An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Ok, that fic had no real sex-scene, and for a serie about Obi-Wan getting happily fucked by clones all around the years and asking for more, that was strange. So, yes, a little pwp post Yavin! Older clones and Jedi needs loving too!
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Anubin would see her face or hair passing by out of the corner of his eye. Marr would hear her voice when he went out, never coherent, but always laughing or happy-sounding. Either would feel touches on their hands or back when the other was occupied.
“Are we being haunted?!” Anubin demanded one day after feeling another touch.
“It certainly seems that way,” Marr muttered. “Perhaps we have not left the Hotel California as far behind as we thought.”
That night, Anubin decided to do something that he had never heard recommended by anyone with half a brain cell: he bought a Ouija board with the intention of using it.
“Satele, are you there?” Anubin felt a little stupid when the planchette didn’t move, but he tried again. “Satele, if you’re there... Please. Please answer me.”
Nothing.
Anubin stood and angrily paced the room. They couldn’t be imagining the touches, the glimpses... but why wouldn’t she respond when she had the opportunity?
Just then he felt another touch on his back, and he whirled around to face the board. A moment later, the planchette slowly began to move.
Anubin seized a notepad and pen and began to write down the letters as the planchette indicated them, reading them aloud for Marr’s benefit.
HELLO MY LOVES
IT’S SATELE
I’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION
“What do you need our attention for?”
YOU ARE IN DANGER
THE BEAST YOU KILLED WAS DEFEATED BUT NOT DESTROYED
“What do we do?”
I DON’T KNOW
FOR NOW RUN
“I will not run from this beast,” Marr stated, his tone making it clear that he was immovable. “I refuse to run.”
“We’ll find a way to destroy it for good,” Anubin agreed. “I have old friends that might be able to help.”
THE BEAST IS NEARLY UPON YOU
WHOEVER YOU’RE CALLING DO IT QUICKLY
“I’ll call Andronikos tonight,” Anubin said. “He can put me in contact with someone who can help, I’m sure.”
True to his word, he called his old friend that night.
“Good to hear your voice finally, you bastard. What’s up?”
“Hello again, Andronikos. It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
“Marriage getting to your brains? It’s been months and I haven’t heard from ya.”
“Damn. Sorry. Anyway, I need your help.”
Andronikos sighed heavily. “Fine. What is it you need?”
“We’ve got some kind of angry ghost following us, I was wondering if you knew anyone who deals with that sort of thing.”
“Ghosts?” Andronikos snorted. “Only you would have problems with things that don’t exist.” He hesitated. “Ya know, Zash might have had some tips for ya about this kinda thing. Don’t know much about the supernatural myself. Khem Val might be able to help you more. But I got a couple of favours I can pull, see if I can’t find you someone who can help.”
“I was going to call Khem, but I’d appreciate anything you can do.”
“No problem. I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks, Andronikos. We should get together at some point, go for a drink or something.”
“Soon, yeah. Sounds like you should get all this figured out first though.”
“Probably for the best. Talk to you soon.”
“See ya.”
Anubin hung up and glared at his phone. “Of course Zash would know more, she dealt with the supernatural on a regular basis. I remember that much. But she’s dead now, idiot.”
He sighed and dialled again. After several rings, he heard the deep angry tones of Khem Val. “What is it?”
“Khem, it’s Anubin. I’ve got an angry ghost following me – would you know anything about what to do?”
The old man blew through his teeth. “How do you come to have an angry ghost after you, little one?”
“Marr and I killed it – it had trapped us, and we had to kill it to get away.”
“Then the spirit will not be placated. There are ways of destroying ghosts, but I do not know them myself. I can ask some of those I know and see if they know the rituals required, but they are difficult to reach. And the rituals themselves will be costly and difficult.”
“Any hope is better than none. That being said, the sooner you can reach them, the better – the ghost will be on us soon.”
“Your next action should then be to run. Move far away from this ghost so you can prepare to face it.”
“So we’ve been advised,” Anubin muttered. “We didn’t want to run, but it looks like we have no choice.”
There was a short silence. “By whom have you been advised, little one?”
Anubin hesitated. “We have another ghost. She’s benevolent. We knew her in life as well.”
“Fool. How do you know this ghost’s intentions?”
“She was our lover in life. Her presence is still with us.”
“And you want her to return,” Khem surmised. “She will not return to life.”
“I know,” Anubin snapped. “if you have nothing else useful to say, I’m going to hang up.”
“Be careful of this other ghost. If you loved her so dearly, your angry ghost may use that weakness.”
“Goodbye, Khem.” Anubin slammed the phone down on the table and knelt by the Ouija board.
“Satele... Love...”
The planchette shook slightly back and forth, as though Satele was shaking her metaphysical head. I DON’T KNOW LOVE, it spelled out.
“It’ll work out,” Anubin said, more certainly than he felt. It felt to him as though the only person he was reassuring was himself.
The next day, Marr and Anubin packed up and left once again, heading north out of town, in the opposite direction of the former Hotel California. On Marr’s lap sat the Ouija board, the planchette perfectly still in spite of any bumps in the road.
At one point, they pulled over to hash out a plan. They decided there was nothing they could really do but drive until they received some news, so they would do that.
