JohnnyZ

[Castling] Chapter 20

Hermione was so upset that Harry hadn’t found anything about Flamel that she threw herself back into the search with renewed determination, practically living in the library. I don’t even know when she managed to sleep. Meanwhile, Harry was tearing himself between Quidditch practices, lessons, the library, and even popping over to see Hagrid.

Sometimes, it felt like he was deliberately overloading himself just to collapse into bed and knock out, avoiding his dreams. Ever since that ...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 40

Kurt Hansen, the one and only ruler of Dogtown, founder of Barghest. A man who’s told NUSA and Night City to fuck off plenty of times and somehow still breathes. One look and you could tell his implants were top-of-the-line military-grade. Hansen was both a strategist and a powerhouse. Not only outplanned most of his own guys but could take ’em out in a fight if it came to it. A rare combo.

Sometimes, someone “too good” is real bad news.

With Hansen, that’s exactly how i...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 39

The platform was brightly lit this time, with Aurors stationed around the perimeter. 

“Everyone off,” ordered Marina Nikolaevna, and the prefects, already familiar with the protocol, began leading the first-year students, lining them up and counting them. “First-years, roll call!” 

Everything was as it had been the previous year, except this time the first-years crossing the lake were accompanied not by her and Grubbly-Plank but by four Aurors. 

She di...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 39

Announcement at the end of the chapter

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The wind of death cut Malcolm in two. The poor guy didn’t even realize he was dead. A dumb little half-smile froze on his face, a smoldering joint falling from his lips.

I was next.

I had mere fractions of a second, stretched by Kereznikov, to try to figure out what I was dealing with. I had to read the shape of the blood droplets. A blade? Yes! Malcolm was cut with a blade weapon. I’d see...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 33

Somehow I skipped Ch.33 when I was uploading and no one said anything. Welp, here it is:

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Linda Sherman: corp contract

• Linda Sherman: if you don’t take corp jobs, say so now and don’t waste my time

• Nash Bane: whatever, let’s hear it

• Linda Sherman: target's an escaped corp

• Linda Sherman: forty-five grand for the job

• Nash Bane: I’m in

2024-11-14 17:29:19 +0000 UTC View Post

[Mad Tiger] Chapter 13

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a job well done. It makes you feel happy, content, and as snug as a pampered cat.

Naruto truly is a hardworking kid; his traps were no joke. I walked around the young Academy students and admired the scene one more time. Butterfly was stuck waist-deep in the pitfall, looking as wedged as Winnie the Pooh in Rabbit’s hole. Lucky for him there weren’t any stakes at the bottom, or he’d have been a very sore warrior.

Sasuke had triggere...

[Mad Tiger] Chapter 12

"That's definitely him!" Kiba shouted, flailing his arms excitedly and pointing rather rudely at my photo. "That cat was in our house! Tell them, Akamaru!"

The puppy barked in agreement. I barely stifled a snort. From my perch up in the tree, I had a perfect view of the five "hunters." Two of the boys had black hair: one had it cut short and spiky, sticking up like my tail whenever I saw Daishiki, while the other had his tied up in a bun. And, hilariously, everyone called him "Shika"—...

[Mad Tiger] Chapter 11

I used to think I trained pretty hard. Gave it my all, 100%.

My coach, Viktor Ivanovich, pushed me to my limits. Last year, I was at the top in the youth division for our region. I was gearing up seriously for the district championship, aiming to qualify for nationals. Viktor Ivanovich used to say my determination would lead me to the Davis Cup, as long as I didn’t burn out. “We’re not Moscow or St. Petersburg, where connections run deep, but you’ve got talent, Grisha—great re...

[Mad Tiger] Chapter 10

We are bandito—gangsterito,

We got stiletto, pistoleto tra-ta-tat

We be shootin’, we be killin’

We be stealin’, we be lootin’ this and that

This little song in my head was a perfect match for my mood. Oh, yes! My feline commando team had landed safely on Konoha’s springy green lawn. I’d disembarked close to the Hokage Residence, which was nestled under a mountain carved with the faces of the village’s leaders. I mean, I’d give some of the local st...

[Mad Tiger] Chapter 9

"Quick to tell, slow to do"—if that isn’t spot on, I don’t know what is! The wisdom of the people is real!

I’ve definitely felt it firsthand. Watching Naruto as a kid, I’d practically jump out of my pants yelling, “Come on! Master the new jutsu already, dummy!”

Yeah. I was a bit of an idiot, I admit.

