and forth to the rest of the song.

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 9: The Pureblood Lessons

Fandom: Harry Potter (hogwarts year 1-7) Pairing: Draco x OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​ @arrthurpendragon​​ @anotherunreadblog​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @foxesandmagic​

Story Masterlist // Romina’s Masterlist

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Trevor the frog ribbited along the school lake while his owner endlessly chased after him, failing to catch the frog as it continued hopping away.

Romina giggled and swiftly swiped Trevor off the grassy ground. "You just love running about, don't yah?" she cooed at the frog.

"And you just love picking up disgusting things, don't you?" Pansy Parkinson mimicked her tone from the side. She and Arden were in the middle of arguing but of course Pansy took a moment to throw that comment out.

Romina ignored her for the first couple of seconds. "Neville, you're going to have to let me take care of Trevor during the summer, please."

Neville was startled by the comment, mostly because he didn't think anyone - much less a girl - would ever think about seeing him during the summer vacation. "S-sure. A-anytime y-you want."

Romina beamed. She always wanted a pet of some sort but she was never allowed one. Not even a goldfish!

"Look at that fellas, Longbottom's all red because someone might actually like him in this school," Draco had made a stop with Crabbe and Goyle. He was close to laughing at Neville's clearly excited face from Romina's words.

"Oh sod off, Draco," Romina said calmly. "Go taunt someone else for today. Unless you want to meet Trevor up close."

The moment she took a step towards him with the frog in her hands, Draco backed two steps extra. "Oswell, you better get that slimy creature away from me."

A mischievous expression settled across her face just as Romina glanced back at Neville. "You came over…" she said innocently, making another advance for Draco. "Don't you want to touch him."

There was a look of fury in Draco's face that no eleven year old should have been able to conjure up. "Oswell, you'll regret it!"

Romina laughed, and behind her Neville was struggling to hide his own. "You know all about the trapdoor incident with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Do you really think I'm not capable of it?"

Because thanks to Fred and George, the entire school knew about Quirrell and Harry's face off for the Stone. Romina had withheld her boasting of proving right to the three Gryffindors only until Ron had been let go of the hospital wing. She was still waiting for Harry to wake up and point out how Snape wasn't behind anything at all. But beside that, the whole school knew about the three Gryffindors and one Slytherin going through deadly traps set by professors themselves. Needless to say they'd earned some fame, and for Romina some acceptance again.

"Sometimes I think you're not quite the Oswell society would think," Draco ended up saying, but whether it had been a compliment or an insult he wasn't sure. That startled him, but he didn't think on it further.

For Romina, it was the best thing anyone could have said to her. "Draco," she lowered the toad, "That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me. I'm shocked."

"I'm not playing that game," Draco unexpectedly snapped.

"I should give you a hug!"

"Go hug Angel!"

Romina still wouldn't stop smiling and when she opened her arms for a hug, Draco quickly stalked off, calling out to her afterwards about her 'overreacting'.

Romina laughed and turned to Neville, holding Trevor out for him. "I owe Trevor big time now."

Neville barely had time to smile when they heard Hermione calling out for Romina. The girl was running towards them at lightspeed, her face almost covered completely by her bushy hair. Romina handed Trevor to Neville quickly for fear of being tackled down by Hermione.

"He's awake! He woke up!" Hermione was shouting, and thus had every student she passed by hear. "Harry's woken up!"

"Has he!?" Romina exclaimed excitedly. It had been four days since they had come back from the trapdoor but Harry, sustaining some heavy injuries, remained unconscious in the hospital wing.

Hermione nodded her head. "He's - he's with Ron in the-the h-hospital...wing!" she was out of breath due to her run. "I-I saw him! But...I had to...come get you…"

"Well let's go!" Romina didn't wait another minute and pulled Hermione into a brand new run.

Ron and Harry were already talking in the hospital wing, and while it took Madame Pomfrey another round of convincing, the girls were soon able to join and talk with Harry over what truly happened with the stone.

"What really happened, Harry?" Romina was the eager one to ask the question everyone was dying to know. "Who was it? And you can't say it was Snape because he's still working here."

"It wasn't Snape," Harry finally let Romina have the win. "It was Quirrell."

"It's always the quiet ones…" Romina mumbled to the side, but promptly received a whack on the arm from Hermione.

Of course, when Harry told the three of his friends how Voldemort had attached himself to - quite literally - the back of Quirrell's head, all jokes were put aside. Harry then explained how he had attained the stone from his pocket - thanks to Dumbledore's clever trick - and was able to fight off Quirrell/Voldemort until they had turned to dust.

"Love's the way to win?" Hermione made a face. She was never one for fairytales and this one was just plain wicked. Harry's mother's love had been his ultimate protection against Voldemort and Quirrell.

"So the Stone's gone, then?" Ron asked after Harry finished telling them the story. "Flame's just going to die?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure," Harry repeated Dumbledore's words to them but no one was really understanding.

"Well, maybe it's for the best the Stone to just be destroyed," Romina said quietly. "It was causing too much trouble. Honestly, nobody should live forever."

Harry nodded. "So what happened with you afterwards when you got back to Ron?"

"We ran like mad," Hermione said with widened eyes. "We were heading to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall."

"And he just knew you were going after the stone," Romina said, slightly amused. "How well must he know you, hmm?"

"Do you think he meant you to do it?" Ron suddenly asked, getting both girls to look at him weirdly. "I mean, he sent you your father's cloak and everything…"

"Well, " Hermione exploded, "-if he did - I mean to say that's terrible - you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," Harry calmly said. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."

Romina and Ron had matching faces, and Ron - unknowingly - spoke both their thoughts out loud. "Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right."

"Ron," Hermione scolded but the ginger went on without a care.

"Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course…" Ron threw a warning look in Romina's way, as if to say for her to keep quiet. "You missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good."

"Yeah, and we can tell you all about how Fred and George thought it would be hilarious to gift you a toilet seat," Romina still laughed at the idea the twins had. "Nearly got them kicked out of the hospital wing."

Harry laughed, but the soreness of his head prevented him from a complete laugh.

~ 0 ~

"You're just an idiot, do you know that, Parkinson?" Arden was barely containing her shouts while Pansy, sitting beside her at the Great Hall, seemed less than put together.

"How dare you call me that, muggle-born?" snapped the girl. She discreetly looked over to Romina who was once again warning her - deadly silent of course - not to even dare to use the word against Arden. "Learn your place!"

Romina thanked Daphne Greengrass for the biscuit and tried her best to eat her dinner without snapping both Arden's and Pansy's necks. Those two were beginning to tire her out with all their bickering.

"Don't get stressed," she heard Angel say. She cracked a smile when she met his gaze and saw him sending her a worried look. "They can figure it out."

"I don't think they can," Daphne whispered to them, quietly drinking from her goblet.

"Nah, look," Romina nodded over to Dumbledore who was arriving to take his seat at the High Table. "They won't last longer."

"Not even because we've won the House cup they seem to forget their arguments," Daphne made a gesture to the Slytherin-colored banners decorating the room.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore had begun his usual speeches, and of course everyone - including Arden and Pansy - ceased to talk. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and twenty."

The Slytherin table erupted into applause for themselves. No one else in the room seemed to agree.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore cut in, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

Confusion fell across the Great Hall and with it came a curious silence.

"I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes. First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley…"

Romina snapped her head in the Gryffindor table where she could see Ron looking just as shocked as everyone else.

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

The Gryffindor tables cheered for the new addition, but Dumbledore wasn't finished there.

"Second - to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

"Third - to Miss Romina Oswell - for the outstanding collection of memory and logic, I award Slytherin house fifty points."

Romina wasn't exactly cheering for her own collection of points, and neither was her table, because they were all busy doing calculations…

"Fourth - to Mr. Harry Potter...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points. And, there are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

There was no doubt who had won the House cup with the shift of points. Even with Romina's 50 additional points, Slytherin had lost to Gryffindor by two points.

"Which means, we need a little change of decoration," Dumbledore clapped his hands and the Slytherin decorations came down to be replaced with Gryffindor's mighty lion and its brilliant red and golden colors.

