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braveclementine · 23 days

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Chapter 9

Warnings: 18+ readers only, mentions of nudity

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕 on Saturday, the day of the Quidditch match and wondered if it would even be worth it just to go.

"We could stay here all day." I murmured sleepily in his ear.

"You know it's the Slytherins' that'll be playing today." He murmured back, just as tired. Last night had been lovely, but also tiring. I felt extremely sore today as well.

"They're going to lose." I mumbled, rolling over and wrapping a blanket around me. It was cold in his room, despite the fact that it was November, he had not turned the heat on.

He seemed to have read where my thoughts were because he asked, "cold?"

"I don't understand how you can enjoy the coldness like this." I muttered, "I mean you're not even in the dungeons anymore!"

I shivered, burrowing deeper into the bed and he pulled me closer to his chest. "Your lips are a bit blue." he said cheerfully and I shuddered from cold and heat as he pressed his warm lips to my cold ones.

"How are your lips to warm?" I complained, "That's not fair."

He chuckled, "It comes to an advantage of mine now, doesn't it?" he pressed them to mine again. Then when we pulled apart, he rolled over on top of me to reach for his wand and he went ahead and lit a fire in the fireplace. "that should do the trick." he murmured.

"Thanks." I whispered, "When do we have to go down?"

"Mmm?" He asked, his head resting on my chest now, breathing softly.

"Nothing." I whispered, caressing his hair, and closed my own eyes to fall back asleep.

I left Severus' office twenty minutes before the match started so that I could go down without alerting that we were arriving together and also because I was starving. I wondered if they'd have spicy chicken wings for breakfast. Highly doubtful.

I sat down at the Hufflepuff next to Rose and Susan. Ernie and Justin came over to sit down in front of us. "So, now are you going to tell us who's going to win?" Ernie asked impatiently.

"Gryffindor." I said, mournfully spooning grape jelly on a piece of toast.

"Wonderful." Ernie said while Justin moaned. "We took bets with some other students."

I rolled my eyes. "You should've asked me before you made the bets."

"He did." Justin said, disgruntled, "At the three broomsticks before..."

We all looked down the table where Leanne was talking to Megan and some other Hufflepuff girls.

I watched Zacharias walking out of the Great Hall and rolled my eyes. "Zacharias is commentating." I said, "That'll be great."

"Yes." Justin said with a roll of his eyes, "You sound totally enthused about it."

"Let's just say he's going to piss the Gryffindors off." I said lightly. "And they'll want us crushed in the next match." I sighed, "How unfortunate."

"We'll beat them." Susan said confidentially.

"Don't jinx us." I said, standing up from the table and we headed down to the Quidditch pitch. Hermione joined us some time down and everyone greeted her quite cordially. She was seething mad and pulled me to the side.

"Harry put the Felix Felicis in Ron's drink!" She exclaimed angrily. "he could be expelled!"

"No he didn't." I said, starting to walk again, "He only wanted Ron to think he did so that Ron would feel lucky."

"Oh." Hermione said, looking abashed.

I shrugged, "It's better than finding out after the match."

"Was it going to be bad?" Hermione was tentatively.

"Well you did say the only reason that Ron saved the goals was because he had drank the potion but then he hadn't drank the potion and well... you know Ron." I said. "He's sensitive."

"I just... I don't understand why he hates me so much right now!" Hermione said, sounding close to tears.

"Because him and Ginny had a row and she brought you into it." I said.

"Why's that my fault?" Hermione asked as we caught up with the group.

"I don't really know." I said. "Because you kissed Viktor Krum or something like that. I think its jealousy."

Hermione glowered in the Gryffindor locker rooms direction. I heard her mutter "idiot." and then headed off to go sit with the Gryffindors.

Trang caught up with us at that point, wearing Ravenclaw colors.

"Hi!" I said brightly, Rose on my shoulders now. "This'll be your first school Quidditch game!"

"Can't be more impressive than the Quidditch World Cup." Trang said, grinning and I noticed she was wearing her Omnioculars around her neck.

"You'd be surprised." I admitted. "Especially since it's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin that's playing today."

I usually sat with the Gryffindors on their side, near the teacher's podium. Now, I was sitting on the Hufflepuff side (for the first time) which gave a very different view of the stadium: a long view rather than wide.

The Gryffindors cheered as the Gryffindor team walked out onto the field, Harry in the front, his Firebolt across his shoulder. Then the Slytherins cheered as their team walked out onto the field. I noticed that Malfoy wasn't there as the seeker.

The two team captains shook hands and I leaned over to Trang and asked, "You never told me if you made it onto the Ravenclaw team."

"Yes I did." Trang said and then frowned, "Didn't I?"

"What position?" I asked curiously.

"Chaser." She said, sounding extremely satisfied.

"Congratulations." I said sincerely as the two teams flew upward.

"Well, there they go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year." Zacharias started off immediately and I groaned, leaning my head on my hand, "Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patch performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help..."

And putting a confounding charm on the better Keeper always helped too. "Oh, and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal, it's Urquhart streaking down the pitch and Weasley saves it, well, he's bound to get lucky sometimes, I suppose..."

"Wonderful." I muttered under my breath. "Why'd I let him stay on the team?"

Trang giggled and we watched the game progress. Zacharias continued to beat down on Ginny and Ron, wondering if they were only there because Harry liked them. I had the strangest urge to hex Zacharias. Of course, I didn't really like Ron either, what a git, but Ginny was a great person and a wonderful Chaser.

Ginny scored four goals and Ron saved seven goals and Zacharias had to stop berating them. He started on the newest beaters that Harry had on the team now. "Of course, Coote isn't really the usual build for a beater, they've generally got a bit more muscle-"

Harry shouted something at Coote as he passed by, who grinned and whacked a bludger at the new Slytherin Seeker and the bludger hit it's mark.

"I don't know." Trang muttered in my ear, "It's a bit tame."

I smiled a little bit but said nothing. I could see that as the Quidditch Cup was the only match she'd seen, anything else might look a little tame. I supposed it would've been more exciting if Draco had been on the team. Hitting bludgers at random, innocent people in the crowds and grabbing the ends of people's firebolts. But I supposed he had other things to worry about this year. I supposed my unnecessary comment in the robe shop hadn't helped either.

The Slytherin Seeker came around sometime later, colliding into Harry. I booed with the other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws but Madam Hooch didn't see it and Harry was zooming after the other seeker.

I noticed that the snitch was flying high above the two seekers and I realized that the Slytherin seeker had seen it. Harry on the other hand, had not. Zacharias felt a need to say this out loud, "And I think Harper of Slytherin's seen the Snitch! Yes, he's certainly seen something Potter hasn't."

Lovely. I noticed even from across the field that Severus had a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes, looking away from him.

Harry was accelerating after Harper and I watched as he opened his mouth and shouted something at Harper. Harper fumbled his grab, the snitch flew through his fingers and Harper continued upwards, past the Snitch, and Harry grabbed it instead.

He hurtled back towards the ground and the Gryffindor side of the pitch cheered. The rest of the Gryffindor team met Harry down on the ground in a group hug except for Ginny. I watched as she flew straight into the commentator's podium and I grinned. The crowd hooted and laughed, including Slytherins. Ginny's voice could be heard by the magical megaphone, "Forgot to brake, Professor, sorry."

I got up with rest of the Hufflepuffs and Trang and left the Quidditch stadium.

"I'm going to go ahead and hang out with Anthony, Terry, and Luna." Trang said brightly, with a wave of her hand, "See you around."

"See ya Trang." I said and went ahead up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Severus wasn't in yet. I sighed, setting my cloak, gloves, scarf, and boots, putting them near the fireplace and warmed myself by it. I realized I was hungry and I figured I could go down to the kitchen, see Dobby, and get some food.

The door opened and I came face to face with Severus.

"Oh, hello!" I said brightly. "I was just going to get some food, do you want some?"

Severus sighed, closing the door behind him, "Nonsense." He pointed his wand at his desk and a plate of different foods appeared there.

"I thought you couldn't create food?" I asked, frowning and taking a donut and holding it up to the light as though it was a counterfeit bill. "It's in The Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law. Food, Magical Energy, Love, Life, and Knowledge."

"Correct." Severus said. "But I didn't create it, I simply summoned it from somewhere else in the world."

I grinned, "so a bakery will be missing a load of donuts then."

He rolled his eyes. "Dummy, I summoned it from the Hogwarts kitchen."

I pursed my lips. "Jerk."

He muttered something under his breath that I ignored. He sighed then and said, "You were right though."

"About which thing?" I asked lightly before carefully biting into a vanilla frosted donut with star sprinkles. We served these? I'd certainly never seen them on the breakfast table before except for Halloween.

"Ooooh, you've got a big ego." Severus said, opening up the drapes to let in natural light. "About not going to the Quidditch pitch today."

"Because you lost?" I smirked, putting a hand under my mouth to catch crumbs.

"Because we could've just stayed in bed." Severus said in a dangerous voice.

"Oh." I said lightly. "Well yes, of course, that's a good reason as well."

Severus hung his cloak up next to mine and set his boots next to mine as well. He sat down at his desk, moving the food off onto a chair and started to grade homework.

I ate other things like fruit and meat before he cleared the trays away. Then I curled up in a chair next to his and simply sat there while he graded homework and quizzes. He went through them very fast, many of them had bad grades on them with the occasional O or EE. (A was technically a good grade, but not for me, so I didn't count it).

After a few hours, I started dozing and when I awoke, I was on the bed with a blanket over me though he was still at his desk.

"What time is it?" I asked hoarsely, my throat felt horrible.

"A few hours." Severus said slowly, writing something down on a piece of parchment and then checked a clock. "Three and a half."

"I should go down to dinner." I said softly, sliding out of bed.

He looked at me and opened his mouth and then closed it. "Yes, perhaps you should. I'll get this done before you get back, I promise."

I smiled gently and kissed his cheek. "I'll take my time then."

I walked down to dinner and enjoyed spicy chicken wings and a couple glasses of milk. But I wasn't quite ready to go back upstairs. Perhaps it was the heavy feeling I had from all the food or maybe it was the feeling of separation from the other students.

I walked outside for a moment, standing in the snow but I didn't really feel the cold on my bare feet. Actually, the snow under my feet felt almost warm, in a way. A slushy, gritty, thin, fragile feeling. There was water and mud and grass and slush. The air was cold and it smelled like winter.

I shouldn't be out here, I knew, but I needed some alone time. I looked down and noticed my stomach was poking out a little bit in a round shape. I knew before I would've thought it to be all the food I ate and now...

I found that tears were dripping down my face for no reason at all and quickly wiped them away. I headed back inside the castle and realized that my feet were numb from cold and I quickly hurried up to the office where my love was waiting.

"Your lips are blue." He greeted me, looking up from his desk. "Did you go outside?"

"Oh, yeah, just for a few minutes," I admitted, sitting down before the fire. "Maybe five-ten minutes tops."

"Without shoes or a cloak?" He asked in disbelief. There was the sound of him getting up from the chair. "Why?"

"Just needed a few minutes, that's all." I said. There was some silence, I knew he was standing somewhere behind me but I didn't turn around. I stared into the fire, watching the long red-orange-yellow flames dancing. The logs were crisp brown but they didn't really seem to burn and the fire was hot, sending of waves of heat in small rounds, but not so badly that it was uncomfortable. "I don't... I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to hide... hide the bump. It's five months- almost- and I'm starting to show a bit more than before."

"There's concealment spells." Severus said softly. "Dumbledore already has protocol in place. He believes it would be best if we kept it a secret until our child is actually born."

I closed my eyes, letting his words sink in. Our child. It was the first time he had said something like that and I loved it immensely.

He knelt down, putting a hand on my shoulder and said, "Everything's going to be okay you know. We- you're doing everything your supposed to be doing."

"I know." I said softly, reaching up to put a hand over his own. "I know." Then I stood up and asked, "Ready for bed?"

He got to his feet as well and turned off the lights, giving me a small smile. "I'll join you in a moment."

"Okay." I whispered, kissing him lightly on the cheek and climbed into bed. I don't know what he did, but I fell asleep before he got back.

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𝕾𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖚𝖘 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖉 the next morning, already sitting at his desk, tapping his fingers against the wood in a pattern.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" I asked, sitting up and stretching.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I did." Severus said, sounding distracted.

I got out of bed and got dressed, slipping on my robes and shoes. I went over to the window and looked down at the blinding snow. I wondered if the lake was frozen enough to go ice skating on it and highly doubted it.

"I'm going to go get some breakfast." I said, turning away from the window. Green spots appeared in my visions from the glare.

"Okay." Severus said, getting up from his chair and coming over to kiss my cheek. "See you later."

I headed out of the office, down the hallway, turned to the left, headed down some stairs, turned right and then found my way to the Great Hall.

I sat down at the Hufflepuff table and Trang came over immediately, looking exhausted.

"You look tired." I said, reaching for the grape jelly and a stack of toast.

"I stayed up late doing homework." Trang said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. She reached for a crumpet.

"That makes sense." I said absentmindedly. "What's your favorite class?"

"Ancient Runes." Trang said, "It's a fascinating class. And translating pages! Well, it's just like a puzzle really. I wonder what sorts of jobs I can get with Ancient Runes."

"Um, curse breaking." I said, trying to remember the job brochures from last year. "I don't really remember, I was only looking at healing and auror training."

"I'd like to be an Auror." Trang said thoughtfully.

"Maybe you could become the Muggle Studies Professor here." I said lightly, carefully tearing off the crust around the toast.

Trang rolled her eyes. "If I was going to teach a subject here, I'd teach Ancient Runes."

