#James and Harry would have a rivalry

[hollowdeath]

I LOVEEEEE YOUR HARRY FICSSSS 😭😭🙏🙏 I literally cannot get enough, your harry fics are amazing ❤️

I was wondering if you'd be willing to do an enemies to lovers type thing with dark!harry, similar to the one you did with "the dark side" fic, but maybe they're rivals due to quittich, yet they both just have tension they don't know gow to handle, so one day they just kind of get so worked up in an argument they start making out. (P.S. I loved the thing you did where harry came from y/n saying he hated him 😫😫 also the part where harry gets turned on from y/n scolding him. If possible, could you incorporate that in there? Thank you smm ❤️❤️) I hope it's not too much trouble ❤️❤️❤️

thank you so much for requesting this, i hope you enjoy!!!

pairing: slytherin!harry james potter x gryffindor!fem!reader (18+)

summary: you and harry have been quidditch rivals ever since you've become captain of the gryffindor team. the tension between you two rises until one of you needs bandaged up by the other, leading to you making a discovery about the school's bad boy that leaves you baffled and insanely curious.

cw: smut!!! angst, mentions of blood, degradation kink, sub!harry x dom!reader, dry humping

word count: 7k

it was your final year at hogwarts and, more importantly to you, it was your last year as the gryffindor quidditch captain. you took major pride in your status as captain, and dedicated a majority of your time outside of class to leading practice, coming up with new plays, and making sure that annoyingly good slytherin captain kept his distance from you and your team.

harry potter was well known at hogwarts years before he even came through. the boy who lived, or whatever. you had never paid him much mind to begin with because you knew he reveled in his own notoriety.

see, potter wasn't just the slytherin quidditch captain. he was the most vile, egotistical, disrespectful wizard you'd ever had the misfortune of interacting with. on top of thinking he was some kind of miracle that blessed everyone's presence wherever he went, he specifically treated you worse than the mud on his shoes. not just because of your status as gryffindor captain, but because you were the only student who wasn't afraid to stand your ground with him. had it not been for quidditch practice 4 times a week and games every friday, you would've done everything you could to keep your distance. however, things didn't work out that way, and you ended up forming a sort of rivalry with the boy that the student body found all too exciting.

it started last year when potter and his friends made a dumb poster and hung it up in every boys bathroom: a drawing of someone falling off their broom with your face printed out and glued to it, along with harry's whose drawing had just knocked you off victoriously. they had put "[y/l/n] vs potter: this friday at 6" at the top like it was some kind of promotional advert. and, as much as you hated it, it actually somewhat worked.

from that game on, the other kids began picking sides every week to see who would win. the crowd turnout became the largest it had been in your entire time at hogwarts. some came in support of potter or were otherwise afraid of what would happen if they didn't, while a good amount of students started to become your biggest supporters the more you showed your skills in the game.

see, you didn't just become captain by having a recognizable last name unlike some other people; you had been playing quidditch since you could fly from a young age, and made the team every single year before finally being nominated for the position by your own teammates. you made a promise to them that day that slytherin would no longer be known as the winning house, and that they finally had some competition to sweat over.

and sweat they did. your first game as captain was an easy win, and so were the next 3. it wasn't until the slytherin players learned they actually had to try in order to win now that they began winning every other game as well. that's where harry stepped in.

harry was someone you always tried to avoid during your years at hogwarts. you didn't socialize with many slytherins to begin with as you found some of them to be rather grating and obnoxious, but especially not with slytherins like potter. it was students like him that gave the entire house a bad name. everyone thought he was so charming besides his cocky attitude, but you saw through his act right away. you think that's partially why he singled you out of anyone as his target.

once he set his sights on you, it was impossible to avoid him. it's like he had some sort of tracker on you the way he always managed to pop up in the most random of places simply to upset you. not that you'd be surprised, as along with harry's sickening bravado came his disregard for moral ethics. if there was a way to cheat, lie, or steal your way into getting what you wanted, potter was already on it. he knew no bounds when it came to his little schemes either. from stealing your game plays and sharing them with his teammates to spreading rumors about your players to playing clearly illegal moves during the game only for nobody to notice but you, potter seemed to revel in the rivalry everyone pushed onto you.

you hated giving him the satisfaction of breaking your cold demeanor, but sometimes his antics pushed you too far. he knows how protective you've become over your teammates, so he'll target them when he can't get to you, especially the younger ones. this is where you've blown your cover quite a few times as you can't stand seeing your first years cower in fear anytime they see potter. yelling, spitting, nearly getting physical with him on several occasions when he ignores your threats to leave the kids alone or else. it's as if he rather enjoys getting such a rise out of you, and not just to fuel the public rivalry.

today was your last day of practice before the last, biggest game of the semester. your team knew to meet at the field at 5 pm ready to go as you had plenty of plays you wanted to perfect before playing against the slytherins tomorrow night. practice had only just started with a few flyers in the air before you heard a commotion of voices coming from behind you.

you turned and saw harry leading his team onto the field, laughing obnoxiously and pointing at your teammates in mockery. you swear you felt steam coming from your ears when you told your team to wait and let you handle this.

you stormed up to potter with an accusatory pointed finger. "you. get the hell off my field now before i call mcgonagall out here, potter." you spit at him before pushing his chest. harry takes the push and just laughs, shaking his head at you.

"[y/l/n], i'm not sure how many professors have to tell you that this field isn't yours before you let us use it for practice as well," he said with a smirk, changing his grip on his broomstick and letting it rest on his shoulder. you narrow your eyes at him and cross your arms over your chest. "you know damn well we practice here every week at this time, and yet you're never able to find a time outside of that to spend with your own team. curious, isn't it?" you ask him sarcastically, your tone biting.

harry's smirk drops slightly. "are you suggesting that i'm trying to sabotage your chance at winning the season tomorrow? because i'd never do such a thing, [y/l/n], and it hurts that you think of me in that way." he responds just as sarcastically. a few of his players snicker and laugh just behind him, earning a nasty glare from you that has them shut up quickly.

you look back at harry who's waiting for a clever comeback from you, nearly on the edge of his seat to see what you have to say this time. you hate how much he thrives off getting you upset.

"fine. practice, then. you'll need it." you tell harry with a cold tone, giving him a disgusted look up and down. you take a step forward and point your finger back into harry's chest, your faces less than a foot away from each other. "but if you mess with any of my players, even as a joke, i will gut you like a fucking fish." you tell him in a hushed tone. you think you see his pupils dilate slightly, but you were probably mistaken. "got it?"

harry's smirk only grows as he starts backing away slowly. "got it, princess." he laughs, turning to his little group of followers for approval before they run off to the other goal post opposite from your team. the nickname is new, and for some reason it made your stomach drop and heart race like crazy. that potter kid just knew exactly how to get under your skin.

you tried to focus on your own team's plays for the rest of practice, but you could clearly hear harry and his friends saying your name and laughing too often for your comfort. anytime you happened to make eye contact with harry, you made sure to scowl at him and promptly turn your attention away. just his sheer presence made your blood boil and skin crawl.

for the most part there were no issues in the sky, the slytherins mostly kept to their side besides the few times harry's friends were messing around and ended up coming close to a few of your teammates. you scolded them each time, but they would only laugh at you and fly off to tell harry about your outbursts. other than that, you ended up getting a lot accomplished in order to be prepared for the game the next day.

however, towards the end of practice, your teammates were having some difficulty with a new technique you taught them, so you took the time to demonstrate it with another player in the sky. you were just about to start instructing when your teammates started calling out to you frantically. you didn't have enough time to process what they were warning you about before you felt someone fly into you from behind, nearly causing you to fall off your broomstick.

you could feel yourself falling to the ground, but your grip on your broomstick remained tight enough to quickly get it under you just in time to somewhat break your landing. you tumbled to the ground with a pained groan, and heard someone else fall just to your left. you could feel the wind get knocked out of you in the air, so it took a moment for you to properly breathe as you tried to sit up.

your teammates got to you in seconds, asking if you were okay and trying to help you up. that's when the pain set in. standing up-right you could feel your rib cage aching and your shoulder throbbing. "i'm fine, i'm fine," you told everyone, brushing off the grass stains on your clothes. you turned to see who had fallen next to you, and who else would be lying there but harry potter as his slytherin teammates rushed to his aid as well.

they're helping him stand up and you can feel the rage building inside you. you break away from your teammates' grasps and march up to harry as he's wiping the grass stains off his own clothes as well.

