#wanted to leave it open for any fiction not just HH but it just felt incomplete without the gif

[angelshizuka]

Estranged parent & child relationships where the main culprit is misscommunation, so there's always room to rekindle when they learn to communicate, because they've always unconditionally loved each other, they're just imperfect and make mistakes, and that's okay, my beloved!

[testingtwns]

Another stuck sneeze story, roughly 3k words, which takes place in the mid-1700s and in Russia. More information under the cut!

This is a fanfic based on an anime called Le ChevaIier D’Eon. The show is known by few and watched by fewer, so there may be a small handful of you who will know who I am based solely on the fact that I like this series. And, yes, the character that sneezes in this story is Maximilien Robespierre, though his anime counterpart is pretty different from who he was as an actual person. Here’s what Robespierre looks like in the anime. And here’s Lorenzia, the other character who appears in the story (and was maybe also a real person?). Even though I’ve made it obvious, I’ll just say again that this story is very much about their fictional representatives and not the actual historical figures.

Enjoy!

Lorenzia felt she understood the ways of men better than those of women. That knowledge was inevitable when you were a whore. Her body was her tool, it always had been, even before she’d christened herself in poetry and let spellwords snake across her skin. And in retrospect, the lessons men taught her hadn’t been difficult to learn. The men she’d known were pigs, running on instinct and instant gratification. A virgin soldier and his stoic captain were different in their expectations of pleasure, but the end result was always the same.

Lorenzia thought herself streetwise, but she knew now that her education in darkness was just beginning. The brothels and alleyways where sin festered were humorous, predictable—petty. The world of the rich had black secrets all its own. That was where the strings were pulled and real power dwelled. These powerful men were the ones she took lessons from now.

Maximilien Robespierre was such a man. He was a revolutionary. Lorenzia didn’t fully understand what circumstances had brought him in opposition of the monarchy, for he would not tell her. Robespierre’s motives didn’t pique her so much as his disposition, though. He was one of those rare types Lorenzia found endlessly intriguing: the type who would not bare his underbelly, figurative or literal, for a moment of ecstasy. Lorenzia had kissed so many loose lips, she wondered if the clamped ones had a different taste, a motley of secrets tucked under their tongues. Robespierre was not interested in letting her try.

Even now, as she observed him at the desk from her place on the bed, her lean body sprawled like a lazy cat’s, utterly coquettish, he continued to quill a letter without any glance in her direction. Robespierre hadn’t spared her a word since Cagliostro left the inn to buy more vodka. Lorenzia smirked with a quiet snort. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in Russia, drink as the Russians do,” was Cagliostro’s parting word. Another curiosity, that man— not weak to her breasts either, though perhaps it was because he’d seen them often. But at least Cagliostro had weaknesses, could declare himself mortal. Maximilien Robespierre’s countenance was almost otherworldly.

So, as Lorenzia had been so often studied by men, she studied him from her sideways stretch across the mattress. The book was next to him, as it always was. She narrowed her eyes at it. That tired brown tome had rejected her, and she was still offended. Only Maximilien could open it. When she tried, it had remained as tightly shut as if the pages were glued together. Cagliostro couldn’t even lift it. The book was full of Poet’s knowledge, no doubt. Such strong magic she had never witnessed before. It was just another secret swarming around a secret man.

Outside, the champagne-colored sky of a Russian dusk sent most travelers indoors, to inns and bars alike. The quill scratching across the parchment was the only noise that filled the chamber. Lorenzia felt hypnotized by it, lost in the lull of its gentle scraping… at least until it suddenly stopped. Maximilien paused, shifted in his chair. He sniffed, put his quill down, and dove the hand inside his jacket. Lorenzia felt her curiosity perking like a hound’s ears at gunfire. What was he looking for? He found it fast. His back was to her, but from her angle there was enough of his face visible to see it tilted back before the handkerchief he offered. A sneeze? It seemed the case, though seconds passed and there was no such announcement.

“Something the matter?” she drawled, voice honeyed with drowsiness.

Her words set him into motion once more. Robespierre brought the handkerchief to his nose and blew politely enough for the company of a lady before tucking it away again. “Nothing.”

“What are you writing?” Now that the silence was broken, she felt she could prod him further.

“It isn’t a concern.”

“Then there should be no harm in telling me,” Lorenzia mused.

“No harm, and no purpose.” Maximilien had resumed the letter now. His script, neat and even, matched his tone all too well.

Lorenzia propped herself up a bit. Her virgin white sleeve slipped farther down her forearm. “Shall I look over your shoulder, then, and spare you the effort of conversation?”

His eyes were to the paper, not on her pale arms, but her words did the trick. “It is for Bestuzhev. Addressing his concerns about Pyotr.”

“Of which he must have a thousand,” Lorenzia chuckled lightly.

“He must let go of those concerns if he is to see his plot through.” Maximilien paused his hand again. Kept writing. “It is Bestuzhev’s love for his country that keeps him from overtaking it.”

Lorenzia felt an excited stirring in her stomach. What a different world this was, to be in the presence of those who spoke of destroying the crown so casually. Cagliostro was right: they’d shed their comedy of a life for a tragedy, and it was every ounce more interesting. “But, do we not all have some love for our mother country?”

“Not all. Hh-!” His answer ended with a sharp intake of breath that made his spine straighten with the jolt of his shoulders. Lorenzia leaned up on her elbows to watch as he ducked his hand back into the recesses of his jacket to claim that handkerchief again and thrust it out before his face. He gasped once more, just barely a sound from parted lips. He was sure to sneeze. Lorenzia waited.

He didn’t sneeze. Maximilien relaxed and gave the smallest sigh as he tucked the cloth away.

“What is that all about?” Lorenzia draped her legs over the edge of the bed, letting her skirts fall where they may. “Why don’t you sneeze? You have to, don’t you?”

“Hmm.” Maximilien busied himself with the letter again. “I suppose I mustn’t if it doesn’t happen.”

His usually calm voice held just the slightest hint of frustration. Lorenzia was fixated. His composure was like a curl of paper peeling off its wall to reveal the whitewash beneath. If she decided to tug at that curl, how much more would she expose?

“Your nose is causing you trouble,” she pried.

Maximilien sniffed. “As are you.”

Lorenzia laughed, coy. “I am as bad as a sneeze that won’t come? You compare an ally to an enemy.”

An enemy it proved, as the phantom sneeze struck again and made him beg for it with a wavering, “Hhh...” He wrenched out the handkerchief with such urgency that Lorenzia thought his battle won. He hovered before his hand, his mouth marginally agape and wanting, but before long his shoulders dropped as his breath huffed out. Not to be. Robespierre was the sort to keep his composure intact, but Lorenzia fancied she could see his eyebrows lowering with each failed attempt.

She smiled to herself. Before her no longer was a being without exploit. Lorenzia was quite familiar with men who couldn’t reach relief on their own.

She stood up from the bed and padded over to him, doe-like, serpentine, not trying for alluring so much as masterful. Robespierre eyed her watchfully and stiffened. What obstinacy! Rarely did Lorenzia face such an iron shield. The challenge of lowering his guard enticed her.

Robespierre resisted by organizing the parchment before him, tapping the papers together in his hands. He coughed low in his throat. “Perhaps a bit of fresh air will cure this.”

“Will it? The window is open. Here.” Lorenzia reached to the desk to take up the quill. It was a goose feather, a tawny gray, the follicles lying in a tame diagonal. “I imagine this would cause a sneeze much faster than ‘fresh air.’”

Robespierre showed his immediate opposition with a furrowed brow, and then stood, taller by a good seven inches. “If I’m lucky, fresh air will cause it. If I’m luckier still, fresh air will drive it away. Pardon.”

Lorenzia gripped his arm before he left – the most brash she’d ever been with him, but she knew her voice alone wouldn’t keep him there. “Come now. Your not-quite-sneeze is curing my boredom... And it’s not polite to leave a lady alone. Would you abandon me and not even hesitate?”

At that final sentence, his usually composed features stirred towards despondence, which then dissolved into slow anticipation as said “not-quite-sneeze” returned to bother him further. The arm Lorenzia wasn’t grappling struggled to pull the handkerchief free and, once successful, covered his face with it…

His long-lashed eyes, dolphin gray, dauphin gray, held a sheen from the tickle in his nose, a sheen that reflected all nearby light from the candles and the window. In those sparkling eyes, Lorenzia suddenly imagined that there had, once upon a time, been a man who lived in the sounds of women’s laughter and the dull colliding of wooden steins and a song from the throat of a soldier. Who mourned the loss of that man? Did anyone? Did Robespierre?

It was too much. At last the tickle proved strong enough to become a sneeze, and Robespierre collapsed into his handkerchief with a sharp, single, “Ch’schuh!”

Lorenzia felt his body tremble with it up through her arm. “À tes souhaits, monsieur!” she simpered, pressing the inside of her elbow to his. “Though I do believe your wish just came true, yes?”

“… Sch’iuu!” A second tagged just after the first, muffled into the handkerchief again. He squinted his lids, as if he were trying to look at something close to his face. Was it a third sneeze on the way? Yes, it was – the handkerchief pressed beneath his nose, and the air came fast, frantic, into his lungs, lifting his diaphragm up, up–

And then dropping it in a sudden huff of breath.

And lifting it again–!

And… nothing.

