#slytherin and gryffindor friends

[jomiddlemarch]

Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future

Taking in-house on-call at St. Mungo’s on Imbolc wasn’t the absolute worst, as far as Hermione was concerned. It wasn’t a major holiday and the Scottish weather, an unfathomably vile mix of sleet and snow accompanied by icy gales that defied any warming charm, lent itself to staying in. As her social life was not exactly riotous post-break-up with Ron, however amicably resigned and rueful they’d both been about it, staying in at St. Mungo’s, with its endless supply of ginger biscuits and at least one interesting patient per ward, was tolerable. Acceptable.

It could have been, anyway.

“You like being on-call, Granger?” 

That was Draco Malfoy, her fellow senior registrar, academic rival, and star of far too many risqué dreams she continued to blame on eating cheese late at night. He’d grown significantly after the final battle, which she refused to capitalize when she thought of it, just as she refused to refer to Voldemort as anything other than Tom Riddle. Draco, no longer beholden to a genocidal sorcerer who had far too close a relationship with his voracious familiar and thus no longer suffering from an untreated ulcer along as well as the fear of watching his mother being tortured in her own sitting room, had put on a good 2-plus stone of muscle along with several more inches and somehow managed to make the lime-green robes St. Mungo’s insisted on look like something that would get an approving nod during Fashion Week in Milan. It should be a fourth Unforgivable that someone so silvery blond didn’t look anemic, bilious, or curdled in the next hue over from chartreuse. He looked edible. 

Delicious.

Hermione looked like a generous dollop of the Seafoam Salad her American Cousin Luella brought to every summer tea-party Hermione’s mother had ever thrown, despite being told she was such a dear but she needn’t. Hermione tried to take comfort in the many extendable pockets she’d been able to spell into her robe’s inner lining, but nothing could fully offset the color. 

At the moment, Draco had opened his robes and put his feet up on the coffee-table in the staff break-room, his collar unbuttoned, his tie loosened. He’d stopped using whatever charm or enchanted pomade he’d relied on when they were at Hogwarts and his hair looked silky, a lock threatening to fall across his forehead. If they were called to an emergency, he’d probably cast a wandless Reparo vestis and immediately look the part of a Pureblood senior registrar, but in the meantime, he was…louche. Unconscionably, unbearably erotic.

Hermione thought back to the tea she’d hurried through before heading to Dangerous Dai at a brisk clip. She’d had nary a bite of Brie. Or Cheddar. 

She had no plausible deniability.

Still, he was helping a bit with the judgy curl to his lips and that gleam in his grey eyes which was somewhere between curious and condescending. She’d lean into the condescending part.

“I don’t mind it. It’s part of the work, being a Healer. If you have a true vocation, you don’t resent being on-call,” she said.

She sounded like an impossible prig even to herself but needs must.

“Bollocks,” he retorted, but not meanly. “Don’t you miss your cat?”

“Crookshanks is part-Kneazle,” she said.

“Fine, your part-Kneazle,” Draco said. “Wouldn’t you rather be home with him, doing whatever it is you do away from here?”

“Are you fishing for details or trying to mock me? You’ll have to decide,” Hermione said.

“I’m trying to say it’s just the two of us here, you don’t have to pretend you love being stuck at St. Mungo’s overnight,” Draco said. 

It occurred to Hermione that if she suffered a cardiac event in the next three seconds, Draco would be the one to resuscitate her and that no one ever looked their best post-resuscitation, even when magic was the primary intervention. Vanity, that’s what would keep her from having a heart attack.

Just the two of us.

For Sweet Circe’s fucking sweet sake.

Draco gave her a searching look because the pause had lengthened notably. Anyone else would have said something like Earth to Hermione, except they’d have to be Muggleborn to say that, because Wizards still didn’t grasp that Muggles had been to the Moon and sent rovers to Mars. They didn’t grasp a dog had been sent into space.

“It’s all right. I don’t actually mind it all that much myself, if I’m being honest. And before you feel compelled to point it out, yes, I am Slytherin but I am capable of candor, especially when it suits my needs,” he said.

“It suits you to be honest with me?” she said.

“We’re a team, aren’t we?” he said and she nodded before she could stop herself and ask what exactly he meant, she’d happily taken four feet of parchment on the topic. “Lying, keeping things from each other, it won’t help us. I know you don’t trust me—”

“I—” she interrupted, breaking off when she realized she wasn’t sure she wanted to say she did trust him or that she wanted to, very badly.

“I know we agreed to a fresh slate when we started training here and I also know if was too much to ask of you,” he said. 

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“Yes, I was under duress. Yes, I was seventeen. Yes, we’re all allowed to make mistakes. But I still have a brand on my arm from a group that wanted you dead and defiled and the best I did on your behalf was to pretend I didn’t know you for a few minutes,” he said. 

“What else could you have done?” Hermione said, shrugging. 

“I could have risked my life. I could have died,” he said. “Potter did, when he saved me from Fiendfyre—”

“I’m not nearly as nice as Harry,” Hermione said.

Draco laughed, rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“You’re a better person than I am and you don’t have to argue with me about it. Some things are simply true. I’d like you to trust me, that’s what I’m saying, albeit terribly clumsily,” he replied.

“Albeit?” she repeated. Using humor to deflect was a time-honored tradition and she didn’t know what to do with her sizable attraction when it was suddenly not only about his broad shoulders and narrow hips, the feline grace of his gait, the North Sea of his eyes and his impossibly deft hands (Nimue help her, Draco’s hands…) but also his mind, his insight. She’d known he was clever, her equal in most fields, slightly ahead of her in Charms (though behind in Arithmancy) but she hadn’t appreciated how thoughtful he was or had become. How he could be gentle. 

“I use overly formal language when I feel out of my depth,” he said. Admitted. 

“You were totally at ease then, when Crispin Fillament was hemorrhaging? All I heard was good old Anglo-Saxon obscenities from you while you were trying to shove the blood back into his aorta,” Hermione said, grinning.

“That bugger. He wasn’t helping at all, and I don’t mean his choice to sing operettas,” Draco said. “It was like his blood didn’t even want back in. It felt oddly sentient—”

“Operetta can be polarizing,” Hermione said. They were having an absolutely insane conversation, Thickey Ward caliber, and she was more relaxed than she’d ever been around him while also being turned on. Draco’s expression shifted from entertained to speculative. Assessing. She resisted the impulse to touch her hair or fiddle with the collar of her robes, glad she’d kept her shoes on, regretting her laundry day choice of striped tights.

“We’ve worked together for nearly seven years and you still don’t trust me,” he said. 

“I don’t suspect you of, well, anything in particular,” she replied. It seemed a weak response, even to her. It might not even be fair, but she couldn’t necessarily feel her way into being fair to him. Even if there were times when she wanted to.

“I know. It’s good of you,” he said. “It just, it’s not enough.”

“It’s not enough? You dare to demand I—”

“I’m not demanding anything, Hermione,” he interrupted. “I don’t expect more. I don’t deserve more. I only want more.”

“You want more,” she repeated. She sounded somewhere between incredulous and stupid. As he’d spent a significant amount of his youth the Crabbe and Goyle, the stupidity shouldn’t bother him as it did her.

“I believe Weasley liked to refer to me as a greedy git. I don’t pretend to have entirely outgrown that,” he said.

“That was because you hogged the pudding,” Hermione said.

“Well, I’ve outgrown that. Though I do still like sweet things,” he said. He tilted his head to one side and should have resembled an owl but of course, he didn’t. If anything, he looked like a fallen angel, though he probably wouldn’t have recognized Lucifer if she’d mentioned the name. The Bible was given short-shrift in the Muggle culture studies required at St. Mungo’s where they ran more to Pasteur, Salk and gene-sequencing. “If I want more, I must give more.”

“Is this some sort of rudimentary physics equation?” Hermione said. “You do know Newton covered this area already.”

“I mean, if I want you to trust me, I need to give you more reason. I need to share more, so you feel I’ve earned it. That it’s, I’m worth it,” he said, nodding as he spoke. Hermione felt herself flush and wanted to argue but she couldn’t think of anything compelling to refute his assertion.

“Shall I tell you why I became a Healer?” Draco said.

“If you like,” Hermione replied diffidently, as if she hadn’t wondered nearly every time she saw him and had frankly obsessed over it for the first six months of their training. Obsessed as in Ginny staged an intervention with Padma and Susan and Gabrielle on the Floo, with Luna playing mother over the teapot joining in the chorus that maybe Hermione needed to let it go or go ahead and jump Draco’s bones. She had been so far gone Luna Lovegood had told her she needed to get some perspective (which she suggested would be helped along with a tincture of canawaddle blossom and raging iron jaguar tears. Hermione had just taken the full glass of Shiraz Padma offered and nodded.)

“Because of my parents,” he said. It had been his idea to discuss his reasons but he seemed uncertain how he’d explain or uneasy about her response.

“It was their idea?” Hermione hazarded a guess. It wasn’t a good guess and she’d be shocked if she were right but it was within the realm of possibility in a world where there were both cellphones and wands threaded with a phoenix’s fiery tail-feather.

“Fuck no,” he said, almost choking on a laugh. A bitter one.

“It might’ve been,” she retorted. 

“Only you would believe that possible and before you get horribly offended and flounce off, I mean only you could believe them capable of such humanity. That they would care about other people, that they would care that I did something worthwhile with my time,” he said. He made a calming gesture with his hand, the one he wore a signet ring on. It wasn’t the Malfoy signet though. “You also forget they are the most terrible snobs and think any kind of work is beneath a Malfoy or the bloody scion of the Most Noble House of Black. My mother thinks I’m overly sentimental and my father thinks the whole thing is crass and degrading.”

“I don’t flounce,” Hermione said because what he’d said was a lot to unpack and she couldn’t risk him thinking flouncing was within her repertoire.

“I stand corrected,” he said.

“Why did you become a Healer? How were your parents involved?” she asked. 

“They ruined so many lives. My father, I’ve never asked, I’ve never wanted to know, but I think he’s a murderer and my mother went along with it all. Whatever she told herself about how she had to put me first, it was all an excuse,” he said, holding her gaze the whole time. “Other families left Britain. Other families refused to take a side. Millie’s parents sent her younger brothers to Ilvermorny. Zabini’s mother cast some spell on Blaise that kept Voldemort from touching him, something Darker than Dark, she called in favors all over Europe and West Africa. My parents ruined my life. This is the best way I could think of to make something of it all.”

“That’s, I don’t even know what to say, Draco,” Hermione replied.

“You don’t have to have something to say. It’s just how it is,” he said.

“Is it enough? Atonement?” Hermione asked.

“Mostly. And I like the craft. Snape played favorites and he gave me extra lessons, tradework secrets. The man was frankly a bloody genius. Sectumsempra was his juvenilia. I’m good at Potions and I was taught by one of the best Potions Masters in the past three hundred years,” Draco said.

“It’s nice to hear you admit it,” Hermione said. 

“The special treatment or Snape’s brilliance?”

“Yes,” Hermione said, making Draco smile.

“I wished I could have saved him,” Draco said. “Though I don’t know what surviving would have meant for him. He was broken.”

“He wanted us to let him go. After he gave Harry the memory, he didn’t want to have to live anymore. I tried to stay. Harry and Ron didn’t see his eyes, but he looked at me and I knew it,” Hermione said.

“He doesn’t haunt me. In case you’re wondering,” Draco said. “His portrait often has a choice remark for me, but that’s all.”

“I became a Healer because of my parents too,” Hermione said.

