#Hbp missing scene

[redheadwannabesblog]

Hinny Sunlit Days: HBP missing scene

In the days following the now-famous Common Room kiss, Harry spent every spare moment with Ginny, but with exams nearing, most days were spent studying on the grounds with her and Luna. Luna was making a flower crown, and Neville had joined them in the shade.

Ginny was studying for Ancient Runes while Harry was studying the way her hair shined in the sunlight and how it fell down her shoulder, happy to be near her openly.

Ginny looked up from her textbook at Neville.

“You know, Nev, you might be less distracted if you talked to Hannah instead of just staring.”

“I don’t know what you’re on about,” Neville retorted. “I’m just looking at my Charms work.”

“Your book is upside down.”

Neville started to turn it before realizing she’d been kidding.

“Just go ask her out. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“She could say no and laugh at me. Who wouldn’t?”

“I didn’t,” Ginny said.

Harry stiffened. When had Neville and Ginny gone out?

“You only went to the ball with me as friends and because you wouldn’t have been able to go otherwise,” Neville said. Harry relaxed, realizing that’s what she meant.

“That’s not true. I was asked by someone else and turned them down.”

Neville looked surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“You’re smart, funny, and kind. We had a great time, and now you’re one of my best mates. And you are brave, you’ve faced death eaters, you can ask out a girl. Now go talk to Hannah.”

Neville nodded, stood up, and walked across the courtyard.

Harry kissed Ginny’s shoulder. “You never said someone else had asked you,” he said, trying to sound teasing.

She blushed slightly. “I was holding out hope that this boy I fancied would ask, but I heard he asked another girl, so I moved on.” Her ears turned pink.

Harry slid his arms around her and whispered, “I was an idiot. I should’ve asked you.”

“What makes you think it was you I was hoping for?” She smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes.

Ginny leaned into him“It’s good you didn’t ask me. I prefer to be able to talk with the people I’m with.”

Harry kissed her cheek. “So, who was this other bloke?”

“I’m not telling,” she said, pulling back her textbook.

“Was it Zacharias?” Luna asked dreamily.

Harry jumped, having forgotten Luna was with them.

Ginny’s gaze shot over to her. “How did you know?”

“Smith?!?” Harry said indignantly.

Luna continued braiding. “I thought his rejection might explain why he doesn’t like you much, but still pesters you all the time. You’re likable, so there must have been a reason.”

Luna handed Ginny the flower crown.

Ginny beamed and put it on. “Thank you, Luna!”

Luna smiled. “Oh, look, it seems to have gone well with Hannah.” Neville was now sitting with Hannah, both smiling widely.

Harry leaned over, kissed Ginny’s cheek again, and whispered, “Luna is right; you are very likable.”

[hinnysupremacy]

Any suggestions for Hinny fics with a missing scene chapter of them in HBP???

[startanewdream]

Once again trying to fix some movie scenes that are just painful to watch. Based on the scene above, only later in the timeline. Try also "Stupid dress".

******

Harry is looking at her.

This isn't something new, only something that a corner of Ginny's mind had noticed a while ago and then assigned for “later” or maybe “It doesn’t matter, you have a boyfriend”; or most likely “you are hallucinating, stop it”.

Except her mind has decided that later is now and it happens Ginny broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago; and also, she doesn’t think she is hallucinating and Ginny definitely doesn’t want to stop it.

Harry is looking at her; no, better, he is ogling at her.

Other people have taken notice of her lately—somehow people are far too interested in the end of her relationship with Dean—, but whereas Ginny hasn’t cared much about anything other than the insane amount of revisions for exams, when it comes to Harry… There is a soft spot she was never able to overcome fully. So, instead of checking her notes again, she rises from the studying table that her friends had assembled at the Common Room, grabs the plate she sneaked from the kitchens early, and moves to join Harry on the couch.

His eyes follow her, then darken just a bit when he realises how close she is.

“I’ve come to grant your wishes,” she says teasingly. Harry gulps in answer, but doesn’t back away. There is a glint in his eyes as he moves closer to her on the couch.

“And what do you know about my wishes?”

Ginny arches one eyebrow before saying in her most pretentious voice, “Call me the Mirror of Erised, because I can show you your deepest desire.”

Harry laughs. It’s one of those carefree laughs that takes her back to the summer, when there were just the two of them chatting and flying—innocent, by all standards, but lately Ginny has been wondering if she had just missed all the signs.

She isn’t keen on missing them again, and there is no innocence in her voice now. “I saw you couldn’t keep your eyes off that table.” Harry smiles guiltily, face flushed for being caught, but again he doesn’t deny it. He seems bold, confident in a way she doesn’t see him much except when it comes to fighting Voldemort; her heart skips a beat. “I guess there was something there you wanted very much.”

His hand on the couch is slowly moving towards hers. “Definitely.”

Ginny bites her lip for a moment before raising the plate she brought with her; there are half-a-dozen sweets there, all courtesy from the elves at the kitchen, but Ginny offers him one specific dessert. “Treacle tart?”

“My favourite,” he agrees, but the interest he bestows on that piece of treacle tart dims when Harry looks at her again. “I hadn’t even noticed it was there, though.”

“No?” Ginny grins; Harry’s gaze falls to her lips for a brief moment. “What did you want then?”

His eyes meet hers again; Ginny’s heart leaps into a furious race. There were stolen glances before, moments where their eyes nearly met before Harry looked away, face flushed, clearly flustered; once he’d hugged her and then let go before Ginny could react. But then Harry seemed to be holding himself back and Ginny was in a relationship; now she is a free agent, and Harry—he’s not holding back now, and there seem to be nothing in the world that could stop him from closing that space between them and kiss her��

Nothing except her brother, of course.

“Pie,” Ron says delightedly, somehow crafting a space to sit between Ginny and Harry that shouldn’t be physically possible with how close they were, and helping himself on the treacle tart. “How did you sneak dessert to the Common Room? McGonagall always catches me leaving the Great Hall.”

“One of my best talents,” answers Ginny, dismayed. In front of them, Hermione’s lips are twitching.

“Ron—they were talking, let’s sit somewhere else—”

“Oh, sure,” and without any trouble, Ron grabs the plate from Ginny’s hand and moves away.

Ginny looks back at Harry, but this time he doesn’t move closer to her, as if Ron was still there sitting with them.

She sighs. “I need to go back to my revision.”

Harry nods. He steals a glance back to Ron—he’s sitting with Hermione now, oblivious to them—, and Ginny has already stood up when Harry adds rushedly, “Perhaps we can share that treacle tart later. You know—grant my wish?”

Harry is looking at her and it’s easy to lose herself in the sparkle of his eyes; she knows what she is wishing for and it’s not hard to imagine what’s on his mind either. “I could never refuse.”

[iamnmbr3]

Just wanted to say that I like your Drarry meta posts. They have really given me a new appreciation for HBP and Draco and Harry's dynamic.

I just have a genuine question about your feelings on Harry.

Part of why Drarry began to leave a bad taste in my mouth was that I found book canon Harry to be very distasteful. He just seemed like a vindictive and unempathetic person. Even his remorse for almost killing Draco in book 6 was short lived and I think that same chapter ended with that awful Hinny kiss.

