#DaDa Mastery

[aeithalian]

brought to you by walker scobell's correct opinions

okay so this is super unhinged but I've held this opinion for a long time and I was reminded of it when Walker Scobell adressed it in an interview and I need to yell it from the rooftops - Percy Jackson would absolutely kick ass in a fight against Harry Potter. And I say this as a lifelong fan of both series (who obviously knows which author is better).

But it's more nuanced than that. Because apparently I can't be normal about things.

Here's the thing: Percy and Harry both serve completely different purposes as the protagonists of their respective plots. Because Percy's special. Harry's not, at least in the ways that matter. Hence, Percy would absolutely kick ass.

Allow me to explain. We're in the great position here of both stories being set in the "main character has to go learn how to harness their power" archetype for both characters, (Percy at Camp Half-Blood and Harry at Hogwarts) so luckily, this also gives us a pretty good idea of how skilled they are in comparison to their peers.

Percy, over the span of the series, and even in the first book alone, excels above his peers. He's the child of the second most powerful god in the pantheon, he's given a prophecy and a quest almost immediately upon arriving at camp (a privilege other campers have to wait years for), and at the point we've reached in the canon books, is one of the most powerful demigods ever. Like, his power level is compared to that of a minor god, he's a respected leader, and he beat the god of war in single combat at age 12 based on (mostly) skill alone.

But Harry, in comparison to his peers? Painfully average in most regards. Every single life-threatening situation he was in throughout the entire series required some fluke of nature/magic for him to get out alive. As a baby? Only survived by some ancient magical loophole. Book 1? Use of aforementioned magical loophole. Book 2? Sure, he saved the day but he also almost died, but didn't because Dumbledore sent... a bird. Book 3? Harry's mastery of the Patronus charm is one of maybe three exceptions to this rule in the entire series. Books 4, 5, and 7? Magic loophole!!!! And let's be real - Dumbledore saved Harry's ass multiple times in the book 6 climax, but I'll let the bygones be bygones and not question Dumbledore's methods. My point being: Harry sucks at most things. But, you know, at least he's self-aware about it.

Now before anybody comes screaming to me, I know that Harry's not dumb as a rock, or anything. Yes, he's good at DADA, I am aware, thank you. But let's be real - if the aforementioned magical loophole didn't exist, Harry would not have survived a good 80% of his altercations in the series, considering the aforementioned magical loophole literally only works against one person. To be real, he also wouldn't be in those life-threatening altercations to begin with.

FURTHERMORE. They both fall into the "Chosen One" archetype, right? But here's the thing: Percy is powerful in his own right, and being the chosen one isn't what makes him powerful. Harry, on the other hand, is powerful because he's the chosen one, because of all the mysticism built around an arguably average person of middling talent. He's only special because of the whole "[Voldemort] will mark him as his equal" thing from the prophecy.

Even if you assume that an average demigod and an average wizard hold about the same power levels (which, honestly, I don't think you can say, but for the sake of the argument, that's what we're going to go with), the pure fact of the matter is that Percy is like a Dumbledore-level demigod, and Harry is a Michael Yew-level wizard. (Who is Michael Yew, you may ask? To which I say: exactly.)

Are you catching my drift? Percy kicks ass against Harry because he's more powerful. It's as simple as that.

But allow me to extrapolate further, because I fear that some may take this to mean that Harry is a bad protagonist. He's not, he just serves a different narrative purpose as a character. Imagine if you were to swap Percy and Harry into each others' stories:

Harry would probably die in the first PJO book. As an untrained wizard with at most, one year at Hogwarts under his belt, he'd probably die in the initial fight against the Minotaur. Done deal. Sure, you could take it a step further and assume that he does carry good problem-solving skills in moments of high stress, so maybe he could have made it out of that fight alive, but he's probably toast from that moment on. My main point is that Percy's skills that get him through his first quest are inherent. He doesn't necessarily have to practice to have heightened battle senses, water powers, and sensitivity to the Mist, all things that helped him survive. Harry simply does not have those things, and as a wizard of about the same age, doesn't have the skill set to match those powers with his own magical abilities. And by the end of the series, assuming Harry doesn't die immediately, the last book is one long, big battle, and Harry's one-on-one combat skills aren't necessarily bad, but if I have a hard time remembering how many times Harry was in a duel against a fully trained wizard and won in his own right, what makes you think he could beat ultra-powerful Titans like Percy did?

As for Percy - Put him in the climax moment of the first HP book against Quirrell. Harry survived that moment by using the aforementioned magical loophole, but Percy would have probably chopped Quirrell's head off within the first five minutes. No biggie. No moment in the first three books comes to mind as a situation that would have given Percy a ton of trouble at around the same age. And the fact that I think that Percy would definitely give Voldemort a run for his money in a one-on-one duel in the second half of the series should really say something.

Again, that's not to say that Harry's a bad protagonist. I think that their respective power levels serve their respective plots well! Imagine how boring the PJO series would be if Percy wasn't powerful enough to go head-to-head with Titans, or how boring the HP series would be if Harry had no problems beating Voldemort ever.

It's also interesting when you consider the implications of what being the Chosen One means in their respective universes. Percy knows he's the Chosen One, and he's actually more offended when Rachel suggests that he's not the hero of the prophecy, rather Luke is. Harry, on the other hand, has a hard time believing he's the Chosen One, because he knows just how generally unremarkable he is aside from the fact that he keeps surviving against all odds. Percy is the typical Chosen One, Harry is not.

And that gets even more interesting when you consider how they interact with their peers once their "Chosen One status" becomes common knowledge. Percy, who spends most of his time on quests, doesn't interact with his peers much on-page (meaning we don't see him go through everyday life like we see in the HP series), but that aside, he's generally well-respected. People are in awe of him. People know who he is, and have decided that he is deserving of his claims to fame and power. Harry, on the other hand, is generally not respected to the same degree, and people have a hard time believing him when he tells them about his close calls with death. Adults, specifically, find his stories unbelievable, because to them, he's untrained and not significantly powerful. And you know what? They're completely right.

I tend to also see that manifest a lot in their personalities. Percy, as the Chosen One, tends to struggle a lot with the fact that there are a lot of expectations placed upon him. People come to him for help all the time, and the gods tend to take him for granted, so he ends up with this very 'leave me alone let me live my life in peace' kind of thing going on. Harry, on the other hand, struggles in the different way of, as I said before, never being believed, and while he also struggles a lot with expectations, has this issue that he doesn't, nor will he ever, live up to them because that's not who he is (insert rant here about why Harry becoming an Auror was so out of character, and why he should have become the DADA professor instead, kindly fu JKR). Harry isn't some overpowered godling, he's just some random kid, placed well enough in society that Voldemort took an unhealthy interest in him.

I'm getting off track here. But my point stands: while both Percy and Harry serve the Chosen One protagonist archetype, they are inherently different characters and serve different purposes. Harry is atypical, and doesn't succeed in his own rights as much as you'd predict from a YA protagonist, regardless of the fact that he's got an über-powerful failsafe button. Percy, on the other hand, is a much more cliche example of a main character, being overpowered and wildly successful with barebones training.

Now, this is not me saying that PJO is a cliche YA story. I would never say that, because Rick Riordan is a masterful writer who still incorporates Percy's struggles as a person into a world where he's considered extremely powerful (meaning he's not a Mary Sue). That, and the fact that Percy isn't actually the 'hero of the prophecy', but the main villain is, is what should disprove that statement in a split second.

All is is basically saying that, while Percy would absolutely whoop ass against Harry, that does not mean that Harry is a bad character. Harry is, I think, the only kind of character that could fit well enough in the HP series for it to be considered a fulfilling story (insert rant here about how the final fight in movie 8 is stupid and Harry could have never held his own in a duel against Voldemort for that long, and completely missed the point of the finale of book 7 and it's been pissing me off for years).

Anyways, yeah, point made, come yell at me if you think I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm wrong.

More (mostly TOA) rants here if you want them.

[modern-harrypotter]

Young Adult Chronicles - 3

Part 3 of the Young Adult Chronicles! Meet the married kids - a whole bunch of “high school” sweethearts! Timeline is a little wobbly but it’s okay 👍

✨👇 Further Details Below 👇✨

Seamus and Dean got engaged a few months after the War finished with the Battle at Hogwarts, and got married on the one year. Harry had officiated, with plenty of press considering Harry shoved off the Ministry Gala to be there. Dean is an artist and taking commissions for muggle or magical services. Seamus is a house husband. They have three Irish Wolfhounds named Dionysus, Aphrodite and Hera.

Millicent and Daphne married in the same year, but they followed a more pure blood courtship, so their engagement and wedding was more of a private affair at the Ministry. They had a baby via surrogacy, with a male from the Bulstrode line and Daphne’s egg. Similar to In-Vitro Fertilization but with more wizard shit. Their daughter is Gabriella Jane Bulstrode-Greengrass, and she is only a few months old. Millicent and Daphne don’t work as they are busy with their baby. Millie is in the works of getting her Transfiguration mastery and Daphne works away at managing the estates they have. Both are heirs and are considered Lady Bulstrode-Greengrass. They often can be found attending various garden parties or outings with other ladies amongst the notable Purebloods who are more progressive.

Draco and Harry had a similar situation, with a small marriage at the Burrow, surrounded by their friends and family. Hermione officiated with Blaise and Ron as their best men (respectively). There was no press, no notice and no announcements. Harry was going to have a quiet wedding if it killed him. They never have announced it since then. Draco wants to announce it, if only so the letters flooding their mailbox would cease. The warding on it to deter the shameless witches and wizards begging for the more uncouth aspects of a relationship can only do so much. Draco would gladly take the Howlers over the sexual fantasies people kept sending his husband… A man can only take so much…

On a side note - Harry and Draco have considered adopting a child as well, but are in the mindset of waiting until Draco is home more instead of being elbows deep into his barrister work. Especially since Harry is teaching DADA at Hogwarts, they don’t have enough time to raise a child. They do have a cat named Lily (Orange Maine Coone) after Harry’s mother. They also help raise Teddy with Remus and Tonks as well!

Hermione and Pansy were recently married, and they had a very big wedding, celebrating the success of Hermione taking over the Ministry. Her political reforms have shaken the wizarding world of Britain but it’s been peaceful. They have no children and no plans on having children, but Hermione’s cat Crookshanks is still kicking!

Ginny and Luna aren’t married or engaged. They are solely just dating. They don’t have plans to marry, but they are young and there is no war forcing them to grow up any faster than they already have and are taking it slow and enjoying life.

Neville, Blaise and Ron are not married on paper, but they have taken each other’s last names which is the same for them. Neville and Blaise had a fight over who’s last name Ron would get, but eventually Ron pointed out that if Neville took Blaise’s and Blaise took his, then it was only fair that Ron would take Neville’s too make it even. He didn’t care for the Pureblooded aspect of what being a “Longbottom” or a “Zabini” would bring him, but rather he cared that each of them took another last name to tie them all together more seamlessly. No children but Ron took over for Madame Hooch as the flying instructor and he loves it! Neville is apprenticing under Professor Sprout for his Herbogy major and Blaise is happy being a kept man and maintaining their ever growing forest of plants and animals. They have two dogs, and a cat! (Named Felix (Yorkshire Terrier) Leigh (Teacup Poodle) and Harold (American Shorthaired Tabby (brindle coloring), in honor of the dearly departed Trevor. Neville insisted on the more human names because it’s a little funny.) Harold stats at Hogwarts with Neville and Ron in their shared office and room, while Felix and Leigh are at home with Blaise.

