archived and moved

" this doesn’t come close to me getting angry, i’m afraid. ” 

but the urge was there, the flames of this little setback licking at its backside, threatening to wake it. he stepped away from the front gates of the castle, his gaze seeking out the winged...pigs? at the top of the pillars. he was still getting used to the place, learning its various crooks and crannies as well as the names of its many students. he was beginning to wonder if albus had played up this particular detail in his initial owl, but efraim of course knew that to be UNTRUE. 

while the elder had been frank, short, he had been very specific in how important this job was. the castle was to be the safest place in britain, albus himself tasked with it, and there was no sense in denying. his prowess and power were legendary in africa, even more so than this monster they now faced. in fact, efraim was still learning the intricate details of this terror albus had faced years ago. and had NOT been responsible for neutralizing then. that had been the work of a boy. 

I'm intrigued

" a thievery. "

rumors whispers, rumors and whispers. they often guided him, led him to water where he would deeply drink, despite how tainted it may be. these rumors and these whispers had trickled out of london and deep into africa's most prestigious wizarding communities. once that occurred, it was not all too difficult to find him. however, not only had these whispers and rumors led him. they had sought him out specifically, and he wondered what which was more alarming.

" that's all it ever is. sin sets out to rob someone of something, more often than not control. "

despite the tense air, his resolve was an immovable object, his curiosity an unstoppable force, each parallel to the other. he understood the peril he could be in with a snap of her fingers, but that worried him little. he had learned young that the fear of death would only call to it, like a smoke signal.

" but i will not rob you of the truth. what your master seeks from me is what i cannot offer. while our magic is ancient, it still has laws, guidelines. archaic and anarchy are two vastly different things. "

his wand was warm against his abdomen, just beneath his coat and yet so very far away. to her credit, she looked far more stable than he had expected. rumors and whispers, rumors and whispers... he leaned against his cane.

           She took a little while longer to eat her own sandwich, had yet to even grab a second, though it did make her happy that he was at least properly eating, this time. “Slow down—–your stomach might start complaining for a wholly different reason if you keep that up.” But it was said with some mirth, smile on her lips easily reaching warm brown eyes. She hadn’t seen the image on the page of the book he’d just closed—-if she had, she might have panicked for a moment. Over the years, she’d gotten careful about it——pictures of herself, paintings and other means to immortalize her image. She was unsure on how, if the situation were to ask for it, she should explain that someone two AGES her senior could look so much like her. She didn’t believe that anyone with a keen eye ( and especially a brilliant mind such as Ephraim ) would fall for a simple excuse such as her saying they simply looked alike. Knowing she’d missed some major clues to her so well-kept secret, such as the image of her in that particular book would drive her straight into a panic. “Oh, I see.” She nodded in agreement. “One could say wizards were the masters of thievery, back in the day. And muggles sure did make it rather easy, didn’t they? Look at France during that time——Marie Antoinette had had her fair share of propaganda made against her that wizards sure would use to their advantage.“ She’d seen it happening with her very own eyes. For all that the French had tried to tear down nobility, the oldest wizarding families still paraded around as being of noble birth, themselves. An exact mirroring of what those muggle revolutionists had done. Power was power, no matter which tag one gave it. She supposed that was an excellent example of what Ephraim was trying to tell her. 

          “Now that would have been an excellent waste of my time—-expecting you to show up on your own accord is like waiting to catch sight of a unicorn.” A teasing glint appeared in her eyes. “Now, I have spent my day trying to figure out whether I could grow Formatogoria, myself—–whether I could get my hands on it, in the first place. Its properties are legendary, after all.” And she was a rather excellent herbologist.

now while efraim had settled into his chair on uganda's council of inter-community historical records for muggles and magic, he had studied his share of rare and wonderful magic during his time at school. it had been fun, and he had been eager to see the world following matriculation, but he'd done so much so fast that he'd burned himself out within a few years.

this job had seemed a solid compromise between leaving the ministry and continuing on at the pace necessary for his position. and then he'd met heidi, and she had —at least for him— made it seem more like a unrivaled decision than he had originally believed. after all, efraim had learned long ago that good help and great company were not easy to come by individually much less all wrapped up in one pretty package.

" now that makes sense. marie antoinette, she came up in the section regarding alignments and alliances between muggle royalty and magical high society. the aristocracy hardly shifts much from one community to the other, doesn't it? and in that regard, wizards could see the muggles said to be their equals as monstrous. muggle dictators and usurpers were often used to as a means to gather guerrilla soldiers amongst magical creatures. it was madness." but the tone of his voice communicated his awe, even around a fresh mouth full of a third sandwich. or was it his fourth? " i am glad to hear you were productive yourself though." his smirk was his acknowledgment of her jab, a small shake of his head following. sometimes he felt as though she alone kept him young. and he was grateful.

Hi everyone, I know we’re all salting Joanne these days and I’m absolutely on board as Part Of That but I need to make this post because it is important to remember that as Salty as we get, Joanne gave us two gifts with the Harry Potter series.

First and foremost, the magic itself. The magic that got us through our toughest times, helped us grow, helped us find light in the darkest of places and showed us the way into coping with our traumas, one way or another. She gave us the world we now expand, we now explore, we now love to yell at the inconsistencies of. 

Secondly, and just as importantly, especially for us salty ones: She had the foresight to set the series specifically in the 1990s because societal views change. This story is not meant to be read as one with 2000s or 2010s ideology - it is meant to be observed with 1990′s mentality through the eyes of children. 