The entire Great Hall had burst into a new round of applause and cheering, except for Slytherin of course. Their seventh year streak had broken. Romina was sad, of course, but she felt like losing wasn't the end of the world. There was always next year. In fact, there were six more years left.

~ 0 ~

The ride back to King's Cross would be long enough and when Romina and Arden sat down and noticed some of the dirty looks the older Slytherins were giving them — more specifically at Romina — the trip felt agonizingly long.

"Okay, why are they all staring at you?" Arden said in a hushed voice.

Romina rested her hands on the table, shooting dirty looks back at the elder Slytherins. "I don't know. Somehow they think us losing the House Cup is my fault. I won you 50 extra points!" She had exclaimed at the students and perhaps it was the embarrassment of being called out but they looked away.

"Your 50 extra points did nothing for us, Oswell," Draco said on his way down the aisle.

Romina arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, well, I didn't see you risking your life to get those 50 points."

Blaise had come up behind Draco and heard Romina, leading him to snort. "Please, for Malfoy to do something risky, there'd have to be, I don't know, some sort of hurricane or something."

"Wow, did we just agree on something?" Romina laughed.

Draco rolled his eyes at the two. "You know, this is the kind of behavior that'll never let you rise the ranks."

"What ranks?" Arden made a face.

"You would never understand, King. It's beyond your muggle world."

Arden shook her head. "Whatever. I'm going to get me some candy off the trolley. I'd offer you some but I don't want to." She slid out of the booth and promised Romina she'd be back in a few minutes. She pushed past Draco and disappeared down the aisle.

"You really have to be a grump at all times?" Romina asked Draco a moment later. "I thought that was Blaise's job."

"Watch it, Oswell," Blaise warned and continued down the aisle to find him a better seat.

Draco surprised Romina by sliding down in the opposite seat of her booth. "You're going to have to watch your mouth in the future."

"Is that a warning?" Romina frowned. "Like, are you threatening me?"

"No," Draco said sharply, "It's a precaution. Trust me. Unfortunately, you're like Arden King in this world. You've lived cooped up in the muggle world to know the rules and the consequences in the Wizarding community."

"Consequences?" Romina understood less and less. "What on earth are you talking about? Can you go back to insulting me? You made more sense then."

Draco rolled his eyes and snapped at her to listen. "I don't want you getting into trouble because you just didn't know. You need to be careful now that you're going to be more involved in our world."

A strange smile spread across Romina's face. "Draco, I'm shocked."

"By what?"

"Your ability to care for my well-being — albeit it is very misguided."

Draco rolled his eyes again. "Forget it! This is what I get for trying to be nice!"

Romina chuckled. "It's a foreign concept to you, huh? Keep going, I'm fairly interested in how you're going to wrap it up."

Draco deadpanned her for a long minute. "Do you have to be so...you all the time?"

"I don't know how to be anyone else," Romina said simply.

"Well in this world — our world — you're going to have to be the best version of yourself," Draco said, leaning forward on the table, "Mistakes are not allowed, Oswell. Seriously."

Romina wondered how rash these "consequences" had been to have him looking even more pale than he already normally was. She tilted her head at him. Putting all her jokes aside, she suspected he was being honest with her. It was such a strange notion coming from him of all people. "Okay, um...well, you're right. I don't actually know much about our world, but that's not my fault. My aunt and uncle did that on purpose. Oswells are not very well liked amongst the public. You saw what half of the school did to me when they found out who I was."

"See, that's the thing, Oswell. You don't have to worry about all these different people so long as you pick the best of the group. And believe it or not, the Oswell name still carries prestige."

Romina scoffed and actually laughed thinking he was being absurd. "Yeah, right!"

Draco remained perfectly calm in the face of her laughter. "You are a pureblood witch, Romina. Your family has remained one of the last few pureblood families to remain. You fail to see how that puts you up the ranks."

"Well, I just...never really put thought into that," Romina admitted, her eyes shifting towards the other Slytherins around them.

"Why would you being surrounded by muggles," Draco said, shrugging, "I can't say that I blame you for lack of knowledge but now that you're here, you should learn. Learn the customs and traditions of purebloods — of our social circle."

"I-I don't know any of that stuff," Romina said, her face scrunching, "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"I could help you," Draco said, startling her. "I would," he said, seeing her face of doubt.

"Why would you help me?" Romina raised an eyebrow at him. "You barely seem to like me."

"Purebloods help purebloods," Draco said flatly, "You're one of us, Oswell."

"Well, would you help Pansy if she was in my situation?"

"Alrihgt, maybe you're also about the least annoying girl of our year."

Romina smirked. "See, now that sounds more like you. So, how exactly would you help me out in this predicament? I doubt you'll be coming over to my house to give me lessons."

"God no!" Draco nearly laughed in her face. "I'd never step foot in your neighborhood."

Romina's smirk spread. "Never say never. I can be very persuasive."

"You would never persuade me to do such a horrible thing like that. You're missing my point here! Look, I'll write to you, okay? You do get our kind of mail, right?"

"I live in the muggle world, not the Stone Age," Romina said with a laugh.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Draco said, "Then you better respond to my letters, got it?"

"Got it," Romina nodded, fairly bemused with the whole thing. "I look forward to these history lessons. You should know that's where I got my lowest test score. I suck at history."

"Oh, so it wasn't Potions then? I hear you can be kind of bad at that too."

"Get out," Romina pointed at him to leave the booth.

With a smirk on his face, Draco slid out of the booth and went to go find Blaise further down.

Romina had just gotten comfortable on her own when Arden returned with a couple sweets in her arms. "Oh good, Malfoy's gone." Arden plopped down beside Romina. "I kind of hate that guy."

"Eh, he's not that bad," Romina shrugged. For the moment, she decided to keep Draco's abrupt help to herself. She didn't want it going around and getting to Harry of all people.

Halfway through the trip, Romina left the Slytherin compartment - which was really just the further compartment in the train the House collectively decided to overtake - and went to go find Harry. She found him, Hermione and Ron in a compartment more at the front of the train and sat down with them.

"You're not mad Gryffindor won this year, then?" Ron seemed to size Romina up while she took her time to answer.

"It's just a competition, Ron," she shrugged, "I don't really care. I can't say the same for most of my House, though."

Ron still cracked a smile at her. "That's fair. You know we'll crush you next year too, right?"

"Ron," Hermione jabbed her elbow in his side.

Romina just laughed. "Bring it on, Ron!"

Hermione exchanged a stunned glance with Harry. Maybe Romina's and Ron's relationship had finally mellowed out into a real friendship. Their suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Ron spoke again.

"You must come and stay this summer — the three of you! I'll send you an owl!"

"Ron, you would want me to come over?" Romina raised an eyebrow, skeptically looking at the ginger.

"I know we had differences, but you're definitely not like the Oswells were portrayed," Ron gave a sheepish shrug.

Romina hummed, swaying her head. "You're the second person to tell me that."

Romina remained with the Gryffindors when they finally reached their destination. It was a hassle getting back to the Slytherin compartment to retrieve her things and then getting out of the train. Luckily, it was easy to spot the Weasleys amongst the crowd of parents waiting on the platform.

Romina and Arden trudged with their trunks towards them and had a moment to chitchat until Romina spotted Lyonel and Sage approaching them. After the school year they had, Romina sqeualed with excitement seeing them.

"Well, someone's looking far happier than the last time," Lyonel hugged Romina tightly. He was happy to see the great change in his niece.

Romina pulled away, incredibly happy. "You wouldn't believe what happened!"

Sage nudged her husband and nodded in the direction of Harry, Ron and Hermione. To the side was still Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.

"Did you make new friends?" Lyonel went ahead and asked Romina, who immediately went red in the face.

"You did not just ask me that like I'm some kindergartner!"

Her friends, including little Ginny Weasley, burst into laughter. Romina covered her face, and shook her head in mortification. But deep down, she wasn't really that bothered.

A/N:

End of Book 1! Book 2 will continue in this same story! I don't have plans of making it into separate stories because there's literally 7 books so...yeah!

[tiphprince]

Aaah, but no!

I completely understand how this scene can read as "gaslighting", but to me it's the exact opposite. It shows the level of trust between these two men, and how used they are at working together.

