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literally no heterosexual explanation to this behavior

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honestly theres always been something really wrong with me but whatever

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this is genuinely the funniest sirius and bellatrix parallel to me:

[...] also a heavy locket that none of them could open, a number of ancient seals and, in a dusty box, an Order of Merlin, First Class, that had been awarded to Sirius’s grandfather for Services to the Ministry. “It means he gave them a load of gold,” said Sirius contemptuously, throwing the medal into the rubbish sack. (OoTP) “Begging your pardon, Mr. Malfoy,” interjected Greyback, “but it’s us that caught Potter, and it’s us that’ll be claiming the gold —” “Gold!” laughed Bellatrix, still attempting to throw off her brother-in-law, her free hand groping in her pocket for her wand. “Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his — of —”

the two heirs of the most ancient and noble house of black: GOLD? who even cares about gold 😂😂😂

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Hello! I've been loving reading your metas (especially about Hinny, since I could never quite articulate why I thought they didn't work) and I was wondering: what do you think of the Mauraders friendship? To me it seems a bit baffling, but that could just be JKR's poor grasp of timelines and details.

But it seems that the Mauraders are a close friend group (like, you don't make the map and spend 3 years working on an illegal and potentially fatal Animagus transfiguration on a lark) that as soon as they graduate and join the Order they seem to fall apart. Which I can buy, given the high stress low trust environment they're in, but it seems weird that only Sirius and Remus suspect each other, and I don't think we know why? I could also be forgetting something.

Thank you! 💖

I talked about the Mauraders as individuals a bit here, but their friendship is not as close-knit and happy as the fandom likes to think. I think their dynamic was always more complicated than that.

Like, what you have is James & Sirius who practically fell into friendship at first sight, and have always been the closest in the Marauders group. Remus and Peter were a little bit afterthought. I mean, in SWM, James and Sirius respect each other:

“If it bothers you,” he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket. Harry had the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off.

[...]

“Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake,” he heard Sirius say. “I’ll be surprised if I don’t get Outstanding on it at least.” “Me too,” said James.

But clearly, don't share that same respect for Remus, whose lycanthropy isn't taken seriously:

“Did you like question ten, Moony?” asked Sirius as they emerged into the entrance hall. “Loved it,” said Lupin briskly. “ ‘Give five signs that identify the werewolf.’ Excellent question.” “D’you think you managed to get all the signs?” said James in tones of mock concern. “Think I did,” said Lupin seriously

[...]

“I’m bored,” said Sirius. “Wish it was full moon.” “You might,” said Lupin darkly from behind his book.

Or Peter who is always the butt of the joke:

Wormtail was the only one who didn’t laugh. “I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail,” he said anxiously, “but I couldn’t think what else —” “How thick are you, Wormtail?” said James impatiently. “You run round with a werewolf once a month —” “Keep your voice down,” implored Lupin.

[...]

“Put that away, will you?” said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer. “Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement.” Wormtail turned slightly pink but James grinned.

There is a reason in PoA everyone mentions James and Sirius in the same breath, but they don't mention Remus. There is a reason James and Sirius were: "you didn't see one without the other" and the other Marauders weren't brought up. They weren't as close.

Like, I know from what I've seen in my high school that teenagers' friendships can be really weird and not necessarily good friendships (adult friendships can be like that too, I just think it's easier to fall into in a school-like environment where you are together most of the day — especially in a boarding school, I mean, they shared a dormitory, hey were together 24/7 for 7 years, they kinda had to be friendly with each other). The Mauraders have an unequal dynamic; they aren't the picture of a perfect friend group.

Sirius and James lived together (with Lily) after graduating, but Remus and Peter didn't. It all follows the same pattern.

This friend group was built around James and his charisma. Sirius is probably more alright with Dark Magic than James was ("The world isn't divided into good people and Deat Eaters"), but I'd go on a limb and say he never told James that because just like Remus and Peter he was desperate to be liked by James (I think he saw James liking him as a sign of his goodness and not being like his family). The difference is, James saw Sirius as an equal and respected him in a way he didn't Remus and Peter. He liked them, he liked their attention, but I don't think he saw them as equals to himself and Sirius.

Sirius clearly didn't see Peter and Remus as the same as James. He is the one making fun of Peter more than the others. I think he didn't think Peter would betray them because he looks down on him. He thought Peter worships James too much to betray him (a little projection of his own sense of loyalty as well) — and he was wrong.

The friendship fell apart becouse it was built on sharing a dorm room and being silly together, not on real respect and connection (at least in the case of Remus and Peter. Peter liked being part of the group, Remus was glad to have friends at all, Sirius wanted to be everything his family wasn't, and James was just being himself and had fun). When I read Sirius and Remus' interactions in PoA and later, they always gave me a weird vibe. Like they are both desperate for a sense of normalcy and connection that they remembered from school, but are both completely different people than they were back then, and even then, they weren't as close as either of them was to James. They are both trying to replace James with the other. (If only more Wolfstar fics portrayed them like that and like they weren't that close in school, I might've been more into it)

To illustrate, I always saw their dynamic when at school as something like this:

James also suspected Remus, Remus never doubted Sirius was to blame when he was sent to Azkaban because this entire friend group was around James. And it was also a mess. So, it just makes sense. Sirius never really respected Remus as much as James and Remus knew that.

TL;DR, the Mauraders weren't that close-knit of a friend group as the Mauraders fandom likes to believe.

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I don’t think James Potter is tall, so isn’t Harry

https://www.tumblr.com/hp-confessions/791252800098205696/james-was-described-as-tall-from-voldemorts-pov?source=share

What do you think?

I don't think James and Harry were *super tall* but, I definitely think they were taller than average (5'8-5'9 (174.4cm) in the UK in 1998). The explanation from the confession isn't one I think makes sense when combined with everything else we know. Besides, I don't think Voldemort would call James "tall" if it were just a contrast with Harry; I don't think he would've used the word "tall" if he weren't tall.

Also, if we follow the trajectory of Harry's height throughout the books as I did here, he is around 5'2 (~157cm) in PoA:

He [Peter] was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione

(PoA, Ch19)

Then he has a big, noticeable growth spurt in OotP:

He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time

(OotP, Ch1)

And another big, noticeable growth spurt in HBP:

“You’re like Ron,” she sighed, looking him up and down. “Both of you look as though you’ve had Stretching Jinxes put on you. I swear Ron’s grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, Harry?”

(HBP, Ch5)

“And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer either,” Hermione finished, ignoring Ron.

(HBP, Ch11)

But still not over 6' (~183cm) in DH:

Once the painful transformation was complete he was more than six feet tall and, from what he could tell from his well-muscled arms, powerfully built

(DH, Ch12)

So I usually place Harry and James as 5'11 (~180-181cm, though I headcanon them as 181cm) and I think the text supports that.

You can note that since GoF, Harry is no longer described as short and scrawny like in the first 3 books (Harry gets a description at the start of most of the books):

"Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes." - PS

"Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy" - CoS

"Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year" - PoA

"A skinny boy of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes puzzled under his untidy black hair" - GoF, still skinny, but no longer short for his age.

"He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time" - OotP, Skinny, but taller after a growth spurt. Not described as short or small for his age as pre-GoF

"and the artificial light drained his face of all color, so that he looked ghostly beneath his shock of untidy black hair" - HBP, again, not described as short.

Because he isn't.

Additionally, Ginny is around 5'1 (~155 cm) (shorter than Luna, and repeatedly described as "small"), and Harry seems to be considerably taller than her, in HBP:

Harry looked over the top of Ginny’s head to see Dean Thomas holding a shattered glass in his hand, and Romilda Vane looking as though she might throw something. Hermione was beaming, but Harry’s eyes sought Ron. [...] he grinned down at Ginny

(HBP, Ch24)

He looks over her head at the crowd, easily scanning the room. This implies he is, at least, around a head taller than her, allowing him to do so with no effort.

And Draco, is only *slightly* taller than Harry:

Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him obliquely; a figure slightly taller than he was

(DH, Ch23)

As in, an inch or two at most (I usually lean towards a half-inch to an inch difference).

Harry is the same height as Narcissa early in HBP:

“Really?” said Harry, taking a step forward and gazing into the smoothly arrogant face that, for all its pallor, still resembled her sister’s. He was as tall as she was now. “Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?”

(HBP, Ch6)

Who is described as tall:

His mother was blonde too; tall and slim

(GoF, Ch8)

Hermione, at around 5'5 (~165 cm) is considerably shorter than Harry:

Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward

(DH, Ch)

While Bellatrix is taller than Harry (I assume not by much):

She was taller than he was, her long black hair rippling down her back, her heavily lidded eyes disdainful as they rested upon him

(DH, Ch26)

And she's tall for a woman in general:

a tall dark woman with heavy-lidded eyes

(OotP, Ch6)

And Snape is taller than Narcissa (if not by much, probably):

Snape caught hold of her wrists and removed her clutching hands. Looking down into her tearstained face

(HBP, Ch2)

Both Bellatrix and Narcissa are tall for women. I usually place Narcissa at 5'9 (~175-176 cm), so Bellatrix and Draco are taller than her, and Harry grows 1-2 inches throughout HBP and DH (which is reasonable for a teen boy).

So, I do think Harry and James were tall. Not super tall like Dumbledore (around 6'5 or 195-196 cm) or Ron and Voldemort (around 6'3 or ~190cm), but taller than average in the UK and definitely not short.

