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unnecessarywriting · 3 years

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Only You - Fred Weasley

Request: may I humbly request a Christmas at the Burrow with your crush, Fred Weasley, who sometime during the holiday admits his feelings for you??

A/N: Thank you for the request. I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you like it!

Only You

George had a plan. His plan? Well, it was to push Fred to you. Yes, he wanted to see his brother happy, but more than anything, he wanted to put an end to his own suffering. For months it was Y/N this and Y/N that. If he was being honest, he was close to hexing his brother, but he would rather initiate his plan. What was it? It’s quite simple really.

“Fred, let’s place a bet.”

“Alright, I’m in. On what?”

“Y/N of course.”

“No way. Not gonna happen.” “Too late now. I bet 10 galleons that you’re not going to confess to her over this break.” Fred paused for a moment and thought. He could win the girl of his dreams and 10 galleons in one go. Fred hates to lose.

“You’re on!” George smiled. He knows his twin. Fred hates to back down from a bet. He also hates to lose.

The Burrow was booming from the moment you arrived. Harry and Ron went to eat, the twins started planning pranks, Molly was yelling at her children, Ginny was talking about Harry, and you were observing the family. Although it could be a bit chaotic, you were always happy to have a place there. You caught Fred from the corner of your eye. He was looking particularly good. His hair fell perfectly, and his shirt was fitting for his form. You were especially happy to spend the holiday around him. He was someone who always made your heart beat just a little faster. Ginny was aware of your crush on her brother, and she completely supported it. She already saw you as the older sister she never had, and she would have loved to call you her sister for real. She often encouraged you to just go after him, but you were not the type to throw away a perfectly good friendship because you developed romantic feelings.

The first day at the Burrow went by in a blur. You were focused on getting yourself situated in Ginny’s room, and eating the delicious meals that Molly offered. The following day, however, was filled with fun activities, courtesy of the twins. George in particular was pushing for you to join in everything they were doing. The day started with a friendly quidditch match. You played as a chaser on Fred’s team. He spent a considerable amount of time by your side. Oftentimes, you weren’t even paying attention to the match. He would tell dumb jokes, and you would indulge him by offering honest laughter.

After the match, which you lost due to being a bit distracted, you enjoyed lunch. The whole time, Fred seemed unusually distant. He sat far away from you, and ignored your attempts to talk to him. You were completely confused with the complete 180 he pulled. At Molly’s request, you and the rest of the group decided to go for a walk out in the cold. She wanted you all out of the house, and Ginny suggested enjoying the snow outside. You were getting a jacket when you passed by the twins.

“Are you already quitting?”

“No, I just needed some time to gather my thoughts.”

“I think you meant emotions brother. You better get yourself together, or I’m going to be richer.” George chuckled. You were confused but passed it off as nothing.

Fred followed behind you and Ginny. He was struggling to get the nerve to confess to you. It had nothing to do with the bet. You were one of the greatest people to ever enter his life, and he didn’t want to ruin anything between the two of you. He also knew that he owed it to himself to tell you the truth. In his eyes, you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Your smile brightened up his day, and your laugh filled him with warmth. He was falling in love with you, and now he needed to find a way to tell you. Earlier, you had been so happy around him, and he panicked. What if you were just being friendly? You two are friends, so that would make sense. He wanted to tell you right then, but he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. Gee, the pranking king himself was actually getting nervous? You were the only person who could do that to him.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by a snowball hitting the side of his head. He heard your giggle and instantly knew that you were behind it. Soon, a full blown snowball fight was breaking out. You had hidden yourself behind a poorly made snow fort, and you were throwing snowballs in every direction. Fred saw this and made his move. He got behind your fort and shoved some snow into your jacket. You yelped at the sudden cold and turned around to face the culprit. “Fred!” you whined.

“Y/N!” he mocked back. You playfully smacked him and tried to shimmy the ice out of your coat.

He gushed at the sight of your bright red cheeks and your slightly blue lips. You were adorable. He was ready to kiss you right then and there, but his mother called out to tell the kids that dinner was ready. Disappointed wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how he felt in that moment. Eventually, the day came to a close. You sat up in your bed and thought about Fred. He was overly affectionate the whole day, minus during lunch. You thought a bit more about it, but realized that you would only be getting your hopes up. Eventually, you went to sleep with thoughts of the older ginger twin on your brain.

The next morning, you ate breakfast and began to help Molly with decorating the house. You lost sight of the twins throughout the day. Your tasks were different, which meant that you hardly got to spend any time around Fred. A part of you thought that it was a positive thing, so that you could prevent yourself from thinking about what it would be like to be with him. Fred, however, was angry. He wanted to have tasks with you so he could finally make a move on you, but his mother was blocking him.

When you had all concluded your tasks, you decided that you would take some time to yourself and catch up a bit on some reading. You got comfortable on the couch, and you began to read. You were so immersed that you missed the other body that appeared on the couch. He picked up your legs and placed them on his own.

“What are you reading?”

“A muggle book.”

“What’s it about?”

“Well that’s what I’m trying to figure out, hence the reason why I’m reading it.” He shyly laughed at your answer. He stayed silent for a while longer. He just watched you concentrate on the words that your eyes crossed over. Sometimes, he would see you smirk a bit. You were absolutely perfect. He watched as your eyebrows would raise occasionally, or your eyes would slightly gloss over when you forgot that blinking was necessary. You were his own goddess, and he wanted nothing more than to worship you.

It was Christmas Eve when he made a fatal mistake. He got in trouble with his mother. He’s not sure exactly what happened, but he instantly regretted it. He had decided that there was nothing more romantic than a confession on Christmas Eve. He planned to sit by the fire with you. He was going to look into your eyes and tell you everything. If things worked out, then he was going to bring in the trusty mistletoe to seal the deal. Alas, he ruined his chances by picking a fight with his mother. She had enchanted the garden to be protected from the snowfall, which meant that the gnomes were pleasantly inhabiting the area. He was now going to have to spend hours throwing the buggers before he could return inside. He was heartbroken, but he thought that this was a sign. Clearly, the universe didn’t want you two together.

You were surprised when Fred was nowhere in the house. You asked George where he was. He told you everything that happened. You instantly felt terrible for him. It was cold outside, plus the job was tortuous. You decided that the least you could do was help him, of course without Molly knowing. You snuck outside and saw him angrily throwing gnomes. You giggled at his pained expression. He really was not happy. You also thought this was the best time to get him back for all of the pranks he had been pulling. You crept up behind him and grabbed at his sides abruptly. He jumped and looked back at you in anger until he saw that it was you.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Secretly, I’m helping you. You’re welcome.” You smiled proudly at him. Then you grabbed one of the gnomes and swung him as far as you could. Fred was speechless. He just watched you, amazed at how perfect you are. He finally caught wind of his situation, and began throwing the gnomes again. After some time, he stopped and looked over at you.

“Hey Y/N can I talk to you abo-OUCH” he belted. You snapped your head in his direction to see what was wrong. You saw one of the gnomes with their teeth latched onto Fred’s ankle. Your worry faded almost instantly. You began to laugh uncontrollably. He just looked at you, annoyed by the fact that you were finding humor in his pain. He threw the gnome with all of his might. A couple of minutes past, but you still hadn’t stopped laughing. He eventually began to cave, and he started laughing as well. It was stupid but you apparently thought it was the funniest thing to happen.

“I can’t believe you found that funny. Is my pain really that comedic?” He feigned sadness.

“I’m sorry Fred, but you have to admit, that was hysterical. Only you would be bitten by a gnome.”

“You Y/N Y/L/N are absolutely ridiculous. It’s one of the many reasons I love you,” he said while chuckling. See, this is one of those moments where Fred didn’t actually comprehend the words that came out of his mouth. He only became aware when you went completely silent.

“You love me?” you asked shyly.

“Uh, yeah. You know what Y/N? I am so in love with you. I have been for awhile now, but I didn’t know how to tell you. Just please, don’t let my feelings ruin us.”

“Fred. Stop. I love you too. How could I not? You’re smart, funny, kind, and you’re easy on the eyes. I just never thought that you would see me as anything more than a friend.”

“Please, let me kiss you.” He was desperate to be as close to you as possible.

“What are you waiting for?” You smirked at him. He pulled you into a kiss full of passion. It told you everything he wanted to say. Fred pulled away from you first, although not by choice.

“Son of a-” He was yelling. Your confusion disappeared as you peaked down.

You started laughing again at the sight of another gnome, this time on the other ankle.

“Only you, Frederick Gideon Weasley, would be bitten by two gnomes in one night.”

By the time you two had finished with the garden, it was time to go to bed. Both of you exhausted. Lucky for the both of you, George and Ginny had already fallen asleep so you wouldn’t have to deal with their interrogation. In the morning, however, George was met with a very happy brother.

“You, my dear brother, owe me 10 galleons.” George was astonished. He was worried that his twin wasn’t going to do it. When you walked down the stairs, Fred pulled you in for a kiss, almost as if to prove his point. George handed over the galleons.

“This, my dear, is going towards our first real date.” You smiled and agreed, giddy at the thought of finally going on a date with Fred. Ginny caught the end of this conversation and gasped.

“Is this a Christmas miracle, or am I dreaming. Y/N, you need to tell me everything right this instant!” You pouted slightly at Fred as his little sister dragged you away for all of the juicy details.

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine #george weasley x reader #george weasley imagine #ron weasley #harry potter imagine #Harry potter x reader #draco malfoy imagine

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toutallyahoe · 3 years

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I really liked your percy (weasley) fic!! can you do some headcanons with a male reader post battle of hogwarts?

a/n: hallo there anon and im happy to hear you liked my percy weasley fic! i really had fun writing it

and post battle you say...? :)

well, you didnt specify having [name] surviving now... didnt you?

just joking

... unless...?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

let me first start with percy and [name] STILL hadn't been wed yet

[name] did say that he wants to marry percy when all the "drama" is over

so, before and in the Hogwarts battle, [name] and percy were still fiancee

the weasleys were rather very happy by the news, although they are a bit sad that they can not tell percy face to face with the whole disagreement of percy and his family

both sides are happy to have [name] at least update them what the other is currently doing

molly cries every time she hears percy overworking himself and is thankful for [name] by being with her baby boy's side

arthur was also happy and saddened since he cant tell percy how proud he was on the engagement since percy wouldnt answer any of his letters

the weasley children were also having mix feelings

of course they were happy with percy, their sibling, engaged to [name] (who they were close too aswell) but also a bit bittered because, again, they are currently having a fight with percy taking the side of the ministry of magic's side than dumbledore's

but again, they are happy for him. [name] is a good lad and they will always support their relationship

fred and george jokes that [name] is too good for percy tbh and ginny just giggling because she always knew that someday [name] was going to propose to her brother

charlie and bill were also so happy for their little brother despite the feud they have and ron was having mix emotions aswell but was ultimately happy for his brother

either way, the weasleys were happy for percy

anyways, with that out of the way, i literally have two possibility in the post battle of Hogwarts and i feel like you wont like one of those possibility which is kinda sad because i really liked that one and if i do make a part two, thats the side im leaning on

but ANYWAYS— happy ending!!!!

after the battle of hogwarts, after defeating the dark lord, with so many tragedy and deaths, percy was so fucking happy to see [name] by the end of the battle

percy already witnessed his brother, fred almost die

and YES fred is alive, fuck you i want happiness for these fuckers okay? canon is a bitch and im going to make her MY bitch. that terf author can go and suck my d

anyways, percy would literally lose it if he had lost [name] in the battle

percy already fears a lot whenever he is away from [name] from the guy being an auror

so, seeing [name], a bit bloodied and bruised with blood, soot and sweat sticking on his [skin color] skin, percy wasted no time to fucking run and jump on his fiancee

percy let out choke sobs when he hugged [name]

[name] was alive and percy was so happy

[name] was also crying a bit as he held percy tightly in his arms

his wand forgotten on the ground as his only focus was percy who was shaking and sobbing in his arms

[name] wasted no time whispering how happy he was to see percy

that [name] even admitted that he was petrified when he asked people where percy was and didnt gotten an answer where the ginger was, and he assumed the worse

but seeing percy, feeling the male on his arms shaking and crying, [name] was so relieved

percy was alive

he was alive

they both were fucking alive

percy admits his own fears of [name] dying aswell

and [name] just let out a pitiful chuckle as he broken the hug and immediately grabbed percy's face softly, his thumb wiping percy's tears as he sent percy a shaky grin

"you bloody git, i would never!" [name] says, his tone shaky as tears fell down his eyes. "i promised i would marry you after this, didnt i?"

oh merlin, the two were sobbing mess after that

the two were beyond terrified in the war

they never expected this and when they participated, they were expecting the worst

but here they are now, alive and together

skip after the clean up and the ceremony of the wizards and witches who had fallen in the battle, percy and [name] planned their wedding

percy and his family are obviously in good terms again which was great

fred recovered from his wounds and back along with george on teasing the fuck outta percy

ginny gushing on how the wedding would go along with molly

ron talking to [name] along with charlie, bill and arthur about it aswell and just welcoming [name] to the weasley family

it was just great

when the wedding day had arrived, it was only a small ceremony

but it was still perfect in both [name] and percy's eyes

when the vows were exchange and the rings on their ring fingers, percy felt the whole world just stops for a moment when [name] wasted no time to seal their fate together with a kiss

it was just so much passion and percy cried a little when reality had came crushing down

he was married to the man that he loved

the man who had been with him in hogwarts until this day

his friend, his love, his [name]

percy was so happy

it was just a blur after that

after the wedding ceremony and the small party to celebrate their marriage

percy had to say his farewell's to his family

it was saddening to see his mum crying about him leaving but percy was also so happy to hear her words

"im so proud of you, son. now go and be happy with [name]!"

arthur was also congratulating him aswell as sobbing

his son was all grown up now

charlie and bill patting percy's back and telling their little brother was a man now

fred and george teasing percy on [name]'s plan on the honeymoon (which had percy looking like his own hair after the twins teasing comments)

ron and ginny just gushing on his marriage

percy would miss his family, but looking at [name] who had a grin on his lips, percy was happy

he was part of the [last name] family now and god, percy was happy to be married to the love of his life

#ask #2 #tou responds #percy x male reader #seme male reader #top male reader #male reader #x male reader #male reader insert #percy weasley #hp percy #percy weasley x male reader #headcanons #hcs #headcanons request #hp #harry potter x male reader #harry potter #eyy first post in 2021 :D

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marmosa · 4 years

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Can i request a fred x reader where theyre friends and then one day freds like, yeah she’s cute...holy shit i like her. Or something along those lines?? Your writing is the best!

thank you so much for the compliment and for the support! i’m a sucker for the friends to lovers trope so this request got me super excited skhfbskfj. hope you like it, love <3!

word count: 1.4k

***

“You know, for someone who’s the life of the party, you are terrible at showing up on time to parties,” [y/n] scolded Fred, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down next to her on the couch.

“First off, the life of the party is always fashionably late, it’s written in the rulebook. Secondly, you’ve got to be more careful or I would’ve spilled my drink all over you,” Fred replied, rolling his eyes and elbowing her in the side playfully.

“Rulebook? What rulebook? The rulebook for morons?” she lulled, sticking out her tongue, jerking to the side to avoid another elbow to her side, “Fine! Whatever you say certified party animal, it doesn’t matter you didn’t really miss anything anyway.”

“I know I didn’t, because the party never truly starts until George and I have showed up,” He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, whatever, that’s only because you haven’t managed to spike the punch yet,” she scoffed, swirling her plastic cup in his face.

“Me? Spike the punch? How dare you accuse me of something so inappropriate! I’m frankly offended you’d think of me so lowly, [y/l/n],” He scoffed in offense, throwing his hand over his head in mock hurt.

“Oh yes, because you are the epitome of rule following, Percy would get a kick out of hearing that,” she snickered, taking a sip of her drink to avoid Fred’s disgruntled look.

“You’ve been fraternizing with the enemy now? I ‘ought to cut you off completely. Honestly woman you’re playing a dangerous game here,” Fred scolded her, shaking his head.

“It bothers you that much? Wonder how you’d take it if I told you he asked me on a date,” she hummed, biting back a smile when Fred’s face fell faster then a quidditch player off their broom.

“You’re bluffing. [y/n] so help me god if you’re serious I will never speak to you again,” He replied flat out, his voice void of any humor.

[y/n] started giggling then broke out into full laughter though it was impossible to tell in the crowded and noisy room. She had to lean over and clutch her stomach as Fred continued staring her down, refusing to back down on his front until he received a clear answer.

“I’m serious [y/n], take it back or I will never speak to you again,” He repeated, his deadpan expression turning into a frown.

“Alright! Alright, goodness, he’s a git not the devil, Fred. But don’t go getting your wand in a twist, he’s hasn’t done anything of the sort,” she chuckled, still heaving from her fit of laughter.

“Good. I’d kill him if he did,” Fred replied simply, standing up and stretching his limbs, “anyway, we’re here to party, care to join me on the dance floor?”

He motioned to the small crowd of people in the center of the common room that had been cleared out for more space, setting down his drink and offering her his hand. She smiled back at him and nodded, taking his hand and quickly setting her drink down as he dragged her behind him to the dance floor.

They started vibing to the music, jumping and swaying to the beat of the music rolling off the record player. No one was sure how they kept coming up with the latest tunes on vinyl, however everyone had dropped any sort of interest in figuring it out in fear of losing their new music privilege's.

“You’re a rubbish dancer,” Fred called over the music, receiving a confused look from [y/n].

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her sleeve pulling her into him and steadying her with a firm hand on her waist, “I said you’re a rubbish dancer, let me show you how it’s done.”

Before [y/n] could get out a defensive remark in she was being spun in a circle by Fred, a surprised yelp leaving her lips before he pulled her back in and continued swaying with her side to side. She couldn’t help but smile at his antics, letting herself indulge in the moment, slinging her arms around his neck as he continued his theatrics, mouthing the words to the song.

They continued like that until [y/n]’s friend weaved her way into the crowd and pulled her away for a moment to talk, leaving Fred to his own devices. He took the opportunity to take a break himself, heading back to the concessions table for a new drink as he knew there was no chance of finding his old one.

He leaned against the entrance to the boys dormitory, scanning the room for anyone familiar, his eyes landing on [y/n] giggling with her friends about something. His heart started to flutter in his chest as he watched her hide her face in her hands as her friends all agreed on something that seemingly embarrassed her.

Wait. Fred stopped staring at her and cast his gaze down to his drink. Why was his heart beating in his chest so fast? He looked back up and saw [y/n] glance over at him with a small smile, passing him a wave before turning back to her friends who were now hotly debating something. He blew air out from between his lips and quickly rushed up to his dormitory to go sit by a window, feeling his face heat up more than he’d like it to in that sweltering hot room.

He dodged a few stragglers on the stairs, his heart still racing as his mind replayed their shared dance, her laughter, her smile, her. He shoved his hands in his pockets before bursting into his room, thanking god it was empty so he could be spared of any embarrassment at his emotional epiphany.

She’s so pretty, he thought to himself, sitting down next to the nearest window and pushing it open, sighing in relief as the cool air rushed over his hot skin. Has she always been this pretty? With a groan his head hit the back of the wall with a thud, his fingers fiddling with the fraying ends of his jeans. She definitely has.

“Well, don’t you look lonely, Mr. life of the party.”

Fred’s head snapped to the side as his heart picked up pace once more, cursing at the most untimely appearance of the last person he needed to see right now, “I’m not lonely, it’s just hotter than hell down there and I need some fresh air.”

“Going to be honest, same here. But you look,” she shrugged, shuffling over and plopping down in front of him, “flustered. What’s up?”

Fred cursed again, wanting to shove his face into the wall and scream, that’s what he gets for catching feelings for one of his best friends, “Nothing’s up. I’m a ginger lest you forget. I could turn red just because the sun blinked at me.”

“Good point,” she hummed, tapping the tips of her shoes against his, “I know you though and I know that’s a pile of rubbish. But I don’t want to ruin your fun so I won’t dig, but I’ll get my answer eventually.”

“Whatever, that’s what you always say,” He rolled his eyes, staring out the window to ignore her drilling stare and raised eyebrow.

“You enjoy the attention, don’t lie,” she stuck out tongue, blowing a raspberry at him.

“You’re a smartass you know that,” he mumbled, bumping her in the shin with his heel.

“Your smartass,” she retorted, not noticing the way Fred’s eyes widened at the implication, “But enough of me pestering you, George was looking for you, said something about a plan and fireworks, didn’t stick around long enough to explain the rest, so you should probably head back downstairs.”

Fred sighed and visibly relaxed, his pranking expertise now rushing to the forefront of his mind as he pushed down his feelings to deal with later, “Will do, but only if you come with me, I don’t think we’ve done enough dancing for one night.”

“Agreed! Onward then,” She cheered, pushing herself up and offering Fred a hand, a cheery grin plastered on her face.

“Can do,” He replied, taking her hand as she pulled him along.

He smiled to himself softly, squeezing her hand gently as she started to ramble on about how she wanted in on whatever he and George were planning, though he was hardly paying attention to the subject matter and more to the lilt in her voice.

He was in for a wild night.

#fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley imagines #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x [y/n]#[y/n]#mar writes #asks #hogwarts #harry potter

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lunaverseimagine · 4 years

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Worth Dying For

Request: Can someone PLEASE make a Fred Weasley imagine where he died defending you at the last battle because he was the only one that knew you were pregnant with George’s baby? @writerinnight

Pairing: George x Reader, platonic!Fred x Reader

Warnings: Major character death, angst, I’ve never written angst like this before and I apologise in advance for any pain caused 👀

Word count: 1.4k

Tags: @flyingserpxnt @pcseidcnsvoid @cherrycolakxsses @justanotherblondeday @schlongbottom @wand3ringr0s3 @hemmoporro Join a taglist through the link in my bio <3

Fic:

You had so many mixed emotions when you looked at the test. Your hand flew to your mouth and tears filled your eyes. Butterflies went crazy in your stomach. You were going to bring a baby into the world. But not the sort of world you’d pictured when you imagined this moment. You allowed yourself a couple of minutes to absorb the information before taking some deep breaths and wiping the tears from your eyes. As you opened the bathroom door you collided with a firm chest.

“Blimey y/n/n, sorry, I-“ but Fred fell silent as his gaze drifted to the stick in your hand. Your eyes widened and you hid it behind your back, but it was too late. “Y/n... is that what I think it is?”

You debated lying, but there was no point, you wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from him now. Checking the hallway to make sure you were alone, you forced yourself to say the words.

“I’m pregnant.” You looked down at the floor, digging your toes into the carpet, anxiously awaiting his response. Surely Fred would be disappointed that you were pregnant now, that you were bringing a baby into this. But Fred’s arms wrapped around you and he lifted you off the ground.

“Merlin’s beard y/n/n, that’s brilliant! Georgie’s gonna be so happy-“

“I’m not telling George.” Fred put you down and looked at you with furrowed brows, hands still holding onto your arms as though he didn’t want to let go completely. “Not yet. Tomorrow is just so... huge. I don’t want him distracted or… or worrying about me.”

Seeing the resolve in your eyes, Fred knew there was no changing your mind, so he enveloped you in another hug and mumbled in your ear, “I’ll look out for you, you have my word. But If it’s going to be a secret you might want to stop waving that stick around.” You slapped him lightly, but hid the test in your pocket nonetheless.

You and George stood side by side, the rest of your families not far away, a united team. It was the calm before the storm, and the castle was completely silent. You couldn’t believe that this used to be your school, your home. Soon to be a battleground, inevitably covered in bloodshed. A shiver ran down your spine before you pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind. Now, more than ever before in your life, you needed to focus. You observed the grey skies, the cold bite to the air, as you listened, waiting for any sign of movement.

Something brushed against your fingers and you jumped, your hold on your wand tightening, before realising it was George. “Sorry love.” he whispered as he clasped your hand in his own and squeezed it reassuringly. You squeezed back, leaning in to him so that the side of your body was flush with his. George, your George, your boyfriend of 6 years and the soon-to-be father of your baby. You sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening, asking that you, George, and bump would survive.

“I love you Georgie.” Your voice was barely a whisper, but in the silence he heard you perfectly.

“I love you too y/n.” You could see the fear in his eyes, watched as he bounced his leg and looked nervously around. You pressed a delicate kiss to his cheek, lips lingering on the stubbly skin.

Suddenly the shields surrounding the castle began to break, and the scene turned to utter chaos. You and George stood back to back, casting spells at death eaters, constantly scanning your surroundings in case anyone needed backup. Fred had joined you so you were now standing in a triangle, fighting enemies on all sides.

The battle was a blur, flashes of red and green all around, shouts and screams filling your ears. Pushing down thoughts of the baby, thoughts of George, and of everyone else you wanted to protect, you focused instead on what you could see, on what you could do. That is, until the moment time seemed to slow down. The moment when three death eaters apparated in front of you. You knew there was no way you’d win against all of them, but dammit you would not go down without a fight. As you lifted your wand to disarm the death eater closest to you, all three of them raised their wands, pointing them directly at you. You heard the words forming on their lips, seeming to take an eternity, words that haunted your worst nightmare. Words you had hoped never to hear in your lifetime.

“Avada-”

You watched a mess of ginger hair in front of you.

“NO!” Your mouth formed the word, feeling disconnected from the rest of you.

You watched his arms spread wide to shield you

“Expelliarmus!” You cast, disarming one of the three evil people threatening the life of those you held dearest.

You watched as he disarmed another one, doing his best to protect you just like he promised.

“Kedavra.”

You watched as he crumpled to the floor in front of you, revealing the last death eater stood before him, the one responsible for taking his life.

You cast the curse back at him, not that you needed to because your scream had attracted attention, and curses were firing at him from all sides.

You fell to your knees next to Fred, letting out a scream that came from the depths of your lungs, your soul. You felt George beside you, turning to see him stare blankly at the lifeless face of his twin, of his other half. George was looking but not seeing, not registering, until suddenly he did, and he grabbed Fred’s hand.

“No no no no, Freddie, wake up, wake up, it’s me, it’s George.” His voice was breaking, and you cradled his head, brought it to rest in your chest as you held him, tears streaming down your face. “It’s George, you know, like Forge? Gred? I can’t be Forge or Gred on my own, I can’t do it, you have to wake up, you have to.” You clutched George tightly but his hands still held Fred’s cold one, refusing to let it go, refusing to believe that he could be gone. “You have to. You have to.”

The battle raged on around you but you couldn’t bring yourself to care, George had to know. He had to know why this happened.

“I-” the words caught in your throat, it was so painful, your heart was aching, but George needed to know. “I know why he did it.” George lifted his head, glazed, bloodshot eyes meeting yours.

“What?”

“He- he jumped in front of me because otherwise- otherwise it would’ve been me-” at this thought your chest constricted and you had to fight to breathe, “and he didn’t want that because I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant Georgie, and he knew.” The last bit came out as a mere whisper, but George was hanging on to every word, trying to make sense of it all.

“You’re- you’re pregnant?” You merely nodded. George finally found the courage to let go of his twin’s hand, holding on to you for support because there was no way he could do this on his own, he needed you, his lifeline. He buried his face in your chest in an attempt to ground himself, and you clutched onto him, not daring to let go. The two of you rocked back and forth, unable to process the severity of the situation.

His family, his parents started to realise what had happened and were coming towards you, but you couldn’t bear to see the looks on their faces, so you pressed your face on top of George’s head, kissing him because he’s still alive and Fred isn’t and it’s not fair and your baby’s dad is alive and his uncle isn’t.

You stayed there for hours, long after the battle ended. You’d won, but at what cost? You didn’t know if you’d ever be able to breathe without feeling the pain in your chest, the weight filling you, reminding you of what Fred had done. What he’d done for you. You couldn’t even imagine the pain George was in, losing half of himself. You didn’t know what the future would look like or how things could ever be ok again. So you did what you could. You held on to George.

End

Edit: There is now a part 2 and I promise it’s happier than this 👀

So... sorry 🥺 If you did enjoy this (or if your heart was broken) please let me know - reblogs and comments do a lot to motivate my writing, and my posts aren’t showing up in tags atm so reblogs are the only way to spread them 💖💖

Also feel free to check out my other stuff (mostly fluff I promise) and my writing challenge. Thank you for reading 💕

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chefrat · 3 years

Text

another weasley

pairings: fred weasley x reader

type: fluff

word-count: 2.7k

warnings: some cursing

A/N: nothing just thought I'd hop on this and try it out I guess :o

No one had a clue of what was going on, or more like, no one was paying attention. Except Molly Weasley. She watched your every move, so much happiness filling her up that she could cry. Fred didn’t even know either, neither did you! But to Molly, it was pretty obvious. She has gone through it quite a lot, six times to be exact, and was able to recognize every single sign. You were pregnant! Molly was able to notice the change in your sleeping habits, the random waves of nausea, the extra snacking, the more you’d get mad at Fred whenever him and George were up to no good. It stressed Molly out seeing how immature the two still were but she knew she couldn’t go bursting your guys bubble. She preferred you find out on your own, wanting to see Fred’s reaction from afar but it has been a month and a half and still no one has taken action. Molly got to brainstorming, trying to find ways to make it obvious towards you. Maybe she could ask you if you missed your period? No, that would make it too obvious that she knew. She grew annoyed that not one of you could put it together.

“Hey, love.” Fred said, giving you a peck on the lips. He had just come back from a walk with his brothers, taking a breather out in the fresh April air. You giggled, feeling his nose poke your cheek when he pulled away. He smiled down at you, happy to have you tagging along to his childhood home. Molly couldn’t help but watch and gush from afar. ‘Oh! I’m going to be a grandmother!’ She thought to herself happily. George greeted you with a hug, treating you like the sister you were to him. Molly was blinded by her own happiness that she didn’t notice when George and Fred disappeared and reappeared behind her, scared out of her mind, she threw her hands up, while she screamed. They both laughed, moving away from their mother quickly.

“George! Fred!” She screeched loudly, making the twins laugh louder. You couldn’t help but let out a giggle. Ginny came out to see what all the fuss was about, surprise in her eyes. Once she saw what was the commotion about, she left a laugh out. It was days like these that you enjoyed, being close to your boyfriend and his family. You rarely were ever near your own family, conflict and fighting all the time so the Weasley’s were like your actual home. Your true family. While Molly went off to chase the twins, Ginny walked closer to you, shy for what she was about to ask.

“Hey, um, do you by any chance have an extra pad with you? I haven’t been able to go get some myself.” Ginny whispered to you gently which caused panic to rise inside of you. “Shit.” You gasped, trying to remember when was the last time you had your period. The ginger raised an eyebrow, unaware of what was going on. Worried written well all over her pale and small face. “Is something wrong? It’s okay if you don’t have any on you.” You shook your head in protest. No, it wasn’t that. It was something bigger than that. “I’m late.” A blush took over your face as Ginny clapped her hands together, covering her mouth while she let a gasp slip out. The huge grin on Ginny only made you blush harder but she soon dropped the act when she heard her twin brothers getting closer.

“Let’s go to the shop, we’ll be able to find the things we need there.” She offered and you nodded, glad to have her by your side during such a shocking moment.

After visiting the shop and buying all the items that were needed, you both eagerly crowded the Weasley bathroom. She had asked to stay with you, trying her best to comfort you. After agreeing, she turned around, giving you your privacy while you peed on the pregnancy test. You awkwardly put the test between your legs, new to the feeling of having to take one. “This is awkward, Ginny.” Blushing, you let out a stream, peeing directly on it while you looked toward the brittle ceiling. She only giggled, snickering to herself in the corner. “These are the consequences you have to face for sleeping with my brother.” You let out a laugh, closing the tip of the freshly used test and placing it carefully on the counter. “You can turn around now.” The remaining pee flushed down the toilet and Ginny glanced down at her wrist watch, waiting for the five minutes to pass.

“Soo, you and my brother, eh?” Rolling your eyes, you groaned. Laying your head on her sharp shoulder. Ginny wrapped her arms around you, patting your hair down and trying her best to soothe you. The younger girl secretly wished for it to be positive, ever since Fred had started dating you while you both were in Hogwarts and ever since the first time he brought you home, Ginny had instantly taken a liking towards you, just like how everyone in the Weasley family has. Now it's been, what? Three? Four years? It was bound to happen some day, planned or unplanned.

“Yea,” Sighing, you pulled away, pouting. “I swear, it was only that ONE time we did it without protection. It really does take one time.” Ginny giggled again. “He is a Weasley, you know what they say about us. Breeding like crazy.” You giggled with her, remembering how everyone in Hogwarts had teased them, asking if there was another Weasley waiting at home to attend Hogwarts. “Merlin, what am I going to tell your mom?”

“Hey, we still haven’t gotten a chance to see what the test says. It could all just be a false alarm.” She looked at her watch again, the five minutes gone. Both girls looked at each other, scared. “Go look.” You blurted out. “No, you look.” Ginny said back, failing to comfort you as her own palms grew sweaty from the anxiety. With eyebrows furrowed and trembling hands, you turned around, taking a small step forward to the counter. With a slow shaky hand, you grabbed the test and brought it close enough to read. Positive.

“So?” Ginny asked, biting her nails. It felt as if the air had been suffocating you, your own throat tightening and not being able to muster up even a small yes. So you nodded making Ginny smile and hug you from the back. Of course you were happy! Just shocked, afraid of what Fred would say. Afraid of what Molly would say! If only you knew that she had already figured it out on her own and already so so happy that you were pregnant with her grandchild. “How are we going to tell t-them?” You turned around, hot tears streaming down your face. Ginny immediately wrapped her arms around you again, she hated seeing you upset. “Please don’t cry. I can guarantee you that they’re all going to be ecstatic by the news!” She cheered while you sobbed.

“Come on, let’s wash your face with cold water. We can talk more about it in my room, I want you lay down and stay off your feet for now.” You agreed, turning around and turning the sink on, letting the water run. After being able to calm down, Ginny grabbed you and the test. She took your hand and guided you toward her neat and tidy comfort zone that was her room. Fred was working long hours today at the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes so both of you had the house for yourselves, Molly being away on a small date with Arthur. You were happy at how far they had come, seeing them grow from selling at school to owning their own shop and expressing themselves with their inventions. A child was definitely not in Fred’s plans and you knew that. His five year plan was to grow his family business and focus on his career with his twin and your were on board with it. But still, how would he react to having a bump interrupt his plans? Literally.

“What do you think?” You asked, sniffling. The ginger smiled, looking into your eyes lovingly and taking the seat next to you on her bed. “I think it's wonderful and I’m happy to become an aunt. But, remember that it’s all your choice. I don’t want you to feel forced to carryout a surprise pregnancy, nothing was planned and I cannot relate to how scared you might be feeling right now but I am anxious for you. And I will stand with you with whichever decision you take.” Ginny said, leaning into your shoulder. Hands intertwined and both taking shaky sighs. Millions of thoughts ran through your head, most of them were about Fred and how he would react. You thought of the pros and cons, mentally forming a list in your head. “I think it's wonderful too, Ginny.” She smiled, giving your hand a squeeze. “But I want to talk about it with Fred too, I don’t want to force him into anything. It’s a group decision and I can’t decide for him, that’d be unfair. Especially now that his business is doing good, a baby would just add more stress.”

It was great to have Ginny by your side. She was the biggest support system you had right now, something that made you emotional. You weren’t sure if it was the change in hormones that made your more emotional or because Ginny’s help was really moving but you couldn’t help but just cry. And she let you, welcoming you with open arms, not caring if her shirt got all soaked with salty tears and snot. You are family to her and she admired you for being so involved and caring.

Hours passed and you were asleep on Ginny’s bed while she was down in the kitchen, trying to fix you up something nutritional for when you woke up. She scavenged around the cupboards, trying to find the book of recipes Molly kept when she was pregnant to prepare just the right meals with a dash of magic. ‘Found it.’ She thought to herself once she saw it at the top, collecting dust. Casting a quick spell to bring it down, not trying to do all the work of standing on the counter. Her wand called for the remaining ingredients, all being laid out in front of her as she flipped through the book. Ginny was absolutely positive that Fred would want to keep it, she knew her brother and she knew that there wasn’t anything else that he wanted but you. In his life, in his future, in everything.

She walked up the stairs holding the warm bowl of lentils that had a various amount of veggies, and on the other hand, an organic yogurt with a crushed up recipe scrambled in with oats. You were still sound asleep but with Ginny’s gentle hand rubbing your shoulder, you rose up, thanking her for the meal and the support. Feeling awkward that you were the only one eating, she rushed down the stairs to prep herself a meal to join you. You both sat next to each other, enjoying your meals and having small chatter between you both. “Imagine the little clothes.” Ginny gushed while you smiled. You like the thought of that. “The hands!”

Everyone was home now, Fred and George barely got home and they were tired from being on their feet all day. They simultaneously took off their blazers, sat down, rubbed their head and sighed. You popped out of the hallway, giving a reason for Fred to get up excitedly off the couch with a smile on his face, making his way to you. “Baby.” He said making you choke on your own spit. Fred rose an eyebrow at it but didn’t question. Instead, he quickly pecked your forehead, then your nose, and finally, lowering down to your lips. “Can we talk real quick? Something came up today.” You mumbled against his chest as he smothered you with hugs and kisses. His body tensed at the words that fell out of your mouth but he nodded, slightly worried that there was something wrong. You guided him towards a room that wasn’t occupied by his family.

“Is everything alright, love?” The concern that was visible in his face and in his voice was enough to make anyone tear up and that’s exactly what you did. Fred got even more concerned when he saw the tears forming in your eyes. “Are you okay? Is something wrong? Have you come down with something? Are your parents bothering you again?” He bombed you with questions and all you could do was shake your head no.

“Listen, F-freddie.” You started, sniffling and trying your best to put yourself together in front of the love of your life. “I’m pregnant, I swear to you I just found out today.” Silence. The only response you did not want. It hurt every second knowing that he wasn’t letting out even a breath of air. Too afraid to make eye contact with him, you stared down at his hands that held yours lovingly. “I know it wasn’t in your plans, I’m willing to forget about it so we can continue living like we were yesterday. But, just please say something.” Finding the courage somehow, you looked up seeing that the reason why he was so quiet was because he was biting his lip, tears falling from the corner of his eyes.

The laugh you love so much filled the room as he pulled his hands away from you to rub the tears away from his eyes. “Forget it? This is amazing, we’re going to be a family!” Fred cheered a little to loudly, Molly appeared quickly in the room. Just by hearing the word ‘family’ made her heart skip a beat, excited that it was finally happening. Your heart dropped when she came into your view but a huge smile was dominating her. “About time you found out! I noticed just a month ago!” Fred turned to look at his mother. “I’m going to be a dad!” He yelled excitedly. Quickly, the room started filling up with all type of Weasley’s. First Ginny, a huge smile on her face. Then, Ron, confused of the random shouting, a piece of bread stuffed into his cheek. Then George, both eyebrows raised, excited for his brother. Percy in his suit stood next to Ron, confused as well as the yelling was muffled from where he was in the house. “We’re pregnant.” Fred said proudly, pulling you into him while planting a huge kiss on your cheek. His nose poking you which always made you giggle.

But, he was quickly to let go of you to hug George. “A Weasley!” They shouted, hugging each other and patting each others backs roughly. Molly scoffed at how Fred quickly changed his attention from you to George. She walked up to you and cupped your face. “I am so happy for you.” You teared up a little at the motherly love and acceptance. Her arms wrapped around you tightly, as if she was afraid to let you go. “I love you.” The tears of happiness couldn’t help but leak from your already tired eyes. You’ve spent the whole day crying but now they were tears of relief, tears of happiness and of excitement. The night was spent by celebrating the news, Arthur was the last one to hear it since he was off on a quick errand but he was filled with excitement knowing that they’ll be a new addition to the Weasley family. “Another one!” He cheered, Fred and George joining in.

This was a new chapter for both of you, of course you had a huge support system but you still were scared shitless of what parenthood had to offer. It was only the beginning, you weren’t even showing but soon that would turn into a small bump, to a bigger one. Then, to carrying them in your arms and raising them. A little you or a little Fred or possibly both.

(not edited)

#fred weasley #fred weasly x reader #harry potter #fanfic #fic #harry potter x reader #ron weasly x reader #fred weasley imagine #george weasley #george weasley x you #weasley #bill weasley #idk #not edited #first #i tried

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futurewriter2000 · 4 years

Text

Convince me

A/N: This took me so long and no I won’t edit it because I just don’t want to read it again. I’m just gonna listen to my George Michael and chill at 2am.

PAIRING: Fred Weasley x reader

REQUEST: Could you do a Fred Weasley x Reader when their in their fourth year where they both are secretly in love with eachother. But one day George asks somethin like what do you like in a guy and since shes a few months older then them she jokingly says she likes older men. Later Percy asks her out she says no but Fred doesn't know that and thinks she said yes cause "she likes older men". And theres angst and stuff.

Sometimes you couldn’t describe what you felt. You knew exactly when you were angry; the gritting of your teeth, heart pumping faster, blood reaching your cheeks, nerves thinning, brain clouded... or when you were sad; usually feeling like your heart was in a dark pit, floating in a shallow sea of sorrow.

But this feeling- this emotion- this whatever this is, you couldn’t describe it with words. You couldn’t even figure it out what this really was. It wasn’t just an affinity, nor attrection and desire but it wasn’t love either. So what was it?

When your eyes meet, your heart stops for a second and it starts pounding in your chest. When his smile reaches his cheeks and is directed to you, your hands become clammy and feel yourself get sweaty. When he speaks with his voice, your stomach twists and starts doing rhythmic gymnastics but what happens when he’s close and his hand brushes against yours?- Combination of chaos, hormones and emotions. A mess to put it subtle.

“Hey, Cherry.” you snapped your head at the ginger boy, your eyes narrowing at him.

Cherry. The nickname George and Fred thought of when they pulled a hair-colouring prank on you. Your hair was vibrant red, sticking out in every direction and because of the poor inovention, it kept letting red drops fall on the ground, turning them into cherries. It kept going on for three days.

“Stop calling me that, George. If anyones hair is cherry, it’s yours.” you rolled your eyes at him.

“George? What in the right mind made you think I am George and not Fred.” he scrunched his eyebrows together and crossed his arms over his chest as if he was offended.

You could only wish it was Fred talking to you at the moment but he wasn’t. It was his brother. His taller brother whose nose was more crooked, eyes more round and brown, lips more thin yet more rosier, shoulders less broad, more brawny body and grin almost reflecting his brother’s yet with less mischief. Oh, and one more thing. You weren’t in love with George and the energy around was quite different than around Fred.

“Don’t bother, George.” you slightly pushed his shoulder so his arms uncrosed and fell down against his body. “You know it doesn’t work with me.”