I shrugged, spreading jelly on the toast.

"What about you?" Trang asked, buttering her crumpet. "What class would you teach, given the choice?"

"Care of Magical Creatures." I answered immediately.

Trang stared at me, a raised eyebrow.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

Trang shrugged, "Just a surprise, you never were an animal person."

I rolled my eyes. "These aren't animals, they're magical creatures. There is a very specific difference."

"Oh?" Trang asked, raising her eyebrow again, "So your scared of dogs, cats, mice, rats, guinea pigs, geese, ducks, birds in general, but not magical creatures that breathe fire and have poisonous bites?"

"Okay look." I said, a bit annoyed, "I don't like dogs because they jump on you with their claws and they bite you. I don't like cats because they will scratch and bite. Mice and rats are a given fear. Guinea pigs also fall under the biting category, just like rabbits. And I don't like birds because of watching The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock 1963 horror film. That's your fault, by the way, you made me watch that."

"Shouldn't you be scared of rabbits too, with that logic?" Trang asked, smirking now. "They have the ability to bite too."

"Well, the more accurate definition is nip. And I did have a fear at first, but Sushi's a perfect little angel. He's never bitten me once." I said satisfied.

"And you were the one who said she liked horror movies." Trang said, still smirking and put her glasses on again. "Not my fault."

I glared at her, rolled my eyes, and continued to eat my toast. "But I like magical creatures." I said after I finished off my slice of toast.

"Oh yes," Trang said with a roll of her eyes, "because magical creatures won't bite or scratch or even kill you."

I sighed. "Magical Creatures are more predictable. There are rules when it comes to magical creatures. For example: hippogriffs. You bow, keep eye contact. The hippogriff doesn't bow back, you back off. If it does bow back, you approach and you make sure not to insult it. The only reason you'd get hurt around a hippogriff is by ignoring the cultural and magical rules."

Trang snorted, "Fair point but there are some creatures that can't be reasoned with!"

"Like?"

"Dragons, Fire-crabs, dragons, basilisks, dragons, acromantulas, and more dragons." Trang said, picking up a donut hole with each creature she named.

"That's a lot of dragons." I smirked.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them named at least 10 different types of dragons." Trang recited.

"Alright then." I consented, amused, "But, if you think logically, I'm not going to bring dragons or basilisks or acromantulas into the classroom. So, therefore, I wouldn't have to interact with them, correct?"

"Fair point." Trang consented, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure." I said and we got up from the table and went to our respective House common rooms to grab scarfs and hats and met in the entrance hall.

"Lake route or Hagrid route?" Trang asked as we exited the castle doors, meeting a blast of cold wind.

"Lake route." I said. "I'd like to see how frozen the lake is."

"Oh? Is there a fancy way of wizarding ice skating?" Trang asked in an interested voice but the words fell somewhat clumsily from her mouth.

"There's a number of spells that can be done on the feet or skates, if that's what you mean." I replied.

We started our circuit around the large body of water. The wind had died down and was blowing against our backs now, rather than our faces and it was better that way.

We were halfway around the lake when Trang asked a sudden question.

"What do you think about Draco Malfoy?"

I looked at her sparingly. "Like...?"

Trang hesitated and then said, "He's hot."

I choked on my next words and stared at her in amazement. Then I sputtered, "His Dad kidnapped you!"

Trang's flushed and turned her head towards the lake, "Yes, I know. But he's been coming onto me-"

"Of course he is!" I replied angrily. "Haven't you noticed your the person that the Death Eaters take to get to me?"

"So you think he's a Death Eater?" Trang asked, actually sounding disappointed.

"Of course he's a Death Eater." I snorted. "Voldemort made him replace his father."

Trang was silent for another moment and then said, "I wonder what he's doing."

"I don't know." I replied shortly. "Not yet, anyways."

"I wonder when you'll find out." She said.

I already knew, of course, but there was something off about Trang right now. I stopped walking and turned to face her, curiously. She looked at me now, hesitantly and then asked, "Okay, did I upset you? I shouldn't have said anything about how hot he was, should I have?"

I frowned briefly. I knew Draco was having Crabbe and Goyle using the Polyjuice potion a lot, but what about Draco? Was this Draco in front of me or was I turning into Uncle Moody, paranoid about everything? Of course, I thought, I had a good reason to be paranoid.

"No." I said slowly and then started to walk again. I couldn't let this person out of my sight. Trang wouldn't be interested in Draco because she had Oliver. So...

It had definitely been the real Trang at breakfast which meant that when we'd gone to get our winter clothes separately, that must've been when Draco- or another person- had nabbed Trang.

Harry and Ron had stuck Crabbe and Goyle in the broom closet. Where the hell was Trang?

I kept a slow pace outside though, no faster than we had been going and now we were starting around the other side.

"Do you think the lakes cold enough?" Trang asked, sounding curious.

"I don't know." I replied honestly, trying to keep up pretenses. I walked down the slope to the lake, Trang following me. I was self-conscious of the fact that my heart was beating very quickly. If whoever this was, wanted to push me in... if the lake wasn't frozen solid...

Trang pushed ahead, carefully putting one foot on the lake and leaning forward, testing the weight. "It seems solid enough." She said and put both feet on the lake and then jumped. Nothing happened.

She slid out onto the lake and, hesitating, I followed. Okay, maybe I was paranoid. After all, I'd liked multiple boys at the same time... it didn't mean anything at all. I really was becoming just like Uncle Moody.

We ice skated for exactly forty-two minutes which meant, if this wasn't Trang and was someone who had drank Polyjuice Potion, they had five minutes to get back up to the castle. Indeed, Trang was hurrying towards the castle quite fast.

I hurried alongside her and asked, "What's the hurry?"

"I just remembered a homework assignment due tomorrow that is going to take some time to do. Maybe we should go to the library next."

"Sure." I replied nonchalantly. "That sounds like a good idea."

We were now walking up the marble steps. Well, I was walking, she was running. I started to run to and as we reached the door, she said, "We'll go to our common rooms and meet each other in the library?"

She was already moving towards the stairs and I said, "Sure."

I waited for a few seconds as she hurried up the stairs and then, looking around, turned into a cat and hurried after her. She made her way towards what I figured was the Ravenclaw tower and then ducked away into a classroom, I slipped inside, hiding beside a black trash can.

Trang hurried over to a wardrobe and opened it up, bringing out Trang's real body, positioning her at the desk, making it look as though she had fallen asleep there: her arms crossed in front of her, her cheek resting on her arms.

I turned human, the other Trang's back was to me, and I said, "Who are you?"

The fake Trang jumped and turned, holding their hands out cautiously. My wand was pointed at their heart and I had my teeth gritted.

"You weren't supposed to find out." Trang's voice said. "It was just to hang out with you, you weren't going to with the real me."

I wasn't exactly sure who this person was or why I wouldn't have hung out with them. I conjured a patronus and sent it on it's way.

"Where is that going?" Trang's lovely eyes watched the patronus wander out the door.

"No where." I replied, glaring at Trang.

"What gave it away?" Trang asked. When I didn't respond she elaborated, "I mean, how did you know I wasn't the real Trang?"

"When you started to talk about Draco." I replied. "Trang would never have fallen in love with someone like him, no matter how hot he is."

Trang snorted, "Love? You're a bit naïve, don't you think? I never said I was in love, I simply said that he was hot and there is a legitimate difference."

"Elizabeth?" Professor Snape's voice came from behind me, "You sent for me?" And then he took in the scene of the two Trang's and said in a more curt voice, "I see."

He was silent and then strode towards the standing Trang and took her by the arm and led her out of the room.

"But-" I complained, "I want to know-"

He was gone, striding off down the hallway with Trang's arm in his grip. I turned to the sitting Trang and hurried over. "Enervate."

She stirred and I said, "Afternoon Trang."

She looked up at me sleepily and then looked around at the classroom and asked, "How in the world did I get in here?"

"You don't remember?"

Trang frowned, looking around at the classroom and then stood up. "Well... no. I remember breakfast, we were going to go on a walk so I came up to the Ravenclaw Tower and that's the last thing I remember..."

"Yes." I replied coolly. "someone stunned you and became you. Come on."

She followed me down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. I had a good idea of who had been using the Polyjuice Potion now and wanted to confirm it.

As we neared the office, the door opened and an angry Severus Snape and an abashed Blaise Zabini stepped out of the office.

Blaise flushed, looking at both Trang and me. "Er- I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "I would've hung out with you if you wanted," I started and realized that it was true, "you didn't have to stun my friend and impersonate her."

He gave a curt nod, his cheeks flushed, and then hurried off towards the staircase that led for the dungeons.

"Well." Trang said awkwardly, unable to meet Professor Snape's eyes and looked at me instead. "I'm sure you two have things to umm, talk about you know?" She winked at me and I groaned.

"You're not supposed to know!" I said exasperated, glancing at Severus, who's face was red.

"Oh!" Trang asked, her face red now too, "Sorry!" She hurried away too and I turned to face Severus, who jerked his head towards his office door, marching inside. I followed inside, closing the door behind me.

We went up to his office and he shut the door behind us and went to sit down on the bed. I remained standing, hesitant.

"Come here." Severus sighed and I went, sitting down next to him.

"I should've told you that Trang knew." I muttered, "Sorry about that."

"Does anyone else know?" Severus asked, "Besides Dumbledore and your father."

"Harry." I muttered, "But I think you might've already have known that from Occlumency."

"Right." Severus said.

"Umm, Trang also knows about... about the baby." I said, sucking in my cheeks. "I confide everything with her."

Severus nodded, "she's your best friend, I understand."

"Why did... was it really because Blaise wanted to hang out with me?" I asked skeptically, "It seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?"

"He's a Slytherin, Elizabeth." Severus said, sounding tense and bored at the same time. "How could he possibly hang out with you like a friend? Not when half the students' parents are Death Eaters. Not when he has a reputation to uphold. He can't be friendly with Potter's possible, rumored sister and even if that rumor doesn't turn out to be true, she's still a target of the Dark Lord and the daughter of a werewolf. Those are all big no nos. And yet, he does want to hang out with you and impersonating your best friend is the only way he's going to accomplish that."

"It's stupid!" I exclaimed. "I mean, obviously, I don't like him the way that I like you, but he's a nice boy, I think. I hate Slytherins with a passion but he wouldn't be the worst friend I've ever had."

Severus sighed, "All Slytherins?"

"You were sorted into the wrong house." I said. "You were supposed to be a Gryffindor."

Severus glared at me, "No, I wasn't."

"The Sorting Hat has only made seven sorting mistakes in it's entire career." I explained, "You, are one of them."

"Who are the other six?" Severus asked, looking a bit disturbed from this information.

"Don't know." I replied cheerfully, standing up to take off my cloak, gloves, scarf, and boots. "but I have guesses."

"Who?" He asked again.

"Well, I think Harry because he was supposed to be in Slytherin. Then there was Ron who was supposed to be in Hufflepuff, Hermione who was supposed to be in Ravenclaw, and then I was supposed to be in Gryffindor. But of course, I don't know if I should be counted, considering my position in this world. I would also guess that Peter Pettigrew would have been a sorting mistake- he should've been in Slytherin I think."

Severus was glowering now, "Potter? In Slytherin?"

I shrugged, "Doubt all you want Sev. I always know what I'm talking about. Hell, even Dumbledore thinks we sort to young. People aren't developed at that age, they- we don't know who we are at eleven and neither does the Sorting Hat."

Severus was quiet, pacing the room now.

I frowned, peering at him curiously and then asked, "Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine Elizabeth, sorry." Severus said, "But when you believe something your whole life, it's hard to change that perception."

I shrugged, "Well I mean, it's quite alright you know. There are anomalies in every house."

For some reason, Severus was very amused by this comment though he wouldn't tell me why.

I went back out for lunch and stayed in the library till dinner. After dinner, I returned to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Severus was still working at the desk, his quill flying across the paper, circling and underlining things.

I looked over his shoulder briefly. He tossed his quill into the ink well, turning the chair around to face me, and pulled me onto his lap.

I pressed my lips to his, closing my eyes, a blush creeping up my cheeks. His lips moved in a furious, careful, dangerous, loving way. Familiar and different at the same time. His hand behind my head, fingers tangled in my hair. The other arm wrapped around my hips, tight- protective almost.

We slowly shifted to the bed, the sheets and blankets a crumpled mess as our two bodies moved together fast and slow, rolling over carefully before settling down, our bodies tangled together.

Severus pulled the sheets around me as our breathing slowed. His eyes were shining, his hair was swept back from his face. I reached out, holding a lock of hair in my hand. I never understood the belief that his hair was oily. No, it was silky, soft, beautiful.

I pressed my lips to his chest, biting. His left arm kept me on my side, curled up next to him, my head on his chest. His lips were pressed against the top of my hair.

I lay awake for a long time, after Severus had fallen asleep, thinking. Though I had told Trang that I wanted to come up with a baby name on the spot, I kept turning names over in my head.

There were so many names out there that would fit my child. I wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl, of course (I'd told Severus it was going to be a surprise) but I couldn't help thinking the names, over and over.

My favorite boy name was Frederick James Snape. Of course, I highly doubted that Severus would be keen to have any of our children have James as a first or middle name. But I liked the sound of it regardless.

Then of course, there was naming the baby boy after Sirius or Uncle Moody or Dad or Severus or even Cedric.

Girl names were a bit easier. Lily kept popping up for one thing but I wasn't sure how much I liked that idea. After all, Severus had originally been in love with my mother and whenever I thought of that, I always had to think of the idea that perhaps Severus only loved me because I was Lily's daughter- because we looked alike. If I named my daughter Lily. . . well, I didn't know.