I don't think Dumbledore was amused at Snape's outburst, at least not nearly as much as enjoying pulling one over Fudge once again. Snape is acting unhinged not just in front of the Headmaster and a couple of students, but the Minister of Magic as well.

At the end of scene, scene in which Snape is demanding to know how Harry did it, Dumbledore gives him the answer, right in front of Fudge's nose. And Snape understands that answer.

‘Well, there you have it, Severus,’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I’m afraid I don’t see any point in troubling them further.’ Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

That's not gaslighting, that's Dumbledore telling the truth to Snape, and Snape understanding what it means, and that Fudge must not know what happened. It means that whatever happened, Dumbledore knows about it, if not even authorised it/made it happen, and is content with the result.

These two characters who know each other very well are having a whole hidden conversation in front of an audience with not a single person but them understanding it. I think it's masterful and quite beautiful as well.

I mean on the one hand the whole bit where Snape is enraged because he knows that somehow Harry helped Sirius escape is funny. On the other hand, it's actually pretty mean that Dumbledore is looking amused by his whole reaction and kinda mocks and gaslights Snape and is all 'but the door's been locked. think about what you're saying. it's impossible that they could've left...unless of course Harry and Hermione could somehow be in two places at once lololol.' Especially given that he knows why Snape is so upset and that it's not actually just a petty grudge or wanting to get Harry expelled.

[ashesandhackles]

Harry and The Dursleys: Examining His Response to his Abusers

This is a musing/rambling, because I have been rereading and I have been noticing shifts in how Harry responds to the Dursleys. It is largely a companion piece that expands the ideas that I touch upon in my meta Deconstructing Harry , and it is to underline how Harry was shaped by surviving and living in an abusive household, one that specifically posits the "golden child vs scapegoat" dynamic in the worst possible way. I have been doing a reread and I have a lot of thoughts!

Finding Safety

Harry's relationship with his abusers is quite understandably, fragmented. He is used to their neglect ("the house held no other sign another boy lived there") and prefers to stay out of their way, and he is used to being the scapegoat to Dudley's golden child. The stark difference in how the Dursleys treat Dudley vs himself contributes to the very little sense of self Harry begins the series with. This, of course, changes when he is removed from their presence and Hogwarts, specifically Ron and Hermione offer him the safety that is required for him to develop beyond his constant survival mode.

What was interesting to me beyond him being used to their neglect is that....at least in the first two books of the series, he wants their attention. He attempts at connection with his abusers ( he tells them about the dream with flying motorbike, he considers waking Dudley up at the hut before his birthday - to annoy him i.e just to have his attention, when Uncle Vernon says "now we know today is an important day" in CoS on Harry's birthday, Harry actually looks up, "hardly daring to believe it").

Why does he do this? Harry has been constantly told - repeatedly consciously and unconsciously that he is a burden on the Dursleys. So he copes - spotting danger ("Harry didn't look it but he was very fast") and evading, not draw attention to himself unless necessary, or trying to maintain a relationship with them in an effort for both need for connection - because they are all he has at the moment and he is a lonely boy, and to try and be safe from complete abandonment.

His abandonment issues inform both his aversion to conflict in personal relationships ( I talk about it in my meta about his relationship with conflict and evolution of his dynamic with Ron and Hermione here) as well as his interesting ambivalence to Ron and Hermione's budding romance in later books ("It wasn't as though he was surprised - but he wasn't sure how he felt about it .. ()...Would he be shut out for good?)

Ease With Violent Contact

There are plenty of implications of physical abuse Harry suffers throughout the series, referred to in the narrative in offhand ways ("You need more than good sense to liase with Uncle. A good sense of when to duck more like" in OOTP, "Long experience had told Harry it is best to stay out of Uncle Vernon's arms reach" in HBP) and we see instances of Vernon threatening him ( Uncle Vernon advanced on him with first raised. "You'll get the stuffing knocked out of you, won't you?" in POA, and his promise to "flay Harry within inch of his life" in beginning chapters of CoS after Dobby crashed the pudding).

We also see Vernon manhandling him (he grabs Harry around the middle and throws him out of the room in PS, he grabs Harry by the throat in beginning chapters of OOTP and Harry magically throws him off). All of this has made Harry remarkably numb to adults manhandling him or being violent with him.

He is not all that shocked about Umbridge and her Blood Quill. In fact, he treats it like a battle of wills:

Harry did not ask when he would be allowed to stop. He did not even check his watch. He knew she was watching him for signs of weakness and he was not going to show any, not even if he had to sit there all night, cutting open his own hand with this quill ... (OOTP)

he was not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing that he had complained about it. (OOTP)

On the opposite side of things, he is not used to being touched to show care and when people do - in the beginning of the series, he is awkward when Hermione hugs him, and he is overwhelmed when Mrs Weasley does at the end of GOF:

He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her (.....) until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him. (GOF)

The first person Harry initiates a hug with is Ginny in HBP, and it is an indication of how comfortable he is with her.

Seeing Threats In His Environment

Harry's way of recognising threats in his environment that he needs to be safe from is - is this person reminding of my abusers?

His immediate response to Draco Malfoy when he first met him in PS is that he reminded him of Dudley, and begins to dislike him. By second meeting, Draco insults Ron, who Harry does like and that sets up the antagonism between them.

Harry also immediately picks upon Snape's dislike of him at the feast itself in Philosopher's Stone (which he reconfirms in next chapter when he sits in Snape's class - "Snape didn't dislike Harry. He hated him"). It is once again, him scoping out threats in the environment. In fact, the Sorting Hat chapter in Philosopher's Stone ends with a dream of all things Harry is associating in his mind as threats: it is both a fun literary device and speaks to Harry's intuition. He sees Draco, Snape and curiously, Quirrel's turban and high cold laugh.

The Flying Motorbike

The flying motorbike is the recurring dream of his escape from Dursleys and the motorbike is both associated with Hagrid and Sirius.

It is a life changing moment for Harry that the moment Hagrid enters (which makes his bullies fearful), he can see Hagrid's eyes are "crinkled into a smile". There are so many associations of Hagrid with warmth and nurture.

He removes the threat of the rifle from Vernon and the negates the feeling of Vernon as a threat and then proceeds to make delicious sausages. He descalates the threat, and then provides for Harry, and it immediately makes an impression.

And then he gives Harry a birthday cake and - first information of his parents, and thereby a sense of identity that is rooted in something good. Harry also discovers within the same book that his parents loved him so much, they died protecting him. This is a radical information for a boy who is used to being neglected and seen as a burden, and ghosts of Lily and James hang over the series. (Harry's larger series wide emotional arc is coming to terms with his parents' death - I talk about it here)

And the second adult, associated with the flying motorbike is Sirius.

After the events of CoS where Dursleys locked up Harry and Ron had to break him out, Harry in the beginning of POA does not seek the attention of Dursleys the way he did in first two books. He is more secure in his place at Hogwarts and his friendship with Ron and Hermione - whereas in the beginning of CoS, he wonders if they had forgotten him.

So, when Harry runs away from the Dursleys, finally rejecting them as any sort of guardians ("I've had enough") - who does he see on the street (the Grim :P) but a guardian who had broken out of prison and swum the North sea to see him and protect him. It is interesting to me that Sirius appears in the narrative right when Harry completely rejects the Dursleys.

I explore why Harry took to Sirius so immediately here: Someone Like A Parent

Other readings for insight into Harry's abuse: Accidental Magic as a Trauma Response by @sybill-the-seer

And Harry's trauma over his parents death: Dementors and Complex Grief by @mrs-stubby-boardman

[midnightstar-90]

Darkened Days

Taglist | Request | Wattpad

Main Masterlist | Harry Potter Masterlist

Harry Potter x Reader

Summary: Harry comforts Y/N, after the death of Sirius Black.

Warning: Character Death, angst, mourning depression

A/N: I really woke up from a nap a couple of hours ago, and it made me want to write this for some reason. The death of Sirius was one of the hardest cinematic deaths I’ve seen, and Harry’s screaming makes it harder.

❤️💛❤️

Y/N always knew about her father. Even though he was a prisoner in Azkaban, she always found a way to see him. When She was little she would use her Metamorphmagus skills to sneak into Azkaban. It was a tricky task, but she made it work. Seeing his daughter’s face is what kept him sane.

