This year, we’re doing something different: Ship Week has a theme! This year’s theme is “The Love Languages”- out of the 7 days total, 5 have a Love Language, and the challenge is to incorporate that theme into your piece! Have fun creating!!
@hphm-fandom-events | Day 6 : Free Theme | Potions
Tonks x Tulip (+ “Selen “Moony” Moonstar” (OC)) | 2845 words
I know Ship Week is over, but I only had Day 6 left to write, and here it is (finally).
English is not my native language
6th Year
Being the subject of forbidden potion experiments was the most boring and annoying thing Tulip had done today!
About a month ago, Penny had announced at breakfast that she wanted to practice more potion-making (as if those extra hours in the cold dungeons with Snape weren't enough...) and Tulip had agreed to be the subject of the experiment, as if Penny had suggested a simple glass of pumpkin juice and not a potion that, if made incorrectly, could be potentially lethal.
There was something exhilarating about breaking the rules and flirting with the forbidden by experimenting with forbidden potions. At least, that's what Tulip had thought, but now, lying on the floor of the Room of Requirement, she didn't find it very exciting, or even fun.
Arms and legs spread like a starfish, a scowl on a face that wasn't even her own, Tulip stared at the ceiling and sighed.
When Penny had told her three days ago that the next potion to be tested was Polyjuice Potion, Tulip had been excited by the news, already thinking of all the pranks she could do, but of course, not everything that was funny from her point of view was necessarily funny to Penny, and since no one was supposed to know that the young Hufflepuff was brewing potions illegally, Tulip had been asked to stay locked in the Room of Requirement until the potion wore off. She should have known that agreeing to help Penny wouldn't be so much fun after all.
Penny should have stayed with her and kept her company, but of course, Snape had chosen that exact day to move one of his private lessons -which he reserved only for the best student - and Penny, after making sure the potion was working properly and there were no adverse effects, had no choice but to leave, leaving Tulip alone.
Having nothing better to do, Tulip had changed into clothes more suited to her new body shape. With a flick of her wand, she had repaired her own clothes, which had torn during the transformation. Selen, whose appearance she had taken on thanks to Polyjuice Potion, had a body so different from her own. Her back was broader, her hips more developed, and she also had more muscular arms and legs thanks to Quidditch.
It was strange to be in another body, the sensations were different. Perhaps taking on the appearance of someone I didn't know was easier, but taking on the appearance of a friend was a disconcerting experience.
After pacing the small room for five minutes, she dropped to the floor and stared at the ceiling. This was going to be the longest, most boring hour of her life! Seriously, what was the point of testing Polyjuice Potion if it meant staying indoors? All the pranks she could have pulled under the appearance of her prefect friend…
And, as if boredom weren't enough, Tulip was hungry and couldn't leave that room to go to the kitchens, because she'd promised Penny she wouldn't; no reckless trips, no wandering in the corridors, strictly forbidden to meet a professor or a ghost or anyone with authority in this castle.
All these rules were so ridiculous! The only reason she didn't want to break them was because she didn't want to hurt her friends... But she was really hungry…
What if she quietly left here and into an empty classroom where she could call a house-elf to bring her food? She'd dealt with the kitchen house-elves several times, and Kywin seemed to be the one who was particularly willing to help the students.
There was an empty classroom nearby, and very few students passed through the seventh-floor corridor, especially on a Saturday afternoon. If she was careful and hurried to the empty classroom, she could be back in the Room of Requirement as quickly as she'd left, and no one would notice she was gone. Penny would never know. Besides, she was too hungry to wait for the potion to wear off.
Tulip picked herself up from the floor, trying to adjust to her new temporary body. She adjusted her sweater (or rather, Selen's sweater), dusted off her skirt, pulled her knee-high socks up her thighs and, in an exasperated gesture, tossed her very long brown hair back. Her hair had never been this long, and one thing was certain: she would never have it this long! She scratched her arm and cursed when she scratched herself. Why did Selen have her nails trimmed like little claws? This hour of potion testing was really starting to get tiresome; she couldn't wait to get back to her own body, her own clothes, her hair shorter, and her nails that were not sharpened like weapons.