However, your posts seem to indicate a certain care for Draco. So where did this start? What made Harry transform from the guy who participated in group assaulting Draco end of book 4 & 5 to the guy who is trying to cover up Draco's tracks in book 6?

Thank you so much! Glad you've been enjoying my posts. That's so nice of you to say. I have enjoyed your meta as well btw!

This is a great question. I have a lot of thoughts. They are, of course, my personal interpretation and everyone is ultimately free to read things however they like.

The Context:

So first of all I think it's important to consider the larger context of this scene. Harry and Draco are in a fantastical and heightened setting. They are not simply classmates who don't like each other who got into a fight. They are at this point both soldiers on opposite sides of a war.

Draco is a Death Eater. His father has watched and jeered as Harry was tortured and nearly killed in a graveyard. Harry faced Lucius again in fifth year and fought him and is in fact to blame for Lucius's fall from grace and Draco's resultant punishment. Harry has been tasked with defeating Voldemort. Draco has been tasked with killing Dumbledore (though as a punishment not with the expectation that he will truly succeed). Harry knows that Draco is a Death Eater and believes he is tasked with doing something nefarious on behalf of Voldemort and is intent on stopping him.

This is the context of their fight. These are two people involved in a serious conflict on opposite sides actively striving against each other. This is not a simple spat between two classmates who don't like each other so we can't simply reduce it to that or we miss a lot of vital context. We can't judge it the way we would a fight between two people in a regular school who just don't like each other.

The Fight:

Now. As to the actual fight. Harry doesn't initiate it. He walks in on Draco crying and saying some incredibly incriminating stuff. Draco reacts in anger and humiliation and fear and attacks him. Harry responds in self defense and they use an escalating series of spells. Harry attempts Levicorpus for example which would stop Draco from continuing to attack him but certainly wouldn't hurt him even as much as a stunning spell would. And would, also, have allowed them to speak. Draco does quite a good job of holding his own against Harry and foils Harry's attempts to stop the fight. He then attempts in a moment of pain and anger to use an Unforgivable on Harry which Harry counters with Sectumsempra.

Harry has no idea what the Sectumsempra spell does when he uses it. It pops into his mind in a serious and potentially dangerous duel. Nothing in his education has really strongly impressed on him the risks of using untested spells. And none of the other Prince spells have been dangerous. Remember that originally he was planning to test the Sectumsempra spell on McLaggen. And he originally tested Leivcorpus on Ron. So he didn't know what the spell would do before he used it or view at something with the potential to be seriously hazardous.

He didn't do it out of vindictiveness. In fact, it's rather notable that while Harry can be vengeful he seems to have a particular aversion to hurting Draco even when you'd expect otherwise. Like in the beginning, despite the fact that Draco attacks him and breaks his nose and the fact that he already suspects him of being a Death Eater, Harry's anger towards him is surprisingly short lived and he never even thinks of doing anything to him to get even.

Harry's Reaction:

In my opinion, Harry actually has an extremely strong emotional reaction to nearly killing Draco. He is horrified by what he has done. To the point of a near panic attack. He is so upset that he freezes and just kind of collapses next to Draco.

And this is extremely atypical of Harry. Even in dire circumstances Harry is usually able to compartmentalize and keep a cool head and react well under pressure. Even in cases where he is to blame for the situation. When Ron starts dying from poison right in front of his eyes he is able to spring into action. When he realizes he's led his friends into a trap in book 5 he keeps calm and organizes a defense. When Hermione is being tortured in the Manor because they got captured due to Harry saying Voldemort's name he's able to keep calm and come up with a plan.

Also. Harry doesn't like to hurt people unnecessarily but he's still very formidable in combat and is actually quite willing to hurt people when he has to. He kills Quirrel without much regret and says later that he deserved what he got for helping Voldemort. He refuses to stun Stan Shunpike in book 7 because he is Imperiused but he stuns other Death Eaters even knowing they will likely fall to their deaths. Draco is a Death Eater working for Voldemort who has just attacked Harry.

Given his generally cool head under pressure and the fact that Draco is now an enemy on the other side of a war you might expect Harry to react calmly or even coldly to Draco's injury. But he doesn't at all. He can't think what to do. It's the only time we see him freeze up like that. His initial reaction is one of absolute horror. So much so that for once he can't even think of what to do:

Even after he sees that Draco has been healed and is no longer dying in front of him he can't tear his eyes away and is barely aware of his surroundings:

He's so upset he's literally shaking. And Harry has seen and suffered a lot of bad stuff. So that's saying a lot:

Harry is not someone who is good at expressing or even understanding his emotions. And especially with Draco it's difficult since he probably feels he should see Draco as more of an enemy than he actually does.

But I think his actions after this incident are very notable. Harry continues to believe that Draco is a Death Eater on a nefarious mission from Voldemort. And what he overheard Draco saying in the bathroom only further confirms this.

But after seeing Draco so scared and vulnerable and realizing that pursuing him brought them into a confrontation with each other where Harry ended up nearly killing him, Harry backs off completely.

He stops trying to discover and foil Draco's plan. He stops following him. Even though he is still convinced that Draco is involved in something dangerous he doesn't want to be the one to stop him. He doesn't want to be the cause of more fear or pain. Part of him probably also doesn't want to be the reason Draco is killed for failing.

Instead he distracts himself with other things. And it is in that context that he gets together with Ginny. After ditching her several times throughout the first part of the book to go chase after Draco instead, he gets together with her when he's trying to forget about Draco. Which uh. Sure was a choice on JKR's part.

So yeah I do think Harry actually was extremely affected by nearly killing Draco and regretted it a lot.

Book 4 & 5 fights:

As for the book 4 and 5 fights. Those are less serious but once again occur against the backdrop of being on opposite sides of the brewing war. In book 4 Harry is raw from the horrors of the graveyard and when Draco seeks him out and brings up Cedric he loses his temper as do the people he's with.

In book 5 Draco and co attempt to attack Harry to get revenge for Lucius's defeat and capture and Harry and some of his friends respond. (Draco eventually gets his revenge with the nose breaking incident in book 6).

Also we should remember these attacks occur in a world with magic where most injuries can be fixed instantaneously so they aren't as serious as they would be for one of us. These are, without a doubt, nasty incidents, but they are not one sided nor are they that surprising given the context.

Conclusion:

Drarry is, to me, a fascinating and deeply compelling ship because of how Draco and Harry are so compatible and drawn to each other despite their rivalry which evolves into them literally being on opposite sides of a war. And because of the themes of redemption and forgiveness that are implicit in the ship. With all the reasons they have to hate each other they never can, and when it counts, they always come through to protect each other.

