in finland valentine's day is translated to "friend's day" so i decided to celebrate some of the friendships i've created instead of making couple edits this year.
brooke killingbeck & darby rosen @fischerfrey | the five club story
one of our few platonic friendships. i don't think any other friendship makes me as emotional as these two do.
scott morris & jude(?) cozens @unfortunate-arrow | next gen
we haven't planned their friendship as much as i've spent with some of the others on this list, but they're just so best friend coded that i wanted to include them.
samara vespertine & petra maythorn @cursebreakerfarrier | marauders era
i decided to focus on the school years cause they're just so cool. very good decision from us to make them be friends in ilvermorny.
hypatia hattie" page & jacqueline "jac" shelby @kathrynalicemc | riddle era
absolute queens! co-pilots, icons.
alexej kavinsky & lunas avery @cursed-herbalist | ww1 verse
couldn't make this post without these two.
elian goldcrest & primrose gray @endlessly-cursed | victorian era
one of my most developed friendships in this fandom. i always enjoy making content for them.
OT4 + HOTD AU? Who's team green and who's team black? What house are they in? Are they active in the dance or keep a safe distance? How would they personalities change? 👀
the ot4: house of the dragon au
this kind of spiraled out of control and would obviously need a shitton of work to smooth everything out but here's what i (and annie) put together quickly. a lot is inspired by the book and show but a lot had to be changed around to make this work. also the hp canon titles and social statuses are waaay different in this one.
“then the storm broke, and the dragons danced.”
when king aegar I targaryen names his second son his heir instead of his eldest, the seeds of civil war are sown. aegar's choice is heavily influenced by a prophecy passed down in his family since the days of old valyria, and all signs point to his younger son being the prince that was promised. or so aegar believes...
prince elyan grew up as the prince of dragonstone, destined to one day rule over westeros. but his father deemed him too rash, too unpredictable to ever sit the iron throne, so he named elyan's little brother theodric as his heir on his sixteenth nameday. theo has no taste for ruling but he wanted to make his father happy so he obliged. when king aegar dies only a few short months later, the realm is torn asunder. many lords and ladies still deem elyan the rightful heir, while some, such as the hightowers, lannisters, and baratheons support theodric's claim (maybe because they respect aegar, maybe because they think theo will be easier to control than his brother...)
elyan is a formidable warrior and commands the loyalty of many, especially men of the city watch in king's landing, whom he personally oversaw for a time. he's charismatic and politically savvy but also vicious and cruel, often jumping headfirst into danger. theo, on the other hand, is studious and prefers to keep to himself. his father believes him to be the one of whom the prophecy spoke of and it could be argued that he has a calmer demeanor than his brother, but in truth, theodric can be just as fearsome and unpredictable.
henry hightower grew up in king's landing, where his father thomas served as the hand of the king for both king elyris I targaryen, and king aegar I targaryen. he's not a renowned warrior and prefers books to swords. he loves riding though, and is an exceptional horseman. when war erupts, henry ends up on the opposing side to elyan, with whom he has been in love with for years. he has to choose between duty and love as he finds himself increasingly friendless in the city he once called home.
malcolm stark is the new lord of winterfell after the sudden death of his father. though he is young, he's determined to look after his people as winter approaches. in the middle of preparations, king aegar dies and war starts brewing in the south. malcolm's father alexander once swore an oath of loyalty to king aegar and his then-heir, prince elyan but now the succession has been changed. malcolm must decide whether to march his men south to defend prince elyan's rightful claim or to stay in the north and face the oncoming winter.
lady primrose baratheon is the only surviving child of lord vincent gray and lady victoria baratheon. she stands to inherit her mother's claim to storm's end but lady victoria's claim was contested on many fronts already, and she only held onto it because she was already married and with child at the time of her brother's death. the lords of the stormlands were hoping she would have a son and put such foolish things as women inheriting storm's end to rest. when, despite years of effort, primrose remained the only living child of her parents, tensions in the stormlands started to brew again. prim's position is precarious and now she has a war to navigate. house baratheon is sworn to defend king theodric but elyan is one of primrose's oldest friends. when her mother dies a few weeks into the war, primrose technically has the power to shift her house's allegiance, but can she convince her lords to follow her lead?
