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cursebreaker-lilith · 4 years

Photo

I only posted her original profile in September, but I’ve changed some stuff and wanted to do a new drawing. Lili was pretty new to me then, and I’ve found her voice a lot more since so it only felt right to have a do over on her profile.

This is all up to the beginning of year 6.

EDIT: Some formatting changes made 5-12-21

BASICS

Name: Lilith Silvia Vesta Brooks

Nicknames: Lili, Pipsqueak, Pip

Name Meaning: Lilith references a figure from Jewish folklore, Silvia comes from her grandmother’s name and references a figure from Roman mythology, Vesta was also chosen by her grandmother and references the Roman goddess of the hearth.

Gender: Cis Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 16 (Variable depending on what year I’m writing about)

Birthday: October 19th, 1972

Zodiac: Libra

Blood Status: Half-blood

Ethnicity/Nationality: White Brit

Sexuality: Self identifies primarily with queer but is okay with being called bisexual. Is also probably on both the asexual and aromantic spectrum, but the words for them hadn’t been coined in her time period.

Appearance

Body:

Height: 165cm / 5′5

Build: Average to stocky, hourglass shape

Eyes: A bright yellow-green, noticeably a bit big and round.

Hair: Pale blonde hair that is very thin and fine. She likes doing it up in different ways, from ponytails, to pigtails, to braids. Right before starting her 6th year, she cut her hair short and permed it on an impulse encouraged by her Muggle friends.

Skin: Pale skin that burns easily but quickly fades into a tan

Misc: Small and usually unnoticeable scars scattered across her hands and face from ice in the Ice Vault that will fade wholly with time (most already have by 6th year). Pierced ears--one in each lobe as a teenager but adds more as an adult.

Material Items:

Clothing: As a young child, she tried to keep up with mainstream Muggle fashion. She preferred lots of bright colors, stripes, gaudy jewelry, and scrunchies. Dear lord she loves scrunchies. As she got older however, she began to phase out of the bright colors and mainstream fashion into something which would soon be called grunge. Not completely grunge however as she still loves her statement earrings and scrunchies. Usually wears baggy/non form fitting clothing.

Accessories: Almost always wearing some sort of dangly and obnoxious statement earrings. Always has at least three scrunchies on her person.

In her school bag: Her wand, at least five scrunchies, school books and papers, books Rowan wants her to read, an old crochet penguin for good luck (her first attempt at crochet animals), crochet hooks and yarn, journal and papers related to Cursed Vault plans, at least three cool looking rocks she found on the ground.

Reference:

Face Claim: N/A

Voice Claim: N/A

Personality

Traits:

+ loyal, friendly, extroverted, responsible, mature, kind, adaptable, quick learner, resourceful, hopeful, courageous

+/— determined, good liar, intense, clever, intelligent, independent

— obsessive, untrusting, secretive, forceful, quick temper, angry, abrasive, single minded, rule breaker, rude, spiteful

Description:

Lili has a lot of pent up anger and a quick temper. She’s angry at her family, at authority, at the world. She’s not good at processing this anger and thus tends to lash out at people very often and often very cruelly and violently. She knows this and tries to keep in check but isn’t very good at doing so even as she ages. Because of her anger, she also tends to keep grudges for quite a while, even for stupid or petty reasons and is slow to admit she’s wrong.

In a better world, she would be known for her friendliness. Lili can be very friendly and relaxed. She talks first and makes a judgement second, trying to be as open minded as possible. She’s very casual yet polite and likes people being the same back to her.

Lili is determined in a way that tends towards the negative. Her laser focus on things tend to quickly become obsessions if someone she trusts doesn’t intervene quickly enough.

After her mother stopped being a parent towards her at a young age, Lili learned to take care of herself quickly. She’s become clever and resourceful in her steps to becoming independent. It’s left her mature and responsible for her age, but also untrusting and secretive, convinced she can do it on her own (or with Rowan only).

Lili is very loyal to those that earn her loyalty. For those she cares about, she would do anything. If you do something to lose that loyalty, expect harsh treatment after if Lili even deigns to speak to you. She’s not afraid of cutting people out of her life if they betray or anger her.

Other:

Likes: crafts (crochet, knitting, sewing), Rowan and Barnaby, scrunchies, dangly earrings, being busy, collecting things, fashion

Dislikes: Merula and Ismelda, Rakepick, Snape, most other Slytherins, people who get in her way, Dumbledore, Doctor Who after the 5th Doctor, not getting enough sleep, flying class

MBTI: ESTP

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Hogwarts

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

OWL Classes:

Astronomy: 6/10 (E)

Charms: 9/10 (O)

DADA: 9/10 (O)

Flying: 2/10 (A)

Herbology: 3/10 (A)

History of Magic: 2/10 (A)

Potions: 4/10 (A)

Transfiguration: 7/10 (E)

OWL Electives:

Ancient Runes: 9/10 (O)

Arithmancy: 6/10 (O)

Care of Magical Creatures: 6/10 (O)

NEWT Classes:

Ancient Runes: 9/10 (O)

Arithmancy: 6/10 (E)

Charms: 9/10 (O)

DADA: 9/10 (O)

Transfiguration: 7/10 (E)

Extracurriculars:

Clubs: Dueling Club (3rd-4th year), Fencing Club (2nd-5th year), Transfiguration Club (occasionally from 2nd year on)

Quidditch: N/A

Prefect or Head Boy/Girl: N/A

Best Classes:

Charms It’s the one class she’s very naturally talented at. She never needs to study much, but she barely has to try with Charms. Someday she’ll beat Ben and be the best in their year at the class.

Defense Against the Dark Arts She’s not good at this because of any professor, she’s good at this because of her excursions into the Cursed Vaults giving her practical knowledge.

Worst Classes:

Flying Listen, if people were meant to fly, then they’d have wings, or a spell letting people properly fly would be created by now. Lili will be staying on the ground, thank you very much.

Herbology She’s lived in the city her whole life and being around so many plants is strange. She doesn’t hate the class, but she does use it to catch up with her friends rather than study.

Potions She doesn’t have the patience for potions, and that’s even when she doesn’t have Snape refusing to acknowledge her existence.

Favorite Professors:

Flitwick She thinks Flitwick is great. There’s not much more to say. He’s responsible but not smothering, and still thinks well of her brother. If she ever had to pick an adult to trust, it would be Flitwick.

Kettleburn She had taken Care of Magical Creatures because Rowan had wanted a third elective and Lili didn’t want to take Muggle Studies or Divination. However, she ended up loving the class and thinks Kettleburn is hilarious. She honestly wished she could take the class NEWT level, but her schedule was already full.

Least Favorite Professors:

Snape She has a very complicated relationship with Snape. He hates her because of her brother (who he did not get along with), because she reminds him of James Potter, and because her nickname, Lili, reminds him of his lost love Lily Evans every time he hears it. Lili, of course, does not know any of this and thinks he just hates her for no reason. Jacob thought he was a Death Eater (he got that from whispers older kids who Jacob knew were definitely Death Eaters), so Lili uses that as justification to not like him.

Rakepick She never trusted her and barely liked her, even before she became a professor. Her opinion didn’t go improve any time in fifth year.

Magic

1st Wand: Blackthorn, unicorn hair, 11 3/4 in, shiny and slightly flexible

“Blackthorn, which is a very unusual wand wood, has the reputation, in my view well-merited, of being best suited to a warrior. This does not necessarily mean that its owner practises the Dark Arts (although it is undeniable that those who do so will enjoy the blackthorn wand’s prodigious power); one finds blackthorn wands among the Aurors as well as among the denizens of Azkaban.”

2nd Wand: Aspen, phoenix feather, 12 in, fairly rigid

“In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.”

Special Abilities: Natural Legilimens, Occlumency

Boggart

Form: Jacob telling her she’s useless and unwanted and that everything she’s doing is for nothing.

Riddikulus: Has not found anything yet that works

Amortentia

What they smell: the Owlery, Standard Ingredient, and something else, something she can’t figure out

What they smell like to others: Lavender, hot chocolate, campfire smoke

Patronus

Form: A goshawk. Independent and intelligent hunters who focus intently on stalking their prey.

Memory: A childhood memory of going to a fair. Jacob looked after her the entire night, and it’s one of the last times she remembers seeing both of her parents laugh.

What they see in the Mirror of Erised: Herself with her family–Jacob is there and looks like how she remembers him, and her mother and father are holding hands and smiling. As she ages, her mother and father are phased out of the image and replaced by her friends, her new family.

FAMILY

Father: David Brooks

Muggle

b. 1943

Works at an accounting firm.

In theory, he was alright with magic and the wizarding world. In practice, it unnerved him more than he could say. When his children started doing accidental magic, and when Jacob came home from Hogwarts talking about nothing but spells and magic, that was it for David. He filed for divorce in 1980 and hasn’t spoken to his ex-wife or children since. He has since married to a fellow Muggle, treating her children as his own and speaking rarely of his biological children. He doesn’t even know Jacob disappeared.

Mother: Carina Flora Brooks (nee Braddock)

Pureblood

b. 1944

Ravenclaw

Works for a wizarding travel magazine as a photographer, travels around the world frequently

She was perhaps not meant to be a mother, and would have been happier following in her brother’s shoes of travelling the world with no responsibilities. However, her mother was insisting she marry and Carina, in a fit of rebellion, decided to marry a nice Muggle she knew instead of the purebloods her mother had picked out.

Carina was never very good with either of her children, and in particular could never get along with Jacob, resorting to abuse (emotional and physical) to try to get him to behave how she wanted. Despite this, she totally shut down when Jacob disappeared, feeling like a failure. This led to her severely neglecting her daughter to wallow in her own misery day and night. It also led to an irrational hatred of Hogwarts. She refuses to read any letters sent by them and has made several subtle attempts to make Lili miss the Hogwarts Express.

Brother: Jacob Seraphinus Ulysses Brooks

Half-blood

b. March 8th, 1967

Slytherin

Currently missing.

Never able to make friends easily or keep his mouth shut, Jacob always had a hard time fitting in, so he turned to books. He preferred fiction over nonfiction, but one history book’s mention of Cursed Vaults on Hogwarts’ grounds led to a search that would dominate his, and his sister’s, life.

He was an outcast in his house and Hogwarts, besides for a few acquaintances, and instead focused on reaching his goals. He was reckless and brave (the Sorting Hat considered putting him in Gryffindor), but obsessive, secretive, and increasingly dependent on the idea of “the end justifies the means.”

Grandfather: Ambrose Braddock

Pureblood

b. 1903

Ravenclaw

Deceased

Known for being Britain’s first natural Legilimens in a century. The Braddock family is known for being a line of natural Legilimens, but none in the family had had the ability in five generations before Ambrose was born. This ended up leading to an offer of marriage from the Malfoy family who wanted the connection to this rare ability. Later realized his grandson was also a natural Legilimens, but died before he could teach Jacob more than the basics on how to control it and never realized his granddaughter also had the ability.

Died of sickness in 1975 at age 72

Grandmother: Silvia Braddock (nee Malfoy)

Pureblood

b. 1911

Slytherin

Never worked, has always been a housewife

Your typical upper class, conservative grandmother. She may not believe that strongly in pureblood mania anymore, but she still believes in things like “children should be seen, not heard,” and corporal punishment. Was in an arranged marriage to Ambrose and never really grew to love him feeling she was marrying beneath her Malfoy heritage. Fairly reclusive nowadays, only entertaining old friends for brunch and going to the occasional pureblood party.

