#ron doesn't deserve harry. NOR HERMIONE.

[americannslytherinn]

i've come to appreciate harry and ginny's relationship and it sucks that the movies tarnished everything that was built between them (especially later in the books), but i still think the person harry had the most chemistry with by far was ron. like it wasn't ginny who was taken for the goblet of fire trial, it wasn't hermione, it was Ron. his ron, as i believe dobby put it? c'mon now (light-hearted)

[iamnmbr3]

Put this in a chat originally, but I'm still thinking about it so it's going here too. I really think Ginny got done so dirty by how Hinny ended up turning out in the books. She really truly does deserve better imho. It's so tragic because Ginny gets kind of overlooked a lot and diary!Tom seems to be the only person to really listen to her...ever. And he doesn't even actually care about her. And once he's gone she never gets that again. He gloats in the end of book 2 that she once told him "no one's ever understood me like you, Tom" and that's still true.

Harry never tells her anything nor does he seem to bother to learn anything about her. Never mind the Horcrux stuff that he only shares with Ron & Hermione and never even considers telling her about. He doesn't even tell her about the prophecy after book 5. And in book 7 he goes into her room briefly and mentions that he's never been there before. All that time he lived with her and he never looked in.

And he shows no sign of recognition when he sees what posters she has up there. He doesn't think "oh of course she'd have that" because he never even found out basic things like what teams or music groups she likes. The one person who ever bothered to care to actually find out these sorts of things and show interest in her was Tom...who turned out to be using her. It's really sad.

I do actually like hinny happening in the books and find it realistic given both their characterizations - given the way Ginny idolizes Harry and probably feels pressured to change to become his "perfect girl" and to not "bother" him with her problems and the way Harry thinks he might be dead soon and Ginny symbolizes to him all the normalcy he thinks he might never get to have, more an idea that a person, and also seems to be physically attractive to him. I just don't like it as an endgame relationship. I think it's realistic they would get together under the circumstances they did. And I think they would break up after the war when Harry realizes he's not comfortable talking to Ginny and Ginny realizes Harry doesn't respect her and they both realize they don't really know or understand one another.

[saintsenara]

Wait why are you not a fan of Snape and Hermione?? 2 nerds who care a socially awkward amount about the things they care about nerding out together at levels of romance people who can be chill and normal about things can’t comprehend?? It’s not one of my fav ships but I can definitely see it!

I headcanon that Snape picks on Hermione being a muggle raised know it all thirsty to prove and lacking self awareness because he was one himself when he arrived at school and James and Sirius picked on him for it! It’s like that you’re most repulsed by the things you’re self conscious of in yourself thing to me. Or maybe a him trying to live out being the “cool” one in that dynamic thing

But when she’s a grown woman and more self possessed like he became too I feel like that same energy ness has potential for love!

Hermione is famously respectful and compassionate enough towards all beings to be more understanding than say Lily Evans of his prickly tender ego if he had another m word style outburst and such a people pleaser she’d keep coming back for more snark as long as he peppered it with the odd encouraging compliment

And I feel like a Snape in reciprocated love could absolutely veer into inventing beautiful and helpful spells to impress his lover or sending “made me think of u 😘” notes with verses of elaborate obscure poetry territory that would be frankly the level of literary and academic courtship our Herms deserves 😌

Is it cause they’d both be the highly strung worrier one and they both need someone to ground them? Or maybe too pessimistic together and one of them needs to be the cheerful one?

anon, i genuinely love this for you - i'm always thrilled to get people explaining their love for ships in the ol' inbox, especially when they're ships i don't instinctively vibe with, and i have been won round to stranger premises than this by a passionate defence of why two characters should kiss.

where i still think snamione isn't clicking for me, however, is that the way you describe both snape and hermione here doesn't align in any significant way with what i personally think would be interesting to explore about either character in a relationship and have them still feel meaningfully like their canon selves.

[i will say, though - because i always think it's worth reiterating my fandom commitment towards being neither a cop nor a priest - that i literally don't give a shit about either the age gap or the student-teacher dynamic. i know that's an objection to pairings like snarry and snamione which lots of people do express. but i will never be one of them.]

the primary reason that i don't vibe with many of the more... sapiosexual hermione ships [by which i mean not only snamione but tomione] is that they hang on the idea that hermione's intellect expresses itself in a way we never actually see in canon.

or, the idea that snape and hermione are intellectually compatible [and that they would enjoy hanging out being nerdy about stuff] is just... not true.

throughout the seven-book canon, the way that hermione shows herself to be clever is that she displays an excellent memory and an enormous capacity to rote-learn. her intelligence is overwhelmingly demonstrated - both in the classroom and during the trio's year on the run - by her being able to regurgitate swathes of information, very usually verbatim from the source she got it from.

she is clearly able to use this ability to retain information to understand the theoretical component of magic in a way neither harry nor ron ever manage, and she is able to use this understanding of theory to work out how to perform spells which are ahead of her expected level on the hogwarts curriculum.

and this is intelligence - and i want to be very clear that i'm not trying to suggest that hermione shouldn't be thought of as intellectual, or that her academic achievements should be devalued. but it isn't the way snape's intelligence manifests itself.

because hermione is never shown - at any point in canon - to be a particularly creative or experimental thinker.

she places an enormous intellectual trust in disciplinary authority - teachers and textbooks - and is frequently rattled when these are revealed to be partial or incorrect, as we see in her shock at hogwarts: a history not mentioning house elves or her anger at harry getting better results by following the modified instructions in the prince's textbook [despite knowing nothing about the theory underpinning them] than she does with the "official" ones.

she also regards the gatekeeping of inquiry which disciplinary boundaries enforce to be a positive thing and she never displays any inclination to step beyond them. she dislikes the spells in the prince's textbook because they aren't ministry-approved - and i must say that i think the idea that she'd be won over by a man creating spells for her is wishful thinking...

she is immediately mistrustful of anything she can't find something she regards as an empirical source for - notice, for example, that she only comes round to the idea that prophecies might be real once she encounters them in the ministry of magic.

even when we see her using magic on her own terms - the jinx she uses on marietta edgecombe, for example; or the protean charm on the da coins - the magic she's using is sophisticated, and is being applied in a way which wouldn't be classroom-sanctioned, but it's not magic which is being used in a way which is removed from the spell's original purpose. the protean charm on the da coins is impressive because it's a flawless execution of newt-level magic by a sixteen-year-old. it's not impressive because hermione is using it in a strange, experimental, or radical way.

[in contrast, the dark mark - which harry notes the coins mimic - is clearly a spell voldemort himself invents.]

snape, on the other hand, is an experimenter. he's someone who clearly sees magic as a creative force which he has every right to shape as he sees fit by adaptation and invention. and he's someone who evidently rejects the logic of disciplinary gatekeeping - one tension in his relationship with dumbledore prior to half-blood prince is that snape evidently retains an enormous intellectual interest in the dark arts [which, as he tells us, are an area of magic which is feared precisely because they can't be neatly contained within disciplinary boxes - they are ever-changing, unfixed, mutating...]

and it's these conflicting views of what magic is and how it should be used and thought about which is the cause of the intellectual incompatibility we see between snape and hermione in canon.

he is unequivocally in the wrong for his dismissive classroom manner towards her - because he is an adult and she is a child. but he isn't wrong in principle that hermione just repeating what she's read in the textbook and refusing to synthesise her knowledge [she always goes massively over word limits! she never gives answers in class in her own words!] isn't actually a demonstration that she understands the material. [and therefore something a good teacher would guide her through conquering... snape having no interest in doing this is his own fault.]

and - from a snamione-specific perspective - it's all the evidence snape needs that, actually, they're not going to enjoy hanging out chatting about academic pursuits. hermione values knowledge like a dragon hoards treasure. snape wants to take that treasure, melt it down, and turn it into new and weird things.

once again, i don't think this a flaw in either of their characters - it's just something which is. and i don't think it's an insurmountable obstacle to writing snamione, because i believe any ship is possible if an author has enough nerve. but it's an aspect of both characters' canon personalities [and hermione's above all] which never seems to make it into snamione fics - all of which, as far as i've encountered them, are beholden to an idea of hermione's approach to academia which is considerably more flexible than we actually see in the books.

of your other points, i'm not particularly convinced by the idea that snape sees his younger self in the teenage hermione. this isn't just for the reasons outlined above - hermione isn't trying to prove herself in the same way he was, which was by creating and experimenting in a bid to be noticed and considered impressive - but also because of the massive gulf in their respective class backgrounds.

