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#secrets he keeps from his witches: 1 reason why he makes sure his witches n warlocks get the brunt of the worst treatment bc he is punishing
atinylittlepain · 1 year
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Of Saints and Sinners - Chapter 2
Joel Miller x f!reader/f!oc
read chapter 1 here
warnings | 18+ angst, canon-typical violence
a/n | A shorter chapter. Still very much in the exposition but we learn a little more about our girl!
“I’m like Ellie.”
Those are the words that keep replaying in Joel’s mind. Her words. That, and the image of her mottled back, the grave scars and the swirling black ink on top of them. They've made it back to town, only after promising she'd talk to him later that night, so long as he kept her secret. He had asked her who else knew and she had told him only Tommy and Maria and the men you came to Jackson with. Suddenly she wasn't so cold, practically begging him not to tell anyone. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she had been on the verge of tears.
He’s supposed to go to her house tonight, to get some more answers. He feels like his head is spinning because suddenly, there’s another person like Ellie. Someone else immune. He understands why she wants this kept secret. It’s the same reason he feels the pull to protect Ellie. She's valuable, and that makes her dangerous. 
He gets to her house late, already dark out. The curtains are shut but faint light seeps out along the edges. She lives with Alex and Steve, and it’s one of the two who answer the door when he knocks, although Joel can’t be sure which.
“Miller, what can I help you with?” The young man crosses his arms over his chest, making himself a little bigger, a little grimmer. He’s the one that can sometimes coax you down to the bar in town, Joel’s seen him even pull a smile out of you. 
“He’s here to talk with me, Steve, it’s alright.” She comes up behind her companion, squeezing his shoulder. The two of them share a look before Steve steps back, sulking back into the house.
“I didn’t realize he was your bodyguard.” She snorts at that, shrugging her shoulder to invite him in. “He means well.”
“Where’s the other one?” She tells him that Alex is on patrol tonight, letting him follow her down the hall to what he assumes is her room. She closes the door behind him. It’s sparse, a mattress on the floor, an old wicker rocking chair, and a few stacks of clothes. What draws his attention are the stacks of books next to her bed. She must have been picking those up for ages to have so many collected. 
She sits at the end of your bed and motions for him to sit in the chair. “Well, I told you I’d give you answers. So start asking questions.”
“Where’d you get all that ink?”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Joel huffs. He’s not really sure where to start, that’s just the first thing that came out.
She pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezed shut. “Alex, he was an artist before – well, before. When I met him he had a gun made out of an old sewing machine motor, making his own ink out of ash and witch hazel. I’d let him practice on me. Figured anything would be better than what was already there.”
Quiet descends again. Joel wracks his brain, trying to find some thread of sanity, what to ask her next.
“That doesn’t sound real safe,” she fully laughs at that, pressing her palms into her thighs to stand up. “Look, if you just came to ask me questions about my tattoos, this conversation can be over right now and I can be out of here by tomorrow morning and no one has to know anything.”
“Listen, I’m trying to figure this all out too. I’m still having a hard time believing what I saw, what you told me. But I don’t see why you’re getting ready to fly the fucking coop. You got a good thing going here.”
Joel’s up on his feet and suddenly they're both in each other’s faces.
“Yeah, I do have a good thing going here, and I think you know better than most what a secret like mine can do to a good thing. I’m not gonna be turned into another person’s lab rat, do you understand?” Joel swallows, “another?”
“What?”
“You said you weren’t gonna be turned into another person’s lab rat. Is that what all those bites are from?” Joel doesn’t need an answer, he’s already got it in the way she shrinks back, gaze skittering to the ground. Something in him twinges at that.
“Does Ellie know about you?” She looks up at him again, shaking her head.
“I told you already. Only Alex, Steve, Tommy, and Maria know. And now, unfortunately, you.” She crosses her arms over her chest, letting out a long exhale.
“I wouldn’t tell anyone, you know. I wouldn’t do that to you.” Joel tries to sound genuine, but feels like he ends up coming off like a dope. “For some reason I’m inclined to believe you.” She sits back down on the edge of her bed, Joel leans back against the wall.
“Is that why you go out on those raids?” She looks up at him, questioning. “You’re immune. Feel like you can go out and play hero or somethin’?” She prickles at that, hardening her eyes into a glare.
“Hardly. I just need to get away from all this. It’s good. But it’s not real. Out there? That’s what’s real.” She's looking down at her hands, mumbling out the last of it. It’s quiet for a moment. Joel can understand that. That feeling like everything’s gonna fall out from under you eventually, because it always has, and you have to be ready for that inevitable plummet.
He studies her for a moment. The slope of her nose, her eyelashes falling over the tops of her cheeks. He thinks to himself that she would’ve been pretty, back before. Now, she's something else entirely, something that makes his breath kick in a way he’d be hard pressed to admit.
“You got any other questions?”
“Is Steve your – your man?” That one draws a laugh out of her that makes Joel reel. “You really ask the dumbest shit, you know that?” He hardly hears what she says, too focused on the waft of a smile across her face.
“I don’t have a man, Joel Miller. Just really important friends.” With that, she stands up, tilting her head as if to say are we done here? “So you’re gonna keep my secret?”
He nods, “you don’t have to worry about it, I will.”
She lets out another long sigh, opening her door and walking him back to her porch. As Joel’s walking out, he turns on his heel, “can I ask you one more thing?” She looks at him, expectantly.
“Why does everyone around here call you the saint?” 
“You’re out of questions. Good night, Joel.”
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piedpiperslists · 2 years
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KSJ: College / University AU [J-Z]
List of all Seokjin fics under 'College / University' AU with titles starting with 'J-Z':
* s - contains smut sm - social media format
* Last updated: 03/12/2023
D R A B B L E S
Like You Care by meowachi FWB
Little of Your Love by yoongiphoria med student!Seokjin, med student!reader Summary: Sometimes, you wonder if that entire night was just a dream, a wild figment of your imagination. You wonder if the perfect guy you'd gotten to know that evening exists at all.
Love You a Latte by kitsutaes barista!Seokjin, coffee shop au Summary: Finding the campus prince working as the barista at your local coffeeshop wasn’t just the only surprise you got that day.
Past the Frames by jimlingss Summary: “You’re cute in glasses.”
Pink Bean Fever by jeonqkooks Summary: One lovestruck idiot + one pink bean enthusiast = ramen sliders.
Silent Night by bangtanstanst established relationship Summary: It’s one of those nights where you can’t quite concentrate on the school work you really should be doing and, as an experienced student, you’ll manage to find a way to procrastinate.
Wash ‘n Dry by seokoloqy RA!Seokjin Summary: The one where Seokjin is the cute RA who catches you doing laundry at 1 AM and you both have time to kill.
You’re So Creepy by whatifyoulivelikethat Summary: Seokjin is pretty sure his creepy girl is a witch. He’s totally not into that. Well. Unless…?
You’re So Creepy Part II by whatifyoulivelikethat Summary: Alright, Seokjin, Yoongi’s the only one who knows anything happened (argh). If Seokjin literally runs away from any situation of him being with the creepy girl, then it never happened, right? Wrong.
O N E S H O T S
Just Say Goodnight and Go by vanaera wc~4.2k / neighbors au Summary: The spirit of Christmas is yet to be felt as a blackout on a chilly December night becomes the icing on the cake of your horribly shitty day. You just really want to sleep tonight but your neighbor seems to have lost his mind again when he comes knocking on your door to demand for an uncalled sleepover. Said neighbor is Kim Seokjin, the famed crush of the university, and no, he’s not your friend. He’s most definitely not your crush and he’s absolutely not the reason why warmth invades your chest when it’s not even summer
Kiss Me by minisugakoobies s wc~5.9k / friends to lovers Summary: Somehow all the videos you've taken all year star no one but Kim Seokjin. When did you fall in love with your best friend?
Level Up by donewithjeon wc~30k / friends to lovers
* Meet Me at the Bar by eoieopda s wc~7.5k / friends to lovers, law school au Summary: You're supposed to be staring down the barrel of the last — and most important — examination of your life, but you only have eyes for your study buddy.
My Type by floralseokjin s wc~6.1k / PWP Summary: You take the college nerd’s virginity.
On a Cold Summer Day by threeletterslife wc~7.2k Summary: Maybe deciding to leave California to attend uni in New York was the dumbest decision you’ve ever made. It’s fucking freezing here! You don’t think you can survive without the beach twenty minutes away from your living space. At least you have a native New Yorker Kim Seokjin to help you adjust. Kinda.
Secrets by itskimtaehyung s wc~10.1k / fratboy!Seokjin, secret relationship Summary: Sneaking around and keeping secrets is nothing new to you. When Jin asks you to keep your relationship under wraps because he doesn’t want his frat brothers to make a big deal out of it, you have no problem agreeing. But as time goes on you start to think that maybe he isn’t trying to keep a secret from them, but rather keep a secret from you.
Small Tuna Fish by floralseokjin s wc~17.7k Summary: Kim Seokjin is a really nice guy. (Not to be confused with a ‘Nice Guy’). Too nice for someone like you, you’re sure. Which is why you’ve been attempting to ignore what’s going on between you. He couldn’t possibly be flirting with you. He couldn’t possibly like you. Could he? It the end, it takes one charity car wash event and one – or two, depending on how dirty your mind is – soakings to make things very clear.
Something Stupid by knjsagustd wc~2k / friends to lovers Summary: “I just want to do something stupid!” “I know something stupid you could do.”
The Age of Romance by winetae s wc~13.2k / exes au Summary: Navigating through heartbreak becomes more complicated than expected when you agree to go on a two week long overseas trip with your ex-boyfriend.
Ugly Sweater Weather by army-author wc~4.2k / strangers to lovers, high school au Summary: Kim Seokjin is the most popular boy at your school. You think he’s stuck up and entitled, until you run into him at the clothing store you work at, and find him purchasing an unholy amount of ugly Christmas sweaters…
Very Punny by army-author wc~7.6k Summary: You sign up for a Christmas pen pal project to keep the boredom at bay over the holidays… but your pen pal partner might be a lot closer to you than you think…
Want Some F*ck? by borathae s wc~5.2k / fuckboy!Seokjin, PWP Summary: Seokjin is the college fuckboy. You are angry and annoyed at your ex. When you stumble into a supposed empty bedroom at your friends houseparty and meet Seokjin there, things take their natural path… Alternatively: The college fuckboy offers you TLC to cure your frustration, whatever that may be (spoiler alert some good ol’ fuck)
Wet & Wild by jamaisjoons s wc~10k / friends to lovers, PWP Summary: After a long night of revising for finals, and somehow being caught in the rain, Seokjin decides to warm you up in the best way possible.
You Leave Me Restless (and Breathless) by jinjikook s wc~11k / friends to lovers Summary: Seokjin was a pretty good best friend, that is until he starts sabotaging every date and chance you have with another guy. Though you only find out when he really royally fucks things up for you and everything after that is history.
You Will Feel a Flash of Red by vanaera wc~2.7k Summary: Seokjin colors your life with his outrageous ideas and unnecessarily wild adventures, along with his stupid mission to always scare you whenever you run into each other. Against your better judgment, you’ve already started to entertain foreign feelings in your heart concerning the certain boy. And it doesn’t help you already get scared easily without him adding his shenanigans in the mix. You just want Seokjin to stop…making you feel too much all at once.
T W O S H O T S / S E R I E S
Off Limits by floralseokjin s brother’s best friend au Summary: You’ve been lusting after your brother’s best friend for a while now, ever since you met him at a house party, flirting it up a storm as you failed to realise who the other was. That was months ago now and things are still awkward, but you can’t ignore the sexual tension that’s simmers between the two of you…and it keeps getting worse…
Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine by ktheist s brother's best friend au Summary: You’re a horny bunny yet Kim Seokjin always seems to manage to slide out of your grasps like a fox every time. Follow these two as they embark on a sexual adventure whilst keeping their relationship on the low from Kim Taehyung who may or may not just pull out the (your) best friend and (Seokjin’s) brother card to call a time-off on them for good.
Sugar Free by kimnjss s sm rich boy!Seokjin Summary: Rich, spoiled and a bit of a womanizer. But underneath all of that, there’s a heart of gold. And no matter how determined she is to reject him, he won’t stop trying until she sees he’s kinda sweet.
The Platonic Collection by joheunsaram s friends to lovers, FWB Summary: A collection of one shots and drabbles about two idiot best friends turned fwbs turned lovers
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luminari-mc · 3 years
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My Human, My Sunshine - Part 1
Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort.
Pairing: GN!MC x Mammon
Word count: 5194
Summary: Mammon finds himself lost in the human world. Meanwhile, MC can't get ahold of Solomon, their phone dead silent.
Warnings: N/A
A/N: My first writing piece for Obey Me! It's kind of a long one so I recommend you grab a snack or two during it. While this part is occupied by a good amount of text messages between Mammon and someone else, I'm already thinking of writing a part 2 which will have way more dialogue. In the meantime, please enjoy this little scenario I came up with after listening to a song that set me in an angsty mood. :)
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Wet. Cold. Exhausted. And completely lost.
Mammon felt all of those, and yet, his legs kept on marching into the dead of night, his jacket covering his head despite being too drenched to protect him from the rain anymore. Each time a droplet of water came rolling on his cheek, his wrist would come to brush it off, and Mammon would let out an annoyed groan. If only there were any shops open, but the city was definitely asleep. He was thankful for the crashing sound of the rain on the ground around him, along with the smell of the wet asphalt keeping himself awake, otherwise, he surely would have gone crazy by now. The demon had even lost count of how many hours he had been wandering through the streets, how many mailboxes he had checked, how few passersby he had come across, only to receive negative answers to his questions.
And so Mammon kept on walking, not sure where to go next. But he felt sure of one thing: he wouldn't stop moving until he had found what he was looking for. Be there rain, or no rain. Lost or not.
"Tch, the human world's weather really sucks..."
As he walked on the pavement, his brow furrowed from the lack of new clues as to where his destination was supposed to be. His eyes caught sight of a bakery he had already walked by earlier during the day, its gentle light piercing the darkness that had been accompanying him for far too long now. Mammon's brow furrowed slightly at the sight- he knew he had gone in circles time and time again, but seeing it confirmed once more rubbed him the wrong way. Despite that, he decided to walk towards it, and took shelter under the entrance's porch. Surely the owners wouldn't mind him checking his phone for a few minutes, right? Right.
Pinching between his fingers the precious D.D.D. he had tucked under his shirt to protect it from the rain, Mammon looked at the map again. His stomach dropped for the upteenth time upon seeing the address still showing in his search bar, the letters and numbers taunting him. A knot formed in his throat as he tried his best not to scream at his screen.
"It wasn't there, you idiot..."
His mouth formed into an angry pout. Mammon looked into the list of potential addresses he had made throughout the day, and all had been crossed out. He felt his jaw clench- not only was he left with no addresses, no other clues, no humans to help him, but also that stupid rain surely would keep on falling for the rest of the night.
He was truly cursed.
"What the fuck am I supposed to do now?!" Mammon groaned, his free hand reaching upward to grab at his hair in frustration.
Yes... that was a good question. What was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he could ask help from any of his brothers, or from the angels. It had already been a miracle a witch he knew accepted to snuck him into the human world without anyone knowing, but there was no way he'd get any more help from her without offering his own life in exchange. And contacting Solomon was absolutely out of the question, for his own obvious reasons that he still was suspicious of the guy.
For the longest time in a while, Mammon felt alone. More alone than he had ever been before. He had promised himself to go on this search on his own, stupidly thinking that it'd be over by the end of the day, and look where that got him. Lost in the human world, on the verge of catching some nasty human virus from all this rain that had poured on him, and without anyone by his side.
The grip on his phone tightened, the hand holding it shaking slightly as the anger was starting to consume the demon. Even Mammon's patience had its limits, and he was starting to reach it.
"Dammit, where the hell are ya-"
A pathetic yelp escaped his mouth as he looked in fear at his phone, which had buzzed for a very short second in his palm. Wait, was it a notification? But from who? He had taken all the necessary precautions before leaving, so who was still able to reach his number?
His mind ran through all possibilities as he quickly checked his screen, the name of the sender making him open his eyes wide.
Leviathan: Mammon!!
Leviathan: Where are you???
Leviathan: You promised me you'd play this new game with me after coming home from RAD, don't tell me you forgot?? It's been HOURS.
Leviathan: Also the others say they can't reach your DDD and Lucifer is seriously pissed!
Leviathan: And I know you didn't break your DDD, that wouldn't explain why I can send texts now and the others still can't. Even though mine didn't work before.
Leviathan: But do you know how much time and effort it took me to find a way to bypass a blocked number?? Well guess what, the same amount of hours since you broke your promise!
Leviathan: You're reading this, right? Then send something! Anything!
Mammon backed even more into the porch of the shop, his eyes stuck to the screen of his phone. All of the blood rushing to his head suddenly made him forget he was cold in the first place. Of course Levi would be the first to find a way to contact him.
The demon's chest rose as he breathed in heavily, his hands slowly wrapping around the phone. It took him a hot minute to get ahold of his trembling fingers so as to not make any typos, his mind debating whether responding was a good idea or not, even as he hit the send button.
Mammon: Sorry Levi, gonna have to postpone the gaming session.
Mammon: I got business elsewhere and I'm not sure when I'll come back home, if ever.
Leviathan: Ew stop sounding so gloomy, you're almost starting to sound like me and tbh it would be kinda creepy.
Leviathan: That still doesn't tell me where you are! I know it's like a common thing for you to get into shady stuff on a regular basis but even Lucifer seems concerned, and weirdly enough he's not even trying to hide it???
Leviathan: He's been pacing back and forth in the common room for 20 minutes and won't let go of his phone it's starting to creep me out.
Leviathan: Hey huh, if you really were in big trouble you'd let us know, right? Like, even by typing a secret message to let us know that you got kidnapped or whatever?
Leviathan: Nevermind, I really don't see why you'd even get kidnapped, so it HAS to be that you chose to disappear by yourself.
Leviathan: But anyway! It's been 2 months now since everyone's been acting weird and I've seen and heard you enough to CLEARLY see that you're getting worse but finding trouble with witches or whatever won't help you feel better. And yes I know you've been faking being fine the entire time!! Don't think you can fool me!!
Leviathan: Believe me and the hundreds of figurines I bought!! I thought they'd help and it's somehow doing nothing, I feel like the worst fraud of an otaku EVER!!! How can I call myself an otaku when I can't even find joy anymore in the things that make an otaku what he is??
Leviathan: It's like I'm losing my identity! Wait no screw that, it's not just me, we've all been losing it!!
The three dots of a message being typed disappeared and reappeared, and Mammon couldn't do anything but watch the messages of his brother pop up one after another on his screen. A sense of guilt surfaced inside of him, and it only made him frown. It's not as if he hadn't thought about asking Levi for help, before getting himself into this mess... but for both of their sakes, he had decided that it had to be him coming here, and only him.
But suddenly, just as he expected his brother to send another message, the three dots disappeared, and didn't come back right away. Mammon's focus on his phone increased at the unexplained absence of new texts from Levi, and he waited, expecting him to continue the chain of messages he had started. But nothing followed.
It wasn't in Levi's habits to suddenly stop texting in the middle of a flood of texts. The demon gripped his phone tighter, worry beginning to grow within his mind. Was it because they were in different worlds that their phones couldn't reach properly? Or worse- had Lucifer found him out?
His heart almost skipped a beat as the three dots reappeared under his eyes, before letting another message pop up.
Leviathan: wait
Leviathan: waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait
Leviathan: OMG NO WAY
Leviathan: MAMMON TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING
Mammon: I literally haven't said anything?
Leviathan: YOU PERFECTLY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT
Leviathan: DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE IN THE HUMAN WORLD RN??
Shit.
How did he even find out?! Well... he could only assume that it wouldn't take a genius to figure out where Mammon could have gone if not anywhere in the Devildom, but still, why did Levi have to type it out? His plan was supposed to be flawless after all.
Mammon: Sorry bro, I can't say where I am.
Mammon: I know Lucifer's bound to check all of your DDDs sooner or later and that's only gonna help him find me.
Mammon: And like I said, I have something to do, so I can't come back.
Leviathan: Wait! I'll delete all of our messages, and I'll even destroy my DDD if it means you tell me why you're there
Leviathan: Actually no don't even answer, there can only be one reason you took that kind of risk
Leviathan: Is it... because of MC?
Upon reading their name again, Mammon felt his stomach sink. The eyes of the Avatar of Greed closed almost instantly as if to avoid reading it, the damp air whistling through his teeth as he breathed in deeply. Of course Levi would figure that out too. Any of his brothers could have.
The demon leaned his head against the wall behind him, his eyes opening and staring into nothing as he contemplated telling Levi about his plan. It wasn't as if he had any backup plans considering the situation he was in, after all. And Levi had the advantage of being at home, and having access to technology and magic that could improve his search further. But the thought of Lucifer figuring everything out still haunted him, making the hair on his skin stand straight.
And yet... At this point, he had nothing else to lose.
Mammon: Ya gotta promise not to tell anyone about this.
Leviathan: Who do you take me for? I'm not a snitch!
Leviathan: Especially if it's about MC.
Leviathan: But huh... what about Lucifer? You know that if when he finds out you went to the human world, he's going to kill you.
Mammon: Fuck Lucifer.
Mammon: I'm tired of hearin' him say he's "taking care of it". He clearly knows something but won't tell any of us and I'm tired of not getting any news from MC since they left the Devildom 2 months ago.
Mammon: And what's with his excuse about them not havin' their DDD anymore to contact us? I call that a load of bullshit.
Mammon: Something weird happened and Lucifer's too stuck-up to let us know what it is.
Mammon: So I'm done waiting around to see when they'll come back, or IF they'll even come back. So I'm going to get them myself.
Mammon: Problem is, I went to MC's place, and they weren't there. Their neighbor told me that they moved out a while ago with, get this, "a guy with white hair".
Leviathan: ??????? Solomon?????
Mammon: I'd bet my Demonio and all the things I possess that it's him.
Mammon: Not only Lucifer's in on this secret thing about MC, but Solomon too. I've already booked him an appointment with my fists if he did anythin' to them.
Mammon: Hell, even Diavolo and Barbatos seem to be in it too, which sucks even bigger time.
Mammon: So that means it's just us 6 who don't know shit. I wasn't about to play nice and dumb for Lucifer any longer.
Leviathan: Mammon
Leviathan: I never thought I'd ever write something like that to YOU
Leviathan: but
Leviathan: you sound super cool rn!! That just makes me wish I could have gone too!!
Leviathan: Pleasepleaseplease let me help!!! I'm also worried about MC and I miss having them here. The atmosphere at the house has sucked ever since we realized we couldn't text or call them anymore and I huh... kinda miss seeing them around the others too.
For a split second, Mammon considered taking a screenshot of Levi's last message to sell it as "the proof that the Avatar of Envy can control his jealousy!", but now wasn't the time for that. He had Levi's approval for helping him find the whereabouts of MC, and that's all he needed at the moment. He hadn't even noticed his lips turning into a small grin upon reading his brother offering his support.
Mammon: Alright Levi listen.
Mammon: All I'm tryin' right now is to find where MC might be.
Mammon: I don't think they left the place I'm at, but I ain't about to search at every damn house there is here. Would take too much time anyway.
Mammon: So can ya use your shut-in powers and figure somethin' out? Like I don't know, catch their human phone's signal or whatever through hacking?
Leviathan: Lol? I'll let you know it's not because I spend my entire days in my room that I know how to find a human phone!
Leviathan: I know how to hack yeah, but I don't know how to hack human technology! Not that I maybe tried once or twice and it resulted in failure each time.
Leviathan: But huh... I could try?
Leviathan: Let me ask Satan if we could use magic too.
Mammon: Satan? Levi, are you stupid? Last thing we want is to get more people to know about what I'm doing.
Leviathan: Oh huh yeaaaah, about that.
Leviathan: I should have told you sooner, but when I stopped answering earlier it's because Satan caught me texting you.
Leviathan: But he actually knew you had left to the human world! So we don't have to worry! He's on our side... obviously.
Mammon: Then the two of you get on it.
Mammon: And don't catch Lucifer's attention.
Leviathan: Yeah!
Leviathan: I'll let you know when we've found something.
Leviathan: BRB!
And then just like earlier, Levi's texts stopped appearing on his screen. A sigh left Mammon's lips as he closed his eyes, and the demon allowed his body to slide against the wall behind him until he was sitting on the ground. As he stretched out his sore body, the second-born finally realized that after two whole months of not getting to hear MC's voice, seeing their smile, getting to touch them... he had gotten closer to finding them, all thanks to his brothers. He had let Lucifer's intimidation get the best of him throughout all this time, but not anymore. No matter whether his older brother would catch wind of where he was, and what he was doing, Mammon would never stop trying to bring back MC where they belonged. With him, in the Devildom, back with the family they had found and grown to love.
Closing the messaging app with his thumb, the picture of MC he had set as his D.D.D. background seemed to radiate like the sun. How dared them all try to separate his human from their first man? From the one who'd they come to whenever they had a nightmare and couldn't fall asleep? The demon who'd hug them as tight as possible in their bed after a long day at RAD? The one who'd had the chance to fall asleep with them, getting the absolute honor of seeing their face so close to his, and who'd protect their dreams from any bad thoughts and scary nightmares?
The anxiety that Mammon had worn on his face all day slowly disappeared, and a small smile was placed upon it instead as his eyes met MC's in the picture.
"I'm almost there. Ya just gotta be patient a little more."
I'll find ya.
Time went on as Mammon waited for any news of Levi and Satan's research. The rain showed no sign of clearing soon, and the demon was starting to doze off after spending his entire day without taking a single break. He could have almost fallen asleep if it hadn't been for the owner of the bakery opening the door to close his shop and asking him to sit somewhere else. So Mammon moved from one spot to another, and took shelter near another store instead.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting on the stone steps he had sat on, his phone's screen flashed a bright light as a new notification from Levi appeared from the top. Quickly passing his wrist on his tired eyes, Mammon tapped on the new message at the speed of light. The contents made him gasp, and for a second, he had almost forgotten how to breathe, as his now wide-open eyes were glued on the content of the message.
A full-on address, along with a picture of the place.
Mammon instantly stood up at the sight of the picture, the memories of his day resurfacing in a flash. He remembered very clearly seeing this particular building sometime during his search- its height had been making it stand out very easily amongst the other buildings in the city. Nobody couldn't mistake it with anything else.
Mammon: This is it?
Leviathan: Yeah, we placed down a map and confirmed it was there.
Leviathan: Satan actually found a book in his room with a spell that can help find a person's specific item with just some of their DNA.
Leviathan: So we went to MC's room and found some hair that Satan used for the spell, along with his phone so it could narrow down the list of MC's items.
