#until it finally DOES look like the way that end mural presented it. dare i say the black city goldened ...........

[lavellane]

thinking about how that solavellan ending actually Works for lavellans who want that hopeful ending but arent as forgiving abt the whole situation as veilguard presented it. and i do think in ashara's case, yes, she goes with him out of love, but more so out of duty. post trespasser she drops the name lavellan in favor of her family name, dhavise, since her place in the clan had already been cast into question and her allegiances with the chantry/solas are cause for doubt as to whether she's even welcome back anymore. but i think by the end of veilguard she's reaffirmed her identity as Lavellan no matter what, and truly does see herself as the Keeper of not just her own clan but of her whole modern people, and with that rekindled purpose she chooses to watch over them all by way of watching over fen'harel. protecting them by protecting him from himself. which ironically is the reason the dalish HAVE keepers in the first place

[talesfromthegameff14]

Dominion

[ Uyagir headcannon incoming.  Based loosely on the quotes found in game for one extremist branch of the tribe.  Warnings for length, blood rituals, grey lore bits.] Anger smoldered in his veins as Ayanga ran from the Dawn Throne toward the Uyagir caves.  He wore what the Uyagir typically wore, but dyed the color of the sky instead of the bleached out green the cave dwellers preferred.  The loose skirt flowed easily with his movements as he ran into the wind that caused the spring grasses to undulate like waves on the ocean. 

The sun was a thin sliver on the horizon when he arrived at the caves, breathing faster from the run but not heavily winded. The strangeness of running to what he had spent most of his life running from was lost on him in the moment.  There was no doubt now, no hesitation.  He was done with waiting and doubting.  The promise that was broken? It was washed away by the blood on his hands.  His only regret was that it took him this long to see it.  Fortunately his sisters were wise and as A’sana pointed out, sometimes promises needed to be broken. By the time he strode into the main caves he was breathing more normally, the sweat from the run drying on his skin rapidly due to the desert air.  The main cave was empty this early, most still with their families tucked away in the nooks and corners that gave an illusion of privacy as they tended to their morning tasks.  The smell of cooking food was the only outward sign of that activity and Ayanga’s stomach growled in protest from the scent of even that plain fare.  It’s another thing that goes unnoticed, his attention focused on a cluster of stalagmites in the back of the main cave.   He’s a few fulms from his goal when the Elder stepped out from the shadows, blocking Ayanga’s way.  The green haired man snaps at the Elder, <”Are you finally going to try to stop me?”>  The younger man only stopped when he’s ilms from the Elder, tail cutting sharply through the air.  The Elder can move, or be moved, it matters little to Ayanga. [Voodoo - Godsmack] For once, there was no humor in the old xaela’s eyes, no sense of the queerness that typically colored his words.  <”Son of Ancients, what do you seek?”>   Frozen in place, Ayanga stared at the Elder, for a moment everything was so sharp and fragile he didn’t dare to breathe.  <”No one...”>, he cut himself off, shaking his head once to clear it before he answered.  <”Wisdom, knowledge, the visions of our past that brought us to this place.”>   The words were spoken with the cadence of ritual, but oddly cut off at the end. The Elder tilted his head slightly at the answer, seemingly waiting for more than what was said.  The silence between the two men grows, Ayanga not backing down from the quiet challenge.  He stayed as still as the air in the caves, not even his tail twitched while he waited. The Elder’s eyes moved to the necklace around the younger man’s neck, thoughtful.   At that the silence was broken, a low sound of warning coming from Ayanga, <”It is mine.  He gave it to me.”>   That brought the white glazed eyes of the Elder abruptly up to Ayanga’s. <”Who gave it to you?”>   <”Oktai”> <”You didn’t take it from-”> <”I took nothing of hers.”>, the snarled reply cutting the Elder off. <”When did he give it to you?”> <”Just before he died.”>   The Elder’s rheumy eyes narrow, <”Where?”>   <”Reflection”>   A hiss follows that answer, <”Why there? How?”>   <”He called me there.”>   <”You were a b”> <”I know.”>  Ayanga leans in, leaving less than an ilm between the two men, so that the elder could feel the heat of his words instead of only hearing it.  <”He called me there in a dream.  I woke up and followed the call down and through the labyrinth.  I saw him reflected in the pool, surrounded by stars.  I smelt death on his breath.  It had the same scent as an herb Odtgerel traveled to Reunion to get.  She told me to stay away from it, that it was dangerous, only for the trained.  She killed him.”> <”You didn’t take it from her.”> <”No! It rots with her corpse in whatever forgotten place it lies.”>   <”How do you know she’s-”> <”Dead? I buried her.”>   <”Where?”> <”Why does it matter?”> <”I need to reclaim what she was given.”>   <”Did you not listen? She was given nothing.  She gave nothing to her family and was given nothing in return.”>   <”But she-”>   Wind blew through the cavern then, enough force behind it to travel past the entrance and into the main living space, rustling the clothing of those that were starting to gather for the day’s work.  It was an oddity, enough of one to catch the attention of those present and give the Elder pause.  Ayanga’s eyes turned distant, a horn tilted towards the cave entrance.  As if in a trance he reached up and pressed the point of a claw into his thumb, just enough to draw up a bead of blood.   <”You hear, but you do not listen. If you will not listen, you will see.”>, he whispered, pressing that drop of blood against the Elder’s forehead before he could react. The all but useless eyes of the old xaela glazed over and he fell to his knees, eyes darting back and forth focused things only he could see.  Ayanga stepped around him and past the concealment of the stalagmites and into the tunnel that led to the labyrinth.  He didn’t have to think, even with close to thirty years behind him Ayanga’s feet traveled the correct path through the tunnels, the passageway progressively narrowing until he had to belly crawl to get through the last turn.  It was a near thing, a shudder passing through his entire frame when he accidentally scrapped a horn along a sharp bit of rock, popping off one of the ornaments he suffered through getting long ago.  The tunnel opened up then, and he hauled himself up to his feet.  <”Smaller than I remember.”>, he said to himself just before words echoed into the chamber from afar.   <”Elder, are you alright?”>   <”Where did Khe..Ayanga go?”>   indistinct words   <”Seer’s tunnel? We can’t follow, no one can.”>   The last had Ayanga looking back to the hole he crawled out of, shock easy to read in his expression.  No one at all? There were no more? How...?  It clicked into place and sorrow replaced the shock.  <”I’ll do as I must, regardless.”>     The tunnel branched off into two, a strong scent of mineral and heat coming from one path and stillness from the other.   Following the heat, Ayanga stripped as he went, arriving at the mineral pool clad in only the necklace Oktai gave him.  The clothing was set to the side, neatly folded as always.  The occasional bubble broke the surface of the pool, hidden by the shadows cast from the glowing crystals set into the walls.   The air was quickly becoming stifling, the heat and humidity making it feel like lead in his lungs. The water was scalding, which was the point.  Wash away what could be, burn away the rest, enter Reflection purified, the burdens of life sloughed away in a moment of pain.  Knowing that didn’t make stepping into the pool any easier.   Measured steps, down the ones carved into the stone just for this purpose.  One step, wait, two steps, wait, three steps, wait.  At the bottom step his shoulders were still above water and with a deep breath Ayanga bent his knees and burned.   It was worse than the harae in Ishgard, he thought it wouldn’t be, but the minerals in the water burned as well as the heat.  He needed to breathe, it was only seconds to stay, but the pain took his breath away.  Even with the support of the water he swayed beneath the surface, spots blooming behind his eyelids as he counted out the seconds.  It took all of his will power to slowly unbend his knees, it was mere seconds, but it felt like hours were spent under the water.  The need to walk out tangled with the need to breathe and recover, slow was the only way he was going back up those steps. The tall man landed heavily on his hands and knees, bruising them on the rock and sand surface that bordered the pool.  Instinct kept him moving, crawling out into the cooler air of the tunnel beyond.  His skin was darker, flushed from the damage heat and minerals did while he was submersed.   Ayanga’s mind was clear of the anger that brought him here, pain was good for that. In, out, in, out.  All the Xaela could do was breathe in great gulps of air, staying where he fell as his body processed the shock of the cleansing.  It was habit, refined in Doma, grounded in the time spent with his Grandfather.  Burnt fingers pressed hard against the stone, seeking out the steady support of the earth. The wind spoke to him, but the ground was still under his feet and therefor a friend.   When his breathing slowed and his heart stopped thundering in his chest, Ayanga stood up.  His movements were deliberate and measured, both out of need and respect. This was not something to rush.  Each step took him closer to Reflection, the tunnel here was smoothed over, the work of Seers past making the path upwards clear and easy.   It was almost as he remembered.  It was daytime, not night, his own choice instead of the traditional one.  He was a child of Azim as well as the caves, the sun held no fear for him.  The bright light of midday streamed through the broken roof of the cave, filtering down through the sphere of crystals suspended above the strangely still pool.  That night it looked like liquid silver, now it looked just as odd, golden and rainbow hued as the sunlight reflected off of a surface that was iridescent, strange.   Many runes were carved into the smooth, dark, rock floor.  They were clustered around the perfectly circular pool, extending out a couple of fulms.  Most of the space closest to the pool was decorated by the carvings, the ones closest to the pool were harder to read than those further out.  One rune stood out from the rest, larger than the surrounding ones, stained and worn by age but still clear enough to read. Dominion. It was something he knew from the murals, the dominion of the Gods over the Xaela and why the Uyagir bowed. But, this was different. A different slant here, a curve there instead of a straight line. Ways of indicating Xaela instead of deity, familiar and very wrong all at the same time. A quick look around the smooth, upward curving walls of the cave pulled a detail from memory. This is where Oktai died, the stains?  Only his blood, or more? Ayanga knelt in front of the rune,the burn of protest from the skin along his shins completely ignored in the moment.  A finger traced the deep channels that were chiseled into the rock, ensuring that the rune would last the test of time. But maybe? Maybe it was for other reasons.   The air was lifeless, immobile in the dome, but a whisper echoed in his horns regardless. Right claw was brought to the skin of his left wrist.  The cut was swift and sure, the burn of the cut strangely intense due to the damage already done.  He ignored it, holding his wrist so the blood from it dropped into the bottom corner of the carving.  The floor of the cave slanted towards the pool, the slope allowing his aether charged blood to flow through the markings that made up the rune.   Slowly, steadily, Ayanga’s world narrowed down to the path his blood took.  Tracing it like that, he could see the duality of the rune, it wasn’t just Xaela.  It was, Reflection within Dominion. The first rune revealed before the other was completed.  Further the scarlet line flowed, steadily drawing his focus towards the pool.  The blood was moving slowly then, the last of the rune completed.  A narrow gouge, unnoticed until his blood touched it, allowed a few drops of blood to reach the pools edge.  The water was lower than the rock, cohesion causing the scarlet liquid to tremble on the ledge.  Time meant nothing as Ayanga’s heart pounded in his chest, everything hanging on that one, tremulous drop of blood.  One more heartbeat, a bit more blood, and the bead to welled over to plop into the pool. [Change on the Rise -  Avi Kaplan] A skeletal hand reached towards him, “It is time to see.” “Oktai, grandfather...”, Ayanga whispered, reaching for the hand only he could see through sightless eyes.  The ray of sunlight shifted, illuminating the scarred hand that grasped nothing but air.   Then Ayanga saw. Birth, life, death, the onward monotony of life within the caves droning backwards and backwards.  Brief conflicts, rebellions, stained the caves red, but they were quickly settled, tumbling into a past rewritten by those that survived.  Nothing must mar the perfection of their modesty, their pride would not allow it.  The mural was tended to, shrinking in size as the years retreated within Ayanga’s mind.  Seers guiding, and hiding, the truth from the tribe, teaching them to deny the violence of their nature. Dominion over self was revealed as the path of humility before the eyes of the Gods.   From self reflection came control, the Uyagir over themselves and the Seers over the tribe.   Reflection. 