[toorumlk]

Hey! Do you think there’s any chance they might not make Romione canon in the upcoming HBO series because of the popularity of other pairings and JKR’s somewhat recent statements concerning the ship?

fair warning this is gonna be a long post!

you know anon, i’m not gonna deny that the possibility of romione not being canon in the hbo series doesn’t keep me up at night HOWEVER COMMA-

I believe romione will be safe because i’m placing a lot, if not all, of my faith in the upcoming hbo series being repeatedly described as a "faithful" adaptation of the 7 novels. which we can deduce to mean romione friends to lovers slow burn endgame and all that good stuff (maybe i'll talk about the potential of book romione and the serial tv medium some other time)

and sure, it can all be marketing/pandering/etc. but i find it so hard to feel cynical about hbo because i love LOVE their shows and i'm of the belief that they know how to tell a good ass story (and romione happens to be a good ass romance subplot). i also have such positive feelings about the showrunner Frances Gardiner (consulting prod on succession and also has killing eve under her belt) who JKR chose herself and one of the exec producers of the show who's set to direct of a bunch of episodes Mark Mylod (succession, the menu, tlou, got)!!!! and if you know me at all you'll know that succession is one of the main pillars of my personality and i fucking love that show so bad I would follow anyone who was part of the making of that show off a cliff if they asked me to. and Mark Mylod is a fantastic fucking episodic director who's directed and produced some of the best episodes of television ever, so i know he knows how to tell a good story. and though i'm a lot less familiar with Gardiners' work, she is a female creative who has some of my personal favourite episodes listed in her imdb (chiantishire, living+, tailgate party) who's pitch of the show made joanne give her the job so.... and y'all know im a canon bootlicker and love the books so all i'll say is.. real recognizes real.

so knowing the creative team behind hp series had a direct hand in making my favourite show of all time gets me so excited and giddy!!!!

but here's where my personal theories and speculations start: I really think with this hbo series, JKR is on a mission is create something wholly and newly hers. she was barely involved creatively in the production of the movies until DH pt. 1 and 2 and the movies have almost become an entity of its own that's drifted so far away from her. of course i realize me even just talking sympathetically about JKR is deeply touchy and might piss some people off but as a fellow creative, i feel for her man!! when i think of the best books in the series in my opinion that are filled with the best bits of world building and political commentary, what i find is that GoF was handed to a director who didn't even read the book, OotP was the shortest movie in the franchise despite being the longest book and how it entirely missed the Quibbler plot and all of harry's rage, or HBP that was filled to the brim with *chefs kiss* tom/voldemort lore which was done a complete disservice in the grey and brown sludgy mess that is the HBP movie.

and knowing that JKR now has a strained relationship or had a falling out with most of the top dogs involved in the films like Kloves and Yates (hallelujah what who said that) and Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe means this show has the chance to be a behemoth that’s entirely joanne’s, like the books are. it’ll be free of Kloves' Hermione and harmony (harry x hermione) favouritism or Watson's take on Hermione's character that makes my ass itch or Yate’s complete inability to direct his actors and make non-action scenes have heart, soul and heft. but i also can’t not address the elephant in the room: this section of the discussion is filled with every shade of grey possible because what led to the falling outs was that they all vehemently disagreed with JKR's anti-trans views and good on them they absolutely should! but like.............. i hated kloves' writing and his butchering of ron's character, i think yates is a static and boring director and im not a fan of emma's acting so like... a win is a win? NO IT'S NOT. but IT IS. BUT IT'S SO NOT. but do you see what i'm getting at???

the point i'm trying to make is that joanne is not the same person she was when she was first writing the books or when the movies were being made. I think she's a lot more ruthless and cutthroat now and while i disagree with her methods and condemn her transphobia.... i think this newfound hardness to her will lend itself to making the hbo series the best HP adaptation it can be, I'M SORRY it's absolutely fucked and i acknowledge and abhor her gender critical politics as a queer woman but im also an artist who just wants good, high quality stories to be told 😔😩

and as for the other popular ships and JKR's somewhat recent comments about romione:

I think its safe to say that joanne dgaf about this fandom and what's popular in it anymore LMFAOOOO 😭😭😭 i genuinely respect that she's always stood ten toes down about how draco's not some antihero, bad boy love interest and at best is a cautionary tale on prejudiced bullies, so I don't think that's changing anytime soon. especially considering that the dramione cottage industry that its fans have made is more or less a reactionary "fuck you" to joanne and canon which they do by writing fanfic about crimes against women and making merch and binding physical copies of said fanfics (really showing it to the big baddie transphobic DV survivor by *checks notes* auctioning hermione off as a sex slave) so I doubt she'd ever consider other ship's popularity seriously. as for the possibility of harry and hermione becoming endgame um..... if the show plans to faithfully adapt the books then we'd get harry and hermione’s quintessential sibling dynamic plus we’re already free from Kloves (also i have faith in francesca and mark knowing that harmony are just plain BORING) so i think the chances, again, are low. and if joanne really wants to stick it to her old colleagues, she can go down the route of pushing romione that much harder (and she really wouldn’t have to do much, it’s all in the books already) 😭

as for the comments on romione that she’s made in recent years, i think a lot of it’s been blown out of proportion or have gone through a terrible game of telephone. what she said (paraphrasing here) about ‘wishing she’d handled ron/hermione differently because a lot of what went into them was a wish fulfillment fantasy’ has turned into ‘jk rowling regrets making romione endgame???!!’ which is just *takes a drag from a cigarette* just another tuesday around here. i also would link to two meta posts by @saintsenara on the topic of endgame romione which i wholeheartedly agree with it

all i have to say is that going into making this show i hope joanne remembers that she based ron’s character off of a person in her life she liked when she was younger and who is still a good friend of hers now 😭😔

you guys probably know i’m in animation school which is basically film school in a different font. so i’m quite literally training to one day work in the story department on projects and work alongside writers, directors and producers, so this stuff means a lot to me! she and the creative team behind this upcoming show have the chance to make something really special and i’m finding it hard not to root for them!!!!!

[neverenoughmarauders]

In defence of Remus Lupin

On behalf of James Potter who is unable to come to his aid on account of being dead.

I don’t for a second believe James would blame Remus for not checking in on Harry.

Firstly, Sirius proves in the way he questions Harry in POA that he believes Harry to be reasonably happy with his aunt and uncle (which is odd given Sirius sees him run away but nevermind). Why would Remus think any differently? He will have believed Harry to be well taken care of. Remus also trusted Dumbledore like nobody else. If Dumbledore believed Harry to be taken care of, why would Remus doubt it?

Remus should still have checked you say, and yes, had he been healthy, I’m sure James would have agreed.

Which brings me to secondly. Throughout the series we see how little Remus values himself. He doesn’t truly seem to believe it worthwhile to fight to keep his position as DADA teacher, when Harry and his class does. Remus believes that his wife and unborn child would be better off without him. And I’m sure he believed Harry to be better off without him too.

I’m sick of people not understanding how real this feeling of people being better off without him feels like to Remus. He’s shunned all his life for what he is. Even the more progressive people don’t want their children or loved ones around werewolves (as proven by Molly in OOTP at St. Mungo’s). Tonks becomes a target to the woman who does eventually kill her because she married Remus. (There’s a real question whether Tonks could have survived the battle of Hogwarts if Bella hadn’t been so set on murdering her). Would running away have helped Tonks or Teddy? No, but that’s missing the point. Remus believes it would. And Remus would have believed Harry was better off without him.

I can’t possibly know what James would have felt but from what we see of James and Sirius’ friendship with Remus, I think they knew better than anyone how inferior Remus felt, how dangerous and contaminated he believed himself to be.