In the meantime, she would stay with her Uncle Remus. He knew she would sneak off to see her father. He would try to convince her to minimize her visits, by explaining his fears of what could happen to her. Nothing could stop Sirius Black’s daughter from seeing the one she loved.

But when she started attending Hogwarts, Remus’s wishes were fulfilled. Y/N had to keep up with her studies, meaning she wouldn’t have as much time with her father. She still went to see him though. When she did, they would talk for hours about Y/N’s studies or Sirius’s life at Hogwarts. The only thing Y/N could never do with her father was give him a proper hug. At least, not until he escaped in Y/N’s 3rd year at Hogwarts.

Now, Y/N was at the end of her 5th year, and Dolores Umbridge had practically ruined it. Y/N now stood in the office of Professor Umbridge, along with Harry and the rest of Dumbledor’s army. Pansy Parkinson held onto her with a tight grip and her wand pressed into Y/N’s neck.

“You were going to see Dumbledore, weren’t you?” Dolores calmly asked Harry. Dolores stood over Harry who was strapped down to a chair. Harry tried to stay calm as he calmly told the witch in all pink “no”, earning him a slap to the face. The sound echoed throughout the room, making Y/N jump. She also saw Draco jump a little in the corner of her eye.

Snape walked in with his dark exterior that her caries through Hogwarts 24/7. Snape and Y/N had an odd bond. Unlike Harry, Snape would excuse the fact the Y/N’s father tortured him as a child, and they would talk. He would protect her despite her being in Griffindor. Y/N would come to him with her problems, and Severus would give surprisingly good advice. So, when he walked in he was shocked, but also not shocked at the sight of Y/N Black in Dolores’s office along with Dumbledor’s army.

“You sent for me, Headmistress?” Professor Snape said in his non-changing voice. Dolores jumped up and turned to the potions teacher as if she didn’t just slap a student.

“Yes. The time has come for some answers, whether they will give them to me or not. Have you brought the Veritaserum?” Umbridge quickly spoke.

Snape looked at Y/N. Anyone could see the tough exterior she was giving off at the moment, but Snape could see the look of desperate help in her eyes. He looked back to Umbridge and said, “I’m afraid you’ve used up all my stores interrogating students, and the last of it on Ms. Chang.”

We all looked at each other with relief. “Unless you wish to poison him, and I’ll show you I would have the greatest sympathy if you did. I cannot help you,” Snape said, earning a look from Y/N when he said “poison”.

Severus simply tried to walk away, but before he could, Harry started to speak, “He’s got Padfoot!” Hearing her father’s nickname, Y/N’s eyes instantly went to Harry’s. “He’s got Padfoot at the place it’s hidden.”

“Padfoot? What is Padfoot? What is hidden? What is he talking about, Snape?” Umbridge ambushed Severus in questions. Severus simply looks at Harry and says, “I have no idea”

As soon as Snape leaves, Dolores tells everyone that she has no choice but to use the Crucio curse. Hermione and Y/N protest against the action. When that doesn’t work, Hermione tells Umbridge about ‘Dumbledor’s secret weapon’. She took Harry and Hermione to find the ‘secret weapon’.

A couple of hours later, Dumbleldor’s army caught up with the Golden Trio and convinced Harry to let them join him in his fight. When they all arrived at the Department of Mysteries inside of the Ministry of Magic, they looked for the prophecy from Harry’s dream.

When they found what they were looking for, they tried to leave, but they were stopped by Death Eaters. They surrounded the teenagers. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were the only ones not wearing their masks. The teenagers protected themselves with their wands at the ready position

Lucius tried to convince Harry to give him the orb in his hand, but Y/N stepped in. “You will never get your Death Eater hands on this prophecy,” Y/N stepped in front of Harry, grabbing his hand from behind.

“I’ve waited 14 years… I guess I can wait a little longer,” Harry said before instructing everyone to Stupefy the Death Eaters. They all threw the spell, and ran, trying to escape.

They kept running until they all bumped into each other. Ginny threw a spell, causing all the prophecy orbs to fall off their respected area. Y/N transformed into a rhino, allowing all the members to climb on her back, and she ran to the door. They soon started to fall, causing Y/N to turn back into herself again. They came to an abrupt stop a few inches off the ground before hitting the ground.

The Death Eaters had found the group of kids, and started to attack again. All of the Death Eaters grabbed a kid, except for Y/N and Harry.

Lucius chuckled before speaking, “Did you actually think that children stood a chance against us? I’ll make this simple for you, Potter… Give me the prophecy, or watch your friends die.”

Y/N looked at Harry with begging eyes, telling him not to give them the prophecy. Harry looked around at his friends before his eyes turned to Y/N. He silently told her “I’m sorry” before giving the prophecy to the bleach-haired Death Eater.

A bright light emitted from behind Lucius. Lucius looked at the prophecy to see it wasn’t glowing, so he turned around. “Get away from my daughter and my godson,” Sirius said, punching Lucius in the face.

Multiple bright lights swirled around the room, hitting Death Eaters. The bright lights soon revealed Tonks and the rest of the Order. Y/N ran up to her father, giving him a tight-fitting hug. “Hello, baby girl,” Sirius said, patting his daughter’s head.

“Thank you for saving me. I love you. No matter what, I will always love you,” Y/N told her father. Her Y/E/C (Your Eye Color) eyes met his blue eyes.

Y/N broke her loving gaze at her father to see a Death Eater about to hit her, Harry, and her father with a curse. “Protego!” Y/N quickly yelled, shielding the three of them from the spell.

“Nice reflexes,” Sirius complimented his daughter. Y/N looked at her father with an appreciative smile. “Thanks! I’ve been practicing what you taught me during my 4th year!” Y/N said back, hitting another Death Eater.

They split up, allowing Y/N to morph into a cheetah. She ran as quickly as she could, dodging spells left and right. She bit a couple of Death Eaters, making them incapable of using their wands. Y/N saw Bellatrix appear, and she ran to attack. But before the girl could make it to her, Bellatrix yelled, “Avada Kedavra!”. The spell hit her father, just as she hit Bellatrix.

Y/N morphed back into her natural form. She ran and ran till she got to her father, but before she could grab ahold of his body. Sirius’s lifeless body fell through the veil. Y/N tried to pull him back, but it was no use. Her body fell as her eyes started raining tears. Remus and Tonks ran to both Harry and Y/N as they broke down in tears.

Harry screamed in agony. It was impossible to hear it and not feel the same pain. Y/N sat defeated. Her dad is once again taken from her, but she can’t sneak off to see him this time. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know how to continue without the one she loved most.

Harry ripped himself from Remus’s arms, and he ran after Bellatrix. He was not gonna let her get away with the pain she caused everyone.

❤️💛❤️

Astronomy Tower

Y/N sat on the edge of the Astronomy Tower with her legs hanging off the ledge. She sat in her pajamas with a Griffindor blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was too busy looking at the stars to hear the steps of someone walking up the Astronomy Tower steps.

“I hope you’re not planning on jumping,” Harry said jokingly. Y/N didn’t even look at Harry. Her face had been in the same frown for a couple of days not. Some believed it was stuck that way, but if you knew her, you knew she was still grieving.

“We missed you at Dumbledor’s return and your father’s memorial. Were you up here the whole time?” Harry asked, sitting down next to the girl.

She didn’t speak for a minute, but when she did, you could hear the sadness in her voice. “Why would I go to a memorial with a school full of students, when a school full of students didn’t even know my father. For the longest time, they thought my father killed your parents. My father never was a killer. He was your father’s best friend,” Y/N said through her tears.

Harry stayed quiet as he turned towards Y/N. She didn’t look back at him. Instead, she continued to look into the distance, and continue speaking. “When I was little, I would use my Metamorphmagus skills to sneak into Azkaban. It was hard physically and mentally. I would do anything for my father. We couldn’t hug because he was in a locked cell, but I would sit against the bars of his cell, and I would just talk. That was all I needed. All I needed was to know my father was there. Now, he’s gone. I can’t talk to the dead. If I could, I would talk to my mother every day. You know, I can see Threstrals because of her. A Death Eater killed my mother when I was 2. Now, I’ve lost both of my parents to Death Eaters.”

