#why not grindelwald

[firendgold]

Pk now I want to hear tour rant about how Harrydore is bettter than Grindeldore. Bring it 🤣❤️

ohhh, this one's easy. I've been in this fandom on and off since 2006, and seen how Harry, Albus and Gellert were written pre- and post-'Dumbledore closet interview'. cracks knuckles

got to hit you with that readmore though. and it's going to be in two parts. I rambled again. ^^

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(...'rambled' is perhaps an understatement.)

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grindeldore vs harrydore

grindeldore

the tl;dr of the below is the following sentences, and then I'll get into it. My philosophy on gr*ndeld*re extends to all other ships in all other fandoms, especially HP: if it's not an AU and you have to excessively mischaracterize Character A to get them to 'fit' with Character B, then it's not a good ship, canon or not. Albus Dumbledore is quite often mischaracterized in order to 'fit' or 'keep' him with Gellert Grindelwald.

here's my problems with how gr*ndeld*re is most often portrayed:

Inconsistency within canon. JKR is partly mostly to blame for this (because she has contradicted her original 2007 statement in the present day with more interviews in the 2010s and with the Fantastic Beasts movies), but the first problem is: gr*ndeld*re was originally an unrequited ship. The original statement was that Albus was dazzled by Gellert's power, his presence, their similarities, their shared ideals... but That Woman wasn't explicit on whether Gellert ever returned his feelings. But based on her quotes where she says "falling in love can blind you to an extent" and that [Dumbledore] was "terribly, terribly let down" by the result of that whirlwind relationship, I think it's safe to assume that her original idea of Gellert cared far more for seeing his grander plans realized than for the needs and feelings of his 'equal'. And yet... in fandom, they are most often portrayed instead as star-crossed lovers torn apart by 'conflicting ideals'.

The second problem is that in the avalanche of fics and art that have come from The Reveal, the original lesson (/moral...?) behind the reveal of gr*ndeld*re, and how it shaped Albus as an adult, leader, and progressive, just... got lost. Completely lost. The whole point of it was to show that even Albus (supposed 'paragon of goodness' until book 7 showed the fandom that he is a regular human being) can make 'relatable' mistakes like... you know... being friends with a fascist. Being in love with a fascist, even. Thanks to said retcon interviews and the new movies (and even before that tbh) the fandom has since: overexaggerated Albus' new clay feet to the point of bashing him, idolized Grindelwald's red flag traits and ideals to the point where he has become the new "Tom Riddle was just misunderstood!" guy, and twisted that lesson/moral/whatever to mean that actually Albus and Gellert were tragically kept away from each other by an itsy bitsy little difference of opinion. A minor little fight. Casual death of your sick sister. Haven't we all been there?

The fandom diminishing the real reasons why Albus and Gellert eventually clashed, were destined to clash, is bad enough. What's worse is the opposite end. Some Dumbledore-bashing fans go the other way and paint present-day Dumbledore with the same brush as Grindelwald, even going so far as to say he still supports The Greater Good even though his entire character is literally built on being the opposite of the pro-magic, anti-Muggle philosophy. Albus has also been painted in some fics and even meta discussions as someone who 'regrets' his past not because his sister died and his brother is estranged from him, but just because his ex-boyfriend is in prison and he maybe kind of regrets not going full fascist with him. Like... bruh. NO. There are people who ship gr*ndeld*re just because they feel like Grindelwald, the worst dark wizard in the world, the reason why Voldemort is only a minor league little lord in comparison, is an appropriate "punishment" for the character they already dislike and thus misinterpret. (Side note: I'm not sure if I'm in a worse hell watching Albus' character get whitewashed for fascism or demonized so he can be a miserable lonely gay.)

Albus diminishes himself to meet Gellert's needs. An in-universe problem this time instead of a meta/RL one: Albus and Gellert were lovers, yes, but in order to be so, Albus had to actively start neglecting his siblings (since in Aberforth's words he was 'doing all right' taking care of them before Gellert showed up) and leaning more into anti-Muggle sentiment. He put all his energy into what for most of the magical world was a wild goose chase after some fairy-tale items. (Remember, most wixen don't give a shit about the Deathly Hallows, or think they're even real.) He became the person Gellert needed/desired most. Albus became a version of himself that he despised later in his life and after his death.

Relationships often include the members changing, and it's easy for even the most devoted partners to fall out of love if they change and are now too different from one another, or one person changes and the other... doesn't. After Ariana died, Albus chose to become a different person and champion the same people he and his family once despised. He chose to stay away from Gellert, whether he called it cowardice or principles or whatever else. And his choice put him in conflict with Gellert, who at sixteen refused to change course or rethink his ideals even when his choices led to the death of a magical person (the type of person he supposedly prizes above all others). His magical boyfriend's magical sister, even. And we see no sign that Gellert changed, repented, or considered Albus until decades later, at the very end of his life—far too late.

