#i. threads.

[watertorum]

             his fingers tap lightly against the desk     ,     wand just out of reach.     he’s going to get dean back for this     ,     betting that he couldn’t go an hour without touching his wand or blowing something up.     of course     ,     if he wasn’t such a prideful prat to begin with     ,     he never would’ve accepted the bet.     “     i’ll pay you to fling a couple of hexes at dean for me.     thinks he’s funny.     little shit.     “          /          @screamsofthemuses

[cruelety-a]

“    what’re using your money for?   you seem like the type to pay for sex.   bet that’s the only way you get laid,   isn’t it?   ”    /     @invalor  for griff.

[despisesboys-blog]

❛     ------------------   ranma’s      NOT      here .     ❜

@zinchao          ♡ .

[misericors]

As Harry made his way to the infirmary - more a second home than ever, now he was visiting his children as often as he could - he caught a flicker in the air from the corner of his eyes. Almost impossible to see, but something was just off. The precise effect Harry was used to observing when someone was using a Disillusionment Charm. He felt a smile rise irrepressibly on his lips, before he even knew it. For the first time in days, it reached past his mouth, a real, true happiness he felt in his chest. It was so like Lily, her inextinguishable spirit, and it was such a relief to see it, inextinguishable. The imprisonment had not destroyed her, it had not taken her. She was here, she was alive, and that was enough for Harry. That was hope restored. From the simple fact of her life, he could borrow all the strength that he needed. "You know," he began, scarcely concealing his amusement in favour of a serious expression as Harry spoke aloud as if to himself. "If there was someone invisible in the room, perhaps sneaking out from a stay at the infirmary which they have been well-advised to stick to, that would be very serious. As the leader of the Order, and, perhaps, as the person in question's father, I'd certainly have something to say about it. I'd say... I have something much better for that." With that, he pulled on the fabric in his pocket, the Invisibility Cloak close to hand, and threw it in the direction of the person who every instinct knew to be Lily. It was, perhaps, slightly irresponsible of him, but last he'd heard, she was all better, and Harry was no stranger to the desire to be out, active, doing something. Nothing drove him mad like an enforced stay in a hospital bed. Lily was like him in that. Too like him, Harry thought ruefully, and yet,the relief, utter and total, that had not left him since they had brought her home, was still with him. It had been a torture like no other, imagining Lily in the hands of his worst enemies. Knowing that she was his heart, his weakness, that they would use it, would destroy him in the worst possible way. They had been dark days, despair like none he had ever known. By contrast, Harry's eyes were now fond and indulgent, in this moment - as was not ever entirely unusual with Lily, his youngest child - he would have denied her nothing. @boggart

[misericors]

Harry sat, in the safehouse's office that he had claimed as his own, shoulders bowed, head clasped in his hands. Xue was dead. The thought was painful in itself, even before he thought of Neville and Hannah grieving an impossible grief - one that should have, perhaps, been Harry's own. Almost been his own, though he had assured himself now of Albus' wellbeing. It took a strength Harry didn't believe he had to lift his head back up again. His eyes fell to the framed photograph on one side of his desk. His father's bright and laughing face looked up at him, entirely insensate of the defeat that weighed Harry down, the heaviness that filled every limb. It felt like looking at a stranger. It had been years since anyone had told Harry he looked like his father. Harry didn't know if that was because he was now older than his father had ever gotten to be, or because there was no one left living who remembered James Potter. The first James Potter, that was. Harry's eyes moved from his father's smiling face to his own James in the frame next to him. He looked just as youthfully invincible, full of light. The starkest contrast to Harry's state of numbness, the hopelessness he felt sinking in. James' face in the frame was so terribly young. The living ghost of his grandfather, in the way Harry could no longer be. Something about it felt prophetic. Harry shuddered, and took out his quill, sent the memo flying off to find James. Its magic would have more luck than Harry had in doing so, or so he hoped. He could hardly have failed to notice that, ever since Malfoy Manor, James was seemingly anywhere Harry was not. James, this is an official summons. My office, now. Perhaps a part of Harry had been glad James had been so difficult to find. He had not wanted to say something he would regret. Yet this meeting had waited long enough. It was time to talk. @valians

[misericors]

battle thread: harry, albus, lily & james

Harry: It was going to be a bloodbath, he realized, eyes swarming around the battlefield, looking desperately for the faces he needed to see. Needed to get to. Albus was still with him, fighting as a pair, but Harry hadn’t seen James. The thought that he could be alive or dead, that James could have died without him, needing him, afraid and calling for him… Harry took out the emotion that struck him with a savage Confringo aimed at the head of his opponent, watched him fall with grim satisfaction. His battle-weary eyes caught a flash of red hair, surrounded by dark cloaks. Lily. Cornered, maybe, but not defeated. Harry could see the fight in her eyes. That was his daughter. His heart leapt, exultant, crying out alive alive alive, but fear crept back in quickly: Lily was wandless and alone against them.