Stabilizing herself in her new body, Tulip quietly opened the door and looked both ways before stepping into the empty corridor. She silently made her way to the classroom a little further on, and just as she opened the door, someone pushed her inside. She was about to protest, but immediately recognized Tonks's floral and woody perfume. Her heart sped up in her chest, and not just from surprise.
“Thank Merlin! You're here!” Tonks said, slightly panicked, closing the door behind her.
“Uh, yes,” Tulip replied, taken aback.
Had Tonks realized it was her, or did she think she was talking to Selen? Perhaps she should warn her that she wasn't her Slytherin friend, clear up any misunderstandings before Tonks revealed anything potentially incriminating. Tulip opened her mouth to speak, but Tonks beat her to it.
“I know that as a prefect you don't want to know the details,” she began, pacing the room, “but right now I need to talk to my friend.”
“I'm listening,” Tulip replied, trying to act like Selen would.
Tonks hadn't realized she was talking to the wrong person, but judging by her agitation, her problem must have been a prank, not a secret confession. Tulip could handle the situation; she just had to listen and give her the occasional disapproving look. She'd been scolded enough times by the Slytherin Prefect to know exactly what to do.
“I've been thinking about it for days,” Tonks explained. “At first, I thought it wasn't that, that I was making a mistake. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it's not a mistake, I've just been lying to myself all this time. Do you understand?”
“Not really,” Tulip replied, giving her an incredulous look.
“I think I'm in love,” Tonks said, gesturing wildly with her hands.
Oh.
Something inside Tulip snapped. She'd realized her feelings for Tonks last year, but she hadn't wanted to tell her anything. She'd been waiting for the right moment. But now she realized there are never really right moments. There are just moments, and you just have to seize them before it's too late. And now it's too late.
Tonks continued to pace the room, unconscious to Tulip's mental agitation. Trying to compose herself, Tulip took a light inspiration and straightened up, as if it didn't really affect her, as if she didn't feel her heart aching and tears welling up in her eyes.
“What's the problem?” she asked, trying to control her voice.
“Tulip!” Tonks replied immediately, stopping to look her in the face.
“What?” Tulip gasped, her thoughts racing in all directions.
Had Tonks finally recognized her? Did Tonks think she was a problem? They were supposed to be best friends, if Tonks had a problem with her, she would have told her, right? And what kind of problem could she be to Tonks? Did Tonks know about her feelings? Did she think that was the problem? Did she think she couldn't be in a relationship because Tulip was in love with her and she didn't want to hurt her feelings? Did...
“Stay focused, a little!” Tonks growled, starting to pace the room again. “I think I'm in love with Tulip.”
What?
“What?”
“I think I'm in love with Tulip,” Tonks repeated in exasperation.
And oh ! how sweet the relief was. Tulip's heart raced in her chest, so powerful, so alive. It hurt, but in a good way. It felt good, this light feeling. A smile blossomed on her lips, and again she felt like crying, but this time it was with joy. She had to tell her! She couldn't let the opportunity slip away again. There's never a right time; it's the moment you choose that's right.
“No,” Tonks continued, “actually, I'm sure I'm in love with Tulip.”
“Me too!”
“What?” Tonks asked, stopping and staring at her. “You're in love with Tulip too?”
“No!” Tulip quickly replied, having spoken a little too quickly and now thinking fast to catch up with her mistake. “I'm sure you're in love with Tulip too.”
“Oh,” Tonks said, “well... for a moment, I thought we were going to be faced with a problem.”
“Would it be a problem if someone else had feelings for m-Tulip?” the Ravenclaw asked, smiling a little too much.
“Well, no,” Tonks replied, starting to pace the room again. “I mean, Tulip's free to go out with whoever she wants, or not to go out with anyone, but... that would be a problem for me. Well, not really a problem, because she doesn't owe me anything but…”
Tonks sped up her pacing, making grand gestures with her hands, and Tulip watched her lose herself in her explanation, smiling stupidly. Tonks was so adorable when she got tangled up in her own words.