Lavender and Parvati are married! They live in France actually, but keep in touch with their Hogwarts alumni. Parvati is the Divination teacher now, after Trelawney retired after the War. Lavender keeps up their house and is neighbors with Fleur and Bill and their children! Lavender and Parvati have two children of their own - Twins named Nicholas and Calista. (Nick(ie) and Callie for short. They have a few aunts and uncles, like Uncle Ron, Blaise and Neville, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, Auntie Daphne and Millie, Aunt Hermione and Pansy, Uncle Harry and Draco, Uncle Theo and Mausi Padma. They were adopted into a magical family after their muggle parents gave them up after an incident of accidental magic almost set their house on fire. The French Ministry of Magic located and regimes the two magical children. The twins are 4 years old as of the “modern day”. Lavender and Parvati raise them to be bilingual in English and Hindi, but they are also learning French in primary school. They do know they are adopted but they love their mothers dearly!

Padma is living her best life learning Wandlore and getting her certifications in wand making. Ever since Ollivander told her that she had a knack for intuitions and the wand that chose her would be best suited for divinations- she spent most of her spare time studying Wands and how to make cores throughout her time at Hogwarts. She hated arithmancy as the tiring subject often caused her to derail from homework into the applications of her profession. She is set to open her own shop by the end of the year and allow Ollivander to retire from wands. He is insistent on helping her run her own shop though, primarily clerk and stockings.

Theodore has taken over the History of Magic classes. He has revitalized the curriculum to be more modern than 800 year old battles. When the First and Second Blood Wars arise, Headmistress McGonagall has school wide assembly with former students speaking about their experiences. Harry doesn’t speak much at these, instead has a class dedicated to answering questions from his students when Theodore covers the topic.

- Lots of headcanons but that’s the beauty of an AU.

[loveeari]

harry potter and his tumultous meetings with luck

Harry Potter was having a pretty peaceful life right now. Well, as peaceful as you can get being the man-who-conquers or the boy who lived twice or some other word misnomer people liked to refer to him by. 

He had gotten his mastery in Defense Against the Dark Arts and was  teaching  DADA in  Hogwarts. His friends were married and thriving and his love life was never better. He has been dating his girlfriend Ginny Weasley for 10 years. 

They started dating when he was 16 and she was 15 and have been going strong ever since then. Harry would like to say that they, “technically” broke up while Ginny liked to reiterate that Harry was being a prat so they were “technically” still together. Honestly, They both didn’t really care to count how long they were actually together.

Harry was currently 25  and Ginny 24 when Molly started hinting at the both of them getting married. At this point, everyone was joking saying Harry was going to take forever. 

Somehow Ron manned up and got engaged to Hermione for two years and got married the previous year. It was a lovely fall wedding and Harry was the best man while Ginny was Hermione's maid of honor. Harry did not want to admit that he shed a few tears at the wedding and had a lot of fun. 

Kids and marriage and the 4 story house with a picket white fence wasn’t really a goal that Ginny and Harry had set themselves out for. Ginny hadn’t really felt the need to wear a shiny rock to prove that she was Harry Potter’s wife as the Prophet liked to say. Ginny wasn’t in a rush to have the big lavish wedding that she knew her mother was going to throw and obsess over every single detail for her. 

She would know because she did the same thing when Bill got married, when Charlie got married, when Fred and Geroge got Married and when Ron got married. All their closest friends either were already engaged, married or had a baby on the way. 

Case in point Hermione and Ron, Bill and Fleur and so on. 

Of course Harry and Ginny had talked about engagement and marriage and babies and they simply weren’t in a rush like everyone expected them to be. Ginny loved her career as the chaser for the HolyHead Harpies and Harry loved his job as a teacher. He tried the auror thing out for a year and quit because he did not want to spend the rest of his life chasing villains and dark lords. 

He liked his life with Ginny but the next coming events were things he did not imagine happening. But he was harry potter so why was he surprised 

It all started like this 

1 year ago

It was a calm day and it was summer vacation with Harry being on break and Ginny not having her match until the next week. It was currently nightfall and Harry was sitting on the couch with the telly on but he was skimming through a book in his hand. 

Ginny was currently laying upside down on the couch humming to herself. It was peaceful in a way with just the two of them relaxing and weren’t in the busy hustle of life. Harry glanced at his girlfriend and smiled amused thinking, “Wonder what she thinking about”

Ginny was humming lazily while the clock above them ticked at a steady pace. Harry noticed that Ginny was about to say something but was simply just laying there thinking of words to say. Sometimes Harry saw a little of Luna Lovegood's mannerisms in her. Just floating through everything that’s going on and not minding everything that ever was. 

“Harry” Ginny asked with a smile on her face and amusement coloring her tone

“Yes, love?” Harry asked tentatively because you never  know with this one

“What if we just go married without telling anyone and then just walk in waiting for how long it’ll take for them to notice” Ginny asked grinning 

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle, “You have wicked ideas, I love it” 

Ginny asked, “So let’s get married today, not like it’s hard”

Harry looked at her shocked, “you mean right now” 

“Yeah why not, I mean we’re gonna get busy and then we won’t have any tiiiiimee” Ginny whined playfully 

Harry sighed exaggeratedly, “Fine let’s go get married”.

Ginny giggled and sat up grabbing Harry by the hadn who was asking confused, “Shouldn’t we change?” 

Ginny thought for a moment, “nahh” 

Harry fondly rolled his eyes and they went to get married. It was the easiest thing that Harry himself has ever done. He thought he would feel some sort of shaky nervousness but he didn’t. He was basically getting married to the love of his life. The person who stood with him at his worst and brought him to his best. 

It was a very simple ceremony and Harry could not ask for anything better.  Ginny changed her mind and put on a simple white dress while Harry tugged on a white button shirt and pants. They walked into the muggle courthouse smiling excitedly. 

In an hour Ginny Weasley was now known as Ginny Potter. 

Harry was confused as to why she took his name but Ginny smiled genially at him and stated, “There’s a million other Weasleys to carry on the name but not a single potter but yourself, I’d reckon I’d like to become the second”

Harry couldn’t help but beam at his girlfr- no wife 

Ginny never really saw the need for a wedding ring

“I’m already married to you why must a ring showcase that”

But she decided they had to know somehow 

When walking into the jewelry store the man working in upfront stated, “An engagement ring too polish yes?” 

Ginny took great relish in stating, “No we’re here to buy a wedding ring for both of us” 

Harry rolled his eyes while grinning amused looking at the shocked man.

The man cleared his throat and took out the rings from the protective case. Both Ginny and Harry peered down at the cases, humming and hawing dramatically. Ginny would mutter, “I like that color” 

While harry would respond back, “babe your mother would murder me if i got a ring like that for you” 

Ginny grinned, “It has a certain touch too it” 

Ginny giggled but put the ring down and perused some more with Harry giving sarcastic commentary along the way. It was quite funny to see the shopkeeper's face turn redder and redder with each passing insult to the rings. 

Harry of course didn’t mean any of it and Ginny found it hilarious either way 

They finally decided on a teal sapphire ring that had leaves circling it. Ginny picked the color because it reminded her of Harry's eyes just a little. After paying for the selected ring the shopkeeper looked relieved for the two of them to be leaving but ginny then stated, “let’s get a ring for you too” 

Harry gasped dramatically, “for meee?” 

Ginny fondly rolled her eyes, “yes for you” 

They spent another hour there carefully picking up each and every single one of the rings and finding the tiniest faults with it because their reservation for dinner wasn’t for another two hours. From there they were planning on going home and celebrating. And then tomorrow was a Weasly family dinner with everyone in attendance.

Ginny had bets running on who was going to see the rings or notice first. 

Harry had 10 galleons on Luna while Ginny had 10 on her hawkeyed mother. 

Finally, Harry also decided on a ring that had a teal band running through it. 

“I wanted it to match” Harry explained excitedly 

Ginny fondly rolled her eyes while controlling her giggles 

After finally paying and actually leaving to the shopkeeper's relief, Harry and Ginny went to dinner. It was a place they rarely went to and only for special occasions. To get a reservation you had to plan months in advance but Harry and Ginny were stickin rich and also a potter owned this restaurant or whatever and they were allowed to walk in whenever and eat for free. 

The sight it probably was to walk in with people dressed to the nines while ginny and harry had on comfortable clothing. Ginny was judging the clothing when being walked to their table. 

“That does not look comfortable” Ginny motioned over to the woman in a skin-tight dress. 

Harry hummed in agreement ad they finally sat down at their table.

Harry sighed, “I’m beat” 

Ginny agreed, “Who knew something as simple as getting rings and signing some papers was that stressful” 

Harry grinned, “I wouldn’t say stressful, it was fun actually” 

Ginny beamed at him, “It was wasn’t it” 

Harry then asked, “I think in the distant future maybe we should do the bonding ceremony” 

Ginny thoughtfully agreed, “I think so too, we also might get some heat off of us from just popping a ring on our fingers and calling it a wedding” 

Harry had the fake falsetto voice, “How dare you  get wedded without your family” 

Ginny couldn’t help but cackle out loud 

So they sat there eating there weight in fancy food and just sitting there talking and talking and more talking. 

Harry felt finally at peace with his wife sitting and eating dinner. Who knew something like that would cause him so much happiness? 

Harry was always stuck in some dangerously dangerous situation that almost killed him or his family and best friends.  

Ginny absentmindedly picked Harry’s hand and started playing with the fingers. (not in that way ya nasties) 

Harry couldn’t help but fondly smile at her in love. 

“Yeah this is the life I dreamed of sitting in that cupboard all those years ago” He thought to himself content. 

present-day 

Harry and Ginny were idly walking around as they got ready for the Weasley Sunday Dinner ™ . They haven’t seen everyone else for a week because they basically were offline from the world and went to America for their “fake but kinda real honeymoon” as Ginny would like to say. 

Harry tugged on another buttoned-up shirt which a light blue and Ginny matched him with a pretty blue dress that Luna gifted her. Harry forgoed the suit coat and tie because he didn’t see the need to be that fancy.  

Ginny was looking at her hair in annoyance because she just wasn’t in the mood to brush it. Harry walked and gently took the brush from her and started on a fishtail braid. How Harry knew how to braid? Well, when he was younger and Hermione sometimes needed help with her own hair, Harry would look up books in how to do different hairstyles. 

Harry actually kind of liked the hairstyles and slowly figured out a way to grow his own hair out. The Dursley despised it but Harry absolutely loved it. It also made his hair a little more manageable with the skeezy hair products that actually worked. 

After harry finished, Ginny turned him around and put a simple bun for him which harry didn’t mind at all. 

