539A/N: Hello, people!
I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.
I have no beta.
ENJOY!
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TAGS: Drama, Queer Themes, Very much a Filler that Builds up to Other Stuff. There's a Facebook Post at the end sooo... Social Media Warning?
~Still homeless. RIP.
If you want the full effect, check this fic on AO3 under the same
name and writer. I have photos as examples in the chapter there.
"Are you sure this is okay? Aren't love potions really bad?" Bellas asked as she watched Harry prepare all the ingredients to what was considered the strongest love potion in the magical world. Like, there were tons of warnings about it in the book she was flipping through.
"Typically immoral, yes," he agreed, passing ingredients off to Edward for help. As Edward could not sweat and things like dirt did not stick to his skin, there was no chance of him contaminating any of the ingredients. Overall, he was just a better helper to have to things like potion brewing. "However, I'm not brewing it to use it on a person, but to use it on a magical plant. So, the Aphroditus is a plant obviously named for Aphrodite, that thrives off of love potions instead of water, when it comes to sustenance. The stamen of the flowering bud that grows in the center, is used in a potion meant to enhance virility."
"You're making a potion for sex?!"
Edward's diligent chopping halted in that moment and Harry snorted, hunching over to try and contain himself so he didn't accidentally cut himself. "It could certainly improve someone's stamina and the potency of their ejaculate, but this is actually a sort of invigoration draught that is typically only used during massively exhausting undertakings. Such as, certain mixed couples where there is one human partner and one non-human partner that experiences something like an animal's Heat or Rut period. The human would take this so they can keep up without hurting themselves.
"Similarly, it can also be used for things like marathons, or strength training, or competitions. Any official International Competition with all the proper paperwork settled, may give every participant a dose of this potion if they feel the upcoming event will require people to have it."
Sounded a bit like drugging in her opinion. "Do they not worry about Performance-Enhancing Drugs or is that not a thing in magical competitions?" Surely there'd be rules about things like that so people couldn't cheat to win.
Harry shrugged. "Only one potion is recognized worldwide, as such a thing, and that is Felix Felicis. Liquid Luck to be specific. It is a dangerous luck potion to make, but is so powerful that if you follow every single urge it encourages, all of your efforts for the duration of that dose will succeed. Felix Felicis is banned in all competitions, both official and non, not only because of how unfair it is, but because it lowers the inhibitions of those who imbibe it and deadens the senses tremendously. And I mean all of the senses, including senses of touch, direction, and so on."
Every time he had some new information to share about magic, Bella was reminded that people were people whether magical or not, and that humans don't really change.
People sucked as a whole, huh?
"So, you've used it before," Edward suggested as he moved on to the next ingredient on the list while Harry deposited the newly cut pieces into the boiling cauldron. "You sound a bit too knowledgeable about how it makes one feel."
"Yeah, I think that would be the best way to describe the sensation of being high," Harry agreed with a smirk. "My new Potions Professor had information on Voldemort but refused to share the truth of it. I ended up using some of my Felix Felicis, which I won in his class from a challenge to brew a Draught of the Living Death by the way, and managed to get it out of him after months of failing to be persuasive enough to get him to tell me honestly."
Harry sighed. "The moment I drank it, everything felt all light and flurry and I just wanted to curl up and relax and just let whatever happened happen. Like, do I suddenly have the urge to trek across the school grounds to go see my friend instead of going to my teacher's office to get information? Yes. Should I follow that urge? Why not, it's giving me a good feeling and I like feeling good. And then on my way to see my friend, I happened to run into the very man I needed to see in the first place and catch him purloining potions ingredients from the greenhouses. To save his reputation, he follows me to see my friend under the pretense of being a chaperone after hours and ends up drunk enough that his lips loosen, and he finally reveals the truth we needed all along."
It was a wild ride of an explanation, but it did put some things into perspective for Bella. Namely, that Felix Felicis was a very powerful and dangerous potion.
In her opinion, it didn't sound like it was worth it to drink if it acted like that.