Healthy relationships require give-and-take, sacrificing for your partner in things big and small. For high-stakes relationships like Albus and Gellert's (queer in the 1800s, sweet Merlin), that is even more true. During that steamy summer of 1899, it was Albus who did all the sacrifcing/giving and Gellert who did all the taking. Gellert may have entertained the idea of bringing Ariana along on his quest with Albus (we don't know), but Aberforth was right to say that it would have been torture for her—and no alternate idea was brought up that would prioritize the wellbeing of Albus' siblings while he was away. And in the moment of required reciprocity when Albus was at his lowest, Gellert left him behind and went off to go rule the world. Not even the most diehard shipper can argue against the fact that when Ariana died, Grindelwald left.

This problem is even more personal/biased than the other ones. Albus and Gellert parted ways in 1899. They didn't see each other again until the duel in 1945 (because fuck Fantastic Beasts, the scripts don't even make fucking sense). Albus defeated Gellert, put him in prison, and then went on living for another fifty-two years. And That Woman expects me to believe that Albus never had a relationship with anyone before Gellert, and never even looked at another wizard afterward? In 52 years, he was one-and-done? He never once fell in love with other people, whether or not he fully trusted them/let them in? Be serious. Pull the other one. It's not realistic, and it doesn't speak to the kind of man Albus Dumbledore is. He may not have found a man to check the same boxes Gellert did, but he wouldn't arguably be looking for someone too similar to his old flame. He might not trust them unconditionally or be the Perfect Partner for them (bc whew traumaaa), but there would be other people for Albus in a realistic Magical Britain (even discounting time travel shenanigans). Before the reveal, the most popular people to ship Albus with were Minerva, Alastor, and Elphias Doge; these options are still arguably more valid. Albus Dumbledore loves love, he champions love, and he doesn't think he deserves it after his sins, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't go looking. It's mind-boggling to me that with all the well-deserved disavowing of JKR following her anti-trans hate (and her shameless pandering to the same people calling her a witch poisoning their children's minds decades ago), that some people still treat her words about Albus and Gellert's relationship and its effects on Albus in particular as gospel. I sure don't. (Especially because she said he became "asexual" after His One Gay Experience when like. That's not. What asexuality is??? And ace gay people exist???) Whether you count the FB movies or not, there are still decades of Albus' life that are a mystery, and I refuse to believe he closed his heart and caged his dick for all of them.

IMPORTANT END NOTE: These observations obviously do not apply to all gr*ndeld*re shippers. Some people genuinely do like both characters, characterize them correctly, and still want to see them together for reasons. I'm not going to judge them. I ship a frigging time travel age gap ship, how the fuck could I. And I'm also aware that a lot of fics/art are made to color in between the lines of what we don't know in the fandom, bringing Albus and Gellert together during the mystery years, or making one wizard better for the other to address all the ship baggage. I just can't join them because of how rarely that occurs (and, admittedly, how much I personally can't see it). You would not believe how many fics and discussions I've seen that lionize Grindelwald and treat Dumbledore like an accessory, or completely mischaracterize Albus' motivations, intentions, and actions, and then put him with "the other Big Bad". UGH.

Most of the time, I see gr*ndeld*re the ship hurting Albus the individual. It's very rare to find an iteration where Albus is not bearing the consequences of Gellert's choices, Gellert's actions, Gellert's mistakes and harm done. I think Albus deserves better than to be Gellert's accessory just because he loved him deeply long ago.

okay. whew. that was a lot.

a character limit prevents me from continuing here, so the second half of this versus will go elsewhere, sorry!

[cheezface]

one of them is gay, the other is also quite homosexual

[quillkiller]

it’s summer of 1899 and you meet a beautiful brilliant boy and he’s your equal who becomes your lover and you’re going to make sure you achieve everything you ever wanted together and it’s so intense and hectic and overwhelming and passionate that there’s no other way for it to end not only in heartbreak but also tragedy because you end up dueling each other and your brother joins and your sister is killed and there’s no way to tell whose spell killed her and then both of you with this history behind you become leader figures representing good and evil that people follow and trust blindly but the only person who really knows you is the enemy who was once just a beautiful brilliant boy you met in the summer of 1899

[gellert-1899]

Grindeldore Headcanon #10(more of a 9.5)

Albus actually never loved lemon cake or lemon candies that much. He liked the taste. They were fine. But he was never that obsessed over them as Gellert thought he was.

But he always got so happy when Gellert brought him some. Not because it was lemon candy, but because Gellert brought it. He felt like the candies tasted better when Gellert was the one that got it for him.

So in time, he had grown to like lemon sweets more. He loved how something sour can be yet so sweet. He also loved how Gellert always had some for him. Just because he thought Albus loved them so much.

