#neville my guy you are a rebound | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peepeepotter · 3 years

Text

New Girl Hogwarts AU Chapter 5: Merry Christmas, Georgie.

Pairing: George Weasley x fem!reader; Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

Warnings: Cursing? I think?

Word Count: 3.2 K

Series Masterlist

“It was just so weird.” Y/N shuddered, using her rolling pin on a sheet of cookies in the Hogwarts kitchens.

“I mean, yeah, that sounds uncomfortable as fuck. What are you guys, teenagers?” Fred asked her, his head in his hand, watching her closely. He had told George before, Y/N is totally George’s type. Fred couldn’t help but think that it was a surprise it took this long for them to have an uncomfortable sexually tense encounter. “What did Terry say?”

“What do you mean? Terry didn’t see. I don’t want Terry to know. I’m trying to date casually right now.” Y/N said, suddenly remembering the reason she moved into the loft.

“Casually? With TERRY? Have you met that guy? He looks like he cries during sex.” This made Y/N laugh loudly.

“It’s so weird to talk about this with you. You’re his twin, maybe I shouldn’t be talking to his dead brother about this.”

“Hey, I’m basically alive. I’m just a ghost. And stuck in this stupid castle.” Fred pouted, reaching to grab cookie dough and put it in his mouth. “Although I really can’t taste much. But from what I remember, this tastes a lot like some cookies mum used to make.” Fred smiled.

“Fred, I love you, but please don’t talk about your mom when I just told you about a sexual encounter with your brother.”

“Sexually tense encounter at best, don’t get ahead of yourself, love. Anyway, how could you be attracted to him? I’m so much better looking than him.” Fred scoffed, fake-offended. In actuality, Fred was quite happy that George was moving on from Angelina. Fred was especially happy George was moving on with one of Fred’s most consistent friends at Hogwarts. Plus she baked like Molly.

“Fred, I hate to break it to you, but you died when you were a teenager, so you still look like one. As an adult, I’m not attracted to teenagers.”

“I’ll have you know I was twenty when I died. No longer a teenager, thank you very much.” Fred grinned. “Besides, mentally I’m like four years older than you.”

“You know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes, but maintained a smile on her face. Y/N always liked hanging out with Fred, he was actually her first friend at the school. He found her crying one day after the breakup with McLaggen and did everything in his power to make her feel better about it. Ever since then, Y/N spent the majority of her free time between classes with Fred. She supposed it didn’t help that he looked an awful lot like the guy she liked. No, shut up, I don’t like him. Don’t listen to her thoughts, I’m the narrator. I’m always right, just wait.

“Y/N, do you even like Terry?”

“Well, he’s nice. And I could see myself liking him.”

“So you don’t.”

“Not yet.”

“Y/N.” Fred had his head resting in his hand against the counter, giving Y/N a look of pure disappointment. He knew Y/N and George would wind up together the minute he met her. He’s the one that showed her the ad on the wizarding web for a new place to live. Although, Y/N wasn’t happy that he didn’t tell her that she would find a man identical to him when she went to the interview with the boys. Fred just shrugged, he knew George well enough to know that they’d let her move in. He also knew George well enough to know that George would find Y/N just as adorable as Fred did.

“I just, maybe I need to rebound, okay? I don’t want to end up with someone like Terry, but I don’t want to end up hurting someone I really like in case I’m not ready to date yet.” To Fred, this sounded like code for ‘I don’t want to fuck up with your brother.’

“So you’re using Terry.”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Y/N!” Fred chuckled, knowing he was right.

“I mean, so what? We’ve only been on a few dates, what’s the worst that could happen?” Little did Y/N know, she’d just jinxed herself.

“I’m sorry, what?” George asked, throwing his head back on the couch.

“We’re going to a party. Together, all of us.” Draco asserted. “None of you have a choice, I need people to know I have friends.” At this, Harry and George started snickering. Draco might not have been as bad as he was when they were at Hogwarts, and it certainly helped that he switched sides at the battle of Hogwarts, but people still didn’t like him.

“You mean you need—” George started.

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Draco quickly interrupted.

“What are we doing?” Y/N asked upon leaving her bedroom. “I was on the phone with my mom, what’s going on?”

“You mean mum, you stupid American.” George said unwavering, taking a sip from his beer.

“Okay, ha-ha, it was funny at first, now it’s just sad.” Y/N scrunched her nose. “Also do you ever drink water? I don’t think I’ve seen you drink anything other than beer for the past few months.”

“No comment.”

“We’re going to a Christmas party on Christmas eve.” Draco answered. He was tired of the two bickering all the time, and wouldn’t entertain it anymore.

“Oh fun! Can we also go look at Christmas lights? There’s this no-maj neighborhood not far—”

“A what neighborhood?” George asked, teasing Y/N.

“Muggle. I hate it here.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it’s called Candy Cane Lane and it’s supposed to be super cute.” Y/N’s face lit up, her hands clapping lightly out of excitement. George felt that stupid feeling in his stomach again.

“No.” Draco said.

“Sure.” George shrugged. Draco turned and glared at him. “If we have time. I have to get to the Burrow that night. I’ve missed Christmas with my family for the past three years because of these idiots.” He gestured towards Neville and Harry chatting in the kitchen.

“You’re supposed to party on Christmas eve!” Harry interjected.

“Yeah, party, not get black out drunk and go to the hospital annually.” George muttered, causing Y/N to giggle quietly. She took a seat on the couch near him. To her it seems that they had gone back to normal after their interaction on Thanksgiving.

“We’ll go if we have time.” George whispered to her again. She nodded with a small smile on her face.

“So Y/N,” Harry started, walking towards the couch from the kitchen.

“Harold.”

“It’s actually—”

“Just Harry, I know, it was a joke.”

“What are you getting your boyfriend for Christmas?”

“Oh god, I have to get him something? We're barely dating. What do you get someone you’re not that close to?”

“You don’t?” George offered.

“A plant?” Neville shouted from the kitchen.

“Hand soap. I have the feeling that man doesn’t have any in his bathroom.” Draco straight-faced. Y/N snorted.

“Let’s go to the shops and find something.” Harry smiled.

“Why? Why did I split up and go with you?” Y/N sighed, standing behind George who was distracted by some small robotic trinket. Y/N, a muggle-born, had seen them all the time as a teenager. George clearly had not.

“Because I’m the comic relief of the group. Also, I’m the hot one.” George smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face she was hoping he wouldn’t see. He did.

“Whatever, help me pick something for this stupid man.”

“So you admit it?”

“What?”

“He’s stupid?”

“I mean, yeah, but I have a muggle doctorate and I’ve studied magical creatures forever. I’d say objectively most people are stupid to me.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.” He pushed her arm lightly, she pushed back laughing.

“Just get him one of these. They’re cute. He’s simple.” George shrugged, handing the small robot that said “Merry Christmas,” over and over to her. She shrugged, figuring he’s right.

“What about you? What do you want for Christmas?” Y/N asked. She asked to be nice, but she had already gotten him a bunch of Friends merchandise. George had proved to be a real sucker for most muggle things.

“Don’t get me anything. Seriously.” He turned towards her quickly. He had a stern look on his face.

“Why?”

“Because I’m horrible at gift giving, and I always feel in-debted when someone gives me something really good.” He didn’t look at her when he spoke this time, walking towards more muggle items. She raised her eyebrows, noting that she might have to return his Christmas gift. Actually, no. He’s getting a gift. Idiot.

“Here, merry Christmas.” Y/N said to Terry. They sat at the foot of her bed the day before Christmas Eve, giving each other their gifts.

“You open yours first.” He smiled at her, handing her the envelope. She opened it with a shrug. Her heart dropped. In front of her were two passes to a portkey that would take them to New York City. At the bottom of the card that contained the tickets, Terry had written a sweet note, signed with love. Love? Oh Merlin.

“I-I—” She stuttered, not knowing what to say. “Thanks, Terry.” She suddenly felt very bad for her cheap muggle gift. When he opened it, though, he wasn’t disappointed, just amused by the toy.

“Thank you so much.” He grinned at her. “I love you so much.” Her heart dropped further, and she had to keep herself from cringing.

“T-thanks.”

“Oh no. You said THANKS? To a confession of love?” George asked, all of the guys holding back laughs as she sat on the couch with her head in her hands.

“What was I supposed to do? Lie?” Her words were muffled by her hands.

“Well, no, but thanks?” Harry chortled out. Draco was bent over, almost on the ground from laughter. Neville was flushed red from secondhand embarrassment.

“What do I do? Break up with him? I’m not ready for any of this.” Y/N felt nauseous.

“I mean, weren’t you just kind of using him anyway?” George lectured.

“Why do you guys keep saying that?”

“You guys?”

“You fucking Weasley’s, your brother said that too.” She rolled her eyes, storming into her room. She hated living with men. They were never helpful but always thought they were.

The next day, George opened her bedroom door without knocking. She glared at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s fine, I overreacted. I’m just annoyed at the situation.”

“Well, we’re leaving soon, so get ready.” He offered, ducking back out of her room. Y/N put on black tights and a little black dress. She grabbed a red coat after putting on fake eyelashes. She grabbed her purse, and opened her door while slipping on her heels. Stumbling into the hall, she once again was faced with several men staring at her.

“Why do you guys do this every time I wear a dress?”

“You’re pretty.” Neville smiled, making Y/N almost tear up. They always did this, stare at her, but they almost never complimented her.

“Yeah, plus we only ever see you in sweatpants. So maybe we would stare less if you dressed less like a goblin every day.” Draco said, ruining the moment and heading towards the door.

“I don’t think you look like a goblin.” George whispered to her as they walked out of the loft. She smiled softly up at him.

Upon arriving at the party, Draco flocked towards his work wife. Harry headed towards Ginny, ready to give her the gift he got her. He was only slightly disappointed to find that she had brought a date to the party.

“Here, Ginny.” He gave her the small box when her new boyfriend (boy toy, hopefully) walked away to get her a drink.

“Harry, you didn’t have to get me anything.” She said guiltily, not having gotten him anything. She opened it slowly as he shrugged in response. It was a small bottle. “What is it?” Her eyebrows scrunched. Harry laughed.

“It’s perfume. I’m not telling you that you stink, before you say that.” Ginny smiled, glad to know Harry knew her so well. “It’s a bunch of scents that remind me of you.” He shrugged, not wanting to admit that he had Draco make amortentia to see what she smelled like.

“Oh Merlin, if I smell like this I’m so sorry.” She coughed upon smelling it, making Harry laugh.