This assertion is not completely unfounded because so did everyone else. As much as I hate the HBP scene when the whole room talks Remus into marrying Tonks, and as much as JKR does an awful job at selling their story as anything other than a doomed, random and forced relationship - the idea is meant to be that they are both in love with each other. The idea is meant to be that the other adults aren’t pressuring Remus into doing something he doesn’t want to do. It’s meant to be them knowing how much Remus will not date or marry the person he loves because he does not consider himself worthy of it. It should have been a scene that was one more data point on how much Remus’ condition affected his self-worth and life choices. A scene in which in the absence of Sirius and James and Dumbledore, the other people in Remus’ life step up to remind him he’s good enough!

In my view it fails to deliver this completely (and it’s a real tragedy as JKR finally takes time to elaborate on just how affected Remus is by his condition), but ignoring the execution for a second - if Minerva, Molly, Arthur and Tonks could see how much Remus would never believe himself good enough, then James and Sirius would know it a thousand times more.

Of course the confident fanon version is a different story. He should have and would have checked up on Harry. But hating canon Remus for not checking up on Harry shows a lack of empathy in my view. Rewriting the story so that Remus was forbidden to see Harry takes away from the tragedy that is Remus’ life: this idea that he believed the world would be better without him - when so many people know it would be infinitely worse.

[dufferpuffer]

Dude, I need someone to simp over David Thewlis with and I have no one to go to. I have a feeling I know your opinion about David Thewlis as Remus Lupin (and I think it's a positive one? correct me if I'm wrong, I know some people don't think he did the character justice).

To be honest, I don't think the movies did his character justice, but I think David Thewlis was THE cast for him. The movies made him too soft, too gentle, too perfect. Book Remus is a lot more polarized than that. For every soft quality, he has a YIKES counterpart that is never shown in the movies. The only time we truly see this "yikes" counterpart is the Shrieking Shack scene when he smirks menacingly at Sirius and you think he's a villain. David pulled that off really good. I saw the movie before reading the book (I was a young kid at that time and PoA was too much to read for me) and I felt cheated, I suddenly didn't think I could trust him anymore.

The thing David Thewlis pulled off best, imo, is the fatherly quality of Remus. I know, Remus is a pathetic man with an avoidant personality, but we can't deny he is fatherly. And I feel that, no matter what movie I watch with David in it, the fatherly vibes just radiate from him. In a way I am glad it is like that in the movies because I use PoA as a coping mechanism in life. Stressed? PoA. Sad? PoA. Crisis? PoA. David absolutely nailed the comfy professor aura. Everything about him in PoA is inviting, it draws you in. His voice, his smile, the way he carries himself, his quiet strength. Who could've done it better? I love him.

Enjoy this young David Thewlis edit that I'm obsessed with. Cheers my tumblr friend <3

https://www.tiktok.com/@.dearlupin/video/7410813583577091334

David Threwlis is a fucking GEM and the PERFECT pick for the character in every aspect, yes. I can't think of how anyone could actually think otherwise. He looks perfect and acts perfect.

To the point where I would actually be happy if he played Remus AGAIN for the TV series or whatever - even though he looks so much older. Play up the fact he looks 'older than his age' or do some makeup, I dunno, I don't care. I would be alright with it.

I don't think any of the movies do anyone justice, TBH - ignoring the fact that of course things will have to be trimmed and simplified. I think most people agree though that the way they chose to do so was destructive and missed the point of the overarching story.

OotP and HBP were enjoyable as individual movies - but cut out so, so much that it damages the series as a whole. OotP especially should have been two movies, to REALLY get to know the Order Members, the adult world harry desperately wants to enter - revisit Lupin and Sirius, get attached to the real Moody - set up Tonks... maybe end the first one with Dumbledore leaving...?

But some actors pulled through wonderfully with the limited time they were given to portray their role, Alan Rickman of course being one - and I think David Threwlis is an underrated other. He did fucking BEAUTIFULLY and it made up for imo a half-assed performance from Gary Oldman as Sirius. He has perfect aesthetic and his fatherly moments with Harry were gorgeous... but most of the time he felt like his heart wasn't in it.

Remus, in the movies, HAD to be soft... but always carry a touch of coldness. A comfortable room but the heater isn't on. A cup of tea but you're asked to leave right after. Gentle eyes that pierce. Slightly odd expressions that feel kind, but also... off. He nailed that. Absolutely. That softness that makes you want to cozy up close, but a constant distance that makes you wonder why. Also the mustache was absolute genius. If only they gave him greys...

THIS LOOK? Underrated. SO MUCH PACKED INTO IT. Displeasure, surprise, 'oh shit im in danger' - but then forced innocence, a bit of weariness, a cheeky idea...

How he came out of the darkness, too - Snape specifically calling Lupin to show him the map was meaningful in the books, but Remus walking out of the pitch black was symbolic in the movies. It was a decent change. THIS is when I felt a 'Hm...' about Remus. (I saw it as an adult though, first time last year. I had no idea I'd love him so much.)

I LOVVEEEE going on and on about Remus being a wet tissue paper - because he is so often mischaracterized in so many different ways... but he IS good. He IS strong, compassionate, wise, clever... Fatherly. He will put himself aside to comfort someone in need. He just can't do that for himself. He will punish himself for the things he is gentle with in others.

"His voice, his smile, the way he carries himself, his quiet strength. Who could've done it better? I love him." YEAHYEAHYEAH David can pack layers of depth into every movement he makes. His little head bobbles, the ways his eyes pin on something and stare, his control of exactly how he smiles... ITS SO GOOD AHH

Normally a link to tiktok earns an instant vaporization but you get a pass aight I wont kill you God he's so wonky looking, look at him, he is delightful, I am going to spread him on toast with my vegemite

[thatshakespeareanfool]

Bellatrix is not as such your local crazy lady as the fandom tends to pretend. The movies and Helena’s performance played a big part in this but she gets often totally mischaracterized.

Bella is unhinged and broken in the same way Sirius is after 12 years of brutal prison but she is definitely quio sane. Her obsession with Voldemort has nothing to do with madness but that’s an another topic to discuss.

The only scene where we see her acting out is the Battle of the Department Ministry when she continuously mocks the “group of children” who is there to fight them. Later in the battle she is purposefully trying to rile Harry up perfectly knowing what are his triggers.

In the spinner’s end chapter she is reasoning with Narcissa till they arrive to Snape. She is somehow the only person who is actively questioning Snape’s loyalty and despite her devotion to Voldemort she is questioning his judgment as well, that’s when Snape touches the sensitive subject that she and V are not on talking matters right now.

In DH when the golden trio is in the Malfoy Manor she is capable to understand the grave situation of their if the Cup from her vault is missing. Narcissa and Lucius have no idea what’s going on, but Bella knows Voldemort is gonna kill them all if the cup have gotten stolen and yet she treats the whole situation pretty reasonably. (Yes her method is to torture Hermione but again that has nothing to with her mental capabilities rather the fact that she sees muggleborns as inferior).

So portraying her as someone who doesn't know what she is doing or the consequences of them is quite wrong. Her moral compass is obviously nothing one should agree with but that doesn't mean she is not in her right mind.

She has enough control over here emotions to master Occlumency and she gives at least a few displays that are probably blatantly false and used for emotional manipulation, like Narcissa does in HBP.

Also Bellatrix never participated in the murder of Dumbledore in the books because she was never there at the first place. She doesn't burn the Burrow down or does any other grandiose acts which paints her character as unnecessary unstable.

