#drarry evidence

[bubu0h]

In Evidence of Magical Theory by bixgirl1

Design for a decorative panel painted in rococco style (1830–97) by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise

[cluelesspigeons]

This is written for the prompt ‘evidence’ from @drarrymicrofic

Word count: 76

Drarry microfic: find out

“You have nowhere to go, Malfoy,” Harry growled menacingly. He leaned closer over the table, narrowing his eyes. “There’s enough evidence against you.”

Draco huffed a laugh as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Potter.” One corner of his mouth lifted up in a half-smile. “I’m sure you don’t want people to find out about what we’ve been doing in your free time?”

Prompt from August 30th

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[malf-oy]

can never get behind jegulus bc james potter is too straight guy coded

[tink-wondering]

For @drarrymicrofic's August 30 prompt: Evidence

And kind of a followup to this Proof prompt.

When Draco’s lips collides with his, Harry isn’t sure how to react.

Is this an act, or has Draco found out how he truly feels?

When a heavy hand lands on his neck, he has all the evidence he needs. This is not completely unrequited.

Harry melts into the kiss.

[iamnmbr3]

When Harry witnesses Draco being forced to torture Rowle, he is extremely upset. Much more so than he typically is about these visions. There are a lot of very drarry implications. Let's break it down.

"Malfoy’s gaunt, petrified face seemed branded on the inside of his eyes. Harry felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort.”

Notable points from this passage:

1) Harry understands Draco so well that he immediately takes for granted that he doesn't want to be using the Cruciatus curse. It never even crosses his mind to take this as evidence that Draco is now a willing torturer who enjoys cruelty or that he deserves to be in this situation for having chosen the wrong side and for his role in Dumbledore's death.

Nor does Harry think Draco is just scared and upset because he's afraid Voldemort might lash out at him too - which is what Harry would think if he saw any other Death Eater acting afraid around Voldemort. He clearly sees that Draco is horrified by the acts he is being forced to commit. And he also completely accepts that it is Voldemort forcing Draco to commit these acts, thus absolving Draco of responsibility.

2) Harry is DEEPLY upset by seeing Draco in this position. More upset than he ever is about seeing any other Death Eater being terrorized or hurt by Voldemort (Harry doesn't even spare one thought for Rowle for example!) Not only that. He's also more upset than he is about seeing Ollivander tortured. Or about seeing Voldemort murder a woman and her children later on while searching for information about Gregorovitch. He finds those visions alarming but he shakes them off pretty quickly.

The only comparable strong reactions are how he responds to his visions of Arthur Weasley and Sirius in book 5 - i.e. visions of people he knows and cares about in danger and suffering. And it's not even the scene as a whole that upsets him. It's specifically Draco - whose frightened face seems "branded" on the inside of Harry's eyes. Harry can't get the vision out of his head, feels sickened, and fights to keep his voice casual afterward. Even though Draco wasn't even actively being hurt.

So canonically Draco matters to Harry in a way that almost all other people don't. It's not generic nobility that gives Harry sympathy even for an enemy - because he doesn't feel this way about other Death Eaters. And it's not general pity that Harry would feel for any innocent hurt by Voldemort - because he doesn't feel that way about victims like Ollivander or the children Voldemort killed. It's the type of reaction Harry ONLY has to people he deeply cares about suffering or being in danger. Harry may not think of it that way on an intellectual level. But his heart knows it even if his brain doesn't. He cares about Draco Malfoy. A lot. He cares about him more than he cares about almost anyone else.

3) Also notable. Harry starts out referring to him as Malfoy but then switches to thinking of him as Draco as he starts worrying about him. (Yes. The drarry trope of Harry switching from "Malfoy" to "Draco" literally happens. IN CANON.) And he keeps thinking of him as Draco after that point. The next time Draco is referred to is during the whole sequence where the Golden Trio are prisoners at the Manor. Harry refers to Lucius by his full name multiple times, but consistently refers to Draco as "Draco" rather than "Malfoy" in his internal narration.

