#ethel hexley

[slytherindisaster]

ethelys + enemies to lovers

for day five of OC VALENTINES CHALLENGE

stupid, brendan maclean / the beginning of a symphony, chapter 3 / total eclipse / the good lord bird / the beginning of a symphony, chapter 20 / girls freak me out, the summer set / much ado about bluffing / a lovely night, la la land / we're going on a bean hunt / catch me if you can / mainstream / game, bet, and match

The ultimate enemies to lovers love story, ethelys of course had to take this prompt. All the incredible writing and Ethel herself belong to the wonderful @the-al-chemist 💛

#ethelys #lysander mercury #ethel hexley #hphl #ovc24

[the-al-chemist]

The Beginning of a Symphony - Chapter 39

A/N: We are coming to the end of this journey, but before they go, each of the main characters has one last farewell chapter. First is Ethel, with my favourite chapter of this whole story. It’s dedicated to my beloved @lifeofkaze, with love.

Warnings: All the emotions. No, really. In an Ethel chapter. I know.

OCs featured/mentioned: Selene Fraser @lifeofkaze

June 1897

The Gryffindor Common Room was hosting the most raucous party that Ethel had ever known it to host in all the years she had been at school, and with good reason: Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup.

It had been a fiercely fought game, with both sides having high stakes in the match; the Hufflepuff team were desperate to keep their title as champions, and the Gryffindors were determined to steal that title from them. For Ethel more than anyone, this was personal. She had sworn blind to Lysander Mercury the year before that she and her team would beat him and his, and finally, she had made good on that promise.

She should have been delighted, but she was not. Naturally, she was happy to have been victorious and to have bested Lysander, but even so, she could not help but feel hollow somehow. It was for that reason that she left the celebrations in the Common Room and retired early to her bedchamber.

She had barely finished donning her nightrobes when the door opened and she was joined by Selene, who looked at her as if concerned.

“Are you quite well, Effy?” she asked.

“Yes. Just tired from the excitement, I think,” Ethel replied. “You need not worry on my account. And you need not miss out on the party, either. You can attend without my being there.”

But Selene shook her head. “There’s no party worth attending if you are not also in attendance.”

She changed into her nightrobes and unbraided her hair, before climbing not into her own bed, but Ethel’s. They sat propped against the pillows, with Selene’s head resting on Ethel’s shoulder, and Ethel’s resting on Selene’s crown.

“In truth, Effy, I also feel too tired to attend the party.”

“You do?”

“Yes. It do not know why, but I have not felt like celebrating all evening. I should be ecstatic, but I feel a little empty. Is that not strange?”

“It is rather strange, and yet I feel the same way,” Ethel frowned. “I wonder why that is.”

“I do not know. I suppose we shall have plenty of time to find out.”

“We shall indeed. After all, it’s not like there will not be other victory parties to attend in the future.”

Selene sighed heavily, but she smiled. “Yes, I suppose we are bound to attend many victory parties when we both join the Chudley Cannons.”

Ethel returned Selene’s smile, but her words made her feel even worse than she already did. Now, she did not just feel deflated, she felt guilty as well.

“Selly, my dear, I… I am afraid that I have a confession to make,” she said. Selene lifted her head from her shoulder and frowned, and Ethel sat up a little straighter. “I fear that perhaps I no longer wish to be a Quidditch player when I grow up. I am sorry. I know that it has always been our dream to play for the Cannons together, but-”

“Effy, no!”

“It is true, Selene. Will you ever forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive.” Selene was also sitting up straight, facing Ethel. She did not look upset or angry, but hopeful. “I have also had doubts as to whether my dreams have changed. I was worried that you might never forgive me!”

“There is nothing you could ever do that I would not forgive,” Ethel told her. “So, pray tell, what might your new dream be?”

“I am not certain, but I know that it must be a dream we both can share,” said Selene. “I have been spending a great deal of time with Eliot Gerard of late, and it is his dream to be a travelling Healer.”

“I do not think that Healing should be our new dream.”

“No, me neither, but he has told me such wonderful stories of the mysteries and miracles of the world, and I would like for nothing more than to see and experience those for myself. I have been cooped up in my parents’ house for so many years, it is time that I saw everything else the world has to offer.”

“And we shall see to it that you are able to do precisely this.” Ethel nodded. “We shall travel together, and while we do so, we shall study and practice law.”

“Law?”

“Yes, Selly. While you have been listening to Eliot Gerard’s stories, I have been reading and reading and reading about the subject. I have discovered so much, and so much that I wish to change. By studying and practising law, we could be the ones to change that.”

“Oh, yes! That we could definitely do!”

“Oh, we shall see so much and do so much good. One day, we may even be able to be in the Wizengamot, or be Ministers for Magic! Wouldn’t that be superb?”

“It would,” Selene agreed, but the smile had slipped from her face. “But, Effy, how would we join the Wizengamot or be Ministers for Magic if we are travelling the world? We cannot change the laws of this country if we are always away visiting other places.”

That gave Ethel pause. She frowned, considering Selene’s words. She was right, Ethel could not travel the world and still achieve her political and legal ambitions in the country she lived in now. If she wished to join Selene and be a part of her dream, then she would have to leave those ambitions behind.

“Very well,” she said slowly. “In that case, I shall not set my sights on either. Instead, I shall come with you.”

“What about studying and practising law?” Selene asked.

“I can still study the law whilst we travel.”

“But… Your new dream, Effy!”

“It is no matter. If we search the whole world, I am certain to find another dream elsewhere,” said Ethel, trying her hardest to keep the doubt and disappointment from her voice. Clearly, she had not tried hard enough, however, for Selene shook her head.

“No, that will not do. I cannot stop you from achieving your ambitions,” she said. “I do not need to see the world. I can read about it in stories and imagine it. Who knows, my imagination may even be better than the reality.”

“Selene, you cannot mean to give up your wishes for mine.”

“You meant to do the same for me.”

“I know, but I cannot abide the idea of you being miserable on my account.”

“I shall not be miserable if I am to see you happy.”

“And I could never be happy if I knew that it was at your expense,” Ethel replied. “We shall go together.”

“No, we shall remain here together.”

“But, Selly…”

“You are my best friend, Ethel. I cannot allow you to abandon your dreams.”

“And I cannot allow you to abandon yours.”

Both girls knew the other to be incredibly stubborn. There was no way in which one might give way to the other. They had to reach a compromise.

“So, what should we do?” Selene asked with a puzzled expression.

Ethel thought for a moment, before coming up with a suggestion. It was not a suggestion that filled her with hope, but it was at least some sort of solution to their problem.

“We could stick to our old plan,” she said, feeling her heart sink at the words. “Of course, neither of us would be truly happy, but at least we would both be slightly miserable together.”

“We could do that, yes.” Selene sighed, and bit down on her bottom lip before adding: “Or…”

“Or?”

The word Ethel had hoped to hear. Naturally, Selene would find the answer. But Selene’s answer was not one that she had expected, nor wanted to hear:

“Or we could both be truly happy separated.”

Ethel’s lips parted and her eyebrows furrowed. She did not understand Selene’s meaning. How could either of them ever be truly happy if they were separated? How could they be separated? They were inseparable, everyone knew that.

“Listen. Really, listen,” Selene insisted. “One of us is going to have to sacrifice our dreams, and neither of us is prepared to watch the other do that. If we both sacrifice our dreams, we will be together, but we will both be unhappy.”

“I don’t mind being unhappy,” said Ethel, completely honestly.

“No, but I mind your being unhappy. And you mind my being unhappy.” Selene’s eyes were filling with tears. “If the only way for us both to be happy is for us to be so apart, then that is what we shall have to do. We shall miss each other greatly, but I would much rather miss you and be content knowing that you are happy than to see you miserable. Do you not feel the same?”

Ethel did not want to admit it, but it was true. If it was a choice between sacrificing Selene’s happiness or sacrificing Selene’s presence at her side, she knew which she must sacrifice. So, reluctantly, she nodded her head.

“Our dreams are pulling us down two different paths,” Ethel said. Her own eyes were teary now, it made her vision blurry. “And if we must go our separate ways to follow them, then go our separate ways we must.”

“I believe so.”

A tear ran down Selene’s cheek. Seeing her so upset was enough to render Ethel entirely resolute. She was also upset, but could be strong, if only for Selene. She put her hand to Selly’s face, wiped her tear away with her thumb, and told her:

“You shall go, and you shall see the world.”

“And you shall stay, and you shall change it for the better.”

Selene took hold of Ethel’s hand and squeezed it, tight. Ethel blinked back her tears, to no avail.

“I will miss you, though,” she told Selene.

“And I you,” was Selene’s reply. “But we…” She swallowed. “Effy, do you promise that whatever we both do, and wherever we both go, that we shall always be sisters?”

“Always, Selly. I promise.”

The two girls - the two sisters - were both crying now, and there was nothing that could stop either of from doing so. And though they both knew it was impossible to console the other, they still wrapped their arms around each other in a hug so tight that no one other than they themselves would ever be able to separate them.

#ethel hexley #selene fraser #the beginning of a symphony #hogwarts legacy

[lifeofkaze]

Flight or Fancy

A/N: This story was written for the April prompt of the @hp-12monthsofmagic challenge. Ethel Hexley and Madam Khanna (in mention) belong to @the-al-chemist, Lysander Mercury to @slytherindisaster, Ema McGilliguddy (in mention) and Professor MacMillan to @kc-and-co

It had all started very harmlessly, really. 

Like most of their peers, Selene and Ethel had spent their afternoon in the library, preparing for their end-of-year exams. They had worked hard on their studies, so that after several hours of revising Transfiguration laws, incantations, and Potion recipes, Ethel had suggested they take the well-deserved break they were obviously due.

To give their plagued minds some respite, the two aspiring young witches had found their way to the poetry section of the library and were soon immersed in their favourite works. Their vigour renewed, they carried their pickings back to their table, reciting poignant passages back to one another as they went. 

