chilledcitrus

[chilledcitrus]

Harry doesn't think Draco is handsome

... and yet, his eyes keep finding him across the room.

I’ve noticed that some people like to bring up the characters Harry actually describes as beautiful or attractive — almost like it’s some kind of argument against Drarry. Like, "See? He never says Draco is good-looking, so case closed."

But there are a few big problems with that logic.

First. You’re basically saying Harry likes Ginny because she’s pretty.

Yeah, yeah,  I know. “He likes her for other reasons too!”

Sure. But those other reasons are vague at best… and honestly, those same traits apply to all the other Weasleys siblings.

So what makes Ginny “the one”? It kind of feels, to ME, like she just got lucky, lucky to be a Weasley-GIRL and lucky to conveniently turn out to be as attractive as Cho.

Second. The implicit idea that you can only fall in love with someone if you find them physically beautiful. When in fact, it’s love that makes someone beautiful in our eyes. And as for attraction, not everyone experiences attraction the same way. And sometimes, especially when feelings are confusing or complicated, that attraction doesn’t come through in obvious terms.

Third. Draco’s physical appearance — whether Harry found him handsome or not — does not erase the clear emotional pull or fascination Harry seemed to have toward him.

Maybe Draco isn’t as handsome as Cedric, Tom Riddle or young Sirius. But it’s remarkable how Draco is the only Slytherin classmate whose appearance Harry doesn’t describe using insulting terms.

Compare how Harry talks about other Slytherins:

Pansy’s pug face, Crabbe and Goyle as apes, Flint looked like a troll.

The only other Slytherin Harry gives objective, neutral, and non-offensive descriptions of is Zabini.

“a tall, dark-skinned boy with high cheekbones and long eyelashes.”

And everyone immediately assumes Zabini is handsome.

Instead, about Draco, what we do get are oddly detailed, almost poetic descriptions:

His sleek, platinum-blond hair catching the sunlight. His pale skin and pointed features. His light gray eyes, described as bright or flashing. The drawl in his voice, the way he moves, the way he talks...

These aren’t necessarily compliments. But they’re not insults either. These are not neutral observations. They’re intimate. Focused. Sensory.

They don’t scream “I hate this guy,” they whisper “I’m watching him. Closely. All the time.”

And that’s exactly what Harry does,  he notices Draco. Constantly. Even when there’s no plot reason to. Even when Draco isn’t talking to him. Even when he’s just there.

Over and over again throughout the books, we’re told that Harry could recognize “that blond head” anywhere, even in a crowd. Or that “that voice, that specific cadence” is unmistakable to him.

We don’t know if that’s true for anyone else. But it’s definitely true for Harry.

And meanwhile…

Harry can’t even recognize the scent he smells in the Amortentia — supposedly the potion that reveals your deepest desires — as being Ginny’s. When he later catches a whiff of the same scent around her, he doesn’t even make the connection.

So… What?!

We're supposed to interpret these scenes as "Harry likes Ginny, but he doesn't realize it yet," but it seems much more like he's oblivious to her and little details about her.

And in my opinion? That whole Amortentia moment felt less like Harry realizing he loves Ginny, and more like the narrative trying to convince us that he does.

(Personally, I don't think the third scent Harry smells in the Amortentia is specifically about Ginny — I see it more as a reference to the Burrow and the Weasley family in general. But that’s a discussion for another post.)

So maybe Harry doesn’t think Draco is traditionally handsome or attractive.

But the way he sees him, with that level of attention and vivid detail, says a lot more than just physical attraction.

It speaks to fascination. Obsession, even.

He’s not staring at Seamus’s hair in the sunlight. He’s not recognized Ron’s voice in a crowd.

He’s not even describing Ginny in that much visual detail or frequency.

But Draco? Draco gets all of it.

Maybe it’s not love, certainly not at that time. But it’s something. Something that could grow and be explored by Harry when he was older, after the war, when he and Draco could interact on new ground, without the prejudices that would alienate Harry. But Harry didn't get the chance to explore this, because JKR tied him to his very convenient and boring girlfriend.

Well...

To conclude, the fact that Harry never openly thinks of Draco as handsome or uses more flattering terms could very well be the result of unconscious — or even deliberate — denial. After all, he sees Draco as a rival, as someone he should dislike.

But his behavior, and the frequency of that behavior, tells a different story: it speaks of a deep fascination. One so intense that it can’t be explained away as mere rivalry.

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One of the biggest things to annoy me is how Harry has been proven to have a keen eye for shady shit.

He noticed Severus’ injured leg and put 2 and 2 together easily on why it was injured. Ron and Hermione didn’t notice that.

He knew Malfoy had joined the Death Eaters and that he was on some secret mission during school. Ron and Hermione insist he’s imagining things.

He knew that Luna hadn’t been in her bedroom in months based upon the amount of dust on her furniture. Again, Ron and Hermione didn’t notice shit.

