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fortisfiliae · 4 years

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Promised Part 7 - Tom Riddle x reader

Summary: In this story, Tom didn’t grow up as an orphan, but with his grandfather and uncle. Reader’s sister got very sick and the Gaunts offer their help. But not without asking for something in return.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that I don’t condone any of this in real life. (GIF is not mine)

Warnings: Arranged marriage

Word count: 3.1k

Part 7 - Gift Giving

“So this is the last part of the house. The bedrooms,” you said, after giving Tom a quick tour around the mansion. “The guestroom is right at the end of the hallway.”

Tom peered towards the half-open door to the guestroom, that the house-elves were preparing for him.

“This right there is Elsie’s room, next to it is the master bedroom. And this,” you said, leaning onto a door. “Is my room.”

He turned back to you.

“Want to come in?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

There was a sense of excitement in the air, letting Tom enter your room. It was something so private, it felt like you let him walk straight into your head. But you wanted to be nice. He still seemed crushed from the argument he had had with his grandfather and uncle and you thought it would make him feel better if you showed him he was welcome here.

“Take a seat if you want. Anywhere,” you said and went over to sit on your bed.

Tom slowly walked across the room towards your desk, his eyes incidentally scanning your belongings. He sat down on the chair by the desk and looked at the framed picture of you and your family that stood there.

“Sorry about my mother,” you mentioned when you noticed what he was inspecting.

Tom looked at you. “What do you mean?”

“She can be a bit brash, you know. When she asked you to stay earlier. But she usually means well.”

“Oh,” he spoke. “I didn’t mind actually. You know my family. They’re brash. And not the good kind.”

“Fair,” you agreed. “Have they always been that way?”

“Since I can remember at least.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m sorry,” you then said.

“For what? That’s just how it is. They have their ways and I have mine.”

“Right. Did you know they would bring up the unbreakable vow?“

“No… I had no idea. They’re idiots. Just stupid. Why ask for more each time? They always want to be a step ahead for nothing.”

“What did you say to them?” you asked, hiding that you already knew.

“That I wouldn’t do it. They took our word for it then and that should be enough. They can’t force us to do a vow.”

“Are they mad at you?”

“Yes. But they’ll come around. It wasn’t our first argument and it won’t be our last.”

You pondered if you should say what you were thinking. Maybe it was a bit too much, but Tom didn’t seem bothered talking about his family. So you went on: “Do you ever wish it could have been different? To grow up with your parents, I mean. That would have made it easier, don’t you think?”

Tom smiled weakly, his eyes wandered across the floor and he shook his head. “Wishing for something won’t make it happen. And no. It would have been quite the same, I think. Maybe even worse.”

“Worse?”

“You’ve heard how Marvolo talks about my parents. His daughter and a muggle. A stain in the bloodline he said, didn’t he?” Tom chuckled lowly.

“But if they loved each other that shouldn’t have mattered to him.”

His eyebrows rose in what looked like a strange form of amusement. “Well, that’s a whole other story.”

You frowned. What did that even mean? You had heard all kinds of rumours about the Gaunt family and how Tom’s parents had met but never would have thought that one of them might be true.

“Have they-”

Tom shook his head as he got up, making it clear that he wasn’t going to talk about it. He walked across the room towards you, fiddling something out from the inner pocket of his jacket.

You had gone too far apparently and wondered if he was pulling out his wand or wanted to leave, but as you opened your mouth again, he sat down beside you and looked into your eyes.

“I’m going to tell you,” he said. “Not now though. You’re going to know everything about me eventually. Someday.”

“Someday then,” you repeated. “What have you got there?”

He held the thing from his jacket in his hand now. It was a package that seemed a bit squished as if it had barely fit into the pocket.

“Hold on,” he said and waved his wand at it, to smooth out the wrinkles on the paper. It was a present, a rectangular box, covered in dark green gift wrap.

“I thought it would be impolite to come over for lunch without bringing at least a little Christmas gift.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” you said as he handed over the present.

“Go on, open it,” he said and motioned with his hand.

So you did and quickly found out what the package contained. A small handwritten book, full of potions recipes.

“Nicked it from my uncle when he wasn’t looking,” Tom said. “So you better don’t mention it to him.”

“Oh great,” you laughed as you flipped through it. “Wow, I haven’t heard of any of these.”

“None of them are taught in school. I thought you’d like them. Didn’t seem like the ones we do with Slughorn were much of a challenge for you.”

The book looked as if it had been used a lot. The thin black binder was frayed and faded, and the edges of the pages were crinkled. On every other page, the handwriting changed, so it seemed that many different people had written the recipes. Poisons, antidotes and bewitchments you had never heard of were all listed, neatly explained and completed with full lists of ingredients.

“Where did your uncle get this from?” you asked, still looking through it.

“I’m not sure. Knockturn Alley perhaps, or on some market. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had added a few ones himself.”

As peculiar as it was, not many people could say they got a book of dark magic and probably illegal potions for Christmas.

“What an unusual gift. I do like it. Thank you, really!” you said and opened your arms to hug him, out of pure habit, but froze when you saw his stern expression, your arms still open.

He looked into your eyes again, seemed to think for a moment and finally nodded to let you hug him. Just like when you had held hands, he was stiff and rigid, it felt like he was uncomfortable. You retracted, but as soon as you let go, he wrapped his arms around you and held you a little tighter, extending the embrace for a few more seconds.

There was a ghost of a smile on his face when you sat back straight and he was about to say something when the door flew open.

Tummy, one of the house-elves, stood in the door frame. “Miss, the guestroom is ready. Mister Riddle, Sir, please follow me.”

“Great,” Tom whispered sarcastically under his breath, got up and followed the elf.

You quickly hid the book under your pillow and called after them: “It’d be nice if you could knock next time, Tummy!”

“Sorry Miss! Will knock!” you heard him from the hallway.

When Mother called for dinner in the evening you picked up Tom from the guest room and went downstairs.

Sitting at the table together was a bit awkward at first and no one said anything. It seemed that your parents were still thinking of the incident from lunch, but didn’t want to talk about it in front of Tom. You didn’t know what to say either and Tom wasn’t one to talk much in general.

“Tom?” Elsie said all of a sudden, breaking the silence.

“Yes?” he answered and you looked back and forth between the two.

“Did you know I’ll go to Hogwarts too next term?” Elsie went on, a very proud tone in her voice.

He grinned while picking up some green beans with his fork. “I did know that, yes.”

“I haven’t gotten the letter yet, so technically I don’t know if I’ll get in, but my parents said it will come on my eleventh birthday.”

“I’m sure it will.”

He had barely finished his last word when Elsie asked the next thing.

“What’s your favourite subject?”

“Um… Defence Against The Dark Arts, I think,” Tom said. “It’s interesting enough.”

“Why?”

“Well,” he took a second to think. “I like to be prepared.”

“And you’re in Slytherin, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Do you have a favourite house?”

You caught your parents exchanging looks and smiling at each other.

“Um… Well,” Elsie began. “I think they’re all nice. But Gryffindor is the best I guess.”

Tom clicked his tongue and shook his head jokingly. “Shame,” he said.

“Do you play Quidditch?” Elsie asked.

“No, I’m not into sports.”

“But can you fly?”

“Yes, I’m a decent flyer.”

