Ari’s Room

I like to talk about books… 🌺⭐️🪩🪻

[melsglasses]

let them tag team!!

[whitakers-intern]

[rylandgracie]

by spiiketazzz on twitter

[arijakson]

Mel x Langdon Pt.5

They had been on shift for about fifteen hours—or so Mel thought. She had lost track of time long ago. By the time the night shift arrived, she was surrounded by grieving relatives and covered in the blood of patients injured in the explosion of the water tank at the neighboring hospital.

It was no longer just the incoming emergencies—every patient from their ICU, wards, and ER had now become hers. Treating the victims of the shooting had been difficult, but this was another level entirely: treating patients who were already wounded, now wounded again.

This time she was in the red zone. Dr. Abbott and Dr. Robby had trusted her—trusted her knowledge. Alongside Dr. Santos and Dr. Langdon, the three of them were a force to be reckoned with. They were handling three cases at once: full-body burns, an open skull fracture, a traumatic limb amputation, and a cardiac arrest.

Everything seemed to move forward—whether well or badly. Mel had no time to think, only to act: intubate, stitch, stabilize. It felt as though the chaos was finally beginning to ease when she allowed herself, at last, to breathe.

Langdon felt like himself—more than ever. For the first time in a long while, he was focused, quick, and above all, saving lives. It was something he may have forgotten during his residency, something he may have tried to replace with benzos—all that implied. The euphoria of knowing someone could go home safely to their family because of him; the devastation of losing someone in his hands—parents, siblings, friends. That day had held everything. And when the storm finally settled, he too allowed himself to breathe.

They both went up to the rooftop—Frank and Mel. He knew she often went there because of her mentor, who was still downstairs reorganizing what remained of the ER. She loved it for its quiet, its height, its distance from the noise.

Dr. King was already there, standing a safe distance from the edge, when Dr. Langdon saw her. Her braid had come undone during the shift, and now her blonde hair fell freely down her back, swaying in the wind from the fifteenth floor.

“Dr. King—”

She startled and turned quickly, always holding that upright posture of hers, hands clasped in front of her.

“Dr. Langdon. What are you doing up here?” She didn’t mean to sound rude. He was still wearing his full scrubs, nothing underneath, his hair completely disheveled after nearly seventeen hours on shift.

He stepped closer until they both reached the railing, gazing out over the Pittsburgh night sky—still glowing with busy streets and tall buildings, yet somehow silent. They shared the calm they hadn’t had for hours, breathing in memories and feelings. Perhaps a few tears fell from them both.

“You know, Mel, you did really well today.” He had been unable to take his eyes off her for a while. “That day, I knew you were someone to watch. But today you proved you’re much more than that. You’re an absolute killing machine, Mel.”

She looked at him, puzzled—another one of his jokes she didn’t quite understand. But he didn’t mind. He had started doing it on purpose, because the smile that followed her confusion made something strange stir inside him.

“So… killing machine, huh?” She shaped tiny finger guns with her hands. “Another one of your jokes.”

He laughed. She did too.

“Ours, Mel. One of ours.”

They stood facing each other when a gust of wind tossed her hair again. This time he couldn’t resist reaching out, brushing it aside and tucking it behind her ear. She tensed, and he immediately felt he had crossed a line.

“I’m sorry, Mel. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, really. It was—”

But she cut off his words—and perhaps his thoughts—when she stepped closer and pressed her lips to his. He barely had time to react before she was already pulling away after that brief touch. He caught her by the waist and drew her slightly closer, just for a few seconds, before they separated again.

They remained close, not touching, simply sharing gazes as bright as the city lights beyond them.

Mel thought it was the closest she had ever felt to fireworks—something wild and euphoric. She knew it wasn’t right; he was her colleague. But for the first time in her life, with that small kiss, she hadn’t thought about anyone but herself. No worries, no death around her, no exhaustion, no confusion, no feeling misunderstood. In that moment, she was simply Mel.

And perhaps Langdon had become Langdon again—not an ex-addict, not divorced, not just an ER doctor.

Just Frank.

Before either of them could say a word, their pagers went off. They ran back to their work, back to reality. But perhaps that reality had already changed. Could they create a new one?