Robespierre’s posture was a struggling against the hesitant third, somehow the most stubborn, of the sneezes, and Lorenzia saw her chance. She reached behind him to his quill on the desk, holding it delicately between forefinger and thumb. He didn’t stop her when she moved in towards him, mere inches away; he was too preoccupied with his closed eyes and fluttering breaths. Under normal circumstances, he would not let her, or anyone, this close to him. Lorenzia opened her mouth in a small smile, charmed by his distraction, his neediness, as she brought the feather to his face.

At the slightest touch, he pulled away. She pursued. He pulled away again, stumbling backwards to his chair and trying to turn to the desk, but Lorenzia caught him by his chin and turned him towards her instead. She felt his resistance to her soft fingers, wondered suddenly, briefly, if a woman had broken his heart, that her touch wasn’t an unusual sensation to him but in fact something all too familiar. That, like her spells, Robespierre’s skin was blanketed in memories and to touch him was to reopen a hundred invisible wounds.

But Lorenzia had never been the type of woman to hold back.

The introduction of the feather to the inside of his nose was met with a blustering snort. The next attempt was not much better. She imagined the feeling was very foreign and unpleasant, and Robespierre swatted her off when she tried again. He glared at her with watery eyes.

“Enough of that,” he growled. “You are only making it worse.”

 “That’s what your problem is,” Lorenzia said, bringing the feather under his chin. “It’s a sneeze. It has to get worse before it can get better.”

Robespierre went very quiet at that, but kept his jaw raised, not yet giving in to her argument. Lorenzia waved the feather against his right ear temptingly. He didn’t respond to it. He stared, not happy but not angry, as if he were looking right through her. Eventually, he closed his eyes. It was not her actions that seemed to undo Robespierre; it was more as though he had reached some decision with himself. The angle of his head sort of relaxed, then, as if letting her know she had permission to try again.

Lorenzia put on another slow smile. Even though she had ‘won,’ it had not been an easy victory, and she delighted in that notion.

This time Robespierre let the feather go deeper into his nose, as if to prove his acceptance. It still wasn’t long before he had to snort against it, but it was tucked in too deep to be forced out this time. Pleased by this, Lorenzia began to stir the feather around with tantalizing slowness. Robespierre’s response was subtle but immediate. He took in a few gasping breaths, so thin and light like whispers. His arms were folded, and his fingers twitched and tightened on their opposite elbow. When Lorenzia began to reverse the spinning of the quill, he clenched his teeth, grimaced, and opened his eyes to slits.

“I would prefer it if you didn’t take your time,” he rasped.

Lorenzia’s smile became more prim. “I’m not trying to take my time. Is it working then?” She trembled the feather as she swirled it and watched to see his response.

Robespierre shifted his posture uncomfortably. His upper lip twitched and his eyes narrowed. The feather wasn’t moving things along as quickly as he would have liked, she could tell, and before his patience could wear off and he’d say  “Never mind,” Lorenzia tried fervidly to make him sneeze. The feather spun faster, twitched more. It was bothering him, she could tell, but it wasn’t bothering him enough.

As his eyebrows began to knit and Robespierre opened his mouth, as if to protest, Lorenzia touched the feather to the back of his nose and gave it the tiniest of tremors. It was the last thing she could think of. Would it work?

Robespierre’s eyes widened, then clenched. “Hhh…”

Lorenzia kept at it. Robespierre sniffed, fluttery. “H-hh… Hh-huh…”

His gasps were getting deeper, sounding fuller in his chest than the light breaths from before. Proud of her success, Lorenzia continued this subtle gesture, and soon Robespierre’s head was tipping back, responding to the tiny stimulus much more urgently than the twisting. He couldn’t stand it, not for another instant. And with the feather tucked as far in as it would yield, and trembling like a leaf in a summer breeze, Lorenzia watched the stoic, steadfast Maximilien Robespierre lose control.

“—SHH’IUUU!”

He sneezed. It was a sneeze as stubborn as he was, and he’d barely had the resolve to brush Lorenzia’s hand to the side before it came free. The quill had fallen to the floor when he’d done it. His recovery seemed immediate; other than his still-pink nose, one might have guessed he hadn’t sneezed at all, if they hadn’t seen it happen. But though his face was placid, it was not the end. Robespierre turned fully to the desk, whisking out his handkerchief, and sneezing into it three more times. “… Sh’iuuu! Huh-shhoo! —shhh!” Then he blew, roughly, politely, a last time, and sighed like someone who was tired.

“À tes souhaits,” Lorenzia purred again. She picked up the feather from its place on the floor and pointed at him with its soft tip. “Well? Did that do the trick then?”

She had been hoping Robespierre would be embarrassed by the ordeal, or maybe even a little relieved and thankful—anything other than his usual despondence. But his eyes were foggy and distant as he tucked his handkerchief away, and he was quiet for a moment.

“Well?” Lorenzia smirked, though she was feeling a little put-off. “Not even a thank you?”

Robespierre did look at her then. If he were smiling, it was so small as to be scarcely perceptible. She could have been imagining it. “I was under the impression that that was an exchange, not a favor.” His voice was as rehearsed as ever. “You’ve cured my ailment, and I’ve cured yours.”

Lorenzia blinked, eyebrows joining in puzzlement. “My ailment?”

Robespierre took the quill not forcefully from her fingers. “Your boredom.”

With that, he set back to his letter with the very culprit that had caused his sneeze.

Lorenzia watched him. The feather was only a bit disheveled by its ordeal. The man who held it was in equal poise. Somehow, she felt she knew Maximilien Robespierre even less than she had before.

After another ponderous moment, Lorenzia trailed back to the bed and curled up on it, a lounging jungle cat once more. Outside, the roof of the pale sky was dappled with tiny stars. She heard Cagliostro coming up the road, shouting something merry to a passerby in a voice that said he’d already gotten started on that vodka. Soon he’d be upstairs, a bottle in each hand, and the din of the room would surely be broken until he fell into a drunken sleep.

“Lorenzia.”

Robespierre’s voice was somehow quiet and powerful at once. It cut through the air just as well as Cagliostro’s booming laughter.

Lorenzia sat up, playing her fingers through her thick hair. “Mm?”

“There’s no need to tell Cagliostro about what transpired while he was away.”

Lorenzia’s mouth opened just a bit in surprise. Then she smiled. “And… if I did tell him?”

Robespierre’s hand had not stopped writing while he spoke. “I should not feel the need to stay company with someone who I cannot trust, nor should I feel inclined to protect their secrets… or, perhaps, alleviate their boredom.”

Without any wind blowing through the window, Lorenzia felt herself shiver. She was not sure if she could love men anymore, but this particular man knew how to keep her interest.

She bowed her head to him as if he were a king. “Well… we certainly can’t have that, now, can we?”

[makoto-nanami]

Miraculous Rewrite: Origins Part 1 (Chapter 1)

Hi, this will be my first Miraculous fan fiction, while I love the show, I most definitely have my gripes with it, how they treat their characters is something that infuriates me, and while this fic may get salty sometimes, I do love the characters, it’s just because of the status quo that the writers are instant on maintaining, they can’t grow or act sometimes completely out of character. So I’ve decided to have a try at writing a fic with my own OC in, to act as the voice of reason when Marinette starts going overboard/borderline cringy or when Adrien is a innocent baby who doesn't understand the world or when he thinks it’s okay to have a tantrum or flirt with ladybug. I’ll be following the episodes, so they won’t be too different, just told from a different perspective. Again I apologise in later chapters if I seem too have ingested a ton of salt, but know if I salt on a character I plan to resolve it at the end of the episode. I hope you enjoy!

- Also, if anyone could suggest which tags this needs because I blanked when I tagged this... (-_-’)

Origins Part 1 - Chapter 1

Many millennia ago, concepts of life were born, however, these beings realised they had too much power, a power that could easily be abused. So, they gathered to a kind human who had chosen to live in isolation from the rest of his kind and protect the world when needed, a bestowed their blessings in hopes that the human would help them. The human was confused by the seemingly god-like beings’ request, how could they trust a lowly human such as himself, a coward who turned his back on the rest of the world after witnessing the corruption such power brought to his brethren? These gods simple smiled upon this man and said you are no hero, you are no villain, you are simply an observer, a helper, someone who despite his hate to the world, chose to protect it in its time of need.

So, the man heeded their call, creating magic jewels embedding them with extraordinary blessings from these gods, the Kwami, binding them to the jewels restricting their powers. These were… the Miraculous.

Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of humanity. However, The Creator of the Miraculous realised, that two of these jewels were more powerful than the other despite his efforts of balance; the earrings of the Ladybug, which provided creation; and the ring of the Black Cat, which granted the power of destruction. The Creator knew that whoever controlled both blessings would achieve absolute power, a power that the Kwami had feared would be manipulated with malicious intent. After realising his mistake, The Creator promised that no matter what, he would observe the Miraculous, personally in their times of use, as he could not stop humanities tragedy on his own; leaving the Jewels with his disciples allowing them to distribute when humanity cried out in suffering.

However, no one can live forever without a cost. Many have tried, all of them have failed with various degrees of success. Immortality is a fickle thing. Wishing for eternal youth, cursed to never grow, burying loved ones and always begging for an end to your torment. The Creator had witnessed this, one of his many mistakes, one he most definitely wanted to learn from. So, he wished to be reincarnated, to watch the miraculous in humanities time of need. Unfortunately, souls and memories of humans are just as fickle as the body. While he would reincarnate he would inherit the life his successor, cursed to watch as the loved ones drift away, fade and die, cursed to watch with red eyes.