Ethel was of the strong opinion that poetry wasn’t something to be merely read - it was something to be experienced. So when a particularly riveting stanza gripped her, she and Selene climbed upon the long table running between the bookshelves, marching back and forth with books in hand and calling their partly bewildered, partly resigned-looking fellow students to rise in the fight against oppression and tyranny. 

Madam Khanna, the librarian, evidently didn’t share their enthusiasm.

Some angry remarks, an outraged discussion, and two temporary library bans later, Ethel and Selene had found themselves equipped with weekly detention until the end of term, which was exactly where the two of them were currently spending their time.

With the impending exams, the temper in the student body had run high lately, so the classroom where detention was held was fuller than usual. Sighing, Ethel looked gloomily at the half-filled parchment in front of her.

‘I shalt not recite poetry whilst marching upon furniture. I shalt not call my peers to revolution. I shalt not call any member of the staff an operative of an oppressive system,’ stood there in neat lines, just as it did on the stack of parchment next to her. Ethel snorted to herself. As if she had done anything condemnable. What harm had she done, even? Wasn’t it the point of school to equip themselves with the means to scrutinise established truths? They really should make up their minds about this and not let her suffer the effects of their inconsistencies.

Looking up, she caught the eye of Selene, who had been several tables away from Ethel. They had shared a seat in the beginning, like they were wont to do, but Professor Ronen, the Charms teacher overseeing their detention, had soon put a stop to that and created as much space between the two friends as the room would allow; another thing Ethel thought simply outrageous.

The busy scratching of quills on parchment was broken when the door to the classroom swung open, and Professor Hecat, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, poked her head inside. Professor Ronen immediately rose from his seat to meet her. A few subdued words were passed between them, then Ronen turned and pointed at Selene and a girl with light brown hair, big eyes, and emerald green robes.

“Misses Fraser and McGilliguddy, you are to help Professor Hecat prepare her lessons. You are dismissed.”

Giving Ethel an apologetic look, Selene gathered up her things and followed Ema McGilliguddy and Professor Hecat from the room. Ethel watched after them with dismay. She and Selene had wanted to head for the Quidditch pitch for some broom racing after detention, but helping the old witch would take forever. 

Her plans for the rest of the day thwarted for good, Ethel quietly huffed, dipping her quill into her inkwell with more force than strictly necessary. Everything about this was so entirely unfair.

“Hexley.”

Ethel stiffened. Just what she needed right now.

“Hexley.”

Ethel gritted her teeth, stubbornly adding another line to her steadily filling page. 

“Hey, Hexley!”

“I can’t hear you, Lysander,” she muttered, the slight lilt to her voice doing nothing to mask her annoyance. 

“With those ears of yours? Improbable.”

“What do you want?” Ethel growled, turning sharply in her seat to glower at the grinning boy behind her. Before Lysander Mercury could reply, however, the sound of Professor Ronen clearing his throat echoed through the classroom. 

“Does there seem to be a problem, Miss Hexley?”

“No, Professor,” Ethel said, glaring at Lysander one last time before turning in her seat again. “Everything’s in perfect order.” 

Giving her a warning look, Professor Ronen turned back to his exam papers. 

“As subtle as an Erumpent in a china shop,” Lysander’s amused snicker reached Ethel’s ear a moment later. “And about as elegant.”

“And about as effective at crushing you. Care to let me try?”

“You’d have to catch me first. They do say I’m quite swift.”

“What the mind lacks…”

“Enough to beat you on the pitch, though.”

“Sure, by cheating.”

“Not what the referee said.”

“Oh, go stick a quill up your nose.”

“How witty.”

“I’m done having this conversation,” Ethel declared, making to turn back around. She stopped when Lysander leaned across his table toward her.

“You don’t want to know my secret, then?”

“Is it about how to grow yourself a brain?”

“Why, are you in need of one?”

Ethel rolled her eyes. “Just tell me already and let me enjoy my detention in peace.”

Smirking, Lysander leaned back in his seat.

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to tell you anymore.”

Ethel opened her mouth in outrage. “You cannot be serious.”

“I can assure you that I am.”

“Then I, in turn, can assure you that I do not care,” Ethel answered stuffily, returning her attention to her parchment. She paused, turning back to Lysander a moment later.

“You know it’s incredibly impolite to vex me so.”

“So you do care.” 

“That’s not what I said at all.”

“Yes, it absolutely is.”

Lysander’s grin was wiped off his face when Ethel drew her wand and pointed it at his inkwell. It rose above the drawing Lysander had been working on instead of doing lines, slowly tipping to the side.

“You don’t want to do that, Hexley.”

“I most certainly do.” 

Ethel could see the cogs turning in Lysander’s probably rather dusty brain as he attempted to take her measure. Having come to a conclusion, he leaned in and conspiratorially whispered:

“Fine, I’ll tell you. I know how to get out of here.”

Ethel stared. “How?” 

Lysander looked like a Kneazle before a bowl of cream. “You’d like to know that, wouldn’t you?”

“Evidently. Your idiotic plans never fail to amuse me.”

“It’s not idiotic, it’s infallible.”

“Naturally.”

“So, do you want to know or not?”

Ethel felt like a headache was coming. “I do.” 

A self-contented sigh left Lysander’s lips. “What do I get for telling you?”

The inkwell floated a little higher. “Not this against your forehead.”

“Not a very appealing offer.”

“Because it wasn’t an offer. Tell me now, or leave me alone.”

“Very well.” His eyes - today of a distinct turquoise colour - sparkled as he leaned a little closer. “Do what you do best - watch me.”

Wiggling his eyebrows, Lysander drew his wand and pointed it at the teacher’s desk. His lips moving in a silent incantation, the stacks of paperwork on Professor Ronen’s desk exploded up towards the ceiling, dancing in a vortex around him on their way down.

The classroom erupted in laughter, and even Ethel couldn’t help but bite back a chuckle at the sight of the red-cheeked professor trying to snatch his elusive exam papers from the air. When she turned in her seat to say something to Lysander, however, she found that he had disappeared.

Her brows drew together in a frown. It was just like Lysander to promise her a way out and then leave her behind without so much as a word. Much to her astonishment, there was a small but distinct sting of something that felt almost like disappointment.

Just as Professor Ronen had gathered his scrolls of parchment and righted his hat, the classroom door opened once more. This time, the red-haired head of Professor MacMillan, one of the Herbology teachers and head of Ravenclaw House, appeared in the doorway. 

“Abraham, I will need to abduct Miss Hexley,” the teacher smiled good-heartedly. “There appear to be some pests in Greenhouse Two. They are making the worst clamour with my pots. I need Miss Hexley’s excellent hearing abilities to identify their whereabouts.” 

Where Ethel had been astounded to hear Professor MacMillan request her assistance before, she now bit down on her lip hard. She stiffly rose from her seat, handed her parchment to Professor Ronen and stalked from the room.

“A pest problem, really?” she snorted as soon as the door had closed behind her.

Professor MacMillan, whose eyes had begun turning from greyish-blue to turquoise again, grinned. 

“It’s intense. I swear, their presence seems to have intensified this very second.” 

Ethel took a deep breath. “I will have you know that -”

She came no further because, from within the classroom, an angry cry could be heard.

“Hexley! Mercury!”

Lysander, whose once more fair hair still carried streaks of red, swallowed.

“Uh oh,” he said, laughing as he ducked his head. “Time to go, Hexley.”

Before Ethel could object, Lysander grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her behind him and away from the classroom door in which Professor Ronen had appeared. Ethel didn’t hear what he was calling after them anymore, her ears filled with the pounding of hers and Lysander’s steps on the ancient flagstone floor. 

It took them about the time they needed to round two corners before their flight turned into a race. Ethel and Lysander were almost of a height, and Ethel glanced at him only briefly as she sped up to overtake him. Lysander did the same, trying to push her to the side as they skirted around corners and almost jumped down steps and stairs in vast, uncontrolled strides.

Soon, both of them were breathing heavily, and by the time they reached a spiral staircase that led both down into the dungeons and up in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, parts of Ethel’s hair had come undone, and Lysander’s cheeks were flushed a vivid red.

“You… lost… Hexley,” he panted, supporting his weight on his legs with his hands. The way he smirked at her through the strands of hair that had fallen into his face made Ethel jut her chin forward, even though her sides were stinging so badly she could hardly stand.

“You know what… they say… Mercury,” she said between two gulps of aid. “The last… shall be… first.”

“At least that way… you’ll win at least… this once.”

Ethel pushed herself off the wall she had been resting against, smoothing down the skirt of her uniform and glaring at Lysander. They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them so much as blinking. Then, Lysander ran a hand over his tousled hair before holding it out to Ethel.

“Well, that was fun.”

Ethel looked at his outstretched hand with a mixture of wariness and disgust.

“It absolutely wasn’t.”

“Just say ‘thank you’. It’s not that hard.”

“For what?” said Ethel stubbornly. “For dragging me around the castle without my consent?”

Lysander narrowed his eyes. “You’re insufferable, Hexley.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Just so you’re aware - me helping you, that was a one-off.”

“It’d better was.”

Shrugging, Lysander turned to go. As he set foot onto the steps leading into the bowels of the castle, he looked over his shoulder.

“So, until next time?”

Rolling her eyes, Ethel turned in the opposite direction and stomped away. She was almost out of sight when she paused and looked back at Lysander, who stood exactly where she had left him.

“Until next time.”

#hphl #hogwarts legacy #ethel hexley #lysander mercury #selene fraser #hp12mom #twelve months of magic #a little ethelys gift for two very dear friends and incredible people 💛❤️

[endlessly-cursed]

HL- Beatrice Brown

"𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚."

