Chapter Text
There were certain, rudimentary components in life that simply never changed.
The sun, without fail, set in the west and rose in the east.
The sky was blue. Gravity always pulls things down.
And the Craft Manor was always filled with flourishing greenery and warm scents of whatever new was cooking, while the Malfoy Manor was always freezing and empty.
Dream walked through the hallowed halls of his home, keeping his strides long and brisk, and with no proper destination in mind, he followed the cadence of his steps. The heels of his boots clicked in a steady pattern and that was the only thing occupying his headspace.
His face was a stony mask, trained to perfection, and his posture alone screamed status to everyone around him.
Not that there were any other beings around at the moment.
Most of his family kept to themselves, and the house elves were never seen unless explicitly asked, which left Dream completely alone in a house too big.
The only shining light in the manor, at least to Dream, was the one he heard starting to trail after him as he made his way up a side staircase to head back towards his room again. He had passed the kitchen and a few seconds later, a new set of footsteps joined him a couple of paces back.
He shoved the smile that was fighting to twist his lips down. He didn’t even need to look over his shoulder to know who it was.
"What do you need, Dia?"
He heard her tiny huff and could see how she was most definitely rolling her eyes at him now.
"Stop calling me that stupid nickname! I'm not five, weirdo."
Dream chuckled, finally looking over at the young girl behind him.
"Fine," he said, elongating the vowels with a smirk. "What do you want, Drista ?"
She hurried her pace to be in line with him, and his heart skipped a little when he realised just how much she had grown over the summer, like how a proud parent would feel. She was practically the mini-girl version of him.
They had the same green eyes, same freckles that littered their skin, and her hair was the same colour as his own, but it fell in long, neat locks instead. Straight and pristine, just how their aunt liked.
If there was one thing Narcissa Malfoy excelled exceptionally at, it was looking proper, something she had passed to them. If they were going to be in her presence, not even a hair could be out of place.
“Uncle Lucius is taking us back to school shopping, right? I still haven't gotten anything on my list," Drista said, twiddling with her fingers behind her back so her brother couldn't see just how nervous she was about starting the upcoming term.
"He said he’d take us before school starts," Dream answered. "Do you know what pet you want?"
Drista's face lit up, and she added a slight bounce to her step.
"An owl for sure! I just don't know which one," she sprouted, getting lost in her words. Dream didn't dare to interrupt. "I mean, I could also get a cat, but you already have Patches, and I love her but I want something of my own, you know?"
Dream leaned against his bedroom door, listening to her go on about all the different types of owls she would want and all of their little traits.
He didn't mind her tangents; however, the blond also knew there was a letter sitting on his desk that had arrived late last night, and he had made a mental note to get back to it once he finished his walk around.
A house elf appeared out of nowhere with a tiny proofing sound, right as he was about to tell his sister he had to go.
Dobby was the elf's name if his memory served him well.
"Young Master Drista, Master Dream," the elf said, bowing slightly before them. "Madame Malfoy wishes to speak with the younger Taken sibling. It's time for your piano lessons."
Dream nodded. "Thank you, Dobby, you're dismissed."
He saw Drista roll her eyes, all energy depleting from her body as soon as Dobby had mentioned her piano lessons. Internally, he danced with glee that at least it wasn't him that had to suffer through them.
The elf bowed once more before disapparating.
"Why?" Drista groaned, slouching back to glare at the high ceiling like it was the one that personally saw to her demise. "I can't believe Auntie still makes me do those stupid lessons."
With a small chuckle, Dream began to shoo her away with his hand.
"Go, you'll be late and you know how she feels about punctuality. I've got a letter to write."
"Oh yeah? To your little boyfriend ?" Drista teased as she started walking backwards. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he had no shame in doing the gesture back. "The one you've been talking to all summer?"
He was halfway through his doorway, hoping that with his back turned to her and hidden from sight, she'd miss the way his cheeks glowed. His friends would poke endlessly at, what they liked to call, his lovesick puppy dog face, and his sister would be no different.
"Don't know what you're talking about, Dia."
"Uh-huh, sure you don't." The click of her heels descended down the halls, leaving him alone once more in a house too big.
