#we almost had it in gof and ootp!!!!!

[yumeurl]

the drama during marauders era is so good that even as a drarry main fan i cant help but be interested w that era gmfdgmfd it makes me kinda sad that the 1992 batch spent like almost half of their school time with the voldemort plot :( like no offense tom ily but i would be very much be more interested at the teenage drama that couldve happened if the kids werent distracted by the war

[ratatattouille]

this passage got me over-analyzing on main again, lol. this part right here, in the GOF, is pure ginny and it really kinda cements why i don't get HBP ginny (the book). because this ginny and the ginny we get from POA all the way to OOTP are the same ginny: she's concerned for the safety of others, fiercely loyal, occasionally bashful but also bold, kind of an outcast and otherwise ordinary.

first of all, i never had a problem with quidditch-lover ginny. if anything, i loved the idea of her becoming bold as a response to being (basically) raised by fred, george, ron and bill and pursuing quidditch in spite of them. before HBP, we see her stand up to ron and even harry. we know she's used to standing up for others especially when it comes to her brothers.

but then in HBP, all of a sudden, we get this super popular, super beautiful, snarky, petty girl that just seems out of left-field. the book relies more on telling us that ginny is all these things instead of showing us. we hear slytherins talk about how good looking she is, but harry himself at the height of his attraction to her never really describes her looks as much of anything but "blazing." there's so many other words he uses to describe characters looks, whether he finds them attractive or not (he describes cho's freckles and ponytail), but there's so little for ginny.

but that's minor.

the big problem here is that we're supposed to believe ginny is suddenly popular because . . . she is. she makes mean spirited jokes and hexes people that merely irritate her. not being a pushover is one thing. being that petty is another.

this behaviour isn't a problem for me because i think ginny should be perfect and ordinary and a good girl, but because there's very little character development to warrant any of these changes, and what we know of her in other books is almost completely abandoned for hinny endgame.

and the best example i can use is tom riddle's diary.

in CoS (one of my top three, personally), we have a ginny who is responsible for the near-deaths of at least three students and then herself. so three important things to keep in mind is:

She felt like an outcast and lonely her first year (she didn’t fit in despite her siblings’ notoriety) and so turned to riddle's diary for solace.

She probably got a bad rep for nearly killing all those students, which couldn't have been easy for her (remember how strongly the kids reacted when they merely suspected harry).

In OOTP, she confessed to feeling traumatized about her experience in the chamber.

In book 5, we know that she felt some kinship with luna, even after initially calling her "loony" and regretting it, and it's likely because she knows what it's like to feel like an outcast. she didn't have a very good first year and we barely read about what she had to endure as a result of her actions in her second and third year (bc pov harry literally doesn't care until book 6), and she's also the only girl in her family who must stick up for herself and her own interests.

so it's disarming to see ginny suddenly popular in book 6, very mean-spirited and thoroughly unfunny, and so disloyal to her brother that she goes out of her way to publicly humiliate him. ginny was not above teasing her brother in other books, but she was never mean to the people she loved or even in general. ginny may have fought many times with ron and the twins, but her defining trait has always been loyalty. not just to harry, but her friends and family.

furthermore, HPB ginny is VERY liberal with her hexes and jinxes. she even goes as far as to defend harry's use of sectumsempra against hermione! now one can say this is because of her loyalty to harry, and you'd almost have me there! but it's still quite a ways away from GOF ginny who stood up to ron and harry making fun of girls and literally tag-teamed with hermione in calling them out. ginny was loyal, but she usually stood up to her friends and family when they did something wrong because she had a soft-spot for the downtrodden.

and i speak of the curses because if ginny didn't have to be shoe-horned into a relationship with harry in HPB so that harry got Barrows citizenship, her character would have been grounded in the horrors she faced in CoS--meaning that she felt regret for all the trauma she caused others and experienced some anxiety about her ability to control herself. or we could all just assume that she didn't ever address what she did to others (like saying sorry), making her a profoundly sociopathic character (and very different from who she was in earlier books). either she was badly written (that is written exclusively to titillate Harry) in HBP or just a terrible person all along.

i prefer to go with the first one.

i think ginny was terrified of what she did under the possession of tom riddle, and it's mentioned in OOTP that it traumatized her. why wouldn't she be afraid of becoming vindictive and hurting people? why would she all of a sudden become very liberal and nonchalant about performing powerful and painful hexes on people who simply annoyed her? why would she be barrelling into players during quidditch matches when she, at heart, values fairness and others well-being? why wouldn't she be scared, like harry is when he starts sharing voldemort's visions, of herself and hurting the ones she loves? wouldn't that have been a better basis for their eventual romance?

it annoys me that JK Rowling says that the reason ginny is harry's soulmate is because of their strength and passion rather than their shared care for the marginalized and their sensitivity toward the people they love. because the ginny that shared that with harry is gone in the book where she has to get with him.

and while i know the books aren't written to be romantic or focus on any romances, the fact remains that in stories, if anything is to be believed, it must be well-established, and hinny's romance isn't.

the failure of the relationship isn't that it isn't romantic, but that it isn't believable in the first place based on what we know of the characters. because when ginny was her true self, harry didn't notice her. and when ginny was with harry, she wasn't herself.

maybe what's romantic about it is it's practically a greek tragedy in that sense.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hermione's Appearance

I'm writing this becouse a lot of fans like to headcanon Hermione as dark-skinned, and even JKR has stated that in the books Hermione was never mentioned to be white outright (for CC), but, contrary to JKR and the popular notion, Hermione's skin tone was mentioned in the books, multiple times, and it's white.

(I don't really care if anyone headcanons her as not white, and you can draw/write whatever you want, but I do want to mention what the canon actually is since it seems many of the fandom (and JKR) have forgotten like with Harry's height and appearance).

First, I want to talk about the skin tone, and then the rest of her features since many insist her skin color was never mentioned (including JKR). But Hermione's face is described as white multiple times:

Hermione’s white face was sticking out from behind a tree.

(PoA, ch21)

“Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam.” “But — but where? How?” said Hermione, whose face was white.

(OotP, Ch32)

Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She had been exceptionally quiet all day. Having hurtled, white-faced, up to Harry outside the hospital wing and demanded to know what had happened

(HBP, Ch19)

And pale:

There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.

(GoF, Ch6)

Hermione was wrapped in a borrowed dressing gown, pale and unsteady on her feet; Ron put an arm around her when she reached him.

(DH)

Hermione is pale enough to visibly tan over the summer:

They were there, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor — Ron looking incredibly freckly Hermione very brown, both waving frantically at him.

(PoA, Ch4)

This line about Hermione looking brown is usually used as evidence for her skin being brown, but the context is that she returned from summer vacation in France. The context and why Harry mentions it is because Hermione is tanned. This is the only way it makes sense her skin is referred to as white in literally every other context and why her skin being darker is something Harry comments on in this way (when he usually doesn't. He doesn't call any dark-skinned character "very brown". This is because it's different from Hermione's norm. And yes, some white skin can tan to the point of appearing brown and not just get a sunburn).

And when she blushes her face turns pink, not something usually described with darker skin, since blushing would usually not appear pink:

Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly.

(PoA, ch11)

“Of course, they want to be free!” said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink.

(OotP, Ch13)

We all know she has bushy hair and large front teeth (at least until later in GoF):

Harry looked up and saw Hermione Granger standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. She ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.

(CoS, Ch4)

One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry’s and Ron’s friend, Hermione Granger.

(GoF, Ch5)

Hermione's bushy brown hair is always said to be bushy, not curly (the term JKR uses whenever a character does have noticeably curly hair and never once used for Hermione's hair). It means her hair is thick and likely quite dry. This actually could exist with straight hair, but I think Hermione's hair is more voluminous. The book illustrations (left) and the old Pottermore art (center & right) of her give her hair some waviness, but it's not really curly:

I usually imagine her kinda like the main character from the beginning of the Princess Diaries movie:

(The image on the right is not from the movie, but a good irl example of wavy dry frizzy hair)

It has volume and is bushy, dry, and wavy rather than curly. It just seems more in line with her book descriptions and official illustrations. Basically, it's wavy, dry, thick, and frizzy, but not curly-curly.

(Bellatrix, notably, is also never mentioned to have curly hair. Her hair is described as long and thick, not curly, and it's likely her hair isn't curly either).

Hermione's eyes are brown:

Her spirits were greatly improved by the fact that all the hair had gone from her face and her eyes were turning slowly back to brown.

(CoS, Ch13)

Honestly, I mostly made this post for the hair and skin, since Harry mentions nothing regarding her eyes beyond "brown". Nor does he mention any of Hermione's facial features besides her large front teeth, so we don't really have much to go on there.

Regarding her height, as I mentioned in my post on Harry's height, both Harry and Hermione are about 5'1 (155 CM) when they are 13 (shorter than Pettigrew).

By book 7, she is shorter than Harry noticeably and mentioned alongside Mondungus, so I think they're likely similar in height:

Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward;

(DH, Ch4)

In book 5, she is clearly taller than Ginny (who's around 5'1 even when she's 17):

“Very well — take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. “Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I’ll do it.” Harry felt the others close in around Ginny.

(OotP, Ch35)

So, I estimate her to be around 5'4 (163 cm) or 5'5 (165 cm).

Again everyone can headcanon/write/draw whatever and I'm gonna be the last person to tell you what to do, but I just want to remind everyone what canon actually says.

[toorumlk]

Hey! Do you think there’s any chance they might not make Romione canon in the upcoming HBO series because of the popularity of other pairings and JKR’s somewhat recent statements concerning the ship?

fair warning this is gonna be a long post!

you know anon, i’m not gonna deny that the possibility of romione not being canon in the hbo series doesn’t keep me up at night HOWEVER COMMA-

I believe romione will be safe because i’m placing a lot, if not all, of my faith in the upcoming hbo series being repeatedly described as a "faithful" adaptation of the 7 novels. which we can deduce to mean romione friends to lovers slow burn endgame and all that good stuff (maybe i'll talk about the potential of book romione and the serial tv medium some other time)

and sure, it can all be marketing/pandering/etc. but i find it so hard to feel cynical about hbo because i love LOVE their shows and i'm of the belief that they know how to tell a good ass story (and romione happens to be a good ass romance subplot). i also have such positive feelings about the showrunner Frances Gardiner (consulting prod on succession and also has killing eve under her belt) who JKR chose herself and one of the exec producers of the show who's set to direct of a bunch of episodes Mark Mylod (succession, the menu, tlou, got)!!!! and if you know me at all you'll know that succession is one of the main pillars of my personality and i fucking love that show so bad I would follow anyone who was part of the making of that show off a cliff if they asked me to. and Mark Mylod is a fantastic fucking episodic director who's directed and produced some of the best episodes of television ever, so i know he knows how to tell a good story. and though i'm a lot less familiar with Gardiners' work, she is a female creative who has some of my personal favourite episodes listed in her imdb (chiantishire, living+, tailgate party) who's pitch of the show made joanne give her the job so.... and y'all know im a canon bootlicker and love the books so all i'll say is.. real recognizes real.

so knowing the creative team behind hp series had a direct hand in making my favourite show of all time gets me so excited and giddy!!!!

but here's where my personal theories and speculations start: I really think with this hbo series, JKR is on a mission is create something wholly and newly hers. she was barely involved creatively in the production of the movies until DH pt. 1 and 2 and the movies have almost become an entity of its own that's drifted so far away from her. of course i realize me even just talking sympathetically about JKR is deeply touchy and might piss some people off but as a fellow creative, i feel for her man!! when i think of the best books in the series in my opinion that are filled with the best bits of world building and political commentary, what i find is that GoF was handed to a director who didn't even read the book, OotP was the shortest movie in the franchise despite being the longest book and how it entirely missed the Quibbler plot and all of harry's rage, or HBP that was filled to the brim with *chefs kiss* tom/voldemort lore which was done a complete disservice in the grey and brown sludgy mess that is the HBP movie.

and knowing that JKR now has a strained relationship or had a falling out with most of the top dogs involved in the films like Kloves and Yates (hallelujah what who said that) and Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe means this show has the chance to be a behemoth that’s entirely joanne’s, like the books are. it’ll be free of Kloves' Hermione and harmony (harry x hermione) favouritism or Watson's take on Hermione's character that makes my ass itch or Yate’s complete inability to direct his actors and make non-action scenes have heart, soul and heft. but i also can’t not address the elephant in the room: this section of the discussion is filled with every shade of grey possible because what led to the falling outs was that they all vehemently disagreed with JKR's anti-trans views and good on them they absolutely should! but like.............. i hated kloves' writing and his butchering of ron's character, i think yates is a static and boring director and im not a fan of emma's acting so like... a win is a win? NO IT'S NOT. but IT IS. BUT IT'S SO NOT. but do you see what i'm getting at???

the point i'm trying to make is that joanne is not the same person she was when she was first writing the books or when the movies were being made. I think she's a lot more ruthless and cutthroat now and while i disagree with her methods and condemn her transphobia.... i think this newfound hardness to her will lend itself to making the hbo series the best HP adaptation it can be, I'M SORRY it's absolutely fucked and i acknowledge and abhor her gender critical politics as a queer woman but im also an artist who just wants good, high quality stories to be told 😔😩

and as for the other popular ships and JKR's somewhat recent comments about romione:

