#nogtail

[emeritusemeritus]

Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight. Pt 12.

[Fred Weasley x reader x George Weasley]

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Title: Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader x George Weasley

Timeline: Predominately set between GOF and OOTP (some canon has been altered to fit the story)

Summary: Both twins like Gryffindor!reader. Reader likes both twins. How will she decide who to chose in the end? Amortentia might be able to help, or not.

Warnings: Smut, oral sex, p in v sex, established relationships, threesomes, friends to lovers, all the good stuff. NO Twincest. Mentions of illness, Brief mentions of vomiting. Tiny bit of angst, possessiveness, talk of kids. Mentions of dominant behaviour. Snape has a soft spot for reader. Love potions? But none are actually used. Threesomes but again NO Twincest. Cormac Mclaggen, because he needs his own warning. Not beta-read nor spell checked, we die like Sirius ❤️

The final chapter 🤍

Monday morning came too quickly, you thought, as you gathered your usual potions books and went down to breakfast with your friends, meeting Hermione down in the common room so you could go together. Last night was the first night you'd spent alone all week and you struggled to sleep without the two familiar bodies beside you, tossing and turning for most of the night struggling to get comfy.

They weren't at breakfast that morning and Ron, digging into his third course of breakfast had let you know that they were doing an early morning quidditch practice with the whole team to make up for the lost week, hence half of your group being missing at breakfast.

You made your way to the potions classroom alone having missed Katie in the hall, stopping briefly as you stepped off of the stairs hearing your name called out. It was Cormac Mclaggen, sprinting down the stairs to catch up with you. You inwardly groaned, not prepared for his ego this early in the morning. Truth was he was always pleasant to you but you found his company boring and stifling, the conversation never quite drifting away from him.

"Y/n! You walk fast," he says as he descends down the stairs in a hurry, trying to catch up with you.

"How was your week? I was hunting Nogtails in Norfolk with my uncle Tiberius and Rufus Scrimgeour, you know the head of the Auror Office? Myself and Bertie, Higgs, our family friend, caught two on our first day alone," he says smugly, completely overriding his question as he walked in step with you towards Snape's classroom. You bummed out a vague reply, trying to subtly walk quicker to decrease the amount of time you'd need to spend with him, cursing the distance between the staircase and the classroom.

"It's so odd to see you away from those Weasley boys, you're quite a package deal aren't you, I didn't see them at breakfast either," he muses.

"They had quidditch practice this morning, Angelina's trying to make up for the lack of practice sessions last week," you mumbled unenthusiastically, trying to be polite but not enthused.

"Such a shame I wasn't able to try out again this year, Davis bet me to eat a pound of poisonous doxy eggs and I spent the week in the infirmary, though I'm sure you're aware. It was the talk of the school that week," he says with a tone of pride, making you want to gag.

You hardly turned to him but felt him look towards you as you neared the classroom. He suddenly reached out to touch your shoulder and stopped you just before you crossed the threshold to the potions corridor.

"So I was wondering," he says, pushing back his curly hair in a move that you were sure he'd practiced countless times in front of the mirror, "we've never talked that much and it's quite honestly a shame, I'd like to get to know you a little better," he smiles, perfectly straight and shiny white teeth glinting at you as he leans against the wall in front of you, blocking the classroom with his arm. "How would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend? We could get to know each other better over a butterbeer or two, my treat of course."

You could have thrown up in your mouth at the very thought, even without the smug and smarmy look on his face as he asked. You didn't even remotely know how to respond to his offer, wanting to shoot him down immediately but still remain civil enough.

Luckily for you, that decision was taken out of your hands as Professor Snape burst out of his office at precisely the right time.

"I suggest you don't linger in doorways Mclaggen, your prospects in this class might be acutely inadequate but to prevent a prosperous student from acquiring her education might be the most shallow and egregious thing you've done thus far," he grumbles as he barges past, his gaze fixed upon Mclaggen's arm as it blocks your entry to his classroom. Snape gestures briefly for you to walk ahead of him as soon as Cormac drops his arm and he follows behind you as you enter the classroom, leaving Cormac standing out in the corridor with his mouth agape.

Snape stalks over to the front of the classroom, swishing his wand to close the shutters on the windows, leaving only the large window at the front of the class to light the room.

"Today's class will be a continuation of our last session, I pray one week away has not melted your tiny brains and that some information was retained," he says as he scribbles on the chalkboard, writing 'Amortentia' in his beautiful, decorative script.

"Last week miss y/l/n brewed a perfect draft of Amortentia and I would like for you all to try and replicate this impressive feat," he says, gesturing towards a small vial of potion in his hand, a sample of your potion from last week. "You may work in partners, I dare say the probability of success should be increased but I have yet to see such things."

Chatter begins to spread throughout the classroom as people link up and you're name is called out more than a few times as people hope to partner up with you.

"Miss y/l/n shall be working alone, her accomplishments will not be diminished by an idle participant. The recipe and method are listed in your textbooks, page 634, the ingredients have been placed by your benches, I expect a better turn out than last week."

He moves to stand beside your bench and you look up at him expectedly, not yet starting your preparations for brewing the love potion.

"Would you stop by my office after class?"

"Yes sir," you reply politely, confused by his request but not dwelling on it as you gather ingredients. He nods and walks away with a flourish of his cape, already calling out students for not using the proper method.

Your nerves consumed you, not of brewing the potion again but of the result. Having spent the week with the Weasley's, you were more conflicted than ever about who you truly loved, finding no resolution to your conflict. The night you'd all spent together had only further added to your confusion, finding that it felt right and without conflict and there had been no awkwardness or regret from any of you the next morning.

You set to brewing the potion, the same way you had the previous week though this time you paid meticulous attention to the heat, ensuring that it didn't boil over again, even for a moment. You still weren't convinced that you'd brewed it correctly, despite Snape's claims, knowing that the changing smells must have been a fault.

You caught sight of Cormac in the corner who was already looking at you, wiggling his eyebrows as he looked at you brewing love potion. You thought for a brief second you'd need a second cauldron to vomit into but you didn't humour him and just turned your attention back to your potion.

Once you'd added all of your ingredients, you turned off the flame below and allowed it to sit on the residual heat just as you had before, this time watching as each bubble popped to the surface, keeping a fixed eye upon the steady effervescence.

The moonstone powder circulated in the elixir and began to shine in a pearlescent swirl, signs that it was already coming together. When the steam above the cauldron began to twist and change, forming long spirals, you knew you'd done it once again.

Snape was on hand immediately, apparently carefully overseeing your creation and stepped forward to once again place a lilyfig leaf into the mixture. He let out a small, clipped smile as the leaf disintegrated before your eyes, eroding in the liquid until it had disappeared entirely. Snape looked up towards you with a look you couldn't place, holding your gaze for just a moment before announcing to the glass that you had once again drafted a quíntese example of what Amortentia should be.

"20 points to Gryffindor," he says, looking up at you as you break out into a thankful but bashful smile. The Gryffindor's in the room all cheer excitedly at your collection of house points, shouting out your name and hollering until Snape puts an end to the ruckus. He then nods once towards you and moves away, tending to other cauldrons that seem to be on the verge of boiling over or worse.

It was now or never. You looked at the potion before you, entranced by the spiralling steam and stepped closer, ready to discover for the second time who you would smell. You tried to clear your mind, not to think of either twin as to not cloud your judgment and stepped forward, preparing to smell either Dandelion and Burdock or Pumpkin Spice.

When neither came, you frowned, looking down at the potion that seemed to be correct but wasn't emitting anything you recognised, until it hit you.

The smell of the ground after it had rained.

It had always been one of your favourite smells in the world, only right now there was a very specific memory attached to that scent, the particular smell of dried grass mixing in with it that made you certain where the scent originated.

The morning after your threesome with the twins.

You began to stir, slowly rising out of your dreams as wakefulness overcomes you, quickly realising that you were lay in bed between both twins who were still sleeping soundly either side of you. You stretched out your legs and winced a little at the soreness between your legs but couldn't help but bloom into a smile at the thought of the previous night, of being loved by both of them, together. The ache between your legs served as a reminder or a souvenir you could say of the wonderful night.

Not wanting to disturb them, you lay in bed and looked out of the window, seeing the warm hues of dawn outside, the rain no longer falling as the sun bloomed over the hilltops.

"G'morning princess," Fred says sleepily from behind you, pressing a kiss to your shoulder as he pulls you closer to him and cuddles you.

"Morning handsome," you whisper as you smile, not wanting to wake George just yet as you snuggle into him, feeling him press gentle kisses to any area exposed to him.

"It's stopped raining," you say absently as you feel him stretch out his long legs behind you. He hums in reply, too focused on you. You see George begin to stir in front of you and even in his sleep he reaches out for you, arm extending to drop around your waist. You reach over, shifting in Fred's hold but not pulling away, to press a little kiss to the tip of George's nose, seeing him do a little scrunch off his nose and then a little blissful smile as he begins to wake.

His eyes flutter open and he smiles sleepily as he sees you, his hand reaching to stroke your waist as he wakes up.

"Morning angel," he says quietly, his voice still deep and rusty from sleep, making your heart skip.

"Morning Georgie," you smile, reaching out for him too, placing your hand on his chest.

You all lay cuddling for a little while, just enjoying the slowness and stillness of the peaceful morning before George gets up to open the window, feeling a little warm from the body heat.

"It's stopped raining," he points out, climbing back into the comfy bed and making you smile at the similar comment you made earlier. Immediately the smell of the ground after the rain drifts in through the window and takes over your senses completely, wrapping you in an extra layer of comfort and peace as you lie there between your loves.

The scent suddenly changes and pulls you out of your little daydream, the strong scent wrapping around you like a warm blanket as you smell familiar whizzbang smoke, so identifiable in its undertones that you can't help but smile. The musky, burnt smell is instantly recognisable as it mixes with a lingering sweetness that cannot be confused with anything else.

The scent then changes abruptly to something you couldn't place. It was unlike anything you'd ever smelt, an array of scents mixed together so perfectly that the individual notes were indecipherable. Almost like a smoky incense with sweet notes and something clean, a warmth to the scent that seemed to ignite something in you that you couldn't explain. You frowned, not knowing what it was but it was undeniable that it made you think of both Fred and George, like a perfect blend of the two.

It was both. You loved them both.

Tears brimmed at your eyes as you stood looking down into the shining liquid but this time they were tears of pure happiness and elation. You no longer felt any guilt or shame at your feelings, knowing that it was unequivocally equal.

But then the weight of guilt and pain overwhelmed you again, knowing that now you would never be able to choose between them.

Class finished rather uneventfully and you couldn't help but thank Professor Snape for asking you to stick around and visit his office afterwards, having seen Cormac waiting for you in the corridor.

"Run along McLaggen," Snape says as he ushers you out the classroom towards his office, hardly casting a glance to Cormac as he glided past him. You followed diligently as you rounded the corridor towards the heavy wooden door at the end; the potion master's office. You'd only been in Snape's office once before, on account of Fred and George's antics. You were all reprimanded and given detention, though you were only guilt by association that time.