After everything was ready but took a deep breath and walked through the floor after calling out, “The Burrow” 

Harry still absolutely hated floo travel but dealt with it unfortunately. 

They saw the burrow in chaotic chaos as usual and half the kids running too them 

“Aunt Ginny” Victoire or “Vicky” came running towards them

“Uncle Harry” Teddy shouted excitedly with his hair turning a brighter teal 

All the others came as well with all of them laughing and giggling while catching up. All sat in the living room and Ginny made sure too show off her ring but no one seemed to pay attention. 

Both Harry and Ginny looked at each other with a bemused smile on their faces. 

Soon the room was awashed with chatter and gossip until the dinner bell rang. 

Then it was a stampede outside to get to the chairs and Harry and Ginny just calmly walked outside with their arms swinging. 

Ginny sat down next to her niece Vicky while Harry sat next to Teddy. 

Both were chattering both of ther ears after not seeing there favorite family members for a week. 

Everything was going normally until luna cut in serenly with, “Congratulations Harry and Ginny” 

Everyone looked at the couple confused 

Ron asked, “What do you mean congratulations luna” 

Luna looked surprised, “They didn’t tell you” 

Hermione looked frustrated, “Ask us what” 

Ginny cleared her throat and exclaimed proudly, “We got married” 

Molly Weasley shouted, “WHAT” 

Before she could start shouting luna stated, “No, I was saying congratulations on you baby ginny” 

Harry and Ginny looked at each other surprised 

“Huh no wonder you hated the smell of vanilla” Harry muttered 

“I honestly got sick of it” ginny replied back 

Molly looked like she was about to get a heart attack while everyone else was confused and happy. 

[wolfvnger]

✩ ATTENTION!! Anything NSFW please DNI, this place is strictly SFW and therefore minors are allowed to interact if they choose to do so. Crossover friendly!

You are welcome to interact with me or rp with my o through DM otherwise asks or reblogs are welcome, I won't keep them going to too long!

Aura’s IC: Text be pink 🩷

Last updated: 16 October 2024

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖋𝖎𝖑𝖊

[TW before you proceed, please read: There is trauma, implied child abuse and child labour, let me know if I missed any so please do read with caution! I do not wish to cause anyone distress or anything so please be warned!]

This is incompleted!

OK!! now that you've read that, introducing... ✩

Name: Mayari “Aura” Rogers-Barnes

Nickname(s): Aur, Aurie, Maya, Mimi, Mari, Ary

Species: Inhuman

Ethnicity/Race: Filipino

Aliases: Junior Agent Barnes, The Aura, Little Sparrow, Moonbeam, Moonflower, Moony, Ethereal (field name), Soul Seer, Lightbringer, Little Angel, A.B, Dragă (meaning ‘sweetheart’ in Romanian), Lună Mică (‘little moon’)

Age: 7 !!

Birthday: October 1st

Zodiac sign: Libra

Height: 3’7”

Hair colour: Brown

Eye colour: Brown, unless she’s using her powers then they glow a silvery white

Pronouns: she/her

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Unclarified

Accent: Filipino with a hint of American

Languages: English, Tagalog, a little Spanish, Romanian and Russian

Affiliations: S.H.I.E.L.D, The Avengers, The Young Avengers (currently), HYDRA (formally)

Family:

Unknown biological family

AU!Bucky “Daddy or Papa Winter” Barnes (adoptive father)

AU!Steve “Dada or Cap” Rogers (adoptive father)

AU!Phil “Papa Phil” Coulson (father figure), Melinda “Mama May” May (mother figure), Daisy Johnson (big sister figure), Lincoln Campbell, Leopold “Fitz” Fitz, Jemma “Jem-Jem” Simmons, Bobbi Morse, Alphonzo “Mack” Mackenzie, Lance Hunter, Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, Enoch, Deke “D” Shaw, Daniel “Danny” Sousa, Flint, Kora (friends/adoptive family)

Powers/Skills/Abilities:

Inhuman physiology

Aura manipulation - generation, detection, concealment

Aura attacks and projections

Healing aura: regenerative healing, empathic healing

Expert in hand to hand combat

Combatant: Trained in various martial arts techniques

Weapons mastery

Alignment: Neutral Good

Personality Type (mbti): ENFJ (Protagonist)

Personality: Despite what she’s been through Aura is quite the little extrovert. She genuinely enjoys being around other people and thrives of her connections with others. It’s noted that she’s quite calm around social interactions.

She seems to be able to see beyond problems and devise plans even if they are small. Out of pure instinct she always wants to do the right thing and has a gift in being able to read the emotions of others which pairs well with her inhuman ability to read people’s auras.

Thanks to Daisy’s influence she is quite the little mischief maker and cheeky, often finding ways to make Coulson facepalm in a corner.

BACKSTORY

This does NOT follow the MCU canon!

The location of Aura’s birth is unknown but it was most likely somewhere in Manila because that was where she was dropped at an orphanage alongside a note that had only one word ‘Aura’. She spent 3 years there.

Kids at the orphanage were able to explore the local town. Aura was around the age of 3 when she was taken into town by some older children. She got separated from them mayhem broke out and Terrigenesis mist was released which resulted in her being turned to stone for a few minutes before she broke out like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon.

She was later found wandering around scared and confused by Bucky Barnes who at the time was working for SHIELD as The Winter Soldier after it fell to HYDRA. When Aura saw Bucky her eyes glowed silvery white on instinct and this prompted him to take her in realising that she was not a just a normal girl.

Director Phil Coulson had her assessed for any inhuman abilities but the results were undetermined.

When called, the orphanage happily gave Aura over. The last thing they said was that the girl told people of the colours she can see on them, and they weren’t wrong. Aura would often stop and stare at passing agents, announcing the pretty colours she���d see coming off them.

Aura spent 2 years under the close protection and care of SHIELD. After discussion with Steve Aura was officially adopted by Bucky who doted on her night and day when he wasn’t out on mission. Phil couldn’t keep his love for her contained. He really was the overprotective father figure who wouldn’t let her out of his sight especially when Bucky wasn’t there. May never liked the fact there was a child in the base but she quickly grew a soft spot for Aura and started training her in how to fight, saying that if she was going to grow up in a secret agency she should at least learn how to protect herself. Aura looked up to Daisy like a big sister and bonded closely with her over shared life experiences. It was with her that she discovered her ability to read and manipulate auras. Once the team learnt of her power May focused her training on controlling and channeling her emotions, as well as understanding her chakras and practicing cultivation since her power seemed to heavily rely on her emotional stability.

The rare times that Bucky was allowed off duty were spent at the Avengers’ Compound where Aura was fussed over by everyone, especially Steve Rogers who became Aura’s second father.

It was a month after she’d turned 5 that a trip to the Compound was hijacked by HYRA who took over SHIELD a few days later. By that time it had been confirmed that Aura was an Inhuman and word had clearly gotten around to them. The car was knocked off the road leaving Bucky unconscious while Aura was captured unharmed.

Hidden away in the depths of a HYDRA base god knows where they did what HYDA did best, they experimented on her in attempts to figure out how her powers worked and where they came from and whether or not they could take them from her. Because of her regenerative healing faster she was left with one most noticeable scar on her left abdomen that snaked around her side. It was discovered quickly that too many negative emotions caused blockages which made it difficult for her to access her powers. That was used to their advantage. They could have manually wiped her mind like they had done with Super Soldiers but decided that the altering was too much of a risk since her powers counted on her mental strength and stability. They deemed her too young to have a camera placed in her eye. So, given Aura was a child she was easily manipulated into believing the twisted truth that HYDRA was good. So much so she started working for them. They placed Grant Ward as her Guardian and Supervising Officer of sorts. Anything to hurt Coulson and his former team.

Once Aura was ready and they trusted her to be on their side HYDRA sent her out on in the field on missions. She was taught how to manipulate auras to create what are called aura attacks, which worked in her favour on these missions and helped her take down people.

Sometime after she turned 6, Aura was placed on a mission that SHIELD happened to intercept. She willingly fought against her family and friends, not even Daisy could get through to her. That was when they called in her father. The moment she laid eyes on Bucky everything came rushing back and she broke down. Bobbi was quick to swoop in and scoop her up while Hunter ensured her safe passage back to the quinjet.

Once safely back home under the protection of SHIELD, Aura began her slow journey of rehabilitation and therapy which included relearning that HYDRA was not an ally. She often closed herself off on days that brought back memories, selectively going mute. It took a long time and there were still days she found herself unable to let go of the pain and guilt of her time with HYDRA. On top of this she learned Jemma Simmons was trapped on an alien world which she was devastated about. She would sit with Fitz in his lap while he worked on bringing her back.

Similar events to season 3 happen a few months after she turned 7, Jemma was brought back which released the new threat of Hive. Bobbi and Hunter leave SHIELD. Lincoln is killed alongside Grant Ward in space.

SIDE STORIES/AUs

EXTRAS

- Because HYDRA were the ones to force her to use her powers for missions which always resulted in injury or death she prefers not to unless it’s necessary, except she can’t help being able to read auras so she does that whenever she meets someone new

- Coulson always said that Daisy was a bad influence on her

- On Daisy’s time off she would play board games, watch animal documentaries, read to Aura or whatever entertained her best at the time

- When Aura was 3 years old she tried to call May “Mama May”. She considered it for five seconds, then said nope and walked away. Aura still calls her Mama May bc Daisy thought it would be funny, now it’s just habit (it’s slowly growing on her).

- The first phrase she learnt in Russian was “vot der'mo” (oh shit) courtesy of Bobbi. Phil was none too pleased

- Bucky’s cat Alpine is her little companion. The two of them are often found running around the base together

BONUS QUOTES

“He was my HYDRA ‘s.o’—so he knows me.”

FACECLAIM/MOODBOARD

[lucifertookmyshoe]

Sometimes I wish JKR had done the right thing and made the HBP’s potions book Lily’s heirloom instead of Snape’s.

Think about how much cooler it would have been if Harry got this cool ass book of potions that now are somehow coming out EVEN BETTER than snapes recipes. (because everyone forgets that Lily was Slughorns favorite student)

Imagine sectumsempra being a curse Lily developed for Snape, to help protect him from James and the Marauders. Imagine Snape seeing Harry Potter (James Potter incarnate) using that same spell on Draco Malfoy.

Imagine Snape confronting Harry with the existence of the book under the new context, and imagine Snape revealing himself as a friend of lilys just as Sirius was a friend to James.

Imagine Snape coming clean about how he only got a potions mastery because it was what Lily wanted in life, and that Dumbledore kept him trapped in the potions classroom to constantly remind him of his guilt. Imagine that being the root of the rumors that Snape always wanted the DADA job- because he was actually always better suited to defense.

Just…. Imagine how much fucking better that would have been and someone please write fanfiction about it and send the link.

[kheta]

The Life and Adventures of Severus Snape an Unwilling Isekai Protagonist

(TW: Death, suicide, mutilation, depression, torture.)

Basically just me putting Snape through Pain for about 5000 words.

