(A/N:So, all of this stuff doesn't exactly go completelyyy with the actual movie plot/storyline, I had to add my own personal spice to it because frankly, it just- happened, okay? Enjoy :D)
___________________________
(About three months after the events of Cotillion)
"(Y/n), can you pass me that tape measure next to you, please?"
You looked up from your notebook, sitting down the pen in your other hand and using it to grab the tape measure off the desk and pass it to Evie.
"How's it going?" you asked her excitedly, looking over the girl's shoulder to admire her handiwork.
"Well, after I finish up the sleeves and add some more detailing to the back, our first order should be up and ready to go," she informed you, holding it up for you to see. You complimented her work, trekking back over to your own work table, where you were working on creating labels to go on the boxes of clothes, whenever the boys returned with them, that is.
On cue, the door to Evie's workshop swung open, and four guys stepped through, each of them holding stacks of cardboard boxes.
"All your boxes, as requested," Jay announced, setting them down beside your desk, the others following suit.
"Woah, how'd you get Chad to help?" you asked in shock, an eyebrow raised curiously.
"Ben promised to pay him for his 'hard work,'" Carlos answered, causing you to send a look in Ben's direction.
"You paid him to help you three haul empty boxes into this room?"
"It's harder than it looks," he defended, straightening his dress shirt out. "That should hold you both over though, right?"
"Yep," Evie confirmed. "Can you believe it? The VKs are getting brand new, fresh clothes for the first time ever."
"All thanks to (y/n)."
"Actually, I had help this time," you winked, grabbing one of the flat boxes and pushing out the flaps, using tape to keep them in place. "The kids are going to love these."
"Well, the sooner we finish, the sooner we'll have them ready to go," said Evie, shooting a grin your way.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
=
11 months had passed by now, another milestone marking just how far this journey had come. 11 months since you and your best friend were kidnapped by pirates, almost turned into fish bait (twice technically), and 8 months since you'd begun to help slowly turn the Isle into a better place, thanks to the ideas filling the pages of your notebook (and with Ben as the front man, of course). In fact, you'd added so many new ideas over the course of time that you'd acquired a completely different notebook now.
Now, today, you were standing in the crowd, next to Evie and Doug, waiting for Ben and Mal to make their entrance. Today was the day that they went to the Isle to pick up the 4 new kids that Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie had individually chosen, giving their new start here in Auradon, and you couldn't have been more excited for it.
You were even more excited for the surprise that was coming before it.
The crowd cheered and clapped, while the Auradon band began to create melodies, the royal couple on the stage waving eagerly and smiling at all the people.
Evie grabbed ahold of your hand, squeezing it tightly as she watched the events play out before her, and you returned the gesture just as tight, head tilted to the side with a fond expression on your face as Ben spun Mal around while he sang a much slower version of "Did I Mention" into the microphone, the others vocalizing around him.
And boy, the absolute shock and joy that appeared on Mal's face when the young king sank down on one knee, pulling out a beautiful golden ring, its jewel shining brightly as the sun seemed to spotlight it.
"Mal, will you marry me?" He asked her, adoration and hope in his eyes, in his voice. "Will you be my queen?"
The fae was at a loss for words for a moment, swallowing thickly to avoid the happy tears that wanted to spill, giving her the ability to speak again.
"Yes," she agreed, nodding eagerly, a big smile plastered on both their faces.
The crowd began to cheer happily, all except for Audrey, Ben's ex-girlfriend. To say she was devastated was an understatement when you caught a glimpse of her face.
When Mal and Ben came down from the little stage, they came over to all of you, and Mal gave you and Evie big hugs, completely ecstatic.
"Did you guys know about this?" She asks in shock as she embraces Evie.
"Every single thing," the blue-haired princess replies, wrapping her arms around her best friend.
"I'm glad you like the ring, Mal, he had a little help picking it out," you winked.
She gave you a knowing look and smiled. "You always did have a knack for spotting special stuff." The three of you shared a laugh before the boys came over, Ben in between the both of them.
"Come on, it's time to go pick up the kids," Carlos urges, guiding the rest of you to the limo. You were going per their request, specifically recalling their argument of reasoning for it.
"The Isle wouldn't be what it is now without you, (y/n)!"
"He's right, (y/n)," Mal backed up Ben. "Your ideas helped shape the Isle into a much better home than it was before."
"Yeah, plus, just about everyone loves you anyways," Carlos chimed in, throwing his arm around your shoulders. "They definitely won't mind you tagging along."
"And I know Dizzy is really excited to meet you," says Evie, and once Jay started adding his entire list of reasons, you knew you couldn't say no.
Now, you were driving on the bridge and entering the little island, smiling as you saw the entire crowd of people that had come to watch as these 4 kids got to finally cross the border to go to Auradon.