She looked at your parents for a moment and whispered to Tom: “Do you think you can show me? How to fly a broom. I got one for Christmas, you see. And I-”

“Elsie,” Father said laughing. “Let the boy eat, please.”

“No, I can show you,” Tom said. “It’s the least I can do to show my respect after you’re letting me stay here.”

“That’s very kind of you Tom,” Mother said. “And you can stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you. I won’t bother you for long though,” he answered.

Dessert was served and Elsie peppered Tom with questions about brooms until Father finally told her to leave him alone.

You thought of the book he had gifted you and knew that your parents would be pleased to hear that at least one member of the Gaunt family had manners. They didn’t need to know exactly what it was about.

“Tom gave me a Christmas present earlier,” you said.

He shot you a quick look as if to ask you if you were out of your mind telling your parents about this. You ignored him.

“Oh really?” Father asked. “What is it?”

“A Potions book. Handwritten. It looks very rare,” you said and looked at Tom who was still staring at you. “It’s like an extended version of our school books. I can use it to perfect my skills. Maybe I’ll even get an O on my N.E.W.T.s because of it.”

“Oh lovely,” Mother said. “Where have you got that from?”

“Diagon Alley,” Tom lied and seemed to be more relaxed now.

“Very nice,” Mother said and turned towards you. “But you didn’t have anything for him, did you?”

“No,” you mumbled.

“Well, let’s talk about that another time. Tom, have you heard about the time when we went on a trip to Italy?”

Later that night, when you lay in bed, you pulled the book out from under your pillow and held it for a while. It probably wasn’t even meant to be so special, but the fact that Tom had thought of giving you a present for Christmas, was not what you would have expected.

And you hadn’t even wasted a single thought about getting him something. How ignorant.

You wondered how he felt about that. If he even felt about that, one way or another.

Your fingertip ran up and down the book spine countless times while you stared up onto the ceiling. You had to get him something. Something special.

And then you wondered if he couldn’t sleep either. If he wanted to talk for just a bit as well. If he thought about lying next to you, too. You could try to sneak out of your room and over to the guest room. Your parents wouldn’t like that of course, but you were going to marry him. They had to get used to the thought. And if you were quiet enough, they wouldn’t even notice.

You sat up slowly, put the book back under your pillow and tiptoed to the door of your room. Turning the doorknob as quietly as possible and holding your breath, you looked out into the dark hallway. You wouldn’t even need light, you knew this hallway like the back of your hand. Fifteen, maybe twenty quick steps and you would be right by the door to the guest room. So you took the first step out of your room.

“Miss!” a squeaky voice whispered in the dark from below.

It was Tummy, standing there alone.

“Tummy?” you asked quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“Miss, master told Tummy to keep watch all night. So that Mister Riddle wouldn’t disturb you in your room.”

Great. Your parents were a few steps ahead.

“Can Tummy get you anything, Miss?”

“No, I… I just thought I heard something,” you sighed. “Does Father really force you to stay up all night? You can go downstairs to sleep if you want to.”

“No, Miss, no,” the elf said and smiled. “Tummy sleeps right here on the floor. I have very good ears, yes. I hear every little noise, you see? I will wake up whenever I hear something and alert the masters.”

Unbelievable. They had thought of everything.

“I see,” you said. “But I’m not afraid Tom would disturb me. You really can go downstairs.”

“Miss, Tummy is thankful for your offer, but I must follow the master's order. Tummy doesn’t mind it.”

“Alright then,” you gave up. “Hang on though.”

You went back into your room, walked up to your bed and fetched one of the three pillows from there.

“Take this at least,” you told the elf and gave him the pillow. “It’s big enough for you to sleep on.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. Please.”

“I insist,” you said with a jokingly strict tone.

Tummy smiled, took the pillow and nodded. “Thank you, Miss. Tummy is very grateful.”

“Good night, Tummy.

“Good night, Miss.”

The following day went by quicker than you had wanted it to. Father, Tom and Elsie went outside in the late morning to give Elsie her long-awaited flying lessons. They were a great team, against all expectations. You watched them from the kitchen window and noticed how Father held himself back from helping. He kept a careful eye on the two when Tom showed Elsie how to mount the broom correctly.

Elsie listened intently to everything Tom told her, tried to follow each step precisely and could properly hold herself in the air after a while. Father and Tom seemed incredibly proud, not only of themselves but of your little sister.

You could have watched them for hours, but Mother had called you to the reading room, to go to Diagon Alley via the Floo Network. You had asked her to take her with you since you wanted to get some new quills for school and a proper Christmas present for Tom.

Thankfully Diagon Alley wasn’t too busy, yet it took you a while to find an appropriate gift. You hadn’t even known where to start looking, but when you finally saw it in the shop window, you knew it was perfect.

Back home, Elsie, Father and Tom were just walking back inside, their cheeks and noses all plump from the hours they had spent out in the cold. Elsie jumped through the living room excitedly and told Mother and you how high up she was able to fly now. She had even attempted to do some advanced twists but almost had taken a fall.

Father patted Tom on the shoulder and thanked him for his time, which made Tom’s ears turn almost as pink as his cheeks and nose.

After congratulating your sister on her achievement, you turned to Tom and said: “Would you follow me? There’s something I want to show you.”

You took him to the reading room, where the parcel you got him stood under the desk.

“Long day, huh?” you asked when you closed the door behind you.

He nodded. “Long but successful. Your sister is a quick learner. She could make it on the Quidditch team one day.”

“Thank you for teaching her,” you said. “We all appreciate it.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Now that you were with him, you didn’t know where to start. Should you tell him about lying in bed with the book in your hand, thinking of him? That you almost would have knocked on his door in the middle of the night, if Tummy had not been there? That could sound terribly invasive. What if he wouldn’t have wanted you to come? Now that you thought about it, you were glad that Tummy had spoiled your plan. Nighttime certainly made you too reckless.

“I hope you slept well,” you mumbled mindlessly. Merlin, why would you say that?

“I um…” Tom looked at you surprisedly. “Yes, I did.”

“Good.”

“If it wasn’t for the elf in the hallway, it would have been even better,” Tom added nonchalantly.

How would he also know about Tummy? Did he leave his room too? You scanned him questioningly and Tom smirked.

“Father is overprotective,” you answered.

“Shame, isn’t it?”

“Certainly.”

You looked at each other, both with mischievous smiles on your faces. It would not have been awkward at all if you had gone over to his room last night. Tummy be damned.

“I thought of your present a lot,” you went on, changing the subject. “And I decided I had to get you something as well.”

“Not necessary. Your family let me stay the night, that’s more than en-”

“Stop it,” you snapped playfully and went to get the parcel from under the table. “There’s not a lot of things I thought suited Tom Riddle. But this does, I believe.”

He took the box with both hands, as it was quite big, placed it onto the desk and pulled off the top.

“Oh,” he breathed when he looked inside.

“Her name is Nagini. She’s not fully grown yet.”

Tom took a dark green, medium-sized snake out of the box and let it curl around his arm.

“Did you know?” he asked.

“Know what?”

“That I’m a Parselmouth.”

“Yes,” you nodded. “People in Hogwarts were talking about it years ago and then I thought of your house and your relation to Salazar Slytherin. It made sense.”

“Thank you,” he said genuinely, looking into your eyes before he watched Nagini gliding from one of his arms to the other. “Stretch out your arm for me.”

