That is canon, I think it's even literally in one of the books
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Harry Potter and the Skittering Spouse
- Thread starter Fencer
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Superhero
That is canon, I think it's even literally in one of the books
I do not want to hear any shit,
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
right, normally I don't announce this but the next update is off to the awesome sauce beta Functionality. I don't usually announce this because I don't want anyone harassing Functionality if he has shit to do. Do not harass my beta or I'll publicly shame you and ask the mods to slap you down.
Threats handled, time for the meat of this post.
I do not write sex scenes. Tried my hand at a couple years back, decided they are boring to write. Writing teens fucking, feels sketchy to me so again I don't. One of my writer idols is Anne McCaffrey and her works taught me you don't need to write a sex scene to let people know what happened or convey complex emotions sex inspires in the characters.
Put very bluntly I accidentlied myself into a corner and rather than trying to sneak out of it I rolled with it. Harry and Taylor talk, and what happens next is implied but skipped. The update after this will pick up after a time skip which is yet to be determined. There will be no lewds posted on this or any other site.
I know its about as morally dubious as this prompt gets, and I signed up for it when I started writing this prompt, but I'm treating it seriously and not as fan service. So please feel free to debate timing, execution, and morality, so long as you don't try to jump down my throat for writing the damn story. You've read this far, you knew it would come up eventually.
Threats handled, time for the meat of this post.
I do not write sex scenes. Tried my hand at a couple years back, decided they are boring to write. Writing teens fucking, feels sketchy to me so again I don't. One of my writer idols is Anne McCaffrey and her works taught me you don't need to write a sex scene to let people know what happened or convey complex emotions sex inspires in the characters.
Put very bluntly I accidentlied myself into a corner and rather than trying to sneak out of it I rolled with it. Harry and Taylor talk, and what happens next is implied but skipped. The update after this will pick up after a time skip which is yet to be determined. There will be no lewds posted on this or any other site.
I know its about as morally dubious as this prompt gets, and I signed up for it when I started writing this prompt, but I'm treating it seriously and not as fan service. So please feel free to debate timing, execution, and morality, so long as you don't try to jump down my throat for writing the damn story. You've read this far, you knew it would come up eventually.
- Location
- Australia
That's fair and was also expecting at most a fade to black, implications of the horny, or wizardly innuenodos "Put my wand in her cauldron."
There is more then enough porn on the internet, especially Harry Potter porn, that neither you or the Beta should be under expactations.
There is more then enough porn on the internet, especially Harry Potter porn, that neither you or the Beta should be under expactations.
Never expected you to write anything more risky than a kiss, fade to black is a useful tool for a reason. And as you say, prompt is sketchy enough as is.
- Location
- US
So, sorry if this is off topic, but this made me think of this:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVymZxekEw
Especially when dealing with a parselmouth and a self-admitted successful criminal who deals with poisonous animals.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Considering half the people here expected Taylor to just get it over with like day 2 for pragmatic reasons, I doubt you'll have much pushback. That said, won't lie, I avoided this story for like... months, because of the skeevy premise. Worth reading it though, but if you don't have at least one epilogue scene at some point with the priest that married them being a paranoid wreck (I married the two most terrifying people together... [Sobbing]) I will be most disappointed at the chance missed.
Oh, and obligatory "Won't anyone think of the children?!" comment, so nobody else needs to.
Actually, what would the kids look like? And more importantly, how would a Shard Bud (like Fragile One/Waste) work with a magical child?
Oh, and obligatory "Won't anyone think of the children?!" comment, so nobody else needs to.
Actually, what would the kids look like? And more importantly, how would a Shard Bud (like Fragile One/Waste) work with a magical child?
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Thank you!
No seriously: thank you. it annoys me so much when writers pull that shit. Especially with teenagers. If they can't write a romance without sex, then they shouldn't write romance involving underage characters. Or better yet, just don't write romance.
- Location
- Here
The fanon version of Taylor with green eyes, probably.
- Location
- That place over there.
- Pronouns
- He/Them
Like Alec probably, which Aisha would have a fun time about
perfectly understandable, implying something happens works quite well anyhow.
Stahor
BookWorm
- Location
- Russia, Moscow
For all people like to call Taylor closet lesbian or bi, i never agreed with it. And, probably because of Wildbow not wanting to write or imply sexy times for obvious reasons, Taylor comes off as mostly not interested in sex or romance. Constant stress and fate of the world, etc, etc.
So i'm honestly surprised that her relationship with Harry develops beyond "friend", especially for peak Warlord Skitter.
On the other hand, i can see her consummate for pure technical reason to be able to be further apart, without feeling put into it.
Didn't Taylor and Grue fuck in the original work?
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
For right now it's purely practical. They've only known each other for two weeks and neither is the sort to just hop in bed with a stranger. If they'll end up with an actual romantic relationship? We'll see. I try to let my character interactions develop organically. It certainly feels possible right now but there's a lot of story between where we're at and where we are going.
Yes. And not that long ago from Taylor's perspective.
Stahor
BookWorm
- Location
- Russia, Moscow
I knew it will come up
It happened because they both were a wreck psychologically, not because Taylor (or even Brian's) specific desire.
Like almost everything in Worm it was extremely unhealthy, and it without getting into Aisha.
EDIT
Here we don't need to talk about Taylor.
Here we need to talk about Harry.
Hell of a thing for a first time.
For Taylor, for all her image issues, she is practical enough and a lot of time literally detached from her body to not care much.
Harry raised far more.. sheltered? Conservative. From pre-internet age. For him it's.. yeah.
Yes, twice.
It happened because they both were a wreck psychologically, not because Taylor (or even Brian's) specific desire.
Like almost everything in Worm it was extremely unhealthy, and it without getting into Aisha.
EDIT
Oh man, i did not processed it right away.
Here we don't need to talk about Taylor.
Here we need to talk about Harry.
Hell of a thing for a first time.
For Taylor, for all her image issues, she is practical enough and a lot of time literally detached from her body to not care much.
Harry raised far more.. sheltered? Conservative. From pre-internet age. For him it's.. yeah.
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How many every day items that are in use are just transformed insects?
- Location
- Here
She spends like 20 arcs crushing hard on Brian, he just doesn't really reciprocate until he needs her to help him recover. She's very much not uninterested, she just gets so desperately focused as the story goes on (and Wildbow gets tired of writing more than plot) that it never really comes up while she's hopping between crises. (Except when she gets sad that Brian has a new girlfriend.)
Speaking as a woman who likes women, she really only comes off as interested in anything but dudes while describing Aisha for 2 paragraphs and Narwhal for like 2 sentences 22 arcs and 2 in-story years later, the former buttressed on both sides with Taylor almost hilariously thirsty for Brian the entire chapter and the latter being, well, presumably an attempt to describe a naked woman without access to Wildbow's usual go-to descriptive method of color, material, build, and props. (The word choice is pretty sapphic tho, not gonna lie!)
I'm like 70% sure Lisa, the one person who'd know because that's her whole schtick, outright tells Parian that Taylor's straight. (70% because I could possibly be misremembering but I could have sworn this happened.)