All of you started piling out of the limo, eventually catching sight of the children, who were still giving goodbyes to their relatives while the boys helped load all of their luggage into the trunk.
It was so cute to you how tight little Dizzy would hug Evie, slamming into her side and just wrapping her arms tight around the older hug, grinning all the while. When Evie introduced her to you, she was so happy, and gave you a hug that was almost just as tight, a little "thank you" falling from her lips as you wrapped your arms around her in return.
It almost made you cry.
Celia was definitely a firecracker, she was the perfect mix of sassy yet totally adorable, plus, she was the daughter of Dr. Facilier, for crying out loud. She definitely had some rather impressive skills, which you got to experience first-hand, thanks to her mini demonstration.
The Smee twins, the last two kids, seemed to be shy and reserved, not that you blamed them, honestly, and respected their obvious want for space by giving them a sweet little wave. They went from hiding between the legs of their father to hiding between the legs of Jay and Carlos, which made all of you laugh a little.
After everything was loaded up and settled in the trunk, Ben had said a few words, something about how soon, even more people on the Isle would have a chance to live in Auradon, and after a few minutes of that, the entire group was off, people waving goodbye as the limo drove back off to reenter Auradon.
The next group of Isle Kids were finally here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"We got everything, right?" Carlos asked, tossing you an orange from across the counter.
"Keys, cooler, extra snacks," you counted, pointing at each item as you went. Today was Jane's birthday, and you were helping them pack up everything that they were supposed to bring, all while trying to wrap up your present for her. "Got your gift?"
"In the top of this bag." He comes over to the little table you were currently hunched over, looking at the crime scene of wrapping paper. "Woah, what happened here?"
"Don't even," you mumbled, pushing back off the table. "Last time I wrapped a present was when I was 9 and we were making stuff in school for our parents, so I wasn't exactly sure what good wrapping looked like."
"Yeah, it shows," Carlos retorted, helping you peel off some loose tape. "It's a birthday gift, not a mummy."
You gave him a sarcastic laugh, ripping off the poorly placed layer of wrapping paper and allowed him to help you by wrapping it himself while you finished packing everything.
"There you go," he says after a minute or two, passing you a neater, more delicately wrapped box. "Better?"
"Much," you sighed appreciatively. "You're a lifesaver." Sitting the gift in the bag with all the rest of them, you turned around to grab a water bottle, sitting in the stool.
"Alright," Carlos called. "Who cut into Jane's cake?"
You put up your hands to show your innocence.
"Your suspects are outside," Jay snorted, thumb pointing to both Dizzy and Celia, who were both sitting beside each other while eating cake.
The two of you laughed as Carlos rolled his eyes and grumbled, no real malice or anger behind it.
"C'mon, we gotta-"
And then, all of a sudden, there was a commotion outside. You all began dashing outside, Evie included, coming face to face with...Audrey? And it looked like she had Maleficent's scepter.
"What happened?" Evie asked, running towards Mal, who was standing on the other side.
Audrey let out an evil, maniacal laugh. "So long, suckers!" Neither of you had time to do anything else before she disappeared again in a puff of pink smoke.
When you turned around to check on Mal, you visibly jumped at the sight of an old lady, who was hunched over with a head of gray hair and hand that looked like claws. "Oh my god!"
"How did she do that?" Jay asks, just as disturbed as you were.
"She used the scepter," Mal said slowly, her voice lower and raspier, which was assumedly an effect of the much older age.
"Well, can't you fix it?" You asked her.
"The curse of the scepter is...almost irreversible. Nothing here in Auradon can fix it. The only thing more powerful than the scepter...is Hades' ember."
The tension of the situation was easy to feel. "Hades? As in the same Hades who attacked you yesterday and almost escaped the Isle? Mal, is that even a good idea?"
"You just..." her voice trailed off, head shaking as best it could. "You just have to trust me...okay?"
As off putting as it made you feel, you nodded your head. If Mal could fend him off before, there was a heavy chance she would do it again.
"So, we're going back to the Isle, then?" Carlos asks.
Evie gives him a shake of her head. "Yeah. We have to get ready, so you two go, I'll help Mal, and (y/n)? You stay here and keep an eye out, okay? And call us if something happens."
You agreed immediately, splitting up with them to go change into a more 'find a way to stop Audrey-esque' outfit, which was really just a more flexible pair of pants and a jacket. When you were done, you called Ben, knowing that if anything, Audrey would be his next target.
"(Y/n)!" His voice came through the line after the first few rings. "Are you okay? There's a bunch of people falling asleep everywhere!"
"Me?" You asked incredulously, slinging a backpack over your shoulder as you looked out the window. "Ben, you should be worrying about yourself right now."
"Why? What's happening?"
"Audrey. She has the stolen crown and scepter."
You could tell that gears were turning in the head of your best friend simply from the moment of silence.
"Did she say where she was going? Or what was wrong?"