"you did that on purpose, you pest." you snap at him. harry looks at you incredulously as he fixes his practice jersey. "are you mad? it was an accident, i wasn't looking where i was going, drama queen." he snaps back, giving you a dirty look up and down. you can feel your jaw clenching and fists balling at your sides. "oh yeah, sure, you just so happened to run into me of all people in the sky. you know, you're such a…"

you pause in your anger noticing a gash on the side of harry's face with blood starting to drip down his cheekbone. harry notices your concern and gives you a confused look. you sigh and instinctively pull down the sleeve of your sweatshirt to hold it against his wound. "now you have a giant cut on your face, for fuck's sake," you tell him, your voice a mix of panic and exasperation. harry winces at your hand making contact with his face, but his eyes grow with concern hearing your panic.

you turn to your team and start guiding harry towards the school. "practice is over, do not be late tomorrow." you announce to them hurriedly, trying to keep your sleeve against harry's injury as you rush him off the field.

harry actually manages to stay quiet on the way to the infirmary despite your anticipation to shush him the entire way for making crude jokes. instead he remains silent and lets you urgently guide him through the empty halls.

once you arrive at the infirmary wing, you notice the entire room is full of people. every bed is taken, ans every nurse is running around frantically from patient to patient. you and harry share a confused look before you roll your eyes and find a nurse between beds. "excuse me, ma'am, i'm sorry to bother but um, potter here was being an idiot and got a cut on his face that just needs to be bandaged quickly." you motion towards harry and feel him give you a nasty look out of your peripheral for calling him an idiot.

the nurse, completely exhausted, sighs and motions towards a room to the side of the check-in station. "look, we are swamped with a potion experiment gone wrong here. if it's just a cut that doesn't need stitches there's a first aid kit in the little room over that way." she tells you quickly before being called away to another patient. you try to intervene but she's already jogging away, leaving you with a bloody harry in your hands. literally.

you sigh, clearly annoyed, and turn to examine harry's cut again. pulling your blood-soaked sleeve away, you see the blood flow still hasn't slowed and decide to just bite your tongue and help harry despite your hatred for him only growing in this situation.

you drag harry towards the little room, opening the door and turning on the lights to reveal the smallest examination room you'd ever seen. you had no idea this was even here, but it only contained a sink, a cot, a locked medicine cabinet, and a first aid kit. you closed the door behind harry and locked it. you grab a few paper towels from next to the sink and walk harry over to the cot. "sit," you command him, practically pushing him with your other hand to sit down.

harry looks up at you softly, way softer than he's ever looked at you. it makes your heart skip a beat but you ignore the feeling quickly. "here," you tell him coldly, handing over the paper towels. "just apply pressure on it while i get the first aid kit."

harry does as he's told and you slowly pull away your sleeve, making a disgusted face at the stains left on the cuff. you sigh and pull your arm back through the sleeve, starting to take off the hoodie altogether. "well, that's ruined," you complain, throwing it to the floor, leaving you in a tiny tank top and workout shorts.

harry's watching you intently, adjusting his glasses and shifting his weight in his seat. you walk to the sink and thoroughly wash your hands in case any blood happened to get on you as well.

opening the first aid kit up you find a tiny bottle of isopropyl alcohol, cotton rounds, and bandages. pouring alcohol on the cotton, you turn to harry and still find him watching you.

you give him a look. "what?" you ask with pinched brows. harry, for once, looks flustered as he turns his eyes away from you, instead staring at the floor below his feet. you just roll your eyes and set down the alcohol, walking towards harry and pulling away his hand from his cheek.

"here," you say, moving his jaw to look up towards you. "this is gonna hurt a little," you tell him before gently cleaning the cut with the cotton round. harry winces, but his eyes never leave your face. you try to ignore his gaze but it becomes even more intense the longer you take to stop the bleeding. you can practically feel his stare burning holes into your skin, and you start to feel that familiar annoyance rise in your stomach.

"i know i'm pretty, potter, but can't you look anywhere else?" you complain, giving him a cold look before returning your attention to his cheek. harry's eyes drop again, but end up falling on your chest this time. you back away and scoff, throwing the cotton pad into the trash next to the cot. "perv," you mutter under your breath.

just as you're preparing the bandage on the counter next to the sink, you hear harry say something from behind you. "you're gonna have to speak up, kid," you chuckle, throwing away some wrapping in the trash. "your, um, your back," you hear him stutter.

you turn to give him a confused look. "what?" you ask. harry motions towards your back, and you turn to look at yourself in the mirror above the sink. you look at your back and pull up your tank top slightly to see a massive bruise forming on your ribcage. you gasp at the size and color, immediately turning your anger towards harry.

he already looks prepared for your rage before you can even start to say anything. "you bloody prick, i know you did this on purpose. do you seriously want to win so badly you'd nearly break a rib to get there?" you snap at him, pulling your shirt back down and angrily marching towards him still sitting on the cot.

"i told you, [y/n], it was an accident." he says. you pause. he's never called you by your first name, at least not to your face. you were actually surprised he knew what it was in the first place.

harry looks up at you innocently, his eyes soft and brows raised. this just angers you again. you take another step towards him, your legs practically between his as harry tilts his head up to keep looking at you.

his glasses are crooked, his hair is a mess, and the cut on his cheek is still raw. and still, for some reason, your heart skips a beat looking down at him. you've never been so close to his face. you've never noticed his freckles before.

"you should just be glad i haven't targeted you the way you've targeted me all these years, potter. you're lucky i'm a nice person and don't believe in revenge, or else you'd be the one with nearly broken bones and a bruise the size of your lungs." you spit in his face, your tone razor sharp.

harry's expression hardly changes at your words. if anything his eyes only soften more watching you become filled with anger.

"and wipe that innocent look off your face before i do it for you. you should be thanking me for patching up this cut and not making it worse." you continue to vent at him as you step away to grab the bandage from the counter.

you're just starting to press down on the adhesive of the bandage around harry's injury when his eyes meet yours again. "thank you." he says, his voice broken and whiny. something about the way he says it makes your stomach drop to the floor. harry's usual annoying temperament was completely gone, no longer making mocking jokes or insults towards you, instead only speaking softly and looking into your eyes even softer.

confused and feeling a strange mix of emotions, you finish applying the bandage on harry's face without a word.

you start to put away the first aid kit, taking one last look at your bruise in the mirror with a sigh.

"i'm sorry." you hear harry say quietly. you look at him, his expression empathetic and almost concerned for you. it was then you started to believe the incident really was an accident. why would harry ever be apologetic for something he'd usually take loads of pride in, like knocking you off your broomstick?

you swallow nervously and look away from him, fixing your shirt. "you should be," you try to remain cold, but your voice is breaking. "i'm just glad you also hurt yourself in the process. you deserve to feel some of the pain too." you say in a deadpan voice.

you pick up your sweatshirt off the floor and start soaking the sleeve in some hot water to at least try and get some of the stains out.

"you're right." harry says behind you, his voice somber. you roll your eyes at his pathetic attempt to seem remorseful, turning to him curtly. "i know i'm right. and you know what else? you're just a loser who picks on people to feel better about yourself because you're insecure." you insult him.

you expect at least some kind of reaction from harry, but he just continues to watch the ground with a sullen expression. "i know." he says quietly.

you groan and turn to shut the sink faucet off, walking towards harry with the same accusatory pointing finger from before. "and you can stop with this whole act you're putting on 'cause it's pissing me right off," you nearly yell at harry, getting in his face. he just looks up at you with those big blue eyes again, biting his lip harshly.

you went to scold him again when you noticed a rather large bulge in his pants from where you were standing above him. you thought you were just assuming, but once you took a step back, you knew exactly what was happening with a smirk growing on your face.

harry nervously looked down at his crotch before quickly attempting to hide his obvious erection. he adjusted his pants and tried to use his shirt to cover it, but you were already laughing at him. "this cannot be real, this has got to be a setup. there's no way you just got turned on by me insulting you for 10 minutes straight." you could hardly get the words out from laughing so hard.

clearly embarrassed, harry looks between you and his erection with fear in his eyes. it only makes the situation that much better for you as you continue to humiliate your own bully.

"u-uh, this isn't, um–" "don't try and tell me this isn't what it looks like, potter. i know exactly what's going on here." you interrupt him and cross your arms. "you're such a loser that the only way you can get off is by having girls hate you. y'know, most guys get erections from making out with a girl, not getting threatened by them." you mock him, still a hint of anger laced in your voice.

harry's looking at you with that same innocent expression, but there's something else in his eyes that makes you pause. he's not just embarrassed, he's actually enjoying what you're saying to him. you can see his pupils dilate just looking at you, his bulge only becoming more obvious the longer you mock him.

you want to be disgusted at this situation. you want to hate the way harry's looking at you and leave the room with a huff to tell everyone about his little kink. you want to call him a disgusting creep and slap him across the face for ever thinking of you in such a way. but, you don't. because you can't.

you should be disgusted. you should be creeped out. but, for some reason, you're just not. you should be filled with rage ready to tell him off again, but, instead, you find yourself full of curiosity and…flattery?

of course it's never flattering for a guy to get an erection thinking about you being upset with him, if anything it's quite morbid. however, with you and harry, everything finally started to make sense. this is why he was always pushing your buttons just to get a rise out of you, or why he seemed to thrive off of your heated interactions. because he did. he found pleasure in your anger.

again, you should be fuming, but you're just not. your heart is racing and so is your mind. you're completely flustered at this point, possibly even more than harry is. you can feel the blush on your neck and cheeks and can't tell if the embarrassment you're feeling is secondhand or not.

still looking up at you, harry attempts to cover his erection up again with his pants. you just laugh at him again as there's no real point, you're more than well aware of his predicament at the moment. his blush is so severe he's nearly completely red, and you can see his hair start to stick to his forehead from the sweat. while you'd usually feel nothing but contempt looking down at harry's innocent expression, this time you feel a bit different. he almost looks younger now, his eyes soft and lips slightly hung open.

you notice the bandage around his scar starts to lift a bit around his eye, so you sigh and place a hand on his bandage to help reattach it. again, harry almost winces at your movement, and you can see his erection twitch under his pants. god, he really does get off on this.

while fixing it, harry's still watching you intently. "i'm sorry," his voice is soft but deep, making your blood run cold. you pause to look him in the eyes. "and what are you sorry for?" you lead him on.

harry's brows furrow together slightly. "for…well, y'know," he trails off, offering a fake, awkward chuckle. you smirk as you look back at his bandage. "no, i don't know. so why don't you tell me, potter?" you ask teasingly.

without fail, harry shifts in his seat uncomfortably and tries to subtly hide his erection again. your smirk only grows at his predictability.

"u-uh, well, i-i'm sorry for…for, um, getting turned on by you…" his stuttering is only making you enjoy the moment more. maybe part of you likes seeing him squirm like this under your hand. "by me…?" you lead him on again, taking a step away to examine his bandage. harry swallowed nervously watching you. "by you…being mean to me." he says meekly, his voice small and embarrassed.

you smirk at him again and decide to test the waters. "good boy."

harry's face absolutely drains of color. you can practically see his heart thumping out of his chest. and, if you weren't wrong, his hands actually started shaking in his lap.

you start laughing again at his reaction, hardly able to hold back from how funny this situation was to you. harry potter, the school's bad boy, the top slytherin student, the quidditch captain, your biggest rival, has a literal kink for being degraded. and he had the nerve to ever try and call you a loser.

