#badgermort

Which great. We love to see it. Only got two pages left to edit for Elysium's Sanctuary chapter 19. Gonna post tonight, probs.

So, do I feel better because I'm writing again? Or do I feel better because I posted and therefore made progress in my stories? OR did I already feel better and that's WHY I was able to write and post?

The world may never know.

Summary:

Summer after the traumatic end of the Triwizard Tournament, instead of Harry Potter getting visions of the latest evil plot from the Dark Lord, it is Voldemort who gets visions of The-Boy-Who-Lived’s childhood.

And they’re not pleasant.

---

When Newt accepted to become one of Harry Potter's secret guard as a favor to Albus Dumbledore, he hadn't anticipated being faced with a choice concerning the welfare and safety of a child: obey Albus Dumbledore's orders or stay at Voldemort's side to protect Harry.

Though difficult, the right choice was clear.

------

NINETEEN EXCERPT:

“What’s wrong?” asked Harry. “Why’re you looking so serious?”

The prominent Adam’s apple in Voldemort’s throat contracted. Newt waved the magic in the air away and took a seat next to Harry.

“Is it time, Tom?”

Voldemort nodded. “It is. Harry—” His grip on Harry’s knees flexed. “I have sworn to you that you will never return to your muggle relatives, you know this, correct?”

Harry slowly straightened in his seat. “Yes, sir,” he said.

“Are you prepared to aid me in securing this?”

“What d’you mean?”

“I need your consent,” whispered Voldemort. “You must choose whether or not you’ll allow yourself to be bound to your enemy.”

Huh?

Harry tilted his head. “I don’t follow.”

“The only way I can ensure you never return to your relatives is… is to…” Voldemort shifted his weight; his lips pressed together briefly. “I must adopt you.”

Harry blinked.

“But your approval of this is required.”

Harry stared at him, at this man kneeling on the floor in front of him—hang on, Voldemort was… kneeling. Harry’s eyes drifted downwards; his gaze traced the line of the man’s arm to his wrist to his hand to the pale fingers as they curled into his trousers.

I… I misheard him, didn’t I?

Voldemort cleared his throat. “I realize that I am wholly unworthy to ask this of you,” he said in a low tone. “I am the one who put you in this position in the first place. There are others more adept to handling a child in their care; however, I will protect you. I have sworn this to you and I have zero intention of going back on my word.”

He’s… He’s having me on, isn’t he? Is he serious? He can’t be…

Oh, Merlin, he is!

“Is this real?” whispered Harry. He rubbed at his eyes, quickly wiping away the tears in the corners. “Is this real?”

A hand rested on his leg. “Poppet, look at me.” Harry lowered his hands and glanced over at Newt. “Yes, it’s real. We’d like to adopt you, if you’ll have us.”

“Hang on, you, too?” asked Harry. “You’re both…”

“Both of us,” said Voldemort, nodding. “A single parent adopting a child is nigh impossible. This is why we would both adopt you.”

Single parent…

Bloody hell, what is even happening?

“Adopting you is the only way to protect you. Dumbledore is trying everything he can to send you back and I refuse to allow that.”

Harry’s head spun.

“If I say yes, you both adopt me and then…”

And then what? Were Voldemort and Newt going to be his parents or guardians? Was there a difference? What did it mean?

Wait, have I lost it?

Am I really considering this?

Sure, the Dursleys are really bad, but does that mean I should…

He should go back to the Dursleys. He should go back to them and beg their forgiveness and then maybe they’d accept him. Going back was the right thing, right? Staying with Voldemort, of all people, had to be the wrong choice.

Right?

But he couldn’t go back. He couldn’t do that. Every part of his soul resisted the idea. Crazy as this was… I rather stay with Voldemort than go back to the life I had before.

“I won’t have to go back to the Dursleys, right?” asked Harry softly. “If you adopt me, Dumbledore can’t make me go back, right?”

The unknown was terrifying. Though Voldemort had proven himself thus far, he could always change his mind. He could always go back to being the villain of Harry’s story and there’d be nothing he could do to stop the man.

