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training4theapocalypse · 1 year

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Finders Keepers Ch 2. (Cormac McLaggen x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit 18+

Word Count: 2.1K

Warnings: SMUT (a tiny bit)

Summary: You and Cho watch the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts to check out the competition and - not that you'd tell Cho - to ogle McLaggen.

A/N: Reader and McLaggen are both 18. Thank you to the Freddie Stroma girlies (gn) for giving this a chance <3

Masterlist

Chapter 2: Confundo

Ravenclaw’s Quidditch tryouts went remarkably well - a sixth-year called Terry Boot was the only prospect to score more than once with you in goals. You’re glad you found yourself a decent chaser to replace Rodger Davies because the pressure is on this year.

This is your first and last chance to win the Inter-House Quidditch Cup as Captain of the Ravenclaw team. After finishing third place last year, Ravenclaw House was desperate for the win. And if you wanted to follow your dreams of becoming a professional Quidditch player, leading your house to victory would give you an edge.

A few weeks after Ravenclaw tryouts, you sit at the table in the Great Hall, buttering a mountain of toast and reading the Holyhead Harpies Captain’s autobiography: ‘Hovering with the Harpies’.

“Enough bread?” asks Marietta, as she and Cho join you at the table. You’ve learned your lesson and have stopped waiting for her to get ready in the mornings so you can actually eat breakfast.

“I’m carb-loading-” you say, between bites. “I’m gonna do some drills after this.”

“You can’t. Harry’s booked the pitch all morning for Gryffindor tryouts,” says Cho.

“Gryffindor tryouts?” You almost choke on your toast. “Bit short notice isn’t it? I checked on Friday and the pitch was still free.”

You look over to the Gryffindor table. Nobody you recognise from the Quidditch team is there. No McLaggen either. They must have started already. You push away your plate and stand up. “Fancy going down to watch, Cho?”

“What am I? Chopped dragon liver?” asks Marietta, who rarely watches games, never mind other team’s tryouts.

“I thought you were going to work on your Transfiguration Award?” asks Cho. Marietta was the best in the year at the subject and she’d been spending all of her free time these past two weeks on her project after Professor McGonagall had nominated her for Transfiguration Today’s Best Newcomer Award.

“Yes, but it’d still be nice to be asked. Anyway -” she gives you a shrewd look. “- why are you so interested in Gryffindor tryouts?”

You try to think of a reason that isn’t the chance to ogle McLaggen’s broad shoulders in Quidditch robes. An intrusive thought of him knocking someone off their broom makes heat rise in your cheeks, so you duck under the table quickly to grab your bag.

“I want to see if Potter picks Weasley as keeper again.” You say casually, hiding your face under the bench. “If he does then they might as well give us the Cup now.”

“Yeah, alright I’ll join you then,” says Cho, getting to her feet. “It’ll be good to find out what we’re up against this year.”

“What about your toast?” calls Marietta after you as you both walk away.

You and Cho make your way to the stands at the Quidditch pitch. You’re surprised to see that several dozen people are sitting watching already. At least you’d had the sense to make Ravenclaw tryouts a closed session - no spectators allowed. This lack of foresight from Potter as Gryffindor captain makes you feel extremely optimistic about the coming season.

Cho spots some fellow Ravenclaws and moves towards them but you grab her arm. “Can we sit back here?”

She does so without question. It’s one of the things you admire most about Cho, she’s so emotionally astute. She follows you to the back of the stand where you watch Potter shouting and bawling at the group of Gryffindor hopefuls- most of whom you expect have never flown a broom in their lives.

“God, are those first years?!” You wonder why he’s not sending them off pitch straight away- they’re not even allowed their own brooms.

“Okay, Captain, we all know your tryouts were much better organised than Potter’s. So what’s really on your mind?”

You hesitate. You’ve spent your spare hours between classes, homework and Quidditch practice researching the side effects of brewing Amortentia.

“You know how you and Marietta were sat next to each other while you were making Amortentia last week?” She looks confused but you continue. “After class, did you think she smelled any differently than usual? Like is it possible the vapours clung to her and made her smell…I dunno…”

“Attractive?” Cho finishes for you. She studies you contemplatively as your eyes find McLaggen standing at the side of the pitch. “No. And I know that you know the potion doesn’t work like that.”

You groan- this is exactly what you were afraid of.

“Is that why you wanted to talk to me alone?” asks Cho. You nod, watching McLaggen mount his broom, getting ready to do a few warm-up laps. “Are you worried it’ll ruin your friendship if you say something?”

You scoff. “Oh, please- we’re hardly friends.”

Cho looks aghast. “That’s a horrible thing to say! Marietta thinks you’re friends.”

“Come off it!” You’re confused by this. “Why would Marietta think I’m friends with that git? I mean- look!” McLaggen zooms past with his hand raised in a wave at the stands like he’s just saved a top-flight penalty, rather than simply warming up.

“Wait, who are you talking about?”

“Who are you talking about?”

Cho says “Marietta.” and at the same time you say “McLaggen.”

You both gape at each other for a minute and burst out laughing simultaneously, collapsing into a fit of hysterics. A few rows down, Hermione Granger looks over her shoulder and gives you a dirty look.

You and Cho calm yourselves as Cormac McLaggen gets ready to save his first penalty.

“Bit odd to choose a keeper just from a penalty shoot out- it’s totally different than when you’re playing-“

“Don’t change the subject,” whispers Cho urgently. “You fancy Cormac? I thought you liked girls?”

“I like boys too. I’ve just never fancied any of the ones at Hogwarts. And McLaggen, well…”

You watch as he expertly punches his first penalty away with brute force. Your breath hitches in your throat.

