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severus-snaps · 1 month

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'Mudblood' and Muggle-borns

back again with some late-to-the-party observations that I want to talk about (ah, the perils of becoming obsessed with snape in 2024)

So, I think by now that most people are aware of this tweet and/or the idea that it wasn't just Muggle-borns, but half-bloods as well, who were called 'Mudbloods' by blood supremacists:

And I don't know about anyone else, but I took this with a grain of salt because JKR is known to... make statements sometimes, some more realistic within her own canon than others.

I know that some people (on Quora especially, but probably elsewhere) outright claim that JKR said this to make Snape's use of 'Mudblood' in SWM 'more acceptable' or less bad or something because the term applied to him, too, and not just Muggle-borns - and literally until today, I thought the same. Now don't get me wrong, I love Snape and will usually jump at any chance to make his backstory and characterisation more complicated and sympathetic. I felt almost that JK was sort of... backtracking, because in the series we only see people use 'Mudblood' against Muggle-borns, with Hermione and Draco the most frequently seen Muggle-born and blood supremacist (respectively) in the series.

So I've rounded up a few examples where Mudblood is arguably used against people who are not Muggle-born.

We're first introduced to the term "Mudblood" in CoS:

The smug look on Malfoy’s face flickered. “No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood,” he spat.

Ron describes the term shortly afterwards as follows:

"Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born — you know, non-magic parents"

And that is how we see Draco use it most often, to refer to Muggle-borns (most notably Hermione). But it has been used on others who are probably not Muggleborn.

Exhibit A: Bob Ogden

Over to Potter-Search I go, searching 'Mudblood' - only to find someone called Bob Ogden. Now, having not read the later books in quite some time I had no idea initially who Bob Ogden was, so I head over to the wiki page. For those of you like me who haven't read the later books in a while, Ogden appeared in one of Dumbledore and Harry's trips into the Pensieve:

Bob Ogden (fl. 1925) was a British wizard who worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, a department of the Ministry of Magic, and led the Magical Law Enforcement Squad in the 1920s. As part of his duties, he once visited the Gaunt Shack, as the Department believed that Morfin Gaunt had not only performed magic in front of a Muggle but also accosted that Muggle, Tom Riddle Snr, and performed a dark charm on him.

Marvolo Gaunt, Morfin's father, asks him this:

“Are you pure-blood?” [Gaunt] asked, suddenly aggressive. “That’s neither here nor there,” said Ogden coldly, and Harry felt his respect for Ogden rise. Apparently Gaunt felt rather differently. He squinted into Ogden’s face and muttered, in what was clearly supposed to be an offensive tone, “Now I come to think about it, I’ve seen noses like yours down in the village.” “I don’t doubt it, if your son’s been let loose on them,” said Ogden.

Harry I think interprets this interaction as a Pureblood/Half-Blood Ogden rejecting Pureblood/blood supremacist ideology. Personally, I'm more inclined to think he's being cagey because he has definite Muggle ancestry, but we just don't know. I suppose it doesn't really matter. And then:

“So!” said Gaunt triumphantly, as though he had just proved a complicated point beyond all possible dispute. “Don’t you go talking to us as if we’re dirt on your shoes! Generations of purebloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don’t doubt!” ... “Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden doggedly, “I am afraid that neither your ancestors nor mine have anything to do with the matter in hand. I am here because of Morfin, Morfin and the Muggle he accosted late last night.

And finally:

“And you think we’re scum, do you?” screamed Gaunt, advancing on Ogden now, with a dirty yellow-nailed finger pointing at his chest. “Scum who’ll come running when the Ministry tells ’em to? Do you know who you’re talking to, you filthy little Mudblood, do you?” “I was under the impression that I was speaking to Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden, looking wary, but standing his ground.

On the Wiki page, under Ogden's blood status, I find this interesting note:

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 10 (The House of Gaunt) Ogden is shown wearing "the strange assortment of clothes so often chosen by inexperienced wizards trying to look like Muggles," which indicates that he was not Muggle-born, as a Muggle-born would have at least some experience with putting together a Muggle outfit.

The outfit in question was described as a "frock coat and spats over a striped one-piece bathing costume". I know shit all about clothes, so I had to google a frock coat, and here's some examples (conveniently also featuring spats on the feet in the first image); and also a one-piece bathing suit (vintage, since it was the 1920s and I'm assuming a men's):

[Images from Lily Absinthe, State Library of Victoria and vintag.es]

What a look. Deliberate in its farcicality. So... no, even the most out-of-touch Muggleborn in the 1920s probably wouldn't put that together in combination, because even assuming he was like 100 or something (seeing as he died at some stage before the events of HBP), I don't think a Muggleborn with two Muggle parents could've been that out of the loop on Muggle clothing to confuse swimwear for casual daywear.

Ogden is, obviously then, of magical enough heritage not to have any idea how to dress like a Muggle. And yet here he was, in my 'Mudblood' search. Admittedly, that might only be a generation or so removed; Tonks is also clearly clueless:

“Very clean, aren’t they, these Muggles?” said the witch called Tonks, who was looking around the kitchen with great interest. “My dad’s Muggle-born and he’s a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just like with wizards?”

Marvolo's comment about Ogden's nose also can be taken several ways; a jab/joke about the pus nose curse that Ogden's just had put on him by Morfin, or a real, thinly veiled accusation of Ogden having Muggle heritage (possibly the same as those in the surrounding villages). For his own safety, if Ogden was indeed Pureblood, he probably should've said so (for all the good it might have done him).

At any rate, Ogden obviously, whatever his family history, is 'wizard' enough to not know how to blend with Muggles - he's definitely not Muggleborn himself. If he did have Muggle heritage, which makes him a dubiously-named half-blood (dubious in that "half-blood" more or less refers to anyone who isn't 'Pureblood' or 'Muggleborn' rather than indicating a half-and-half split), it's likely to have been a grandparent or something, if not further removed (do we see Tonks struggle to wear Muggle clothes? I can't remember. I vaguely remember McGonagall wearing a Muggle dress, and she's supposed to be half-blood - but she's not described as looking odd for what she's wearing but I got more of the impression that Harry found it odd to see her out of the ususal robes she wears at Hogwarts).

Anyway, the real point of it is that it doesn't matter how magical Ogden is, because he is marked out as not Muggle-born by his clothes, and yet he still gets called a Mudblood. Gaunt wasn't necessarily suggesting Ogden's parents hadn't been a witch and a wizard, but that overall he had a bit more Muggle in him than a wizard should have (which, according to Gaunt, is none).

It's worth noting that the Gaunts were a family "noted for a vein of instability", possibly as a result of consistently marrying their cousins, so perhaps only their view on 'Mudblood' is anyone who isn't a Pureblood. And, of course, they are the proud, cousin-marrying descendents of Salazar Slytherin, who "started all this pure-blood stuff", and so were likely especially zealous about who 'counted' as Pure:

"They [Hogwarts founders] built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution." (Binns, CoS) "Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy." (Binns, CoS)

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those Whose ancestry is purest." (Sorting Hat, OotP)

In any case, this is the strongest example of a dedicated blood supremacist calling someone with any suspected (real or otherwise) Muggle heritage a Mudblood.

Exhibit B: Walburga Black

Walburga Black was Sirius Black's mother, a proud pureblood supremacist, and she thought that Voldemort had the 'right idea' about things. Her portrait at Grimmauld Place calls the inhabitants of her house "filth" "creatures of dirt*", "scum", "stains of dishonour", and "mudbloods".

"MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF DIRT*!" “Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers — ” "Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers!"

* Creatures of dirt is apparently another word/turn of phrase for Mudblood, according to the wiki.

Obviously the portrait is screaming and overexcited, and not especially prone to nuance, but it does seem to be calling multiple people in the house Mudbloods - when, in theory, only Hermione would fit that description. Walburga is also capable of distinguishing between different people and offering specific insults, such as to Sirius:

“Yoooou!” she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. “Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!”

Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) was blasted off of the Black family tapestry by Walburga for marrying a Muggleborn:

[Sirius] pointed to another small round burn mark between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa. “Andromeda’s sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so — ” Sirius mimed blasting the tapestry with a wand and laughed sourly.

I expect having an actual Muggle in the family (aka an actual half-and-half Half-Blood) would've been seen as just as bad, if not worse, than marrying a Muggleborn to dedicated blood purists.

But in any case, with an Order primarily made up of Pureblood blood traitors (e.g. Weasleys, Sirius, Moody) and Half-Bloods (generally consisting of at least two magical parents like Harry, Tonks, and Dumbledore), and one Muggleborn (Hermione), Walburga just calls them all Mudbloods.