You stepped into the dark, cellar-like room and gazed around at the dark wooden shelves littered with multiple glass jars that spanned the entirety on the room, the circular desk in the center being the focal point of the entire room. Snape moves to stand behind the desk, offering you a seat in one of the plush leather chairs as he shifts a pile of exercise books and essay parchments that you assumed he had been marking.

"Professor Mcgonagall has told me that you have a meeting with her tomorrow in regards to your career prospectives," he says, taking a seat at his chair.

"Yes sir," you confirm, nodding slightly as he pulls out a pile of papers.

"And you are intending to carry on with Potions at NEWT level?"

"Yes sir," you nod again, a little confused by Snape's questions. "I got outstanding in my OWLs, I understood that was the criteria?"

"Yes," he says absently, "and do you wish to carry out a career in brewing?"

"I'm not sure sir, I enjoy it and I seem to be proficient enough," you say, trying not to sound clueless, not quite wanting to admit that you didn't have a plan for your future.

"Well quite," he interjects, attentively listening to your answer. A smile flashes briefly on your face at his conversational addition before you continue speaking.

"I just don't quite know what I want," you answer honestly, the irony of your words not lost on you as you consider that you were just as indecisive in all elements of your life.

He hums out a vague reply as he considers your words before leaning forward on the desk, hands crossed as he speaks directly to you.

"Have you not considered applying for prefect status?" His words surprise you and you can do nothing but shake your head, not wanting to voice your honest truth that it would conflict too much with your personal life, knowing that you'd have to either turn a blind eye to your boyfriend's antics or repeatedly get them in trouble.

"The reason I ask, is that a position will be available at the start of next term as potion master's assistant," he explains, "it would entail preparing ingredients, organising the stores, including my own, ordering, inventory and various necessary admin. I'd like to firstly offer the position to you." Your eyebrows shoot you into your head at his words, astounded by his offer. "You've proven time and time again how proficient you are and I dare say you would be the only student in the school worthy of the title."

You open your mouth to reply but nothing comes out, still in a state of shock at his offer, trying once again not to blush at his praise.

"I'll require an answer by the end of the week, after that the role will be offered to other students," he adds, "please consider my offer, it will serve you well in the future, even if your chosen path is not amongst this craft."

"Thank you professor," you say, finally managing to get the words out. "It's an honour to be chosen, I'll consider it," you smile, feeling a little overwhelmed. He nods with soft eyes, pleased by your reply. A moment passes as you wait to be dismissed and he gestures to the door, allowing you to leave. You gather your books and smile up at him about to exit when you turn back, "Professor, thank you for the book recommendation the other day, it's certainly much better than Jigger's Opuscule," you laughed, walking out of the office before closing the door and walking up the stairs to the great hall.

You were mightily thankful that Cormac had taken Snape's advice and had disappeared by the time you exited the dungeons. You made your way to the great hall ready for lunch after your double lesson and meeting with Snape.

You were a little nervous at seeing the twins since your discovery in potions and the role offer that followed, realising on your walk that you had so much to discuss with them.

Everyone was already gathered around the dining table at you walked into the hall, already tucking in to their lunches, Ron with particular vigour as usual. George looked up first, seeing you approach and gave you a sweet smile as he shifted down on the bench, making more room between himself and Fred. As George shifted, Fred looked up and smiled at you, also making room between the pair, though in a much blunter sense as he ordered Neville to scoot up, shoving his plate away for him.

You greeted everyone as you took your place and immediately felt two hands on each of your thighs, one from each twin underneath the table. George's stayed a little more PG over your skirts whereas Fred hand slipped under the fabric, caressing your bare leg just about your knee.

"Here she is," Cormac said, standing behind Ginny who was seated across from you. You immediately tensed upon hearing his voice, knowing that whatever slipped from his mouth would antagonise the twins.

"McLaggen," you greeted unenthusiastically, almost sighing at you reached for a piece of chicken, your gaze hardly meeting his, praying he'd go away.

"You never gave me an answer you know," he says flirting with a wiggle of his eyebrows and you immediately feel both twins beside you tense, Fred's hand inadvertently gripping your thighs just a little tighter. George straightened in his seat, as if making himself taller and more alert, no doubt fixing Mclaggen with a harsh stare. "Those house points you received have only upped my offer. Snape may have let you escape this time but I'll be waiting." He winks and walks away and you have to hold back a shudder at the thought. How long had he stood practising that line?

"Um what was that about?" Ron said, briefly pausing his feasting to look at you with a confused face.

"She got 20 points again in class!" Katie said excitedly from the other side of Neville, and the response was mixed amongst your group. Ginny, Harry, Neville and Hermione all celebrated your little win, telling you well done as they smiled at the little victory. Ron looked confused as ever, still frowning as George and Fred beside you looked tense and quite frankly, pissed off.

"Not that," Fred spat out, turning to look at you harshly.

You sighed, feeling your good mood slipping further and further away.

"Cormac asked me out," you said with a shrug, focusing your attention on picking at your chicken leg so you didn't have to look at anyone, "Snape burst in before I could tell him no."

"Why would you tell him no?" Hermione asks outraged and you can't help but shoot your gaze up to her at her sudden outburst, seeing her turn bright red as she realises she'd said that out loud. "Well he's not exactly bad looking, as Trolls and things go and his father's rather high up in the ministry," she mumbles, trying to dig herself out of a hole.

You snort at her words and place down the chicken you'd still yet to eat, "well if that's the new requirements for a boyfriend then Malfoy better watch out," you joke, trying to break the tension. "Personally I'd like more than not a troll and a rich daddy."

"Oh yeah, like what?" George says, seemingly less pissed off than his identical brother who still seemed tense and frustrated. You shoot him a little look as if to say what the hell and he merely smirks down at you, knowing exactly what he's doing.

"Aww Georgie, sad I didn't describe you?" You tease, trying to act as just friends in front of everyone. "You want me to say tall, ginger and funny so you can sleep tonight?"

Everyone around the table laughs, unaware of the deeper meaning to your words.

"Shove off," he replies without any conviction, playing his role perfectly as he shoots you a subtle wink. Fred seems to have defrosted slightly but still seems a little more uptight than usual and so you knew you had to pull out the big guns. "You wish," he adds with a knowing smirk.

"I was actually talking about Fred," you joke, nudging the other brother who suddenly smiled a little dopey smile and you felt his hand un-tense around your leg as he stroked his thumb over your skin softly.

"I am better looking than you," he smirks as his brother who simply rolls his eyes and you're glad to see that the tension had finally slipped away.

"So how come you were so late?" Ginny asks, putting down her knife and fork before reaching for her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Oh," you said, "Snape called me into his office."

The twins immediately 'oooh' as everyone looks at you surprised, thinking the worst.

"What did you do? Blow up a cauldron?" Fred jokes.

"Relabel the Lacewing flies?" George adds.

"Talk in class?" Fred.

"Late?" George.

"Skirt too short?" Fred smirks.

"No," you huff before turning your head straight to Fred, realising his words, "what's wrong with my skirt?" You ask.

"Literally nothing," he flirts and you roll your eyes, elbowing his arm as George chuckles.

"He asked me to be potion master's assistant next term," you explain, finally taking a bite out of your lunch. Everyone goes silent, looking surprised at you.

"That's unheard of!" Hermione says, a little too loudly. "No sixth year has ever been an assistant! It's like a first year getting head girl!"

You don't know what to say and simply shrug, turning back to your lunch.

"Well done princess," you hear Fred say as he leans into you subtly, making you blush. George's hand creeps up your back to stroke at your hip and you turn to look at him to see a sweet smile that conveys his own congratulations.

"You must take it!" Hermione says, pressing the matter. "You'd surely be the youngest Head's assistant in history!"

"I'm thinking about it," you reply with a nod, trying to tune out the rest of the conversation, hoping it shifts to something else. Eventually it does and you take the opportunity to lean over to Fred, whispering in his ear.

"Are you free later?" You ask and he looks up at you with a nod, eyes washing over your face, towards your lips before flicking back up to meet your gaze, trying to figure out your intentions.

"Black lake after hours?" You ask, raising your eyebrow teasingly at him and you can see the initial surprise in his eyes before he nods, a little too enthusiastically which makes you smile. He subtly nods to his twin who is deep in conversation with Angelina about something quidditch you didn't understand and you shake your head at his nonverbal question, trying to convey that you wanted him alone. His smile widens just slightly as his hand squeezes your thigh again before you both turn back to the larger group, hoping nobody saw your little exchange.

You'd managed to borrow the Marauders map from Harry for your little jaunt, knowing that it would be tricky to sneak all the way out without a lookout and you didn't trust yourself to be alert enough around Fred. You met Fred in the common room and began to sneak around the corridors, avoiding Filch and prefects until you were stood in front of the statue of Gregory the Smarmy, shifting around it with great precision until you slipped into the little passageway beneath that lead out onto the grounds surrounding the school, close to the lake.

"So princess," Fred says as you walk out towards the lake, taking your hand in his, "Is there a reason for this or did you just miss me?"

"Both," you admitted, pulling him closer to you by your entwined hands, feeling elated at getting to spend time with him as your boyfriend, away from everyone else.

You made your way to the bank and sat down on the rocks, looking out at the calm, moonlit water. Your nerves were starting to get the better of you as you looked at Fred, seeing the moonlight framing his face beautifully, illuminating his sparkling eyes and highlighting his strong features.

"I wanted to talk, about everything, away from George," you said, breaking the silence. Fred turns to you with hesitation in his eyes, feeling the foreboding sense of pain. "I'm going to just speak openly about what I need you to know and I just want you to listen okay, otherwise I'll never get through this and please no teasing, it's hard enough to admit without that." He nods silently, showing that he's listening.

You stand, pacing a little already as you fight to get the words out with Fred still seated watching your every move.

"It's always been you. You have been my best friend since practically my first day here. It was you that always gave me butterflies and your name I used to scribble in my little notebooks, you I'd focus on during Quidditch games and cheer the loudest for. I can't remember a time that I didn't fancy you, even as a first year before I really knew what it meant to like someone, I always felt some extra kind of pull towards you. Then you started growing your hair out and I thought I was going to die from being so attracted to you, like every time you looked at me I thought I might faint. And then the flirting started and the little touches and then that night at the pond at your house happened, when you and George told me how you felt and since then I've been a mess. I never intended to fall for George, it just happened so naturally and so quickly that I feel like I'm still dizzy from it," you pause, taking a long breath as you suddenly stop pacing.

A sudden rush makes you jump as Fred moves to stand directly in front of you.

"You said 'fall for George', you love him?" He asks, towering over you. You nod, trying to be brave under his imploring eyes.

"Do you love me?" He asks, his vulnerability showing as his slightly sad eyes look into yours. You nod again and are suddenly swept into a kiss that steals the breath from your lungs, his hand cradling your chin as he pulls you deeper and deeper in. When you pull apart, Fred rests his lips on your forehead, the height different allowing him to tuck you into his body, chin resting on your head as he holds you.

"I love you," you say, pulling away slightly so that you can look up at him, seeing an infectious smile blooming across his face.

"Princess, I've loved you for a very long time," he says, still smiling as he leans down to give you another passionate kiss.

