#but barty is a core member

[saintsenara]

Snape. Needs little imagination to ship him with literally everyone, even the giant squid. Of the very few pairings I don’t think have been covered with him yet… (though they probably have been and I’ve missed them in the delight of the more unhinged pairs!)

- Snape/Molly

- Snape/Umbridge

- Snape/Charity Burbage

- Snape/Barty Crouch Jr

- Snape/Barty Crouch Sr

- Snape/Slughorn

- Snape/Neville

thank you very much for the ask, anon - and i hope you have indeed seen the masterpiece of shipping snape with the giant squid, the dream of the fisherman's wife by eldritcher.

there are a couple of these i've answered before - charity burbage/severus snape and severus snape/horace slughorn - but as for the rest...

severus snape/molly weasley

this also got a shoutout from a second mystery anon:

as i've also said when thinking about the concept of shipping snape with arthur, and molly with both sirius and lupin, something which is really undervalued by the fandom is the domestic role molly and arthur play within the order - and the way that [especially] molly's domestic labour in both grimmauld place and the burrow is central to the order's ability to actually do its work.

and this is - on the one hand - things like cooking and cleaning for the order, but it's also expressed through the emotional comfort we see both molly and arthur provide to order members, especially tonks and lupin in half-blood prince.

snape's canonical refusal to engage with the order as a community - i.e. by not eating with them - is a metaphor for the isolation he's forced into by his role as a spy, as well as a way for the narrative to keep the reader unsure about where exactly his loyalties lie. it's also - obviously - because he's a bit of a dick.

but something i think is really underappreciated about molly is her canonical willingness to take in waifs and strays. i think you could do something really nice with the idea of her forcing snape to socialise with the order - to eat and to be comforted - then leading somewhere further.

especially because it gives me the chance to clamber onto my soapbox once again, and say that snape - since the doylist text regards him as something approaching a hero [no matter what the rest of us think] - encapsulates the series' view that the only form of love which is properly valuable and transformative is love rooted in suffering and sacrifice. the series really undervalues the sheer power of love-as-comfort - to its detriment.

but a love story which begins with a lonely, cold, hungry man being given a bowl of soup is no less of a love story than that same man enduring misery in solemn silence. if you ask me.

severus snape/dolores umbridge

i reckon she was into it - which is why she was trying to flirt with him over steaming cauldrons full of veritaserum - but snape was horrified [after all, pink really doesn't go with his aesthetic].

barty crouch jr./severus snape

yes, absolutely.

obviously, crouch-as-moody's "if there's one thing i hate, it's a death eater who walked free" line - once you move past the fact that it's an amazing misdirect - is primarily referring to the fact that he hates any death eater who got out of going to azkaban after voldemort's disappearance by claiming to have been under the imperius curse, and that he will be horrified when harry tells him that voldemort was compelled to forgive these men lest he have no core support.

but i think it's also worth noting that "moody" says this line just after he's been beefing with snape about how there are "spots that never come off" - and that it is snape, rather than karkaroff [a much more obvious traitor], who bears the brunt of his ire throughout the year he's undercover.

in half-blood prince, snape suggests that voldemort was pretty pissed off to discover him working at hogwarts when he came to the castle chilling cutely on the back of quirrell's head. undoubtedly, voldemort then instructed crouch to have a good look at what snape was up to during goblet of fire, and crouch must be the source of voldemort's conviction that snape is "one who i believe has left me forever... he will be killed, of course".

and something very interesting about barty crouch jr. is that the sheer possessive derangement of his obsession with voldemort outpaces even that displayed by bellatrix. he is desperate to be voldemort's favourite - and to be honoured by him above all others.

as i've written a lot about elsewhere, it's clear that snape occupies a fairly special position in voldemort's inner circle, in that he's the dark lord's exception in terms of social class - the poor but brilliant half-blood who evidently reminds voldemort of himself. snape evidently receives quite a lot of voldemort's attention prior to 1981 - and he's able to regain that position with relative ease after voldemort's resurrection.

and this is the sort of thing crouch would have been raging about - both in the first war ["why is he more interested in this greasy half-blood than me?"] and in his year undercover ["why is he always going on about me finding out about snape's loyalties? i'm loyal enough!"].

the erotic potential of obsessive, competitive jealousy is something i am highly interested in, and - as i think when it comes to pairing snape with regulus - it would make this ship slap.

barty crouch sr./severus snape

the other side of the "if there's one thing i hate, it's a death eater who walked free" coin is barty crouch sr.'s obsessive desire to catch the death eaters who got away with their first war crimes, even after the ministry commits to looking the other way and pretending voldemort's dead and gone.

and, since it seems pretty clear that snape's acquittal following voldemort's disappearance was based on pretty tenuous evidence and forced through only by the strength of dumbledore's personal influence in the wizengamot, crouch being convinced snape was a loyal death eater - and being determined to go to extraordinary lengths to prove it - is a concept which immediately compels me.

and - once again - we find ourselves recognising the erotic power of obsession...

neville longbottom/severus snape

i have an unshakeable fondness for the idea that snape survives the war and remains at hogwarts as headmaster, which means not only that he doesn't object to neville's appointment as herbology teacher but also that he finds himself forced to interact with him on a daily basis.

forced proximity of any kind is a hot trope - and the fact that someone with snape's interest in potions would have to have a close relationship with the herbology department in order to get his hands on their stash of magical plants means that there is a ready-made springboard for these two to have to get to know each other... better than they were expecting.

should neville go for it? fuck no. but he's never struck me as someone with particularly good self-esteem.

[sofoulandfairaday]

1 for the ask game

from: choose violence ask game

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Err... all of them? I'm not even kidding. More on this here.

Bellatrix: fortunately there's been progress in the fandom, but for years everyone loved to describe her as an overly sexualized, crazy, shrieking mindless slave, when she's actually quite the opposite. She is sadistic, but not insane, she's passionate but not irrational (she is the only one who knew Snape was a traitor; to me, it's because of a peculiar mix of rationality and intuition that shows her to be actually quite intelligent). Nothing suggests her being promiscuous in the text and I would actually argue the opposite of her (why would she ever lower herself to sleep with someone who she deems her inferior - so basically everyone -, even just to satisfy mere physical desires? This post, to me, is Bella at her core).

Narcissa: this is canon Narcissa, all of you are perfectly entitled to your soft babygirl headcanons, of course, but then again you are perfectly entitled to be wrong <3 [also, shameless self-promo: x]

The blorboification continues for every single member of the Black family and I hate it so much you have no idea:

Andromeda: somehow described as a soft little girl who loved her mean, mean sisters so much and had to run away? Bitch stood up to seven centuries of tradition, and abandoned her sisters and parents, to marry a boy she had fallen in love with maybe two years prior (we know this based on Tonks' age). Good for her, but as I have said previously, both Narcissa and Andromeda (and Sirius, really) strike me as a bit selfish. The one with the romantic attachment to the idea of her family, the child most like Walburga, is Bellatrix.

But this is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what this fandom does to Regulus and Sirius.

Regulus: canonically a Voldemort fanboy, with newspaper clippings of him everywhere, and a blood supremacist. Sirius says it better than anyone: Reggie is soft. But not in the way the fandom believes, nope. He's just a coward who, much like Draco years later, was super excited to be like Bellatrix (Lucius) until he realized what killing really meant, what fighting a war really was, and most importantly because Voldemort touched him personally (Kreacher, whom he loved). Voldemort was probably a little more deranged than he had been at the beginning of the First War, and someone that had inherited the Black pride/haughtiness probably didn't like being branded like cattle and treated like a slave, on top of everything else.

Sirius: fanon Sirius is basically another character. Canon!Sirius is: tall, canonically incredibly handsome, quite masculine (in an explicit and toxic way, especially as a teenager in the fucking 1970s - the skirt-wearing, feminist one-liners spouting version of Sirius is something I just cannot get behind), a dick, a bit classist ((don't come @ me with your "oh, but what about Moony?!" because a) we don't know Remus' wealth when Lyall and Hope were still alive, we only know he can't get a job as an adult because of his condition and b) Remus is Sirius' exception, in the same way Lily is Snape's when he calls her a Mudblood - everyone else is in his eyes)), brave to the point of recklessness, quite cruel, funny, witty, magically talented, loyal to a fault, extremely charismatic and everything else outlined here. For the same reasons, I'll say Remus too.

Don't even get me started on Severus Snape. Other people have spoken on this better than I could ever. At least here on Tumblr, though, it seems to me that things are getting a little better after years of absolutely bizarre takes. Or maybe I've blocked all of the idiots idk.

Dumbledore. More on this here and maybe I'll outline my ideas better in a future post.

Also: I do not accept any characterization of Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch jr, Reggie, and Rabastan Lestrange as anything less than violent blood supremacists. Yes, they can be nuanced and gay (and only for each other might I add), but these people are the KKK (metaphorically, of course, because I hate comparing real-world tragedies to completely fictional ones, but still).

Lucius: a complete dick, but definitely not abusive. The man couldn't raise a hand to Draco if the Dark Lord threatened to kill him over it.

Speaking of which: my darling Lord Voldemort. Not much to say about him really because I know that some people do write him in a very interesting way (and I am open to interpretations of his character even if they are different from how I see him - and I have a very fucking specific vision of him). The problem is that perhaps three (3) of these people write him with Bellatrix and that saddens me.

Now, I mostly read First Wizarding War stuff or Death Eater stuff so I can't really speak to many other characters, especially in Harry's generation, but anything other than cowardly Draco is not a good Draco characterization to me. Ron is hands-down the best one in the Golden Trio and Ron Weasley bashing is pathetic. Hermione has faults but is ultimately a strong, take-no-bullshit girl and I'll take that over basically any and all female YA protagonists. And Harry is sassiness personified, but with a heart of gold, and oh-so-caring. Which is also why I can't read dark!Harry for the life of me. It just makes me giggle.

