Hufflepuff: *poking head through the kitchen door* I just discovered a neat trick! If you make brownies but don't cut them, you can eat the whole slab and say you only ate one brownie
*five minutes later*
Hufflepuff: *collapsing on the couch and groaning* do not do this
Charlie Weasley wasn't there when Fred died, so the last time he and Fred saw eachother they didn't even realize it was their last time together and that honestly breaks my heart.
Jon felt like he was going to be sick at breakfast on the Saturday after the first week; his conversation with Daenerys on their patrol had not left his mind ever since then. He felt like a failure; he felt like he was a disgusting human. For someone who always championed the underdog, how did he not see the upset and pain he and many others had caused her? Even if her so called 'fire made blood' or whatever she said gives her the angry trait, the things he's done and said about her... It was a horrifying thing to think about.
It was a thought that hadn't left him all week. So much so that his first week back had been more eventful than he'd ever imagined. He'd had two arguments with Robb when he'd said some horrible things about Daenerys' temper. He'd tried to not say any of what she told him, but just that she was his Head girl now and he was trying to just move past the anger and her family line. It wasn't her fault, and Jon knew this now.
He'd even been sloppy in his lessons where he'd otherwise be attentive. Several teachers had asked if he was okay and he'd mumbled about having headaches to save face, rather than saying he couldn't stop thinking about how much of a jackass he is. Professor Mormont in Defence Against the Dark Arts had suggest he go to Madam Bones and get a pepperup potion but Jon could brew that himself and so politely turned him down.
So now sat at the Gryffindor table while he tried to eat some pancakes with bacon and golden syrup; he couldn't help but let his mind wander over to the platinum blonde haired girl two tables over, who too looked consumed in her own thoughts by something. Robb and Theon were talking amongst themselves about the tournament and how they hadn't seen anyone enter yet thanks to Daenerys outburst at dinner.
Jon had wondered if she'd meant to put people off so she could enter herself and take all the glory but that didn't seem likely. It was more like her, especially in recent light, to enter so no one else had too. She didn't seem to have many people in her corner these days. Her brother had become estranged from the family in favour of the Martells whose daughter he was marrying. This had been all over the prophet after he'd publically condemned his father several times. Her other brother was a ministry worker and her mother was 'unwell' according to the Longbottoms who live on the same road.
Jon sighed at himself. He'd thought of the tournament as a distraction and still his mind went to Daenerys. He just felt so guilty over the things he'd said. Why had he said them? He was not a horrible person, he'd never had horrible thoughts of anyone, except perhaps Lady Catelyn. And even then he did not blame her for thinking in the manner she does. He is a reminder of his father's infidelity and so he understood.
It didn't help being friends with two boys who were constantly causing mass panic wherever they went. He has been wrapped up in their pranks one too many times, not that it was an excuse. It wasn't. he'd said those things about her and there was nothing he could do to take them back. The only thing he could do, which he had been doing (besides beating himself up about it) was be as kind towards her on their Head duties as he could possibly be.
"You're doing it again" Robb sighed as he shoved egg into his mouth.
Brooding, Jon's favourite pastime. It wasn't his fault, he just had a lot on his mind. Robb and Theon's thoughts were not very complex if their conversations were anything to go by; they were usually talking about girls skirt lengths or the latest stuff in Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
But Jon, he often thought of his future, of his friendships and life back at the Stark House. He loved to organise his thoughts, catergorize them almost. But Daenerys, he couldn't do it. He couldn't put the thoughts away and get on with school. The guilt was too much for him. He'd never felt in any way, that he'd contribute in the way he had to someone's sorrow and hurt. It ate away at him; he couldn't imagine how she'd lived with it for as long as he and others had been spewing that bile.
"Sorry, just lost my train of thought" Jon mumbled as he ate some more of the breakfast in front of him. It was a few minutes of silence before the hall came to life again. It was mail day, the owls one by one swooped in and dropped parcels down by people's hands. Some narrowly missed the breakfast, others weren't so fortunate. Theon pulled his letter from his family out of the milk jug which he'd just opened and used a drinking charm in efforts to save it.
That was when Jon spotted Hodor, the large owl the family used to communicate with each other and saw as it dropped a letter by Sansa on the Ravenclaw table; Arya at the other end of this table and finally ones by him and Robb. This was going to be his father's response to the letter he sent on the first night. He was nervous. It was as he picked his up he saw the red envelop and writing on Robbs. Robb had got a howler.
Robb's face said it all; he was petrified. Everyone around him was shuffling away from him on the bench. He slowly peeled the wax seal open and dropped it on the table as a shout came out of it.