"But, George," he says after a moment, pulling away to look at you with a mixture of emotions you can't identify. A figure in the near distance makes you smile as you spot them walking towards you with perfect timing.

"Evening," George says as he approaches you both, handing you the marauders map that you'd agreed to 'drop' in the hidden passageway beneath Gregory the Smarmy, allowing George to join you. Fred looks at you both and chuckles, thankfully seeing the funny side of your little plan.

"You knew?" He asks his twin, playfully shoving him as George nods with a little chuckle.

"She caught me earlier, snook away from Charms during our free period," George explains before he reaches out and kisses your head, taking a seat on the rocks, joined by his twin a moment later as they look up at you.

"Same rules, please just let me get this all out first," you say, continuing your little speech. "You both know as much as the other right now and if I stop I won't be able to start again." They nod, muttering some kind of verbal acknowledgment as George waves his hand, urging you to continue.

You take a deep breath and start again, trying to calm your nerves and pluck up some form of confidence.

"Something happened before the break, in Potions," you explained, finally telling them the whole story. "You asked me what I smelled that day brewing the Amortentia and I never told you because I thought I'd made a faulty batch." You sighed, turning to look at them, seeing the confused looks on their faces, a tense sadness lingering as they waited to hear what you were going to say, who you were going to chose.

"I smelt dandelion and burdock, then toasted marshmallows and then whizzbang smoke," you admitted, adding quickly as you looked towards George, "but then Snape came over and distracted me, my potion started bubbling so I ran over and turned it off the heat but when I went back to it, it didn't smell the same. It was pumpkin spice, your jumper and whizzbang smoke."

You looked away from them again, trying to force out the last part of your little speech.

"I know you both want me to choose and believe me I've tried, I've desperately tried, but I can't, I can't choose when I love you both. This morning in potions, we brewed Armortentia again and this time it was different, it wasn't either of you it was both, mixed together. The smell after the rain, whizzbang smoke and... something else I can't place like a complete mixture of you two? It's hard to explain, it's warm and sweet but clean and faintly smoky, I don't know what it is but it's definitely you."

You started pacing again. "You're going to leave after this year and I still have my last year to do, Snape wants me to be his assistant, you're going to go off and starting the shop and I'm going to be left behind and I'm worried about that. I can't chose between you and I'm going to lose you both just because I stupidly fell in love with both of you, you can't wait forever and you'll find someone else and I can't be without either of you."

They both stand in unison, moving towards you, causing you to stop rambling.

"We'll not be at school, but we'll always wait for you," Fred says reaching out for you.

"We want a future with you, regardless of what or who you decide or even if you don't, we'll be here," George adds, taking your hand. Tears form in your eyes as you finally disclose everything you've been feeling.

"Y/n," Fred says, pulling your attention back to him, his tone serious as he uses your full name, "I've liked you ever since you sat down at the table after you were sorted into Gryffindor and I've loved you almost as long as that, every single day I love you more," he says, looking directly at you, "truthfully, I'd have been broken if you chose George but I'd have respected your decision and let you both be happy."

"And for me, exactly the same. I've loved you just as long but I accepted that it was Fred you liked, always secretly hoping you'd look at me the way you did him. But then you did and every day since I've felt like the luckiest wizard alive," George says, wiping at your eyes as a tear falls down your cheek. "This whole thing started because we both wanted to be with you and we wanted to both have a chance at loving you, that hasn't changed," he adds. Fred nods along with his brother's words.

"We knew how hard it would be for you to choose but we didn't anticipate how hard it would be for either of us to let go," Fred says, linking his hand with yours so that they were both holding one of your hands. "And then our feelings got deeper and we sensed that yours did too." You nodded along with him, agreeing with his words.

"Angel," George says, pulling your attention to him, "I don't know how it's going to work, but we'll make it work because it's us," he says, "we create our own future, remember? That night on the balcony, you told me how proud you were of us, defying conventions and other's opinions, of knowing what we want?" You nodded along again, remembering the conversation clearly. "We want you. So we defy expectations and ignore opinions. I told you I'd keep you forever if I could and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

"Me too, I might add," Fred says with a cheeky smile.

"I love you both, so much," you say, looking between them.

"I love you," George says, moving to kiss you, pulling you in to his chest. You then turn to Fred who smirks as he walks over.

"I love you too," he says, grinning as he leans down to kiss you deeply. "More, I might add," he whispers as you pull away, earning a swift kick to the shin by his twin.

After that night, you made it official with the twins, no longer having to hide your relationship from your friends and peers. You'd expected people to be more shocked and less amenable than they were but as soon as the initial gossip had circulated, you found that almost everyone was accepting of your unconventional relationship. Molly and Arthur had been surprised to say the least but they had quickly come around to the idea and had been as warm and welcoming as ever, especially excited at the prospect of you being their future daughter in law, which was brought up often.

Time passed quickly during the twins' last year as you spent your time preparing for your NEWTS, spending time with your friends and boyfriends, cheering at quidditch games and being Potion Master's assistant, the role you'd accepted only a day after Snape's offer.

You still didn't have a set plan for your future, all you knew was that Fred and George would be a prominent and continuous fixture within it, the two men you loved.

{Flash forward}

It was early in the morning on a sunny April Saturday when you walked down Diagon Alley, three takeaway teas in hand from the cafe around the corner as you strolled towards the brightest shop in the street, both in colour and innovation.

93 Diagon Alley was a beacon of light in the otherwise dull street, the other stores not holding a candle to it's vibrancy. You'd been given a special leave for the weekend, signed off by both your father and your 'boss' the potion master, under the guise that you would be collecting orders for the school's potion stores. In honesty, you were here for the grand opening of your boyfriends' shop, finally getting to see it in person for the first time after months of planning and designing with them.

You beamed with a smile as you spotted the humongous figurehead of your boyfriends' likeness in the front window, enchanted to repeatedly remove  and then restore the top hat, revealing a rabbit underneath the hat. Above the shop was the flat where your boyfriends had moved in to after leaving the burrow, the same flat you planned to move into with them once school was over.

Your smile only increased when you spotted two very familiar faces waiting by the front door to the shop, already dressed for the day in their three piece suits which were not identical in colour but were matching in every other sense. You walked quickly over the cobbles as you felt the cardboard carrying tray and the teas levitate out of your hand; seeing George flourishing his wand so that they didn't spill as you began racing towards them after not seeing them for nearly two weeks. You ran straight into Fred's waiting arms as George placed the teas beside you, waiting his turn with you.

Fred pulled you immediately into a passionate kiss, his left arm wrapped tightly around your waist, holding you to his body whilst his right hand crept to his favourite spot on your jaw.

As you pulled apart, George pulled you towards him by your hand and immediately kissed you with as much passion as Fred, his arms caging you in his hold.

"I'm so excited! It looks so amazing, I'm already so proud of you both!" You beamed excitedly, ready to be the first official customer inside the doors of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

They both beamed in pure elation as Fred unlocked the door with his wand, casting some form of enchantment they used as the door opened wide, showcasing the mind blowing interior, stocked to the high heavens with all their amazing creations. Fred stepped aside, ushering you to step through first as they moved to walk behind you, carefully watching your face as you entered their pride and joy.

As you stepped through the threshold of the store, your breath caught in your throat as two things overwhelmed you simultaneously. Firstly, the sheer pride and amazement at the store in its entirety, so beautifully created to be the physical embodiment of everything Fred and George stood for. The shop was warm, fun, playful and eccentric, their life's creations displayed over five inviting and magical floors, filled to the brim with joy.

The second thing that rendered you entirely breathless was the smell. Clean, warm, sweet and smoky, all mixed together to create the perfect scent of your boyfriends. You couldn't stop the tears that ran down your face in pure happiness as you were finally able to place the scent that had plagued you everyday since you brewed the second draft of Amortentia. You laughed out loud in sheer delight at the absurdity of it all, the final piece connecting to perfect the puzzle of your life.

"The smell," you explained, turning to the twins who were watching you with slight concern at your reaction, seeing tears falling down your face. "This was the third scent of the love potion, the one I could never explain. It was both of you, it was always both of you."

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read, like, comment and reblog my work! I’ve enjoyed every second of writing this series and hope to add more to their love story in the future 🖤✨

#emeritusemeritus #fred weasley #fred weasley x you #harry potter #fred weasley x reader #emeritusemerituswrites #fred weasley imagine #george weasley x you #george weasley #fred weasley masterlist #weasley twins x reader #george weasley x reader x fred weasley #george weasley smut

[uefb]

First chapter of The Riot Act link

Summary: Shortly after his 11th birthday, Newt accompanies his Uncle Hesiod to the Ministry, where he has his first interaction with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It doesn't go well at all, and his uncle behaves more atrociously in return than he accuses Newt of having done in the first place. Not wanting to disappoint his parents—-and struggling with new beliefs about his own value and intelligence-—Newt turns to Theseus. But will he have his own say in the end?

Excerpt

Even after all that progress Hesiod kept praising him for, patting him on the back every single time he said it, forcing him to fight the instinctual rise of shoulders to ears with every brush of contact…

Well, there were certain things about himself Newt had not yet learned how to curtail, or to quiet, particularly once certain topics were introduced in a room.

So, after as smooth a day as one could expect from a child whose primary pastime was getting lost in the woods, it was really too bad for the both of them that the final few hours of the day were interdepartmental in nature, and with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, no less.

It was simply utterly bad luck for both Newt and Uncle Hesiod that the final two meetings were about actual creature-related policy (something one Newt Scamander was already a bit too passionate about at eleven-years-and-two-weeks-old): One meeting dedicated to British guidelines for foreign mascots at sporting events; and the other to regulations on the number of nogtails civilians could hunt before having to report kills to the population register of the Pests Sub-Division.

Perhaps, Newt thought—in the moment his uncle ushered him into the main conference room in the DRCMC—Hesiod had believed he had gained better control of his tongue than he actually had.

Or, perhaps, his uncle had just not thought through the details of the agenda at all (which was really quite unfortunate, because Hesiod knew how Newt got about animals).

But whatever the case…

Newt did try his very best.

When the meeting started, he bit his tongue and twisted his fingers and made himself think about somewhat unrelated things, like what traits might make a nogtail a demon instead of a more simple beast; and whether hashing things out in a meeting instead of writing them down was actually that useful; and if they’d taken the time to consider the impact the accidental release of an American mascot like a Wampus might have on the magical creatures of —

“But that’s factually incorrect,” he suddenly heard himself say, and he at first surprised himself so badly by opening his mouth that he utterly froze. But when the startled silence only grew in the space his words left behind, he swallowed and continued more stiltedly. “I’m - I’m sorry, but it’s wrong on at least - at least three counts, actually...”

#fic: the riot act #newt scamander #oc_ch: Helios Scamander #oc_ch: Hesiod Scamander #oc_ch: Rowan Scamander #fantastic beasts fanfic #autistic Newt Scamander #Young Newt scamander #my stuff

[speakbeastypodcast]

This week's Beast Of The Week is the Nogtail! It's are rather an unpleasant creature but if you have a pure white dog, you're, surprisingly, ok! 

