Chapter 1: A Long Flight
Summary:
2 Best Friends talk.
That's about it.
Chapter Text
The airport was loud, bustling with people. Elena only sighed in frustration;
"Why did you choose to go to Moscow specifically? You know that the Dragons are all meeting there, right? Meaning that there's gonna be just, so many people.."
She could already imagine the streets of Moscow filled with bustling tourists waving their phones around, hoping to get at least 1 picture of any of the dragons.
"That is exactly why I chose it! Just imagine if one of us gets noticed by one of them" Her friend squealed out.
"Right.. King Illarion specifically?"
Elena could only role her eyes at her friend, who's determined to get noticed by the green dragon shifter as he's continuously said in the media about how women should send him pictures of themselves for him to show Vozeth and he's made it clear about what type of women should too.
"Ashley dear, I love you and you are my best friend" Elena said grabbing her friends attention, "But changing yourself for some man just isn't worth it!"
Ashley, only rolled her eyes in response, "Oh Elena, he isn't just 'some man's as you put it" She responds, almost mockingly, "He's a king and a hot one at that and plus I think I look good in blonde"
Elena could only stare at her in disbelief, "Right.. let's just get going or else we'll miss our flight" She said as she put on her backpack and began making her way to gate 6.
Ashley quickly followed suit.
Soon enough they were finally boarding the plane, Ashley was practically squealing in excitement while Elena was just dreading having to sit through a 3 hour flight and then stand for another hour trying to get through passport control.
"Oh my gosh Elena" Ashley said practically bursting with excitement, "we are so close to getting to see the dragons than ever before!"
Elena only gave her a blank stare, "Actually, with the amount of tourists that are going to be there, I highly doubt that we are truly going to be anywhere near the dragons and plus we technically already saw them back in England"
"Oh Elena that was years ago" Ashley said waving her off, "We got lucky enough that Queen Esme finally got to host the grand meeting at her territory for once and I also doubt the tourist will be any of our problem"
Elena raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And why is that?" She asked, already knowing what Ashley was going to say next.
"Well because when we get to Moscow and King Illarion sees me he's going to tell that spirit Vozeth to choose me and then we shall marry and have an even greater wedding than the other dragons!"
"I knew you were delusional, but this is just something else"
Ashley slapped her arm, "Shut up Elena!" She yelled out and some of the other people boarding the plane began to stare at the commotion.
Elena only laughed, "yeah yeah, how about you save your strength for when you meet the king because maybe he'll want to fight you first like King Valerius did with King Caden" Elena said as she began to finally enter the plane.
Ashley looked shocked and maybe even a little scared?
"Do you truly think so?" She answered as she also followed Elena inside and to their seat.
Elena only shrugged her shoulders, "who knows? We don't know the dragons apart from how they want us to perceive them"
Ashley sighed, "Yeah, your right"
Elena nodded along with Ashley's words, "Yeah, of course I am right" She said as she put her headphones on and leaned back into her chair.
"Goodnight Ashley" She said.
"Yeah.. goodnight Elena"
Chapter 2: A Lonely Life
Summary:
Illarions very lonely morning
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The sun shines through the cracks between his curtains, that Illarion must of forgotten to properly shut.
He rolls over, trying to stay in bed for a bit long but a voice startles him;
"Good morning, King Illarion" He jumps up out of bed and comes face to face with.. his secretary or advisor or whatever she called herself these days.
Alina was wearing some maroon turtle neck with smart back trousers and shiny dark shoes. She had brown hair and brown eyes to match.
"Why the hell are you in my room, Alina?" He grumbled out.
"Because today's a very big day, do you remember why that it?"
He huffed in annoyance, she was speaking to him like some child, "Yes I do Alina" He said, as he got up and began getting ready.
"Great, well Queen Mei is already waiting for you down stairs with Queen Esme, while the rest of the dragons shall arrive later today"
"Yes yes" Illarion answered, waving her off, "If there's nothing else then you can just go"
Alina smiled at him, "I'm sure Vozeth will choose someone eventually my king, there's no need for you to worry so much"
Illarion stopped and his hands tightened of his jacket, "I am not worried."
Alina only continued to smile and nodded, before bowing down and walking out of his room.
Illarion sighed and finished dressing himself.