He bent down, looking directly in your eyes and wondering. “You never cease to amaze me. From all the people that can tell us apart, you are the only one.”

A blush crept on your cheeks, flattered by his words. “You make me swoon with your choice in words,George Weasley.” you crinckled your nose at him and started walking forward.

Yet, he was more nervous when he walked. Tensed as even, You quirked an eyevrow at him and he smiled awkwardly. “Swoon, you say, I wouldn’t be surprised because, well...” he stopped in front of you, showing himself off. “Look at me.”

“I am.” you narrowed your eyes. “Can’t say I see much.” you joked and he let out a scoff.

“Oh, okay Mrs. Heartbreaker. What is much for you?”

You laughed at his response, looking over his shoulder and seeing a 7th year Gryffindor Quidditch Keeper laugh with his roommate. “You see that Gryffindor over-there.” you nodded behind him and he turned around to see the 7th year.

“Really? Oliver Wood?”

“Not just him. Your brother there isn’t so bad either. It’s like killing two birds with one stone- or more likely two birds killing one stone.” you winked and George laughed.

“Percy? As in my older brother Percy??” he kept looking at you with shock.

“How older exactly?” you continued to tease.

“Like too old for your picky arse- are you serious?” he still couldn’t believe his hearing. “Percy?”

“You know what the say; the older you get the more experianced you are.” you winked at him, walking away as his mouth fell agape.

“Your dirty mind cannot compare to your innocent name, Cherry.” he spoke behind you.

“It’s always the most innoncent that are the wildest in bed.” you turned around with a grin, waved at him and left for your dorms.

And it was not all lie. You liked Percy even if he was a stuck up sometimes, he could really be sweet with you, caring even. You’ve never seen Percy Weasley rested nor relaxed. He was always trying to achieve something. His ambitions drove his mind almost to insanity.

Yet, you remembered this one day, back in your 2nd Year, he was sleeping in the library. His head was supported by his hand and his horn-rimmed glasses were on the pile of papers, his other hand on top of a few open books that were on top of some other closed books. And though at the time, you and Percy only exchanged a nodd or a simple “hi”, you decided to wake the Prefect up.

‘ Your hand touched his shoulder and you rocked him gently. “Percy.” you spoke very quietly, trying not to frighten him. “Percy.” you tried again and he opened his eyes slowly. They were just like Fred’s, you noticed. When his mind awoke as well, he jumped up-straiht and started looking around.

“Merlin! What time is it?!” he shouted and you shushed him.

“It’s late. That’s why I woke you up.”

He looked up, calmed down and smiled softly. “You’re (y/n), right?”

You smiled and nodded. “Yes. That’s me.” you kept smiling. “I didn’t know you knew my real name due to your brothers always calling me Cherry.”

“My brother’s can quite step over the limit but they don’t mean harm.” he smiled as well. It was as if you were looking a completely different side of him. “Sit.” he offered, gesturing his hand to the chair. “I hear you’re doing great in all of your classess except Charms. I could tutor you if you would like.”

“YES!” you blurted out desperatly. “I mean...” you looked down with a blush and fumbled your fingers. “I’d love to.” ‘

Charms was always hell for you. Always. Since the first year and you could notice that Flitwick wasn’t very fond of you as well. Fred and George, as great as they were with Charms, were never much on school and tutoring after-school hours wasn’t their idea of living. So, Percy was the one who always helped you with your school work, especially Charms and since that night, you got to know a completely different side of him. He could be patient and sweet. He takes his time with explaining how to do a wand movement or how to figure out Arithmancy when you decided to take the class.

Yes, you liked Percy Weasley but he wasn’t his brother. He wasn’t Fred. He wasn’t the one you felt a mess for.

---

It was odd though. The next time you saw Percy, he was a bit on edge. He kept playing with his fingers, his mouth kept being curved up into this awkward smile and his voice kept shaking- speaking far too quickly for your ears to catch his words.

“Percy.” you put your hand on his, looking into his eyes. “You keep bouncing your leg and that is really distracting. I can’t concentrate.”

He sat solid on that chair like a rock, watching you back before shaking his head and smiling softly.” Sorry. I’m just a bit nervous.”

“May I ask you why?” you smiled and dropped down your pen to listen.

“Uhm...” he chuckled awkwardly, avoiding your eyes. “Well, George told me you fancied me for a while and I sort of fancy you back but I never wanted to say anything because of the-” he stopped for a while, reading your expression that stayed just the same as he started telling you this.”-age thing.” he continued with caution. “But he said you actually prefer that so I thought, maybe. if you want, we can go to Hogsmeade together next week?”

You stared, empty for words, confused at what he just said,- what? What just happened?

“Percy...” you started with a disappointing sigh, seeing as his shoulders dropped.

“It’s alright. I knew-”

“No, Percy. I do like you and if I do go on the Hogsmeade date with you, what would happen after? After you grauate and leave. I still have 3 years of Hogwarts left and you have a carrier to think about.” you smiled and put your hand on top of his. You could see his mind clear up, the pieces coming together. “Plus...I know you are still in love with Penny and I- well, I’m also in love with somebody else.”

You could see him exhale the breath he was holding it. In a way, he expected to be disappointed but if he was honest with himself, he was actually relieved.

“Does that someone else have to do with my brother?” he smirked at you and you felt your eyes widen at him.

He knew!

“You knew!”

“The puppy eyes, the obvious red stain on your cheeks. It doesn’t take a genious to figure out.” he chuckled and leaned back on the chair.

“Yeah, well obviously it takes your brother quite some time to figure it out.” you sighed and leaned back as well.

“Just tell him then.”

“You tell Penny.” you snapped back.

“Tell her what?”

“That you want her back.”

“I do not!” he denied but you knew he was lying through his front teeth. You fixiated your gaze on him and he smiled awkwardly. “Perhaps I do but like you said, my Hogwarts years are coming to an end and we’re both going seperate way. All I want to say to you is that don’t wait as long as I did.”

---

The next time you saw Fred Weasley, he wasn’t in his best of moods. You walked in the Gryffindor common room and saw two red-heads together, whispering.

You rolled your eyes and made your way to the armchair opposite. “Hey, there strangers.”

Their heads popped up. George smiled meanwhile Fred didn’t. “Hey.” they both said in unison and then started whispering again.

You knitted your eyebrows together and moved closer to them, trying to start a conversation. “What are the two of you doing?”

“Noone of your business, Cherry.” said Fred with a forced grin.

You leaned back, amazed by the attitude Fred just gave you and looking at George who shared the same expression as you.

“Okay.” you said and stood up. “Guess, I’ll leave you both alone.”

“Come on, Ch-” George tried to speak but Fred cut him off.

“Yeah. I think you know where my brother’s dorm is but I don’t think he’s there.”

You turned around. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Fred mumbled and turned his eyes back on the paper he was working with his brother.

You kept looking at him. Shocked? Furious? With the most horrible feeling in our stomach? - More or so. Furious.

“Guess, I will. He seems to be far better of a company than the two of you.” and you stomped up to the boys dormitory, walking into Percy’s room and starting to rant. “Your brother is such a prick! I cannot believe I fell for him!” you sat down on the bed and then got up again, throwing your arms around nervously. “Firstly, he’s all flirty and touchy with me! Always Cherry this, Cherry that! I honestly thought he might like me back but noooo,, not Fred-right! NOT FRED! He’s just gonna make a girl feel more daft then she already feels!” you turned to point finger at Percy who was grinning at you, flicking his eyes to his right.

You looked to your right side only to see Oliver Wood, sitting and grinning on his bed.

You covered your lips with your hands, feeling more embarrased than you did with Fred. “I didn’t see you there.” you spoke shyly and he just laughed.

“I’m glad you didn’t. Then I wouldn’t see this intimidating side of you.” he said and put his hands away from the books. “So I gather you fancy Fred?”

“What gives you that idea?” you joked.

“Just a guess.” he joked as well, getting up and stretching his arms. “It’s funny because Fred fancies you back, you know?”

“No, he doesn’t.” you laughed in denial.

“He does?” Percy sceptically looked at Oliver.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t believe you.” you said, still laughing.

“Want me to prove it?” he rolled his eyes.

“How?- actually no.” you shook your head, standing up. “I- Fred doesn’t like me. He just doesn’t and he just proved it. He would never act the way he did right now.”

“(Y/n). That’s what guys do-”

“No, no.” you shook your head. “I am better than him. Better than planning schemes and trying to prove a point.” you said and walked through the doors.

---

Well, you thought you were better than that. Fred’s been driving you insane all week. He kept teasing you, something about dating older guys and it didn’t bother you much because you only retorded something back but he crossed the line when he told other people you were shagging one of them.

You stormed into their room, red-stained, furious. “HOW?!” you clenched your fists and stared at his eyes, meanwhile Oliver just smiled.

“Just follow my lead.”

---

You never really knew what Oliver meant by following his lead but you did what he told you to do. You waited in the common room but since his Quidditch practice took a bit more longer than he told you it would, you decided to read a book.

It was until the loud voices came echoing from the portrait hole and the whole Quidditch team reappeared.

You looked up at Oliver and he smiled at you, meanwhile Fred behind them quirked an eyebrow.

“Come on. Go.” Angelina pushed Oliver, meanwhile Fred shot his head to her.

“What’s going on?” Fred asked, switching his gazes between Oliver, you and Angelina.

It was until right that moment when Percy came from behind them and leaned on Fred’s shoulder. “Oh, so he’s finally going to ask her out.”

Fred now shot his head to him. “I thought you asked her out?”

“I did but she made me realize I still have feelings for Penny and that because of the age gap, it wouldn’t work out.” Percy said and Fred shot his eyes back to the laughing pair at the couch.

“Then she’d say no to him as well.” he said more nervously.

“Wouldn’t know. Wood can be pretty good with the ladies-” he said but Fred was already with the two of you.

You continued to giggle, touching Oliver’s arm and not taking a second glance at the boy who stood above you. He cleared his throat and both of you looked up to him.

“Yes, Fred?”

“What’s going on here?”

“Just two people enjoying each other’s company...alone.”

“Aren’t the two of you a bit too cosy?” he kept glaring.

“So what if we are?” you crossed your arms over your chest. Was he really getting jealous?

“Why would you care, Freddie?” Wood grinned, leaning back and wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “It’s not like you like her. Do you?”

He glared into Oliver’s eyes and felt his body shake. He wanted to punch him and tore that arm around you off him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, red staining his cheeks.

“Fred?” you asked and his eyes shot to yours who looked so innocently at his. “Do you?”

Fred kept exchanging looks. He wanted to deny. To say no or something but the way you were looking at him, he just thought that maybe- just maybe you liked him back.

But that was impossible.

“Uh-I-”

“Oh bloody hell this is torturing.” Oliver groaned. “Just admit it. You like her, she likes you- end of story.” he stood up and clasped his hands together. “Now go make out and thank me later.” he started walking away. “Preferably with those nice sour gummy worms.” and he was out of sight, leaving both you and Fred blushing and awkwardly standing alone.

“Do- do you really like me?” he looked up in your eyes and sat down next to you.

“I mean there’s no point in hiding it anymore.” you laughed and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“But I thought you liked older guys.”

“Who told you that?” you smiled and felt the tension thinning.

“George said-”

“George?” you laughed. “All we ever do is joke around and make stupid sarcastic retords. Why would you ever believe George?”

“I don’t know-” he smiled. “I just guess since I like you as well it felt serious at the time.”

A smile wiped itself from your lips.

It was true. Oliver and Percy were right.

And then the biggest curve your lips could form appeared on our cheeks.”Really?”

“You don’t believe me?” he rolled his eyes, smiling.

“I mean-”

His hand reached for your cheek and he pulled you into a kiss. A soft, short kiss just for the first taste. He pulled away, looking at your eyes and smiling. “Believe me now?”

“I think I’ll need some more convincing.”

#fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #george weasley #george weasley imagine #golden trio era #golden trio imagine #golden trio imagines #weasley twins #weasley twins imagine

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cherry-pop-elf · 7 months

Text

“THE MISADVENTURES OF BELLADONNA WEASLEY!”

🥀

“HONEY! MY LEGS WENT OUT AGAIN!”

“That’s in Order, That’s in Order, oop-! Knew it. That new flavor sold like crazy. Marking that for the books right there-“

“Come back again real soon! Unless it’s to flirt with my husband! If that’s the case, don’t be surprised if you wake up missing a finger or two~!”

“He wrote ANOTHER book? Good for him good for him! Aw, you got a copy for that Cherry Fella? Aren’t you sweet. One of the many reasons I love you~!”

“What? Why do I look so mad? Mi Amor, my legs are about to give out in the next two seconds…..Boy you are missing a ear, keep up with the disabled times-!”

“I swear so many kids leave their books here. I can’t imagine why. Could you return this to that Ivy girl? She is so forgetful. Poor thing. Why not me? Sir, SIR-!”

“That’s what we need to restock next, sug. Got it? Honey? HONEY-! Turn your head. Turn, ok there we go. As I said, here is what we need to restock for the shop-“

“If you bring up my height one more time, I am going to run over your toes. You are like almost seven foot, EVERYONE IS TINY AROUND YOU-!”

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carewyncromwell · 4 years

Text

[Percy, Bill, and Carewyn hurried to find Charlie, and the four gingers split into two pairs in search for the twins.

Seeing how anxious Charlie was in particular about the thought that Fred and George could’ve been subjected to the Statue Curse, Carewyn decided to stick with him. There hadn’t been any evidence to suggest Fred and George were hurt or in trouble, but whether they were or not, she wanted to make sure Charlie was all right. And admittedly, Percy would’ve been a poor choice to try to ease Charlie’s nerves.

It took a while, but Carewyn and Charlie finally learned from Peeves that he’d seen Fred and George heading into the Forbidden Forest. The two Fireballs followed a pair of tracks into the Redcap Hole Carewyn had last visited with Ben -- and to both Carewyn and Charlie’s immense relief, there the two first years were, safe and sound.]

Charlie: “Of all the places to end up in...”

[Carewyn rested a hand on Charlie’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze to show some support without taking her solemn gaze off of the twins.]

“You shouldn’t go missing without a word like that.”

[The twins looked at each other, both sets of eyebrows raised airily.]

George: “Funny, I didn’t feel missing. Did you, Fred?”

Fred: “Nope -- I’m right here!”

[Carewyn crossed her arms, her expression rather stony, but Charlie spoke a bit sharply.]

Charlie: “This is serious, you two. When Peeves told us where you’d gone -- when we learned you’d run out here chasing after someone...I was terrified you’d run into Rakepick, or one of her lot!”

[His worry was stamped into the crevices of his face. Both Fred and George suddenly looked a little guilty.]

Fred: “No need to get your knickers in a twist, Charlie...we’re fine...”

George: “And we have a good reason for coming down here, honest -- “

[Suddenly a raspy, weedy voice cut through the air.]

[The Red Cap had returned.

Carewyn immediately made as if to step in front of the twins, pointing her wand at the creature and preparing to attack -- but she was interrupted by Fred grabbing hold of her shoulder as he ran up to stand beside her.]

Fred: “Hold on, hold on! We got this!”

[George tossed Fred something -- Fred caught it easily with one hand and then chucked it right at the ground in front of the Red Cap.]

[The Dungbomb burst open into a bright green, putrid mist. Overwhelmed by the horrible stench, the Red Cap scurried away, covering his nose and mouth and yowling unpleasantly. In seconds the smell, like back in the Gryffindor common room, had expanded, burying itself into every crevice of the hole.

Careyn cringed in disgust as she lowered her wand.]

“(sardonically) Augh -- lovely work, boys. Most effective.”

Now I’ll have to wash my clothes twice just to get the smell out.

[The twins grinned identical grins.]

Fred: “Glad to be of service!”

[Carewyn shot them both a very cool smile.]

“Be very glad that I’m still relieved to see you’re both all right -- otherwise I’d be taking points off you for damaging my wardrobe.”

George: “(bursts out laughing) Come off it!”

Fred: “Making things smell isn’t damaging -- ”

“(dryly) Not a very nice thing to do to one of your mum’s sweaters, though, is it?”

[Carewyn turned to Charlie with a sigh.]

Charlie: “(tiredly) You said it...”

Fred: “Hold up! We have to tell Carewyn about why we came down here.”

[Both Charlie and Carewyn looked up, startled.]

Charlie: “Can’t it wait until we get back to school?”

George: “(very firmly) No, Carewyn needs to know now.”

Fred: “(just as firmly) We were hanging out, having a laugh under the tree by the lake, when we saw this really-dodgy-looking chap creeping about near the Forest.”

George: “He was easy to spot ‘cause he had this long dark hair and this set of bright red robes on -- ”

Fred: “ -- kind of made ‘im look like a pirate, honestly -- ”

[Carewyn’s heart just about stopped.

Red dress robes...?]

Fred: “Anyway, we kind of followed from a distance, trying to get a better look at him...”

George: “Then he turned around -- ”

Fred: “ -- I don’t reckon he saw us, but we got a good look at his face -- ”

George: “ -- and we both looked at each other and said -- ”

Fred and George: “ -- ‘that must be Carewyn’s brother!’”

[Carewyn felt like her heart had been seized around the middle. Despite herself she couldn’t fight back a sharp intake of breath.

Charlie, shooting a quick glance at Carewyn, then turned back to his younger brothers with a very serious expression.]

Charlie: “You’ve never even seen him.”

George: “No, but we have met Carewyn.”

Fred: “(to Carewyn) The bloke didn’t look like you at all until he turned around. His eyes were just like yours. Color, shape, everything.”

[Carewyn’s eyes widened further still.

Bright red dress robes with long, dark hair and eyes just like hers...it did sound like Jacob!

She covered her face with both hands, trying to obscure the turbulent emotions filtering through. She could feel her mouth twisting into an open, broken, relieved smile.]

He’s alive. He’s alive!

[Just as suddenly, though, her blood chilled.]

He was here...why was he here? Was he chasing Rakepick? Is she here? Is he trying to get to the last Vault? Does he know its location now? And...if he is here, near Hogwarts...why didn’t he reach out? Send a note...something...?

[She felt a hand coming down to rest on her shoulder.]

Charlie: “(concerned) Carey?”

[Closing her eyes, Carewyn inhaled and exhaled, trying to clear her mind.]

Detach -- forget -- detach --

[She opened her eyes, still hiding her expression in her hands.]

If I just show a blank face, Charlie will know I’m faking it -- and I can’t show him fear, he’s scared enough as it is...

[And so she put on her brightest, most relieved smile and removed her hands from her face.]

“...He’s alive...thank Merlin, he’s alive...”

[Carewyn turned to the twins.]

“Did you see where he went?”

[Both Fred and George deflated visibly.]

George: “No...by the time we crawled in here, he’d disappeared.”

[Carewyn refused to show her disappointment on her face.]

“...Well...thank you for trying.”

Charlie: “Are you going to go look for him?”

Of course I am.

[Carewyn closed her eyes solemnly and bowed her head slightly.]

“...No. I...have faith in Jacob. He’ll reach out when he can -- I know he will.”

[She projected as much confidence as she humanly could, even though it made her feel like she was blowing a lot of hot air.]

Charlie: “(lowly) ...I hope he does soon, Carey. After how much work you put in to find him...you both deserve to be together again -- like my brothers and I are.”

[Charlie’s whisper was full to the brim with empathy, and it made Carewyn’s heart feel like it’d grown to twice its normal size. As she opened her eyes and looked up at him again, her voice was noticeably touched despite her usual stoic expression.]

“(softly) Thanks, Charlie.”

[Smiling more confidently, Carewyn turned on her heel, tossing an amused glance over her shoulder at the three Weasley boys.]

“Well, come on, then! Bill’s got to get back to Gringotts soon, doesn’t he? May as well not keep him waiting!”

[She strolled a good three paces in front of the boys as they headed out of the Forest, her eyes focused straight ahead at the horizon.]

I found you once, Jacob. I will find you again.

((OOC: In the game Fred and George say the guy they saw resembled a “description” of Jacob they’d heard, but...yeah, where would they have gotten that?? Jacob did get a picture in the Daily Prophet when he first vanished, but the twins would’ve been only around six years old at the time, so I guarantee they wouldn’t remember a picture they saw once that long ago. And I don’t really see Bill (or Charlie, if you like me had MC take him instead of Penny) discussing Jacob’s appearance. In the game, at least, you can kind of use the logic that MC and Jacob share hair and eye color (and even makeup -- SNORT)...but yeah, considering my Jacob looks very little like Carewyn, that wasn’t really going to fly, hence the rewriting of that scene. Jacob most closely resembles his father, while Carewyn resembles her maternal great-grandmother, but both have very distinctive almond-shaped, dark-lashed blue eyes. (Which I like to call the “Cromwell eyes” -- their mum Lane and many members of her family also have them.)

Carewyn’s sweater was actually knitted for her by Molly Weasley last Christmas, rather than it being a “W”-lettered hand-me-down from Bill. In my headcanon, it’s maroon with a purple “C” on the front. (The “C’s” on Charlie’s Christmas jumpers are usually yellow, so Molly used a dull magenta for Carewyn’s C” to further set her sweater apart from his.)

The “pirate” line by Fred is a reference to a silly roleplaying scenario I did with my sweet @dat-silvers-girl. The comparison will never not make me laugh!!

And now...to write out some stuff for the dragon side-quest!! ^.^))

#carewyn cromwell #jacob's sibling #jacob #jacob cromwell #hphm #hogwarts mystery #roleplaying #gameplay #charlie weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #percy weasley #bill weasley #peeves #my art

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ginnranger · 4 years

Text

A Strange New Student

Summary:

Ginn is a new student in a prestigious London private school. It’s pretty obvious she is not the type to be in private school, but is that going to stop her? Honestly, she doesn’t even know the answer to that one.