#Beast of the Week #BOTW #nogtail

[counsellormurdock]

A current wip. 

getting that practice in with them dynamic poses. 

#a piece for what has become a detailed headcanon #of the relationship/friendship of Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour #and his doge Nodens #a pure white borzoi that he uses when hunting nogtails #my art

[cocoartistwrites]

happy birthday week coco!

my drabble request is hermione and fred being evil prankster geniuses together because i love their potential dynamic ❤️

best wishes :)

I'll be honest, this prompt filled me with dread because I am not a prankster and honestly can never think of anything like that cleverly - but then I had a chat with @sallyjavery and we thought....... neither is Hermione. And then I had quite a lot of very nice white burgundy and wrote this:

Hermione is in a new dress and she knows she looks good. It’s dark red and it dips low on her tanned back and -

She knows, alright. She’s not stupid. She sees the way Fred Weasley’s eyes drag over it fast once and then again, a second time, very slowly, when she steps through the door. She bought it specially for New Years’ Eve. Their second one after the war, all the Order together and Harry and Ron’s new Auror friends, and Ron’s sweet-but-sharp new girlfriend who plays with Ginny for the Harpies. The house is unrecognisable now, wrangled into a home by Sirius and Harry and -

She’s dressed for that moment, when Fred Weasley’s eyes turn hazy-blue and he grins slowly.

He’s never said it, not to his little brother’s best friend, but she’s not stupid. The last boyfriend she brought over to meet the Weasleys (god, so embarrassing, the worst evening) had never spoken to her again after being turned into a nogtail “Like the ones you’re always off hunting,” George had grinned, but it had been Fred, all sharp-eyed and gleaming who’d handed him him the glass - and

Hermione knows he’s interested. She’s picked the dress, a dress that says she’s not just his little brother’s friend and if he’s interested he should bloody well do something about it before someone else does. And she’s sure, so sure, that it’s working.

And then she makes the mistake of drinking the glass he hands her and she doesn’t feel anything but she smells it, something burning, and Harry is choking with shock and laughter on his vol-au-vent and Kreacher is muttering and reluctantly trying to help and she catches sight of herself in the mirror above the fire and sees her hair on fucking fire and -

Everyone is staring.

She wants to kill him.

She puts out the fire with a flick of her hand. Wandless. She fights for composure. She wants to die.

She pretends to laugh. She waits.

Hermione has read fifty-seven of the books from Grimmauld’s library, thirty-two she picked up from Dumbledore and Knockturn Alley to research Horcruxes and other Dark Magic, and seventeen just because they looked interesting.

He’s stupid enough to sit opposite her, stupid enough to look amused, idiotic enough to tell her she looks hot as fire.

She’s as angry as fire anyway. Angry and humiliated and -

It’s a Dark Curse, she knows that, but so is most of the magic the twins use in their shop. They take the venom out, but she won’t.

It starts slowly, with every bite of the bouillabaisse Kreacher has prepared, scales appearing one by one, creeping up his neck and down his robes. He itches his nose. He reaches for his wine, fumbles it as his fingers meld together.

Scales, slithering over him, scales bit by bit, with every laugh, every jibe. Scales until he, Fred Weasley, coils down onto the table, a harmless little grass snake.

Everyone laughs. And then, when they can’t fix him, they stop.

The party breaks up long before midnight, what with all the Weasleys and an embarrassed, defiant Hermione carting the snake off to St Mungos. No one has exactly accused her, but they keep giving her slightly baffled, shocked looks.

“Took that a bit far, didn’t you Granger?” George eventually mutters, after a harassed Healer assures them Fred will be fine in the morning, and yes the morning, we have other more urgent patients Mrs Weasley --

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” she says haughtily.

“You already scare the shit out of him,” Fred’s double, who somehow leaves her cold, says. He’s almost smiling, but he looks annoyed anyway. “Now he’ll - well. Never mind. Just go.”

She goes home and reads the book she took the spell from. Short-sighted and impulsive when angered, Professor Trelawney had written in the report explaining why Hermione had dropped her class. That was all. One sentence.

She’d been right. It was a dark enough hex he could probably have her fined for it if he reports it. Not that she thinks he will.

She downs a vial of Dreamless Sleep and wakes up feeling just as stupid, embarrassed and sick as she had when she’d gone to bed, and still in that stupid, wasted, red dress.

She pulls on jeans and a jumper and wipes her makeup off. It’s still perfect, it’s magical, but she doesn’t want anything from the night before clinging to her skin.

It’s only six am, the receptionist informs her rudely, and visiting hours haven’t started.

“Could you let him know Hermione Granger is waiting,” she snaps.

“Oh, Miss Granger,” the woman’s brow clears. “I didn’t realise - I’m sure we can-”

Ten minutes later she is facing the door of the Magical Mishaps ward on the ninth floor.

She stands staring at it for eighty-three seconds before she opens it. She counts.

Fred is intact. Many of the ward’s other residents are not.

“I don’t think,” he says hoarsely, “you’ve got much of a career as a prankster.”

“Probably not,” she agrees, and realises she is still angry. She feels so small. Maybe she’s just angry with herself.

“I’m a dick,” he continues, voice fading a bit. “Hermione - come closer.” His blue eyes gleam and when he carries on there’s nothing of that hoarseness. He was faking it.

“I’m sorry I set your hair on fire,” he says meekly.

“I’m sorry I cursed you and your descendants to be snakes every dark of the moon,” she murmurs back innocently, as he takes her hand and pulls her even closer.

“Wait - what?”

She bursts out laughing, then she’s close enough for their lips to meet - finally - and there’s no need for anything like a fire spell.

#drunk drabble #coco birthweek #coco birthweek drabbles #fred weasley x hermione granger #everyone lives au #prank war sort of #hermione just is very oversensitive and takes it WAY TOO FAR #thank you for the birthweek wishes!!!!

[mariekavanagh]

🧠 ✍ 👽

🧠 - Random hc about a character or story plot?

As a child, Walburga would throw her traditional tantrum every time a mooncalf hunt was taking place, because she was forbidden from joining this exclusively-wizard activity. This evolved into teenage moodiness which only disappeared once she was old enough to join the nogtail hunts, which are a mixed-sex sport and done on horse-back (far better suited to Walburga than crouching silently in bushes anyway).

✍ - Why did you start writing? What’s was your inspiration?

I started writing fanfiction before I knew what it was. I started writing (badly) imagined scenes or alternative endings from shows/films once in a while around the age of 12, I think. I discovered ff.net about a year later and was like "Oh, so this is a thing that other people do too, great!" xD

In terms of inspiration, I guess it's the love of the media you're writing for that inspires all fanficton writers? That's why we're here, isn't it?

To be more specific, I got back into HP fandom around summer 2019 after 10 years of barely remembering it existed and quickly fell back in love with the universe. But discovering the very niche area of fandom that I write for now was like discovering a whole other fictional world. The Blacks as a family weren't something I gave much thought to when I first read the books/saw the films, so it all felt very new and exciting when I first started, two years ago, now (damn has it really been that long already?)

👽 - Random fact about an original character?

Ida Knowles didn't move on to another family once her services were no longer required with the Blacks. Years of attempting to keep Sirius on the straight and narrow is enough to put anyone off governessing for life.

She was dismissed the summer before Sirius started school and returned to her parents' farm in Devon where she lived quietly until she married and had children of her own.

#ida knowles #sirius black #regulus black #my writing #original characters #headcanons #asks #anon

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 150: A Sluggish Memory

It was a square room, the fireplace lit and waiting for James to fall into, the desk sturdy and a dark wood Remus fell on upsetting a bottle of ink, and the view beyond the great double doors that weren't really there showed a dark stormy sea that they all sadly recognized as Azkaban in the distance.

The portraits still lined the wall of the past Ministers, but it was the only resemblance to the office they'd once been in before.

Lily rubbed her head from where it had landed against old Auror trophies, Alice had to untangle herself from some secrecy sensors and other dark detector devices that were currently inactive but on and waiting with high-quality care, and Regulus landed where the hat stand used to be. The portraits didn't even seem to recognize them, Faris "Spout-Hole" Spavin immediately began saying the exact same thing he had to him the last time they'd been in here. He sighed and ignored them more thoroughly than ever as he went over to Peter and the two quietly kept discussing their theories of what all Malfoy could be up to that everyone in Harry’s time kept dismissing.

"Well this is, kind of new," Frank muttered with a shiver of unease. They'd never once forgotten they were traveling through time, but the difference of seeing it live still gave him the creeps.

"As if we didn't get enough of this birk in the last bit," James said in disgust, once again circling around the desk to have a look through while Remus swept away the ink and fixed a picture of Scrimgeour holding a massive dead nogtail up, the magical picture didn't do justice to the grizzled man of age now constantly being described as he walked without a limp and made sure all angles of his prize were visible.

Remus sat at the desk and watched as James began tearing through reports once more, muttering foulties a plenty for how little use each of them were. He found one near the top with Umbridge's signature and ripped it to shreds before offering if Remus would like to eat them. He refused to admit how mildly tempting it was since said woman wasn’t around to be spat in the face and snickered instead.

Frank found the book amongst a display of case files for the wanted prisoners still loose out of Azkaban and sat down on the floor to read, though nobody was any more pleased to hear the news they were just going to be hearing of more memories, even if the title alluded to it being somewhat relevant to their recent turn of bad luck. What did Voldemort have to do with Slughorn?

Evans had perched herself on the edge of the desk, which James absolutely did not notice of course, and was practicing the bird summoning spell again in hopes to give this dreary office a bit of life. Somehow even Fudge's posturing felt better than this dismal view. The book was not offering much of a distraction as Harry made it back to school and caught Hermione up to speed, nor was any of his hands being of any more help right now. Remus was being pensive and clearly still digesting the recent news while fidgeting with his own scrap of paper so clearly not up for a talkative mood, so he finally gave in and just watched her with intrigue.

She had that look of concentration on her face he adored so much, even as she stated the spell firmly around the book a few feathers finally sprouted free and she beamed in delight before trying again. She was really trying to focus despite the fact Apparition lessons were being discussed, something they wouldn't get the privilege of for another year, boy was that still a little odd to realize Harry was now older than his two parents hearing about this.

He'd always been terrible about staying on one topic too long, he had to much energy and bounced around to so many things, and he indulged a fantasy for a few moments of her giving him lessons on how she managed it so well before mentally slapping himself and going off to where Sirius was lounging by the door like he'd tried to get out of here, eyeing the view with great dislike. His Padfoot definitely needed a distraction from that, and the two eagerly began a great and ludicrous game of how to keep both of these idiots out of office, most of their planning's mildly illegal and unworkable of course.

Remus was grateful James had swooped in to chat up Sirius, especially as the memory of Voldemort murdering his Uncle Morfin was read out and the man innocent of that particular crime in killing the Riddles was given in ghastly detail. He worried if he'd gone over there he'd have done something they'd both regret, like try to hold his hand for comfort like Padfoot had done for him, but there was no shielding that from the others in this place. So he just kept fidgeting with that stupid list Sirius had given him, flipping the paper back and forth as his stomach tightened in ever growing painful knots as he imagined them going back to school now.