You did and let your fingers touch his. Both of you now stood there with one arm pointing towards each other. The snake slithered around Tom’s arm, quickly making its way towards his outstretched fingers and over to yours. It hissed quietly while wandering up to your shoulder.

“She likes you,” Tom said softly. “A lot.”

Credit where credit is due: My boyfriend came up with the house-elf’s name. I don’t know where that came from but I won’t make him stop. He also gave him a short backstory. I might try to implement it into the story line if you’re interested.

Please consider leaving a comment and tell me what you think so far :) They motivate me so much to keep writing! Let me know if you want to be tagged, or untagged. Thank you for reading!

Permanent tags: @geeksareunique @ren-ela @marauderskeeper @way-obsessed5 @oreofrappiewithblueberry @draqcnheartstrinq @dogfatherpads @obscurilicious @maralisa124 @theseuscmander @lumos-barnes @theboywhocriedlupin @igotmadskills @jamcspotters @thisismysecrethappyplace @vulpecula-minor @snarledblack @swellwriting @carolinesbookworld @fandomtravels @heartbeats-wildly @clockworkherondale @aikeia @i-padfootblack-things @emmamass24 @sleep-i-ness @miss-theya @gruffle1

Promised tags: @superblyspeedydragon @angeli-fucking-cat @cyarikaaa @hp-slaps @prettylittlehiddles @katjusja @elderwilliams @-thatgirloverthere- @1950schick @kissing-violet-wings @accio-boys @mythicalamphitrite @aqswdefrgthzjukilop @always394patronus @nesseldee @peachyserenade @iliveforthefandom04 @chr0nicbackpain @truly-insatiable @blushingpogue @scarlet-says-hi @staplerrrr @uglipotata72829 @muralskins @noobmaster696969 @urbankite

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sp4c3-0ddity · 6 years

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I was tagged in this meme thingy by @bushybeardedbear and @mutherplocker0665!! thanks, it does look life fun <3

Coffee or Tea - oddly enough i drink coffee more often and am way pickier about tea though

Early bird or Night Owl

Chocolate or Vanilla - although...i don’t like a whole lot by itself

Spring or Fall - flowers!!

Silver or Gold - both have their Benefits but silver is preferable aesthetically. except it tarnishes so requires the occasional polish

Pop or Alternative - no preference, although i have a weakness for catchy tunes

Freckles or Dimples - i have little dimples but my freckles are so few that i wish they were a bit more ;_;

Snake or Shark - i saw a nurse shark once while scuba diving and it was awesome (i like snakes too though)

Mountains or Fields - the other day an acquaintance of mine said that he once traveled to a place without mountains - a totally flat place - and commented on how depressing it looked and even though i haven’t lived around mountains by entire life i literally can’t imagine living somewhere without mountains i’d hate to see the horizon unbroken by something. also have you ever looked down into a valley while standing on the edge of a mountain?? literally awesome. and snowy mountains?? yes please the Sierra Nevada look jaw-droppingly gorgeous in winter and spring

Thunderstorm or Lightning - one thing (of very few things) i miss about the southeastern U.S. is the thunderstorms...and we’re too far from the desert to see much of them ;_;

Egyptian or Greek mythology - no preference sorry i’m boring

Ivory or Scarlet - the color?? because if the color i’m not a big fan of white but red is easily my second favorite

Flute or Lyre - i’m an ex-band geek...although i played clarinet like a nerd

Eyes or Lips - holding eye contact for longer than half a second is like pulling teeth so by default...

Witch or Fairy - no preference

Opal or Diamond - did you know that one totally worthless method to find out if you’ve got a real diamond in your hand is to burn it because they’re made of carbon and carbon burns?? sure you’ll end up with a palm full of ash but hey at least it was once a real diamond!! (also incidentally graphite - not diamonds - is the most stable conformation of carbon; and yes graphite is the stuff in your pencil)

Butterflies or Honeybees - butterflies are pretty sure but honeybees are essential to life in a totally different way...also i’ve never been stung by a bee so i bear them no ill will

Macaroons or Eclairs - macaroons are Dry and eclairs are cream-stuffed and doughy and those are qualities i dislike in dessert...

Typewritten or Handwritten letters - tbh i’m not picky but handwritten has more character to it and so long as i can read the handwriting we’re good

Secret Garden or Secret Library - one that only the birds can find

Rooftop or Balcony - seems more private?? even if not really

Spicy or Mild - food without spice is so boring i can’t stand ‘mild’ i literally get bored. if my meal doesn’t Hurt then what’s even the point?? (this is probably why i shouldn’t be allowed to cook in my house)

Opera or Ballet - i’ve never been to the opera...could be interesting

London or Paris - ...is there a third option?? no?? well guess i pick where they speak English and orient myself more easily and where it’s not France

Vincent Van Gogh or Claude Monet - Monet is...flowers?? dancers?? no wait the dancers are Degas

Denim or Leather - as long as it’s not a denim jacket

Potions or Spells - it’s like organic chem lab but i don’t have to write a lab report after!!

Ocean or Desert - i like the desert too but if the water’s warm like it’s not here then gimme

Mermaid or Siren - *shrugs*

Masquerade Ball or Cocktail party - i’m very lazy with costumes but masquerade balls sound more formal and elegant and dramatic. did the Phantom of the Opera disrupt a cocktail party?? no he did not

Whoever wants to reveal their secrets next can go for it and have fun!! if you see this and make it to the end and haven’t done it already consider yourself tagged??

#qna #this was fun #wanted to write an essay on the not-exactly-scientific merits of silver vs gold but did not #also i typed 'degas' and read it as 'degas'#(like de-gas)#and that was weird #also fun fact in my religion men are literally prohibited from wearing gold #and also diamonds and more than a very specific amount of silk #so my dad's wedding band is silver #whereas my mother's is gold

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tomeandflickcorner · 6 years

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OUAT Episode Analysis- Leaving Storybrooke

Well, folks, here it is. We’ve come to the final episode of Once Upon a Time. In spite of everything, regardless of which characters and ships you liked or disliked, regardless of which plotlines or seasons you might have felt were bad, I think we can all agree that this was an experience. One that has probably changed us forever.

The final episode ends where the last one left off. Robyn and Alice have traveled to Storybrooke to try and gather up some reinforcements to help Henry and company in Wish World. And the first people they run into are the Dwarfs, Granny and Archie. Of course, there’s the slight issue that, as far as the people in Storybrooke are concerned, Henry has only just graduated High School, which means Alice and Robyn have to explain that they’re from the future and have traveled back in time via Gothel’s curse. However, their explanation results in the Dwarfs and Granny acting with hostility, with Granny even aiming her crossbow at the two young women, forcing them to run for their lives. To be honest, this part really bothered me. While I can appreciate how the people of Storybrooke have had a long history of a new Big Bad popping up every other week and all, Alice and Robyn were clearly trying to ask for their help. And it wasn’t as if villains were the only people coming into Storybrooke. Remember that when Ariel first appeared in town, she was there asking for help. And Elsa also was not a threat when she arrived, either. So their less-than-gracious welcome was rather uncalled for. While I get that the notion that Alice and Robyn had come from the future when Henry was an adult with a wife and daughter might have been a big pill to swallow, it wasn’t that unheard off. I’m sure everyone in town has heard of Emma and Killian Prime’s time traveling adventure by now. So what was their deal with trying to attack Alice and Robyn?