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Stahor
BookWorm
- Location
- Russia, Moscow
My interpretation is different. In the begging she was crushing hard, yes, but as train looses brakes entirely, it drops of her radar in favor of more practical things.
Because it's adventure story, romance does not compete with action. Therefore Taylor is not interested in romance, at least compared to other things on her hands.
In a story with stronger romantic line, her romantic feelings would affected plot/decision making/narration more, and Taylor would be someone who has interest in romance and has to deal with her feelings in extreme situations. But it's not what happens.
Has Taylor realised that she's one year old at this point?
Functionality
The Scholar
- Location
- At the Library
- Pronouns
- He
Taylor as a one year old: goo goo gah gah. 👶Has Taylor realised that she's one year old at this point?
Windborne
Devourer of Stories
- Location
- Oregon
Was thinking about this Fic last night, so hearing that the next chapter is forthcoming is great news. I will admit I'm torn on the decision that Taylor and Harry have to sleep together, not the fade to black part that just makes sense if you're not comfortable writing it, but that they decide to do so. On the one hand yes it's something I could see Taylor doing out of pure practicality, but it's not exactly the healthiest thing for Harry and Taylor's relationship, or rather the lack thereof. Neither Taylor nor Harry are great at emotions and this can only create issues for them and I don't particularly enjoy reading excessive angst.
Additionally the practical gains of doing so aren't exactly outweighing the potential gains Taylor and Harry could gain by waiting just a couple months until they're at Hogwarts for a week or so. Them not being able to physically separate a great distance could've been a great way to gain concessions from the staff to get stuff like a shared couples room for Taylor and Harry to use to store their gear and house Taylor's insects without others knowing they're gearing up and the extent and strength of Taylor's power. Plus if they played up the fact that they can't go far from each other it's a tactical advantage they could exploit in combat at least once, which could be a very valuable trump card. So yeah while I could see Taylor deciding to do so, I can also see her deciding not to do so as well for other reasons, so yeah I'm torn. Ultimately it's up to you @Fencer, but I do advise caution whichever way you decide.
Additionally the practical gains of doing so aren't exactly outweighing the potential gains Taylor and Harry could gain by waiting just a couple months until they're at Hogwarts for a week or so. Them not being able to physically separate a great distance could've been a great way to gain concessions from the staff to get stuff like a shared couples room for Taylor and Harry to use to store their gear and house Taylor's insects without others knowing they're gearing up and the extent and strength of Taylor's power. Plus if they played up the fact that they can't go far from each other it's a tactical advantage they could exploit in combat at least once, which could be a very valuable trump card. So yeah while I could see Taylor deciding to do so, I can also see her deciding not to do so as well for other reasons, so yeah I'm torn. Ultimately it's up to you @Fencer, but I do advise caution whichever way you decide.
Ch. 8
Fencer
Writer
- Location
- 2nd shift
- Pronouns
- He/Him
AN: On today's episode of 'oh god my Vegas wife is terrifying'; Taylor and Harry talk about something incredibly awkward. Remember to thank our lovely beta Functionality for their hard work. I promised them more Star Wars and then my muse started cackling and ran off to obsess over awkward heart to hearts where Harry gets to be a moderating influence. Huh… Harry Potter, moderating influence… huh… Good job muse, I knew you'd figure out something useful for him to do sooner or later.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; two days after arriving at headquarters
For the main base of a resistance movement there was absolutely nothing to do here. Meeting aside, the only one who had stopped by was the scarred veteran Mad Eye Moody. Who had stayed only long enough to drop off some basic groceries, scan me with his magic perv eyeball, and then grunt his approval at the number of weapons I was carrying.
Swapping stories about cape fights for stories about magic school did pass the time and let Harry and I get a better feel for one another. Unfortunately, I was still leery about talking about my history now that I knew just how damn versatile magic was. Who's to say there wasn't someone listening in? And Harry was humble to a fault downplaying everything he did. So, while we were learning about each other it was… stilted.
Not that I expected us to just magically start getting along or anything. This was going to take time. I needed allies so I'd keep trying. Especially now. Hearing some of Harry's stories was giving me a whole host of new nightmares.
Hopefully getting new glasses would get rid of this headache I'd been nursing since we got here.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; four days after arriving at headquarters
Scowling I messaged my temples. I'd thought new glasses would have stopped the headaches I'd been getting, but apparently not. If they weren't being caused by mismatched prescriptions… Maybe there was something in the house?
Growling, I refocused on the task Harry and I had set ourselves. Dumping all the house's valuable trinkets into the expanded pouch I'd snagged from the would be silverware thief. Once we were done the plan was to drop the pouch in Harry's trunk or his bank vault to worry about later. It was tedious, and I'd found eleven objects that killed the bugs I used to test this crap already. Each blatantly cursed object now had its own spider silk bag to prevent accidents. If I had enough spiders, I'd have given everything that treatment just to be safe, but I was somewhat limited for the time being.
Honestly, I wasn't too bothered about someone making off with this stuff beyond the principle of the thing. I didn't exactly have the moral high ground on thievery. But Harry took it as an insult to his godfather, and I could understand that. So, I agreed to help bag it all. At least now we knew that my bugs could test for curses. Still wasn't touching anything barehanded just in case.
On the bright side, we were almost done. Better still, the black widows I'd brought with me from Vegas were done stitching Mrs. Black's portrait curtains together. I was still going to reinforce that stitching until there was more spider silk than curtain and they became entirely inseparable. That woman didn't deserve speaking privileges and if I couldn't get anything to damage her portrait, I was going to jail her and make the inside of the curtains a breeding ground for my spiders. See if that couldn't drive the harridan to release whatever enchantment kept her in place.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; five days post arrival at headquarters
"I don't get it. Transfiguration sounds beyond useful in a fight but none of these defense texts talk about using it in fights." I said, looking to Harry for clarification. "You could use them to make cover, or send animals after an enemy so why aren't they talked about?"
"Transfiguration takes focus." Harry shrugged. "It's not that you can't use it in a fight, but it takes a lot of focus which is a bit hard when you're trying to dodge deadly spells, and it can be much slower than casting a jinx or curse. So, if you're going to use transfiguration you need to be sure you'll have time to cast uninterrupted, or you need to be really fast about it. Most people don't have the skill to do major transfiguration quickly."
Huh. Well that mostly made sense.
"Ok but what about using it to create cover?" I asked. "Even if you couldn't manage mid fight couldn't you prep the field if you know you'll need to fight?"
Harry wiggled a hand in a so-so gesture.
"A lot of more advanced defense texts talk about cover and it's a bit of a mixed bag. Physical cover is great against a lot of curses, especially the unforgivables. But against someone competent it doesn't hold up long unless it's something magically imbued like the walls of Hogwarts. Regular stone for example can be taken apart pretty easily with blasting or piercing curses. And that's if they don't use the fact you're behind cover and not shooting at them as a chance to cast something more complicated." Harry grinned cheekily. "Like transfiguring animals to go around the cover and attack you, or maybe just try and get flames to go around the edges of whatever you're using as cover. You can use transfigurations, sure, but it's pretty situational, charms, jinxes, and curses are the bread and butter of dueling and magic combat."