"we are as the gods made us. strong and weak, good and bad, cruel and kind, heroic and selfish. know that if you would rule over the kingdom of men."
elyan, theo, henry, and prim all spent a considerable amount of time together in king's landing
there would definitely be pressure from the councils of both sides to put the other to sword so the war doesn't rear its head again but do the brothers actually want to kill each other?
elyan and henry are gay and in love and take romantic flights on dragonback over the crownlands until the war tears them apart :( the whole affair was doomed from the start but now it's EXTRA doomed
eventually malcolm and prim join the war and meet and fall in love BUT there's a huge issue because primrose has to marry some suitable minor lord from the stormlands (who preferrably has older brothers so he doesn't have the pressure of carrying on the family name) and not the frigging lord of winterfell, warden of the north!!! her liege lords don't want some stark bossing them around. if the two manage to make it work and get married then who's gonna inherit storm's end? who's gonna inherit winterfell? we just won't know...
estelle is The Stark At Winterfell while mal is off to war
lots more dragons would be involved than what is mentioned here. theo has a dragon called scrambles called something metal like bloodfyre i'm sure
the other houses like the velaryons and the lannisters would also be involved heavily but i decided to not go as far as to start assigning other characters or i'd never be able to get this out lol
although the slytherins might be velaryons in this, so kerina is a velaryon, and the current lord of driftmark is either kerina's dad or brother
i have no idea who would eventually win although the odds are stacked against theo pretty hard at the minute, poor guy...
feel free to offer your thoughts!🐉⚔
this isn't like a simple elian = rhaenyra (obvs he's more like daemon anyway), theo = aegon II, henry = alicent etc thing. while some characters do fill the roles of actual characters from hotd, it isn't exactly a working comparison. that being said, i love the ottohightowerification of thomas of alderly.
Weekend With The Grays 2023 Day 2 Prompt - Welcome Ball III
Once again, thanks, @endlessly-cursed for a fantastic event! Prim belongs to her. I also have mentions of Malcolm by @gaygryffindorgal and Roxie by @mjs-oc-corner, who also owns Bella, Danny's ship partner. This short piece of content reveals a brief fashion emergency the couple has before the third Welcome Ball that becomes a funny story for later.
On the day before the Welcome Ball, Danny and Bella spent the hour before the 6 PM deadline re-exploring the spacious expanse of Winbourne. They found their usual guest room in the course of that. An attendant had been there to receive Danny's broom and the couple's rucksacks when they first landed down near the gates. Their belongings were left where they'd be staying during the solstice celebrations.
Warm laughter and mingling took place that night and the morning before the ball. Friends took the time to catch up with each other and reminisce about the passing year. One friend in particular Danny and Bella hung out with was Roxie, a fellow auror-in-training of his. It was in part due to Roxie’s camaraderie and friendship that made the intense regimen a small part easier for her and Danny. She was best friends with him and even helped foster his romantic relationship with Bella. The former Ravenclaws were like siblings and were inseparable in their bond.
However, a small rush of panic took place for Danny and Bella before the ball. The necklace for her dress was missing before Lady Primrose and Lord Malcolm were to assemble everyone together in the hall.
She realized she had forgotten her necklace. Bella felt around for it and wasn't wearing it.
“Where did my necklace go, love? I had it when I showed it to Prim a few minutes ago.”
“I mean, we can wait until after the ball to find it.” offered Danny.
Bella immediately started for the small seating area where they chatted with Prim. It was adjacent to the dance floor. “Not that, I'd rather have it now so I don't have to worry later.”
He caught up to her. “Relax.” He checked his pocket watch. “Still five minutes until the ball starts. Let's relax, not get hasty. Can you remember where we sat.”
Bella took a deep breath. Alright, okay. Prim… was in the armchair there. We were on the sofa to the left.” Danny pointed to it. “So that's where you think the necklace should be?”
“Yes.” confirmed Bella. “I know Prim couldn’t have saw it because she left right after giving it back to me.”
They approached their sofa. There was no necklace, but Danny had a hunch.
“This is silly, but I think it sunk into the sofa. We should look between the cushions.”
“It's on me, Danny. I heard the announcement for everyone to gather on the dance floor and got up right away without a second. I never thought to look.
He sent her a reassuring smile before they started digging in the couch. “All's well once we find it.”
Within a few seconds, Danny felt the neck loop and Bella’s hand! They looked up at each other with wide eyes. Both uttered “wa-lah!” They pulled it up together. It flew out of their grip into the hair and into her cupped hands.
She looked at her love and giggled. “Now that's a new meaning to we found it together.”
Danny grinned. “Bravo, Bella. I'm glad for two, that's us.”
She was adamant now to get back to the dance floor. “That’s enough, silly Danny.” she joked as she ran her arm through his and motioned forward with him. “We got a short window, Let’s leg it back now, love.
After the Welcome Ball commenced, the couple expressed relief at their quick save.
“I dunno, I would've probably ransacked the chairs and sofa if you hadn't helped me, Danny. Prim wouldn't-
“Worry not.” he finished. “I'm just happy we got your necklace back. You're splendid with it.”