“I don't know, okay?” she fumed, throwing her hands up in the air and stopping again. “I only just realized I'm in love with her. I don't want anyone else to be that in love with her. I want her all to myself, even though I don't even know if she wants me…”
“I'm sure she'd like to be with you,” Tulip affirmed, taking a step forward.
“How can you be so sure?” Tonks asked, shrugging. “Tulip and I get along really well, but I don't even know if she likes girls... I didn't even know I liked girls either. In fact, I don't even know if I like girls or if I just like Tulip…”
Tonks grumbled, running her hands over her face, then resumed pacing the room, muttering incomprehensible sentences.
Tulip tried to calm her frantic heartbeat. In the euphoria of the situation, she had almost forgotten that she looked like Selen; she couldn't declare her feelings to her now; it would make the situation very awkward. Trying to look casual, she leaned against one of the tables, crossed her right leg over her left, and then crossed her arms over her chest. Selen often did this when she was trying to concentrate on a situation. Tulip hoped she looked as relaxed as the Slytherin, even though it was hard to fight the smile that tried to force its way onto her face.
“And, uh, how did you figure that out?” she asked, cutting off Tonks's incomprehensible mumbling.
“Because of Penny and her stupid potions!” Tonks groaned, throwing her hands up in the air again. “She asked me to describe the smell of a potion. I thought she wanted help, but she just made me smell like Amortentia!”
Tulip pursed her lips to keep from smiling.
“And what did it smell like?” she couldn’t help asking.
“It smelled like cherry, patchouli, and a bit like Zonko’s.”
“And you think that’s Tulip’s?”
“Are you doing it on purpose?” Tonks mocked. “Tulip’s perfume smells of cherry and patchouli!”
“Have you noticed?” Tulip exclaimed with a big smile.
“Of course I noticed,” Tonks replied, staring at her. “Why are you smiling like that? You’re acting weird today.”
“Elixir to Induce Euphoria,” Tulip replied immediately, remembering that Selen had tested said potion two days earlier (because even though she was a prefect, she still liked to break the rules), “Penny’s stupid potions and all that.”
“Is that why you’re not wearing shoes?” Tonks asked, looking down at her feet.
Tulip looked down at her feet and noticed that, indeed, she was only wearing Selen's knee-high socks. Since she was supposed to stay locked in the Room of Requirement, she hadn't found it necessary to put on the boots and had completely forgotten she wasn't wearing them when she came out. Well, now that explained why the floor was colder and harder than usual.
“Yes,” replied Tulip, raising her head, “it allows for a better connection with the ground.”
“If you say so…”
Tonks pulled out a chair and sank down on it with a sigh, elbows on her knees and face in her hands.
“I don't know what to do,” she continued, looking up at Tulip with such a helpless face.
“Perhaps you could try... flirting with her?” Tulip suggested, trying not to blush at the suggestion.
“Flirting?” Tonks repeated. “Do I look like I know how to flirt?”
“Well, perhaps you could invite her on the next Hogsmeade trip?” Tulip offered, hoping Tonks wouldn't decide to take her to Madam Puddifoot.
“We're already going together,” Tonks replied, sitting up in her chair and tilting her head back to look at the ceiling, “and I don't really want to declare my feelings for her at Zonko's, between the Fanged Frisbees and the Nose-Biting Teacups.”
“Understandable,” agreed Tulip, who also didn't want Tonks to declare her feelings at Zonko's. The place was too conducive to pranks for that kind of declaration. “Would you like something more intimate?”
“Yeah. I'd like somewhere with a few people,” reflected Tonks. “It would be even better if there were no one there…”
“What about the Astronomy Tower?” suggested Tulip, her heart racing at the thought.