Fortunately, after they’ve escaped the angry mob, Robyn spots Past!Regina’s car driving by. Speculating that Regina would believe their story if they told her Henry was in trouble, they approach the car. Only to find that the car was being borrowed by Past!Zelena, who was in the process of driving a much younger Robyn to daycare. Past!Zelena explains that Regina was out of town, as she and Emma had taken Henry on a post-graduation trip. (So, Henry didn’t immediately leave on his soul-searching quest after he graduated?) Not deterred by this, Robyn proceeds to try and convince Past!Zelena that she’s an older version of the five-year-old sitting in the car, using her knowledge of her mother’s quirks to back up her claim. This seems to convince Past!Zelena, as she digs out the old magic bean she had stored away for a rainy day.

Incidentally, isn’t brining Past!Zelena into this going to create a significant timeline issue down the road? Because this means the Zelena we’ve seen throughout the season already knew that all of this was going to happen. Unless she drinks a forgetting potion like the way Past!Rumpelstiltskin did during the CS movie.

Back in the Wish World, Henry Prime, Rumpelstiltskin Prime and Wish Killian have found themselves within the Snowglobe prison, where Henry Prime is reunited with Parallel Ella and Lucy. As the three try to figure out how to stay warm, Rumpelstiltskin Prime admits that when Wish Henry used the Author’s pen to strip Alice of her mantle of Guardian, it somehow ended up taking away Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s powers as well. Not sure how that worked, but at this point, there’s no point in questioning it. Either way, it means that Rumpelstiltskin Prime is just as susceptible to the cold as the rest of them, and has no way of freeing them from their snowy prison. Wish Killian, however, refuses to give up and insists on continuing to try and find a way to break out of the Snow Globe by testing different areas of the glass siding periodically for weak points.

It’s here that Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime have a moment of some sort. Rumpelstiltskin Prime basically admits he’s always secretly admired his former advisory’s unwavering determination and good heart, stating that that’s why he kept Wish Killian as his partner in the Hyperion Heights police force even after waking up. He even states that he feels that Wish Killian was the closest thing he ever had to a friend. Which is kinda nice, if not for the fact that he tried to kill Killian Prime and the people he cared about on more than one occasion. Then again, maybe the only reason why this scene is even believable is because this isn’t Killian Prime. It’s rather convenient that they can use that detail to brush over everything that went down between S4-6.

At that moment, out of nowhere, Maui’s fishhook appears in front of them. When Wish Killian uses it to free them all from the Snowglobe, it’s revealed that Alice and Robyn were responsible for its appearance. Not sure how they managed to locate Maui’s fishhook, because I seem to remember Gothel confiscated that particular item. So how were they able to find where she stashed the thing? It’s also shown that Past!Zelena ended up tagging along when they portal jumped to Wish World. However, there’s no time to celebrate their escape, as Robyn, Alice and Past!Zelena had found a notice posted on a tree outside, announcing that Wish Henry plans to execute Regina at dawn.

Meanwhile, Regina was being confronted by Wish Henry, who makes it very clear that he intends to make sure she pays for murdering Wish Snowing. Regina tries to explain that it was all a mistake and that she didn’t mean to kill them, which is rather stupid. What, she just accidentally crushed their hearts? Even if she hadn’t figured out at the time that Wish Snowing were real people (which was extremely moronic to begin with), she still knew exactly what she was doing. Just saying, Regina. Instead of trying to make excuses, maybe you should try and own up to what you did and apologize to Wish Henry.

Regardless, Regina goes on to try and beseech Wish Henry to look inside himself and find the brave and kind person she knows him to be. She even states that, in another version of reality, she is Henry’s adoptive mother. And because of that, she doesn’t want to see anything happen to Wish Henry. As one would expect, Wish Henry isn’t swayed by Regina’s words and announces that she will die in the morning for what she’s done.

Later on, Regina is, I guess, having some sort of dream sequence where she’s visited by the spirit of Robin. In the dream, Spirit Robin gives Regina a bit of a pep talk, stating that perhaps she can find a way to convince Wish Henry that no one’s path is set and that he can let go of his desire for vengeance. The topic then turns to the sorrow that their lives together was so short. Now for the record, I was overall okay with Outlaw Queen. At least when Robin wasn’t being reduced to Regina’s glorified arm candy. But this scene seemed to come out of nowhere. I might have forgotten, but I don’t think Regina mentioned Robin once during this whole season. Not even when she was starting to get into that whole quasi-relationship with Facilier. Not that Regina seemed all that upset upon learning that Facilier died, of course. (How did those two even meet again? They never explained.) Personally, I think it would have made more sense for Robin’s spirit to come to Robyn. After all, we’d already seen her discussing how much she wished she’d gotten to know her namesake in 7x14. So why couldn’t Spirit Robin drop in to say hello to the daughter he never got the chance to know? It’s a bit annoying how Robin is once again being reduced to being nothing more than Regina’s love interest. Not to mention I’m kinda miffed how we never got to see Roland again. Why can’t Robyn get the chance to meet her half-brother?

Anyway, Henry and the rest of the New Nevengers come up with a plan to rescue Regina from Wish Henry’s dungeons. The plan involves Wish Killian and Robyn creating a diversion so Henry can sneak in and free Regina. During this scene, we get a rather endearing interaction between Wish Killian and Robyn. It seems that the curse on Wish Killian’s heart is getting worse, leading him to think that his time is almost up. So he asks Robyn to look after Alice for him after he dies. This leads to Robyn admitting that she’s planning on marrying Alice when the time is right, and she asks for Wish Killian’s blessing to propose, with Wish Killian gladly granting it. In gratitude, Robyn informs Wish Kilian that she refuses to accept that he’ll die, stating that no matter what, he’s going to be around to walk Alice down the aisle. With that said, Wish Killian and Robyn initiate the distraction, with Wish Killian charging at Wish Henry’s soldiers with his sword drawn and Robyn firing off a few arrows.

Down in the dungeons, Henry manages to locate Regina’s cell, but before he can get her out, they’re discovered by more of Wish Henry’s guards. For a few tense moments, it looks as if Henry is in a real pickle. But then, out of nowhere, Snow and Charming appear. I guess they were told about Robyn and Alice’s brief appearance in Storybrooke and, unlike Granny and the Dwarfs, weren’t so quick to dismiss their claims. And as such, have come to provide some backup. Although, this brings up another issue. Because Snow and Charming now know that Henry and company will eventually wind up here after Young Henry leaves on his soul-searching quest. If that’s the case, how come Emma, Killian Prime, Regina and Zelena were caught unawares by all the stuff that went down throughout the season? Just saying, Snow doesn’t have the best track record in keeping her mouth shut.