After that summer, lemon candies never tasted that good. But Albus started to like them more. Because then, he realised what he loved about the candies.

They tasted like loving Gellert.

Sour, yet sweet.

And eating them was just like remembering all the things they did together that summer. All his memories with Gellert.

Sweet,

And yet sour.

[gellertalbus]

“Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi” is the inscription on the mirror, which when mirrored says:

I show not your face but your hearts desire.

[profoundmakerdreamerss-blog]

A Tomarry AU where Harry and Tom didn't know/care that the other exist. They are busy living their lives until — Gellert Grindelwald kidnaps them.

Maybe, he does it to recruit them, maybe it was because of the rumour going around that Tom is Dumbledore's unwanted son (due to the sheer amount of awkwardness and no kind smiles from albus to Tom)/Harry is Dumbledore's son due to them having such a close relationship (outsider's pov)? Or maybe it was because he wanted to recruit them as they both fought his followers and survived (Harry bc he's harry I can't just run away Potter and Tom because bro got caught in the middle of the battle). OR WHATEVER it is I just think it would so funny.

Poor Tom, all he wanted to do was peacefully plan on how to take over the world and poor Harry, all he wanted to do was fly around on his broom and play quidditch damn it—

[30plusfandoms]

Ayo, not me realizing that Gellert Grindelwald is technically a yandere

The man's jealous of Newt since Albus is fond of him, and Gellert doesn't like that, so he tries to get Newt killed!

[apicelladonna]

Moomin young grindeldore!

The lil cuties hunting for the Deathly Hallows in the summer that irrevocably changed their lives til their fated deaths.🥰

[sleepyphoen1x]

I JUST FOUND GRINDELDORE HUNGER GAME AU AND IT ONLY HAS TWO CHAPTERS AND ITS BEEN UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

[slitheringghost]

A narrative thread I find interesting is Family As Teachers and how characters influence and mirror each others’ abilities in familial dynamics - particularly in sibling/"twin" dynamics - which is fitting in a society where children’s magical education seems entirely controlled by their families until age 11 when they start Hogwarts and intermittently afterward. This theme is reflected in Ollivander’s words in DH while discussing the mystery of the twin cores and general wandlore with Harry:

"The best results [...] always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand"

You even have the three Peverell brothers inventing the three Hallows together to conquer death

Fred and George - as the actual siblings/twins, the most in tune - drop out and invent Weasley's Wheezes together, shared sense of humor via a literal Joke Shop. They find the Marauders' Map ("This little beauty’s taught us more than all the teachers in this school"). This twin duo sometimes turns into a trio - see post about Hermione’s contributions to their inventions in my meta Hermione As Teacher and Connections to Lily (who eventually joins the Weasley family, so like a sister to them); and additionally the twins’ best friend Lee Jordan helping them:

Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all three of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko’s merchandise Fred and George appeared finally to have perfected one type of Skiving Snackbox, which they were taking turns to demonstrate to a cheering and whooping crowd […] Lee Jordan, who was assisting the demonstration, was lazily vanishing the vomit at regular intervals with the same Vanishing Spell Snape kept using on Harry’s potions. (OoTP)

George then mentions utilizing Vanishing into their fireworks: (“Oh, I hope she tries Vanishing them next…They multiply by ten every time you try”). Snape’s skill at Vanishing ties to dynamic with Mcgonagall as she’s shown teaching 5th years Vanishing Spells in OoTP, and later in the book LV’s emphasized as weaker in Conjuration with his conjured shield, unsurprising given Dumbledore was his Transfiguration teacher.

THE MARAUDERS - James and Sirius collaborate on the Marauders' Map (with Remus; shared sense of humor built into it via insulting Snape), two-way mirrors called "twin" mirrors in DH; James's wand is "excellent for Transfiguration", he's a confirmed prodigy and Sirius is equal to him - both Animagi, McGonagall's favorites ("Both very bright, of course—exceptionally bright"), Sirius goes "I don’t need to look at that rubbish, I know it all" re: Transfiguration textbook; looking to create a new identity from his family's Dark magic, Sirius's interest in Transfiguration likely stemmed from James. Equal in DADA (finish the OWL early, "I’ll be surprised if I don’t get Outstanding on it at least" "Me too"), hex people together.

Remus - Dark Creatures interest from his father (Lyall was "a world-renowned authority on Non-Human Spiritous Apparitions" such as "poltergeists, Boggarts and other strange creatures") shown in Remus with Peeves and the Boggart lesson. A possible hint of Remus and Tonks friendship affecting her interests - Tonks helping with a "murderous old ghoul lurking in a toilet" in 12GP.

