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braveclementine · 6 days

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Chapter 11

Warnings: Allusions and innuendos towards OC sleeping with a Professor

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌, Harry showed me a letter from Sirius. Sadie had come back with the reply. It read:

Harry- I cannot say everything I would like to in the letter, it's too risky in case the owl is intercepted- we need to talk face-to-face. Can you ensure that you are alone by the fire in Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd of November? I know better than anyone that you can look after yourself, and while you're around Dumbledore and Moody I don't think anyone will be able to hurt you. However, someone seems to be having a good try. Entering you in that tournament would have been very risky, especially right under Dumbledore's nose. Be on the watch Harry. I still want to hear about anything unusual. Let me know about the 22nd of November as quickly as you can. Sirius.

Then Harry handed me an unopened letter, also from Sirius. "Thought you'd want your own letter."

"Thanks." I said, taking it.

Eilís, Don't risk anything. I don't want you caught outside at night. Someone's obviously after Harry and I'm sure they're after you too. I know you're in Hufflepuff, but see if you can meet with Harry on the 22nd of November, if he can make it. I'd like to see you too, just in a safer zone for all of us. Love, Sirius

"He puts love in your letters?" Harry asked, "Why doesn't he do that with me?"

"Maybe because I sign my letters with love first." I said with a shrug, putting the letter in the bottom of my bag.

"You think he loves me?" Harry asked thoughtfully and I looked at him in surprise.

"Of course he does." I said warmly. "But you two are a man and a boy. Males show love a bit differently than girls do. We nearly always sign our letters with love and the boys or men we write to always know to sign their letters with love."

Harry looked slightly cheered and said, "I wonder what his reaction would be if I did sign a letter with love."

"He'd probably think someone's impersonating you." I said, a bit amused, spearing scrambled eggs on the end of my fork.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖉𝖆𝖞, The Daily Prophet released the article. I got a copy that morning. I read it and started laughing. Harry leaned over my shoulder to read the following paragraph.

I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. . . Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. . . I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me. Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevy, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one of two girls, either Hermione Granger, a Stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl or Elizabeth Kane, a gorgeous half-blood, both of who are top students in school, just like Harry himself.

Harry's face turned red. "I didn't say any of this!" He said in a panic.

"I know." I said. "I wasn't laughing at that. I was laughing about Hermione and I being part of the stupid newspaper."

Hermione wasn't even fazed. "She lies a lot when she writes, doesn't she?"

"It's her Quick-Quotes Quill." I said through a mouthful of egg. I swallowed and said, "Her quill is meant to exaggerate for better stories. More sorrow, more hype. It's just for longer stories as well 'cause the Quill uses more words."

"Stupid thing." Harry said vehemently.

"There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up." I said. "Want to go? I think I'll bring food for Sirius..."

"Sirius is nearby?" Harry asked. I nodded.

"We won't go to his hideout right now, considering he won't know we're coming and I don't want to scare him, but I can leave food on a rock at the Shrieking Shack. I told him that's where I'd leave food."

"Sure" Harry said and that was the end of that.

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𝕳𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌 a bad time, snapping at people when he finally had enough. He confided in me that he admired the way Hermione and I dealt with it.

"It's nothing Harry, you just let them get to you and I don't blame you. I've gotten into a couple of fights with Draco already, but I usually keep them on the downlow." I'd replied. "But yes, I'm with you in admiring Hermione." I paused and then said, "here's some good news. Ron will be your friend by Tuesday."

"That's good." Harry said a bit vacantly.

I spent a lot of time in library. Viktor Krum was spending a lot of time in there too. Sometimes we studied together and he confided in me that he was very interested in Hermione Granger, though he didn't know her name. He simply said, "your friend." and with a couple questions, I found that it was Hermione.

I was pleased by this and often talked Hermione up when I had the chance. Hermione on the other hand, was irritated by Krum's presence in the library.

"He's not even good-looking!" she muttered angrily as I studied with her and Harry one day. A group of giggling girls were spying on his from behind the bookshelves. Hermione hated the noise. "The only like him because he's famous! They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that Wonky-Faint thing."

I dropped my mouth in horror, goggling at her and started to cough. "Wronski Feint." Harry and I said at the same time. Harry's teeth were gritted and he burst into laughter at my face.

Hermione glared at us and we stopped laughing, but continued to grin.

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𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝕳𝖔𝖌𝖘𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊. Harry took his invisibility cloak, wanting to hide from Ron. I rolled my eyes but let it go.

We went to Honeydukes first and bought large chocolates filled with white cream. It was thick, a bit like frosting and they were good. We walked out eating them. It was a much different atmosphere now, and I could tell Harry could feel the difference. We were more free, no one was shouting horrible things at Harry- they couldn't see him.

I had a basket filled with sweets on my arm along with Chicken legs that I'd taken from the Lunch table this afternoon. We walked down to Shrieking Shack and I set it down on top of a rock. I didn't wait, I told Sirius we wouldn't wait- not wanting anyone to see him- and, looking around, I didn't see him in person or as a dog and we went to the Three Broomsticks afterwards.

Hermione went to get the butterbeers. I did not want to talk to Madam Rosmerta, who I knew was curious to meet me. I went with Harry to a table in the back. We passed Ron who was sitting with Fred, George, and Lee. Fred looked up for a moment, but I passed by without looking at them.

I had nothing against Fred- I quite liked him, though I found my crushes on him and Cedric and others were waning (Snape shined brighter than ever). However, I felt that if I stopped to talk, I might end up chewing Ron out, and I didn't have the energy.

Hermione slipped Harry a butterbeer under his cloak and I drank my own. It tasted delicious and I realized I was going to have to buy some to put in a bottle and send to Trang. Nah, I was going to wait and bring her here. Yeah, that was best.