It helped to have something else to focus on, and he could easily imagine how this came about. Perhaps when he came of age his father would tell him this truth and he'd eagerly jump in with the Order and be inducted as a werewolf spy right under the monster who started it all. He'd do better this time knowing even sooner he was sure, he'd kill Greyback before Dumbledore even had the chance to ask while Sirius stayed with James, their fantasization of killing Voldemort naively being played out as the next memory began, it apparently being Dumbledore's most important one yet.

The memory was strange to the extreme, none of them had a clue what a horcrux could be or even if Longbottom was pronouncing the word right it sounded so odd, but then, all of this had been far above them from the very beginning. He snorted in disgust at himself for his own growing inflation, he'd probably die trying he knew, and reached for the quill. Soon this would all fade into a horrible memory for them if they didn't get killed escaping this future.

HPHPHPHP

So, obviously, I've had to give up on not using repeat places a while ago, but I still stand by this being technically a new 'location.' Even if they've already visited, it's a new kind of environment than they were in before, and they keep getting sent back to the Burrow with a little more space open each time. Hope you're following the pattern and logic of it alright and this isn't too confusing.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #all in the family #HP #HBP #Marauders #Wolfstar #JIlly #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Regulus Black #Peter Pettigrew #Lily Evans #Frank Longbottom #alice Smith

[cxnnell]

(         *      💀      /      alex   fitzalan,   cis   male,   he/him      )      —      is   that   connell   wood   i   just   saw   rushing   down   the   corridor?   i   hear   they’re   a   twenty   one   year   old   gryffindor,   returning   for   their   seventh   school   year,   but   their   friends   would   tell   you   that   they   are   venturesome   &   unfazed   as   well   as   ignorant   &   undisciplined.   if   you   want   to   know   more   about   them,   i   guess   i   could   tell   you   that   they’re   half   blood,   and   from   what   i   hear,   they’re   currently   allying   with   the   order.   when   our   divination   professor   looks   into   their   crystal   ball,   they   see:   a   seven   am   sunrise   of   endless   possibilities,   tattered   maps   and   spur   of   the   moment   plans,   sea   salt   air   and   an   outrageous   spirit   of   wanderlust.    

trigger warning: drugs 

a   through   and   through   sagittarius,   connell   wood   was   born   just   as   the   sunshine   broke   through   the   stormy   grey   skies   of   a   december   morning   in   county   cork.   it   was   an   apt   entrance   into   the   world,   one   that   the   neighbors   would   remark   upon   in   years   to   come.   they   named   him   the   golden   child.   alongside   his   parents   and   brother   who   was   eighteen   months   his   younger,   the   wood   family   had   known   popularity   among   muggle   and   wizards   alike.   their   muted   eccentricity,   their   warmth   and   their   liberalism   kept   their   doors   open   to   all   that   traipsed   through.   whether   that   be   a   muggle   whose   boat   had   faltered   on   the   county   cork   shores   or   a   witch   in   search   of   the   rare   ingredients   that   could   only   be   harvested   on   irish   soil.   

   fallen   victim   to   the   egos   and   ambitions   of   the   english,   ireland   was   often   a   turbulent   place   for   one   to   settle.   the   wood’s,   though   magical,   had   fought   intensively   for   the   right   of   a   united   ireland   in  the   muggle   world.   the   violence   endured   in   both   the   inner   cities   and   along   the   obsolete   countryside   carried   a   weight   that   was   still   endured   by   irish   muggles   and   wizards   today.   connell’s   grandfather   and   father   created   subtle   suspicion   for   their   role   in   advocacy   and   combat,   especially   in   an   age   where   english   forces   were   so   dominant.   as   his   parents   would   expose   to   their   sons   later,   this   was   the   reason   why   they   spent   such   large   portions   of   the   years   travelling.   fleeing   possible   persecution   with   only   the   protection   of   their   family   in   mind,   connell   decided   at   age   ten   that   his   parents   were   unwaveringly   brave.   

   the   first   destination   that   he   clearly   remembered   was   germany.   there   wasn’t   any   particular   reason   that   it   stood   out   in   his   seven   year   old   brain,   other   than   it   being   the   place   where   he   first   missed   home.   he   missed   the   animals   that   their   muggle   farmer   neighbour   cared   for,   missed   the   candy   store   with   endless   choices   and   a   store   assistant   that   always   gave   him   extra   sugar   quills   and   most   of   all,   the   attention   that   he   received   from   their   neighbours.   there   was   never   a   person   who   could   resist   pinching   his   cheek   or   ruffling   his   hair,   he   was   the   golden   child   after   all   and   the   golden   child   missed   home.   

   after   germany   came   brazil.   he   was   days   away   from   age   eight   now   and   finally   he   was   settling   into   their   new   lifestyle.   with   a   promise   to   return   home   for   christmas,   connell’s   entire   perspective   had   changed.   it   was   as   if   his   adolescent   mind   had   been   taken   over   by   an   adult   voice:   enjoy   these   experiences,   fall   in   love   with   the   people,   the   world   is   so   far   and   wide   and   yours   for   the   taking.   his   personality   once   again   flourished,   he   returned   to   being   golden.   his   parents   smiles   beamed   brighter   than   the   sun   as   connell   charmed   with   his   gappy   smile   and   irish   humor.   children   often   demonstrated   their   magical   capability   out   of   uncontrolled   emotions   of   upset   and   anger.   but   for   connell,   it   was   out   of   intense   joy.   he   set   off   fireworks   in   the   brazilian   skies   as   he   saw   his   first   nogtail.   

   from   germany   to   brazil   to   japan   to   india   to   france   and   canada,   connell   had   experienced   more   of   the   world   than   most   his   age   and   beyond.   his   homesick   childhood   blossomed   into   an   intense   adoration   of   the   world   around   him.   they   returned   to   ireland   often   but   it   was   not   long   before   their   parents   worries   faded   and   their   travels   were   out   of   want   rather   than   need.   they   believed   it   was   the   best   education   that   they   could   give   their   children   and   connell   could   not   agree   with   them   more.   immersed   in   muggle   and   wizard   culture   alike,   connell   adored   swimming   and   soccer   in   the   same   way   he   loved   quidditch.   he   found   muggle   movies   and   shows   far   more   stimulating   than   wizarding   plays   and   books.   he   told   his   parents   at   age   eleven   that   he   intended   to   live   his   future   as   a   muggle.   that   was   until   they   reminded   him   that   then   he   could   not   fly   on   a   broom   and   that   future   was   quickly   erased   with   a   self   assurance   that   he   would   be   attending   hogwarts.   

   to   his   fellow   students,   connell   was   a   magnetic   personality   among   a   sea   of   lions   in   robes   of   black,   red   and   gold.   it   was   often   hard   to   distinguish   yourself   in   a   house   of   such   fierce   personalities   but   without   effort   at   all,   the   irish   boy   managed   to   do   just   that.   his   peers   found   his   stories   unbelievable   and   entertaining   all   at   once,   his   teachers   found   him   amusing   and   energetic   although   his   attention   span   was   always   on   a   ticking   clock.   he   was   a   shoe-in   for   the   quidditch   team   from   his   second   year   although   the   muggle   soccer   team   was   a   greater   prize   to   him.   at   the   beginning   of   every   year,   eager   fans   in   the   stands   and   players   alike   waited   with   bated   breath   to   see   if   he’d   show.   instead,   you’d   often   find   him   exclaiming   just   how   great   muggle   sports   were,   with   a   soccer   ball   under   his   arm   or   with   intent   to   swim   laps   in   the   pool.   

   his   first   few   years   at   hogwarts   were   ones   of   intense   enjoyment,   returning   home   to   county   cork   at   christmas   with   tales   of   joy   and   wonder   that   his   parents   had   experienced   in   their   childhood.   in   the   summer   months   where   they’d   return   to   their   travels   once   again,   connell   would   talk   to   anyone   that   would   hear   that   hogwarts   was   the   superior   wizarding   school.   ilvermorny,   beauxbatons   and   durmstrang   had   nothing   on   dumbledore’s   hogwarts   after   all.   he   wasn’t   sure   when   the   shift   occurred,   perhaps   halfway   through   his   fifth   year   when   an   unsettling   feeling   returned   to   his   parents   once   again.   this   time   at   the   hands   of   magic   rather   than   muggles.   he   began   to   feel   trapped,   enclosed   by   the   scottish   mountains   with   the   only   escape   being   the   familiar   sights   of   hogsmeade.   his   friends   and   peers   knew   him   to   never   sit   still,   they   realized   with   an   intense   sadness   that   graduation   from   hogwarts   meant   a   life   without   connell   wood.   once   he   took   off,   he   was   highly   unlikely   to   ever   return.   

                                                            tw: drugs ! [ below ] 

despite   his   impatience,   connell   knew   that   this   was   a   year   to   treasure.   returning   for   his   seventh   year,   he   was   a   golden   child   once   again.   the   self   proclaimed   free   spirit   of   gryffindor,   if   there   wasn’t   a   party   with   him   in   attendance   it   was   surely   not   one   worth   remembering.   the   ‘   big   man   on   campus.   ’   he’d   heard   that   term   in   a   muggle   american   movie   once   and   his   brother   had   used   it   to   describe   him   ever   since.   it   was   his   fifth   year   when   he   began   smuggling   in   the   muggle   substances   that   even   pureblood   witches   and   wizards   would   succumb   to.   with   the   upmost   pride   in   his   house,   even   he   found   it   amusing   that   snakes   were   at   the   mercy   of   a   lion   in   providing   them   with   their   high   for   the   night.   all   assured   and   tested   personally,   connell   believed   his   existence   on   earth   was   to   ensure   everyone   enjoyed   their   life   as   much   as   he   did,   even   if   it   was   for   only   one   night.   

   so   send   him   an   owl   or   find   him   in   the   swimming   pool,   connell   is   going   to   make   this   a   year   you   won’t   forget.  

#— ❛❛ // CONNELL WOOD ¦ twenty one and crazy running wild ・ 「 introduction ! 」 #tw. drugs #revelio.intro

[enviedear]

that damn american ᶠᶦᵛᵉ

don’t exploit our friendship

DESCRIPTION ⌙ in which y/n and draco go on a ‘date’, meet harry potter, and come to conclusions in the owlery.

PAIRING ⌙ draco x fem!reader

WORD COUNT ⌙ 3k

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four | chapter five

gonna rec golden hour - kacey musgraves , teenage fantasy - jorja smith and playing games - summer walker for this chapter ;)

“i’m not taking her to madame puddifoot’s.” blaise sighs, exasperated.

“why? i’m sure april would love that tacky shop.” draco snickers, earning a jab from you.

april, who’s far ahead of you all, is making her way for the joke shop. she said something about how she and blaise are going to be pranking quinn. you suppose it’s only fair for what he did to her in fourth year.

the air is cooler now, and the four of you are all clad in warmer garments. the boys sporting slytherin quidditch sweaters and draco wearing a black turtleneck underneath. while april looks straight out of a damn brandy melville ad with her thunderbird sweatshirt tucked into her tennis skirt.

you on the other hand decided it best to wear a simple green tank with a loose cropped cardigan with mom jeans. 

you’re now regretting the decision as your upper body is becoming unbearably chilly.