But she does have a pretty good guess, when she meets Alex, Martin, George, Louise, and Elsie. They are pretty different from her. They seem nice enough, but will her past lessons allow her let them in? Another good question.

Word count: 6542

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

The large, stone hallways of Churchill high school were a lot less busy than Ginn’s old public school back in Liverpool. She guessed that was because barely anyone was able to afford the tuition to actually attend this school. How she got in was a complete miracle, sparked by some pretty unfortunate events.

The biggest understatement of her life.

Ginn was not used to anything that she had already faced in this new school at all, and she had only been in the building ten minutes. The students hanging around in the hallway before class were well behaved, milling around and chatting instead of running and fighting. The floors and lockers were clean, free of graffiti and chewing gum. The uniforms were the weirdest part; everyone wore it neat and proper, the boys’ ties being evenly tied, their shirts neatly tucked into their trousers, which were not sagging halfway down their butts, and their blazers free of burn holes and glue stains. The girls’ skirts were closer to the knee than the butt, their blouses also neatly tucked, and their cardigans neatly buttoned. Everyone’s shoes were perfectly shined, not a scuff in sight.

Every student had neatly styled hair, not a strand out of place. They all had perfect posture, shoulders squared and backs straight, the girls tending to keep their feet touching each other. Their faces shone with happy, satisfied smiles. There was no anger, hunger, or sadness in these people’s lives. Very different to what Ginn saw back in Liverpool. It was obvious these teenagers knew their place in the world. So did Ginn, and it was not surrounded by these people. They made that clear with their odd looks.

She stood out for many reasons around these people. For one, she was the only girl wearing trousers and a tie. Ginn flat out refused to wear a skirt, and the rules said trousers could not be worn without a tie, so she was stuck in the unflattering, unfitted, too big boy’s uniform. Her tie was relatively neat, but she had not buttoned the top of her shirt, and pulled the tie down slightly to accommodate the room the lack of a top button provided. her blazer sleeves had been rolled up slightly to accommodate her shorter arms. Her shirt was tucked in, but it was not neat. the sides of the shirt were bunched up, as she had tried to angle it in a way it was more fitted to her feminine frame. It was not working, but she felt comfortable. When Ginn stood, she leant on one leg, arms crossed, and her feet obviously not touching. Her shoulders slumped, and her hands folded into fists, no matter whether she was walking or standing. When she walked, her back curved forwards slightly, and her eyes shifted between everything that moved, glaring into every pair of eyes she met. Ginn had to be aware of everything that was happening around her. Just a little compulsion of hers. Her hair was cut short, mostly jar length, with layers getting shorter as they went up, and a fringe cut in line with her eyes, parted favouring the left side, and whilst that was not abnormal for girl, it was expected that she would make an attempt to calm and style her messy mop of ginger hair. But she didn’t. She liked it messy. It gave her an excuse to have her fringe covering her left eye. You see, Ginn had heterochromia. Her right eye was a bright, electric blue, whilst her left eye was a shining light brown, almost orange when the light hit it just right. Ginn preferred to cover her left eye with her hair, as it blended in with the orange strands better than the blue did. That, and the brown colour was not the genetic colour. Her mother had blue eyes, and her father had green eyes, so brown was definitely not a family eye colour.

Ginn could tell people were looking at her as she wondered the fancy hallways towards the administration office, though she couldn’t tell if this was because of her rough, stand-offish appearance, or the fact that it was early November, and she was a new student entering year 10. Honestly, Ginn didn’t care which one it was. She didn’t expect to form relationships with these people.

She managed to reach the administration office, where she was expected to pick up her time table and ID card, after a few minutes of cluelessly wondering around, following strange signs written in the worst font for someone like her; cursive. How is that acceptable, you may ask? It honestly isn’t, but this school had an aesthetic to stick to. Ginn was dyslexic, so anything that wasn’t block letters or her own handwriting was torture to read. As she reached the old looking, oak wood door, she straightened her back and readjusted her backpack, forcing her face to change from confrontational to neutral. This was the face she preferred to show in front of adults, as they could never figure out what emotion she was feeling so they struggled to ask her questions. She opened the door and walked up to the desk, waiting for the old woman sitting, typing on her computer, to look up at her. She did quickly, luckily.

“Hello there! What can I do for you today?” Her voice was far too perky and high pitched. It irritated Ginn’s ears. Ginn forced her face to remain neutral, pushing down her natural, uncomfortable reaction, so she could respond as quick as possible.

“I’m the new student. I was told to pick up my stuff here.”

“Ahh, yes! Ginn Ranger, am I correct?” The woman squeaked, smile never faltering.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Ginn avoided eye contact, uncomfortable with her full name being announced.

The woman rooted around the organised mess that sat on her desk, until she found the right envelope that held Ginn’s ID card and timetable. She handed it to Ginn and asked her to sit down for a moment, as the headmaster wished to speak to her before classes started. Ginn forced herself to swallow a groan as she nodded and took a seat next to the desk, facing the door to the headmaster’s office. Her leg bounced quickly as she stared into space, trying to concentrate on her thoughts rather than the loud world she lived in. She slouched in her seat after finding a comfortable place in her imagination to rest. Sadly, it only took two minutes for her to be called into Headmaster Windsor’s office.

“Hello, Miss Ranger.” Mr Windsor was far more serious. much more pleasant to Ginn’s ears. “It is a pleasure to finally have you here.”

Ginn only forced a smile as she sat awkwardly in the chair. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, taking in every detail she could. the shelves behind Mr Windsor mostly held the textbooks this school studied. Two of the four shelves held the textbooks. one held a collection of frames, some holding pictures of what Ginn assumed to be Windsor’s family, other holding certificates. One was a certification of first aid, one an inclusivity certificate, another being Windsor’s degree in teaching. The inclusivity certificate intrigued Ginn, as she knew for a fact that this school was pretty exclusive.

‘Guess it’s for everything except class.’ She thought to herself.

The final shelf held folders, ordered by category. The first was labelled ‘Enrolment’. The second was labelled ‘Disciplinary Reports’. The third was ‘Human Resources’. The fourth one was what Mr Windsor pulled off the shelf and flicked through. It was labelled ‘Inclusive Support’. Yay.

“So, Miss Ranger-” Ginn interrupted Windsor.

“Call me Ginn.” She said quickly and sheepishly, shoving her hands under her legs to avoid her usually gesturing that annoyed so many adults. “I prefer just Ginn.”

“Ok then.” Mr Windsor peered over the top on his reading glasses, unhappy with the interruption. “Ginn. Your old school transferred us your files and records last week, and I feel we must discuss some things before you head to classes.”

Ginn bit her lip and nodded. She had always gotten pretty good scores in lessons, but she was by far the favourite student to any teacher she ever had. She had a tendency to speak her mind, even when out of terms. Especially then, actually. She also did not have the best track record when it came to peer relations. Most of her past incidents were not her fault, but she had to claim some as her own doing. What could she say? She knows how to stick up for herself.

“These records say you are a very smart young girl, you could thrive in an academic environment, if provided with the right resources. This is why our scholarship program chose you to be our first representative of the… less fortunate.” Windsor hesitated with that last part. He really needed to brush up on his appropriate language book.

‘Just say I’m poor and move on.’ Ginn thought to herself.

“However,” the dreaded sentence conjunctive. “You do have a worrying amount of negative peer relations reports. I must tell you, Ginn. Fighting is strictly prohibited on the campus of this school.”

Ginn let her voice take the lead. “What’s your stance on fighting in self-defence? Mine is that is fine to fight, as long as you don’t start it. Pretty sure those records say that’s what I did.”

Oh dear. She really should have thought before speaking.

Windsor looked exasperated. Ginn was clearly not the first wise crack he had dealt with. “I believe anything can be sorted with the right words. As long as it is reported, it will be dealt with.”

“What about the times it can’t be reported?” Ginn’s voice deepened as she became serious. “That’s what happened in my experience. I couldn’t report it, and if I could, nothing happened, so I sorted it myself. Sure you wont have to worry though. This doesn’t exactly seem like the place where fights happen.”

Windsor chuckled and nodded. “You are an interesting young lady, miss- Ginn. I’m sure you will fit in with the class I have placed you in. All of your teachers have been informed of your mental heath and learning difficulties, as per your request.”

Ginn hated how that was phrased, but she thanked him anyway. ‘Gotta try and be polite’, after all.

“I have assigned a young man to help guide you around school as you settle in.” Oh no. forced interaction. “He should be outside now.”

as Windsor finished his sentence, the phone device on his desk beeped, and the voice of the receptionist through the door sounded out, saying ‘a Mr Peterson was here to see Headmaster Windsor.’ Windsor told the receptionist to send him in, and the device buzzed, causing Ginn to cringe. That sound was horrible!

Before she could fully recover, the door opened behind her and a boy around her age walked in. He had pale white skin, with bright blond hair, shaved at the sides and combed over, the parting favouring the right side of his head. His eyes were cornflower blue, shining and bright. He had a small, wonky smile on his face as he greeted the headmaster and took a seat on Ginn’s right side.

“This is Alex Peterson. He will be, what we call, your class escort.” Windsor introduced the boy to Ginn, and the boy turned to Ginn and smiled, offering his hand to shake, which she just looked at nodded to him. Windsor broke the awkward tension between the two and continued. “He will show you around until you are comfortable with your surroundings.”

Ginn hated this idea. She could see why they implemented it, many people would want it, but she was not one of those people. She would much rather just figure it out on her own, even if it meant being late to all her classes.

“The bell is about to ring. You two should head off now.” Windsor gestured to the door, and the two teens picked up their bags and walked out.

“So…” The boy, Alex, said, drawing out the ‘O’ sound. “Can I see your schedule? Just so I know for sure where you are?”

Ginn wordlessly shoved the piece of paper into Alex’s hand, still avoiding eye contact with him. Alex shot her a strange look, realising this was going to be so much harder than he originally thought. He did think she would be quiet, being new and all, but dang.

“Cool, you’re in mine and my friend’s form.” he handed back the paper to the new girl and started walking, being closely followed by her. “You’ll like Mr Caxton, he’s fun.”

Ginn hummed in response. God, she was not making it easy for Alex.

The bell rang and Ginn tensed, her shoulders squaring, and her fists clenching. Another loud, irritating noise. This school was just made to make her uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Alex had noticed her reaction to the sound. “You ok? It’s just the bell, no need to worry.” he chuckled.

“Fine.” Ginn grumbled through gritted teeth. She started storming off down the corridor without a plan, and luckily Alex jogged to catch up to her before she reached the turning point.

Alex desperately wanted to break the awkward air between them, but did not know how. This girl seemed tense, understandably, as she seemed quite strange to the standards of this school, so he did not know how to approach anything with her.

“So… where you from?” Alex asked, trying to study her body language. She walked like she was trying to look tough, as well as be silent in her steps. She succeeded on both aspects as she definitely looked intimidating, and her steps barely echoed around the halls.

Ginn subtly looked Alex up and down, figuring out his motive, in both the question and with helping her. He stood straight and proud, taller than her by a good few inches. Although, that wasn’t hard, as Ginn was only 5”3’. She estimated him to be about 5”9’, and she guessed he still had room to grow. He was looking at her expectantly with a small smile, his blue eyes shining in curiosity. She could see no malice in his wonderment, so she answered.

“Liverpool.” She said, bluntly. To be exact, she lived in a small terrace house, in Roscoe Street, very close to her primary school, Pleasant Street Primary. Ginn had hopped around several high schools in the past four years, so she couldn’t say how far she lived from them. She did not live in a great area, but it was close to the city centre, and she always felt safe there with her parents. She missed Liverpool.

Alex nodded, biting the inside of his mouth in mild frustration at Ginn’s refusal so converse. “Cool. Good city. What brought you to London then?”

“Family stuff.”

The two sighed, knowing that conversation was not going to happen right now.

The two arrived at the classroom after everyone else had arrived and sat down. Alex greeted the teacher with a cheerful ‘good morning’ and he sat down on a table for four, with two other boys, whom he greeted and immediately started chatting and laughing with. The boy sitting next to him had slightly more tanned skin than Alex, but he was still quite pale. He had neat, honey brown hair, with a full fringe that was cut just under his eyebrows, the top of head was thick with hair facing forwards, and what Ginn estimated as one inch clipped shaving around the rest of his head. His eyes were forest green, thoughtfully staring at Alex as he spoke, but also at someone on the other side of the room Ginn couldn’t locate. The other boy had his back to Ginn, but from what she could see, he had dark, sun kissed skin, and the only messy head of mahogany brown hair she had seen in this school. Well, there was an order to this mess, unlike the mess that sat on her own head. His hair was methodically spiked up, then brushed forward. He appeared to have every portion of his hair cut to a similar length, apart from the front.

Ginn heard her name and she turned, seeing the teacher beckoning her towards his desk. she walked over, head down.

“You must be Miss Ranger!” Oh god, he was perky. “Now, I like to ask before I start teaching new students, if you don’t mind, what would you like me to call you, and what pronouns shall I use for you? And are they the same in class, privately, and in front of other adults?”

Ginn blinked at the sudden questions as she let her mind catch up with her ears. “Just Ginn, thanks. Female pronouns, all the time.” She said quietly.

“Perfect.” Mr Caxton smiled softly at Ginn, then continued. “I have been told of the support you require, so don’t be afraid to approach me any time!”

Ginn felt extremely awkward, biting her lower lip, and nodding, avoiding eye contact. She always hated it when her personal stuff was brought up by other people. She knew they were only trying to help, but it never helped Ginn. all she did was nod.

“Ok, so everyone in this class has their seat. I had everyone choose to sit somewhere at the beginning of the year and that is where they sit for the rest of the year. The only available seat is across from your guide, Alex. Go sit down, and we’ll start up, ok?”

Ginn glanced over at the table of three boys. She would be sitting next to the dark-skinned boy. He looked like the more energetic person in the trio. Freaking fabulous. At least the seat was on the left side, so she wouldn’t be bumping elbows with the seemingly right-handed boy.

Ginn had nothing against boys. Truly, she didn’t. She was just very insular, and teenage boys tended to be pretty rambunctious. She also didn’t exactly have a perfect track record with relations. Not just with boys, girls too. But, well, Ginn’s short, slim stature was not a good match up when she fought with boys. Luckily, she is quick, so at least she has that going for her.

She sighed and walked over to the table, unslinging her bag off her shoulder and sat down, immediately leaning on her hand and staring at the floor. She dazed, and started thinking about what she could draw. She thought of characters from tales she enjoyed, and she started moving her finger on one spot of the table, mimicking drawing. This was something she did when uncomfortable. Actually drawing is much better, but she hated showing others her stuff, so rarely drew when sitting at a table with strangers. Or classmates, as she should call them.

the three boys had noticed Ginn sitting down, and turned to her to smile and greet her, but she was avoiding all eye contact. Alex shrugged, realising this was going to be his week. Boy to Ginn’s right decided to break the awkward silence by introducing himself.

He went to speak, nudging her first to get he attention, but before he could speak, she jumped at the sudden touch, tensing her shoulders and clenched her fists, straightening her back and gasping lightly. Her duel coloured eyes stayed locked staring forwards, and she took a few breaths before she snapped her head to look at the boy and growl, “What?”

Now she could see his face, she took in his features. He looked nervous, likely due to Ginn’s aggressive nature. He had warm, russet brown eyes that where currently wide in shock. He was handsome, with a square jaw, and strong cheekbones. His mouth was tight in shock at her reaction. Luckily for him, he recovered quickly. His eyes softened into a more relaxed form, and his tight mouth morphed into a cool side smile.

“Hey,” his voice was smooth and joyous. Enjoyable to Ginn’s ears. Wait what? “I’m Martin Williams. This is George Groden, and you’ve met Alex. It seems like we’re desk mates!”

Ginn struggled to relax her muscles from the sudden touch. She swallowed and forced her hands to open as she shoved them under her thighs. Her voice was failing her, so she just looked back at the table and nodded, humming ‘mm hmm’.

The boy, Martin, made eye contact with the other two, concerned by the reaction. He decided to pry a little, tying to get Ginn out of her shell. “Ginn, right? Interesting name, never heard it before. Where’s it come from?”

Ginn was shocked by the question. Usually when people found out about her name, they made a joke about alcoholic parents, or threw out guesses as to what it was short for. Her name was Ginn. Not Ginera, or Ginevra, or even Geneva, shockingly. This question made Ginn happy, and her vocal cords decided to work.

“It’s a combination of Gill and Finn.” Ginn kept her head down but was smiling lightly for the first time in a while. “Gill was my mum’s mum, and Finn was dad’s dad. They wanted to honour both of them, so it was either Ginn or Fill, and Ginn was pretty gender neutral.”

She huffed in amusement at that last bit. the story of her naming was always interesting to her, especially when you think of the whole story of a young pregnant woman and her husband staring at each other, trying to make the other back down, until they came to the compromise of combining the names.

“That’s cool!” Martin said, enthusiastically. “You have such an interesting story! I’m just names after my grandad!”

Ginn smiled, amused by the boy’s excitement.

Before they could continue, the teacher cleared his throat and started the lesson. It was English. This was not the best subject for Ginn due to her dyslexia, but she had a creative mind, and enjoyed story telling, so it wasn’t so bad. Well, unless they were reading old stuff, like Shakespeare or Jane Austen, they were utter torture for Ginn’s brain. Sadly, that is exactly what they were doing. Romeo and Juliet, to be exact. They started the lesson reading the play, the characters being assigned to a random assortment of students. Ginn struggled to follow along as they worked, not understanding anything they were saying. The words were floating around the page, lines and letters flipping and swapping place, it was giving her a headache. It didn’t help that the most dramatic character in the play, Mercutio, was being voiced by Martin, who was slowly becoming more and more dramatic in his reading, his movements rocking the table, making reading even harder for her.

After they had finished the first four scenes, Mr Caxton instructed the class to discuss them as a table. Ginn was thankful for this as she could finally rest her eyes for a minute. She rubbed her eyes and led her hands up to brush her hair up out of her face, letting it fall how it wanted, which was apparently not in front of her eyes. She looked at the trio of boys expectantly, waiting for a conversation to start, when she noticed they were all staring at her. Alex looked shocked, staring curiously, eyes switching between each of her eyes. George seemed curious, one eyebrow raised, and a small smile spread on his lips. Martin was far too excited for Ginn’s taste.

“Woah!! You have heterochromia?!” He said far too loud. “That’s so cool!”

Ginn quickly dipped her head and brushed her fringe over her brown eye, feeling her face flush red.

“If you say so...” She muttered under her breath.

This conversation was clearly going nowhere, much to the dismay of the three boys. Ginn was obviously not a conversation person, and the boys were not interested in discussing Shakespeare, so decided to further press.

“You don’t think so?” George questioned.

“Let’s just say it’s not my favourite thing about myself.” Ginn grumbled, shooting them a sarcastic and awkward smile. The boys shared a look, all expressing different thoughts and emotions. Martin locked eyes with his friends, then looked at Ginn quickly, and back at them, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking. The boys shot him warning looks, but he ignored it, turning around to look at Ginn, leaning his elbow on the table and putting his head on his hand, wearing his flirtatious, lopsided smirk.

“Well,” He said, making Ginn look us at him. Once she saw his face, she huffed, rolling her eyes, and looked back down at her work. “I think they are beautiful, completing the gorgeous image you hold all over.”

Ginn felt panic rise in her chest. She had never been complimented like that before from the mouth of someone who... had little to no obvious ill intentions. This boy did not seem to be particularly threatening, but still, Ginn could not be help but be wary. She clenched her fist around her pen in panic, as her defence mechanisms snapped into position.

“Say anything like that again,” She turned and glared at Martin through her hair. “And I break your hand.”

Martin tensed up, squeaking in fear as his arm slipped off the table in surprise. Ginn did not break eye contact, however, needing to maintain her tough exterior.

“Well ok then.” He squeaked. Pleased with herself, Ginn looked back down at her work, deciding to do the work herself. The boys fell silent and just did the work, quietly discussing Shakespeare out of fear for their hands.

At the end of the class, after a long lesson of awkward silence between the four tablemates, the boys packed up and met with Elsie and Louise. Ginn had rushed out of the classroom a lot quicker that the others, so Alex had already failed at his job of making sure she was ok. This was going to be a rough day.

The final class of the day was P.E. Luckily for Ginn, sport was something she excelled in. Unluckily for Ginn, she had to get changed in front of other people, which was less than ideal.

Alex instructed her to follow Louise and Elsie to the girls’ changing rooms. Ginn kept her head down and shuffled along with the other girls as they chatted, complaining about the lesson they were going into.

“P.E. sucks, I hate it so much!” Louise groaned, dramatically. “I mean, I like exercise, but the structure of P.E. is so messy, and its so boring!”

“I know!” Agreed Elsie. “It’s even worse right now, doing those weird drill things.”

Ginn perked up at that comment. If they were anything like the ones she used to do in Cadets, she was golden! She didn’t look at the other girls, but she did smile and huff in satisfaction.

“You like P.E., Ginn?” Said Louise, sounding surprised. The girl looked Ginn up and down quizzically. She did not exactly fit the typical description of a fit girl. She looked very skinny, but Louise guessed that was mainly due to her oversized uniform.