“Yeah, it’s a little all over the place. But it’s the thought, I guess?” She grinned at him, nodding.

Meanwhile George and Neville followed Y/N over to Terry. After a short, awkward conversation, Y/N excused herself to the bathroom. Neville walked away to find Luna. George stayed with Terry.

“So, quite a present you got her.” George said awkwardly, drinking from a plastic cup.

“Oh yeah, I think she really liked it.”

“Eh.”

“What? Did she tell you she didn’t like it?”

“I think it was just a lot really soon, buddy.”

“Oh no, do you think I should’ve toned it down?”

“Probably, Terry. You spent a small fortune and told her you loved her after like three weeks.”

“Oh no, what are you saying? Did she say she doesn’t love me? I was so stressed after she didn’t say it back, but I just assumed she was nervous.”

“I— you know I don’t actually think it’s my place to tell you that, Terry.”

Simultaneously, Y/N and Ginny convened in the bathroom.

“Did you like the present Harry got you?”

“It doesn’t smell very good, but it was really sweet.”

“Well, yeah, it’s Harry. He’s been in love with you for like, ever.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“I mean, has he, though?”

“You absolute idiot.”

“Whatever, did you like what Terry got you?”

“I didn’t tell you, yet? He got me plane tickets to the states for him and I and told me he loved me. When I’m out here thinking about my roommate.”

“Oh Merlin, so a bad perfume is definitely the way to go.” Y/N nodded in agreement. “Why are men so difficult?” Ginny added.

“It’s like they’re so simple that it’s difficult.” Y/N hummed. “We should go back out there.” They fixed their appearances in the mirror slightly before returning to the party. Y/N found George and Terry out on the balcony.

“You really don’t love me?” Terry said, turning around to face her with tears in his eyes.

“What? Where did this come from?” Before anyone could answer, she turned to George who immediately cringed. “What did you do?”

“I just- sometimes I speak without thinking?”

“Terry, don’t listen to this idiot.” George put his hands up in defense and went to leave back to the party, but found the door locked. He went for his wand and realized he had forgotten it at the loft.

“Oh no.” George whispered

“You don’t like me, do you? Did I do too much too soon? Be honest, stop doing that thing where you make me feel better.” Terry looked like a puppy, making the whole situation a lot worse.

“Somebody please help!” George pleaded, banging against the glass.

“I-Terry. Yes, okay? You scared me. It was a lot really soon. I just got out of a relationship, and I really wanted to take it slow.” Y/N confessed.

“I’m stuck out here! This is so awkward, please help!” George kept banging on the door.

“I— what if I can’t do that?” Terry asked.

“LET ME OUT!!!” George shouted.

“You can’t take it slow?” Y/N scrunched her brow.

“Oh Merlin.” George sat on the ground against the door.

“Isn’t it obvious? If I already love you and you can’t say it back, maybe we shouldn’t be together.” Although Terry’s words kind of hurt, Y/N felt somewhat relieved. “I’ll see you at work, alright?” Terry approached the door and unlocked it wordlessly with his wand.

“Thanks Terry.” George went to follow behind Terry as he left, but stopped, looking back at Y/N. He sighed, realizing he needed to clean up the mess he had made. He walked back over to her, leaning against the balcony next to her.

“You know, I think maybe this was my fault.” He admitted, looking through the glass doors at the party.

“You think, George?” She snapped.

“Well, didn’t you want to break up with him anyway?”

“Yeah, I did, but I wanted to do it on my own terms.” She puffed a breath of air out of her lips.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to completely ruin your relationship. I was trying to help him tone it down.”

“Well, thanks I guess.” She pushed off of the balcony, heading back into the party to find Neville and Luna.

“Well, fuck.” George sighed.

The group, Ginny included, left the party at three in the morning. Walking through town, George attempted to rush his sister and Harry.

“We’ve got to get to the burrow like, three hours ago.”

“Who cares? Mum and dad are asleep. They won’t know we were late.”

“Because I still have to wrap all my gifts, Gin.” George sighed. Y/N was behind the group, attempting to peel her shoes off despite the snow. Harry and Ginny started talking, and George looked around for his best friend. Finding Y/N at the back of the group, he slowed his pace until he was walking with her. He looked at her shoeless feet, walking in only stockings in the deep snow. He sighed.

“Stop.” Y/N looked up at him, his voice startling her. “All of you, stop. We’ve gotta go somewhere.”

“I thought you needed to get home to wrap your gifts.”

“We’ll just be late. It’s fine.” George shrugged, he faced Y/N suddenly. “Jump on my back, alright?” He leaned down in front of her, offering a piggy-back ride. Y/N smiled a little and climbed up on his back. The group walked to Candy Cane Lane. Upon arriving, the magic-users were disappointed. The lights were all off.

“HEY!” George started shouting.

“Oh my god, George it’s not that important, it’s okay.” Y/N whispered into his ear. Goosebumps raised on his neck upon feeling her breath so close to him.

“It is important! It’s Christmas! COME ON! YOU ALL PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THESE STUPID LIGHTS! TURN THEM ON!” He shouted. Ginny grinned.

“YEAH! TURN THEM ON!” Ginny shouted

“TURN THEM ON!!” Harry grinned.

“WAKE UP!!!” George added.

“TURN THEM ON!!” Neville shouted, although much more softly than the rest.

Suddenly, one at a time, each house’s lights turned on. Draco’s wand was lifted, turning on each house's Christmas lights.

“You all are so dumb. We are fortunate enough to have magic, there was a whole war. Remember?” Draco rolled his eyes.

Y/N grinned, feeling her heart swell upon seeing the bright Christmas lights. “Thanks, Georgie.” She whispered, nestling her cheek against his neck. This time his heart swelled.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” He said, squeezing her thighs as he held her up off the ground.

“Merry Christmas, Georgie.” Y/N pressed a soft kiss against his cheek.

Taglist: @yllwtaxi @ememseay @droppingthegloves @wassup-peoples @dejayoon @astoriaplease @postsbyjenipeo @edmunds-torch @ummmlana @kennreid @charming-fan-girl @expelliarmusmyass @boxofbadaddiction @pillowjj @losers-club6 @concepcion @gaysludge @melizabethhack @n-dg-wm @when-thedarkness-comes @sarcasticallywitty15 @kinkycalamari @draco-and-tom @rangotangomango

Permanent taglist: @amourtentiaa

A/N: if anyone wants to be added please just comment or message me and ask! I’m also working on submissions and asks if anyone wants a one shot or something <3 -mj

118 notes · View notes

bibislut · 4 years

Note

if ur requests are still open i’d love to see pansmione and relationship reveal?

Ugh, I have such a thing for my Slytherin x Gryffindor couples 😉

This was partly inspired by Rosa's iconic coming out scene in Brookyln 99 - I've even stolen some of the dialogue 😂

Find some fantastic pansmione fanart here and here

MY REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!

FIND ME AS BIBISLUT ON AO3

Word Count: 1126

Warnings: implied smut

Couple: Hermione Granger x Pansy Parkinson

Pansy clutched at her girlfriend’s hand, willing the warmth of her own to be able to ground Hermione whilst she worried at her lip. Girlfriend. The Slytherin had been practicing the word when she lay in bed the previous night, staring at the Gryffindor red canopy beside a mass of curls. It felt so strange yet so familiar all at once, years of teenage overthinking allowing for plenty of daydreams about her future love life. And yet, she had never been able to use it.

Of course Pansy had wondered what would come of the late nights spent panting against Granger’s neck, her pyjama top balled in her fist, lost to the incredible sounds that emerged from the Gryffindor’s mouth. But it seemed both girls lost their nerve when the sun rose, and so it continued for the next six weeks; nights spent lavished in soft touches and desperate touches alike, and days spent purposefully ignoring each other’s very existence. Maybe it was cowardice, maybe it was fear of losing this unspoken bond. Either way, it took the two achingly long, miserable weeks of Easter break for either to admit that what they had had blossomed into something more, and so when Pansy had whispered the proposition and Hermione’s fierce brown eyes had searched hers, the two had agreed to give it a real shot.

Of course, this was Hogwarts, and nothing stayed private for long. And although their closest friends were awfully good at oblivion, the rest of the student body was not. Which is why the two young women were stood just outside of the Great Hall, hands clutched tightly together, desperately gathering their courage. Pansy knew she was less anxious than Hermione, having expertly dodged and rebounded the curses flying at her all year, matching each scathing look with her own much colder one. It didn’t matter that the golden trio had accepted her apologies (albeit begrudgingly on Weasley’s part), the rest of the student body were slow to follow.

Hermione cursed the turbulent waves in her stomach, urging them to quiet down. She had battled death eaters, broken wizarding law on far too many occasions, even obliviated her own parents, for Merlin’s sake! Of course all of those things had scared her, but all of them had to be done, all of them part of solving the problem. Hermione was good at that, solving problems. This problem, however, had far too many possible outcomes. Her friends could love her with open arms, or could be only okay with her relationship and so strain her friendships with them, or they could disown her. There could be shouting, cheering, jeering, laughter. So many what ifs, even if they weren’t likely.

The darker girl looked over to her girlfriend, a word she was quickly becoming accustomed to. The Slytherin caught her eye and winked at her, and that was all she needed.

Hermione pulled Pansy forward, taking a deep breath as she walked into the Great Hall. A few heads turned, taking in the two girls, but Hermione ignored them, marching towards the Eighth Year table. Draco looked over first, a look of surprise drifting over his features, followed by a knowing smile. He nudged Harry, who took in his best friend with a look that was straight out of a muggle movie, jaw nearly hitting the ground. Neville looked over next, shock painting his face before he nodded quietly to himself.

The sound of cutlery clattering made the two girls look over to Ron, who was looking between the two with knitted eyebrows. " 'Mione, why are you holding Parkinson's hand?"

Hermione took a deep breath, bringing Pansy closer. "We're dating."

"Wait, what?"

"That's it. Pay up." Seamus elbowed Dean, who grunted in return.

"That is not what we bet."

"Yes it is. I bet that there would be a Slytherin - Gryffindor couple by the end of the year." He took a swig of his pumpkin juice.

"No, you bet that we'd walk in on Harry and Draco doing the dirty." Dean raised his eyebrow at him.

"Same thing."

"Not for 10 galleons, it's not."

"Wait, what?" Harry choked on his drink, blushing.

"Gentlemen, please. We can focus on those gays later. We're focusing on these gays, now." Pansy waved her arm between her and Hermione, who in turn rubbed at her forehead. Why was everyone such a mess?