4) (Also the fact that Draco's face is described as "gaunt" hits me right in the feels. It seems that he's in worse shape even than he was when Harry last saw him at the end of 6th year. Sad but not surprising given the guilt that is probably eating at him over his role in Dumbledore's death, what he is now being forced to do as a Death Eater, and the very tangible dangers and suffering that come with being out of favor with Voldemort while having him in your house.)

Tldr: I don't need my ships to be canon but drarry is. jkr who? ;)

[cubeberries]

my chronically annoyed ass comes across one of those "canon characters react to fanon ships" and one of them was tomarry and in the post, harry's like, "UM EW WTF.. blah blah" and i just got So pissed, like, just because the ship that you like is canon doesn't make you morally superior! obviously canon harry wouldn't want to get fucked by voldemort! but you do realise that talented people who make this pairing plausible with their amazing writing skills and headcanons exist, right?

and another post that was like, "i can't believe millenials get these amazing ships like jily, remadora, hinny, (continues stating het canon pairings) but gen z decided these were trash because they were fxm... and decided drarry, tomarry.. (continues stating gay pairings) etc. were better," and, like,

NO???? you just stated the most bland, boring pairings in the whole series?? it's not our fault your reading comprehension is so abysmal that you think jily, a white heterosexual couple that got married straight out of highschool is more interesting than the hot mess that is drarry/tomarry???

like, i'm not bashing you for liking canon pairings, but it is factually untrue that fanon pairings are automatically less interesting than canon pairings! that's a you problem! your statement reads like you think heterosexual pairings are better than homosexual pairings and i hope you realise that just sounds homophobic.

and also! grindeldore doesn't count! there is no canon evidence for it. jkr did say it was canon, but it... it literally wasn't in the books.

[citrusses]

curse

for @microficmay , drarry. CW for induced attraction

“I told you,” Malfoy gasps, “not to use the fucking moss.”

Siren moss. When brewed, it’s very effective in preventing a common symptom of seasickness: nausea.

This particular species evidently has other side-effects. Mild toxicity in its solid state. And when aerosolized to produce oxygen…

Malfoy is gripping his trousers, knuckles white. Harry knows exactly how terrible he feels, because it’s ripping through Harry, too: lust, undiluted. It’s taking every ounce of his self control not to grab Malfoy by the hair and tug him down to the cave floor.

“The alternative was dying,” Harry chokes out, staring deliberately ahead. He can still hear Malfoy breathing. Sexily. Somehow.

“Dying would have been better than this,” Malfoy snarls back, and why did Harry ever think for a second that he was decent, he’s such a bloody brat, Harry wants to shut him up, and he knows just how he’d do it, exactly what he wants to do to Malfoy’s smart, soft, beautiful mouth…

“Only two hours til low tide,” Harry says, and digs his nails so hard into his thighs that they bleed.

[saintsenara]

Call for asks: I’ve noticed you’ve avoided saying anything about Jegulus for the last few asks so…. Jegulus 😈

anon please, i’m not avoiding saying anything about jegulus, i genuinely don’t know her.

but, fine, let’s imagine i do.

i don’t enjoy it as a pairing, not because i think it’s unfeasible [in my view, the joy of fanfiction is taking a completely implausible premise and making it work], but because i don’t like the way that the fandom which has built up around jegulus expects certain tropes and characterisations which turn the characters into just profoundly uninteresting people.

and this is the case for all the marauders and marauders-adjacent characters [i’m looking at you, fanon barty crouch jr.!], undoubtedly because the era has so little actual canon material that fanon becomes canon and authors run from there. and that’s great - anyone writing stories in a world hostile to hobbies and creativity is a triumph - but the standard way of writing jegulus which has coalesced around this fanon doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.