Then the walls were blank, a few battered Xaela taking shelter there from the chaos left in the wake of the Gods’ punishment. The failed defense of the Dawn Throne was crushing to all the tribes, it sent them scattering to the four winds, leaving the Uyagir to struggle against the God sent insects (machines?) all but alone. A sign the others said, a trial to show strength the Uyagir countered.  If we cannot hold what is ours then we don’t deserve it. They could not hold against the wrath of the Gods.  And still time marched backwards, revealing the decline of an Empire as sure as any in a more civilized place.  Large to small, the peak to the beginnings, ambition and pride and a need to control that rivaled any other was steadily nurtured from the start of the tribe. That drive etched into stone when the first Khatun found the pool she saw in her dreams, that Ayanga knelt beside, and claimed it for her newly formed tribe.   Dominion without Reflection.

 The hand that held his vanished into the past, leaving him to crawl his way out of the memories that were not his and back to the present.  It took time, more than he likely had, before Ayanga’s eyes cleared from the vision and he found himself in his own skin once more.  The wound on his wrist had long scabbed over, the blood in the rune dried, the sun low enough that the sky was dark blue with the first hints of stars on the eastern horizon.  The silence in the dome was complete except for the erratic beat of his heart and the rasp of his labored breath.  Awareness of himself forced the tall man to double over and retch bile onto the stone, body and mind protesting what it was forced too see.  It was too much that wasn’t his, the entire history of seer to seer to seer that shared the path the tribe took.  The now dark pool of water called to him, promising peace within its depths, a place free from the memories that overwhelmed him. It would take little to tumble into it, but a small voice within reminded him that the trial was not yet complete.   The sky was darker when he managed to gather the strength to resist the call and stand instead.  Once, twice, he paced around the pool, the shakiness fading as he moved.  One last thing, then he could leave.  Settling on one of the last clear spots of stone near the edge of the pool, Ayanga knelt again to draw an end to his task.  Reopening the cut on his wrist a bit, he dipped a claw into blood and carefully carved a new rune among the oldest made.   Change. 

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

The brilliance of White Diamond and the misuse of a character

After CYM aired, we got a very good look into what sort of person White Diamond, a character hinted of but never truly discussed until Diamond Days, is. What we witnessed was a well written and voiced character, who gave context to many other characters.

Pity the way she was used could have been better.

Before I go on, I must note that I do not think the Crewniverse are bad writers nor do I claim superior writing skills over them. Rather, I am going to discuss in this essay the need for better pacing and usage of an important character.

Let me start with White's good parts. She is a prime example of an abusive mother figure, using a sweet tone to mask her abuse and harsh rules. What we see during the Diamond Days event is that White has conditioned Yellow and Blue to the extent that they do not dare to speak against her nor taken any action against her rules. We can easily assume, from the way Pink Pearl ended up as White's puppet, that Pink was under similar conditioning as well.