"I don't know," you sighed. "But she's got it out for Mal. And if she's already got her, I'd say it's a pretty good assumption that you're next."
"She's got Mal?" He said in worry.
"It's...complicated. They're going to the Isle, but...Audrey disappeared after that. Just- just be careful, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course," he replied. "Call me if you find anything, please."
"I will," you said. "Bye, Ben."
He hangs up the phone, leaving you alone to wander outside, checking for any damages so far.
Ben was right, though. People were falling asleep everywhere. Not all of them just yet, but you had this gut feeling that those who weren't already asleep had a much worse fate ahead of them.
There was still no sign of Audrey anywhere, not like you expected there to be, but after 20 minutes of just...waiting, all of a sudden, there was a bright flash of light, one that had your eyes squeezing shut from its intensity, and by the time you opened your eyes and took in the sight in front of you, you were left gasping in horror.
People had been turned to stone. Those in the middle of walking, or texting, talking, doing anything, there were all hard, lifeless figures.
All except you.
Internally, your heart was pounding wildly, either in relief or fear (or both), stuck with an uneasy feeling. To top it all off, you were all alone.
Immediately, you called Ben, hoping that maybe Audrey had spared him from the outcome she'd put upon others, but based on the 5 unanswered phone calls, you weren't so sure about it.
"Jeez," you sighed, grimacing at the damage.
You were going to need some help.
+++++++++++++++++++++
"Uh, no. I'm in charge. Let's go."
Mal has no idea how they ended up in this situation, one moment they were getting their bikes stolen, the next getting the ember, and finally making it back through the barrier.
Only thing was, two people decided to escape as it was closing. Harry Hook and Gil.
Thanks to Harry's insistent pestering, the ember fell out of her hands and into the clutches of Uma, the same girl Mal had been searching for this entire time, and finally decided to show up.
Then she went on to threaten Mal to let all the kids off the Isle or else she was gonna throw the ember in water, to which Mal had reluctantly agreed, and then, as if that wasn't enough, Uma and her boys were tagging along!
And of course, Evie being Evie, was trying her best to get everyone to become friends, and no one was really up for that idea.
So, the 8 of them went on and started crossing the rather long bridge, each of them surprised when they saw you waiting at the end.
"Guys!" You said urgently, not noticing the other 3 in the back as you ran to the group.
"(Y/n)!" Mal replied, giving you a tight hug when she saw how scared you looked. "What happened?"
"It's Ben," you answered instantly. "He- he hasn't answered any of my calls since the first one and I think he might have-"
"It's you," came an unfamiliarly familiar voice from behind Mal, the owner of the voice stepping out from the group to get a look at you.
Your eyes widened when you realized who it was. "Yeah...and it's...you." Carlos and Jay exchanged looks and stepped to the side, making it so that you could see the other two surprise guests. "And you two." Your now confused gaze had drawn back to Mal. "What are they doing here?"
"It's a long story," Mal grumbled. "I don't wanna talk about it." Then she changes the attention back to the matter at hand. "What were you saying about Ben? He might be what?"
"I don't know," you said quietly. "Audrey had people falling asleep left and right, and then there was this flash and they-..." They could all tell the situation had you feeling uneasy. "You'd have to come see."
Moments later, you all were walking into the courtyard of Auradon Prep, examining the sleep-spelled teenagers that lay around, completely unconscious.
"Guys," Evie called, catching everyone's attention. "Hannah turned-"
"-to stone," you finished for her somberly. "Yeah..."
Mal's eyes widened as she touched the lifeless stone figure of the poor girl. "Is this what you meant?" She asks you with saddened eyes.
You responded with a nod of your head. "I saw them. The flash of light and then...they were all like that."
"Wait a sec," Uma paused, holding up her hand and pointing at you. "How did you not end up like the rest of them?"
"I'm...protected," you responded vaguely. "Any type of negative magic is blocked from affecting me."
"Huh," is all she replies with, giving you a look.
"(Y/n)," Gil called. You looked his way, seeing that he was mesmerized by the greenery of the place, something he'd never seen before. "Do you think we could make the Isle look this green?"
You let out a tiny laugh. "We could try. 'S not exactly my skill set, but we could make something work."
"She won't need to if we're all gettin' off the Isle, Gil," Harry mentioned, which was like, the only thing you've heard from him so far.
"You're getting off the Isle?" You asked, more so to the entire group because you have no idea how that managed to work itself out.
"Mhm," Gil replies, voice muffled due to the fact that he was stuffing his mouth full of grapes. Someone else's grapes. "Everyone is."
Your head snapped over to Mal. "When did this happen? Does Ben know?"
She shook her head, dismissing the situation for the time being. "We'll talk about it later. We have to stop Audrey, but our first priority is to find Ben."
"Audrey's probably already gotten to him by now," Carlos mentions.
