Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Assignment #3 - Flying Lessons
Task #4 - Weaving: Write about someone changing sides or allegiances.
Warnings: mentions of war, implied/referenced character death
Further prompts are at the end.
Word Count: 1,276
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, and not me.
"Once upon a time and far away, there was a kingdom in the midst of a civil war."
"That sounds scary."
"Well, it was very difficult times, and people were afraid. Afraid of the other side, yes, but also afraid of each other - it was a civil war, you see, which meant that it was hard to tell, who was on which side. One minute, you could be happy with your friends and family, and the next, someone you thought was your friend could be stabbing you in the back-"
"Stop it! Uncle Reg, that's scary!"
"Alright. I'm sorry if I frightened you."
"…'s okay. I wasn't actually that scared."
"Of course you weren't."
"I wasn't!"
"That's what I said, wasn't it? But like I was saying, the kingdom was at war with itself, the people who supported its royalty and its current government against the people who wanted a change in the government - which included many crews of pirates, as the leader of the rebels was a former pirate himself, who knew exactly how to motivate his compatriots into fighting."
"Com-compiratates?"
"Compatriots. The other pirates. So he knew what to do to build an army to be reckoned with, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't find a way to successfully attack the palace, where the king, queen, princess, and many nobles, lived. It was too well-defended. Instead, he devised a plan, to break into the palace. He sent a spy. This pirate was to pose as a servant, gain the trust of the palace security, then let down the castle's defenses from the inside."
"But something went wrong?"
"Something did. The spy-pirate found out the truth behind the pirate leader, and it… let's just say he'd done things no person should ever do, things that were despicable even in a pirate's eyes. But not only that, in the time away from the pirate leader's charm, the spy-pirate came to realize that his leader didn't care about the things he said he cared about. He didn't care if the people on his side lived or died. He just wanted power, for himself, over everyone and everything. And so, the spy-pirate… changed sides."
"The spy-pirate was brave!"
"…You really think so?"
"Of course he was! He stood up to the evil pirate!"
"You don't think the spy-pirate was- was a coward, for changing sides?"
"No! Not if the pirate leader was evil!"
"…"
"Right? He was evil, right?"
"It depended on who- yes. He was evil."
"Then of course the spy-pirate was brave! He did the right thing!"
"…Well, anyway, the spy-pirate had a brother, who was on the side of the royals."
"They were on different sides? What if they hurt each other?"
"That certainly had been a concern, but the two- neither were willing to give up their ideals, until the spy-pirate defected. That means 'changed sides'. The spy-pirate contacted his brother, told him about the plan, as well as about how to kill the pirate leader - he'd found a treasure that could keep bullets, knives, disease, almost everything, from killing him. The only way to kill the pirate leader was through a special artifact. The brother told a group of his closest friends, including one friend who knew the princess; they decided to go on a quest to retrieve that artifact, so the war could end, once and for all."
"Didn't they tell the king and queen?"
"No. The king and queen were… absolute, in their ideas. They never would've seen past the spy-pirate's past as a pirate, never would've believed him."
"That's stupid."
"Well, people were scared, and no one could trust even their friends, their neighbors, much less a pirate. What if it was all a ruse - what if the spy-pirate was secretly working for the pirate leader, trying to lead the royals on a false path?"
"But he wasn't!They still should've"
"He might've been. But regardless of whether the king and queen were right in their beliefs, they weren't told. The brother and his three friends went, because it would be too suspicious if any of the others part of the conspiracy went with. The spy-pirate and the princess were left behind, waiting anxiously for their friends to return - until the pirate leader found out, somehow, about the spy's changed allegiances, and sent some to silence the spy-pirate."
"To-?"
"To kill him."
"Oh. Did- did he escape?"
"He did, barely. One of the other spies warned him, and the princess, she helped him hide. And after many weeks, the four friends returned, with the artifact. By the time another spy, as planned, let the rebels into the castle, they were ready."
"They killed the evil pirate!"
"They did. Many were lost, on both sides, but in the end, the royalty and their supporters won. But the story does- doesn't end there."
"Why not? They didn't live happily ever after?"
"They did not. They thought the war was over, but… the supporters of the pirate leader, who escaped, had plans to strike a final blow on their enemies, and, two years after the pirate leader's death, they attacked. One of the princess and her new husband's friends, one of the four who sought out the artifact, turned traitor, helping the rebels into the palace, to murder the princess and her husband. To kill them."
"They- they-"
"Yes. But that is not where the tragedy ends, for in their haste to punish someone, for the beloved princess's death, before anything else could happen, the government decided that it was one of the princess and her husband's friends who'd betrayed them - the spy-pirate's brother, the wrong friend."
"No!"
"Yes. Concerned that there were rebels in the the palace, the brother fled with the princess and her husband's one-year-old son and met with the spy-pirate - just as the law enforcement caught up. The brother distracted them while the spy-pirate took the baby and fled."
"Is- is there a happy ending?"
"…In a way. The palace wasn't safe, especially once it was taken over, and so the spy-pirate raised the child on his own, with a few of his old pirate friends but without telling anyone of the child's identity. And, well, they lived, perhaps happily. As pirates, away from all the politics and danger of the kingdom."
"…"
"The end."
"…"
"…"
"Who married the princess? It wasn't the spy-pirate?"
"…No, it was one of the brother's other friends."
"So one of the random friends got the princess."
"Got her - married her, yes."
"And not the spy-pirate."
"Well, no."
"Hmph. Why can't the pirate get the princess for once?"
"What if the pirate doesn't want the princess?"
"You mean… the spy-pirate likes other boys? Like Uncle Rab and Uncle Tony?"
"Not exactly. The pirate wouldn't want to 'get' the princess if she were a prince, either."
"Then who does he want to marry?"
"What if he doesn't want to marry anyone? What if he doesn't love anyone, romantically?"
"Ro-ro-"
"Ro-man-ti-ca-lly. It's the kind of love you feel when you want to marry someone, as opposed to the kind of love between families, for example."
"Oh. So… so there're people like that? Who don't wanna get married?"
"There are."
"…Well I'm not one of them. I wanna have kids when I grow up!"
"Being aromantic - that's not wanting to be in a romantic relationship with anyone - doesn't mean you can't have children."
"…Really? But I thought you have to have a mommy and a daddy to have a baby."
"No. There's always adoption, and… other methods. How else do you think I have you?"
Winter Seasonal Challenges
Days of the Year & Religious Events: March 11th - Lailat al Miraj (Islam): Write about a parent/parents telling their child(ren) a bedtime story.
Slytherin Characters: Regulus Black
But Can You Spell It? HARRY: H - (genre) Hurt/Comfort
Writing Club: February
Character Appreciation: Plot Point: Getting married
Amber's Apothecary: (trait) nurturing
Elizabeth's Empire: (trait) aromantic* BONUS
Sophie's Serial Killers: Prompt: Adopted!AU
Scamander's Case: (genre) tragedy
Film Festival: (theme) Grief
Lyric Alley: Some days, you're the only thing I know
EnTitled: Pilot - Write about estranged brothers reuniting - alt - Plot point: A brother asking for help
Would You Rather? Write about the Death Eaters OR the Order of the Phoenix?
Stickers Club: Salazar Slytherin's Locket - Write about something that is fake
Resolution Evolution: Write a fic featuring a dark character turning light.
Fantasy February: Day Eleven - Why can't the pirate get the princess for once?
365: (au) single parent
Scavenger Hunt: AU: Muggle
Fantastic Beasts: Hodag - AU: Muggle!AU
