owlpostagain

[owlpostagain]

Yes to all the ways Ginny and Harry match each other! I think her strength in DADA counts too, where he consciously thinks it or not. Harry has a saving people thing and having his partner as someone who can handle themselves well. He wants someone who will understand his constant vigilance, and who he can trust their magical skills, I think

Very true!!

[owlpostagain]

glad you’re not dead 😘

I mean, I should hope *you* of all people knew I wasn't dead, considering we co-own 2.5 couches together and just came back from lunch with your parents at the Cheesecake Factory. But I'm glad I'm not dead too. 😘😘

[owlpostagain]

when you see the shrieking shack scene do u ever think there’s no way a straight man could do that?!?!??

I was actually just talking to a friend about this, because yeah Sirius in the Shrieking Shack was extra AF.

Like some people would say "Hi Harry, let me explain, that rat your friend has is actually the man who killed your parents." Whereas others say things like:

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

[...]

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

[...]

But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat "No," he hissed, "I've waited too long —"

Like, why be rational and logical when you can just almost allow yourself to get murdered by a 13-year-old and then reveal the truth at the last possible second?

[owlpostagain]

How DARE you tell me I’m not special enough to answer my asks

You're taking that out of context!!!!!!!!!!!! What I actually said was that no one cares.❤️

Also I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow morning after you leave for work, do you want anything because I know you didn't get a chance to go today.

[owlpostagain]

Someone asked why Ginny was a good partner for Harry, and I have to admit it stumped me a bit because we don’t really have the same window into Ginny’s head as we do Harry. We see that Harry is compatible with Ginny, and we see that that compatibility is reciprocated and that Ginny is responsive to Harry’s romantic approach/emotional style/etc., but it’s hard to get in her head.

I think it's a little bit easier to see how Ginny could be a fit for Harry, because we see so much more of Harry's innermost feelings. 

But reading between the lines I think there are still a few reasons.

Harry shares her major common interest. Quidditch, in short. This normally wouldn't be enough to sustain a relationship, but it does make a difference that Ginny ended up pursuing Quidditch as a career, in other words, it's helpful for her to have a partner that genuinely enjoys and values her talent.

Harry and Ginny have similar emotional styles. In the same way Harry values Ginny for not being weepy, I think she values the same in him. She doesn't mind him being upset per se, she's comfortable talking through his emotions but she's not personally one to complain or wallow, and she values that Harry is the same way. They're both the type of people who I think process trauma in a similar way.

Harry has a similar tendency toward bluntness. There are moments where this trait of Ginny's can verge on downright hurtful, even if it's filtered through Harry's rose colored glasses. Ginny is not cruel, but she is honest, and I think she shares with Harry a dislike of hypocrisy specifically. Ginny is a forceful person. I think there are some people who think she goes too far but Harry luckily isn't one of them.

Harry loves the same people she loves. Harry has grown up around Ginny's family. He loves them almost as much as Ginny does, and to someone in Ginny's position, being with someone who understands and cares for her family that deeply, and values them as a part of their shared lives, and prioritizes family in their future together, would matter.

Harry has a matching sense of humor. This is a big one, humor is a big part of who Ginny is and how she was raised, and the fact that she and Harry can play off each other and that he makes her laugh is hugely valuable.

Harry has a strong sense of morality. This is very very important to Ginny, just as it is to Harry. She likes that Harry does the right thing, not the easy thing, and tells him effectively that his dedication to hunting down Voldemort is part of the reason she loved him.

[owlpostagain]

I don't have a question i just wanted to say that I missed you and that your post about Hermione and the Troll was an absolutely mind blown moment for me, so thanks haha

Thank you!! <3

[owlpostagain]

tripleness said: Interesting points, but about the scene where Ron misidentifies a prefect, specifically: this is something that changed. In P/SS, Percy’s prefect badge was initially described as silver, but in OotP, Ron and Hermione receive red-and-gold ones with the Gryffindor lion on them. In later printings of P/SS, the description of Percy’s was revised to match. So prefects, at least, ARE identifiable by house (if you go by the later canon), Ron’s mistake in CoS notwithstanding.

Good catch! I feel like this can probably be attributed to minor retconning (as you said), and perhaps to the fact that a Prefect’s badge would not be as noticeable as a tie/robes/etc. After Penelope Clearwater (the prefect in question in CoS) is attacked, Harry describes her as “the Ravenclaw they'd accidentally asked for directions to the Slytherin common room,” rather than recognizing her as a prefect. It’s not until later that George says she was a prefect. So Harry and Ron must have missed her badge in the folds of her robes or under her long curly hair, or perhaps she wasn’t wearing it for some reason.