“Yeah?”

“When it was getting close, that last year, you know, none of the adults made any plans to keep my parents safe. They told me not to worry mostly. All Dumbledore cared about was Harry and the Elder wand. Tonks, she was your cousin, she was the only one who said I should look out for my own people,” Hermione said. Tonks’s hair had been a rich chestnut streaked with white when she’d said it, her eyes the glittering green Hermione had always wished to see in the mirror, and she hadn’t minced words. She’d been as serious as Hermione had ever seen her, serious as death, and then it wasn’t spoken of again. Hermione had hoped there would be a time to tell Tonks, to thank her. “I Obliviated my parents and relocated them to Australia, I gave them new identities. I erased myself from their minds. Entirely.”

“What?” To his credit, Draco looked 90% stunned and 10% impressed. Harry had looked 100% horrified and Ron had physically recoiled when she told them. 

“I did some research, figured out how to Obliviate them in the way that would keep them safest,” she said. “Voldemort wasn’t going to care about two random Muggles named Wilkins in bloody Melbourne. Other than you, your father and Snape, none of the Death-eaters were smart enough to figure it out and it turned out Snape was a double-agent, so my odds were even better than I’d counted on.”

“That’s advanced charmwork,” Draco said. “That kind of Obliviation.”

“I had to use Arithmancy too. And runes,” Hermione said. “It had to work. I couldn’t ruin their lives. I couldn’t be the reason they were killed.”

“It worked,” he said. “You saved them.”

“Yes. But it was harder to reverse than I’d hoped,” she said. She said hoped but she meant thought, planned, expected. She’d been wrong. “And when they remembered, they remembered I never asked their permission.”

“You didn’t?”

“They’d never have agreed. I cast the spell behind their backs. An assassination, my mother called it,” she said. She hadn’t told them about being tortured; they couldn’t understand Cruciatus the way anyone magical would and she didn’t want them to ask why she hadn’t confided more in them. Didn’t want them to feel guilty or worse, to accuse her of trying to make them feel guilty to justify her actions.

“You saved their lives,” Draco repeated. 

“That’s what I tell myself,” she replied.

“Do you plan to specialize in memory curses? Because of your parents?” he asked.

“No. It’s not that. I became a Healer because they can understand it. They are dentists, Muggle Healer for teeth, and I was able to preserve all of that when I Obliviated them. They would have said, once, I should take up whatever career I felt called to, but they value healing. It’s something we can talk about. Without much…rancor. They see what we do as another science, this training similar enough, the way the American medical system is similar to the British one,” she said.

“Do you even want to be a Healer?” Draco said.

“It’s fine. Maybe I would have ended up here anyway. You have to master a lot of different magical disciplines and there’s some research to be done. There’s always other people around and you can get a decent cuppa in the canteen,” she said, shrugging. “The robes don’t suit me, but that’s a small price to pay.”

“You wanted something else though,” he said. “You don’t have to lie to me. I won’t try to convince you to leave St. Mungo’s.”

“There’s a course on ancient magics in Alexandria. And the Wizarding Library there, they do archival work and Anatomia liborum,” she said. “I read about it when I was researching the Horcruxes. It sounded intriguing.”

“What else?” he prompted.

“In Japan, at Mahoutokoro, there a witch studying arithmancy and algorithm engineering. That’s a Muggle science, it has to do with computers and programming, which you probably have no idea about, but it’s cutting edge work,” Hermione said.

“Instead you’re here,” he said.

“It’s not so bad,” Hermione said. It was easy to say, because she’d said it to herself about a thousand times. “I’m learning a lot and it’s important, to be able to heal people, and sometimes what’s wrong with them seems impossible, but in an absurdly funny way. My parents like it, when I tell them about work, even if I have to tone it down so they believe me.”

“Doesn’t seem like enough. Not for you,” he said.

“You’re here,” she replied, before she thought better of it.

For a moment, Draco was so still she wondered if she’d cast a wandless Petrificus totalis without consciously registering it.

“It’s not what you think,” she said.

“What do I think, Hermione?” he asked. He didn’t sound sly or arch, not remotely mocking, though he could have and she wouldn’t have been able to blame him. He sounded serious, as if she was the final arbiter of his fate, the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot pronouncing his sentence.

“It wasn’t a grand declaration,” she said.

“I didn’t think ‘you’re here’ was a grand declaration,” he replied. He’d relaxed a bit. Bully for him. Hermione felt like she might spontaneously combust, which coupled with the lime-green robes, was certain to be unattractive.

“You’re clever and well-read and you don’t cave when I argue with you but you don’t try to squash me either,” she said. “You think of things quite differently than I do, but in a good way. You’re my peer, intellectually.”

“I’m your peer, intellectually. That’s what you meant,” he said.

“You spent your formative years with Crabbe and Goyle. It’s not nothing,” she retorted.

“I played chess with Blaise Zabini for seven years. Theo Nott taught me Sanskrit and Pazu Veda in his spare time,” he replied. It felt like an obscure jab at Harry and Ron, neither of whom would claim to be excellent student, but who each had their strengths. They were, perhaps, not ones that lent themselves to spirited discussions, especially since Hermione had an admittedly limited grasp of chess and no real motivation to learn it. She wouldn’t risk the conversation devolving into a cranky argument, relitigating their school-days.

“Theo Nott was fluent in Pazu Veda?” 

“They don’t teach necromancy at Hogwarts, so I can’t vouch for his fluency, but he could read it and translate,” Draco said. He crossed his legs at the ankle, a gesture of pure insouciance. His grey eyes studied her and she lifted her chin. “You’re stalling.”

“I’m not,” she said. For possibly the first time she could remember, she wished to be paged to the receiving area to attend to a disgustingly feculent and smoking heap of Wizard burping up turds, suffering from an unknown but obviously not life-threatening curse or potion. 

“If you don’t want to talk about it anymore, we won’t. I wanted you to trust me and that won’t happen if you feel like I’m grilling you or prying. I’ll try to keep doing whatever it is that makes me being here make St. Mungo’s worth it to you,” he said.

He was a Slytherin but he’d spoken as directly as an Gryffindor, as thoughtfully as any Ravenclaw, as kindly as any Hufflepuff.

“I like you,” she said. 

She was not going to mention lust, her own for his face, his shoulders and his hands, the nape of his neck, the line of his thigh when he crouched down to talk to some patient on the Thickey Ward who thought they were a mole. His lips when he smiled. His eyes when he had a new idea that she was going to hate at first. She was courageous, not foolhardy.

“I like you too. Very much,” he said. “Exceedingly. I don’t want you to worry, having said it first, that your feelings are unrequited. They are very, very requited. Maximally requited.”

“I only said I like you,” she replied.

“I know. You don’t make grand declarations. I do. When they are called for,” he said.

“And it’s called for now?”

“We’ve worked together for seven years. We’ve known each other since we were eleven. You just admitted you like me. I’m not risking waiting another decade for you to understand how I feel about you,” he said. “Wizards have long lives but I’d hate to have this conversation with a white beard down to my navel.”

“You will never have a white beard down to your navel. You’d never do something so cliché,” Hermione said.

“You’re probably right. But I still prefer telling you tonight,” he said. “It means that when I ask you if you’d like a cup of tea and a biscuit in the canteen, you’ll know I don’t just mean a cup of tea and a biscuit.”

“But we’d still have those, right?” Hermione said. “Because I skipped lunch today.”

“I will buy you every biscuit in the canteen,” he said. “And breakfast tomorrow morning. Somewhere where you can get a decent omelet.”

“So, someplace Muggle,” Hermione said. 

“Most assuredly so. At least until we both have a weekend off,” he said.

“Then what?”

“Then I take you to Paris.”

*

Five hexes, three Dark-adjacent curses, nine (nine!) misbrewed Potions causing inflammation, exudation, and one case of rapid-fire recitation in Norn, an unlicensed researcher’s run-in with a surly matagot, and a family suffering from mazy measles, meant that no biscuits, chocolate, ginger or lemon, were consumed and the tea in the canteen’s urn remained untasted by either of them.

They did, however, make quick work of a passable cheese omelet at a very nice café once they’d given sign-out to the day’s team.

And Draco Side-alonged her home, giving her a kiss on the cheek at the door.

Hermione kissed him back. Not on the cheek. 

She wasn’t about to wait for Paris for a French kiss, not when they had so little say over the on-call schedule.

Not when he looked at her with those sleepy grey eyes.

Not when he murmured her name against her lips.

#dramione #st. mungo's au #epilogue what epilogue #hermione x draco #hermione POV #draco malfoy #healer!draco #healer!hermione #family drama #angst #trauma #humor #starts rom-com and then you know #draco creates his own redemption arc #malfoy family #granger family #slytherin and gryffindor friends #enemies to colleagues to lovers #romance #hp fandom #severus snape

[cash-111]

Am I so bad?

Pairing: Theodore Nott x Reader

CW: just some minor hurt-comfort. Friends to lovers. Reader is purely gender neutral except for the fact they have longish hair.

Synopsis: Theo is insecure after you snort at the idea of you being together.

Words: idrk but it’s very short.

A/N: sorry this isn’t very professional or aesthetic, or beta read. It’s my first fic on here, I’ll get the gist eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Would it be so bad?”

Having had your interest peeked, you looked up from the book you were so enthralled by. Theodore laid on your bed, his uniform messy and crumpled from the day’s commotion, looking up at your ceiling.

“Hm? What, Theo?”

Your eyes dropped down on the page again, turning it slowly, almost to savor the feeling of the paper on your fingertips.

“Would it be so bad” He repeated “if we… you know, were to date?” His hands rested on his chest, one of his thumbs smoothing the top of the other in a soothing way.

“What’s this about now?” You said, a playful tone in your voice. “You getting desperate, Teddy?”

His face scrunched up in one of his usual sarcasm-filled smiles, before it straightened into a normal one.

“Be serious for a moment, would you?”

“Okay…” you closed your book on your lap and sat up “So what’s this about?”

He rolled around too so he could face you, consequently scooching up with a few huffs. “Well,” he started “you made a really disgusted, wacky sound when those Hufflepuffs mistook us for a couple”

He gestured, a hint of a shrug. “And, you know, I wanted to know what was up”

You set your book on the table, your eyebrows raised.

“Oh my god. The Theodore Nott feels insecure? Check the date, I need to put this on my calendar!” You gasped jokingly, getting up in a hurry. You laughed as Theo caught your thighs and threw you onto the bed with him.

“I’m not insecure.” he reasoned, quite loudly.

“Mhm” you pursed your lips, trying not to let any more laughter slip, but he caught on and started tickling you as ‘his revenge’.

Once you were begging for him to stop, he finally relented, mumbling a satisfied ‘that’s what you get’.

As you caught your breath, a big grin still on your face, Theo turned away from you, his shoulders slacked.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” You came to rest a hand on his shoulder, your voice softer and worried. In turn, his hand shot up to rest on yours.

“Do you truly, actually, find me sickening?” He smiled, but his eyes were sad and his voice carried that hint of melancholy that let you know he was asking sincerely.

“What? Of course not, Theo.” You squeezed his shoulder in reassurance, and your other hand came to smooth over his back. “You’re the most handsome guy I know. I thought you knew that, that’s why I was making irony earlier” you explained.

He turned his head to look into your eyes. “I’m the most handsome guy you know?” His usual grin finally reclaiming his features.

“Psh, don’t flatter yourself.” you pushed him lightly. “But yes” you returned his grin with one of your own.

“So I do have a chance” he propped himself up more to face your body.