Harry didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know his parents. He didn’t know Sirius the way she did. The only thing he could do for him was to comfort her. He pulled Y/N closer to him, pulling her into a side hug, and they stayed like that till sunrise.

When they got back to the common room, they were exhausted from all of the emotional pain. They started to go their separate ways, but Y/N started to speak, “Thank you, Harry. I know how much my dad meant to you. I appreciate you coming to comfort me. I guess as long as I have you, I wouldn’t have very many darkened days.”

Harry smiled at her words before heading to bed. He fell asleep with a saddened smile. Y/N on the other hand fell asleep with a frown. She appreciated Harry comforting her, but it would be a long time before she stops mourning her father.

[edie-k]

Title: Incense, Wine, and Candles

Pairing: Romione

All concept credit to @theonlyrealthing, @vivithefolle and @hermiones-amortentia as seen in this post.

No beta so if I fucked up British slang, it’s on me.

🔹🔹🔹🔹

Ron sighed as he watched Harry and Ginny shuffle out the door, laughing. Resigned, he grabbed the handles of two cups of tea in one hand and a package of biscuits in the other before heading back to the sitting room.

“Here you are, love.” Ron held the cups out, waiting for Hermione to take one.

She failed to acknowledge him.

Sighing again, he set both teas on the table and sunk back on the couch, moving her feet into his lap as he picked his drink and biscuits back up.

The disruption alerted her to his presence and she sat up slightly to take the cup. “Thank you. Sorry, I guess I was absorbed in my book.”

“I'm going to turn on the wireless unless it will disturb you,” Ron said, lifting his wand.

“I’ll tune it out,” Hermione replied, flipping the page in her book.

Ron settled back against the couch, listening to the announcer compare and contrast the beaters for the Arrows and Wasps as the match got underway.

As much as he hated missing out on a good fly, Ron was content to lightly rub Hermione’s ankles and listen to what was turning into an exciting game as she sipped her tea and read.

On the wireless, the crowd erupted. “What an amazing toss by Pille!”

Hermione spit out a mouthful of tea.

Ron looked at her, lips twitching in a smile. “Impressed by Pille, are you?”

“Uh, no, no. I was just— never mind.” Hermione looked back at her book.

Ron shook his head and went back to the game.

He tried to concentrate but Hermione was making it difficult. Previously she had been so still that she was practically comatose. Now she was squirming and shifting, her feet moving in his lap and bumping his calf.

Hermione turned a page and gasped.

“Okay, what are you reading?”

She tipped the book upright so he could see the cover.

“That’s Flitwick’s new charms book, isn’t it?”

Hermione blushed and nodded.

“How is our old professor’s new textbook so shocking?”

“I am certain Professor McGonagall is not allowing this book in the curriculum.” Hermione handed the book to him, still open.

Ron scanned the page quickly. He flipped back and forth through several pages, his mouth falling further open.

“This is what you’ve been reading?!”

“It was perfectly normal until I got to this chapter!”

“Which chapter? Sixty nine?”

“Ron! You don’t need to be so crass!”

“Me? Professor Flitwick’s the one that’s a freak!”

“That’s a horrible thing to say!” Hermuone tried to yank the book back but Ron held it away.

“Are you looking at the same charms I’m looking at? A man that created a charm called the Bollocks Buster is not into boring shags!”

“But to call him a freak!”

“Well yeah, that’s what my brothers call them. Girls that are, you know, kinky or whatever.”

“Freaks? That’s so demeaning!”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is. Before I knew that I was a witch, I got called that all the time by my classmates.”

“They did not mean it the same way!”

“I know but it’s still horrible.”

“I just don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a little…adventurous.” Ron ran a hand through his hair

Hermione pulled the book back and pointed. “So you’re okay with this?”

Ron grabbed the book back and turned the page. “No but uh, I’ve maybe, you know. Thought about something like this.”

“You have?” Hermione’s eyes widened.

Ron’s face quickly faded from a bright blush to pale. “I just meant—”

“Because I thought that might be interesting to try too. I just didn’t know if you would want me to…”

Ron chuckled. “If you consider everything you know about our relationship, I’m not sure why it’s a surprise.”

Hermione bit her lip before standing up and making a show of straightening her skirt. “Well then. I think I’ll continue my reading upstairs if you would like to put the biscuits away and join me.”

Ron scrambled to his feet to take the aforementioned food into the kitchen.

“Dry date, my arse.”

[hollowed-theory-hall]

In the specific case of blame I brought up when Fred and George left school, Ron wasn't blamed because Harry said he gave them the money:

“Because they got the gold from me. I gave them my Triwizard winnings last June.” There was a shocked silence, then Hermione’s teacup jogged right over the edge of the desk and smashed on the floor. “Oh, Harry, you didn’t!” she said. “Yes, I did,” said Harry mutinously. “And I don’t regret it either — I didn’t need the gold, and they’ll be great at a joke shop. . . .” “But this is excellent!” said Ron, looking thrilled. “It’s all your fault, Harry — Mum can’t blame me at all! Can I tell her?” “Yeah, I suppose you’d better,” said Harry dully. “ ’Specially if she thinks they’re receiving stolen cauldrons or something. . . .”

(Order of the Phoenix, Page 680)

So, yeah, Ron is more than happy to blame it on someone else who's somewhat like a sibling (in this case Harry) who his mother wouldn't be as mad at.

As for other examples, here's what I could find from a quick search:

“Stupid — useless — thing —” “Write home for another one,” Harry suggested as the wand let off a volley of bangs like a firecracker. “Oh, yeah, and get another Howler back,” said Ron, stuffing the now hissing wand into his bag. “‘It’s your own fault your wand got snapped —’”

(Chamber of Secrets, page 93)

In Chamber of Secrets, Ron broke his wand when crashing into the Whomping Willow, the reason he didn't write home is because he assumed he'd just be told it's his fault and he should deal with it. Knowing how dangerous his broken wand ended up being it doesn't showcase good and open parenting with fair punishments.

Just based on behavior, Ron's general assumption is that everything is going to be blamed on him and he'd only receive shouts and not help is concerning. It isn't a good sign for his relationship with his parents as a 12-year-old. The fact that this assumption remains with him for the entire series and feeds his insecurities kind of implies it isn't new. Children usually don't assume things like this about their parents, unless it happened before.

As for Percy:

“But what’s this got to do with Percy?” asked Harry, confused. “I’m coming to that. Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family — and Dumbledore.” Harry let out a low whistle. “Bet Percy loved that.” Ron laughed in a hollow sort of way. “He went completely berserk. He said — well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he’s been having to struggle against Dad’s lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad’s got no ambition and that’s why we’ve always been — you know — not had a lot of money, I mean —”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 72)

I went and found the cause of his cutting ties with his parents. Apparently, Arthur Weasley blamed his son for getting a promotion only because Fudge wanted him to spy on Dumbledore...

That accusation is awful regardless of anything, but especially in how little faith it shows in Percy's abilities. No wonder Percy was livid and cut ties with his parents considering these were the accusations. His parents just accused him of spying on Dumbledore because they don't see any other reason for him to get promoted... just ouch, seriously.

So, yeah, Percy was blamed for some things clearly not his fault and he just decided he had enough of it.

Ron and Harry both clearly think this accusation is ludicrous and that Arthur shouldn't have said it, even if they disagree with what Percy said in turn. And they'd be right to think that.

The Weasleys Aren't Great Parents...

I know a lot here love to talk about how the Weasleys were so good to take Harry in and all that... But the truth is, the parenting skills of Molly and Arthur Weasley are questionable at best.

I'm not saying they don't love their kids and Harry — they do, and they do so honestly. I'm just here to say they aren't actually a good example of parenting.

Like, when fans talk about the Weasleys what I usually see is either treating them like they are a perfect example of a family or unfair bashing. So, while I definitely believe that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley love their kids, this post showcases where their parenting skills are lacking...

So, the Weasleys, to Harry, seem like the perfect example of a happy, loving family. Now, I'm not saying there isn't love there, but the family dynamics we see aren't great, to put it lightly. Harry just has no reference for anything better.