"Yeah, especially since he's not answering anyone's phone calls," Jay added. No one wanted to hear that being a possible outcome, but it was the most likely, obvious assumption.
"Let's check the castle anyways," Mal says. "Just in case."
"Hold up, shouldn't we check the school first?" Uma suggested. "We're already here, and if the girl already made it to the castle, what's the point of heading that way?"
"It's just in case. We don't know if she's already made it to the castle."
"She does," the sea goddess pointed at you, causing you to back up and give her a "leave me out of this" look. "Look, a big flash of light, people turned to stone, and suddenly your pretty boy isn't answering phone calls?"
"Yeah, well, we're going anyway."
"We? Says who?"
"Me," Mal gritted her teeth, pointing to herself.
"What, and that's supposed to mean something to me?" Uma scoffed, the two of them clearly about to start another argument.
"Guys," Evie calls, sighing desperately. "Not the time, okay? We go to the castle, then come back if we need to."
And her decision was final.
Somehow, on the walk there, you ended up behind the group, standing next to Harry, the two of you walking in sync with the rest of the group, (and for some other reason, everyone was walking in pairs) following the others in silence until he finally decided to break it.
"So, princess," he drawls. "A little birdie told me tha' yeh've been the one helpin' all the kids on the Isle."
You were slightly confused by his sudden conversation starter, but you didn't really mind it either.
"It's not all me," you tell him. "Most of the stuff that happens is because Ben advises it and allows it all to go through. I just...I like making the ideas."
Harry gives you a nod, showing that he was listening closely to what you were saying. "It's still a big help," he compliments. "Without all yer ideas an' whatnot, the Isle wouldn't be what it is now."
You give him a tiny laugh in reply. "Thanks."
All of a sudden Uma turns around, her brows lifted up in curiosity. "Wait a second, you've been helping the Isle?"
"Yeah," you nod, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jacket. "I did say that we cared about you guys on the Isle, remember? It doesn't deserve to be the prison that it was made to be. And you guys don't deserve to live on it, either."
To your surprise, the corner of Uma's lips quirk upward into a small smile for a second, as if showing a flicker of appreciation for the words you said before she turned back around.
Right then, you think of something. "How'd you find out about that, anyway?"
Harry gives you a small shrug and points to Gil using his hook hand. "Couldn't get him to stop yappin' about yeh, plus I heard Jonas 'n Gonzo talking about the king's little outburst when he was defending yeh," he explains.
"Huh," is all you think to say at the moment.
++++++++++++++++
Eventually, after walking for what felt like an eternity and then some, all 9 of you finally made it to the castle, and the atmosphere was ominous the minute you all walked in.
Usually, the castle would be full of noise and chatter, secretaries and advisors walking around and down the halls as they no doubt scrambled to get work done for the day. But, right now, all anyone was met with was a thick silence.
The damages of the castle didn't make things any better. You found yourself sticking closer and closer to Harry as the group began turning corners down the halls, and shattered lights and falling paintings were just about everywhere, not to mention the occasional sight of debris or dust from it falling prior to your arrival.
"Ben!" Mal began to call, searching around for any sign of her now fiancé. "Ben!" You joined her in calling a couple times, but gave up when you realized there was really no use of doing so at all.
"Mal, it's no use," you murmured.
"You're right," she sighed, her voice laced with worry. "He's probably asleep by now."
"Or turned to stone," Celia offered, which made Evie put a hand over her mouth, shaking her head in a silent "not helping" motion.
There were no other clues as to what could've happened to Ben, until you all down one particular hallway, taking note of the fallen paintings and...were those claw marks?
"Have those always been there?" Uma asked.
"Not at all," you and Mal seemed to murmur in unison, the purple haired fae moving towards the doors with the largest claw marks beside them, pushing the big wooden doors open.
It was the armory room. It was empty, like everywhere else the group of you had seen, but that didn't stop Mal from calling out for the young king again.
"Mal, I don't think he's here anymore," Evie whispers.
"Well, we won't know unless we try," she says frantically. "We'll just fan out and look around for him."
Of course, just as the majority of you suspected, there was nothing inside of that room but multiple statues of armor. You were still close behind Harry for this seemingly unknown reason (that of which, has nothing to do with the author ofc), who was studying one of the suits, his finger running along the blade of its sword.
"I can feel you lurking," he hummed in an airy tone, and at first, you thought he was talking to you, until you turned around and found Jay at a very close proximity to the pirate's ear, almost in a menacing or threatening tone.
"...Good."
He then grabbed you by the shoulder and pulled you away from Harry, whispering in your ear.
"Be careful, alright? I don't trust that guy as far as I can throw that precious piece of metal in his hand. And trust me, I can throw it very far."
You gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Jay. They're here to help, not cause trouble."
"Yeah, well they were going to when they first followed us," he muttered.