(I also want to note that when Harry and James were an "inch apart" in OotP, James was also 15-16. 15-year-old Harry is almost as tall as 16-year-old James, not adult James)

I see Harry's height during the books as something like this:

Book 1 - short and scrawny - ~4'6 (137-138 cm)

Book 2 - still short and scrawny - ~4'8 (142-143 cm)

End of book 3 - the same height as 14-year-old Hermione and adult Peter, grew by "a few inches" since CoS - ~5'2 (157-158 cm)

Book 4 - not much information, so this is a guess - ~5'4 (162-163 cm)

Book 5 - has a considerable growth spurt - ~5'7 (170-171 cm)

Early Book 6 - Another considerable growth spurt that ends him at around Narcissa's height - ~5'9 - 5'10 (176 - 178 cm)

End of book 7 - same height as James at 21 - ~5'11 (he's 181 cm in my headcanon, but he can/would say 6' if asked)

Sorta want to add here my headcanon/speculative approximate heights for other characters (some with more evidence than others):

6'5 (~195-196 cm) -

Dumbledore (towers over everyone in the ministry in OotP + towers over all the inferi in the cave + noticeably taller than Ron)

Aberforth (same height as Dumbledore)

6'3 (~190-191 cm) -

Ron, Arthur, and Bill (the tall and lanky Weasley boys with Arthur’s genes + Ron is repeatedly mentioned to be considerably taller than almost everyone)

Voldemort (repeatedly referred to as tall, even as a child)

6'2 (~187-188 cm) -

Sirius (referred to as tall repeatedly, a head taller than Peter, and considerably taller than Snape)

Percy (tall and lanky, I headcanon him slightly shorter than his dad)

Blaise ("a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes" + headcanon)

6'1 (~185-186 cm) -

Cedric (said to be "tall")

Theo (headcanon + he's described as "a stringy Slytherin boy", so I assume tall and thin)

Regulus (slightly shorter than Sirius)

6'0 (~182-183 cm) -

Draco (slightly taller than Harry)

Bellatrix (taller than Harry, tall in general)

Fred & George (taller than Harry early in DH, shorter than Ron)

Vernon (headcanon. Taller than Dudley, Petunia, and Harry but noticeably shorter than Arthur)

5'11 (~180-181 cm) -

Harry, James (explained above)

Severus (taller than Narcissa and tall enough that Harry is never noticeably taller than him, while still considerably shorter than Sirius: "Sirius, standing up. He was rather taller than Snape". I do headcanon him as slightly shorter than Harry and James, who I place around 181 cm)

5'10 (~177-178 cm) -

Ted (headcanon)

Dudley (headcanon + "Harry pulled one of Dudley’s massive arms around his own shoulders and dragged him toward the road, sagging slightly under his weight" - he isn't much taller than Harry in OotP + "wider than he is tall" in GoF, so I don't think Dudley is very tall)

5'9 (~175-176 cm) -

Minerva ("A tall, black-haired witch")

Narcissa (around Harry's height in early HBP)

Barty Jr (headcanon)

5'8 (~172-173 cm) -

Remus (shorter than Sirius, taller than Peter, I headcanon him as shorter than James and an average height)

Neville (headcanon)

Moody (headcanon)

Andromeda (headcanon)

5'7 (~170-171 cm) -

Petunia (headcanon)

Tonks (headcanon)

Charlie (shorter and stockier like Molly)

Slughorn (said to be short but tall enough that "Ron stood on tiptoe, attempting to see past Slughorn into his room")

Fluer (headcanon)

5'6 (~167-168 cm) -

Lily (I headcanon as slightly shorter than Petunia)

5'5 (~165-166 cm) -

Hermione (noticably shorter than Harry, taller than Ginny and Luna + "“Good luck, Ron,” said Hermione, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek")

Pansy (headcanon)

5'3 (~160-161 cm) -

Luna (short but noticeably taller than Ginny)

Mundungus (very short: "Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog")

5'2 (~157-158 cm) -

Molly (refered to as short and stocky)

Peter ("a very short man")

5'1 (~154-155 cm) -

Ginny (repeatedly called small + shorter than Luna: "“Very well — take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters [...] Harry felt the others close in around Ginny.")

5'0 (~152-153 cm) -

Umbridge (noticeably short)

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Hey! Do you think Hermione had a good relationship with her parents? this is only headcanon but i always felt Hermione didn't have any friends before Harry and Ron, given how the first two months people only tolerated her and i imagine it must have been the same way in her muggle school. But considering how she remains self-assured in who she is and doesn't try to hide herself or change herself to fit in (like Harry does, who also grew up friendless), it makes sense only if she had a loving and supportive family. But she doesn't mention them much, the only thing we know is that they're dentists. And I know a lot of people put this to Harry not being observant enough but I think he'd still know something about his best friend's parents through 7 years despite how "unobservant" he is. Even on her vacation in France, she spends more time visiting wizarding destinations. And many people talk about this too: her visits to her parents go on decreasing as time passes and at one point, she spends more time with the Weasleys and the Order than at her own home. Do you think text/subtext gives us enough of an idea about her family and home life?

I have talked about it in the past a few times, I believe. This post, is one, for example.

Now, I don't think Harry is unobservant; he is occasionally selective in what he observes, but he is quite perceptive and notices way more than people give him credit for — so, I don't think that's the main factor here. So, no, I don't think Hermione's relationship with her parents is great, but I don't think it's bad either.

I agree Hermione likely didn't have friends in her former Muggle school (though, I can see her having one or two friends, who she wasn't super close to, but could sit with. That being said, all ties with them would've been cut once she got to Hogwarts). That is definitely the impression I got, and her bossy and self-assured behaviour speaks of a spoiled only child, which she is.

Her parents are dentists; they live very comfortably and can go on vacations out of the country every year. They went to France, as you mentioned, but they also went skiing multiple times in the past. She comes to Hogwarts as a swotty-know-it-all who is comfortably middle-class and is used to getting her way. She never lacked anything material growing up; there was always food on the table, and nice new clothes if she wanted them, and any toy or book she wished for, and her parents had no other child to spoil and buy all this for. I think she was loved growing up, but I don't think she was ever close to her parents, because the facts are:

She rarely talks about them. Even early on, and when she does, it's only to bring up their job as dentists; she doesn't really know them well as people, despite all their vacations together. Once she enters the wizarding world and realises how Muggles/muggleborns are treated there, she is very purposefully choosing to be a full-time witch. She cuts her parents out of her life long before she oblivates them.

We see her stay most holidays in the wizarding world, be it school, summer break at the Weasleys, hell, even Christmas since second year she spends away from her parents. Cutting them off more and more.

And we see muggleborns that are in touch with their families:

Colin Creevey brings a camera to Hogwarts just so he can send photos to his parents and keep them involved in his life. He clearly loves his parents and is proud to be related to his father, whom he mentions. Hermione does none of that. She seems almost ashamed to bring up dentistry when clearly the wizards don't care.

I think Hermione loves her parents, and her parents love her, but she doesn't want them involved in the wizarding world. She keeps her two worlds very separated. She actively lies to them about the danger she and her friends are in. She doesn't want them to worry, or worse, not let her come back to Hogwarts. So she lies:

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked her, pulling open the door, as Buckbeak resumed his scratching at the straw-strewn floor for any fragments of rat he might have dropped. “I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad.” “Well, to tell the truth, skiing’s not really my thing,” said Hermione. “So I’ve come for Christmas.” There was snow in her hair and her face was pink with cold. “But don’t tell Ron that, I told him it’s really good because he kept laughing so much. Anyway, Mum and Dad are a bit disappointed, but I’ve told them that everyone who’s serious about the exams is staying at Hogwarts to study. They want me to do well, they’ll understand. Anyway,” she said briskly, “let’s go to your bedroom, Ron’s mum’s lit a fire in there and she’s sent up sandwiches.”

(OotP)

Her parents want to spend time with the daughter they sent to wizard school and barely see, and they are trying so hard to be supportive of her and her studies (I kinda headcanon the family vacations were a new thing. That before Hogwarts, they didn't go as often, but they were trying to connect to Hermione). I assume they told her all her childhood how smart and brilliant she is whenever she brought home a good exam — hence her confidence.

Hermione is the first in the trio to offer to go to an adult with any problems they have — this speaks of her having had a support network. She had people who were there that will help her with certain issues — the big issues.

Since she also acts like she expects herself to be able to handle things on her own. She takes problems she sees as "small" into her own hands, and wants to bring up "big" problems to Dumbledore or McGonagall. She acts a lot like she was told growing up that she is so responsible and mature for her age, and she really took it to heart. I sorta assume that even in her Muggle school, she'd deal with her lack of friends or any bullying she may have encountered on her own because she was "the mature and smart one" and she should be able to handle it on her own — hence her tendency

Now, the blame is kind of on both parties. Her parents probably did make her feel like she should be able to handle her own issues herself, and allowed her a lot of independence growing up (which isn't necessarily a bad thing!). From the little we hear about them, they seem like they are very concerned with their jobs as dentists and it's one of the only things Hermione brings them up with.

Hedwig had returned from Hermione’s house with a large box stuffed full of sugar-free snacks. (Hermione’s parents were dentists.)

(GoF)

So they are probably a little strict and very preoccupied with their work. It's possible, growing up, Hermione felt their jobs came first and she came second to that, since their job is the only thing she mentions about them. That being said, they probably taught her to love books and reading and strive for academic success, but they are probably also the ones to instil in her values of courage and kindness. I think her childhood was a happy one at home, even if she was never super close to her parents and was a mostly self-reliant kid.