Leviathan: I didn't think Satan's room could look even more of a mess, but he spent 10 minutes shoveling through his collection and now you can't even see the floor or his bed anymore lol
Leviathan: Anyway now that you got what you wanted, go and check if MC is there!
Mammon felt his legs move on their own as he flipped his jacket above his head and stepped under the rain again, a confident grin now brightly adorning his face as he typed on his phone to reply.
Mammon: Thanks Levi. I'll owe ya one.
Leviathan: Find MC and bring them back. Then you can consider us even.
Mammon nodded, a newfound hope filling his entire body and mind. After confirming that Levi had ceased texting him, the demon turned the phone off. He opened his hand to drop it on the wet floor, and let his right foot crash down upon it, the object almost breaking in half. Mammon promptly gathered in his hand the shattered item, now completely unusable, and threw it down a nearby sewer before letting his excitement take the best of him and sprint further in the direction of the building from the picture. At least, now Lucifer wouldn't be able to track him down with it if Levi and Satan got caught.
The more distance he covered, the more Mammon could swear he was about to take on his demon form at any moment. The thoughts of MC began to fill his head even more, as if they were the one pushing him to find them, to get to them as soon as possible. For the first time in 2 months, Mammon felt truly alive.
"Almost there. The Great Mammon's coming for ya, MC!!" he let out in the form of an encouragement to himself, his legs having found their energy again as his form was engulfed further into the city.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Anxiously pacing around the room, their head low and their phone in their hands, MC was growing more and more impatient. They were supposed to receive an update from Solomon about three hours earlier in the form of a phone call, but no matter the amount of messages they'd spent in the hopes of the wizard finally answering them, all they received was a dreadful silence. Grabbing a nearby chair, they let their body fall onto the seat as their fingers typed yet another message. They couldn't really understand how they had come to grow so persistent when it came to getting Solomon to reply to them, but having no other person to talk to ever since they left the Devildom 2 months prior would do that to anyone, they assumed.
'Solomon, sorry, I know I'm sending a lot of texts, but you said you'd visit today and I'm starting to be worried and... honestly a bit lonely. I thought going out today would help, but I just sat in the park for an hour before going back home and not doing much of the day.'
'You were supposed to meet with other wizards today, right? I hope nothing bad happened. But in case you're alright, all I'm asking is just one reply to at least get some sort of human connection. Not that I had a lot of it in the past few months.'
They felt their throat tighten upon writing their last sentence, feeling the frustration spilling out of their own words right back into their face. But who could blame them?
2 months without seeing, hearing, or even texting their friends back in the Devildom. 2 months without receiving a single visit from Luke or Simeon. 2 months spent exclusively with the company of Solomon, who had been acting strange ever since and had made them move out of their home under the excuse that it was to "train them at magic in a more private setting". But more importantly... those had been 2 months without having Mammon around, and MC would lie if they said they hadn't spent several nights crying themself to sleep, wondering how the demon was dealing with their absence.
The memories of their latest departure from the Devildom played in their head like a movie as they placed a hand on their forehead. Everything had seemed alright at the time, with them getting to say their usual goodbyes to the brothers, wishing to see them again once the new year at RAD would start, foolishly thinking that they'd get to spend their time hearing their voices on a daily basis once they were back in the human world. And before they could understand, their DDD had been taken from them, Solomon had been more present in their life than ever before, and for a reason they still couldn't grasp, it was as if the brothers had vanished from their life completely. No news whatsoever. Complete radio silence.
Just thinking back to this period, and how they could have probably caught that something was up as soon as Diavolo asked for their DDD after the brothers had left... it just made them want to puke.
But nothing could make them want to do so as much as the long-awaited reply of Solomon appearing on their screen.
'Hi MC. I'm deeply sorry I couldn't get ahold of you throughout the day. I won't be able to visit you today, since my services are still required here. Besides, it's getting late. I recommend you go have a good night's sleep as soon as possible.'
'If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to come back tomorrow. Then, we'll be able to go walk wherever you want. How does that sound?'
'I need to be going, but I shall wish you a good night. Take care, MC.'
And just as quickly as he had answered, Solomon went silent again. Leaving them in this apartment they had grown to hate, this prison cell he had put them in. A place where no fun could be found for them. MC didn't even bother sending anything else after that.
Their head sunk even lower, until their forehead slowly met with the hard surface of the dinner table. The phone faceplanted onto the wood as MC's hands turned into hard fists, a deep groan shaking the walls of their throat. It was hard not to let the tears escape their eyes, but instead, they opted to punch the table several times as hard as they could, until they felt their anger diminish.
How long was Solomon going to act ignorant towards them? How long was he going to ignore their pleas to get news from the Devildom, anything that would let them know why they couldn't contact the brothers, Diavolo and Barbatos? Even if the lords had been in some sort of trouble... they'd still find time to talk to their human, right? There was no way Mammon, the one they loved, wouldn't try to reach them one way or another... right?
Him who had been so clingy in such an adorable way every time they'd be at the House of Lamentation, he who had revealed to them that there wasn't a single day where his thoughts wouldn't drift to them no matter how hard he tried...
No. No amount of important duties would explain why Mammon of all demons, would ignore them like that.
They missed his antics. His entire being. The warmth he'd bring them each time he'd hold their hand before tucking his face into their neck like a pouting child, desperately trying to sneak one or two kisses in there, in the hopes he'd get to hear that sweet giggle of them. It wasn't for nothing that Lucifer had come to name them the chaotic duo of the House of Lamentation. They were two parts of a whole.
And yet, the world had dared to separate them. And MC was tired, oh so tired of not having their other half near them. The only feeling they had left, was one of pure desperation to see their greedy demon.
"I'm not asking for much... even a single word would do." MC replied to no one as they turned their head to rest their cheek onto the table. They closed their eyes, the anger slowly being replaced by a profound exhaustion. Could they really do nothing but act normal around Solomon, and accept that this was now their new life? No demons, no angels, just... humans around them?
Before they could slap the thought away, a loud banging coming from the entrance door made them straighten in their seat, their head turning towards the hallway in a panic. Their heart pounded inside their chest as the banging seemed to go on forever, until they used the back of their chair to push themself up, their legs shaking.
"S...Solomon?" They asked, way too silently for anyone to hear, and fully knowing that the person behind the door couldn't be the wizard.
As if they were waiting for an answer, MC stood there, their hand grasped onto the chair. The banging was insistent, demanding, angry. At this time of night, there were few reasons they could think why someone would mistreat their door in such a way, and MC wasn't sure they wanted to find the reason for it.
That is, until the person behind the door finally let their voice be heard.
"Oi, MC! Ya can hear me right?! Come on, open the door!"
It didn't take long for MC to let the familiar voice enter their ears, and it took less time for them to nearly stumble over the chair as their legs moved in a hurry to lead them towards the door as quickly as possible. Their hands messily trying to open the locks on the door, they were sure their mind had just played a trick on them, and the person outside was going to leave them completely disappointed, but they didn't care. This voice they could only remember so well despite the time since they had last heard it, was simply inviting them to open the door, to check for themselves whether it was true, or just a nasty joke played by their brain.
But as the last lock was undone, and the door was swung open, MC couldn't do anything but just stand there, their mouth agape.
Mammon kept on drawing breaths, his wet hair stuck to his forehead and drops of rain falling from his clothes onto the floor below, so much so that it had started to create a small puddle underneath him. As if the person who opened the door wasn't the one he expected, the demon took a step back, letting his eyes wander up and down on the human he had in front of him, almost in an attempt to check if it was really them. He too, couldn't stop his mouth from hanging open at the sight.
The two of them just stood there for a few seconds, taken by so many emotions at once that they weren't sure what to do. But right as Mammon took a step forward, his mouth opening some more to let out words that he so desperately had wanted to say for so long now, MC's face contorted into one of pure sadness before they rushed towards him. Mammon greedily welcomed them into his arms as they jumped and wrapped their arms around his shoulders, and their legs around his waist. They buried their face into his neck, the warmth of their tears mixing with the rain on his skin.
His embrace only tightened even more as they mumbled his name amidst broken sobs, the sound ever so close to his ear that even though he had his eyes firmly closed, he might have cried on the spot too. But he had found them. He had them in his arms again. After what had seemed like a million years, finally, they were back where they belonged, and he was back with his human.
Almost as if they were about to be pulled away from him, Mammon placed a hand on the back of their head, wanting to protect their entire being from harm no matter the cost. He still wasn't sure why it had taken so long for him to reunite with them despite the obstacles, but at the present moment, nothing else could matter.
The lord had finally found them, and he wasn't about to let anyone interfer between their happiness once more.
"I ain't letting you go." He whispered through gritted teeth, his head lowering into their shoulder. "Ever again."
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saekindasus · 3 years
Text
Dream x witch!reader
part 2
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c!dreamwastaken x f!reader
dream makes a new friend, y/n, who's a special lil' thing-
tw : teeny bit of cursing
words : 757
fluff , crack
part 1 Masterlist
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After you let Dream into the secret and started "witching" in front f him more casually, most of the time the poor baby didn't know what to do. He used to simply walk out of the room in the beginning, whenever you used your powers or did a spell, he just didn't know if he should be staring or not, so he would just moonwalk out the nearest door, cause THAT seemed like the most logical thing to do, for sure-
But in time, he stopped doing that. Instead, he started to freely stare at you and ask questions in return.
He loves the fact that you're so special. It does throw him off sometimes, but the admiration is still visible. He's used to making potions and crafting armor too, (obviously, the man is starting and ending wars in his free time :D) and he knows just how difficult remembering a recipe and how more difficult getting it perfect is. So he likes to let you know just how much he's in awe of your memory AND skill.
NOW ONTO THE FLUFF
You know how you're a witch? Yeah, being a witch means, like previously mentioned, having a knack for remembering "recipes".
You are AWESOME at cooking. Like, you plain have a skill for making things, and you know exactly what to do, what not to do, how different things will taste after you put it together, the mistakes you made last time so that you won't make them again-
Now keep in mind the fact that Dream has to navigate through a particularly dense forest every time he wants to see you. And he wants to see you A LOT-
Even though he tries to hide it, mans is knocked out of breath by the time he reaches your living room from the smp. And most of the time this is his fault too. He RUNS all the way there for no reason.
So you always remember to keep some food and drinks for him with you at all times. You already like cooking, and you've been wanting to try out new recipes for a while now. You also have a very willing test subject for them, so why not take advantage of that-
Dream always brings you flowers. Like, it's just an unspoken tradition at this point. It's not a whole ass bouquet or anything, just one single flower each time he comes to see you. It can be a flower from the smp or one he picked up on the way there cause he thought it looked pretty, but he ALWAYS has a flower.
Dreamy has flowers. You have an obsession with gardening and are a botanical expert. CONNECT THE DOTS BABE-
You take your plants seriously. We ain't playing around in this household lol :D
Once Dream almost knocked over a plant next to the countertop that you've been growing for a year. To say you straight-up tackled his green ass is an understatement.
So it's no surprise that you plant all the flowers he brings you somewhere in your house. Once there was no other possible place you could keep on planting the abundance of flowers you received from this guy anywhere inside your house, you started planting them around your cottage.
These flowers are your children. Dream is their father. That's it, that's the end of it.
More weird is the fact that Dream just accepts the fact that he has flower babies now. He's not even going to say anything. He has kids now, that's it.
He sometimes brings you crystals. Colorful, expensive-looking crystals. You're a nature witch, you specialize in earth elements, which includes crystal magic and essence spells. You are the literal definition of aesthetic, and Dream just loves being around you and your cottage, it just makes him weirdly calm.
He likes snuggling up to you. You always smell flowery and sweet. He sometimes buries his face into your neck and hugs you from behind. This habit started because of his mask. He did it for the first time because he didn't sniff up as much of your perfume as he would've liked due to the white clay mask on his face. So he buried himself into you.
After seeing just how much you leaned back into him while he rested his chin on your shoulder from behind, he started doing it more often, until it became a normal practice.
You both are the sweetest.
He's soft with you, and you're just a cutie-patootie.
Conclusion: the tough boy who's actually a complete softie, and the literal angel who likes to pounce on him.
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Taglist : @itsberrydreemurstuff
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Deciding to do a part 2 post during your exams is a bad bad idea kids-
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volturiwolf · 3 years
Text
The Volturi Princess - A Felix Volturi x fem!Reader Story (part 1)
A/N: This is the first Volturi- and Twilight-related story I ever started writing and it is quite long and elaborated/complex, as I tend to overanalyze in many parts. I have wrote a few parts until now and I'll be uploading them in the future. I have been quite emotional throughout writing it, trying to understand the reader's point of view.
A/N 2: I'm sorry if something doesn't make sense. English is not my first language. I also include Italian through the story, with translation, but I'm not a native or a speaker, so I'd like to apologize in advance to those who speak Italian. Enjoy :)
A/N 3: According to "The Amagi" on Youtube, Felix was born in 250 BC (their thumbnail), so I used that in my story.
No of Words: about 5347
Mentions of: Abandonment, Abortion, Anxiety, Blood, Bruises, Coma/Comatosed State, Death Emotional Abuse, Emotional and Physical Pain, Gaslighting, Greece/Greek Language - with translation, Heartbreak, Italian Language - with translation, Manipulation, Murder, Pain, Panic Attacks, Pregnancy, Suffering, Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts, Swear Language, Throwing Up/Puking, Witches/Wizards/Witchcraft
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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My heart felt heavy. I may have just escaped the cruelest vampire of all, but I also ran away from the love of my life, my mate, the only person who could fully understand me in this world. I asked him to run away with me, but, although our bond was strong, he felt obliged to stay loyal to his master, his creator. I drove as fast as I could, away from the sunny Volterra, and away from him.
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(Y/N) grew up quite privileged, in Vampire terms. Being born into the Volturi coven was something many vampires could only dream about. (Y/N) was abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, but Aro, one of the three Volturi leaders, took her under his protection, and offered her more things than she could ever have imagined. After all, she was his only biological granddaughter, the “Volturi princess”, an heiress to the throne; her mother lost that “privilege” when she met and fell in love with a wizard.
(Y/N)’s mother soon got pregnant with her, and then later turned her husband into a vampire to help her with her pregnancy, and stay together forever. However, (Y/N)’s parents couldn’t raise her because they wanted to run free and careless, not commit to anything permanent, so Aro took over and raised his granddaughter with the highest honors and privileges, “as a princess should be raised”.
(Y/N) was a mix of Vampire, Witch and Human, due to the grandmother, Sulpicia, being human when Aro found her; Sulpicia later fell pregnant with (Y/N)’s mother, and Aro transformed her to vampire, as he had planned all along. Aro raised (Y/N) according to his own rules and morals, teaching her how to kill humans to feed from, how to attack and slip away from her opponents, how to lead other vampires, and most importantly, how to keep her identity and existence a secret, not only to humans, but other non-Volturi vampires as well. No one could know that there was a possibility of a vampire having a child with a human, and that the child could be effectively controlled and raised as a regular vampire.
As (Y/N) grew older and older, reaching the human age of 25 within 7 years of her birth, Aro would spend more and more time with her, examining and studying her possibilities and her potential powers’ development. (Y/N) grew up to be extremely strong and fast, an excellent tracker with great intelligence and understanding of the world around her. However, Aro could not risk sending her to “Volturi duties”. She was his hope for a stronger coven; with (Y/N) in the throne, Aro felt like he could conquer the vampire world with ease.
That’s why he was always searching for the best guards he could find, to protect the coven and do his work instead of himself, Caius, or (Y/N). He couldn’t rely on Marcus, as he proved to be too emotional since Didyme died, but was still valuable for his plan. Caius, on the other hand, although powerless, was far more sadistic and “diligent” in following vampire rules, and (Y/N)... (Y/N) was just too obedient, following every order Aro gave her - a strong asset for the Volturi.
Aro was changing guards and trackers quite easily, disposing them when they were no longer needed or when he found better ones. He needed talented and strong vampires to serve the coven and do their work.
Chelsea was the very first vampire Aro created solely to serve the Volturi, after recognizing her potential when she was human. Chelsea’s gift of relationship manipulation was truly useful in bringing new vampires into the coven and was used thousands of times during Volturi's reign. It could also easily dispose of them, making their bonds with other vampires break at will; those vampires were isolated by the other vampires and then killed - Aro couldn’t risk letting them get away knowing the Volturi’s secrets and life.
About 100 years later, Corin joined the Volturi, just a couple decades after (Y/N)’s birth. Corin’s gift of addictive contentment was the one which kept Marcus in the Volturi after Didyme’s death - along with Chelsea’s to make him committed to Aro’s greater plans, and was also used on Sulpicia, Athenadora and any other vampire in the Volturi guard to keep them satisfied being in the Volturi. Under Aro’s instructions, Corin was keeping Chelsea content with being in the Volturi, and Chelsea was keeping Corin loyal to them, each of them using their gifts against each other, without their knowledge.
Sometime between 230 and 220 BC, while travelling in Rome, searching for additional vampires to add to the coven, Aro supposedly met a young, strong and ambitious fighter, who wished to become a gladiator one day, named Felix. Felix did not only look, but also was physically capable of fighting even with beasts, during his short time as a fighter, way before the Colosseum was built. Born into a poor family, his strength was his only way of making money, and becoming a gladiator was his only way out of poverty, a way to provide for both his family and himself.
When his family was almost imprisoned by Roman army officers for outstanding debts, Felix was forced to make a deal with them to fight, in whatever they ordered him to. Fighting turned out to be the only way for Felix to deal with his emotions and rage towards people in power. When Aro approached Felix, he was promised a good life, where he wouldn’t have to worry about surviving another day. Felix did not seem willing enough, not being fond of the idea of serving people in power, who he so despised.
Luckily for Aro, Chelsea was the one who “convinced” Felix to join the Volturi guard, with Aro changing him afterwards. Unlike previous guards, Felix showed impeccable strength, speed and talent towards both dodging and initiating attacks, eventually making him a permanent member in the Volturi Guard, along with Chelsea and Corin.
Felix was assigned as the leading guard for the three kings’ protection, this role extending to the protection of their two wives and (Y/N); though Aro knew that, if it came to anyone attacking his granddaughter, she would be able to handle it by herself. However, he still wanted to make sure that she was safe and that Aro would do anything to protect her.
For about a couple millennias, (Y/N) was content with her situation, being the “Volturi princess” and all that. Besides, having Felix in the Volturi was another reason to stay in the coven, apart from staying loyal and true to Aro for taking her in, when she was abandoned.
Every time Felix looked into her eyes, she felt her whole body burn - though, it wasn’t a feeling of suffering, rather a feeling of longing, waiting for something to happen so badly that her body couldn’t control itself. Although she was partially a vampire, (Y/N) would feel like she couldn’t breathe, like her legs were ready to give up on her, like she wanted to grab Felix and never let go.
Felix, although not admitting it even to himself, would feel the same way, but he knew that his position would not allow him to approach (Y/N) in such a way. He was just a guard - although he was the strongest of them all, and she was the Volturi princess, one of his masters, whom he was only allowed to approach in order to protect. He didn’t want Aro to know he saw his granddaughter like that; it could cost him his position in the guard, or even his life. So, he kept these feelings deep within him, not allowing them to resurface, or act upon them.
However, every time these two existed at the same place, the invisible sparks between them would fly left and right. And only one vampire was able to see them. One who hadn’t felt these sparks in centuries.
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(Y/N)’s POV:
I yawned loudly as I woke from a long, much needed sleep. I was the only vampire around who was able to sleep, mostly due to my non-vampire natures. I didn't really need to sleep on a regular basis, but when I did, I could literally sleep 3 days straight and nobody would be able to wake me up. “For my own protection”, as Aro said, I would always have at least two guards outside of my room’s door, in case anything happened while I was sleeping. Like what could even happen? My room was at the furthest side of this huge castle. I’m pretty sure that if there ever was an attack against the Volturi, it would most probably have been dealt with immediately, and the attacker wouldn’t make it anywhere near my room.
I felt the warm sun on my skin, slightly glowing and sparkling beautifully. My eyes, mostly (Y/E/C) with a golden ring around the pupil, could easily adjust to the light. Unlike the other vampires, I could easily live among humans; I could sleep, eat human food, my skin not being as sparkly as others, and I could control my thirst far better than others.
Since Jane and Alec joined the coven, Aro would show an immense interest in them and their skills, helping them train daily and develop their powers further, eventually forgetting about me. I would spend more and more days away from the castle, “protected” by my anonymity, getting to know humans more and more. The longer I was observing them, the more they would trigger my interest in them. They could feel true emotions, real pain, real hurt, real love. They had their families, they received an unconditional love that I could never have.
Unbeknownst to Aro or anyone else for that matter, I have started developing new powers, similar to the other vampires in the Volturi coven or anyone else outside of it. I have also started noticing that I may have an immunity towards others’ talents, feeling that neither Corin’s addictive contentment made me satisfied with being in the Volturi, nor Chelsea’s relationship manipulation could keep me loyal to Aro anymore. If it weren’t for Felix, or Demetri and the Twins, who have all become my best friends by now, I would have probably left.
A vampire named Carlisle Cullen had visited the Volturi and stayed with us for a while, about 100 years ago. He saw the way the Volturi treated humans like they were nothing, and how they were as cruel as to kill other vampires, with the excuse that they were exposing our kind with the way they lived. Entire covens had been wiped out due to such excuses, a way to eliminate potential enemies from becoming too powerful and find as many talented vampires as possible and force them to join the Volturi.
Carlisle was talking about a new way of life, where vampires wouldn’t have to kill humans to survive, a life where vampires and humans could live in peace, without harming each other. He was insisting that vampires could survive on animal blood just as efficiently as with human blood; that animal blood would not make them weaker, and that it would be a much more ethical and sustainable way to feed.
Of course, Aro and Caius were the first ones to mock his proposition, clearly not caring about humans’ feelings and pain. Marcus did not budge at all, his heartache making him indifferent to anything around him. But I was growing more and more interested in this alternative way of life; I was, after all, feeding on human food already, so that I was feeding on human blood as little as I could.
It was a few years after Carlisle left Volterra that Eleazar joined the Volturi. Aro forced him to join after finding out he could detect if someone had any special ability. Aro considered his gift useful in identifying if any of his enemies had any special power when in battles, or when he sent Eleazar around the world to recruit talented vampires.
Eleazar was clearly not liking the way the Volturi forced their ways and wants on others, and how they could take advantage of others for their own benefit. I could just sense that he was displeased and was forcing himself to stay in the coven, one, due to Corin’s and Chelsea’s gifts, and two, out of fear of what could happen to him and his mate, Carmen.
Carmen, a vampire from Spain, like Eleazar, met with Eleazar while he was a guard here, they fell in love, and eventually, Eleazar decided to leave the Volturi and run away with Carmen. Aro decided that he did not care about him and his gift as much as others’, so he let him go unharmed, “blessing” them for safe travels.
Just a few days before he left, I consulted him on my own powers. Though a lower member of the guard, Eleazar had his own room, a decent place to stay, and spend his endless hours in. I knocked slightly on the door.
“Come in”, a calm voice was heard. I opened the door and came into his room. Carmen was sitting on the edge of their bed and Eleazar was reading a book on his desk. They both smiled sweetly. I just felt and knew they were too nice to fit anywhere in here, among the cruel and strict Volturi.
“(Y/N)! So nice to see you!”Carmen exclaimed and stood to hug me. The second we hugged I started seeing parts of her life in Spain, the calm waters of Catalunya, the vast vineyards where she would spend the early years of her life… I quickly detached myself from her embrace. I just couldn’t invade her privacy like that. She and Eleazar both looked at me worried, as if I had offended them.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t let you “show” me your whole life like that!” I looked at Carmen apologetically.
“(Y/N), you saw Carmen’s life?” Eleazar continued, intrigued by my words.
“That’s why I came to talk to you. I..I feel like I’ve been developing a gift, or a few gifts, to be completely honest. And I feel like.. like I have a specific power one day, and another power the next!” I stated frantically.
It was the first time I have openly talked about my powers to anyone, and I was shaking just by the words that came out of my mouth. Eleazar did not say anything, he just stood there for a few minutes, I supposed “examining” me, as if a doctor checking on a patient.
“Remarkable.” He said calmly. He looked at his mate with excitement, as if he just discovered a lost treasure. “(Y/N) has one of the most remarkable gifts I have ever seen.” He then turned to me. “You, (Y/N), are able to copy anyone else’s gifts and keep them as your own. You don’t even have to be in contact with them. Just by meeting someone, you can obtain their powers. I have never met anyone like that. You also seem to have obtained immunity to others’ powers, kind of like a shield. I have met such vampires before. From the stories Aro has been telling, your mother was like that. It is likely that you copied that gift for her. Such vampires are extremely useful to themselves or even others, in battles. Like themselves, you can use your gift to protect others from others’ powers, beside yourself.”
That came too sudden to my ears. I have assumed that I may have at least one power, but I didn’t realise I could copy others’ powers. That is why I was showing signs of Aro’s power!
“How can I train my powers? Eleazar! Carmen! You have to help me!”
“As you know, we will be leaving soon. I don’t know if there will be enough time to train you.”
“It’s okay. We will train as much as you want. Please, Eleazar! Please, Carmen!” I started begging them. As if they were hypnotized, they quickly looked at each other and agreed to help me.
The next few days, before Eleazar and Carmen’s departure, included intense training, far away from Volterra, deep in the woods, where no human could interrupt us. I couldn’t say the same for vampires, but I hoped nobody would cross paths with us. Eleazar and Carmen helped me develop my self-control and self-awareness, concentrating through the deepest parts of my mind, resurfacing my shield and expanding it beyond my existence. I started to have control over it, as if it was an actual solid substance, a veil floating around me towards any direction I ordered it to go.
After Eleazar and Carmen left, I started travelling the world more, trying to copy as many powers as I could come across with, while also training my shield. My excitement for the endless possibilities was what kept me going - kind of when Aro would add another talented vampire to his Guard. His Guard. Felix. I wonder how he was. I hadn’t seen him in a while. I wondered if he thought of me like I thought of him.
After travelling pretty much anywhere I could reach, I eventually went back to where it all started: I went to Greece. Aro met Sulpicia here, apparently my mom met my dad here. Maybe I could find out, understand why they left me. I have never met them, but I felt as if my tracking skills could detect them through my own existence.
I started travelling through the country, hoping that they stayed here or, at least, that they’re alive. I spent about 2 or 3 years in Greece, trying to take in every different place, while also avoiding the battles that seemed to take place in every other corner. I was feeding off animals mainly, mostly when I couldn’t find any other human food. I was washing myself in rivers, streams, whatever I could find.
I was stopping by any village that seemed to be still standing, asking about the current situation. The Greek Revolution, which started a few years ago, seemed to still be going on. The Ottomans, who had been occupying Greece for almost 400 years, could not allow Greeks to turn against them and start claiming their rights within the Ottoman Empire.