hermione is really posh - and, while she's obviously subjected to discrimination at hogwarts on account of her blood-status, she also comes from a family with both the financial resources and the cultural language to make her familiar with the vibe of the elite muggle boarding schools hogwarts is a pastiche of.

the teen snape - in contrast - stands out from his cohort in that he is visually identifiable as working-class [which does appear to be genuinely unusual at hogwarts]. his class background is something which clearly drove a lot of the marauders' bullying of him [i'm sorry to the girlies who think james and sirius targeted him out of some righteous desire to stamp out his prejudice - it was because he was poor and uncouth] and which he still has a chip on his shoulder about as an adult.

this - again - is not an insurmountable barrier to a snamione relationship [as it's not a barrier to thousands of real-world partnerships and friendships]. but it is something an author needs to grapple with if they want to make the pairing - at least, in my opinion - seem plausible. but the standard vibe seems to be that snape would be comfortable in the grangers' home fairly quickly, and that he'd be delighted to have hermione swanning around offering suggestions for how they could do up spinner's end... instead of him resenting this as the unwelcome meddling of people who've never had to worry for money.

i'm also not particularly convinced by the idea that hermione would get over being called a mudblood - especially by an adult man. while i think it's completely plausible that she'd handle this differently than lily [although lily's reaction is entirely justified - and i don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater of contextualising the teenage snape and the motivating factors behind his decisions by pretending that cutting off your friend because he called you a slur is a petty, ill-thought-out, or unreasonable move], i don't think that her reaction would be automatically forgiving.

hermione is compassionate towards kreacher when he calls her a mudblood because kreacher is a slave, whose prejudicial views are inextricably bound up in the magic used to oppress him [i.e. that if he received an order to use the term, or to refuse to serve a muggleborn food, from his masters, he would have to punish himself violently if he disobeyed it]. she is not - quite rightly! - compassionate towards someone like draco malfoy when he calls her one, since he is a free person with full agency to choose not to do this.

could she forgive him - or snape - for using the term? sure! absolutely! but i don't think it's a given - and i also think she'd expect a demonstration of how sorry snape was which wouldn't necessarily align with how he'd think he'd demonstrated his regret.

i do agree that - as you say - hermione is a people-pleaser, and she definitely has a far greater tolerance for being treated cruelly by people she wants to impress [especially authority figures - including snape himself] than either harry or ron. and i think this has the potential to introduce an extremely thorny dynamic into a snamione fic - in which the power dynamic inherent in the age gap [which, to reiterate, i think is completely fine for an author to enjoy] is compounded by hermione being unwilling to anger or contradict snape [which is a vibe - as i've said in answer to an ask about harmony - we also see in her relationship with harry... it's also obviously exactly how snape's relationship with dumbledore works.]

on a couple of the more minor characterisation notes, i'm afraid that the idea of snape as a great romantic has never hit for me. it seems really bound up in the way alan rickman portrayed him in the films, which i've always found a bit toothless. i also don't like the trope of "actually snape's really hot" which seems to always accompany it - ugly, odd men to get to bone too!

[what he would be - i think - is a magpie. get ready to be handed odd stones and bits of leaves on dates.]

i also think they're highly-strung in ways which differ enough to mean they'd just annoy each other. hermione is highly-strung in that she flusters easily and is very poor under pressure, but she's actually pretty emotionally stable [and i'd dispute that she's a pessimist - this is a girl who thinks that she's successfully eradicating slavery at hogwarts by knitting hats; she's pretty robust, funny, cheerful, and idealistic]. snape is highly-strung in that he has a hair-trigger temper and is very emotionally volatile, but he's obviously an extraordinarily good liar, very quick on his feet, and very good under pressure. he'd think she panicked too much [and over insignificant things he didn't care about], she'd think he tanked the vibe of a date by taking offence at someone breathing too loudly.

where are they similar? well, they have a shared self-serving streak [hermione is appalled by behaviour from harry and ron she considers perfectly moral when she does it]; capacity for cruelty; tendency towards secrecy; tendency towards pettiness and pleasure in the misfortune of others; loathing of flying a broom; cutting sense of humour; stubbornness; resilience; clear dislike of slumming it in nature; love of puzzles; and a weakness for red hair.

i think you could make it work on the grounds that they'd probably have the time of their lives being haters together - especially, i feel, about rita skeeter.

and - y'know - because love is weird.

[acciocriativity]

Worth the pain - Part of the Soulmate series

Pairing: soulmate! Harry Potter x soulmate! reader

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warnings: mentions of insecurities, a lot of physical pain and Cedric's death; Umbridge

WC: 4,3 k

Harry Potter Masterlist

Flower Shower - George Weasley - part of the Soulmate series

There was only a single thing Umbridge couldn't taint with her evil reign, and she did not appreciate that one bit.

Our class was full of students with brand-new soulmate marks, with a few yet to complete 15 years and get theirs. Of course, we couldn't talk about it during class as much as every other topic, but the glow, the giddiness, the small smile on the lucky one's face must have been too much for her. It was getting to much for me.

In the middle of our useless lesson, when everyone was quiet reading or pretending to do so, she suddenly stood up and cleared her throat.

"I see that some of you now have your soulmate mark, so I offer you a generous advice", she said with her forced happy smile.

Silence.

I bet not a single soul here believes she has something useful to say.

"I bet she doesn't even have one", I hear a small whisper behind me.

I straightened my back.

There were venom in those words, like she doesn't deserve a soulmate being the evil witch she truly is.

But then, why don't I have one?

I throw that thought under the others, much sadder ones. It was not place nor time for this.

"Something as useless as a soulmate mark should not get in the way of your studies. Your OWLS are coming, and I won't tolerate a poor performance in this class, is that understood?"

Again, silence.

"Good, you may keep with your reading", she said, and started to walk through our tables.

Right after Umbridge passed by my side, a note slid inside my unrolled parchment, and I knew it was from the girl, who was quietly working by my side.

This was one of the few classes I had with her, as a Ravenclaw. Still, we were on the same year, and we have known each other since the first DADA class.

As soon as we got out, she tapped my shoulder and waited by the corridor, where her other fellow Gryffindor friends were waiting.

"What was in the note?", I asked her.

"An invitation", a known voice spoke behind me.

"What kind of invitation?", I turned to speak to him, Harry Potter.

In all honesty, he wasn't as impressive as people made him to be all those years back. His presence wasn't particularly striking nor intimidating. What he did in those few years, that was quite impressive, yes.

As I looked at him at that moment, I concluded again that there was no way he was lying about Cedric. He carried that pain in his eyes, even when he was smiling, like now.

"The details are in there, but if you don't wish to participate, give it back to me at dinner", Hermione whispered to me.

Trouble.

When it wasn't with this trio? The interesting part however, it was the first time I was ever included, and it was intriguing to say the least.

They were unapproachable together, it was easy to just talk to Hermione or even Ron occasionally, but I've never seen Harry alone.

"Alright, I'm going to consider it", I said with a small smile and left them there.

A secret chamber and a secret reunion. I was curious, and I couldn't lie to myself, it was flattering to be included in their group.

Still, the amount of trouble this simple invitation could cause...

When dinner time came, and I didn't give it back, they knew my answer. So when I went to the 7th floor, Hermione was already waiting for me, alone, in the corridor.

"Sign your name here", she gave me a paper and a feather ready to be used.

We trained in pairs that night, one attacking and the other blocking. Sometimes I wasn't fast enough, still, when I laid in bed hours later, I barely felt my arms, legs and feet, the dull pain was numbing.

Did Umbridge do such a good job that I forgot how to make such simple spells? Am I that out of shape?

It was an odd kind of pain, sometimes it was too much I couldn't stand, other times, I could barely feel it, like it was about to disappear any moment.

It wasn't the first time I felt that way, but it was the first time it was that bad.

I thought it would be better soon, if I could just get a good night of sleep... Of course, I couldn't, for days I couldn't.

Is this some sort of sick prank?

I thought about it in the middle of the night. The answer was a headache. That specific spot on the right side of my temple kept me awake.

It reminded me of my birthday, only a few days ago. I also couldn't sleep that day, too excited to receive my soulmate mark. I didn't even notice the sunrise, wide awake and disappointed, because the only thing I received was a dull pain in my wrist.

The letter my mother sent was still between my books. She was so excited to hear about my soulmate mark and my thoughts of who it could be. I didn't dare to send an answer.