'"Always so daring that damn raccoon" Memphis spat out, letting out a huff of green smoke.
"At least she gets the job done"
Memphis didn't respond and only watched Illarion, as he began making his way to the dinning room.
"Have you heard anything from Vozeth then?" Illarion asked him.
"Vozeth is gone"
This made Illarion freeze, "Gone? What the hell do you mean she's gone?"
Memphis let out another puff out green smoke, "Gone off to look at more potential humans or whatever"
Illarion face scrunched, "Can she not just choose from the humans I have already chosen for her? Why must she keep trying to toy with me by pretend to be interested in some man"
Memphis seemed to let out almost a chuckle at this, "She claims they are not worthy or something like that, maybe you should stop playing right into her claws"
Illarion huffed at his dragons refusal to make Vozeth stop these silly games and he opened large wooden double doors, to reveal a large dinning room.
The rooms walls were painted a soft, neutral colour and were adorned with beautiful artworks making the place more fit for a king like him. The chairs were covered in a luxurious fabric, he had to bargain for from King Anwar, while the table was the main centre piece made from dark oak.
Queen Mei was already sitting on one of the chairs, drinking tea and talking with Queen Esme who was smiling at whatever Mei was saying. But as Illarion entered, the 2 women stopped talking and turned to look at him.
"Illarion, how nice of you to finally join us" Esme said, watching him sit down at the head of the table while servant ran around placing fresh food in front of him.
"How I didn't make you wait too long Esme. and you too Mei" He said, as he began shoving food onto his plate.
"No worries dear, me and Mei kept ourselves entertained talking about our territories" Esme said, "Didn't we?"
Mei nodded, "Yes, yes we did"
Illarion nodded, his mouth already full of food.
"So Illarion" Mei began, "How Vozeth? Still haven't chosen you that blond sexy model you said you wanted?"
Illarion stopped devouring his plate of food, "No, Vozeth is just looking at all of her.. options"
Mei smiled, almost smugly, "Options really? Well it taking her quite some time, how long has it been since that fight with the Behemoth.. 5... 6 years now?"
Illarion gripped his fork tighter, "Well, it's hard for her to decide with all the different people she can choose from"
Esme watched on smiling to herself about how those 2, despite all that has happened, still bicker like they did before.
"Oh well" Mei said, getting up from her seat, "You enjoy your meal then Illarion, Esme. ill shall be in my room with my 'fingers crossed' for you and Vozeth"
Illarion only gripper his fork tighter as Mei walked out of the dinning room.
Esme turned to him, "Don't pay her no mind Illarion, you know she liked to rile you up just as you do her" Illarion only continued eating.
Esme chuckled, "remember the time you messed with her robots while we were in your territory, goodness, I still remember her staying up late into the night trying to figure out what was wrong with them"
This made Illarion smile, as he boasted "Yes, I believe that was the best trick I had ever pulled on her"
An awkward silence filled the room then, as Esme started at Illarion in somewhat pity while he just continued to eat while trying to understand the reason for such an expression.
"How is Memphis and Vozeth doing?" Esme suddenly said
"Their doing good- No great! Their doing great!" Illarion said, buffing up his chest slightly.
But Esme continued to give him that pitying look.
Illarion sighed finally giving up this persona, "Vozeth has been quite busy lately and hasn't even told Mephis about who she seems to be watching so intensely"
Esme raised a brow, "Oh, so you believe she is going to choose someone soon?"
"Yes, which is why I must begin to prepare for such a possibility"
Esme seemed to become even more confused, "How can one prepare for such an event? You don't even know who, when and where this person will be chosen"
"Yes I know" Illarion said, placing his fork neatly next to his plate, "But I can at least ensure the guards and police are all prepared for another dragon suddenly appearing"
"Ah, I see" Esme said, "Well, I hope your preparations work then dear"
Esme began getting up as Illarion just watched her, "You can just continue eating, I'm going to go for a little flight if you don't mind"
Illarion waved her off, giving her the signal to do as she pleased.
Esme smiled at him, thanking him, before also leaving the dinning room.
Leaving Illarion all alone, once again.
Notes:
Hope you enjoy this =D
Chapter 3: 10th Dragon Shifter
Summary:
A new shifter arrives!