Hermione pulled out her S.O.E.A. notebook. I noticed Harry and Ron's names were at the very top of the very short list. She'd barely gotten anyone to sign. Nearly everyone thought it was a joke.

"When are you going to give up this Elves rights thing, Hermione?" Harry asked through a large gulp of butterbeer.

Hermione's eyes flared up and said, "When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions! You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens."

"No idea, ask Fred and George." Harry said.

"Hagrid's going to come over and tell you to visit him at midnight." I murmured, taking another sip of butterbeer.

"Why?" Harry asked in interest, looking around, "I don't even see him."

"You'll see him eventually, he'll be talking to Moody. Anyways, you'll wave, but you're under the cloak so he won't see. But Moody's eye sees under the cloak so he'll bring Hagrid over to you." I said after I finished swallowing the hot drink.

I watched at the next table as Ernie and Hannah swapped chocolate frog cards, wearing Support Cedric Diggory badges. Hannah had asked me to come and swap with them and I'd politely declined saying I'd rather not. She'd looked over and seemed a bit surprised that I wasn't with Harry.

Susan was at another table with some of the other Hufflepuffs. She never got a Support Cedric Diggory badge and I liked her all the more for it. If I had to hang out with a Hufflepuff, she was my go to.

I wondered who Harry was looking at. Probably Cho- she was sitting with some Ravenclaw girlfriends. Harry would be happy that she wasn't wearing a Diggory badge.

"Look, it's Hagrid!" Hermione said, motioning.

I wasn't sure if Harry waved or not. Maybe he was waving, or maybe he was waiting until Moody was looking in our general direction. Either way, eventually Moody and Hagrid made their way over to where we were standing.

"All right, Hermione? Elizabeth?" Hagrid said loudly.

"Hello." Hermione said, smiling back.

"Hey Hagrid, Hey Uncle Moody." I said, smiling at both of them. "Professor, I mean."

Moody waved away my apology and stomped around the table to bend down and mutter "Nice cloak, Potter."

"Can your eye- I mean, can you-" I hard Harry whispering beside me. Perhaps he hadn't heard me the first time. Or maybe he was just checking to see if Uncle Moody's eye really saw invisibility cloaks.

"Yeah, it can see through Invisibility Cloaks. And it's come in useful at times, I can tell you."

Hagrid was beaming down at where Harry was sitting. Moody had, of course, told him about the cloak. Hagrid bent down and said very, very quietly, "Harry, meet me tonight at eleven thirty at me cabin. Wear that cloak."

"Nice ter see yeh, Hermione, Elizabeth." Hagrid said, winking and then Uncle Moody and Hagrid moved away, heading out of the pub.

"Eleven thirty?" I questioned out loud, frowning. "I'm positive I had foreseen midnight."

Hermione was frowning too and said, "It is strange that some of your memories are being changed. I wonder why that is."

"They aren't large changes." I muttered, frowning at the table, trying to figure out the puzzle. "Maybe Trelawney will know something."

Hermione snorted vehemently and Harry choked on his butterbeer. "Sure." He said, laughing. "Sure."

I had to laugh too. We soon left.

"Anyways," I said, wrapping my cloak tightly around myself as snow started to come down. It didn't stick and would probably be gone by the night. "Eleven thirty is better anyways considering you have to meet with Sirius tonight as well."

"Will you be there?" Harry asked. "You know the Gryffindor password."

"I'll think about it." I said honestly. "I don't know if I'd risk it, but it'd be worth it. I haven't talked to him in forever."

I separated from Harry and Hermione as we entered the castle. I went to the Hufflepuff common room and went upstairs for a nap. I woke up around ten and headed out of the castle. It was dark out and the stars were shining brightly. I had my wand and art pad and pencil. I was hoping I could find the moon flowers that I had found last time. Besides, the dragons were going to be out tonight and I hoped to get some good drawings of them.

I met with Firenze halfway through the forest. I was glad, because I could've sworn I'd heard footsteps behind me, but hadn't seen anyone.

"Elizabeth Kane, wonderful to see you again." Firenze said softly.

"Hello Firenze." I said cheerfully. "There's dragons in the forest tonight. I'm hoping to get some good drawings."

Firenze smiled. "Yes, we've stayed far away from the dragons. We don't enjoy Centaur barbecue."

I stared at him for a moment, my mouth open in surprise and when I found my voice I said, "You actually made a joke!"

"Was it good?" Firenze asked, smiling, and sounding amused.

"Very." I said, grinning. We set off into the forest. He led the way, already knowing where the dragons were.

I crept forward when we got there. There were four of them, each of them had about seven dragon keepers around them. The Chinese Fireball was already laying down, sleeping. I flipped open my sketchpad. I squatted down and worked on the drawing, capturing as many angles as possible in a short amount of time.

I recognized Charlie and that gave me an idea for Christmas. But I simply wrote a note for it and continued. There was also a Swedish Short-Snout, Hungarian Horntail, and Common Welsh Green. Harry would get the horntail of course, going last.

The dragons were all sleeping for now, I knew they'd drunk some sleeping draft before they'd been transported here.

Suddenly a wizard got very close and waved to Firenze, "Hello there."

"Charlie!" I said, popping up from the ground. Charlie took a few steps back out of shock.

He recovered and stuttered, "E-Elizabeth?"

"Firenze, this is Charlie Weasley, I've mentioned him before. Charlie, this is Firenze, he's a Centaur, obviously." I said, quickly introducing them.

"What are you doing out so late?" Charlie asked, nodding to Firenze politely. Firenze nodded back.

"Oh, well, I wanted to see the dragons and draw them." I said, showing him my rough dragon sketch.