[scarletjohansson]

INSANE

[arijakson]

The little smilesssssss :))))))))

[arijakson]

MEL x LANGDON Pt.4 (first hug)

Frank hadn’t managed to improve his relationship with Robby, but he had managed to get Dr. Al-Hashimi to pull him out of obscurity, and after a few hours he was feeling more like himself.

Mel was still stressed about her hearing, but she had managed to call Becca during the two predetermined times. She still hadn’t lost a patient that day, and it seemed the world wasn’t going to end the way it had felt that morning.

But both Frank and Mel knew that all of that had improved thanks to the other. They had been treating the same case for a couple of hours now: a ten-year-old boy on the spectrum whom his parents had brought in for severe abdominal pain — a specialty for both of them.

Despite the façade Frank had shown when Mel first met him — the funny guy trying to be the best — Dr. Langdon wasn’t just a great physician; he treated his patients wonderfully, especially children. That reminded Mel of what a good father he must be.

Frank had called her in for that case because he knew about her sister. He knew she would know how to handle the situation. He also knew how good Dr. King was with her patients, and although she had never told him, he knew that she herself was on the spectrum, even if she didn’t disclose it. Frank would never mention it unless she did first. If she chose to keep it private, he would respect that. He knew that admitting it could cost her problems with certain closed-minded people in the medical field, but she was one of the most incredible doctors he had ever known, and he would never allow anyone to say anything against her — even though she could fight her own battles, and he didn’t doubt that.

After calming the boy and his parents, Mel needed to breathe. She ran to one of the empty break rooms in the north wing. It was already getting dark when she closed the door, turned off the lights, and drew the curtains so she could breathe in silence. That boy reminded her so much of her sister Becca’s situation. Once, when they were playing in a park, Becca had split her chin open. When they arrived at the hospital, she was inconsolable. Their grandparents had just adopted them after their parents’ death in a car accident. The doctors didn’t know what to do and could barely touch her face. Finally, Dr. Clark arrived. He was the only one who managed to treat Becca, with patience and within her boundaries. Mel had become a doctor because of him.

—Mel? —Dr. Langdon entered the room without turning on the light.— Are you okay?

She couldn’t see his facial features, but she imagined him with his usual furrowed brow, worried about her as he had been before.

—Yes, yes, it’s just that sometimes it’s… It’s too many emotions. It’s hard to deal with it at home and here too. Sometimes it’s just… —she had reached the point where it was hard to express herself in words that others could understand.

—Sometimes it’s too much… —Langdon moved closer and sat beside her, at a respectful distance.— I understand what you mean. Balancing this job with problems at home can become… intense, sometimes incompatible.

He was looking ahead, elbows resting on his knees, and in the shadows she could see his hair falling over his forehead. It was the first time Mel admitted to herself that Dr. Langdon was very handsome — beyond being conventionally attractive, she found him personally charming.

Frank couldn’t help but worry about her. He knew something was wrong when she left the room and ran off. Normally, if it had been someone else, he would have given them space, but her — Mel — he couldn’t leave like that.

In the break room, it was just her, in the dark. Langdon had begun to appreciate that darkness, that silence, and her. Because maybe during this new shift he had realized that Mel, besides being a great doctor and an excellent colleague, made him smile in a way no one else ever had — a smile of complicity, of understanding. Maybe that was why he found the courage to tell her for the first time, there in that dark room, sitting side by side.

—I know what it’s like to feel that no one understands what you take home from work, the weight of trying to save lives and having them slip through your fingers. Look how it ended… —

Mel turned quickly to look at him with those eyes that had trapped Langdon in a standstill.

—It’s a bodily reaction to want to look for something that relieves us from the weight of life. That’s why addictions exist.

Frank knew it, but it felt good to hear it from someone other than his therapist.

—I’ve never been into that kind of addiction, but I’ve had others, like listening to the same song repeatedly for months, staring at the same lava lamp, or watching the same movie every weekend with my sister. All of that makes the stress go away. It’s the same effect as drugs.