Suddenly the room was too heavy for me, too dark and too cold. I needed to get out of there, and so I did.

I tiptoed to the empty Common Room, and I felt like the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw was judging me from across the room. Yeah, she had it worse, didn't even meet her soulmate and her daughter was murdered, everyone knew that. Her story was what everyone wanted to avoid at all costs, and I was getting too close for comfort.

I eyed the main door for a moment. I already broke so many rules tonight, what was the problem in breaking one more just for today? As I saw Rowena's statue one more time, I made up my mind and quietly got out.

It was stupid to stay still in the corridor, but it was what I did for a bit.

Where could I go? The monitors could catch me anywhere, or the nosy paintings could snitch on me anytime.

I got chills as I walked carefully through the cold corridors. The windows were all open, and I was thankful to live so high up for the first time ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, because then I felt something else than self-pity and pure pain.

They warned me tonight, this room just ever appeared to one who truly needed it, and it wasn't wise to search for it, as it wouldn't be there anymore. It changed locations. Still, I couldn't go back to bed and endure the pain alone again. I couldn't. I needed some comfort for once, was that to much too ask?

As I turned left to reach the stairs, a strange woody door appeared in the wall and I held in a squeal. I looked around, my breath the only thing I could listen to. So I got in and the warmth made some tears appear in the corner of my eyes.

It was perfect inside.

The room wasn't big. There was a lit fireplace in the corner and two big red chairs in a safe distance from it. The rest of the room was heavily decorated with brown bookcases, a comfy cream carpet and many paintings in a gold frame. I looked through each of them. Some were families in a bunch of different places, others were mountains and other pretty landscapes, places I didn't even know existed. It was so perfect, it looked like real photographs.

This time, I didn't feel the need to hold in and cried, free and with no shame of myself. It was good, it felt relieving. I could express myself in there and no one would ever know. I didn't feel weak or less than, so I took my time.

It wasn't just the soulmate thing, it wasn't just the hell we had to deal with because of Umbridge, it wasn't just the potential threat of Voldemort, it wasn't just the loneliness. I was every single reason that I felt it was too little to cry about, and I held in, because that's what good kids do.

There wasn't a clock in there, nor a window. How does time even work in this place? I didn't know. I didn't know how much time I spent on the floor. But I got up. And I grabbed a book. And I read. Because that's the only thing that could distract me from the happy family on the walls.

Then, the door cracked open and my heart stopped.

This is it. I was caught. I'll be punished and then expelled and my pa-

There was nothing, like some sort of wind just opened the door. Then I saw the tip of a shoe. Then hands and then Harry.

I didn't say a thing, and neither did he. He looked at me as shocked as I looked at him.

Harry's the first one to move. He closed the door and cleaned his throat, an awkward chuckle leaving his lips.

"Do you mind if I stay? Also, can you not tell anyone about this?", he said in a low tone and raised that cape higher.

I nodded.

"Take a sit, maybe there was an extra chair for a reason", I whispered.

I regretted saying anything. If he didn't notice my puffy eyes, then he realized that I've been crying at that moment.

But he didn't comment anything on it and took up on the offer. As he walked closer, the room started to change slightly. The mainly red, cream and brown decoration faltered to a light blue on the walls and black wood instead of brown. I noticed some of the paintings also changed too.

"Did you know that this could happen?", I asked, still focused on the new paintings.

"No, I also didn't expect anyone else in here today", he whispered back, and I felt his eyes on me.

It took me a moment to understand. He could only get in if he's intentions matched mines, like the secret reunion. Only if he also needed some comfort and didn't have a place to go. He knew, and I knew we weren't okay.

"I'm sorry there's not a lot of entertainment for you, just books", I said with the page I was in still opened in my lap.

"This is enough, you can... keep reading, I wouldn't interrupt you", he said and gestured for me to keep going.

"Sure?"

He hummed.

I thought it would be so awkward. My first instinct in any situation like this would be just leave or make conversation. Still, I didn't do any of those, hoping to just focus on the book at hand. I also couldn't do that.

It was calming to be in this position, just beside him in silence, appreciating the feeling of comfort, as it wasn't easy to have it these days and for him, it must have been impossible since forever. It was almost comforting to know someone felt the same, even if the reasons were different, and not have to explain it.

I still tried to read, even though my mind was running with completely different thoughts.

"Thank you for inviting me", I took the courage to whisper to him.

My eyes were focused on the book, but I could see him finally move in his seat and look at me.

"It must have been a big risk to ask me, since I'm not really close to any of you", I kept going, since he didn't answer me.

I started to feel a bit nervous and self-conscious of my ridiculous pajamas as his eyes were focused on me.

"You were only one of the few who believed it", he said, and looked over to the fireplace again.

He didn't explain, and it wasn't needed.

"They believed, at least the majority of people I've seen, but they were too scared to admit that to themselves", I let it slip without thinking, and I caught his eyes again.

I've seen how much he suffered with this, and I've been meaning to say that for many months now, but never got the chance.

I saw a small smile on his lips. "Thanks, it's good to hear that I'm not the crazy one for once".

"But being honest, I don't understand how you are not crazy yet, I respect you for not going completely insane at this point", I said, and he chuckled.

I never felt that good in my life. It was the type of laughter that made his eyes so little it almost disappear, and I felt my heart melt at the sight.

He relaxed more after this, and we talked about more happy topics, and we laughed for I don't know how long. Time could stop and circle forever, but that wouldn't be possible.

But we had to leave when he suddenly remembered he had to go back, so he could wake up Ron, or he would be late for class. Not because he had to sleep, or he would be in trouble if he was the one late, no, because he had this habit of waking Ron up every day.

"That's sweet, you are very sweet Harry", I said and he was clearly caught off guard.

He looked down to the cape and maybe was the fire, but I saw a tint of red on his cheeks.

"I can drop you off if you want", he said when he was already by the door, cape on his shoulder.

I couldn't stop staring at his half invisible body. I didn't comment anything before, but it was so intriguing how that was even possible or how he had it in the first place.

"I don't want to bother", I said and smiled.

It's quite crazy how we went from acquaintances that would only nod to each other to friends that would stop to talk. Some hours and a hard situation really brings people together.

"You wouldn't, I promise", he said, and gave one side of the cape to me.

It was nerve racking to walk so slow and quiet to make sure we wouldn't be caught. Or maybe it was the fact he was so close to me all of a sudden. Or the little whispers he would say from time to time close to my ear. Whatever it was, I was glad it ended, because I couldn't take it anymore.

He left me in front of the door, waved and left, as promised. So why the fuck did I get so sad?

I felt heartbroken as I went to my room, like that comfort was ripped away, even though I was fine when we left. I wasn't the type to dwell on negative feelings, still, I couldn't just let it go. It was like a piece of my heart stayed behind with him.

This is because you didn't find your soulmate yet. This is just loneliness. This is going to pass.

It was what I repeated myself to sleep that night.

First thing in the morning, I wake up feeling hands shaking me.

"Oh my, are you okay? You scared me", a voice said beside me, and I struggled to open my eyes.

"Wha-"

"You started to scream out of nowhere", my roommate huffed and took a step back, helping me get up. "I didn't know you had nightmares."

"I don't, I don't eve-"

I stopped myself. The sunlight was intense through the curtains, which meant...

"What time is it?", I got up, and it took me some seconds to realize I didn't feel any pain, like the other times too.

She was already dressed up, I noticed next. The other girls were already out as I took in my surroundings.

The lack of sleep was affecting me more than I thought.

I didn't wait for an answer and ran to get my uniform and straight to the bathroom.

I spent the whole day waiting for the pain to return, and then the next one, and the one after that. It was unsettling. I knew it was bound to happen again at some point. I barely enjoyed the changes in my new-made friendships, since I now became a bit closer to Hermione and Ron too, as we spent more time talking in-between classes.

But besides that, I still had those weird intense emotions to figure it out. For everytime I felt heartbroken when Harry was away from me, I felt complete when he was near.

But why? Why now? Why suddenly?

Like now, he wasn't in the Gryffindor Common Room and I felt scared, lonely and... defeated?

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?", Hermione's voice brought me back to reality.

She held my arm with care and pulled me away to an emptier and quieter part of the Common Room.

"I do not want to be indelicate, but you're the only one I'm yet to ask, and you do n—"

"You can just ask, I won't take offend, Hermione", I whispered, but it was enough to cut her rambling.

