#albus core

[honeybee2807]

[rewritingcanon]

angsty au: what if scorp just straight up left after harry didnt let him be friends with albus as a gryffindor? Like, just transferred to beaxbatons or some shit?

then cue albus sailing the seven seas to get him back again

[wickedwitchofthesouth]

The feminine urge to write an atyd level fic for new gen Harry Potter where the slytherins have their own marauders-esque friend group and scorpius and albus are the main focus ship. UGHHHHH THE URGUE TO WRITE A FATHER SON ARC FOR AL AND HARRY THAT GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT HARRYS TRAUMA AND HOW IT EFFECTS HIS PARENTING!! The heavy looming weight of the urge to write a strained sibling relationship for James and albus because they are THEE prodigal son and the cursed child.

THE WAY I WOULD WRITE THE PERFECT FRIENDS TO LOVERS FOR SCOR AND AL . the way I would add the best oc who the fandom will fall in love with and regard as canon for years to come UGHHHH

[gellertalbus]

Dangerous times favor dangerous men.

[grim-has-issues]

“wait, they don’t love you like i love you” trend but me with albus york

[maraudersidk]

I've been thinking alot abt next gen lately and i always fund it so funny how everyone has different hcs for their ages (no bdays cuz i change it if i feel like it) and houses.

Also quick disclaimer i dont think they were all gryffindors except for al like i just no, i like thr angst of it but the personalities i have for them are not gryffindor (and red is not their color) also i reached the max of tags i can do i think💀

Teddy: hufflepuff, 1998

Victoire: ravenclaw, 2000

Molly: gryffindor, 2000

James: gryffindor, 2004

Dominique: slytherin, 2004

Roxanne: gryffindor, 2004

Fred: gryffindor, 2004

Louie: ravenclaw, 2005

Lucy: ravenclaw, 2005

Albus: slytherin, 2006

Rose: gryffindor, 2006

Hugo: hufflepuff, 2008, September 14

Lily: gryffindor, 2008

Honorary mentions:

Lorcan scamander (Mr. Hugo granger-weasley): ravenclaw, 2006, august 14

Lysander scamander: hufflepuff, 2006, augsut 14

[jeandejard3n]

Patronus

[deadsetobsessions]

Headmaster Dumbledore is sure that the ghosts of Hogwarts were hiding something. He’d be the first to admit that he’s nosy when it came to things like these, but he simply doesn’t have the time. Whatever that lingered these halls, he’s sure does not mean Hogwarts any harm. The ghosts would not protect it if it did.

Albus Dumbledore Hummer around a lemon drop as his quill scratched over endless parchment paper.

His wand glowed green for a brief second, an acknowledgement, and settled down into its current owner’s hold.

——

Danny Phantom hadn’t thought the castle he found during the summer months in this universe would be… so full of life. Not when there were ghosts, floating around like the castle were their own home.

Magic.

They were ghosts made of magic.

His core struggled, at first, to survive. Then, it took the magic and thrived.

He floated, invisible amongst the glittering candles beneath the imitated night sky, and watched students file in.

Quite different, from his own entrance.

He had floated into the tower, having felt a hint of resistance that he knew now were the castle wards. The ghosts, what he thought were ghosts before he realized ectoplasmic ghosts existed, stopped dead. Hah.

The shades dancing and whirling and conversing froze as he entered the tower. Life and death, and the beings that walked the line, stopped at the arrival of the One Who is the Line. The boy king wreathed in black and green glanced around.

“Hello. I’m Phantom.”

“The High King,” a ghost whispered. “Our king.”

“He’s an American?” Another one asked, scandalized. Danny, surrounded by those who he recognized as his, cracked the first smile he’s had in a while.

“Who cares? He’s…” The knight sunk to his knees, bowing with his ghostly sword in front of him.

The ghosts bowed. Danny floated in further. “Can you tell me where I am?”

“Of course.”

