Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there is reference to canon child abuse and an onscreen medical emergency. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: I had this idea for St. Patrick's Day but didn't get it done because I stalled out until I got inspired by a QL challenge asking if I preferred aguamenti or incendio. (Water over fire, dear readers. Always.) Also, as a general reminder: zither is being used here as a gender neutral term for "parent" and not as the musical instrument.
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Quidditch League (Season 10); RAVEN (2023); MC4A (Sp-Yr6)
Individual Challenges: No Worries; Quaffles (Y); Heroic Shadow (Y); Colors of the Sky; Gryffidor MC (x3); Ravenclaw MC (x2); Slytherin MC; Magical MC (Y); Magical MC (x4); Sandbox; Reader (Y); Cinematic (Y); Gamer (Y); Small Fry; Dreamers (x5); Tossed Chum; Artist MC (x3); Crafter MC; Ethnic & Present (x3); Neurodivergent (x3); Rian-Russo Inversion (x4); Rowl in Her Grave (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Two Cakes (Y); Fuzzy Socks; Bi Bi Bi; Claimed; Ship Sails; Zukes of Hazard; Outer; Zed Era; Rainbow Connection; Finders; Hold the Mayo
Team (Position): Wigtown Wanderers (Seeker)
Round (Prompt): Round 10-05 (n/a)
Other QL Challenges: Daily Prophet Issue 6 [Which Do You Prefer] (Aguamenti)
RAVEN Challenges: Settings [114](Rainy); Items [45](Earring); Colors [10](Beige)
Other MC4A Challenges: SpB [4D](Milk); TrB [3E](Finagle's Law); Ship (Heroic Shadow)[SpBig (Rain; Shirt); SpMed2 (First Aid); SpMic2 (Green; Wet)]; Chim [Oak]("Bonfire Hearts" – James Blunt; University/College AU; Race Bend); Hunt [Sp WD (Severe Allergy); Sp Set (Nightmare; Windy); Sp Con (Medicine); Sp Items (Boots)]
Representation(s): Desi & GQ Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; AroAce Luna Lovegood; Seamus Finnegan/Dean Thomas; Harry Raises Teddy; Chim Song Prompt; St. Patrick's Day
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Teat Juice; Zucchini Bread; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); Once (Moses Supposes; Santa Fe; Inchworm; Cabernet)
Word Count: 1730 words
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Love Like Ours
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St. Patrick's Day that year was exceptionally windy and rainy. That didn't stop the five of them from deciding that a night on the town was exactly what they needed to decompress from all the stress of work and classes. Dean and Luna were both in Cambridge's art program while Seamus was in the creative writing program (planning on following in his da's footsteps as a fantasy writer). Blaise was the only one of them that actually had something that amounted to a career (opposed just a job), as he worked in the special collections archives at Cambridge.
Of course, Harry was different than the rest of the group in this way as well. Between inheriting both the Potter and Black estates, he had no reason to work. And after everything that had happened at Hogwarts, Harry was more than content to spend his days chasing after an energetic toddler. Teddy was a wonderful reminder that life went on despite everything else. He certainly kept Harry and Andromeda on their toes with all the mischief he got into trying to sate his ever-present curiosity. Unfortunately, being essentially a single parent also meant that Harry rarely left the house without his godson.
(Harry missed Hermione and the Weasleys, but since they had all opted for lives centered in the wixen world, they had grown apart from each other. They were all still friends, but they were no longer as close as they had been during their years at Hogwarts and during the war. He saw them far less frequently than his friends who lived in the same city as himself.)
So when Seamus, Dean, Luna, and Blaise had proposed going out for a pub crawl, Andromeda had practically shoved Harry out the door with them. The old woman had simply assured Harry that not only was she perfectly capable of watching her grandson for one evening, but Teddy was also actually capable of surviving the same duration without his zither hovering.
They had all dressed up in various ways. Seamus had black trousers that he had paired with a light green long-sleeved shirt and a beige waistcoat over the top. To be festive, he had chosen to wear his emerald stud earring instead of his normal silver hoop, but not even the potential jokes about leprechauns and pots of gold could have persuaded him to leave his Progress Pride Flag lapel pin at home. He had also rolled up the sleeves to past his elbows in order to show off the pair of Celtic serpent tattoos that wound up both of his forearms. The pitch-black ink of them contrasted surprisingly well with the paleness of Seamus' Irish white skin. The original design was one of Dean's, done as a gift for the couple's first anniversary.
Dean also designed the larkspur tattoo that spread over Luna's shoulders and sides like folded angel wings. Intertwined among the pink flowers were ivy vines. The majority of the tattoo was revealed by the sheer fabric that made up the back of Luna's seafoam green sundress. Her waist-length hair had been twisted up into a bun held in place with her wand. She had tied a ribbon in the same color as her dress around her slim neck. Hanging from the ribbon was a vial shaped like a lekythos and filled with something off-white.
Blaise and Dean were both dressed in denim jeans. However, while Blaise wore a shirt similar to the one that Seamus was wearing (only in a slate gray instead of green and with a waistcoat), Dean was wearing a sage green tee shirt that was covered in paint splatters in practically every shade and hue imaginable. Dean's jeans were likewise covered.