"Well, I for one, think it's sweet." Luna chipped in, having bounced over excitedly at seeing the two walk in. She pulled them both in for a tight hug, Hermione and Pansy sharing a look as they pulled away.

"Thank you, Luna." Hermione smiled.

"We will now allow for sixty seconds of questions, no more." Pansy tapped her watch impatiently.

"How long has this been going on?" Harry asked.

"Just over six weeks."

"The fact that it took you so long to make a move, is ridiculous." Draco tutted.

"Sweetheart, don't make me out your own rendezvous." Pansh quipped back, watching her best friend blush as much as the golden boy opposite him.

"What made you decide to tell us now?" This one came from Neville.

"Nothing is a secret in this place. Remember when Ron found out about Seamus and Dean?" Hermione answered. They all nodded, remembering Ron frantically avoiding discussing the two guys within the same sentence.

"Yeah, I still haven't forgotten how you called me an explosive Irish prick just to avoid saying my name next to Dean's." Seamus fake glared at Ron.

"I must say, this is going considerably better than when I came out to the ghoul at home. Medieval ghosts really aren't awake."

"You mean woke, Luna."

"Mmm, if you say so." Luna shrugged.

"Okay, we have time for one more question." Pansy said, looking at her watch.

"Oh! I've got one!" Seamus waved his arm wildly.

"Nope. Absolutely not." Pansy shook her head.

Seamus nodded. "Smart. It was not tasteful."

"So, this is what's happening now? You're snogging Parkinson?" Ron raised his voice, bringing everyone's attention back to him.

"Don't be so childish. I really like her, Ron." Hermione sighed.

"You do?" Pansy turned to her girlfriend, batting her eyelashes.

"Of course, baby." The Gryffindor smiled back.

"Ew, 'Mione. Please never make me hear you say that again." Ron covered his ears.

"I have to agree with Ron. I will die happy never hearing you say 'baby' again." Harry said, patting his best friend on the back consolingly.

"Well if that's all done, I'm dying to eat dinner next to my girlfriend." Pansy declared, motioning everyone to make room for the two.

"Thank you for doing this with me." Hermione whispered as they sat down.

"I'm glad you appreciate it, because you're stuck with me now."

#harry potter #Hermione granger #pansy parkinson #hermione x pansy #pansy x hermione #pansmione #request #fic requests open #fic request #implied drarry #brooklyn 99 #coming out #relationship reveal #gay #lesbians

131 notes · View notes

theweasleyslytherin · 3 years

Text

i knew you (ron weasley x reader) part 9

part 1/masterlist

summary: Ron inexplicably broke up with Cassiah Black just days before their final year at Hogwarts, leaving them both with broken hearts and no future plans, but too stubborn and too proud to fix things. The centuries-old rivalry between their Gryffindor and Slytherin houses only make things worse, and friendships are truly put to the test. Will they find their way back together before the year ends, or will the end of their time at Hogwarts be the last time they ever see the each other?

warnings: angst, drug/alcohol use

CHAPTER 9 - sight for sore eyes

We're lying on the moon It's a perfect afternoon Your shadow follows me all day Making sure that I'm okay and we're a million miles away

The Moon Song, beabadoobee ________________________

Ron had actually had a really good time at the party, despite the fact that he remembered only about 30 minutes of it and had spent the entire next morning yacking into a bucket instead of getting breakfast with everyone else in the dining hall. At least Harry had brought him back a croissant as an offering... but he'd thrown that up, too. Bloody firewhiskey.

All of that had been worsened by the fact that all he wished was for Cassie to be there to take care of him, and that she was with someone new and it fucking hurt. After that morning, the nausea faded, but the aching feeling in his chest persisted for the coming weeks.

It only worsened when he was sitting in Potions class a few weeks after his fight with Cassiah and, just before class was dismissed, his graded exam landed on his desk in front of his upside down. He hadn't expected to get an A – the panicky, humiliating feeling he'd had in his chest while taking it had been enough of an indication – but he'd had hope that he'd done alright. Ron had always struggled in school, but this year, he'd made a promise to himself for things to be different. He didn't need to check the grade to know what the result would be – he already knew.

He took a deep breath and flipped the paper over, trying to be subtle about it so that Neville wouldn't look over and see.

An F.

F as in failure. And it was all his own stubborn fault for refusing Cassiah's notes. Sure, they'd just been an empty gesture probably to assuage her guilt over dating Draco, but they would've made all the difference and Ron knew it. He always self-sabotaged like this because he was too damn proud... It must've been the Gryffindor in him.

He felt the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes and he willed them away – not in public, he told himself. He let his eyes flash to Cassiah, who was quietly smiling down at her paper. She never wanted to let on just how easy school was for her – she was always downplaying her talents or successes to make other people feel better, including Ron – but Ron knew. He was reminded of how he'd been able to be vulnerable with his emotions with her. She was so unashamed about expressing everything she was feeling, which could sometimes get to be rather annoying for Ron, but that was one of the many amazing things about her. When Ron was with Cassie, there was nothing embarrassing about feeling all his feelings as they came. Now he didn't have that outlet anymore, and he could feel it taking a toll.

Meanwhile, Draco was sitting with a smug look on his face, showing off his graded test to anyone who would look at it. Stupid bloody prefect, Ron thought, his blood boiling and his freckled ears turning red. Draco had always had everything – wealth, smarts, you name it – except for the most valuable thing: a person like Cassie. And now he had her, too. Ron couldn't help but think that Draco could never fully understand just how lucky he was. He had best treat her like the blessing she was. Merlin knows Ron hadn't, and now he regretted it so deeply.

He thought back to the day he'd let Cassie go. That hadn't been the first time he'd seen her cry because like he said, Cassiah was truly a serial crier, but it had been the first time that he'd been the reason for her tears. However, while it had crushed him to know that he'd made a girl he loved so deeply feel so horrible, he'd been a bit numb to at the time just based off of the fact that there was so much adrenaline pumping through his body and he was trying not to throw up or cry or faint.

Ron had intrusive thoughts about that day ever since, but he'd always pushed them away. It was too difficult to relive it all, and he knew that if he let himself, he'd be crushed with regret. He couldn't do that, because all he would want to do would be to crawl back to her, but that was the one thing he could never do.

But lately, he'd found himself wanting to revisit those feelings... Not that he'd ever admit it out loud.

He'd seen Cassiah cry once since that day, and it had been when he'd discovered her in Draco's room. Had that night, just a week after the breakup, been the beginning of her relationship with Draco? He felt sick at the thought.

Cassiah had told him that night that he'd given up the right to be concerned about her, but even though Ron was as angry with her and he'd ever been, he couldn't stop himself from caring about her, even if he had to do it from a distance for both of their sakes. Seeing Cassiah cry that night had broken his heart because not only had Ron made her cry, but more selfishly, it had implied the possibility that perhaps Cassiah cared enough about another guy to cry over someone else.

For the first time, Ron let himself try to look at that night from a different perspective. Maybe Draco hadn't been forcing himself on Cassiah. Perhaps he had actually been comforting her when she was...

Bloody hell.

The classroom was clearing out Ron could feel himself being overtaken by impulse, which in all honesty was usually the driving factor in most of his actions. He grabbed his failed test in his fist, crumpled it into a ball, and shoved it into his pocket before taking off in pursuit of a certain blonde Slytherin. He was sure that this was the first time he was going to purposefully interact with Malfoy but hey – it was a different world than it had been before.

"Malfoy, wait up!" he called, approaching the blonde boy but not daring to reach out and touch him. That somehow felt like crossing a forbidden line.

Draco slowed to a stop, murmuring something to Crabbe and Blaise before sending his friends on their way and carefully turning around. "Weasley. What gives me the pleasure?" Draco smirked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest, "Oh! Or have you come to accuse me again?" His tone was playful but his words were harsh.

Ron sighed, biting the inside of his cheek awkwardly. "About that. I really hate that I have to say this, but maybe I was... wrong. I don't know what on Earth has possessed Cassie that she would be shagging you, but, nevertheless, I uh–" he shuffled uncomfortably between his two feet, "I kind of wanted to ask you something."

"Well, go ahead and ask then. I haven't got time for your mindless rambling," Draco mocked. Merlin, what did Cassiah see in him?

"Okay. I have to say, I bloody hate that you two are... whatever you two are doing. But, I'll feel a lot better if I get this off my chest–"

"Spit it out, Weasley."

Ron stuttered nervously before continuing, "Do you care about her? You won't hurt her?"

Draco finally uncrossed his arms, suddenly less hostile as his face softened. "Of course. What kind of question is that?" he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and he hadn't spent the last seven years torturing Ron and his friends, "Although I have to add that my relationship with Cassiah is different than you seem to think."

Ron frowned. What was that supposed to mean? He couldn't help but wonder if Draco meant that it was more than a rebound – that there were real feelings involved – but he couldn't let his mind go there at the moment. He composed himself and asked his real question:

"So, considering you care about her, I can guess that you didn't intentionally make Cassiah cry that night." Ron felt a hot shame rising in his chest as he came to the realization that his worst fears were true. But he still had to ask, "You said it was me who made her cry that night. But that doesn't make any sense, because she's moved on with you. Why would she be crying over me if she doesn't even care about me anymore?"

Draco's face shifted into a complex expression that Ron couldn't read. His eyes flicked away for a moment before sighing and looking Ron dead in the eyes and saying, "It really isn't my job to mediate between the two of you, and quite frankly, I'm not overly concerned with helping you." Ron nodded and turned to leave but Draco quickly grabbed him by the sleeve and added, "But you and I both know that people don't stop caring about each other altogether overnight. Sometimes, people never stop caring about each other, in some capacity or another."

Ron stood there staring, flabbergasted. He had not expected Malfoy to be so insightful. This was truly a side of the blonde boy he had never seen before in all their years of hating each other. Ron wasn't sure what to make of any of it, so he just reached out awkwardly and grabbed Draco's hand to shake it and gave a short, "Thanks, Malfoy. Seriously."

As he turned to walk away, his mind began spinning and going through an uncountable amount of emotions.

Cassiah still cared about him. But then why would she do something as cruel as she had on the night of the Quidditch match? Then again, Ron cared about Cassiah as well, but had hurt her pretty badly, too – hurt her enough to make her cry again. How many times had he made her cry without his knowledge? Probably at least as many times as he'd secretly cried over her when he was alone, and he hated himself for that responsibility. He couldn't take any of it back, but he could be better going forward.

If they both cared about each other so much, then why were they putting on an act of disinterest. That would only hurt themselves, and each other.

He had to find Cassiah.