Edward, it seemed, had more thoughts on the matter. "So, if you ignored the urge to go for a walk to see your friend, how would it have influenced the order of events for you to meet your professor, since he was already down at the greenhouses without you even being aware. Because it sounds to me, like this potion is capable of affecting not only the drinker, but everyone and everything around them, which sounds much more concerning than someone using it to cheat in a sport or a game or something similar."
"You have a point," Harry murmured. "I do have some more on hand if we ever want to test it out just to see how things play out. We can get Alice involved and have her watch the future to see what it's like before taking the potion and then what happens after I take it, and what happens if I refuse to follow the urges it shoves my way. That could be a very interesting project, actually. I know a few people who would be fascinated by the results."
Bella wondered what magical reports and essays were like in magical schools. Like, they have to do Labs or something similar? Did brewing potions equal the Chemistry experiments done in non-magical schools? And what about things like Divination? Harry once mentioned a Dream Journal he'd had to do in his Routh Year of school.
Having magic just seemed so cool. It was kind of sad that Bella just ended up being some regular girl in the end.
It made her wonder how she managed to make friends with people like Harry and Edward when they were so much cooler than she was and had so much more to offer too.
Would Harry or Edward get bored of her? Or forget her when she was gone and they continued to live forever together?
Harry,
Your note about the dragon blood has been added to our archives. Newt really
appreciated it and sent along an entire case of different samples of blood from
different creatures. He humbly asks that you, if you can, get some results for
those as well. He also seems to be itching to contact you himself and perhaps
establish a connection of his own with the leader of your Cullens, so look out for
anything from him in the future.
As for your run-in with the nomadic vampires, I did See it as it was happening,
and I need you to know that summoning the actual incarnation of Death in that
moment was utterly terrifying and those vampires were so lucky that they are
incapable of witnessing Death's visage. I've never been more uneasy in my life,
even during the war. Death put the Death Eaters, Voldemort, and even Macnair
himself to shame. I never want to See Them ever again, thank you very much.
The woman, Victoria, is contemplating her options. She is currently swimming to
Europe as I write this letter, but she hasn't made up her mind on what she wants
to do. Based on our limited knowledge, the coven in charge of your lover's race of
vampires, resides in Italy. However, getting their attention for anything rarely ends
well for those involved. So, she is weighing what she knows versus what she wants.
I'd expect some kind of retaliation by mid-Autumn this year, however. She isn't that
patient and wouldn't wait ay longer than that. Either she will expose your Cullens for
violating vampire law, or she will come back herself. The more her mind changes, the
more the future will change, so I can't guarantee what she will do, but I do know that
it won't happen after December at the latest.
As for other things, Hermione and I are working on becoming Animagi. My father has
been a great help on that front, and I've included his notes on the subject in case you
want to learn the shortcut that we're now using. I already know what my animal form
is, as well as Hermione's, but she swore me to secrecy to keep things interesting. Ron
wasn't exactly interested in doing the extra work, and the twins are too busy to care
right now.
You'll visit again soon, right? There are loads of birthdays to catch up on after all. And
I know that Teddy had been asking for you recently. Tonks and Remus want to see you.
Glad to See you're doing well,
Luna.
P.S. Don't let Hedwig trick you, she got a lot of bacon that she stole from our Niffler.
They got into a bit of a tussle and her pride was wounded.
"Alright, I've decided to undergo a special form of training that, by the end, should allow me to find out my Animagus form and begin working on changing into an animal," Harry quietly announced as he placed his lunch tray down and casually summoned a Muffliato to obscure their conversation. "I did all the necessary research and consulted my mates Hermione and Luna and their gathered notes, and both are already weeks into their own efforts so I'm a bit behind."
"God, wizards and witches can even turn into animals," Bella said with a shake of her head. "Does everyone learn to do it?"
He shook his head. "It's a very tiresome process and requires a lot of patience because the first step requires a Mandrake leaf to be kept in the mouth, surrounded by saliva, for exactly one month and the night you spit it out has to be a full moon with a clear sky, or you have to do it all over. If you swallow the leaf, you start over, if the dew of the potion touches human skin at any point, you'll have to restart. If you complete the ritual without a thunderstorm, you have to repeat all the steps again. Most magicals don't feel this is worth the effort, besides, you can't even choose your animal form to begin with."