One does not need to be insane to be bigot.

[dream-with-a-fever]

Hinny fic prompts

any missing scenes in HBP

first time falling to sleep in each other arms (non sexual) post DH - grief, crying, waking from nightmares

Post DH- Harry decides he wants to take Ginny on a real date and he takes her to dinner in the muggle world so they don’t get mobbed

omgomgomg i love ALL of these!!!!

i am currently in the process of writing a missing moments HBP long oneshot (similar to my OOTP long oneshot ) which i will get round to sharing once it’s done!! it’s going to be scenes that take place in and around the book like i did with the previous fic! already very excited!!! i know stories like these have been done before but i don’t think you can have too many hinny hogwarts era oneshots <3

[arliedraws]

Somewhat related to my last reblog, but I’m realizing there are some embarrassingly big parts of HP (particularly OotP, HBP, and DH) that I missed/didn’t pick up on because I skipped over a lot of parts when I first read them. I’ve always had ADHD (apparently, though I didn’t know), and the way that JKR writes is oddly conducive to skipping parts of paragraphs, particularly ones with important exposition. My reading comprehension was so poor because I was reading those books starting at midnight when I bought them at the releases, and I just cruised on through, eager to see what happened, skimming whole pages and finishing as quickly as I could.

For example, I really didn’t understand the snake scene in OotP. My 11-year-old brain was just like, “He is snake? How is he snake?” But I just blasted through that whole section (probably because I was trying to get to the Sirius bits lol). I also rarely reread these books, so I think there’s a ton that I never really realized/understood.

I don’t have a point to this post only that holy shit, despite being a voracious reader in my childhood, my comprehension skills were horrible.

[hopefulidiocy]

Prompt: HBP missing scene. Remus giving Harry girl advice

Remus sits next to Harry over Christmas at the Burrow and says “you know if you don’t want anyone to figure out how you feel you may want to stop staring at Miss Weasley”

Burrowed Christmas

Remus Lupin x female!reader x Harry Potter (no, not a poly)

Half-Blood Prince Era

Context: Harry is a growing boy and he has his confusions about some stuff.

Warnings: slightly suggestive, cursing, fluff, teenage angst, grammar, not proof read

Word count: around 900.

A/N: hope you like it! Never done these types of stories before. Cute ass idea! Thanks for sending :)

Christmas Eve was your favourite time of year, screw Christmas Day because that was over too quickly but with Christmas Eve you could simply relax, prepare food for tomorrow, drink and play board games. It was simply a brilliant time all round, for everyone. You and Lupin snuggled on the sofa as the sun rolled behind the mountains and out came the small, twinkling stars that Lupin always liked to name. With one arm over you and the other leaning on the sofa arm, he was reading his favourite classic romance novel and you laid there, enjoying his breath and the way his belly moves when he breathes. He has always had a gentle aura about him. Ron and Hermione joined you, playing chess with each other and completely ruining the whole comfortable vibe; you flew a cushion at them to get them to shut up but it was fruitless because Ron will always be dramatic.

“Checkmate!” Hermione roared, standing up and doing laps of the living room with the biggest, brightest smile on her face.

“Too bad, Weasley.” Lupin chuckled, cornering his page and setting it beside him; his, now free, hand stroked your head as he laughed and watched Ron basically blow up over a girl winning over him.

“More lessons for you, mate.” You laughed, sinking into his warming arms, your eyes growing heavy.

You must’ve dropped off at some point because you woke up to Miss Weasley screaming that dinner has been served. You were still in Lupin’s arms, he had fallen asleep too, his wrist at an awkward angle as his face slumped into his open hand.

“Remus.” You shook him awake, he moaned and rubbed his eyes.

“My fucking hand.” He moaned, massaging it with sleepy eyes. You pouted mockingly for him before you managed to get up, your head a bit cotton ball. Lupin stood up with you, a whole two heads taller than you, his arm naturally looped around your shoulders; pulling you in softly. No matter how much you guys touched, he always wanted more and could never get enough of having you around all the time.

In the dining room, the table was set incredibly for a Christmas Eve meal. With roast pig and roast beef sitting in the middle of the broken wooden table, the steam rising up to the ceiling; vegetables, all honey roasted and almost gone by Hermione; two types of gravy, a thick one and a thin one because Arthur loves his thick gravy and all types of potatoes one could ever imagine. Ron was completely stunned by it, just sitting there with his jaw on the floor and Remus had laughed to himself before pulling a chair out for you. When you sat, he pushed you back in, patting your shoulder gently and sitting opposite you. He rubbed his hands and made his way across the plates of food. Harry came in after ten minutes, blurry eyed and blushed a deep red, the only seat free was the one next to you; he awkwardly pulled the chair and sat.

“Hey, Harry.” You said, swallowing your pork and sending him a kind smile. He looked shocked, stared at you for a moment before responding.

“Er - hi.” He sheepishly smiled. He was being awkward. More awkward than normal and you looked at Remus, who was already looking at you with an amused expression; both of you smiled at each other and looked back down at your food.

“Miss -“ Harry cleared his throat. “Miss Weasley.” He paused for absolutely no reason and everyone looked at him, he glowed like the end of a wand when you cast lumos, and you saw that he swallowed - extremely hard - twice before talking again. “Miss Weasley. Please could you pass the… the potatoes?” He cleared his throat again. You caught Remus’ eye, he was staring at Harry with the most perplexing but amused look that made you snort as you drank your wine.

Throughout the meal, you watched Harry through your peripheral vision; he didn’t stop looking over at Hermione and then Molly and then you. It was confusing because he had never even looked at you in any way, let alone with a deep red blush on his face. Remus found it absolutely hilarious that Harry couldn’t stop looking, every time he made an awkward comment he would chuckle into his wine as quietly as possible. After dinner, you and the adults sat over a few glasses of red wine, chatting about this and that. It was nice to see Remus at ease with his best friend, Sirius, and both of them together was something incredibly special.

“Harry was acting weird, wasn’t he?” Sirius questioned, a little tipsy.

“I didn’t notice anything.” Molly said.

“He was heart eyeing all the girls in the room! I’m surprised you didn’t see a thing!” Sirius exclaimed, laughing. Arthur was chuckling, his beer belly bouncing. You and Remus looked at each other, knowingly and wordlessly you stood up. He led you to back door, letting the cold air in the hallway as he opened the door for you whilst you fetched your pack of cigarettes from the back pocket of your shorts.

“You look great in those shorts.” He purred, sending a smack to your ass.

“Put your tongue away, pervert.” You smiled, taking out a long cigarette for yourself and one for Remus. He brought out his wand, lighting it for you before lighting his own. You took a long drag, watching the smoke drift through the night air; Remus placed his arm across your shoulders, pressing his lips to your temple before taking a drag of his cigarette.

“I think Harry’s becoming a man.” He said, almost mindlessly.

“It was bound to happen, Rem.” You took another drag, letting the nicotine hit your bloodstream and that beautiful euphoric feeling of alcohol and nicotine running through your body. He hummed in deep thought. “What are you thinking?” You turned to him, craning your neck as you watched him look into the night sky; the breeze shifting his hair and his dark eyes in thought, he looked ethereal.

