hardened hearts (say unimaginable things) by @prideofgalactica

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i don't think i ever imagined the people who were arthur weasley's parents/ron's weasley grandparents but when i first saw courtney talking about the idea for this fic and her headcanons i immediately got intrigued as to how exactly cedrella black and septimus weasley ended up together, especially during such a tumultuous time and from opposite sides of, yk, the weird pureblood agenda.

it's such an original story with characters you can't look away from, and courtney has written it in such a vivid way that the world building honestly sweeps me away every time i read about something new she added to the wizarding world! she writes for the time period and i'm no expert or anything, but i feel like she really managed to perfectly blend the vibes and stuff from that time we know were in the muggle world with the wizarding world -- it feels so natural and beautiful and lovely.

and the romance!! god!

cedrella and septimus are for the longest time just barely in each other's orbit but when they are it feels like the air is sizzling between them from the moment they first meet. their chemistry insane and i think i remember yelling at courtney in a review when they finally just, yk, touched!!! each other in a deliberate way. she writes their developing relationship so so well and i love that it's also continually contrasted with cedrella's (sortof) relationship to a different man, mr crouch, who is her parents' choice...the difference between the men and how they treat cedrella and most importantly how *she* feels and acts around them gives this great context for what's expected of her vs what she wants and how she feels and it's amazing.

and they're both so adorable with each other. can't get enough of them tbh