Right. Not like normals with guns. More like heavy duty blasters. Damn wizards and their seemingly bottomless bag of tricks. Was I slipping or was this headache really making it that hard to think?
"So everyone has to fight mobile?"
"Yeah, keep moving, and if you can't dodge something, cast a shield. A good shield charm will stop most things besides an unforgivable. But you don't want to hunker down behind a shield for long because that makes you an obvious target and every blocked spell takes a bit out of you. Much better to just keep moving and dodge."
"Or intercept with my swarm. So long as I keep my distance from area effect spells." I'd been thinking about that ever since I realized most spells traveled as jets of relatively slow light. They were quick, but compared to gun fire and actual lasers? No, these I could actually dodge.
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"That'll work if you're fighting alone, Taylor. But if you bury the whole field in your swarm, it would make it hard for anyone else to attack the Death Eaters."
"True, I've got a few ideas for that, but it could take some practice to get things working properly." Granted until they figured out a full body defense against my swarm, I doubted I'd need help, but if and when they did… Well, I had to wonder what would happen if a wizard cast a blasting curse while a fly was sitting on the tip of their wand.
"You know for all you're talk about luck getting you through your fights, you really do seem to know what you're talking about." I said.
Harry flushed and scratched the back of his neck.
"Defense is my best subject. I've done a lot of extra reading on it, especially the last two years."
I hummed something positive but let it lie. He obviously didn't want to boast and I appreciated the humility. Though honestly, he could stand to take more pride in his skills.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; seven days post arrival at headquarters
The headache would not go away. Nothing seemed to cause it, or help with it. Worse, I was starting to suffer from body aches as well. Like I was constantly just a little bit sore. It left me in a foul mood and the order members' infrequent visits and the utter lack of usable intelligence just further stressed my fraying patience.
Harry had actually thrown himself into things by studying defense texts, and practicing wand motions. He was even joining me in my improvised exercise regimen which was mostly going up and down the stairs, pushups, and sit ups.
Despite his attempts to distract himself it was still obvious he was miserable here. Not helped by Molly refusing to let his friends visit. Which I suspected had more to do with my presence than anything else, but could just as easily be about the number of cursed nick knacks or the weekly order meetings.
The thought of Harry being depressed here sent a fresh spike of pain through my head. The penny dropped, and I finally clued in to exactly what was going on. As soon as I resigned myself to talking it over with Harry the headache faded to a fraction of what I'd been dealing with confirming my theory. I took a minute to curse, and a few more to go through our very short list of options, before getting up to talk with Harry.
This was going to be unbelievably awkward.
{}{}{}{} Harry
I looked up from my latest defense text as Taylor stepped into the room with a knock at the open door. One look at her face and I marked my page before closing the book.
"Taylor?"
"We need to talk. And this is going to be stupidly awkward and uncomfortable." She said frankly with a grimace.
"How uncomfortable?" I asked.
"Well, we have a few possibilities on the table, but even if we decide not to go that route…" She hesitated, sighed, then looked me dead in the eyes. "It's probably time we talked about consummating the stupid wedding."
I thought about that for a minute trying very hard not to flush or sputter or even just start rambling. Yes, it was a conversation we would need to have sooner or later. Why Taylor wanted to talk about it now, I had no idea, but even if her priorities were a little strange at times, she always seemed to have a good reason for the things she did. That meant there was probably a good reason for wanting to talk about this now. Still though.
"Do you think we could find a bottle of fire whisky around here before we start talking about that. I think I might need it." I asked.
Taylor snorted then arched one eyebrow as she favored me with a small smirk.
"You sure that's how you want to handle this? Alcohol is what got us into this mess in the first place. Well, alcohol and whatever I got drugged with."
I laughed, one short sharp bark of resigned mirth.
"Well, Nymphadora's not around this time to drag us into trouble. Honestly, I don't think Gryffindor courage is going to be enough to get me through a conversation about our sex life as a Vegas wedding couple."
Taylor hummed thoughtfully.
"Honestly? I'm a little tempted to agree, but I'm really not willing to make it a repeat of last time. Never mind how badly things went while we were drunk, the hangover was…" She shook her head. And I nodded agreement. "Also, I really don't want to risk being that impaired ever again, it's just not responsible when I've got a swarm of insects under my control."
That was several very good points right there.
"Ok, so what about just a few drinks each, and we bar the door so Nymphadora or the rest of the order can't barge in and yell at us for drinking, or derail the conversation neither of us wants to have." I offered.
Taylor let slip a tight laugh.
"I think you're being a bad influence on me and trying to avoid the subject with alcohol."
"How could I possibly be a bad influence on a former supervillain?" I asked with a huff.
"Well I certainly never drank before I met you." She sighed. "But fine. I know where the wine racks are in the basement. I'll grab a bottle and meet you…" She trailed off and shot me a questioning look.
"My room." I offered. "There's a couple chairs, and it used to be Sirius's; he installed a couple deadbolts at some point to keep his family out." Though I should see about temporarily taking down his posters. This conversation was going to be awkward enough without pin ups of scantily clad women.
Taylor nodded and headed for the door and I got moving. She wasn't going to dally, so if I wanted to take those posters down, I'd best hurry.
{}{}{}{} Harry
It was amazing how little you could say while trying to act old and appreciate wine. It was also amazing how quickly you could drink a glass of something you didn't really enjoy when it was the only thing you could do to put off talking about something awkward. At least now I understood what people meant when they said a wine is dry.
With a sigh I drained the last of my first glass and picked up the bottle to pour a second.
"So… why do we need to have this conversation now?"
Taylor eyed her half empty glass, drained it, and held it out for me to refill. Which I did, eyed what was left of the bottle and saved myself time by dividing the last glass worth between us now. Taylor nodded a bit absently and took another sip before she started to talk.
"I figured out what was causing my headaches. You're miserable here, I know it, and I haven't tried to fix that problem. More than that we're here because of me so it's at least partly my fault. The stupid vows are punishing me for causing you emotional distress." She took another sip from her glass. "As soon as I decided to talk to you about it, the headache faded."
Well, that at least made sense. Though wow that was a strict interpretation. That could trip either of us up pretty easily if that was all it took. Not that a headache was all that severe but still.
"Ok, so I think I get that, but how did you get from being here is bad for both of us," even if it was indirectly for her, "to we should talk about… doing what we need to do to get rid of our tether?" I asked, taking a sip of my own drink.
Taylor scowled at a random spot on the wall.
"If we go back to the Weasley's, and that's if Molly will let me come back with you, how long until the fact that I'm uncomfortable there starts causing you headaches?"
That… was an excellent point.
"We could try living somewhere else?" I offered. Though realistically…
Taylor shook her head.
"I don't know what kind of defenses they set up at the Weasley's, but I doubt they're as good as the defenses here, and the fact they haven't got everyone under that sort of defense already means for some reason they can't…" She trailed off and tilted her head in thought. "Or they could be idiots and haven't even considered setting up more safe houses." Taylor finished with a sort of resigned aggravation. Like she was now convinced that was exactly what was going on and wouldn't believe otherwise without proof.