She took a deep breath and leaned in.

"Have you had a different experience with your soulmate mark, like, something uncommon or unheard of?", she analyzed my face while speaking.

"Did you?"

I was hopeful, I couldn't deny it.

Maybe it was that I didn't have a soulmate then, maybe it was an error? Errors can happen, right?

"A friend of mine, the soulmate mark didn't appear, but I can't find anything in any book about it", she leaned back and huffed. "You know, everyone has one, even if a soulmate dies before the other, it appears, so it has to be-"

She was talking to herself more than talking to me at this point. It could almost see her brain working overtime.

"So, what happened to your soulmate mark?", she changed the topic so fast it caught me off guard.

"I don't have one, apparently, the only thing I earned after my birthday was pain."

"What do you mean, pain? Like back pain? Haven't you went to see Mrs. Pomfrey? She'd know how to help you", she patted my arm. "Let's go, I want to see you beat Ron on Wizard Chess."

"I'm not that sure anymore, it's going to be a hard game", I said as we walked back to the sofas.

"It's nice to see that my fame speaks for itself, but I wish you the best of luck", Ron said to me as the board was set.

"It's too early to brag, the results may be surprising", I said as I smiled after taking my seat.

I was indeed a hard game since the start. I lost track of my surroundings a good while ago, the only thing in my head was the next 5 moves Ron could possibly be planning.

Then it hit me. The burning pain on my wrist.

I took a deep breath to conceal the screaming I almost let out. I felt tears flooding my eyes.

"Hey, what happened? I know it is a har—"

"Shut it, Ron."

I heard them, but I couldn't move. My back straight and my head low. I clenched my hands, both hands.

"Hey, is this the pain you talked about?", Hermione kneeled in front of me, her hands on my knees. "Come on, help me carry her to the Hospital Wing."

I couldn't focus on what was going on. It was different this time, it was so much more intense, and I was sure it had to be on my skin this time. It wasn't just a ghost pain anymore.

They helped me stand up, and then it was too much. My legs couldn't hold me up and my eyes were too heavy.

I heard them before I could see them.

"... her?", it was Ron's voice.

"We'll wait for you in the Common Room", Hermione said, and I heard their steps walk away.

The door closed.

I opened my eyes and blinked twice, slowly. The curtains were around the bed, and it was too dark to see anything.

Then I heard his steps closer, it had to be him. My heart pick up the pace, it was a common thing these past few days.

I saw the light on the tip of his wand first and his face later. I expected at least a smile, but his expression was so stoic.

"What's wrong?", I whispered, my throat too dry to speak louder. "What happened?"

I tried to find his eyes, but he wasn't looking at me, so I got up with some effort and gave him some space to seat on the bed with me, but he kept standing by the side of the bed.

"Harry, what wa-"

"I'm sorry", he cut me off.

He took my hand and lift my sleeve, I couldn't see it clearly, but there was a fading scar there. Still, that was the last thing on my mind when his hand was touching me so tenderly.

He caressed the fading scar, his touch light on my skin, as if he was scared to hurt me.

"It doesn't hurt."

It was true. I only felt tingles on my wrist, the pain has been washed away somehow, like it always does.

"They said you fainted."

"It's not you-"

"It is, it's my fault", he released my hand and lift his own sleeve.

The letters were hard to read for me at that moment, but it was clear what it was and, specially, who had caused it.

My heart dropped. It was pretty bad, no, it was worse than that. There was a bit of dry blood on some of the letters.

"Still stings too much?", I held his hand without thinking twice, but I didn't dare to touch it.

"Hermione made me have a healing potion this time", I heard a smile while he spoke, but I didn't look it up to him.

"Have you heard of a connection like this before?", I held his hand tighter.

I wouldn't dare to call a soulmate mark or something like that yet, nonetheless, if it was one, what a fucking cruel soulmate mark to have.

"Hermione found some information about it, but we didn't think it was the case, because you never made me feel pain", he said, and his hands were loose around mine, but he didn't try to let go yet.

"I know what are you thinking, Harry. It's not your fault that's our soulmate mark and I don't blame you"

He said nothing.

I knew it wasn't enough for him to change his mind and he would keep blaming himself the rest of the night at best. But not on my watch.

I held him in my arms. My head against his chest and arms around his waist. He stood still for a while, his breathing uneven, until he was hugging me back.

It wasn't the ideal position, but it was perfect at the moment, and we stayed like that for a good while.

I thought the Room of Requirement was comforting, and it was because it reminded me of him, without me even realizing that. I felt like I arrived at a home I've never known. He fit right, like he was supposed to be in this position, with me, right now.

The door suddenly cracked open. The light revealing Mrs. Pomfrey. He moved away from me and I caught a glimpse of red on his cheeks.

"Potter, go to your Common Room", she said, and her firm voice echoed through the empty walls.

"Meet me later at the Gryffindor Common Room, please?", he whispered, his eyes were shining and I could never say no.

I nodded, and he left, fast enough to not get scolded even more.

"Mrs. Pomfrey, may I ask a question?", I asked as she came to evaluate me.

"What is it, child?"

"What do you know about felling pain as a soulmate mark? Someone must have been through it before."

"Someone did, a student. It was painful for her, a Quidditch player was her soulmate, poor girl was always here with him, side by side", she looked over at some beds to the right, as if she could envision them there.

I took a deep breath.

So I have the chosen one, the trouble magnet one and the Quidditch player as my soulmate, all at once.

"But that's a common misconception", she said, and that caught my attention again. "Can you turn your wrist?", she kept going with the little evaluation, and I only nodded. "She didn't feel only pain, but every single emotion her soulmate also felt after finding him."

"Every emotion? But I've never..."

"You are alright, go to your room and rest for the rest of the night", she cut me off, and I left as soon as possible.

I couldn't possibly feel everything, could I? So how do I now if it's my emotion or his?

I started to get anxious as I got closer and closer to the Gryffindor Common Room.

So that's me or him? Why would he be anxious to see me?

As soon as I got to the corridor, I felt a big rush of excitement, anxiety and... worry? But I wasn't worried, no. I just wanted to go up there and hug Harry until he barely could breathe.

So that's it? That's how it feels?

I remember how sometimes my emotions got out of hand these past few days. I was so worried, so confused, which I was, but maybe, we both were.

Does he know how much I care about him then?

As I was about to give the new passcode to the Fat Lady, the door opened and a second later, two arms held me in a big hug.

"I couldn't wait", he whispered, and I got goosebumps.

"Do you feel my love for you?", I whispered back, my face hidden on his shoulder.

He's silent for a moment, and I'm not sure if he even heard it.

"It's the best feeling in the world", his arms held me tighter, and I could feel some tears dropping on my clothes.

"Every single time in pain was worth it because now I get to hold you, don't blame yourself, never, understand? ", I said, and pecked his left cheek.

I didn't comment on my wet shirt, nor on his teary eyes after he released me. The only thing that mattered for me that night and for the rest of them, was to remind Harry Potter he was worthy.

[dhr-ao3]

Hope is sealed in Pandora's Box

Hope is sealed in Pandora's Box https://ift.tt/5r47e9a by cherrycrate Being a healer at St. Mungo's meant living, breathing, bleeding research and work to ensure your patients would get to live another day. However, while employed by the Malfoy family to heal young master Draco, Hermione felt like she needed a patient as much as he needed her. She would have to work hard to keep this need alive, while balancing her private life and Malfoy family history. - This story takes place in a Harry Potter universe in which the Battle at Hogwarts doesn't happen, nor do the characters have had to deal with Voldemort. Ron, Hermione and Harry went on to finish their education, each choosing their respective line of work. Words: 2877, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Categories: F/M, Other Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Healer Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy is sick, Mild Blood, Blood and Injury, Major Illness, Ron Weasley Bashing, but only slight bashing, Auror Ron Weasley, Good Narcissa Black Malfoy, Minor Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Narcissa is a queen and I love her, Lucius Malfoy Being an Asshole, he might have a redemption, Slight Redemption, Draco Malfoy is Not a Death Eater, Draco Malfoy Redemption, because he simply deserves it, Major canon divergence, Alternate Universe - No Battle of Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Hermione finishes school, Out of Character Draco Malfoy, in character in my fantasy though, if he had been redeemed but they chose to not give him that, I do not like rowling, taylor swift wrote harry potter, Dark Academia Vibes, draco was homeschooled and knows a lot about the ancient greeks, and Latin, and play the piano, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), some pureblood ideals are held by the malfoys, pureblood ideals are a relevant theme affecting hermione, pureblood ideals are not a central theme of the story, Character Death, Sad Ending, You Have Been Warned, this entire story will build up a relationship and then crush it, Smut, Eventual Smut, Mild Smut, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Mutual Pining, Flirting, a lot of flirting, especially from draco's side, very secretive relationship, Lots of "We can't do this", but they will do this, Crying, there's gonna be some unresolved issues being resolved together, basically hermione helps draco beyond healing, and draco helps hermione breathe a little via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/FNt6c4k April 21, 2023 at 03:40AM

[youllstillfindst0ne]

Tumblr newbies deserve ask games!