“blaise, look! i got some hiccoughing candy. i think we could give him one after breakfast tomorrow.” april laughs.

draco groans from the bench the two of you are sat on, playing with the silver rings on his fingers.

“this is bloody demeaning.” the boy complains.

“you know, you could be third wheeling. at least i’m here, and i could always leave you here. alone.” you huff.

draco narrows his eyes at you, “if you dare try, i’ll make sure you never get back to america. i refuse to be alone with these two lovesick idiots.”

“jesus someone is in a mood.” you snort, ruffling his perfectly done hair.

“shut it l/n.”

blaise and april walk into tomes and scrolls, leaving you and draco outside.

“screw this, come on, let’s go to gladrags. i want a jacket.” you say, hopping off the bench.

draco gets up, “damn americans and never dressing for the weather.”

“i think that’s more of a me thing.” you retort, heading into the shop.

as you take a look around you find a small section full of coats, sweaters, jackets, and sweatshirts. 

“you know these are ridiculously overpriced, right?” draco scoffs.

“well i’m cold draco. and like my mother always says, ‘a fashionable witch always dresses in which she is comfortable’.” you say, reciting a line from one of your mother’s books.

she’s a popular fashion designer, and never let you or quinn forget it.

“excuse me, is your mother, the eliza l/n?” draco gasps.

you nod, a little confused as to how the boy knows her.

“hold on. you’re the daughter of one of american’s best designers and you never thought to tell me? what’s next? is your father the bloody president.”

you laugh, “no, but he is a retired quadpot player for the new york nogtails. you seriously didn’t know? my parents are the wizarding equivalent to victoria and david beckham.”

draco looks bewildered, “this whole time you’ve had prestige, and i didn’t even know? oh, just wait until i owl mother and tell her i’m friends with her favorite designers daughter.”

“don’t exploit our friendship, you fucker.” you say, slapping his shoulder.

he rubs his side and glares at you, “you were the one that begged me to be your friend. at least let me reap the benefits.”

“i’m starting to regret my decision, you’re a shit friend.” you tease.

draco lets out an exaggerated sigh, “fine, i was going to give you my sweater so you wouldn’t have to buy one, but since i’m such a shit friend.. nevermind.”

“i was kidding bitch. hand over the sweater!” you order.

he rolls his grey eyes and slips the garment off, exposing his tight fitted black turtleneck. it’s a sight to behold, honestly. it makes your mind slip into visions of the two of you actually together and on a date. 

“well take it, and come on. i want a butterbeer.” he says, snapping you out of your daydream.

you put the sweater on and trail behind your friend. when the two of you enter the three broomsticks, draco immediately scowls.

“what’s the matter?” you ask.

“stupid potter. he’s sitting in my spot.” draco huffs.

“just sit somewhere else, you big baby.”

draco looks annoyed but complies, sitting beside you at a nearby booth.

you want to question why he’s not sitting on the opposite side, but ignore it. you like being this close to him.

“why do you hate harry?” you ask instead.

“he’s a brat. he thinks he so special because he killed a dark wizard when he was a baby. and his stupid parents are always at family events because of my bloody cousin, sirius. they’re the strangest people.” he tells.

“ah, how annoying. the boy saved the world in infancy.” you deadpan.

draco waves you off, “okay, i get it. but he is annoying.”

you laugh as a waitress comes over to take your order.

“two butterbeers.” draco tells her, handing her money.

as she walks away you give him a look, “i could have paid.”

“the guy always pays for the first date, y/n.” draco rolls his eyes, before adding, “not that this is a date. i wouldn’t take you to the three broomsticks.”

you smile, a little shy, “i wouldn’t mind sharing a first date here.”

“then potter is your soulmate. he takes ginny here every date they go on. honestly i don’t know how does he has a girlfriend and i don’t. the irony” he pouts.

you glower at him.

the waitress comes back with your drinks, and draco watches you expectantly. you roll your eyes and take a sip.

“oh shit this is good.” you gasp.

“told you.” he says, smug.

the two of you continue talking and drinking your butterbeers for a few more minutes before april and blaise make their way into the shop.

“look at this pretty necklace blaise got me! oh, and i got momma to mail me my old phone for him to use. he’s with the times now!” april beams, rushing into the booth.

blaise trails behind her, looking very confused by the cellphone in his hands.

“well hello you two. i’m glad you’re enjoying your date.” you smile.

blaise looks up at you, “seems like you’re enjoying yours as well.”

“draco and i are not on a date.” you say, glancing at the boy beside you.

“well we just thought you were since you’re wearing his sweater and sitting in the same bench. couple behavior if you ask me.” april shrugs.

“why do you people think i would take someone on a first date here. i’m far too good for that.” draco sighs.

april laughs and gives blaise a knowing look. 

you don’t like that. it makes you narrow your eyes at the two of them, but they continue giggling.

“draco! i’m glad i caught you,” a voice calls. 

you look up to see harry potter, followed by a redhead.

“are you coming over to sirius’ for christmas?” harry asks, resting against the booth.

“of course potter. he’s my family.” draco grunts.

“i was just making sure,” harry retorts. he looks at you, “are you bringing your girlfriend? sirius asked.”

draco coughs, “excuse me?”

harry smiles, “y/n, your girlfriend. snape owled my mum about it and dad told sirius. don’t worry, he’s letting you surprise your parents. he just wanted to know if she’d be with us this year.”

draco is fuming as he stares at harry. it’s quite enjoyable.

you grin, “actually, i’m going to be with my parents this christmas. but i don’t see why i couldn’t portkey here. i’d love to tag along.”

draco glares at you, “we are not-”

“great! i’ll owl sirius. come on ginny.” the brown haired boy gleams, walking away.

draco’s still glaring, “you’re dead. i’m going to hex you until you can’t remember your name.”

“oh come on. it was a joke. plus it’d be fun to have christmas with me. can’t you imagine it?” you say, nudging his arm.

“but explaining to my mum that we’re not dating is going to be a hassle. and you’re going to have to meet my crazy aunt bella.” draco groans, rubbing his eyes.

“to be fair, his aunt is mad. but think about it draco, what’s the worst that can happen? y/n would be a great addition to your family, even if it is just as a friend.” blaise says.

“just as a friend my ass.” april whispers.

draco rolls his eyes but gives you all a smile, “i hate everything about this.”

blaise narrows his eyes before smirking, “sure mate.”

once it was time to go back to the castle you told everyone you needed to head to the owlery first to pick up a package your parents had sent you. draco offered to come along and you let him, obviously.

you liked being alone with him. 

by the time you get to the tower, it’s deserted, save for you and draco.

“you’re such a menace.” draco speaks, breaking your focus from your letters.

“big word for such a baby of a man.” you tease.

“shut up. i’m being serious. i know the minute i tell everyone you’re not my girlfriend, potter and his friends are going to have a field day.” draco says.

“harry doesn’t seem so mean. i follow him on instagram. he’s always so nice online.” you retort.

“you’ll see. he’s going to be a prat come christmas.” draco sighs, leaning against the wall.

you huff, “stop being so dramatic. if you want i can always just say i’m your girlfriend.”

draco gets off the wall and comes over to you, “you’re serious?”

you laugh, “yeah, i mean, everyone’s right. be basically act like a couple already. we’re really close for friends.”

“i guess..” he trails off, looking away from you.

you bite your lip and examine him. his pretty blond hair, pink lips, flushed face, and perfect posture. of course you wouldn’t mind pretending to be his girlfriend. you love him.

everything about him. you love the way his face contorts into a scowl after any inconvenience. you love how he looks at you when he sees someone doing something stupid. you love how he always has something for the two of you to do. and you love how he shows you the real him. 

“but maybe it could be like a trial run.” he mutters, finally looking at you.

“what?” you breathe, voice catching in your throat.

“i mean, it would be stupid to not try. you’re my best friend y/n. i think we could, uh, work together.” 

“are you saying you have a crush on me?”

“merlin. this is not as easy as i thought it was. of course i fancy you l/n. why else would i act like an utter buffoon?” he sighs.

you snort, “you act like buffoon even without me present, dickwad.”

“i’m trying to have a romantic conversation.”

“right, sorry,” you grin. “i would love to try to be your girlfriend.”

draco nods, “good. i mean, thank you?”

“come on, you can’t freeze up now. i definitely didn’t sign up for a shy boyfriend.” 

he quirks up his eyebrow, “that you didn’t.”

the words and his gaze make your knees weak. and in an instant, draco’s lips are on yours. the wind outside is loud, but as you kiss him, you can’t hear a thing. your sense of smell is attacked with his cinnamon vanilla cologne. the boy is like one of the high end stores your mom shops at in the winter. 

and his lips, his pretty full lips. the way they move with yours reminds you of something you’ve always needed but never knew. his hands take hold of your face and he brings the kiss deeper. the two of you oblivious to the world around you.

when you finally pull away, a smirk takes over his face.

“you have no idea how long i’ve wanted to do that.” he says, satisfied.

“come on, we’ve got to get back to the common room. we have classes in the morning.” you grin, grabbing your letters.

“please, the minute i get to the common room i’m kicking everyone out of my dorm and sneaking you in.” he states.

you look at him, shocked. silently thinking.

“stop staring at me like that. you can speak.”

glaring you say, “we’re going to have to tell everyone.”

draco groans, “maybe we should just wait until tomorrow.”

you nod, “tomorrow.”

#—myfics ! #draco lucius malfoy #Draco Malfoy #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy one shot #draco fanfiction #draco x y/n #draco x reader #draco x you #draco x female reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x slytherin #draco malfoy x american! reader #draco x ilvernmorny! reader #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x you #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #hogwarts

[megaamysbloguniverse]

Nogtail: Nogtail’s are a type of cacodemon that are native to South America, Europe, North America, and Russia. These creatures have black eyes and closely resemble that of an undersized pig. In addition, the Nogtail has a dense stumpy tail with a pair of long legs. These creatures sneak into pigsties and breastfeed ordinary pigs which places a malediction on the farm. The curse that is placed on the farm will persist until the Nogtail is caught. The only way these dark creatures can be captured is if witches and wizards chase them away with pure white dogs. A group of albino bloodhounds were sustained by the Pest Sub-Division of the Ministry of Magic’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for this definite purpose.

#harry potter #potterverse #harrypotterfan #wizarding world #potterhead #jk rowling #harry potter facts #harry potter movies #hogwarts #hp

[lilylysanderscorpius]

What happens when Lily gets jealous...

After a few minutes of sulking on the bed, Lily got up again and began to pace up and down the small room angrily.

From out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door move and stopped abruptly in surprise.

Looking down, she could see that a snow-white fox was nudging it's way into the room by pushing on the ajar door with it's snout.

Lily turned quickly around to face the opposite side of the room as Scorpius transformed back into his wizard form.

'Lily?' He began with trepidation, 'I'm sorry…'

'What for?' Lily turned around and snapped despite herself. Then she exhaled, trying to get a hold of her temper.

'You didn't do anything wrong'

'But you're upset' Scorpius pointed out gingerly.