——

Now… he’s watching the children get Sorted. Weird, for a hat to decide your classmates, but whatever.

Harry Potter’s name is called, and the whispers broke out. He doesn’t know why, but Danny couldn’t ask the ghosts. They barely know the current headmaster, as the dead generally care only for their own times.

Danny decides to visit the lake octopus. Lake squid? Something like that. The mer people beneath the waters liked him, the last time he went. The Sorting is put out of Danny’s mind. He’s dead now, too. The only thing he cares about now is to explore the vast halls of Hogwarts and the occasional visit to the kitchen to steal some food for his living body.

(Thank the Ancients he found a house elf who knew what seasoning was.)

(Sometimes, Danny flew to where his home would have been and gets comfort food at the nearest town. He missed it, but he can’t go back.)

The ghosts know by now to call for Phantom should they need something (“I’m American,” he joked at the ghost. “We’re not big on kings. You can just call me Phantom.”)

——

The third year he’s there, Danny feels the effects of Clockwork’s power. When he investigates, it’s the red headed girl he once saw leaving the library, paper clutched in her hand.

She helped save one of his subjects, so he owes her. Plus, if she’s using Clockwork’s powers, this Hermione has potential.

And… she’s using it to study.

She reminds him of Jazz.

——

A wave of ice crackled and froze the fleeing rat and the feral wolf man.

“What?!” Harry screeched to a stop, eyes wide at the ghost child in front of him.

Danny turned, and landed gently on the ground. Snape snarled at him in suspicion. Danny allowed himself to become living again, black hair and blue eyes and tan skin replacing the white, green, black thing his dead form had.

“Who’re you?” The red-headed boy, Ron?, asked him through gritted teeth.

Danny smiled at them, dimples appearing. “A friend.”

Before the trio and co. could say anything, Danny whips his head around, palm coming up.

“Stop.” He orders. The creeping sense of cold and dread shuttered to a stop. “Go over there,” he said, and the dementors, hovering at the edge of his periphery obeyed. Danny turned back to the mildly terrified and flummoxed group.

“Let’s go. You’re all going to catch a cold, if you don’t move it. Especially you, scrawny and greasy.” He pointed at the godfather and Snape.

——

“Hey, Danny?”

“What, Harry?”

“Why’d you help us? I mean, you said you didn’t want to involve yourself in stuff like that.”

Danny hummed, wisped tail curling up against him as he soaked in the sun’s rays. “Because you reminded me of myself. And in the end, you died.”

“You literally brought me back,” Harry deadpanned, remembering the place between life and death, and how the angry Danny was when he stormed onto that train platform. The King had taken him by the scruff of his shirt collar like a particularly incensed mother cat, and dragged him off away from a puzzled Dumbledore.

“You were being stupid. You’re too young to die.”

“Like you?”

Danny snorted. “Nah. I didn’t have a choice.”

[souptastical]

WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH PTSD THE GOLDEN TRIO/EVERY WEASLEY KID/ALL THEIR PEERS WOULD HAVE WHEN RAISING THEIR KIDS???

Like seriously- I NEVER EVER see it. It's all how lovely life would be, the peace, how they could finally live a comfortable life- gurl what??

Harry, Ron Hermione were 17. Do you remember being 17? Yeah, take that mindset and imagine going through a goddamn war, one that alllll revolved around you/your best friend succeeding and if it didn't happen, there would be a dark age like no one had ever seen.

⚡️Harry would keep having nightmares, probably forever. There would probably be days where he laid in bed, unable to move due to the consuming guilt and/or depression which would just add more guilt and depression when he got out of it as he left Ginny to care for their kids and would wake to figure out he missed out on core memories of his children. Sometimes, desperate to see him, James, Albus and Lily would just lay there with him in silence. They witnessed their father go through periods of being totally present, totally happy and then he would randomly just look into the floor as if he was no longer there- his flashbacks were always quiet.