But when Hermione entered the Wizarding World, the distance grew. Because Hermione knew she was a fish out of water and she wants to be seen as a real witch and part of this world so damn much. So she learns, and studies, and stops bringing up her Muggle parents.

And she acts like a witch. She looks down on her parents, in a way. Yes, she loves them, but she is condescending towards them. She doesn't see them as authority figures or people who are supposed to protect her — because they're muggles and she's a witch. She sees them as incapable of protecting her and helping her. So she makes it her job to protect them and decide what's best for them, because Hermione believes she always knows best. So when she thinks the best way to protect them is to erase their memories and uproot their lives completely, she does so, without asking them. because they are muggles, and she's a witch, and she knows better.

I think, with all Hermione says in DH that she is a "Mudblood, and proud of it!", she doesn't act it. Like, look at the difference throughout the series:

“You will keep looking while I’m away, won’t you?” said Hermione. “And send me an owl if you find anything.” “And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is,” said Ron. “It’d be safe to ask them.” “Very safe, as they’re both dentists,” said Hermione.

(PS)

Hermione almost doesn't want to leave in book 1, she doesn't want to miss out on the search for Flamel. She sees her parents as safe to ask because they're dentists, because they are so muggle and disconnected from this world. I think she doesn't believe her parents would know anything important about Flamel because they are dentists.

but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione’s  parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them. “But you’re Muggles!” said Mr. Weasley delightedly. “We must have a drink! What’s that you’ve got there? Oh, you’re changing Muggle money. Molly, look!” He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger’s hand.

(CoS)

Hermione nodded, beaming. “Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things.”

(PoA)

Early in the series, her parents come shopping with her, from her 1st to her 3nd year. They are involved and try their best to understand the Wizarding World for their daughter's sake, even though they don't really get it.

And they likely aren't stupid. They see they are being treated like zoo animals by wizards, even wizards who like muggles, like Arthur. But Hermione probably tells them it's fine, that no one cares that she is muggleborn, so they won't worry.

She thinks about them and talks about them and what they like:

“We can do all our Christmas shopping there!” said Hermione. “Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!”

(PoA)

(Again, they sound like they are too serious and like their work is their whole life). And while she thinks about them, we see she clearly prefers the magical world to the muggle one. She likes shopping there better. She likes living there better, and we see how she slowly does just move in with the Weasleys for the summer since 4th year, which is when we start seeing the distance grow more:

Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Harry noticed it too: It was a very different smile from the one he remembered. “Well . . . when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were,” she said. “And I just . . . let her carry on a bit.” She smiled even more widely. “Mum and Dad won’t be too pleased. I’ve been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces. You know, they’re dentists, they just don’t think teeth and magic should — look! Pigwidgeon’s back!”

(GoF)

I think this scene is an important one. I think Hermione is right that shrinking her teeth magically is fine, but it shows the distance I was talking about — her parents don't understand magic. They don't understand her, and she feels like a stranger in her own home, and neither party is really taking the right steps to bridge that gap. And like I mentioned, she is the witch, she knows better than the muggles, in her opinion, she doesn't need her parents' permission or approval. And this distance just keeps growing:

“Thanks,” said Hermione. “Erm — Harry — could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They’ll be really pleased — I mean, prefect is something they can understand — ”

(OotP)

Because she stops telling them about things they won't understand. She just shares academic achievements that they can understand as muggles. No need to worry them, no need to bring them into her world. She gave up on them understanding her life. She lies to them about staying at Hogwarts for school that year. She loves them, she wants them to be proud of her, but it's a distant sort of memory of how things were. After all, she rarley ever writes to them. Ron gets letters from home, Harry gets letters from Sirius — Hermione doesn't get letters from home and very rarley sends them.

Then, in the summer before 6th year, she's at the Weasleys again. Her parents don't really see her since the end of her 3rd year. They missed so many of their daughter's formative years, and she doesn't confide in them about anything she goes through. They probably don't know she was petrified in 2nd year, or time-travelled for a whole year. So is it really that strange that they aren't close, and they don't know her, and she doesn't know them?

So, it wasn't that shocking when she chose to oblivate them. I think they loved her, and I think she loved them, but I don't think they were ever as close as Colin was to his parents.

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So I love love love your Slytherin's locket redesign, and in the comments of that post you mention JKR's lack of research specifically in regards to the name Salazar, and I'm lowkey curious to what the issue is?? (<- I hope that doesn't come off as rude, I just sometimes struggle to phrase things :P)

Thank you! 💖

And no, it's not rude, my problems with the name Salazar are the nerdy sort that I don't expect everyone to know of the bat.

So, the name Salazar is a Spanish surname meaning "old hall", from the Basque words "sala," which means "hall," and "zahar," which means "old." Variations of the name started appearing around Castille and Navarre during the early Middle Ages (10th century).

JKR has stated she took the name from the Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled from 1932 to 1968:

This is a name that makes zero sense for Salazar Slytherin to have due to:

It being a surname, not a first name, and at that time, it would've been very uncommon (read: not done) to use a surname as a first name. Using surnames as a first name is a much later trend, which the first accounts of that I found are from the 16th century.

The name is Spanish...

There is no simple reason for an Anglo-Saxon or Briton wizard in the 10th century to be named Salazar. Sure, you can come up with some convoluted explanations and make it make sense, but that would be a headcanon to resolve this oversight on JKR's part. It's just a weird name choice, especially as the other founders all have pretty plausible Anglo-Saxon names:

Godric - an Anglo-Saxon name that mostly died out after the Norman Conquest. Means "god's ruler", derived from Old English god combined with ric "ruler, king"

Rowena - recorded by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to have been the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist, though, unconfirmed. Geoffrey possibly based the name on Old English hroð "fame" and wynn "joy" or Old Welsh ron "spear" and gwen "white".

Helga - From the Old Norse name Helgi, derived from heilagr meaning "holy, blessed". The name appears (with the spelling "Halga") in the Old English poem Beowulf. As the Danish ruled a good chunk of England under the Danelaw between the 9th and 11th centuries, a Norse name would've been very possible for Helga when she was born.

(Their surnames, of course, aren't real names, but they all sound fitting to the British Isles and have elements from Old English, Old Welsh, or Gaelic origin, except, again, Salazar Slytherin, whose last name is just a pun.

"Gryffudd" is a very old Welsh-Celtic name that shares similarities to "Gryffindor" (though "dore" is a French name suffix that came with the Norman Conquest, from what I gathered, so that annoys me too). For "Hufflepuff", "Hufford" is an Anglo-Saxon name, and "Puff" seems to be German, from what I gathered, but it makes more sense since Old English is a Germanic language, the Saxons were Germans, and it's easier to explain. As for "Ravenclaw", names like "Ravenscroft" are Anglo-Saxon as well, while names like "Clawraye" were found in Ireland as early as the 9th century, and the name itself is just in plain English. The closest I found to "Slytherin" was a post-Norman conquest surname, "Slyne" and the French surname "Therrien" which doesn't fit historically either. The reason I mention the Norman Conquest so much here is that it really affected surnames in England)

The point is, all of the other founders have first names that can be argued to be historically plausible and don't require much, if any, explanation — except Salazar, who has a Spanish surname as a first name at a time that would be very unlikely.

(except for the fact that the school is in Scotland, and they don't have particularly Gaelic names from the time, but whatever. At least everyone except Salazar is in the zip code...)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Your Hogwarts design, both floorplan and environment, is SO impressive. Like, I genuinely cannot thank you enough for creating the visuals because god knows the books don't always make sense!

Thank you so much! 💕

Tbh, my design isn't what the books intend. The book's intended design is something like this (according to JKR sketches):

Which is different from what I ended up doing. My goal was to make a Hogwarts and environment that is as book-accurate as I can, while keeping many aesthetic and design elements from the movies/Hogwarts Legacy, because the castle they designed is gorgeous. Though in my design of Hogwarts, in my headcanon of it, different sections have different design elements depending on when they were built/last remodeled. For example, the Entrance hall in my headcanon has round, Norman windows and arches, but then the Great Hall is all early Gothic windows and arches.

The other reason for some changes I made from JKR's sketches is that they don't make a lot of sense. Why would Hogsmead station be closer to Hogwarts than to, you know, Hogsmead? I also placed the Whomping Willow closer to the school gates so it'll make slightly more sense for a tunnel to Hogsmead to be there, etc.

(I will say JKR is consistent with her books regarding the environment: The lake is south of the school, the Quidditch pitch is on the other side of the grounds from the forest, the greenhouses are outside, etc.)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

i don't know if it's been asked before so forgive me but how poor do you think the weasleys are? are they more lower middle class? cause ron didn't get his broken wand replaced immediately in the second year but got a new broomstick in the fifth?

and on a related note do you think arthur weasley is selfish for not going for a higher paying job? " i assume it would depend on how well of they are and if the family's needs are met?"

looove all your posts btw keep up the good work.

First of all, thank you! 💕

The Weasleys and money are interesting for sure.

See, they have enough money to always have food and clothes (second-hand, but all kids are dressed, fed, and well cared for). They have a house with 6 bedrooms:

Master bedroom

Fred & George's room

Ginny's room

Ron's room

Bill's room (which Charlie uses too when he comes over)

Percy's room

And a very large yard:

The garden was large, and in Harry’s eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn’t have liked it — there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting — but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.