Uncle: Victor Felinus Braddock

Pureblood wizard

b. 1940

Gryffindor

Has a different job every few months, deosn’t really needs to have one and his work ethic shows that

Considered a fun uncle by his nephew, and an annoyance by his niece. Has a lot of stories, and a slight drinking problem. While his mother was annoyed at him for having a dalliance with a Muggle-born, she was even more furious that he refused to marry Suzie. Victor didn’t want to be tied down, and left her to raise their two daughters only appearing in their lives every few years.

Cousins: Donna and Caroline Jones

Half-bloods

b. 1960 and 1975

Both Gryffindor

Welsh

Their mother Susan Jones was a Muggle-born Sorted into Gryffindor in the same year as Victor Braddock. The two have had an on again, off again relationship since their Hogwarts years that has resulted in two daughters.

Donna was sorted into Gryffindor in 1971 (meaning she would have been roommates with Lily Evans which is a coincidence I swear) and it’s easy to see why. She’s confident, brash, and blunt. She has many problems with her father and refuses to interact with that side of the family. Works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the Ministry.

Caroline is the opposite of her much older sister and was surprised to find herself in Gryffindor (Sorted there in Lili’s 3rd year). She’s timid and quiet, but with a backbone hidden underneath. She wilts at any negative tones, but is always ready to extend a hand to anyone who has hurt her, even multiple times.

Step family: Sabina Brooks, Ioan and Luca Ciobanu

Muggles

b. 1949, 1975, and 1980

Immigrants from Romania to England

After divorcing Carina, David began dating Sabina shortly after and later married her, acting as a father to her two young children. The four of them live together in London.

Pets:

Alfred An easily frightened black cat that once belonged to Jacob

Doctor Hoot A large barred owl that frequently forgets it’s an owl and not a lapdog

FRIENDS

Best Friends:

Rowan Khanna Her best friend!! She originally befriended Rowan because Rowan reminded her of her muggle friend, but it soon blossomed into a different, much closer relationship. Whenever Rowan is gone, Lili doesn’t really know what to do (”I’m going to cut all the sleeves off my robes.” “Why??” “Rowan left an hour ago and she’s like 85% of my impulse control.”) and Lili would never have made it through any of the Cursed Vaults without her. She probably also would have gotten expelled for brawling and dueling in like second year without Rowan. I’m not joking about that impulse control thing.

Barnaby Lee Lili didn’t like Barnaby at first. Even before he worked for Merula, she thought he was nothing more than a stupid jock and made fun of how Snape would pick on him in Potions. Then she actually talked to him and did a complete 180. “I’ve only known Barnaby for an hour, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and them myself.” She liked how sweet and genuine he was despite his awful upbringing. He’s always there to support her, and she’s really grown to love him for that. He once thought he had a crush on her, but it wasn’t really romantic (”The feeling was friendship but he had never experienced it before.”).

Good Friends:

Bill Weasley He’s like the big brother Jacob should’ve been. She was not thrilled to have a complete stranger helping with the Vaults, but in hindsight she’s so very glad she listened to Rowan. Lili isn’t sure she could have gotten half of what she’s done done without Bill’s help and steadfastness.

Charlie Weasley Their friendship kind of crept up on Lili. Charlie was closer friends with Ben and Barnaby, so while Lili had a passing familiarity with him before the Forest Vault, she wouldn’t have called them friends. She was surprised when she turned out to really enjoy his company when he started helping with the Cursed Vaults.

Chiara Lobosca Chiara was someone Lili tangentially knew due to people confusing them for each other (the hair color; once Chiara hits a growth spurt and Lili doesn’t people stop). Then Lili is forced to partner with Chiara in Herbology in 3rd year, and besides seeing her Herbology grade go up the slightest bit, she finds a friend in Chiara, appreciating the girl’s seemingly infinite kindness.

Friends:

Nymphadora Tonks They get along in classes, but Lili doesn’t trust Tonks with anything serious.

Liz Tuttle The two have many overlapping friends but don’t really hang out with each other.

Badeea Ali She really respects Badeea, but they just don’t have many reasons to be around each other.

Jae Kim Lili thinks he’s hilarious and very smart, but doesn’t trust him as far as she could throw him.

It’s Complicated:

Ben Copper Probably the most complicated relationship here. She befriended him out of pity and continued their friendship because of his skill at Charms. He’s had a crush on her since they were 11 when she stood up for him which no one had ever done before. Then the Red Robed Wizard Reveal tm happened and Lili dropped him and ignored him, though he tried to make it up to her. 6th year only drives a deeper wedge between them as Lili can’t stand his recent behaviour. Ben finally confessing about his love for Lili in 6th year didn’t help mend anything either.

Tulip Karasu After finding out that Tulip had purposefully not told her about Jacob’s room, Lili instantly decided she was an undesirable but necessary ally. Lili does not like Tulip for most of their time at Hogwarts as she’s really pissed that someone would keep her brother’s things from her. Lili will talk to her about the Cursed Vaults, but they do not hang out and Lili does not consider her a friend. This really, really hurts Tulip’s feelings but Lili doesn’t really care. The relationship does get a bit better in 6th year, but it’s never going to be a close one. In a better world without the Vaults, they’d probably get along smashingly as while Lili isn’t a prankster, she has no problem egging them on.

Love Interests:

Penny Haywood Her first, longest, and most confusing crush. She was wary of Penny at first. Popular girls were rarely that 100% nice, but Penny truly was. She also had a nice smile and pretty hair and soft hands…. It took Lili quite a while (like four years and Bill telling her) to figure out it was a crush and then….she did absolutely nothing. She panicked and stopped talking to Penny for a while before sheepishly apologizing when Penny confronted her. They went to the Celestial Ball together, but “as friends.” That did not stop them from having a Moment that Lili interpreted completely wrongly and she assumed Penny didn’t like her romantically. Penny in fact did, and since Lili never reacted to their Moment in the proper way, Penny assumed that Lili wasn’t interested. The two continued having crushes on each other for the rest of their time at Hogwarts and remained close friends after they both graduated.

Talbott Winger Her second, less confusing, crush. Similar to Barnaby, Lili didn’t think much of Talbott at first. He was that one kid who was talented at Transfiguration and she once saw him chatting casually to an owl in the Owlery. He was weird and she ignored him. Then she was paired with him on a class assignment in 3rd year and a friendship bloomed despite Talbott’s protests. It was a casual thing at first, but then Lili helped Talbott find his mom’s necklace, and their talk under the stars about family and the past and future deepened their friendship. Having already figured out she had a crush on Penny by this time, she managed to get the signs that she now also had a crush on Talbott, which made her panic, again. However, since Talbott is even worse with emotions than her, she didn’t do anything drastic like she did with Penny. They went on one date in 6th year but that was going too fast for Talbott and they decided to stay friends until Talbott felt more comfortable being around people. Lili took this….mostly gracefully.

Diego Caplan The two met in the Dueling Club in 4th year. Diego was impressed with Lili’s skill and tried to befriend her and also maybe flirt with her a bit. Lili, who tends to gravitate towards people who are unashamedly themselves, found his over the top flirting hilarious and was instantly endeared to Diego. She really enjoyed being around him, finding his lightheartedness helped her forget some of her troubles with the Cursed Vaults, especially in 5th year. He asked her out on a date, her first one, and she agreed. She enjoyed the date, but 5th year was the peak of her obsession with the Cursed Vaults so she broke it off. They later dated again during 6th year, after Lili’s one date with Talbott.

Dormmates:

Rowan Khanna see above

Desdemona Selwyn An OC. Their entire relationship can be explained with that one text post that’s like “Bitch.” “Blocked.” “Wait unblock me I need to tell you something.” “Unblocked.” “Bitch.”

Vidalia Barrows An OC. Lili has said like two sentences to Vidalia and she plans to keep it that way. Vidalia just eats and sleeps and does whatever Desdemona says to do.

Doesn’t Interact:

Murphy McNully/Skye Parkin/Orion Amari/Erika Rath She’s not involved in Quidditch.

Andre Egwu I just can’t think of a way to work him into the plot lol They would get along somewhat well otherwise.

Enemies:

Merula Snyde Hated each other’s guts for a while. Then Lili gave up her Frog Choir spot and Merula gained a small crush (even if Lili was a total ass about giving it up). While they’ll never be friends, by the time of 5th and 6th year they’ve become reluctant allies similar to Lili and Tulip above. Lili will probably never totally befriend her, but she’s learned to be civil and that’s progress.

Ismelda Murk Lili doesn’t really like Ismelda but she considers her all bark and no bite. Ismelda hates Lili because she thinks Lili and Barnaby are gonna end up dating and is jealous.

Desdemona Selwyn An OC. See above.

Most of Slytherin House Lili has never been shy about being half Muggle and being proud of it, and in a house that still worships Voldemort, that sets her apart. The few that don’t find her being pro-Muggle distasteful don’t want to be exiles in their own dorms and avoid talking to her.

Story

Childhood:

Lili’s childhood was never that great. Her parents fought frequently over her and Jacob’s use of accidental magic, and this eventually caused them to divorce when Lili was 9. Her mother in particular was emotionally and physically abusive but Jacob spared her from the worst of it.

Jacob was always the best part of her childhood. She loved her parents, but Jacob was the person she always looked forward to seeing. When he went to Hogwarts, she was upset for weeks, and when he went missing, she was devastated (especially as he went missing the night of her birthday).

Her mother didn’t take it well. Carina was not particularly close with Jacob, but this obviously big failure of her as a parent hit her hard. She became very emotionally withdrawn from Lili and threw herself into her photography work, leaving the country, and Lili, for weeks at a time.

Lili had to become very independent very quickly after that. That, plus the fact that she didn’t have any non-Muggle friends meant she trusted very few people and lied often. Getting her Hogwarts letter was a relief and a promise of freedom

Hogwarts:

: )

see here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1467043

Adulthood:

Lili is very distraught after graduation and leaves everyone she knows behind to travel Europe and find herself. She spends several years doing this, helping people and doing odd jobs.

Eventually, she finds that she has a talent for languages, picking up a few easily in her travels, and starts to consider possibly doing something related to language whenever she goes back to Britain.

Miscellaneous

She fuckin loves scrunchies.

Has lived in a Muggle neighbourhood her whole life.

Likes muggle TV. Grew up watching Doctor Who. Not impressed with the 6th Doctor, and glad she was away at Hogwarts during his run. Favorite Doctor is the 4th and she knit herself her own version of his scarf.

Likes collecting things! She loves cool rocks on the sidewalk, tacky tourist souvenirs, and things you find for $1 in a thrift store.

She can knit, crochet and sew. She likes making little crochet animals and giving them to friends (or just keeping them and having a plushy empire around her bed).

Loves having her photo taken and has a whole collection of photos, but hates taking photos. It reminds her of her mother.

One of her Muggle friends got her into fencing. She thought it would be useful to hone her athletic skills with, so she continued doing it when she went back to Hogwarts in the fall.

The type of person who needs to be doing something 24/7. When she doesn’t have anything to focus on, she tends to be all over the place and rather annoying.

Quieter and more complacent as a kid. it was after her family broke apart that the need to be so driven started to become a part of her personality.

Love Like You from Steven Universe is a song for her and Jacob (from Jacob’s POV)

Chameleon by Michela is a song that fits her

Tropes:

Big Brother Worship

Determinator

Family Eye Resemblance

Good is Not Nice

Hair Trigger Temper

Jerk with a Heart of Gold

Parental Neglect

#hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #jacobs sibling #lili brooks #art be mine #this is super long lol #pls enjoy #texttexttext post

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beautifulmadnesss · 4 years

Text

“Love Doesn’t Discriminate Between the Sinners and the Saints” Draco Malfoy x Potter!Reader Imagine

Summary: Harry’s sister has a secret relationship with Draco Malfoy, but things get complicated in their 5th year with the Order preparing for war and a new teacher set on keeping things quiet.