Time Travel Paradoxes aside, Snow and Charming convene with the New Nevengers in the Wish World equivalent of their old war room, where they discuss the matter of how to defeat Wish Rumpelstiltskin and figure out how to free Wish Henry from his grip. It’s here that Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s ultimate plan is revealed. Basically, he’s taking advantage of the fact that Wish Henry also holds the position of the Author. Apparently, if the Author’s heart is filled with enough anger and malice, it can trigger some kind of spell that can trap people within their own personal Prison Book. Once inside the Prison Book, the captured person is doomed to an eternity of isolation. And Wish Rumpelstiltskin has a Prison Book for everyone. (I wonder. Were A&E making an intentional reference to the Myst game series here, or is this just a coincidence?) There’s also a scene when Wish Rumpelstiltskin tests out this Prison Book spell on Wish Blue Fairy. Because, yeah, Rumpelstiltskin is racist against fairies no matter which version it is. Once Snowing and the New Nevengers learn of this plan, they set off to find a way to stop him. Snowing decide to go off and try and inspire the people of the surrounding villages to not lose hope. Not sure what that would accomplish, to be honest. Maybe they felt that, if the New Nevengers couldn’t find a way to prevent everyone from getting trapped, then the trapped people would still have hope that they could escape and therefore not give into despair. Either way, I can’t help but think this might have resulted in a lot of confused villagers. After all, in Wish World, Snow and Charming were not only dead, but had also been considerably older. Wouldn’t seeing a younger version of the dead monarchs lead to a lot of confusion?

Regardless, Wish Killian, Henry, Alice and Robyn head off to try and find Rumpelstiltskin Prime, who has been off doing his own thing (which involved him revisiting his memories of Belle via dreamcatcher and being morose over the fact that he probably won’t be able to rejoin her in the afterlife now that the Guardian no longer exists). And Regina goes off to face Wish Henry, in the hopes that she can convince him to let go of his anger so the Prison Book spell couldn’t be cast. Can’t remember where Parallel Ella, Lucy and Past!Zelena went during this whole thing. They just kinda disappeared from the episode at this point. Maybe they went with Snow and Charming? Who knows?

When they locate Rumpelstiltskin Prime, he reveals that he’s discovered Wish Rumpelstiltskin has managed to squirrel away a bit of backup magic in case he ever found himself of need of it. Rumpelstiltskin Prime decides to utilize that bit of magic in order to rip out Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s heart. If he can do that, then it will all be over. (Wasn’t that what they tried to do with Evil Queenie Poo when Regina drank the Jekyll Juice? Look how well that one went over.) However, it doesn’t matter, because Wish Rumpelstiltskin makes his appearance known at that point and proceeds to gloat that he’s already succeeded in corrupting Wish Henry’s heart. To prove his statement, he conjures up the Prison Books for Henry, Wish Killian, Robyn and Alice. And because Wish Henry is, at that very moment, engaged in a duel with Regina, the Prison Book spell begins to activate, with the five of them getting sucked towards their individual Prison Books.

This scene gets rather nail biting, as Henry, Robyn, Alice, Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime are all trying to hold on to a nearby long table for dear life, but it’s clear that they won’t be able to hold on forever. This is driven home when Alice starts to lose her grip, much to Robyn and Wish Killian’s horror. In desperation, Wish Killian, disregarding his cursed heart, maneuvers himself close enough to Alice to grab hold of her just as her grip on the long table fails.

However, in the nick of time, Regina manages to get through to Wish Henry, stating that he isn’t alone that his life means everything to her, etc. etc. This apparently works, as Wish Henry relents, allowing Regina to embrace him. To be honest, this seemed a bit anticlimactic, but I guess Wish Henry was already starting to second guess himself, since he’d realized Regina willingly approached him despite knowing that he probably wouldn’t have listened to what she had to tell him. But the moment he gives up on getting revenge on Regina, the Prison Book spell stops.

Unfortunately, it seems like it’s too late for Wish Killian, as the effort involved in keeping Alice from getting sucked up into her Prison Book resulted in his cursed heart completely giving out. As a devastated Alice cradles his body in her arms, Rumpelstiltskin Prime has a final confrontation with Wish Rumpelstiltskin. They pretty much go back and forth for a bit over which version of them is the strong one, with Wish Rumpelstiltskin stating that Rumpelstiltskin Prime has become a pathetic shell of his former self and Rumpelstiltskin Prime stating that he’s actually evolved into the strongest form of himself. Eventually, Rumpelstiltskin Prime reveals he’s finally learned the moral of the story- that doing good doesn’t count if you’re only doing it for the reward. You have to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing. With those words, he uses the magic he got from Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s backup stock to rip out his own heart so he can place it within Wish Killian’s body. This ends up killing not just Rumpelstiltskin Prime but Wish Rumpelstiltskin as well. Okay, that’s great and all. But I’m still scratching my head over how Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s life was somehow tethered to Rumpelstiltskin Prime. It’s not as if they were connected through Jekyll Juice the way Regina and Evil Queenie Poo were in S6. Just saying, it’s not as if Wish Killian would die if Killian Prime died.

Also, how would this magical transplant thing help bring Wish Killian back to life? It didn’t exactly help Victor Frankenstein’s brother. Or Daniel. The only known case of this working was with Snow and Charming, when they performed the heart spilt. And it was pretty much stated that this only worked because Snow and Charming were True Love. So how exactly would Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s heart bring Wish Killian back to life?

Regardless of how it doesn’t make a lot of sense, it still works. Not that I’m complaining, of course. Especially since it means that Wish Killian is no longer affected by the Curse of the Poisoned Heart, which enables him to properly hug Alice at last. And because Rumpelstiltskin Prime died doing the right thing for the right reasons, and without caring about the reward, he ends up being granted a reprieve. Which allows him to reunite with Belle in the afterlife. Those of you who know me know that I’ve been more or less opposed to Rumbelle since the start of S4. But to be honest, I guess I can live with this. After all, it really seems as if Rumpelstiltskin FINALLY learned his lesson this time and realized that good deeds don’t count if you’re only doing them to earn brownie points. That’s kinda on par with Christian teachings. Even someone who repents of their sins at the last minute is granted forgiveness. The ONLY thing that bothers me about how this turned out is the fact that we’re told Rumpelstiltskin’s happy ending doesn’t in any way include his LIVING SON! What’s poor Gideon supposed to do now? He’s completely alone in the world now.

Also, I noticed something during this episode. Wish Henry seems to have a scar above his eyebrow. And in that scene when Young Henry was fighting the dragon at the start of the last episode, he ended up getting a nasty cut in the same place. Does that mean that was actually supposed to be Wish Henry in the opening scene of last episode? If so, why was Wish Rumpelstiltskin saying he came all the way from the Wish Realm? Wouldn’t the fact that we were looking at Wish Henry mean we were IN Wish World? I’m so confused.

And now, we’ve come to the aftermath. An undetermined amount of time later, Henry Prime and Wish Henry both approach Regina, who has been off on her own reflecting on everything that has happened. It’s here that Regina reveals she’s got an idea. She’s found the Wish World version of the scroll she’d used to cast the original Dark Curse (because Wish Regina never got the chance to utilize it.) She states she plans on using it, but with some drastic alterations. Instead of crushing the heart of the thing she loves the most, she plans to combine the love of all the people she cares about to turn the Dark Curse into something else. Basically, instead of bringing people into the Land Without Magic and separating everyone, this new twist on the Dark Curse will essentially merge all of the magical realms together. In other words, all the different realms in the entire multiverse will be joined together into one gigantic realm tucked away inside a pocket dimension located in a secluded corner of Maine.

Okay, to be perfectly honest, I’m still unsure how I feel about this. I mean, at face value, I can see how that might be cool. As Regina points out, it would mean that nobody would be separated from one another by dimensional barriers anymore. And you wouldn’t have to worry about locating a magic bean anymore to realm jump. (Though I suppose that’s going to put Anton out of a job.) Not to mention the obvious pros. This would mean that Emma would now be able to visit her friend, Elsa, at any time. And it’ll be that much easier for Ruby to swing by with Dorothy to see Granny and her BFF, Snow, during certain weekends.