He beelined for his desk in the corner of his room.
The only thing sitting on it was the clean, white envelope with his name scrawled on the back in ink.
Every time he saw that penmanship, the one that looked like the writer was rushing while also trying to make it neat, he fell a little bit more in love, especially when they were writing his name.
Dream carried the letter like it was a delicate work of blown glass to his bed so he could read it comfortably.
As soon as he opened the seal, he swore he could smell the ocean in there, and he let himself smile broadly in the privacy of his own room.
If his fellow Slytherins saw him now, so giddy and in love, about a letter his crush had sent him- one from another house no less- they'd never let him live it down, but for now… now, he'd let himself freely smile at the boy that, unknowingly, made him so, so happy.
Hey, Dream!
I can't believe school's starting soon- it'll be great to see you again :)
My mum and I went to go beachcombing the other day, (she loves collecting shells), and I found one that I thought you'd like, so I sent it in the envelope with you. Hopefully, it doesn't break by the time it gets there.
…
oOo
Ranboo was so sure his heart was about to explode.
He couldn’t possibly make it through a second time- hell, he was still recovering from the first!
Every time Michael did something remotely cute near him, Ranboo would almost double over from a cuteness overload.
His hands were genuinely shaking as he reached out to pet the precious creature in Tommy’s arms.
Clementine.
He remembered Clementine from Christmas when Tommy’s parents had sent him a photo of her. That seemed like ages ago now.
“One day you can meet her- you and Michael. I think she’d like you,” Tommy had said.
One day… Ranboo wasn't sure why that thought made him so happy.
The orange cat was slow in raising her head to sniff Ranboo’s hand, tentative at the new smell, but she must have deemed him worthy enough because she began nudging his hand with her nose. It was a clear cry for attention, and Ranboo was all the happier to indulge the little angel.
Michael had hopped off the bed and trotted over to the two Hufflepuffs, his nose wiggling in the air, trying to get a peek at the new arrival.
“She’s so cute! I love her,” Ranboo cooed, gravitating closer to Tommy’s side. He didn’t even realise he had gotten so close until he heard Tommy’s laugh right next to his ear.
“Yeah, well, you can love her more when I put her down,” Tommy joked, moving to set his bundle on the bed. “She’s a loved cat, not the lightest creature in the world.”
Ranboo spotted Michael beginning to slink his way over to the bed towards Clementine, and in a split second, he hurried to scoop his own cat up in his arms. He looked at the two on his bed and then motioned down to Michael when Tommy caught his eye, raising a curious brow.
“Do you think they’ll be okay? What if they hate each other and don’t get along?”
That’d certainly add an extra layer of difficulty if Ranboo was to spend more time here.
Tommy, however, waved it off with a confident smile.
“They’ll be fine,” he said, exaggerating the ‘e’. “Clem’s a good girl, she gets along with everyone, right darling?” He scratched at the tabby’s ears, and Ranboo could make out the faint purring sound she made as she leaned in for more.
Ranboo was careful in setting Michael down onto the bed, worried that he would instantly lunge at the older cat, however, as soon as the angora hit the mattress, he collapsed in a heap. He made no move to get up, his curiosity gone, and now he was settling into the bed for a nice lounging session.
The American huffed, giving the cat a slight nudge.
“This isn’t very social of you, Michael.”
Clementine took on the role of the nosy one now, as she hesitantly approached the white cat, tail rigid in apprehension. Michael just continued to lie there quietly on his stomach as he watched with narrowed, suspicious eyes as Clementine stepped towards him.
She leaned down a little so her nose was nearly touching Michael's, and for a brief second, Ranboo thought that she'd start licking him.
The thought was instantly erased from his brain as soon as she raised her paw.
There was a brief hesitation when her paw hovered in the air before she brought it down and smacked the top of the younger cat’s head, startling him. He snapped to attention and shuffled back a few steps, raising his own paw in self-defence in case she came after him again.
Tommy jumped to attention as well and was quick to grab Clementine and pull her back into his arms again.
"Clem! You just met Michael, you can't hit him!" he scolded, cradling the cat in his arms. Clementine was paying no mind to her owner and kept her eyes locked onto Michael, who had pittered away to be closer to Ranboo.