But that’s just a silly story my mother would tell me as a child. She would tell me how maybe I could be the next reincarnation of this strange man; I’d laugh when she would tell me that. Then suddenly out of the blue; I started having strange thoughts, dreams of another time, voices of people crying out for help. My mother, Evangeline, a woman who raised me, a woman who while not connected to me in blood, still cared for me as if her own, one day told me this story again, this time… I did not laugh, I cried. I looked at my mother; realised… she had not aged a single day since the day I had met her all those years ago, she smiled and told me I was ready. She told me of her friend who trained to protect the Miraculous and how she housed and protected him in his early days after the temple was destroyed. She then explained how it was time for me to fulfil my promise to the world and how I would be going to Paris, France to work with her friend to protect the Miraculous.

Why though? It wasn’t my responsibility; I never made any promise to the world! All I wanted to be was slightly successful, hanging out with friends and working towards achieving my dreams as a P.I! I never wanted this! But as I was on the plane to Paris, I couldn’t deny it… I felt the pull of that man’s promise; I won’t give in though, no matter what I will not be that man! I will observe but I will not change myself, I will not become him, not while I still have my dreams of friendship and life.

Once in Paris, I find myself outside of a massage shop… this looks shady. Why the hell would Eva send me to a massage parlour? Well, I need to figure out what’s going on and figure out my living accommodations, so might as well bite the bullet on this shady place.

Knock-knock.

The door opened at the force of my knock; that’s some security for world-ending jewels. I make my way into the shop and spot an old man meditating… this is just getting weirder. As I’m about to announce myself, he speaks. “Welcome, Young Creator.” He opened his eyes, widening as he took in my appearance. “Well… this was not what I was suspecting at all.” Rude. “But worry not, come and I shall explain the gaps in your memory.”

“Excuse me, but I am not that man, obviously. I am my own person, while I intend on helping him fulfil his promise… I have no intention of becoming him.”

“But…”

“I’ll help you but know that I am not him.”

He stared at me considering my words before gesturing for me to sit down. I sit as he pours green tea into cups.

“I understand. Now allow me to introduce myself, I am Wang Fu, Evangeline has told me a lot about you.”

“Likewise. However, I am a little confused about the situation here in Paris. There is no media mention of any Miraculous holders, so obviously neither the Ladybug nor Black Cat is in circulation as the powers they hold are less than subtle when used, so why am I here?”

“I see, you are correct in your deduction of the state of the Miraculous’, however, you were drawn to Paris, correct? We believe that that pull indicates humanities potential ruin. As soon as you started to have visions of the past, Evangeline contacted me, I was already here in Paris so we decided it may be best to let you settle in and learn about your role and responsibilities hopefully before the path to ruin forms. Of course, due to your age as well, we have been forced to enrol you in a local school high school.”

I blanched at this, having already graduated from a high school for the gifted where it wasn’t considered strange for children to skip grades depending on their academic standing. Great… just freaking fantastic… Fu looks at me as if looking for my opinion, I simply sigh and shrug, excepting my fate, begrudgingly.

“So… Where exactly will I be living? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but this shop/apartment isn’t exactly big.”

“Yes, my home is only so big, and I already have a littler of picky roommates. Evangeline and I have decided to let you stay at her old home while she lived in Paris many years ago. She assured me that it would be to your tastes and it isn’t too far from your new school.”

Eva’s old home? I kinda worried now, she’s the sort of person who loves antiques and old dollies, sure she grew out of it when she adopted me but if this is her ‘old’ home… It’s not exactly a place I want to be, surrounded by creepy dolls and old stuff, at least I didn’t have to pay rent… wait…

“What about money? If I live alone, won’t I have to buy food and stuff?”

“Ah yes, Evangeline told me, that while she is more than happy to supply money for food and essentials, it will be sent to an account that will record what you buy, she stressed that I tell you that money is for essentials only.”

“Sounds like Eva… did she mention anything else?”

“Oh, she told me to give you this note when you asked about money.” He hands me a small note.

-       If you want games, junk, comics/books, anything not essential… GET A JOB!

-       Love you, Eva!

Yup… that’s definitely Eva. I laugh weakly, thinking who would hire a 13-year-old kid for more than a paper-round. Suddenly a flash of green whizzed around the room, I instinctively tensed ready to defend myself but quickly feeling foolish, seeing a green Turtle like creature.

“Wayzz…” I find myself muttering, having no idea of where the name came from… perhaps one of his memories.

“Master, Master! Master, the Moth Miraculous, I felt its aura!” Wait, what?

“I thought it had been lost forever!” He lost a Miraculous?! What?!

“But Master, it’s a negative aura. I fear it may have gotten into the hands of a dark power!” Oh just great!

“We must find Nooroo and his Miraculous. If it has gotten into the wrong hands, it means the path to ruin has formed and there’s no telling what evil will come to the world!” He stands raising his fist hand to the ceiling, a green turtle shell charm bracelet reviling itself. I find myself stammering.

“Hh-hey wait a sec- “

“Time to transform! Wayzz- Hack!” He doubles over in pain. If I wasn’t so confused, I’d find this almost comical… almost. Wayzz floats over to him almost exasperated.

“Please Master. Be reasonable. You are- “

“Still young! I’m only 186.” Only?! Then again, I just found out the woman who raised me is an immortal child, so what do I know. “But you’re right, Wayzz. Young One, I can no longer do it alone, it is time… We’ll need some help.” He walks over to the gramophone and revealing a box with symbols I somehow knew all too well, a box that housed the most powerful jewels in the world, the Miraculous.

As we roam the streets of Paris, I notice a school. Other kids making their way inside, chatting about their summer vacation. I feel myself dread at the idea of enrolling during the second year, everyone already knows each other, it’s gonna feel weird, dammit. We get to a crossing and I see a short navy haired girl rush out of the bakery across the street with a box in her hands, as I am about to dismiss her from my thoughts, Fu started to walk forward acting frail and old despite the light still being red for pedestrians. “Hey, wait!”

“Uuuhhaawh?!” The girl rushed out and grabs him by the hand, taking him to the other side of the street, dropping the box in the process. The light changes and I rush over, noticing people stepping on the baked goods that fell out the box.

“Thank you, miss. Oh! What a disaster.” Yeah, I wonder who’s fault that is, old man. I pick the box up and hand her it back.

“Sorry about your macarons, he just walked into the road suddenly.”

“Don’t worry, I’m no stranger to disasters, besides, there are still a few left. Would you like one?” She said kindly, offering the box to pick one out. Fu reached out and took one before eating it.

“Mmmh. Delicious! Do you attend Françoise Dupont? My friend’s child here is enrolling today for the second-year class.” Wait, what’s he doing?

“Oh really? Welcome to Dupont then! Do you know which class you’ll be in?”

“Erm, I believe Miss Bustier’s class?”

“Same here! Would you like me to show you the way?”

“Oh no, there’s no nee- “

“Oh thank you, it’s reassuring that this little one will have such a friendly face in class.” What the hell old man!? As if reading my thoughts, he looked at me innocently. “After all, it’s normal for a child to attend the first day of school, right?” Ack… he goddamned planned this! I don’t know how but he definitely planned this! Aren’t I supposed to help you find the holders for the Miraculous, Fu? Again, he simply smiles as he looks at me. “I’ll inform you of my progress when school finishes.”

“Oh no, we’re gonna be late! Ah, have a nice day, sir! Come on!” She cries as she pulls me along. “Oh, how rude! I don’t think I’ve asked your name!”

“My name? Oh, it’s Alice.”

“Alice, eh? Nice to meet you, and I must say, what lovely red eyes you have!”

[rvpx-99]

Hello there! So I decided to write some fan fiction for the first time. This one is about “Spova” (SPRX-77 & Nova from SRMTHFG) Hope you’ll enjoy it. Part two tomorrow!

SPOVA: Ruined date (pt.1)

It’s been a shuggazoomian year since Sprx and Nova went out. That means it was time for something special, as it was their first anniversary. Nova was expecting something big that even kept her from falling asleep, while Sprx didn't even remember. The next day, as they were preparing to check the city, Nova was sending signals towards Sprx and teased him, but Sprx didn't seem to understand. However, he decided to play the game and pretended he does;

N: “So Sprx, how do you feel today?”

S: “Today I feel fantastic! Yesterday I polished my rocket interior, so I can get in a pleasantly smelled place today. Also Chiro has a new videogame that was relased just a day ago! A-a-and... they delivered me a supply of my favorite cherry soda!...”

Nova gave Sprx a suspicious look.

S: “A-a-and of course... you... hh 💧”

Nova’s look turned into smirk.

N: “Great! I’m also looking forward to today’s day! Can’t wait to see what you have prepared!”

S: “You’ll be very surprised.”

N: “Oh, really?”

S: “I’m sure you will... Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you!”

When the nova was out of sight, Sprx decided to find out what was going on and ask Gibson. It was obvious he must know.

S: “Hey Blue, what day is it today?”

Gibson needled him first, but as he was smart and ready to throw it into Red’s face, with smirk on his face Gibson told Sprx the actual date. Sprx got little annoyed.

S: “I know, brainiac. What else? It’s partly cloudy and sunny outside?”

G: “Actually, weather is partly cloudy today. And it can’t be partly cloudy and sunny at the same time-“

S: “Okay Mr. Highbrow! Why does Nova, and all of you in fact, act so funny!?”

G: “Perhaps your one year anniversary, Mr. Perfect.”

Sprx felt so embarrassed for two reasons;

Forgetting about the anniversary and because Gibson had to tell him about it. If he asked someone else at least, but not Gibson. Looking dumb in front of Gibson was lowering his ego. Now, to make things worse, Nova expected him to show out while he had no idea what to do. He would have sworn he could feel a cold sweat in his fur.