Severus dies at 29 in his first life. Youngest Triple Master in all of Great Britain, right hand man to the Dark Lord himself, a legend to all but himself. They win the war, he kills Potter in their final skirmish against the Order, Dumbledore keeling over at Bella’s hyena-like screech and Lily laying in the dirt as she had for over five months now. The war is not the glory that had been touted through his school boy days. Instead Severus has the murder of an eight year old on his hands, a mercy kill perhaps, but one that has left him nauseous all the same.

Children were supposed to be protected, it was why he had followed Cyrus to this hellscape, why he had divested himself of his very soul, rotted to coal as it was. Death Eaters originally had a purpose, to protect the traditions of their ancestors, to protect all magical children from the uncouth Muggles who existed only to destabilise their communities.

But they had not protected anyone in their quest for glory. Cissy can no longer look at him, not when he stood there as their Lord, their Leader created a shell of her husband. Cissy refuses to look at him, Draco his godson, now forever cursed with scars from a bout of curiosity that laid him before the Dark Lord’s feet.

Indeed few had left the war unscathed. The turncoat Pettigrew dead in a fool-hardy Gryffindor act of courage, saving whatever remained of that infectious mutt. Avery and Evan, felled by some two-bit Auror. Andromeda the blood traitor, leaving behind an orphan child to be raised by Bella and her ilk. Nose-turned Tuney who used to make Severus and Lily cakes for their birthday each year until their fourteenth, dead only because her Brother-in-law had continued displeasing the Dark Lord. And him, morose and tainted and dark, alone at the shambles in Ends he called home.

There was no glory in bloodshed, no glory in the tainting of his soul. So it stands to reason that there is no glory in his death. He mumbles the killing curse as he has been doing since his sixteenth and greets death with the relief of a sorely missed friend.

This was not the end for Severus Snape.

He wakes warm, dark eyes flashing at him. To a crowd laughing at his humiliation.

Severus apologises to Lily in this lifetime. A whole flurry of nights spent looming outside her common room, waiting for a chance to see her whole. To see her alive. She does not accept, so he rids himself of her, falling back to Cyrus’ side.

He tries harder this time round, drops his DADA and Herbology Masteries so he can see the Death Eaters to their prosperous future. Reminds his friends of the true cause, to protect the future of magical Britain.

It works, for a while. Wilkes never betrays them, Cyrus lives on past Macdonald’s death. Bella never meets the Prewetts, does not lose herself to madness in the wake of Rastaban’s death and Rodolphus’ tightly-wound anger.

It is not enough. Evan dies, taking down as many Aurors as he can. Regulus disappears one day and the resulting snap of his lost magic against Black wards has Bellatrix seeking vengeance at every corner, honing her crucio into perfection.

Their cause crumbles once more, sooner this time around as Severus hears of a cursed prophecy that steers their forces towards children.

In this life, Severus reaches 38, almost ten years older than the last. The casualties in the first war is many and varied, Evan and Avery both still felled in battle. Tuney lives, as does Harry, the bitter reminder of fruitless glory. Lucius coos over his son as he grows, arrogant yet brilliant, a cocky head of blonde hair and soft questions at his godfather.

Bellatrix becomes a cackling madwoman, gone is the snide, rude friend-of-a-friend who would indulge him in battle and wine, leaving behind a cruel shade of the brilliant, loyal witch she was.

Seventeen years he spends protecting the life of a child who he has killed once already, just to sheperd him towards another death.

He knows not what happens to Harry Potter, only that the last thing he sees are eyes that glimmer in a harshly familiar way.

Again he is awakened, bereft of his clothing, a marionette strung up in the air.

He dies too young in his third life, all of twenty, wanting for too much. Playing hands too boldly.

Lily accepts his apologies in this lifetime, accepts him as he shoulders the blame for two lifetimes worth of mistakes. Accepts his humility even as he continues to scheme.

He loves Lily. But he loves Cyrus just as much. The cause for Death Eaters may well fall too soon, may be instead the reason for vitirol hate, but all the same these people who walk in the shadows are his friends. His family. While he knows now that he can never rid himself of the care he felt for Lily, he also knows he can never be free from the bonds he had made as a mouthy, ill-tempered, half-blooded Slytherin. Where Eileen had ignored his existence and Tobias had scorned it, the Slytherin's in his age group had relished in Severus and all of the anger he held. Had seen the abuse he suffered at the hands of people who had not cared for him correctly, yet stuck with him all the same.

But neutrality is only another word for cowardice in the blurry lines of war.

He slips a few times too many. Wants to save all the contained, fleeting moments of happiness he can for those he calls his.

The Order never come to offer him a place at their side, his friendship with Lily still too tenuous to guarantee his loyalty. This is fine with him because he has little loyalty to a side that fights with lofty goals. To a group of bullies and spectators and few truly kind, truly just people.

He denies the mark at every corner, always has an excuse at the ready even as he continues to support the side of Dark, continues to the soirées that mask their actual functions, funnelling information to Lily through thoughtless comments. His friend thinks herself a spy, looking at him with trepidation and guilt aplenty. He plays her as he does everyone else, each thought, each word carefully composed to his advantages. ‘I am not ready, I must complete my Masteries, I am not competent enough, there are potions and spells in need of patenting and an affiliation with the Death Eaters will surely ruin me politically.’ Perhaps he relies too much on the memories of companionship, for the pressure to join digs at each passing meeting.

Either way his lack of a mark, lack of a brand is what kills him. Voldemort is no longer the patient Master he had once been, he takes care to make an example of Severus and his reticence, his disloyalty. Regulus is green as he watches, hands unnaturally still. Lucius is as pale as he had been the second time around, freshly from Azkaban. Bellatrix keeps her lips pursed, eyes far away in the telltale sign of occlusion, she's not lost in the famed Black madness just yet, has toed the line of love, lust and power but not yet crossed it. Cyrus does not look at him at all. Rodulphus the smug bastard grins the whole time. Severus dies in a matter of hours, the pain sharp and slow and seemingly never ending.

A shout of Snivellous, a whip of air tight in his lungs.

Severus is once more cursed with life.

Something inside of him begins to give way, fractured and aching and lounging in the Dark. He has loved Cyrus for three lifetimes now, has wanted so badly for the Dark Lord's vision of an equal, singular world of shared magic to come to fruition. Instead he closes his eyes to visions, to shadows of his friends dying, tortured and lost. To a crumbling system that time and time again put the brutality of mercy-killing children to the forefront of their crusade. He has loved Cyrus three times over and three times over Cyrus has loved Macdonald, has signed himself over to The Dark Lord.

Severus has won the war once, seen the devastation left by it in another life and failed all those dear to him in a third.

For his fourth life he changes his allegiance. The Dark is enticing but he has studied it over three lifetimes, he knows not what the Light has to offer.

Lily accepts his apologies begrudgingly then with palpable relief when he distances himself from Cy– from Mulciber. Never one to do anything in halves, Severus makes a show of befriending her friends and finds himself genuinely shocked when the show becomes a reality. Him and McKinnon will likely never like each other, both too cold, distrustful and guarded, but Mary's hot temper and wicked tongue is less disdainful when he has seen her temper cool and felt the genuine weight of her apologies. Alice is still a raging bitch, but she's like that with everyone so he takes no offence to her burning glares, instead relishing in the hot blush consuming her entire being whenever Longbottom falls to her feet. It's almost a shame to see the not-yet-couple graduate before them.

The four foolish, arrogant, Gryffindor toe-rags are still a bitter fight between the two best friends from Cokeworth, but he learns to quiet his rage, even if he does not imagine ever liking them.

Considering some of the constants across lifetimes, he thinks it will be harder to keep Pettigrew in the Light. Instead the rat-bastard accepts a blithe invitation to the cinema and falls at Tuney's feet, love-struck and vying with a gentle attention that has Lily's cruel sister thoroughly enthralled. Considering her husband across two lifetimes used to beat her silly, he does not complain about the change in pace.

Come the end of Hogwarts he has a tentative peace with Potter, who now lives in genuine fear of what Severus will do to his bollocks if he were to hurt his best friend. He would still sell Black to the dementors for nary a knut, a shared opinion really. He still throws acidic barbs at Lupin, even as he brews Wolfsbane with gathered ingredients, hiding the sliver of kindness behind a Masteries project he has no claim to. Belby delighted in their shared correspondence however, happy to attach his name as a sponsor to Severus' endeavours.

After three lifetimes of Slytherins, its maddening being around so many Gryffindors. They do not hide their plans to overthrow the Dark Lord. They walk into every room with a swagger and run to their future with a bullheadedness he can scarcely understand. Black and Potter steadfast in their desires to be Aurors, taking their Junior positions under the newly married Longbottoms with surprising grace, not offended that the two year gap has already seen the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff couple into Seniority. Pettigrew happy to travel the world with his new girlfriend. Mary and Lily throwing their own weight into healer courses. Lupin is still red-taped and hesitant to find a proper job, McKinnon happy to stumble through life whimsically. Most surprisingly, they do not need to be swayed by his words and neither do they mind when he so obviously plays them to his advantage.

Lupin and McKinnon listen to his arguments against the segregation of Muggle or Magic and House Rivalries widening a divide with rapt attention. They don't offer unsolicited, baseless arguments against Muggle customs entrenched in the hatred of differences, instead researching their rebuttals carefully. The trio spend hours of their first year post Hogwarts trying to define a future shaped by somewhat optimistic Laws that could benefit both wizarding and non-wizarding kind alike. So many hours discussing this in fact, that when the invitation to live on the McKinnon grounds comes, he's not actually that surprised. Her manor is huge and old, but not the looming ancient quality of the Malfoy manor, instead there is life and kindness and love to the wooden structure, to the large, blooming fields.

He plays some bold hands when the trio end up living together, practically throwing a Mastery sponsorship at Lupin and making small, sly comments about Slughorn's impending retirement. The shock of a future has Lupin almost red-faced as he spouts idillic beliefs of a new generation of kindness, of equity coming to grace Hogwarts. McKinnon, no longer drinking herself blind, seems to toy with the idea of a Transfiguration apprenticeship when he brings Avery over for a quick catch up.

He is 19 and also over a hundred and this new world in the Light is so very different to what he thought it would be.

Of course 20 comes in dark and dreary as it wont to do.

Most of his Slytherin friends had seen his loyalty to Lucius and Mulciber wither and die and had left him with cruel sneers and harsh curses that he accepted. He has chosen the Light and left his friends to die. Again he is the youngest Triple Master in all of Great Britain, even younger than his first life. Nothing else is quite the same, not even the Light.

As attacks on Muggleborns get bolder, Dumbledore the paranoid war-general seeks to reap the loyalty he has sown in his ex-students. Again, he does not approach Severus and when the first meeting his friends were invited to finishes, Severus is sat with a full kettle of chai and sweets on the table, his research into blood-wards stretched wide. McKinnon storms in angry in a way that is surprising considering the last three months they have spent living together, even the usually mild look on Lupin's face is tight, lips quivering.

Behind them is the host of Gryffindors he hasn't seen since Yule. He raises a brow, flickering his hand to start on more tea and spelling some liquor to the table. Black wrenches the Firewhisky open, dribbles of alcohol spilling out of a few heavy handed shot glasses.