Many Greeks I met and talked to, admitted that some of the Ottomans were actually being nice to them; it was only the Ottoman government ordering their armies to execute massive massacres against Greeks, and after all this time, a few Greeks started gathering up and planning a revolution, away from Greece, in fear of being caught. They started getting organized and finding possible allies to help them with the Revolution; they just couldn’t risk getting caught within the country that they were hoping the independent Greece could become. The battles were becoming more and more intense, both on the mainland, as well as on the islands.
I started looking for answers, anything that could suggest that my parents were still alive and somewhere in Greece. To my surprise, I crossed paths with many Greek nomad vampires all over the country. They were also fighting against either Ottoman vampires or each other for territorial claims; however, they all talked me out of travelling north, towards Macedonia. The region had started being reclaimed back by Greek humans, but vampires were also seeing the potential for the area and they fought against each other for the land.
All of the nomads I encountered were talking about some of the most vicious vampires claiming the land, their enemies being literally slaughtered and burned to set an example for other vampires to back off their territory. I was intrigued, and I knew that, most probably, I would be able to deal with them or flee before they got to me.
So, I started travelling north, through the woods and mountains, in order to avoid any possible battle between humans, though many of them seemed to hide in the mountains, preparing for their battles. Macedonia was a quite big and vast region, so I had to travel quite a few days and search every possible corner.
I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I was feeling exhausted from all the searching. I haven’t fed in quite some time, and my throat was burning by the familiar need for blood. I haven’t seen any animals all these days, and I was wondering if they were gone or hiding.
Sadly, I came across a human. He seemed to be wounded, probably during a battle, his blood gushing out of his body. I couldn’t help myself, when I breathed in the smell, the burning sensation becoming unbearable. I thought of approaching him slowly, so as not to scare him, offering to help him, but deep down I just wanted to feed off of him.
“Γειά! Συγνώμη αν σε τρόμαξα. Σε είδα από μακριά. Μπορώ να σε βοηθήσω με κάποιο τρόπο; (Hey! Sorry if I scared you. I saw you from afar. Can I help you in any way?)” I offered calmly.
The man was trying to suppress his growls. I could sense his pain. I tried to help him stand on his feet, and then I saw all of his memories. He was in the army, fighting alongside Greeks against the Ottomans, in Macedonia, just outside of Thessaloniki. I didn’t even know I was so close to a city, let alone Thessaloniki.
He was trying to pass through the woods, when he came across what seemed to be two red-eyed vampires, one male and one female. They tried to attack him, but someone else managed to shoot him first, forcing the two vampires to run away. I don’t know how or why, these two felt familiar to me, I could feel that through his memories.
“Γειά! Μπορείς.. Μπορείς να πας στο κοντινότερο χωριό; Νομίζω.. Νομίζω ότι είδα κάτι στο δάσος, δε νομίζω ότι ήταν κάτι φυσιολογικό! Πρέπει.. Πρέπει να προειδοποιήσω τους άλλους! (Hey! Can.. Can you get me to the nearest village? I think.. I think I saw something in the woods, I don’t think it was something normal! I have.. I have to warn the others!)” He mumbled in between sharp shoots of pain.
“Με συγχωρείς πολύ! (I’m really sorry!)” I plead with guilty eyes. I put my hand in his wound, searching for the bullet, while he was consumed by pain. I took the bullet out of the wound, and quickly attached my lips on his skin, sucking the blood as fast as I could, biting deeply unintentionally. His screams were becoming louder and louder, so I covered his mouth with my hand, while trying to shut him up or break his jaw. A few seconds later, he stopped screaming, and I let his lifeless body fall, completely numb and drained out of blood.
I felt renewed, his blood travelling to every part of my body and giving me a new kind of strength that I haven’t felt in a while. I still felt guilty for killing him, but he was already wounded and I couldn’t risk him exposing our kind to others. I assumed that whoever found him - if anyone found him - would also assume that he died of blood loss, so I tried to position him in a realistic pose for that purpose, as best as I could. I left him there, and continued the search for my parents.
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I was running through the woods, trying to locate the two vampires from the guy’s memories. My mind was chaotic, I wasn’t thinking about something specific. I stopped in my tracks. What Aro taught me, and what I understood from Demetri’s tracking skills, is that you have to stop, take a breath and realize your position in the world. Then, you would be able to realize everything around you and find your targets. I have successfully found other vampires like that before, vampires who I have either met in person or smelled their scent, but I didn’t know if I could find someone through someone else’s memories of them.
I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate as best as I could, focusing on the smaller details of the guy’s memories of these vampires. I felt two vampires running on my west, about 10 kilometers away, and I ran after them. They were running fast, but I was way faster. Within a minute or two, I was running right behind their tracks. They must have realized that a stranger was following them, but, instead of running, they suddenly stopped. I stopped as well, and we were now facing each other.
The female had long, brunette, curly hair, and the male short, dark brown, straight hair; both of their hair looked shiny, healthy, and rich. They were of average height and their eyes were piercing red, as if they also fed quite recently. The female was exceptionally beautiful and enchanting; I could only compare her to Heidi’s exceptional beauty. The male looked quite stoic and austere, though still beautiful.
Both of them on defensive positions, waiting for me to attack. I wasn’t planning to move any further from my position; I was only waiting for their own reactions. I felt that kind of a burning sensation within me again, like a feeling buried deep inside me, trying to find an escape.
Suddenly, the male growled at me, flames springing out of his hands, and being thrown at me. I felt my heart fall out of my chest, fearing that this would be my end. As if my body reacted on its own, I felt my own shield extending out of my body, building a wall around me and protecting me from the male’s attack. My hands started burning and flames came out, ready to counterattack the male. The male looked at the female, dumbfounded by what he witnessed, still in a defensive position, but ready to attack again.
“I’M NOT HERE TO FIGHT YOU!” I shouted at both of them. “I’M JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE!”
The male shrinked back, the female following close by. “Who are you looking for? We haven’t seen you around. Who are you? Why are you here?” The male requested. His voice serious, but smooth at the same time; a voice I could only describe as the warm earth below their bare feet.
“No, I’m not. I come from Italy, though I think I was born around here. My name is (Y/N), I’m looking for my parents. I don’t quite remember what they look like, but I’m pretty sure that they lived around here. They abandoned me when I was a baby.”
“This has been our territory for almost 3 millennials! We would have known if any humans abandoned their offspring around here!” The female exclaimed, as if she didn’t believe a word I said. I didn’t want to tell them the whole story, but I had to show them that I didn’t mean to fight in any way.
“I never said they were humans. My mother was actually sort of a vampire, like you.”
The female started letting her guards down. “What do you mean sort of? I’ve never heard of a “sort of vampire” before!” She continued doubtfully.
“Believe me or don’t, my mother was born half vampire, half human. My dad wasn’t even a vampire before she met him. He wasn’t even human to be honest.” My eyes started stinging slightly. I could have had a good, happy life if they didn’t abandon me. I wouldn’t have to grow up with Aro.
“You said you were from Italy.” I nodded at the male, as he continued. “You never said where exactly.”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell them my real origin; I wouldn’t like them to know I was a Volturi, but I knew I needed help to find my parents. If they were actually here as long as they say, they might have known or met my parents at some point.
“Volterra. I was born here, in Greece, like my mother, but grew up in Volterra with my grandparents.” I looked down, kind of scared, kind of anxious, waiting for their next move.
The female gasped. “Are you a Volturi?!” I looked at her, straight in the eyes, swallowed, and nodded. “I know the Volturi. Who are your grandparents?”
“Aro and Sulpicia.” I answered so quietly that, if they weren’t vampires, they wouldn’t have heard me, my voice trembling slightly.
The female suddenly fell on her knees, the male wrapping his arms around her, comforting her. I didn’t know what was going on. Did I say something wrong? Were they scared? The sheer mention of the Volturi would scare a lot of vampires, but I thought that maybe these two seemed strong enough to deal with them.
The female started sobbing, no tears coming out of her red eyes, her body shaking. I felt something within me break. I felt that I didn’t want to upset them, that’s why I was hesitant in telling them who I really was. The male looked at me, pain in his eyes. I saw a familiar look. I saw me in his eyes, what I looked at in my mirror anytime I was thinking about my parents, or, sometimes, when I thought of Felix.
“Are you a half witch?” The male asked quietly. Something snapped in me. How would he know that?
“I swear, I didn’t do anything to your mate! I DIDN’T!” I shouted at the male. I didn’t want him to think that I would hurt his mate, or himself.
“I know you wouldn’t. It’s just..” He looked at his mate who had stopped sobbing, but was still down on her knees, unable to stand up. “..my mate is Aro and Sulpicia Volturi’s only daughter.”
My body tensed and shivered. If that woman is the only daughter Aro and Sulpicia ever had...could that mean..?
I took a few steps back. “AM I YOUR DAUGHTER? ARE YOU MY PARENTS?” I looked at them in disbelief.
Those were the people who abandoned me! That let me grow parentless, under Aro’s rules and directions! I was breathing heavily, in between sobs. I didn’t even realize that I set my whole body ablaze, until both vampires looked at me shocked. I didn’t feel any pain, but I couldn’t stop the flames licking my body, and in my frantic state, I started panicking even more.
The male started approaching me slowly, trying to not scare me away. “Shush, shush. You’re okay. You’re doing okay. I know how it feels at first. You’re experiencing some aspects of the life as a witch. It’s okay. Close your eyes and picture the flames in your head.” I closed my eyes and tried concentrating on the flames. “Now, imagine them burning out, becoming smaller and weaker.” I focused on the flames, imagining them weakening. After a few minutes, I felt them getting smaller and smaller, and finally disappearing. I opened my eyes slowly.
The female was standing next to the male, watching me carefully. In a quick motion, she pulled me and embraced me, stroking my hair lightly. I breathed in her scent, a mix of mountain flowers and the saltiness of the sea. Her touch was soft, and filled me up with what felt like a thousand different emotions.
But, I mostly felt safe. It was the first time in my life that I actually felt this safe. And whole. I felt like I actually belonged somewhere. I hugged her back. Tears started spilling from my eyes. That was my mom! That was actually my mom! After all this time, we were finally together. I felt the male, my dad, hugging both of us, and in that moment, I felt my legs giving up on me, and I finally fell into a long sleep.
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amor-immortalem · 3 years
Text
Everything Undesired
Genre: angst, hurt/comfort
Warnings: dead dove: do not eat, heavily implied rape, gross misuse of a pact, dissociation victim blaming
Summary: not all pact masters use their pacts judiciously or in a positive way. What happens when a pact is misused in one of the worst ways possible?
A/N: so a while back I did a comic by the name of ‘Meet Me Under the Azaleas’ I’m no longer happy with the writing I put into it originally so I wanted to rewrite it using the same plot line and adding some extra scenes that weren’t in the original comic which I’ll be taking down tonight. It should work better as a fic anyway.
Chapter 1
“You are ours. We own you.”
Those words rang in his head over and over as he stumbled his way into his room, overstimulated, exhausted- a mess. He knew it was a mistake to answer the call of those witches tonight. The thoughts of what they did, how their hands ran over his body, what they had taken away. It made his stomach churn and tie itself in knots with guilt and shame. It burned just the same as the rope marks on his wrists and ankles- wounds that would heal within the hour.
“You won’t breathe a word of this to anyone- this we command of you, Avatar of Greed.”
Those women -no, they were monsters- abused the innate trust that comes with a demon who enters a pact with a human, multiple in this case. They had violated the boundaries he’d put in place the day he started dating his human. Oh God, what would she think if word ever got out? He had no way of speaking out- to scream the truth until his voice was raw.
He needed to shower, to get the stench of sex and sweat off of him. He had to get their scent off of him. As he entered the bathroom, Mammon tore off his clothes as he started the water. The lights remained off as he couldn’t bare to look at himself after what happened. Not after how he just let them use him like that.
He stepped under the boiling water and just let it run against him. The falling water did nothing to drown out the deafening voices running rampant in his mind.
“Disgusting!” They roared, “Useless! Pathetic! Weak! Whore! ….. Scum!”
He falls to the floor of his shower, hands gripping at his hair as he let out a whimper that eventually turned into quiet sobs. The steamy air making it harder to breathe. Why didn’t he fight against them harder- against their orders. No, he just laid there and took it.
He grabbed the soap and a wash rag and scrubbed his body until every bit of him was raw and even then he wouldn’t stop. It was only when he saw the blood swirling around the drain that Mammon realized what he was doing to himself- how bad the water burned the exposed skin. It felt like hellfire raining down upon him.
He felt horrible as he reached up and switched the water off. He could still hear it in his head as he reached for a towel- all the crying, screaming, begging for them to stop.
He was a pathetic, sorry excuse of a demon, he thinks as he wraps the towel around his waist and travels down the his stairs quietly. It’s early morning now. There was only a few hours left before he would have wake up for school. He contemplated just skipping the entire day. There would be know way he’d be able to function. He could always say he feels sick- its not that far from the truth. He would decide in a few hours, he thought as he crawled into bed. It didn’t take long for her to move closer to him. His naturally warmer body temperature was what drew her to him. His body involuntarily tensing as she nuzzled into his chest, arms slipping around his body. He would only tuck her head under his chin and drape and arm over her side as he let the scent of her shampoo relax him enough to fall into a light sleep.
After a short while, someone's alarm blared among the sheets- whether it his or Arella's, he couldn't be sure. Mammon patted around for the offending phone, just wanting to get five more minutes of shut eye. He eventually succeeded but not without waking his partner.
"Morning, Love," Arella sighed, her voice still laced with the grogginess of sleep.
"Mornin', Treasure," The demon yawns as he curls back up, pulling her closer to his chest. "Sleep well?"
"I did. What time you get back last night?" Arella's voice is soft as her hand slides under his shirt, rubbing gently along his side.
"5 this mornin'." He says as he tries to hide the way his body recoils from her touch, a pang of guilt strikes his heart as she notices. "Sorry... 'm not really feelin' all that great right now..."
"No, that's alright." She removes her hand from his side, choosing instead to rest it against his cheek as she readjusts herself so she's eye-level with him on the pillow. "How selfish of those witches to keep you out so late on a school night..." Its at this point she notices the puffiness and how red his eyes are. "You look like you've been crying... Is everything alright?"
He just shakes his head. Mammon wants so badly to tell her what happened to him the night before- the real reason he got home so late, but unsurprisingly, no words come out. He just closes his eyes, letting himself relax under her gentle touch. "I'm jus' really tired s'all."
"I believe it. You only got a hour and a half's worth of sleep. Would you like to just stay home all day, just the two of us?" Arella moves him so he's resting with his head on her chest.
"That's sounds.... nice," he hums quietly, so close to falling back into the clutches of sleep.
"Alright then. Go on and go back to sleep," She kisses the top of his head, carding her fingers through the soft, fluffy locks the other hand rubbing small circles in the center of his back. "I've got you."
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This carried on for months. The witches would summon him and as long as he complied with their wishes, they would hold his secret. By the third time, he would check out- let his mind escape to anywhere but the present until it was over. It became a vicious cycle. They would call, he would go to them, and then he would crawl into his bed for maybe an hour or two before forcing himself to get up for classes that he often fell asleep in. After the tenth, once they had finished with him, he asked why they were doing this and they told him.
“We desire something to bind you to us for the rest of our lives.”
“A child.”
The demon’s eyes widened at that. Never in his life had he been so opposed to the idea of having children. In fact, just before all of this happened he had been daydreaming about what his children with Arella would look like if they were ever so fortunate to have any but a child with one of the witches? It made him sick. A half-demon born from a demon of his status had a high probability of killing its mother- one who he would then have to raise. How could he explain that to his brothers- to Arella? The very thought filled him with dread. How could he ever bring himself to care for a child conceived from a crime? A child that would always be nothing but a constant reminder of the worst nights of his life. They didn’t deserve a life like that.
And so Mammon did the only thing he could think to do: he fled. He ran back to the Devildom, back to House of Lamentation as fast a his legs would carry him. He crashed through the doors of the house. Never had he been so greatful to be the first one home. As he climbed the steps up to his room he vowed to himself never again. He wouldn’t give them what they wanted, consequences be damned.
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It had been six months since his last encounter with the witches. There was nothing on their end- absolute radio silence. Part of Mammon wondered if they'd gotten what they wanted from him after all. Everyday was filled with the anxiety of not knowing. His nightmares had gotten worse. Most of them were based around those nights he'd spent with them, others involved everyone finding out a one-sided version of what had happened, all spun in the favor of the witches. He dreamed of Arella leaving him, heart-broken from the implication that he would stray from her and running into the arms of one of his brothers. The worst ones- the ones he would wake up from covered in a cold sweat in the dead of night- consisted of him standing in the witches' home, the sounds of screaming, the smell of blood, the piercing first cries somewhere between the call of a demon and the screams of a human baby infecting his senses. It all felt too real. It felt like a crushing weight on his chest.
Over this time, Mammon had grown distant from both his brothers and Arella, hardly spending anytime with them. He fell apart. The grades he worked so hard to pull up had taken a nose dive, he was hardly eating- choosing only to consume just barely enough to sustain himself. He no longer slept for fear of the nightmares and he instead threw himself into side jobs that would keep him out of the house well passed curfew as well as earn him plentiful amounts of grimm. He couldn't go on like this much longer.
Everyone was worried for him. None of them had ever seen the Avatar of Greed in this manner and the gradual change in his demeanor alarmed them. Despite everyone’s best attempts, Mammon hardly smiled anymore. He just simply didn't seem to enjoy all of the things he once did. They all knew something was wrong but when asked the white haired demon would shrug it off, say he was fine when he very obviously was not. Everything came to a head the night Mammon collapsed, finally falling victim to exhaustion and hunger.
It was after this that Lucifer called the family to a meeting while Arella sat with Mammon in his room as he slept fitfully.
"What do we do, Lucifer?" Asmo seemed distraught with fear. "Our brother is suffering from something and we don't even know where to start in trying to help him."
"We have to get him to talk somehow," Satan quipped, "Perhaps Arella can-"
"If this were any other situation, I would suggest it but right now, I don't think that's a very wise move. If she forces him to talk it could very well damage the bond they share." For the first time in thousands of years, Lucifer didn't know what to do. Whatever was causing this shift in personality was eating away at Mammon. "We'll try to think of a way to fix this- to find out what happened to our dear brother. So let's start at the beginning of all of this. What do we know about what he was doing before this happened?"
"Well, Levi started, "He was getting called up by those witch sisters with more and more frequently. I heard him come home super late- like early morning hours late..."
"And after that is when he practically stopped eating." Beel chimed in.
"And he was having nightmares almost nightly, afterwards." Belphie nodded. "I did my best with my powers to look into them but there were so many mental blocks that he subconsciously put up, I couldn't see or hear anything very well and what I could see didn't make a whole lot of sense. They weren't very clear, but they had something to do with the witches... and I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt associated with them."
"Then obviously something happened while he was with them," Satan said, brow furrowed. "But what that may be, we won't know until he talks."
"Asmo, I see the look on your face." Lucifer called out to the Avatar of Lust. "Is there something, you'd like share with the group?"
Everyone's eyes were locked onto Asmodeus as the demon sat with a contemplative look on his face. He was very slowly starting to piece together what had been going on.
"Not yet, but I may have a hunch." He finally said. "Mammon has a pact with these women, correct?"
Next
Masterlist 2
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sapphirelass · 3 years
Text
Deal? - Remus LupinxDaughter!Reader
Tumblr media
Hi! :)
Deal? (Part 1) | Oh, darling... (Part 2) | I’ll be by your side (Part 3) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please note:
1: I don’t own any of the gifs used, nor any already established characters, so credit to the authors and original creators - You have done a phenomenal job :)
2: English is not my native language, as I was born and raised in Sweden. I have, however, studied English for almost a decade, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I just thought I’d let you know ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You probably already knew this, but still XD
(Y/N) - Your name
(Y/N/N) - Your nickname
(Y/H/L) - Your hair length
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I swear, my next story won’t be about Umbridge XD
Word count: ≈ 2300
Warnings: Umbridge, angst, slight swearing
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I do not wish to criticise the ways of the school, however you have been exposed to some rather irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed - not to mention” the toadlike professor threw a dark glance at a sandy haired student and smirked evilly, “extremely dangerous half breeds”.
The student in question raised her hand angrily, and glared at Professor Umbridge. “Yes?” the teacher smiled sweetly, “miss… Lupin, am I correct?”
“Yes, (Y/N)!” she began, “but that’s besides the point. Look, I know what you’re doing, but Professor Lupin was the best DADA teacher we’ve ever had, and I’d be more than happy to bet everything I own on that being quite a common opinion in this classroom!”
Most of her fellow classmates nodded furiously, and the young girl turned her head towards her professor, who immediately cleared her throat and declared: “Well, I’m afraid simply being a beloved teacher doesn’t really matter, dear.  Werewolves are still extremely dangerous creatures. They are beasts that are undeserving of respect and that should not be allowed to be part of our fine wizard community. They are uncontrollable, and highly likely to injure or possibly kill young witches and wizards, including their own children.”
She flashed a cruel, yet pleased, smirk as (Y/N) furiously stood up, despite Hermione desperately trying to force her down.
“You have NO IDEA what you’re talking about!?” she whispered angrily, her nails digging into her palms as her fists clenched. “You have probably never even met one of these so called ‘half breeds’, have you? No, you were most likely just told some bizarre stories containing more lies and made up facts than truths, and decided to put that worthless ‘knowledge’ - if you can even call it that - to use by spreading rumors and destroying the lives of innocent people.”
Umbridge looked frantic, and was about to speak up, but (Y/N) got there first. “I despise people who look down on others. People who claim to be better than everyone else. People like you. You certainly don’t deserve respect!”
She took a deep breath, and was about to continue when Umbridge’s shrill voice forced her to stay quiet. “That’s quite enough! Detention, miss Lupin. The rest of the week, five fifteen, don’t be late”.
***
A few hours later, (Y/N) made her way back to Umbridge’s office. She knew her friends had wanted to talk to her, but she had done her absolute best to avoid them all afternoon. She simply didn’t feel like explaining to them why she had done what she did. She’d gladly do it again though. Her father was the kindest, wisest, most incredible person she had ever met. He had done everything in his power to give her a good childhood, and no one had the right to insult him. She’d defend him to her last breath if that’s what it would come down to.
She knocked on the door carefully, and pushed it open when she heard a shrill, terrifying voice sing a sweet “come in”.
“Oh, miss Lupin, almost late I see!” she said arrogantly. (Y/N) didn’t have time to answer before her teacher continued. “Sit down.”
***
The detentions went on for another four days before Umbridge told her she didn’t have to come back the following evening, but that she better hold her tongue unless she longed for more. (Y/N) tried to keep that in mind, but still lost her cool a few more times before the end of the semester. However, the Christmas holidays were approaching, and though her red, swollen hand caused her to worry slightly, the idea of seeing her dad and godfather caused her enough joy to tip her mood over to “mainly happy”.
She stepped off the train with her friends, and immediately spotted her father on the platform.
“Dad!!” she shouted, and threw her scratched arms around his constantly scarred torso. “Merlin, I’ve missed you so much”. She buried her head in his shoulder, simply enjoying the feeling of love and safety that he somehow instantly gave off.
“Hello, darling!” he said gently, returning the bone-crushing hug. “I missed you too, believe me…”
(Y/N) wanted to stay like that forever, but eventually let go as she intended to at least try to keep her… problems… hidden. She had never really been able to keep secrets from her dad, and therefore didn’t want to do anything he would consider “out of the ordinary”. If she did, he’d figure it out, or persuade her to tell him everything within minutes, and she knew he’d feel guilty if he realized what she had done for him. She understood perfectly well that the scars on her hand were deep enough to be visible for the rest of her life, and that nothing she would say could convince Remus Lupin that it was not his fault. She was left with one option: He could not, under any circumstances, know. Ever.
They carried her trunk together, and walked a few feet behind the rest of the gang.
“So?”, her father inquired, “How are things? You all doing okay?”
“I suppose”, she answered, “Our new DADA teacher is quite a daft prick though.”
“(Y/N/N)!”, he muttered sternly, casually trying to hide a smile, “Are you sure that’s the right word? Sounds rather rough, doesn’t it?”
The witch shrugged. “No, I think it fits rather nicely. It’s almost as if she’s trying her very best to prevent us from learning anything helpful…”
“That’s… well, that doesn’t sound very promising, does it?”
“No, hence the slightly offensive description… But enough about her, how are you? Had any company while I was gone?”
The older wizard smiled, easily noticing the tone of his daughter’s voice switch into a far more joyful, energetic one - One he knew and loved!
“Oh yes, I’ve spent quite a bit of time at headquarters, and Sirius essentially isn’t allowed anywhere else, so we’ve done a lot of catching up. There is, believe it or not, a lot to talk about after 12 years without seeing each other, so it’s been very nice.” He turned to her, smiled even broader and added a quick “But I’ve still missed you.”, before quickening his pace to catch up with the others.
***
Later that night, (Y/N), Remus, Harry and Sirius were sat in the living room of number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry and Sirius were playing catch with an old snitch they had found in the house, lazily throwing it back and forth. (Y/N) lay on a sofa, a thick leather bound book tightly clutched in her hands and her head resting on her fathers lap. He was deeply invested in A Guide to Medieval Sorcery, and father and daughter were simply enjoying a nice, calm evening.
All of a sudden, Sirius grabbed the snitch, sat up straight and reached out towards his godson.
“Harry, what’s that on your hand?”
The dark haired boy pulled the sleeves of his jumper further down and mumbled a quiet “nothing”.
“Sure, let me see then”
“No, it’s fine, don’t worry abo…”
Harry didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, as Sirius had risen from his seat and forcefully grabbed his left hand. The slightly faded “I must not tell lies” was still readable, and Harry winced as the look on his godfather’s face went from composed to furious in a matter of seconds.
“Who?”
“Sirius, I…”
“WHO?!”
By this time, both Remus and (Y/N) had put their books down, and were carefully observing the “argument”.
“It’s our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Umbridge. She’s quite generous when it comes to giving detentions. But mine’s really not that bad now. It barely hurts anymore…”
“That’s totally barbaric!? Moony, we have to…”
“Harry”, Remus interrupted his old friend with a worried look on his face, “What do you mean by ‘quite generous’?”
His heart practically skipped a beat when he felt his daughter shift uncomfortably, however it was Harry who answered.
“‘m quite sure half the Gryffindors have been to her office at least once by now. Even when you’re not really doing anything wrong, she’ll make up a ‘reasonable’ excuse…”
As Harry spoke, (Y/N) had unconsciously been pulling the sleeves of her jumper closer to her fingertips. Remus obviously noticed and made eye contact with Harry, nodding discreetly towards his daughter as if to ask if she too had… well… yeah? Harry closed his eyes, knowing full well how his friend wanted to hide her scars from her dad. It had taken hours of convincing before she had even let him, Ron and Hermione see, and he understood why she didn’t want Lupin to know. He did, however, not like the idea of lying to his former professor, and nodded slightly.