After short period he just replied “Thanks.” grumpily.

At least he knew. But there was still one big problem - what should he do?

On that day while checking the city, Sprx kept looking at her. The way she talks, the way she moves, the way she smiles. The courage she has besides how sweet she is. He loves everything about her. However, he didn’t imagine their relationship going this way. - It wasn’t that he hated it. Conversely, it was dream come true, because even if Sprx was too afriad to show his fear, Nova was his one and only treasure and he was afraid to lose her.

After all, they are not normal couple.

They are not even normal monkeys.

They are fighting machines.

They don’t know rest.

Although Sprx enjoys flying in his Fist Rocket, enemy disposal and all the adrenaline rush, he would turn back time to the good old days when they were just monkeys.

For Nova. To keep her safe.

But they have a responsibility to protect the cosmos. And he knows it. And Nova, she accepts it.

It seems Sprx worries about her more she does worry about herself. Even when it maybe doesn’t look like that sometimes.

His next fear was also about Nova. His next fear WAS Nova. When she gets mad, he feels it’s better to hide. As he was looking at her, he smiled. Nova noticed and smiled back at him. As she turned her head back forward, Sprx’ smile froze.

The other thing is... he didn’t expect their relationship to look like this. Nova is in fact very dangerous, when gets mad. He already stopped counting times when she punched him or yelled at him. Or being mean. Yet their relationship is so cuddly, soft and innocent. He perceived her as fearless and explosive. That’s why it was so exciting to tease her. But since they are together it seemed Nova became more opened and showed her soft side more. After all, what did he expect? Their relationship to be hot and sensual? He couldn’t even imagine it. Before they became a couple moments and fantasies filled his mind. He knew he desires to be close to her. To take her hand. To kiss her. But the idea of what their actual relationship would look like never occurred to him. Nova held back when it came to closeness instead of cuddling and kissing cheecks.

Sprx wasn’t really into romantic movies, plushies, cuddling and other sweet things. But as long as Nova was so happy and cheerful it filled his heart. Even when he didn’t really like it he enjoyed their time together.

But maybe since it’s been a whole year it’s time to speed it up a bit and make it more interesting.

Sprx managed to make it to the robot first so he could prepare their room - now they shared one room together. Although the only thing Sprx ever wanted was to be close to Nova all the time, yet he seems to be little uneasy since he was used to some privacy. Not gonna lie, he misses it.

When everyone returned and Sprx could be alone with Nova, he began to lead her into the room. He was very sure of himself. Nova was so happy he remembered and Sprx, he was so proud of himself. But maybe too soon.

They made it their room which looked a bit different now.

Rose flakes made a path on the floor, romantic music sounded in the background, scented candles smelled nicely around and it was darker than usual.

Nova felt little uneasy but tried her best to not show it since she didn’t wanna ruin the atmosphere. Sprx had to try so hard! She managed to make nervous smile while Sprx was explaining his plans to her;

S: “...I have a surprise for you. I’m sure you’ll love it! But let’s leave the best for last. First I picked up movie myself. It’s a horror movie this time. For change...”

N: “Ehh... why would you pick a horror movie for our date night, Sprx?”

S: “Isn’t that obvious? I know how much you love to cuddle. Do you can snuggle up to me when you’ll be scared and I’ll keep you close and protect you.”

N: “Great...”

In fact, Nova didn’t like needing Sprx’ help and protection. Her biggest fear was to be helpless and scared. She also wasn’t happy to watch a horror movie. She isn’t scared in terrain, when they battle, but she doesn’t like to see anything scary when she doesn’t need it. She isn’t afraid, but she hates jump scares so much.

Slowly she sat down on settee keeping her nervous grin. While watching she tried to look away from screen as much as possible without getting Sprx to notice her. The last thing she wanted was to scream or jump out of fear in front of him. When the movie finally ended, Sprx asked her about her opinion. Nova tried to stutter some answer but before she could even think of something, she notices Sprx getting closer to her prepared to kiss her lips.

Nova started to panic. All she could do was to yell “Noo!” and slapping Sprx.

He covered his cheek with hand, started to rub it gently without understanding of what just happened. Nova now looked scared covering her mouth with both hands.

Silence.

It felt so uncomfortable.

N: “Sprx... I’m so sorry! I-“

S: “Why... ouch... why did you do that?”

N: “I didn’t mean to... I just... I panicked you know?... Does it hurt a lot?”

S: “Panicked? Over what?”

N: “Sprx...”

S: “Sure it does. Your hands would kill a rhino.”

His eyes got stuck open widely and his body froze. As he realised what he had said, he closed his eyes, covered his face with hands, gritted his teeth and crouched, tried to prepare himself for extra punch. But it wasn’t coming. Slowly he looked at Nova. She still seemed to be little scared.

N: “Why did you do that?”

S: “Do what?”

N: “You tried to kiss me, didn’t you? On my lips? Without asking?”

S: “I did. Why would I have to ask? We are dating.”

N: “Because... we never kissed before. On lips.”

S: “Ah, seriously Nova? We are dating over a year!”

N: “So what, Sprx? It doesn’t matter how long we-“

S: “How long do you wanna keep me waiting? Forever?”

N: “Waiting for what!? Sprx! I thought I meant something more to you!”

S: “Nova...”

N: “I just... I can’t... I can’t believe it!”

S: “Nova... Nova wait!”

Nova was leaving.

S: “Nova please!”

She was gone.

S: “*Sigh*...You mean everything to me.”

“Hey Nova, are you alright?” Jinmay asked

N: “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Nova left the super robot. Everyone blinked incomprehensibly.

Sprx was devastated. But after a while, he calmed down. “She probably just needed some space.” he thought. He decided to think more about what nova really likes. He cleaned up their room and redecorated it, Now, tiny lightbulbs of purple, pink and white lights lighted up the room. He prepared a cute comfortable bunker for them, some snacks and a romantic action movie of Nova’s favourites. He was just about to make some dinner when Chiro said: “Nova has been gone for little too much long.”

S: “Don’t worry about it, Kid. She just needed some space.”

G: “Any inconvenience, Sprx?”

S: “Don’t worry about it, Gibson.”

G: “Hmm... Actually, all of us should be worried. The radar says Nova is in trouble!”

Corrected by Gibson about Nova. Again. What a shame!

C: “Monkeys, mobilise!”

To be continued...

[socksual-innuendos]

j grahams and emi

So idk if you wanted them as seperate characters or how they handle together but I’m gonna do both...all three? Y e a h

A Realistic HC

For Joshua, he’s prone to skin conditions even when he’s careful. His skin no longer acts like normal skin and can’t create the slightly acidic environment that helps kill microbes. Because of this, if he isnt thorough in cleaning himself, he can end up with skin infections or microbial growth very easily. I also think he has to dry himself off thoroughly after a wash or that he cant have wet bandages or clothes sticking to his body for too long. This would keep moisture close to his body which would again allow something to start growing on him. To slightly build off of this, I do think he smells a bit mossy at times.

For Em, I see her age starting to catch up to her after the bullet. She’s felt it before but NV events really lock it in. There’s plenty of ache, plenty of soreness, plenty of injuries that take a while to heal. She still loves what she does, but some mornings she just wants to go back to bed.

For both? Not certain, but I don’t properly know who kills who, or if either will at all. I think a big arc for Emi would be letting him go, at least in the target sense. She’s a headhunter and her desire to be the one to put Graham down is actually what allows them to start growing closer as friends. He’s so easily replaceable by different people she’s met, yet the fixation she has for being the one to kill him allows him to become more to her (she still wants to kill him though)? In the end he throws it all away and dropping their friendship completely is a choice Emi easily makes but, she could still return to Zion to see him one last time (not that he would see her, if she’s careful) and get her final kill. They’re both tough bastards, and they both have wills of steel, but I’m not entirely certain they would even get to that point.

Not realistic, but hilarious,

For both? It would def be Emi pegging him. While I think Emi would be able to do it and I laugh at the prospect that Graham gets off to it and is deeply ashamed by that, I cant work it into their story naturally. Still though, he gets the shocker at some point, and it goes about as well as you’d imagine.

For Em, I love to exploit her 10 Agil in stupid ways. I’m talking full spiderman shenanigans. She just abuses that grappling hook of hers in ways that doesnt make physical sense and you know what? This is fiction for a reason, and the frog has decided to drop in.

And Graham uuugh-- This might be more realistic headcanon taken a bit far but like, him reverting to a gross teenage boy when no one is looking.

Heartbreaking HC thats fun to inflict

God what isnt fun to inflict on Emilia. I cant think of anything canonical to her story immediately but anything that leaves her without Cam in some fashion kills me. Em can endure a lot of shit but her sister is her rock in all cases. In fact a whole au i have is based around Camila just not being there, and Emi is Much Different. I think the loss of Cam is the best heartbreak though. Emi can’t handle it in any capacity, and unless she has somewhere to focus that grief and pain she’s immediately unhinged.

You can never make me feel bad for Joshua buuuuuut— I think about how a lot of folks don’t mention that once shit is said and done, he probably feels conflicted over Caesar’s death. Edward being alive meant Joshua didn’t have to think about much aside from the anger, but now that he’s gone from the world? Graham has nothing but the past to focus his rage at, and 30+ years of friendship and ruling together heavily overpowers five years of denial and assassination attempts. Now hes left to face the loss, and its an unprocessed loss. And its also a loss he cant talk to anyone about because no one mourns the wicked. I fully believe that he has very few avenues allowing him closure over this, and that it will conflict him for the rest of his life.