"Have some faith in 'em," you encourage, giving him a matching smile before moving up to the rest of the group.
"I wonder what fried octopus tastes like," Mal hummed, pretending to pick her teeth. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise at that little comment, but you didn't say anything, allowing Evie to take care of it like she always did.
All of a sudden, you heard a weird, sudden squeaking sound from your left side, which didn't bother you until Harry spoke up.
"I...believe we're being challenged," he alerts the group, holding up his finger. Sure enough, if you were to look in the direction of his finger, you'd see the pink smoke spewing out from one of the suits of armor.
Mal and Uma, however, were too busy arguing with each other to listen to his warning, bickering about whether or not they should split up. You caught onto a second movement, a slight twitch in position, which made you back up and glance at it skeptically.
Harry leaned down to speak into your ear. "Those aren't supposed to move, aye?"
"Nope," you whispered. "Not even a little bit."
Then after the third movement, which was very clear and visible, he lost it.
"Girls!" He hissed, the raise in volume suddenly catching their attention. "We 'ave a situation here."
"You like a prince, Mal?" Audrey's voice was now filling the weary silence of the room, her words taunting the girl in question. "How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights?"
In a split second, all the knights began coming to life one by one, all possessed by Audrey's magic. Their swords were lifted up into an attack position, closing in the more the group of you backed away.
"Uh, guys?" Jay called. "This is bad!"
"Yeah, no kidding!" Carlos yelled back, as the majority of you ran for the door, but were trapped inside by two of the knights, who had their swords positioned to slice any of you if you even came close to the exit.
"What are we gonna do?" Celia asked in fear, holding Dude close to her as Uma and Evie made sure she stayed safe in a corner.
"We're gonna fight!" Jay replies, and he makes a move for the extra swords mounted up on the side walls, enough for everybody to get one. He and Carlos went out distributing them to different people, and in a matter of seconds, all of you were ready for battle.
"Watch your back!"
The moment the knights began to close in, you all launched into battle, dodging attacks and parrying them with your own.
Each movement you made with the sword was smooth and calculated, similar to how you were on the Lost Revenge all those months ago. When they weren't fighting the knights, the VKs looked at you in a mixture of being impressed and in awe because you really didn't look like the "I fight with a sword (seemingly on a regular basis)" type of person.
"How is she doing that?" Uma couldn't help but ask as you sidestepped the swing of a knight's sword, before you swung your own directly into what would be its midsection (if it was alive), before knocking its sword away and pushing it down to the floor, all in a clean, fluid motion.
"Practice," you answered and you looked Uma's way, a sheepish grin on your face before you quickly made sure to keep protecting yourself.
Harry doesn't know why, but all of a sudden, he finds himself awestruck and unable to look away from the girl (again, has nothing to do with the author-).
"...Can we keep 'er? Please?"
His pleading question has Uma a mixture of confusion and amusement, while Gil just looks downright lost.
"But...you didn't even like her at first-?"
"That is not the point!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It wasn't long after that little moment that the knights were getting harder and harder to fight, the energy all of you had was slowly draining the more strength and effort you had to put in to keep them all down, which was technically failing overall.
"Mal!" Carlos called for his friend. "We can't stop them!"
She nodded quickly, running up to the platform in the center of the room and stood on top of it, as Uma assisted in using her powers to keep the knights stuck in place, their magic overpowering Audrey's and bringing all the nights down at once. Within a matter of seconds, they were all out like a light.
All of you began cheering in victory, and even the Core Four and the Sea Three (as you learned they liked to call themselves) started high fiving as fist bumping one another. That is, until they realized what they were doing, and immediately separated from each other, both groups standing on opposite sides of each other.
Evie, who was practically fed up with the normal and then suddenly awkward interactions, stood in the middle of them, attempting to reason.
"Guys, come on! This was so great! And we all worked together!" she tried to appeal to them, and, not surprisingly, none of them were having it.
"(Y/n)? Help?"
You gave a tiny shrug and stood in the middle with Evie, looking back and forth from both groups of Isle Kids.
"I dunno, I just think it's funny how you guys went from hyping each other up to being allergic to each other," you commented. "But other than that, I have nothing to say."
"Okay, not exactly what I was going for, but she makes a good point!"
"Look, Evie, I get that you want to make peace and whatever, and I love that, I do," Mal interjected, placing her hands on Evie's shoulders. "But we're on a serious time crunch right now, and we need to find Audrey before she does something else dangerous."
Evie eventually relented, and she nodded, allowing Mal to take the lead in establishing their next move.
"Okay, so it's obvious that Audrey isn't here anymore, so our next best bet is to check the school. Possibly the dorms?"
"Oh, right, because Audrey's still there because of summer school!" Evie supplied, which pulled a full on cackle from the pirate on the opposite side.