In the meantime, though, Anubin had some questions for Satele. “How quickly can you follow us?”
I AM WHERE YOU ARE
I CAN FOLLOW YOU AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN MOVE
“Can you touch or move anything but the planchette and us?”
NO
I CAN TOUCH YOU BECAUSE I AM TIED TO YOU
“Why can you move the planchette, but nothing else? That doesn’t make much sense.”
I DON’T KNOW
“Alright. Well, is there anything else we should know?” He asked this more of Marr than Satele.
“Can you sense the beast?”
YES
IT IS SEVERAL DAYS TRAVEL FROM YOU
BUT IT IS GAINING QUICKLY WHILE WE ARE NOT MOVING
“Can you speak to other dead people? Other workers at the Hotel California, for instance?”
SOME OTHERS FROM THE HOTEL ARE ALSO GHOSTS
MOST DEAD AREN’T TIED TO THIS WORLD
I CAN SPEAK TO OTHER GHOSTS BUT NOT MOST DEAD PEOPLE
“No help from Zash on this one, then,” Anubin muttered. “For all the help she ever was.”
WHO IS ZASH
“An old friend. She was something of an expert in the supernatural. New age rituals, spiritualism, that sort of thing. She thought she had some prophetic dream or another where she took over my body, so she tried to get me into this ritual. She died instead.”
I SEE
SHE SEEMS TO WEIGH ON YOU
“It’s not anything that can be helped now,” he said, a little more snappishly than he intended. “Unless her ghost i’s following me around too, there’s nothing she can do to help. She never wrote her rituals down that I know of, and even if she did I wouldn’t know where to find them.” He was quiet for a moment. “Let’s just go. Zash is in the past, there’s nothing we can do about her now.”
They continued north for several days before Anubin received a call from Andronikos.
“Got anything for me?”
“Got one lead. Not much by the sounds of it though. Some old guy claims he knew Zash and has some records of some of her rituals. I don’t know how or why, but everything else came up empty, so this is your best bet.”
“Alright. Where is this man?”
Andronikos gave them the man’s location and name – Teneb Kel, but he usually went by Thanaton – and sent them on their way.
“Thanaton. What a reassuring name,” Anubin muttered.
They arrived at Thanaton’s house a few days later. Anubin knocked at the door, and it creaked open after a few moments.
“Can I help you?” a gaunt older man asked.
“We’re looking for a Teneb Kel, or Thanaton, perhaps. Are you him?”
“I am Thanaton, yes. Who are you, and what do you want?”
“I am Anubin, and this is Marr. We have an angry ghost chasing after us, and we were told you may be able to help us get rid of it.”
Thanaton studied him with a look that felt as though he could see through him. “I may. You had best come in.”
Thanaton led them into a small sitting room, immaculately decorated, with an air that suggested that anything out of place would immediately be noticed by its inhabitant. When Marr and Anubin were seated, Thanaton fixed them with a similar look to the one he had been giving Anubin earlier.
“You’re Zash’s apprentice, aren’t you?”
“Zash considered me her apprentice, yes, for all she ever taught me,” Anubin replied. “You know what happened to her, right?”
“I am aware. Zash was foolish and reckless and should not have attempted rituals that were beyond her. Still, her loss is a blow to those of us who are aware of supernatural phenomena.”
At Anubin’s questioning look, Thanaton rolled his eyes. “Supernatural phenomena, such as shapeshifters and, as you have discovered, ghosts, certainly exist. There is a large community, hidden to the wider world, that learns to deal with such things. I am part of that community, as was Zash. Likely, you will deal with more members of this community as you attempt to rid yourselves of this ghost."
"I see. Anyway, is there anything you can do to help us with our ghost problem?"
"I may have records of some rituals that may help – but I'll need to know more about the nature of this ghost. Do you know its origins and why it is after the two of you, specifically?"
"It started when we were vacationing earlier this month..." Anubin explained the story to Thanaton. At the mention of the Hotel California, the older man sucked in a breath.
"You were lucky to have escaped the Hotel California alive. Few are those who enter the hotel who leave it again."
"It was not luck," Marr refuted. "We destroyed the beast that ruled over the hotel. The hotel disappeared, but the beast seems to have returned to destroy us in return."
"I see." Thanaton considered this for a moment. "If you destroyed the beast and it has come looking for revenge, then perhaps what happened was, instead of destroying the hotel, you imprisoned the energy of the place inside yourselves. If the beast succeeds in destroying you, it will take the energy back and recreate the hotel, or another such trap for the unwary."
"How do we destroy it?" Anubin persisted. "Obviously we'd rather not die, so our only other option is to destroy the remnants of the beast or run from it until we die anyway."
Thanaton thought for a moment. "This is no ordinary ghost. If it was, there would be a simple ritual to bind it to the world of the dead permanently, thus ending its existence in our world. In this case, the beast is tied to your life forces; likely, one of you will have to sacrifice yourselves to destroy the beast for good."
"No!" Anubin leapt to his feet and Marr tensed, glaring at Thanaton. "Not happening, not a chance."
Thanaton glared right back at Anubin. "Sit down, boy. There is a possibility that you will not have to die for this, but it will involve the loss of the ghost seated with you."