"That's good considering the lack of light." Charlie complimented me. "How'd you know about the dragons? Your visions?"

I nodded. "The visions alerted me. Though they aren't extremely reliable, so I wasn't sure if they'd be here or not." I paused and said, "Hagrid's going to bring Madam Maxime soon."

"Great." Charlie said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll leave you now, Elizabeth Kane." Firenze said, putting a calm hand on my shoulder, "I shall converse with you later."

"Bye Firenze." I said, smiling and watched him gallop away.

I jumped the bush line to get a better look at the dragons.

"I love the Chinese Fireball." I said, starting another rough sketch. "And the Swedish Short-Snout is a very pretty dragon." I said.

"You know the different types?" Charlie asked in surprise.

I nodded. "I pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures class." I paused and then said, "Harry will have to get past the Hungarian Horntail- at least that's what I see for now. It could change."

Charlie brought me around the dragon camp so that I could see the dragons better. I added more detail to my Chinese Fireball dragon.

"I should go back up to the castle." I said, after I had rough sketches of all four dragons done. "The dragons will wake up soon so I want to get out of your way."

"Alright, hopefully I'll see you at the first event." Charlie said with a smile.

I smiled back and then said, "Hey umm, so I know Mrs. Weasley- your mum- is upset about Harry. Tell her that he doesn't actually cry about his parents, will you? Cause he doesn't. Everything Rita Skeeter wrote in there- or nearly everything- he never actually said."

Charlie nodded. "I figured as much. Mum was in floods after reading the article."

"It'll be nice if she knows it wasn't true." I said.

Charlie nodded again. I could hear Hagrid and Madam Maxime's voices approaching and the dragons were starting to wake up. The Hungarian Horntail started to breathe fire and both Charlie and I had to hit the deck to avoid being burned.

"Go, I'll let mom know. And don't tell Harry about this, understand. None of the contestants are supposed to know!" Charlie said.

I kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, I won't."

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"𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓𝖘." 𝕴 𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖉 as Harry approached the Gryffindor Common Room portrait.

"I know." Harry said. "I just saw them. Balderdash."

The portrait swung open and I followed him into the Gryffindor common room. It was 12:55. "You stayed late." I commented.

Harry nodded. "I hoped Charlie was going to drop some hints about what the tournaments going to be like. Any ideas?"

I sighed. "I'm afraid that if I say, my visions will change."

"Well-" Harry said but stopped talking as he had spotted Sirius' head in the fire. "Sirius- how're you doing?"

"Aww man." I complained. "You cut your hair."

Sirius grinned at me but said to Harry, "Never mind me, how are you?"

"I'm-" he hesitated and then blurted out all his feelings about how he's felt in the past week. How no one except Hermione and I believed he didn't enter his name- along with a few teachers. How Rita Skeeter's article had lied about him and he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at. For some reason, he threw in about Hermione and I being punished about it too. And he talked about Ron and how much he missed him and how jealous Ron was.

I stayed silent the whole time, becoming a background object and letting him speak. "...Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner." Harry finished.

"Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute- I haven't go long here... I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."

"What?" Harry said.

"Karkaroff." Sirius said and I stiffened. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"

"They were at the World Cup." I muttered.

"Yes-hes one?" Harry asked.

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year- to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place."

"No wonder he's so scared of him." I murmured.

"Karkaroff got released?" Harry asked. "Why did they release him?"

"Information." I said.

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic." Sirius said, nodding to me. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names. . . he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place. . . He's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, form what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."

"Snape warned me." I said suddenly. "He came after me when I got to close to the ship. He thinks Karkaroff wants to use me to win the Tournament."

Sirius' face darkened. "Snape. . ." he muttered. "He could be right though, as much as I hate to say it."

"Are you saying Karkaroff put my name in the goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. he seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me from competing." Harry said slowly.

"We know he's a good actor, because he convinced the ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet, Harry-"

"-you and the rest of the world-" Harry replied bitterly.

"-and reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm, but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely, Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror that Ministry ever had."

"So. . . what are you saying? Karkaroff's trying to kill me? But- why?" Harry asked.

"He can't possibly want to kill you." I hissed, "Remember my dream, Voldemort wants you. If it is Karkaroff, and I'm not all that sure it is, he'll use the tournament to get you to him."

"What dream?" Sirius asked sharply.

I hesitated. "It doesn't matter."

"Tell me." Sirius said.

I sighed and repeated nearly the whole story to him, leaving out the part about me and talking only about Harry. Somehow though, perhaps through my sucked in cheeks, he knew I was hiding something.

"Spit it out." He said, a bit harshly.

I kept my mouth shut and Harry, who'd heard the story twice, told him what was said about me. Sirius' face darkened even more.

"So Bertha Jorkins is dead and Voldemort is rising because of Pettigrew." Sirius said angrily. "I knew I should've killed him."

"I don't know if it's true." I said, exasperated. "Dumbledore seems to think so but my visions haven't been coming along so truthfully. Besides, it was a dream."

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins." Sirius said in a grim voice, "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."

"So. . . so Voldemort could have found out about the tournament? Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?" Harry asked, pondering this information.

"I don't think Voldemort would be all that happy with him." I said, frowning. "I suppose it's possible though. . ."

"I don't know. . . Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in the goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident."

"Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing. They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff." Harry said, grinning a bit bleakly.

"Right- these dragons. There's a way, Harry. Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell- dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner, you need about half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon-"

"Yeah-" Harry started.

"Shh." I said.

"You can do it alone, there is a way, and a simple spell's all you need. Just-" Harry held up his hand to shush him.

"It's just Ron." I hissed.