The way White was introduced is effective, we see a crowd cheering at the arrival of their long-lost monarch, but the moment they see a white bubble float down the crowd goes silent. White Pearl, her expression, voice and pose all showcase that something is -wrong- here. The pearl has extensive scarring over her left eye (later revealed to not be caused by White, but serving as another off-putting factor in the discussed scene), a stiff pose and unlike any other pearl in the setting, she does not share a voice actor with the others. All of this is a good signal for the viewer that White is truly eerie.

When we meet the diamond herself the first time, White is gigantic, glowing so bright she barely has any outlines and she shares a stiff pose with her pearl. White does not let Steven a chance to discuss things, instead of giving him a welcome and then sending him to Pink's room.

Through Familiar, Together Alone and Escapism, we see hints of just how strong of a control White has on the other diamonds. They might seek her attention, but it is under the assumption that White will decide if they are accepted or not. The Era 3 ball, a momentous occasion for everyone else, only merits White Pearl's presence from White. Good analysis of the meaning of the ball can be found here. But suffice to say, White's shadow looms over the whole thing while she makes it clear she does -not- care. Unless there is illegal fusing, which we can assume the other diamonds reacted negatively to mostly due to fear of being punished themselves.

In Escapism, White is symbolized not by any melon person (as Yellow and Blue are) but as a gigantic melon shark that injured Melon! Steven significantly. Hinting that meeting White will be like meeting a large predator that will not show any mercy. Steven pacifies the shark with a kiss, but not without a cost.

In Change Your Mind, even before we meet White again, we are told in a flashback that White took Pink's pearl. Thus confirming what was hinted in another flashback in Together Alone, that White Pearl is a brainwashed Pink Pearl. After that, we are given further threats from White through White Pearl and later her in the diamond mecha.

But I wish to put the most focus on the moment Steven and crew arrive into the lion's den, as Bismuth put well in Legs from Here to Homeworld. Not only is this entire area white and grey, but the other diamonds are standing in place, controlled by White with the same ease as Pink Pearl. What follows is White systematically breaking Steven down by first telling him she doesn't need his help, then taking control of and puppeting the main Crystal Gems and finally calling into question who Steven truly is.

What is fascinating in the scene, is how clearly White holds all the cards. Unlike Yellow and Blue, White seems to have extensive knowledge of Earth culture and how humans work. She isn't at all surprised by Connie or Steven's nature. To the point where White might as well have watched the show with us for how accurate she was. She isn't uncertain, she isn't ruled by grief or rage. She has Steven exactly where she wants him to be. It is not just that White doesn't want to listen, she feels she doesn't -need- to for all the control she has in the situation.

White's control ends the moment we and she get a shocking revelation, Steven's gem is not a dormant Rose or even Pink. It is him. At this moment, White loses her cool and her methods to deal with Steven entirely. She ends up throwing a tantrum when her well thought out plan failed entirely. Losing her control is the kiss to the shark's nose, allowing Steven to finally reach her.

So if I think White and her scenes in Diamond Days were well done, why do I think she was a bit misused? It has to do with when she was named and presented in the timeline and how quick her redemption was.

White was hinted from the moment we saw the diamond logo. Further hinted by her mural in the moonbase. Her ship had a cameo in the Trial and we saw her hand and her silhouette in Your Mother and Mine. The problem arises when you realise White wasn't even -named- until Legs from Here to Homeworld, the same episode she appeared in.

In comparison, Yellow, Blue and Pink have namedropped episodes before their official arrival. Namedropping in SU serves as a way to start learning about the character proper. It isn't helped by the lack of any reason why White couldn't have been mentioned before her debut.

This lack of namedropping leads into an awkward timing for her introduction, which I am sure was not intended by the writers. Like a villain in Dragonball Z, once the current main villains were defeated, another popped up the next episode. Even though we had hints of White before, she still seemed to come out of nowhere as a threat in terms of writing.

White not being mentioned or even hinted at proper until Legs from here to Homeworld resulted in a lot of fan theories ranging from her being a fusion to her holding up Homeworld and thus being unable to move. Both which were debunked in CYM. With no reason for this silence, it leads to a confusion why wasn't she mentioned before her debut? The only two reasons I could see would be finding a voice actor and creating a contract with them or her design not being finished.

I am going to offer how I would have done it. Once more, I do not claim to be a professional writer nor smarter than the Crewniverse. I just see a method through which White could have been better established.

The method I would have used is to have White Pearl appear both in flashbacks and in passing or through mentions. Maybe she is seen as Steven and Lars escape during the trial, or maybe she takes part as a recorder like her fellow pearls. Having White Pearl scare others by her presence and constantly loom over the diamonds and their pearls would have given us a taste of how the ranking among the diamonds functions. By having that feeling of greater power, even if unmentioned, White's appearance would not have felt too sudden.

All in all, I love White as a character. I simply feel she could have been used much earlier in the setting than she was.

[justpeachyshua]

good luck

pairing: hoshi x reader rating/warnings: teen+ for language; no warnings au: college au??  word count: 4,045 summary: “Ever since my first date, I’ve had the absolute worst luck when it comes to relationships. Bad dates, lying, cheating - I’ve seen it all. So, I decided to give up dating completely. It’s just better that way. No hurting, no heartbreak. I’ve strictly stuck by this rule for years now. That is, until I ran into a particularly spunky dancer on campus.”

note: so uhhh, I should definitely point out that I haven’t posted in months and that this was supposed to be for hoshi’s bday but it’s.... definitely way past that. but it’s done ya know! I’d like to believe that the quality maybe makes up for how late it is. It’s worth noting that over the summer I was on kind of a hiatus since I was in japan for a month and, now that school’s going on, updates are probably gonna be even slower, at least for longer fics like these. that being said, I’m gonna try branching out and making shorter imagines, maybe even some bulleted ones? just so I can post more often without my content being actual shit lmao. anyways enjoy the fic <3

I've never been the type of person who was good at dating. In fact, I'm fairly confident that some force in this universe was entirely dead set on making sure that every single relationship I entered ended in disaster. It all started in 6th grade when a classmate of mine asked me to watch a movie with him. I was all done up, wearing an outfit I had bought only the day before, and yet halfway through the movie, I felt something come up my throat and before I knew it I was vomiting onto the floor in front of me due to the sheer amount of caffeine, sugar, and nerves running through me. In sophomore year, I got my first real boyfriend, but that relationship lasted about a week before he revealed that he asked me out as a dare and couldn't bring himself to break up with me until then. This pattern of misfortune only continued through high school with various failed dates and boyfriends who lied and cheated. At some point, I got sick of it and, after graduating, I vowed to give up on dating completely.  

From then on, I avoided romance like the plague. If anyone seemed to like me or even asked me out, I would gently let them down. I made sure that close friendships were just friendships and that I never led anyone on. At least, I tried. You see, for the first time in my life, there was an exception to my rule. Towards the beginning of my freshman year of college, Kwon Soonyoung stepped, or rather crashed, into my life.  

I was a few yards away from the entrance to the dorms and I was rushing inside to retrieve a textbook from a friend, when someone ran right into me, knocking me down. I fell against my bag with a thud and, looking up, I saw the small wheels of a... Razor scooter? The person riding the scooter – a young guy with floppy black hair – had fallen, too, and I could see that he had scraped his knee on the concrete.  