There was no time to do more than act on impulse. Harry cast a non-verbal disarming charm, watched the Death Eater’s wand fly out of his hands. He gripped his own wand tightly for a second, and then threw it through the air towards Lily. Better that she was protected, armed. Harry would die for that if he needed to. But not today. Not if he could help it. His children were here. They needed him. And the Death Eater’s wand was unclaimed still. It was that simple. “Al - get to Lily!” Harry called over his shoulder, though if he could be heard over the noise of battle, he had no idea. There was no time for more, he was after the wand, a desperate grapple to grasp onto it, ensure the allegiance had transferred to him. Harry hit the ground hard, but recovered quickly, adrenaline pumping, the heady rush that told him he was still alive, still fighting. A familiar friend after all these years, one some part of him craved. He felt the Death Eater’s hands close around his neck, strangling him. Harry punched him back, furiously fast, hot blood rushing to his head as they wrestled for the wand. From the outside he imagined it would be impossible to tell who was winning. What was obvious was that whoever lost would be dead.

Albus ( @firstlvght ): there’s always been an image of his father in the field that albus has always thought of, one where his father is different from his dad, a soft yet stern man. but as soon as harry makes the first move against a death eater, not holding back to save his family, albus gets a boost of confidence as he’s walking into the mess. harry doesn’t have to tell him twice to go to his sister, and he’s already walking towards her before his dad even finishes the statement. he hopes that james is somewhere safe and is with their mom because he hasn’t seen them, but al doesn’t have the time to dwell on the what ifs. instead, he raises his wand towards the other death eaters, casting a silent spell that hits two of them, sending them into one of the walls. albus doesn’t think much of it, tapping into a side of him that he’s always been afraid is there, underneath all the reservations and worries, the side that makes him worse than the rest of his family. the death eaters are the only ones standing in the way of him and his family, and he’s not going to let them stand in his way.

al makes his way to his sister, the familiar red hair giving him hope as he makes his way over to her, but he stumbles for just a second, making the wrong decision to look back at his father fighting with another death eater. his wand is at the ready to throw another curse towards them, but they move too much for albus to know the spell wouldn’t hit his father instead. a wave of guilt rushes over him, but he knows his father will be able to get himself out of the situation, to win, and once he’s with lily, it’d be all three of them against everyone else. he turns, taking the few steps to his sister. “lily,” he calls out breathlessly, his voice gravelly from all the shouting from the night. he’s in front of her, hands already reaching out to hold her, evidence that she’s real in front of him. “lils, let’s get you out of here.”

Lily ( @boggart ): with years of building her dexterity and speed as a chaser on the gryffindor quidditch team, lily seizes the mahogany wand with relative ease, her small digits tightly wrapping around the auburn wood in a death grip. her only lifeline as she stands in the belly of the beast, red hair matted with blood and body bruised but not unbowed — not yet. kinetic energy surges through her body as she shifts the sprig in her hands, heaving a light sigh of relief as she feels it quickly accept her as its new owner. a wand passed down from a loving, stalwart father to his too-similar daughter, legacy held within the lithe rod, and it emboldens her with the vigor she needs to cast a potent blasting charm at the remaining death eaters surrounding her and her brother, sending them hurling towards another wall. there's something so revitalizing — electrifying even — about regaining control of her magic, and she feels almost as though she is a scarlet phoenix molted anew, emerging from the flames and ashes and smoke, now standing strong and true. her family's here — her family has come, come for her, just as she'd known they would, and together, they could withstand anything.

"al," she breathes, throat far raspier than usual from weeks of captivity. "you came." lily's hands clasp around his but she does not hug him fully, as much as she yearns to do so — she can't, not yet, not when they're still in the thick of things, but she promises herself that she will. later. "wait — not yet — we have to help dad first —" she proclaims, refusing to leave her father behind to fend for himself. she tears herself away from her brother to start charging towards her dad, heart in her throat as she sends an "expulso!" towards the death eater wrestling him.