Harry and I turned and waited apprehensively and indeed, it was Ron. He stared at us and then at the fire, put couldn't see Sirius from where we were.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Ron said, hesitating in the archway. "Is that. . . is that Sirius?"

Harry and I looked at each other and Harry said, "Yeah."

Ron hesitated and then said, "Er- tell him I said hi. I'll go back to bed." He walked back up the stairs. I turned back to Sirius.

"Ron says hi, but I reckon the witch or wizard will be back soon. I'll tell Harry the spell, Love you."

"Love you too Elizabeth. Good luck Harry."

"Oh, Sirius." I said quickly and grinned broadly, "Harry wants to know if you love him too."

Harry pushed my shoulder so that I nearly fell over, spluttering and blushing, "Shut up Elizabeth."

Sirius snorted, "Of course I do, what a silly question. Also, thanks for the food Elizabeth."

"Bye." I said and with a pop, he was gone.

I yawned and stretched and kissed Harry on the cheek. "Look, I will tell you the spell, not tonight. I want to let Uncl- er Professor Moody talk to you first because he's got a great idea. If he doesn't talk about it though, I'll let you know both things, alright?"

"Sure." Harry said, a bit uneasily. "Night Elizabeth."

"Night Harry." I got up and left the Gryffindor common room and walked back to my own. Would Moody pull Harry into his office? It would be because he talked to Cedric. But would Harry know to talk to Cedric on his own? I was sure he would. I'd keep an eye on it.

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𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖞 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 we were sitting at the Gryffindor table eating. Harry looked sick, eating his bacon. We were about to leave for Herbology when Harry said, "Hermione, Elizabeth, I'll see you in the greenhouses. Go on, I'll catch up with you guys."

"Harry, you'll be late-" Hermione started but I interrupted.

"Good idea Harry, we'll see you later." I said, and dragged Hermione down to Herbology.

"What was that all about?" Hermione hissed.

"Just something I foresaw." I muttered back, "Or, hopefully foresaw."

She didn't ask anymore questions.

Today in Herbology, we were pruning Flutterby bushes. Flutterby bushes quivered and shook, throwing their perfume in the air. The perfume was meant to smell differently to a person, and lure the unwary to them. To me, it smelled a bit like the sea. I'd never been to the sea- we'd never had money for a vacation. I'd always wanted to go to the sea and I supposed that's what the Flutterby bush smelled that way.

I worked carefully as I pruned my bush. I didn't want to cut any unnecessary branches. Harry hurried in after about ten or fifteen minutes into class and came over to where Hermione and I were working.

"Guys," He hissed, "I need your help."

"What do you think we've been trying to do, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking at him over her bush with round eyes. They'd been in the library researching for the simple spell that Sirius had mentioned since I wouldn't give it yet.

"I need to learn how to do a summoning charm properly by tomorrow afternoon." Harry muttered.

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𝖂𝖊 𝖕𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖆𝖉 of having lunch. Hermione and I worked with him until class was about to start. Hermione wasn't going to skip Arithmancy and I didn't want to skip Care of Magical Creatures (I suppose I could've redone the hour but figured Harry didn't need to miss Divination either).

We ate dinner and then rushed to the classroom we'd been before, working on it. I had started practicing it to, demonstrating, while Hermione said theories would help. We worked late into the night- we had the invisibility cloak.

However, Peeves showed up around midnight, pretending that Harry was throwing things at him and started chucking chairs. We quickly left before Filch was attracted to the noise. I made my way back to the Hufflepuff common room, but saw someone moving down to the dungeons.

Curious, I followed. They were creeping around by the Potions classroom. I followed them in after a couple seconds. They weren't anywhere around which meant that they must be in the office. I hid behind the door, crouching down. They wouldn't see me here in the dark. I drew out my wand, waiting.

The office door opened and I waved my wand but I was to slow.

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𝕾𝖓𝖆𝖕𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖈𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 over me, his wand pointed at my face, his own face pale. "Are you okay?" He asked when my eyelids fluttered open.

I grimaced, "Oww, yeah." My head was pounding furiously. I put a hand to my head. "What happened?" I asked.

"I was going to ask you that." Snape said, helping me to my feet.

"I saw someone sneaking around and I followed them. But I guess they knew I was here. . . I don't know how though. . ." I said, frustrated. "I know for a fact that they never saw me. . . they came out of your office. I never saw what he- or she- looked like."

"You shouldn't have followed them." Snape said in a terse voice. "You could have been more seriously hurt than just stunned."

"I. . ." I hesitated. "I was- I was worried." I admitted.

"Why?" He asked, frowning.

"I-" I blushed and turned away and said, "I thought he might try to kill you."

There was a pause. And then he groaned and said, "Damnit!"

"What?" I asked, turning around in shock. He was running a hand through his long hair.

"If he was going to kill me then you most definitely shouldn't have come!" He said very angrily.

"But-"

"No!" He said harshly, slamming his fist against the wall.

I recoiled. I blushed and said, "I couldn't just stand by-"

"You better." Snape said, glaring at me.

We both stared at each other angrily for a long time. Then Snape ran his hand through his hair again and I blurted out, "I l-" I stopped, biting my tongue, blushing furiously. Snape looked at me with piercing eyes. "What?" He asked, a bit curiously.

I shook my head, blushing even more. He took a step closer. My breath caught in my throat and I said, "It's nothing, okay. I'll- I'll go now, I-" He took a step closer, reaching out and taking a lock of my hair. He wasn't looking at me anymore, but looking down. My heart thudded in my chest and I tried to steady my breath.

"Elizabeth. . ." he whispered in my ear and I shivered. His fingers lightly grazed my cheek down to my chin. "Go to bed."