Frank couldn’t stop looking at her, because he knew Mel hadn’t minimized his illness; she had made the best comparison possible. She understood it, like no one ever had, and she wasn’t judging him.

—You know, Mel, you’re the first person who’s understood it in all its complexity. Maybe the first who hasn’t judged me…

Mel smiled at him and caught his gaze, though she didn’t usually look people in the eyes.

—But anyway… —he said, lowering his gaze.— I guess your wife, your child, your parents — well, your family — must have supported and understood you, right?

It was now or never. At some point the topic would come up, and who better to start talking about it with than Mel. He looked down as well.

—Well, my kids don’t know much. They’re still very young and we didn’t want to scare them. And my parents have been a big support — they’ve spent a lot of time with them, especially after the divorce.

Mel turned her head quite quickly and then returned it to its place. It was a better reaction than he expected. This was real, and it wasn’t accompanied by the look of “poor addicted, divorced before 35.”

—Divorce? You’re not married anymore? —Mel asked nervously. She was curious but didn’t want to be rude, and almost nothing she said could upset Langdon.

He showed her his now bare hand, without the wedding ring he had worn for seven years.

—Abbey and I got married very young, when I finished medical school. We’d been together since high school, and she was eager to get married and have a family. We were raised side by side in a very traditional environment — the ending was obvious. I don’t blame her for leaving. No woman expects the prince to become addicted to benzos in his thirties with two small children.

He had reached the point where he could laugh about it, but Mel looked a bit horrified.

—But… it’s not your fault. You don’t choose addiction. Besides, you’ve recovered, you’re back, and I’m sure you never abandoned your family responsibilities.

Mel was right, but it felt good to hear it.

—That’s true, but I think Abbey and I stopped being in love a long time ago. I was for a long time, but our jobs were incompatible, the kids are very young, plus I bought a dog without her consent… —he remembered that screw-up; it had been the same day he met Mel.— And on top of that, I was suspended and had to spend almost all my salary and insurance money on recovery. So one day she packed up and left and never came back. The next thing I heard from her were the divorce papers and the possibility of shared custody — it was all I could ask for, that and that she could finally be happy.

Now that he had let it all out, it was a bittersweet feeling. It felt good to talk about it without guilt, but at the same time he felt sad about the loss and a bit lost along the way.

—You deserve to be happy too, you know.

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Mel had stood up and was looking at him intently. He stood as well, closing some of the distance between them.

—I mean, you’ve made it. You’re here. You came back. And you deserve to be happy.

—Mel… —he didn’t know what else to say, or whether he deserved the words or her.— Thank you.

Then she did something he didn’t expect. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him in a sudden hug. He froze. He wasn’t much of a hugger, but he needed that one, so he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer. She didn’t seem bothered, so he stayed that way.

Mel didn’t know how long she stayed hugging him — because she knew he needed it, because maybe she also needed a display of affection, because that day was overwhelming her.

When she finally pulled away, they stayed looking at each other for a few seconds, said nothing, and left the room toward their patient’s room to ask Dana for some medication. But while he did that, Langdon couldn’t take his eyes off her — the slight flush on her cheeks, a loose strand of hair escaping her tight braid — and all he could think about was how much he longed for the moment he could hold her again, because for one second he had stopped thinking about everything, and the world had gone silent.

[arijakson]

Mel x Langdon Pt.3

Mel's Pov:

Mel was having a very bad day, because everything she had never wanted had come true. Later that same July 4th, she had a hearing where she would have to speak about her alleged malpractice, where they would judge her over the second most important thing in her life, beyond her sister: her job.

Although Mel had always wanted to be an internist, her arrival at Pitt ten months earlier had completely changed her perspective. She had always thought that the noise, the shouting, and the stress of the ER would be too much for her, but she had discovered places of peace and moments of calm within helping others. She knew that a large part of this change of heart had come thanks to Dr. Langdon, who, despite the gossip, had been welcoming to her, had encouraged her to continue, and had never discouraged her for needing ten minutes from time to time. He himself had remembered something she once said: “the ER can be too loud.”

Mel had always thought she wouldn’t be able to do it. She thought it on her first day, and she was thinking it now, four hours into her shift on July 4th. She felt disconnected, out of place, running on autopilot, only able to think about the end of the shift.