💫Ron, I feel, might end up going through substance addiction to deal with the loss of his brother coupled with moments of anger or just random, unjustified annoyance- the same goes for George and this would extremely strain their romantic relationships. He would most likely have flashbacks of countless moments of fear, would hear Hermione's screams at night, would see his brother's dead body upon that stone ground. Rose and Hugo felt so loved by their father, but also aprehensive because at any moment, his mood could switch.

🌙Hermione would have phases of constantly putting herself into intense moments of focus- her work, the kids, anything to keep her mind occupied out of fear those random moments where her arm burned or the memories of her husband spliced would return full force. She would eventually breakdown, her mind strained due to always, all the time, trying to ignore it all. Rose and Hugo witnessed this constantly- one minute she's fine, the next she's sobbing on the floor and Ron was barking at them to go to their room so they didn't have to be there for it, so they could leave him to console her.

☀️I feel like Ginny remained strong for her siblings, parents & Harry after the war to a degree that she ignored her own emotions and turmoil. Entirely. And then, finally when James was born, what was only supposed to be a flicker of post-partum went full fucking swing due to the fact she bottled everything inside for roughly 6 years straight. And it was bad- Harry was left caring for a newborn and his wife that couldn't move, eat, or bathe on her own. She was probably the only one of them besides Hermione who got proper therapy- the boys being too stubborn. When shit was better, she found herself going through these phases of dismissive attitude towards all her children, her PTSD coming out more in anger, probably similar to Ron and George. But she was especially this way to James- because she couldn't bear to feel the guilt about not being there for him upon his birth, she tried to ignore him entirely at points until she finally realized what she was doing later on.

Then there's everyone else- they would be so fucking destroyed by what happened like??? And their kids would have to watch it- they would grow up with parents riddled with PTSD, an entire generation that had the people raising them be torn from war; some that were able to move past it, some that weren't, and some that were always somewhere in the middle.

[klarolinexluv]

I think there is some misconception with the sorting hat. I don’t think you have to necessarily be brave or smart or loyal or ambitious to be sorted into those houses I think it’s more what your core values are.

Like. All of the Black for example were Slytherin (except for Sirius ofc). This wouldn’t be because they are all ambitious when they were 11 but because they value ambition. They want to be ambitious. It’s been drilled into them since they were little. Thus being sorted into Slytherin.

The Potters for example. All of them were Gryffindor (expect Albus ofc). They aren’t all necessarily brave. They just value braveness. It’s what they were taught growing up. Like you can’t tell me Effie and Monty didn’t teach James that bravery isn’t the absence of fear. Like. You know?!

Do you get what I’m saying??

Peter and Neville weren’t particularly brave when they were 11 but they were still sorted into Gryffindor. Why? Because they value bravery. It’s a core value for them.

Barty Crouch Jr. All though we mostly headcanon him as a Slytherin, canonically, he was a Ravenclaw. He was obvious rather ambitious in his later life but as an 11 year old, he valued knowledge. He wanted to know things.

Im trying to give examples but the house sorting system is a bit constricting. Obviously you can value knowledge and ambition (or any combination) at the same time, and that can change as you grow up you know but from the perspective of an 11 year old, I do think it’s just what they value at the time not what they actually are.

[acewitch-writes]

I love Canon Remus and all of his flaws. Enough of this "Casanova of Gryffindor Tower" BS, Remus is the cowardly lion of Gryffindor tower. He values bravery because it is something that he lacks and yet still strives to be. He has an ingrained sense of shame and self-loathing and an inferiority complex that stems from society's contempt and marginalization towards Lycanthropy, a condition he was cursed with from a very young age. He wasn't a leader, he was a follower. A blind follower who believed to his core that he was unworthy of love and respect because of what he was.

Which opens the door to what I believe to be Remus' greatest flaw: His unwavering, unquestioning devotion to Albus Dumbledore.

