#I still will occasionally listen to The Parselmouths!
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arcticmist0324 · 2 days ago
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There was definitely a huge wave of fannish music, specifically “wizard rock” (called wrock) in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In 2014, there was a MASSIVE shock to the community as many prominent creators were accused of a number of abusive behaviors (towards both other fans and creators). It was a mess. I discuss it a bit more in the tags.
Hank Green (who is someone who was involved in this space and has a reputation for being a stand-up human and not a creep) even made a video in response. It’s still up on the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel. It’s titled “Sexual Abuse, Consent, and Culture.” He doesn’t delve into specifies, but it’s a good sense of the things being discussed at the time. (A lot of the creators who were accused were tied in with the Nerdfighter community).
Oh, and I remember this but I don’t think many other do, but there was also Hunger Games-themed music called Rockingjay. There was overlap with Wizard Rock (which might be a reason it didn’t really go anywhere because… well 2014 happened).
I'm meant to be writing so naturally my brain went into asking the real questions— why don't we have fandom music? We have all forms of expressive art, writing, drawing, editing. The more physical forms of art, sewing outfits, forging swords, acting, even audi narrating fics. So basically all art forms in order to further explore our blobros and yet— no music? Why is it? I am genuinely curious why songwriting and music-making is the one form of art that is not present in the daily fandom life? Yes there's music video edits, even people recreating music from shows on piano etc— but that's not what I mean, I mean honest to god making a real, proper, lyric and music and singing original song for your blobro. Why don't we have that?
#oh yeah#I was really into wrock back in the day#there was also a proposed genre of hunger games inspired music called Rockingjay#a friend and I were at one point going to start a band a la the Parselmouths about careers but it fell apart#but a lot of it all sort of disappeared in the mid 2010s or so#fannish song parodies were huge too in this era#a lot of the downfall of Wizard wrock can be attributed to a wave of creators being outed as abusers in 2014#this was really the first major wave of YouTubers being outed as abusers as well#kind of MeToo vibes before MeToo#a lot of fans and other creators in the space were victimized#one also allegedly ran off with $7k from a GoFundMe to make an album he never released#it didn’t pick up much traction at the time and I’m sure the money is long gone now#this was almost 11 years ago#I still will occasionally listen to The Parselmouths!#I quietly follow Kristina and Eia on my personal Instagram and I’m wishing those ladies luck in everything they do in life#but they’re both still friends and seem to be happy and successful so that warms my heart#this is a fandom history research interest of mine#fandom history#if you would ever like to talk to someone who was there and has also done some extensive in hindsight digging over the past year let me know#I can even hook you up with a pirated copy of Alex Day’s memoir where the asshole plays the victims#yes it’s cheap but I’m not giving him my money#lol#I have self respect#so much self respect that it’s been sitting in my files unread for months#because I have better things to do with my life#I also wrote a lot of content on FanLore about it and have more to add#I will say most of the creators from this time in fan history are no longer active in creating online content or potentially in fandom#it’s possible some continue under anonymous pseudonyms#so please dont go bother these people#as much as I want to interrogate Jason Munday about whether he ever returned that $7k it’s not worth it
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mchanv · 4 years ago
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(DFYaH) Chapter 3: A Blank Book
[Originally on AO3]
Summary: I’ve always wondered what Draco Malfoy’s side of the Harry Potter saga was, that’s how I came up with this idea. It is not possible at all to be canon, due to the inability of certain magical items in the story. It runs alongside the books very closely, so some dialogue or actions can come directly from them.     Draco Malfoy goes to Hogwarts for his first year. After being sorted into Slytherin and the night had fallen, a strange silvery bird gives him a message. The bird, seemingly a Phoenix, belongs to Albus Dumbledore, his Headmaster, who gives Draco a book upon his arrival in his office that same night. Draco has no idea what the book meant, but decides to go through with what Dumbledore has asked of him.
