Cover made by the fantastic FCSeagles2014, to whom this story is dedicated.
Ruth's reality, everything she thought she had, is crumbling before her eyes.
Her friend, the one who had promised to be there for her always, has abandoned her and now seemingly wants nothing to do with her. The only person in the entire world who loved her for who she was now has forgotten about her in the same way one forgets about an old, discarded toy. She feels so lost, so alone, so forsaken.
Things go from bad to worse until she's not sure she can do it anymore. All the pretending that she's okay, all the fake smiles that hide her tears, all the pain that stabs through her heart like a rusty knife; it's killing her slowly.
In the moment that she hits rock bottom, she makes a decision that changes her life forever.
She puts herself into God's hands and trusts Him with all of her pain, all of her sorrow, all of her hopes, dreams and fears. She finally decides to have faith in Him and His plan for her.
Because where the Lord closes a window, he opens a door.
Ruth is blessed beyond her wildest dreams in the form of Rosemary, a sweet, loving, beautiful, kind-hearted girl who soon becomes her best friend. Ruth's deteriorating life suddenly stops spiraling out of control. The storm is calmed and the waters still.
With an unshakable faith and unconditional love, Rosemary slowly shows Ruth what she's really worth and heals the scars on her friend's battered heart. God works through Rosemary to pull Ruth out of the dark pit she's fallen into; the girl with broken wings is taught how to fly once more.
And it's all because the Lord closed a window and opened a door.
When the eighth years return to the newly rebuilt Hogwarts to finish their NEWTs, a lot of things have changed. The Wizarding World is finally at peace and the looming threat of Voldemort diminished forever. But there's still a year left to go through. And it's already off to a rocky start.
Harry Potter is showered with praise and celebrated as the one who saved the Wizarding World. But with the wounds of the war scarring deep and a heartbreak to handle, he doesn't feel ready to step into the role the world designed for him.
A problem Draco Malfoy can only dream of. Spending the summer cut off from the world in his childhood home, the only thing he wants is to flee its tight grasp. Yet, Hogwarts isn't the same it once has been and has nothing to offer for the former Death Eater but cold shoulders and dark corners, where he is supposed to linger unnoticed.
But everything changes with a terrible potions mishap that forces them to pretend to be the other. A task already difficult enough, yet they soon find themselves tangled in a web of lies and threats regarding nothing less but the safety of Hogwarts itself.
To escape the effects of the potion and solve the mystery of the attacks, they have no choice but to trust the one they had every right to be wary of for the past seven years. Each other.
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(mostly compliant with canon; enemies to friends; implied drarry; no smut; mentions of past trauma; descriptions of violence and injuries; body swap; slow paced)
started: July 2024
finished: -
~160k words