"sorry, it's just so funny to me," you tell him between laughs, wiping tears from your eyes. "actually, no, i'm not sorry. i think you deserve to be laughed at for this. what guy actually gets horny from girls being mean to him?" you ask rhetorically, crossing your arms again and examining harry in front of you.

he's completely disheveled and getting sweatier by the minute. he breaks eye contact after your question, nervously scratching the back of his neck to waste time. "uh…" he starts off, clearly not knowing what to say to that. you just continue smirking, watching him struggle. "i mean, is it every time a girl is mean to you this happens? i'd imagine with your attitude that would be pretty often." you joke, partially curious but mostly just trying to make him squirm more.

harry shakes his head, both of his hands rubbing at his face and wiping the sweat from his hairline. "n-no, it's, uh…" he starts again, eventually trailing off with a sigh. you start tapping your foot impatiently. "i'm waiting." you say in a mocking tone.

harry tenses again, still not looking back up at you just yet. his body language is clearly uncomfortable and defensive. "it's not…all girls, okay? it's just…you." he finally spits out, clearly struggling to put his thoughts into words. "this only happens with you, i swear. a-and it's only started this year, and i don't know why." he rambles, speaking with his hands, his eyes still fixated on the floor.

for once, you're speechless. you weren't expecting that confession from him, and you certainly didn't know how to react to it in the moment. i mean, this potter kid has had it out for you since day one, he's practically made you two enemies on the field and off, and now he wants to tell you all this? it's a bit confusing, to say the least.

harry sighs, resting his face in his hands once again. "look, i'm sorry about all of this, okay? all of it, not just today, but everything. i shouldn't have been so rude to you all this time, especially not for the reasons i have…" you can practically hear harry wincing at his own words. he uncovers his face but continues to look down. "just…please, please, don't tell anyone. i know that's asking for a lot considering all i've done to you, but…please, [y/n]." he's nearly begging.

you just watch him carefully, trying to figure out how to respond to all of this. on one hand you're inclined to feel insulted, disrespected, and downright disgusted at this information, but in reality…you're just obscenely curious. i mean, how often does a guy get turned on by you being mean to him? and not just you, but specifically, only you. does that mean he actually likes you? or is it only a sexual thing? and how would that even work?

as your mind continues to raise more and more questions, you feel yourself speaking before you even decide what to say.

"fine, i won't tell anyone. if," you take a slow step towards harry. he looks up at you with flushed cheeks and wide eyes. your heart leaps at the sight of him so vulnerable beneath you. it's as if you can see him thinking anything, anything for you.

you're not sure what's possessing you in this moment, but you can't stop yourself from pushing the limits further between you and harry. again, your mouth starts speaking for you.

"if…you let me help." you say with a smirk, closing the gap between you and harry and standing between his legs once again. he's looking up at you in complete shock, his eyes examining every inch of you in front of him. he's trying to speak but his mouth just keeps opening and closing, gasping for air and nervously chuckling.

arms still crossed, you wait for harry to say something and enjoy seeing him be the speechless one this time.

he eventually looks back up at you, biting his lip again and leaning back slightly. "help…me?" he asks, confused. you laugh at him, shaking your head. "yes, potter. help you. can't have you leaving here with that," you motion down to his pants with your head. "can we?" you ask seductively.

again, you're not sure what's making you act like this right now, but you honestly didn't mind it. you already got a kick out of insulting harry anyway, why not watch him struggle a bit harder under your thumb in this tiny exam room?

harry's completely frozen. you smile at him this time, the most genuine one you could muster in the moment. "if you want to, of course," you say quietly, softening your gaze at him and fixing his messy hair. harry makes a soft sound and leans into your touch, his eyes closing. you giggle to yourself, he just looks so innocent resting in your hand.

the moment didn't last long as you tighten your grip on the hair on the back of harry's head, pulling it so he's looking right at you. his eyes open and a soft whine escapes his lips. "i'll take that as a yes?" you ask smugly, leaning down until your faces were nearly touching. harry does his best to nod his head, swallowing nervously and glancing at your lips.

you smile at him again. something just felt so right when you were in control, seeing harry's front disappear as he became a mess in your hands. you felt powerful, confident, and, to your dismay, insanely turned on from the entire situation. your feelings of hate and desire for harry drove you mad, yet he seemed more than willing to be the recipient of both.

so, you lean forward, and you kiss him.

it's soft at first, slow, shy, you feel like harry's barely breathing. eventually he catches up, nearly moaning into your mouth as you feel your stomach fluttering. you put your other hand on his cheek and sit on harry's lap, your knees resting on the cot around harry's hips. you feel his hands tread carefully up your thighs and under your shorts, his fingers digging into your skin roughly.

this time you can't hold back your moans, causing harry to melt even more into you. his lips were soft, careful, but so eager. it's like he was starving and yet still took his time with you.

you pull away slightly, your breath heavy and forehead resting on harry's. "lay down," you command him, climbing off his lap. harry quickly lies back on the cot, kicking off his shoes in the process. you do the same before crawling back on top of him, carefully resting your ass directly on his erection.

harry openly groans, his hands reaching for your hips and squeezing the skin roughly. you bite your lip to hold back another moan. you slightly adjust your position and cause harry's head to roll back against the cot. "[y/n]..." is all he manages to say in his broken voice.

he's already such a mess and all you've done is sit in his lap. who would've known all this time his teasing you was just a cover up for this?

"this'll be easy. you're already practically falling apart on me, potter." you tease him, your cold fingers finding their way under his jersey. harry's body shivers, his hands moving from your hips to your waist. his fingers crawl under your shirt as well and cause your skin to break out in goosebumps.

he slightly smirks at this reaction, but you don't let him have his moment for long. "and don't get cocky," you warn him before you start grinding on his erection. his head rolls back in pleasure again, his mouth hanging open and fingers digging into your skin. you smirk to yourself. "don't forget you're the loser who likes to be insulted here." you remind him harshly, your hands running along his chest under his jersey.

harry's noises are completely pathetic, his hips bucking into yours for even the slightest bit more friction. you stop grinding into him and he lets out a shaky breath, looking at you with needy eyes. he looks so worked up already and you've barely done a thing.

"shirt off," you tell him, pulling at the material. harry, again, doesn't hesitate to follow instructions. he removes his hands from your waist and quickly takes off his jersey, throwing it to the floor.

your breath hitches in your throat looking at harry's soft, sweaty skin in the dim fluorescent lighting of the exam room. you never realized just how toned his shoulders and chest were, or how many scars and bruises he seemed to have, both new and fading.

you look back up at harry, his eyes nervously watching your every move. you lean in to kiss him again, messier, needier. his hands return to your hips and practically force you to start grinding on him again. you would've intervened if you weren't just as desperate to continue rolling your hips into harry's hard erection.

a soft moan comes from your lips as you grind into him harder, your hands resting on his chest for support. harry groans, his brows furrowing. "shit," he mutters, only encouraging you to go faster.

you could feel how wet you were through your panties. your stomach was tightening already, making you feel a bit embarrassed of your own desperation. seeing harry be so willing to please you only had you wanting him more.

just as you start to feel yourself blush at your lack of self control, you notice harry's panicked expression, his grip on your skin guaranteed to leave bruises. "what's wrong?" you ask, somewhat sarcastically and also concerned.

he struggles to get a sound out. "hmph, gonna, fuck, please, don't," he's stumbling through his words, barely able to keep his eyes focused on you. his hands try to stop your hips, but his grip his weak.

"stop what?" you ask curiously, slowing your hips slightly but rolling into him harder. harry moans, his hand covering his mouth hearing how loud it echoed through the tiny room. you just laugh at him and pull his hand away, guiding it to your chest. harry's eyes widen, trying to pull his hand away.

"stop, gonna…cum, if you don't," harry whimpers, squirming under your weight as his legs try to escape. you take your opportunity and pick up your pace, giving harry an evil smile.

"aw, already?" you ask, forcing his hand back to your chest. you guide his fingers along the curves of your breasts through your thin tank top, causing him to breathe even heavier. "you haven't even gotten to see these, and you're already about to cum? i was right, you're such a fucking loser, potter." you tell him, guiding his hand back under your shirt.

you can feel him struggling under you even more, his torso only getting sweatier. you just grab for his other hand and guide it under your shirt as well. he watches as intently as he can, his eyes still rolling back in pleasure at the pressure in his lap.

you help him lift his hands higher and higher until he's cupping your tits under your shirt, your breathing becoming hitched at the feeling of his rough fingers running across your sensitive nipples.

"fuck," you say under your breath, loud enough for harry to moan and grope you rougher, lifting your shirt above your tits. you gasp at the feeling and look back down at him, a sweaty mess with eyes barely open.

"please, please," harry starts begging, his hips still trying to squirm away from you. you place your hands on his sides and push him down, continuing to chase your high. "just stay still, harry," you nearly whimper. you realize you've never called him by his first name either.

that's when he comes completely unraveled beneath you. he's practically crying out in pleasure and desperation, his hands roughly squeezing the soft skin of your tits as his head is thrown back against the cot. just watching him fall apart like this has you shaking on top of him, feeling the warm wetness of your panties leaving a mark on harry's jeans.

it takes a few moments for both of you to come back to earth. harry's hands eventually loosen their grip on you before quickly pulling away, his eyes wide and panicked again. "sorry," he says quickly, his cheeks completely flushed.

you just shake your head and laugh, climbing off of harry's lap and adjusting your shirt. harry sits up and runs his hands through his hair, trying to catch his breath still.

the room is a bit awkward, but you eventually start to chuckle and push harry's shoulder lightly. "so…" you lead him on. harry chuckles as well, hanging his head low. "so…" he repeats, his voice still soft.