[made-this-cause-why-not]

DC Comics Characters as Mauraders

So this initially stemmed from my bi yearly harlivy brainrot session where I thought "oh my god, Dorcas and Marlene are so Ivy and Harley." Specifically Dark Knights of Steel Harlivy (I would bury an army for you) (In return you will live here with me/ In return you won't fight in the war. This again? This always) . Want me to explain- gladly. Marlene "dive in head first, my blood runs red and gold, if I go, I will drag you to hell with me" McKinnon, working for The Order and thinking "hey this is kinda sketch, I don't know if we can trust Dumbledore" and Dorcas "every acquaintance is a new connection to better myself, killed by Voldemort personally, I will slither on my stomach if it means I can slice as your Achilles tendon and watch you fall" Meadows being the Anti-Heroes needed to end the Voldemort. They know they must fight in the war, they just need to fight on their own side.

And then I thought- why stop at them. So I present, the Mauraders as DC Comics Characters:

Starting off strong, James and Lily as the Iconic Blue Boy Scout and Pulitzer Prize winning Lois Lane. Do I need to explain? The Kal-el is so James/Mirrorball coded, and if James ever became a supe, Lily Evans would be the first to know.

After this, we have Remus and Sirius as Bruce and Selina Kyle. Remus is so Bruce Wayne- an orphan with a bad experience with animals at a young age. Reserved and quiet but a commanding authority figure that eyes turn to in times of need. Like, Remus is so batman but Brucie- oh that all Remu. Remu is a cassanova that everyone has a crush on, the life of the party that drinks iced tea at Gala's and is always limping or wincing over something. Sirius, well for a second I did switch the two and have Sirius be bruce but no, Sirius is so Selina. Sirius steals diamonds from museums, knowing that he has the money and Remus could buy them if he really wanted because "well where's the fun in that Moony." (Sirius has a huge platonic obsession with Superman and when Remus makes the Justice League he is ELATED. He loves going to HQ and telling embarrassing stories to James. He even let it slip that he calls Remus Moony and now all of the Core Members do it too. He loves hates it.) (Also, Sirius is friends with Marlene in any universe and he loves that it annoys Remus a little bit. When Harley/Marlene finally joins the league, they celebrate by breaking into a new art exhibit)

After this we have Pete as Barry "I could have finished this myself but that wouldn't be as fun" Allen. Pete is kinda just at the meetings as a favor to James and doesn't understand why Batman won't just let him take care of the Joker himself. Peter is nice and always a bit confused as to what is going on. Batman used to scare him, but shortly after learning about Moony, the two started bonding over nerdy shit together.

With the Arrowverse being the origins of my love for D.C (yes, I know it isn't comic accurate, but middleschool me loved it so fuck off), I have to make Mary as Dinah. I don't know much about comic accurate Dinah- a problem I plan on rectifying in the future- but her general "I'm done with this shit" vibe is matches Mary "i'm leaving the wizarding world and not turning back".

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Alice and Frank as Hawkman and Hawkgirl

Evan and Barty as Penguin and Riddler (Gotham's Penguin and Batman 2022's Riddler because yes)

Regulus as Jason "Do I look like Batman? Musty Bitch" Todd

[buckets-and-trees]

Sedition

a DARK crossover between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Everyone knows the story of how Peter Parker, the Boy Who Lived. In the race to find the Infinity Stones during the first Infinity War, Peter was exposed to the Aether in a magical catastrophe after his parents - members of the Order of the Phoenix - found the Reality Stone in its liquified form. Driven to complete his collection, Thanos hunted down the child and his parents, killing them both in the confrontation, and stopped from gaining the Aether when it protected its host from Thanos's killing curse. The Wizarding World assumed the titan was dead, and his followers scattered to the wind or reformed and made penance.

Until Thanos returned thirteen years later, making his absence seem only a Blip in the respite of his pursuit to control all the stones, and thus not only all magic, but all elements of the universe, and every wizard and muggle in existence.

If there's any chance of stopping the mad titan, desperate players on both sides will have to band together or risk losing everything.

Content Warnings: murder, character death, political corruption, violence, torture, manipulation, mind control, betrayal, sexual situations - each piece in the collection will have applicable warnings listed, and any necessary additions overall will be added to this list

AUTHOR NOTE ON THIS PROJECT: I will be playing FAST AND LOOSE with pieces of canon from both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This is not a copy/paste retelling of HP with Marvel characters. You will see characters from both narratives. I will be crafting the storyline overall to serve the Sedition AU, not the existing storylines from the MCU or HP. I will be putting some of the 'hero' characters from the MCU into dark 'villain' roles, but I will maintain their core character identities.

Additional Notes: This concept was initially sparked by some incredible moodboards created by @ghostlytyrantpeach and a lively conversation that then ensued on a discord server.

Statement about me, HP, and she who should not be named

PART ONE: Unrest - Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes

Currently revealed Character Roster:

Steve Rogers = Death Eater, no HP equivalent

Bucky Barnes = Death Eater, no HP equivalent

Voldemort/Tom Riddle → Thanos

Harry Potter → Peter Parker

Severus Snape → Natasha Romanov

Lucius Malfoy → Clint Barton

Narcissa Malfoy → Laura Barton

Draco Malfoy → Cooper Barton

Bellatrix Lestrange

Yaxley

Dolohov

Pius Thicknesse = Ministry Official, under Yaxley's control

Thaddeus Ross = Ministry Official, under Yaxley's control, true allegiance TBD

Alexander Pierce = Barty Crouch, Sr. adjacent/replacement, head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation

[enbysiriusblack]

have u seen party (peter x barty) yet??

i have not. but i instantly do not like it. to me barty very much does believe in the death eater cause, and agrees with voldemort, absolutely agrees with what he's doing. while peter just wants to stay alive and be known and will do anything to achieve that. their core beliefs, as well as interests and personalities kinda clash.

to me, the best person for barty to date is evan. i like the whole 'evan gets killed so barty goes insane and holds back no restraint for the order'.

and the best person for peter to date is,, i don't know. like i definitely think he had a crush on remus, dated emmeline for a while, made out with james more than once, had something that no one really understands with regulus. but like,, there's no one big ship on an even close to a soulmate level. and there's a reason for that; a lot of the other characters want relationships, and are fundamentally different when they're dating to when they're not, like single!james and relationship!james, but i won't get into the whole james thing or I'll be rambling for a long time (if you're curious just send me an ask or a message). anyway, peter dating emmeline is the exact same as peter not dating emmeline. when peter is dating someone, they are not his first priority. if he's dating someone who he's also friends with, then he'll think of them as a friend before a lover. he hates acts of romance towards him, and having to give them to others. i mean, in soulmate au's the only person i can think of for peter to have as a soulmate is vincent van gogh /j. but anyway, peter, to me, doesn't care about romantic relationships.

ok i kinda went very off from the original question! sorry! but to fully, properly answer your question. no, i hadn't heard of that ship yet. and i don't really ship them, i don't really see them becoming that close friends either. i think I've previously said, on another post, about my remus/barty thing; unrequited crush to rivals on barty's end and disinterested acquaintances to rivals on remus' end. i dont think barty and peter would really interact much. even with jegulus, highly due to my barty/remus hc. barty wouldn't wanna hang out with remus, remus the same with barty. absolute dislike for no apparent reason and no one understands their hatred in the slightest. peter, a good friend at this time, stands by remus. then if the ship is being shipped from when they're both death eaters, again as i said at the start, different viewpoints. barty is trying to help voldemort win the war, and kill as many order members as he can to avenge evan. peter is trying to survive. barty is grieving and on a mission, peter is depressed and terrified for his life. they are not at a place to make friends or start dating.

[marvol0]

OUTSIDER (6) || Rabastan Lestrange WTM

Series Synopsis: When the truth comes out about the future inside the walls of Hogwarts, on the first night back in 1977, what will happen for those involved with the chaos that ensued?

Secrets outed, Lies revealed and true intentions determined.

Pairing: Rabastan Lestrange x Fem!Regulus Black

Notes: Short chapter, Arcturus and Regulus bonding.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄'𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍, seeing the horrifying death of one of their pears shook the occupants to the core. Regulus close friends and family were in a state of panicked mortification, their youngest family member had not only died to the war but by her own accord in sacrifice.

Atlas clung to his mother, he knew she had died from the description on of the caves contents he had gathered from Harry, but still, seeing her being dragged to her death by the creatures in the water was more traumatizing then he would have thought.

Rabastan had his head pushed into her neck, still a sobbing mess, he had his fingers on her pulse point reassuring himself that his other half was still alive and well. He didn't know how he would go on without her in his life, how was he going to cope with Regulus' loss when he was going mad just at the thought of losing her.

Evan and Barty were holding onto her legs for dear life, foreheads pushing onto her kneecaps staining her skirt with their salty tears. The thought of loosing their sister, the rock of their group, was taring them apart.

Regulus was reassuring her boys that she was still alive and wasn't going anywhere, her fingers threading through their hair. She caught eyes with Sirius' tear stained face, he was distraught at the thought of loosing his sister a second time, he was going to make things right between them. He wouldn't let it happen, not this time around.

Once everyone had calmed down slightly Dumbledore stood from his seat.

"I think after that horrifying watch we need a much needed break." The man announced, slim tables appeared by the walls filled with a variety of food and drinks. People started to move around the hall, some leaving the room to clean themselves up.

Arcturus tapped his granddaughters shoulder motioning her to follow him out the grand doors, once she was able to untangle herself from the mass of limbs clung to her she followed him out. The strolled by the Black lake in silence for a few moments before the aging man broke it.

"I know you are already planning for what has just happened, planning to sacrifice yourself for what, I do not know." He started, eyeing her from the corner of his eye sockets.

Regulus paused in her step, thinking over whether to tell her grandfather about her findings. If she didn't her plan would go accordingly ending with her demise, but if she told him it could go one of two ways.