Children Running Away

The first thing I want to mention here is that all Weasley children leave the Burrow and their parents the first chance they get.

Bill goes to work for Gringotts in Egypt.

Charlie goes to tame dragons in Romania.

Percy, well, Percy is a whole can of worms right there. But once his parents shun him for being more successful than his father in the ministry, he doesn't look back.

Fred and George leave Hogwarts in the middle of their seventh year and move out of home then, before their even done with school.

I don't think that's normal. This is what we see in houses where there is mistreatment of children, so they don't want to stay any moment longer than necessary. Because all of this, what all of them did, was running away from home.

Each of these Weasleys was seventeen — maybe eighteen when he chose to leave (sometimes the country). This is running away, even if they still talk to their parents, they did rub away from living under the same roof.

This already suggests to me something unhealthy is going on there.

favoritism

Any child psychologist would tell you one of the worst things a parent could do is pick favorites amongst their children. All children, favored or not, suffer from it.

And Mr. And Mrs. Weasley.... well, they showcase favoritism constantly, here is an example from Order of the Phoenix:

“Get him red and gold to match his badge,” said George, smirking. “Match his what?” said Mrs. Weasley absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron’s pile. “His badge,” said Fred, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. “His lovely shiny new prefect’s badge.” Fred’s words took a moment to penetrate Mrs. Weasley’s preoccupation about pajamas. “His . . . but . . . Ron, you’re not. . . ?” Ron held up his badge. Mrs. Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione’s. “I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That’s everyone in the family!” “What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?” said George indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 163)

Molly is so glad to have prefects in the family, that she actually ignores the fact Fred and George aren't prefects and are her kids. George actually calls her out on it, except she isn't actually listening to him l. No, she pushes him aside. This treatment is insane, and I don't blame them for up and leaving the moment they turned seventeen.

This favoritism is seen more, this is from Chamber of Secrets:

“Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to —” All three of Mrs. Weasley’s sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them. “Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I’ve lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —” “Perfect Percy,” muttered Fred. “YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY’S BOOK!” yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred’s chest. “You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —” It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry, who backed away. “I’m very pleased to see you, Harry, dear,” she said. “Come in and have some breakfast.”

(Chamber of Secrets, page 38)

Prefect Percy is better than Fred and George and they should learn from him and be more like him, according to Mrs. Weasley. This sort of comparison between children is really harmful to their development and is frowned upon by most. Definitely by me.

Not to mention how Harry is definitely a favorite of hers, so much so he does not get shouted at for the same crime, but get's food. That is honestly the bare minimum she can do for him considering...

Harry's Abuse

The Weasleys are aware of Harry's abuse. They are made aware of it time and time again, and with all their love for Harry — they do nothing more than give him food when he asks. I don't think I need to explain why this is terrible.

“I don’t blame you, dear,” she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate. “Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we’d come and get you ourselves if you hadn’t written back to Ron by Friday. But really” (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate), “flying an illegal car halfway across the country — anyone could have seen you —” She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background. “It was cloudy, Mum!” said Fred. “You keep your mouth closed while you’re eating!” Mrs. Weasley snapped.“They were starving him, Mum!” said George. “And you!” said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.

(Chamber of Secrets, page 39)

George here outright tells her Harry was being starved — this goes ignored. When Harry writes to her to send him food, she sends it, but doesn't ask him why he isn't being fed:

She had no idea that Harry was not following the diet at all. The moment he had got wind of the fact that he was expected to survive the summer on carrot sticks, Harry had sent Hedwig to his friends with pleas for help … Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, had obliged with a sack full of his own homemade rock cakes. (Harry hadn’t touched these; he had had too much experience of Hagrid’s cooking.) Mrs. Weasley, however, had sent the family owl, Errol, with an enormous fruitcake and assorted meat pies.

(Goblet of Fire, page 28)

No, she sent him food but didn't bother doing anything to help a child out of a clearly abusive situation. Not even asking why he isn't getting enough food.

Arthur Weasley isn't any better. He knows just as much as Molly and even met Harry's pleasant relatives:

“Harry said good-bye to you,” he said. “Didn’t you hear him?” “It doesn’t matter,” Harry muttered to Mr. Weasley. “Honestly, I don’t care.” Mr. Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry’s shoulder. “You aren’t going to see your nephew till next summer,” he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. “Surely you’re going to say good-bye?”

(Goblet of Fire, page 48)

He acts as if the Dursleys are normal. As if a child saying their caretakers wouldn't care he wasn't there isn't cause for alarm. No, Arthur Weasley just thought it impolite and odd, but not enough to actually do something to help Harry. Just annoy Uncle Vernon.

Blaming Kids For Things Not Their Fault

“You?” she said, catching her teacup as it scampered happily away across the desk on four sturdy little willow-patterned legs and replacing it in front of her. “Why should I be worried about you?” “When Mum’s next letter finally gets through Umbridge’s screening process,” said Ron bitterly, now holding his cup up while its frail legs tried feebly to support its weight, “I’m going to be in deep trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s sent a Howler again.” “But —” “It’ll be my fault Fred and George left, you wait,” said Ron darkly. “She’ll say I should’ve stopped them leaving, I should’ve grabbed the ends of their brooms and hung on or something. . . . Yeah, it’ll be all my fault. . . .”

(Order of the Pheonix, page 679)

After Fred and George leave Hogwarts, Ron tells Hermione she should worry about him because he would suffer their mother's ire. He speaks about it as if it's a regular occurrence. Like he regularly gets blamed for Feed and George's mishaps when the twins aren't there.

This is incredibly unfair to Ron, Fred, and George. There is no reason Ron should fear his parent's response for something he had no control over.

Conclusions

As I stated above, I don't think Arthur and Molly Weasley are abusive or neglectful or that they don't love their kids. They are far from perfect, loving, and dotting parents I see them sometimes portrayed as. Neither are they as awful as I sometimes see them. Like many characters in this series, they are more complex than that.

[hops-hunny]

Angels on Earth

Pairing: Ron Weasley x Chubby!Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.8k

Request: “CONGRATS ON 300 FOLLOWERS!!!! I love your writing sm <3

this is my first time ever making a request and recently I found out that the person I was dating is still in love with their ex so I'm looking for comfort rn hehe

could you do a 23, 33, 35 with Ron, a mix of fluff and smut? chubby/plus size fem reader please”

Summary: Ron thought he was obvious, but it was clear (Y/n) was more obvious.

Warnings: Sexual themes

A/N: This took a while but I’ve also been busy but, enjoy!

23. “Cause I never believed there was a heaven till I found you.”

33. “Would you fuck me if I was skinny?” “I’d fuck you right now.”

35. “If you wanted a kiss you should’ve just said so.”

For as long as Ron could remember, he had always found his potions partner to be beautiful. Who could blame him? (Y/n) was a beautiful girl. Round cheeks, soft all around, beautiful (h/c) hair, and the prettiest set of (e/c) eyes he had ever seen. But that wasn’t originally what drew him in, it was everything else. (Y/n) had an aura that surrounded her that was so bright, so full of life. Everyone who befriended her was always in a positive mood, smiles seen left and right from the jokes she’d tell. Even right now, with her hair pulled back from her face and the cute little goggles she insisted on wearing, he couldn’t help but admire her.

“Right. I think that should be it.” She said, pushing the goggles up her face as she turned her head to look at him. His face flushed and if she had noticed, she didn’t say much. “That is unless you fucked something up. Merlin knows how bad you are with Potions Weasley.” she giggled, his heart pulling and racing in his chest. 

“Oi! ‘M not that bad. Plus you didn’t let me touch anything, should be fine unless you managed to make a mistake.” He leaned towards her a bit with a devious smirk. “But it’s impossible for you to do that isn’t it? I forgot you were just a perfect princess.” He pulled away, eyes trained on the potion in the cauldron in front of them. Amortentia, was it? He found it a bit strange because he couldn’t smell anything but the girl’s perfume no matter how far he leaned in. In his own state of confusion, he completely missed the girl’s own shocked look on her face.

“What do you smell?” she questioned, gathering her things due to the period drawing to a close. His eyes widened at his realization before calming down. Now was a better time than ever. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before sighing.