A/N this is super long, it was originally supposed to be a chapter for a story I wrote several years ago, but I decided I just like it as a one shot. Hopefully it all makes sense.

We were all sitting in class waiting to meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that seemed to have a strange obsession with pink.

"I have a feeling she is going to be our shortest lasting professor yet." I giggled to Hermione.

"I heard she was appointed by the Minster himself, so I doubt it." She replied, of course knowing the answer to everything. I rolled my eyes.

Goyle tried to shoot at a bird Parvati had made, but missed and hit me instead. I turned to glare at him as the bird flew off above us. He gave me a smirk and a wink. I scoffed and turned back around just in time to see the bird fall down to the desk in a pile of ash.

"Good morning children." We all turned to see the new professor, of course covered head to toe in pink. "Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. O.W.Ls more commonly know as Owls." She chirped. We all looked around at each other probably thinking the same thing that she was worse than any professor yet, including the one that was possessed by Voldemort and the one that was Voldemorts closest follower. "Study hard and you will be rewarded." I glanced over at Hermione who was the only one that was actually paying attention. "Fail to do so and the consequences may be severe."

"Are you seriously taking notes?" I whispered, but she ignored me.

"You previous instruction on the subject has been disturbingly uneven," she explained as books called Defense Against the Dark Arts for beginners were passed out to each of us. "But you'll be pleased to know from know on you'll be following a carefully structured, Ministry approved course of defense of magic." She smiled. "Yes?" I turned to see Hermione with her hand raised.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" She asked.

"Using spells?" She giggled and I cringed. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron asked incredulously.

"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."

"Well, what use is that, if we're going to be attacked it won't be risk free." I added in.

"Students will raise their hand when they speak in my class." She retorted, using a somewhat forceful voice that I didn't know she was capable of. I glared at the back of her head. "It is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about."

"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what is out there." Harry interrupted without raising his hand.

"There is nothing out there, dear. Who do you think would want to harm children such as yourselves?" She asked.

"I don't know, maybe Lord Voldemort." He retorted. I smiled in pride at my brother acting out, but I was quickly angered by the whispers of disbelief in the classroom.

"Now let me make this quite plain, you have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large," She moved towards Harry giving everyone encouraging smiles. "This is a lie."

"It's not a lie!" He yelled. "I saw him, I fought him."

"Detention, Mr. Potter." Harry stopped, but I glared at her, I was not backing down.

"Forcing him to clean boards, write lines, organize or whatever is not going to change the truth that Voldemort is back and he is preparing to fight while we sit here and learn this useless stuff that has no real meaning in the real world."

"Miss. Potter, if you would wait in my office, I will give you a private tutoring session once class is over." She pointed up the stairs to her office.

"Gladly." I gathered up my books and went up to her office without looking at her or anyone else.

I waited for what seemed like forever without hearing anything from the class and I assumed her office had silencing charms, so I had nothing to listen to other than the constant meow of kittens that I was sure would drive me insane if I had to endure it any longer.

I heard the door open and Professor Umbridge stepped in and shut the door.

"Miss. Potter, did you enjoy some time to yourself to think about the truth?" She asked in her nauseating voice.

"Voldemort-" I couldn't finish my sentence, I couldn't even breathe, I couldn't focus on anything other than the pain. "Ah!" I screamed and writhed in the chair. I don't remember my wrists and ankles becoming bound, but I couldn't move them anymore. I don't even remember her saying it and I've never felt it before, but I knew exactly what this was.

"Lets try this again, have you had some time to think about the truth?" I was too shocked to speak. "Cruico." I was writhing and screaming once again. It felt like everything was on fire, my entire body hurt more than I ever thought possible, it felt like I was being ripped in every direction and being crushed at the same time. I wanted to scream at her to stop, but I couldn't speak, it felt like I was suffocating. It stopped again and I gasped for air.

"Please stop, you can't torture me." I felt sick at how weak and pathetic I sounded, but I couldn't help it, I knew that she could torture me because no one was going to stop her.

"Are you going to continue to spread lies?" She yelled.

I shook my head and immediately after the pain started. This time it lasted the longest, I felt like it was never going to end, I screamed and squirmed trying desperately to get away from the pain. It hurt so bad, I just wanted it to be over. Once it finally stopped, I gasped and coughed and as soon as I caught my breath I spoke up. "Yes, I'll stop, please, I'll stop."

"Thank you, Miss. Potter, you may return to your dormitory now." Once she spoke, my wrists and ankles were free. I didn't pause or give her any chance to change her mind, I quickly grabbed my bag and left as quickly as I could.

I just made it into the hallway when someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a broom closet. I jumped and whimpered in pain and fear.

"Relax, it's just me." Draco whispered, closing us into the small room. "What happened to you?" He asked.

I took a quick breath and composed myself, trying my hardest to control my shaking body, because there was hardly any space in this closet so we were pressed against each other. "Nothing, just stupid detention with Umbridge."

"You're lying." He reached up and brushed his thumb against the corner of my mouth. When he moved his thumb, I saw blood on it. "You've been gone for hours, when I saw you weren't back for dinner I came looking for you." Dinner? Had it really been that long?

"I'm fine, she just had me doing all this stupid stuff like copying notes out of the book." I fell forward slightly, but Draco was right there and caught me. One of his hands grabbed my wrist and I jerked back in pain. He gently held it again, but tight enough that I couldn't pull away, and pulled up my sleeve.

"I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey." He said, clearly he didn't want me to argue.

"No, you can't, please!" I begged him and he froze, he could hear it in my voice that something was really wrong. I couldn't hide it, especially not from him. "I will tell you what happened but you have to swear you're not going to tell anyone."

"I swear." His eyes held mine as I told him what happened and I knew he was trying to see if I was lying or not. I felt him tense up when I told him about her using the cruciatus curse on me. "You have to tell Dumbledore or McGonagall or someone, she can't do this."

"You promised you wouldn't tell!" I pushed him back as far as the space would allow and tried to leave, but he wrapped his arms around me.

"I can't stand seeing you hurt. Please, tell me what I can do to help you." He whispered.

I couldn't answer, I just started crying. I was crying because I was scared that there was nothing I could do to stop her, I was crying because I was mad that I let her break me like this, and I was crying because I just didn't know what else to do. Draco just held me and didn't try to calm me down or tell me I'd be okay, because he knew I just needed him to be there. We sat down facing each other, we were holding hands and I was fiddling with our intertwined fingers.

"I didn't want this, any of it. I didn't ask to be famous, I didn't ask to be the face of-" I stopped and back tracked, I can't talk to him about the Order of the Phoenix. "My parents died protecting me and my brother. Harry's so good at all of it, or at least as good as you could be, I'm the one who's disappointed them."

"You couldn't possibly be a disappointment to your parents. You stand up for whats right and for the people who can't stand up for themselves. You do the right thing no matter what it costs you. I wish I could be as strong as you."

"I'm not strong. I'm sitting here in a closet having a breakdown with the last person I should trust considering how close you are with the man who murdered my parents-" I stopped and looked up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did. Just like earlier when you didn't tell me about the Order because you think I'm going to run to my Voldemort and tell him everything." He stood up and stepped over me to get to the door.

"Draco-" He kept going as if I didn't say anything.

"I don't know where he is and even if I did, I wouldn't help him hurt you, because in case you haven't noticed, I care about you a lot. If my family found out I even spent time with you, they would hate me and never speak to me again and that's if I'm lucky. I'm risking everything to be with you and you can't even trust me." I felt so small.

"I'm sorry!" I sobbed, standing up to face him.

"Don't. Let's just stop pretending, you can't trust me and this isn't worth giving up everything that matters to me." He didn't let me argue, he just left.

I sat in the closet and cried until I had no tears left. I wasn't mad, I was hurt, but mostly because I knew he was right.

I left the closet and realized that it was well past curfew, so I quietly made my way to the common room, but along the way I bumped into Umbridge.

"Out past curfew, Miss Potter?" She asked with a sickly sweet smile. "I think you'll need to come to my office for another detention."

"No, I-I-" I tried to find some way out, but I was terrified and it was difficult to speak.

"Now Miss. Potter." She demanded and I was left with no choice but to follow her to her office. She shut the door to her office and I sat down in the chair, but was shocked when the locks didn't click into place. "You're going to be writing some lines for me tonight." She placed a piece of parchment and a quill on the desk in front of me. "You're going to write 'I must not tell lies.'"

I didn't have any ink, but I didn't want to argue, so I just picked up the quill and began to write. The quill filled itself with red ink. As soon as I finished the first sentence, I felt a painful scratching on the back of my hand, but I ignored it and continued to write. After another sentence the pain was too intense to ignore and when I looked down to examine my hand I saw the exact sentence I was writing had been etched into the back of my hand. I realized that it wasn't red ink I was writing with, but my own blood.

"Is there a problem Miss Potter?" She asked.

"I'm not doing this." I replied, putting the quill down, trying to act bold, but terrified for her response. It came much faster than I was expecting. I felt my hand burning in agonizing pain as the words were deeply etched into my skin. I cried out, grasping at my hand and trying to do something to stop the burning. After a few minutes it finally stopped.

"Continue writing please, Miss Potter." Her voice didn't change in the slightest.

"No." I whispered. I was scared of her, but at this point I had nothing to lose and a small voice in the back of my head was telling me that I deserved it because of the things I said to Draco.

"Crucio." I screamed. That was all I could do was scream. She would let it go on for what felt like hours and then she would stop. As soon as I would catch my breath she would start again. I lost count of how many times she did it. After a while I found it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open until final I couldn't anymore and I passed out.

When I woke up I was still shackled to the chair in Umbridges office. Every inch of my body hurt and my wrists and ankles were covered in dried blood. Umbridge waved her wand and the blood disappeared.

"You may return to your dormitory Miss Potter and this time I suggest you actually return straight to your dormitory instead of wandering. If we have to spend anymore time together I fear you might go insane." She giggled as if this was funny to her, which it probably was. I simply nodded and got up to go to my dormitory. "Oh and if anyone should ask why you were not at Hogsmade today, you should just tell them you were ill and with Madame Pomfrey."

I walked across the castle trying to push through the fog in my head to remember where my dormitory was. Once I found the portrait of the Fat Lady, I couldn't remember the password.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in without the password." She apologized.

"That's alright, I'll just wait here until someone comes." I sat down and leaned my head up against the bannister. I still felt exhausted, so it was quite easy to fall asleep.

I felt someone gently shaking my arm and groggily opened my eyes. I looked up to see my brothers green eyes looking down at me in concern. Behind him stood Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and the twins, all of which were also staring at me with worry. "Are you alright? Where have you been and why are you sitting out here?"

"I was ill and I was with Madame Pomfrey." I repeated just as Umbridge told me to. "I just couldn't remember the password."

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so great." Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I forced myself to speak up stand up, but when I did, I swayed slightly.

"Let's get you inside." Ron grabbed my arm gently and placed an arm behind my back to guide me into the common room behind my brother who kept glancing back to make sure I was alright.

I sat down on one the fluffy couches in the common room and everyone else sat down around me.

"I promise, I'm fine." I smiled." Now what did I miss at Hogsmade?" I asked.

"Well, actually, we decided to create Dumbledores Army to learn to fight since Umbridge won't teach us." Neville explained excitedly.

"Neville, this is supposed to be a secret, you do know that right?" Hermione asked.

"Right, sorry." He added sheepishly.

"Are you sure about this, what if she catches you?" I tried not to show how afraid I was, but I had to admit, it was a good idea with Voldemort being back.

"She won't, we just have to find a place where we can practice." Harry said.

"Okay, I'm in." I knew I would regret it, but Neville was right, we need to find a way to defend ourselves. "But first, I'm starving, lets go get some dinner."