"so…is it wrong of me to assume you might actually like me?" you ask, picking up harry's jersey and handing it to him. he offers you a shy smile and puts it back on, shaking his head. "y'know, i'm not sure there's a way i could've made it more obvious." he admits half heartedly.

you laugh again, feeling a blush crawl up your cheeks. you turn away from him and grab your sweatshirt from the sink, the sleeve still completely stained.

"i really am sorry about that, i have a few you could borrow if you'd like." he says with a smirk, pointing towards your sweatshirt. you roll your eyes. "well, good to know your cockiness hasn't gone anywhere." you respond, suppressing a smile.

he chuckles. "never will." he says confidently. you give him a look and take a step towards him, causing him to swallow nervously.

you laugh at him again. "yeah, okay, pretty boy." you tease him, stepping away and towards the door. he follows behind you, still blushing like crazy.

leaving the exam room you notice all the nurses are still running around like lunatics, having no idea what's just happened only a few feet away from them. you and harry share a knowing look before running off together, laughing as you reach the halls.

"y'know," harry says between laughs, looking over at you with nothing but love in his eyes as you continue walking the empty halls. "don't think i'll go easy on you tomorrow just because of…that." he says, motioning behind him with a shy smile. you smile back at him and offer your hand. harry looks a bit hesitant, but shakes it anyway. "wouldn't want it any other way, potter."

tag list:

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if you'd like to be part of my tag list, just leave a comment or message me! if you enjoyed this please let me know, your comments make my day <3

[darklinaforever]

When people try to make it seem like the Marauders and Severus relationship was a shared rivalry instead of outright harassment. They were 4 to 1 ! That's not à rivality !

Also, I'm tired of people saying things like :

"Yes, James and his friends harassed Severus, that's not good. But it says in the text that Severus had a disproportionate hatred for James, and cast spells on him too."

Yes. So what ? It's basically victim blaming. As if the fact that Severus defends himself wasn't normal ?! As if hating James who bullied him from the moment he met him, just for his simple existence wasn't normal ?!

I would like to understand what is going on in people's heads when they say sentences like that.

Severus scorning James is justified. Severus attacking James back is fucking justified, especially when the harassment is daily !

What is this ridiculous logic ? "Yes, James bullied Severus, but Severus wasn't any better because he hated him and retaliated."

WHAT ?!

People speaking like that should never have been harassed. It's like those hating Severus / finding it unforgivable that Severus called Lily a mudblood after being publicly humiliated by James.

Translation ; suspended in the air upside down, underwear revealed and soap in his mouth...

I think your mood, your temperament, and your control over yourself and your words would take a hit too !

I was the victim of harassment almost throughout my schooling. From my first year of kindergarten until my second year of high school ! Do you think I loved my harassers ? Do you think that after a while I didn't fight back ? Do you think that after being publicly humiliated / harassed I didn't insult even innocent people ? (And again, Lily smiled seeing her so-called friend go through this, so for me the insult was deserved, I have no regrets in saying that...) But wake up the fuc ! Go live in the real world !

There is no excuse for what James put Severus through and there never will be ! Damn, he was doing it for fun ! Pure and simple !

Also, I'm tired of seeing this bullshit like if Harry had been a girl, Severus would have had inappropriate attitudes towards him... That it would even have gone completely like in the film Swenney Todd ! But what ?! And again, I saw a very intelligent film-loving woman, or so I thought, spouting this bullshit ! FOR WHAT ?! Where does this shit come from ?! Ginny is described as looking a lot like Lily from what I remember and Severus never went after her ?!

I've seen people like Snape say this types of shit and argue that it apparently made him complex !

Why is a man grieving his former best friend trying to be better in honor of her memory considered an obsession ? Why do people say Snape was obsessed with Lily, rather than James who literally pursued her throughout school and even blackmailed her into trying to date her, and never taking no for an answer ?! Why ?!

And why is Severus' patronus taking the same form as Lily's seen as proof of obsession ?! Didn't Thnks do the same thing for Lupin ?! I don't remember anyone seeing this as obsession on his part !

In fact, when a patronus changes depending on the author, for the person we love, it is specifically to match them, and is proof of eternal love.

[jmagnabo92]

So I saw a post on Instagram, and it said:

‘Isn't it funny how James Potter decided to bully and harass a malnourished little boy from an abusive family just for existing, and years later, James' son became a malnourished little boy from an abusive family that bullies him just for existing’ 

And all the comments were agreeing and saying things like, ‘Karma’, ‘Glad I’m a James Potter hater’, ‘Don’t understand how he has even one fan’

And I was like… what??? Was so tempted to write a whole thing about it but decided the hate I’d get wasn’t worth it. What are your opinions about this? 

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??!!!

That's my initial reaction.

Don't these people know that the sins of the father shall not be visited upon the son?

It's not karma for Harry to suffer for James' mistakes. It's bullshit and I hope that no one that believes that has ever done anything wrong in their lives or their kids shall suffer. AND THERE"S NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT THIS BS.

Now, let's point out how else they're wrong.

First of all, I had to re-read the Prince's Tale - and mind you, I did skim it so I could've missed things, but there is NO WHERE that says he was 'malnourished' as a boy. Not a single description said anything was physically wrong with Snape like malnourishment. It talks about his mismatched clothes, and his parents arguing. There's a line about James having an 'air of well-cared for - ness that Snape lacked' but there's NOTHING that he states he was malnourished or even abused.

So that's utter BS. I won't argue about the abuse, but there was no evidence that he was malnourished.

As for the about "just for existing" - I think a lot of people forget that SWM canonically happens *after* James saves Snape's life from Werewolf Remus. The reason that it's easy to figure that out is there is a scene with Snape/Lily arguing about the MM thing and she literally mentions James saving him the other night.

The next scene is SWM.

Now, before get into that importance - I want to point out that in the scene about MM & the saving of Snape, Lily asks, "Why are you so obsessed with them?" and if it was a relentlessly unfair bullying situation there's two obvious answers:

A) he's been bullying me for years

B) I have to obsess so I can get one over on them.

He doesn't say either of those things - you know what he *does* say - he says "Potter fancies you"... and more about 'how great he thinks he is'.... isn't that rather suspicious?

You know what's also suspicious? If Snape's being relentlessly bullied than WHY DOESN"T HIS BEST FRIEND KNOW THE OBVIOUS? Maybe because it wasn't a situation of bully/victim - maybe it was a rivalry like Dumbledore suggested in the first book.

Now, back to the timeline:

So James saves his life and yet says "it's the fact that he exists" - which sounds terrible, right?

Of course it does, but here's the thing - Snape had literally as recently possibly two weeks previously (we don't know *exactly* when but sometime between Nov of 5th year and OWLs) had attempted to (at best) OUT Remus (at worst) KILL Remus - who is ONE of James' BFFs. Now - on top of that - we know that Snape has been obsessed with a theory for ages about Remus. We see this in the MM & Saving conversation - Lily says "I know your theory" with the air of someone that has heard his theories before. Given that he only found out *for sure* within a few days of that conversation that suggests that he has been going after Remus for a while.

So, here we have Snape's attempt to get Remus out or killed and James has every reason to hate him - he's a loyal guy. He believes in his friendships so much it cost his life and literally learned something that could put him behind bars *just to help his friend*. Whatever happened, however it happened, that doesn't matter to James.

What *does* matter is that Snape tried to detrimentally hurt his friend. So he has a reason, but in SWM, he literally *can't* say that. He would be outing Remus and he's not going to do that.

Which means he NEVER did anything *just because he exists* - he had a reason, he just couldn't say it.

Now, why does James have fans?

Because he's a good man. This is the man that did stupid shit when he was a teen, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but nothing he did was ever on par with the things that Snape was doing - I've got a while post on that.

After he grows up, he joins the Order - to do good for people that he doesn't have to care about, yet does. He does so much good, he becomes a target. In that, he then goes on to give his life for wife and son. And they think this man doesn't deserve fans? What Bullshit is this??

***

ANYWAY, my longass point here is that: They're idiots, and I kind of wish that some people had more thought into the situation. James deserves better.

[mayabooowrites]

Best dads||D.M/H.P

Summary: your husbands Hogwarts rivalry never went fully away and now they compete as dads

After you had the twins James and scorpius the competition between your husbands started up again

You were breastfeeding James as scorpius was asleep beside you as your husbands were quietly fighting

"I can so change a diaper faster then you." Draco says and Harry looks over shocked

"In your dreams Malfoy." Harry says and you sigh as Draco smirks

"I mean I see y/n in my dreams all the time so yes a Malfoy is in my dreams." Draco says and you chuckle at that it was cute but well your also a potter as you married them both

"I'm also a potter tho isn't that why I hyphened Malfoy and potter for my last name when we got married." You say and Draco sighs as he pretends to look annoyed when he wasn't really but he's in competition mode with Harry, so he fakes his old I hate Harry Potter and everything to do with him like in Hogwarts "Oh right Draco you both were fighting about changing diapers please do go on." You say and anything to be able to nap more, and hey the competitions are great tired mom you gets to sleep more

"Oh right thank you y/n, now potter come at me let's go see who is the better diaper changer loser." Draco says and Harry nods

"Ok winner gets y/ns affection for a week and the other doesn't." Harry says and you shake your head

"No winner gets the prize of changing more diapers then the other and a kiss on the cheek." You say and Harry shrugs

"Fine." Harry says not that pleased but pleased enough to not give up, like he would have anyways

"Okay and I'll change Scorpius, you can change James we have to change the diaper under a minute or else we lose and it has to be flawless." Draco says and Harry nods

"Okay deal." Harry says and Draco and Harry shake on it as you sigh this is going to be a long week

These rivalries you thought they would abandoned it when you got with them both but well no, they first always had little rivalries first it came with sex always towards you of course, but then they got over it now it's with the twins which hopefully they will get over it eventually, maybe? Well one day they will hopefully

You hope the twins won't have to deal with their fathers fighting about which one can get them to the Hogwarts train quicker then the other

But right now as babies it works perfectly so you can rest but as they get older you will stop them more

"Ah seems they both need a diaper change now." You say as you could smell scorpius from here and he was in a basket on the ground gosh it smells terrible

Draco and Harry take their twin they choose and smirked at each other

"May the best dad win."