Name: Beatrice Henrietta Brown 

Nicknames: Bea, Trix 

Birthdate: 12th of September, 18xx 

Zodiac Sign:Virgo 

Personality Type (MBTI): INTP 

Blood Status: Muggleborn 

Nationality: British 

Physical Appearance

Hair: Flaming red 

Eyes: Blue 

Height: 1.55m 

Weight: 56kg 

Body Type: Slim

Skin Tone: Pale, freckled for working in the sun 

Distinguishing Marks (scars, birthmarks, etc.): Several 

Background

Hometown

Warwickshire was the town where miners had been working for centuries, and the Browns were no less, working since the American revolution. She had a difficult childhood, and had to start working at six years old to maintain the family, as well as many mouths to feed came into the family. 

The moment she got her Hogwarts letter, her life changed for the better. 

Family

Mother: Louisa Jolene Brown neé Mills

The granddaughter of a Baron, her mother was the bastard daughter of the baron, who shunned them because her mother was Spanish and supporter of the First Spanish Republic. They grew up in a small cottage in Devonshire and trained her to marry someone who’d make her work lighter and better.When she turned 19 she met Bartholomew Brown while taking a stroll with her best friend when she noticed a handsome, shirtless young man covered in black– when she took a closer look, he was being beaten. She commanded them to stop and brought him to her house, where she healed him– they fell in love instantly. They married shortly after. Louise walked to the altar three months pregnant of Beatrice.Sadly, seven years later, when giving birth to her son during three days, she’d die of childbed fever shortly after. This devastating loss marked the Browns forever and Bartholomew wasn’t the same. So it was a joy when his eldest daughter received a letter from Hogwarts.

Father: Bartholomew Christian Brown 

A Muggleborn whose father was a coal miner as well, he always was a simple man who enjoyed the simple things and never took anything for granted. He grew up in a closed world where you were defined by your birth and never knew how to write nor read. It was his future wife and mother of his three children Louise, a granddaughter of a Baron, who taught him and her intelligence, stubbornness and kindness which made him fall in love with her.

Younger sister: Esther Louisa Brown 

Esther and Bea were the closest in age and bonded over many things and helped and defended one another when it came to fending off old lechers or when the mine was too tough. She was bugged by being separated from her when her Hogwarts letter came, but it was all for the good of the family. Esther went to marry Andrew Rivers, the ancestor of Isabelle Dubois, whose mother was a Rivers by birth. 

Brother: Albert Ruben Brown 

Bea loves her brother and does her best to protect him, though he’s a man with his own ego and is a bit entitled and has some misogynistic views of women in the family business, and the fact that he despised Beatrice for having exclusive education while he had to sacrifice it for the family. The two of them lost contact when he married a childhood friend and only asked for money. 

Hogwarts

House: Gryffindor 

Best Class: DADA, Muggle Studies, Ancient Studies, Charms

Worst Class: HOM 

Boggart: Her dead mother blaming her for her death 

Riddikulus: Her dressed as a bunny 

Patronus: tbd 

Patronus Memory: Singing with her mother 

Mirror of Erised: Being able to love Orla openly 

Amortentia (what she smells like): Coal, tall grass, beer and pine wood 

Amortentia (what she smells): Freshly plucked strawberries, variety of flowers and rainy day 

Career

7-10: Coal miner

11-18: Hogwarts student 

19-24: Quidditch trainee 

25-40: Player of the Harpies as a Chaser 

40-55: Captain of the Harpies 

56-64: Flying professor at Hogwarts 

65+: Retiree 

Personality & Attitude

Priorities: Her family, her own survival, the rights of coal miners 

Strengths: Strong-willed, humble, patient, brave, honourable, kind and caring 

Weaknesses: Stubborn, proud, never asks for help, reserved and extremely quiet 

Stressed: Around rich people and purebloods who benefit from her family’s suffering 

Calm/Comforted: In Orla’s arms 

Favorites

Colors: Red, black, gold and blue 

Weather: Cool and calm 

Hobbies: Learning, football and knitting 

Fashion: Due to living most of her childhood in poverty, she dresses very simple and poorly made outfits, rarely caring of how she looks, caring more of taking something to her mouth 

Relationships

Significant Other/Love Interest: Orla Shannon Atkinson ( @nightmaresart​ ) 

Orla and Beatrice met during the meals in the Great Hall. One Slytherin was laughing at her for being a "mudblood" when Beatrice silenced him with a slap and delivered a speech of how she was much more than her status and that while she'd mature and learn, he'd always be an obtuse, narrow-minded and ignorant pureblood. She was intrigued then by this girl who stood up to her bully. Later, she'd realise she was in most of her classes, and how strong-willed, independent, kind and resilient she was. Her fondness grew to love and soon revealed her feelings to her in the Astronomy Tower when everybody else was sleeping. Beatrice returned her feelings and both of them would act as best friends, but at night they'd organise rendezvous and steal kisses and words of affection. When her father found out, he was scared of her, but supported her nevertheless. Orla soon became one more of the Browns.

Soon, after graduating, when the Harpies accepted and both had to shape themselves, she vowed to love nobody and find her way to her again. They wrote to one another and kept her vow until they found each other and wed on Lady Gray's chapel, vowing to never part from the other and always be their #1 priority.

They couldn't have children, but they adopted the children of the fallen coal miners and stray kids and gave them a better life.

Friends: Ethel Hexley ( @the-al-chemist​ ) 

Both women hit it off right away, both having similar backgrounds and bonded over many things and soon showed an eager Ethel the ropes of the coal miners’ suffering and both supported one another, accompanying them to their respective activisms 

Abigail Jane Bennett ( @mjs-oc-corner​ ) 

Both had similar backgrounds and were dormmates, and soon bonded over many things, and she helped her be more secure about herself and better a bit more her image, and became good friends and almost sisters to one another. 

Rivals: TBD (though she’d have a handful) 

Trivia

Due to the homophobia of the era, she and Orla couldn't marry, but had a small ceremony where her father and someone of Orla's trust witnessed and was officiated by Lady Gray in her family chapel as Viscountess.

They had to move from place to place because of her work.

She never had children of her own but adopted several children who had become orphans because of the bad life quality life of the coal miners.

She became later in life a great advocate of the coal miners, taking her father's work

She can run really fast and her father taught her street fighting, so she can throw a punch

She spent most of her life honing her duelling skills.

Her dormmates were the only ones who knew about she and Orla.

She used to be bullied by Slytherins because of her blood condition.

Her father died a year after her clandestine wedding to Orla due to his poor health.

#hphl #hogwarts legacy #oc: beatrice brown #orla atkinson #orlatrice #beatrice x orla #ethel hexley #abbi bennett #character sheet #oc profile #hogwarts legacy mc #my profile #my oc

[usernoneexistent]

Autumn 1895: Ravenclaws and Gryffindors play a friendly game together while Glenn plots on how to distract the opposing team's keeper and his rival, Nolan.

Characters featured: Nolan Miller @hogwartsmysteryho, Oliver Gerard @kc-and-co, Ethel Hexley @the-al-chemist.

Characters mentioned: Selene Fraser @lifeofkaze, Lysander Mercury @slytherindisaster, Daniel Gibson @catohphm, Siobhan Llewelyn @kc-and-co.

Warnings: mentions of Sethel

"That was a foul!"

"Not again, Miller," cried his teammate. Ravenclaw looked like they were having a tough time with their reserve keeper. Glenn minded little, except for Nolan Miller's incompetence which was getting on his nerves. He wanted a nice clean, and fair game, which shouldn't be a hard ask. Especially since Hexley and Fraser made the least amount of trouble on the quidditch field.

As all the quidditch teams have completed their tryouts and added new members to make up for the lost ones, his friend and captain, Oliver Gerard, made a deal with Ravenclaw to share the pitch for a quidditch friendly due to an accidental mishandling of the reservations. It allowed the reserves to keep up with the practice.

"He wasn't haversaking Miller. Sorry guys, let's have a rematch." The Ravenclaw captain called with the quaffle under his arm, returning it back to the referee. He was getting all the different balls back in the box before re-releasing them.

Both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw team groaned out loud before flying back into their respective position.

"Augh! I wish Miller wouldn't spoil the game so much. He's worse than Lys and Hexley." Glenn groaned.

"Miller may be annoying but he is also their weakest link, Rosewood." Oliver flew beside him. "Besides you know how to get to him fumble better than anyone else."

"Well, he is only a reserve. It's not like he will affect the big matches."

"And so are you." Oliver retorted back, almost in a backhanded way. Glenn groaned at him before focusing back on the game.

"As much as I would love to give my sole attention on quidditch I have other duties to attend to."

"Ah yes, becoming the number one prefect that Gryffindor has ever seen. You're doing a great job at that." He teased.

"Be quiet, Gerard."

Oliver laughed before everyone was finally settled and ready to go. The referee opens the box of quaffle, bludgers and snitch, and the opposing team grabs the quaffle first.

Oliver and Glenn swerved to either side of the chaser, trying to hold her in. Hexley followed behind, blocking the other Ravenclaw chasers.

"Scatter!" Hexley yelled. Glenn took a quick glance to see why. A bludger was incoming at a rapid speed. There was no way that any beater could come in time to defend the chasers.

Glenn and Oliver abandoned the chaser. The bludger came at lightning speed before almost knocking the Ravenclaw chaser down. He dropped the quaffle just as Glenn had hoped.

Hexley was sharper and quickly swooped down to grab the quaffle before any of the Ravenclaw chasers had a chance. She shot straight towards the hoops, already crossing the midline of the pitch.

Glenn and Oliver followed quickly behind. Fraser and Daniel Gibson were in a chase below them for the snitch. Glenn was hoping they would stall a little more. It would be annoying to end the game so quickly without even putting in a score.

"Rosewood!" Hexley yelled as Glenn got close. He saw it too. Siobhan Llewelyn was ready to swing the bludger towards Hexley's broom with her stick, and he knew what she wanted to do. Oliver swooped in and blocked any other chasers interrupting her pass.

With a good throw, the quaffle landed heavily on his hand before almost dropping the ball. He groaned slightly in pain when he saw Hexley give a slight smirk. 

Nolan looked ready, prepared for Glenn to come. He swerved about, trying to cover all the hoops.