Yet despite how often he’s shown to be fucking RIGHT when he says something shady is up, he gets gaslighted into believing he’s making shit up and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This is a repeated pattern and it annoys me so much!

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jkr never ever said anything bad about people of color, she only don't support trans activist movement, stop calling every little thing and person you don't like racist nazi facist, the left loves calling everything racist

This message is so funny. Aside from the goblin issue, I don't think I've mentioned anything about Rowling being racist?? But also like, she very much is racist. We all remember her naming the East Asian character Cho Chang and her attacking Imane Khelif, right??? We all remember that much at the very least????

[chilledcitrus]

What do you think about the framing surrounding Dumbledore’s awarding last minute points to Gryffindor after already announcing Slytherin as the Winner?

Some argue that it was justified because of Snape, it was to apologize to the trio for taking away so much points, and he didn’t have enough time to reward them points earlier because Harry was injured.

While others point out that Snape wasn’t the one who took the 150 points, The Trio + Hagrid really did commit a dangerous crime so why should they be given an apology when Draco wasn’t given one for being punished for doing the right thing, and Dumbledore did not to tell the Slytherins they won first.

Dumbledore gave the trio points for doing a good job getting through his obstacle course. And then gave Neville the points that put them over the top, in order to teach a lesson about different kinds of bravery etc. I'm not even sure Dumbledore's even aware that McGonagall took away all those points after the trio get caught wandering around at night doing dragon-related activities. He doesn't seem super locked in when it comes to that nitty-gritty day-to-day stuff.

The Doylist answer behind the question "Is it good that Dumbledore gave them all those points" is *hell yes,* Philosopher's Stone is a children's book, and the Slytherins are all meanies. We don't want the meanies to win! We want the good guys to win! And Dumbledore's this wacky "mad" guy who does chaotic unpredictable things, which makes him fun and relatable... but also gives him juuuusst enough edge to be interesting to a young reader. He's not a goody-two-shoes, and we like that. He's the sort of adult who's cool with breaking the rules, and letting Harry get into trouble.

The Watsonian answer is that Dumbledore seems to run Hogwarts as an independent fiefdom, and he does whatever the hell he wants... in a way that low-key freaks out both the ministry and Lucius Malfoy. He's not all that interested in a fair/good experience for the students, he's a light-coded dark lord who is using the cursed position to bump off people he doesn't like, hiring people because it's a convenient way to protect/control them, training up Harry to defeat Voldemort, and sort of take over the word without anyone noticing. Dumbledore wants Harry to be loyal to him, and wants Harry to see him as all-powerful. So of course he'll pull a stunt like that, even though it's massively unfair. (Basically, he gave the trio and only the trio an awesome extra credit project.) He's also really, really dramatic.

And I am SURE that after Dumbledore did all that with the points, Draco went home FUMING over Dumbledore's BULLSHIT, and Lucius was like "'he thinks he can get away with this? Merlin, this school really is going to the dogs. Don't worry Draco, I have a plan. He won't be able to do this to you at the end of next year, I can promise you that much..."

and then, of course, we see how Lucius' plan to get rid of Dumbledore actually goes.

(not great.)

[chilledcitrus]

[chilledcitrus]

I reread Harry Potter every six months. My most comfortable fandom.

[chilledcitrus]

Draco can’t bear it. He’s only aware of pushing himself up and over Harry when the startled green of his eyes comes into view. He’s never felt so desperate, so wretched.

Excerpt From I'll Find You Again (I Always Do) by @dodgerkedavra

Part (1/3)

[chilledcitrus]

“Snape’s Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we’ll be able to see if it’s true”

An In-Depth Examination of Snape as a Teacher (Part 1 - Books 1-4)

All right, I’m game. Let’s do this properly.

(McGonagall will get her own companion breakdown after this, and maybe Dumbledore too - but he definitely sees his job as “prepare Harry to fight Voldemort” first and “Be a good headmaster” like. Fourth or fifth? I’ve heard the argument that he only hires Lockhart (who he 100% knows is a fraud) so Harry can learn some abstract lesson about the perils of fame. RIP to the fifth years taking their OWLs that year. He also makes Ron a prefect based on vibes. The eighty-billion-points-to-Gryffindor thing is part of the “mad” Wacky Dumbledore persona, and is just been memed to death.)

But Snape vs McGonagall - that's an interesting question, and I'm very interested in how it breaks down.

Snape's Reputation

In book 1, Ron and the Twins think that Snape favors Slytherin - it's one of the first things we hear about him - and Hagrid thinks that Snape just hates everyone (but Harry doesn't quite buy it.) Quirrell's position is that Snape uniquely hates Harry:

“But Snape always seemed to hate me so much.” “Oh, he does (...) Heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn’t you know? They loathed each other.”

And Harry is inclined to agree.