___________

Cassiah was tucked into her favorite, quiet corner of the library, hidden from the rest of the world by an enormous stack of books. The large majority of the books she'd pulled from the shelves were about Divination – which she'd always had a fascination with from the day she met Professor Trelawney. Something about the warm feeling she got in her chest in that classroom stuck with her, along with careful, mindful practices she learned there. Many people were skeptical of the practice of Divination, but Cassiah had always been a stellar, devoted student in the class.

However, she wasn't reading the Divination texts she'd found at the moment. Instead, her nose was buried in a piece of classic fiction she had brought from home. It felt amazing to get lost in another fantastical world for a while. She'd always loved to read as a child, but as she'd grown older, she'd grown out of the habit. After her breakup, though, she'd been devastated and had turned to fiction for comfort for the first time in so long. When she was reading one of her stories, her mind couldn't focus on what Ron might be thinking, or if Hermione and Ginny were hanging out and talking about her.

Truth be told, she thought a lot more about Ron than she did about her friends because he had become her best friend above anyone else.

She was so entranced in her fictional world that she didn't hear anyone coming, and she certainly couldn't see anyone over the tower of textbooks she had around her. That was on purpose. None of the people she actually wanted to see – Draco, Blaise, Pansy, the whole lot – would be in the library and she didn't particularly wish to talk to anybody else.

"Cassiah?"

A gruff voice startled her out of her trance and she gasped, dropping her book and cursing, "Bloody fuck–"

Her words got caught in her throat the second she looked up and saw red.

Red hair, to be exact. Her jaw slacked with realization as she stared up at freckled cheeks and blue-green eyes.

Ron chuckled nervously, looking a little too much like he might throw up for Cassiah's usual liking, and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Still got that mouth on you, I see," he offered, a sheepish half-smile forcing its way onto his face.

"I–" Cassiah stuttered, completely and utterly shell-shocked. Out of all the students at Hogwarts, Ron was the last one she expected to come find her in the library. She'd completely given up on ever speaking to him again, if she was being honest. She shook her head, "What are you doing here?"

She could practically hear Ron's heart beating out of his chest, but it gave her comfort to know that he was just as terrified as she was. He should be terrified – he'd broken her heart like she never even knew was possible.

Ron was speaking quietly with nerves, the same way he had when he'd first told her he wanted to be with her. "I knew I'd find you here," he said, sounding rather out of breath and now that Cassiah was looking closer, rather red in the face, "Well, I actually ran over practically the entire grounds before realizing that I knew exactly where to find you."

From Ron's breathless tone and rosy complexion, Cassiah was inclined to believe that he quite literally meant the entire grounds.

"Ron," Cassiah said just as quietly, not fully trusting her voice to not show her nerves or emotions, "Why were you looking for me? We haven't really been speaking at all ever since the breakup." Saying the words break up out loud to Ron made Cassiah choke on a lump in her throat she wasn't even aware was forming until that moment. She ducked her head, silently cursing herself for tearing up. He hadn't even said anything bad yet, but just looking at his face in person made her heart hurt. She had once loved this man so much, and now he hated her so terribly.

"Yeah, I- I know," Ron huffed, "Do you mind if I sit?"

His mannerisms were reminding Cassiah of when he had broken up with her. His breathing was ragged with fear and his voice was so low and soft and unsure.

"No, of course," Cassiah replied, stumbling to clumsily push some books aside to make space for him at the table. When Ron took his seat beside her – but not too close, she noted – the tower of books was now concealing both of them from anyone else's view. They had complete privacy. It was like they were alone, for the first time in months.

"I'm sorry that I made you cry," Ron blurted, "The night that I walked in on you and Draco, and any other time really. I'm really sorry."

Now Cassiah was truly shocked. She thought he'd come here bearing bad news. "It's okay, Ron, really."

"No, it's not," Ron said definitively, "I always told you when we were together that it wasn't okay for people to hurt each other, and it's still not okay now. I don't want to hurt you, Cassie."

At that, she let a tear slip out, and she looked over at him through glassy hazel eyes as she desperately tried to keep the waterworks in. "Well then I guess I owe you an apology, too," she said, just barely above a whisper because that was all she could manage at the moment, "For what happened at your Quidditch game. I– I know that was a really, really big day for you and I hadn't considered how much my actions would really hurt you."

Cassiah took a deep, shaky breath, staring directly into his eyes. She felt the prickling sensation in her nose and her eyes, and she decided to let her quiet tears fall. "Even if we're not together, I can never be mad at you. I still care about you so much and I hate that I did something that made you think otherwise."

She could've sworn she saw Ron's eyes shining, but he ducked his head just quickly enough for her to not see. "I care about you too, Cassie," he said, reaching out to grab her hand.

Instinctually, she started to pull her hand back. She hated being touched when she was upset. But she knew that this was his love language, and it would only make things worse if she rejected him, so she forced herself to stay in his grasp. It felt so wrong, after everything that had happened between them.

"So what do we do?" Ron asked. Cassiah felt a glimmer of hope in her chest, but then she remembered something Ron had said to her many moons ago.

"When couples break up, I don't think they should get back together. Unless it's been years and they both have fundamentally changed, they need to remember why they broke up in the first place."

Cassiah had thought it was bullshit at the time but had never thought it was be relevant to her and Ron, because she thought they would be together forever.

She shoved that glimmer of hope down into a dark, faraway place – as faraway as the kingdoms in her stories.

"We were always friends. We... We said we'd always be friends. And I really miss being your friend," she conceded, deciding that settling for friendship was better than not having Ron in her life at all, even if she would always ache for more.

If she hadn't been staring at her won fidgeting hands, she would've seen how Ron's face fell for just a second before he plastered a soft smile back onto his face.

"Then let's be friends," he concluded, smiling at Cassiah wistfully, "How hard can that be?"

Cassiah giggled quietly at that. She finally felt brave enough to look up at him. "Okay. So, when do we start? Being friends, doing friend stuff," she joked, biting her lip playfully.

"I mean, Seamus and I were gonna get high and spy on Neville's date with Luna if you wanna come?" he offered.

Cassiah gasped and punched Ron lightly in the arm, "Merlin, I am so out of the loop. Neville and Luna are finally together?"

"Yup," Ron smiled. He and Cassiah had been shipping Neville and Luna for years. "This is their second date. He's taking her into Hogsmeade for dinner. If we hurry back to my dorm, you can take a few hits before Seamus gets there," he tempted her, "I know you don't like to smoke in front of other people." The wink he sends her is telling of their years of friendship and she can't help but smile brightly back at him.

"Hey! I'm not like that anymore," she defended, crossing her arms across her chest in mock-offense, "But I will take you up on the offer."

"Yes," Ron did a little fist pump, "I really thought you were gonna say no. It's fun when you smoke."

Cassiah smiled shyly, not quite sure what to make of how natural everything felt between them. She knew there was still so much hurt buried on both sides, but she supposed it was easier to pretend that none of it had ever happened. Maybe some things didn't need to be talked about; maybe it was better that way.

They hurried back to Ron's dorm, finding that they had, in fact, beat Seamus there.

Ron made quick work of rooting through the drawers under his bed, poking his head up and holding up a bag of rolling papers and a pipe. "Blunt or bowl? Lady's choice," he questioned, raising his eyebrows at Cassiah with the goofiest look on his face.

Cassiah smiled shyly, biting her lip, before finally answering timidly, "Bowl." She never really smoked blunts. Well, she didn't smoke much at all, actually, but she felt more comfortable this way.

"Alright," Ron replied, pulling out his grinder and setting about his business. Cassiah watched him working with such expertise. As good as it was to be hanging out with Ron, it was nice to not have to talk for a moment and just wrap her mind around what was happening. She sat on the bed next to him, letting her feet dangle just above the floor and kicking them softly back and forth.

"Okay, c'mere," Ron said.

"I can light it myself," Cassiah challenged him, raising an eyebrow. She knew he'd be surprised to hear her say that.

"Ooh, big girl," he joked back. He motioned for her to closer anyways, "For old time's sake."

Cassiah huffed, "Okay, fine," but secretly she was relieved.

Ron held the pipe up to her lips and he smiled down at her. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded. He used to wand to cast a charm and suddenly there was a flame.

_____

Cassiah was looking up at him through those thick, long eyelashes, and her hair was tucked so cutely behind her ears. She looked so beautiful that Ron could feel his heart melting as he stood there. What a blessing it was to be this close to her again, studying her beauty from just inches away. She was the prettiest creature he'd ever seen, and he'd almost forgotten all of the little details that made her so special. But sitting there, watching her, it was almost like things had never changed between them.

"I'm excited," Ron said with a goofy, toothy grin.

"Merlin, don't make it into a big deal, Ron," Cassiah shot back, blushing madly with embarrassment.

"My little Cassie's first time smoking," he mocked, pinching her cheeks. She swatted him away, but her laugh let him know she wasn't too pissed off.

"I would've done it before, I just," she bit her lip, "I don't know, I want it to be just me and you. It's embarrassing, I don't want Fred and George or the guys here to make fun of me."

Ron knew she hated people seeing her do things she wasn't good at. "I won't make fun of you, " he reassured, and she raised an eyebrow. "Promise," he said, offering her a pinky.

She scooched closer to him and let him light the bowl for her, his wand radiating heat from the flame that made her want to shy away. She breathed in the smoke and then released it in his face.

She paused, and after a few moments declared, "I don't feel anything."

"Baby, you've gotta inhale it."

"That's what I did!" she insisted.

"No, honey," Ron explained, like try to hold it in your lungs for a second, don't just keep it in your mouth." He studied Cassiah carefully, seeing how her ears were pink with embarrassment, "You wanna try again?"

Cassiah nodded wordlessly, so Ron repeated his actions. She inhaled a decent-sized hit, and Ron smiled down at her,

"Atta girl," he said proudly, "Took it like a champ."

Cassiah smiled at him as she exhaled, and coughed loudly.

She'd taken one or two more hits, and then Ron had finished off the bowl himself. Sitting on the bed next to him, Cassiah just looked for beautiful. She always looked so beautiful. He couldn't resist and leaned over to kiss her hungrily, and she giggled as the kiss made her head spin.

"Do you feel good?" he asked after a few minutes of heated kissing.

She nodded shyly and responded a quiet, "Yes. Very good," a continued kissing him. And if that wasn't some of the best sex of Ron's life, he'd be damned.

The sound of Cassiah coughing barely audibly shook Ron out of his stupor. He handed him a glass of water he had sitting by his bed.

His friend, Cassiah.