“McLaggen’s a man.”

Cho’s excited squeal gets lost in the cheers and applause from the rest of the crowd - you’ve never seen her look more delighted by a piece of information. “I mean he’s tall and he’s good-looking, sure.” She watches McLaggen. “But like you said, he is a bit of a prat.”

As if to prove her point, McLaggen saves the next penalty with ease and sends a cocky wave in your direction. Granger shifts in her seat a few rows in front of you. Wait, was he-?

“Was he waving at you or Hermione Granger?” whispers Cho.

“Ugh, he has terrible taste if he was waving at her,” you say, shooting daggers at the back of her bushy head.

Cho purses her lips and crosses her arms. Neither of you have forgotten when Harry ditched Cho in Hogsmeade to meet Granger last year.

“She loves a Quidditch player doesn’t she?” she says darkly.

McLaggen saves another two penalties with incredible power and precision. He grins at the stands and punches his fist in the air but there’s no mistaking it this time- it’s definitely you that he’s looking at. You loosen your scarf. There’s something about that annoyingly arrogant face that makes you feel feverishly warm. Cho nudges you in the ribs and your lips pull into a reluctant smile.

“I told him I’d come down to watch him embarrass himself. He must be feeling pretty smug right about now.“

The two of you watch McLaggen lining up for his final penalty. “Why didn’t you want to tell Marietta?”

“I dunno, you know how she is…” Marietta was alright, you suppose, but aside from friendship with Cho, you’re not sure what you have in common. You’ve always felt like you and Cho had more to talk about - both Scottish, both Quidditch players - she was the only bridge between the chasm that was yours and Marietta’s friendship.

“Yeah well, I know how you are too. If you tried trusting her, you’d find out there’s a lot you could learn from her.”

Trust. You think of the curse spelling the word ‘sneak’ faintly across her face.

“I know what you’re thinking,” says Cho. “That was different. Umbridge threatened her mum. Can you honestly say you wouldn’t do the same?”

You think about your parents - muggles blissfully unaware of the dark times engulfing the wizarding world. Of course, you’d do anything to protect them if it came to it.

“You’re right,” you admit. “I should make more of an effort. I’ll tell her-”

You cut yourself off, noticing McLaggen’s expression change slightly as Katie Bell starts speeding towards the goals. His eyes go out of focus and he zooms off in completely the wrong direction. He shakes his head as if snapping out of something and looks around in time to see the quaffle falling towards the pitch below. He stares blankly at the goalposts for a few moments before flying down back to the pitch with an irate look on his face, boos echoing in the stands.

“What happened there?” asks Cho.

You eye up Potter suspiciously. Would he really go so low as to jinx McLaggen just so his best mate could make the team? McLaggen lands unevenly on the field. “Let’s find out,” you tell her.

You walk down the wooden steps to find McLaggen gripping his broom with a queasy sort of expression, watching Ron Weasley who’s now in the air.

“You alright McLaggen?”

“Oh god, not you,” he groans, clenching his sharp jaw.

“Charming.”

Weasley saves a penalty clumsily and you scoff in disbelief.

“No I mean -” He towers over you, eyes still slightly out of focus. “I didn’t actually think I’d embarrass myself in front of you today.”

Now you’re really concerned. “Did you get a head knock earlier?”

“Very funny.”

“McLaggen, I’m serious. Did you or did you not sustain a head injury this morning? Because if not, I think someone confunded you.”

He stares off into space for a second and then his eyes refocus on you. He blinks in surprise as if only just noticing your presence. “When did you get here?”

Thunderous applause surrounds you when Weasley saves his fifth and final penalty by his fingertips.

McLaggen falters slightly when you reach up and grab the sides of his face with both hands to focus him, bringing him back to his senses. His prickly stubble tickles your palms, and you wonder fleetingly what it would be like to kiss him and feel his rough face on yours.

You look beseechingly into his now-focused eyes, squeezing his face. “Tell Potter you want a rematch.” You release him.

“Yeah…” his green eyes meet yours for a few second before shaking himself and putting his shoulders back. “Yeah, I will actually.” You watch from a distance as he stomps over to Harry Potter. They argue - you actually think McLaggen might clock him. But he doesn’t, which is a shame because you’d quite like to see him throw a punch. Instead, he kicks the quaffle in a rage before striding off in a zig-zag towards the castle.

Hermione Granger runs down the stairs past you to celebrate with Weasley and Potter, the latter of whom is trying his best not to look too pleased.

There’s something weird going on, you think, looking between them.

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

McLaggen bursts into the dungeon to find you sitting on the Potions workbench that you share each week. Without a word, he marches over furiously and you let out a gasp of surprise when he drops to his knees in front of you and pushes your skirt up so he can bury his face between your legs. He kisses and nibbles on your inner thighs savagely, scratchy stubble grazing the tender flesh there.

You rest back on your elbows, hooking your legs over his square shoulders, willing him to explore every part of you. You feel a jolt in your stomach when he pulls your underwear aside and looks up at you with a blank, hazy expression.

Wait. This isn’t right. He’s been confunded.

You go to grab a fistful of his dark blonde hair, forcing him to focus on you but your fingers only find soft fabric.

Bedsheets.

You awake with a start in your four-poster bed, staring at the blue chiffon ceiling.

Thank god, you think, sitting bolt upright and taking shallow, steadying breaths.

Punching your pillow into a more comfortable shape, you find yourself unable to fall asleep again as you wrestle with what happened at McLaggen’s tryout. On the one hand, you suspected foul play and it was incredibly unfair that McLaggen had been cheated during his penalty shoot-out.