"Is it actually worth it?" Edward asked, looking doubtful and his distractedly peeled an orange he definitely wasn't going to eat. "You're not like me. I can easily do that because I technically don't need food, or need to breathe, or need to speak for an entire month. How are you going to eat or not swallow the leaf?"
"I got it planned out," Harry murmured, slamming Luna's note down. "You see, Luna's father gave her a secret piece of information that he discovered. Back in his youth, he decided to test out a hypothesis about the ritual and chose to perform a step incorrectly on purpose. Typically, if you do something wrong and ingest the final product, you'll end up half-transfigured between human and animal and there is no reversing it. It would also mean you would have to avoid certain potions going forward because they cannot be used on animals and your chemical makeup would be too muddled to be safe enough to risk."
It was just an unfortunate truth about the risks involved when performing powerful magical rituals.
"So, Luna's father, Xenophilius, decided to test out the assumption that you don't actually have to put the leaf in your mouth. The idea was that the leaf must be submerged on all sides, by your saliva, because the saliva is the main factor powering the potion, not your mouth. For the past few centuries, people assumed you had to keep the leaf in your mouth the entire time, but he realised that you could just as easily fill a potion vial with your saliva, place the leaf inside it until it is completely covered on all sides, and then stopper it until the next full moon."
Harry had already prepared everything before coming to school, wanting to be ready to start by the next full moon. "He ended up being right, and successfully found out that he is a nightingale. So, Hermione and Luna have taken after him and are already on their way to finishing their potions. I will do the same come the next full moon, so I can better track time. I have to admit though, I do want to test a theory of my own."
"Please don't experiment if you know you can't get rid of the results should you mess up," Bella said quickly, eyes wide with panic. "Like, if you grow horns or something, how are you going to hide them?"
"We have charms for that, don't worry."
And horns wouldn't be quite so terrible, right? Harry would like to think he'd look dashing with horns.
"Basically, my idea is wondering if it is cycles of the sun and moon that affect the saliva-covered leaf, or if it is literally the span of a month, which, going by a thirty-day schedule, would be seven hundred and twenty hours."
Edward made a protesting noise. "You mentioned people doing this ritual centuries ago. Where was the potion developed and when exactly was it developed, because they could be using an entirely different type of calendar to mark the passage of a month. Even if it was actually broken down to the amount of hours in a given month, not all months are equal across the world."
…Oh.
Right.
Not something Harry had ever had to consider before.
"Then it must just be from full moon to full moon," Bella pointed out with a frown. "You were probably thinking of time traveling backwards several times until you lived out the equivalent of thirty days, but if people all over the world have been using this for centuries in their individual cultures that have different beliefs and views on the passage of time, then they must not be using a linear timeline, but the position of the moon in the sky to determine what is the appropriate moment of action."
"Which begs the question, if you submerge your leaf in your saliva on a full moon night, why can't you just use it that same night if it is still a full moon and you have everything else that you need gathered?" Edward went on to add. "Does time really factor into this at all and has anyone ever been brave enough to test these concerns before?"
Harry was blindsided by how quickly both had taken to the topic of conversation. But they both raised valid points, and he just knew he had to send a couple letters. Or maybe just one but to make sure that the recipient brings it to the other so both can read it. Or perhaps just casting a charm to double the letter so he could save some time.
"I'm going to ask. Bella is right, I was considering the idea of a Time Turner. So far, we've only cracked time traveling into the past, and only for up to twelve hours. The Time Turners cannot handle more than that without overheating and potentially exploding. Also, once in the past, you cannot interact with yourself because it would cause a paradox. You would also have to carefully monitor where you go and who you meet, plus need to remember where it is you departed from so you can return there the moment that the version of you in the present, disappears into the past."
"Sounds like an infinite loop," Bella noted. "Like you've caught time in that small pocket of space, and it is now forever trapped to play out that way over and over."