At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he’d been wrong. Snape didn’t dislike Harry — he hated him. - PS

[The expression] was beyond anger: It was loathing. Harry knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Harry. - PoA

By Book 2, Harry agrees with Ron that Snape hates everyone except the Slytherins (but hates him The Most):

Harry also happened to be Snape’s least favorite student. Cruel, sarcastic, and disliked by everybody except the students from his own House (Slytherin). - CoS

Oliver Wood also seems to agree:

"Snape’s refereeing this time, and he’ll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!" - PS

“We’ve just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn’t got an excuse to pick on us.” - PS

"Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much.” - PS

We DO know that Snape likes to spam-book the Quidditch pitch to make it harder for Wood to schedule practice, and overwrite already scheduled practices with his teacher's authority. So it makes sense why Wood particularly wouldn't like him.

But that's the question isn't it: what do we see Snape actually DO?

Class #1 - "Little foolish wand-waving here"

Snape asks Harry three trivia questions he doesn't know the answers to. Harry's embarrassed, Draco thinks it's hilarious. Harry hasn't done anything to Snape at this point, but Snape has latched on to his fame and decided he needs to be... taken down a peg. Harry is "our new celebrity" and "Fame clearly isn’t everything.” Snape also doesn't call on Hermione - who hasn't had enough time to earn her know-it-all, why-don't-you-let-one-of-the-other-students-try reputation yet. So... the purpose of this little exchange isn't to move the class along, it is to embarrass Harry.

“Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?” Harry (...) had looked through his books at the Dursleys’, but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

I'm on Harry's side here. Snape's being unreasonable. This is also the first point where Harry bites back:

“I think Hermione does [know], though, why don’t you try her?” A few people laughed (...) Snape, however, was not pleased.

This also loses Harry his first point, and... it's not over nothing.

"a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter.”

Class continues, and Snape goes around "criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like," even "telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs." Which is interesting: "almost everyone" probably includes some Slytherins, so so far Snape's bias doesn't seem to be house-centric: He dislikes Harry, and likes Malfoy

(In later books we learn that he is a friend of the the Malfoy family, and knows Draco outside of school. But in Books 1-4, the implication is more that he likes Draco because Draco is a suck-up.)

“Sir,” said Malfoy loudly. “Sir, why don’t you apply for the headmaster’s job?” “Now, now, Malfoy,” said Snape, though he couldn’t suppress a thin-lipped smile. (...) “I expect you’d have Father’s vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job — I’ll tell Father you’re the best teacher here, sir —” Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon - CoA

Then Neville manages to melt Seamus' cauldron, and Snape responds...okay.

“Idiot boy!” snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. “I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?” Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. “Take him up to the hospital wing,” Snape spat at Seamus.

So... he's clearly competent. He gets rid of the dangerous potion easily, knows exactly what Neville did wrong, and sends him off to the hospital wing. However... he's also insulting his students, which isn't great. And like, this is not a teachable moment. Neville's in pain, he's not paying attention. The time to correct his potion making would have been earlier, when you could have headed off the mistake. Or later, once he's physically in decent shape again and can like, listen.

Then Snape decides this is all Harry's fault. Somehow.

He rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. “You — Potter — why didn’t you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he’d make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That’s another point you’ve lost for Gryffindor.”

Snape. Snape. You're projecting. You have this little James jr. child-star version of Harry in your head that just isn't real. You've already established that Harry knows nothing about potions.

Also like - yes. Harry's fame absolutely gets him special treatment (in Book 3 especially, it seems to be why the Aunt Marge thing is completely covered up.) Snape picks up on this, and in his head is maybe trying to correct the imbalance?

“Ah, well, Snape . . . Harry Potter, you know . . . we’ve all got a bit of a blind spot where he’s concerned.” [said Fudge] “And yet — is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student." - PoA

But I think we've established that he absolutely does not treat him just like any other student.

STUDENTS INSULTED: 2

"Idiot boy" (Neville)

"Fame clearly isn't everything" (Harry)

POINTS TAKEN: - 2

Disciplinary Action #1 - Confiscating Harry's library book

This starts a recurring pattern: Harry and friends are doing something they're not supposed to do... so Snape picks up on a guilty vibe... and just finds some random way to punish them. Which Harry thinks is unfair.

The trio are in the courtyard using Hermione's portable flames to stay warm, something they don't think is technically allowed:

Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape’s eye. He limped over. He hadn’t seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway. “What’s that you’ve got there, Potter?” It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him. “Library books are not to be taken outside the school,” said Snape. “Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor.” “He’s just made that rule up,” Harry muttered angrily. - PS

I think I believe Harry. Hermione will go out and read down by the lake and no one cares, and even if this is a rule - this is a 'go back inside' moment, not a 'confiscate the book' moment. Harry specifically goes to the staff room to ask for it back, because "Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn’t refuse if there were other teachers listening."