He never thought he'd be calling her that again. It was a bit of a disappointment. He'd thought for sure for a moment that she was going to ask to start things over, but he loved her so much that he couldn't turn down an offer to have her in his life. At least if they were friends he couldn't keep hurting her.

_____________________

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long but hopefully this 4000 word monster makes up for it a bit. Sometimes this book is hard to write because I'm kind of using it as an outlet for some things that happened in my own previous relationship. yikes!

Finally, a break from the angst and some happiness! :)

I hope there's not too many typos. My mental health said absolutely not to any proofreading tonight. I'm terribly sorry if this is a mess.

i love you all so much. i hope you loved this chapter. i can't wait for you guys to see what comes next <3 <3 xx tag list: @theamazingspideraj @girl22334 @mariellelovescupcakes @lateautumn

Published on my Wattpad (halebscallison) and my Tumblr (theweasleyslytherin).

47 notes · View notes

adenei · 3 years

Text

Fake It Til You Make It - Ch. 5

AO3 || FFN

Ginny walked into the dining hall a few days after trials. She’d been doing her best to keep to herself and lay low to not attract any more attention. Harry seemed to be spending more and more time with the other boys on the team, and they never invited Ginny to join them, not that she cared. She spent her time getting to know the campus instead.

When she got bored, not to mention smelly enough, she’d catch a bus across town to visit the twins and shower at their place. The boy’s dorm showers were configured the same as the locker room, and Ginny couldn’t take any chances. Of course, now that classes had started, the time constraints wouldn’t allow her to take daily trips to the twins’ flat, so she needed to figure out how to shower at school.

Ginny grabbed a sandwich and other various lunch items before searching for a table to sit at. She noticed Harry and the rest of the guys sitting across the room and decided to join them since there was an extra seat.

“Hey, my dudes, what’s up?” Ginny asked as she sat down.

They all stared at her for a moment before returning to their conversation. Well, at least they didn’t get up and leave me here alone. She knew she sounded ridiculous, but part of her thought it was hilarious. It was worth all the flack she’d get from Ron once he returned. He needed some repercussions for taking off and leaving her to cover.

Ginny was drawn out of her thoughts when the boys grew quiet. She followed their stares to the food line where two girls in short skirts were swiping their meal cards. One of them looked like that girl Ginny ran into on her first day. Hermione, she remembered.

“Damn, they just keep getting finer with age, don’t they?” Seamus asked.

Ginny noticed that Harry had grown oddly quiet and slack-jawed. “Are you talking about Hermione? Oooh yeah, damn! That arse is fine, am I right?” Ginny said, thinking that’s what the guys wanted to hear.

“Hey! Don’t talk about her like that! She’s not a piece of meat,” Harry said defensively.

“Whoa, sorry,” Ginny backpedalled. “You into her or something?”

Nevile and Colin both snorted in laughter as Colin said, “Only for the last three and a half years.”

Ginny looked at him. “And you haven’t made a move because…”

“She’s always had a boyfriend,” Harry sounded dejected.

“Yeah, but on the bright side, she and her college boyfriend are over now, so you’ll be able to swoop in and make a move when the time is right,” Neville reminded him.

“Why don’t you just go over and talk to her now?” Ginny was confused by their logic.

“Because she’s still upset over the break-up! Look how sad she is,” Dean sounded affronted.

“Yeah, you don’t just go over there and talk to the girl you’ve fancied forever. Especially if you don’t want to be the rebound,” Seamus agreed.

Ginny looked over at Hermione, who was now sitting at a table with her friend. Hermione happened to look up and lock eyes with her. She flashed a smile, which Ginny returned.

“Whoa, did she just smile at you?” Colin asked.

“Uh, yeah?” Ginny said.

“What the hell, man?!” Harry punched her in the shoulder.

“What? It’s common courtesy to smile back, isn’t it? I’m not trying to steal her away from you or anything.” She was surprised how defensive the guys were getting over one girl.

“Aw, what the hell is he doing?” Harry said as he shook his head in defeat.

A guy with perfectly coiffed white-blonde hair and an impeccably starched uniform slid into the seat next to Hermione. Ginny saw her face immediately sour at his presence. Ginny commiserated with Hermione, who was doing her best to be polite, even though it was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Been there, Ginny thought.

“Who is he?” Ginny asked.

“Draco Malfoy. The most obnoxious goody-two-shoes in our year. He’ll literally do anything to get what he wants,” Neville explained.

“Ah,” something about the blonde bloke was rubbing Ginny the wrong way.

Draco must have said the wrong thing to Hermione. No sooner had he sat down and attempted to engage her in conversation, Hermione gave him a disgusted look, got up with her friend and walked away. All the guys at Ginny’s table laughed at his failed attempt as he shot them a nasty look.

“So, who’s looking forward to the Beauxbatons game?” Ginny changed the subject.

The group eyed her. “It’s just another game. We’re going to crush them like we always do,” Harry shrugged.

“Yeah, but it’s the season opener. Personally, I think it’s rubbish that I got put on second string. I really wanted a chance to kick their arses,” Ginny complained.

“Why do you care so much?” Harry asked.

“Oh, uh, my sister goes to Beauxbatons. Michael, her prat of an ex is on the team.”

“You have a sister?” Dean asked as Ginny nodded.

“Wait, which one’s her ex?” Seamus asked.

“The goalie and team captain.”

“Oh, that twat? He picked a fight with me last year,” Harry said. “He’s a joke, honestly. Thinks he’s God’s gift to football, yet he couldn’t stop any of my goals.” All the boys laughed in agreement.

“What’d your sister see in him anyway?” Dean asked.

“Not sure. He was a prick. She’s better off without him. So, what are you going to do about Hermione? Better get a move on. Otherwise, someone else is going to tap that before you get a chance. Am I right?” Ginny waggled her eyebrows.

She thought she was reading them accurately, but all the boys just shook their heads and stood up to leave. Despite growing up with a household of brothers, Ginny was beginning to think she would never get the hang of ‘being a guy.’

It was almost midnight when Ginny decided to take a chance and head for the showers. The halls were quiet, and she hoped that since they had classes the next day, most of the guys were finally getting to sleep. Thankfully, the bathroom was blissfully empty, and Ginny sighed in relief. She started unwrapping the binder and set it on the counter as she spread her bag of toiletries and things about. Unfortunately, her solitude was short-lived.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Ginny jumped back in surprise and looked up to see the blonde-haired bloke staring incredulously at her. Thank goodness she’d kept her robe on and hadn’t taken the wig off yet.

“Excuse me?” She responded.

“Your stuff is everywhere!” he scoffed, picking up her towel between two fingers and tossing it at her.

“I...didn’t know that was a violation of anything?” Ginny retorted.

“Yes, it’s under code 31.7: Bathroom Etiquette,” he shot back.

Ginny lifted her hands in a gesture of mock defeat as she said, “Well, sorry, didn’t realize it’d be the end of the world if I spread my stuff out in a deserted bathroom.” She rolled her eyes.

“As you should be.”

She grabbed her things to go back to the room. Maybe four in the morning would be a better option. They’d all have to be asleep then, right?

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet. I’m Draco Malfoy, Dorm Director. It’d be best for you to stay on my good side if you know what I mean.”

Ginny could barely believe his nerve. She opened her mouth to tell him sod off when Harry walked in and overheard Draco’s warning to her. Draco didn’t hear him coming, and Harry lifted his towel and whipped Draco in the head with it. She couldn’t hide the chortle that escaped her lips.

“Leave him alone, Malferret,” Harry said. “No one cares about the rules in the dorm handbook.”

“You say that until you break one of them and get kicked out!” Malfoy defended.

Harry waved him off as Ginny said, “Well, this has been a riveting conversation, but I’ve got other places to be.”

She made a quick escape out the door as she longed for the day when she’d be able to shower when she wanted again. That night, Ginny fell into a fitful sleep filled with nightmares on the football field. Coach McGonagall called her onto the field, but she was dressed as her usual self. No, not just her normal self; she was wearing a poofy pink dress that she could barely run in, and Aunt Muriel was on the sidelines mocking her. She ultimately made a fool of herself, as everyone on both teams laughed at her.

When she woke up, she was ready to throw in the towel. None of this was worth it. She was stuck on second string, her teammates thought she was insane, and she couldn’t keep up with Ron’s coursework. Professor Flitwick could have been lecturing them in a completely different language for all she knew. She had no idea how to read music, and even after poring over the texts, she still had no idea what chords were.

Yeah, she was done. Having Ron fake an illness was the easier way to go. The twins would surely help her cover, right?

#hp muggle au #ginny weasley #she's the man inspired

10 notes · View notes

writings-of-dumpy · 3 years

Text

George Weasley and the Girl in Ravenclaw: Part 9

A/N: VIOLENCE, MENTIONS OF GUNS, child endangerment (like literally all of Harry Potter), language, mentions of sex, and cliffhanger..

After Dumbledore’s death, Severus Snape had taken over being Headmaster of Hogwarts and judging by the sparse letters from Ginny over the past few months since Christmas holiday, it was an absolute nightmare. Students were treated like slaves and anyone who stepped even a toe out of line would be punished harshly. The order gathered midday during Fred and George’s lunch hour to discuss what to do about the situation since no news of Harry had been brought to their attention.

“Okay, hear me out. This may sound crazy, but Muggles have these things called guns, and if we shoot Snape—or Voldemort, for that matter—in the head, he will probably die. At a minimum, it’s a bit hard to do magic with an obliterated prefrontal cortex,” Raven suggested. George smiled at her and patted her leg. Since Bill’s wedding, she and George hadn’t had much time together alone. He and Fred ran the shop as best they could, and Raven often took assignments from the order to go to Hogwarts and smuggle supplies to the students.

“If you want to carry a gun, fine, but I’m not sure the rest of us know how to use one,” Lupin said.

“It’s very simple,” Raven said. “Anyway, things are only getting worse, even muggles are starting to notice. I managed to swipe this newspaper that says people have been seeing odd clouds of smoke through the air…”

“Fucking Death Eaters,” Fred, George and Raven said in unison and exhaustion.

“We’ve got to start getting students out of Hogwarts. It’s not safe anymore, especially the muggle-borns,” Tonks said. Raven nodded.

George would constantly worry when Raven made trips to Hogwarts. She traveled through the Forbidden Forest and through the tunnels under the Shrieking Shack to get supplies to students in need there. He knew it was dangerous and if she was ever caught, who knew what would become of her.

“It would have to be all in one night. If students started going missing—especially the ones Yaxley likes to pick on—I’d be found out and killed for sure,” Raven said.

