an alternate future

Originally posted as a Halloween 2021 surprise, this story morphed into an AU of an AU, following our beloved Sarcasm & Slytherin characters down a much darker path from the end of 5th year onwards. 

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Spending so much time together in Harry's fifth year inevitably brought Harry and Barty close. However, neither of them expected anything more than to find an intellectual equal and perhaps a friend. They certainly did not expect to begin courting. Nor can they anticipate the changes, triumphs, and tragedies that will rock their world in the next few years. 

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This was my first attempt at writing smut. Chapters will have individual trigger warnings if necessary but consider this your general up-front alert that if M/M smut isn't your thing, this story contains a lot of it, and you are welcome to just scroll past those sections. 

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As for events past the end of 5th year, which up until then are consistent with Secrets of Vipers, I won't comment on their similarity to the outlined plot of the main series. I'm keeping things different enough that there shouldn't be any spoilers. Some things may or may not carry over in some form or another.