But on the other hand…

This is your year. The year that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup was within your grasp.

You could tell your suspicions to Madam Hooch, or even McGonnagal, you suppose. But Weasley was a much patchier player than McLaggen, and it would be better for your chances if Weasley was Gryffindor’s keeper. And what was more important to you? McLaggen? Or the Cup?

You roll over in bed, trying to get comfortable. It’s a stupid question, really. It was the Cup, of course it was the Cup.

Right?

Chapter 3: Poster Girl

#freddie stroma #harry potter fanfic #harry potter #hp fanfcition #hp fanfic #cormac mclaggen #mormac mclaggen x reader #harry potter fanfiction #hp fic #hp fanfiction #harry potter and the half blood prince

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hazel-of-sodor · 15 days

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The crop can’t get any smaller, but who is this?

Shes the C&HR's mallet, designed by Gresley himself.

I can't find the original lore post, so heres her lore

By the 1930s, the Chester and Holyhead mainline from Holyhead to Krestaen was overloaded. The railway's faithful class 5 2-8-0s rantheir goods trains as fast as was safe, but still struggled to keep up. Longer trains were not an option, as the existing trains already filled the passing sidings with mere feet to spare. The sidings could not be expanded without digging into cliffs along the line, which would risk landslides.Another route was needed. The existing mainline crossed the water at Holyhead onto Gwylan Island at Castell Hafan, then turned Northwest, climbing though farmland, plains, and forests in the heart of the Island before reaching the mountains. From there it climbed up the Llyn Pass to the capital, Krestaen. It was the clearest and best path to the city, but the path was narrow for long stretches in many places, taken up by the river Glaw. However, another line of the C&HR already came within 20 miles of the valley that held the capital city. A line ran North from Castell Hafan along the coast to the North Western port of Llanw.A path already existed between Krestaen and Llanw, and it would take minimal work to prepare it for track. Why then had the cities not already been connected then? Diawl's Bryn. The Devil's Hill. Climbing North, Northeast from the valley, the grade wound its way between the mountains with an average grade of 1 in 45 or 2.22%, in some places reaching 1 in 35 or 2.86% for short distances. For six grueling miles, the line climbed the mountain pass, before descending the 1 in 90 grade to Llanw. From there it was mostly flat running to Castell Haffan. It wasn't the steepest grade in Wales, nor the longest, but the combination was too great for the railway's existing fleet. The C&HR turned to May Traction and Railworks for an engine that could conquer the grade. A freight engine capable of making the run from Krestaen through the pass to Castell Haffan unaided. MTRW was forced to turn away the order, as such a monster was beyond their ability to manufacture. Next the C&HR turned to their mainland neighbor, the London, Midland, and Scotland Railway. The two railways had maintained a polite if distant working relationship since grouping, the the LMS running trains on the C&HR as far as Holyhead, and the C&HR running am express to London on LMS metals The LMS sent their number 4997, a 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt, for trials. While the engine certainly possessed the power required, the classes Achilles heel soon made itself known. The axle box design on the garratts was prone to hotboxes above 15 mph, far below the C&HR's running speed. Nonetheless, 4997 was purchased from the LMS to serve as banker until a suitable engine could be found. Several months later, a member of the C&HR board witnessed LNER U1 No.2396 banking at the Worsborough Incline . a 2-8-0+0-8-2, the U1 was the most powerful engine in Britain up to that point, and her frames were based on the LNER O4, the class the C&HR named the Class 5. The C&HR approached the LNER and its CME, Sir Nigel Gresley with their problem. The mention of the LMS's loan of 4997, and the subsequent chance to out-perform their rival, saw the LNER board order Gresley to design an engine capable of the task. Gresley spent a week watching the trains working Diawl's Bryn, before approaching the C&HR with his proposal. Rather than a Garratt like 2396, he wanted to design a simple mallet like those used in the United States. Whether Gresley truly believed a simple articulated was better suited for the C&HR than a garratt design, or if he simply wanted the chance to design such an engine is unknown; in either case, the C&HR approved the proposal. In Autumn 1933, Gresley presented the finalized design; a massive 2-6-6-4 locomotive which he dubbed the KM1.

Beyer Peacock was contracted to build the engine, and in early 1934, the KM1 left the works. With 6 cylinders and 76,000lbs of Tractive effort, she was the most powerful locomotive in Britain. She emerged in LNER Apple Green, shining in the morning light. The C&HR board, present to witness the unveiling of the engine, held a vote, and unanimously voted to name her Behemoth. Too large to travel by rail, she was delivered by sea to the harbor at Castell Haffan. Hundreds gathered to see the beast lowered onto the metals, even cold and with her fire unlit, she was an imposing presence. Two class 5 2-8-0s pulled her to Krestaen, where her fire was lit.A pair of American turntables had been purchased and installed at Krestaen and Castall Hafan in anticipation of her arrival, allowing her to be easily turned for the run to Castell Hafan. A line of 50 slate laden wagons waited as the engine backed down for her trail run, a pair of class 5's uncoupled at the back to bank the train in case of issues with the new engine. This would prove unnecessary. Behemoth charged the grade with a whistle, as was tradition on the C&HR, she was fitted with an American hooter whistle, and the echo thundered over the hills.the train had reached 30 mph when it reached the base, and the drivers of the two 2-8-0s eased their regulators, expecting the train to slow. To their shock, the train began to pull away from them, as Behemoth accelerated up the incline. They quickly caught back up, but kept having to increase the regulator as the monster at the front surged up the rails with a will. By the crest, Behemoth had broken 50mph, and the two bankers were left behind as she began the descent. Extra guard vans had been added to serve as extra braking power, but the C&HR had entrusted the 2-6-6-4 to a veteran engineer, and she skillfully kept the train in check. Behemoth would arrive in Castell Haffan ten minutes early to the cheers of the island's railfans. An order for a second engine was placed within the week, and Behemoth was soon joined by her sister Leviathan. Her arrival allowed 4997 to be sent to Beyer Peacock for a rebuild, emerging with new axleboxes, allowing her to join the two sisters on the run. By the advent of the second world war, the three engines were beginning to strain, so a third sister, Goliath, would be delivered in 1940. After the war, the facilities of MTRW would be expanded, and the C&HR would take delivery of a new Garratt design. Despite this, the three sisters would remain in service, keeping pace with the younger engines with ease.