Yet… it was a risk Harry was willing to make.

He didn’t want to leave this place. If there was even the tiniest of chances that this was all real, that Voldemort had changed, Harry wanted to see it through.

“Whether you agree or not, that does not change the fact that I will never allow you to return to such disgusting muggles who dared to lay a hand on a magical child.”

Newt wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders and tugged him into a hug. “Adopting you makes it easier, legally speaking. But if you don’t want this, then we will still protect you from Albus.”

I want this.

Summary:

Summer after the traumatic end of the Triwizard Tournament, instead of Harry Potter getting visions of the latest evil plot from the Dark Lord, it is Voldemort who gets visions of The-Boy-Who-Lived’s childhood.

And they’re not pleasant.

---

When Newt accepted to become one of Harry Potter's secret guard as a favor to Albus Dumbledore, he hadn't anticipated being faced with a choice concerning the welfare and safety of a child: obey Albus Dumbledore's orders or stay at Voldemort's side to protect Harry.

Though difficult, the right choice was clear.

------

SEVENTEEN EXCERPT:

“What’re you doing, Siri?”

Sirius yelped and whirled around. Remus crossed his arms and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” said Sirius.

“Are you listening in on Albus and Severus’ private conversation?”

Sirius faltered. “Okay, it’s as bad as it looks.”

Remus eyed him for a half a moment before he drew closer to the door and pressed his ear to it. Sirius grinned and did the same at his side.

“Anything about Harry?” whispered Remus.

“Snape said he’s alive, but I don’t trust him.”

But there wasn’t any bite to his tone. Sirius didn’t have it in him, not after what Snape had said about Lily’s last wishes. Snape might be a bastard, but it was clear enough he cared a little bit about Harry’s wellbeing.

“—know me better than that,” snapped Snape. “How dare you. I would’ve never harmed that boy. I am not my father. You have this disillusioned notion that blood means unbreakable, loving family—it does not. Blood will be among the first to hurt, betray, and abandon you!”

“That’s not true—”

“Isn’t it?” snarled Severus. “What of your family?”

Albus sucked in his breath.

Bloody hell, but I think ol’ Snapey has a point there…

There was a loud, exasperated sigh. “Loathe I am to admit this,” Severus said, his voice lowering, “but Harry is better off where he is right now, especially when you’re so hellbent on sending him back to his abusive relatives—and for what? Protection? From whom? Protection from the Dark Lord who is now caring for him better than those disgusting monsters? It’s too late, Albus. Your efforts have all been for naught. I fear Harry will need protection from you.”

“You can’t believe that—”

“Albus, how are you so blind to the truth when it’s lain right before your very eyes?” whispered Severus. “How can you look at those memories and not see how much better off Harry is now? I don’t understand you.”

A moment of silence passed.

“Have you so little faith in me, Severus?” whispered Albus. “Are my years of experience meaningless? I have been seduced by an evil man once before, so I can see through the darkness where the rest of you cannot. You don’t know Tom as well as I do.”

“No… I think it is you who does not know him well.”

“Severus—”

“I’ve given you what you want. I am done here.”

“Has your loyalty wavered, my boy?” whispered Albus. “Has the Dark Lord lured you back to his side once more?”

Sirius sucked in his breath and held it, listening harder. He glanced over at Remus, who stared back, eyes wide.

The silence roared for seconds longer.

Terrible, But Great

Chapters 56, 57, and 58 are complete, but unedited.

Elysium's Sanctuary

Chapters 19 and 20 are unfinished at 1300 words each respectfully.

Hues of Time

In major development. 9700 words in the document.

Badger Prey

Chapter 6 is unfinished at 2400 and will be completed for editing sooner than later.

Moon Rite

Chapter 5 has 2600 words; it is still in development and is on the back burner right now.

Deathly Embrace

The final chapter is at 1700 words, but it's still in major development and is on the back burner right now.