“In your dreams, Ted” you gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before patting his head and going to put up your hair.

He tsked and mumbled to himself. “Nei miei sogni facciamo già molto di più, tesoro” In my dreams we do a lot more already, darling (treasure)

“What was that?” You spoke up, busy looking at your image in the mirror.

“Nothing, nothing…”

#fanfiction #x reader #fanfic #theodore nott #theodore nott x reader #theo x reader #friends #friends to lovers #slytherin x reader #hufflepuff reader #gryffindor reader #ravenclaw reader #slytherin reader #gender neutral reader

[7s3ven]

ONE CUP OF COFFEE. theodore nott

( master list )

IN WHICH… Theodore Nott can’t stand the idea of actually falling in love but he finds himself questioning his choices after a series of rather comforting conversation with a Hufflepuff.

“Do you hate me so much that you can’t stand having one coffee with me?”

Warnings: Smoking, mentioning of throwing up, mentioning of weed, swearing here and there, mentioning of hooking (pretty tame for a Theodore Nott fic tbh

—

“One coffee. Black. No milk or sugar. Make it hotter than usual.” Theodore Nott wasted no time in repeating his order to the worker behind the counter. A new coffee shop had opened inside of Hogsmeade and in the Slytherin’s opinion, their drinks were better than any muggle one.

He tossed a few golden coins onto the table before walking away and taking a seat in a deserted corner. He liked to be away from people because despite being part of a popular Slytherin group and partying often, he wasn’t a social person.

The quiet lulling of muggle songs played around in the cafe, bouncing off the walls. Theodore pulled his turtle neck up higher, covering his bare skin from the cold air. It nipped at his slim fingers and he wished he had taken a pair of Draco’s Dior gloves now.

The rusted bell attached to the door dully rang as someone else entered. The cafe wasn’t too crowded. There were a few other students scattered here and there but not many people were willing to freeze just to grab a coffee.

Melted snow dripped off Theodore’s boots as his observant eyes followed the actions of the newcomer. He couldn’t tell what house she was in because she was wearing all white, but she definitely wasn’t a Slytherin. The girls clad in green and silver had a certain aura; an unfriendly, poisonous, and addictive one.

This girl radiated off sunshine and daffodils and basking in the warmth of a crackling fire. Theodore guessed she was in Hufflepuff because she had a certain charm to her bright smile.

“One cinnamon chai latte.” She ordered, kindly handing the cashier a few coins. She was practically the opposite of Theodore.

“Name?” The cashier asked, much comfortable in her presence as opposed to the Slytherin who sat a few feet away.

“Y/N.”

Her name jogged Theodore’s memory. She was the girl Lorenzo had been paired with in herbology. It was quite a long and dragged out assignment so whenever Lorenzo wasn’t hanging out with his friends, he was with her.

Theodore subconsciously sat up straighter and leaned forward to get a better look at Y/N. Lorenzo described her as a pretty and bright girl with a warm perspective on life. Instead of saying “what’s the worst that could happen?” She always said “what’s the best that could happen?”

Theodore was somewhat impressed by how positive a person could be.

He didn’t notice he had been staring until Y/N turned her head, innocent E/C eyes burning holes into his. Theodore almost jumped. He quickly adverted his gaze, clenching his jaw.

Out of the corner of his vision, he could see Y/N sit at the table beside him. She sat with her legs oddly crossed and her body was turned so she could look at him.

“Theodore Nott, right? Enzo’s friend?” Her voice was gentle, like a meadow full of daisies and glittering ponds of water.

Theodore thickly swallowed before he nodded. “Yeah. Lo’s talked about you. You were his partner for potions.” The brunette had never heard anybody call Lorenzo by Y/N’s nickname, but maybe that was because he didn’t allow anybody to call him that. Unless it was Y/N, of course.

The poor boy was smitten with her during fifth year but he shyly backed off when he realised he had too much competition. To this day, Draco was still trying to convince him to man up.

“He talked about me?”

“Only once or twice.” Theodore lied through his teeth. He may be a tease, but he refused to out his friend.

“The assignment we did was so annoying. I’m glad I had him as my partner. If it was anybody else, I would’ve gone mad.” Y/N signed and a small laugh slipped past her pink-tinted lips.

“You practically saved his herbology grades. Lo is smart but his plant knowledge is in the negatives.” Theodore huffed in amusement, his mouth curving into a sly smirk.

“He’s good with everything else, though.” Y/N uttered. Out of the whole Slytherin group, Lorenzo, Draco, and Pansy had the highest grades. Blaise couldn’t care less; he still scored pretty high but grades weren’t his whole life. And Matteo and Theodore, the players they were, didn’t even bother studying for exams.

“Black coffee.” The barista suddenly called out, making Theodore realise he had never given the worker his name.

“That must be your’s.” Y/N said, nodding over at the steaming drink. She smiled, which almost set Theodore’s heart alight. It was already drowning in gasoline and her damn grin may as well be the flaming match. “Theo?” She waved a hand in front of his face as he spaced out.

“Huh?” Finally, his blank eyes shifted to stare at her.

“Your coffee.” Y/N reminded him.

“Oh. Right. I’ll see you later.” Theodore was quick to stand up and grab his drink, the paper cup burning the palm of his hand.

“See you later, Theo!” Y/N called out, not seeming to notice his uneasy mood.

Theodore sped walked out of the coffee shop, holding a hand to his chest. His stomach sank as dread overwhelmed him.

Him and Matteo were like two peas on a pod. They shared the same habits too, like drinking their sorrows away and smoking until their lungs burned. And let’s not forget their infamous reputations as playboys. Theodore Nott didn’t do relationships so he refused to let a soft Hufflepuff change his mind.

Despite shoving down whatever warm feeling he felt when he was next to Y/N, Theodore couldn’t help but crane his head in search for a certain flash of H/C hair.

“Black coffee. Extra hot.” He muttered absentmindedly to the same cashier who had served him a week before.

“Name?” She asked, bored eyes gazing up at him.

“Theo.” He quickly replied, turning his head again when he thought he saw Y/N. He felt disappointed when it wasn’t her. The worker seemed to notice.

“Are you looking for that Hufflepuff you were talking to last time?” She questioned, arching a thin brown eyebrow. Theodore glanced down at her name tag that read Eulia.

“No.” He quickly denied her inquiry, wrapping his long Slytherin scarf tighter around his bare neck.

“She comes in every week around this time. She’ll be here soon.” Eulia said, glancing over Theodore’s shoulder to take in the growing line. She cleared her throat, reminding Theodore of where he was.

As usual, he threw some coins onto the countertop and walked away to the same table he sat at before. His head perked up when he heard the sound of familiar laughter.

Y/N walked in, waving good-bye to her Ravenclaw friend. “The usual, Y/N?” Eulia asked, already typing her order into the monitor.

Y/N practically bounced over to Theodore, taking a seat in front of him. “Hey, long time no see. I thought I’d see you at school but I guess not.”

“I was busy.” Theodore lied. In truth, he had been hauled up in his dorm and listening to Draco rant about Pansy.

“Doing what?” Y/N innocently tilted her head to the side, genuinely curious.

Theodore, as blunt and brainless as ever, blurted out the first thing he could think of. “Weed, drugs, and smoking.” He wanted to bash his head into the table. What kind of response was that?

Yes, he used to do all those things but he had toned it down. The only addiction he had was smoking now.

“I don’t know why I said that. It was the first thing that popped up in the mind.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

“I’m not judging you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Y/N laughed, “By the way, your cigarettes are about to fall.” She pointed to the packet that was lazily shoved into Theodore’s pocket. He quickly caught it.

“I don’t do weed or drugs anymore.” He uttered, “Just so you know.”

From the coffee machines, Eulia rolled her eyes. “Coffee for Theo. Cinnamon chai latte for Y/N.” She called out, placing the drinks down.

Theodore quickly stood up. “I’ll get them.” He offered, not waiting for a response.

“Smooth.” Eulia said as he grabbed the drinks.

“Cut me some slack. I’m used to hooking up with toxic girls, not chatting over coffee with a sweet Hufflepuff.” Theodore lightly scoffed.

“So, Theo, what do you want to do when you graduate?” Y/N asked as soon as he sat back down again.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” In all his years of Hogwarts, he had never thought about it. “What about you?”

“I want to open a bakery.” Y/N said like she had been waiting the question to come up.

Theodore raised his eyebrows. “You like baking?”

“Yup! I’ll bake you something next week. Do you like chocolate?”

“Who doesn’t?” Theodore only knew one person who didn’t like chocolate, and that was Pansy. But to be fair, she had gotten food poisoning from spiked chocolate in third year.

It was safe to say that she spent most of that day hunched over the toilet while Matteo held back her hair and Lorenzo gently got her to drink water, which she threw up too but it’s the thought that counts.

“Great! I have to go now. I’m meeting up with another friend. See you at school, Theo!” Y/N effortlessly chugged her scorching hot drink. She slammed the cup against the table, grinning.

“What the…” Theodore was still trying to process what had just happened as he watched Y/N run out of the cafe and into the arms of her friend

The next week, Y/N arrived earlier than Theodore. He had been held up by Blaise, who was curious as to why he was visiting the same coffee shop three times in a row.

Theodore entered the store after managing to shake Blaise off. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shivering despite the atmosphere being warm.

Eulia, who seemed to be on duty every day, had already made his drink and placed it in front of Y/N. She was too busy doodling on his cup with a permanent marker to notice his sudden appearance.

“Cute outfit.” He said as he sat down, the legs of his chair scraping against the tilted floor. Y/N’s face visibly lit up at his small compliment. Theodore observed her pink sweater with little bows sewn on it and her short white skirt with fleece leggings lining her legs.

“As promised, your cookie.” Y/N slid the box over to Theodore, smiling. “I would recommend heating it up. A warm cookie is better than a cold and hard one.”

“Do you bake often?” Theodore asked, taking the box and letting it rest on his lap.

“I try to bake as much as I can. I like helping the house elves too.” Y/N began to fondly talk about her love for baking and as much as Theodore tried to focus on her words, his gaze wandered to a suspicious group huddled in the opposite corner.

Once Theodore looked past their dark sunglasses and large coats, he recognised them as his friends. He saw Draco shove past Pansy and he surely pointed at Y/N then at Theodore before slapped his hands together.

Theodore stared at him, puzzled. And it showed as he furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. Y/N didn’t seem to notice his wavering attention, much to his relief.

“Do you want to bake together sometime, Theo?” Y/N asked, bringing him back to their conversation. He felt a little guilty because he hadn’t heard another word of what she had said.

“Sure. Though, I don’t think I’d be much help. Matt and I tried making edibles once and we messed that shit up.”

From behind Draco, Matteo glared at Theodore. It was your fault, he mouthed. He wasn’t lying, Theodore had gotten just about every ingredient in the recipe wrong.

“Edibles?” Y/N tilted her head to the side.

“Weed brownies.” Theodore elaborated, “But that was last year. I don’t do that anymore, remember? I only party and smoke.”

“I know. You told me.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled. Y/N’s gaze flickered to his packed of cigarettes that always looked like it was about to fall out.

“Would you like to come to a party with me?” Theodore asked, leaning forward. There was one in the Slytherin common room next week. Normally, people from other houses weren’t invited but if you had the right connections, you’d be let in.

“Parties aren’t my thing. I… don’t like the vibe. You know?”

“That’s fine. You ever tried smoking?”

“No. Cedric offered to teach me but I declined.” Y/N frowned at the lost opportunity.