Ranboo chuckled and sat on the bed next to Michael, running a soothing hand down the white cat's back to settle him down again.
"Isn't that what you did?" he teased. "The first time we met, you ran straight into me and then blamed me for it."
Tommy rolled his eyes as he set Clementine on the ground to run off.
"Potato, tomato, Ranboob."
oOo
The rest of the summer went by in a whirlwind, and before he could even blink, Ranboo found himself staring at the calendar in the Craft’s kitchen that told him that school would be starting in a few days.
Three days to be exact.
By the end of the week, he’d be back in his old dorm room with Tommy again and all the other boys from last year.
Kristen was in the kitchen next to him, cleaning the dishes from dinner, while everyone else was outside de-gnoming the yard. (It was, apparently, a very serious problem that needed to be dealt with at once, and it required 5 wizards to do so).
Ranboo stayed back to assist Kristen in the clean-up, but she had shooed his help away, insisting that she was very capable on her own and that he should just relax. He still sat at the counter, keeping her company as she worked, which brought him to where he was now, staring at the calendar.
“So are you ready to start the new year?” Kristen asked from the sink, elbow deep in bubbles.
Ranboo looked up, smiling, even though she couldn’t see it.
He was the only one out of their trio that was actually excited to go back to school. Even Tubbo was complaining about having to deal with Snape and his piles of homework again, and while Ranboo wasn’t too keen on it either, he was still desperate to return.
He had fallen in love with the quidditch games, even though he was shit at it himself- both of the Craft brothers and Techno had tried to teach him, but he was adamant about staying on the ground with Tubbo instead. So though he couldn’t play, Ranboo still loved cheering on the Hufflepuff team, Wilbur, or Techno as they zipped through the air at high speeds.
And while the homework load was never pleasant, he enjoyed the course material in all of his classes, finding it all fascinating. He had grown up completely unaware of the other world right under his nose, and now that he was part of it, he wanted to learn everything there was to offer about it- minus the homework bit because he did agree with Tubbo on Snape’s mountain of work.
“I actually am really excited to go back,” the boy answered, leaning his elbows on the smooth wood counter.
Kristen gave him a wide smile over her shoulder.
“You’re the only one of my boys with that sentiment, you know? Maybe you can rub some of that off on them as well,” she said, turning to dry her hands on the towel hanging from the stove handle.
He snorted, his shoulders giving a tiny shake, as he fiddled with the corner of the calendar. “Tubbo tried to rub off some of his study habits onto Tommy last year during finals, and Toms didn’t even last a day. I don’t think any rubbing off will work to get him to like school.”
Kristen let out a long sigh, but it wasn’t a sad one. She did it with her usual warm smile and there was a gleam in her eye like she was getting lost in a happy memory.
“That boy…” She shook her head. "Can't tell him anything.”
Before she could say anything else there was a scream, which Ranboo distinctly categorized as Tommy's, from the yard, pulling both of their attentions in that direction.
A loud banging sound followed it up.
The matron was already preparing herself to go out, fixing the apron around her waist.
“Five blood wizards and not one competent enough to handle gnomes,” Kristen huffed, grabbing her wand from the kitchen table. “Merlin’s beard!”
More banging was heard and then another scream, tailed with more crashing sounds, and then… silence. Kristen paused on her way to the balcony with the long steps leading down. They both waited, curiously, for any other sounds.
Racing footsteps pounded on the creaking wooden steps up to the main floor, and the front door was pushed up by a disgruntled-looking Wilbur.
Ranboo rose a brow.
He may not have grown up in the wizarding world, but he didn’t expect fighting garden gnomes to result in him being spotted with mud and leaves, and the American could even spot a small twig or two knotted into the wild curl of hair. He looked like he had just gotten into a fight with the forest and suffered a harsh defeat.
The Slytherin stormed into the room with a deep set frown on his face, and right behind him was Techno, in no better condition.
The long, pink hair was in horrible disarray similar to Wil’s like he had been rolling around on the ground out there. There was dirt smeared along their faces and clothing.