Ship thing: any two Harry Potter characters you like, OTHER than the most obvious three (Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Tonks/Lupin).

hi!! thank you!!

i'm going to preface this by saying i am a MAJOR multi shipper, so me talking about a fave non-canon ship of mine doesn't mean i don't also ship other pairings with the characters, including the canon ones. james x lily has my heart, too.

James/Sirius

Ship It

What made you ship it? -- James and Sirius are described as being almost never without the other, and the closest two among the marauders, at least in my interpretation. also, sirius stayed with the potters after he ran away from home. i think it could be (if one wants, not the devil author's actual intent) an allegory for when lgbt teens aren't accepted by their parents and stay with a friend for the time being. and honestly, i'm just really intrigued by their dynamic. two troublemakers who were likely the most vulnerable with each other? could've been cool!

What are your favorite things about the ship? -- sorta just said it; i love it when too people who have trouble opening up (james in hogwarts era prior to ~growing up~ having his pride, and sirius being abused at home) become thick as thieves and slowly let each other in. there's also the potential for (healthy) conflict if one starts to mature before the other. i just love the idea of those two growing together.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? --nah, since it's not the most popular male x male pairing from the marauders era nor the second most popular one, so i don't think there are many popular or unpopular opinions about the ship.

sorry for the essay!

[kxokiemonster]

Snape never became a Potions professor because after the war (after everyone lived because my mental health is really poor and i need them to be happy) Regulus accepted the job after Slughorn retired.

He was one of the favourite teachers even if he didn't commend everyone for every little thing. Regulus was quite cold, but he was fair and gave congratulations when they were deserved and had an ear to listen for anyone who need it.

"Have you seen that Professor Black never roll both of his sleves?" asked Ron one day.

They were buried in homework, the essay for Potions laying on the table of the library they were in. Hermione was close to finishing it while Ron had only written the title, much more occupied thinking about anything else.

"Papa doesn't like short clothes," Harry shrugged. "Even in sumner he wears long sleves"

Hermione looked up from her essay, a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I suppose he doesn't want anyone to see the Mark," she started in a whisper, unsure.

"What mark?" asked Ron frowning.

"The Dark Mark," Hermione said slowly, observing both of his friends with attention.

"Your dad was with You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, covering his mouth with a hand.

"My Papa defeated Voldemort," Harry growled full of anger, his voice so high a few people looked at them.

Hermione sushed him not wanting any more attention from anyone else. She signed them to close their head so they could whisper.

"Have you ever read a bloody book about the War?" she asked in disbelief. "Professor Black was one of the most important people in defeating You-Know-Who, but he was one of his followers for a few years. I'm sure he doesn't want anyone to see the Dark Mark on his arm. He must had got it when he was serving Him"

"Do you think he will show it to us?" asked Ron amused. "Harry, what do you think?"

"Don't think so. You can still try," Harry shrugged.

Regulus was finishing his class, closing the books and getting ready to go to the teacher's lounge when he saw them.

"Can I help you, little Gryffindors?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Regulus observed with a little smile how the three twelve years old jostled one another whispering "you go", "no, you go". "Is any of you going to talk or do I have to keep waiting all day?"

"Professor," Ron finally talked taking a step forward, "would you show us your Mark?"

Regulus' eyes darkened instantly. He was no longer warm nor soft. "You are going to be late for your next class. Go"

Harry took a step and grab Regulus by his robe so he wouldn't leave. "Papa, is it true? You have the Dark Mark?"

Regulus felt each word like a dagger to the heart. He closed his eyes to try to supress the sadness creeping all over him. "Haz..."

"You have it then?" the boy asked, frowning and a little pout.

"Yes. But I'm not going to show it to you. Children, go or Tuttle is going to take points from Gryffindor for being late," he sighed.

When the three children step out of the class, Regulus gave himself a minute to catch his breathe because he felt like someone had punched him. With shaking hands, he started writing a letter.

"My deer James,

I fear the time has come. I thought we had more time, that Harry would be older by the time we had to explain to him how everything happened, but he asked me today if I have the Dark Mark.

It's time he knows how the Dark Lord was defeated and what we sacrified, what we had to do.

Love you"

Part 2

[ginisbetterthanfirewhisky]

Why Harry and Ginny is a well-written pairing

Harry/Ginny was my first OTP even before I knew what "shipping" was. It annoys me to no end when people criticize the pairing on the basis of what they saw in the films or by taking book scenes out of context *cough* the fangirl argument *cough*. So I wrote a little essay of sorts on why they are a perfect pairing and do not deserve the flak they receive.

Here goes!

Their Personalities

The two common tropes that come to mind in literary romance are "opposites attract" and "birds of a feather". At first glance, Harry and Ginny certainly seem to belong to the latter category- they share a love for Quidditch, a dry sense of humour and have both been possessed by Voldemort. However, they have some differences which make them complement each other.

Harry, having had a bad childhood, doesn't like conflicts or arguments. Apart from the brief caps-lock in OotP (which was completely justified, by the way), Harry is of a calm nature. He's the peacemaker in the debate-loving Ron/Hermione's bickering. That's not to say that he's timid or mild-mannered- far from it, actually. Harry is very sarcastic and sassy ('No need to call me sir, Professor', anyone?), not to mention a terrific and eventually confident teacher. He is also somewhat of a brooding, self-depreciating pessimist.

Ginny, on the other hand, is sunny and full of personality. She is an optimist (remember when she reminded a dejected Harry in OotP that he was only under the ban till Umbridge was at Hogwarts? Or the 'anything's possible if you've got enough nerve' scene?) who can easily snap Harry out of his self-loathing. She doesn't walk on eggshells around him ('Lucky you'), nor does she unnecessarily humour him or put up with his (rare and unintentional) rudeness ('No need to take that tone with me'). She has a fierce temper that is cancelled out by Harry's calm nature. She understands Harry when no one else does, and the same goes for her (Not even Hagrid can convince Harry to leave a dead Dumbledore's side, but a single touch from Ginny makes him follow her blindly. Similarly, in the Battle of Hogwarts, one glance at Harry is enough for her to understand him and stop struggling against her mum).

Their Sense of Humour

As I said, they have a very similar, dry sense of humour. Very often in the books, they catch each other's eye when they hear something funny because they know the other will laugh too. This non-verbal communication even happens before OotP, when Ginny comes out of her shell.

Some examples examples include the eye-catching over Percy's attempts to impress Penelope in PoA, Lockhart's behaviour and Hermione and Luna's stark differences in OotP and Ron's uncharacteristically suave behaviour in DH.

The "Real" Kind of Love

I'm sure most of us know about Robert Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love, where the presence of three factors- intimacy, passion and commitment- determines whether the romantic relationship between two characters/people is an ideal or "consummate" kind of love. In the books, there's plenty of evidence to prove that all three boxes in the Triangular Theory are checked. This Mugglenet article lists book quotes to prove this point.

All this proves that Harry/Ginny indeed is a well-written pairing and that JKR can write romance well, contrary to popular belief. The main focus of HP is not romantic love, which more or less excuses the lack of screentime for their romance.

~Interesting Essays~

Giving Her the Power: A Characterization of Harry/Ginny (written pre-HBP)

D’you Really Think They’re Suited? Why Hermione is Not the Right Girl for Harry (again, pre-HBP)

Harry and Ginny: More Than Meets the Eye (pre-HBP)

A Rationalist's Guide to Chocolate Orange (Pre-HBP)

Why Harry Picked Ginny, Rather Than Hermione, As A Romantic Partner (Pre DH)

Ginny Weasley: A Gryffindor and a Match for Harry (Pre DH)

[chaztalk]

Harmony shipper’s comment:

My response:

I feel that Harry wasn’t a good friend to Hermione and was biased towards the Weasleys, his loyalty had always been more towards them instead of Hermione which I found disturbing at times and also made me think that even he sometimes doesn’t deserve her.