But for a few minutes she had forgotten all of that, when Dr. Langdon had returned to work and she had seen him again, and he had joked with her once more. This time, however, she wasn’t uncomfortable — she was happy.

She only hoped that that day she might get to work with him. She remembered her first day; they made a good team, and she didn’t know why they had relegated him to triage. He was an incredible doctor who could do so much more if he were involved directly in cases. Throughout the entire morning she had been receiving triage cases from him and, selfishly, she hoped she would end up working directly on one of them.

[arijakson]

Mel x Langdon Pt.2

Frank's POV

On that July 4, 2025, Frank expected many things: to reclaim his position as a great ER doctor, a new beginning in his relationship with Robby, to offer many apologies, and, above all, to finish his shift sober.

But none of that happened. Robby was still avoiding him and had demoted him to triage. He had indeed offered his apologies, but his own mind, the anxiety, and the remorse were slowly breaking him down.

However, there had been one person with whom talking wasn't difficult, with whom it wasn't awkward—someone who had been sincere. He might have only known Mel from those final twelve hours of his shift ten months ago, but after that traumatic day and today's brief reunion, Frank had realized a few things:

Mel had truly smiled upon seeing him, and surprisingly, he had smiled back at her. Furthermore, she had made him joke again; Frank had forgotten what that was like. He used to do it all the time, but everything had become so uncomfortable lately. Mel made him forget that awkwardness; seeing her confused face and realizing she still remembered "Mr. Scurvy" months later had reminded him of what it felt like to be calm.

And, above all, he couldn’t stop calling her Mel. While everyone else had taken time to earn a place in his heart—to earn the use of their first name at work—she had achieved it in just twelve hours.

Perhaps what he had discovered during the first two hours of his new shift was that he couldn't pretend nothing had happened, because he had let them all down. But he also knew he hadn't let Mel down—because she had told him so herself, and he believed her.

[arijakson]

MEL x LANGDON PT.1

For Mel, entering the emergency room at Pittsburgh Hospital was a challenge, an obligation; she had always loved being an internal medicine resident at the military hospital. The soldiers were partly like her: quiet and usually more concerned with what was happening outside than with themselves. They were also serious, and for someone who failed to understand any jokes, Dr. King felt right at home, becoming a favorite for many there. That is why, when her sister was accepted into the city's top residency program, Mel did not hesitate to leave that life behind, choosing her sister's well-being over her own.

For Dr. Langdon, entering Pittsburgh as an ER physician was the dream of a lifetime. He pushed himself through med school, was top of his class, and became Robby’s favorite during residency. He built the life he had always wanted, but everything changed when he met her.

On September 3, 2024, Mel began as a second-year resident in the Pittsburgh ER, pushing her physical and mental capacities to the limit. She saved many lives, lost many patients, and met one of the best doctors and men she had ever known. That day, Dr. King gained more than she had achieved in twenty-six years.

Frank did not just lose his job that day; he also lost his wife. When Robby fired him, it felt like a betrayal, but after ten months of therapy, he understood why he did it. He understood that Robby had saved his life by addressing his addiction in time, and above all, he understood why his wife left after four years of marriage and three months of therapy.

On July 10, 2025, Langdon went in with only one idea in mind: to show everyone that he had made it, that he was a new man, and that he could return to work and be the doctor he was before the addiction.

Mel could only think about his return. Despite everything that had been said about Dr. Langdon in the hospital over the last few months, she knew she wouldn’t have made it through her first shift at the Pitt if it hadn’t been for his support. He had advised her on every one of her cases, and beyond that, he treated her as a teammate rather than a subordinate; he looked out for her and always made sure she was okay.

During his ten-month absence, she had wished for his opinion a thousand times, and for the first time in her life, for his jokes. Mel didn’t understand jokes, but Dr. Langdon didn’t care; he wasn’t afraid to explain them to her. He didn't give her that look of discomfort most people gave when they realized that the ER’s Dr. King was on the spectrum. Dr. Langdon was a breath of fresh air; plus, she liked his eyes and the way he looked at her.