I'm also curious, as Hagrid wasn't there at 12 Grimmauld Place and a werewolf isn't technically a half-breed (but is sometimes conceptualised as such e.g. by Umbridge and her ilk), whether Walburga calls half-bloods "half-breeds", or whether she was yelling more generally at Lupin. Perhaps Muggles are "a different creature" in her eyes. We know that this line of thinking isn't uncommon:

"We’ve all got to listen to [whichever DE was in charge of Muggle Studies in DH] explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty..." (Neville, DH)

Exhibit C: Penelope Clearwater

Examples start to get a bit more sparse and interpretive from here on out.

In Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort describes the people petrified as Mudbloods:

“Haven’t you guessed yet, Harry Potter?” said Riddle softly. “Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib’s cat.”

The "four Mudbloods" in question were:

Colin Creevy

Justin Finch-Fletchley (with Nearly-Headless Nick as collatoral damage)

Hermione Granger, and

Penelope Clearwater

But we're not certain that they're all Muggleborn. In CoS, Justin is confirmed; he was headed to Eton and was waiting for Harry (the supposed Heir of Slytherin) to attack him in CoS for being Muggleborn. Colin is confirmed; "I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad’s a milkman...", and Hermione is obvious.

And then there's Penelope. Unlike the other confirmed Muggle-borns, we don't hear much about her, apart from the fact that she's Percy's girlfriend and probably likes Quidditch; but Hermione uses her as her 'cover' when the Trio gets caught by Snatchers in Deathly Hallows:

“Penelope Clearwater,” said Hermione. She sounded terrified, but convincing. “What’s your blood status?” “Half-blood,” said Hermione.

And the note about it on the Wiki says:

However, it is possible that the fourth Muggle-born in addition to Colin, Hermione, and Justin (who are all definitively identified as Muggle-borns at some point) was Nearly-Headless Nick, and that Penelope was simply petrified because she was with Hermione when she encountered the Basilisk. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor), Hermione posed as Penelope when under interrogation by Snatchers, and claimed to be half-blood. Although, Hermione may have only lied about Penelope's blood status because mentioning she's Muggle-born would have possibly made things worse.

To me it seems unlikely that Voldemort would set the Basilisk on a ghost. It also seems unlikely that, after Harry has offered up "Vernon Dudley" as his name (more on that in a moment), and Ron has called himself first Stan Shunpike and then Barney Weasley, that Hermione would choose someone who she knew wasn't going to be a safe bet. Snatchers are "gangs trying to earn gold by rounding up Muggle-borns and blood traitors", so why offer a name that's likely to be on their list of Muggle-borns? It's also possible that it was just the first name she thought of, then lied about the blood status; but given that Hermione and Penelope would have woken up in the hospital wing together at the end of the events of CoS, it may well have come up in discussion.

And then there's this:

“You checked their names on the list yet, Scabior?” he roared. “Yeah. There’s no Vernon Dudley on ’ere, Greyback.”

So, the list is being checked by the Snatchers to see if the 'disguised' Trio are "wanted" - aka if they are Muggleborns/blood traitors/truants. I doubt they even checked Ron's name since the Weasleys are well-known blood traitors, but they picked up on Vernon Dudley not being a real name, and their list certainly seems to include Muggleborns, since they say they've captured a "Mudblood (presumably Dean Thomas), a runaway goblin, and three truants (the Trio)". Yet they don't mention Penelope.

So, Penelope was not on their list, and if it hadn't been for the Snatchers recognising Hermione in the paper, they might have gotten away with it. Maybe Penelope was Muggleborn and "presented herself for interrogation", which is something that Ron mentions Hermione hasn't done earlier in the book, and therefore that's why Penelope wasn't on the list - or that Penelope is not Muggleborn, but Half-Blood, and she got called a Mudblood in CoS anyway.

(Yes, JK probably forgot - but I'm sticking in-universe).

Exhibit D: The Muggle-Born Registration Commission

“Will the old hag [Umbridge] be interrogating Mudbloods all day, does anyone know?”

Shortly followed by:

“No, no, I’m half-blood, I’m half-blood, I tell you! My father was a wizard, he was, look him up, Arkie Alderton, he’s a well-known broomstick designer, look him up, I tell you — get your hands off me, get your hands off—” “This is your final warning,” said Umbridge’s soft voice, magically magnified so that it sounded clearly over the man’s desperate screams. “If you struggle, you will be subjected to the Dementor’s Kiss.” The man’s screams subsided, but dry sobs echoed through the corridor. “Take him away,” said Umbridge. Two dementors appeared in the doorway of the courtroom, their rotting, scabbed hands clutching the upper arms of a wizard who appeared to be fainting. They glided away down the corridor with him, and the darkness they trailed behind them swallowed him from sight.

So, the Muggle-Born Registration Commission was supposed to be rounding up, interrogating and imprisoning Muggle-borns, but arguably was also rounding up (and referring to) possible half-bloods, too. The same possibly happened to Dean Thomas, a half-blood (according to his official page) mistaken for a Muggle-born, as he had no record of his wizard father.

“Muggle-born, eh?” asked the first man. “Not sure,” said Dean. “My dad left my mum when I was a kid. I’ve got no proof he was a wizard, though.”

Summary of Exhibits

So, we've seen half-blood-or-more Bob Ogden and potentially half-blood Penelope Clearwater be referred to as Mudbloods by Gaunts/Voldemort. We've seen an entire house of people of different magical heritage between them, all collectively called Mudbloods by Walburga Black. And we've seen some random Ministry witch call a whole collection of (assumed but not confirmed) Muggle-born wizards and witches Mudbloods.

I think what we can gather from this is that the distinction between half-blood and Muggle-born hardly matters to some blood supremacists. If you're a Pureblood supremacist, anyone who isn't Pure is, obviously, impure. Arguably, "Mudblood" wasn't always strictly about being Muggleborn; it's about 'impure' heritage. The stronger examples (Bob Ogden, Walburga Black) are older examples; Voldemort and Walburga's generation (born ~1920s) and even before (Marvolo's generation had an even more ambiguous use). I think it's safe to say that the meaning of the word may have evolved or tightened by the time Harry is in school to primarily refer to Muggleborns, but obviously that's a matter of opinion;

Silent Half-Bloods in the Hierarchy of Pureblood Supremacy

Wizarding society is sort of divided into Pureblood, Half-blood, Muggle-borns, Muggles, and... Squibs, somewhere.

Obviously, in an ideal pureblood society, Purebloods are at the top:

[Sirius' parents] "thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge." (Sirius, OotP) "For years [Regulus] talked of the Dark Lord, who was going to bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggle-borns..." (Kreacher, DH)

Setting aside the knowledge for a moment that Voldemort was half-blood, and instead perceiving him as the Pureblood he pretended to be, this is what he touted, and this is what his Pureblood followers from the "ancient and noble" families like the Malfoys and the Blacks aspired to.

So indisputably, here excluding for brevity's sake the complexities of intelligent nonhumans/magical beings and 'half-breeds' (being its own meta that's probably been written somewhere), Muggles are at the bottom of a blood supremacist's list. Muggles and Muggle-borns are seen as a threat to Wizarding society, and as (potentially dangerous) outsiders. We can see it in the explanation given (quoted somewhere way, way above) about Salazar Slytherin's reasonings; it started with mistrust, as Muggles in the early days were persecuting wizards.

This mistrust (and disgust) obviously was kept alive and well in Tom/Voldemort/blood supremacists: "I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch?" (Voldemort, CoS).

But it's also an element of exclusionary attitude; Muggle-borns have grown up outside of magical culture, which we can see reflected in the first interaction between Draco and Harry in PS:

“But they were our kind, weren’t they?” “They were a witch and wizard, if that’s what you mean.” “I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What’s your surname, anyway?”

It'll come as a surprise to literally nobody that the problem as blood supremacists see it is that Muggles, and by extension Muggle-borns, as well as being outsiders, are viewed as dirty/disgusting, and common. In CoS, post slug-heaving, Ron describes "Mudblood" as meaning:

"Dirty blood, see. Common blood".

We see these descriptors a lot in the series. Gaunt describes Merope as a "dirty Squib", "disgusting little Squib" and a "filthy little blood traitor" (and she's a Pureblood witch, albeit struggling with her powers); and in CoS of course Voldemort calls his father "a foul, common Muggle". We also see throughout the books "Mudblood filth", and "filthy little Mudblood" in particular reference to Muggle-borns such as Hermione and Lily (and to Bob Ogden).