Excuse me? “Deserve her”? Is Hermione a prize “deserved” to be won?

Then take GoF, when Ron came for an apology, Harry accepted that half-arsed apology of Ron and welcomed him with open arms but this wasn't the case with Hermione in PoA or was it?

Both circumstances are very different. The one in GoF was based on a misunderstanding, and Hermione helped Harry understand why Ron acted that way in the first place. In PoA, Hermione went behind Harry’s back and told the Head of the House to confiscate his Firebolt, even though she could’ve easily reasoned with him about the potential hexes on the broom. She didn’t. And it’s not like she tried her hardest making up with them either with her know-it-all attitude. And Ron didn’t really help anything here, but he didn’t deter Harry making up with Hermione imo.

Then while finding the date of the Yule Ball, Harry never gave a second thought to asking Hermione why? Was she ugly? I would consider this a really bad thing for someone with whom you spent most of the time with doesn't ask you for the dance, the person you care about most. This was really frustrating at that point.

I could think of at least 3 reasons why Harry asking her to the Yule Ball makes no sense in canon:

1. ⁠Harry and Hermione are not romantically interested in each other in canon.

2. ⁠Harry only went to the Yule Ball because he was required to as a Tri-Wizard tournament champion. As I remember, he didn’t have much fun at the Ball nor was he a fun date. On the contrary, Hermione had a splendid time at the ball, despite having that fight with Ron.

3. ⁠It would create more content for Rita Skeeter to write about about them, which neither of them would want.

[drownedinlight]

What if Harry Potter tricks Umbridge into going down the trap door?

Had an idea for a fic last night. Might just write it as a bullet point fic here.

Firstly, JKR is a TERF and I do not support her ideology. In fact, I actively despise her ideology. Trans people are people -- they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and afforded all the same rights and life saving healthcare that anyone gets.

Now on to the idea.

There are a lot of fics that suppose on what would happen if Harry could utilize his Slytherin side a little more or even what would happen had he been sorted into Slytherin. There are others, on a different topic that wonder if the set of rooms used for the obstacle course in book one were still there.

Last night, I thought to myself, what if Harry get so fed up with Umbridge in 5th year that he decides to send her down into the Devil's Snare?

Harry presumes that Umbridge would know how to combat Devil's Snare -- after all, a twelve-year-old knew how to beat it in Harry's experience. Even if Umbridge did get trapped, Harry thinks, the Snare would only be an inconvenience to his mind, to the extent that she would be trapped there for some time before someone would notice she was missing. So, he has a loud conversation with Ron about the secret room Dumbledore had their first year, you know, the one on the third floor corridor with the trap door.

Umbridge gleefully snatches up the information and goes to investigate, without telling everyone where she's going. After all, she's not one to share the glory, now is she? Umbridge wants to be the one to personally topple Dumbledore from his gilded throne, she wants to be written about in history books. So, she goes off to the third floor corridor, finds the room Harry mentioned, lowers herself down through the trap door.

Only, Umbridge got an A on her Herbology OWL. Not a terrible score, but not enough to continue on with NEWT courses where she would have learned about Devil's Snare. Not that she cared -- she was going to be a politician after all and did not care for keeping plants alive. Nor was Dolores Umbridge as widely read as Hermione Granger.

As the Devil's Snare began to coil around her, Dolores Umbridge struggled, which only made the Devil's Snare move faster, hold her tighter. She would try a few cutting curses, but the Devil's Snare would be too impervious. Dolores Umbridge wouldn't think of lighting a fire until the vines of the Snare had wrapped around her throat and mouth and she could no longer speak.

Umbridge went down the trap door on a Friday, and as such, no one noticed she went missing until Monday morning when she didn't show up for classes. In searching her office for clues, aurors find several blood quills, and interview students as to their use. Even though its been three days, plenty of people have fresh cuts on their hands, or ones that have scabbed over. If they do find Umbridge, the aurors decide, they will have to serve her with a warrant of arrest.

Not that they find her.

Ron doesn't remember the loud conversation he had with Harry -- mostly because keeper tryouts were on his mind. He is fifteen after all. What was on your mind at fifteen?

Harry does remember. He discounts it for a long time, thinking Umbridge couldn't have actually been so stupid as to investigate a loud conversation had by two teenage boys. Besides, he has bigger fish to worry about (like, oh, the greatest dark wizard of the age out for his blood). Just in case, he works out how to send an anonymous note to the aurors (thanks, Hermione).

Only, when the aurors go down the trap door, enlisting the help of the professors who know traps may still lurk there, they find nothing.

Devil's Snare is a carnivorous plant, after all, feeling off the flesh and bone of wizard and muggle alike. Mostly it fed on rats and small insects, as most wizards were smart enough not to go near it if they didn't know how to defend themselves against it, so the eating of a human or other being had never been observed by wizard kind. Thus, Professor Sprout could not advise the aurors that there might not be anything left of Umbridge by that point. And as it had been several weeks since her disappearance, there was hide nor hair of Dolores Umbridge left among the leafy vines.

Professor Sprout, of course, has the proper documentation for the Devil's Snare. "I can't think why Dolores would have come here in the first place," she says. "After all, everyone knows, I've been growing Devil's Snare here for years now."

[holden-caulfield]

Because She's Worth It

↪︎ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Summary: reader's friends find out about her secret relationship with Draco Malfoy.

Warnings: none, just a terribly written ending.

Word Count: 1428

//

"Watch where you're going, traitor." said your so-called friend Harry as he bumped into your shoulder without even looking you in the eyes.

He had a reason to be mad at you, just not a good one in your opinion. You had been dating the slytherin prince for quite some time now, but you had decided to keep your relationship a secret, afraid of the judgement of your friends. After the recent events, rightfully so.

They had found out a thursday morning: the gryffindors had transfiguration with the slytherins and once the lesson was over, Crabbe and Goyle thought it would have been funny to pick on you and the golden trio. You reacted with your usual snarky remarks to put them in their place but what surprised you was that Draco had intervened and told them to stop. The action shocked everyone, including himself. You looked at him with an alarmed look and he played it off with a quick comment,

"Why even bothering with these nullities? Just you wait and they'll realize they don't belong here." Crabbe and Goyle laughed at the statement as if it was the greatest joke to have ever been told and you sighed in relief.

"If there's someone who doesn't belong here, it's you, Malfoy!" spat Harry, still set on arguing.

"Let's just go away." you whispeded, trying to stop Harry and Draco from starting something everyone would have regretted. Hermione grabbed Harry and Ron but Harry didn't budge, instead he took a step closed to Draco.

"What's up Malfoy? Not in the mood to bully anyone today?" said Ron. Draco visibly stiffened and you could tell he was trying very hard not to tell them off there and then but he knew you wouldn't have appreciated it. Crabbe and Goyle got closer too, feeling surprisingly feisty that day.

"Why don't you listen to your stupid girlfriend and go away?" at Goyle's comment, Draco's eyes began burning.

"I am not his girlfriend!" you objected, but Goyle wasn't done yet.

"Whatever, why don't you shut your stupid mouth and use it for something more useful, like-"

"Why don't you shut your mouth before I make you!" spat Draco, grabbing Goyle's robe's lapels in his hands.

"What?" Goyle looked legitimately terrified as he asked the question, but Draco kept his eyes trained on him and didn't move. You placed your hand on Draco's shoulder and he suddenly seemed to realize what he had just done.

"Don't you ever talk to her like this." he released Goyle and he immediately backed away. The trio's gazes were fixed on you as you gently took Draco's hand in your own, knowing that you wouldn't have been able to keep the secret any longer anyway. He cast a worried glance at you and you squeezed his hand, reassuring him.

"Malfoy, really?" asked Ron poisonously. You opned your mouth to explain everything, but he stormed off, followed by Harry and Hermione. She gave you a comforting look, meaning she would have talked with them, but you had a bad feeling about this and you were right.

It had already been a week since the episode and you still hadn't talked with Harry nor Ron. They ignored you everytime and you were getting quite frustrated. You were sad because you missed your friends but you were also angry because you thought they would have at least given him a chance. You also felt a little bit of guilt, but that feeling was immediately sent away with Draco's loving kisses and sweet words to reassure you you hadn't done anything wrong. Luckily, Hermione gave you a chance: you told her everything and she understood you, she didn't necessarily approve of Draco, but she knew he made you happy and that was enough.