Whenever she imagined herself declaring her feelings to Tonks, it was always at the top of the Astronomy Tower. She always imagined a sky filled with twinkling stars, cool, pleasant weather, forcing them to cuddle up together. She imagined that after she had declared her feelings, they would kiss, lit by the moon high in the sky.
“Yeah,” Tonks replied after a moment's thought, raising her head to look at Tulip, “it's calm and peaceful…”
“And also very romantic,” added Tulip, feeling her cheeks flush.
Tonks nodded then stood up.
“I'm still terrified,” she admitted weakly.
“Why?” Tulip asked softly, pulling herself up onto the table to sit down.
“If I confess my feelings to her and she doesn't return them?” Tonks asked, starting to pace the room again. “She doesn't have to return them, of course, but... What if that ends our friendship? She's really important to me, you know, I don't want to lose her.”
“Oh!” Tulip said, letting her smile grow on her face as she looked at Tonks happily.
She felt her whole body radiate with pleasure.
“I know you're on Elixir to Induce Euphoria,” Tonks said, staring at her, “but what I'm saying is serious.”
“Yes, sorry,” Tulip corrected herself, having once again forgotten that she was still on Polyjuice Potion. “I understand it's terrifying, but if you don't tell her, you'll never know if your feelings are mutual. You know, sometimes you just have to stop wondering and seize the moment.”
“You're right!” Tonks agreed, stopping in front of her. “I love her, I really do, and I need her to know that. I'll go write her a note and arrange to meet her at the Astronomy Tower tonight! Thanks, Moony!”
Tonks gave her a quick hug and then headed for the door. Tulip thought quickly and… maybe she could give her that information, maybe it could ease Tonks's fears a little… She could do that…
“Tonks?”
“Yeah?” Tonks said, turning back to her, one hand on the doorknob.
“Tulip's Amortentia,” she said, trying not to look away from her beautiful eyes. “It has a floral and woody scent with a hint of vanilla.”
Tonks's huge smile lit up her whole face. She was so beautiful, so magnificent. She was perfect.
“Thank you, Moony,” Tonks said sincerely before leaving the room.
Tulip stared at the door, lost in thought, smiling stupidly. Tonks was the light of her life, and she wouldn't let any more opportunities pass her by. She needed Tonks to know how she felt, and tonight, at the top of the Astronomy Tower, she would tell her everything. She would confess all the love she felt for her, and it didn't matter if the sky wasn't filled with twinkling stars, it didn't matter if the moon tonight was just a crescent, it didn't matter if it didn't look like her dreams, it didn't matter if everything was different, as long as Tonks was there.
A strange sensation on her scalp brought her back to the present moment and she realized that the Polyjuice Potion was start to lose its effects
Tulip got down from the table, completely forgetting that she had come here in the first place because she was hungry, and quickly returned to the Room of Requirement before Penny returned.
Finally, this potions test wasn't so lame and boring.
This one took much longer than expected. It's not the one I'm most satisfied with, but I rewrote it so many times (I stopped counting after the 8th rewrite) that I'm going to leave it as is, otherwise I'd never post it.
If you're interested, the perfumes I decided to assign to Tulip and Tonks are these: Ma Cherry for Tulip and Nostalgia for Tonks.
Available on Ao3 in English and French
Dividers by @uzmacchiato
🩵🐺 Tessa/Chiara + some sister time, modern muggle au, 16 years old
@hphm-fandom-events
“I bet we won’t have school tomorrow,” Gracie says.
She’s probably right, Tessa thinks. They’re perched on the little window bench in their room - technically too small to fit them both, though they’ve never let that stop them - watching as the snow whirls around in the wind. The storm started just after they got home from school and has only picked up since; there’s at least half a foot on the ground already. It’s perfect timing. No school tomorrow would give them a long weekend and, even better, Tessa would have until Monday to study for the test she forgot about.
Gracie shivers, and Tessa leans closer, tucking the blanket tighter around them.
“You wouldn’t be so cold if you’d put on actual clothing,” Tessa says.
“This is clothing,” Gracie argues.