[Side note: I have seen some arguments that say 'filthy' is sometimes used in the series instead of the word 'fucking', e.g. "that fucking Mudblood" - but obviously it's a kid's series, so the word was replaced. I think it could work in terms of this replacement in some contexts, but I'm not sure that was the purpose. Filthy just means disgustingly dirty, and has an interesting extra context from the etymology I just found out:

filthy (adj.) late 12c., fulthe, "corrupt, sinful," from filth + -y (2). Meaning "physically unclean, dirty, noisome" is from late 14c. Meaning "morally dirty, obscene" is from 1530s.

You can get a sense of a more 'moral' objection in the later books, e.g. Neville discussing their Muggle Studies during the events of DH:

We’ve all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished.

And especially this, from Voldemort:

"Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance. … She would have us all mate with Muggles …"

I feel like there's a few points to be made about this quote.

First, obviously Voldemort has the DEs convinced that he's also Pureblood; he's the Heir of Slytherin after all, the Dark Lord, greatest wizard of all time, etc. Even Harry telling Bellatrix that Voldemort was half-blood at the end of OotP hasn't made a difference. (And why would it? Question or defy him and he'll kill your whole family and make you watch, probably).

Second, we can see also in the Muggle-Born Registration Commission chapter, where Umbridge asks Mary Cattermole where she stole her wand from, that Muggle-borns are accused of somehow... stealing magic?

"Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment."

Anyway, I think there's another point here, one I can't quite reach with my brain. The quote starts with viewing ostensibly only Muggleborns as the issue; as the thieves of knowledge. But Voldemort's point ends up with the disparaging of half-bloods (as they're the wizarding 'type' to arise from Muggle-Magical Mating™️). That's nothing to do with Muggle-borns at all.

But we hear next to nothing about half-bloods, despite their having Muggle and/or Muggle-born heritage; the same heritage described so often as dirty, disgusting, and filthy. We hear more outrage about blood traitors, Pureblood families who sympathise with Muggles or Muggle-borns: "blood traitors are as bad as the Mudbloods", "Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book", and wizards/witches who are tolerant of Muggles are called "Muggle-lovers". (I hesitate even to say that 'Muggle-tolerant wizards' like, support, or even accept Muggles - because even Muggle 'tolerant' wizards (e.g. like Hagrid and the Weasleys), the Order and the like, the allies to the "champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore", also look down on Muggles to an extent, but I digress again).

The only disparaging references I could find to half-bloods were Bellatrix to Harry:

"You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood’s tongue, you dare -" " — He stands there — filthy half-blood —"

And one about Mundungus:

“That mangy old half-blood has been stealing Black heirlooms?” said Phineas Nigellus, incensed.

In the few examples we see, they're subject to the same dehumanising, dirty/disgusting and animal comparisons as "Mudbloods" and Squibs.

But there are few examples. The lack of attention paid to half-bloods is probably, in part because of the dwindling population of Purebloods:

"Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out." (Ron, CoS) “If you’re only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited, there are hardly any of us left.” (Sirius, OotP)

Half-bloods are accepted purely by necessity, because unlike Muggle-borns they do have magical lineage to draw on, and because there aren't enough Purebloods left. It's for the same reason that blood traitors are allowed to keep on being traitors but aren't punished to the same degree as Muggle-borns, per this note from the wiki:

"They don’t want to spill too much pure blood, so they’ll torture us a bit if we’re mouthy but they won’t actually kill us.” Given this statement, as well as the fact that the Weasleys were only in direct danger after Ron Weasley's help of Harry Potter was revealed to the Death Eaters, it seems that they were hesitant to kill blood traitors unless they were very rebellious.

Half-bloods sort of escape the Pureblood rhetoric entirely, between these reasons and being the most common type of witch or wizard. The term “half-blood” is ambiguous, and practically meaningless, after all; it refers to anyone with one Muggle parent (like Seamus Finnegan; Severus Snape), or anyone with one Muggle-born parent (like Harry, Tonks), and (I'm not sure if we learn this in the books, but) it also applies if you have a Muggle or Muggle-born grandparent, and presumably any recent traceable Muggle or Muggle-born lineage.

While half-bloods do have 'impure' Muggle ancestry, they are often viewed through the lens of their magical parentage, which can sometimes afford them a degree of acceptance or a different (almost nonexistant) level of scrutiny. In the hierarchy of blood purity, they are less offensive to purists compared to Muggle-borns, but not as esteemed as pure-bloods.

Sort of absent but for different reasons are Squibs. In broad terms, Squibs are generally more likely to be straight up ignored or disregarded, in contrast to the outright hatred and contempt directed toward Muggleborns and Muggles - the issue is a relation to non-magical Muggles, rather than magical skill itself. Because Squibs have magical ancestry, perhaps they fare slightly 'better' within this belief system. Of course, I expect it's all interrelated and decidedly more nuanced (as are all systems of prejudice/oppression), but as I say - in broad terms. Filch liked to help Umbridge, after all - like so many others in wizarding society (and wider, real-life society), his acceptance was conditional, and arguably based on either pity or what he could bring to the table.

In a similar way, being half-blood is only 'advantageous' when magical heritage can be proven and played upon - like Voldemort; like Umbridge:

“That’s — that’s pretty, Dolores,” she said, pointing at the pendant gleaming in the ruffled folds of Umbridge’s blouse. “What?” snapped Umbridge, glancing down. “Oh yes — an old family heirloom,” she said, patting the locket lying on her large bosom. “The S stands for Selwyn. … I am related to the Selwyns. … Indeed, there are few pure-blood families to whom I am not related...”

"It was Umbridge's lie that brought the blood surging into Harry's brain and obliterated his sense of caution; that [Slytherin's/Voldemort's] locket she had taken as a bribe from a petty criminal [Mundungus] was being used to bolster her own pure-blood credentials."

... and even like some Death Eaters probably do:

"The Death Eaters can’t all be pure-blood, there aren’t enough pure-blood wizards left," said Hermione stubbornly. "I expect most of them are half-bloods pretending to be pure." "I got this one," [Neville] indicated another slash to his face, "for asking [Carrow] how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."

... and unlike the son of Arkie Alderton, the well-known broomstick designer, who got carted away by Dementors. Purebloods could and would just as easily turn on half-bloods.

"First they came for the Socialists…" as the poem goes. Muggles and Muggle-borns will be the first witches and wizards targeted, face the worst discrimination, but half-bloods too are only safe so long as they can prove themselves as 'magical enough', dedicated enough, or useful enough; and they'll never be magical enough for the likes of true believers.

Severus Snape: Mudblood?

I don't think it's a stretch, then, to say that some Purebloods did use the term "Mudblood" for people other than Muggle-borns. Unlike most of the half-bloods we see in the series, with two magical parents, Snape was actually the son of Tobias Snape, a Muggle, with a clearly Muggle name that sets him apart from the well-known and interconnected Pureblood families. As a student, and sometimes as an adult, Snape to some extent 'fit' the stereotypes of Muggles in that he would be perceived as common, dirty, and disgusting; throughout the series he's described as "greasy", with "yellow, uneven teeth"; he hails from Cokeworth, likely from a two-up-two-down house, described as though set in a Northern industrial area; he is scrawny, skinny, as a child wears mismatched clothes, and is likely neglected and grew up in poverty. (Contrast with Purebloods Sirius, who is regularly described as handsome, James, who had the "indefinable air of having been well cared for and even adored that Snape so conspicuously lacked", and the Malfoy family, who are also regularly described as being attractive).

If we use Draco as a benchmark for Slytherin Pureblood behaviour, then imagine how much worse Snape would be received; he's poorer than a Weasley, more Muggle than Harry Potter (and absolutely not the chosen one), and at least half as Muggle as Hermione. It's questionable whether Eileen Prince/Snape was herself even a Pureblood; whilst I was traversing for all the quotes here, Hermione talks about reading through Nature’s Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy, that "lists the pure-blood families that are now extinct in the male line" - which, if Prince was a Pureblood name, might have crept up in passing conversation since Hermione seemed to struggle to find anything out about the HBP in the previous book.

During a war in which Voldemort rose to power, with an identifiably Muggle name and not one of the vastly interconnected and still-powerful Pureblood families, Snape would be noticed for being different. He was about a year apart from Regulus after all, who had a whole collage on his wall of Voldemort's press cuttings, favoured son of enthusiastic blood supremacist Walburga Black - so I find it hard to believe that Slytherins were... fully accepting.

In CoS, when a basilisk was going around attempting to kill Muggle-borns on behalf of the Heir of Slytherin, the Slytherin common room password was pureblood. I feel like there's a whole point there, but it's nearly 4am here, so I can't brain it right now. (But like... did Snape set the passwords? Did the entrance do it magically?? Did a Head Boy/Prefect do it?? Either way, there's a strong sense of pureblood supremacy communicated in that password that's only strengthened by the timing, echoing the Heir's agenda). In any case, it speaks to the entrenched nature of pure-blood ideology of Slytherin as a house.