I think Remus saw Dumbledore as the perfect encapsulation of Good. He was everything that Remus desperately wanted to be, everything that society was determined to believe a werewolf could never be. And maybe, if Remus could earn (and cling to) Dumbledore's favor and make him proud, he would prove to the world and himself that he is Good, too, in spite of his lifelong curse.

Remus felt that he owed Dumbledore a debt he could never hope to repay for allowing this chronically ill little boy into his school when no werewolf before him had ever been given such an opportunity. So many of Remus' choices in canon stem directly from this imagined debt that he had dedicated his life to paying. Hell, he didn't even hold a grudge against Snape for OUTING HIM to the entire wizarding world simply because Dumbledore trusted him.

Remus trusted Dumbledore wholeheartedly. And Dumbledore personally saw to Harry's placement with the Dursleys. Why should Remus have considered, for even a moment, that Harry wasn't safe? Certainly far safer than he would have been with a monster in close proximity, as Remus believed himself to be. In his mind, staying away from Harry was what was best for Harry. Until Dumbledore needed a favor, that is.

It's reductive to suggest that Remus failed Harry (and by extension, James) for putting his trust in Dumbledore to do right by Harry. James and Sirius trusted Dumbledore, too. They all did. Stripping away all of the nuance and blaming the abuse Harry suffered on Remus is simply unfair. NO ONE helped Harry, not even those who were fully equipped to do so, and Remus was the farthest thing from being equipped to take that on, what with being an impoverished werewolf living in a society that reviles his very existence. The only person who could have saved Harry from the abuse was the very man that placed him in that home, the very man that Remus revered with blind conviction.

[wisteria-lodge]

Have you sorted Dumbledore before? He seems like a great candidate for this framework, especially with how divisive he is and with how much about him is open to interpretation. I really love your thoughts on this!

I think he's a Snake Bird, like Voldemort.

Albus has a pretty clear Bird secondary. He loves collecting (trinkets, artifacts, interesting memories.) His first step when fighting Voldemort is doing a big research deep-dive into his past. He loves a complex multi-step plan - the chain of events caused by the specific wording in his will is probably the clearest example of that. Voldemort once describes him as "omniscient" and that is the goal - Albus wants all the information, all the time. He also loves his Wacky!Dumbledore persona. It's fun, and it's great for throwing off suspicion. Very Actor Bird of him.

I do think his confrontation with Barty Junior at the end of Book 4 is interesting, because that's the most *pissed* and out-of-control we ever see him. There, the energy is very kick-down-the-door Lion secondary. Burst in with his guys at his back, stun him, physically kick him over, and give Barty Veritaserum so he tells you everything. (And then lose track of him in the aftermath, resulting in him getting Kissed.) I think a Snake secondary could have finessed that a little better. Maybe come at him a little softer, used Legilimency, gotten more info out of him, used him as a hostage... but Dumbledore is a Bird secondary who was missing a MASSIVE piece of information, he needed time to re-calibrate. Bird secondaries who have been very wrong-footed or are put in very unfamiliar situations often start looking like Lions.

In terms of Primary... I think he's a very, VERY Burned Snake who models "For the Greater Good" Bird because it doesn't feel safe to trust people (and 'people' does include himself.) Like he'll talk a good game, but when it comes down to it:

"What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you [Harry] were alive, and well, and happy?"

The thing with Grindelwald hit him with the intensity of a Snake just really connecting with a Person for the very first time. Because like... young Albus just didn't have any connections like that. Elphias Doge worshiped him - which isn't an equal relationship. Ariana preferred Aberforth, his mother was entirely focused on Ariana, his dad was in prison. And Aberforth... is important, and I think Albus actually really did want and continues to want his "rough, unlettered, infinitely more admirable" brother's approval. But at that point, Aberforth thinks that Albus is a selfish, irresponsible jerk.

