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#THE FORBIDDEN FOREST TOO L
hp-hcs · 3 months
Note
violent stalker mattheo riddle.... each guy and girl readers ever spoken to? damn wdym they showed up beaten up the next day and they dont even know who did it ????
i feel like he'd also get violent with reader and ykw .... im so insane id let him beat me bloody .
"i'm doing this because you're not listening to me, sweetheart. how else am i supposed to show you that trying to leave me is what you shouldn't do?"
hey uh, future requesters: giving me a line of dialogue or smth to build around means i’ll finish your request WAY faster. tysm anon 😭
requests open
prometheus — yandere! insane! stalker! mattheo riddle x gn! reader
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wow! there’s a fuck ton of really fucking dark violence, murder, torture, manipulation, abduction, and horrific domestic abuse in this! please be careful if you choose to read this!
1.5k words!
i jokingly took a sociopathy test with a couple of friends earlier today and i scored like really high so uh dunno how to feel about that
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
“Am I…am I in trouble or something, Professor…?”
Professor McGonagall’s lips thinned and she looked at you over the rim of her glasses. She folded her hands together neatly where they rested on her desk before speaking. “Not for now, no. Relax a bit, dear. The law states that you’re innocent until proven guilty.”
“That’s not- that doesn’t really make me less nervous.”
The professor opened her mouth to speak again when a chime alerted her to an incoming floo call.
With a wave of her wand, the flames flared green and a genial-looking man stepped out of the fireplace. He brushed soot off of his robes and grinned brightly as soon as he caught sight of the professor.
“Minerva! Lovely to see you again. I’m afraid Quincy isn’t going to make it. Corbett is sick, poor thing, so he’s staying home with him today,” the man gushed, evidently quite close with the professor.
“Oh, send them both my well wishes, Hez, dear. Anyway, this is the student you asked to see, Y/n L/n,” she motioned towards you.
The man gave you a cheery grin—far too cheerful for this early in the morning—and held out his hand for you to shake. “A pleasure to meet you, Mx. L/n. I’m Auror Hezekiah Ackerly. I’d just like to ask you a few questions if that’s alright?”
You dubiously shook his outstretched hand, a bit put off by his bright grin that never seemed to dim. “Sure.”
“Wonderful!” the Auror pulled the second office guest chair closer and sat down across from you. “Let’s get the easy questions out of the way. Do you have many friends? Or maybe a small, close-knit group of people you regularly hang out with?”
Your eyebrows furrowed. The fuck kind of question was this?
“Uh, I guess a close-knit group?”
Auror Ackerly summoned a notebook and quill, writing quickly. “Who belongs to this group?”
Seriously, this felt more like being at a psychiatrist’s office than being questioned by a government official.
“Er, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger? And sometimes Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood?”
Seriously, what was going on?
“And do you have any…romantic relationships? Any troubles or issues there?”
Your eyes narrow. “What’re you playing at?”
“Cormac McLaggen was found dead in the Forbidden Forest this morning,” Professor McGonagall cut to the chase, interrupting Auror Ackerly. “You were the last known person to have spoken to him, and several of your peers attest that they heard an argument break out between the two of you last night after dinner.”
Your eyebrows shot up and your jaw dropped. “Dead? Wh- how?”
“That’s what we at the Ministry would like to know,” Auror Ackerly interjected smoothly. “You’re not in trouble, Mx. L/n, but I am here to escort you to the Ministry for questioning.”
Your jaw dropped.
They thought you did this?
~~~
You sat at a table, alone in some room deep inside the Ministry building.
You huffed, folding yet another paper crane from the stack of sticky notes Ackerly had oh-so-thoughtfully left for you after your interrogation.
You set the finished bird on the table, the small pile of origami cranes you’ve made while waiting slowly getting larger.
Peeling off another sticky note, you started folding another when a nice-looking man in well-pressed robes entered the barren room and stopped in front of your table. He looked down at you with mild bafflement.
“L/n, I presume?”
“That’d be me,” you mumbled, adding your newest crane to the pile.
The man smiled gently before waving a hand over your paper birds and enchanting them to fly.
You tried to hide your awe as you look up at the cranes that floated and soared around the room.
The man smiled at your reaction. “It’s quite nice to finally meet you, Mx. L/n. You’ve been the topic of many a discussion today.”
“I’d imagine so, yes,” you said dryly. “Not many teenagers accused of murder coming through the department, huh?”
He grinned. “Not really, no.”
The man pulled out the other chair at the table, sitting down across from you and rifling through the thick manila folder he held.
“Are you here to interrogate me some more?” You asked suspiciously. “Ask Ackerly, man. I already told him everything I know.”
He laughed. “No, I’m not here to interrogate you. I’m your lawyer, Mx. L/n.”
You blink. “I don’t have a lawyer. My family can’t afford that.”
“You always have the right to an attorney, Mx. L/n,” he said kindly as he held out his hand to you. “Octavian Foxglove, Esquire.”
“Y/n L/n, but you already knew that,” you greet, shaking his hand.
He smiled again.
He was a very smiley man.
He laid out the manila folder and turned it around on the table so that you would be able to see it.
The first paper on top was a copy of your school records, with a bright red PRIMARY SUSPECT stamped over the top of your picture.
You grimaced.
Your lawyer nodded sympathetically. “There’s a photo underneath that page, by the way. Supposedly the last photo we have of McLaggen still alive and, uh…it’s not looking great for you, in all honesty.”
You moved your school records page aside, finding a standard moving photograph paperclipped to the inside of the file.
It showed, quite clearly, you speaking with Cormac McLaggen in a hallway. Picture-Cormac angrily threw his arms up in the air and silently yelled at picture-you, while your body language in the photo loudly screamed ‘furious & upset’.
He was right. It wasn’t a great look.
“And there’s only one thing I need you to- oh, where is it?” He dug through the inside pockets of his robes, procuring a pen. “Aha! The next page has a simple contract. I just need a signature stating that you either accept me as your public defender, or would like to request someone else from the Ministry to handle your case.”
You nod, flipping the page to the contract he indicated. Mr. Foxglove smiled again and held the pen out to you.
As soon as your fingers made contact with the pen, you vanished.
~~~
You stumbled blindly, almost falling to the floor before a hand caught your elbow and steadied you.
“Easy, careful.”
You whirled around, surprised to see a different man in Mr. Foxglove’s clothes. He held his hands up in a non-threatening manner.
“Woah- slow down, kid. You’re fine.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m- was your lawyer,” he shrugged and smiled. “Augustus Rookwood, at your service.”
It dawned on you. “It was a portkey,” you breathed. “The pen. It was a portkey, wasn’t it?”
“Clever kid,” he sounded impressed. “Now c’mon. The boss wants to see you.”
You followed the man without complaint; half out of curiosity, half out of the knowledge that Augustus Rookwood was an Azkaban escapee charged with at least forty counts of first degree murder.
Pretty simple choice.
It looked like you were in a wealthy aristocrat’s house. Er, mansion, more accurately. The hallway you were walking down was old and stuffy and dusty, and the overall aura of Dark magic that permeated the very air of the house sent shivers down your spine.
Rookwood led you down a flight of rickety stairs to the first floor, and then down a narrow hallway and into a study, where he left you without another word.
The study itself was old. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust except for the pristine and polished bureau right in the center.
(Obviously, ‘the boss’ was sitting at this desk.)
((Villains tend to be predictable like that.))
However, you were surprised to see that ‘the boss’ was-
“Riddle?”
He looked up at the sound of your voice, a wide grin spreading across his face as he hurriedly got up from his desk.
“Y/n, darling, hello!” He gushed, practically skipping over towards you before pulling you into a very uncomfortable hug. “Sweetheart- oh, I’m so glad you’ve made it here safely! Rookwood really is my only competent assistant; I must be sure to give him a raise.”
You froze up at the unexpected hug, your arms remaining stiffly by your sides. He let go after a moment, but remained just a bit too close for comfort.
“Hopefully the Ministry didn’t give you too hard of a time,” he rubbed the back of his neck with a guilty grin. “I promise Ackerly’s a good man. When he’s, y’know, in control of his own body.”
Your eyes widen and you take a step back. “What?”
“Just a little Imperius, darling, no worries. Did you like your gift?”
You blinked, thrown off by his rapid changes in subjects. “Uh- gift?”
He smiled proudly. “McLaggen? He won’t bother you anymore, see?”
All the color drained from your face.
“You killed Cormac?”
He nods, grinning. “Uh-huh. I heard what McLaggen said to you last night in the hall, and I don’t like when other people look at what’s mine.”
“Yours?” You repeat, your lip curling in disgust. “You’d better not be referring to me.”
Mattheo paused, looking at you in confusion. “What else would I be talking about?”
You scoff in shock, shaking your head. “Yeah, nope, I’m out.”
You turned around without further preamble, marching out of the room and towards the front door that you’d passed earlier. Mattheo laughed and followed you out of the study at a leisurely pace, seemingly unworried.
“Where are you going to go, darling? As far as the general public is concerned, you’re on the run after brutally murdering a classmate. You’re Wanted with a capital W, sweetheart.”
“I’ll figure it out,” you snarled, storming towards the front door.
“Y/n…” He warned, drawing his wand and pointing it at you. “Get back here. Now.”
“Fuck off.” You spat over your shoulder, not sparing him another glance.
That was clearly not the thing to say. As if in slow motion, you heard a dreaded word fall from his lips.
“Crucio!”
You were struck with pain that was so overwhelming, so blinding, so agonizing, that you were sure you were going to die.
You were only half aware that you’d fallen to the floor at some point as wave after wave of unbearable pain crashed over you. You could feel your bones creaking and grinding together, your skin splitting apart only to knit itself back together just to be torn apart again, like you were some fucked up wixen version of fucking Prometheus.
You were only vaguely aware that you were speaking, pleading. Pleading not for the Unforgivable to be lifted, but for him to just end it, end you, entirely.
“K-kill me! Kill m-me…please!” You begged, blood trailing down from the corner of your mouth and smeared across your chin. You must’ve bit your tongue hard for it to bleed like that, and the sting from that wound while you speak is just too overwhelming when combined with the pain from the Cruciatus Curse.
Then all at once, it stops.
You gasp for air, your entire body trembling and numb as you lay sprawled across the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.
Mattheo kneeled down by your side and cupped your face in his hands with a kind of tender gentleness that felt deeply wrong coming from him.
“See, I’m doing this because you’re not listening to me, sweetheart. How else am I supposed to show you that trying to leave me is what you shouldn’t do?” He cooed softly, gently wiping the blood from your chin with the sleeve of his shirt.
You flinched back at his touch. Your body—still wracked with uncontrollable quivers and trembles—tried in vain to crawl away from him.
“Oh no, honey- hey, honey- I promise it’s all over, okay? You were so so good for me. But you see now that you’ve got to stay with me, right?”
Your jaw quivered and your still-stinging tongue felt thick in your mouth, yet you managed to spit vicious hatred towards him.
“G-go to hell.”
A flurry of emotions crossed his face: surprise, anger, guilt, and disappointment; all of which were topped by the underlying aura of pure sadistic glee that exuded from him.
“Oh? Do you need another lesson or two before you learn?” He sighed and shook his head patronizingly. “Very well then, darling. Crucio!”
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
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heliads · 4 months
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hi!! Can I request Harry Potter x f!reader, where Harry and y/n are dating and during the battle reader gets severely injured almost dead by Voldemort and Harry doesn’t know until after he defeats him he goes looking for reader but can’t find her, getting scared he goes looking for her and finds her under a pile of rubble realizing she’s about to die he uses the resurrection stone or wand to bring her back to life/heal her. Sorry if it’s really I’ve never requested before!
just read manacled so i'm desperately craving to write some hp angst so this request was perfectly timed thx anon xoxo
'someone take me home ' - harry potter
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The air is dark, choked with the ash and smoke of Harry Potter’s only true home.
Although he is not the one setting fire to the turrets, sending trolls in to demolish the stone parapets, or hurling curses through glass windows, Harry still feels responsible for the destruction. He is the one who challenged Voldemort by trying to hunt down his Horcruxes. He is the one who has brought this needless death and destruction into the castle. When Voldemort made his pronouncement that all of this fighting could cease if they would only turn Harry over to the Death Eaters, Harry had felt the weight of that guilt settle onto his shoulders like a cloak. It is his doing, all of this. He is the one to blame.
The only way he can make up for it is to end this, once and for all. If he does not kill Voldemort tonight– if he cannot end this war quickly– every life lost, every shred of memory and pride lost in the broken castle’s rubble will have fallen because he could not get the job done. Harry is responsible for everything that happens here tonight. He has to be responsible for winning it, too.
Harry is close to the end. So close. He has already died once tonight. He does not want it to happen again. For a moment there, when he went into the woods alone to meet his soon-to-be killer, armed only with a wand, a wish, and a deeply seated terror that would not leave him, Harry had not thought that he would come back. Dumbledore had not had the chance to specify that in his memories, that Harry would survive the Avada Kedavra curse for the second time in his life.
Harry had not known at all. Through Snape’s memories, he had seen that he would have to die for Voldemort to be killed, but there was no guarantee that Harry would come back. When Harry came away from the Pensieve burdened with that terrible truth, he had assumed that the blinding flash of green light would be all. When he said goodbye to Ron and Hermione, he had left them thinking that he would never return. Walking away from them was horrible, the price of seven years’ worth of incredible friendship. The only thing worse than that was leaving Y/N.
Y/N L/N. Harry’s girlfriend. They started dating during their fifth year, coasting on the thrill of sneaking around behind Umbridge’s back to run the DA. He’d liked her for longer, of course, he swears half the boys his year had a crush on Y/N at least since their second winter at Hogwarts, but Harry was the one who got to keep her around. He never forgot how lucky that made him. And, leaving her behind in the ruins of Hogwarts Castle to end his life, Harry reminded himself of it then, too. Even if he was going to die, he had lived a properly good life before the moment the Killing Curse was spoken aloud. He should have no reason to mourn all of the moments he would never have when he already experienced and enjoyed so many.
To distract himself in those cold, empty woods, Harry had reached into his pocket for the small, dark stone left to him by Dumbledore in the shell of a Golden Snitch. It’s probably not wise to carry a Deathly Hallow through the Forbidden Forest in search of a Dark Lord, but Harry was, after all, headed towards his certain death, so he figured that a little bit of risk was acceptable under those circumstances. Turning the Resurrection Stone over in his pocket, Harry had let his eyes flicker closed as he thought of something– as he wished for it, more than anything, more even than he needed to be alive– and then his eyes had opened, and he had seen his parents.
His first thought was that they looked just like their photographs. They smiled at him, reaching out wispy hands to guide him onwards. Remus and Sirius had joined not soon after. It was easier to be brave when he wasn’t alone, and it must have just been his mind imagining it, because he swore that just before he emerged into the clearing containing Voldemort’s camp, Harry saw Y/N there too, smiling and calling out to him.
He just wanted to think of her one last time, that was all. It meant nothing. Y/N was alive with Ron and Hermione. The one-hour truce had probably ended by then, so they would all be fighting again, but his two best friends would keep the love of his life alive. Of course they would. He made them promise.
Harry had removed that worry from his mind, and then he had died and subsequently come back to life. When he was lying on the cold ground, when Narcissa Malfoy had bent over him and asked him as quietly as she dared if her son was still alive, Harry has to admit that he was not thinking about the good of the mission to kill Voldemort, nor how he could keep up that crusade if he stayed alive. No, he thought about seeing Y/N one more time, and so he told her that Draco was still living. Harry didn’t even know if it was a lie or not, it didn’t matter, it worked. It could be true. Harry had no way of telling if Draco had passed away. All he could do was survive, clawing inch by inch until he could make it back to the grounds of the castle and tell for certain who was dead and who was alive.
The ruse, however misguided, had worked, and then Voldemort had crowed with sickly joy and dragged Harry’s body back to the castle. Harry was forced to remain stock-still, terrified to move so much as a muscle lest he give himself away and incur a second Killing Curse.
Now he is back, back here, back in the present moment, back in the castle. Harry is alive and everybody knows it. Harry heard the cheers erupt when he flung himself away from Hagrid to stand opposite Voldemort again, but he dared not look back. One distracted glance gives Tom Riddle a chance to kill him, and Harry cannot– he will not– give himself away like that after everything. His friends need him. Y/N needs him. Harry must do this, he must win.
Harry is no stranger to dueling, both with friends and enemies. When Voldemort points the Elder Wand at Harry, the wand that technically is under Harry’s control, Harry feels the moment thrumming in his veins like a bloodlust even before his opponent casts the spell. His wand hand rises of his own volition, the spell rising to his lips by reflex alone.
Two incantations are chanted at the same time. Avada Kedavra, Voldemort shrieks across the dusty courtyard, his voice like a death rattle. Expelliarmus, Harry shouts back, his heart leaping into his chest. He has never meant a spell like this before, and he swears he never will.
For a moment, all is still, all is quiet. The Death Eaters and students alike watch with bated breath as the two spells arc across the courtyard, but then Voldemort’s bright spark of green rebounds the second it comes into contact with Harry’s, sending both tumbling towards the Dark Lord. The Killing Curse hits Voldemort, and just like that, with no pomp and circumstance, no drama befitting the one who has caused them all so much violence and grief, Tom Marvolo Riddle dies.
Harry doesn’t believe it. Truly, he doesn’t, until he forces his limbs to walk over to the body of Voldemort and stand, staring, at the corpse until he is certain it does not move again. Slowly, surely, the Death Eaters peel away, and the students and members of the Order of the Phoenix come back again, surging around him like an ocean wave, rejoicing in their victory.
Ron and Hermione reach him first, one at each side. They embrace him, half crying, half beaming. Hermione’s saying that he’s done it, he’s won, and Ron is grinning at him proudly, telling Harry that he knew he could do it. Harry waits for the fourth person to join their party, but for some reason, she never does.
Harry pulls back slightly from their embrace. “Guys,” he says uncertainly, “Where’s Y/N?”
Ron and Hermione exchange confused looks. “She was just here,” Ron says vacantly. “Wasn’t she, Hermione? I swear I saw her a minute ago. We were fighting together, then a bunch of Death Eaters split us up. I got back to Hermione as soon as I could, but–”
“But you didn’t see her?” Harry interrupts. His voice sounds harsher than he intends, but a sudden, icy panic is beginning to flood through his system, and he cannot think about anything– he will not think about anything– until he is certain that this fear is unfounded.
He looks desperately at Hermione, the reasonable one, the one who always comes up with answers in times of crisis like this one, but she shakes her head quietly. “None of us have seen her since the fighting started up again,” she whispers. “I’m sorry, Harry.”
“No,” he says forcefully, “No, that’s not right. Y/N is alive. We just lost her in the crowd, that’s all.”
It must be true. Harry won’t look at either of them, won’t see the slow rush of guilt that’s creeping into both of their faces. Y/N has to be here. She wouldn’t just leave him like this.
Harry pushes past the two of them, fighting his way back through the crowds. He scans every face he sees, ignoring friends and professors the moment he’s sure they aren’t her. When he doesn’t see her immediately, Harry looks not at the crowds but the grounds, the walls, to see if she’s lying down somewhere. She could still be resting, or maybe she has a broken leg or something and can’t move. There is still a way that she could be alive. There is still a way that she could come back to him.
No sign of her. Harry is about to leave the courtyard and try searching somewhere else, and then he sees a hand crumpled near a pile of rubble. The hand, bloody and streaked with dust, is connected to an arm, an arm which lies limp from a shoulder, which leads to a chest which leads to a face, a face he knows, a face which is Y/N’s.
Harry is kneeling on the ground in a flash. The body of a fallen Death Eater is somewhere to the side, and Harry has the brief, proud thought that Y/N managed to kill one of them before she– He cuts himself off just in time.
Y/N seems perfectly fine by all accounts, were it not for the ash beginning to tint her face a lifeless shade. It gets everywhere, that stuff, but it won’t matter, they’ll have time to clean up later, once it is all over. It is all over, he realizes belatedly, but not quite yet. Not until she sits up again and smiles at him like she always does.
Harry waits for this to happen, for her chest to rise and fall, for any sign of movement. Nothing comes. It is only sitting here, waiting, watching for nothing, when he realizes at last that Y/N is dead. He missed his chance to save her. Y/N is dead because Harry couldn’t beat Voldemort fast enough.
The grief crashes over him in spasming attacks. He cannot lose her, not like this. It was easier to be the one dying when he knew she would go on to live a long, happy life, but this is wholly different and much worse. Y/N deserved far more than a death at seventeen. She deserved far more than Harry letting her down in this final way.
He can’t allow this to happen. Harry has killed the Dark Lord, he has freed the Wizarding World from death and destruction, he will save his girlfriend and it will be his last victory. Harry claws at his pocket for the Resurrection Stone– he almost lost it in the Forbidden Forest, but not quite, and now he has it still– and presses it with shaking hands against her heart. Harry closes his eyes and wishes with everything he has that she would come back.
He doesn’t want to open his eyelids. If it doesn’t work– he can’t look at her again, fallen and still. He stays in the darkness until someone tells him in a light voice, “You can look now, Harry. I’m alright.”
Harry opens his eyes and almost sobs again. There, sitting up, is Y/N. She smiles at him. “Don’t look so surprised. You know what the stone does, don’t you?”
“I do,” he croaks, “but– I was so afraid, Y/N. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t have to,” she whispers back. “We’ll always be together now.”
He wants this. Harry reaches forward and embraces her. He can hardly feel her hug him back, but she’s probably still injured from the fight. She’ll have to get up to the hospital wing as soon as possible, Madam Pomfrey can make her as good as new in a second’s flash.
Harry steps back so Y/N can stand up, and then he starts to lead her back through the courtyard. Ron and Hermione have caught up to him by now, and they stare at Y/N with undisguised shock.
“She’s back,” Harry says exultantly, as if they couldn’t tell that already.
Hermione nods faintly. “Harry…”
Her voice trails off. Ron lays a comforting hand on her arm, then turns to Harry. “You found her, then?” 
For some reason, he doesn’t seem nearly as happy as Harry thinks the situation deserves. He’s just found out one of his best friends is alive, after all, but instead he seems as if he’s just come from a funeral.
“I did,” Harry confirms. “I’m going to take Y/N to the hospital wing now, just in case.”
Y/N nods in agreement, which makes Ron and Hermione exchange knowing glances again.
“What?” Harry asks, somewhat cross.
“Nothing,” Hermione says a little too quickly. “It’s just– Oh, Harry, you have the Resurrection Stone, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Harry says. “Why do you ask?”
The look in her eyes is deeply sorrowful. “You have to let go, Harry.”
He shakes his head. “What are you talking about? I just got Y/N back, I have to make sure that she’s alright.”
He moves to brush past them, but Ron holds out an arm. “Here, I’ll take Y/N to the hospital wing. How about you stay and talk to Hermione for a little longer?”
Y/N looks unhappy about this, and although Harry doesn’t quite want to be parted from her yet, he can’t technically see any problems with this, so he agrees, and watches mournfully as Y/N trails away behind Ron. She’s moving slower than usual, but again, that must be due to injury.
Hermione takes him by the arm and steers him away from the quickly burgeoning crowds. “Harry,” she begins slowly, “Do you remember what Xenophilius Lovegood said about the Deathly Hallows, about the Stone in particular? How it drove the second brother mad because his bride came back from the dead, but she was never really the same?”
“I do,” Harry says vaguely, not entirely sure what this has to do with him, “But that’s not the case with Y/N, though, she’s fine. I reckon it’s because I have the Elder Wand too, you know?”
Hermione sighs. “Harry, that’s not the Y/N you lost. She’s different. I think she’s closer to a ghost than a person.”
“No,” Harry says unsteadily, “She’s just like I remember, honestly. I don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s nothing like a ghost.”
Hermione takes a slow breath in and out. She’s obviously fighting tears. “That’s because she hasn’t been herself lately, even before she– even before she died, Harry. The war has been hard on all of us, but her especially. It’s taken quite the toll on her, so much so that you would see a ghost of the girl you knew and still think it was her.”