George’s jaw clenched at how casually she took her life. The thought of her not coming back scared the hell out of him, and he wouldn’t let her go alone.

“Fine, then it’ll be more than just you going, I’ll go too,” George offered.

“No, the Ministry has a log in Diagon Alley of strange happenings. A Weasley missing from his own shop would raise red flags,” Lupin reasoned. “Raven, go tonight and talk with Ginny and Neville about possible times that we could sneak muggle-borns out.”

“Done,” Raven agreed.

After the meeting, Raven went up to her space in the attic to supply herself with protectives and supplies the students will need. George rarely went after her because he knew she wanted to be alone as she prepared, but he couldn’t help himself. He knew with every moment she spent inside Hogwarts, the higher her chances of being caught were.

“Ven?” he asked from the doorway. She turned around and smiled at him.

“Hey,” she said and turned back to shrinking bandages and water bottles.

“I’m worried,” George said plainly. “And I’m scared for you.”

Raven looked at him, then zipped up the pack and slung it over her shoulder. “Well, that’s not doing you any favors, is it?”

She went to walk past him and he caught her arm with his hand and gently stopped her. He looked into her eyes and said, “I don’t want you to keep doing this.”

“I’ll come back, I promise. Always, remember?” Raven said and gave his arm a squeeze.

“If you aren’t back by midnight, I’m coming after you,” George said seriously.

“I’ll be back by then, I usually am,” she said. She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth tenderly and headed out the door. George’s heart skipped a beat and he felt the familiar lust he had for her creep into his mind and his heart swelled. He was sure she was trying to kill him now.

George waited anxiously for closing time to finally arrive so he could head back home and check for Raven. When the cuckoo clock finally struck 10pm, he was already packed and ready. “Come on , Fred, or I’m locking you in.”

“Eager to get home, eh?” Fred said as he tucked his bag under his arm and the pair headed out to close the shop.

“I need to make sure Raven’s okay,” George muttered as he fumbled with his keys. When he finally locked the door, Fred was eyeing him strangely. “What?”

“Are you two finally… you know…” Fred asked and mimed a rude gesture.

“Shagging?! No, are you serious? We’ve only kissed once, and who’s had time with all this, anyway,” George said and gestured to the air.

Fred scoffed, “I’ve had plenty of time.”

“Oh really now, with who?” George challenged.

“Angelina, of course! Where do you think I go every Friday night?” Fred asked. George’s eyes widened. Come to think of it, he had noticed Fred’s sudden disappearance on most Friday evenings, but I guess he assumed Fred was off being alone.

“Unbelievable,” George said.

“No, what’s unbelievable is that you and Ven have only kissed. She’s a good fit for you, just go for it!” Fred encouraged.

George shook his head. “Maybe I LIKE taking my time. Besides, she’s your friend, shouldn’t you be discouraging men from trying to shag her unless she likes them?”

Fred scoffed and shook his head. “You’ve gone mad.”

The subject was dropped once they apparated into the burrow. George walked into the kitchen to find Tonks with Molly sat in a chair.

“What happened?” Fred asked, following George in.

“Harry’s gone to Hogwarts tonight. Raven saw him in the tunnels and told us straight away. He’s going to confront Snape and try to destroy the last horcruxes. All of the Death Eaters will be there at any moment,” Tonks said. “We wanted to tell you. The rest of the Order is ready to go, will you join us?”

“No question,” Fred and George said. George panicked at the thought of every dark wizard, witch and creature swarming on Hogwarts with Raven and his sister in it. He quickly changed into more suitable clothes, then the four of them apparated into the tunnels below the Shrieking Shack. When they arrived, they were greeted by every member of the order, and they made their way through the tunnels. George wondered where Raven was and if she was alright. He expected to see her with the rest of the order, but he couldn’t find her.

“This way,” Kingsley commanded and pointed to the left at a fork in the tunnel. When they approached a dead end, Kingsley leaned against the wall to listen, then knocked four times.

“Wands ready,” he said to the group in a low voice. Slowly, the wall opened and George recognized the Gryffindor common room. Out popped Raven from the side with a grin on her face.

“Hi guys! Come on, Harry’s already headed towards the great hall,” she said and George felt an overwhelming sense of relief and he stepped forward with he rest of the order. They made their way silently through the corridors, petrifying death eaters all along the way. George was reminded of his time in school with Fred and Raven sneaking past Filch and various teachers. He looked over at her while they walked and grinned at her. She smiled back at him. As they reached the Great Hall, they heard Harry’s voice.

“It seems that despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, headmaster,” Harry declared in the silent room. As he spoke, Kingsley opened the large doors and the order walked in, fanning out to block the door. “And I’m afraid it’s quite extensive.”

George snuck his hand down to hold Raven’s behind Bill’s tall figure, and Harry continued, “How dare you stand where he stood? Tell them how it happened that night! Tell them how you looked him in the eye—the man who trusted you—and killed him! Tell them.”

Without another word, Snape raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. The students who were formed in neat lines suddenly jumped out of the way and scattered out of the way. Before any of the arrived order could step forward, Minerva McGonagall placed herself between Snape and Harry. After a small moment, fire flew from her wand right at Snape’s dumbfounded face. He blocked it, and McGonagall advanced forward, sending flame after flame until Snape rebounded the spells off of him and back to the death eaters behind him, then flew out of the window.

“And stay out!” Raven shouted. McGonagall lit the candles back to their familiar glow and the room erupted in applause and cheer. George grinned from ear to missing ear and looked down at Raven. The two embraced tightly and George said to her, “I was so worried…”

“I was too. But we’re here now, and we’ve got a fight ahead of us,” Raven said in a slightly ominous tone.

The room suddenly went dark and an eerie voice was heard by all by the looks of it. “I know that many of you will want to fight, some of you may even think that to fight is wise, but this is folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have one hour,” Voldemort’s voice rang out. George held onto Raven, who looked sick to her stomach.

After a moment, a Slytherin girl spoke up, “What are you waiting for? Someone grab him!”

“Looks like I’m gonna kill a child today,” Raven said and stood next to Harry with her wand raised. The rest of the Order followed her with George and Fred on either side of Raven.

“Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!” Filtch screamed as he came running into the Great Hall.

“They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot,” McGonagall said impatiently. “However, your appearance is most opportune. Would you be so kind as to escort Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin house to the dungeons.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Filtch said, completely intimidated.

After that, the Order’s job became clear: protect Harry until all of the horcruxes were destroyed. Kingsley turned to the remaining order members after Molly and Tonks went with McGonagall to the front of the castle. “Fred, George, Raven, you take the east tower, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, you take the west, the rest of you split up in between. They’ll be attacking from all over we expect, so if you need backup, move to the middle.”

George started to run to the east side of the castle with Fred and Raven. He noticed that the barrier was already up and he could see several wires and explosives being set up on all of the bridges. When they reached a good spot to see over the courtyard, he managed to make out dark shadows on the hill across the lake, and assumed it must be Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Not even an hour had gone by before they began their attack on Hogwarts.

“Bloody git, that Voldemort!” Fred said.

“Well, with a title like ‘Dark Lord,’ I think bloody git is putting it lightly,” George observed.

All of a sudden George couldn’t tell what was happening there was so much chaos.The castle was exploding and creatures of all kinds of dark lands flooded the grounds. He could barely tell who he was fighting, and he could barely get a word in, all he could do was block the curses and hope that none of them landed on him and better yet rebounded back onto his attacker. During a brief pause, George managed to stun his attacker backwards and off of the tower.

“Oops,” he said to himself, and the three of them ran to the courtyard through the chaos of students. George and Raven’s hands clasped together for George feared he’d lose her in the chaos of the fight. Explosions and curses erupted around them and George was feeling slightly overwhelmed. The three of them stood back to back and guarded each other that way while defending an entrance to the castle. Death Eaters, giants, trolls, vampires, and werewolves all were involved in attacking students, staff, and Aurors.

“Are you actually kidding me right now?! What the fuck is this noseless freak playing at, anyway?!” Raven shouted and started throwing hex after hex at the new oncoming enemy: giant spiders.

“This reminds me of something, George!” Fred said. “Hang on!” Fred leapt away from them and George assumed he didn’t know he stopped right in the path of a falling beam. He was far away from where the chaos was concentrated, so he had a moment to stop moving, but George prayed that he wouldn’t... but he did.

“FRED, NO!” Raven cried out, but before they could reach him, the beam had fallen and smacked him in the head, his face still stuck in a smile.

#george weasley #george weasley x oc

4 notes · View notes

alj4890 · 5 years

Text

Crack Fic Request

(Psych! X Choices: The Royal Romance) as requested by @krsnlove 😂

A/N WARNING This is pure crack. I am combing two of my all time favorites: Psych and The Royal Romance cast of characters. If you haven't ever watched Psych about a fake psychic detective, please...do so. You have no idea the laughter that is missing from your life. If you are a fan of delicious flavor, then read on.

I have no idea who to tag other than my other fellow Psych lover, @hopelessromantic1352

Masterlist

History? What About Her Story?

"My love, have you seen the book you gave me on our wedding day?" Liam walked along the shelves of the palace library, searching each brown leather spine.

"No. I don't believe I have seen it since the reception." Riley set her book down and began to help him search. "Did you allow someone to borrow it?"

"No." He frowned and called for Bastien. A search was conducted with no results.

"It has to be somewhere in here." She muttered.

Maxwell and Drake joined them, bringing Hana and Olivia. After much discussion, Maxwell offered to call in a favor.

"I know a guy who is able to solve these type of mysteries." He pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contacts.

____________________

Santa Barbara, California

"Chief, the psychic realm is buzzing with gossip and a little ethereal bird told me to stop by." Shawn announced, bursting in on a meeting between Chief Vick, Head Detective Carlton Lassiter, and Detective Juliet O'Hara.

"Mr. Spencer, I don't know what birds are whispering in your ear but they need to remind you not to interrupt a meeting." She said in a frustrated tone.

"Sorry Chief, but when they tweet, I must answer. Usually with hashtags. Right, Gus?" Shawn turned to his best friend and partner.

"It's true Chief. He uses an unusual amount of hashtags." Gus added.

"Dude! You know my Twitter followers need to be in the know. I can't just offer a thought without a dozen or so carefully phrased hashtags to explain it's significance." Shawn reached over for Juliet's doughnut and was immediately batted away.

"Jules! Sharing is caring." He reminded her.

"If there are doughnuts, we need to be made aware of their location." Gus searched the room and looked out toward the main room of the police station.