(CoS, Ch3)

The Weasleys read like a family that used to have money. They have land, they have many cousins and aunts and uncles who seem to be living well. The parents don't act like they grew up lacking in anything. And even now that the money has dried up, they still don't live badly. They seem to be poor, not because Arthur's job doesn't pay enough, but because both Arthur and Molly have no idea how to budget or handle money. They both act like people who grew up with plenty of money they can throw around, and therefore, don't know how to save it.

The fact that they don't have money to replace Ron's wand is proof that they don't know how to handle money. The smart thing to do when you struggle economically is save up surplus money you don't immediately need when you have it, so you'll have emergency funds. You will put some money aside for future hard times, but the Weasleys don't do that:

I couldn’t believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it’s gone on this trip, but they’re going to buy me a new wand for next year.

(PoA, Ch1)

They win 700 galleons, spend 7 of them on a new wand for Ron and "most of it" on a long family trip to Egypt. Sure, I can understand wanting to visit Bill, but if they're strapped for cash, I'd expect they won't go all out on the trip, go for slightly cheaper lodging, or stay there for fewer days, maybe go to fewer restaurants — there are ways to go on a budget vacation. This economic decision makes no sense.

But what this shows us is that the Weasleys live paycheck to paycheck, not because Arthur isn't paid enough — they don't know how to save money.

Bill & Charlie don't live at home, and since CoS, all their other kids are at Hogwarts all year. The amount of money Arthur & Molly would need to pay for food during the year is much lower compared to when all their kids are there. So, I assume, they would have leftover money since they aren't feeding as many heads. Even since Bill & Charlie left home, they should have had more money to put aside, even just a few sickles a month, that, over time, can become a magnificent amount of money — and yet, they don't. Their vault is near empty when we see it.

They have land they can farm and sell products from (they have an orchard, they own):

“Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry,” said Ron. “Come on — three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play. . . . You can try out the Wronski Feint. . . .”

(GoF, Ch10)

He spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys’ orchard

(HBP, Ch6)

They can rent out parts of their yard, and Arthur gets plenty of other perks from his job besides his salary (bribery):

“I like Ludo,” said Mr. Weasley mildly. “He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble — a lawnmower with un- natural powers — I smoothed the whole thing over.”

(GoF, Ch5)

And seems to be well-connected within the Ministry. Enough that everyone important knows him by name, and he is in a position to write laws:

“Well, dear, I think you’ll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if — er — he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth. . . . There’s a loophole in the law, you’ll find. . . . As long as he wasn’t intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn’t—” “Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!” shouted Mrs. Weasley. “Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren’t intending to fly!”

(CoS, Ch3)

Arthur's position in the ministry is clearly more influential than the books lead us to believe. (I have some headcanons about that, but that's maybe for a different post). They have avenues they can earn money from, and would reasonably be able to save at least a little every month, especially after Bill and Charlie left home. We see Fred and George can save up much more than the Weasleys seem to have over a few years without having a stable job like their dad:

“We’ll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts,” said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money [...] “Boys,” said Mr. Weasley under his breath, “I don’t want you betting. . . . That’s all your savings. . . . Your mother —”

(GoF, Ch7)

But the Weasleys have an empty bank vault:

Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys’ vault, but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened. There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon.

(CoS, Ch4)

This is a vault of people who don't know how to save money, but more than that, this, to me, looks like a vault of people who are used to operating in debt.

When they go shopping, Molly takes everything out of the vault:

Mrs. Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag.

(CoS, Ch4)

And it's enough to buy everything 4 kids need for school for a whole year, btw. Sure, the robes are second-hand, but Harry always takes out a bunch of galleons. It's either everything is really cheap, way cheaper than it should be, and Harry carries around way too much money, or the Weasleys just always operate on debt.

As in, the single galleon is not have enough to actually buy everything, and Molly had to basically promise shops she'd pay them back later, basically paying with money she doesn't have. This could explain the Weasleys not having any emergency funds, since they're always running after various debts they owe.

And we know the Wizarding World allows people to make promises over debts, even the goblins:

A gang of them [goblins] cornered him [Bagman] in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn’t enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He’s lost everything gambling. Hasn’t got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?” “How?” said Harry. “He put a bet on you, mate,” said Fred. “Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins.”

(GoF, Ch37)

The goblins were willing to take Bagman's word he'd pay them back with his bet on Harry — it's very possible shops allow this too, especially if not everyone is carrying galleons everywhere. Say, even if you have money in your vault, but you only took out enough for X you wanted to buy, the shop could write your name down and what yoy owe for you to come by and pay them later (It makes sense for their society, that is very small and getting away with such a debt is hard and seems to be a very trusting of promises and other's words. The whole betting with Ludo thing was solely based on slips of paper and Bagman's word, so I can see something like this being common for them. After all, Wizarding Britain has the population of a very small town).

I still think they're bad with money, since, if debts are the problem, I'd use some of the 700 galleon prize money to get a headstart on that, but I think the Wealseys are comfortable living with a certain amount of debt. They're used to it.

As for the broom, that might've been on a day they got the salary/didn't have many debts to pay that month. The food at Grimmauld the summer before fifth year might not have been paid for by Arthur, which allowed them to have fewer debts and therefore the money for a broom.

At least, that's my headcanon/theory about it. They are poor not because of Arthur’s job, they could've made it work better — they are just bad at managing the funds and other resources at their disposal + got into a bunch of debts due to this tendency to not manage their funds properly.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Harry Potter is Really Magically Powerful

So, in continuation to this post, and my desire to show some love to Harry James Potter, this post is dedicated to showing how magically powerful Harry actually is in the books — which is insanely powerful. Harry doesn't think of himself as a great wizard, but he is — definitely powerful enough to be Voldemort's equal (and Dumbledore's for that matter).

Under the cut are some quotes from the books that prove this.

(Edit: this post doesn't include all quotes I have backing this, just a few I found interesting when I wrote it. It's also mostly limited to books 1-5 since these are the ones I compiled notes from when writing this post)

Accidental Magic

Let's start with Harry's childhood accidental magic. Tom was considered prodigious for being able to steal things with magic and make animals obey him intentionally. Neville, as a late bloomer, bounced when thrown, which is the bare minimum of childhood accidental magic young witches and wizards should be doing.

Now he came to think about it…every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry…chased by Dudley’s gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach…dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he’d managed to make it grow back…and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn’t he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn’t he set a boa constrictor on him?

(Philosopher's Stone, page 44)

Harry has:

Apparated out of Dudley's reach when in danger to get away - advanced magic only allowed to practice from the age of 16!

Growing back all his hair from not liking the bad haircut.

Disappearing the glass of the Boa Constrictor case and leashing it

not even when he’d had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he’d somehow turned his teacher’s wig blue.

(Philosopher's Stone, page 84)

4. Turning his teacher's hair blue.

We see Harry is capable of apparition, transfiguration, and various charms at a level that is considered prodigious. Harry was incredibly advanced as a child, according to his feats of magic before even knowing magic was real. And while he wasn't as intentional as Tom or Lily, he was aware enough to know that odd things happened when he was "furious or upset" that the odd things responded to him.

Intuitive Casting

I wrote later in this post about this, but I do want to write a whole essay about how magic works in the Wizarding world, but like, really in short, emotion and intention matter in magic. A lot.

And we see Harry make use of this fact to great effect. Using spells with intention to change the way they behave, and they work for him because of how magically prodigious he is.

Harry raised his own wand. “Protego!” Snape staggered; his wand flew upward, away from Harry — and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his — a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner. . . . A greasy-haired teenager sat alone in a dark bedroom, pointing his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies. . . . A girl was laughing as a scrawny boy tried to mount a bucking broomstick — “ENOUGH!” Harry felt as though he had been pushed hard in the chest; he took several staggering steps backward, hit some of the shelves covering Snape’s walls and heard something crack. Snape was shaking slightly, very white in the face.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 591)

This is from the last of Harry's and Snape's Occlumancy lessons. What's interesting here is that from Snape's words, it seems the protego spell isn't supposed to work like that. Harry is magically powerful enough to make protego (shield charm) to defend himself from Legilamancy, turn the Legilamancy onto Snape, and disarm Snape.

No wonder Snape is shocked; it really isn't supposed to work. Unless you're Harry Potter, that is.

He did say in their first lesson that the rules of magic don't seem to apply to Harry.

“Reparo!” hissed Snape, and the jar sealed itself once more. “Well, Potter . . . that was certainly an improvement. . . .” Panting slightly, Snape straightened the Pensieve in which he had again stored some of his thoughts before starting the lesson, almost as though checking that they were still there. “I don’t remember telling you to use a Shield Charm . . . but there is no doubt that it was effective. . . .”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 591)

What I marked here is the fact in all their occlumancy lessons, even the first, Snape always placed a few memories in the pensive. He chose memories he didn't want Harry to see and place them there.

Okay... so why is that a big deal?

Snape repeatedly belittles Harry's magical skills, and yet, he fears Harry would turn the Legilimency connection back on him. Legilemancy, as Snape explained, is no easy skill:

“Only Muggles talk of ‘mind reading.’ The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter . . . or at least, most minds are. . . .” He smirked. “It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly...”

(Order of the Phoenix, pages 350-351)

As such, he doesn't expect Harry to be capable of it. But that’s a lie. He clearly thinks Harry is skilled enough to be a threat in this situation. That Harry just might be able to turn this around and glimpse his own memories, which is no easy feat.

And Snape is many things, but stupid isn't one of them. If he thinks Harry is uniquely magically capable of this, then Harry probably is. Especially considering how much Snape hates Harry and how much he'd rather think he's stupid, useless, and unskilled.