"Are you okay?!" The guy crawled up to me, still on the ground. He looked me over, checking to see if I was injured with a comically concerned face.  

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it," I assured him. "What about you, though? Is your knee okay?"  

I pointed to his scraped knee which was already beginning to bleed. He looked down, noticing the wound and, to my surprise, laughed. "I'll be okay! It happens all the time when I'm practicing." Before I could ask him what he meant, he added, "Which reminds me!" He shoved a flyer into my hands. "You should come see the dance team's performance tonight!"  

I turned the flyer over, revealing a hand-drawn night sky with a large star in the center, containing the information for the performance. It was endearing. "Did you do this?"  

"Ah no, my friend Mingyu did, actually. He's an art major so we asked him to design the flyers for us. I'm just the leader of the team," he explained, a large grin ever present on his face.  

"Oh." I folded the flyer and stuffed it into my bag. I stood up, offered my hand to the guy, and helped him up. "I'll see if I can go." My eyes landed on his scooter again. "Uh, what’s the scooter for?"  

"It's a faster way to get around," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty new with it, though, so I need to get better at riding it."

"Well, good luck with that. Try not to run into anyone else today," I said, turning to enter the dorm again.  

"Oh wait!" He called out. "What's your name? I'll put you on the VIP list. For, you know, accidentally running into you."  

"It's Y/N. What's yours?"  

"Soonyoung! But when I'm performing, call me Hoshi!" His grin grew wider and spread to his eyes, which shut into half-moons. The brightness in his eyes was captivating and his happiness was infectious, so much so that I practically forgot about our little crash entirely.  

"See you later then, Hoshi." I waved him goodbye and finally went inside the dorm as I planned.  

After I finished my last class that night, I decided to attend the performance and, to my amazement, Soonyoung was spectacular. He had kept his word of putting me on the "VIP list," though I found out when I got there that I was the only one on the list and that there wasn't really a list to begin with, just a simple promise. Before the show began, someone from the team (who I presumed to be a long-time member) brought Soonyoung out on stage, after which he gave a small introduction and revealed that he choreographed the whole show. I seemed to be the only one in the audience that was shocked at this and I was only further impressed when I saw the choreography itself. As soon as the team stepped on stage together and began their first song, my eyes were locked on Soonyoung – Hoshi in this setting – who was front and center. His moves were simultaneously fluid and powerful and unlike any dancing I had seen before. I began to wonder if he was secretly a professional choreographer masked as a college student.  

When the performance ended, I was the first to approach him and congratulate him on his job well done, going on and on about the quality of the show. He seemed ecstatic, his face lighting up ten times brighter than it was earlier in the day.

"So, you'll come to our next performance, right? It'll be a couple of months from now." He asked with the widest smile on his face.  

I nodded. "Sure." I pulled my phone out of my bag. "Here, put your number in my phone and let me know about the next performance." He took my phone and quickly typed in his number before handing it back to me. I noticed he had put it in as "Kwon Hoshi ☆" and I couldn’t help but laugh.

"I'll make sure I remind you of everything we do, don't worry!" He beamed. "You know, I think we're going to be good friends."  

"I think so too."  

That was years ago and, in the time between then and now, we really had become great friends. He convinced me to become the manager of the dance team, though that just meant giving them song suggestions and feedback when they practiced and lounging around with them when they hung out outside of meetings. Through that, I managed to make a ton more friends than I was anticipating, including the other "founders" of the team, Minghao, Jun, and Chan. The five of us became extremely close and, before I knew it, we were drinking together, spilling secrets, and having movie nights every week. Soonyoung especially became my best friend with him often spending the night at my apartment off-campus and even exchanging clothes with me sometimes.  

He was a grade ahead of me, so I had to watch him graduate a year before I did. Admittedly, a lot of tears were shed, but he came back the very next year to cheer for me as I crossed the stage with my degree. After that, we decided we might as well become roomies as we figured shit out and he officially moved into my tiny apartment, taking what used to be the guest room. We've been living together for about a year and a half now and, over the course of this time, I've come dangerously close to loving Kwon Soonyoung.  

What used to be small, cute mannerisms when we were in college have become all too alluring now that it's just the two of us. Before, neither of us would really cook when he was over and instead just order chicken and pizza, but now that he lives here full-time, I've noticed how he talks to himself as he figures out online recipes. When he styles his hair every morning, he always asks how it looks and I always push a few stray hairs away before I tell him he looks cool. Often, he'll wake up and walk straight to the kitchen without his pants on because he took them off before sleeping and forgot to put them on again. I don't stare, of course, but I can't ignore it either. Of course, the other guys do come by and make it feel like the old days again, but I can never shake the image of him falling asleep on the coach after a long night of watching anime or him dancing around the living room as he brushes his teeth. Everything he does totes the line between goofy and charming and it has me falling for him harder than I’d like to be.

Which brings me to a very important day: Soonyoung's birthday. See, for as long as we've been friends, Soonyoung and I have always made each other's birthdays as stellar as possible. One year I took him to paint a giant mural with me; The next year he took me bungee jumping. Generally, we tried to one up what we did the year before or at least do something equally as spectacular This year, however, I did something different. For his last birthday I had taken him to a SHINee fansign and had already planned to take him to Japan the next year, but I ended up changing my mind. This year, I instead decided to go on a simple picnic with Soonyoung. This decision came partially from the lack of funds for plane tickets and partially from one desire: To finally tell Soonyoung my thoughts on dating. For as long as we’d been friends, I had never quite opened to him about my fear of dating and, even considering how endearing and comfortable he was, I had to set some sort of boundary to prevent misfortune. So, it was decided. I would have to make our relationship clear – just friends, no feelings. At least, I hoped.

When he woke up that morning (wearing his pajama pants for once), I was already awake and making breakfast for the both of us. He sniffed the air and instantly became more alert. "Pancakes? You're spoiling me." He rushed over to sit at the island counter. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"  

I placed the last finished pancake onto a plate and carried it over to him, setting a bottle of syrup in front of him as well. "Well, I was thinking we could just have a chill day and maybe go on a picnic at the park nearby?"  

He looked up at me, scanning my face for any sign that I was joking. When he saw that I was completely serious, he silently nodded. "Awesome! What time should we go?" I could tell he wanted to ask why we weren't going all out this year, but he probably sensed that it would've been an awkward thing to pry about. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I hoped that he would at least enjoy today's activities.  

"Maybe around 1:00?" I checked my phone, seeing that it was only 10:28. "That gives us about two and a half hours before then."  

"Sounds good, then." He smiled before digging into the pancakes in front of him. He let out a long and satisfied sigh. "God, these are so good." I only grinned as I watched him eat, slowly picking at a plate of my own.

Within a few minutes we were both finished, and I took his plate to put in the sink. He padded over to the couch and I soon joined him, plopping down in the crevice I'd made from sitting in that exact spot for over two years. "By the way, I'm going to need you to leave the house for at least an hour before we leave."  

He whipped his head towards me. "Aha! So there is a catch!"  

"What?"  

"You're planning something special for me, aren't you? That's why you want me out of the house, right? So you can bring a whole bunch of people in. Or better yet! You're bringing a dog home!" He exclaimed.  