James ( @valians ): the   eldest   potter   feels   the   sting   of   the   hex   tearing   into   his   back,       the   pain   but   a   searing   familiarity   in   the   midst   of   the   ails   that   have   started   to   weigh   down   his   mind       …       despite    it   all,    nothing   is   going   to   come   come   in   between   him   finding   his   family.       the   searing   cut   across   the   flesh   of   his   back   is   sharpens   his   senses   into   a   fierce   determination,       grounding   him   in   the   brutal   reality   of   the   fight.       he   sprints   through   the   chaos,       the   cacophony   of   spells   and   shouts   ringing   in   his   ears.   each   step   is   agony,       but   this   is   where   he   belongs       —       in   the   heart   of   the   storm,       fighting   alongside   his   family.       his   eyes   lock   onto   lily   as   soon   as   he   catches   sight   of   a   familiar   head   of   flaming   red,       fierce   and   unyielding   despite   the   weeks   she's   spent   under   a   gilded   cage.       "       lils    !       "       he   yells,       pushing   through   the   throngs   of   masked   faces   and   is   by   her   side   in   an   instant,       just   as   she   sends   an   expulso   that   knocks   a   death   eater   off   his   feet.       james   grips   his   wand   tighter,       feeling   the   familiar   weight   in   his   hand.        "       pretty   shit   family   reunion   if   you   ask   me   but    …       glad   to   have   you   back,       loser,       "       he   flashed   lily   a   small   smile   and   turned   his   back   away   from   everyone,       hoping   that   no   one   would   notice   the   blossoming   red   spreading   across   cotton.       he   spots   a   death   eater   lunging   towards   them   and   instinctively   fires   a   stunning   spell.       "       stupefy       !       "        the   figure   crumbles   to   the ground,       satisfaction   that   spreads   across   his   lips   is   evident.        “       lils,        al,       cover   dad.        i'll   take   point,       ”       james   gaze   meets   his   younger   brother's   for   a   moment   and   nodded,       reminding   him   of   the   promise   they   made   to   each   other   just   a   few   days   prior.       they   were   almost   surrounded   when   he   reacts   quickly,        "       incarcerous       —       "       thick   ropes   spring   from   his   wand,       binding   a   number   of   death   eaters   that   made   their   way   to   corner   them.

Harry: They were both lunging for the wand, but it was Harry’s Seeker reflexes that took it, Harry’s finely tuned survival instincts that in the same breath slammed the man’s head into the ground. It was vicious, blood spraying onto Harry’s face, and he could tell another the same would be enough to finish him off. They’d taken Lily - Ron - his family. All his life they’d taken from him, everyone, everyone that Harry had loved, everyone he would ever love, and he knew, it would be James next, it would be Albus, it would be Lily, if Harry ever let up for a second, if he stopped, if he forgot what they were, if he forgot who he was. They would never stop, not any of them, not this one here, at his mercy. There could be no mercy, not for what he would have done to Lily. Harry’s hand tensed, ready to do it, rage still in his eyes - anger drove him more than he cared to admit, and Harry felt it now, pulsing through him, enough that he could have finished the Death Eater like this, bare hands only. But then he heard them behind him, Lily and Albus, joined now by James’ voice, it halted him. The three of them together, they sounded so young. So ready to stand up, to fight, to protect him. He’d never wanted this life for them. And he’d never wanted them to see him like this, like what he was now. Blood on his hands, death all over him. Voldemort had won, anyone could see that, he’d beaten Harry time and again; what a joke the prophecy was. Some saviour. But Harry didn’t have to be like him. He was a killer, there was no undoing that, but - not like this. The wand was discordant in his hand, an ugly and unwilling fit, but he could feel it would work for him. Harry slashed it forwards, stopping the Death Eater’s heart with a silent curse. A clean, painless death.

He pushed himself up, ready to fight again, whatever it took, to the end of it, but paused, seeing the Incarcerous binding. He calculated; James’ work would give them seconds, at least. Precious seconds. Eyes drinking Lily in desperately, whole and alive, Harry’s hand reached out once to brush across her hair, lingering for only a second, before his gaze flickered over to Albus and James, taking them in, checking for injuries. The blood trickling down his face was the price he’d pay over and over, for them. “You’ve done so well. You should never have come, but - I’m proud.” He could look at them forever, and it wouldn’t be enough. And too dangerous, now, here. Even this moment had been a risk, his heart defeating his head once more. “But get out, now! All of you, together! Go out past the wards and apparate there. Protect each other. I’ll be right behind you, I swear.” His voice was tender but fierce, an order.