“That makes no sense,” Harry protests, but a persistent feeling of doubt is starting to shadow his mind.
“I can prove it,” Hermione insists, and reaches into her pocket to pull out a photograph.
Harry holds it in his hands and stares. He remembers the moment this photo was taken more than he recognizes the actual people inside of it. This was one of the last days they had to themselves before the war broke out in earnest and everything went to hell. It had been in the spring, all four of them in the Gryffindor Common Room. Colin Creevey had taken the photo while they were unawares and to punish him, they’d confiscated it. Harry had no idea Hermione had held onto it, but now he’s pressingly grateful that she had.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all look the same, albeit a little younger, a little less beaten down, but Y/N– the Y/N in this photograph is nothing like the girl he’d just seen. This Y/N is vibrant, laughing uproariously at a joke one of them has just told. The version of her in the photograph turns with a start when the photo is taken, but she’s still grinning up at him, still happy. Harry feels as if a saturation charm has been cast upon the photo, it’s the only thing that would explain why she looks so bright and alive here.
Alive, unlike how she looks right now, because she isn’t. Harry had tried to bring her back, but it hadn’t worked completely. Just like in Lovegood’s story. He thinks back to the past few months and he remembers how Y/N had been, how the light had slowly drained from her. The constant running had been hard on all of them, but it was worst of all on Y/N. She was the one forever thinking of new places to go, new things to try, wearing the locket for the longest, never putting up a fight. Slowly but surely, it had coaxed the life out of her, so much so that Harry couldn’t even tell when she was just a shade he had brought back from the dead.
Hermione nods slowly, seeing that Harry understands at last. “I’m sorry, Harry. I’m so sorry.”
“So am I,” he murmurs bleakly.
“Are you going to end the enchantment?” She asks him.
Harry feels like he’s drowning, engulfed in the ash and flame surrounding him. “I will. Just– let me say goodbye first.”
“Of course,” Hermione says. “We’ll be here when you need us.”
It’s more than he can ask of her right now, both to pull him out and to support him when he’s reeling from the shock of it all. They must be devastated too, Hermione and Ron, both of them have friends here who have died in this final battle and throughout the whole war, but they’re putting him first again. He’ll never be able to thank them enough for that, but he can try.
An idea occurs to him as he walks over to Y/N. He’s still got the Elder Wand in his pocket. He hadn’t needed it for the Resurrection Stone, he hadn’t even been touching it, but maybe– just maybe–
He casts a quick summoning charm to bring his invisibility cloak over, then pulls the Resurrection Stone out of his pocket. The Elder Wand in his other hand completes the triad. All three Deathly Hallows, all together at last. Dumbledore had wondered what having all of them together might do, how one might finally become a Master of Death. He had mused once that perhaps one had to accept the inevitability of one’s own death, to brush it off and greet Death as an old friend, as the third brother had done in the tale.
Harry has done this already. Died. He accepted it then. Facing Y/N, he accepts it now. He may die from doing this, but it would be alright. Y/N deserves to live. Harry embraces his fate, whatever it may be. He has the Hallows, but he would give them up for her, he would give up anything. Even himself. He has not meant a spell like this before, except once, and he swears he never will.
There’s a sudden rush of wind around him that forces Harry’s eyes shut, just for a moment. When he opens them, Y/N is still there, but she’s a shade no longer. This time, when she surges forward and hugs him, he feels the embrace completely. 
“It’s really me,” she laughs, shocked, “I don’t know how you did it, Harry, but I’m really back.”
“You promise?” Harry gasps, half choking on his own surprise.
“I promise,” she smiles.
Harry glances back over his shoulder to where Hermione and Ron are watching with dropped jaws. One look at his friends is all he needs to know at last that yes, this is real. He’s finally won. The Dark Lord is dead. His love is alive.
At last, at long last, the last of his burdens disappear into the faint light of morning. Harry Potter is free.
harry potter tag list: @rogueanschel, @cameronsails, @neewtmas, @lovesanimals0000, @with-inked-solace, @sher-lokid7, @eclliipsed, @frenchgirlinlondon, @23victoria, @ilovexavierthrope
all tags list: @wordsarelife
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deadbranch · 5 months
Text
Midnight in a Perfect World (8)
Author: @deadbranch Pairing: werewolf!Alex Keller x fem!Reader Summary:  Something disturbing happens in the forest surrounding the farm.  Kirkpatrick and McIntyre come to your aid. Word Count:  2.4k Warnings:  18+ MDNI, p in v sex, discussion of knotting, oral sex, suggestive language, angst, indistinct whump, mention of blood, emotional turmoil, impolite language. A/N:   Angst with comfort.  Answers will be forthcoming in the next chapter.  Oh, and Alex loves eating you out.
SERIES MASTERLIST
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MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD (8)
You agree that you’re not pretending to court anymore.  This is real.
There’s no reason to keep articles of clothing to re-scent yourselves following a shower, but you exchange scented items anyway, just because.
Although Alex can smell you on your belongings, but you can't do the same with his, you still love the idea of burying your face in one of his shirts when you can’t be together during the day.  You keep one in your locker and another in your bottom desk drawer.
For the first time in your life, you wish your ability to smell were sharper.  You want to experience the additional world of meaning that some of your ancestors likely enjoyed.  It seems unfair that Alex can discern so much about you without even asking.  He gives you the courtesy of verbally confirming your desires before urging you toward the bedroom or onto the couch with him.  He explains that sometimes he smells your desire but that doesn’t always mean you want sex.
He reminds you that you’ve likely driven the other wolves crazy with want, and it’s the precise reason why werewolves are forbidden to interact with unknown carriers.  The temptation is too great.
History is filled with tales of werewolves impregnating women who then face the truth years down the line when they watch their son or daughter change for the first time, in pain and terror as they don’t know what’s happening.
Alex says he never knew his parents. 
You kiss and nuzzle his cheek as you soothe him.  He slides his cock inside you, at long last without a condom.  His breath hitches at the sensation, with finally nothing between you.
Once he’s able to speak coherently again, he tells you that he’ll need you more often now since you’re no longer limited by your supply of prophylactics.
It means you’re getting closer to your first knotting.  The more frequently that you make love, the more you long for his engorged Bulbus glandis to squeeze past your opening and then rapidly swell.
You’ve dreamt of it.  He says werewolves and carriers both dream of knotting when their bodies are ready.  The constant exposure to their prospective mate’s scent is what triggers the dreams.  You fight the urge to correct him.  The reason you dream of knotting is that you’ve never experienced this level of sustained arousal, desire, or need for anyone before.  Your body wants you to go farther, as soon as possible.
Your body needs to be claimed in the most basic and natural way before you lose your mind.
Alex has been inside you every day since your first time together almost a month ago.  You’ve already ovulated again, and he nearly lost control.
You’ve had your period as well since then.  You thought he would take a break from sex while you bled.
If anything, it incited him to text you more often throughout the day, telling you how much he misses you and wants to take you on a pile of towels until you beg him to knot you.
It’s become a game of temptation for him, as though edging himself by listening to your pleas to be tied together but denying both of you the pleasure.
He still releases, but always across your back or belly.  He’s afraid to finish inside for fear he’ll reflexively attempt to ram his fully engorged knot into you in the heated rush of pleasure.  He doesn’t want to hurt you.
But you’re at the limit of your patience.
You wouldn’t dream of presenting him with an ultimatum.  When you look at Alex, you feel the sting of what you could only call love.
If you feel this depth of attachment to him now, you can’t imagine what it will feel like while you’re tied as a proper mated pair.
As you close your eyes every night, nestled against his chest, your dreams begin anew.
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One of the many benefits of not wearing condoms is that you can alternate fucking with pleasuring each other orally.  Nothing to interrupt the taste of your lovemaking, the salt and tang of your passion traded between you and mingling on each other’s lips as you kiss and try desperately to somehow merge further into each other.
Alex bites lovingly into the flesh of your inner thigh before excusing himself to hunt.
He’s in the thick of the three-night portion of his cycle where he spends most of the night in wolf form, hunting.
Already naked, he leaves the bedroom to change before leaving.
You had agreed to install a special lock on the mudroom door that engages automatically so he can come and go as he pleases without waking you to lock the door behind him.
Pulling the sheet and blanket over yourself, you drift into sleep with the lingering sensations of your lovemaking comforting you and lulling away the concerns of the world.
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Your eyes open.
It’s still dark.  Muted slices of moonlight slant across the ceiling as you blink.
Why did I wake up?
It happens again.
Pain.
Again?  Why does this feel familiar?
A stabbing pain in your right side, but it feels like a memory, a dream.  Muted, but still there. 
He’s afraid.
Who’s afraid?
You scramble out of bed and pull on your underwear, a shirt, and sweats.  As you’re rolling on your socks the pain happens again, but this time at the base of your spine.
Alex.  He’s in pain.  He’s afraid.  Need to find him.
With a red-filtered flashlight under your arm, you race out the door with your sidearm.  You have no idea which direction to run, but your body knows.  You feel him.
You hope eight rounds is enough to do the job.
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The others bound away on all-fours as you approach the clearing.
He’s standing over the corpse of another werewolf.  He has visible injuries already beginning to coagulate and scab over, blood matting his fur.
You know this is Alex.
He turns abruptly, still half-crouched, jaws open and breathing heavily.  The injury to his side is worse than you initially thought.  Without thinking, you extend your hand toward him, despite the twenty yards between you.
A ragged snarl rips through his respiratory tract as he gets down on all-fours, teeth bared and snout rippling in a display of rage.
You realize you’re downwind from him.  He can’t smell you.  His eyes look clouded and squinting, as though burning painfully in the moonlight.
He can’t see either.
Fuck.
You back up into the wood line, attempting to vacate his hazy and unfocused line of sight.  If only you can live long enough to get him the help he needs.
As a cloud abruptly passes in front of the moon, he charges toward you.
Your pistol tumbles away from you and into the dark underbrush as you’re laid out on your back, the wind knocked from your lungs.  Every attempt to draw breath is met with a drowning sensation, a painful resistance in your chest as you recover from your fall.
Alex’s clawed hands drag you by your ankles into the clearing, likely to take advantage of uninterrupted light.
His eyes aren’t like the night you met, clear and filled with an unmistakable intelligence.  You’re looking into a pained fogginess that’s more emotional instinct than thought.  You can feel Alex, but he can’t feel you.
You cry out as he rams the end of his snout against your crotch, snuffling loudly as he keeps you in place by the ankles.  He breathes deeply.
His body language changes, resembling melting snow.  He pulls back, letting go of you, and sits on his haunches with a confused expression, his eyes still not seeing clearly and his snout continuing to breathe in your scent with each labored breath.
He crawls over your body, powerful arms and legs on either side of you as he inspects your scent, his snout pushing insistently between your legs again, then up your torso.  He stops when he’s at eye-level with you, pushing your face to the left as he nuzzles you roughly.  He licks at your neck with a tongue so rough you yelp under him.  He retracts his tongue and continues to nuzzle and prod with his nose, snuffling and emitting a strange humming sound from inside his chest, almost a rumble, continuous but not mechanical.  Comforting.
Without thinking, you part your thighs, and a soft moan escapes your lips.
The rumbling hum stops for a moment as he regards you with his sightless eyes.  He nuzzles and nips gently at your shoulder and neck when you realize he’s aroused.  You look down between your bodies.
Very aroused.
Fuck.
Likely sensing that you might wriggle away, he pins you to the ground as he snuffles and nuzzles his way down your torso to pull down your sweatpants.  He pushes his nostrils against the gusset of your panties as he breathes the scent of your aroused state, his shoulders hunching as though his body is reacting to the messages your scent is likely sending him. 
The rough tongue that made you yelp slips in around the gusset and laves over your folds.  You grasp frantically for something to hold onto and settle on gripping his furred knuckles, his pawlike hands with clawed human fingers holding you down by the hips.
He laps at you like he’s drinking from a stream, with thirst and primal longing for satisfaction.  You want to raise your knees and spread your thighs for him, but your sweatpants are holding your legs together.  You attempt to sit up to finish removing your sweats, but he reaches up and pushes you back down with a clawed hand to your sternum.
“Alex.”
His ears perk up.
“Alex, please…”
He blinks and withdraws his tongue from between your legs.  Before you can protest, he pulls back further, as though you’d struck him with your hand.
Alex bounds off into the wood line, perhaps more slowly than normal for lack of vision, but within seconds you no longer hear the crunch of leaves nor see the swaying of brush or low branches.
You call his name.  Then you scream his name.
It’s only you and the werewolf corpse a stone’s throw away in the clearing.  You hadn’t noticed that owls and bats seemed to have been silent before now, but half a dozen bats flit between you and the full moon as an owl hoots idly in the distance.
Standing on quaking legs, you brush dead leaves from your butt and thighs before pulling up your sweatpants.  As you kick your sneakers around in the brush where your pistol fell, you hear Alex call your name.
As you turn, he stumbles into the clearing, holding his side, naked and injured, but otherwise in his human shape.  You run to him and kneel as you look into his eyes.  They’re still cloudy, but he can see you somewhat, his pupils tracking behind the haze with your every movement.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the house.”
You help him stand as tears trickle down your face.
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McIntyre is still in his truck on the gravel driveway.
“Is he not coming in?”  You ask tentatively as you let Rai in through the front door.
“He’s…it’s complicated.  We just came back from a run.  Ya know.  He’s still a little ramped up.”
 “Ramped up, as in not good?”
“He’s upset about the attack.  He wants to stay here for the night to protect the farm while Keller heals.”
Rai squeezes your shoulder as your face creases with worry.
“May have been an isolated thing.  Body’s gone.  Hog stench everywhere, so could have been dragged off and eaten, but the werewolf stench is just as strong.  No telling.”
She wraps her arms around you.
“Hey, I’ll stay the night too, on the couch.  See if we can get some answers tomorrow, but for now we’ll make sure you’re both safe until the sun rises.”  She takes your chin between her thumb and index finger. “Not gonna leave you, kid.  You’re one of us now, more or less.  I loved you as a friend before, but now you’re family.”
“Kirk can come in too, if he wants. It'll get cold.”  You pull back on your tears sharply.  It’s not like you to cry so easily.
“He’ll be changing soon.  More efficient to patrol as a wolf than a human.  He’ll be fine.”  She leans in and whispers with a smile, “I think he’s secretly enjoying this.  He’s been restless the last few months.  This’ll give him something to do.”
You smile weakly and laugh with Rai.
“Go on.  I’ll sleep here and you should sleep next to Keller.  It’ll help him heal.”
“Seriously?” you ask with skepticism.
“Yeah.  Go.”
Rai busies herself with arranging the pillows and unfolding a blanket from the back of the couch as you sneak as quietly as you can into the bedroom.
You'd called Rai immediately after you and Alex returned to the farmhouse.  During the time it took them to arrive here from post, you’d cleaned and dressed Alex’s wounds and convinced him to lay down.
He’s still in the same position you left him, eyes closed, chest falling with a restful regularity.
As you curl up against his left side to avoid his injuries, he pulls you closer with one arm.
“You’re awake.”
“Of course I am. I can hear you from a mile out,” he mutters playfully.
“I was so fucking worried.”
“We’ll talk about it in the morning, I promise.”
“Ok.”
“One more thing…”
“Mmm?”
“After I’ve healed, I’d like…to knot you.  If you’re still willing, that is.”
You suddenly feel emotionally drained and happy at the same time.  He must've felt the tension change in your body, or maybe your scent, perhaps both, but he tightens his arm around you.
As Alex’s body relaxes into slumber, you remain awake far longer than you would have liked.
You can’t get the memory out of your head.  The sensation of Alex pushing his snout between your legs, his tongue sliding up inside you, so warm it felt uncomfortably hot.  The memory of seeing his erect cock, half canid, half human, and his knot larger than you’ve ever seen it. The image of his hairy, hulking mass, positioned between your thighs...
While he had you pinned to the forest floor, you were prepared to let him take you, to shove his large knot inside your pussy and fill you with his cum under the moonlight.
As though sensing your desire in his unconscious state, his cock nudges your wrist as you surrender to sleep.
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Next Chapter
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icycoldninja · 3 months
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for some reason I just have this really like uh…. Basically a Romeo and Juliet styled forbennie love between Fem reader and DMC 3 Dante
ooooohohoho yes....
Forbidden Love (DMC3!Dante x Fem!Reader)
You grinned to yourself, unable to help but chuckle as you made your way through the winding streets of Red Grave, eager to reach your rendezvous spot as soon as possible. Tonight was a glorious night; your parents were out at the opera, and Dante's parents were out of town for work, meaning that tonight was the perfect night for you and your secret boyfriend to have a little meetup.
When you reached your previously agreed upon meeting place, you found that Dante was already there. "Hey, babe!" You called, running into his arms. Dante chuckled, sweeping you off your feet and twirling you around. "Hey there, milady," He joked, kissing your forehead. "Miss me?" You nodded, hooking your arms around his shoulders and nestling into his chest. "You have no idea," You sighed, rubbing your face against his smooth pecs. "No idea..."
Your family, the L/Ns, had been feuding with the Spardas for several centuriee; your ancestors had an outrageous amount of beef with Dante's ancestors. Despite this, and the stern warnings of both your parents, you were in love, ancient grudges be damned. While this forbidden romance was blissful, it was also stressful. Both your families kept pushing suitors and suitresses on you two, only to be utterly dismayed when both of you turned them all down. This behavior, though understandable at first, had grown to be quite upsetting--so much so that your parents threatened to take away certain privileges unless you settled down with someone.
Fortunately, you both had your youth to blame for your unwillingness to marry, and if there was one thing parents loved more than finding spouses for their children, it was having their children possess an incentive to learn. As long as you kept your grades up and took up various hobbies, you would be free of parental pestering for the next 5 years or so.
Dante sniggered at the way you held onto him, pressing a kiss to your forehead before setting you down and taking your hand. "Wanna take a walk?" You nodded, eager to spend more time with the love of your life.
Dante led you down the street, towards a gravel path, and into a serene, peaceful looking forest. The thick growth trees blocked out most of the moonlight, but there was such an abundance of fireflies, it didn't really matter. You gasped in amazement as Dante led you towards a large cave covered in luminescent moss. It glowed in the darkness; beauty unlike anything you'd ever seen. "Wow..." You gasped, looking around in wonder. "This is so cool!" Dante chuckled, folding his hands behind his head. "Ya like it? 'Course you do, I know you." Smirking, he strode up and playfully mussed up your hair. "Scouted this place out just for us...and no one else knows. It'll be our little secret, kay?" You beamed, wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest again. "Aww, you're the best, Dante!" Happily, Dante wrapped his arms around you and squashed you against his chest. "I know, I'm the greatest," He laughed, kissing your forehead. "And so are you. I love you, babe." You reached up and kissed him squarely on the lips, throwing your arms around his shoulders and holding on with all your strength. "I love you too, Dante."
Suddenly, your phone vibrated. Sighing, you let go of your boyfriend, pulled it out, and checked your notifications. Your parents had texted you, announcing that they'd be home in 30 minutes. You groaned, tucking your phone back into your pocket. "Sorry, Dante...as much as I wish we could continue, my parents'll be home soon." Dante nodded, pressing one last kiss to your cheek. "I get it. Go on home. Maybe later tonight I'll....surprise you and give you a night to remember." He winked with that last remark, blowing you a kiss after. Blushing furiously, you lightly slapped his arm before hurrying away. "I'll take that as a yes?" He called, sniggering when you didn't answer. It was more than a yes, and he knew that--it was an absolutely.
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the-roo-too · 6 months
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말리지 마 -> slytherin! oh haewon
-because of a stunt the slytherin pulled, you’re both now in nightly detention. you wouldn’t expect one of the smarter teachers to lead you to the forbidden forest with your biggest enemy in the middle of the night now, would you?
warnings: dead unicorn; dementors; blood
genre: enemies to lovers
notes: haewon 🤭🤭
(⋆._.)⊃▁⛥⌒*゚.❉・゜・。.
“stupid slytherin..” you muttered under your breath, throwing on the warmer cloak. it was well after sundown so the outside was pretty chilly. with a low grunt you exited the common room, watching the doors without a knob close behind you.
you moved silently through the hall, a lantern in your hand as your only source of light. without it, the hallways would be quite terrifying at night. especially the talking portraits. you preferred them complaining that you woke them up with the lamp, instead of hearing their whispers as if you were a intruder in the castle.
the way from your dorm room to the gate was a long one, but it still was the least scary part of the night awaiting you.
when you exited through the main entrance, you could see the lights from the lamps of a fellow student and the care of magical creatures teacher. both figures stood near the teacher’s hut, probably awaiting your arrival.
even from the distance, jeongyeon (or miss yoo, as you formally should address her) smiled at you brightly. she waved you over, not minding the grumpy slytherin on her side.
“l/n! you finally arrived!”
“i’m sorry, miss yoo… did you have to wait long?”
“yes.” jeongyeon glared lightly at the other student before turning back to you.
“it’s fine, l/n. a little cold air is very healthy!” she proceeded to look between you and the slytherin expectingly. “well then, l/n, oh, let’s go!”
(⋆._.)⊃▁⛥⌒*゚.❉・゜・。.
whoever thought that sending two students, a teacher (and a dog) to the forbidden forest in the middle of the night was a good idea was terribly wrong.
because jeongyeon trusted you ‘enough’ she took the dog and went one way, telling you and the slytherin to follow the path and search for the body of a unicorn. apparently she found him dead once, but didn’t have a vial on her by then. the teacher wanted you to collect some blood and hairs of the deceased creature.
“i cant believe i have to walk with you.” haewon gritted out as she walked before you. jeongyeon handed her the lamp, so she was leading you two through the forest.
“well i’m not jumping in happiness too, am i?” you bit back, rolling your eyes. what was her problem, you never actually knew. “it’s your fault we’re here anyway.”
a scoff fell from her lips, a small cloud forming in the cold air. “that stupid gryffindor was gonna spill my cauldron on your head.”
“as if.”
“ask him yourself, dipshit.”
you really didn’t have to, you knew the gryffindor boy hated you. he had some personal problems, nothing that bothered you too much. he just decided to play a prank on you during potions, and apparently haewon doesn’t take easy people stealing her cauldrons.
although you could swear she once let a park like that pass by with students from her own house? never mind that.
something at the path before you shined a little in the light from the lamp. you squinted your eyes, spotting the little horn of the unicorn peeking out.
“is that it..?” you asked softly.
“take a wild guess, l/n.”
you rolled your eyes and took a step closer, not minding the slytherin. one hand holding your wand, you reached the other in your pocket to look for the glass vial. behind you, you could hear haewon complaining quietly as she followed you.
a small shiver went down your spine.
“is it just me, or did it get colder all of a sudden?” you asked in a whisper tone.
“…i feel that too.” that wasn’t reassuring.
you finally stood above the body of the unicorn. you looked at the creature with pity as you slowly kneeled down. “keep the light above me, okay oh?”
as you leaned over the unicorn, you noticed the mist coming from your mouth.
“why is it so cold…?” you asked yourself, but then a sudden push made you fall to your side. the vial you were about to collect the blood in broke in your hand, the small shards prickling at your skin.
you were about to turn to yell at haewon for pushing you, when you noticed what made her react that way.
dementors.
her eyes meet yours just as you noticed the danger in front of you.
“they came here because of the smell..” she whispered, holding the eye contact. “i’m gonna need you to run.”
“what?”
she held up her wand, breaking the staring contest. “run!”
(⋆._.)⊃▁⛥⌒*゚.❉・゜・。.
the next couple minutes were a blur. you know you ran through the forest, calling for jongyeon. you must’ve found her at some point, because then you remembered her running with you to where you left the slytherin.
you definitely found her, but what state was she in?
you fidgeted with the bandage wrapped around your hand. you were now in the medical wing. miss yoo miraculously wasn’t fired when she brought the two of you back to the castle in the early hours of the morning, yet now you were alone again, sitting on the slytherin’s hospital bed. she hasn’t woken up yet.
as you looked at her battered face, you could feel the guilt eating you up. she told you to run, but would she be better if you stayed to help?
she stirred a little, making you look at her face. a small groan slipped from her lips before her eyes made contact with you.