I think its safe to say that joanne dgaf about this fandom and what's popular in it anymore LMFAOOOO 😭😭😭 i genuinely respect that she's always stood ten toes down about how draco's not some antihero, bad boy love interest and at best is a cautionary tale on prejudiced bullies, so I don't think that's changing anytime soon. especially considering that the dramione cottage industry that its fans have made is more or less a reactionary "fuck you" to joanne and canon which they do by writing fanfic about crimes against women and making merch and binding physical copies of said fanfics (really showing it to the big baddie transphobic DV survivor by *checks notes* auctioning hermione off as a sex slave) so I doubt she'd ever consider other ship's popularity seriously. as for the possibility of harry and hermione becoming endgame um..... if the show plans to faithfully adapt the books then we'd get harry and hermione’s quintessential sibling dynamic plus we’re already free from Kloves (also i have faith in francesca and mark knowing that harmony are just plain BORING) so i think the chances, again, are low. and if joanne really wants to stick it to her old colleagues, she can go down the route of pushing romione that much harder (and she really wouldn’t have to do much, it’s all in the books already) 😭

as for the comments on romione that she’s made in recent years, i think a lot of it’s been blown out of proportion or have gone through a terrible game of telephone. what she said (paraphrasing here) about ‘wishing she’d handled ron/hermione differently because a lot of what went into them was a wish fulfillment fantasy’ has turned into ‘jk rowling regrets making romione endgame???!!’ which is just *takes a drag from a cigarette* just another tuesday around here. i also would link to two meta posts by @saintsenara on the topic of endgame romione which i wholeheartedly agree with it

all i have to say is that going into making this show i hope joanne remembers that she based ron’s character off of a person in her life she liked when she was younger and who is still a good friend of hers now 😭😔

you guys probably know i’m in animation school which is basically film school in a different font. so i’m quite literally training to one day work in the story department on projects and work alongside writers, directors and producers, so this stuff means a lot to me! she and the creative team behind this upcoming show have the chance to make something really special and i’m finding it hard not to root for them!!!!!

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Spellbound - Chamber of Secrets

Peaky Blinders X Harry Potter - Part Four

Previous Parts

Summary: This is just a short blurb about the family at the end of COS and the summer. Thinking the chapter for the end of Prisoner of Azkaban will be pretty long, and then of course I'd like to spend a lot of time on the fourth book and then moving forward as things get darker. I have a great request for the beginning of Order of the Phoenix. If you have any ideas for POA GOF OOTP HBP or DH, (or any Peaky Blinders events too) please send me a request so I can add it in.

Thanks for all the love on this series! <3

The second year of school went just as well as he had expected. A giant fucking snake tried to off him. He lay in the hospital wing already knowing what was going to happen. Ron and Hermione were both asleep. He was so thankful they would be alright. Ginny was safe, and he knew a thing or two about Voldemort so he’d write to her over the summer to see if she needed anything. Something about the pain he inflicted made a person want to turn inward and isolate, Ginny was already so quiet, he didn't want her to disappear. 

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths for a brief moment he thought maybe his family wouldn't come. He’d be in and out of the hospital wing so many times at this point maybe they got tired of coming? The feeling made him sick, he didn’t want to be a burden on his family, especially the Shelby’s. 

He heard hushed voices arguing and he relaxed immediately. They pilled in through the doors and Madam Pomfrey was at a loss to try and stop all of them. You rushed in managing to escape her and landed on his bed wrapping him in a big embrace. 

“I must ask you all to leave. He needs to rest! I sent you a letter confirming he is unharmed -” 

“Unharmed! He’d bandaged! -” Polly snapped moving over to his side to look at his arm. 

“Not to mention traumatized by the giant snake that tried to eat him,” John said following his Aunt. 

“Definitely going to be some lawsuits coming your way,” Esme said giving her a hard look. 

“Look at our little fighter! Snake didn't stand a fookin’ chance against our boy!” Arthur boomed, throwing a few fake punches in the air. Ron sent Harry an amused look from across the room.

“Ah Poppy, you haven't aged a day,” Sirius said with a wink handing her a box from Honey Dukes. She took the gift still trying to get a word in to respond to all the rude comments. 

“Thanks for looking after him. I almost had a heart attack when I read your letter.” Remus spoke with his hand on his heart. Madam Pomfrey's flushed annoyance quickly turned to sympathy as she looked at Remus. “It’s a real relief for us to know you're here for him, I couldn't stand someone else -” Remus shook his head unable to finish. She patted his arm tenderly. 

“Try to keep them quiet dear,” She said softly. “See if you can get some food into him too.” She gave Remus one last look before retiring back to her office. 

Sirius gave Remus a wild look that made Harry want to burst with laughter. 

“Oh don’t start with me.” Remus snapped. 

“I didn't say anything.” But Sirius’s smile said it all. Harry laughed with a full heart seeing his family all together. 

“Finn was caught in a school exam or he would have come along too,” Polly said. 

Thomas stood at the end of his bed. He hadn’t spoken but looked at Harry in a way that meant he cared. Most people wouldn't have seen it but Harry knew it was there. Something he could trust. 

“Now, how are Ron and Hermione?” You asked softly, tracing your fingertips along a newly healed gash above his eyebrow. 

“Good, they will be alright.” 

“Ron and Hermione, didn’t some girl get flushed down a toilet?” Arthur asked, his voice still completely too loud for a hospital wing. 

“You met Moaning Murtle?” Sirius asked. 

“Oh we met her alright,” Ron called out. Everyone let out a sound of greeting at Ron’s voice.

“Where is the little pumpkin head?” John called out. Ron got up and they cheered him on. He moved over to Hermione's bed next to Harry and pulled the curtain open. 

Hermione gave them a big smile. She was still a deathly shade of pale, but her eyes were bright. 

“The Three Musketeers,” Polly said affectionately. 

“How many times is this castle going to try and kill you three, Eh?” Arthur asked shaking his head. “Should have both you come ‘round this summer to learn a few things.” Ron’s face perked up and Hermione fought the urge to laugh. 

“My sister’s going to be okay. She’s still in a healing sleep.” Ron said changing the subject. 

“Are you really going to file a lawsuit?” Hermione asked her eyes looking to Thomas.

“No.” Tommy said and Harry let out a breath. 

“The school trying to kill you is at least half the fun,” Sirius said with a smile and Remus elbowed him in the ribs softly. 

“He’s joking,” Remus said. “We will talk to Dumbledore about our concerns.” 

Hermione nodded then closed her eyes again. 

Thomas gave a nod of his head towards the door and everyone got the message. They needed to let them rest. The way Sirius set his face told Harry he would not be leaving. 

They said their goodbyes and Polly assured him that it would only be a week till he was home again. Harry watched you get up to give Tommy a kiss and return to his side. 

“You need to come home early just write to us.” He patted Harry’s foot and Harry gave him a nod. 

“Thanks for coming.” He hated how emotional it sounded. Tommy waved him off. 

“Couldn't keep them away. Looking forward to having you home kid.” He gave Harry a nod and then left. 

Sirius, Remus, and you stayed and he was grateful. The three of you went on to tell them whispered stories of their many nights in the hospital wing. Hermione dozed off and Ron tried to keep his laughs to a minimum due to his bruised ribs. 

Remus went down to the kitchens and brought back two trays of food. Ron’s eyes almost teared up.

Eventually, night fell and Madam Pomfrey gave them a hard look. 

“I can stay if you want,” Sirius said, and while the comfort of having Padfoot at his feet sounded nice. He knew he would be okay. Sure there might be random bits of Voldemort scattered around but his family had chased those scary thoughts away. 

“I’ll be okay, if I can’t sleep I’ll use the mirror.” He lied to make Sirus feel better.

You leaned in to kiss his forehead and adjusted the blankets. You did the same to Ron. 

“Really, if anything happens you call us right away. No heroics.” You said sternly and the boys nodded. 

Harry watched them leave and found it wasn't that hard to drift off with a full stomach. 

_________

That Summer was one of his all-time best. Mr. Weasley won a contest and wanted to spend the money on a trip to Egypt. He placed the letter down and tried to think up his best negotiation skills. He looked both of you over as you ate your breakfast. 

“Erm -” he cleared his throat earning him both your and Tommy’s attention. “You know how it is having kids. Mr and Mrs. Weasley never get a lot of time to themselves.” 

“Don’t all their kids go away to school for most of the year?” Tommy said giving him a look.  

“Yes, well - I was thinking maybe I could invite them over. See if they want to go to Egypt alone.” Harry looked up from his eggs on toast with big eyes. He watched the silent conversation play out between the two of you. 

“I think that would be a nice idea,” Tommy said. “Business is in a good place. I’ll be around more anyway.” 

“We’ve got the space.” You agreed. 

Harry continued on “I’m also worried about Ginny, you know. I think it would cheer her up after everything. Not to mention we can help with chores and I can give my pocket money to the cook to help with the food increase-” 

“Harry we said yes.” Tommy stopped him. “If you are negotiating with people you have to pay attention.” He scolded him but Harry didn’t care. He beamed and ran upstairs to write to Ron. 

Harry moped around the house waiting for the letter back. He would understand if they would all want to go to Egypt, so he added that they could come stay after their trip too.  He sent a letter to Hermione and just as always he got a response by the end of the day. Her parents are taking her on vacation to visit family in France. He told her to have fun. 

He waited and wondered if maybe they hadn't got the letter, maybe they had already left. 

The phone rang in the middle of dinner and Tommy let out a disgruntled sigh of annoyance. 

“It’s fucking dinner. Who the fuck calls me in the middle of dinner.” But Tommy knew full well it could be a family member in crisis, so he watched as you got up to answer the call. 

“HELLO - THIS IS AURTHUR WEASLEY.” Harry heard his voice from across the dining room and darted to the other phone in Tommy’s office. 

“Hello, Arthur.” You said pulling away from the phone. “Don’t shout just - softly.”

“Oh, like this?” he said still speaking very slowly. 

“Exactly.” You encouraged him. 

“Merlin’s beard! It’s like you're standing next to me!” 

“I know it’s great.” You smiled. “Is everything alright?” 

“Now I hate to call during supper. But the family is rather excited about Harry’s letter.” 

“Ah yes, how do you feel about it?” 

“Well, they are quite keen on going to yours. Are you sure you want to take on the lot of them?” 

“Of course! It won’t be a problem. We have lots of room. Field in the back for Quidditch.” 

“Yes yes, they have mentioned the Quidditch. Wanting Sirus to teach them.” you laughed at that. 

“Of course, they are more than welcome to come after your trip as well.” 

“Ah kids, staying at yours is apparently more exciting for them.” 

“Still I don’t want to interfere with family time, just thought maybe you and Molly would appreciate a vacation alone.” 

“Dear, you have no idea how nice that sounds.” He chuckled. “Well, Percy is adamant about staying home to study, but everyone else good to go. I’ll have them pack up and we can send you some money for food -” 

“Oh gosh no. Don’t worry about that. Have enough to feed an army and then some.” 

“Well if you change your mind on that just send us a letter.” 

“Alright. Might be easiest to get them here by floo.” You suggested.

“Oh yes, certainly. We will send them over on Monday?” 

“We look forward to it.” you smiled.

“Well, thanks again love. I’ll let you get back to your supper.” 

“Thanks, Arthur. Cheers!” 

The phone disconnected and Harry let out a whoop of triumph. He was so excited. 

____________

Harry wondered how things could work so easily. They were initially a bit intimidated by Arrow House, but once settled in Harry loved how they fit into the family. 

Fred and George being the eldest worked with Sirius and Remus to construct the Quidditch pitch. After that, he felt his family was the happiest. There was no leftover school drama. The world wasn't ending. No threats from the business. 

They would wake up eat the breakfast you’d cook them in the kitchen. Sirius and Remus would come and make them laugh and put on records while they ate. They’d pile outside on to the pitch and practice. Sirius would show them different moves and plays while Remus read. 

Ginny was by far the easiest to teach, something Harry thought was interesting. He was just happy she didn't feel left out. 

Then the family would get off work and watch them play. Harry looked down at their blankets and chairs in the grass, food and wine laying around, sun kissing their faces. He listened to them laugh and shout out cheers and commands that didn’t really make sense for Quidditch. He knew this was the happiest moment.  

They would have a late supper in the grass, then sit by the river when everyone cleared out. Fred and George would tell them scary stories from a book they had found in the library, editing them of course to feature magical creatures. Sirius would have them in the cottage teaching them card games till the late hours of the night. 

Harry knew they had never had their own bedrooms before, and was shocked that they all ended up piling into his room. This just meant the jokes and stories could continue till they fell asleep. 

He had never laughed so much and slept so little. He really didn't want the summer to end as if something inside him knew that this was going to pass. The warmth of the summer would fade and the reality of his situation would be coming towards him soon. 

With everyone he loved around him and having fun it was easy to forget about Voldemort.

[emeritusemeritus]

Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight. Pt 5.