"I would take a heads up if I were you," Glenn warned, but Nolan smirked.

"I'm not falling for it this time, Rosewood." He shifted lower to block the bottom hoops.

Perfect.

Glenn made his arm look like it was going to throw down, but at the last second, he made an overarm throw at the tallest loop.

Nolan swiftly moved his broom up, but it was too late. The quaffle smoothly sailed through the hoop.

"That's ten points to Gryffindor." The commentator stated.

Glenn smirked broadly at Miller. The Ravenclaw pretended not to be shocked by Glenn's tactic and muttered excuses about why it wasn't his fault.

"Well done, Rosewood." Oliver complimented. "Figure you would be able to fool Miller."

"He's a fool." He said. "Which is a shame. If his incompetnece weren't in the way the game would be more interesting."

#lily’s writing #a heritage of stories #hogwarts legacy #glenn rosewood #nolan miller #oliver gerard #ethel hexley #selene fraser #lysander mercury #daniel gibson #siobhan llewelyn

[whatwouldvalerydo]

Carnage Circus 🔥

Part 20/20 - The conclusion

The end is here.

Thank you all for making this possible, for trusting me with your characters: @kc-and-co @lifeofkaze @the-al-chemist @cursebreakerfarrier @that-scouse-wizard

I can’t believe it's been more than a year since Circus was announced, but like all things, this too must end.

Shaking the cold from his bones, detective Winger walked with his head bowed, cursing under his breath as the sharp wind lashed against his face. As far as he knew the weather should have been sunny, however that morning proved to be the opposite as a dark, heavy, grey sky loamed over the city.

Stopping to get a coffee in order to warm up, his hand hovered above the door handle, eyes reading the poster in front of him. He felt as if his heart stopped for a second before it suddenly picked back up, Talbott feeling sick to his stomach.

Making his way to the station, the captain just set on the desk of his colleague a heavy dusty box “Looks like you’re in luck rookie, the Carnage Circus is back in town. Been a while since we had them in our jurisdiction.” Turning around, the captain pointed at Talbott “Winger, you go with him, help, show him the ropes. Maybe this time two heads will manage to get something out of that scum.”

Scoffing, Talbott just nodded as he marched over to his own desk, hands fumbling to light up a cigarette, lighter not producing even a flicker “Fuck.” Searching in his drawers for another, he finally managed to light it up, smoke filling the office from his desk.

Pulling out some notes his eyes landed on several names and information dotted down. Ethel and Selene left the moment they were set free, last he heard was that they were travelling, jumping from city to city and country to country as they were used to doing. They told Siobhan that way Akira could never find them, if they don’t settle, he cannot hurt them.

Siobhan on the other hand was still in the city. She found the love of her life and was working together with him, having opened up a veterinarian clinic. She was happy from what Talbott could gather, however if she ever caught a glimpse of him or anyone she knew, her face would pale and she would always look away. But who could blame her?

Reuben and Leila were also close to the city, living on the outskirts in a small home, content with their life together. She was even speaking or started to at least, that much he knew since she actually told him to “fuck off” in a not very friendly tone.

As for Talia, well most nights they spent together in the confines of his own home. She made a full recovery as far as her body was concerned, but her heart was healing still. When she did not know what to do with herself she would go and speak to Victoria and Oliver, them managing to put her back on the right path.

But Talbott knew that the moment she saw the posters plastered all across the city, it would be chaos and fear would bloom inside of her heart like a disease that decided to rear its ugly head after such a long time.

Just like years prior, Talbott made his way to the circus grounds at night, his colleague shuddering as the winds blew past them, the ticket booth screeching at them, the voice even more distorted than Talbott remembered.

The grounds were filled to the brim, despite the weather, main tent illuminated, peering through the thick fog, music playing from within it as Akira’s voice boomed, announcing the beginning of the show. Closing his eyes, Talbott took a deep breath as he walked inside, dust rising as a new act started under the cheerful applause of the crowd. The acts have changed, new faces smiling back at the crowd of people, but the detective knew the price that came with joining the circus.

It was all an act, hiding behind it a gruesome curse.

They patiently waited for the show to end and people to start leaving the tent before Talbott and his partner for the night approached the heavy curtains leading back stage “Listen to me” he stopped him from advancing, Talbott facing him “he’s very guarded, odd. You need to be careful alright?”

“Please, he’s just a man. They all crack eventually and if he’s responsible for those murders and people disappearing, then we will get him.” Puffing his chest, he walked past Talbott, hands moving aside the curtains. A gush of hot air rushed over their bodies, whispers being heard despite no one being in sight “Akira Crane, this is the police. We need a word.”

Shyly, a member from the team showed herself from behind some boxes “The director is busy. He must never be disturbed. You need to leave.”

“Not going to happen mam. Where can we find him?”

The girl shook her head, blonde locks falling in her face and Talbott recognized her from the poster as being the other half of the brand new trapeze act “Come on, I know where his changing room is. There’s no need to bother her.”

Walking ahead, Talbott felt as if it he could barely breathe, the air thin and far too hot. The corridor leading to Akira appeared to narrow down, shadows as if dancing around them, a low growl reaching their ears before they knocked on the door.

“You brought a friend.” They heard from inside the room, Talbott turning the handle. The setting was as he knew, him going to sit down on the couch, letting his partner take the lead “And somehow with two, the questions are just as boring.” Akira looked around, eyes dramatically rolling “I would have expected, all things considering, that this time you would…” he suddenly stopped, springing to his feet, eyes searching around, chest heaving.

“Akira?” Talbott leaned in closer, his partner basically having jumped back out of fright.

Letting out a shaky exhale, Akira shook his head, trying to gather himself “It would appear the last days spent preparing have been far too tiresome, haven’t slept you see. I don’t have time for the same line of questioning detectives. You know the drill, I’m here for an entire week and I know you’ll be returning.”

Watching him walk outside, Talbott’s brows rose. Something was off, way off, he could feel it. The sudden shift he could never deny his gut feelings. Something was about to happen. Or was already happening inside the circus and that’s why Akira suddenly reacted.

His eyes widened, Talbott also getting up “No, no.”

Running outside, his partner hot on his heels asking a million questions, the detective could not deny what was happening. The air was warmer, lights brighter, atmosphere a tad less creepy, even the fog lifting slightly. She wouldn’t. No. But it was the only scenario that made sense. The key was still out there and Akira was still in tune with her. Even if she was free from his clutches.

“We need to go, if you see Talia Crane let me know.”

“What? Why would she be here? Isn’t Akira the one that put her in the hospital? By the way isn’t it odd that she didn’t press charges?”

Sighing, he had hoped for once in his life that the new recruit wasn’t actually trying to make a name for himself “Look, I’ll explain later. If we find her, we find him. She’s like a magnet for Akira.”

And how right detective Winger was. Akira knew exactly where to go, Talia waiting for him at the camping area, the current squad not knowing how to deal with the stranger before their eyes. She asked questions, if they were treated right, if he was being mean or cruel to them.

Walking slowly towards her, she turned to look at him, a smile directed his way, his name leaving her lips “Leave us.” He ordered the crew, who shared confused looks between themselves, however still obeyed his command.

Walking in front of her, he removed his gloves, extending a hand out to her, Talia’s palm grazing his, a kiss being placed to the back of her hand, eyes never leaving hers “I wouldn’t have expected to see you again in this lifetime.”

“Truth be told, I did consider it. You have kept me under the veil of your darkness for so long.”

“You know why.”

Nodding her head, her eyes closed for a moment “I do now. But I hated you so much.”

Upon hearing her name being uttered, she opened her eyes to witness Talbott and a stranger running towards them. Stepping between them, Talbott stared Akira down “Never again.”

“What is going on Winger?” his partner demanded answers, Akira chuckling.

“I can’t force her to rejoin me. It needs to happen out of her own accord if she wishes to.” He tried to glance at her, however Talbott didn’t let him, instead pushing Akira a step back for good measure.

“She will never come back to you. You’ve done enough.”

Darkness swarmed them, Akira’s glare vicious “I’ve never hurt her.” The temperature appeared to suddenly drop a few degrees, the circus reacting to the director’s rage “I still won’t.”

Directing Talia towards his partner, Talbott refused to let Akira take even a single step “You forge destinies on blood and when you’re done with them, you dispose of them too. Don’t you?”

Akira scoffed, shaking his head “You still don’t understand, how can you?”

“He can’t.” Talbott and Akira turned towards Talia “Not yet at least.” Finding she managed to take the gun off Talbott’s colleague and was directing it at him “Don’t move, none of you.”

“Talia? What are you doing?” Talbott asked, trying to approach, stopping when she shook her head.

Her forehead creased, hand slightly shaking “As long as I am alive, I am linked to him. So that means I am never truly free, am I?” her eyes travelled to the gun, directing it at her own head, her taking a step back to create some distance “I can end it, tonight, pull the trigger and get it over with.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Shut up detective. I can’t think with you talking constantly.” Her eyes travelled from Talbott towards Akira, who just shook his head “You know right? You feel it. What does it feel like?”

“Like you’re splitting me in two.” Akira replied his voice shaking.

“Mam, put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”

“Shut up!” Looking back at Talbott, Talia exhaled “You wanted to understand why some days are bad? It’s because I still feel the connection and it’s like it never went away despite being free. It tears you apart and you can’t replace the emptiness with anything. And I kept asking myself why? What’s the reason. But deep down I knew. Oh how I knew and refused to believe it.” The fog started covering the terrain more and more, winds stopping for a second, a sudden uninvited calm, Talia gripping the handle of the gun, trembling in her limbs subsiding “A life for a life detective. I hereby free Akira Crane and nominate Talbott Winger as the director of Carnage Circus.”

Turning the gun on Talbott’s colleague, she pulled the trigger, the sound of it drowned out by the fireworks illuminating the sky.  Akira’s caravan crumbled to dust before them, blood painting the earth as Talia dropped the gun from her hand.