“You.” his eyes shot open at the sound of a snort. (Y/n) had made her way towards the exit of the potions room, (e/c) eyes rolling at him as she shot him a smile. She went to leave the room before giving him an up and down.

“If you wanted a kiss you should’ve just said so.” she teased, shooting him a wink before exiting the room. He groaned, rubbing his hands up and down his face as he adjusted the awkward bulge in his pants. He stood, gathering his things as he huffed to himself.

“I’m in deep aren’t I?” he said out loud, ignoring the look his slimy potion’s teacher gave him. Without another word, he left continuing on his path to his next dreadful class of the day.

------------------------

“She probably thought you were joking.” Harry said, causing Ron to give him a glare. Even though there was a big possibility that Harry was right, he didn’t want to believe him. He thought his attempt was a good one! He was direct about what he meant, right?

“He’s got a point. You guys usually joke around and mess with each other a lot. She probably thought you were cracking a joke. Have you tried just telling her how you feel?” Luna asked as if the answer was obvious. Ron felt his brow twitch as he sighed, sinking down in his seat more as he threw his head back.

“What can be more obvious than saying you smell someone in your Amortentia? Do you guys even think?” He questioned.

“Do you? Cause if you did then you’d know that was a poor attempt.” Hermione chimed. Although at first he was sure his attempt was good, that it was obvious, suddenly he was beginning to have second thoughts. Was he clear enough? Sure, you could say one thing but he’d be the first to admit his actions didn’t match. He huffed, looking at his friends, desperation hidden in his eyes.

“Well, what should I say then?” 

“Say something truthful! Let your heart speak for what your actions couldn’t.” Ginny chimed, causing them all to give her a strange look. She crossed her arms, looking away with red cheeks. “What? I think I’d know what chicks like, I do shag em afterall.”

“So tell us, what does your heart say Ron?” Luna asked, he sighed as he racked his brain. He liked her a lot. How could he not? (Y/n) was beautiful, a gift from the heavens above. The softness of her skin, the roundness of her tummy, and those beautiful luscious thighs. He was surprised no one else had made a move on her yet. She was kind too, always willing to help her fellow (y/h/h) in need.

A lovesick dopey look took over his face. “I...I’d say…” he let out a dreamy noise as hearts took over his eyes, “I never believed there was a heaven till I found you. Never believed angels walked among us at Hogwarts, that I think she’s amazing and I-”

“Okay ew that’s enough. I’m gonna be sick. Save it for her.” his sister said, grimacing as she stood up. “And with that note, I’m gone. Why not tell  her at the Gryfindor party tonight? I’m sure she’ll be there!” Ron gulped nervously. That soon? Surely a few hours wasn’t enough time to prepare! Maybe he’d try in a few months…

However as he looked across the hall, seeing some twit practically eye fucking her, it was settled. Tonight he would tell her and if not, he’d at least make some progress.

-----------------------------------------------------

Ron let out a shaky deep breath, wiping his sweaty hands along the front of his jeans. Whether it was the sweltering heat of all the warm bodies, the shots he had taken, or the thought of what he had set out to do tonight he didn’t know, but either way he was burning like a phoenix. His eyes trailed the room nervously, looking for (Y/n). How was he sure she’d be here anyways? She wasn’t a frequent attender to parties, only showing up to them sporadically. However at the sound of a familiar laugh-snort combo, he had all he needed. 

In his buzzed(and slightly drunken) haze, he followed the sound blindly, face heating up at the girl's appearance. She wore a blush colored bodycon dress that clung to the folds and curves of her body nicely.. Her hair was styled differently than usual, but suited her perfectly nonetheless. Most things did. And when she saw him? Her face broke out in a bright smile as she hiccuped, handing her half empty cup to one of her friends. She stumbled her way over to him. He steadied her by placing his hand on her waist, looking down at her.

“Ronnn! Omg Ronnie, what’re you doing here?” she hiccuped again, giggling as she stared up at him. He smiled back at her softly, stroking along the softness of her waist.

“ I could ask you the same thing, love, you’re not much of a drinker usually.” he placed a hand on her cheek, thankful for the liquid courage flowing through his system. “You alright? Come on, let’s sit you down. You don’t seem to be too steady.” he said, guidning her towards the couch. When they got there, he expected her to sit next to him but was in shock as she parked herself in his lap. She wrapped an arm around his neck, smiling down at him drunkenly. He handed her a glass of water, the same one he had been handed earlier when he was getting a bit out of hand. She thanked him, sipping on it at a slow pace. 

After a few minutes, the hiccuping and giggles had died down from her, leaving her to form goosebumps at their current position. She was fully seated on the boy’s lap and he had his arms wrapped around her, rubbing his fingers along her soft pudgy sides. She bit her lip as she looked off to the side, before bringing her eyes back to his.

“Uh, Ron,” she started, looking down as she picked at the skin around her nail beds. Letting out a deep sigh, she continued, “Can I ask you something?” her heart began to race rapidly as she looked at him, watching as he nodded before offering her a soft smile.

“Course. What’s up?” How should she phrase it? Should she be simple? Should she-

“Would you fuck me if I was skinny?” she blurted out, eyes widening. Although she had wanted to ask him something about if he was attracted to her, she hadn’t intended on being so...bold. She was known for speaking her mind but not in situations like this! In a state of panic, she went to stand up but was pulled down by a strong pair of arms, pulling her close to an even stronger, toned chest. He chuckled in her ears, hair tickling the edge of her neck.

“Shit princess, I mean...I’d fuck you right now.” his grip on her sides tightened, trailing one hand on her thigh. Out of all the things she could’ve said, this was the last one Ron expected. (Y/n), his snarky potions partner, in his lap in that god forsaken dress asking if he’d fuck her. He felt his own heart begin to race. Did she mean to say it? Well, did she mean to say it to him? Or did she just want his opinion for someone else?

“O-oh.” she stuttered out. (Y/n) pulled back some, turning her head to look at him, finding that his eyes instantly were drawn to hers. 

“Do you mean that?” they both asked. Ron’s cheeks turned red as (Y/n) felt her own face grow warm. Both of them let out breaths they didn’t even know they were holding, laughing with one another.

“I meant it but, did you?” she asked, breath hitching of the closeness of their faces to one another. She could smell the fire whiskey mixed with hints of cannabis and weed mixing with it making her absolutely intoxicated. He nodded, pressing his forehead against hers.

“‘Course I did, love. You don’t have to be skinny for me to do anything with you, let alone fuck you. Because trust me,” he trailed a hand along her upper thigh, sliding it between the soft expanse of them. “It’d be my pleasure to fuck a woman with a body like yours. A woman so soft, so tender, bet that cunt of yours is tight and dripping. Isn’t it?” the girl squeaked, clenching her thighs around his hand. He leaned down, pecking her lips softly before pulling away, (Y/n) whimpering  in a desperate attempt to let him know she wanted more..

“And if I were to grant you that pleasure right now?” she purred, placing a soft hand on his cheek which he gladly leaned into, a dark chuckle leaving his lips.

“I’d be the luckiest man alive.”

[esamastation]

In which Harry is slightly drugged and Ron and Hermione don't know how to deal.

-

It starts with Harry in the Hospital Wing, Ron at loose ends feeling guilty, and Hermione without a research project to distract herself with. It starts with Harry's realisation that it's only two weeks until the end of the semester - that in two weeks, he would have to go back. Back to Privet Drive. Back to Dursleys. Possibly back to a cupboard under the stairs.

It begins with a pain reliever making Harry just a little bit more honest than he might have otherwise been.

"I mean, it was easy to forget," he babbles, turning Chocolate Frog cards in his fingers nervously, not looking at his friends. "Because Hogwarts is brilliant and we've been so busy and I didn't have to go back for Chris - for Yule. I - you know. Forgot that - I didn't think about it at all. Going back. Because Sumner was so far away that - that it was almost like I'd never have to go back."

By this point, Ron has lived with Harry day in and day out for two semesters. By this point, Hermione has been their friend almost as long. And they might be children of varying observational abilities, but they're not stupid.