“SHE KILLED SIRIUS!” bellowed Harry. “SHE KILLED HIM — I’LL KILL HER!” And he was off, scrambling up the stone benches. People were shouting behind him but he did not care. The hem of Bellatrix’s robes whipped out of sight ahead and they were back in the room where the brains were swimming. . . . She aimed a curse over her shoulder. The tank rose into the air and tipped. Harry was deluged in the foul-smelling potion within. The brains slipped and slid over him and began spinning their long, colored tentacles, but he shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!” and they flew into the air away from him. Slipping and sliding he ran on toward the door.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 809)

Okay, so can we talk about this Levitation Charm? Please?

Like, get this, he uses Wingardium Leviosa, like a shield charm that sends multiple magical projectiles away from him. This isn't how this charm works, but it is if you're Harry Potter. (again, this is that intention I mentioned that is different from how the spell should work).

The point is that Harry is magically powerful enough to bend the way spells are meant to work to fit his will and situation.

And when Voldemort possesses him at the end of the fight in Order of the Phoenix:

He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature’s began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape — And when the creature spoke, it used Harry’s mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move. . . . “Kill me now, Dumbledore. . . .” Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again. . . . “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. . . .

(Order of the Phoenix, page 816)

Harry kicks Voldemort out.

As I mentioned, I have a whole theory I'm drafting about magical theory and how magic works in the Wizarding World, but emotion, as Harry describes in this scene, is part of it. Emotion drives childhood accidental magic. Emotion is required to cast the Patronus charm and any of the unforgivable. Because of how emotion is tied to magic in this world, this instance is Harry's magic kicking Voldemort in his full power out of his mind.

Which is an impressive feat of magic.

(Edit: Made a whole post dedicated to Harry's intuitive magic here)

Advanced Charmwork

“Oh — yeah —” said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. “Expecto patrono — no, patronum — sorry — expecto patronum, expecto patronum —” Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. “Did you see that?” said Harry excitedly. “Something happened!”

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 238)

This is the first time Harry cast a Patronus Charm. On his very first try of this complex charm, most adult wizards fail at — he succeeds. It isn't a perfect casting. His happy memory isn't happy enough, but the problem isn't Harry's skill or magic.

The fact he succeeded in casting it at all with how crap his life has been up to this point is a testament to his magical talent.

Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before. He flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed “Crucio!” Bellatrix screamed. The spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had — she was already on her feet again, breathless, no longer laughing.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 810)

Harry, at age fifteen, casts the Cruciatus Curse for the first time. An advanced piece of dark magic that is tricky to cast. Sure, it wasn't the best cast Crucio, but it did work.

It did land.

It worked enough for Bellatrix to stop laughing and start taking Harry seriously.

Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak, pointed it at the old goblin, and whispered, for the first time in his life, “Imperio!” A curious sensation shot down Harry’s arm, a feeling of tingling, warmth that seemed to flow from his mind, down the sinews and veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast.

(Deathly Hallows, page 452)

Like with the Cruciatus Curse, Harry succeeds in the Imperius curse on his first try (and the second try that happens immediately after). In general, Harry learns to cast most spells (even the advanced ones) incredibly quickly — like, on his first try. That's insane!

We see it with simple spells, too:

Harry, didn’t you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we played Hufflepuff in that storm?” “Hermione did it,” said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, “Impervius!”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 379)

Harry manages to cast the Impervius Charm on his first try after he learned it by seeing Hermione cast it once, almost two years before. That's impressive. When Harry doesn't overthink his magic, he usually does better. Casting complex spells easily (more of this here).

As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, “Crucio!” The Death Eater was lifted off his feet. He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then, with a crunch and a shattering of glass, he smashed into the front of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the floor. “I see what Bellatrix meant,” said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, “you need to really mean it.”

(Deathly Hollows, page 502)

And he gets better over time, both with the Cruciatus Curse, as we see here, and his fully corporeal Patronus, which is considered an unbelievable feat for a fifteen-year-old (and even for most adults):

“Your Patronus had a clearly defined form? I mean to say, it was more than vapor or smoke?” “Yes,” said Harry, feeling both impatient and slightly desperate, “it’s a stag, it’s always a stag.” “Always?” boomed Madam Bones. “You have produced a Patronus before now?” “Yes,” said Harry, “I’ve been doing it for over a year —” “And you are fifteen years old?” “Yes, and —” “You learned this at school?” “Yes, Professor Lupin taught me in my third year, because of the —” “Impressive,” said Madam Bones, staring down at him, “a true Patronus at that age . . . very impressive indeed.”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 141)

I agree, Madam Bones, Harry is impressive and is Voldemort's equal magically. Harry isn't just Expelliarmos. he's clever and talented and very magically capable with every spell he tries his hand in.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Except for the fact, in books, I assume Lucius Malfoy, specifically, isn't on the Wizengamot because of this line, which states Lucius wasn't in Harry's trial in front of the Wizengamot:

“The Minister was just telling me about your lucky escape, Potter,” drawled Mr. Malfoy. “Quite astonishing, the way you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes. . . . Snakelike, in fact . . .”

(OotP)

But, bar that, yeah, this seems about right. I think the Malfoys still have these ties regardless of Wizengamot seating. The Ministry is pretty open to bribery, after all...

hi op!! hope you're doing well. genuine question, but do you think lucius pays his taxes? he makes public donations and associates with the ministry to a rather personal extent that i imagine he at least forks over some to whatever department at the MoM handles taxes but he does strike me as the person who'd at least find ways to evade being taxed (writing off business dealings as personal purchases to avoid getting taxed for them, donating to charity to get a write-off for the money, having some under the table deals so what taxes he has to pay for wiltshire are rather minimized) but what do you think?

Now I'm thinking about how taxes work in the wizarding world.

Okay, so one of the interesting things about HP is that pure-blood wizards are sort of stuck in the 1700s. There are a few aesthetic/fashion details from the 1800s, but in terms of tech level and the way the world is set up, we're still pre-industrial revolution. Which makes sense! The wizards never had an industrial revolution, and split away from the muggle world in the late 1600s.

(Phillip Pullman was also doing a psuedo 1700s-1800s thing for his children's fantasy series at around the same time. Cannot prove that JKR has any knowledge of His Dark Materials, but another English author writing a similar kind of book? Stealth-setting a book in the 1700s isn't such an out-there choice.)

That means a lot of the issues people have with the HP world building are really just issues with... life in the 1700s. Why is there no mental health care? 1700s. Why is the Hogwarts curriculum so weird? 1700s. Why is slavery okay? 1700s. Why is there no drinking age, and you can just purchase drugs (love potion) over the counter? 1700s.

In a similarly 1700s way, the Wizarding World seems to be composed of semi-autonomous fiefdoms, which report back to the Ministry of Magic. On paper, the Ministry has has control over Hogwarts, St. Mungos, the various pure-blood estates. Whether or not that's that's totally true... I mean the Ministry tries and fails to take over Hogwarts in Book 5, and in Book 2 they clearly *try* to prosecute the Malfoys for holding dark contraband, but never get very far.

Here's what I would do, if I were writing something political based in the Harry Potter universe. The Wizengamot seems to be the oldest ruling body (its name is a pun on the Wittengamot, which is from the 7th century.) So probably those seats are inherited (House of Lords style) possibly with a magical component involved. New members can be added, but only by existing members voting them in. The Wizengamot serves as the High Court (as we see - more normal cases are processed by the Council of Magical Law, and Arthur is really wrong-footed when he hears Harry is getting a *Wizengamot* trial.)

They also probably have some sort of pass/veto power, and the power to elect/replace a Minister of Magic. (the position was "offered" to Dumbledore multiple times, but he turned it down. So he's definitely not campaigning in a general election.) I doubt they actually *write* laws - that seems to be handled by the more bureaucratic-flavored Ministry members like Arthur and Percy, who do *not* sit on the Wizengamot.

I'd also have it so that taxes were handled in a more 1700s style. There'd be a lot of sales tax, which the Ministry would be able to enforce because I'm pretty sure they they oversee food production. There would also be a fee for the various Ministry-run procedures like booking overseas portkeys (and legal-social functions? the officiant at Dumbledore's funeral and Fleur's wedding is pretty Ministry coded.) "Pay a fine" seems to be a pretty common punishment in this world - which isn't a tax, but definitely a way for the Ministry to make money. I wonder if people like Ludo Bagman *bought* his position. It would be very 1700s of him.

Then there's property tax, and this is where the the old pure-blood families on the Wizangamot come in. I think the Ministry presents a budget to the Wizangamot, and *they* make up the difference, among themselves. At which point yes of course Lucius finds ways to weasel out of paying if he doesn't like the current minister, if he doesn't like the deal he's getting, if he's just feeling pissy that day, whatever. But at the end of the day, they collect their own taxes from the various spheres they control.

Now we're getting into headcanons, but I think the Malfoy money comes from primarily being landlords. At *very least,* Malfoy Manor has a magical satellite village (a la Hogsmeade or Ottery St. Catchpole) that they just own and probably low-key police. (they probably also just own a chunk of Wiltshire.) I also highly, highly doubt that the Malfoys gave up all their ties to the muggle world post Statue of Secrecy. If every new Muggle Prime Minister has a meeting with the Minister of Magic, then... I bet every time Lloyds of London gets a new CEO, Lucius Malfoy shows up to say, "We get 1.5% off the top. My bankers will be in touch." Goblins don't care about the Ministry's laws even slightly, and there's got to be an exchange rate if Hermione's parents can show up to Diagon Alley and buy her books.