"Enough!" Carlton yelled. "Spencer, you and Gusster go find a doughnut and leave."

"Come on, Lassie. Don't you want to break bread with us. Or a doughnut as the case might be while we discuss the next step in our investigation?" Shawn tried to secretly slide Juliette's doughnut his way, earning another slap.

"I would rather go to a hot yoga class with McNabb." Carlton uttered in a deadpan voice.

"Well, I for one am ready to find this Corduroy antique." Shawn said sitting down and propping his feet up on the table.

"Cordonian." Gus corrected.

"I've heard it both ways." Shawn quickly repsonded.

"Shawn you didn't even know it was a country." Gus added.

"Gus, I can't help that the psychic tweets didn't give a geography lesson with the message. There's only a limited number of characters allowed." Shawn argued.

"Gentlemen!" Chief Vick interrupted. She stared pointedly at Shawn until he took his feet off the conference table. "Due to the international attention you and Lassister and O'Hara have gained with past investigations, the King and Queen of Cordonia have asked the four of you to come help find out what happened to one of the king’s prized possessions. The mayor insists you go to show how Santa Barbara is keeping up international relations."

"The tweets never lie." Shawn said, a smile lighting up his face. "What type of clothing should we pack?"

"It's in the Mediterranean." Juliet told him.

"So, snowsuit?" Shawn asked.

"Be ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning. King Liam is sending his private plane for you." Vick flicked her hands for them to leave.

__________________

"Gus, I was meant for this lifestyle. Private planes. Servants. Ruling over a small country. Adored by my people." Shawn reclined in the Corinthian leather chair as the plane flew over the Atlantic.

"Dude, your people would overthrow you within a week." Gus muttered.

"And what a glorious week it would be." Shawn replied.

Gus glanced behind him to where Juliet and Carlton were sleeping. "What did Maxwell tell you?"

"Some brown book filled with the country’s history is missing. The queen presented it as a wedding gift. Who gives their spouse an ancient book as a gift on their wedding night? Do you think there was underwear in it? I bet--"

"Shawn." Gus attempted to reign Shawn's ramblings in.

"Anyway, they can't find it. So it is up to us to find out who took it, why they did, and where it is now."

"Great. Did Maxwell offer any leads?"

Shawn frowned. "No...but how many people actually were in a small palace of a tiny country?"

_________________

Liam and Riley walked with Maxwell down the corridor. "A psychic?" Liam asked again. "I can't believe we invited a psychic detective to assist in this."

Maxwell nodded. "Shawn isn't some run of the mill psychic. He has solved numerous thefts, murders, even stopped a notorious serial killer. I think he will have this book back in your hands by this evening."

They walked into the study and warmly greeted their guests.

"Maxwell!" Shawn walked up and fist bumped him. "How long has it been?"

"Um...I want to say a two months since I was in Canada. The whole book tour being interrupted by Pierre Despereaux's thefts was when we last met." Maxwell explained.

"Thefts?" Riley asked.

"An international art thief, your majesty." Juliet explained, dropping into an awkward curtsy.

"Please, there is no need for any of that." Riley said with a smile. "I'm still not used to it. Every time someone needs a refill on drinks, I hop up to get it."

Juliet laughed and clapped her hands. "Your story is the stuff of dreams. I love how you and King Liam met."

"O'Hara." Carlton muttered.

"Right. Sorry." Juliet straightened up beside him.

"Can you tell us if you have any new staff, possibly seen anyone suspicious around the book?" Carlton asked.

"No, most have been here for years. The ones visiting the palace are nobles and friends that have never caused a problem of this sort." Liam explained.

"Of this sort?" Gus repeated. "So there have been problems?"

Liam shared a loaded glance with Riley. "I recently created a council of both nobles and commoners to help my queen and I rule to the best of our abilities. After the terrorist attacks from the Sons of the Earth, I wanted to try and not allow a situation like that to develop again."

Shawn raised his hand to his head. "I'm sensing that there were a few who did not agree with this."

Riley nodded, eyes wide. "There were some, one in particular, Lord Neville."

"The singer of Tell It Like It Is?" Shawn asked.

"That's Aaron Neville." Gus corrected.

"Right, the quarterback for Green Bay." Shawn asked.

"That's Aaron Rogers!" Gus exclaimed

"Right. Love his neighborhood." Shawn put his hand back to his head. "I'm sensing that Lord Rogers--"

"Neville." Gus whispered.

"That Lord Neville might wish to get back at you. Mayhap even--" he turned to Gus. "Did I use mayhap right?"

"Yes." Gus answered

"Too pretentious?" Shawn furrowed his brow.

"A little bit." Gus shrugged.

"It's this setting. I mean look at this place. Velvet sitting chairs. Who has this? Really, even velvet drapes? Does Elton John visit?" Shawn walked over and lifted the red drape.

"He has..." Liam replied, trying to keep up with Shawn's thought process.

"Is he planning on visiting soon?"

"I--" Liam shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Hmm. To solve this mystery, I am going to need to become one with this palace. I am going to need to eat what you eat. Sit where you sit. Touch what you touch." Shawn winked at Riley, earning a smack to the back of the head from Carlton.

He glared at Shawn before turning to Liam. "Rest assured that O'Hara and I will do all we can to solve this for you."

"If you wouldn't mind, we need to speak to your head of security." Juliet added.

"Of course, right this way." Liam and Riley walked out with the two detectives.

Maxwell grinned. "Alright guys, show me that magic you did in Canada."

"Oh you will see the magic." Shawn promised.

"We got magic for days." Gus added.

"At least for a couple of hours." Shawn corrected. "Maybe an encore card trick or two."

Maxwell chuckled and finger gunned them on his way out. "Great. Let me know if you need anything."

"Magic for days? Really Gus?" Shawn shook his head and left the study.

"What? The man asked for it. What was I supposed to say? Shawn!" Gus ran after him.

__________________

"We start with the list Maxwell gave us of those that are normally in the palace." Shawn explained. "From there, we can easily say Neville did it and we receive some kind of royal award, like a spare chest of jewels or a quick swim in the gold vault."

"Liam is not Scrooge McDuck." Gus reminded him.

"Are you saying he doesn't have a gigantic money vault that he secretly swims in while wearing a bathing suit from the turn of the century?"

"Yes. That's what I'm saying."

"Well, that's disappointing." Shawn muttered.

The pair stopped by an office and knocked. When they opened the door they saw a petite, strikingly beautiful blonde filing some papers. "Who are you?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner, Sir Spinsalot. We have been asked to assist in locating the King's missing book."

Madeleine sat down behind her desk. "And?"

"We were wondering who you suspected." Gus leaned closer. "A lady of your talents of changing the minds of the people should have a few suspects in mind."

A proud smile formed. "When King Liam chose an American waitress as his Queen, there were some that were less enthused with his choice."

Shawn zeroed in on her fingers tensing, the old issues of magazines behind her desk, and the faint tan line on her ring finger. There was also a flyer partially hidden with the word rebound on it. A sticky note had a m and a f with groups of numbers listed. 1728 and 1817 were written down. "I'm sensing that these nobles preferred someone else. They wanted you to be queen."

She momentarily stilled. "Yes they did. After my upbringing as the Countess of Fydella, I was the natural choice as queen."

"I bet they were disappointed when Liam ended your engagement." Gus added.

A hard glint came into her eyes. "I suppose so. Who wouldn't wish for one trained since birth how to run a country and interact with nobles and dignitaries around the world without an entourage to constantly tell her what to do?"

"Good to see you're not bitter." Shawn stood up. "Thank you for your time."

"Do you think she did it?" Gus whispered as they walked down the hall.

"Nah. She has moved on with this new position. Plus it looks like she is getting some type of rebound counseling after being dumped. She's the kind that has to be needed." He explained.

"I think I could need her." Gus grinned, brushing his thumb across his nose.

"I say this with all the love in my heart. Something is wrong with you." Shawn stepped outside.

__________________

"He did it." Shawn nodded toward a man dressed in a demin shirt talking to Juliet.

"What? That's the King's best friend!" Gus exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter. He did it." Shawn persisted. "Only a thief would flirt to distract the investigation."

"He's not flirting. Juliet is." Gus pointed out.

"Man." Shawn shook his head and walked over.

Juliet was smiling. "....I named him Sprinkles because of his dappled coat."

Drake's smirk appeared and he looked up as Shawn and Gus approached. Juliet turned and introduced them.

"Drake, this is Shawn Spencer and Burton Gusster."

He nodded to them. "How's the investigation going? Any leads?"

"It's going." Shawn answered. "I'm not at liberty to reveal any parts."

Drake cocked an eyebrow. "You're not at liberty?"

"That's right, Jack! The psychic's relationship with the visions he is given is precious. Has to be nurtured. It's a circle of trust and it gets upset when I share its secrets with suspiciously handsome dudes that flex their muscles in a barn. Or stable. Is this a stable?" Shawn pulled the door open.

"It's a stable." Gus decided.

Juliet looked up in silent frustration. "Thank you Drake for your time. Guys, I will see you back at the palace." She walked away.

Shawn noticed Drake checking Juliet out and spoke harshly.

"So what do you do here?"

"Er...I do...things." Drake muttered.

"What type of things?" Gus asked.

"I...you couldn't really put a name on it. I do a variety of...stuff." Drake stuttered.

"Is theft of antique cornucopia history--" Shawn began.

"Cordonian." Gus corrected.

"Cordonian history rank as one of your things?" Shawn asked.

Drakes eyes narrowed. "What? Are you actually accusing me of stealing from my best friend?"

"No!" Gus said while Shawn said, "YES!" At the same time.

Drake glared at them and stormed off.

"What's his problem?" Shawn asked.

"Shawn, you just accused the man of stealing. What did you expect?"

"I don't know. Maybe point me toward the most likely suspect. Didn't he seem a little more secretive than one would normally be?" Shawn asked.

"Maybe. Why?" Gus watched Drake walk into a hidden side door.

"I think he's hiding something." Shawn motioned his head in the direction Drake disappeared. "We need to keep an eye on him."

___________________

"There has to be food somewhere in this joint." Shawn muttered.

Gus threw his arm out, stopping Shawn. He took a sniff and turned down a hallway.

"Super sniffer activated. What!" Shawn exclaimed following his friend.

"Do you smell that?" Gus asked, stopping again.

Shawn took a deep breath and let out an exaggerated moan. "It smells like heaven's bakery: one filled with cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, and our third grade teacher Ms. Ferguson wearing that sundress on field day."