For both uuugh, I think they’d make amazing partners if Graham could get over his pride. At the end of the day Graham’s need to fill his leader role inevitably prioritizes image over interpersonal relationships. Being a trade route away from Vegas, he’s basically Em’s neighbor and she was open to the idea of them staying friends. He however made his choice and he will die lonely on his throne. Given their dynamic, there’s so much potential between these two that will never get explored because Graham is well, Graham, and no matter what alternate routes rock bottom gives him, hes going to try and climb right back into his war chief role.

What I ignore canon for

A lot of shit, lmao. For both of them, I am overwriting a lot of the climax dialogue and HH ending. Emi prevents him from killing Salt purely because she is pissed and doesnt want him to have his satisfaction. She’s angry he dragged her into this, she’s pissed she cares about Chalk and that she couldn’t leave him, she’s angry that Joshua abandoned her (leading to her being injured) because he’s obsessive. She wanted that dog to sit and she made him do it, one way or another. They hate each other a while, and whether he realizes it or not I fully believe Joshua is less receptive then on to her because she managed to force him down. I have a lot of thought about how the endings to Honest Hearts should actually be switched, but this is an Ignore Canon answer for Joshua.

Emi I ignore a lot of in game mechanics for. She broke Raul out first and he was her first and main companion for a while, a lot of Lonesome Road story gets ignored because it fucks with her story previous to NV, and she does head straight to Jacobstown via Quarry Junction. Emi is an old and seasoned bird, she can handle herself and knows the roads. Because of this the game goes a little backwards for her, and her biggest struggle was trying to get into the Strip (She really pissed off Mick and Ralph at first, and in the end they eventually sold her the damn fake pass lol).

For Joshua, I think his endings slides should be switched for the choices you make. I want to see a Joshua that is resentful about the courier talking him down. I want to see him going full force after that, angry that he was again controlled into going against his beliefs (see: blame shifting him losing faith during Legion Time as Edward’s fault). Let me see Joshua acknowledging he went full emotional bitch when slaughtering Salt, let him be more mindful of not losing himself to emotion later on when he’s leading the tribes. Let his path come from within rather than having a third party trying to make him ‘good’. He’s a self made man in the sense that everything he’s done is because it’s what he wanted, or what he does to fix things is because he had saw issue within it. 

[runenc03]

HH - Kaycee’s third year (part 4)

Writing date: November 2019

Genre: fluff fluff fluff. They’re starting to grow into their feelings though :)

Warnings: Nope, no warnings. I actually really like this chapter!

Word count: 7.9k

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

Summer

He felt her before he saw her.

The tight pressure of her arms wrapped around his middle, the curve of her lips caused by her face being buried in the crook of his neck, her shriek of happiness filling his ears.

His smile doubled in brightness.

And to think he actually didn't want to come to the Quidditch World Cup. He had never been really into Quidditch, despite going to many Hogwarts matches to cheer for Harry. It just wasn't as exciting for him as for some other people. Ron had been nagging him about coming together with the Weasley's, trying to pursuade him by saying that Molly missed him, or that it'd be good for him to get used to magic again a little before the school year started. Nothing had helped though, and Ron had given up, when Sean had realised something very important:

Hermione had told him she would be staying with the Weasley's around that time.

Which meant Kaycee would be coming as well.

"Nice to see you too, Kayc."

The short girl lifted her head, positively beaming at him, eyes shining. Oh, how he'd missed that face.

"I missed you so much."

It was hard for Sean to put to words how strongly he felt it within him when she said those 5 words, so he concentrated on absorbing as much of her scent and warmth as possible for now.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Kayc."

He wanted to stay there forever, basking in the sunlight of the field they were on, the excited buzz of people surrounding them, Kaycee's hair slightly tickling his jaw because she had tucked her head under his chin. Not that he minded.

What did bother him, however, was Ron's yelling seemingly becoming louder with every passing second. He tried to ignore it at first, but reacting just became inevitable after a while.

"Hey, Kaycee, I just found a really great spot to see the next match! If you come quickly, it won't be crowded yet! Oh, hi Sean."

Sean stayed silent, not really knowing what to say to such an utterly insensible act, but Kaycee lifted her head off of his chest.

He saw her uneasy smile towards Ron, but it didn't compensate for the empty spot on his chest completely.

"Yes, alright, I'll come with you Ron."

And that's when she seperated herself completely from his body. He couldn't really blame her, it was only logical that she wanted a good spot to look at the Quidditch game. It had been proven multiple times already that her height, as adorable as he thought that trait of her's was, was often challenging when it came to watching Quidditch matches. He couldn't help but long for a moment to themselves again though, without anyone interrupting.

But his semi-sulking session was cut short soon by Kaycee, who was shaking her curls, trying to get them to behave, even though he found her curls beautiful no matter what. When she was satisfied with her hair, Sean had just enough time to catch himself staring before she turned around again, looking expectantly at him with a broad smile, her eyes slightly squinted because of the sunlight.

"Shamu, are you coming, or are you going to stand there all day?"

He smiled back at her, and started to jog to catch up on her.

And when he walked next to her and the back of her hand brushed against his by accident, he sighed in contentment.

He was ready for a new year full of magic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Autumn

"HARRY POTTER"

Sean's hand had immediately enclosed itself around Kaycee's wrist when Dumbledore had repeated himself, louder than the first time he had said Harry's name. They had all been in the Great Hall to finally find out who the contestants of the triwizarding tournament would be, and no one had expected Harry's name to come out of the renowned goblet.

Instantly, the Great Hall had been filled with urgent whispers from students, guests and teachers. The atmosphere had managed to get dark within seconds, and Sean hadn't known if it was just him who had felt so cold inside, or if there had actually been some sort of magic that had made the temperature of the Hall decrease rapidly.

Next to him, Hermione had turned her back to him, facing Harry and ushering him forward.

He had seen the hesitation in his friend's steps, the way his hands had clung to the side of his pants, a habit Sean knew he had created out of fear of not having a good grip on his wand when he was sweating in stressful situations.

Suddenly, someone had shouted, effectively overpowering all the other voices:

"He's a cheat!"

The shout had immediately been followed by someone else yelling that Harry wasn't even seventeen yet, and Sean had only been able to watch his friend's shoulders slump with every audible comment.

Then, when Harry had finally reached the other contentants, he had turned around, and his eyes had locked with Sean's.

The Ravenclaw had seen a lot of emotions swirling inside Harry's eyes, but the deep, raw fear was definitely the superior emotion swirling inside his orbs. Harry had been completely, utterly engulfed in fright, and Sean had felt the goosebumps on his arms erupt.

It was in that moment that he had vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to help Harry.

And up until now, he had. Harry's name had come out of the goblet exactly thirteen days ago, and Sean had kept his promise. He had spent more time in the library than in the last 3 years together, searching for the right books to help his friend, reading them, taking notes and putting the information he collected into complicated schemes until even he couldn't see the logic in after a while.

To say that he was exhausted was an understatement.

"Mr Lew, I was kind enough the last time. Please give me the books you're reading now and leave the library. Your sudden obsession shouldn't interfere with my night rest."

Sean's back promptly straightened upon hearing the librarian's voice, and he felt his neck muscles protest at the sudden turn his head made. That was going to hurt tomorrow.

"My apologies, Madam Pince, I'll make sure-"

"I'll make sure he'll get to his common room safely, Madam Pince. Come on Sean, hurry up. It's too late to read something other than fictional stories."

This time around, both his and Madam Pince's head turned around abruptly. In the doorway of the library, a few feet away from him, stood Kaycee. She was wearing light pink pyjamas with little white dots on it and her hair was down, falling in dark ringlets past her shoulders.

"Shamu, are you coming, or are you going to sit there all night? You know Madam Pince wants to go to sleep, and I know that you could use some of that as well."

Kaycee's first sentence promptly brought him back to the last time she had said something along those lines, back to better times, when the only thing on his mind had been Ron interrupting their little moments. He hadn't even thought about Ron in the last month.

He stood up, quickly collecting his books and giving them to the librarian. It was only when he gave her the books that he was close enough to see the bags under her eyes, and a wave of guilt washed over him, knowing he had been the one who had been keeping her up for the past 6 weeks.

Thankfully, Madam Pince seemed to realise he felt guilty, for she gave him a small smile and a barely noticeable nod.

"Good night, Mr Lew."

He smiled back at the older lady and walked towards Kaycee, feeling his smile change from slightly awkward to genuinely happy. They began walking out of the library together.

"Let's get you to your common room, Lew."

Sean quirked his eyebrow.

"That doesn't make any sense Kayc, my common room is in a tower, yours is next to the kitchens. We're going to your common room first, and I promise you that I'm going straight to my common room as soon as you're safely inside yours."

But Kaycee was already shaking her head, her eyes closed and her eyebrows high, trying to make a strict face to show how much she disagreed with his plan.

"We're definitely not going to do that. I am going to bring you to your common room, and then I'm going to return. You have been doing research for way too long, and I do understand that you want to help Harry because I do too! I care about him a lot and I want to help him as well. The difference is that I understand that I'm not going to be able to fully support him if I'm dead inside, like you've been for the last 2 weeks, no offence. Also-"

Her words didn't seem to register anymore, his brain was way too tired for that, he could only focus on one thing at a time. For now, that thing was to get her safely inside her common room, no matter how hard she protested. Instead of listening to her, he automatically seemed to focus on the expressions she made, how her curls bounced as she moved her head, how her hands made such graceful gestures, trying to put more power to her words.

"And so it's more important for you to get more sleep tonight than I do than the other way around. I mean, I-Oh."