"And that is why it is said that bad things happen to people who meddle with time… but as I'm not mortal it technically wouldn't hurt me or harm me in any way. I'd probably just be a little loopy from using the method of travel so many times in a row."
"We are actually discussing time traveling," Edward murmured in awe. "I never thought this would be a conversation I'd be having in my lifetime. Like, it's not a theory for several centuries in the future, it is something feasible for a small number of people in the here and now. That is fascinating and terrifying to consider. Do these items work on everyone? Or only people with magic? Can you force someone else to time travel without their knowledge or consent? So many questions."
"With the method currently available you need to wear an hourglass necklace and then turn it properly, so I guess if you can get the chain around someone's neck and then turn it however many times you want before letting go, it should work that way," Harry said, trying to think back to when he and Hermione time traveled in their Third Year. "I'm not sure if you'll be pulled along if you're still touching the time peace even if you aren't wearing the chain it's on."
Bella sighed. "Magic is so cool. Kinda wishing I could use magic 'cause between us all, I'm just the regular one. You both are immortal; one has super speed and super strength and can read minds, and the other can summon shit out of nothing, reanimate himself if he dies, and transform objects into other objects with a wave of the hand. And I'm just Bella. The Average Joe." She gave a low huff. "At least let me change shape at will so I can get free samples with different faces. I'd be cool with that."
A genius way to think of using such a power. Bad people would think if murder and crimes, and Bella just wanted to scam shops out of free food. An admirable desire.
Harry felt a bit bad though, realising that from Bella's perspective, she was at a severe disadvantage in this relationship.
The power imbalance wasn't exactly healthy, was it?
Perhaps... they could try and solve that problem?
"I mean… there's no way to give someone magic," Harry told her, just so she'd understand the reality of the situation. "Like werewolves. Those who were magical humans before being turned, retain their magic and can even still use their wands and perform rituals. Those who weren't magical all before being turned, do not gain magic. They gain resistance to a myriad of types of magical spells, and extra strength and speed overall, but not an overly noticeable amount. And some born werewolves who live long enough, eventually gain the ability to shift outside of moon times, but they'd have to be centuries old and finding them is nigh impossible these days."
"I read that book of yours and I wouldn't want to be a werewolf for any reason ever." She shivered a bit, having no doubt read the section about how painful the turning process was.
"There are four types of vampire, but finding any of the other types isn't as easy as you might think. And you'd be sacrificing a lot when it comes to shedding your humanity in the process. Like, you'd need to trade the pros and cons back and forth over this. Is chocolate or pizza or the occasional bottle of gin worth giving up for super strength and super speed and needing to avoid the sunlight for the rest of your days if you don't have specially charmed jewelry to wear to protect you? If so, we can find one of those other vampires and ask for help if it's that important to you."
Harry could probably track anyone down with enough effort these days.
"You know, I've been thinking for a while, but why can't the Cullens just wear foundation with some ultra-matte coverage and then set it with some primer? People contour the hell out of their faces these days and they even highlight certain parts of their faces to draw more attention. Why can't the Cullens just do that to blend in? Get rid of the bruised eyes and the glittering all at once. Eat some dragon blood pops to have normal eye colors. The whole works if the effort matters that much."
There was a moment of silence, and Edward stared down at his hands, pale at they were, flattened atop the table. "I've never thought about it like that," he admitted. "We don't have to wear makeup for obvious reasons, so I suppose it just never occurred to any of us to try that."
He then paused, head tilting back toward where his family resided. The Muffliato Harry had cast should keep their table in total silence to the outside viewers, but if he was thinking about purchasing makeup to test out if Bella's foundation idea worked on their skin despite the force of the venom when under ultraviolet radiation, then Alice Cullen had to have gotten a Vision about it. And she might be relaying the contents of said Vision to her siblings
"Alice is about to spend an astronomical amount of money in the coming days," Edward revealed. "Apparently, it will work as Bella suggested and she's excited to test out different brands to see which has a better matte finish?"
Bella smirked, looking pleased with herself. "And that was just a split-second thought on my part. If it works, it works."
