#The Problems of HARRY POTTER META

[my-castles-crumbling]

Fuck regulus black. Fuck j*gulus. Fuck regulus being the worst brother to sirius and regulus for ruining the entire fandom. Bring back the old fandom where everything was wolfstar and jily not James and regulus who’s characterization revolves solely around their relationship to him and Sirius. Fuck people who like regulus yet hate on snape.

You have a lot of anger. Might I suggest therapy?

Specifically, the electro-shock variety?

But really, guys. I'm not going to interact with shit like this if you keep sending it to me. Fandom is supposed to be fun.

I respect your opinion about who should be with who and as a human fucking being, I deserve respect, too.

These are MADE UP characters from a MADE UP series. Though I would LOVE to have a respectful discussion about the Black Brothers' relationship and the differences between the 'old fandom' and the 'new fandom' and the Regulus vs Snape debate, you clearly just want to argue.

Please don't delude yourself into thinking your anonymous hatred about my silly little writing is going to make me feel any differently about how I get my dopamine.

If you aren't going to be kind, I have a delete button and you have a block button. Be better.

[teacup-gathering-itself]

The Sorting Hat listened to Harry’s pleas to be in Gryffindor because it realized putting Harry “Himbo” Potter into the snake pit would fundamentally change everything bc those heirs don’t know how to act with someone who’s so transparent and emotional, let alone so viciously fruity. He’d have been a house mascot and the Hat would have to listen to all of Albus’ rants from inside his office.

Truly the prophesy only came true bc the Sorting Hat didn’t want to have to listen to all that.

[iamnmbr3]

And at least he says she has nice skin in the movies. He never even says that about her in the books. We never even find out what color her eyes are in detail - the closest we get is that in book 7 we find out they are the exact same shade of brown as Molly's. What shade is that? Don't know. Guess Harry was too busy noting the exact shade of pale grey that Draco's eyes are every other line.

And the Quidditch thing is wild. Harry likes Quidditch so much he smells something associated with it in Amortentia. And Ginny, his supposed huge crush is now ON THE QUIDDITCH TEAM WITH HIM. If ever there was a time for Harry to be more interested in Quidditch than ever, it's now.

But what happens instead? Draco stops playing and suddenly "Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch." Um. WHAT? As soon as it's not about his rivalry with Draco he doesn't care.

Also, he's able to put Ginny out of his head when he decides being attracted to her would jeopardize his friendship with Ron. He can't stop talking and thinking about Draco tho. Even when his friends want him to. And when does he finally get with Ginny? Yup. When he finally decides he wants to forget about Draco Malfoy.

And why does he want to forget about Draco suddenly? Is it because he realizes his friends are right and he's devoting too much energy to stalking him? Or maybe because he concludes that Snape and Dumbledore will handle it if Draco's up to something dangerous? Or perhaps because he decides Draco isn't actually up to anything after all? NO. NOT AT ALL. He walks in on Draco crying and saying a ton of super incriminating stuff and then witnesses him try to use an illegal curse when they duel. But despite this, after seeing Draco in such a desperate and vulnerable position he backs off completely. Because he almost killed Draco in their confrontation and he realizes that further interference might result in harm to Draco.

And apparently that is an outcome that Harry cannot deal with. In fact it scares him so much that he decides he doesn't care about Draco potentially hurting other people if left unobserved. And that's when he decides to get with Ginny. Is this a fic?!

No, seriously, Half-Blood Prince is a fucking joke!

It should be called “Harry Potter and his Huge Fucking Gay Crush on Draco Malfoy”

Let’s set the scene: Harry sees Ginny kissing Dean and his “chest monster” goes batshit crazy because he supposedly has a huge crush on her and you think “Well, that’s it. He going to stop thinking about Malfoy all the time and will replace him with Ginny because that’s what having a HUGE CRUSH on someone does to you”.

And that night, he does think about her. Well, in fact, he thinks more about the fact Ron would probably kill him than actually about kissing her. But let’s check the canon so you won’t think I’m exaggerating:

Harry lay awake for a long time, looking up at the canopy of his four-poster and trying to convince himself that his feelings for Ginny were entirely older-brotherly. They had lived, had they not, like brother and sister all summer, playing Quidditch, teasing Ron and having a laugh about Bill and Phlegm? He had known Ginny for years now … it was natural that he should feel protective … natural that he should want to look out for her … want to rip Dean limb from limb for kissing her … no … he would have to control that particular brotherly feeling …

‘She’s Ron’s sister, Harry told himself firmly. Ron’s sister. She’s out of bounds. He would not risk his friendship with Ron for anything. He punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape and waited for sleep to come, trying his utmost not to allow his thoughts to stray anywhere near Ginny.

Oh Harry, you won’t even have to try that hard, believe me. 

In fact, he literally doesn’t think about her after that for days. What does he think about? Well, let’s just paste the quote because it’s fucking priceless:

Harry lay awake for a very long time in the darkness. He did not want to lose the upcoming match; not only was it his first as Captain, but he was determined to beat Draco Malfoy at Quidditch even if he could not yet prove his suspicions about him.

Oh boy. And you know what happens the first time Harry and Ginny interact after he found out he has a HUGE CRUSH on her? Again, I can’t write it better than JKR herself, so:

‘Conditions look ideal,’ said Ginny, ignoring Ron. ‘And guess what? That Slytherin Chaser Vaisey – he took a Bludger in the head yesterday during their practice, and he’s too sore to play! And even better than that – Malfoy’s gone off sick too!’

‘What?’ said Harry, wheeling round to stare at her. ‘He’s ill? What’s wrong with him?’

‘No idea, but it’s great for us,’ said Ginny brightly. ‘They’re playing Harper instead; he’s in my year and he’s an idiot.’

Harry smiled vaguely back, but as he pulled on his scarlet robes his mind was far from Quidditch. Malfoy had once before claimed he could not play due to injury, but on that occasion he had made sure the whole match was rescheduled for a time that suited the Slytherins better. Why was he now happy to let a substitute go on? Was he really ill, or was he faking?

LOL HARRY SERIOUSLY? Your supposed crush, the love of your life, is standing next to you, talking to you, and your mind is like “Malfoy! Malfoy Malfoy MALFOY M a l f o y Malfoy”?

I mean, I’m not denying Harry had a crush on Ginny. He does think about her sometimes (not that often). It’s ok, I had a crush on like 5 different people in high school at the same time. But honestly? It’s not that all-consuming feeling you have when you have THE crush. 

That person you want more than anything, you know? When you feel like you want to see the person at all times. When you want to know what they’re doing. When you talk about them non-stop.

Oh, wait a second. Harry did have that. FOR DRACO SODDING MALFOY.

Game, set and match. Drarry is real, proof no. 593. Bye.

[superfallingstars]

Personally I think jily is supposed to be idealized (like how James and lily were idealized) to Harry. James gets knocked of his pedestal in swm and so does jily by Harry questioning if his father forced his mother into marriage. Later when talking to lupin and Sirius James and Jily get a slight defense and Harry is back to feeling alright but with the knowledge that things weren’t perfect.

I personally don’t read Jily as abusive (even though I read James as being abusive to snape at school, but I don’t think that violent, physical behavior was extended to Lily) but I definitely don’t read them as a “good” couple (whatever that means). I think you can read it in many different ways given there is so little of them and I think an interpretation that their relationship wasn’t the healthiest is perfectly plausible with the scant information we’re given.

Yeahhhh that’s probably what JKR intended. James and Lily are the fridged parents who are dearly mourned and missed, and as a result, their flaws are completely smoothed over in everyone’s memories. But in Snape’s Worst Memory, Harry learns the hard lesson that things aren’t always what they seem, and that nobody is perfect, not even his dead father. Hurrah.

My problem with this is that I think it’s very boring, LOL. Like it really is probably exactly what JKR intended (given her middle-of-the-road takes on every moral and political question that happens in these books), but man, it feels like such a cop out. James basically ruins Snape’s life for no reason, and the conclusion we’re meant to draw from this is just, well, people are complicated! NO!!!! Bad answer!!! Like, Snape also did some terrible things, but at least he spends a ton of pages actively suffering/atoning for his sins. But James, on the other hand, is only somewhat implied to have changed maybe slightly a little bit somewhere off-page, and we just have to take #1 James Potter fanboy Sirius Black and serial understater Remus Lupin at their word. So if James was supposed to be “redeemed” – or even just excused – wow, it really doesn't work for me. You can't go as dark as "protagonist questions if his father forced his mother into marriage" and then just brush it off like no big deal, Joanne! And it’s so frustrating, because all it would've taken to fix this would've been to show James being a good person instead of just telling the reader that he was one (proof: trust me?). Ugh.

So because of all that, I agree that from what we’re given, it’s quite difficult to read Jily as “good.” We rarely see them interact, and when we do, James’s behavior is wayyyy too similar to the trope of “terrible guy eventually gets the girl even though she seems to hate him with every fiber of her being because his persistence and not taking no for an answer is just toooo romantic to resist.” Which sucks, lol. It feels like JKR is basically being like, “eh, James was young and dumb, whatever” and giving him a huge out for all the grief he caused Snape (and Lily, for that matter) – and she expects that the reader will agree that that is a legitimate excuse for his behavior, and by extension think that it's reasonable for Lily to forgive and eventually marry him. And man, I am just not sure if that is enough to convince me. (And evidently, I'm not alone, considering the “Jily is abusive” meta post that likely sparked this ask!)