POINTS TAKEN: - 5 (TOTAL - 7)

Disciplinary Action #2 - Ron + Draco Fight

The first instance of the Draco Malfoy Special: Provoke someone else into throwing the first punch as a way to get them in trouble.

“WEASLEY!” Ron let go of the front of Malfoy’s robes. “He was provoked, Professor Snape,” said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. “Malfoy was insultin’ his family.” “Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid,” said Snape silkily. “Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn’t more.

Works like a charm. And Snape (as we see) is very happy to turn a blind eye to Draco's antics.

POINTS TAKEN: - 5 (TOTAL - 12)

Disciplinary Action #3 - Quidditch Fouls

Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.

Fair.

Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.

Possibly an instance of Snape being biased against Gryffindor in general... or else Harry not paying close enough attention.

Disciplinary Action #4 - The Flying Car

Snape generally goes to expulsion as a threat, even though if you take the series as a whole there's no way Dumbledore is ever letting that happen.

"Be warned, Potter — any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled." - PS “Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power.” - CoS

But this is still the first time Harry is in real trouble. I do think he gets off kind of easy (detentions and letters home - Harry talks McGonagall out of taking away points.) But McGonagall and Dumbledore are not happy.

If Snape had gone to fetch Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, they were hardly any better off. She might be fairer than Snape, but she was still extremely strict.

There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happier than ever, opened it. There stood the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. There was a long silence. Then Dumbledore said, “Please explain why you did this.” It would have been better if he had shouted. Harry hated the disappointment in his voice. 

Disciplinary Action #5 - Mrs. Norris' petrification

This is actually a really interesting little interaction because like... everyone involved is half-right.

“I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful,” [Snape] said.

Absolutely correct. Harry is hiding the fact that he found Mrs. Norris because he was following the basilisk's voice.

“It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest.” “Really, Severus,” said Professor McGonagall sharply, “I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn’t hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong.”

McGonagall is also right - Harry hasn't done anything wrong - and even if he had, taking him off the quidditch team is an extreme punishment that won't even have the desired effect. When Umbridge tries this exact thing, it just makes Harry's behavior worse.

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel as though he were being X-rayed. “Innocent until proven guilty, Severus,” he said firmly.

Dumbledore absolutely knows more than he's saying. But, he's going to let Harry come to him on his own terms ("Is there anything you wish to tell me, Harry?") - otherwise Harry is never going to trust him, and that is the most important consideration here. So... Severus gets low-key gaslit.

“Midnight,” said Harry. “We’d better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else.”

The first time that the text *explicitly* gives us Unreliable Narrator Harry. We know that Snape didn't try to frame him... but that's still how Harry thinks about it.

Class #2 - Hermione Steals Ingredients  

During this class, Snape does seem to be coming for the Gryffindors in general, not just Harry:

Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors’ work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively.

We also get a causal "Snape turned and walked off to bully Neville." And he does continue let Malfoy get away with stuff - Malfoy is of course trying to start something to get Harry and Ron in trouble, like he does.

Draco Malfoy, who was Snape’s favorite student, kept flicking puffer-fish eyes at Ron and Harry, who knew that if they retaliated they would get detention faster than you could say “Unfair.”

Harry throws a firework into Goyle's cauldron to create a distraction for Hermione. Snape handles the situation honestly pretty well:

Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened.  “Silence! SILENCE!” Snape roared. “Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught — when I find out who did this —” “If I ever find out who threw this,” Snape whispered, “I shall make sure that person is expelled.”

He doesn't come directly for Harry, which is actually a little surprising. But this class (and this book) is more about the Slytherin/Gryffindor divide, so I guess that does make sense.

Class #3 - The Dueling Club

Snape showed up to cause problems on purpose. He's pairing up Harry and Draco because, it would be funny. The Slytherins are cheering him on during his one-on-one with Lockhart. We get one more snipe at "the famous Harry Potter." (again, fixated on that whole 'fame' thing.) And then he's able slide one more insult at Neville.

STUDENTS INSULTED - 1 (TOTAL - 3)

“Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We’ll be sending what’s left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox.”

Class #4 - Malfoy's "Broken" Arm + "Poisoning" Trevor

Malfoy staggers in late because of his "injury," and doesn't get in trouble.

Harry and Ron scowled at each other; Snape wouldn’t have said “settle down” if they’d walked in late, he’d have given them detention.

They're basically correct about this. Snape never gives out detention, but over the course of the series Harry will lose 70 points for being "late."

Then Snape has Ron cut up Malfoy's roots for him, trade roots when he does a bad job, and make Harry skin his shrivelfig.

Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape’s classes; Snape was head of Slytherin House, and generally favored his own students above all others.

But it's really Neville who is having a bad time in class today.

Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse.