The darkness travelled towards Talbott, leaving Akira entirely, the detective feeling as if the weight of the world landed on his shoulder, crushing him under its weight “You don’t love him.” Knowledge that was not there previously suddenly latching onto every part of his mind, history not his own becoming a part of him.

“Don’t I?” taking a small bow, Talia looked him dead in the eye “It’s your turn. You will need to find your key, set them all free and end it. End it all. The last time, the last curse. Free yourself, free them all.”

Turning towards Akira, she extended her hand out to him, him taking it as they both walked away. Taking the gun, Talbott aimed it at Talia, her turning around to look at him, a smile on her lips “You can’t hurt me or him. We’re free director Winger.”

“What if you are my key?”

Glaring at him, Akira spoke “Even if you think it, want it, she was never yours to begin with.”

Inside the fortune teller’s tent, Orion welcomed his latest customers, a smile shaping his lips as he stared inside the crystal ball.

“I see you are happy with the outcome.” Victoria smiled, taking out a random card from the desk, Oliver sitting beside her.

Lifting his eyes, Orion nodded “As are you, only you knew how she could free Akira. Tell me how did you convince her?”

Putting the card back, she shrug her shoulders “I didn’t, she asked, she wanted this. It was there, despite what we did.”

Flipping the card around, Orion hummed in response “I have all but forgotten she drew another card.” The lovers being set between them.

Glancing at them, Oliver shook his head with a chuckle “What now?”

Peering inside the crystal ball, Orion smiled “Now we do it all over again, but this time is the last one.” His brows drew together as he looked over at Oliver “Please don’t intervene again, once is enough too many. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go help the new director.”

#carnage circus #circus au #fanfiction #fanfic #fiction #talbott winger #talia crane #akira crane #victoria summer #oliver gerard #orion amari #selene fraser #ethel hexley #siobhan llewelyn #leila hellebore #reuben willows #horror mystery

[thatravenpuffwitch]

💜 Candy

Happy October!

Happy October! Thanks for sending me a trick! Characters mentioned belong to @the-al-chemist @lifeofkaze and @kc-and-co 👻

CANDY 🍬

“Now this is a strange piece of candy,” Zella said.

“Yeah, I’ve seen it,” Ethel replied, digging her hand into the bag of sweets they shared. “Selene saw it too and said there was no way she’s eating it. Said you could have it,” Ethel smirked faintly, saying if you dare.

The candy in question was shaped like a small hand, five-fingered and ghostly white. It was coated in what looked like small grains of sugar and sparkled as she turned it over in her palm, but instead of feeling grainy, it was very smooth to the touch.

“How unusual,” Zella mused. “I’ve never seen candy like this at Honeydukes before.”

“Beware the poisoned hand Little Zella!” Ethel wailed dramatically, poking her gently in the ribs.

Defiantly, Zella stuck her tongue out at her cousin and pocketed the candy.

That evening, Zella sat alone in an oversized armchair by the fireplace of the Hufflepuff common room, examining the candy. She had tried giving it to Jimmy or Ivy, but both adamantly refused to eat anything Ethel might have tampered with and advised her to do the same.

Zella thought the candy was actually quite beautiful, with its long, tapered sparkling fingers. And it smelled good, like elderflower, so maybe it tasted good too.

Hesitantly, she stuck her tongue out and licked the smooth surface of the hand. It did taste like plums, and something warm and spicy… perhaps cinnamon. Figuring it probably wasn’t poisoned, Zella popped the candy hand into her mouth.

The hand was delicious. It tasted like plums and cinnamon, yes, but also of something familiar, yet unexplainable. And although she had been snacking on it for several minutes, it never got smaller or soft enough for her to break with her teeth, like it was everlasting.

But then her tongue started to tingle, her mouth started to burn and her cheeks grew uncomfortably hot. It was really really spicy. Disgusted, Zella spat the candy hand into the fireplace.

The burning sensation went away immediately and Zella let out a sigh of relief. Wanting to clean her mouth, she quickly hurried to her dormitory, satisfied with letting the candy burn away in the flames.

But late that night, when the fireplace extinguished itself, buried in the ashes was a small, sparkling white hand.

#was the candy another Sethel prank? #or something else… #trick or treat ask game #zella cleary #ethel hexley #jim hexley #ivy anders #selene fraser #hphl #my writing

[hexleyherald]

How exciting to finally get the finalists' names out and about! Who do you think is going to be our big winner? In this lovely reporter's opinion Beverly is a hard one to bet.

#annual pumpkin carving #pumpkin carving #witch town #hexley herald #august 20th #margo's corner #ethel #back to school #beverly #Mr.Jefferies #melina #missing toad #ada #mortophia #memory #memory tampering #hexleyherald #worried mother #crystal balls #third eye #moon report

[unfortunate-arrow]

Day 5: Female Awesomeness

For @endlessly-cursed’s Hogwarts Legacy Appreciation Week

For this, I picked a bunch of amazing ladies who represent different iterations of their houses. However, I want to give a shout out to these three amazing girls: Ivy Anders, Josie Edwards, and Lottie Gallagher, who each let one of my boys (Max, William, and Grant, respectively) love them.

Hufflepuff

Featuring:

Ivy Anders - @kc-and-co

Liore Harewood - @cursebreakerfarrier

Vinnie Wakefield - @gaygryffindorgal

Estrid Soelberg - @thatravenpuffwitch

Josie Edwards - @slytherindisaster

Ravenclaw

Featuring:

Primrose Gray - @endlessly-cursed

Mira Iverach - @cursebreakerfarrier

Minerva Kennedy

Genevieve Davenport - @gaygryffindorgal

Siobhan Llewelyn - @kc-and-co

Gryffindor

Featuring:

Lottie Gallagher - @slytherindisaster

Unni Arcano - @kathrynalicemc

Ethel Hexley - @the-al-chemist

Selene Fraser - @lifeofkaze (because like the Gryffindorks, you rarely get one without the other)

Saoirse Adelia Lynch - Tadhg & Niamh‘s daughter

Slytherin

Featuring:

Orla O’Rourke

Ophelia Burke - @the-al-chemist

Cecilia Balinor - @endlessly-cursed

Brianna O’Rourke

#hogwarts legacy appreciation week #hphlaw #ivy anders #josie edwards #liore harewood #vinnie wakefield #estrid soelberg #minerva kennedy #primrose gray #mira iverach #genevieve davenport #siobhan llewellyn #lottie gallagher #unni arcano #ethel hexley #selene fraser #saoirse lynch #orla macgill #ophelia burke #cecilia balinor #brianna macgill #hogwarts legacy #hphl #my aesthetic #tried to limit it two characters per person #same with the men tomorrow! #didn’t give reasonings b/c i wanted to recognize a lot of awesome kiddos

[that-scouse-wizard]

HPHL Appreciation Week Day 4: Favourite Ships that aren’t Mine

Part 4 of @endlessly-cursed‘s event

Ethel Hexley (@the-al-chemist) and Lysander Mercury (@slytherindisaster) 

A rivals to lovers ship where the two of them bicker but there’s actual chemistry between them? Hell to the yes.

Siobhan Llwelyn (@kc-and-co) and Galen Stagg (@cursebreakerfarrier)

These two are one of the most adorable ships out there, the fluff (and occasional bit of angst) from these two is so good!

Carolyn Nybery (@lifeofkaze) and Bradford Pendleton (@kc-and-co)

Can I just say that the idea of these two being in an arranged marriage, despising it only to eventually fall for each other was an absolute stroke of genius on behalf of their fabulous creators.

#harry potter hogwarts legacy #hphl #hphl mc #hphl oc #ethel hexley #lysander mercury #siobhan llwelyn #galen stagg #carolyn nyberg #bradford pendleton

[slytherindisaster]

web weaving: ethelys + chaos

requested by @the-al-chemist

robert m. drake / atticus / little women / titanic / kayla carpenter / robert m. drake / catch me if you can / mainstream / @\bl-ossomed / joy harjo

#forever in love with them #hphl #web weaving #ethelys #lysander mercury #ethel hexley

[the-al-chemist]

The Beginning of a Symphony - Chapter 34

A/N: after an embarrassing encounter, Jim decides to face his fears at last…

Warnings: mild angst, pining.

OCs featured/mentioned: Bradford Pendleton @kc-and-co, Lysander Mercury @slytherindisaster, Selene Fraser, Alan the ferret, Henry Lovecraft and Carolyn Nyberg @lifeofkaze

April 1897

It was lunchtime, but Jim wasn’t hungry. It was also time for his Art Society meting, but he was not feeling particularly creative, either. He only felt nervous, but he knew that he could not let his nerves get the better of him. So, he took a deep breath and swallowed the hard to get the knot out of his tongue.

“Very well… I’ll just say what I wish to say, then,” he said. He cleared his throat. “And, er, what I wish to say is… Well, it’s this. I’d very much like to accompany you to the ball. To the Celestial Ball. As your friend. Actually, no. Not as your friend. I mean, yes, we are friends, but I’d like for us to be more than that. And perhaps, if you’d grant me the honour of… of your company next weekend, we might make our first, um, steps in that direction. How does that suit you?”

Jim’s offer was met with silence. He sighed.

“That was no good at all, was it?” he asked. “Well, if at first you don’t… Try and try again. Right. It’s the Celestial Ball next weekend, and I know lots of people are partnering up for it, and I wondered whether you might like to partner up. With me, that is, not... So,what say you, Héloïse?”

Héloïse said nothing, because Héloïse was not there to say anything at all. Jim was merely practising asking her, and her stand-in was the only person Jim could think of who would neither judge him for his stutter, nor interrupt him whilst he was speaking. However, he could have used some constructive feedback. Perhaps he should have practised on a person rather than a ferret.

“Okay, Alan,” said Jim. “Third time lucky, yes? Well, I really do enjoy your company, and I consider you to be a very dear friend. I also think that you are… incredibly beautiful and… I’d rather like to escort you to the ball on Saturday. Only if you’d like me to, of course.” Jim sighed. “I wonder if I perhaps should not mention the beautiful thing. It’s rather… forward, don’t you think?”