#Ask Hazel #Hazel Asks #Hazel Q&A #LNER KM1 #LNER Mallet #LNER 2-6-6-4 #2-6-6-4 #C&HR #Chester and Holyhead Railway

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thesilicontribesman · 2 years

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Holyhead Mountain Iron Age Hillfort Photoset 2, Holyhead Mountain, Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales

#ice age #stone age #bronze age #copper age #iron age #neolithic #mesolithic #calcholithic #paleolithic #prehistoric #prehistory #megalith #megalithic #ramparts #hillfort #promontory fort #archaeology #stone walls #wales

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dansnaturepictures · 10 months

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Beautiful views in England, Scotland and Wales this year; at Durlston, Dorset at the weekend, Loch Garten in April and the Range with Holyhead Mountain visible a couple of weeks ago.

#anglesey #loch garten #the range #south stack #highlands #scotland #dorset #purbeck coast #jurassic coast #uk #britain #landscape #views #outdoors #beautiful #england #wales

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danpuff-ao3 · 2 years

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Recs List: Femslash Faves (for Sapphic Semptember)

For months I've been meaning to do a femslash list and thinking on it today, it occurred to me: "It's September...Sapphic September!! You have to do it NOW!! NOW NOW NOW!" So here we are!

On the plus side, my panic means I don't have much time to dawdle and overthink. All of these were the standouts to me, the ones that rushed into my mind when thinking of fics to include. So they're, of course, the BEST!

There are so many talented creators out there making such great wlw content! It does my heart good! Please share, give these creators some love, and tell me what femslash fics YOU love while you're at it!

Shades of Dawn

by @corvuscrowned Ginny/Lavender. Rated E. 2k.

Aching & beautiful.

It happens once a month — the full moon fades in the black night sky, replaced with the pink light of dawn. Ginny’s Floo sparks — vibrant green, devoured by gold and amber light. And out spills Lavender Brown.

Clip, Ravel, Cleave

by doshu (@vdoshu).Andromeda/Bellatrix. Andromeda/Tonks. Rated E. 15k.

So tragic and dark and gorgeous; I couldn't help but root for Bellatrix and Andromeda, however wrong it was.

Before Andromeda met Ted, she was a Black, through and through. While years later the story was told that she’d turned her back on her family’s dark ways, in truth, nothing was so simple.

In the beginning, it was just Andromeda and Bella. And it was just the two of them until it was too much.

Apples and Oranges Too

by drawlight (@ripeteeth). Ginny/Hermione. Rated E. 1k.

This one is so sad and passionate at the same time. They can't stay away from one another, but they can't be together.

You’re trouble, Hermione thinks. You’ve always been trouble. That’s the trouble with you.

Plenitude

by eldritcher. Hermione/Amelia. Rated M. 1k.

"Falling in love with somebody I don't really know isn't the strangest thing that has happened to me." -- and as I told the author (and anyone who will listen): "emotion does not logic."

Hers soon an hour of plenitude.

You burn me

by @etalice Ginny/Luna. Rated M. 3k.

Just stunning! Friendship & passion!

Ginny doesn’t notice the cool autumn air licking at the skin of her back. She’s ablaze with passion and want, her fire-skinned hands spreading across Luna’s moon-wax skin like the flame that devoured Serra de Sintra once. Lunae Mons, the ancients called them. Moon mountains, dwelling of Diana the Huntress, Diana of the underworld, Diana of the thrice-splitting way. But it is not Diana that Ginny worships with her hands and mouth, it is not Diana for whom Ginny’s heart sings hymns and psalms (Luna is a goddess in her own right, ruling over apple trees and old wooden stairs, overseeing windowsills and rocks and garden hedges.)

In the wake of her breakup with Harry, Ginny moves in with Luna and falls in love.

A Learning Opportunity

by floweringjudas. Oliver/Percy. Rated M. 4k.

A fun genderswap!

A potion goes awry, Percy and Oliver are turned into girls. Hijinx ensue.

Sunbeam

by @freshbrainss. Ginny/Luna. Rated E. 2k.

Sexy & sweet!

For the hundredth time that afternoon, Luna thanks the sky for sunlight.

Find This Feeling

by @gracerene. Ginny/Alicia. Rated E. 27k.

Empowering tale of self-discovery and growing up.

Ginny has everything she ever wanted: a lovely (if small) flat in the City, a wonderful boyfriend to share it with, and most importantly, her dream job as a reserve Chaser with the Holyhead Harpies. She thinks she's got life all figured out, until a new friendship forces her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself.

This Stone at My Back

by Lomonaaeren. Ginny/Luna. Rated M. 3k.

Home & love.

A tour around Ginny and Luna's shared home, built amid the roots of both tree and stone.

Love and Other Forms of Chaos

by @lqtraintracks. Hermione/Millicent. Rated E. 7k.

Older characters finding love again. Plus cool magical theory talks and chaos!! Who doesn't love chaos??