And I really don't blame him:

"Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn’t you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn’t I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?” Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

Making a student cry is... not great. And I don't think we ever get a reason for why Snape seems to hate Neville so much in particular. A little later on we're told "he was bullying Neville worse than ever" and when Snape's leaving the staff room before the Boggart lesson he's says - “Possibly no one’s warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult.”

“Please, sir,” said Hermione, “please, I could help Neville put it right —” “I don’t remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger,” said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. “Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly.” Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear. (...) "If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don’t doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned.”

Probably one of Snape's cruelest moments - especially the bit where he's forcing Neville to poison his pet. It's super plausible that he was always planning to save Trevor (he does have antidote in his robes). But Neville doesn't know that. And it's like... does Snape think this is motivating? Because it doesn't work, Hermione has to bail out Neville, and then gets punished for it.

Five points from Gryffindor,” said Snape, which wiped the smiles from every face. “I told you not to help him, Miss Granger.

STUDENTS INSULTED - 2 (TOTAL - 6 )

"thick skull" (Neville)

"I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult" (Neville)

CRYING STUDENTS - 1

(Neville)

POINTS TAKEN: - 5 (TOTAL - 17)

Class #5 - Subbing Defense Against the Dark Arts

Harry starts off by losing points for being late, and I guess nosy? (or conscientious.)

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we’ll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down.” “What’s wrong with him?” Snape’s black eyes glittered. “Nothing life-threatening,” he said, looking as though he wished it were. “Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty.”

Then we learn that Lupin keeps bad class records. Which is honestly ... in character, and doesn't have anything to do with Slytherin/Gryffindor bias. I'm just throwing it in because it IS really annoying when other teachers don't leave you good sub notes.

Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far —” “Please, sir, we’ve done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows,” said Hermione quickly, “and we’re just about to start —” “Be quiet,” said Snape coldly. “I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin’s lack of organization.”

Then... Snape makes another student cry:

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger,” said Snape coolly. “Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all.” Hermione went very red, put down her hand, and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears.  “You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don’t want to be told?” The class knew instantly [Ron] had gone too far. Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and the room held its breath. “Detention, Weasley,” Snape said silkily, his face very close to Ron’s.

And Ron ends up in detention.

STUDENTS INSULTED - 2 (TOTAL - 6 )

"insufferable know-it-all." (Hermione)

CRYING STUDENTS - 1 (TOTAL - 2)

(Hermione)

DETENTIONS GIVEN: - 1

(Ron)

POINTS TAKEN: - 20 (TOTAL - 37)

Class #6 - Malfoy at it Again

Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.

That plausible deniability is cracking a little, Snape. Dementor impressions?

POINTS TAKEN: - 50 (TOTAL - 87)

Disciplinary Action #6 - Post-Hogsmeade Check-In

Malfoy tells Snape that Harry snuck into Hogsmeade - which he absolutely did do. Snape starts off pretty reasonable and then goes... off script...

“Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black."

Like this is the same point Lupin will make (more effectively) later:

"I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them — gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks.” He walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had at any point in Snape’s office. “It’s my fault,” said Ron abruptly. “I persuaded you to go. Lupin’s right, it was stupid, we shouldn’t’ve done it —”

BUT Snape just starts spiraling about fame and James:

"But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences.” “How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter (...) He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers . . . The resemblance between you is uncanny.” “Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen —”

Until Harry snaps at him, and Snape calls in... Lupin. I honestly have no idea why he calls in Lupin. He certainly doesn't believe "the dark arts are your area of expertise." It does lead to a very funny showdown over the map where Lupin knows he's "Moony," Snape knows he's "Moony," Lupin knows that Snape knows he's Moony... but isn't allowed to call him on it, so he just placidly lies his way through the interaction, and Snape gets nothing. Dumbledore actually hits him with a very similar sort of gaslighting at the end of the book:

“YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER!” shrieked Snape. “HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT —” “That will do, Severus,” said Dumbledore quietly. “Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?” “Of course not!” said Madam Pomfrey, bristling (...) “Well, there you have it, Severus,” said Dumbledore calmly.

STUDENTS INSULTED - 2 (TOTAL - 8 )

"exceedingly arrogant" (Harry)

"[thought he was] a cut above the rest of us" (Harry)

Class #7 - Neville Melts Another Cauldron

The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads.

I do think the fact that Neville has a pet toad adds another level of meanness to this detention. Snape's detentions tend to be both sensorially and psychologically unpleasant. He has Ron scrub bedpans, he has Harry copy the files Filtch keeps about the Marauder's rulebreaking, at one point he schedules detention over quidditch practice on purpose, and has Harry pick out dead flobberworms without using gloves.

DETENTIONS GIVEN: - 1 (TOTAL - 2)

Class #8 - Hermione's Teeth Incident

Double Potions was always a horrible experience, but these days it was nothing short of torture. Being shut in a dungeon for an hour and a half with Snape and the Slytherins, all of whom seemed determined to punish Harry as much as possible for daring to become school champion, was about the most unpleasant thing Harry could imagine.