"No. We're not losing Satele, not again."
Thanaton raised his eyebrow. "So you would rather run for the rest of your lives? In that case, I think we're done here." He gestured to the door. "I trust you can see yourselves out."
Anubin hesitated, glancing at the door, then took the Ouija board from Marr's hands and placed it on the table. Thanaton eyed it with distaste.
"Such a crude method of communicating with ghosts."
Anubin shrugged. "It was what we had. Satele... What do you think of this plan?"
I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF EITHER OF YOU SACRIFICING YOURSELVES
BUT THIS IS HARDLY AN EXISTENCE
TO RID YOU AND THE WORLD OF THE BEAST I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING INCLUDING MY EXISTENCE
"Then that is settled," Thanaton said. "I assume one of you knows the location of the beast?"
IT'S ABOUT TWO DAYS' TRAVEL BEHIND US
"That doesn't give us much time to prepare, but we will make do. It would be more advantageous to perform this ritual on a full moon, but again, we have little choice in the matter."
"What do we have to do for this ritual?"
Thanaton described a long and complicated process, which Anubin hardly absorbed. Marr, on the other hand, listened intently, with the sharp mind and memory he possessed in full evidence.
"I will provide you with a list of instructions and the materials needed, but you will have to assemble and perform the ritual yourselves. Having more people involved will be dangerous for them, and I'm not risking my safety for the sake of people I just met."
"FIne. Thank you for your help in any case."
Thanaton left the room and returned with a freshly printed sheaf of paper, neatly stapled together. Anubin took it and the Ouija board and the pair left the house, heading for the nearest shopping center to prepare the ingredients for the ritual.
"Good thing these are mostly common materials," Anubin muttered. "We'd be screwed otherwise."
Two days later, they'd finally prepared everything needed for the ritual, including securing an out-of-the-way spot to hold it. They'd managed to convince a nearby farmer to let them use a vacant field for the night, allowing them to set up and perform the ritual undisturbed by any passers-by.
When Satele advised them that the beast was less than an hour away, Anubin began to light the twelve candles arranged in a circle, with a pyre to the southwest, downwind of the circle. Later on, when they had the beast bound inside the circle, they'd have to light the pyre using the third candle from the north, and Anubin or Marr would have to sacrifice themselves on it.
Together, Anubin and Marr began to say the words that were printed in the instructions as the binding words. As they chanted, Anubin felt a shiver run up his spine, and he could almost sense the beast as it came closer, spurred on by their proximity. He felt a hand press itself against his back, and he shuddered but didn't let it interrupt him. Marr stiffened too a moment later, and Anubin assumed he'd felt a touch as well.
He almost lost the flow of the chant as he realized that Satele was becoming visible, across the circle from him. She had a beatific smile on her face as she watched them chant and continue to prepare the ingredients for the ritual.
When the chant ended, Anubin tugged on Marr's hand. "Satele," he said. "She's there, across the circle."
Marr clicked his tongue and frowned. "I can't hear her," he muttered. "I believe you, but she is still not tangible."
"I'm here, love," Satele said, sounding as though her voice was coming from far away, as it had when she had faded with the Hotel California.
Anubin and Marr headed around the circle to her, Anubin reaching out his hand to touch her and finding nothing but air. She smiled sadly.
"You can't touch me," she said. "Maybe you'll be able to soon, though."
"You mean..."
"I may come back, if the beast is destroyed. I'm bound to the beast because I worked at the Hotel California, and it is what ties me to the world of the dead. If that bond is broken, I might be able to bring myself back into this world."
"Will you return, though? Will you have the strength to do so?" Marr asked.
"I hope I will," she laughed.
"This is no laughing matter. If you return..."
"If I return, I'll stay with you."
"Whichever of us is left," Anubin muttered, casting a pall over the proceedings. Satele, however, only smiled.
"Best not to worry about that until afterwards," she said. "For now, destroying the beast is what is important." She paused. "It's coming."
Across the field, the three could see the great form of the beast approaching them at a run. Marr and Anubin took up their positions on the opposite side of the circle from it, hoping to draw it into the circle.
They succeeded. The beast lunged at them and found it couldn't move outside of the circle of candles. The flames burned high like emergency flares, casting bright red highlights across the beast's form, now totally solid, black fur standing on end as it began to pace the circle, occasionally snarling at either Marr or Anubin. The wind stopped, then picked up again, rushing around the circle and those around it with the force of a hurricane gale.
"Now!" Anubin yelled, going for the proper candle. With strength borne of adrenaline, he hurled the candle over the beast to the pyre, which lit up in a blast of flame that could probably be seen for several miles.
Both Anubin and Marr ran for the pyre, each intending to sacrifice themselves for the other. Before they could do so, however, Satele – now as solid as the beast was – stood beside the pyre. She fixed Anubin and Marr with a smile that stopped them in their tracks, so full of love was it.
"Goodbye," she said quietly, over the howling of the wind, and stepped forward into the flames. The fire turned a blinding white and towered over the proceedings, stunning all those in attendance, even Marr, blind though he was. When the light faded, both Satele and the beast were gone, and the pyre had burned down to ashes.