“I’ll teach you.” Theodore said a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. “I mean, you keeping me company wouldn’t be so bad.” He grabbed his packet, sliding it across the table. “These are my good ones. Keep ‘em and whenever you’re having a bad day or just wanna have a smoke, find me. I’ll light one for you.”

From across the room, Matteo lightly gasped. Theodore never ever shared his good cigarettes with anyone, not even him.

“Really?” Y/N picked up the worn-out box, staring at it.

“Yeah. I gotta get going. My friends are probably wondering where I am.” Theodore, once again, lied through his teeth. He knew his friends had questions and he didn’t want to keep them waiting. He stood up, feeling Pansy’s gaze burn a hole through him.

“Enjoy the cookie!” Y/N exclaimed, grinning and waving him off.

Theodore smiled. “I’m sure I will, love.” He walked out of the cafe, his friends following close behind and bombarding him just like he had predicted.

“You clearly have some sort of feelings towards her.” Panay said as she poked the brunette beside him. All throughout breakfast, Panay had been trying to get Theodore to admit his growing affection for Y/N. He denied it every time.

“I don’t.” He said for the third time, leaning down to stuff some bacon into his mouth. As he quickly chewed, his gaze flickered to Y/N.

“You’re looking at her again!” Pansy exclaimed, huffing. “It’s so obvious you like her!”

“Where’s Lo and Draco?” Theodore changed the subject, realising the two boys were missing.

“You can’t change the topic. You like her and you know it.” Unfortunately for Theodore, Pansy was persistent. Maybe a little too much.

“Theo likes who?” Lorenzo tilted his head to the side in curiosity. The whole group, even Blaise who laughed at awkward situations, froze.

Nobody responded for a moment before Blaise put down his fork. “Y/N. He likes Y/N L/N.” Theodore glared at the boy, wondering why on hell he’d even tell Lorenzo the truth.

“… Oh.” Lorenzo didn’t say much as he sat down, glancing over at Y/N. “You’re not going to break her heart, right?”

“I don’t like her. End of conversation.” Theodore groaned, taking a huge gulp from his goblet.

“I don’t believe you.” Lorenzo uttered, pointing his fork at Theodore’s eyes, “Your eyes say it all. You keep looking at her every minute and when you do, your eyes soften.”

Pansy snickered, nudging Theodore. “Told you.”

“If you don’t like her, then you wouldn’t mind if someone else asked her out, would you?” Matteo piped up.

“You aren’t her type.” Theodore immediately replied, scoffing.

“We’re practically the same, Theo. If I’m not her type then you aren’t. She’s pretty and all but I don’t date. That guy, on the other hand, seems like he does.” Matteo pointed over to a Ravenclaw boy approaching Y/N. The whole Slytherin group watched as he nervously asked her something and when she slowly nodded, his face lit up.

Theodore clenched his hands into fists. “Did he just ask her out?” He seethed, clenching his jaw.

“You don’t like her, remember? You shouldn’t care.” As usual, Matteo had that same infuriating smirk on his face. “Anyway, what are we doing for the party tonight?”

Theodore had forgotten all about it. He faintly remembered Y/N saying parties weren’t her thing. Did she like guys who didn’t party? That Ravenclaw boy looked like he didn’t. Is that why she said yes?

“I’m not doing. Not really my thing.” He uttered, shrugging. His friends looked at him in disbelief.

“Not your thing?” Matteo stammered, “Mate, the only thing you do is party! What’s gotten into you?!”

“He’s trying to turn into Y/N’s ideal type.” Pansy snickered, “He knows he isn’t the blueprint and he can’t see her with anyone else so he’s improving himself.”

“Respect, bro. But what about Izzi?” Matteo motioned to the Slytherin girl down a few rows who was Theodore’s favourite hookup.

“I don’t care about her.”

“What about the drinks?”

“I need to cut my alcohol intake.”

“Smoking? You can’t give up smoking! You’re addicted!”

“Y/N has my cigs. When she wants to learn, I’ll teach her.”

“And if she never wants to learn?”

“Then I won’t pester her. Not smoking for a while might do me some good.” Theodore on the brink of giving up smoking for some girl was a huge deal.

Matteo leaned over to Draco, “Is he sick?”

Pansy lightly snorted and she teasingly grinned, “If you mean lovesick, then yeah.”

To be honest, Theodore didn’t even know what he was doing. His head tried to convince him to return to the common room and drink like he usually did, but his heart said no.

That’s how he ended up in the courtyard, enjoying the fresh breeze.

“Theo?” An all too familiar voice called out. He practically spun around, facing Y/N. “I thought you’d be at your party.” She stared at him, confused.

“I’m taking a break from all that.” He said. Y/N silently sat beside him on the stone bench.

“I still have your cigarettes if you want them.” Y/N said, handing the packet over. “I thought about it and I don’t think I want to smoke just yet.”

“Thanks, love.” Theodore took the box, shoving it into his pocket without hesitation. Normally, he’d take one out and light it up but tonight was different.

“So, that Ravenclaw boy.” Theodore drawled. “He asked you out, huh?”

“Hm? Oh, Rowan? Yeah. I only said yes to be nice though because he helped me with some work last year.”

“You’re too kind, love. You need to know your boundaries.”

Y/N’s cheeks heated up at the sound of his endearing nickname. “I can’t say no now. It’ll just be one date then I’ll say it didn’t work out.”

“What if he wants a second date? What will you do?” Theodore moved closer to Y/N so he could feel the warmth radiating off her body. His heart jumped at their close proximity.

“Then I’ll tell him I don’t want one.” Y/N whispered, staring up at Theodore with those gentle eyes he liked so much.

“I liked your cookie, by the way.” Theodore slowly smiled, “It was good.”

“I’ll bake you a few more next time.” Y/N beamed. “I’m trying a new recipe for a brownie so I’ll give you one too!” Theodore smiled as she jumped into another rant about baking. This time, he could actually listen without being pestered by his friends.

Theodore, as usual, walked into the cafe around the same time he usually did. Eulia spotted him and subtly waved. “Has Y/N come in yet?” He asked.

Eulia hesitated before she pointed over at Y/N and Rowan. Theodore visibly deflated. He knew Y/N was only being nice to the Ravenclaw but he still felt a twinge of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Theo. If it makes you feel better, she hasn’t looked like she’s enjoyed the date. She looks much happier talking to you.” Eulia handed him his coffee.

“Right.” He sat down at a nearby table, glancing over at Y/N every so often. The slight pang in his heart reminded him of why he never dated in the first place. He quietly cleared his throat, deciding that whatever butterflies he felt for Y/N had to be drowned.

He stood up and Y/N immediately caught his gaze. She smiled and waved when Rowan wasn’t looking, but Theodore ignored her. Slowly, she lowered her hand.

As Rowan ranted on about how Ravenclaw was the best house, Y/N couldn’t help but think of what she had done to possibly anger Theodore. So much that he ignored her when he usually enjoyed her small smiles and secretive waves. She blocked out Rowan’s voice, frowning. He couldn’t grab her attention like Theodore could.

If only she knew that Theodore was simply trying not to fall in love.

Theodore avoided her for the rest of the week. Whenever she tried to approach him, he’d walk away. Even his friends were puzzled. After another failed attempt of trying to talk to Theodore, Pansy placed a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll talk to him.” She said.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. He’s been acting so moody all of a sudden.” Y/N sighed and pouted.

“Maybe he’s on his period.” Matteo snickered at his own joke but immediately stopped when nobody else laughed with him. “I mean, Theo hasn’t had a good drink, fuck, or smoke since Monday. And all he did on that day was smoke for five minutes before he got caught.”

“I thought he liked doing all those things. Why’d he stop if it’s just going to make him grumpy?” Y/N murmured, playing with the hem of her blouse. Matteo and Pansy exchanged a glance, knowing they shouldn’t expose Theodore so early.

“He’s just being unreasonable. Don’t worry, we’ll get through to him.” Matteo grinned, his eyes flickered to the box in Y/N’s hands. “More cookies for him?”

She nodded. “Could you give this to him? It might make him feel better.” Matteo lowly hummed, taking the box. He and Pansy walked off after Theodore, muttering to each other about what could possibly be wrong with their friend.

“Theo.” Matteo called out as they entered the Slytherin Chamber. They found him sprawled out on the couch, a burning cigarette in his mouth. “Y/N made you cookies.”

Theodore looked at the box in Matteo’s outstretched arms. “I don’t want ‘em.” He said with a lazy flick of his hands.

“But you said you love her cookies. Jeez, dude, what’s gotten into you?” Matteo scoffed as he grabbed one, shoving it into his mouth. “If a girl made me cookies like these, I’d fall in love.”

“That’s the problem!” Theodore exclaimed loudly. “I’m Theodore Nott, Hogwarts resident fuck boy. I don’t do relationships! But Y/N- Y/N is making me feel things I shouldn’t!” He groaned, pulling at the ends of his hair.

“That’s the problem?” Pansy huffed, taking a seat beside him. “Theo, look at yourself. You haven’t partied in ages, you haven’t drank, you haven’t had sex with any other girl since last month. And you haven’t been smoking up until now! If you’re willing to stop all that shit for Y/N then you obviously like her!”

“What if I’m just concealing it, huh? What if I haven’t changed and if I date Y/N, then I hurt her? I don’t care about any other girl’s feelings but Y/N, fuck. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Figure your feelings out then decide what you want to do. Easy peasy.” Matteo shrugged, eating another cookie. Theodore clicked his tongue, snatching the box out of his hands.

“It better be easy or I’m going to smoke all your favourite cigs, Matt.”

Matteo was lying. It was not easy to figure out how he felt towards Y/N. Every time he got close to her, he changed his mind last minute and rushed off. It earned him some weird looks but he couldn’t care less.

“Have you even slept lately?” Matteo questioned, slamming a cup of coffee in front of Theodore. He groaned.

“Do I look like I’ve slept?” He muttered, glowing at Matteo.

“Like a baby.” His friend teased, cruelly laughing. Lorenzo glanced over Theodore’s shoulder, clearing his throat.

“Y/N’s coming this way.” He whispered, kicking Theodore.

“What?” He looked around, panicked. Y/N was indeed walking towards him. He grabbed his coffee, splashing it onto Matteo’s wrinkled blouse.

“Yo! What the fuck, dude? That’s hot!” Matteo seethed, resisting the urge to peel his wet shirt off. Some girls hoped he would.

“Sorry, Matt. It was an accident. I’ll help you clean up.” Theodore tried to play his stunt off as an accident while practically dragging Matteo out of the hall.

“Okay, seriously, what was that all about?”

“I needed an excuse to get away.”

“So you spilled hot coffee on me?!”

“I would’ve let you do the same.” Theodore glared at his friend as he sat down and slumped. “She’s everywhere. How is she so social? I can’t get away from her.” He ran a hand through his messy hair.

“Have you been running away from Y/N this whole time?” Matteo questioned, arching an eyebrow. “It’s hilarious to imagine you running away from a girl.”

“Shut up. I’m processing things.” Theodore sighed.

“Just talk to her, Theo.” Matteo lightly nudged his leg, “What else can you lose? You’ve already lost your dignity.”

It had been a few weeks since Theodore had returned to the coffee shop. But finally, he strutted through the doorway with his usual uncaring demeanour.

Someone else entered as Theodore stood in the middle of the room, taking in everything he had missed about this cafe.

“Theo?” Y/N asked, peering over his shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” He stiffened and slowly turned around. “Are you having a coffee?”