"In the space between chaos and shape there was another chance." ~Jeanette Winterson

Français

by not_here_leave_a_message. Fleur/Hermione. Rated T. 4k.

Cute & funny!

Viktor was subtle but straight-forward. He had questions and he asked them and he got to know her that way. And Fleur? Fleur was a mess who aired her woes about her crush to her friends. In French.

...too bad Hermione speaks French. Sshhh!

shine

by @onbeinganangel. Ginny/Luna. Rated E. 1k.

Just thinking of this fic makes me happy. So lovely!

It’s different now they share a bed. It’s different now they share a life. It’s different now Luna is not in her blue trimmed uniform, wrapped in a brown tatty blanket. Luna is in their bed, in their house, and she wears soft silk nightgowns in pastel colours with thin lace straps. Her hair is even longer than it was before and Ginny wakes up with it on her face and in her mouth and tickling her shoulders and arms.

Nine Ways of Looking at a Book

by pauraque. Hermione/Minerva. Rated M. 1k.

One of my favorites! Warmth, intimacy, and beauty in every interaction. (I really do need more Minmione in my life!)

Hermione has come back to Hogwarts to teach history. She finds herself looking to the future, too.

Lit Match

by @phantomato. Lily/Alecto. Rated E. 1k.

Humans made of Lily and Alecto both; a little gritty, a little flawed, but oh so interesting!

Redheads should stick together.

From the Tents of Kedar

by rinsbane. Pansy/Millicent. Pansy/Fleur. Rated E. 10k.

Angst. Screwed up people screwing up (and finding love along the way.)

Millicent is everything Pansy thought she’d never touch: a fellow Slytherin, someone her own age – someone ugly, for god’s sake. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? Post-Hogwarts, post-war. Romance, really, despite warnings, and Pansy-centric.

Accept the Extraordinary

by RoozetteR. Luna/Tonks. Rated M. 2k.

Recovery, comfort, support.

No one really knows how Luna ended up living at Lupin cottage after the war. But Tonks keeps the Wrakspurts away and gives Luna hope that the world will sparkle for her again.

Breaking wild roses (stings like love's pain)

by @teacup-tai. Hermione/Pansy. Rated E. 1k.

Practically poetry. 2nd person POV.

I feel like a scream is stuck inside my chest, creeping up in the deep dark hollow of my throat. It’s a mix of pain and agony. So to keep it down, I open my mouth and fill it with your soft, tender flesh. The bronze skin of your shoulder right against my tongue.

A Study in Violet

by tofugumball. Hermione/Angelina, Hermione/Luna. Rated M. 5k.

A beautiful transition from young love to true love.

Flowers in amber are scentless. Hermione realised that years ago. But now, for the first time, it hits her how truly dull they are when compared with a colourful, breathing garden.

or,

Five times Hermione pines after a fantasy and one time she finds real love.

Let's hurt tonight (If love is pain)

by Twot. Fleur/Hermione. Rated M.

Sad soulmates (cool concept, but did I mention sad?)

When she was younger, Fleur actively searched for her soulmate. She craved for the one that would make her heart beat wild, but her soul feel calm.Her understanding of how sick the concept of soulmates was started with Gabrielle.

. The blonde avoided the Gryffindor like a boggart the light and the Gryffindor followed her like a niffler the gold.

Hermione was detirmined to fight for a chance with her soulmate . Soulmate au where you can feel your soulmate's pain

Under Different Stars

by Woldy. Luna/Tonks. Rated E. 2k.

Not everything has to make sense, but it feels oh so right!

They're so different that Tonks doesn't understand why it works, but somehow it does work.

Hot, Red

by wynnebat (@wynnefic). Alecto/Bellatrix. Rated E. 800.

Can confirm: is hot.

"When my mother taught me this spell, I think she was imagining quite a different circumstance."

#danpuff recs #femslash #wlw #sapphic september #femslash faves #hp wlw

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jimblejamblewritings · 2 years

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snakes & bets | part 4.

Summary: Social outcast suddenly makes friends? And those friends are Hogwarts’ most notorious pranksters? Despite being entirely suspicious, Y/N doesn’t question any motives. The world can’t possibly come crashing down around her…

Warnings: This whole story is angsty, hurt/comfort, smut, will end in fluff but goes through all the other stuff first.

Pairing: Marauders x black!reader, eventual Sirius Black x black!reader

Word Count: 4.0k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

Sirius woke up first, followed by Peter then James. Remus always took the longest after Moony Night. The others got dressed and brushed their teeth while they waited for their friend to slowly come to life. Sirius spotted the food first. He picked up a piece of bacon.

“No one’s ever brought up food before. That’s nice.”

“Who do you think did it?” Peter asked as he grabbed some breakfast for himself.

The boys all shrugged. They went through their list of friends, contemplating which one was nice enough to do something like that for them. James came downstairs with a bread roll still in his hand, the other marauders not far behind him. They felt pretty confident in their conclusion when they came to one. The plate of food was decorated with flowers, a lily resting on top of the bread roll mountain. They thought it was fairly obvious. James held up the little limp flower.

“Lily,” he called into the common room, making the redhead turn around. “Thanks for the breakfast.”

“Don’t thank me, thank your puppy.”

The four of them frowned for a moment. They rolled their eyes before heading to class. Not sharing most classes with you was a blessing. They only had Charms, Astronomy, and Muggle Studies. They also realized that they actually did share Transfiguration with you— it was just that you always sat at the very front in the corner so they never noticed.

But Transfiguration was second to last that day. So, they only had to see you at the end of the day for that class as well as Charms. Their day was a blissful one without you. Peter suggested eating lunch outside since the weather would soon be way too cold to do so. The other three agreed with him, grabbing their food and making their way out of the Great Hall.