'No I'm not' Lily turned away again, shrugging with ridged shoulders. Considering she was literally fuming- she had somehow managed to magic steam into the air around her- this was not very convincing.

Despite this, Scorpius moved closer to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders.

'You've got nothing to worry about, you do know that?' he ran his fingers up and down her arms, trying to calm her.

'I've got plenty to worry about' Lily whined. 'First it was Maria and Hazel, now it's Celeste Farley- who by the way, looks like she could be a siren thats transfigured its fish's tail into impossibly long legs-'

'Lily' Scorpius said stiffly, halting her ramblings.

Lily was still breathing heavily out of agitation but she stopped talking and looked up into his earnest face.

'I'm yours' Scorpius said slowly and firmly, 'I always have been-ever since I met you. And I always will be for as long as you want me'

Lily's heart skipped a beat and for a moment, looking into his sincere amber eyes, she felt as though she might melt right there on the spot. But then the skeptical little voice at the back of her mind piped up. But this is the problem, she thought warily, you're not just handsome- you're also far too charming for me to be able to keep you to myself!

Seeing that Lily's expression had turned gloomy again, Scorpius gathered her up in his arms and slid his fingers comfortingly along her back.

'What can I do to make this better?' He asked softly.

'You could try being a bit less ridiculously handsome' She grumbled into his chest, flushing from both embarrassment and frustration.

Scorpius laughed.

'Shall I grow my teeth a bit larger?' He offered, pulling out of their hug so that he could point his wand playfully towards his grinning mouth.

Lily's face broke into a reluctant smile as she batted his wand away to make sure he did no such thing.

'That wouldn't be enough' she teased, 'Perhaps you could wear one of my uncle George's Headless Hats instead- that might do the trick'

'But then I couldn't do this' Scorpius protested, taking her by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss.

They stayed nestled together like that for quite some time until Lily realized with a start that the sun was setting outside the cloudy windows of the inn.

'They'll be wondering where you've gone' she said, shifting reluctantly away from him.

'It's alright' Scorpius reassured her, keeping her near with a hand to the small of her back. 'I told them I was going back to the castle before I came up here'

'But you'd only been there for about ten minutes!' Lily laughed.

Scorpius shrugged.

'I'm anti-social, remember?' He smirked.

Lily stiffened in his arms.

'Does Montespan tell you everything?' She moaned.

'Only everything you do and say' he replied, 'He knows it fascinates me'

'Which reminds me-' Scorpius moved back a bit to look her sternly in the eyes, 'Don't you go getting into closets with Pucey again'

Lily's mouth fell open in outrage. 'I was in there first! How was I supposed to know he would follow me in?'

Scorpius shook his head at her ruefully.

'At least I know when someone is flirting with me- for a natural Legilimens, you're incredibly unperceptive when it comes to that'

'Well that's not fair' Lily protested, 'Unlike you, it doesn't happen every day for me! I haven't had as much practice'

'Are you kidding?' Scorpius scoffed, 'Pucey's had his eye on you since first year. Even Lysander picked up on that and he's usually daydreaming too much to realize he's forgotten to put his shoes on in the morning'

'Lysander just likes to be able to feel the cobblestones under his feet sometimes' Lily explained, ignoring his point.

'Anyway,' she added, 'Pucey's found someone else to torment with his affection, so you needn't worry about him'

Scorpius's eyelids drooped wearily and he muttered, 'He's not the one I'm worried about…'

That confused Lily into a silence. She knew she was proving his argument by asking but her curiosity got the better of her.

'…who else would you be worried about then?' She frowned.

Scorpius shook his head and chuckled incredulously.

'If you can't tell then I'm not saying. All the better for me if you never realize'

'You're worried too!' Lily realized triumphantly, poking him playfully in the ribs. It made her feel wickedly pleased to know that she wasn't the only one who felt just a little bit insecure.

'Of course I am' Scorpius shot back. He grabbed her playfully around the waist and hauled her onto the bed so he could tickle her.

'So don't torment me you nasty little nogtail' he said in his mock drawl as she writhed around screaming and giggling happily.

----

From Lily Potter and the Villain in the Valley 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12973166/87/Lily-Potter-and-the-Villain-in-the-Valley

#lily potter #scorpius malfoy #scorily #harry potter #fanfiction #harry potter next generation #next generation #hp next gen #Scorpius #Lily #romance #writing #jealousy #lily luna #lily luna potter #hp

[izzythehutt]

106 for the prompt challenge :)

“Just ignore him. He’s been like that all day.”

Bellatrix gave her youngest cousin (just fourteen, with the spots to prove it) a withering look before turning her attention to the lump of blankets and pillows she presumed was her slightly older, slightly less spotty other cousin.

“Rise and shine, Sobbie,” Bella said, her voice sing-song. “Time to come out and play.”

When the lump gave the telltale twitch that indicated it had heard the message she jabbed it with her wand for good measure. He cursed loudly and ripped the blankets off his head, dislodging himself from his self-imposed cocoon.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

She smiled and examined the nails on her wand hand—red and manicured to a point.

“Christmas is a time for family, Sirius,” she informed him, airily. “And Granny would’ve never let me hear the end of it if we skived off.” Her eyes danced with mischief—the malicious kind. “So you get the unexpected treat of my company.”

Regulus, face still hidden behind his book, tried to pretend as though he wasn’t morbidly watching the exchange.

“Do we get the company of your husband, too?” Sirius let out an exaggerated yawn and peered theatrically around the musty (little-used) library of their grandparents’ house. “Rodolphus, that prime specimen of the world’s last undiscovered troll subspecies?”

Bella’s smile thinned.

“Roddy’s just in the other room—perhaps if you’re a very good boy, I won’t tell him you said that.”

Both cousins said nothing—but Bellatrix took a small amount of pleasure in seeing the blood drain from Sirius’s face, his brash smile turned plastered on.

“We’re going out nogtail hunting with Granddad, later.” Bella’s eyes gleamed. “You’ll come, of course.”

Of course. She managed to inject that delicate feminine threat into the phrase.

“Why would I?”

She leaned close to him.

“Because you wouldn’t want to rob me of my fun.”

#sirius black #regulus black #bellatrix black lestrange #prompt challenge #i don't even know what this turned into but i had to end it abruptly because it was turning too long #for some reason they are at the maternal grandparents for christmas idk why #asks #harry potter #Anonymous

[aethelar]

So: The Count of Monte Cristo AU. Last we saw him, Graves clawed his way back to New York with nothing but fumes and desperation, and refused to believe that Newt had married Grindelwald and turned against his creatures until he saw the truth with his own two eyes.

He refused to believe for a while after that as well, staring blankly into the bottom of his glass like a man reeling from shell shock and refusing to acknowledge the wound. But that was then. This is now.

Now, Graves has been busy. You haven’t seen him for a while; my fault, I lost track of him somewhere between the alleys and the motels and the anger-hurt-rage shaking in his hands. He spent the first few weeks lying low, living out of seedy rooms he could afford to pay for and trying to be an honest man. They were small, sparsely furnished. They were fine. They were square, like a cell. Graves would be fine. The door closed and the landlady scolded him when he left it open, the door closed and the walls closed in on him, the ceiling curled down, the shadows crawled with scaly claws and tried to drag him down to the swamps to drown -

By the time Graves could breathe again, his magic had blown the cramped room out into a barren tundra, howling with a biting wind that was nothing like the oppressive, muggy heat of the Louisiana swamps. The ceiling vanished into an endless blue sky, and the door - what was left of it - was a jagged tear in an otherwise empty space.

The landlady doesn’t remember that door now, nor the nervous man that apologised to her and pressed a year’s worth of rent into her hand for a room she didn’t have. There’s a cold spot by the blank stretch of wall on her landing that she’s never managed to get rid of, but it’s an old house. She doesn’t think much of it.

But again: that was then. Now, Graves is his own landlord and moves in his own circles. Newton Grindelwald doesn’t want creatures in New York? Fine. You do you, Newton. Graves will be over here, warding the shit out of the sewers and releasing rougarou in them. Nogtails? In your Central Park? More likely than you think. Half the feral cat population is now part kneazle. Salamanders in the subways. Hodags in the houses. He’s working on a snallygast in the sky, but even with the considerable influence Graves now wields among the black market traders, snallygasts aren’t the easiest things to locate.

Dead snallygasts, he’s been offered them a couple of times. People assume he’s after potions parts, or wand cores, or crushed bone marrow and desiccated eye-spleen. Graves isn’t. He doesn’t care about potions, or poachers, or the often inhumane conditions creatures can be kept in. He doesn’t care about the creatures, even; they’re means to an end, and they work better alive than dead so he’ll keep them alive and eviscerate anyone who tries to harvest them, but he’s a bitter, shrivelled wreck. He protects them. He doesn’t have the time to care about them too.

MACUSA releases multiple statements about how the recent outbreaks of magical creature sightings are under control, about how the ones responsible will shortly be brought to justice, about how pointless these aimless attacks against the fabric of their society are and how little they can hope to achieve. Graves and his spite would like to disrespectfully disagree.

The aurors are scrambling. They’re overworked, and none of them have the experience to deal with the creatures they’re facing, let alone the various warding spells Graves has woven around them. Pity. Perhaps if they weren’t so quick to throw their own people in jail and accuse innocent bystanders of treason they’d have less of a problem.

Grindelwald is floundering. He calls for the creatures to be rounded up; they can’t be. He makes grand speeches about the dangers of magic being revealed to the no-majs; it won’t be. Graves is careful. He’s chosen only native creatures, only ones that not only can thrive in the crowded streets of New York but want to thrive. With the possible exception, perhaps, of the rougarou; they’re Southern through and through and the only reason Graves has let them in is because he likes them. They rip the heads off people who piss them off. He can relate. Grindelwald tries to hype MACUSA up in a fearful frenzy against a common enemy that only he can protect them from; there isn’t one. Graves is not MACUSA’s enemy.

Graves is Grindelwald’s enemy and Grindelwald’s alone. Newton, Credence, MACUSA, they’re collateral. Not important. Graves stares at a photo of Newt - Newton - in the latest gaudy robes at the latest gaudy event and reminds himself, they’re nothing.

Newt goes out, occasionally, on the magical creature raids. Sometimes Graves defends his creatures. Sometimes he’s not there. Sometimes his creatures go missing and he never sees them again.

He stares at Newt’s unsmiling photo and wonders if he would hate him, Graves’ Newt, if he would hate what Graves is doing and hate how many creatures he’s risking in his stupid, petty revenge.

But Newt’s gone, or he didn’t exist, and Newton is nothing.

Credence, though. Credence is a means to an end. It took Graves a while to work out what he wanted to do to Grindelwald’s son, the boy they say Newt dotes on even if he never shows it in public. He watches Credence from the corners, drops silver coins into waiting hands and hoards facts and rumours and inconsequential shards of a bigger picture until he knows where Credence stands, where he’s vulnerable, which weakness Graves can exploit to hurt Grindelwald the most.

(It’s not about Newt and how much he apparently loves his adopted son.)