I liked the name Trang, I really did, but I wasn't sure I wanted to name my daughter that name. Of course, I really liked the name Rebecca and also Naomi.

I snuggled deeper into Severus' chest. I wondered what his mother's name had been. I wondered how pretty it was and if I could incorporate it as a middle name.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around me, feeling a draft coming from under the door, though the fireplace was lit.

I closed my eyes. Cedric was a good name. Yes, yes it was.

⬅️➡️

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randomnameless · 10 months

Note

The localisation for 3H is just so… weird. In some cases, they took a certain stance and in others… they didn't properly read the original text?

Take for example Ingrid and Dedue's C support: JP: Dedue: ……そうか。悪かったな。(I see. My apologies) Ingrid: ………………。 ……いえ。(No…/ No, that's…) EN: Dedue: My apologies. Ingrid: Your apologies are empty.

So, in the original text, she realised that she went a bit too far but in the localisation, she double-downs and only after that does she apologises. It's just so bizarre.

The other support chain that comes to mind is Felix and Dorothea's C support:

JP: Felix: 腹が減っているなら一人で食べろ。俺にごちゃごちゃと話しかけるな。(If you're hungry, go eat by yourself. Don't yap at me.)

EN: Felix: When I am hungry, I will eat. Alone. Stop squawking at me.

The main difference here lies in 食べる (taberu) vs 食べろ(tabero). The former is the non-past form of the verb 'to eat' (I eat, I'll eat, you eat, they'll eat, etc) and the latter… is an order. Felix is telling her to fuck off and eat by herself, not that he'll eat alone. So Dorothea's reaction is more natural in the original text. I'm probably just nitpicking here, considering how worse the localisation can get elsewhere, but still, it's annoying. (Side note: I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologise if the way I've translated these bits is off.)

No worries!

And...

Ouch, the lolcalisation really worked against Ingrid here!

Instead of apologising, like you said, she doubles down on her prejudice and only then apologises.

Maybe they wanted to make up for Supreme Leader's erased lines by adding some to Ingrid?

Lol @Felix to tell her to fuck off, it's not like he doesn't want to eat right now, but he doesn't want to eat with her.

While this is more nitpicking than the Ingrid one, I always try to wonder and think why those things were altered, is there a reason like it didn't sound right, or wouldn't be acceptable for english audiences, or is it something else?

With all the lolcalisation we see in the game, at times, it's pretty obvious the "something else" wins - but it's sad because... well, in Ingrid's case, she knows and realises her resentment is pointless and she feels guilty for having those thoughts regarding the people of Duscur, but as of now, she cannot shake them off (think about how Reyson sees humans, even if they help him, and later trusts them more when Ike'n'gang rescue Leanne).

As for Felix, maybe they wanted to tone down his, uh, Felix-ness at Dorothea, maybe because Doro was a fave, or because Felix would be considered to be "too assholish" if he told her to fuck off, idk...

Please let me know if you find other goofs like those!

#anon #replies #lolcalisation woes #lolcalisation issues #i haven't combed the entire script to check for lolcalisation bloopers #i have noticed Felix's BE support go to A+#because both Bernie and Doro are marriage prospects?#even if the doro support is basically 'i don't care' to 'ok i'll have tea with you and see your opera thing'#FE16 #Is it a coincidence Ingrid's support was altered to make Faerghus look BaD #hmm #I need to think about this over a cup of Earl Grey

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ceescedasticity · 5 months

Text

Anyway a couple other crossover classpect selections I have with no attached scenario—

Fire Emblem 3 Houses. I actually feel pretty clever about this, because to start with

Byleth: Lord of Space (Prospit) Sothis : Muse of Time (Derse)

and then other rosters which don't include Space or Time players — the session Byleth joins is the one that will succeed. The other sessions are

Claude: Heir of Breath (D) Hilda: Maid of Rage (D) Lorenz: Prince of Blood (P) Leonie: Witch of Hope (P) Lysithea: Mage of Doom (D) Raphael: Page of Light (P) Ignatz: Rogue of Life (P) Marianne: Sylph of Void (D)

Dimitri: Heir of Blood (P) Felix: Seer of Breath (D) Sylvain: Bard of Mind (D) Ingrid: Maid of Heart (P) Annette: Mage of Light (D) Mercedes: Witch of Hope (D) Dedue: Rogue of Rage (P) Ashe: Knight of Void (P)

Edelgard: Witch of Rage (D) Hubert: Thief of Life (D) Ferdinand: Page of Blood (P) Dorothea: Rogue of Mind (D) Bernadetta: Sylph of Void (P) Caspar: Knight of Heart (P) Linhardt: Mage of Breath (D) Petra: Maid of Hope (P)

Cyril: Page of Blood (P) Yuri: Prince of Mind (D) Constance: Maid of Doom (D) Hapi: Witch of Breath (D) Balthus : Heir of Heart (P) Flayn : Sylph of Life (P)

Fire Emblem Fates because why not (Hoshido+Corrin are Prospit, Nohr+Azura are Derse):

Corrin: Witch of Life Azura: Rogue of Doom Xander: Prince of Time Ryoma: Bard of Space Camilla: Maid of Mind Hinoka: Seer of Blood Leo: Mage of Void Takumi: Knight of Heart Elise: Page of Breath Sakura: Sylph of Light

Fire Emblem Tellius with a roster I'm not 100% happy with (and haven't picked moons for)

Ike: Rogue of Heart Soren: Thief of Doom [or Mage. Mage works fine, I'd kind of prefer Mage, but Thief may be better — he certainly fits the "asshole with talent" description] Mist: Sylph of Life Micaiah: Seer of Hope Leanne: Witch of Space Elincia: Knight of Mind Sothe: Heir of Light Kurthnaga: Bard of Time Lethe: Maid of Rage Pelleas: Page of Blood

Ummmmmm FFXIV Scions:

Alphinaud: Heir of Space (P) Alisaie: Rogue of Time (D) Y'shtola: Witch of Light (D) Thancred: Mage of Void (D) Urianger: Page of Life (P) Tataru: Sylph of Mind (D) Krile: Seer of Heart (P) G'raha: Knight of Hope (P) Estinien: Prince of Doom (D) Lyse: Maid of Breath (P)

Owl House:

Luz: Witch of Hope (D) Amity: Seer of Heart (P) Willow: Maid of Rage (P) Gus: Rogue of Light (P) Hunter: Heir of Void (D) Collector: Bard of Life (D) King: Knight of Blood (P) Vee: Sylph of Breath (D)

Yu-gi-oh (first half Prospit, second half Derse):

Yuugi: Rogue of Space Anzu : Maid of Breath Jounouchi: Knight of Hope Honda: Sylph of Void Otogi: Heir of Blood Ryou: Page of Doom Malik: Bard of Heart Kaiba: Seer of Life Atem : Prince of Time Thief King: Thief of Rage

Tower of God with a roster I'm not 100% happy with and haven't picked moons for:

Bam: Lord of Life Khun: Mage of Time Rak: Bard of Breath Shibisu: Rogue of Mind Hatz: Knight of Light Anaak: Prince of Doom Endorsi: Maid of Heart Wangnan: Heir of Space Yihwa: Witch of Rage Hwaryun: Sylph of Void Miseng: Page of Blood

so. yeah. character-study sudoku.

#crossover classpect #crossover classpects #things i'm not writing

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dimiclaudeblaigan · 11 months

Text

Fodlan and Tellius Character Design Poll Results!

These are in order of when I posted the polls, so sorry about the names not being in any particular order!

Fodlan:

Dimitri: War Phase

Claude: War Phase

Yuri: Hopes

Male Byleth: Original

Female Byleth: Enlightened

Rhea: Seiros

Seteth: Houses

Flayn: Houses

Female Shez: War Phase

Male Shez: War Phase

Arval: Epimenides

Edelgard: War Phase

Hubert: War Phase

Dedue: Hopes (very nearly tied with WP!)

Felix: War Phase

Hilda: War Phase

Balthus: Academy

Ferdinand: War Phase

Lysithea: War Phase

Sylvain: War Phase

Monica: War Phase

Dorothea: War Phase (was Hopes for a long duration of the poll!)

Annette: War Phase (very close with Hopes!)

Constance: Academy & Hopes tie

Jeritza: War Phase

Caspar: War Phase (a, well, landslide)

Mercedes: Hopes (by quite a lot!)

Lorenz: War Phase

Leonie: War Phase

Linhardt: Hopes

Marianne: War Phase

Ashe: War Phase

Petra: War Phase (went back and forth with Hopes for a while!)

Bernadetta: War Phase

Ingrid: War Phase

Ignatz: War Phase

Raphael: War Phase

Cyril: War Phase

Hapi: Hopes

Anna: Trickster (pretty close!)

Tellius:

Ike: Hero

Soren: PoR

Ranulf: RD

Mist: RD

Elincia: RD

Sephiran: Lehran & RD tie

Titania: PoR (very close!)

Boyd: RD

Sothe: Whisper (very close with Rogue!)

Volke: RD Assassin (pretty close with PoR Assassin!)

Dheginsea: RD (LANDSLIDE)

Black Knight: RD

Micaiah: Light Mage (all three were tied/close to tied for most of the poll!)

Oscar: RD

Shinon: PoR

Jill: RD

Haar: RD (that landslide tho)

Reyson: RD

Leanne: RD

Tibarn: RD

Naesala: RD (VERY nearly almost tied!)

Gatrie: PoR

Astrid: PoR

Sigrun: PoR

Tanith: PoR

Zelgius: RD

Sanaki: RD

Tormod: RD

Muarim: RD

Rolf: RD

Devdan/Danved: PoR

Calill: RD

Largo: RD

Makalov: RD

Marcia: RD

Geoffrey: RD

Lucia: PoR

Bastian: RD (...basically a landslide tho)

Renning: RD

Anna: PoR

Caineghis: RD (ye ol' landslide)

Giffca: RD (see above!)

Lethe: RD

Zihark: RD

Ilyana: PoR

Mordecai: PoR

Stefan: RD

Mia: PoR (pretty close!)

Rhys: RD

Ulki: RD (boy howdy landslide)

Janaff: RD

Naeluchi: PoR

Nephenee: RD

Kieran: RD

Brom: RD

Tauroneo: RD (our final landslide!)

Gareth: RD

Kurthnaga: RD

Ena: RD

Nasir: PoR

#DCB Polls

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thefvrious · 7 months

Text

@queenxfthedxmned sent -> matthew lillard

full name: felix hayes danger nicknames: n/a birthday: october 10 age: mid-twenties gender/pronouns: cis-male, he/his hometown: calgary, canada sign: libra religion: satanist orientation: pansexual occupation: piercer, paranormal investigator family: jameson danger (father), leanne danger (mother), august danger (brother), eliza danger (sister), juno danger (sister) +: friendly, dreamer, altruistic, upbeat -: melodramatic, delusional, gossipy, ambivalent blurb: the second of four, felix has always felt the need to stand out, much to his father's chagrin. his bad behavior as an adolescent got him kicked out of the home at sixteen and set a stark example to his younger siblings for how not to behave. this only made felix double down and lean harder into his 'black sheep' persona. he apprenticed at a tattoo shop as a piercer, but his real passion lies with the paranormal. in his own free time and at his own expense, he's started to do some investigations which he films and edits himself.

#felix danger ~ about #felix danger #fc meme #tba

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fireemblemsiblingsweek · 1 year

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Participant Directory:

@reneethegreatandpowerful: One picture of Sylvain & Miklan, one story about Hubert & his brother, one picture of Lambert & Rufus, one comic about Uther & Hector, one story about Marcia & Makalov.

@selenadem: One picture of Ephraim & Eirika, one picture of Sharena & Alfonse, one picture of Conrad & Celica, one picture of Rafiel, Leanne, & Reyson, one picture of Reginn, Fafnir, & Otr.

@thethiefinwhite: One picture of Kana & Shigure, one picture of Leo & Elise, one picture of Elice & Marth, one picture of Almedha, Kurthnaga, & Rajaion, one picture of Glenn & Felix, one picture of Holst & Hilda, one comic of Micaiah & Sanaki.

@vellatra: One picture of Marcia & Makalov, one picture of Rolf, Oscar, & Boyd, one picture of Sothe & Micaiah, one picture of Pain & Agony, one picture of Ramon & Renning, one picture of Kurthnaga, Rajaion, & Almedha, one picture of Rafiel & Leanne.

@cahoon-but-with-words: A picture and drabble for Hilda & Holst, a picture & drabble for Felix, Glenn, Sylvain, & Miklan.

@aptericia: One picture of Holst & Hilda, one picture of Oscar, Boyd, & Rolf, one picture of Mercedes & Jeritza, one picture of Sanaki & Micaiah.

@moeblob: One picture of Alfonse, Sharena, & Lif, one comic of Ylgr, Hrid, & Gunnthra, one comic of Laevatein, Laegjarn, Hrid, & Fjorm.

@irisandlily: Four oneshots about Lucina & Morgan.

@amalthea-fictions: A story about Kaze & Saizo.

All reblogged entries are tagged "entry."

#Fire Emblem Siblings Week 2023

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miracul0us-multishipper · 5 years

Text

Welcome to the Back (Part 1)

Next Chapter

@a-6-yearold-inside

A Felinette Fanfic where they never changed seats back after Chameleon, Adrien vs Felix in the next parts

- - -

Adrien was a good friend, if you asked him. Not that he had a lot of experience with friendship, but he’d read a lot about it. He could listen well. He could give advice. He was good at bringing out the best in people, at keeping the peace and harmony of the class. Madame Bustier didn’t call him sunshine boy for nothing!