“Whenever I look at him, I see Lily and James. They are so present in him, whether he remembers them or not. He’s so much like James. So kind like Lily.” He took another puff of his cigarette. “He’s becoming a man. A man his parents never got to experience.”

“You get to experience it. We both do.” You leaned your cheek on his chest, his arm cascading over you. “He needs some proper guidance with the new… romantic feelings he might be developing.” It felt awkward to speak like this because you still saw him as a child.

“Yeah. Bird and the bees as they say.” He chuckled, flicking his cigarette away.

“I’m sure he already knows about that.” You laughed, taking your final drag before flicking it off. Remus looked at you with intense alarm, his eyes wider than you’ve ever seen them before. He looked like a boy. You reached up and ruffled his hair, he broke into a smile and attacked you with a hug; burying his face in your neck, kissing it lightly which always made you laugh.

“Merlin, shall we go speak to him?” He questioned, his face red from the warmth of your neck. You nodded and both of you headed inside. Sirius’ animated voice floated in from the living room, both of you rolled your eyes at each other and entered inside where Harry was just looking at Sirius with wide eyes.

“Harry… what I’m trying to say is: when two people love each other.” He stopped, thinking. “Well, actually you don’t always have to love each other. In fact, most of the time, you don’t love each other.” He noticed the two of you muffling your snickers from the doorway. “Except if you’re these two. These two love each other and they do an act called se-“

“OKAY! Sirius!” You clapped your hands, cutting him short of his verbal diarrhoea. Harry was absolutely mortified, just sat there on the edge of the sofa looking like he wanted to run as far away as possible from this situation.

“Please, no one talk to me about this.” Harry shook his head. “I already… I already know about… you know… the act… of love… or sometimes not love… I know about it.” He tripped over every single word, his face glittering with red and purple hues.

“Harry, Harry, you’re panicking.” You laughed a little and he audibly relaxed, a sigh emitting from his mouth as a deep groan.

“Listen, mate, you’re a growing lad. These feelings… these feelings are new.” Remus took over, leaving you to simply look upon the situation.

“Oh I’m not sure if I want to talk about this.” Harry responded but Remus put his hand up.

“That’s fine but you should probably recognise that you’re staring at every woman in the room.” Remus said in a low voice.

“No! That’s not true! I’m not staring at Hermione!” He panicked way more than you expected. Remus laughed, throwing his head back and patting his thigh.

“These feelings are weird right now but you will get used to them. They let you figure out what you like and what you want. It’s normal.” Remus smiled, nudging him with his shoulder. Harry emitted a hesitant smile.

“It’s embarrassing. I keep getting these… dreams and I wake up all…” Harry was squirming awkwardly.

“I get it. No need to spell it out. I remember being your age and having these awkward dreams and feelings. I couldn’t stop staring at any girl with a pinch of a figure. It’s normal. Everyone is growing at this point in your life. I guarantee Ron is feeling it too and he will probably be more anxious than you.” Remus chuckled.

“I guess.” Harry finally smiled properly. “It’s just incredibly awkward. I can’t look at a woman without… you know.” He dared to look at you and then look away, you giggled, letting your back relax in the sofa.

“I know, I know all right.” When Harry looked down with sheer humiliation, Remus gazed over at you and winked, sending a familiar sensation down to your abdomen.

“But, Lupin, please don’t mention this to anyone. I don’t want anyone to know. Especially not Hermione, I don’t want her to think I’m… you know.” He shrugged, picking at his nails.

“If you don’t want anyone to figure out how you feel you may want to stop staring at Miss Weasley.” He smirked, Harry took one look at him and started laughing. You joined in. And within a minute you were all laughing.

[redheadwannabesblog]

Weasleys revenge: missing scene HBP

A few days after Ron getting poisoned Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna sat in the hospital wing with him. Ginny had dropped off a stack of old editions of Quidditch Monthly that she’d thought Ron would like. Luna placed a large pink crystal next to his bed that she swore would speed his recovery. 

Hermione grimaced but at the look Ginny shot her said it was a very nice thought. Hermione tried to convince Ron to catch up on some schoolwork but he just groaned “what’s the point of nearly dying if I can’t even get out of a few essays.”

The doors to the hospital wing swung open and Romilda Vane came charging in flanked by two girls Harry vaguely recognized from the train. It took him a moment to realize it was in fact Romilda because her pale skin and dark hair had turned a deep green color. She looked like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz that he had seen glimpses of before the Dursley’s had quickly changed the channel on the TV. 

Romilda looked straight at Ginny and spat “you did this to me didn’t you!!!”

Ginny looked up at her in mock surprise and said simply “ I don’t know what you are talking about. What is it you think I’ve done?”

“This, you witch! My hair! my skin! I look like I’m covered in moss. Get it off me!!”

Despite being shouted at Ginny looked up calmly. “Are you accusing me of turning you green?”

“Of course I am! Who else would’ve been mental enough to do this?!”

Hermione jumped up clearly in Prefect mode when Ginny stood and walked towards Romilda. 

“Well Romilda, poisoning another student is a serious accusation. Something like that would be enough to earn someone a month of detention if they weren’t suspended. So I hope you have some evidence other than me being mental. 

But we should get to the bottom of this. Tell me did whoever poison you leave something behind, like I don’t know were they stupid enough to sign their name?” 

At this she held out a small bit of parchment toward Romilda that Harry recognized as the note from the box of spiked chocolate cauldrons. He wondered briefly how she had found it before turning his attention back to the scene unfolding. Hermione looked concerned. Ron was looking on in great interest as nothing this exciting had happened in days. 

Romilda stared down at the note. 

“Oh come on! that was harmless.”

Ginny calm was gone at this. Anger flushed her face and the note in her hand was crumbled in her clenched fist. 

“HARMLESS! 

You tried to poison my friend, you actually poisoned my brother and  he could have died! “

“That wasn’t my fault and I got that potion from your other brothers BY THE WAY!”

“Oh believe me Fred and George already got an earful and they have learned their lesson and recalled the last of those awful love potions. Nothing about this was harmless and Ron wouldn’t be in that bed if it wasn’t for you! So maybe whoever turned you green wanted you to know what being forced into something outside of your control feels like!!!”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Everyone jumped to see madam Pomfrey standing behind them looking livid. 

“Miss Vane, I’m am sure the coloring is temporary. Go grab a bed over there and I will be right with you. I’m sure your friends can leave you alone for a little while.”

Romilda marched to a bed as far from Ginny as possible. And hid herself behind a curtain. 

Madam Pomfrey looked at Ginny. Who had gone back to her seat between a stunned looking Ron and a gleeful Luna. 

“Now do you have ideas on what might remove that coloring, Miss Weasley.”

“I never said it was me who did it.” Ginny said trying and failing to look innocent. 

Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I only meant hypothetically”

Ginny looked up at her and said slowly “hypothetically it would probably wash away with a bit of rosewater”.

The matron turned and walked towards her medicine cabinet. 

“Wow Ginny” said Ron smugly “I had no idea you cared so much.”

“Oh shut up and read your magazine. And don’t look at me like that Granger you once trapped a woman in a jar and transported her across England, so don’t judge me. “

Harry burst out laughing. Ginny’s glower disappear and she started laughing too. The monster in his chest was beaming. 