After a week of not talking you thought they would be up to listen to you, but when you tried talking with them in the corridors, they simply bumped into you.

"Watch where you're going, traitor." you felt your heart break a little, you couldn't believe your best friends were treating you that way. Draco's hand was interlaced with your own but when he saw the look in your eyes after the encounter, he knew he had to do something and not just stay there and watch you getting hurt over and over again by your friends' silence. He broke the contact and strode over to Harry and Ron, placing himself in front of them. A deep scowl was plastered on both of their faces, but Draco's own frown was even deeper. You rushed up to them, fearing the worst, but instead of hexing them, Draco started talking:

"Listen here kow, Potter. You don't like me and I don't like you and I never will. I've done dreadful things to you and many others of this school, some of them I don't regret. I know I don't deserve your pity, but that incredible witch right there does. She saw something in me that I didn't even know was there. She makes me a better person by simply existing and gracing me with her presence and you are a complete and utter fool to voluntarily cut her out of your life merely because she gave me a chance. She deserves to be happy and I feel incredibly lucky knowing she chose me over anyone else, I will do everything in my power to make sure she is content, even if this means talking to you or even pleading you. Because she's worth it. So if you decide you still wish to be a touchy downright prat, at least have the decency to respect her or I'll make you regret it."

Draco's love words were laced with venom as he glared at Harry and Ron who were now staring back at him, mouth agape. He waited a few moments before interweaving your hands back together and resuming his path towards the slytherin common room. When the two of you arrived there and closed the door behind you, you immediately threw your arms around him, almost making him tumble down. He held you close to him, one hand on you low back and the other holding your head. You pulled away only to crash your lips on his, your hands cradling his face as if he could disappear. He kissed you back passionately until you both had to pull away to breathe.

"Should I lash out more often? Because so far I'm loving the consequences." he said with his usual smirk as you both rested your foreheads against each other. You rolled your eyes and gave him a quick peck on the nose.

"Idiot."

"I'm profoundly offended!" he feigned hurt, slightly receding from you.

"No, come here! I want to grace you with my presence!" you retorted with a playful pout on your lips.

"Oh shut up." he grabbed you by the waist and held you flush against his chest, reconnecting your lips once more before settling on the green couch in front of the fireplace.

You spent the night in Draco's dorm just like you had done many times before and got ready to head to the great hall for breakfast. You and Draco walked into the hall, his arm slung around your shoulders. You saw your friends sitting at the gryffindor table, but quickly avoided eye contact. Despite that, they noticed you and made their way towards you.

"Can we talk, y/n?" asked Ron, nodding towards the door you had just walked in from. You nodded 'yes' and led them outside.

"We're sorry, y/n." began Harry. Hermione slightly nudged Ron with her elbow.

"Yeah, we're sorry, y/n. We behaved like complete gits." added Ron ruefully.

"I think someone else here deserves your apologies..." you suggested and Draco raised his brow at you before smirking lightly.

"We're not going to apologize to Mal-" Hermione nudged Ron again, a bit harder this time, and Ron immediately changed his mind.

"We're sorry, Malfoy, I guess." said Ron annoyed. You raised your eyebrow at Harry who scoffed before adding, "yeah, sorry."

"And I think that someone else should apologize too." Draco's complacency was soon replaced by a look of confusion as you looked up at him expectanctly. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before muttering, "I'm sorry but I still loathe you"

"Likewise." stated Harry before you pulled all your friends in a tight hug. You pulled away and gripped Draco's hand.

"Can we go now? I'm starving." admitted Ron and you all made you way towards the great hall.

[iamnmbr3]

The more I read HP, the more I can see the unintentional drarry moments J.K. Rowling has set up in the narrative.

And while I get she's not notoriously good at writing romance, but I just don't understand how there's no reason at all for us to think he'd end up with Ginny.

Unlike romione one day he's crushing on Cho and the next he's kissing Ginny and there's that. We barely even know how he really feels about her, hell, we learn way more about Draco unwillingly than we do about her and I'm just ???

What exactly do we know about Ginny that wasn't information someone offered Harry that he didn't pick up on by himself? We barely know the color of her eyes, but wr get a 15 page essay on how Draco looks?

At this point I just feel bad for her because girly deserved better

There is definitely some setup for hinny (unlike lupin/tonks that really comes out of literally nowhere at all) but yeah it's not much and pretty easy to miss so it feels like it comes out of nowhere in book 6 - especially because Ginny's characterization and narrative framing change in book 6.

If she'd continued to be written the way she was in book 5 and her relationship with Harry continued to be written the way it was in that book it might've felt more natural. Instead in book 6 Harry is actually less close to her than in book 5 - no longer confessing his problems or feelings to her; he doesn't even ever tell her about the prophecy nor does he feel any desire to share what he's learning about Voldemort with her, even given her experiences with Tom Riddle in book 2. So she's actually much more tertiary to his life rather than increasingly involved.

If they were going to get together I think book 6 should've been the slow burn buildup book with them getting increasingly close and some will they or won't they energy going on and then they finally get together in book 7. I guess JKR kinda did try to do the slow burn thing it just didn't really work for me.

I actually have mixed feelings on whether this is a flaw. I say it didn't work for me but I mean that only in the sense that I don't buy them being soulmates who ultimately end up together. Harry and Ginny's relationship as depicted in the books does actually feel realistic to me and is interesting as is - just not as something endgame. She idolizes him. Harry thinks he might be dead soon and wishfully mistakes lust for love - partly because he'd feel bad just having a casual relationship with his best friend's sister. But after the war they realize they don't really know each other and aren't that well matched. Each needs someone else and they go their separate ways.

I think that's compelling and realistic. So if we ignore the epilogue I actually totally buy what happened in canon. I stg the whole book series is a perfect setup for 8th year or postwar drarry. It's why I prefer drarry fic that is post canon rather than canon divergent and only ignores the epilogue.

And yeah. Harry doesn't really respect Ginny and consistently sidelines her. I mean neither of them even ever gets each other a Christmas or birthday present. Even in 6th year when they're dating. They're not that close. Can you imagine Harry shopping for a present for Ginny? He's great at buying things for Ron or Hermione because he knows them well, but Ginny? Does he even know her well enough to know what to get her? No.

[dramionediscussion]

As I started to grow older and understood the world better I just discovered so many more reasons for my preference of Draco compared to Ron. Of course it would have been an epic redemption story which JKR and team tried to achieve through CC but it was no match to the Dramione fanfics. Whenever I read canon Ron I always feel that he got too many chances and benefits of doubt which were not given to Draco. First would be the kind of family and teachings they were given. Then the friends they had. Ron always was forgiven for his insecurities but the same cannot be done for Draco. Ron left Harry and Hermione at such a critical time and Draco was ready to commit murder just to protect his parents. I don't think I would ever forgive Ron for leaving them, I don't care about the Horcrux's influence Hermione had also worn it but she didn't become petty. On the other hand Draco lied and saved the trio's arse despite the pressure he was under and knowing the consequences of his lie. Even in CC Draco goes over and above for his love for Astoria and Ron couldn't learn to drive a car properly for Hermione. I like his character in the first book but as he grew my dislike for him grew and I would always feel that Hermione deserved better than Ron who would be a redeemed Draco.

AGREED!!!

Ron had a lot of chances and a lot of leeway when it came to him. Draco never got that.

I think it was because JKR based him and the Slytherins on real-life people she encountered at school. Those people were the popular, snobby bullies she knew. So of course she would never give them a redemption arc since she never liked them and still probably doesn't. She was biased against him from the beginning and hated that people could empathize with him and his upbringing. She even kinda shamed people by saying the only reason people like his character is because of the actor's looks. People are that shallow to her. It never occurred to her that maybe this "evil" character is kinda understandable and is a victim of their circumstance.

Ron gets away with everything, and let's be real, Harry and Hermione do too. And it's because they are on the right side, the good side. It doesn't matter what they did or said or how they treated people, they were not Slytherins nor on the Dark side, so they are good people and we can excuse their actions.

It's so weird that in one series this author can preach about things not being black and white in real life but at the same time, tell you, the readers that for this character, you have to keep things black and white, there is no understanding for him. Others yes, but not him.

-Lisa

[percydarling]

Romance Relationships in HP and why I don't like them(except Romione)-

Aah yes, noone asked me this but I'm here to talk about it.

