Stories by Exceeds Expectations

No one knew we were magnets. / RemusSirius, early 1982.
"I'm not going anywhere, Remus." She winds her arms up around his neck, rising up onto her tiptoes. "I know," he says, with a look of pure wonder on his face. "And I still can't wrap my head around it." / RemusTonks pre-baby fluff.
"You know," comes a voice from behind her, "it's customary for the bride to have broken up with her previous partners before marrying somebody else." Hannah's heart stops. She hasn't heard that voice in almost three years. /Past!Havender
I used to thank you often, wherever you are. Now I thank him, wherever he is, for filling my hollow heart fit to bursting. /Remus follows those grey eyes, no matter who they are attached to. Soulmate!AU. Remus/Sirius, Remus/Regulus.
You told me often that I would regret you and meant it.
He'd heard people say time was like a river, but he hadn't realised it was true. Not until he's sat in it, waist deep, wet with all the memories and could-have-beens. / Sirius falls through the veil and lives and relives.
They had nothing in common. Oliver thought about that a lot.
I'm sorry. It's hard to remember. /Barty thinks back.
I would choose this life, every time. Forgive me, Padfoot. But I would. / Six lives that could've been, and the one that was.
Hold the baby. She is screaming. Crying. So are you.
When it comes to love, nothing is impossible. /Latest chapter: LavenderParvati
"I miss you," he writes, and sends it before he can talk himself out of it. "I miss you, I miss you, I miss you." /DomFredII cousincest.
He stayed, perched on the edge of a bed that used to be his, and motioned to a man who used to love him. Remus hesitated only a second too long, but that was okay, Sirius decided. It had been a long time. It had been a lifetime.
"You think I can leave my son in there with that monster?" He doesn't say, "Your son is that monster," but she hears it nonetheless. / In which Hope never loves Remus any less.
There was the breath in between, and then there was Ron. That is how she remembers it. /A pregnant Hermione muses on her past and evaluates her present.
Regulus Black is cigarette smoke. /Five cigarette-scented moments. BartyReg.
He wonders if that's what Dora sees when she looks at him. A secondhand man with a secondhand heart. /RemusTonks, past RemusSirius.
In which Neville has nightmares and Hannah makes it all better. /NevilleHannah fluff.
Nobody knows of a scarred soul or how to fix it. / The effects of the war will always linger. Harry still has nightmares.
You're just me, with more teeth and less heart. /A letter from Remus to Moony. References to Wolfstar.
Was it always going to end up like this, do you think?
She spends four days avoiding mirrors. She spends them sitting up in bed with a sickly-smelling salve slathered all over her wounds, wondering who she is without all her pretty to hide behind. /Slight Lavati
In which Oliver is going to meet Percy for the first time since the Battle of Hogwarts. If he doesn't murder him within minutes, he'll be doing brilliantly. /Slight Perciver. For the Quidditch League Comp.
There are things about the war that fall into the cracks of history. He is not one of them. /HannahNeville for Song Swap Competition
"She's a fighter." :: Victorie and Arthur.
They are a growing canvas of apologies. Slight AU.
I'm here. I told you I would be. I was always going to be here, I think. I just didn't want it to be quite so soon. /James is waiting for Lily after it all ends.
i'm sorry you fell. sorry i didn't catch you. /remus and sirius and apologies that always went unsaid. freeverse.
I still think of you. /For Laura
Think of all this, and never let go of her hand, not once. /RonHermione. The morning after the battle is not an easy one.
"I'm sorry," Remus whispers, and he has never said something so quietly and meant it so earth-shatteringly, heart-stoppingly, soul-crushingly loudly. /They are not who they used to be. Past!RemusSirius, post- PoA.
"I'm sorry," Sirius says quietly, but he does not pull away and he does not kiss Remus again. He simply holds him, in the silence, and hopes that is enough. /Remus, Sirius, and seven moments that make them. For Sam.
I don't know how it happens, but we are sixteen and she rattles against my bones, her heartbeat hammering mine into excitement, the ghost of her breath hot on my throat, and I think I love the madness in her. /AliceBellatrix, AliceFrank.
There is an innocence to her smile that reminds you of high towers and Honeydukes and being sixteen again. /NevilleRose, past!NevilleHannah.
Maybe there is a story here. Maybe there isn't. But there is definitely a mirror and there is definitely a tragedy and there are definitely two lost little boys. /For Amber.
"Anyone would think you cared, little Pettigrew," Bellatrix purrs. "Tell me... did they really mean so much to you?" /Peter shatters again and again and again.