One: She told him her plans, they started working together, her mother caught wind of what was happening and told her beloved Lord ending in hours, days or maybe months of torture for the betrayal and a gruesome death.

or Two: She tells her grandfather her findings, they work together making sure nobody except those closest know about what is going on, they gather the resources to get the locket, apparate from the cave with side-along apparation ending in success, survival and more research.

The girl sighs before abruptly sitting down on the pebbly ground, she motions for Arcturus to do the same. Lord Black gave the girl a odd look before summoning a chair for himself.

"As you know I did not want to join the Death Eaters-" She was cut off by the man.

"I didn't want any of my family joining that man, Black bow to nobody." He ranted. "Sorry dear, do carry on."

She rolled her eyes slightly before starting to explain once more. "The first time I met the Dark Lord I could tell something was off, it was almost like he wasn't whole. His magic was dark and powerful, I would have revelled in it if it was not for the parts tainted by something, something above all evil."

Arcturus was thoughtful about the information, motioning for her to continue.

"That night I got back home and went straight to the library hoping to find whatever it was my magic was warning me about, I searched for hours, by the time the sun rose I had still found nothing. I was to go back to Hogwarts that day so I hoped I would find something in the library here.

For the next few weeks I soured the shelves of the Hogwarts library but nothing came to fruition, I was appointed prefect so I had the ability to use the Restricted section. By the time of the Yule holidays I had found a book that sounded hopeful."

Something clicked in the aging mans head, "That is the reason you did not join us last Yule?"

Regulus spoke in a slightly irritated voice, annoyed by the interruption, before continuing her story. " Yes, Grandfather. Anyway I used the book to help me with finding what I was feeling that night, a name came up in the helpful book so I searched for another by the name and I found one, it was tucked away at the back of the Restricted section."

"What was the name that came up, Regulus?" Arcturus inquired.

"Horcrux." Regulus offered.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hey! I love your meta’s, a little while ago you talked about The Order of the Phoenix as an organization could you talk about the Death Eaters?

The post anon is referencing.

TL;DR the Order is incompetently hilarious and Dumbledore is a man who trusts no one.

Oh, the Death Eaters, what to say about the Death Eaters...

In a World Without Voldemort, They'd Probably Be Arsonists

One of the things JKR implies in the series, and something fandom seems to take for granted, is that Tom Riddle is the ultimate corrupting influence.

Were it not for him, the Wizarding World would be a much better place, and people like Bellatrix LeStrange would be productive members of society.

As soon as he is killed, even, by Harry, the good guys win, their problems all presumably solved, and Harry tells his son Albus Severus that it's totally fine if he's put into Slytherin.

I don't believe that though.

To me, it's not so much that Tom Riddle corrupted these people, but that he gave them an organized cause. The people themselves, oh, they were itching for a fight.

In a world without Tom I think they'd be a loosely, poorly organized, group (probably with Bellatrix as the ring leader) where they commit acts of domestic terrorism probably involving burning offensive shops to the ground or attacking muggleborns, halfbloods, and blood traitors.

Voldemort, to me, is designed to pander to them (and not the other way around).

The Death Eaters' Beginnings

So, first off, I think Tom's goals are not what he says they are. What he represents to his followers is exactly what they want to hear, wrapped in a grandiose theatric bow that they just love.

But how did this all start?

First, I don't believe in the Knights of Walpurgis. Instead I think Tom came relatively out of nowhere in the 70's uses parseltongue to prove his heritage as the Heir of Slytherin and thus of purer blood than any of them.

He throws these exciting rallies/parties that the rebellious, angsty, teenage heirs all go to. There he says everything they wanted to hear in the most eloquent manner they've ever heard, promises them the action that their fathers have never delivered, promises them a role in the glorious revolution and a place in history, and probably offers them mounds of cocaine.

All the Death Eaters we see, or the core of them, appear to be in this age range where they'd be in Hogwarts or just out of it when Voldemort came knocking. I can imagine they're all whipped up with excitement, YEAH LET'S BLOW UP THE MUDBLOODS and for some that's great, for others... things don't go the way they expected.

October 31, 1981: It All Falls Apart

Regulus famously steals Tom's horcrux. I imagine it wasn't so much that he learned the error of his ways but that he saw what Tom Riddle was really after: the destruction of his very society.

Lucius is riding high until October 31, 1981 and he sees the complete destruction of the entire Black family. Lucius' priorities greatly shift and as he grows older he prays Voldemort never returns. Unfortunately, Tom does, and he charges interest.

Bellatrix absolutely loses her mind, refuses to accept reality, and tries to torture the Longbottoms for information they do not possess. She is imprisoned in Azkaban and never truly recovers from this.

Snape ends up the cause of death for Lily Evans and must forever live with the guilt and be tied to her prophesied son. He also becomes Dumbledore's lackey forever, which ultimately gets him killed.

Point being, no one's having a good time. Some because they figure out being a Death Eater wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and others because they had the Voldemort rug pulled out from under their feet when Tom Riddle disappears.

Pettigrew flees and lives as the Weasley rat for nearly fifteen years.

They're left making a mad scramble as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Canon Catches Up

More than ten years go by and then suddenly, in a muggle graveyard, the surviving Death Eaters discover that they are bound to Voldemort for the rest of their lives.

Death cannot stop this man and he has branded them: there's no escape.

Some are still enthusiastic supporters of the cause: Bellatrix is vindicated that her lord has returned, he rescues her from hell on earth, and everything's finally coming up Bella. Barty is similar in actively working for Voldemort's resurrection.

Lucius, meanwhile, lives in constant terror. Karkaroff desperately flees the country and hopes Tom will not find him. Snape, is in fact, Dumbledore's agent. Pettigrew only returned in utter desperation and has now cut off his own hand.

They're not the young men they were, some of them have families, to some of the past ten years have been utterly miserable. They have to watch as their children make the same damn mistakes they did, be sucked into this same hell hole, and there's nothing they can do about it.

There is a notable reluctance for the cause, and yet, they have to try with the same vigor or this madman will kill them all.

And it's all worthless anyway: come 1998, Voldemort dies again (perhaps for real this time, who knows, Harry Potter seems to think so for whatever reason) and then they are imprisoned for their acts as Death Eaters.

And they just laugh, because how badly Lucius wishes he could go back in time and tell his eighteen-year-old self, "YOU DUMB FUCK, LEAVE NOW!"

But Do They Learn Anything?

No.

Just because we see some of them regret being Death Eaters doesn't mean they regret their beliefs. Their beliefs were fine, even blowing up people here and there, a bit gauche but fine.

But maybe following Voldemort blindly was a bad idea.

Are They More Competent Than the Order?

No.

Tom Riddle is terrifyingly competent in that he infiltrates the government with ease, has spies everywhere, and all but proclaims himself minister one day and nobody blinks.

He gains the full support of most of the wizarding world's wealthiest and prestigious families.

But he doesn't actually give these people anything to do. Because there's nothing for them to do, with them, Tom's won. He owns the Wizengamot, the Ministry, everything.

There's no need to fight. It's over, there never was a war. Society is primed to accept Tom Riddle as their ruler.

However, the likes of Bellatrix LeStrange thinks there's a glorious war on, so "uh, go out and blow up a few muggles, have fun." And the young Death Eaters (and the older ones), think they've committed this great, daring, brave, and very important act.

Tom only seems to hand out real assignments when in desperate straits or else when being particularly vindictive.

Lucius, after messing up with the diary, is told to retrieve a prophecy he is not allowed to touch in a department of the ministry he should have no access to. If he fails: Tom kills his entire family. When Lucius does fail, Tom assigns his son to assassinate an already dying Dumbledore. These aren't real tasks, though they do have the appearance of one, and consequences for failure.

Barty, Tom is forced to rely on, as he is trapped in this dying infant's body. And better Barty, someone who is truly loyal and seems fairly clever, than Peter Pettigrew who is a miserable scum bag who'd sell his grandmother for a bar of soap.

Barty, of course, fucks this up. Rather than just kidnap Harry Potter at any of the many easy points this could be done (Hogsmeade trip, lure Harry out to Hogsmeade with super secret serial information about Voldemort/Snape being a Death Eater, etc.), Barty is determined to make use of the Triwizard Tournament to destroy his father's legacy.

This means rather than a few weeks, it takes months to kidnap Harry, and even then they bring along an extra boy who then gets killed and provides some evidence that Tom Riddle has in fact returned. (Somebody murdered Cedric). It takes months and Barty actively ensuring Harry makes it through the tournament and does well, leaving open the possibility that he might get caught helping Harry cheat at any moment. And of course, Barty has to pretend to be Madeye Moody for months, keeping his man locked and drugged in his trunk.

Thankfully, Moody's such a paranoid wreck, no one even notices.

Quirrell, Tom is forced to rely on. Quirrell fucks up, though admittedly not as badly as Barty. Quirrell fails to steal the stone when it's in transit/in Gringotts. He fails to murder Harry Potter, an eleven year old boy in the world's most dangerous school. He rouses Snape's suspicion almost immediately. Then of course he doesn't get the stone. He at least gets to the room with the stone and nearly overpowers Harry and gets it had he not been mysteriously lit on fire by the power of love/Lily Evans.

The only one Tom ever really relies on by choice is Snape. Snape is charged with spying on Dumbledore and later running Hogwarts (which he fucks up).

There is only one competent man in Britain: Severus Snape. Which is, of course, why he's a double agent that Dumbledore and Tom both extensively rely on despite his being a double agent.

There's no one else.

Tom Riddle doesn't make use of the Death Eaters but given they prove themselves enthusiastically incompetent at every turn I don't blame him. Just pretend to give them something to do and hope it makes them feel important.