[soup-of-the-daisies]

so here’s part 2 of my james potter hcs bc this shitbag lives in my head rent free :))

(part 1 for those interested)

his prescription isn’t really heavy and he can technically get around without his glasses, but he gets really bad headaches if he doesn’t wear them

tried muggle contacts for a bit but got an eye infection after a month, went back to glasses permanently

can get really, really mean in the blink of an eye if he sees or hears something he doesn’t appreciate—something as innocent as feeling jealous or something as bad as blatant bigotry, doesn’t really matter. fandom may say that he was sirius’ moral compass but ohhh boy

“imagine sirius black having to reel you in” - overheard in the hospital wing by a random hufflepuff after a group of wannabe death eaters got hexed so badly for terrorising some muggleborn students they had to stay there for two days

can argue himself out of any sticky situation by being passionate and arrogant (like only getting a month’s worth of detention for hexing said group of wannabe death eaters into a two-day stay at the hospital wing)

did not relentlessly pursue lily, actually. he didn’t ask her out until their fifth year and stopped entirely after the slur-incident

did form a relentless (at times one-sided) rivalry that often went way too far with severus snape though, i’ll give you that

he’s got hazel eyes with a bit of green thank you

his nose isn’t longer than harry’s (he’s got a ‘hidung pesek’, like my mum would say). his nosebridge can’t hold up european glasses and it’s a struggle

sirius looks physically like his father which means james does, shamefully, find orion black handsome in a purely aesthetic way. he’ll take this tidbit to the grave with him though as sirius would have an aneurysm if he found out that james thinks orion is a bit of a dilf

james has tackled peter multiple times. most notably, that one time it was over the last digestive in the biscuit tin that hope lupin sent remus

peter broke his nose and james cried because he felt so bad

he’s got a dab hand at healing spells and sirius is good at cleaning spells so it was fine in the end

also ugly crier james 2k23. that man can WEEP

gives the BEST hugs. you’ll feel so safe. he just presses your face against his chest and you’ve got to take it, because it’ll relax your entire body

“it’s like i’ve been reborn” - peter pettigrew after The James Hug following the orange marmalade incident of 1975

will never talk about the orange marmalade incident of 1975 because peter asked him nicely

great secret keeper!! should’ve been his own secret keeper, actually!!

big beatles fan and really cringy about it: he even considers getting a mop top for a bit.

thinks george harrison looks like sirius (but not as handsome) and therefore george is his favourite

same james

ALSO he would be so flattered that some parts of this fandom see him as ATJ’s john lennon i swear lmao

would kill for sirius and has considered killing for sirius on multiple occasions

harry’s ‘trouble usually finds me’ gene comes from him and he has been face to face with acromantulas on multiple occasions purely by accident

harry’s ‘there’s no need to call me sir, professor’ gene is a mix of lily’s sass and james’ smart-assery. part of the reason jily started dating is bc they could match each other’s quips so well

good at practical magic with several seemingly random interests in the theoretical background of certain types of magic. will go off on a tangent on the Braach’s Sixteen Laws of Weight when someone offhandedly mentions a featherlight charm

created the runic sequences of the Map that ground the spellwork woven into the object to ambient magic all by himself and was SO proud of himself that severus was valid in saying james strutted around like he owned the place

human embodiment of the following emoticon= >:3

[seriousbrat]

some thoughts on Snape and James

Dumbledore explains this to Harry after we've just found out how exactly James saved Severus, and I think that's important. As we know, his prediction about Wormtail came true in DH. Severus believed that James had just done it to save his friends from expulsion, but I don't think this is true, I think it's a product of his (understandable) bias towards James. Dumbledore (whatever his faults) is generally a very good judge of character in his later life:

He accepts Sirius's story in PoA without proof because it simply makes more sense to him given what he knows about the characters involved. He accepts Sev's claim that he wants to protect Lily when it could be a trick, as Sev is very good at Occlumency. He knows Draco won't be capable of murdering him. He knows exactly the ways that each member of the trio will act in their search for the Hallows.

So I think it's fair to say that Dumbledore knew that James was NOT just risking his life out of selfish reasons. I think this is a big reason Dumbledore holds James in such high esteem. Even at his worst, James wasn't willing to let his enemy die. Therefore the same bond that exists between Pettigrew and Harry also exists between Sev and James. They'd probably be as happy about that as Harry is about Pettigrew, but, to paraphrase Dumbledore, too bad lol. Anyway:

So where does this bond come in for Snape and James? Imo, it's in Severus dedicating his life to protect James Potter's son. Yes, he did it for Lily. But I also think the bond had something to do with it. Possibly if he had just been in love with Lily that wouldn't have been strong enough, he could have just retreated into the shadows to mourn her. Maybe he wouldn't have, but imo it's a factor as well, whether he's aware of it or not. (probably not) And also somewhat a factor in why he agrees pretty quickly to hiding all the Potters, not just Lily.

This is my hc but I think Snape, despite his hatred for James, despite what James put him through, almost kind of ... trusted him to keep Lily safe when they went their separate ways after school. He knows firsthand that James is a capable duellist, and there's almost this sort of... seething respect there going both ways idk. I absolutely think Severus blamed James for not living up to this, first by knocking her up lol and then by failing to protect her the night of her death. ALTHOUGH I think he would have, in his own way, grudgingly respected the bravery of James facing Voldemort without his wand so Lily could escape, had he known about it, because imo Severus would have done the same, both men would knowingly lay down their life for Lily.

With the war and the end of school, things are shifting between them. Both have chosen opposite sides of the conflict. They've grown up, and Sev is now able to give as good as he gets. (none of this is excusing James's bullying btw I don't believe in that) but I think they leave school on more equal footing than they've ever had. Out in the real world, popularity and being a quidditch star and whatever don't matter. It's gone, and there's just the war.

I think Sev's relationship with James is very different than it is with Sirius. With Sirius they never really grow out of that schoolboy hatred, and both of them would happily see each other drop dead without blinking an eye. With James I think it's much more complex. His hatred for James is deeply uniquely personal and completely colours the way he treats Harry. Like the real rivalry is between James and Snape, Sirius is just sort of an add-on to this. Snape brings up James constantly, like bro is a little obsessed but whatever. The bond, to Sev's eternal frustration, is always there.

I've said this before but my personal opinion is that James would have forgiven Sev had he known about everything he did to protect Harry. I don't think they'd ever have been friends lol but unlike Sirius (and Remus imo) I think James would have respected him for it, for his bravery. For doing exactly as he would have if their places had been reversed (that would be an interesting fic tbh I'm sure someone's done that)

I'll sort of bring this up in my own fic in one of my fave scenes I've written between them:

“Just—” Sev stops, unable to force the words out, so sickened is he by the thought of what he has to say. “Just what?” Potter says coldly. “Just— keep her safe.” A flicker of surprise passes over Potter’s face, but it quickly pulls back into a frown. He nods, tightly. “And you. You stay away from her. You know what they are. You know what they’ll do to her.” It costs him everything he has, but, finally, Severus jerks his head.

Anyway I find their dynamic super interesting, as they are both two of my favourite characters. Obviously James bullying Sev is totally unjustified, as is Sev bullying his son years later (clearly as revenge, now that he finally finds himself with the upper hand). They're compared to Draco and Harry a few times I think, and I think Harry doesn't see this because he wrongly identifies as his father when actually his role was much more like Snape's in this dynamic, which is what he sees in SWM. A lot of jealousy going both ways, but one of them (at first) clearly has more privilege and is much more vindictive and cruel to the other. Draco and Harry nodding at each other on the platform is on some level representative of the "moving on" that Severus and James never achieved.

[princessanneftw]

Why Princess Anne will be the King’s bedrock of support

The royal world has changed once again – but the industrious Princess Royal will keep the show on the road

By Camilla Tominey for the Daily Telegraph

Over the years, she has tumbled down the line of succession to a lowly 17th place in the Windsor pecking order.

On paper, the Princess Royal may not be the most prominent royal, lagging well behind her nephew Prince Harry and her brother the Duke of York – even though they are no longer “working” royals.

But when it comes to putting in the hours on behalf of the family Firm, few could dispute Princess Anne’s status as one of the King’s most stalwart supporters.

As the 75-year-old monarch on Monday began what Buckingham Palace has described as a “schedule of regular treatments” following his cancer diagnosis, his 73-year-old sister was the first to ride to the royal rescue.

With typical gusto, the grandmother-of-five put her best foot forward to carry out an investiture at Windsor Castle at 11am on Tuesday, before turning her attention to three further royal engagements.

After handing out gongs to the likes of media doyenne Elisabeth Murdoch, conductor Ivor Bolton, tenor Nicky Spence and wheelchair rugby league player James Simpson, the Princess made her way up to the Midlands for yet more pressing of the flesh.

On Tuesday afternoon, she was due to visit Nottingham West Primary Care Network at Eastwood Primary Care Centre in her capacity as patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, as well as popping in on woolmaker GH Hurt and Son.

She then plans to travel the 128 miles back to London to present The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering at the Science Museum.

Although the jobs will have been in the royal diary for months, they reiterate the importance of the Princess’s role as the Royal family’s resident trooper.