"my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal . . . my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them" (Sirius, OotP) "as far as [Marvolo] was concerned, having pure blood made you practically royal" (Harry, DH)

The Purebloods of Slytherin house in any generation - who considered themselves "practically royal" in their superiority - would surely ridicule a self-styled, half-blood Prince.

#professor snape #snape #severus snape #pro snape #snape fandom #pro severus snape #young snape #snape meta #snape's worst memory #snapedom #snape community #pro severus #rambles #snaps-meta

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splendidissimus · 1 year

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2006 - Surprise Party

((Content warning: terminal illness))

((Promptspiration: @whumptober 2023: day 15: Suppressed Suffering / "I'm fine." ))

Genre: angst

Romance level: some

Angst level: 3/5

Draco's headspace: depressed

((words: ~1000))

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"Surprise! Happy birthday!"

Draco had paused in the interior doorway of the restaurant where about fifty of his closest friends had gathered around and were congratulating him. The way he laughed in a second sounded forced to Theo, but it was good enough for the public, and he moved into the group, anointing the guests with gracious thanks.

Theo lost track of Draco after Daphne grabbed his arm and pulled him off, chattering, and he wandered off toward the bar to get a drink and some chips, and plant himself out of the way of all of the socialising. Watching the crowd, though, just for entertainment.

Draco's social circle made for an interesting gathering. Most of those 'friends' were more like friendly associates, but Draco wouldn't have made the distinction. There were his remaining school friends and housemates — even Pansy had shown up, though Theo didn't have the social savvy to really even guess how that was going to play out. Several members of his duelling club, a selection of his Diagon Alley neighbours, some of his Ministry contacts, a few people Theo thought he recognised as people Draco had invested with, and several more he had a feeling he had met at some point but didn't remember. Theo had provided Daphne about half those names, but clearly she had different sources, as well. Probably, he considered when he saw her talking to an Auror, Draco's secretary.

The party was nice, atmosphere-wise. The restaurant was done up with white flowers that evoked the Malfoy gardens where Draco had used to have his birthday parties when they were kids, and floating candles, and there was a self-playing string quartet in the corner, and none of the food being offered around on silver trays by house elves had a strong scent that would turn Draco's stomach; he thought that was a weird detail for her to get, and he turned it over in his mind, trying to figure out what it meant, until he caught sight of Astoria and remembered that Daphne had probably been accustomed to being considerate of her sister's illness her whole life, and making accommodations like that probably came naturally to her.

He was on his second beer when Rita Skeeter fluttered by and asked if he knew where Draco was; he realised he hadn't seen him in a bit and shook his head, and then went off to see.

He found him in the toilets. Draco was leaning on one of the pair of sinks, looking at his face in the mirror with hunched shoulders, his expression distant. His eyes flicked up when he heard the door and met him there, and Theo took out his wand to lock the door behind them so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Everything okay?" He came up and laid a hand on his back.

Draco nodded and wiped his cheeks one at a time with the same hand. "I'm fine. It's just…" He gripped the edge of the sink fiercely. "My birthday," he said bitterly. "'Congratulations, you're twenty-six, hope you accomplished a lot with those last eight years… Only fourteen left to go now… if you're lucky…'" His hands clenched around the sink like he could break it, and he dropped his head between his trembling shoulders.

Theo rubbed his back slowly, trying to help him relax. "This isn't helping? I thought it might, being around all these friends."

Draco took a deep breath and forced his hands to unclench, lifting his head. "This was your idea?" He wiped his cheek again, even though there wasn't actually a tear there.

"No, Daphne remembered your birthday parties back when and that you hadn't had one since school, and came up with the plan. She asked me for guests and to get you here, though."

"I appreciate the thought." He looked again at his face in the mirror, expression dark and distant.

"But it doesn't help?"

"No," he said flatly. He took a another, deeper breath and pushed himself up from the sink, turning to face him. "With my office just over the road you don't need to worry about staying sober or anything to make sure I get home; you can have the night off. I'm going to use a Cheering Charm. I'll try to keep it up until midnight or so, then I'll take my leave."

"You don't have to do that." Draco hated Cheering Charms — hated them, at least when they were used to correct a negative mood instead of enhancing a good one. He could use them to function when he needed to, but afterward it left him helplessly frustrated and invalidated on top of whatever darkness he had already been feeling that came flooding back. "We can just make an excuse and go now."

"No; it's a party for me, I'm not going to ruin it by being moody. It's my birthday," he added, probably more darkly than he intended. "I'm getting older. I should act like an adult." He rubbed his hand over his face, and pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, tapping his wand against the side of his leg like he steeling himself to be stabbed. Then he swished the wand and pointed it at himself, murmuring the incantation.

His shoulders relaxed almost at once, and in a second he looked up with an easy smile, putting his wand away neatly. "That wasn't so bad. All right, I'll see you later. Enjoy the party." He stood up on his toes to kiss him before he left.

Theo slipped out of the bathroom after Draco and stood against the wall, watching over him. He easily went out amongst his guests again, mingling smoothly and graciously calling for a toast to their hostess, to a general cheer.

Knowing that he was borrowing this peace against his pain and would have to repay every moment of it later.

#whumptober2023 #no.15 #suppressed suffering #“I'm fine.”#fic #harry potter #draco is depressed #draco in his 20s #splendidissimus writing #whumptober 2023

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kandidkandycc · 1 year

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My friend received her Draco Malfoy square pillow today! I am currently running a sale on this item from today to the 30th! Check it out in my Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/listing/1438854753/draco-malfoy-pillow

#draco malfoy #harry potter #pillow #custom design #fr sales #discount #etsysmallbusiness #etsygifts

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malfoymaudit · 4 years

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𝐁 𝐋 𝐀 𝐂 𝐊 𝐒 𝐖 𝐀 𝐍 ⁠— a playlist for Draco Malfoy, for redemption.

#fl: edit #marauders rp #draco malfoy #hp rp #draco malfoy edit #*#playlist

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rosecorcoranwrites · 4 years

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Heroes and Villains are Not the Same

That's right, I hold the controversial opinion that heroes and villains are, in fact, not the same thing. Crazy, I know, but I stand by it. Let's step back a bit. Recently, I've come across a few writers and commentators saying something along the lines of "who the hero or villain is depends on who's telling the story". This sounds provocative, I guess, but it disregards a lot of standard terminology surrounding storytelling

Let’s talk about four types of character.

First, you have your protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist, obviously, is the main character. The antagonist is the character who works against the main character. Wikipedia puts it rather eloquently: "The protagonist is at the center of the story, makes the key decisions, and experiences the consequences of those decisions. The protagonist is the primary agent propelling the story forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles," while "an antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist".

It is true that who the protagonist and the antagonist are depends on who’s telling the story. If Les Miserables were from Javert's perspective, then Valjean and all the revolutionaries would be antagonists. If there were a book series starring Draco Malfoy and his two cronies, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be the antagonists. And, yes, in these two instances, I think you could call Javert and Draco heroes; the first has a classic Greek heroic flaw, while the second goes through a long redemption arc.

Let's look at another example. If L were telling the story of Death Note, he would be the protagonist. And yes, the hero. Unlike in the other examples, he already was the hero. If you're unfamiliar with Death Note, it features a high school student, Light Yagami, who obtains the book of a Grim Reaper. If you write the name of an individual in that notebook, that person will die. Light, deciding to rid the world of horrible criminals, goes to town with it. But lest the audience see him as some tragic hero who goes down a dark path, it's made clear early on that he has a god complex—assuming the name "Kira"/"Killer"—and is willing to murder anyone who gets in his way, including the famous detective, L, who has been brought on to catch Kira. L is the antagonist to Light's protagonist, specifically, his villain protagonist.

That's why the idea that the villain and the hero are just the same thing from different perspectives is so confusing to me. We have villain protagonists. That is the other perspective. Though I feel like the insistence on heroes and villains being the same stems from our relativist culture, I think it also comes from a misunderstanding of what "hero" and "villain" mean.

A hero is a character who, generally speaking, struggles with some flaw or conflict. Their main arc deals with either overcoming this conflict or eventually capitulating to it. Greek tragedies are built around a "heroic flaw" that undoes the hero no matter how much they struggle against it. Modern superhero stories do the opposite, where the hero fights against internal vices or external foes, eventually winning the day, proving that virtue wins out over vice.