That's all I've got in general, you want anything else you'll have to ask for something more specific.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Please explain the “What Died Didn’t Stay Dead” series because I’m intrigued 👀

okay SO!!!

basically, What Died Didn't Stay Dead is my funky little reincarnation series!

her concept is basically she starts off as nicholas flamel's daughter but because of her parents' use of the philosopher's stone, she's fucked up. She's not immortal but she's constantly reincarnated with the same face over and over again she doesn't remember everything about her past lives (but she has some dream-vision things about them), she's cursed to always die young — it's not an Actual Magical Curse but it's a thing™, and her golden era reincarnation is her last life because of the stone getting destroyed

the five ocs are Catherine Flamel, who's the actual daughter. She's shipped with an oc named Sébastien Gautier. I don't really know much else about her but she's French and a gifted alchemist, and she loves their gardens more than anything, she was either a Gryffindor or a Beauxbatons student I keep changing my mind lmao

after her is Gwendolyn Pendragon, who's a Fantastic Beasts oc! She was a Ravenclaw at school and there was lots of mutual pining with Newt Scamander. She moved to New York for Some Reason, and reunites with Newt, initially just helping him "clean up his mess" by finding the various creatures he lost but she ends up joining the fight against Grindlewald. Her family history can be traced all the way back to King Arthur, but she uses a different last name in New York to avoid attention

then there's Deianira Carrow, who's my Tom Riddle ship. She's a Slytherin pureblood and the two are very close for quite some time. After Hogwarts they're still together and she's a core member of his friend group, but the more they veer into fanaticism the more she begins to doubt him and starts to pull away, and I'm kind of considering having him be the one to kill her during a particularly intense fight, but I'm not 100% sure about that

After her is Eurydice Crouch, who's a marauder's era oc! She's Barty Crouch's twin sister and in Slytherin, and an eventual Jily ship. She's known James for her entire life and they've always gotten along, so while her sorting isn't great for their friendship, it doesn't immediately turn into hate. She becomes a spy for the Order while still in school, and Voldemort is a bit obsessed with her due to her resemblance to Deianira. Her brother is the one to ultimately realize that she's a spy, and is the one to kill her

and lastly is Lysithea Selwyn, who's a Ravenclaw shipped with Fred Weasley! tbh I don't really know much about her yet, I think she's going to be one year younger than the twins/one year older than the trio. Voldemort is going to be obsessed with her too, and I think that like, after the stone gets destroyed her memories of her past lives are going to be a bit stronger and start getting all mixed up in her head and leave her kind of always feeling like she's going crazy

I haven't done a whole lot of plotting yet tbh but I'm just obsessed with the concept! I came up with it a few weeks ago but you know how indecisive I am in general lmao and having to make five times as many decisions was a struggle let me tell you

[deatheatersmemories]

random facts about Amycus Carrow:

has a sister, Alecto Carrow, who is two years younger than him;

best friends with Barty Crouch jr;

never liked Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Numerology and therefore received “Poor” in these subjects;

favourite lessons of his were Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Study of Ancient Runes, and Apparation;

was never able to cast a corporeal Patronus;

his boggart is his own death;

his wand is 11  ¼ inches long, made of black walnut, and possesses a phoenix feather core;

his Amortentia smells are rum and hazelnuts;

extremely envious, cunning and vengeful person;

Amycus never missed an opportunity to poke fun at muggleborns or fight with the gryffindors, whom he hated with all his heart and was always eager to ruin their day if he had a chance to do so;

speaks fluent French;

deep inside he knows he’s a coward, because of which he experiences a constant fear of death (thanatophobia);

too aggressive behavior of Amycus predetermined his small number of friends during his school years;

Amycus deeply cares about his sister, and, to a large extent, she is the only one whose fate worries him. he is not afraid of separation with any of his friends (except maybe Barty), because he has no attachment to anyone but her;

hypothetically speaking, if the cost of saving Alecto was the Lord's betrayal - Amycus would still go for it;

joined the Death Eaters before the rest of his circle;

was a member of a dueling club with Alecto and Evan;

is quickly annoyed and does not hesitate to use the most brutal spells when it comes to reprisals against muggles, muggleborns and their supporters;

he is bisexual;

he is aquarius sun, libra moon and leo rising;

he is ENTJ.

[missnight0wl]

The theory about Verucca

Honestly, I thought it’ll take me a longer time to post any new theory – since Jam City tries very hard to prove that they don’t understand the concept of logic – but… here I am again. And yes, it’s about Verucca, so therefore about Rakepick. If you don’t know who Verucca is, she’s a new character from spoiler/datamine territory, and you can see her here, for example.

It was theorised quite a lot about her already, actually: that she’s Rakepick’s mother, grandmother (personally, I like to think of her as a great aunt), that she’s Merula’s aunt… I also saw the idea that Verucca was Polyjuiced as Rakepick in the Sunken Vault… And that’s actually what gave me an idea which I don’t think was discussed before. So, I wondered: what if it was opposite to that? Namely, what if Rakepick IS Verucca? Let me explain.

To begin with, I want to be clear that I don’t love this theory. I was always avoiding any Polyjuice Potion elements in my theories on Rakepick because they feel a bit lazy and like a repetition of Barty Crouch Jr’s plot (to some degree). But at this point, I have to say that it’s kind of “lesser evil”. Like, on the one hand, we have: “Rakepick was a totally strange character in the Sunken Vault because Jam City doesn’t give a single fuck about any consistency”, and on the other hand it’s: “Jam City chose a pretty lazy explanation to excuse Rakepick acting like a total idiot”. In that case, I personally choose the second option. To be frank, I don’t even really hope it can be true, but I’m just trying to make sense out of the things as they were presented – as always. So, having this out of our way, we can move to explaining everything properly.

My first assumption for this theory is that Rakepick we saw in the Sunken Vault was a random member of R. Why it wouldn’t be real Rakepick? Because she got into troubles with R. It could lead to double agent!Rakepick reveal or we could stay with evil!Rakepick who simply wanted to screw R over. Either way, R found out and got pissed off, so Patricia had to go into hiding (both from the authorities and R) – and so she created Verucca.

All right, but why would R want to disguise someone else as Rakepick? Well, MC technically explained it already while they planned their infiltration of R: Rakepick is the only member of R known to MC. By sending someone looking like her, R didn’t risk exposing anyone else’s identity. It doesn’t matter who it was for real, at least for now. And the funny thing is that it’d actually explain why Rakepick used such stupid taunting as claiming that she didn’t bother to learn Rowan’s name. If it wasn’t real Rakepick, they didn’t know shit about Rowan, so it literally was the only argument they could come up with to upset MC. But more importantly, there are two things that seem to be interesting in this case, in my opinion: Rakepick’s pin and our duel with her.

Let’s start with the pin because I realise that it kind of contradicts the idea of Verucca being a disguise. I mean, if Rakepick wants to hide, why would she wear her pin which is so characteristic for her, right? Well, one possible explanation that comes to my mind is that she HAS TO wear it. I fancy the idea that Patricia is cursed in some way – which might be related to why she’s after the Cursed Vaults (to cure herself) – so the pin might be preventing her curse from developing. After all, the Eye of Ra is a symbol of protection. It’s not a perfect explanation as the pin can be worn under the clothes, for example… but it’s not the only important thing about the pin either.

@dat-silvers-girl brought to my attention the fact that Rakepick’s pin disappears after our duel in the Sunken Vault.

I talked about it: here already, but the more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed to me. I mean, Rakepick probably leads a rather active lifestyle, being an adrenaline junkie and whatnot, so you’d think that she made sure to somehow protect her pin from getting lost. Right? Besides, look at the events in the Portrait Vault. She was hit by FOUR spells at once and her pin was still there. But after the duel with MC, when she wasn’t even knocked down, it falls off? I don’t know, feels kind of weird. Unless the pin was fake, and therefore not adjusted to more extreme conditions…

All right, but let’s move to the duel itself. You know what was strange about it? I mean, other than being totally underwhelming… The fact that it was our first official duel with Rakepick. Seriously, we never duelled before (I mean here the in-game “rock-paper-scissors” mechanism). And when you think about it, it’s pretty odd because MC duels basically everything and everyone they meet. We duelled Merula many times, Ismelda, Rowan, Bill, Barnaby, Diego, Ben, Chiara, Tonks, Torvus, the Acromantula, the countless of other creatures, Jacob, Moody, Cedric, Fenrir Greyback, Peter Pettigrew, Gilderoy Lockhart… Like, seriously, Jam City LOVES to put duels everywhere where it’s possible. Now, considering that we never duelled Rakepick before… I just have to wonder why. We had plenty of occasions before:  when she mentored us in Y4, when she taught us in Y5, when she betrayed us in the Portrait Vault. And why was it so uneventful when it finally happened?

I talked a long time ago with @wilhelminafujita​ about the possibility of Rakepick and MC having the same wand core, so the Priori Incantatem could’ve happened, but MC changing wands kind of complicates the whole thing. Plus, it’s not like we didn’t confront Rakepick at all – we just didn’t have a “proper duel”. But still, why? Well, perhaps there is a reason, and we’re yet to find out because the duel we saw wasn’t with real Rakepick. I know it sounds silly to talk about reasons in the context of Jam City, but oh well.

So yeah, that’s my current theory, pretty much.