A tank top and sleep shorts are barely clothing compared to the oversized hoodie and long pajama pants that Tessa has bundled herself into, but arguing that will get her nowhere.
Her phone lights up on the windowsill. Gracie, knowing that there’s only one person who would be texting right now, gets a shit-eating grin on her face that Tessa firmly ignores as she snatches her phone up.
Chiara: Parents are in bed
Chiara: You awake?
Tessa’s heart flutters in her chest. God, they literally saw each other that afternoon; she shouldn’t be this excited to see her girlfriend again. They just so rarely get to see each other outside of school - Chiara’s parents are the helicopter type, never letting her out of their sight, and Tessa’s mother is very strict about dating. Sometimes, though, they’re both able to sneak out of their houses and meet up at the park in the middle of town. Getting caught would be disastrous, but luckily, Gracie is the world’s best sister and has never even threatened to tattle. Tessa would have to kill her if she did.
Tessa: Yeah
Tessa: 10 min?
Chiara: Omw 🩵
Gracie, who has apparently been reading the texts over her shoulder, coos dramatically at her. Tessa yanks the blanket away in retaliation, and her sister gasps as the cold air hits her exposed limbs.
“Give that back!”
“Put on some fucking clothes!”
“You’re leaving anyway, give it!”
Tessa does give the blanket back, because she is leaving, and she presses her ear to her mother’s door on the way by: silence, thank god. Sometimes her mother is up all night, staring off into nothing but still alert enough to hear when one of her daughters tries to sneak a midnight snack. Tonight doesn’t seem to be one of those nights.
At the front door Tessa shoves a coat on over her hoodie and debates pulling on her snow pants, but decides against it. She does, though, pull on her thickest boots and steals the flashlight from her mother’s jacket for the walk over. The front door creaks loudly as she opens it, but there’s no sounds from upstairs, so Tessa slips out into the cold without looking back.
The park isn’t very far. It feels miles away though, tonight, because it’s a damn blizzard and it’s freezing. Tessa half wishes she’d worn a hat, because her braids are probably a mess after being whipped around for six blocks. Her ears and nose feel like they’re going to fall off. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but no way she’s turning around now. Unless - ? She fumbles with half-numb fingers to get her phone unlocked. There’s no message from Chiara cancelling, thankfully, but there is a text from her sister.
Gracie: Am I waiting up?
Tessa: Don’t bother
Gracie: 👍🏻
The park has enough trees to block the wind somewhat, and Tessa flexes her jaw to let her ears pop in the quiet as she looks around for Chiara. They usually meet up by the playground, so that’s where Tessa's heading, but it seems like she got there first. She brushes the snow off of the nearest swing and sits, pushing herself back and forth gently. Chiara lives a little further away, so the wait isn’t unexpected, even if the anticipation is killing her.
She doesn’t have to wait long. Tessa is startled by cold hands pressing against her cheeks from behind, and she jumps off the swing to take in the sight of Chiara, red cheeked and giggling with snowflakes caught in her stunning silver hair, her blue eyes bright against the white and grey of the landscape around them.
“Hi,” Tessa says.
Chiara pushes past the swing to kiss her quickly before wrapping her into a hug, and Tessa sucks in a breath full of fruity perfume. Through the layers of clothing they’re both wearing it’s harder to feel Chiara’s arms against her, but Tessa just tightens her hold and pretends she can feels the warmth of Chiara's skin against her own.
“Hi,” Chiara finally says. “I missed you.”
“Missed you,” Tessa agrees, voice muffled where she has her face pressed into the fuzzy coat her girlfriend is wearing. She reluctantly pulls back so she can get a good look at Chiara all bundled up like this.
Gentle fingers push loose hair from Tessa’s face. “You have so much snow in your hair,” Chiara teases.
“So do you.”
“Bet I’m not as pretty as you.”
Tessa shakes her head. “Impossible.” She cups Chiara’s face in her hands and Chiara sighs into it, leaning closer as her eyes flutter shut.