I wanted to defend the Order's competence, really, I did, but that would be getting further off topic. And while I wasn't ready to condemn their every choice like Taylor, I was starting to doubt they had any kind of plan beyond gathering information and trying to convince people not to join with Voldemort. If we could set up even a half dozen bolt holes under the fidelius charm…
"So you think, what, we… do it, and then you stay here while I go back to the Weasley's?" I asked.
"… It's an option." Taylor grumbled before looking me in the eye. "Look, no offense, but I still barely know you and I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but it's an option. Sooner or later, we need to lose the tether. You've been kidnapped by portkey before. I'm not in a hurry to find out what happens to us if someone does that again while we're still tied together. And even if we could have it worse sooner or later this is going to start to chafe. I'm used to being able to go all over a small city and now I'm supposed to limit myself to a house? I'm already starting to hate that."
All of that made sense. It was all reasonable. But there was something…. Taylor's voice sounded even more neutral than normal. Careful, controlled, exact. If there was one thing I'd picked up about her it was the more she clamped down on her reactions the stronger the feelings she was trying not to show.
"Ok, those are all good points." I admitted taking another sip. "And I get that neither of us are exactly in a rush for this, but why does it feel like you're trying to convince yourself even more than you're trying to convince me?"
Taylor went absolutely, rigidly, still. I very slowly took another sip of wine. This was important. It was also more than a bit like poking a dragon's sore tooth and hoping not to lose a hand.
Taylor almost mechanically sipped her wine.
"If you're not staying here with me. I'm not going to feel safe here." She said very slowly. "You seem like a nice guy, and even if you weren't, the marriage vows would have kept you honest, to a degree. I don't know the rest of the order, and there isn't anything keeping them honest. Do you know what the scariest things I've found reading your school books and bits of the library are?"
What would the girl controlling a biblical insect swarm find terrifying? I shook my head.
"Compulsion charms, memory charms, love potions, and the imperius curse. Human master abilities available to anyone and everyone with the patience to learn them. The fact you have any sort of society instead of outright anarchy is a damn miracle as far as I'm concerned."
Now I could hear the bugs, if a bit faintly, from farther in the house. She must be actively keeping them away from us.
"Most of the order doesn't think much of me." She continued. "Moody, the Lupin's, and Dumbledore are willing to believe I'm dangerous in a fight, but that's it. And if anyone decides it would be for the best that I stay out of their war." Taylor shrugged stiffly. "I've got one real ally on this planet and they're not it." She said looking me straight in the eye. "Staying here might mean your enemies can't find me, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'm safe."
"Taylor, the Order's not like that-"
"You don't know that." She cut me off sharply. "Harry, if you said Ron and Hermione aren't like that? I'd believe you, but you've barely met most of these people. I've barely met them, and if I can't trust them…"
"Taylor, you're being paranoid." I cut her off firmly. "Look, you want to claim the Order is incompetent? Ok, I'll admit they haven't done much to prove you wrong, and given how many times my friends and I saved the school, or solved some mystery every year on our own… So fine, maybe they're incompetent, but I haven't seen any proof that they would mess with your mind out of some idiotic attempt to help, or to get you out of the way."
"… You told me that Dumbledore had a man who hates you regularly invade your mind. A man who is a marked Death Eater."
Yes… yes, I did tell her that. Though not in those words. I found myself sipping more of my wine to buy time before answering.
"I did learn to repel mental attacks." I said.
"The fact that it worked doesn't make it any less of a violation though, does it." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. I couldn't deny it either. "One of them violated your mind and privacy on orders from Dumbledore. No real explanation. No real instruction, no trying to find a teacher that you would be more comfortable with."
I stayed silent sipping my glass as Taylor's eyes bored into me.
"I trust you, in part because you seem like a genuinely nice guy, and in part because you can't hurt me without hurting yourself. I do not trust the Order. If they did something to me and you didn't notice, which you might not, given we still barely know each other, they could change me, and there would be no repercussions."
And that was the end of it. She had a point. I didn't believe for an instant that Dumbledore would do anything to Taylor, but I couldn't prove that, and Taylor had an example I'd given her to back up her opinion.
"Ok, so you don't trust the Order, what do you want to do about it? Because I'm going to have to draw the line at fighting them, I've got enough enemies without making more out of allies."
Taylor grinned faintly.
"Think the night bus would stop for me if I held out one of the old wands we found?"
I frowned and tried to think that through.
"You do realize that would leave you exposed around a bunch of random magicals? Where do you even want to go?"
Taylor scoffed.
"A few flies and gnats and I could monitor everyone on a bus easily."
"Then why not just do the same with the Order?"
"I already do that." She rolled her eyes. "But I'd like to get some sleep without feeling a bit paranoid that someone could get to me while I'm out."
"And you think you'll feel safer sleeping in some warehouse or hotel room? For nearly two months, with no one watching your back?"
Tellingly she didn't say anything.
"Seriously, where do you even want to go, and for that matter why?" I asked.
"… I want to look at those giant magic spiders. If their webs are magic, or better, magic resistant I want to use them to make my next costume. With the addresses for Diagon Alley and the ministry I should be able to eavesdrop, though I don't know if I'd hear anything useful. If I could pry a damn address out of the Order, I could stake out an actual Death Eater. Something, anything, has to be more productive than sitting around here doing nothing. They might not care if I get myself killed but you…"
"They're never going to let me out of sight. And they aren't wrong, I'd be a target, so would you." Seriously, why did she want to run around as a target? "Look I'm not used to being able to just roam around a city like you are, but I get being sick of being locked away somewhere. I get that. But just wandering around the city? Where would you sleep? Where would you get food?"
Taylor looked away.
"We've gotten off topic." She said from behind her wine glass.
"Yeah, we have, but this is important. Don't try to change the subject now. Taylor, I get it. At least a bit. So take it from someone who's made a habit of doing something crazy when I feel like my back is to the wall. Your plan is at least a little bit crazy. I don't doubt you could survive on the streets of London for a month and a half. I'm less certain about the Forbidden Forest, but that's mostly because I'm not sure the acromantula won't eat you when you fall asleep."
Honestly, she could probably just glare the forest into submission.
"But the fact you could do it doesn't mean you should. It wouldn't be even remotely safe, or comfortable. And even if you wandered all of London there's no guarantee you'd find any useful information about the Death Eaters. They're probably scattered all across the countryside in warded manor homes. Not discussing evil plans in the ministry offices or some shop."
Taylor scowled at a corner of the room and tipped a fair amount of wine into her mouth.
"How about a compromise." I offered. "Or, heck not even a compromise, just something a bit more… moderate."
"... Like what?"
"We take a day trip to Hogwarts and test your control against magic murder spiders. If it works you grab a few of the smaller ones for costume weaving. And if your control holds while you're asleep you have some very nasty bodyguards no one can get past without waking you. You'll be able to work on your new costume here, safe, and comfortable."
Taylor relaxed a bit as I explained the idea I was coming up with on the spot.