Tick tock goes the clock and I will never leave you. /Regulus, Barty, and always being short on time. Freeverse.
this juliet is a warrior and this romeo is a coward, and maybe they have always been like this. /ginnydraco, freeverse-ish.
I never was anything more than your rebellion, was I? /Sirius is a rebel. Regulus hates him. [Regulus loves him.] SiriusRegulus incest. For Ami.
I'm not some filthy little habit you can keep behind closed doors, not your dirty little secret. /Regulus, Barty, and how the smoke swallowed them whole.
"Lilies are my favourite," she says, and Draco squeezes her hand. She doesn't know that they are already dead, and he doesn't have the heart to tell her. /AU, disability!fic, blind!Ginny. For Ali.
"You can't keep it all inside," Ella says. "You need to talk about this, John. Sherlock was a very big part of your life." /In which John can't stop texting Sherlock, everyone is worried, and drinking is easier than trying to move on. Post Reichenbach.
"Ah, fuck off. You for real? Someone else's holdin' de bleedin' rifle. I don't like gettin' me hands durty." /AU in which Moriarty is not as suave as you know him to be, Sherlock is confused, and the English language is murdered. Irish chav!Moriarty. The Great Game end scene. For Nayla. I hope you're happy.
And once he (almost) didn't. /Various AUs, implied Wolfstar. For Sam.
"He's given you forever, Reg," Barty says, and you have no idea what he means until the world begins to shimmer, shimmer, fade. /In which the Dark Lord thinks he can use Regulus, Barty doesn't understand, and Regulus knows how it all ends. RegulusBarty, timetravel AU.
"Knowing there's someone to take care of you makes it a lot easier to fight," she says, and her fingers brush against your cheek. "There. All better." And she is always so, so gentle. /NevilleHannah during DH. He is always so broken, and she is always trying to fix him. First Place in Montley's Title Swap II Competition!
He's the moon, the ever-present crescent that stops the darkness taking over, and you are but the tide. /Regulus can't help but follow him further and further into the darkness.
"Tea, love?" he asks, and she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. /Molly can't help but blame herself. Molly, Arthur, and life after Fred.
"Oblivion," you say, "waits for everyone, you know." /Regulus, Sirius, and choosing sides. AU.
They fall in love, they kiss, they cry, they lose each other and they find their way home. Ten canon/fanon couples and their loves and losses. /Drabble collection. SO far: RoseScorpius, AndromedaTed, Molly Arthur
There is a rhythm to life with Sherlock Holmes. It goes a little something like this. /Rise and fall, rise and fall... For Chloe. Reichenbach spoilers.
There is a flash. /Colin's life is made up of moments, flashes and photographs. The world, and Colin's tiny place in it.
"But whatever, however, whenever this ends I want you to know that, right now, I love you forever." - Andrea Gibson. /A collection of drabbles. For Amber.
"Sirius," he says. "Sirius. You never got peace like this before. What makes you think you deserve it now?" /The worst part about having a dead brother is that you can never get fucking rid of him. SiriusRegulus, SiriusRemus. For Laura.
You are not strong enough to ignore the melody he is. /Johnlock, Reichenback spoilers. For Jasmine.
You don't have anything to say that could make this okay, not at all. /Oliver, Percy, and the five stages of grief. For Sam.
"A month at most, Mr. Weasley. We're very sorry. There's not much else we can do. He's too far gone." A month. At most. And then you will leave me. /Charlie watches Draco die. There is nothing he can do but wait. DracoCharlie, angst galore.
This is how we witness sin; from the outside looking in. /Lily says she loves James, but it's Sirius she takes to bed. And they all know it. For Kelly.
It only takes one bullet to end a life. /Post-Reichenbach, grieving!John, dark themes. Sort-of-Johnlock.
I keep trying to pull you up, up, up but your branches scrape my skin, your twigs leave splinters under my fingernails, and I wonder if your roots are too far down here for me to try and save you. /Drabble for Liza.
Scorpius Malfoy is not the man you want. /Blaise remembers too much. Rated M for sexiness and language.
Ginny Weasley may be just a girl, but there is something about her that makes Gabrielle think of autumn. /Ginny mourns, Gabrielle watches, and autumn rages around them.
They might just be a few shades too different. /Astoria, Draco and every colour of the rainbow. Warnings inside.
If sadness were a person, Remus rather thinks that she would treat him as a lover. For Sirius, it is regret. /Remus, Sirius, and the people who always find them when they are alone. For Izzie.