Ship: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Marcus Flint/Oliver Wood (background)
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Word count: 3,390
—————
Wednesday went by relatively quick. Draco had been right about it not taking all too long for them to receive homework. They got two essays and two quizzes for the next week, one of each for Transfiguration and the others for History of Magic.
    Only late that evening, he continued working on the task again; they had to stay up until midnight for Astronomy either way. Pansy had gotten tired around ten and had gone upstairs, telling Draco to wake her up half an hour in advance so they could leave. Draco, likewise, had gone up to his dormitory; there wasn’t much to do in the common room without Pansy.
    Really not being in the mood to work on his homework, he had grabbed the book and the other stuff, and settled down behind his desk with the little light.
    It took him a nearly an hour and a half to complete the notes for the fifth chapter. Maybe it was so he could wake Pansy, half an hour in advance like she had asked.
    He put everything away, before reminding himself he’d rather keep the book close to him. Why? Was he getting attached to it or something? Draco didn’t know, and he didn’t feel like questioning it. He put it in his bag with his telescope, a very expansive one of course, and went to the common room. There, he took the door to the girls’ dormitories and quickly found those of the First Years.
    He knocked twice, not wanting to just burst in; it was the Girls’ Dormitory after all. He turned the knob after he heard a girl’s voice Draco recognised as Millicent Bulstrode allow it. He entered the room and every girl’s head turned towards him.
    “What are you doing here?” a girl asked surprised. Draco didn’t know her name.
    “Waking up Pansy,” he answered casually, shrugging and gesturing towards the sleeping Slytherin girl. “She asked me to wake her half an hour before our Astronomy lesson.”
    He strode over to her bed, followed by eight pairs of eyes, and nudged the sleeping Pansy. “Wake up, Pans, it’s time.”
    It took Draco a few times before Pansy finally groaned and demanded in a hoarse voice, “Who dare wake me?”
    “Pansy,” Draco said, playfully irritated, “it’s nearly midnight. We have Astronomy, remember?”
    Pansy shot up, suddenly wide awake. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Let’s go, Draco.” She grabbed her bag, which obviously contained her telescope and led Draco out of the room.
    For their first Astronomy lesson, they had to meet up with the other houses, seeing as it was for all the First Years, in the Entrance Hall. From there, their Professor would come to get them and guide them to the Astronomy Tower. It was safer that way because Filch wouldn’t be able to keep them up, at least not from the Entrance Hall onwards.
    Down in the Entrance Hall, Draco and Pansy were the only Slytherins present yet. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were already there, and it didn’t take long before the Gryffindors arrived, all in one big group. Draco wondered for a second if the other two houses also came like that. If so, he and Pansy would look full on ridiculous coming here with the two of them.
    Draco couldn’t help glancing at Potter across the room as Pansy was busy complaining about them having their lessons with the whole school. Potter was talking to Weasley at the edge of the Gryffindor group, occasionally laughing. Draco wondered how someone with such a past could still smile and laugh like nothing ever happened. He knew he would have a much harder time doing so if his father wouldn’t push him to do it.
    “Draco? Are you listening?” Pansy called, bringing Draco’s attention back to her.
    “Oh, no, sorry. I was thinking about our homework and Astronomy,” he lied smoothly. She didn’t have to know he had just been looking at a Gryffindor, and Potter no less.
    “Okay. I was just saying our Professor’ll be here soon,” she said, right as Professor Sinistra entered the Entrance Hall.
    She called all the students (the Slytherin’s had entered about a minute ago, also in one group, and Draco started to think it was a tradition), and led them to the Astronomy tower.
At a quarter past one, they all left the Tower, Professor Sinistra leading them back to the Entrance Hall. Halfway there, a voice halted them.
    “All right there, Professor Sinistra?” Dumbledore greeted, walking up to the group of First Years. All of them looked nervous, even Pansy standing next to him, but Draco had met up with his Headmaster a few times already and kept a cool head.
    “Of course, Professor Dumbledore, just leading the First Years back after their first lesson,” she answered casually, gesturing to the group behind her.