Ginn hesitated with her answer, wondering how to answer without sounding weird. “Yeah, kind of. I like exercise, and I’m used to pretty strict sessions, so nothing really bothers me much anymore.”

The other girls seemed satisfied with her answer luckily.

After only moments, the three girls had reached the girls’ changing room. As the tried to find a free section of bench to place their bags and clothes, Ginn was silently praying that no one would pay attention to her so she could change and slip out unnoticed. She utterly hated changing in public. Sadly, her prayers were not answered, as the only available space was on a bench in the middle of the room, with a group of chatty girls surrounding it. Perfect. The three set down their bags and started undressing, quickly swapping from blouse to P.E. polo shirt. Ginn was particularly mad about their easy method of swapping from skirt to shorts without presenting their underwear; slipping the shorts on under their skirts, then taking off the skirt from above. Ginn, wearing trousers, had no such luxury, so had to take advantage of her too big shirt and take off her trousers, hoping they would cover her behind as she slipped the shorts on. Now for the bit she dreaded: changing from shirt to polo. She wanted to do this as quickly as possible, but struggled due to her ever growing anxiety. She slipped off her tie and unbuttoned her shirt, then readied her polo shirt to be the correct way to slip on as soon as she rid her back of it’s professional cotton attire. Quickly, she took off the shirt, and immediately heard what she feared.

Louise and Elsie had gasped, quietly. They had finished changing and lacing up their trainers, and were waiting for Ginn to finish changing so they could walk out together, and happened to glance up when they saw her take off her shirt. The two girls were sitting on Ginn’s right, so they could see what Ginn was worried about clear as day. Right across her back, from the bottom of her shoulder blade, creeping up to the top curve of her right shoulder, were two long, pale, jagged, and bumpy scars. They looked awful, and the two girls were certain that they were from a horrible incident from a long time ago. This scared them, as they worried about Ginn’s safety and current situation.

Before they could say anything, Ginn tugged her polo shirt over her head, hiding the scars before anyone could ask questions, or, god forbid, anyone else saw them. Louise opened her mouth to speak. She was not sure what she would say, but it was instinct. Before she could make a sound, however, Ginn shot her a warning glare, her blue eye shining like a lightning storm, her amber eye shimmering like a raging fire. Her lips were tight and eyebrows knitted in a tight V-shape. Her ginger hair had fallen before her face, blocking the light from reaching her face, only making the looming pit of aggression in Ginn’s aura stronger. Her fists were tight. Louise only just realised the new girl’s flat and scarred knuckles. Louise immediately shut her mouth. She offered an awkward, slightly scared smile, but Ginn just straightened her back, slipped on her battered old trainers, and started towards the door. Louise and Elsie shared a concerned look, then darted up and dashed to keep up with Ginn, who had suddenly developed a quick, strong stride.

Once all of the students had gathered in the sports hall, the P.E. teacher, Mr Dullan, called registration and introduced the aim of today’s class. The class knew they would not like this lesson. Mr Dullen was clearly in a bad mood, he was completely stiff and glaring at everyone who made eye contact with him. Ginn was not happy when he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to face him when she marched into the hall, so he could interrogate her about who she was. He seemed satisfied after a full 30 seconds of comparing her to the ID picture that was on his register. But, this was a respectable school that definitely would not accept her doing what she wanted to do at that moment, and tuition was far too expensive for her to be kicked out on her first day, so she let it go.

“Ok, everyone!” Mr Dullen shouted, making a huge, distracting echo ring around the room. Ginn knew she would barely be able to understand him immediately. “I don’t want to deal with teaching you all today, so you’re just going to do run laps around the school grounds all lesson.”

The entire class groaned and started quietly complaining to themselves and their friends. Well, all except Ginn, who enjoyed running. Also, the echo in this room was getting to her, and she was finding it hard to concentrate. She silently thanked every deity she knew of that the run was outside.

“Alright, alright, quit the complaining!” Mr Dullen yelled, making Ginn bunch up the hem of her polo shirt in her hand to squeeze. She found early on that this was a better coping mechanism than her automatic reaction, which was covering her ears and gripping locks of hair and pulling. Distractions from bad noises are always oh so fun. Mr Dullen carried on, interrupting Ginn’s thoughts, “Everyone get your butts outside!”

The crowd of grumbling students headed towards the doors leading to the yard so they could start the run. Before Ginn could disappear into the crowd and go off to enjoy her run, Louise had grabbed her wrist and started to speak.

“Hey, are you ok? We should talk abo—”

“Do not touch me!” Ginn growled, ripping her hand away from Louise, immediately marching off in a strong, quick pace.

As soon as she set foot on the outside area of the school grounds and witnessed part of the crowd all heading in the same direction, she started her rounds of the school with a light jog, preparing her body and lungs for a long, pleasant run. She really needed to calm her mind, after everything that had happened today, especially in the last few minutes.

Louise was incredibly confused by that reaction. She had noticed Ginn tense up and ball her shirt in her fist, and she knew Ginn had not calmed down from whatever emotion she was feeling after presenting those scars in the changing rooms.

“What was that about?” George said, the four friends walking up to Louise so they could walk the laps of the grounds together.

“She’s seemed pretty tense all day.” Alex offered. “Maybe you just scared her and she reacted.”

She definitely has something she’s hiding.” Elsie said, as the group wondered outside and started walking. “She had two huge scars on her back. She got real tense, more than usual, when we saw them.”

“Let’s go find out what’s up with her.” Louise said, determination in her voice. Then, she sounded unsure. “If we can catch up to her...”

Ginn was no where to be seen as they walked their round. They knew this because Ginn was extremely noticeable in the crowd of students, being one of the only people in the school with ginger hair. She was even more noticeable because her hair was messy and choppily cut short, and her P.E. kit, like her uniform, was too big and looked it. They walked quickly around the grounds, talking and looking around. Ginn was nowhere to be seen.

“She must actually be running.” Martin shrugged. “That girl is an enigma.”

“An enigma you’re crushing on!” Alex said teasingly, elbowing his friend in the side and laughing.

“Shut up!” Martin pushed Alex to the side, a crimson blush rising in his cheeks. “I am not!”

“Then what was that comment in the changing room about?” George smirked and raised and eyebrow.

“Ok!” Martin’s dramatic flare revealed itself as dramatically waved his hand in the air and pointing at nothing in particular. “You have to admit, she is quite pretty!”

Martin stared a the group, waiting expectantly for their response, to which he got a couple nods, but mostly just looks of ‘my dear boy, calm yourself’.

The group continued to walk around the school grounds, giving up on searching for the strange new girl, she was far gone and they could not see her at all. The lesson went by relatively quickly, the group only lapping the school once and only going another 20 yards before Mr Dullen blew his whistle and called everyone into the changing rooms five minutes before the final bell rang. The five friends wondered back into the school, avoiding the stares of disapproval from Mr Dullen.

Louise and Elsie were slowly changing out of their kits when Ginn finally appeared by their side. She was sweating slightly, despite the November chill outside, and her breaths were long, quick, and laboured. As expected, she did not greet the girls, she just started changing, first preparing her shirt to be quickly thrown on after she removed her polo. Louise and Elsie tried not to look at her, feeling her haste and discomfort with being around people after what happened earlier. However, Louise is a pretty stubborn girl, so waited for Ginn to finish changing before she confronted her.

“Hey, where were you all class?” Louise tried to keep her voice perky and welcoming, rather than the interrogating tone she almost used. “we were looking for you when you ran off.”

Ginn let out a small growl of annoyance. “Ahead of everyone. Just needed to run.”

She removed her shorts, her shirt covering her underwear, and slipped on her trousers, then sat down to put on her school shoes. She never looked at Louise. Not that that was expected. This girl is so strange.

“You must be quick then!” Louise laughed lightly. Ginn just hummed. “It’s pretty impressive, running is pretty hard.”

This made Ginn’s head snap up, shooting Louise a confused look. “How is it hard?”

Louise and Elsie shared an amused look. Elsie laughed lightly and said, “You know, keeping pace without losing your breath, stuff like that.”

Ginn hummed thoughtfully whilst finishing up lacing her shoes. Once she was done, she stood and picked up her bag, just in time for the final bell to ring. Ginn attempted to supress her cringe at the sound, but her efforts were in vane, as the other two girls noticed. Luckily for Ginn, all they did was share a look and stand with their bags.

“Not sure I follow, but ok.” Ginn broke the silence, starting to walk out alone. However, Louise and Elise had other plans, both speeding to catch up to her and standing on either side.

“You’re a real enigma, you know?” Louise chuckled. That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Ginn glared at her, a quiet and low growl echoing from the bottom of her throat. Her eyes raged, like a fearsome lightning storm and a blazing fire. Even though she is a very small person, Ginn knew how to make herself look large and terrifying.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Erm... well, I... I just meant that you, well,” Louise stuttered and squeaked, as if she were learning how to speak again. “I just mean that you’re, you know, pretty mysterious...”

Ginn grunted and said something like ‘that’s the point’ as she stormed off, out of the building and around the corner towards the front gates, not to be seen again that day.

“Well, you kinda fucked that one up, huh?” Elsie chortled anxiously.

“Thanks for helping there Els. Come on, let’s just go find the boys.”

Alex, George, and Martin exited the boys changing room a few minutes later. The girls explained what happened as they walked out of the school and back home. The only thing they could all agree on when it came to Ginn: She would be very difficult to befriend.

#no war au #rangers alive au #ginn ranger #Alex Peterson #george groden #martin williams #louise mitchel #elsie brown

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disappointingyet · 4 years

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Vivacious Lady

Director George Stevens Stars Ginger Rogers, James Stewart, James Ellison, Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi USA 1938 Language English 1hr 30mins Black & white

Highly enjoyable match-up of two of the greats of Hollywood’s golden age

Standard operating procedure for the romantic comedy is that one or both members of the potential couple will be in complete denial about their feelings until late in the picture. But there is a smaller strand of rom-coms in which the protagonists are fully in touch with their emotions, but other stuff gets in the way. And this mostly charming 1938 movie falls into that camp.

Peter Morgan Jr (James Stewart) is an assistant professor despatched by his father/boss (Charles Coburn) to New York City to retrieve his wayward cousin Keith, who is always getting involved with unsuitable women. But when he meets Francey (Ginger Rogers), the nightclub singer-dancer Keith is chasing after, Peter Jr is just as taken with her. And, after a night wandering around Manhattan together, she falls as hard for him.

The problem is how Peter Jr is going to introduce his new wife – with her scandalous profession – to stern Peter Sr, the president of Old Sharon University and his mother Martha (Beulah Bondi), who collapses with ‘heart problems’ any time conflict arises. Obviously, he doesn’t tell them when he gets off the train, otherwise there would be no movie. And one of the things that is true is that an initial lie tends to spiral…

The key decision the filmmakers had to make was what angle to take with Francey. Sure, she’s a fish out of water in this small college town, but how much of one? How brassy do they want to go? And the answer, maybe surprisingly is, not very. Apart from getting into one physical fight, her behaviour isn’t really at odds with those around her. Nor really is she playing much of a role – she does sign up as a botany student, but, again, the film doesn’t use that to either have her constantly be almost exposed or show brilliant scientific instincts.

The plot outline, then, is daft, but the movie within it feels fairly restrained. What it relies on is a decent script and a top-notch cast. You’ve got two great stars surrounded by the finest available character actors. It’s nice to see Rogers paired with a leading man who was only three years older than her (and, indeed, looking younger than 29 here) – and Stewart is exactly who you’d cast as the straight-laced academic doing something a bit wild for the first time. My favourite of the supporting players is Franklin Pangborn as the apartment manager trying to maintain the rules.

One sour note: like a number of comedies of its time, Vivacious Lady does include a couple of black servant turns that are uncomfortable to watch now. You could argue that in both cases the gag revolves around the notion of ‘white people are crazy’ but that’s no defence really.

That apart (and I realise that can ruin a film for some, and that’s a perfectly reasonable position to take), this is a lovely movie that gives two of Hollywood’s most endearing stars plenty of room to work, and they make the most of it.

Note for British audiences: Vivacious Lady is currently available ‘for more than a year’ on the BBC iPlayer.

For more on Ginger Rogers: reviews of her starring opposite Fred Astaire here, here and here; with William Powell here, with Cary Grant here, and with Katharine Hepburn here.

#ginger rogers #james stewart

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shermandelux-blog · 4 years

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HOW TO NEVER EVER OFFEND ANYONE ONLINE...EVER!!!

***spoiler alert....it's not possible!! so HERE's what to do when the internet TURNS ON YOU!

So I'm walking out the front door of the brewery the other day and there at the bar was great friend and fellow brewery owner from down the block Damon Moreau of Common Crown Brewery. "How's it going buddy?" I blurt out, happy as always to see fellow brewers in our taproom. The somewhat fatigued look on his face said everything but yet he replied "Well our new beer just launched and social media is EXPLODING right now!!" Well, that's GREAT news I begin to attempt to congratulate him but he stops me in my tracks with a "yeah but NOT in a good way!" The reaction to the name "Cherry Karen Sour” hit fast and hit hard. Some people were clearly offended by the use of the Karen meme on their cans and accusations of ignorance and racism began to fly.

From my viewpoint, I thought it was a clever play on a sour beer being named after a sour personality. I've seen enough of the Karen meme vids and GIF's online to get the connection and was truly surprised to see such anger and attacking comments towards them. Of course, I'd witnessed the Karen meme developing over the years since seeing #FuckYouKaren on Reddit YEARS ago. I'd heard the many tales of "the Karen in the dental chair" when my wife comes home from work. I'd just simply never EVER associated this meme with anything racist. My thoughts on the worst part of the Karen meme was the unfortunate effect on the poor ladies who, despite being incredibly nice, respectful, lovely ladies who DO NOT need to speak to the manager and simply happen to be named "KAREN"!

Growing up a redhead I've certainly dealt with my share of being the TARGET of the internet's "less than flattering" meme's that range from my obvious lack of any semblance of a soul, all the way to people celebrating "kick a ginger day" (thanks south park) essentially mobilizing the world towards an entire day of the year promoting actual ASSAULT on myself and my fellow soul-less Gingers.

To be clear, I do not think my personal experiences as the target of the latest internet meme excuses ignorance towards other internet meme's. I do wonder, however, how much responsibility we are to shoulder for keeping up to speed with the latest EVOLUTION of a meme? From my ignorant line of sight "Karen" had not yet manifested herself into a racially charged concept causing fear and possible harm to people of colour.

"Karen" had been making us laugh since 2017 on Reddit but a quick search of Karen on "Know Your Meme" cites that a pretty significant change happened in 2020! May 25th, 2020 to be precise! That day saw the global pandemic collide violently with the killing of George Floyd AS WELL AS the Amy Cooper Central Park incident. Dr. André Brock, associate professor of Black digital culture at Georgia Tech stated "..the viral widespread resonance of “Karen” footage now is the result of an interest convergence where the coronavirus pandemic intersected with collective outrage over police brutality. The weekend that the video of Amy Cooper in Central Park went viral was the same weekend that George Floyd was killed after now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, suffocating him. The Central Park video only highlighted the extreme violence — and potentially fatal consequences — of a white woman selfishly calling the cops out of spite and professed fear."

That happened May 25th, 2020. 50 days ago at the time of writing this. My point about the timeline of the evolution of the meme is that, as a fellow brewery owner, I can say with certainty that ‘50 days ago’ our friends at Common Crown Brewery would have still thought Karen was funny! They also would have already ordered beer cans labeled with Karen based artwork and they would have been so head down, consumed with keeping their business alive during the pandemic that they would have most likely missed the significance of Karen’s shift over the past weeks. I know i missed it. There's simply no way anyone could convince me that any of the fine folks at Common Crown would ever intentionally offend anyone with their branding and I'm positive that every single person who has ever met them feels the same way. So WHY such a violent and angry outcry towards them? I think Ricky Gervais from his time eating vegan wings on "hot ones" has some relevant insight!

youtube

The video above is obviously an overgeneralization of this new world we live in but it's also hilariously accurate. When did we become a generation of people swiping endlessly through other people's lives, waiting eagerly for OUR turn to be offended and stoke the internets mob justice flames? In today's day and age, I wouldn't feel safe announcing ANY kind of beliefs online be it political, religious, medical, sexual, etc. The internet is now a terrifying place, ready to attacknat a moments' notice and bully you for announcing that you wanted the Olympics in Calgary, or that you voted for Nenshi, or that you drive a Tesla, or, or, or,....

So NOW what!!?? Imagine you're a small business owner and despite your best efforts to make your customers happy, to make a living doing what you love, and to create a great environment for your staff to call home, you find yourself on the receiving end of the angry internet? Recently my good friend and fellow business owner James Boettcher of Righteous Gelato (the artist formerly known as Fiasco Gelato) found himself in this similar situation. After releasing a Black Lives Matter Gelato the internet backlash was swift. I watched terrified from the sidelines as my good friend and true Canadian LEGEND of an entrepreneur battled his way through a minefield. What started as criticism quickly turned into a pretty savage attack with people assaulting him as a person and as a business owner. It was brutal. And knowing the incredibly high level of intentions that both Righteous Gelato AND Common Crown Brewery uphold in every decision they make, I'm sure more and more people are thinking "when is it going to be ME who makes a mistake? When will I be the target of the internet's wrath? And what will I do when it happens to me?"

Having caused a few controversial nationally viral stories myself, I'm no stranger to picking a fight and I'm no stranger to spending 24 hours a day for up to a week at a time responding to every single engagement, every single opinion, every single review, and every single media request during these times and I have a few suggestions for you if your turn ever DOES come around!!

1. Take a Deep Breath - Right or Wrong, Good, Bad or Ugly when you find yourself staring down the loaded barrel of an angry internet, the first step is to recognize that these situations are INCREDIBLE opportunities to let the world see who you really are! What you do next will be a defining moment in the history of your business, so take a deep breath and think "how do I let the TRUE spirit of my company's DNA shine through."

2. Decide COLLECTIVELY on your position - We often react quickly with anger or defensiveness towards a seemingly unjustified criticism aimed at ourselves or our business. And why WOULDN'T we? NO ONE knows how hard we've worked as business owners to get to where we are right?? But that type of thinking is like a biased parent who's kid can do NO WRONG!! Anyone with kids on a sports team knows those parents! They are the WORST and usually have the worst kids! haha. But by involving your entire team to address the situation cooler heads can often prevail and can help a business see the situation from another position. Compassion, sympathy, and understanding of how others see our actions differently than we do is a hard skill to master. It's also perhaps the most important first step in admitting that we may, have truly made a mistake and need to genuinely make things right. Collectively Involving your team members with a less emotional connection to business is a great way to show them your level of respect for their insight as well as arrive at a position that the entire business believes and OWNS!

3. OWN your position...GENUINELY! - The internet can spot a fake a MILE away. Bullshit meters these days are finely tuned to sniff out shallow apologies, or disingenuous attempts to make the situation "go away". As Ricky Gervais stated above, it's OK if people don't agree with your decisions, even if they're MAD at your decisions. But don't waffle. If you were wrong...OWN IT! Apologize and mean it! Here's a sniff test example of whether you own an apology or not: If you apologize online for your actions and then someone posts in support of you that they thought your actions were justified....and you don't CORRECT them? then guess what? YOU'RE NOT SORRY so don't say that you are.

4. Don't delete the thread! - I love reading other business' reviews online! But I never waste my time with the 5-star reviews. I always feel they're either fake or the business owners' parents! either way, there's no value to me reading them. It's the ONE-star reviews that show me how a business responds to the challenges of business and most of THOSE are BS as well. When a bar gets a one-star review because some jackass felt vindictive towards the bartender who "cut him off" for the night. I laugh at the drunk idiot who thinks that bad review of this nature makes ANY negative impact on the business. On the contrary, a witty, clever response to a one-star review of this nature can do wonders for letting the world see your business's personality. And when a REAL one-star review comes in. It's a TRUE opportunity to show how your business is managed and you "right the wrongs". But somehow as business owners, we FEAR the one-star review!! Don't! Trust that the public will read between the lines and make their decision based on all the information. Again, we all have highly tuned bullshit meters, and deleting threads of this nature not only stop the public from gaining the full context of the situation you may find yourself in. It also, more often than not, creates a perception of guilt. If I hear about a company experiencing something similar and I look them and can read the threads I can make my OWN decision on where I stand on the matter. But if the threads have been deleted, I instinctively assume "boy they must have really screwed up!"

5. Don't be intimidated by the volume of the angry - People who "oppose" are ALWAYS louder that those who "support". Just because you've never had this much attention on your social channels and it ALL appears to be negative. You have to know that in general people who support you are much less likely to dive into shark-infested waters with you. However other SHARKS smell blood and are MUCH more likely to join in on the feeding frenzy. I guess it's just not as fun to stick your neck out there when you can safely watch the attack from the shore. Have faith, however, that despite the feeling of helplessness and the isolation of feeling totally alone in these times, there are TONNES of people who will read the posts, perhaps see both sides and potentially send you some support on a private DM, email, or phone call in support of what you're going through REGARDLESS of whether you're right or wrong. OTHER business owners are the friends you need to lean on, or shoulders to cry on during these times. The “swim in the deep end with me” quote from the video above is awesome to me as I’ve sent up the bat signal in my business before and called upon my pal Jim button of Village Brewery to wade into deep waters with me on issues in the past. It meant EVERYTHING to me that he dove in, headfirst with me! It’s incredibly important to have people around you who, when they believe in your cause, are willing to stand with you on the front lines taking fire while helping keep the flag in the air! Have those people around but also BE that person when YOU’RE called upon.