“I’ve already had one, actually. I was just seeing if this place had changed.” Theodore wanted to walk away but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Y/N’s eyes.

“Well, there’s no harm in having another one, right? It’s on me.” Y/N smiled at Eulia, “One cinnamon chai latte and…” She thought for a moment, glancing over at Theodore, “You’ve already had a coffee so one cream latte as well!”

Y/N paid and brushed past Theodore.

“Kiss her.” Eulia hissed, harshly poking Theodore’s shoulder.

“I’m not kissing her.” Theodore replied back in a hushed whisper.

“Theo, you coming?” Y/N called out, looking over her shoulder.

There was barely anybody in the cafe and even if there was, Eulia would’ve ignored their drinks to make Y/N and Theodore’s.

Theodore reached out to grab his but Y/N was quicker. She grasped both drinks, smiling at him. “We don’t have to be back at school for a while so let’s sit here.”

Theodore nervously followed behind Y/N to their usual table. He sat down, rigid and stiff. He saw his cup and glared at Eulia, who laughed. She had written a message on the cardboard, kiss her, and Theodore was quick to cover it.

He looked out the window, almost jumping with joy when he saw Matteo. “Oh! Matt! I need to talk to him! Sorry, Y/N. I’ll see you later!” He ran out of the cafe, crashing into his friend.

“Matteo! Quick! Do something!” Theodore shook his friend, urging him to create a distraction.

“Is this about Y/N?” He asked.

“She’s in the coffee shop- don’t look!” Theodore shoved his friend.

“And you need me to something stupid?”

Theodore eagerly nodded but was unprepared when Matteo pushed him forward and down a snowy hill. “Theo! Sorry! My hand slipped! I’m coming!” Matteo yelled out in a fake worried voice as Theodore rolled and got a mouthful of snow.

Y/N watched their strange interaction as she sipped on her drink. “… He didn’t call me love like he usually does.”

Y/N hummed to herself as she slipped on a pair of mittens and took out a tray of cookies. She placed the hot metal tray on the counter, the smell of baked goods wafting through the air.

She poured herself a cup of light coffee and sat down, swinging her legs. She lifted her head when she heard the sound of quiet swearing and smelled the scent of cigarettes and cologne.

“Theo?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. It was silent for a moment before the boy sheepishly pushed the kitchen doors open.

“I was looking for a snack for Pansy. She’s not feeling well.” He looked around, staring at everything but Y/N.

“I would offer her a cookie but she doesn’t really like chocolate, does she?” Y/N circled her finger around the rim of her cup, “Would you like some coffee? I made it myself.”

Theodore found himself sitting across from her against his will. He watched as she poured him a cup, softly smiling.

“Thanks.” He stammered, grabbing the white mug and gulping it down.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Careful! Isn’t it hot?”

Theodore slammed the cup down, ignoring the burning sensation on his tongue. “No.” He wheezed, his vocal cords threatening to give up on him, “I’m fine. Tastes great.”

“You’ve spilled some.” Y/N said. She leaned forward, pointing at his collar. His top two buttons were undone and hot coffee trickled down his skin. “That must hurt. Here, let me help.”

Y/N dabbed a tissue against Theodore’s collar and he flinched as her fingers came in contact with his exposed skin. She noticed, peeking up at him through her lashes.

“Do you hate me so much that you can’t stand having one coffee with me?” She asked, taking a small step back.

“What?” Theodore choked. He didn’t hate her, quite the opposite to be honest.

“You keep running away from me. And you left me in the cafe the other day. And you didn’t wave back. Do you hate me?”

Theodore hated how he could see her E/C eyes glass over. He fiddled with his mug, tapping his nails against the porcelain.

“I… have to go. Pansy needs me.” He stood up, leaving without another word. He was doing what he did best; running away from his problems.

With Theodore out of the picture, Y/N felt lonely. She dug around in her pocket, confused when she fished out a cigarette. “Oh… it must’ve fallen out.” She murmured.

She was on her way to the cafe, but not to meet up with Theodore. The day after he had walked out on her, again, a Gryffindor had approached her and asked her out. She said yes in hopes this date would be better than her date with Rowan.

Spoiler alert, it wasn’t. In fact, she felt like it was worse. Y/N stared at her cup as the boy beside her talked on and on about his love for quidditch.

“What’s your hobby?” He suddenly asked.

“Baking.” Y/N answered absentmindedly.

“Oh, that’s kind of boring. Quidditch is better, don’t you think?”

Y/N resisted the urge to sigh. Theodore never insulted her love for baking.

“Do you do anything else?” The boy questioned.

“I study.”

“Jeez, you really are boring. You wanna come to a party with me? I know a guy who’ll hook us up with some coke.”

“No thanks.” Y/N rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, watching the clock closely so she could dart away as soon as the date was over.

Someone suddenly pulled up a chair in front of Y/N. “Coke is boring.” Theodore uttered, “Baking is better.”

Y/N tried to conceal her smile since she was still upset with him, but when he winked at her, she couldn’t help it.

“What are you doing here, Nott?” The Gryffindor sneered.

“I’m here to thank you for keeping my girl company.” Theodore grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” He grabbed Y/N by the wrist, tugging her out of the cafe.

“Why do you choose the shittiest guys to go out with?” Theodore asked.

Y/N lightly huffed. “It’s not like I mean to. At least they don’t walk away from me when I’m trying to talk, though.”

“You still upset with me, love?”

“You hurt my feelings, Nott.” Y/N pulled out the lone cigarette, shoving it into Theodore’s hand, before hurrying off.

He quickly placed it between his lips and lit it. “Let me explain, love!” He exclaimed, chasing after her. He breathed out a mouthful of smoke.

“Okay. Then explain.” Y/N folded her arms over her chest.

“What? Here? Now?” When Theodore saw the unamused look on Y/N’s face, he sighed. “Fine, but this is going to sound stupid.” He took another hit from his cigarette, needing all the courage he could get.

He took a deep breath. “I think you’re wonderful person and I didn’t want to risk hurting you so I tried to distance myself but that backfired and I was trying to process my feelings because I’m Theodore Nott. I don’t do relationships. But you made me want to give it a go so I got scared and that made me do stupid shit like spilling coffee on Matt or running away or allowing Matt to push me down a hill.”

Y/N furrowed her brows. “What are you trying to say?”

“I like you, Y/N! I like the way you smile and the way your eyes light up and I like how you look and me and how fond you are of baking! I like how you take the time to make me cookies because it makes me feel special! You treat me so differently from other girls and that’s how I know you aren’t just around for a hook up! I like your perfume and your hair and your outfits and the way you skip when you’re happy and how you read classic Muggle books because you want a cute teen romance!”

“You noticed all of that… about me?”

“How could I not? You have such a charming aura and I can’t stand it because no matter how much I try to deny it, I like you.”

“You really like me?” Y/N knew about Theodore’s reputation and she’d be lying if she didn’t feel the same way. But what if he was just toying with her?

“I do.”

“Okay then. Hug me!” Y/N exclaimed, confident he was joking. Theodore shrugged before embracing her tightly. “Uh… hold my hand!” He intertwined their fingers without hesitation. “Kiss me!” Y/N was sure he wouldn’t do it but when he leaned down and pecked her lips, she froze.

“Are you done? There’s a lot more things I’d do for you, Y/N.”

“Are you sure you like me? Like, really? Because what if we get married and you decide you don’t like me but we already have two kids and a cat together? Who will keep the cat? Or will we have shared custody over it?” Y/N spoke so fast Theodore could hardly understand her.

“What about the children?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.

“What about the cat, Theo?”

“I really do like you, Y/N. Believe it or not. I’m willing to give dating a try… if it makes I can date you.”

“Please don’t break my heart, Theo.”

“I won’t.”

“Can we finally drink coffee together without you running off?” Y/N questioned, which earned her a small chuckle from Theodore.

“I won’t run away this time, love. I promise.”

#theodore nott #pansy parkinson #harry potter x reader #harry potter fanfiction #one shot #harry potter #draco malfoy #lorenzo berkshire #theodore nott x reader #blaise zabini #matteo riddle #friends to lovers #strangers to lovers #fluff #gryffindor #ravenclaw #hufflepuff #slytherin #slytherin gang #hufflepuff reader

[dreamingofmarauders]

𝐈 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Series

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╗

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐭𝐬. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭...

James Potter x Slytherin!Fem!Reader

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙣𝙚

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙤

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧 (Coming soon...)

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╝

#harry potter #james x reader #james potter x slytherin reader #james potter x reader #marauders era #wizarding world #fanfiction #james potter #hogwarts #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #the first wizarding war #magic #james fleamont potter #angst #enemies to lovers #enemies to friends trope #Gryffindor #slytherin #dreamingofmarauders #its me serina #james potter x you #read on wattpad #read on tumblr #order of the phoenix #death eaters #im so excited for this aaaahhhhhhh <33

[maladaptivewriting]

i know someone doesn’t understand this fandom when they say jegulus is the same as snily lmfao

#like girl that’s friends to lovers #wtf are you talking about #is your brain just slytherin/gryffindor equal snily? #bffr #jegulus #snily

[rypnami]

garreth: your accent is just your mouth’s font leander: oh my god you’re right sebastian: does the ministry know about this??? ominis: i need new friends

#queue #i love the idea of them double dating and being the most chaotic friend group #but ominis is the only voice of reason #hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt #leander prewett #garreth weasley #hp fandom #slytherin #gryffindor #textpost #incorrect quotes #incorrect harry potter quotes #meme #prewlow #garrinis

[ellieclaireblack]

sanctuaire | sanctuary

sanctuary | noun your safe and peaceful haven a comforting place of refuge and rest in a noisy, chaotic world

{brother's best friend | fem!reader x james potter} ⪼ word count: 2k ⪼ warnings: mentions of abuse 

part one: back home

story: sanctuaire | sanctuary

playlist

Kreacher was calling for me. Again.

“I'm coming. I’m coming” I made my way down the stairs into the dining room of 12 Grimmauld Place. 

Today was January 4th 1976. Christmas Break was over and we would head back to Hogwarts. We consisted of Regulus and me. Since Sirius ran away during the holiday. An act I still didn’t forgive him for even though I understood why he did it. From the day he’d been sorted into Gryffindor my twin had a hard life. 

Walburga, Orion and Reggie were seated at the table when I joined them. 

“Good morning, father, mother, brother.” I greeted them politely and sat next to Reg. 

“Bonjour mon cher [Good morning my dear]” Papa greeted me in French. Walburga just looked up and nodded at me. Regulus opted for a small smile.

Out of my parents I loved my father, but Walburga was directly spit out from hell. Papa just never said anything against my mother. However she was rarely present anyway. The days she was home were horrendous.

Everyone tended to their meals and silence filled the room. That’s how it was: no talking at the table. I was glad to get back to school today. 

I missed my friends and I missed Sirius - even though I was still mad at him I longed to talk to my twin. He’s always been the person who understood me best. There was a lot unresolved between us. His unannounced departure during a stormy winter night made life at home a lot harder.

Walburga blamed me that the heir of ‘The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black’ vanished and let her anger out on me. A few spells turned into dark curses and several bruises covered my skin. Papa didn’t do anything against her but I know that he sent several house elves to patch me up when she left me in my room in agony.

“Children get ready. We’ll aparate to the station in 15 minutes. Your mother won’t be joining us, so make sure to say your goodbyes.” Papa said, ripping me out of my thoughts.