Remus closed his eyes looking simultaneously sad and angered, sat up straight and muttered “(Y/N/N)?”
The young witch took a deep breath and was about to move away from her dad, but he was faster and quickly grabbed her hand. He was very gentle, but she flinched anyways, as her last detention had taken place only a week prior.
“(Y/N/N)”, he repeated, “show me”
“Dad”, she mumbled quietly, “‘tis fine, don’t worry”
“(Y/N)!” His voice sounded far sterner now, “I’m serious. C’mere”
“No, I don’t want…”
“It’s not a question of whether or not you want to, Love”, Sirius explained before his friend could think of a response. “Show your dad.”
“But…”
“(Y/N/N)”, Harry mumbled, “Just… just do it”
“No! I can handle it! Stop making it sound like I’m too weak to do so!”
She felt a tear escape her eye, and stood up to leave the room when Remus waved his wand and locked the door.
Taking yet another deep breath, his daughter turned around, made her way across the room, pulled her left sleeve up and slammed her scarred hand down on the table for the other three to see.
“There! You happy now?!”
A flood of tears were streaming down her face, as her dad, godfather and best friend leant closer and read seven deep-red, awful, heart wrenching words:
***
I must not defend filthy half breeds
***
Remus put his head in his hands and stood up, while Sirius moved closer to his goddaughter and pulled her into a tight hug. Harry joined the embrace and comfortingly rubbed her back.
“why? Why (Y/N/N)?”, her father whispered quietly, his voice barely audible.
“I… I couldn’t…She… sorry…”
The usually calm, collected girl was completely lost for words. Shaking. She had no clue what to say, all she knew was that she had to let her dad know that she was sorry. Sorry for making him feel guilty. Sorry for causing him so much pain. Sorry for not being strong enough.
She walked over to him and noticed heavy, wet tears on his face too. Carefully she wrapped her arms around him, and together they sank down onto the cold floor. They sat there for what felt like hours before Remus finally spoke up, repeating his previous question.
“Why, darling?”
She met his sad gaze and collected her thoughts before quietly whispering “She keeps saying horrible things - pure lies - and she’s enjoying it. She’s throwing insults my way every chance she gets. If I don’t stand up and fight, everyone will think she’s right, and she’s not. Nothing will ever change unless someone works for it, and as soon as that someone backs down, they’ve lost. I’m not having that.”
He looks back at her, his eyes full of pride. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“You mean besides being the most phenomenal dad imaginable?”
He chuckled softly, ruffled her (Y/H/L) hair and held his hand out. (Y/N) slowly placed her hand on her father’s and shifted her gaze towards the floor as he examined the neatly written letters. With a worried expression on his face, he grabbed his wand and moved it back and forth over the scars while quietly muttering a few carefully chosen words. The pain immediately became more endurable, and after putting his wand away the older wizard grabbed his daughter’s shoulders gently, and looked at her in a sad, yet determined way.
“(Y/N/N), as honourable as your intentions are, please don’t do this for me. I’m not going to tell you to back down, but if you’re going to keep it up, don’t let it…” He paused, trying to find the right words. “I can’t stand the thought of you getting injured because of me. I’m not wo…”
“Yes, you are! Stop saying that! I’ll be a bit more selective, if that’s what you want, but don’t you dare tell me not to fight for you. You are my dad, my only family, and there is not a single person on this planet less deserving of disrespect, insults and hate. Dad, you’re amazing, and I’m not letting her fool people into thinking you’re not.”
After a moment of silence, a quiet, “I still don’t like it…”, escaped his lips.
“I know.” She sighed, “That’s why I originally didn’t plan on telling you.”
(Y/N) was fiddling with her fingers, not quite meeting her fathers warm gaze, when she suddenly sat up and said, “Let’s make a deal? I promise to choose my fights more wisely, and in return, you won’t blame yourself for the consequences of said choices? Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
Her father sighed, but reluctantly answered, “Fine, as long as you promise me one more thing.”
“Hmm?”
“You won’t hide scars or pain from me ever again, no matter whether it’s physical or mental, okay? You’ll let me know, and let me help, always!”
She held her right hand out, her dad shook it and they shared a smile. This time, a true, pure one that actually reached their identically green eyes.
“Deal!”
~ L
Part 2 Oh, darling...
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batarella · 4 years
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3 birds 1 stone - chapter 5
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‘Dick, Jason, and Tim. Supposed brothers 'till the end, until all three fall in love with you. Who wins your heart?
The man who earned it, the man who stole it, or the man who always had it?’
A/N: you’ll all either love me and give me a hug, or burn me at the stake. 
WORDS: 9119 WARNINGS: batarella being an evil witch 
MASTERLIST | 3 BIRDS 1 STONE MASTERLIST
-----
A head of black hair. You could see it behind one of the couches at the library. Tim. He was reading a book.
“Pretty bird?”
Jason crept up behind you with his eyes squinted. Then he peeked into the doorway you were standing behind to see what you were stalking like some creep.
“Trying to talk to Tim?”
You swallowed. “No…”
“And you’re hesitating?” Jason quirked up a brow. “Why else would you stand here for a minute straight?”
“You’ve been watching me for a minute straight?”
“I came from all the way down that hall. I forgot something at the cave. Came back and saw you staring at something at the doorway like a mugger.”
You rolled your eyes, then turned back to face Tim not realizing how much you were moving your jaw.
“Pretty bird, talk to him. We can all feel the tension like some kind of invisible string.”
“God, not you, too.”
“Oh it isn’t just me. Trust me. A lot of us have noticed. On Christmas Eve you’re all touchy and lovey on each other and the next minute you're avoiding him like the plague.”
“I get it,” you snorted.
“Tim needs it. You probably do to.”
You scoffed at him when he came over and placed his arm around your shoulder, facing Tim just as you were.
“Listen. When you want advice about boys, my brothers especially, talk to me because if there’s anyone out there who knows those two walnuts more in this house, it’s me.”
“Two?”
He snorted. “Come on. Don’t deny about Dick, too.”
“Fuck, don’t tell me everyone knows about that-“
“Quit worrying.” You glared at Jason as he ruffled your hair. “I’m the only one who knows about Dick, other than Steph but that’s only because you told her. So don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
You rolled your eyes and pushed him off you.
“Remember,” Jason nudged your shoulder before he walked away. “I know my brothers best.”
You didn’t respond to that.
You waited until he was gone.
Then you stepped in, knocked, stood as still as a lamp.
Tim turned around and caught sight of you. He smiled, casually nodded for you to come in, and you did just that. Seeing that you were going to take the seat right beside him, he inched himself away.
Then he went back to his book. Kept himself occupied. He didn’t glance up at you even when you were so obviously staring at him.
Trying to keep things casual. Ignoring the obvious and only making things a whole lot weirder. You placed your hands on your lap and looked around the room. The coffee table was too far for you to just pick something up and have something to do, so was the next book despite you being in a library. You sank into the couch, your chin almost touching your chest to cower yourself away.
Though cowering right now would be the worst thing to do.
Tim looked up at you, eyes so soft you desperately wanted to melt. And he watched you so kindly, smiling despite it being clear that it still hurt.
“You okay?”
You just wanted to remember him looking at you this way forever.
At opposite ends of the same couch, with the window right in front of you so you could look into the gardens. Damian was outside. Meditating on the snow-covered grass and looking so peaceful. You wanted a bit of that peace.
“Y/N?”
Your throat had that itch, but it hadn’t hurt yet, giving you no reason to hide behind for not having anything to say. At the same time, you had everything and nothing to tell him.
“How are you?” you asked.
It was all you could say. You said it so swiftly, and it was basically all of what you wanted out of him. but barely, barely, could it cover the immense depth of what you wanted to know that was going on. Because behind that soft smile and that crinkle on his eyes, you knew Tim too much to know when he was about to break.
Not surprisingly, you should be looking the same way, too.
“I…” Tim put his book down on the arm rest and leaned towards you. “I’m alright, I guess.”
Maybe it was from the way you were looking at him. Wide eyed, yet with your mouth trembling and your hands kept to yourself. Like every spirit that kept you up had sunken so low towards the ground, you just wanted to sink even deeper until you couldn’t even see yourself.
When you kept your head down, thumb brushing over the back of your other hand, you heard Tim shift on the couch.
“I’m… I’ll be okay, Y/N…” Tim had faced away from you and leaned onto his knees as well, head to the ground between his feet.
The itch was starting to grow. Still it wasn’t enough to hinder you from talking.
“I’m sorry…”
“No,” he said. “Please don’t be sorry.”
You desperately wanted to just reach for him and hold his head to your neck, let him fall asleep in that couch wrapped in your arms so tightly, he couldn’t possibly feel safer anywhere else. But you couldn’t even do that, no matter how much he looked like he needed it.
“You didn’t deserve how I hurt you…” Tim whispered. “That was selfish.”
“Tim…”
You inched closer, but he backed away.
‘I love you.’
So close to just slipping out of your lips.
You weren’t too sure what would happen next. Frankly, you were too afraid of that.
You still loved him. Every bit of you throbbed at the sight of him. Both your arms constantly wished to hold him and stay. Your eyes lock onto him like you were seeing a sunset in Greece. Nothing passed when you weren’t worrying about where he was, wondering what went on in his head at times when you just catch him smiling. You stare at him for too long people often had to snap you out of a trance. You discretely did favors and the littlest things just to earn a laugh or even a smirk from him just because his smile meant everything to you. Your day was made from the sight of him laughing so hard he was on the floor clutching his stomach and you ended up realizing it was the most beautiful sight and the most beautiful sound you’ve ever witnessed. You always kept a side eye stuck on him wherever he was in the room, no matter what he was doing. Always, always put his happiness first over anything else. You watched him be with other people, watched him grow into this incredible man to admire and look up to. He never failed to make you proud. Never failed to earn your smile just as much as you worked to earn his.
Trusting him with your life. Letting him see all the hidden parts of you. Letting him see you with your leg off. Letting him hold you even when his hold meant two different things between you and him.
Seeing him slowly fall in love with you again, feel his touches warmer, his hands feel tighter, his gazes last longer, his words softer, his talks mean deeper, his eyes shine brighter.
Knowing with all your heart that he had fallen so deeply, desperately, undeniably in love with you all over again.
You not knowing if it was for the best…
Tim, with his long hair falling over to his face with his head dipped down, shut his eyes so tight it looked painful.
You never stopped loving him. Not even for a day. Torturing yourself to this extent, to care so much for someone who’d hurt you unlike anything and anyone else your whole life. Still holding on, with no plans of letting go, even when your own memories and trauma and your own feelings were screaming at you to forget him. When both your love for him and the pain from all those years ago never went away, coexisting into this mush of all the emotions you couldn’t possibly control.
Because looking at Tim hurt you just as much as it sparked your love. Not a day when you didn’t constantly long for him to be in your arms, but neither was there one when you forgot what it was like for him to just throw you aside.
The most agonizing, torturous thing you could possibly do to yourself. You wouldn’t know if kissing him would feel any different from Christmas night, or if that old spark would come back and convince you that this was a decision you made right.
And being with him, it would only make things so much worse. Telling him how you felt, no matter how strong and how much they just wanted to all be poured out on the table for him to know, it just wouldn’t make things any better for either of you. Because you’ve seen him fall in love with you the first time, when you were both just fifteen years old, he told you how much he loved you, when he asked you to be his, and you lept into his arms screaming ‘yes’ over and over until both your ears hurt.
And that had gone. Faltered. Crushed you into pieces you still haven’t been able to pull back together.
You don’t want to through all that again.
“Tim…” You needed to let this all out. “I wish there was something I can do…”
“Please… You have to believe me… I’ll be alright.”
It wasn’t so sudden. It wasn’t a surprise. Still, when his palms reached over to hold your hand so tightly, you shot up and stared unmoving at him.
“You still love me,” he said. “I always knew that.”
There was nothing more heartbreaking than the way he smiled at you then.
You just held his hand tighter, never looking away from him.
“But I hurt you too many times. I can't turn back what happened… I realize that now... I shouldn’t have made a move…”
“No…”
You knew he had more to say to you that he was trying to hold back. After he took his hand away, you felt too cold, too alone. You desperately wanted to lean into his chest.
The gifts. Tell him about the gifts. The Valentine’s present that he gives you without fail. The ones that only started arriving right after you’d broken up. How it would be the fourth year now since then. When you thought it was from Bruce who took notice of the things you liked until you eventually realized it was Tim making things right after he’d torn your heart apart. The perfectly wrapped silver box with a crystal-like bow. The BlueBear Sketchpad. The ten-piece Tremblay brush set. The five tubes of Lalande Acrylic paint. All the other gifts. All supposedly just gifts. All just things, but everything had been so carefully picked out, chosen to your best interest as if he knew exactly what to find, as if you’d told him all those yourself.
Only he could have possibly known you enough or have paid attention to all the sketchbooks and paint brushes you yearned for every year. Only he could have loved you that much to never forget to make you so happy. Only he could have possibly taken notice of the tools you like to use and how you did your work. Only he could have the guilt to make up for your broken heart.
Tell him about how those gifts practically made your career. Tell him how much they pushed you even further to be a better artist.
Tell him how the thought that was placed on every single gift, how you could just feel the love he’d left on the way he tied the ribbon. Tell him how much you appreciated everything so much that each time you look back at every gift, you could make an entire painting just from how inspired you were of him.
Tell him it was one of the reasons why you had partly healed and moved on, knowing he was still there looking out for you, supporting you, taking care of you, loving you even from afar.
Tell him how those gifts made you hold onto your love for him so much, that even now you just couldn’t let him go no matter how painful it was to want to stay.
He could have given you a stuffed toy from a crane machine or a burger from down the street for all you cared. It was the thought, and so much of thought came from each time you opened the gifts and it was adorned with little love notes, individually wrapped presents in a silver box. It not only looked like it came from him. It looked like it was meant to fit everything about you.
And perhaps, it will remain to be the biggest mistake of your life, when you continue to live on knowing you didn’t tell him any of those truths.
Because you just kept quiet.
It hurt how much he was just as silent as you were, punishing himself with his own thoughts that were probably just as cruel as the ones you were telling yourself. This was why it couldn’t be anymore. With him.
Being with him had so much love, and with it came so much angst. So much hurt.
And it hurt even more that you had fallen in love with Dick as well.
“I’m sorry.”
Tim stood up and left the room, and you didn’t look at him long enough to know if his gaze on you went on until he’d stepped out of the door or if he hadn’t looked back at all. Because you’ve grown far too stiff, far too frozen for you to react to anything, even when it had growntoo cold for the window to be open. Your muscles had set in place, you stuck on that couch. You didn’t bother to move even if icicles were to be forming under your chin.
And yet, even after you did what you had been telling yourself for so long, nothing changed. You still had that deep crater permanently staring back at you from where you could see your chest. You still had that dark emptiness that caved in each time you dove further into your poisonous, torturous thoughts. It didn’t do anything any better.
Six years ago, you chose Tim. There was probably no one else you could possibly think of to be your first love, your first boyfriend. You chose him and never looked back. You loved him more than anyone you could possibly learn to love even when you were far too young to even fully understand what love was.
You chose Tim, and when he’d hurt you, left you as you realized he didn’t choose you the way you’d chosen him over everything else, someone else came along and you learned to love him, too. And you realized that you could, in fact, love someone just as greatly and deeply as you did the first time. Maybe even more.
But that was what Dick had been to you. Someone you loved. Someone who brightened up the days that seemed pitch black for hours on end. You hated yourself knowing that no matter how much you loved Dick, he was still just a second to Tim, who you’d always choose first. Dick was someone who was only there because of the circumstance.
Someone you wouldn’t have fallen in love with if Tim hadn’t left you.
Someone you hadn’t kissed yet, even when you probably should have that night in front of the easel, because someone, the man who still had your heart was keeping you from falling into the arms of the man you so greatly wanted.
One of these days, you had to admit the truth. Never mind to anyone else. You had to admit it to yourself.
It didn’t matter if Tim was the one you loved the greatest or not.
You’re not holding yourself back from Tim because of Dick.
You were holding yourself back from Dick because of Tim.
-----
You never promised to stay longer than a week, or even longer than when you actually wanted.
You couldn’t take this anymore.
Your bag looked and felt a lot fuller than when you came in and it needed a bit of effort just to squeeze in your hoodie. Though it was definitely because you were just piling all your clothes unfolded without much care for creases, you just went with it and closed the zipper hoping it wouldn’t explode. Hands on your hips, eyes taking its much-needed break, you breathed.
“You’re leaving?”
Dick. He was at the door and he looked frantic.
You shrugged and played it as cool as you possibly could. “I think I should head home now…”
“It hasn’t been a week.”
“I have work,” you swallowed. Your coat was all the way over to the other side of the bed.
“Did we do something? I swear, we’ll leave you alone next time.”
“It’s not that.” You took your other bag filled with all your equipment. “I shouldn’t be staying here long. Besides. I know you’re going back to San Francisco tomorrow.”
“I-“ He looked nervous. “How’d you know about that?”
“Steph told me. You got something to take care of with the Titans?”
When you had both your heavy bags slung over your shoulder, you went over towards him.
“Yeah… I do… But I was gonna come back.”
“It’s fine. Seriously. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you again when you come back”
You hand was on his arm and you smiled.
“I haven’t had a nightmare since I came here.”
Then your palm found itself on his cheek.
The way he was looking at you then…
“If you need anything at all, you know you have me.”
You pulled him so close to you, but he remained unmoving, stiff. Your arms were around his neck and you kept holding him tight even when you felt his own arms hold you back far too late.
When you backed away, Dick wouldn’t let you.
“Wait.”
His low, breathy voice, much more resembling a whisper. He held you by the waist and wouldn’t even let you pull your head back away so your mouth wouldn’t feel his breath.
“Can we go somewhere?”
You blinked. “Go somewhere?”
“Just the two of us.”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
You finally pushed yourself away so you could stand on your own. Being so pressed so tightly against his chest was making you lightheaded.
“Why?” you choked. “Where would we go?”
“There’s this place I’ve been wanting to take you for a while.” Dick held both your hands and you didn’t know if you were dumbfounded at how intimately he was holding you or at the words he was blurting out right then. “It’s not too far off, but it’s quite the drive. It’s not as cold there, too. So it’s the perfect place to paint.”
“Paint?”
“Yeah…” He smiled softly. “I just thought you’d like that.”
Instead of a decline or even a snort at the ridiculousness of this spontaneity, which probably wasn’t spontaneity if he’d planned this out before, you were grinning.
“That a yes?”
You couldn’t exactly say no to him.
“Fine.”
“Take everything with you. Come on.”
Dick held your hand the whole way out, into his car, speeding out of the garage like some runaway driver in a car chase even with the snow-covered streets stopped him from going even faster.
Your heart was racing even when you were still sitting on the passenger seat and trying to hold back from smiling too much at the sight of Dick looking so panicky and jumpy at the intersection.
“I can't believe we’re doing this.”
“You don’t even know where we’re going. Just relax.”
“Excuse me, you relax. You look like your hair’s about to jump out of your scalp.”
Dick actually messed up his hair even more and smirked. You took your coat off, settled on the seat and reclined it back so you could lie down. “How long’s the drive?”
“About an hour. You can sleep if you want.”
Dick had slowed down, and his nerves most probably did too.
Your eyes were all on him the whole time as you slowly drifted into this light, calming nap, the first that hadn’t been over a night of too much thinking.
When you’d woken up, you could have sworn you were still in a dream, a trance, something that had come straight out of the own creative runs in your head.
On one side of the car, you could see the hill Dick was driving up to in a spiral. Snow-covered grass. Pine trees magically being blanketed by the white whilst still showing off that earthy green of their leaves. The cold, grey cement that the car was slowly driving up to. Everywhere you looked about, the hill looked magnificent.
Then there was the equally majestic other side. On your side of the car window. You peeked over, and where the road had ended, the cliff dropped all the way down into the crashing, roaring ocean that went further out into the far horizon stretching towards the end of sight. It wasn’t so blue as it was this mysterious, freezing gray that looked too similar to the road’s color, but that, with the white of the snow and the trees and the clouds that littered all over the sky, you’d say your breath would be taken away if you even had any left at all.
You only wished your paint would do any of this any justice.
Dick drove until you’d reached all the way up the hill.
Coat over your shoulders, you stepped out of the car and were surprised you weren’t freezing your fingers off when you were so high up and the sea so close.
“See.” Dick threw his arms up. “Not too cold, right?”
“It’s perfect.”
You were too enamored with everything in front of you that you hadn’t even noticed Dick had taken out your equipment from the trunk for you.
You walked over to the edge, to where the hill started to descend, and you had probably had the most perfect view there possibly could be on the planet, where the cold ocean met the snow-covered land, before it morphed into this forest of green spikes shooting up to the view of the ocean and the clouds that looked too much like the snow. There was no sun, but it shouldn’t matter. Not if you painted this fast enough. And this might actually be one of the most scenic things you’ll ever paint.
You turned back to set up your easel and Dick helped you with your paint. He even brought a chair for you that you hadn’t thought of bringing, and with all that, as you sat in front of your easel, you had no idea where and how you were going to bring justice to such beauty in front of you and cram it all into one measly canvas.
But you weren’t even worried, even when you probably should be. You weren’t too in your head and neither were you too frozen to move or start picking up your brushes and work.
And before you could even come back to your senses, already your brush had been dipped onto this mix of a darker white and you were downright copying everything that went on in the scene in front of you. And it might have just been from the cold that stung your cheeks in place so frozen, but you were smiling the whole time. Brush on the canvas, that sound of each stroke of the tip’s hairs that left on a line of color. You started mixing the darker gray for the ocean and the rocks, then you started on the hill at the bottom side from where you were sitting.
In front of you, Dick had walked over from just watching you work to admiring the view all the way over to the edges of the slope. Even with the cold and the drying snow, Dick sat on a dry spot and brought his knees up to rest his elbows on. That, with his black hair waltzing about with the wind blowing against him in the face and the coat over his shoulders the same color as his Nightwing suit, he looked just about as beautiful as the view itself.
Smiling as you watched him lay down on the grass, you looked down and got another brush for you to start with the horizon.
You kept it subtle, since it wouldn’t be the center of the painting. You worked with the waves and how it came crashing down to this rocky abyss, right before it shot up to this pine-covered hill. That was what you’d envisioned. And with each stroke of the grayish blue and the whites for the sea foam that looked similar to the clouds hovering above it, you continued with the pines.
“What’s the best part about it?” Dick was propped up on his elbows.
You tapped the brush onto the easel. “About the view?”
“Yeah.” He rocked about while he hugged his knees. “The ocean?”
“I don’t even know. Everything about it’s so beautiful.”
He didn’t know you started painting a black-haired man sitting at the side of the hill.
“Gotham can only give you so much beauty to work on. You don’t get to go out to the country much to paint.”
“I really don’t. It’s always skyscrapers and helicopters and busy streets,” you sighed. “It’s nice to have something else for a change.”
When Dick looked back to shoot you a glance, you were dabbing the end of a fat brush onto the hill for the snow that had grayish tones in for the dirt and uncovered patches. Your fingers started to stiffen, but you managed to ignore it and continued to work so calmingly that it didn’t even cross your mind how nothing was crossing your mind at all. Like your head had been so engulfed into this paradise you found yourself in that it gave you that favor you needed of not having any thoughts that controlled you and your emotions, gave you that minute of freedom from the confines of your own head, that light you so desperately seek for the past few years when you needed that light. The waves filled in for any other sound, the white and the snow brightening that black static from your nightmares. Your head blank from everything you’ve been dwelling on. And the tapping of your brush, every stroke, every dab, every color you mixed on the palette, it filled in for that urge in your fingers that urged you to do something about your situation and the problems and the circumstances you had to deal with.
This was heaven.
And you could have sworn it was definitely the view that did this, not anything else. But deep down, when you really thought of the realities that went on with how you felt and the last time you were brought to such gorgeous scenery, you’d know that the person you were sharing this with plays a significantly larger part in that calmness.
Perhaps hours had gone. Maybe two. Dick had stood up from his space on the ground and had taken another chair from the car to sit beside you. Then you heard a snicker when you’d finished up with ocean and the clouds and the pine trees and the hill and went on to the finishing touches of a handsome man looking out into the sea, with a blue coat and black hair flopping over his ears. He was looking to the side, faint red lips curved up, and his eyes, even with it so tiny, you could still see how it was the brightest blue in the picture.
Even with the view so breathtaking, you’d done so much justice to Dick’s beauty that only he could possibly contest the ocean. With the ocean so striking and the hill side so gorgeously done, all eyes would still end up on Dick, and he had on that smile he’d give you that always brought out the best in just about anyone he meets, takes away the darkness wherever he went, pulls anyone’s spirits up from the ground so much that you couldn’t possibly remember even the worst thoughts you’d otherwise never be able to escape from.
“I’m going out on a hunch here,” Dick said. His face was right beside you and your shoulders were touching. “But I do believe that’s me you just painted there.”
“Lucky guess.”
You placed your brushes onto the container on the easel and sat back. Tilted your head. Took advantage of the light whilst it was still there. Because in front of you, the sun that was tucked beneath the clouds had started to settle and soon enough it will be so cold you’ll freeze before it’ll eventually be too dangerous to drive around in the dark province. Though Dick didn’t look like he was too worried about that.
“I can't possibly look that good.”
You guffawed. “I think I did just about right with one of the best-looking men on the planet.”
“Aren’t you the charmer,” he winked. And you shook your head to avoid looking at him in the eye too much and choke.
You placed all your paint back into your bag, along with your brushes and rags. Then Dick folded up the easel and you held the now dried painting up in your arms, holding it up to match the view you just took it from. As you lowered it, the sun had gone, and it was dark.
“Dick.”
He came up behind you, hands in his coat as it was starting to get really cold, then when he was in front of you, you handed the canvas over to him.
“It’s for you.”
He smiled. “I brought you here for you. As much as I love it. You should keep it for yourself. When’s the last time you painted just because you wanted to?”
Everyday, his words never fail to remind you how deeply you’d fallen over. “I-I don’t…”
“Exactly. You don’t. Hang it up on your room. Wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of me up on your wall.”
With your brow up, you wanted to titter as he took the painting for you and placed it in the back seat. You trailed behind him, hugging yourself in your jacket when the wind that was blowing up on that hill were getting much stronger than your tolerance.
You blew hot air into your hands, scrunched yourself up into this stiff body, then when Dick turned back around you wished you weren’t shaking so much like a goof. With a handsome little smile, he came up to you and held your arms tightly in his palms.
“You’re cold?”