Wonder how her mate will react?
Notes:
Sorry everyone, I've been really busy with everything but I'm going to try and get the chapters you missed out on out as fast as I can!
Chapter Text
"Elena hurry up!" Yelled out Ashley, as she ran into the crowd of tourists cooing and awing at Queen Esme flying around.
Elena didn't listen to her friend and continued to walk calmly behind her, watching Ashley grab her phone and fumble with it, trying to get a video of the dragon shifter.
She could hear Ashley growing more frustrated, as she continued to struggle to start the video before the dragon shifter could fly off, probably back to King Illarion's castle.
Finally Ashley got her phone to work and as she raised it up, Queen Esme left.
Her friends disappointment at this was evident, as she pouted.
Elena walked to her side, as the crowd of tourists finally dispersed.
"Elena" Her friend said, still pouting, "I couldn't even snap a photo"
"There's gonna be a next time" Elena said, pulling her friend along "We should explore the city first"
The two of them spent the rest of their day exploring Moscow, though Ashley mostly was dragging Elena along to all the different shops but Elena didn't mind it helped get her mind of off what happened.
"Do I look cute in this?" Ashley asked, pursing her lips and posing for Elena in a classic fur coat.
Elena was going to tell her that she looked good and was perfectly matching with king Illarion, but screams filled the air.
Now, those screams could of been some excited tourists; Elena had seen those videos of those crazy fans fainting or crying at the mere slight of one of the dragon shifters.
But no, those screams were filled with terror that chilled her to the bone.
Elena turned around to Ashley, who seemed frightened, "Stay here"
"What. Elena? Were are you going!" Ashley yelled after her, but it was no use as Elena was already out the doors are running towards what seemed to be the source of the screams.
People ran passed her, some trying to grab Elena and stop her from running towards whatever was happening over there but they gave up, not wanting to run any closer to that area.
When Elena finally made it, she was speechless.
The nearly half of the mall was just gone and there were people, oh so many people.
Elena could see a hand sticking out beneath some rubble that fell from the roof and some blood pooling under other broken pieces of the building.
Her eyes however looked around and finally found the source of that scream.
It was a young girl, maybe 11 at most, her brown hair was braided into 2 separate short braids and she was wearing a black coat over her light blue jumper.
The girl seems to have had her leg stuck, or more like completely crushed, under some rubble.
Elena ran over to her, trying to calm her down while beginning to try and lift the giant rock off of the girls leg.
"Her there sweetheart, I'm Elena" She began grunting slightly as she tried to at least move the rubble slightly, "what your name?"
"Lillian" The girl said, her eyes filling with tears.
"Alright Lillian, well I'm here to try and get this big old rock off your leg ok?" Elana said, even though all her efforts so far hadn't even moved the rubble in any way, "At least until some help arrives"
Lillian nodded, "Is my daddy gonna come help" She asked, clearly trying to hold back tears.
"Well I don't know about him coming here but" Elena paused as she tried to gather some momentary strength before continuing" I'm sure he'll be waiting for you just outside and"
Elena was interrupted as more rubble fell from the building near them.
Lillian screamed in fear.
"Now now, don't you worry nothing is gonna fall on us" Elena said trying to calm the girl down, but she herself didn't seem to believe those words.
The building was extremely unstable and the longer it took Elena to help Lillian and get out of this place, the bigger the chance of something falling and crushing them both to death.
"Are you sure?" Lillian asked, shaking in fear.
"Of course" Elena answered grunting as she continued to push at the rock, "I've never been so sure in my life"
Elena finally pushed rubble off of the girl leg, using up all the strength.
After the shock and adrenaline seemed to wear off, the pain started to kick in.
Elena could hear her the girl whimpering in pain, as she moved to pick her up and off of the floor.
"Are we going to see my daddy now" Lillian asked.
"Yes, yes we are-"
The building around them seemed to shake and Elena looked up to see a piece of the roof falling down at them.
In a moment of sheer desperation, Elena dropped to the ground and covered the girl in her body to maybe, by some miracle, give Lillian a chance in surviving.
But instead of pain and darkness, a bright light filled Elena's vision.
"So strong and brave and oh so caring and selfless" Said a booming voice.