So when Felix Leanne was announced to be their newest student, he figured he was the perfect candidate to welcome him to class. Sure, they hadn’t really gotten along when they’d last met, but maybe Felix had changed in the last year?

“Hi!”, he greeted as soon as he spotted the boy. “I’m Adrien Agreste. We’ve worked together last summer, remember?”

The older blond stilled and eyed him warily. His eyes were eerily colorless; a cool, distant grey. Adrien shivered a little.

“I do” Felix replied after a moment of silence. Then continued to walk towards class.

Struggling to keep up with his long, measured strides, he followed suit.

“You’ve never been to school either, right?” he tried again. “We’ll be in the same class! Madame Bustier is our home teacher, she’ll probably want you to make a short introduction. Do you want to get to know our classmates? I could introduce you!”

Felix kept his eyes straight ahead, his face was devoid of any emotion. Maybe he was shy? Surely, he’d open up sooner or later.

“That appears to be inevitable.”, was his brisk answer, confirming that the new student would need some time to warm up to them.

Alright then. He could do this!

When they entered the classroom, only a few students were already there. They looked up as soon as Felix walked in, his confident posture attracting attention even before he was fully inside.

“Hey, guys!”, Adrien greeted Nino and Alya, who already looked as if she had a million questions to ask their newbie. “This is Felix Leanne! He’s from Great Britain, we modeled together last year.”

Alya jumped up and held out her hand to him, all but squealing in excitement.

“I’m Alya Césaire, from the Ladyblog! I’ve read so much about you, you were the face of Leanne Fashion’s “Lucky Line”! The posters of you in that Ladybug tie were all over Paris!”

She shoved her phone in his face, probably displaying said ad.

“I’m so excited to meet you!”

Felix wrinkled his nose.

“Please take that out of my face.”

“Oh, right!”

“I’m Nino”, her boyfriend followed up, “Nice to meet you, dude! I’m sure you’re gonna love it here.”

One by one, the other students began to crowd around Felix, greeting him and asking about his life. The answers were short, matter-of-fact and a little bit annoyed if you paid enough attention. Chloé threw one look at him and apparently decided it was best not to mess with him.

“Lila’s going to be so happy to meet you!”, Rose said cheerily, catching Adrien’s attention again. She was directly next to Felix, no chance he might have missed that. “She told us all about you, from when she met you at that Fashion Show in London her parents sponsored.”

Felix frowned and opened his mouth, but Adrien beat him to it.

“Let’s not bother him with work details right now!”, he suggested a little too hastily, and probably an octave above his usual tone of voice. “He’s new to school after all, and I’m sure he hears enough about work at home!”

Felix looked at him with raised eye brows, but didn’t press the matter. Adrien sighed with relief. Another day of successfully keeping the peace of this class.

He looked around, searching for missing faces. Kim was sick with the flu, he wouldn’t come today. Sabrina was with Chloé as usual, Marinette was probably late again and Lila should be here any minute now.

As if on cue, the brunette Italian entered the room just as the other students began to go to their places again. With a winning smile and her usual, confident stride she headed for Felix.

“Oh, hello! You’re Felix Leanne, right? I’m Lila Rossi, I’m sort of new myself.”

The tall blond regarded her with hidden suspicion.

“Aha”

Her eyes roamed over his desk and spotted the thermos in his bag.

“I heard you’re from England!” she beamed. “I lived there for a while, my grandparents are famous for their rare teas. Maybe we could go for a cup after school? There’s not that many places where it’s as good as in Britain, but I happen to know one or two.”

The fact that she hadn’t mentioned any Fashion Show in London confirmed Adrien’s assumption that it had been another lie.

Felix eyed her for a moment, then sat down at the last table in the back.

“I hate tea.”, he deadpanned, before taking out the thermos and pouring him a cup of what was obviously coffee without breaking eye contact with Lila. Adrien swore he could see the gears in her head come to screeching halt.

“O-Oh? What a shame” she caught herself. “Then maybe we could-“

“Good Morning, class!”, Madame Bustier interrupted her attempts. Forced to retreat for now, Lila went to her seat next to him and Adrien followed with a nod. During the lesson she wouldn’t have the opportunity to make up another story, which meant for now, crisis was averted. No exposing Lila, no fights, no trouble. He smiled. Another day of perfect school time, just like he’d always imagined it!

He shouldn’t have been so sure of that. It started when Marinette arrived, just in time for saying “present” as Mme Bustier read her name. Since she’d been sitting in the back for a week now, she’d be Felix desk neighbor. He didn’t think anything of it, but Lila shot her a glare that could’ve been both a warning and a threat. Or maybe he’d misinterpreted it? Maybe she’d just been annoyed that Marinette was late again? Must be it.

Still, Madame Bustier didn’t get the chance to start her lesson when Lila stood up and raised her voice.

“Madame, Felix just arrived! He shouldn’t have to sit in the back by himself, does he?”

Adrien wanted to remind her that no, he wasn’t by himself, Marinette was there too, but remembered just in time the last time they had changed the seats. No, it wouldn’t help to speak up now.

Mme Bustier frowned.

“We only changed the seating order last week.”

Lila wasn’t that easy to shake off however.

“Oh, but you have all welcomed me so sweetly when I first arrived. I couldn’t live with myself if I wouldn’t do the same for Felix.”

She looked down.

“If it weren’t for my disability I’d switch with him myself, but...”

Felix coughed.

“I don’t-“

“Oh, we could go to the back!”, Alya volunteered, drowning out whatever Felix had wanted to say, and pulled Nino’s hand up with her. Lila smiled.

“Really? That’s so nice of you guys!”

“Actually-“ Felix tried again but Lila wasn’t done yet.

“Oh, but what about Marinette? We just unseated her last week, we shouldn’t do so again, right? Would you sit with Marinette in the back?”

“Sure!”, Alya beamed and patted Nino on the shoulder in comfort. “We sat together before, too!”

“I-“

“It’s no big deal, really!”

“Madame Bustier!”, Marinette called out of the blue, with enough force to make the entire class jump. Her hands were planted firmly on the desk and her face was grim. He shot her a concerned glance, trying to remind her of her promise. No exposing Lila.

“Yes, Marinette?” the young teacher answerd, looking startled.

“How about”, Marinette said slowly, locking eyes with Mme Bustier, “we offer Felix the chance I didn’t get the last time, and give him a say in this?”

Surprised, she nodded and looked at her latest student.

“O-Of course, yes. Where would you like to sit, Felix?”

The blond teenager sighed, frustrated.

“I am perfectly fine sitting in the back, thank you very much.”

Felix hated school. It was full, it was loud and people just wouldn’t leave him alone. He sighed, remembering the promise he’d made to his mother. She was still in England, but she’d called to make sure he was alright. She wanted him to have this experience, to meet other children and be normal, for a while. It was not like he didn’t appreciate her care! But he really, really wished she would’ve expressed it in other ways. Maybe take him along to one of her incentives or business trip. He was old enough to learn about the company he’d inherit, wasn’t he?

But if it made her happy, he’d try this... school life. He’d make an effort, learn something, and then go back to homeschooling. Preferably sooner than later.

“Present!”, yelled a voice next to him and he looked up. He hadn’t even noticed the girl sliding into the seat next to him, but now she was there. Late, obviously.

He hated unpunctuality.

She smiled at him when she noticed his stare and pushed her book over to him, showing him which page they were at. Otherwise, she didn’t try to interrogate him or make Smalltalk.

Huh. He could appreciate that.

Until that Lila-girl from earlier stood up, he was almost thinking this wouldn’t get so bad after all. But alas, his hopes were shattered once again.

Her repeated attempts at changing the seating were, to his surprise, not shut down by the red-haired teacher. Apparently, he had to get active himself. Great.

He coughed, trying to get their attention.

“I don’t-“

“Oh, we could go to the back!”, the Ladyblog girl, Alya, exclaimed enthusiastically. He blinked. She’d just cut him off. How disrespectful!

Shaking his head, he straightened his back. Maybe she just hadn’t heard him. No need to make a fuss just yet.

“Actually-“ he started again, before being interrupted once again, this time by Lila. His eye twitched.

One more time, he told himself, one more time trying to do it the peaceful way. For Mum. He could still walk out after that.

“I-“ really don’t need to sit in the front, he wanted to say, but his third try was as successful as the other two. He sighed, almost happy. He could go home, finally. Tell Mum he’d tried, but public schools just weren’t his forte. Too unprofessional. Too chaotic. Too...

“Madame Bustier!”, an energetic voice pulled him out of his resignation, just as he was about to pack his bag. It was his desk neighbor, Ms Unpunctual. Could that girl even talk in any volume other than “loud”?

“How about we give Felix the chance I didn’t get, the last time,” she said threateningly slow, and bit bitterly if he wasn’t wrong, “and give him a say in this?”

“Of course” the teacher agreed, apparently remembering that she was supposed to be the authority here. “Where would you like to sit, Felix?”

He sighed.

“I am perfectly fine with sitting in the back, thank you very much!”, he uttered a bit salty.

Lila, frustrated that she was ignored, sat down again and the rest of the class calmed as well.

“You didn’t have to do that”, he clarified to his neighbor as soon as the teacher had turned around. Better make clear that she couldn’t expect any favors or benefits from him. “I’m fully capable of speaking for myself.”

Usually. In a professional environment, at least. He hated having to raise his voice, and apparently, that was the only thing that worked on these savages.

But the girl surprised him yet again by simply shrugging.

“Yeah, I figured. But still.” She looked down, where Lila was currently draping herself all over Agreste. “It can be nice to know someone has your back.”

Maybe he’d imagined it, but she sounded a little bitter at that. He turned back to the teacher, but kept stealing glances at his pigtailed classmate.

He was no stranger to people, not like Agreste had been just a year ago. And other than the younger boy, he didn’t see them through rose colored lenses, and didn’t mind telling them off when they crossed a line. His young age and position as the heir and face of an international fashion empire made him a regular target for people that wanted to profit off of him - his sire included. He couldn’t afford to be as carefree as Adrien, who was constantly monitored by his own terror of a father.

Over the time, Felix had acquired a sixth sense for detecting warning signs of manipulators and people who used others for their own gain. He’d seen them in Lila Rossi, and he’d seen them in his father, but no matter how hard he focused, scrutinized or analyzed... he couldn’t find them in his mysterious classmate.

“I’m Felix”, he eventually whispered, half hoping she wouldn’t hear it. Yet her surprised smile failed to disappoint him, for some reason.

“I’m Marinette. Welcome to the back, I guess.”

- - -

To be continued

#miramu writes #welcome to the back #wttb #miraculous ladybug #mlb #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ml felix #felix leanne #felinette #felinette month #ml felinette #mlb fanfic #felinette fanfic

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hermionemonica · 5 years

Text

I ship Marinette with...

(Fair warning: Strong opinions involved.)

Look, I’m a passionate Adrienette shipper. That was my first ship since I started watching the show, and no matter the other sides of the love square, those two have my heart.

But I also don’t really mind shipping Marinette with other people for a change. Hence, I do have occasional Lukanette and Felinette moods. I believe that my girl Marinette deserves all the love in the world, and while I ideally want it to be Adrien, I don’t mind others as long as it is in her best interest. I have no objection to reading some good Lukanette and Felinette pieces.

But my problem is how they must make Adrien look like. Most Lukanette and Felinette fics out there have a tendency to make Adrien look like either a stubborn obsessed idiot, or a spineless coward. And that is what I detest. I love my boy bits. And while canon has him be a little oblivious, he has his reasons, which are valid enough (as I have said in my post on “The Puppeteer 2″). of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but my sunshine boy does not deserve so much hatred, for being in a position that was not his fault in the first place.

People are free to ship whoever they want. Let your ships sail; but let it not be at the cost of bringing down another’s ship. That is uncalled for, and inconsiderate.

Luka is am amazing character in himself; he is one of my favourites in the show. He has a great chemistry with Marinette, and he has just the potential to be a very deep and diverse character. But I want Luka to be more than just a temporary love interest for Marinette. I don’t want him to be the second choice, the tool for development of the main love plot (same goes for Kagami, actually). I want him to shine out as an individual on his own.

As for Felix, fanon Felix is a great character. A broken heart under a facade of bitterness is, although typical, a great option for character development. I like fics where he supports Marinette and gives her the push to stand up to Lila.

But like I said, Adrien is not an asshole. There is no need for him to be depicted as such just to make Luka or Felix (any other potential love interest) look better; they are good characters in itself. If a fic can make Marinette fall in love with someone else, without Adrien being a douchebag to her, then that definitely is something I’d like to read.

A gentle reminder that no harsh feelings were directed to anyone in particular. Apologies to anyone whose feelings I may have hurt unintentionally.