[quidfree]

hi! hope you're well and that you're having a good day:) I absolutely adore LMV - I genuinely think it's the best fic I've ever read. anyway, the point of this ask was that I was wondering whether you had any thoughts about sirius as a godfather? like, was he suited for the job, did he actually do a good job... idk, maybe you've answered that question before, in that case, sorry! and ofc don't stress abt answering:))

this is so nice of you ty!!!

ive never talked about dogfather sirius, actually!! what an interesting pair of questions.... i would have to say a qualified yes to both?

was sirius suited for the job: personality-wise, maybe not entirely (raising a child alone in the event of jily deaths would have been Rough, and he’s not exactly a stable parental unit, not to mention he would have spoiled harry rotten), BUT he has the most important prerequisite, which is undying love and loyalty for the potters and for harry, and that means he would have done everything in his power to be a good parent figure to him, which is what really matters, so. not to mention that jily realistically weren’t contemplating he would have to be godfather alone for the majority of harry’s life- with jily around he could have been just The Coolest Godfather Ever instead of harry’s first living parental figure who didn’t treat him like shit.

did he actually do a good job? i would say a resounding yes. bearing in mind he was stuck in azkaban for twelve years (let’s not get into that), we only actively see him godparent harry for three years (plus when he was a baby). obviously baby harry was spoilt v much by his dogfather; what we see of sirius + teen harry also speaks favourably of him, i think. ok, little bit of a rough start what with the unhinged prisoner vibe, but the FIRST thing sirius does when free is go check up on harry- and he keeps tabs via crookshanks etc once at school, knows his interests well enough to send him the firebolt, and he values harry’s opinions enough to not murder peter on the spot despite his thirteen year revenge vendetta. obviously, the fact harry is the spitting image of someone sirius hasnt seen except for in his nightmares for over a decade doesn’t hurt, but he’s just so awkwardly sweet to harry afterwards- when he offers harry to come live with him, expecting him to refuse and completely understanding of it, it’s so endearing (and it always broke my heart how excited they both were about it- i bet sirius was thinking about another time a potter asked to live together). and from the start sirius ALWAYS speaks to harry like a whole person, not a child to be kept in the dark (which, if everyone else had done, looking at you dumbledore...)- the speech he gives him before he escapes is so important for harry to hear, especially from someone who knew his parents. sirius is always so careful to tell harry things about james and lily. now, it’s not that sirius treating harry like an adult would be ideal on its own, and i do think in part the issue is that he skipped his entire childhood and harry looks so much like james, but i also don’t think sirius actually treats harry too much like a grown man, apart from slipups- just like a grown teen. he advises him against threats, tells him the edgy backstories harry SHOULD know (and no other adult ever wants to tell him), looks after him as best he can (HE LIVES IN A CAVE EATING BONES TO LOOK OUT FOR HIM), listens to his teen melodrama. even when he’s fucking up by encouraging harry’s risk-taking i don’t think he’s treating him like an adult- he’s treating him like a *marauder*, because at that age, that’s what he or james would have done; being able to make informed choices is what sirius would have wanted at his age. i don’t think molly or sirius necessarily have the better argument- both make good points; sirius gets what harry wants and molly gets what harry might need even if he doesn’t want it, but that makes perfect sense- molly is an older woman who’s raised seven children, and sirius is in his early thirties and lived with kids for (1) year. james and sirius were order members by age /eighteen/ and sirius was in azkaban at /twenty-one/- he was basically a kid HIMSELF before he got put in the torture prison. i always found it so unfair that literally none of the other adults ever mention the debilitating mental issues he must be suffering from- remember the lifelong PTSD hagrid got from a MONTH there???- and that’s without even mentioning dumbledore’s purposeful exacerbating of them. not to say that mental health excuses poor parenting, but sirius both /isn’t a parent/ and really does very well at filling that role anyways, on the whole, so i think he can be cut some slack for once in his life. harry loves sirius SO MUCH and sirius loves him right back- and sirius teaches him some of the most important lessons in the whole series, even if he himself never managed to learn them- lessons that i really think shape the adult harry becomes, and the kind of lessons his parents might have taught him. so overall i’d give him kudos- and considering the absolute bullshit he’s living through, with james and lily dead, azkaban sucking the light out of him for over a decade, peter running free, and dumbledore QUARANTINING HIM IN THE HOUSE WHERE HIS ABUSIVE DEAD MOTHER IS (?!?!), i would say he does a stellar fucking job.

anyways harry & sirius’ relationship is so important to the series- even the GP was upset when sirius dies in OOTP, largely because everyone could see how bad it hit harry. that scene in dumbledore’s office? oof. they just care about each other so v much and we were robbed of a lifetime of sirius as harry’s absolute fav adult. if sirius had held onto harry that day- if dumbledore hadn’t decided to place him with abusive bigots for a plan which would only pay off by OOTP- i honestly think sirius would have outlived the series. because with harry he’d have been less unhinged by grief, able to testify properly, gotten support from other order members, not gone to azkaban- and with harry he would have had a reason to live. thirteen years of raising harry would have made harry the snarky little fucker he is at his core by age eleven, confident and happy and very good at quidditch indeed; thirteen years would have made sirius as whole as he can get. they would have patched things up with remus. there’d be no OOTP tragedy of errors. sirius would have punched dumbledore at some point. harry would have sent a pic of him and his new friends over week 1 of hogwarts and sirius would have punched through a wall and then calmly strolled over to hogwarts and taken ron’s pet rat over to minerva mcgonnagal, where unspeakable things happened to it. he would have gently butted heads with hermione (but won her over via crookshanks if nothing else) and gotten on very well with ron; snape would barely have been able to be such a dick to him because sirius would have gleefully sent him howlers for every minute of his day until he cracked. lucius on the school board terrorizing the other parents? not on sirius “billionaire heir to the toujours pur line” black’s watch- he’d happily invest even more obnoxious wealth into the school fund to get first call, not to mention lucius’ imperius excuse would not get very far with sirius around. “who’s nicholas flamel? we can’t ask adults- we’d get in trouble with the teachers and our parents are either muggles or wouldn’t know- oh wait nevermind, sirius, who’s nicholas flamel?” no more expelliarmus-ing for four years; harry Trained Duellist By Age 11 more like. dobby the house-elf? oi dobby sirius is family too- now spit it all out, won’t you? chamber of secrets? yeah, sirius knows what that is. parseltongue? yeah, sirius is familiar, and fuck those other kids for being weird to harry about it, does he want to come home for the holidays? weird creepy diary? oh, sirius’ family will have Magicke Moste Evile around somewhere. book 3 is just Harry’s Holiday: The Book because there’s no sirius subplot. you think snape would have dared treat remus the way he does with sirius hovering around paying half his checks? i think the fuck not. you bet your ass they had box seats for the whole of gryffindor house at the Quidditch World Cup. barty crouch? yeah, sirius knows THAT asshole- and remembers his son. catch harry whizzing through all the challenges minus the nerves ahead of time while sirius and remus do half the investigating for him. yule ball? no sweat, just go with ron; that’s what james and sirius would have done. if the maze went the way it goes in the books, “moody” wouldn’t even have been able to drag harry off without sirius intervening. and sirius “ptsd” black would have been The One Person who Got harry’s feelings in OOTP- not to mention sirius Skilled Legilimens black could have coopted that shit from snape and gotten harry up to scratch. sirius-raised-harry would have given umbridge twice as much shit. no kreacher lying here- and harry has sirius’ mirror anyways. so no massive drama in the ministry, and no suicidal recklessness / desperate first taste of freedom on sirius’ part means no veil incident even if they got there. hence book six through seven going Quite Differently. sirius shows up book six to be DADA teacher, why not. him and remus think it’d be funny, and besides he’s petty enough to steal the job from snape. move over firenze, new hot teacher in town. half the books are avoidable.

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

A Very Potter Senior Year (Rewatch #6, 10/15/2020)

YouTube publish date: March 15, 2013 

Number of views on date of rewatch: 1,515,813

Original Performance Run: August 11, 2012 at Chicago’s LeakyCon

Ticket price: the cost of a LeakyCon 2013 pass

Director: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Clark Baxtresser, AJ Holmes, Pierce Siebers, and Darren Criss

Book: Brain Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $14.99 on the StarKid store for digital download (x)

     Release date: December 15, 2012

Parody or original: third installment of a parody series

Main cast and characters

Harry - Darren Criss

Ron - Joey Richter

Hermione - Meredith Stepien

Draco - Lauren Lopez

Gilderoy Lockhart - AJ Holmes

Voldemort - Joe Walker

Ginny - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Musical numbers

  Act I

“This Is The End” Characters: Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ensemble

“Senior Year” Characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny

“Wizard of the Year” Characters: Lockhart and Ensemble

“Always Dance” Characters: Tom Riddle, Dumbledore, and the Slytherins

“When You Have to Go All the Way Home” Characters: Lucius and Bellatrix

“Get in My Mouth” Characters: Aragog and Ensemble

“Tonight This School is Mine” Characters: Harry and Draco

“I Was” Characters: Harry and Tom Riddle

  Act II

“Sidekick” Characters: Ron

“Everything Ends” Characters: James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, Snape, and Cedric

“Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” Characters: Harry, Ron, McGonagall, and Company

“Harry Freakin’ Potter” Characters: Harry and Company

“Days of Summer” Characters: Company

“Goin’ Back to Hogwarts (Finale)” Characters: Harry

Notable Notes:

In this production, Luna was played by Evanna Lynch, the actress who portrayed Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films!