"What? Summer school? Summer school? No wonder she wants revenge!" He commented, cracking himself up a little too hard.
Uma held her hand up to cease his laughter before she spoke up.
"So, basically, we're going with my plan?"
"It's not your plan," Mal muttered, glaring at the girl.
"Eh, it kinda was," Gil pointed out.
"Yeah..."
Mal's eyebrows shot up. "Really, (y/n)? You too?"
"I mean- she had a whole explanation as to why we should've checked the school in the first place-!" you reasoned with a shrug.
"And instead, we followed the girl who's reasoning to come here instead was 'because I said so,'" Uma retorted.
"Okay, enough," the fae huffed. "Let's go, we can't waste anymore time."
The group made their way back outside the castle, preparing to take their next step in figuring out how to take down Audrey, starting with their next move in terms of destinations.
"Let's cover more ground," Mal ordered. "We'll all split up. Boys, you go out and see if you can find Ben, and the rest of us will go to Audrey's dorm and see what we can find there, then meet back up at Evie's place. Cool?"
Everyone agreed to the idea, and as the boys went off in the direction of the forest, you and the rest of the girls started heading to Auradon Prep. When you arrived at Audrey's dorm, no one wasted any time in exploring the room thoroughly.
Desk drawers were checked, Mal ended up going back outside to see if the princess turned villain was anywhere around, Celia was going through Audrey's jewelry box for whatever reason, and Uma had ended up lying flat onto the soft mattress of Audrey's bed as she began flicking through the pages of a pastel pink colored book.
"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I think Harry has a crush on you."
Your eyebrows shot up as you pulled your eyes away from the shattered picture frame you were staring at to draw your attention to the young sea witch.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I mean..." she shrugged as she turned another page in the book she was reading. "If that's still what you're supposed to call it. We don't date much on the Isle."
"Why...are you telling me this, exactly?" you asked with extreme confusion and intrigue, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"So I can lead into my next question." She lowers the book down so that she can stare into your eyes. "Do you have a crush on him?"
"Why do I get the feeling I'm being interrogated?"
"She does," Celia pipes up from her seat at Audrey's vanity.
"How do you assume that?"
"You avoided the question. It was a yes or no question."
"Maybe I was leading into my next answer," you defended yourself.
"...So?" Uma pressed.
"I mean...he's not bad looking," you muttered. "He's got nice eyes."
"Y'know I heard him say he wanted to keep you," Evie said as she popped her head out of Audrey's closet.
"What?" The words make your face feel hot. "Why would he say that?"
"I just said-" Uma stops herself, looking up at Evie. "Does she not get romantic attention?"
"Hey!"
"I wouldn't throw her under the bus like that, but...it's very rare," the blue haired princess said sheepishly.
"Yeah, and it really shows."
"...Aren't we supposed to be working?" you pointed out, crossing your arms.
Before any of them had the chance to trouble you again with an imaginary crush, Mal came into the room.
"She's not anywhere in or around the school," she reported.
"Well, I found her diary," Uma says, holding up the pink book she was reading. Oh, so that's what it was. "And dang, did you ruin Audrey's life."
"I'm sorry, did you find anything in there that I don't already know, or-?"
Uma slams the book shut, giving Mal a deadpanned look. "She hangs out at Fairy Cottage. Y'know, where Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather hid her mom from your mom?"
"Yeah, no kidding," Mal scoffs. "Well, there's nothing else here, so let's go."
++++++++++++++++
As it turned out, Evie's boyfriend Doug had been put to sleep as well (not that it was really a surprise), which led to you, Uma, and Mal watching a really odd yet romantic moment of Evie realizing that she and Doug loved each other before essentially giving up because she was taking a million years to actually kiss him awake, which led to the three of you going for a slice of what was supposed to be Jane's birthday cake.
"Hey..." Mal suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence as she addressed Uma. "That was a good idea...to check the school. Now we know what to do next."
Uma stopped the bite of cake that she was about to consume, sitting the fork down on the plate. "Was there an insult in there somewhere that I missed?"
"No, I-" Mal sighed, reevaluating her words. "Listen, I've realized that maybe I've been wrong about you. And that I messed up when I called you Shrimpy and said that you couldn't join the gang."
"Yeah..." Uma said with a slow nod, then chuckled quietly. "We could've made a great team."
You just sat there, watching their interaction, watching as Mal was subtly trying to apologize and make amends with the girl she had some sort of vendetta against for the past 8 years. It was nice, in a way, to see them try and make up, until the moment was ruined by the sudden sound of wooden planks being slammed up against the outside of the building, shocking all of you.
"What the-" you said in shock, scrambling out of your chair to get away from the windows. "What's going on?"
"Celia!"
"Guys, what's happening?!"
The whole room went into a state of panic, as Mal quickly decided to try using her spells to overpower Audrey's magic again.
"You've caused my friends pain and fear, we've had enough, now disappear!"