You were laying down near one of the big trees, body completely hidden by it. You were waiting on a parcel from your parents with a refill of your contact lenses so you were in your glasses. The school’s garden gnomes were outlining your body with a bunch of wild flowers, occasionally stopping to hold out their little grubby hands for a piece of the bread that you were eating.

The marauders noticed you too late to turn around. You called out their name with excitement and they trudged over to you. They sat a distance away from you to the point that it almost looked like they weren’t even sitting with you. You shooed away the gnomes so you seemed less strange. The boys watched the gnomes run off wearing tiny pink hats that you clearly made for them. You sat up and scooted closer to them.

They didn’t say anything but kept eating. Sirius leaned away when you tried to stick a flower in his hair, Peter doing the same when you turned to him. You ended up picking the flowers out of your hair. Normally, you kept them in but everyone tended to point and talk about them. You didn’t really get it because flower crowns were in but apparently random flowers didn’t seem to be a trend.

“We missed the last game but my cousin said they’re playing again on Thursday.”

“What?” Peter asked.

“Last week,” you reminded him. “Our family has box seats whenever the Holyhead Harpies play at home. Mary thought we were coming to the last game but I told her something came up. She said they’re playing home again which is awesome because they didn’t have another home match scheduled for a month.”

James choked on his drink. “Box seats? Box seats at a Holyhead Harpies game?”

“Yeah, she said she needed to know now so she could write to Slughorn and McGona—”

“Oh, we’re going!” James declared.

You smiled. “Yeah? Awesome, we have to leave before lunch but we can eat with the team. Ooh, you can wear the sweatshirts!”

“Sweatsh— uh, yeah, yeah, of course.” James quickly covered his own tracks.

You reached into your bag to check your pocket watch. The marauders watched you get up quickly, saying you were going to be late to Potions. You ran off, tripping over your own two feet but managing to stay upright. They snorted as you hit the wall by accident. James turned to the group.

“What fucking sweatshirts?”

Peter shrugged. “Just say we got them dirty or something, didn’t have time to wash them.”

“Sounds good.”

That was the exact excuse they gave you when you met them at the front entrance of the school. You didn’t mind because that meant they wore your present enough to have to wash them. The marauders looked in surprise when a carriage showed up. They were used to James being the richest person they knew. You just shrugged as you ushered them inside.

The Zabini family probably had more money than the Potters even after splitting the inheritance amongst siblings. Your dad wouldn’t have even made it into the family coming from an average muggle-born background if it wasn’t for the fact that he was brilliant at Charms. But thanks to the Zabinis, your parents worked because they wanted to not because they had to.

The carriage sped away with the five of you in it. You jumped out when you got to the stadium, yelling for your cousin. Mary— along with the rest of the team— turned around. You gave her the biggest hug, having not seen her since summer. All of the Zabini cousins were extremely close and they all watched over you since you were the baby of the family.

“You made it,” Mary said, cheerfully.

You nodded like a bobblehead before running over to where the marauders awkwardly stood. Sirius and James flinched when you went to reach for their hands until they remembered that there was company. You pulled them along, Peter and Remus following, so they were standing in front of the team.

“These are my friends,” you said. “James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius.”

Mary shook everyone’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

The team led you all to your seats. The boys were surrounded by Mary’s teammates while she walked ahead with you. Mary threw her arm around your shoulder.

“I’m glad you made friends.”

“Me too. We went to the Halloween dance together.”

“You went to a dance?”

You nodded. “I had fun.”

“Did you go to an afterparty? I remember Ravenclaw used to throw the best ones.”

“We went to their dorm.”

Mary paused and looked at you. “See, when someone says they skipped an afterparty to go to someone’s dorm that usually means…”

You nodded, making your cousin gasp. She looked behind her at the four boys and playfully shoved your shoulder.

“(Y/N)! Which one?”

“All of them,” you whispered.

Mary pulled you ahead even more to gossip before reaching your seats. You told her that you were just friends with them but she was still excited. Like with your parents, the fact that you were starting to make connections at Hogwarts was more exciting to her than you. She left the five of you after making sure everyone was comfortable.

While everyone was enjoying the game, no one was as into it as you and James. Every now and then, Sirius kept looking at you cheer for the Holyhead Harpies. You had a nice smile. He abruptly went back to looking at the game after thinking that. Sirius felt like he was going to be sick even thinking such a thing. He refused to make eye contact with you for the rest of the game and on the way back to Hogwarts.

For once, the marauders gave you a genuine thank you before leaving to head back to their dorm. You awkwardly stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment. You kind of thought that you were going to go with them and hang out after the game but they said they were tired. The boys wanted to add to their map. They were almost completely done with it, just a few corridors left.

“Did you guys see where I put the Invisibility Cloak?” James asked, head buried in his trunk.

Remus chuckled. “Mate, I told you to fold it up and put it in your trunk.”

“Okay, well I was tired, Moony. Don’t be an ass and help me look or we can’t go.”

All four of them began searching their entire dorm. Sirius got down on the floor to look under the beds. He saw the patterned cloth under Peter’s bed, pulling it out and throwing it in James’ direction. He was about to get up when he saw a bundle of bright red fabric. Sirius grabbed it. He dropped the fabrics on his bed. Remus came over and picked one of them up.

“I guess these were the jumpers she was talking about? When did she even do this?”

Peter and James walked over to look at their own sweatshirts. They poked and prodded at them, tracing over their embroidered names.

“Your last game,” Sirius mentioned. “I guess she already finished them… they’re kind of nice.”