Albus: they’re all safe. they made it through hell, and he knows he shouldn’t be calling it so soon, but they are together. nothing could happen now because he knows that they’ll take care of each other. al tries to ignore the feeling of shock as he looks at them all, all worse for wear and bloodied. if their return to safety wasn’t so close, it would ignite a spark for vengeance that he has never once truly experienced before. but instead, al finds himself smiling slightly at the words of praise from his father. there would be time to retaliate, but that’s something the order members will have to address once everyone gets home safe. as they start to make their way out, albus goes quiet once again, no longer needing to be to make a split decision. his siblings are there, and while he’s still watching his sister to make sure that she doesn’t have any major injuries, he knows they’re the two bigger fighters, most like their parents when it comes to combat. his wand is still at the ready, but he depends more on james than anything, occupied with staying behind him and lily, trailing close to his father. he’s grown up with the stories of what his father has had to go through, but seeing it happen makes albus want to hold onto him, to ensure that he returns home for his siblings, his mom. if he and his brother are anything like his father, he knows the promise of being the end of their line is one that he’ll abandon the second he sees trouble for any of them.

albus turns around to face his dad, just in time to catch another death eater approaching them. he doesn’t hesitate as he uses a curse against them, a loud “stupefy!” the volume shocks him, revealing the fears he’s had since he and james left for the manor, worrying that something would happen to his family when he could have stopped it. there’s a collison with the wall again, and he hopes that for once, they could get a break just so they could return home. like a little kid, like he once did in the small moments of happiness they had growing up, albus reaches for his father’s hand, pulling him closer to them. “you’re staying with us,” and while there was still some fear evident in his tone, it comes out more even, more confident than he would have thought. “we’re all getting out of here at the same time.”

[misericors]

battle thread: harry & neville

Harry: there's no retreat, but it's the last thing on harry's mind at the moment, curses flying from his wand as he fights towards the thick of the battle. senses are different in battle, sight and sound less reliable when the whole world is on fire, but he falls into a rhythm with the fighter beside him, one he recognises almost instantly. it's been years of fighting side by side, falling into step, covering each other without thinking. there's a brief flicker of hope in his eyes when they rest on neville's, the first flame of it that harry's felt in days. the relief on seeing him, alive, floods over him. but there's no time to talk, to debrief. except - voice hoarse, harry takes the moment he shouldn't. he has to know. "lily," he asks. "is she-" alive. he can't finish the question, can't bear to hear what the answer is.

Neville ( @ichorled ):it all happens so fast . one moment, he’s enduring his solitude as best he can, attempting to keep track of the moments, the long beats of silence, the murmurs, the threats, just to keep himself upright and sane in his confinement . and then he hears screams and curses over the dampened music from above-ground, hopeful movements that cause him to spring to his feet in preparedness for the battle to come . the gates open, and he takes the unexpected chance to jump in and join the races, not fearing the carnage ahead of him . there’s no time for dread .

and then he’s back . teetering from being in a holding cell underground, but grounded enough to keep up . to react to the string of curses coming from all directions . to fall back in line beside his friend, his leader, never doubting for a moment that he’d come to liberate them . a thankful nod is all he can muster as the soldiers move in time, like no time her circumstance has kept them apart . remorse colours his features as he shakes his head, a tragic unknown . kept apart, in isolation from one another, neville’s had no contact, and has obtained no information regarding the other captives . but “ we’ll find her . ” he nods, assuring his friend . a promise . “ i have your back .

Harry: “We lost Kingsley,” Harry reported quickly, while ducking wandfire. There was a battlefield detachment in the words that was entirely at odds with the aching grief that he felt, but now was not the time, darting around curses, flashes of green light that came close enough to hitting him that he felt the heat rushing past his skin, an unpleasant but not wholly unfamiliar sensation, touching this close to death. The fight went on, and he didn't doubt Neville' s word. There was no one Harry would be quicker to trust with his life. Focusing his attention on the fighter to his left, he was reckless, careless with defending his flank - he could be - Neville was there.