But then Grindelwald betrays Albus, which shatters him for a while. Grindelwald's running around Europe, Albus is hiding at Hogwarts because he's too Burnt to do anything else. He fundamentally does not trust himself anymore, he doesn't trust the instincts of his Snake primary. I'm not sure he ever does again, until maybe Harry. Albus thinks he's right about Snape, but he doesn't know, which is why he likes that visual check-in that Snape's Patronus provides. Albus starts modeling Bird primary, hard, because it hurts a lot less to live in that space.

But like he can't cut that Snake primary out of him completely. It's too core to who he is, he'll die. The Drink of Despair (and the Mirror of Erised) takes him right back to his People. He needs these connections, but those connections don't feel safe. Enter Hagrid, clearly very important to Albus - despite being not especially useful and often kind of a liability. But what he IS is someone very Aberforth coded... who will never leave or betray him. (Because Albus has just so much power over him.) I've written about Dumbledore's habit of collecting strays before, but I think it's a Burnt/Exploded Snake thing. He wants connection, but also sees connection as dangerous, so this is his (subconscious) solution.

Generally, when Albus does dumb things, it's for Snake reasons. Putting on the Resurrection Stone? Trying to talk down Draco when he should have just stunned him (and died Master of the Elder Wand?) In that moment Draco is one of his students (who he IS loyal to.) But he's also kind of Aberforth - totally outclassed, shouldn't be here at all, just trying to protect his family.

The house-matching helps explain why Dumbledore and Voldemort just... get under each other's skin to the extent that they do. They have a very emotionally charged relationship, considering that they prefer to keep each other at a distance and only interact through proxies. Albus has a deep distrust of Tom from the word go, even when Tom hasn't actually done much apart from be a creepy ten-year-old. (Tom probably reminded him of Grindelwald ngl. Or himself.) Albus has his collection of Voldemort's most important memories, and Voldemort is uniquely afraid of him. Diary!Tom frames the Basilisk vs Phoenix battle as a conflict between himself and *Dumbledore.* Like these two are wrapped up in each other, and I think it's because they're actually very alike.

[rewritingcanon]

hpng characters and how they study for exams because im literally dying rn

rose- academic weapon. need i say more. she has the pomodoro technique down pat. she’s the girl at your local library claiming an entire table with an outlet to herself so she can plug her chunky ass laptop into it and make sure it doesn’t explode on her. she has a sugary iced drink near her at all times but she only takes a sip when she feels she’s deserved it. she eats dinner at 1am because she will not let herself move from her desk until she’s completed the practicals she has laid out in front of her. but trust that she’s losing hair and she’s greasy asf and her short fuse is basically nonexistent. she’s also always randomly sick during exam prep, but her symptoms are never bad enough to warrant a doctor’s visit, it’s only hella inconvenient so she’s chugging neuyrofen and vitamin c like her life’s on the line. no special consideration for her. when she experiences one minor setback (technical malfunction, stubbed her toe, bit her tongue etc) she starts angry crying immediately. just don’t speak to her during exam time, she’ll slap you for breaking her concentration.

albus- exam period what exam period. what are you talking about. these assignments aren’t worth half of his grade what do you mean. you’re telling him the essay was due at 5pm today and not 11:59………………. number one— doesn’t cope well at all. in denial until the twenty-four hour mark before his assignments are due and then will lock in as hard as he can but it is absolutely not a pretty process. so don’t even talk to him about it before then. number two— it’s not like he was relaxing during swotvac (idk the british term for swotvac leave me alone) period, my boy was stressed asf he was just procrastinating. you know when you’re too stressed to do literally anything. albus is a prisoner during exam period free my boy. he can’t study, he can’t relax. when he fucks up because of his poor time management he will psychoanalyse everything about himself and convince himself he’s the stupidest mammal to walk on two legs with five fingers. the mental abuse he puts himself through after submitting the shittiest 2000 word essay is crazy. but he is an affront to the english language (he’s surprisingly alright at exams cuz he’s really good at bulshitting, just don’t make him write anything longform 😭 he can’t back up his impassioned opinions with any evidence ok)

victoire- she is the influencer on studytok that makes studying for eight hours straight look like the most aesthetically pleasing pastime ever. her skin is clean, her hair is washed, her clothes are pressed, her eating and sleeping schedule is routine. she’s so not real.