there are many jegulus tropes i don’t love: how it always becomes a parallel wolfstar [james and peter would be the cultured choice if we have to do that]; how it’s just drarry but in the seventies [when the cultured choice for that is lucius malfoy/arthur weasley]; how james becomes a tediously good person when the evidence of canon is that he’s a bit of a dick; how it relies on an exaggerated portrayal of orion and walburga’s abusive parenting which misses the fact that regulus evidently colluded with them against sirius; how it assumes the marauders aren’t intensely codependent [sirius mentions-lily-once black is definitely going to let his brother hang around with them, sure]; how snape is sometimes there and always a knob. james and regulus are also so similar in terms of background, social position at school etc. that there’s no juicy spark [as in snack, for example]. and, of course, prongsfoot is canon.

and so on… 

but the biggest reason i can’t get into it? 

regulus is a death eater, and not by mistake.

now, we all love a fluffy no-voldemort au, but unless that is a jegulus author’s stated setting, they are going to have to deal with the fact that regulus fucking loves the dark lord. this is a teenage boy who has press clippings about voldemort’s terrorism taped above his bed. he knows exactly what he’s getting into and he likes it.

indeed, my reading of deathly hallows is that regulus’ decision to go and get the locket has absolutely nothing to do with a damascene conversion that conducting a campaign of sectarian violence against muggles and muggleborns is bad, but that learning of the existence of the horcrux - and also voldemort’s lack of respect towards his property, kreacher [after all, we see an attitude expressed canonically by wizards that other people have no right to interfere in how you treat your slaves] - makes clear to him that the dark lord’s aims are not oligarchy, with those from pureblood families ruling in happy condescension over a ministry which is fundamentally unchanged, but ruling in majesty as an immortal absolute monarch. his death is a repudiation of his beliefs, yes, but it is a repudiation of the fact that he believed voldemort was his champion, rather than that he believed voldemort was wrong.

and, actually, i don’t think this in and of itself makes jegulus insurmountable. james is a pureblood, and while there is absolutely no evidence in his few canon appearances that he harboured blood-supremacist views, the very fact of his background would allow a complacency which might let him overlook some of regulus’ opinions [think, for example, about ron’s attitude towards house elves]. equally, we have no evidence that regulus couldn’t completely disavow his former beliefs.

but, it requires the fact that regulus isn’t just a tiny baby who aspires to join a terror group by mistake to actually be dealt with, and i have never seen a single piece of jegulus which does so.

[oflights]

I’d love to know your top 5 drarry cliches!

ahh thank you, phoebe! i love this.

harry's chest monster. an essential ingredient in drarry soup, imo

sectumsempra scars of course!!! i love how they're probably not even canon but like utterly ubiquitous and necessary. which makes sense: sectumsempra is probably one of the worst canon emotional cockblock (specifically the aftermath of it, when harry's response to nearly killing someone is to be mad about quidditch and go get a girlfriend about it, god jkr was dumb. perhaps unintentionally, that response is probably the most compelling evidence for harry one day becoming a wizard cop!) so we all need harry to feel some feelings about it.

returning the hawthorn wand. i admit that i do some mental editing whenever harry's like "oh yeah i forgot i had this and just tossed it in a drawer, you can have it back if you want" it has to be a MOMENT !!!

nightmares/sleeping better when the other's around, especially if that's the first form of intimacy.

when they're not friends but just can't leave each other alone. is that a cliche?? like even when there's no reason to be in each other's business, they try to find reasons to be because they "hate" each other. or when they haven't seen each other in a while, see each other again, and have to know everything about each other immediately, rapidly becoming obsessed, etc.

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2024.06.12

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. Eternal Reunion by Splashstorm [E, 38k]

►In which Harry and Draco continue their budding friendship [from HPCC], Harry continues to be stupidly oblivious to his feelings for Draco, and Ginny is... well, she's quite alright with it all, actually.