There was an anxious silence that filled the room as nothing happened to the wooden boards enclosing the 5 of you inside.
"Guys, it's not working," Mal said in a panicked tone. "Audrey's magic is getting stronger."
Uma's shell began to glow, and she looked to Mal, holding out her hand with a soft nod. Mal seemed to get the message, and she grasped onto Uma's hand, the two of them connecting their magic to make it stronger.
"You've caused our friends pain and fear, we've had enough, now disappear!"
All of you stared expectantly, and, after a few seconds, all the boards began to fall off the building like they had never been there in the first place, which led to simultaneous breaths of relief all throughout the room.
"We did it," Mal said in a quiet voice, as if she couldn't believe it herself.
"I guess my shell likes you," Uma chuckled, before she reaches into the shell and pulls out the ember she'd been holding onto for the entirety of this adventure, handing it back to Mal. "Here. You keep it."
It was a way of her subtly telling Mal that she'd earned her trust, and Mal offered her a small smile before she took the ember from Uma's palm, enclosing it in her fist.
"Hey," Celia called as she stood by the front door, looking back to Mal with a small smirk. "It's your bae~" She then turned to you. "And your possible future bae, of course."
You let out a small groan as you followed the rest of the girls outside. "How did we end up on this topic of conversation again?"
When Mal saw Ben walking with the rest of the guys, she immediately ran into his arms, which made you smile slightly at the sight. Everyone was hugging each other and being glad the other was alright, and you spotted a female figure standing behind Carlos.
"Jane!" you said excitedly as you ran towards her, wrapping your arms around your friend tightly. "Are you okay? How are you still awake?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured you, giving you a squeeze in return. "I went into the Enchanted Lake before the sleeping smoke could get to me. I even bought some of the water with me, see?" She held up a little water gun that was still about halfway filled with the lake's water. "I had to use some on the way here."
"Hey, (y/n), check it out," Ben said, causing you to whip your head around. You instantly caught sight of his facial hair, making your eyebrows lift up. "What do you think?"
"...You should grow facial hair more often," you offered, showing that you were impressed. And of course, there was no surprise that Mal was more than happy to agree with you.
After all the small talk was finished, Mal got back down to business.
"Uma said Audrey mentioned something about Fairy Cottage," she said to Ben. "Did she ever take you there?"
The young king gave her a nod in reply. "Every Fairy Godmother's day...where is the Fairy Godmother when you need her?"
"I wish I knew," Jane said with a downcast look on her face. "Maybe I could go look for her?"
"I'll go with you," Doug volunteered, standing next to her.
"Take Gil with you," Mal said. "I'd feel better if there was some extra muscle on the team, just in case."
"Yeah, I'd feel better too," Carlos chimed in, and so did everybody else.
"Hey," Doug frowned, before he thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, actually, I'd feel better too."
"And then the rest of us can head to Fairy Cottage," Ben assisted.
"We should wait till it gets dark," Jay suggested. "It would be easier to sneak up on Audrey if she can't see us."
"Well, we've got time to kill," Uma said as she watched Jane, Doug, and Gil set off to find Fairy Godmother. "Better get ourselves ready."
+++++++++++++++++
A while later, everyone was waiting back inside Evie's place, counting the moments until sundown so that you all could move out and head towards the Fairy Cottage.
You were sitting on the floor, leaning back against the back of Evie's countertops, eyes shut as you took in the peaceful silence.
A moment later, however, you also felt another body slide down onto the floor beside you, causing you to peek at them with one eye.
As you realized that it was Harry, both your eyes flew open, your head lifting up to get a better view of his face. He caught a feeling of your eyes on him, and turned his head to meet your gaze.
"Hi," he murmured.
"Hi," you returned with a quiet laugh, your head returning to its original position against the back of the counter.
There was a wave of silence that washed over the two of you, Harry fiddling with his hook while your eyes were trained on the ceiling fan above your heads.
"Yeh know...you're pretty good with a sword. Never really took yeh as the type."
"Thanks," you replied, a soft smile forming on your face at the compliment.
"...Who taught yeh?"
"My uncle. He said that it would come in handy one day, even if I didn't know when that day would be, exactly. Guess I know now."
Harry gave you a soft nod, before turning around to look at you. "Can I ask yeh somethin' else?"
"Sure."
"...Why?" he asked.
"Well, that's a very vague question," you snickered.
Harry reaches over and flicks your arm. "I was tryin' ta finish!"
"Okay! Okay," you finally said once your laughter died down. "Why what?"
"Why do all of this? Why help the Isle? Why help us, even, after what we did ta yeh and Ben?"
"Because...when I was younger, my mom taught me that kids don't always grow up to be their parents. Sure, you'll inherit traits from them and what not, but you don't always choose the path that they did. And maybe it seemed like that for you guys at first, but being bad and being villains is all you've ever known."