6. LEARN, LEARN, and LEARN SOME MORE- Regardless of the situation you've experienced, if you come away without learning and actively attempting to be better moving forward than you're an idiot. The entire WORLD is receiving a crash course on what acceptable behaviour looks like from all corners of humanity. The last few years have exposed a lot of mistakes humanity has made. The #MeToo movement, #BlackLivesMatter, and LGBTQ issues (to name a few) have allowed the world to learn how our past behaviours, past stereotypes, and even past ways of thinking are just not enough anymore. Being truly open to learning about what matters in the lives of those around us is truly eye-opening and incredibly important for loving forward progress of humanity. And without willing hearts, open to the opportunity to LEARN we'll all just be s bunch of angry internet trolls looking for people to attack who don't think the exact same way WE do or vote the same way WE do, etc!!

Finally, My hope for this blog is a call for PASSIONATE understanding and forgiveness. It's OK to be offended and it's OK to let a person or a business know how they've offended. The piece of the puzzle I've seen missing for some time now, however, is understanding and forgiveness. UNDERSTANDING that the initial outward appearance of a can of beer named after "KAREN" does not reflect the INTENTIONS of the great people trying to do great things for our community. But also the FORGIVENESS towards them once the issue has been raised. Most businesses today would stand stunned, eyes wide open, paralyzed in fear, and totally unaware of what to do next when faced with the attacks I've witnessed over the past year. Forgiveness is LIBERATING. It feels GOOD! But it takes empathy and compassion.

Imagine a thread someday where the offender realizes their mistake after reading criticisms they receive online. They regret it. They genuinely apologize. They learn a tonne, become more culturally aware, and the offended parties empathize with them, show them compassion, and openly forgive them for their mistake? Jack Handy probably said it best..."I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it"

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jamesdeerest · 5 years

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☆𝕛𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥'𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥☆ OLD WORKS FOR NEW ONES CHECK NEW MASTERLIST

{for my headcanon night works, search up #pottair’s friday freadcanon night and #jamesdeerest’s friday freadcanon night, and for prompt list stuff, search up #jamesdeerest does prompts}

𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝖕𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗

fantastic beasts and where to find them

[newt scamander]

dating newt scamander hcs

confrontations and comforting - your parents suck + newt helps you cope.

could have been me - newt pushes you away, and into theseus’ arms.

[theseus scamander]

could have been me - newt pushes you away, and into theseus’ arms.

marauders

[general]

marauders w/ bby daughter hcs

[sirius black]

dating sirius black hcs

sirius dating emotional!girl hcs

a whole new world - you never liked voldemort anyways.

drastic measures - remus has had enough of your pining.

unwanted attention - basically sirius saves u from a dickhead.

nervous - james convinces you to call your new dog snuffles. sirius is a train wreck around you. you flirty as hellllll

‘cause i’m a little unsteady - sirius has nightmares. you’re his rock. flangst.

detention - despite having only just met, you and sirius sass sluggy out the classroom. accidental flirting occurs.

i’ve moved on - james realises his feelings for you, but is forced to watch as you fall for sirius.

partners in crime - maybe it’s an outlandish couple activity. maybe you guys don’t care.

dreamland - forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest.

[remus lupin]

dating remus lupin hcs

love notes - you’re deaf and communicate through a notepad. fluff ensues.

bad boy supreme? supportive best friend? how bout both - your preggers and get scared. sirius is there to be the wingman for both you and remus. cute fluffy angsty shit.

skinny love - you guys are the shyest bitches out there. feat. setterupper!sirius

the worst liar - remus keeps skipping your dates, and you are determined to find out why.

remus adopting a teenager hcs

[james potter]

dating james potter hcs

guardian angel - james gets beaten up by wolfy boi and u panic.

and it all comes crashing down - you have to tell james some BAD news.

the things i do for you - james is sick and clingy. fluffy blurb.

i’ve moved on - james realises his feelings for you, but is forced to watch as you fall for sirius.

golden trio

[ron weasley]

love potion - they say actions speak louder than words. how about potions?

...surprise? - ron finds out you’re an animagus. oops.

my favourite ginger - you meet the fam at the station. cute sleepy fluff.

[hermione granger]

basiliks and broomsticks - hermione’s scared of jeff, your angel baby who happens to be a snake. mental, that one.

hermione and reader coming out to their friends hcs

[fred weasley]

fred supporting bullied!muggleborn!reader hcs

false assumptions - fred thinks you have a kid?? idk either

dating fred weasley hcs

even more jumpers?! - you and fred reveal your pregnancy to the fam in the best way- personalised jumpers.

dad-approved - arthur hypes up fred to ask you out. v fluffy.

little angel - neville is the weasleys’ hypeman. your daughter meets the teachers. cute herbology!teacher!reader stuff.

dreams - fred has a nightmare about the war. you comfort him, and tell him some amazing news at the same time. v cute

[draco malfoy]

draco dating hufflepuff!reader hcs

break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored - based on the song by ariana grande.

[george weasley]

get a room - george has the cringiest pick up lines but u love it

why did it have to be a muggle - you visit the fam but molly and arthur don’t like you and make it clear. angstanGSTANGST! also this is a one off, so i am leaving you to suffer on this one :D

george comforting crying!reader hcs

truth or dare - you guys are VERY drunk. and flirt. and out your relationship. gonna regret this in the morning? definitely.

[older!remus lupin]

baby fever - your new baby is the most popular thing at hogwarts.

nurse lupin - you’re ill and boi is protective.

[harry potter]

dating harry potter hcs

other

[remus’ birthday headcanons]

remus dating passionate!reader hcs

remus dating reader who has a similar friend group to the marauders hcs

remus dating slytherin!reader hcs

[blurb night]

sirius playing with teddy hcs

engaged to sirius!reader going wedding dress shopping with tonks hcs

series

[sirius black]

listen to me, lupin

you and sirius are secretly dating. oh, and you’re an animagus. oh, and you’re remus’ sister. this is gonna go well! /completed/

part one

part two

part three

part four

just let me in

sirius has always been insecure, and you hanging out with michael really doesn’t help. /completed/

just let me in

you’re my clusterfuck of a human

hello, sunflower

sirius sucks at potions. you’re slightly better. cue the title sequence, cuz its fluffy hufflepuffy time! /completed/

prologue

part one

part two

part three

𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖛𝖊𝖑

[natasha romanoff]

cuddle spider - in which tony and friday team up to both embarrass nat, and to get yall together cuz you oblivious as HELL

jealous, red? - you make nat jealous. pretty self explanatory.

dating nat and being famous hcs

[loki laufeyson]

when we were young - loki remembers your childhood together.

people skills - you and loki both suck at being normal. but loki’s good at being smoooooooooooth ;)

𝖉𝖔𝖈𝖙𝖔𝖗 𝖜𝖍𝖔

[eleventh doctor]

dating the eleventh doctor would include...

worrywart - the doctor leaves you alone on an adventure and you get injured. angsty, arguments, my kinda shit!

[tenth doctor]

dating the tenth doctor would include...

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖚𝖒𝖇𝖗𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖆 𝖆𝖈𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖒𝖞

[five]

five with an energetic best friend hcs

five with adhd!best friend hcs

𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖚𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖎𝖆𝖓𝖘

[jack frost]

bambi - you’re very clumsy on the ice.

𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖘

[harry hook]

partner in crime hcs

keep your friends close... - pan’s daughter and hook’s son. that was... unexpected?

i’ve got friends on the other side - harry captures you, but you capture his heart (i am so sorry that was awful)

dating harry hook hcs

#jamesdeerest's masterlist #jamesdeerest writes

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citizenscreen · 5 years

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It was 85 years ago this week, in October 1934, that Mark Sandrich’s The Gay Divorcee was released in theaters across the country. That occasion would normally have been just another movie release except it marks a significant moment in movie history. The Gay Divorcee, you see, was the first starring picture for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. While cinema has given us many memorable romantic movie couples, only one was so memorably romantic in dance.

The Gay Divorcee is my favorite of the Astaire Rogers pictures thanks in large part to its hilarious supporting cast including Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore who supply laughs galore in a story we’d see over and over again later in the 1930s as the Astaire and Rogers film canon picked up speed. Here we see Mimi Glossop (Rogers) trying to get a divorce from her estranged husband. Her Aunt Hortense (Brady) suggests she consult with attorney Egbert Fitzgerald (Horton) with whom Hortense has a romantic history. The fumbling lawyer suggests a great way for Mimi to get a quick divorce is for her to spend the night with a professional co-respondent and get caught being unfaithful by the private detectives hired for the task. Except, Egbert forgets to hire the detectives. As the co-respondent Egbert hires Rodolfo Tonetti (Rhodes) who is supposed to introduce himself to Mimi by saying “Chance is a fool’s name for fate,” but the Italian can’t keep the line straight, which never fails to make this fan roar with laughter.

“Fate is the foolish thing. Take a chance.”

In the meantime, staying in the same hotel is dancer Guy Holden (Astaire) who falls for Mimi the moment they had an uncomfortable meeting on the ship from England. Guy is determined to make Mimi his while she mistakes him for the co-respondent. It’s quite the confusing premise that serves the talent of the cast and Astaire-Rogers pairings on the dance floor, which made the trip to the movies the magical experience these movies surely were.

Fred Astaire reprised his role from the stage play The Gay Divorce for The Gay Divorcee. Censors insisted that The Gay Divorce be changed to The Gay Divorcee, because a gay divorce was no laughing matter. Erik Rhodes and Eric Blore, who played the waiter in typical snooty fashion, also reprised their roles from the stage version. Cole Porter wrote the music for the stage production, but only one of his songs, “Night and Day” was retained for the movie.

The Gay Divorcee won one Academy Award, the first ever Best Original Song for “The Continental” with music and lyrics by Con Conrad and Herb Magidson respectively. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Recording, and Best Music Score for Max Steiner, then head of the sound department at RKO. While award recognition is great, the place The Gay Divorcee holds in history is much more important. As mentioned, this was the first movie where Fred Astaire’s and Ginger Rogers’ names appear above the title. This film also sets the stage quite nicely for subsequent Astaire-Rogers movies, which often followed the same formula. First, Fred’s character usually falls for Ginger’s at first sight and he is often annoying to her. In The Gay Divorcee, for example, she has her dress caught in a trunk while he attempts to flirt. In Top Hat (1935) he wakes her up with his tap dancing in the room above hers. In Swing Time (1936) he asks her for change of a quarter only to ask for the quarter back a bit later.

Most Fred and Ginger movies also have mistaken identity central to the plot and some are set in lavish surroundings, extravagant art deco sets, “Big White Sets” as they are called, and include travel to exotic places. The world in these pictures is rich and cultured and never fail to offer an escape from reality.

More importantly, most of the Astaire-Rogers movies feature dances that further the characters’ story together, all are supremely executed, beautifully orchestrated, and emoted to a tee. Through dance Fred and Ginger express love, love lost, anger, giddiness, joy, despair, tragedy. The movies usually feature at least two main routines for the couple, one a fun, lighthearted affair and the other a serious, dramatic turn, depending on where in the story the dance takes place. These dance routines take precedence in the films above all other elements and are, ultimately, what create the Astaire-Rogers legend, each its own priceless gem. For this dance through history the focus is on the dance routines, which were born out of the RKO story.

RKO was born RKO Radio Pictures in October 1928 as the first motion picture studio created solely for the production of talking pictures by David Sarnoff and Joseph Kennedy as they met in a Manhattan oyster bar. Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) resulted from the merger of the Radio Corporation of America, the Film Booking Offices of America, and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit of vaudeville houses.

In its first year, RKO did well by producing about a dozen pictures, mostly film versions of stage plays. The studio doubled that number the following year and was established as a major studio with the Academy Award-winning Cimarron (1931) directed by Wesley Ruggles. Unfortunately, that film’s success did not result in money for the studio. That year RKO lost more than $5 million, which resulted in the hiring of David O. Selznick to head production. Selznick immediately looked to stars to bring audiences into theaters. The first place he looked was the New York stage where he found and contracted Katharine Hepburn whom he placed in the hands of George Cukor for Bill of Divorcement (1932) opposite John Barrymore. Hepburn became a star and the movie was a hit, but RKO’s fortunes did not improve making 1932 another difficult year. Enter Merian C. Cooper and a giant ape. David O. Selznick had made Cooper his assistant at RKO.

The idea of King Kong had lived in Cooper’s imagination since he was a child, but he never thought it could come to fruition until his time at RKO. It was there that Cooper met Willis O’Brien, a special effects wizard who was experimenting with stop motion animation.

King Kong premiered in March 1933 to enthusiastic audiences and reviews. RKO’s financial troubles were such, however, that even the eighth wonder of the world could not save it. David O. Selznick left RKO for MGM and Merian Cooper took over as head of production tasked with saving the studio. Cooper tried releasing a picture a week and employing directors like Mark Sandrich and George Stevens. Of the two Sandrich made an important splash early with So This Is Harris! (1933), a musical comedy short that won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject. This short paved the way for RKO’s memorable musicals of the decade, the first of which introduced future megastars Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as a dancing duo.

“I’d like to try this thing just once” he says as he pulls her to the dance floor.

“We’ll show them a thing or three,” she responds.

And they did. For the movie studio permanently on the verge of bankruptcy Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers proved saving graces. Pandro S. Berman, who produced several of the Astaire-Rogers movies, said “we were very fortunate we came up with the Astaire-Rogers series when we did.”

Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz II on May 10, 1899 in Omaha, Nebraska. Fred began performing at about the age of four with his older sister Adele. Their mother took them to New York in 1903 where they began performing in vaudeville as a specialty act. Of the two it was Adele, by all accounts a charmer on stage and off, who got the better reviews and was seen as the natural talent.

By the time Fred was ten years old, he and his sister were making about $50 a week on the famed Orpheum Circuit. As they traveled the country, their reputation grew and by 14 Fred had taken over the responsibility of creating steps and routines for their act. He also hunted for new songs as he was able, which led to a chance meeting in 1916 with then song plugger George Gershwin. Although the two did not work together then, they’d have profound effects on each other’s careers in the future, including the Astaires headlining George and Ira Gershwin’s first full-length New York musical, Lady, Be Good! in 1924.

Unlike her driven brother, Adele did not even like to rehearse. For Fred’s constant badgering to rehearse she ascribed him the nickname “Moaning Minnie.” Fred later admitted the nickname fit because he worried about everything. Between Fred’s attention to detail and Adele’s charm for an audience, the Astaire’s reviews usually read like this, “Nothing like them since the flood!”

Fred and Adele made it to Broadway in 1917 with Over the Top, a musical revue in two acts, and never looked back. Their other hits in New York and London included the Gershwin smash, Funny Face (1927), where Adele got to introduce “‘S Wonderful” and the Schwartz-Dietz production of The Band Wagon (1931), Adele’s final show before retiring to marry Lord Charles Cavendish in 1932. At the time she and her brother Fred were the toast of Broadway.

The Astaires, Adele and Fred

After his sister retired, Fred starred in Cole Porter’s A Gay Divorce, his last Broadway show before heading west to Hollywood where he was signed by David O. Selznick at RKO. Legend goes that of Fred Astaire someone in Hollywood said after watching his screen tests, “Can’t act; slightly bald; can dance a little.” If true, those are words by someone who had a terrible eye for talent, but I doubt they are true because at the time Fred Astaire was a huge international star. The likelihood that someone in Hollywood didn’t know that is slim. David O. Selznick had seen Fred Astaire on Broadway and described him as “next to Leslie Howard, the most charming man on the American stage.” What was true is that Fred Astaire did not look like the typical movie star. He was 34 years old at the time, an age considered old for movie stardom. In fact, Astaire’s mother insisted he should just retire since he’d been in the business from such a young age. We can only be thankful he ignored her request.

Not sure what to do with him, or perhaps to see what he could do, Selznick lent Astaire to MGM where he made his first picture dancing with Joan Crawford in Robert Z. Leonard’s Dancing Lady (1933). Flying Down to Rio experienced some delays, but it was ready to go after Dancing Lady so Fred returned to RKO to do “The Carioca” with a contract player named Ginger Rogers.

By the time Fred Astaire made his first picture, Ginger Rogers had made about 20. She was under contract with RKO and excelled at sassy, down-to-Earth types. In 1933 Ginger had gotten lots of attention singing “We’re in the money” in Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) and in 42nd Street. She did not have top billing in either of those, but the public noticed her.

Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911. Her first few years of life were confusing ones. Her parents were divorced and Ginger was kidnapped by her father until her mother, Lelee (or Lela), took him to court. In need of a job, Ginger’s mother left her with her grandparents while looking for a job as a scriptwriter.

Lelee met and married John Rogers in 1920 and, for all intents and purposes, he became Ginger’s father. The family moved to Dallas where, at the age of 14, Ginger won a Charleston contest, going on to become Charleston champion dancer of Texas. The prize was a 4-week contract on the Vaudeville Interstate circuit. Lela took management of her daughter and put together an act called “Ginger and Her Redheads.” Ginger continued to perform on her own after the Redheads were disbanded eventually going to New York where she was seen by the owner of the Mocambo night club who recommended her to friends for the Broadway show Top Speed.

Ginger was making two-reelers in New York when she was offered a Paramount contract making her feature appearance in Monta Bell’s Young Man of Manhattan (1930) starring Claudette Colbert. At about that time, she was cast as the lead in the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, which – by happenstance one afternoon – offered her the opportunity to dance with Fred Astaire for the first time ever. Astaire had been brought in to the Girl Crazy production to see if he could offer suggestions for the routines. Ginger was asked to show him one of the main numbers to which he said, “Here Ginger, try it with me.”

After that Ginger and Lela headed to Hollywood and the picture business in earnest. Ginger made a few forgettable pictures for Pathé before being cast as Anytime Annie in 42nd Street and singing that number about money in Golddiggers of 1933. Both of those gave Ginger Rogers ample opportunity to show off her comedic skills. These types of parts, funny flappers, were definitely in the cards for Ginger Rogers until fate intervened when Dorothy Jordan, who was scheduled to dance “The Carioca” with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio, married Merian C. Cooper instead. Ginger was by now under contract with RKO and was rushed onto the set of Flying Down to Rio three days after shooting had started.

“They get up and dance” in 1933

The stage direction in the original screenplay for Flying Down to Rio simply read, “they get up and dance.” Ginger Rogers was billed fourth and Fred Astaire fifth showing she was the bigger star at the time. In looking at Astaire and Rogers doing “The Carioca” in Flying Down to Rio one doesn’t get the impression that these are legends in the making. Ginger agreed as she wrote in her memoir that she never would have imagined what was to come from that dance. “The Carioca” is exuberant, youthful, and fun, but certainly lesser than most of the routines the couple would perform in subsequent films. I say that because we can now make a comparison. At the time audiences went crazy for “The Carioca” and the dancers who performed it, their only number together in the Flying Down to Rio and only role aside from the comic relief they provide. The picture was, after all, a Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond vehicle.

Doing the Carioca in Flying Down to Rio

Hermes Pan’s first assignment at RKO was to find Fred Astaire on stage 8 to see if he could offer assistance. Fred showed him a routine and explained he was stuck in a part for the tap solo in Flying Down to Rio. Hermes offered a suggestion and another legendary movie pairing was made. Pan worked on 17 Astaire musicals thus playing a key role is making Fred Astaire the most famous dancer in the world.

Pan explained that he went to early previews of Flying Down to Rio and was surprised to see the audience cheer and applaud after “The Carioca” number. The studio knew they had something big here and decided to capitalize on the Astaire-Rogers pairing.

When RKO approached Fred Astaire about making another picture paired with Ginger Rogers, Astaire refused. After years being part of a duo with Adele, the last thing he wanted was to be paired permanently with another dancer. If he was to do another picture he wanted an English dancer as his partner, they were more refined. Pandro Berman told him, “the audience likes Ginger” and that was that. Astaire was at some point given a percentage of the profits from these pictures and the worries about working with Ginger subsided. Ginger’s contribution to the pairing was not considered important enough to merit a percentage of the profits.

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

The Gay Divorcee offers ample opportunity to fall in love with the Astaire-Rogers mystique. The first is a beautiful number shot against a green screen backdrop, Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.” Fred as Guy professes his love for Mimi (Ginger), mesmerizing her with dance until she is completely taken by the end. He, so satisfied, offers her a cigarette.

Later in the film the two, now reconciled after a huge mix-up, dance “The Continental.” The song is introduced by Ginger who is swept off her feet to join the crowd in the elaborate production number. Needless to say Fred and Ginger clear the floor with outstanding choreography. “The Continental” sequence lasts over 17 minutes, the longest ever in a musical holding that record until Gene Kelly’s 18-minute ballet in An American in Paris in 1951. “The Continental” was clearly intended to capture the excitement of “The Carioca” and exceeds that by eons with enthusiasm and gorgeous execution by these two people whose chemistry is palpable. No one could have known if either Fred or Ginger could carry a movie, but The Gay Divorcee proved they were stars of unique magnitude. For 85 years dance on film has never been bettered and that’s why I celebrate this anniversary with all the enthusiasm I could muster as my contribution to The Anniversary Blogathon sponsored by the Classic Movie Blog Association (CMBA), which is celebrating its tenth year of classic love.

Doing The Continental in The Gay Divorcee

Fred always gets a solo number in these pictures, by the way and, as you’d expect, they’re wonderful. Many times these take place in hotel rooms all of which – luckily – have fantastic floors for tap dancing. In addition, The Gay Divorcee has the added attraction of a routine with Edward Everett Horton and Betty Grable, who has a small part in the picture.