"You are just right"
When Elena opened her eyes, she thought she went to heaven, but as her vision finally adjusted she realized what had happened.
She stood amongst the rubble, practically towering over the mall and underneath her was Lillian passed out but alive.
While released a new sense of panic and dread filled her.
Elena's hands had became large and covered in the same red scales that also covered the rest of her body.
She had claws the size of cars and large wings that were accompanied with a long tail that had 3 giant spikes at the end of it.
Elena couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She actually became a dragon shifter.
But, aren't you supposed to become a dragon shifter for doing some noble?
All Elena did was help some young girl in need, not save the entire mall like King Caden once did all those years ago.
After getting over her shock, Elena knew what she had to do.
First, she need to get Lillian help and have her reunited with her father and then..
Then she had to run and run far, because if the calm King Valerius could attack King Caden then god knows how the hot tempered King Illarion would react to her arrival.
Elena moved her wings trying to get a feel for them and figure out how to fly and eventually she flapped her wings and was actually flying.
She flew near to malls entrance, were ambulances and fire trucks were stationed.
The people, which looked like ants to her now, stared at her in wonder while she gently placed down Lillian and watched medics run to the girls side, already starting to treat her leg slowly and any other small wounds that she couldn't find in that moment.
Elena then looked up to looking for any dragons shifters, specifically a green one, that should be charging at her at any moment but luckily it seems that he hasn't caught wind of her.. yet.
Elena quickly raised her wings yet again and took off, getting as far away from the scene as possible.
Chapter 4: The Calm before The Storm
Summary:
Elena finally relaxed and reconnects with Ashley.
Chapter Text
By some miracle, Elena managed to shift and run into some alleyway, without being detected but that was probably because everyone was mostly focused on the situation at the mall.
She hoped Ashley was ok.. she should be.
Elena left her because they were near the entrance anyways, which looked mostly intact last she saw.
Right now Elena had to figure out how to get to their hotel room, which was the only place that Elena could semi-trust in this foreign country.
"Need some clothes deary?"
Elena's head practically whipped around to find an old homeless man holding out his jacket for her.
"Oh no, I- I really couldn't" She tried to stop the guy from giving her his clothes, but he continued.
"I insist, you seem to need it more than me right now" He said, "But do give it back if you see me, Russia can be quite cold especially in the winter months"
Elena nodded her head as she wrapped the jacket practically around her.
"I'll make sure to find you and repay you for your kindness ten fold, but right now I must go so.. thank you again sir"
"It's Nikolai, no need for that sir stuff" Nikolai said waving Elena off and she quickly looked around the street before practically sprinting towards her hotel, which she could already see the entrance to.
Elena walks in head down, not even looking at the receptionist until she realizes that all her stuff was shredded.
Well of course, along with her clothes she also lost her phone, her wallet and her room key.
She quickly turned around, wrapping the jacket around her tighter, hoping no one would notice that she was quite literally in her birthday suit under it.
"Hi how can I help you?" The receptionist said, not even looking up from her computer.
"I left my room key with my friend but I need to get to our room?"
"What the room number" The receptionist continued to type, still not glancing up.
"Room 053"
"Can you give me your full name and the email used for this booking to confirm it is your room?"
"My name is Elena Morrison and the email is [email protected]"
Elena's breathing began to increase, worrying that someone would notice her.. situation.
"Ok miss Elena, here is your room key we ask you to please not lose this thank you"
The receptionist quickly placed her room key on the counter and returned to whatever work she was doing.
Elena practically lunged at the key and sprinted for the stairs, quickly making her way to her and Ashley's room.
Eventually, she made it inside and she quickly hung the jacket up and got dressed in her own clothes.
As Elena sat down on the sofa, her body finally began to relax and her breathing began to steady.
Until the phone suddenly rang out and she jumped up in the fright.
She cautiously walked over to it and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Oh thank the spirits your ok" Ashley's voice rang out.
"Ashley goodness, where are you?" Elena asked, letting out a sigh of relief.
"I'm just walking back to our hotel now" Ashley paused before continuing, "I couldn't reach your cell and.. I thought the worst but decided to try our hotel room and you're alright!"
"Yes, I'm sorry for not at least trying to alert you sooner that I was ok but it's just been very hectic"
"That it has, especially with another dragon shifter appearing" She sounded a bit excited when talking about that.