Bella put her hand on her partner’s shoulder and remarked “Thank you, Danny. It's a special one-of-a-kind. Honestly I wouldn't know I'd react if it was truly lost.”
“You're quite welcome. Of course, you got to think differently when the belonging can't exactly be replaced.” he replied.
“I'm glad you understand. Now enough worrying about the past. Let's see what you got this great night.”
Danny reached his hand to Bella’s shoulder, and they began their dance moves. With nothing else clouding their thoughts, they took in the sight of seeing each other's beautiful face. No matter where and how fast they twirled, the blur was at bay, and the sights between them were clear. In a grand collage of music, sweet swaying souls in the arms of the festive hearth, Danny and Bella were at peace.
Here we go! Thanks to @endlessly-cursed for organising this lovely event, and for the wonderful character of Prim! This also features a mention of Malcolm, who belongs to @gaygryffindorgal, Helen, one of @camillejeaneshphm 's wonderful characters, and the mention of one of their others....
A small black carriage being pulled along by a single Abraxan thundered through the trees, the mighty stallion seemingly knowing where to go on instinct. Inside the carriage, a young man with bright scarlet hair tinkered and fidgeted with a collection of gears and cogs with a thin golden screwdriver. The woman sitting next to him placed her hand on one of his own, hers just about larger than his.
"Dear, it'll be alright, I promise." Helen Graham said to her husband, smiling down at him. She too had red hair, though hers was more orange. "We're here to celebrate, not to mourn or worry." she reminded him, her voice still retaining a Louisiana accent.
Fred sighed, leaning back on his seat. "I know, I know...I just wonder if he knows that."
"He's not your responsibility." Helen said, sharply. "If he does show up tonight, he knows full well that he's expected to be Merry."
"That's just the thing, though." Fred put the gizmo he was working on back in his pocket as the trees started to clear. "The grief hasn't dimmed his wits. He knows he's being unreasonable, but it's as if he physically can't help it. It must be driving him mad."
"Well, maybe this would do him some good. If Prim can't get him smiling again, no one can." Helen declared, as the huge estate very quickly appeared out their windows.
"I do wish you wouldn't jinx it like that, dear." Fred said, chuckling in spite of himself.
"I'll jinx you in a minute. I'm not having you both moping about, alright?" Helen said, a smirk on her face as the Abraxan pulled in outside Winbourne.
The pair got out, Fred checking the time on a gold and scarlet pocket watch of his own design. "Just on time, I think." He observed, putting it back in his pocket.
Helen leant forward and look at it before he stuffed it away, noticing a small hourglass at its center. "Don't tell me you put one of your Time-Turners in there?" she asked, incredulously.
"It's not a Time-Turner...it's also a Time-Teller, see?" Fred replied, that full grin returning to his face once more. "Come on, we ought to find our hosts."
They walked up the steps towards the gates, Fred pointing out things that caught his eye as they moved through the snow, Helen doing very much the same. It helped that Helen was able to use her Ancient Magic to keep the snow off of them, and Fred was able to slow down the snowflakes so they were suspended in time, very slowly completing their descent. Soon, though, they made it to the front doors, and the one on the left opened to reveal the Viscountess of Winbourne, Primrose Gray herself.
"Prim!" Fred exclaimed on impulse, earning him a raised eyebrow and laugh from his wife. At this point, of course, they had all known each other for years, and were used to Fred saying what came from the heart almost instantly. "...I mean, ah, Good evening, Lady Primrose. It truly is a pleasure to see you."
Prim smiled at the both of them. "Good evening, Fred, Helen. It is always wonderful to see you both. How was the journey? Not too snowy?"
Helen smiled a little and nodded. "Not for us, of course, or our Abraxan." she said, gesturing to the large horse. "A gift from Baroness Osada. She's got...quite a few equines back in Poland."
"I'm sure she does." Prim nodded, looking back briefly into the warm interior of the building. "Well, please, come right in, Malcolm will show you where you can put your coats."
Helen, who to this day had not acclimated to the British winter, nodded rapidly before following Malcolm inside. Fred took a step forward too, but paused. Prim stopped as well, looking over to him. "Something the matter, Fred?"
In his years dealing with it, Fred had found that he had developed almost a sixth sense when it came to telling where ancient magic was nearby. And he felt a very familiar source of it walking through the snow behind him. "...I do believe that's Mr Doherty approaching the gates."