When I ran up to change before dinner, I also quickly scrawled a note asking Draco to meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight at midnight.

I found him as soon as we entered the Great Hall and discreetly sent the note skidding along the floor toward him, watching as it hit his shoe. He caught my eye and glared at me, his grey eyes filled with anger. The slip of paper floated slowly until it brushed against his hand. Anxiously, I watched as he read it. My heart sank as he crumpled the paper and turned back to his friends without a second glance at me.

The rest of dinner, I just pushed my food around with my fork, half heartedly participating in the conversation as little as I could without worrying everyone. Eventually we made our way back to our dormitory and into our rooms. I crawled into my bed, counting the minutes until everyone was asleep and I was able to quietly creep out of bed, this time not forgetting my fathers invisibility cloak.

Once I made it to the top of the tower, I slipped off the cloak and sat on the floor with my back resting against one of the pillars. When I heard footsteps, I quickly pulled the cloak up to cover myself until I saw the familiar blonde hair ascending the steps.

"I honestly didn't think you would come," I said, revealing myself.

"Me either." He admitted, coming to sit next to me, though much further apart than he normally would place himself.

I sighed, "I'm so sorry. I was horrible to you earlier. I just honestly am terrified of the future. My entire life, it's just been me and my brother. I've never had someone else to care about and to be honest, I have no idea how to handle it. When we started dating it was exciting to do something so rebellious and dangerous. I liked the idea of doing something I wasn't supposed to, but now I love you and the thought of losing you makes me sick. It's not that I don't trust you, but especially after what Umbridge did I realized how dangerous this was. We are in the middle of a war and in wars people die. People will do anything to win and I'm scared one day people will find out about us and they would use you to get to me. I know its selfish, but for the first time in my life I don't feel like I'm alone anymore." I risked a glance at him, preparing to face the same angry glare that I did earlier tonight, but instead I found that he had shifted closer.

"I love you, too." He said and I suddenly registered that I had confessed my feelings out loud for the first time. "I'm not going anywhere. You're right, this is a war and it is dangerous, but if I know anything about you, it's that you are annoyingly set on fighting for something even if it's a lost cause. So, I promise you that I won't give up on us. I just want you to trust me a little. You don't have to tell me all the details of the Order, but I don't want it to be a constant fight between us."

"I promise." I leaned over and kissed him softly, deciding that even if there was a war going on, that he was right, this was something worth fighting for.

#Harry Potter #harry potter imagine #draco malfoy #Draco Malfoy imagine

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diveronarpg · 5 years

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Congratulations, BREE! You’ve been accepted for the role of BIANCA. Admin Rosey: I think the first thing that came to mind was how powerfully you captured Bunny's voice, Bree. You. Absolutely. Killed it. Your plot points built upon one after the other which shows how you plan to lay the foundation for her and force her to grow, no matter how much she kicks up her heels about it. It can be difficult trying to force a character like Bunny to grow without taking away from what makes her so intriguing and fun, but wow. Am I so very glad to have her added to the ranks, ready to bring us chaos and absolute ruin. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Bree.

Age | Twenty.

Preferred Pronouns | She/her.

Activity Level | I’m studying engineering and running collegiately, so the short answer is that I’m not entirely sure. The long answer is that my activity will ebb and flow depending on my schedule; some weeks are easier than others. But I’ll do my damnedest to be around, even if that means firing off ugly-formatted replies on mobile (or having Rosey or Kiersten format them for me… we’ve done it before).

Timezone | CST.

How did you find the rp? | English class my senior year of high school, with the help of Rosey (no, seriously). I’ve been watching from afar, and I couldn’t stay away.

Current/Past RP Accounts | here, here, and here

In Character

Character | Bianca; Bernadette “Bunny” Dupont

What drew you to this character? | Well… originally, I wrote her. But since that sounds like a cop-out and I can never pass up the opportunity to wax poetic about one of my literary children, I’ll bite. ;)

She’s a piece of work. No, not that kind of work, not artwork—given her art forging expertise, that would be a cliché, and neither I nor Bunny are particularly fond of those. I mean that she’s single-handedly both the easiest and the most difficult character I’ve ever written and, I might argue, will ever write. Self-absorbed and yet oddly self-aware, vulgar in the delicate way only someone with a face like hers could be, and so tenderly cruel it’s endearing—she’s awful, but writing her has never been an inkling as heavy as writing equally diabolical characters has been in the past. She’s somehow able to be a light-hearted character in an environment where that sort of label tends to be reserved for characters like Maeve, all flower petals and naivete and ripe for the slaughter—without encompassing any of that. I don’t know, maybe it’s her youthful appearance, maybe it’s her love of candy and strawberries and her tendency to act so much like a child, or maybe it’s that careful balance between what she appears to be, what she’d like to be, and who she is, but she manages to check off some boxes that appear at first glance to be mutually exclusive. She lacks any concrete ambition outside of being revered, yet she possesses the potential to climb, to do some terrible things, because of that unfocused ambition. Her selfishness makes her a target for manipulation while being an avid manipulator herself. Her priorities are bottoms-up and she’s hardly got what most would call a good head on her shoulders, but damn if she isn’t a coquettish kind of cunning.

I thought I wouldn’t even know where to begin, but I’m having trouble finding where to end. The point is, I love this little brat.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? | Where do you see this character developing, and what kind of actions would you have them take to get there? 3 future plot ideas would be preferable.

Piss off, Picasso: It’s only fitting, I suppose, that a little girl so proficient at mocking her sister (and her friends) behind her doting parents’ backs should grow up and learn to put that art of imitation to good, more mature use in the mob. She’s got it all going for her, really; wealthy upbringing, an eye for detail, and a shameless disregard for plucking coins from the purses of others to feed her own greed—what could go wrong? Plenty. And while I’d definitely like to explore the aftermath of what might happen if she got sloppy and was found out, she’s got her fair share of trouble on her plate right now with her—er, bad publicity. So first, I’d like to see her do well. I’d like to see her get overconfident, make connections, be successful. Once she’s finished throwing her little tantrum about my next plot idea, she’ll probably be inclined to hone her skills, sell a few more paintings to get out of the hole she stumbled into. After all, respect isn’t earned in Bunny’s world; it’s bought.

Paparazzi: It’s not what it looks like. Come on, he isn’t even that cute. Bunny’s moment of weakness, if it can be called that, presents obvious potential for her to either pull herself up by the bootstraps (imagine) or dig herself even farther. This might be the first time she’s gotten into any real trouble, especially the kind that Daddy Dupont couldn’t fix, and she’s not going to handle it well. But her knee-jerk reaction should make for good comedy and some even better plots. How far will she go to prove that she’s still just as loyal to the Capulets as she’s always been (which is to say, not particularly?)? What other mistakes can she make? It’s time to get her pretty little hands dirty, I think. She’s too proud to ask her sister for help, but all bets are off when it comes to Cyrus. Hell, maybe even her connection to Boris can come into play here (counterproductive, probably).

This Is What Makes Us Girls: The relationship Bunny has with Maeve and Juliana is one of my favorite parts about her, because it’s one of the best means for me to flesh out and play with all of the different sides of Bunny. They’re a pretty integral part to the image she keeps up—both that of a dignified daughter and a girl still steeped in candy-lacquered youth, and it’s for that reason that her secret dislike/jealousy of them both is so… telling? Bunny’s conceited, sure, but she is—at her core—insecure. And insecure people—insecure teenage girls, although she’s aged out of that territory—do pretty terrible things. I want to explore the dynamic within this friend group. I want to see her sabotage something important to Juliana. I want to see her have Maeve do her bidding, see her put her friends in harm’s way. Betrayal doesn’t always call for bloodshed; sometimes cutting deep doesn’t call for a knife.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Eh… as much as I’d love to give the usual “yes, give me all the angst,” I’m not really sure that Bunny is the type of character whose death will serve a purpose/further the plot, to be honest. Only the good die young, and she’s anything but.

If at any point the plot calls for it, we can talk about it, but I don’t foresee her developing in such a way that I’d suggest it.

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona? |

That’s a stupid question, she thinks, smoothing out the hem of her skirt and settling contentedly into the plush armchair, half-business and half-play. It’s a copout, almost—the daytime equivalent of asking someone’s favorite color in truth or dare. It’s a wasted turn, a missed opportunity. If she wanted to write love letters to the streets of Verona, she’d pick up the noble art of journaling.

In any case, the answer was most certainly a harrowing tie between her clawfoot bathtub and the half of her king-sized bed farthest from the window—but that sounded so infantile even she might’ve quirked an eyebrow at such a response. This, she realizes, is what it’s like to grow older: to make terrible small talk over lukewarm tea and lie in more dignified ways than she had in her youth.

(She’s twenty-one years, two months, and three days old. This is middle age. This is melodrama.)

“There’s a little candy shop a few blocks from the foot of the Castelvecchio. Their chocolate-covered strawberries are to die for.”

What does your typical day look like?

She likes this one—likes the way it sounds like a question straight out of the magazines she reads in her near-infinite free time, all gloss and understated glamour. In fact, she’s spent a perhaps embarrassing amount of time crafting responses to such a question in the event that she were ever asked, and although this isn’t exactly the avenue she’d had in mind, it’ll do.

Let it never be said that Bunny Dupont cannot compromise.

“I like to wake before the sun,” she lies elegantly, matter-of-factly, knowing damn well that just this morning she’d slumbered until noon but eager to portray the image of a young woman with her shit thoroughly together. The corners of her pink lips turn up in a smile, as if the very thought of a sunrise sways her to cliché thoughts of new beginnings and second chances, of the kinds of phrases befitting the tacky dollar-store decorations Maeve collects like an old man does stamps. How very carpe diem of her.

“I wash my face, have a cup of tea, and try to get a bit of reading done.” When she puts it that way, it sounds quite a bit more like a sophisticated heiress devouring novels in the early morning light than the slightly-less-respectable-but-nonetheless-true alternative of a troublemaker surveying last night’s damage, pastries piled with whipped cream within arm’s reach.

“I like to meet my friends for brunch. Juliana and I are regulars at The Phoenix and the Turtle,” she says delicately, deliberate with her inclusion of the Capulet girl’s name and her exclusion of any others. “I’ll paint a bit in the afternoons…” The little blonde trails off, green eyes darting about as if calling the remainder of her routine to mind. The truth is that she’s already grown bored, and perhaps that’s her own fault; it can get exhausting, pretending to be responsible, truly exhausting—but playing pretend is too fun. “And home for dinner, always.”

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

She twirls a strand of cotton-blonde hair around her finger, a coy display of sheepishness befitting a schoolgirl. What was her biggest mistake? The question demands a certain sort of humility, a level of introspection and honesty she’s never had the need to stoop to in all her years as the Dupont family darling, and if she were a tad less shameless it might even be a little—what’s the word?—unnerving. There was a reason she’d been dutiful enough to go to church on Sundays with her father but had avoided the confessional like her mother avoided carbs, and that reason had nothing to do—okay, fine, but only a little— to do with an aversion to being on her knees.

But she’s nothing if not an opportunist, a performer, and she treads the line between timid and cruel when she remarks, “I held a Montague boy’s hand once. Went home and went through two bars of soap.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

“Firing a gun,” Bunny admits, leaning in as if to let the intern in on a secret, “It’s harder than I expected. “Pulling the trigger, I mean. Takes a bit more pressure than they show you in the movies.” Leave it to her to turn such a grim discussion to something a bit less uncomfortable, a bit more palatable. Leave it to her to dodge the—well, difficult—questions. When have you failed? When have you struggled? How have you grown?

In two words: she hasn’t. (In another two: not yet.)

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

Lingering in the air like her favorite perfume was a rule oft-spoken and waiting to be broken: no politics, it’s simply not lady-like. Her father’s banks backed the Capulets, and where the money went, the Duponts surely followed. For all her selfishness and disdain for anything which drew the attention away from her and her needs, Bunny Dupont understood the necessity of these things—of petty grudges and not-so-petty crimes—for people like them. Wars, even wars like these, needed money: a lot of it.

“I don’t feel I know enough to say much about it,” she says carefully, the gleam in her green eyes looking more like a trick of the light and less like a clue. “I only wish there weren’t so much blood.”

Why? It left a nasty stain.

Extras: If you have anything else you’d like to include (further headcanons, an inspo tag, a mock blog, etc), feel free to share it here! This is OPTIONAL.

Headcanons:

When she was little, she wanted to be an actress or an only child: the former, she told her parents, and the latter, she told her sister.

Her hard liquor of choice is vodka, the flavored kind—the sweeter, the better. She’s mastered the art of taking shots of it with a straight face after many years of practice.

Strawberries are her favorite. Chocolate-covered, in champagne—you name it.

In high school, she got her kicks by scaring off boys who approached her to get a leg-up on wooing Juliana. So many potential suitors shot down, convinced that Cosimo would have them shipped off to some foreign land without their heads or their manhood.

Once, she promised Maeve she’d get her crush to ask her on a date. She was only half a virgin after that. He never called Maeve.

She’s a Gemini (May 30th).

#accepted: bianca #accepted

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my-head-is-an-animal · 7 years

Link

A link to my currently three part piece of Harry Potter fiction. It follows an original character through the Harry Potter universe starting from her first day at Hogwarts, going through the triwizard tournament, graduating Hogwarts, finding a job, falling in love and coming close to death on several occasions. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Here's the first chapter just to wet your appetite slightly:

Chapter 1: My New Wand

Hogwarts had always been home. It was sanctuary and safety, something every witch and wizard understood and sorely missed when it was over. Before I even stepped foot into the warm, welcoming castle, I showed promise. Picking up on simple pieces of magic and trying to understand how it worked before putting it into practice. I was never seen without a book in hand and I went through most I could get my hands on. My father worked as a Healer in St Mungo’s so keeping up with simple medicinal potions and spells was easy enough and with my mother working as an Auror, I was always listening in on the latest dark creature she had battled.

Before Hogwarts, life didn’t seem real, it was like one big adventure. My brother, a fourth year Gryffindor, who had dark brown messy hair and crisp blue eyes, would tell me stories of his first year at Hogwarts and how intimidated he was by the sorting hat. He told me all about the different houses and I was terrified I’d be sorted into Slytherin; I didn’t want to be the odd one out in the family.

‘Most on mum’s side were Gryffindor,’ Darren said, as we walked through Diagon Alley, picking up my first set of school books. ‘Dad has a lot of Ravenclaws on his side, so I guess either one of those would make them proud. I mean there’s a few Hufflepuff and one or two Slytherin, but it’s mostly those two.’

We went into Flourish and Blotts and I happily scanned through the sections, while Darren went around collecting what I needed for that year. I always appreciated the things he did for me, always making sure I was happy and healthy and had enough to keep me occupied. He had been especially helpful that summer, looking after me when my parents were away and explaining things I didn’t understand in some of my books.

‘I think you’ll be in Ravenclaw.’ He said, wandering up behind me and selecting a book off the shelf.

‘Why?’ I frowned.

‘Because you’ve got the biggest brain in the world and Ravenclaws are smart as they come.’ He smiled down at me. I could see why he got so much attention and why he was so popular, he was fairly good looking and kind to everyone he came across. ‘You’ll be great don’t worry.’ Darren winked at me as we paid for my books. ‘Lockwood’s are made of tough stuff and even if you are in Slytherin, I’ll still love you.’ Darren put his arm around my shoulders and we left with my new school books. Next stop, Ollivander’s.

We wandered into the old, dusty shop and I glanced around at some of the wands on display, they all looked so elegant and I desperately hoped mine would be the same.

‘Miss Lockwood.’ A voice from over the desk floated towards me. ‘I wondered when you’d arrive and it seems you are accompanied by your brother. How are you Darren?’

‘Very well Mr Ollivander, thank you for asking.’ He smiled his winning smile.

‘Good, let’s begin.’ I looked at Darren who just raised his eye brows in excitement. Ollivander went into the depths of the shop before bringing back a small stack of boxes. ‘Now, most of your family favour wands made from either Rosewood or Ebony and cores of Dragon Heartstring and Kelpie Hair, though I believe your father’s was Mahogany with Kelpie Hair so, possibly mahogany would suit? We shall see.’ Ollivander said, with a hint of curiosity. He took out a dark wand and handed it to me, I felt it shake and tried to wriggle free of my grip before it was snatched away by Ollivander. We tried maybe thirty of forty different wands, before he gave me a strange look and wandered away to get another wand.

‘Possibly,’ Ollivander mumbled as he came back. ‘This one.’ He unwrapped a pale looking wand that had a beautifully sculpted handle. I took it and felt like the wand was talking to me, there was a warm buzz that ran up my hand, my arm, all the way through my body. ‘Elder with Phoenix feather. That wand has been here for nearly two hundred and fifty years and not one single witch or wizard has been able to match its power. I can see great things for you and that wand, Miss Lockwood.’

I looked up at Darren who looked so incredibly proud. Ollivander disappeared behind the shelves and we soon left the shop with my new wand in hand.

When we got home, my parents still hadn’t returned from work and Darren began telling me about what I’d learn in first year and all the different professors there were.

‘I mean Snape isn’t all bad,’ he said as we sat eating chocolate frogs in the back garden. ‘he’s just a bit thorough, not much of a personality, but as long as you do as he says and don’t talk back you’ll be fine… we’ve got a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year though, Professor Horne left to go study banshees in South America. Dumbledore didn’t say who’d be replacing him, though I heard Snape was looking to apply for the position. Hope he doesn’t get it to be honest.’

Mum and dad eventually came home and gave us a telling off for spoiling our appetite, but we just laughed and sat down to tell them about our day and show them my new wand. Dad seemed particularly interested in it.

‘Well, well, let me see.’ He said, slipping his glasses on and settling down at the kitchen table. His worn blue eyes scanned over the wand and I sat watching him. ‘What was the core?’

‘Phoenix feather.’ I said excitedly. ‘Elder, ten inches with a phoenix feather core.’

‘It certainly feels like a worthy wand for my daughter.’ He smiled at me over his thick black framed glasses. ‘Darling… Adrianna, come and see.’ He called my mother who was getting changed from a hard day battling with a nest of Boggarts. I laughed a little as my father was the only one who called her by her full name, everyone else just called her Anna, a trait I had inherited from her.

‘I’m sorry I rushed away, I had to change sweetheart.’ She said kissing the top of my head as she came down the stairs to see my wand. ‘What are we looking at?’

‘Angelina Lockwood’s new wand.’ My father said, proudly, I rolled my eyes at him, preferring to be called Angie. My father handed it to her and her eyes lit up.

‘Elder? I don’t think anyone on my side has had Elder before? George?’

‘Not on my side either.’ My father shook his head, still smiling.

‘Ten inches, I’m sure you’ll grow into the size.’ She said and slid her elegant hands over the whole slender frame. I looked up in admiration that both my parents knew so much about wands and what it meant to have a certain type. My mother brushed her dark blonde hair out of her face and her shining blue eyes stared down at me, smiling as she handed it back. ‘You’ll do great things with that wand.’ She said kissing my head again and I smiled up at my family, feeling that warm buzz drift up my arm again.

Just before the new school year began, Darren and I were playing on his broomstick in the back garden; he was an excellent flyer and even let me handle the broom on my own as long as I just flew around at a low level and made sure mum and dad didn’t notice. He was on the Quidditch team at Hogwarts as a Chaser and I’d heard he was well on his way to racking up a record number of points for an individual Gryffindor in Hogwarts history. My brother was the world to me, he just seemed to find everything easy and succeeded at whatever he wanted to succeed at.

My father called us both in for dinner and Darren brought us lower to the ground where I jumped off the broom and ran into the house. Darren followed putting his broom next to our school trunks that were packed and ready for us to leave the next day. Dinner smelled amazing. My parents had made my favourite roast chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots, they had made my brother his favourite meal before he left for his first day at Hogwarts as well.

We chatted excitedly about what the next year had in store for me and I was beyond excited to be on my way to the castle I’d heard so much about. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep that night thinking about my new adventure, but I didn’t care.

Once dinner was over, I helped my mother clean up the kitchen, telling her what spells she should use to wash the dishes and tidy away the dry cutlery; my father asked me to come into the cosy living area so that we could have some family time. Little was I expecting a rather small Barn owl to be sitting on my brother’s arm; my jaw dropped and I stepped tentatively towards it, hoping I wouldn’t scare him away.

‘You got a new owl?!’ I exclaimed, gently stroking the owl’s head which he seemed to enjoy. My brother and father just sniggered slightly. ‘What?’

‘I didn’t get a new owl, you did.’ Darren said still smiling down at me.

‘What do you mean? I thought I was taking Percy?’ I spun around to see both my parents smiling at me. Percy was our rather stupid Tabby cat, who had a tendency to eat anything that wasn’t in his food bowl.

‘Darren wanted to get you a present for your first year.’ My mother said, wrapping her shall around her shoulders. ‘He was determined to get you an owl.’ She chuckled.

‘I’ve been saving all summer for him.’ Darren said behind me. ‘Mum and dad said if I took you to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies and help out around the house then they’d help me get the best owl I could find. He’s only young, but he’s got lots of energy and he’s fairly smart. I bet you could train him to be the smartest owl at Hogwarts though.’ I couldn’t help myself, I hugged my brother tight as the young owl climbed onto my shoulder and nuzzled against me. ‘Welcome to Hogwarts.’ Darren whispered in my ear.

I pulled away and laughed, watching as the owl began exploring my arm and looking around the room. My father brought out a small book and a travel cage. ‘Your mother and I decided you’d probably need something to store him in and we got you a guide on how to look after him while you’re away.’ My father sat the cage down on the coffee table and the owl happily hopped onto the top of it, looking very proud of himself.

‘Thank you.’ I breathed. It wasn’t aimed at any one person; they all knew I was grateful to them for what they had done for me.

‘What are you going to name him?’ My mother asked and picked up Percy, letting him curl up in her arms. I looked at Darren and frowned.

‘What should I call him?’ I asked my brother who just laughed.

‘I don’t know, anything you like.’ He chuckled, flicking through the care guide. I thought hard on what name suited such an excitable creature and came up with only one that I thought had a nice ring.

‘What about ‘Ruben’?’ I asked the room.

My father raked his hands through his grey flecked brown hair and observed the owl and myself. ‘Ruben and Angie… I like the sound of it. Adrianna?’

‘Sounds like the beginning of an adventure.’ She nodded. We all sat up for a couple of hours longer and Ruben and I got to know each other a bit. I read through the guide and it told me that young barn owls soon grow into large barn owls so lots of sleep and plenty of food was a necessity. We eventually went to bed and I made sure he had a bowl of food in the bottom of his cage to keep him occupied while I tried to get some sleep.

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foreheadface · 7 years

Text

Apollo Justice: Ace Wizards: Chapter 4 under the cut~ c:

Here’s Chapter 4~ no one’s going to see this because its like 2 o’clock but yunno. dfgh

please tell me if you see any grammatical errors or mistakes. Thanks~

Apollo was up at 5:00, on the dot. Again.

It isn’t like he’s even trying at this point. Breakfast was at 7. Waking up two hours earlier than everyone else was so stupid. The day ahead of him was going to be long.

Before leaving the dorms, he attempted to wake Klavier, but the boy just slapped Apollo’s wrist away and rolled over. Apollo had sighed and looked up a first-year charm to make a candle flicker the moment Klavier became late. Hopefully, it worked if it came to that…

The Great Hall was barely bustling with people when he got down there but Apollo did see one familiar face.

“Hey, Apollo! Over here!!” Athena was standing and waving one of her arms wildly at him, so much so that Apollo felt himself blush from minor embarrassment. Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of people in the Great Hall yet.

“H-Hi, Athena. Why are you here so early?” He said, sitting down across from her.

“Look who’s talking? You look ready to take the world by storm!” She held up a thumbs-up sign to Apollo. “But that’s good, because we have a long day ahead of us,” Athena said, playing with her pigtail.

“What do you mean?” asked Apollo. “We have four classes today. With breaks in between, I might add. Kids in the Muggle world would kill for this!”

Athena grinned at him. “Kids in the Muggle world don’t know the first thing about Wizard schools. Lucky for you, I’m here!” The enthusiasm was radiating from Athena’s face. Guess she really means it…

“Our first class is First Year Potions, which is pretty extreme…” She said pointing to a folded bit of parchment she laid out on the table.

Apollo blinked. “How can any of the first year classes be extreme? We’re just getting started.”

“But it’s all about the teacher, isn’t it?? I’ve heard of her and they say she’s dastardly. Fails you on the spot if you do anything wrong, like make a measly mistake in her class.”

“Her?”

Athena rolled her eyes. “You are such a muggle! Did you even read the schedule??? Our first class is Potions! With Professor Von Karma!!! She’s awful. I also heard she whips students sometimes. She’s also the head of Slytherin House. Bleh.” Athena shuddered.

“Wait, she whips kids?! Like, with a bullwhip??” At least, that was the only thing Apollo wanted to hear. He didn’t even want to think getting something wrong in a class, of all things.

“No! Well, I don’t know. It’s just what I’ve heard. Oh! And History of Magic is awful too. Professor Payne’s gonna be pretty boring. Defense Against the Dark Arts seems promising, though! I’ve never actually heard of this guy before….”

Apollo took the schedule from his bag and unfolded the parchment. “Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Phoenix Wright… Huh… What does that entail?”

“Hm?” Athena looked down the page at when Apollo was pointing and then nodded. “Oh! All witches and wizards need to learn how to defend themselves from creatures or spells meaning to do us harm! Every student at this school takes that class, every year. Though, they must have changed teachers recently because I don’t know who that is, and no one I know has ever mentioned him. Well- no adults, anyway…”

“So you don’t recognize his name? It’s kind of a weird one…”

Athena smirked. “And ‘Apollo Justice’ isn’t a strange name? When you were called for sorting, I could have sworn you were at least a half-blood wizard based on your name!”

“Really? Why would you have guessed that?” And why did your blood status even matter? Athena fiddled with the crescent shaped earring again. “I don’t know… Blood status is just important here… I don’t know why though… It’s not like there’s really even a reason for it… Even grown-ups talk about it a lot.”

Students began trickling into the great hall and Apollo spotted a few owls dropping letters from the ceiling. A grey one swooped down to perch beside Athena with a brown envelope in its mouth. Athena smiled at it and patted its head, to which the little owl leaned into happily. “Thanks, Ponco!” The owl chirped happily.

Athena took the envelope and immediately opened it and smiled.

Another letter dropped in front of Apollo but upon inspection, he noticed that it wasn’t addressed to him. Instead, it was addressed to Klavier. When Apollo reached out to touch it, Athena blocked him. “Apollo, don’t!”

“W-What?”

“That’s a howler. Boy, do I feel awful for the poor soul who received that, today.” She sighed. “It’s only the first day of school. How can anyone’s parents send a howler this early?”

“What’s a howler?”

“Hallo, you two! Cool candle trick, Forehead!” Apollo and Athena looked up to see Klavier sit down across from them at the Hufflepuff table. Apollo rolled his eyes. “You aren’t anywhere near late, you shouldn’t have even known about the candle.”

Klavier shrugging his shoulders. “I saw you do it before you left.”

“But you were asleep! How-“

“What’s this?” He picked up the envelope on the table, to which Athena squeaked. Both boys’ heads jerked towards her. “Athena! Are you trying to make me go deaf?” winced Klavier.

“I’m sorry, but those are just soooo loud… And not the least bit pleasant.” She bowed her head, again playing with her earring. “S-Sorry, Klavier. My owl just dropped it.”

Klavier stared at the red envelope in his hand and nodded. “Wouldn’t say I’m very surprised…”

“W-who’s it from?” Apollo asked reluctantly.

Klavier rolled his eyes. “Who else could it be from?” He sighed and went to open it but Athena shoved her hand across the table, stopping him. “C-Can’t you open it later? People are starting to come in and-“

“When should I open it, Athena?” Klavier bit back, uncharacteristically. “If I wait for later and put it in my bag, it’ll burn my books out of impatient spite. I might as well get it over with. Besides, there aren’t even a lot of people here yet. That means, less people will hear.”

Apollo blinked. “It’s just a letter. Plus it’s the first day of classes. It can’t possibly be that bad.”

Klavier closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “It’s not just a letter, Forehead. It’s a howler.” He said, pinching his nose slightly. Then, Klavier began to rip the envelope open. Before Apollo or Athena could say a word to stop him, a red letter flew out of the red envelope and into the air until it was face-high with Klavier. He rolled his eyes at it and stared it down, crossing his arms in front of him. “What can you say to me that you haven’t already, Kris?” he muttered.

”Klavier, how dare you make a mockery of this family?” The letter exclaimed in a booming voice, as if it were answering Klavier’s exact question. It went on.

“Hufflepuff? Really? You know you could have chosen a more respectable house! At least Gryffindor like Crescend, you narrow-minded child. Do you know what father would say? Or mother, even? Ich sollte nicht einmal sagen, wie enttäuscht ich schon bin.”

Klavier blinked, his features stone-faced, and sighed at the letter, giving no reaction. “Are you done?”

“Auf Wiedersehen.“ Then the letter flipped over in a bowing motion and burst into flames. Klavier immediately began to obsessively brush the ash off of the table with his hand, as if he didn’t want someone to find evidence of a Howler later. Athena exhaled. “That was a lot calmer than I originally expected…“

Klavier shrugged. “Ja, that’s my brother for you. Calm as a bloody living room rug.“ Apollo raised an eyebrow, “I know the Slytherin thing is a prestige thing but why is your brother so mad about it? The houses are, in the end, a personality thing, right?“

Klavier’s ice blue eyes were scanning the lines in the oak table intently. “Since the majority of the Gavins are in Germany, we’re the representatives of the Gavins here. And since it’s only us…” He shook his head. “Kristoph’s always been obsessed with glory. He’s always wanted us to seem just as prestigious as the other pureblooded families… Or even more so. I just think it’s stupid.

“I mean,” Klavier went on. “If I ever become famous for anything, I hope it’s for what I do and not for who my parents and grandparents are, ja? Kris is the other way around.“

Apollo’s brows scrunched up in thought. Kristoph was not sounding like ’older brother of the year’, here. Hopefully, Klavier would forget about all of that stuff his brother said when they finally went to their first class.

Unfortunately, the three were only met with more German.

“Ach! The lot of you! Sit down!“ The woman at the front of the large dark room encouraged impatiently. Her accent was thick. The dungeons were freezing cold, even for very early September. Apollo spotted students with blue striped ties also in the class. Apollo took a look around, making eye contact with Clay, who shot the group a huge grin.

Athena and Klavier walked in front of Apollo and grabbed seats in the second row. Apollo followed and set his bag down, gently, but his head shot up hearing the woman’s aggressive voice addressing them… Or, just Klavier.

“Gavin! You’re late! This does not make a very good first impression! 5 points from Hufflepuff for each of you!“

Athena’s happy-go-lucky demeanor visually changed. “WHAT? There’s still at least ten minutes until class actually starts!“

“10 points for Miss Cykes’s speaking out of turn! Do not make me take 20!“ She snapped. “Now sit down!“

Athena’s mouth dropped open. She turned to Apollo, her eyes wide. Apollo blinked. She isn’t going to be the most fun, is she? He thought, stressfully.

The woman walked to the front of the room, leaning on her podium and large cauldron. She looked over all the students in the class and clicked her tongue.

“As you should already know, this is an introductory Potions course. You will not learn everything, but you will know enough to move up to my next class, Potions II. You will not fail but you may not excel, this is not an easy class.” She paused and smirked.

“My name is Professor Franziska von Karma. Before any of you even ask, I did teach at the school in Germany for a very short time when I went abroad after I graduated from here, but I thought Hogwarts was more promising and suited for my tastes so I came back.” Apollo shuddered at the word ‘promising.’

“I do not give out participation points or extra credit of any kind. I expect you to do better than your best in this class or your marks will reflect your poor effort if you, the student, so chooses. Homework must be turned in at the beginning of class- I will not go easy on you! I expect you to write every lecture down on parchment and I do not have extra quills if you forgot your own so do not even ask me.

“Also, Ravenclaws! Just because you were sorted into that house does not mean you will do better in my class than anyone else here! If you do not do exactly as I say, you will fail- for I only run perfect classes. If you fail, it is solely on you.” Apollo saw Clay slump his shoulders from the corner of his eye. “Now take your Magical Drafts and Potions books out of your bags if you haven’t already and we shall get started, yes? Turn to page 60 und we begin reading the chapter. Then, we commence classroom safety when dealing with potent and dangerous potions.”

Apollo inhaled, doing as he was told. School was school, magical or not.

Last period couldn’t come quick enough. The hour-long breaks between classes made the day longer, albeit more enjoyable. The first day had been brutal and Apollo saw it on all of his friends’ faces.

Potions had ended with the assignment of a research essay on minor healing potions due the following week. Then History of Magic happened and that probably went worse than Professor Von Karma’s class had.

Professor Payne was old and boring as Athena said earlier… He was surprisingly sprightly and agile, though, and attempted to be just as forceful as Von Karma had been but failed in his execution.

By the end of class, he had revealed himself to be less strict, more jumpy, and really unsure of himself. He assigned no homework, on account of slipping on the floor when trying to assign a reading passage and his toupee coming completely off. The students had laughed and he had let them go fifteen minutes early.

Charms class came and went quicker than History of Magic, thankfully. Professor Hawthorne was sweet and spiritual. She taught the class how to make feathers hover a few inches off of the table and was ecstatic when they were succeeded. Charms class may be Apollo’s favorite class so far.

That is until he walked into Classroom No. 3C after lunch for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Klavier seemed brighter than he had been that morning and happily marched into the room with a wide grin.

“Why are you so happy, all of a sudden?” giggled Athena.

“Pay attention, fraulein, it’s the last class of the day. After this, we have about three hours to explore the grounds before dinner!” He grabbed a seat in the second row of the room and pulled a chair out for Apollo who was behind him. “Aren’t you excited?”

Actually, Apollo kind of was. The castle was huge and the grounds were beautiful. As long as they could find their way back to the Great Hall for dinner, Apollo had no qualms about exploring.

“Of course!” Exclaimed Athena. “It’ll be awesome! I also wanna stop by the library later. And a few of the hallways we haven’t walked through…. Annnnddd…”

“Where do you want to explore, Forehead?” Klavier said, interrupted Athena’s rambling.

“Hm?” Apollo turned to Klavier and blinked. “Oh… uhhhh…” He scratched his neck. “A-Actually. We have a lot of homework, don’t we? Professor Von Karma assigned that essay on healing potions. We haven’t even had Defense Against the Dark Arts yet. Should we really be exploring and wasting time this soon in the year? I don’t want my grade to drop so early and-“

“You worry too much, Forehead. Live a little!” Klavier chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Besides, Clay’s meeting us after class anyways and he wants to explore too! What’s the big deal?”

“Maybe I don’t want to get more points taken away from our house, Klavier,” Apollo pointed out. “Between the two of you, we’ve lost like twenty points, today alone. And, like I’ve already said, we have loads of homework. I’d rather not get on Von Karma’s bad sides during the first week of school.”

Klavier pushed his bangs back while leaning so far back in his chair, it was practically balancing on its back legs. “How safe you are, Forehead. We aren’t going to get in trouble if we merely explore the grounds. No one will care as long as we find our way back before dinner or curfew.” He grinned toothily at Apollo. “Just don’t worry about it.”

The room began to get louder as more and more kids begin to fill it. Apollo checked the ancient looking clock on the wall and counted five minutes past. He cringed. The Professor was five minutes late to his own class, whoever he was.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Apollo thought he heard some heavy breathing. He was surprised when he turned around.

An out of breath man with dark spiky hair wearing blue robes holding a briefcase leaned up against the arch of the doorway. He was huffing out heavy breaths, as if he’d been running. As Apollo looked around the room, everyone else was looking in the same direction. The man wheezed.

“E-Er… Professor-“ A Gryffindor in the front-left side of the room said. “A-Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just-just give me a sec…” He said, coughing and then muttering, “God, I’m out of shape. Miles is always telling me so…” He coughed again before standing up straight and walking into the classroom, setting his briefcase on the brown desk. “Maybe I took too long for lunch…”

Apollo watches him in wonder. This was the guy from the train, Phoenix Wright, and he still didn’t look much like a professor.

Wright took his wand from his lapel and muttered something, making his name magically appear on the blackboard. Then he looked up to his students.

“Well, you all look like an exciting bunch.” He walked in front of his desk to lean against it. ”I’m Professor Phoenix Wright. I’m the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and I hope to be here for a long time,” his tone was light and laid-back, which felt like a breath of fresh air after Von Karma and Payne. “Actually, ah…” he chuckled nervously glancing away from the crowd to the walls behind them. “This is really my first time teaching so I’m a smidge nervous. I’ve been an Auror for the past few years, so I’m a little out of my element, so I you all go easy on me. ”

Apollo smiled. Ah… So Wright is new too…

“Basically, our workload is this: we’ll do some bookwork and maybe a couple of essays on situational technique throughout the year, but I’ll mostly be teaching you the physical aspects of basic magical defense.” He smiled. “You’ll learn to defend yourself with basic offensive spells, but enough about that for now. It’s the first day of class and according to your schedules, you’ll have me tomorrow morning anyway.”

Apollo smiled to himself. Professor Wright seemed… Really nice. Fatherly, even, almost Dhurke-like.

He continued. “So, the first spell that I’ll be teaching you all is the most basic of defense: the disarming spell. Technically, it’s a charm,” he said, suddenly looking at a paper on his desk. “-buuut it’s the only thing on my lesson plan as of now and may not be on Professor Hawthorne’s. Plus, she’s a pretty nonviolent person anyways,” he notes with a smiled.

Is it just me or is your lesson plan that crumpled peice of paper?

“The disarming charm forces your opponent to release whatever they are holding in their hands, so if you ever think about joining the Dueling club on campus or ever get into any fights,” he turned and smirked at the kids and wagged his finger. “-Which I do not advise; this is the first spell you will probably use.

“The Disarming Spell, as it is also known,” Professor Wright drew a small ‘o’ with his wand and flicked it, the apparent charm sending a piece of chalk writing across the blackboard across the back wall. “-causes whatever your opponent is holding to drop from their fingers. For example,” he said, beginning bullet points and turning back around to his students. “If you do decide to dabble with the Dueling club, this spell will force the wand from your opponent’s hands, and if you are actually being attacked by someone,” Wright trailed off, walking into the rows of desks and counting each student in his head. Then he walked to the back wall and closed the door. “…their weapon, whether it be a wand, knife, sword, or gun in rare interactions where a muggle sees you or you see them causing trouble against someone else, this is probably the best spell to use because it doesn’t cause any damage to the other person.” He then paused and turned back to his class, as if remembering something vital.

“Though, let me be completely clear when I say, do not use magic in front of Muggles until you’re of leg – actually. Scratch that, don’t do magic in from of Muggles ever… Uh… Forget that I said that …” Giggles emitted all around the room.

“A-Anyway uh, let’s separate into groups of two, corresponding with the numbers on your desks, and I’ll direct you….Uh…” The professor waved his wand a bit to reveal numbers on the right corners of each of the desks. “As soon as you find your partners… Stand up and spread out, with your wands at your ready, in front of your partner in the back of the room.”

All at once, the kids stood up and spread throughout the room. Apollo looked immediately to the red number in the corner of his eye. 4… Wait how do I figure out who else has 4?

Apollo looked around the room the room and spotted a desk with the number 4, but no one was sitting there. He frowned. Great… I’m the only one without a partner. This always happens. He glanced at Clay, who had been paired up with a girl with brown hair in two braids. Then he glanced at Klavier who had been paired with some Gryffindor girl with red hair and a rowdy voice. Okay…. Athena was somewhere in the back of the room, having already found her partner.

Apollo cocked his head to the side and turned around to check the desks behind his when he was tapped on the shoulder. A tall boy with black hair and a brooding frown stood before him and Apollo nearly jumped out of his skin.

It’s the guy who glared at me during sorting! The boy pointed to his desk. “Guess we’re partners, Justice.” Apollo shuddered and scratched him neck, awkwardly. “Hahaha… Y-Yeah… Uh..”

“Blackquill.”

“U-Uh-huh…”

The boy shrugged and moved to an empty spot in the room as directed, Apollo following reluctantly behind. Then Apollo walked a few paces away from him to put space between them, as instructed. He felt as if he were fixing to participate in a dual to the death especially after Blackquill pulled his brown wand from his lapel as if he were drawing a sword from a sheath. Uh-oh.

“Now, remember, the incantation is ‘Expelliarmus.’ Repeat after me, ‘Expelliarmus,’” said Professor Wright weaving in and out or the groups of two. Everyone repeated. “Good guys,” he said with a bright smile. “Now, let’s work on that wand movement to pair with the word. Everyone, try it with me.”

The professor looked around for a minute to make all eyes were on him before taking his wand and drawing a line starting from his top right to where his arm was level to the floor. “Move your wand like this before casting to your opponent. After you do it a couple of times, it’ll be muscle memory.

“Now I just want you to try and take the other person’s wand. If the wand doesn’t fly directly toward you the first time, don’t worry about it. If you can’t get the other person to drop their wand the first time, keep practicing with your partner until you do. I’m coming around to make sure everyone gets this spell.”

Apollo felt his forehead grow slightly sweaty. Oh no. Oh no. Ohhh no. He quickly grabbed his own wand from his own lapel pocket and pointed it opposite of the way Blackquill was pointing his. It’s not like we’re actually fighting… it’s just to learn the spell. That’s all! Stop worrying, Justice! Don’t freak out!

“Don’t worry, Justice,” Blackquill said with a taunting smirk at his lips. “I’ll make it quick.” He began to draw his wand near his nose, as it was a sword. If Apollo were anywhere in the muddle world right now, he would assume Blackquill liked samurai TV shows or something.

Glancing between the other students who hadn’t even started yet and Professor Wright, Apollo brought his own wand up, level to his chin and smiled. “Y-yeah right, Blackquill. E-EXPELARMUS!” Apollo shouted, moving the wand the way he was instructed.

Really, he should have expected Blackquill to dodge the light and cast his own spell. “Expelliarmus!” Apollo felt his wand being tugged from his hand without his own control and onto the floor.

“Great job, Mr. Blackquill! 5 points to Slytherin!” said Professor Wright from behind Apollo. “Apollo, you may want to think about your opponent’s reaction as you cast your attack. Pick up your wand let’s see if we can’t try this again, yeah?” He smiled warmly.

Apollo bit the inside of his cheek and picked wand up from the floor. Then he moved back to his place in front of Blackquill, but the Professor had directed Blackquill to a different partner. Apollo raised an eyebrow but stood in position anyways.

Professor Wright, however, stood in front of him instead. ` “Uh… Professor, what are you doing-“

A grin tore the side of the Professor’s face. “I’m teaching you, Apollo, please pay attention. Just remember, it’s about how much quicker you are than the other person. Now, get back into position.” With wide eyes, Apollo reluctantly raised his wand at his teach. His eyebrows furrowed together. What was he supposed to do? Attack the teacher?

A few minutes must have passed with Apollo just standing there, in attack position. At some point, Wright sighed. “Apollo, this is the first step to defense. You need to do this.”

Apollo bit the inside of his cheek and lowered his arm. “You’re just going to let me, though? That’s not what you told us to do.”

Professor Wright smiled. “I’m not trying to duel you. I just want to see you do it. It isn’t important that I try to take your wand. You all will start being introduced to dueling next year.”

Apollo glanced around the room. Some people had switched partners but no one was directly staring at him. So he straightened his body up. He stood as tall as he could and nodded, holding his wand back up. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I’m fine, now!”

“Good, boy! All right. Draw your wand and-“

Apollo drew his diagonal line as he said the incantation with “Expelliarmus!”

This time, a stronger beam of red shot out from Apollo’s wand. Professor Wright hands seemed to spasm and his knuckles turned white as if he were still trying to grip his wand. Then his hand flared out and he let go, dropping the wand. He winced.

“Pr-professor, are you okay?” Apollo asked hurriedly. The professor scoffed as he bent over to pick up his wand. “Of course I am, Apollo. Good job. Though I think you should practice that with a few friends in your spare time, yeah?”

Apollo blinked and then nodded. “U-uh huh… Y-Yes sir.”