But there are some pretty significant problems that I don’t think they bothered to address before they came up with this idea:

1) What if the people who lived in the different realms didn’t want to be directly linked to Storybrooke? Granted I got the impression during, that whole flyby of the newly established United Realms, it still looks like each realm is still granted their own designated area. They’re not made an actual part of Storybrooke. I guess it could be compared to the United States, in a way. Texas and California are technically part of the same county, but they’re still able to be treated as separate from one another. But even so, it’s rather presumptuous of Regina to make the decision to combine all the realms together without bothering to see how the people in all the different realms felt about it. Considering the way Grumpy and the others greeted Alice and Robyn when they first arrived in Storybrooke, I can see the people in the other realms wanting as much distance between them and that town as possible.

2) Wouldn’t this introduce a lot of new dangers to Storybrooke and the other realms? If you’re going to connect all the realms together, you’re kinda making it easier for ogres, the Jabberwocky, and people like Blackbeard to have limitless access to areas they didn’t have before. Not to mention the fact that there might be certain diseases that could now spread rampant, leading to possible epidemics. Just saying, think of how many Native Americans died from things like smallpox when the Europeans brought the disease over with them. In much the same way, there might be a particular illness that the people of Oz have developed a natural immunity to while denizens of Wonderland might have never been exposed to it before.

3) The fact that Wish World is being included in this whole plan is going to potentially lead to a lot of confusion. Because there’s now going to be two versions of practiclly everybody. We’re talking two Grannys, two Augusts, two sets of Dwarfs etc. The only people in Storybrooke who won’t have a doppelganger are Snowing and Geppetto, since Wish Snowing and Wish Geppetto are dead. And of course Emma, because I think we’re now supposed to conclude Wish World and its entire history was created around Emma. On the other hand, there’s probably going to be THREE Reginas running around- Regina Prime, Evil Queenie Poo (who had settled into Enchanted Forest Prime with Wish Robin) and the now elderly Wish Regina. I’m sorry, but do we really need that many Reginas? To quote Killian Prime from 3x05: ‘I can barely stomach one.’

4) The obvious time paradox going on right now. If this whole ordeal in Hyperion Heights and Wish World have been taken place in the past, around the time when Young Henry left home in 7x01, then wouldn’t this mess around with the timeline? So, you’re telling me that Henry Prime was off adventuring in Parallel Enchanted Forest at the same time that Post-Adventure Regina was merging all the realms together? If that was the case, shouldn’t Pre-Adventure Regina have already known everything was going to happen? Not to mention that this probably means Robyn has to share legroom with her five-year-old self. Show, you’re not Doctor Who! You don’t get to throw this Wibbly-Wobbly-Timey-Wimey crap at me!

Regardless, this plan of Regina is put into effect. And in the big fly-by over the new United Realms, we see quite a few cameos. While I’m sure I’m missing some, I believe I spotted the Nautilus, Tinkerbell, the Queen’s Castle from the Enchanted Forest, Camelot (I think), Oz, Arendelle, the Beanstalk, Agrabah, and the Land of Untold Stories. We also catch a glimpse of a dragon. According to an off-camera conversation between Regina and Zelena, the dragon we see is Lily. Indecently, we FINALLY get acknowledgement that Lily tracked down her Dragon Daddy. Turns out that the mystery father was Zorro. Because apparently Zorro can turn into a dragon in this universe. Interesting choice.

But that brings us to the final epilogue. Zelena is bringing Regina to Snow and Charming’s castle in the Enchanted Forest Prime sector. (Wonder where Chad was during this scene. Didn’t Zelena end up marrying him?) It’s revealed that they plan on crowning Regina as the supreme ruler of the United Realms. Ugh, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, because as I’ve said before, I’ve mostly been okay with Regina throughout this season. But why should she get to be the Supreme Ruler? Why does there even need to be a Supreme Ruler in the first place? You can’t tell me all the other royals were okay with this. People like Tiana & Naveen, Elsa, Jasmine, Rapunzel Prime, Guinevere, Merida, Thomas & Ella Prime, Abigail & Fredrick, and Anastasia and Will from Wonderland Prime. Are they all supposed to defer to Regina now? You can’t seriously tell me that they all were okay with that. But that’s what Snow is claiming, so whatever. Which reminds me- we get a brief appearance of Little Neal during this scene. He’s actually stopped being a baby. It looks like he’s now….maybe five or six? I’m not really good at guessing the ages of little kids simply by sight. But the point is that he’s actually not stuck as a baby anymore. So kudos to him.

And so Regina gets crowned as Supreme Ruler of the United Realms. Although, there is a much welcome interruption to the proceedings. Namely Emma and Killian Prime, who come bursting in after arriving late. (With Emma announcing that she’s sorry that she’s late, which was obviously meant to be a callback to how Regina crashed Snow and Charming’s wedding in the Pilot.) The explanation is that their newborn daughter was being fussy and that’s what had delayed them. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still such a joy to see Emma again, looking as gorgeous as ever. She even was wearing her trademark red leather jacket over the pretty pink dress she wore for the occasion. And Killian Prime (who apparently still has his pirate regalia) really did look like a slightly disheveled first-time father. Even though there were moments when the baby he was carrying was so obviously a doll. Also, I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to hear Emma actually refer to Killian Prime as Henry’s stepfather. Yeah, I realize that’s what he was all along, but to just hear it verbalized was wonderful. And yes, we learn the CS baby was named Hope. While it’s not the name I would have picked, since I think that’s a bit too flowery, I guess it makes sense. Especially considering the lives Emma and Killian Prime led before they found each other, and how their love story unfolded.

Once the excitement of Emma, Killian Prime and Baby Hope’s arrival has died down, the coronation of Supreme Ruler Regina continues. Again, why was Regina picked for this role? Wouldn’t Emma have been the better choice? Not only was she the one who originally brought everyone together through her role as the Savior, but she was also the one who was robbed of her royal birthright. Wouldn’t it have been more satisfying to see Emma finally being recognized as the ruler she was always meant to be? Look, I get that Regina was the one who came up with this whole idea of the United Realms and all. But as much as select Regina fans would like to think otherwise, Regina wasn’t the main character. Emma was. So why is the final episode so focused on Regina? For crying out loud, she wasn’t even the focus of this final season. This season was supposed to be predominantly about Henry, and he barely did anything in this series finale. But I guess it’s pointless to harp on it, as it’s already said and done. At least the ending montage was beautifully done. Yeah, during Supreme Ruler Regina’s coronation speech, in which she talks about how there are sure to be many more adventures, we get an amazing montage sequence that exhibits various moments from the show’s entire run. I won’t deny that I LOVED that moment. It was so nice to be able to look back on how far this show has come. At the same time, this montage really drove home that this was it. This was the final episode of Once Upon a Time. And if that wasn’t enough, the episode even ends with one final glimpse of Storybrooke, including the Yellow Bug (which is thankfully not encased in stone along with Stone Troll), ending with a shot of the green road sign that reads ‘Leaving Storybrooke.’