"Just in time too," Harry agreed with a matching grin. "In this modern day, it's not uncommon for people to take photos or videos of total strangers and it won't be long before our dear Cullens end up in the background of a random person's selfie. Or hell, they might get photographed by a total stranger at the behest of their TikTok following. Anything for clicks, right?"
"You know about TikTok?" Bella asked, looking baffled.
"Uh… yeah. I got it. It takes up so much space on my mobile that I can't download any other apps right now."
Bella grumbled. "Damn, I need to get a better phone then." And then she glared at Edward. "As in I am getting myself a better phone, and this is not an invitation to dump a ridiculous amount of money on me."
"But I could get you a really nice one. Top of the line model if you're interested."
"No, I'm good. Thanks."
Bella really didn't like it when people spent money on her. She was adorable about it though.
Harry found himself a cute little nook in the states, and he was very pleased by that fact.
"Is all of this truly necessary?"
Alice beamed as she separated every brand of foundation and primer she'd purchased, so they could be tested out efficiently. There were also several bottles of makeup remover and wipes because she intended to be there for a while. "Yes. We have to test which ones will work the best and once we know, then we only have to buy one brand from here on out."
He sighed and sat down opposite her; arms extended into the sunlight streaming in from the window. He was to be the guinea pig this time around, and she'd waited specifically for a sort of sunny day in order to get it done. The sun being right there was the most useful it had ever been for them in this life.
"Turn your arm so the inner side is upright so I can swatch several at once."
He got the idea, but the word was a new one.
What followed was half an hour of Alice going bottle by bottle, which all looked almost exactly the same save for the different logos on each face. All in the palest color available, reminding him of just how unnaturally white their skin became in death.
Alice tsked now and then, either because the coverage wasn't as good as she liked, or because the color looked unnatural. The one brand wasn't as smooth as she wanted it to be and felt very gritty in his opinion. "That's the worst thing I've ever seen," she grumbled, tossing it behind herself and easily making the garbage without even having to look.
"Aw, Fenty has the best coverage so far but doesn't go pale enough for people like us so it just looks like we'd be trying to spray tan ourselves," she tsked.
Edward received the invasive mental image of a vampire attempting to look spray tanned and shivered in disgust. Too much orange. Reminiscent of another orange monstrosity out in the world that he'd rather not think of. "Nothing orange," he decided. "We can all do without the orange."
As Alice worked through lines upon lines of foundation, Edward lost himself in thought, wondering about the future. Summer vacation was coming up, and they were actually going to stay around until the Juniors made it to their graduation. But after that, then what?
And there was Victoria who was no doubt going to come back for revenge at some point. He hated to think about it, but should Harry have let her go? When he knew that she was going to come back to cause them trouble in the future?
It wasn't as if Edward had the right to cast judgment upon others, but he was rather protective of his family and now his… lovers. And while he had yet to fully come to terms with his own issues, he could at least admit that there were things he wouldn't tolerate in this life. And since he had to deal with the reality of being a vampire and still having a soul and there being no heaven or hell awaiting him… yeah.
Things really weren't quite so black and white in this existence.
"Rare Beauty's lightest option seems to work pretty well. Good coverage, smooth application, and like the other one, the venom barely manages to refract through it!" Alice declared, turning his arm back and forth to see the stripe of liquid foundation from all angles.
She used a few products and wipes to clean the stripes of color from his arm and then applied an entire cover of it from elbow to wrist to get a better idea of how well it worked over a wider area. The sunlight still had an effect, but it was nowhere near as intense as it'd usually be. In fact, like Bella had said, it was more of a small glow than an overwhelming assault of prisms and sparkles. At least his arm couldn't be compared to broken granite now.
Alive gave a low but mad giggle. "I think we've found it. If this works well, we can improve our wardrobes! There are so many cuts of fabric I've wanted to try on you and Rose and I'm finally going to be living the dream!"
Edward got a front row seat to the ideas that flitted through his sister's mind at Mach speed. "Maybe not the sleeveless things," he murmured worriedly. "I don't think we'll manage that easily."
"But we don't perspire so we don't have to worry about it coming off during the day."
A good point.
"Nothing sleeveless for me, then. I'm not comfortable enough for that."