“No,” Harry said grimly, heart solidifying inside him, striking out with a blasting charm that splintered the Death Eater's wands into shards. Lily, still lost. He slashed again and the shards rearranged themselves into bullets, hit their mark, took him down. “We have to find him.” That, after all, was what all of this was about. Nothing had changed, not since he was fifteen and foolish, rushing right into the trap Voldemort had set, Sirius the only thing his desperate, frightened mind could think of. Harry may have since learnt to close his mind, but his heart had long been vulnerable, laid bare, and Lily owned all of it. Voldemort knew that, and he would use it. It had been years since Harry had faced him directly, and for good reason. The horcruxes made any victory only temporary, any cost sure to be high, but Harry was past caring about that right now. For once, he didn't want to defeat Voldemort. He wanted to make him pay. His eyes turned to plead with Neville urgently, “He’s here. I know him. I know he’ll be here. I know what he wants. Me for her. It's the only way, Neville - you and me, we take this to him.”

Neville: there’s no time to mourn, but his heart does stumble at the account . after the battle, there can be a tribute to the leader . to the last living member of the original order of the phoenix . the last living touchstone to the memories of both of their parents . later, the pair of them might take on the toll of that death . but for the moment, he takes it in stride, as encouragement to move forward despite the sweat rolling down his next . despite the exhaustion he feels . he tells himself that he can feel all of it later .

no . neville shoots his friend a questioning look, then understanding, then a fervent denial . it’s not the time . “ harry, that’s not — ” he counters over the curses, catching his breath, blocking curse after curse . he might be tired, but he’s unwavering . “ it’s not possible . get everyone out, now, and we may just leave here with a fighting chance . we find lily, and you leave . ”

Harry: In another time, another place, he would no doubt recognize the wisdom of Neville’s words. Even right now, the part of him that still clung onto reason did so. It just felt out of reach, in the face of his anger. What was more grounding was the realization that Neville had spent weeks in captivity.

Few others would be able to see it as Harry did, the exhaustion in his frame. Still he did not let up, and Harry matched him, jinx for jinx, now with more concern, more care. He fought well as ever - but how long could he keep out? Harry wouldn’t risk him. “You’re right,” Harry said slowly. He conjured an expansive shield charm, wielding it outwards like a weapon, defensive magic turned offensive with just the force of his will. It would give them seconds, Harry turning slightly, words hushed and fast. “But there’s a lot of ground to cover. We should split up. You start the retreat, the wards are blocking us here, we need to get out past them to get our people out. Go home, Neville.” They needed him there. Harry needed him there. He couldn't fight this war without him. He locked eyes with his friend. "That's an order."

Meanwhile, what he didn't say, was that Harry would go into the heart of the fray, searching for Lily. And anyone else who happened to be there.

[misericors]

It was a strange feeling to be back in the Forest of Dean, isolated, quiet, unknown, as it was. Safe. Yet he also felt lingering a kind of haunting, as if something of the seventeen year old he had been still remained. Harry had thought he'd known despair, hopelessness, then. How foolish he had been, how little he'd foreseen. This meeting, for one. Harry once would have thought he would die before it would ever come about. He pressed the cool metal of the snitch in his hand to his lips, more a habit now, to reveal the writing in Dumbledore's slanted hand. I open at the close. Harry didn't know why he still read it, over and over. It was just another task he'd failed at, another part of the quest he had failed to understand. He dropped it back to his side, hand tightening around it, closing his eyes, and using the snitch for its newer purpose instead. Malfoy, he thought, now. The word would engrave itself on the spell-connected snitch in Malfoy's possession, its flesh memory ensuring no one else's touch would ever see it. Then, the snitch would guide Malfoy here, to where Harry was, a clever charm Harry had harvested from Ron's now old and defective Deluminator. There was always the possibilty that one day Malfoy wouldn't show up, especially now, after the masquerade, the hostages. Harry had imagined it, Malfoy caught, tortured, dead. His old enemy's sneering eyes blank and vacant, closed forever. What would it feel like, he wondered, to have Draco Malfoy's death on his conscience? Would it keep him up at night, as so many others had? He didn't know the answer, and the sound of an Apparition cut through his thoughts anyway. Harry's mouth moved to curve around an instinctual, half-resentful, Malfoy, before switching it out just before to something approaching civility. "Draco. Glad to see you're still alive." There was a hint of wry humour to it; after all, Draco wouldn’t be much use to him dead. But - Harry was grateful. He owed Draco - everything. @ichorled