Last year, she was once again crowned the hardest-working royal, clocking up an impressive 457 engagements, 32 more than the 425 carried out by the King.

Not that there is any sibling rivalry between the pair. Although they used to “fight like cats and dogs” when they were little, according to Ingrid Seward, the veteran royal author and commentator: “Charles and Anne’s relationship is very good now.

“They have a great mutual respect. Before the prospect of Charles marrying Camilla became a possibility, the late Queen always thought it would be Anne at Charles’s side, acting as a sort of incognito Queen. Elizabeth II always had that vision – that Anne would play a hugely significant supporting role.”

Her bond with the King was plain to see during their mother’s funeral, when the Princess was the only woman to join the solemn march behind the coffin for the procession to Westminster Abbey.

As her brother’s eyes threatened to overflow with tears, his characteristically calm and collected sister looked him straight in the eye with a silent show of support.

In her 2022 book The Palace Papers, the journalist Tina Brown even went so far as to suggest that “there are plenty in palace circles who believe she is the best king we will never have”.

Stalwart, straightforward and surprisingly down to earth (despite being an unapologetic stickler for royal protocol), the Princess’s popularity within the household and beyond has been built on her reputation for getting on with it with little fuss or fanfare.

As Valentine Low explained in his 2022 book, Courtiers: “That was Harry and Meghan’s downfall – there was too much ego. Anne has no ego. She recognises that this is the job, and you just get on with it.”

It is a testament to the Princess’s work ethic that Buckingham Palace has stressed that the King will not need to use counsellors of state – royals authorised to carry out the monarch’s official duties should they be incapacitated or overseas.

Historically, they are the sovereign’s spouse and the next four people in the line of succession who are over the age of 21. Until recently, the King’s were Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice.

Amid concern that Princes Harry and Andrew no longer undertake official royal duties and that the former does not even live in the country, a change was made to the Regency Act of 1937 to include the Princess along with her youngest brother, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Both will be expected to increase their workload in light of the King’s cancer diagnosis, which has forced him to cancel all forward-facing public engagements to minimise any health risks.

As heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales will also undertake royal engagements on behalf of his father along with the Queen.

Yet with the Princess of Wales also out of action until after Easter after undergoing abdominal surgery, the monarchy has never looked more “slimmed down”.

Naturally Anne was one of the first to identify the potential pitfalls of stripping back the number of “working” royals.

“Well, I think the ‘slimmed-down’ [monarchy] was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment,” she said in an interview last year.

When it was put to her that the world changes, she added: “It changes a bit. I mean, it doesn’t sound like a good idea from where I’m standing, I have to say. I’m not quite sure what else, you know, we can do.”

The royal world has changed once again – and as ever, industrious Princess Anne is front and centre of efforts to keep the show on the road.

[halloworhorecrux]

Let me tell you.

Every slytherin has heard the rant. It's basically a sonnet, depending on the day. Severus Snape is constantly thrown back in time to his best friend ranting and raving about a boy.

"Saviour Potter, with his hair and his broomstick"

"Chosen Seeker with his emerald eyes and his hair"

"Champion Gryffindor with his wand and his hair"

It's always the hair with Draco. It drives him mad. Mad with the want to care for it,never tame it like he has heard people say. Why tame Harry when all he needs is some care? His mother said that's what anything worth loving needs.Just someone to care.

Okay, so everyone Draco has spoken with any length of time knows that he loves Harry. You couldn't know him even as an acquaintance without having heard the fond tone of his voice when he spoke of Potter.

When they start a relationship not known to the public, all of Draco's people just know. This is simply because they all know who could make Draco Malfoy smile so big.

On the other side, no one can figure out why Harry Potter is smiling more. His best friends can't even fathom that it would be Draco Malfoy that has helped him. Why would anyone ever think Draco Malfoy could do anything with his happiness. Sure, they are happy they are done hearing conspiracy theories about what Malfoy is up to. So everyone tries to find the person. They must be attentive and understanding. They're probably beautiful, of course.

One day, people hear Ron laughing after Harry tells him it was Malfoy.

"Don't make me laugh mate, if you want to keep it a secret, I won't bother you anymore about it. "

Coming up behind the group is Draco Malfoy. There is a kind of sadness in his eyes. He had told his parents about his date with Harry. They had simply smiled and said they knew it would happen someday.

It kind of breaks his heart a little that everyone he holds dear has heard Harry's name. Know how he feels and can see the ways the two are good together.The same cannot be said for his partner.

Laughter rings out as George laughs about a ferret boyfriend.

Instead of going into the Leaky Cauldron. he Draco runs. He runs because he cannot handle a fumbled defense by Harry. Who would want their boyfriend to be known as the boy who was turned into a ferret, who was humilated by a giant chicken, that has become even more scared of his shadow after azkaban. Who would ever think Draco is attentive and understanding and beautiful enough for Harry James Potter.

*********************************

If he had stayed, he would hear the proclaimation of love for Draco and that he is, in fact, all those things.

Harry has never been ashamed to have chosen Ron as his friend until now.

How can the person claim to be his best mate and ignore the signs of his infatuation that turned into love? How could Ron weasley, who has been through years with him, think that Harry had finally lost sight of the person who centered his childhood. And he doesn't count Voldemort. That was a distraction to his rivalry with Draco Malfoy. Has there ever been a person that made Harry react more. Every year any action by Malfoy was noted, the final years of the battle were fraught with scenes he had failed to react accordingly. Myrtle’s bathroom should have never seen so much blood, Malfoy Manor should never left a defenseless Malfoy, The ROR, even his final battle had Malfoy and his wand as his victory.

Hence, Harry's disappointment.

The bags under his eyes were gone thanks to his partner. Draco learned that sometimes he felt suffocated, so he couldn't be too close, but being alone was infinitely worse. Draco would fall asleep on their respective sides, but always holding Harry's hand. This gave him the ability to not scare Harry awake from an outside touch. He would squeeze and release their hands, rub against his knuckles to soothe, and settle Harry.

His food intake had increased through Draco hand feeding anything from his plate. While Harry could hardly stand to share anything off his plate, Draco had no such issue. He would take bites of something and then tell Harry to taste something so divine. Sometimes, the things they had were common, but every once in a while, Draco would surprise him.

Sure, Draco had never had to care for someone other than himself if you measured by his Manor. He did have Crabbe and Goyle, and they were a sort of sibling. They needed help with lessons, directed to wherever they needed to be. Told countless times to pick up after themselves. Draco could chasten Harry for leaving socks and towels on the bathroom floor, but it wasn't a real struggle to merely pick them up himself. Harry is anxious with clutter, yet finds that he was always in a rush to ever really care for his living space. Now, he comes home to a clean living space and home-cooked meals.

Some might think it would be easy to just burn his hand me downs and call it a day. They didn't see how sometimes Harry would itch when wearing new robes to a ceremony. The struggle of knowing he deserved better, having clothes of his own, is a basic need. Given the knowhow of Narcissa, Draco had been able to sew old into the new in discreet ways. The surprise when the collar of his auror robes now didn't chafe against his skin sank into Harry's heart. The love swelled as he didn't have to explain why. There was no shame to voice. Draco knew humiliation, so he didn't make Harry try to explain the feeling of wanting something familiar even when laced with the abuse of his childhood neglect. There is a certain kindness when their eyes meet, Draco fixing his collar in the mornings, attaching a pocket to the inside of his robes made of his old t shirts. That is just his beloved showing his devotion.

Dracos' cunning(slimey manipulative) ways were able to schedule him into training sessions with new recruits instead of paperwork he loathed. Harry now spent the majority of his time in the training rooms with newbies instead of missions. Teaching and aiding other protect themselves is where he thrives and Draco made that happen with just a few letters to the right places. There was no scorn to quit the Aurors or be something he shouldn't, just the ability to there was a place were he had chosen to be that didn't leave him drained.

The past months with Draco Malfoy have proven exactly how he is exactly attentive and understanding.

Blindingly beautiful was a given since he first meet him at Madam Malkins, now it's even lovelier when he can trace the pale neck with a single finger, the smooth skin against his lips as he licks them from ankle to the sharp chin and likes to bite. The blonde hair that can be wrapped by Harry's callused hands, it's softness a wonderful contrast to his. Nibble fingers braid his untamable hair with care. They knead any ache from Harry's body. Long legs wrap Harry up into a warm embrace until he feels loved beyond his status as a hero. There is nothing more beautiful than the smile he is graced with every morning, every noon, and midnight. Whether it rains or shines, there is happiness in grey eyes just looking upon Harry James Potter.

[moonlightdancer26]

I genuinely have no clue where this fandom gets the idea that James and Snape were rivals. The definition of rivalry is competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.

If James and Snape were rivals, as many like to call them, what were they competing for?

Lily?

No. Snape and Lily were best friends, years before James and Snape even met. And Lily is not a “prize to be won” which many people—including James, as we see in SWM—fail to understand.

Their studies? [I’m including this because I’ve actually seen someone try to use this argument before]

No. That had nothing to do with their feud. And James and Snape excelled in different subjects. Snape was brilliant at potions and DADA. James was highly knowledgeable in transfiguration.

Unlike Harry and Draco (who were rivals when it came to Quidditch), James and Snape had nothing you could argue they were “competing over.”

Another important thing many people seem to forget about rivalries is that it means equality. Rivals’ statuses/dynamics are meant to be balanced. Does that apply to Snape and James?

James Potter: was a rich, well-groomed, spoiled pureblood Gryffindor.

Severus Snape: was a poor, unattractive, neglected half-blood Slytherin.

It can only ever be called a rivalry when both sides are equally powerful, which cannot be said for James and Snape whatsoever.

A huge reason as to why people like to call it that is because Snape apparently “gave as good as he got” (I like how there was not a single time that phrase was ever used in the series). They use a line said by Remus—one of Snape’s bullies, funnily enough—in OoTP as evidence of Snape’s supposed fighting back:

“Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James, so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?”