I thought I remembered you logic-ing out whether or not Hogwarts robes indicate a student's house, but I can't seem to find the post

So I can't find it either but I'll repost.

In the films, Hogwarts clothing includes very prominent house indicators, including colored robe linings, house ties, and a small house insignia. Students also wore muggle clothes underneath, also marked with their house.

This makes sense in a film context, as it serves as an reminder to the audience of who these people are. Slytherin robes = antagonists, etc.

The books do have scarves, which I'll talk about in a bit, but setting scarves aside for a moment, there's no reference to house-specific clothing or detailing. Perhaps most tellingly there are no mentions of ties as part of the Hogwarts uniform, house-specific or otherwise. Anyone who has ever worn a tie in a school uniform can tell you what a constant annoyance they are, and how much time is spent straightening/loosening/tightening/tucking in/etc. one's tie. It's highly unlikely that the Hogwarts students were walking around in house ties.

Furthermore, there's no indication that Harry or others are using clothing to identify the person's house, no offhand remarks about a girl in Hufflepuff robes or a group of first years in Ravenclaw ties. There's a scene in CoS where Ron misidentifies a Ravenclaw prefect as a Slytherin, something he would hardly do if she was wearing house colors.

The only exception to the above is scarves. We do hear about house scarves quite a bit, and the movies chose to interpret those as everyday wear. Students wear them as part of their uniform (example) and even occasionally on their own (example). But in the books, the scarves consistently appear in connection with Quidditch games. McGonagall is described as wearing a Gryffindor one at an early match, or Hermione and Ginny "wearing red and gold scarves, gloves and rosettes" on the morning of the Gryffindor match. I therefore think that when JKR wrote scarves, she meant not uniform scarves but scarves like the ones worn for soccer/football in the UK and the rest of the world. These are cheap and thin, and not meant for everyday wear or warmth. They're more for waving around in the stands (example). The idea of Quidditch having a similar scarf culture is backed up by a mention of "Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared" at the World Cup."

In other words, Hogwarts has house-specific spirit wear - rosettes, scarves, and even banners/flags, but the day-to-day uniform does not include any kind of house indicator.

Students also don't wear uniform skirts/pants/shirts/sweaters under their robes but that's another post I suppose.

[owlpostagain]

Snape is always described as hating James "the most" of MWPP, however, in the DH flashback where they meet, Sirius is as much the instigator of the great feud as James. Are we meant to think that Sirius is following James's lead on the Snivellus train? From where I'm sitting he has totally separate reasons for Snape antipathy (and visa-versa) Basically I'm asking...why does Snape hate James more than Sirius? Is it really just Lily and Quidditch?

I think people have weird not always consistent reasons for hating other people. Sirius and Lupin describe James and Snape as hating each other almost from the start.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that James and Sirius had different reasons for Snape antipathy. 

Snape talks at length about James’ attitude, much more than any actual cruelty or wrongdoing. When we see his memory of his first meeting with James, James makes a negative comment about Slytherin toward Sirius and then when Sirius asks what house he would like to be in, “lifts an invisible sword” and says “Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad.”Jame’s remarks are clearly intended as playful and that’s how Sirius interprets it, but it rubs Snape the wrong way. He makes an unprovoked rude comment, and James is clearly ready to fire back when Sirius gets there first. I think that’s a nice little microcosm of the relationship.

Snape didn’t like James vibes, and James wasn’t the kind of person to just ignore someone insulting him. So he insults him right back. Sirius/Lupin frame the rivalry as James also hating the Dark Arts and thus Snape, which is probably an overly generous interpretation, but it’s clear even in that short conversation that James has already chosen his “side.” From what we know about James, it makes sense for James himself to view his rivalry with Snape in very black-and-white good vs. evil sort of way. There are moments in the books where Harry seems to view his rivalry not as Harry vs. Malfoy, but Harry vs. everything Malfoy represents. Which conveniently means that almost any action taken against Malfoy is justified, and no matter how many punches or spells Harry or his friends land on Malfoy, Malfoy will never be the victim. HBP breaks this illusion of course, but I think we see the same thing with James vs. Snape. James viewed their rivalry in the context of good vs. evil, stopping a future Death Eater, getting one over on Slytherin. And Snape sees James as an arrogant privileged overly admired pureblood bully with a moral superiority complex, and certainly deserving of any comeuppance Snape could manage.