I pretty much skipped Book 6 because of the romance plot and that really pissed me off because I actually enjoyed Slughorn as a character and as a result of skipping I'm sure I missed several plotlines.

Ron and Lavender

Oh god oh god, where do I start?

WON - WON?

There was no building of the relationship, no nothing. Felt rushed and weird.

Lavender deserved better.

That's it.

Harry and Cho

Harry my boy you're being insensitive, also you and Cho really don't have that much in common so yes I don't see this working, also you both are traumatised and are not dealing with this healthily and yeah this relationship ain't it.

Hermione and Victor

Oh Hermione was def using him to make Ron jealous, plus she doesn't even seem interested in him? They have nothing in common and Hermione doesn't even enjoy Quidditch. Although it is cute that he goes to the library to catch a glimpse of here, the age gap is wrird because she's 14 and he's 17

Bill and Fleur

Well, Fleur is like a year younger than Percy, she's what 16? And Bill's what 22? Yeaaaaaaah very odd, plus Bill doesn't even seem to stand up for Fleur when Ginny and Molly insult her, also you could argue, well she was a snob, that doesn't mean Ginny and Molly in the right. Also she's a teenager. I can see why people would adore this paring but I don't.

George and Angelina

Fred asked her out to the Yule Ball and she said yes and maybe it was just friends or something more, we don't know and then Fred dies and George marries Angelina. I think it's because he wants to honour Fred. Sigh, JK could have developed this but she never did, so neither do I care, nor do I ship.

Dean and Ginny

I have no idea what happened here to be honest ? Neville and Ginny would have made more sense really. Yeah that's all I have to say for this ship.

Molly and Arthur

She shouts, he follows. Arthur's kinda useless to be honest, also i don't see the romance or maybe that's just because it's domestic. But other people too have problem with this pairing so I'm not the only one.

Remus and Tonks

Oh god where do I begin.

The age gap? The sudden love Tonks has for Remus? Remus not having feelings for Tonks and being forced in a marriage he didn't want? The suddenness of it all? If JK wanted a orphan she should have used another pairing, this whole relationship felt weird on so many levels.

Harry and Ginny

Yes, I didn't like it in the book. Now before you get your pitchforks and burn me at the stake listen.

I am not a fan of childhood crush becoming your bf trope. I'm not, just not into that. Ginny overcoming the Harry crush and realising that that was unhealthy and moving on would have been better. Also it did seem rushed. She was dating someone else a week ago and suddenly she's hooking up with Harry. And it's rushed from Harry's end too. He's not in the state for a relationship in any which way and it just seems weird.

BUT I do enjoy Hinny fics which are really well written and a 100x better than the Hinny in the book so there's that.

I'm sure I covered most of the relationships?Anyway these are the minor ones that i did enjoy:

Percy and Penelope- he stayed by her side when she got petrified, made bets with her, secret relationship. Sweet high school esque relationship.

Cedric and Cho- tragic

Neville and Hannah- we don't know a lot but I imagine it to be a cute sweet oneLuna and Rolf- weirdos together? Yes pls

Andromeda and Ted- the real Romeo and Juliet story, a pureblood and a muggleborn

Lucius and Narcissa- horrible ppl together😎

Yeah that's about it, I only remember this much so forgive me if I forgot some

[attichoney4u]

Why I love Ron Weasley

Hello beautiful people of the internet! Today, I'm going to talk about Ron Weasley. Ron is a character from Harry Potter and a friend of Harry and Hermione. He is a timid kid who loves playing Quidditch and is afraid of spiders. He has low self-esteem because all the other members of his family stood out at Hogwarts and he doesn't know if he will achieve the same.

Why I love him:

1. He deserves more love

What annoys me the most are the haters who keep saying that he is useless and pointless and that the story would be the same without him. I disagree!

Ron did help Harry and Hermione and his role was important. For example, at the seventh book, Ron was able to get some tooth of Vasilisk to destroy Horcruxes. Where did he find them? Inside the Chamber of Secrets, a place that Hermione didn't know where it was! How did he got inside? Because he was with Harry when he opened it by saying "Open!" in the language of snakes.

Hermione would never find the solution, despite her intelligence, and even if she did, she wouldn't know how to open it, because she doesn't know the language of snakes.

2. He is an excellent Quidditch player

Let's not forget this! Ok, he had problems at the beginning, due to have never played again, but he learned and he became really good at this game. He just needed more confidence and someone to root at him!

And let me remind that he managed to win the Cup in his first year at the team, while Harry needed three whole years!

3. He has a problem we can all relate

Tell me people! Have you ever felt overshadowed by a member of your family or by a friend because they were good at everything? The answer: yes!

This is how Ron feels constantly! He wants to impress everyone, however, he believes he will never manage that, because his brothers have already made a name for themselves at Hogwarts! And poor Ron doesn't have Charlie's incredible skills at Quidditch, nor Billy's beauties, nor Persy's intelligence, nor Fred and George's funny personality and pranks and nor Ginny's ability to attract the opposite sex!

And on top of that, his best friend was the most popular kid at school and he was always stealing the spotlight!

4. He has a nice relationship with Hermione

Even though at the beginning of the series I shipped Hermione with Harry (yes, I know, I am so cliché), I ended up pairing her with Ron.

It was one of the rare times where I liked the "opposites attract" trope. Although I loved her, I also believed that she should learn to have more fun and Ron was the one capable for it.

Plus, Ron's patronumous is a dog who is known for hunting otters (Hermione's patronumous).

[slyther-bi]

Day 14: Family

I never plan what I'm writing🙃🙃🙃🙃

@deepperplexity

Christmas, it was a lovely holiday that many not all celebrated. It was a holiday that is spent with friends and family.

'Family Is this what that is?' Severus thought as he sat near a corner in the Burrow. The war was over he didn't understand why he was there. In fact he didn't understand how he managed to survive but he did.

He looked around and noticed Harry talking to Ginny, Hermione speaking to Fleur & Bill, Ron doing god knows what with Charlie & George, Molly coming in and out of the kitchen, Luna speaking to Neville & Cho, and Arthur going on about some random muggle object to anyone who would listen.

Severus picked at his hands as he looked down at the ground, he doesn't deserve to be here, especially not during Christmas but here he was. He rubbed over the scar on his neck and slowly stood up, he nervously made his way to the front door before he was stopped by Luna.

"Professor are you alright?" She asked quietly. Severus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, he didn't bother putting up the mask he always wore when he taught at least not when it came to Luna.

"I'm fine"

"Are you sure?"

Was he? He didn't know, nor did he know why Luna seemed to care. He continued to pick at his hand and sighed softly "I'm not fine but I will be once I leave" he spoke and walked past Luna and right out the door.

Luna being the curious one followed him "Where are you going?" she asked softly as she grabbed hold of Snape's arm.

"It does not concern you on where I'm going" He stated and attempted to pull his arm from her but she only tightened her hold.

"Please don't go, I invited someone I know means something to you. They have yet to arrive please don't go" She begged and pressed her face into his arm hoping he would stay.

Severus sighed "Alright I'll stay" Luna beamed and happily dragged Severus into the house. The two made their way to the couch and sat down, Luna has begun to talk about the nargles and hearing her speak helped Severus relax.

He was glad Luna hadn't changed, her weirdness was comforting to him even if he won't admit it. There was even a time that Lucius mentioned that he thought Luna was rather similar to him.

After some time Severus began to wonder just who in fact did Luna invite. He had not seen anyone new enter the Burrow and he was rather confused "Luna?" He spoke in almost a whisper.

"Yes Professor?"

"Who exactly did you invite?"

Luna did nothing but smile sweetly at him.

And before he could ask her once more something had jumped onto his lap. He looked down and his breath was caught in his throat cause there on his lap was Mrs. Norris and if she was here then that would only mean...

Severus had never turned his head around so fast in his life and once he did he saw the one person he truly trusted with his life. "Dad..." he said without thinking, the rest of the residents began to stare because why on earth would Professor Snape be calling Filch Dad?

Their stares went unnoticed as Filch sat down on the couch right next to Severus "Hi lad" he said and Severus threw himself into Filch's arms. Luna watched as Filch tightly hugged Severus "Merry Christmas Professor"

Severus looked over at Luna and smiled "Thank you" he said softly and pulled Luna into a hug. Luna smiled and happily hugged back.

'Family' Severus thought 'Yes, these two people are his family' he hugged both Luna and Filch tighter while tear slowly slid down his face.