Alright guys! Big Announcement!
LOOK HERE THOU WHO ARTH SKIMMING!
Uncle Sheo has two very nice, very sweet things to tell you. Come here, I'm not gonna hit you, I promise.
First of all, The Shivering Isles has officially been launched with not two, not three, not five but 6 new chapter you can read ahead for free (You don't even need to register, just go ahead and enjoy.). Yup, and it's perfectly safe, just ask those who visited.
For the madlads and dare I say, absolute chads who joined us in this adventure, don't feel left out because I also have something nice in reserve for you. (In addition to five chapters i've released just now.)
A Discord! Yup, Shaggy finally fixed up our old discord (Shout out to Ash for making it nice and cool once upon a time, I miss Ash.) You can join the community, pester Uncle Sheo for more chapters in a more persistent way and also get a message for each new chapter available in the Isles.
Here's the link for the Shivering Isles (or just search sheo.bio in google.):
Here's the permalink for our Discord:
Stay mad!
(This chapter is dedicated to my fellow fic writers, may the cheese be with them.)
Magnus stood by near the Black Lake, a walking distance away from his...friend's, carriage.
He used to like this spot; enjoying the crispy air, the many twisting, moving shapes he could almost but not quite identify with human eyes. It was scary, oppressive for others, but to him it was but another shield guarding his freedom.
The freedom to fly, learn and cast as he wishes.
It was nearly magical, all it needed was some hight, a luxury bakery close by and he wouldn't have minded residing here permanently. As soon as the pests were dealt with, that is.
If you once told him he'd be worried sick about one such pest, the kind he'd considered nothing more than a fiction years after his second life, Magnus would have laughed at your face before reapplying the Confundus charm.
Yet here he stood, and the lake's magic did nothing to help him.
"You're here." He said, not even bothering to turn around, behind him the air shimmered until Fleur had shed her invisibility.
She wore a blue polar coat of muggle fashion, what wasn't muggle however were the many charms and enchanted woven in the fabric in a way that was so distinctly Fleur's. Her white trousers received the same treatment so their warmth could reach the unreasonable standards of a Veela, they were tucked inside her ankle high black boots, and he knew for a fact there were at least two sets of socks beneath them.
Her pale face was made even more charming by the rosy tint the cold gave him (She might not like it, but loved what it did to her.). Her breath was heavier, pushing back a few trends of her long, silvery blonde hair every once in a while. It allowed a view of her neck, and pretty reddened ear.
Her blue eyes seemed to hold infinite amounts of mischief, yet beneath it was an ensnaring depth which drew him ever closer, she seemed to pierce right through his soul in the most gentle, wonderful ways...it was making him crazy.
Even there he could feel her magic, her allure greeted him like an old friend, brushing against a sense muggles seemingly could not understand. It tried to ensnare him, and for the first time in his life he almost wanted to give in, but he knew he had to be better.
It was strange, queer, weird, odd, abnormal and all manners of disturbing; but it was his Fleur.
He loved it.
"How did you find me?" She almost but not quite pouted, and that did very strange things to the butterflies in his stomach.
"Maybe your invisibility charm isn't as perfect as you think?" He proposed, holding back a grin.
"Yes, it is." She raised her chin high, and he had to fight the urge to hug the stuffing out of her.
'Not yet, not now.' He admonished himself, even as a full blown smile appeared on his face.
Fleur answered in kind, and even the bleak shore of the black lake grew lively. She waved her wand, and a few blue lights shone and danced around like Wil-o-Wisps, lighting the area for both of their comforts.
"That is much better." She sighed, before poking him in the chest a couple times. "Now you tell me how saw through my objectively perfect charm, petit scélérat."
"Bandit? Don't tell it to Sirius or might just start being proud of me."
Fleur pointed her finger menacingly, and he raised his hands in surrender, even he could see her fighting to hide a smile.
"Your charm was indeed objectively perfect, I couldn't even feel your magic for some reason."
"I came from your left angle, I know you have troubles with it." She shot him a smile, and he wasn't even mad that one of his flaws was exposed.