“No, actually I think it’s a little humid.”
You thought he’d stop at your remark but he just rolled his eyes and kept rubbing your elbows to keep you warm. “Aren’t you cold?”
He shrugged.
The little street lights at the side of the hill were all there was, because it was pitch dark by then. And when you looked out into the far end of the other side, behind the view you were just looking at, the city lights contested with the country side’s calmness. Although it was so beautiful, and even with your place being so quiet, you still could hear the bustling noises you wanted a break from now.
Dick was leaning against the car, and you felt how his hands longingly lingered on your arms just before he slipped them off of you. But even then, you still felt close. You were standing in front of him, alone in the gloom in the best place on earth. And with the silence, more so could you hear the ocean against the hillside rocks. The smell of salt from the sea and the earthy musk of the hill made it all the more calming.
You met Dick’s eyes, wide-open and glimmering. His forehead was creased up, hands in his pockets, he looked at you so enthralled by how close you were standing that it pulled you to take another step closer.
“If you won't stay at the manor…” He licked his lips. “Is it okay if I visit you a lot? Like, a lot more than I already do?”
You wished you didn’t sound so casual like you were just talking to Cass or Duke, just friends. “Of course, Dick. You’re always welcome.”
And even when he was so obviously trying to hide it, the way he flattened his lips and faced the ground let you know that it killed him.
You sighed. “Sorry, I just… With what happened with Tim-“
“I know,” he said. “I know what happened.”
“You do?”
“Well, I know something happened. I honestly wished I realized that before I invited you over. I had no idea then.”
“It’s alright.”
Still, he was looking at his feet. You toyed with a rock with the tip of your shoe, and accidently you tapped on his.
“I’m glad I did.”
“Really?” He looked up.
“Yeah.”
His back was no longer against the car, so he was standing even nearer to you, close enough that your toes would touch and linger to stay. Creases at the corners of his eyelids. His lips so plump and looking so soft.
Dick was definitely glancing at your lips as well, with the way he was looking at you, eyelids now relaxed and his mouth parted slightly enough for you to have a peek of his teeth.
He was so beautiful…
“I’m glad your stay at the manor made you feel better.”
No more games. You wanted him too much.
Is it selfish to go through with this? Knowing what was going to happen?
“Dick…” you gulped. “It wasn’t the manor…”
He didn’t look surprised. He wasn’t moving, nor did he react. But you could feel how his breath had quicken, his eyes open wider, how that relaxed concern turned into this breathless panic even when he was standing so still.
Though you wanted to cry, you found yourself smiling.
That same smile that always seemed to silence him. The one that lingered in minds and stopped all things happening around. And with how you were standing so close to Dick, you were practically giving him the whole world.
You swallowed.
A hand on your cheek. You didn’t even notice it come up until it was holding your face so firmly and warm, you wanted to melt right then. It was so dark, but with so little light, you could still see his eyes. And the cold breeze that had long passed, you couldn’t care to notice. Your body wanted to shiver, but you kept still.
“It’s you…”
He wasn’t exactly smiling.
In fact, Dick looked nothing else but relieved.
You could feel it in the way his hold on you loosened and his eyes drooping so low from how he was so close to just falling into you, and how his other hand had now found itself on your waist.
Even when you were silent, you just knew exactly what he wanted to tell you.
And he told you everything, without uttering a single word, when he so lightly touched your lips with the radiating warmth of his own.
You closed your eyes. He smelled like jasmine.
Then you listened to everything he had to say.
‘Finally. Finally, when I thought you’d never get to be mine. Kiss me, and I’ll make it all go away. The pain. The darkness. I’m here for you for so long as you’d have me.’
Your arms had long circled his neck before you even realized it. Fingers lost in his thick hair, so tightly holding on so he couldn’t possibly pull away. Then there was the way he was holding your waist, and you moved about, pushing on each other, pulling towards each other. Beating and throbbing and just getting every bit of the kiss you possibly could. As the winds started to blow harder, you started to shiver from the sudden gust of cold, but he held you even tighter as if he knew.
So, so beautiful. And so magical. The voices of angels right up against your ear. Some sultry song perhaps, guitar strings that go so well with the ocean. Because even if you had the strength to possibly hold it back, tears had fallen to your cheeks. This was too long awaited. Too long have you wanted to kiss and hold him and finally he was here with you.
‘Y/N’ he continued to say when his tongue so sensually parted your lips. ‘I never thought I’d have you. I never thought I could want someone I could never have as much as I wanted you. Please have me, too.’
You hand gripped on the fabric on his chest, under his jacket, and Dick grabbed hold on your hand and so slowly brought it up to his face, which you held so dearly, you heard a deep moan escape his lips.
But even if you weren’t standing on that hill, when the waves of the sea weren’t rolling against the cliff and the winds were so nicely blowing your hair all over or even if you hadn’t spent the past few hours being mesmerized with the most beautiful view by the side of the most beautiful person, nothing could change how sweet your kiss was. Dick held your body so tight, and for so long did it last, you had no idea just how much this was going to dawdle against your skin. The balm. The song. It was all too much like you were floating in the clouds.
Dick was leaning into you that you had your back arching, then you pushed back, hands all over the back of his head, and when your moth parted so open, his tongue was all over you and you just wanted to fall to the ground. Your strength just couldn’t keep up with him any longer.
When your hands were on his cheeks, you were surprised to feel tears there as well.
‘I love you.’
You didn’t want to make yourself believe that was actually what he wanted to tell you, because with the way he was kissing you, how hot his tears felt and how they continued to seep out of his eyes, how he watched your face move like he wouldn’t miss a detail for the world, it all seemed to point towards it being the truth.
But it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.
And just like all good things, reality caught up.
With your arms now against his waist, Dick went on to pepper light kisses all over your face. Your eyelids. Your cheeks. Your nose.
Then you had your forehead leaning against his. Even with his touches, how securely he held you, you swallowed.
And you just wanted to burst out crying.
Because even with all those other things he told you with that kiss, it all dawned to you at that one, excruciating moment when you stopped being so obsessed with his lips, looked at him in the eye and read between the lines. Because it was all so clear, you just wished you’d seen it sooner. His kiss told you many things, but it also told you more than you hoped.
It was the way his throat hitched when you looked at him so longingly. You weren’t so sure at first, but you were sure of it now.
“Y/N-“
“Kori’s back…” you whispered. “Isn’t she?”
The way everything fell. His face. The shift in his cheeks and eyes. You could tell he wanted to back away. And you did it for him.
He just pulled you closer, but he didn’t even have to answer you anymore. You wiped that long-fallen tear from your cheek and shook your head.
“That’s why you’re going back?” you said. “You’re going back to see her.”
“Y/N, I swear I was going to tell you-“
“It’s okay…”
Maybe it wasn’t such a good thing that even with the god-awful sting that slapped your chest, you still managed to smile and caress the side of his face so gently, you just knew the chaotic discourse going on in his head was just as irrepressible as yours.
“It’s okay. Dick…” You thumbed his cheek. “Go back to her.”
“Y/N, please listen to me,” he held both your hands now. “It isn’t her I’m going back to. There’s this thing that the League. And they’re calling the help of the Titans. Everyone has to get on board and Kori had to be called in-“
“Dick…” you said. “ You were supposed to marry her.”
“That’s-“ he was trembling. “I know. But it was my choice to call it off and I didn’t even get to talk to her after I left. I at least owe her that. A talk. But I swear, it’s all there will be-“
“Dick… Please…”
You let go of his hands.
“Y/N,” he swallowed and his voice stiffed and deepened. “I swear to God, I know for a fact that you’ve known all these years. You couldn’t possibly have told yourself it wasn’t true. You know I want you. I’ve always wanted you, and you’ve always known that.”
“Dick-“
“You’ve always been…” He loosened his hold on you just in case you didn’t want to be held so tightly. “Always. It’s you.”
Lips between your teeth, you kept your eyes closed. And just as he’s let go, you backed away.
“Then why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?”
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
You felt it the moment he said he had to take you somewhere so suddenly, when he took you to the most beautiful place on earth and looked at you like it was the last time. Goodbye. That was the word you instantly thought of after all those moments. You couldn’t point it out, and it never raced from the back of your head, all until you finally said it and it was out in the open. Goodbye. This was how he was saying goodbye.
“I’m-“
“Dick, it’s alright.”
“It’s not.”
Dick held your face again.
One more kiss. It truly, definitely felt like goodbye now. So soft and gentle were his lips, you held his wrists and so slowly pulled them away from holding your face. And when he had lost his hold, you backed away.
And after a long, painful moment of quietness, staring at the empty grass, letting the wind get in between, Dick wiped his eyes with his sleeve and went around to the driver’s seat of the car.
You got in. And as he started up the car, you closed your eyes.
Dick didn’t deserve to be in this mess.
Because in those fantasies you let your mind wander off to when you were being good to yourself, you could only imagine ever being with Dick when times were perfect, when you had the whole of your heart solely belonging to him, when you weren’t loving anybody else, when he had the propriety of all your love and effort directed to him. When there was only peace, light, and if there were to be darkness, only his presence was called for and it would fix everything. Only then could you allow yourself to commit to him. When you knew you had your demons set aside no longer to come back.
Because he deserved to have that perfection. That light. He deserved to have you bring that light into his life just as much as he brought that light into yours. He deserved nothing less than all that brilliance he’d trail behind and he deserved to be as carefree and happy as he made you. Dick deserved that kindness. That peace.
You loved him too much to possibly give him the you that you were now. Still hung up on Tim. Still having that internal dilemma. You had to hold back. At least now, when you knew it just couldn’t be.
And he had Kori.
Dick can only say so much now, how nothing was going to happen. But it won't be the same when they see each other for the first time in a year. That spark will come back. He’ll fall in love with her all over again.
And you’ll have done all this for nothing.
So no, you weren’t going to give all of you to him now. Not when you were rational enough to know what to expect.
You reached your apartment.
“Thank you, Dick.”
He couldn’t even look at you in the eye.
“I’ll see you…”
Dick gripped on the steering wheel.
“Bye…”
His voice wasn’t at all solid or frustrated. He kept that softness that was always there when he was with you. He whispered it out.
And with that, you were certain that this was, in fact, goodbye.
You got all your things from the back and went into the apartment. You heard him drive off soon after.
You basked in that loneliness. The silence. Realizing that maybe it was possible that the manor cured your dreams.
You took off your coat. Changed for bed
You took out all your clothes from your bag and put them all in the laundry.
You went over to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
As it almost fell into midnight, you pulled out your equipment bag to clear it out.
You got your extra canvases, your paint brushes, your paint, and for a moment you ignored the silver box that sat on the floor of your bag for a long while to place all your supplies all around your studio.
By the time you finished, you were sweating. But you brushed it off. You drank from your glass again and went back to your bag to pull out that silver box.
Then you stopped.
The silver box. With a crystal-like bow on top. Your name scribbled on top. Everything wrapped so perfectly with the gentlest hands.
Your fingers were trembling as you pulled on the bow and took out the cover.
A BlueBear Sketchpad.
A ten-piece Tremblay brush set.
Five tubes of Lalande Acrylic paint in periwinkle blue, mandarin yellow, raw umber, antique gold, and viridian. All different colors from last year’s Valentine’s day.
A six-piece charcoal pencil set.
A necklace with a color-wheel pendant. One you found at the art fair but couldn’t buy for yourself.
Pencil pouches with your name engraved on a gold plaque.
A palette the shape of a lily made of ceramic.
A letter.
You knew exactly what was going to be on there.
You already knew what was going to blow over when you open that envelope.
But as much as holding back can get you so far, you couldn’t possibly hold yourself back from this.
You didn’t dwell on that question for too long. You didn’t want to stop yourself.
You sat yourself down on your bed and opened it.
 .
‘Y/N.
If I could go back, by some sort of possibility, you don’t know the things I’d change.
I won't go back to when you and Tim broke up and I swooped in to take care of you without bringing things any more than what we still are now. Friends. If anything, that was far too late for me to do anything.
I won't go back to before I had anyone else in my life, to before the wedding, to when I was supposed to get married. I wouldn’t go just to tell myself right then to leave and go to you. Still, it was far too late.
If I could change anything that’s ever happened, I’d go back to before you met Tim. So then, with you unknowing, you’d have met me first.
I’d give up my life for you to have met me first.
And I’d take it from there. I would have been the one to bring you to the manor and introduce you to my family, to Tim, and he would have my place in sitting in the sidelines, watching us get together and be together and kiss under the moonlight on rooftops and jump down skyscrapers and fight for those who can't fight for themselves side by side. Tim would have been the one who’d fallen in love with you regardless of having you wrapped in my arms and longed so much to have you in the room, settle for what he’d have and only meet you when other people are around. He would have been the one to watch us be the happiest couple he’s ever seen and have the selfishness to secretly wish we’d break up and he could have you for himself. He would have been the one to seek comfort in others, meet other people, try to have that kind of love we had and fail because he’s just so stuck up on you, someone he can't have, and give up on anything else that could have possibly made him happy because he only wanted you.
And he would have been the one to watch you hurt so much, get his heart broken each time he had to watch you cry over his brother who’d wasted away the best person he’s ever come to meet. Tim would have been the one to hate me for ever hurting you that way, because I had somehow forgotten that I could never have anything that I should choose over you, while Tim has had to keep himself aside knowing you could never be his but just can't stop to yearn for you. Tim would have been the one to come up to me one day and tell me that I was going to regret it for the rest of my life, letting you go.
But none of that happened. Tim was me. Tim met you first. And I, unfortunately, was the one at the sidelines in this story watching you both. And I hate it.
But I tell myself that if I had just met you first, that if I was just given the chance, I would have you right now. It probably isn’t true, because you and Tim weren’t even together yet when you and I first met. You chose Tim.
You chose Tim. And I would have been okay with it if he hadn’t hurt you so much.
And it might have been one of the worst things I could have ever done to you, spend too much time with you the last three, almost four years. Not look away when you caught me staring and let my compliments out of hand. Because I ended up hurting you, too.
By the time you had broken up with Tim, I had Kori. I won't say I didn’t love her. And I definitely won't say I’m happy our wedding didn’t push through.
But on that day, when I stood on that altar as the supposed groom, I caught your eye in the crowd.
And when I saw how you looked at me, trying to hide your tears. You were trembling. Your lips were shaking, and I saw the same look on your eyes as when you had your heart broken the first time.
I wanted to run to you right then. Because I realized, with how you had to watch me stand at that altar and not have you walk down that aisle, that you felt the same way I did for you.
The wedding stopped, and I had the choice to still go through with it or not.
But I didn’t want to be the reason why you had to be hurt the second time. No one, not even me, is going to hurt you. Not when I have a say on it.
But even if it weren’t true, if you didn’t feel the same way, I knew no one was ever going to have my heart the way you have mine.
So I took the risk.
I knew you still had feelings for Tim. No one was going to deny it. Tim had fallen for you again and by then I was sure I’d never get my chance. But it didn’t even matter anymore.
I choose you. Over everything.
I’m telling you all this not knowing what’s going to happen next, and it’s probably one of the most selfish, most dangerous things I’ve ever done. Cowardly, too, since I’m telling you this right before I leave the next morning. I don’t even know what I am going to do.
Believe me, if you choose Tim again, knowing he was going to make you happier than he ever did, never hurt you, bring out the best parts of you that I’d fallen for everyday, then I myself would tell you to choose him. There’s nothing I could ever ask for more than to see you smile. Even when I’m not the reason behind it.
But I’m writing you this letter, just in case you had doubts, because you deserve to know that if things don’t go the way you first wanted it, that I’m still here. And I’m telling you, whatever I’ve done to brighten up your darkest nights so far, I will do it all over again ten times just to prove to you that I will do everything I can to make you just as happy. Maybe even happier.
I keep myself alive so I can still be around to make sure you’d being cared for, no matter how much you’d hate that. This might have been too overwhelming, and I’m so sorry for that.
I don’t know for how long I’ll be gone, but I don’t think I’ll be there for Valentine’s to give you these gifts. I’m glad they make you happy. I made sure to take note of the tools and paint you like when I watch you work because nothing seems to make you happier than painting. I haven’t missed a year. I’m not about to miss now. Even when it means having to tell you the truth.
And this is it. The truth.
I never thought I could love someone this much, someone who was never even mine. But I do.
I love you.
   - Dick
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MASTERLIST | 3 BIRDS 1 STONE MASTERLIST
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A/N: 
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MAIN TAGLIST:
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imaginefan · 3 years
Text
Advice *Part 2*
Cole Turner X F!Reader Leo Wyatt X F!Reader!Platonic
Word Count: 922
Requested: Anon
Request: Please part two of advice about Cole, reader and Leo.
*Part 1*
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After the argument with Leo, you spent more time with Cole, you didn't see what the problem was, he was nice to you and he kept you safe or at least that was what you thought until you learned the real reason that Leo knew him and why he was so wary of you being anywhere near the man.
You were waiting for Cole after work when someone walked up to you, he stood next to you but didn't say anything and you didn't think anything of it until he started talking "Your (Y/N) right?" He asked. "How do you know that?" You asked, your hand slipping into your pocket where the emergency vanquishing potion sits. It would only work on lower level demons but it was rare that a higher ranking one would come for you without you knowing aggravating them first. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Another voice said behind you. "Do what?" You asked now just trying to buy time, with two of them there was no way that you were getting out of whatever situation you found yourself in. You thought about calling out to Leo but with the fight you figured that he wasn't going to answer you. "Nice try little witch but you're coming with us." He said as he grabbed you and you disappeared from the side road.
Cole was just walking into his office to grab his coat when something caught his eye on his desk, he walked over and frowned when he saw a ring, he picked it up and the moment that he looked at it he knew that it belonged to you. Cole knew that he was supposed to be meeting you so he hurried out of the office to meet you and ask you about the ring. When he got to the place that you both said that you were going to meet he saw that you weren't there, that was when he started to panic a little bit, his next stop was your place but Leo was the one that opened the door. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "Is she here?" Cole asked. "What did you do?" Leo asked. "Is she here?" Cole asked again. "No, what happened?" Leo asked as he realised that there was in fact something wrong. "Someone left this in my office, we were supposed to meet but she isn't there." Cole explained "look I know that you don't like me but you have to help me find her, she doesn't know about me, she could get really hurt if these demons are looking for me." "She didn't call out." Leo explained. "She said that you were fighting though." Cole shrugged as Leo moved to the side allowing Cole into the house. "How are we going to find her?" "There's a spell that she created, she wanted to make sure that if we were ever split up we'd be able to find each other, that's what we're going to use to find her." He explained as he moved around getting everything that he needed.
The demons had been arguing amongst themselves for a while now with you sitting in the corner, your hands had been free for a while but there was nowhere for you to go, there was no point in moving now, you had been calling out for a while now and Leo wasn't answering so he was still angry or he couldn't hear you. "Are you going to keep arguing or are you going to tell me why you called me here?" Cole asked, your eyes widened as he looked over at you "You better hope that you didn't hurt her." They all looked back at you before looking at him. "We need you back, we have no power without you around." One guy you assumed was the leader said. "So you took her?" He asked. "That's the only way to get your attention. We tried other things but you were ignoring us." He answered. "Yes, because I have no intention of coming back to the underworld." He argued. "(Y/N)." Leo's voice next to you made you jump "come on let's get you home." "What about Cole?" You asked. "He doesn't need our help." Leo promised before orbbing you back to your house. "You knew about him, that's why you didn't want me to talk to him right?" You asked. "I wasn't sure that you would believe me if I told you." Leo answered honestly. "Why didn't you call for me?" "I didn't call at first because I wasn't sure that you were going to answer me, the last time that you talked to me we were arguing." You explained. "I will always answer you no matter what." He promised. "Are you hurt?" "No, they didn't actually hurt me, probably because they wanted to be on Cole's good side." You shrugged as if at the mention of his name Cole appeared, his eyes moved around the room until they landed on you. "Are you okay?" Cole asked. "I'm fine." You nodded "Apart from you keeping a rather big secret from me." "Well you didn't tell me that you were a witch." He shrugged. "You knew though." You said and he nodded. "Look I'm sorry." He said "I never meant for this to happen, I just want to be normal." "We can't be normal. So how about we try this again but this time we're honest." You suggested and he smiled. "I'd like that." He nodded.
Requests and general question!
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Text
Finally, the Reader has a little more space ✨
Hope you enjoy,
Abigail 🐍
Warnings: swearing.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
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Not As Planned
Tom Riddle x Reader
The infamous Dark Lord begins to orchestrate his oh so dreaded return, but while trying to achieve a new, critical pawn's loyalty to him and his cause, things go not as planned.
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4 - Absence
Getting her next day's lessons ready did no use to Y/n. The extra classes provided by her Family during the summer break still vividly played in her mind, and they had covered most of the year's schedule, reason why she had found herself sighing, interest killed by the reading on the potion they were to brew the day after.
Y/n had kept on reading though, just to make sure the words her grandfather had so gently engraved in her head a few months prior were still bleeding in her skull.
Well, they were.
But that was okay, it was perfect, actually.
An Addams could not afford the liberty to start a school year unprepared.
They had to be the best.
She had to be the best.
You had to be the best.
Not only that, you had to be the best of the best.
Hence why in the current time you were answering questions like there was no tomorrow. You'd always end up being almost the only one to participate in the lesson, professors had nothing against it (I mean, maybe Professor McGonagall did, but you still managed to get most of her questions) and your classmates gladly let you take control of the situation.
Well, almost everyone, actually.
There still was him.
Lazarus thatfuckingbitch Malfoy.
He just had to be an asshole and find every single possible way to get on your nerves, sometimes it felt like he simply enjoyed giving you a hard time. Did he want to die that badly? Weren't the Malfoys just cowards naturally inclined to submit to the strongest bidder?
<Yes, Mr Malfoy?>
To hell with him.
<The Venomous Tentacula is a deadly, sentient magical plant. It presents itself as green or brown in color, with spikes, teeth and mobile vines ready to grab any living prey they get the chance to.>
You would have liked to say you had no idea why he was looking at you like that while giving the right answer to Professor Sprout, head of the Hufflepuff House and your Herbology teacher, but you actually knew too well that kind of staring.
He was challenging you.
He was looking for a weak spot, a grain of uncertainty, maybe even fear for a possible defeat.
He had no idea who he was trying to mess with.
You smiled, as if encouraging his little, pathetic show, and apparently he gladly reciprocated the gesture with as much fake kindness as yours.
<The Venomous Tentacula diet consists essentially in Chizpurfles, Doxies and humans. Its juices are pois->
<FUCK FUCK FUCK>
Professor Sprout had granted the students the permission to swear only during that particular class. She had looked kind of excited while explaining them the plant they were to study that day was a very dangerous one, and honestly, after having the said study's subject in front of you, you had understood why. The greenhouse back at your home was actually guarded by Venomous Tentaculas, hence why you were particularly fond of those "little" monsters.
But now all you could hear were screams from Hufflepuffs and muffled snickering coming from your fellow Slytherins, all you could see a very panicked teacher trying to keep her cool and an unidentified student (probably a Slytherin) being tossed around by a green, spiky, excited vine.
High pitched voices kept bouncing loudly in your skull, picking at your brain like little annoying bites, the chaos was driving you out of your mind.
You had always preferred silence.
<Diffindo>
In a matter of seconds, everything was quiet once again. As if someone had casted a Full Body-Bind Curse on the entire class, the students were now frozen in their steps, some still gaping, others with their eyes shut so tight they threatened to pop into their skull.
Even the teacher was standing still, shock draining the color out of her gentle face.
Malfoy, though, stood there, unmoved, as motionless as a statue, but finally with something you were dying to see hide behind his placid eyes.
Defeat.
<Oh, oh Merlin! G great job Miss Addams, brilliant thinking! Ten, no, twenty points to Slytherin!>
At this point in time, while the trembling Slytherin boy was being accompanied to the Hospital Wing by Professor Sprout, a receded vine lied lifeless in front of the tall, young man you just morally slapped right across his stupid face.
You won.
And everyone knew.
________________________________
<Did you see his face? I would pay to watch that scene once again!>
<Yeah, hahahaha, stupid Malfoy! He has no idea what he got himself into! Right Y/n?>
<You're so talented, bloody hell! I couldn't cast a spell that fast for my own life!>
<Yeah Y/n, you're just too good!>
<One galleon you could defeat Dumbledore himself!>
There they were.
<Out.>
Your silky voice rang in the almost empty Slytherin Common Room, making the little group that had gathered around you vanish like smoke in air.
Flies.
Maybe that was the reason why the Malfoy brat intrigued you to that extent.
He was a challenge, not an easy bet.
The dark-haired Slytherin had stormed out the Greenhouse like a hurricane a couple of hours ago and you hadn't heard from him since then. Next class was canceled due to the teacher's "personal reasons", so the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students were left to themselves with a lot of free time. The clever ones retreated to the Library, to catch up whit the massive amount of work the professors had kindly drowned you all with, the stupid ones were out, bathing in the little sun October was blessing Hogwarts' grounds with. So, moral of the story, you were bored to death. Having reviewed today's lessons yesterday and Malfoy nowhere to be seen, you were left with nothing to do but read. Again. The same books you had already finished at home.
Ugh.
You shut the book close and sighed. It wouldn't work.
As soon as you stood up, you heard other students coming down from their dormitories, so you quickly turned to the Common Room's exit and made your way into the school's busy corridors. You had always been the silent type, the solitary one, and from a certain point of view, you had to. From a young age, your family had taught you to mistrust every person you were to get to know in your life, but honestly speaking it didn't bother you keeping a distance from others. Once alone, you could let your mind wander and go to a different place, far away from Hogwarts, from what you called home. You'd always wondered if a place like that was real, if somewhere in the world you would ever have the chance to allow yourself to relax a little bit, let your guard down and maybe laugh genuinely to the twins stupid pranks.
<Thinking about us, were you, gorgeous?>
Speaking of the devil.
<I'm always thinking about you, guys. What do you have for me today?>
As always, they each grabbed you by one of your arms and gently dragged you in a quiet place, unnoticed by curious eyes.
<Rumors say the first task has something to do with dragons>
Fred started, as excited as always.
<They'll probably end up protecting something that the participants will have to retrieve. Wicked, right?>
George finished, with a big grin on his face.
There was something special about them, you just couldn't let the thought of the two happy behavior out of your mind. You could say that interacting with them was your secret, little guilty pleasure, but no one had to know, right?
Their laughs and silliness were just contagious.
<Thank you guys, as always>
<Anything for you, Smalls!>
As the twins answered in unison, you shook your head smiling. A tiny, minuscule but luckily restrained part of yourself wanted to keep the money, just a little more, just to talk to them for a bit, but your Addams self immediately handed the brothers their two galleons with the simplest and most polite smile you had. Next thing you know they're hugging you before sprinting away full speed, as if scared you'd curse them, but giggling cheerfully, as their usual, jolly selves.