To a majority of this fandom, never losing an opportunity (opportunity: a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something, Remus never said anything about Snape succeeding all the time) to curse James—who, in the author’s words, relentlessly bullied Snape for the past six years—in their 7th year (one year) meant “giving as good as he got” and automatically cancels out everything James did to Snape for the six years before that.

Demonising Snape for wanting to get back at James after being subjected to bullying, assault, and even attempted murder (the werewolf prank) for years is complete and utter victim-blaming. If the victim fights back, it is to be called self-defence, not “bullying back” (there is no such thing anyway) or a rivalry. Acting as though in order to be a “good victim”—whatever that’s supposed to mean—you have to take the bullying lying down, and if you defend yourself, you’re reclassified as the bad guy, is genuinely disgusting to me. If a woman were to defend herself against her assaulters, would she be in the wrong, would that negate what the assaulters did to her?

The pro-bullying and victim-blaming attitude that comes from this fandom is revolting. Defending oneself does not alter the dynamic from a person with more power bullying a victim to a rivalry between two equals. When will people learn to understand that?

And besides, there is absolutely nothing to back up Remus’s claim. In fact, there is more evidence that he was lying:

Remus makes it sound like Snape would just come up to James randomly and just hex him there and then. If he did, don’t you think Lily would’ve found out? Or at the very least the Hogwarts staff? That very much suggests that it was James who initiated these fights.

The Marauders had the cloak of invisibility, a map that could track Snape and everyone at Hogwarts’ every move, and the two-way mirror. What did Snape have?

Why would James hide it from Lily? If he was truly innocent and was the one being hexed senseless, he obviously would not have hidden it from her. What would he even have to hide if that were the case? It’s clear that he knew he was in the wrong and that Lily would have never gotten with him had she known what he was doing behind her back.

Remus is canonically a liar, who lied to Harry many times, especially about Snape. Why does this fandom act like his words about the person he used to bully should be trusted?

Moving on, none of the Marauders’ reasons for bullying Snape exactly scream rivalry:

James himself stated that he bullied Snape because he exists.

Remus called it “an old prejudice” when he and Harry talked in HBP, casting the Marauders as bigots (especially when you remember that Snape was a Slytherin whom they bullied because of his existence).

Sirius (in GoF) claimed that “Snape was just this little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts.”

In SWM, we are shown that the reason James and Sirius attacked Snape—who was minding his own business—was because Sirius was bored, meaning they had done it for fun.

Lily claimed that James walked down corridors and hexed anyone who annoyed him “just because he can.”

Sirius claimed that “we [the Marauders] were sometimes arrogant little berks.”

Tell me, does this seem like a rivalry to you?

[sitp-recs]

going on a loooooong flight and wanted 2 know what your fav flight fics are!

Safe travels, anon!! I rarely read on the plane myself but these long fics are very immersive, and I feel like they would be great flight reads. I made this list 70k+ to keep it short, but there are many great 50k stories out there as well! I also tried to include many T-rated fics as you’ll be in public lol but happy to add more Explicit works if you like 😈

Transfigurations by Resonant (E, 71k)

Five years after Voldemort's defeat, Harry returns to England to help re-open Hogwarts.

Timecode by Rasborealis (M, 73k)

Harry Potter has been dead for two years, and Draco would laugh in the face of anyone claiming differently. Well, anyone but Hermione Granger.

Dwelling by aideomai (T, 83k)

Curses, James and Lily Potter ride again, several Ministry balls, a teenage Summer of Love, a grim young adult dystopian winter, a few different Draco Malfoys, secrets and the problems re: not having any, alternate lives, impossible lives, real lives, allusions to Dirty Dancing, and just because it's not called the Mirror of Erised doesn't mean you shouldn't know better.

Hermione Granger's Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi (T, 93k)

'You're a wizard, Harry' is easier to hear from a half-giant when you're eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you're seventeen and late for work.

Allegiance and Sedition by SilentAuror (E, 100k)

The war is in its fifth year, and Harry finds himself caught up in the confusion of friend versus enemy, spy versus traitor. Cw: mcd

There Is Always the Moon by firethesound (T, 159k)

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

Number Seven by sara_holmes (M, 253k)

Harry already has small children, an ex-wife, annoying colleagues and an international crime ring to deal with. So when Draco Malfoy reappears after eight years AWOL in France, of course Harry is going to leave him well alone...Right?

Eclipse by Mijan (T, 257k)

Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back.

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (T, 300k)

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

Foundations!verse by Saras_Girl (E, 364k)

Harry is about to discover that the steepest learning curve comes after Healer training, and that second chances can be found in unexpected places.

[izzythehutt]

What are your thoughts on Snily that you'd like to share? I'm very curious, because I always love your commentary on the Harry Potter characters and story!

Four people sent me a version of this, thanks guys for indulging my desire to look like I'm answering a need for my opinion on a subject.

My thoughts are that I always liked the idea of it as a one-sided unrequited thing and that it made sense to me as a motivation for Snape, but I found the way the information was artificially withheld from the reader (and more specifically Harry) contrived as hell. I find it incredibly implausible that Harry would spend 7 years in the Wizarding World and never even hear that Snape and his mother were friends, and I find it even more absurd that Lupin and Sirius would apparently not know that James and Snape's rivalry was motivated by jealousy/competition for Lily (or even just that Snape had a crush on her.) It's one of the most contrived things in the books. You can sort of try to retcon it in your head to make it work but it's obvious that Jo was saving it for a final act "reveal" and that really stretches credulity for me.

In general I think the latter half of the series (particularly for those of us who were reading them as they came out and speculated about what was going to happen next) suffered from plot-twist-itis. By the end of the series, the "twists" were all super easy to guess for the reader (Snape being a triple agent and Dumbles ordering him to kill him to keep his cover is the biggest example of, yeah, we all knew this after HBP.)

I also find the way Harry finds everything out after Snape is already dead via memory super emotionally unsatisfying/anti-climactic. How would I have done it differently? Not sure, but Harry actually getting to confront Snape about his crush on his mom/their friendship is something I've always enjoyed the idea of (maybe only in fanfic form). Just because of how uncomfortable he'd be. I don't feel like JKR was interested in a Snape and Harry emotional catharsis, presumably because Sev really wasn't doing it for him, but I would have maybe found that more interesting than what she gave us?

As for the relationship between the characters, I think their relationship was pretty dysfunctional from the jump and Lily (probably unconsciously) kind of enjoyed James and Sev fighting for her attention, lol.

[thewales]

Harry has accused both the palace and the press of pitting Kate and Meghan against each other. While there may be some truth to that - what he fails to mention in his memoir is the internal rivalry that doomed the royal sisterhood from the start.

And like the tearful wedding row - dresses played a central part.

As a self-made woman with her own successful TV career and website, The Tig, Meghan entered the royal fray having already secured paid partnerships with the likes of Neiman Marcus in the US.

Naturally, when Meghan became engaged to Harry in Nov 2017, she would have expected to receive even more preferential treatment from hand-picked suppliers than she had already grown used to.

But as with the family hierarchy - there was a pecking order: and the problem for Meghan was that Kate always appeared to get first dibs on designers.

Erdem Moralıoğlu was one of Meghan’s absolute favourites, but even after Harry had put a ring on it, Kate, who was already a client, continued to get priority. (The Montreal-born, Bethnal Green-based designer had also just unveiled a Spring 2018 collection inspired by Elizabeth II, who made her first appearance at London Fashion Week that year).

Suffice to say the notion of her soon-to-be sister-in-law receiving preferential treatment did not, it is claimed, go down well with Meghan, especially as she “wasn’t even Queen”. (Meghan always pointedly insisted on calling the Princess of Wales “Kate” even though the rest of the family referred to her as “Catherine”. Harry reveals in Spare that when he first introduced Meghan to his brother - Kate remained in the garden, playing with the children - hardly the welcome they both wanted).

Yet while Kate was regularly stepping out in Erdem, as a royal Meghan did not wear the brand on an official engagement until Commonwealth Day in March 2019.

Resentment also grew over Meghan’s mistaken belief that Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, were cashing in on their royal connections to get special treatment.

Wrongly convinced Kate’s family had free use of the Windsor Suite, the VIP lounge at Heathrow, Meghan insisted that her mother Doria use it when travelling to the UK, allegedly citing the risk to her safety. In fact, no one can recall the Middletons using the Windsor Suite - although William and Kate do use it whenever they travel through the airport. Doria was spotted there en route to Windsor for Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018.

Meghan was also said to be upset that Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton initially declined to invite her to her wedding to James Matthews in May 2017, perhaps fearing she would be upstaged by Harry’s girlfriend. She later relented and invited her to the evening reception “to keep the peace”. According to Harry, William and Kate then took exception to the couple moving the name places at the table - before being accused of doing the same when the Sussexes got married.

The French couture dresses did not fit any of the bridesmaids properly and, contrary to Harry’s suggestion that Kate was the only one who made a fuss, Meghan told staff at the time she had complained to the designer and that several of the mothers were angry. The row didn’t actually happen at a fitting but when Kate went round to Meghan’s to discuss it. (At this point both women lived at Kensington Palace: Meghan at Nottingham Cottage and Kate at Apartment 1A).

Ironically, it was Meghan herself who acknowledged to the then Cambridges’ staff that Kate “had left in tears” - in a bid for help to smooth it over. That’s why the palace couldn’t demand a retraction.

Even the Prince of Wales had witnessed the aftermath of Meghan’s “bridezilla” behaviour.

The Duchess is alleged to have spoken particularly harshly to a young member of the team in front of her colleagues after criticising a wedding plan she had drawn up, saying: “If there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.” When William heard of the incident, he took the woman aside and said: “I hope you’re okay. You’re doing a really good job,” prompting her to burst into tears.