And that is the important thing about heroes: virtue. Whether or not a hero follows the path of virtue to its conclusion or ends up failing and falling off it at the end, they are at least seeking it. They are trying to be good. This is why you can essentially say that a hero is the Good Guy. The Good Guy might fail at the end, but that doesn't mean he wasn't trying his hardest until that point.

What makes a hero different from a villain? Well, obviously, the villain is the Bad Guy. No, really. A villain is "a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot", “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot". While a hero concerns himself with trying to lead a virtuous life, even if they fail, the villain doesn't. Maybe they actively pursue selfish and evil ends. Maybe they just don't care. Maybe they do think they're the hero (a popular idea in writing circles that will get its own blog post later), but are willing to do evil actions to achieve those good ends. The point is, while the hero pursues the good, a villain pursues evil.

So, with these as our criteria, let's look at a recent example: the 2019 film, Joker. Is this protagonist a hero or a villain?

I'll go ahead and say spoilers, but I actually don't think spoilers matter for this movie. I watched about two dozen reviews of the film before seeing it myself—to see if it would be too intense for me—so I knew every plot point going in. It was still amazing! The way those plot points were presented made them intriguing and fresh. Nevertheless, if you want no spoilers, I would bow out now.

Joker is the story of a man beaten down by society and circumstance. Arthur Fleck, as he is named at the beginning of the story, is a mentally ill man working a low-paying job at a clown-for-hire agency. His life is pretty awful: he gets beat up by teenagers, his coworkers don't respect him and even fear him due to his illness, he lives in a somewhat shabby apartment with his elderly mother, his therapist doesn't listen to him, and so on. All this pressure and anxiety finally come to a head when three jerk businessmen on a subway start assaulting Arthur while he is still in his clown costume. He shoots two of them in self-defense, then runs down the final one and shoots him in the heat of the moment.

Due to the swirling unrest in the city—there's a garbage strike going on, the social service budget has been cut, businesses are closing down, and so on—this nameless clown striking out against three rich men starts a movement. The unhappy masses don clown masks. Then they start protesting. Then they start rioting. While all this is happening, Arthur soaks it in. Though he states that he’s not political and doesn't believe in anything, he clearly likes seeing people imitate his look. He likes seeing the story of the killings in the news.

Eventually, through several more dark turns in the plot, he learns that his mother has lied to him about who his father is (maybe? The story kind of suggests that maybe his birth certificate is forged? And there's the writing on the back of that photograph? I don't know...), and that she allowed him to be mercilessly abused as a child. He makes a speech here, about how he has never in his life been happy, but that he realizes his life is not a tragedy, but a comedy. Then he smothers his mother with a pillow.

This is truly the moment he throws away "Arthur Fleck" and becomes the Joker, underlined by him dyeing his hair green and donning an orange and purple three-piece suit. He kills again, on television nonetheless, then basks in the rioting and burning he has caused. He thinks it's funny. Now, we not only have Arthur Fleck turned into the iconic Joker, but we have the city turned from an admittedly grimy and unjust place into the mask-clad-murderer infested burning hell hole that is the Gotham we know.

So, is the Joker a hero or a villain? Does it matter how you look at it?

One of the reasons this movie was so popular—aside from being about the most famous comic book villain ever—was that different sides could see what they wanted in it. Those in favor of movements like Antifa could point out the economic injustice that led to the riots; the movie makes no attempt to hide how unjust the society in Gotham is. People who see such movements as dangerous can say that, even if there were reasons for the protesting, at the end of the movie innocent people were murdered and the city is literally on fire, which the film also presents as a pretty bad thing. Maybe if Arthur was helped to get proper medication and counseling, he wouldn't have felt so hopeless, and thus wouldn't have become the Joker. True. Maybe if Thomas Wayne or child protective services had stepped in—since they both apparently knew Arthur was being abused as a child—and removed him from his mother, his life would have had a totally different trajectory. Yep.

No matter what particular political message you want to take from it, the fact is that Joker, the movie, is about the failure of society to address wrongs and about the chaos that comes when no one does anything about it. Remember, at this time in Gotham, there is no masked vigilante looking out for the little guy. Not yet, at least.

It's also a movie about one of the most iconic villains ever. The fact is, Arthur does not care about starting a movement. He likes that he did, because at least people are noticing him, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care that people are rioting and that the city is on fire, but he likes that the rioters look up to him. He doesn't care that he killed three businessmen on a train, or smothered his mother, or hacked up a colleague and got covered in the guy's blood, or that he shot a talk show host on live TV, or murdered his doctor at the end of the movie, because he liked doing it.

Yes, he does have a motive beyond that: revenge, for being lied to, or made to take the fall, or for being made fun of. As he says: What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a system that treats him like garbage? You get what you deserve. He has a point, and he's bitter, but he also really likes killing people. Throughout the movie, he laughs uncontrollably at inappropriate times— almost always when he is nervous or uncomfortable with the situation. But what does he do after he kills? He dances. Because he likes it. He may not be happy, but he still thinks he's in a comedy.

And that is why we can say that he is not the hero of his own story nor the hero of a Batman movie where it's told from the Joker's perspective. Because as sad as Arthur Fleck's story is, he's never trying to be virtuous, he's just trying to get by. In the end, the way he chooses to get by is through murder. It's tragic, but, as he himself says, it's not a tragedy. He's not a tragic hero. He's a comic villain. The only thing that depends on who’s telling the story is whether or not you get the joke.

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hdowlpost · 5 years

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OWL GIFTS for @lalionnebelle!

Gift from: anon Listen to it on AO3: UST (Wrock EP) Summary: Cringe, served in the form of two wrock songs and album art. Art Medium & Length: Digital art (Procreate) & ~7 minutes of music made with FL Studio and Audacity. Rating: PG Contains: CRAPPY LYRICS AND SINGING THAT WILL HAUNT YOU FOR DAYS Notes: @lalionnebelle, I took your very liberal prompt list and your love for Disney music and mashed them up to make... wizard rock, I guess? Let's call them demos so that nobody expects too much. :D Gift from: anon Read on AO3: Walking on a Dream Summary: Nights were Harry's favourite moments. When he was sleeping Draco looked at peace. He would mumble or smile and Harry's heart would swell in his chest. Until one night Draco had a sex dream and something else swelled in Harry. Word Count: 3.4K Rating: NC-17 Contains: EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Potions, Blow Jobs, Watching Someone Sleep, Dom/sub Undertones Gift from: anon Read on AO3: The Case of Matching Green Doors Summary: Malfoy accidentally walks into Harry's room and falls asleep on the bed next to him. Or… When Harry finds out Malfoy has really cold feet. Literally. Word Count: ~5000 Rating: NC-17 Contains: Oblivious Harry. Scheming Friends. Background fluid relationships and threesomes. Mention of Harry and past relationships. Frotting. Fantasising. Wanking. Good & bad flirting. Confident Harry. Flustered Draco. Bisexual Harry.

#hdowlpost #hdowlpost2019 #lalionnebelle #drarry #draco x harry

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autumnsnuggling · 5 years

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Another prompt 😁 Drarry + "silence"

Okay, inspiration hit and this came out of it! Hope you enjoy!!!

Silence

“Can’t you get him to stop screaming?!”

Harry glared over the bawling bundle in his arms.

“It’s not like he just has an off switch, Malfoy! I’m trying my best, okay? Your squawking isn’t helping!” Whoever had convinced him that looking after his godson for an afternoon with his arch-nemesis, whilst Andromeda took a well-deserved break, was going to pay.

“I’m not squawking!” the Slytherin shrieked, pitch rivalling Teddy’s.

“Oh of course not, that must have been the parrot screeching instead, my mistake!” He rolled his eyes, ignoring the venomous look Malfoy shot his way. “Look, the least you could do is try and be more helpful! Standing there jigging your knee isn’t helping anyone!" Honestly Harry’s arms felt like they were about to fall off; babies may be small but damn they were heavy, especially after bouncing them for almost an hour and thirty minutes in a futile attempt to soothe them!

Malfoy’s shoulders jumped about three inches closer to his ears.

“Wha- What am I supposed to do?!” the blond stammered, eyes like saucers, “You’re supposed to be the hero, remember?!”

“Just because I got lucky shooting a few spells at a raving lunatic does not mean that I know how to calm an infant, you nimwit! Just come over here and take him! My arms need a break, and me being stressed sure as hell isn’t helping!” Malfoy, of course, stayed rooted to the spot. Harry stared at him as Teddy’s wails continued.

“WELL?!” He all but yelled. The idiot swallowed and shook his head.

“I can’t.” Harry sighed, in no mood to be patient with two babies.