2. When you are ready to go on... but you go back by Sakura521 [M, 175k]

►After the battle of Hogwarts ended Harry thought he could finally be done with all the drama and just have some quiet and peace, but when a freak accident strickes him down he really thinks it would be permanent this time... But he wakes up again in a otherworldly place he rolls with it and goes back in time in hopes to fix everything and no one has to die except the really bad guys. [...] Harry Potter will save everyone and make sure all his loved ones lives a perfect happy life. And if he finds something special for him too, well, he is the savior after all.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. First Impressions by Anonymous [E, 87k]

►At the Shacklebolts' ball, Ginny found herself irrevocably smitten at first sight with Ms Pansy Parkinson. Meanwhile, her brother, Harry Potter, became the unfortunate target of biting remarks from Parkinson's haughty and aloof best friend, Mr Draco Malfoy. Harry's disdain for Mr Malfoy grew, fuelled by the latter's evident arrogance. Amidst this burgeoning animosity, Ms Romilda Vane began to spread malicious rumours regarding Malfoy, further tarnishing his reputation. Yet, the true nature of his character was far from what these tales suggested. Could Draco overcome his pride and Harry his prejudice, allowing love to blossom between them despite the odds? ★ Lights Camera Drarry 2024 | @lcdrarry

2. Obscuro by Anonymous [E, 35k]

►Draco is grieving. His conversation partner is here against his will. It's a shameless rip-off of an insipid Muggle reality dating show. Hardly the occasion for true love, if you ask Draco. /// feat. a cat named Marmalade, a bird named Mumble, Lee Jordan's answer to Love is Blind, and two best friends who only want their dads to be happy. ★ Lights Camera Drarry 2024 | @lcdrarry

[the-starryknight]

last lines of longest fics

thank you for this tag, dear @magpiefngrl <3 this was an interesting exercise! of course, few of my fics are all that long, but some patterns emerge here nonetheless.

A Room Up There (And You In It) (drarry, T, 60k) It felt glorious. It felt right. It felt like home.

Meet Me at Midnight (drarry, T, 57k) Draco smiled, eyes crinkling. "Good morning, Harry."

“Good morning.”

Two Zinnias and the Scent of Lemon (drarry, M, 17k) The gallery entry was filled with a team of half a dozen Aurors at minimum. Harry cast first, hands moving, sending a powerful Protego around them.

And they were off. Back into the fray.

Sleight of Hand (drarry, E, 15k) “Like I said,” Malfoy drawled, eyes over the coffee cup to Harry, steely gray and deeper, more serious than they had been so far. “We make great allies.”

Saltwater Stain (drarry, M, 9k) The water spray intensified, blue-green and wrong coming from the showerhead. Harry reached for the door behind them but found it locked. Draco took his hand; they were one, unbreakable.

Harry held him. What could it possibly offer them? They were together, a sturdy mast to weather any storm. The scent of saltwater filled the room, seaweed gurgling in the drain.

Split Figs in Summer (drarry, E, 8k) Under the sky full of glittering stars, Harry whispered a promise into his skin, “We’ll work on tomorrow together.”

Any Way You Slice It (wolfstar, E, 6k) He kissed me then, tasting like butterbeer and oranges and the June sun, and I would swear the world just held its breath for us. There was no war, no noise. Just the wind ruffling through his scruffy hair, and his hands on my hips, and his lips on my nose. Just the two of us.

The Art of the Matter (drarry, E, 6k) Draco pushed Harry onto the bed with a final shove and Harry went willingly, joyfully even, laughing as Draco knelt between his trousered-legs. Draco smiled at that too, skin singing with the thrill of their success. He kissed Harry with no hesitation, smiling into the kiss. Draco murmured against his skin, “As if I could ever be finished with you.”

Of Mirrors, Myths, and Men (drarry, E, 5k) “You’re beautiful,” Harry said, kissing his forehead. “I didn’t realize how much I wanted you till I started looking.”