In my room I stuffed the last few things in a bag. Kreacher would aparate my belongings to 9 ¾. I grabbed my Slytherin robe, the Prefect Badge glinting in the light. My parents had been pleased when I got it, except when Sirius didn’t get one the mood in our house shifted quickly. I can still hear his screams of that day faintly in my head. I shake my head, trying to rid my mind from this particular memory. One last look in the mirror and I headed downstairs again.

Papa and Reggie wait for me already and we smile at each other. The first real smile all day. We each grab an arm that Papa offers us. Everything turns black, my body tightens up and just before I think my airway caught up we are standing on Platform 9 ¾.

“I wish you a good second term, my loves. Make sure to write. I’ll miss you. Bon voyage. [safe journey]” Papa pressed a kiss to both our heads and I couldn’t resist hugging him. Though half of Hogwarts was aware of our presence he hugged me back.

“I’m so sorry for what she did to you and that I couldn’t help you more y/n. Je t’aime. [I love you]” 

“Je t'aime aussi papa. Ne t'inquiète pas, ça va aller. [I love too, Papa. Don’t you worry I’ll be fine.]” All the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes were forced down. As a child I was always expected to keep my feelings inside, so that’s what my siblings and I were exceptional at.

“Watch over one another and make sure Maman doesn’t find out you’re talking to Sirius. Also tell him I’m sorry for how things went down, that I miss and love him. Go now, I’ll see you soon.” 

He disapparated and Reg squeezed my hand. We made our way to the Hogwarts Express and parted ways, both of us in search of our friends.

“y/n/n!” I hear a shout. Turning around I spot my best friend. Florence Clarisse Rosier - older sister of Evan Rosier and my roommate. She’s running towards me and tackles me into a hug. I suppress a wince, when she squeezes against my bruises. “We’ve already secured a compartment, come on.”

With ‘we’ she was talking about Adam Cygnus Travers and Theodore Lewis Nott. The two boys completed our friend group and we were known as the ‘Slytherin Royals’. All four of us descended from families of the Sacred 28 and had quite the reputation.

I greeted the boys with a hug and we talked about our holiday. I swiftly left out the subject of Sirius, but they knew. Walburga officially declared Regulus as the new heir of the House of Black, every Sacred 28 family knew what happened with Sirius. I saw their worried faces and uncertain looks, the eye-contact between them. No one dared to touch the subject.

I was relieved to to go to the Prefect meeting, so I could escape the unease. On my way there I passed a compartment Remus Lupin was currently exiting. Quickly glancing inside I spotted my twin, James and Peter. Sirius and I held eye contact for a split second before I turned my head away. I could see the disappointment in his eyes. My heart clenched. I really missed Sirius, he was my other half. We've never gone so long without talking.

“Oh hey y/n.” Remus greeted me only noticing now that I stood next to him.

“Hey Rem. How was your holiday?” We continued to talk while heading to the front of the train. Remus avoided the subject Sirius and I was thankful for it.

At the meeting we got handed our new patrol rounds. I was paired up with Remus or Lucinda - Lucy - Greengrass, which I was quite content with. Lucy was pretty nice. I wouldn’t call us friends, but conversation between us flew easily.

Later back in our compartment I put my feet in Theo’s lap and he absentmindedly began to massage them, while I read a book. My grades were extremely important to me, even more to my mother. So I wanted to get a head start on this semester's material.

────────────────  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ⋆ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ──────────────────

When we arrived at the Great Hall - everyone was exhausted from the long journey. We were happy when Dumbledore held his speech and the food finally appeared. 

During Dinner I felt several pairs of eyes on me. I knew it was the Marauders. I didn’t meet their eyes. The Great Hall was definitely the wrong place for the conversation me and Sirius had to hold. For now I was still too angry at him to have a level headed talk with him.

────────────────  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ⋆ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ──────────────────

After dinner my friends and I spent the evening on our couch in the common room. We’ve claimed that couch as ours and no one dares to sit on it, except when they’re invited to do so. Our evening was spent talking some more and when all of us got tired we made our way upstairs, wishing the boys a good night.

Unlike the Gryffindors, Slytherins had to share their space only with one other person. The shared space is only a bathroom and a small lounge room. Everyone has their own bedroom. In my case my dorm mate is Flo. She’s been my best friend since day one. With her lively nature, she draws the attention of an entire room to her. She’s the kind of girl who’s friends with everybody. 

In first year she would drag me into her world. I always loved the attention, just like Sirius. It was something we rarely experienced as something positive and at Hogwarts everyone seemed to like us. Naturally. We were somewhat celebrities in the Wizarding world.

Before going to sleep I put a silencing charm around my room. I had always had quite the share of nightmares, Sirius used to call them night terrors, that’s how bad they were. Since he was gone there wasn’t a single night where I wasn’t plagued by a nightmare.

────────────────  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ⋆ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ──────────────────

A scream tore through the dark. My own. My skin was covered in sweat and I suppressed a shiver. 

Only one thing helped me get back to sleep after a nightmare. My brothers. I couldn’t go to Reggie though, he had been through enough during the holiday and it hurt me to see him suffer because of me. So Sirius it was, I knew he wouldn’t question it even though we weren’t talking currently.

As quiet as possible I made my way to the common room. Empty.

I wasn’t really scared that a teacher would catch me in the corridor. Us Slytherins - especially the children of the Sacred 28 - had Professor Slughorn wrapped around our finger, so I wouldn’t even face consequences.

As a Prefect I knew all the Passwords of the different houses so getting inside the Gryffindor common room was dead easy. The common room was empty as well and I tiptoed up the stairs.

The door to the boys’ dorm slightly creaked slightly when I opened it. "Sirius, Sirius!" I whisper yelled into the dark and quiet room. But no response from my twin-brother. A sigh escaped me and I was just about to go back to my dorm when I heard a whisper.

"y/n, is that you? Are you alright?" It was James. "Yeah, no I-I'm fine." Obviously my best friend sensed the lie and ushered me to come over to him. I sat down on his bed and before I could protest he pulled me next to him.

The moonlight that shone in the room made it possible for me to see his features. That meant he could also see my face and the shed tears on my cheeks. 

"What's wrong y/n/n?" "I’m fine. It was nothing, just a nightmare, it's fine. I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to Sirius."

"Sounds like you’re fine. Hey, you don't have to lie to me. I know how bad your night terrors are and it's rare you seek Pads' help in the middle of the night. So it must've been really bad."

I mumbled "okay you're right" in response. James put his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. Feeling his body heat seep into me I felt like I could finally breathe again and let out a shaky breath. James put a silencing spell around the bed so we wouldn't wake the others.

"What's going on? Why are you avoiding us? Did something happen?"

Tears were threatening to spill again. "It's my mother. J she's never been this bad or this angry. They told us it would have consequences if I spent time with you guys."

"Oh y/n, you should've gone with Sirius when he came to me, I was really worried about you the whole holiday. I didn't hear a word from you."

“I just couldn’t leave Reggie alone. Also I don't want to leave Papa, would be so lonely without us. Besides, Sirius didn’t even tell me he was leaving. One morning he was gone and I had to face Walburgas anger. I get why he left. Still we’re his siblings for Merlin's sake. He could've at least said something.”

Now I was really crying. James wrapped his arms even tighter around me. "I’m so sorry. I didn't know it was that bad or I would've gotten you out of there myself. You and Pads definitely need to talk tomorrow."

We talked for a little while, when I noticed James started to get really tired. His eyes fell shut every other second and he was trying hard to keep awake.

"Mind if I stay the night Jamie?" "Of course not, sleep tight, love." "Good night James." I whispered but didn’t get an answer. James had already fallen asleep and in the comfort of his arms I was finally able to go to sleep too.

author's note: so first chapter of my new story. thanks for reading this far! i'm not 100% sure how to feel about this for now. there's definitely going to be more james later, but i needed this as an entry point for the story so you have some background information. also i just wanted to put out there that english isn't my first language. i proof read the chapter, but if you spot any mistake don't fret to tell me i love you guys and wish you a gread day/afternoon/night where ever you are ♡︎

#hogwarts #james potter #james potter x reader #marauders #romance #james potter x y/n #james potter x you #peter pettigrew #remus lupin #sirius black #black!reader #james potter x black!reader #sanctuary #brother's best friend #wizarding world #slytherin x gryffindor #regulus black #dead gay wizards #marauders era #the marauders

[why-are-all-the-users-taken]

Harry Potter where everything is the same expect Harry is in Slytherin, Ron is in Hufflepuff and Hermione is in Ravenclaw but they're all still best friends [more in tags]

#The twins are also in Slytherin #And the golden trio doesn't hate Draco bc Ron became friends with him some how lol #Ron and Harry are literally the Hufflepuff + Slytherin dynamic #Charlie was in Hufflepuff as well actually #And bill was in Slytherin #Ginny and Percy are still in gryffindor #And I know y'all are like “but shouldn't percy be in Ravenclaw? ” #Yes he probably should be but I want Perciver to happen so he's in gryffindor #Anyways very good house merging (?) opportunities #Percy was 100% a hatstall tho #Weasleys #the weasleys #Harry Potter #harry potter fandom #ron weasley #hermione granger #Hufflepuff #Slytherin #Ravenclaw

[expecto-kedavra]

Tbh Sebastian Sallow is a charming ass mf but irl I would FOR SURE try to fight him ALL THE TIME

#Sebastian sallow #like bro? call me ignorant I will throw down so quick #don’t need no damn wand #all hands all the time #scrawny ass white boy #my aggressive Polynesian ass could never maintain a healthy relationship with him #dope ass dude sometimes but god DAMN is he a little shit #Ominis is cool though #Ominis would be my friend fr #tbh though I’d mostly just fuck shit up with poppy and natty #they’re more my vibe fr #hogwarts #harry potter #hogwarts legacy #hufflepuff #gryffindor #ravenclaw #slytherin #hogwarts houses #hogwarts oc #hogwarts legacy oc

[captainsophiestark]

The One and Only Exception

Percy Weasley x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Harry Potter

Day 13 Prompt: "Come with me, hurry."

Summary: When Y/N and Percy end up in a small closet together hiding from angry Slytherins, certain feelings may finally come to light.

Word Count: 1,628

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"This is why you're my best friend."

I grinned as Oliver Wood, my regular partner in crime, whispered from next to me in the secret passage where we crouched. Normally, we were partners in Quidditch-based crime, coming up with the most amazing plays to destroy our opponents on the field. We'd been doing it since first year, even before anyone had been willing to listen to us and our Quidditch opinions.

Now, however, we were partners in crime in something that fit our Beater pair more than either of us. But with a match against Slytherin on the horizon and them playing ridiculous, cheaty mind games, I'd convinced Oliver to join me in doing the same.

We were going to get back at them by getting in their heads, the same way they'd been spending time trying to get in ours. And as soon as Marcus Flint came around the corner, ideally with a few other members of his team, our hovering bubbles of water and flour would drop down on them from the ceiling and our revenge would begin.

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait much longer. As we'd expected, Flint came into the hallway with his Beaters trailing him. Oliver and I waited for the perfect moment, then with a wave of our wands, dropped the balloons and flour smack onto their heads.

They froze in their tracks, horror on their faces, before they looked around wildly and angrily. Oliver and I shared a maniacal grin, then took off running in opposite directions as planned as Flint roared.

"WHO DID THAT?"

Oliver disappeared up the secret corridor as I popped into the hallway with the Slytherins, drawing their attention before disappearing around the corner of a castle hallway. Ideally neither of us would get caught, but Oliver was the Quidditch captain, so we needed to make sure he didn't get blamed for this lest the whole team be punished. Hence my part.