james- most people think he’s an academic weapon because most people will just see the results he gets at the end of the marking period and conclude he’s hella smart. but if they saw the type of basement-dwelling creature he turns into during the study period they would be horrified. he doesn’t touch grass, he doesn’t leave his room, his lips are chapped asf. in fact his room is growing into a whole new ecosystem to account for the cave-dwelling lifestyle james has going on. he’s got the most psycho routine ever, no sane person would replicate this. he’s so mad-scientist-scribbling-incoherent-observations-at-his-barely-lit-desk-at-midnight core. he never sleeps, he only has intervals of three hour naps so it doesn’t disrupt his sleep inertia. friends can’t text or call or reach out to him— he’s on dnd for the next two weeks. you’d think he died. his siblings think he’s doing cocaine in his room to keep himself up. there is the occasional james sighting around 5am where he may trudge out of his room like a night stalker to make himself tea. his face is gaunt and ghostly and his body is brittle and awkward. don’t speak to him because he’s not going to respond he’s too busy spacing out through the entire exam period. if you do get a word out of him it’ll probably not be in a language understood in this world. best he keep to his room.

hugo- he’s absolutely broke yet the only way he can cope is through impulsive storms of online shopping and doing shopping hauls on his close friends. if he had it his way he’d wind down the night with some dti with the boys but hermione has that boy’s arse glued to the dining chair and she and rose are circling hawks scrutinising all of his answers and then insisting to mark his pracs for him. in all realness they do save him because his marks are always pretty good in the end.

teddy- simply did not study if the subject didn’t appeal to him. one of those woke students that truly believed that marks did not equate to worth. knew he would only feasibly want to pursue careers in the subjects he liked so would prioritise one or two subjects. motivational speaker to all his friends. actually didn’t let exams stop him from living his life. his speeches on the wotters aren’t so successful since a lot of them highkey gaf about their results. rose gets pissed off every time he tries with her. victoire politely ignores him. james is disassociating through the entire speech. he doesn’t even attempt it with percy’s kids. bad luck ted.

lily- if there is a person who is the exact type of person who isn’t built for studying, it’s her. she can get away with it at the start of her schooling, because she is quite smart, but when it gets serious its the biggest humbling ever. she just can’t lock in. she’ll have an exam the next day and suddenly she’s knocking on albus’ door and is willing and wanting to listen to him complain about Life Problem #218. she’s suddenly volunteering to help her mum garden and help her dad cook. she’s going to ‘study sessions’ with friends where she forces them to do anything but study. she’s binge watching shows with james. she’s picking up a new hobby in juggling. she’s attacked by a new hyperfixation she can’t get out of her head and she has to spend 6 hours a day looking at fanart. like girl go study. james will give her the most bomb (but lowkey psycho) tips on how to lock in and she’ll get motivated until she looks at her prac and sees an 8 mark short answer question. like goodnight she’s having a nap. also she eats everything in the fridge, no snacks are safe. fuck the no sugar rule fr. she’s not even hungry she just convinces herself she is so she can do literally anything else besides that 8 mark question waiting for her on her desk in her room.

dominique- would drop out.

scorpius- he’s a fucking freak because he probably likes the stress of exam period 💀 like he probs does feel stress about it, but since he’s always constantly stressed out this isn’t anything new to him. “i get to pour over all my in-detail notes i’ve written on all these subjects through the semester again?? and then do an assessment regarding the in-detail notes i have? yippee!!” his optimism is absolutely not shared by his peers but he’s so oblivious to it. he’s fantasising about what topic questions he’ll get and what his damn body paragraphs are going to be. he’s the guy seated behind you in the exam who unintentionally peer pressures you by requesting for another booklet because he’s written too much in the first. he’s the one joyfully skipping up to you after the test is over and excitedly asking for what you wrote about or what answers you got, and when he shares his responses with you, you realise his points were better or his answers were actually correct. and then he’s emailing his teachers every week asking for when the marks will be released because he’s just so excited. weirdo.