Fred Astaire and Hermes Pan would begin work on the routines up to six weeks before the principal photography was scheduled to start on the pictures. Pan played Ginger’s part and would teach her the routines once she arrived to start rehearsals. Her part was long and arduous and Fred Astaire always said he admired her work ethic as she gave everything she had to make those routines memorable and match him move for move. Fred was also impressed by Ginger being the only one of his female partners who never cried. As they say, she did everything he did “backwards and in heels,” which by the way, is a phrase born in the following Frank and Ernest cartoon.

The unfailing result of their work together is absolute beauty in human form. Ginger Rogers completely gave herself to Fred Astaire, was entirely pliable to his every whim in dance. This is why they became legend. Fred may have partnered with better dancers and I certainly cannot say whether that’s true or not, but what he had with Ginger Rogers was special. The Gay Divorcee was only the beginning.

As for working with Fred again, Ginger had no worries. She enjoyed the partnership and the dancing and was fulfilled by doing various other parts at the same time. While Fred and Hermes worked on the routines she was able to make small pictures for different studios appearing in seven in 1934 alone.

Roberta (1935)

Fred and Ginger’s next movie together is William Seiter’s Roberta where they share billing with one of RKO’s biggest stars and greatest talents, Irene Dunne. Here, Fred and Ginger have the secondary love affair as old friends who fall in love in the end. As they do in most of their movies, Fred and Ginger also provide much of the laughs. The primary romantic pairing in Roberta is between Dunne and Randolph Scott.

The film’s title, Roberta is the name of a fashionable Paris dress shop owned by John Kent’s (Scott) aunt and where Stephanie (Dunne) works as the owner’s secretary, assistant, and head designer. The two instantly fall for each other.

Huck Haines (Astaire) is a musician and John’s friend who runs into the hateful Countess Scharwenka at the dress shop. Except Scharwenka is really Huck’s childhood friend and old love, Lizzie Gatz (Rogers). Fred and Ginger are wonderful in this movie, which strays from the formula of most of their other movies except for the plot between Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott, which is actually similar to that of other Astaire-Rogers movies. Again, aside from the dancing Fred and Ginger offer the movie’s comic relief and do so in memorable style with Ginger the standout in that regard.

There are quite a few enjoyable musical numbers in Roberta. Huck’s band performs a couple and Irene Dunne sings several songs including the gorgeous “When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and a beautiful sequence on stairs during a fashion show to “Lovely to Look At,” which received the film’s only Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Song. That number transitions into a Fred and Ginger duet and dance to “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” followed closely by an exuberant finale number.

Fred and Ginger in Roberta

Early in Roberta, at the Cafe Russe, Ginger is delightful singing “I’ll be Hard to Handle” with the band. She and Fred follow with a supremely enjoyable duet with their feet, a routine where each answers the other with taps. I believe there were requests for them to re-record the taps after the live taping as you can hear Ginger laughing during the routine, but Fred insisted to leave it as is. The result is a relaxed, wonderfully entertaining sequence I hadn’t seen in years. The pantsuit Ginger wears during this number is fabulous.

I’ll Be Hard to Handle routine in Roberta

Later, Ginger and Fred sing a duet to “I Won’t Dance” with Fred following with an extraordinary solo routine. This may be my favorite of his solo sequences, which includes an unbelievably fast ending.

Astaire in Roberta

Fred Astaire was perfection on the dance floor and, as many have said, seemed to dance on air. None of it came without excruciating hard work, however. Astaire was known for rehearsing and losing sleep until he felt every movement in every sequence was perfect. He stated he would lose up to 15 pounds during the rehearsals for these films. Clearly, nothing had changed since his days preparing for the stage with his sister.

Fred Astaire fretted over routines constantly. He could not even stand looking at the rushes himself so he would send Hermes Pan to look and report back. Astaire admitted that even looking at these routines decades later caused him angst. Of course, his absolute dedication to perfection, pre-planning even the smallest detail of every dance number, resulted in much of the legend of Fred and Ginger. Fred’s demands on set also made the pictures epic among musicals. Astaire insisted, for instance, to shoot every single sequence in one shot, with no edits. He also insisted that their entire bodies be filmed for every dance number and that taps be recorded live. He was known to say that either the camera moved or he moved. One of the cameramen at RKO who worked on the Astaire-Rogers pictures said that keeping Fred and Ginger’s feet in the frame was the biggest challenge. All of these Fred Astaire stipulations ensured that the performances are still moving many decades after they were filmed and all of them are as much a statement in endurance as they are in artistry.

Top Hat

Directed by Mark Sandrich, Top Hat is the first film written expressly for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers by Deight Taylor and Alan Scott and feels bigger from its catchy opening sequence on forward than the other movies in the series to this point. This is perhaps the most well regarded of the Astaire-Rogers movie pairings and it’s no wonder because it’s delightful even though it shares several similarities with The Gay Divorcee. Joining Fred and Ginger once again are Edward Everett Horton in the second of three Fred and Ginger pictures he made, Eric Blore in the third of five, and Erik Rhodes in his second. To my delight Rhodes dons that wonderful, hilarious Italian accent, which by the way, got him barred by Mussolini. Joining the group in this picture is Helen Broderick as Madge Hardwick, Horton’s wife.

The story in Top Hat begins when Fred as Jerry Travers meets Ginger as Dale Tremont when he wakes her up by tap dancing in the hotel room above hers. She is naturally annoyed, but warms up to him fairly quickly the next day as he seeks her favor with Irving Berlin’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?” when the two are in a gazebo during a rainstorm. The song ends in a wonderful dance sequence that starts off as a challenge, but warms to affection. I should add we see here what we see in many Astaire-Rogers routines that is so darn exciting – when they don’t touch. The gazebo number is not as emotionally charged as others the couple executes because it is the lighthearted one in the picture, the one during which he woos her with dance. By the end of this number she is sold on him and what prospects may lay ahead.

It’s a lovely day to be caught in the rain from Top Hat

Unfortunately, after the gazebo number some confusion ensues as Dale believes Jerry is married to one of her friends. This is the requisite mistaken identity. It is Horace Hardwick (Horton) who’s married, not Jerry. Some innocent games and trickery take place before Dale is hurt and Jerry has to win her over once again. Then heaven appears.

“Heaven, I’m in heaven And the cares that hung around me through the week Seem to vanish like a gambler’s lucky streak When we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek”

These songs are standards for a reason. It just does not get better than that.

To continue the story – at the insistence of Madge Hardwick, Dale and Jerry dance as he sings those lyrics to her. She is mesmerized, wanting to believe him wearing that famous feather dress. They move onto a terrace in each other’s arms as the music swells.

A gorgeous, sexy backbend during Cheek to Cheek in Top Hat

Once again, the song is over and her heart is stolen. She’s seduced. And so are we.

One of the few times Ginger seriously disagreed with Fred concerning a routine was her stance on the feather dress for the “Cheek to Cheek” sequence. Fred hated it. During the number feathers went everywhere, including in his face and on his tuxedo. Ginger designed the dress and insisted she wear it, despite the cost of $1,500 worth of ostrich feathers. She was right. While you can see feathers coming off the dress during the number, none are seen on Fred’s tuxedo, but it doesn’t matter because it moves beautifully and adds immeasurably to the routine.

The feather dress didn’t stay there. In fact, it stayed with Ginger for some time as thereafter, Astaire nicknamed her “Feathers.” After what Ginger described as a difficult few days following the feather dress uproar, she was in her dressing room when a plain white box was delivered. Inside was a note that read, “Dear Feathers. I love ya! Fred”

Fred Astaire has two solo routines in Top Hat, “No Strings” at the beginning of the movie, the tap dance that wakes Dale, and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails,” a signature production number considered one of his best.

Following in the tradition of “The Carioca” and “The Continental,” Top Hat features “The Piccolino,” an extravagant production number with song introduced by Ginger who said that Fred was supposed to sing the tune and hated it so he told Sandrich to give it to Ginger. In any case, she and Fred join the festivities with only their feet visible heading toward the dance floor, reminiscent of the movie’s opening sequence. It’s quite the rush as you see their feet advancing toward the dance floor, I must say.

“The Piccolino” is lively and fun, a terrific routine with a fun ending as the two end the number by sitting back at their table with Ginger having to fix her dress, a beautiful dress that made it to the Smithsonian.

Fred and Ginger doing The Piccolino

Top Hat premiered at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to record crowds. Added security had to be sent to the venue to ensure order. The movie went on to gross $3 million on its initial release, and became RKO’s most profitable film of the 1930s.

Follow the Fleet (1936)

Mark Sandrich was back to direct Follow the Fleet, which I have a huge affection for. The Irving Berlin score in this film is superb with songs that take me back to my childhood and the memory of watching them on Saturday nights on our local PBS station. Fred, Ginger, Sandrich and the crew of Follow the Fleet heard about the record numbers of moviegoers attending Top Hat as they gathered to begin shooting this movie. The excitement certainly inspired them to make Follow the Fleet the cheerful, energetic movie it is. Although, Ginger hoped that by this, their third movie together, Mark Sandrich would recognize her worth it was not to be. She discusses his dislike of her a lot in her book.

Like in Roberta, Fred and Ginger’s relationship in Follow the Fleet is that of the secondary romantic couple supplying the laughs in the film despite the fact that they get top billing. The primary romance here is the one between Harriet Hilliard (in her first feature film) and Randolph Scott. The story is simple, Bake Baker (Astaire) and Bilge (Scott) visit the Paradise Ballroom in San Francisco while on Navy leave. At the ballroom are Connie Martin (Hilliard), who is immediately taken with Bilge, and her sister Sherry (Rogers), the dance hostess at the ballroom who also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of Bake’s. Sherry and Bake reunite by joining a dance contest and winning (of course), but it costs Sherry her job.

In the meantime, Connie starts talking about marriage to Bilge who is instantly spooked sending him into the arms of a party girl. Bake tries to get Sherry a job in a show, which entails a mistaken identity amid more confusion until things clear up and the two are successful, heading toward the Broadway stage. The confusion here comes by way of some bicarbonate of soda, in case you’re wondering.

Follow the Fleet is a hoot with several aspects straying from the usual Fred-Ginger formula. To begin, Fred Astaire puts aside his debonair self and replaces him with a much more informal, smoking, gum-chewing average guy. It’s enjoyable seeing him try to be common. Fred opens the movie with Berlin’s wonderful “We Saw the Sea,” the words to which I remembered during the last viewing, quite the surprise since I had not seen Follow the Fleet in decades. Later in the movie he gets another solo tap routine on deck of his ship with fellow seamen as accompaniment. Both instances are supremely enjoyable as one would expect.

Fred during one of his solo routines in Follow the Fleet

Ginger does a great rendition of “Let Yourself Go” with Betty Grable as a back-up singer. A bit later there’s a reprise of the fabulous song during the contest, the dance reunion of Bake and Sherry. According to Ginger, a search through all of Hollywood took place in hopes of finding other couples who could compete with Fred and her. This may already be getting old, but here you have another energetic, enjoyable routine by these two masters. The whistles from the crowd at the Paradise Ballroom show the audience enjoy it as well.

The Let Yourself Go routine during the dance contest in Follow the Fleet

As part of an audition, Ginger gets to do a solo tap routine, a rarity in these movies and it’s particularly enjoyable to watch. Unfortunately, Sherry doesn’t get the job as a result of the audition even though she’s the best the producer has seen. Thinking that he’s getting rid of her competition (mistaken identity), Bake prepares a bicarbonate of soda drink, which renders the singer incapable of singing. Sherry drinks it and burps her way through the audition.

Sherry during the rehearsal, a solo tap for Ginger in Follow the Fleet

Now rehearsing for a show, Bake and Sherry sing “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” followed by a wonderfully amusing routine where Ginger gets caught up in steps leaving Fred to constantly try to get her to move along. During the number the music also changes constantly and they have fun trying to stay in step be in a waltz or jazz or any number of music moods. This routine is a rare one for Fred and Ginger whose dance sequences are usually step perfect. It looks like they have a blast with this including a few falls and a fight instigated by Ginger.

“Eggs in One Basket” routine from Follow the Fleet

Fred and Ginger follow the comical exchange in “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket,” with one of their greatest sequences, another rarity in that this one happens out of character for both in the movie. The wonderful “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and the routine to it make as iconic an Astaire-Rogers sequence as has ever put on film. The song and the performance tell a mini story outside of the confines of the plot. This is a grim tale executed with extraordinary beauty as we see two suicidal people happen upon each other and are saved from despair through dance. Again, kudos to Berlin’s genius because the lyrics of this song are sublime.

“There may be trouble ahead But while there’s moonlight and music And love and romance Let’s face the music and dance”

Ginger is a vision as Fred guides her across the dance floor. The dance starts off with a sway, they are not touching, he’s leading her, but she’s despondent at first, unable to react to his urging that there is something to live for. As that beautiful music advances she responds and in the process conquers demons. The routine ends as the music dictates in dramatic fashion with a lunge, they are both now victorious and strong. Magnificent. The movie concludes minutes later because…what more is there to say?

“Let’s Face the Music and Dance” Fred and Ginger

Ginger in beaded dress for “Let’s Face the Music and Dance”

Ginger is wearing another legendary dress in the “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” routine. Created by one of her favorite designers, Bernard Newman, the dress weighed somewhere between 25 and 35 pounds. The entire thing was beaded and moved beautifully along with Ginger. Fred Astaire told the story of how one of the heavy sleeves hit him in the face hard during the first spin in the dance. They did the routine about 12 times and Sandrich decided on the first. If you look closely you can see Fred flinch a bit as Ginger twirls with heavy sleeves near his face at the beginning of the dance, which is affecting, beautifully acted by both, but particularly Ginger in the arms of Fred Astaire.

Lucille Ball plays a small role in Follow the Fleet and can be seen throughout the film and a couple of times during the “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” sequence. Also, Betty Grable makes an appearance in a supporting role. Harriet Hilliard sings two songs in Follow the Fleet as well, but to little fanfare.

By Follow the Fleet Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were top box office draws as a team. America was in love with Fred and Ginger. And they still hadn’t reached the apex of dance.

Swing Time (1936)

Swing Time was directed by George Stevens, his first musical, made when he was the top director at RKO Pictures. As I watched these films in succession I noticed something I never had before, Fred and Ginger’s dancing in Swing Time is more mature than in previous films. The emotionally-charged “Never Gonna Dance” sequence has always been my favorite, but I had never considered that it is because Astaire and Rogers are at their peak. This, they’re fifth starring outing as a pair, is their best.

The plot of Swing Time is similar to that of Top Hat to include the ever-present mistaken identity theme, but this movie is wittier and more inventive and clever surrounding memorable songs by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. The story here begins as dancer and gambler, Lucky Garnett (Astaire) arrives late for his own wedding to Margaret Watson (Betty Furness). Angry at the young man’s audacity, the father of the bride tells Lucky that the only way he can marry his daughter is to go to New York and become a success. Lucky heads East with his lucky quarter and constant companion Pop Cardetti (Victor Moore).

Once in New York the stage is set for a chance meeting between Lucky and Penny Carroll (Rogers). The encounter leads to the first routine in the movie to the glorious “Pick Yourself Up” at the dance academy where Penny works as an instructor. The exchange leading up to the dance sequence is quite enjoyable as Lucky makes believe he can’t dance as Penny tries in vain to teach him. His fumbling on his feet causes her to be fired by the furious head of the dance studio, Mr. Gordon (Eric Blore). To make it up to Penny, Lucky pulls her to the dance floor to show Gordon how much she has taught him and she delights in seeing his amazing dancing ability. The routine that ensues is energetic, fun, and the movie’s acquaintance dance after which Penny is completely taken with Lucky.

During the “Pick Yourself Up” routine in Swing Time

Watching Ginger transition from angry to incredulous to gloriously surprised to such confidence that the dance floor can’t even contain them is simply wonderful. As the dance progresses her joy grows naturally illustrated by such details as throwing her head back or giggling as Fred, who’s the wiser, wows her. And she, in turn, gives Gordon a few hard looks as he sits there making memorable Eric Blore faces. At the end of the dance their relationship is different and Gordon is so impressed he gets them an audition at the Silver Sandal Nightclub where they enchant the patrons and are hired. Incidentally, since Fred’s mood, shall we say, is what initiates and dictates these routines he has little emotional change through these mini stories. The journey is mostly all hers.

Before they do the nightclub act, Lucky sings “The Way You Look Tonight” to Penny while her hair is full of shampoo. The song won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song. Penny and Lucky are now in love. That night at the nightclub, Penny tells Lucky that bandleader Ricardo Romero (Georges Metaxa) has asked her to marry him many times so it’s no surprise when Romero squashes their chance to perform. That is until Lucky wins Romero’s contract gambling and sets the stage for the “Waltz in Swing Time”

“The Waltz in Swing Time” seems to me to be one of the most complex of the Astaire-Rogers dance sequences. Performed at the gorgeous art deco club, this routine is as airy as it is masterful. Fred and Ginger lovingly looking at each other throughout as twists and turns and light taps happen around them. Gosh, they are awe-inspiring.

The Waltz in Swing Time

The next day Lucky does all he can to avoid a love-making scene with Penny. He’s in love with her, but remembers he’s engaged to another woman and hasn’t told her. Meanwhile Pop spills the beans to Mabel (Helen Broderick, the fourth wheel in this ensemble.) A kissless Penny and a frustrated Lucky sing “A Fine Romance” out in the country and Ginger once again gives a lesson in acting. I’ve noted in other posts about how acting in song is never taken too seriously by people and this is another example. Ginger Roger’s reviews in these films were often mediocre with the praise usually going entirely Astaire’s way. Admittedly, Astaire-Rogers films are not dramatic landscapes that allow for much range, but the fact that Ginger manages believable turns in the routines and in all of the sung performances should be noted. She had an air of not taking the films and roles too seriously, but still managed a wide range of emotion, particularly when the time came to emote in dance. That only made her all the better and often the best thing in the movies aside from the dancing.

Fred Astaire has a wonderful production number, “The Bojangles of Harlem,” in Swing Time even though he performs in blackface. The number is intended to honor dancers like Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson who were influential to Fred Astaire. Aside from Fred’s indelible dancing in the sequence, the number is memorable for introducing special effects into Fred Astaire dance routines as he dances with huge shadows of himself. The effect was achieved by shooting the routine twice under different lighting. “Bojangles of Harlem” earned Hermes Pan an Academy Award nomination for Best Dance Direction.

As our story continues – Penny and Lucky are definitely into each other and Ricardo is still wooing Penny when Margaret shows up to spoil the festivities. Actually, she comes to tell Lucky she’s in love with someone else, but doesn’t have a chance to say it before Penny is heartbroken.

And so here we are…we see Penny and Ricardo talking. Given the situation with Lucky – his impending marriage and his losing their contract while gambling – she feels she has no choice but to marry Ricardo. Lucky walks in. Two heartbroken people stand at the foot of majestic stairs as he begins to tell her he’ll never dance again. Imagine that tragedy. The music shifts to “The Way You Look Tonight” and “The Waltz in Swing Time” throughout. Ginger, who had gone up the stairs, descends and the two walk dejectedly across the floor holding hands. The walks gathers a quiet rhythm until they are in each other’s arms dancing. Still, she resists, attempts to walk away, but he refuses to let her go until she succumbs, joining him in energetic rhythm, two people in perfect sync as the music shifts to past moments in their lives together – shifts between loud and quiet, fast and slow, together and apart – mimicking the turmoil of the characters in that time and place.

Ginger’s dress here is elegantly simple as if not to detract from the emotion of the piece, which is intense. Everything about this routine is absolutely gorgeous.

Fred and Ginger split toward the end of the number, each going up an opposite staircase on the elaborate set. They reach the top where the music reaches its crescendo. The two dance, a flurry of turbulent spins. Until she runs off leaving him shattered. And me.

To my knowledge, the “Never Gonna Dance” sequence in the only one where a cut had to happen during the dance in order to get the cameras to the top of the stairs. This is the famous routine that made Ginger’s feet bleed. One of the crew noticed her shoes were pink and it turned out to be that they were blood-soaked. Also notable is that the number was shot over 60 times according to Ginger and several other people there. At one point George Stevens told them all to go home for the night, but Fred and Ginger insisted on giving it one more try. That was the take that’s in the movie. Once done the crew responded enthusiastically.

In the end of Swing Time, as is supposed to happen, Lucky manages to interrupt Penny’s marriage to Ricardo and makes her all his own.

Ginger looks stunning in Swing Time. For details on her Bernard Newman designs in the film I suggest you visit the Glam Amor’s Style Essentials entry on this film.

Despite the many wonderful things about Swing Time, the movie marked the beginning of audience response to Fred and Ginger movies declining. The movie was still a hit, but receipts came in slower than expected. The Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers partnership never quite gained the same momentum as it did up to this point in their careers together. Although the pair was still an asset for RKO and they had many more memorable on-screen moments to share.

Shall We Dance (1937)

In 1937 Astaire and Rogers made Shall We Dance with Mark Sandrich at the helm once again. Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore are also on hand for the film that featured the first Hollywood film score by George and Ira Gershwin.

The plot of Shall We Dance is a bit convoluted, but still enjoyable. Fred plays Peter P. Peters a famous ballet dancer billed as “Petrov” who yearns to do modern dance. One day he sees a picture of famous tap dancer Linda Keene (Ginger) and sees a great opportunity to blend their styles. Similar to their other movies, Fred falls in love with Ginger at first sight. It takes her longer to recognize his graces, but eventually falls hard for him too. That is, after many shenanigans and much confusion when she gets angry and hurt and then he has to win her over again.