Gus closed his eyes in memory. "You know that's right. Every teacher should look like her."

They stepped into the kitchen and watched a lady in a pink dress remove a tray of snickerdoodles from the oven. She brushed her long dark hair back and began to place the cookies on a cooling rack.

"I'm in love." Gus whispered.

Shawn nodded at the vision before them. He walked up to her with a look of wonder on his face. "Excuse me, but are you an angel?"

Hana looked up and giggled sweetly. "I know you! You're the private detectives Maxwell called in." She wiped her hands before holding one out. "I'm Lady Hana Lee."

"My name is Shawn Spencer and the suave gentleman stealing cookies is my partner, The Duke of Earl."

Gus quickly swallowed and gave a slow wave. "Hello."

Hana's grow furrowed. "The Duke of what?"

"Earl. But you can call me Slade." Gus replied with a seductive look.

Hana nodded and motioned toward the counter covered in sweet treats. "Please, help yourself. I tend to overdo it when I bake."

"That is impossible." Gus muttered. He took a bite of a still warm brownie and rolled his eyes in pleasure. "I'm proposing to her tonight." He whispered to Shawn.

"Tonight? I'm proposing marriage this afternoon. She can't be real." Shawn filled a plate with a variety of sweets and sat down. With a mouthful of food and a few moans of pleasure he began to question her. "Lady Hana, have you noticed anyone acting suspicious lately?"

She poured them each a glass of milk and chewed on her bottom lip. "No."

Gus slapped Shawn's hand away from his plate. "Stop playing Shawn!"

"Come on son. You grabbed the last of the macarons! The least you can do is offer one or two."

"Not my fault you took your time with the magic bars." Gus countered.

"They literally have magic in the name. They taste like what I imagine Siegfried and Roy playing with baby tigers feels like." Shawn reached over again and shook his head when slapped. "I can't believe how greedy you're being."

"I don't care." Gus replied in a high pitched voice.

Hana laughed and went over to one of the containers filled with more macarons. She offered it to Shawn and blushed when he exclaimed over her. "I don't care what you say, I can see your wings and halo."

"This is what nice people do Gus, they give." Shawn held up the cookies Hana handed him.

"Suck it Shawn."

"You suck it."

They began to talk quickly over each other and suddenly stopped. Shawn took a drink of milk and focused on Hana. "I'm sensing that you have seen someone you are close to acting odd recently."

Her lips parted in surprise. "Yes, I have. But he couldn't have taken the book! He is much too loyal to ever do something against Liam."

Shawn placed his hand to his head, closed his eyes and slapped Gus for trying to take another brownie. "I'm sensing that the one you are worried about is Drake."

Hana gasped. "Yes! Maxwell told me you were the real thing, but I couldn't believe it."

"I am merely the vessel," he slapped the back of Gus's head for trying again, "that the visions use. Now, would it be too much trouble to find something we can use to carry all of this with us?"

______________

“I don’t like this.” Gus whispered as he crept behind Shawn through the dark palace halls.

“Drake wasn’t in his room. It’s two in the morning. Where is he?” Shawn responded. “I’m telling you, he is up to no good.”

“You’re just jealous that Juliet was flirting with him instead of you.” Gus muttered.

“Please. Me? Jealous? Just because Jules basically giggled like an eighth grade girl over that ridiculously good looking man means--” He held his hand up and stopped Gus. He pointed down another hallway where he could see Drake standing in front of a door.

“What’s he doing?” Gus asked.

Shawn moved in an exaggerated manner to hide behind a suit of armor. He motioned for Gus to follow. He shook his head no. Shawn began to motion faster while Gus silently argued back. They did rock, paper, scissors three times with Gus losing. He snuck over.

Drake looked behind him before knocking in a strange pattern. After a few moments he tried the pattern again, his brow furrowing with the continued silence that followed.

Shawn went to move to another suit of armor, only to end up frozen with a sword to his throat.

“One more move and you and your little friend will be a shish kabob.”

A sultry red head moved out of the shadows and narrowed her green eyes at the pair. “What are you doing here?”

Drake turned around and glared. “It’s those psychic detectives Maxwell called in.”

Olivia kept her sword against Shawn’s throat.

“You would need at least three more.” Shawn suddenly said.

“What are you blabbering about?” Olivia demanded.

“For kabobs.” Shawn continued. “Everyone knows that you can’t just have two things. You need something to make the kebobs pop, like onions, tomatoes, something green. Most add some zucchini yet I think bell peppers add more zing--”

“SILENCE!” Olivia said over his ramblings. “Why are you following Drake?”

“Could you lower the sword?” Gus asked.

She dropped it down. “Now talk before I change my mind.”

“We are searching for the cornstarch--”

“Cordonian!” Gus corrected yet again.

“Cordonian history book.” Shawn finished.

“They think I took it.” Drake folded his muscular arms across his chest.

“Why would Drake steal the book? It is only about nobles and ancient scandals. I think one of the last entries was from 1817.” Olivia noted.

Shawn thought back as his brain flashed to that post it note with that particular year listed. He raised his hand to his temple. “I KNOW WHO STOLE THE BOOK!”

________________

Everyone gathered half asleep in Liam’s study. Shawn stood in the middle of the room. “I’m sure you all wonder why I asked you here.”

“Cut the crap Spencer.” Carlton replied. “We know you have some half cocked theory that will somehow be correct.”

Gus shrugged when Shawn turned to him.

“Really you too?” Shawn asked.

“It’s late Shawn.” Gus countered. “We flew across the country and the Atlantic ocean to get here. I haven’t slept in thirty-six hours. You know how I get without sleep.”

“Gus, don’t be that can of Coke Zero. Bring back the sweetness.” Shawn pleaded.

He turned back to the group. “This missing piece of history isn’t filled with only boring facts. No! I sense that it is filled with the dirty secrets about what goes on in the unknown, deep, dark recesses of this palace.”

“It’s actually pretty bright everywhere.” Maxwell spoke up with a yawn.

Shawn ignored that. “Even though the scandals go back thousands--”

“Hundreds.” Gus whispered.

“Hundreds of years.” Shawn repeated. “They are still ones that some will want to remain in secret.”

“Who wouldn’t want that?” Drake muttered.

“Someone wanted to erase these recorded memories. Someone who has already gone through humiliation. Someone who doesn’t want their name added to their ancestors’ naughty times. Isn’t that right...LADY MADELEINE!”

Madeleine paused yawning. Her eyes widened for a moment. “I beg your pardon!”

“I can see it all now.” Shawn stood over her. “You were already sick of seeing your name in the magazines as the jilted fiancée of the King. When Riley asked you to be her publicist, it was a slap in the face for a Countess and former Queen in training. But you took it, because your family name was on the line. You had to correct your image somehow. What better way than to appear not only fine being pushed aside, but also being magnanimous to the foreign interloper.”

Madeleine stared silently at him as he continued.

“It was going well until Riley decided to present Liam with a rare and very odd wedding gift. Seriously. Naught underwear is what all men want for gifts.” Shawn turned to Riley and Liam. “Back me up on this guys.”

“It’s true.” Drake muttered.

“Drake!” Riley exclaimed.

“No, he’s right, blossom. It is all we want.” Maxwell added.

Riley blushed and turned to Liam. “Were you disappointed?”

Liam shook his head. “Of course not. I love everything you have given me.” He frowned at Shawn, Drake, and Maxwell. “Proceed Mr. Spencer.”

“If only Riley had not found it.” Shawn continued. “You didn’t realize what it had until you flipped through it. Then you saw what your ancestors did. It wasn’t just on your mother’s side in 1728 that your people got into trouble, but also on your father’s side in 1817. After a little bit of research and the help of Olivia’s memory of your father being from England, it seems the former Duke of Karlington was involved in trying to overthrow Queen Charlotte. Couldn’t have that be discovered, could you?”

Madeleine glared at Olivia. “I should have known that a descendant from traitors would make certain to point out other decent noble’s despicable relatives.”

“You took the book and decided to have those pages removed. But how to do it in a way that Liam wouldn’t notice?” Shawn interrupted before Olivia could retaliate. “You needed to have the book taken apart by a specialist and then rebounded. Simple glue apparently wouldn’t do with the old leather. That’s why if we go to your desk we will find a brochure for a book binding place called Rebound.”

Madeleine paled. She stood up and lifted her chin. “Yes, I took it. If I refuse to recognize my ancestors that betrayed their monarchs then no one else should.”

Gus and Shawn shared a fist bump as Liam had Bastien lead Madeleine away.

Once she was gone, Shawn turned his sharp eyes on Drake and Olivia. “I see what the big secret is. I wasn’t sure which John Hughes movie you were. I thought maybe a gender switched Pretty In Pink. But now that you are all together, I see you guys are The Breakfast Club.”

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed.

“Olivia is Molly Ringwald. She’s rich and fallen for the less economically sound tough guy, Judd Nelson or Drake in this instance. Liam is Emilo Estevez. Nice. Popular. Everyone likes him. I guess that means Riley is Ally Sheedy. Hmm. Hana doesn’t really have a character. We could make you the principal but that just seems mean. Maybe the little sister to Anthony Michael Hall...but you’re too sweet for that too. Maxwell...you’re Anthony Michael Hall but way cooler.” Shawn pointed at each one. “And just like in the movie, Molly and Judd are meeting in secret to be together.”

Everyone stared at the duchess and the commoner that were both speechless at their secret being discovered.

“And my work here is done.” Shawn exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. He walked over to the door. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to catch up on that sleep everyone was mentioning earlier.”

_____________

“I am going to miss this country. After Hana refused my offer of marriage, I guess this will only be a fond memory.” Shawn said as he boarded the plane with the others.

“I’m just glad she made us going away bags.” Gus opened his and frowned. “Shawn! Where are my cookies?”

“Hmm? Seems like another mystery.” He held tight to his bag as Gus demanded he either share what he had or return what was stolen. “Man, I didn’t take your cookies.”

“You must be out of your damned mind if you think I believe that.” Gus argued. The best friends began to talk over one another, bringing up the great cupcake incident of fifth grade.

Juliet sighed as she sat down with Carlton. “It’s going to be a long flight.”

Carlton nodded. “Good thing I stole Guster’s bag of baked goods.” He offered a cookie to Juliet. She glanced at Shawn and Gus before biting into a chocolate chip cookie.

#choices the royal romance #psych!#shawn spencer #burton guster #carlton lassiter #juliet o'hara #liam x riley #trr liam #trr maxwell #trr drake #trr hana #trr olivia #crack fic

50 notes · View notes