"I'll spend some afternoons at the Weasleys so I'm not always stuck here, that should get the bond off your back, but I'll sleep here and we can talk in the mornings and evenings. Keep getting to know each other and still give each other space?" I realized I was waving my wine glass around enough to make the liquid slosh, so I quickly put it down. "You can keep spying on the Order for anything worth knowing, and I'll convince Mrs. Weasley to let Ron and Hermione come over sometimes. Then we can all start planning. Between you, Hermione and the Black library we might be able to figure out how Voldemort survived without asking Dumbledore, and if we can't I'd bet my broom there's something in there we could use for your fates worse than death plan."
Taylor grinned. It was a small vicious thing, it fit her face entirely too well.
"That's not a bad plan at all." She held her glass of wine out and after a moment I picked up on my cue and clinked my own against hers, then we drained the glasses. Taylor sighed and set her glass aside.
"We still need to talk about the elephant in the room." She said.
I could vaguely make out the noise of distant insects grow louder and more frantic. That I could identify frantic insects over calm by pitch was not a life skill I'd ever wanted, but apparently it only took a couple of weeks living with a highly stressed insect controller to learn.
"Must we?"
"Sooner or later, yeah. And we finished the wine. Might as well get it over with."
"We could put it off. Open another bottle in a few days?" I leaned back in my chair so I could stare at the ceiling.
"I'm not making alcohol a regular habit, Harry. It might help get past a bit of the embarrassment, but my city was full of people who tried escaping with drugs or drinking." She scoffed. "Fat lot of good that did anyone. Wasted their money, fed the gangs, certainly didn't fix their problems."
"Maybe we can weaponize that? A curse to make the Death Eaters and Voldemort perpetually drunk or high. Doubt they'd be much of a threat if they can't aim straight."
Taylor smirked.
"That's a thought. Though I don't think I'll be any help with that so you'll need to figure it out on your own. But you're still dodging the conversation. I can promise to keep the bugs out of the bedroom, but if you tell me to 'lie back and think of England' I'm going to hurt you."
That startled a laugh out of me.
"Not arguing I should, but doesn't it seem like the kind of situation that was meant for? Arranged marriages, yeah?"
"You're the Brit," she scoffed, "maybe it should be my line."
I opened my mouth to say something, hopefully something witty, then closed it and thought it over.
"Maybe it should be."
"… What?" She asked, looking genuinely perplexed.
"This, all of it, but especially this bit, feels at least a bit wrong. It's not my fault, or yours, but it still feels…" I waved a hand vaguely trying to explain. I never wanted to be the sort of bastard who forced themself on a girl, and yet this whole situation, even with Taylor being the one to bring it up… it made me feel like I was walking along the edge of that line.
"Being in control, setting the pace. Would that make this, I don't know, easier, for you?"
For a minute Taylor said nothing, but the background hum of her swarm… it didn't stop, but it eased down into something calmer.
{}{}{}{} Taylor
Something ugly and tight that had taken up residence in my gut during our conversation seemed to unwind a bit. The offer didn't change what we needed to do. It didn't stop a part of me from wanting to feed Nymphadora to my swarm.
But it did make this easier. In a way. Less offensive, less intimidating.
"Yes, that would help." I admitted. "I've got a potion, The Lupins gave it to me. Something to make sure we don't end up teen parents."
Harry's face went through a complicated array of emotions quickly before he shook himself and nodded.
"We don't need to do this tonight, just… sooner or later." I offered.
Honestly, with a less drastic plan in place, and an assurance of control… I was perfectly happy to delay a while if Harry wanted to.
Harry groaned. Sounding thoroughly done with everything.
"I want to delay." He said slowly. "But that's going back to how awkward this all is. If I put it off now, I'm going to want to keep putting it off." He rubbed at his face with both hands, but not before I saw his cheeks turn crimson. "I, tonight, just… I feel like I ought to shower, and brush my teeth, I just…"
I looked away and dumped as much of my reaction into the swarm as I could. I guess we were really doing this then. I'd brought it up. I knew this was a possibility. Heck it was the result I was aiming for even if just so I could get away and do something I'd consider important. And here we were. This wouldn't be like with Brian. For a lot of reasons. And thinking about Brian right now would only make things more complicated. So, ignore that thought. I'd done this to myself, and honestly this whole mess had gone better than expected. So, time to just own it and get it over with.
"How about we get cleaned up, and come back in an hour or so?" I offered.
"Yeah, alright." Harry said, sounding shaky.
I offered Harry a strained smile and headed for the door.
My bugs just made out Harry muttering that he could not believe this was happening and he should probably think up more ways to get back at Tonks for this awkward insanity.
Which was a very welcome distraction to think on for the next hour instead of… anyway. How else could I further tank that woman's reputation after convincing all her coworkers she liked to work out her Daddy issues in the bedroom?
… Nope, not distracting enough. Damn it, this was beyond awkward, and I was going to make her suffer. Nymphadora, Crazy Bitch, and Dinah just for kicking this insanity off. I will get even, and they will all regret the parts they played in this. First though? I needed to shower, and brush my teeth, and my hair, and damn it all to hell I was thinking about it again!
{}{}{}{} Taylor; two days after arriving at headquarters
For the main base of a resistance movement there was absolutely nothing to do here. Meeting aside, the only one who had stopped by was the scarred veteran Mad Eye Moody. Who had stayed only long enough to drop off some basic groceries, scan me with his magic perv eyeball, and then grunt his approval at the number of weapons I was carrying.
Swapping stories about cape fights for stories about magic school did pass the time and let Harry and I get a better feel for one another. Unfortunately, I was still leery about talking about my history now that I knew just how damn versatile magic was. Who's to say there wasn't someone listening in? And Harry was humble to a fault downplaying everything he did. So, while we were learning about each other it was… stilted.
Not that I expected us to just magically start getting along or anything. This was going to take time. I needed allies so I'd keep trying. Especially now. Hearing some of Harry's stories was giving me a whole host of new nightmares.
Hopefully getting new glasses would get rid of this headache I'd been nursing since we got here.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; four days after arriving at headquarters
Scowling I messaged my temples. I'd thought new glasses would have stopped the headaches I'd been getting, but apparently not. If they weren't being caused by mismatched prescriptions… Maybe there was something in the house?
Growling, I refocused on the task Harry and I had set ourselves. Dumping all the house's valuable trinkets into the expanded pouch I'd snagged from the would be silverware thief. Once we were done the plan was to drop the pouch in Harry's trunk or his bank vault to worry about later. It was tedious, and I'd found eleven objects that killed the bugs I used to test this crap already. Each blatantly cursed object now had its own spider silk bag to prevent accidents. If I had enough spiders, I'd have given everything that treatment just to be safe, but I was somewhat limited for the time being.
Honestly, I wasn't too bothered about someone making off with this stuff beyond the principle of the thing. I didn't exactly have the moral high ground on thievery. But Harry took it as an insult to his godfather, and I could understand that. So, I agreed to help bag it all. At least now we knew that my bugs could test for curses. Still wasn't touching anything barehanded just in case.