Frank never quite understood what it was about Dr. King. When he saw her again after ten months of changing his entire life, it felt as if the world had been on stand-by with her—as if nothing had changed, as if he weren’t a recovering addict, a divorcee, or a man who had just gotten his license back. It was as if the last year hadn’t happened, because Mel still saw him as the talkative, quick, sharp, and joking Dr. Langdon—a force to be reckoned with, a comrade in battle. And besides, he liked her eyes, and the way she looked at him; sometimes he felt like a fifteen-year-old teenager when her blue eyes stared at him through the lenses of her glasses.

[existential-queeer]

Mel practically hanging onto his arm like a monkey.

Langdon dropping everything when he saw she was hurt.

He made a joke to make her laugh and she was able to read the humor in his smile like a book whereas other times the jokes go over her head.

She then made a joke from a year prior that only he would understand, and he still remembered.

Dana and Perlah being confused and hit with "it's an inside thing".

Mel being uncomfortable and overstimulated and Langdon clocking that shit IMMEDIATELY.

Langdon ushering the police out of her room to give her space and even turning off the lights to make sure she won't be overstimulated and giving her a safe, quiet space to decompress.

All the little things between them is making me insane.

They knew each other for a DAY, mind you.

A SINGLE DAY. ALMOST A YEAR AGO.

NOW THEY'RE BONDED LIKE FERAL CATS.

[divorcedfranklangdon]

what in the Wattpad

[arijakson]

Narcissa Malfoy

Cissy siempre supo como sobrevivir.

Desde muy corta edad, entendió perfectamente cual era el mundo que le había tocado vivir, y su posición en él. Los términos daban igual, si sangre pura, sucia, Slytherin o Gryffindor, la finalidad era la misma, aprender el entorno y hacerlo tuyo.

Por ello siempre fue la favorita de sus padres, Andrómeda era demasiado salvaje y Bella demasiado excéntrica, pero ella, era la combinación perfecta de una señorita de su clase y una bruja poderosa.

Pasó su infancia intentando sobrevivir a los ‘crucio’ de su madre, y tragándose las lágrimas cuando veía a Andrómeda sufrirlos. Siempre cuando dormía era Cissy quien le curaba las cicatrices, con no más que métodos muggles, era la única muestra de sentimentalismo que se permitió durante mucho tiempo.

Eso fue hasta que llegó él.

Siempre supo con quien se iba a casar, quizá desde que tenían unos 7 años, antes de entrar a la escuela, ya entonces ella apuntaba a maneras, y no merecía menos que un compromiso con un Malfoy.

Lucius era apuesto, un gran mago sin duda, capitán del equipo de Quidditch y uno de los chicos más codiciados en Hogwarts. No es raro que a pesar de la reticencia de Narcissa, finalmente acabase cayendo por él, y lo más sorprendente fue que el hombre más tentado por mujeres y hombres, dejase esa vida para estar con ella para siempre, sin excepciones, sin dobles vidas como muchos de sus amigas, serían siempre ellos.

El día que Narcissa se convirtió en la señora de la casa Malfoy, pensó que lo había conseguido todo, había superado la escuela siendo la primera de su casa, era el orgullo de su apellido, había conseguido sobrevivir a Voldemort sin una marca tenebrosa en su brazo que la marcase de por vida y tenía estatus social además de a un hombre al que amaba.

El mundo estaba a sus pies.

Pero todo desapareció en un instante cuando esos ojos grises la miraron por primera vez, su bebé en ese instante se convirtió en su mundo entero, y todos los muros que Narcissa había construido a lo largo de su vida se abrieron de par en par para él, porque desde el momento en el que lo sostuvo en brazos a su hijo, supo que daría su propia vida por él.

Y entonces el pequeño Draco creció, los malos tiempos volvieron, y Narcissa tuvo que hacerse más dura, los años la habían curtido y ser madre le había vuelto letal, y a la vez un poco blanda.

Durante años, vio desgraciada como su marido, el hombre fuerte que una vez había conocido y del que se había enamorado, se había hundido en el miedo, en una marioneta, en una persona que no podía confiar, por lo que se armó de valor, lloró en silencio y puso un muro entre ambos por el bien de su hijo.