Then on the other hand you have Sirius. Sirius certainly did not come into Hogwarts with a black-and-white good=Gryffindor, evil=Slytherin attitude. I’ve written about this before, but I think for Sirius it was always more about his friends than the actual principle. Look how Sirius jumps in for his new friend in the train scene, despite having no strong feelings about Gryffindor himself. Sirius knows there are shades of gray and has spent too much time around people like his family to take Snape quite as personally as James does. But he loves James, James hates Snape, and therefore by the law of the transitive property he’s required to egg James on when he messes with Snape. And then separately we have the fact that Sirius does not have the same refined moral compass and genuinely does tend to take it a little too far. So even if Sirius’s depth of personal dislike isn’t as strong, the bar for what he considers a line crossing morally unacceptable behavior is quite high. Snape hates Sirius for his participation in James’s actions, but recognizes that Sirius is more acting on James’ behalf than anything else.

In other words, James and Snape hate each other because of what the other represents. Sirius hates Snape because James hates Snape and that’s what friends do.

[owlpostagain]

I thought I remembered you logic-ing out whether or not Hogwarts robes indicate a student's house, but I can't seem to find the post

So I can't find it either but I'll repost.

In the films, Hogwarts clothing includes very prominent house indicators, including colored robe linings, house ties, and a small house insignia. Students also wore muggle clothes underneath, also marked with their house.

This makes sense in a film context, as it serves as an reminder to the audience of who these people are. Slytherin robes = antagonists, etc.

The books do have scarves, which I'll talk about in a bit, but setting scarves aside for a moment, there's no reference to house-specific clothing or detailing. Perhaps most tellingly there are no mentions of ties as part of the Hogwarts uniform, house-specific or otherwise. Anyone who has ever worn a tie in a school uniform can tell you what a constant annoyance they are, and how much time is spent straightening/loosening/tightening/tucking in/etc. one's tie. It's highly unlikely that the Hogwarts students were walking around in house ties.

Furthermore, there's no indication that Harry or others are using clothing to identify the person's house, no offhand remarks about a girl in Hufflepuff robes or a group of first years in Ravenclaw ties. There's a scene in CoS where Ron misidentifies a Ravenclaw prefect as a Slytherin, something he would hardly do if she was wearing house colors.

The only exception to the above is scarves. We do hear about house scarves quite a bit, and the movies chose to interpret those as everyday wear. Students wear them as part of their uniform (example) and even occasionally on their own (example). But in the books, the scarves consistently appear in connection with Quidditch games. McGonagall is described as wearing a Gryffindor one at an early match, or Hermione and Ginny "wearing red and gold scarves, gloves and rosettes" on the morning of the Gryffindor match. I therefore think that when JKR wrote scarves, she meant not uniform scarves but scarves like the ones worn for soccer/football in the UK and the rest of the world. These are cheap and thin, and not meant for everyday wear or warmth. They're more for waving around in the stands (example). The idea of Quidditch having a similar scarf culture is backed up by a mention of "Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared" at the World Cup."

In other words, Hogwarts has house-specific spirit wear - rosettes, scarves, and even banners/flags, but the day-to-day uniform does not include any kind of house indicator.

Students also don't wear uniform skirts/pants/shirts/sweaters under their robes but that's another post I suppose.

[owlpostagain]

Do you think Dumbledore intentionally made Harry miserable as a kid?

Not as such. I don’t believe for a moment that Dumbledore intended for Harry to be neglected and made to sleep in a cupboard. Even if one sets aside basic human decency, it doesn’t make tactical sense.

Harry could just have easily come away from his childhood with an overactive sense of self-preservation, rather than an overactive moral compass. He could have spent his entire life hating Dumbledore for putting him in that situation. He could have been disillusioned with the entire concept of love.

He didn’t knowingly put Harry in a household where he’d be locked in a cupboard, but he did knowingly put Harry in a household where he knew he’d be unhappy.

But I do think that Dumbledore thought it was more important that Harry be humble than that Harry be happy.

Harry is who he is in spite of the childhood Dumbledore bestowed upon him, and they both know it.

All of that being said, Dumbledore had an inkling of what he was getting Harry into. He himself says that he knew he was condemning Harry to “ten dark and difficult years.” Now, one could read that as ten years of growing up without parents among people that don’t understand you (that’s difficult enough on it’s own), but Dumbledore had known Lily as a student and as an order member. He heard what McGonagall said about the Dursleys. And there’s a reason Mrs. Figg was in Harry’s life.

While Dumbledore did not want Harry to abused, he knew that a less-than-happy childhood was the probable outcome.