I thought mates were a myth. Like the glass knitting itself back together, Draco thought they must belong like this, two shattered halves made whole. As if in any universe, they’d end up right back here, naked and breathless on the hardwood floor, a wing curled over Harry’s sleeping back.

“And now?”

“Now, I’m never going to stop.”

Surface Texture (Harry/Teddy, E, 5k) For the first time, I feel confident in asking. He wants me, and I him, and inside these doors, we have each other. Maybe I’ll draw us like this next, laid out together on the carpet, skin singing the same song.

patterns: evidently, I like ending with them lying together in bed/on the floor, or in an ambiguous "something more is about to happen but the central plot has been resolved" with no real in-between. lots of ending dialogue! there's even more of that in some of the shorter ones -- maybe a quality of my preference for the shorter form? something i'll be thinking about.

tagging whomever wants to play along! have at it, tag me if you feel like it.

[maesterchill]

heaven to gaudy day

Drarry, ~800 words, Mature. Written for @drarrymicrofic prompt 'Shade'. Dedicated to @lettersbyelise as a wee birthday gift! Happy birthday, lovely! I hope your day is filled with all the things you love and you can relax with treats and cake. Thanks to @tackytigerfic for the speedy looky-lou.

“So… should we talk about it?”

“No.”

Malfoy’s reply comes swiftly and furiously, and Harry tries hard to subdue the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Because Malfoy’s still here, in his bed. Though he’s clearly not happy about it.

It's hot as the eighth circle of hell outside, as it always is at this time of the year in Havalimanı, according to the locals. The arabesque grille in the window provides welcome shade, but their Cooling Charm hasn't lasted the night. Which is only to be expected when you cast spells drunk on rakı and lust.

Harry squints at the git's sulking form in the fragmented light of morning.

His ill-tempered work partner—and Harry’s 'husband', for the duration of this mission—is staring intently at the wall with his back to Harry. Only his head pokes out from the blankets that are pulled tightly around him, his hair still a sticky, fluffy mess after last night. Harry has a desperate urge to ruffle it, but he also prefers to keep his hand intact.

It was an unexpected turn of events that led to them washing each other’s backs with black soap paste in a steamy Turkish bathhouse, but after their mark plied them with the local firewater and invited them to talk business in his private section of the hammam, it had seemed like a brilliant opportunity, mission-wise. After all, Harry and Malfoy were ‘married’, and what was a little nakedness between spouses? They couldn’t let on to Mesut, the Dark Artefact dealer, that they were uncomfortable with it. Nor could they insult their host’s hospitality and jeopardise the mission.

So, when Malfoy turned and faced the wall, presenting Harry with his flushed, sweaty back, his shockingly white arse exposed and looking smooth and baby-soft, Harry had to make sure that his soap-rubbing looked intimate and sensual rather than perfunctory.

How was he to know that Malfoy would make those soft, trembly noises?

How was he to know how quickly he’d get turned on?

Try as he did to concentrate on other things—the bitter, refreshing smell of the soap, the intricate mosaics on the wall behind Malfoy’s splayed fingers, deciphering the cagey responses from Mesut as he himself was soaped up rather vigorously by a pretty male attendant—Harry couldn’t help the blood rushing south as inappropriate thoughts filled his head, thoughts of his fingers slipping even further south, following the dark, foamy rivulets of water as they took the path of least resistance at the base of Malfoy’s back. And when Malfoy returned the favour, Harry could barely think never mind breathe in that stifling heat, the weight of the world melting as he let Malfoy take care of him—spreading soap everywhere, everywhere except there, where Harry’s arousal hung, heavy and needy.

It was no wonder they tore each other's clothes off in a rough frenzy as soon as they’d got the evidence they needed to prosecute Mesut and Apparated back to the shadowy sanctuary of their safehouse.

“Well,” Harry says, thinking he might as well be the mature adult about this. “I liked it. Thought it was nice… really nice. And you know what, I think we should…” He tentatively runs the tips of his fingers over Malfoy’s blanketed hip, but His Grumpiness jerks away.