Through halted, tight breaths they tell him of an Order he was thoroughly aware of; tell him of a meeting he had not been invited to; tell him of an idiotic, hasty decision made by five teenagers who had been obviously throwing themselves to the tides of war. They tell him of loyalty to a bitter, sarcastic, cruel, ugly man who had been enthralled in the Dark and still chose the Light. Tuney and Pettigrew are still travelling across Asia, Pettigrew desperately trying to keep his beloved safe, but the rest of the foolish Gryffindor's had seen his lack of a presence at a meeting so perfectly tailored to their desire and instead, chose him.

Three lifetimes given and in the fourth, he is finally chosen but not by the man he had most wanted. It's a gratifying feeling.

None of them join the Order, though Frank will occasionally drop information at Potter and Black, careful to be wondering aloud and not to them. All of them, all now his to protect, create another option. He desists on his research, entrenching himself instead in the way of Magical Law, forces his knowledge down both Potter and Black's throats because the dunderheads are the future of Wizengamot whether they desire it or not. Vouches for Marley's Transfiguration apprenticeship at Beauxbaton. Assures Remus that there is no betrayal in accepting a job offer at the most prestigious Magic School in Great Britain. Asks for a hushed favour from Peter when Avery comes crashing into the McKinnon estate, cursed to a pale filth and crying for a mark he cannot refuse when his sister is still in school. Lily starts a crusade for an integrated Healer/Auror unit, Mary as her second, even as she retroactively starts researching a specialisation in mind-maladies. He escorts Marley down the aisle at Lily's wedding, brushes shoulders with Remus in drunken glee, shares light-hearted barbs with a pregnant Tuney across the dinner table, Peter's newly met 'cousins' awkwardly sat at the long table with them, Aid brushing their knees together.

It is a start of a future that leaves him all the more hopeful, all the more willing to put his life in the hands of Gryffindor's if they could produce such foolishly bright paths.

This future becomes more solid, a tentative, rocky truce across most of the year levels at Hogwarts, all silently reproachful and admiring of the stunningly fair, scarred Potion Apprentice signing up to take Slughorn's position. A St.Mungos healer makes a poor attempt at stitching up a half-dead Corbin Yaxley and Lily and Sirius sue for malpractice with the sort of indignant, reckless fury he's always known them to posses. Marley loses her parents and it becomes international news, a French Reporter railing for action against the Dark plaguing Britain, decrying the inaction of French Wizardingfolk marking it as cowardly as the inaction France had been met with during Grindelwald's reign, waxing about the small, misfit group that finally took that particular Dark Wizard down. Regulus meets Sirius for an awkward dinner, the two brothers watched carefully by both he and Cissa, the two unrelated Slytherin's in the room both masking their surprise at the protective detail sat in opposite sides of the bar. Cissa could have half this pub in a tangle of rumours and fights before he could draw his wand. He could have Reg sulking at his feet with only a fierce look. The Black brothers chose their overseers well.

Draco Malfoy meets his Uncle Sirius with graceless tugs at black curls and a wide gummy smile that has his once-Godfather cooing like a blithering idiot. His parents quiet and fearful as they tug the wards around them.

Harry James Potter is born and he has his mother's eyes and his father's hair and a bounding of curiosity that has all of his Aunties and Uncles roaring with laughter, parents more frazzled than ever.

Twenty one has never felt more harrowing, and Severus has spent six years in the company of Gryffindor's, so of course their brash stupidity rubs off on him. He knows not what shapes the Dark Lord's horcruxes takes, but he knows enough to distance himself from the future he is seeing, to bury himself in the Dark he has always sought.

Regulus lives past nineteen, dragged ashore by the bitter asshole he had enviously viewed as a traitor and an inspiration at once. The locket is blast with the darkest magic Severus can conjure, he knows his dark magic well and the locket screeches as the soul within it dies. Severus loses a hand to a ring that Dumbledore had sought out, two lifetimes ago, but it is a victorious loss that assures the future of those he calls his. He sprinkles his knowledge of dark magick across the information net that encompasses The Order of The Phoenix, allowing it to slip through his constructed cracks and into the ears of the wisened wizard he respects ardently and hates all the same. His death is a quiet, bitter thing, him and Bellatrix both burning in the tangle of dark, angrily shouted spells, the reclusive safe house of some old Pureblood decaying with him. The snap and crackle of his magic felt by his shrieking, six year old nephew in the Potter Manor and the hoarse, anguished shouts leaving Marley's mouth as the wards that once tethered him to the McKinnon estate released his magic to the world. There is no body to bury, the crips he knows it will be.

A snap, a marionette laying in the air and Severus, once more cursed with life.

He is old, he tries. Rewrites the history of the last two lifetimes, pulling his Slytherin friends ashore to the Light and tethering himself to the Gryffindor's he has come to love.

Twenty three, dead.

Four horcruxes found, destroyed. A patent for a Wolfsbane potion that renders the user of sound mind and turns their bones to jelly just long enough for the transformation to not hurt. No mastery. No nights spent crowded over a kitchen table with Marley and Remus. A crusade of peace and understanding underpinning his every move. Avery dead for abandonment of duty at seventeen, Mulciber sentenced to a kiss for murdering a minor, Bellatrix once more drowning in grief of her baby cousin's death.

Again.

Frank is a single father at twenty four, Neville not even one yet. Alice avenged by Moody, his anger taking down the stuttering Avery and the overtly powerful Lestrange brothers. Marley is finishing up a study in Magical Law and plays footsie with Meadows whenever they go pub-crawling. Sirius becomes Lord Black as soon as Regulus is of age, his younger brother relinquishing the title and fleeing to studies in Egypt. Peter dies at eighteen, a raid in Knockturn Alley turning violent by the presence of Death Eaters and too rough Aurors, Tuney survives and never steps foot in Magical Britain again. Harry is born and he and his parents are given warded necklaces, tokens to protect them from as much Dark Magic as is feasible. Voldemort is defeated, but not dead, the Potter family somehow safe in the aftermath of the attack. Remus takes on the role of DADA Professor and lives to carry that title on for more than 5 years. His connections to these people become tenuous the longer he passes through their lives. He has no godchildren and no one to come home to disappearing in the cloak of nightfall and spreading his magical research across the continent with broad strokes and badly maintained whispers in the right ears. All in all this is the only death not made in the throes of war, he dies at twenty nine, during the peace filled years in an unexpected car wreck.

Just once more.

Mary dies a week from graduation, taking Mulciber down in the scuffle. Lily disarms and arrests Bellatrix Lestrange two years into being an auror. James lives to name his son and can never again hold his frail form, never again ride a broom, not with the soft whisper of crucio creating tremors from his once steady grip. Out of pure spite, Severus throws tomes of wandless magic at the once auror, refusing to see the man who had run head first into war become a snivelling, regretful coward. Marley and Meadows hold hands as they walk down the street, both already making names for themselves in the Ministry, unafraid to use nepotism to their advantage if it meant fighting for their relationship to be open and honest. Regulus dies fresh from Hogwarts, and there are no apologies sincere enough, no rationalisation strong enough to salvage the friendship Sirius had with Lily. Sirius loves James and loves Harry and can never forgive Lily. Remus fights the war and loses a foot for it, but he finds a quiet cottage to call home in Ottery St.Catchpole and ends up in some odd, quasi threesome and marriage with the Lovegoods that he does not mention in any length. Peter and Tuney still live in Cokeworth, have two sons both glad to look over their baby cousin once he starts Hogwarts. Severus once again falls to the shadows, trying his damndest to kill the wizard he once admired, to finally put a damn end to this curse. He dies as the Dark Lord is once more resurrected, his flung protego protecting Diggory, but not even his strongest wards, his strongest tokens can stop Evan from drawing Harry's blood to the caldron. He spells the portkey to the foolish boys he had come to protect and hears Harry's shout of no in the same moment he sees the jet of dark green flying his way.

By his eighth life he is so tired of war. Does not care if Dumbledore wins or Voldemort wins or if his friends die. He has witnessed so many iterations of them fall before him.

Severus dangles in the air, falls against the ground and does not move.

His mind is a fracture of mazes and occlusion is the only peace he knows, burying what remains of his conscious beneath the icy depths of water.

Through a haze he sees faces. Genuine concern in cool, blue eyes, no twinkle in sight. Guilty, surly faces of enemies and friends and people he may yet love. Severus has played fate so many times, he is so tired, prefers to sit himself unmoving in a white hospital bed. Cyrus kisses him exactly once, the raging inferno of thousands dispelling the calm of his steady river. Severus sinks further, intent to never again see the light of day.

He does not know when he dies, notices a steady lack of visitors, meets a cherub faced Harry and loud hollering Draco and knows no more. Then a blank series of nurses and the old coot who was the most piss poor Headmaster to ever grace the earth. Seeing the ageing visage almost has him leaving the peace of his own mind, though he manages to wrangle those intentions far below the surface.

Snivellous.

Godric Almighty he's fucking sick of this shit. He breaks the spell he had created so many lifetimes ago with ease, lets the familiar weight of his wand rest to his hand, tilting the wooden conduit to his chin and traumatising more than fifty kids by just topping himself there and then.

ANOTHER ONE!

He doesn't care if he has to off himself a thousand more times. He. Will. Not. Stay.

A few Ravenclaws and Gryffindors misreads his intent and disarms him when his magical core begins to coarse with violent, deadly cracks in the ground. Dumbledore comes to speak to him, he does not care. A whole week spent planning his inevitable demise, waiting for Poppy's damned charms to free him from their horrifying, well-meaning grasp. When he's finally released he storms to the top of the Astronomy tower and just jumps.

Of course he had forgotten about the hedge magick surrounding Hogwarts. Another five days of sad useless interrogations and crying Lily and angry Cyrus. When he's at the Great Hall that night, he's so mad that two attempts had failed and just plunges a butter knife as violently as he can through his neck. Sod everyone else.

But no, no dying doesn't work. Death doesn't want him. Not in the tenth life, the fourteenth life, not in his seventeenth life will he finally stay down.

He's tried it all. Suicide by cop, mauled by animals, starvation. It does not stick. He runs away to the Muggle World, does his O-Levels and A-Levels, gets a degree in Chemical Engineering and a Muggle Husband and Son that he gets to see murdered before his very eyes. Very much not because of magic, no, but because apparently leaving your ex-wife for your son's primary Science teacher is a crime punishable by death. Apparently picking your wonderful, kind Da over your abusive, psycho Mum is all strangers need to kill you like mindless savages.

After that awfulness, he runs to East Asia, learning ancient branches of magic. Ignores his unfinished OWLs and the degree he does not have and the permits he most certainly lacked as he trudges through Mainland China, Taiwan, Bangkok, Singapore, India, through the Middle East. He learns enough magic to no longer need a wand, ever, though he shrinks his wand and attaches it to an earring, if only for the companionship it has given. Dies facing a particularly pissed dragon in this life.