In response to Jim’s question, Alan the ferret twisted around on the desk to nibble at the base of his tail. He made no noise, but somewhere nearby a snickering noise could be heard. Jim frowned. The noise was coming from behind a cupboard.

He pulled out his wand and walked towards it, and the snickering grew louder, and louder, until he came around it to find…

Ethel and Selene, sitting with their backs against the cupboard, their knees tucked up by their chests and their hands pressed to their mouths, in a poor attempt at stifling their giggles.

At the sight of his sister and her friend, Jim lowered his wand, and at the sight of him, they dropped their hands from their mouths and gave into their laughter.

“For the love of Godric,” Jim said crossly. “This isn’t… It isn’t funny!”

“Oh, but it is!”

“It really, truly is!”

The two girls laughed even harder, their eyes watery and cheeks pink.

“Stop laughing, Ethel!”

“I cannot,” Ethel wheezed. “I cannot stop. Oh, Jimmy. I did not realise you held such strong feelings for Alan.”

“I can see for why you would,” said Selene. “He is a very fine ferret.”

“A beautiful ferret, or so I’ve heard it said.”

“Indeed, I believe I have heard that said, too.”

“Unfortunately, Jim, Alan shan’t be accompanying you to the ball. He prefers to form attachments with his own species. I’d strongly suggest that you do the same,” Ethel told him. “I know that Mamma and Pappa are rather liberal in their views, but this might be too much for them to take. And I dread to think what Héloïse would think of you having such an unnatural-”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Jim snapped at his sister, far louder than he had intended. Ethel blinked, but otherwise appeared nonplussed.

“Suit yourself, Jimmy. We have far more interesting people to spend time with. Ferret-fancier or not, you still bore us terribly.”

She and Selene stood up and crossed the empty room. As they did, Selene scooped Alan the ferret up into her arms and threw a dirty look at Jim over her shoulder.

“Don’t you fret, Alan. We shall take you far away from this nasty depraved boy.”

Jim sighed loudly as he watched them disappear from sight, before picking up his things and making his way through the castle to the empty classroom where Brady and Lysander were having their meeting.

“Jim, old chap,” said Brady. “You’re late. What kept you?”

“My sister.”

“Ah.”

Lysander frowned. “What’s the matter with frog-face this time?” he asked. “Bitter that no one’s asked her to the ball?”

“I’m not sure,” Jim replied. “Someone might have asked her.”

“Really? Who?”

“I don’t… What does it matter to you? You despise Effy.”

“It doesn’t,” said Lysander quickly. “And I do. I was simply wondering whether or not we might have a lunatic in our midst, that is all.”

“I see,” Jim nodded slowly. “Have either of you two asked anyone?”

“Indeed I have, old bean. I’ll be escorting Carolyn Nyberg.”

At Brady’s announcement, Lysander’s eyebrows shot up.

“Perhaps we do have a lunatic in our midst,” he muttered. “There is a fine line between lunacy and bravery, or so they say. Carolyn Nyberg… You’re a far braver wizard than I am.”

“And me,” Jim sighed. Brady’s eyebrows furrowed, and so he explained. “I cannot even pluck up the courage to ask Héloïse.”

“Really?” Brady shook his head. “But, Jim, this is your perfect opportunity to get closer to her.”

“Yes, I am aware of that.”

“So why on earth have you not taken that opportunity in both hands? Carpe diem!”

“Precisely for that reason,” said Jim. “It is too… I feel a lot of pressure, and that makes me too nervous. I try to ask her, and then when I do, my mouth goes dry and my words get stuck and I can’t say anything at all.”

“Not even a word?”

“No. Well, yes. In a way. The other day I managed to tell her that she has lovely handwriting.”

“Ah,” Brady said. Lysander looked up from his sketch.

“Does she?” he asked.

“Does she what?”

“Have nice handwriting.”

“Oh, yes. Very nice handwriting. Small and neat and pretty and French… Like you’d expect, I suppose,” Jim told Lysander, who exchanged glances with Brady. “Um… What?”

Brady rolled his eyes and placed his head in his hands. “I simply cannot cope with this,” he said. “You must ask her.”

“But… Excuse me!”

Jim’s mouth fell open as Lysander pointed his wand at his hand, the one holding his favourite sketchbook. The sketchbook shot up into the air and hovered above Jim’s head, tantalisingly out of reach of his fingertips.

“Here’s a bargain for you, Jimbo,” Lysander said with a smirk. “You can have the sketchbook back when - and only when - you ask Héloïse to attend the Celestial Ball with you.”

“But that’s… Brady, make him see sense.”

But Brady chuckled and shook his head.

“Jim, old chap, I think Lysander is making perfect sense. You require a - pardon my French - jolly good kick up the derrière.”

“That’s…”

“The library is two corridors away. If you hurry, you’ll have a companion for the Celestial Ball and your sketchbook back by the time we start afternoon lessons.”

Both Lysander and Brady’s faces were earnest, and Jim knew that there was no persuading either of them to give him back his sketchbook, not until he had done what he had so far failed to do. He sighed angrily, as frustrated with himself as he was with his friends.

“Go on, old chap. Be bold.”

“Carpet demon,” said Lysander, and Brady put his head in his hands again.

Jim left them alone and walked through the two corridors to the library, his heart beating faster and his feet growing heavier with each step. He was not ready for this, he would never be ready for this. What if he was unable to get his words out again? What if he did, and she laughed at him? What if she said no? Oh, Godric… What if she said yes?

He found Héloïse in a quiet corner of the library, far from the noise that was coming from the librarian’s desk, where his sister was pestering Madam Khanna about something, he did not care what. At this moment, he cared bout nothing but managing to be bold, to ask Héloïse to attend the ball with him, and getting his sketchboook back from Lysander.

“Héloïse,” he said as he approached her. Slowly, she raised her brown eyes from her astrology textbook and regarded him with a look of curiosity.

“Jim. Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Héloïse.”

There was a long pause in which neither of them spoke. Jim swallowed hard three times and cleared his throat.

“Héloïse, I was wondering…”

“To what… Sorry. I am… intruding your speaking.”

“No, I’m sorry,” said Jim. “You continue.”

“I was to ask why you are here, but I think you are now to tell me,” Héloïse said with a wry little smile. “What have you wondered?”

This was it. Jim’s chance. He had to take it. He had to be bold.

“I wondered whether anyone had already asked to accompany you to the Celestial Ball, and if no, then whether you might allow me to accompany you.”

Jim spoke faster than he had intended. It potentially was too fast, for Héloïse frowned as if she had not understood his meaning.

“You are wanting to… escort me to the ball?” she asked, and Jim nodded.

“Yes. Yes, indeed. I… It would be my privilege. Only if you wish to do me that honour, of course.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Jim was half-hope, half-achingly deep despair and longing.

“I… Jim, this would be nice.”

His heart skipped a beat. “It would?”

“Yes,” Héloïse smiled sadly. “But… Unfortunately, I cannot to go with you. I am sorry. I have promised to my friend Henry that I will to go with him. I did not think… I am sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” said Jim. He forced himself to return Héloïse’s smile, in spite of the fact that he felt more like crying. “A promise is a promise, and… I am sorry.”

“Why?”

“For… asking, I suppose. I hope that this shall not ruin our… our friendship.”

“Friendship, yes,” Héloïse nodded. She swallowed and looked down at her book. “I must to study.”

“I must to go… I must be going. I shall see you soon. At the ball, maybe.”

Héloïse said nothing in response, just stared at her book, already clearly engrossed in it. Jim walked away from her, focusing on the sound of his footsteps echoing on the floor of the library, for her knew that if he did not focus on something, his thoughts would fly to Héloïse, and then he would look back. And if he looked back, then the tears that pricked his eyes would start to run away from him, and he would start to cry in front of everyone.

And if that happened, he might never be able to be bold again.

#the beginning of a symphony #jim hexley #ethel hexley #selene fraser #alan the ferret #bradford elijah pendleton iv #lysander mercury #Héloïse Perrault #harry potter hogwarts legacy

[lifeofkaze]

Something Wicked This Way Comes

A/N: This story is was written for @hp-12monthsofmagic October prompt. Happy Halloween. OCs featured belong to @whatwouldvalerydo (Victoria Summer... sorry for bothering her again), @the-al-chemist (Jim and Ethel Hexley), @endlessly-cursed (Nilüfer Sultan, in mention), @slytherindisaster (Gabriel Sapieha, Lysander Mercury) and @kc-and-co (Bradford Pendleton IV). Warning: serious Shakespeare blasphemy. I'm sorry.

The day had been overcast, and darkness come early over the Forbidden Forest. Swathes of mist rose from the moss and root covered ground, and the night was silent except for the rustling of fallen leaves, the soft sounds of the creatures that had ventured out under the cover of nightfall, and a resounding scraping sound as something heavy was dragged over a piece of stone, followed by a groan and the hasty shuffling of feet.

“How much further is it?”

“It can’t be very far, I daresay.”

“You said that ten minutes ago, Ethel. I swear I recognise this tree.”

“Hush, I believe I can see it from here. Quickly, now.”

Three figures stepped into an opening in the trees, in the middle of which the ground rose gently to a grass-covered mound. On it, bathed in the light of the full moon, six boulders of varying sizes had been erected to form a circle, in the middle of which a seventh stone lay on its side, forming what looked to be an altar.

It was there that the three girls, clad in skirts and blouses that marked them as students of the nearby Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, dragged the cauldron they had been pulling behind them. They were breathing heavily by the time they had made it to the top, and the faces of Ethel Hexley and Selene Fraser grew red as they hoisted the heavy metal pot on top of the horizontally lying stone. 