THE BLACK FAMILY - the Blacks are all brilliant. Sirius and Bellatrix are mirrored in battle implying Bella taught him and/or they dueled together - a connection transferred to Sirius mirroring James and Remus in combat ("Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets" in the prequel; "Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands" in PoA). Same weapons: Knives - Sirius slashes the Fat Lady and tries to stab rat!Peter, gifts a penknife that opens any lock to Harry; Bellatrix tortures Hermione and murders Dobby with a knife (potentially they keep them handy for blood magic - "rusty daggers" in 12GP nearby the crystal bottle of blood).

Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Regulus can all occlude LV and Bella trains Draco. Sirius knows a lot about Dark Arts and Harry's curse scar from the horcrux, Regulus identifies LV's horcrux, Bella is LV's Dark Arts student and given a horcrux.

Sirius and Orion - Orion warded Grimmauld Place, adding "every security measure known to Wizardkind", made it "Unplottable, so Muggles could never come and call"; Sirius maybe used his family's magic on the Map (a tool in part to make Hogwarts safe from teen DEs, and I HC Sirius worked on it most, as Hogwarts was also a home and escape from 12GP to him), role as Secret Keeper, offers GP as safehouse to the Order, undoes its enchantments to let halfblood Harry inherit. Sirius and Walburga both use the Permanent Sticking Charm - Walburga to terrorize and scream bigotry, Sirius to flaunt his differing politics with Muggle stuff.

I HC Bellatrix invented some Dark artifacts in 12GP - the "unpleasant-looking silver instrument, like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Harry’s arm like a spider when he picked it up and attempted to puncture his skin" which Sirius smashes with Nature’s Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy (fits Harry and Sirius's interaction with Bella later in OoTP) and the "musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound”, making them all "curiously weak and sleepy" until Ginny shuts the lid - placed right next to Merope's locket (esp. as Sirius’s words after this passage parallel Bellatrix in DH). Raised as the heir, Bellatrix likely had similar training and skill in wards as Sirius.

Bellatrix and Voldemort - paralleled in combat ("Bellatrix was still fighting too, fifty yards away from Voldemort, and like her master she dueled three at once"), both Legilimens. Her speech about the Dark Arts and learning "spells of such power" while teaching him the Unforgivable curses - she's likely as skilled as LV in inventing curses.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald - "just as precociously brilliant", "even after they’d spent all day in discussion — both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire", "at last, my brother had an equal to talk to, someone just as bright and talented as he was". Twin imagery with Grindelwald as hilariously described like Fawkes.

Next-door neighbors, knew each other only for a few months, yet Grindelwald’s ideas "caught and inflamed him", Dumbledore’s "ideas helped Grindelwald rise to power". Collaborate on the fascism and Deathly Hallows quest, but not Dark Arts (vs. Snape and Lily share the Dark Arts experimentation but not the fascism). Both on the same level in dueling, can conceal themselves without a Cloak.

Bathilda Bagshot - Dumbledore's Mother Figure/teacher, "impressed by his paper on trans-species transformation in Transfiguration Today" which Dumbledore's shown reading, so she presumably mentored him in Transfiguration, clearly a favorite field (While Dumbledore had few close friends, McGonagall's maybe the closest equivalent to a female friend; echoes Snape with Eileen and Lily).

Elphias Doge - met at 11 on their first day at Hogwarts, "Our mutual attraction was undoubtedly due to the fact that we both felt ourselves to be outsiders". They "intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together, visiting and observing foreign wizards, before pursuing our separate careers".

While the pair are said to not be intellectually on par, Dumbledore's interests clearly influenced Doge, also implied in Doge writing “his friends benefited from his example, not to mention his help and encouragement, with which he was always generous. He confessed to me in later life that he knew even then that his greatest pleasure lay in teaching.”

Doge on his travels mentions "experiments of Egyptian alchemists" and "escapes from chimaeras in Greece" (fire-breathing lion, goat, serpent hybrid) - echoing Dumbledore as a "Gold Medal-Winner for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo" and interest in certain magical creatures and associations with fire (Fawkes, dragon's blood uses, "trans-species transformation" research, bewitches a branch of Gubraithian "everlasting" fire which is Charms related, the Deluminator as a cigarette lighter).

Nicolas Flamel - Dumbledore's Chocolate Card notes his "work on alchemy with his partner Flamel" inventor of the Philosophers' Stone (colored “blood-red”) who taught teen Dumbledore; Dumbledore later enchants the Stone and links it to the Mirror of Erised (only one who wanted to find but not use it could get it, or they’d be shown making gold or drinking Elixir of Life). Albus also means "white", after an alchemy principle.

Marchbanks who examined him in Transfiguration and Charms N.E.W.T.s says he "did things with a wand I’d never seen before", won the "Exceptional Spell-Casting award"; published papers in Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions journals - linked more with wand magic fields.