(By his own admittance, Seamus had literally dragged Dean from his studio in their shared flat. The painter made sure to point out that they were lucky he had been wearing clothes at the time. Seamus' suggestive waggle of his eyebrows made them all laugh.)
As if to further contrast the differences between the two men, Dean wore his hair short and natural while Blaise kept his hair in shoulder-length braids that he cast a different coloring charm on depending on his mood. Tonight's color was the same green as Harry's eyes, in honor of both their relatively new relationship as much as the day.
For his part, Harry had chosen something a little more daring. He had on an extra large jumper that was brown on the shoulder and sleeves but the main body was bright green with small spots of black arranged in a vague star pattern over his stomach. Inside the star was a green that was so light it was almost white. The black skirt that he had chosen to pair with it had matching kiwi slices along its knee-length hem. In deference to the weather, Harry had on boots that were tall enough to disappear under his skirt. He had been growing his hair out the last few years (since Teddy had gotten past his yanking phase). Today, he pulled his hair back into a single thick braid that brushed against the curve of his butt.
The pub they had decided on was crowded with people enjoying the festivities on offer. Seamus was particularly excited about céilí the pub was hosting. Living in Cambridge and being busy with school, he didn't get as much opportunity to enjoy Irish music as he had living with his parents in Dublin. The lively music was great for dancing, something that all five of them took turns doing, trading partners between themselves as easily as breathing.
The five of them were headed towards the bar, in need of a rest and a drink after their exertions, when it happened. One of the other patrons was headed in the opposite direction of the bar and carrying four cups of the pub's special holiday shakes. Someone spun out on the dance floor, accidentally bumping into one of the spectators. The commotion distracted the guy carrying the shakes just long enough that he sidestepped into the group of friends. He lost his grip on two of the shakes, causing them to go flying.
Harry ended up covered in the frosty green drink. It drenched the yarn of his jumper with its gloppy chill. Some even splashed onto Harry's face. Because he had been in the middle of saying something, Harry had had his mouth open, so some had landed in his mouth. He gagged, trying to spit it back out even as the taste of mint told him that it would be too little, too late.
"Harry?" Blaise asked, his heart in his throat. His hands were gentle as he gripped Harry's arms to catch him as his knees went out beneath him. Still, Harry made slight wheezing sounds as his throat closed. "Harry!"
"What's wrong?" asked the stranger who had been carrying the milkshakes. His eyes were wide with growing fear. "That's not normal!"
"Get Harry out of here," Luna told Blaise as she pushed at the crowd that was gathering around them. "Let them through!" she snapped, sounding as vicious as an enraged pixie. "Let them through!"
Despite being tiny and delicate looking, the crowd easily complied with her order, creating a path leading towards the back hallway. Blaise wasted no time scooping up Harry into a bridal carry (instinctively careful to keep his skirt from trailing the ground) and headed down the cleared path. Luna, Dean, and Seamus kept pace with them as they used the back door to leave the pub.
The alley behind the pub was mostly empty aside from a regular dumpster and another one marked just for recycling. On the other side of the door was a small picnic table with a patio umbrella to protect against the light rain that was still falling. It had clearly been set up for the pub's staff to take breaks but protected from the wind that blew down the alley by the dumpsters. Blaise sat down on one of the benches with Harry in his lap.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Luna said as she pulled her wand out of her hair, "but if I give you the allergy potion before we get rid of the milkshake, it won't do any good."
With that, she cast a silent aguamenti over him, further saturating his kiwi jumper but rinsing the milkshake out. Even more carefully, she used the same spell to rinse out Harry's mouth. Only then did she pull the vial from the ribbon around her neck.
"I'm going to spell this directly into your stomach," she warned, getting a sharp nod from Harry in response. The switching spell went off without any issue, Harry's magic deciding to not fight as it usually would. Being the best at conjuration, Dean created a cobalt blue glass that he promptly handed to Luna. She cast another aguamenti, this time aiming to fill the glass. Blaise took it to help Harry sip at the water as the potion took effect.
"I donae about anyone else," Seamus said after a bit when it was clear that the reaction had ebbed, "but I think it might be time to head homeward or maybe to somewhere with less people and more food. I donae wanna be the one explaining to Andromeda why Harry ain't in the condition we got 'im in."
"Are you scared of Andy?" Harry asked, his voice rough from the slight swelling that remained, even with the soothing coolness of the summoned water. Seamus looked at Harry like he had officially lost his last coconut.
"Of course I am," Seamus answered. Dean giggled. Blaise hid his smile by pressing his face against Harry's hair. "I'm not stupid enough to think that just because I've seen her baking hamantaschen that she's any less a Black. I cannae afford to spend any time as a newt. I have finals."
The rest of them all crack up at that, the last of the tension from the close call running out of them like the water that Luna had summoned. Harry gave a small sigh as he sipped his water and cuddled into Blaise's warm embrace. This might not have been the family he had imagined while lonely in his cupboard or fighting for his life at Hogwarts, but it was still exactly what he had always needed.