Selene and Ethel had found the stone ring a couple of days ago while prowling the woods, and had been dying to return ever since. They had prepared diligently, but with the unsteadiness of the late October weather, it had taken them until the very last day of the month to make their way out into the Forbidden Forest again. They were chatting in hushed whispers amongst each other now, excitedly checking the contents of the bags slung around their shoulders.

Victoria, who had seen herself half-compelled, half-forced to accompany her dormmates, seemed less enthusiastic. She looked around uneasily, observing the shadows cast by the tall stone monuments. Wrapping her arms around herself to keep from shivering, she stepped closer to the stone altar.

“Are you finally going to tell me what this is all about?” 

Ethel and Selene stopped whispering and shared a meaningful look.

“We have something special planned for tonight,” Selene said in a low voice.

“Something to mark the occasion,” Ethel agreed.

“We’ll do magic,” the two of them said in unison, the sable-coloured ferret that had appeared on Selene’s shoulder nodding his head as if in agreement. 

Victoria looked between them sceptically. “But why come here? Why all that hustle? We could have just as well stayed at the castle.”

“Because, dearest Victoria,” Selene said and motioned at the stones surrounding them. “This place is special.” 

“Most magical.”

“Of the utmost importance.”

Ethel paused, looking at Selene curiously. “It is?”

“It must be, must it not?” Selene shrugged. “Why endure all the hardships to set these stones up otherwise?”

“You must be right, of course.” Clapping her hands together, Ethel turned back to Victoria and pointed at the cauldron. “There is a spell that Selene and I have been wanting to attempt but Professor Sharp refuses to let us into the Potions classroom by ourselves after this most unfortunate incident with Carolyn Nyberg’s calming draught.”

“Which was not our fault, if I may say so.”

“Far from it.”

“The farthest.”

“And what did you need my help for?” Victoria asked patiently.

“See, the spell needs three wielders to succeed.”

“Three witches, to be precise.”

“And who would be more inclined, more perfectly suited to complete our trio than you?”

Victoria could think of a handful of people better suited; the matter of inclination was another one entirely but she chose to remain silent. 

“Shall we begin then?”

Victoria was still at a loss for what was about to happen when she was directed to stand at the head of the stone, with Selene and Ethel facing each other on its side. 

“You might want to take that,” Selene whispered to Victoria, producing a densely written note from the folds of her skirt. “We have it memorised.”

Victoria was just about to ask what she meant when Selene and Ethel began chanting, in grave, hushed voices that didn’t sound like them at all. 

“Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Harpier cries ‘Tis time, ‘tis time. Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw.”

They began moving to circle the stone altar with the now bubbling cauldron, underneath which Ethel had set fire. 

“Toad that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Sweltere’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.”

Selene reached into her bag and pulled out a stoppered bottle which looked suspiciously like the ones Professor Sharp had on display behind his desk in the Potions classroom. She held it over the cauldron and shook its contents inside. The slimy green something that had fallen out sank to the bottom, and Selene and Ethel continued to sing, in a much louder, almost gleeful voice,

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” 

“Hold on,” Victoria cried out. “Did you drag me out here to enact a play?”

“We never would even think of dragging you.”

“You walked quite by yourself.”

“And this is not any stupid spell from any stupid play we are putting to the test here. This is Macbeth!”

“By the greatest poet of all times.”

“The master of words.”

“The bard of bards.”

Wearily, Victoria held a hand up and the stream of chatter ceased. “And does Professor Sharp know you stole… borrowed one of his cauldrons and ingredients?” 

Ethel and Selene exchanged a glance that had the sinking feeling in Victoria’s stomach intensify. She stifled the sigh lodged in her chest. 

“Go on then.”

Breaking into smiles, Ethel began rummaging through her bag again, while Selene reached across the stone to squeeze Victoria’s hand. The chanting recommenced as Ethel produced a small parcel. In places, moisture had already seeped through the parchment, and Victoria could only briefly glimpse something reddish as its contents were tossed into the cauldron. 

“Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s legs and owlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, ike a hell-broth boil and bubble.”

They continued in that fashion as ingredient after ingredient made its way into the cauldron. Selene and Ethel seemed to have acquired everything the recipe listed, adding newts’ eyes and lizards’ legs with more and more glee as the potion boiled up and began changing its colour, bathing the clearing in an eerily green glow. 

“Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse…”

“You didn’t actually put someone’s liver in there, did you?” Victoria asked with wide eyes.

“No,” said Ethel and sounded almost regretful. “A piece of someone’s liver is surprisingly hard to come by.”

Victoria chose not to comment on this. “Then what did you put in just now?” 

“We got some calf liver from the kitchens. Did you have any luck with the Tartar’s lips, Selly?”

“No,” sighed Selene, “and not with the nose of Turk either. I asked Nilüfer Sultan if she cared to help out but she wouldn’t hear of it.”

“How rude.”

“Don’t you think so?”

“So can we go back now if you don’t have everything to complete the spell?” 

“Oh Victoria, don’t be silly,” Selene laughed. “A good witch knows how to adapt!”

With pinched fingers, she pulled a tissue from her pocket and let it float into the cauldron, topping it up with something that Victoria could only assume to be a handful of ground meat. She and Ethel took up singing again.

“Cool it with a baboon’s blood, Then the charm is firm and good.” 

Ethel produced a slender vial from her now empty bag, unstoppered it and poured some red liquid into the cauldron. She and Selene exchanged excited looks and stepped forward to peer inside. Victoria did not. The eerie green glow from before had vanished, the colour of the potion they had brewed changing disconcertingly fast. The soft sound of the bubbling had given way to a deeper rumble, too, making the metal pot shake on the stone altar.

“What exactly did you brew there?”

“We brewed a potion most potent and most fantastical.”

“Dare I say, the potion of potions.”

“I gathered,” said Victoria, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear and watching the quivering cauldron from the corner of her eye. “But what does it do?”

Selene and Ethel stopped in their tracks.

“What do you mean, what does it do?”

“What are its effects? What’s going to happen now?” Victoria paled as a thought struck her. “I’m not going to drink it if that’s what you intended.”

“Well, in the play, Macbeth is supposed to see apparitions telling him of his fate now.”

“There is no Macbeth here, though, and no apparitions either.”

Ethel and Selene looked at each other shrugging, as if the thought had only now occurred to them. Feeling suddenly more stupid than possibly endangered, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I can’t believe you two,” she sternly told her friends. “Every time I think you can’t get anymore silly you top my expectations. Not only that you drag me away from the Halloween feast in the middle of the night to clamber over sticks and stones with a stolen - yes, Ethel, stolen - cauldron, you didn’t even spent a thought at the purpose of such a doing, or what might possibly come off it!”

“But we did!” Selene protested loudly. She was barely audible of the rumble of the potion. It splashed higher and higher, and glowed brighter and brighter, coming up as high as if someone had thrown a stone into water. “In the play —“

“‘Play’ being the operative word here,” Victoria scoffed. “Did you really think I would fancy seeing a severed head and a bloody baby telling me about my doom?” She snorted. “Pray, forgive me if I do decline.” 

Selene looked torn between feeling sorry to have upset her friend and the righteous urge to prove Victoria wrong, while Ethel geared herself up to defend their endeavour. Before it could come to it, however, the light changed yet again. With a resounding boom, the cauldron shot up into the air and came crashing down with a loud bang, bouncing off one of the vertical stones as it did so. 

Victoria and Ethel gasped as they jumped away from the glowing drops flying their way. Selene shrieked and pressed Alan to her chest with one hand, rubbing at a stain on her skirt with the other. The formerly peaceful, moonlit clearing was reduced to chaos, but when suddenly a low, agony-filled moan reached them from the blackness of the trees, the three girls and one ferret froze. 

Alan gave a whimper, clambering up onto Selene’s shoulder. Selene held him and stroked his fur, but her excitedly glittering eyes were trained on the darkness ahead. She started towards it with a couple of determined steps, but Victoria caught her by her sleeve and pulled her back. Reluctantly, she turned and followed her fleeing friends, quick footsteps carrying them away from the stone circle and back towards the castle. 

When they were gone, the moaning and groaning stopped. A rustle sounded in the underbrush beyond the clearing, and from the darkness four figures emerged, three of them grinning broadly, and one not so much, slowly trailing behind the others. They approached the clearing, standing in the middle of the exploded potion with three of them on one side, and the remaining on the other. 

“Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen,” said Gabriel Sapieha, watching his vandalised surroundings with a look of profound satisfaction.

“Anytime, old chap.” Bradford Pendleton hooked the toe of his boot under the handle of the cauldron and pushed it back into a standing position. Curiously, he peered inside. “Who would have thought that my tempering with potion recipes would not result in failure for once?”

“Carolyn Nyberg would be proud of you.”

Brady chuckled. “I certainly hope not. Good aim, Mercury.” 

“Thank you. Did you see their faces?” asked Lysander Mercury with a grin. He screwed up his face and it morphed into the features of Ethel Hexley, her eyes wide and her mouth rounded to a perfect circle as Ethel-Lysander waved his arms above his head in a hysterical gesture. He held his stomach as he laughed. “This was priceless, gentlemen, absolutely priceless.”

“If you say so,” Jim Hexley mumbled, watching as the hair on his friend’s head turned back to its original golden shade and he looked like himself again. “Are we quite done now? There are honeyed cakes at the feast. I’d be loath to miss them.”

“Not afraid of the dark, are we, old chap?”

Jim was spared a reply when something - or someone? - moved beyond the treeline. A low howl carried through the moonlit night toward them, swelling in volume and pitch. The boys in the clearing looked at each other uneasily. Jim swallowed.

“It hasn’t worked, though, has it? The potion?”

“Don’t be a fool, Hexley,” said Lysander, but he didn’t look away from where the howl had come from. “It is bound to be a wolf or something.”

“You sound like that wouldn't be a problem in itself.”

The howling took up again. The four boys looked up at the full moon hanging silvery above their heads and back at each other.

“I say we make for the castle,” Gabriel suggested in a light tone but his eyes never left the shadow of the trees. “My friends are eager to hear of our success, and we wouldn’t want Jim to miss his honeyed cakes, would we?”