This is, primarily and above all else, a work of fiction meant for kids. For us as adults, as we critically comb through the works, it is important for us to dial our brains back in time to the 1990s. We cannot judge these characters by today’s standards of care. By today’s standards of LGBTQ rights or even human rights, because they’ve changed since the time this story is meant to capture.

This, as @brokenpair so eloquently put it, was supposed to be a snapshot of a life of a boy in the world of magic. It was always supposed to be a look back. And it’s important to remember that when we’re being critical of it because tearing it down by today’s standards is actually rather a disservice to the characters we know and love. 

If we look at them through today’s lenses, they’d be a lot more messed up than they actually are, because they came up in a different era.

6’9” PLEASE GOD NO SHE WOULD FEEL SO EXTRA TINY

@kujjua

I just remembered that Ephraim is six foot six and so I just

“ that sounds like such a reckless challenge. ”

in truth, of all the things they were capable of, the mountains they could move, the damage they could do, such a mundane idea gave him pause. it was good to step back every now and again, or to step closer, to see the smaller details rather than the bigger picture, to enjoy them. he was more enchanted by the assumption than he had ever been by his own hands, and that was saying something. he could be quite full of himself at times. 

“ you can dance to anything. you can dance to the wind if you feel so inclined. ”

but verbal rebuttal didn’t seem like enough. standing, he extended his hand, searching for some semblance of rhythm in what was being broadcast through the room. 

‘RUNNING ON EMPTY’  SENTENCE  STARTERS ( REQ’D BY ANON ! ) ↪  all  taken  from  the  1988  movie. feel  free  to  edit  them  as  you  see  fit,  &  enjoy !

“you are certifiable!”

“now go out there and make a difference.”

“your mother and i tried. and don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

“i love you, baby.”

“it’s dangerous for you and it’s dangerous for them but i’m sorry, i just couldn’t stop myself.”

“i just needed you to know … i don’t know what i’m doing, and i love you.”

“i didn’t feel like having my picture taken with those sub-humans.”

“i’m very happy with you.”

“aren’t we supposed to question authority? you’re the one who taught me that!”

“now go out there and make a difference.”

“if you want to go back, that’s fine with me.”

“you’re a bully.”

“no. i’m a liar.”

“you can’t dance to beethoven.”

“why do you have to carry the burden of someone else’s life?”

“what’s this about a pizza?”

“that’s wit, not anger!”

“so now that we’ve determined i belong here, let’s talk about you.”

“i think that’s too much to ask.”

“i want to learn how to cook.”

“what are you doing here if you think so ‘highly’ of it?”

“we’ll see you again. you can be sure.”

“you’re on your own, kid.”

“now, i have no right in telling this to you.”

“they gave them to me, and i know i packed them but … i just can’t find them.”

“there’s no reason to think they’re onto us yet so stay calm.”

“it’s wonderful having a new name every six months.”

“my god (name). why’d you throw it all away?”

“you can’t keep running away from something you had nothing to do with.”

“you deserve your own chance!”

“what about us?”

“they need me.”

“i need you.”

“it must be nicer over there.”

“i wanna stay.”

“well, on birthdays, we’re all ‘sam’.”

“it’s great not recognising yourself in the mirror!”

“i think i’ll go to new york and i’ll learn to write and i’ll come home every christmas and everyone will be really polite.”

“that doesn’t sound so bad. “

“you have a lot of secrets, don’t you? and now you have another one.”

“you sleeping with her?”

“baseball is my life.”

‘guitar is my life.”

“you said ‘walk’ not ‘hike’.”

“you tired?”

“you know, i was really surprised when you called me.”

“i wasn’t sure if you liked me or not.”

“sometimes you’re so … distant.”

“well, i’m not too sure if you like me too much either.”

“take it on faith. i usually don’t follow people i don’t like for ten miles into the middle of the woods.”

“why’re you so angry?”

“you scare a lot of people.”

“what’s wrong with being nice?”

“they see what they wanna see and they block out everything else.”

“i don’t know a thing about you. you might as well have sprung full-grown out of the head of zeus.”

“i’m a vegetarian; i don’t want little pieces of finger in my food.”

“can i help?”

“that was delicious babe; you outdid yourself.”

“oh god, i’m old enough to set the house on fire.”

“that’s you all over: afraid to commit yourself.”

“it’s okay; i want to.”

“you wouldn’t talk to me.”

“what am i doing?”

“i just wanted to talk to you.”

“i couldn’t stay with you that night - not because i didn’t want to …”

“i just wanted to tell you that i was sorry.”

“i wanted to tell you why i couldn’t be with you - not without you knowing; i didn’t wanna lie to you.”

“go ahead, hit the sack. you got school tomorrow.”

“you really like her, don’t you? smart ones are always the best.”

             “Good. I really put effort and love into making them after all.” A small laugh pushed past her lips as she placed both the plate and the pitcher down on the only empty spot she could spot on his desk. She wondered if this time, he’d eat without first muttering excuses as to why it could wait—–either way, she was here to remind him why it couldn’t. “If I didn’t see how you take your meals for myself, I’d hardly believe that—–you really should take the time for a proper dinner, for once.” She pulled out a chair and boldly sat down across from him, snatching a sandwich for herself off the plate. “It is late enough that you should eat something within the next fifteen seconds, or your stomach might start to file a complaint against you.” She only shook her head with a smile. He was more or less predictable to her by now—-always so caught up in obtaining as much knowledge at one could fit in twenty-four hours. She’d once thought quite the same, but the knowledge that she had more than enough time, nowadays, had made her quite relaxed—–almost lazy. Inbetween bites, she spoke. “Tell me what it’s about.”