[Fred Weasley x reader x George Weasley]

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Title: Just wanna bewitch you in the moonlight.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader x George Weasley

Timeline: Predominately set between GOF and OOTP (some canon has been altered to fit the story)

Summary: Both twins like Gryffindor!reader. Reader likes both twins. How will she decide who to chose in the end? Amortentia might be able to help, or not.

Warnings: Smut, mentions of sex, established relationships, threesomes, friends to lovers, all the good stuff. NO Twincest. Mentions of illness, Brief mentions of vomiting. Tiny bit of angst, possessiveness, talk of kids. Mentions of dominant behaviour. Snape has a soft spot for reader. Love potions? But none are actually used.

Potions lesson’s with Snape, what could go wrong? 🥀

You held back a shiver as you took your assigned seat in the potions classroom, cursing the fact that the dungeons were always at least 10 degrees colder than anywhere else in the castle, so much so that you could almost make out your own breath in the chilly room.

Despite the fact that it was Monday morning and you were absolutely freezing, you actually enjoyed potions class, as much as Snape made it somewhat intolerable for most students. In your multiple years at Hogwarts, you'd proven yourself to be a competent student in potions, consistently achieving high grades and maintaining your spot as top of the class. It wasn't pure, natural talent per se but rather a profound interest in the subject that began in your first year and had developed into a pasable skill.

"Turn your books to page 634," Snape orders as he crashes into the room, the heavy wooden door slamming shut behind him with a resounding bang and distinctive rattle of the bolts and metal hinges. He flourishes his wand and the shutters to the small windows slam shut as he takes his place at the front of the class, beside the chalkboard. One window illuminates the entire classroom, enough to see your own workstation and the raised level where Snape stood, but not much else.

"Today's focus will be on Amortentia; one of the most dangerous and powerful potions in existence. It's very purpose is to deceive and ensnare the mind, you will be wise to not underestimate the dangers of this particular elixir."

The word 'Amortentia' is written in chalk upon the blackboard as you cast your eyes down to the textbook page which details the recipe and method of creating the potion.

"Can anyone tell me what this particular potion is commonly known for?" He asks, glaring out into the class as he looks upon the faces of the students. He gives a harsh, solemn nod towards a girl in the back who had shakily raised her hand.

"It's a love potion."

"Love is a misguided term, but nevertheless it is grouped as so," he huffs, both confirming and rejecting the girl's answer. "Love in it's entirety of unconditional and eternal attachment cannot be brewed nor recreated even by the most skilled potioneer. Of all the love potions created, Amortentia is the most powerful of all, known to create an instantaneous, obsessive infatuation in the drinker so infallible it is near impossible to detect until the effects ware off."

He suddenly closed the book he was reading in his hands with a slam and placed the book onto his desk, looking out towards his students.

"Who can tell me what distinctive qualities define Amortentia from the other infatual potions?" He almost sneered when no one raised their hand until you reluctantly did so, trying to temper him. He gave you a nod, selecting you to answer. You noticed that the nod he had given you was in stark contrast to the one he had given to the other student.

"The pearlescent shine, spiralling steam helixes and the subjective scent. It smells different to everyone as it's based on what we find most attractive, even if we don't consciously know or acknowledge those feelings," you explained, pulling your knowledge from the book that Snape had given you to read over the summer to advance you in preparation for the year and for your NEWTS.

You swore you could almost see Snape's mouth shift into a very slight smirk, or at least move from its near constant downturned fixture.

"Very good miss y/l/n, 10 points to Gryffindor," Snape said, acknowledging you before turning back around to scribble on the chalkboard. Hushed whispers of surprise murmured around you at Snape's generous praise; he had frequently removed house points but never once had he given points, especially not to Gryffindor.

Katie whispered a kind well done in your ear as she nudged your shoulder which made you quietly giggle and try to hide your slight blush at the response you'd received.

Snape continued to outline the dangers and general uses for Amortentia and the larger group of love potions until it was time to collect ingredients and begin brewing. With an uncaring wave of his wand, all the flames under the small cauldrons in the classroom ignited, ready for brewing.

You gathered your ingredients and laid them out responsibly in order according to when you would need them, trying to be thorough in your method.

You began by bruising the peppermint flower heads in the pestle and mortar rather than fully crushing them as the recipe specified, something that Snape had shown you privately the previous term, before adding them into your simmering potion water and then adding the leaves as a whole

You stirrred gently and began sprinkling in the moonstone powder one teaspoon at a time before stirring until you had used enough. Whilst the potion was stirring itself you added the rose thorns and immediately snuffed out the flame to let the potion simmer with only the residual heat of the bunson burner.

Snape stalked between the students as he made his rounds, observing the other students in their attempts at brewing an advanced potion. You'd absently heard him calling out a few students for their lack of effort, attention and overall helplessness but you'd paid it no mind, focusing on the tempestuous potion below you.

Once it had thickened to your desire, you began adding the ashwinder eggs one by one, allowing them to dissolve into the mixture without any assistance of your stirrer. You turned back on the flame only very gently, enough to keep the heat of the cauldron but not as to increase it and finally allowed yourself to stir it once, checking that no ingredients were sticking to the side and potentially spoiling the potion you'd put so much effort into.

You sat back on the stool as you observed the potion, making notes of your findings into your notebook after glancing at the clock, when you saw something in your peripheral. Steam, spiralling steam.

You leapt off your stool and stood before your cauldron as you looked upon the potion that had gained a beautiful mother of Pearl iridescence of pink and white hues which made your heart leap at the very sight.

Curiosity overcame you and within seconds you leant down gently to smell the effervescent potion below, trying to get an idea if it actually worked.

Sweet, earthy hues of Dandelion and Burdock immediately filled your senses immediately knocking you off guard, instantly mentally winding you as you considered the implication. As you began to pull away in shock, the scent changed in your mind to the sickly sweet, alluring tang of toasted marshmallows which lasted only a second and then adapted once again, the smokiness that lingered in the back of your mind becoming the only thing that filled your head. You knew that scent anywhere, it was the specific scent of the settling smoke after a series of whizz-bangs had been set off.

Fred.

Your mind raced as you tried to work out of there was anyway that George was included within those smells, or if you'd perhaps confused it but it was impossible, all those things were specifically and undeniably Fred Weasley.

Your stomach dropped as you stood frozen in place, guilt and shame immediately overwhelming you as you considered what this meant. Your feelings for Fred were stronger, so much so that a potion had revealed your uttermost secret, illuminating your true feelings until they were staring you right in the face.

Fred filled your mind as the lingering scent of him consumed you, the last notes of the potion haunting you as a reel of Fred played in your mind. His laugh, his voice, his gentleness and his teasing make butterflies erupt in your stomach, though it wasn't enough to quash the uneasiness and guilt you felt.

You thought of George, and the guilt felt crippling. You thought of the night you'd spent together just days ago, the wonderful night spent stargazing on the balcony at the burrow wrapped in blankets and in each other, George giving you his sweater to wear in the chilly night air, making love under the stars and sharing stolen treats afterwards. You thought of how gentle he'd been, how tender and romantic it all was and how much effort he'd gone to just to spend some time alone with you. He'd never once pressured you into choosing between the brothers, even when you spoke of your futures and your dreams, he had been gracious and selfless, which only make you feel worse.

A foreboding popping noise brought you out of your daydream and you leapt forward to snuff out the flame, praying that your careless daydreaming hadn't ruined the brew as it had began to pop and broil under the heat.

You looked down to examine it and were immediately drawn to the spiralling steam which rose up and filled your nostrils again. You prepared yourself to smell the delicious mixture of dandelion and burdock but when that never came, you stood dejected, realising you had ruined the perfect batch you'd created.

Immediately you froze as the scent surrounded you, only it wasn't the sugary sweet scent you had expected, it was something entirely different.

The scent of pumpkin spice filled your mind instantly, the spicey sweet blend making your mouth water for a second before the scent changed to something that made your heart soar and the lead weighted feeling in your stomach disappear; the scent of freshly washed wool that mixed with a woody scent as if a garment had been stored for a while. The scent was soapy and fresh but not overly so and was a distinctive blend of scents and oils that gave you an immediate complete sense of comfort. It couldn't be mistaken for any generic brand of detergent as the complex mixture of smells was too distinctive; it was Mrs Weasley's famous homemade blend. George's sweater. The scent then changed so quickly you couldn't fathom when exactly it did, but the third scent was all too familiar to not recognise instantly, causing a pained laugh to bubble up in your throat at the irony. The Smokey smell of the aftermath of a whiz bang- exactly the same as his brother.

George.

You stumbled back slightly at the implication and the notion of your discovery. Before you could process or ruminate on the changing scents, Snape suddenly stood before you staring down into your cauldron with an unreadable expression.

He suddenly looked up at you with eyes that implored your own, effectively silencing your spiralling thoughts from what had happened as you watched him stand with mouth agape, looking between yourself, the cauldron and your open notes page.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lilyfig leaf and drops it into the potion, watching with astonishment as it dissolves entirely in seconds.

"It appears Miss y/l/n has perfected Amortentia, I'd like you to all gather around and see for yourselves the impeccable sampling she has managed to conceive," He says loudly, addressing the entire class as they huddle forward to gather around your now settled potion.

A few excited murmurs fill the crowd as they look on, each of the girls trying to edge forward to see and smell for themselves but Snape quickly puts a stop to all of this as he explains the qualities of the potion, able to now physically show the class with the specimen in front of them.

Usually you would feel a sense of accomplishment at what you had created, especially after receiving praise from Severus Snape but the previous encounters with your own potion had made you completely conflicted, knowing you must have done something wrong.

You couldn't even bring yourself to listen to Snape or the other students around you, feeling like you were trapped in a bubble, your ears hearing nothing but static as your thoughts drowned out all of your senses.

How had the potion changed? How had you so specifically smelt Fred and then later George? You were certain you'd never heard of such a thing happening- perhaps your heart was just as conflicted as your mind when it came to your feeling for both the brothers, perhaps you would never know who you desired the most.

You were distraught at the conflict it had raised in you, feeling sick to your stomach as you considered the implications and the further questions it had raised.

Did you love Fred?

Did you love George?

Did the potion get it wrong, or did you mistakenly identify the scents?

Did the potion changing to George mean that it was him and not Fred you had larger feelings for?

You reasoned that the potion only changed after you thought of George and the most recent night you'd spent together, did that impact it? Was Fred the right answer because it had shown him first, even when you weren't thinking of him?

"20 points to Gryffindor," you finally heard, the roars of excitement from your house peers sharply pulling you back from your spiralling thoughts. Katie and a few of your fellow Gryffindors around you reached out to pat you on the back as you forced a smile onto your face, turning to look at Snape who looked relatively pleased.

The loud chime signalled the end of class and each student flocked to their workstations to clear away their work, disposing of their mixtures and collect their items ready for the next class.

"'Miss y/l/n," Snape called out from the front of the room, beckoning you with a simple pull of his index finger. You turned to Katie who was waiting for you and she nodded gently, turning to wait just outside the door for you.

"Well done miss y/l/n, your predisposition for potions has once again come to fruition, never once have I seen a student create such quality drafts that potion masters would be envious of," Snape says, his eyes looking into yours with a softness you had rarely seen. It looks as if he is just as uncomfortable with the words as you are, but you had to commend him for trying.

"Thank you sir," you replied though it was only half heartedly mumbled, the conflict within you not allowing you to accept the praise.

"You are doubting your abilities?" He asks sharply, reading your downtrodden expression as his eyes squint in questioning.

You quickly debate wether or not to bring up the mysterious situation that happened earlier, now knowing wether it was a fault with the brew or yourself but you quickly decide not to speak of it, knowing how little Snape cared for trivial matters of his students. Perhaps you could use that to cover your steps.

"No sir," you say, trying to exude a little more confidence than you felt. "I'm just a little... conflicted by the outcome of the potion scenting," you said trying to imply that the scent was not what you expected it to be, knowing that Snape would dismiss you immediately at your personal matter.

"Oh," he says, recoiling ever so slightly with awkwardness, just as you were hoping. You waited for him to make a snide or harsh comment but it never came, much to your surprise. "The mind is a complex and many layered thing, not always does it connect to our hearts so transparently, no matter how desperately one tries," he says, his eyes lingering at the desk as he absently tidying up a few stray quills that litter the wooden table.

His words sink in immediately, leaving you a little breathless as he seems to summarise your feelings in one fell swoop. You nod your head gently as you consider his words, realising that he must have spoken from a place of knowing, a pang of empathy running through you at the notion.

"Sir?" You implore after a moment, seeing that he hadn't spoken again, addressed nor dismissed you. He gazed back at you and straightens up, his show of vulnerability dissaperating instantaneously as he falls back into his usual emotionless self.

"You are excused from the homework this lesson as an accolade to your achievement," he says in his regular tone, "I anticipate my expectations to be met if not exceeded again next class, you are dismissed," he says, the usual downturned mouth frown lifting gently to almost be a smile.

"Thank you sir," you said quickly, turning to exit before you paused, turning back to him with the need to show your gratitude, feeling a sort of even footing happening between the both of you, "the potions book you leant me last term has been invaluable, so I only have you to thank."