They all agreed, and so left the clearing. One by one they stepped onto the path leading under the canopy of trees, which Jim could swear looked darker than it had upon their arrival. He was the last to follow, and he cast one look back at the stone circle across his shoulder. The cauldron still sat where it had fallen, now upright again, in a ring of glowing specks of potion, which shimmered ominously in the moonlight.

A shiver running down his spine, Jim turned away, hurrying his steps to catch up with his friends toward the warmth and safety of the brightly lit castle. 

#hphl #hogwarts legacy #selene fraser #12mom #twelve months of magic

[endlessly-cursed]

hp women appreciation week, day six; favourite female friendships

the girl gang; this group started a few months but they already own my heart and they're very special to me and I live vicariously through Mary Ann 🫡 @magicallymalted @cursed-herbalist @gaygryffindorgal @gcldensnitch @potionboy3

jude dubois & violet selwyn-ellison (& winnie sapieha); violet was jude's first and remains her best friend. They're underdeveloped but I love their childhood friendship 💝. This is also me proposing to @slytherindisaster a friendship between Jude and Winnie 👉🏼👈🏻 @thatravenpuffwitch

rocío gallardo & max avery: they're both so different yet so similar, their friendship has potential and I love them ❤💚 @gaygryffindorgal

blanche dubois & siobhan llewellyn; both women are so similar, and I love the fact that they bond over with dragons and wanting to be more than their famous beauties in a man's world @kc-and-co

beatrice brown & ethel hexley; both activists, from similar backgrounds, both activists for their rights and end up in male-dominated fields @the-al-chemist

primrose gray & nadia erbland; these two are best friends, sisters, soulmates even. Their bond over one another and how they always are there for one another. They're my fav friendship of all @gcldensnitch

#hp victorian era #fbawtft #golden era #magic awakened #girl gang #hpma girl gang #oc: primrose sabrina gray #nadia erbland #primrose x nadia #primadia #oc: jude dubois #violet selwyn ellison #winnie sapieha #oc: blanche dubois #siobhan llewellyn #oc: beatrice brown #ethel hexley #oc: rocío gallardo #max avery #oc: mary ann von deyne #gwendolyn montague #jupiter durand #barbara katz #pandora lovelace #nymeria lee #rosa yaxely #hpwomenaw

[usernoneexistent]

A/N: I had so much fun writing this of my favourite prankster duo, Sethel. This was an absolute ride to write for 'water' so Al and Kaze I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Also I highly recommend if you play the song to start at when it says 'as the music changed' to really set the mood.

Characters featured: Ethel Hexley @the-al-chemist, Selene Fraser and Alan the ferret @lifeofkaze​.

Warnings: Sethel

It was a quiet evening. Glenn Rosewood had a good day today and had been looking forward to having the bathroom to himself. No student was out of line today, no interruption, no handing out detention and deduction house points. Not even a peep out his junior students, Ethel Hexley and Selene Fraser, arguably the biggest pests of Hogwarts and the main contributor to his chronic headaches. Passing the statue of Boris the Bewildered, Glenn reached the door.

"Pelagus." He whispered.

The door opened, and Glenn immediately went to the bathroom stalls to change into his bathing suit. On the opposite side of the room, he left his washing items by the pool, illuminated by the candle-lit chandelier. The school did supply complimentary bath items for students to wash with. Still, Glenn has always preferred bringing his own supply. He watched the hundred golden taps fill the sunken pool until the foam perfectly touched the pool's edge.

He dipped in slowly, taking his time to unwind. As the only person here, he could play whatever song he liked from his portable gramophone. His annoying little sister couldn't even barge in to complain about how out of date his music taste was. Taking his bar of soap, that looked slightly pink which Glenn doesn't recall it ever being pale pink. Despite his suspicions, he washed his hair before simply relaxing inside the tub. His muscles loosened, and his eyes were slowly shutting from pure bliss. He heard muffled giggles that he assumed came from the mermaid in the stained glass window overlooking the bath. He also hear squeaks followed by tiny footsteps, coming closer to him. Glenn glanced at the marble floor but saw nothing.

However, it only lasted for a few minutes as the water quickly went cold. Glenn's fingertips were wrinkled like a shrivelfig and almost blue. Glenn went to grab for his wand to reheat the water as he accidentally knocked down a soap bar from the supplied bathroom items.

"For Godrick's sake," he muttered as he blindly navigated his hand through the soapy water for the soap bar. Something slipped through his fingers, almost kicking him. Glenn grabbed it again and pulled out the slippery thing, only to be greeted by a loud croak.

"Bloody Merlin!" The frog flew out of his hand. The chorus of croaking frogs started as the music changed to something more upbeat. Exactly what I needed, he thought to himself. Glenn left the pool immediately to search for his wand to try at least to use the freezing charm on the never-ending spawning of frogs. Drenched, water dripped onto the white marble floor.

He lifted his towels and other items that he had brought. "Where are you, wand?"

Glenn raided through every bathroom corner to find his apparently missing wand. The number of frogs grew more and more as they covered more area. Glenn couldn't even hear himself think through the loud croaks and horrific music that seemed to blast through. He sought shelter in the bathroom stalls as that was the least crowded by the amphibians.

"Blasted!" He smacked the sink, "where did my bloody wand go?"

Something looked wrong in the mirror. Glenn looked up and saw his hair but in a bright shade of magnolia pink. Only so many students would prank him this far; Hexley and Fraser. But how did they pull this off, and where were they? No, Glenn had to focus on finding his wand first to stop the frogs, at least the moment he opened that door, it would become a frog plague at Hogwarts. Then he can find the two girls and deal with them accordingly.

A flash of brown and white moved in the mirror. There's only one animal that is nimble and small; a ferret. Glenn turned to look at the bathroom stall behind him. Slowly creeping up before pushing the door open.

"I knew it! It was yous, Fraser and Hexley!"

"Hi Glenn, I love the new hairstyle," Ethel grinned mischievously.

"I agree with Ethel. The colour pink suits you, Glenn," Selene matched Ethel's grin. Her pet ferret, Alan, was on her shoulder.

Glenn stood there, not amused by their compliments, cross-armed while frogs hopped at his feet and that annoying music still blasting. "Detention for both of you."

"Not if you can't catch us first." Ethel taunted, undeterred by Glenn's punishment. "Here, catch."

"Wait, what?" Glenn saw a stick fly out of her before grabbing it. It was his wand. Selene threw something to the ground while Glenn was distracted. The bath stalls were covered in smoke; he barely managed to hear their footsteps passing by him.

"So long Glenn!"

"And good luck!"

Glenn ran after as best as he could with the frog-filled floor and was careful to not slip and fall down. The door was open as the frogs jumped at the opportunity outside. The girls and their ferret seemed to have disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

"Hexley! Fraser! I'll get you for this!" Glenn stood at the prefect bathroom door, soaking in his new bright pink hair and an army of frogs escaping behind him.

Next story: Your Secret Admirer

#summer break challenge 2022 #day 5 #water #glenn rosewood #selene fraser #ethel hexley #sethel #alan the ferret #hogwarts legacy #no animals were harmed #no drawings this time #but i might draw it as a bonus later

[whatwouldvalerydo]

Merlin I hate this class

Day 3 for the challenge created by @cursebreakerfarrier has Gareth Farr in the center of Divination classes. Characters helping him in all the chaos belong to @usernoneexistent @the-al-chemist @lifeofkaze

Divination was not a loved class by many unless you actually had a gift, however some students attended it because it was easy enough to spew some nonsense and get an easy good grade. One of those students that followed that train of thought was Gareth Farr, despite his obvious dislike for the subject and the professor’s mumbles concerning it.

For those that were sitting close to him during that class, everything was a blast. The young man would roll his eyes at almost everything said, muttering under his breath, imitating the professor, so for him it actually became a way of seeing how far he could take it until he was sent to detention.

Sleeping in class was an easy way out and when he was caught and scolded for it, Gareth countered easily saying he was just studying ahead of the others and showed his book opened at the “dreams” section “How can one presume we are able to study them if we do not sleep and dream?”

He had a journal kept with the most insane dreams he could invent, sharing them at random times with the professor and the class.

One time he faked sleeping and jolted awake with a scream, startling the girls near him. He spoke gibberish for a minute straight, smacked the table when no one understood him then just uttered “unicorn” before he fell back on the table, the most obnoxious snore ever leaving him.

The moment that had the professor losing it was when he smelled smoke, Gareth looking up when his name was called out, two cigarettes hanging out of his ears and one from between his lips. He said he was tapping into past fire omens lessons so he could send a message to the skies so he could better read the stars. But he still did not get detention, only a lengthy essay to write.

And he knew it was because of his name and the many donations his family had made to the school.

So he decided to up his game as days rolled by.

So one day Gareth walked inside the classroom with Winona at his arm, Gareth looking at her all concerned “Are you certain you are feeling alright, I can take you to the Hospital Wing.”

She placed a hand against her forehead, body falling limp right before the start of the class, him catching her, Selene and Ethel rushing to her side to help. The moment the four were together, all chaos broke loose.

Winona opened her eyes, lashes batting in confusion, Gareth holding onto his head while Selene and Ethel did the same.

“What happened Gareth?” Selene asked but she looked at Ethel.

“What are you on about?” Ethel enquired “I am not Gareth.” But she pointed to Winona.”

They all spent the entire class switching roles. Selene rolling her eyes, Winona pretending to light up a cigarette, Gareth batting his lashes before he made a rude rhyme, Ethel talking about writing for the paper, the entire class alongside the professor appearing more than confused.

“Mister Farr, that's enough!” Selene looking appalled when the name was mentioned and directed to Gareth.

Raising her hand she spoke “Over here sir.” The professor looking positively fed up.

Once they were done, the four gathered, planning their next divination class shenanigans.

#back to school challenge 2022 #Gareth Farr #Winona Rosewood #selene fraser #ethel hexley #hphl