“…l/n?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
you immediately stood up and walked to her bedside table, handing her a glass of water that stood there. haewon nodded her head gratefully and sipped the drink.
“why are you here?” she asked finally, her tone still a bit groggy. her eyes landed on the bandage wrapped around your palm. “oh no, you’re hurt…”
a soft chuckle slipped past your lips. “you’re the one saying that?”
a grin broke out on her face. “i look terrible, dont i?”
“no… not at all..” your hand slowly itched to her own. “you told me to run… why?”
“i didn’t want you getting hurt.” she shrugged.
“but you got hurt. and we’re… enemies..?”
the smile remained on her face. “if we really were enemies, i’d let that gryffindor pour my cauldron on you.”
you could feel your cheeks heat up slightly. “w-what?”
“what you gonna do now that i told you?” her grin widens.
“what should i do?”
“you can start by kissing me.”
(⋆._.)⊃▁⛥⌒*゚.❉・゜・。.
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tried-my-hardest · 2 years
Text
Passing Stars || A Newt Scamander Imagine
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Pairing: Newt Scamander x Reader (Gender + House Neutral)
Summary: It's your third year at Hogwarts, and you can't help but notice the cute guy in Creature Care. So, what's your next move?
Word Count: 4342
A teeny, tiny disclaimer! I don't... know how imagines work... so apologies if this seems like a self-indulgent fic because well, at this point it is. But I'm open to writing anything (that's reasonable, of course) so please don't be afraid to request something! I'd love to go as in detail with your request as I did with this little story, perhaps even more in-depth! It's pretty much up to you :) Now, Enjoy!
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You were never a fan of the way they presented people’s houses. They were loud, obnoxious, and worst of all, embarrassing. You dreaded watching people getting sorted into houses, the lackluster applause when someone was sorted into Slytherin, and the unparalleled favoritism when someone was sorted into Griffindor. You were judged from the very start, based on a title.
It’s your third year at Hogwarts, one you were dreading. You never made many friends during your prior years, and it didn’t feel like this year was any different. Aside from the casual friends you’d made in classes like Charms, Potions, and Astronomy, there wasn’t much to look forward to in terms of interaction.
That was before you walked into your “Care of Magical Creatures” class.
Professor Kettleburn stood in a clearing, surrounded by a strew of familiar faces. Faces that would probably stare at you with a blank look if you called them out by name. Which you could. You just don’t feel like getting stared at.
You were outside of the Forbidden Forest, a little too close for comfort. Your eyes watched the shadows in the forest, flickering as the wind moved the branches. It was eerie, as if something was looking back at you. You watched the forest for a while longer, settling down onto the grass like some of your peers. The professor had yet to acknowledge anyone, as he watched a separate spot of the forest. Times like this were when you wished you remembered to pack a watch, rather than leaving it on the corner of your bedstand back home.
Your fingers picked at the dirt in front of you, glad that your uniform consisted of mainly dark colors so they wouldn’t be too badly stained. The grass rustled a couple of feet from you as another student sat in the grass. You watched them out of the corner of your eye, curiosity lingering in the back of your mind.
His hair ran over his eyes, a jumble of messy brown locks atop his head. His face was covered in freckles that made random patterns along his face. His eyes darted towards you for a second before he straightened and resumed watching the forest. You smiled, his frightened nature endearing in a way. 
You scooted over, your socks picking up random dirt along the way. You paid it no mind, stopping once you sat next to your target. 
“Isn’t the forest mysterious?” You spoke, startling him once more. You laughed, quickly covered by a cough. He nodded meekly, seeming to curl in on himself. You waited a few more seconds before realizing he wouldn’t speak unless you prompted it.
“Newt, right? Newt,” You pause, trying to remember his last name. Yet with each passing second of awkward stuttering, you slowly stop talking and swallow harshly. You clench a fist, groaning internally at what a fool you are to forget someone’s last name, right to their face.
“Scamander.” You look at Newt, his face a bright red. You light up, happy to get a response. “Scamander! That’s- It was on the tip of my tongue, I tell you,” You chuckle, rapping your knuckles on your sides. 
“I’m (y/n). (y/n) (l/n),” You watched him smile, looking at you once more and darting his eyes away. The wind blew past the both of you, people’s voices rising around you. You turned around with an eyebrow raised. People were talking amongst themselves, at a considerable distance from you and Newt, may you add. They were all staring at the Professor intermittently, who’s now produced a notebook and is furiously scribbling into it.
You turned back around, clicking your tongue. “So… why are you taking this class?
Newt nodded slowly, shrugging. You watched him, waiting for a reply. He stared at the ground for a little too long for comfort, but you held onto the hope for a response. Your gaze drifted back to the chatter behind you, everyone’s conversations coming with relative ease. Well, of course, they’ve known each other for the better part of two years at this point. They had good social skills, skills you had yet to acquire. It’s no wonder that Newt would barely talk to-
“I l-like magical creatures. They’re f…fascinating.” Newt stuttered his way through the sentence, all while keeping his face a beet-red as he stared at the ground. You laughed, bumping your shoulders together. 
“Well, to each his own. I just picked this class cause in all fairness, who wants to take muggle studies?” You shudder in mock horror, pulling your knees to your chest as the wind delivers a chill down your spine. Newt laughed softly, his deathlike grip on his robes loosened, perhaps a sign that he was warming up to you.
He opened his mouth before he was interrupted by a book slamming. You turned around to find Professor Kettleburn staring at the class, his finger on his lip. “Everyone, stay completely still.” You froze, the wind ruffling your tie in the breeze. Your eyes followed Kettleburn as he jumped into a series of random, jerky movements. His hair flipped around, whilst his robes hung off of his shoulders, falling faster with each action. You caught a glance at a mess of greens in Kettleburn’s non-human hand as he extended it into the empty clearing. 
Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats, leaning in to see what he could be feeding. People gasped once they saw Kettleburn’s metal fingers pried apart. A small grey creature revealed itself from thin air, its eyes fixated on the food in front of it. You look back to Newt, whose eyes were open wide in amazement. 
You smiled, turning back to watch Kettleburn swoop the creature into his arms, cradling it like a baby as it ate. He turned to the class, a broad smile on his face. “Now, can anyone tell me what the name of this creature is?”
Immediately, you saw Newt’s hand raise. No one else bothered, too fixated on the strange animal in front of them. 
“Ah, yes, Mr. Scamander?”
“It’s a Demiguise! Ah- Sir,” He corrected himself quickly, looking back at the ground once more. You felt some kids around you bristle, someone coughed ‘Nerd’ somewhere to your left. You shot the area a dirty look, but the professor paid them no attention.
“Correct, Mr. Scamander! This, my students, is the rare Demiguise. It is highly reveled in many communities, mainly for its fur and ability for precognitive sight, or as you all know it, predicting the future.” He smiled, the ecstatic grin on his face looking menacing with the odd mustache he wore.
“Fur?” You mumbled, tilting your head in confusion.
“They can make invisibility cloaks. Or- so I’ve r-read.” Newt whispered behind you, coughing to cover the sound of his stuttering. You turned around to smile at him, leaning in slightly. 
“So you’ve read?” You whispered back, raising an eyebrow in slight amusement. Newt flushed even harder than he had already been prior and began to pull at his tie.
“I told you, I- Uh, I really like m-magical creatures.”
He smiled at you, and you smiled back. Maybe, you’d have a friend this year. 
Class ended relatively quick, maybe too quick for your liking. 
Newt lingered awkwardly, a brown satchel hung on his waist that seemed to have come out of thin air. You got to your feet, brushing off the dead grass on your uniform.
“What’s your next class?’ You inquired, walking to the nearest entrance to the school side by side with Newt. He shuffled a crumpled paper out of his robe pocket, pausing to smooth it out on his leg.
“Um, I think- I have Charms n-next. Yeah.” Newt smiled, pursing his lips into a tight line. You glanced at your schedule, frowning slightly. 
“I’ve got Herbology next,” You paused before the both of you walked inside Hogwarts. “You mind if I compare our schedules?’ You held a hand out and stepped aside to give other people room to walk through the doors. Newt seemed slightly worried, his hand shook as he handed the schedule to you. You took note of it but moved on to comparing the two papers. 
A glance over revealed the two of you shared multiple classes.
“Hey!” You looked up, smiling. “We’ve got Defense Against The Dark Arts, Potions, and Astronomy together! How about that?”
Newt looked slightly shocked, stunned even, but smiled nonetheless. “That’s- great!” He stuck his hands in his pocket, rocking back and forth. You folded the papers back up, handing his schedule back. He nodded, heading inside. Some small talk later and you parted ways, the moving stairs taking the green-eyed boy from your sights.
You sighed, heading to Herbology. At least you had a couple of things to look forward to today.
Lunch rolled around faster than expected, with you getting out of Transfiguration fairly unharmed. Your robes, sadly, couldn’t say the same. Charred on the edges due to the unfortunate mishap that was the Draconifors Spell. You couldn't understand the appeal of creating a bunch of little dragons that wanted to eat your fingers. And, burn your clothes.
You made it to the mess hall, the familiarity of sitting alone was trickling back slowly, but surely. Your eyes wandered around, before catching onto a familiar head of messy curls. Your mouth curls upwards into a coy smile. Newt, who seemed to have a sixth sense of sorts, raised his head to catch your gaze. He smiled quickly before turning back down to his food.
You slinked up behind him, dropping onto the bench next to him. You got a couple of looks from the people around you but ignored them.
“Hey! How was Charms?” Newt seemed startled that you even bothered to sit with him, much less talk to him. He shrugged, picking at his half-eaten food.
“It was decent. We uh- learned about the Cheering Charm.” You tilted your head, and as you did, Newt flicked his wand at you, muttering under his breath. You were suddenly overcome by an urge to cheer, and well, that’s exactly what you did. You got to your feet, hooting and hollering like a madman. Your eyes widened, mortification rolling over you in waves. And yet, you couldn’t stop your cheering. Everyone’s eyes turned to you in confusion, as well as some professors who had just walked into the mess hall.
As soon as the urge faded, you shut up promptly and sat back down. Your face was flushed, a tremble running through your legs despite having sat down already. You turned to Newt, an expression of shock across your face. He was smiling to himself but quickly turned serious.
“Sorry, I- I thought it would be easier to s-show rather than tell,” Newt mumbled, his quirky half smile on his face. You couldn’t stay too mad toward your new friend.
“Nah, it’s cool. Just… never do it again,” You bumped his shoulder and laughed, then reached for the nearest plate full of food. His eyes watched as ash fluttered between your shoulders, falling onto the table. Newt raised an eyebrow, as he realized your fingers were scratched and bruised.
“I- What happened there?” He pointed, his fingers brushing against yours. You both straightened at the touch and you prayed to all the gods out there that your face wasn’t a bright red.
“Oh, you know. Transfiguration and uh, mini-dragons.” You wiggled your eyebrows, taking a bite out of your lunch. 
Newt nodded along as if mini-dragons weren’t out of the ordinary for him. “You know, (y/n), I’ve got some band-aids somewhere. I could… give you some. If you wanted,” He coughed, rubbing his forearm.  
“I’d love that, Newt!” You exclaimed cheerfully, as Newt began to ruffle through his bag. He produced a few spare bandaids, with little designs on a few. You pulled them closer to you, realizing they weren’t designs, rather, they were drawings of magical creatures. A little crude and simplistic but they were recognizable nonetheless.
“My mom, uh, she drew these. Just something to get me through my day and stuff. That one’s my favorite,” Newt pointed to a drawing of a Bowtruckle, a creature you’ve only seen in books. Your smile widens discreetly as Newt fidgets with the band-aid. It was kinda adorable watching Newt gush over creatures, even if he’d only done it a couple of times with you. Still cute nonetheless.
At this point Newt is watching you, his lips parted with a slight airiness to him. You say to him, “Is there something on my face?” while gesturing to your mouth. He shakes his head, tapping the table.
“Which one do you… want?” You look at the doodled on band-aids, before looking back at Newt.
“Whichever one you think looks best,” You say, hoping he chooses something nice. He does, in fact, and picks up the Bowtruckle one. He holds it out, expecting you to take it, but you instead wave your fingers around.
“You don’t expect me to put it on, do you? I’m so clearly eating!” You gasp in fake outrage, while your plate goes mostly untouched. Newt turned red, mumbling an apology as he grabbed your hand hurriedly. He jumped as if realizing how fast he grabbed your hand, but kept a firm grip on you as he applied the band-aid. The bandaid goes over your fingers like a little ring you could look at all day. You make a mental note to treasure the band-aid forever.
Newt finishes wrapping it, his hands lingering on yours for a few seconds. You almost sigh once he takes them back and places them in his lap. He’s really too nice to you.
You realized that most of the students around you are filtering out slowly. Your eyes look around the room, and it seems as if the next class is starting, really soon in fact. Newt caught onto it as well, and the pair of you start cleaning up.
“Don’t we have the next couple of periods together?” You handed Newt the rest of his bandaids, his hands soft compared with yours. 
“Um, mostly. I’ve got a free period while you have History of Magic,” You pause, your eyebrows raised as Newt waited for you to get up.
“I- uh, got a look at your schedule earlier.” He offered up, smiling as you both walked towards Potions.
“Aw, well, don’t get too happy. You’ve still gotta see this face for two more classes,” You gesture to yourself, smiling, and in turn, almost run into a wall. Newt holds back a small laugh before straightening up. You grumble, pushing him softly.
“Not funny.”
“I beg to differ.”
Potions passed by without a hitch, especially since Newt is your partner. The both of you made a good pair, aside from when you tripped over air and almost knocked Newt down as well. He laughed it off but you still felt guilty. 
He walked you to your History of Magic classroom, as you coaxed him to ramble about his other classes. You learned some more about Newt on that walk, a happy feeling bubbling to your chest as he divulged more to you. You learned that his brother’s name was Theseus and that he loved the color green. You learned that you weren’t his first friend at Hogwarts but had already made it onto his list of tolerable people. You scoffed at that, proclaiming that you’d make it onto a better list in due time. Newt assured you that it looked like it was heading that way. You spent the rest of the walk in awkward silence, wishing each other goodbye as you reached your class.
History of Magic couldn’t have gone by slower, especially with your teacher’s mundane voice. You breathed a sigh of relief as your class was dismissed. You sped out the door, realizing you and Newt had never set a plan as to where you would meet. Luckily that problem was solved as soon as it appeared.
Newt sat next to your class doorway, sleeping against the cool stone wall. You walked back to him, standing in front of him. You nudged his leg, prompting him to wake up, his eyes wide open in fear. It quickly faded as he looked up at you, worry replaced with a shy smile.
“Hey silly, you didn’t have to wait here.”
“I had the period off. Thought I’d- wait. Didn’t have anything else to do so, um-,” Newt picked at his fingers, awkwardness threatening to seem back into the conversation. 
“I- That was really sweet of you Newt. Honestly,” You offered him a hand, and he took it graciously. You hoisted him up and helped him pick his stuff off the ground.
“Ah, thanks (y/n),” The pair of you headed down to Defense Against The Dark Arts together, joking around.
As it turns out, Newt is really good at Defense Against The Dark Arts. Like, to an almost unfunny degree. You watched him in class, amazed as he completed task after task without a hitch. As he began to pack his things up, you leaned in to whisper, “Holy crap. When were you going to reveal you were an actual god at this?”
He just laughed you off, pulling at his tie. 
“I- I’m not a god. It just makes. Sense,” You nodded along as if you understood what he meant.
After class, you hung around for a little to finish writing some notes. Newt had been the only one to write comprehensible notes between the two of you, and you’d promised yourself you weren’t going to fail Charms as badly as you did last year.
“You think we could just… skip Astronomy?” Newt mumbled as you scribbled down words. You looked up, dumbfounded, pausing your writing to give Newt a wide-eyed stare.
“Did you just ask to- skip class? Who are you? And what have you done to Newt?” You point a finger at him accusingly, his face turning a bright red.
“I-! I just don’t like Astronomy that much. It’s- It’s not my cup of tea,” You still couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Out of all the classes, the one about space, space, is the one your new friend doesn’t like.
“Newt, you’re killing me here,” You groan, shoving your notes into a bag. Then the two of you proceed to haul ass to Astronomy.
The next couple of weeks went swimmingly, much to your delight. Your grades are up in classes, and you’ve grown considerably close to a certain green-eyed boy. You spent nearly every day together, he helped you with Defense Against The Dark Arts and Creature Care, and you kept him from jumping off the nearest tower because of Astronomy. Which was pretty easy, Newt just didn’t have the attention span to sit and stare at “dots in the sky,” as he so lovingly put it.
You found yourself drawn to him regardless. There was truly something about him. Maybe it was the way he’d laugh at your poorly constructed jokes, Maybe it was the way he’d cheer up when you sat next to him, his smile making the sun pale in comparison. Or maybe it was the way your fingers would brush against his, and he’d jump as if he’d seen a ghost, only to realize it was just you. Then he’d push his hand closer to yours, right until your hands were side by side. 
There was a warm feeling in the pit of your stomach that you couldn’t explain, and it grew hotter when Newt was near. How you longed to chase that fiery feeling, put his lips against your own, hand in your hand.
But perhaps it would just be your little fantasy, nothing more.
You sat criss-cross on the stone floor of the Astronomy “classroom”. It was just a secluded area on a castle tower, without any kind of roof. There, your class would learn about stars while the late autumn winds pulled at your robes, tangling your ties. Newt was next to you, mirroring your seating position. His knees touched yours but neither of you felt like moving. The Astronomy professor was wrapping up class right about then, explaining your homework for the night. You leaned into Newt, his soft hair tickling your nose as you did. 
“Hey, Newt,” You whispered, taking your fingers and walking them down your leg. He hummed back in response, his eyes flickering to your fingers as they moved about.
“You wanna do something fun later?”
He gave you a side eye, a tired expression on his face. A couple of weeks with you, and you showed him just exactly what “fun” meant to you.
“If this fun activity involves sneaking out again, I think I’m going to pass (y/n).”
You groan, flopping your head onto his shoulder. You felt him tense underneath you, a sign that he was trying his hardest not to give into you.
“But I’ve got to show you something. Please? Pretty please?” You nudged him, causing him to exhale loudly. He brushed you off, an amused look on his face. “Alright. But if we get caught, you’re taking the blame,” He smiled his lopsided grin, pushing you playfully.
“Why, of course,” You shot back, an even bigger grin on your face.
Sneaking out after curfew was like second nature to you and Newt at this point. He’d been dragged along with you too many times to count that he’d picked up on your little tricks. The two of you tip-toed around the castle, Newt following you blindly as you still hadn’t explained where you were going.
“(y/n), you seriously can’t do this to me! Come on, where are we going?” He begged, making sure to keep his voice down. You kept quiet though, his pleas falling on deaf ears.
The two of you eventually reached your destination, the Astronomy tower. You turned back to Newt, whose face had fallen as he realized where the two of you were.
“Are you kidding me? (y/n), if this is your idea of a joke-” You stopped his ranting by grabbing his wrist and pulling him onto the floor. He tumbled awkwardly, and you winced, whispering an apology.
“Alright, I know you hate stars but, I’m a big fan of second chances. And you, my good sir, are the proud owner of a second chance tonight.” You pat the ground next to you as you lay down on the cold stone. The two of you had changed out of your uniforms, wearing casual sleeping clothes. The weather was nice tonight, with +a warm breeze blowing around the two of you.
Newt laid down next to you, his uninterested eyes panning across the vast sky.
“All I see is a whole lot of sky. Not really anything worth getting in trouble for.”
You scoffed, rolling your eyes. You and Newt were a couple of inches apart, yet you prayed he couldn’t feel the heat radiating off of you in waves.
“I wanted to show you this constellation. It uh- it kinda reminded me of us,” Newt stayed quiet as he watched you lift your wand. You recited a spell you had memorized just a few hours prior, and to your surprise, it worked. A glowing light emitted from your wand, silky strands of white floated over your heads and arranged themselves in a pattern.
“See, the spell is supposed to show you a constellation. It shapes it out so everyone can see it,” You whispered, the dull light shining across your face.
Soon, it stopped in your desired form. Newt coughed uneasily, rubbing his nose. 
“Uh, what’s it supposed to be?”
“It’s Andromeda and Perseus. They’re part of an old Greek myth,” You murmured, your eyes entranced by the figure above you.
“He saved her from a sea monster, you know. She was supposed to be a human sacrifice to the monster, but he came in and saved her, and her people. They got married soon after, and had a girl.”
“Cassiopeia,” Newt muttered, his voice soft and quiet. You turned your head over to him, and he did the same. 
“What? I’m quite brushed up on Greek Mythology, I’ll have you know. Still doesn’t explain why you dragged me out here though,” He trailed off, a hard look in his eyes.
“Well, I just thought it was … romantic. Something for us to look at together, or something,” You shut your eyes in embarrassment, your attempt at woo-ing Newt going a little awry.
All you heard for the next few minutes was the wind, slowly dying down, and Newt’s slow, even breathing.
You peaked an eye, wondering if your friend had fallen asleep. He hadn’t, rather, he was looking up at the sky. The spell had worn off, leaving the two of you in darkness, the only light coming from the night sky.
“I don’t think that was very romantic, (y/n). You pretty much gave me a history lesson,” A light airiness was in Newt’s voice as he mock scolded you. He lifted a hand, pointing to a cluster of stars.
“There. That’s romantic. Those stars make a little heart. You should’ve shown me that instead,” Your face flushed, as you followed Newt’s line of sight. You shifted closer to him, your eyes struggling to find the simple shape.
“Newt, I don’t-,” You paused, feeling his warm hand enclose your own. You stopped speaking, your heart beating loudly in your ears. Your hand felt warm inside of Newt’s, safe. The two of you fit like puzzle pieces, finishing that grand picture. Your world spun, everything slowing and suddenly feeling right. This felt right. Newt felt right.
“(y/n), are you still having trouble finding it?” Newt’s voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it echoed in your skull.
“No, Newt. I think I found it. And you’re right, it’s much more romantic,” He smiled, squeezing your hand. And you smiled back, because it felt right.
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m1ckeyb3rry · 3 months
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Pomegranate Ink: XXII
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Series Synopsis: Unable to heal but willing to fight, with a fiancé in Kyoto and a last name that looms over everything you do, you accept an offer to study at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. What you did not know was that your salvation and your ruination alike would soon join you at the school, neatly wrapped in the form of a boy followed by death.
Chapter Synopsis: Your second exchange event goes awry when one of the disaster curses makes an appearance.
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Series Masterlist
Pairing: Yuta Okkotsu × Female Reader
Chapter Word Count: 6.8k
Content Warnings: angst, misogyny, naoya zenin, forbidden relationships, canon-typical violence, character death, original characters included
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A/N: me when i’m in a “accidentally giving two best friends the most romantic storyline” competition but my opponent is tumblr user m1ckeyb3rry writing pomegranate ink
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You all took off into the forest at full sprint, with Maki and Itadori naturally pulling ahead of the rest of you. Clapping his hands together, Megumi summoned Divine Dog Black, who manifested with a unearthly howl. It effortlessly charged forward, nose raised in the air, testing it for the scent of the Grade 2 curse which had been released into the forest. This was the advantage of having more teammates than just Yuta — you weren’t responsible for nearly as much. Doubtless you would take advantage of your cursed signature detection, but the brunt of the tracking would be borne by the shikigami, who looked happy to do it, tail wagging as it bounded along.
At about the same time that you sensed a presence approaching, the Divine Dog barked out a warning. A grade three curse shaped vaguely like a spider dropped down in front of you, baring its fangs in an attempt to look threatening, though none of you were impressed. The Divine Dog looked proud of itself for detecting the curse, but unfortunately, it was not the curse’s signature that you felt drawing nearer.
“Watch out!” you shouted, grabbing onto Itadori’s red hood and yanking him backwards just in time. A huge fist rammed into the air where he had previously been standing, instead making contact with the grade three curse and sending it flying into a tree, where it promptly exploded from the force of the exorcism.