They'd both noticed how, on several occasions, Harry refused to talk about home, about family - how when everyone else suffered bouts of homesickness, Harry very much didn't. How whenever someone asks, "Where have you been the past ten years?" or, "I heard you were taken in by muggles - what was that like?" Harry went quiet, and didn't say much at all. They know the names of Harry's family and that Harry's clothes are second hand from his cousin and far far too big on him - and that's about it.

It doesn't take an alchemist to put it together.

"Have you told teachers? That you don't want to go back?" Hermione asks carefully.

Harry shrugs, looking at the cards. "The headmaster told me I have to. Because they're my family." One of the cards bends between his fingers. "I wish they weren't. I wish.. " his eyes stray up and then back down and he flushes.

Ron looks at where he'd been looking and then shares a guilty look with Hermione. He's wearing the sweater his mum had made - which is kind of like rubbing it in, now, isn't it? Harry hadn't gotten anything from his family for Christmas.

"I'll ask mum and dad, I'm sure they won't mind if you come over!" Ron offers. "Lee stays over all the time and Charlie always had friends stay over, I reckon it's fine if you come!"

Harry looks a little hopeful at that, but then sighs. "I'm not sure the Dursleys would let me. They definitely won't take me," he says glumly.

"Then I'll figure something out. Dad has a car too, we'll work it out."

"And in the meanwhile we'll write!" Hermione adds quickly. "We'll write loads, every day. And you'll write back, won't you? You got Hedwig."

"Well. Yeah," Harry says quietly, not meeting their eyes. "Suppose it'll be fine."

He doesn't sound fine. He actually sounds a little like he's going to cry. Which, for Hermione and especially Ron, is shocking. Harry never cried, not for any reason. Even when Snape was being horrid and Draco tricked him into doing something stupid and humiliating, Harry never cried.

He's sniffling now, and even though they know it's the potions and Madame Pomfrey warned them not to take it to heart, that Harry was going to have mood swings until he recovered… It's the single most terrifying thing his friends have seen.

"Harry," Hermione whispers, growing a little teary herself.

"We'll see each other again next semester, mate," Ron says, trying not to panic. "And - and - I'll call! That's what muggles do, right, that call each other on the tellyphony or whatever it is! There's one in the village and I know Fred and George have used it, so I'll, I'll do that! And write too, I'll write a bunch."

Harry swallows and nods, but can't seem to say anything.

"I'll do it too," Hermione agrees quickly. "Unless - unless you think it might be a bad idea. If your family -" she stops at Harry's wince and then she has to ask. "Harry, what - what are they like, really? The Dursleys. I know they're probably not very nice - but what… how do they…?"

Harry swallows again, staring fixedly at the chocolate frog cards. Then he exhales in a short, quivering burst. "The worst," he mutters . "They're the worst. Not at all like your - they're terrible. I hate them - I hate them so much."

Oh no, he's crying. "They're that bad?" Hermione asks, sharing a wide eyed look with Ron. Harry doesn't even hate Snape and Snape lives to make his life miserable.

Harry nods shakily and rubs at his nose, sniffing. "Everyone else has nice families," he mutters and pulls his legs up, hugging his knees. "With parents and siblings and cousins and - and I got the Dursleys. I wish I had families like yours," he buries his face into his knees, mumbling something incoherent into them.

"I'm sorry, mate," Ron says helplessly, patting his back. "It sounds terrible - it's unfair, but I guess you can't pick your family."

Harry sobs and Hermione sits up straighter. "Actually, you can," she says. "Well, Muggles can anyway. It's called family of choice. It happens all the time, actually. Technically, marriage is a family of choice."

"... We're twelve," Ron points out, giving her a disturbed look.

"I know that, I'm just saying. You can choose a family," Hermione says with a huff. "Sometimes, chosen family is better. You can't pick the one you're born into, but you can pick the one you're going to spend your life with."

Harry looks up, his eyes big and wet. "Re-really?" he asks hopefully. "I - I could pick you?" And then immediately he backpedals, "I mean, never mind - you have families yourself and they're nice, it's dumb -"

"It's not dumb!" Ron says quickly and bounces up from his stool to sit on the bed beside Harry. "I'd pick you too! There's a whole bunch of Weasleys and Prewetts, they can spare one. I would love to be in a family with you, mate. Like - like, uh -"

"Blood brothers?" Harry suggests weakly.

"I mean - sure. Not literally since we're not that closely relates, Potters and Weasleys are like bunch of times removed but -"

"No, no, it's another Muggle thing," Hermione says. "When two men - out could be women, or whatever - swear to treat each other like siblings. They mingle blood and swear, it is like a ritual."

Ron goes first pale and then curious. "That sounds like really dark magic," he whispers, eyes wide. "A blood ritual!"

"It's not, really," Hermione laughs. "Muggles can't do magic, remember? It's just a ceremonial thing, to make the oath really feel like it means something. Like marriage, you give it a lot of pomp and circumstance to make it feel like it will really stick."

"Oh," Ron says and he looks a little disappointed. "Oh well. We should do it," he says.

Harry snorts wetly and then quickly reaches for the box of tissues sitting on the bedside table. "What?" he asks weakly, blowing his nose.

"Swear that were brothers - brothers and a sister," Ron amends, nodding at Hermione. "We should do this Muggle blood magic ritual to become a family of choice."

"Ron," Hermione says uncertainly. "It's - really kind of unhygienic. You cut your palm and hold hands and -"

"We're magic, who cares," Ron waves a hand - he's got the bit between his teeth now and he's not letting go. "We're in the hospital wing, there's gotta be some Essence of Dittany here, it'll be fine. We should become a blood family. We faced a troll and Fluffy and Quirrelmort together, I think it's about time, really. And Harry wants to do it, don't you Harry?"

"Um," Harry says, uncertain, but he's not crying anymore and his eyes look hopeful. "I wouldn't want you to, if you don't want to - it's probably stupid and doesn't even mean anything -"

That decides it. Hermione stands up. "Hang on a bit," she says, determined. "There's got to be a scalpel here somewhere - and Essence of Dittany. I'll be right back."

None of them have much of an idea how to do rituals. Hermione has been to a couple of weddings with her parents and one funeral and Ron's been to one wedding and six funerals, and between them they argue a suitably grandiose wording while Harry tries to wipe his sweaty palms clean and not look like he's going to cry again.

With Madam Pomfrey's silver scalpel, they each cut a little nick into their arms, because Hermione is of the opinion that cutting their palms, with all the nerve endings, is a bad idea and also it's easier to grasp each other by the arm than by the palm. It even looks kind of ritualistic, as Harry grips Ron's arm and Ron grips Hermione's arm and Hermione grabs Harry's arm, their forearms forming a triangle between them.

"With this handclasp," Hermione intones seriously, "I choose you as my Family of Choice, and swear to care, love and respect you as family should."

Ron and Harry echo the words, and then they switch their grips around, Harry gripping Hermione's bleeding arm with hand stained with Ron's blood, whole Ron switches his grip to Harry and Hermione to Ron - in so doing transferring blood from one wound into the next.

"With this blood," Hermione intones. "I name you my Blood Family and swear to stand by you through thick and thin as family should."

"Blood Family," Ron says, after repeating the words. "My Family of Choice."

"Blood Family," Harry echoes, smiling a shy, goofily happy smile, still gripping Hermione's arm tightly.

"Family," Hermione nods briskly and then makes a face. "Right, wipe your arms clean so that I can apply some Dittany - I do not want any of us to get an infection!"

"Yeah, that sounds like a bad start for a family, all of us getting sick and immediately dying," Ron says with a giddy laugh.

Harry just smiles, reaching for the box of tissues. The return to Dursleys still looms ahead and he's still not looking forward to it - but now he's absolutely certain his friends, his Family of Choice won't be forgetting him anytime soon.

And neither would be anyone else, as it happens. While Hermione cleans their wounds and they all laugh, feeling a bit silly, in the Ministry of Magic an important record updates itself. It's a record of names, ancient and revered, once upon time longer and now less than thirty names long. With a ringing of a bell heard by all in the Ministry, the Sacred Twenty-Eight becomes the Sacred Twenty-Nine instead, and between the names Black and Bulstrode, a new name is added.

Blood family, Familia Electionis.

-

It's been years since I wrote Harry Potter, dang. Not sure I still have it in me. Anyway, idea number 9. Something like that maybe.