For this production, StarKid created a song and artwork contest in which the song winners would have a song performed in the actual production. One of the entries for the song portion of the contest was won by Robert Manion, who was later featured in Twisted and most recently played The Professor in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musical (x)

Darren’s body mic did not work during the filming of the production, so all of his vocals and dialogue had to be pulled from other mics on stage (x)

Cultural Context: 2012/early 2013

Instagram become the popular new app for photo sharing

In February 2013, Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl

‘The Harlem Shake’ was a popular video challenge

‘The Fierce Five’, Aly, Gabby, Kyla, Jordyn, and McKayla, all win gold for the US at the 2012 Summer Olympics

KONY 2012 happened

Marissa Mayer becomes the first pregnant Fortune 500 CEO

Content Analysis:

A Very Potter Senior Year is StarKid’s most interesting meta-musical regarding fandom. StarKid’s first published musical A Very Potter Musical, originally called ‘Harry Potter: The Musical’, was a work of musical comedy parody lovingly created by fans of the Harry Potter franchise for other fans that in a short amount of time created its own fandom for StarKid that continues to grow to this day. A Very Potter Senior Year is a fan-made production made by a theatre company for the sake of fulfilling their own fannish desires while also fulfilling the fannish desires of the fandom that they created for themselves from their original fanworks. That is a sentence that can only apply to StarKid. How often does a fanmade work gain such popularity, let alone one that uses theatre as its medium? And how often does an entire theatrical company, rather than an individual theatrical production, gain a loyal fandom through their own works? Through a combination of accessibility and dedication to fan culture and theatre, StarKid has created and fulfilled a very specific niche that has brought so much joy to so many people. AVPSY is StarKid’s thank you/love letter to the fans that have allowed their success to happen. It is a work that is comprised entirely of book-specific and movie-specific Harry Potter references (because, as any HP fan knows, they are different beings) and StarKid-specific references that any audience member who has not participated within the StarKid fandom would not understand, which makes this work incredibly special for the audience that it was intended for. The cast is composed of just about every StarKid actor associated with the company, whether or not they were involved in the first two Harry Potter musical parodies, making the show just as much of an homage to the team itself than it is to their Potter musical series alone, and they even managed to get an actual actor from the Harry Potter movies to reprise her role in this actual production?! If that doesn’t speak to the cultural weight of fandom and its power to bring people together, then I don’t know what does. 

This production has all of the elements expected of a traditional StarKid show, with on-point performances, funny and entertaining dialogue, a handmade production quality that increases the humanity of the company, and a heartfelt message lying underneath the outlandishness and occasional vulgarity. Watching actors step back into the roles that gained them so much popularity and that obviously have so much sentimental value to them makes their impact so much stronger-Draco’s mere presence remains a laugh riot, Ron’s lines are funnier (and his long-awaited solo was so incredible!), Ginny’s increased role in the plot is more substantial, and Harry’s character development is more multidimensional, but in a way that solidifies rather than takes away from the intended warm and comedic tone of the show. Meredith Stepien stood out for obvious reasons, as she was the only actor in the company who played a character that another person originated, but as a fan and an audience member who rewatched this production with a more critical eye than usual, I felt like her performance was outstanding and one of the best in the show. Her performance as Hermione felt like one that honored the character’s relationship to the fans while also making the transition between Grueson’s performance to Stepien’s own practically seamless, once a joke about the change in performer was made early on in the show. Personally, I could not be more happy to add Meredith to the list of talented actors who have played one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. StarKid’s Hermione is a very difficult character to play because she fulfills many different roles in the StarKid Potter musical universe itself and to the fans-not only does she have to honor Rowling’s intentions with Hermione’s original character, lest fans take offence to the parody, but she has to establish herself as her own character who is often the butt of a joke, a core character for the plot’s resolution, and the main leading woman of a musical comedy, which comes with its own set of narrative and performative responsibilities. Stepien did an incredible job and I’m really glad that she got to shine more as a leading character once StarKid produced Firebringer. Her stage presence and comedic performance are, in a word, lovely. @ StarKid please give her more roles, thank you

As far as the rest of the company goes, Chris Allen is the unsung hero of A Very Potter Senior Year, playing Barty Crouch Jr., Moaning Myrtle, Mad-Eye Moody, and Tom Riddle Sr. It is generally expected of any StarKid performer that in any given production they are going to play more than one character, and one of StarKid’s defining traits is the comedic flexibility of the performers, but Allen in particular stole every scene that he was in, no matter how brief it was. And AJ Holmes! He played Gilderoy Lockhart perfectly! The only thing that I do not appreciate about his performance is that he doesn’t act enough in StarKid shows. I know he was busy writing music for their shows and he’s busy now being successful in the greater commercialized theatre world but I find it personally offensive that he doesn’t act in StarKid more. Gilderoy’s Mouse Monologue™ is one of the funniest scenes in the show and needs to be performed more for national monologue competitions and comedic auditions because the writing alone does not get enough credit, but no one can ever live up to how Holmes took over the stage with that scene.

Overall, A Very Potter Senior Year was a beautiful wrap-up for the musical fandom-within-a-fandom-made-by-fans. Even through a screen and watching the performance seven years later, I can feel the love and joy radiating from the actors and the unseen audience through my laptop screen and have never been more grateful that StarKid still to this day ensures that their work can be viewed by as many people as possible.

[newwavestarchild]

So, I realized as I got out of the shower during a break when I was writing this that I may have been subconsciously inspired to write this by my love of the One Direction song “Olivia.” The tone of this story is very different from the song, but the theme is remarkably similar.

Falling in love with Olivia Nevrakis was never supposed to happen. Everything was supposed to be simple when Maxwell brought you to Cordonia. You would woo Prince Liam, he’d choose you as his fiancé, and you’d bring honor and prestige to House Beaumont. At first everything was going perfectly; Liam was wonderful, and he obviously preferred you over his other suitors. You didn’t even really like Olivia much back then. She was terrible to you and Hana and almost ruined your chances with Liam before the social season even began with that lie about the king’s shoe. Fortunately, you had the good sense not to listen to her and from there almost everything went perfectly. You were crowned apple queen, you won the boat race, Liam even told you on the night of his coronation that he was going to propose. Of course, then the story about you and Tariq dropped and everything went off the rails.

Not only were you now faced with the challenge of clearing your name, you’d also gotten your first ever glimpse of who Olivia might be underneath all of the insults and sarcasm. Learning things about her proved to be intoxicating and from then on it was as though you couldn’t possibly know enough about her. You were worried you’d never get the chance to learn more about her with her being blackmailed and everything, but then she showed up on the train as hellbent on finding answers as you were. Your heart fluttered at the realization that she wanted to work with you, but at the time you had no idea why.

Olivia proved to be like an addiction to you. A little bit of time spent with her exchanging whatever information you had gathered about who had done this to both of you left you with a deep-seated craving, no, a need, to see her again. Even then you still didn’t realize that what you were feeling was love. You just assumed that you really wanted her to be your friend. After all, she was hands down the coolest person you’d met since coming to Cordonia. The rest of your friends were great, and you loved them dearly, but they weren’t cool. She would make fun of Drake when he got too broody and it was super fun to have the support. Being the only person teasing him got exhausting after a while. It wasn’t until your name was cleared that the realization finally came to you.

Liam had invited you to go out with him that evening, just you and him. You assumed he just wanted to celebrate your newfound freedom, and he wanted it to be just the two of you because he’d missed you throughout the engagement tour. Madeleine had kept him on a tight leash after all so the two of you really hadn’t gotten to see much of each other. He’d offered to sneak off with you plenty of times, but the last thing you wanted to do was run the risk of causing another scandal about you being the ‘other woman’. You hadn’t realized at the time why he kept inviting you out. So, you told Maxwell who told Bertrand and then the two of them began losing their minds about getting you dressed properly and practicing your etiquette. You were beyond confused, but you went along with it. Then Liam took you to the Statue of Liberty and you were finally able to piece together where things were going.

When Liam brought out that ring and asked you to marry him it was as though time stood still, and not in the magical way you always thought it would. No, this was like your brain had malfunctioned and the universe had paused time while you rebooted. All you could think about was Olivia. How you wished it was her standing in front of you instead. How much she would hate you if you said yes for trapping Liam into a loveless marriage. How much she would hate you for breaking his heart by saying no. All at once you were hit by the crushing realization that not only were you in love with Olivia, but that you were about to hurt her, Liam, Maxwell, and Bertrand all with one decision. When you figured out that there was no way for this situation to end well you decided that the least you could do was be honest.

As time surged back into motion around you, you told Liam that you couldn’t marry him because you were in love with someone else. When he asked you who in that clearly broken tone you were barely able to choke out her name before dissolving into full-blown sobs. Before you knew it Liam, kind, sweet, in love with you Liam, was holding you tightly as both of your worlds fell apart piece by piece. Once you had finally calmed down enough to speak clearly you made him promise not to tell her that you were in love with her. You explained that you knew for a fact that she was in love with someone else. You didn’t tell him who though, you couldn’t betray her like that. He was remarkably understanding and supportive for someone whose heart had just been broken and you were stricken again by how good of a man Liam truly was. It made you wish you loved him instead, but no amount of wishing would change the way you felt.

The next morning you filled Maxwell and Bertrand in on everything that happened, fully expecting the latter to lose his mind over the fact that you had just ruined everything you’d all been working for. He didn’t though. He just gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before walking out of the room, presumably to go mope about his own relationship problems. Later, Olivia confronted you about rejecting Liam’s proposal on the train. You winced when she brought it up, but you made no effort to deny or explain. You merely told her that she was right, that you had said no, without looking up from the table in front of you. She tried to press for more information, but a scolding from Liam put a stop to that. You tried your hardest to avoid her after that, but the impending homecoming celebration and her newfound position as a member of your friend group made it hard. When you all went drinking to celebrate clearing your name, she finally put into words what you already knew, she was angry with you for breaking Liam’s heart. Fortunately, however, she was trying not to be. It was a small victory, but it meant the world to you.

Then assassins showed up at the homecoming celebration and everything fell apart even more than it had before. It was hands down the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to you. Drake got shot taking a bullet that was meant for you, Liam had to physically fight off his own assassins, and you got separated from everyone else until things had been handled. You’d had no idea what had happened to Hana, Maxwell, Bertrand, Savannah, Bartie, or Olivia and it shook you to your core that you might never see any of them again. Once the assassins had been taken care of and you finally got to see for yourself that all of your friends had made it through alive and well you found yourself thinking how hard it might’ve been if you had lost everyone. Which led to wondering what it must’ve been like for Olivia during those years before Liam found her. How lonely she must’ve been. How empty she must’ve felt. A part of you wanted to seek her out and tell her how you felt, how she would never have to worry about losing you, or being alone again, but a bigger part of you was terrified that if you did so she’d banish you from her life herself. So, you avoided her instead to make sure that you didn’t accidentally let anything slip. A task that was made immensely more difficult by the fact that you were both having to stay in the castle along with all of the other guests while the security breach was being investigated. Unfortunately, Olivia picked up on this and decided to confront you about it a week into your plan.