I used to swim, play tennis. I know any real progress takes hard work. But in the show, it always looked so easy, so effortless.

Now my fur stands on end whe...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 38

The journey on the Hogwarts Express this time was more eventful than expected: the seventh-year heads and school staff kept the fifth-years in line. Senior students patrolled the train in pairs regularly, and although it was noisy on board, no serious disturbances needed to be quelled. This may have also been due to the presence of Aurors—Williamson had kept his word, assigning experienced reserve officers well-suited for protective duties. Aurors also stood guard on the platform and were s...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 38

“Pull over now,” a Barghest voice barked over a speaker, doing its best police impression, and then in a more menacing tone added, “Stop the fuckin’ car!”

Of course, none of us were planning on following that order. So, we’ve got two Barghest SUVs on our tail. Armored combat transports, decently anti-hack, windows fully plated up. But every net security pro knows the system's weakest link: the user.

Some dude in a black-and-green helmet pops out of the SUV, trying to m...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 37

“Why did you do that?” Marina Nikolaevna asked softly while Black rushed around the house, looking for the perfect place for his trophy. “He could have died.”

“He wanted that,” Snape replied just as quietly. He was hunched over his cooling tea, tracing the edge of the cup with his fingertip—a habit of his. “Even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself.”

“Why?”

“Think for yourself, Dolores, you’re an intelligent woman!” he smirked as usual.

Mari...

[Castling] Chapter 19

Three days flew by in no time. I said a warm goodbye to Luna, managed to catch up with the lads, and even popped by the salon for a trim.

Oddly enough, while I still loved fancy cars and working on them, the urge to actually do it professionally had faded—it was more of a hobby now. It lacked that feeling of magic. Even our battered old broom was connected to its owner’s magic, but here, with cars, it was just pure eye-candy and the pride of prestige. Guess I’m changing bit by bit...

[Castling] Chapter 18

As promised, we took Hermione with us on Sunday. The girl was practically glowing with anticipation. And good thing too—she needed a distraction. She and Harry had driven us all up the wall with their endless debates over why Snape wanted to kill Potter. Neither I nor Hagrid could talk them out of it.

Unfortunately, Hermione didn’t take to the Path. She didn’t feel it, didn’t understand it, and saw it all as some creative excuse for our idling about the castle instead of focusin...

[Castling] Chapter 17

At breakfast, Potter received a broomstick. Well, technically, it was a long parcel wrapped in brown paper.

“Don’t draw attention, and by no means open the parcel in front of everyone,” read McGonagall’s note in her handwriting. “Inside is your new broom, a Nimbus 2000, but we don’t want the other first years demanding one as well.”

I almost sprayed my juice into my goblet laughing—six enormous owls carried the parcel across the entire hall during peak breakfast ho...

[Casting] Chapter 16

Oh, have I not told you yet how I became mates with Hagrid?

We first met at the end of the first week of term, in the evening after dinner. That morning, at breakfast, the post came, with owls swooping down left and right, dropping letters, newspapers, and parcels to their owners.

I hate that part. Not everyone has Seeker reflexes, so parcels often miss and end up plopping into plates, goblets, or onto people’s heads, scattering crumbs and splashing juice all over. And sometimes...

[Castling] Chapter 15

The next morning, I was woken up by Harry, who’d accidentally knocked over the cage with Scabbers while reaching for his glasses. To be fair, the noise didn’t wake anyone else, just me. He looked mortified and apologized profusely, then dashed off to the shower, though I barely had time to explain how to work the magical taps.

According to Harry, the Dursleys were always moaning about how much he cost them, so he only ever got ten minutes for a wash—barely time to get started. Her...

[Castling] Chapter 14

There was a timid knock at the door, and in shuffled a chubby kid looking utterly lost. He introduced himself as Neville. Seemed he was looking for his toad.

We told him we hadn’t seen it and suggested he go to the back of the train and find Percy—he was a prefect, so let him deal with it. Neville nodded and scurried off, and we got back to chatting, telling each other about our wand cores and the mad stuff Ollivander had said. We were flipping through our textbooks, about to try an...

[Castling] Chapter 13

The letter came in late April, but we didn’t go shopping straight away. We waited until the boys got back from Hogwarts, so Molly could take stock of what we already had and work out what still needed buying. I nearly ground my teeth to bits with frustration—so much time lost for practicing spells. But Dad only got paid at the end of the month, and he'd already spent most of it on Bill, so...

Percy got made a prefect this year. No telling who was prouder—Percy himself or Mum, with...