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angelsdvsts · 2 years

Text

i’d love to write more w/ any of these characters; LIKE this and i’ll come to you if you wanna play against any of them !!

ariella (cristine prosperi)

serenity (madison beer)

carson (shawn mendes)

holden (matthew daddario)

camden (luke hemmings)

leanne (olivia holt)

zack (jacob elordi)

bianca (alexa demie)

ace (noah centieno)

ximena (cierra ramirez)

kai (xavier serrano)

willow (zendaya)

leila (kaylee bryant)

celeste (maude apatow)

liam (rudy pankow)

kiara (madison bailey)

aurora (mimi keene)

christian (felix mallard)

elijah (tom holland)

#indie rp #indie smut rp #independent roleplay #indie roleplay

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patroklides-archive · 3 years

Text

bolded = favorites. italicized = ships i am currently writing but will ship with duplicates. starred * = ships that are heavily dependent on the portrayal and/or will require significant plotting. triple starred *** = ships that i will only write if we’re close out-of-character. crossed out = ship exclusives and/or ships where i am not actively seeking duplicates.

updated 8/19: added monica.

fire emblem (fodlan)

ashe (undecided): yuri, felix, caspar, dedue, cyril, sylvain, dimitri

byleth (bi, strong preference for women): edelgard, mercedes, dorothea, yuri, claude*

dedue (pan): dimitri***, ashe, mercedes, sylvain*, shez, petra

dorothea (bi): edelgard, petra, ingrid*, bernadetta, ferdinand***, yuri***

edelgard (sapphic): f!byleth, dorothea, bernadetta, lysithea***, claude***

ferdinand (bi): hubert***, constance, dorothea, bernadetta*

hubert (bi, strong preference for men): ferdinand, bernadetta, sylvain, m!byleth, linhardt, shez (either)

leonie (lesbian): marianne, bernadetta, dorothea, shamir***, f!shez, f!byleth, hilda***

mercedes (pan): ingrid*, constance, annette***, dedue***, byleth (either)*, edelgard*

monica (lesbian): edelgard, dorothea, bernadetta

yuri (bi): sylvain, ashe, bernadetta, byleth (either), claude, dorothea

fire emblem (tellius)

micaiah (bisexual): pelleas, zelgius*, nailah, jill

mia (bi): rhys, ilyana

naesala (bi): leanne, tibarn, reyson, zelgius*

soren (gay): ike, skrimir, ranulf*, rhys, stefan*

disclaimers and notes

for my own personal comfort, i am highly selective about writing m/f ships when i am writing women. muses labeled “sapphic” are only available for m/f relationships with close friends or if i approach you first.

i will only ship pre-skip with characters who are 18+ and/or are within ~2-3 years of age of each other.

student muses can only be shipped with byleth after the time skip.

the only dimitri or sylvain i will ship any of my muses with are nox’s.

i will not write rhea/byleth, byleth/sylvain, dimitri/edelgard, edelgard/hubert, or dedue/ingrid.

i am very selective about edelgard/ferdinand, byleth/dimitri, and byleth/jeritza, but i will not completely rule out the possibility of writing them.

the only way i will ship dedue/felix is in three hopes verse, and only in a poly ship with dimitri. (the only felix i will write this dynamic with is marie’s.)

#( ship bias. )

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randomontheinternet · 4 years

Text

Our Life Voiced Names A-Z

I heard some people wanted a list of the voiced names so far, so I took the time to copy down all of the names from A to Z. The names are under the cut to not clutter.

Aaron

Aayria

Abby

Ace

Adrienne

Aeon

Aeriie

Aesilng

Aga

Aine

Aisha

Aisling

Aki

Akira

Akua

Alaina

Alex

Alexis

Alfonzo

Ali

Alice

Alijah

Alison

Alvis

Alyssa

Amanda

Amber

Amelia

Amy

Anaïs

Andra

Andre

Andrew

Andri

Angel

Angela

Angie

Anima

Anita

Anna

Anna-Maria

Anne

Annie

Annika

Anthony

Antoine

Aoife

Arabella

Aram

Ari

Arielle

Arrow

Arthur

Arturo

Arty

Ash

Asher

Ashla

Ashleigh

Ashlyn

Aspen

Asteria

Astrid

Athena

Atticus

Audrey

Aura

Aurora

Austin

Autumn

Ayanna

Barbie

Basil

Beach

Beata

Bec

Becky

Bee

Belen

Ben

Bethany

Bia

Blue

Bobbi

Bonnie

Boyd

Braden

Brian

Briana

Brielle

Brittany

Brooke

Brooklyn

Bryony

Bunni

Cadence

Cai

Cam

Cami

Cara

Carmine

Casey

Cassidy

Cato

Cecilia

Cecily

Celestia

Cerise

Chance

Chantal

Chara

Charlie

Charmaine

Chelle

Chris

Christie

Christina

Chuck

Ciara

Ciaran

Cillian

Claire

Cléo

Coco

Col

Conny

Cora

Cori

Corrina

Cristal

Cristina

Crystal

Cygnus

Cyina

Dan

Dani

Dante

Daphne

Dara

Dayton

December

Denny

Deremy

Desiree

Desmond

Destiny

Devyn

Dexter

Diamond

Diana

Diane

Dorothy

Duane

Eddie

Eden

Elaine

Elda

Eleanor

Elegance

Elena

Elenus

Elissa

Eliza

Elle

Ellie

Eluned

Elysa

Ember

Emilith

Emily

Emma

Emmy

Enjel

Ennae

Eric

Erica

Erii

Erin

Ester

Eve

Evren

Ezekiel

Ezra

Felicia

Felicity

Felix

Fianna

Finist

Finn

Flynn

Francesco

Franklin

Gabrielle

Gaby

Gail

Garnet

Gavin

Gemma

Genevieve

Gerry

Gigi

Gin

Giulia

Glen

Grace

Gray

Gwen

Haley

Halima

Hana

Hannah

Hanni

Haru

Hazel

Heather

Helena

Héloïse

Hime

Hiyori

Hollis

Holly

Hon

Hunter

Ian

Iga

Illidan

Imani

Irene

Iris

Isabel

Ishan

Isla

Isolde

Issa-Kabeer

Ivy

J.R.

Jacob

Jade

Jaden

Jaiet

Jake

Jan

Janice

Jas

Jasmine

Jasper

Jatin

Javi

Jax

Jay

Jaycie

Jazz

Jeannie

Jeff

Jemma

Jen

Jennifer

Jenny

Jess

Jesse

Jessica

Jessinia

Jill

Jinx

Joanie

Joanna

Joelle

Johanna

Jordan

Jordanna

Joseph

Josh

Josie

Joy

Juleyma

Juli

Julia

Julianne

Julien

June

Jupiter

Justina

Kaden

Kai

Kala

Kaleton

Kalina

Karat

Karen

Kat

Kate

Katelyn

Katrina

Kay

Kel

Kellie

Ken

Kendi

Kenton

Kevin

Kia

Kiara

Kiba

Kie

Kien

Kim

Kimberly

Kimory

Kira

Kirsty

Kisa

Kit

Knox

Kodie

Kozmo

Kra

Kristen

Kyan

Laëtitia

Lanz

Laura

Lauren

Lavender

Leaf

Leann

Leina

Leo

Leon

Leslie

Letty

Levi

Lex

Lexi

Lia

Libbi

Lidia

Lilith

Lillian

Lily

Lindsay

Lindt

Linley

Lisette

Liss

Livia

Lotus

Lucy

Luke

Luna

Lyla

Lyric

Lvsander

Lysella

Maddy

Madeline

Mae

Maggy

Mahari

Mai

Maia

Mali

Mallory

Malyia

Mandy

Marcel

Marcella

Marcia

Marco

Margaret

Mari

Maria

Marianne

Mariposa

Maris

Marissa

Marlene

Martina

Mary

Mary-Elizabeth

Mason

Matina

Matthew

Maus

Max

Maya

McKenzie

Megan

Mel

Melanie

Melissa

Melly

Melody

Merlin

Mia

Mich

Michael

Michelle

Michiko

Mickie

Mikaela

Mikey

Mimi

Mina

Minette

Mini

Mira

Miranda

Mishal

Missy

Mizuki

Molly

Monica

Mordaine

Morgan

Morgana

Moriah

Morina

Muriel

Mykaela

Nakira

Nancie

Natalie

Natasha

Nathaniel

Neelam

Nessa

Nessi

Niamh

Nicole

Nier

Night

Nikki

Nina

Noah

Noe

Noel

Nui

Oda

Oliver

Olivia

Ollie

Omar

Onyx

Opal

Ori

Osmond

Oumou

Paige

Parvati

Patience

Patrice

Patricia

Patrick

Peter

Philippe

Phoebe

Phoenix

Polly

Priya

Querriana

Quinn

Quinniece

Rachel

Rain

Rainie

Ran

Randi

Raphaël

Raven

Rayne-Beau

Rayraye

Rebecca

Reed

Rei

Reina

Rémi

Ren

Revan

Rhiannon

Rhi-Rhi

Rhyne

Rika

Riley

Rini

Riona

Risa

Riven

Riza

Robyn

Rory

Rosa

Rose

Rosetta

Rosie

Rowan

Runa-Lucienne

Ruth

Ryan

Rye

Sabrina

Sage

Salem

Sam

Samantha

Sammi

Sandy

Sara

Saro

Sasha

Savannah

Season

Selena

Selkie

Serena

Shaelei

Shakyra

Shay

Shayla

Sheena

Shelbie

Sid

Sienna

Silvia

Simmy

Simon

Sinead

Skye

Skyla

Skylar

Soffia

Soleil

Sonja

Sora

Soraya

Stacey

Star

Stefan

Stevie

Stella

Steph

Stephanie

Stephen

Story

Susan

Suzy

Sydney

Tama

Tammy

Tanisha

Tanya

Taylor

Ted

Teddy

Terra

Terrence

Terry

Thomas

Thorgunna

Tiago

Tida

Tobias

Toki

Tokiko

Tom

Tommy

Tomoko

Trey

Tricia

Tristan

Twila

Tye

Uma

Undyne

Vaeril

Van

Vandy

Vaughn

Vaylin

Velise

Venla

Vera

Verly

Verv

Vesper

Vicky

Victor

Vina

Vincent

Violette

Vivi

Vivienne

Wendy

Westley

Whispthera

Winnie

Wonder

Xander

Xavier

Xiri

Yasmin

Ylthin

Yon

Yoonie

Yuki

Yukino

Yuli

Yvette

Yvonne

Zachary

Zack

Zae

Zariyah

Zayla

Zen

Ziya

Zoey

#our life beginnings & always #our life #ourlifeba #the final list if more names don't come out #last update- feb 17

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cerulane · 3 years

Link

Felix Leanne est nouveau à l’école et s’installe avec Marinette au fond de la classe.

Salt-fic intéressante. Marinette trouve un allié de poids en Felix, qui refuse de se laisser manipuler et de faire l’autruche pour maintenir la paix. La relation entre Marinette et Felix progresse logiquement.

#mlb fanfic #season 3 #salt fic #marinette dupain cheng #Felix #adrien agreste #lila rossi #felinette #adrien salt #Lila get exposed

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aaronstveit · 4 years

Text

top books of 2020

i was tagged by @augustsippedaways to share my favorite books of 2020, thank you so much leanne!!! ♡♡ i’ve read over 60 books this year which isn’t like a ton but it’s a lot after several years of a reading slump (plus i surpassed the goal i set for myself) and i read some of the best books of my life this year!!! i have a goodreads shelf for my favs that i’ve read this year but here are my top 10 & my ratings for them!! each of these books contain potentially triggering material, so if you’re thinking about reading any of these, feel free to message me asking for trigger warnings!!

cemetery boys by aiden thomas — 10/10

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquistion — 10/10

felix ever after by kacen callender — 10/10

mexican gothic by silvia garcia-moreno — 9.5/10

aristotle & dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire sáenz — 9.5/10

the goldfinch by donna tartt — 9/10

dracula by bram stoker — 8.5/10

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid — 8.5/10

if we were villains by m.l. rio — 8.5/10

the voting booth by brandy colbert — 8/10

tagging: @laststop @ganseyiiis @wrenleis @adamganseys @rgcnsey @whitemitsu @augustsjanes and anyone else who wants to do it!! ♡♡

#text #tag games

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aidanchaser · 4 years

Text

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Everyone Lives AU

Table of Contents beta’d by @ageofzero, @magic713m, @ccboomer, @aubsenroute, @somebodyswatson

Chapter Twenty-Four Sectumsempra

Dear Cedric,

It’s nearly sunrise, but I figured that you wouldn’t want me to wait.

I got the memory from Slughorn and it’s so much worse than we thought.

There are six horcruxes. Or there were. Dumbledore and I have destroyed three already.

Of the ones left, one is Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, another is his snake Nagini. Dumbledore thinks the last one would be an artefact that once belonged to either Godric Gryffindor or Rowena Ravenclaw.

Dumbledore doesn’t have any leads on where Hufflepuff’s cup might be, nor what the artefact belonging to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw might be, but he’s looking. He said if he finds a helpful lead, he’ll let me go with him to find the Horcrux! The trouble is that Voldemort’s taken extra care to hide them. I don’t know what exactly Regulus Black said to Voldemort in the graveyard, but it was something about telling Voldemort that his secret wasn’t as safe as he’d thought it was. Dumbledore said he was lucky to retrieve the ring before Voldemort could check on it and move it. Of course Voldemort keeps the snake close to him, but Dumbledore hasn’t been able to find any leads on the last two, and he thinks that’s because Vodlemort has moved them recently.

I was worried that Voldemort might create another Horcrux, if he knows that Regulus has gone after one already, but Dumbledore thinks he would not be willing to stretch his soul any further than seven pieces. His conversation with Slughorn showed some trepidation at the sustainability of even that much. He’s just going to be overly cautious with the last ones — at least, that’s what Dumbledore said.

I wish I had better news for you, but halfway done isn’t exactly bad news, I suppose.

— Harry

—————————— ✶✶✶ ——————————

Harry told Ron, Hermione, and Neville everything about his lesson with Dumbledore during their Charms lesson that morning. He kept having to pause to yawn, but this did not reduce the impact of his story in the least. Ron, Hermione, and Neville all stared at him with wide eyes when he told them how he had destroyed the locket.