[honeydukesheroine]

oh yeah...the harry/hermione pipeline I had to endure in some irl conversations. but I always point out I hate the pairing I cant pretend to even like given my distaste for Hermione

I think the trouble is that the movies have a large influence on people's view of these characters, even for people who've read the books! It's clear that writers and/or directors of the movies shipped Harry/Hermione - likely for the Emma Watson of it all and the idea that the main protagonist end up with the attractice, brilliant female lead with the most screen time.

Like... that Horcrux locket scene of Harry and Hermione making out NAKED did no favors in contrast to the sad, cold, cringe Harry/Ginny kiss of the HBP film.

As for a distaste for Hermione, I also recognize that she's not the most lovable character! In the books she's certainly complicated and antagonistic at times. But I love her in all her flawed messy ways and she's one of my favorites to crack open and see what's inside the inner workings of her brain.

There's a secret hope I have that the way I write her adds some sympathy and depth to her character that we don't get to see in the books while keeping honest with her flaws.

So when people irl take up their Harry/Hermione banner, I *usually* say "oh, so you just watched the movies. I'm sorry for how much you're missing out on with Hinny, but let me enlighten you." 😂

[startanewdream]

Still trying to fix Movie Hinny scenes, and here's my most ambitious attempt. Yes, that one.

Shoelace. HBP Missing moment, set around Christmas. 1,5k words.

Ginny was smiling at him; it was an open, inviting smile, charming in every way. Harry smiled back, eyes shining with undisguised longing, until he remembered he wasn’t supposed to; there were many obstacles, starting with the fact that she was seeing someone else—

But Ginny took a step closer to him. “I broke up with Dean,” she mumbled, voice trembling with excitement.

He blinked, hope blossoming on his chest. “So that means—”

“I am free, Harry, free.”

Free to be with you, he heard. Her hand met his, fingers intertwining with a familiarity that shouldn’t be there, and yet it was as easy as breathing. Harry broke the distance between them, the back of his free hand caressing her face as he admired the warmth of her brown eyes.

“Ginny,” he called; she parted her lips in answer, a single breath leaving them, her head lifted to look at him.

He inclined his head, closing his eyes as their lips brushed; a jolt of electricity ran down his body. This was perfect, this was everything he ever wanted, everything he’d been dreaming of for months—

“You do know this is my sister you are snogging, right?”

The shock of hearing the voice made Harry jump. His lips were still tingling as he turned around and realised Ron was watching the scene, leaning against the door of the room, his face showing only polite consternation.

“Please don’t mind me,” said Ron calmly. “I was just stressing that out.”

“Harry?” called Ginny. She took another step closer to him, and for a moment, watching her, Harry almost forgot everything else. But then Ron coughed, and Harry couldn’t ignore him. “Harry?”

“Ginny—your brother.”

She just blinked. “What?”

Harry looked pointedly at the door. Ginny glanced around, her gaze moving past the point where her brother was standing, now checking his nails absently, without betraying any reaction.

“There is no one here. It’s just us.”

“Can’t you see—”

“No,” Ron answered for his sister, smiling now. “You are the only one that can see me, Harry.”

“No, no—”

“Yes, yes.” Ron’s smile was almost too large for his face. “I’m your conscience, Harry.”

“Harry,” Ginny’s voice was soft. “Just kiss me—”

“I—” Ron was next to them now, watching Harry with evident disapproval. “I want, I just—no, no, go away, leave me alone—”

Harry jumped, startled, opening his eyes, and then jerking back when he met a pair of blue eyes.

“You,” he mumbled, breathing hard.

“Harry!” Ron’s voice sounded only concerned now; he didn’t look as if he was going to haunt Harry’s dreams or, rather unfortunately, point out who Harry was snogging. “Are you ok? What happened?”

“You," Harry repeated, still confused, "are my conscience.”

Ron blinked. “I’m very glad you see me that way, but actually Hermione—” His face got red, and then Ron looked away. “It’s not You-Know-Who, then?”

“No.” Harry picked up his glasses; the room was too hot. “Wish it was.”

Ron threw him a reproachful glance that was almost too close to his dream. Harry raised, searching quickly for his shoes.

“I’m going to get some air,” he mumbled, running to get away from the room.

Ron mumbled something that sounded like mental, but he let Harry go without further question. Harry stepped down four sets of stairs, nearly tumbling with his untied shoes, before stopping to catch his breath, leaning against the cool wood to calm his racing heart.

Voldemort, he thought; he could deal with Voldemort somehow showing up to ruin his dreams about Ginny (a quick punch in his noseless face should solve that problem), but when it came to her brother—what a bucket of frozen water—

Or not enough, because then, as it always happened, he pictured the better and perfected version of his dreams—the one where Harry’s conscience didn't trip him, the one where Ginny just showed up, unattached, her feelings matching Harry’s; the one where they would finally kiss, and it would be glorious. She would call his name—

“Harry?”

He blinked, then blinked again, trying to figure out if he was still dreaming. Ginny was standing on the landing below him, wearing a bathrobe that was tied around her waist, almost as a dress, leaving her legs bare; her wet hair fell like curtains, framing her face, and the scent of her flowery perfume was in the air.

He inhaled deeply before realising that Ginny looked worried. She was never worried on his dreams.

“Hey,” he said belatedly.

“Are you ok?”

That sounded like an echo of Ron’s question early. “Yes,” Harry said, suddenly more awake. “Just resting a bit.” She nodded slowly; since there was a still suspicious look on her face, he added, “Why are you up?”

Ginny breathed suddenly. “This is the best time for a shower,” she said. “No one telling me to rush.”

Her voice was light, but he thought he could detect a hint of some discomfort; she was fidgeting with her hands. Harry walked down, joining her on the second-floor landing, watching her closer now; her face was pale.

“Ginny?”

She looked at him for a moment, eyes searching for something on his face that she might have found, because Ginny sat up suddenly, leaning her back against the baluster.

“I lost my sleep,” she admitted heavily. Harry joined her, sitting next to her. “I read the Evening Prophet and then—it’s silly.”

Harry hadn’t checked the newspaper, but he could guess what she had read; neither the coming of a new year nor the holidays seemed to matter for Voldemort’s attacks.

“No,” he disagreed. “I doubt it”

But Ginny shook her head. “I know we are protected here. All those enchantments and wards, I mean, Bill said that not even he couldn’t break them, and yet—I dreamed there was an attack on the Burrow.”

Harry looked past Ginny, to one of the windows by the stair. There was only darkness outside, but he could imagine it: a ring of fire, Voldemort’s red eyes, Bellatrix’s goading laugh. He shivered.

“It won’t happen,” he said. Dumbledore had assured him that the Burrow was safe. Harry couldn’t bear it if anything happened to anyone there because of his presence—it would be Sirius all over again— “I promise you, I won’t let it.”

Ginny’s look was too smart. “It’s not your job, you know. To protect  us.”

He thought about the Ministry of Magic showing up. About a serpent attacking Mr. Weasley last Christmas.

“Things seem to happen when I’m around.”

“That’s because you are interesting.” She winked at him; the glint in her eyes was enough to dissipate any lasting worry for the time being. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You are awake in the middle of the night as well.”