“I’m going to ask if you can sleep over tomorrow,” she says, and Tessa’s heart skips a beat. “My parents still don’t know we’re dating, so it should be fine. Your mom doesn’t know, does she?”
“No.”
Even so, they’ve never spent much time at each other’s houses, worried that the uncontrollable happiness they’re always filled with around each other will get them caught. This is a new step for them, one that’s exciting but nerve-wracking all the same. Tessa runs her thumb across a high cheekbone. Chiara’s eyes open, as does her mouth, but whatever she means to say is lost as her gazes zeroes in on Tessa’s lips, and then they’re kissing properly.
Kissing Chiara is Tessa’s favorite thing in the world, and not even just for the way their lips move like they were made specifically to fit together. Chiara is clingy in every sense of the word (something that Tessa can’t get enough of) and when they kiss, it’s like she doesn’t realize what her hands are doing anymore. Her grip, wherever it is - currently Tessa’s waist - tightens until Tessa thinks there’s no force in the world that could ever drag them apart. It feels safe in a way that nothing in the world could ever compare to. Everything else fades away until nothing exists but Chiara and the way she holds onto Tessa like she’s the most precious thing she’s ever touched.
She’s not sure how much time passes while they kiss, but when Tessa finally pulls back to catch her breath, her vision has gone a little fuzzy at the edges. Chiara makes a soft noise of protest, trying to chase after her, but Tessa abruptly realizes how hard her girlfriend is shaking.
“Hey, you alright?” she asks.
“Cold,” Chiara admits. “Don’t care.”
Tessa rests their foreheads together. “I don’t want you to get sick.”
“Don’t care,” Chiara repeats.
“Can’t invite me over if you’re sick,” Tessa reasons, and Chiara huffs, but the logic seems to sway her.
Unable to help it, Tessa allows herself one more soft kiss before she takes a step back, out of Chiara’s grip. She feels the loss like the loss of a limb, but -
“Tomorrow?”
Chiara nods firmly. “Tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Tessa says. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Precious.”
God, Tessa just wants to fall back into Chiara’s arms, but she can’t and she knows it. Tomorrow, she tells herself. They’ll stay a respectable distance away all through dinner, and Chiara will roll out a sleeping bag for appearances, but once her parents are in bed Tessa will climb under the covers and they’ll hold each other close until they fall asleep and wake up the next morning even more tangled together.
The walk home seems infinitely longer than the walk over. The blasted front door creaks again, and Tessa realizes she didn’t think through having a wet coat and boots. She shoves them into the closet anyway. It’ll probably be fine; her mother isn’t the most observant woman in the mornings.
Despite Tessa telling her not to, it’s obvious Gracie waited for her and only just went to bed when she heard Tessa come in. She’s lying too neatly in her bed to actually be asleep.
“I’m going to ask to stay over at hers tomorrow,” Tessa whispers, climbing into her own bed.
Just as suspected, Gracie sits up. “That’s kinda risky, isn’t it?”
Tessa shrugs. It is. “Worth it.”
“You love her,” Gracie says. It’s not an accusation, but it feels like one anyway.
“I do,” Tessa admits. She’s known it for a while, and she knows Chiara loves her too, but the moment is just never right. She imagines, for a moment, if she’d said it tonight, out in the snow. Imagines Chiara’s face lighting up, imagines being pressed against the pole of the swings as Chiara ravages her mouth. She doesn’t bother to imagine Chiara saying it back. Tessa knows that nothing her mind can come up with will compare.
“Damn,” Gracie says, and Tessa flushes at being caught daydreaming. Thankfully, Gracie doesn’t mention it, only continues with, “So will you both wear dresses?”
Tessa blinks, confused. “What?”
“You know, at your wedding.”
Face likely bright red, Tessa hurls a pillow at her laughing sister.
Featuring my bff’s mc holding my bff and I’s beloved late boy, Drago, and Barnaby holding my beloved late boy, Loki (brownish one around his neck). They shall forever live on in my art ❤️