“What do you mean, you can’t?!”

“I just can’t, Potter!" Malfoy snapped. "I’ve never been around kids! They’re messy and loud and uncontrollable! And delicate! I always-” He stopped abruptly, averting his gaze. As Teddy screamed, Harry waited for Malfoy to continue. He didn’t.

“Always what?” He finally prompted, much to Malfoy’s disappointment judging by the frustrated workings of his jaw.

“I always worry that I’m going to drop them or hurt them, okay?” He muttered, voice barely audible over Teddy's ruckus. Harry couldn’t help but blink.

“Oh.” Was his only response, earning him a half-hearted huff of derision and an snarky comment about him being articulate.

“Oh piss off. Look,” he shifted his godson into a slightly more comfortable position as he continued to bellow at the top of his lungs. “He’s more sturdy than he looks. You won’t break him. I promise. And no one just knows how to hold a baby, it’s something you need to be taught." The blond continued to look anywhere but in Harry's direction. "But, you’re his uncle, and he needs someone other than me right now. So, just, try, yeah? I’ll help. It’s easier than it looks.” Malfoy worried his lip between his teeth. "Please… Draco."

The use of his first name brought grey eyes snapping up to his, a mixture of shock, fear, and uncertainty flickering wildly in them. The Slytherin paused, holding Harry's gaze, debating his response. Just as Harry was sure he was going to refuse, the other man gave the tiniest of nods. A breath Harry didn't know he'd been holding escaped him.

"Okay, hold you arms like this," he quickly instructed before Draco could change his mind. With careful guidance, soon the blond had arranged his arms ready to receive his nephew. A quick glance at the man's face showed he was almost ashen.

"Right, now. First of all, breathe," Harry was only half joking; the guy looked ready to pass out. "And second, you can do this. You'll be fine, okay?" Malfoy only swallowed, eyes fixated on the squalling child in Harry's arms. Well, guess we'll just have to go for it.

Slowly, carefully, Harry maneuvered Teddy into a position where he could gently transfer him into Draco's waiting arms. The blond flinched as soon as Teddy's skin made contact, but eased into the hold, letting out a slow breath that was only slightly shaky as Harry withdrew, flexing his arms in relief.

"There, see?" Harry smiled, "You're doing it!"

"But he's still screaming, Potter! What am I supposed to do now?"

"One step at a time," Harry tried to encourage him. "Now just, take some deep breaths and try to rock him, or bounce him, just like I was doing." The Slytherin nodded, tentatively starting to bounce. "Don't worry if he doesn't settle immediately, he's been upset for a long time, it won't change instantly. And we've tried everything else, he's not hungry, or in need of changing or burping. He just needs some love and he'll settle." Eventually, he added, silently.

Once again a small nod was all Harry got in response, but as he finally stretched out the tension in his shoulders, he didn't care. Across the room, Malf- Draco was walking with the child, finding a rhythm, adjusting him slightly in his arms. It almost looked natural.

"That's good! Do whatever feels right, you're doing well." Harry offered, sinking gratefully into a chair. He'd just closed his eyes, just for a second to calm his frazzled wits, when a new sound joined the commotion.

"How do I… get through one night without you… if I had to live without you… what kind of life would that be?..."

Harry's eyes snapped open, tracking his arch-enemy as he travelled around the room, back always conveniently to him.

"Oh I... need you in my arms, need you to hold… You are my world, my heart, my soul…"

Malfoy was singing. SINGING! And a new, muggle song too! Where on earth had he learnt that?! Before Harry could lift his chin off the floor, a new found stillness in the room suddenly overwhelmed him. It was working!

Slowly, quietly, he crept across the room, trying to get a peek at his godson. Sure enough, as the Slytherin turned slightly, Harry caught a glimpse of a tense, but more settled Teddy, hanging off of Malfoy's every word.

The blond paused, wary eyes resting on Harry, a deep blush creeping over his cheeks.

"Keep going!" Harry urged; this was the most peace they'd had for ages! The man took a deep breath, turning from Harry once again.

"If you ever leave…" he continued as Harry marvelled at the sonorous quality of the man's voice. How had he gone this long without knowing Malfoy could actually sing?! But as Teddy quietened, then relaxed, and then began drifting off to sleep, Harry found he didn't care. It was just a relief to be able to hear his own thoughts again.

At last, Draco stopped singing, having repeated the chorus and a few verses several times so as not to disturb his nephew, and faced Harry, unable to keep his eyes from Harry's for too long.

"That was brilliant." Harry finally whispered, smiling softly. Tentatively, Draco returned it.

"Thanks," he swallowed. "What do I do now?"

Ever so carefully, Harry directed him to Teddy's basket, demonstrating how to put the boy down without disturbing him. It was a tense operation, both holding their breath as Teddy shifted to get more comfortable, but soon he was sleeping soundly on his own.

Harry smiled, drinking in the tiny face of his godson, love and joy bubbling in his chest

"You're going to make a great godfather." Draco whispered, eyes fixed on his nephew. Harry smiled

"And you're going to make a great uncle."

Cautious eyes met, soft smiles tugging at both of their mouths, before turning back to the adorable, if loud, child before them.

Finally, after almost two hours, there was silence.

Send me a word with a preference of head canon or drabble and I'll come up with something to celebrate 300 followers! Thanks guys!

#drarry #teddy lupin #drarry + teddy #300 followers #fluff #drarry squad #harry x draco #draco x harry #silence #hope you enjoy!#aprilwrites #mywriting

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awkwardkitten13 · 4 years

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Oh My My (Drarry fan fic written to Oh My My by Blue October)

Harry's POV

Harry paced his living room waiting for Ron and Hermione to get there. He was being forced to go to a concert. It would be the first time out since the war ended three years ago, but Hermione talked him into it saying that it was a muggle rock concert so it was highly unlikely they'd see someone they knew. After thirty minutes of pacing he finally heard the door bell. Instead of apperating they all climbed into a cab and they were of.

"So who's playing?" Harry asked as he watched the dark trees and building pass the cab window.

"Mostly indie bands, Wretched Air, Home For Sale and I hear Dirty blue will be there, they're supposed to be really good." Ron said. Harry didn't reply. He just stayed quiet till they arrived. As the first two bands played Harry stayed by the bar watching Ron and Hermione dance. He finally got bored so he asked the bartender for a rum and coke. About four of those later he was finally feeling a bit looser.

It was at that time he looked up at the stage. The next band was just setting up, when the singer stepped up to the microphone Harry's jaw dropped. standing beneath the spotlight with bright blue hair, leather pants, and a tatted up torso was Draco Malfoy. He began to sing and harry was fully entranced. He couldn't turn away. Draco's voice had him lulled into hypnosis, and he was reminded of all those times he wanted to touch him when they were in school together. When they reached a slower love song it felt like draco was staring directly at him and his heart began to pound frantically. He couldn't understand why he felt this way still.

Draco's POV

As the band set up before the lights came on Draco scanned the crowd, but he almost fainted when his eyes got to the back where the bar was. Standing back there wearing tight blue jeans and a black T-Shirt was a familiar mop of black hair. He shook his head and reminded himself that this happened every show. He always thought he'd seen Harry before every show but its always turn out to be some stranger. He stepped up to the microphone and prepared for the first song, but before the lights came on the stranger turned around and this time his dream had come true. There was harry starring straight back at him with a socked expression on his face.

Draco put everything he could into his performance that night and when it came to the love song he sang it directly to Harry, as if he finally wanted harry to know how he felt. At the end of his bands set he threw on his jacket and went out front to "get a drink" as he told his mates. Really he just hoped to run into Harry. As he approached the bar he could feel Harry's eyes melting into him from just a few feet away. Form the corner of his eye he could see Harry trying to walked towards him but he was stopped by some drunk girl.

"Your super cute." Draco overhead the girl say to Harry. Draco kind of felt a little remorse and was ready to return to the green room when he heard harry's response.

"Sorry I don't swing that way, if you'd excuse me there's someone I have to meet." Draco smiled to himself as Harry finally made his way to his side.

"So the great Harry Potter's a gay huh? who'd have thought?" Draco said before Harry could say anything.

"Judging by those pants, your not so straight yourself Malfoy." Harry laughed.

"You got a problem with that, hot stuff?" Draco said as he turned and gave Harry a wink. Harry turned bright red and Draco couldn't help but smile.

"well that's a first!" Harry laughed.

"What? The flirting?" Draco asked.

"No, smiling while you flirted with me!" They both laughed.

Draco felt amazing it was the first time he'd talked to Harry and no pain was shed. He couldn't stop himself from asking, "Hey you wanna get out of here?"