Anubin knelt by the ashes of the pyre, tears dripping down his face. He let out a strangled cry of rage that prompted Marr to lay his hands on his shoulders, pulling him back to his feet.
"It's not fair," Anubin whispered, burying his head in Marr's chest. "It's not fair. We've lost her again. It's not fair."
Marr said nothing, only held Anubin until the latter drifted off to sleep.
When Anubin woke, he found himself in the car, Marr in the passenger seat, asleep. Anubin blinked the sleep from his eyes and started the car, beginning the long journey home.
Several weeks later, Anubin and Marr passed by a café while out on a walk. As they did, Anubin made eye contact with someone inside and nearly fainted out of pure surprise.
The woman was the spitting image of Satele.
The woman's smile faded into a quizzical expression, then one of sudden, painful shock, but Anubin didn't notice – he was already pulling Marr into the café.
As soon as they were in the door, Anubin made a beeline for the woman, who was already making her way to the door. "Satele," he whispered.
The woman teared up. "Anubin. Mathias."
Anubin launched himself into her arms, and Marr wrapped his own around them both, and suddenly they were home.
some satele shan/darth marr/sith inquisitor for all your satele/marr/inquisitor needs
Satele couldn’t help but wonder how she had ended up in this predicament.
She’d admittedly agreed to come over to Darth Occlus’ private apartment on Nar Shaddaa, for tea as promised – she rather trusted Occlus, foolish though it may be – but she hadn’t expected Marr to be there, and well…
The exact details of how they’d all ended up in bed were a little hazy, but she distinctly recalled Corellian brandy being poured into her tea and Occlus suggesting to Marr he take his mask off, and well, both men were attractive and they thought she was, and she was old and tired and it was flattering, at least a little. So they went to bed.
And now she was stuck between the two, sandwiched between two snoring Sith Lords. Who’d expect it, especially of her? She was the Jedi Grand Master for Force’s sake.
And yet, it felt… right, being here with these two. The Force felt in balance, light and dark meeting and mingling, with a neutral balance. Occlus – Anubin – was something else.
He is, came a quiet thought brushing against her mind, and she realized Marr had reached out to her. He wasn’t, in fact, asleep. Anubin is hardly a Sith, despite appearances. He is… extraordinary.
Agreed, she thought. I’m glad I came today. The thought slipped out unwillingly, but it was true. She was glad.
She felt his amusement. I’m certain the Jedi would be interested to hear that. Was he… teasing her?
I’m sure the Sith would like to hear about one of their Dark Councillors fraternizing with a Jedi, she shot back.
Corrupting a Jedi.
She went to stick her tongue out at him, but refrained. It was undignified. Though being here made her feel anything but dignified. She felt almost childish, joy at no longer being alone flooding through her.
On her other side, Anubin stirred, his eyes opening slightly. He closed them with a sigh. “You’re still here. Good…” He snuggled into Satele, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his face into her neck, and fell back asleep.
Satele, on her part, was shocked. Shocked at his actions – a Dark Councillor seeking comfort in her? – but also at his emotions in the Force as he had awakened. Profound relief at not being alone. It matched hers, and even Marr’s, from what she could feel of his emotions behind the wall around his thoughts.
Suddenly, a wave of pain swept over her, and she wrapped her arms around Anubin in return. This couldn’t last. Sooner or later, the three of them would have to part – she would have to part from them, and return to her lonely life as a Jedi Master.
Marr, in a totally unexpected but welcome move, draped his arm over them both and pulled them to his great chest. Worry about the parting later. For now, enjoy this.
He was right, of course, and Satele relaxed, luxuriating in the warmth of her lovers’ arms. Worry about the parting could wait until she woke.
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I wrote this for swpolyamoryweek but i didn’t get it done in time
so here it is
another piece of kothquinnwarrior b/c i’m trash for these nerds
also using my warrior Advena
Day Three: Hogwarts AU
They were together when he received the summons from the Ministry, to be registered as a Muggle-Born. When they had finished reading the letter, they gave it an identical look of disdain and disgust.
“I suppose that settles it, then,” Malavai Quinn said with a sigh. “I’ll have to go into hiding after all. I was hoping this could be avoided.”
“We just have no luck, apparently,” Advena muttered, resting her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “You’ll have to hide out Merlin-knows-where, and I’ll have to continue my education without you. However shall I manage so much work on my own?”
He frowned down at her. “You could try to be a little more serious about this. I would very much appreciate it.”
“You’re already serious enough for the both of us. If I’m not blasé about this, how are you going to keep your sanity?”
He sighed, gently shoving her head off his shoulder so he could get up and grab a slip of parchment. “Fortunately, I’ve been planning for this since June. Most of my preparations are made, there are only a few things I may need your help with…” His voice faded as he left the room midsentence.
Advena sighed and rose to join him. All joking aside, she’d need to help him with his preparation somehow. And she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he’d have to leave.
Standing on Platform 9 ¾ again, about to board the train alone, she was painfully reminded of the changes the world had been going through in recent months. The platform, normally alive with good cheer and well-wishes, was silent and cold. A fair amount of the student body appeared to be missing, and those that were there barely spoke a word to anyone but their families.