“Just shut up.”

Harry stays quiet for a bit, studying the sullen lump in front of him, then opens his mouth again.

“Do you want brekkie? I think there are some of those puff pastry börek left over from yesterdays’ brunch. The sweet ones. They’re under stasis.”

Malfoy is silent, and Harry waits. Then, gruffly, “I just want coffee.” His voice is a little hoarse, and Harry’s groin throbs with the memory of why that is.

“Suit yourself,” Harry says, and he climbs out of bed, reaching for his discarded robes. There’s one gold button still clinging on bravely; the rest are still scattered across the tiles. Two minutes and a Reparo later, he’s dressed, and Malfoy is still staring at the wall.

Curious, Harry walks around the bed, and finds Malfoy with the most confused, puppy-like expression he has ever seen. He hides his laughter and crouches down, close. Malfoy withdraws from the edge of the bed as Harry approaches, but he’s no match for Harry’s insistence. Harry bends forward and kisses Malfoy lightly on his still-swollen lips, grinning at the way Malfoy stares at him with wide, grey eyes, his cheeks red as shiny pomegranates.

Then Harry stands up, retreats a few steps and heads for the bedroom door.

“Wait,” Malfoy calls.

Harry pauses and turns around, casting a questioning glance Malfoy’s way.

Malfoy’s looking up at Harry now, a hand at his forehead shading his eyes. “I've changed my mind.”

Harry frowns. “You fancy börek after all?”

“No, dickhead. Come back to bed.”

[liliaouroswrites]

late night drarry thoughts…

this is not what this blog was made for but i need somewhere to put this. and what THIS is, is the idea that harry is a genuine slytherin.

let me explain.

we need to remember that his literal first interaction with the sorting hat was to ASK IT TO PUT HIM ANYWHERE BUT SLYTHERIN. why? because slytherin had a bad reputation and he did not want to be associated with it. it wasn’t even to be in the same house as the one person who was friendly to him (ron) because all he asked for was NOT slytherin. that was a purely self-serving request.

(and i’m saying this as a slytherin who first got sorted into gryffindor. and i did that by picking the answers that would get me there. plus, i only wanted to be in there because that’s where harry went — i was a kid, don’t judge me).

next, we need to remember that people are sorted based on what they value and not their personalities. harry was brave but he did not value bravery. it wasn’t something he strove for. i feel he was brave out of necessity mainly, but that’s a discussion for another day.

that leads me to my next point — all harry’s acts of heroism had nothing to do with wanting to be brave, proving himself or even the greater good. all of them were driven by a need to protect the people he loved. and what are slytherins if not loyal to their own. even until the end, his true driving force was not a need to ‘do the right thing’ or ‘save the world’, it was to protect the people he cared about.

i do admit that he does lack self-preservation, but i also believe that stems from trauma and his inherent belief that he is not worth much (he needs therapy so bad).

anyway, that’s all i have for this thesis on slytherin!harry. sorry for the lack of quotes or evidence, i literally just thought this up in the shower.

i would love to know your takes though!

ps. can you imagine if fics were written with this in mind. i truly do believe harry would do anything for his loved ones and that makes for such lovely fodder.

okay goodnight 💙

[lcdrarry]

12 June 2024 | 1/2 | LCDrarry Fic

First Impressions

Prompt: "Pride and Prejudice", 2005, Joe Wright Prompted by: MoonyEmilie3017 (ao3) Author: Anonymous Word Count: 87,934 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Period-typical racism and colourism (only present in one chapter), A/B/O dynamics, Dubious Consent, Classism, Smut, Mpreg

Notes: Hello everyone! This is my first big fic! It was a challenge to write but my betas were a great help! So, thank you VD and JD! I also want to credit Jane Austen for the title "First Impressions" as it was the original title of her book "Pride and Prejudice".