I nodded and choked out, "Yeah. . . of course." I stumbled backwards and turned from the room. I lay in bed, burying my head in my pillow. One of these days, I was going to screw myself up and admit my feelings and I was sure after that I'd have to drop potions or face eternal embarrassment when he admitted he didn't feel the same way.

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌, I felt horribly sick with nerves. Harry would be facing the dragon tomorrow and while I was sure he would do fine, I had my doubts. My doubts weren't based on Harry, but on whether or not things would play out the way that my visions declared.

At breakfast, I barely ate, drumming my fingers on my sketchpad. Then, I went to Moody's classroom. I didn't have class, but I wanted to tell him about the intruder and to ask him to keep an eye out.

I knocked on the office door and heard a voice growl, "Come in Elizabeth."

"Hey, I just wanted to run something by you real quick." I said, stepping into the office.

"Really?" Moody grunted, drinking from his hip flask. "Doesn't have anything to do with your visions, does it?"

I hesitated, imaging Harry flying past the dragons, "Well, no, it doesn't. Actually, last night, I was helping Harry with his summoning charm. And well, when I left, I saw someone sneak into Snape's office."

Moody frowned, or at least what was an attempted frown. His magical eye was zooming around the classroom, but his normal eye was fixed on me, "Really? Did they take anything? Was Snape there? What happened? Do you know?"

I shook my hand, "They stunned me. I don't think Snape was there though. I don't know if they took anything either, he didn't say. But I wanted to let you know, considering your an Auror, that someone's sneaking around."

"Might be a Durmstrang student trying to help Krum. . ." Moody muttered. "or even a Hogwarts student if they thought something in there would help Diggory or Potter. Don't know why they'd think any potions ingredients would help with this task though. . . though they don't know what the task is so maybe. . . hmm."

"Maybe." I said hesitantly. "I have to get to Charms, but I thought you should know."

"Thank you Elizabeth. I'm sure Snape already told Dumbledore, but I'll let him know you came by as well. It's important he knows. I'll keep an eye on students as well." Moody said thoughtfully.

I nodded and quickly left, sprinting down the corridor so that I would make it to Charms on time.

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𝕴 𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 to Snape's classroom after school ended, but the door opened before I could knock or open it myself. I found myself face to face with Karkaroff.

"What are you doing here?" Karkaroff asked.

"I have a-a private lesson with Professor Snape." I stuttered, blushing. He was so tall!

"A private lesson, huh?" He sneered, leaning forwards. I jerked back, hitting my head against the doorframe, realizing just how unfortunate the situation was. I was frozen in fear, our cheeks almost touching as he whispered, "And how private, is private?" His body was pressed against mine. One hand was on my leg, trailing upwards. I stayed frozen.

"I-"

"Karkaroff!" Professor Snape snapped.

Karkaroff moved backwards slowly, moving his hand up to twirl his goatee. "I see. . ."

"It's not- It's not like that!" I said quickly, shooting at look at Professor Snape, a panic I couldn't explain inside of me.

"She has private lessons with several Professors." Professor Snape said, moving between the two of us. He was shorter than Karkaroff, though not by much, but somehow managed to tower over him at the moment. "Now get out."

Karkaroff snorted but said nothing, leaving the potions classroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Professor Snape asked quickly, his demeanor changing abruptly.

"Ah. . . no." I said, blushing. "I'm sorry, I should've chosen my words better."

"No matter." Professor Snape said, brushing my apology away. "He's been looking for a chance to get close to you regardless. Shall we start the lesson then?"

"Oh, right yes." I said, sitting down at our usual table where the ingredients and list had already been set out and we started.

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𝕳𝖊𝖗𝖒𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕴 were sitting on either side of Harry in the Great Hall for lunch. None of us were eating much of anything. I supposed it was nerves. But it was worse than before a Quidditch game- which was stupid. I wasn't even competing this time.

"Potter," Professor McGonagall said, coming over to the Gryffindor table, "the champions have to come down onto the grounds now. . . You have to get ready for your first task." Her face was white and though her body and manners seemed steady, her hands were shaking slightly.

"Okay." Harry said, dropping his fork onto his plate mindlessly. It made a loud clatter.

"Good luck, Harry. You'll be fine!" Hermione said.

"Good luck!" I said anxiously.

"Yeah." Harry said in an off-tone voice and followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall. About twenty minutes later, Hermione and I went down to the arena that the champions would be competing in. We were sitting near the teachers. Ginny, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville were sitting with us. I looked at Snape, who was looking at me. I blushed and sat down and quickly engaged in a conversation with Seamus and Dean.

Ludo came up on stage at the blow of a whistle. He was commentating again. To bad, I would've liked Lee to have commented. Lee looked bored, in the front row and was looking up at Ludo as though insulted that he'd taken his job.

There was another blow of the whistle and Cedric entered the enclosure. I had my fingers crossed tightly, my sketchpad on my lap. The Swedish Short-Snout was in the arena with him. I remembered that they weren't as vicious as the others and was glad that this was the one that Cedric was going up against.

Cedric transfigured a rock, turning it into a yellow Labrador. I was surprised, that was a pretty good bit of magic. Of course- Cedric was brilliant, no doubt about that. The dog barked at the dragon. Cedric was trying to get around the dragon, as the dragon was drawn to the dog, gaining on it.

It took a long time, Cedric was trying to move very slowly, trying not to draw attention to him moving behind his back. I could see the dragon's nest somewhere behind that. Ludo was commenting, "A neat bit of transfiguration right there. . . wonder if it will work. . ."

Cedric sprinted for the eggs and grabbed the golden egg. The dragon turned, around blowing fire. I screamed- and I wasn't the only one. The fire caught part of his face. The dragon keepers were climbing into the arena now, containing the dragon. I saw that Charlie was among them. I crossed my fingers but no one was hurt.