Peter laughed. “Well, they better be. All she does is play with yarn all damn day.”

They left the sweatshirts and began to explore the grounds. The marauders barely said hello to you at breakfast the next day. Remus had done the calculations. They earned enough money based off of the bets they did that they didn’t feel the need to go for the little stuff. Now, they were trying to get you to leave them alone. After the quidditch match and the bets, you were useless to them. Even your family being rich didn’t matter when they had the Potters. They figured if they started to ignore you, you would probably leave them by Christmas break. After the New Year, they’d be free of you.

You mimicked their quietness at breakfast. They almost didn’t notice you were there once again as you kept silent and just followed them around. None of them attempted to speak to you either. Even in Astronomy they asked other people if they needed help instead of asking you despite the fact that you were right next to them.

Your hands felt heavy holding up your telescope. This was just one of those days that you couldn’t stay up to watch the stars. Letting your eyes close, your head dropped onto Peter’s shoulder. He pushed your head off of him. You were too tired to notice, staying asleep but now on the floor of the Astronomy Tower. The professor dismissed the class with passes since Astronomy got out two hours after curfew. Everyone left. The marauders got into their beds when Remus looked around.

“Shit, I left my jacket up at the tower.”

Sirius chuckled. “Why do you even bring one if you don’t need it?”

“If I don’t, someone might figure it out.”

“Moons, no one’s going to think you’re a werewolf cause you don’t bring a jacket to Astronomy. Just go to bed, I’ll get it for you before breakfast.”

“Thanks.”

“You can thank me by doing my Charms essay.”

Remus rolled his eyes, knowing his friend was joking. Sirius slipped out before curfew ended right at the break of dawn. The house elves would start cleaning soon and he didn’t feel like tracking them all down to find Remus’ jacket. He climbed the tower steps two at a time. He tugged on his own robe, shivering as he got higher up.

Sirius stopped when he saw you curled up on the floor. He could hear your teeth chattering. Spotting Remus’ jacket, he stepped over you to grab it. Sirius looked down at you once more. He bent down and shook your shoulder, roughly. You woke up, wiping at your face as you sat up.

“How much of the lesson did I miss?” you asked in mild panic.

The raven-haired boy blinked. “Did you sleep here all night?”

“All ni— oh, it’s morning. I guess I did.” You sneezed. “And someone took my blanket.”

“Blanket?”

“Yeah, I get cold easily. The jacket isn’t enough.” You sneezed again. “I should probably go to Madame Pomfrey before I get too sick.”

You got up, shivering at the cold morning air. Sirius surprised himself by following you to the Hospital Wing. He listened to Madame Pomfrey scold you for continuing to take Astronomy when you constantly got sick in the winter from being left in the tower after class if you accidentally fell asleep.

The marauder frowned a bit. He didn’t think it was necessary for someone to steal your blanket. One day, you might actually freeze to death if it kept happening. Maybe they also could have paid enough attention to at least wake you up. He left when Madame Pomfrey kicked him out, stating that you’d be there all day.

Sirius shook his head when he left the Hospital Wing. He wasn’t even sure why he went down with you. That was a lie. He knew exactly why and it made him a mix of scared and disgusted. There was no way he was developing a crush on you. He was going to need to find Marlene like he did the last time those thoughts popped up. The other marauders looked at him as he handed Remus his jacket before sitting down for breakfast.

“What took you so long?” Peter asked.

“(Y/N) w—”

“Talked you to death about crochet in the corridor?”

“No, she was in the tower. Everyone left her.”

They all laughed except Sirius. He stabbed his fork into his eggs.

“It’s not that funny.”

“What?” James looked at his friend.

“I don’t know, I don’t think her freezing to death is funny.”

“You fuck the little freak twice and now you feel like you need to defend her?”

“I just think we could back off of her a bit.”

James blinked, realizing that Sirius wasn’t joking. He held up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, not funny… is this about her falling asleep or her in general?”

Sirius sighed, throwing his fork down. “I think I like the little freak.”

Whatever conversation that the marauders were having was abandoned. They were completely focused on Sirius, trying to figure out when he started being into you. The more they talked, the more Sirius kept finding little reasons to be into you. James huffed out a laugh.

“Well, glad we finished what we wanted to with the bet.”

Remus nodded. “I don’t think fucking Pads’ girl would end very well, you’re really territorial.”

Sirius glared at him. “She’s not my girl.”

“Please, you ask her out and she’s saying yes in a heartbeat.”

“I’m not asking her out. I don’t want to date her.”

The other three boys nodded in mock understanding. “Ah, yes, you just like her and want to shag her up and down the corridors.”

He scoffed. “She barely turns me on, this’ll go away in a minute.”

“Barely?” James asked. “That sounds like a step up from not at all, doesn’t it, Wormtail?”

“Sure does. Moony, didn’t he say last time that she didn’t get him hard at all?”

“Yep, you barely wanted to touch her. Was it because she’s weird or because you were ready to tear her clothes off?”

They laughed as their friend growled at them before getting up, tugging on Marlene’s wrist to take her with him. Sirius was determined to get over you. It worked momentarily. The minute Marlene left and you came out of the Hospital Wing, he was right back to square one.

He put himself in between you and James when it was time for Astronomy. Despite the class being only two days out of the week because of how late the class was, you only managed to stay up half the time. With a stuffy nose and a slight headache, you just couldn’t keep up this week. Sirius suddenly felt the weight of your head on his shoulder.

James, Remus, and Peter waited to see what he would do. He poked at your cheek. He poked a little harder when you didn’t stir. Sirius didn’t want to push you off of him but couldn’t take this. You woke up, eyes fluttering open. The other three marauders kept pushing each other as they tried not to laugh at the tinge of pink that suddenly appeared on Sirius’ cheeks when you looked up at him, still with your head on his shoulder.