"I’m- I’m sorry, Soonyoung. No, I just need the time to make the food for the picnic and to get some things together. It's a surprise so I don't want you to see it.”

He became visibly more disappointed, albeit by just a bit. "Oh. That's okay. I'm sure I'll love whatever we do." He gave me his usual toothy smile. "I could see about hanging out with Chan for a bit to give you time."  

"Thanks. And let him know he left some socks here the last time he stopped by."  

"You got it," he said, already messaging Chan and beginning to get ready. "I'll be out of your hair in a bit. Just let me know when you're done!"  

Within a few minutes, he was out of the door and I was left to begin my plan. I had already gotten a few recipes from my mom on a terribly long phone call the night before and cooking it took about an hour on its own, so the rest of the time was spent gathering everything else such as fruit, chips, drinks, and of course the crucial basket and blanket. At that point, I still had about 40 minutes remaining, so I found myself scrolling on my phone and becoming increasingly worried as my thoughts roamed. What if the food spills in the basket and we don’t have anything to eat? What if he has a secret allergy he never told me about and he goes into anaphylactic shock because of something I made? What if he ends our friendship after I tell him how I feel? The whole point of my plan is so I can avoid ruining our friendship, but what if that’s exactly what happens? What if he has feelings for me?  

My phone pinged with a new text, snapping me out of my thoughts.  

Kwon Hoshi ☆: hey! you almost ready? I can start heading back anytime you want~

I was relieved to be pulled out of my mental spiral. Looking at his message, I smiled at the squiggly he so often used when texting. It was cute and somehow evoked the exact tone he spoke with in person. I wanted to be able to hear that for a while, especially after today.  

Me: hey, yeah I’m all done. you can come back now. just meet me at the entrance to the park, ok?

Kwon Hoshi ☆: you got it!!  

The walk to the park took only a couple of minutes and, once I arrived, I sat on the neartest bench and waited for Soonyoung to walk up any second. Twenty minutes passed by, then thirty, then fifty, and soon well over an hour had passed and I was still sat there. No messages. No Soonyoung. Plenty of people had passed by – families with small children, a few groups of teenagers looking to play some sports in the open fields, and couples walking along the path, hands intertwined. I tried not to watch.  

Finally, once I was about ready to give up and just head home, I heard someone shout my name from a few yards away. It was Soonyoung, out of breath and jogging towards me.  

“Soonyoung, are you okay? Where have you been?”

“I was,” Pant. “In the car with Chan,” Pant. “He was driving me back.” Pant. “And I-”

“Okay, you need to sit down and catch your breath, you’re breathing way too hard right now.”  

He sat and took a moment to calm down. “There was a huge accident that happened right in front of us. Someone completely swerved out of their lane and crashed into another car. So, for a while, we were in shock. At that point, my phone was dead because my charger stopped working while I was at Chan’s. Anyways, traffic was so bad that we were there for like twenty minutes just waiting to go past this super busy intersection that was all clogged up. In the end, Chan said I should just get out of the car and walk to the park since he’d probably be there a while. The walk took me a while, but I’m here now.”  

“Sooyoung that’s- that’s crazy. I’m really sorry that all happened.” I had to take a few seconds to comprehend all that he had recounted to me. There was a very visceral, very unnerving feeling within me at that moment. Something was telling me that this wasn’t going to go well.  

“No, I’m sorry. I’m super late and you’ve probably been sitting here for so long after you went through all the trouble to make food and everything.” But then again, with Soonyoung’s radiating optimism, I’m sure I’ll be able to get over it.  

“It’s all good.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Now come on, we should find a good spot to sit.”  

We walked, gazing at the various photo-esque locations and quickly finding their flaws: a cute spot under the shade of a tree (too many bugs), a spot with some breeze by the stream (uncomfortable rocks and uneven terrain), a spot on the stone in front of a water fountain (as cute as they were, too many screaming, jumping kids). Yet finally, as we approached the far end of the park, we found the quaintest, quietest, most peaceful spot in the grass. It was sunny and warm and surrounded by yards of bright flowers. We agreed to settle there and placed our blanket down, beginning to unpack our lunch.  

I found my initial bad impression begin to fade as we calmly ate, going in and out of conversation and generally just enjoying the other’s presence. Despite the simplicity of the meal, Soonyoung continuously reminded me how much he loved it. I was pleased to hear his compliments even if I did deny them. Soon enough we were finished with the food and I was reading the newest novel I had bought, picking back up from where I left off. In the cool and comfortable atmosphere, it almost felt as though we were one of the many couples in the park that day, enjoying a nice day out in the sun together, in love. I could see how a random passerby could glance at us and think, “Ah, what a cute date.” After all, with Soonyoung’s head laying on my lap as I read out loud to him, he did sort of look like my boyfriend. The entire time my eyes were fixed to the page as I focused on following the story and adding voices to each character for entertainment’s sake, but I took a pause for once to look down at Soonyoung. He was looking directly at me, eyes peering into my own, and I suddenly felt very vulnerable under his gaze.  

“Soonyoung, I have to tell you something.”

Plop. Right in the middle of Soonyoung’s forehead landed a drop of water. Plop plop plop. Quickly, the rain began to fall and spiraled into a thunderstorm within seconds. Soonyoung jumped up as I rushed to throw my book and all our containers into the basket and run for cover, using the picnic blanket to shield the both of us. The other parkgoers also hurried to find a spot to stay dry and, evidently, we were left with nowhere to go.  

“Let’s try to catch a bus home!” Soonyoung suggested. I nodded, and we sprinted to the stop outside the park entrance, dodging the rain under a couple of trees along the way.  

“You have got to be kidding me!” I shouted. Just outside the gates was a bus, empty and unmoving, with about ten bus drivers with varying degrees of intense protests written on picket signs.  

“Shit, how could I forget? Bus drivers have been on strike all week, there’s no way we’re gonna convince them to bring us home.”  

By now we had been out in the rain for at least four minutes and we were drenched despite our efforts to protect ourselves with the blanket. I should have known. Soonyoung being late in the first place was the first red flag, but I chose to ignore it. I chose to ignore it because I knew I was enjoying what we had, pretending we were a couple. It was so incredibly selfish. It was selfish the way I let myself get caught up in the moment. It was selfish the way I let my bad luck get in the way. It was selfish the way I ruined Soonyoung’s birthday by making it all about me.  

I kept my head down in shame. While my body was freezing cold, my eyes began to burn with tears. I willed them to stay back but I couldn’t stop them, and so they fell and I heaved.  

He turned to me and began to rub my back. “Hey, are you okay?”

I sobbed then. “I’m sorry, Soonyoung. I wanted to make your birthday nice, but I just ruined it.”  

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”  

“No, this was supposed to be your day. Today was supposed to be special. I was supposed to take you to Japan and instead we’re stuck here in the rain, freezing our asses off,” I choked out.  

Looking up, I saw his brow furrow into an unreadable expression. “Maybe we don’t have to be.” He shrugged the blanket off his shoulder, wrapping it around my head, and gently grabbed my hand. In a spontaneous burst of energy not uncommon to Soonyoung, he took off in a run with me trailing behind. He dragged me to the nearest store awning and plucked an umbrella from the bin beside the door.  

“Soonyoung, what are you doing?” I asked.  

“Just follow my lead.”  