Summary: At the Shacklebolts' ball, Ginny found herself irrevocably smitten at first sight with Ms Pansy Parkinson. Meanwhile, her brother, Harry Potter, became the unfortunate target of biting remarks from Parkinson's haughty and aloof best friend, Mr Draco Malfoy. Harry's disdain for Mr Malfoy grew, fuelled by the latter's evident arrogance. Amidst this burgeoning animosity, Ms Romilda Vane began to spread malicious rumours regarding Malfoy, further tarnishing his reputation. Yet, the true nature of his character was far from what these tales suggested. Could Draco overcome his pride and Harry his prejudice, allowing love to blossom between them despite the odds?

Read it now on AO3.

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Creator reveals are on 15 June.

[iamnmbr3]

Why are the so many parallels between Dudley, James, Draco?... each an only child, self-absorbed, spoiled by their loving/over doting parents, bully others, James and Draco are also both posh pure-blood legacy children, all of them show their capacity to grow beyond that with the limited screen time the book efforts them (for James and Dudley somewhat understandable) but Draco actually has the best placement in the story for that and yet that the one Rowling doesnt want us the focus on

You raise several interesting points here.

There are tons of parallels. One of the reasons Harry almost immediately dislikes Draco is that when they first meet Draco reminds him of Dudley due to his air of spoiled entitlement when he casually asserts that he'll bully his parents into buying him what he wants. (Interestingly, Draco is actually posturing here - while his parents do spoil him to an extent, he most certainly is not able to push them around the way Dudley does with his parents; furthermore, I cannot imagine Vernon publicly reprimanding and shaming Dudley the way Lucius does with Draco in Borgin & Burkes in book 2.) The bigotry of the Malfoys also is ironically paralleled by how the Dursleys view the magical world.

James's dialogue when he first meets Snape & Lily directly and presumably intentionally echoes Draco's dialogue in Madam Malkin's. And James's bullying of Snape may possibly be born of bigoted, classist attitudes though that is speculation. Certainly the friend he views most as an equal is Sirius - who is both pureblood and also, like James, extremely wealthy. The way James treats his friends - especially Peter - more like subordinates also mirrors Draco's relationship with Crabbe and Goyle who are below him in the social hierarchy he is part of and act more as minions than as true friends and confidantes.

And of course Dudley, James, and Draco are all bullies. I actually think James and Dudley are the most similar of the 3. While Draco is a bully, his actions are much milder and less violent than those of James and Dudley. Also, Draco's attitudes and behavior are known and encouraged by his parents. In fact, Draco's biggest problem is that he lacks a penchant for cruelty and does not enjoy or wish to partake in the kind of violence that's expected of him. I would imagine that James and Dudley were both spoiled and that their parents turned a blind eye to their enjoyment of tormenting and hurting others, rather than openly encouraging it. I still find the sadism on display in "Snape's Worst Memory" to be one of the most deeply disturbing scenes in the books.

Now. We never really see any evidence that James changed although we are told he did. We do see a rather touching growth arc for Dudley. Draco also has an incredibly interesting redemption arc and by the last page of book 7 he has completely renounced his old views and behaviors. JK Rowling acknowledges this and yet, inexplicably, refuses to admit Draco got a redemption arc. Despite openly admitting that he changed. Which is...a redemption arc. She seems deeply resentful of the fact that fans like this character and responded to the complexity and growth that she herself wrote for him. It's genuinely bizarre and I don't get it. I suppose perhaps it's a mix of her hating drarry and how popular it became and also not having a good understanding of her own work. But your guess is as good as mine.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! Really enjoyed the Harry is gay post, very well researched! Are there any other characters in the series you would also think are gay? Don't wanna say anyone just yet, just want your unfiltered opinion

Hi!

Thank you so much!