[kay-elle-cee]

in the latter days || Read the Prologue on Ao3 A First War AU || 1.4K || Rated M || Playlist

In February of 1983, a cataclysmic shift occurred in the wizarding world, plunging it into chaos. Four years later, revelations shake the core of James Potter’s new reality when, on a mission, he discovers another faction of the Order of the Phoenix — and with them, the woman he thought he’d lost forever.

Now the two broken factions of the Order must team up to finish what they once started, while James and Lily work through four years of loss and rediscovery.

Prologue

At 11:57am, on the 23rd of February, 1983, a curious, blinding light suddenly erupted from the Portishead coastline. A giant, glowing dome of silver and white rested upon the sand for several minutes before burning in on itself with a deafening crack—like wood splintering—and a powerful blast of hot air knocked the many spectators to their knees as they scrambled to see the aftermath.  At 11:57am, on the 23rd of February, 1983, Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort both perished at the hand of the other, after years of war, after countless dead on each side. On a chilly shore in Portishead, the two most powerful wizards of their time fell, and the delicate balance of the wizarding world shattered. At 11:58am, on the 23rd of February, 1983, chaos enveloped the wizarding world in the aftermath of what would become known as The Fall.

From the playlist: The Origin of Love — Hedwig And The Angry Inch

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hello! How are you?

Basically, I have seen this in many spaces where people are anti hp (the series and the mc), they bring up the fact that harry isn't a great mc because by the end of the series he made/brought no changes in the wizarding world. He didn't change the system, didn't do anything about the house elf slavery, (they mention the fact that after the war harry contemplates asking kreacher to bring him a sandwich!! and that he wasn't as passionate about freeing them as Hermione was), and so on, I don't remember everything.

Mostly, they mention that he becomes a ministry lapdog and ended up joining the same system which oppressed him (like you, i hate that he becomes an auror btw) and by the end of the series everything is the same and he didn't bring any monumental change like he doesn't have the power or interest to do so.

So, my questions to you are - what are your thoughts on these opinions?? Do you think it's poor writing by jkr?? Or it wasn't relevant to the core plot?

I don't really like speculating what JKR was thinking when she wrote something, because I have no way of actually knowing, but book 7, in certain parts, always felt to me like she was ready to move on and wanted to be done with it.

I think by the time she got to writing book 7, she just kinda wanted the writing process to be over already. So, book 7 has always been a mixed bag for me — when it's good, it's really good, but it also has moments that drag and are utter stupidity.

I think the epilogue is a bit of that race to be done with it already.

Like, there is a fan theory she wrote the epilogue before the book, and honestly, I can belive that.

But, I think the Harry becoming an auror isn't bad writing in the books — it's bad writing post-books. Sure, the epilogue implies the system didn't change as much as it should have (Albus worrying about being sorted into Slytherin, Ron confounding muggles with no consequences, Percy's treatment, etc.), but I think it wouldn't have been as egregious and offensive as it is to most fans who dislike it if it wasn’t for a lot of JKR's periphery canon she wrote that added a lot of details about the characters' futures that just made everything worse (plus the CC play).