With that said, I agree that it’s a stretch to say that James was abusive (or even implied to be abusive) toward Lily. It’s not a completely unfounded take – it could probably be written well in a fic, and even be canon compliant – but you would really have to extrapolate that dynamic from the little information we’re given (as you pointed out). And more importantly (at least, re: that meta), I don't think JKR intended that interpretation at all.

Personally, I just don’t think it makes sense for the narrative for James and Lily to have been in an abusive relationship. And by the narrative, I mean Harry. If Jily is an abusive (or even just bad) relationship, that would have massive ramifications for the way Harry sees his parents. Ideally he would have to come to terms with that at some point – I don’t think it makes sense for James’s and Lily’s relationship to have been this way and not have significantly affected Harry – but imo JKR clearly does not want to deal with that. Like you said, the point of SWM – aside from foreshadowing Lily and Snape’s relationship – was to knock James off his pedestal and basically go, See, nobody’s perfect. <3 And the story is not interested in engaging with James’s behavior on a level any deeper than that lol. Which ok, I don’t love it, but if we’re not going to spend time dealing with morally gray James, then it doesn’t make sense for him to be even more morally gray (or rather, have him fall face first over the line into becoming a downright despicable person) by making him abusive toward Lily.

So that's my Doylist analysis: no way in hell did JKR intend Jily to be an abusive relationship, but she also didn't do a good enough job defending and/or redeeming James after SWM, so we're just left to speculate about how much he really changed. Still, I don't think "JKR is a bad writer" is a very satisfying answer. After all, the only reason that I'm engaging with this text in the first place is because I'm a fan of it, so I think it's also worth looking at it from a Watsonian perspective – or at least, to accept the events of the book as they're written and try to fill in the blanks. (Imo so much of the fun of fandom is trying to fill in those blanks in a satisfying way, to expand upon a character and try to reach a more interesting conclusion than the author did... And I would be remiss not to mention that, because it undoubtedly influences the way that I (and probably also you, if you're on this side of tumblr) engage with the text.)

So for me, as a Marauders era fan, I’m faced with: ok, I don’t really like the idea of these two characters together, but they canonically got together, and I think the story is better because they got together, and it’s better if they genuinely like each other, and it all had to happen somehow – so how can I explain it in a way that both makes sense with the story and is satisfying to me? And my answer to that is twofold.

First, I imagine that James was not always quite such an awful guy (as in, not always as showy, combative, and cruel as he was in SWM). After all, there is a glimmer of goodness in him when he chooses to save Snape’s life during the Prank, revealing that somewhere deep down, he does in fact have a moral compass. And second, I think that he has to have changed. And I mean a genuine change – one that might not have resulted in completely different behavior (after all, he was still hexing Snape through his seventh year) – but regardless, something that makes him seriously reflect on his actions and reconsider his motivations. His behavior in SWM is just too inexcusable for him to get with Lily – partly because Lily is generally framed as a Very Good Person, and partly because regardless of how she is framed, James was still awful to her – without any self-reflection or growth. Of course, the problem then becomes explaining this in a satisfying way!

And I have some ideas in mind – but they’re definitely more speculation than fact, and omg this post is long enough already. Luckily, I received another ask on this topic, so I will save my self-indulgent headcanons for that.

There is one last thing I want to mention, which is (part of) my reasoning for why James may not have been such a bully all the time and why I think he has the capacity for change, and it's been nagging at me ever since I read that meta post (which again, presumably started this whole thing). I think one thing that bothers a lot of people (including me!) about James is that it seems like he chooses to pick on Snape in SWM because of Lily’s presence. He wants to show off to her, so he keeps looking over to the girls by the water, he ruffles his hair, he deepens his voice, and he tries to get her attention by targeting Snape. Following this logic, we can presume that James wouldn’t have done any of this if Lily hadn’t been there – and that’s the part that got me thinking. I have to wonder if Lily was perhaps not the only person who James wanted to impress in that scene… in fact, I think it’s incredibly likely that James would have acted differently if the Marauders hadn’t been there! (Harry has "the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off," and Sirius saying that he's bored is the inciting incident for James spotting Snape...!) Yes it’s going to be a James masculinity analysis because this is what happens every time I talk about these fucking characters apparently. So idk, stick around if you’re into that.

And of course, thank you for the ask!

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hey I have a question for you if you ever end up writing more meta on wandlore. In book 7 Harry's wand spits flames at Voldemort. The explanation we're given is that it imbibed some of his powers in the graveyard. The problem is it didn't react to him like this when Harry faced him in book 5. I think this is just a plot hole on JKR's part but from an in-universe POV do you have thoughts on what could have caused this? Only thing I can think of is either that Voldemort briefly possessing Harry in book 5 further linked them and/or that in book 5 Harry didn't even try to defend himself because he was taken by surprise and thus didn't try to do anything before Dumbledore intervened. Interesting to hear your ideas.

Hi!

This is a really fun ask, I love me some wandlore! That and one of my favorite pastimes is solving JKR magical plot holes by figuring out the magical theory she didn't think all the way through.

So, the first thing I did was compare the two scenes you mentioned. This is the one from book 5:

“I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,” he said quietly. “You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!” Harry had not even opened his mouth to resist. His mind was blank, his wand pointing uselessly at the floor.

(OotP, 813)

This is the one from book 7:

It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, “Avada—” As the pain from Harry’s scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own accord. He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt of golden fire through his half-closed eyelids, heard a crack and a scream of fury. the remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, “No!”

(DH, 58)

Now, honestly, you're right, if the magic imbued Harry's wand in the graveyard I'd expect it to react to the killing curse Voldemort casts in book 5 the same as it did in book 7. And clearly, it does not. Even when it's the same situation, same spell, same enemy, Harry can't defend himself (if for different reasons). In both, his wand isn't even aimed at Voldemort at first at all.

So, I started wondering what is different between the scenes. Clearly, the situation is almost identical, so what difference could affect how Harry's wand reacts?

And then it hit me: Voldemort's wand.

In the first scene, in book 5, Voldemort is using his own wand, yaw and phoenix feather, brother wand to Harry. In the scene in book 7, the wand Voldemort uses is Lucius'.

So, my theory is that Harry's wand reacted differently because Voldemort wasn't carrying its brother, but a different wand.

So, with this in mind, let's try to explain what Harry's wand is doing and why.

The explanation we get in the books is that the Piori Incantatum in the graveyard essentially "charged" Harry's wand against Voldemort specifically:

“I believe that your wand imbibed some of the power and qualities of Voldemort’s wand that night, which is to say that it contained a little of Voldemort himself. So your wand recognized him when he pursued you, recognized a man who was both kin and mortal enemy, and it regurgitated some of his own magic against him, magic much more powerful than anything Lucius’s wand had ever performed. Your wand now contained the power of your enormous courage and of Voldemort’s own deadly skill: What chance did that poor stick of Lucius Malfoy’s stand?”

(DH, 600)

But I already mentioned here, that I don't think this scene is the real Dumbledore. So, I'm not sure how much faith can be placed in this explanation, especially since when Voldemort carried the brother wand, Harry's wand didn't shoot out golden flames.

(As an aside, I don't think wands can sponge up magic like that at all...)

But I think Harry's subconscious is right about the flames resulting from the multitude of magical connections between Voldemort and Harry. After the graveyard, they are, like, crazy magically connected. We've got:

Soul - Harry has a piece of Voldy's soul because he's a Horcrux

Blood (spirit) - Voldemort used Harry's blood in his resurrection ritual so their lives are bound to each other.

Magic - wands share a core.

And I'm going to forgo talking about the prophecy for this, but it's kind of bonkers how many layers of magic are binding them. And I think this is the key to it all.

So, essentially you have two wizards, that for the intent and purposes of magic, are as close as kin as possible. By soul and spirit, they are an extension of each other. So certain magic (like Lily's blood protection that is based on blood) probably sees Voldemort as an extension of Harry or vice versa. But they are not the same, as Dumbledore said in OotP: "but in essence divided", and other magic can recognize that (like the Elder Wand).

And the wands know this. Voldemort's yaw wand and Harry's holly wand are referred to as brothers, and I think that name is quite telling. Brother wands don't seem to want to fight each other, they share a core so they aren't meant to turn on each other, they are kin, extensions of each other. This is why the Priori Incantatum happened in the graveyard — to stop them from fighting. And if Harry cast a spell in the ministry in OotP, it would've happened again.

I think that first Priori Incantatum did change something and mattered for what happened in book 7. It basically was like an introduction. Afterwards, Harry's wand can recognize Voldemort, his magic, and his wand.