Advena herself didn’t speak to anyone as she boarded; her father had stopped bringing her to the station when she was in fourth year, claiming that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She didn’t care. She’d never gotten on well with her father. And besides that, she’d started dating Quinn in third year; he’d been the one to bring her to the station every year thereafter.
Quinn…
The door to her compartment opened suddenly. She drew her sleeve across her eyes quickly to wipe away any tears that had welled up, but it was only Vette, and she already knew the circumstances. The younger girl didn’t say anything as Advena sighed and looked out the window, only took the seat across from Advena as she waved her hand in its general direction.
“You really miss Malcontent, don’t you?” Vette asked rhetorically. Advena wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at the nickname. She settled for another sigh, fogging up the glass in front of her.
“Is it that obvious?”
“It’s weird to see you without him. I thought you two were the unfortunate victims of a Permanent Sticking Charm or something.”
“Not quite. I wish, sometimes.” Advena looked away from the window – there was nothing to see anyway, since the train hadn’t left the station yet – and went for her bag, rummaging around for the Exploding Snap cards she had packed. “Let’s move the subject away from my vanished love, shall we? I see you finally dyed your hair blue like you wanted to…”
Apparently the world hadn’t ended just yet, since there was an Opening Feast and a Sorting Ceremony waiting for them at Hogwarts that night. She watched vaguely as the usual group of eleven-year-olds followed Professor McGonagall up the middle aisle – and then focused more as a number of older students also followed, standing behind the first-years like a sort of honour guard.
“Must be the kids who were home-schooled before,” Advena heard in the mass of confused whispers that followed their appearance. “Attendance at Hogwarts is mandatory now.”
She ignored the chatter in favour of listening to the Sorting. After each of the older students’ names, McGonagall announced their Year. Only two Seventh-years were Sorted: Vortena, Koth in Hufflepuff, and Zakuul, Arcann in Slytherin.
She didn’t much like the look of this Arcann boy. The angry look on his face and the sneer he gave most of the rest of the table spelled trouble. She did her best to ignore him throughout the Feast, avoiding his once-every-two-minutes glances.
After the Feast was over, she got up to leave with the rest of the student and tried to get lost in the crowd; unfortunately, Arcann followed her. In the middle of the Entrance Hall, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.
“I’ve seen you before,” he announced without preamble. “Your father is Azarath Tarmikos, isn’t he?”
Advena didn’t reply, choosing instead to give him a dirty look and try to pull her arm away. His grip was like iron, though, and he did not release her.
“Is there something wrong here? You guys are holding everyone else up, and I for one just want to get to bed,” came a voice from the Great Hall doors. Both Advena and Arcann turned to see Koth Vortena gently pushing his way through the crowd of students towards them, his eyes very pointedly on Advena’s arm where Arcann’s hand was crushing it.
Arcann scowled and released Advena. “I’m not done with you yet,” he muttered, disappearing in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons.
Koth watched him go from beside her. “What was that all about?” he wondered, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. You alright?”
“Fine. Thanks for the rescue.” Advena turned to leave as well, eager to put this experience behind her – and avoid the stares she was still getting from the students who had witnessed the altercation – but was stopped by Koth’s hand gently touching her shoulder.
“Wait a sec! I, uh…” He looked somewhat sheepish. “I’m not really sure where to go. Could you maybe show me the way?”
Advena looked at him for a moment, considering. This new boy was a curiosity, and what better opportunity would she have to learn about him? And beyond that, she felt a small stirring of attraction starting for this boy, and she wanted to indulge.
“Why not,” she said, and took his hand. It was big, warm and solid under hers, and though he seemed a little surprised at the gesture, his fingers automatically wrapped around her hand – they fit nicely into hers. She smiled. “The Hufflepuff dorms are right near the kitchens. This way.”
“How does an American end up at Hogwarts anyway?” she asked as they made their way towards the Hufflepuff dorms. They were taking a rather roundabout route to get there, but she’d never tell him that.
“My mom’s got a sister over here. And she always wanted to live in England anyway. Didn’t have the money to move before this summer, though.”
“A pureblood without money? Scandalous.”
Koth shrugged. “Blood status doesn’t matter as much in the States as it does over here, apparently. Your government seems really obsessed with wizard blood. Why is that, anyway?”
“It’s a newer development,” she explained. “I don’t suppose you know anything about the Dark Lord?”
“I don’t really keep up with the news.”
Advena fixed him with a sharp look. “You should start. Even if the Daily Prophet’s little more than a rag, it’s something. Not knowing what’s going on could be the death of you.”
To his credit, Koth didn’t even flinch. “You might have a point. I’ll see if I can get my hands on the Daily Prophet, then. Got a bit of cash, so I should be alright.”
“If you need financial help, the school has an account meant to aid students with academic needs. Generally, that extends to newspaper subscriptions, or it did with the old Headmaster at any rate.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
They were silent for a moment, until Koth asked, “So, do you know Arcann at all?”
“I might have seen him before, yes. I don’t know him very well.”