Fred watched as Prim stepped outside, still a little shell-shocked that Atticus had even bothered to show up. Then again, at times the man now shuffling through the night looked like a stranger. His green eyes lacked that brilliant shine he had whenever he came up with a brilliant idea (or any idea for that matter), and his clothes seemed to flow around him, shifting in and out of the darkness. But what really surprised Fred was the fact that on his best friend's head, covering his jet-black hair, was a hat.
A Hat. If it were any other gentleman of the period, nobody would have batted an eye. In fact, it was what gentleman were expected to wear. Yet, here he was, in a hat, walking into Winbourne. Hell must have been as cold as it was outside that night. Fred wasn't sure what to do, but perhaps that was why he wasn't the one hosting. Atticus looked up at Fred and Prim, his expression unreadable. Lady Primrose kept the door held open. "Good evening, Atticus," she said, as the wind howled, the moon appearing briefly in between the clouds. "Welcome to Winbourne. Please, come in, you look frozen, poor thing."
Atticus blinked, clearly not having expected that. Fred recognised the expression now. It was the look he'd always give Lillian whenever she caught him out on a flaw in his logic. "...Thank you, Lady Primrose." he said, almost out of social etiquette. Good evening to you, too." And with that, he was up the stairs and walking into the house. Fred came in afterwards, followed by Prim. In a weird way, he had almost expected the cold to follow Atticus through into the house, but with Prim and Malcolm showing them to a cloakroom to drop off their cloaks and bags, Fred felt a small amount of warmth returning to him.
He looked over to his best friend. Maybe he felt it too.
A/N: With the celestial ball fast approaching, the fifth years are on the lookout for romance.
Warnings: mild angst/pining.
OCs featured/mentioned: Siobhan Llewelyn @kc-and-co, Gwen Archeron @thatravenpuffwitch, Primrose Gray and Jesse Seymour @endlessly-cursed, Nadia Erbland @gcldensnitch, William Devlin @unfortunate-arrow, Reuben Willows @that-scouse-wizard, Leila Hellebore @whatwouldvalerydo, Winona Rosewood @usernoneexistent, Nolan Miller @hogwartsmysteryho, Henry Lovecraft @lifeofkaze
April 1897
The Easter holidays had come and gone both all too quickly and far too slowly. With no classes to attend, the two week break had been spent reading books, browsing the shops in Hogsmeade village, and eating copious amounts of chocolate. Anyone would have thought that the idea of returning to a normal school routine the following morning would have cast a dark cloud over the final night of the break, but the fifth year Ravenclaws remained in high spirits. After all, the end of the holidays meant that they were closer to May, when the Celestial Ball would be taking place.
The ball was all anyone had been able to talk about since the Headmaster had made his announcement at the end-of-term feast. Héloïse was half-bored by the endless discussions of dress robes and dance cards and music and escorts. She had never enjoyed spending time in large crowds of people, and so dances and balls had never been exciting prospects to her. And yet…
Perhaps it was because she was now sixteen, no longer a mere child and only a year away from being a grown woman, but each time she heard someone mention what they were planning on wearing or who they hoped to dance with, she felt her heart lift slightly and begin to beat faster in her chest, as if it were already trying to dance. She watched boys asking girls if they might escort them to the ball with fascination, paying attention to the nervous ones’ shaking hands and hopeful eyes, and the confident ones’ polished manner of talking, and the giddy giggles of the girls and their friends after they made their responses. She had read all about the peculiar alignment of stars that the Celestial Ball celebrated, and each night had stolen away to the Astronomy tower in order to see the stars’ progression, as they crept closer and closer to the positions they would hold on the night of the ball.
She was looking forward to the Celestial Ball, really looking forward to it, and that surprised her.
With the return of the school locomotive engine earlier in the evening, the Ravenclaw common room was busier and louder than it had been in the previous two weeks, and the students who had spent the holidays at home were quickly being filled in on what they had missed during the break.
“Oh, I’m so glad that Jesse asked if he could escort you. I’d have felt so guilty being escorted if that meant leaving you to go alone. Now I can attend with William and a clear conscience!” Primrose Grey, who Héloïse had come to realise always knew everything about everyone, was telling her friend Nadia Erbland. Primrose’s blue eyes scanned the room as she continued, “I do believe that most people have arranged to be escorted by someone now. Reuben asked Leila Hellebore straight away, and I think Nolan has now asked Winona Rosewood, as well. In fact” - her eyes settled on Héloïse and her dorm mates - “I know who everyone is going with except for you three.”
Siobhan cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, aye?”
“Yes indeed,” said Primrose, with a nod. “So, then. Do tell. Will you all have escorts, or are you going to fill your dance cards on the night?”