What I think happened with Lucius' wand is not far from Harry's subconscious explanation. The wand recognized Voldemort as Harry's kin, an extension of Harry himself, but he was carrying an unfamiliar wand - an enemy wand. I think the combination of kin with an unfamiliar wand is what caused it. Kind of like a jealous sort of "Harry isn't supposed to be with another wand". The yaw wand was fine because it shared the same core, the wands are connected just like Voldemort and Harry, so the brother wand wouldn't register as a threat.

For the holly wand, being attacked by an extension of Harry with an unfamiliar wand, felt off. Wrong. The magic felt wrong like it was 3 inches too far to the left. And I think that's what it reacted to. To the sense of wrongness that comes with seeing a familiar person somewhere, they really shouldn't be. This whiplash, I think, is what registered as a threat to the holly wand.

We know some wands can be sentient to this degree. Sycamore wands, burst into flames when they get 'bored':

It is a quirk of these handsome wands that they may combust if allowed to become ‘bored’, and many witches and wizards, settling down into middle age, are disconcerted to find their trusty wand bursting into flame in their hand as they ask it, one more time, to fetch their slippers. 

(from Pottermore)

Hazel wands die with their masters:

so devoted to its owner that it often ‘wilts’ (which is to say, it expels all its magic and refuses to perform, often necessitating the extraction of the core and its insertion into another casing, if the wand is still required) at the end of its master’s life

(from Pottermore)

So I think it's completely in line with what we know about wands that Harry's wand would get protective when something in Voldemort's magic feels off due to the unfamiliar wand. On the same page about wand woods holly wands are said to be very volatile and protective, so the behavior fits its personality. I think Harry's wand is protective of him and acts up to protect him when it recognizes it needs to. Voldemort and Harry's connection along with Voldemort using a different wand registered to the holly wand as a threat it needs to protect against.

TL;DR

Harry's wand recognized Voldemort as a kin of Harry. Voldemort's wand is its own kin, and therefore not a threat in OotP. The moment Voldemort, whom Harry's wand now recognizes, used an unfamiliar wand (Lucius' wand) Harry's wand registered him and the unfamiliar wand as a threat and reacted to protect Harry. The magic flames shot out were its own, not Voldemort's sponged-up magic.

At least, that's my theory.

[severus-snaps]

Snape and Poison

I got distracted whilst writing a different meta so just thought I'd list every time I've come across that Snape was associated with poison in the series.

I first started thinking about all of this because Lucius was trying to get rid of poison in Borgin & Burkes at the beginning of CoS:

“ — and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear — ” “I understand, sir, of course,” said Mr. Borgin. “Let me see …”

...and I liked the idea that Snape was originally the one to brew it. Although unlikely, I also enjoy the idea that Snape had a hand in both the poison Draco attempted to use to kill Dumbledore, and Voldemort's emerald potion which ultimately did kill Dumbledore - because how sad if, no matter what he did, Snape was always the one destined to end Dumbledore's life?

It's obvious that Snape is most closely associated with potions in the books, but Snape is also the most consistently associated character with poison (with the notable exception perhaps being Slughorn - but even then it's shown that Harry is mostly learning from the Prince):

Philosopher's Stone Snape's introductory lesson outlines how a bezoar will save you from most poisons; he brews poisons for the PS riddle; his introductory speech includes how to "stopper death":

Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar? ... For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. … I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death

From WebMD: Aconite contains a strong, fast-acting poison that causes severe side effects such as nausea, vomiting, breathing problems, heart problems, and death.

Snape's riddle/poem:

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side

Chamber of Secrets Snape looks as though anyone who approached him about a love potion would be force-fed poison in CoS:

“My friendly, card-carrying cupids!” beamed Lockhart. “They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn’t stop here! I’m sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you’re at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I’ve ever met, the sly old dog!” Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.

Prisoner of Azkaban The trio think Snape is trying to poison Lupin in PoA; Snape sets an essay on undetectable poisons; Snape warns that potions brewed incorrectly can turn to poisons (revisited when the Trio visit Arthur in hospital in OotP post-Nagini, and a sign reads: "A clean cauldron keeps potions from becoming poisons."), and threatens to 'poison' Trevor.

Harry looked curiously at the goblet ... Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands. “Professor Snape’s very interested in the Dark Arts,” he blurted out. “Some people reckon — ” Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, “some people reckon he’d do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job.” “But if he — you know” — Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around — “if he was trying to — to poison Lupin — he wouldn’t have done it in front of Harry.” Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. “Everyone gather ’round,” said Snape, his black eyes glittering, “and watch what happens to Longbottom’s toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don’t doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned.”

Goblet of Fire Snape implies he'll poison someone, and Harry absolutely thinks that Snape wants to poison him in GoF; Moody says Dark wizards can poison an unattended cup, and regularly checks his food for poison (wouldn't do him any good if they were undetectable however); Snape later threatens to practically do the same thing to Harry that Moody is trying to avoid by only drinking from a flask, and slip something into Harry's drink [only with Veritaserum this time, not poison] when he thinks Harry has broken into his potions supplies again

“Brilliant!” said Harry. “It’s Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won’t have time to poison us all!” “Antidotes!” said Snape, looking around at them all, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. “You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one. …” Snape’s eyes met Harry’s, and Harry knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison him. Moody had told them all during their last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson that he preferred to prepare his own food and drink at all times, as it was so easy for Dark wizards to poison an unattended cup. [“It is Veritaserum — a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear,” said Snape viciously. “Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips” — he shook the crystal bottle slightly — “right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then, Potter … then we’ll find out whether you’ve been in my office or not.” - interesting also because Moody had also been in Snape's office] Professors McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of their classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term. He found it hard to concentrate on Snape’s Potions test, and consequently forgot to add the key ingredient — a bezoar — meaning that he received bottom marks... Snape handed Dumbledore a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid: the Veritaserum with which he had threatened Harry in class.

Order of the Phoenix Ron says "Poisonous toadstools don’t change their spots" when discussing Snape, his general personality, and whether Snape ever truly stopped working for Voldemort (echoes leopards never change their spots/Moody's "spots that don't come off" in GoF); Snape discusses the use of Veritaserum, poison, and venom on Harry with Umbridge, and expresses his 'sympathy' (read: apparent desire) to use poison on Harry; when advising Harry to continue Potions during his careers discussion, McGonagall said that poisons and antidotes were essential study for Aurors, and that Snape would not accept students below an Outstanding

“I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!” “I have already told you,” said Snape smoothly, “that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter — and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did — I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling…” “...Then you ought to do Charms, always useful, and Potions. Yes, Potter, Potions,” she added, with the merest flicker of a smile. “Poisons and antidotes are essential study for Aurors. And I must tell you that Professor Snape absolutely refuses to take students who get anything other than ‘Outstanding’ in their O.W.L.s, so — ”

Half-Blood Prince The Prince inherently understood Golpalott’s Third Law on antidotes to poisons, and then the plot revisits the bezoar from PS both as a means of helping Harry in class but also to save Ron.

“You sure the Prince hasn’t got any tips?” Ron muttered to Harry. Harry pulled out his trusty copy of Advanced Potion-Making and turned to the chapter on antidotes. There was Golpalott’s Third Law, stated word for word as Hermione had recited it, but not a single illuminating note in the Prince’s hand to explain what it meant. Apparently the Prince, like Hermione, had had no difficulty understanding it. And there it was, scrawled right across a long list of antidotes: Just shove a bezoar down their throats. Harry stared at these words for a moment. Hadn’t he once, long ago, heard of bezoars? Hadn’t Snape mentioned them in their first-ever Potions lesson? “A stone taken from the stomach of a goat, which will protect from most poisons.” It was not an answer to the Golpalott problem, and had Snape still been their teacher, Harry would not have dared do it... He hurtled back to Ron’s side, wrenched open his jaw, and thrust the bezoar into his mouth.

Not rooted in reality at all but a theory I once came across that I cradle like a fascinating little animal that I just can't stop looking at, is that Snape and Dumbledore somehow switch bodies before 'Dumbledore' takes Harry to the cave, and then switch back in time for Dumbledore to actually die at Snape's hand.

And, of course, the (separate but works here too) theory that back as a 'real' Death Eater, Snape helped Voldemort with the emerald potion that was already killing Dumbledore when Snape finished the job.

Deathly Hallows More tenuously, Aberforth asks "where will you lot traffick potions and poisons when my pub’s closed down", and it was the Hog's Head where Snape was lurking when he overheard the prophecy - whether that was as part of his role as spy/he was applying for a job like Trelawney said, or because he was an opportunist with a sideline in poisons - I enjoy both ideas).

Not just poison: Snape and venom

The series also mixes up (or at least uses interchangeably at times) venom and poison; although to a lesser extent associated with venom, Snape does have his moments where he is associated with venom - ultimately, of course, his final moments are spent under the influence of Nagini's.