Dumbledore knew he wasn’t giving Harry the picture-perfect childhood. But he thought it was more important that Harry be humble than that Harry be happy.

[owlpostagain]

What are your theories for the lost day after Lily and James died because you just seem like the kind of person to have some

So my real theory is that JKR simply screwed up the timeline a little. But if we're trying to make it work, my headcanon is as follows:

Evening of October 31st: Voldemort goes to Godric's Hallow. It can't have been too late because there were trick-or-treaters outside and Harry was still awake, so let's say 7pm. The spell backfires, Voldemort is left in some sort of shriveling form.

We know a large portion of the house was blasted away, but of course it may have taken some time for people to realize what happened due to various enchantments put on the house, or they might not have wanted/been able to get too close. It would initially be assumed the entire family was dead.

Slowly, as it got later at night, it becomes clear that Harry was alive and well. Dumbledore receives word of their deaths/Harry's survival via charms on the house or contacts on the ground. Dumbledore dispatches Hagrid to retrieve Harry.

Still on the night of the 31st or in the wee hours of the 1st, Sirius hears about what happened through his own contacts/methods, and of course immediately proceeds to the Potters. Sirius arrives just after Hagrid and gives him the motorbike. He sets off to find Peter.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore having ascertained via Hagrid that Harry is immediately safe, has other matters to attend to. All he knows is that L/J is dead, Harry is not, and there's a hole in the side of their house. It would not be immediately clear that it was Harry's doing or if Voldemort had simply gone underground. So he's spending the first few hours trying to piece together what happened and who is responsible. By the early morning Dumbledore and perhaps others on the scene have started to surmise that Voldemort is truly gone.

But separately, news is beginning to leak out from Godric's Hallow. Voldemort's Death Eaters are starting to learn of their leaders disappearance, and making plans to escape, cover their tracks, to mount a last stand, and/or to track him down. The Ministry and Magical Law Enforcement is pressing their advantage. Given Dumbledore's position and connections, it's highly likely he was involved in various conversations with the MLE/Minister.

And then separately, Dumbledore is now working on a plan for Harry, which involves confirming somehow that Lily's magic is what protected him, deciding to place him with Petunia, fending off any Ministry attempts to place Harry elsewhere, and tracking down her residence.

Around midday on the 1st, Sirius catches up with Pettigrew and "kills" him, surrounded by witnesses.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore has decided to place Harry with the Dursleys. But for tactical reasons he wants to leave him on the doorstep rather than risk them refusing, so he arranges for Hagrid to meet them late that night.

But then of course the question is what Hagrid was doing. My personal headcanon is that he was simply waiting around somewhere secure but nearby at somewhere like Bathilda's until late in the evening, then left via motorbike to meet with Dumbledore at the arranged time. It's admittedly a little odd to just leave Hagrid waiting like that but a) it's perfectly logical that Dumbledore would need more than a few hours to make arrangements b) having sent Hagrid to retrieve Harry, I don't think Dumbledore would want him handed off to anyone else, especially not on such a chaotic day.

[owlpostagain]

I know i’ve been MIA for a while but taking requests right now if anyone has a topic suggestion/ask

[owlpostagain]

tbf @owlpostagain didn’t know me during my spn phase so idk if she truly understood what she was doing here

[owlpostagain]

i’m eating a floor bagel bc i have to work in the morning bc i’m apparently an adult?????? this is all @owlpostagain AND SHE ABANDONED ME TO SKYPE HER OTHER FRIENDS THIS IS HER FAULT

[owlpostagain]

@owlpostagain HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME I HAVE TO GO TO WORK TOMORROW AND YOU KNOW THAT

[owlpostagain]

Note the number of typos in this post. I think she’s finally cracked. During a commercial break she went in the bathroom and put on full clown makeup.

fuck @owlpostagain for convincing me tha t watching this live was a good idea it was a bad idea and i’m going to have to move out i guess and my parents are goj g to thin i have a drinking problem becauee i texted my dad NOT TO BOTHER warching this at 10PM

[owlpostagain]

some quotes from @harryjamcs

“VERSAILLES IS CURSED”

“I HATE THIS”

“WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME”

“SAM BETTER DIE AND THERE BETTER BE A TITANIC-ASS ENDING LIKE WITH ALL THE DEAD PEOPLE IN HEAVEN”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE I THOUGHT YHIS WAS GONIG TO END WELL! I’M GOING TO GET THE CLOWN MAKEUP”

“DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FANFICTION IM GOING TO HAVE TO READ TO COPE WITH THIS”

but also fuck @owlpostagain for convincing me i should watch this and get drunk