Harry is correct about Snape blaming him for being Champion. Snape absolutely thinks he puts his own name in the Goblet ("Don’t go blaming Dumbledore for Potter’s determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here —”)

He shows up, and Malfoy's outdone himself with the SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY/POTTER STINKS badges. (Got to maintain that plausible deniability...) Then Malfoy provokes Harry - their spells meet in the middle and ricochet. Harry's boil charm hits Goyle, and Draco's teeth-growing charm hits Hermione.

Goyle bellowed and put his hands to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up — Hermione, whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth. “Hermione!” Ron had hurried forward to see what was wrong with her; Harry turned and saw Ron dragging Hermione’s hand away from her face. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Hermione’s front teeth — already larger than average — were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, toward her chin — panic-stricken, she felt them and let out a terrified cry. “And what is all this noise about?” said a soft, deadly voice.

Snape gets Malfoy to tell him what happened, and addresses him in a way that seems unusually harsh -

Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, “Explain.” “Potter attacked me, sir —” “We attacked each other at the same time!” Harry shouted. “— and he hit Goyle — look —”

Which kind of suggests that Snape (who is very capable when it comes to magical accidents) is about to sort this out properly.

Snape examined Goyle (...) “Hospital wing, Goyle,” Snape said calmly. “Malfoy got Hermione!” Ron said. “Look!” He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth — she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. (...) Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, “I see no difference.” Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight.

Presumably "I see no difference" is Snape making comment about the fact that Hermione has large teeth, normally. Which... isn't good. She's clearly panicking and crying, and he dealt with Goyle appropriately (and Neville, when he was also hit with splashes of boil-potion), so why not Hermione? Not one of Snape's best moments.

At which point, Harry and Ron start swearing at him.

“Let’s see,” he said, in his silkiest voice. “Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley.

STUDENTS INSULTED - 1 (TOTAL - 9 )

"I see no difference" (Hermione)

CRYING STUDENTS - 1 (TOTAL - 3)

DETENTIONS GIVEN: - 2 (TOTAL - 4)

POINTS TAKEN: - 50 (TOTAL - 137)

Disciplinary Action #7 - Yule Ball Chaperone

Snape had his wand out and was blasting rosebushes apart, his expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them. “Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!” Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. “And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!”

POINTS TAKEN: - 10, -10

Class #9 - Rita Skeeter's Interview

Snape starts off reasonable, by asking the Trio not to talk about Rita Skeeter in class:

“Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger,” said an icy voice right behind them, and all three of them jumped, “I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor.”

But then he finds the magazine, and starts reading "Harry Potter's Secret Heartache" aloud. This situation is just really well set up to ping all of the baggage Snape has around Harry being "famous." Unfortunately, once again it seems to be Hermione who is caught in the crossfire.

“You might be laboring under the delusion that the entire Wizarding world is impressed with you,” Snape went on, so quietly that no one else could hear him (...) “but I don’t care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me, Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him.” “So I give you fair warning, Potter,” Snape continued in a softer and more dangerous voice, “pint-sized celebrity or not — if I catch you breaking into my office one more time —”

Which (this time) Harry did not actually do. And then the class ends with Snape threatening him with Veritaserum.

So, final tally:

STUDENTS INSULTED: 2 (TOTAL - 11 )

"nasty little boy" (Harry)

"considers rules to be beneath him." (Harry)

CRYING STUDENTS: TOTAL - 3)

DETENTIONS GIVEN: TOTAL - 4)

POINTS TAKEN: - 10, -10, -10 (TOTAL - 147)

As things stand (stay tuned for part 2) - Snape has never punished a Slytherin, has never scolded or criticized a Slytherin - unless you considered Slytherins to be included in the single sentence "criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy." He also lets them get away with behavior like talking and laughing in class, being late, and general messing around that he does not tolerate from Gryffindors. So, as it stands I do have to conclude that yes, he does favor them.

I was surprised with how often this preoccupation with Harry being famous comes up, and how it's Harry, Hermione and Neville that get the bulk of his attention during class. (Ron manages to stay out of it - except when he's defending Hermione, or his family.) Draco's tactics are also EXTREMELY consistent, and he and Snape (Teacher and Teacher's Pet) seem to low-key reinforce/enable each other's bad behavior.

I think Snape might be a little fairer in this regard during books 5-7, but we will see.

[chilledcitrus]

Rather than labeling Lucius and Narcissa as either good or bad parents, I think it’s more accurate to see them as loving parents whose flaws clearly impacted and shaped Draco as he grew up. And I think it's really interesting to explore how much the war affected their relationship with him because there’s so much to wonder about.