    Some students gave a little twitch as Dumbledore looked over at them and said, “That’s good. I was planning to speak to one of them.” Draco’s breath hitched. Was he talking about him? “The person knows who I’m talking about and I expect them in my office in no less than ten minutes,” he continued.
    Draco was sure it was him now, but tried to act casually, sharing his best fake-confusion look with Pansy’s real one.
    A few minutes later, Draco hurried to his dormitory and took the notebook, immediately running out again and up the corridors. He didn’t know if anyone had seen him, but he didn’t really care.
    He halted in front of the stone statue with only one minute left. He gave the password and walked upstairs, out of breath. He knocked on the door and entered with his Headmaster’s allowance.
    “Goodnight, Draco,” Dumbledore greeted, gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk. “I’m glad you noticed my hint.”
    “Of course, sir,” Draco answered. “I also have something to ask you, if you don’t mind.”
    Dumbledore smiled. “No, I don’t. What is it, Draco?”
    “Well...” Draco shifted nervously in his chair. This was his chance to ask about Potter being a Parselmouth. “I was studying the book and came by something very.. strange... But, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem exactly true. I don’t believe it, at least.”
    Dumbledore nodded. “And what is that?”
    “It’s about Potter. He spoke to a snake. The book, it states he’s a Parselmouth. But how? I mean... It’s Potter, he couldn’t, you know...” Draco tried his best to keep his voice calm, but failed drastically. He was just gambling at the end.
    Dumbledore smiled. “A Parselmouth, huh? That’s unexpected,” he said calmly, staring off at something behind Draco.
    It surprised him his Headmaster wasn’t freaking out like he was. “So, you believe it, sir?” he asked incredulously.
    “If the book says it, Draco, there’s no denying it.
    “Now, could I see the notebook?”
    Draco handed him it without a question, even though he had many. Dumbledore took the notebook from him and Draco let his thoughts roam freely. Was his Headmaster insisting that everything that happens it the book is true? Was this all just a part of a big joke? Was he just playing with him now? Is he—his Headmaster broke Draco’s thoughts by speaking up again.
    “Okay, this seems in order. Can I keep it with me again?” Dumbledore asked, “I’ll give it back soon.”
    Draco nodded. He guessed Dumbledore would do the same as on Tuesday morning. If so, he wouldn’t get much sleep because it would arrive at about four o’clock.
    “Goodnight, then, Draco,” the Headmaster said.
    “‘Night, sir,” Draco answered, getting up. He left the room and entered his dormitory a few minutes later, exhausted.
    He dropped his bag next to his trunk and fell asleep in his bed almost immediately.
—————
Draco was woken up out of a nice dream about Potter living with him and his parents and having a good life by Pansy shaking him.
    “Get up already, Draco! It’s morning!” Pansy called, “I know we had Astronomy, but we still have classes, you know!”
    “All right, all right. Calm down, Pansy,” Draco shushed her, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
    “I’ll see you at breakfast, then,” she called before leaving the room.
    Draco nodded sleepily. He opened his eyes and looked around. He frowned; there was no Phoenix to be seen, and no notebook. Draco felt disappointed; he was really looking forward to finishing the last two chapters.
    A few minutes later, he took his seat next to Pansy in the Great Hall. She turned around at him.
    “Only three periods today!” she beamed excited. Draco nodded and tried his best to smile back. He secretly wondered why that notebook was bothering him so much.
    Draco was about to grab some food as a screech owl landed in front of him. He raised his eyebrows; it wasn’t his owl; he had an eagle owl. The owl was carrying a rectangular package in its beak. Draco took it, it was the notebook! He couldn’t help the smile forming on his face as the screech owl flew away. He looked over at Dumbledore at the High Table. Dumbledore gave him a subtle wink before returning to his food.
    “What do we have first period?” Draco asked Pansy, trying to distract her from the package. Her eyes shot back up from it to look at him.
    “Herbology, and then Transfiguration,” she answered.