“You know, for someone who was so desperate to be my friend you certainly got tired of it quickly.” she said, sneaking up behind you in the hallway you’d been walking through on the way to your room.

“Olivia!” you replied with a gasp.

“Good, so you do remember I exist. Now do you want to fill me in on why you’ve been avoiding me?” she asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” you replied, crossing your own arms.

“Oh no? Then what have you been up to?”

“I… I’ve been busy.”

“I’m sure you have. With how you look avoiding me must take a lot of energy.”

“I just said I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“And I just called bullshit. Now I’d like some answers.”

“I don’t know what to tell you Olivia.”

“Just tell me why you’ve been avoiding me! How much clearer could I possibly be?”

“Olivia please-“

“No! You don’t get to go around roping me into friendship or whatever just to turn around and abandon me! You will give me answers and you will give them to me now!”

“Alright, fine. I have been avoiding you. I’ve been avoiding you because being around you hurts me more than anything else ever has. Because I’m in love with you and I know you don’t love me back. I know you love Liam and I know you’re mad at me for breaking his heart and I never wanted you to find out about any of this because I didn’t want you to feel pressured to reciprocate or to abandon me because I’ve crossed some unspoken line by feeling this way. So, I decided to avoid you until these feelings went away or I learned how to cope with them. Now you know. I hope you’re happy.”

You heard her call your name as you stormed off towards your room, but you didn’t stop to hear whatever she might’ve had to say. You could feel tears threatening to fall and the last thing you wanted after that little outburst was for her to see you cry. You felt as though you’d been humiliated enough for one day. You’d hoped going to your room would have meant that you’d be left alone, but Bertrand was waiting for you in front of your door. Despite the fact that he normally had the emotional sensitivity of a rock the moment he got a good look at you he opened his arms to give you a hug. He didn’t say anything as you cried into his shoulder, he just maneuvered the two of you into your room and shut the door behind you. He held you until you calmed down and promised before he left that he’d send Maxwell by later to check on you. In the meantime, you decided to take a nap. You were woken up some time later by three firm knocks on your door. You got up and opened it expecting Maxwell only to be greeted with the sight of Olivia instead. You knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t leave until she said what she wanted to say. So, you moved aside with a resigned sigh to let her in.

“I don’t do this often so don’t get used to it, but I’m sorry for pushing you earlier. That must’ve been really hard to tell me, and you definitely shouldn’t have been forced to. Based on how quickly you ran away earlier I assume you know I don’t feel the same way. Before you freak out on me again though I want you to understand what that means. I don’t fall in love easily. Liam is the only person I’ve ever been in love with and I’ve known him effectively my entire life. I haven’t even known you for a year. There are so many things I don’t know about you and there are even more things that you don’t know about me. So no, I don’t love you yet, but after having some time to think about it I’ve realized that I think I could, someday. You and I are incredibly different, but I think that’s why we work together. We balance each other out and inspire each other to be better. I think I’d like to see where this relationship could go. Provided of course that you understand I’m not promising anything.” she said.

“I’d like that, and I completely understand if you never return my feelings. Honestly I’m just relieved you still want me to be a part of your life.” you replied.

“Of course, I still want you as a part of my life you big sad sack. I don’t let people into my life lightly, you’re stuck with me forever now.” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m glad to hear that.” you said with a smile.

“Yeah, well, whatever.” she said with a rare genuine smile of her own.

On that note she left the room and for the first time in a long time you felt like you could breathe. You had no delusions that any of this was going to be easy, but at least now you knew it was possible. Besides, once Olivia sets her mind on something she never gives up without a fight. And if there was anyone on earth that you would fight to the death for it was Olivia Nevrakis.

[poorvnfortvnatesovls-blog]

Full Name: Narcissa Druella Black

FC: Kiernan Shipka

DOB: 12/08/61

Age: 15

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

House: Slytherin

Year: 5th

Blood Status: Pureblood

Wand: Cypress, Veela hair core

Pet(s): Black Cat named Salem

Patronus: Swan

Clubs: —

House Leader: Slytherin Prefect

Quidditch: —

2 Positive Traits: Charismatic and Passionate

2 Negative Traits: Vunerable and Cold

Side: unsure

Anything else?:-

Does your character have any nicknames?

Cis, Cissa, Cissy

Do they like school?

For the most part.

Favorite subject? Least favorite subject?

Transfiguration is probably Narcissa’s favorite class. Though she likes all that she takes.

Ancient Runes

Describe their relationship with their parents? siblings? other family members?

Narcissa both respects and fears her parents. Their ideals of how the world should be intrigue but also terrify her but she knows that she will do as they wish.

Andy and Narcissa are close. Thick as thieves one would say but she can feel her older sister starting to pull away from her and she doesn’t like it.

Bella is complicated. Like her parents she respects and fears her eldest sister.

Three things they like:

Doing any sort of magic, reading, spending time with her sisters

Three things they dislike:

Being forced to do anything, Assumtion making, oversleeping

Hair color:

blonde

eye color:

blue

Do they like Quidditch?

Not particularly. She doesn’t go to the games unless she has nothing better to do.

What do they do when they’re bored?

Seek out one of her sisters to find something fun for them to do. Spend time with Barty or Carter. Read, Homework.

Would they rather party or stay in?

She prefers to stay in usually. Unless it’s a big party that involves fancy dresses

Are they a fan of star gazing?

Yes, she loves it

Favorite food/snack?

Pumpkin Pastries

One nerdy/dorky thing about them

She has a record player stashed in her dorm, when she’s feeling low she pulls out old records and dances around her room

Favorite color?

Lavender, Teal and grey

Elder wand, invisibility cloak or sorcerer’s stone?

invisibility cloak

Has your character ever been in love? Heartbroken?

She has never really been in love. Just infatuated. Not yet.

Their greatest fear?

Losing her sisters and never finding love.

What are their plans after Hogwarts?

She’s not entirely sure but she knows her parents plan to marry her off so it just depends on her future husbands wishes for her.

[candywrappcr]

*    pops  up  from  out  of  nowhere  with  all  my  pockets  stuffed  with  food  and  said  food  spilling  everywhere    *    listen    ………    i’m  not  cool  enough  to  introduce  myself  and  i’m  not  gonna  bore  you  to  death    (    yet    )    .    to  sum  it  up    ,    i’m  NORA  but  you  can  also  call  me  a  twenty-one  year  old  idiotic nerd   .    because  that  is  what  i  am    .    i  should  be  studying  right  now   ,    but  writing  this  introduction  for  my  smoll  boy  of  sin  is  way  more  fun  right  now    .    so  get  ready  for  BARTEMIUS  CROUCH  JR    .

BACKSTORY

to clarify, his dad is an ass and deserves what is coming for him in the fourth book of the series. smiley face.

ok so the crouch family is part of the sacred twenty-eight, but other than the most of the families on that list, they don’t really care about blood status or think that purebloods are better than non-purebloods. the crouch family is just simply known for thinking they are better than EVERYONE.

so, his childhood was basically all about his father expecting him to be the best and barty not living up to the standards. as he didn’t display signs of magic at a young age, he was a late bloomer, his father lost interest in him and went back to concentrating on the only thing he loved, his work. 

his other had lost his father’s attention years ago and focused on her son completely, home-schooling him and educating him in a warm and nurturing environment. but, as he grew up and his father grew even more distant, never being home, yet expecting perfection to a degree where not even a single hair can be displaced on his mother’s head or where they had to appear as the perfect family to everyone around them, his mother’s mental health crumbled, disappeared and she fell into a deep depression. barty blames his father for his mother’s state.

from that moment he was pretty much raised by his house elf winky until he went off to hogwarts. at first, he didn’t even want to go, he didn’t want to leave his mother alone and he didn’t want to disappoint his father by not being sorted into slytherin. 

eventually, he went to hogwarts, was sorted into slytherin and started to roll with the wrong crowd almost immediately. other than that he pretty much had a normal time at hogwarts? just your basic kinda hermoine style nerd doing his best at excelling in every class, preferring the library to any kind of social event and just, getting by.

he hates going back home during the breaks tho, so he will stay in hogwarts for most of christmas, except christmas eve and christmas day where he is ordered back home for the official christmas ceremony & most of summer break where he stays at his aunt’s place with his mother.

PERSONALITY

there is really two sides of one coin when it comes to barty’s personality. on the one hand, there is the gullible, vehement boy, striving to get attention and recognition, someone who is easily manipulated. then, there is the man he is about to become, apathetic and sadistic, too dexterous for his own good, because he will never get a chance to use that mind for anything morally right.

those two parts of his personalities, the boy he had been for the last sixteen years and the man he is about to become are currently fighting for the dominant place in his character, hence he is terribly unstable, something that is only further amplified by the situation at hogwarts.

he can put on a mask to hide his true emotions as easily as he can put on his slytherin tie each morning, which might be one of the reasons he has extreme trust issues. promises are not real and everything is a lie.

there are three people on this planet that he cares about right now. his mother, his house elf winky and himself.