You didn't wait around for his reply as you walked away and out of the cold room. You spot Katie waiting for you in the hallway and offer a wince of remorse at keeping her so long but she simply shrugs it off and instantly sprouts into an excited monologue about her love potion identification, which closely resembled her long time crush, Oliver Wood.

As much as you wanted to listen to your friends outpouring of emotion, you were bitterly conflicted and exhausted by the emotion turmoil you endured at the events of potions class, as well as the surprising turn with Professor Snape.

"Are you coming to lunch?" Katie asks as you make your way up through the corridors and to the main staircases, feeling yourself get warmer and warmer with each step, feeling as if you were finally defrosting from the temperature of the dungeons.

You pondered briefly, considering your options. On one hand you desperately wanted to hide away in your dorm, avoid Fred and George at all costs as the feelings of uneasiness lingered within you but you also simply wanted to eat and allow your friends to hopefully provide relief and distraction from your destructive thoughts.

"Yeah," you said absently, following her lead to the great hall. Your conversation with Snape had delayed you slightly and so most of the students were already seated and digging in to the feast.

You huffed out a breath as you spotted your group in their regular positions high up the table, with Hermione multitasking at trying to eat and read at the same time whilst also chastising Ron for shoving so much food into his mouth he could barely chew. Harry and Ron were conversing about something as Ginny looked on, listening but not speaking. Your eyes closed as a pang of dread filled you at seeing the only vacant seat available from Neville down to Seamus was placed between Fred and George, which you knew would not be a coincidence.

As you neared the group, Fay Dunbar and Carl Hopkins suddenly stood up from their place at the table and began clapping with a little cheer as you made your way over, a sudden onset blush staining your cheeks. Cormac looked over from his place at the top of the table and stood up immediately, ushering his friends and joining in the cheering, no doubt for the points you'd been awarded in class, which had pushed Gryffindor to the top of the leaderboard, the flags in the main hall all shining with red and gold.

"Here she is, Hogwarts' new potion master, or mistress I suppose," Carl says from his place beside Neville, a sarcastically elated grin spread across his face as he continues clapping.

"Shove off," you said without any conviction as you laughed, moving to walk behind George as you take your place, allowing your hand to graze his back lightly as you climbed onto the bench.

"What have we missed?" Harry says suspiciously as you take your seat, your face no doubt bright red from the attention as you attempt to hide behind your hair. Fred's arm moves instantly behind your back to rest on the back of the bench, securing your place between your boys.

You can feel the stares of the people around you as they wait in anticipation of explanation for your reception, the stares of George and Fred in particular feeling hot on your skin but you hardly look up to meet anyone's amused gaze.

"Snape awarded her 30 points in class!" Fay, who was in your potions class, spoke up whisky pointing her finger at the totals displayed in the main hall.

"She was bloody brilliant, Snape said that he'd never seen a student create such quality drafts and that that potion masters would be envious of of her!" Katie excitedly chattered as she made her way over to her usual place with the Patil sisters.

Ron and Harry immediately quietly cheered and Hermione seemed to throw out a flustered congratulations though her tone couldn't quite hide the tinge of underlying jealousy.

Fred nudged your shoulder playfully with his own and leaned in to whisper in your ear, "well done Princess." His whispering voice so close to your ear made you fight back a shiver of arousal. The cheeky sod knew exactly what he was doing.

George leaned over towards you just as Fred pulled away and brought his hand up to criss cross over his brothers to rub at your back, suspiciously just below your bra strap. "Yeah well done angel." He lingered just a moment and you could tell that he wanted to kiss your head, just as he always did in private but thought better of it.

"What were you brewing?" Hermione asks, pausing her reading to ask, her voice breaking you out of your little internal monologue.

"Amortentia," You replied, shrugging gently.

"But that's advanced level!" Hermione states with a mixture of outrage and bewilderment. Once again you shrug and reach forward to pick at a chicken leg sat in front of you, choosing the side closest to you so you don't touch anything Ron might have had his grubby hands on.

"Oooh love potions Eh?" Ginny smirks, wagging her eyebrows at you, which you counter with a sarcastic smile and glaring eyes.

"Should we be worried?" George teases quietly, leaning in again, just loud enough for you and his twin to hear. You elbow him playfully earning a synchronised laugh from the twins. Fred chooses that exact moment to readjust his arm to bring it forward underneath the table to rest on your thigh.

"I think someone slipped Snape some, he seemed awfully smitten with her, I'm sure he nearly almost smiled," Katie says loudly as she tucks into her lunch. Fred and George cast a glance at you which you know resembles slight jealously mixed with amusement at the very notion someone else would be interested in you.

"Yeah that was my master plan all along, seduce Snape into giving me good grades, maybe next year I'll try Mcgonagall," you said sarcastically, earning a laugh from the people around you.

"Georgie, why have we never thought about that?" Fred asks faux-distraught as he turns to look at his twin over your head.

"I don't know Freddie, maybe we should try it on Flich and work our way up," George smirks, playing along. "Y/n/n here can brew for us and we'll go into business, Weasley and Y/l/n incorporated."

"No way are you dragging me into your sadistic schemes," you retort, turning to face George who gives you a smile with a wicked glint in his eye, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Name's too long, it should just be Weasley incorporated; one of us will just have to marry her so she can join the family business," Fred says, shooting a wink in your direction as you choke on the sip of water you'd just taken at his words. Both the twins laugh, eyes shining as you squirm in your place, heart leaping at hearing those words.

"Well in that case I choose Bill," you joke, circling back to the joke you made yesterday, earning a swift attack from Fred who lunges for you and tickles your side at your audacious claim. George attempts to pin you down once again to allow Fred's attack and you can do nothing but try to hold in your squeals as Fred's long fingers run up your sides, tickling wherever he can reach.

"Alright enough enough!" You wheeze still laughing at the sensation as Fred and George pull away, smirking down at you.

The rest of lunch carried on as usual and was largely uneventful. Hermione and Ron were squabbling, Harry tried to keep out of it, Ginny remained quiet with frequent stolen glances in Harry's direction and the twins schemed secretly. Both of them were trying their luck with teasing you, littering your body with little secret touches and gestures which had you flustered the entire time.

You couldn't shake the lingering guilt and unease that you felt from your discovery that morning, the moment and the smells replaying in your mind like a broken record. You tried your hardest to push down the feelings, trying to appear normal to the twins and the people around you but in all honesty you just wanted to crawl into bed and be alone with your thoughts to try and process them. The conversations happening around you where causing you to feel massively overstimulated and agitated, like a constant buzzing in your ears as you tried to focus on a single thought.

Being sat in between the two boys you were trying to chose between was the worst possible situation right now and you felt helpless. They were usually your comfort blanket, always there for you when you needed them and grounded you when you were feeling out of control, but now the problem was them and you had nowhere to turn as you couldn't tell anyone what had happened earlier that day.

Instead of going to transfiguration next class when the bell chimed, you made your excuses, slipped away from your classmates and retreated to your dorm. You passed Ron on the way to the common room and forced out an excuse of feeling ill, hoping he wouldn't question you further. Luckily, he didn't and you were able to avoid anyone else as you climbed the stairs.

As soon as you stepped through the portrait hole, you felt an instant wave of relief at seeing the common room empty and quiet. You walked up to your dorm and instantly began pulling off your uniform and changing into something more comfy, trying to soothe yourself in any little way you could.

You must have sat there for an hour at least, trying to work out in your head what had happened earlier that morning.

In the months that you'd been seeing both George and Fred, you never knew who you liked more, not truthfully. Fred had always been the one you fancied, the one you were slightly closer to and he was the most openly flirty and affectionate through your friendship. The flirting and the banter between you both had grown stronger and stronger over the years to the point neither of you could deny feelings for each other.

But George had surprised you. You never realised that he too had feelings for you as he was much quieter and shy than his brother, both in life and in your friendship. It had monetarily knocked you for six when you found out about his feelings, most of all because it made you confront your own.

You'd spent so long fancying Fred that you hadn't realised how incomplete you felt when George wasn't around. Never wanting to make them think they were a package deal like so many others, you'd never asked where the other was or seemed like you were disappointed by only having one near you but you couldn't deny that everything was better with the both of them there, like you were finally at peace. You'd pushed down your feelings for George and deflected them into Fred because of how taboo it was to like both brothers at the same time but with this whole new arrangement, you couldn't deny it any longer. How were you ever going to be able to chose between the two brothers? If Amortentia couldn't even show you your true desire then how the hell would you be able to decide yourself?

A gentle knock on your dorm door sprang you out of your thoughts and you quickly wiped at your eyes before swishing your wand to open the door.

George.

"Angel, Ron said you weren't feeling well," he says stepping towards you with a face of concern as he moved to sit on the side of your bed.

"Its just a headache Georgie, I'll be fine," you replied with a small, shy smile, hopeful that he wouldn't see that you'd been crying. He lifted his hand to touch the back of your head to check for a temperature but when he found none he simply smiled and looked you in the eyes for a second before standing up off the bed.

"Want some company?" He asks, beginning to tug at his tie, "no doubt Fred will be along soon, soon as he hears you aren't well."

You nod enthusiastically and open up the covers for him as he quickly shucks off his shoes and climbs into get beside you, instantly reaching out to pull you towards him and into his chest.

You sigh a breath of relief at the contact and the familiar smells of George, thankful that for now it's just him and you don't have to split your affections.

It lasted all of 10 minutes before Fred barged into your room, not even bothering to act as if he knocked as he came barrelling towards you both in the bed.

"Princess, are you okay? Ron said you skipped class, you're not feeling well?" His worrying was awfully cute and you couldn't resist the smile that hung on your lips as he climbed in bed beside you so that you were now sandwiched between the pair.

"You know if Errol ever croaks, Ron could take his place," you mumbled into George's sweater, realising that Ron had alerted both boys and no doubt numerous friends to your absence. Both boys chuckled as George pulled you closer into his chest, whilst Fred placed his arm securely around your waist.

Instead of the intense conflict you'd felt earlier in the day, you finally felt at peace between the brothers, with both of them by your side.

[seriousbrat]

Hello!

Hope you are doing well, I’ve been wanting to send you an ask but I want sure if you’ve answered this before, if you did already could you point to the post? I do love reading your responses and analysis of characters, it’s fun seeing things from a different perspective.

Question:

What do you think of the relationship between Petunia Evans and Vernon Dursley? Do you think there was a lot of love, or did it start that way and end up being more of a marriage of ‘convenience’.

Like, love dwindled over time and Petunia no longer feels love for her husband but she is headstrong and also doesn’t want to risk anyone knowing about how her sister was a witch, or the fact that she also was part of the reason that Harry was locked away in a cupboard. In divorces many times it can be messy, and I feel like the fear of losing Dudley (him being taken away and staying with Vernon) would just eat her alive.

I feel like we don’t see much of the dynamic between the Evans sisters (or the Black sisters for that matter but that’s a whole different ask for another day) and how they grew up so close together but then were torn apart so to speak and their relationship became almost nonexistent. And their relationship with their husbands, it’s just fascinating and I’d love to know if you have any thoughts on that. Or headcanons that you’d like to share about them.

Thank you, and as always I’m glad to see your thoughts/analysis ❤️

Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this! I don't think I have directly talked about Vertunia on here but I'm more than happy to because I love them/love writing about them! It's also fitting since their wedding featured in my most recent chapter. My problematic faves.

I do think there was actual love between them, but that doesn't mean it wasn't also convenient. There are several moments when Vernon, to his very small credit, seems genuinely protective of Petunia-- such as when he tries to 'shield' her against Arthur in GoF. Also in the first chapter of the entire series we see Vernon genuinely quite worried about his wife's feelings on her sister and trying to bring up the matter delicately. Honestly, given what a terrible person Vernon is in general, he could definitely be a lot worse as a husband.

Personally I don't see them as really even coming close to divorce at any point. They always seem to be a united front, to the point that it's seems unprecedented when Petunia disagrees with Vernon about kicking Harry out in OotP. Even on that occasion, Vernon accepts his wife's decision pretty readily. I think generally, if it weren't for Harry, the Dursleys would be perfectly content in their mundane little lives, and certainly content with each other and the perfectly lovely middle-class household they'd built together.

I definitely think what attracted Petunia to Vernon was his status in the company, his ego, and of course his stubborn ordinariness. I see Petunia as embarrassed about coming from a working-class town like Cokeworth, embarrassed about her 'freak' sister, and wanting to escape from her background. Vernon would have represented everything she wanted to escape to. This is from the Pottermore entry on them (one of my faves)

Petunia Evans, forever embittered by the fact that her parents seemed to value her witch sister more than they valued her, left Cokeworth forever to pursue a typing course in London. This led to an office job, where she met the extremely unmagical, opinionated and materialistic Vernon Dursley. Large and neckless, this junior executive seemed a model of manliness to young Petunia. He not only returned her romantic interest, but was deliciously normal. He had a perfectly correct car, and wanted to do completely ordinary things, and by the time he had taken her on a series of dull dates, during which he talked mainly about himself and his predictable ideas on the world, Petunia was dreaming of the moment when he would place a ring on her finger.