En el fondo de su corazón supo que Voldemort nunca sería el ganador, no porque creyese en la magia del amor, si no porque había tenido el placer de vivir en ese mundo, de vivirlo, de sentirlo en sus más profundas entrañas, y sabía que todo eso que iba predicando Harry Potter sobre la esperanza, movía ejércitos, movía mundos, y ese niño que había perdido a sus padres se merecía un final feliz.

Narcissa se preparó durante años para la llegada de la luz, siempre le inculcó a Draco todo lo positivo que pudo, aunque lo tuvo que esconder bajo una armadura, le aterraba a veces ver lo mucho que su hijo se parecía a ella.

Pero siempre le agradaba ver que había personas con las que podía ser él mismo como ella lo hizo un día. El señor Nott y el señor Zabini había sido recibidos en la Mansión miles de veces, les había dado de comer, les había dado cobijo e incluso algún consejo, a veces sentía que tenía más de un hijo cuando esos tres revoloteaban alrededor suyo.

Tampoco le faltaron compañías femeninas, pequeñas y fuertes mujeres que habían llegado a significar mucho para Narcissa, aunque siempre tuvo un pequeño favoritismo con la señorita Parkinson. Con ella la relación siempre fue más estrecha, por la similitud entre sus familias, no iba a permitir que una niña como Pansy se convirtiese en una Bellatrix llena de odio y rencor, siempre intentó protegerla del abuso, pasó semanas en la mansión con la fachada de enamorada cuando estaba recuperándose de las cicatrices gemelas que ella tenía en su espalda, y cuando finalmente venían a visitarla las hermanas Greengrass, sentía que la casa volvía a estar completa.

Narcissa durante los años de escuela se dedicó a esos niños, a que creciesen sanos, todo lo fuera del peligro que pudiesen, y a que creciesen con la idea de la realidad ante sus ojos, y con la posibilidad de ocultarse bajo una armadura.

Cuando llegó el momento de la verdad, eligió, y supo que había elegido bien, ya que viviese o muriese ella, sabía que sus hijos podrían tener paz, que por fin su esperanza se haría realidad.

Finalmente, Narcissa sobrevivió a dos guerras, perdió muchas cosas por el camino, como su gran amor, pero ganó mucho más, pudo volver a ser Cissy, pudo volver a ver a Andrómeda sin preocuparse de la apariencia, pudo ver a sus niños crecer, quitarse la armadura y poder ser ellos mismos sin miedo al castigo o la muerte y ella misma lo hizo.

Todavía muchos años después, se sienta con Molly Weasley en el pequeño parque al que ambas suelen ir a pasear y hablan del dolor, de la pérdida de familiares, hijos y maridos, pero sobre todo agradecen, ahora sin barreras, poder haber sobrevivido, haber llegado a la esperanza prometida, conocer lo que es vivir sin miedo.

[arijakson]

Narcissa Malfoy

Cissy had always known how to survive. From a very young age, she understood perfectly the world she had been born into, and her place within it. The terms hardly mattered — pure-blood, mudblood, Slytherin or Gryffindor — the purpose was always the same: learn the environment and make it your own.

That was why she was always her parents’ favourite. Andromeda was far too wild and Bella far too eccentric, but she — she was the perfect combination of a lady of her standing and a powerful witch.

She spent her childhood trying to survive her mother’s Crucios, swallowing her tears whenever she saw Andromeda suffering them as well. It was always Cissy who, while everyone slept, healed her sister’s scars using nothing more than Muggle methods. It was the only display of sentimentality she allowed herself for a very long time.

That was until he arrived. She had always known whom she would marry — perhaps since they were about seven years old, even before starting school. Even then, she showed promise, and she deserved nothing less than a match with a Malfoy.

Lucius was handsome, undoubtedly a great wizard, captain of the Quidditch team and the most sought-after boy at Hogwarts. It was no surprise that, despite Narcissa’s initial reluctance, she eventually fell for him — and even more surprising that the most desired man among women gave up that life to be with her forever.