What a strange duo.
Your favorite one, though.
Carried by your feet, you headed to the Black Lake without a second thought. Knowing the path by heart meant you had to pay no attention to wherever you were going, therefore you could focus on the newly acquired information. Dragons, mh? Interesting.
Who in the Wizarding World had the magnificent idea of letting seventeen years old students deal with freaking dragons?
Guess your father was right about the Ministry being just an overrated, overly-powerful and overly-paid coven of incompetent clowns.
"What a huge waste of time"
The voice in your head sounded uninterested and almost soulless in your ears, a most accurate reflection of what was repeatedly going on in that beautiful mind of yours. Words echoed undefined in your brain, racing around like brooms gone mad. Nonetheless, they melted in a clear whisper, almost comforting your craved loneliness.
E/c eyes quickly glanced around, immediately spotting the still missing presence of the pale brat, now outstandingly deafening in an eerie, heavy way. Not once you had graced someone witch such attention, and even if in that case it was justified and most certainly not a good thing, it unnerved your usually calm self finding your mind wondering where the heck he was or what the bloody hell he was doing.
Was it something you could do better? Was it a place you knew better?
Whatever was going on between you two, though, did have a name.
It was a game.
The prize? Power.
<Come on, tell her!>
<No, you tell her!>
<It was your idea, not mine!>
First years. Sometimes you forgot you were a prefect, and moments like that made sure to rimind you of your duties. Your thoughts faded into an impending headache and you could do nothing but discreetly massage your temple with one hand, while patiently waiting for the three kids to take some courage and grow the guts to call you.
After ten more, long minutes of arguing, finally the little blonde girl in the middle stepped forward and grabbed you by your robe.
<M miss Addams!>
You gently swirled around, letting your uniform slide in a delicate way out of the little creature's hand.
<Yes, my dear?>
<I, uh->
<Peeves stole our books!>
<Yes, he did! We have Potions next, Snape will eat us alive!>
<Please help us!>
You could almost laugh at the expression the little slytherin girl had on her cute bronze face. Her amber eyes were trying to strangle the two boys with way too explicit effort, and her perfectly tamed hair bounced on her warm cheeks whenever she shook her head from side to side, disappointed in her friends' childish behavior.
Ah, younglings.
<Did you see where he went?>
<Yes miss, that way>
Your eyes followed her thin hand, which was now pointing to the stairs.
<Very well, wait here, I'll be back in a minute>
Not wasting any more time, you turned on your heels and reached the first floor in less than it should have taken. When Peeves locked eyes with you, his ever present grin contorted into pure horror, and in a moment of overwhelming panic he sprinted forward, even faster than usual. You had to follow the poltergeist to the second floor, chasing him through the corridors like a wolf after his bleeding prey.
He knew far too well that if you were to raise your voice, he would've been doomed.
<PEEVES.>
Well, shit.
<Miss Addams! Oh dear me, wh- >
<The books, Peeves.>
<Books? Peeves doesn't know wh- >
Oh, how you despised his stupid voice.
You straightened yourself and placed your hands behind your back. Taking a frighteningly stern aura, you rose your chin high, as if silently judging the being in front of you and already sentencing your prey's imminent end.
<As much as I would love to take my time and teach you your place, Peeves, I'm afraid there's not enough time for the lesson I have in mind. Now, I suggest you return the stolen books in this exact moment before I lose my cool again.>
Memories from the girl's first year flashed before the ghost's disembodied eyes and fear took over him, leading his jester self to drop the books to the ground and fly away as fast as his lifeless body could.
The three text books moved from the cold stone floor and neatly stacked themselves under your eyes' will, just to float up middle air and reach your arms, where they gently let their weight go and settled down.
While turning around, your brain managed to register someone's silhouette slide into the girl's bathroom and given your position, you were morally obligated to check, after all classes were just about to start.
And you would've fulfilled your role, if it weren't for the figure now standing in front of you, a black cloak blocking your vision.
<Addams.>
<Professor Snape.>
If it was possible, the corridors fell even more silent, and the man a few feet away from you, right beside the bathroom entrance, brought back to your mind the main reason you were spacing out in the middle of the hall. You locked eyes with the teacher for a never ending minute, a wordless exchange that ended up in the two of you parting your ways in complete silence.
___________________________________
After returning the books to the now little bundles of joy, you got back to your journey towards the Black Lake, brain still stuck in the second floor's corridor, on the semblance of a person entering the girls bathrooms.
First of all, Professor Snape had seemed to not notice anyone in there. He was standing right in front of the door but not once he looked that way, so whoever entered didn't want to be seen.
Addams shouldn't put their nose into others businesses.
But that definitely smelled like something suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Especially because the glimpse of a shadow you had taken was the one of a guy.
You had finally reached the lake without even realizing it. Sitting under what you had adopted as your own tree, you mindlessly took you Charms text book out of your robes. Your eyes, though, were full of the scene that kept on tormenting your restless mind and millions of questions started blossoming in your head. You began to make assumptions and plans to solve the question as soon as possible, to let your brain go of the itching sensation the odd coincidence had layed on it. Your eyes lost focus, and as the world around you melted into blurred colors, you fell in your little world, only to be suddenly brought back by a familiar, wheezy voice, almost an inaudible hiss.
<My dear...>
Your hand automatically shut the book it was holding closed, your mind now empty and focused only on the voice's source.
<Lord Voldemort, I was waiting for you>
-----------------------------------------------
@simp027
@reneuv
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missdawnandherdusk · 4 years
Text
I Will Rise
Hufflepuff!Reader X Draco
You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground
Chapter 1     Chapter 2    
Chapter 3    Chapter 4
Chapter 5     Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Summary: With the next winter holiday things get to their lowest point. But rock bottom is always the place to start building up. 
A/N: So this was supposed to be super angsty with no end in sight but ya know, I changed my mind. This is angsty don’t get me wrong, but this is also where choices are made and people are changed for the better or worse. Sidenote: I just ended a four year relationship yesterday and ya know. I’m great. Anyway. Love yall!! Let me know that you think as always!!
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Draco and I stood at the Manor gates. Dark clouds rolled in, suffocating us. They threatened with snow, ice, and fury.
“It’s the Dark Magic,” Draco noted, his voice seemingly indifferent, taking my hand.
I nodded, sighing. Something was to be said about missing sunny days and warmth. Even in the dead of winter, this chill sat differently on our shoulders. Winter promised spring... this artic promised nothing but death.
Inside and unpacked, Draco and I shared a bit of tea in front of a warm fire. He was reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe aloud, and despite my adoration of the book, I couldn’t seem to lose myself in the words as I once had. Even with the silkiness of Draco’s voice. I now had a deeper understanding for Narnians before the events of the book. An endless winter with only a small gossamer of hope to cling too.
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
The words mocked me. Draco seemed to pick up on my disinterest.
“Don’t tell me you don’t prefer the book any longer?” There was a soft teasing smile on his lips as he closed the book, setting it on his lap. It was the one I had given him almost a year ago.
“No, I do,” It was a sad sigh. “I just... do you think someone is out there for us? An Aslan to come and save us?” I hugged my knees.
“Well, you know as well as I do,” He took the same book and flipped further back before settling on a page that seemed to satisfy him.
"Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never come back to Narnia."
"Oh, Aslan!!" said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.
"You are too old, children," said Aslan, "and you must begin to come close to your own world now."
"It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan. "Are — are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
A smile brushed my lips as he closed the book again.
“But do you think that was meant for us?” I laid my head on his shoulder.
“I think that it was meant to give hope,” Draco decided after a quiet moment, “Aslan, by any other name, would still be something to believe in,”
“Unless that name happens to be Harry Potter,” I chuckled, drawing a laugh from Draco. “And have you been reading my Shakespeare?”
“Maybe a bit,” A smile toyed at his lips.
“Romeo and Juliet though?” I rolled my eyes. “I told you, it wasn’t a good story to read presently,”
“I think you also told me that it was worth keeping the books that didn’t have a happy ending,” Draco set the book on the coffee table and pulled me into his hold.
“Do you think we’ll have one?” I asked softly. “A happy ending?” His face was hard to read as his eyes fixed on the burning fire.
“How can we with what we’re going to do?” The words echoed in my thoughts as we both sobered.
The plea for him to not do what he was asked of came rushing to my lips, but I held them there. I wouldn’t tell him. I had decided on that long ago. This was the one choice that he needed to figure out how to make on his own. I was torn myself. I wanted to tell him to stop, to help him make this choice, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know how to. But I could stay beside him... I prayed that it would be enough for him.
Even with the holiday upon us, the air was void of excitement and magic. The Manor was decorated immaculately even still. Tears stung my eyes, when thinking that this was the first Christmas I ever had without my mother, without baking or cooking or the music or movies. There was nothing to do in the kitchen with the house elves working and practically shoving me out of the room. There was nothing to clean. Nothing to tidy or move... It felt unnatural. Draco pulled me into his arms, giving me the comfort that I craved so desperately.
“Your mother is arriving soon,” He murmured softly. “Are you going to be alright?”
“I think so... we’ve been civil through writing. How bad could this possibly be?” My words were cynical but hopeful still. “Besides... at least it won’t be just the four of us. By comparison my mother will be a delight,”
“Bellatrix has agreed to be civil, and Snape always comes for Christmas. Or has before the last couple years at least. He’s my godfather, you know. He and my father were close when they were young,” Draco’s voice was strained. “But I suppose they will all be needles in a haystack,”
“It was right to invite the rest of...” I trailed off. “They’re alone too,” 
“Always the Hufflepuff, are we?” He mused softly.
I hummed in acknowledgement. I was still wary about Bellatrix attending supper. Too many things had the chance of going poorly.
“You know we have to do this,” He read my thoughts.
“The perfect children. The perfect couple. The perfect soldiers.” I sighed. “What I wouldn’t give to go back to that night at the Ball. Or the month after...”
“It’s ironic,” Draco chuckled darkly. “That we now know ignorance is bliss,” I nodded at the doorbell chimed throughout the house.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,”
It was something quite different dining with just the Slytherins and dining with their parents as well. It wasn’t just I and Draco who were playing perfect children, but all of my friends, everyone I knew. All sapped of joy, of smiles, expression... under the scrutiny of their parents. Blaise, Vincent, Greg, Theo, and Pansy.
“How has schooling been?” My mother tried asking as the first course was served. 
“Well—”
“Ugh,” Bellatrix scoffed. “Who can learn anything with that daft old fool as headmaster?” 
“Bellatrix,” Narcissa warned gently.
“Yes, yes. Civil. As you wish,” She rolled her eyes and slouched, digging into what I assumed was quail.
Draco and I shared a look. Attempts for conversations halted after that.
Dinner passed and I barely tasted any of the surely rich foods that were placed before me. After the awkward affair, my mother asked to speak with me in private. Draco, Narcissa, and oddly enough, Snape eyed me warily.
“Of course,” I gave Draco one last look. He looked as if he were ready to pick me up and make a run for it, but he refrained.
I led her to the small rose garden that Draco had once led me to. It seemed sacrilegious to tread upon this secret haven, but it was a place that gave me comfort. Though it was covered in snow and the trees and bushes were bare, I still remembered the summer warmth the garden offered.
“You have surrounded yourself with quite a group people my dear,” Her voice strained out the words. “And that dress is lovely,”
“A gift from Narcissa,” A tight smile touched my lips. 
“So, you’ve replaced me then?”
I turned, frowning at my mother.
“You really think that?” I was baffled.
“Well look at you! New dress, new shoes, new friends! You’re living and dining with a bunch of Death Eaters for Merlin’s sake!”
“Yes, because I had so much of a choice to abandon the people I love and come home and live with my mother who lied to me for fifteen years and manipulated me!” I watched as my sharp words silenced her.
“You could have come home any time,” It was a quiet notion.
“No, I couldn’t have,” I wrapped my arms around myself and took a deep breath. “I’m going inside,”
“Please, dear. It is Christmas,”
“Yes,” I turned to face her. “And I’d rather be inside with Draco, if you can understand that.” 
“Draco,” It was nearly a sneer. “I have heard... rumors about him.”
“I really don’t think you have any right to say a word,” I said, my tone as ice.
“You’re blind. Your own love blinds you to who he really is. You’re going to get hurt,” There was an air of concern in her voice.
“No! I’ve spent years of my life terrified of letting people in because you’ve got it so deeply ingrained in me that I might get hurt! Well you were wrong about the world! And you were wrong about me!” I stalked up to her. “I have done things that you will never know! That you will never understand! I’m living through a war for god’s sake mom! And you’re here yelling at me about who I’m dating!?” I took a small step back, shaking my head. “This was a mistake...”
“Y/n, wait, please, you have to understand—”
“No mom! You... you don’t get to just waltz in here and ask me to understand! I don’t have to understand, and you really don’t get to give a damn after all you put me through! Don’t you think I want to have my mother here for me!? That it doesn’t kill me inside because I’ve never felt so alone in my life!? That everything I’ve known has been pulled from under me and while I’m trying to set myself somewhere new you just criticize me!? No! You just...”
“And what would your father say?”
I gaped at her, enraged.
“How dare you!?” I annunciated each word. “Dad would be damn proud of me! And he never would have let you do what you did to me! I am supposed to be your daughter! But I’m done.”
Without another word I stalked up to the house and inside, fuming. Draco caught me at the door, but I shrugged him off.
“Love,”
“No,” I snapped. “I need to cool down, just...” Wordlessly I headed upstairs before collapsing behind a random locked door, sobbing.
After a while, when my tears had subsided and my frame only shook minimally, I pulled myself up off the ground and stumbled over to a vanity. It must have been a guest room that I found myself in.
The girl looking back was a mess. Tear tracks stained with mascara ran down her cheeks and red lipstick was smudged out of place. Her hair was hanging haphazardly and out of order. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her lips etched into a permanent grimace.
There was a knock at the door. 
“Go away, Draco,” I sniveled.
“Do I look like that blond-haired prat to you?” The door clicked closed softly as I saw Pansy’s reflection in the mirror.
“Pansy, please... I—”
“You don’t have to tell me anything. I’m not here to console you, not particularly,” She came up beside me and leaned against the vanity. “Everything’s really fucked up, huh?” Her voice was depressed as she looked down.
“That doesn’t even begin to describe it,” I muttered.
“You know, I can’t tell my parents about Abby at all,” Her confession was small and weak. “She’s not a pureblood, and well, they’re not as accepting as her parents are about our relationship...”
I looked up at her, my eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out why she was telling me this now.
“We haven’t spoken all holiday,” This wasn’t the strong confident Pansy I was used to seeing, but rather a broken scared teenager. “She’s mad at me because I won’t tell my parents about her, and I... I can’t do it. I’m a coward,”
I let out a hopeless laugh and smiled at her.
“I just told my mother off and now I really think I’ve been disowned,” A dry humor coated my voice. “And I’m in love with the son of the man who killed my father,”
“Well shit girl,” Pansy laughed. “You make my problems seem so trivial,”
“Not my intention,” A smile met my lips. “And I’m really sorry about you and Abby... not saying that it’s anywhere near the same... but I’m aware of what it’s like to be scrutinized for my choice in partner.”
Pansy nodded and a silence fell between us.
“You’re going to run yourself thin, Y/n. Trying to be everything for everyone.” Her voice returned to its somber mood.
“I think I’ve past that point,” I muttered darkly.
“Then tell me, little Hufflepuff, who are you going to be?” There was a slight challenge in her eyes. “You don’t have parents watching over your every move, you don’t have the constant expectations.”
“I can’t just—”
“And why not?” She shot back.
“Because I have to protect Draco,” I breathed out. “Play the part and get through this,” 
She eyed me; eyebrow raised but said nothing. “If that’s what you think,” She mused. 
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I shot back.
“Well, the girl I met a couple years ago would stop at nothing to be herself even if it meant being teased and bullied by a couple Slytherins. The same girl who cut off all her hair and started to fight back. I just wondered what changed.”
I opened my mouth to refute her point but refrained. A lot had changed. Draco was a Death Eater now. We had a trial to get through alive or we would both die. I had to somehow manage not to get killed by his aunt preferably. I still had to pass my bloody N.E.W.T.s as if the rest wasn’t enough.
“Tell me, or don’t. But I care about Abby and Draco a lot. And now I’ve got this kid sister under my wing and I don’t want to see her drive herself into the ground like I have. This war is shit, but you... Y/n, you’re someone to believe in.”
I tutted out a laugh. “I’m a mess. Please don’t believe in me,”
“But that’s what makes you so valuable to all of us. Blaise, Theo, Vin, and Greg too. You gave us all a second chance. It doesn’t take much to lay down your life for a good man, but to forgive a bunch of villains?”
“You’re not villains,” I refuted.
“See, that there. That’s why we believe in you.” Pansy smiled. “Even through it all, you still are kind and believe in us,” She tucked my hair behind my ear. “Now let’s get you cleaned up, because I’m sure Draco is on the verge of breaking in here himself,”
I laughed and pulled her into a hug.
“Thanks Pans,”
 _____________________________________
Draco paced outside the door as he heard your ragged sobs coming from within wishing nothing more than to go in there and hold you. But you had asked for space, so he tried to honor that. Draco jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Pansy?” he asked, relaxing a bit. “What—”
“I’ve got this lover boy,” She smiled and patted his shoulder.
“She doesn’t want to be bothered,” Draco defended, glowering.
“Maybe not by you, but I think she needs a sister about now, what do you think?” Pansy raised an eyebrow at him, and it reminded him of all the times that Pansy had been there to be a sister to him and he nodded, knowing that it might help you more that he could.
Draco leaned against the wall, next to the bedroom door, his eyes closed.
“Draco?”
He peaked an eye open to find his mother on the landing with him.
“Is she alright?” Soft concern colored his mother’s voice.
“I have no idea,” It was a ragged whisper. “I knew we shouldn’t’ have invited her mother. I knew it was a bad idea,”
Narcissa laid a hand on his shoulder and tilted his chin up so that his eyes reached hers.
“It was going to happen eventually, but maybe now she can get some closure from it,” His mother sighed. “I remember the night that Andy walked out... it was weeks before that last fight and I could see how much it drained her. And you know it’s been hurting her too,”
“Andy?”
“Your aunt, Andromeda.” Narcissa smiled sadly. “Married a muggle and was disowned... she was barely older than you,”
“Talking about our dear sister again?” Another voice snarked from behind them.
They both turned to see Bellatrix leaning against the stair banister.
“She was a traitor, Cissy,” The witch sneered. “Walked away from this family. Married a muggle,”
“I know,” Narcissa’s voice was strained. “But I thought perhaps it would give some insight to what Y/n is going through,”
“Are you sympathizing with our dear sister then? Are you a traitor sister mine?” Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.
“Of course not,” His mother snapped. “If anything, Y/n has just affirmed her loyalty by turning her back on her muggle loving family,”
Draco knew the words were said to appease Bellatrix, but still he flinched at the reality of them and what it looked like on the outside. He knew that was far from the truth. He knew that you had walked out on your mother because she had a problem with you being with him. It had nothing to do with blood status. But perhaps the wicked narrative would keep you safe.
Three pairs of eyes snapped up as the door opened. Pansy emerged first, a smile on her face and you followed behind. You were smiling and held your head high. You were also barefoot, your stilettos in hand. Draco smiled at the sight.
His aunt on the other hand.
“Improper if you ask me,” She muttered.
“I don’t think anyone did,” The smile on your face was tight and he had to refrain from laughing at the look of shock on Bellatrix’s face. “My apologies Narcissa, I do believe that I may have ruined your dinner party,”
“Think nothing of it my dear,” His mother smiled. “I’m just glad to see that you’re alright.”
Tucked by his side, Draco tried to read your facial expressions, but even he couldn’t pick anything up. What you showed him seemed real. A real smile and real confidence, but he doubted that it was really the case given the present circumstances. But perhaps it wasn’t far fetched after all.
Bellatrix glared at you, but you held no air of worry or fear. Instead it was almost as if you were challenging her. Which left him wondering what in Merlin’s name had Pansy talked to you about.
Draco kept a close eye on you all night, but you really did seem alright. Curled up under his arm on the sofa in the company of just your friends, you were almost at ease. He itched to know what had happened between you and Pansy, but there was never a moment alone with just the two of you.
The night wound down, and soon it was only you, him, and his mother left in the large house. The both of you had drifted to the sitting room that held the grand piano. Draco’s fingers danced along the ivory keys, remembering how last Christmas he had composed for the first time. Your song was still remembered under his fingertips as it became a part of mini concert.
Christmas morning came and there were few presents under the tree, most of them trivial. Christmas seemed trivial. He had gotten a pack of permanent markers from Abby with a note saying that you would know what to do with them. You had gotten a pair of diamond earrings from him—and his mother. You both agreed, however, not to get each other anything. It was a depressing notion, but there was simply nothing to say about the occasion.
That evening, you donned your cloak and smiled at him softly.
“I’m gonna go visit Papa,” Your voice was soft and subtle. “Would you like to join me?”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He never expected for you to invite him to something like this. After the events of yesterday he didn’t feel worthy to go with you, let alone meet your father.
“It’s okay Draco, I can go alone,”
“No,” It was immediate. “You’re not going alone,”
Draco never thought that your father would be buried here. At Godric’s Hollow. He supposed it was a common place for wizards to be buried, but... he didn’t make the connection. There were others here as well and he could hear the faint hymns being sung at the church down the road. You and he were just cloaks in the crowd, two hoods visiting a loved one. You paused at a gravestone.
Walter Y/l/n
1956 — 1983
A Father and Husband
~Have Courage and Be Kind~
“Happy Christmas Papa,” You whispered softly, waving your wand, riding the gravestone of snow and frost. You sank to your knees, tears in your eyes and a smile on your lips. “I brought someone here to meet you,” Your fingertips brushed the stone. “This is Draco, Draco Malfoy. I know you probably don’t like the last name Papa, but... he is good,”
Tears welled in Draco’s eyes at the interaction. He stooped beside you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.
“Hello,” His voice was tight. “You have a wonderful daughter,” A pause. “And though I cannot atone for my father’s mistakes, I will try. And I will be someone worthy of her affection and love,”
You laid your head on his shoulder, not saying anything, but rather enjoying the quiet night, the soft snow starting to fall. Drawing his wand, Draco conjured a small wreath of holly at the bed of the grave.
“He would be so proud of you,” Draco murmured. “As I am.”
“He would be proud of you too,” You looked up at him, snowflakes on your eyelashes. “We should go before the snow gets worse. I can feel it growing dangerous,”
Draco’s eyes darted around to the other mourners in dark colors that made only your silver cloak stand out when his eyes landed on a rather large focal statue. You followed his gaze and stood, standing.
“Do you think Harry has ever...?” The question was soft.
“I don’t think he knows it’s here,” Draco answer truthfully, his brows tugging together.
He led you down the rows of headstones until you were before Lily and James’ gave. It was sobering, seeing it like this. Draco knew the legends and stories, of course, but looking at the small bundle etched in the stone, cradled in Lily’s arms, it seemed almost too real. With your wand, you used the same spell and cleared the grave of frost and snow.
“As much of a prick that he is...” You trailed off. “I hope he’s having a good Christmas,” 
Draco hummed in acknowledgement.
___________________________________
Narcissa greeted us at the door to the Manor. A warning in her eyes. The warning, proven to be in vain because nothing could prepare us for what was awaiting inside. The treacherous smile of Bellatrix greeted us, as she was flanked by two others, in hoods and masks—deeming them unidentifiable. Even though I had seen her the night before, her civility seemed to have vanished.
“The young prince returns, dear sister,” Bellatrix cooed. “But he has not been such a good young prince now has he?” She twirled her wand in her hand as Draco took a step in front of me, his own wand out.
“Bellatrix,” A steady recognizable voice called.
My eyes snapped to the right where Snape stood. His nonchalant demeanor almost blending in with the gloom that hung in the air.
“You know his fate, Bellatrix,” Snape did not attempt to stop her, but something held in his words accomplished the feat.
“Yes,” Her head cocked to one side as she drawled out the word. “But he is not above the Dark Lord’s law. And that goes for his harlot.”
“You will not speak to her like that,” Draco spat, growling.
I placed a hand on his shoulder. I could handle some name calling. I was just desperately trying to figure out Bellatrix’s game and why she had come back and why the hell Snape was here too.
“You know, you might have gotten away with it, little tramp, had the Ministry and that blood traitor Weasley stepped in and torn through the enchantments,” The purr fell from her lips. “And Cissy you should really know better than to leave me alone anywhere,”
Bellatrix waved her wand and I felt unseen hands grab my arms and drag me forward, to the center of the foyer, and then they were gone, causing me to stumble onto my knees. I glowered up at the witch, picking myself up and drawing my wand.
“Bellatrix!” This time it was Narcissa.
“Worry not little sister,” The witch stalked up to me, her wand tracing along the scar that resided under my shirt: from her knife the last time we had met. “She is in no harm... The Dark Lord has plans for her after all... But I am afraid that her possessions...”
My eyes went wide. I shoved the idea that the Dark lord had plans for me and finally figured out her game. The reason she was here.
My room in the manor. Filled with my muggle books, and records, and photos... Everything I had left from the family and home I no longer had.
“Yes, little pet.” Bellatrix snapped. “But I wanted to take this as a learning opportunity. That the Dark Lord will expect nothing less than perfection—dedication.”
“Bellatrix, please—” I started, only for my voice to be taken by a flick of her wand. 
“You will be silent, little toad,” She snapped.
I turned, and saw Draco standing with his mother, pure fury written on his face as Narcissa held him back. As much as I yearned for his touch and comfort, I knew that this had to be played very carefully for us to survive. His eyes met mine.
“Come, come,” The deranged witched cooed almost happily.
Draco wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me along beside him. I looked up at him with frantic questions in my eyes, but he just shook his head. Though I couldn't hear the others behind us, I was sure they were there. Standing at the door of what was once my room, I saw the scattered books, torn pages, and absolute destruction that was in the room’s wake. Tears welled in my eyes at the sight. Draco’s and Narcissa’s arms around me were the only thing that held me back from running forward to save something—anything.
“Draco,” Bellatrix motioned him forward. Rigidly he let me go and took a step forward.
“The Dark Lord and every Death Eater believes that Purebloods are superior. That Muggles are filth and should not be considered human. And yet you allow such scum in your house. Muggle scum.” Bellatrix turned to Draco. “Destroy them. Prove your loyalty, little prince.”
Narcissa’s arms became a vice grip, holding me up instead of holding me back. I ducked into her shoulder, not being able to bring myself to watch what I knew had to be done.
“Confringo,”
Time passed. I wasn’t sure how much time. Maybe seconds... maybe an hour. Everything froze around me. My lung burned for oxygen. My eyes saw nothing. There was nothing left for me to see. Nothing but destruction in wake.