But the Cambridges, as they were then known, had their reservations from the start.

As she never shied from reminding aides, she already had a public profile thanks to starring in the legal drama Suits. “Her approach was: I know everything but I want you to control me so I can rebel against it”, said someone familiar with her modus operandi. She didn’t seem to fully understand how the monarchy worked, however. At one point during the Sussexes’ tour of Australia in 2018, according to Low, she allegedly declared: “I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this.” On another occasion she asked those involved with the Royal Foundation why they weren’t doing more to “monetise” the Invictus Games, Harry’s charitable initiative for wounded ex-service personnel.

Contrary to Harry’s suggestion he was unsupportive, it was the Prince of Wales “in fix it mode” who agreed that experienced and highly professional Amy Pickerill be moved from the press office to become Meghan’s deputy private secretary following her engagement to Harry.

Yet shortly after the announcement, a senior aide discreetly raised with the couple the difficulties caused by their treatment of staff who were “bending over backwards” to help them. People needed to be treated with understanding, even when they were not performing to Harry and Meghan’s exacting standards. The Duchess is said to have replied: “It’s not my job to coddle people.”

Royals are expected to pay for their wardrobe - official and unofficial. Yet when she first came on the scene, Meghan’s expectation was that she could keep some of the dresses she had been loaned.

Yet when an ice cream van was sent to Kensington Palace, it apparently came with Meghan’s strict instructions that it should only be enjoyed by the Sussexes’ crew and not the Cambridges, their staff or even their children. After the Duchess left, her staff called the rest of the household insisting they share in the spoils. One former employee explained that Meghan’s generosity made her unpleasant behaviour even harder to manage. “One minute she’d be buying you flowers, the next she’d be blanking you.”

So when William claimed Meghan was “difficult”, “abrasive”, “rude” and “alienating half the staff” during the dog bowl row at Nottingham Cottage in 2019, he wasn’t “parroting” the media, as Harry claims. In fact, he was all too aware of Meghan’s reputation well before the nickname “Duchess Difficult” started appearing in the press.

Read full article for free here

[pansysbbg777]

-dr lore + future

≡;- ꒰ ° lore ꒱

mostly everything is the same about the marauders generation except for a few things: (i) james and regulus are together instead of james and lily, and they had harry as their son (lily carried harry for them). (ii) mary and lily are together and they had twins, a daughter and a son. (iii) sirius and remus are together and adopted a girl. (iv) marlene and dorcas also got married and had two sons, barty crouch jr. and evan rosier are happily married w/ no kids (v) voldemort and bellatrix accidentally produced a kid, mattheo, but voldemort never found out. after bellatrix was banished to azkaban, mattheo was put under the care of andromeda and ted tonks. (vi) oh yeah, none of them died lol. (vii) ron and ginny are twins, luna is the same age as ginny. (viii) peter pettigrew was prosecuted and charged with conspiracy and manslaughter

voldemort had the same motivations and stuff, he tried to kill harry but again, the killing curse rebounded and moldied the voldy.

i also come from the ravenclaw line - i am a direct descendent of rowena ravenclaw. despite what history tells us, ravenclaw and slytherin had a very troubling rivalry. rowena didn't agree with salazar's views and feared that one day, his tumultuous beliefs would be inherited by someone in his bloodline and cauae devastation to the future wizarding world. it is likely she had a seer-seeing vision of this, as she is rumored to have been one of the first known seers. she created a secret room at hogwarts, filled with various ancient tomes, her personal journals, and numerous magical artifacts/items owned by her.

in her last journal, she notes a vision that she had of a girl from the ravenclaw line who is prophesied to defeat a slytherin who threatens the sanctity and safety of the wizarding world and people's. the prophecy, much like trelawney's, is a poem (and additionally, mentions 'the chosen one' as also being an important figure in the defeat of this slytherin).

voldemort did not know about ravenclaw's hidden room or prophecy, but he knew she had descendants. he felt threatened by their meer exsistence and sought to kill them in case they grew powerful and tried to kill him. so, he hunted my parents and killed them - however, my parenrs had hid me with the delacour's, a family friend, and voldemort never found out about my existence. but he will eventually.

...  future 𑁍ࠜೄ ･ﾟˊˎ

no canon: sorcerer's stone or prisoner of azkaban plot!

manipulated plots: chamber of secrets, deathly hallows!

plots that will happen: goblet of fire, order of the phoenix, half blood prince!

1st year: chamber of secrets but different. this year, i discover my relation to ravenclae and uncover my bloodline's secrets as well as hogwarts secrets. i also found out about ginny being manipulated by tom riddle'a diary and a book in rowena ravenclaw's hidden room in the castle tells us how we can elicit the piece of soul in the book to materialize in the form of a ghost. we will try (and suceed) in persuading this form of riddle to turn to the good side and help us when voldemort returns.

meanwhile, death eaters are starting to group together once more and dark attacks continue to haunt great britain. there is something afoot, but no one knows exactly what. at the end of the year, me and harry will have to stop one of voldemort's evil plans.

2nd year: again, harry and i will have to stop one of voldemort's evil plans.

3rd year: peter pettigrew escapes from azkaban and comes after harry

4th year: goblet of fire

5th year: order of the phoenix

6th year: half-blood prince

7th year: deathly hallows but also with a plot that includes my prophecy and me

[truemeg]

I saw a t*kt*k that was the usual "cursed child is bad because it portrays harry as an absent father and harry would never be an absent father and he would never raise his kids to have a prejudice against slytherin"

ok so there's 2 parts to this (no pun intended) that I want to address.

"Harry is portrayed as an absent father"

no he isn't?? the only thing I can see as part of the "absent father" portrayal is the implication in the play that harry spends a lot of time at the Ministry. Which is true. It's implied that Harry is sometimes off on missions (he recovers the time turner in act 1/part 1) and Scorpius has a line later where he says "he's taking time away from the ministry?" as if that's a rare occurrence, rare enough that scorpius of all people also notices it. sure. he works a lot. but he also makes a big effort to be involved in his kids' lives. he brings them gifts, he knows when they're bickering, he does actually connect with albus in the first scene. he's not an absent father.

I don't want to jump the gun and say the phrase "absent parent" is becoming another buzzword for the internet to misuse, but I think people are misinterpreting Harry and Albus having a rocky relationship because Albus is figuring himself out and Harry no longer knows how to connect with him. Instead there's this jump to saying "cursed child portrays harry as this terrible father!!" when it really doesn't portray harry as terrible, it portrays harry as flawed, like any parent would be, obviously (this goes into my longer rant about how the fandom loves to think that all of harry's trauma and flaws were destroyed along with the horcrux inside him, but that's for another time)

2. "harry raised his kids with a prejudice against slytherin"

no he didn't??? literally his first conversation with albus is about how it would be ok if albus was in slytherin. really the slytherin prejudice comes from james. which makes sense. if james spent the last 2 years at hogwarts in gryffindor with all his gryffindor friends, having the usual rivalry with slytherin, of course he's going to be an annoying 12/13 year old about it and tease his insecure brother about it. albus is actually the one that takes the fact that he's sorted into slytherin and projects that into his issues with his dad. harry is never shown to have an issue with albus being in slytherin, whereas albus sees that as the root of his issues with him and harry, and later finds out that's not the case. i genuinely think the slytherin prejudice that we see in cursed child just stems from the usual, shitty middle-school age drama.

[dragoneyes618]

Theory: The other Isle children encouraged Mal and Uma’s rivalry

Because seriously, eternal hatred because of a bucket of shrimp is kind of extreme, isn’t it?

But the other Isle children would have had what to benefit if they were no longer friends.

Think about it. Mal and her group of friends: Mal, the half-fae, the daughter of Maleficent who rules the Isle. Jay, half-djinn - and even besides for that, since it didn’t matter on the Isle, master thief and liar, who could find his way into and talk his way out of anything, and steal everything you had on you while he was at it. Evie, who like Jay could charm her way out of anything, except instead of glib lies she uses her beautiful looks. Carlos, who was terrified of everything, especially his mother, but who’s a tech whiz and a lot smarter than he was given credit for.

Then there’s Uma and her friends. Uma herself - daughter of the sea witch Ursula - on an island surrounded by the ocean, she was probably able to draw on some residue of power. Not to mention she became a pirate captain for a reason. Harry, only son of Captain James Hook, with his father’s rage and madness and a hook to boot. Gil, Gaston’s youngest son, with his father’s brawn and willing to follow orders to the letter.

Imagine if all of them joined forces. They would be unstoppable. The Isle would be theirs.

...Which the other Isle kids would not have been so happy about.

Together, they are a threat.

Divided, they are...well, not weak, certainly, but not as strong of a threat either. Mal’s busy with her thing, and Uma’s busy with her thing, and they’re too busy sniping at each other to think of uniting, combining their territories, and then advancing on the rest of the Isle.

So the other Isle kids encouraged their rivalry. It wouldn’t have had to be much; just a couple of pirate kids stopping by Ursula’s Fish and Chips and telling Uma, “No way you’re going to let her get away with that!” or some of the witches telling Mal, “Serves Uma right, what you did to her hair.”

Enough of these comments for long enough, every so often...

They were driven apart, any chance at reconciling their childhood friendship long gone.

And everyone knows how the story ended.

[thepoetsvortex]

It’s important that what the Marauders did to Snape was entirely unprovoked.

Jo’s mission was to prove that the “good” guys have bad sides, too. She couldn’t have accomplished this if Severus had “started” it, or if it was *really* a rivalry or if he was just as bad.

It’s important to the narrative that Snape did literally nothing to deserve this. Besides the fact that literally nothing else would have made Harry see his father’s flaws, it adds a real darkness to James’s character that really hammers home the pivotal message that the Light could be screwed up, too. Diminishing it to a rivalry really takes away from that.