Cedric was taken to the medical tent to get his face healed up. I realized I was gripping Deans' arm tightly and I let go. "Sorry." I muttered to him.

"It's fine." he muttered back, his face darker than usual.

I made sure to keep my hands to myself after that, gripping my knees instead, digging my fingernails in as Fleur came out next against the common welsh green. Again, not a particularly dangerous dragon. Fleur was muttering and waving her wand and the dragon seemed a bit dazed, as though it was being put into a trance. I wondered if Veela could charm animals as well. Looking around, I noticed so of the guys seemed to be in a sort of a trance too.

Out of curiosity, I looked up at the teachers panel. Snape's face was slack and I started giggling and poked Ginny who looked over and started to giggle too. "She's a Veela." She murmured in my ear. "And Professor Snape. . ."

We giggled harder. We watched as Professor McGonagall looked over and saw Snape's face. She quickly slapped him across the face and he reeled back. I think she was very happy that she got to do that, for as she faced back around, she was smirking.

Snape got up, rubbing his cheek and our eyes met. I was still giggling and sucked in my cheeks and looked away, trying not to laugh anymore. Ginny had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"It was a bit funny." I muttered. My hand was on my pencil and I was already drawing the scene, still grinning.

The common welsh snorted and flames caught Fleur's skirt as she got close to the egg. She put the flames out with water and got the golden egg.

The common welsh was taken away and the Chinese Fireball was put in place and the whistle blowed for a third time. Krum walked out, looking extremely surly. I wondered if he felt like this before every Quidditch match.

He was very quick in acting, but so was the dragon. The Chinese Fireball didn't get it's name for nothing after all. It kept blowing fire at him and he kept ducking behind rocks that had been strategically placed there as barriers. He was much quicker than Cedric or Fleur and Krum lifted his wand and yelled something. He was using the Conjunctivitis Curse.

The spell hit the Chinese Fireball in the forehead and she bellowed in agony, stumbling around. Krum got the egg but the real eggs were destroyed when she trampled them and then bellowed in agony at losing her eggs. I actually felt a bit bad for the dragon. Imagine losing your babies like that.

There was the fourth and final whistle and I drew closer on the edge of my seat. Harry came out, looking a bit sick. He raised his wand in the air and shouted something that no one could hear over the Hungarian Horntail's roars- but I knew he was summoning his broom. My fingers were crossed so tightly that the blood was draining from them.

Harry stood there for a moment, looking dazed and people started to whisper. But then, I heard a swooshing sound and heads turned to see his firebolt zooming towards him. It stopped dead in midair beside him. The crowd was shouting for joy. Bagman was shouting, "Well who would have guessed this!"

Harry swung his leg over the broom and soared upwards, and then- he smiled.

He was looking down at the eggs and muttering something and I relaxed. Harry was going to do wonderfully. He dived. The Horntail's head followed him though she didn't move. He swerved out of the way as a jet of fire came blowing out.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman shouted, "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Harry soared higher in a circle, the Horntails head revolving on its neck. He was trying to make it dizzy. Harry plummeted again after a moment, dodging flames again. However, the Horntail's tail came up and graze his shoulder, ripping his robes. I screamed again, this time, clutching Ginny's arm. She'd screamed as well.

Harry zoomed around the back of the Horntail and then moved back and forth. Slowly and gradually, he pulled just a little bit further away, just out of reach of the tail and flames. The dragon roared in exasperation, unable to get to him. Then the dragon reared onto her back legs, her wings spread out, blocking the view for some of the other viewers. He dove, going between her legs and scooping the golden egg up under his uninjured arm.

I jumped up with the Gryffindors, cheering!

"Look at that! Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!" Ludo Bagman was shouting excitedly. He looked hot inside his wasp robes- his face was red and sweat was trickling down his face. I reckoned he should be glad to be hot considering how cold it was outside.

I rushed from the stands as Harry landed in front of Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid.

"That was excellent, Potter." Professor McGonagall said, smiling, though her hands were still shaking, "You'll need to seem Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score... Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already.."

"Yeh did it!" Hagrid was cheering.

I threw my arms around him. "You did wonderfully Harry." I whispered in his ear.

"Thanks Elizabeth." Harry said.

I went with him to the hospital tent, feeling very excited. Madam Pomfrey on the other hand, was in a horrible mood.

"Dragons!" She exclaimed in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside and making him go into a cubicle. I waited outside, listening to her rant. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're very lucky. . . this is quite shallow. . . it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though. . ." A pause, a hiss from Harry and then Madam Pomfrey came out of the tent saying, "Now just sit quietly for a minute- sit! And then you can go and get your score!"

"Hey Elizabeth." Harry called from inside the cubicle. "What's my score?"

"Forty points." I called back. "If my vision is correct, of course. You'll be tied first with Ced."

Harry was on his feet, coming out and I put a hand on his chest. "Sorry, medic in training, go sit down." I said, smirking at him.

"Oh buzz off." Harry said, rolling his eyes jokingly.

Hermione and Ron entered the tent. I kissed Harry's cheek and said, "I'll let you be. I'm hungry."

I started to walk away when I heard someone call my name quietly. I turned to see Barty Crouch there. I stopped walking. He jerked his head, starting to walk towards the Forbidden forest. I hesitated for a second before I followed.

"Let me guess, I was right." I asked, crossing my arms as we came to a stop.

"You need to stay out of this." Mr. Crouch said. "You're just a kid."

Well, that stung. "Just a kid?" I asked, perhaps a bit angrier than need be. "Who warned you about what was going to happen, may I ask? Oh that's right, it was me. The kid. You really ought to listen to me more."

He glowered at me, "Stay out of it." He started to walk away.