“Y/N L/N!” Todo thundered, pointing at you. “You owe me a fight!”
“Remember the plan!” Maki shouted.
“Sorry, Todo,” you called over your shoulder as you veered around him. “You’ll have to deal with him first!”
You split up into your predetermined groups, with Toge, Panda, and Nobara going in one direction as Maki and Megumi went the other. You and Tullia continued forwards, though you did turn your head, craning your neck to catch one last glimpse of Maki.
She locked eyes with you, and you tried your best to communicate to her with just that single glance what you wanted to say. Please. I will tell you everything when I can. Please don’t be hurt. Please know that you are my best friend. Something like that. If anyone could understand you from just one look, it had to be her, so you prayed that that was enough.
You couldn’t be sure, though. She rounded the corner before you were able to tell. Gradually, Toge, Nobara, and even Panda’s heavy footsteps faded as well, leaving you and Tullia truly alone. Reaching out with your cursed signature detection, you felt nothing, so you motioned for her to slow down.
“There’s no point in wasting energy,” you said. “There aren’t any curses or students in the immediate vicinity, so let’s slow down until we can pick where we want to go next.”
“Got it. How do we pick? Want me to close my eyes, spin, and point?” Tullia said.
“No,” you said. “I’ll be the one closing my eyes, and stealing some of your cursed energy while I’m at it. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. I’ll keep my eyes peeled in the meantime, just in case, though you know I won’t be much help while you’re borrowing my energy,” she said.
“It won’t be too much. I don’t need to use Composition; rather, I’m using your power to broaden the range of my cursed signature detection,” you said. Her mouth made a small ‘o’ of acknowledgement.
“Makes sense. Good luck!” she said.
You screwed your eyes shut, firstly reaching out for the other presence that was constantly intertwined with yours. It was the core of Tullia’s cursed technique, dancing alongside your own — in tandem for now, until you dipped your hand into it, siphoning it off bit by bit and letting it pour into your own self. It took a moment, but then there was a sudden surge of strength in your veins as the newfound source of power rushed through them.
Taking a deep breath, you widened the area of your cursed signature detection — which was really just an application of Dissection but supremely simplified — and searched the entire forest for the students. They were your biggest threat; although any of your classmates could handle a Grade 2 curse, you knew that some of the Kyoto students might pose some trouble to them, especially if they had teamed up.
Immediately, though, you noticed something curious. Towards the east were the signatures of Megumi and Divine Dog Black, and to the west were Toge, Panda, and Nobara, but for some reason, all of the Kyoto students’ signatures were concentrated near where you all, the Tokyo students, had begun the event. That is to say, all of the Kyoto students and —
“Itadori!” you gasped. “They’re trying to kill Itadori!”
“What?” Tullia said, voice trembling as she pressed a handkerchief to her nose, red overtaking the white of the fabric. Her face was pale and sweaty, but she smiled bravely at you, a reassurance that she was doing fine even if she looked the opposite. Inside, you felt her cursed energy thrum, rallying as she took a sip from the water bottle full of bleach she had brought with her, reinforcing her facade.
“Are you okay?” you said anyways. You often suspected that lending you her energy took a greater toll on Tullia than she’d ever admit to, but whenever any of you — Ieri, Gojo, or you yourself — asked, she denied it profusely. This time was much the same, as she shook her head, balling up the handkerchief and shoving it back in the small backpack she carried with her.
“I’m not the one you should be worrying about right now. What do you mean, they’re trying to kill Itadori? How can you tell?” she said.
“It’s only a hunch, but what other reason would all of the Kyoto students have to be gathered around him? That’s where they’re all located, by the way, and why we haven’t run into any of them despite how proactively they sabotaged us during the last exchange event,” you said.
“Why, though? He’s such a sweet boy!” Tullia said.
“Tullia,” you said incredulously. “You know, I really admire you for getting to know someone like that, but did you forget that he’s literally Sukuna’s vessel? It’s not a surprise that they want to kill him.”
“But killing is forbidden in the challenge. The only objective is to hunt down the curse,” she said.
“Oh, they’re hunting down a curse alright,” you said, pulling out your phone and swearing loudly when calling Noritoshi sent you straight to voicemail, further confirming your suspicions. “Just not the one that was released for us to exorcise.”
“They really see him like that?” she said. You sighed.
“Of course they do. Or maybe it’s just that it doesn’t matter to them; at any rate, I know Noritoshi is the dutiful type. I wouldn’t put it past Principal Gakuganji to ask him to do something like that, and if the principal demanded it, then he’d definitely oblige. And the rest of the Kyoto students would probably follow his lead, so that’s just as likely of an explanation,” you said.
“I can’t believe they’re all ganging up on him,” Tullia said. “That’s ridiculous, and cowardly.”
“No, not necessarily all of them,” you said, allowing yourself to smile fondly. “There’s one that might even take a liking to him. If it’s like that, then he’ll only have to prove himself once, and that’ll be enough. The others will leave him alone then, too.”
“Todo?” Tullia guessed. You nodded.
“He’s that sort,” you said. “If Todo decides he likes Itadori, then it’s just up to Itadori to prove himself worthy of standing beside him and fighting. Whether he fails or succeeds is a different matter entirely, but I know Todo won’t let the others interfere in the process. That’s the scenario we should be hoping for.”
“What should we do in the meantime, then?” Tullia said. “How far are we from Itadori? If you take on Todo, we should be able to deal with the others. Tell me which way so that we can get to him as fast as possible! That would be the best case scenario, right?”
“No,” you said. It was a split-second decision, but you made it and hoped that your instinct was correct. This time, it was Tullia’s turn to give you an aghast look.
“You’re seriously going to leave him to die?” she said.
“Of course not,” you said. “I can guarantee you that Megumi and Panda, at least, have come to similar conclusions as us, just based on how peaceful the forest is at the moment. Megumi won’t leave Itadori to fight on his own, that’s for sure, and Maki will definitely support him in that. Panda always makes good judgments, so I’m certain he’ll split up their group, with him and, if I had to guess, Nobara heading to Itadori’s defense, while Toge, the higher ranked of the group, continues to search for the second grade curse. Just like we will.”
“With Megumi, Maki, Panda, and Nobara there to help him, they should be able to handle things,” Tullia agreed. “But why should we focus on the event? Doesn’t it kind of take a backseat to something like this?”
“Normally, I’d agree. Even now, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to seemingly abandon him like this; however, leaving him behind and searching for the target is actually the best thing we can do at this point. Think about it: once we kill that curse, the challenge is over. If we do it quickly enough, then they won’t even get the chance to kill Itadori. Furthermore, we can then confer with Gojo about our suspicions and figure out what to do next,” you said.
“I get it now!” Tullia said. “No wonder you’re a Grade 1 sorcerer, Y/N. You’ve got this stuff figured out.”
“Thank you. It’s really just practice, though — you remember how many missions I had to go on as a Semi-Grade 1? Those were the worst few months of my life. I had to get better at reading and adapting to situations in the moment just because if I didn’t, people would die,” you said, shuddering at just the memory of how many odd missions you had been sent on. You thought it was a little cruel that the majority of difficult assignments were actually given to Semi-Grade 1 sorcerers instead of the Grade 1s, but it made sense; after all, once a sorcerer attained the rank of Grade 1, they had weight behind their name. They could make decisions and choose what they did and didn’t do, with the power and status to reinforce those decisions, but the same could not be said for Semi-Grade 1 sorcerers, who were chasing their recommendations and therefore willingly accepted whichever missions came their way.
“I’ll be on your level one day,” she said. “You can count on it.”
“I believe you,” you said. “I don’t think you’re too far off, either. If you do well enough during this event, you’ll definitely get your initial recommendations in.”
“Right! Then let’s get the curse exorcised!” she said, clenching her fist, determination blazing in her eyes. You patted her on the shoulder.
“Yes,” you said. “Let’s do that.”
Just then, a shout resounded through the entire forest. Birds flew out of the trees in alarm, and it genuinely reverberated in your bones from its depth and volume, though you knew that its origin was somewhere far from where you currently were. Though it definitely sounded like something concerning, the voice made you grin widely.
“Wrong!”
“What was that?” Tullia said, literally jumping in surprise. You laughed.
“That,” you said, some of your worry easing at the development, “was Todo. He’s taken Itadori under his wing, alright; it seems like he’ll be okay for now, as long as he can keep up with Todo’s nonsense.”
“Great!” Tullia said. “Though, doesn’t that mean that the rest of the Kyoto students—?”
“—are free to do as we please? Yes, it’s true,” a musical voice said. Before Tullia could react, there was a shrill whistle piercing the air, and then a rope slithered through the underbrush, wrapping around her ankles and pulling her down to the ground.
“Elakshi,” you greeted, tossing a needle at the rope which whipped towards you. Though it wasn’t a human, it was still an object imbued with cursed energy, much like Momo’s broom had been. Therefore, Dissection worked perfectly fine on it, showing its weak spots and allowing you to destroy the entire thing in one hit.
“Hello, Y/N, Tullia,” she said, revealing herself from where she had been hiding in the trees. In the meantime and along with much angered muttering, Tullia managed to untie the rope from around her ankle, staggering to her feet and stomping on it irritation before kicking it away.
“We both know you aren’t a match for me,” you said. “So why’d they send you after us? I thought for sure that Noritoshi would come himself.”
“Noritoshi is otherwise preoccupied,” Elakshi said evenly. You noticed that in the time she had been in Kyoto, her accent had grown thinner, though it would likely completely leave her. This made you strangely proud of her. If her accent was the only thing she had left of who she had been once and where had come from, then you hoped she never got rid of it, that she clung onto it forever.
“Y/N, can you just beat her up?” Tullia complained. Elakshi whistled again, a low, sweet tone. The rope reared up at Tullia, but this time she was prepared, punching it out of the way in disdain. It fell to the ground once more, but Elakshi did not bother with it, instead returning her attention to me.
“What you said is indeed correct. There is no world in which I can beat you. Even Noritoshi would struggle. In this moment, in the situation we are in, you seem to be the strongest sorcerer participating in the event. You, Toge Inumaki, and Aoi Todo: those are the three that we are the most wary of,” she said.
“So Todo isn’t allied with you all,” you said. “I knew he wouldn’t be.”
“Todo isn’t a person who allies with anyone, but he also won’t fight us without reason. As long as we stay out of his way, he’s not an issue. That leaves you and Inumaki as our biggest concerns for the purpose of this event. We spent a long time thinking of ways to counter the two of you, but eventually, we figured it out,” she said.
“And what would said counters be?” Tullia snapped from the background. Elakshi rolled her eyes, whistling again at the rope, which once again tried to go after Tullia. This time, though, Tullia took a shot of bleach before grabbing the rope and ripping it in half. It wilted in her hands, and she smugly threw it into a nearby bush, brushing her hands off against her pants.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss such confidential information, but rest assured, they definitely exist,” Elakshi said.
“It has something to do with you. There’s a reason why you came instead of Noritoshi,” you guessed. She hummed in thought before shrugging mysteriously.
“Yes and no. There’s a reason it was me and not one of the others, but it could’ve been Noritoshi if he chose it to be like that. I was not jesting when I said that he was currently engaged with other tasks,” she said.
“Like killing Itadori?” Tullia guessed. This time, Elakshi did not send the rope after her just for daring to speak; instead, she pressed her lips together.
“Todo is the one handling Itadori. The person whom Noritoshi is concerned with is different, but that’s not anything that the two of you need to focus on at the moment,” she said.
“What should we focus on, then? You just seem to be talking a lot at the moment, so what’s the big deal?” Tullia said. Elakshi pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I’ll stop talking then,” she said. “Since you’re so opposed, how about I whistle instead? Would that please you more?”
“Not really,” Tullia said. “But — shit!”
Ropes descended upon the two of you, shooting out from the tree branches, rising up from the grass, wriggling out from under Elakshi’s uniform. It was like a swarm, ropes swirling everywhere and battering at you while Elakshi continued to whistle in the background, an eerie tune that grated on your nerves.
You brandished your needles, but to your surprise, most of the ropes flew past you. The ones that tried to wrap around your limbs were quickly dealt with, bursting into smithereens and then raining down on the grass like the dying embers of a fire. However, the majority of them were concentrated on Tullia, and when the storm finally ceased, all of the ropes now where Elakshi wanted them, you realized why she had targeted Tullia instead of you: Tullia didn’t have a method to completely destroy the ropes the way you did, especially not so many at once. She had clearly managed to rip apart a few of them, but they had remained under Elakshi’s control, and the result was that Tullia was totally restrained, with something resembling a noose hanging around her neck.
“If you don’t drop your needles right now, I’ll tighten it,” Elakshi said. “She’ll die.”
“You can’t kill during the exchange event,” you reminded her. She stared at you blankly.
“Don’t put me in the position to, and I won’t,” she said. You ground your teeth. Would your needles be faster than Elakshi’s whistle? Most definitely, and even if they weren’t, Tullia would probably not be choked for long enough to actually kill her before you destroyed the rope. She’d likely suffer from some injuries, but Composition would be enough to take care of those, so it was a risk worth taking. You had just about decided to throw the needles anyways when you were interrupted by Tullia clearing her throat.
“You don’t have to do that, Y/N,” she said. “You’re already a Grade 1 sorcerer, right? There’s no need for you to play the hero and save me. Let me take care of the situation; I want to look good so I can get a promotion, after all!”
“You’re fully restrained,” Elakshi said, obviously unamused. “What can you even do at this point? It would be in your best interest to ask me not to kill you or to beg Y/N to save you.”
“Those are the kind of options that a sorcerer who doesn’t aim for Grade 1 status would take! But that’s not who I am. I’m a person that’s planning to receive my initial recommendations after this event!” Tullia said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or aren’t,” Elakshi said. “You can’t do anything. Accept your defeat.”
“This idea came to me earlier,” Tullia said. “After seeing Itadori. Did you know they call Sukuna the King of Poisons, too? I remembered that after looking at him, and it made me think…aren’t I like that, too?”
“What do you mean?” Elakshi said. The corners of Tullia’s mouth curled upwards, but the expression she was donning could not in any world be considered a smile. Biting your lip, you tucked your needles away and bowed your head at her in acknowledgement. If she wanted it this badly, and if she was really so confident that she could beat Elakshi, then it’d be unfair of you to take the chance from her.
“I used to think that the poison I drank was converted directly into cursed energy, but now I don’t believe that that’s the case. For me, poison is a stimulant, something that drives my body’s cursed energy production into overdrive. It can’t harm me for that reason,” she said.
“Get on with it,” Elakshi said. It was clear that she wanted to tighten the noose and be done with the affair, but then she’d have to contend with you, and that was a fight she wasn’t willing to risk, even with the knowledge of whatever weakness of yours that the Kyoto students had discovered.
“That doesn’t mean it leaves me, though,” Tullia said. “It lingers in my body. Again, it doesn’t harm me, but don’t you think that it’d harm someone else? Something else?”
Elakshi’s eyes widened, and she extended her hand as if to stop Tullia. Belatedly, she remembered to whistle, and it was a high-pitched, panicked sound, but it didn’t matter. Tullia had already bit down on her lip, and blood began to flow from her mouth, first in little droplets and then all at once, streaming down her chin and sizzling when it landed on the ropes, reacting with their latent cursed energy and eating away at them until they dissolved into nothingness, leaving Tullia entirely free to move once more.
“No,” Elakshi whispered, now entirely defenseless and facing off against not one but two fully armed sorcerers. “No!”
She whistled again, and the pieces of rope Tullia had discarded in the bush earlier slunk out from it. You prepared to defend yourself, as did Tullia, but it seemed that this time, you two were not the target of the ropes — Elakshi herself was.
“What are you doing?” you said in alarm as she began to choke, the ropes growing tighter and tighter around her neck. “Elakshi, what are you doing to yourself?”
“Seeing if Noritoshi was right,” she wheezed out, coughing dryly from a lack of oxygen. You and Tullia could only watch in horror as she cut off her own air supply until eventually, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed, the ropes falling limp beside her.
“What the hell?” Tullia said. “Why did she do that?”
“I don’t know,” you said. “I’m trying to think, but I genuinely can’t understand why she’d choose to do such a thing.”
“Maybe she just wanted to go out on her own terms instead of ours. I guess it doesn’t matter; if she’s out, she’s out. Do we just leave her here and move on?” Tullia said.
“Let’s heal her first. Neck injuries are no joke, and she should be dazed enough that I can paralyze her with a needle before she thinks to fight back,” you said. “Oh, also, nice job with the blood thing! That was really clever, though I am a little confused. Why doesn’t your blood react with everything like that? Your handkerchiefs, your clothes, why don’t any of those dissolve like those ropes did?”
“It was a wager that I made,” Tullia said. “I didn’t explain it fully. The lingering poison in my bloodstream is closer to cursed energy than anything, as an after-effect of encountering my cursed technique, so I bet that it only reacts to things that also have cursed energy, and even then, only when they were actively using cursed energy — so, like, a sorcerer wouldn’t be impacted unless they were in the immediate process of using their technique or something. I guess my bet paid off!”
“I’d say so. That was definitely good thinking, Tullia, congratulations,” you said. She gave you a thumbs up.
“Thanks! Alright, if you’re planning on using Composition on her, then just know that I’ll be weaker for a bit. It’ll be my second time lending you my cursed energy with not so long in between the instances, so even though I can drink poison to replenish myself, it’ll probably still leave me drained for a bit,” she said.
“I don’t detect any curses or sorcerers in the vicinity, so we should be okay. Once I’ve healed and paralyzed Elakshi, we just have to exorcise the target curse. It won’t be hard for me, so I’ll get it done and then buy you pizza while you relax and recover in bed,” you said.
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Tullia said, sitting criss-cross on the ground and motioning towards Elakshi. “Whenever you’re ready.”
You knelt by the fallen sorcerer, rolling your shoulders in preparation and then once again seeking out Tullia’s cursed energy. It was there in an instant, and you swallowed before scanning over Elakshi’s body, focusing especially on her throat.
“Composition,” you said. There was a thud as Tullia hit the ground; you must’ve stolen more energy than you had originally anticipated, or maybe she was just that spent. You vowed to heal Elakshi as quickly as possible and set out to do just that, but you soon realized something was wrong: for some reason, despite the fact that you had literally watched her choke herself to unconsciousness, your technique was insisting that there was nothing wrong with her.
A twitch of Elakshi’s lips was all the warning you got before her eyes flew open and she whistled with an ear splitting intensity. The ropes she had choked herself with — no, feigned choking herself with — moved too fast for the eye to see, and by the time you thought to react, they were already wrapped around your hands, binding them together behind your back, your needles out of reach.
“You bluffed,” you said. “That whole thing was just an act.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’m not the sacrificial type anymore. It only worked because we knew you so well, though; at any rate, I was hoping you’d be paired up with that other Zenin girl, but I guess that in a pinch, Tullia and I work.”
“What do you mean? Are you talking about my weakness or whatever?” you said, struggling against your bonds, though it was in vain.
“You haven’t figured it out yet? Well, I can hardly blame you. People tend to be blinder when it comes to recognizing their own flaws,” she said. “Say, do you think I’ll be recommended for promotion now, too? I’ve restrained a Grade 1 sorcerer. I think that’s pretty promotion worthy.”
“I’m going to tell Gojo to levitate outside of your window without his blindfold tonight,” you muttered rebelliously. “I hope you stare into his absurdly blue eyes and feel true fear.”
“Let her go!” Tullia said, though she was obviously a little woozy, stumbling as she ran towards Elakshi.
“Sit down,” you said to her. “You need to recover. I might be out for the count, but you can still fight if you drink some poison and let yourself rest.”
“That’s true, she is still a threat,” Elakshi said, looking at Tullia before clicking her tongue. “It’s fine, though. She won’t recover in time. As long as you’re no longer a viable player, Y/N, Kyoto will win.”
You went to argue in defense of your classmates, but just then, a dark veil began to creep over the sky. You furrowed your brow, giving Elakshi a worried look. She was staring at the sky, obviously just as confused as you were.
“As someone who participated in the event last year, I can say with full confidence that that’s not supposed to be there,” you said.
“Who could possibly be putting down a veil at this moment?” Elakshi said.
“I know it seems counterintuitive, but you have to let me go now. I don’t know what this whole veil thing is about, but if you have me restrained like this, then you’re seriously jeopardizing everybody in the forest. If someone has hijacked the event, then I need to get to Todo and coordinate a plan to take them out,” you said. You thought it might take more convincing, but Elakshi was sensible enough to let her ropes fall away in an instant, leaving you free to move around once again. You flexed your wrists before looking up at the sky, your mind working overtime to figure out what the likely explanation was.
Like a punch to your stomach, you felt an enormously malevolent presence enter the area of the veil. There was only one type of being that emitted that kind of aura: the disaster curses that you and Gojo had encountered. Your nails dug into the soft skin of your palm, forming crescent moons in the skin, and you shifted from foot to foot at the development.
It had to be the work of the spy. They must’ve informed the curses that you all would be alone in the forest like this, away from the safety of the teachers’ protection. Gojo was all of the way in the faculty building, which meant that he might not even know what was happening — you weren’t sure if Mei Mei’s crows worked through veils, so there was a real chance that he was in the dark. That meant that this was the ideal moment for the curses to strike, and it also supported your earlier assessment.
“Elakshi,” you said. “Take Tullia and get out of here. Forget about the event, just get out of the veil and take her to Ieri if possible.”
“What about you?” she said.
“Whoever put this veil up is working with special-grade curses, one of which is inside the veil at this very moment. Because of the veil, it’s not a guarantee that the faculty knows what’s going on, which means that as of this moment, Todo and I are the highest ranked sorcerers aware of what’s happening. That means it’s my responsibility to take care of everyone. I have to hold this curse off until help can arrive,” you said.
“By help, do you mean Gojo?” Elakshi said, at first trying to get Tullia to lean against her but then giving up and picking her up, carrying her bridal style.
“Yes, he’s the only one who can certainly deal with this,” you said.
“I’ll try to reach him first, then,” she said.
“Sounds like a plan. Be safe. Avoid combat at all costs; this is not an opponent you can fight alone and win against,” you said.
“Understood. You be safe, too,” she said. “Don’t let your weakness make you lose again.”
“I’ll do my best,” you said, even though you still couldn’t understand what that weakness could possibly be. There was no time for further chitchat, though. Without another second to waste, the two of you took off in opposite directions, her towards the exit of the forest and you towards the river where you sensed Megumi facing off against the special grade curse.
It wasn’t the volcano-headed one, that was for sure, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t powerful. And was Megumi fighting it alone? No, there was no way he was. Maki was definitely with him, but you just couldn’t sense her due to her lack of cursed energy. She wouldn’t have abandoned Megumi, and she was fine. She had to be fine. There was no way she wasn’t.
Still, the mere chance that she might not be was enough to push you further, faster, until you were bursting out of the forest and skidding in the slick mud of the riverbank. Both Maki and Megumi did not even notice your arrival, so focused were they on fighting the enormous humanoid curse with the branches for eyes, but the tension left you as you saw that Maki was alright.
The curse must have been the one Gojo and Itadori had encountered the other day, the one who had saved the volcano-head at the last minute. It hadn’t attacked them, only run away with its accomplice, but that only meant that it was theoretically capable of anything, that none of you were aware of what the extent of its skills and techniques were. Maki and Megumi had the upper hand for now, but how long would that last? And everyone was moving so fast that there was no way you could throw a needle, for fear of accidentally hitting one of your allies instead of the curse.
You could not hesitate, though. Even if hand-to-hand combat wasn’t your area of proficiency, you still had to try. You were the Grade 1 sorcerer; you were the one responsible for the lives of your classmates. Todo was nowhere to be found, which meant that it was really up to you. You were not allowed to let any of the others fall before you, especially not her. Especially not your best friend.