"Yeah.. especially with that"
There was a moment of silence between them.
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of Ashley speedily making her way through the streets and towards their hotel.
"Look Elena, just wait for me in our room I'll be there soon"
"Ok"
That is all Elena responded with before Ashley hung up, leaving Elena alone once again in the quiet hotel room.
She placed the phone back down in its place and went to sit down on the sofa again.
She sat there in silence, before her eyes began to close and all went dark.
Chapter 5: His Green Eyes
Summary:
A dream or Their first meeting?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Elena began to toss and turn in bed, trying to stay asleep until she couldn't lay anymore and she sat up.
That is when she realized she wasn't in the hotel anymore.
No, instead she now sat on a king-sized bed that had crisp white sheets and some of the fluffiest pillows she had ever seen.
The bed also had a canopy, the fabric gently draping down from the ceiling.
But it was the chandelier hanging in the middle of the room that truly caught her eye.
It cast a warm, soft glow over the room and it had intricate designs with branches of it being covered in sparkling crystals.
Elena looked upon it in awe, until she was snapped out of her daze, when the body of a man stirred next to her.
She froze and watched the man turn over in the bed and their eyes made contact.
Neither of them moved as they stared at each other in shock, though Elena did take notice of the mans captivating green eyes.
She watched as the man seemed to get over his shock, at least somewhat, and his lips began to move but no sound came out.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, while the man continued to try and say something.
As Elena continued to study his appearance she realized this man was none other than the King Illarion.
Her eyes widened in shock and Illarion seemed to see this shift in her.
He reached his hand out and touched her arm and then a bright white light filled her vision.
Elena woke up in a shock and she placed her hand over her heart to try and steady its beat.
She looked around in a fright and began to realize that it was all a dream.. right?
The door began to unlock and Elena's head snapped in its direction.
The door opened to reveal Ashley, whose eyes darted around the room until her eyes landed on Elena.
"Thank the spirits you are fine"" She said, shutting the door and running towards Elena pulling her into her arms.
"Though" Ashley said, stepping away but keeping her arms on Elena's shoulders, "You look a bit shaken up"
"Yeah I just.. had this horrible nightmare"
"Oh? Do tell" Ashley said smiling, as she pulled Elena down to sit down next to her on the sofa.
"Well, I don't remember much but, there was some girl who was injured she had a light blue jumper on that I definitely remember and then I remember flying? I think"
"Oh wow that's definitely one hell of a dream" Ashley laughed.
"Yeah and then after I saw King Illarion" Elena laughed along with Ashley, who was now wiping away her tears.
"I think all my talks of meeting him rubbed off on you"
"Yes, I think it did"
There was that silence that fell between them once again.
"Well um" Ashley began, "I heard they are going to begin searching for who the new dragon shifter was"
Elena froze, "What?"
"Did you forget or something?" Ashley now looked at her in confusion, "A new dragon appeared and had saved a young girl today after that incident at the mall"
"Oh, I see.. so it wasn't a dream after all" She mumbled that last part.
"No it really wasn't" A voice rang out in her head.
That made Elena jump up in fright once again.
"Are you alright Elena, your quite jumpy today" Ashley looked at her in concern.
"Yes, sorry I'm fine just still shaken up after what happened"
"Right well I do want to know, what exactly did happen today" Ashley asked, her curiosity mixed with concern for Elena.
"What do you mean" Elena said, but she knew exactly what Ashley was asking.
"Well one second we are shopping and the next you run off and then I hear nothing from you and then-" She was beginning to get frustrated.
"Ok ok, just let me explain" Elena said, trying to calm Ashley down.
"Well you see, I heard the screams or well, a scream really" She began, twirling her hair nervously, "I ran towards the source and then"
"And then?" Ashley asked after Elena went silent.
"Then I got caught up in the crowds of people running away and I couldn't find you so I went back to the hotel that's it"
"I see.."
The silence fell between them once more.
"Why lie to your friend and not be proud of what you have been gifted with?" The voice from yesterday spoke up again.
Elena shot up, "What! Who the hell-"
"Elena, seriously why are you so jumpy?" Ashley said, clearly concerned and somewhat frightened.