“Bloody hell, what happened out there?” Kristen cried, rushing over to the two of them to check them over for any injuries. Ranboo slid out of the kitchen stool and made his way over to them just in time to see Tommy, Tubbo, and Phil entering.
He snorted a laugh when he saw the state of all of them.
“Geez, garden gnomes get the best of you?”
Wilbur crossed his arms over his chest in a grunt and jut his chin out, glaring over at Tubbo. “ This is why we don’t follow anything in Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests . The guy’s a complete wanker and his books are shit!”
Ranboo had no idea who this Lockhart guy was, so he simply nodded along with the conversation and watched in amusement as Tommy struggled to wipe himself clean of dirt and debris.
“You could have told us beforehand that it was from a Lockhart book,” the blond followed up, pulling a dead leaf from his hair. “I think his so-called techniques just made the gnomes angrier.”
Tubbo looked appalled at the two brothers ganging up on him, his jaw dropping down in offence.
“How was I supposed to know?!”
Phil clapped the boy’s back, giving him a tired smile.
“It’s alright, mate, just let this be the last time, right? We still got the gnomes out, at least.”
Techno plucked a twig that was sticking out from the collar of Wilbur’s sweater, as the Slytherin continued to grumble on. “No thanks to Gilderoy! I swear, if I ever see that man in person, I’m gonna hex him so hard not even St. Mungos can fix him.”
oOo
The autumn night air was chilly, and Ranboo almost kicked himself for forgoing a jacket or at least a hoodie.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted tiny darts of white and orange passing through and weaving between the bushes. No doubt Michael and Clementine engaged in a riveting game of chase, or run away in fear in the younger cat's case.
It was almost laughable how similar the two cat's relationship was to their owner's relationship.
It all started with Tommy being a tormenting little gremlin, but slowly, they warmed up to each other.
Ranboo turned his head away from the bushes to look at the blond on his other side, and Tubbo lied on the far side next to Tommy.
The three of them had snuck out to go stargazing because the blond insisted that the Craft Manor was one of the best places to do it at. According to him, not even the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts could compare to this.
While he wasn't an expert on the best stargazing spots, Ranboo couldn't disagree with the breathtaking view. It felt like a literal ocean of stars was staring back at them, and the planes passing above were ships breaking through the waves, crossing the never-ending expanse.
"See that bright star there, in that little cluster?" Tommy quietly pointed out, raising his hand to a spot just above Ranboo's head. He turned his chin up, following Tommy's fingers to the site.
"Yeah?"
"That's Orion's belt, and that middle star is called Sirius. You can sort of make out the rest of Orion too."
He slowly traced the shape in the sky to the best of his ability, and even though he didn't have a clue as to what he was looking at, Ranboo still smiled because Tommy looked so happy while showing him.
"Wilbur used to take me out here on clear nights and show me whatever constellations he could find with some of Dad's old books."
A loud yawn cut off whatever Ranboo was gonna say, and they both turned to the brunet on the end.
"Tired, Tubs?" Tommy snickered, picking up a tiny twig and flicking it at his friend.
Tubbo whined, making a poor show of trying to shoo Tommy away with his hand.
"Of course I'm bloody tired," he grumbled, sitting up from the ground. "Gnome chasing is hard."
Tommy relaxed the back of his head on his forearm and placed the other hand on his stomach, settling into his position.
“Would have gone by quicker had we used a different technique- ahh!”
Before he could even finish the entire sentence, Tubbo whacked the upside of Tommy’s head.
“Hush, gremlin. I’m going to bed, so try not to get Ranboo killed with your idiocy.”
oOo
Tommy thought he was doing a fine job not getting Ranboo killed, and this time his idiocy wasn’t even the cause of it.
About half an hour after Tubbo turned in for the night and the two of them were still out on the lawn, sharing quiet words, a loud popping sound interrupted the serenity. It sounded like a balloon exploding, and they both shot up into a seated position only to come face to face with an elf.
A house elf to be exact.
Tommy screamed- a very manly scream mind you- and scooted back away from the elf who was leaning so far in, their noses could have been touching had he leaned in a couple of centimetres more.