Like, what does it mean to love your child but still pass down toxic beliefs? How do Lucius and Narcissa feel knowing that those beliefs are what put their child in danger? What does it feel like when what they thought was best for their son ended up placing him in such a difficult position? And what does it look like for Draco to reexamine his love for his parents after experiencing something traumatic because of those beliefs? Would he still love them unconditionally or would he feel some kind of resentment?

I think looking at it this way gives the Malfoys more nuance and depth and it allows them to be seen as good parents without ignoring the negative influence they had on Draco. But at the same time, it avoids reducing their layered and complex relationship to something overly simplistic like portraying Lucius and Narcissa as purely abusive or neglectful just to make them look bad.

[chilledcitrus]

“That Draco Malfoy character,” said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs, “he seems very pleased about all this, doesn’t he? D’you know, I think he might be Slytherin’s heir.” “That’s clever of you,” said Ron (...) “Do you think it’s Malfoy, Harry?” Ernie asked. “No,” said Harry, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared. A second later, Harry spotted something. (...) Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears. “Ouch! What’re you —” Harry pointed out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun. “Oh, yeah,” said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. “But we can’t follow them now —” Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.

From the perspective of Ernie and Hannah (who don't know anything about interrogating Draco with the Polyjuice potion, or about the spiders...)

Ernie makes a VERY REASONABLE observation that Draco might be behind it all.

Ron seems to agree with him.

Harry shuts Ernie RIGHT the hell down - then hits Ron with his pruning sheers.

Ron seems upset before cryptically saying, "we can't follow them now."

What does Ernie (the gossip) THINK is happening?? A possibility -

Harry has kind of a thing for Draco Malfoy - enough to be sort of protective of him, or at LEAST to be all 'no one gets to give him a hard time but me.' (this surprisingly INCLUDES Ron)

Ron isn't happy about that - probably just hates Draco after the slug incident. (Understandable.)

Ron and Harry are planning to "follow" someone? Who could that be possibly apart from Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, the people who they were JUST talking about?

Conclusion: Harry is stalking Malfoy for Reasons (and has roped in Ron to help)

[chilledcitrus]

It’s so interesting how everybody - from Narcissa to Snape to Dumbledore to even Voldemort himself - is convinced that Draco CAN’T kill Dumbledore. Yet they’re all wrong; Draco disarms and corners Dumbledore successfully, and if he were a true Death Eater at heart, that would’ve been Dumbledore’s demise. But the truth is that Draco WON’T kill him. He stalls for as long as possible, and then ultimately starts to lower his wand - even though he knows that literally everything dear to him is at stake if he doesn’t do this. Even Draco’s own mother never suspects that he’ll have any personal qualms about killing; her fear is rooted in his lack of skill/experience and her knowledge of Dumbledore’s power. However, in the end, Draco fails to complete his mission because of a strength, not a weakness.

[chilledcitrus]

I think part of the problem at the root of the “straight vs gay” reads of various HP characters (particularly Lupin, though certainly also true for someone like Bill Weasley who was a very popular slashfic staple post-OotP and pre-HBP) is that Joanne is just… utterly terrified to write her male characters expressing any kind of desire for women beyond chaste courtly love hero-worship or the absolute vaguest allusions to sexual arousal

the first is seen especially in Snape’s love for Lily, which Joanne definitely sees as a central brilliant redeeming factor of his personality that changes everything and makes him noble. He is, in many senses, the ultimate Safe Man - below the woman socially, physically less attractive and charismatic than she is, bad at traditional masculine signifiers of gender like sports, ostracized from manhood and picked on/dismissed by other men, totally devoted to the object of his affection, and totally incapable of ever materially impacting her life or touching her or changing her.

(Additionally, I think a significant factor in Snape’s continued complexity is that these character traits - particularly the obsession with one specific Nerd Girl Who Likes Nerd Things - have a remarkably different context in 2025 than they did in 2007. We’ve had over a decade of incel movements and fashy alt-right introverted nerds who were radicalized into violence and disgusting misogyny and racism as a direct result of being unlucky in love in exactly the ways Snape is unlucky in love, and it’s hard for me to blame readers who come away upset with him because real life has shown us way more about how these kinds of men tend to think and act and what they’re motivated by than we had when DH was published. I’m also sympathetic to Snape fans whose interpretations of the character are purposefully separate from IRL context, people who’ve felt consistently the same way about him since publication - it’s really hard when massive cultural shifts forever change the way a character is going to be read, especially because you can’t un-ring that particular bell. But since you can’t un-ring it, I think any sympathetic analysis of Snape has to begin from the starting point that his critics are often speaking from places of personal experience with kinds of stochastic right-wing extremism that parallel what he was actually exposed to in canon. But that’s sort of its own post.)

