INTRODUCTION
SUMMARY
After the war, Harry and George vanished without a trace. Deputy Head Auror Weasley and girlfriend Hermione searched, but it took five years and a trail of ferret tracks for Ron to find his friend in a forest unlike any he'd ever seen. Harry's changed, and Ron's discovering his feelings for Harry have also. But it's hard to figure out how they've changed while he's also working to unmask a society behind a string of violent crimes, the likes of which London hasn't seen since the war. He might manage to get to the bottom of it, provided he has enough help from Unspeakable Granger, and provided he can focus on the case more than his weirdly distracting long lost friend.
Harry really shouldn't have been surprised when Ron showed up out of the blue. Ron's always been good at throwing his life off kilter, and his friend Draco's a meddling bastard. It's looking like he won't avoid unrequited feelings for his onetime best mate as easily on the second go around, but he can't focus on that now. He has a forest to protect, sins to atone for. His plan could prevent anything like the crimes Ron's investigating from ever happening again. If it's even possible, that is. And if he can stay out of his own way. And if Ron will stop strutting around the place like the sexy distraction he is and always will be.
This is a split POV story filled with wand lore, strange magic, cheeky elves, cheekier friends, dangerous crimes and even more dangerous desires.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I wrote this story without ever intending to publish it. It was supposed to be a sublimation project, a way for me to clean fresh cuts, reopen and scrape rot from old wounds. It's filled the brief, but by replicating my injuries – mercilessly inflicting them upon characters who'd already been through enough and who, frankly, didn't deserve any of it – I was able to view them through a new lens. I will treasure these malformed monstrosities forever, because they helped me draw out conclusions I truly believe I wouldn't have otherwise reached. So, I changed my mind, decided to publish. Because free will exists, and because I no longer feel the need to hoard these secrets, and because my trauma is not unique. Sure, its limbs are probably arranged a bit differently than yours, but the root structure is the same. Maybe this story will help someone else see theirs differently as it's done for me, maybe it'll invite a few laughs, maybe it'll dispel doldrum from a few morning commutes. Maybe no one will even read it at all, and I'll realize I've just called out into an uninterested void. That would be fine too; it feels better than holding it in.
I welcome all forms of feedback, constructive and otherwise; you have my blessing to do your worst, and my encouragement to do your best. I had no beta for this story therefore any shame derived through typos or misused words or misconstrued facts is mine and mine alone, keep your grubby mitts off it. Writing pointers are especially welcome. While I don't think I'll compose another story, I couldn't help but spot a few interesting side paths as I wound my way through this one, and I've been known to change my mind on occasion.
This story is written, but I'm publishing it chapter by chapter as I continue to polish.
DISCLAIMERS
Intellectual Property
I – wait for it – did not write Harry Potter. Shocking, I know, not even the bad one (have fun arguing over which book I mean in the comments, this is my gift to you). The italicized first portion of the prologue is a direct quote, included because this story starts immediately following the end of the seventh book. All characters, unique places, dung bombs and thestrals are the intellectual property of a positivelylovelytransphobe by the name of J.K. Rowling. As an aside, can she maybe just apologize or something? I haven't enjoyed learning firsthand what all those Michael Jackson fans went through.
Also, I read a lot of books (unhumble brag) and consume a lot of visual media. While to the absolute best of my knowledge I have not plagiarized anything for this story, it's impossible to say with complete certainly that I didn't. Originality died around the same time as Oscar Wilde, and the subconscious is a fickle mistress. If you do spot something which deserves citation, please know it wasn't intentional, and please share your discovery with me so that I can give credit where credit is due. Unless it's the transphobe, she already done had herses (Charles, 1927 probably, p. not sure because I didn't read her book).
Plot Deviations
This story is mostly true to the original books, sans slapdash mockery of an epilogue. Generally, only exposition has been altered. For instance – spoiler if you somehow haven't looked at the relationship pairings – in this story Harry wasn't as all in on Ginny as his angsty canon thoughts would lead you to believe, but the interactions he had with her during the books haven't changed.
Sexual Content
This story has it. No, I will not publish a version without sexual content. It is – believe it or not, and despite this storynotbeing blatant smut – essential to the plot. People work through their trauma in different ways, don't judge. I rated this story as Mature due to the ratio between sexual and nonsexual content, but make no mistake, the scenes are explicit. Please do not read this story if you are not of legal age to consume explicit material in your country. I live in Gilead (née America) if you were curious.
Kink
This story has it in spades. And I don't mean fluffy handcuffs or a single, casual smack of a bum – no judgements – I mean the sort of fetishes you have to search for intentionally on your adult site of choice. Don't put on airs, we both know you have one.Calm down, it's nothing illegal, but some specifics include sexual violence, humiliation, and bodily fluids. (Notice I said fluids, not solids.) This is your one and only warning that atypical sexual activity is about to ensue.
Furthermore, the psychology behind why certain characters tend towards certain activities is explained throughout this story. I am not an expert on sexual psychology, and I am not professing that the beliefs held by these characters apply to everyone, but I know they apply to some. Please do not base your understanding of sex – or anything else for that matter – on a bit of fiction published on the internet.
Homosexual Shenanigans
This story has them, and they are glorious. If you're offended by homosexuality, I have two points for you to consider. First, how did you even make it this far, do you not filter by tags? Second, perhaps – and this is just a suggestion – you should fuck all the way off and stop basing your belief structure on dusty dogma or whichever biases your parents passed down. Both are likely are wrong, and frankly, it's boring. Boring is the worst thing you can be,that'sthe real sin.
I included other relationship pairings in the description, but sex is only between male characters. Well, mostly. The reason for this slight caveat will become apparent during Chapter 8.
Substance Abuse
This story has it. While it's not a main pillar – more of a decorative side pillar – characters in this story do partake in pot, ecstasy, and loads of alcohol. At it's core, this story is about people finding ways to deal with their trauma, and sometimes (read: often) people do so in unhealthy ways. Also, sometimes people abuse substances for funsies. That's a thing that happens which I am in no way endorsing.