I could hear the footsteps of the Slytherins pounding against the cobblestones behind me, but I just cackled and picked up the pace, racing ahead. I flew around another corner, intending to put on a little more speed, but stopped dead in my tracks thanks to an unexpected obstacle. Percy Weasley, Oliver's roommate and one of my friends since first year, was walking down the hallway, completely oblivious of me and the angry Slytherins on my trail.

"Whoa! Y/N, what are you-"

"No time! Come with me, hurry!" I cried, grabbing Percy's arm and dragging him along after me. He immediately slowed me down, and if we kept going at this pace, Flint and his friends would catch us for sure.

Time for plan B.

I readied my wand and leveled it at the nearest door off the corridor, blasting it open before ducking inside, dragging Percy with me. I quickly shut the door behind us, relocking it with magic and then freezing to avoid making noise that would give us away.

"Really, Y/N, what on earth-"

"Percy, sh!" I said, raising my finger to my lips and staring him down with wide eyes. He didn't look completely pleased, but he listened, settling in to stare at me with his arms crossed while I watched the door.

I thought that would be that, but then Percy grabbed my arm to turn my attention back to him, one eyebrow raised almost into his hairline in demanding question. I sighed, then leaned in to whisper in his ear.

In the back of my mind, I realized just how closely together that put us, chest to chest in this tiny dark storage closet. I tried my best to force that train of thought to be quiet, especially since I was sure Percy didn't feel the same as I did.

"The Slytherins have been messing with our Quidditch team worse than usual," I whispered. "So, I'm helping my best friend by getting them back. We set a trap with water balloons and flour in the hallway, dumped it right on Flint's head, and got the Beaters too. After I triggered the prank, I took off and they chased. I ran into you, dragged us both in here so we wouldn't get caught, and now we're waiting for them to pass."

I leaned back at bit to gauge Percy's reaction, and for just a second, I thought I saw a faint blush on his cheeks through the dark. Then, I noticed his deep frown.

"What were you thinking!" he hissed, at least remembering to keep his voice down this time. "You know I'm the Head Boy, don't you? I have to get you in trouble for this!"

"Or..." I started, giving Percy a little smile as an idea came to me. He raised his eyebrows, still looking a little outraged, so I continued. "Percy, did you actually see me do anything wrong?"

"...Well, no. But I just heard you confess to dropping water balloons on the Slytherins-"

"Percy. I just saved you from an angry Marcus Flint, who absolutely had it coming, by the way. For once in your life just be chill."

He stared at me, stress written on every single line of his face, then finally sighed, his shoulders falling as he closed his eyes.

"Okay."

"Wait, really?"

He looked at me again, clearly incredibly tired of my nonsense. Maybe he was just trying to fake me out...

"Really, Y/N. I... you made a decent enough argument that I suppose, just this once..." he cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck, and this time I definitely caught him blushing. "I suppose I can let it go."

"I freaking love you," I laughed, flinging my arms around him and pulling him in tight for a hug. He froze like a statue, then slowly, wrapped his arms around my waist. As he did, I realized what I'd just said, and I felt heat rising to my own face, too.

We stayed like that for a few beats, part of me not wanting to pull away and deal with the tension now blanketing this closet. After a moment, though, I did, slowly. Percy didn't drop his arms from around my waist, and I left mine around his neck as we made eye contact, all the humor and lightness gone.

"Percy..." I breathed. I glanced down at his lips before I could stop myself, and when I quickly looked back up after realizing what I'd done, I found Percy's gaze had wandered to my lips, too.

I smiled to myself, then leaned in and kissed him without letting myself think twice about it. I'd had a crush on Percy since fifth year, and Oliver had spent all of that time telling me to stop being a chicken and just ask him out. Now, two years later, I was finally managing to do just that.

Percy kissed me back as soon as he'd realized what was happening, and I smiled into the kiss. After a moment we pulled away, and I met Percy's eyes, wide with shock but a small smile on his face. I was practically glowing.

"You just kissed me," he said, like he still couldn't quite believe it. I nodded.

"I sure did. And I'm gonna do it again."

Percy huffed a quiet, happy laugh, then met me half way as I leaned back in towards him. Marcus Flint and the angry Slytherins were completely forgotten as I ran one hand through Percy's hair at the base of his neck, and he wrapped his arms even tighter around me.

"Hey, I think it's finally safe for you-"

Percy and I jumped apart and whirled around as the door flew open, revealing Oliver. I guess he'd come to find me once the danger of the Slytherins had passed, unfortunately for me. Oliver, Percy, and I stared at each other with wide eyes for a few moments, and then Oliver's face broke into a grin.

"FINALLY! I've had to spend years hearing you talk about Percy nonstop, only to go to bed and hear Percy talking about you until I hit him with a pillow!"

Percy and I exchanged a glance. I couldn't believe that all this time, he'd been just as hung up on me as I'd been on him.

"Alright, I don't need to see the lovey-dovey stuff even though I'm happy for you," Oliver said, putting his hand back on the door and taking a step back into the hallway. "Y/N, don't be late for practice. I expect to see you on the field in twenty minutes."

With that, he slammed the door again, leaving Percy and I alone in the small, dark space.

"You... you've talked to Oliver about me?" asked Percy, hesitant hope in his voice. I smiled.

"Of course. He's my best friend, and I've had a crush on you for years."

Percy beamed. "So have I."

"Well, I'm glad we finally got that cleared up then," I said, taking Percy's hand in the dark. It was amazing neither of us were literally glowing with happiness. "So... maybe we could do something this weekend? A date, or something?"

"I'd love that," he replied. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend, so perhaps some tea?"

"That sounds perfect." I leaned in to kiss him again, a short peck on the lips, then I pulled back and flung the closet door open. "I need to go or I'm going to be late to practice, and then Oliver will kill me, but... I'll see you in the Common Room tonight?"

"I'll see you tonight," he said with a little nod. I beamed back at him, then blew him one last kiss before taking off down the hallway again, headed for the Quidditch pitch outside, still floating on air. My prank on Flint had worked out even better than I'd hoped it would.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

Harry Potter Taglist: @valkyriepirate

#fictober23 #harry potter #percy weasley #percy weasley x reader #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter oneshot #harry potter imagine #percy weasley fanfiction #percy weasley imagine #percy weasley oneshot #oliver wood #quidditch #gryffindor #slytherin #marcus flint #prefect percy weasley #prefects #hogwarts #best friend!oliver wood #gryffindor quidditch team

[fanfic-lover-girl]

What do you think is the worst case of hypocritism in Harry Potter.

I just realized how many inbox messages I have. Gosh, I need to address those...

It's hard to choose but if I had to choose:

In the story itself

The morality of an action depends on who the character is. The purebloods like the Malfoys and Blacks are bigots for scorning mudbloods but it's A-ok for the Gryffindor characters to discriminate against and endanger muggles and magical creatures. If Draco disrespects Hagrid it's a sin, but when Hermione disrespects Trelawney she's a girlboss. Draco objectively and simply points out that Molly is fat in a relatively mild Yo Mama joke and it's framed as bullying (no complaints there). But Harry describes how obese Dudley is in excruciating and needless detail, it's funny. This is the same Harry who regularly compares people to animals when he describes appearances. Draco bullies Neville - it's wrong (as it should be). Harry and co. bully and degrade Neville - it's funny and ok. There are many more examples. JKR is a disgusting and mean-spirited writer. I have several 'Double Standards' posts because of this.

In HP fandom

This extends to how HP fandom views certain fans. In particular, some Hermione, Romione and other Gryfindor stans will sneer and condescend to you if you happen to like characters like Draco and other Slytherins like the Death eaters. And if you criticize their darlings, they discredit your criticisms because you like the 'morally questionable' antagonist. It's hilarious how these people refuse to admit that THEIR characters are morally questionabletoo. Almost every HP character is morally questionable. They act as if the golden trio and the other Gryffindor characters are heroes who are justified in all their crappy actions. I have seen a disgusting Hermione stan (whom I blocked) condone and justify Hermione kidnapping and imprisoning Rita, erasing her parents' memory, attacking Ron with canaries and scarring Marietta for life. If stans like that don't outright say Hermione was right, they downplay it by saying she's a young girl and/or she had no choice. They say the criticism is overblown. Yet, they have no issue overblowing the actions of the unlikable characters like Draco and Rita. For example, they act as if Draco calling Hermione 'mudblood' is such a devasting crime. When wonder witch herself could care less about Draco's stale taunts. And Hermione being muggleborne has little impact on her for the most part. Total hypocrisy.

Honestly, I would like JKR's 'good' characters more if not for these atrocious double standards in the fandom and the narrative. But it's fine, I'll just enjoy my HP babies like Neville and Draco in my corner.

As much as I feel sorry for the hate JKR gets, I can say that she is partially to blame. She taught an entire generation of kids to believe they have the right to violence if they think they are the heroes in their story. And that their opponents are subhuman if they don't share their views. I hope Joanne realizes that one day.

#anti hermione stans #anti hermione granger #anti gryffindor #anti jkr #harry james potter #draco malfoy #anti romione #double standards #hp fandom critical #harry potter critical #slytherin deserved better #harry potter series #neville longbottom #neville longbottom and the golden trio should not be friends #jkr loves fat shaming characters #but it's only not ok if they are ones of her lions #anon ask #hypocricy in hp #i wonder how many violent activists were hp fans?

[naquey]

One Kiss

Barty Crouch Jr., Evan Rosier, Remus Lupin, and Cassander Lyall are tired of Regulus and Roan dancing around their feelings for one another. Their arguments are insufferable, and the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. To sleep at night, they team up to bring these two rivals together.

"I think you have too much room in your head for your small brain." Roan shook her head with a sigh.

"You didn't brew the perfect potion either!" Regulus huffed, crossing his arms.

"At least mine was closer. You have quite a lot of head space for someone who doesn't use it."

Regulus clenched his jaw. She was making fun of his forehead; that much was obvious. No one made fun of his forehead and got away with it. But he didn't know what to say to her. He'd exhausted calling her an idiot or saying she was a half-blood.

"Although, you should invest in bangs. They would look nice and distract people from that golf ball of a forehead you have."

"Yeah, well- " Regulus paused, the words disappearing in his throat.

"What? I can't think of something to use to insult me back?" Roan raised a brow.

He was raised not to pick on girls' appearances and to always be a poised gentleman, but she kept getting under his skin in a certain way, like dirt under his fingernails that he couldn't clean away.

"I'm sorry I call your forehead huge." Roan sighed.

"You apologize so much; it's annoying." Regulus rolled his eyes. "Are you people always like this?"

"You people? What? Were you going to call me a mudblood like your stupid friends?"

"No, no, I wasn't going to. I have never called you that."

"Well, there's a first for everyone."

When class was dismissed, Roan rushed out of potions, forgetting her textbook. Regulus hesitated momentarily, picking it up and stuffing it in his bag with his books.

"Hey, I saw that look you were giving her." Evan slung his arm around him, grinning. "Why don't you just tell her already? I mean, you can always just tell your family she's a pure wizard."

"Sod off," Regulus shrugged his arm off and walked away in a hurry. Probably to go catch up with her.

"Mate, he's in love." Barty slung his arm around Evan.

"Oh, I don't doubt it."

Roan sat in the library with Remus and Cassander, buried in her homework for the day. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff exchanged a weary look.

"So," Remus started. Averting his gaze, partly hiding behind the book he was reading.

"What? You've been acting weird since I got here." Roan huffed, hastily scribbling something down on parchment.