Koth made a face. “I know him a little better. He’s a nasty piece of work. You might want to avoid him as much as possible. His family’s pretty rich, and powerful magically, and he and his sister are just awful people in general.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Finally, they reached the painting that hid the entrance to the Hufflepuff dorms. “It’s behind that painting,” Advena told Koth, pointing out the right one. “I don’t know the password, but there should be a prefect coming along soon, they’ll know. Just down the hall, there’s a large still life of a fruit bowl, it leads to the kitchens. Tickle the pear to open it. The house-elves that work in the kitchen are always happy to have visitors, and they’ll feed you any time if you’re feeling peckish.”
“Got it. Thanks for the help.” He squeezed her fingers, then let go of her hand. “But, uh… I have a pretty bad sense of direction. I might need help getting around again.” He grinned at her.
She shook her head, a smile spreading itself across her face against her will. “What do I look like, you navigator? Learn your own way around.” She turned back down the hall towards the Slytherin dorms.
“I’ll see you here tomorrow, then!” Koth called after her. She couldn’t help but laugh.
As it turned out, Koth and Advena were taking most of the same classes, so they spent a great deal of their time together over the next several months. This had a double benefit: Advena had someone to study with (and to make sure she actually did her assignments, since without a push she would only do the ones she considered relevant to her interests), and Arcann kept away from her while Koth was nearby.
“Do you know why it is that he avoids you?” she asked Koth one day while they were in the library working on a paper for History of Magic. The man in question had just come down the aisle they were sitting in and changed direction when he saw Koth sitting with Advena.
Koth shrugged. “No idea. Works for me, though.”
They wrote in silence for a while, then Koth slid a note over to her silently.
Have you ever heard of something called Dumbledore’s Army?
They were something of an independent study group for Defense Against the Dark Arts in my fifth year, she wrote back. I thought they’d disbanded.
She’d heard the rumors, of course, the whispers of rebellion amongst the students against the tyrannical reign of the Carrows. She’d seen some of the graffiti herself. She’d never done anything about it, though. Even though the walls said “still recruiting”, there was no indication of how exactly one went about being recruited.
Is there somewhere we can talk without anyone hearing us?
Advena led them down to a secret passage in the dungeons. It didn’t lead anywhere particularly useful, which was good because it meant few knew about it and no one would be using it. She and Quinn had spent some lovely afternoons in here in the past, she remembered fondly.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you managed to get yourself caught up in the rebellion.”
“You know me way too well already,” he said. “Look. They’re doing good things, and I want to help them out, but I don’t know the school or anything well enough.”
“So you want to get me in on it.”
“Well, yeah. I figured it’d be something you wanted to do anyway, you know, with all your ambitions to become Minister for Magic or whatever.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve practically just met me. I haven’t told you everything about me – not even close. What makes you think you know my ambitions well enough to know I’d want to do this?”
Koth’s face fell, then hardened. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know you at all. I thought you’d care about the kids here. Apparently I was wrong.”
He turned to go, but she caught his arm. “Wait. You’re right, I do care. And I do want to help. I can’t stand this school anymore. It’s not… But they’d never let me help, Koth. No one would trust me.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a Slytherin.”
Now he just looked confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“The other houses don’t trust Slytherins. We have a very nasty reputation, and not for nothing. Most of the members of Slytherin at the moment are Death Eaters, or their children. And even the ones that don’t usually don’t care about anyone but themselves, and they’re complete pricks about it. They have a good reason not to trust members of my House.”
“You’re not like them, though. You care. You’re not a Death Eater.”
“My father is.”
Koth didn’t speak for a minute, his face gone blank. Advena stared at the ground. Why did I say that? I didn’t mean to say that, it didn’t matter, why did I –
Her inner monologue cut itself off when Koth reached out and lifted her chin to look at him. Was his face that close before or did he just move closer?
“Doesn’t matter. You’re still not like them. I’ll vouch for you, and if they don’t believe me, I’ll find someone who will.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
They stayed there, frozen in that position, faces inches from each other, until Advena finally did what she’d wanted to do for the last month and pressed her lips to his.
His kiss was warm and sweet and a little messy, natural movements following what felt good. Not like Quinn’s kisses, which were more precise; he always had an aim, wanted to make her feel a certain way – heated, loved, weak in the knees – and he knew just how to do it. She loved them both, though. She knew she would.
Eventually, they broke apart, and Advena leaned forward and rested her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled a little bit.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now,” Advena admitted.
“Glad you managed it,” Koth said.
She turned her head up and pressed her lips to the underside of his chin. “I have to tell you something.”
“Is it about your boyfriend?”
She drew back in shock, but Koth shook his head. “It’s alright. I didn’t think it could be serious anyway. I’d hoped, but…”
“Who told you about Quinn?” Vette wouldn’t have mentioned anything… Pierce knows how I am…
He hesitated. “I… my cousin Lana told me you had a boyfriend already. She’s, uh…”
“Lana Beniko?”
“Yeah.”
Advena sighed. “Did she tell you that I’m polyamorous?”
At Koth’s blank look, she elaborated. “I can, and usually do, love more than one person at a time. I’m in love with Quinn, and he’s in love with me, and we’re together, but I’m also in love with you. And Quinn and I are perfectly capable of adapting our relationship to fit another person. We’ve done it before.”
“Right.” Koth still looked confused, but he seemed willing to go along with it for the moment. “So where is Quinn anyway? And why wouldn’t Lana have told me this?”