All of the old pureblood families are going to have their own *thing,* their own under-the table agreements and sweetheart deals. The Blacks strike me as being big into shipping, probably because they're so based in *London.* But yeah, at least to me, this is the sort of thing that gels with the universe that we see.

(Hogwarts and St. Mungo's would be funded the same way, on a smaller scale. A huge part of St. Mungo's budget just seems to be the Malfoys. And Hogwarts has a board of governors who under normal circumstances raise money and make decisions on how to run the school... but they don't seem especially powerful these days. I'll bet it's because whatever endowment Hogwarts has/whatever funds Dumbledore has at his disposal *are* enough to run it... which is why Dumbledore can do whatever he wants, and becomes an almost independent political entity.)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Dumbledore is a little full of himself

Like, I read Tales of Beedle the Bard, and I was struck by how Dumbledore comments on his own cleverness and knowledge in his notes incredibly often:

This prejudice eventually died out in the face of overwhelming evidence that some of the world’s most brilliant wizards(3) were, to use the common phrase, “Muggle-lovers”. [...] 3 Such as myself.

(Albus Dumbledore on “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”)

I think I may say, without vanity, that both my Fountain and my Hill performed the parts allotted to them with simple goodwill. Alas, that the same could not be said of the rest of the cast.

(Albus Dumbledore on “The Fountain of Fair Fortune”)

Even I, Albus Dumbledore, would find it easiest to refuse the Invisibility Cloak; which only goes to show that, clever as I am, I remain just as big a fool as anyone else.

(Albus Dumbledore on “The Tale of the Three Brothers”)

The guy can hardly talk about anything without talking about how smart and wise and brilliant he is. Like, no humility whatsoever.

In the books, everyone keeps singing his praises like Dumbledore can do no wrong and the only one who keeps saying Dumbledore can be wrong is Harry. And even then, in Harry's limbo vision of King's Cross, which I don't think is really Dumbledore, it's telling Harry envisions him saying something like this:

“And you knew this? You knew — all along?” “I guessed. But my guesses have usually been good,” said Dumbledore happily

(DH, Ch35)

Dumbledore doesn't speak to Harry all that often throughout the series, with book 6 being the one he interacts with him the most. And we see that even in conversations with people, Dumbledore loves to hear how wise and great he is. When he says "I might be mistaken" it's with the tone of "I'm right and everyone else is wrong". Which is usually the case often enough, yes (though not always), but he does it a lot, and I found it interesting how often he uses this phrasing and how smug he seems about it:

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers — “Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!” (GOF)

“I may be wrong,” said Dumbledore pleasantly, “but I am sure that under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case? Isn’t that the policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones?” he continued, addressing the witch in the monocle. (OotP)

“Payment?” said Harry. “You’ve got to give the door something?” “Yes,” said Dumbledore. “Blood, if I am not much mistaken.” (HBP)

Dumbledore uses this phrasing when he knows what he is saying is correct. He is saying it not because he thinks he might actually be wrong. When he actually thinks he is wrong, he makes excuses and tries to reason why the decision he made was actually reasonable at the time:

“Harry, I owe you an explanation,” said Dumbledore. “An explanation of an old man’s mistakes. For I see now that what I have done, and not done, with regard to you, bears all the hallmarks of the failings of age. Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young ... and I seem to have forgotten lately...”

(OotP)

He is incapable of saying: "I was wrong, it happens, let's move on," it has to come with reasoning or an excuse. He blames it on his age, not that he made a wrong judgment call. This isn't humbleness.

Dumbledore is a character who wants to be humble but just isn't. he considers modesty a virtue. Hell, humility is practically his favorite trait Harry possess:

Harry, who could not see any way out of this without flatly lying, nodded but still said nothing. Slughorn beamed at him. “So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond — you were there, then?

(HBP) - Slughorn mentions how Dumbledore appreciates modesty.

The third brother in the story (“the humblest and also the wisest”) is the only one who understands that, having narrowly escaped Death once, the best he can hope for is to postpone their next meeting for as long as possible.

(Albus Dumbledore on “The Tale of the Three Brothers”)

He appreciates being humble and modest and sees it as being wise. He derides Tom for thinking of himself as "special" or "clever" even when it's true (and when he does the same). He loves Harry's modesty, which is really low self-esteem, not modesty. Harry's low self-worth is like the ultimate humbleness in Dumbledore's eyes because he doesn't see it for what it is and he was never humble in his life, so he doesn't really know where the balance between confidence and arrogance is or the line between modesty and low self-worth. I think he honestly doesn't know because he is exceptionally arrogant.

Dumbledore created this image of ineffability around him and it's clear Harry is one of the only people (besides Dumbledore and Aberforth) who knows Dumbledore can make a mistake and he keeps reminding Hermione, Lupin, and literally everyone else of that fact:

“People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore’s judgment. I do; therefore, I trust Severus.” “But Dumbledore can make mistakes,” argued Harry. “He says it himself. And you” — he looked Lupin straight in the eye — “do you honestly like Snape?”

(HBP)

This is all another case of Dumbledore being incapable of practicing what he preaches. He values modesty, but he doesn't seem to be capable of it.

Now, I'm not saying he isn't clever or special, he is. But he is the type of really smart person who looks down on anyone they don't see as intelligent as them. He doesn't see most people as equal to him.

Dumbledore doesn't see most of the Order or Aberforth as his equals. He never did. Elphias Doge kisses his ass, but Dumbledore clearly doesn't share the same level of respect for him. Or for most people, really.

“Elphias Doge mentioned her to us,” said Harry, trying to spare Hermione. “That old berk,” muttered Aberforth, taking another swig of mead. “Thought the sun shone out of my brother’s every office, he did. Well, so did plenty of people, you three included, by the looks of it.” Harry kept quiet. He did not want to express the doubts and uncertainties about Dumbledore that had riddled him for months now. [...] “Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to someone just as bright and talented as he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in.

(DH)

Dumbledore doesn't trust the majority of the Order with anything because he doesn't think they'd be capable of handling it because they're not him. He literally tells them nothing until he has to, keeping them busy guarding a prophecy he knows can't be stolen by a run-of-the-mill Death Eater. He only tells Harry about the Horcruxes because he has no choice but to tell him. Same with Snape — Dumbledore trusts him out of necessity.

Snape and Grindelwald are the only people we see Dumbledore show respect towards their abilities, wisdom, and magic in some capacity.

Like, he calls Sirius clever, but he talks about him as foolish in the same breath. He calls McGonagall wise, but he clearly doesn't think she's wise enough to be told anything or trusted with anything. And while he does speak highly of Harry's courage and humility and though Harry is insanely powerful and with the right training could beat Dumbledore, Dumbledore keeps putting him down when it comes to magical abilities/intelligence compared to himself:

“I’m not upset.” “Harry, you were never a good Occlumens — ”

(HBP) - even though Harry can and does get really good at it once he does it his way.

“I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.”

(HBP)

I find this tendency of Dumbledore to be really interesting. He underestimates people constantly and thinks too highly of himself. and he is very honest about it to people's faces. He keeps talking about how Voldemort’s defenses on his Horcruxes are shit, and how Voldemort is foolish when the curse Voldemort left on the ring is literally killing him at that very moment:

“I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.” These words did nothing to raise Harry’s morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort’s mistake, Harry, Voldemort’s mistake ... Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. ... Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.”

(HBP)

Dumbledore thinking himself so clever, more clever than Voldemort, is what killed him. His arrogant insistence that he's the smartest man in the room killed him. He is undermining Voldemort for mistakes similar to the ones he makes regularly when interacting with Harry. And he's aware of that. He knows he's a hypocrite:

When I discovered it, after all those years, buried in the abandoned home of the Gaunts—the Hallow I had craved most of all, though in my youth I had wanted it for very different reasons—I lost my head, Harry. I quite forgot that it was now a Horcrux, that the ring was sure to carry a curse. I picked it up, and I put it on, and for a second I imagined that I was about to see Ariana, and my mother, and my father, and to tell them how very, very sorry I was . . . “I was such a fool, Harry. After all those years I had learned nothing. I was unworthy to unite the Deadly Hallows. I had proved it time and again, and here was the final proof.”

(DH)

I think Dumbledore's self-awareness is why he wants to like Harry as much as he does. While I don't think Dumbledore knows Harry as well as he thinks he does, what Dumbledore does see is enough for him to imagine Harry in his head as this perfect, virtuous martyr that he wished all his life to portray himself as. He idealizes who he imagines Harry is without fully respecting Harry as his own person with his own abilities.

I just find it interesting that for a character who speaks so highly of humility, he doesn't seem to possess it, and that it ends up being the death of him.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

#theyd have a pissing contest over whose name deserves to come first in the ship name /j via @riddlesmoon

Not even a joke. This is absolutely, 100% accurate Thaise behaviour. (Theo won that particular pissing contest for me, sorry, Blaise)

I love how you portray Theo and Blaise’s relationship in a matter of chance - the grudging respect but also disdain, them hanging out and presumably knowing eachother for years but also being willing to sell eachother for one corn chip. Do you have any additional headcanons on their relationship? Going off your characterizations of them, what are your thoughts on them as a ship? I’m looking forward to seeing more of Blaise in a matter of fate. 🩷

Thank you!

And, well, obviously I have thoughts about them and the Slytherins' dynamic in general. And don't worry, I plan to have Blaise keep appearing in A Matter of Fate. I have a bit of an arc planned for him, but I'm not sure about the exact timeline.