"We uh- heard that little conversation with Regulus in potions..." Cassander toyed with his quill.

"So what? It's like every other conversation we have."

"Uh no, you don't typically storm off after." Remus pointed out.

"Yeah, did he reject you or something?"

"What? No. I don't like him like that." Roan's face distorted in disgust.

"Yeah, sure." Remus and Cassander chuckled.

"Are you two alright? Did you get hit in the head at quidditch practice?" Roan looked unamused.

The following week, Cassander and Remus walked side by side, engrossed in their conversation. Remus was a prefect, and Cassander was Head Boy, a year above Regulus and Roan. They could see their chemistry from miles away, but it was always shut down whenever they tried to tell them that.

"Oi! You're friends with that half-blood, aren't you?" Evan shouted from down the hallway.

Remus turned around, rather annoyed. Evan had just started talking, and he wanted to shove his tie into his mouth.

"What of it?"

"Well, Barty and I here can't help but see how bad our dear Reggie is pining for that girl." Evan slung his arm around Barty.

"Okay..." Cassander adjusted the books in his arms. "What are you getting at?"

"We think it would be easier for both of us if they just got together," Barty gestured between them.

"You mean setting them up on a date?"

"Yeah!" Evan's eyes sparkled. "See, you aren't so dumb as I thought!"

"Thanks..." Cassander and Remus rolled their eyes.

Evan cleared his throat, their unenthusiastic responses were getting him nowhere. "Okay, that was mean. I'll admit it, but just think about it."

"She would stop ranting and raving about him when we do our homework." Remus scratched the back of his neck. "Sure, why not?" He looked away guiltily. This wasn't his vibe, involving himself in his friends' love lives. Even if they tried to fix his.

Remus shuttered, already getting flashbacks of when Sirius and James tried to set him up with some girls in Gryffindor to find out who he liked. Unfortunately for them, they gave up after a week.

"Alright! We'll tell you the plan tomorrow; see you then!"

Two days later, their plan was set in motion: Invite the two of them down to Black Lake. Of course, Regulus had to be dragged down there after quidditch practice, and Roan could easily be persuaded to study outside. She was such a bookworm; it was astonishing how their friend could even like her. Nerds were so dull.

Regulus tied his hair back, pulling at strands to cover his forehead. Her words had gotten to him, and he'd stood in the mirror examining his face for hours. She was correct; he had a prominent forehead, but what did that matter?

"Tch, what are you doing here? Where's Rosier?"

"Well, hello to you too, Black." Roan sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. It had been falling in her face and obscuring the text in her arithmancy textbook.

"I asked you a question."

"I can smell the sweat on you. Didn't you shower?"

"Evan told me it was important to come here right after quidditch practice."

"Oh, did you fall off your broom today?"

"Haha, very funny. I'm an exquisite seeker."

"You're a royal prick." Roan turned a page in her book.

"Do you need a hair tie, or will you stubbornly keep brushing your hair back?"

"Screw off,"

"I'm helping you, idiot." Regulus rolled his eyes. He should have walked away by now, but he didn't.

"Fine, give me the hair tie."

"I'll do you one better and do your hair."

"If my hair starts smelling like your hands, I will hex you."

"Relax, why are you even worried? The scent of your hair doesn't matter."

He could smell her shampoo; the earthy tones were subtle and warm. Rolling up his sleeves, he pulled her hair back into a ponytail using one of his brother's hair ties that he stole. His brother was really only ever good for one thing, leaving his hair ties around the house after not living there for so long. Her hair was soft to the touch, too. He didn't assume otherwise, but he hoped that wasn't another quality of hers that was wonderful. He envied her kindness, and the praise Slughorn would give her in class.

"Regulus? Did you hear what I said?" She raised a brow, turning around.

He was staring at her now. Pulling his hands back, he looked away and laughed awkwardly.

"I'm fine, I just- What did you say?"

"I asked when the next game was."

"Oh—" Regulus scratched the back of his neck. He wanted to kick himself for being awkward right now. "Next week, we're going against Gryffindor."

"Playing against your brother and his annoying friend will be exciting."

"Annoying is an understatement. Potter is... Something."

"Hey, got feelings for James." She chuckled.

"What? No."

"I know, I'm just teasing you."

Evan, Barty, Remus, and Cassander were watching in the distance. Evan groaned and slid his back down the wall.

"Come on! How can they sit there and just keep talking?"

"They're pretty intelligent and go back and forth for hours." Cassander shrugged.

"They just need to get physically closer." Evan pouted, covering his face with his hands.

"Relax, this stuff takes time. People are complicated." Remus chuckled.

"One kiss, one kiss. That's it. This moment could be it." Evan mumbled.

"They just need a little push." Barty rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain.

"Now, hold on- " Remus' eyes widened.

"You and me are going to crash into them." Barty grinned wildly at Cassander. "Make it look like we're in the middle of a fight."

"Really?" Cassander deadpanned.

Looking at the sparkle in Barty's eyes, Cassander caved. He couldn't say no to a bit of mischief, even if he was Head Boy. He just hoped that teachers wouldn't see him play fighting with someone. Then he'd be demoted.

So, he and Barty began to wrestle on the ground, flipping over once in a while, each on top, trying to injure the other. Remus covered his face with his hands, wanting absolutely not to be part of this, even though he had agreed two days ago. As soon as they got closer enough, Barty quickly pushed Roan, then sprung to his feet and sprinted away. Cassander followed after him.

"Get back here Crouch!" He had to make it believable.

Roan and Regulus were sitting on the hill just as Roan got pushed. She squeaked and began to roll towards the lake.

"What the hell..." Regulus looked back at Cassander and Barty.

"I'm going to kill him!" Roan shouted just before splashing into the lake. She hadn't thought to stop herself.

Regulus scrambled down the hill, reaching into the shallow part of the lake to pull her out.

"Was this your doing?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I have no idea what's going on." Regulus turned his head, and he felt his friends were watching.

"Liar." She pulled him down into the lake with her. Of course, he shouldn't have offered his hand to help her up.

Roan burst into laughter when he landed in the lake with a splash. Regulus broke the surface and splashed water at her.

"Hey, I was trying to help."

"This was your fault, to begin with."

"My fault? Okay." He shoved more water at her with a snicker.

Evan, Barty, and Cassander leaned forward. Remus was trying hard not to be seen with the three of them. Evan and Barty high-five.

"To be honest, they are kind of cute..." Cassander muttered, nodding to himself.

#hp #harry potter #regulus black #hp regulus black #barty crouch jr #evan rosier #remus lupin #roan goldfinch #ravenclaw #slytherin #slytherin x ravenclaw #fluff #just friends setting up friends #hp fandom #marauders #marauders era #marauders fandom #hp marauders #the marauders #the marauders era #finchseeker #cassander lyall #hufflepuff #gryffindor

[cash-111]

Stress Relief

Pairing: Theodore Nott x reader

Content: comfort, fluff, bestfriend!Theo, friends to lovers, gender and house of the reader are not mentioned

Synopsis: reader is stressed by all of the school work they have and Theo won’t stand there an watch them deteriorate.

Length: short

A/N: I could write a sequel with smut if anyone were interested

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5th year had been hard, with O.W.L.s and all, but 6th? Bloody hell, you couldn’t catch a break.

It wasn’t until it was too late to change, that you realized you had overestimated your will to study and make everything fit into your schedule.

With Quidditch practice, advanced standard subjects (and don’t let the “standard” fool you, there was nothing ‘standard’ about advanced potions and transfiguration), care of magical creatures, runes, bloody arithmancy… curse your stupid self for voluntarily picking up magic math on meth.

You had considered begging your teachers to let you drop a subject once or twice, but you were no quitter, and your stubborn, pride-ridden heart would never allow that.

So now you were scrambling to get work done and sprinting between classes, earning yourself a few scoldings from the faculty.

You were so preoccupied with staying afloat study-wise, that the previous time you usually dedicated to your friends had now been turned in power-naps and more, incessant, work.

Most of your friends decided to give you time, but your best friend, Theo, just ‘could not give you up’. So, he decided to work around the problem and hang out with you anyway even with all your protests.

“Theo would you just please get out?!”

You exasperated eventually, after he would keep trying to strike up conversation or annoy you to get you to stop ignoring him.

“And where would the fun be in that, love”

He’d reply nonchalantly every time.

This time you had had enough, though, and set yourself to do something you may or may not regret the next day.

“I AM DONE WITH YOU. I do not want to play around, I do not want to hear your insufferable jokes, or look at your stupid face. Your ‘fun’ is the LEAST of my concerns. I need to get work done. GET OUT.”

You shouted, getting impossibly close to his face and poking a finger into his chest, in an effort to be as intimidating as possible.

Theodore stared down at you, unmoving and calm. A more serious expression on his face. When suddenly, he pulled you into a hug.

You tried to protest but he shushed you quickly.

“You’ve been going through a lot these weeks, haven’t you?” His voice was soft, caring. It caught you off guard so off guard that you remained silent, mouth opening and closing at intervals.

“I know everything’s been weighing on you. I just want you to take it easy every once in a while” he sighed, his hand caressing through your hair. “And I just want you to know that you don’t have to keep up with everyone’s expectations. I’m proud of you, always.”

Tears started to prick at your eyes at his words. You hadn’t realized how much the stress of everything had been affecting you. You melted into him and buried you head into his chest.

“I don’t deserve you” you sobbed “I’m sorry for how mean I’ve been to you these past few weeks.”

“It’s okay, don’t apologize, love.” He kept you close to himself until you started to even out your breath again, holding you with such a firm tenderness, you almost forgot about your worries.

“Fuck, I just wish there was a way to let off steam and get away from all that bullshit…” you mumbled against him.

Theo cringed lightly at your words, his muscles unconsciously tensing.

“What?” You loosened the hug to look up at him once more. “Do you know a way?”

“Uhm”

He avoided your eye contact, a hint of pink displaying on his cheeks.

“There might be a way…”

#fanfiction #x reader #writing #theo x reader #theodore nott x reader #theodore nott #slytherin x reader #slytherin reader #ravenclaw reader #gryffindor reader #hufflepuff reader #gender neutral reader #friends to lovers #best friends

[teaforthotxxx]

#harry potter #hp fic #marauders #marauders era #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black #peter pettigrew #wolfstar #jegulus #lily evans x reader #lily evans #sapphic #slow burn #childhood friends #hogwarts #slytherin x gryffindor #gryffindor x slytherin

[not-rab]

let’s not think about how today is April Fools Day and how after Jegulus got together, Reg and his friends would 100% prank the gryffindors together..

let’s not think about that <3

#happy april fools! #i need this #pls #jegulus incorrect quotes #jegulus #starchaser #sunseeker #slytherin skittles #dead gay wizards #sapphic marauders #gryffindor girls #marauders incorrect quotes #marauders #marauders era #the marauders #regulus arcturus black #regulus black #james fleamont potter #james potter #best friends brother #prongsfoot #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #regulus and evan and barty #evan rosier #barty crouch jr #dorcas meadowes #pandora lovegood #sirius black #black brothers #sirius orion black

[americannslytherinn]

I completely forgot about the concept of enemies with benefits. That's the Snirius dynamic to me

#🐍💬.PARSELTONGUE #🌦️🐍.SNAPE #🟢⚪.SLYTHERIN #🔴🟡.GRYFFINDOR #severus x sirius #snirius #bc they’re Not friends and they hate each other’s guts but ough what they'd do to be *in* each other’s guts--