Then, just over a year after he first limped his way out of the swamps and into New York’s oily treachery, he finally makes his entrance. Percival Graves had been a shadowy figure, one without a name or a face, one known for his sharp words and his sharper spells. He haunted the underbelly of the city, built his connections and made his plays - but MACUSA’d never seen him. No one knew who he was. It suited him better that way.

But as I said: that was then. This is now.

Graves enters the city legally, visibly, almost ostentatiously. He carries goofer dust and gris-gris in a pouch on his belt and pays his respect to the spirits of the South. He cites a family history that stretches far back into states and magics MACUSA has no documents for, and claims an interest in politics as his reason to move to the North. His hair is neatly tied back, his robes elegantly pressed; his smile is charming and his eyes are dark enough to hide the way it doesn’t reach them.

His name, he says, is Monte Cristo.

#gramander #percival graves #newt scamander #gellert grindelwald #credence barebone #does anyone remember those animal ark kids books from way back? #like 'goat in the garden' and 'kittens in the kitchen' #well now you have your hodags in the houses #i used to love those books #count of monte cristo au #comcau #my writing

[themonsterblogofmonsters]

ye-lost-bard replied to your post “Can nogtails interbreed with wild boars?”

If a dachshound can impregnate a bernese mountain dog and a 20 pound mini-pig can impregnate a 100 pound minipig, I am sure nogtails find a way for that also

Yes but a lot of dogs are purposefully crossed and also tend not to be as uniformly angry-defensive as wild pigs tend to be. Wild pigs are dangerous if they think something is challenging them and if Nogtails are in their territory and are noticeably different there’s a high chance of aggression rather than an attempt to breed, ya feel?

So despite the fact that small pig of same kind can breed with big pig of the same kind, despite the fact that Canis lupus familiaris of different breeds can crossbreed Nogtails and Wild Pigs are not only different in appearance and size but also differ to both in temperaments and then, as well, there’s the fact that two different breeds of Canis lupus familiaris and two different sizes of micropig are a completely different story to two completely different creatures.

There’s a reason I said probably not, on several levels.

#ye-lost-bard #replies #nogtails

[austenpoppy]

Slughorn needs to hear this one day

I don’t hate him. Nope. Generally I even like him, and look at him like an old uncle with an odd behaviour.

But there are moments all I want to do is slap him really hard. And yell at him like a mad woman.

I mean, of course I can be angry with other characters, even characters I absolutely love. Because they are human beings and so are flawed and make mistakes. Nothing more normal.

But him, he really gets on my nerves !

Yes, I speak of you, Horace Slughorn. Nobody really dislikes you, right ? They all look at you fondly, kindly. Nobody says how much you were wrong. Nobody says how much your little elitist club was despicable.

Some even don't realise it.

That is right, a good slap on your chubby cheek would be fine with me. Then I could eventually forgive you.

Because Dumbledore saying you have a natural talent at finding exceptionnal people, people with someting special, makes me want to tear something apart.

Because people finding you are a good judge on these matters makes me believe there is no justice down there.

Because your behaviour towards students like Marcus Belby, whom you invited to the first reunion of your club because his uncle was famous and extremely clever, but rejected once you realized he had no connections with this member of of his family, once you judged him as uninteresting because of his manners and his shyness, makes me want to scowl you forever.

He had probably great qualities, but you dismissed him, you judged him not good enough for your club, so you’ll never know them.

You even tried to forget him after your conversation with him, making pass a snack to all your guests except him.

You spoke to him with a tone of false politeness full of scorn and disdain.

You turned your head.

And you probably never looked at him again.

He would maybe have blossomed if you had encouraged him enough, if you had taken the time to make him grow and improve, if you had taken the time to really look at him.

Which means, if you had done your job seriously.

You are a Potions Master, but a teacher is sometimes more like a gardener. A gardener who plants a seed in the ground, waters it, takes care of it, looks at it grow and turn into a beautiful flower. However, this flower is fragile, and a tempest, winter, or even a simple gust of wind can reduce it to ashes.

The way you turned your head this day was like a gust of wind, the way you treated him with disdain and indifference and even ignored him was like winter’s arrival, the way you humiliated him a tempest.

You’re wrong, though, Horace, if you think that it’s more important, rewarding and relevant to look after the students you find interesting.

Because each student is interesting. You may have preferences, of course, it’s not something you can help, but showing them so blatantly and ignoring totally the other students, who can have something to bring, something to exchange, something to make shine, is an awful mistake.

Moreover, if you believed your judgement unerring, you were greatly mistaken.

You know what ?

One of your favorites, Cormac MacLaggen, whom you liked because his family spent week-ends hunting Nogtails with the Prime Minister, is, though brave, arrogant, presomptuous, so conceited it is sickening, and spent an entire evening talking about himself to Hermione Granger, and visibly harassed her so much, trying to make her kiss him, that she fled away from him. What a wonderful boy !

Of course he had qualities, but you overestimated him. He’s not the future Prime Minister, or else he really has to change.

You have such a great understanding of people, such a great judgement, Horace, that’s really impressive. I’m awed.

Hang on a second, what does this mean, “even the greatest spirits can be misled.” ? You really thought that your false opinion of Cormac was your only mistake this year ?

(Yes, we’re only speaking about this year, when you were Harry’s teacher, because we’re not going to talk about Tom Jedusor, I promise you; I don't hold a grudge against you because you let yourself being dazzled by his charm and wits; this boy was one of the biggest manipulators who ever existed, the spark of evil, the shadow of the hell, Satan’s laugh, and a lot of people felt into his golden but bloody traps.)

Let me laugh.

Your precious little Harry, whom I love by the way, your little prodigy, was not the creator of all those inventions you were praising. He was - almost - cheating (yeah, I know, that was not really cheating) with a manual with scribbled notes written by another pupil years ago on it.

You know who this pupil was ? Severus Snape. You were wrong, Harry was not better than Snape at potions. (Following a very true comment, to be fair with Slughorn, he did know Snape was very good, it is just I think he did not realise how much).

You know how Harry got your worst memory ? He drank the Felix Felicis you had given him. But you know who suggested the idea ? Ron Weasley.

Ron Weasley. Ronald Bilius Weasley. Ron Weasley.

I repeat his name because apparently you had some problem with it.

Because yes, we arrive at the moment you deserve your slap on your face. So you did not think he was worth remembering his name ? You looked at him as if he was “nothing more than a shed of Doxies” ? You wondered why the genius Hermione Granger and the Boy-who-lived befriended a “mediocre pupil with average skills” -that’s not what you said but you thought it didn’t you ?- ? You didn’t indulge him ? You let him out of your stupid club because you thought he was not good enough ? You invited nearly all the people he was closed to -his two best friends, his sister- except him, letting him behind (oh, you left someone like Luna behind too by the way. What a mistake) ?

(By the way, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, why have you not refused clearly his invitations when your dearest friend and brother was so humiliated by this teacher ? Oh, that’s right, Harry, the memory. But Hermione ? Ginny ? Why have you not tried to tell Ron he did not deserve all this contempt ? I would have thought that you, of all people…)

Screw you, Horace Slughorn. Despite all your contempt, despite all the people believing he was average and even mediocre, despite his own very low self-esteem, he became one of the most wonderful persons you could have ever met. He became a wonderful Auror.

You were really deluding yourself. He has always, and will always, been a far greater man than you.

When you have met him, he had, at the age of twelve, led and won a fantastic chess match qualified by Dumbledore as “the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years”, in which he had sacrificed himself and got knocked out by a chess piece in order to reach his goal : allow his friends carrying on with the battle.

When you have met him, he had, at the age of thirteen, followed a troop of spiders in the dark Forbidden Forest, to find a clue about what was happening in Hogwarts and save petrified pupils, especially his dear Hermione, and met Acromentulas, although he is arachnophobic ! Spiders were his worst fear at that time, but he did not hesitate.

When you have met him, he had found where was the Chamber of Secrets and how to open it.

When you have met him, he had shoved Harry out of the way of a furious dog and got bitten in his place.

When you have met him, he had stood on a broken leg to tell firmly somebody everyone thought was a mass murderer, somebody he had seen months before with a knive above his bed, that if he wanted to kill his best friend, he would have to kill him too.

And, during a fight, had jumped with his broken leg on this person you knew (yes, Sirius Black) to get their wands he had taken.

And then, always with this broken leg, had wanted to be one of the people chained to the real mass murderer, who was his former rat, to get him to the castle.

When you have met him, he had been part of the battle of the Department of Mysteries, following Harry without questions. He had to fight three Death Eaters on his own, and got hit with a dangerous spell that led him to be scarred for life by a brain.

When you have met him, he was already this self-sacrificing, selfless, brave, kind-hearted, compassionate, clever, witty as hell, extremely funny and loyal to a fault guy you never saw but without whom Harry and Hermione were incapable to live or even function.

Their heart, Horace, you missed the heart of this little trio.

And after, Horace ? After that ?

I won't tell you everything, use your web of personalities to get a little information !

But you know what ?

This guy, Horace, disarmed Bellatrix Lestrange.

This guy, Horace, defied Voldemort and broke a spell you-know-who had done.

This guy, Horace, hit Death Eaters from a broom.

This guy, Horace, dropped everything to go on a horcruxe hunt.

Yes, Horcruxes. You heard me.

The very Horcruxes you were so afraid of.

And he wore around his neck a part of the soul of Voldemort after he nearly died, after a massive blood loss, for months, with Harry and Hermione.

And because he wears his heart on his sleeve, because his heart is so open, because he thinks he is nothing, he went through mental torture for months.

And even got possessed, got manipulated by Voldemort, but never broke. He got rid of it.

And you know what else he did?

He begged Bellatrix Lestrange to torture him instead of the girl he loves. Don’t tell me he was unaware of what she had done, he had seen it with his very eyes and had been utterly moved. Yet he was ready to go through that for Hermione, was ready to suffer beyond the believable, was ready to become insane.

He wanted to go kill Nagini, Voldemort’s snake if you did not know it, alone, despite the known presence of Voldemort.

He found how to get rid of one of the last Horcruxes, and opened the Chamber of Secrets without even speaking Parseltongue.

He had not planned to go through the war.

You know what is the worst ? What you thought was maybe exactly what the Horcruxe tortured him with.

I like you, Horace, but you really deserve some slaps.

#anti ron hate #anti ron bashing #horace slughorn #hp #ron weasley

[scubaverse]

Fantastic (Underwater) Beasts, and where to find them!

It is fair to say that there might not be that many underwater-specific spells, curses, potions or lotions. There may also be a distinct lack of any Nifflers, Nogtails, or Mooncalfs to see when we submerge and go diving. However, while we often look beyond the confines of our own world for enchantment and excitement, it is true without a doubt that the life we can encounter beneath the waves is bursting full of magic. As divers, we have a privileged portal to another world. And for many people, it may be even more captivating than they realise. There are just so many fantastic and mysterious animals living in our watery world. And these are just the ones we know about. There is so much left to explore in our oceans. Who knows what incredible creatures may still be unseen and undiscovered? And even for those more unusual ocean inhabitants, I think it’s important we always remember their unique charms! So, to showcase some of my favourite Blue Planet companions, here are my top five real-life ‘magical creatures.’

Read more here.

#scuba diving marine life underwater creatures