Kaycee had promptly stopped rambling when she finally took the time to look at her surroundings, and discovered that they had, in fact, walked to her common room, and not his. She faced him now, eyebrows furrowed, about to open her mouth again when Sean stopped her.

"Shh Kayc. It's okay. I'll promise to go to bed now, you've convinced me that it's important to get rest. Go inside now, I'm not the only one it's late for."

She was smiling again, and he noticed only now that the right side of her mouth went up a little more than the left side. She studied his face, her smile dropping a tiny bit when her eyes rested on the bags under his, but going up again when her eyes locked on his. She nodded.

"Alright, good night, Shamu."

She turned around now, took a few steps away from him, and Sean already felt colder than when she was by his side. She had already tapped the common room door in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff, and it had already given her access, when the words tumbled out of his mouth:

"Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

She turned around, surprise sketched on her face. It was only then that he realised what he had said, and he was about to open his mouth again to apologise, when she beat him to it.

Her surprised expression morphed into a warm smile again, her eyes shining brighter than they had all night.

"I would love to."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter

"Oh dear, Kaycee, you look breathtaking!"

Kaycee, turned around, looking at her sister with doubts swirling around in her mind. Was she as beautiful as her sister claimed?

"I-I don't know Mione. As beautiful as this dress is, I just feel like it's somehow too pretty for me, and tonight I need to...well, I need to be perfect."

At Kaycee's words, Hermione walked towards her sister, standing beside her and gazing in the mirror the Room of Requirement had been so kind to let appear for them.

"Kaycee Caitlin Granger. You see, there's this really important thing you're completely overlooking. You are stunning just as you are, every single day. You see this dress? It doesn't make you any more beautiful than usual, it just emphasizes what's there every day: your light, Kaycee. You are glowing, shining, lighting up a room when you walk inside. It's been this way since you were born. I still question why mum and dad never favoured you over the rest of us. I've never been jealous of it though. I am proud, Kaycee Granger, to be your sister. You are such an amazing human being and I'm proud of the extraordinary young woman you have become. I love you so much."

Kaycee could only smile, her eyes closed to prevent them from watering, searching with her hand for her sister's, and when she found it, giving it a little squeeze.

Hermione understood.

"Let's go, Kaycee."

And then the sentence that made the butterflies in Kaycee's stomach come to life:

"I bet Sean's already waiting for you."

Kaycee opened her eyes and looked straight forward, right into the mirror.

Her smile stayed.

In fact, it only brightened even more when she arrived at the top of the staircase, because Sean was standing at the base of it.

Sean. Shamu. The one she used to see as a wonderful friend. The guy, she started to realise during her second year, who made her skin tingle every time he took her hand, or gave her a hug. The person who, since the Quidditch world cup a few weeks ago, was the subject of all her dreams, dreams in which he held her hand in another way than what he did now, dreams in which he called her 'love', and 'darling', dreams in which they cuddled and once even kissed.

She could no longer deny what that all meant.

Still, she was content being just his friend. It meant she didn't have to confront him about her feelings, while still being able to be close to him. And with the way he looked at her while she came down the grand staircase, she definitely wasn't complaining anytime soon.

"You, Kaycee Granger, look absolutely breathtaking."

He said it with a breathy voice too, as if what he was saying was literally true. His eyes had a twinkle in them, his dimples ever-present.

"Thank you. You too, Sean."

And while she had been talking about him as a person, she realised now that the clothes he was wearing definitely did some good as well. His dress shirt was white, and the sleeves were rolled up, showing the veins on his arm. It was neatly tucked into his black pants, and his shoes shone, reflecting the candlelights that floated through the corridor.

"Ready to show them your dance moves?"

She laughed at that, both of them knowing that they would only get to slow dance. Not that she was complaining. She nodded, and together, they walked into the magestically decorated Great Hall.

That night was turning into the best of her life so far. She swirled around gracefully on the dance floor, without a care in the world, the music flowing through her veins, Sean's hand on the small of her back, her hands on his chest. She wished she could freeze the time and live in this moment forever, for this moment was absolutely, utterly and unquestionably perfect.

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

Why tonight?

It was a question she'd asked herself multiple times in the last half an hour.

Only 2 hours ago, she and Sean had stood at the base of the staircase, gazing at eachother. Everything after that -up until half an hour ago of course- had been an absolute dream. Kaycee had never ever wanted the evening to end, as cliché as that sounded.

Now, however, she wanted to go back in time, and not necessarily to do one more magical dance with Sean. While she had discovered that that was her favourite thing in the world, it was -looking back at it- way more important to make sure Ron would keep his mouth shut.

"Shh...Mione, it's all going to be okay, I promise you."

Hermione's crying didn't decrease one bit, however, and Kaycee was afraid it wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"B-but, you guys...you don't- he said that I was a-a traitor for going to the ball with the enemy."

Kaycee was just about to make sure her sister knew she wasn't a traitor, when she saw Sean stand up abruptly. He had been sitting on the other side of Hermione, and together they had been trying to cheer her up, but apparently, he suddenly had other plans.

"Hey hey hey, where are you going?"

Kaycee couldn't really keep the annoyance out of her voice. Sean had always been such a selfless, loyal person to his friends, and she didn't understand this sudden strange behaviour.

Sean turned around, and somehow his worried expression about Hermione's wellbeing had morphed into an angry scowl.

"To Ron. He doesn't deserve to have fun now. I'm going to tell him exactly what has been on my mind for a freaking year now. I've dealt with enough of his crap!"

"Sean w-"

But Sean had already stomped away, unable to hear Kaycee anymore.

She felt torn in that moment, standing beside her sniffling and clearly heartbroken sister, but also feeling the need to make sure Sean didn't do anything stupid.

"What's going on here- Oh crap Hermione, what happened? Are you hurt?"

The question had come out of Harry's mouth as an automatism, so aware of his friends constantly getting hurt on their adventures, that he hadn't thought of the other, non-physical kind of hurt. In this case, the double meaning made Hermione burst in tears all over again.

"It's Ron, Harry. He said some really freaking stupid things to Hermione and now he hurt her, as you can see, and Sean just ran away to go after Ron and he was so livid and while I know he won't do anything physical, I don't think he'll be that gentle either and I actually want to go after him but then Hermione's all alone and, and-"

"Kaycee, calm down. Take a breath."

Harry had laid his hands on both of her shoulders, and it immediately calmed her. She closed her eyes, took a moment for herself, and nodded.

"Kayc, you can go to Sean, I'll manage, promise. Ron's just an idiot and I need to get over him, that doesn't mean you should feel torn between staying here or going to Sean. Go, I love you."

"I'll stay with Hermione, Kayc. Hey, Mione, you like me just as much as your sister, right?"

There was something in Harry's tone that showed he obviously knew he could never surpass Kaycee, which is why it was so funny when he said it. And it paid off. Hermione slightly snorted, and while her smile was small, it was at least a genuine one.

It was all Kaycee needed to lessen her guilt.

"Okay, thanks. I'm just going to make sure they don't do anything stupid with each other. I love you both."

She heard the echoes of their 'I love you too''s, but she was already too focused to pay attention to them. Her steps were light but her pace fast, and she wished her hair was up in a bun instead of gracefully styled to lay on her back.

It wasn't long before she heard a voice, and for some reason she immediately recognised its owner.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

She had just turned around a corner when she saw them: Sean had asked Ron the question while dragging him forward with the lace around his neck into a deserted classroom.

As soon as they were in, Kaycee came from behind the corner and sneaked to the classroom, where she stopped slightly right to the door, so she could hear their voices more clearly.

"W-what do you mean, Sean?"

"Are you serious? Don't act so surprised you hypocrite! I know Kaycee isn't my girlfriend yet, but Merlin Ron, the way you act is not okay either! Going out of your way to give her weird, misplaced compliments and then acting so utterly tactless to Hermione! Do you really think that's the right way to win Kaycee's heart? Because I'm telling you now that it's not."

On the other side of the wall, Kaycee's eyes had widened, because she hadn't missed a word of Sean's outburst.

She hadn't missed the 'yet' after 'kaycee's not my girlfriend' either.

Nothing had ever made her head spin as much as this one little word had, not even Mcgonagall's 'you're a witch, just like your sister' when she delivered Kaycee's first Hogwarts letter.

She was forced to focus once again though, because Ron had apparently found his voice back.

"Wait- you, you think I try to make Kaycee interested in me in that way? Why would you th-"

"WHY?! MAYBE BECAUSE YOU INTERRUPT EVERY SINGLE MOMENT ME AND KAYCEE HAVE TOGETHER!"

Kaycee heard footsteps after that. Seeing as she was too afraid to look through the door opening, she could only guess that Ron had been literally taken aback by Sean.

Kaycee promised to herself that if she heard wands being drawn, she would interfere. For now though, she wanted to hear a little more of the conversation.

"I- I, Sean I really didn't mean to do that, I promise you. I've never felt things for Kaycee like that, I love her, but I love her like a sister. Truly, I never wanted to steal her from you."

Kaycee frowned at that. She wasn't anyone's property, not even Sean's. She thought it was weird of Ron to put it like that, but she couldn't really blame him. If she was standing there in Ron's shoes, she too would probably try to please Sean as much as she could.

"It's not about stealing Ron, she's her own person, not my property. It's just that I don't understand why you are all over Kaycee, but insult Hermione. Was it really neccesary to call her a traitor? I just don't understand your behaviour. It's time to give something up, you can choose whether that's your immature behaviour or our friendship. Girls have feelings too, and it's not fair to play with those. They earn your respect, especially someone as amazing as Hermione."