Out of boredom he becomes an screen-writer and actor, just drops school and uses ancient Chinese rituals to spell his hair sleek and silky, uses colour correcting charms passed through Indian households to even out his skin tone. A Filipino potion has the bones of his teeth and nose evening out into something more normal looking. By the end of it he might have actually looked a bit fit. A few lifetimes having to lie his way to Helheim and back means he's something of a good actor with enough tragic stories to tell, that he's never in need of a role. He's been through enough pain, enough anger, enough betrayal to embody every character given to him smoothly, to give charming, dry smiles at his co-stars after performing monologues that leave them gasping in fear. This is a fun life, spent with magic oozing from his every move and addled by whatever drug seems to hit his fancy. Bellatrix hunts him down after he's nominated for an Oscar for his role as a naive General under Hilter's regime in love with a poor, captive Jewish mother. Not his own work, but it's his first Oscar nomination so he's a bit smug and really fucking trashed when she finds him at his unguarded apartment. She calls him a blood-traitor and fool and scorns the power she can feel radiating from him, unmasked and developing with him. She gives him a choice for glory. Severus has known glory and hated it all the same, so he sends her off with a kiss against her cheek and promises for dinner. Two days later Macnair, Rosier, Crouch and Scabior come to claim the dinner invite he had given and honestly, it's just easier letting them kill him then it is to fight back. Based on the sharp gleam in his eyes and the sudden raising of brows, Evan realises he had given up long before they got there.

He does manage to kill Voldemort, for good in his eighteenth life. Just follows his magical signature set on the ring to the rest of the bloody horcruxes and uses some refined Japanese spellwork to mutilate the damned things. But Voldemort's death makes no happy ending, creates instead a power vacuum that is still unstable when he steps into as the new Dark Lord. Cissa kills him in this lifetime, a poison in his drink that he could smell when he'd kissed her fingertips.

By the time his twentieth lifetime comes, Severus has knowledge of every form of magic known to wizarding kind, except the kind that will ensure he is never again reborn, has exactly no attachments to anyone and is only searching for a peaceful way to die.

Content to let things lie, he waits until Potter has placed him back on the ground. Spells his wand to a makeshift earring. Flies off to hunt horcruxes, but does not kill the Dark Lord because he can't be arsed looking for the paranoid man on top of everything else. Writes theses under psuedo-nyms, sends ideas where they can be cultivated, puts a very particular potion recipe in Lupin's room and goes searching through Ethiopia to Pakistan looking for a good and permanent death.

Why Potter nee Evans, McKinnon, Mulciber, Malfoy and Malfoy nee Black decide to interrupt this journey almost four years later, he hasn't the faintest idea.

Life would be so much better if he could just die.

(If ever I come back to this, the original idea is Lily, Marlene and Narcissa decide to investigate what the hell happened to Severus Snape and why their family magic seems to be honing in on the supernova that is his magical signature. Lucius is going so those damned Gryffs don't hurt his lovely wife and Cyrus just wants to know why the heck he keeps seeing Snape die. Along the way they decide to get attached to him and make sure he's just as attached to them and not spending all of his waking time trying to off himself. It's a particularly long journey.)

[impishtubist]

For one year, Lily signs on as like Charms professor and she’s all “this is nice, I miss my husbands, I miss being able to travel whenever the urge strikes me and I also miss having sex (bc my husbands aren’t here)” and doesn’t sign on the next year. Sirius and James, for Harry’s Fourth through Seventh Years (they want him to pass his exams and who better than them to teach), become professors as well but still act as freelance Cursebreakers during those years. Lily signs on now that her husbands are also there so she can actually see them more, she invents like 4 new Potions within a year, and everyone teases Harry about how very obviously in love his parents are. Lily is Charms professor, Sirius is DADA, and James is Arithmancy or something (more research on the classes available is necessary) (all three team up on their classes, so it’s more that all 3 classes have 3 teachers at once); Snape hates everything. Hermione’s in awe of Jilypad’s sheer competency and Lily mentors her in getting Masteries. Jilypad are all “this was fun, but we’re done now” and quit after Harry graduates. Harry is low key shocked he didn’t graduate with a new sibling but is thankful none of his friends get that ammunition to tease him (he adores his parents, Jilypad are wonderful parents to him)

I'm gonna be honest. I don't know what possessed me last night, but I don't actually like Jilypad. I don't care about Lily, I don't care about her having sex or missing sex, I don't care about Sirius and James being her husbands.

I do care about Sirius and James being husbands and raising Harry though 😂😂😂 But like, yes to everyone being professors and making Snape hate his life and also communally raising Harry.

[lupuslikethewolf]

marauders!au where the war never happened and they all got to go on and live happy lives :) its set years later, when Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna and Hermione are going into their first year.

I haven’t come up with an actual plot yet :/ but this is the setting, and they are all around their early-to-mid-thirties at this point. it's likely just domestic fluff and slice-of-life type shit, with Harry still getting into impossible amounts of fuckery whilst stressing at least 10 different adults (as he should tbh)

i can't decide whether this is set in the 90s or in the modern!era so i left it ambiguous

Barty Crouch Jr, now Professor Barty (just Barty, Crouch is my father), teaches DADA and his fiancé, Evan Rosier, is a Magizoologist who travels during the school year, comes back home for the holidays and weekends to spend with Barty, either on Hogwarts grounds or at their own home. Barty has a close friendship with McGonagall, who is Headmistress, and Poppy (who are married, but no one figured it out).

Dorcas and Marlene play International-Level Quidditch: Dorcas for England, and Marlene for Wales or Ireland (undecided). Everyone thinks they hate each other from the way they treat each other during games. They played for the Holyhead Harpies until they got recruited, and their wedding was basically the biggest, most dramatic and over-the-top graduation party Hogwarts had ever seen, hosted in the Potter Manor. everyone was hungover for days afterwards

Lily and Snape are best-friends-turned-rivals, who achieved a Mastery in Potions at the same time, and are both the youngest people to ever do so. Sev specialises in theoretical potions, and Lily specialises in experimental work, altering old potions and creating new ones. She commandeered the entire basement for her own potions lab, and Remus helps her research in his spare time.

Pandora started publishing with Xenophillius (the definition of gender-fuckery; no-one knows how they identify, not even Xeno), and they publish the most outlandish work they can, alongside Pandora’s books!! They also run Xeno's Quibbler and a couple other independent newspapers. They live out in the countryside w/ Luna. Barty & Evan are their only walking-distance neighbours, but they floo to their friends houses semi-regularly

MaryLily and StarChaser are co-parenting Harry, and being godparents/family friends of Draco, Blaise Zabini, Ron, Neville and Luna. When Harry is at pre-school, he makes friends with Hermione, and the four of them introduce Dr and Dr Granger to the magical world over the years, instead of the two month crash-course Hogwarts gives

Mary is an artist, and since she was raised half-blood, absolutely adores the technique and process of muggle painting, later enchanting it to move and learn and talk. She doesn't own anything that isn't stained with paint, bleach or hair dye. She is famous for her work, in Magical and Muggle circles, but is almost completely anonymous, and they only know what she looks like because of a group portrait she painted

Regulus is an independent researcher of old Pagan traditions and 'Muggle' magic, how different solstices and days (like All Hallows Eve) affect the Magical community, etc. He visits Barty at Hogwarts with Harry every few weeks, and later with Hermione as well, so they grew up learning about the secrets at Hogwarts, in the library, and with the teachers. Also friendly house rivalry, and the adults completely split on which houses they will go into at Hogwarts. Evan started a betting pool.

James and Sirius are the wizarding private investigators. They work everywhere, for everyone (no matter what. they don't need to charge more than what people can afford), and love it. James absolutely adores the 'Sherlock Holmes' vibes, but they are both Sherlock Holmes b/c they are simply too baddass not to be!

Remus opened a bookstore-cafe, and him and Sirius live in the flat above it. It’s really popular and became the place for students and young queer people. The bookstore stocks everything from really popular and really unknown books and authors of every genre. The regulars also notice all these really famous but really mysterious friends of Remus who come-and-go (artist!mary, author!pandora, athletes!dorlene, etc). And then, of course, is the “private” investigator boyfriend, who couldn’t be less subtle at anything if he tried.

Alice is still an Auror, and the Best of the Best, but she is so fucking fed up of the politics, DMLE, and Ministry in general. She is starting a revolution/reformation from the inside- and if that doesn’t work, quit her job and do the same thing from the outside! Frank ended up in law and becoming a Lawyer, and is glad he did, because it might be the only thing that will keep his partner out of jail if she decides to commit treason. They love Neville to bits, and would do anything for him!! They built a whole-ass greenhouse when he discovered his talent.

Peter Pettigrew works part-time with Remus at his place, but is currently training with Gringotts/other cursebreakers to become a professional cursebreaker! it is taking a long ass time with a lot of testing and work to put in, but Peter finds it interesting and it meant that he always has more stories to tell the kids when he sees them, which is a bonus because children are hard to entertain.

[kkangkkangie]

Harry Potter Teachers!AU

Mainly a place where Harry Potter became the new DADA professor along with a few other characters after the Second Wizarding War (SWW). 

Neville Longbottom had been the first of the group to accept the position of the Herbology Professor. He’d obtained his mastery a year after the SWW, and Sprout acknowledged her retirement (rather gleefully as she’d approved of Neville). He became the Head of Gryffindor house, spending copious time with his students, checking in often.

Celaena Phantomhive followed her fellow friend after a few years. With a mastery in Potions, DADA, and Charms, she achieved her dream of becoming the Charms Professor. She also succeeded Professor Slughorn for the position of the Head of the Slytherin House and ran it like how she had already done in her last seven years at Hogwarts. She followed Snape’s example of allowing open hours for her students to check in as well as mandatory physicals at the beginning of the year. 

Penny Haywood joined the staff as the new Potions Master at the behest of Celaena and Snape, who reached out shortly after the war concluded. As Slughorn wanted to retire ASAP, she happily took the role and later assumed the title of Head of Hufflepuff once Sprout retired. Her cheerful and friendly personality had been a stark contrast to Snape, but she managed to fulfill the balance between the loose chaos and order in the class. 

Harry Potter ended the curse on the DADA position. Fitting, as he ended the person who cursed the position in the first place. After five years, he achieved the mastery of DADA and joined the staff. He enjoys teaching the next generation with the stability he was not allowed and treated every student as his own (another reason he declined the position as the Head of Slytherin). Following Remus Lupin’s example, he has also adopted the cardigan outfit rule much to the dismay of Malfoy and Phantomhive. 

Draco Malfoy surprised everyone and eventually joined the staff as the Transfiguration professor, releasing McGonagall to fully address being Headmistress. He, too, like Harry, declined in the role of Head of Slytherin, but still kept a soft spot for the new snakes. 

Luna Lovegood descended to Hogwarts to teach Care of Magical Creatures after a decade from the SWW. She, in her free wit and logic, taught her students to be kind and never skeptical of the mystery. Students were allowed to venture deeper into the Forbidden Forest for the pursuit of knowledge from her good relationship with its inhabitants. She succeeded Flitwick as Head of Ravenclaw.