"ROBB STARK - HOW DARE YOU - I HAVE WANTED YOU TO SUCCEED WELL IN YOUR HOGWARTS CAREER LIKE YOUR FATHER AND YOU ROLL OVER AND LET HIM BE HEAD BOY INSTEAD-"
Jon felt his face flush as everyone turned to look at him, the angry Catelyn's voice echoing through the hall. Jon felt fury inside him; why did she hate him so much? Robb enver wanted to be Head boy, he was happy enough being a prefect (which was a surprise enough in of itself). Robb always stuck up for Jon though, so as he looked at Robb, he could see his eyes rolling.
"-FURIOUS! YOU ARE A GREAT WIZARD BUT YOUR LAZY ATTITUDE HAS COST THIS HOUSE IT'S REPUTATION - AND NOW IT'S HEAD BOY IS THE ONE PERSON WHO DOESN'T EVEN BELONG HERE-"
Arya was stabbing the table with her food knife as she listened to her mother's harsh words coming out of the howler. Even Sansa on the next table looked extremely confused. Jon was more so than anyone else. He dare not even open his own letter encase he got a harshly worded letter from his father. Why was he not allowed to be head boy? Why was he not allowed to make something of himself? It was not like ti was in the Stark name.
"-DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS UNTIL YOUR GRADES START REFLECTING THE HARD WORK YOU ARE GOING TO PUT IN - IF I GET ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE HEADMASTER THIS YEAR ABOUT ONE OF YOUR PRANKS GONE WRONG I WILL TAKE YOU OUT OF HOGWARTS AND TEACH YOU MYSELF! GOOD DAY!"
The letter ripped itself up and left a horrid silence on the air. Jon realised that he could never go back to the Stark House, only to pack up his stuff and leave - and that is what he would do. He would get a job in Diagon Alley until the Auror Programme started next september after the school year finished. He'd get a small flat to live in and he'd leave that woman behind.
Catelyn was nothing more than wrath and rage and as Jon thought on everything that had happened in the family over his father's infidelity, he found himself not caring about any of them more than ever. Arya and Robb and Sansa did not deserved to be talked to in such a way all because their mother couldn't act like adults.
Robb stared at the letter for a few more seconds as the pieces of red paper floated back onto the table. Jon did not know what he would do; but when a huge smile spread across his face he had to admit to himself he was surprised. And then, suddenly, Robb let out an ear splitting laugh; he was holding his sides and creasing up. Everyone else started to laugh then and suddenly it was infectious, even Jon was laughing.
He them remembered he had his own letter to open. Grabbing it in his left hand from next to the plate of toast; he peeled the seal open and began to read while Robb took the mickey out of his mother's voice with Theon.
Son,
Congratulations on the position of Head Boy; while others in this family are not happy, know that I am. You'll do great.
As for the tournament, yes I did know. All the safety precautions have been taken, and the security is double that of the last tournament; I had a hand in helping out with this myself. So there is nothing to fear from the tournament that will kill you.
If you wish to enter; you will be safe, you will not die. It would help in your application to the Auror training programme. You could also get a faster passing through their exams with more experience beneath your belt.
You will be Head of Magical Law Enforcement before you know it.
Love,
Your father.
Jon breathed a sigh of relief. His father, while not having said the word, was proud. That was enough for him. But he did say he'd had a hand in organising security for the tournament himself and that it was even more secure than the last tournament. That would mean everything was double checked, that nothing was a portkey or was under dark magic.
And it would help him out with his application to the Auror Training Programme; it was his ambition to be an Auror. He hadn't thought about being the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, but the fact his father believed he could be in that job role, he realised his father recognised the potential in him. That Jon could make something for himself besides being the 'secret' son of Eddard Stark, that he could be happy with his lot in life.
It was as if this letter made his mind up. He was going to do it; he was going to enter the tournament.
Ripping a corner of the letter off, he picked a quill and ink pot from his bag and placed it on the table. Opposite him; was Robb who grabbed the letter after seeing Jon rip the corner off. Jon saw him in his peripherals scanning the letter before slamming it on the table as Jon wrote his own name on the parchment. "No, Jon, don't you even dare!"
"I'm doing it" Jon shrugged, he leapt off of his seat and everyone around him realised what he was doing. There was a huge buzz around the place suddenly as everyone stood up and followed Jon as he walked down the hall towards the goblet at the end of the hall. There was an age line around it, it stood menacingly as if it could sense Jon's future. As if it knew he was going to enter and was enticing him.
"Jon, don't be a prat!" Arya shouted behind him. "You'll die!"
"Arya, I am the most equipped to enter this tournament! I have the best Defence scores the school has seen since Harry Potter, and he was in the tournament too. If not me then who? No one else feels confident enough to enter the tournament - but someone has too!" Jon argued as he turned to see the audience of around forty people stood behind him.
Then, the platinum blonde he'd been thinking about all week burst through the crowd, her face as angry as he'd ever seen it. Her eyes were showing concern, something he'd never seen from her before. At least not towards him anyway. "Jon Snow, don't you dare enter this tournament! I don't want to have to go through the rest of the school year with your dead body on my conscience, thank you very much!"