HEADCANONS

he used to be sad about the fact that he couldn’t spend time with his father, but as he grows up, he slowly begins to despise bartemius crouch sr. instead.

for him, the death eaters aren’t about hating on muggleborns and half-bloods. he is completely indifferent when it comes to bloodstatus, he simply dislikes everyone. the reason why he joined the death eaters however is the community, he got accepted and the attention that he craved. he got the father figure he always needed, and the rebellion against his father and everything his father stands for.

barty is a magic nerd. he mastered the hardest potions, is currently working on perfecting non-verbal magic –– last time he tried he turned the sofa in the slytherin common into a living, breathing, human-craving beast instead of turning it blue –– and is one of the best duelists. the only thing he can’t do is perform the patronus spell as he does not have one single happy memory. he also never had a problem using another wand for magic that wasn’t his own, frequently stealing his father’s wand to break the rules and perform a simple spell outside of school. just to annoy his father.

he is currently planning on taking his o.w.l.s in ancient runes, arithmancy, astronomy, care of magical creatures, charms, defense against the dark arts, divination, herbology, history of magic, muggle studies, potions, transfiguartion. as i said, nerd.

he feels strongly for the house elves and their rights, due to being basically raised by one. he does not tolerate anyone treating house elves bad and will get very aggressive. 

barty can’t fly. he loves it, but basically ends up like neville in the first movie every time he even comes close to a broom. so, he will just cheer the quidditch teams from the stands.

he has an unyielding 14 inch alder wood wand with a dragon heartstring core. alder wood is a great wood for people who are not dogmatic, but are easily influenced and prefer to be dependent. it’s also great for non-verbal spells. dragon heartstring is however is a very powerful material, for witches and wizards who perform great spells. it also can learn new spells quickly, perfect for this nerd and is easily lured to the dark side.

his amortentia potion scent is a mix of the rose bourbon whiskey his mother keeps hidden in a small compartment in the sitting room, a compartment he knows how to get in to since he was fourteen, the peaches from his aunt’s garden, the scent of old library books and summer rain. this might change, as he has yet to fall in love.

his boggart is himself, worthless and weak. think that time in rick and morty where jerry was imagined as a slug. it’s the reflection of himself that he sees every time he looks in the mirror and the thing he hates the most. 

freckles. so MANY FRECKLES. his hair is never messy but his clothes always look like he took hours to steam each crinkle out of his pants before class. also he’s at 1,9m and towering over everyone. generally just looks like a really preppy leech. bc he is long and boyish-thin. haha. get it. also watch druck i beg of you.

CONNECTIONS

ok how about someone who is in the deatheater movement and ends up being basically an older brother and mentor for barty? that would be rad. just a head’s up, barty would probably end up workshipping his mentor as he has daddy issues.

someone preferably from year seven who he has a crush on? like it’s obviously never going to work out and his crush is nothing serious, but there would be something about her that reminds him of his mother –– in a non-creepy way i swear –– that would cause him to crush on her? also he might have mommy issues too. just issues.

#sixthyearsquad. because just because.

roommates? yes please?

someone he meets and ends up being like fuck i care about you? what’s happening? might be romantic or not, but dude needs an emotional anchor.

also he needs friends. he has none right now. 

but also enemies? because enemies are fun and so angsty. maybe someone he used to be friends of but now “ can’t ” because they are possibly muggleborn or an order member?

now, if you read through all this above, here is a cute vine of a puppy and you can either like this post and i will message you or you can message me directly after reading this because you want to plot with this trashbag. 

[orderofdeathrp-blog]

Faceclaim: Ken Watanabe || Age: 55 years old || Pronouns: He/his/him

Ministry of Magic

Cisgender Male

Half-blood

Former Ravenclaw

Minister of Magic

Non-Playable Character

Possible triggering content of death, racism, war and xenophobia

It was rare indeed that fate, or maybe it was just sheer blind luck, lined up as they had for Harold Minchum. Although Harold hated to admit that there was anything beyond his control. But, of course, Harold did not have control over the fact that he was born not in Kobe, Japan but in Cardiff, Wales. He had no control of the fact that his mother had been ordered to spend two years observing how magic was taught at Hogwarts, or that his father, on a trip back to Mahoutokoro, would simply vanish into thin air, just like the Muggle leftists. Harold had no control over the fact that he would never hear from his father again. He had no control over his mother remarrying a Welshman a few years later and changing his surname from Akiyama to Minchum despite the fact that he told her that wasn’t what he wanted. He had no control over where he grew up, especially when it was clear that the home he’d only heard of but had never been to became a distant memory to which he would never return.

But once Harold was old enough to understand control, he craved it. At first, he was small and young compared to his peers and he could only control himself. He could force himself to rise with the sun and starch his shirts until they shone white as snow. He could force himself to bite his lip and not snap back when the older students at Hogwarts turned a blind eye to the whispers and mockery he was forced to endure. He could not control the others, not yet, but he could control himself and study hard until they saw him as their equal, or at least so he believed.

Whilst his peers were cruel and distant, his professors and the other adult at Hogwarts were not. They knew that Harold was cleverer than most of his housemates. His spells were perfectly pronounced without any hint of accent, his wand movements crisp, clear and exact. His potions the ideal consistency and color, perfectly brewed every time. The professors knew he was disciplined and obedient, a role model that the other Hogwarts students should look up to, and that made his peers loathe him even more. How dare the foreigner, the kiss-ass, do better than them in classes, win accolade after accolade, get first a prefect’s and then a head boy’s badge pinned to his robes? It simply was not fair, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike whispered. Harold heard their whispers, and they only made him laugh. They were jealous of him, simply because none of them had the foresight to control themselves and work hard.

It was rare enough to get asked to work for Wizengamot as a measly seventh-year, but to start off as the Chief Warlock’s clerk was practically unheard of. Harold was more than pleased to say yes to the offer, and discovered that the job was more than taking notes and running errands. More often than not, the old man could barely remember if he’d had his tea, let alone what wizarding law was, and Harold found himself stepping in to cover for his boss. First, it was just going to hearings with quiet excuses that the Chief Warlock felt ill or had other matters to attend to, but soon enough it was writing decisions and passing rulings on his own, with the Chief warlock’s enchanted quill cheerfully signing off on them.

Harold had to play nice, had to network and socialize with the very people who had mocked up as a child, and it killed him inside. Too proud to bite his lip and forgive previous trespasses, Harold ignored his peers and went to their supervisors, inviting himself to banquets and gatherings. He was charming, smarter than his years, and willing to crush out any competition in the way. Soon enough, Harold learned a soft word, whispered into an ear at a banquet, went further than just competency and hard work. No, to make his mark in the wixen world, he had to position himself, flit from minister to minister, tell them what they wanted to hear and make empty promises that would never come true. And Harold hated it.

But when the Chief Warlock finally stepped down, brain so addled that he could barely form words, Harold lost all of his power. It was a setback, but one that he had expected, and Harold was ready. There were other members of the Wizengamot that Harold had charmed, and they were willing to put in a good word for him, to give him the next seat that opened up. And just like that, at the age of 26, Harold Minchum, the sad little outsider who would never fit into British wixen culture, was on its highest court.

There were the skeptics of course, who thought that Harold was far too young for such a prestigious role, who had doubted that the old Chief Warlock had truly written some of his rulings. Suddenly, it was like Hogwarts all over again, dirty glares and barbed rumors, only this time, Harold did not have professors and headmasters to impress, nor the excuse of youth to defend the tears he had cried silently in his dormitory bed. There was nobody who Harold could beg for attention and for praise, and he hated it. For the past ten years, Harold had worked to throw that past behind him, to remake himself as confident and competent, totally in control of his reputation, and yet it was all for naught.

A foolish man would have used his power to banish those who doubted him, but Harold knew that there were those, even his old headmaster, who would use that as a pretense to strip him of his power. So, instead, Harold bit his lip and waited in silence, careful not to shine out on the Wizengamot. He rarely broke with precedent or brought attention to his rulings. Only the most clever of legal minds would notice how, with each decision he made, he positioned himself as a supporter of law and order, with little patience for those who did not toe the line or slipped up. Second chances were simply not on the table, for nobody had ever given him a second chance as a child or as a young employee. Order had dominated his life, and Harold vowed that order would bring control back to wixen Britain.

Unfortunately, a Muggle-born Minister of Magic would not maintain order, not in the way that Harold needed. He had nothing against Nobby Leach; they were both outsiders, and if anything, Harold was almost sympathetic to the other wizard’s plight. But his very existence meant riots, soft threats of old wixen families moving to Germany or France, and the hard threat of full mutiny. And that simply would not do.

It had been easy enough to twist Leach around his finger, to talk him into expanding the penalties that could land someone in Azkaban, and to increase the number of shadowy guards that kept it safe. It was not a Dementor breeding program, Harold insisted, but rather a simple scheme to keep the public safe. After all, safety and stability would be the only way to keep the blood elitists from throwing Leach out of office, or so he promised. It was, of course, a lie. There was only so much the Wizengamot could do to maintain control through legal crackdowns and increased punishment. Eventually, Leach would be thrown out of power, and Harold would do everything in his power that the ensuing transition would be peaceful. It was just another step in his master plan.

He did not know that there were those who would take any measure necessarily to exterminate any who they did not deem as pure, not at first. But when Leach died of a mysterious illness that not even the best healers at St. Mungo’s could figure out, Harold realized there was something, or someone, beyond the control of the Ministry. His place in the world was in danger, and that could not stand.

Although he despised her as a practical hippie who would only make things worse, Harold backed Eugenia Jenkins as the next Minister of Magic. He paid lip service to her, repeating her dull slogans about unity and respect at Leach’s funeral, and offered her his services in whatever way he could. She needed a loyal deputy, he said, voice calm and crisp, hiding his true intentions, and he would be happy to serve in her shadows, to aid her in whatever way he could. After all, keeping the wixen world unified was the most important. Eugenia was no fool, and Harold was sure she knew that what he really meant was unity through consolidated power and violence when needed. Even if she did not agree, it was mutually beneficial for her, for her safety, for her life, to have a right-hand man who would crack down during the Squib Rights marches and pure-blood riots.

With the death of Eugenia Jenkins, the world of the wix began to mourn. But Harold didn’t waste a moment. He began to move assets and resources around as if they were pieces in a game of chess. His control was now absolute. He would win the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He would bring about peace and control within the British world of magic. And then, he would have the control he so longed for.

Connections

Albus Dumbledore, Barty Crouch Senior

Wand

11” inches, cherry wood, dragon heartstring core

Patronus

Horse

Boggart

His body consumed by flames  

Amortentia

Tobacco ash and cashmere wool