Snape is described as shooting Harry (and Ron) "a look of pure venom" in CoS; he sets an essay on antivenoms in OotP; "Harry’s anger at Snape continued to pound through his veins like venom" during Occlumency lessons in OotP; "The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling" says Snape, two books before attempting to find a way to tell the truth no matter how fast-acting Nagini's venom is; when Harry sees Arthur dying of Nagini's bite, it is Snape who has to teach Harry Occlumency to prevent such a thing from happening again, and Snape who ultimately dies of the same attack - but he does not, due to timing (mid-Battle and all) or ill will receive the same rush from the entire Order to attempt to save him, and despite all of his knowledge of poisons and venoms and antidotes, also does not save himself - despite Slughorn being described as carrying around antidotes to things like Veritaserum on the off chance that Dumbledore tries to get a memory out of him, so carrying antidotes for a well-prepared and cunning Slytherin of a certain level of skill is not unheard of, or impossible.

[iamnmbr3]

hi there! During some weeks i've really become a fan of your drarry posts(sometimes daily;))..they're so detailed and convince one in a way that they can't say "nah, you're delusional..drarry doesn't exist!(platonic or romantic)"..and tbh i agree with 98% of your opinions( 2% is in little details lol)

I have some things to say:

-in room of requirement scene harry asks draco whose wand is this in his hand and draco replied his mother's [i love how he answers with honesty here bc mostly he doesn't answer straightforward..it's obvious to me how much he changed and how exhausted he is:(] then harry laughed, admitting that situation is not funny at all(as far as i remember)...do u think why harry laughed?the only reason in my mind is he missed bickering with draco hahaaaa:)))

-in shrieking shack voldemort told lucius that perhaps draco's decided to befriend harry(i love voldy for this^^)...do you think he told it to terrify lucius or despite draco's fear, he actually saw any sign of draco being inclined to harry and his side and seeing that courage in him to change his side?

-In your last meta you told "I think he definitely doesn't want to admit that there's something in Draco that he's drawn to." This is also about harry describing draco's appearance..there are some ppl that are actually gorgeous( either according to other ppl or harry) like tom riddle, cedric, cho ginny etc & there are some that look ugly(harry makes it quite clear lolll)..and some average face which harry does not bother to describe much more...as far as we're told draco is some sort of average(ofc you can think of him as handsome like i think but he's not that type of handsome that everyone agrees on like cedric..that's what i think)but harry tells good things about his appearance in a very weird way...it looks like he knows he looks good but he doesn't want to confess that directly...

Thanks for reading, keep going!💙

Thank you for this lovely ask! It truly made me smile so much to read your kind words. I'm so glad you've been enjoying my posts! And for the record I never mind if people disagree with me (as long as it's polite; and if it's not, it's the rudeness I mind not the disagreement). Discussion and respect for different opinions is what fandom is all about.

I think you raise some really fascinating points here!

1) In the Room of Requirement scene I think Harry's bitter laughter also kind of parallels Draco laughing humorlessly when they run into each other in book 6 when Harry's on his way to the Quidditch match. I think partly Harry's also just relieving tension and laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation and how they always come back to each other. And yeah I also love how Draco responds honestly to Harry.

Also very notable that when Harry asks why the three of them aren't with Voldemort, Crabbe and not Draco is the one who says that they're going to be rewarded and that they hung back to capture Harry. Draco, who has no problem answering Harry's previous question (about his wand) or his next question (about how they got into the Room) is notably silent here. (I wrote more about his motivations in this scene here btw).

2) This is such an amazing point about the shrieking shack scene that I never thought about. But wow. You're right. Great catch! This bit is actually so interesting. So Voldemort says:

"If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided to befriend Harry Potter?"

This is such a strange and specific thing to say. Sure it could be him just messing with Lucius. But he could've done that in so many other ways. He could've just threatened to kill Draco. Or questioned his loyalty more generally. Voldemort doesn't even say something like "perhaps he has deserted me and fled" or speculate that Draco has betrayed him and joined the flighting against him. He suggests that Draco has "befriended" Harry specifically.

Also in this scene Voldemort is thinking about other things and not really paying attention to Lucius or particularly trying to torment him. Lucius is the one who brings up Draco and this is Voldemort's response to the topic.

We know Voldemort can read minds. Despite Draco's best efforts (which given that he's alive despite saving Harry in the Manor, must have been pretty good) to shield his thoughts something must have leaked through, something that gave Voldemort pause. When Lucius says that Draco would never befriend Harry, Voldemort just gives him a noncommittal response and says: "You must hope not." Which sounds to me like he isn't buying it. And indeed, where does it turn out that Draco is (clearly without orders or permission from Voldemort)? With Harry. And I've already discussed in my other meta why I don't think he was planning on killing Harry or handing him over, despite what Crabbe and Goyle thought.

Voldemort's comments are especially interesting given that right after the Room of Requirement scene Draco is attacked by another Death Eater who also seems to think he's not on their side, despite the fact that Draco's name is well known and he has a Dark Mark. So...what happened to make him think Draco wasn't on their side?

3) Yeah I absolutely think Harry thinks Draco is good looking but tries to ignore it. I think they are both exactly each other's type.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Hi, please free to ignore( huge fan of your metas btw)

What are your thoughts on Peter pettigrew? In swm we saw him fanboying over james to being responsible for his death. Just because he was afraid or he never really loved his friends. Many people say James and Sirius treated him shitty thats why he betrayed. Some even say he was just a tag along. Please share your thoughts.

First of all, thank you!

(also, unless they are rude, I don't ignore any questions, it might just take me two years to answer)

Peter Pettigrew

My very controversial opinion on Peter is that I love him (as a character).

To me, Peter is one of those characters who represent how Rowling's clear lack of self-awareness as a person translates in her work into her being unable to recognize her strengths as a writer. The majority of the most interesting things she comes up with are not the ones she focuses on.

And that's the case for Peter Pettigrew, who might be the Marauder with the most interesting story.

It's way too easy to reduce him to a coward as the author seems to want you to believe. And even claiming he didn't love his friends is a flattening of his character.

You can have a tendency to be influenced by peer pressure all you want but you don't become an unregistered animagus to help someone if you don't love the friend you are doing that for and you don't have a bit of courage (especially considering how long the whole thing was and that he wasn't particularly talented). He risked extremely severe consequences on his body due to the possibility of the process going wrong and he risked Azkaban for being unregistered.

That's fundamentally the opposite behavior of the one he later has with the Potters.

I also think it's important to point out how Remus is not a close relative (father, son, brother) and how the help Peter provides is not essential to Remus' survival, it's emotional comfort. The lack of necessity of the animagus matter and the easily cancellable bond with Remus increase the braveness and love of Peter's act (in contrast for example with something like what Narcissa does with her son by lying to Voldemort).

I think Peter's story is the one of someone who lost his courage, not the one of a person who never had it.

Doesn't this also make it so much more delicious how his downfall is caused by the return of a glimpse of honor?

I do agree with the fact that in SWM, James and Sirius don't treat him particularly well, especially Sirius, but I don't think they are that aware of it, especially James. They are a bit crude, and they are arrogant. They are two bright posh 16yo guys in a boarding school in the 70s. I don't expect from them a particularly high level of sensitivity in how they talk to people, especially to someone they take for granted knows to be their friend. Sirius is probably more aware of it, but I believe James to be quite unaware of himself at this point in the timeline. This is before his maturation really kicks in, his whole interaction with Lily shows a lack of self-awareness in how he talks to people (we know Lily turns him into a bit of an idiot, the problem is that he doesn't seem to be aware of it). Sirius on the other hand seems a lot more self-aware than James. A lot of people are not going to like what I'm about to say but: James is canonically a better person than Sirius.

And yet, it is abundantly clear that both James and Sirius love Peter.

James gives into Peter's hands his own life and the ones of his wife and son. Sirius gives in Peter's hands the lives of the family he chose.

In the Shrieking Shack, under all the pain Sirius has for the death of James and Lily, it is evident that there's also the pain that comes from the betrayal of a friend.

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" - Chapter 19, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

Lily herself is very attached to Peter, in her letter to Sirius, she calls him Wormy (how cute is that?). And, let's remember that she too puts her life and the ones of her husband and son in Peter's hands.

It's too easy to say Peter was just a tagalong, that they didn't love him. It incredibly diminishes the pain of his act.

I also would like to point out that Peter isn't stupid. He was a double agent, he managed to frame Sirius by using in his favor people’s low opinion of his skills (and Remus and Sirius' rocky relationship). James, Sirius, and Remus might have thought of themselves as smarter than Peter but I don't think they actually believed him to be stupid. Considering who the Marauders are, their knowing how good of a liar, and how cunning Peter could be, would be a perfect explanation of why they became friends in the first place.

Does this mean they all loved Peter but Peter only loved Remus out of his friends?

We can't really be sure of his feelings for Sirius, but the admiration he shows for James and the sense of guilt we know he has for his double agent activities don't really align with that image.

I think Peter's fear for his own life ended up winning over the love for his friends.

But why at this point? Why not at Hogwarts?

Something quite interesting is how Peter's father is the only parent of the Marauders who is never mentioned, not in the books, not in any additional material. Doesn't that align just so well with Peter always putting himself at the service of the most important male figure around? First James, and then after school, with the war going on, Voldemort.