As for Vernon, I think there were a few reasons he'd have been attracted to Petunia. I've talked about this before, but though I think Petunia was plain (especially compared to Lily) I don't think she was bad looking, and the fact that she was thin and blonde and probably took great care of her appearance helped her at least meet normative standards of appearance. I had a scene where Petunia meets Vernon's family and they all gush about how pretty she is haha.

Furthermore, I think Petunia would have worked extremely hard to present in the 'correct' way at her job. Appropriately conservative clothing. Appropriately normative attitude and interests. She would have been flattering of him and an eager audience for his 'predictable' tirades about the world. I think Vernon would definitely seen her as 'wife material' haha. Also Vernon's such an unpleasant person I don't think he'd have been very popular with the ladies lol (unless they were exactly like Petunia) so I think he'd have felt genuinely fortunate to be with Petunia.

So there was convenience, because each provided the other the type of partner they wanted. Vernon a dedicated, blonde little housewife on his arm who would parrot his views. Petunia the comfort of middle-class status and her idea of a 'dream life' involving a fat engagement ring, a lovely church wedding, a house in the suburbs. But I don't think this means it was a loveless marriage; rather they just really worked well together, and it was a good partnership on many levels.

I think if Petunia was ever worried Vernon would leave her, it was at the beginning, before she'd told Vernon about Lily. When Vernon tells Petunia "that he would never hold it against her that she had a freak for a sister," it was probably a very important moment for Petunia and established a lot of trust between them. It probably didn't hurt that they then had something to be set against together, as a couple haha.

While Petunia's choice of husband likely caused further strain on the relationship between the Evans sisters, it was already heading that way long before she met Vernon. If she hadn't met Vernon she would have met some other Vernonesque man, because that's what Petunia wanted. Vernon validated all of Petunia's beliefs about her sister and her sister's world, thereby alleviating any guilt she might have felt over the estrangement, and Petunia could happily throw herself into the arms of her new and improved family, the Dursleys. Marge was her new sister, the Dursleys better parents in her eyes (more admiring of her, more respectable,) and of course Vernon himself, with his impressive job title and swanky car. I think Petunia would have latched onto that with great enthusiasm.

[severus-snaps]

Jumping on a 5+ year old post just because I recently wrote about it and am still thinking about it? Yes, please.

Re: there being more examples of Snape (more or less) strictly operating within the rules, he even does this when it comes to "unfair" punishments in school (at least in the early books; I haven't yet had a chance to reread the later ones to find more details).

Snape doesn't punish Harry for things he knows Harry has done if he doesn't have proof. He could make up that he saw Harry throw the firework in CoS and use it to punish Harry - but he doesn't, even though he's probably 99.9% sure it was Harry. He could say that he had evidence that Harry broke into his stores in CoS (Hermione turning into a cat is pretty compelling evidence), and he could make it up again in GoF - but he doesn't. When it comes to school punishments, he acts on what he knows for certain.

Sure, he employs the rules more often against Harry - but Harry also has a tendency to 1. completely demolish the school rules and even break the law and receive no actual punishment for it from anyone else anyway, and 2. to completely overblow anything Snape does - or might do. In my meta I looked at any mention of a punishment - and Harry often thinks that Snape would or will give him a detention, or take points, etc, even when Snape actually doesn't. Snape's (hypothetical) punishments are probably mentioned just as much, and with more biased narration of events, than every other teacher's real or imagined punishments in 6 years combined. Harry's hypothetical punishments give the impression that Snape is going around deducting points from Gryffindor and favouring Slytherins all the time, when really it's just Harry's (unfounded) expectations, or often as a direct result of Harry breaking a mundane school rule and being told off for it. And Harry occasionally almost acknowledges this himself: in OotP he expects fair grades on potions he's actually concentrated on, inadvertently admitting that he's usually not paying that much attention. (The rest of Snape's punishments in OotP are a bit weird, though, and don't follow the same pattern that they did up until this point - which is why I wanted to read it again before doing a meta on the later books).

There's not exactly overwhelming evidence that he favours his own House, either - at least not in terms of overtly spoiling them with points like Dumbledore does to Harry/Gryffindor. The most "favouring" I found was that Snape often looks the other way when Draco is provoking people, but punishes Harry/Ron/whoever else when they act on the provocation - and that's still only when Snape actually sees them fighting/throwing things, which is the same approach that McGonagall takes. She also doesn't care who started it - she cares who threw the first actual punch, so to speak. And sure, Snape doesn't deduct points from any Slytherins in the books - at least in public - but we can infer that he does punish his Slytherins in other, less public ways - probably in retaliation, as pointed out above, for the way that Slytherin is maligned by the other students/houses (and staff).

This is pure headcanon territory (based solely on the fact that Crabbe and Goyle got detentions for failing a class, and the fact that the Slytherins sometimes wait until Snape's back is turned to act out) but I expect that Snape's much more liberal with other forms of punishment for Slytherins that won't see their ambitious House collectively fall behind - individual punishments like writing to the parents, maybe, or more normal school punishments like lines, detentions, etc. It's very fitting for the type of vibe Slytherin has going for it, which is much more... private, in a way, much more insular and self-preserving than the other Houses. I can't phrase it properly, but it simply wouldn't do to be openly punishing your own 'family' when the matter could be dealt with in private and in a way that also doesn't harm the whole family's success (which coincidentally also feels like a very old school, old-money-family type approach to misbehaviour, which also fits). Anyway, my point is that Slytherin students do get punished by Snape for breaking the rules too, but it's likely in private, so Harry's not there to know about it.

TLDR: Snape follows the rules, at least until GoF - he often gives a warning, then a reasonable justification for deducting points if that's ignored (being late, repeatedly speaking out of turn, fighting in the halls), and usually only escalates further if the rules or his authority are still being disrespected. His punishments tend to be normal and proportionate to the crime (unlike some of McGonagall's), and also like McGonagall, he punishes for a students' direct actions - and not whoever provoked them.

Anyway, I just enjoy this little quirk of his.

something endearing about Snape

Something i’ve been kind of mulling over and thinking about in regards to Snape– and which I find frustrating, but endearing– is how… he is continually disadvantaged and disregarded by systems of power and persons of authority… but he chooses to work within their framework, anyways. 

Snape is Lawful-neutral, to his own detriment. Hear me out.

Like, as a student, he gets bullied. It’s 4 against 1, and he’d have a hard time picking them off if he wanted to go a more aggressive or lethal route. In any case, he tends to be reactionary, rather than necessarily going out of his way to find and attack them… So, he tries to get them expelled, because that would be a way to remove all 4 of his threats at once, and it’s not as if they don’t consistently break the rules… Shouldn’t people who break the rules and mistreat others be punished? So when he’s almost lead to his death at the Shrieking Shack, he appeals to the system of authority (of whom Dumbledore is the purveyor, in this case) with what he feels is a pretty airtight case against his bullies… 

…and he gets written off, and blackmailed into keeping his mouth shut.

If it were me, that kind of slap in the face would ensure i never respected another authority figure again in my life tbh. The Law and the gods that govern it would be dead to me. Anyways…

Being a werewolf does not inherently make Lupin a bad person. But being a good person does not make Lupin inherently safe. The point is: when you transform into a werewolf, you lose control of yourself, and that can result in you killing, maiming, or infecting other people. Lupin knows this. He’s known it for over 20 years,

As of 1993, there was this great new discovery: the Wolfsbane Potion, which helps to curb the effects of lycanthropy, right? It’s super expensive and super hard to make, but it’s an effective way to mitigate the more vicious effects of a transformation– it turns the drinker into a harmless wolf, rather than a werewolf, at the time of the full moon. A wolf, who is easier to control or subdue if one is confronted with it, and who seems to retain some semblence of control during the transformation (Lupin having described himself as curling up in his office during his transformations).

You may be thinking that wolfsbane potion is the closest thing to a preventative  that the Wizarding World has circa 1993, and you’d be right. It’s not a cure, and people who drink it can still infect others, but damn, it makes it way more manageable.

We know that Severus, on more than one occasion, goes out of his way to give Lupin his potion (whether Lupin continually forgets to take it, or purposefully “forgets” to take it as a small power play/intimidation game against Snape is up for interpretation). Either way, we know that Lupin regularly forgets to take the life-changing potion unless prompted, which kind of makes him out as reckless. A timebomb. 

Severus, who is not only a virtuoso on the Dark Arts and all that it entails (and thus, academically, very informed on the dangers that (non-medicated) Werewolves pose), is also intimately and personally aware of the threat Lupin poses to a school full of children as well as the staff, because of his experience in the 70s. Snape brings all of this up to Dumbledore… 

…who repeatedly dismisses his well-founded and logical fears. 

Snape is still beholden to Dumbledore’s insistance that he keep his mouth shut. Which he does for most of the year. The very explicit parameters of the system are: do not tell anyone that Lupin is a werewolf. 

So, being the logical thinker that Snape is, he looks for (and finds) a way to achieve his desired outcome (informing people that Lupin is a werewolf) in a way that does work within those parameters. He can’t tell anyone outright that Lupin is a werewolf, but like… what if someone figured it out on their own?

Then we have Snape in the Shrieking Shack with the kids, Sirius, and Lupin. 

Harry, in the moment after Black disarmed them all, straight-up wanted to kill Sirius. He gets his wand back, and he is about to fucking murder this guy, until crookshanks sits over his heart.

Snape comes up the stairs to the 2nd floor of the shack, right? He’s wearing the Invisibility cloak. No one knows he’s there or hears him coming. He could have killed Sirius in an instant, without anyone knowing. He could kill Sirius AND Lupin if he wanted to, and dump the corpses on the ministry steps, and convince the minister that he had deduced that they were working together months ago. 

He could easily explain to the minister that he knew they were childhood friends, that Lupin started working at Hogwarts at the exact same time Black “wanted to infiltrate” Hogwarts, and that his speculations were dismissed. He could say all of this with the kids and Dumbledore to corroborate his story (since he arrives at the Shrieking Shack BEFORE the kids get the low-down on Pettigrew) and he would STILL get his order of Merlin (maybe 2?) But instead of killing them… 

…he disarms and restrains them. 

He’s like “Yeah, I’m handing you off to the Dementors, dickhead” but it’s important to remember… he disarms them, restrains them, and is willing to turn them over to the “authorities.” Even though, at this point, he whole-heartedly believes that 1. Black is a murderer, who killed like 23 people, and who broke out of wizard prison and 2. Lupin, a werewolf who has consistently not taken his potion and whom Snape believes has conspired to kill him in the past, is aiding and abetting said murderer… Severus Snape does not take the law into his own hands. He’s not about Vigilante Justice.

And… he gets disarmed, thrown against a wall, and almost ends up attacked by a werewolf for it later. heh

This is just up to the first 3 books, because i just finished re-reading them, but i’m certain there are more examples of these types of exchange in subsequent books. In any case, I love how the books have this consistent theme of “Harry distrusts authority, disrespects it, and challenges the system,” that’s all very good. 

But i also love that Severus Snape, the dude that everyone argues is super unfair, petty, spiteful, etc… attempts to use strategic thinking to operate within the paramaters of these systems, and tries to maintain respect for these systems, and consistently gets his ass handed to him for it. I love you, you lawful-neutral dumbass. 

[yumeurl]

i always find it amusing that draco's hair wasn't described up until PoA:

Malfoy’s head jerked forward as the mud hit him; his silver-blond hair was suddenly dripping in muck.

which is fairly normal, but this is the only instance i've seen where his hair is described as silver-blond. harry changes description starting GoF, and has been consistent up until the end:

Harry and Draco Malfoy had been enemies ever since their very first journey to Hogwarts. A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair

Malfoy stood to one side, the sunlight gleaming on his white-blond head.

Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him obliquely: a figure slightly taller than he was, rising from an armchair, his face a pale and pointed blur beneath white-blond hair.

harry has already used the description "white-blond" to another character before, and it was firenze. his description is still the same even in OoTP

which is interesting for me since GoF is when they introduced veelas and fleur, who is described to have silvery-blonde hair. so i'm just guessing they changed draco's hair color so it won't be confusing

It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore’s speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.

but then again, all this doesn't matter because veelas are also described to have "white-gold" hair LMFAO

 This puzzled Harry for a moment while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon- bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind . . .

so maybe harry's just revising his old observation of draco's hair now that he's seen what a real silver-blond hair looks like, why we need to know about dracos glistening hair color every single book is still unknown though

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think Harry will able to defeat veritaserum?

I mean, It's Harry, so yeah, probably.

I couldn't track down anything about it in the books, but in a JKR F&Q she said this:

4. Why isn’t Veritaserum used in interrogations? It is, but skilled wizards can avoid its effects by using antidotes and charms. A gifted Occlumens could also resist Veritaserum.

(Source)

And as it's said:

“I am about to attempt to break into your mind,” said Snape softly. “We are going to see how well you resist. I have been told that you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse. . . . You will find that similar powers are needed for this. . . . Brace yourself, now. . . . Legilimens!”

(OotP, Ch24)

And we know Harry can resist the Imperius Curse almost easily, but it's different with Occlumency when we see him attempt it in book 5... So, what I want to talk about is how what Harry does (both when he finally blocks his mind in book 7 and how he resists the Imperius) isn't actually Occlumancy at all. But it doesn't matter because the results are the same and it should allow him to resist Veritaserum too!