Draco agus Luna agus a tsaoil. Drabble, thart 100 focail. As gaeilge, ach tá brón orm as mo chuid gramadaí. Scriofa don Foreign Language Challenge ag HPFC. Ní cainteoir duchais mé ar bith.
Perhaps I am deluded; perhaps it's wrong of me to think that telling you tonight will take away the pain of your mother's passing. Perhaps I should not try to replace old pains with new joys. Perhaps there is some merit to grief. But I have already told you that I am selfish, Draco. And, just once, I want to see you smile. /For thefirstservant.
Dominique is like a bird; this is a fact. You will forever try to follow her, no matter where she flies. /For Cassidy.
Before and after. Then and now. Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks. Because before the end, there was the beginning. And before that, there was Sirius. /Remus, beginnings, middles, ends, and befores. RemusSirius, RemusTonks.
"Mum," Ginny breathes from beside you. "We'll be okay." But you know she doesn't mean it. /Molly, the Weasleys, and trying to move on.
Sometimes, John Watson feels empty. Everything is different now. /Post-Reichenbach angst. Johnlock if you're wearing slash goggles. For Laura and Izzie.
He whispers it over and over in between frantic kisses from someone who shouldn't hold his heart quite so tenderly. /RonGinny, incest, AU.
Pearl bright smile and dark hair thrown back, she says, "Kiss me."
To you, always you, he says, "Hold me." But he means, "Save me." /Albus and Scorpius and how love is just love. For Ella.
The thing with your family is that no matter how much you love them, they will always clip your wings.
You've always tried so hard to be more, to be better. Now tell me, Percy; was it worth it?
"Bill," Charlie says, and it's always got this sort of reverence to it. Always. /For Sam.
"I know you," you swear. "I know you better than anyone else." She raises an eyebrow, scepticism etched into the creases of her forehead. "Prove it." /Teddy, Victoire and my attempt at fluff. For Olivia.
There are so many ways they could be, so many different futures they could have, so much he could give her, if only she would listen. /Teddy, Victoire and the way things could have been. Birthday fic for Izzie.
"You're beautiful," you say, but you spit it like an insult and you think he knows what you mean. /He is just like his mother. Severus, Harry and those bloody green eyes. AU. /First Place in the 15 Colour Competition with the colour forest green! Second Place in HedwigBlack's A Very Slashy Competition!
Maybe I didn't even know I was here 'til I saw you holding me. /Inspired by Andrea Gibson's poem of the same name. For Izzie. Complete.
He wishes that he could pull the air from her lungs with his lips, so that each breath of a word that trips from her tongue falls straight onto his. But he is just a boy, and boys are scared little creatures at the best of times. /Lysander, and how he doesn't say a word.
It's been a whole summer since you've seen them. They've had time to think it over, to think of what it really means, to realise you're no fairytale beast, you're a monster, and you could kill them. /Remus doubts his friends, when he really, really shouldn't.
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." ― Oscar Wilde. 50 characters, 50 drabbles. For the Character Diversity Boot Camp Challenge.
She's not what he expects. And he really should stop expecting the worst anyway. /Tracey, Michael, rebuilding life and burning old prejudices.
I was thirteen years old the first time your name extinguished the candles on my birthday cake. You were blind then, as young boys often are, and so I offered you a slice and hoped you would taste the sweetness of what we could be together. /Letters and scribbles from Victoire to Teddy, telling him all the things she wishes he'd remember and all the things she wishes he could know.
Her name is Tonks and she's an Auror. She tells you that you can write her any time you think you need her. You tell her you don't think you will. You're wrong. /Sometimes Tonks can't help but lie to keep Susan happy. And, sometimes, Susan believes.
It's in the differences of the light, Ginny thinks, and what they let her see. /Or seven times Ginny looked at Harry and saw him as he was.
I tried to forget you, you know. I never could. /A letter from Remus to Sirius in which he writes all the things he wishes he could tell him face to face.
When Potter dies, they keep Weasley in the dungeon of the Manor. You find yourself watching him. He never does lose hope. /AU fic, RonHermione, RonDraco, violence, torture, character death and a ridiculous lack of fluff. Apologies./ First Place in Rhythmic Gymnastics, Hogwarts Games!
Six times in which Luna is perfect and Bill is a blushing, bumbling fool who should know better than to love her. Canon compliant, BillFleur, one-sided BillLuna.
It's perfect. And then you go and ruin it all because you're just as young and stupid as you pretend you're not.