Isn't it such a fitting image, Peter growing up without a father, with a too-cuddling mother whom he ends up resenting, faulting her for the absence of the father? It's so natural to paint him as a young man crushed by a sense of inadequacy towards an image of masculinity he idealizes but can't fulfill, supported by a society filled with a very toxic sense of masculinity and an absent father he can sew on any fantasy he wants.

When Peter was at Hogwarts, being friends with James, and being part of the Marauders, gave Peter a sense of security that allowed him to be brave enough to prioritize his love for his friends over himself.

Out in the real world, though, Voldemort is the dominant man and being positioned against the Dark Lord takes away the sense of security he had as a student. Both times Peter goes to Voldemort, he does it because he doesn't feel safe.

It's also abundantly clear how Peter's siding with Voldemort doesn't come from ideology. He becomes an animagus for Remus, he's a dear friend of Lily.

Peter dies because Voldemort doesn't trust him, and he is right in not trusting him. Somewhere in Peter, there's still the boy who risked his life for a friend.

Try to tell me this is not an interesting character.

He's still a coward overall, but a complex one.

Also, Peter Pettigrew is a clear victim of pretty privilege when it comes to the fandom. I'm ready to bet whatever you want that if he had been described as handsome the most popular ship with Sirius would be Sirus/Peter.

Actually, he didn't even have to be described as handsome, he just needed to not be described as ugly. Draco is described as having a pointy face and people have been lying to themselves claiming he's incredibly handsome for the last twenty-five years.

[seriousbrat]

How do you think others perceived Lily and James' relationship once they started dating?

Many people seem to believe the main obstacle was that Lily hated James, but both the author and other characters clarify that this wasn’t true. It’s more likely that she found him too immature at first, but not that she actually hated him.

What I like to focus on, however, is the idea that the real challenge in their relationship may have been tied to blood status and the societal pressure that came with it. I can see how some people who weren’t purists themselves might still harbor biases against Muggle-borns, leading them to distance themselves from them in an attempt to evade the attention of real purists. People might see it as foolish for these two to be together. Others, especially those who had crushes on James, might wonder why he would choose a Muggle-born when he could easily be with someone who is half-blood or pure-blood. The most extreme ones would gossip and say hurtful things that no teenage couple would want to hear.

It’s been mentioned multiple times that Harry, at his core, takes after Lily. We see how he broke up with Ginny to protect her, so I can imagine that, while Lily may not have wanted to break up with James in the same way, she might have been hesitant to enter relationships. During the time they lived in, being friends with a Muggle-born is one thing, but dating one is another.

There isn’t much information about the Potter family, but James’ black-and-white woldview likely came from them. To him, you’re either opposed to blood purity, or you’re on the wrong side. The Potters have a long history of being open toward Muggles, and there’s some great meta on Tumblr that explores James’ grandfather, Henry, and his support for Muggles during World War I. The theory suggests that if Henry lived in Godric’s Hollow, surrounded by Muggles, he might have formed friendships with them and watched as generations of men he knew were lost to the war. This could explain his disappointment with the Wizengamot’s ignorance to Muggle suffering. That frustration may have carried over to his son Fleamont, who later passed it on to James. Therefore, I think that James's parents were more familiar with Muggles than Weasleys, and that's why they had no problems with Lily

Another thing to consider is that Lily and James were asked to join Voldemort when they came of age, which in wizarding society is 17. This would place them in the latter part of their sixth year at Hogwarts. While it’s harder to pinpoint exactly when Lily was approached (and even more puzzling as to why Voldemort would recruit her), we know from the prequel, set in 1977, that James and Sirius were already being pursued by Death Eaters at that time.

On a subconscious level, James likely felt a sense of security in his status, which would have been completely shattered by the attempt to recruit him, especially since Voldemort had a habit of killing those who refused him. Moreover, it would be a harsh blow for him to realize that the Death Eaters even thought someone like him could be persuaded to join them.

the real challenge in their relationship may have been tied to blood status and the societal pressure that came with it.

I mean, I think this was something that was definitely operating on some level in their relationship, as well as class-- the Potters were very wealthy, while Lily was from a working-class Muggle family. I think these two things caused some difference between them and possibly some friction or argument, but I don't think it was a HUGE challenge in their relationship, exactly.

I had another anon mention recently that they thought Lily would have been very careful around dating purebloods because of her Muggle-born status (and I didn't address it because my reply was long enough lol) but I don't see this as particularly true, honestly. Not for how I see Lily's character-- generally trusting, determined to see the good in others-- but also not for the way I think the general culture at Hogwarts is in canon, even during the first war.

Similarly, I sometimes find it a bit exaggerated in fics when everyone at Hogwarts, including Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, openly despises and shuns Lily for being Muggleborn and goes around insulting her. Not only do we know she was popular at school, personally I think that's also a bit of an oversimplification of what we see in canon. That's not to say bigotry didn't exist among non-Slytherins; I'm going to try and explain this as well as I can because I think it's quite complex, and also quite complex to portray.

The way bigotry against Muggle-borns functions in mainstream wizarding society appears to be in general quite subtle, largely rooted in apathy and a sort of seemingly "benign prejudice," the "Cornelius Fudge Mindset," if you will. Unless you're in a very particular pureblood supremacist context, it's not socially acceptable to openly call someone a Mudblood, as we see in the Gryffindor team's reactions to Malfoy using the slur in CoS. Your average Hufflepuff is likely not going to be actively hostile towards Muggle-borns-- remember that those three houses include and have always included plenty of Muggle-born students.

Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbott, both purebloods, are very fierce in their defence of Justin Finch-Fletchley in CoS. In OotP we learn that Ernie's family, who definitely lived through the first war, has similar views to his, which is where he probably learnt them. I think simply growing up in a house alongside Muggle-born kids helps with this immensely.

Open bigotry has festered so acutely in Slytherin because Muggle-borns are NOT allowed to be sorted into the house (ik people differ on this but I understood it as the Hat physically cannot sort them into Slytherin by design.) Any half-bloods like Snape probably learn quickly to downplay their Muggle side.

As I said, though, bigotry still exists, even among non-Slytherin purebloods, and the subtle nature of it doesn't make things any less difficult for Muggle-borns. I brought this up in my fic when a pureblood girl on the Gryffindor team, who has a crush on James, can't understand why he'd date Lily because 'they don't have anything in common.' But James has to drag this confession out of her, and she's (rightly) very, very ashamed of herself immediately upon expressing it in public. And this sort of prejudice can be much harder to see and combat, because it usually goes unspoken. It exists, though, and it's the reason why anti-muggleborn propaganda was accepted so easily in DH. (though per Arthur, not by everyone- most are just too scared to do anything about it.)

Many purebloods might assume that Muggle-borns are less talented at magic like Slughorn does, but I think most normal people wouldn't generally say this to a Muggle-born's face, and on some level they'd recognise that this belief is shameful (as Slughorn appears to do: "You mustn't think me prejudiced!") Even if they believe it, it would simply be impolite. These people wouldn't consider themselves bigoted, they might even have Muggle-born friends and colleagues. But ultimately they wouldn't do anything to actively address the struggles that Muggle-borns face (especially out of fear during the war,) nor would they stop to question the world around them. They might not question, for example, why Muggle-borns are passed over for job opportunities, because it works in their favour.

After the Ministry coup in DH, Voldemort puts a great deal of effort into a propaganda campaign against Muggle-borns, but this hadn't been done previously, at least not on that level. As I said, he's able to take advantage of existing "mild" prejudice very easily, which is precisely what makes it dangerous. But even during the first war, I don't think Voldemort's or the Blacks' view on Muggle-borns was supposed to have been the mainstream-- not at Hogwarts under Dumbledore, and not wholly at the Ministry either-- and I think expressing such views publicly would be generally considered impolite. Outside of Slytherins, I don't get the feeling that admitting that you think Muggle-borns and purebloods shouldn't date would be very socially acceptable at Hogwarts, even if it's what you secretly believe. Now, obviously Slytherins would be saying this, but at the point that James and Lily got together, they're not setting much store by what any Slytherins think.

James is VERY openly pro-Muggleborn, as is his family, as is everyone he surrounds himself with. He and Lily were both popular, they were Head Boy and Girl, so largely due to social pressure (also knowing how strongly James and Sirius feel on the subject and how jinx-happy they are) I'm not sure that many Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, or Ravenclaws would really dare comment, especially not to their faces.

All this being said, I can imagine certain people, maybe even acquaintances of the Potters, thinking that Lily's 'taking advantage' of James for his wealth and the safety of his pureblood status, especially as she probably wasn't working while in the Order. I will actually deal with this in my fic too, though it appears to have more to do with class than blood status. Of course, we can't forget that those things are in many ways intertwined in the wizarding world, so there is an underlying bigotry there even if it's not intentional. I can definitely see Lily struggling with this a bit, especially because James would be more than willing to support her financially and buy her things, which might make her uncomfortable. And James not really understanding this (because he wants to make her happy and has never struggled with money himself) might be a bit of an issue, but one they can overcome I'm sure.