This is Harry resisting the Imperius curse:

Ah, it was bliss, not to think, it was as though he were floating, dreaming . . . just answer no . . . say no . . . just answer no. . . . I will not, said a stronger voice, in the back of his head, I won’t answer. . . . Just answer no. . . . I won’t do it, I won’t say it. . . . Just answer no. . . . “I WON’T!” And these words burst from Harry’s mouth; they echoed through the graveyard, and the dream state was lifted as suddenly as though cold water had been thrown over him

(GoF, Ch34)

This is Harry practicing "Occlumency" in book 7:

His scar burned, but he was master of the pain, he felt it, yet was apart from it. He had learned control at last, learned to shut his mind to Voldemort, the very thing Dumbledore had wanted him to learn from Snape. Just as Voldemort had not been able to possess Harry while Harry was consumed with grief for Sirius, so his thoughts could not penetrate Harry now while he mourned Dobby. Grief, it seemed, drove Voldemort out. . . though Dumbledore, of course, would have said that it was love

(DH, Ch24)

There are common denominators here. What Harry is doing in both cases isn't anything controlled or well thought out or focused. He and his magic are going on instinct. It's all emotion and resistance. He outright notices his secret to Occlumancy is grief — emotion.

Harry's magic is always very instinctual. He treats magic as a feeling rather than a hard science (the way Dumbledore did most of his life and like Hermione does) and in his case, he is right to do so. Harry's magic reacts to him instinctively and is very intuned with his emotions. Harry's magic is much more influenced by Harry's force of will, rather than if he's actually doing the wand movement right. (More on Harry's magic with evidence: here, here & here).

Now, this actually makes sense with how magic works, but I'll go more into it later.

Now, the reason I'm bringing up these aspects of how Harry practices "Occlumency" is because they outright contradict how Snape explains Occlumency works. Let's recall how Occlumency is described:

“Now, Occlumency. As I told you back in your dear godfather’s kitchen, this branch of magic seals the mind against magical intrusion and influence.” [...] “Clear your mind, Potter,” said Snape’s cold voice. “Let go of all emotion. . . .” But Harry’s anger at Snape continued to pound through his veins like venom. Let go of his anger? He could as easily detach his legs. . . . “You’re not doing it, Potter. . . . You will need more discipline than this. . . . Focus, now. . . .”

(OotP, Ch24)

It's against any influences on the mind. Be it the Imperius, Legilemancy, or Veritaserum. Hell, it would probably help against the mental effects of a dementor. But Snape clearly states it's about focus. For real Occlumency you need a clear mind. You need to let go of all emotion. Something Harry is incapable of doing.

And even when we look at Harry's most successful attempt to defend himself from Snape's Legilemancy in book 5, it's very similar to his reaction to the Imperius, filled with emotion:

No, said a voice in Harry’s head, as the memory of Cho drew nearer, you’re not watching that, you’re not watching it, it’s private — He felt a sharp pain in his knee. Snape’s office had come back into view and he realized that he had fallen to the floor; one of his knees had collided painfully with the leg of Snape’s desk. He looked up at Snape, who had lowered his wand and was rubbing his wrist. There was an angry weal there, like a scorch mark. “Did you mean to produce a Stinging Hex?” asked Snape coolly. “No,” said Harry bitterly, getting up from the floor.

(OotP, Ch24)

His magic casts Snape out with a stinging hex, this isn't Occlumancy, Harry had no idea he was doing it because that's how Harry's magic is. Harry wanted Snape out of his mind and his magic complied, there was no focus, no clear mind — it was all instinct and emotion.

When he throws Voldemort out of his mind in the ministry, it's the same — all emotion and instinct:

“If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy. . . .” Let the pain stop, thought Harry. Let him kill us. . . . End it, Dumbledore. . . . Death is nothing compared to this. . . . And I’ll see Sirius again. . . . And as Harry’s heart filled with emotion, the creature’s coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood. . . .

(OotP, Ch36)

His emotions cast Voldemort out, not his mind. This isn't Occlumency.

I have spoken in the past about how magic in HP seems to work (based on my understanding of alchemical concepts). A spell/potion/any other piece of magic requires 3 things:

Intent - What - The intention and will of the caster to disarm their opponent.

Form - How - The way the spell should do it, make the wand fly from the openent's hand.

Energy - Magic - the power to fuel the spell.

Intent and energy must exist. Accidental magic is basically just intent and energy without the form, hence why it's usually so unpredictable and so few wizards can control it. The form is the part that changes the most between magical disciplines. It's what gives focus to that intention and makes the spell controlled. This is waving your wand while saying an incantation. This is mixing a potion counterclockwise.

The thing is, as I said, the form isn't necessary. Not only is it not necessary, it places a limit on what your magic can do and how spells can be used. We see Harry apparating as a child before he knows he's a wizard. Young Tom can control animals (not just snakes) without a spell, just his intent and magic. Lily, similarly floats unaided as a child, something we're told is considered impossible until Voldemort (and later Snape) does it in the books.

And that's why I'm saying Harry's magic makes sense. If your will is strong enough, and you have enough magic to pull it off, the form aspect doesn't really matter. Your magic can do a lot spells just aren't capable of doing (as Harry repeatedly does as I mentioned in the posts I linked above) if you have the will and magic for it. Like, Voldemort, Harry, and Lily you don't need incantations and wand movements.

(Dumbledore probably could too, he has the magic for it, but I think he's too controlled for that. I think after Grindelwald and his sister he's so terrified of losing control of his magic that he doesn't really see it as an option. I think the concept scared him until Lily's sacrificial magic (which is this instinctual magic that isn't really a spell) when he saw it can do good, but I digress.)

Now, there are two other factors that are occasionally required for magic as I mentioned in the post I linked. These are:

4. Emotion

That's what the Patronus Charm requires — happiness. But it's also what the Unforgivable Curses require, after all:

“You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain — to enjoy it — righteous anger won’t hurt me for long...

(OotP, Ch36)

And we see repeatedly that emotion can change how spells behave. Spells cast with emotion don't act like spells cast with just the 3 base components.

The alternative to emotion as the fourth component is:

4. Focus/clear mind

This is what Snape is talking about for Occlumency. Like the Unforgivable, it requires a particular mindset, but it's the opposite mindset. Instead of emotion, you need none. You need a clear mind.

So what Harry is doing when practicing his "Occlumency" isn't Occlumency at all, but a new piece of magic Harry invented and has no idea he invented. He invented an emotion-based magical defence to your mind and he has no idea. Becouse Occlumency, by definition, requires the absence of emotion — that same emotion Harry actively uses to protect his mind.

So, yes, I think Harry could resist the effects of Veritaserum, but it's not going to be thanks to Occlumency, but thanks to the emotion-based mind protection Harry does that has nothing to do with Occlumency. I mean, Dumbledore doesn't ever call it Occlumency:

“There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,” interrupted Dumbledore, “that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.”

(OotP, Ch37)

He considers it a sign of Harry's specialness (which it is). Dumbledore is aware what Harry did is not Occlumency. Harry just misunderstood Dumbledore and now he thinks Occlumency works with emotion.

(That being said, what Harry did is a bit more complicated than how Dumbledore phrases it here, and really an emotion like anger or spite would work just as well as grief or love, and it was mostly because Harry kicked Voldemort out subconsciously and not that Voldemort is allergic to love. But, the point is, no one but Harry thinks it's Occlumency)

I think it could be really funny if post-books someone asks Harry how he learned Occlumency since he's such a good Occlumence and he reveals it's all about emotion, and everyone blinks at him, like: "Mr. Potter, that's not how this works..."

Harry: "What do you mean? It clearly works,"

Them: "Eh..."

And that's how Harry invents a new piece of magic that's an alternative to Occlumency by accident.

[danadiadea]

1) Beating one's wife was once seen as normal? Homophobia was once seen as normal? Actually within the Harry Potter universe thinking that Voldemort had the right ideas and being a blood purist was normal! The death eaters outnumbered the Order 20:1, Sirius says that lots of people thought Voldemort had the right ideas, and even after the war British wizards literally had chosen a blood purist (at least according to Albus) as their Minister! Why would you say Snape was wrong for using the word Mudblood then?

The thing is, a violation of one's bodily boundaries and basic feelings of privacy and safety and control would influence the victim's mental health, even if the perpetrator supposedly "doesn't know" it's wrong.

I have zero idea what is tcoptp, I'm pretty sure we are discussing Harry Potter books? Is it some kind of Marauders fanfition or what?... The only people who do almost exactly what James did in the books are the Death Eaters to the family of Muggles in GoF, and every character understands how wrong it is. Also it's strongly implied that James took Snape's underwear off – there is no reason to include the phrase that suggests something that can't be shown in the books for children and pull Harry out just after it if the author didn't want to convey that it happened.

2) well if you are stating something it's rather logical people would confront it if it's not true

3) we see that James during the SWM insistently asks Lily out, including the bit when he tries to blackmail her (the quote in punkt 7). After she said "no" and "I hate you" as clearly as she did, the only possibly normal thing to do was to leave her alone. But James kept trying to win her attention for at least one more year and for at least one more year she kept refusing. Then he supposedly stopped hexing people "for the fun of it" and she agreed to date him, and he "didn't take Snape on their dates to hex him" so that she doesn't change her mind. Even if we assume that his try to ask Lily out in that manner during the SWM was the first one (which I personally don't think is likely), it surely wasn't anywhere near the last one. And this is absolutely a disregard to her boundaries and a belief that she is supposed to date him because it's his wish.

Harry was literally so horrified with their dynamics his initial thought was that his father had forced his mother into a relationship.

4) WHAT respectful kind adults? Albus "I'll silence your murder attempt" Dumbledore? Minerva "thinks that sending 11yo kids to the forest where something kills unicorns is a great punishment" McGonagall? Horace "made an elitist club inside the school" Slughorn? Did they ever stop the bullying? No, they didn't. Did they ever stop the DEs recruiting children? No, they didn't. Hogwarts was full of neglectful adults who weren't doing their goddamn jobs. What are you talking about.

5) Shoving Harry in OoTP sure wasn't good, but it wasn't intentionally cruel. Harry literally retraumatised Snape, and after he trusted Harry enough to leave him alone with the memories that not only held Snape's most private life moments, but also probably the war secrets Harry absolutely shouldn't have known, Harry decided to peek inside, witnessing his teacher being assaulted and almost seeing him fully naked. Literally anyone would've lost control in a situation like that – it's called having a nervous system. Way fewer people would humiliate and tie up and choke with soap and raise up in the air and undress their classmate because their friend had been bored.

Also, McGonagall grabbed 11yo Draco's ear because he broke curfew? Most things that Snape did as a teacher other teachers also did, only with much flimsier exuses. The only characters we see doing what James did in the books are, yet again, the DEs.

6) calling DEs nazis is very problematic, but ok. Snape WAS a mean and deeply imperfect teacher (i don't remember when did he make fun of Ron's wand though? and the questions he asked Harry weren't advanced, a 11yo muggleborn girl had known the answers. also he DID make Trevor drink the potion and it WAS safe). His actions weren't out of the ordinary for Hogwarts stuff, but yeah, he had a lot of room for improvement. That doesn't make Snape "the other side of the coin" of a privileged bully. This makes Snape a disfunctional adult not really cut out for his job.

being groomed into a terrorist group and calling his friend a slur during a traumatic event doesn't make Snape the other side of the coin of a privileged bully either, it makes him a textbook example of a discriminated and vulnerable youth who falls easy prey to radicalisation. which isn't good by any means, but it's not bad in the same way hexing people because you find it amusing is.

7) "I will [leave Snape alone] if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. “Go on . . . Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again"

Frankly, the James/Lily interactions make me hate him almost as much as James/Severus interactions.

8) "And my mum was okay with that [James still hexing Snape on their 7th year]?”

“She didn’t know too much about it, to tell you the truth,” said Sirius. “I mean, James didn’t take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?”

You could soften that to "withheld information" I guess, but he clearly understood that Lily would be unhappy with that if she knew. And this is the info James' literal best friend is giving on him, lol.

9) I refer to that sneaking out: "James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell — also, Dumbledore’s still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions". That's how we know that Albus didn't take the Cloak for "experimenting" (which had been a dumb exuse, since that stuff can hide people from death and this is something Potters needed a lot), but so that James stays at his freaking Fidelius hidden home with their infant.

James died because he chose a secret keeper with his ass, sorry. There was no reason for him to die, if he just listened to Albus or at least became a keeper himself, he would've lived. When Voldemort already was at his house, he didn't have a choice.

I don't care about who is a bastard and who is not – what I'm saying is that people hurting others because they think it's funny and because they feel like they have a right to do it are not the same as people hurting others because they are traumatised and triggered. I agree Snape wasn't cut dry bad or good, just like Sirius, or Remus, or Albus (with their own good and bad sides, and in quite different ways and proportions), but frankly, James wasn't given any redeeming qualities except for being a part of the Order and not hating his friends as much as Sirius did (aka stopping Lupin from killing Snape). That's it. His change is nowhere in the books. His good deeds are nowhere in the books. He and Snape are not "cruel" or "arrogant" in the same way at all.

hey gang. are we gonna talk about how Snape grew into exactly what he perceived teenage James Potter to be? unnecessarily cruel, picked on those with less power than him, arrogant (debatable for Snape but the 'I can teach you how to bottle fame brew glory stopper death etc' speech was him GLAZING himself LMAO) and found a target in a kid with a difficult family life?

this isnt a criticism of Snape or James. this is just an observation and objective fact. both Snape and James were/did the things I listed above, James in his adolescence and Snape in his adulthood. I just found it interesting.