He's just a boy who fell in love with summer and she's just a girl who should've known better. Companion piece to Last Girl Standing's "every breath we drew was hallelujah"
In which Hannah works in a bakery, Luna grows sunflowers, and goodbyes taste like vanilla icing. /First Place in both WeasleySeeker's Goodbye Competition and the lola's Last Kiss Competition!
"It's magical, isn't it?" she asks, but you don't answer. You're too busy counting the stars that shine in her dark eyes.
"He's mad. He can't be hearing his parents. They're dead. But he sees now that maybe going insane isn't as bad as they make it out to be. Maybe being a little bit crazy can be good for you; maybe it's a good thing." In which we watch Harry grow from a bright-eyed little boy to a war-hardened hero who may or may not have gone mad along the way.
"You know what's right and you know what's wrong. Now all you have to do is choose which one you want to fight for." Draco/Seamus slash.
She knows it couldn't possibly end well but still she cuts her legs to ribbons so that when the harsh winter winds blow, she can feel that icy kiss on her wounds and remember that she still breathes.
They made her play the piano. They stood behind her and watched for every misplaced finger and every wrong note. They killed the music. /First Place in Hurdles, Hogwarts Games!/
You walk around in a body that doesn't quite fit and you speak in gruff, cryptic words to hide the truth. One boy sees through you. He is seventeen. He is a Hufflepuff. And he is a champion.
She sings. As the notes shift between you, dancing from her mouth into the very red shell of your ear, you think you might be in love. /First Place in TayaCurragh's Your Favourite Pairing with a Twist Challenge!/
He thinks he's in this alone but he's not.
He's not what you dreamt you'd want. 92 words.
For so many years, you just sit in their shadows and you smile. You never did like people watching you. Except for him.
You tiptoe around one another and pretend that you're just friends but there's always that glow of "what if" and "maybe" when you sit too close together on cold days.
He comes to her in the middle of the night. She cannot cure him, but she tries nonetheless.
He was the first man to /show/ you a dragon and it was the worst thing he could have done. You fell in LOVE .
Who are you beneath your human skin? Or how Tonks stopped Cho from falling into madness. Warning for femslash.
When you think back, you can pinpoint the exact moment that the whispers began; those sly words and secret truths that twisted like snakes at the base of your skull, writhing and coiling and never ever leaving. In the end, they'll kill you.
Molly lets Kingsley hold her at night even though she knows she's not the Molly Weasley he dreams of... Second Place in TamariChan's Cross-Gen Comp!
George struggles to cope with Fred's death and finds comfort in a strange girl in a strange place. George/Luna, George/Angelina
He leaves his sketches unfinished and he never meets your eyes when you ask why. Until one day, when he whispers, "I need to find my muse. I think it might have been her, Shay." And you bite back a sort of laugh/sob and say nothing.
You could leave now. They could call you the Girl Who Broke His Heart.
They end up in the same compartment of a scarlet train heading towards a future of which they know nothing. But I'll tell you now, dear reader, it is not a happy one. Self-harm/suicide
Four Secrets Lily Told Lysander and One She Didn't Have To. Lily/Lysander, mentions of Lily/Teddy.
She comes to you in the night, like an angel. But she changes.
The first secret she tells him is that she's not like her cousins, and she doesn't care about house feuds and this stupid rivalry. Then there's another secret, when she's fifteen, and all she wants is him. Lily/Scorpius, Rose/Scorpius
When he meets her first, he notices that her hair is like a thing all its own. It's wild and bushy and free and it tickles her elbows when she moves and if you asked, he'd probably tell you that that was the first part of her he fell in love with.
You had two sisters once, and you were all shades of difference. You fell in love, didn't you? His name was Ted, and he was sweet and kind and funny and when they found out about him, they screamed and raged and told you to choose. So you chose him.
She was a writer and he was an artist and for some reason she thought they wouldn't quite fit. Rose/Scorpius oneshot.
Nymphadora Tonks was a lady of impulse. She jumped into action without a second of hesitation. She lived for this, for fighting and for winning. The thrill of victory scorched her veins like the summer sun. Summer was her favourite season.
You were one half of a whole and he was your ever present shadow. You moved in perfect rhythm together and you found humour in everything. It was easy for you both to laugh away the war because you had each other. But he's gone now and she's here.
Peter doesn't think he's a traitor.
Sometimes he kissed her. Other times, she kissed him. references to RL/SB, character deaths. Though really, that shouldn't be too shocking. You know what happens.
It took a while for the end of the war to sink in. It took longer for him to convince her to say yes.