[antvnger]

Lang Family Headcanons

Here’s some headcanons about Scott’s parents and sister no one asked for! Lol

Scott’s dad’s name is Charlie Lang, and he’s a deadbeat.

Four years after Scott was born, Charlie really started to let his true colors shine - or rather darken everything.

He became an alcoholic and was verbally abusive. When Scott was eleven, Charlie finally crossed the line and became physically abusive.

That’s when Scott’s parents got a divorce.

The Lang side of the family really wasn’t a fan of Charlie either, and unfortunately because of that, they never really were sure what to make of his wife and children either.

Some days they were fine with them, and some days they were just as bad as their son towards them.

His mom’s name is Coraline Lang, but her parents and friends call her Cori.

She’s got a nomadic soul, and she prefers to wander and explore instead of settle down.

Which is why after she divorced Charlie, she and her kids lived in four other cities all over the US before settling in San Francisco.

When Scott was eleven, they left Coral Gables, FL and moved to St. Louis, MO until he was 13.

Then they moved to Nashville, TN and stayed there until Scott was 14.

Then they moved up to Boston, MA but only stayed there for 6 months, and before Scott turned 15, they hopped across the country to Seattle, WA.

Then three months after Scott turned 16, they moved to San Francisco where Cori’s children begged her to please let this be where they stay until at least Scott graduates high school.

Thankfully, she agreed.

She loves photography, and she’s a hobbyist photographer. She loves taking photos of places she’s been and things she’s seen.

Cori currently is back in Seattle and has stayed there for the past five years, but her children say it’s only a matter of time before she’s on the road again.

Sadie was born September 9, 1976, and eventually she demanded her parents give her someone to play with. She didn’t care if it was a sister or brother, she just wanted a sibling.

During Cori’s entire pregnancy with Scott, Cori would point to her belly and say, “Who’s in there?” and Sadie would answer in three different ways: baby Scott, Scotty, or little “bwudder”

Scott was born April 6, 1980, and Sadie was so in awe of him when she first saw him.

“He’s a real baby, Momma!”

While Sadie was one of those kids who got jealous of all the attention the baby sibling was getting, she was also jealous of anyone else besides her giving Scott the attention.

She practically claimed him as hers from the start.

She settled on Scotty over any other nickname early on, and she tried to get him to say her name first before Momma or Dada.

No such luck though. Momma was his first word, but Sadie was a close second. It sounded a bit like “seedy”, but it was close enough they knew what he meant.

Once Cori divorced and left Charlie, she was a single mom who had one or sometimes two jobs.

So Sadie and Scott had to pull some more weight for the family. This is where Scott’s cooking skills really develop and flourish.

Sadie is a decent cook, but her mastery is in baking.

Between the two of them, as long as there was food in the apartment, the meals wouldn’t be boring.

Sadie loves golf. She loves to play, and that’s the only sport she showed any interest in.

She went to almost all of Scott’s baseball games, and he went to some of her golf matches (if the school they were enrolled in at the time had a golf team anyway).

[limetimo]

I've been thinking about this for a while and I think that Dark Lord should be an academic title.

First you get your DADA NEWTs then go on studying the Dark Arts and gain a Mastery.

To gain the title of a Dark Lord you would have to showcase deep understanding and control of Dark Arts . My suggestion is that to become a

Dark Lord one has to perform an original (or improved) piece of Dark Magic in front of fellow academics. This spell/ritual that would also have to influence a piece of land (usually muggle-owned) for 7 years exactly. Like, "grass didn't grow there for seven years" or "deadly mist sworls around here infinitely" kind of deal. To show how precise one's control of the Arts is.

And then if they do manage that the land legally belongs to them, The Dark Lord, an they can build their creepy wizarding towers and haunted castles and huts on chicken legs there ♥

[pet-genius]

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 3

Follow up to this and this. Trigger warning: Cult abuse.

Draco is vulnerable to being recruited simply because he’s Draco - his father is a Death Eater, and he's eager to prove himself to the master he grew up believing in. I’m not usually sympathetic to Draco, but this line makes me feel for him:

“everyone thinks he’s so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick —”

“You have told me this at least a dozen times already,” said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. “And I would remind you that it is not — prudent — to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear.”

This makes it clear that he’s been indoctrinated from a young age into a fringe belief (his belief in the Dark Lord, not in blood supremacy - that’s mainstream), and into hiding it, even after the cult disbanded. This contributed to a sense of isolation from mainstream society, and for someone like Draco, exacerbated his existing condescension and entitlement. The same must be true for Crabbe and Goyle, who on top of being children, are stupid and lacking in critical thinking skills, which means an escape was nearly impossible for them, and indeed, Crabbe died, and who knows if Goyle was clever enough to stay out of Azkaban.

Throughout HBP, Draco goes from boastful to scared for his life.

From DLA:

“What say you, Draco?” asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly through the catcalls and jeers. “Will you babysit the cubs?”

The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother’s eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall.

Once on top, now the Malfoys are too scared to make eye contact with anyone and protest at their humiliation. Draco is looking to his parents for protection, but they know they can’t provide it, even though Narcissa is trying.

Regulus was in a similar situation to Draco - I think he felt pressured to prove himself after the bitter disappointment Sirius had been. He and Draco were marked before they were of age, whatever being of age means in the wizarding world - meaning Voldemort was not above using minors. He also used children: the Daily Prophet writes that the Ministry has captured a nine year old child who had been Imperiused into murdering his family.

Snape’s vulnerability is glaring. In a nutshell, his extreme poverty and the neglect and abuse played a part in his decision to join the Death Eaters, and there’s a reason why Lucius is seen patting him on the back as soon as he is sorted. Perhaps the policy was to groom all newcomers. Like Barty, he might have looked for a father figure. Harry notices the many similarities between Snape and Voldemort (and himself), and these are all things Voldemort must have used on young Snape as well.

Snape is an example of how disposable Voldemort’s followers were, to him - he sent him to Hogwarts to get the cursed DADA job, meaning he was willing to let a potentially horrible fate befall Snape within the year. Even after Snape ascended to #2 by killing Dumbledore (on Voldemort’s order, no less), Voldemort killed him to gain mastery of the wand Snape became master of by doing Voldemort’s bidding.

Snape also explains the Dark Mark

“There,” said Snape harshly. “There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side.”

A famous cult in my country did this: The leader made his followers tattoo pictures of him and his name on their body. It’s this association that originally made me think of the Death Eaters as a cult. Voldemort branded his followers like cattle, and he expected them to drop everything they’re doing to run to him whenever he wants.

Snape was constantly tested, too. He was assigned a servant he despised, for one, and tasked with killing Dumbledore. Even after he had accomplished that, Voldemort did not fully trust him:

“Yaxley. Snape,” said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. “You are very nearly late.”

This is a threat, since they’re not actually late; I think it’s meant as a “hey, remember when I tortured you once for being late?” It is followed by:

“Saturday... at nightfall,” repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape’s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort’s face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort’s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.

Voldemort is using Legilimency - he still does not trust Snape, he still needs to interrogate him so carefully that the others are afraid to look.

Next, there is this:

“Do you recognize our guest, Severus?” asked Voldemort. Snape raised his eyes to the upside-down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as though they had been given permission to show curiosity.

That the Death Eaters all knew not to look up at the gruesome sight without permission, goes to show, again, how fun it must have been to be a Death Eater. In general, I think the best way to read “Dark Lord Ascending” is to pay attention to where people are looking, and how - it’s important in general, but especially in this chapter.

Lucius is an anomaly. It’s very hard to picture him kneeling, and there is no obvious reason why he should forfeit his dignity. Cults don’t typically target the elite, and in this, the Death Eaters are a bit strange, unless Lucius was also recruited at a young, impressionable age. This can be resolved if you consider that Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin, and unlike cult leaders, he really is super-powerful, and the person with the most potential to achieve political goals the Malfoy family is interested in.

Privileged as he was, even Lucius had vulnerabilities, and Voldemort was a Legilimens, meaning it was very easy for him to tell what they were.

This is how he treats Lucius in DLA:

“As I was saying,” continued Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, “I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter.”

The faces around him displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms.

“No volunteers?” said Voldemort. “Let’s see... Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore.”

How… emasculating.

Lucius Malfoy looked up [so he was looking down until then]. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

“My Lord?”

Lucius looks like he’s been through a lot. Also, since this scene takes place in the middle of July, why is there a fire? I’m theorizing that it’s for Nagini, or perhaps Voldemort is cold-blooded now, but in any case, he doesn’t care about the others’ comfort level. Maybe he even wants them to sweat.

“Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand.”

“I...”

Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, [...] At her touch, Malfoy put his hand into his robes, withdrew a wand, and passed it along to Voldemort.

Voldemort is making Lucius give him the wand himself, to reinforce his submission - he could have used magic.

“Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?”

Some of the throng sniggered.

“I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you?”

Indeed, Voldemort has given Lucius his (questionable) liberty, but again, he is expecting gratitude for something Lucius would have had in the first place, were it not for him: Lucius was imprisoned because he was caught at the Department of Mysteries fighting for Voldemort.

“But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late.... What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?”

“Nothing — nothing, my Lord!”

“Such lies, Lucius...”

The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had stopped moving.

[...]

“Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?”

“Of course, my Lord,” said Lucius Malfoy. His hand shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. “We did desire it — we do.”

Remember the fire? Do you notice Lucius sweating? His hand shaking? See how terrified he is, and how awful it must be to be forced to state how much he loves being treated like that?

To Malfoy’s left, his wife made an odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort and away again, terrified to make eye contact.

This is what has become of the once mighty Malfoy family.

Legilimency is important - because it means Voldemort typically could spot the mere thought of defection, and manipulate it out of the offender or outright kill them. The DEs know he can read minds, and so averting your eyes could be seen as admitting to a lie, unless you avert your eyes regularly. Breaking eye contact is a gesture of submission, and if one’s body is forced into it enough, it becomes ingrained. Every mention of eye contact in Dark Lord Ascending reinforces that. Their body language in that chapter also shows how controlled they are. I believe Death Eaters are learning to occlude involuntarily, to deceive themselves into only having permissible thoughts and feelings, to ensure their own survival. This makes it impossible to escape.

Finally, there’s JKR’s statement that Snape was the only DE who could produce a Patronus. This can't be because he's not evil (Umbridge can produce a Patronus), and it can't be because he's the only DE who is more powerful than 13 year old Harry. I think it’s because they were not allowed to - I think a spell that requires you to think genuinely happy thoughts would have reminded Death Eaters that their happiness does not come from Voldemort. The rigid mind control screams "cult" to me, and I think it's a much more interesting take on them than "bunch of plot-stupid people who had somehow managed to terrorize the wizarding world despite being incompetent".