Kaycee smiled, feeling a pleasant kind of warmth spread through her chest at Sean's words.

"Okay, I'll explain everything to you, I promise. But then you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially not Hermione, alright?"

Sean stayed silent, so Kaycee assumed he had nodded his head. Truth be told, Kaycee was also curious where this was going. When she had come here, she really hadn't expected Sean to drag her into the fight.

"Last year, I came to the conclusion that I somehow really, really like Hermione. I tried to get her out of my head at first, I mean she would never like me back in that way, but it didn't work, and at some point I really had to admit to myself that I fancy her. But she's always so mad at me, and I mean, I can't blame her, and I always try to be kind to her, but it just doesn't work, I always snap and I regret it so so much, every single time. In the beginning, I tried to make it up to her by starting a conversation, but you know better than anyone else that Hermione is really stubborn, and that she'll completely ignore you if she's mad at you. So I did the thing that seemed second best: being kind to Kaycee. I figured that if I was nice to her sister, she would see that I could be a nice bloke, you know? I never, ever intentionally flirted with Kaycee, I promise you that. And the interrupting of your moments with Kaycee...well, this is really selfish, but I just wanted to spend more time with her, because the more I did that, the bigger the chance Hermione would notice me. Or so I thought. Nothing has happened and she'll always see me as this annoying boy who apparenly looks like he's flirting with her sister. Oh Merlin I messed up. I'm so sorry Sean."

Kaycee didn't think she had ever had such an existential crisis. First, her annoyance at Ron for being so tactless, then her guilt for leaving Hermione, her utter disbelieve at hearing Sean say she wasn't his girlfriend yet, whatever that meant, immediately followed by Ron's mind blowing theory about being extra kind to her to please her sister.

It was all way too much, but not enough. She wanted to hear more, understand more details, figure things out to wrap her head around all this new information.

The 'too much'-part of her brain slightly overpowered the curious part though, because suddenly her legs gave out and she landed on the floor with a thud. She shut her eyes closed, praying they didn't hear anything, and she sighed of relief when Sean talked to Ron again, with a much calmer voice now.

"I-Ron. You idiot. Do you have any idea how much better it would've been for both of us if you would've been honest about this all along? I could've helped you, you know, instead of spending my time being jealous and annoyed at you. Look, tomorrow, we'll figure out a way for you to make it up to Hermione. For now, I think it's better to just go to bed, it's been a long day. Alright?"

What followed was the sound of an intricate rhythm of claps, and Kaycee couldn't help but smile, knowing it was a part of one of Sean's choreographies that only required hands, kind of like a difficult handshake. Sean had taught it to Ron about a year ago, in one of their good moments, to show Ron that dancing wasn't only for girls, Ron had actually thought it was cool and it had been their thing ever since.

Then, she heard footsteps, and she started to panic, knowing they were going to come out of the classroom soon. Quickly, she got up and hid herself in the broom closet a few feet away from the door. She had barely closed the closet doors when Sean came out of the door opening, followed by Ron. She saw Sean turning around to his friend.

"Okay, I need to go up these stairs to get to my common room. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Wow-wait, not so fast, Sean. Care to explain why you said that Kaycee isn't you girlfriend yet?"

Ron was facing Sean, obviously, so Kaycee couldn't see his face from her hiding place, but she could clearly hear the grin in his voice. Her main focus, however, was Sean's face, and how his expression turned from a happy but exhausted one to a surprised one, as if he had forgotten all about that sentence.

Kaycee knew she definitely wouldn't forget it any time soon, if ever at all.

Sean got a hold of himself again, the right corner of his mouth slightly going up.

"You know I can't tell you a lot about the time turner incident last year, but let's just say it made me realise some things, most of all how madly in love I am with Kaycee.."

Ron actually snorted this time, Kaycee could hear it. It distracted her from all the other things she had just heard, and she was glad for that distraction, she wasn't sure she would be able to stay silent if she permitted all those feelings and thoughts to completely get through.

"I'd say, welcome to the Seaycee shippers, Sean! Everyone has been a shipper for years, and that includes me, even if it may have looked like I wasn't. Now go and dream about your girl! Goodnight, Sean."

Sean's smile had grown to be a completely glowing expression on his face, and he nodded at Ron, walking up the first few steps of the staircase.

"Goodnight, Ron. Remember, Hermione might not be as unreachable as you think she is. There's always hope."

And while Sean walked up the stairs and Ron turned around a corner, Kaycee still sat in the broom closet, arms wrapped around her knees, silent tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks, wondering how in the world she got so lucky.

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"Why are we always talking about my love life? You have a crush on someone as well!"

Kaycee's tone was hushed while walking through the corridor with Luna, careful so no-one would actually hear what they were talking about.

It was the 24th of February, a few weeks after the Yule Ball, and Kaycee had had a bit more time to think about everything she felt towards Sean. It was clear to her now that her feelings went much deeper than just a crush, and she had realised that it was also the reason she hadn't jumped out of the closet a few weeks ago, but had instead cried her eyes out, even though she had been immensely happy.

"Because your crush actually likes you back, Kaycee Granger. I don't even know if Neville smiles at me because wrackspurts got to him or because he thinks I'm nice."

"Luna, I'm sure he thinks you're nice! He got all flustered when you congratulated him on the Gillyweed idea today!"

And it was true. Kaycee and Luna had watched the second task of the Triwizard tournament together. The whole task had ended about half an hour ago, and she and Luna had talked to Harry for a few minutes afterwards. After he told them Neville had given him the idea to use gillyweed, Luna couldn't help herself and congratulated Neville when they saw him right before walking back inside, where they planned on visiting the house elves in the kitchen. Luna had asked Kaycee to come with her -she had said that she wanted to try to interview a few of them for an article in the Quibbler- and Kaycee definitely wouldn't let go of the opportunity to get hot chocolate.

"Maybe...I don't know. The blushing could be the nargles' fault as well. I mean, I hope he blushed because of me, but I don't really want to get my hopes up either. You see, a broken heart tends to attract umgubular slashkilters, and you definitely don't want those anywhere near y-"

"You're such a coward, Longbottom!"

The origin of the sound could not be mistaken: this was Draco Malfoy talking, and one look on Luna's face told her he would regret ever speaking to Neville like that.

"L-leave me alone.."

They were almost at the end of the corridor now, the sound getting louder and louder. Kaycee could hear the sadness in Neville's voice, and it truly broke her heart. He was her friend as well, and he didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Malfoy's snicker echoed through the corridor, hard and cold. It made the hair on Kaycee's arm stand up straight.

"Why would we? You can't do anything, just like you parents, you ugly-"

"Actually, Draco Malfoy, Neville can do a lot of things. Did you know he was the one who advised Harry to use gillyweed? I'm sure he also knows about a plant that could turn you into a frog, or a stone or something, right Neville?"

All eyes were on Luna, Draco's big from surprise, Neville's with an admiring gaze in them. Kaycee wished she had a camera to take a picture of this, it would be the perfect picture to laugh at, because Malfoy's expression, and the best chance she would ever get at convincing Luna that Neville actually did like her.

"Uhh- yes, o-of course. Tribulus terrestris would definitely do the job."

Kaycee smiled at that. Luna defending him had clearly given him some much-needed confidence, although she definitely noticed how red his cheeks became when he named the herb, or how his eyes flickered towards Luna just a few times more than usual. Next to her, Luna cleared her throat impatiently.

"You heard him, didn't you, Draco? I think it's time for you to leave Neville alone, as he so kindly asked you. We both know I'm great friends with the house elves in the kitchen, and, I mean, I don't think you'd be so happy with some tribulus terrestris in your pumpkin juice tonight, or should I say sprite?"

Kaycee was very surprised to see that Draco actually paled even farther when Luna mentioned Sprite. She didn't know why, but Draco's face become funnier with every passing minute. The slytherin was silent for a moment, his mouth slightly opened, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't find the right words. After a while, he finally spluttered something:

"I-I'll go now. Bye, L-Luna, Neville, Kaycee."

And with that, he turned around and wobbled away, awkwardly trying to keep his pace between walking and running.

Kaycee couldn't help but laugh her head off, and Neville and Luna soon joined in.

"W-what just happened? I swear I've never seen Draco so..so..unconfident!"

They had calmed down a little bit by now, and Luna answered with her signature dreamy smile on her face again.

"Draco, he drinks Sprite. He charms his pumpkin juice to be sprite, and he's really embarrassed about it because it's a muggle drink, wizards usually don't even know it exists, and, well, you know how he gets with his blood purity and all."

"That's...genius!!"

It was Neville who had praised Luna, finally recovering from his fright and surprise, and Luna's ever-pale skin actually got some colour around her cheekbones. Kaycee thought it was adorable.

"Thank you, Neville. That's a very kind thing of you to say. However, Kaycee and I really must go now, we promised the house elves in the kitchen that we would pay them a visit. But you can join us if you want!"

"I would love to, but I'm still not doing well in charms and in astronomy, and Gran wants me to study more.."

Kaycee immediately felt sympathetic. Neville was always so kind and he worked so hard, but still his grandma couldn't see any of these admirable qualities. She wished she could help him, but she knew it was his gran who should realise things, not Neville who should study more.

"You know what? Let's study together in the library tomorrow! Madam Pince has always had a soft spot for Ravenclaw's, so she probably won't mind me tutoring you."

Neville smiled at that, clearly happy at the prospect of being able to spend more time with Luna. Kaycee desperately tried to keep her fangirling to a minimum.