There was no one single explanation for it, at least not one that was immediately evident. Maybe Megumi faltered having to use an unfamiliar weapon, or maybe it was the splash of your boots in the current that caught them off guard; either way, for a moment, the two of them were distracted, and in that moment, the curse struck. Strange bud-like growths blossomed in Megumi’s torso, ripping his stomach open and cackling amongst themselves as they did so. He collapsed, and you inhaled, about to run towards him when you suddenly realized something — the curse wasn’t poised to deal a finishing blow to him anymore. Instead, it’s focus was on something — someone else.
“I was hoping you’d be paired up with that other Zenin girl.”
“My needles. My friendship with Maki. Those are mine.”
“The next time you mention my friends — the next time you even dare to say Maki’s name — I will aim my needle a little lower, and I will not miss.”
“Well, I love her. She is the reason that I am the person I am.”
Why had Elakshi said that? What did it all mean? Why were you thinking about these things now? What had Noritoshi and Elakshi comprehended about you that even you had not yet? Because there was something you were missing. It was right in front of you, but you could not understand it yet, nor did you have the time to, because that curse, it was about to attack — it was about to attack —
“Don’t let your weakness make you lose again.”
What was your biggest weakness?
“Maki!” you cried out, wrapping your arms around her shoulders as you shielded her body with your own, knocking her out of the way of the assault. The curse’s branch pierced your back, gouging a hole into it before retracting in victory as you fell to the ground at Maki’s feet.
“Y/N?” she breathed. “Y/N, what are you — hey, don’t you touch her again! Let go of her!”
A root sprouted from the ground, wrapping around you and ripping you away from where Maki had been about to pick you up. Suspending you in midair, the curse regarded you carefully, batting Maki away with a different root as it did so.
“Are you the one that Jogo met? There’s a different air to you than there was to the other two,” it said.
“Y/N!” Megumi said, coughing up blood as he tried to stand. You knew he wanted to protect you, you knew Maki wanted to protect you, but they weren’t strong enough. Both of them were beaten down already, tired off from holding off the curse for so long, but you didn’t blame the two for it. They had done the best they could. In fact, they had done better than anyone could’ve expected them to do.
“It’s alright,” you said, even as your vision began to swim, the pain of your wound and the subsequent blood loss causing your mind to grow blurry. Tullia was exhausted already, so you couldn’t call upon Composition at the current moment, which meant you couldn’t heal yourself, but it was fine. “Megumi. Maki. It’s okay.”
“What do you mean?” Megumi said.
“I’m not the only Grade 1 sorcerer around,” you said. “I think it’s just about time for my rival to make his appearance.”
As if on cue, there was a great crash, the force of which sent the curse reeling backwards. In the ensuing chaos, hidden by the waves of water that were created from the impact, you were dimly aware of your body being snatched from the curse’s grip and cradled in a pair of bulky arms.
“Sorry for the delay,” Todo said, so gentle with you despite how rough his exterior seemed. “Poor Y/N, always getting hurt like this! Don’t worry. My best friend and I will avenge you!”
“Best…friend?” you mumbled. “Never mind. Listen, this thing is a special grade.”
“You think I can’t handle it because of that?” he said derisively.
“No, just be careful,” you said, your head lolling against his shoulder. “Don’t die or anything, okay?”
“Well, if it’s my most trusted advisor and dearest rival asking for that kind of favor, then I can’t say no!” Todo said. “Panda! Take these three and get them out of here. According to Nishimiya’s report, the veil is an anti-Satoru-Gojo veil, so the rest of us can come and go as we please.”
“I’m on it!” Panda said, slinging Megumi over his shoulder, prompting a groan out of him. He went to do the same to Maki, but she shook her head.
“I can walk,” she said. “I’ll take her.”
“Are you sure?” Panda said. “You look tired out.”
“It’s fine,” Maki insisted. “She’s only even like that because she took the blow for me. It’s my fault, so I’ll be the one to take her back.”
“If you say so,” Panda said. Then you were being deposited into another, more slender embrace, and you knew even with your eyes drooping closed that it was Maki’s.
“Maki,” you said. “Maki, I miss you.”
“I miss you too, idiot,” she said. “Why’d you have to go and be all dramatic about it, though, huh? And why aren’t you healing yourself?”
“Tullia’s…unconscious. Can’t draw on her cursed energy when it’s so depleted,” you said, and even though every word hurt, you kept talking, because it was Maki, because you’d take all the pain in the world to keep talking to her.
“I see,” Maki said. “And how’d that end up happening?”
She was trying to ensure you stayed awake. She must’ve been afraid that if you went to sleep, you might not ever wake up again. You didn’t think the injury was that serious, but it must’ve looked like that, with so much blood everywhere and the wound so deep.
“Elakshi,” you said. “D’you know she figured out my weakness? Her and Noritoshi. I don’t even know what it is myself, though.”
“It’s that you’re shitty at hand to hand combat. How many times do I have to kick your ass until you understand that?” she said. “I bet if you trained with me more often, you wouldn’t be like this right now.”
“Maybe not,” you said. “I’m really tired, Maki.”
“I get it,” she said. “Yeah, me too. Can you stay awake for just a little bit longer? We’re almost there.”
“Don’t know,” you said. “Don’t think so.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll watch over you if that’s the case. You can rest, Y/N. You’ve done what you needed to do.”
With Maki’s permission, sleep claimed you all-too-easily, though it was fitful and uneasy, like you couldn’t quite rest yet, like your mind had been jostled and was trying its best to recover. Even the familiar scent of her laundry detergent wasn’t enough to soothe you, and it was only once you were being placed onto the cold surface of a hospital bed that you were able to wake up.
“Mama?” you said. Nothing was in focus, but there was a woman at your side, and even though it should’ve been your father and his Reverse Cursed Technique that you sought out, it was your mother who you hoped was there. Your mother, who you had not called mama since you were a child; even if she couldn’t do anything, you wanted her there.
“No,” the woman said. “Your parents didn’t come to the event, Y/N, remember? It’s me, Ieri. We’ve called the healers of the L/N clan to come work on the rest of the students, but it might be a bit until they get here. I’m healing you and Tullia first in the hopes that you can help me in the meantime.”
“Oh,” you said, and though you had nothing against Ieri, you couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Gojo? Where is — where is Gojo?”
“He’s trying to get Todo and Itadori out of the veil,” Ieri said. “I’m sorry. It’s just us two.”
A tear trickled down your cheek, and then another, and another. Ieri was silent; for a while, you thought she might be ignoring you, which you would not blame her for doing. Her job was only to heal you, nothing more but nothing less, either.
Yet she was your teacher, too. You didn’t think she would’ve done it for anyone else, but for you, for the Reverse Cursed Technique user that she had helped train herself, she healed with only one hand, doubling the pain and the effort it would require, doubling the strain she took upon her.
With the other, she held yours and squeezed.
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nottoofondofgaypeople · 3 months
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Reunions and Confessions
Garrancemau brainrot go brrrr
I watched the episode where Laurance comes back from the Nether and then I started feeling some things, and then this happened
Garroth was on his usual patrol around Phoenix Drop when he felt something... off. As he walked past the forest there was just an uneasy feeling, worse than the one he already had with Zane around. That feeling quickly turned into panic when Garroth saw a white light starting to come from beyond the trees. Without thinking he rushed towards it, hoping his worst fears weren't manifesting. Oh Irene, tell him it wasn't Zane doing something awful.
Instead when Garroth stumbled into the small forest clearing he saw a gold and black wyvern with decaying wings wrapped around the unconscious body of his old friend. Laurance had never looked worse, his hair was a burnt mess, his face was covered in black and purple markings that danced across his skin with a little too much life, and when Garroth got closer, he could tell he wasn't breathing.
"Laurance?!" Garroth nearly screamed, rushing forward and picking his hand up. No pulse.
"What happened?!" Irena cried out as she rushed to his other side.
"He's not breathing!"
"He's still alive," Ungrith gasped out. Irena hesitantly reached a hand out, and Ungrith used his remaining strength to put his claw in her hand.
"Ungrith, what happened?" She asked, desperately trying to keep her voice even as Garroth checked for proper signs of life.
"I-I did it." The wyvern smiled, even as more of the black and purple rot spread across his gold body. "I saved Laurance."
"Just hold on! I'll get you help--"
"Don't. Please."
"Why not?!"
"It would be... a waste of your time. It's too late for me, Irena."
"What did you do?"
"Something forbidden... I used my magic to break the realm barrier. And this is my punishment. Laurance saved my life when I was cast away from my home in a realm that was not my own, and now I have done the same." Ungrith lowered his head, and closed his eyes.
"Wait, please don't die!" Irena rushed forward to put her hands on his face, hoping she could do something to save him. The rot only spread as Ungrith let out a shaky breath.
"Worry not. Wyverns cannot die. One day I will be reborn in my own realm. I have brought Laurance home, and now I can go back to my home." His eye barely opened to look at her. "Promise me you'll protect him." Irena looked over at Garroth who had picked up Laurance's limp body and began carrying it to Phoenix Drop.
"I will. I promise. I won't let your sacrifice be in vain."
"Thank you..." His eyes closed, and his wings folded. Irena leaned forward to place a kiss to the last part of his body yet to be taken, the center of his forehead. And then, it took him. She backed up, and then turned away. No need to see his body decompose. Instead she dashed forward, running past Garroth and straight to the plaza.
"Zoey!" She called from the top of the staircase down. The elf looked back at her with clearly panicked eyes. She had felt what was happening even if she didn't see it. "I need your help with something." She just nodded, grabbing her medical supplies and following Irena to her home. They barely got the guest bed set up when Garroth appeared and lay Laurance on it carefully.
"Give me some time alone with him," Zoey instructed. "I don't do well with others watching."
"Of course. Thank you," Irena replied, pressing a kiss to Zoey's cheek before she turned away and followed Garroth downstairs. The two of them sat together on the hill overlooking Phoenix Drop in silence for some time. At some point Irena had interwoven their hands together, and despite his usual hang ups about physical contact, Garroth didn't voice any objection.
There was more to be done. Phoenix Drop was still growing, and Zane was still an active threat. Irena couldn't help but think of every little thing she could be doing in this moment. But she couldn't find it in herself to leave. Not until she knew Laurance was alive. He had to be. Then again, if he was alive...
"Garroth, we need to talk," Irena said calmly, though her tone was clearly uneasy.
"About Laurance?" He guessed, to which she nodded.
"If he is alive, he's probably a shadow knight."
"I think it's the only way someone could survive in the Nether."
"Do you think he would... Try to kill me?" Garroth sighed, wishing he could give her better assurances. He hated the tremble of fear in her voice.
"That I do not know. It all depends on how Laurance feels." He didn't need to say anything else. They had both seen how flirty Irena and Laurance were. They both knew how he felt.
"Irena?" Zoey called out. Irena instantly turned around and stumbled to her feet, meeting Zoey at the top of her staircase.
"How's Laurance? Is he alive?" She asked desperately.
"H-He's alive, thank Irene. But he's not in the best condition."
"What do you mean?"
"He clearly sustained multiple injuries in the Nether, and his body and magic is all messed up from traveling between realms. Worst of all though... Laurance has gone blind."
"What?!" Irena nearly ran downstairs to see him then and there.
"I believe it's a side effect of traveling between realms. A-And if it was caused by that, I have no idea how you'd undo it." Zoey held Irena's hand tenderly, hating herself for the tears starting to build up in her friends eyes. "I'm sorry, I wish I could give you better news."
"Is he awake?"
"Yes... When he first woke up he called for you, and when you didn't respond, he started to panic. I only managed to make him calm down by assuring him that you're alive."
"I'm going to go talk to him."
"Thank you, Zoey. For everything." Irena kissed her other cheek this time, earning a slight giggle from the elf. The two finally broke away from each other, and Irena almost held her breath as she walked upstairs. The instant she saw Laurance she rushed to his side, nearly crashing into the bed as she knelt next to him. "Laurance?"
"Please know that Laurance is incredibly unstable right now. He's scarred both physically and mentally, and might not be quite the man you remember." Zoey pressed a kiss to the back of Irena's hand before letting it go. "I'm going to go speak to Emmalyn and see if she can help me come up with anything to help him."
"Irena?" He gasped out, instantly followed by coughing. Irena reached into her bag and pulled out a glass bottle of water, but when she tried to hand it to him, Laurance simply took her hand instead. "Irena, I can't see you."
"I'm here, Laurance. I'm right here." She gladly set anything aside to hold his hand in that moment. Just to feel some level of life coming from him. "You're safe. You're in Phoenix Drop."
"I know. You wouldn't be this calm if we were anywhere else." Irena let out a small laugh, making Laurance's hand relax. "It's nice to hear your laughter. I was really worried about you."
"I-I'm fine. But you... What happened?" Laurance tensed up a little more, his breathing suddenly heavy.
"I can't even begin to describe the pain becoming a shadow knight causes physically, mentally, and spiritually."
"I'm so sorry--"
"Don't, please." Laurance lolled his head to the side and gave her a weary smile. It was unnerving to see his whited out eyes. "I'd much rather be here with you and have no sight, than be there and able to see."
"B-But you wouldn't have--"
"Please, don't take the blame for my choice. I'm far more relived that you're alive."
"I'm relieved you're alive too. I was really worried about you." Laurance squeezed her hand before he let out a weary laugh.
"Can I... talk to you about something?"
"Anything."
"I-I wasn't... I became a shadow knight against my will. I held desperately onto my humanity by thinking of you." Now that he had started, Laurance knew he couldn't stop. "You were the main thing that kept me sane while I was in that awful place."
"W-wait, Laurance, are you--"
"I'm in love with you Irena. A-And I don't expect anything to come of this, heck I don't even expect you to feel the same way. It would be selfish of me to think so. I don't know what the future holds for me, or what will happen if I turn. But I needed you to know that before I lost more than my sight." Laurance wove their fingers together, and the smile on his face was one of the most genuine expressions of love Irena had seen.
"Laurance I..." She couldn't think of what to say. She knew how Laurance felt from very early on, and yet she didn't care. She actually... liked having someone that admired her. But hearing such a heartfelt confession made it feel like so much more. She remembered the pain she felt when Laurance shoved her forward and insisted he would stay and fight. If she were in the same situation, she probably would have done the same for him. That was enough.
"I don't expect you to--"
"I think I love you too." Laurance froze for a moment. He may have said all those romantic words, but he was seriously pissed he didn't have his sight in that moment. He wanted nothing more than to see her face, to know she was being serious. That she wasn't just saying that for his sake.
"Y-You do?"
"I think I do." Irena let out a nervous laugh. "I don't quite know how love works but... When I talked to you I felt something like how it's been described to me. I-I don't know how to be in love but..." She glanced down at Laurance and smiled tearfully. It was so relieving just to see him alive again, even if he wasn't in the best shape. "I'm willing to try it with you." His smile somehow only grew bigger, and his grip on her hand tightened considerably.
"I-I can't even put into words how happy you've made me. I only wish I could see your beautiful face for myself."
"We'll find a way to fix this, I promise."
"You don't have to." Laurance squeezed her hand. "I'm content to love you even like this. As much as I'd like to kiss you, I understand you have your reservations on that. I'm grateful that you even consider me worthy of having by your side."
"After everything you've done for me, I'd say a kiss is the least I can give you." Irena leaned over, and while she could see Laurance's lips expectantly waiting, she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead before pulling away. "Get some rest, okay?"
"Yes, my lady." Irena giggled, before letting go of his hand and standing up. Even if his eyes weren't working, she could tell he was trying to follow her based on sound. Maybe that meant her footsteps were a little heavier on the stairs as she left, maybe she was just exhausted after a long and emotionally tiring day. Who's to say?
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hlficlibrary · 11 months
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✤ Roommates Fics ✤
A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.
- Top 5 H/L Fics -
1️⃣ Autumn At My Window by TheCellarDoor / @donotdialnine (M, 20k)
A canon-compliant AU, in which Harry and Louis are both in the band and have been sharing flats and hotel rooms for nearly five years, but never made the leap past 'friends who are too close for comfort'.
Featuring a lot of pining, Louis' addiction to Harry's scent, and a whole lot of sexual tension that might just snap loose when they decide to spend some time together all on their own.
2️⃣ Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices by Toomanytears / @toomanydreamers (E, 126k)
A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.
A canon-compliant AU, in which Harry and Louis are both in the band and have been sharing flats and hotel rooms for nearly five years, but never made the leap past 'friends who are too close for comfort'.
3️⃣ This Road Leads Where Your Heart Is by @littlelostpieces (E, 14k)
Alright, so Louis has a bit of a type is the thing. And as fit as his supermodel flatmate (Harry) may be, he isn't what Louis is looking for in a potential partner. That’s all. He’s not Louis’ type, with his miles of lanky limbs and his bright, boyish eyes. His impossibly tight, little body and infectious laughter are not what Louis wants. They're not. Really.
4️⃣ Undone, Undress by @angelichl (E, 134k)
Louis' new roommate is shy, skittish, and flinches at the slightest sounds. He's an art major who gets drunk on cherry wine, wears lacy lingerie, and shows up late at night covered in bruises that blossom across his skin like flowers.
Obviously something is wrong. Louis just doesn't know what it is.
5️⃣ Talk Dirty To Me by BriaMaria / @briannamarguerite (E, 13k)
They were both naked. And that seemed, again, like a catastrophically bad idea, but here they were anyway. Naked. In the dark. Only a few feet apart.
It hadn’t even been a discussion. The minute Harry flipped the lights off, they’d both shucked out of their clothes as if they’d been on fire.
“Alright darling,” Louis said, his hand wrapped loosely around his own cock. “Just remember, start slow. Lots of descriptions. Light on the hygiene, heavy on the compliments. You’ve got this.”
As if Harry were about to compete in some kind of athletic game.
Or the one where Harry is absolutely terrible at dirty talk so he asks his best friend to teach him. And the one where Louis knows it's a catastrophically bad idea but agrees anyway.
HIDDEN GEMS:
💎 Set the Sky Alight, Oh Holy Night by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup (T, 33k)
“It’s a starter home,” Niall says. He looks ridiculously proud. Louis does not think he should look that proud.
“That bathtub’s fallen through the ceiling,” Louis points out.
“Starter home,” Niall emphasises.
One house, five almost-strangers (plus Niall), six new beginnings.
Happy Christmas, here's to many more.
💎 baby when you’re gone (i realize i’m in love) by 4ureyesonly28 / @evilovesyou (G, 13k)
Harry recently moved to London to study music. He doesn’t know he has a crush on the charismatic fashion student Louis, who just so happens to be his flatmate. Everything is fine until Louis leaves to spend a long weekend with his family.
💎 All I Do the Whole Day Through by @lululawrence (NR, 6k)
Louis reached up and grabbed the ridiculously thick jumper that had the planets all over it and slammed the wardrobe doors shut. It was only as he turned around that he realized why Harry’s bedroom door had been shut.
There was a nest on Harry’s bed.
But why was Harry using Louis’ clothes and items that probably smelled like him in his nest?
💎 Oblivious by grapenight / @louiswolves (G, 2k)
Louis and Harry are roommates, and Louis is instantly attracted to Harry.
💎 It's a match! by @maggieisalarrie (G, 1k)
What if, he thinks, I just swipe right?
And really, what’s the absolute worst that can happen? If he swipes right, they simply won’t match and that’s the only way he could ever see this playing out.
So against his better judgement, he swipes right.
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maryannecrimsworth · 1 year
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Du Hexe
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Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10
Guide for tormented hearts
Pairing: Wednesday Addams x Selective mute reader
Warnings: this one is scary; i mean it, be aware; violence; mention of crime; angst poem; people panicking; we now have a soundtrack too
Summary: You've been seeing again --- your family, your real family. Mr. and Mrs. L/N in the forest, talking to you hours before your father was murdered. Your true father. The nightmare in which you destroyed your family. You did destroy them: your vater and your mutter, and yet you couldn't remember her. You couldn't remember your mother's face, only her voice. And now Wednesday listened to it too.
Some reader's characteristics: R has anxiety disorder, selective mutism, and is a really unique type of outcast. Reader's background it's derived from my Wednesday fic, The Hunt.
More details of Hank background and his partnership with Wednesday here.
You were hiding: it was clear in the second you sank into the booth, the darkest and emptiest of the Weathervane. 
You couldn't handle facing anyone now — not Xavier Thorpe, not Hank, nor Eugene. You could not bring yourself to walk around Jericho and talk to anyone. You could not bring yourself to believe in all the 'union' bullshit the principal and mayor tried to sell.
You couldn't go through the OutReach Day right now.
Your head was vibrating, fuming like the espresso machine near you: burning and shivering like you were about to burst. And you would burst at someone if another teenager giggled at you — Hank would kill you for that. And your parents would be right — your nightmare would be right.
You would ruin everything again.
"Hi." Wednesday sat in front of you. Her voice made you look up, but your hands stayed in your head. Covering it as if you were in danger, dugged into your hair as if it would explode.
"Are you hiding too?" You asked, your voice so raspy it bothered Wednesday's ears.
"I've been forbidden to talk to normie teenagers." She looked proud of it. "It seems my questions are too disturbing for them."
"Why would you question anything to them?" You asked immediately, the buzzing in your ears and pressure on your skull messing with your rational thinking.
"They're Aretha's former classmates." Wednesday explained. "I'm trying to build a profile."
"They fear her. It's not so complicated." Your voice sounded like a grunt, a howl. You looked barely awake, but Wednesday proceeded with the current subject.
"They snapped at her during the Convention. I intend to discover why." You frowned, your shoulders suddenly becoming more hunched, your hands falling to the table. "Don't you remember?"
"No." You lowered your head, your voice so weak Wednesday almost couldn’t hear you. "Mama sedates most of the time."
"Sedated." She corrected, her voice suddenly louder. "She can't to do it anymore."
You lifted your face: your features lightened up for a second before becoming dark again; her words, her voice, even though part of you already knew its content, Wednesday's affirmation was confident, firm. It made you feel different. It made you feel safe.
"Do you still have Aretha’s riddles?" You looked away suddenly. 
Wednesday frowned, but continued.
"Yes, but they're all pointless. It was an unusual way to kill time during vacation but it became boring once I came back to Nevermore."
"So you lost the game." Your words were too sharp, almost abrupt and aggressive, cutting the air fastly while your mind went back to the memories of your 'sister'.
"I didn't even play it in the first place." Wednesday told you, your changing features disturbing her: it was hard to analyze you and keep up with your expressions. "I would not give in to her request for attention."
"It's not attention, it's a competition. Aretha wants somebody as smart as her to solve her riddles." You laid your head on the table and grunted the words, the speaking shaking your chest in an unnatural way. It seemed exhausting: talking about this was draining you. "She got obsessed with you."
"What about you?"
"Uh?" You lifted your head ever so slightly.
"Why is she stalking you?"
"Sibling bonding time?" You winced. "I don't want to know, Wednesday. I truly don't."
"Why not?" Now her tone of voice was even sharper than yours. "Why would you not care for someone who's threatening you?"
"Because I can't fear them anymore." You sat up, your gaze now locked to Wednesday's. "I'm tired of being afraid. I'm tired of being a tool. I'm tired of this family," A tear escaped from your eyes and you whispered: "I'm tired of everything."
Wednesday swallowed dryly as you hid your face with your hands. You did look tired: more than ever, but she had no idea what to do about it. Should she comfort you? Should she say she was sorry? Should she wipe your tears away? Should she—
"Wednesday." Your voice brought her back from her thoughts. You've managed to collect yourself and hold your crying back in seconds. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It's just...I haven't been sleeping much." You rubbed your eyes and tried to crack a smile. "Do you want to get out of here?"
Wednesday replied with a single nod.
You two left.
X
You broke into your room at a fast pace. It wasn’t hard for Wednesday to keep up with you — you were almost the same height, after all — but it was difficult for her to notice every hint in your behavior. Instead of talking and expressing yourself properly, you would scratch your skin, twist your lips and remain in silence every time a strong feeling haunted you.
She wasn’t bothered by it — but today, you were slow. Heavy. Every movement seemed drainful and yet you managed to move around so quickly. As if you were afraid, as if you were fleeing from something. And you were — and fire ignited in her body at the thought of what could leave you like this. 