On the bright side, we were almost done. Better still, the black widows I'd brought with me from Vegas were done stitching Mrs. Black's portrait curtains together. I was still going to reinforce that stitching until there was more spider silk than curtain and they became entirely inseparable. That woman didn't deserve speaking privileges and if I couldn't get anything to damage her portrait, I was going to jail her and make the inside of the curtains a breeding ground for my spiders. See if that couldn't drive the harridan to release whatever enchantment kept her in place.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; five days post arrival at headquarters
"I don't get it. Transfiguration sounds beyond useful in a fight but none of these defense texts talk about using it in fights." I said, looking to Harry for clarification. "You could use them to make cover, or send animals after an enemy so why aren't they talked about?"
"Transfiguration takes focus." Harry shrugged. "It's not that you can't use it in a fight, but it takes a lot of focus which is a bit hard when you're trying to dodge deadly spells, and it can be much slower than casting a jinx or curse. So, if you're going to use transfiguration you need to be sure you'll have time to cast uninterrupted, or you need to be really fast about it. Most people don't have the skill to do major transfiguration quickly."
Huh. Well that mostly made sense.
"Ok but what about using it to create cover?" I asked. "Even if you couldn't manage mid fight couldn't you prep the field if you know you'll need to fight?"
Harry wiggled a hand in a so-so gesture.
"A lot of more advanced defense texts talk about cover and it's a bit of a mixed bag. Physical cover is great against a lot of curses, especially the unforgivables. But against someone competent it doesn't hold up long unless it's something magically imbued like the walls of Hogwarts. Regular stone for example can be taken apart pretty easily with blasting or piercing curses. And that's if they don't use the fact you're behind cover and not shooting at them as a chance to cast something more complicated." Harry grinned cheekily. "Like transfiguring animals to go around the cover and attack you, or maybe just try and get flames to go around the edges of whatever you're using as cover. You can use transfigurations, sure, but it's pretty situational, charms, jinxes, and curses are the bread and butter of dueling and magic combat."
Right. Not like normals with guns. More like heavy duty blasters. Damn wizards and their seemingly bottomless bag of tricks. Was I slipping or was this headache really making it that hard to think?
"So everyone has to fight mobile?"
"Yeah, keep moving, and if you can't dodge something, cast a shield. A good shield charm will stop most things besides an unforgivable. But you don't want to hunker down behind a shield for long because that makes you an obvious target and every blocked spell takes a bit out of you. Much better to just keep moving and dodge."
"Or intercept with my swarm. So long as I keep my distance from area effect spells." I'd been thinking about that ever since I realized most spells traveled as jets of relatively slow light. They were quick, but compared to gun fire and actual lasers? No, these I could actually dodge.
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"That'll work if you're fighting alone, Taylor. But if you bury the whole field in your swarm, it would make it hard for anyone else to attack the Death Eaters."
"True, I've got a few ideas for that, but it could take some practice to get things working properly." Granted until they figured out a full body defense against my swarm, I doubted I'd need help, but if and when they did… Well, I had to wonder what would happen if a wizard cast a blasting curse while a fly was sitting on the tip of their wand.
"You know for all you're talk about luck getting you through your fights, you really do seem to know what you're talking about." I said.
Harry flushed and scratched the back of his neck.
"Defense is my best subject. I've done a lot of extra reading on it, especially the last two years."
I hummed something positive but let it lie. He obviously didn't want to boast and I appreciated the humility. Though honestly, he could stand to take more pride in his skills.
{}{}{}{} Taylor; seven days post arrival at headquarters
The headache would not go away. Nothing seemed to cause it, or help with it. Worse, I was starting to suffer from body aches as well. Like I was constantly just a little bit sore. It left me in a foul mood and the order members' infrequent visits and the utter lack of usable intelligence just further stressed my fraying patience.
Harry had actually thrown himself into things by studying defense texts, and practicing wand motions. He was even joining me in my improvised exercise regimen which was mostly going up and down the stairs, pushups, and sit ups.
Despite his attempts to distract himself it was still obvious he was miserable here. Not helped by Molly refusing to let his friends visit. Which I suspected had more to do with my presence than anything else, but could just as easily be about the number of cursed nick knacks or the weekly order meetings.
The thought of Harry being depressed here sent a fresh spike of pain through my head. The penny dropped, and I finally clued in to exactly what was going on. As soon as I resigned myself to talking it over with Harry the headache faded to a fraction of what I'd been dealing with confirming my theory. I took a minute to curse, and a few more to go through our very short list of options, before getting up to talk with Harry.
This was going to be unbelievably awkward.
{}{}{}{} Harry
I looked up from my latest defense text as Taylor stepped into the room with a knock at the open door. One look at her face and I marked my page before closing the book.
"Taylor?"
"We need to talk. And this is going to be stupidly awkward and uncomfortable." She said frankly with a grimace.
"How uncomfortable?" I asked.
"Well, we have a few possibilities on the table, but even if we decide not to go that route…" She hesitated, sighed, then looked me dead in the eyes. "It's probably time we talked about consummating the stupid wedding."
I thought about that for a minute trying very hard not to flush or sputter or even just start rambling. Yes, it was a conversation we would need to have sooner or later. Why Taylor wanted to talk about it now, I had no idea, but even if her priorities were a little strange at times, she always seemed to have a good reason for the things she did. That meant there was probably a good reason for wanting to talk about this now. Still though.
"Do you think we could find a bottle of fire whisky around here before we start talking about that. I think I might need it." I asked.
Taylor snorted then arched one eyebrow as she favored me with a small smirk.
"You sure that's how you want to handle this? Alcohol is what got us into this mess in the first place. Well, alcohol and whatever I got drugged with."
I laughed, one short sharp bark of resigned mirth.
"Well, Nymphadora's not around this time to drag us into trouble. Honestly, I don't think Gryffindor courage is going to be enough to get me through a conversation about our sex life as a Vegas wedding couple."
Taylor hummed thoughtfully.
"Honestly? I'm a little tempted to agree, but I'm really not willing to make it a repeat of last time. Never mind how badly things went while we were drunk, the hangover was…" She shook her head. And I nodded agreement. "Also, I really don't want to risk being that impaired ever again, it's just not responsible when I've got a swarm of insects under my control."
That was several very good points right there.
"Ok, so what about just a few drinks each, and we bar the door so Nymphadora or the rest of the order can't barge in and yell at us for drinking, or derail the conversation neither of us wants to have." I offered.
Taylor let slip a tight laugh.
"I think you're being a bad influence on me and trying to avoid the subject with alcohol."
"How could I possibly be a bad influence on a former supervillain?" I asked with a huff.
"Well I certainly never drank before I met you." She sighed. "But fine. I know where the wine racks are in the basement. I'll grab a bottle and meet you…" She trailed off and shot me a questioning look.
"My room." I offered. "There's a couple chairs, and it used to be Sirius's; he installed a couple deadbolts at some point to keep his family out." Though I should see about temporarily taking down his posters. This conversation was going to be awkward enough without pin ups of scantily clad women.
Taylor nodded and headed for the door and I got moving. She wasn't going to dally, so if I wanted to take those posters down, I'd best hurry.
{}{}{}{} Harry
It was amazing how little you could say while trying to act old and appreciate wine. It was also amazing how quickly you could drink a glass of something you didn't really enjoy when it was the only thing you could do to put off talking about something awkward. At least now I understood what people meant when they said a wine is dry.
With a sigh I drained the last of my first glass and picked up the bottle to pour a second.
"So… why do we need to have this conversation now?"
Taylor eyed her half empty glass, drained it, and held it out for me to refill. Which I did, eyed what was left of the bottle and saved myself time by dividing the last glass worth between us now. Taylor nodded a bit absently and took another sip before she started to talk.
"I figured out what was causing my headaches. You're miserable here, I know it, and I haven't tried to fix that problem. More than that we're here because of me so it's at least partly my fault. The stupid vows are punishing me for causing you emotional distress." She took another sip from her glass. "As soon as I decided to talk to you about it, the headache faded."
Well, that at least made sense. Though wow that was a strict interpretation. That could trip either of us up pretty easily if that was all it took. Not that a headache was all that severe but still.
"Ok, so I think I get that, but how did you get from being here is bad for both of us," even if it was indirectly for her, "to we should talk about… doing what we need to do to get rid of our tether?" I asked, taking a sip of my own drink.
Taylor scowled at a random spot on the wall.
"If we go back to the Weasley's, and that's if Molly will let me come back with you, how long until the fact that I'm uncomfortable there starts causing you headaches?"
That… was an excellent point.
"We could try living somewhere else?" I offered. Though realistically…
Taylor shook her head.
"I don't know what kind of defenses they set up at the Weasley's, but I doubt they're as good as the defenses here, and the fact they haven't got everyone under that sort of defense already means for some reason they can't…" She trailed off and tilted her head in thought. "Or they could be idiots and haven't even considered setting up more safe houses." Taylor finished with a sort of resigned aggravation. Like she was now convinced that was exactly what was going on and wouldn't believe otherwise without proof.
I wanted to defend the Order's competence, really, I did, but that would be getting further off topic. And while I wasn't ready to condemn their every choice like Taylor, I was starting to doubt they had any kind of plan beyond gathering information and trying to convince people not to join with Voldemort. If we could set up even a half dozen bolt holes under the fidelius charm…
"So you think, what, we… do it, and then you stay here while I go back to the Weasley's?" I asked.
"… It's an option." Taylor grumbled before looking me in the eye. "Look, no offense, but I still barely know you and I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but it's an option. Sooner or later, we need to lose the tether. You've been kidnapped by portkey before. I'm not in a hurry to find out what happens to us if someone does that again while we're still tied together. And even if we could have it worse sooner or later this is going to start to chafe. I'm used to being able to go all over a small city and now I'm supposed to limit myself to a house? I'm already starting to hate that."
All of that made sense. It was all reasonable. But there was something…. Taylor's voice sounded even more neutral than normal. Careful, controlled, exact. If there was one thing I'd picked up about her it was the more she clamped down on her reactions the stronger the feelings she was trying not to show.
"Ok, those are all good points." I admitted taking another sip. "And I get that neither of us are exactly in a rush for this, but why does it feel like you're trying to convince yourself even more than you're trying to convince me?"
Taylor went absolutely, rigidly, still. I very slowly took another sip of wine. This was important. It was also more than a bit like poking a dragon's sore tooth and hoping not to lose a hand.
Taylor almost mechanically sipped her wine.
"If you're not staying here with me. I'm not going to feel safe here." She said very slowly. "You seem like a nice guy, and even if you weren't, the marriage vows would have kept you honest, to a degree. I don't know the rest of the order, and there isn't anything keeping them honest. Do you know what the scariest things I've found reading your school books and bits of the library are?"
What would the girl controlling a biblical insect swarm find terrifying? I shook my head.
"Compulsion charms, memory charms, love potions, and the imperius curse. Human master abilities available to anyone and everyone with the patience to learn them. The fact you have any sort of society instead of outright anarchy is a damn miracle as far as I'm concerned."
Now I could hear the bugs, if a bit faintly, from farther in the house. She must be actively keeping them away from us.
"Most of the order doesn't think much of me." She continued. "Moody, the Lupin's, and Dumbledore are willing to believe I'm dangerous in a fight, but that's it. And if anyone decides it would be for the best that I stay out of their war." Taylor shrugged stiffly. "I've got one real ally on this planet and they're not it." She said looking me straight in the eye. "Staying here might mean your enemies can't find me, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'm safe."
"Taylor, the Order's not like that-"
"You don't know that." She cut me off sharply. "Harry, if you said Ron and Hermione aren't like that? I'd believe you, but you've barely met most of these people. I've barely met them, and if I can't trust them…"
"Taylor, you're being paranoid." I cut her off firmly. "Look, you want to claim the Order is incompetent? Ok, I'll admit they haven't done much to prove you wrong, and given how many times my friends and I saved the school, or solved some mystery every year on our own… So fine, maybe they're incompetent, but I haven't seen any proof that they would mess with your mind out of some idiotic attempt to help, or to get you out of the way."
"… You told me that Dumbledore had a man who hates you regularly invade your mind. A man who is a marked Death Eater."
Yes… yes, I did tell her that. Though not in those words. I found myself sipping more of my wine to buy time before answering.
"I did learn to repel mental attacks." I said.
"The fact that it worked doesn't make it any less of a violation though, does it." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. I couldn't deny it either. "One of them violated your mind and privacy on orders from Dumbledore. No real explanation. No real instruction, no trying to find a teacher that you would be more comfortable with."
I stayed silent sipping my glass as Taylor's eyes bored into me.
"I trust you, in part because you seem like a genuinely nice guy, and in part because you can't hurt me without hurting yourself. I do not trust the Order. If they did something to me and you didn't notice, which you might not, given we still barely know each other, they could change me, and there would be no repercussions."
And that was the end of it. She had a point. I didn't believe for an instant that Dumbledore would do anything to Taylor, but I couldn't prove that, and Taylor had an example I'd given her to back up her opinion.
"Ok, so you don't trust the Order, what do you want to do about it? Because I'm going to have to draw the line at fighting them, I've got enough enemies without making more out of allies."
Taylor grinned faintly.
"Think the night bus would stop for me if I held out one of the old wands we found?"
I frowned and tried to think that through.
"You do realize that would leave you exposed around a bunch of random magicals? Where do you even want to go?"
Taylor scoffed.
"A few flies and gnats and I could monitor everyone on a bus easily."
"Then why not just do the same with the Order?"
"I already do that." She rolled her eyes. "But I'd like to get some sleep without feeling a bit paranoid that someone could get to me while I'm out."
"And you think you'll feel safer sleeping in some warehouse or hotel room? For nearly two months, with no one watching your back?"
Tellingly she didn't say anything.
"Seriously, where do you even want to go, and for that matter why?" I asked.