"Y-yes, that'd be nice Luna. Thank you for defending me, by the way. I uh..appreciate it. A lot. So...thank you"

If Luna noticed his awkward repetition of words, she didn't show it. Instead she smiled -Kaycee wondered if she had even stopped smiling at all these last few minutes- and nodded at Neville.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye Neville! Don't forget to get some tribulus terrestris, in case Malfoy ever bothers you again."

Kaycee quickly said goodbye to a suspiciously spluttering Neville, and followed Luna to the kitchens, feeling giddy about witnessing such a cute moment between those two.

It wasn't until weeks after that she finally understood why Neville had acted so weirdly every time Luna had mentioned the tribulus terrestris. She and Hermione had taken their turn in tutoring Neville in the library, when the topic somehow came up again. After much nagging of both of the sisters -Kaycee wanted to know why he always got so flustered while talking about it and Hermione just wanted to learn something new- he finally gave in: a herb that made someone turn into a frog didn't exist, let alone one that turned a human into stone. The tribulus terrestris did exist, however. It is a herb that increases a woman's fertility, and for some -in Neville's opinion very embarrassing- reason, it was the first thing that came to his mind while looking at Luna in that situation.

For Hermione, it was an interesting new thing she learned. For Kaycee, it was proof Luna definitely wouldn't have to worry about the umgubular slashkilters anytime soon. 

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

Spring

"How was it? Did he make a move? Did you make a move? Tell me all the details!"

It was an early evening, the last strays of sunshine warming up Kaycee's and Hermione's skin. Kaycee had just come back from a hogsmeade afternoon with Sean. He had asked Kaycee, Hermione, Ron and Harry who would go to hogsmeade, proposing they went together, but in the end, only Kaycee could go with him.

Or at least, that's what everyone wanted him to believe. Harry had been smart enough to understand the look on Hermione's face, and told Sean him and Ron had to practice for their charms exam. Hermione had claimed she would rather read something in the library than go outside. Sean thought she seemed a bit suspicious, but he had smiles nonetheless, and afterwards, Hermione had claimed giggling that he probably didn't mind spending alone time with 'his girl'

And now, with Sean safely out of earshot, Hermione apparently couldn't wait another second to hear everything about their afternoon.

Not that Kaycee minded reliving everything once more.

"Well, he- I...it was nice."

And then, when Hermione kept looking at her expectantly:

"He took my hand and held it for, like, half an hour. And we-"

"Wait, wait. How did he hold your hand?"

Kaycee looked at Hermione, confused. Why did it matter? Wasn't she happy for Kaycee? She really hadn't overthought the whole hand holding thing when it had happened. She'd been too busy just enjoying the tingles that had coursed through her in that moment.

"Just tell me, I read something about what holding hands means exactly and I want to see if it actually works like that in real life too."

Kaycee thought that was a bit weird, but at the same time, it was still Hermione who had said it, and that explained a lot, even though it didn't explain why Hermione found it so important.

"Uhm, well, his hand was in front, and he just took mine and intertwined our fingers. There wasn't anything excessively complicated about it, Mione"

But her sister apparently found this little fact incredibly valuable -and judging by the squeal she let out- really cute.

"Okay, now explain why this is so important."

Hermione seemed to realise again that her sister didn't know what was going on in her head, and her expression changed from a squeal into a normal smile. Her eyes kept their twinkle, though.

"Look, it has something to do with the subconscious state of us, humans. In the prehistoric era, humans were nomads, which brought some dangers with it. A man needed to protect his woman, and to make sure he could do that efficiently, he held her hand, with his hand in front of hers. That way he could push her behind him if there was any danger in front of them. He wouldn't be able to push her behind him that easily if her hand was in front of his. Wait, let me show you."

Hermione took her hand, and showed her that it was indeed much easier to pull someone behind you when your hand is in front of the other person's, than if it was the other way around.

"Nowadays, women are, of course, independent, and no longer need to rely on men to protect them, but most men still hold their partner's hand like that, subconciously to protect them. The fact Sean held your hand like that...well, you can draw your own conclusions."

And she did. Or at least, the butterflies in her stomach did before she gave them permission to move. She felt her smile getting broader again, after her confusion about Hermione's question.

"Thanks, Mione. That was a very useful piece of information."

Her sister smiled at her.

"Now go on! There's undoubtedly much more you haven't told me yet!"

"Well...we went to the three broomsticks first, where we had this whole conversation about dancing- oh and we agreed on making a choreo together this summer! And after that, we just walked around, he took my hand, as you know, but we were both too shy to actually say something about it, so it just kind of happened. We went into honeydukes to fill a bag of sweets - he let me pick the candy and there was this one sort I couldn't reach and he took it for me - and then we went outside to eat the bag while sitting on a bench. After that, it was time to go back to the castle. He didn't take my hand again, which was kind of sad, but he did give me a hug before going back to his common room."

By the end of her monologue, Hermione was positively beaming at her, which only stimulated her butterflies even further.

"And what are you going to do now? Does this mean you're a couple, or does he, like, have to ask you to be his girlfriend? Are you going to make a move next time you guys hang out?? Ahh I love this! My ship is finally sailing!"

And as much as she liked Hermione's enthusiasm, she wasn't about to do anything drastic that would change her relationship with Sean, even if change meant being able to act on all of her feelings.

She was still content with the way things were going now. She could easily enjoy holding Sean's hand while not making everything official yet. It was good this way, slowly getting to know this side of each other, without pressure from other people to do or to not do certain things. It wasn't that she had commitment issues, she was definitely and completely ready to tie herself to Sean in that way. She just wanted to do it their way.

"Everything in time, Hermione, everything in time."

And while the sun started to lower itself towards the great lake, Kaycee realised that there would indeed be a certain time for everything.

****

In many ways, Hermione's hug was similar to the one her sister had given him at the beginning of the school year, and in many ways, it was not.

Just like back then, Sean had felt the girl before he had seen her. The difference was, however, that this time, he had expected it.

Hermione had stayed strong up until madam Pomfrey had told them they weren't allowed to go inside, to go to Harry, and barely a few seconds after the nurse had turned her back to them to check on her patient, Hermione had crumpled, turning to him and burrying her face in his chest, curls bouncing as she cried, and his heart broke.

They stood there, he and Hermione, amidst of all the chaos. Some people were running away as fast as they could, afraid more bad things were about to come, others tried to get closer to that damned maze, their curiosity getting the better of them.

He tried to block out the outside world and concentrate on his best friend only, but it was no easy task, not with all the screams of terror of all the people who had only just seen Cedric Diggory's body. Sean saw from the corner of his eye that the hufflepuff was being dragged inside by Hagrid, Cedric's undoubtedly cold hand in his father's, who kept begging his son to wake up.

Cracks, blows, cuts in his heart.

He didn't know how much more he could handle.

Then, he felt a hand on his upper arm, slightly rubbing up and down, and he didn't have to look to know who it was. Kaycee was sniffing too, and it didn't take him and her sister more than a split second to include her in their hug.

Even though she was hurting as well, Kaycee made sure that she had given both Sean and her sister a kiss on the cheek before giving in to her own needs and burying her face in her sister's hair. At the same time, she took Sean's hand and intertwined her fingers with his.

For a brief moment, Sean wondered how they must look from the outside, him hugging two girls who weren't his family, but then he realised that everyone around them had better things to do than watching 3 people hug, and that even if someone saw them hug, he really, really didn't care. He already knew that the safety and well being of these girls would always be his first priority, and he wasn't ashamed of that. Besides, he was very aware of the fact that he wasn't only offering them comfort, they were the only reason he still stood straight as well.

And then suddenly, he felt another hand, on his shoulder this time, and he tilted his cheek from the top of Hermione's head to see Ron, looking paler than usual, tears brimming in his eyes. His friend wrapped one of his arms around Hermione's middle and laid the other on Sean's back, and Sean knew when looking into Ron's eyes that he didn't join because he was jealous that Sean was the one holding Hermione first. In fact, he knew that nothing of this was out of jealousy. It was out of love, for both him and Hermione, even though those were two completely different types of love.

In return, Sean put his hand on Ron's back, beckoning him to come closer, to join their hug, and Ron did. He heard Hermione sigh, keeping her arms around Sean but laying her head in the crook of Ron's neck, slightly having to stretch her own neck to do so because she was simply so much smaller than Ron.

And through all the darkness, the grief and the tears, he felt his mouth stretch into a small smile, looking at Hermione trying so hard not to let him go while also being close to the boy she loved in another way than a friend.

It made him think about all the good moments, him and Hermione finally succeeding in playing that one piano piece together, the way Kaycee's eyes shone during the Yule Ball- actually, no, the way Kaycee's eyes every day, Neville finally getting his deserved moment of victory after giving Harry the needed gillyweed,...

Hard times were coming, he was no fool, he knew it would be tough. But he also knew that in the end, it would be worth it. Worth it because he wanted all the people he shared those good moments with, to keep having a good life, a good world to live in. He wanted Hermione to be able to continue with S.P.E.W, wanted Ron to keep irritating her, Harry to finally have a moment of rest. He wished for Luna to get the courage to tell Neville about her feelings, instead of only smiling at his picture while laying in their common room, and he wanted Neville to give Luna that hug he had -according to Harry- been sleep talking about for 3 months now.

There was so much he still wanted for his friends, family and himself. All they needed was time, and he would make sure it's what they got. Time.

He was aware of the fact that he didn't know a lot yet, but he was convinced that in the end, everything would be worth it.

Light would drive out darkness.

It would.