Fred has a terrific solo routine here with “Slap That Base,” which takes place in an engine room using the varied engine and steam sounds to tap to. Ginger later does an enjoyable rendition of the Gershwin classic, “They All Laughed (at Christopher Columbus),” which leads to a fun tap routine for the duo. For this Ginger is wearing that memorable flowered dress by Irene who dressed her for this movie. This “They All Laughed” sequence is where he woos her and where she cannot help falling for him.

Soon after “They All Laughed” Fred and Ginger call the whole thing off in the classic sequence that takes place in New York’s Central Park on roller skates. At this point in the story the tabloids have reported the two are married and, having fallen for each other, they don’t know what to do. “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” was written by the Gershwins in New York prior to the making of Swing Time. The brothers brought the song with them to Hollywood and it works perfectly in the comedic scene with both Astaire and Rogers taking turns with verses of the catchy tune before starting the roller skating tap routine.

Unable to stop the rumors that they are married, Pete and Linda decide to actually marry in order to later divorce. The problem is that they’re both crazy about each other, which he demonstrates with one of the most romantic songs ever written, “They Can’t Take that Away From Me.” This song was a personal favorite of both Fred and Ginger. So much so, in fact, that the song was used again in their final film together, their 1949 reunion movie, The Barkleys of Broadway. “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” remains the only occasion on film when Fred Astaire permitted the repeat of a song previously performed in another movie.

George Gershwin died two months after Shall We Dance was released in May 1937. He was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award, along with his brother Ira, for Best Original Song for “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

The finale of Shall We Dance is an odd production number. Fred dances in front of dozens of women donning Ginger Rogers masks. Pete Peters decided if he can’t dance with Linda Keene then he’ll dance with many of the next best thing. The real Linda joins him for the final act, touched by his attempt to clone her. The end.

Carefree (1938)

Carefree is probably the Astaire-Rogers movie I’ve seen least and it was refreshing to take a new and improved look at it for this tribute. Mark Sandrich directs Fred and Ginger for the last time in this romantic comedy, the shortest of their films, which attempts a new story flavor for our stars with Irving Berlin tunes.

Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) asks his Psychiatrist friend Dr. Tony Flagg (Astaire) to meet with his fiancée Amanda Cooper (Rogers). Immediately we know Arden’s in trouble because Ralph Bellamy never gets the girl, but anyway… Amanda is having trouble committing to marrying Stephen and agrees to see Tony who immediately decides she needs to dream in order for him to decipher her unconscious. After having all sorts of odd foods for dinner Amanda dreams, but of Dr. Tony Flagg, not Stephen. Embarrassed by her dream, Amanda makes up a weird tale, which leads Tony to think she has serious psychological issues that only hypnosis can fix. In slapstick style, Stephen comes by Tony’s office to pick up Amanda and without realizing she’s hypnotized lets her run free on the streets causing all sorts of havoc.

Fed Astaire does a terrific routine early in Carefree where he hits golf balls to music. I know nothing about golf, but recognize this is quite astounding. In a 1970s interview, Fred commented on the scene with some affection saying it was not easy and couldn’t believe he was asked to do another take when the balls were ending off camera.

Amanda’s dream allows for a beautiful, fantasy-like routine to Irving Berlin’s “I Used to Be Color Blind” made famous because Fred and Ginger share the longest kiss here than in any other one of their movies. It happens at the end of the sequence done in slow motion, which definitely causes swooning. About the kiss Fred Astaire said, “Yes, they kept complaining about me not kissing her. So we kissed to make up for all the kisses I had not given Ginger for all those years.” Fred was not a fan of mushy love scenes and preferred to let his kissing with Ginger in movies be alluded to or simple pecks, but he gave in partly to quell the rumors that circulated about he and Ginger not getting along. As Ginger told the story, Fred squirmed and hid as the two reviewed the dance and she delighted in his torture. She explained that neither of them expected the long kiss as it was actually a peck elongated by the slow motion. That day she stopped being the “kissless leading lady.”

The longest kiss Fred and Ginger ever shared on-screen from Carefree

By the way, Ginger is wonderful in the sequence when she’s hypnotized. She gets an opportunity to showcase her comedic skills in similar fashion than she does in Howard Hawks’ Monkey Business (1952) opposite Cary Grant.

At the club one evening Ginger kicks off “The Yam” festivities. According to Ginger this is another instance where Fred didn’t like the song so he pawned it off on her. Who could blame him? Silly at best, “The Yam” is a dance craze that never actually catches fire as it doesn’t have the panache of “The Continental.” These people give it all they have, however, and the evening looks like an enjoyable one. Or, at least I would have loved to be there. Of course Tony joins Amanda in doing “The Yam” before the crowd joins in. As an aside, Life Magazine thought Fred and Ginger doing “The Yam” was worthy of a cover on August 22, 1938.

After yamming it up, Amanda is determined to tell Stephen she’s in love with Tony, but he misunderstands and thinks she professes her love for him. Suddenly Stephen announces their engagement. It’s a total mess that Tony tries to fix through hypnosis, which backfires supremely. Thank goodness everything straightens itself out in the end.

Before getting to the final, exceptional routine in Carefree the supporting cast deserves a mention. Louella Gear joins the fun in Carefree as Aunt Cora, in the same vein as Alice Brady and Helen Broderick in Fred and Ginger movies before her. Hattie McDaniel makes a brief appearance albeit as a maid, but it’s better to see her than not and Jack Carson has a few enjoyable scenes as a brute who works at the psychiatrist’s office.

After Amanda tells Tony she’s in love with him, he hypnotizes her to hate him because he doesn’t want to betray Stephen. When Tony realizes he loves Amanda it’s too late, she’s left his office to be happy with Stephen, avoiding Tony at all costs. But at the club one evening, Tony manages to find a few moments alone with her outside and what results is a sexy number during which she’s completely under his spell. In fact, this may be Fred and Ginger’s sexiest routine. “Change Partners and Dance With Me,” which begins inside as she dances with Stephen, is another beautiful song from Irving Berlin, which received one of the three Academy Award nominations for Carefree for Best Music, Original Song. The other two Oscar nods were for Best Art Direction and Best Music, Scoring.

Howard Greer designed Ginger’s gowns for Carefree and the one she wears in the impassioned “Change Partners and Dance With Me” dance is absolutely stunning.

Ginger is under Fred’s Spell in Carefree

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle directed by H. C. Potter is the ninth of ten dancing partnership films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the last of their musicals in the 1930s and for RKO, and the only one of their films based on a true story and real people.

Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. Hugely popular, the Castles were credited with popularizing ballroom dance with a special brand of elegance and style. Their most popular dance was the Castle Walk, which Fred and Ginger do in the movie. In fact, they replicate most of the Castle’s dances as closely to the original as possible. As you’d expect from Fred Astaire.

Irene Castle served as a Technical Advisor on The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle and the story goes that she eventually disowned the film because of the film’s lack of authenticity. In defense of some of the changes though, 1934 censorship restrictions were quite different than those in the 1910s. The differences affected costuming and casting at every level of the film. That said, Variety gave The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle a glowing review and the public received it warmly.

Ginger and Fred as Irene and Vernon Castle

It must be mentioned that The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle features two of the greatest character actors who ever lived. Edna May Oliver plays the Castle’s manager Maggie Sutton and Walter Brennan plays Walter, Irene’s majordomo, for lack of a better word, since she was a child. Both of these characters were changed dramatically for the film due to production code restrictions. The real Maggie Sutton (real name Elizabeth Marbury) was openly a lesbian and the real-life Walter was a black man. Neither of those suited the production code mind for broad appeal across the country.

Fred and Ginger do a fine job in this movie. The dances are pretty if not as elaborate as those Astaire and Rogers performed in their other movies. It is exciting to see them do a Tango, a dance I am particularly fond of. However, there is one other dance sequence in particular that moves me immensely, “The Missouri Waltz” at the Paris Cafe when Vernon returns from the war. The acting in the sequence is superb as you can feel the emotion jumping off of her as he picks her up in a gorgeous move during which she wraps herself around him. It’s stunning.

Ginger wrote in her book about the day they shot “The Missouri Waltz,” the last filmed in the movie and, to everyone’s mind, likely the last number she and Fred would ever do together. RKO was abuzz with rumors and people came from far and wide to watch them shoot it. They came from all around RKO, from Paramount and from Columbia to see this last dance. “This was a very dignified way to end our musical marriage at RKO.”

In 1939, after completing The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, Astaire and Rogers split as you know. Astaire’s salary demands proved too much for RKO pictures. Fred Astaire went on to make movie musical magic in all manner of ways, both alone and with other outstanding talents, leaving a rich legacy of treasures. Ginger Rogers went on to prove herself a true quadruple threat. We knew by 1939 that she could sing, dance and be funny but now, determined to go into straight drama she reaches the pinnacle with an Academy Award-winning performance in Sam Wood’s, Kitty Foyle in 1940. I recognize Ginger’s dramatic talent in the time I spent watching the many dance routines she did with Fred Astaire, but in a time when movies were seen just once it’s difficult to think of other actors who make the transition from film genre to film genre so seamlessly as she did. Hers was a rare talent.

Since I already dedicated an entire entry to Fred and Ginger as The Barkleys of Broadway, Josh and Dinah Barkley, I will forego a full summary here. For now let’s relive the reunion.

Ten years after she made her last appearance on-screen with Astaire, Ginger Rogers walked onto the set of The Barkleys of Broadway. The cast and crew had tears in their eyes. This was special. She said her “hellos”, kissed Fred Astaire and they got to work. At first Ginger explained that Fred seemed disappointed. Judy Garland was scheduled to make the picture with him, but was replaced by Ginger. All of that doesn’t matter though because as a fan, I cannot fathom what it must have been like for audiences in 1949. If people are out of their minds excited about the release of a superhero film today, if audiences drool over a new and rehashed installment of Spiderman, imagine seeing legends together again after a ten-year sabbatical. I would have had to take a Valium. I get chills just thinking about it, and admit a bit of that happens when I watch The Barkleys of Broadway in my own living room. From the moment I see the opening credits, which are shown while the couple is dancing, quite happily – she in a gold gown and he in a tux, I mean, seriously, I’m verklempt right now. We are all happy to be together again.

Despite their great individual careers the magic of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers together cannot be replicated. And it wasn’t necessarily the dancing, or not the dancing alone, that made them a perfect pair. It was the glances, the touch, and the feel that made them magic. The spell of romance, real for the length of a composition, entranced. We all know Katharine Hepburn’s famous quote, “she gave him sex and he gave her class.” Well, Kate was not wrong. Fred Astaire was never as romantic as when he danced with Ginger. And Ginger, a down-to-Earth beauty, was never as sophisticated as when she danced with Fred.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers brought prestige to RKO when it was in desperate need of it and joy to a nation hungry for respite from tough times. In a six-year span they established themselves as the best known, best loved dancing partners in the history of movies and have remained there for 85 years. I’ll end with these words by Roger Ebert, “of all of the places the movies have created, one of the most magical and enduring is the universe of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.”

Sources:

The RKO Story

Ginger: My Story by Ginger Rogers

The Astaires: Fred & Adele by Kathleen Riley

As many Fred Astaire interviews as I could find.

Be sure to visit the Classic Movie Blog Association (CMBA) and The Anniversary Blogathon. There are many fantastic film anniversaries honored for this prestigious event.

85 Years of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers It was 85 years ago this week, in October 1934, that Mark Sandrich’s The Gay Divorcee…

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nevertickleasleepingbadger · 5 years

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Re-sorting the Weasleys

Ok first installment of a re-sorting series! One of the biggest weaknesses of the HP universe is the very flat, one sided sorting. Brave=Gryffindor, Smart=Ravenclaw, Kind=Hufflepuff, Cunning (Evil??)=Slytherin I understand that for some of the plot devices to work, certain characters had to be in certain houses, but it always came off as lazy to me that all the Weasleys were in Gryffindor (for decades???). I honestly never really understood whole families going into one house in general- considering how different all these people are, did the Sorting Hat just give up and assign all gingers to the red house? ANYWAY. Here’s my defense of where I think they should go, based on the fandom’s collective interpretations of the houses. And many thanks to @flockdynamics, for your discussion and help!

Arthur Weasley- Ravenclaw

At first, Arthur comes off as this very goofy character. Which he is, no doubt, but this man is also a genius- his whole job is spent undoing charms and hexes on muggle objects which undoubtedly involves creativity and skill. He is constantly tinkering and coming up with really inventive adjustments and improvements on objects- objects that few wizards understand the workings of at all! I saw a Weasley appreciation post awhile back that mentioned Arthur’s obsession with batteries and how he could be looking into the possibility of storing magical energy and I 100% believe this to be true. He’s not just collecting these items because they look fun, he’s studying them and trying to figure out how they work and how he can incorporate magic into muggle inventions. And he goes through the effort to write loopholes into his own laws so that what he’s doing isn’t strictly illegal which just kills me. One of the true hallmarks of Ravenclaws, beyond just plain intelligence, is cleverness and ingenuity (and a constant desire to learn and push the boundaries of understanding). Ravenclaws aren’t just interested in things you can learn from books and they encourage out-of-the-box thinking. One of the first things he does when he meets anyone connected to muggles is to immediately start asking questions and learning. Also don’t forget that he wrote (co-wrote?) the Muggle Protection Act. His demeanor is jubilant and laid back and he certainly shows great bravery at times, but his baseline behavior is to be in the background, steady and confident and pushing the boundaries in his own way. He is a great source of comfort to his family and to Harry. He always takes Harry seriously and does his best to protect him in the ways he can. In the muggle world, he would totally be that spacey college professor whose office is a mess with random artifacts and weird comics pinned up everywhere, but when you talk to them you realize they are about 10x smarter than you. Molly Weasley- Hufflepuff Ah, Molly- the badger indeed. Loving and fiercely protective. We hardly ever get to see Molly outside of the context of motherhood, but I imagine we see the worst of her temper as she attempts to raise 7 children amidst two wars. I think the Molly underneath all the stress is strong, empathetic, and comforting. We see her unkindness towards Fleur do a 180 as soon as she realizes that Fleur isn’t someone she needs to protect Bill from. She might not get points for patience, but she is certainly stubborn! Overall, Molly is deeply emotional and she keeps her emotions close to the surface. She is soft (in a good way) and warm and just unbelievably capable. The intensity of her kindness towards Harry (knitting him a sweater his first year even though she had only once briefly met him because she guessed, presumably from Ron’s letters, that he needed a family). That’s the kind of person Molly is. Bill Weasley- Ravenclaw I struggled a bit with Bill because the age gap between Harry and Bill might skew our perception of him a bit. Bill is certainly the cool, calm, and collected older brother. The hair, the earring, the swagger- I absolutely adore Bill. Bill always comes off as a bit reserved- not shy but just someone who doesn’t say more than they have to. But this could just be his age and maturity compared to his younger siblings. His family’s obvious disdain for his fiance, Fleur, seems to roll off his back and we rarely see him raise his voice or lose his cool. He is just an incredibly competent man and wizard. Skills with curse breaking and wards really scream Ravenclaw to me- these are skills that take perseverance and creativity to master- something that might not mesh well with the brute force and brashness of a Gryffindor. He is obviously someone who can work with Goblins, which tells me he is tactful and careful and must have paid attention in History of Magic. And how could I forget, Head Boy and 12 Outstanding OWLs. Slowclap for Bill Weasley, everyone. Charlie Weasley- Hufflepuff?? Who knows because it’s a crime we have almost nothing to go on with this fabulous character. A well built, quidditch playing, dragon wrangler?? Cmon JK Rowling- we need more Charlie Weasley. His love for Care of Magical Creatures automatically makes me gravitate towards Hufflepuff (Hagrid is my next big installment post, don’t worry) and the little we see of him shows us a popular, warm, and dedicated guy. But that’s all I can really say! Percy Weasley- Slytherin I know this one is going to be controversial so let me start out by saying this is partially based on a rejection of JKR’s version of Slytherin. I’m not sure if we are just supposed to blame Harry’s unreliable POV, but Slytherin is a mess. So if we strip away some of the ugliest caricatures of the house, Slytherins are crafty, resourceful, driven, and deeply protective of tradition. Percy is seriousssss. He’s a snob, absolutely. He sees everything as an opportunity and he feels he is fighting an uphill battle to separate himself from his family, who don’t share his commitment to self-betterment. He bleeds ambition and unfortunately, because of the political climate that he grows up in, he has the perfect personality to get swept up in government corruption. He realizes his mistakes, but he is prideful and it takes him awhile to face his family and own up to them. We see him full of regret but not yet able to apologize at Christmas during HBP, and of course his arc comes full circle at the Battle of Hogwarts. Tradition and correctness are very important to Percy and he needs constant validation that he is in control. He is in a bit of an awkward age gap with his siblings and I think often ends up as the odd man out and as such, he overcompensates by trying to rise above the chaos of his family and he isolates himself in the process. Percy is also bullied relentlessly by Fred and George, and this really hardens him and pushes him further away. I think it is probably good that he wasn’t sorted into Slytherin in canon, because the divide between Percy and the other Weasleys is already wide and it would have really hurt Percy in the long run. But that being said, JKR wrote the perfect Slytherin with Percy, she just didn’t act on it. He could never have survived as the odd man out in his family in Slytherin, but in a different universe, he fits. Fred & George- Gryffindor I struggled with them because in a way, I wanted to split them up because I think they really can encompass more than one house but I think that F&G are a FORCE together and need to stay as such. I was originally leaning towards Ravenclaw for them just based on the extreme wit and creativity they possess, but as @flockdynamics pointed out to me, I think their intentions are very important. Life is a joke for these two and it’s full of color and noise. They are whip smart and very ambitious and honestly would have thrived in any house- I don’t see them letting house boundaries define them (especially if we cast aside the Gryffindor ancestry of the Weasleys). But their inventions and ingenuity don’t stem from a desire to research and push the boundaries of wizard invention. They just want to make stuff and blow shit up and have a good time. And sure, they want to build a business and make the money they never had growing up, but making people happy and bringing humor into the world are their #1 goals. They are brave in the most foolhardy, Gryffindor way (U-No-Poo anyone?) and never back down from a challenge. They act before thinking and can be bullies (their treatment of Percy, Ron, and sometimes Hermione definitely comes off this way). They often don’t stop to consider emotional tact because they really just live in their own world where everything is fun. Ron- Gryffindor In all her missteps with the houses, I think JKR spent a lot of time making the golden trio fit into her views of Gryffindor traits. Ron is often tactless and self-centered but he is also deeply empathetic (especially towards the end as he’s maturing). I think bravery is an oversimplification of Gryffindor- I think Gryffindor to me is more about being just. They definitely exhibit overt bravery by going off on adventures or putting themselves in danger for loved ones. But moreover, Gryffindors are motivated by an unerring sense of justice and sense of how things should be- they often can’t see the nuances or slow down to consider the best course of action before diving in. Ron’s relationship with Harry is one of the best teenage boy relationships I’ve seen. Ron is there for Harry and legit willing to fight by his side time and time again. He knows when to be supportive, when to give Harry space, when to argue, when to capitulate. His misgivings with Hermione are a different story of dumb teenage hormones and misunderstandings. Ron gives 100% and puts his life on the line for his friends. He really struggles with deep feelings of inadequacy compared to his brothers and struggles to find a place for himself being in Harry’s and their shadows. This really overshadows his underlying personality and makes him act out. I can actually see adult Ron acting much more like a Hufflepuff: stalwart, dependable, and caring but also fiercely protective of those he’s close to. But his personality growing up is definitely Gryffindor. Ginny- Slytherin?? But probably Gryffindor Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. man this one is hard. One look at my blog will probably tell you she is one of my favorite characters, but she is also one that suffers from Harry’s unreliable POV. She went through unimaginable trauma at the age of 11 and was saved by none other than her girlhood crush/brother’s best friend/famous quasi family member. It’s an odd position for her to be in. She is broken and deeply embarrassed and spends time rebuilding herself away from Harry. Which is completely understandable, but it means the audience suffers from not getting to know Ginny until much later and she keeps herself at arms length with Harry until their relationship begins. I think Ginny is largely misunderstood by the fandom and the complete obliteration of her character by the movies doesn’t help. BUT, damn if Ginny is not a BAMF. Sneaky, witty, sometimes harsh and sharp but also loving and bubbly and effervescent. She is the embodiment of “bitch, I won’t hesitate”. Growing up with 6 brothers really pushes Ginny to be rough, unapologetic, and outspoken and we see that side of her often- berating Fleur, hexing/crashing into Zacharias, tripping Ron, etc. Her friendship with Luna gives us glimpses into the softer sides of Ginny. As much as fans love Luna, it always strikes me as odd that they easily dismiss the person Luna seems closest to as boring and mean. Luna seems like an excellent judge of character and not one to seek out negative people (but I digress). I think Ginny is a complex character that the books barely scratch the surface of. By the end, Ginny really exudes confidence and she bravely takes on part of the role of running the DA during the darkest year at Hogwarts. In a world away from the blood purity nonsense, I would totally put her in Slytherin. Her tenacity, perseverance, and cunning really match up well with many of the things Slytherins claim to possess and she shows us time and time again she is willing to push social boundaries to make herself heard/seen. The prejudices associated with Slytherin muddy the waters so in canon, Gryffindor is a good place for her.

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