Snape and Voldemort - From his words in HBP (disdain at Mundungus for not being a real Inferius), Snape likely learned necromancy with LV and enchanted Inferi during the First War (fitting to his vampire vibes).

Potions - LV uses "old piece of Dark Magic" rebirth potion; creates the Rudimentary Body Potion of snake venom, unicorn blood, spells of his own invention. Snape's Potions speech in PS - "the power of liquids that creep through human veins" (reference to potions with human blood?).

LV invents the Drink of Despair, Snape modifies the Elixir to Induce Euphoria (and assigns a dementor essay). Snape’s knowledge of poisons (logic puzzle, undetectable poisons essay, etc) and the bezoar trick as antidote, Tom poisons Hepzibah with a "lethal and little known" poison that passes for sugar to frame a house-elf who can’t carry a wand. Riddle petrifies students with the basilisk, Snape brews Mandrake Restorative Draught for basilisk victims (mandrakes heal transfigured or cursed victims, "an essential part of most antidotes").

LV curses the Gaunt ring, Snape heals that curse (golden potion and countercurse, collaborating with Dumbledore). LV turns the locket into a horcrux, Snape heals Katie Bell from the cursed necklace. LV curses the DADA job and the curse on his name, Snape invents Sectumsempra. LV the most accomplished Legilimens; Snape the most skilled Occlumens (and a skilled Legilimens). LV adds a concealed entrance on the Locket Cave/symbolic Gaunt shack, Snape renovates Spinner's End with two hidden doors (both in locations related to their Muggle childhoods).

Snape and Lily - to a large extent it makes sense that their magical abilities and interests align even more closely than any other duo save the Weasley twins, because they played the role of "family training" for each other for 2+ years. Both outsiders and ambitious with magic as their way out, Lily's joy at magic and Snape views it as an escape from home, closest to siblings living in the same town. Snape's keen on sharing everything (esp. if raised with an idea of how training works in magical families), Lily on knowing everything (and seems to be following Snape's lead on the magical world in a lot of ways).

Eileen clearly taught Snape a lot about wizarding society and I assume some magic, has all her school textbooks and likely some Prince family books/knowledge, with Dark Arts and Potions specialties, which Snape passed onto Lily. But Eileen either wasn't as gifted or intellectual as her son (we only know she's Captain of Gobstones) and/or just too neglectful for the connection to go far.

Snape tells Lily "you’d better be in Slytherin" in the scene he tells James "if you’d rather be brawny than brainy" re: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, so he thinks Lily falls under "brainy".

Magical power - unsupported flight, Snape's a Legilimens and there's circumstantial evidence of Lily as one in the early memories.

As with J/S, Lily's wand predicts her mutual interest with her best friend/like-a-sibling (of course their main field as Potions which doesn't require much wandwork) - "Swishy, nice wand for charm work", the Prince invents Charms. They "swish and flick" in Charms (levitating feathers), associated with flight. If taking extracanon, willow's an uncommon wand wood with healing power, enables advanced nonverbal magic (Snape heals Dark magic/etc, invents nonverbal spells).

James and Sirius are wary of Lily's wand means she's a skilled duelist and has gotten into fights; Snape invents hexes. Given the theme of duel between brothers, dueling's traditional in magical families, so Snape and Lily likely practice dueled together too with similar methods (Legilimency in combat); though in application, unlike the Marauders at Hogwarts, they'd be fighting on opposite sides.

Slughorn describing the Prince's work as exactly like Lily's at every turn indicates it as collaborative as the above examples of duo inventions - "You’ve got nerve, boy", "That’s the individual spirit a real potion-maker needs", "Unorthodox, but what a stroke of inspiration", "I really don’t know where you get these brain waves", "intuitive", "instinctive" "a natural" - aka she's creative, inventive, unafraid to take risks with and push the boundaries of magic.

The Prince's disdainful "just shove a bezoar down their throats"; Slughorn laughs at the bezoar, says it's exactly like Lily, gives house points "for sheer cheek" - implies Snape and Lily shared sense of humor often consisted of making fun of how purebloods view magic and incorporating their Muggle background into their methods (matches "as there is little foolish wand-waving here, you will hardly believe this is magic"). Snape's interest in poisons led to the bezoar trick which is Dark Arts related, so Lily knowing the same also implies her Dark Arts interest (of course Potions masters, Aurors, Healers, etc all study poisons, but I assume going deeper into it leads to more effective healing, as with Dark curses and cursebreaking skill on the Gaunt ring/etc).

Like Fred and George, Snape and Lily experiment and invent together constantly over summers - Petunia says Lily "came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats" (Potions, Transfiguration) and the Dursleys don't know Harry can't do magic over summers in CoS, an easy lie for Lily to keep up when doing magic often at Snape's house.