Can't say I have other characters I feel as strongly about their sexual preferences. A large part of it is what Harry chooses to pay attention to. So, I don't have much evidence for anyone else, but I can say who I think is likelier to be gay (or at least not straight) from textual evidence. Some of them go into headcanon territory, but here they are, off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. Dumbledore and Grindelwald

I'm pretty sure these two are canon, so I don't need to say much. But:

“Yes, even after they’d spent all day in discussion—both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire—I’d sometimes hear an owl tapping at Gellert’s bedroom window, delivering a letter from Albus! An idea would have struck him, and then he had to let Gellert know immediately!”

(DH, pages 308-309)

Gellert— .... (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) Albus

(DH, pages 309)

“Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to someone just as bright and talented he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in.

(DH, pages 480)

2. Sirius Black

I think Sirius might've been gay, or at least bi. It goes into headcanon territory, but I think Sirius used to be in love with James. He just always gave me that vibe. (I don't think they were ever a thing, I think Sirius took his feelings for James with him to his grave).

Here are some quotes that gave me the feeling Sirius is not interested in anyone but James:

Harry saw Sirius give James the thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.

(OOTP, page 642)

“He kept messing up his hair,” said Harry in a pained voice. Sirius and Lupin laughed. “I’d forgotten he used to do that,” said Sirius affectionately.

(OOTP, page 670)

Plus, Sirius' general fixation on James and his constant reminiscence about him. And the two-way mirror they made just for them cause they couldn't handle an hour apart in detention:

This is a two-way mirror. I’ve got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you’ll appear in my mirror and I’ll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.

(OOTP, page 858)

But we don't really know about any romantic interests Sirius may have had. So, it's more of a headcanon than anything.

3. Dean Thomas

I think Dean Thomas is bi (not gay, I think he did like Ginny). And I have only one qoute evidence for it, but it's a really funny one and I don't think I've seen anyone mention it so I'll put it here:

He certainly wasn’t the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation. “Wonder what they’ll give us next year?” said Seamus Finnigan gloomily. “Maybe a vampire,” suggested Dean Thomas hopefully.

(POA, page 429)

Dean Thomas clearly read whatever 1990s version of Twilight that exists in the HP universe and wants a love triangle paranormal romance with a werewolf and a vampire.

4. Draco Malfoy

I think he was a little too obsessed with Harry. Like, I don't actually ship Drarry, but I can definitely confess Draco was way too interested in Harry for it to not appear a little gay.

He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum. “Oh wow,” said Neville enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand. “We saw him right up close, as well,” said Ron. “We were in the Top Box —” “For the first and last time in your life, Weasley.” Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar. “Don’t remember asking you to join us, Malfoy,” said Harry coolly.

(GOF, page 168)

Draco literally comes to find Harry on the train, uninvited, every year (except 6th). Throughout their time at school, he also makes an active effort to seek out Harry to a level that is kind of ridiculous. It always looked to me like Draco was desperate for any sort of attention from Harry.

Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done.

(DH, page 444)

Considering how loyal unicorn hair wands like Draco's are, it seems Dravo feels more friendly about Harry than he likes to pretend.

5. Aunt Muriel

It sounds weird, I know, but I have a reason here. So, Muriel is from the same generation as Dumbledore, more or less, from her words in DH. And we know, back then she had expectations to marry and have children as a (seemingly) pure-blood witch. Those expectations would've been prevalent when she was a young woman in the early 20th century, even among the less blood-purist families.

The fact that she didn't seem to have settled down with a husband and children implies she wasn't interested in doing so. This allows a reading of her as either interested in women or not interested in sex or marriage in general.

6. Alphard Black & Cassiopeia Black

For the same reasons as Muriel. Neither Cassiopeia (born 1915) nor Alphard, Sirius' godfather (born circa 1927-ish) married or had children. This is something that would be expected of them, so the reading of them as not straight is very plausible.

So, that's it. These are all the characters that off the top of my head I could give textual evidence for a not straight reading of. I don't have as much evidence, and that's why I consider this more headcanon than theory. Obviously, people can headcanon wherever, these are just the ones that I could recall evidence for.