Hope you now feel the same and thanks for reading this thesis <3

[springtwirling]

Name: Lonni (what last name she uses depends on how much trouble she’s gotten herself into today. you should be afraid if she says Devante. but technically her last name is Kaleb because if someone finds out a Constantine has a kid then they’re dead and a spirit can’t technically use their last name on the adoption papers (yet) so sorry Theo she’s your baby now)

Gender: Agender (she/they)

General Appearance: Medium length faded black hair, pale skin with vitiligo, always wearing lipstick that she claims is ‘made from the blood of her enemies’ (it’s actually Raphael’s Laura Mercier Velour matte but he doesn’t stop her), about 5′9″ 

Personality: Like with all her dads, she’s MASTERED the art of sass. Unfortunately, most of this mastery has come from Ian. Raphael hates it. She’s otherwise a helpful lady, with the intent to forge a path of good will and hope in the most brutal way possible, because she’s seen what the world has done to her dads, and she will rip the gods from their thrones and curse them to dying slow if they think she’s going to let them go through that again. Assholes.

Special Talents: While she’s not great at using runes and spell circles and studying and stuff, she’s actually really good at being sneaky and light on her feet and prefers using blades of different kinds. She also has a knack for shadow magic, but her dads don’t find this out until she fucks around and finds out.

Who they like better: Don’t ask her that :( …Ian

Who they take after more: Ian! Theo finds this hysterical. Raphael is hurt like mama hearing their baby say ‘dada’ first. 

Personal Head canon: She acts like a tsundere and a lot of people say that to her, but in reality, she swears that she’s not being mean to you because she likes you, she genuinely thinks you’re awful and would gut you like a fish. If she likes you, she’ll smile and laugh like anybody else. It just so happens thaaaaaaat the only people so far that have seen that are her dads.

Face Claim: Emma - Night Owls & Summer Skies

[slytherinsnekxvii]

okay, so, nobody asked, but i spend a lot of time thinking about severus' "gang" that sirius mentioned, the one with rosier and mulciber and avery, and here's how i think it probably could have happened:

first of all, rosier, mulciber and avery are likely rich, and these mfs are probably such purebred purebloods that they've got their fricking pedigrees stuck to their bedposts. they aren't gonna fuck with some scrawny, broke half-blood whose name they don't even recognise, especially when his one (1) singular friend is some muggleborn in gryffindor. so, yeah, they're definitely not touching that hot mess with a ten foot pole.

at least, not until lucius malfoy takes a shine to this practically feral kid, this skinny little chaos entity, who's apparently a wicked smart potions prodigy, and is getting into regular fights with james potter and sirius black. suddenly, the scrawny, broke half-blood whose mother was a prince, apparently, becomes very, very interesting. suddenly, these rich purebred purebloods are willing to make an exception.

they share a dorm, a common room and all of their classes, so they try to ensure there's overlap, and there is. not much, since snape is 110% focused on his little friend and spends as much time with her as possible, but just enough that they can trade homework answers and talk shit about the dada professor and not feel too uncomfortable in each other's space.

the girl drifts in and out of the picture in the coming years, and sometime during fourth year, rosier marks her down as a casualty of war while he secretly celebrates getting rid of her. she's been keeping her distance, especially since that one night where snape's bed was empty most of the night and he came back even more jumpy, twitchy and hypervigilant than ever, but wouldn't tell where he'd been. they keep an eye on him, after that, since there's only room for one exception, rosier says, mulciber backing him up, and that's him. snape looks up from his book, and wilkes is dismissing him before he's spoken. she's no different from any of the other little mudbloods, wilkes barks at him, with that look she has that accepts no arguments. snape goes to make his case, counts four glaring faces, hears lucius and narcissa in the back of his mind and cuts his losses. he goes back to his book.

the next year, when snape finds himself hanging upside down courtesy of his own spell at the end of james potter's wand, he calls her a mudblood and evans leaves for good. rosier leaves the classroom cursing mary macdonald's name for accusing him of cheating, and is in the corridor just in time to catch snape running up to gryffindor tower. mulciber and avery inform him that snape's gone to grovel at the feet of saint evans, wilkes lamenting that they'd taught him better than that, and that's when severus walks through the common and into the dorms, mechanical, and they know that that that's the end of that. none of them really understand why, but losing the girl seems to break something in severus. he seems to shut down right in front of them, not even bothering to elbow rosier out of his bed as he usually would when the other boy makes himself comfortable atop all of severus' research.

new spells remain unfinished, he refuses to brew, hardly eats, can barely sleep and the idleness all this causes makes him vacant and hyperaware all at once, not that he has the energy to do anything about it. rosier was glad to see the back of the evans girl, but something ugly in him twists seeing his friend like this. he asks wilkes what it means, and she tells him that severus is still a scrawny little no-name mudblood, but he's a scrawny little no-name mudblood who belongs to them, and that makes him theirs, and slytherins take care of their own. so, avery brings him food from the great hall, calls an elf when none of them can be bothered to go. mulciber drags him into the dusty old potions lab on the fourth floor every day, keeps him there until the gears in his brain start turning again and then drags him back to the dorms when curfew catches up to them. wilkes writes home and delivers dark arts tome after dark arts tome into severus's little research hub. evan volunteers as test subject and research partner for every spell, every potion severus could think of just then. they perfect liberacorpus first thing, and then sectumsempra and then vulnera sanentur when the bleeding won't stop. they do what they can before it's time to go home for the summer, and when they meet up again for lucius and narcissa's wedding, severus seems more person than ghost, looking only as haunted as he usually would after going home.

the next year and a half is spent making bad decisions and serving detentions. much research goes into what potion ingredients could be considered hallucinogenic, and time goes into turning them into forms that could result in a non-painful escape from the real world. somewhere along the line, severus starts smoking, rolling his own cigarettes. avery thinks about selling them. classes are optional, the whole lot of them only bothering to show up enough to make up the 75% attendance necessary to sit your NEWTs. potter and black jump him when they've got safe opportunities, and even when he's in the hospital wing with aches, pains and a detention waiting for him, it's still better than fifth year.

the newts are a breeze. potions, defence, arithmancy, ancient runes, charms, herbology, transfiguration. they graduate with flying colours, and to celebrate such an achievement, each of then receives a special invitation to malfoy manor, where a very important man, who promises protection and power and glory and a new world order will be in attendance.

and then, of course, so that it all fits neatly into canon, they all get their dark marks and move on with their lives. severus starts his mastery, likely funded by lucius and acquired by narcissa's connections. mulciber and avery shadow their fathers at the ministry while evan does as he pleases, enjoying the frivolities of life while giving his art the time and attention it deserves. wilkes probably gets into legal work of some kind. they do their thing and then shit goes down and evan and wilkes die, everyone else is arrested and severus goes to beg dumbledore to save lily's life and ends up turning into a spy and destroying himself all over again in the process.

but, yeah! that's my somewhat feasible explanation of how the little death eater gang ended up happening, and what serves as the foundation for a good few of my headcanons. honestly, i really just want an excuse to think about them being teenagers doing chaotic dumb teenager things without it being too out of left field/out of character (i say, as though we actually have a reliable amount of information about these characters).

[sneverussape]

hello! If you're still taking snape asks, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about numbers 6, 7, and/or 15 (tho feel free to replace these if there are others that you're particularly keen to explore :))

oooh thanks so much for the asks! :) 6. Where did Snape live after Hogwarts/before becoming a professor? - this is a fun question because anything goes, really, depending on how you view him. for me, snape as a fresh graduate would have been a newly minted death eater but still poor, meaning i don’t think he would have had any means to pay for a flat of his own. this leaves us with the thought of him either going home to spinner’s end (unlikely, for me, because i think he would have wanted to escape from it as soon as he could, and post-graduation would have been the best time to do so), or living off of his friends’/other death eaters’ generosity (think lucius or regulus, but also unlikely, because he’s quite proud), or having  made arrangements so that he could live independently somehow, without the help of anyone in his immediate circle. i lean towards the last headcanon, and the way he would have managed that is he would have gone for a Potions Mastery straight off the bat. he was young, and although he lacked in a lot of aspects, he was intelligent, and he knew he was intelligent. it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to apply for it, and being someone’s apprentice would have given him room and board and maybe a bit of money as he made his way towards getting the Mastery. it would have also upskilled him enough to earn him brownie points with voldemort (probably sold him the idea that having his own personal Potions Master would be the Best Thing Ever), and yet obtaining the Mastery would have allowed him enough distance from them so he could still blend in with the normal crowd. it would certainly have been a win-win situation, and likely something that he’d find appealing. 7. Both Snape and Slughorn are called Potions Masters. Is that just a job description, or a title that requires additional training to earn? If so, what kind? - i definitely think it’s a title, much like a PhD. the schooling they get at hogwarts is a bit lacking imo, and for anyone to be of any caliber they would have to get additional and specialized training. i don’t think there are wizarding universities, but do think they have apprenticeships and training depending on the field that one would specialize in, and there are probably levels to it (like...you can be a wand-maker but your skill won’t automatically be equal to ollivander’s after one apprenticeship; and it would probably take several Masters for you to be officially named one yourself).  a hogwarts diploma though may be enough for entry-level jobs, probably equal to a highschool diploma + a bit of vocational training (since they have O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s), but if they want to pursue careers that would require a bit of academic rigor, such as being Healers, or Alchemists, or Potions Masters, then they have to put in some more time and effort after graduation.  15. We know that Snape consistently applied to become DADA professor. Why? What was his goal? - snape never did anything without an ulterior motive (i feel like he always had a Plan Within a Plan Within a Plan) so i think his constant applying for the position was a weird arrangement he had with dumbledore and voldemort. having him as a DADA professor would have given voldemort leverage because he’d have a man inside teaching a subject that could potentially weaken hogwarts from the inside, so he gave a standing order for snape to apply. at the same time, dumbledore probably knew this, and encouraged snape to keep applying to keep up the farce but also made it known to him that he would never get the position, for obvious reasons. as for snape himself, i don’t think he was ever interested to teach DADA, let alone be a teacher at all. he just applied because he had to and was going to wing it whatever happened.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

🕰 + cassia!

Cassia is thriving but okay I’m going to do 10 years later and 19 years later!!!

10 years (27 years old):

Married to Dimitri

Has done a mastery in potions

Has basically singlehandedly created family law in the magical world!  There’s now actual ways to handle domestic abuse, though Cassia herself mainly works with/for children being abused by their guardians

Will still fight literally anyone who tries to suggest that Snape was in any way good

Has absolutely no desire to have children

Still has her big found family bc she deserves it

Did not face legal repercussions for killing Snape lmao

Still has very severe PTSD but is learning how focus on living instead of just surviving

19 Years Later (just turned 37):

Potions master of Hogwarts (Harry is teaching DADA and Neville is teaching herbology and you know they’re everyone’s favourites)

Still married to Dimitri, still doesn’t want kids

Best aunt ever

Still occasionally lawyers it up

There are now plenty of family lawyers but when it involves rich or influential people she usually handles them herself — she has yet to lose a case

Students feel really comfortable talking to her if they’re in abusive situations 

She and Harry organized a sort of summer camp thing for students who don’t want to go home in the summer

Still ready to fight anyone who tries to suggest that Snape was in any way good

Also still has her big found family

Godmother to so many children it’s actually kind of hilarious

(also this isn’t specific to her but Albus Severus is not named Albus Severus)

Send me 🕰 + an oc and I’ll tell you about them 5-10 years post canon/in a time skip