    “Thanks, I still have to get my books. See you at the Greenhouses?” Draco asked. Pansy nodded, and he left the Hall.
    Up in the dormitory, he wasn’t actually planning to just take his books. Seeing as he still had about an hour and a half, he had decided to read one more chapter. He could see then if he still had time to study it. Either way, they had Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Draco knew he practically just had a free period then.
    He lay down on his bed and opened the book.
    It already frustrated Draco as those Muggles just left Potter there to figure it out himself. There’s a reason Muggles don’t know it! It did cheer him up a bit as Mrs Weasley helped him out, as much as he despised those red-haired blood traitors, as his father called them when he was in a good mood.
    Draco was surprised Potter had never seen a moving picture before, but he guessed it made sense, having lived with Muggles for that long.
    He laughed out loud at that stupid fake spell those Weasley twins had taught Ron Weasley, a perfect prank.
    He closed his eyes for a few seconds as the book came to him, entering their compartment. Draco didn’t know if he was ready for it, but decided he didn’t really have a choice.
    He read the part as quick as he could and continued reading at a normal pace when the scene had ended. Why did he suddenly feel so bad about the way he acted towards Potter?
    Draco sighed at the end of the chapter and looked at the clock. An hour left, half an hour of time to work. He took all the things from his trunk and finished half of the chapter before he really had to leave.
    After Lunch, he went back up to his dormitory and grabbed his DADA book and the four other things. He only hoped no-one would notice it if he worked on it in class.
    Defence Against the Dark Arts was about just as boring as it had been the first lesson. Only this time, Quirrell lasted the whole period, so Draco had plenty of time to finish his notes. He didn’t dare read the next chapter, though, as it was nearing the end of class and he didn’t want a bored student noticing what he was doing.
    After the lesson, Pansy asked him if he wanted to hang out with her in the common room. Draco felt bad to decline, saying he had work to do in the library. He figured the library would be a safe place for him to finish the last chapter since there was a chance the common room and dormitory would be crowded.
    “All right, I’ll be in the common room then,” she answered, looking a bit disappointed. She turned around and left.
    Draco hurried to the library as fast as he could. He didn’t know why, but the thought of the next chapter being called The Sorting Hat really excited him. In the library, he quickly found himself a deserted table slightly out of sight. He sat down in the corner and began to read.
    At the ghost part, he again got that superior feeling. And he had to hold back a smile as the Sorting Hat began to sing. However, he nearly fell out of his seat from surprise as he read the part where the Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry bloody Potter in Slytherin?! He quickly looked around to look if someone had seen him, but saw no-one else sitting at the only two tables in his sight.
    Draco had to stop himself from singing as the Hogwarts song started. Draco had always loved singing, but his father had told him at a very early age singing was for women and girls and that men had to focus on more important things. He could still hear his words, bellowing in his head every time he wanted to sing...
    “You are a boy, Draco!” Lucius Malfoy had been screaming at a six-year-old Draco. “Singing is for girls, not for boys! I never want to hear you sing again, got it?!”
    Young Draco had nodded shakily, his whole body trembling in fear...
    He never forgot that, of course, and hated to Remember it. Draco secretly wondered what his father would say if he told them they had to sing a song at school. He would love to see his reaction on that. Maybe, one day, he’ll have the courage and the guts to tell him. One day...
    He closed his eyes briefly, reminding himself his father wasn’t here, and allowed himself to sing the song. He kept it a whisper.
         “Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,          Teach us something please,          Whether we be old and bald          Or young with scabby knees,          Our hands could do with filling          With some interesting stuff,          For now they’re bare and full of air,          Dead flies and bits of fluff,          So teach us things worth knowing,          Bring back what we’ve forgot,          Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,          And learn until our brains all rot.”
Draco closed his eyes at the end. Nothing had changed, he still loved singing. He opened them again and finished the chapter, making a mental note to write down the Gryffindor password. He quickly reread the chapter, noting the important pages, and then reused his system for the whole chapter.