The day Narcissa became the lady of Malfoy Manor, she believed she had achieved everything. She had excelled at school as the top of her House, her parents were proud of her, she had survived Voldemort without a Dark Mark branding her for life, and she possessed social status as well as a man she loved. The world lay at her feet.

But everything vanished in an instant when those grey eyes looked at her for the first time. Her baby became her entire world in that moment, and all the walls Narcissa had built throughout her life were thrown wide open for him. From the moment she held him in her arms, she knew she would give her own life for him.

And then little Draco grew up, and the dark times returned. Narcissa had to harden herself once more. The years had tempered her, and motherhood had made her lethal — and at the same time, a little softer.

For years, she watched in despair as her husband — the strong man she had once known and loved — sank into fear, into becoming a puppet, into someone she could no longer trust. So she gathered her courage, cried in silence, and built a wall between them for the sake of her son.

Deep in her heart, she knew Voldemort would never be the victor — not because she believed in the magic of love, but because she had lived in that world, truly lived it, felt it in the depths of her being. She knew that everything Harry Potter preached about hope moved armies, moved worlds, and that boy who had lost his parents deserved a happy ending.

Narcissa prepared herself for years for the arrival of the light. She instilled in Draco everything positive she could, though she always had to hide it beneath armour. At times, it terrified her to see how much her son resembled her.

Yet she always took comfort in seeing that there were people with whom he could be himself, just as she once had been. Mr Nott and Mr Zabini had been welcomed into the Manor countless times — she fed them, sheltered them, and even offered advice. At times, she felt she had more than one son when those three fluttered about her.

Nor did she lack daughters. With Miss Parkinson, the relationship was always closer, due to the similarities between their families. She would not allow a girl like Pansy to become another Bellatrix filled with hatred and resentment. She always tried to protect her from abuse — Pansy spent weeks at the Manor under the pretence of being in love while recovering from the matching scars on her back. And when the Greengrass sisters finally came to visit, Narcissa felt the house was whole again.

During her school years, Narcissa devoted herself to those children — ensuring they grew up healthy, as safe as possible, and with a clear understanding of reality, as well as the ability to hide behind armour.

When the moment of truth arrived, she chose — and she knew she had chosen well. Whether she lived or died, she knew her children would have peace, that at last her hope would become reality.

In the end, Narcissa survived two wars. She lost many things along the way, including her great love, but she gained so much more. She was able to be Cissy again. She could see Andromeda without worrying about appearances. She watched her children grow, shed their armour, and finally be themselves without fear of punishment or death — and she did the same.

Even many years later, she sits with Molly Weasley in the small park they both like to walk through, speaking of pain, of loss — of family members, children and husbands. But above all, they give thanks, now without barriers, for having survived, for having reached the promised hope, and for knowing what it means to live without fear.

[hollanov-ann]

[arijakson]

She was already dressed very elegantly in a floor-length, silky emerald green dress with thin straps and heels that appeared to be black. ‘I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to whisk my husband away, as he has a duty to accompany me tonight.’ She looked at Theo, but he couldn't take his eyes off his wife. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he gave her a broad smile that seemed to be reserved just for her. Theo said goodbye with a nod of his head before picking up his briefcase and taking Daphne's hand to lead her towards the exit. The last thing Hermione saw of the couple were the matching tattoos on their forearms. Daphne's black-scaled snake seemed to be looking at the green-scaled snake on her husband's arm.

-RETURNING THE FAVOR (AJACKSON39 - AO3)

[arijakson]

She bumped his arm before heading to the table to gather her things and leave, but he grabbed her wrist before she could react, and she froze at his cold touch. His long fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist, and Hermione felt that area burn. He seemed to notice this and let go of her, touching his own hand as if to cleanse himself of her touch. They stood close together, both serious, the tension in the room increasing by the minute.

[arijakson]

"Imagine that Hermione Granger, one of the best healers in England and one of the top researchers on magical diseases, is offered to take care of and study the case of the wife of one of her worst enemies. Of course, she considers declining, but she can’t, because she remembers that she owes a small favor…" - RETURNING THE FAVOR (https://archiveofourown.org/works/69540971/chapters/180363166)