I know this reply is already incredibly long, but I wanted to say that, like you, the fact of Voldemort trying to recruit Lily has always puzzled me. I've dealt with it in a way that makes sense, I think. Perhaps if Voldemort really wanted James onside he'd realise that James wouldn't join without Lily, so he made a concession, especially since Lily is also a capable witch herself. I've no doubt it would have bothered James to be asked, but his immediate reaction was probably to loudly, clearly, and angrily refuse, and to spit in Voldy's face basically. I had a lot of fun writing that scene actually heehee

[mxlfoydraco]

Hi. I love your blog and your meta posts a lot. I've recently read harry potter for the first time and I've only just finished deathly hallows a couple days ago. What was the general consensus when everyone read the epilogue? It felt so cliche and the way everyone has children and is neatly paired off just left a bad taste in my mouth. It was the same with Naruto. Obviously I'm quite late but I was wondering what the majority thought? What did you think of the epilogue? :-)

There’s a reason “EWE - Epilogue What Epilogue” is one of the most popular tags on ao3 in the HP fandom. Across most ships, even canon ones, it’s agreed that the epilogue feels too rushed, neat and heteronormative.

Everyone marries their highschool sweetheart, has a baby immediately after a traumatizing war, has no problem whatsoever, becomes super successful, boom. It’s just… idealistic and boring.

It’s also really OOC like. This timeline assumes that Ginny plays professional quidditch for like 4 years (99-03), takes a break to have JSP (04), ASP(06), LLP(08). (Maybe play for one year in there? How?). Is that the retirement point? That’s like a 5 year break from being a pro. Is there a come back from that? It doesn’t seem like it. It’s worded as she “retired and the couple had a family”.

It’s blowing my fucking mind that this girl who broke in the quidditch shed and stole her brothers brooms to practice, who was a quidditch star, a fucking prodigy only played for FOUR YEARS. And retired to pop out BABIES with her wet noodle boyfriend who was wrung out dry by the war. What baby. THEY are babies. Go to fucking therapy oh my god.

SHE needs to resolve her own issues with her own mother and also being kind of possessed and idealizing a relationship with her boyfriend in her head before they got together also the comphet that’s occupying her head and the internalized sexism.

Let her live and leave her alone jesus fucking christ

[bluethepineapple]

Harry and Hermione: Balancing Acts, Effort, and Compromise

One of my favorite aspects of Harry and Hermione's dynamic is the way it is marked by conflict. @ashesandhackles' meta over here expands on the way Harry's relationship with conflict evolve over time. For my own piece however, I wish to focus on the nature of Harry and Hermione's conflict, especially, and the way they add nuance and complexity of their relationship.

Given that the height of their tension appears in Order of the Phoenix, I will focus my exploration on their dynamic in this book.

Hermione has Harry's number. She gets how he thinks, how he feels, and knows full well how he will react in any situation they come across. We see this in how she greeted him when they first meet in OotP.

"HARRY! Ron, he’s here, Harry’s here! We didn’t hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless — but we couldn’t tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn’t, oh, we’ve got so much to tell you, and you’ve got to tell us..."

She knows full well that the silence will bother him. She understands that he would feel angry at the isolation and opens up their conversation with an apology and explanation.

This is an ongoing theme in OotP. The problem with Hermione is that as much as she understands how Harry's head is going, her position in whatever argument they are having is often diametrically opposite to his. And she doesn't know how to get him to see her side of the bargain.

Harry is itching to join the Order and fight, but Hermione understands (and agrees) with the need to keep them out of the loop. Harry doesn't feel qualified to teach DADA, but Hermione believes he can succeed. Harry doesn't want to share his experiences in the graveyard with anyone, feeling that what he had given should have been enough, but Hermione understands the curiosity and skepticism of everyone else and so pushes him to share anyway.

In OotP, Hermione is dealing with two separate and often conflicting agendas when it comes Harry. There is the war effort (eg. Umbridge, the DA, counter-propaganda) in which she recognizes Harry to be an extremely valuable resources, and there is Harry himself, her friend who is hurting deeply.

OotP is a balancing act for Hermione, and the problem in their relationship is that there is actually no way to balance both. Giving Harry the time and space he needs requires that she put her plans on hold. Her plans mean pretty much forcing Harry to do extremely painful things he would rather not do.

And so, failing to strike a balance that works, we see Hermione choose the war over Harry's well-being. It's not an easy choice though, and we see her try to be Harry's friend even if that friendship jeopardizes her painstaking plans.

We see this best in the Hog's Head. This chapter opens with Hermione's repeated assurance to Harry that these people just want to hear Harry's side.

We can therefore infer that her pitch to them was that they come to Hog's Head and Harry will tell them what they need to know.

"I’ve told you, they just want to hear what you’ve got to say,” said Hermione soothingly; but Harry continued to look at her so furiously that she added quickly, “You don’t have to do anything yet, I’ll speak to them first."

But the moment the meeting shifts, and these newcomers demand the story that was promised to them, Hermione backpedals hard.

"Zacharias Smith,” said the boy, “and I think we’ve got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who’s back." “Look,” said Hermione, intervening swiftly, “that’s really not what this meeting was supposed to be about —"

She sees Harry's discomfort, and despite the success of the meeting hinging on his story, she tries to divert the attention away from him anyway. She's protecting him at the expense of her meeting.

But an interesting thing happens - stubborn Harry Potter CONCEDES.

“It’s okay, Hermione,” said Harry. It had just dawned upon him why there were so many people there. He felt that Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people — maybe even most of them — had turned up in the hope of hearing Harry’s story firsthand. “What makes me say You-Know-Who’s back?” he asked, looking Zacharias straight in the face. “I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn’t believe him, you don’t believe me, and I’m not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone.”

He tells her it's okay and then proceeds to give up his stubborn reticence to support her. He compromises and tells them a version of the story he feels comfortable sharing with these strangers.

While understanding doesn't come easily to both of them, there is clear and concentrated effort from both parties to try. They listen to what the other person has to say. They freely voice their counter-arguments. They figure out compromises and accommodations that they can both live with.

We see this best even in what is arguably one of the biggest and most important fight between them: Sirius's rescue in OotP.

The interesting part here is that Hermione's approach is actually all wrong (at least at first). Her comment on his saving-people-thing has him becoming defensive. And upon seeing this, Hermione CHANGES track.

"I’m trying to say — Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it’s the kind of thing he does, he knows you’re the — the sort of person who’d go to Sirius’s aid! What if he’s just trying to get you into the Department of Myst —"

She elaborates on her points, explains what she means in ways that not only Harry can understand, but also makes him feel less judged and attacked.

And it works - Harry understands. More importantly he LISTENS.

"But if this is a trick of V-Voldemort’s — Harry, we’ve got to check, we’ve got to —” “How?” Harry demanded. “How’re we going to check?"

Considering Harry's mindset here, it's actually quite impressive that Hermione managed to change his mind as much as she did. We can see here that he is in complete panic. He dismissed Ron and Ginny's protests outright. He is losing his head and wants to go charging ahead, Voldemort be damned.

But he listens to Hermione. He pays attention to what she has to say, and he does adjust his course of action according to her advice no matter how begrudgingly.

All of this is to say that Harry and Hermione's relationship is defined by compromise above all. It is a constant negotiation between the two of them, and this pattern persists all the way through HBP and DH.

Hermione insists that something dodgy is going on with the Potions book, so Harry let's her check it. Harry wants to stay in Grimmauld Place in DH, so Hermione goes with him. They both decide to go to Godric's Hollow, and while Hermione wants to focus on finding mission-relevant information, she looks for the Potter's graves too. Because that mattered to Harry.

What makes Harry and Hermione's relationship so compelling is how hard they try for each other. Their relationship only survives through a lot of effort on both sides. There is nothing instinctive or easy about the way communicate with each other. But they also love and respect each other enough that they willingly put in all the effort necessary to make it work between them.

From OotP onwards, Harry and Hermione stand as equals. They fight together, support each other, and it is only when they work together that they manage to see their missions through.

[sideprince]

It's good to know your strengths and weaknesses and drawing is definitely the latter for me, but I wanted to make some kind of "what might Eileen Prince have looked like" image so I used the portrait maker on azaleasdolls and came up with what her school photo might have looked like. I did a little bit of editing in procreate, mostly to her nose and eyebrows (it took ages and didn't come out quite how I wanted but just count yourself lucky I didn't try to draw this from scratch).

What I like about this is that, while in the text both Eileen and Severus are described as sallow and sour looking with heavy brows in a way that has negative connotations, these features are clearly not mutually exclusive with looking interesting or attractive. This image feels reasonably close to what's described in the books as far as I'm concerned, but if this was a real person I would be curious about them, not put off.

I feel like there's a problem in the Snapedom of confusing attractiveness with conventional beauty, so there's a lot of art that doesn't want to engage with the scrungly parts of Severus. His hair is stringy. His nose is hooked and large. He's thin. These may not be conventionally attractive features, but many people do find them attractive.

