Shiver Me Timbers [Harry Hook + Reader]

Confrontations and Explanations

The chapter that explains everything...

Your POV 

"What!?"

"Now that I've got you... hooked - hilarious right? - let me explain."

I looked at Harry. He shrugged, but didn't seem to doubt what she was saying. How much happened while I was out cold? Surely not enough that Lydia is good now - right?

She began. "Coy is my brother - biologically - but we rarely saw each other when we were younger. Mother couldn't handle raising the two of us alone, so Rumpelstiltskin - her closest friend and the only other person left from Horacio Witrist's apprenticeship - offered to raise Coy. This is exactly why he got more of the crazy traits - and the inherent tendency to call everyone Dearie - and I got, well, the superficiality. It was only around 4 years ago that we both met and bonded - if you can call it that. At first, I was furious that he got to live a life free of the confinements I was stuck in all my life - but then we grew to tolerate each other. After all, with such manipulative parent figures, we were all we had."

"Touching, but my bracelet...?" I slowly stood up, my fatigue wearing off.

"Wait a minute - sorry for interrupting you (y/n) - but did you say you personally know Rumpelstiltskin? I thought he was dead! I mean, he's a legend!" I gave Harry a confused look. "In a b-bad way, of course." He amended.

Lydia continued on with the course of her story - evidently, she didn't think my concern needed to be addressed yet. "He and Mother were the apprentices who killed the other two - they couldn't handle the fact that their friends didn't agree with how the magic should be used. They spared Mr. Witrist because he was like their father, but made him swear to never interfere with their matters." She took a second to breathe. "So for countless years they used this dark magic to not only cause havoc, but also to freeze the ageing process - until Mother came across Rapunzel, and you know that story. But yeah, for the first time in hundreds of years, Rumple and Mother began to grow old when King Adam exiled them to the Isle. It didn't stop them from teaching us the art of dark magic however, so that should the barrier ever get lifted, we'd know what to do."

"And how does (y/n) or her bracelet tie into all this?"

"You want to know why Coy was so fond of your bracelet all the time?" She looked at me. "It's because that bracelet isn't actually your mother's - it never was. She probably doesn't know it, but somehow, your father ended up with it - a bracelet stolen from Rumplestiltskin. I don't know if he stole it, or if it was just unlucky possession, but it's not exactly your family's."

"But it works for me - that has to mean something, right?" Will I need to give up this amazing gift - when I haven't even got to test out all the possibilities?

"It does, and that's the catch. Since you're technically the first person with magic - somehow - in their blood to use it, it is rightfully yours. The laws of magical possession trump the "I had it first" argument. But Coy certainly won't accept that. He's had a grudge against you ever since he found out. And because Mother and Rumple are so close, it became her mission to retrieve it, and that's where I come into play. The reason we had to spell Harry instead of you is because your bracelet served as a barrier against the mind manipulation - it wouldn't be as simple to control you. So in an effort to - in a roundabout way - get to you, I spelled Harry and played with your mind." She waited patiently for a reaction from me.

As reluctant as I was to accept her, I didn't have much reason to think she's lying - people do change. And the motive she claims does fit with the actions. "If what you're saying is true, then everything does make a lot more sense. But why be nice now? I apologized to you and tried to get you to realize this after I woke up Harry - just mere days ago - but you wouldn't have it! What's different?"

"Sometimes, it takes a VK to really understand a VK. Harry helped me realize what I want of my life, and it isn't this. I don't want to be Mother's pawn anymore - I swear! I want a life here, I want to make a name for myself - I want to let the past die. I'm sorry for everything."

"And when Coy tries to come for my bracelet?"

"You have me now. I know where he hides, and every facet of the plan. You could deploy the guard there right now and have him, Rumple, and Mother contained before the next hour."

If I could accept that VKs like Uma became good after everything they did, then I have no reason to believe she isn't - even if I may still have a personal grudge. I'll get over it. "Lydia, I believe you, and so does Harry evidently, but you know that Auradon won't understand as willingly. Until you've proven you're good, it'll be months of remedial goodness, therapy, and all under constant supervision. I hate that this discrimination of sorts still exists, but the truth of the matter is that you won't be able to blend back into normal life as easy as Audrey - a pure royalty AK - was able to."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"Well, now would be a good time to undo the sleeping spell, don't you think?" I suggested. It may take some time for this stuff to come naturally to her.

"Right!" She extended her hands in front of her and began. "Being wicked is anything but fun, please proceed to make my curse undone!" Does she just come up with this stuff? Could I do magic, just by rhyming??

Johnny and Uma ran in moments later.

"We were just heading down when everyone else woke up! What happened?" Johnny's smile faded as his gaze fell on Lydia.

Uma jarred to a halt. "What is she still doing here?"

"It's a bit of a long story - well, the story's not long, but the time to process it may be - but Lydia's not pursuing her villainy any longer," Harry explained.

"I've been following Mother's orders my entire life! I'm choosing to, for the first time, follow my own heart. I want to live like a normal Auradon teenager."

"If you two believe her..." Uma began.

"We do," I confirmed, receiving a grateful smile from Lydia in return.

"Then I suppose, we do as well." Johnny hazarded.

"Lydia, I had another question. Why, and how does my bracelet work? Does it just act up when I need it, or can I say something and activate it? And do I need it to do magic, or can I just cast spells like you, since there's magic in my blood?"

"That's more than one question, (y/n), but I'll try my best to answer them. The bracelet was designed to be a reflection of the emotions of the wearer. So, when you're happy, it channels a sort of tingly, excited stream of magic. When you're angry, it'll burn, and feel stronger than what you would have experienced at your happiest moment - that's just common knowledge though, everyone knows anger and hatred have a way of overcoming you more than happiness could ever. The bracelet works when you need it most, but once you become more skilled in the art, you can use it as a means of conjuring other spells as well. In reality, you wouldn't need the bracelet to do magic, but that depends on the concentration of magic in your blood - the bracelet has a way of magnifying even the teensiest amount, so you're better off with it."

"That all makes sense - except for one thing. I think I have to disagree with what you said about negative versus positive emotions. I believe love, and passion, and happiness, are far more powerful than hatred, spite, and anger."

"You create a stream of energy out of "happiness"," She made finger quotations in the air to emphasize how ridiculous she thought it was, "and then I'll believe you."

"You just wait and see Lydia..."

As we were exiting the ballroom, what seemed to be dozens of members of the Royal Guard burst in, with Ben at the front.

"There she is!" He pointed, resulting in the guards circling around Lydia, trapping her. 

This story isn't over yet...

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