[Castling] Chapter 12

Only once I’d stepped inside the Lovegoods' house did I realize just how different an ancestral wizarding home is from any regular magical house built on a place of power, like the Burrow.

I felt that difference deep down, with this magical essence inside me that I’d only recently begun to sense and understand, thanks to studying from those old books.

Everything in Luna’s home practically pulsed with magic, all of it obeying her with barely a gesture, a word, or a touch. It ...

[Castling] Chapter 11

Molly clapped her hands at our arrival and immediately sprang into action. She fussed over our guest, drying her off and feeding her. But I noticed her enthusiasm waned a bit as she got to know her new charge. After an hour and a half, she was casting glances at the girl that were a mix of disapproval, a hint of pity, and a good dose of thinly veiled irritation.

Mum was straightforward, drawn to straightforward people, the type who responded well to her rather forceful care. She liked i...

[Castling] Chapter 10

(as I started building up the backlog I tried to “britify” the dialogue, tell me if it’s shit and will change it back with the new updates)

The man quickly jumped up to me and shook me hard a couple of times.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, lad. You're gonna break everything here," he said, pulling me toward the chair and firmly sitting me down. Matt immediately handed me a mug and made me take a sip, while Gill stared tensely at the ceiling, at the flickering light, keepin...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 36

"And what now?" Marina Nikolaevna asked as Snape came down. "What’s this?!"

He handed her a scruffy rat, holding it by the tail with two fingers, and explained,

"This is Pettigrew. He's an Animagus, like the other Marauders, except Lupin. That’s how he hid all these years… I just returned him to his usual form. We’ll need to hide him somewhere, and it’s easier to hide a rat than a person. Now, stay in the kitchen with Bellatrix for a while, and I'll see Narcissa out. The...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 37

For someone who’d recently taken a bunch of bullets, Panam looked damn good. She’d found something like her old green bodysuit to replace the shredded one.

“Not even a scar left,” she noted, catching me checking her out. “Thought only the ultra-rich clinics did work that good for thousands of eddies.”

“Gotta know the right places,” I replied, sprawled out on a folding chair.

We weren’t meeting in a bar or club but out in the nighttime Badlands, just outside...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 36

“You ever shot one of these?” Jackie asked, nodding at the Grad sniper rifle from Techtronika.

“In the range a bit, and in sim,” I replied. “Don’t sweat it. My main role’s the hacking. Even if I miss, I’ll still be useful.”

“Just make sure you miss fair and square,” the merc grinned. “Better to honestly miss than hit the wrong target.”

We were chilling at the new place in Megabuilding Ten. Just me, Jackie, and Becca for now.

All over the table...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 35

Took around two days to prep for the call. Now Lucy and I were on-site.

An abandoned trailer in the middle of fucking nowhere. Black boxes and red lights from the equipment dimly lit the place. A crossroad of dusty roads nearby. The blazing sun slowly sinking behind the grim desert horizon. Rusted wind turbines look like grave markers for giants.

It felt like we were about to summon the Devil. And that wasn’t far off.

“There’s still time to back out,” Lucy reminded m...

[Demons of NC] Chapter 34

“Linda’s laptop’s got a virus now,” Lucy said, satisfied. “Until her next full cleanup, all her traffic through relays will bounce to us.”

“Perfect.”

It’d be a good idea to dig up info on my potential killers. Simon Randall was Royce from Maelstrom. He wasn’t their leader yet, but he was already a big shot among the cyberpsychos. Els? Isn’t he that black cowboy I hired a few times with Miriam?

Jack Mauser? The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t qui...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 35

In her apartment, Marina Nikolaevna examined the locket closely: it was undoubtedly a piece of fine, ancient craftsmanship. The emerald snake on its lid seemed almost alive, winking and beckoning her—go ahead, touch it, don’t be afraid...

Once again, she tried to open the locket, but it resisted both brute physical force and spells. Perhaps… perhaps she should try the same approach she’d used with the doors in the Chamber of Secrets? If a Parseltongue word had opened those doors...

[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 34

Sorry, guys, but I will be taking a break this Sunday and Monday since I missed out on Remembrance Day this past Monday while building up the backlog.

I will be out of town, so I won't be able to post the next chapter for Prof. Umbridge as it needs a bit more time in the oven.

However, I will post Mad Tiger and Castling tomorrow. Those two are ready and just need a quick edit.

Sorry!

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For a couple of weeks, Marina Nikolaevna stayed...