With a flourish, he pushed the umbrella open, held it over his head, and sprang out onto the street with a splash. He motioned back to the bin, urging me to grab an umbrella for myself. I hesitantly pulled one out and opened it before joining Soonyoung on the street. He grabbed my hand once again and led me into a simple dance. As we moved about, we kicked up large splashes of rain on the street below us. We spun around, making large strides from side to side and twirling the handles of our umbrellas. Once we were both completely out of breath, we returned to the store awning.  

I regulated my breathing before starting. “Now what was all that about?”  

“I wanted to show you that this day hasn’t been completely ruined. Even if it’s pouring, we can still have a good time if we’re together.” He took my hand in his once more, this time clasping both of his hands around it. They were comfortably and unusually warm considering the current weather conditions. “I say we head home with these umbrellas and make some frozen pizza. What do you think?”  

“That sounds pretty good.” I couldn’t help but smile. “But I still feel pretty shitty about today. I- I don’t exactly have the best luck with these kinds of things.”  

The corner of his lips tugged into a sympathetic grin. “Don’t worry about it.” He gingerly pressed a kiss onto the top of my head. “This is the best birthday date I could ask for.”  

And in that moment, I came to accept what I had with Kwon Soonyoung, my best friend, my roommate, and the object of my affection. After all these years of letting guys into my life and repeatedly getting knocked down, I found the one boy who could quell those worries. I found the one boy who could step up to the universe and tell it to fuck right off as he danced away in the middle of a thunderstorm. I found the one boy who I finally felt lucky to have.  

[cyborgsquirrel]

Sanctuary: Chapter 25

Pairing: Wolfstar

Summary: The epic tale of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, from their first meeting until their happily ever after.

Link to Prologue

Link to All Chapters

Link to story on AO3

Monday, 20th December 1971 Remus spent the last few days leading up to Christmas with Sirius having snowball fights in the grounds, exploring the castle, lazing about in the common room or their dorm and sneaking out at night to set-up the back to school surprises in the common rooms of all four houses.

They'd decided to tackle Hufflepuff first and arrived outside the barrel entrance at two o'clock in the morning. Remus reached out with his wand and, mimicking the boy from the previous afternoon, tapped the barrel. Tap tap rat-a-tap. The barrel opened, revealing an earthy passage that sloped gently upwards. He glanced at Sirius, who shrugged at him before leading the way inside.

He crept down the passage behind Sirius, and after a few seconds, it opened out into a bright, low-ceilinged and circular room filled with plant life. 'This is cosy,' Sirius whispered, looking around. 'I think this is my second favourite common-room. Gryffindor is first, obviously.' Remus was forced to agree. The room was decorated in yellow and black, with highly polished, honey-coloured furniture, and the doors to the dormitories were whimsically round. It was warm and inviting. He would enjoy spending time there, especially with all the plants. 'This bit of wall looks good. Get ready to cover me if you hear anyone coming.' He nodded and Sirius set to work painting a large mural of a badger wearing a Hufflepuff tie and hat and holding a quill in a meadow of wildflowers. The project took a full two hours, and he was beginning to get nervous that people might start getting up when Sirius finally stepped back to admire the finished work. 'Magnifique,' Sirius said, dramatically kissing his fingers. 'It's perfect,' he whispered. 'Now get out the way so I can hide it.' Sirius stepped back, and Remus waved his wand in a complex motion of swirls. 'Statuto tempus cabaturium,' he muttered. The mural vanished. It would reveal itself at half-past four on the first of January, just when everyone would be returning from the holidays. They had one more thing to do before they left. Using the flagrate charm, Remus wrote a message on the wall next to where the mural lay hidden before casting the concealment charm again to hide it from view.

We're the Marauders of Hogwarts

you thought we didn't care

but we broke in to show you otherwise

with just a touch of flair.

The following night they hit Ravenclaw tower. He easily solved the riddle on the door to gain entry, and Sirius painted a mural of an eagle soaring through a library wearing a Ravenclaw tie and hat. Remus wrote his message to Ravenclaw house and then hid both mural and message for later.

We're the Marauders of Hogwarts

and we're just as smart as you

we broke in here to prove it

and we left you with a view.

On Wednesday night, they were feeling a little tired, so decided to do their own house. Sirius painted his mural of a regal lion wearing a Gryffindor tie and hat, with a green and silver snake under its paw, and Remus once again added their note and hid both for later.

We're the Marauders of Hogwarts

and we broke in here to say

that Gryffindors are great

in every single way.

They didn't technically break-in to Gryffindor tower, but saying they did meant anyone from different houses who compared, still wouldn't know which house they were in. Although the "Gryffindors are great" part did give the game away a little. Slytherin was last, and they tackled them on Thursday night. Sirius had resolutely refused to paint a mural, even a mean one. So, instead, they set delayed transfiguration on the entire room to make everything inside turn a violent shade of pink at the allotted time. Remus wrote out the poem he'd written for the Slytherins before Sirius added an extra line at the bottom with a snigger.

We're the marauders of Hogwarts

you thought we wouldn't dare

but we broke through your defences

to redecorate your lair.

Suck it, Snape.

'Sirius!' Remus whisper-shouted. 'What?' Sirius asked, holding his hands up in defence. 'He might suspect us, but no one will believe him. He'll just make himself look crazy.' Sirius made a good point. No one would believe first years had pulled off the Halloween and Christmas displays. 'Alright, we'll leave it.' He cast the concealment charm, and they snuck back to Gryffindor Tower to get some much-needed sleep.

-o-o-o-o-

When Sirius woke up on Christmas day, it was still dark outside the window and Remus was sleeping peacefully. Perfect. He needed to sneak down to the owlery and wait for a special delivery.