________________________________
“Draco give her mind time to protect itself,” Snape’s calm voice chided, watching the young boy pace outside the room you were in, nursed by Narcissa.
“No.” He snapped. “She—Fuck she’s going to hate me! Do you realize what I’ve just done!” He nearly screeched. “I’ve just destroyed everything—”
“And rightfully so!” Snape hissed. “Do you think the Dark Lord would be as forgiving as Bellatrix? If he came here and saw such things?” Snape’s eyes narrowed. “If it weren’t for the Dark Lord’s plans for her, she’d be under a gravestone by now.”
“Plans for her!?” Draco rushed his teacher, wand out. “No. He doesn’t touch her.” The threat was malicious and icy.
“It is out of your hands,” Snape merely brushed Draco’s wand away. “Has today not been enough for you to understand that there is no other choice for you here?”
Draco took a cool step back. “Crystal.”
The door opened and two pairs of eyes snapped and fell upon a weary Narcissa.
“She is awake,” Her voice wavered slightly. Narcissa walked forward and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder. “She’s asking for you,”
Ice ran through Draco’s veins as dread filled his chest. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was goodbye. Maybe this finally broke you. It’s what he dreaded the most, but knew it was coming.
You were sitting up, on the edge of the bed, your gaze cast to the floor. 
“Y/n, please, you have to—”
You held your hand up and shook your head.
“Books... can be bought again. So, can records...”
“But they—I...”
“Draco,” You called, squeezing your eyes shut. “I know.” Your voice was curt. “I know, but right now, if I dwell on that...”
He nodded and looked down.
“Can you ever forgive me?” Tears welled in his eyes as he sat beside. “Please forgive me,”
“You had no choice,” Your voice was small. “They’re just... things.” Your eyes still didn’t open. “They’re trying to break us. Break me. The Dark Lord has plans for me,” You almost scoffed. “Like I’m his pawn. Like I belong to him!” You stood pacing the room. “Well you know what? He can watch me bleed, he can watch me burn, but I will not give in!” Your voice was vehement. “I—won’t—break,”
Draco gaped at you, utterly shocked. This was... new. This was different. This was also the first time that he had ever seen you so adamantly speak against the Dark Lord with such fervor. A kind of courage that he wished he possessed. A determination that made him believe that maybe, if nothing else, you would get through this. It gave him hope that maybe he would too.
You sat beside him again and took a deep breath, running a hand through your hair. 
“How are you feeling?” You voice was gentle and soft.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” A small smile touched his lips.
A shrug fell from your shoulders and your hand ran up and along his left arm. The action alone eased the ache of the magic etched into his skin.
“I hate what I am,” He confessed through tears. “I hate what I’ve done and what I have to do. I... I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Sobs wracked his frame. “And I don’t know how you’re getting through this so well because I’m just breaking. I’m broken.”
Your arms wrapped around him, head resting on his shoulder.
“And that’s okay,” You pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Go ahead and break. You’ve been strong too long, Draco.” Your hand ran through his hair.
He clung to you desperately, sobbing into your shoulder, hiding there. And he did break. He broke on you. He came apart at the seams in your hands and you held him together.
“I—I don’t w-want to kill him,” He sniveled. “W-why haven’t you tried to stop me?” He started to hiccup from the lack of oxygen.
You took his shoulders and looked him in the eye.
“Deep breath,” You instructed and took an exaggerated breath waiting for him to follow suit. It was shaky and ragged, but Draco managed a couple. “And because I wanted you to figure that out on your own. I wanted you to make that choice,” Your thumb brushed away his tears. “And I’m so proud of you for making it,”
He nodded and collapsed back into your arms a sense of relief flooding through him despite the threats that closed in from all sides.
__________________________________
“M-miss?”
It was early January when the house-elf came to me, clutching something in her hands tightly. Cassie, I thought was her name.
“Yes?” I knelt down, a soft demeanor to the action.
“I—I am—” She started to hyperventilate, tears in her wide eyes.
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” I soothed softly. “I won’t hurt you, nor tell you to hurt yourself. You’re safe in my presence,” I held my hands out, a slow action, showing the cowering house elf that they were empty and held no threat.
“I—I have been a b-bad house elf,” She cried. “I s-stole from M-miss,”
I frown furrowed my brows. I couldn’t think of anything that I owned that was worth stealing. A depressing thought tacked on that I didn’t own anything worthwhile even to me at the moment.
“It’s alright,” I smiled something sad.
The house elf held out what she was clinging too.
My photo album, the gift from Abby last Christmas. Tears sprung in my eyes as I hastily snatched the book from the house elf’s grasp.
“P-p-please do n-n-not be cross with C-C-Cassie,” The elf sobbed. “S-she likes l-l-looking at the p-p-pictures of h-h-happy mom-ments.”
“Oh, I’m not mad,” I quickly rushed out. “Not even in the slightest,” Tears streamed down my face. “You saved this,” I set the album down and drew the elf into a hug that she tried to scramble from but eventually relaxed, sobbing into my shoulder. “Thank you, thank you.” I cried.
“P-P-Please do not tell Master D-Draco,” She sniveled. “Y-Y-You have a-a-always been k-k- kind to us e-e-e-elves, p-p-please,”
“Y/n?” Draco’s voice was concerned. “Tell me what?” Cassie squawked and hid behind me, cowering. 
“M-m-m-master D-Draco,” The elf stammered apologies.
“What’s going on?” Draco was reserved, a mask of calm.
“Cassie, she saved my album.” I ran my fingers over the leather cover. “She took it from my room I guess... said she liked to look at the photos,”
Shock and relief flitted across Draco’s face in waves. He knelt down beside me and brought the book into his hands tears in his eyes.
“Thank you,” He spoke softly to the house elf. “Thank you for saving what I couldn’t,” 
“Draco,” I chided softly, reaching out for him. “It wasn’t your fault,”
“Regardless if it was or not,” He turned his attention back to the house elf. “You have my deepest gratitude,”
I flipped to a worn page by my own hand, to a day last year in the snow of four friends laughing and smiling. It wasn’t much, but I supposed it was something to believe in.
.
Chapter 9
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Masterlist
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Driving Me Mad [G.W] - Part 4
Series Description: You and George come up with a plan to pretend to date each other. But what happens when you actually start to catch feelings...
Pairing: George Weasley x Gryffindor fem!reader 
Word Count: 2k
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Taglist: @obsssedwithjustaboutanything
Description: George takes you on a secret trip to the Three Broomsticks.
                                                              X
“Hey, what are you doing?” You were sitting in the library taking notes and completing your assigned reading.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” you responded, peeling your eyes from the text to shoot George a look. 
“I could use your help.”
“My help? What could you possibly need my help for?”
“Come with me and you’ll find out.” Your curiosity peaked as you raised an eyebrow at him. He gave you a pleading look and moments later you agreed. You packed up your things and followed him out of the library. You assumed you were heading to the common room but George grabbed your hand and pulled you around a different corner. 
“Where are we going?”
“We may or may not be sneaking out.” 
“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”
“Just wait. It will soon become clear.”
You reached an isolated hallway in the castle where the One-Eyed Witch statue was perched. 
“Here we are.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Now I will be lookout so you can go first.”
“Go where?” Instead of answering your question he cast a spell and the hump on the witch opened up, creating a passageway. 
“Climb in there when I say go. I’ll follow you down a few seconds after.” You decided not to question his instruction. You trusted him and knew your window of opportunity was limited. He gave you the signal and you hoisted yourself up and slid down into the statue. You fell down the corridor and let out a little squeal, unsure of what was ahead. After a short slide, you were airborne and barely landed on your feet. The ground was rough and uneven. You stood up, wiping the dust off yourself and you cast the Lumos charm to illuminate the hallway. You heard movement a few seconds later and George landed swiftly right behind you. This clearly was not his first time.
“You okay?” he asked. You nodded and curiously looked around.
“Okay, I tried to keep my questions to a minimum, but where the hell are we going?”
“Hogsmeade of course.”
“Hogsmeade? Why?”
“Now I know you’re aware of the party happening tonight.”
“Of course.”
“Someone’s gotta supply the butterbeer.”
“Ah, I see now. And pray tell why am I accompanying you on this journey instead of Fred?”
“Fred’s been avoiding me lately. I offered to get everything tonight so I imagine he’s spending time with Lee and some of the other Gryffindors.”
“Anything happen?”
“We just got into an argument. It’s fine.”
“That’s not like you two. You never fight. Seriously what happened,” George was quiet, putting his words together carefully. It didn’t take long for you to jump to conclusions. “No…no. This isn’t because of me is it? I don’t want to drive a wedge between you.”
“No, it's not because of you.”
“If it was, you would tell me right? There’s an easy out clause for a reason, we don’t have to go through with this if it’s causing tension.”
“It’s not because of you. I promise,” he lied.
“Okay. That’s all I needed to hear,” you said.
“So, will you be my date to the party this evening?” 
“I sure will.”
You made your way through the dark and dusty corridor until you reached a stopping point. You were expecting a doorway or something but the hallway just stopped. You looked at George, about to ask him where to next and you followed his eyes up the ceiling.
“You’re joking,” you spoke. He shook his head back and forth. There was no way you could get up there. George stood up on his tiptoes and reached his long arms up to displace a trap door. “Come here,” he instructed you. You moved closer to him as he crouched to the ground. “Sit on my shoulders. I’ll hoist you up through the door.”
“Are you sure about this George? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“What, you don’t think my broad man shoulders can handle it?” he joked.
“No, it’s not that-“
“Just hop on. You’re light as a feather.” You slowly put one leg over his shoulder and braced yourself before swinging over the other. You gently rested your hands on his head, to keep balanced. 
“You ready?” he asked.
“Go for it.” 
He slowly stood up and took a few steps forward until he was directly under the trap door. He fully extended his legs and you were looking into a dusty shop room. You held onto the sides of the trap door and hoisted yourself  up ever so slightly, extending your legs. You climbed out and dusted yourself off when you saw George’s fingertips claw the side of the opening and soon he was pushing his torso through the hole in the ground. You offered him a hand but knew he didn’t need it. He had done this so many times before, he had the process down. 
“And where are we right now?”
“Honeydukes cellar. Fred and I know the owner. He lets us come and go as we like in exchange for free marketing. That’s why we always have free samples of the latest sweets.”
“How do you have all these connections?”
“Dunno. Fred and I have a knack for getting into trouble and then talking our way out. Make a lot friends doing that.” George placed the cover diagonally over the trap door and led you upstairs. The shop was closed but he continued walking through the aisles towards the front door. He magically unlocked the door and you made your way to the Three Broomsticks.
It was a cool night, but the air wasn’t as crisp as you expected as you walked through the quiet village. You made small talk as you walked down the empty streets. Most of the shops and stores were closed at this time of night. As you neared the pub, you heard the buzz of the regulars and drunks carrying on and having a laugh. Part of you wanted to stay and enjoy a butterbeer here with George, but you knew there wasn’t exactly time for that.
“Madame Rosmerta! And how are we doing this fine evening?” George said as you approached the bar.
“No! No, you’re not getting any more butterbeers! I told you last time.”
“Now that is not fair. You know this is a special occasion. We’re hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year. We have to make sure our guests enjoy themselves and have a good time.”
“I don’t care. You’re not getting anything this time.”
“Oh, come on. You’re making me look bad in front of my new girl.” She stopped pouring beers, turned to look at us, and cocked her eyebrow. You shot her a smile, trying to help George’s case.
“Now, I recognize her. She’s always in here with a group of giggling girls. What’s your name love?”
“Y/N,” you answered.
“Well Y/N, you’ve got yourself a good one. Underneath all the pranks and scheming, Georgie’s a catch.”
You nodded at her statement and looked at George, trying out your acting skills, “He’s so good to me. I’m a lucky girl,” you said rubbing his shoulder.
Madame Rosmerta looked charmed and you could see her starting to soften up. “All right, all right. You’ll get your butterbeers. But this is the last time, you hear me?”
“Rosmerta you are truly a saint. Thank you.”
“Save your flattery. Meet me around back. Y/N, look after the bar.” You shrugged and agreed as she led you behind the bar and gave you nowhere near as much instruction as you needed. You made conversation with the patrons as you poured refills and collected empty mugs. You had to admit, it was a little bit fun. Once everyone seemed to be taken care of, you snuck out from behind the bar to look for George. Surely you would be on your way out soon. You headed to the back office and saw George carrying a crate filled with bottles of butterbeer.
“She’s beautiful that one. You make sure you treat her well, ya hear? She deserves a good guy to take care of her,” you heard from around the corner. You waited a moment to hear his response, your curiosity getting the best of you.
“Trust me, I won’t hurt her. She’s special.” You grinned at his response for a moment before returning to reality.
“So everything’s all taken care of back there. Glasses are full, bar’s wiped down, and everyone’s happy. Well…almost everyone. Keep an eye on Henry out there. He’s about to start weeping over his ex-wife.”
“Ah, I suppose it is about that time,” George chuckled.
“You handled everything?” she asked you, stunned.
“Yeah, I think. Everyone seems to be in good spirits.”
“No one’s ever done that before, aside from me of course. Listen here, if you ever need a job in the future, you come straight here and I’ll hire you on the spot.”
“Wow, I will keep that in mind. Thanks!”  
Rosemerta gave George a pat on the back and came over to give you a kiss on the cheek, “You best be off. Have fun tonight you two.”
“Thanks again Rosemerta,” George said as you made your way out the back door.
“And if you get caught with that, it didn’t come from here!” she added. You both laughed as you stumbled outside into the cool breeze. 
“She loves me,” he stated as you walked through the empty road.
“Oh is that so.”
“Oh absolutely. I mean every time, without fail, she starts with a stern no. Then I talk to her a little bit and she remembers how much she likes me, minutes later she’s shoving a crate of contraband into my hands. Look, she even put a bottle of Firewhiskey in this batch.”
“Wow, well done George.”
“I should say the same to you. You really know how to tend a bar. Anytime Fred steps behind there to hold the place over, about five different things go wrong and there’s always broken glass and some sort of spill. Rosemerta returns and goes ballistic; until Fred reminds her that he is indeed a wizard and magically cleans everything up. But she was thoroughly impressed with you. I wouldn’t be surprised if she asks for you next time around.”
“I would be more than happy to accompany you. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up taking her up on that job offer.”
“I’m sure you can do a lot better than running a bar. What’s your long term plan?”
“To be honest, I have no idea.”
“That’s a joke. You’re a Gryffindor prefect. You’re brilliant in all your classes. You have so much ahead of you and you don’t know?”
“It’s not like that’s uncommon. Are you telling me you already have a plan post-Hogwarts?”
“Course I do. Fred and I are opening a shop where we can sell our brilliant products.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
“That’s actually great. I wish I had that kind of clarity.”
“Well, what are you good at?”
“I’m fairly decent at every subject, but I don’t feel a strong connection to one subject over the others. Maybe charms or transfiguration if anything.”
“What do you like? And don’t just limit yourself to school. Just in general.”
You had never really thought about it before. Whenever the subject of the future had come up you changed the subject or completely stopped thinking about it.
“I suppose…I like people. Being around people and talking to people. That’s not much to go off is it?”
“It’s a start. You’ll find your calling soon enough. You’re smart and personable, people love that combination.”
“Thanks George. That is oddly reassuring.” 
By this point you had reached Honeydukes. You led the way inside and you ended up scanning the aisles, salivating over all the sweets.
“Here,” George said, handing you a giant, heart-shaped lollipop. “Thanks for coming with me.”
“Wow, stealing candy for me. You’re too generous,” you joked. He rolled his eyes and you gave him a genuine thank you as you made your way back down to the tunnel.
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drawlfoy · 4 years
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Detention, Retention, and Draco Being a Lying Shit -- Halloweek Day 2!
catch up on part 1 on my masterlist
request guidelines (in case you were thinking of it ;))
want to be tagged?
pairing: draco x reader
request?  nope
summary: 2 months of detention with Draco Malfoy might be a pain for Y/N, but Harry has other plans.
warnings: swearing, underage drinking (of course not endorsed by me...of course)
a/n: soooo things in my life have gotten a little crazy in the past 48 hours. you may have been wondering where part 2 was yesterday and while this post sums it up best, i’ll take a crack at explaining it here. my relationship got pretty messy and things have been a roller coaster ever since monday night my time. i try and be someone who can separate her emotions from her work but these past two days have made me realize how much my mood impacts everything :/ it isn’t my intention to lead you guys on at all and i want to keep writing this piece, but i apologize in advance if this doesn’t finish itself by friday. anyways, enough blather on my behalf. thanks to anyone who made it through this--you guys mean so much more to me than you know. i hope you enjoy.
tags! @gruffle1 @missmulti @cleopatera @hahaboop @accio-rogers @geeksareunique @eltanin-malfoy @war-sword @cams-lynn @itsivyberry @ayo-cowbelly @nerd-domland @yesnerdsblog @shizarianathania @evanstanfanatic @strawberriesonsummer @hariosborn @night-ving @straightzoinked @imintoodeeptostop @naomimoonshard @jejegu @ophelia-enthusiast @shadyrose66622 @alwaysbeanunknownfan
word count: 1.3k
The plan they laid out over the remainder of the day was ambitious but at least do-able. Each week was split into different subtasks, the end goal being a somewhat tentative friendship between the two. 
“If you can flirt with him and get him to have a crush on you without scaring him off, you’d be in the best possible position,” Hermione told her as they walked back from the Quidditch pitch among the screaming Gryffindor fans. They’d won--yet again. “Obviously I don’t foresee that being likely, but if you pull it off somehow he’d probably be willing to tell you anything. The fact that you’re a pureblood is going to carry you through this whole ordeal. He’ll at least be accepting of your existence in the wizarding community.”
The bitter edge in Hermione’s tone made Y/N’s blood boil. There was no reason for Malfoy to be as prejudiced as he was--he’d spent his adolescence in Hermione’s academic dust. She was obviously smarter than him. 
“You got it, ‘Mione,” she said. Her voice barely carried over the cheers of her peers as they ascended the steps to the common room. “We’ll take this little ferret down. I can’t wait.”
“Don’t get too cocky, now.”
The Gryffindor after-party was crazy...per usual. The charmed self-filling goblets, the blasted playlist of Wizpop pumping through the air, and the buzzing energy of the room was giving Y/N a giant headache. She stood with Hermione and Harry by the edge of the crowd, watching Ron get hoisted up on the shoulders of the chasers. 
“No wonder the Slytherins think we’re Neanderthals,” Y/N mused. For once, Hermione didn’t respond. “Hermione? Is everything okay?”
The second she turned away to look at her best friend, gasps and whistles filled the room. She whipped back just in time to see Lavender Brown, a sweet but slightly ditzy girl in their year, pull away from a kiss with Ron.
“Oh shi--Hermione!”
Harry and Y/N shared a glance before darting after the witch--who had impressively already made it to the door. 
“Hermione, wait!” Y/N called as they jogged after her, throwing open the common room entrance and finding her sat by the tapestry on the other side of the hall, knees to her chest.
“‘Mione, what’s wrong?” asked Harry.
“Don’t be daft, Harry,” said Y/N. “You saw exactly what the rest of us did.”
“I don’t understa--”
“Harry.” Her voice was taut. “I know you’re just trying to help, but I think that it might be best if you let us be. Go back and enjoy the party.”
He gave her a tight, grateful smile before darting back through the door. Y/N wasted no more time in walking over to Hermione and throwing her arms around her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hugging her tight. Hermione made no move to detach them, so she continued. “Ron is an idiot. You deserve so much better--your first kiss was Viktor fucking Krum, after all. You’re hot stuff and this place is just unfortunately running dry of men who are impressive enough for you. Once you’re out of here and working in the Ministry, you’re gonna have the time of your life with men actually in your league.”
Hermione managed a sniffly laugh as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “It’s just so fucking embarrassing, you know. Like, I have a crush on him because I think he understands me and I smelled him in my Amortentia and I thought he’d like me back, but…” She hiccuped. “Then he goes off and kisses Lavender Brown, of all people. There’s nothing particularly wrong with her or anything, but she’s so different...I’m so bookish, and she’s so girly and everything I’m not…”
Y/N took the opportunity to tuck a lock of Hermione’s hair behind her ear as she listened.
“And it can’t help but make me think--was I ever anything to him but a friend? If the girl he ends up choosing is the opposite of me?”
“Girly, don’t think like that,” murmured Y/N. “He’s a teenage boy. They don’t think of love the way that we do--to them it’s a game of availability, not of choice. At least for Ronald. You intimidate him, and by extension, you’re not available.”
“That shouldn’t matter!”
“You’re right. It shouldn’t.” Y/N drew a long breath. “So you should find someone who always has you as their first choice--someone who isn’t intimidated by your intellect. They’re out there. I promise.”
Hermione managed a shaky smile. “Thanks, Y/N. I mean it. Do you mind if I have some alone time? I don’t think I’m ready to go back to the party but I just want some quiet.”
“Of course. Let me know if you need me,” she said, brushing herself off and making to walk down the hall.
“You’re not going back to the party?”
“Nah. It hurts my head and I want fresh air. If I’m not back here in a half hour, assume that I’ve been kidnapped.”
With that, she started her walk. She wasn’t planning on going on a long stroll--there was a small balcony that she often went to when she needed to clear her head. It was beautiful, especially on a snowy night like this.
But the walk was creepy.
There was only one way in and out--a narrow, damp hallway that had absolutely no light fixtures. If Y/N really wanted to, she could cast a quick lumos, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see what lived on the walls. The stairs were steep, too, but she managed to bound up all 40 of them in record time. 
“Who’s there?”
The sudden voice ripped a scream out of Y/N’s throat as she reached the top, catching a glimpse of the shadowy figure at the edge of the balcony that spoke. She clasped her hand over her mouth and she crept forward to the opening, getting a better look at the person that was in her secret spot.
The clouds shifted in the sky to allow more moonlight to cast a soft glow on Malfoy’s face, hardened with irritation.
“Malfoy?” Y/N asked, rather dumbly.
“What stellar observational skills,” he drawled. 
She felt her cheeks grow hot. “What are you doing here? This is part of the Gryffindor tower. Shouldn’t you be...I don’t know...playing hide and seek with the sewer rats in the dungeons?”
“Very funny.” His flat tone exposed the fact that he did not, in fact, find it very funny. “There’s no rule barring me from coming up here.”
“But why? This is my spot!”
“Because I wanted to get out. Now, I was here first, so unless you want your detention extended, I suggest you leave.”
Y/N bit the fiery comebacks on the tip of her tongue as the memories of her plan with Hermione began floating back to her. 
Week 1 -- Hold one neutral, civil conversation with Malfoy.
“I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here,” Y/N decided upon. leaning up against the balcony. The rogue snowflakes that made it past the overhanging roof melted on her cheeks. 
“That isn’t a suggestion,” said Malfoy. “I’m demanding you leave.”
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Y/N asked, pointedly ignoring his words. “I’ve always loved the snow. It’s so quiet.”
“And it would be even quieter if you left.”
“Aren’t you the conversationalist?” said Y/N.
“If you don’t leave, I will hex you,” Malfoy told her through gritted teeth. 
“I just love how the moonlight reflects off of the snow,” continued Y/N. “It’s so...pure.”
“Please leave.”
On her walk back down the dank stairwell, she allowed herself a little smile. 
Task 1? Technically done.
final a/n: haven’t done one of these in a while! anyways, i hope you guys enjoyed! i have a luttle more written for part 3 so hopefully i’ll have that out tomorrow too :) let me know what you thought! do you guys think that, even if this is a draco x reader pairing, he’ll ever really tell her what his 6th year task is? i’m curius >:)
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Let him go, pt.2
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Summary: When Nick decided to keep Y/N out of the loop regarding Lucifer Morningstar, he never imagined one of his worst fears would come to life - to lose her.
Warnings: ANGST
Word count: 2.2k
Part 1
“I can go in there.” I spoke up, annoyed sitting on the sidelines and being kept out of the loop. If Nick had anything to do with it, I’d have ended up either dead or in the church with the rest of them. I was lucky not to be at the Academy when the hunters came, even luckier I had found a pastime with a riveting Summoning and Bounding literature masterpieces.
“No. Not gonna happen.” Nick waved me off, not bothering to spare me a glance and I scoff.
“Why not?” Harvey raised an eyebrow, eyeing me with interest. He definitely had questions.
“Yeah…Why not?” Folding my arms across my chest, I tilt my head to the right ever so slightly with the faintest, coldest smile I could muster.
“Because I don’t want you there.” Nick’s lips press together and I roll my eyes, but Sabrina was faster than me with her reply.
“I’ll go. I was baptized with holy water, remember?” She smirked, shrugging my way.
“So was I.” I raise my hand, stating it a bit too bitterly. Jealousy isn’t easy, especially not when it’s between two women who greatly respect each other.
“I am half angel. I reckon I have a good chance to stop them.” Yet my mouth keeps moving as if I want to say YOU’RE NOT THAT SPECIAL SPELLMAN, but I don’t say it. I don’t, but I can sense someone’s in my mind, probing for answers. Usually I’d assume it’s the Weird sisters, but this is Ambrose. I just know it.
“NO. They despise nephillims more than witches!” Nick raises his voice, turning to me with a hostile look in his usually loving eyes. The hostility doesn’t come from anger or hate, it’s not animosity, rather worry. It’s fear. “I will.” Sabrina repeats with a sigh, glancing between Nick and me. His eyes remain on me, lips pursing as the eye contact breaks and I finally feel like I can breathe. “You’re not seriously gonna let her go alone, are you? It’s a suicide mission.” Harvey’s eyes wander to me, pleading. He wants me to go, especially after he heard of my roots – a half witch is usually less than impressive, but a half angel with witch blood is unseen. Well…until I appeared. “You don’t seriously think I tell her what to do, do you?” Nick smirks, shrugging it off. He watched them leave, his back turned to me and I felt uncomfortable for the first time since I’ve met him. Nick had let his girlfriend go, yet asked me to stay.
“I couldn’t…I can’t risk you. You’re all I have in this wretched life and if something happened to you, I don’t think I’d survive it.”  
His words aimed for my heart and I flinch with the sheer intensity of the truth hidden within each, emotional syllable. It was the first time he had made me feel as if I matter since Sabrina came along. I felt loved. I felt needed.
It didn’t last.
A week later he and I parted ways.
Nick stayed true to his word, giving me space to breathe and he had his hands full with the new Sabrina and her wish to convert the coven into a church per her father’s view. She wanted to make a difference and while I agreed with some of the teaching, I didn’t fall prey to her charm. Something didn’t feel right and while I was expertly kept out of the loop, I had time to realize how much of my life revolved around Nick.
What little I had left of him felt as if it never existed.