“What the fuck?!”
Tommy jumped to his feet, yanking Ranboo up behind him by the shirt collar, while the American limply stood there dumbly with his mouth hanging open and his eyes practically popping out of his head at the little creature.
See, Tubbo? Look at him protecting Ranboo, the very opposite of killing him. He was totally capable of not endangering everyone he meets with his Tommyinnitness.
The blond could feel their bodies pressed together, as Ranboo tilted in closer to get a better look. He could even hear the other’s quiet mutterings of amazement and confusion, and he would have normally found it funny if he wasn’t equally as confused.
The elf was looking up at them with bulging saucer, green eyes and his hands were innocently locked behind his lithe body.
“Dobby has come to warn Theseus Craft,” he said, shuffling one of his toes into the dirt. “To warn him of a great evil.”
oOo
“Was it really necessary for us to run away from that elf? Dobby, right?” Ranboo asked, keeping his back pressed against the siding.
His butt was surely covered in dirt from the grass they had been sitting in, and he could feel the goosebumps rising on his skin from the poor decision he had made to not bring a jacket out. All he wanted was to go back inside to change his clothes and dive into bed.
Tommy had his hand wrapped in a death grip around his wrist, and even though Ranboo could feel the clamminess of his palm, he didn’t pull away and made no move to do so. There was no reason for him to still be holding on either, but he seemed to be failing at bringing the words out to remind the blond of such a fact.
No, he quite liked the feeling.
Maybe going to bed wasn't all he wanted at that moment.
“Yes, it was completely necessary. That thing’s fucking weird,” Tommy huffed, looking around the corner to see if he could spot Dobby. “And what bloody danger? It’s fucking creepy shit.”
Ranboo knocked their shoulders.
“It’s a house elf, not a thing , Tommy. And besides, what if Dobby's right?”
There was that popping sound again, right beside Ranboo.
He totally didn’t jump into Tommy because of it. Nope, definitely not.
“Ranboo Beloved is right,” the elf said, looking at them again with those giant doe eyes. He had his smaller hand wrapped in Ranboo’s pyjama pants, and he tugged at them, pointing between the tall Hufflepuff and then himself. “Dobby is right too, Theseus Craft. Danger awaits you at Hogwarts.”
Something bristled up Ranboo’s spine, and he wasn’t even the one getting sent the warning.
A genuine sense of urgency was written all over the tiny elf's face.
He felt Tommy’s hand twitch like he was instinctively going to make a move to hold his hand, but switched his course to just tightening his grip on Ranboo's wrist instead.
Tommy must have sensed it too.
“You’re being really fucking creepy right now,” the blond grumbled, a suspicious glare narrowing his eyes.
Dobby let go of Ranboo and hobbled over to Tommy now.
“Theseus Craft is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Theseus Craft, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Theseus Craft must not go back to Hogwarts.”
The elf was almost begging by the end, but Ranboo couldn’t figure out why this random house elf knew so much about a supposed danger and was vowing to protect a stranger. He had learned quickly that Tommy’s name was famous in the wizarding world due to his standoff with Voldemort when he was a baby, but judging by the look on the wizard’s face, he guessed that people throwing themselves at his feet to protect him wasn’t a common occurrence.
If anything, Tommy just looked really uncomfortable.
“How do we know you’re not lying to us?” Ranboo questioned. He didn’t really believe that Dobby was lying to them, but he could never be too sure. After all, Quirrell had lied to everyone last year, perfectly playing the role of the bumbling, scaredy-cat professor, and no one had suspected a thing. How could stuttering Quirrell be hiding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?
Dobby’s browbones furrowed.
“Dobby isn’t lying,” the little elf adamantly stated. “Dobby is telling the truth and he is going against his master’s wish by coming here to warn Theseus Craft to not return to Hogwarts.”
Both boys grimaced and turned to share a look at each other.
Tommy was the one to break eye contact first to turn back to Dobby, a glare still fixed on his face though it eased up slightly.
“And what does the oven have to do with this?”
It took everything in Ranboo to not physically facepalm. Internally, he was snacking his head against the wall.
"Why is that what you're focusing on?"