The first four are definitely my top priorities at the moment. I want to get TBG 56 done soon, as well as BP 6 done. Plus, I really want to make a lot of headway on HoT, my new story.

Hey...!

Okay, listen, in my defense, Moon Rite was soooo overdue for an update. Last time I updated it was August of 2024. And Deathly Embrace has been in the works since January of this year and THEN I've been convinced to give it a second chapter. God help me.

I've been sitting on the unedited completed chapter 55 of Terrible, But Great for a month, maybe two at this point... Mostly because it needs work and it's a little harder on me at the moment. BUT I HAVE ONE PAGE OUT OF 13 DONE!

I wrote 6 pages of Badger Prey 6 during church this Sunday...

And, finally, I have been working on Elysium's Sanctuary chapters 17, 18, and 19 concurrently, so hopefully those will be out closer together.

I have a lot here, lmaoooo.

First of all, you're precious and I adore you. Second, this is a FABULOUS ask.

Is it hard writing differently for the same characters?

I personally don't find it difficult, tbh.

Out of eight published fics, I have written eight different Tom/Voldemorts, seven different Harrys, and four different Newts. In five fics, I consider them to be Voldemort while in the other three, they are solely Tom Riddle. I don't find myself struggling to write these different versions.

Are the characters all just facets of their name and they’re all existing in a spectrum/different faces of the same dice?

In many ways, yes.

Are singular characters just holding a collective of traits and characteristics under their belts and you try to stay within that range when you write them in different stories?

It's more intuitive for me, but it kind of comes out like that, I think. I simply know these characters very, very well. I grew up with them. I've also read thousands of fanfictions, too. I think I lean towards specific traits of their characters. I personally prefer a more calculating Voldemort, rather than an explosive, overly emotional one--but I might write that version of him one day, perhaps.

Also, age changes the game for every character. I have a couple of canon age Voldemorts, but I also have a 5 year old Tom, a 16/17 year old Tom, and a 26 year old Tom. This matters so much when you're considering the character. A 16 year old Tom will be vastly different than a Tom who is 10 years older than him due to human development and experiences. And 5 year old Tom is a precocious little boy who is a chatterbox whose hope hasn't been crushed yet.

I have a couple of Harrys in their 20s. Big difference. I have a Harry who had Severus and Sirius as fathers and that saves lives. When writing a story and altering things for it, I am thinking of the ripple effects over time.

Is it same characters and they’re reacting to different environments?

Now this is the key to all of them. Yes. The environment is the most vital aspect to establishing a baseline for their overall character.

Elysium's Sanctuary Voldemort is overwhelmed by all of Harry's memories of his past. He ends up experiencing what Harry feels in those memories, which triggers empathy in him. This fundamentally changes him. Empathy is a vital component to creating connections with others. Developing protective feelings over Harry opens the door for Voldemort to tolerate and later on care for Newt Scamander.

Meanwhile, Moon Rite Voldemort is enamored by Harry's power and has been prior to the opening of the fic, so when it's confirmed that Harry is his horcrux, Voldemort knows what he wants and goes after it: Harry as his husband.

The latest version of Voldemort I've been crafting, Twilight's Radiance, is a much different man than the others. He despises his birth name, his birth looks. He has chronic pain after Harry's 4th year. He is much more calculating, much more careful in his choices. This is a slightly different Voldemort than canon Voldemort because of this.

With each story, I think I accentuate the traits that will lead the story in the direction I want it to go while dampening others. Even something as simple as changing their gender will have a VASTLY different effect on their traits and experiences. Every story needs different things or will have different relationship dynamics that I want to explore, so the character will mold into what I want and need.

Hopefully, that makes sense! I loved this ask <3

My sons, Mama is BACK. Now if I can just edit and update all of the unedited backlog I had, then I can get back to my Tomarrymort Big Bang submission.

A Elysium's Sanctuary update is next, folks!

Then, I have something for Badger Prey and Terrible, But Great (yes, another), and two chapters for Hues of Time.