There are a lot of meta posts out there that talk about the racist elements of the gothic, romantic male character that Rowling put into Severus Snape. His skin may be sallow and pale, but his hooked nose is a semitic feature that signals otherness and the connotation is that this is villain-coded. Heavy brows, dark eyes, these are all semitic features that are put onto characters not meant to be liked in both gothic literature and the Harry Potter books. (And when I say "semitic"I mean "middle-eastern" ie. features often found on people of middle-eastern descent.) The sallow skin and thin figure imply poverty - even the Malfoys are described as pale, not sallow. Pale implies light skinned, while sallow implies sickly, unhealthy. It takes the romanticization out of the venerated pale skin of gothic literature's heroes and heroines.

Despite the amount of discussion on this that I've seen come and go on my dash, in posts with a lot of notes, I see so much Snape art that makes him look like a drawing on the cover of a romance novel. He's buff, he has a six pack, his nose is straight and sharp, his features are conventionally attractive in ways that go against the text. I'm not here to judge anyone who likes this (except the people relentlessly demanding images like this from AI bots and posting them ad nauseum, but that's because I'm judging them for using and posting AI generated images because it's theft). Fandom is about escapism, and if vanilla Snape is your kink, go forth and live it up. But maybe it's OK to ask yourself, why do I prefer this character when he looks like the idealized male instead of how he's written, if I love him so much? Maybe it's OK to use the safety of fandom to examine what might have been internalized that's biased and uncomfortable with The Other.

In a fandom centered around a character who was brave, heroic, brilliant, and above all, driven by love and loyalty to it, yet was presumed to be evil despite all his continuous efforts to save the hero - in other words, in a fandom centered around a character we understand had exceptional qualities yet was often villainized based on his appearance despite his actions, what is it that compels some fans to impose more conventional features onto Snape to consider him attractive? What does that say to all the other fans who don't have a Eurocentric, unattainably muscular and chiseled aesthetic, who have rallied around Snape because they find him loveable and see themselves in the character?

Again, I'm not judging. But I do think that if your preferred Snape is what I like to refer to as Fabio-Snape, it might be an interesting exercise to explore what you're drawn to and why.

[therealvinelle]

Today I bravely ventured further than ere I’ve gone previously into the twilight fandom and discovered in no short order: Garrett and Kate winning a poll as a side couple; fluffy (?) head canons about Edward and Bella; discussion of wholesome Cullen family holidays where everyone more or less gets along and likes each other (including Edward and Jasper even!!!); and discussion of how cute an adopted cat could be for Rosalie to look after. And there weren’t master lists! Or many textual references at all! They thought the animal-eating Cullens with super strength who terrify animals could have a pet without a problem!

I have retreated to the ranks of familiar metas where I’m not made to feel unduly cynical about it all and everything makes sense (… unlike Edward and Bella as a functional, healthy, genuinely in love couple after no demon pregnancy and he turned her???). Soon I shall once again venture forth but I think recuperation is in order. It was a surreal experience like watching the Harry Potter films with someone who hadn’t read the books and them thinking Hermione was a well adjusted person socially (… she refused to acknowledge Ron had a right to feel bad his pet died for a good part of a year, I don’t know emotional intelligence is on her list of outstanding traits).

Well, the point of this blog is that I have very poor reading comprehension and therefore completely fail to get what I was supposed to from my reading material. Very bizarre interpretations of canon result from this, and we get blogs like this one (or @thecarnivorousmuffinmeta for that matter).

It's a significant and important not to forget factor that Muffin and I developed our understanding of Twilight canon during quarantine, we were sitting alone in our respective homes going a little feral in ways we are still coming to terms with. We weren't always like this, at least not about Twilight.

As for the Twilight fandom, the thing is that a lot of the people I see on my dash and who I disagree with on a lot if not everything, tend to write much better characterised Cullens than I manage. I'm very happy with my fics and wouldn't do anything differently, but the fact remains that even people who disagree with me on a lot on the surface level still characterise many of the characters (with notable exceptions like Aro, who is one of this fandom's characterisation chameleons. Everybody has their own Aro) very similarly, sometimes better (this especially pertains to Edward, a character I find difficult to write).

Also, I have to warn you- if this was what seeing the Twilight fandom did to you, stay far away from Harry Potter fandom and if you do venture into the Harry Potter fandom, the second you see a post tagged "Lily Evans" in the wild you run. Close the tab, turn off the computer, because the odds of the post being wildly and/or hilariously misogynistic are ten to one.

[buddiewho]

LONG POST!!

I have mixed feelings about 8x01. Not entirely sure what's up with the Christopher storyline?? Okay, so yes, I understand Christopher wanting to run miles away from the situation, I really do. I also understand Eddie's attempts to keep a relationship with his son even if Christopher does not want to build it back up at this time. You know what I mean?

There is something oddly suspicous about the pool thing with Helena…I know that slowly but surely Eddie helped Christopher get back to the beach and near the water. In the water?? I don't know it's got me raising my eyebrows.

Then in the interim, thinking about Eddie kind of sort of "third wheeling" Buck and Tommy. For example, the three of them are probably spending a lot of time together because somehow I do not believe Buck is going to leave Eddie alone for a long amount of time, unless specifically asked to do so. Then of course, I do think it's almost like "sharing" Eddie. Haha. Buck spends time with him. Then Eddie probably still goes to fights with Tommy. So they're all being friends and sharing time with each other??

Where they've asked Bobby to go is kind of odd. This whole meta show within a show thing, well, I've experienced that before (*coughs* SPN). It is an interesting turn of events for 911, if I say so myself, yet maybe it makes sense because LA/Hollywood?? Athena always kicks ass in everything she does. Putting that guy in the trunk…hilarious. On a different note, her amount of strength it takes to even agree to this prisoner transfer...

I do hope Hen and Karen find ways to screw over the politician lady that is screwing them over. Thankfully, we know Mara is in a safe place and still with the entire 118 fam, you know? However, I will say like someone else mentioned here, why the Harry Potter thing? Could've been a million other things? I don't know…an interest in dinosaurs so Mara and Chim run around making weird dino sounds? Yet this is something easily dismissed, when you pull back for the big picture of where season 8 is headed…

Personally, I did love the episode in the way that it showcases Buck. Sure, there have been times Buck has shown insolence and Bobby almost fired him for it. The problem is, Buck is not a disgrace to the uniform. The uniform is frankly, all he knows, and this job is something he is very capable of (which is sometimes not said DIRECTLY to Buck enough).

What I mean to say, Gerrard is insulting who he thinks is an insolent, independent thinking, rule breaker, but Buck has made strides in that regard. Is he sometimes himbo brained, well, yes, of course, but is he also sometimes armed and ready with INSANE facts of niche interest/thing, well, why yes of course he is. Sometimes that knowledge is best put to use; however, Gerrard's power trips are something else.

Hopefully, he comes to seeing an error of his ways kind of thing, or as I postulate- loses his memory? He has no idea who anyone is at the 118 and is barely capable of remembering who he is. Something other than, how it was with Chim and Tommy. Chim saved Tommy's life and so then Tommy understood the error of his ways. I do not want Gerrard there at all you know? I want him to somehow just forget everything long term and then have to navigate life somewhere else. Then the Fire Chief will make Hen or Chim Captain if they will not bring Bobby back. Bringing Bobby back is going to take the whole damn season by the way since they just started this actor shadowing him thing in their meta world.

This post may now take a SHIPPING turn. Fair warning:

Aside from the episode as a whole, I do wonder about Buck and Tommy. Ngl, I slightly agree with a comment I saw about Tommy disregarding things Buck is saying or how he is feeling, but on the one hand I also see how it'd be difficult to assess what exactly Buck wants when he is at the party complaining about Gerrard.

Does Buck just want Tommy to listen? Does Buck want words of endearment? Looks as if he only got a, "That sounds like Gerrard." And honestly, Tommy is probably going to be a straightforward type of man, which will maybe come off as cold. My thing is, in this situation, I'd have no idea what to say, besides listening to my partner rant about someone at their work who I also happened to know and do not want to interact with anymore, because around that person, I was a different person; someone I did not want to be. Would I (as Tommy might) feel bad that my now partner has to experience all that is wrong with Gerrard? Yes, I (he might)would be. But as the script went, all Tommy had to say was something brief, because really, what else is there to say? Now, if Buck had been for some reason mentally broken down to a sobbing fit of some sort then that'd call for some physical reach out from Tommy, right? I do not know why I am over analyzing this interaction, but I do wonder if Tommy's closed off attitude in physicality (at times) and even verbally will become an issue. I do think a relationship can become emotionally one-sided if only one partner is expressing thoughts and feelings, while the other is just kind of meh. You know?

Which leads me to the highs and lows we've already experienced with Buck and Eddie being entirely vulnerable with one another by choice or forced by dangerous life and death situations. What I mean to say is that technically, as always we still see Eddie being emotionally available (something Eddie has actively worked to improve) and supportive towards Buck, you know? Still not entirely sure, Tommy will actually be fleshed out for much longer, because at the end of the day, Buck will need someone who is emotionally available and ready to communicate, plus, listen. This is something we know Eddie can do for Buck and vice versa.

OKay, I digress. If you read this post. Thank you. It's long. I have no idea what any of it means, but I do know that for me, some sort of spark has been reignited when it comes to Buddie.