“Quinn’s Muggle-born. He couldn’t return this year because of the political climate.” Another blank look, at which Advena sighed impatiently. “Have you not been reading the newspaper?”
“I have! I just don’t know what would drive someone away from school.”
“Quinn doesn’t have Blood Status. He couldn’t return under the new anti-Muggle-born laws.”
“You guys and your bloodline shit.”
“Agreed. As to your second question, Lana and I don’t have the best relationship, largely because she was rather madly in love with me but refused to involve Quinn in our relationship at all, which I couldn’t abide by. I reciprocated her feelings, but she’s very possessive.”
“So you think by telling me about Quinn but not about the poly-thing, she was trying to drive me away from you… so she could steal you away, or something?”
“I don’t think she still wants me, but I did break her heart. It’s not unreasonable to think she could be holding a grudge.”
“Fair enough.”
They were quiet for a minute. “So…”
Koth shrugged. “Can’t say I get it totally. But I think I could get it. Let’s give it a shot.”
Those words made her so happy, she could kiss him.
So she did.
True to his word, Koth managed to get her an opportunity to talk to someone in Dumbledore’s Army. Her contact, a fifth-year Gryffindor boy, was most definitely not the leader, but he said that he could get her into the group.
“What can you do for us, though? How do you think you can help?”
“I’m good at Transfiguration and Charms,” she offered. “I’ve heard you keep in touch using the Protean charm?” At his nod, she elaborated. “Surely you need someone to enchant objects for you. And I can perform Extension Charms and such. And as a Slytherin, the Carrows won’t suspect me of helping the Resistance, so I can pass items and information around.”
The boy considered for a moment, then reached into his pockets and pulled out a Sickle. “Can you use the Duplication Charm, as well?”
“Yes.”
“Duplicate that, then, and use the Protean so it can pass messages in numbers.”
She thought back to when she studied the charms with Quinn, recalling the theory as best she could. She’d always been better at the practical application of magic, but she had to remember at least the basic background.
“Alright,” she muttered. A moment later, she handed the boy back the two Sickles. He pulled out his own wand and changed the numbers on one of the coins, smiling as the other heated up and changed as well. “Alright. You’re in.” He gave her back one of the Sickles. “We’ll use this to keep in touch and let you know if we need you to do anything. Don’t lose it.”
“Of course.”
He pulled a sheet of parchment from his pocket as well and unfolded it. “We’ll also need you to sign this.”
She looked at the parchment suspiciously. It was blank, but that meant very little; she’d known how to make a paper look blank to everyone but herself since third year. “What happens to me if I sign it?”
“It’ll stop you from telling anyone about any other members of the Army or about our plans.”
She signed her name. “Tongue-Tying Curse?”
“To start. Let’s say betrayal will be very unpleasant for you.”
“I wouldn’t have anyway. But it’s good to know.”
Quinn would be proud of the way she handled herself over the next few months, juggling schoolwork, her activities for the Army, and her budding relationship with Koth.
She wished she could tell him. She often lay awake at night, wondering where he was, if he was alright, wishing he was with her. They hadn’t been apart this long since they started dating, and while she was managing alright, it was difficult. Koth’s presence through most of the day eased the pain.
For a while, her jobs for the Army had been small – pass this parchment to this student, let that student know it was his turn to paint the walls, and so on. But after Christmas holidays, the Army started working more in the open, fueled by early successes and the new Potterwatch radio station giving them news that wasn’t propaganda, and so Advena’s workload increased.
She managed, though, with the daily food smuggling runs, taking as much food as she could fit in one of her Extension-charmed bags from the kitchens to the Room of Requirement to feed the Army members who’d been driven into hiding by the Carrows. She also started handling some of the recruitment, which meant a lot of nights with little sleep, running about the castle avoiding curfew patrols. On the bright side, her Disillusionment charms improved significantly.
Unfortunately, too many sleepless nights caught up with her eventually, and around March, she slipped up.
She dashed through the halls of the school, ducking into a secret passage on the third floor and dashing through it – she didn’t know where it led, but anywhere that wasn’t where the Carrows were was good enough for her. She emerged on the fifth floor, parallel to the Charms corridor. She took a moment to breathe, then she was off running again.
Lucky thing it’s midnight, she thought. If I had to avoid students as well as the Carrows, I’d be dead by now.
She made it to the nearby sixth-floor staircase without incident, but when she got there, she found an unpleasant sight waiting for her.
Arcann, wand out and pointed at her, was waiting by the base of the stairs.
“I don’t have time for this,” she muttered, drawing her wand and flinging a Stunner in his direction. He sidestepped it smoothly, returning fire with an unknown curse that she had to dive and roll to avoid.
She came up prepared, though. She’d cast a Shield charm mid-roll, which protected her from the Stun he’d sent at her while she was down, giving her enough time to get back to her feet and fire off a Jelly-Legs Jinx. He deflected the spell into the floor, cracking the stone.
The pair dueled for what felt to Advena like an hour. In terms of power, Arcann had her beat, but she made up for it in agility and creativity – at one point, she threw out a Tickling Hex, which he ignored – and which promptly landed square in his face. He was down for a second before he could return fire.