Without the epilogue, the ending of DH doesn't say anything about what Harry would do. Yes, he isn't passionate about freeing house elves, but this isn't new and is true to his character. He isn't perfect, and that's not bad writing, it's staying consistent with his characterization up to this point. The ending without the epilogue leaves the reader off with plenty of potential to work with for their imagination and write fic about Harry's future. I actually like the end note of the series pre-epilogue because it fits. It works with Harry as a character who just wants something simple to eat and go to bed. He isn't concerned with instating new policies and shit, because it would be out of character for him to concern himself over these things in that moment. Harry is not a politician and he never wanted to be one. I feel like the fandom expects a lot from Harry that would be out of character for him to do without external factors pushing him into a political role. (Don't get me wrong, he'd be a decent politician, but that would be because he won't play the same game as everyone else. And he'd never choose to be a politician without being forced/pressured/otherwise convinced into the position).

The epilogue itself, while, closing off some options and proving the wizarding world still has many many issues, doesn't actually mention the Golden Trio's (or Ginny's) professions and still leaves us with a lot of open room for interpretation. Harry isn't stated to be an auror in the epilogue — it's JKR's writings after the books that made him an auror and Hermione a minister and kinda butchered Ron altogether (book 7 started the job of butchering Ron's character, though...). Even if the epilogue doesn't paint the best picture of the future of the WW, it's still open enough to work with if you really want to. It's the stuff she published after the books that made everything about the wizarding world's (and Harry's) future so much worse for me.

I do think, the epilogue is bad writing in that it doesn't add to the story and I think makes book 7 (and the whole series) worse overall, but I would've hated it less if it wasn't for all the information she added in after the fact (that didn't actually add anything, just ruin and destroy).

And a lot of her periphery canon writing show how much she doesn't remember from her books. I talked about it when it comes to fahion and the term "warlock", but she tends to, not really know her own world building and she contradicts herself a lot. This tendency is at it's worst with book 7 Wandlore, a lot of her Pottermore articles, and, of course, the Fantastic Beasts films and CC (some of her commentary in the Hogwarts Library books collection as well). So, I take any periphery canon stuff as additional to the books and optional depending on if they make sense with the books' canon or not.

So, I'd say, the problems for me are more with post-books stuff, and not the content of the books themselves. Becouse yeah, Harry mentioned wanting to be an auror in years 5 and 6, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't change his mind once he realizes what it entails

15-16 year old Harry talking about wanting to be an auror actually fits his character. Not because I think the job would be great for him, but because of his low self-worth. Moody/Barty told him he has the talent to be an auror and Harry is ridiculously insecure in himself. When one of the first adults to tell him he is talented and good at things to his face told him he'd make a good auror — of course that's what Harry would focus on!

Even if Moody/Barty was discovered to be a Death Eater later, he was still someone Harry looked up to. Harry who thinks he isn't particularly good at anything:

“Well, I’m not going to tell you,” said Moody gruffly. “I don’t show favoritism, me. I’m just going to give you some good, general advice. And the first bit is — play to your strengths.” “I haven’t got any,” said Harry, before he could stop himself. “Excuse me,” growled Moody, “you’ve got strengths if I say you’ve got them. Think now. What are you best at?”

(GoF, Ch20)

Was told he'd be good at something (being an auror) — so it makes sense he'd want to pursue it initially. I think Harry is likely to not want to stay as an auror though. I love to headcanon him as an auror program dropout, honestly. That he starts and then leaves. Which is possible with book 7 canon (including the epilogue).

The books actually don't contradict some changes or changes-in-progress in the WW (including the epilogue). It's just been 19 years, not even a whole generation, big systematic changes rarely happen this quickly, so while some of the patterns are worrying, you can work with it, I think the epilogue is bad, but it's not the worst that happened to HP books.

The worse problem is that JKR kept writing contradictory things instead of leaving the books be once they were done.

(Not that the books don't have their moments of contradicting themselves, they do. There are plot contrivances, stuff that makes zero sense, and plenty of plot holes, but when it comes to Harry's future and the WW's future as a whole, the books are not the main culprit here, the epilogue was a witness that did nothing to help at the scene of the crime at best).

[green-abyss]

Albus core: