#through the years: Maxima | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

in1-nutshell · 2 months

Note

I am so sorry if I’m bombarding you with asks, but I just had an idea with Op’s daughter being the opposite and Meg’s daughter being the opposite

And my stupid brain just went “.. Hey! What if their both in the same universe, cuz why not lol-“ like that one BW post with Dinobot’s and Wasp’s sparklings! :3

Bonus: Maybe their both in a secret relationship as the years go by, and probably kept in touch (and secretly meet each other) when the war started. But lost contact/not keeping in touch when OP launched the all spark.

And extra bonus!: them revealing their secret relationship with the autobots when Meg’s daughter joined with the autobots :3

Okay, so I didn't add in the romance part of this because I believe that both Buddy's view each other more as siblings than anything else. If you are unhappy at this request, feel free to request something else when the inbox is open again.

Hope you enjoy!

Megatron's daughter and Optimus's daughter with the opposite personality, What if they lived in the same universe?

SFW, Platonic, Familial, mentions of injuries but nothing graphic, Cybertronian reader

TFP

Op Buddy name Maxima.

Megs Buddy name Ophelia.

Optimus has already found Maxima, and they have been living together for a while now.

Megatron comes to their home with the sparkling in his servos on night.

Maxima opens the door.

“Hi Megatronus! What brings you—”--Maxima

Maxima spots the tiny sparkling.

“Is that a…”--Maxima

Megatronus nods.

“She is—”--Megatronus

“Orion! I think Megatronus stolen someone’s sparkling!”--Maxima

“He what?!”--Orion

“I didn’t steal her!”--Megatronus

Maxima became transfixed with the tiny sparkling and took her in while the adults are talking.

Ophelia takes a liking to Maxima.

When Ophelia comes, Maxima helps around with the babysitting so Orion can do his work.

Many bots think that Pax adopted another sparkling.

Ratchet walking into the Halls.

“Orion? Orion—”--Ratchet

Ratchet stops when he sees Maxima cuddling a small sparkling to her chassis while reading a data pad.

“Hello Ratchet, is there something you needed to tell me about?”--Orion

“That’s not important right now. Did you adopt another sparkling? You already have Maxima, I didn’t figure for one to get more.”--Ratchet

“No, Ophelia isn’t mine.”--Orion

Ratchet looks at Ophelia who is tilting her helm in confusion at Maxima, the same way Orion is tilting his.

“…Sure, she’s not yours.”--Ratchet

“She’s not. She’s Megatronus’s sparkling.”--Orion

“Ha! Like that brute of a gladiator—”--Ratchet

“Orion?”--Megatronus

Ophelia perks up and waves her servos at Megatronus in joy.

“You were saying?”--Orion

“… You win this round Pax.”--Ratchet

Ratchet loved his little nieces.

No matter how annoying they may get or get on his nerves, he loves them to bits.

Plus, they both liked helping him in the infirmary by disinfecting some of the tools at the end of the day.

Ophelia becomes Maxima’s shadow.

She wants to be like her one day.

Maxima goes where Ophelia goes when she can find a loophole in the babysitting rules.

The most common loophole was Maxima wanting to make sure Ophelia was safe in the quarters while Megatron and Soundwave were busy.

Soundwave rather enjoyed babysitting Ophelia and Maxima when they came around.

He often looked after the two whenever Megatronus was busy with some work, not that he minded too much.

As the pair got older, Maxima’s protective levels had gone through the roof seeing as she was getting bigger and Ophelia grew a bit, staying small.

Maxima watched her step while Ophelia was running around them.

Maxima looks at Orion.

“If I ever did this too you when I was smaller, I deeply apologize.”--Maxima

“It was nothing—”--Orion

“She’s so small! How can I make sure I don’t squish her?!”--Maxima

Later that day…

“Thank you again Orion. Where’s Ophelia?”--Megatronus

“She should be with Maxima. Maxima! Ophelia needs to go now.”--Orion

Maxima walks in with Ophelia strapped to her chassis with some magnets.

“Hi Megatronus! I found a way to not step on Ophelia!”--Maxima

Ophelia just smiles in encouragement.

The day of the Senate meeting was one neither daughter was going to forget.

Maxima and Ophelia were outside with Uncle Soundwave.

Soundwave needed to go see someone for a second before leaving the pair alone.

It wouldn’t be for long, a minute at most.

The pair will never forget the enraged look on Megatron’s face when he comes storming out.

Maxima has a bad feeling about what happened there.

Maxima carefully puts Ophelia behind her.

“Megatronus? Megatronus what happened? Where’s Orion?”--Maxima

Megatron sneers at Maxima.

Both are shocked by this tone.

Megatron grabs Ophelia’s servo.

She squirms as his grip tightens.

“Megatronus’s your hurting m. Where’s Uncle Orion?”--Ophelia

“He is no longer your uncle.”--Megatron

He marches with Ophelia in his grip.

Maxima comes over and takes Ophelia’s servo.

“Megatronus you’re hurting her!”--Maxima

Megatron stops to look at her.

“Megatro—”--Maxima

SLAM!

Maxima’s frame goes flying over the barrier from the swift kick to the bot’s chassis.

“MAXIMA!”--Ophelia

“Megatron quickly grabs her under his arm and runs.

Maxima is falling off the building’s platform to the city below.

Something catches her pede right before hitting the floor.

She looks up to see a familiar faceplate.

“Soundwave?”--Maxima

Soundwave carefully places her down before flying off.

Maxima crawls to the wall of the alley and leans back on the wall.

There is a sizeable dent on her chassis with some sparks.

She tries to stand but falls.

“Maxima?! Maxima! Maxima can you hear me?!”--Ratchet

Maxima looks up.

“Ratchet? Ratchet over here!”--Maxima

Ratchet runs over to Maxima who starts crying seeing him.

“What happened?”--Ratchet

“Meg—Meg—Megatronus he—he…”--Maxima

Ratchet traces slightly the dent causing Maxima to wince.

“He did this?”--Ratchet

Maxima nods sadly.

“He took Ophelia Ratchet. He took Ophelia…”--Maxima

Maxima eventually gets reunited with Orion who looked scared to death seeing the dent on her chassis.

So close to her spark…

But she doesn’t care, right now she wants Ophelia.

“As soon as I get back to tip top shape, I’m going to get Ophelia.”--Maxima

“Maxima…”--Orion

“What?”--Maxima

“Maxima, we haven’t had any contact from either of them since the meeting.”--Ratchet

“Then… then we find them. Yeah, then we can take Ophelia…”--Maxima

Maxima tries to get up, but Orion pushes her down.

“No! Let me up! She’s my main priority! She needs me! I need her! She’s—She’s…”--Maxima

Maxima falls back to the berth.

Ratchet holding the wires.

“She needs to sleep…”--Ratchet

Orion nods and gently pats his daughter’s helm and slightly grieves for Ophelia, wherever she may be right now.

During the war, Maxima tried and get in contact with Ophelia multiple times.

No luck.

She even went as far as go on her own to rescue her, that’s how she ended up with half her pede blown off.

Time on earth…

Maxima still wants to try and break in to see Ophelia.

She worries a lot.

Was she even still online?

No, she was. There was still hope to hold onto.

One night Maxima makes another attempt to rescue Ophelia.

She managed to slip into a groundbrigde some of the Vechicons were using.

Maxima quietly sneaked around the Nemesis in search of Ophelia.

That’s when the screams started.

Maxima went to investigate.

The screams turned to pleas and now Maxima was running.

She passes several Vechicons on her way there, but they don’t do anything to her, if anything they were letting her pass.

Maxima was now in front of the door.

Maxima kicks down the door with her canons out.

Megatron was standing over a slightly older Ophelia.

Ophelia had multiple slashes and dents on her armor.

Megatron’s pede was square on her chassis.

Both of them are surprised to see her.

“Maxima?”--Megatron

“Maxima!”--Ophelia

Maxima readies her canons with fury in her optics.

“Megatron. I’m only going to tell you this one time and one time only. Let her go.”--Maxima

Ophelia whines a bit as he adds a bit more pressure on her chassis.

“And what makes you think I am going to listen to you.”--Megatron

“You’re hurting your own sparkling! Get off of her or I WILL use force!”--Maxima

Megatron scoffs.

“As if—”--Megatron

Maxima shoots him straight in the chassis and tackles him to the floor off of Ophelia.

Ophelia quickly moves out of the way as the two fight.

When it looked like Megatron was going to strike down, Maxima kicked him to the far corner of the room.

Maxima, despite bleeding from the multiple slashed and dents grabs Ophelia and runs out.

“Its great to see you again!”--Maxima

“To see me? I thought you were dead!”--Ophelia

“It takes more than a kick to get rid of me!”--Maxima

There are definitely more Vechicons around, but they pretend nothing happened or just move out of the way.

Knockout even told them the right direction to run.

The pair makes it to the main room.

Maxima places a bunch of obstacles in front of the main entrance as Ophelia manages to make a temporary groundbrigde working. One that would be quick and have no record in the database.

Soundwave stands by the main entrance.

Maxima aims her canons at him ready for another fight despite how much damage her frame was already in.

He just nods at Ophelia and leaves, closing the room’s door.

Maxima is confused by all of this but knows to ask questions later.

“Okay the bridge is ready!”--Ophelia

Maxima leans off the wall and walks to Ophelia.

“About time. Now lets—”--Maxima

“MAXIMA! OPHELIA!”--Megatron

Ophelia freezes in utter fear as the sounds of pede steps get closer.

Maxima grabs Ophelia and starts heading to the bridge as Megatron comes into the room.

He yells as he fires his fusion canon into the closing portal.

On the other side, the two fall down on the desert ground.

Ophelia looks at the night sky in amazement.

“We did it? We did it! Maxima we did it!”--Ophelia

“Yeah… we…”--Maxima

A heavy groan escapes Maxima’s mouth as she struggles to stand up.

Maxima quickly comes over to see what was wrong.

To her horror she saw Maxima’s shoulder bleeding profusely.

Megatron shot her.

“Maxima! Don’t worry I’ll think of something!”--Ophelia

Maxima groans in pain trying to keep her and Ophelia calm.

“Well, this sucks.”--Maxima

“Stop it! Save your energy. You’re going to make it. You didn’t come all this way to save me just to offline just like that!”--Ophelia

Maxima gives her a weak smile.

She reaches for her waist and pushes a button.

“SOS button. They’ll be here soon…”--Maxima

Ophelia does her best to try and slow the energon leaking from Maxima’s shoulder.

“…You got bigger?”--Maxima

Ophelia laughs weakly.

“Yeah… Yeah I got bigger.”--Ophelia

“No… stay small.”--Maxima

“I’m a minibot Maxima. I’m not getting any bigger.”--Ophelia

“Yeah…”--Maxima

“Maxima?”--Ophelia

“…”--Maxima

“Maxima!”--Ophelia

“…”--Maxima

MAXIMA!”--Ophelia

The groundbrigde opens up.

Ophelia hugs Maxima’s helm thinking that it could be the Decepticon’s.

Out comes Optimus and Ratchet with wide optics.

“HELP HER! HELP HER!”--Ophelia

Optimus wastes no time in carefully picking up Maxima’s frame while Ophelia ran with Ratchet into the groundbrigde.

Optimus puts Maxima down on the med slab as Ratchet gets everything ready to begin the patch work.

Ophelia was sobbing clutching Maxima’s limp servo.

Optimus tried to get Ophelia away from Maxima so Ratchet could work but she flinches thinking he was going to attack.

Optimus bends down to Ophelia’s level.

Ophelia is clinging onto Maxima’s servo shaking like a leaf.

He notices the similar slashes and dents on her frame as well.

“Little one, I am going to pick up now. Is that okay?”--Optimus

Ophelia hesitates but nods slowly letting go of Maxima’s servo.

Optimus carries her to the med slab beside Maxima.

“Did Megatron do this. To the both of you?”--Optimus

Ophelia nods feeling more tears come out.

Optimus slowly goes to hug Ophelia, but she just jumps straight into his arms seeing as he was trying to hug her.

Once Ratchet tells them that Maxima is stable and just needs rest the others come in as Ophelia lets out some tears of relief.

Ratchet looks over her wounds and notices similar dents and slashes to Maxima’s.

He looks at Optimus for confirmation, he nods back.

Ratchet’s spark sinks as he patches up Ophelia and notices the older wounds that had to be addressed.

Optimus made sure to let the team know what had happened and about Ophelia’s situation, with her knowledge of course.

The team makes some attempts to introduce themselves and get to know Ophelia, something that Ophelia is grateful for.

The next morning Maxima wakes up to Ophelia clutching her servo and with a new autoboot badge on her shoulder.

Maxima smiles tiredly at Ophelia squeezing her servo slightly.

“I told you it takes more than that to take me down.”--Maxima

Ophelia lets out a small laugh.

“Yeah, that’s what I get for doubting you again, huh?”--Ophelia

Maxima smiles but winces a bit.

Optimus comes into view.

“Hey…”--Maxima

Optimus pats Maxima’s helm gently.

“Despite going against orders and commands, you did bring back a piece of our family. Well, done Maxima.”--Optimus

Maxima’s optics slowly close.

Ophelia gets worried.

“Maxima?”--Ophelia

Ratchet walking over with the wires.

“She’s fine, just needs some rest.”—Ratchet

Ophelia smiles and gently holds Maxima’s servo as she too gently goes to sleep.

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #tfp #tfp x reader #tfp x platonic reader #tfp megatron #tfp optimus prime

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aesopsharpmybeloved · 10 months

Text

The Storeroom Incident

When professor Sharp asks you to assist him with fetching some more volatile ingredients from the storage cupboard in the dungeons, of course you come to his aid. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like the door will lock behind you and trap you inside, right? Right?

Shout out to my amazing consultant, @tea-withjamandbread <3

header made by yours truly

18+ GO AWAY CHILDREN

The Storeroom Incident (6.2k words)

tw: explicit, vaginal sex, orgasm denial/edging, dubious consent (but not really), teacher-student relationship (reader is an adult), age difference, dirty talk, light swearing, porn with little plot

How did you even end up in this situation? Your front was pressed against a door, you were breathing and blushing heavily, your heart was beating out of your chest. Two large hands gripped your hips, fingers digging into the soft flesh as your potions professor’s hot breath scorched the skin of your neck.

It was a day like any other. You woke up and went to breakfast in the Great Hall, idly chatting with some of your housemates about nothing in particular, other than the upcoming exams and everyone’s nerves. You gently rejected Natty and Poppy’s proposal to enjoy the Saturday in Hogsmeade in favour of preparing for the practical exam from NEWT level potions. Your essay was long since written, proofread about a dozen times and even appraised by professor Sharp, whom you asked for criticism.

Speaking of professor Sharp, you gave him a little smile and a ‘good morning, sir’ as you entered his classroom sometime later. He was sitting behind his desk as usual, enjoying a cup of tea and some biscuits. You haven’t seen him in the Great hall, so he either ate earlier than you, or he decided to forego the full English breakfast in favour of sleeping in, and later decided that biscuits were a acceptable breakfast substitute.

Judging by his still quite sleepy eyes, you decided it was the latter.

He murmured something unintelligible in return and waved his wand. Another teacup appeared and the steaming hot earl grey was poured into it. You sat down on the other side of his desk and thanked him, bringing your tea to your lips and blowing on it softly.

“So, miss (L/N),” he drawled in his gruff voice, although there was a certain amount of warmth hidden inside it, “what will you be brewing today?”

Yes, you could have easily used the Room of Requirement for your potion making. You did use it, for potions like Wiggenweld, Maxima, Wideye or Dreamless sleep, however,you preferred to brew the more complicated concoctions in the safety of the classroom, as well as professor Sharp’s company. The man always provided you with useful advice, guiding you towards unlocking your full potential.

“Oh, I think it’s nearly time to finish the Polyjuice potion, sir,” you chirped cheerfully, sipping on your tea and leaning back in the chair before his desk. “I think you may be right,” agreed the professor, “remember, Miss (L/N), the entirety of that potion stays here. I don’t want you running around the castle impersonating your classmates, or, Salazar forbid, your professors.”

You give him your most innocent smile, batting your eyelashes.

“I would never, sir.”

That was a lie. One of the best Christmas presents you’ve ever received was the chance to impersonate Headmaster Black in your fifth year. Yes, you did so in order to get a password for his office, where Niamh Fitzgerald’s Keeper trial was waiting for you, but you had to admit to yourself that it was pure, unadulterated fun. Very much unlike the following trial, which still sometimes made you wake up in cold sweat.

Though Sharp probably knew you were lying through your teeth, he decided not to comment on it, giving you an unimpressed sarcastic expression instead before placing another biscuit into his mouth. You copied him, a little smile still present on your face.

The potions professor, you found, had a bit of sweet tooth. Sometimes when you’d come over, you’d make a stop in the kitchens first and sweet talk some baked goodies out of the house elves there. Well, sweet talk… the little fellows pretty much pushed them into your hands the moment you stepped in! You only ever took enough for the two of you to share. It always improved the grumpy man’s mood slightly.

“Before you go get your cauldron from my office, there is something I could use your help with,” professor Sharp said as he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, brushing away the few little crumbs that stuck to his lips and beard. His pink tongue appeared and he licked at his lips. You couldn’t help but follow the muscle’s movement with fascination. “Of course, sir, how may I aid you?” you said innocently.

“There are a few ingredients in the storeroom that I’ll need for later. They are a little volatile, which is why I can’t just summon them, and as useful as Hogwarts’ house elves are, I’d still feel more comfortable to fetch them myself. And as I don’t want to have to make two separate trips there, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.”

You finished your tea, the hot drink making your body warm up. Or was your teacher’s dulcet tones? Nevertheless, you smiled at him again: “Certainly, professor Sharp. I am entirely at your disposal.”

“Good,” he replied curtly and stood up from his chair, “let us be on our way then.”

You made your way down towards the storeroom in comfortable silence, descending further into the dungeons. The air was cool and damp down there, a big contrast to the outside of the castle’s walls, where summer was quickly approaching, bringing the sun and its warmth. Professor Sharp used a key to unlock the door to the storage closet, no doubt enchanted to be nearly or entirely resistant to the unlocking charm.

You stepped into the room together, the space so tight your shoulder was touching his upper arm as you stood next to each other there. “So,” you began, your voice a little quiet as you found yourself slightly tense to be so close to the former Auror, “what are we looking for, sir?” Professor Sharp cast a non-verbal Lumos and started skimming his eyes over the shelves to the left and the various jars and bottles they held.

Suddenly, the door closed shut with a bang, startling you both. Professor Sharp’s surprise forced him to drop the charm and you were suddenly plunged into total darkness. “A draft of wind?” you chuckled awkwardly, embarrassed at the high pitched yelp that escaped your lips. You could almost hear Sharp roll his eyes: “A draft of wind, Miss (L/N)... In the dungeons where there are no windows… With all due respect, Miss, that seems highly unlikely.” You went red under his remark. He was, of course, right.

With a sigh, the potions master reached for the door, making you blush even further, as his body brushed against yours in the process. He gripped the handle and… nothing. You expected him to open the door and let some of the dim light of the corridor inside the tiny room as well, but you both remained in total darkness. You felt his confused little sound before you heard it, as his strong chest pressed against your own. He gripped the handle again and this time you heard him repeatedly pushing and pulling at the door.

It didn't budge.

“It sounds like the door’s just… locked,” you say curiously. Professor Sharp is quiet, it feels as if he nearly doesn’t breathe, and it suddenly occurs to you as to why. Uh oh. The door is locked, and the key is inside the lock on the other side. Therefore, judging by your professor’s silent state, this door really cannot be opened with the unlocking charm. The two of you were stuck.

“Lumos,” you say and the tip of your wand flares up with a bright light. Your professor is still standing very close, looking at the door morosely. “Um, sir…” you nearly whisper, “we couldn’t… blast the door out?” The tall teacher turns to look at you, a dark amused expression in his brown eyes. “By all means, Miss (L/N), be my guest. That is if you’d like the two of us to die - the door is reinforced by enchantments, and I’m fairly certain there’s some highly explosive powdered Erumptent’s horn somewhere in here.”

You huffed. Sometimes he was really driving you mad with his snarky comments. “Then what do we do, professor Sharp? Just wait here until someone passes by and unlocks the door for us? It’s Saturday, sir, nobody’s going to come through here until Tuesday when the Fourth years have Alchemy class.” You may have sounded a little desperate… If only one could apparate in Hogwarts! You understood why the no apparition rule was set, but why on Earth couldn’t teachers be excepted from it? Were you really going to spend three entire days stuck with the potions master? What would you eat? Where would you sleep?

Oh… Oh, no… How would you use the bathroom?

Professor Sharp seemed completely calm where he stood in front of you, if not a little bored. “Why don’t you try and call out, Miss (L/N)? Bang on the door? You never know, maybe someone’s wandering through the corridors, lost or looking for mischief… Or perhaps a friendly ghost will hear and glide for someone to aid us.”

You put the light out on your wand and pushed it into your robes, so that you could use both of your hands pounding on the door. And pound you did. “Hello! Hellooo-?! Can anyone hear me?! We’re stuck in here! Hello?! Anyone?!”

Your shouting and beating on the door caused you to not hear the movement behind you. So when you were suddenly pushed against the cold wood, there was nothing you could do but gasp and yelp in surprise. Professor Sharp’s large, powerful body pressed into your own from behind, his hands on your hips and his lips inches away from your ear. His breath was scorching hot when he spoke: “See, my dear. Nobody will be able to hear you. You poor little thing…” he said darkly then, and you felt something hard push against the curve of your bottom, “Stuck with me out of all people… I am going to ruin you for everyone else.”

And with that, his mouth attached itself to your neck, making you shudder with both fear, but also a strange surge of arousal. In any case, you weren’t able to do anything about it, as you were perfectly sandwiched between the door and Sharp’s body, your wand absolutely out of your reach when your front was squished against the wood like this. Sharp growled into your ear and bucked his hips against your behind.

You were helpless… Completely at his mercy.

He began nibbling down your earlobe, his teeth sinking into a little spot between your ear and your neck, and you suddenly moaned, the sound torn out of you unexpectedly. Your body felt way too heated, and the air around you terribly heavy. “P-professor…” you gasped when he rutted against your bottocks again, his large build making you feel like you were going to be crushed. You cried out softly when a calloused hand slipped under your skirt and trailed between your legs, making you instinctively close them and trapping the curious hand there in the process. You shuddered: “Sir…”

“Such a sweet girl you are, Miss (L/N), so very innocent…” said professor Sharp, his voice a hoarse whisper. Two long fingers pressed against your folds roughly and you suddenly realised just how damp your underwear felt. “Do you even know what your body wants? What is it aching for?” The fingers searched blindly along your soaked drawers, looking for a way to get under them, touching your most intimate areas and making you writhe as well as you could in his iron hold. You were filled with so many sensations, the burning pleasure, the confusion, the slight twinge of fear at professor Sharp’s sudden shift in personality, but also a sense of wild heady want.

One strong arm curled around your abdomen, keeping you in place between Sharp and the door, while his hips started rhythmically rubbing against your behind, the feeling of his hot hardness making your cheeks burn even more, and when his gruff voice began grunting right into your ear, you could barely stand it anymore. You tried to move again, unsure whether you wanted to move away from him, or further into him. The arm around your stomach gripped you harder immediately, and you were promptly reminded which one of you was stronger.

The long digits of his hand finally found their way into your underwear, and you whimpered when they made contact with your soaked core. This was wrong. He shouldn’t be touching you like this. And you definitely shouldn’t be putty in his hands, moaning for more, your legs quivering. Your back tried to arch in vain when he pressed against your clit with his thumb.

“That’s right…” he said, his voice low and dangerous “yield to your master, my little lamb.”

Silence.

And then.

You let out a little breathless chuckle. And then another, And then a few more until you’re laughing fully.

“A lamb?! Really, Aesop?” you ask through your laughter, leaning your head against his shoulder behind you. He’s slightly shaking with his own giggles: “I’m sorry, dear, that was so bad.” You laugh together, your position getting slightly awkward, as he’s still squeezing you tightly with one of his arms while his free hand’s just sort of resting against your core inside your underwear. You make a move to turn around and he releases his hold immediately.

“Lumos,” you say once more that day and the soft white light illuminates the small room. You put your wand on one of the empty shelves. “Oh, Merlin’s beard,” you chuckle again, running your hand through your hair, your cheeks still blushed heavily, “As much as I enjoyed this little play of ours, I don’t think I can take it seriously now, not when I’m being called barn animals.”

“Alright, first of all, it was a barn animal, singular, and second of all, I mean… It’s not the worst barn animal one can be called, lambs are cute.” was Aesop’s facetious answer, as his arms slowly wrapped around your waist, much gentler now. “Meh, true enough,” you relented, letting yourself be pulled into his embrace.

“Thanks for not calling me a cow, by the way.”

“Oh, come off it, you!”

You kissed his lips slowly, teasingly. “Is there actually a powdered erumpent horn in here? Should I be worried?” you asked then. “There is, but it’s fairly safe without the explosive fluid. Still, best not to take down any shelves while we’re at it” Another long, passionate kiss.

“Speaking of which, do you want to continue, or shall we retire to my chambers?” The potions master offered after a while, and you could feel that his throbbing need had not subsided in the slightest. Neither has yours. “No more barn animals,” you said cheekily then, pointing your finger at him and admiring his features in the soft light of your wand on one of the shelves. His eyes, darker than two bottomless pits, twinkled momentarily as he lifted his hands in surrender: “No more barn animals, promise.”

After another heated kiss, during which his fingers kneaded the flesh of your behind, one of your hands moved to his front to return his previous teasing, easily slipping into his trousers and underwear and finding the hot stiffness there. Your first sexual adventure was still fairly fresh in both of your memories, but you already knew how he liked being touched, you knew what made him groan, what made him throw his head back. He knew the same about you, and he promptly proved such, when his hand disappeared into your drawers again to resume fondling your cunny.

You played with each other for a little, sharing open mouthed kisses and a single breath. “How would you like me then?” you asked before a whimper was forced out of your mouth by a particularly delicious twist of his fingers. He responded by giving you a wolfish grin, and you suddenly found yourself one pair of drawers poorer, as the sound of ripping fabric tore through the otherwise silent room. “Oi!” you protested, “those were perfectly fine underwear!” “I’ll get you a new pair,” replied Aesop dismissively, shoving the ruined piece of garment into his trousers pocket. His smug little smile was so handsome, yet so infuriating, it made you want to kiss it off his blasted face. So you did.

The potions master hummed against your lips, his hands coming to squeeze and fondle your now bare backside, massaging the cheeks in his large palms for a little while, before dropping them lower, to the back of your thighs.

Your feet suddenly leave the ground, and your surprised sound forces your mouths to part, as you scramble to grab onto both of his shoulders, and wrap your legs around his slim hips in an instinctive effort to not fall. He chuckles slowly. His teeth are illuminated by the glow of your wand, making him appear slightly predatory, and forcing a shiver roll down your spine. Once again, you are sandwiched between the door and his body, except this time you’re facing him.

Using the door and his body for leverage, Aesop lets go off one of your legs in order to hurriedly tug his straining trousers and underwear down, finally revealing the throbbing erection he sported since the moment he originally pinned you to the door. Maybe even before that. You feel your lover push your skirt up as much as he can, his engorged tip teasing at your soaked folds. He gives you one more heated look, and his voice is clouded with lust when he speaks: “Alright?”

Despite being quite fond of the occasional rough play and wild passionate coupling, one thing about Aesop was that he always made sure you wanted it too. And how could you not?

“Alright, love.”

And with that, Aesop gave you one last smile before positioning himself. He let gravity help him, loosening his hold on you just enough to make you sink on his throbbing prick fully. You gasped at the intrusion, your back arching against the door. Even after quite a few fun escapades together, your lover was still a lot to take in, not to mention a force to be reckoned with. He licked hotly into your mouth while your body adjusted to his considerable size. The searing arousal combined with the thrum of anticipation, as well as the blissful feeling of intimity, made you feel lightheaded. The potions master was breathing hard, being enveloped in your tight heat making him tether on the edge of sweet madness.

Aesop pulled out then ever so slightly, before plunging back in immediately, the movement making both of you shudder and groan into your still loosely connected mouths. He set a slow rhythm at first, savouring the delicious friction, your walls stretching around him, squeezing him. Both of his hands moved to your bottom, fingertips digging into the plush flesh as his mouth left yours in order to attach itself to the tender skin of your neck instead. The sensation of his rough, prickly stubble only served to heighten your desire, and a trembled moan poured out your lips.

“Good heavens, lass, the things you do to me…” he slurred between thrusts, voice cracking with pleasure, “making me feel- ah! like a bloody teenager. Making me- hngh… crave to be inside you with a single look.” His current libido was most likely only a bit bigger than that of any other man who was in a fairly new intimate relationship, however, after years of dry spell, Aesop genuinely felt like his yearning suddenly went from below zero to red-hot. You weren’t exactly making it any easier for him - you weren’t a stranger to the act of bringing pleasure to oneself before, however, that first ardent, lust-filled night has awakened what felt like a sexual renaissance within you. It made you long for him as much as he longed for you, and the two of you always connected in a searing inferno of mutual desire and the sweet surrender to it.

Your fingers knotted into his hair, pulling at the locks near his nape perfectly, while simultaneously sinking your teeth into the edge of his jaw, right under his ear. You knew this particular combination of sensations drove him wild. His hips stuttered mid-thrust and his hands squeezed you harder, a low growl reverberating around the tight space. The snapping of his hips increased in speed and his large manhood throbbed within you, his heightening need evident. You moved against each other with increasing desperation, your previous activity having left you feeling the first faint hints of an upcoming climax, which were becoming more and more pronounced under Aesop’s relentless pounding into your willing body.

One of the potions master’s hands dipped down between the tight fit of your bodies and he began rubbing harshly at your lovenub in time with his thrusting. The double stimulation, his hot ragged breath on your even hotter skin, the wonderful ache of your current position, and his groans turned short moans made the knot in your core grow tighter and tighter. You were rushing straight towards that peak, tugging at your lover’s hair and pushing his face closer to your neck, your eyes closed and mouth opened in a consistent stream of wanton sounds. However, before you could reach it and jump straight off to claim your release, all of the wonderful sensations suddenly stopped.

You were left trembling and breathing hard, imprisoned between the door and your beloved, your sex aching and screaming at you. You couldn't move, couldn't buck your hips, couldn't arch your back, couldn't do anything to bring that sweet friction back - Aesop was holding you too tight. Your upcoming climax got fainter and fainter until it became nothing but a blurry vision. You threw your head back against the door, as it was the only thing you could move, ignoring the pain and the banging sound your movement caused, too busy letting out a very unhappy whine.

“Why?!” your voice was high and desperate, unwanted tears of frustration gathering behind your screwed shut eyelids. So close, you were so close! Why would he stop? You were suddenly angry with him for ripping your orgasm away from you and you took a breath to give him a mouthful, when a pair of hot lips pressed against your own.

Aesop's hold lessened and you regained some of your freedom to move. He started a slow rhythm once more, and your anger slowly dissipated. The pleasure began coming back, but it felt different. More intense. It felt like it was rippling under your very skin, as if every single nerve ending was connected to your core by an invisible string. Aesop’s hands, his mouth left a scorching heat in their wake, one that spread throughout your flesh a sweetly invaded and imprisoned your mind, taking away from you all of your higher mental functions.

The climax came back into view, even though Aesop was moving considerably slower than before, and the fingers on your clit retreated. With every single second, every deep thrust, your abdomen tightened, body preparing itself for its unravelling, and when both of his hands grabbed your hips again, his own speeding up, you felt about ready to beg. And so you did.

"A-Aesop, p-please… Please don't stop now! Please," you were long past any actual coherent speech, tears were still running out of your eyes and your body ached and tensed for release, feeling like it might burn to a crisp if it's denied again.

It wouldn't be.

With a dark chuckle that turned into a groan, Aesop continued his deep thrusts, angling you slightly to find that very special spot inside you. He was successful in his endeavour merely a few seconds later, and if you weren’t currently in the midst of releasing a frankly pathetic wanton sound, with your nails clawing at his back, you would’ve surely made a remark that bringing you pleasure was his greatest talent.

He pulled away slightly to watch where his thick cock kept pistoning in and out of you. “Dear Merlin,” he growled between his harsh breaths, his voice an octave lower, “look at you. Taking me so bloody well.” He leaned back in, releasing shuddering puffs of air against your now perpetually open lips. “You are mine… No one else’s. Say it.” He was close. Aesop quite often doubted himself and his deserving of you, however, when he was close to his peak, he got deliciously possessive. He got selfish. Nobody else was going to have you, nobody else was going to be allowed to do to you the things he did, nobody else was going to make you feel this good.

“Y-yours,” you whimpered out, your answer the same as it always was. Your head dropped to his shoulder, and your thighs were beginning to quiver around his pumping hips. However, the potions master wouldn’t quite allow you to hide your face from his sight like this. One hand came to grab it and pull it right back with gentleness that contrasted the roughness of his voice. The knot in your stomach was growing heavier with every snap of his hips, it was glowing brighter, becoming red-hot. Your eyes fluttered as you were forced to look at him. His own eyes were bottomless dark pits of molten lava, and you craved to fall into them and burn. You could see his pleasure, his love, his utter devotion, even as his voice came out a strained growl: “Say it again.”

Time stopped. There was nothing but him. No Hogwarts, no blasted ingredient cupboard, nothing but him loving you, and bringing you to your edge. It was over, you felt yourself tipping over and plummeting down. “I am yours, Aesop,” spoke a voice you barely recognised as your own, before a loud cry forced its way out of your throat and two more tears fell from your eyes.

You felt yourself being ripped out from your body by some unseen force, only to return a fraction of a second later to a gratification so overwhelming, it was nearly too much. The orgasm he denied you earlier came back, and it shook you to your very core. Your head trashed against the door, your legs were shaking violently, and your walls were clenching and unclenching around his prick tightly, the proof of your pleasure squirting out and staining his trousers.

It was like a hurricane rolled through you, and you weren’t exactly aware of the sounds you were releasing, nor the sight you were making. However, Aesop absolutely was. And it forced him to grab your hips harshly and increase the speed of his rutting: “Oh, fuck…f-fuck, sweetheart…” When Aesop Sharp began cursing, he was either extremely mad, or mere seconds away from an earth-shattering orgasm.

His cock pulsed heavily, getting even stiffer as he repeatedly rammed it into your trembling body, precum leaking out in a constant drizzle by now, before finally - Aesop’s strong hand closed around your silky locks, and he tugged. You moaned at the sensation, still lost in the throes of your own explosive climax. The professor pressed his forehead against yours, his wavering gaze desperately locking onto your own, and his choked out moan falling against your lips. His hips stuttered as he emptied himself within you.

You were vaguely aware of the hotness that spread inside of you as your lover reached his peak, still very much out of it from your own thunderous release. You did take notice, however, that the professor’s body began trembling slightly. His orgasm left him slightly weak, therefore holding you pinned against the door was quite the effort. He used the last of his strength to lift you off the door, turn so that his own back was leaning against it, and slowly sank down onto his bottom with you in his arms.

Aesop let his head rest against the cool wood, his ragged breaths mingling with your own in the tight space, his tired arms having released their vice grip on you and closed around your waist loosely instead. Your brain has been masterfully turned off, unable to comprehend any concept more difficult than 'pleasure', 'gratification', 'love' and 'exhaustion'. You reposed in the storeroom quietly, basking in the heavenly afterglow of your shared ardour.

You stirred slowly, fatigue making your eyes strangely heavy, while your limbs positively felt like they were made of lead. It was quite curious - not you feeling a little tired after a lovely culmination of your lovemaking, but the fact that this was no ‘little tiredness’. You felt about ready to ignore absolutely everything in favour of just closing your eyes and dozing off. Then again, your release today has been a particularly thunderous one…

“What the devil did you do to me…” you slurred against the heated skin of his neck, fighting to keep yourself awake. Aesop, still coming down from his high as well, took a few moments to answer. “Oh… that. Sorry, I should have warned you beforehand. I did mean to tell you, but then… you know. With the lamb…” Despite your tiredness, a chuckle broke out from your lips, one Aesop soon joined into. “I really am sorry, though… Are you alright?” You thought for a while. While you really could’ve used the heads up, you supposed the result was quite worth it, even if it meant your energy levels had dropped to almost zero. “Hmm…” you sighed, snuggling further into his neck: “I’m great… Though, I might just fall asleep on you.”

Your lover chuckled once more. “As much as I’d like to let you, I’m afraid that you wouldn’t be able to get me back onto my feet afterwards. I’m not twenty anymore, napping on the floor has severe consequences.” It was your turn to laugh. You sluggishly moved your hands to his shoulders and braced against them as you got up, releasing a tiny groan as you found yourself empty, your combined releases running out. Still, you extended a hand towards Aesop and aided in pulling him up and to his feet.

With a flick of his wand then, you were both squeaky clean of all bodily fluids, the door clicked unlocked and the silencing charm was dropped. He languidly tucked himself back into his pants with a content expression, slightly leaning back against the door. “You owe me a pair of drawers,” you reminded him.

“I’ll happily buy you a hundred of them, as long as I get to watch you try them on.”

“You utter beast, Aesop!”

You stuck your head out of the door after making yourself a bit more presentable, and, unsurprisingly, found that the corridor was completely empty. It was a Saturday after all, the majority of third years and up were in Hogsmeade, many students were enjoying the sunny day on the banks of the Black Lake, and some were simply in their common rooms or out on the school grounds. First and second years had no business around here, unless they were looking for trouble or very very lost.

You made your way to the nearest floo flames, Aesop’s hand holding your own cautiously, ready to let go immediately in case anyone popped out from behind the corner unexpectedly. However, it seemed the Faculty tower was similarly deserted, and the two of you walked hand in hand all the way to his chambers, sharing quiet banter, your yawns interrupting the conversation every few moments. Sweet Merlin, you really were beat…

The door of Aesop’s chambers closed heavily behind you, locking itself promptly, and you leaned back against it, happy to finally be in the comfort of Aesop’s rooms, with nobody else but the man himself.

“One would've thought you’d have enough doors against your back for one day,” Aesop teased quietly. You didn’t even bother answering his remark, or opening your eyes for that matter. There was nothing but silence coming from the potions master for a while, but then a very gentle pair of lips brushed against your own. Despite your fatigue, your mouth stretched into a little smile, and you returned the kiss, your arms trailing up to wrap around his shoulders on their own accord.

After a series of little kisses and pecks, you felt Aesop shift, and suddenly one of his hands was placed at the back of your lower thigh, the other curled around your side. You opened your eyes just as your beloved lifted you into his arms, and, with utmost care like you were something incredibly precious, carried you over to his bedroom. You stifled another deep yawn against his throat, prompting Aesop to chuckle softly. “Aren’t I usually the one who wants to rest afterwards?” he quipped again. His face took on an expression of mild worry when his little jab went unanswered once more.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked once he gently placed you upon his bed, your head and body immediately nestling into the soft, clean sheets. He sat on the bed’s edge beside you, his hand placed on your hip. “Hmm, alright…” you mumbled, looking at him through your lashes, “Please tell me I actually did finish that polyjuice two days ago… I don't think I'd be able to brew even a Wit-sharpening potion right now.”

This made him grin impishly: “You can’t seriously think I’d leave such a potion unattended after it’s finished stewing, can you?”

“Oh, and here I thought I made you stop thinking altogether.”

You look at each other fondly for several seconds.

“Really, though, are you-” “Yes, Aesop, I promise I’m alright, just get in here, you beast!” You laughed out loud and pulled at his hand until he was forced to climb into the bed behind you. You immediately nuzzled into his arms, relishing in their warmth and comfort. Aesop hasn’t stopped grinning. “So… I know ‘lamb’ and other barn animals are a no-go, however, you definitely cuddle into and purr against me like a kitten." You groaned lightly, no actual annoyance in your voice.

“Hmm… ’Kitten’ I am pretty alright with,” you said eventually, opening your eyes to look up at him in good humour. “Is that what we’re doing now, by the way? Animals? Because if so, you are absolutely a big bad wolf. Always trying to eat me right up…”

“Eat you up, you say?” is all Aesop said with a positively wicked grin, before descending down on you, his teeth immediately going for your neck, pinching the skin there and scratching it with his beard. You squealed softly at the feeling, hands going into his hair, unsure whether to pull him closer or push him off. He eventually pulled away himself and settled on the bed once more, pressing himself to you. “I’ll stick to the more human terms of endearment, I think. Nothing wrong with ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart’,” he said quietly then. You smiled against the material of his shirt: “Hmm… I love it when you call me that, Ace.”

Aesop froze momentarily. Ace. It was Ashley’s, his Auror partner and oldest friend’s nickname for him. Nobody has called him that in more than a decade, by his own wish. The last time he heard it was in that godforsaken harbour.

“Alright, Ace. Lead the way.”

The potions master swallowed audibly. It’s been so long. He blinked his eyes rapidly and suppressed a shaky breath. The strangest thing was - while his heart panged at the memory of his late partner, the nickname that fell from your lips caused it to speed up and flutter.

When you said that one simple short word, it felt like a wave of warmth rolled through him. And while he was reminded of the past, what he felt most of all was… a strange sense of elation. The word rolled from your tongue so naturally, as if it’s always been there, as if you never called him anything else.

And he wanted to hear it again.

“Aesop? Love, are you alright, have I said something wrong?” The professor realised you had been looking at him with equal parts worry and confusion. “No, no…” he breathed out and his mouth stretched into a little smile.

“Not good? The nickname? I just thought, you know… Aesop - Ace. Sorry, I guess it’s a little silly.”

“It’s not. You’re not the first person to call me that, but I couldn’t stand the nickname for the past 12 years. You though… You can call me that, if you want to… I'd like you to.” Aesop said quietly, his large hands drawing little circles against your back where he held you. You looked deep into his eyes, before taking his face in your palms.

“Are you sure, Ace?”

His breath hitched again, but he couldn't deny the pleasurable shudder that overtook him when he heard the word in your tender voice once more. He closed his arms tighter around your form, pulling you against his chest. You curled up into your lover once more, nosing at his throat and caressing him wherever you were able to reach.

“Will you tell me someday?”

“I will. One day, I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”

Hiya! I hope you enjoyed reading. You can also find this story as well as all of my other stories on AO3. I love feedback <3

#hogwarts legacy #fanfiction #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #reader insert #aesop sharp #professor sharp #aesop sharp x reader #aesop sharp x you #professor sharp x reader #aesop sharp x mc #aesop sharp smut #slight dubcon #roleplay #smut and fluff

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kineticpenguin · 11 months

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Once dreamed of as a galactic empire built on scientific understanding and secular thought, the millennia following the Emperor’s death instead saw a slow decay into mysticism, madness and theocratic fascism, with entire planets given over to religious worship of the now-God-Emperor’s corpse, and any attempt at scientific advancement punishable by death. At the top of this rotting pile perch the High Lords of Terra, who maintain the Imperial Creed in His name through iron-fisted control and the enthusiastic application of genocide. They select only the most loyal recruits to rise through the ranks of the power structure, resulting in iterative, stagnant dilution and a violent aversion to outside threats — a blind adherence to dogma and a refusal to confront the reality of what they have become condemning them to a grim future indeed.

After nearly 40 years of trying to steer their flagship Warhammer 40,000 battle-barge towards Profitus Maxima, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Games Workshop has fallen into the same downward spiral of ideological rot. Each new edition of the game feels increasingly recursive and more corporate than the one before, with all nuance carefully buffed out in order to deliver the most bombastic, shallow ‘grimdark’ caricatures possible. Challenging ideas and radical thought are strongly discouraged, with dissenters purged from their employment, and corporate gags slapped over the mouths of those who would speak out against oppression and tyranny. Indeed, so thoroughly dead is the idea of Warhammer 40,000 as “satire” that the completely fictional in-universe timeline itself is not safe, with entire books being rewritten and republished in order to ensure a bulletproof internal chronology of a setting which its creator cautioned that we “should not take too seriously”.

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slutforsnow · 3 months

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Chapter 9

FIRST DAY FESTIVAL TIME :3

TW/CW: Possessive/obsessive Coryo murderous thoughts

When the train that weaved its way through the districts arrived at D2, Sunni practically leaped off the train and hugged her friends who were waiting at the station for her. The friend group was quite large, comprising of maybe 6 people.

"Cori, Sej, come here, you guys gotta meet my friends!!" She called, waving to the boys as they gathered their own + Sunni's luggage off the train.

Getting a closer look at Sunni's friend group, Coriolanus realized that she had a very mixed group of friends; black, white, desi, indian, boys, girls, androgynous, plus sized, and skinny friends. He didn't think negatively of that fact, though; he thought it was nice to see her have a large and very close group of friends. Most girls back at the Academy just just stick 1 to 3 people, and there'd be one poc at the most.

"Guys, this is Coriolanus Snow and Sejanus!" She introduced stepping to the side, allowing everyone to shake hands. "Cori, Sej, these are my friends Nero Amadeus; he/him, Maxima Benedictus; he/she/they, Nataila Catullus; any and neos, Viktor Dellis; he/it, Vivian Diamandis; she/her, and the twins Dele, & Demitri Chaconas!"

A chorus of hellos and heys and followed Sunnis friends as the boys shook hands and introduced themselves to Sunni's friends.

"So, Sunshine, how's the Capitol?" Maxima asked as the residents of District 2 led the Plinths + Coryo to the hotel where the Academy students would be staying.

"Uh, shiny," Sunni answered. "And there's more douchebags."

"Ha, fuckin' told you Vik!" Demitri interrupted, reaching over to smack Viktor in the back of the head. He simply ducked, snickering as they instead hit Sunni.

"Hey-!!"

"Sorry, Sun, Vik ducked!"

Nataila laughed to herself as Vivian and Dele shared a look that read "they're so childish".

As the group chatted excitedly about plans for the week and caught up, learning about the Capitol as well, Coryo was glaring daggers at one of the males; Nero Amadeus.

Nero had his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he listened to the chatter, smiling as Sunni. He was happy to see her so excited and to be reunited with her friends but Coryo didn't know why and I was determined to get a straight answer out of the brunette or beat it out of him.

Cracking his knuckles and tossed his suitcase, which was actually Sejanus' that he was borrowing (read as stole), onto his bed once the group reached the hotel; all the Academy children were were on the top two floors and Sunni's group had the highest one.

"I don't trust that Amaedus guy," He huffed out to Sejanus.

"What? Nero? Why?" Sej asked, setting his backup suitcase on his bed.

"I dunno- I just get a bad feeling from him," He replied, tearing his hoodie off as he spoke.

"He seems pretty chill—besides, we just met the guy. It might just be your paranoia since this is your first time in 2," Sejanus offered, taking off his sweater and setting it on his bed.

"No, I don't think it's the paranoia. I'd know if it's the paranoia."

"Jealousy?" Coryo almost laughed. Him? Jealous? Over what? A girl that's not his yet?

"Jealousy, Sej? Really? Im not dating her, so why would i be jealous?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Friends can be jealous. Hell, I thought Sunni would've replaced me after me, dad, and ma moved to the Capitol, buy she still cares just as much after a decade," Sejanus answered, opening the curtains to check our the view.

"That's different, you're family," the blonde snapped, falling back onto his bed. The was comfy; it felt like it was made entirely out of feathers, and it felt way better than his bed at home.

"Yeah, I suppose, but we should trust them. After all, they've been around Sunni longer than either of us, and for the past 10 years, I've only seen her on visits."

Coryo scoffed and rolled his eyes, mumbling whatever. He was going to find out if Nero had a thing for Sunni and if he needed to dispose of him to make sure he didn't get a chance.

But he'd also have to make sure that no one else would find out about how Nero "went missing". He needed Sunni to completely trust him, no matter the cost.

An awkward silence filled the room, only to be disrupted by loud music entering the room. Coryo sat up, glaring at where the music was supposedly coming from; he didn't need a headache before the festival.

"The hell is that?" Sej inquired, coming out of the bathroom, zipping up his fly. Coryo shrugged, and the two left their room, to see what the noise was. Seeing a door was cracked open, they gently pushed the door open and Coryo feel his blood boil.

Nero and Sunni were dancing to some upbeat and chaotic aong, singing along with it as the others were laughing and talking about an itinerary that Sunni made at some point. When did she make an itinerary, Coryo had no idea, but he didn't care right now. All he cared about was separating his girl from some loser nobody.

"So do you guys plan on making everyone else deaf?" Sejanus shouted over the music, grabbing the others' attention.

"Sorry, Sej, this is what we do all the time!" Sunni shouted back, letting go of Nero so he could turn up his hearing aids once the music was off.

"Why?" He yelled back, walking into the room, followed by Coryo, who was glaring daggers at Nero.

"Why not? It's an homage to how we met; loud music," Sunni replied, laughing as Dele turned the music down.

"Yep: we were all at a skate park, testing our skates and boards and we started bonding over some loud music people were playing," Demitri added as Viktor kicked their ass in another round of COD.

"Dude, how do you get so good at Call of Duty?"

"Eh, having divorced parents who always argue make it easy to find time to game," He replied with a shrug.

"So divorced parents equals being a god at Call of Duty?" Nataila teased, grinning.

"I mean, in my case, yeah."

"So then what does having a dead parent equal?" Maxima inquired.

"Art skills," Sunni answered, hopping her happy little butt onto the counter.

Coryo made his way to her as the others gasped and told Sunni she was quote unquote "wrong for that" while trying not to laugh despite Sunni giving them permission to, when Sunni was laughing and laid his head on her shoulder.

She beamed at this sudden "affection," and gently scratched the top of his head.

"Hi, Cori," She whispered to him as the others, including Sejanus, started talking about things they could do for the first day of the festival.

"Hey, Sunshine," He murmured, his breath hot against her neck.

"You okay?" She asked, gently lifting his head to meet his semi-relaxed gaze.

"Just feel better around you," He lied to her. Well, he wasn't really lying, but he couldn't say he was claiming what's his. He couldn't scare her off. He wouldn't scare her off.

"Okay," She replied, smiling and letting him go back to nuzzling her. Fortunately for Coriolanus, Sunni didn't notice the hateful and murderous glare he was sending towards Nero, who was chatting absent-mindly with Maxima.

Late into the afternoon, once all the Academy students were settled, the group had set off to explore District 2 and everything that had been set up.

Games, of course, for the little kids who had rich families or the Academy kids who had younger siblings or students who wanted to relax and feel like a child again, but also dancing, music, and all sorts of different delicacies. It was so wonderful, filling, and fun that they all felt calm. Even with the occasional dead dad or divorced parents jokes, which Coryo learned were coping methods that Sunni and Viktor used to cope with the loss, everyone felt happy.

But Coryo wasn't happy. People were calling to Sunni, getting hugs and having her full attention. Sejanus, at one point, had to restrain Coryo from committing any more crimes again because a guy hugged Sunni for 2 minutes too long.

Sure, Sunni reassured him and said he was "just a friend," but Coryo had countered with "friend's don't have their hands way too low where they shouldn't be." Which eventually led to Sunni nodding but telling him he didn't need to jealous because they guy was 15 and just really tall. At that point, Coryo let it go and gave in but has held her close to him, not wanting anyone to pull her away from him. As the group walked to another restaurant to check out the place, Sejanus shot Coryo a text wearing a shit eating grin.

Sejanus: Not jealous, hm? You haven't let go of Sunni since we found out about the loud music lmfao

Seen

Coryo rolled his eyes, seeing the text. Of course, he wasn't going to let go of Sunni. People could've turned against her after she was transferred to the Capitol, for God's sake! He had to protect his girl, even from her own friends if he had to.

Then Sejanus sent Coryo another text, but it was a photo of Coryo with his arms around Sunni's waist and holding her small hands in his and he had his head on top of hers.

He smiled a little at the picture and saved it to his phone before putting his phone in his pocket.

He'd make that his lockscreen later.

Tags: @etfrin @hearts4court @snows-wife @delusionalbunni @kiraflowersworld @victory-scream0462 @curled-hair-red-lips @morallygrayboys @phoward89 @xoxo-eyeballs @thereeallink @graciouslyc @acidaciruela @wanda-maximoff-enthusiast @firstworldproblemthings @nowitsmissing @poppyflower-22 @kuromismom7 @xjinnix @flw3rrr @plathsotherib @beaphobia @valeskafics @aoi-targaryen @elayasversion

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blorb-el · 5 months

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Don’t know if you made a post on this but what’s your opinion on DCAU Clark and how unapproachable(?) they made him in the later JL/JLU series without ever resolving it? Like I know the Cadmus arc hinges on him never considering himself a possible threat but it seems there was room for no much introspection outside a couple moments (that were later backtracked).

I've had like 6 half finished posts about this buried deep in the drafts for a year because I have capital B Brain Rot about this, but every time I tried to write it out I got six sentences in and wanted to rewatch the entire DCAU in order to get my facts straight. This time I'm resisting the urge, so forgive me if I forget specific episodes

Also, unfortunately for you, it’s nanowrimo, which means my brain is in Type All The Words Mode, and not Communicate Effectively and Succinctly Mode, and also I need a break from WSBF chapter 8, so. You’re getting a 3.5k essay sort of answering this question but not really. you will see

Thank you to my fellow lawyer for the defense of Rectangle Clark @januariat for helping to put this together

I do rewatch STAS and JL a fair amount, but much less JLU, so I actually don’t have much to say about the specific execution there. I’m planning on rewatching it soon. But for now…

To me it boils down to two answers. The Doylist answer, and what I think the writers really did have in mind, is that they came up with the Cadmus plot, knew it was an absolute banger of a storyline, and decided that it was worth compromising Superman's personality in order to write a good story. which is not something I can fault them for - as a fanfic writer, I make the same calculated tradeoffs every time I set out to write a fic. Characters are tools for narrative, even if these particular characters come with an additional weight of the tradition of collaborative storytelling that their most effective stories honor.

However, I do think it’s possible to, post-hoc, cobble together a Watsonian, narratively satisfying (if fucked up and sad) character arc for DCAU Clark if you also take STAS and JL into account. I think the key to understanding his character arc is his relationship with control. Throughout STAS, JL, and JLU, and then one more time in Batman Beyond for good measure, over and over again, he's manipulated and his powers and body are used as resources for other people. Obviously that’s not much of an excuse for becoming more authoritarian/overbearing/etc, Fascism Is Bad and I personally think a more IC superman would retreat more than double down (as in Kingdom Come), but looking at the totality of things that have happened to him before Cadmus, it's a little more understandable why he'd get close to snapping under the strain. Here's my personal reading of his arc, and the events that might have led to Clark behaving so irrationally in JLU.

cut for sheer length, but also mentions of manipulation, sexual assault, victim blaming, that sort of thing

One of the recurring themes in the DCAU is villains dehumanizing, depowering, and/or manipulating Clark. In STAS, Parasite, Lex via Bizarro, Talia and Ra’s al Ghul use him as a source for their own power. The Preserver and Maxima treat him like some exotic prize, disregarding his wishes. Jax-Ur and Mala use him and then betray him. But the most impactful, by far, is Darkseid.

In Apokolips Now, Darkseid defeats Clark, puts his bleeding body into public stocks, and drags him through the middle of Metropolis. Clark’s only rescued by the last minute intervention of the New Gods, and as a parting shot Darkseid murders Clark’s friend in front of everyone. Even though Clark prevents Earth from turning into Apokolips, it’s a huge emotional loss, and they don’t shy away from showing his rage and helplessness. But it’s when Darkseid returns in Legacy, the finale of STAS, that Clark’s life truly takes a turn for the worse.

Forgive me if this is all plot recap to you, anon, but I feel like a lot of people don’t know that STAS ends with Clark being mind controlled, heavily implied to be sexually assaulted, and forced to try to take over the Earth, killing god knows how many people in the process. When the military finally brings him down with a Kryptonite warhead and imprisons him, they nearly kill Supergirl in the process. Then Lex almost gives him a lethal injection, with a US general looking on, implying that the government approves of killing him. Lois breaks him out, he tries to get help for Kara from Dr. Hamilton, and then goes to Apokolips. Most fights in STAS have him shrug off blows. He ends this one bleeding from his mouth, looking almost dead. When he finally casts down Darkseid, tells the Hunger Dogs (the slaves on Apokolips) that they’re free… they turn away from Superman. They cluster around Darkseid to protect and heal him.

Those universal truths of a lot of Superman stories, that goodness and liberty and the American Way* always win? They don't in STAS. A representative of the US government (as far as he knows) has tried to kill him. He lost his temper and spoke in a harsh tone of voice once, because Kara was dying and he was hurt and desperate, and now his friend Dr. Hamilton, the man he trusted to repair the Kryptonian ship, study his body and his powers, one of the people who knew him best in STAS, is afraid of him - and, as we find out later, takes immediate, drastic, and violating action against Kara and against him. The series ends with the small town man standing on the roof of the Planet, hearing people hate and fear him, wondering how people will ever trust him again.

*I hate this phrase personally when used as a Superman Motto, but it's used here as a contrast to the fascistic imagery of Apokolips Now and Legacy (as well as Brave New World, which, hoo boy, we aren’t even getting into that one).

Six months (iirc) after the STAS finale, in Secret Origins, the US government has agreed to let a visibly older and wearier Superman help disarm the nuclear stockpile - only for this to backfire on him because it was a Plot by the White Martians. Clark’s let down the country again. He’s helped aliens invade again, and to make matters worse, he sped away in the middle of an attack to break into an official government facility to free J'onn. Clark founds the Justice League beginning from a place of personal failure, as a check on himself. Clark has power and wants to help people with it, but he’s been turned against people he cares about, and has twice now failed to protect the world. It’s worth noting that Legacy put him into the world stage; before, in STAS, I can’t think of any true worldwide threats besides maybe Jax-Ur and Mala.

Most of the rest of season 1 of JL isn’t particularly Clark-focused, although he does appear in a lot of episodes, but the themes of some of these episodes are potentially relevant to understanding his character later, so: brief bullet point summaries.

During In Blackest Night, Clark sees his respected colleague turn himself into an authority that turns out to be incompetent investigators looking for a scapegoat. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here.

During The Enemy Below, on Clark’s advice, Aquaman tries to solve his problems peacefully with diplomacy and is immediately shot in a life threatening assassination attempt. Peaceful diplomacy doesn't work so well for him.

During Injustice for All, Lex is dying of cancer. Clark tries to reach out and is rebuffed, with Lex going on to try to found a team to kill him and the rest of the League.

During Paradise Lost, Clark sees his respected colleague turn herself into the authorities and immediately get banished from her home for the crime of trying to save it with all the resources she had at her disposal. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here, again.

During War World, Clark’s again captured for exploitation. This is essentially a retread of The Main Man from STAS, doubling down on how some people see him as a thing to be exploited.

During Fury, Clark’s completely ineffective at preventing an attempted genocide of half the world’s population.

Season 2 opens with Twilight, one of the most important episodes for understanding Clark’s mindset during the Cadmus arc. Imagine, if you will, the above happening to you. Darkseid shows up at your workplace. And the man you’ve worked with the longest, your friend, your ally, tells you to cry him a river, build him a bridge, and get over it. Tells you to get over being brainwashed, manipulated, and humiliated. Tells you to get over having your broken and bleeding body paraded around the streets of Metropolis, tells you to get over having your friend killed in front of you for trying to defend you, tells you to get over almost getting your cousin killed. Sure, Brainiac is a planetary-scale threat; Darkseid and Apokolips are in real trouble. Clark was wrong to write off Apokolips and its people, and the League should absolutely have intervened in the situation. But the way Bruce went about it was… one of the harshest things DCAU Bruce has ever done, and one of the only times the narrative seems to actually agree that he was an asshole about it. And even then, you really need the context of STAS to understand why Clark is so furious and hurt in this scene.

Clark relents and goes along with Bruce’s plan to trust Darkseid, only to end up betrayed again, the whole ruse just another ploy for Brainiac to gain control of Clark, torture him, and use Clark’s body to upgrade himself. Clark had spared Darkseid back on Apokolips at the end of Legacy, on Kara’s advice. But now Darkseid’s come after him, again. Used him again to put not only Earth but who knows how many other worlds at risk, now that Brainiac’s even more powerful. It’s the downfall of Krypton, over and over again. And when Clark goes to end it, I think he doesn’t care that the base is about to go, as long as Darkseid goes down with it. That isn’t a price Bruce is willing to pay, so he teleports Clark out. And he’s wrong, again. “No one could have survived that.” Well… no, Bruce. Darkseid does, and Clark knows it.

During Tabula Rasa, Lex manipulates Amazo the exact way he tried to use Bizarro. Clark once again fails to guard against a terrible, potentially world-ending threat, and in fact makes the situation worse by his very presence.

Then we come to Only a Dream, another key episode in understanding this version of Superman. Clark’s deepest fear is that his powers will keep on growing beyond his ability to control them, eventually destroying everything around him. In his nightmare He kills Lois and Jimmy, destroys the Daily Planet, and grows into a brutish, hulking, clumsy figure, first crying out for someone to help him, and then losing hope. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He goes back to the Kent farm and curls up in the spaceship in the fetal position, convinced that he’s only going to hurt anyone who tries to help. Is it any wonder, since that’s literally what’s happened to him in Legacy? Is it any wonder that he’d want to give up, to retreat? If we’re to take the World of Cardboard speech literally, he’s already having to focus on this restraint every day, in every interaction. This is my personal explanation/hc as to why in every single fight he lets himself get knocked around a bit first; he’s calibrating how hard he can hit back without doing irrevocable damage. Anyway. Deeply fucked up 2 minutes of horror. Wish they’d explored this a little bit more in later seasons.

Then, directly after this, it’s A Better World. After we’ve just seen that his worst nightmare is hurting people by being unable to control his powers, we come face to face with a world where he’s hurt people by the precise and controlled application of his powers. Justice Lord Clark uses the same Superman Robots we saw Kara use in Legacy. He’s become quite adept at his lobotomization techniques. Later on in JLU, we see ‘our’ universe’s Clark attempt to lobotomize Doomsday the exact same way Justice Lord Superman did. Again, Clark fails to protect the world from himself, and to make matters worse, the guy to save the day is Lex Luthor. I’d be a little miffed if the maniac who wants to kill me so so bad turned out to be instrumental in saving the world and now I owe him some unspecified favor in the future. Clark’s met with failure and distrust trying to fix things his way, now he tries to do things in an uncharacteristically sneaky way and… gets met with more dislike and distrust.

Eclipsed continues this trend of hurting his friends; he’s temporarily mind controlled and hurts Wally.

In The Terror Beyond, he fucks up and puts the world in danger again, all because from his point of view, he tried to prevent Solomon Grundy being manipulated and used (like he himself has been used over and over again).

In Secret Society, his frustration comes to a peak, amplified by Grodd’s telepathic manipulation. He’s been trying to do his best, but he snaps that he’s had better luck fighting armies alone (dubious plural there, but he did pretty much evaporate an army in Legacy, so at least once, ok) and that he’s had to hold back his abilities in order to be on the League. Again if we take the World of Cardboard speech at face value, this is true, and we see it in the episode when he accidentally hurts Shayera with heat vision despite shouting a warning beforehand. It’s also telling how other members of the League have the ability to constantly voice doubts about its usefulness and cohesiveness as an organization (hi Bruce) but when he expresses the same doubts everyone gasps. When he expresses his doubt and frustration, when he steps away, the organization that’s collectively saved the world several times falls apart; they’re reliant on him, and he has to be aware of the entire existence of the League as an extra burden of responsibility.

Since both this episode and the Cadmus arc as a whole are meant to show his flaws as a leader, it’s worth examining the foundations of that leadership as established in the DCAU. Clark’s the leader of the League, but narratively, Bruce is its brains and its ethics and Wally is its heart. As a result, Clark is filling the role of leader of the League without the narrative scaffolding that gives him the respect comics incarnations of the character are generally accorded. (I’m admittedly only drawing here from the JLA runs I’ve personally read, Morrison/Porter 90’s JLA and the early Fox/Sekowsky 60’s JLA). Superman might not technically be the First Superhero according to these continuities, but he is respected as though he is (and as we comic book nerds know him to be). The League in these comics treat him as something of an ethical standard bearer, a primus inter pares, as well as being the muscle. In the DCAU, Batman, having founded the DCAU with BTAS, is the First Superhero, and the entire plotline of the Justice Lords centers Wally as the emotional anchor of the team. Clark doesn’t have that pre-established stature. What really qualifies him to be the leader, besides the fact that Bruce doesn’t want to do it? His position seems precarious, relying more on Superman’s pre-established reputation than his actual onscreen characterization. Centering Bruce and Wally are legitimate creative choices I don’t even necessarily disagree with, but it means Clark-as-leader functions quite differently than more traditional JL structures.

Hereafter is something of a healing point for him. It’s a little fucked up that Superman almost bashes Vandal Savage’s head in with a rock, but you take what you can get at this point. He comes out of it fine, but everyone else is forced to reckon with what he means to them. Hereafter coming directly after Secret Society is a very good reunification for the League. Shame about what’s gonna happen in three episodes.

In Wild Cards, he’s useful to address the immediate threat but ineffective to stop the real, countrywide (worldwide?) threat. (I should note that of course I don’t expect every episode’s threat to be solved by Clark; I’m just pointing out a trend that I think his character would perceive as failures on his part. If the writers ever let him reflect.)

JL ends as it began, with another massive alien invasion that Clark helped facilitate in Starcrossed, by working with the Thanagarians during the first part of their plan. As a fellow exile, a fellow alien, he’s hurt and angry with Shayera’s betrayal… even though, in the end, in probably one of his best moments, he votes to allow her to stay in the League.

(Sidenote: almost every interaction Clark has had with other aliens have been despotic societies or individuals: Jax-Ur and Mala, Apokolips, Maxima’s planet, War World, and now Thanagar. The Guardians built robotic police/foot soldiers to enforce their will. Even New Genesis is ruled by a benevolent dictator. Martian society is nearly extinct, overrun by… more alien despots, surviving only with J'onn. Argoan society is nearly extinct, surviving only with Kara. At least Lobo isn’t a fascist? Small consolation.)

JLU begins after a short time skip. I’m not as familiar with JLU episodes since it’s been a while since I’ve watched them, so I’m not going to attempt an episode-by-episode breakdown. Also this post is already way too long. But the point of this post is to look at Clark’s overall arc until this point, and see how it informs his decisions in JLU. For a more JLU-specific informed point of view check this post by januariat!

What we have is a man who naturally wants to take responsibility on his own shoulders, a doer and a fixer who wants to get into the ring and solve problems, who wants to use his abilities to help, being confronted over and over again with a string of personal failures, manipulation, and betrayal. When he tries to set a boundary about not being willing to help the man who took over his body and forced him against his home in Twilight, he’s told to get over it by his most trusted ally. When his deepest fears are revealed in Only a Dream, we see them having been already realized in Legacy. And when he’s presented with his dream of a peaceful life farming, a family that loves him, and no responsibility to save the world, it’s ripped away from him in For The Man Who Has Everything.

Ultimately, I don’t have a good answer for exactly how he doubles down in JLU S2, because I need to rewatch all of it with this understanding of the character. But I think you can see the shape of a traditional Superman character in there, trying and trying again and again to do the right thing, putting himself on the line - only instead of learning from his experiences and letting them inform his actions, he’s carrying the weight of years of suppressed trauma while trying to hold up the entire Justice League. This long, long run of failure, manipulation, betrayal, and distrust adds up. And there’s only so much weight one person can hold on their shoulders, even if they are a Superman.

(And then as the nice little capstone to his story, in Batman Beyond's The Call, he’s kept under alien mind control for years! With the way Starro clings to his chest, he probably hasn’t been touched in years! Trapped in his own mind, forced to watch as yet another alien species uses him as a tool to hurt his own teammates and invade the Earth! And that’s the last we see of DCAU Clark! What a fun little ending to his character arc that doesn’t make me go insane whenever I think about it. Very very very normal about this.)

#id in alt text #like i said. brainrot. i'm so normal about clark kent #you really do have to like. put this arc together in your own head though. they did NOT put this on screen.#long post #dc meta #DCAU #STAS #JL/JLU #clark kent #my fucking kingdom for a fic where j'onn helps him develop mental shielding against mind control. and also gets him therapy. one day #my writing #<fuck it. putting it in the writing tag so i can find it again #thanks for the ask :^)

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hellfireghoul · 1 year

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Goodnight

Sebastian Sallow x f!SlytherinReader

Summary: After the colourful events of your fifth year, the trauma you'd experienced was haunting you. Not wanting to go home for the summer holidays to your muggle non-understanding parents, the question arises: where will you stay over the summer?

Words: 4.9k

Warnings: Reader experiences anxiety & a panic attack. Spoilers for the game. Ominis isn't our friend :((( Other than that, mostly fluff

Notes: Thank you all so much for the support and the love on my writing. This is really a great hobby for me (and usually self-indulgent), and I'm so flattered that so many of you enjoy what comes out of my brain. My blog just hit 100 followers, thank you!

End of term. The summer holidays had begun. The air felt a little lighter and a beautiful bright blue sky shone over the castle and surrounding hamlets.

There had been a certain buzz in the air, an almost palpable excitement for the upcoming break over the past few weeks at Hogwarts. Exams were over, many students taking their O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S had returned to their regular scheduled care free attitudes. The Professors even lightened up during the last few weeks of term. Even Professor Sharp didn’t give Garreth detention for blowing up his maxima potion, by somehow adding Puffskien fur to the concoction. Weasley getting off scot-free under Professor Sharp's watchful eye was unheard of up until now.

Breaktimes were largely spent outdoors, the main common areas of the castle left tranquil and silent in the cool shade. You preferred this however. The calming atmosphere of the castle and the alone time was what you desperately needed.

You spend your afternoons curled up on a bench in the Defence Against the Dark Arts tower with a book, or preferably your common room. The library was your usual haunt but it had become unbearable in the heat. Plus, Madam Scriber seemed much more irritable than usual, although you could hardly blame her, being stuck inside that sauna all day. She was stalking around looking as if she was about to cast Glacius on herself.

The question had arisen early on Monday morning, the last Monday of term.

“So, are you going back to your parents for the holidays?” Sebastian asked, slumping down next to you on the almost empty common room sofa, leaning his elbows on his knees.

He looked tired nowadays, not the same confident, charming freckle faced boy you’d met on your first day. Hints of him returned every now and then, but it felt as if you were seeing him through a thin veil. It broke your heart.

You shook your head, giving a definite no. You hadn’t even told your parents you weren’t planning on returning for the summer holidays. At least not straight away. You weren’t sure what you were going to do but, Merlin knows you couldn’t just go home.

You loved your parents, dearly. You didn’t hate the muggle world either, quite the contrary in fact. Despite all this, you just couldn’t quite bring yourself to face your perfectly normal home and perfectly normal parents. Not yet. Not after the year you’d had.

The truth was, ever since defeating Ranrok and witnessing Professor Fig’s death mere months ago, you didn’t sleep. Or if you did manage to drift off, peaceful sleep was evaded by horrific nightmares and haunting images of your beloved Professor Fig laying lifeless before you. Or Ranroks bellowing, booming distorted voice, pounding in your ears, and that huge monstrous dragon creature looming over you.

You wake up in cold sweats a lot, panting and shaking. It was useless to attempt to settle again after that, instead most early mornings, you’d make your way into the common area and curl up once again, with a book.

That wasn’t the only thing lingering and haunting you. Sebastian. You had witnessed him perform the worst Unforgivable imaginable. He committed murder, on his own family member no less. That was your best friend, of course you wouldn’t turn him in. You couldn’t. A part of you wanted to hate Sebastian for what he did, for being so stupid, but you never could. Your eyes still fixed on him with the same adoring gaze you’d always had, but the guilt was eating you alive for feeling this way. About someone who’d done something so terrible, someone you were protecting.

Still, everytime he came and joined you like he did on that Monday morning, you desperately wanted to throw yourself into his arms. To sob into his chest and spill every single tiny worry you’d been having while gripping him so tight he couldn’t move. Sebastian had no idea the turmoil you’d been experiencing over the past few months. He was aware something was up, but in his mind he’d put it down to just recovering from recent events. He had no idea the true extent of your suffering. You couldn’t bring yourself to even mention it. He was going through so much himself, his Uncle, and now losing Anne. Even Ominis had abandoned his best friend. You couldn’t blame them. So you'd simply just kept quiet. He was in agony too.

So the both of you sat there, in a lingering silence, you staring at your book and Sebastian at the floor.

After a moment, Sebastian responded.

“Where are you going to go?”

You shrugged indifferently.

“I’m not sure yet. My parents aren’t going to be home for the first few weeks, and I don’t fancy being alone in my muggle house.” You lied, flicking the page of your book, knowing your parents weren’t going anywhere. The height of their adventures includes visiting the coast sometimes for a weekend once a year.

Sebastian shifted for a second in his seat, elbows still resting on his knees, seemingly deep in thought.

“Why don’t you stay with me, for a bit?” He asked, hesitantly.

You turned to look at him for a second, your eyes pulling away from your book for the first time in what felt like hours. Your eyes had to adjust to your surroundings, the edges seemingly blurry.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, my Uncle’s house in Feldcroft. It’s the only place I’ve got. But it’s empty now, with Uncle Solomon...” He trailed off at his words and you nodded gently, showing that he needn’t go no further.

“And Anne… doesn’t want to see me. She’s staying with her friend’s family I think. Ominis, I’m not sure. He’s not spoken to me since… everything” Sebastian continued thickly.

“So, I wouldn’t mind the company, if you-“

“Yes. That would be nice.” You cut him off, responding a bit too quickly.

In all honesty, you couldn’t think of a better offer. Sebastian couldn’t bare to be in that house alone and you couldn’t bare to be with people that didn’t have a clue what had happened to you. Or even begin to understand what had happened to you. And where on earth do you begin to even explain such events?

“Settled. You can stay as long as you like.” Sebastian said, softly.

The last day of term approached very quickly. Everyone hugging, saying their goodbyes with their mountains of trunks following closely behind them and a shower of owls in hot pursuit.

The majority of students were readying themselves for the Hogwarts Express, you and Sebastian amongst another small handful of students were awaiting carts to take them and their luggage to various hamlets across the Scottish Highlands.

Amongst the sea of faces awaiting to head over to the Hogwarts express, you caught a glimpse of one of your favourites.

You made a beeline straight for the pale faced boy, who was standing amongst his peers with his luggage.

“Ominis!” You approached him slightly out of breath, having to push through the crowd.

“Oh, Y/N.” Ominis said, softly.

You didn’t hesitate and pulled him into a long, hard hug. He jumped slightly at the sudden contact, and you muttered an apologetic ‘sorry’ in his ear as you pulled away, forgetting his rule about surprise hugs. They tended to startle him.

“How are you?” You asked tentatively.

“I’m fine, how are you?

“Oh Ominis, I’ve missed you.” You could feel your throat closing as you clung onto the boy's robes.

“Where are you going for the summer?” You asked suddenly, aware that Ominis usually spent the summer with the Sallow family.

“My parents.” The boy said, coldly. You were aware this tone wasn’t directed at you.

“Oh, Ominis…” you sighed apologetically.

“What about you? You’re going home I assume?”

“No,” you croaked. “I’m, I’m staying in Feldcroft, with-“

“Ah. I see.” Ominis cut you off, he couldn’t bear to hear the name of his former best friend any longer. The betrayal he felt over Sebastian’s actions cut deep.

“Are you sure you don’t want to-“ but again you were cut short.

“No thank you, Y/N. In my eyes he is no better than my parents.”

Your eyes widened at this comment, it hit you hard.

“You surely don’t mean that, Ominis.” You gasped.

“I won’t discuss it further. Have a pleasant summer, Y/N.”

And with Ominis’s final words, the distant sound of the Hogwarts Express pulling up rang in the air. The steam engine hissed lowly in the distance, and the crowd of students suddenly erupted to life, all clambering for their luggage.

You watched as Ominis gathered his things and disappeared into the crowd without another word, your stomach burning and twisting and his words still echoing in your ears.

You returned to Sebastian after your brief conversation with Ominis, you didn’t share any details with him. You decided he didn’t need to hear what had been said.

The two of you clambered onto a Thestral cart that was heading for Feldcroft.

It took you a mere few hours to settle at the Sallow house. Feldcroft was much livelier since Ranrok’s loyalists had cleared off, although some locals still seemed on high alert, which was perfectly reasonable in your book. There were still remnants of battle preparation scattered across the hamlet, crates of chinese chomping cabbages and Dark Wizard dummies still everpresent.

You’d unpacked your trunk, and Sebastian had shown you your bed.

You were sleeping in Anne’s old bed.

You’d seen the Sallow house once before, and it was cosy and quaint, much like all the other houses in the settlement. It wasn’t much but you felt safe. You had Sebastian. That was enough.

Sebastian had been in and out of the house all day, chatting briefly to neighbours and locals. A lot of people seemed to be wondering about the whereabouts of the rest of the family. Sebastian had come up with a clever lie about Anne, and as far as the rest of Feldcroft knew, Uncle Solomon had died in a tragic accident defending his brother's children from Ranrok’s loyalists. After his fifth conversation that afternoon with another local wanting the latest news, he stormed in through the front door, locked it behind him with his wand and slumped down on his bed, face in his hands.

A deep sigh escaped his lips and he rubbed his hand roughly over his face.

“People asking questions?” You asked, quietly.

“Too many. Once I leave Hogwarts, I’ll be out of this place.”

It was late into the evening when shot up from the kitchen table, you’d both been relaxing by the fire, a game of chess between you.

“What, what is it?” Sebastian said, sitting straight back in his chair in surprise.

“I completely forgot to write an owl to my parents, they’re going to expect me home.” You were saying the words as you scrambled frantically through your trunk for spare parchment and a quill. You seized the spares you could find and began scrawling a letter to your parents on the kitchen table, informing them of your whereabouts.

You were deep in thought composing your letter until Sebastian said

“But Y/N, you don’t have an owl?”

You stopped writing mid sentence and looked up at him, the realisation dawning on both of you that neither of you had owls.

“I’ll nip over to the school owlry, it’ll be fine.” You uttered quickly after a second, and continued to write.

“Y/N, how? You can’t get into the school.”

“I have a broom Sebastian, I won’t get caught.”

You stood up straight, finishing your letter and producing an envelope from thin air to slot it in. You sealed it and scrawled your parents' address on it. Making your way towards the door, Sebastian called out after you.

“Y/N, it’s late. Do you want me to join you? Will you be okay?”

You turned to look at him briefly, and a small smile formed on your lips for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. Sebastian relaxed in his seat slightly when meeting your eye.

“You’re right, you’ll be fine. But, if there’s anything, anything at all, you come right back or send up flares, do you understand?” Sebastian ordered, and you nodded, still sporting a small smile as you headed outside for your broom.

The cool, evening summer air hit your face pleasantly as you soared through the night sky, heading back towards Hogwarts, silently cursing at yourself for forgetting to do this a week ago.

Still, you were somewhat grateful for this. It gave you an excuse to go out alone, a ride on your broom always cleared your head. There was an extraordinary feeling of peace being up in the sky at night. The quiet, the stars twinkling just above and the faint glow of fires and candles littering the ground below.

You managed to sneak into the school owlry without much of a problem. Alohomora easily broke the lock, and you sent a scrawny barn owl on its way with your letter. You hoped it wouldn’t be long before your parents received it, you knew they’d be worrying by now. Not hanging around, you kicked off the tower, soaring straight back into the air, heading back for Feldcroft.

The hamlet grew nearer, the tiny houses in the distance growing bigger as you flew closer to your temporary home. All of a sudden, your stomach began to twist violently. Anxiety flooded through your body and you stiffened on your broom, making a sharp dive to the right. You plummeted for the ground, needing your feet to be touching something solid this very second. You landed hard, stumbling a little as you tried to steady yourself. Taking a deep breath, you leant on your broom for support and attempted to breathe.

You didn’t know why the sight of Feldcroft had caused you to react like that, maybe it was the thought of being inside and cooped up that just filled you with dread? The thought of having to sleep again, only to experience harrowing nightmares? Your head spun and you collected yourself for a moment, before setting off slowly the opposite way from Feldcroft.

You walked, and walked. You weren’t even sure for how long or how far, you were just enjoying the serenity. The odd sound did startle you, but you gripped your wand tight and carried on down a dirt path. A lake emerged to your right, as the trees and bushes thinned. It looked beautiful you thought, as you were immediately drawn to the still water, glistening under the moonlight. You sat for a moment on the ground next to it, legs up at your chin, still gripping your wand. Your eyes glazed over the water absentmindedly, your mind running at a hundred miles an hour.

You kept thinking back to what Ominis had said earlier.

“In my eyes he is no better than my parents.”

The words made your insides twist and turn in a torturous manner. Ominis Gaunt, a boy that loathed his family, the same family that caused him immense trauma, choosing to live with them for the next two months rather than you and Sebastian. It spoke volumes. His best friend who he trusted implicitly, betrayed him in the most hurtful way. Disregarded his warning at every turn. On the other hand, you saw and understood why. Sebastian was desperate, desperate to help and do good. But it has left him with nothing. Only you.

Were you an idiot for staying by his side? Were you just as bad as him? Were you both bad people? It has been a question echoing around in your brain for the past few weeks now, Ominis had merely amplified it.

A tear trickled down your cheek, and you sniffed and wiped it away quickly, knowing you should be heading back.

You approached the edge of Feldcroft quicker than you’d expected, it appeared in the distance as nothing more than a dark opening. It was desolate now and pitch black, only the odd candle lit in a bedroom causing a faint warm glow to flicker from a window.

Your legs were aching from walking and lugging your broom back with you, you didn’t quite feel up to flying at that very moment. That or you were delaying the amount of time it would take you to get back. You weren’t sure if it was either or both.

Nothing had quietened your mind on the journey back either this time. The darkness and your own footsteps didn’t quite act as an adequate distraction from your thoughts. Your palms were sweaty from clutching your wand so tightly in your hand.

Trudging through a particularly uneven part of grass, you rejoined the dirt path that led straight into Feldcroft. Focusing on the path ahead and able to see the Sallow house, very suddenly, a dark shape darted rapidly out of the corner of your eye, causing you to gasp and spin towards the movement. Your eyes scanned around, heart thumping in your chest as you desperately strained to see in the dark. Your hands were almost shaking.

One of the Dark Wizard dummies had, for some reason, decided to re centre itself. You sighed, your shoulders visibly relaxing as you set your wand down.

Merlin, how could you be so stupid? Merely weeks ago you were fighting Ranrok in his deadliest form, and now you were being startled by a training dummy.

This seemed to flick a switch.

Without a second thought, you lunged towards the training dummy and began casting. Throwing as many casts of scarlet light as you could. You yelled Accio and the offending dummy came flying forward, and you continued to blast casts at it until it was shooting backwards again. Small splinters of wood were flying through the air, spraying to the ground but you didn’t stop. Flashes of Ranrok flit through your mind. Professor Fig, laying motionless on the ground. That booming voice echoing in your skull. Professor Garlick’s screams as she, amongst the other teachers, found you and Fig. You’d refused to let go of your beloved Professor. Blast after blast hit the dummy, and you weren’t even aware you were yelling curses at it until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around you.

“Get off of me!” You yelled, panic taking over your entire body and scrambling to get away, until you heard a familiar voice.

“It’s me, it’s me. It’s okay, you’re okay.” Sebastian shushed and held onto you tight. You collapsed into him, sinking to the floor as tears streamed down your face.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He continued to shush you and reassure you, stroking your hair as you sobbed, your shoulders shaking from the force of your cries.

“Let’s get you inside.” Sebastian hushed, helping you to your feet. You followed him, still sobbing and shaking.

An elderly wizard dressed in silk pyjamas had popped his head out of his door to see what the noise was. Another witch wearing a striped magenta robe had done the same. Sebastian reassured them everything was fine as he hurried you back inside.

Once inside, Sebastian grabbed a thick knitted blanket and ordered you to sit on the bed. He wrapped it around your shoulders tightly.

“What happened? Are you okay? Who hurt you?” Sebastian fired questions at you, but you shook your head.

“No-No-one.” You cried through strangled sobs.

“Then what is it darling? What’s wrong?” Sebastian dropped to his knees in front of you, and placed his hands on yours. At first, you couldn’t speak. How could you form an answer? There were so many things you could say were ‘wrong’. Nothing felt right anymore. You decided that was your answer.

“Everything’s wrong.” You croaked through small sobs.

“I know, I know.” Sebastian whispered softly. “Is this to do with Professor Fig?”

You couldn’t meet his eye, your own eyes red and puffy. You nodded slowly, taking a deep breath to try and calm your sobs.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” Sebastian paused for a second as he traced circles on your palm with his thumb, attempting to calm your intense sobs. “Professor Fig was wonderful, and I know he was a great mentor to you. He would be so proud of you if he could see you today.” Sebastian continued, softly.

Your gaze flicked to his at his words, your cries subsiding slightly but you were still shaking.

“I just, I miss him. It wasn’t right and I feel like it was… it was all my fault.” You choked, the tears threatening to close your throat as quickly as you’d just tamed them.

“No, no. None of this is your fault. Please, don’t ever think that. You possess an extraordinary ability that is beyond your control. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Ranrok and his lot. But you stopped it, you stopped it all.”

Sebastian’s deep brown eyes stared into yours sincerely as he spoke, his hands were still interlocked with yours.

You took a hand away for a second, going to wipe away your tears but Sebastian quickly released his grip, and brought his hands up to cup your face gently, to wipe them away for you with his thumbs. You felt your cheeks flush underneath his palms as he wiped away your plentiful tears, his eyes never leaving yours. There was a moment of silence, a comfortable silence but it hung in the air almost like a pause. A tension lingered that you could almost taste.

Sebastian cleared his throat and removed his hands gently, before returning them to intertwine with your palms.

“How long have you been feeling like this?” He asked,

“Since it all happened, really. I haven't been sleeping.” You confessed quietly.

“Oh, Y/N, I wish you would’ve said something.”

“I know but you’ve got your own issues to deal with. I thought I’d be fine, truly. It just seems to have gotten the better of me tonight.”

“That’s understandable, especially if you’ve been bottling it up. Merlin, I feel so stupid that I didn’t notice before that it was something more serious.” Sebastian scowled at himself.

“Don’t be daft, I’m good at keeping things close without even meaning to sometimes.” You said, earnestly.

Sebastian got to his feet after being knelt in front of you, and gestured you to do the same. Once you were standing, blanket still draped over your shoulders, he pulled you into a tight embrace, your head buried into the crook of his neck and his hand resting on the back of your head.

You felt your entire body relax at his touch, and sighed as a tear trickled down your face but this time it was from relief. Relief of sharing even a part of your struggle, and from feeling Sebastian’s touch. You breathed in his scent and it made you dizzy, but equally it was entirely comforting.

He kissed the top of your head before releasing you from his hug, and you blushed scarlet.

“I was just about to get ready for bed but I was getting worried, I wasn’t going to sleep until I knew you were home safe.” Sebastian murmured.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve been back sooner.” You apologised quietly.

“No, no don’t apologise. I am rather tired now though. Would you like me to get you anything before I turn in for the evening?” Sebastian continued through stifled yawns. You shook your head and thanked him, you were still inches apart after hugging.

“Of course, if you can’t sleep or need anything please, please just wake me.”

“I will.” You lied, and with that, the Sallow boy crossed the room to his bed in the corner.

A comfortable silence fell, and you decided to shrug off your robes and follow suit. You may as well get comfortable, even if you knew peaceful sleep wasn’t in the picture.

As your robes dropped onto the bed, you turned about to kick your boots off and briefly saw Sebastian unbuttoning his shirt to expose his bare chest, causing you to look away quickly.

“No peeking.” He smirked, pulling the curtain that allowed for some privacy across his chest. You blushed scarlet again, and shook your head looking away.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” You muttered, a small smile forming on your lips as you turned away.

It didn’t take long for Sebastian to drop off to sleep. He bid you goodnight from behind his curtain and within a few minutes, gentle snores filled the room. You got as comfortable and as cosy as you could, and surprisingly, the low sound of Sebastian’s snores mixed with exhaustion from the day, allowed you to nod off within good time.

You jolted with a start, the covers flying to the side as you shot up out of bed, your neck and face clammy with cold sweat. Nightmares, once again. Breathing heavily, you swallowed thickly as it took you a moment to register that you weren’t waking in your dorm. Your brain caught up as you took in the surroundings of the dark Sallow house. The only light being emitted was that of faint moonlight, that cast a glowing slither of light through the middle of the room. Wiping your forehead gently, you tried to mull over what you’d been dreaming about. This one was slipping away fast however, and you were grateful for the fact. You guessed it would be the same as all the others, Ranrok. Fig. Screaming.

You adjusted the covers, settling and laying back down on your back. Staring up at the ceiling, you noticed something, there was a complete absence of sound. It felt eerie more than peaceful, Sebastian's snoring had been somewhat of a source of comfort. Clearing your throat gently, you hesitated before calling out into the darkness.

“Sebastian?” Your voice was barely more than a whisper.

“Mmm?” His voice hummed from the other side of the room, and he sounded wide awake.

“You’re awake?” You whispered.

“You’ve been talking in your sleep.” He said, softly. You closed your eyes in a mix of embarrassment and guilt, sighing rather deeply.

“Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t apologise. it’s fine. I was debating whether or not to come and wake you. You said you hadn’t been sleeping well so I didn’t want to disturb you but… you also sounded as if you were having a nightmare.” Sebastian said.

“I was.” You replied, quietly before adding, “What was I saying?”

“A lot of it was incomprehensible. Lots of muttering.” Sebastian replied, and you heard him shuffle in his bed.

There was a pause, and you didn’t know why, but you found yourself beginning to sob again, silently. Tears trickled down your cheeks and pooled onto the pillow supporting your head. Your chest hollowed as you tried to stifle your sobs.

“Sebastian?” You croaked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Hmm?” He hummed once again in response.

“Can you just… Can I join you?” You stammered, tears still streaming down your cheeks.

A gentle shuffling sound filled the room all of a sudden and Sebastian had swung out of bed, whipping the curtain back, his eyes finding you immediately.

“Oh sweetheart, of course.” Sebastian sighed, opening his arms as he sat on the side of his bed. You shuffled over, hugging yourself as the cool night air made your skin prickle.

You gladly almost fell into his arms, letting him pull you into a tight embrace. To your surprise, Sebastian pulled you back onto the bed, causing you to squeal a little in shock as he let out a low laugh.

“Sorry.” He said, with a grin that told you he wasn't in the slightest. His face lingered inches from yours as he’d laid down whilst pulling you towards him, meaning you were hovering over him as he lay.

Gradually, that wide grin faded, your smile faltering also, as the reality hit the pair of you that you were inches away from each other. You almost weren’t breathing as you gazed into his dark eyes, that flickered slightly in the moonlit room. A hand that was resting on your hip moved up your back, and rested on the back of your head softly, his fingers brushing through your hair. Your eyes threatened to close at the relaxing feeling of Sebastian's fingers in your hair. The same hand made its way round to cup your cheek. His palm was warm, comforting. You breathed in and all you could smell was him, and maybe that’s why you found yourself leaning forward and closing the small gap between you. Your lips connected and Sebastian immediately kissed you back. Your entire body felt as if it had been set alight, every nerve ending on fire and your cheeks flushing red as you kissed the boy you’d been longing for for so long.

He pulled away first, your faces still inches apart and his palm still cupping your face.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He said, lowly. Your eyes flit between his.

“Me too.” You breathed, and your chest swelled with a bubbly warm feeling. It was the most at ease you’d felt in months. You shuffled slightly so that you were now at his side in the bed, squeezing into the corner and he chuckled as you fought with the covers. Settling, you nuzzled your head into his chest and he absentmindedly began running a hand through your hair again, before placing a kiss on top of it.

“Goodnight, Sebastian.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

#sebastian sallow x reader #sebastian sallow #hogwarts legacy #one shot #oneshot #fan fic #fanfiction

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queerregulusablack · 2 years

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Bellatrix emerged from the column of black smoke with her wand already drawn, a sneer twisting once pretty features into something manic and cruel, and she spat out the words to a killing curse with purpose, flinging it in the direction of her cousin with a flourish; and Sirius turned, just in time to see the pulse of green come careening toward him-

Only for a weight to slam into his back, tackling him to the ground before the curse could hit, leaving it to instead crash harmlessly against the side of the archway taking up the centre of the room.

The person who had tackled Sirius shoved him over onto his back even as a second figure emerged from behind the tattered curtain, manifesting out of drifting grey light and empty air.

“Circe’s tits, Padfoot, a man would think you’d never cast a bloody Protego in your life! Watch your surroundings, would you? I can’t always be out here saving your arse, you know.” Sirius stared up at the young man crouched over him, at the familiar brown eyes behind round glasses and the broad grin he’d not seen in fourteen years; and James Potter leavered himself and his best friend back to their feet in the same moment that his wife, still as beautiful as the day she died, whorled on Lucius Malfoy, teeth bared.

“What the hell do you think you’re trying to do to my son, Lucius, you prick?” She threw herself at Malfoy as the man gaped at her, and wrestled his wand out of his hand before she hexed him with it; and James, nudging Sirius back in the direction of Remus and Harry, sighed wistfully.

“Merlin, I love that woman,” he breathed; and a third, final silhouette formed from the archway, stepping out from beneath the curtain and shoving a hand back through sopping wet curls, cool grey eyes scanning the men and women scattered around the chamber.

His focus zeroed in on Bellatrix, who stared back at him with an expression of open shock, mouth hanging open; and Regulus Black, still eighteen, soaked through and scowling, broke into a run at her.

It took her a solid two seconds to move, to stumble down off the outcropping of rock she’d been stood atop and stumble toward the exit; but Regulus had been a seeker, once upon a time, and death hadn’t robbed him of that speed, and when he hit her it was with as much force as James had hit Sirius, taking her to the ground and wrestling her wand from her hand even as she screamed and clawed up at him.

“You’re dead!” She screeched, fighting her baby cousin for her wand, and he yanked it fully from her hand before he scoffed down at her, dirty lake water still dripping from his hair.

“Riddle fucking wishes,” he retorted; and then hit her with a curse that manifested in a flash of bright red light, knocking her quite unconscious before he clambered back to his feet.

Back at the arch, James Potter was staring at him with warm, soft brown eyes; and Regulus blushed, cheeks bright pink, and bared his teeth at him.

“Stop gawking and get yourself a bloody wand, Potter, unless you want to go right back where we came from!”

James blinked out of whatever trance he’d been trapped in, shaking his head hard, and then turned back to Sirius with that same grin.

“Sorry Pads, need to borrow this quickly.” He snatched the wand from Sirius’ hand, before - in tandem with Regulus and Lily - pointing it up, at the centre-point of the ceiling.

“Sanguis incarcerous maxima,” Regulus declared, voice even and carrying around the room - and making one or two other people falter, at the familiarity of a voice none of them had expected to ever hear again - and Lily and James echoed him, one after the other, before they each redirected their wands at a Death Eater, Lily at Malfoy, Regulus at Bellatrix, and James at the first one to cross his eyeline, trading curses with Ginny Weasley and Tonks behind where Sirius and Harry still stood.

The tips of each of the wands glowed, a bright pulse of electric blue light; and then there were yelps from all around the room as chains sprang into existence around the Death Eaters, confining them quite effectively and leaving them to thump unceremoniously to the ground.

“Brilliant,” Hermione Granger breathed on the other side of the room, staring at the bound wizard on the floor in front of her; and back at the arch, James let out a whooshing breath, bracing his hands on his knees as Lily and Regulus both moved back to join him.

“Godric, Lils, I know you said it was going to be odd, but this is- this is bloody weird. How long were we dead? Fourteen years? Merlin’s shrivelled ballsack, I never thought having teeth could feel weird. Do your teeth feel weird, love?”

“James,” Lily murmured, wrapping a hand around his elbow while her eyes remained fixed on Harry, half hidden behind Sirius; and it was Remus who raised his wand, pointing it at both of them with an uncertain frown on his face.

“Oh, Circe,” Regulus muttered, and sat down on the edge of the platform; and Remus cleared his throat, and addressed James first.

“The first gift I ever gave to Harry after he was born.” James’ eyes flicked to his, and he looked surprised for a moment, before he sighed, and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Merlin, Mooney, that’s… I mean the first one I ever counted was the crocheted hippogriff you put in his cot; the lumpy one you cobbled together from one of your mum’s patterns. Original pattern was for a horse, I think you said. The wings were uneven. But I know you saw it as your refusal to be his godfather. So, typical for you two, your first gift to Harry would have been Sirius.” James rolled his eyes, while Remus blinked hard and lowered his wand; and Lily huffed out a soft laugh, leaning against James’ side.

“Idiot. We were always going to make you both his godparents; Mary insisted she’d only be godmother to sprong number two, so she could teach them all sorts of mischief.”

“Because your offspring really need the extra help,” Regulus remarked dryly, looking back over his shoulder at the lot of them; and he locked eyes with his brother, blinking at him impassively even as Sirius visibly ground his teeth together.

“Well? No demands for my proof of identity? You used to wet the bed until you were six. You stole my socks all the way up until you ran away from home. When our mother was pondering marrying you off to Narcissa, you told her you’d rather marry a troll, and walked around carrying the umbrella stand for a week referring to it as Lady Black, until we found out Cissa had been betrothed to Lucius instead.”

Behind Sirius, Harry let out a spluttering laugh, and James grinned at the sound; and Sirius swallowed visibly before he moved to drop to his knees beside Regulus, taking his face in his hands and scanning his face a little desperately.

“Reggie,” he whispered; and it was Regulus’ turn to swallow too hard.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” he told his big brother flatly; and Sirius wrapped his arms around him, tugging him in against his chest for a tight hug while he buried his face in his hair.

His wet hair.

“Why are you soaked, Reg?” He choked out, not letting the teenager go, and Regulus laughed humourlessly even as he wrapped his arms around him in return.

“Miscalculated how the magic would work. We all came through in the state we died in; s’why James isn’t wearing shoes. Idiot.”

Back by the arch, Lily had stepped up to Harry, until she was close enough to cup his cheek in the palm of her hand; and when he tentatively leaned into the touch, she pulled him briskly into her arms, James embracing the both of them and propping his chin on top of Harry’s head.

“He’s not wrong,” James murmured, and Lily laughed tearfully, holding onto her son as tightly as she could without hurting him.

The murmur of voices around them had picked up, Harry’s classmates and the handful of Order members who had come to their rescue shuffling closer; and Regulus pressed his face harder against Sirius’ shoulder while Remus stood between the two reuniting families, unsure which to go to but prepared to keep away anyone who tried to disturb them; and then Albus Dumbledore swept into the room, looking windswept and like he’d just been in a fight, Cornelius Fudge hot on his heels.

“Alastor, what happened?” He demanded, looking around the room; and then froze when he took note of the three unexpected pairs of eyes fixed on him.

“Ah, fuck,” Regulus muttered; and Lily Potter threw herself across the room.

“You son of a bitch!” She cried; and punched Albus squarely in the face.

#regulus black #james potter #lily evans #jegulus #jegulily #starchaser #just a silly little something I've been messing with between Actual Projects #Through The Veil - fic #fanfiction #QRABs Fic #There we go shiny new fic tag

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ifreakingloveroyals · 10 months

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Through the Years → Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (1,427/∞) 1 July 2023 | Queen Maxima of The Netherlands attends the Keti Koti commemoration at the national slavery monument in the Oosterpark in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)

#Queen Maxima #The Netherlands #2023 #Patrick van Katwijk #Getty Images #through the years: Maxima

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willalove75 · 10 months

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Mother witch x fem!witch!reader Pt. 2

Part 2!

Did I say that pt. 2 would be posted tomorrow? Hah, oops! Today, tomorrow same difference! Enjoy!

18+ Minors DNI

"Zelda-"

"'Power is meant to be shared.' Y/n I've thought this through, you and I, we can do it together. Become the most powerful witches the world has ever seen!"

"Zelda what is wrong with you?! You promised you would never even think of using that spell!"

"I know, but I need to do this."

"No you don't! Please, let me help you, our covens can be one, we can lead them together. Please Zelda, please. Don't do this."

Zelda takes a step forward and puts her hand on your face and gently kisses you. Tears begin to roll down your face when you pull her in close.

"Please." You whisper. "If you do this, Zelda, I-I can't."

Looking deeply into her eyes, for the first time ever, they are a dark shade of blue. Something you've never seen before.

"I know. I love you."

Her hand leaves your face, the warmth of her touch still lingering on your skin. Looking down at the book, she begins to recite the Magicae Maxima spell.

"I call upon this sacred land, to raise the power in my hand."

"Zelda, please!"

"The North, the South, the East and West, give me more than I possess."

"If you do this, I will never speak to you again." Zelda looks you in the eyes, you know she's made her decision. You look at her once more as tears run down your face. "Goodbye, Griselda." Turning away, you walk back towards your home. After a little bit your run turns into a full on sprint.

Just as you reach your parents house a burst of magic shoots through the land, the shockwave nearly knocking you to the ground.

A sense of sadness washes over you as you make your way through the forest. Remembering how after she casted that spell, Griselda's entire coven disappeared, the one thing she loved more than anything, the only thing she loved more than you, gone forever. She was banished for casting one of the forbidden spells, it had been over 300 years since that day and you haven't seen her since.

So much had changed since you saw her last. When the settlers came, they began to execute anyone they deemed a "witch." Your coven and many of the neighboring covens lost most of, if not all, of their members. Men, women, children, even those who came with the settlers who weren't a witch or warlock were murdered for just being accused as such. Whoever remained from the covens retreated deep into the forest, casting spells and barriers to protect those who were still left. Through your leadership a decent amount of those from your coven managed to survive and you began accepting everyone who had survived the slayings. What was once a land full of hundreds of witches and warlocks and dozens of covens turned into less than a hundred of you left in one last coven standing.

As you get to the clearing, nearing the settlers village you notice a fire beginning to engulf one of the houses. Immediately you sense this fire wasn't started by natural means, it has a magical aura that makes the fur on your back stand once more. Stealthily wandering the village, you spot them. Three young girls, even from a distance you can feel their power, especially from the eldest. A redheaded girl who must have just turned 16, you can feel all of the signs of a young witch just beginning to harness her power. There's an uneasiness in your stomach as you slowly approach them.

The girls are standing in a darkened corner, giggling at the townsfolk trying to put out the fire. As you get closer you notice a book in the eldests hands. You feel your heart sink in your small feline chest when you see an eye on the book open and stare directly at you. You know that book, it was the spellbook of Griselda's coven. Where did they get that? Did she give it to them? Was she here? Is she okay? Questions flood your mind and you look into the books eye once more. It squints at you, as if it's trying to smile. The book slowly blinks, letting you know that she's safe.

Your breath hitches in your throat, she's here, somewhere. In an instant the warmth in your heart turns into fire, anger taking over your small body. She gave these children her covens spellbook?! Hasn't she caused enough damage?! How dare she come back. After all of these years, did she think you would have forgotten her betrayal?!

You sprint back into the forest, on a night like tonight, you know there's only one place where she could be. Leaping through vines, leaves and fallen trees, you jump off of a stump and land back in your human form near the altar.

"Griselda! I know you're here! Show yourself!"

You hear the wings of a bird flap behind you. Your eyes are focused ahead of you but your attention is focused behind. A red winged raven dives down from one of the tree branches and transforms into Griselda. An angry hand reaches for your throat but you're able to block it and push her back with magic.

"Well, well, y/n. It's been so long."

"What are you doing here?" You say with gritted teeth.

"What? I can't visit my old home?" She asks with innocence in her voice but with a devilish smile on her face.

"You already know that answer."

"It was such a gorgeous, powerful night with the most delicious full moon I've seen in decades. I couldn't pass up such an opportunity to charge my powers."

"You shouldn't be here."

"And what are you going to do about it? Banish me again? Y/n please, I'm truly surprised you're even still alive. I've head that the settlers have been rather brutal since their arrival."

"You would know if you didn't get yourself banished."

"I did what I had to do to protect my coven!"

"Protect? I didn't know murdering your entire coven was protecting them." You snap.

Her eyes turn that bright purple you once loved so much. Griselda shoots a bolt of magic at you. You're able to block it and send a counter attack her way.

"Unlike you, I'm actually here to protect my coven."

"You mean whatever's left of them." She growls, shooting another bolt at you once more.

Dodging her attack, you shoot back at her.

"You wouldn't know who was left!" You shout, blocking another attack. "There's a fraction of us left, all living under one coven, the very last one!" Shooting another bolt at her, she blocks it and it ricochets back towards you. Ducking out of the way you shoot another bolt towards her, when she goes to step out of the way, you shoot another, hitting her in the stomach.

Griselda doubles over quickly and you shoot more bolts towards her. Her eyes flash purple once more and to your amazement, she manages to catch each attack you sent her way and hold them in her hands. You see the power building and she releases it towards you. You try and block the attack but it knocks you backwards onto the ground. She shoots more bolts of magic at you and you're unable to cast any counter attacks.

Laying in the dirt, she runs up to you and grabs you by the throat, effortlessly lifting you off of the ground. Fear shoots through your body when you see the magic building up in her other hand, preparing to deal the final blow. Your eyes dart around, trying to come up with something to try and save yourself when they land on the broach on her cloak. Not believing what you're seeing, everything around you slows down. You gently reach out and touch it, and it's real. The pendant you gave her all of those years ago, sitting against her neck, being used as the cloaks clasp. Tears begin to fill your eyes and the magic building up in her palm disappears as she watches you.

"Zelda." You whisper as you stare at the pendant. "After all this time?"

Her grip on your neck eases and she slowly places you on the ground. You feel her gently grab your chin between her thumb and knuckle and she raises your gaze up towards her.

"Always." She says, looking back into your eyes.

For the first time you finally get to look at her up close, and she's just as beautiful as she was when you last saw her all of those years ago. Perhaps a little older, as were you, but still the most beautiful woman you've ever laid eyes on.

She gently cups your face, wiping away the tears that fell from your eyes. Without thinking twice you press your lips into hers, pulling her into you. Griselda is taken back for a second, never had expecting you to kiss her, but quickly slides her hand to the back of your head and grabs hold of your hair.

Her lips feel like home, like a place you almost forgot existed after so many years. When you part you look into her gorgeous green eyes and she looks back into yours.

"Why did you come back? I saw those girls with your covens spellbook, Zelda why did you give that to them?"

"Because I didn't need it anymore, my love." Your eyebrows knit together, unsure of what she's talking about. "I've waited a very long time for a night as powerful as this. Where the moon was full and the magic in the air was strong. My plans were to cast the reuniting spell on myself, to bring me back to my coven, to my people." Your breath hitches as tears fall from your eyes. "I was about to begin to incantation but then I heard a noise, I saw those three girls, the sisters, in the forest, powerful they are. I gave them Book, because I didn't need him anymore and those awful settlers were going to separate them, to never let them see each other again. I couldn't let that happen, so in one final effort to make amends, I did what I could to keep them together. A witch is nothing without her coven." She says, gently tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "I wandered the forest a little bit and flew around, getting one last look at the place that was once my home, and then I spotted a little black cat. I knew it was you, so I followed you when you went to investigate the disturbance in the magic, just hoping I could see you one last time. And I did, and then you called out my name, and here we are."

"You, you were going to-"

"Like I said, a witch is nothing without her coven."

There's a sadness in her eyes you've only ever seen once before, on that fateful day when she casted that spell.

"What will you do now?"

"Continue on with my plans, I suppose."

"No, Zel, you can't- you- I- I can't lose you. Not again."

"My love, what other choice do I have? I have no coven, I'm banished, where else am I going to go? After hundreds of years of being all alone, I'm tired."

"I am the leader of the coven, I will revoke your banishment, we can't lose any more witches, we've already lost so much. I've already lost so much." Tears fill your eyes again as you look up at her.

"The coven won't take kindly to that y/n."

"I don't care. You are all-powerful, we need you. I need you. Please, come home with me Zelda. I can't let you go again, I won't do it."

"Y/n-"

"I will not take no for an answer. Come home, please."

"I- I don't-"

"Please, Zelda, I can't lose you again. I still love you."

Griselda freezes, her hand gently caresses your cheek as she looks at you with disbelief.

"You still love me? After everything I've done?"

"I didn't want to, I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't. I loved you too much, I still do."

"But, what about- you never married? Never had children? I thought you had moved on without me."

"I couldn't ever bring myself to love anyone else. You have been my best friend since we were six, Zel. I've loved you my whole life, no one was ever going to be able to take your place."

"Every day I've thought of you, my heart ached thinking maybe you have forgotten all about me, or worse, that you moved on without ever caring about what happened to me after all that I did. Not a day went by where I didn't wish I could speak to you or just catch a glimpse of you. I'm so sorry, y/n. You tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I was too stubborn, too determined to be right I didn't even consider what the consequences could have been. I betrayed you, I betrayed everyone. I deserved to live in exile, I deserved to be banished. I'm just so sorry I was never able to apologize to you sooner."

"I forgive you."

"How could you forgive me so easily?"

"Because I love you, and because we need you. With your power, we have a chance at protecting what's left of the coven. I can't do this alone, even with all of our power combined we've still lost so many. The settlers are strong and they're ruthless, we won't last much longer. What's left of us will be wiped out soon if we can't hold them off."

"I will never let them hurt you."

"Then come home."

"The moment I laid eyes on you my love, I was."

You wrap your arms around her and she holds your back, placing a kiss on the top of your head.

"I will speak with the rest of the coven, make them understand why we need you, why you deserve to come back. They will understand my love, they will."

"And what if they don't?"

"Then I will follow you wherever you go, I would give my life for them, but I've already given them lifetimes of myself, lifetimes without you in it. I never want there to be another without you Zelda, never again."

"I love you, y/n."

"I love you too. Come on, lets go home."

Your lips meet once more for another passionate kiss, you haven't felt this alive in hundreds of years. For the first time since the last time you saw Griselda, your heart finally feels whole again. You and your coven have lost so much, have lost so many people you loved so dearly. Knowing you have the one person back you loved most, you know the two of you can conquer anything. Those settlers better watch themselves, because between Griselda's powers and the love you two have for each other, there is nothing you two can't conquer.

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