And that’s it, folks. Our show has come to an end. While I knew this day would come eventually, and I’m glad it came when it did, it still feels surreal. We’re never going to see our favorite characters again. This will be the last time we see them grace our TV screens. Sure, we still have the novelizations, which I will probably read at some point. And I believe Jen and Colin said they would not be opposed to making a Captain Swan movie at some point. But even if that movie never gets greenlighted, I think it’s safe to say that this is a show that will live on in my heart, in spite of the issues that sprung up throughout the years. And I will always be grateful to the show’s seven years, and the friends I made within the fandom.

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wolfstar-af · 7 years

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Beyond

”Fuck fuck fuck, Sirius, fuck,” Remus whispered at the sight of Sirius’ blood oozing from several wounds in his body. Before the apparition there had only been one big cut in his side but it had become so much worse.

They had been out fighting death eaters for the order just the two of them. Fresh out of Hogwarts the marauders joined the order of the phoenix to help Dumbledore in the Wizarding War. This particular mission Remus and Sirius were sent to the outskirts of Hogsmeade where some residents had claimed that they’d seen death eaters.

Naturally the two were sent together as they always were. Everyone knew that they fought best side by side and that they had never come back from a mission with any huge injuries. Since it was a war they were fighting that was a rarity and thus almost seen as a miracle. In truth it was only because the two cared so much for each other that they would not, under any circumstances, let anything happen to the other.

Remus had apparated them to the temporary headquarters of the order as soon as he saw that Sirius had been hurt and Sirius was forever grateful for that. If Remus hadn’t thought as quickly, both of them would most likely already have been dead.

A whimper escaped Sirius mouth from the excruciating pain he was in and Remus hastily put his wand to Sirius side where the blood flow was the worst to try to stop it. As Remus grew more and more frustrated Sirius realized that they most likely needed to get professional help but seeing as the blood flowed out of him with no sign of stopping help wouldn’t come in time. He looked up at Remus as he called for help and their eyes met when Remus was sure someone was on their way.

“It’s not that bad Moony,” Sirius lied, “you’ve been through worse haven’t you?” Remus shook his head and ripped a part of his shirt to put pressure on the worst of the gaping wounds.

“You’re not a werewolf Padfoot,” The use of his nickname instead of his real name in a situation like this said almost too much and Sirius had to close his eyes.

“Moony what are you saying? Are you suggesting that only werewolves can take a punch?” Sirius knew the harm on his body was deadly and he knew Remus could do nothing to help. He also knew Remus well enough that hearing his attempt to make it seem like less big of a deal made it so much worse.

He knew he would most likely be dead in a couple of minutes.

“Remus-“ but he got interrupted.

“Don’t,” his voice was full of emotion. “Please don’t. I’m not going to lose you.”

Sirius opened his eyes and mustered up what energy he had left to move one of his arms enough to grasp Remus’ bicep. The action made him clench his teeth and almost scrunch his eyes closed again, but if this was his last moment he was going to make them count.

“Moony, if I don’t pull through this-“

“You will.”

“But if I don’t- Hear me out Remus!” Wanting to say these potentially last words he tightened his grip on Remus’ bicep as much as he could, though it was not enough to make Remus react in any way then to become silent. “If I don’t you have to tell them, Prongs, Wormtail, Lils,” With each word he seemed to become more drained of energy. “Tell them that they have to keep fighting for as long as it takes, if not for themselves but for the little creature inside of Lily. Make sure the world becomes a better place for the child.”

Heavy tears from Remus’ eyes fell down upon Sirius bloody chest. He never stopped trying to seize the bleeding in his side even though he knew it was useless.

“Moony, my Moons,” a chuckle, wet from tears and drained from energy, left Sirius’ lips. “My Moony, you must keep fighting. Keep fighting even if it seems futile, even if I’m not by your side.”

He took a ragged breath as he realized that he was seconds from passing out. The energy had faded so much that his semi-firm grip on Remus’ arms had become so loose that the only reason his hand still held the contact was because of his sweaty palm.

“You Remus, you are the one, the one that I-“ He was cut of by his own struggled breathing and he had to fight the unconsciousness to be able to utter the last words, “the one that I love more than anything.”

When Sirius woke again all the pain was gone and he was lying in a bed softer than anything he’d experienced in a long time. For a little while he relished in the safe feeling before he remembered how worried Remus must be and how happy he would become when he realized that he was awake. Sirius then opened his eyes and hoped someone was in the room so they’d notice he was back.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a familiar crack in the ceiling. It immediately reminded him of his and James’ room at the Potter’s house but that made no sense. Why would they have moved him there? That was no safe place at all. Assuming they had a good reason moving him there he lifted the sheets from his body, bracing himself to look at the scars— that weren’t there.

That was weird. There were spells for healing but Sirius had never heard of any spells removing scars. Still confounded he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to put his feet on the floor being extremely conscious of the pain that should have spread through his body at the small impact. Pain never reached him making him both relieved and confused. He chose to ignore the feelings to go look for Remus, to tell him that he was okay.

Looking around the room he woke up in Sirius could confirm that it actually was his and James’ old room. Everything looked exactly the same as it did the summer to their seventh year when they had last been there. The deep auburn walls, the gold embroidered curtains, the carpet with a big lion emblem, all reminded Sirius of the summers spent there and 11 year old James’ immense Gryffindor pride. At the foot of the bed he woke up in he found a trunk similar to the one he used to take to Hogwarts. Maybe even a bit too similar. While looking closer at it he saw that it indeed was his trunk, the trunk that currently shouldn’t exist as it had been destroyed. Yet again dismissing the strangeness he continued his quest to find Moony.

Though he did not come very far as when he opened the door – expecting the hallway in the Potter’s house that always had been there – he was welcomed into the dark hallway of Grimmauld Place instead. An immensely bad feeling filled Sirius as he cautiously entered the room. Why would his and James’ room lead into this god forsaken house?

Something wasn’t right.

Slowly stepping through the door into the gruesome room his heart froze from remembering this hallway, from remembering how he used to run as fast as he could across the dark green carpet to escape Walburga’s madness, and from remembering how he never was able to achieve freedom. Knowing that there even was a small possibility that Walburga or Orion would be in the house made Sirius breaths shallow and his body almost numb. He wasn’t worried, or scared. He was terrified. To think that after all the effort to get away from his family he would be reunited with them only minutes after he woke up from his biggest near death experience yet.

Though when he finally managed to go further into the house to the kitchen he never saw any trace of his family. It was as if none of them had been there in a very long time.

The kitchen was exactly as he remembered it; dark colours, spotless and looking as if no one had ever used it before. That was the perk of living with the Black’s; you never had to worry about anything being untidy. Something Sirius incidentally detested.

One thing different about the kitchen was that it looked as if there was a bright light behind the door leading to the dining room, illuminating the whole thing. Curious, since that much light had never visited such a dark and ominous place before, Sirius inched closer to the door, all thoughts of finding Remus –or anyone else for that matter– gone. The closer he got to the door the more he wanted to know what was behind it.

When he finally reached it his hand hesitated on the doorknob. What was really going on here? He had woken up at the Potter’s house and then opened a door that led him straight to Grimmauld Place. Nothing of this made any sense. Curiosity took over eventually and he opened the door with care.