That second cost him the battle, though: Advena used the opportunity to dodge around him and start up the stairs. He followed, firing at her back, but she shielded against them and kept moving. Her knowledge of the school came to further aid her; while she knew all the stairways in the castle and their trick steps, Arcann was less familiar with them. His foot landed squarely on the trick step and fell through, sticking there and throwing him off balance. His face planted itself directly in the stone steps above with a rather sickening crunch, presumably his nose and possibly a cheekbone breaking. Advena didn’t stop to check.
She made it to the seventh-floor corridor where the Room of Requirement was hidden, but she could hear the Carrows shortly behind her. She sprinted right past the usual entrance, into the next corridor, where a door promptly opened up and Vette poked her head out.
“Come on!”
Advena didn’t need a second prompting. She threw herself through the door, letting it click shut behind her. It disappeared into the wall without a trace.
“Looked like you needed some help. Good thing we got to you in time; the Carrows were right there!”
“I know,” Advena panted. “I could hear them, that’s why I kept running.” She caught her breath and straightened to see about half of the occupants of the room staring at her. She scowled, and some of them looked away, but others kept staring.
She sighed and turned to Vette. “Is there space for another hammock?”
Vette gestured around vaguely. “The Room’ll make space. It’s good at that.” She pointed to a new, unoccupied hammock under a silver-and-green hanging, the first of its kind. “Like that.”
Advena made her way over and climbed into it. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but she quickly grew used to the slight rocking motion and fell asleep.
Now that she was a known member of the Army, Advena couldn’t leave the Room of Requirement, which drove her a little crazy sometimes. She wasn’t used to sitting around and letting others do her work; she was a rather firm believer in the principle of doing something right by doing it herself, which left her a little antsy about leaving others to take up her smuggling duties. Fortunately, the recruitment was covered by Koth, who she knew would do a good job at it.
The months after she was almost caught stretched out like years. Sure, it was nice not to have to do schoolwork anymore – it wasn’t exactly like they could hand it in – but it had never really occurred to her just how much time was taken up by her classes every day. The free time made her stir-crazy. Fortunately, the Room was able to summon up books and things to keep her and all the other Army members occupied.
She didn’t really speak to other Army members much, with the exception of Vette and a few of her year-mates. Even then, the conversations tended to be short and unproductive; Advena wasn’t much for small talk, and there wasn’t much to discuss, given that all their circumstances were largely the same and any news they received was heard all at the same time.
The time in the Room of Requirement was largely boring, but it was safe and away from the Carrows, so she dealt with it.
At least Koth visited every day. Even if there was no privacy, she had her boyfriend, and she didn’t much care what anyone thought about her anyway.
She got to know several members of the Army better over the months – Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood among them, as the three were more open-minded than most about Slytherins, and especially those who were part of the Army. Around Easter, Advena was saddened to hear that Luna and Ginny were not returning to the school.
Around mid-May, Advena had a thought. How were any of them supposed to get home? The Room could likely give them a passage to the carriages to the train platform, but wouldn’t the Carrows attack them when they showed their faces there? She mentioned as much to Neville, who told her not to worry – judging by some news he’d received, they wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer.
She wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly – nothing new was on Potterwatch that she knew of, besides the usual updates on the political state and various attacks – and it wasn’t comforting.
She didn’t have to worry about it for long – that night, trouble found them. Harry Potter had returned to Hogwarts.
After the battle, Advena and Koth – who had survived by covering each other’s backs as though they had been born to do so – remained at the school to aid in the reconstruction. Advena sent out a message to Quinn via school owl, which would hopefully reach him so he could come out of hiding and rejoin her like he was meant to.
Sure enough, he arrived at the gates a mere week later. Advena was of course there to greet him, as he had sent a reply with the same owl she’d sent to him that he was on his way home to her. She met him with a squeezing hug and a blazing kiss, pouring out all her emotions from the past year into him. He stumbled with her weight in his arms at first – and she noticed he’d grown weaker over the year; likely he hadn’t been eating well – but he caught himself and returned her kiss with as much passion as he could, never mind his typical self-effacing tendencies.
When they broke apart, they found Koth leaning against the gate waiting for them, a crooked grin on his face. Advena reached for his hand and pulled him closer.
“Quinn – Malavai – love, this is Koth Vortena.”
“You mentioned him, yes.” He held out his hand for a handshake, but Koth used it to pull him into a half-hug, which was something of his trademark.
“Good to meet ya. Guess we’re sharing Advena now, huh?”
“I suppose so,” Quinn said, pulling on his usual dignity as he straightened his clothing from the hug. “I think we shall manage.”
“Yeah, sure we will.” Koth winked. “You’re pretty good-looking yourself, so I don’t think I’ll mind.”
“Oh just kiss already, will you.”
Quinn automatically made a face for a second, then smoothed it back out. “We’ll have to get to know each other better first.”
All Republic systems have fallen? All? Not quite! A few planets, led by Alderaan, are holding out, strong as ever, against the Empire. Since the murder of her beloved Viceroy in the first days of the Empire, Queen Breha is the leading figure in the fight, but she's not alone with this burden. The last Jedi Master as her General, the last handmaiden of her dear friend Padme as her spymaster, she’s ready to take back the galaxy.