"For the moment." He said, and he resolved to fix this weakness, "But my eyes are in perfect condition, flower, and you have flattened a lot of grass in your ways."
Fleur groaned, before her lips twitched and her eyes shone in a way he learned to love and dread.
"Flower?" She raised a perfect brow.
He most certainly did not blush, no matter what that sly witch went around telling people.
On the corner of his vision, he could see her smiling fondly, her own cheeks slightly redder. It might just be the cold, but he enjoyed it all the same.
'If only we could spend the whole night like this.' Magnus thought mournfully, knowing he had to ruin an otherwise beautiful night, but he had no choice.
He motioned her to come closer, taking a seat on the slightly damp, rocky ground. They were far enough not to be splashed if the squid got restless, but close enough to peer into the pitch black depths of the lake.
She sat even closer than he thought, embracing would be all too easy from his spot, he hated that he had to hold back.
He raised a brow, showing that two of them could play this game.
"You are warm, and this accursed cold is dreadful." She blushed, but snuggled closer, almost giving him a heart attack.
If he was warm then she was a bloody furnace, a lovable, highly comfortable furnace...he refrained from expressing this opinion however, but tried as he might, he simply couldn't hold back the comfortable smile that escaped his lips.
Or was it hers? He honestly couldn't tell.
"Won't you tell me why you brought me outside in the middle of the night?" She spoke softly, making his inside melt.
"Because I missed you?"
"Nice try, mon petit canard, but I remember another little bird mentioning the first task." He could hear the smile in her voice, and he swore he felt her blushing even more, but the things he must tell her killed almost the joy it might've brought him.
"That bad?" Fleur touched his left arm, he nodded.
"Even worse." And it was true, dragons were quite possibly the very worst thing she could face short of a Nundu or Basilisk.
He prayed with all he had that the butterfly effect wouldn't change the other tasks into something like this.
"Say it straight away, it is much better to remove the bandage in one go, non?" Her hand stayed on his arm, lingering through muscles he built over the years.
One of the advantages of having no social life, he had plenty of time to forge a body he could be proud of.
"Dragons." He was blunt.
Her hand gripped him with surprising strength for such a delicate body, he felt her gasp, before muttering a string of curses that left even him appalled.
She would've made a killing in Call Of Duty lobbies.
Her face went paler, if even possible, and he could see that she was playing every possible option in her head; most of which ended badly.
So he did the only thing he could possibly do.
Magnus freed his arm from her grasp, ignoring the slightly hurt look Fleur gave him, and slid it around her shoulder. He pulled her in a close embrace, trying to give her as much comfort as possible, and she seemed to melt in it.
"They want us dead." She muttered, pushing herself even closer to his chest.
He nodded, there was no point in denying that, Fleur was too good to accept empty reassurances. You didn't bring in class XXXXX beasts unless you wanted somebody dead, or at least severely maimed, what were they even thinking?
"Yes, but we won't let them win."
"We?" She sounded genuinely amused.
"Of course we." He squeezed her shoulder. "I grew rather fond of a certain champion, and would hate to lose her so soon."
"Diggory must be very pleased." He heard the smile in her voice, but could see her blushing from the corner of his eyes.
"Shut up you." Magnus headbutted her lightly, careful not to hurt her.
She giggled, and her body shook lightly, making him more flustered than he already was.
"What will your people say? Abandoning your school to help the competition?" Fleur said.
Her fingers had started tracing patterns on his hand, and he shuddered in delight.
"Screw them." He sighed contently, drawing her closer as he abruptly laid down. "I like it much better here anyway."
"Good." She said, sounding genuinely pleased.
They laid down for a while, her head on his shoulder with his left arm holding her. They kept each other warm and comfortable, keeping thoughts of dragon fire far away. He didn't know when the giggles stopped, or when her breath became so slow and steady, until it was too late.
The only thing he knew is that his arm would be numb beyond measure.
'Absolutely worth it.'
With his last sliver of consciousness, he cast a couple spells to make the ground more comfortable and make sure they wouldn't be noticed the next day.
Then all went black.