"What? That's it? Stay out of it?" I snapped. He stopped turning back to me.

"What? Were you expecting something else?" he asked. His wording, his way of talking, it was all off from the clean, business like man I had met at the Quidditch World cup.

"You're already under it, aren't you?" I asked. "The Imperius Curse, I mean."

There was wavering behind his eyes but he said, "Of course not, that's ridiculous."

"Of course you are." I said, trying to sound kinder than I previously had. "I can help you."

His expression was guarded. "I'm not under the curse."

"So you say." I sighed. "More likely, you're just saying that. I've been under the curse. You're an adult wizard, aren't you? Throw it off. Have the will to throw it off. Cause if I can throw it off and you can't, then you must not want to actually throw it off."

This wasn't true, but I knew anger was a good motivator for throwing off the Imperius Curse. I turned to go and he grabbed my arm, jerking me back.

"Watch your back" he muttered in my ear before letting go of my arm, almost thrusting it away from himself. I tripped over my own two feet, but caught myself before I fell.. He started walking off back towards the tents. I caught sight of McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, and Moody looking at us from far away, but I pretended not to see them, making my way up to the castle instead.

I shook my head, sighing in disappointment. If only I could help him! Then, I could solve this mystery.

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ruckystarnes · 1 year

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Title: The Cold Lord of Beltane, Chapter Two Author: RuckyStarnes Card: B029 Rating: Teen Event: @lokibingo Square: C3 - Free Characters: Loki Laufeyson, Niamh Words: 2,046 Warnings: Summary: Niamh readies herself for her marriage, and sneaks a peek of him before the ceramony. Type: Fic

The Cold Lord of Beltane Masterlist

Chapter Two

Niamh was awakened by her handmaiden, Arwen, opening the heavy curtain of her bed, sending bright light across Niamh’s face, making her wince and groan. She hated mornings, but this morning was particularly dreaded. It was the spring equinox and today was Beltane. She was the one chosen amongst the three other girls to be the céile maighdean, an honor that every girl wished to be chosen for, something that Niamh was happy to be part of, but that was until she overheard the elders talking last night after they had treated her like royalty: bountiful meal, lavish clothing and fabrics, milk and honey bath, the brushing of her long, twisted flaxen hair until it was smooth and tame.

“Niamh,” Arwen said gently, her hand landing on her shoulder. Niamh could hear the apprehension in the young girl’s voice as she was the one that had alerted Niamh to the secret meeting of the elders and knew what was lying in store for the Princess. “It is time for your anointing.” Niamh could feel the girl’s fingers tremble before she pulled back the layers of furs and linen that covered her. Her body felt heavy as she sat up, the shift she wore falling down from her waist, where it had gathered during the night, as she stood. It was like the goddesses were in control of her, making her walk to the basin that was in the corner of the room. Arwen helped her undress and provided balance for her to step into the steaming water. “Elder Sorcha and the other will be in shortly.” And without another word the young flaxen girl left Niamh to her own thoughts, which wandered to last night when the young girl stole her away from the lavish bedding to take her through the dank woods to the fire lit circle amongst the stones.

Niamh was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of Elder Sorcha’s voice as she entered the dwelling.

“Niamh, mo pháiste, mo pháiste,” the old woman smiled gently, a stark contrast to what Niamh had seen last night.

“Elder Sorcha,” Niamh said nimbly, refusing to meet the clouded eyes of the elder.

“You look like you have not rested well my child. Tonight you would’ve needed your strength during the consummation, but maybe your husband will have some empathy for your condition. Most girls are too excited to sleep and nearly break on the bed.”

Niamh snapped her head up, her dark hair falling into the water slightly. “I’m sorry, break?” she managed out in a squeak. She could only imagine being broken in half or bruised, passing out from the pain. Arwen’s sister, Bronagh, was married and had visited shortly after Niamh was crowned the céile maighdean to give her tips on how to make the first time not hurt as much.

“It’s just a wording, my child,” Elder Sorcha smiled and made her way towards Niamh as five more elders joined her from the doorway. The only one Niamh recognized was Arwen and Bronagh’s aunt, Eilís. She knew these five women were there to help her into her white garments and to braid her hair before adorning her with the ceremonious flower crown that she would wear. “As the other elders dress you, I want to go over a few things about when you finally meet your lord,” the old woman went on as the other women washed Niamh and worked her hair, tsking at the wet ends of her hair.

“What kind of things, Sorcha?” she asked feebly, afraid of what things that would need to be discussed. Bronagh already explained how bedding went, what men liked their brides to do and a brief explanation of how; Niamh was embarrassed when Bronagh had her demonstrate on a cairéad with instructions of how to please a man with her mouth.

“Your lord will expect you to know what to do,” she replied in a nonchalant way. Niamh noticed that she used ‘lord’ not husband, as if their union will not bear fruit nor would ever blossom into anything but a servitude. Is this why so many of the Lords take on more than one wife? She nodded along with what Sorcha said, tuning her out as much as she could, not wanting nor caring what she had to say. She was hoping that if she displeased the lord, he would send her away, back to the village or possibly to another, setting her up comfortably to start her life again.

The mid-day sun shone hot and bright when Niamh finally was presentable for the ceremony. Arwen was by her side, Niamh’s eyes shifting to her friend as her heart thumped into her chest and her palms grew sticky; she fought every fiber of her being to not turn around and run, mostly because she was afraid of having whatever ailment Damhnait (who was still absent) received from Sorcha put on her.

“Things will be okay.” Arwen’s words were supposed to bring solace to Niamh, but there was the fear in her friend’s eyes that unnerved her, twisting her stomach into something that would resemble the knot of Ciorclán Coillte’s insignia. They were sitting in the céile maighdean tent that was erected while she was readying the ceremony. Arwen would occasionally look out through the crack between the material flaps, trying to spot Niamh’s lord.