But Elena didn't focus on her as the voice continued to speak, "Mephis told me that we dragons are worshipped here and yet you lie about who you are?"
Elena's eyes widened but her eyes turned to the TV which began broadcasting loudly.
A female reporter stood far from the collapsed mall, that was engulfed in flames, and yet close enough for the viewer to see just how catastrophic this event was.
There were firetrucks trying to put out the flames while ambulances came and went trying to save as many people as possible.
"Good afternoon to you all" The subtitles read as the woman spoke rapid Russian, "As you can all see behind me chaos is unfolding, from what we know so far there have been many fatalities and just as many injured after the mall suddenly began collapsing"
"The police have yet to release any information about what exactly caused this but many speculate it was the work of humans first, a far right terrorist group who are best known for summoning the Behemoth 0 years ago"
Elena was speechless as the camera seemed to doom in slightly showing the mall still collapsing in on its self.
"Now, as for the appearance of the new dragon, from what we previously know from interviews with King Illarion and some other dragons, this may very well be the mate King Illarion spoke of"
"But until we find out more information, we go back to you Ania" She finished as the news switched to another reporter lady talking about the weather.
"Elena?" Ashley asked hesitantly as if she was worried Elena might shatter like glass.
"I'm fine" She said, clearly starting to hyperventilate.
"Clearly not" Ashley quickly shot back.
"I- I just need to go for a walk to cool off"
"You can't.." That caught Elena's attention.
"What do you mean?" She asked clearly confused.
"Well after that supposed bombing, everyone was told to stay home, were we watching the same news? The lady literally said it!"
"Oh.." No, of course she didn't pay attention to that part only to. To that girl and the incident.
"Look, how about you take a shower? A nice warm shower always cheers you up" Ashley said, basically pushing Elena towards their bathroom.
Elena only nodded her head and made her way inside before staring at the door that Ashley quickly shut.
"So.. your Vozeth then I assume?" Elena asked, feeling a surge of bravery suddenly as she turned the shower on and stepped inside.
"So now you've come to your senses?" The voice rang out in her head.
Elena didn't answer her.
"I've been wanting to choose a human to finally bond with and I did find this cute guy but then I saw how you quickly reacted and I just decided to choose you then and there" Vozeth said, almost shrugging dismissively.
"You should've thought more about who to choose you know.."
Vozeth only raised her eyebrow in question, just like a human would.
"Dragon shifters are meant to be worthy, brave and like special or something no? All I did was save a girl and then ran away like some coward"
"Yes I guess you did" She answered, not even attempting to comfort Elena.
"But you didn't have to save that little girl and if you haven't stepped in and ran away like everyone else, she would've just been another death which people would've forgotten after a year or so"
Elena stayed silent.
"And now at least you can save more people thanks to my power and get to have a handsome guy by your side like come on have you seen him?"
Elena watched as the dragon somehow conjured up image of the king going though some paperwork, clearly stressed out.
"How- how have you done that?" She asked amazed.
"Just something one can do through a mate bond you know" Vozeth answered in that same dismissive tone.
"A what?" That got her attention.
"A mate- oh whatever he'll explain that to you" She said, clearly annoyed, "You know, I thought you'd be way smarter then this
"OI!" Elena yelled out at the dragon.
"Everything alright in there?" Ashley asked as she knocked, clearly concerned about her friend who seemed to be talking to herself.
"Yes, yes of course"
Ashley seemed to accept that answer and left Elena to finish washing up.
Elena let out a sigh of relief, "Look you damn lizard we shall talk about this" Elena said gesturing to herself "later!"
The dragon didn't answer seemingly disinterested in this conversation already.
Notes:
Hii, so turns out applying for uni isn't as sunshine and rainbows as people say and so I couldn't do much of anything!
But chapters should be coming out slowly by surely.
Thank you for your understanding :)
StormsOfSuffering on Chapter 2 Fri 01 Aug 2025 06:28PM UTC
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HarryPotter_andTea on Chapter 4 Tue 14 Oct 2025 03:02AM UTC
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Theo_God_1753 on Chapter 4 Fri 24 Oct 2025 09:44AM UTC
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HarryPotter_andTea on Chapter 4 Fri 24 Oct 2025 10:24PM UTC
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