EDIT: by saying you hate snape you're essentially saying you hate teenage james potter haha. you can't have it both ways, they're two sides of the same coin

[toorumlk]

Harry/Ginny

AH HINNY!

oh man, i oscillate between really liking hinny one day and feeling completely indifferent towards them the next.

hinny might be the relationship i like the most for harry, and it's all because because of the family aspect. through marriage w ginny, harry officially became a weasley family member. and, of course he always was one, but he actually is a weasley on paper and i think having that in writing would mean a lot to harry. and my golden trio heart can't not mention that by hinny being married - ron and hermione are literally harry's brother and sister (in-law) now and !!!!! that just makes my heart melt (i know those two were always harry's family but bc of the aforementioned reason, etc. you get it)

so right off the bat, when i try to organize my more positive thoughts on hinny, i'm mostly focused on how the relationship best serves harry, and only harry. and this is where my frustrations with the ship begins: it's so hard to think the other way around because ginny's narrative purpose is just to be harry's ideal love interest, instead of being a fully fleshed character. i really love ginny with all her spunk and feistiness, but she's so underutilized. she had a cute crush on him in the start of the series which was adorable, but her character was inarguably just "ron's younger sister". and after she gets possessed by volde/gets saved from the CoS by harry, she still continues to have a puppy-love crush on harry until OoTP!!! GAAHHHH!!! Apparently joanne said hinny were always meant to be soulmates and i think if these two had a consistent "invisible string" motif throughout the series, it would've been so good (and almost as good as romione's slow burn). So...

here's how i'd fix hinny (lmao):

i wouldve made the ginny a much more prominent character in PoA and beyond.

we get to see hinny actually have heart-to-hearts about the incidents of CoS - for ginny to play such an IMPORTANT role in the titular plotline of the second book, then to just have her blend into the background afterwards just boggles my mind - that was the perfect oppurtunity to make ginny an invaluable character in the cast. she has this huge experience in common with harry - being personally victimized by voldemort - that harry doesn't have w ron or hermione at that point and it would've been so nice to see harry find an equal, a confidant in ginny from then on - like, dont let the readers forget that harry and ginny have this huge thing in common, have it be with us in the back of our heads the whole time!

start the hinny romance subplot fr fr in GoF

the potential of ginny being a maybe date for harry to the yule ball, harry feeling jealousy towards neville for getting to dance and spend time w ginny and harry being like "wait a minute! i'm supposed to crush on cho! im jealous of neville??" that wouldve been FUN - again, they couldve been a less insane version of romione hello

having the hinny subplot unravel in tandem with harry's crush and relationship with Cho in ootp

in ootp, you can argue that the story attempts to make a foil between cho and ginny's characters but if that were the case, it could've done a way better job of it

with harry's relationship w cho - harry likes her bc she's cool and pretty but she wants to connect with him through their connection via cedric and his death, which is off the bat a hugely touchy/traumatic topic for both of them and cho couldn't possibly fathom what it's like to be in the presence of voldemort/tom but guess which other character does ehehe...

now we're at hbp and this is where the good stuff starts bc if i'd had it my way, we'd have gotten their friendship in poa and two books of solid romantic build-up up until now

i honestly had a such a fun time with hinny in hbp, ginny in her OWL year being so cool and harry's hugeass crush on her- harry being a hormonal teenager was hilarious to read like its implied that harry is having increasingly inappropriate thoughts about her throughout the novel and theyre just intercut with "BUT RON-" that's some good shit

my one gripe w hbp's hinny is that i wish we actually got to see their dates sneaking around hogwarts, finding the perfect hideaways for makeout sessions, etc etc i know hp wasn't a romance fantasy by any means but imagine how swoony it wouldve been if we got to actually see these sunset dates instead of just being told about them - it wouldve been cathartic to actually see harry actually live the life of a normal teen boy before everything fell apart lol

if we got all these invisible string moments between them throughout the series, harry thinking about ginny and how good it felt to kiss her lips before he walks to his death in DH would've felt so much more earned

from a storytelling perspective, the case with hinny begs the question of if you can have a love interest for the jesus figure of your narrative? can you make a believable, grounded and balanced love story for the chosen one? i honestly think so but then you'd have to put equal amounts of effort and work into creating two nuanced characters and unfortunately we don't see that effort be put in ginny's character and that's why harry's endgame falls short for so many people. earlier, i said that this is the ship i like most for harry, but honestly that isn't saying a lot - i think with an almost saint-like character like harry, its hard to imagine a satisfying love and partnership for this kid. i like tomarry as a ship for when im feeling a bit insane but other than that, my main harry ship is him with a lifetime of peace and healing.

i also want to argue that hinny was never meant to be a primary romance in this story - the main romance/love story in the series is ron and hermione's and i think joanne's romance prowess all went into romione and i'm so thankful for that because i think it makes for better story (also i'm totally biased)

i also cant not mention the freudianess of it all with hinny, right? like god freud would Love hinny bc what do you mean they look identical to jily, what is going on here. that and the fact they had their first kid at 22/23 years old like my god, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING you should be at the club!!!!! i do dig the failmarriage vibes they were serving in TCC, also.

[hchollym]

nice use of text! & I agree with your additions; I think Percy and Arthur were close without actually knowing each other's true selves, if that makes sense? I think that is perhaps really interesting because that reflects reality very well: it makes the fight much more interesting if they actually had stakes in it.

Post being referenced here. 

I agree.

In Percy's case, I think he saw his father through the rose-tinted glasses that many children see their parents (until they're given a reason not to). Ron, Fred, and George all made comments about the Weasley’s financial situation throughout the first few books, but it wasn't until GoF that we ever saw Percy say anything negative about Arthur, and even then, it was more of a gentle truthfulness than anything spiteful:

“Your father hasn’t had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who,” she said. “They’re working him far too hard. His dinner’s going to be ruined if he doesn’t come home soon.” 

“Well, Father feels he’s got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn’t he?” said Percy. “If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first —” 

I don't think it's a coincidence that once Percy started criticizing Arthur (though I use that term loosely), then Arthur was suddenly quick to criticize Percy (in the beginning OOTP). There was some definite immaturity and hurt on Arthur's side. 

I personally think that Arthur always knew his children resented being poor (on some level), but he thought Percy was the exception, because Percy had always been mature and family-oriented (whether his siblings believed it or not, Percy was a mother hen to them, and it's very telling that Percy was the only child to stay at home for a while once he started working). 

In Arthur's mind, I think Percy was the one child who understood and didn't judge him, and when Percy started to see him more realistically, it hurt and felt like a rejection, so Arthur eventually lashed out. It's not appropriate whatsoever, but Arthur’s human, and that is one of his major flaws. 

On the opposite side, Arthur didn’t know Percy as well as he thought, because Percy was always so busy trying to be perfect (the perfect son; the perfect student) and trying to be exactly who his parents wanted him to be, which included having a job at the Ministry of Magic. No one in Percy’s family saw underneath that. 

In some ways, I'm not even sure that Percy fully knew himself at that point, because he was so focused on trying to meet his parents’ expectations that he never really thought about who he was outside of that. He needed to separate from them in order to really find himself (but that’s another matter entirely, so I digress). 

The point is, Arthur didn't really know Percy at all because he only ever saw the mask that Percy wore. He (incorrectly) assumed that "what you see is what you get” applied to Percy without realizing that there was a lot more bubbling under the surface. 

To be honest, I almost get the feeling that they both had unrealistically high expectations of each other (again, this is not Percy's fault, but he was definitely the most willfully blind of all his siblings to Arthur's shortcomings before GoF), which is really sad. 

I think Arthur & Percy demonstrate that the higher you put someone up on a pedestal, the further they have to fall when they don’t live up to the illusion in your head. 

Thanks for the comment! 😊

[mugglenet]

MYTHTERY: Was The Prophecy Referring To Different Wizard?

New Post has been published on https://bit.ly/3Nn2Oq5

MYTHTERY: Was The Prophecy Referring To Different Wizard?

By AbsentMindedRaven 

  Mythtery

Everyone assumes the prophecy applies to Harry, and Neville is the might-have-been. But is there another character that could be the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord?

    Evidence

On most occasions people discuss the prophecy, it’s taken as a given that Harry is the subject, that Neville was the only other possibility, and that the choice was made when Voldemort went after the Potters. After all, that’s how Dumbledore explains it to Harry at the end of Order of the Phoenix, and he’s never wrong, right? And prophecies are so well known for being precise and unambiguous.

A common plot twist or joke in fanfiction is to have someone other than Harry finish off Voldemort (whether directly or indirectly), and it later be revealed that they were born at the end of July, though this plot element is rarely taken seriously.

But could it be? What if there was another candidate that – canonically – the prophecy could apply to? And what if that candidate was Draco Malfoy?

To ensure this isn’t complete nonsense, we should examine the prophecy’s criteria to see if they can fit Draco. As a reminder, the prophecy reads:

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him , born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies … – OotP 37

From these statements (making some reasonable assumptions, for example, that Voldemort is the Dark Lord referred to), we can extract the following rules:

Person X (the subject of the prophecy) will have the power to defeat Voldemort

X was not born at the time the prophecy was given

X’s biological parents defied Voldemort three times

X’s birthday is at the end of July

Voldemort will make special note of X

X will have power unknown to Voldemort

X will cause the death of Voldemort or vice versa

X and Voldemort cannot co-exist peacefully

Given the circumstances of Voldemort’s death (his curse backfires because the wand is not loyal to him), we can also make a fairly safe claim that the power referred to in both Rule 1 and Rule 6 is the loyalty of the Elder Wand. This could apply to Draco (just as it could to Harry), as both claim the wand at different points (which Voldemort never does). This also accounts for Rule 7, as a wand passing by the hand from Draco to Harry, is what transferred the Elder Wand’s loyalty.

Rule 2 and Rule 8 are trivially valid for almost any magical child around Harry’s age. Once Voldemort returns to life, the whole magical community is unsettled.

Rule 3 is where it gets interesting. “Defy” can mean to oppose, challenge, resist, thwart, or disobey. Lucius and Narcissa are Voldemort’s supporters; when do we ever see them going against Voldemort? Three times each, in fact:

Lucius:

The whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco – surely when Voldemort gave Lucius his diary he would have ordered to “keep it secret; keep it safe!”, which Lucius did not do.

Claiming to be completely loyal, despite not searching for Voldemort, and running from the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup (GoF 33)

The Department of Mysteries debacle (OotP 34-36)**

Narcissa:

Going to Snape about Draco’s mission thereby speaking of a plan that was supposed to be secret, and furthermore, enlisting Snape’s aid when Voldemort had specifically given the task to Draco (HBP 2)

Lying about whether Harry survived in the forest (DH 36)

A fair criticism of the last point is that all of this defiance happened after Draco was born, but given that we’re talking about a prophecy, we can expect things to be a bit timey-wimey.

Draco’s secret mission allows us to tick off Rule 5: Voldemort has singled out Draco for a task that Voldemort himself has struggled with. Despite the low expectations of success, Draco did defeat Dumbledore, (even if Snape dealt the final blow).

Which leaves us with Rule 4. Seemingly the simplest to resolve: was Draco born in late July? From an authorial tweet, Draco was born on June 5th. So much for that.

But wait! “July” is never specified in the prophecy, only “the seventh month”. Maybe a different calendar is in play. The Celtic calendar has the year beginning on Samhain, which has been standardised to fall on November 1st but traditionally would have been halfway between the autumn equinox (late September) and the winter solstice (late December).

The word “month” is originally related to the phases of the moon, and it makes sense to describe a waning moon as dying. The Celtic calendar recognises seasons rather than specific months, so using the phases of the moon is appropriate.

In 1979 the halfway point would have been November 7th, (although Samhain may also have been tied to the full moon, which in the UK was on November 4th). Regardless of which date we take for Samhain (1st, 4th, or 7th of Nov), if we examine the U.K. calendar for 1979 and 1980, there are seven new moons between Samhain and the 5th of June:

19th November

19th December

17th January

16th February

16th March

15th April

14th May

On the 5th of June, the moon is waning (having been full on May 29th). Draco Malfoy was born as the seventh moon died.

So it is conceivable, given some slight poetic licences that Draco Malfoy was in fact the other wizard the prophecy was referring to.

  -Myth managed?

You tell us.

  * Everywhere else in the prophecy, the pronouns he/him refer to the subject (the “one with the power”), whereas the Dark Lord is referred to by the title. Interesting ambiguity: did James and Lily defy Harry three times? ** Granted, this is a failure rather than defiance, but they are equally unacceptable in Voldemort’s eyes.

    This editorial was written and submitted by a reader. The views expressed within it are the sole opinion of the author. To submit your own editorial, please follow our submission guidelines.