“Here.” You grabbed a book from one of your full shelves and handed it to her, your fingers marking a specific page. “ ‘I wonder if it hurts to live’ “ You quoted. “It’s one of my favorites from Dickinson.”
“Is this her best work?” Wednesday lowered her gaze to read the poem. 
“I can't claim that there's a better one.” You shrugged. “But I like her poems about love and death the most.”
Wednesday finished reading and looked up at you, her face totally blank, but her gaze wasn’t so hard.
She blinked a few times before saying: 
“Show me another.”
You smiled.
“Okay.” You whispered and walked to her side, your shoulder brushing hers as you leaned over the book, turning the pages. She watched your eyes running over the words, your breathing going easy as your smile increased, your smell reaching her lungs as you stood so close to her. 
“Too scanty ’twas to die for you,” Wednesday felt her breath falter. “The merest Greek could that.” You kept quoting, whispering by her side. “The living, Sweet, is costlier— I offer even that.” You stood quiet for a moment. “I…I believe this might be my favorite.” You whispered. Why were you whispering? “It’s a great perspective about love.”
Wednesday finished reading the poem: 
“The Dying, is a trifle, past,
But living, this include
The dying multifold—without
The Respite to be dead.”
“A bit tragic, I think.” She said quietly, her eyes not straying from your face.
“And is love not always tragic?”
You were not looking back at her when a sound arose from the corridor. Steps and voices — ones you recognized immediately. 
You grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. You knelt beside the door frame, signaling for her to do the same and to remain silent. Your fingers turned white with the force you applied to her skin, the strong, desperate squeeze causing her a little disturbance.
“You’re not supposed to be here.” Hank's voice sounded through the house, loud and angry. “You should keep your distance.”
“We need to stay in Jericho.” Your father. “We have to make sure Tyler will get proper training.”
“You meant treatment.” Hank roared. “The promoter won't let him out of the asylum any time soon.”
“He will.” A woman laughed. Your mother. “He’s in our pocket now.”
“Why are you doing this?” Your brother hissed. “That is not what we had agreed on.”
“The camp is still yours, my boy, don’t worry.” The older man chuckled. “We only want to keep track of you and your brother.” 
You felt a freezing touch hold your shoulders. 
“What—”
“Quiet.” Wednesday knelt in front of you, her knees being hardly pressured against your legs. She immobilized you, her hard grip paralyzing your torso.
You were trembling, shivering, your skin was burning while you listened to your family talk. You were gritting your teeth so loudly and breathing so heavily that Wednesday thought you were about to faint. 
“I have—”  You tried to move but Wednesday pressed you against the wall.
“Control yourself. You seem on the verge of murdering someone.”
“Since when do you have a problem with it?” You hissed back at her.
“Since you're acting out of yourself.” She prevented you from moving again. “This is not you.”
“I—” You sobbed. Fuck. “You don’t understand.” You closed your eyes. You couldn’t face her right now. “They’ve ruined me, broken me.”
“You are not broken.”
“I accepted a toy from them when I was a child." You breathed out suddenly. "I was walking in the forest and they showed up. That's how they managed to track my father and murder him. I got my father killed because of a damned wooden bear.” The words were ripped from your lungs with force, the air and the truth left your body, strangling you. “They’ve turned me into their prey, into their victim, into their Alp.”
Wednesday released your shoulders, the loosening touch moved your shirt, revealing part of your skin.
There was a red mark on your left collarbone.
“I’m so sick of it, Wednesday.”
“Y/N.” She held you again, making you look at her. “You were in my vision.”
The hairy couple. The screams in the hovel. The woman giving birth. Your mother.
Du Hexe.
Wednesday’s head was thrown back again. She fell on the ground and started to shiver. 
Another vision.
And she saw you.
X
You slammed the door shut and locked it from inside. The sound of the door closing raised questions in the living room — no one was supposed to be at home, especially not you. 
But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that Hank and your parents knew what you have listened to, what you have discovered, that the truth was revealed — only Wednesday mattered right now. 
You knelt beside her and held her head as her body kept trembling. 
“Please, don’t panic again.” You pleaded to the unconscious girl. “I can’t stand seeing you like that.”
A strong knock came from the door. “Y/N?”
“Hi, Hank!” You shouted. “Sorry, I came here to take a nap, I’m not in the mood to ‘outreach’ today.”
Complete silence. You held Wednesday tighter. 
“Okay.” He said. “Did you just wake up?”
“Yup!” You made a pause, waiting to see if Hank was going to try to enter the room or not. He didn't. “Can I stay here?”
“Sure.” You could hear him stepping away. “Don’t go out until I’m back.”
“Okay!” The sounds of your family left the house — you listened to them whispering, relieved, and moving away from the dwelling. From your cell. From you. And from Wednesday. 
You laid her head on your lap and continued to hold her shoulders.
“Please, wake up.”
X
The woman was looking straight at her in the middle of the darkness. Her gaze — which was just like yours — dissected Wednesday with a wrath that thickened the air. Her dark, deep eyes were frozen on Wednesday while her lips moved harmonically. 
Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf! Der Vater hüt' die Schaf,
Wednesday's legs faltered as the woman sang.
die Mutter schüttelt's Bäumelein, da fällt herab ein Träumelein.
Wednesday couldn’t breathe. The figure in front of her — the young, sad, and exhausted woman — was placed by your form. Your face was squarer, your nose was larger, your hair was shorter, but your eyes were the same. 
Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf!
Wednesday woke up with a gasp.
“Wednesday!” You helped her to sit up. “Wednesday, are you okay?” Your wide eyes fixed on her and she felt her stomach turn. 
The air in her lungs became as dense as lead, and Wednesday's whole body felt its poisoning. Her face burned as her skin chilled, and she stood up with a jump.
“I need to go.” And she rushed out of your room. 
youtube
@cursedcharr (Again, the poem is your fault) @i984 (I think i might have done too much angst this time) @4pparecium @toournextadventure @tnnadia @colezb @elduster @efectoangel @sweetaimu @tundra1029 @rainbowsixreader @awolfcsworld @rainbow-love4ever @alexkolax @anonymousewrites
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riveramorylunar · 1 year
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The Forth Leader Of Volturi
Pairings: Tanya Denali x Royal Vampire Reader, Irina Denali x Royal Vampire Reader, Kate Denali x Royal Vampire Reader & Denali Sisters x Royal Vampire Reader
Warning ⚠️: Umbrakinesis(Shadow Manipulation), Killing, Blood Drinking, Stalking & forbidden love
Pet Names/Nicknames: Sunshine, Honey & Princess
Word Count: 1,542
A/N: Requested by @zoomdeathknight
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It was one thing to fall in love but it was another when it was three women who were totally out of the question. Y/N Y/L/N was not only one of the most beautiful vampires in the world she was part of the Volturi who were a group of powerful yet elegant vampires. She was the fourth leader but she stayed in the shadows and watched. No one knew about her except Aro, Marcus and Caius the other three leaders. Y/N was able to manipulate the shadows wherever she went. She would sometimes use her powers to kill humans before drinking them dry of blood. She would sometimes rip the flesh off of the people she was drinking from so it looked like an animal attack. Even though she looked like a 19 year old girl she was well over 4,000 years. She has Long black wavy hair and pale skin. Her eyes were white with red in the middle of them. She had a scar going all the way from her eyebrow down to her cheek. She had another scar that was across her lips.
She was currently sitting in the diner that was in forks sipping on her whiskey that was in a glass when she heard the bell to the door open. She whipped her head towards the door and saw Charlie walking in with a girl shorter than her. She sniffed the air before licking her lips as she watched the two sit down in the corner booth. "Miss" someone said causing Y/N to look over to see one of the waiters standing behind the bar top looking at her. She groaned and closed her eyes as she heard the man's heartbeat picking up. She opened her eyes under her blacked out sunglasses and looked at the man. "W-would you like anything else" he stuttered out and Y/N smirked. "Yes in fact I need your help with something if you don't mind" Y/N said and the man shook his head. "What do you need help with" He said and Y/N stood up before drinking the rest of her glass of whiskey. Y/N pulled her sunglasses down and watched as the man's eyes widened in shock. Before he could move he was compelled to go into the forest and wait.
Y/N walked into the forest and saw the waiter waiting causing her to smirk as her eyes lit up. "So what now" he asked and Y/N walked up to him. "Now I need you to be quiet" Y/N said and the man nodded. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close before sinking her fangs into the man's neck causing him to scream out in pain. She covered his mouth before she used her shadow powers to kill him. She felt him go limp in her grip so she let go and watched as he dropped to the ground. She bent down and used her nails to rip off a piece of flesh from his neck. She stood up before licking her fingers clean before dashing off back to her house. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw three women standing in the doorway waiting. The three looked up and smiled when they saw Y/N standing a couple of feet away from them. "You guys shouldn't be here" Y/N hissed out as she bared her fangs at the three women. "Oh come on Princess don't be like that" Tanya said as she stepped aside so Y/N could unlock the front door. "We know you missed us Sunshine don't deny it" Kate said and Y/N growled as she pushed open the door a little too rough. "You guys need to leave" Y/N said and the three sisters rolled their eyes.
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"Why do you want us to leave so badly" Irina said as the three stepped into the house. "Because it's forbidden damnit you're coven and the Volturi as sworn enemies don't you get that" Y/N shouted before turning around to look at the three blondes. "And you guys should know that you're the founders of the damn coven" Y/N growled out and she was slammed against the wall by Irina who was looking down at her. "So what we don't care anymore, we only care about you" Irina growled out causing Y/N to gulp. Even though she lived longer than the three of them they were scary when they got mad. Especially Irina since she rarely ever gets mad. Before Y/N could say something Irina smashed her lips onto Y/N's silencing all of her thoughts she had. Y/N closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she felt Irina trail her kisses down Y/N's neck. "You belong to us and we belong to you that's all that matters in this god damn world" Irina said before she bit down on Y/N's neck with her fangs causing Y/N to jump slightly.
Y/N had gone back to Volterra, Italy for something urgent. "What's so important that you had to bother me for" Y/N hissed out as she stormed into the room shoving a vampire out of the doorway. She immediately smelled the fresh scent of blood making her look over to see a pile of dead vampires. "You got to be kidding me" Y/N said as she looked at the three who were sitting on their thrones. "Y/N so glad you could make it" Aro said as he stood up and stopped right in front of Y/N. He held his hands out and Y/N just looked up at her with a glare causing him to drop his hands. "Sorry that we disturbed your fun in forks but we have urgent matters to attend to" Caius said and Y/N scoffed. "And what would that be" Y/N questioned as she raised an eyebrow. "The Denali Coven" Marcus said and Y/N's eyes widened in shock for a moment before her face turned stone cold. "What about them" Y/N said as she clenched her fists together tightly. "It seems one of our scouts found the three leaving your house that was in forks a week ago" Aro said and Y/N looked at him before clenching her jaw tightly.
"Do you know anything about that" Caius said as he slowly stood up along with Marcus. Y/N looked at the three as her shadow magic started flowing out of her clenched hands. The three looked down and charged at Y/N but she was quick to stop all three of them and the other vampires that had entered the room. "YOU KNOW IT'S AGAINST THE RULES TO HAVE CONTACT WITH THE DENALI COVEN THEY'RE OUR ENEMY" Marcus shouted out as Y/N backed up a bit. She held them all back with her shadow magic but it wasn't gonna last long since there were quite a few. The doors flew open and Y/N looked over to see the Denali Sisters rushing in and stopping. They looked over to see Y/N holding the vampires back. "Need help Honey" Irina said as she smirked mischievously. "Yes that would be nice even though I could take them all out" Y/N said and the three women rolled their eyes before attacking some of the younger vampires. Y/N looked at the other three leaders. Marcus looked between the four women before locking eyes with Y/N. "They love her" he said causing everyone to stop fighting and look at him. "And she loves them" he continued right before his head was ripped off by Y/N.
Y/N looked around the huge room and saw vampires littered all over the floor some with their heads ripped off. "Well that was something" Tanya said breaking the silence. The three sisters looked over at Y/N to see her pacing back and forth. "Y/N Sunshine" Kate said as she made her way over to Y/N who looked up. "What the hell is gonna happen now" Y/N asked and Kate wrapped her arms around Y/N from behind before placing a kiss on Y/N's neck where Irina left the bite mark. "What will the red of the members of the Volturi say when they get back" Y/N questioned and Kate kissed Y/N's cheek. "Well you're the only leader left so you do whatever you want to do no one to stop you" Tanya said and Y/N looked up to see Tanya standing in front of her. Y/N narrowed her eyes before her lips twitched up into a smirk. "Join me and become the other three leaders we can combine our covens" Y/N said and Tanya cupped Y/N's face in her hands as Kate kept kissing Y/N's neck. Irina walked over lastly "what happens if some of our people don't like it" Irina said and Y/N licked her lips before her eyes darkened slightly. "We kill them" she said and the three smirked. "Alright only because we love you" Tanya said before kissing Y/N on the lips.
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semisutopia · 2 years
Text
pleasant poetry ➠ o. wood
pair: oliver wood x hufflepuff rival fem! reader
word count: 1.2k
warnings: one mention of death, slight name calling, romantic tension, and kissing!!!
genre: fluff!
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“oi Wood!”
you yelled from the bottom of the quidditch pitch, seeing the scotsman flying on his broom. he descended a bit too hard as he got off his broom, staggering a bit.
“what do you want L/n?”
Oliver replied, clearly annoyed that you ruined the Gryffindor’s practice time.
“it’s our time to practice now. Professor Sprout wrote a note”
you said as you handed him the scroll written by the head of Hufflepuff house. Wood mumbled as he read the parchment which read ‘I, Professor Pamona Sprout give the Hufflepuff quidditch team to practice at 8:00 on the 21st of November’.
you smirked and snatched the parchment away from his hands as he finished reading, snarling at you.
“alright, get your team off the pitch”
*timeskip to Monday*
“i will be splitting you into pairs for this project as this potion is extremely difficult to make”, Snape’s monotonous voice called out. you barely heard him call out the partners, hearing a ‘Johnson and Weasley’ and ‘Diggory and Farrah’ until you heard your name.
“lastly, L/n and Wood. everybody get to work. i want the complete potion down by the end of friday’s class meaning you will get 4 days to work on this. now get to work and i want to hear no bickering.”
you groaned and walked over to Oliver’s bench and sat next to him.
“what do you want?” he asked glaring at you.
“you’re an idiot. didn’t you hear the task?”
“clearly not. answer my question; why are you here?”
you rolled your eyes at his incompetence.
“i’m your partner for this project. we have to make a brew of ‘Pleasant Poetry’. we have until friday.
“pleasant poetry? what kinda potion is that?”
you read through the book and said out loud to him what you read, “Pleasant Poetry: allows the person who ingests it to speak with the most enchanting words in a siren-like voice.”
you looked up from the book and saw him looking at you already. you observed as his gaze travelled from your hair, to your hands on the page, to your lips, and finally your eyes. his own eyes widened when he saw you looking back at him and his cheeks formed a red tint.
“um right okay…” you said to break the tension.
he cleared his throat. “yeah aright pleasant poetry. let’s do it. i wanna get it over with as soon as possible”
“why? so you can stop working with me?”
“—yeah of course. why’d i want to work with the enemy?” he retaliated.
“i’m not your enemy, Wood. our next match is not for a while. until then, we have to work together to make this potion. it’s really hard.”
“yeah fine aright.”
*timeskip to Wednesday evening*
you and Oliver had finished getting most of the ingredients for the potion.
“okay, last thing we need is rain taken from the forbidden forest… how are we supposed to get that?!”
“let’s just wait in the forest until it rains? don’t you have a spell to make it rain or something? yer the smart one”, he said walking into the forest with you following closely behind him.
“no, i have no such spell. we just have to wait until it rains. and we have to go back before the sun sets. it’s forbidden for a reason”
“aw does little Y/n not wanna break school rules?”
“no, little Y/n wants to not get killed by centaurs who hate humans.” you said walking in front of him now.
he murmured a soft ‘i knew that’ and jogged to catch up with you.
you both placed your bags by the root of one tree and sat down waiting for the clouds to become dark.
it was peaceful. for once. Hogwarts is an extremely big school and rarely do you ever hear silence apart from when you’re sleeping at night. so, simply being in nature and hearing the chirping of the birds and the slight clopping of the thestrals was relaxing and calming in a way. not to mention the comfortable silence between you and Oliver.
Oliver Wood and you were never really friends despite doing everything together. you found each other more as rivals than peers or friends. but never have you realised what he made you feel. with him, you felt safe…you didn’t feel like you needed to try to be anything.
Oliver rested his head back on the tree bark and closed his eyes. you looked at him and for some reason, you couldn’t look away. his side profile was stunning. the way his chest heaved up and down as he breathed, the way his adam’s apple was sticking out of his neck so sharply, the way his face looked in the rays of sunlight shooting through the leaves. it all looked so—
“like what you see, l/n?”
his voice brought you out of your thoughts. you wanted to retaliate, or say something but no words came out. you just started into his beautiful hazel eyes, as if they were pulling you in them.
“you know…” Oliver started again, “yer not that bad to look at yerself” he said and tucked a piece of hair behind your ears. his hand didn’t leave you face however, it stayed on your right cheek and his thumb traced down to your lips.
your heart was beating so hard. why? this has never happened before. granted, this situation has never happened before…but you didn’t want it to stop. there was a fluttering feeling in your stomach that filled you with joy.
“oh yeah?” you mustered up the courage to say. Wood smirked and moved his hand down to the side of your neck and leaned in closer.
“yeah” he whispered in a husky voice. you both knew where this was going and wanted it to happen. just when your lips were about to touch, you felt something drip on you.
it was going to rain now and you could finally finish the potion. Oliver sighed and got up. you internally cursed the rain for ruining the moment but quickly stood up too.
“give me the mason jar” you instructed him and he did as told, handing you the jar.
it started to rain and you collected the rain water before tucking the jar in your bag again. as you were about to say something, Oliver took your hand and spun you around.
“dance with me” he said, holding your hand in one of his. you chuckled. “we have no music” “then we’ll just have to make our own”
he hummed a low melody as your swayed together, drenched by the rain water but you didn’t care. you were just happy.
Wood spun you around once more and put his hands on your waist, halting your movement and pulled you close to him.
“Y/n” he started and moved one hand to your chin to raise it up. “may i?” he asked as his eyes glistened with hope and anticipation.
you nodded quickly and your lips touched each other’s. his lips were soft and wet because of the rain. they were gentle as they kissed you and you didn’t want it to stop. your hands made their way up to his hair and tugged on it slightly as he released a hum against your lips.
pulling away, he rested your foreheads together and mumbled, “i think i’d like to be your partner for the next project too eh?”
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cowboycasonova · 2 years
Text
werewolf|| remus lupin P1
(cooler than me, mike posner)
YOUNG!REMUS LUPIN x HUFFLEPUFF!FEM READER
warnings: probably some brief mentions of mental illnesses, other than that, slight fluff bc I plan to make a part 2
(summary; y/n is a werewolf, and remus is just too nosy.)
—.
y/n absolutely, positively, knew it was a bad idea to be out this late.
In the Dark Forest, no less.
She knew someone could spot her and easily report her to the headmaster. She'd be ridiculed for 1, being out past bedtime. 2, being in the Dark Forest, (which is very much forbidden— it's literally called the forbidden Forrest.) and 3, possibly losing house points for hufflepuff.
Did she care all too much?
No.
In her defense, she'd only been visiting Hagrid in the beginning. A while back he'd found an Acromantula, and he'd told y/n he needed help with it. She'd always had a knack for Care of Magical Creatures, (she reckons it's the hufflepuff about her.) and Hagrid took note of that.
But, as well as loving the creatures that lurk around hogwarts and the world of all things magical, not only did they relate to her— in a sense, but they also feared her.
She wishes they didn't, she wasn't harming anyone with— as Marlene calls it, her furry little problem. She prefers the term being far better, but Marlene has an odd sense of humor that y/n can't help but join in on.
The good thing about Professor Dumbledore knowing about her lycanthropy— (and the fact that she helped Hagrid after dark), was that she could use it as a cover up story for the nights of the full moon.
So— though she wished she was instead helping Hagrid with a giant spider, she was staggering her way toward a shack. As far as she knew, y/n was the only one to visit the strange shack in the dark forest. It was unlike the shrieking shack, in a peculiar way. Students came and went into the shrieking shack, predominately because they all think it's haunted, that much y/n was sure of. But this place had a far eerier vibe to it. Almost like no one had stepped foot in it for what felt like a century.
Her bones ached with fire all the way down to her feet. Exhaustion wiped through her body, making y/n stumble in the dark.
'Just a few more minutes'  She thought, tiredly.
Upon entering the quiet place, y/n took a deep breath. Chains were to her right, attached to the wall, sleek and new. She had learned the spell to clean and renew metal in the summer of third year, when she was bitten.
Now, all she had to do was wait— and pray to Merlin he'd take pity on her this full moon.
•.•.
The mornings after always hurt. Hell, the entire week after hurt. Headaches, sore joints, heightened senses, the whole nine.
Amidst y/n's thoughts, (she tends to get stuck in her own head after the full moon.) she hadn't noticed a lanky boy, next to a more muscly lad trotting her way. As they pass each other, the Gryffindors head perks up at y/n's figure.
Sirius Black, she notes, goes quiet as they both watch y/n make her way to Potions.
She watches as they quietly converse out of the corner of her eye. She has no reason to be skeptical, but her brain hates her. What if they knew? They'd surely tell the headmaster, (though Dumbledore already knows of her condition, word getting out of a werewolf on school grounds was sure to cause a frenzy.)
And she'd be kicked out flat on her arse.
She couldn't possibly let that happen— however, there was no solid evidence they knew anything of her lycanthropy.
Sighing, she trudges her way to Professer Slughorns classroom. This was sure to give her another headache.
•.
REMUS THINKS Y/N L/N IS QUITE PECULIAR.
He'd first ever seen her in Charms class in their last year, James and he had always sat next to each-other, but they walk in to find a tensed looking girl— who looked quite sickly in all honesty, with her head down on the table in the crook of her arm, muttering incoherent words Remus couldn't decipher, sitting in the Potter boys seat.
He looks at James, who only shrugs and makes his way toward the back of the class to an empty seat.
He didn't think too much of her health at first, if he's honest, just figured she'd had a bad day, and wanted to rest. He also didn't think too deeply because it would have given him a headache. The full moon had come and gone, leaving Remus nothing but fragile bones and new scars. Professor Flitwick hadn't seemed too concerned, so he wasn't either.
Though now that he thinks about it— recently, he's been seeing more of y/n. Majority of the time she would be lively, joking and laughing about with her friends. Other days, however, she was easily angered and sickly looking. And not to be stereotypical or anything, but he'd never (honest to Merlin) seen an angry Hufflepuff other than y/n. Perhaps that was another thing about her that intrigued him.
Or perhaps what truly intrigued him was— she only acted this way once every month. Just like Remus, and sure, he could blame it on her period like any normal person would, but he doesn't think so. She seemed tired— almost exactly the same time he was. She looked pale and close to death— just like he had.
See, Remus is smart (if he may say so himself), and that's something he prides himself in. And he'd be lying if he said he hadn't stayed up late at night, trying to figure out the enigma that was y/n l/n. And so he'd told James, Sirius, and Peter of his suspicions. If he was right about it, he'll feel mighty guilty telling them when she hadn't given him the green light— in the future, because he'd hate for that to happen to him.
But Remus needs his friends to help him figure this out. Say it to be true— he wouldn't be ecstatic, per say, because he knows the pain beings like him endure. But... he can't say he wouldn't be happy to finally talk to someone who understands. Don't get Remus wrong, he loves his friends— they support him through everything, and haven't judged him for who he is, and what he can't control. But it'll be nice— refreshing, in a sense, to meet someone like him.
She'd looked like she was going to pass out earlier today, on her way to Charms class. The full moon had been last night, but Remus knew the pain would last at least an entire week at least.