Snape evidently came prepared to impress Slytherins - per Sirius, he was always fascinated by Dark Arts, famous for it, knew more curses when he arrived than half the 7th years (likely showing off his knowledge vs. immediately cursing others). Snape's very aware of Muggleborn prejudice (hesitates before saying it makes no difference), yet was set on Lily being in Slytherin for 2.5 years pre-Hogwarts and groans when she's Sorted elsewhere, so sharing his Dark Arts interest with her fits that, expecting she'd need to "get in with the purebloods" along with him, which means making sure she knows as much as he does (see this post).

Snape at nine thinks Lily's the odd one for being fascinated by dementors:

"Tell me about the dementors again." "What d’you want to know about them for?" "If I use magic outside school —" "They wouldn’t give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban." (DH)

Cue Snape's monologue about the Dark Arts years later:

“The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal [...]" Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice? “Your defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures [...] give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse” — he waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony — “feel the Dementor’s Kiss” — a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall — “or provoke the aggression of the Inferius” — a bloody mass upon the ground. (HBP)

They absolutely mutually encouraged each other's interests in forbidden and Dark magic. Snape and Lily learn magic together, their magic individually and together parallels LV's the most, and they directly undo LV's own magic, Snape's instances even utilizing Potions.

Dumbledore expects Snape to immediately know Lily's work vanquished LV ("You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily’s son"), implying he knows Snape and Lily learned similar magic together and expects Snape to ~recognize Lily's style~. Converse to how he speaks to McGonagall the same (?) day:

"After all he’s done... all the people he’s killed... he couldn’t kill a little boy? It’s just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?" "We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know." (PS)

Lily and Sirius - Sirius is also knowledgeable about curses - knows the countercurse for the biting snuffbox (Wartcap Powder) and examines his hand "with interest"; suggests the Conjunctivitis Curse "as a dragon’s eyes are its weakest point" which Krum who was taught Dark Arts; often the one consulted regarding Harry's curse scar, recognizes Priori Incantatem, Harry writing to Sirius when he wants someone like a parent "who had experience with Dark Magic".

Sirius breaks Black family tradition in undoing wards/protections on 12GP (maybe manipulating a form of blood magic?) to let his halfblood not blood-related godson inherit and block DE Bellatrix out; and Lily creates blood wards that'd traditionally protect a pureblood family house to protect her Muggle family and eventually protects Harry. Mirroring Snape and Lily weaving their Muggle background in their magic, Sirius enchants Muggle objects like the motorbike (and creates an alternate method of flight).

When Harry says "You never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it" Sirius goes quiet, which may hint at specific knowledge that Lily vanquished LV (also a possible reason for Sirius rereading Lily’s letter in OoTP, when the Order’s trying to figure out what’s up with the prophecy and the Harry-Voldemort connection).

Harry and Ron - "In the end, he chose the same new subjects as Ron, feeling that if he was lousy at them, at least he’d have someone friendly to help him", write up absurd stories for Divination and make fun of Trelawney together. Harry and Hermione elaborated here.

Parvati and Lavender - Divination, both close with Trelawney (vs. Padma in a different house than her twin)

Moody and Tonks (who was "close to Mad-Eye" "his favorite and his protégée at the Ministry"), Bellatrix and Barty (if you accept he was her apprentice), Snape and Draco (“Draco’s favorite teacher”), Xenophilius and Luna - her family training consisting of... conspiracy theories, Luna first shown reading The Quibbler (Most likely Pandora Lovegood was a conspiracy theorist like her husband - "intellectual equals" - and died due to something like believing an explosive Erumpent horn was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn)

[litsetaure]

So I wrote a scene in the last chapter of my fic where Gellert is looking at Albus’ parents’ wedding picture and absently thinks to himself that Kendra looks a bit like Sirius’ mother (not that he could ever picture Walburga Black looking happy and in love like that…)

Total throwaway line (it makes sense in the context), but my brain went ‘wait a second…’

Because…Kendra is described (if I recall rightly) as dark-haired, stern-looking and quite proud. And, while I love the headcanon that she’s Native American, you know a family that has those features?

Yep. The Blacks.

And, I know, she’s Muggleborn, but what if she’s not? What if she was born into the Black family, but left or got disowned - like Alphard, Sirius and Andromeda did - and gave herself a new identity to get away from the family she loathed so much? Or, if she was descended from a Black who was a Squib and they got disowned eons ago.

Just funny how a random throwaway line can send you down a rabbit hole…

(Come to think of it, why didn’t Sirius ever change his name when he left? He could’ve changed it to Potter and been James’ brother. Unless there’s a rule in the wizarding world that you can’t?)

[firendgold]

okay @kazuza-art I’m back on a separate post because tumblr apparently has a fucking character limit for text posts. trust my rage.

last time we covered why for me personally gr*ndeld*re has more holes in it than swiss cheese. now we’ll cover why I think time travel harrydore is superior and respects both characters.