“I’m leaving it to the night itself,” Gwendolyn answered. “I think it’s more exciting that way, somehow. Shiv is going to be escorted, though.”
“Who by?”
“Galen Stagg.”
“Really?”
“I don’t see why you are so surprised,” said Siobhan tersely. “Everyone and their granny knows we are friends.”
“Friends, yes, but-”
“Well, then. We shall attend the ball together, and that shall be that, and we shall hear no more on the matter.”
There was a finality to Shiv’s tone that made even Gwen raise an eyebrow and share a glance with Héloïse. Prim pursed her lips slightly, but she turned to Héloïse looking nonplussed.
“Et toi, Héloïse?”
It took Héloïse a few seconds to decide in which language she should reply to Prim’s question. Once she had opted for English, it took her another moment to pick her words.
“I am to go with no one,” she told Primrose, her voice sounding almost defeated in her ears.
“No?” Prim asked. She tilted her head, and Héloïse shook her own.
“No one is asking me.”
That was the problem, Héloïse realised. That was why she sounded and felt so disappointed. She wanted someone to ask her - she wanted Jim to ask her - but now that was seeming an increasingly less likely prospect. And even though Shiv told her that there were stil days to come before the ball, and Gwen said that he may even ask to partner with her on the night, in her heart she knew that he would not do so. There had been plenty of opportunities in which he might have asked her, and yet he had not. With the Celestial Ball now less than a week away, there was only one logical conclusion that Héloïse could draw: that he did not want to attend with her.
The very idea filled her with a deep, unshakeable sense of melancholy, one that accompanied her through the remainder of the evening, until eventually she retired from the Ravenclaw common room and escaped to her usual meditation spot in the Astronomy tower.
She had intended to rest awhile under the light of the moon and wallow in her self-pity alone, however, she soon found herself being interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared, and an elongated shadow of a wizard appear on the ground beside her. She sat up straight, her chest lifting with her heart. Could it be…
“Jim?”
“I am afraid not,” the newcomer replied, his peculiar accent making his identity known before Héloïse turned to see his face. “Alas, you seem disappointed by the fact.”
Héloïse smiled sadly as her friend Henry Lovecraft approached and sat down beside her.
“Yes. No. I am not…” she sighed. “I do not wish to be rude. I am sorry.”
Henry shook his head. “It is no bother. What is wrong? Are you homesick?”
“No.”
“Then whatever is the matter?”
“I… It is the ball,” saiid Héloïse. “It is so close, and so many girls have been asked by boys if they can to go with them, and no one is asking to go with me.”
“No one at all?” Henry asked, one eyebrow raised as if he knew that there was only one person who mattered. Héloïse shrugged wordlessly in response. “Well, I am certain that it is not for lack of wanting.”
“But I think that it must be for this reason. What other reason would there to be?”
“What reason would there be for someone to not wish to attend a ball with you?”
“I do not know,” Héloïse said. “No. I do know. It is because I am too strange, I am thinking. Too different to others.”
Henry laughed quietly. Héloïse frowned at him.
“Quoi?”
“All people are different to others, Heloise,” Henry told her. “And yet, at the same time, we are all the same. It is a paradox, and that paradox is what makes people so very interesting. And the more different a person, the more interesting they are.” He smiled. “I would not describe you as too different, I would simply say that you are extraordinarily interesting.”
Héloïse looked up at the stars, her lips twitching slightly.
“Merci, Henri,” she half -whispered.
“It is but the truth.”
The air was still and silent for a few moments. Eventually, Héloïse turned to Henry and asked him:
“Who are you to go with to the ball?”
“I am not attending with anyone. I do not… I have no wish to attend with anyone in particular, or at all.”
“But it is so romantic, no?”
“Yes, and that is the problem. I prefer to read and observe romance, rather than to partake in it myself,” replied Henry. He sighed. “I do believe that I am rather different to others, too.”
“Perhaps you would like to go with me,” Héloïse suggested, “as my friend.”
Henry frowned. “You do not need to do that, Héloïse. There is still time for the person you…”
“No, there is not. And if I am too different for him, then I prefer to go with someone who is also different.”
“You mean interesting,” Henry corrected her, and she giggled.
“Interesting, yes. So, do you wish to go with me?”
Henry nodded, and the two of them sat together in companionable silence for only a short while before returning to Ravenclaw tower. They may both have been different to others, but their punishment would have been the same had they been caught wandering the castle at night.
soooo i’m late to getting this posted (adulting is hard, and work schedules are hell lol)
buuuut, here’s a birthday edit for the lovely Lady Primrose Gray! @endlessly-cursed i’m so sorry it took me so long to get this posted, but i hope you like it!💙