Harry's POV

Harry stood there shocked for a moment. He never expected Draco to ask that. "I'd like that alot. Let me message Ron and Hermione and let them know i'm leaving."

He sent Hermione a message saying he was leaving with another friend and with in seconds Draco had him by the hand and they were getting into a cab. The skin on skin contact filled his stomach with butterflies.

"So is Granger going to be mad that you ditched them?" Draco laughed.

It took Harry a minute to comprehend what he had said because he was too busy staring at Draco's laughing face. He couldn't remember if he had ever seen him genuinely laugh before. He found it absolutely beautiful. He shook his head, "No but Ron might be." he laughed in return.

They laughed and told stories of what they'd been up to the past three years, and within 15 minutes they arived at Draco's flat.

"Do you want a drink?" Draco asked as they entered the extravagant flat.

"Sure!" Harry said feeling a little nervous now. Draco poored him another rum and coke and they both sat down on the couch.

"I hope i don't get you to flustered but i got to take the jacket off." Draco laughed with a wink.

"Get me to fl...?" Harry went to say but stopped mid sentence with his mouth still open when Draco finally had the jacket off. He had forgoten he was shirtless underneath.

Draco looked at him and laughed. "I wasnt being serious."

"What?" HArry shook his head again and tried not to stair at Draco's toned Tattooed torso. "Oh, I'm not flustered." He said turning red and feeling a stirring in his pants.

"Oh really?" Draco said with a bit of sass, "So if i..." Draco trailed of as he scooted closer on the sofa.

"What are you doing?" Harry said as he began to panic a little but in a good way.

"Nothing." Draco smiled as he lifted his hand and gently touched Harry's knee. Harry let out a quiet moan. "Ha not flustered my ass."

"Oh come on how could I not be you've always been so hot to meand that tattoos just add to it!?" Harry exclaimed and stuck his tongue out.

"Oh yeah? I've always been hot to you?" Draco smiled.

"Yes." Harry said quietly. Draco got up and straddled harry's lap with out warning making Harry's go eye wide. He slowly leaned down so his lips were brushing Harry's ear.

"I've always found you hot too," He whispered as his hand slowly slid up to harry's ribs, " But no one sticks their tongue out me." Harry felt him smile and soon he was being tickled viciously. they both laughed and Harry rolled trying to get away, but it was no use Draco had him. Somehow they ended up on the floor though and Draco paused for a moment. They were looking into each others eye. they just sat there staring for what seemed like eternity. Till Draco broke the silent with a whisper " What? Whatcha gunna do?" For some reason the way he said that sounded like the hottest thing Harry had ever heard. Harry smiled and placed his hand on Draco's cheek. Draco leaned down and they kissed passionately.

When they pulled away they were both out of breath. "I've been waiting to do that for years." They both said in unison. They smiled and Draco caught Harry's lips again. He slid his hand inside harry's shirt and harry let out a light moan, just enough for Draco to snake his tongue into his mouth and explore every inch of it. Harry bucked his hips up and that was the first time he'd heard Draco moan, but before he could cause any friction Draco stopped.

"Did i do something wrong?" He asked kind of hurt.

"No baby, no." Draco said and harry had to hide his blush at the pet name," I was just thinking, I want to do this right. I dont want our first time together to be some drunken night. I want us both to be sober and for the night to be perfect. If i keep going i won't be able to stop myself." He brushed Harry's cheek with his hand. "Can i take you to dinner sometime?"

Harry laughed, "I wish you were this perfect a few years ago. I'd like that a lot."

This time Draco stuck his tongue out at harry, so harry pinned him and started tickling his sides. Draco wriggled and escaped pinning Harry to the ground again. "Nice try."

"How's Saturday?"

"Hmm?"

"For dinner?"

"That will be perfect." Draco smiled. He hadn't felt this happy ever.

Harry left about thirty minutes later.

Draco POV

Saturday arrived like syrup on a cold day. Draco almost went crazy from the waiting, he was so excited.

He styled his blue hair and put on his best green button up with his black skinny jeans and combat boots. He was out the door and at the restaurant 30 minuted ealry. He sat at the bar and waited for harry. Soon he saw the all to familiar mop of black hair walk in the door. Harry was wearing a tight red T-shirt and dark blue jean that were just tight enough to show off his perfect ass. He smiled and approached and almost drooling Draco.

"Hi, sorry i didn't relise this would be such a nice place. I should have dress up a little more." Harry said.

"You're fine you look sexy." Draco replied leaving Harry blushing. "Shall we sit down?"

Dinner was perfect. They laughed and picked on each other, shared secrets, and even talked about what happened in school and put it behind them. After, the sat outside the restaurant and talked somemore till the sun was long gone.

"I dont normally ask this on a first date, but do you wanna come back to my flat? There's something i want to show you." Draco asked.

"Ive already been back to your flat." Harry laughed.

"True." Draco smiled in return, "So is that a yes then?"

"Yes." Harry laughed again.

They apperated back to Draco's flat and he let them in the front door.

"What is it you wanted..." Before harry could finish his sentence he was pushed up against the door and kissed.

Draco pulled back and both were out of breath. "Was that it?" Harry asked giggling.

"No. I've just been waiting to do that all night." Draco whispered in harry's ear sending shivers through Harry's body. "Come with me." Draco whispered again. He took Harry's hand and lead him to the living room where harry sat on the couch. He walked over to the closet and pulled out an acoustic guitar. He then pulled up the ottoman and sat in front of Harry. Harry was quiet but his face showed excitement and that made Draco smile. Draco started to strum and sing...

"You wear black hair I have blue

You look sadder than most boys do

The way you walk around

Always watching the ground

Well I like watching you

Your friends, they don't like me

I think they're jealous of my tattoos

I'm not a bad guy

Just like wearing black

I'm not scared of anything

But saying this to you

It's going down, neither of us wanna be alone right now

come on come on"

Draco looked up and he could physically see Harry falling in love and that made him fall too.

Harry's POV

When Draco started to sing Harry felt his chest grow warm. He felt himself fall in love and it was the realist it had ever felt.

"Oh my my

Yeah I'm loving all your warning signs

Cause I'm a sucker for you oh my my

boy you get me high

Yeah you're my type, you're danger, danger"

Draco looked up again and paused. They stared at each other with a burning intensity for what seemed like forever. Then Draco quickly moved the guitar to the side and they collided in a frenzied kiss. Harry laid down pulling Draco in between his legs

Draco grabbed harry's wrists and pinned him to the couch. He then kissed his way down to harry's neck and started sucking and biting till he heard harry let out a loud moan. He continued biting and licking the spot that made him moan till he felt Harry's hips jerk up and felt Harry's hard cock against his. This time he let out a hard moan and harry took the opportunity to capture his mouth and snake his tongue inside. He grabbed Draco's hips and started rubbing their cocks together through their pants. Draco became a moaning mess and soon couldn't take it anymore he stood up leaving Harry shocked but not as shocked as he was when Draco picked him up and carried him to his bedroom.

"Is the what you want?" Draco whispered sweetly as he laid Harry on the bed.

"Yes, more then anything." Harry whispered in return. Draco swished his wand and both they shoes were off. he then sat his wand by the bed. "Why didn't you just undress both of us?" Harry asked.

"Because i want to undress you myself and savor every inch of your skin." Draco whispered hotly. He then gently cupped Harry's face and kissed him passionately while straddling his hips. He slipped his hand under harry's shirt and started circling on of his nipples. Harry's breath hitched and he let out a quiet moan. soon Draco was slipping Harry's shirt off and sliding down to bite and lick at his nipples till Harry was shaking and gripping the sheets. Draco slowly unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside.

"Come here. I want to feel you against me."Harry moaned as Draco obeyed and pessed his naked chest against Harry's. " I need to feel more of you." Harry moan into their kiss. They both started fumbling with the buttons and zippers on each other pants. Soon they were both in nothing but their boxers grinding against each other in a moaning mess.

"I need more, baby." Draco moaned.

"Me too. Please fuck me Draco." Harry whispered in Draco's ear. If Draco Hadn't caught himself he would have came right there. Hearing harry beg for him was such a turn on. He slid Harry's boxers off, admiring the girth of his cock as he did so, and conjured some lube. He then grabbed Harry's cock, which harry was not prepared for and let out a loud moan as Draco slipped it into his mouth and down his throat. Then harry felt Draco's wet finger start to slide into his hole. He moaned even louder and gripped the sheets. Within a few thrusts harry was begging for more so Draco added a finger and began scissoring them.

"Baby i need you cock!" Harry moaned.