He slipped out of bed, grabbed the clothes he'd put ready the night before and padded to the bathroom to dress. When he was ready, he snuck out of the dorm, shutting the door quietly behind him, and ran down the stairs to the portrait hole. It took him ten minutes to reach the ground floor and another ten to get to the owlery. Once there, he rubbed his arms against the cold and paced impatiently, waiting for the owl to arrive with Remus' Christmas present. Twenty minutes later, a large brown barn owl swept through the window carrying a box with holes in the top. He paid the owl and carried the box carefully back to the dormitory, before tucking it under his bed. Hopefully, it would stay quiet until he was ready to give it to him. Sirius glanced at Remus' sleeping figure under the covers. It was seven o'clock. Why was he still sleeping at seven o'clock on Christmas day? He tiptoed over to the bed, leant over Remus and-- 'Arghh!' Remus yelled. Sirius yelped and jumped backwards, almost falling over, and Remus cracked up laughing. 'Merlin, your face!' Remus said in between giggles. 'You scared the crap out of me.' He clutched his hand to his chest above his heart, which was racing. 'Nice one! How long were you awake?' 'Since before you came in the room. Where did you go?' Remus asked, sitting up in bed. Sirius scratched the back of his head. He was caught. There was no point lying about it. 'I went to receive a delivery. It's your Christmas present, actually.' 'Oh. Okay, did you want to do presents now? Or wait until after breakfast?' He gaped at Remus. 'Wait until after breakfast? Are you mad? Presents!' 'Well, that's what I was hoping you'd say, but it's polite to ask,' Remus said, smiling. 'Shall we open the ones from James and Peter first?' Sirius asked, grabbing a small square package and a long oblong one from the small pile at the end of his bed. Remus crawled to the end of his bed and found two similar packages in his own pile. 'Sure. Your bed or mine?' He walked over to him. 'I'm already up so let's sit on your bed.' They ripped the paper off of the small square boxes from Peter at the same time, and they each had a mega-box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Sirius immediately ripped his open and started examining a small white one. 'What do you reckon? Vanilla?' Remus peered at it. 'Could be.' He popped it in his mouth, chewed it with a grimace, swallowed, and said, 'I think it was toilet paper.' Remus shook his head, chuckling, and picked up the parcel from James. 'Ready?' They ripped the paper off of James' presents and each pulled out a fancy red dragon skin wand-holster with gold detailing. There was a note inside the parcel that read: A Marauder should always have easy access to their wand. 'Wow, this is amazing,' Sirius said, putting it on and placing his wand in it. He practised drawing his wand at speed. The action was smooth and clean, so much easier than fumbling to grab it from a pocket. 'Try yours.' 'I'll try it out once I'm dressed,' Remus said with a chuckle. 'Spoilsport,' he said, pouting at him, but he sat back down on the bed. 'Okay, you open mine now.' He handed Remus a small wrapped box and watched closely, eager to see his reaction. Remus took the present, looked at it, glanced at Sirius' bed, shrugged and pulled the paper off. Inside was a silver pendant strung on a black leather cord. The pendant was shaped like a shield with a stylised M in relief on its face. Surrounding the M were four symbols; a paintbrush and a broomstick crossed behind the M, and a book and a cauldron sat in front of it on either side. Remus examined it thoroughly before looking up at him. 'Did you make this?' He shrugged. 'I drew it and sent the design to a jeweller. I bought one for each of us. It's the Marauder's crest.' Reaching into the neck of his robes, he pulled out his own identical silver pendant. 'It's brilliant. Thank you,' Remus said. He put the pendant on and looked at it again with the corners of his mouth twitching up in a suppressed smile before tucking it inside his pyjama top and handing Sirius his present. Sirius took the package, wishing he knew what Remus was thinking, and tore the paper off. The glass ball inside fell into his hand and he stared at it. It was the perfect size to fit comfortably in his hand, and the glass was smooth and crystal clear. He glanced up at Remus. 'What is it?' 'I call it a snitch-o-scope. I transfigured the balls from the sand in the beach room and added charms to detect people nearby. Anyone that isn't the four of us.' 'What does it do if it detects someone?' he asked, giving the ball an experimental shake. Nothing happened. 'It glows red if it's an adult, or orange if they're underage.' Sirius felt his mouth stretch in a grin. Knowing if anyone was nearby would make sneaking around so much easier. 'This is brilliant. You always give the best presents. Thank you.' Remus smiled and a faint blush bloomed on his cheeks. 'You're welcome.' Okay. It was time for Remus' other present. 'I got you something else too.' 'What, why?' Remus asked, frowning at him and causing a crease to appear between his eyebrows. Sirius had the insane urge to reach out and smooth it, which he heroically resisted with great effort on his part. 'I thought of it after you told me about how alone you are at home.' That was an outright lie; he'd thought about it when he read the werewolf books, but Remus didn't need to know that. 'Okay?' Remus said. Sirius jumped up and fetched the box from under his bed, handing it to Remus before sitting back down on the bed to watch his reaction. Remus eyed the holes in the top of the box nervously and glanced back up. 'Is there something alive in there?' He grinned and nodded. 'It won't hurt you. I wouldn't give you a dangerous Christmas present.' Remus raised an eyebrow. 'I wouldn't put it past you.' Sirius barked out a laugh, and a tiny whimper came from inside the box. 'Oops, I think I scared it.' He waved his hands in a hurry-up motion. 'Open it.' Remus pulled back the flaps on the box and peeked inside. 'Awww.' He reached in and lifted out a tiny jet-black kitten. It was mewling softly. Remus settled the kitten in his lap and scratched its ears. 'You bought me a kitten?' He shrugged. 'Yeah. I thought it could keep you company. You know, at home?' And on the full moons, he finished in his head. Remus picked the kitten up and looked at its belly. 'Thank you, Sirius. I love her.' 'What are you going to call her?' Remus frowned. 'I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it.' He paused. 'I hope she gets on okay with Rieka.' He hadn't thought about that, cats and birds weren't traditionally friends. 'I'm sure it'll be fine.' He hoped it would be fine. If the cat ate the owl, he wasn't sure Remus would forgive him. They finished opening the rest of their presents. Remus had a new book series from his mum, and Sirius got a fancy set of quills from his Uncle Alphard and a letter he would read later. Once Remus had dressed and put on his new wand holster, they went down to breakfast.

-o-o-o-o-

Christmas breakfast at Hogwarts was a feast. Every single type of breakfast food you could think of was made available. Remus couldn't help but wonder what they did with the leftovers. The amount of food in this one meal would probably feed his family for two years.

They left the hall with full bellies. His new kitten had been alone in the dorm for a long time, and he may have been walking a little faster than he normally would. 'Would you slow down a bit?' Sirius asked from a few steps behind. 'I ate far too much, and I can't move that fast right now.' 'I'm worried about the kitten. She's been all alone up there for ages. What if she's scared?' Sirius chuckled. 'It's a cat, Remus. She's probably curled up on your bed fast asleep.' Sirius was proven right when they arrived at the dorm. The kitten was indeed, curled up in a black fluffy ball fast asleep. But there was something else on the bed next to her. A tightly rolled scroll, sealed with red wax. 'What's that? Has someone been in here?' Sirius asked. Remus sighed. 'I know as much as you do, Sirius.' Sirius glanced at him. 'Should we open it?' 'That's what you would usually do with mail, yes?' 'There's no need to be a smart arse. There's a mysterious letter on your bed, and you're acting like this is an everyday occurrence for you. Is this an everyday occurrence for you?' He rolled his eyes. 'No, Sirius. I can't say I've ever received a mysterious letter before. But if we don't look at it, it'll remain mysterious forever.' They stared at each other for a moment longer, before Sirius snorted and bounded over to the bed, grabbing the scroll. He broke the seal and unrolled it. 'It's addressed to The Marauders.' 'Who's it from?' he asked, joining Sirius by the bed and trying to see over his shoulder. An almost impossible feat as Sirius was a full head taller than him. 'Dumbledore?' 'No. It says it's from the Hogwarts Chiefs of Raucous Revelry,' Sirius said. 'Really? What does it say?' Sirius handed him the scroll. 'Read it.'

The Hogwarts Marauders, We have been watching you since you arrived at school and have been most impressed with your penchant for mischief and your ability to maintain a secret identity. Your large-scale events at the Halloween and Christmas feasts were remarkable, and your discovery of the beach room showed great promise for your future as mischief-makers. We have enjoyed six and a half wonderful years in charge of entertainment here at Hogwarts, but alas, it will soon be time for us to leave these hallowed halls and join the world. And so we must pass our legacy on to the next generation. Yes, you have guessed correctly. We have chosen the four of you to continue in our footsteps, bringing joy and wonder to the students of Hogwarts. But first, you must prove yourselves worthy. We have devised an elaborate challenge to test your determination, perseverance, skill and daring. You have until the 16th of June to complete the task and earn your reward: our legacy. On the sixth floor, there is a door that cannot be opened. Behind that door is a flag. When you retrieve the flag, you will attach it to the top of the astronomy tower. This will be the signal to us that you have completed the task. The only way to gain access to the room is by drinking a potion called Spectral Essence. We will provide one small piece of assistance in this task. The word "Dissendium" is of great importance on the third floor. Merry Christmas and good luck. Yours in mutual mischief, The Hogwarts Chiefs of Raucous Revelry.