Neville’s jaw even hung open. “Harry that’s — that’s horrifying.”

Ron snorted. “Didn’t sound nearly as bad as the diary. But blimey, it must’ve been nerve-wracking to hear that thing talk.”

“It is impressive, Harry,” said Hermione. She glanced over to Flitwick, who was helping a very sour-faced Dean attempt to turn his vinegar to wine. “Do you think that Flitwick would know what the Ravenclaw artefact might be?”

“I’ve already wheedled one secret out of a professor, I don’t know how I’ll do two.” Harry sighed and stifled another yawn.

“Now’s your chance to butter him up,” Hermione said. “He’s coming this way.”

While Muffliato prevented them from being overheard by would-be eavesdroppers, it did not stop their professor from interrupting their conversation to check their progress.

“Now, now, boys,” Flitwick said, for Hermione’s vinegar was a deep shade of crimson, and the boys had not, so it appeared, even attempted the Charm. “A little less talk, a little more action. Let me see you try.”

All three pointed their wands and concentrated, for nonverbal spells were a requirement in all classes now. Neville’s vinegar remained still and unchanged. Harry’s glass flask became coated with frost and cracked as the vinegar inside turned to ice and expanded. Ron’s simply exploded.

Flitwick plucked a shard of glass from his hat and examined it with a frown. “Yes, boys, I think extra practice is in order.”

Ron brushed some of the glass from Hermione’s shoulder. “Sorry.”

Before Hermione could even thank him, or show him how to clean the mess up with his wand, Lavender Brown burst into tears. Harry was grateful, for her sake, that the bell rang and she was able to leave in a rush.

“So you two have ended things, then,” Harry asked, with his best attempt at casual conversation rather than eager excitement.

“Yeah, last night.” Ron put his things into his bag. “She didn’t know we’d been with you and Neville at dinner, and I think it was just the final thing, you know?”

“Ah — well, you don’t mind that it’s over, do you?”

“No. It was pretty bad while she was yelling, but at least I didn’t have to end it.”

Harry was relieved. He did not know what he would have done if he’d had to put up with another bitter and frustrated Ron for the rest of the year.

“It was a bad night for romance all around,” Hermione said as they left Charms class. “Ginny and Dean split up, too.”

Harry looked up at the ceiling, and did his best to appear disinterested. “Oh? How come?”

“It was sort of silly,” said Neville. “It was just after you’d left — she got angry with him for trying to touch her when she was upset. I thought it was just another of their fights at first, but she went up to the common room without talking to anyone. I think they’re done for good this time.”

“Of course, this puts you in a bit of a dilemma, Harry,” Hermione said, and Harry could hear the smile on her face.

He refused to look at her. “What sort of dilemma?”

“Your Quidditch team, of course.”

Harry belatedly recalled his conversation with Ginny a few weeks ago, when he had asked about her most recent fight with Dean Thomas. He had blamed his curiosity on maintaining the good relationship his Chasers had with each other, and she had been annoyed by that. He wondered why she had been annoyed, and if either Ginny or Dean were going to quit Quidditch. He had no desire to sit through a practice where Ginny and Dean sniped at each other, but he also had no desire to find a new Quidditch player when their last replacement had gone so poorly.

Fortunately, Harry’s Quidditch dilemma was short-lived. When he, Ron, Hermione, and Neville arrived in the common room, they found a group of seventh years clustered around Katie Bell.

“Katie!” Hermione said. “You’re back! Are you okay?”

Katie grinned at them as they joined the small crowd surrounding her. “I’m really well! They let me out of St Mungo’s yesterday. I spent some time at home with Mum and Dad and then came back here this morning. Leanne was just telling me about McLaggen and the last match, Harry…”

Harry grimaced. “Yeah, well, now that you’re back and Ron’s fit, we’ll have a decent chance of thrashing Ravenclaw, which means we could still be in the running for the Cup.” But Quidditch was currently the furthest thing from Harry’s mind. As the seventh-years hurriedly gathered their things and rushed to Transfiguration, he asked, as quietly as he could manage, “Listen, Katie — that necklace… Can you remember who gave it to you?”

She shook her head. “No. Everyone’s been asking me, but I haven’t got a clue. The last thing I remember was walking into the ladies’ room at the Three Broomsticks.”

“You definitely went into the bathroom, then?” said Hermione.

“Well I know I pushed open the door, so I suppose whoever Imperiused me was standing just behind it. After that, my memory’s a blank until about two weeks ago in St Mungo’s. Listen, I’d better go, I wouldn’t put it past McGonagall to give me lines even if it is my first day back…”

Katie hurried to follow her friends to Transfiguration, and Harry waited for Hermione to give her opinion on things. He did not have to wait long.

“So it couldn’t have been Malfoy who cursed her,” Hermione said as she set her bag down at one of the tables. “He would have been caught sneaking into the ladies’ bathroom.”

“Besides, Regulus mentioned that Malfoy was in detention that day,” said Ron. He sat on the window sill and did not, like Hermione, proceed to get out homework. Harry and Ron did as little work during free periods as they could manage. Whenever Hermione criticised this strategy, Ron told her they were called free periods for a reason.

“I don’t know what that necklace has to do with the Room of Requirement,” said Neville. “It’s not going to make cursed objects for you, or poisons. I think there’s something else going on with Malfoy,” said Neville. “And I think if Dumbledore says you shouldn’t worry about it, you should listen to Dumbledore.”

Harry, as sensible as he found Neville’s advice, was not interested in it. “I think I’m going to have another go at the Room of Requirement with the help of Felix.”

“That would be a complete waste of potion,” said Hermione. She had already pulled a small stack of books out from her bag and was thumbing through Spellman’s Syllabary. “Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn’t enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don’t go wasting the rest of that potion! You might need it if you’re going to help Dumbledore find those last two…”

Harry did not think another swig of Felix would be a waste, not entirely. His first run at it had gotten him the memory from Slughorn and broken up Lavender and Ron as well as Dean and Ginny. If he wanted it to find out what Draco was up to, and to find an opportune moment to ask out Ginny, why couldn’t he get both out of another dose? And if he only managed one of the two, that wasn’t a total waste.

“Couldn’t we make some more?” suggested Ron. “It’d be great to have a stock of it.”

Harry flipped through Advanced Potion-Making. It took him a while to decipher Snape’s notes. “Blimey, it’s seriously complicated. And it takes six months to stew.”

“If it was easy,” said Neville, “everyone would do it.”

While Ron goaded Neville into a game of table-Quidditch that involved shooting scraps of parchment between the opponent’s fingers and Hermione continued working on her Ancient Runes homework, Harry browsed through Snape’s notes in search of something that would help him uncover what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. The list of Everlasting Elixirs, while interesting, was not promising. There was Sectumsempra, one of Snape’s hand-written jinxes that Harry hadn’t been able to test on Crabbe or Goyle yet. He’d been considering trying it on McLaggen, but maybe it would prove more helpful if tested on Malfoy.

Harry spent some time puzzling over Golpalott’s Third Law. Antidotes might not help him uncover what Malfoy was up to, but the knowledge might prove useful if someone else was poisoned the way that Ron had been poisoned. Unfortunately, it was no more decipherable now than it had been in Slughorn’s dungeons four months ago. He hoped that he would remember to review it with his mother that summer. She must be good at antidotes; he had a vague recollection of her brewing an antidote for Regulus Black after he had been rescued from the graveyard. Though he supposed it was entirely possible that they had fabricated that story, because that was before his parents had been entirely honest with him about the war and the prophecy.

A pang of guilt struck his stomach as sharply as if he had been hit with a Bludger. Was keeping these lessons with Dumbledore secret from his parents any better than what his parents had done with the prophecy? Sure, Dumbledore had asked him to be discreet, but Dumbledore was also the one who had asked his parents to keep the prophecy a secret. When they had finally explained the prophecy to Harry, his disappointment in them had not been mollified just because Dumbledore was involved. He did not think his parents would find the excuse any more acceptable than Harry had.

His parents trusted Dumbledore, but he remembered what his mother had said the night she had shared the prophecy. We never wanted anyone to look at you like a weapon to be used against Voldemort. Harry had a feeling that they would see Dumbledore’s lessons as exactly that — training Harry into a weapon against Voldemort. And on the surface, he knew that they were right. He knew that these lessons could be taught to anyone in the Order, in theory. Cedric or Regulus were as capable of hunting Horcruxes as Harry was, if not better equipped. But Dumbledore had chosen Harry, because Harry was The Chosen One, and James and Lily would not be pleased about it.

Harry, however, was as grateful for these lessons as he was for the lessons that he had received that summer in Defense and Potions. He was going to fight Voldemort, prophecy or not, and he was glad to be more prepared. That was the part he did not think that his parents would understand.

Though Harry worried over telling his parents about his lessons with Dumbledore — for he would have to share them eventually — he knew that his parents would be happy if they learned that he had to set aside these concerns over his grand destiny in favour of two much more immediate and much more normal concerns: Quidditch and girls.

The match against Ravenclaw was in two short weeks. If Gryffindor won by three hundred points, they would take the Quidditch Cup. If they won by less than three hundred, they would take second to Ravenclaw. If they lost by one hundred, they would fall into third behind Hufflepuff, and if they lost by more than that, they would take fourth. Harry could not let his first year as captain end in such a sound defeat. Gryffindor had not taken fourth in two hundred years.

That all meant that Harry had, for the third time that year, just a few practice sessions left to get a new Quidditch team into shape.

Telling Dean that he was no longer needed with Katie’s return had been easy enough. Dean hadn’t been thrilled about it, but Harry certainly was. And if he had any worries about Ginny being a worse player after her breakup with Dean, they were forgotten after just one practice.

Harry was continually impressed with Ginny’s ability to adapt to any situation in Quidditch. She had taken over for him as Seeker when Umbridge had banned him, despite preferring to play as a Chaser. She had worked well with Demelza, Katie, and Dean. Even when she and Ron had been bickering with each other, her performance had not suffered. Harry didn’t know why he had ever doubted her.

The trouble was, though, that Harry’s play suffered. He found Ginny’s skill on a broom and unwavering passion for Quidditch terribly attractive. It did not help that she was constantly making jokes during practice and mimicking Ron’s anxious way of bouncing around the goal posts. It gave Harry too many excuses to look at her, which was dangerous for two reasons: one, he had not yet figured out how to tell Ron that he liked Ginny and two, there were Bludgers in play that he was supposed to be dodging.

After practices, Harry wished for just a minute alone with Ginny. He thought that if he could have one minute with her, he could at least ask if she was at all interested in him. If she said no, it would hurt, but it would solve his problem with Ron. And if she said yes… well, they could figure out a way to tell Ron together.

But especially now that Ron was no longer seeing Lavender, Ron was constantly at Harry’s side. They had the same class schedule and practice schedule. They had the same homework. If Harry hurried to catch up with Ginny on days she rushed out, Ron hurried after him. If Harry lingered after practice on days Ginny was slow to leave the pitch, Ron waited with him. He could not seem to catch Ginny alone.

A swig of Felix was looking more tempting by the day.

Then, the week of the match, Ron’s nerves started to set in. While this did not bode well for his performance in the championship match, it did provide Harry with the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Ron, Ginny, and Harry were headed back to the castle together. Katie had gone on ahead; she always rushed out of practice to catch up on homework since she had missed so much of the term. Demelza, Coote, and Peakes had also hurried on ahead; they had Astronomy in a few hours and Harry gathered that none of them had completed the homework. And then, by a stroke of luck not induced by any potion, Ron, overcome with anxiety of the approaching championship game, clutched his stomach, muttered something about feeling ill, and hurried up the steps of the castle.

Harry, having arrived at the very moment he had been waiting for, instinctively slowed his pace. His mouth went dry and he thought he might need to run after Ron in a moment if he didn’t hurry to act. He had missed out on too much by waiting, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. He forced them out with no more grace than he had with Cedric just months ago.

“Would you — I mean — if you want — you know?”

Ginny paused on the steps up to the castle doors, broom still over her shoulder. “What was all that?”

There was no moonlight to help him read her face, only the torches burning beside the castle doors illuminating her red hair, and a breeze that carried the scent of sweat and the Quidditch pitch over the path. It was not nearly as pleasant as her jasmine shampoo, but Harry was undeterred.

“I meant — would you want to go out sometime?”

The sharp arch of her eyebrow was little more than a shift in shadows, but it made Harry’s heart stutter with nerves nonetheless.

“Go out where?” she asked.

He was suddenly less fond of her sense of humour than he had been on the Quidditch pitch. “You know what I’m trying to say.”

She paused. The pause was interminable for Harry. He regretted taking the opportunity already, and wondered if he wouldn’t have liked to have done this with Felix, if only so he could be confident about the outcome.

“Aren’t you worried about ruining your Quidditch team?” she asked.

He flinched, and knew he deserved the barb. “Er — only a little.”

It was hard to tell, but he thought she was grinning. “Then we’d better not start anything until after the championship match.”

Harry wasn’t sure if that was a yes or a no. “So… you do —”

“If we win,” she said suddenly. “If we win the Cup, I’ll go out with you.”

“Why…?”

“Because I’m winning that Cup, Potter, so you better play the best damn Quidditch game of your life if you want to go out with me.”

It helped that he knew she was smiling as she strode into the castle.

As the week wore on, Harry’s nerves were not much better than Ron’s. He wasn’t dashing to the bathroom between classes to throw up, but it was hard to sit still at mealtimes and continue laughing at Ginny’s jokes like nothing had changed. Ron, at least, was too nervous to notice, but Hermione and Neville found his anxiety odd. He hadn’t been this nervous for a match since his first year.