"Daenerys, I get your point of view I really do, it's just-"
"Oh Daenerys keep your webbed toes out of it, let him enter. It's be fun seeing a Stark die" Everyone turned to see Joffrey Baratheon smirking as he stood with his friends. Jon was furious all of a sudden. His hand clenched as Joffrey snickered. "Go on, enter!"
"Joffrey, go torment someone else before I deduct points from Slytherin" Daenerys snapped.
"Very touch today - I think she doesn't want you to enter, Jon. Perhaps she wants the glory for herself!" He snarled. Everyone else was silent as this exchanged happened. Jon ignored him, he folded up the piece of paper in his hand and stepped over the age line. Daenerys was livid and he could see it in her eyes. He turned away from her and put it in the goblet, watching as the colours changed momentarily before accepting the Jon's entry. He sighed in relief.
"You complete idiot!" Dany was enraged. "You're going to die!"
"I won't die - Do you know how much security they've got? How much screening all the objects and creatures have gone through that they'd be using?" Jon sighed as he stepped out of the age line. "I'm the best at defence - if I don't survive then the tournament is too dangerous for even seventh years"
"So you'd just willingly put your life on the line as a risk? Just so others don't have to enter?" She shouted in retort.
"It's what you would do - possibly make the choice to go it alone instead of risking your fellow students dying. At least, as Head boy it's the choice I've made. Would you not make the same choice?" He asked her honestly. Her eyes softened but her face was still harsh and icy. She broke eye contact and looked down at her feet momentarily.
"Yeah - I would" Daenerys understood him, they were finally getting somewhere in their relationship even if it was through arguments. Everyone around them was mumbling, Jon did not know if this was a good or bad thing but everyone seemed shocked.
"I think you're too scared to enter" Joffrey Baratheon walked towards Daenerys menacingly. Jon was getting ready to intervene.
"Of course I'm scared, only a fool wouldn't be" She narrowed her eyes on him and he stopped walking. Jon's stance relaxed a little. "But the glory in this tournament does not outweigh the risk involved. Even if I was going to enter so no one else had to"
Jon's eyes widened. "You was?"
"Yes, I was - but I guess it doesn't matter now because you're a stupid idiot, Jon Snow and now you're going to get yourself killed" She folded her arms as she stood defiantly.
"Do it" Joffrey laughed in a tone which reminded Jon a lot of Catelyn. That rage and storm behind her eyes he'd seen so many times. "Go on - enter" Joffrey was having fun and that annoyed Jon. His face became tense as he watched a familiar expression on daenerys face. Brooding, like what he did. She was weighing up the options. "Let your family be known for something else other thanks shagging each other!"
"Joffrey - that's enough!" Jon snapped. Daenerys glared at him, Jon could feel the anger flowing from her body.
"What's the matter, Daenerys? Are you a coward?" Joffrey ignored Jon's warning.
In a split second however - there was a loud bang and Joffrey was on the floor holding a bleeding nose while Daenerys walked back to her table. Jon had no idea how it'd happened but it had. And when he looked around he saw Arya grinning as she was holding something small in her hand - a trick gift from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. How had she got that? And whatever it was had caused Joffrey's nose bleed.
No one was paying him any attention however; they were all gasping as Daenerys was scribbling her name on a piece of parchment. Jon's eyes widened. She was really entering? Jon did not expect this. She stormed back over to where he was rooted on the spot.
"You're entering? What about the dying part?" Jon asked as she stepped over the age line and threw her name into the Goblet. Daenerys glared at the flames as it accepted her entry. "Daenerys?"
"My name is already mud on the bottoms of everyone's shoe -- It's time for House Targaryen to be restored to what it once was" That was all she said before storming back to her seat and grabbing her bag and making her way out of the hall, leaving Jon and the crowd in shock.
okay i haven't read the whole way through yet but. but. i am agonizing over what has lex done with the serum since he and clark broke up. we know now what led up to clark finding out and part of why lex did it and their break up but not what he's done since then with it. oh man
Thank you for reading!! Ok it’s hard to know exactly where you are and I don’t want to spoil anything
but I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to say you don’t have to worry about that serum. Lex was only really running these experiments with good intentions (though he spun it in a different way to drive Clark away) so once he saw that the serum wasn’t working, I imagine he stopped the experiments. Not because Clark asked him to but because the Lex in this story wouldn’t continue to do something he knew was only causing harm to people.
i hate that thing where youre just tryna like maneuver your crossed legs a bit more comfy and theyre properly like jammed together so you push real hard and then one just kinda slips loose and you just fucking kick the desk or the wall or something with all your might and get like a sharp corner right across your shins because oh boy does that fucking smart haha ima just pass out now kthx