He looked up from the scroll and stared at Sirius, feeling a little dumbstruck. Sirius just nodded. 'I know.' 'James is going to be unbearable when he reads this.' Sirius nodded again. 'I know.' 'He's going to hound us non-stop until we've completed the challenge.' Sirius nodded a third time. 'I know. Stop pointing out the obvious.' 'Right.' He sat down on the bed and picked up the kitten, placing her in his lap where she nuzzled his fingers. 'We could hide it, and never ever tell him?' he asked hopefully. 'If he found out, he'd never speak to us again.' He slumped. 'That's true. We're going to have to do it, aren't we?' 'Don't you want to?' Sirius asked, sitting down next to him. He grinned. 'Of course! I just don't want to put up with James' ego about it.' 'I know, but we can just tell him to shut up if it gets too much.' Sirius took the scroll and looked at it again. 'Do you want to investigate the third floor?' 'I think James will be mad if we start without him.' Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, you're probably right. Think we should tell him about it in a letter? We can be really cryptic, and he won't be able to stop thinking about it for the rest of the holiday.' 'Drive him crazy before he drives us crazy?' he asked with a chuckle. 'I think that's the best idea you've ever had.' They spent the rest of the day in their dorm writing to James and Peter to thank them for their presents and tell them cryptically about the letter, playing with his kitten which he named Cosmo, and setting up a back to school surprise in James' and Peter's beds, a task which included a lot of giggling. The feast mid-afternoon was every bit as spectacular as breakfast had been. The house-elves really went all out at Christmas, and the wizarding crackers were a good laugh. Sirius got a pirate hat which Remus thought suited him, and he got a muggle top-hat in a vivid shade of purple which Sirius forced him to wear for the rest of the day. The next three days of the holiday passed much like the first half, but with less excitement. They explored the castle some more. Having finished with the seventh floor, they had moved on to the sixth but had yet to find a door that wouldn't open. They tested out Sirius' snitch-o-scope, and it worked beautifully, silently alerting them to any human presence within twenty feet of their location. By Wednesday, though, he was beginning to feel the effects of the moon and wanted to slow down. He'd expected some resistance from Sirius to the idea of staying in the common room, but he seemed oddly understanding of his desire for rest, and they sat by the fire together with Cosmo curled up between them and did nothing much at all. It was nice. 'Hey,' Sirius said, breaking the companionable silence. 'Do you remember that lesson on boggarts? You weren't talking to us at the time.' He shuddered. How could he forget? The sight of his mum's bloodied corpse had haunted his dreams for weeks. 'Yes.' 'During that class, James said, after we graduate, he wants us all to move in together. Would you be up for that?' He glanced at Sirius. 'Are you sure I was included? Like you said, we weren't friends then.' Sirius nodded. 'Yes, he specifically said, "Remus too, if he ever talks to us again." Say you will, it'll be awesome.' Remus felt warmth flood his chest. James had included him even though they weren't talking at the time? The warmth soon disappeared though, to be replaced with a heavy weight and an ache in the back of his throat. He doubted they'd want a werewolf living with them, but he couldn't explain that, so he just nodded. 'Sure, sounds great.' 'Excellent,' Sirius said. 'It wouldn't have been the same without you.'

-o-o-o-o-

Letters sent after Christmas

Saturday, 25th December To James, Remus and I thank you for our beautiful wand-holsters. What a perfect present for a team of mischief-makers. Something very exciting happened today that we think you'll be delighted to hear about. Unfortunately, it is sensitive information, and we can't possibly tell you about it in a letter. So you will have to wait until you return to hear the specifics. Can't wait to see you, Sirius, Remus and Cosmo Saturday, 25th December To Peter, Sirius and I thank you for the sweets. We're being very careful about which ones we eat, but if I dare Sirius to eat them, he does, and he pulls very amusing faces. It's a lot of fun. Something very exciting happened today that we think you'll be delighted to hear about. Unfortunately, it is sensitive information, and we can't possibly tell you about it in a letter. So you will have to wait until you return to hear the specifics. Can't wait to see you, Sirius, Remus and Cosmo Saturday, 25th December To Sirius and Remus, Sirius, I love the pendant. I can't believe I didn't think about us needing an official Marauders crest. I'm going to wear it all the time. Did you get one for everyone? Remus, I have no idea what this globe thing is, but it keeps lighting up red. Is that bad? Only a week until I come back! James Saturday, 25th December To Sirius and Remus, Remus, what is this globe? It keeps flashing red and orange, and I'm worried. Sirius, thank you for my pendant. Did you get one for all of us? I really like it. Peter P.S. I can't write anymore. My muggle relatives are getting freaked out by all the owls. Saturday, 25th December To James, Thank you for the wand holster. This is the coolest thing I've ever owned. I hope you liked your sweets. Peter P.S. I can't write anymore. My muggle relatives are getting freaked out by all the owls. Saturday, 25th December To Peter, Thank you for the sweets. I kept all the yucky ones, melted them down and put them in my dad's coffee. It was so funny. James Sunday, 26th December To Sirius and Remus, First, who is Cosmo? Are they a new Marauder? Why was I not consulted? Second, tell me, tell me, tell me! James P.S. You're welcome. I hope you're both wearing them all the time. A Marauder must always be prepared. Sunday. 26th December To Peter, You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. I think you know by now how much I "enjoyed" the sweets. Have you heard from Sirius and Remus? Did they tell you about this exciting thing that happened on Christmas day? They won't tell me anything. Also, do you know who Cosmo is? James Monday, 27th December To James, Cosmo is the newest Marauder. She arrived on Christmas day, and her special talents include dozing in the sun and finger nuzzling. You were not consulted because you were not here. The globe is my own invention; I call it a snitch-o-scope. It lights up if people are nearby (except for us), red for adults, orange for children. Remus, Sirius and Cosmo P.S. We are both wearing our wand holsters at all times except when sleeping. Tuesday, 28th December To Remus, Sirius and Cosmo (Apparently), We have Remus for sun dozing, and Sirius for finger nuzzling. Why do we need Cosmo? I don't believe absence is a good enough reason for not being consulted. The snitch-o-scope is brilliant! It's going to be so useful. You still didn't tell me. Is it Cosmo? Is that the exciting thing? Waiting eagerly, James Wednesday, 29th December To James, I do not finger nuzzle! But you're right about Remus dozing in the sun. Alas, there is not much sun to be had in Hogwarts today, so Remus is dozing on the sofa in the common room in front of the fire instead. Cosmo is curled up with him, and I am all alone but standing guard. Cosmo is not the exciting thing. We cannot talk about the exciting thing in writing in case these letters are intercepted. Sirius (and a sleeping Remus & Cosmo) Thursday, 30th December Sirius and (a hopefully now awake) Remus and Cosmo, I was very confused by your description of Remus' and Cosmo's sleeping arrangements, but I am now starting to suspect that Cosmo is an animal of some sort. I'm in two minds about your refusal to tell me by letter about the exciting thing. I like your caution, but I hate that I have to wait. Only two more days, James

Chapter 26