As for their dynamic, we know from JRK that Draco doesn't like Theo, who is "as pure blood as he is" and of similar status but "cleverer", and that Theo dislikes Draco and doesn't like the various cliques in Slyhterin and never felt the need to join one (discussed more here) and that Draco dislikes Theo in turn. Theo is a clever loner, who probably doesn't like most people and doesn't like to attract attention to himself.

We know Blaise is similar, at least, when it comes to his dynamic with Draco, since they don't like each other. I talked about Blaise more here, and from the little we see of his interactions with Draco, it's clear he sees himself as the winner of his and Draco's pissing contest. Blaise thinks himself very clever, capable, and the best, hottest person in every room he is in, who doesn't need cliques.

As such, Blaise and Theo are both more peripheral to the core Slytherin group of their year — Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and perhaps Millicent. This leaves them in a situation in which they probably ended up sharing tables in class and sitting next to each other a lot and hanging out, just by process of elimination.

Also, I think they see each other as more intellectual equals than they see Draco, whom they both seem to look down on (They both look down even more on Crabbe and Goyle, if you ask either Theo or Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle should both not be in Slytherin). That being said, in how I see their relationship, Theo and Blaise aren't exactly friendly:

“I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.”

(HBP, Ch7)

Yeah, Blaise is taunting Malfoy specifically, but I bet he's also glad to have a leg up on Theo. Not to mention he calls Theo "Nott", they are not on a first-name basis, they aren't really friends, but, again, if they want to hang out with a guy in their year who they consider "decent conversation", it's each other.

So, that's kinda how I headcanon their dynamic to be like in the books (and what I wrote into A Matter of Chance).

There is a pissing contest between them too. I like to think every conversation they have has a competitive element to it. Like, every conversation has a "winner" and a "loser". And Theo would be adamant about "winning" with as few words as possible, to prove he doesn't need to "waste words" on Blaise (Theo in A Matter of Chance has learned conversations aren't necessarily a competitive sport, so it's different, but I'm talking about my headcanons for canon). While Blaise seems to be a little more talkative, he would be just as acidic back. And yeah, they would sell each other for one corn chip and consider it a pretty good deal all in all (but then regret not having another kindred spirit to talk to a little bit).

When it comes to shipping them, yeah, I think you (and I) can write some really fun stuff there, so I'm all for it.

I think their relationship would be pretty snarky and banter-heavy, with plenty of snide remarks and not-so-veiled insults. And it would be a competition in a way. Like, they will be "winning" and "losing" conversations and dates and whatnot. And stay on the sidelines and judge everyone else together.

Honestly, I can accept them as a couple in a headcanon for the canon books, like, it doesn't contradict canon. So, we can headcanon Theo came with Blaise to Slughorn's party in HBP.

(I found the name Thaise for them, but I'm not sure how commonly used that is. It's better than Bleo. Or Zabott)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I love how you portray Theo and Blaise’s relationship in a matter of chance - the grudging respect but also disdain, them hanging out and presumably knowing eachother for years but also being willing to sell eachother for one corn chip. Do you have any additional headcanons on their relationship? Going off your characterizations of them, what are your thoughts on them as a ship? I’m looking forward to seeing more of Blaise in a matter of fate. 🩷

Thank you!

And, well, obviously I have thoughts about them and the Slytherins' dynamic in general. And don't worry, I plan to have Blaise keep appearing in A Matter of Fate. I have a bit of an arc planned for him, but I'm not sure about the exact timeline.

As for their dynamic, we know from JRK that Draco doesn't like Theo, who is "as pure blood as he is" and of similar status but "cleverer", and that Theo dislikes Draco and doesn't like the various cliques in Slyhterin and never felt the need to join one (discussed more here) and that Draco dislikes Theo in turn. Theo is a clever loner, who probably doesn't like most people and doesn't like to attract attention to himself.

We know Blaise is similar, at least, when it comes to his dynamic with Draco, since they don't like each other. I talked about Blaise more here, and from the little we see of his interactions with Draco, it's clear he sees himself as the winner of his and Draco's pissing contest. Blaise thinks himself very clever, capable, and the best, hottest person in every room he is in, who doesn't need cliques.

As such, Blaise and Theo are both more peripheral to the core Slytherin group of their year — Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and perhaps Millicent. This leaves them in a situation in which they probably ended up sharing tables in class and sitting next to each other a lot and hanging out, just by process of elimination.

Also, I think they see each other as more intellectual equals than they see Draco, whom they both seem to look down on (They both look down even more on Crabbe and Goyle, if you ask either Theo or Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle should both not be in Slytherin). That being said, in how I see their relationship, Theo and Blaise aren't exactly friendly:

“I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.”

(HBP, Ch7)

Yeah, Blaise is taunting Malfoy specifically, but I bet he's also glad to have a leg up on Theo. Not to mention he calls Theo "Nott", they are not on a first-name basis, they aren't really friends, but, again, if they want to hang out with a guy in their year who they consider "decent conversation", it's each other.

So, that's kinda how I headcanon their dynamic to be like in the books (and what I wrote into A Matter of Chance).

There is a pissing contest between them too. I like to think every conversation they have has a competitive element to it. Like, every conversation has a "winner" and a "loser". And Theo would be adamant about "winning" with as few words as possible, to prove he doesn't need to "waste words" on Blaise (Theo in A Matter of Chance has learned conversations aren't necessarily a competitive sport, so it's different, but I'm talking about my headcanons for canon). While Blaise seems to be a little more talkative, he would be just as acidic back. And yeah, they would sell each other for one corn chip and consider it a pretty good deal all in all (but then regret not having another kindred spirit to talk to a little bit).

When it comes to shipping them, yeah, I think you (and I) can write some really fun stuff there, so I'm all for it.

I think their relationship would be pretty snarky and banter-heavy, with plenty of snide remarks and not-so-veiled insults. And it would be a competition in a way. Like, they will be "winning" and "losing" conversations and dates and whatnot. And stay on the sidelines and judge everyone else together.

Honestly, I can accept them as a couple in a headcanon for the canon books, like, it doesn't contradict canon. So, we can headcanon Theo came with Blaise to Slughorn's party in HBP.

(I found the name Thaise for them, but I'm not sure how commonly used that is. It's better than Bleo. Or Zabott)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I admire your work on theories and essays of harry potter universe!! I want to try to do some analysis on my own. Can you give tips/guides on how do it for first timers? Thanks!!

Thank you so much! 💕

Honestly, the best advice I could give you is to just start writing essays/theories.

Like with any kind of writing, drawing, or any other skills, you just need to start. Figure out how you like to style and structure your posts. How you like to write. How you like to get your evidence across to the reader. And what you find works at first might change over time as you keep writing these kinds of posts, and that's great. Change comes with improvement, and that can only happen if you do it.

If you want more practical advice, I'd suggest starting with a subject you're passionate about that isn't extremely long. A longer essay is harder to write and requires more time, effort, editing, and research, so pick something fun that you'll enjoy writing about, but isn't more than you can chew as your first one.

The second is to outline your post. It's best to create a flow that makes sense and explain things in a way that lead into each other naturally. It helps to know what you want to say before you start writing to ensure the flow would be easy to follow. For that, it's good to have a list of what pieces of evidence you'll need to bring up or what reasoning/speculation you'll need to do, and what assumptions are being made.

If you already know the conclusions you'll be wiring — great, if not — also great because coming up with a theory is just as fun if a different skill than writing the essay. I like to copy all relevant quotes and information to a single location (Notion, usually) and look at all the puzzle pieces together to figure out how they fit together into a cohesive picture. Sometimes, more than one possibility works. Sometimes, you need to keep trying different ideas until something works, and you can't think of a way to contradict your own theory. If you can find a fandom friend to bounce ideas off of, it could be great, but I don't talk through every post with another person (I don't with most of them).

Another thing, which is important to me, but I can't force you to do anything: clearly separate theory, speculation, and headcanon and their different kinds. Saying Theo Nott saw someone die is canon, since he can see Thestrals, it's proven. Saying Harry shows signs of PTSD is an analysis of canon since it's clear from the text, but not outright stated. Saying the trace works on a magical grid is a theory since it takes evidence from canon and comes to conclusions based on it, but it's not confirmed. Saying Snape joined the DE at 16 is speculation; it's plausible, there is some supporting evidence, and nothing contradicts it — but there isn't enough evidence that supports it to really call it a theory. Saying Barty Crouch Jr was in Ravenclaw is a headcanon, since there is no real evidence for or against it. All these categories are stuff I like to include in my essays, but I do my best to keep it clear which is which. For my sake, and for the sake of anyone reading my posts (some posts use only one or two of these categories).

And remember, even if you end up disagreeing with something you wrote in the past a year from now, you can always go back and add a parenthesis with "edit: I disagree with this now, check out this post to explain why" or something like that. You're human. Making mistakes or learning new information that changes your opinion isn't a bad thing, and it's part of any kind of analysis.

But more importantly, have fun. This is a hobby; it's supposed to be fun and come from a place of passion.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

tbh was there ever any evidence (not the movies) that draco had the dark mark in the first place? who is even confirmed to have the mark because i always thought it was an 'inner circle' thing. i guess it's possible that since voldemort was punishing lucius through draco that he could have marked him anyway

Yes. Harry thinks he has the Dark Mark and he explains the evidence pretty well, so I'll let him say it:

“In Madam Malkin’s. She didn’t touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He’s been branded with the Dark Mark.” Ron and Hermione looked at each other. “Well . . .” said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. “I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry,” said Hermione. “He showed Borgin something we couldn’t see,” Harry pressed on stubbornly. “Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it — he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!”