Classes were over now though, and she'd still looked nauseous and sickly... so yes, he'd rallied James and Sirius into helping him following her with the invisibility cloak.
He feels guilty... but he just has to know for sure before he takes it too far.
—.
WHY THE HELL ARE THE MARAUDERS STALKING Y/N?
Could she ever catch a break?
Two weeks ago, Madam Pince had informed her of a book of lycanthropy in the restricted section in the library. She'd told y/n to consider herself lucky, because she wouldn't do this for an average student. (She also told her not to tear the binding or she'd have a field day.)
But she very well couldn't get the book with four stalkers on her ass, could she?
She knew they were following and watching her, not because she could see them (y/n figures they've done some spell to do that) but because of her lycanthropy. Turns out, being bitten and brutally attacked at age 13 also meant she wouldn't need hearing aids or glasses in her future.
y/n could sense Sirius Black behind the bookshelf— his cologne far too prominent to be anyone else. A few books rattle, and she figures the rest of the goons are with him as well.
y/n walks toward them slowly, "Hello. Any reason you've decided to follow me on this lovely Thursday?" Her sarcasm evident.
The boys jump up from their nook behind the shelves, falling into each other as y/n stifles a laugh.
Surprisingly, Peter speaks first, "We weren't watching you! We were.. uh-"
It's Remus who finishes for him, "Checking out the new books!"
He unsheathes the first one he sees, but quickly backtracks as he takes note of the title— The Significance of Love Potions. y/n stifles another laugh, finding it very hard to be serious like she'd planned in her head.
"Right, well— I'd very much appreciate if you'd stop following me around. It's... unsettling."
With those parting words— and before any of the Marauders can speak, she parts from them and leaves the library.
As she leaves the hall, she has to stop her quick paced steps to think. How strange.
y/n has a lot of questions. Like for one, why the hell were they stalking her? Two, how did they get into the restricted section in the first place?
Were they onto her? Did they plan to tell the headmaster and have her kicked out on her arse?
These boys are starting to stress me out. She thinks as she's finally made her way into the dungeons— but she soon stops short of the entrance, and her heart drops to her toes.
She forgot the book. It's still in the library, in all its ancient glory— on a table in a nook by the window. Oh Merlin. She'd been the only one in that section besides those blasted boys. They'd surely know now. They're probably on their way to Professor Dumbledore's office now, to tell him how much of a monster she is.
(Dumbledore already knows of her lycanthropy, but she very well couldn't stay at Hogwarts if the entire castle knew of her curse, could she?)
Yes, she thinks. y/n is very much stressed.
•.
Remus told himself he wouldn't touch it. The book— he'd spotted it in a nook by the window in the library, and he knew who had checked it out. Not only because y/n was the only other person in that part of the library, (and he's nearly certain it wasn't peter checking out a book solely based on lycanthropy.) but because madam pince had charmed every publication to have the readers name at the top left corner of the first page— until it was due for return.
And there it was, in cursive and neatly scrawled in permanent ink— y/n l/n.
Though he'd said he would leave it alone, and push it to the farthest corner of his brain he Remus could find, he just couldn't. Not when he was so close to figuring her out— and certainly not when this could be his only chance to connect with someone like himself.
So Remus had been in the gryffindor dorms since eight AM, reading 'The Cost of Being'.
From a students perspective, they couldn't tell what the book was about unless they dived thoroughly into it. (And Remus would bet on his life that they wouldn't.)
Remus has to admit, he is a bit stingy about it all. Why had madam pince told her of the whereabouts of the book and not him? Surely she'd known of his condition longer than y/n's.
His bitter thoughts escape him when the boys enter the dorm. Sirius takes one look at the disheveled boy and rolls his eyes, "You must be in love with the girl, or something."
The scarred boy can feel hot embarrassment torturing his face— though that only confuses him more.
"Why on earth would you think that?"
"Well, you're in the same position you were in when we left, which was—" The charcoal eyed boy checks his diamond embedded wrist watch, "Six hours ago."
"This is why you wouldn't come to Hogsmeade with us?" Peter frowns.
Remus closes the book, lies on his side and sighs deeply, "Finding the book is the closest I've gotten in an entire month, Wormtail. She's like me— I know she is."
James seems to equate with the scarred boy, "It's true... if it wasn't I don't think she'd be avoiding you like a plague."
The quarter of the Marauders who weren’t looking so sullen, look to each other in agreement— each one would bend over backwards for their friend, and now is no different.
“Alright… so what’s the plan?”
word count 2k+
this honest to god took me months to write bc i get so distracted… hope u enjoy!!
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hyuganejiswife · 1 year
Text
Out of My Mind | Chapter One
Masterlist | Next
Shikamaru Nara X GNReader X Neji Hyuga
Coming from a prominent and secretive clan in the Hidden Leaf Village was already bad enough. Your justu was rarely ever seen and mostly hidden by the protective nature of your father and the elders of your clan. You were taught from a young age how to fight and you were easily one of the best fighters your age. Your secretive nature doesn’t keep the attention off of you, especially not from two of the brightest people in the chunin exams with you.
| Warning: fighting, blood, violence, it’s the chunin exam preliminaries, cursing, ino is just on a different team
Word Count: 1841
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You watch quietly as four jonin rush to stop Neji from potentially causing more damage to his younger cousin. Your breath hitches in your throat and your grip on the railing tightens, watching as Hinata is carried off to be tended too, looking as though she barely survived the encounter with the man in question. You sigh softly, knowing a bit of the history between the two and their family, yet not quite understanding his willingness to nearly destroy one of your own friends.
Of course, there wasn’t much you could say. Your family wasn’t much better than the Hyuga clan. Though, you could say that your own clan didn’t mark the branches for simply existing or force them to serve your main branch which you were a part of.
Instead, the branch families of your clan were forbidden from becoming ninjas, leaving only you and any siblings you would have had to carry on the family legacy…
And it was only you. You were alone and your clan’s sole heir. Your mother had died when you were only a child and your father never had the motivation to remarry even though your clan elders had plenty of respectable women lined up for him. He always said he could never love another woman the way he loved your mother.
And while you admired this small act of rebellion by your father, that only meant that you were watched by the elders even closer than before. They’d even tried to forbid you from becoming a ninja yourself, claiming that you shouldn’t be allowed to become one as you were your clan’s sole heir.
Your least favorite words.
Sole heir-
“Looks like you’re up.”
You blink once, confused as you tear your gaze from the railing, your knuckles having turned white from the grip you’d had. At your teammates' nudge, you look up to the monitor, your gaze remaining unphased though your heart hammers in your chest when you realize you were meant to go after one of the sound ninjas you had encountered while in the forest.
As if sensing your hesitation, Shikamaru turns to you, the man having already advanced to the final round of the exams. “Look, you’ll be alright. Don’t let what happened back there with Sakura and Lee get to you.”
“I’m not.”
“Then this shouldn’t be a problem.” He nudges you towards the stairs that lead down into the arena.
You pass Neji on your way, eyes flickering up as the man seems less than interested in you, but significantly calmer than he had when he was down there facing his cousin. He keeps his gaze down in the pit where you would sooner appear, ready for these rather silly exams to be done and over with already. He’d already more than proven himself in his eyes, still he was intrigued when your name was announced.
Your family was well known, almost as well known as his, yet yours was just as secretive if not even more. Your own justu a well kept secret. Despite the main branch all being trained ninjas, your family had managed to keep their abilities a secret from the public eye, being well trained from early ages in hand to hand combat which would suffice enough to keep from anyone finding out what secrets you would be hiding.
You were no exception and he knew that. If you were a L/N, then you were sure just as strong a fighter as he was, even without your justu.
Perhaps you would make a formidable opponent.
You take deep and calming breaths as you stand before your strange looking opponent from the sound village. From where you stood, you could see his teammates and sensei watching closely, dark looks in their own eyes. His sensei only made your skin crawl, something feeling rather off about him. Even without using your justu on him, you could tell he was not one to be trifled with.
When Genma clears his throat, you’re back on high alert, knowing fully well what the man in front of you is capable of. You knew how easily he could kill you if you gave him the space to and you weren’t quite ready to break your father’s heart once more. As he starts the fight, you bringing your hands up, making the signs to initiate your justu gaining the attention of everyone, even the few jonin who knew of your clans abilities. Though no one was going to be able to see what your justu was.
At least not yet.
Your eyes flash to his dark color briefly before returning to your natural shade, though no one but the man in front of you could see it. Dosu is easily able to hide his surprise beneath the bandages on your face. During your encounter in the woods, he hadn’t seen any indication that you were able to use a justu, you had simply been tasked with taking out one of his teammates in hand to hand combat, surprising even him with how strong you are.
And yet to him, you remain standing where you are, unmoving and unphased as you wait for him to make the first move. In reality, you’d moved off to the side, needing to be as far away as possible not to receive too much of the damage that your mind double would surely get from the blasts of sound that would damage your eardrums.
One of the perks of getting into the mind of your opponent was that you barely received any damage. You felt it, of course, your duplicate is a projection from your mind into the mind of someone else, but it wasn’t as bad as facing the man head on.
You could feel all eyes on you as well as the confusion settling in the room as one of his teammates yells at him. “What’re you doing, Dosu?” He was still facing your invisible to everyone else clone. With a single blast at your clone, you stumble a bit, your hands flying up to your ears as your clone is thrown back. You have to think fast, making your clone react as if it were really you. You bring your hands down from your ears and frown at the blood, your ears ringing.
He was very strong…
You weren’t sure how you were supposed to manage this.
“Shit…” His head whips in the opposite direction from where you’re standing, thoroughly confused as the clone disappears with a puff of smoke on he can see.
You run at him, catching him off guard with his back to you. You jump and kick at him, knocking him down as you release your hold on his mind, finally allowing him to see you. You duck out of the way when he turns, swinging at you in an attempt to take you down long enough to send another blast your way.
You spin, the heel of your foot hitting his side rather hard, though it doesn’t take him down. He stumble back a bit before swinging his fist at you and managing to knock you down, a warm gush running down your face.
He’d broken your nose.
You sit up, spitting out blood as you hear Choji and Shikamaru cheering you on. You’re quick to form hand signs, attempting to get back into the head of Dosu, but he’s quicker, raising a fist and sending you flying back into the stone wall.
He sees your eyes flash again as you carefully try to sit up, needing to get out of harms way. You could barely move though. Everything hurt. Your nose was pouring blood and leaving a trail right to the real you, even as your duplicate continued to lay there in pain.
Dosu stalks towards you as you slide down the wall, stopping a mere ten feet or so away. “I’ll give you one chance,” he growls, raining a hand and readying another blast that would hit you head on. And if it didn’t kill you, you’d be out for the count. “Yield.”
That was your chance.
An act of mercy on his part had the real you running from the side, bringing a rather hard kick down on his arm, causing him to cry out in pain as he collapses, the snap echoing in your ears. He cradled his arm to his chest, a horrified look flickering in his one visible eye.
The trail of blood…
It was a ruse and now you had broken one of his arms.
You stand over him, your clone disappearing as you finally release your justu for real this time. “How about I give you one chance,” you grip his shirt, balling the material into a fist. “Yield.”
As you swing, your fist connecting with his cheek, a blast sounds off and the room is covered in dust, not allowing the spectators to see the carnage that was dealt. You lay feet away from the man, bloodied, bruised, and battered, completely out as Genma rushes into the dust cloud as it starts to settle. He’s standing between you and Dosu, looking between each of you frantically as he waits for movement.
You barely appear to be breathing as Dosu slowly climbs to his feet, preparing another blast with his good arm as you lay still. He wasn’t sure whether you were real or not, but he wasn’t willing to take chances.
Genma quickly declares him the winner of the round before rushing towards you with Asuma jumping from the second floor viewing area. Your entire face is bloodied, your ears having a bit of fresh blood coming from the damaged eardrums. The two men check for a pulse, your sensei sighing in relief when he feels the faint thud of your heart.
Choji and Shikamaru watch, frozen in horror and disbelief. Neither expected you to use your justu, but neither also expected to see you lose, nearly losing your life in the process. You were always so careful. Shikamaru hates how frozen he feels, just how afraid he feels about going down to you. What if you stopped breathing when he got there? What was he supposed to do or say if he faced your father? No, it wasn’t his fault, but what else was he to think?
Neji was perplexed. He wasn’t necessarily concerned for you. More so, he was curious about you. What made you so special? What secret was your family guarding? And why did your opponent stupidly face away from you and attack an empty wall?
He couldn’t wrap his head around anything but something he was told once upon a time, long ago when his own father was still alive.
Illusion justu. A dangerous creation by the L/N clan. They’re branch head has a child just a year younger than you, Neji… You’d do well to make them your friend. They may be of some help to you one day.
What could you possibly offer him that he didn’t already have?
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Taglist: @shikamarunaraaa @niktwazny303
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petals2fish · 1 month
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Chapter 13: Dragon Country (Lily’s POV)
Notes:
I'll be away from my main computer this week and possibly next--which means this might be the last update until March 10th! I hope not, but pre warning we might have to go two weeks without a Quest update. Blame school and work and second work for all deciding to have major projects due all at once. :p
Lily trailed behind James as they ventured through the Forbidden Forest. Eerie yellow fog cloaked the now dead trees and stumps that surrounded them. Accompanied by Marlene the falcon, the couple moved through the desolate landscape in silence. James had long stopped responding to her, especially after she inquired about his favorite books.
"I keep forgetting!" she'd exclaimed, partially horrified with herself.
Then, she was partly upset that he had snapped back so harshly, "Lucky you!"
Lily glanced back over her shoulder at the green trees that had once seemed ominous. Now, she was more scared of this part of the forest, which was too quiet for a forest and too open. Her mother had once told her that if the animals ever stopped talking, she was to walk slowly home without looking back over her shoulder.
The wind, Aura, still followed them. It danced and swirled around them, as if it liked the more open air. Marlene rode on Aura’s gales, her wings fluttering in the breeze. Lily liked Marlene; the falcon seemed to like her too, based on the way she stayed between Lily and James.
James, confidently leading the way through the rugged terrain, abruptly dropped to one knee, his movements deliberate and purposeful. With a swift motion, he scooped up a handful of dirt, bringing it to his nose to inhale its earthy scent. Lily observed with amusement as James' handsome features contorted upon detecting an unexpected fragrance, resulting in a forceful sneeze that sent the dirt scattering from his grasp.
"Bless you," Lily whispered in a lighthearted tone, but her attempt at humor was swiftly halted by James' stern "Shh!" His attention remained focused on the ground, a serious expression replacing his initial carefree demeanor.
"The allergies this time of year are just dreadful," she remarked with a lack of amusement, "shall I fetch you a napkin?"
"Shouldn't ladies remain silent and unseen?" he retorted.
Lily raised her eyebrow, "unfortunately for you, I'm not much of a lady."
Meanwhile, Marlene had settled herself on what appeared to be a sturdy dead tree stump. To everyone's surprise, the aged wood disintegrated beneath her, sending her briefly airborne. Lily's eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively edged closer to James, the sound of her leather shoes cracking against the dry soil.
Using his staff to keep a cautious distance, James quelled Lily's unspoken worries without even looking at her. Unfazed, Lily crossed her arms, giving him an expectant stare. "What's the matter, James?" she inquired. "You seem particularly irritable, even for you."
After a deliberate pause, James finally revealed the reason for his alertness, his gaze fixed on the ground rather than turning towards her voice. "We're in Dragon Country," he disclosed. "It's the most perilous part of the forest."
Recollections of her father's stories from the north resurfaced in her mind. The dragons Sir Lionel had faced had a peculiar habit of laying eggs within the heart of the forbidden forest. It dawned on her that, unknowingly, they were now treading the ground of a bona fide dragon nursery. Her stomach rolled at the thought of an angry mother dragon going after them for getting too close to her eggs.
James didn’t seem worried; he just seemed testy. He picked up some dust from the ground, feeling its texture. Lily licked her dry lips, looking around nervously for a sign of any dragons. She didn’t see any, and James stood up and motioned silently for her to follow. Lily stood still, not sure if she suddenly wanted to venture any farther.
Marlene perched on Lily’s shoulder, talking to the young girl to reassure her. Trust, little lioness, she said.
She’d been called that once, twice, so many times. The fact that Marlene knew to call her little lioness was a clue, a flashback to a life where she had once been happier.
“You are Merlin’s bird,” Lily recalled softly to the animal, “aren’t you?”
Marlene ruffled her feathers as she answered with her little chirps, Yes. 
“What are you doing here?” Lily asked.
I was learning the forest from James, the bird said, and looking for the sword. 
The sword the griffin took, Lily said.
Yes, Marlene nodded her small head, I originally went after the griffin. 
“Stop chatting and start moving, ladies!” James called.
“We’re coming!” Lily sent him a rude gesture that he couldn’t see.
Marlene nibbled her ear affectionately. Be patient. The world has not been kind to him either. 
Marlene lifted herself up into the air and hovered overhead, likely looking for dragons too. Lily was grateful that Marlene was there, though she wondered if Merlin missed his bird. Or if Marlene missed Merlin at all.
Lily also wondered what Marlene had meant about the world not being fair to James. She pondered his origins, his lineage, questioning if he wasn't a guardian of the forest but merely an ordinary man, desperate to prove his independence.
Yellow and green geysers erupted around them as Lily nervously glanced about. Both she and James ascended a hill, reaching the other side of a cliff. James seemed oblivious to the falcon and girl's conversation or simply didn't care, focusing instead on sniffing the air, leaning on his walking stick.
Still apprehensive, Lily joked, "Are you sure this is Dragon Country? Shouldn't there be a sign or something?"
A flicker of a smile crossed James’ face. “I don't know many sign makers who’d willingly travel into the forest alone to make signs for the rare blind traveler passing through.”
“How long have you lived here?” Lily asked, attempting to gauge his history.
“A long time,” James answered sullenly.
“It must’ve been lonely,” Lily offered.
James’ tone fluctuated, betraying a hint of pain. “I’ve gotten by.”
Lily looked down and realized the rocks they’d been navigating were, in fact, a dragon skeleton acting as a bridge. She winced and jumped closer to James. If he noticed, he stayed silent, lightly brushing a hand against her elbow.
Navigating through a gorge teeming with the eerie remnants of dragons—skeletons strewn across the rocky terrain, ominous carcasses, unhatched eggs, bubbling lava pits, and sporadic geysers—Lily found herself instinctively clutching James' arm for reassurance. In response, James casually shook her off, prompting Lily to stick her tongue out at him, though he couldn't see her sassy response.
Unsettled, Lily voiced her unease, shooting James a pointed look. "This is seriously giving me the creeps. Have some empathy for those of us who can actually see it," she remarked, her words tinged with nervous tension.
James, the master of dry wit, responded with sarcasm. "Nothing is scarier than a world of darkness. But by all means, go ahead and complain."
"Do you want me to describe it to you?" she inquired, deftly sidestepping a gooey, open egg capsule.
His response was curt and indifferent, tapping his cane on the ground as if counting to ten. "Not particularly."
Undeterred, Lily pressed on, detailing the grotesque scene unfolding around them. "There are these green, gooey old eggs in nests, and geysers blowing out yellow smoke that smells like rotten eggs—"
"I said no thank you," James interjected.
High above, Marlene circled with her sharp falcon eyes, vigilantly scanning the skies on their behalf. Lily couldn't help but marvel at the thought of pitting the falcon against a dragon, although the idea of facing a dragon herself wasn't particularly enticing.
"You don't think we'll encounter any dragons, do you?" Lily mused aloud, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Is there a group of dragons, a pack, or a flock? Perhaps it's a gaggle or a pride? Could it be a herd?"
"Quiet!" James interjected abruptly, extending his hand to signal her to hush.
"Did you hear something?" Lily inquired, her attention now focused on potential dangers.
"No," James muttered, "I just want you to be quiet."
Lily frowned deeply, and for half a second considered tripping him for his general git-like behavior. "Do you even have friends?" she asked with a sour tone, releasing his elbow and glaring in his general direction. "Or are you so unpleasant that no one sticks around?"
"I have friends," James replied lightly, tapping his walking stick on the ground.
"Marlene doesn't count," Lily deadpanned, eliciting what sounded like laughter from the bird above. James chose to remain silent, seemingly eager to ignore Lily's quips, a reaction that only fueled her amusement. Despite his outward demeanor, Lily couldn't shake the feeling that James might not be as mean as he portrayed himself.
As they descended, James forged ahead, oblivious to the erupting geysers. Unbeknownst to him, a massive rock slab crashed in front of Lily due to the commotion. Startled, she jumped back, spotting two dragon-like shapes in the distance. James, continuing without looking back, remained oblivious to the unfolding events. 
Lily, cautiously retreating, accidentally stepped on an egg, recoiling in disgust as green slime covered her foot. With a series of "gross" and "ugh," she cleaned her shoe, only to hear growling noises.
Suddenly alone, Lily panicked as James and Marlene were nowhere to be seen in the yellow fog. Avoiding screams to prevent alerting dragons, she sought cover near a rocky outcropping. A dragon's shadow loomed, prompting her to freeze.
"James?" she whispered, her gut churning.
Suddenly, she found herself pulled into a nearby eggshell by two hands. Startled, she tried to cry out but realized she was in James' arms when she looked up against his hard chest. His eyes up close looked like a pretty pale gold, she tried not to think about that though. Or how strong his roughly shaven jaw line was. 
"I thought you left me to die here," she hissed.
"I considered it."
“You–”
Before she could continue, a cracking sound nearby interrupted her. Cautiously peering out from the eggshell, Lily tried to ignore the fact that James still tightly held her waist. Despite her resistance to marriage, she couldn't help but appreciate his strength and buff arms, narrowing her eyes to focus on the yellow fog and distract herself from the pleasant sensation of being held.
Lily's gasp echoed through the gorge as she noticed shadows on the wall.
"Look!" she exclaimed.
Quick to silence her, James clasped a hand over her mouth. In retaliation, Lily licked his palm with her tongue, prompting James to gag and wipe it off on his shirt. Lily grinned at his disgust, relishing the small victory. However, her triumph was short-lived as the acidic taste on her tongue made her regret the impulsive move.
“Ew,” she bemoaned, “you taste like dirt.”
“And you talk too much,” James offered. “I think we’re even.”
Shadows moved against the wall again, and they weren’t hers or James’. Lily pulled away in his arms, anticipating the arrival of a big, bad dragon. She stood up slowly, ignoring James’ protests.
"James, I think there are dragons out there," Lily said, only to turn around and face a tall dragon's head.
A dragon!
Both Lily and the dragon screamed simultaneously.
As Lily tumbled backward, the eggshell she was in shattered, and the tall dragon's head retracted into the other half of its own shell. Lily almost fell onto James, but he caught her at the waist as he stood up too, flabbergasted by her behavior.
"Oh, it's definitely dragons," Lily stated in bewilderment as two voices appeared.
Oh, heavens! Someone's found our hiding place, exclaimed one.
Another, attempting to take charge, interjected, Shut up! Let me handle this. We are dragons! Ferocious, hungry dragons! So go away before we eat you! 
A strange animal claw appeared, its attempt at intimidation accompanied by shadow puppets on the wall depicting a monster's mouth and roaring sounds. It was as if they hadn’t realized Lily could still see them. Lily arched a brow, thoroughly confused.
“What’s going on?” James whispered, his breath tickling her ear.
“I don’t know.”
Lily tried to make out the shape, hiding behind the sheer eggshell. It was thin, long, with a shiny tail sticking out of the end. Black in color, but it almost seemed like it had two heads.
“Describe it too me?” James asked urgently, “I can’t fight unless I know what you’re looking at.”
"I thought I talked too much?" Lily flipped her hair, smacking his face with it. 
"Lily." He warned, teeth clenched. 
“Listen, I’m not even entirely sure, but I think there’s a two-headed dragon in front of us, making shadow puppets on the wall,” Lily was aware how insane she sounded, James' jaw actually dropped.
“Are you hallucinating from the dirt you just licked off my hand?” James asked, concerned. “A two-headed dragon? Really? Next, you’re going to tell me they’re wearing jackets.”