                                                               🗲

harrydore

the tl;dr of the below is the following sentences: I don't believe in 'opposites attract' at all, but I do believe that your partner should be similar and different enough from you to keep the relationship fresh and inspiring and romantic. An Albus who's years post-Ariana's death has the emotional capacity and maturity to appreciate Harry as a partner that he didn't have at almost-eighteen.

oh yeah uh, since this is time travel!harrydore we'll put this on the playing field of 'Harry is somehow in a time period where Albus is alive and well and post-1899 stuff'. I have to obviously take canon into account where Harry's a kid growing up and Albus is very much an adult for my arguments, but like... what can you do. I'm not asking That Woman to write me a canon harrydore story. She's a TERF hanging with fascists these days, and also she would fuck it up.

here's why harrydore screams 'solution' to me:

Harry and Albus care deeply about each other, despite their own best efforts, and this is shown consistently. Even when the fandom has been wildly inconsistent and flat-out wrong about Harry and Albus and what they mean to each other, That Woman has kept their bond consistent even through works she didn't write like Cursed Child. Harry comes from an abusive/neglectful environment and his relationship strategy boils down to 'abandon them before they abandon me first'; Albus is allergic to showing his entire self to anyone after being betrayed and left behind, so he talks above people's heads and leads them astray with batty humor. Despite all that, despite coming into their initial headmaster-student relationship with their walls up higher than China's, they eventually became fond of one another to the point where they are constantly re-affirming their loyalty and devotion to one another beyond the cause of defeating Voldemort. It’s to the point where Dumbledore literally dies and Harry, seventeen years old and in danger of dying every thirty seconds in Deathly Hallows, spends a significant amount of time wondering why his mentor wasn’t open and honest with him about his personal life beforehand.

Harry and Albus can (and do) make each other better, physically and emotionally. Albus has an astounding amount of faith in Harry almost from the moment they meet; he talks to and treats him with a lot of respect. This only grows as he gets to know Harry better through their annual “post-Voldemort-tried-to-kill-Harry” conversations. Albus comes to see Harry as a “better man” than he was as a young person, and later in the series he constantly mentions how admirable and unique he finds Harry’s insight, compassion, incorruptibility, and capacity for forgiveness. On Harry’s part, Albus is one of the few adults who treats him kindly from their first interaction—Albus listens to Harry, he teaches him without being condescending, he believes Harry when others don’t, and he shields him from threats of all kinds (Voldemort, Death Eaters, Rita Skeeter, the whole frigging Ministry of Magic). He admires Albus as the kind of man he might want to be someday—someone powerful who isn’t afraid to be a bit whimsical.  In return for Albus’ high regard and protection, Harry freely gives Albus a lot of trust and unconditional loyalty. There are obviously pitfalls in their relationship that happen due to lack of trust and/or communication from both, but both of them are able to acknowledge and admit that withholding things from each other is wrong and only leads to more pain. 

Albus and Harry use their interactions with each other to smooth over their character flaws, instead of exacerbating them. Albus has spent a century being extremely secretive and distant, partly because of his relationship with Gellert, to the point where even characters he knows as ‘friends’ do not know his entire backstory (with Minerva McGonagall being an exception). Harry has spent so long being ignored that he gravitates toward any who are kind to him, but is just as quick to cut people off if he thinks for a second that they are inauthentic or about to betray him. He also has trouble seeing the ‘grays’ in a person’s character: his view of Ron changes drastically depending on whether they’re on the outs or not, and his view of Snape is extremely negative until almost the end of the series, even though he knows the man is spying for Dumbledore for almost three years. But when Albus and Harry spend time together, or share their thoughts and feelings after Voldemort’s latest attack, they take on one another’s better traits. From Harry, Albus learns (to an extent) to be more open with his thoughts and feelings; from Albus, Harry learns how to read people and predict what they’ll do, and how to put himself in others’ shoes before passing judgment.

Meta reason: in the fandom (unlike an uncomfortable portion of gr*ndeld*re fics and fans) the majority of people who either ship Harry and Albus or appreciate their platonic relationship actually love or at least like both characters. Where other ships involving Harry or Albus sometimes involve one or the other being bashed or diminished to prop up the other partner, most depictions of Harry and Albus in harrydore are respectful to both men and try to be as accurate and in-depth as possible. While, you know, understandably sticking up the middle finger at canon for not letting them be together in any way, shape or form thanks to book 6. There are just not as many bash sessions-disguised-as-fanfics or blatant mischaracterizations of Harry or Albus in time travel!harrydore as there are of either man in alternate ships like gr*ndeld*re, h*nny, dr*rry, t*marry/h*rrym*rt, sn*rry, etc.