(HBP, Ch7)

And Harry is proven correct about his suspicions regarding Draco; Ron and Hermione are wrong here, so, I think, as the readers, we are meant to assume Harry is correct about the mark too.

It also makes sense for Voldemort to mark Draco. Voldemort is currently punishing Lucius, humiliating him, using his Malfoy Manor, etc, for his failure in the ministry in OotP (which, I think, was already a test/punishment for Lucius, but that's a whole other matter). Draco's whole mission to kill Dumbledore in HBP is another punishment for Lucius and Narcissa — an impossible task that, should Draco fail, they all may die, be tortured, or face other consequences of Voldemort's choice. He is forcing them all into a very uncomfortable position, and he is having the time of his life.

Marking Draco would give Voldemort more control over Draco, and, in extension, more control over Lucius and Narcissa and a further punishment to them both.

So I think it's very likely Draco was marked between books 5 and 6, when he was sixteen (like Regulus, who was marked in 16:

and when he was sixteen years old, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so proud, so happy to serve . . .

(DH, Ch10)

Who is a bit of parallel to Draco. The Death Eater marked young, who got in too far, got scared by what he had to do, and tried to back out too late).

And I think the books treat him as if he is marked — we don't see Crabbe and Goyle or other Death Eater kids get missions, or have Voldemort know much of anything about them. Draco being marked as part of the punishment for his parents makes more sense. Also:

“The Dark Lord is very angry,” repeated Snape quietly. “He failed to hear the prophecy. You know as well as I do, Narcissa, that he does not forgive easily.” She [Narcissa] crumpled, falling at his feet, sobbing and moaning on the floor. “My only son . . . my only son . . .” “You should be proud!” said Bellatrix ruthlessly. “If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!”

(HBP, Ch2)

Bellatrix says Narcissa should be proud of Draco and his service to the Dark Lord, it sounds like she is talking about Draco being marked. Bellatrix's sentence here makes less sense if Draco is equal to a random unmarked snatcher. The honor is to be marked and be a real Death Eater:

He knew who this was, Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who was permitted to wear Death Eater robes [...] “No,” snarled Greyback, “I haven’t got—they say he’s using the Malfoy’s place as a base. We’ll take the boy there.”

Not just work for Voldemort. It's a sort of status. Greyback is permitted to wear the robes, to have that status — but not the mark, that's more exclusive.

So, yeah, there is evidence, it is never outright stated, just heavily implied, and it seems to be the intended reading.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hello!! So, I saw an argument about Harry's uhm looks? I guess. A lot of people basically headcanon him as someone buff. I digress, I'm part of the uhm more realistic? group. Harry's been starved and abused his entire life. I doubt he'll gain the weight and the height everyone else wants him to have. Years later. maybe. But in 6th year? While on the run? 3 years after the war? Doubt. do you think he would be able to get super tall and buff? Also, do you think its possible he used the same methods the dursleys used to punish himself?

I mean, anyone can headcanon whatever they want, but, I'll try to explain via quotes, what Harry's height and muscle situation is likely to be. I believe the reasons some headcanon him as buff and tall are:

Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, he pulled out his wand.

(HBP)

He lifts Mundungus by his throat with one hand easily, and he practices Quidditch like 3 times a week at least. This implies that Harry has some muscle on him.

And he's mentioned to be James' height when he's 17:

James was exactly the same height as Harry.

(DH)

Which was supposedly tall, according to both, Harry:

tall and untidy-haired like Harry, the smoky, shadowy form of James Potter

(GoF)

And Voldemort:

the tall black-haired man in his glasses

(DH)

Now, let's put Harry's height in the context of other character heights. Particularly of interest are characters taller than him, to get an image of how tall is "tall." And some shorter characters to help figure out his exact height.

Sirius, Ron, Voldemort, and Dumbledore are all taller than Harry and exceptionally tall in general. They are each likely to be over 6 feet tall, making Harry likely less than 6' (183 cm). Supporting this is this quote:

Once the painful transformation was complete he was more than six feet tall, and from what he could tell from his well-muscled arms, powerfully built.

(DH)

This means Harry is less than 6' and isn't super buff. But, I want to get to his specific height, because I have a lot to say about character heights.

Like, Dumbledore is probably the tallest character who isn't a half-giant because he's towering over everyone except Hagrid and Maxime. In book 6, he's literally taller than all the inferi in the cave:

Dumbledore was on his feet again, pale as any of the surrounding Inferi, but taller than any too,

(HBP)

And Abeforth (who's as tall as Dumbledore) is taller than Ron, who's one of the other tallest characters in the books:

Ron looked slightly sick. Aberforth stood up, tall as Albus, and suddenly terrible in his anger and the intensity of his pain.

(DH)

Making the Dumbledores really tall. My estimate is around a whooping 6'5 (195 cm).

Sirius is mentioned to be taller than Snape, and the tallest Marauder:

said Sirius, standing up. He was rather taller than Snape

(OotP)

To Sirius’s right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter

(DH)

A head, in height, should be around one foot (30.48 cm). As the average height of a man in England in 1998 was around 5'8 (174.4 cm), this would make Sirius around 6'2 (188 cm), therefore taller than average, and Pettigrew around 5'2 (157 cm), shorter than the average, but still both at a reasonable height.

Ron is almost as tall as the twins at 11:

“Shut up,” said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

(PS)

And, just, really tall in general:

He stepped forward. Not as tall as Ron, he had to crane his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball.

(OotP)

So I estimate Ron at around 6'3 (190 cm).

Voldemort who grew up on war rations is still described very consistently as tall, regardless of childhood malnourishment:

He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale

(HBP)

tall, pale, dark-haired, and handsome — the teenage Voldemort.

(HBP)

Taller than Bellatrix (who's taller than Harry). Voldemort is also considerably taller than Pettigrew, as he has to bend to reach Pettigrew's arm when both are standing:

Voldemort bent down and pulled out Wormtail’s left arm; he forced the sleeve of Wormtail’s robes up past his elbow

(GoF)

I usually place Voldemort at around the same height as Ron, so 6'3 (190 cm).

Fred and George, though, are mentioned to be shorter and stockier, more similar to Molly's build:

Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky.

(GoF)

but are mentioned to shrink to become Harry in book 7:

Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking

(DH)

I actually place the twins around 6' (183 cm) so they could be taller than Harry, but shorter than Ron. The twins are likely taller than Charlie.

Bellatrix, as a woman, should also be shorter on average, but considering how tall Sirius is mentioned to be, it appears the Blacks are just considerably taller than the average, even the women:

a tall dark woman with heavy-lidded eyes, who had stood at her trial and proclaimed her continuing allegiance to Lord Voldemort

(OotP)

She was taller than he was, her long black hair rippling down her back, her heavily lidded eyes disdainful as they rested upon him;

(DH)

So I place her at around 6' (183 cm) as well, as an exceptionally tall lady.

So where does this place Harry?

During the first 4 books, Harry is short and small for his age. When he's 13, he and Hermione are bit shorter than Pettigrew:

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione.

(PoA)

(Ron, noticeably, is taller than Pettigrew at 13)

So, so Harry at 13 was around 5'1 (155 cm). And so was Hermione.

Then in between books 4 and 5 puberty kicks in and probably causes a slight growth spurt that makes him more attractive to girls around him:

He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time.

(OotP)

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the last two of whom gave Harry airy, overly friendly greetings that made him quite sure they had stopped talking about him a split second before. He had more important things to worry about, however:

(OotP)

And then he has another, larger growth spurt between books 5 and 6:

“You’re like Ron,” she [Molly] sighed, looking him up and down. “Both of you look as though you’ve had Stretching Jinxes put on you. I swear Ron’s grown four inches since I last bought him school robes.

(HBP)

“And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer either,” Hermione finished, ignoring Ron. “I’m tall,” said Ron inconsequentially. [Ron is objectively correct]

(HBP)

Post book 6 growth spurt, we know Harry is below 6' (183 cm) but close enough to 6' to be above the average of 5'8 (174.4 cm) and be considered "tall", and grow "about a foot" after said growth spurt.

I personally place his height at 5'11 (180 cm), to make all of the above make sense.

And while he is physically fit, he is likely very thin from years of malnourishment. So, he likely has some muscle on him, but he's very lean with little to no fat during his Hogwarts years (he'd likely gain more weight as an adult living peacefully with regular meals). So, Harry in the books isn't what I'd call buff, but he has some muscle and can definitely throw a punch. As he grows older post-canon, I think he could get buff if he set his mind to it.

(I actually have notes about the height of a bunch of other characters. Hermione is shorter than Harry and Ron, but noticeably taller than Ginny (5'1 or 155 cm - edited Ginny's height since I think she's shorter than the former estimate of 5'2. Bellatrix says “Very well — take the smallest one,” with Hermione and Luna (who's also short) present, so Ginny is really short) and probably around 5'4 (162 cm) by book 7. Draco is said to be slightly taller than Harry "Harry did not dare look directly at Draco, but saw him obliquely; a figure slightly taller than he was" - DH, placing Draco at around 6' (183 cm))

For your other question, no, I don't think Harry self-harms, definitely not in any way related to the Dursleys, but that's a different post because I went off about heights. (Edit: There is something to write about Harry not eating when upset, which contradicts my prior statement, but if I'm talking about it, it's getting its own post)