I can’t lie and say he didn’t reach out a few times. It wasn’t a face to face talk, but I did get a few messages on my arm – a little secret we used to have. An enchanted pen to talk in class, when he was away for holidays. It was our way to always stay in contact and from what I’ve learned, he had given our secret away when he made the same pen and gave it to Sabrina. I was no longer our thing. It was just a thing.
“You really should be more careful with your thoughts.” Ambrose Spellman settles beside me, a small smile playing on his lips as if he isn’t here to reprimand me for the distasteful thoughts I’ve had about his cousin.
“Stop peering into my mind and you won’t be as insulted.” I shrug, turning my attention back to the book I’ve been studying. I have always been one of the best students at the Academy. I’d go as far as to claim I’m at the same level as Nick, if not better.
“You do realize Nick is miserable without you.” Ambrose leans on his elbow, smirking once he notices I closed my eyes. “He’s always talking about you. I’m genuinely concerned Sabrina will spell his mouth shut.” He chuckles, looking around as if to make sure we’re alone. “I mean, there’s an apocalypse happening and in an hour, yet he’s still only interested in threatening everyone not to tell you a single word about it.”
Snapping the book shut, I sit up straighter and turn to Ambrose. “What, in the name of Satan, are you talking about?!” The smallest of smiles appear on my lips, assumptions of it being a well-crafted lie making my heart remain steady. However, the smallest inkling of it being a truth thrashed my usually peaceful mind.
“Sabrina’s father, aka Satan, wants to make her his queen and from what I’ve realized, it is happening tonight and we made plans to trap the dark lord but I have a feeling it might not be as easy.” Ambrose pauses as he notices me pale and I’m sure I’m barely keeping a straight face at this point. “Everyone’s in it, but you. Even the mortals.” Ambrose leans back, having set the bait and he knows this will be the reason why I engage.
“We’ll be waiting. You might want to pop in for the coronation.” Ambrose raised both hands in mock surrender as if he didn’t just drop a major bomb my way. He made his way out of the library while I grabbed my bag and frantically searched for the pen.
CORONATION?!
No response.
NICK!!
No response. I know he sees it. I know he feels it. But if he knew me, he knew it would only provoke me. Just because we lost each other doesn’t mean I don’t love him – as a friend, as a woman. I need him, even if he doesn’t really need me back. He may think he does, but he doesn’t.
I am the one who needs his whispers and smiles. I’m the one who needs promises sweet as the touch of his hand. I was a slow dying flower, turning sour and untouchable when he found me. He saved me. And ever since then I’ve needed the darkness, the sweetness and even now I need the sadness and weakness coming from loving him. I need his voice to lull me to sleep, his fingers running through my hair, the tender touches that brought me peace.
I need him. It was dark enough, he saw me, he had me – he just didn’t want me. He made his choice and I know what that choice brings. He’ll do anything for Sabrina. It’s who he is, how he always wanted to love and he will risk everything.
At the end of the day, I’m the one who has nothing left to lose. He has everything to live for. I love him enough to let him go…to protect him while I do it.
With a snap of my fingers, a long, blood red dress wraps around my body. The lace weaves around my arms into long sleeves, the silk falling down to my feet. A slight chill runs down my spine as wind dances along my uncovered back and I smile – the dress is perfect. With a sigh, a spell the only earthly possession I care about onto my neck, the pendant with his initials resting just above my low-cut decollete.
“So you always have me close to you.” Nick smiles widely and my heart stops. He’s so beautiful. I wonder if he knows that he’s more than just a body though. He’s beautiful, inside and out. And he’s gifting me jewelry, something I’ve never had. How did he know?
Struggling to keep my tears in, I smile, looking down on the half a heart pendant. “I love it.”
I love you. I wanted to tell him. I did. I wanted him to know and to hell with it, but I couldn’t. To be so brave, to tell him what weighs on me is to risk losing him. He’d be uncomfortable around me if he didn’t feel it and I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not ever.
Instead of waiting for an invite, I followed the screams.
“Lanuae Magicae.”
Transporting myself into the ballroom wasn’t the plan, but I had to hurry. And I was right to.
“Well played, Spellman.” I hear Nick’s voice, instinctively looking for him and it seems as if he had felt me too as he turns to me, our eyes meeting. The surprise passing his features made my lips twitch, wanting to smile. It’s inevitable – Nick always makes me smile. But our reunion is cut short, the prison they tried to hold Satan in falling apart and I step back, looking to Nick in a panic, but he’s looking at her. He always is. “You try and try to defeat me. I am the Great Satan that no prison may contain!” Ignoring how handsome Lucifer is, I close my eyes and swallow thickly. Opening them again, I look at him and every time I look at him I know. I know he’s never going to be mine. But I can make sure he has his happy ending. “I can’t restrain him for long.” Sabrina warns and I take a step closer while Nick speaks. I always believed he’d be back to me – that we’d become more in time and we’d work out. We’d be the couple everyone envies – the power couple. I always wondered how he looks at me with so much love and tenderness but holds not romantic feelings. “There’s nothing stronger than an Acheron.” Nick exclaims, panic written on his face, fear rising in his eyes and clouding his judgment.
“Incorrect, Mr. Scratch. The mightiest prison is the first one, created by the False God. The human body. Flesh and bone. The strongest and most sacred bindings in nature.” Lilith explains, her own fear evident as she looks to Lucifer who was ready to kill everyone in the room. “It has to be me.” Sabrina says and I hear him scream “No” as he used to do for me. He doesn’t want to lose her. He can’t. He’d do anything for her and I’d do anything for him. “I’m the best binder and conjuror since Edward Spellman. If anyone can keep Him trapped, it’s me.” He exclaims, but I shake my head and look back at him only to see anything but certainty in his eyes. He feels like he must do it.
“No.” I step forth, determined – more than he is. “I am the best binder and conjuror.” Smiling, truthfully, I speak before he can interrupt me. “You love her. I love you. This is a testament to how much. Don’t forget me.” I plead, keeping my eyes on him as his lips quiver and shock paralyzes him. “Carne teneantur tenere tenebrasque.” I begin without so much as blinking. I don’t want to miss a single moment of the last time I will ever see him. Nick is trashing against someone. They’re holding him back. He’s muttering something and I can’t understand what, my focus must remain untouched. “Palatium, carcere…” And my mind darkens.
Gasping, I find myself on the sidelines, my body no longer mine to control as I leap toward Sabrina only for my eyes to close with Ambrose’s spell. “A sleeping spell. Well done.”
I think to myself, keeping an ear out to the outside. I can hear them, but it’s distant.
“You’ve made a big mistake, little nephillim.” Lucifer appears and I roll my eyes at him.
“Shh.” I point up, telling him to listen which only insults him.
“HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP?!”
“Gah, you’re annoying.” I groan, casting a spell to bind him but it doesn’t work.
“Really thought you’re in control? Think again, little one!”
“Shit!”
What I didn’t know is how they decided my fate after I’ve fallen. “What happens now?” Sabrina asks, watching Nick crying over Y/N’s body, calling for her, muttering spells like it would make a difference. “You won’t like it, I’m afraid.” Lilith frowns, a sincere look of compassion in the borrowed eyes of Mary Wardwell.
“You’re not touching her!” Nick growls, his eyes focusing on her pale face and dark red lips – his favorite lipstick from the past times she’d asked for his opinion. He always chooses maroon. He won’t be able to again.
“She’s not going to Hell with you. I will make an impenetrable room at the Academy.” Nick promised, his heart aching and breaking at the sight of his necklace resting on her chest. She wore it – even now.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” And that’s when Nick fell asleep too.
PART 3
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adenei · 3 years
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Day 19: January Word Challenge
a/n: there’s more under the cut, so don’t be fooled into thinking this is a short one!
New
Year 1:
Hermione walked through the maze of corridors of her new school. She was a witch, and she was learning magic! It was a fresh start for her, and one she hoped would have a better outcome than her experiences in primary school. Sure, she missed the subjects she studied at her old school, and her eleven year old aspirations of becoming a lawyer were probably all for naught now, but she wouldn’t trade any of that for this amazing new world.
She understood why she was different now, and why odd things tended to happen when she grew up. Hogwarts was meant to teach her how to control and refine her magic, and she’d read all of the textbooks twice in preparation of fitting in. Hermione was worried she was already behind because she didn’t come from a magical family, so she focused on the one thing she was good at to help her get ahead. 
Thankfully, her teachers were already impressed with her work ethic, and she was proving that she did actually belong here. Sure, she missed her parents and wrote them several times a week, and she reminded herself that it would have been like this if she’d been sent off to boarding school, too. She held up the newest letter that had been delivered at breakfast. Her mum had asked if she’d made any friends yet. Hermione’s face fell as she reread her mother’s words. Not yet, she thought, but she was still hopeful. New beginnings meant a fresh start, and that went for her attempts at making friends as well.
Year 2
It wasn’t a fluke. She really did make new friends last year, and they still wanted her in their lives upon returning to Hogwarts in the fall! Sure, it was probably a little out of the ordinary for her two friends to be boys, but she wasn’t complaining. Originally she thought that being friends with Harry Potter would help her befriend the others in her year, or at least her fellow Gryffindors, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Their recognition and brief popularity for winning the House Cup last year was soon forgotten once the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Honestly, she’d been holding her breath, thinking that Harry and Ron would drop her because the monster was targeting muggleborns. She was quite relieved when they turned out to do the exact opposite. 
Ron had come to her defense and had thrown up slugs because of it. It was the nicest, and most disgusting thing anyone had ever done for her, and she wasn’t sure how to repay him. The word really didn’t mean much to her, but Ron’s reaction was notable. 
She wasn’t sure why her heart felt funny when he stood up to Malfoy for her. Maybe that’s just what true friendship felt like. Yes, surely that was it. She would have felt the same if Harry had been the one to defend her, right? 
Year 3
Hermione couldn’t believe it! A pet of her very own! He may not be a kitten, but he was new to her, and she was certain he would be the best cat! She was sold on Crookshanks the moment she laid eyes on him when they’d entered the Menagerie, and much to Ron’s discontent, she’d chosen the ginger animal.
The store owner seemed both relieved and excited at the prospect of Crookshanks finding a new home, having been looked over for years now. Hermione snuggled him closer as they sat in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express at the recollection. She felt a connection with Crookshanks, knowing what it felt like to be looked over and dismissed for friendship and camaraderie. 
Hermione smiled, knowing that her new pet would keep her company at night when Lavender and Parvati excluded her in their whispered secrets. Now, she’d have someone to whisper her own secrets to; ones she couldn’t tell the boys. Like how she still didn’t understand the way her heart thumped faster when Ron would smile at her, and she felt nothing when Harry did the same. Of course, Crookshanks couldn’t speak, but it still comforted her to know she’d have someone to talk to who she could trust with her innermost thoughts.
Year 4
Hermione couldn’t believe she actually had a date to the Yule Ball. Sure, it wasn’t her first choice, but it beat going alone. Maybe it’d even make a certain someone wake up and notice her.
It was a strange new feeling, being wanted and desired. She’d spent the majority of her fifteen years being looked over and not given a second thought when it came to personal relationships and friendships. Now, an international quidditch player had shown interest in her, of all people! 
Shouldn’t she be feeling more excited at this prospect? Wasn’t this what she’d always wanted? Not only was she being included, but desired. Someone wanted her on their arm, for the whole of Hogwarts and the visitors from the other two schools to see! And yet, she wasn’t satisfied. 
If anything, her heart hurt more because she still wasn’t noticed by the one person that mattered the most. She glanced up from across the Gryffindor table and watched a certain redhead working on some assignment. Maybe she should forget about the stupid crush she could no longer deny. Yes, that was it. 
Hermione resolved to put her feelings for him aside, and embrace the new companionship, or maybe more, that Viktor was offering. It was the perfect plan to get over her childhood crush. 
Year 5
Well, this is new, Hermione thought to herself. Since when did Ron give her meaningful gifts? She was staring at the bottle of perfume Ron gifted her Christmas. On the inside, she was absolutely giddy, but the outside didn’t match those feelings. Ron couldn’t know her secret, so Hermione vowed to hide it at all costs.
She’d done a poor job of trying to hide her excitement. Well, no, she actually did too well of a job. Her reaction was less than stellar, and not what she’d intended. She told him it was interesting. How barmy could you be! Interesting? Why couldn’t you have said, ‘it’s lovely, Ron, thank you!’ No, you had to go and say it’s ‘interesting,’ Hermione berated herself in her own thoughts.
This very well could have been the moment she’d been waiting for, and she’d gone and buggered it up. Yet instead of trying to fix it, she let it go. She figured that if she wore the perfume on a regular basis, then he’d know she liked it. 
Year 6
Hermione felt like her insides had been gutted and her heart ripped out of her chest. She’d give anything to go back to the dull ache and pining over Ron as she wished that they could be something more. Maybe she’d wake up and realize it was just a nightmare, that this new heartache wasn’t warranted after all. Yet the days continued to pass, and that stab of pain remained fresh every time she witnessed the boy she fancied attached by the face to her dorm mate.
Slow and steady wins the race. That’s what the fable always taught her. But it wasn’t true; at least not this time. There was no way she could ever compare to the likes of Lavender, who possessed such a natural beauty that she could have any bloke she desired. 
There was no way Ron would ever look twice at her, especially not now. His new relationship only exacerbated the estrangement she now faced with him. The loneliness was almost too much to bear since he wasn’t speaking to her. 
It was typical Ron and Hermione. He was mad at her for some unknown reason, and now she couldn’t allow herself to forgive him for his betrayal. Their friendship now obliterated in its wake. She was stupid to think she’d even had a chance. Her offer to attend Slughorn’s party was tossed aside far too quickly when a better offer arose. 
A new wave of tears flooded her eyes. When it was all said and done, she couldn’t blame him. Who in their right mind would pick plain Hermione Granger over the illustrious Lavender Brown? Book smarts didn’t matter when it came to fancying someone. Now that Ron had Lavender, she wasn’t needed anymore.
Year 7
Hermione felt Ron’s lips kiss her gently as he leaned down. Hermione hoped she’d never get used to this feeling. They were finally together now. Somehow, they’d survived more near death situations than she could count. The war was over, and they could finally be honest with each other. It felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She no longer had to hide how she felt. Her hand found his, and for the first time in years, she felt peace. 
There was no doubt they’d stumble along the way as they transitioned from friends to something more, but they were willing to do whatever it took to make this work. Every kiss between them felt like a promise, and for the first time she no longer questioned where she stood with her best friend. Hermione smiled as she finally allowed herself to fully embrace their new relationship.
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professorsnape394 · 3 years
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The Potions Master’s Apprentice
Chapter Fourteen: Friends
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A/N: This is the fourteenth part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-16 can be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below if you wish to be added to my tag list.
Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)
Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
Word Count: 2779
Warnings: n/a
Credits to Gif Creator
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To the other professors, breakfast came and went just as it did every other day. But Aria could sense the difference in tone from the students. To the other professors the students chatter was just as excitable as it always was. But Aria could tell it was more hushed and secretive. To the other professors, today was just a normal day, they would have gone about their day blissfully unaware of the situation that had occurred at the Three Broomsticks. Had it not been for the huge elephant in the room.
As he entered the hall that morning for breakfast not a soul in the room missed the swollen black and blue lump in place of where Snape's eye should be. Not a soul in the room missed the way he stormed in, in a fit of rage, knowing that the whole school would be talking about him. And not a soul missed the glares he sent their way daring them to confront him on the matter. But only Aria Dumbledore could see the hurt in his eyes, the embarrassment he was feeling and the pain he buried deep down for the way he had treated his friend last night.
Of course, she was angry at him. All of this was his fault. But the sadness she felt for him overcame her own dignity and she wanted to find out what it was all for. What hurt him so badly, that he felt the need to make her feel as low as he did. Aria knew this was yet another mystery of the great Severus Snape which would remain unanswered. The man was an enigma.
*
As expected, the potions master and his apprentice were curtly invited to Headmaster Dumbledore's office after breakfast to explain themselves. It had not taken long for the rumours to spread from the students all the way to the top, and it was clear Aria's grandfather was less than pleased to hear them.
"You will both be well aware of why I called you here this morning, I am sure." Dumbledore begun when the pair entered the Headmasters office. The two merely nodded, letting the old wizard speak.
"Firstly, I must begin by saying how utterly disappointed I am in the two of you. Not only in the events that transpired last night, but moreover the fact that neither of you were professional enough to come to speak to me about this first, before it got out of hand." The headmaster started, taking a seat behind his large oak desk.
Both Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape bowed their heads in shame, as they stood side by side awkwardly, neither of them daring to look at the other.
"Grandfather I-"
"Miss Dumbledore, in this current professional capacity, I would appreciate if you addressed me as your rightful superior."
"I'm sorry." She replied sheepishly. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I want to apologise for not informing you of what had happened at the Three Broomsticks but as you can see Sever-, Professor Snape did have some injuries that needing tending to and in the state that he was, I didn't think him fit enough to be left unattended to."
As she spoke Severus let out a grunt of disagreement in an attempt to mask his embarrassment.
"Whether that may be the case, Miss Dumbledore, if you are being harassed by another member of staff, your priority should be to inform me, not assist your harasser." Albus scorned.
Snape remained silent, waiting to be spoken too before opening his mouth. He was mortified by his actions in the Three Broomsticks, but even more so by what happened later that night.
"Now, which one of you would like to explain to me what happened, so I can distinguish the truth from some of the student's wild imaginations."
Aria turned her attention to the Potions master who continued to keep his head down, not willing to recall his cruel words.
"I think Professor Snape is best for that job, headmaster." Aria confessed, unwilling to let the man get off so easily.
"Very well. Aria, you may leave us." Dumbledore announced.
"What? But why?" She objected.
"As you so graciously volunteered Severus for the job, I no longer have a reason to keep you back from your duties as a professor." Dumbledore informed her calmly. "Speaking of which, you will be taking all of the potions classes alone for the time being. Professor Snape will be taking a short sabbatical."
Snape's face turned grey at the thought. Not only did he not want this young witch teaching his students, but the mention of a sabbatical made his stomach drop. He knew how he had acted was wrong, but never had it crossed his mind that he could possibly lose his job for what he had done.
"What!?" Aria gasped. "But you can't do that, he-"
"Relax, Aria dear." Dumbledore interrupted. "It is only until I get this business cleared up. With his eye looking as it does the excitement will never settle, you know how students like to gossip. Besides he can take some time to reflect on his actions while it heals." Dumbledore shot Snape a disapproving look.
Aria made to object once again, but this time Severus took the opportunity to shut her up.
"Go, Miss Dumbledore. Do not keep my students waiting." He commanded sourly.
Finally, Aria obeyed, leaving with an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach as she left the two men to talk.
Dumbledore clasped his hands on the desk in front of him and waited patiently for Severus to confess his wrong doings.
"I will not insult you, headmaster, by downplaying my actions from last night. I stupidly let my emotions get the better of me and I thought I could find a solution at the bottom of a bottle of Fire Whiskey, I was wrong. I said disgusting things to your granddaughter and believe me no one can judge me more than I am judging myself right now." Snape could not bring himself to meet the old wizards disappointed gaze.
"And your eye, how did that situation occur." Albus questioned, feeling slightly sorry for the professor, despite the trouble he has caused.
"It was well deserved." Snape admitted. "A 'friend' of your granddaughter's rightfully put a stop to my embarrassing display. I apologise whole heartedly for every mistake I made last night."
"That is all very good and well, Severus. But have you said this to her?"
Severus hung his head.
"I see. May I suggest that be your first port of call." Albus advised.
"Of course."
The Professors sat in dead silence. It was clear both of them were in their own heads more than the conversation.
"Is there something more I should know, Severus?" Dumbledore eyed the man skeptically.
Severus paused for a moment, debating whether to confide in his friend.
"No, sir." He lied. His voice remained void of all emotion.
"Aria could be a great friend to you, Severus. Do not throw that chance away, again. Learn from your past mistakes." The Headmaster warned.
Albus Dumbledore's words resonated with Severus all day. The old man was right. He had once lost his only friend due to a small moment of emotional vulnerability paired with the harshness of his words, he could not re-live that experience. There was only one way to avoid losing Aria from his life completely, any feelings he may have had for her now had to be buried entirely.
*
Storming into her first lesson of the day, the room fell silent upon Aria's entry. The students waited a minute or two, expecting the presence of their most feared professor, which never came.
Aria begun the lessons as Severus always did; silently writing out paragraphs of information for the students to copy. It didn't take long for the fifth years to realise Snape would not be joining them this morning and so they set about asking their more relaxed potions professor all of the questions they were just dying to know the answers to, regarding the events of the previous night.
"Professor Dumbledore, where's Professor Snape, isn't he going to teach us?" It began.
"Unfortunately, today I will be solely be teaching Professor Snape's classes." Aria answered, turning her back on the classroom of students and continued to scribble on the chalk board.
"I heard he shouted at you in front of everyone in the Three Broomsticks yesterday Miss, is that true?" One of the Ravenclaw girls dared to ask.
"You should have seen him." Another laughed. "He was absolutely wrecked, knocked back almost a full bottle of Fire Whiskey apparently."
Aria chose not to respond.
"You were there? What did he say?" A curious Gryffindor inquired, wanting to hear the full story for himself. The two started quietly conversing up the back of the class, letting some more students get their accusations in.
"Is it true you are Karkaroff were caught going at it in the potions cupboard, Miss." Another boy bravely chuckled. "Is that where Snape found you?"
"That's can't be true." Someone else defended, shaking their head in disbelief.
"It is so, didn't you see the two of them at dinner yesterday? He could barely keep his hands off of her." Another whispered.
A few gasps and giggles broke out among the students as they continued to speculate.
"I heard she's the one who punched Snape, did you see his eye today?
"To be fair I don't blame her, he is a bit of a wanker, he probably deserved it."
"Don't be so stupid. It wasn't her; it was her boyfriend, I saw it myself."
"Did Snape actually call you a Slut, Miss?"
The room went quiet anticipating their teacher's response.
"Enough!" She yelled, slamming her hand on the desk as she turned to face them. The class stared at her, stunned.
"I don't want to hear any more of this." She started, putting down her chalk. "I am well aware that some of you may have witnessed the incident that occurred in the Three Broomsticks last night and while Professor Snape's little outburst may have happened extremely publicly, this gives none of you the right to make things worse by making up these stupid stories. I am going to settle this once and for all and I want to hear no more of it, do you understand?" The class nodded silently.
"First off; no, Professor Snape has not been fired, nor would I want him to be. He will resume his position as your potion's professor in a few days' time, and I warn all of you that this nonsense better be done with by then. He will not let you off as lightly as I have done." Aria walked around her desk, resting on the edge as she spoke.
"Secondly, any rumours you have heard regarding me and Headmaster Karkaroff are completely false. Professor Snape got the wrong impression and has now been informed of his mistake. In addition to this, anything you may have heard surrounding me and any other member of staff, or indeed students..." She said through gritted teeth. "... is also false. This includes Professor Snape."
A moment of chatter bubbled among the students, before once again falling silent.
"As for the man I was with, he was nothing more than a friend. And after the way he treated Professor Snape, he is no longer even that. Violence in any form will not be tolerated, no matter the circumstances. I will personally deal with any student supporting the actions of this man or the harming of Professor Snape, regardless of anything he may or may not have said." Aria finished.
"Is all of this abundantly clear?" She asked the class, receiving a chorus of agreement in response.
Aria let the students know to spread this information throughout the school to combat the rumours surrounding her and Severus Snape's altercation, and they graciously obliged. She received very little harassment or questions for the rest of the day, although she knew it was almost impossible to put an end to all of the speculations this early on.
*
Whilst packing up her papers to return to her quarters for an early night, Aria was startled by a sharp knock on the door.
"Come in." She called, not bothering to stop what she was doing. It wasn't until he was standing right in front of her did Aria even recognise who it was. "Severus." The professor said in shock. "Knocking to get into your own class room now?"
"As it were, this appears to be your classroom for the time being, Miss Dumbledore." He droned, watching her intently as she went about her business.
"For a few days at least, it seems." She shrugged. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"I came for an update on my classes' progression. While I might not be teaching them, this does not mean I am willing to relinquish all of my responsibilities quite yet. I don't imagine you have anything prepared." He sneered, continuing to analyse the desk.
"Actually, Professor Snape, I have." She retorted, handing him a small binder. "There you will find every class organised by year and then by level of difficulty; I have written a small summary of what we covered in the classes and how far we hope to progress. All students are listed individually and sorted by house, each detailing how well they coped with the lesson and what they need to work on. I shall give you another update tomorrow, and each day after until you are back. Happy?" She smirked.
"Very impressive." He hummed, unamused, snatching the binder from her and making to leave.
As Snape reached the exit, one hand holding the door ajar, he let his fingers tap on the wood indecisively. Letting out a small huff of breath Severus turned on his heel, re-entering the classroom as he remembered his promise to the headmaster.
"There is one more thing, Miss Dumbledore." The potions master announced, bringing her back to his attention.
"Mmhmm." Aria hummed, continued to flick through her papers, making sure she had what she needed.
"If you could actually pay attention, Miss Dumbledore, I would be able to get out of your hair much faster." Severus hissed through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
"What do you want, Severus." His apprentice huffed. "I do have things to be getting on with. Spit it out."
Snape clenched his jaw and pursed his lips, trying his damn best not to insult the girl.
Couldn't she just listen for five seconds when he was actually trying to be nice to her? He thought.
"I... I want you to know." Snape stuttered, coughing to clear his throat. "I need you to know. Everything I said last night, I didn't mean any of it. I was drunk, and sometimes emotions that we would all like to keep hidden show themselves, do you understand?"
"I get it, Severus. I know you wouldn't have said those things under normal circumstances. You were stressed." Aria accepted, immediately going back to her piles of parchment.
"Look at me." Snape snapped. "You do not understand. I am apologising for my actions in the Three Broomsticks, of course I am. But the point I would most like to stress is... Can we just forget yesterday never happened? All of it."
Aria stared deep into the Professor's eyes knowing he was desperate for her attention. Ignoring the fact he was battered and bruised, she could see the pain in his eyes. The desperateness for her to agree with him, to forget that anything ever happened between them, or rather could have happened.
"Don't worry about it, Severus. Nothing happened as far as I am concerned." She reached out to him, resting a hand on his bicep and flashing a comforting smile.
A hint of a smile threatened on Severus' lips. But as soon as it came it was gone once again. Snape stepped away from the woman, letting her get on with her work.
"Can we agree on one thing, Severus?" Aria asked, keeping her attention on him finally. Snape nodded, allowing her to continue. "The students are having a field day with all of this. I think it would be in everyone's interest for us to try and get along. Hopefully it will dull down a lot of the rumours if they see us acting civil. What do you think? Friends?" She proposed.
Snape let out a small huff of amusement, letting the sides of his lips curl up, contently.
"Friends." He agreed, stepping out of the room quietly.
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