#and the german that is here is from google so if you speak German and something doesn't sound right #be sure too tell me~#AJ:AW #Apollo Justice: Ace Wizards #I love my trio's interactions.#The end may or may not be quite finished #srry not srry #so i thought this chapter was sort of short but it actually turns out to be 19 pagess itself #yikes #this fic is 62 pages long #jaaaaaaaa #yay kk edited~

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tumblrwrites · 7 years

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Prologue Tony It was how her hair cascaded down her back, and how her body was shaped like an hourglass. I felt like I was running out of time. Daliah Maybe it was the way his eyebrows arched, or how his lips turned into a smile so easily, but I could tell from across the room that he was curious. One Daliah People become attracted to each other in the strangest ways. A small gesture- a brush of the hand, a grin, or even a simple display of interest- is the spark. Soon, without recognition, the two lovers will be dancing on flames for each other. Their happiness will depend on each other- the wildfire will begin. Tony Girls always get nervous around guys, and they think that he has it all together. But with her, I was anxious. My heartbeat was unsteady, while heat spread through my body like flames. Daliah I could feel the fire jumping inside of him. Each flame was like a note, and together they formed a beautifully intense rhythm that grew faster and faster. I wasn't sure if I could keep up. Tony She closed her eyes, as if things were more extravagant in the dark. Her crimson lips crinkled into a brilliant smile. And then she laughed, again and again. She would never stop laughing, even when there was nothing to be laughing about. That was something I didn’t understand. I laughed, too. Daliah His eyes were blue like the sea. I thought I might drown. Tony On that night I felt daring. I drank half a bottle of wine I stole from my parent’s liquor cabinet and I felt warm and bubbly inside. I snuck out the window and landed on my arm, but I shook it off even though it hurt like hell. I got on my bike and made it to her driveway without falling off. I climbed up to her window and kissed her and fell asleep in her arms before I could think about what I would tell Daliah when she asked me what I did last night. Lily I remember the day I met Tony. I went to the library to pick up my sister and he was shelving the books in the fiction section. He caught my eye because he had blue eyes like I’d never seen before. They looked like the ocean. But I could tell that he had a girlfriend because he didn't look at me. Almost everywhere I go, most of the guys look at me like they want to be alone with me. I had curves, I was tall and thin, and my eyes were sparkly. Some of my friends at school teased me that I was easy but I knew that they were all just jealous that they didn't have a history with boys. Even though Tony didn't want to look at me, I wanted to look at him. The way he carried himself made me interested in him- he put his shoulders back and looked straight ahead of himself and not at the ground like shy guys do. The night we hooked up, he was drunk and I could tell that he was a little hesitant to kiss me. He told me that he had a girlfriend that he didnt intend on losing but I told him that he kind of screwed that up when he asked for my number. He laughed. Tony I don't know why I did what I did. I loved Daliah. Why did I break her heart? You can never trust alcohol. It makes you make bad decisions, which might include losing the girl you would stop time for. Daliah I knew something was wrong when he wouldn't even look at me. He seemed tense. “Daliah…” He said, still staring at anything else but me. I took his hand in mine and really looked at him. He seemed surprised. “I have to tell you something”. He took his hand away and cleared his throat. I heard his voice shake. “I did something really stupid last night and I thought about not saying anything but I need to tell you.” He looked at me. I didn't know what to make of it. I just looked back at him. “I snuck out to Lily Blue’s house and I kissed her. Then she kissed me and all I could think about was how good you look in red and how much I regretted being there but I was drunk and you were sleeping. I feel like complete shit and I understand if you never want to see me again.” He talked fast and didn't look at my eyes until I got out of my chair and walked away. Tony Tears streamed down her face. She sobbed like a storm that would never end. But, like all things, it did. Daliah The months that followed were fuzzy. Between the crisp air of the fall and the blanket of humidity in the summer, he couldn’t escape my mind. I really hoped I was still trapped inside of his, too. Tony If I could go back, I would- not to change anything, just to feel a couple things twice. Holding her is one. Kissing her is two. Being kissed back is three. 1,2,3 - that's how long it took for me to regret breaking her heart. Daliah In his eyes I felt like gold, but in my own I only felt like silver. Tony After our first date, I created a list of things I was afraid of: being alone in the night, breaking promises, missing out on golden opportunities. But with her, I wanted to get over all these fears. She was the only one who taught me not to be afraid. Two Daliah The more time I spent away from him, the more I noticed about myself - flaws, habits, the way I act when I'm alone somewhere public. I look in the mirror and try to see myself as if I’m someone else. I try to think of all the things that I would change about myself if I could - I would make my body curvy, my hair longer, and my eyes brighter. I would be confident. I would have all kinds of friends and boy toys. I splashed water on my face and dried it with a clean towel. Back in the mirror again I only saw myself- thin, tired, and sad. No friends and no boyfriend, just me. Daliah Today I tried on this dress in a store outside of town. Everything about it was perfect - the sweetheart neckline, the deep black velvet, the above the knee hem - and it fit perfectly. When I saw it on my body I thought of Tony. The feeling of where the fabric on my waist cinched reminded me of his hands on my waist the first time we slow danced. I wondered if he saw me in it, would he remember too? Tony The first time I saw Daliah cry was when we bought lunch on the last day of freshman year. We finished finals and I drove down to the sandwich shop for her favorite - ham and cheese with olives and lettuce. We drove to her house and we ate our lunch and talked about school. She said her english final was the easiest but I hated english and loved math. She seemed upset about something, and she could sense that I knew. I put my hand on her shoulder. “What's wrong babe?” I asked her. At first she seemed hesitant to say anything but then she started crying. I put my arms around her. I knew what it was about - she missed her mother. It had been two years since she lost her to cancer and I knew that she could never get over dealing with the grief. I could tell that she wasn't close with her dad - when I first met him he seemed very protective of her - but not in a good way; it was as if he knew that she was trouble and he didn't want me to be around her. But I stayed, because I really started to like being with her. I wished I could've made her feel better, even though you can't do anything about someone who is gone forever. I looked at her. She had makeup running down her cheeks, and I knew she would hate me if I didn't tell her. I remembered the day at the pool before we started dating. She jumped off the diving board and dove into the water and when she surfaced she asked me if her makeup was ruined. I said no, and when she looked in the mirror later, she called me and asked me why I didn't tell her she looked like a raccoon. I guess I thought she might have taken it the wrong way. I put my arms around her then and held her. She sniffled into my shirt and laughed. “I'm sorry”. She said. I took a napkin off the table and handed it to her. “Daliah, you're pretty even when you cry and I don't really care if you won't let me fix your heart because I could look at you all day if you let me”. She stopped crying, and she smiled her beautiful smile at me and I kissed her cheek. I loved to make her happy. I guess I forgot how good I felt when she smiled- lately I hadn't seen much of it. Daliah Today I saw him with her and my heart sunk in my chest. Between the shelves of the non-fiction section I watched her kiss him the way I had a thousand times before - and he was kissing her back. Tony When I missed her i didn't think about how to get her back or what went wrong. I just pictured her- her silhouette in the dark when we kissed, the back of her sundress that held her body tight in the chair in front of me in government. I picture her taking her makeup off after the night of our 5 month anniversary. Her mascara had already smudged from when I pushed her into the pool in Greg’s backyard. Without the black that lined her eyes or the deep shade of crimson that stained her lips, she looked like an angel. Her cheeks were glowing in the dim light peeking through her bedroom window as I held her head on my shoulder. I whispered “I love you” in her ear as the music faded in the background and her soft lips enveloped mine. Tony I remembered the tingling feeling of the breath mint on my tongue. The smile on her face that changed as she leaned in to kiss me. My heart beat speeding up in my chest. The feeling of her hand enclosed in mine. The feeling of love. Tony September 17th Tomorrow Daliah would be 16. She didn't act like it, but being sixteen was a big deal to her. She saw it as a new chapter in her life- she would be getting her license in two weeks and attending photography and art classes in the fall. I heard her voice from behind the bathroom door. She was singing Stevie Wonder behind the shower curtain. It made me smile when she could hit the high notes in the way that she could (perfectly). Daliah I had big plans for myself outside of Phoenix. My fall courses were in Los Angeles, California. I would be living in my own in less than a year. I would be a college student with responsibilities. I let the water fall down onto my back as I closed my eyes and started singing. “Isnt she lovely… Isnt she wonderful…” In my daydreams I saw the hollywood sign and all of the beautiful lights. It was breathtaking. - I let the water drain and pulled myself back into reality. California could wait, I thought as I stepped out of the bathroom and into Tony’s arms. Tony I closed my eyes and visualized the night sky in a big city. I’d only ever been to Nevada, but never close enough to Vegas. I thought of New York City on the other side of the country. It seemed lively there, as if everyday was more exciting than the last. I was content with my life right now, but I hoped that I would get there someday. - When I opened my eyes I saw Daliah standing in front of me in her bra and underwear with her hair wet. She kissed me and let her lips linger. She was beautiful. As she danced around her room, I watched the curves of her body move. She was a good dancer- but I knew better than to tell her. She told me that she hated when someone complimented her on something other than her paintings or photos. She said it was because that was what she had her heart set on and that getting a career in either field was her biggest dream. She put Radiohead on the stereo and took my hand. It felt good to be with someone and not have the feeling of wanting to be somewhere else. Three Tony Lily always tastes like cigarettes. I wonder how many guys she’s slept with. I would never sleep with her. Dalilah will be the girl l give myself to. I hope she wants to give herself to me. Daliah I gave him everything. I always told him what was on my mind, even if it was something that I didn't want to get into. And be listened. He didn't interrupt me or disagree with me. He just looked at me with his deep blue eyes and held my hand. Now that we’re apart, I don't have anyone to complain to. But he has her. Four Daliah When he spoke he sounded like a compilation of rich dark colors and all I wanted to do was blend in. Tony How I met Daliah On Sunday after the morning service, my mom took me to an art gallery in town. She told me that I needed to experience the world outside of the videogames I was always so interested in. I said whatever. I was slouching, looking at a painting of a girl through a plate of glass. She was in a white background and she only wore a lace bra and matching underwear. Her body caught my eye. I know that sounds totally inappropriate. But I wasn't attracted to a painting. The girl in that painting had to be out there somewhere and I wanted to meet her. Daliah The summer before freshman year I started collecting pictures of the sky- sunsets, storms, clouds, dark nights. The colors that blended together amazed me. I strung fairy lights around my room and hung up my painting of the girl in her bra and underwear that was showcased in the museum the day I met Tony. I remember how he looked at it - as if it was anything he’d ever seen before (probably because he didn't look at paintings often - or girls in lingerie). I based it off of a picture my sister had taken of me when I wasn't looking - I was dancing around my room with wet hair half naked and I forgot to close my door all the way. She yelled to dad that I was taking inappropriate photos of myself, but I knew that the hockey game downstairs was too loud for him to hear her whining. I stole the camera from her and looked at the photo. My body was curvy and my boobs looked good in my bra. I decided to print the photo the next day and sketch it. A month later I was entered into the showcasing at the museum and I picked that photo because I knew it would catch people’s attention. Little did I know one of those people would steal my heart exactly one year later. Five Daliah The summer before junior year I did something crazy - I dyed my hair. It kind of took a long time to do by myself, but I did a pretty good job at not making a mess. I picked red because I’d been told it would suit me. Plus I secretly thought it would make Tony think of me differently. Daliah When my dad saw me at first, he didn't recognize me. But then he smiled. “You look nice.” He was reading the paper in his recliner in front of the tv. I smiled and took my purse from the counter. Tony Today I took my skateboard out for the first time in six months. My dad bought it for me on my 15th birthday. I went down to the skatepark on the beach. And there she was. Six Daliah Memories of her came to me in waves. The two of us on the ferris wheel licking ice cream from our sugar cones, or at the swimming pool in the summer soaking up the sun. Today I drove to the beach by myself to see the waves and taste the salty air. I held her locket in my hand and closed my eyes. In my head I asked her if she was happy. I bet she wasn't. Dont worry, mom, I’ll get to you one day. I hoped she was listening. I opened my eyes and saw him - Tony - looking at me. Tony I almost didn't recognize her with the red hair. It looked good on her. It made me think of the wine coolers we drank at Greg’s party. That night we snuck out to Greg's hot tub to make out. Daliah got really drunk so I drove her home and layed in bed with her until she fell asleep. I took a step towards her. She had something enclosed in her hand. “Hi” she said, half smiling at me. I realized that what she was holding was a heart locket with her a picture of her mother inside. “She was pretty like you” I said. Daliah seemed surprised. I usually didn't say anything about her mother. She bit her lip like she was nervous about what would happen next. I stepped closer to her and stopped short. I pulled a piece of paper out of my back pocket and handed it to her. She unfolded it. “A sunset”. She whispered. She put her arms around me. “Thank you”. Seven One year later Daliah On the edge of the street corner I was feeling good. I had done my makeup for the first time in a month and a half and I bought a new bag for junior year. I stepped off the curb and felt my body crush into a moving car and everything faded to black. Tony “The semi-trailer truck that collided with your girlfriend’s body instantly crushed her bones and damaged her central nervous system”. Said the doctor as a nurse appeared behind him. “We’re very sorry for your loss. Im sure she was a lovely young woman”. She said sympathetically. “She was”. I said, staring at the floor. The two of them disappeared into the background as I let the waterfall of hot tears pour from my eyes.

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