    Draco sighed and leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed, at the end of his work. He had succeeded in Dumbledore’s task. Footsteps coming to a halt in front of the table he was sitting at interrupted his rest. He opened his eyes and looked up at Granger, her hair as tragic as ever and still in her school uniform, just as himself.
    “What do you want, Granger?” Draco demanded, he hated talking to the Gryffindor. Well, just Gryffindors in general. Except Potter, maybe—Merlin, get yourself together, Draco!
    “Just wondering why you were reading a blank book,” Granger responded in her bossy voice. Draco was about to sneer until he took in what she had said. A blank book? Draco looked down at the book and saw he left it open, and the pages weren’t ‘blank’ at all. They were filled with sentences.
    Before Draco had the chance to call her out on it, she turned around and walked away. Draco convinced himself she must have been joking, but, while walking back to the Slytherin Dormitories after having worked on his essays for a good hour, concluded that he actually didn’t want her to be joking. If she was joking, it meant she could have read it. And Draco really didn’t want anyone to know he was reading a book about Potter, let alone another Gryffindor.
    Upon entering the common room, he immediately walked over to Pansy, sitting alone in a corner. Draco felt that guilty feeling rose again while looking at her. He was the only friend she had, and he just left her for maybe three hours.
    “Hey, Pans,” he greeted as he took a seat on the couch next to her.
    Pansy looked shocked. “Oh, Draco, you’re back? Finally, I was starting to wonder what you were doing up there.”
    Draco let out a laugh. “Yeah, well—,” he started, but Pansy interrupted him.
    “What were you doing, actually?” she asked, looking straight into his eyes.
    “Studying,” Draco answered truthfully. He took a deep breath and grabbed the book from his bag. “Can you read it?” he asked her carefully, showing her a random page filled with sentences.
    Pansy looked from him to the book and back a few times, looking incredulous. “What do you mean ‘can you read it’? Of course not! It doesn’t even have words,” she answered, looking at him with disbelieving eyes.
    Draco looked shocked, and he was. How, when he could read it, why couldn’t Pansy? And did Granger actually speak the truth? Could, maybe, only Draco read the book, and was that the reason Dumbledore wanted him to do it? But what was so special about this book that made it impossible for others to read?
    “Draco? Are you all right?” Pansy asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
    “Can you really not read it?” he asked again quietly to make sure. Pansy shook her head.
    “Can you, then?”
    Draco nodded. “Follow me for a second.” He gestured her to follow him as he led her to the boys’ dormitory. He sat down on his bed and Pansy sat down next to him. Luckily, nobody else was present in the dormitory.
    Draco turned towards Pansy. “Earlier, Granger came up to me in the library, asking me why I was reading a blank book. That’s why I asked you about it,” he explained.
    “Oh. But how can you read it, but we can’t?” she asked.
    Draco shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think Dumbledore can read it either.”
    “What makes you think that?”
    “Well, he gave me the book, and the first thing he asked was what colour it was. And then he asked me to study it and said I was the best person for the job. I didn’t believe him at first, but if it’s true nobody besides me can read it, I’m not only the best but also the only person who can to do the job,” he explained to her. She nodded.
    “Then, that means it’s a very important job. Is that what you’ve been doing when you magically disappear?”
    Draco nodded guiltily. “I’m sorry for not telling you earlier, Pans, I just didn’t want anyone to know about the book and I thought everyone could read it.”
    “It’s fine. Now, care to tell me what’s it about?” she asked, curiosity filling her voice. Draco had seen the question coming and had his answer ready.
    “Sorry, but no. You would just think I’m crazy,” he answered truthfully. Pansy looked disappointed.
    “Okay... Let’s get up to dinner,” she said, changing the subject. She stood up and Draco followed her. “Just know you can always tell me anything, Draco,” she whispered before they left the room, Draco with a small smile on his face, happy to have such a great friend.
    He allowed himself to rest the rest of the day, satisfied with the completion of his task.
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(Text Copyright © 2020 MChanV)
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