Ginny, for her part, was no different. If anything she was more energetic than usual. She laughed louder, smiled wider, and seemed more comfortable than ever to reach across Harry for the pumpkin juice, though there was already a full pitcher next to her. It did not help Harry’s nerves.

Though it wasn’t a relaxing hobby by any means, the only thing Harry that had to focus on that didn’t make his heart rate double was his attempt to uncover what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. Though he had not made any progress over the past month, Harry found himself walking past the seventh floor corridor several times a day.

Ron, Neville, and Hermione had stopped complaining whenever he did this, and instead waited at the end of the corridor, silent but exasperated, while he paced back and forth three times.

Until one morning, Harry found himself alone in the seventh floor corridor. Neville had promised Professor Sprout that he would help her set up a lesson for the third years, Hermione had rushed to Professor Vector’s office to ask about a question on her Arithmancy homework, and Ron had disappeared into the bathroom, presumably to make more room for his breakfast.

Harry paced the corridor, almost out of habit, and pulled out the Marauder’s Map. He did not see Malfoy on the map, and thought he would have to once again resign himself to the unfortunate fact that Malfoy was already in the Room of Requirement, and Harry would be unable to affect any change on it.

And then he found it. He had missed it before, because Regulus Black’s name was circling Malfoy’s marker, sometimes obscuring it entirely. Harry stared at the two names in the boys’ bathroom, just one floor below him and tried to make sense of their strange third companion; Moaning Myrtle.

Harry distantly recalled a conversation that he and Ron had had with Moaning Myrtle months ago. She had said something about a crying boy and a cat — he felt like an idiot for not putting it together.

As Harry raced to the floor below, he wondered how much Malfoy had confided in Myrtle. He wondered, briefly, if Regulus had overheard things that he wasn’t sharing with Dumbledore, but he dashed that thought as he approached the bathroom door. He had decided to trust Regulus and Snape; it would not do to doubt them now.

Harry pressed his ear against the door, but heard nothing. Carefully, quietly, ever so slightly, Harry pushed the door open. He could see Malfoy, bent over the sink. His knuckles were as white as his hair where they gripped the edge of the basin. A sleek black cat slipped between his ankles, then flinched as Moaning Myrtle spoke.

“Don’t,” she said in a high voice that made Harry glad that he did not have the sensitive ears of a cat. “Don’t… Tell me what’s wrong. I can help you.” Though Myrtle could not touch Malfoy, she hovered close, and patted the space near his shoulder.

“No one can help me.” Malfoy’s voice trembled as he spoke, and it was full of utter misery and desperation. “I can’t do it.” His arms shook as his grip on the sink tightened. “I can’t… It won’t work… and unless I do it soon —” He paused to swallow either a gasp for air or a sob. “— he says he’ll kill me.”

That empathy that Harry had nearly felt two weeks ago resurfaced. He had been asserting all year that Voldemort had asked something of Draco Malfoy, and had been told by so many that Malfoy was too young, that Voldemort would never trust him with something like that. Harry had never truly considered the consequences of someone as young as Draco being given a task by someone as powerful as Voldemort.

But Harry did not have much time to feel empathetic. Draco lifted his head, and Harry only had long enough to see the streaks left by tears before their eyes made contact in the bathroom mirror.

Harry grabbed his wand and ducked as Draco threw a curse at him. The lamp on the wall shattered and the glass rained down over Harry. He remembered their most recent duel, when Malfoy had insulted his mother. Harry had shattered a window with a stray Blasting Curse. He quickly determined that in a small environment like this, he ought to use much more controlled spells, lest something ricochet back to him.

He pointed his wand and thought Levicorpus, but it bounced off of Malfoy’s Shield Charm.

“No!” Myrtle shrieked, and Harry saw Regulus Black jump nearly a foot into the air as she did. “No! Stop it!”

Malfoy’s next hex hit the bin behind Harry, which sent scraps of paper fluttering around Harry. Harry retaliated with a Leg-Locker Curse, but Malfoy dodged this, and instead the cistern behind him cracked, and a shower of water poured over the two of them and drenched the floor. Harry slipped on a wet paper, just catching sight of a black blur darting for the door.

“Cruci — ”

“Sectumsempra!” Harry, though prone, waved his wand in an arc, and was shocked to watch blood appear as if he had run the Sword of Godric Gryffindor across Malfoy’s chest and face.

Malfoy collapsed into the growing pool of water, gasping, as Myrtle shrieked.

“No —” Harry hurried towards Malfoy, cursing as he slipped on the flooded tile once more. He had not expected this curse to be so violent, had not imagined Snape would have invented something so deadly.

Harry half-slipped, half-crawled to Malfoy’s side. Malfoy was drenched in blood, hands frantically grabbing at his chest, trying in vain to stem the bleeding.

Harry had not thought that the experience of healing Remus’s wounds after a full moon would have come in handy in this way, but he reacted quickly, even as Moaning Myrtle shrieked, “Murder!” above him and Malfoy’s blood pooled around him and soaked into his robes.

With one hand, he grabbed Malfoy’s hands and pulled them away from the wound and with the other, traced his wand over the wound he had inflicted. It was hard to focus on the incantation and not on the incredible guilt at what he had done, and the anger towards Snape that was spreading inside him as steadily as the blood spread across the bathroom floor. Or perhaps it was all the same old anger and mistrust he had always felt; it had just been locked away this year behind Harry’s insistence that Snape had to be trusted, behind Harry’s fear of repeating the same mistake Sirius had made during the first war.

As the bleeding slowed, Harry’s own guilt abated. Then he knitted the wounds together, remembering Sirius’s advice — “It’s just a Mending Charm, but the stuff you’re mending’s a lot more complicated. Keep focused on the mending part, not the blood part, and don’t get frustrated if it takes longer than you think.” — and as Harry recited the third incantation, there was a splash behind him. He turned to see Snape standing in the doorway with a black cat at his heels.

Though Malfoy was no longer injured, Harry and Malfoy were each soaked in blood, and the floor around them was decorated in splashes of red as the blood and water refused to mix. There was no covering up what Harry had just done.

“Who is hurt?” Snape asked, somehow making an inquiry that should have sounded worried sound caustic instead.

Harry helped Malfoy stand and used a cracked sink to keep his own balance. “Malfoy, sir. I did my best, but Madam Pomfrey should —”

Snape moved swiftly. His wand pulsed with a blue light momentarily, but he did not seem to find anything more to heal. He took Malfoy from Harry and said, “Wait here until I return.”

Harry did not even consider disobeying, even as Snape helped Malfoy to the hospital wing and Regulus followed. He looked around at the ruined bathroom and blooms of blood, stark against the white tile.

Guilt and fury raged in him, equally matched. He felt horrible for what he had done to Malfoy. He had nearly killed Malfoy because he had used a spell that he did not understand, because he had been uncontrolled with his wand, and because he had trusted Snape. He had chosen, even when Snape insulted Tonks and Remus, belittled him in class, and struggled to keep Dumbledore’s trust, to keep trusting Snape. He had chosen to believe that Snape loved Lily, and that that love was enough to trust Snape.

He tried to convince himself that this spell had been written long ago, when Snape was his own age, but hadn’t Snape loved Lily then, too? Hadn’t Snape loved Lily when he’d joined the Death Eaters? And hadn’t he loved Lily even when he had told Voldemort about a prophecy involving a baby due in July? Surely he could have guessed it could mean Lily even before he had repeated it to Voldemort. It seemed to Harry that the only good Snape’s love had done was get his parents into Dumbledore’s protection during the war. And even then, it wasn’t Snape that had gone to Godric’s Hollow to die for Lily. It was Peter who had died for James.

Snape returned minutes later, and it wasn’t until he told Moaning Myrtle to leave that Harry realised she had been shrieking and wailing the entire time. As she disappeared into the burst pipes, Harry looked for Regulus, but did not see a cat on Snape’s heels.

The only sound left, then, was the steady stream of water from the pipes. Harry could not bring himself to meet Snape’s gaze, afraid both his guilt and anger would consume him if he did. It was hard enough just to stand in Snape’s presence.

“I didn’t mean —” Harry started, eyes still on the blood at his feet. He swallowed down the guilt and tried to keep his voice even. “I didn’t know what that spell would do.”

“Apparently I underestimated you, Potter,” said Snape. “Who would have thought you knew such Dark magic? Who taught you that spell?”

The anger flared once more, and Harry bit back what he wanted to say — that Snape had taught him the spell. But he could not risk Snape finding out about his Potions book. His reputation with Slughorn would be ruined.

“Regulus Black,” Harry said.

“You’re a liar.”

“So are you.” Even Harry winced as it left his lips, knowing that it had not been the right answer.

“Potter. Look at me.”

Harry knew what was coming as certainly as he knew that he could not disobey. He met Snape’s eyes, but try as he might to keep his mind empty, he was consumed by the familiar sensation of his surroundings melting. His guilt and anger were impossible to tamp down, and the object at the center of it all — The Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making — breached the surface of his thoughts.

“Bring me your schoolbag,” said Snape softly, “and all of your schoolbooks. All of them. Bring them to me here. Now!”

Harry slipped and slid his way out of the bathroom. He glanced down the corridor for any sign of Regulus, but he imagined that sleek black cat was curled up by Draco Malfoy. Harry decided that he did not have time to worry about Regulus nor Malfoy. If he wanted to hide that book from Snape he had to act fast. He broke into a run.

Most of the students were down at breakfast, but the few Ravenclaws and Gryffindors who were slow to get started with their day stared openly as Harry passed them. He must have been a sight, soaking wet and covered in blood, but he ignored them and hurried through the common room and up to the dormitory.

Ron was in the doorway, just on his way down, when Harry pushed past him.

“Where’ve you — Why are you wet — Is that blood, Harry?”

Harry did not have time to answer any of these questions. “I need your Potions book — quick!” He threw his Transfiguration book into his bag, ignoring the red fingerprints he left on its binding.

“But what about yours…”

“I’ll explain later! Quickly!”

Ron dug through his books and tossed Harry his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. Harry shoved it in with the others, snatched his own copy off his bedside table, and hurried out of the dormitory. But instead of heading straight to the boy’s bathroom, he took a detour past the Room of Requirement. It would be empty, certainly, with Malfoy down in the hospital wing.

Harry paced in front of the wall, thinking, I need a place to hide my book… I need a place to hide my book… I need a place to hide my book. After three passes, the wall gave way to a small, unremarkable wooden door, nothing like the large doors that had lead to their secret Defense class, but Harry did not have time to consider how the Room of Requirement decided what sort of door it would create. He pushed his way inside.

Harry was not sure what he had expected, but it had not been this. Thousands of items, tossed into piles and vague rows, filled a room larger than Harry could see the end of. It was like being back in the Department of Mysteries, but if the Department of Mysteries had a room dedicated to junk instead of prophecies. There were broken pieces of furniture, stacks of books, even a pile of old brooms. He caught sight of some familiar Weasley Wizard Wheezes products, no doubt tossed into a closet that had suddenly appeared in an attempt to hide them from Filch. All manner of banned objects, potions, hats and cloaks, and even some jewelry littered the room. Harry was certain that he could spend hours pouring over the objects inside.

But he didn’t have hours. Harry hurried up an aisle, looking for something clear, unique, something that could mark his hiding spot, so that he could retrieve this book. He had no fondness for Snape’s notes and curses any longer, but he thought he might need it to finish Potions this year with top marks.

He ran past a taxidermied troll and a Vanishing Cabinet and found a cupboard that appeared to have been splashed with acid. Some of the wood facing was eaten away and one of the knobs disfigured. He opened it and found a cage stuffed with a skeleton. Harry didn’t have time to wonder what the five-legged thing had been. He stuffed the book behind the cage and closed the cupboard. He looked around for another way to mark this spot so he could find it again. He did not have much time…

He grabbed the bust of some old warlock, heaved it on top of the cupboard, then snatched a dusty wig and a tarnished tiara from the mess and perched it all on the warlock’s head. Satisfied that he would remember that absurdity, Harry bolted back to the corridor. His schoolbag jostled against his hip as he ran, leaving a rather painful bruise, but Harry ignored it. He focused, instead, on trying not to pant as he opened the bathroom door.

Snape was still standing in the pool of water, though it appeared that he had Vanished the blood. Harry wondered if Snape had left the floor wet just to watch him slip across it to hand his bag over.

As Snape went through Harry’s bag, turning over each book with what had to be feigned curiosity, for they both knew which book Snape was really after, Harry felt his anger slowly eat away at his guilt. He did not care for the way Snape examined each book, like it might show the very notes Snape had written in his own Potions book as a student, like the spell Snape had invented might be printed in Harry’s Charms textbook by accident.

Harry knew that he was the one that had cast the spell, just as Voldemort was the one who had come to kill his parents fifteen years ago. But he also knew that, just as Voldemort could not have been there without Snape’s help, Harry could not have cast that spell without Snape’s instruction.

Finally, Snape reached Advanced Potion-Making.

“This is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?”

“Yes.”

“You’re quite sure of that, are you, Potter?”

“Yes.”

“This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?”

“Yes.”

“Then why,” asked Snape, “does it have the name ‘Roonil Wazlib’ written inside the front cover?”

Harry recalled something Dumbledore had said last summer — “Much like your father, you are a supremely terrible liar.” But he was not about to admit the truth now.

“That’s my nickname,” he said.

“Your nickname.”

“Yeah… that’s what my friends call me”

“I understand what a nickname is.”

When Snape did not press further, Harry’s heart sank into his stomach. If Snape was not going to try Legilimency a second time, it was because he already knew what he wanted to know. Harry kept his eyes on the window, spattered with water droplets. He waited for Snape to demand eye contact again, but it never came.