The second is seen mostly in Harry and Ron and to a lesser extent in James - point of view or central supporting characters who express interest in girls Because That’s What Boys Do, or whose personalities include some element of desiring a girl for reasons that aren’t really explored or explained at all. Harry thinks Cho is pretty, and they kiss, but Harry at no point feels anything for Cho that could be described as sexual desire (though, as @wisteria-lodge points out in a recent post, Harry is probably intended to be read as having physical attraction toward Cho that motivates most of his desire to date her). Ron obviously lusts over Lavender, and to a lesser extent Fleur, when you read GoF and HBP through adult eyes, but we never see him talking about how he feels or what he sees, only that he looks and gapes like a Tex Avery cartoon character. Joanne positions this behavior from both Harry and Ron as immature, not only in terms of them having to earn access to Hermione and Ginny but also in GoF when Arthur teases the boys at the World Cup about being bewitched by the Veela. Worth pointing out that Arthur is in the happiest and most stable relationship we see in the entire series (excluding Bill/Fleur and Andromeda/Ted because we barely see them) and he’s married to a woman who’s described as not particularly attractive - the ideal man, then, can be read as someone who looks for an equal partner who isn’t a beauty queen. Beyond that, Molly is a force to be reckoned with, running her house and her family - Arthur often embodies the henpecked husband stereotypes. A good man is a safe man, and a safe man is one who is to some extent automatically submissive to his wife.

James is in an interesting place here, because his interest in girls and showing off for girls goes hand in hand with the Worst Memory, and therefore he becomes a worse person by becoming someone who’s obviously sexually interested and romantically interested in Lily. His flirting and bragging and brash pursuit of his romantic desires is contrasted with Snape’s quietly heroic love and adoration, and the latter is what Joanne ultimately uplifts as brave and noble and worth pedestalizing.

Remus and Tonks are in the same position - he actively avoids her, she must pursue him, and they only get together because she essentially begs him for it and argues him down. Vernon and Petunia appear to be relative equals, but Petunia still makes a number of decisions that dominate affairs on Privet Drive and Vernon lets her do what she likes and never expresses any desire for her in ways that Harry registers. We know nothing about Alice and Frank, or Lucius and Narcissa, or the Lestranges. And even as Merope is badly badly badly treated by the narrative, her power over Tom Sr. is the most important aspect of their relationship.

This shows a remarkable nervousness around male attention period, even in the abstract, even from “good” characters. She can’t write a man who’s good and heroic and also openly and frequently desires women. She seems kind of incapable of it. Harry’s infamous Chest Monster is an outgrowth of this - she writes his lust for Ginny and his interest in her like something he doesn’t understand, can’t understand, because she doesn’t understand it and (possibly) because her trauma from her domestic abuse prevents her from examining how she feels.

So we get people like Harry (nominally interested in women, is frequently documented staring at Draco or Sirius or Bill) or Lupin (interest in women only confirmed in an interview but never in the text, closest relationship is to a man, marries a queercoded shapeshifter who is a blood relative of that man after his traumatic death) or Bill (canonically GNC by Wizard standards to a degree that makes Molly uncomfortable, romances Fleur entirely off the page until they’re very seriously involved). We get Dumbledore’s queercoding (canon, per author) and Sirius’s queercoding (ambiguous). We get men who are deeply psychosexually fixated on another man to a point of utter devotion (Quirrell and BCJR on Voldemort) while their female counterpart (Bellatrix) is a canon sexual partner of the guy they’re all obsessed with who talks and behaves the same way.

And this really only becomes remarkable when you notice how it compares to other middle-grade and YA fiction.

Daine and Numair (Tamora Pierce’s The Immortals) are the central romantic couple in a series of books with HP’s target audience, and both of them are problematically horny for one another. Rachel Berenson and Tobias (K.A. Applegate’s Animorphs) have long passages of age-appropriate text describing their attraction and desire across multiple books, even though their romance is less important to the plot than the romances in HP. Talia and Dirk (Mercedes Lackey’s Queen’s Own) date and have sex with other people before getting together while both desiring each other, and their appearances as older adults in later books show they’re comfortable with physical intimacy and flirting. There’s more examples that I can think of, but the point stands - Rowling’s male characters are unusually terrified of being horny for members of the opposite sex, and so it’s not surprising that many fans look at that and go “oh so you’re queer and closeted”.

[chilledcitrus]

sucre & thé It’s the year 2018.  You look down at your hands and remember that Draco Malfoy uses ‘ 僕 ‘ in the JPN version of the books.  Have a crisis.  Harry Potter ships never leave you.   (This is for @mojgon who’s enjoying hopefully what is a magical week here in New York!!!  Thank you again for the cute little backpack figures at Anime Boston!!!)  

[chilledcitrus]

Auror Harry James Potter

"He's like fire. It beckons you with its shine, but if you get too close, you will get burned."

(Redrew my old art!🔥🔥🔥)👇

[chilledcitrus]

i like thinking abt asian harry potter

[chilledcitrus]

[chilledcitrus]

“Maybe home isn’t a place. Maybe it’s a person.”