PS: Anyone out there insulting Eddie Diaz's character in any way is a sack of potatoes. If that man simply ignored Christopher then I frankly, think it'd be worse. Trying even when Christopher is not trying or giving an inch is the best thing Eddie can be doing. If he simply gave up, that is when I'd question something. In this situation, a parent reaching out to their child is ABSOLUTELY needed. I think doing it via video chatting is actually best as well. Christopher moved himself miles away from being physically near his father, so Eddie packing up and GOING to Texas would have been the wrong move, if you ask me. Do I firmly believe Eddie is still doing the right thing? Hell yes I do.

Can the mustache go? Actually, yeah, that thing can disappear please. But hey, this shot does make for a good meme:

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I just want to preface this by saying that I do enjoy reading your metas. Thought clearly went into them and you've always got an interesting angle on things that people clearly want to hear.

But, I will admit, that some of your metas, especially the Harry Potter ones, do make me raise an eyebrow.

Like, with Twilight you say: "Edward is a deranged monster living out a romanatic tragedy in his head with a girl who's personality he made up and he's practically on the verge of eating her at any moment. "

Or: "Bella is a severely depressed teenager with some pretty bad problems with empathy who has staked all her self-worth on becoming a creature she barely understands."

Me, I think that makes sense. I get it. I agree with it.

But, with Harry Potter, you say: "The abused, tramuatized, orphan teenager with clear PTSD is in reality a idiotic, thuggish pyschopath completely incapable of love."

And also: "The child-killing, mass-murdering cult/terrorist leader terrified of death is lowkey suicidal, misunderstood and was failed by society even though he was basically Damien Thorn from the Omen since childhood."

That... gives me pause.

That's not to say I don't disagree with all your HP metas. I guess it's just, even though I'm not much of a fan anymore, I do have more of a connection with HP than Twilight, so that might explain it.

Well, it is a heresy blog you know, it's actually downright bizarre that the Twilight fandom gives me and @therealvinelle as much credence as it does.

Remember that what I say, on any topic, is fucking insane.

But I think you hit the nail on the head:

For all that fandom is extremely disapproving of JKR (many leaving fandom altogether because of her actions and stances), they love the world of Harry Potter and (per the blog anon, you did come talking to me) love what they think it is more than it actually is.

It was a huge part of many people's childhood, people saw Hermione as one of the biggest female leads in their lives who not only keeps up with the boys but easily surpasses them, everyone wanted to go to Hogwarts and be friends with Harry and play quidditch, we want to believe that it really is the power of love is what saw Harry through to the end.

Even now, despite the backlash against the author, people want to like Harry Potter.

And that's fine, it's about whatever makes you happy and people are more than free to block this blog or filter at will, I just answer the questions.

Twilight, on the under hand, has this weird cynical culture where a lot of people (at least in the Twilight Renaissance) want to hate Edward, the Cullens, Bella, all of them.

So, when I come along preaching my nonsense, it fills in with the fandom is already willing and ready to hear (and even then a lot of the times it's considered very spicy).

Glad you enjoy some of it.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it! (and the fact you're linking all your other metas)

I like how you explained it and it really makes sense. I actually can picture it now! I think it would be really interesting to see how impacted the muggleborns were back then. Maybe they were refused job because of their blood and overall felt insecure-- after all, we never know since Lily ended up being a full time Order's member.

I gotta says though, there are some dates I do not agree with in your timeline, if I may? Here's what Moody said concerning the Order's picture:

“There’s me,” said Moody unnecessarily, pointing at himself. The Moody in the picture was unmistakable, though his hair was slightly less gray and his nose was intact. “And there’s Dumbledore beside me, Dedalus Diggle on the other side … That’s Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family. That’s Frank and Alice Longbottom —”

And in Lily's letter, she wrote to Sirius that she cried all evening after learning what happened to the McKinnons. It was wrote late July/early August 1981 since it was for Harry 1st birthday, so Marlene would have been killed in July and that's why I am assuming the picture was taken in 1981.

Also, I started to think that the prophecy was made around January/February 1980 because of this post (which would work with the idea that he made interviews during winter break), and that the Fidelius Charm was performed only in October 1981 because of this quote:

“Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know- Who wasn’t an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm." […] “He did,” said Fudge heavily. “And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed— ”

which would work with my idea that Severus only warned Albus in October 1981, and not before-- and therefore Peter being a spy for one year but not snitching on the Potters would make sense. Voldemort hadn't make his decision yet.

And it made me wonder when Dumbledore actually told the Potters about the prophecy. Did he even tell them everything? There are actually no informations about the Longbottoms hiding too, only the fact they were possible target so I wonder if they knew about it.

Also, one point I like to think about is the fact Lily and James were in the picture in June/July 1981 (possibly), but in Lily's letter she talks about James getting frustrated staying home. Were they still going to the Order's meeting but not doing missions for the Order? Or did they keep low only after the picture was taken? I know in interviews JK talked about the Potters hiding either before Harry's birth or during his christening, and I know people always assume it's because of the prophecy but what if it was simply because they knew they were possible target even without it?

I really have been thinking greatly about the First Wizardin War lately sorry 😭

Your welcome, and no problem, I love talking about this!

Referring to this post.

Regarding the Fidelius, I remember Fudge saying that, but Fudge has no reason to know when the charm was cast. Winter of 1980, makes sense for the prophecy, Considering the prophecy says:

“...THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES. . . .”

(OotP)

It talks about the future. The child will be born, not born yet. Also, the Prophecy was made at least two months before Harry was born:

“My name?” said Harry blankly. He stepped forward. Not as tall as Ron, he had to crane his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball. In spidery writing was written a date of some sixteen years previously

(OotP)

“I did,” said Dumbledore. “On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog’s Head Inn

(OotP)

This is in May 1996, so Harry is two months before his 16th birthday, meaning the prophecy was made at least 2 months before he was born. Possibly in the winter of 1980, but not after Harry's birth.

And, it seems bizarre to not hide the Potters immediately after the prophecy is made. Especially since the Order knew there was a spy in their midst since mid-1980:

YOU’D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED!

(PoA)

Add to that the fact the Fidelius broke upon James and Lily's death, which implies Harry was not included in the phrasing of the spell, and it indicates the Fidelius was cast before Harry was born and that Fudge has no clue what he's talking about (which is pretty in character, all in all).

It always seemed to me Dumbledore hid the Potters before Snape told him about Voldemort and that he heard the prophecy. Fudge just knows the version of events the ministry was given, not necessarily the true version.

“The—the prophecy. . . the prediction. . . Trelawney. . . ” “Ah, yes,” said Dumbledore. “How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?” “Everything—everything I heard!” said Snape. “That is why—it is for that reason—he thinks it means Lily Evans!” “The prophecy did not refer to a woman,” said Dumbledore. “It spoke of a boy born at the end of July—” “You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down—kill them all—” “If she means so much to you,” said Dumbledore, “surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?” “I have���I have asked him—” “You disgust me,” said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little, “You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?” Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore. “Hide them all, then,” he croaked. “Keep her—them—safe. Please.” “And what will you give me in return, Severus?” “In—in return?” Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, “Anything.”

(DH)

Dumbledore isn't surprised by anything Snape is telling him. It's all expected, he knew all of it already, so I think he already had the Potters in hiding before this conversation. He knew it was Lily and James' son, Snape is even calling him out on his bullshit here. Dumbledore acts like he knew and already took the precautions he felt were needed. Snape goes and promises him anything in exchange for something Dumbledore was already doing.

And I think he didn't tell James and Lily the full prophecy. If he did, I don't think James would've been as antsy to leave all the time. Like, if he felt a strong enough duty to stay for Harry and Lily, I think he would have. Which, to me suggests he didn't know all the details. But alas, I don't know for certain, it's just speculation on my part how much James and Lily knew. I believe it was very little, along the lines of: "There is reason to believe Voldemort would try to target Harry due to certain intel he has," maybe they knew there was a prophecy but not the full contents of it.

The photo of the order and the dates super annoy me. Becouse like, if the photo was taken in the summer of 1981 it means the entire Order was practically wiped out in 4 months. Which is kinda insane and doesn't make much sense.

But, if it indeed was taken in June/July of 1981, it means it was taken after the Potters were already in hiding due to everything I wrote above. It means the Potters left Harry with Batgilda Bagshot or something to meet the Order and take this picture, which, again, doesn't make sense. God, I hate JKR's timeliness sometimes.

Yes, this is nonsensical, but it seems like, indeed, James and Lily left their hiding spot to take a picture and the whole Order died in the last 4 months of the war, painting them as way more incompetent than I usually paint them as.

But if James and Lily really didn't know how grave the danger was and didn't have all the details, and James felt confident enough to leave them under the invisibility cloak multiple times, it's possible they did go to meet the Order while in hiding on a few occasions. This would lull James and Lily even more into a false sense of security. If they were used to seeing the Order it explains James leaving often-ish, and neither of them having their wands on them when Voldemort arrives. They didn't really think they were in danger for all their months in hiding.