"… I want to look at those giant magic spiders. If their webs are magic, or better, magic resistant I want to use them to make my next costume. With the addresses for Diagon Alley and the ministry I should be able to eavesdrop, though I don't know if I'd hear anything useful. If I could pry a damn address out of the Order, I could stake out an actual Death Eater. Something, anything, has to be more productive than sitting around here doing nothing. They might not care if I get myself killed but you…"
"They're never going to let me out of sight. And they aren't wrong, I'd be a target, so would you." Seriously, why did she want to run around as a target? "Look I'm not used to being able to just roam around a city like you are, but I get being sick of being locked away somewhere. I get that. But just wandering around the city? Where would you sleep? Where would you get food?"
Taylor looked away.
"We've gotten off topic." She said from behind her wine glass.
"Yeah, we have, but this is important. Don't try to change the subject now. Taylor, I get it. At least a bit. So take it from someone who's made a habit of doing something crazy when I feel like my back is to the wall. Your plan is at least a little bit crazy. I don't doubt you could survive on the streets of London for a month and a half. I'm less certain about the Forbidden Forest, but that's mostly because I'm not sure the acromantula won't eat you when you fall asleep."
Honestly, she could probably just glare the forest into submission.
"But the fact you could do it doesn't mean you should. It wouldn't be even remotely safe, or comfortable. And even if you wandered all of London there's no guarantee you'd find any useful information about the Death Eaters. They're probably scattered all across the countryside in warded manor homes. Not discussing evil plans in the ministry offices or some shop."
Taylor scowled at a corner of the room and tipped a fair amount of wine into her mouth.
"How about a compromise." I offered. "Or, heck not even a compromise, just something a bit more… moderate."
"... Like what?"
"We take a day trip to Hogwarts and test your control against magic murder spiders. If it works you grab a few of the smaller ones for costume weaving. And if your control holds while you're asleep you have some very nasty bodyguards no one can get past without waking you. You'll be able to work on your new costume here, safe, and comfortable."
Taylor relaxed a bit as I explained the idea I was coming up with on the spot.
"I'll spend some afternoons at the Weasleys so I'm not always stuck here, that should get the bond off your back, but I'll sleep here and we can talk in the mornings and evenings. Keep getting to know each other and still give each other space?" I realized I was waving my wine glass around enough to make the liquid slosh, so I quickly put it down. "You can keep spying on the Order for anything worth knowing, and I'll convince Mrs. Weasley to let Ron and Hermione come over sometimes. Then we can all start planning. Between you, Hermione and the Black library we might be able to figure out how Voldemort survived without asking Dumbledore, and if we can't I'd bet my broom there's something in there we could use for your fates worse than death plan."
Taylor grinned. It was a small vicious thing, it fit her face entirely too well.
"That's not a bad plan at all." She held her glass of wine out and after a moment I picked up on my cue and clinked my own against hers, then we drained the glasses. Taylor sighed and set her glass aside.
"We still need to talk about the elephant in the room." She said.
I could vaguely make out the noise of distant insects grow louder and more frantic. That I could identify frantic insects over calm by pitch was not a life skill I'd ever wanted, but apparently it only took a couple of weeks living with a highly stressed insect controller to learn.
"Must we?"
"Sooner or later, yeah. And we finished the wine. Might as well get it over with."
"We could put it off. Open another bottle in a few days?" I leaned back in my chair so I could stare at the ceiling.
"I'm not making alcohol a regular habit, Harry. It might help get past a bit of the embarrassment, but my city was full of people who tried escaping with drugs or drinking." She scoffed. "Fat lot of good that did anyone. Wasted their money, fed the gangs, certainly didn't fix their problems."
"Maybe we can weaponize that? A curse to make the Death Eaters and Voldemort perpetually drunk or high. Doubt they'd be much of a threat if they can't aim straight."
Taylor smirked.
"That's a thought. Though I don't think I'll be any help with that so you'll need to figure it out on your own. But you're still dodging the conversation. I can promise to keep the bugs out of the bedroom, but if you tell me to 'lie back and think of England' I'm going to hurt you."
That startled a laugh out of me.
"Not arguing I should, but doesn't it seem like the kind of situation that was meant for? Arranged marriages, yeah?"
"You're the Brit," she scoffed, "maybe it should be my line."
I opened my mouth to say something, hopefully something witty, then closed it and thought it over.
"Maybe it should be."
"… What?" She asked, looking genuinely perplexed.
"This, all of it, but especially this bit, feels at least a bit wrong. It's not my fault, or yours, but it still feels…" I waved a hand vaguely trying to explain. I never wanted to be the sort of bastard who forced themself on a girl, and yet this whole situation, even with Taylor being the one to bring it up… it made me feel like I was walking along the edge of that line.
"Being in control, setting the pace. Would that make this, I don't know, easier, for you?"
For a minute Taylor said nothing, but the background hum of her swarm… it didn't stop, but it eased down into something calmer.
{}{}{}{} Taylor
Something ugly and tight that had taken up residence in my gut during our conversation seemed to unwind a bit. The offer didn't change what we needed to do. It didn't stop a part of me from wanting to feed Nymphadora to my swarm.
But it did make this easier. In a way. Less offensive, less intimidating.
"Yes, that would help." I admitted. "I've got a potion, The Lupins gave it to me. Something to make sure we don't end up teen parents."
Harry's face went through a complicated array of emotions quickly before he shook himself and nodded.
"We don't need to do this tonight, just… sooner or later." I offered.
Honestly, with a less drastic plan in place, and an assurance of control… I was perfectly happy to delay a while if Harry wanted to.
Harry groaned. Sounding thoroughly done with everything.
"I want to delay." He said slowly. "But that's going back to how awkward this all is. If I put it off now, I'm going to want to keep putting it off." He rubbed at his face with both hands, but not before I saw his cheeks turn crimson. "I, tonight, just… I feel like I ought to shower, and brush my teeth, I just…"
I looked away and dumped as much of my reaction into the swarm as I could. I guess we were really doing this then. I'd brought it up. I knew this was a possibility. Heck it was the result I was aiming for even if just so I could get away and do something I'd consider important. And here we were. This wouldn't be like with Brian. For a lot of reasons. And thinking about Brian right now would only make things more complicated. So, ignore that thought. I'd done this to myself, and honestly this whole mess had gone better than expected. So, time to just own it and get it over with.
"How about we get cleaned up, and come back in an hour or so?" I offered.
"Yeah, alright." Harry said, sounding shaky.
I offered Harry a strained smile and headed for the door.
My bugs just made out Harry muttering that he could not believe this was happening and he should probably think up more ways to get back at Tonks for this awkward insanity.
Which was a very welcome distraction to think on for the next hour instead of… anyway. How else could I further tank that woman's reputation after convincing all her coworkers she liked to work out her Daddy issues in the bedroom?
… Nope, not distracting enough. Damn it, this was beyond awkward, and I was going to make her suffer. Nymphadora, Crazy Bitch, and Dinah just for kicking this insanity off. I will get even, and they will all regret the parts they played in this. First though? I needed to shower, and brush my teeth, and my hair, and damn it all to hell I was thinking about it again!
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Hexcalibur
Not So Ordinary Sword
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- It
So, Taylor is going to get her murder spiders soon? Any other dangerous insects she can acquire?
- Pronouns
- Male
🤣 poor akward teenagers! Hahahaaaaa!