“Do you know what I think, Potter?” Snape finally said. “I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?”

Harry’s mind spun with images of Ginny Weasley and the Quidditch Cup. “I — I don’t agree, sir.”

“Well, we shall see how you feel after your detentions,” said Snape. “Ten o’clock Saturday morning, Potter. My office.”

“But sir…” Harry wondered if Snape had somehow read his mind without eye contact. In his panic, he finally looked at Snape. “Quidditch — the last match of the…”

“Ten o’clock,” Snape repeated. Harry did not know why he had expected Snape to give him any leniency on this.

“Poor Gryffindor,” Snape sighed. “Fourth place this year, I fear.”

Snape left the bathroom. Harry struggled to pull his thoughts back together. He felt numb and ill. He was unsure how long he stood in the puddle of water, but eventually he told himself that he needed to leave before Filch found him.

He headed up to the Gryffindor common room, and was surprised to find it empty, then remembered that everyone was probably in lessons, which was exactly where he should be. With a curse that felt far less meaningful after the number that he’d already muttered to himself today, Harry emptied his books from his bag and put in just what he would need for Transfiguration. Hastily, he washed off Malfoy’s blood and changed into clean robes. He wondered how fast word would make it to McGonagall.

She docked him five points for lateness, which he took in silence. Ron and Hermione shot quizzical looks at him, but he avoided their eyes as surely as if they could use Legilimency to read his thoughts.

McGonagall’s lesson went on as expected, and Harry was certain he would avoid a lecture, at least for now. Then, just five minutes before the bell, a young boy in Slytherin robes hurried in and put a scroll on McGonagall’s desk.

“From Professor Snape,” he said, and hurried out.

Harry wondered if he could get out of the classroom before she read the note. He slipped his parchment and quill into his bag. She unrolled the scroll. Harry watched the clock, waiting for it to chime that the lesson was over. If it would just chime before she finished reading —

As the bell rang, McGonagall snapped, “Potter! Stay.”

Ron and Hermione, loyal to the end, lingered by the door.

“This does not concern you, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger,” McGonagall said. “Not all the trouble Potter gets into is on your account.”

As they left, Harry reluctantly approached McGonagall’s desk. It helped a little to know that his friends were likely waiting just outside the door.

McGonagall did not yell. Harry was not sure it was any better.

“Why were you late, Potter?”

Unlike with Snape, Harry knew better than to lie to McGonagall.

“I was in a duel with Malfoy.”

“You are aware that duels outside of appropriate classroom situations are strictly prohibited?”

“Yes.”

“And you are aware that Dark magic as a whole is banned from the grounds of Hogwarts?”

Harry flinched. “I — I didn’t know it was Dark magic.”

“No? I am not sure which is worse, Potter! Knowing you intentionally cast a Dark spell that nearly killed a classmate, or that you foolishly cast a spell without being aware of the consequences! This is certainly not the first time you have gotten in trouble for dueling Malfoy, nor the first time you’ve damaged school property in one of these duels. And, taking into account the severe damage you inflicted on a fellow student, if it were my choice, I would have you expelled!”

Harry’s hands tightened around the strap of his bag.

“However, as it is, I can only recommend your expulsion to the Headmaster, and I do not foresee that judgement coming to pass. But know that I am putting in the recommendation regardless, Potter. Your behavior was grossly out of line. Madam Pomfrey is quite surprised that Malfoy did not die, but she guessed that the treatment was swift enough to save his life. You’re very lucky that Professor Snape arrived as quickly as he did —”

“I saved Malfoy,” Harry interrupted.

“Pardon?”

“I did the Healing spell that saved his life. I told you, Professor, I didn’t mean for it to… to be so bad. I saved him, and Snape got there just as I was finishing the spell.”

Harry wished he didn’t feel so terrible, or he might have enjoyed the shocked look on McGonagall’s face.

“Well, be that as it may, if you were entertaining any hope that I might overrule Professor Snape’s decision to put you in detention on Saturday morning, you may put it out of your mind. I believe his decision is more than fair.”

“But Professor — that’s three years in a row now that I haven’t been able to play Quidditch —”

“Then you may try again next year. Perhaps next year you will not experiment with Dark spells or duel your fellow students. I believe I have made my position on your punishment quite clear. I think Professor Snape was unusually lenient with you, and you should be grateful it is not worse.”

Harry thought that was rather unfair to suggest he be grateful, when she had just said she was about to recommend he be expelled, but he didn’t dare say that to Professor McGonagall.

“Does that mean you’ll write to my parents?”

“Indeed it does, Potter. Now, if you don’t mind, I have another class to teach.”

He swallowed and wondered if he should expect a Howler in the morning.

Hermione and Ron were waiting for him at the door, as he had expected, along with a class of second-year Hufflepuffs who gaped openly at him. As Harry and his friends headed up to the common room, people whispered and cast uneasy glances at them. Even conversation in his own common room ceased the moment he stepped out of the short tunnel. It didn’t take long for Harry to learn why.

Moaning Myrtle had already gone to every bathroom in the school and told anyone who would listen what Harry had done. The news of his duel with Malfoy had probably reached most of the castle while he was still hiding his book in the Room of Requirement.

Harry’s favourite chair by the fire was occupied, so he slumped into a seat at one of the tables tucked into a corner.

“You want to tell us your side of the story, mate?” asked Ron.

Harry did, but he did not want to tell it more than once. Just as he was wondering where Neville was, the portrait swung open, and Neville walked in, dirt smeared on his face and robes, and Ginny came with him. They both looked concerned, and when they saw Harry, hurried over.

“Harry!” Neville said. “Moaning Myrtle said you tried to kill Malfoy, but you didn’t, did you? What really happened, Harry?”

Harry could not meet any of their eyes. He picked at a worn, soft spot in his jeans, and told them about his duel with Malfoy. It was harder to tell them about Snape’s punishment. He could not bear to consider how furious Ginny must be with him.

“I won’t say, ‘I told you so,’” Hermione said, which Harry found painfully insulting.

“Leave it, Hermione,” said Ron.

“So… I guess,” Harry let out a deep breath, “Ginny, you’ll play Seeker on Saturday. Dean can be Chaser, if he likes.” He still could not bring himself to look at her.

“Sure,” she said stiffly.

He knew she was angry, but he didn’t know what else to say to her.

Harry did not leave Gryffindor Tower for the rest of the day. He had no desire to listen to everyone gossip about him, and he didn’t have much of an appetite. Ron offered to bring back food, but Harry declined. He headed to bed early instead. He knew he ought to take the chance to talk to his parents while everyone was down at dinner, but he was afraid to face their reactions.

Still, he knew his parents, and he knew it would be better to talk to them sooner rather than later.

With a heavy heart and a leaden stomach, Harry pulled his bed curtains closed and called for his parents in the mirror.

Lily’s response was immediate, as if she had already had the mirror in her hand. “Harry!” Her face filled the frame very quickly. “James,” she called, her eyes on something far away, “James — he’s already called — yes, he’s right here.”

And then he was looking at both his parents. For some reason, seeing his father wearing the eyepatch again made Harry’s chest ache more.

“Are you alright, Harry?” asked James.

“Yeah,” Harry lied. “It sounds like you already got McGonagall’s letter.”

Lily shook her head. “We didn’t get a letter from Professor McGonagall, at least not yet — Regulus wrote to us. His letter only just arrived an hour ago. We’ve been waiting for you to call since.”

“Regulus wrote to you?”

“He said Dumbledore’s got him doing extra security at the school,” James said, “and he saw the duel between you and Malfoy. You’re alright, aren’t you Harry?”

Harry felt tears prick the corner of his eyes and he blinked. “Yeah — yeah, I’m alright. He didn’t get one off on me.”

James smiled. “That’s my boy.”

“You’re not hurt?” Lily pressed. “Regulus said that Malfoy tried to use an Unforgivable, and that’s when he went to get help. He said there was blood when he got back, but he didn’t know what had happened —”

“It was my fault.” And though it hurt to tell it over again, Harry repeated his story of how he had cursed Malfoy using a spell from the Half-Blood Prince’s notes and nearly killed Malfoy. He told them that he had managed to save Malfoy, but Snape had still given him Saturday detention through the end of the year.

“Including this weekend?” asked James.

“Yeah.”

“In the morning or evening?”

“Morning.”

“No — that’s completely unfair — When McGonagall’s letter comes in, I’m sending her a reply she won’t forget —”

“You won’t convince her,” Harry said dully. “She said that she’d expel me if she could.”

“Malfoy cast an Unforgivable!” Lily said. “I think you were well within your right to defend yourself. I wish you hadn’t used a spell you were unfamiliar with, especially one you found hand-written in someone’s notes, but I should have gone through that book with you more carefully. I knew what Snape was like in school, I just didn’t think he had recorded his curses in his Potions book.”

Harry, as miserable as the day had been, was glad to hear his parents stand up for him. He still did not think they would convince McGonagall to let him play Quidditch, but he was grateful for their support all the same.

“We do have to tell you, though,” James said, “that this news was worrying.”

“Malfoy didn’t get me —”

“Not that,” said Lily. “I mean, yes, we were worried that you’d been hurt but…”

“Ginny told us you almost missed your Quidditch game because you were trying to find out what Malfoy was doing,” said James. “Sneaking away from a party you didn’t want to be at was one thing, but almost missing a Quidditch match, and now this… I thought we had agreed that Snape was investigating what might or might not be happening with Malfoy. I know you’re worried and you want to help, but if you’re putting yourself at risk —”

“Of course I’m putting myself at risk,” Harry said, and wished he didn’t sound so angry. “Aren’t you putting yourselves at risk every time you take a mission for the Order?”

“I wish we were taking missions for the Order,” James grunted, “but with the Ministry here —”

“What your father means,” Lily interrupted, “is that we’re worried you’re putting yourself at risk unnecessarily. You aren’t in the Order, and you don’t have Malfoy’s trust. There’s a reason that Snape was given the job. He’s far better suited to the task than you are. We know that you want to help, and someday you’ll be a member of the Order and Dumbledore will give you missions too, but right now we just want you to make it through this year. Can you do that?”

Harry wondered what his parents would say if they knew he had been given a mission by Dumbledore. Part of him wanted to tell them, but he knew that part of him was bitter and resentful. He’d spent so much of last year being frustrated with his parents, and he didn’t want to fight with them again.

So he changed the subject.

“Which Auror is there tonight?” Harry asked.

They hesitated, and Harry could see the indecision on their faces. It seemed, though, that they too were not interested in a fight.

Lily sighed. “Savage. I don’t care for her. Sirius has been entertaining her while your father and I have been waiting in our bedroom for your call.”

“Was she suspicious of the letter from Regulus?”

“We told her Llewelyn’s a cousin of Remus,” said James. “Don’t know if she believed us or not, but she has no reason to suspect we’d be writing to Regulus Black.”

Something that Harry could neither see nor hear made James and Lily look away from the mirror.

James shouted back, “Be right there.”

“Sorry, Harry,” said Lily. “Sounds like McGonagall’s letter is here. Sirius says there’s a very angry owl with a letter marked with the Hogwarts crest. We can call back —”

“I’d rather not know what McGonagall said,” Harry said. “Thanks though.”

“I’ll convince McGonagall to let you play on Saturday, alright, Snitch?” said James. “And we’ll see you then.”

Harry wanted to believe his father, but he had a feeling that James might feel differently once he read McGonagall’s letter. McGonagall was as stubborn as any Gryffindor. He tried to at least sound hopeful as he said goodbye, but once he had set the mirror aside, he pulled a pillow over his face.

Hope proved to be a false friend. Saturday arrived along with a Quidditch match for Gryffindor and a detention for Harry. While his friends and teammates headed down to the Quidditch pitch, Harry trudged down to Snape’s office in the dungeons.

It was as bleak as ever, and made no more interesting by the dusty, cobwebbed boxes on the desk. Snape set Harry onto the task of copying old, worn school records onto new, clean index cards with about as much glee as Harry thought Snape would ever manage in his life. The work was boring, tedious, and worst of all, Harry could not hear the Quidditch match.

It was an agonising three hours. His stomach rumbling was the only thing that punctuated the silence. Harry was careful not to let his distress show, though he wasn’t sure he was successful. Finally, at ten past one, Snape said, “I think that will do. Mark the place you have reached. You will continue at ten o’clock next Saturday.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was all Harry could do not to run out of Snape’s office. He managed a steady walk to the door, but once he was in the corridor, he ran upstairs.

When he did not hear the sounds of the game still being played on the pitch, he slowed his pace, afraid of what he would find in Gryffindor Tower. Would they be cheering or would they be furious? Would Ginny let him ask her out again, or had that chance slipped by?

He approached the Fat Lady’s portrait hesitantly. “Quid agis?”

She swung open without expression or comment.

Harry was greeted with a roaring cheer. He was yanked into the common room as the people closest to the portrait recognised him.

“We won!” Ron shouted, running over with the silver Quidditch Cup in his hand. “We won! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty! We won!”

And Harry, as thrilled as he was for Ron, who may not have played a perfect game but had clearly played an excellent one, searched for the answer to his second question. Gryffindor had won, so what did that mean for….

His eyes locked with Ginny’s. She was already running towards him. A smile as wide as any he had ever seen on her was spread across her face. She was, Harry thought, as bright as the sun on a day with perfect flying conditions. She laughed as she threw her arms around him, and they kissed.

#hp everyone lives #hbp #hp fic #this shouldve gone up friday but i forgot and ive been so tired this weekend

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