What he saw made him even more confused; he was back at the Potter’s house, back in his and James’ old room although this time instead of the room being decorated in Gryffindor colours it was completely white. Looking around he saw that everything was the same just… white. More bewildered than ever he looked around in the room. He then heard a voice he didn’t think he’d ever hear again. A voice he didn’t think he wanted to ever hear again. Sirius turned around to confirm that it was true.

“Reg? But how…?” he began saying, almost sounding mad but not really. He couldn’t be mad at his brother, not now. Not when he knew that he was gone forever.

“But, you’re- you’re de-“ It was as if everything hit him at once.

Waking up at the Potter’s, going through Grimmauld Place, and coming to the Potter’s once more, he now understood. Sympathy shone brightly in Regulus’ face as Sirius realised what was happening, what had already happened and in an instant Sirius hated it, hated his brother for being here, hated what this all meant.

He closed his eyes and wished for a second chance, wished for this all to just be some delusional dream infused by healing potions or some horrible spell cast by some death eater.

Though when he opened his eyes again everything was still the same, and he was scared.

#wolfstar #sirius #sirius black #maruaders #marauders era #regulus #regulus black #remus #remus lupin #padfoot #moony

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harryandmeghan0-blog · 5 years

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Rowling does gays more harm than good - Royal Gazette

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/rowling-does-gays-more-harm-than-good-royal-gazette/

Rowling does gays more harm than good - Royal Gazette

J.K. Rowling never had to fight for her freedom to marry and it shows.

Seemingly unsatisfied with the shock value of making the characters in her Harry Potter franchise racially ambiguous, she has decided to double-down on her 2007 declaration that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, a beloved elderly male character, is gay. Last week, in an interview added to the Blu-ray DVD for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Rowling confirmed something fans have long wondered: Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard who is a friend-cum-rival, had “a relationship with a sexual dimension”.

I have never cast a spell before, so here goes nothing: tedious gravitas!

In the DVD commentary, Rowling says: “Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship. But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows, really, what the other person is feeling. You can’t know, you can believe you know. So I’m less interested in the sexual side — although I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship — than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.”

Viewers and readers especially cannot know feelings between two characters when neither uses words or actions to express them. There’s a word for that: closeted. By imbuing Dumbledore with a sexuality that does not speak its name, ink its page, or fill its screen in 2019, Rowling outs herself again as a 1990s throwback of a grandstanding faux-ally. “Do not pity the dead, Harry,” Dumbledore tells Harry in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”

Pity characters penned in fictional, unnecessary closets even more.

Rowling published the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in Britain in 1997. She wrote six more Harry Potter books before she outed Dumbledore, which she did only after the final novel was published. Just like this time, that revelation came not in the text, but in a 2007 question-and-answer session with fans, who broke into rapturous applause. She described Dumbledore not just as a gay man, but as broken, pathetic, unrequited, lonely, doomed. In those intervening years — when 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in an anti-gay hate crime, when same-sex marriage was illegal in most US states and in Britain — the children reading her books could have used a beloved gay character, which might have given gay life some sorely needed heroes. Rowling has said she wrote some aspects of the novels, such as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley’s relationship, as “a form of wish fulfilment”.

An openly gay Dumbledore was not her wish.

What if she had heeded Dumbledore’s own wisdom? “It’s our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities,” the Hogwarts headmaster tells the boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

Here’s a sharper take from WNYC’s Nancy, a queer podcast, which, in a 2017 episode called “There Are No Gay Wizards”, took issue with Rowling getting too much credit for writing an “iconic gay character”, as the show’s producer Matt Collette put it. “Of all J.K. Rowling’s many accolades, there’s one I find particularly noteworthy: queerbaiter,” Collette said. “That’s a writer who puts in just enough of a queer storyline to appease the fans who’d like one, but not so much as to offend anyone who doesn’t like gay people. There’s subtext — hints at queer stories — throughout her work, but nothing more.”

How could this clumsy betrayal by a clueless straight woman get any worse? By her straight male director, David Yates, chiming in within the same DVD commentary: “I was very conscious of wanting to try to suggest that Dumbledore still held this affection for Grindelwald. There was not just regret, but there was still a love that existed between the two men.”

The love existed between them because neither offered a bridge to close that distance.

And, sorry, Yates was very conscious of wanting to try to suggest? What does that mean? Wanting to try is for bucket lists and Kamasutra positions. There’s such barbed hypocrisy in this self-congratulatory pride about a closeted character from someone who was so aware of the power and perils of representation and misrepresentation that she hid her femininity behind her initials.

Cowardice expellum!

I understand Rowling is a 53-year-old children’s book author and that maybe it is difficult to access Gossip Girl or Riverdale or Big Mouth in Britain, but teen romantic culture — and sexual culture — has come a long way since she began this franchise in the 1990s. It doesn’t need to be the rote, prudish Potterverse pettiness of ill-conceived Valentine’s Day dates, rookie kisses, and showing up to the school dance with a surprise on your arm. Remember when Rowling prided herself on the length of the books, scolding the industry for underestimating the amount of complexity young readers could handle? What happened to that person?

For her characters, romantic and sexual emotion exists in Rowling’s mind with the no-questions-asked simplicity of invisibility cloaks and the quidditch rulebook. Harry never ever thinks of Cho Chang when he is kissing Ginny. Ron and Hermione do not have talks about how to spice up their sex life — pardon, their lovemaking. She has fetishised Dumbledore’s gay pain so much that she is unwilling to write any healing for him. But Dumbledore deserves that Brokeback breakthrough every out person gets: “It could be like this, just like this, always.”

Rowling does not understand how painful it is for queer people to see a straight person be proud of open vagueness. In the real world, we don’t get to do that. All queer sexual identities are defined explicitly by their expression. While straight virgins are accepted and respected, queer virgins are rushed with gaslighting doubts, such as: How do you know until you try it? Are you confused? Could this be a phase?

The books and movies span seven years of Potter’s life and decades of ours. But no one has lived in the Potterverse longer or deeper than Rowling. Her persistence, then, in promoting a storyline that isn’t actually in the story is becoming unforgivable. Closeted Dumbledore is her Jar-Jar Binks, and she is curdling into the Potterverse’s George Lucas — well-intentioned and respected as tenured emeritus, but ultimately distrusted to continue the canonical work.

If Rowling thinks, in a fantasy world of magic and possibility and polyjuice potion and metamorphmagi, that easter-egging a character as ex-post-facto closeted is in any way helpful to anyone wondering what to do with gay thoughts and gay feelings, she is wrong.

Dumbledore’s pep talk on love rings as hollow as gays who strike thirsty NOH8 poses and cheer #lovewins but then also decry fats, femmes and “black guys” on their dating profiles or hook-up apps.

Rowling’s toxic vacuity is not an incidental problem. Her fans are the sort of people who have been so inspired that they have created the Harry Potter Alliance, which “turns fans into heroes” for equality. It’s a beautiful manifestation of fans who grew up and decided to bring the magic of literacy to others. It’s time for Rowling to grow up, too.

As an artist and creator, she has the ability to show us anything. Then, why choose to show us so little of what she has imagined for Dumbledore? In all these years, in all her work, she does not yet believe in the full power of the only real magic wand that exists in her world: her pencil.

•Richard Morgan, a freelance writer in New York, is the author of Born in Bedlam, a memoir

Source: http://www.royalgazette.com/opinion/article/20190319/rowling-does-gays-more-harm-than-good&template=mobileart

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