"What you guys did to me and Ben was understandable-" Harry raised an eyebrow at that. "-I didn't say I liked it, I'm saying that I know why you guys did it, because you guys felt like you weren't being heard, because you wanted a life better than what your parents got you into by being villains themselves. That's why I want to help despite everything, because no matter what people say, you guys deserve second chances. Or...a real first chance to show Auradon that you're not as evil as they think."
He's left speechless by your words, and by the time he finally goes to say something, Uma's coming over to the two of you, handing you your jacket.
"Alright, I know you two sit here and talk all day if you could," she says, holding her arm out to help pull you off the floor. "But we gotta go."
You sighed and nodded, stretching your limbs to make sure you could actually walk properly, then shrugged on your jacket as Uma walked away. Before you could begin walking to the door, all of a sudden, you were engulfed in a hug by some set of muscly arms. Then, as you heard his voice again, you registered who they belonged to.
"Thank yeh," he whispered, squeezing you tighter. "Thank yeh for giving us a better home."
You felt your heart warming more and more as the seconds passed, slowly but surely wrapping your arms around him in return as you began to smile again.
"Don't thank me," you replied. "It's what you deserve. All of you."
He sighs a little bit, before he pulls away and gives you one last little smile, turning around to walk towards Gil. You went over in Uma's direction, your hands in front of your face as you tried your hardest not to go red in the face.
"Okay," you muttered as Uma raised an eyebrow at you. "Maybe a little bit."
She instantly caught onto what you were saying and began laughing. "I called it!" she cheered, throwing an arm around you and walking out of the door while finding some sort of amusement in the way your face began to burn.
(The following time skip is kinda far ahead, since this oneshot was stupid long already, but I wanted to give (y/n) and Harry a happy ending, so-)
++++++++++++++++
To make a long story short, the 9 of you defeated Audrey, and, to everyone's joy, finally brought the barrier down and closed the gap between the Isle and Auradon. The VKs had settled in, getting used to living in Auradon, and you were happy with the new friends and relationships you'd come to make over time.
Some time after that, you were chatting with both Evie and Uma, sat beside the blue haired princess on a picnic table bench while Uma sat on top of the table, her legs hanging between the two of you.
At some point during said conversation, you were startled by the large hand coming to rest on your shoulder.
"'Scuse me, can I have a word with the princess, please?"
Both you and Evie looked up at Harry, then glanced back at each other, unsure of who exactly he was talking to.
"The princess I currently have my hand on," he sighs for clarification, Uma snickering in amusement.
"Oh, of course!" Evie smiles, patting your arm. "Do bring her back soon, though, we're working on something."
Harry just lets out a little hum of acknowledgement and lifts his hand from your shoulder, extending it out to you instead. You smiled and took it, allowing him to pull you up from the bench and guide you somewhere in the courtyard where there was more privacy.
"What's up, Harry?" You asked, head tilting to the side slightly in curiosity.
"So, I overheard yeh talkin' to Benny the other day..." he starts. "About how yeh had more ideas now that the barrier was down but yeh didn't 'ave anywhere ta put 'em?"
Oh. You remember that conversation. You told him your notebook had long since run out of pages, but there was still so much rolling through your mind that you just had to get on some paper soon.
"Yeah?"
"Right, so I made this," he continues, pulling a notebook out from behind his back. "Well, not really, but- kinda...bought it an' fixed it up so that it felt more like...like yeh?"
"Oh," you sighed, gingerly taking the notebook from his hands. "Harry..." The notebook was a simple one, not too big, so that it could fit in your bags, much like the old one, and the front was decorated, a royal purple added onto it with a bunch of pretty decorations covering it. In the middle, was the notebook's label, Unofficial Auradon Ideas (feat. The Isle Kids). You thought it was one of the greatest things ever, unable to stop the huge smile growing on your face.
"I love it. Thank you."
Harry gave you a bright smile in return. To his surprise, though, instead of just leaving it at that, you pulled him into a big hug, which, of course, he didn't exactly refuse.
He didn't know why, but your hugs made him a lot happier than others did for some reason.
"Come on, you can help me put the ideas in the book."
He raised an eyebrow. "Does tha' mean we have ta go through all the random sheets of paper yeh got lyin' around?"
"...Yes."
God, sorting out stuff was the last thing he wanted to do. But...he couldn't find it in himself to say no to you. As much as he hated to admit it, Uma was right. He was practically falling in love with you.
He had a better home, a better life, and he got his wish after all. He got to keep you.
"Fine, count me in, love."
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(I FINALLY FINISHED THIS REQUESTTTT
I WANT TO APPOLOGIZE BC IT TOOK ME SO LONG, BUT IT'S 8100+ WORDS WORTH, SO I HOPE THAT COUNTS FOR SOMETHING LOL)