“You fell asleep,” he said, eyes flicking down towards your lips for a moment.

“Thank you,” you said.

Sirius’ breath hitched in his throat. It was the same sleepy, whiny voice you had when they hooked up with you. He shook his head and went back to paying attention to the lesson.

Every now and then, Sirius looked over to make sure you were still awake. He was aware that he was slowly giving up. James, Peter, and Remus already came to that conclusion earlier. What the hell Padfoot saw in you? They weren’t sure. Sure, Sirius said that all those little acts of kindness worked away at him. They could understand him not finding you annoying. But nice deeds didn’t make someone hot. Did he not see you with the glasses?

When they got back to their room after class, Remus had gladly risked being punched in the face to make the joke that your pussy must have had some type of grip to make Sirius infatuated with you. Instead of punching him, Sirius chucked a pillow at his friend’s face. He fell asleep with a scowl and woke up the same way. The marauders howled in laughter when he confessed that you were in one of his dreams.

Sirius left early with James for his quidditch match so he wouldn’t have to run into you. Usually, you showed up at their dorm a few minutes before the game to walk with them. He couldn’t see you right now. If he did, he would lose all resolve completely. Part of him wanted to yell at you, make you cry so you would leave them alone and he could get over whatever weird crush he felt. He knew that he never would.

It started with the stupid sweatshirts and then the food then the Harpies’ game. You did little things for people just because you thought it would make them happy. Even when it wasn’t reciprocated. Deep down he found that kind of sweet. It was after seeing you half-frozen in the Astronomy Tower that he let his feelings come to the surface. He knew what it was like to feel abandoned by his family at a really vulnerable time in his life. It really stung him that he— and everyone else— did the same to you.

What made it worse was you still saw a good in people that he had long abandoned. He would never be so friendly with people that he didn’t know very well. But you thought you were friends with them and in a matter of days began to do little things for them.

He laughed at himself as he sat down in the stands. He liked you. He liked you and decided that there was nothing wrong with that. Sirius actively made a small space for you to sit next to him when you eventually show up with the others to the game.

You waited till after all the students started heading to the quidditch pitch to leave your room. With the quidditch game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, you had the boys’ dorm to yourself. You were going to go support James in a minute but you wanted to do something first. Normally, you wouldn’t go behind anyone’s back but this felt sensitive in the way that Remus’ werewolf night felt sensitive. They wouldn’t notice if you nicked their map for half a day.

You just wanted to use it to see if there was a way to sneak to Hogsmeade without Filch noticing. If anyone knew, it would be the marauders. You would simply take the map, go to Hogsmeade as a trial while everyone was distracted, come back and return it. No one had to know you borrowed the map and you never had to worry about Filch catching you attempting to leave campus in the middle of the week again. All the good threads were always gone when the weekend came and new shipments came in on Wednesday.

You carefully crept into the boys’ room in case they were still there. Finding it empty, you strolled in. Last time you saw the map you were pretty sure it was in James’ trunk. You found a lot of things that weren’t the map. Moving on, you closed James’ trunk and went to another one. Four trunks later and the map was nowhere to be found. You pursed your lips in thought. Maybe they were doing something with it earlier? It was probably in someone’s bag.

You sat next to Sirius’ bag on his bed and went through it as gently as possible. You finally found some folded up parchment. Opening it up, you got comfortable so you could memorize the map. You frowned when a bunch of words greeted you instead of a diagram of the castle grounds. Your name caught your eye before you were about to fold up the parchment and put it back.

“Talk to (Y/N) for ten minutes,” you read. “One sickle.”

Your stomach twisted when you saw a little check mark and your roommates’ names next to the task. Half of your brain screamed at you to put the paper back while another half said to keep reading. Your eyes glazed over as you read the list. A lot of different names were on there, along with prices.

You felt stupid as you kept reading. You didn’t suddenly make friends like you and McGonagall talked about. You were a game. For some reason this year they decided to make a spectacle of you for their twisted entertainment. The marauders’ names were written down more than once. You sniffled as you shoved the list back where you found it.

It was beyond humiliating that they were all in on the joke but you. You didn’t know who made it and didn’t really care. They could have left you alone. You would have preferred that rather than being turned into a bet. You weren’t even sure why they would do such a thing. Would they even give you a reason when you asked? You weren’t sure if you wanted a reason. Not if it was going to make you feel worse than you already did.

There was nothing that killed self esteem more than learning that your friends only slept with you because it earned them five galleons. More technically but you didn’t want to add up the money on each individual act. Your feet began to move towards the quidditch pitch even though you wanted to go hide in your room. You had friends. Your heart kept screaming at you that you had friends. Even if they were fake, they were friends and you didn’t want them to leave you because you knew the truth. So you were going to go to the quidditch game and support James like you planned.

You sat down next to Sirius. He immediately split his pumpkin pasty in half and offered you some. He told himself that whatever he felt like doing with you, he was going to. When you shook your head, he gave the other half to Peter. He looked at you again to see some tear stains on your face. Without a second thought, his thumb traced gently over your cheek as he wondered if you were late to the game because you were crying.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” You shook your head. “My… my mom just wrote to tell me one of our garden gnomes died.”

“Oh.” Sirius nodded even though he had no clue why that was upsetting but he was trying to understand you better. “Well I’m sure he lived a good life that… pesky gnome…yeah.”

“Mmm hmm,” you muttered and turned to the game.

(Part 5)

#marauders x reader #sirius black x reader #sirius black x black!reader

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