The animal sarcastically commented, Oh, so funny. That is clever. Is it because we’re cold-blooded? 
James released his grip on Lily, and together they stood tall with the help of the staff. Lily observed as James approached the dragons slowly, wielding his walking stick as if prepared for a confrontation. Startled by the odd appearance of the creatures, Lily covered her mouth and hissed for James to stop.
He ignored her; she should’ve guessed it.
“James,” Lily hissed again, “I don’t think you should bother it.”
“I don’t think it's dangerous.” James hit the eggshell, the pieces falling to the ground.
Lily was surprised when it fell away. It was a two-headed dragon, long and thin, with small wings that looked velvety. Its scales were black, with a faint rainbow hue that Lily might’ve found beautiful had it not been the oddest dragon she’d ever seen.
Please don't hurt us! pleaded the head with two horns.
Unimpressed, James remarked, "Huh. And here I thought you were ferocious dragons?"
We’re half wyvern, half dragon, clarified one of the heads.
Lily’s head tilted as she remembered tales of the wyverns and dragons from her father. “How does that work?”
“Mama dragon meets papa wyvern,” James muttered. “What a dangerous creation.”
"They don't look dangerous." Lily countered James, earning nothing from him but a sigh. 
The real bullies are in the sky above, explained the hornless head.
"The dragons?" Lily clarified. 
Yeah! They're always picking on us, calling us names, pushing us around! I hate them! added the next one.
James prodded the wyvern’s body with his staff, prompting one head to protest, Hey, hey! Easy with the stick, buddy. 
Curious, James inquired, "What exactly would you call yourself?"
The second head responded with a touch of humor, Well, frankly, we're the reason cousins shouldn't mate. 
As they stood up, Lily observed in speechless astonishment. Peering around James’ tall frame, she struggled to convey the sight to her blind friend. Two heads, two necks, but a shared body. They had beautiful black scales from head to tail, smaller membranous wings, coal-colored eyes, and sharp white teeth.
The one with two horns introduced himself, I’m Sirius, and pointing to the hornless one added, this growth on my neck is Remus. 
I’m the good-looking one, Remus added, earning a giggle from Lily.
“Nice to meet you,” Lily said, offering her best curtsy as a silly gesture. 
You are beautiful, Sirius said, what are you doing hanging out with tall, dark and handsome? 
"Oh, we're just friends," Lily explained, "we just met, actually." 
Odd place to meet, Remus muttered to Sirius, bth heads swiveling between the couple in question. Did they not know it was Dragon Country?
James intervened, suggesting to Lily, "Come on, we ought to go; Marlene’s waiting for us up ahead and the wyverns will attract the dragons attention."
Lily followed James but cast a glance back at the two-headed wyvern. Sirius and Remus waddled after them, their long tails waving behind as they moved on all four legs, contrasting with the traditional dragon gait. Lily's brow furrowed, recalling her father's explanation that wyverns were smaller than dragons, and this encounter confirmed it. If they stood up, they would only be a few feet higher than James.
"I feel bad for them," Lily hissed at James, "imagine being bullied just because of who your parents are."
"I'm convinced you'd feel bad for any creature, Lily." James rubbed his neck, "and before you ask, no, we are not taking them with us."
Where are you all going in a hurry? Remus inquired loudly, from behind the couple.
"To save Camelot!" Lily declared with determination, ignoring James' prod into her stomach with his staff. 
Camelot? Sirius chimed in.
Can we come? Remus added.
At that moment, a distant roar echoed, sending a shiver down Lily’s spine. Instinctively, she grabbed James’ hand. His hand flexed in hers, revealing surprise at the connection, but he didn’t let go this time.
“James,” Lily’s voice betrayed her fear. “I think that was a real dragon.”
“We need to get out of here,” James hissed, more under his breath than at Lily.
Behind her, the beating of wings caught Lily's attention, and she swiftly turned, spotting something ominous. Without hesitation, she faced the direction James was in and started running, pulling him along. James yelped, but her grip was firm enough that he stumbled before catching up and running with her. A colossal, fire-breathing dragon emerged from the mists, unleashing a torrent of flames directly overhead.
“Slow down,” James warned her, “I can’t see where I’m stepping!”
But it was too late; he tripped, and his staff flew ahead as he stumbled. Cursing with the mouth of a soldier, Lily leaned down and helped James back up, more flames shooting over her head. James willingly accepted the help, a faint smile on his face as strings of curses continued to escape Lily’s mouth.
“You’ve got terrible manners for a lady.”
Lily grunted as she pulled him forward again. “I told you, I’m not a lady.”
“I just figured,” James responded lightly, almost flirting, “your hands are soft, like a lady’s hands,” he added, as if they weren’t close to death by dragon.
Trust him to flirt with her when they were about to die.
“Focus on something other than my soft hands,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.
“I can’t when you keep grabbing me like some lovestruck girl,” he shot back like an oaf.
“Lovestruck girl?” Lily gasped, tugging her hand from his pointedly. “I’d sooner kiss a dragon.”
“Would you rather keep fighting about kissing something that's trying to eat you, or live?” James countered as the dragon roared again.
“Live, for now,” Lily agreed, firmly grasping his hand again.
As Marlene emerged through the swirling mist, emitting a warning scream, Lily interpreted it as a signal to follow the bird through the haze. Glancing back, she observed the wyverns skillfully dodging fire instead of taking to the skies. Looking ahead, she abruptly stopped when she noticed water bubbling just a foot away.
It was a slimy green lake adorned with floating dragon eggs.
“That’s not good,” she exhaled.
Puzzled and concerned, James questioned, "Wait! What is it?"
Don't worry. It's perfectly safe, Sirius reassured, thrusting James’ staff toward the blind man with his tail before the two-headed creature hopped onto floating eggs to traverse the acid lake.
Hesitant, Lily and James stood at the lake's edge. James cautiously poked his staff into the acid, and Lily winced as she witnessed the tip burning. James must’ve smelled the burned wood.
"Hmmm. Safe?" he remarked, breaking off the charred part of his staff.
Remus, with a touch of humor, commented, So long as you don't step in it. 
Sirius and Remus, already balancing on large eggs, struggled to maintain their equilibrium as they navigated the floating platforms. Lily tugged at James, urging him to follow her to the other side. Stepping onto the first egg, she wobbled but managed to steady herself, drawing on memories of practicing balance on the walls at home and keeping her core tight.
She skipped lightly, focusing ahead rather than looking down. Despite her wobbling, her experience riding horses in a standing position had made the crossing less perilous than she anticipated.
Safely reaching the other side with the wyvern, Lily watched as James carefully traversed the acid lake, guided by Marlene from above. However, the dragons reappeared, flying menacingly toward James in tandem. Lily hugged herself, feeling a panicked twist in her stomach as James, disadvantaged by his loss of vision, slowly made his way across.
What's taking him so long? Sirius exclaimed, pawing at the ground.
“He’s blind,” Lily snapped impatiently at the wyvern. “He can’t see the eggs!”
We gotta go, sweetheart, Remus urged, twisting his neck around Sirius', his eyes wide as the dragons closed in.
“Give him some time!” Lily retorted, her eyes fixed on James’ form. “James, hurry!”
"Marlene, help!" James exclaimed, nearly slipping, but with Marlene’s quick sound assistance, he managed to hop onto another egg on his right foot.
"James!" Lily urged, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. “Please!”
The thought of losing him was more painful than anything. Despite his rocky exterior, she enjoyed bantering with him, his moody mutterings, and the way she and Marlene could gang up on him. She knew he liked it too; she’d seen him smile more than once. She’d spend the rest of her life trying to make him smile if he’d make it across.
“Hurry up!” Lily screamed, “they’re right behind you!”
"You think this is easy?" James retorted as he jumped to another egg.
“Your left, James, your left!” Lily practically sobbed her warning, fearing he would soon be engulfed in flames.
As if adding to their troubles, another dragon emerged from an acid waterfall downstream, spewing fire and causing a tidal wave of acid. Marlene swooped around James’ head, alerting him to the impending danger. James skillfully leaped just as the water rushed, successfully reaching the other side. Stumbling on his feet, he rolled in the dirt and eventually crashed against a dried-up egg.
Quick to react, Lily rushed to help James back to his feet, placing his staff securely back into his hands. “Nice job,” she breathed, “you were amazing.”
“Thanks,” James mumbled, shaking off the dirt.
Lily could tell he was pleased, his cheeks flushing red with a mixture of accomplishment and exertion. She clapped him on his back as they both started running after the wyverns, who were now leading the way.
The trio of dragons relentlessly pursued them, lighting the way through the dense yellow acid fog with their fire. Positioned beside James, Lily shouted warnings to guide him, alerting him to jump, dodge, or duck as they sprinted through the hazardous terrain. Fire breathed by the dragons ignited explosive eruptions in the ground, but miraculously, they all managed to evade the fiery breaths.
Amidst the chaos, Remus suddenly exclaimed from up ahead, Look out! It's another dragon! 
A winged figure materialized from the fog ahead. Lily skidded to a halt, extending her arm outward to ensure James would run into it safely. Marlene screamed, the female falcon adeptly dodging the large body emerging through the smoke.
Lily would have recognized it anywhere.
"That's not a dragon; it's a griffin!" Lily observed, then gasped as men wielding weapons emerged from the fog on the ground. "And Ruber!"
With a swift motion, James knocked Lily behind him, staff raised in a defensive stance, fully prepared to shield her from the imminent threat posed by the griffin and the approaching adversaries. Lily's stomach flipped with a mix of fear and gratitude, realizing that he cared for her enough to place himself between her and deadly danger. The gravity of that gesture resonated within her.
Turning, Lily positioned her back against his, looking up at the menacing trio of dragons approaching. In that moment, a determination surged within her. She couldn't let James bear the burden alone. If he was willing to risk himself for her, then she, too, would do whatever it took to protect him.
Alone, together.
If she could buy him even a few precious seconds to escape, she considered it a sacrifice worth making. Or perhaps, in the worst-case scenario, they might both meet their end. Yet, Lily found a strange solace in the thought that, at least, they wouldn't face death alone.
Down here! Remus called out from their right.
Lily quickly scanned the surroundings and witnessed Sirius and Remus swiftly jumping into a wormhole nestled among the rocks. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed James from behind and pulled him toward the beckoning opening. Marlene followed closely, her cries piercing through the thick fog.
Follow them, Lily! Help James! she cried.
In a coordinated effort, Lily jumped, dragging James along with her, and in an instant, they were swallowed by the wormhole, entering a dried lava cavity. As they descended deeper into the earth, the walls of the cavity seemed to close in around them, and the world outside faded into obscurity. The deafening roars of the dragons and the shouts of Ruber’s men above grew distant. Lily held onto James tightly, a mix of relief and uncertainty washing over her as they slid down into the mysterious depths of the earth.
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queerchaser · 4 days
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CHAPTER TWO: THE BEGINNING TO AN END
You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.
Hogwarts was a magical place; figuratively and literally. The old majestic castle was full of various, mainly happy, memories carried by multiple generations, full of surprises, like many hidden passages almost no one ever fully explored and it was surrounded by one of the most beautiful landscapes, from the dark and dangerous, yet somehow terrifyingly beautiful Forbidden Forest to the Great Lake, which was home to a giant squid and a village of somewhat shy but territorial Merpeople. People liked returning to Hogwarts, it was like their second home; delicious food and feasts in the Great Hall were certainly a bonus point to their stay, but parties in their common rooms and dorm rooms they shared with their housemates, who in most cases became their best friends, even families, were undeniably the best part.
As great as Hogwarts seemed, maybe even was to some, it had its issues; the main one being the rivalry among the houses, which usually turned people, mainly ones from Gryffindor and Slytherin, against each other, friend against friend, sibling against sibling.
Asterin scanned Sirius’s face when they exited the train, facing something like his less talkative younger self, Regulus Black; Sirius gave him a frown while Regulus looked right through him, as if he, or Asterin in that matter, wasn’t even there. It stung, her heart ached for Sirius; they loved each other once, they were best friends as children and with her, they made a trio, the Black brothers and the Knightley heir. They spoke very rarely and even those conversations were limited to judgement and insults, and occasionally, Regulus threw in a snarky comment, reminding Sirius who he was; not a Black, not anymore. And it hurt Sirius each and every time, not because he wanted to be a Black, but because it was his little brother who was saying it; he had never shown a sign of it, however, but Asterin had always known right as it left Regulus’s mouth, because it hurt her too, for Sirius and herself. Despite the bad relationship the brothers had, Asterin never gave up on either of them; it took Regulus some time to stop fussing about Sirius’s temper (and his reaction to Regulus’s Sorting Ceremony), but it eventually got better as he grew older and more mature, accepting Sirius for who he was – an immature prick, in his eyes. Nevertheless, he still couldn’t swallow his pride with Sirius and Sirius gave him the same treatment back, which was why, although being friends, Regulus didn’t give Asterin a single look.
Who gave Asterin a look, though, was Severus Snape. He gave one to all of them; a nasty one. And he got one back, from all of them. He scanned them all with his dark eyes, a disgusted grimace appearing on his face, as if he just smelled something horribly off, and turned around, walking off with his friends. Asterin couldn’t help herself but roll her eyes, immediately annoyed; if there was someone in Hogwarts whom she would ban from breathing the same air she and her friends were, it would be Severus Snape, not only incredibly annoying, but also nasty and prejudiced bully Slytherin. She couldn’t stand him, neither of them could; the only one who could stand him from their whole friend group was the kind-hearted Lily Evans, who had known him even before setting foot into Hogwarts for the first time, what a poor thing.
Asterin looked around, looking for the redhead who had just crossed her mind; although it was usually quite easy to spot her and the rest of Asterin’s dorm mates in a crowd, she couldn’t see them anywhere.
“Maybe they already got a carriage,” Sirius noted, almost as if he read her mind. She nodded.
Without another word, the five friends all started walking to the carriages, as a soft, a bit colder breeze ruffled their hair; Asterin remembered she had a sweater in her bag. She buried her hand in the bag that was hanging from her left shoulder, pushing away what seemed like an anti-muggle propaganda book from the top of a warm brown sweater when she almost stopped dead in her tracks. She frowned a little from surprise, but quickly gathered herself to prevent her friends from asking questions; she scanned the creatures hooked to the carriages, dark and skinny, winged, and for some reason ones she had never seen before. She looked at her friends who seemed indifferent. Did she just never notice them before? Impossible.
Her confusion didn’t leave her even once they got on one of the carriages. The creature puffed, which reminded her of a horse – it certainly wasn’t a horse.
“Rin?” Sirius asked quietly to not catch the attention of their friends and she turned to him. Noticing his look, she realized he must not see them; she must have looked crazy, staring at nothing. “Are you feeling well?”
She chuckled a little; she actually felt a little crazy.
“Fine,” she said, sitting straight. Sirius blinked a few times, checking the place she was so intensely staring at just a second ago; there was nothing there.
Asterin fished inside her bag again, finally pulling the brown sweater out and quickly putting it on. She noticed an approving nod from Remus.
“What?”
“Nice sweater,” he smiled and she smirked, maliciously.
“I know, it’s yours,” she said and he frowned, scanning the sweater again; it was, indeed, his. The other boys scanned it too, remembering all the times they had seen it on Remus and then, suddenly, not, sometime around halfway through last year’s winter; it made them all chuckle in unison. Remus opened his mouth, half-offended and half-amused; how come he didn’t notice?
“Give it back.”
“Never.”
“Asterin Knightley, take off my bloody sweater,” he ordered, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Take it off me yourself then, coward,” she mused, batting her eyelashes innocently, earning a whistle from Sirius, while James and Peter laughed and clapped. Remus squinted his eyes.
“Might just.”
“Go on,” she raised her eyebrows with a smirk on her lips. He copied the look on her face and leaned closer to her, while she raised her hands in the air to help him obtain his stolen possession, the smirk never leaving her face. He gently tugged on the hem of his sweater, but then stopped halfway, looking into her eyes; his smirk got wider.
“You know what, keep it,” he said as he let go of the sweater and leaned back on his seat; the boys started cheering again, on him, this time. Asterin’s mouth fell open from surprise, yet the corners of her mouth started twitching upwards almost immediately.
“How absolutely dare you?” she pressed her hand on her chest with every ounce of dramaticness she had in her; she deserved a pleased smile from Remus. She looked at Sirius sitting next to her in play disbelief and he sighed, putting his hand on his forehead, matching, maybe even outshining, her performance. The whole carriage was swallowed by the burst of laughter from the five friends; it didn’t stop until they reached the castle and as annoying and obnoxious as the other carriages found them, they didn’t care, after all, they were finally together after such an unbearably long time.
Laughter is good for the soul. – Asterin proved the statement right without even realizing; who did realize, however, was the dark creature pulling their carriage, a beautiful, yet for some terrifying Thestral, that finally felt in its normal habitat, feeling no eyes on itself. Nevertheless, the smart soul did find a way to remember Asterin’s face, knowing she would be one of those, whom its kind, from then on, won’t be able to hide from, ever again.
°
As soon as Asterin stepped inside the Great Hall, nostalgia hit her right in the face; she couldn’t believe it had only been two months since she last stepped foot inside the massive dining hall, it felt like an eternity. So much had happened during the summer, so many things she would rather have forgotten, that it almost felt as if she aged about ten years; she felt a certain linger in her chest, she was glad, glad not everything changed, glad some things stayed as they were, as she remembered them.
For a split second, she looked back, noticing Professor McGonagall lead the new first years inside the castle; their faces were so impressed and full of sheer excitement, that it warmed her heart. Her head was pleasantly spinning from the sentimentality, remembering herself and Sirius in their first year, right before the Sorting Ceremony; small and frightened, knowing what was expected of them yet not feeling the part, holding each other’s hand and eyeing their new classmates. She remembered how her stomach dropped when the Sorting Hat sorted Sirius; he was shocked, sending her a terrified look and she sent him one back, thinking the encouraging whisper she gave him after his name was called was the last thing she would ever tell him. She remembered how her eyes fell on the Slytherin table, noticing the look on Sirius’s cousins’ faces, they were both shocked; Narcissa looked outraged, offended by the audacity of her little cousin who just betrayed their whole entire family, yet Andromeda looked somehow pleased, as if a part of her expected it to happen. It was then and there that Asterin wished she would end up in Gryffindor, more than ever before, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t care what defying her mother on such a level would do to her family or her; she was sure she would rather face Cornelia Knightley for giving in to the temptation of being nothing like her family than leaving Sirius all alone. And so when the Sorting Hat sorted her into Gryffindor, she didn’t care about the scolding or the curses she would get from her mother, because she was happy to stay with Sirius – some would say it was just an act of a little child who didn’t want to leave her best friend behind, or a frightened child who didn’t want to be left alone, and they would be right. However, it wasn’t the only right statement, as the act was one of bravery and loyalty, the qualities needed to become a part of the red and gold-coloured house. And Asterin was all of those things; a frightened child with a lot of love for her best friend and a Gryffindor through and through, no matter what she was once forced to believe she was.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a giggle right next to her.
“What’s so important over there?” she snapped her head to her right, seeing the ginger-haired Lily Evans grinning at her. Her smile got wider as the girl pulled her into a tight embrace. She could smell something similar to strawberries in her hair, it brought her a strange feeling of familiarity, safety, something home-like, yet nothing like her own house; it reminded her of the smell of their dorm room and their bathroom after Lily left with freshly washed hair. Only then did she realize how much she missed all of the little things too; it almost made her feel pathetic, missing the smell of shampoo, but it was the truth and it was just about to bring tears to her eyes once again, when she felt someone else hug them both from the left.
“No hugs without me, birdies,” the blonde spoke with her deeper, yet still feminine-sounding voice, tightening their hug with her strong, Quidditch-exercised arms, which only added a bit more to the attractiveness of Marlene McKinnon.
“Or me,” Asterin heard the voice of another one of her dorm mates. She felt her hands wrap around them and gently stroke her hair, which made her smile; after all, it was Dorcas Meadowes and her dreadlocks who inspired her new look and Dorcas knew it too, as she was the one who was once trying to talk her into it.
“Don’t you dare forget me,”  Asterin could smell Mary Macdonald’s signature perfume before she could feel her tight embrace and she laughed, feeling about to be squeezed to death, but not minding it at all.
They all slowly moved to the Gryffindor table and sat down a little further back from their places last year, just as everyone else, so it created seats for the first years in the front. It didn’t last long until the door to the Great Hall opened again, revealing Professor McGonagall and the first years. She scanned the Gryffindor table, her table, eyeing the new Prefects, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans, and giving them a small smile as Sirius whistled at her; the woman didn’t even react as it became his little tradition to confuse the newcomers about two years ago, and just as they all expected, the first years that heard it truly looked confused, giving him weirded out looks or giggling, much to Sirius’s amusement.
It didn’t mark long after that year’s Sorting Ceremony started when Asterin started feeling restless. As much as she enjoyed watching the ceremony all the years before, guessing where the children get sorted based plainly on their appearance and their name (mainly enjoying clapping louder than everyone else together with Sirius when those from strict Slytherin families got sorted anywhere but Slytherin, much to all the older students’ hilarity), she wasn’t particularly interested in being in one room with the whole school; something about it felt a bit too exposing, a bit too unsafe. Everything around her frustrated her; the chatter among her peers, how the Ravenclaw boy a table over bounced his leg nervously, probably awaiting his sibling’s sorting, even Mary’s breathing beside her. Everything around her, every rustle and every sudden move, was beyond bearable and she couldn’t wrap her mind around why; she didn’t feel like herself, her palms were sweaty and she felt like every breath she took wasn’t satisfactory enough. She didn’t know what to do; lay down, walk around, hug someone or perhaps stay completely alone – neither felt right and so she just exhaled the air in her lungs through her closed lips as she twisted a silver ring on her index finger for about the hundredth time that night.
As concentrated as Sirius was on the sorting of a boy named Travers, he looked at Asterin; after all, he had already known the little slug would end up in Slytherin. She didn’t look good, not to him at least; she seemed anxious, which was rather unusual for her and something in him reminded him about their little unspoken deal from the train – they needed to talk. She looked as if she was in a trance, her eyes fixed on one spot on the table in front of her, twisting a silver ring on her finger around. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, scanning the ring; he had never seen it on her before, also, Asterin had never worn only one ring. It was strange, everything about her was strange. He fixed his eyes on her for long enough for her to notice; she looked up at him and he raised his eyebrows. Asterin felt her heart being squeezed in her chest; his grey eyes were so genuinely concerned it made her want to crawl up somewhere and perish – she didn’t want to worry him, that was the last thing she wanted to do. She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyebrows turning slightly upwards; he hugged her around the shoulders and pulled her closer to him, trying to offer her all the comfort he could in such a public setting.
“You wanna leave?” he asked, to which she quickly shook her head, curling up into his chest, and hugging him around his waist.
“People will talk,” she said, his face forming into a grimace; did she just subconsciously quote her own mother?
“Fuck them then,” he said and he felt her chuckle, or perhaps scoff, he couldn’t really tell, as her face was buried in his shirt, hidden away from the world. He gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her down as best as he could right at that time. Everything felt strange. Asterin, who was usually very confident and didn’t care about what anyone thought about her or her friends, was now curled up in Sirius’s chest, gripping onto him as if he was her only hope for the future, her only safe space. And it broke Sirius’s heart, because he had known her his whole life; he knew her before she found herself, when she was just a little girl who was scared of disappointing her family, he knew what it took for her, for the both of them, really, to start forming her own opinions and dissociating from everything she was taught her whole life, and he knew just how much it would take to destroy it all, to make her feel like this. And it scared him, the fact the whole two months of her silence were a secret for him scared him, but beyond everything, he was afraid no amount of comfort, hugs, pretty words or stupid jokes could help the situation his best friend found herself in.
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hiya loves, second chapter's out for you.
i don't see much activity on the first chapter, but i hope you liked it anyways (but y'all did like the ''front page'' of the whole thing, so thank you for that. links to all the chapters are always on the pinned post, aka the ''front page'').
first chapter: here
thank you and let me know how you like this one.
<3
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