[trippingontheescalator]

I qualify as a fandom elder, I think. I read the second book first when it first came out in 1998 when I was in middle school and then just had to find the first book and read it too.

Some of these questions I don't think I'll be able to answer, since I only ever saw the first movie and kind of hated it. Nothing against Alan Rickman (loved him in almost everything else he did) or any of the other actors, but the movie just never really lived up to the magical world in my head, so I never bothered with watching the other films.

And so, with that--

As far as I'm aware, Snape has always been one of the most popular characters in the series, even before Rickman. These books were coming out in the late 1990s/early 2000s and edginess reigned supreme, grunge was still in, hot topic was the place to be in the mall, and so here comes Severus Snape-- dark, sinister, maybe a vampire, and delightfully sarcastic but also he was trying to save his life during the entirety of book 1! He's just a misunderstood vampire :( Lol, seriously, a large number of fans were 100% convinced he was a vampire, and that made him hot.

That's not to say there weren't people who disliked Snape, but fandoms in and of themselves operated differently. A03 didn't exist, most forms of social media didn't exist except for Livejournal and MySpace, fanfiction.net was in its infancy. If you wanted fanfics, you had to really search for these mom-and-pop websites that might host like 50 fics. And so, you had a favorite character and you went and you found a forum and a website that was basically dedicated to said favorite character and it was very enclosed. With Tiktok and other platforms, a fanon interpretation like "Snape is an incel" can spread very quickly like a virus. And I say virus because I've noticed some troubling trends in fandoms recently.

In the late 90s/early 2000s no one really cared that Snape picked on Harry and Neville, in part because that kind of treatment was just par for the course, but also because no one expected characters to act morally good. This was the late 90s when every character had to be EDGY. They had to wear black leather, and be a little mean, and have a tragic backstory. We didn't have words like "problematic." On the one hand, I am glad that more kids and teens are more aware of social issues and are examining biases that might be hidden in media and not just consume it unthinkingly. But on the other hand a kind of social puritanism is on the rise. Everything must be Pure and Good and if you like a problematic character then you must be Morally Reprehensible, just like the Reverend Praise-God Barebones proclaimed.

As for the "3 year gap" issue between GoF and OotP, I honestly think Rowling had no real intention of writing anything past Philosopher's Stone. When the first book exploded in popularity, she then churned CS and PoA, saw that those were even more wildly popular, and then realized she didn't just have a bunch of kids books under her belt, she could actually turn this into something. GoF is actually the first turning point for not just Snape but the entire series, not OotP. There were 0 hints that Snape was ever a Death Eater in books 1-3, and in fact Quirrell -- WHO IS LITERALLY ATTACHED TO VOLDY AND SHOULD HAVE KNOWN -- even suggests that Snape isn't one when he says something to the effect of "He seems the type, but he's not" to Harry. But in GoF we start to see the changes from "a bunch of kids books" to "epic fantasy series with a coherent storyline" and it solidifies in OotP. Rowling probably took that break to not only hammer out Snape's backstory and role, but also Voldemort's, and Harry's, and Dumbledore's, as well as to actually bring in more themes and motifs to her writing to give it depth. She probably came up with the horcrux idea at this time, and decided to retroactively make the diary one of those horcruxes (because really, if she had always intended for the diary to be a horcrux, why the hell would Lucius just chuck it at the Weasleys, Voldy entrusted it to him, it doesn't make sense). Same with Harry's scar.

As for "James wasn't supposed to be a bully, Rowling just did that because of Rickman's popularity" Like you said, the story of Snape nearly getting eaten by Lupin was in PoA. I think originally Rowling probably intended for the James-Severus feud to be an actual rivalry like Dumbledore stated it was in the first book. A book she probably didn't think would ever be that popular and probably never planned for a sequel. But when it did, I think she decided to make James a bully not because of Rickman's popularity but to tell a specific story: I think she wanted to turn the trope of "saintly dead parents" that all junior lit heroes have on its head. It's about Harry's character development, not Snape's, and as a way to subvert the reader's expectations. Throughout the series, Harry is compared to his father, well what if Harry sees his father as someone he DOESN'T want to be like? That's interesting character development! And Rowling does love her twists, even if she doesn't always implement them very well (see: Snape's relationship with Lily, come on other than one comment from Petunia there's never even a hint. You'd think Sirius would taunt him with Lily's loss of friendship just to piss him off or something but nooo...)

a ramble and some open questions for fandom elders (and others) about whether Snape was only made more sympathetic on account of Alan Rickman's popularity/casting, and similar things

so I stopped engaging with a tiktok creator for a while who I'd previously found very interesting because nearly every time they brought up Snape, they'd throw in some casual "if Harry was a girl, Snape would be really creepy/predatory about it" or some other weird Snape take not rooted in anything (to my mind). Like, it was weird to me because they bring in book quotes or pottermore/interview snippets to other analyses of other characters and ideas, but never Snape - for Snape, it was always just about vibes and feelings. For Snape, the fact we never hear that he killed someone or the fact we never heard that he stalked Lily is, in fact, strong evidence that he did do those things - or certainly thought about it - and certainly enough to be considered predatory and likely to dose Lily (and later a hypothetical Harriet) with a love potion or keep them in his basement, or something.

I disputed that idea in the comments one time, and some Snape supporting comments outside of mine got removed and users blocked, meanwhile my comments were (I think deliberately) misinterpreted. I stopped using tiktok entirely for a while, and never went back to see if the comments got deleted or whatever. Tiktok never gave me any further notifications about it upon re-downloading, so I guess they were removed? Idk. I have no desire to check.

but all of that is background really; she's lately posted some videos (I still find the rest of her content interesting, but apparently snape content is a no-go lool) saying that Snape's whole characterisation is different after the 'three year summer' - that is, that JKR saw how popular Snape was in the films, that she had to find a way to keep Alan Rickman on board when he wanted to leave, and that when she took her break between writing GoF and OotP I think, Snape sort of morphed into a new character and she had to attempt to redeem him (which, in her eyes, he's not redeemed even at the end which is like. ok). She implied that there's no evidence of James' bullying prior to OotP, no evidence of Snape ever having had a relationship (much less a friendship) with Lily, and that all of that was tossed into the later books retroactively to 'redeem' his character. (Obviously, I have Thoughts on that, which I'll come back to).

Of course, with the sort of... bad vibes she's built up around pro-Snape comments on her videos, all of the comments were in agreement with her. I'm also new to HP/Snape in terms of actively engaging with the fandom online, as it somehow passed me by at the time. But now I have Thoughts

So with all of that in mind, and just because I want to hear other people's thoughts but TikTok comments are a nightmare on their own with the character limit, inability to read them properly/in order, and general vibe of TikTok comments (even without the creator deleting/getting antsy about pro-Snape ideas), if anyone wants to discuss this lot, I am keen to hear people's thoughts:

Was Snape always a popular book character, or did that change/skyrocket with Alan Rickman? (For my part, I don't remember hating Snape when I read the books the first time around - in fact, I hardly remember registering him at all - but I do remember hating Umbridge).

How true is it that Snape was made 'more sympathetic' following the films? To me, it doesn't make sense; the first big, weighty suggestion of the marauders bullying Snape was in PoA, which was released mid-1999; the first evidence that Snape was spying was in GoF, in mid-2000. The first film didn't even come out (Alan Rickman's charisma included) until 2001. Weirdly, the PoA stuff the user is convinced just says that Snape was jealous of James (probably true, not denying it) but in the exact same book Remus/Sirius all but admitted to Sirius trying to kill Snape, which seems like a massive overreaction to Snape being an annoying little hater of a teen that she never comments on because, I guess, Snape deserved it?

Also, does it matter if he was made 'more sympathetic'? ootp was published in 2003, and in early 2002 Alan considered leaving. sure, JK might have added/exaggerated SWM to make him more sympathetic, but the reasons for adding in scenes don't change the fact that that's now part of the fabric of the character - a character who, by this point, had already been revealed in PoA to be the subject of a near-murder plot at the hands of the Marauders and was Very Not Okay about it; the marauders had already been described as troublemakers; Snape was already shown to be wary of Lupin for reasons that weren't solely about him being a werewolf, but about the Prank/Trick/Willow incident. An incident, much like SWM, that occurred because Sirius thought it would be "amusing" to put Snape in a horrible position. if JKR wanted to, she could've made Sirius the ringleader in SWM - but for Snape, I think she just wanted to solidify why a grown man hates a child who looks exactly like his father, which was also referenced in the early books and strongly prefaced by the events of PoA in the Shack (I don't think she had it 'all planned out' from day dot, however, but went with the vibes and fleshed out the details later). Obviously, to this creator, Lupin's idea that Snape was solely a little bitch because he hated that James was better at Quidditch is to be taken at face value, despite the fact the conversation then moves on to Snape's near-death following Sirius 'trick'ing Snape into the willow

Same as above but with his characterisation; she acknowledges that the later books are darker and have a more adult tone, but somehow it's still suspicious that Snape's sympathetic backstory was never once alluded to in earlier books (which, again, I think it's fair to say it was alluded to, but in sufficiently lacking detail so that JK could deal with it when she got there). Also with PoA and GoF especially, there are hints of Snape going from his more 'silly evil teacher' which he kind of was in books 1 and 2, heading towards the more realistic, but still delightfully bitter and flawed, adult character as the books aged up. I haven't read the books in a while I'll admit, but from the Snape passages I have read, I never noticed a sufficient difference pre or post three-year-summer that didn't match the wider tone of the books changing also.

Unlike the tiktok creator, I also think that Snape's reaction to Harry in general is almost entirely to do with James, rather than Lily's so-called rejection, and so there's no evidence that Snape would be weird to a 'Harriet' that resembled his mother, or weird to Lily if he saw her again; I think with his characterisation it's more likely that Harriet would've been treated like Hermione, Ron, or Tonks - being largely ignored with the occasional insult and told off for causing trouble - aka, how Snape would treat most people. Outside of the one isolated 'mudblood' incident, Snape was a bit of a doormat when it came to Lily (bless his heart). He followed her from the train carriage without comment, backtracked when she appeared angry in the post-prank conversation, even the "I won't let you" seemed more "I won't let you turn him into some kind of hero" or even, at a stretch, an "I won't let you be with him" out of Lily's own safety or something than "I won't let you leave me", to me - because he did just let her leave him in school? James and Snape continued hexing one another in 7th year, but there's no suggestion that Snape ever tried to be weird to Lily.

To my mind, there's no suggestion that Snape stalked Lily, no suggestion that he asked Voldemort to capture her - just to spare her. And then Snape went to Dumbledore anyway, probably immediately based on how harried he is on the windy hilltop scene, because he knew Voldemort wouldn't spare her, and even if he did, Snape would probably have to keep up the ruse of 'desiring' Lily, and do the sorts of thing Snaters suggest he wanted to do, just to keep her alive. But with Dumbledore involved, Snape wouldn't ever have the chance to imprison/love potion her - and that wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted her alive so he wouldn't have played a part in her death. I also doubt that Snape had much time to think when Voldemort revealed who he was choosing to kill; it's not as though Voldemort makes decisions by committee. He'd have revealed his plans and Snape would make a quick, panic-stricken decision to tell Voldemort that he desired Lily (which he may have done, to an extent; he'd need to draw on something to back up his request when Voldemort undoubtedly looked into his mind to see why Snape wanted to spare his Priority #1 victim). And like I say, he then set up a meeting with Dumbledore, probably immediately/as soon as he could, sensing that that wouldn't work (was he not convincing enough? Did he just know Voldemort too well? I have so many questions about how that conversation went down, and subsequent conversations about Lily which presumably occurred after V's resurrection).

anyway, no conclusion, only thoughts too rambly for tiktok comments

[hermiones-amortentia]

Draco Malfoy's opinion on Hermione's intelligence:

“Though if his grades don’t pick up,” said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, “that may indeed be all he is fit for —”.... “It’s not my fault,” retorted Draco. “The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger —” (chamber of secrets)

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She indicated the heap of twigs in front of her. Hermione’s hand shot into the air. Behind her back, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question. Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek of laughter that turned almost at once into a scream(order of the Phoenix)

He literally thought the only reason she got good marks because she was a teacher's pet. He even insulted her intellect.

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Ron Weasley's opinion on Hermione's intelligence:

- "Well, what's so impressive about that?" whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. "You are the best in the year - I'd've told him so if he'd asked me!" (HBP)

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- “How’d you do, Hermione?” “Oh, she was perfect, obviously,” said Ron, before Hermione could answer. (HBP)

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- "You're amazing, you are," said Ron, handing her his bundled up robes. "Thank you," said Hermione(DH)

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- "You're a genius," Ron repeated, looking awed.(DH)

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“Hermione, you’re a genius, a total genius, I can’t believe we got out of that!”(DH)

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“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Ron under his breath. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother’s brains.”(DH)

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How do you remember stuff like that?” asked Ron, looking at her in admiration.(OOTP)

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“What does she understand?” said Harry distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

“Loads more than I do,” said Ron, shaking his head.(GOF)

Some people in the fandom: Ron resents Hermione's smartness. Draco would appreciate her. 🤡