"Yeah, yeah, your virgin arms are safe."
"...You're a real bucket of laughs."
"SPIRIT WEEK! I'M READY!"
"You really went for it," Bella murmured the moment she caught sight of Harry that morning. "You look good. Very knightly."
He flushed instantly, and Edward found it to be quite fetching on him. "Is that a real sword?" he asked, staring down at the elaborate crafted piece of metal hanging from his hip.
Harry placed a finger to his lips and winked. "I've made it so it looks fake to those not connected to me specifically. It is actually real and has refused to leave my possession. This is the Sword of Gryffindor and it has followed me around since the war ended."
"It's very pretty," Bella said. "That is the biggest ruby I've ever seen."
"Goblin-made and with a thousand years of history on its side. I'm going to win this today."
Harry did in fact, win it.
He actually won the entire thing.
See, this was how it went...
FORKS HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE
*Pinned
In the spirit of our annual Spirit Week, let us see what our students have
prepared for us today! #SpiritWeek #ForksHigh #ForksWashington
Day 1: Medieval Day
[Photo 1: Students who participated, gathered in the gymnasium. Many
princely and knightly characters in the crowd, and a few anime characters
who passed the design.]
[Photo 2: Runner Up for Medieval Day, Ms. May Moran and her homemade
cosplay of her favorite anime character. She sewed the outfit herself!]
Winner: Harry Potter, who sewed his own costume by hand.
[Photo]
Day 2: Victorian Era Day
[Photo 1: The most teen girls in attendance compared to the entire week.
All with their own attempts to recreate traditional clothes from the Victorian
Era. A few teen boys showed some attempts of their own, but it is obvious
that the girls put in the most effort overall this time.]
[ Photo 2: Runner-up, Ms. Jessie James, for her recreation of her favorite
Crimson Peak character's nightgown.]
Winner: Harry Potter. Instead of finding something to cosplay or making a
costume, Mr. Potter just reached into his great-great aunt's grandmother's
wardrobe. Yes, this is a dress that was worn in 1880 while she mourned her
deceased husband for a few years.
[Photo]
Day 3: Sci-Fi Day
[Photo 1: The collected students in the gymnasium, featuring several Star
Trek and Star Wars cosplays. Mr. Spock appears no less than 45 times.]
[Photo 2: Runner-up, Mr. Harry Potter and his elaborate cosplay of the 10th
Doctor as portrayed by David Tennant.]
Winner: Tyler Crowley and his elaborately recreated Darth Vader cosplay
complete with his own voice synthesizer that he modified himself! He is
looking to pursue engineering post-high school.
[Photo]
Day 4: Anime Day
[Photo 1: Nearly every student in the school is packed into the gymnasium
because, to some extent, everyone has dressed as an anime character they
love.]
[Photo 2: Runner-up, Mr. Mason Greer, who decided to make his entire
costume of Alphonse Elric's armor out of cardboard and then painted it
himself.]
Winner: Harry Potter. From ordering custom armor, to dyeing his wig and
actually sewing the kimono himself, Mr. Potter manages to once again take
the victory for himself after carefully recreating all of the small details of this
fictional character's elaborate design in a real-life medium.
[Photo]
Day 5: Mythology Day
[Photo 1: An assortment of Greek gods, comic book characters, and famous
paintings come to life have filled the gymnasium. On the final day, everyone
has tried their best.]
[Photo 2: Runner-up, Ms. Bella Swan and her Persephone cosplay which was
apparently created with assistance from Mr. Harry Potter.]
Winner: Harry Potter, who once again both ordered custom armor and sewed
the clothing himself. Though it was admitted that most voted for him as they
felt he resembled the MCU's Loki more than anything, and there was no small
number of admirers in response.
[Photo]
On the final day, the students voted for Best Dressed Student of the Week!
Out of the Winners for each day, the students had to vote for their favorite.
Congratulations to Harry Potter for his victory! He has won exemption from
taking two end-of-term exams of his choice and will receive an automatic A+
instead.
Check out the video below for the vote!
A/N: Another is done!
How was it? Let me know!
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