Draco pulled his fingers out and popped Harry's cock out of his mouth. He then slipped of his boxers watching Harry's face the whole time, and giggling when harrys eyes got wide at the size of his cock.

"Do you think you can take all 9 inches?" Draco laughed

"I don't know but i'll try." Harry laughed in return, "Do you want me to turn around?"

"No, I wanna see you face when i'm balls deep in you." Draco said as he kissed harry deeply while lubing up his cock and sliding it in ever so slowly.

"Oh gods! Your'e so big, Draco!" Harry moaned.

"You can take it." Draco moaned in return. Harry was so tight aground him it took everything he had not to cum.

Soon he was burried to the hilt and he could feel Harry quivering around him. "PLease Draco, move." Harry begged.

Draco pulled out slowly then slammed back into him making Harry scream with pleasure.

"Oh Gods, please dont stop!" Harry screamed.

Draco started puling out fast and slamming back inside harder over and over till they were both a sweaty moaning mess.

"Harry i'm going to cum." Draco moaned.

"Me too, please cum inside of me, baby!" Harry screamed again and Draco's thrusts got sloppy. Within second they were both shaking through their orgasms as Draco came inside Harry and harry came all over their stomachs and chests. They kissed tiredly but still lovingly as Draco collapsed to the bed and waved a quick cleaning spell with his wand. He then wrapped Harry tightly in his arms.

"Harry, i don't know how you did it, but you got me to fall in love with you all over again."

"You started it. I've never felt this way for anther person. I love you so much Draco."

"I love you more." They both laughed and fell into a deep sleep.

The End

#drarry #blue october #my fic #fanfic #writing #wattpad #harry potter #harry x draco #draco malfoy #fanfiction

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filiiconscidisti · 5 years

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draco & headcanon : a brief history of the malfoy family, 58 BC - 1970

antiquity

the earliest known written records of the magical family lineage originates from the commentarii de bello gallico (58-49 BC), an account of the gallic wars (58-50 BC) as described by julius caesar (100-44 BC). in chapters 13-14 and 16-18, caesar wrote of the druids of gaul ( present-day france and luxembourg ), noting that their high social standing and education set them apart from the other barbarians. they were also well-versed in “the stars and their movements, the size of the cosmos and the earth, the nature of the world, and the powers of immortal deities.” the magic possessed by the druids complemented well the natural magic of the roman augures publici, who used their magical abilities to interpret the will of the gods through the behaviour of birds – particularly ravens and eagles ( the predisposition the modern malfoy family has for keeping birds derives from their historical augury ). the family’s pure-blooded magical lineage originates from a pairing of a gallic druid and a roman augur in the 1st or 2nd century AD. evidence suggests that the family settled in gallo-roman territory, and remained there for many years.

the middle ages & the viking age

the distinct white-blonde hair that runs in the family line developed from centuries of contact with the gauls, germanics, and their collective ancestors, the visigoths, during the migration period of the 4th and 6th centuries AD. during this period, the family lineage becomes relatively untraceable due to lack of historical record. the family reappears once more in the 9th century AD during the viking settlement of west francia. due to insufficient records, it is currently not known whether the family was of frankish or viking origin during this period of invasion. there is, however, evidence that suggests that the family had attached themselves closely to the newly created duchy of normandy by the late 10th or early 11th century, implying that by this time they already had formed a not-insignificant connection to either king carolus simplex (879-929 AD) or rollo the viking (c 860-930 AD), first duke of normandy. their connection to nobility either way would be cemented with the rise of william the conqueror (1028-1087) to the duchy.

armand malfoy (fl. 1066) arrived in england with the norman conquest in the 11th century. when william the conqueror secured his throne in 1072, he seized the lands of resisting english elite and granted them to his loyalists. having provided various unspecified, but undoubtedly magical, services to the king, armand was granted a 180 acre plot of land in wiltshire that would become the site of malfoy manor. when the manor was constructed, it covered 30,000 square feet and contained 300 rooms, 61 of which were bedrooms ( approximately 50 of the 300 total rooms of the manor as of the modern era are now uninhabitable due to a lack of upkeep ). at the time of the land being granted, the 180 acre malfoy estate housed four muggle tennant farmstead households ( for a total of about 16-20 total farmer tenants, none of whom remain on the malfoy estate as of 1692, when they were forcibly evicted due to requirements set forward in the international statute of wizarding secrecy ), and was capable of yielding up to 900 bushels of grain during a peak and fertile harvesting season. the malfoy family as the landlords absorbed 15% of the total harvest yield from each individual farmstead, and 35% of all profits made from grain sold, accounting for the immense wealth that the malfoys were able to accumulate early into their english residency. as their wealth grew, the malfoys were able to annex neighbouring muggle farmland until the estate grew to a peak of 6,000 acres ( most of which has since been lost as of the modern era. the modern estate consists now only of the original 180 acre plot ).

the malfoy family maintained a close relationship with the muggle tenant farmers on the estate, being lenient landlords who would not evict the sick or elderly even if their land was not yielding profit. a church, two cemeteries ( one for the muggles and one for the malfoys ), and a muggle school were eventually built. once a year, the malfoy manor would open itself to visits from the muggle tenants, and they would be treated to a grand dinner held in the drawing room. nicholas malfoy (fl. 1340) was a very brief dark mark on the history of the malfoy family’s interactions with their muggle tenants. nicholas murdered many of the muggle farmers under the guise of the black death in the late 1300’s. his motivations for the murders are currently unknown, and his actions escaped the notice of the wizards’ council. he was never charged for his crimes.

the elizabethan period & the renaissance & the age of exploration

the malfoy family continued to thrive well into the 16th century, with lucius malfoy i (fl. 1560) rising to queen elizabeth i’s (1533-1603) court. lucius had, like many, aspired to take the queen’s hand in marriage, but was declined. although never proven, many historians believe that this refusal brought lucius to hex the queen. this bit of spiteful spellwork resulted in queen elizabeth i never marrying and eventually gaining notoriety as the virgin queen. the malfoy family’s opinion of muggles shifted following these events, and eventually culminated into strong anti-muggle sentiment. lucius malfoy i’s daughter, elizabeth malfoy-burke (fl. 1592) ( who was named after queen elizabeth i ) served as headmistress of hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry at the age of 35, marking her as one of the youngest persons to hold the post of head at hogwarts. elizabeth held strong pureblood supremacist beliefs, and therefore deeply favoured the slytherin house ( which was, of course, her own house ). like many of her predecessors, elizabeth would lobby for increased selectivity in the students hogwarts accepted. she was unsuccessful in instituting a complete ban on muggle-born admissions.

in the 17th century when persecution of wizarding kind by muggles was at its height. the malfoy family began to steadily isolate itself from their muggle tenant farmers, and by 1692, with the passing of the international statute of wizarding secrecy, all muggles were evicted from the malfoy estate. the malfoys then turned to wizarding society as a place where political and social power and influence could be gained. brutus malfoy (fl. 1675) began to gain notoriety in the wizarding community as an editor for an anti-muggle periodical called warlock at war. his opinions, although still considered to be radical and outrageous at the time, led him to work in the ministry of magic where the malfoy family would find the political influence they had been lacking since their isolation from the muggles separated them from the courts of muggle royalty. septimus malfoy (fl. 1780) grew to be incredibly influential within the ministry of magic. many historians claim that while he worked only as an advisor to he minister for magic unctuous osbert (fl. 1772) from 1789-1798, septimus was more the minister than osbert. osbert was elected two terms, with septimus serving as the de facto minister. the malfoy family continued to hold such influential ministry positions into the modern age.

the modern era

the modern era saw many changes for the malfoy family. with no muggle tenant farmers remaining on the estate property and no monetary investment placed in muggle industry, their wealth began to decline. eventually, 5,820 acres of the 6,000 acre estate were sold, leaving the estate with only its original grant size of 180 acres. the malfoy family continued to foster their connections within both hogwarts and the ministry in an attempt to prevent their line from dying. in 1962, nobby leach (fl. 1960) became the first muggle-born to be appointed to the post of minister for magic. several members of the wizengamot, which was packed primarily with prominent members of pure-blooded and sacred 28 families, resigned in protest. abraxas malfoy (fl. 1954-1968), however, did not resign. instead, he grew close enough to the minister that he was able to hex the minister, causing him to come down with a sickness that forced him to prematurely resign his post in 1968. no conclusive evidence was ever brought forward against abraxas, and he was heralded a hero in pure-blooded wizarding circles. two years later, the first wizarding war would begin, with abraxas’s son, lucius abraxas malfoy ii (1954-current), fighting at the frontlines in support of pureblood superiority.

#(( this is going to go under his info page as well but i like it a lot so it's going here too ))

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