“Oh,” the pale haired girl gasped, “I think I see him. He looks different from the other lords we’ve seen. He’s slender and not as tall. Handsome even.”

“Does it matter if he’s handsome? I can’t stop thinking about how the first wives always come back, distraught, on the verge of hysteria. You remember Aoife? She had a white streak in her dark locks, her eyes wide with fear.”

“But, milady, she was only in her sixteenth year. Young ones are different from us, yes? I suppose we possess more understanding?” Arwen was terrible at trying to make a bad situation better, but Niamh couldn’t fault her for it. There was no way out of the arrangement, one that was made twenty years ago. “Come. Take a look at your lord. He is very sharp and classy, unlike the thick brutes that normally are taking wives.” She grabbed Niamh’s hand and pulled her to the slit, pulling the white material back a little before pointing discreetly to the man who was bending down to listen to Sorcha talk in a hushed tone.

Niamh’s eyes widened because Arwen was right. Loki Laufeyson was unlike the other warrior-like lords that came to her village for a bride or two. Where the others were burly, white-haired, and rough, this one was slender and dark-haired with sharp features and piercing green eyes. There was a soft smile that played on his lips as the soft light from the sun through the white cloth covering made him look more like a faery than a giant.

“Girls,” a voice chided behind them and both turned around to see Eilís with her hands on her round hips, lips pursed and brows raised. “Niamh, you aren’t supposed to lay eyes on your betrothed until Sorcha’s say.”

“We were just seeing who was all in the tent, Aunt Eilís,” Arwen replied stone faced. Niamh was always impressed how easy it was for her best friend to lie to anyone, especially an elder. Eilís just sighed and motioned for the two to follow her, pulling back the curtain to the main entrance. She nodded to Arwen to precede, but dropped the cloth when Niamh was ready to follow.

“Eilís?”

“This lord is different from the rest, but if he should hurt you in any way, send word to me,” Eilís whispered to her, eyes flitting around to see if anyone was nearby. “Your mother might have had sight of this happening, but any after occurrences was not given.”

“But none of the girls who come back are wanted again,” Niamh whispered, her eyes looking down at the brown earth. “I don’t want to disappoint the village.”

Eilís cupped her cheek, her thumb moving gently over her cheek. “You won’t disappoint us,” she reassured her. She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and patted her cheek before turning to go. Arwen reappeared at her side, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I’ll pray to the goddesses that you are looked after, and if you want, I made this for you if he is ever unkind to you.” Her friend pulled out a little dark sachet and placed it in Niamh’s hand.

“A hex bag?” Niamh asked, narrowing her eyes at the bag.

“Only if he’s not kind. You are like a sister to me, Niamh. I don’t want anything horrible to happen to you.”

“I’ll be fine, Arwen,” Niamh said, “you saw him. He doesn’t look like the other men that have visited us.”

“That isn’t a lie,” Arwen sighed and her eyes caught something over Niamh’s shoulder. “Looks like Sorcha’s ready for you.”

Waves of anxiety ran through Niamh’s body as she turned to see the elder smiling gently at them, her hands folded in front of her body. Her stomach rolled, feeling like there was something living in there, threatening to come out. She nodded hesitantly and walked slowly towards her, surprised her limbs were able to keep her upright.

“Your lord is ready for you, m'iníon,” Sorcha smiled, extending one wrinkled hand to her to take. Niamh took it as she took a calming breath. The older woman squeezed her hand and led her to the opening of the tent.

Everyone is there. The elders were sitting at the back of the tent as the families and others sat on the sides. The orange glow of the fire licked along every surface, casting shadows on everyone’s faces. Niamh’s eyes searched the faces she had known her whole life, eyes resting on Arwen and her aunt. Her friend gave her a gentle smile, fingers coming up to give a tiny wave before she nodded slightly to her left. Niamh followed her friend’s gesture, eyes resting on the dark-haired, lithe man with dark leather and cloth draping his body. His features seemed sharper now than they were when she and Arwen peeked through the crack earlier. He was sitting in the chair used for all the men that came to claim their wives during Beltane, the large rowen chair seemed to be even larger as this man, her betrothed, was smaller than the others. The other men seemed inhumanly tall and wider than any yew trees that she had ever seen. Where he had raven-like hair and a smooth face, the others had white hair and beards, so white that it made their rough skin look almost blue. This lord seemed to be the exact opposite of what the North King sent to her clan.

Niamh felt Sorcha pull her; she didn’t realize she was rooted at the entrance, staring at the man that she was supposed to vow her life to. She followed the elder towards the front, everyone bowing their heads as she passed. With each step she took, her stomach twisted further into knots. For the first time since finding out she was the céile maighdean, she wished her mother was there leading her, holding her hand, handing her off to a strange man with words of encouragement, not with a look like a deal was made.

“Your lordship,” Sorcha stated loudly, bowing to the raven haired man, “may I present you your betrothed, Niamh.”

His bright eyes curiously raked over her as Sorcha stepped away from her, dropping her hand. Niamh never felt so exposed as she watched him take her in slowly, and her stomach churned seeing the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. What did that look mean?

“Thank you,” the lord replied, never taking his eyes off her.

Niamh tore her eyes away from him to look at Sorcha. She knew this was where she was to go and take the seat next to him, but fear had her rooted and looking to the elder to change her mind. Sorcha’s eyes enlarged slightly as she gave the tiniest nod towards the dark lord and let go of Niamh’s hand.

#lokibingo #loki bingo #loki #loki laufeyson #loki au #loki fluff #loki x ofc #loki x original female character #loki odinson

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