“Oh, the same. Nightmare.”

She watched him. “Not You-Know-Who?”

“Worse.” He threw her an embarrassed look. “Your brother.”

Ginny gave him a bracing smile. “Let me guess, it involved snogging.” Harry flushed, unsure of what to answer. “Ron and Lavender…” She shook her head; Harry breathed slowly. “Almost makes you wish we would stay here a bit longer, doesn’t it?”

She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the baluster for a moment.

“Between OWLs, my brother snogging everywhere, Dean—” Her eyes widened suddenly; she ran her hand through her wet hair, clearly flustered. “Anyway, a break is good.”

“Yes. Only I wished summer break had never ended.”

Her face softened once again. “Summer was good, wasn’t it?”

He could recall it easily. Chats with Ron and Hermione, no tension, no heartbreak; the shadow of the prophecy — the shadow of Voldemort — somehow dissipated under the sunshine of the long summer days; and Ginny. Flying, playing, teasing, smiling. The sound of Ginny’s laugh; warmer than the sun, more exhilarating that any match of Quidditch.

His eyes locked on hers.

“It was perfect,” Harry whispered.

There was a moment of silence, something that stretched until there was a creak somewhere up in the house. Probably the ghoul in the attic, but still, Harry looked away.

“Well, there is Quidditch,” he said, voice weak.

“Yes…” She stood up, a brave smile on her lips. “Don’t tell anyone but lifting that Quidditch Cup is the main reason I’m going back.”

Harry smiled back. “That’s the best reason,” he agreed, raising too. His feet caught on the stairs, and when he found his balance again, he realised he was standing in front of Ginny, far too close than he should.

He didn’t move away; neither did Ginny. He’d shared many moments with Ginny before, Harry thought, but he’d never been so aware of her presence, of the warmth of her body, of the fragrance of her perfume—and something that wasn’t material, wasn’t corporeal, and yet he felt all the same.

A line, invisible, connecting him and Ginny, bringing them closer; his gaze fell to her lips.

And then Ginny looked down, taking a tiny step behind.

“Shoelace,” she mumbled, blinking furiously. “You should tie your shoes, you don’t wanna fall.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I will.”

“Good,” Ginny answered, though it didn’t sound so for the tension in her voice. “Good night, Harry.”

She gave him a half-smile, not meeting his eyes, and took a step down.

“Good night,” he whispered, turning around and nearly falling when he tripped over his untied shoelaces. He kneeled quickly.

By the time he raised again, Ginny was already gone.

(For other movie adaptations: Talking about the diary (on the script, but cut from the movie!) + Open up (or Ginny feeds Harry, WHY?) + Zip me up (cute but lacks emotion)

[iamnmbr3]

what are some really outstandingly written and creative hp fics. (please no wholeslae canon rewrites tho. AUs are fine).

Here are a few fics that I find to be especially outstanding and creative and well written.

Amulette d'amour by The_Carnivorous_Muffin, Vinelle (words: 58,092 | not rated | Tom Riddle/Alphard Black)

Tom is commissioned to repair a magical amulet.

Why I rec it: Listen. This fic is absolutely phenomenal. It has a fascinating and well developed exploration of wizarding society, brilliant and highly complex and multifaceted characterization, and very original and unique plotting. It's extraordinarily well written and is both thought provoking and dramatic as well as laugh out loud funny in places. It's not a fic premise or pairing I would ever have imagined but it's legitimately an outstanding piece of writing that will live rent free in your head.

At Your Service by Faith Wood (faithwood) ( words: 95,752 | rating: E drarry )

Hogwarts students are in danger; Harry is determined to save them all. There’s only one thing he knows for certain: Draco Malfoy is somehow involved.

Why I rec it: This is the closest to book 8 that I've seen. Stylistically it really recalls the feel and structure of the canon books and it has a lot of really cool plot developments and world building. It follows on nicely from the rest of the series and expands on whats there. It feels like a book 8 where drarry happens.

the pleasure, the privilege by asterismal (asterisms) (words: 19,901 | rating: M | Harry/Voldemort | CW: Horror, Extremely dark themes)

It begins with Vernon Dursley’s body, dead across the table. In which Voldemort is dosed with amortentia, and nothing is better for it.

Why I rec it: It takes a crack plot premise and runs with it and really makes it work in a serious way. This fic is DARK and very unique and creative in its plot resolution. It kept me on the edge of my seat and is incredibly innovative and dramatic.

Running on Air by eleventy7 ( words: 74,876 | rating: T | drarry)

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Why I rec it: Brilliantly well done characterization and amazing world building and plot. The relationship and characters all develop so naturally and the writing is incredibly beautiful. It never feels rushed and yet you can't put it down.

Denude by Faith Wood (faithwood) (words: 4,172 | rating: E | drarry | CW: Underage)

This is a HBP AU. It's set a few days after the Sectumsempra scene and takes the story in another direction, asking the question: "What if the Sectumsempra scene had a greater impact on Harry and Draco?" Harry and Draco are sixteen. In medias res beginning. Non-linear storytelling.

Why I rec it: Stylistically it feels like it could be taken out of book 6. The characterization and dialogue is so spot on and its very emotionally evocative.

Sparkling Cyanide by Asenora (words: 1,415 | rating: G | Gen | complete)

Tom Riddle had nothing to do with the death of Hepzibah Smith. Hokey had just had enough of being a slave.

Why I rec it: Amazingly creative world building and premise and characterization. It feels brand new and yet wholly plausible and right.

[princeisolde]

It’s been on my mind since yesterday…Interesting how there wasn’t really a successful Tom casting in the entire HP movie series…so because no one asked and I ran out of weed I’m going to compare them all.

Here we go. I just recently reread all the books; I wish they had included more of Tom in general because he’s a very important comparison piece for Harry to grapple with. That’s kind of the point of him…he’s the other side to Harry’s coin.

There’s a lot of Tom scenes missing, especially with Ginny, Slughorn, and a few other characters like Hepzibah, that didn’t even make it into the films where we really get a good image of how…pretty he was and how much that added to his manipulative tactics.

1: I’ll never not adore Christian Coulson in the roll but it’s true he was too old (23 when filming CoS) and therefore there was no hope of him coming back…BUT!!!!! the scene where he visits Hepzibah when he’s in his 20’s is something we were robbed of. Something Christian Coulson could have left us reeling from. But nope. They never filmed it. Here’s an image someone made along with a partial missing scene from HBP. And there’s plenty more where that came.

Hero Fiennes was a cute creepy kid but flat toned and that’s okay because he was a baby. I think it was 10/10 to use Ralph Feinnes’ nephew, very cute. He looks the part.

Then there was Frank Dillane who reminded everyone of The Omen and was just so creepy and wonderful…but didn’t look the part. They gave him a bad haircut and shot him on a lens that made his face look…wide. But his performance was utterly chilling and my absolute favorite out of the three young Toms. The way his words are silky and inviting yet sinister making you wonder why you’re uncomfortable…ugh he was so good. I wish so much they’d have styled him better because he’s not a bad looking kid.

Also…Ralph Fiennes circa ‘92. Like come on…That’s all I’m saying. There was a very clear guideline to his looks.

Okay! That’s my speech. Thank you all.

HBO…please PLEASE don’t waste this character.