Albus and Harry change over time and their relationship changes, too, without dissolving. Harry goes from being a bright-eyed innocent with a sharp tongue to a fierce young man with a temper, and then again to a calmer, insightful young adult with a deeper understanding of the world. Albus goes from a cheerful-but-distant headmaster to a more compassionate, hands-on mentor. And although they fight sometimes, although they don’t always make the right decisions for one another or themselves, both wordlessly resolve to keep working on their relationship. The two of them have had significant disagreements (about Snape, Voldemort, and the prophecy among other things) but have never thrown in the towel. The only reason it ‘ends’ is because Dumbledore passes away and unwittingly leaves Harry alone.

Some might argue that Harry gives a lot in harrydore and Albus takes. I would counter-argue that the giving and taking is almost even between them. Albus sacrifices just as much and more than he does with gr*ndeld*re: his time, his family, his reputation, and his life; but with harrydore he actually gets something back. Harry’s devotion is notable in the series for not being blind hero-worship, but rather a deep appreciation of Albus Dumbledore as a human who makes mistakes but has good intentions. Harry consistently gives Albus tangible (information, the Sword of Gryffindor, random Horcruxes) and intangible (trust, support, faith) things in return for the constant risks Albus takes to keep him safe behind the scenes.

Finally, Harry as-an-adult is to me personally a golden opportunity for Albus, who constantly talks about the value and importance of love, to experience it for himself. We do get some of this in canon through their platonic relationship, but romantically Harry has a lot of traits that a post-Ariana, post-Gellert Albus would appreciate and find compelling. Harry’s very straightforward and says what he means; he may not be a genius or a prodigy, but he’s pretty smart and powerful in his own right; and he values his bonds with others, and will do anything for the people he loves and/or considers family. A wounded Albus who lost his family and the love of his life would be pretty well-served by someone who would remain faithful to him and would not leave his side, no matter what.

In summation: time travel!harrydore is peak in both fandom and meta and it easily clears. gr*ndeld*re could never

[darkfromday]

about Obscurials and pre-Hogwarts Harry

this is your daily reminder that Harry could never have been an Obscurial, not because That Woman hadn’t created/retconned in the idea yet, but because of the actual definition, which is “a child who knows about their magic and tries to suppress it”.

Ariana Dumbledore knew she was a witch from the time she was able to know things. She was actively and knowingly doing magic when she was attacked, and afterward she refused to use her gift and it turned inward.

Harry Potter knew that strange things happened around him, but he did not know that it was magic, because he didn’t think magic was even real. One of the first things he says to Hagrid after The Reveal is something along the lines of “this has to be a mistake, I can’t be a wizard”. He also wasn’t trying to “suppress” any of the things happening to him, because he didn’t know he was the one causing them to happen.

so yeah, there’s no viable “Dumbledore knew Harry could have become an Obscurial when he left him with the Dursleys and still left him there” argument, because Dumbledore didn’t know the Dursleys weren’t going to tell Harry about his magic or even treat him like a member of the family (see: my 12-hour long post about this shit last month, along with The Books).

yet another big argument Dumbledore-bashers have that falls apart when you actually adhere to the story lol

[reelaround-deactivated05312024]

Dumbledore is like those elves from LotR that have already seen fucked up shit before Lord of the Rings so to them Sauron is kinda meh…like ok I gotta go on the boat but whatever….Voldemort comes back to life and the first name he drops after molesting a teenager is Dumbledore’s because Dumbledore rented a whole penthouse in his mind… while Dumbledore is in his bedroom thinking about Grindelwald… Voldemort is not his first enemy, not even his first Dark Lord….you’re not the love and hate of mommy dearest’s life…that happened in her sweet youth….he’s just an afterthought, an aftertaste, a consolation prize…

the i gotta go on the boat but whatever mindset is psychologically DESTROYING dark lords all over the world

[gellertalbus]

that -the lucky human being holding up the holy picture™- could be me. that SHOULD be me

[rmwb-fanfics]

HP Fanfic: Regretfully Uncaring Chapter 45: A Stone for the Second Brother

As I say in both A/N's, this was originally one chapter, but way too much happened, so it was split into two.

I got to make fun of the Hinny kiss in the HBP movie, so I'm satisfied.

Preview:

Daphne licked her lips and nodded. "I see my past and my present… in a sea of memories that I do not know yet…. I am certain that I've lived them,"

Theo's expression remained concerned. He didn't pity her, he was listening.

"I see places that cannot exist. I feel as though I am awake, yet I know in my heart that I am dreaming. I am conscious of it," finally she looked back up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. Her voice wavered as she asked, "Do you think I've gone mad?"

Tears slide down her cheeks, and Theo reached up and caressed her face between his hands. "I like to think we're all a bit mad, sometimes," he whispered soothingly. "In the dark and in the unknown, we can be nothing but insane. We are outsiders there,"

Read it here: FFN | AO3